ã€ŠKeyboard Immortalã€‹


 Chapter 1: Keyboard Warrior

    <h4>Chapter 1: Keyboard Warrior</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Ow ow ow ow!! Pain arced through every inch of his body as the stench of burnt flesh filled his nose. Wait a sec!What¡¯s going on?

    Zu An was certain that he had been arguing with a bunch of people on an inte forum just a few seconds ago...

    ...

    It was a stormy day. A thunderstorm was wreaking havoc outside his windows, but it did nothing to dull Zu An¡¯s furious typing. He was trolling the absolute shit out of a bunch of users on a forum, insulting them to the point of speechlessness... ahem, which is to say, he was gently persuading them through heartfelt appeals to their sense of decency.

    All of a sudden, there was a blinding sh of light apanied by a thunderous cacophony. A basketball-sized clump of lightning drifted through his window, glowing with a strange, hazy red light.

    Following that, Zu An remembered hearing an absolutely miserable scream ring out, followed by an utterly indescribable sensation. He vaguely recalled seeing the keyboard in front of him vaporize into dust along with his hands, which had been ced on the keyboard. More and more of him had been vaporized, until finally... everything became a nk.

    ...

    Was I just hit by lightning? What the hell was that thing? Ball lightning? As a highly qualified keyboard warrior, he had naturally read up on these phenomena before. He was naturally quick-witted, and instead of feeling frightened, he was ovee with excitement and eagerness. Holy shit! Have I gained superpowers? Maybe I¡¯m going to turn into the sh! Or maybe even Captain Atom?

    He struggled to open his eyes, but everything in front of him was a blur. He had no idea where he was at all. Suddenly, a stabbing pain radiated into him from his fingertips. He jerked his gaze downwards and ¡®saw¡¯ something before him - although he wasn¡¯t sure if he was just seeing things.

    There, floating in front of his fingers, was a keyboard. It looked identical to the one he normally used, but the keys looked gray and lifeless. He tried tapping on the keys, but none of them was budging at all. It was as though they were locked in ce.

    ¡°You have sessfully bound the ¡®Keyboard Warrior¡¯ ount. Upon fulfilling the necessary conditions, the relevant abilities shall be unlocked.¡± An icy voice reverberated in Zu An¡¯s mind, scaring the crap out of him.

    What the hell? Zu An thought to himself. Why can¡¯t I be the sh, Spiderman, Iron Man, or something cool like that? Although the ¡®Keyboard Warrior¡¯ title kinda fits my personality, it sounds... weird.

    ¡°So what do I need to do to unlock these abilities?¡± Zu An asked hurriedly.

    ¡°Collect the secret manuals from the Twelve Unknowable Regions of this world and then embed them in the F1 through F12 function keys. Each time you collect a manual, you¡¯ll unlock a corresponding ability,¡± the icy voice replied.

    Only then did Zu An notice that the function keys on his keyboard were covered in strange runes. He surmised that these corresponded to those twelve so-called secret manuals.

    ¡°Good luck, Keyboard Warrior!¡± At these final words, the keyboard began to fold in on itself. It transformed into a shadow before seeping into his fingertip, vanishing from sight.

    ¡°Wait a second! What the hell are the ¡®Twelve Unknowable Regions¡¯, and how am I supposed to find these secret manuals?¡± The words tumbled out of Zu An¡¯s mouth, but no matter how he shouted, there was no response from the icy voice.

    Zu An wanted to cuss. A keyboard? This is bullshit. Why do other protagonists get to start out with something cool, like the Midas touch and stuff, whereas I have all my abilities locked up? On top of that, the ¡®Twelve Unknowable Regions¡¯ sounds incredibly dangerous, and I doubt they¡¯ll just hand out secret manuals freely. And I need to get twelve of them?! This is bullshit!

    The haze around him began to dissipate. He felt warm sunlight shining down on him, and he could vaguely make out the sounds of others speaking nearby.

    ¡°That was odd. There¡¯s not even a cloud in the sky. Where in the world did the lightninge from? It makes no sense at all!¡±

    ¡°This guy¡¯s probably done so many bad things that the heavens have decided to exact divine retribution on him.¡±

    ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t that the useless son-inw of the Chu n? He should have thanked his lucky stars that a fairy maiden like Chu First Miss would fall for him, but was he? No! I heard thatst night, on his wedding night, he actually snuck into his sister-inw¡¯s bed!¡±

    ¡°Holy crap! Is he nning on bagging both of them?¡±

    ¡°Ehehehe. Plenty of guys like to eye their sisters-inw, after all.¡±

    ¡°No wonder he got struck by lightning! Serves him right!¡±

    ¡°Pity about that lovely Chu First Miss, though. So young, but already a widow.¡±

    ¡°Shh! The Chu n might hear you gossiping. They are searching everywhere for this animal.¡±

    Zu An waspletely confused by what he was hearing. What is this nonsense? What the hell is going on? Everyone¡¯s just watching, but no one¡¯s even called for an ambnce. When I recover, I¡¯m going to expose all of them and their shameless actions on social media!

    ¡°Out of the way! The coroner¡¯s arrived,¡± someone shouted out.

    Coroner?! Zu An was stunned. Shouldn¡¯t they call a doctor? Are they shooting a historical drama here?

    Momentster, he sensed someone crouch down by his side, who then began poking and prodding the hell out of him. A voice reported, ¡°Sallow face. Body charred ck. Hands balled loosely. Eyes and mouth still wide open. Body streaked red and purple, but flesh rtively unharmed. It would appear that he was indeed electrocuted to death.¡±

    Zu An was enraged to hear that. Dying was one thing, but dying in such an ugly fashion was simply unforgivable. He somehow mustered the strength to sit up, and he bellowed, ¡°HEY! Can you at least put some makeup on me first before snapping pictures?¡±

    ¡°ZOMBIE!!!¡± The crowd around him screamed in unison.

    Zu An was stunned. Everyone around him was indeed dressed in ancient period costumes, although they were decidedly low-quality, unlike the extravagant, beautiful costumes he saw on TV. What was even more puzzling was theck of cameras or cameramen nearby. In fact, he couldn¡¯t see so much as a cell phone anywhere! Nor did he see any telephone lines, cars, or any other traces of the modern world he was familiar with.

    So I didn¡¯t die? Have I transmigrated into another world? As a huge fan of webnovels, Zu An had read about many situations like this before, so he wasn¡¯t too shocked by this development.

    ¡°W-w-what manner of freakish demon are you?!¡± The coroner¡¯s lips quivered as he pointed at Zu An in horror. He was so shocked that he fell t onto his back.

    ¡°I¡¯m not a freak, jackass. Can¡¯t you even tell the difference between a person and a corpse? I think you need to find a new day job.¡± Cough, cough. Smoke rose ceaselessly from his mouth and nostrils as he spoke, causing him to choke on his words. Probably an after-effect of being struck by lightning, he mused.

    Looking down at himself, Zu An noticed that he was not dressed in his usual clothing, and his limbs were slimmer than he remembered them to be. A terrifying thought sprang into his mind. He hurriedly pulled open his pants and took a peek inside... A heart-wrenching shriek of agony ensued.

    ¡°Aww, FUUUUUCK!¡±

    Where should have been a ¡®giant roc¡¯ had been reced by a ¡®tiny chick¡¯. No man could withstand the mental anguish of that.

    A sudden hush fell among the onlookers, and they hurriedly stepped aside to open up a pathway for an approaching figure. Some nervously lowered their heads and snuck secret nces at the new arrival.

    Zu An subconsciously turned to look as well, and it finally dawned on him why the crowd was reacting in such a manner.

    A woman dressed in white was walking serenely towards him.

    Her eyes were clear, and her skin was snowy-white. Her perfectly shaped eyebrows looked like the masterpiece of a skilled artist. A gentle breeze seemed to apany her every step, rustling the hem of her white dress and fluttering her beautiful ck hair. A pale blue belt encircled her slender, willowy waist. She drifted towards him like an ephemeral fairy maiden amidst the clouds.

    HOLY SHIT! Zu An floundered for the right words to properly describe this immacte beauty before him, only to fail miserably. He cursed himself for not studying harder at school.

    The woman came to a halt right before him and gazed down. Zu An feebly crawled to his feet and said, ¡°Hey, babe. Do you have a boyfriend? If you do, would you consider dropping him for me? Otherwise, I¡¯m perfectly fine with being your secret lover too?¡±

    Displeasure clouded the woman¡¯s face. She uttered coldly, ¡°It¡¯s only been a few hours since our wedding, Zu An, and you suddenly can¡¯t recognize me anymore?¡±

    Wu-wu-wuuuh?! Zu An was speechless. The beautiful woman before me, who looks so perfect that she could havee out of a portrait, is actually this poor bastard¡¯s wife? Not to mention, this poor bastard who had been killed by lightning was also named Zu An?

    This revtion suddenly brought a flood of information into his mind, which felt familiar yet foreign.

    It felt familiar because this world was very simr to that of ancient China, sharing a simrnguage and culture. But at the same time, it felt foreign because this was a world of cultivation, a world where people could reach incredible heights of strength, bing mighty enough to cleave entire seas with a sh of their swords, or leap beyond the horizon in a single bound.

    It wasn¡¯t exactly the same as the world of the Xianxia cultivation novels he had read. In this world, power was mostly concentrated in the hands of the royal court. The stronger one was, the greater power and authority one would be able to amass.

    Thisnd was known as that of the Zhou Dynasty, and its current emperor was one of the most powerful cultivators in thend.

    The Zhou Dynasty was an iparably flourishing one, and it hadsted far longer than any of ancient China¡¯s dynasties. The highest-ranking princes and kings of the Dynasty were scattered throughout thends, and below them were the dukes, the marquesses, the counts, the viscounts, and the barons. These nobles all had their own fiefdoms and private armies, and they jointly supervised their assigned territory alongside officials appointed by the imperial court.

    The city Zu An was currently in, Brightmoon City, was the fiefdom of the Brightmoon Duke, also known as Chu Zhongtian.

    His body¡¯s previous owner was also named Zu An. He had been an orphan raised by an uncle, and he was notorious in the city for being a young ne¡¯er-do-well. He had been untalented in both learning and cultivation, but had incredibly lofty dreams that vastly surpassed his reach. This fatalbination had purportedly enraged his uncle so much that the old man had died of anger.

    But not too long ago, something improbable happened. This wastrel had somehow caught the attention of the eldest daughter of the Brightmoon Duke, the ¡®princess¡¯ of Brightmoon City. He had been summoned to the Chu Estate to be the duke¡¯s son-inw.

    How could such a wastrel be worthy of the noble Chu First Miss, who possessed such iparable beauty? Virtually everyone who heard this news shared the same thought: Even I would have been a better choice than him!

    The beautiful woman clothed in white standing before him was none other than the First Miss of the Chu n, Chu Chuyan.

    Thankfully, Zu An managed to think on his feet when faced with her reproving question. Smiling, he reached out to hug her by the waist. ¡°I knew you¡¯d be heart-broken to see me like this, so I thought I¡¯d tell a little joke to ease the tension.¡±

    Since he had apparently been transmigrated into the body of this other Zu An of this parallel dimension, it meant thisdy was now his wife! Thankfully she was not hideously ugly, or else he wouldn¡¯t have been so eager to ept her.

    Chu Chuyan turned smoothly and stepped aside, avoiding his grasping ws. ¡°Heart-broken? Over you?¡± Her calm voice had a cold edge to it.

    Zu An brushed it off, thinking that she was simply too shy to behave intimately with him in public. He chased after her hurriedly, wanting to take this opportunity to leave a positive impression on her.

    Unexpectedly, a figure leapt out to bar his path. Zu An blinked in surprise. A young woman dressed in green robes stood in his way. She had t bangs, an exquisite coiffed ponytail, and was willowy. In fact, her waist was so dangerously slender that it was without a doubt the most alluring part of her.

    Before Zu An could sing praises for her beauty, she cut him off acidly. ¡°Have you forgotten your ce? You know the rules, get back in line.¡±

    Zu An scanned his memories. Ah, right. This young woman was Miss Chu¡¯s personal maidservant, Snow. How dare a serving wench like you speak to her master like this?

    His thoughts were interrupted by whispersing from the bystanders.

    ¡°So that¡¯s the eldest daughter of the Chu n? There really are no words to describe her beauty.¡±

    ¡°Even her maid is gorgeous!¡±

    ¡°So that guy who was hit by lightning really is the cowardly son-inw of the Chu n? How the hell did he pull this off?¡±

    ¡°Everyone in the city knows that he¡¯s just mooching off his wife at the Chu n. Look, even the maid despises him!¡±

    Zu An was incredulous. Cowardly son-inw?! An odd look crept over his face. It looked like his previous self wasn¡¯t doing very well in this world. Still, he wasn¡¯t too concerned. So what if I¡¯m ady-moocher? Mooching requires talent as well! All of you guys want to mooch like me, you just don¡¯t have the skills to do so!

    Leaving him behind, Chu Chuyan quickly boarded a carriage. Zu An tried to follow her in, but the maidservant Snow stopped him with a glower. The other servants seemed ustomed to this. Not paying any heed to him at all, the coach immediately began driving the carriage off.

    Rage bubbled within Zu An. Look,dy, your husband just got hit by lightning, and he¡¯s feeling pretty weak right now. At the very least, you shouldn¡¯t be forcing me to walk back, right? And so, throwing caution to the wind, he charged toward the carriage and scurried right in.

    The carriage was filled with a faint yet mesmerizing scent. Chu Chuyan looked up from her book, startled to see him suddenly barge in. In the past, he had always obediently stayed outside! She stared at him in bewilderment for a moment there, not knowing what to do.

    Just as Zu An was about to speak, the title of her book caught his eye: [Sweet Pampered Wife: Dominating Sword Immortal¡¯s Ny-Nine Days of Searching For Love]. He blinked. [1]

    In a heartbeat, Snow furiously charged in after him. ¡°Ugh, I swear, you...¡±

    Chu Chuyan quickly hid the book inside her sleeves, a tinge of pink suffusing her wless face. ¡°Forget it, Snow. Just let him stay inside.¡±

    Snow red at Zu An before storming out to sit at the front of the carriage.

    ¡°Did you... see something just now?¡± Chu Chuyan¡¯s eyes shed dangerously.

    Zu An hurriedly shook his head. ¡°I didn¡¯t see a thing!¡± So this world has pulpy romance fiction? And the names are just as shameless as the sappy romance novels back on Earth. He had not expected an ice princess like her to favor such steamy novels.

    He could tell, however, that she didn¡¯t believe him. Frightened that she might kill him to cover up her secret, Zu An hurriedly changed the subject. ¡°Sweetheart, have you heard of an ¡®Unknowable Region¡¯? Which one is closest to our home?¡±

    Her eyes widened noticeably. ¡°Where did you learn of this phrase, ¡®Unknowable Region¡¯?¡± Outside the carriage, a crafty look shed acrossSnow¡¯s eyes as well, but she hurriedly lowered her head to disguise it.

    Zu An replied almost casually, ¡°I heard someone mention it.¡±

    ¡°Impossible!¡± Chu Chuyan frowned. ¡°There¡¯s no way that an ordinary person would¡¯ve even heard of this phrase.¡±

    1. This is a Xianxia version of the female romance webnovels girls like to read these days...

 Chapter 2: Murderous Ploy

    <h4>Chapter 2: Murderous Ploy</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Noticing Zu An¡¯s confusion, Chu Chuyan replied slowly, ¡°I don¡¯t care where you heard this phrase from. In the future, do not ask any questions regarding this. Otherwise, you¡¯ll get yourself killed.¡±

    Zu An was exasperated. Goddamnit. Looks like these Unknowable Regions are gonna be trouble. He paused. That means this darned keyboard is trolling me! If even asking about it is going to get me killed, how am I supposed to get some ¡®secret manuals¡¯ from these ces to unlock the functions?

    He took a deep breath. Ah, forget it. Even if I don¡¯t get a special ability from the start, so what? To start this transmigration with such a hot wife is a stroke of decent luck. I¡¯ll work everything else out.

    The huge difference in status between him and his wife did not overly worry him. This was amon theme in many of the webnovels he had read before, and he knew he could borrow the techniques used by male leads such as Xiang Shaolong[1], Wei Xiaobao[2], or Song Qingshu[3]. Even if you are a cier, I¡¯m sure I can melt you.

    Just imagining how he had shared a bed with this fairy-like beauty the previous night was enough to get his heart pumping. Woah, boy. Calm down, and wipe that drool. Keep it cool.

    Zu An stopped asking questions so as to avoid arousing any suspicions. His wife clearly had no interest in further conversation, so he looked out the window to gaze at the surroundings instead.

    After a short while, city walls appeared in the distance. By the standards of ancient China, the city of him before him was indubitably a major one.

    While he was entering through the city gates, he noticed a massive que hanging above calligraphed with the name of the city - Brightmoon City. I should find a chance to buy a map and see where this city is located in the empire, he mused to himself. Even such basic information was beyond the knowledge of the original owner of this body. He was truly a good-for-nothing.

    He continued to study the city streets. Although they couldn¡¯tpare to any modern city center, the streets still bustled with activity, brimming with people and merchants. What surprised him the most, however, was that the carriage wasn¡¯t jolted by bumps at all. It raced through the streets as smoothly as the finest of cars back in the modern world.

    His eyes were soon drawn to some faint blue lines flowing through the interior of the carriage. It almost looked like a series of electric circuits. Is this one of the legendary ¡®formations¡¯? They¡¯re using a formation on a carriage? That¡¯s pretty extravagant.

    After some time, they arrived at arge estate that had two giant stone sculptures towering at its entrance. He wasn¡¯t sure what creatures these sculptures depicted; they looked like a crossbreed between a tiger and a lion, and they radiated a strange aura of power.

    The carriage came to a halt. Chu Chuyan stepped out of the carriage and walked gracefully through the gates, her white dress flowing behind her.

    Zu An took a quick nce at his surroundings. He saw a card with the words ¡®Chu Estate¡¯ located above the gates and muttered under his breath. Eeesh! Does this guy¡¯s life suck so much that he lives with his wife¡¯s family? So he married into her family, rather than the reverse? No wonder everyone makes fun of him!

    He began to stride forward, only to be blocked by Snow once more. ¡°Don¡¯t even think about entering through the main gates. Off to the side gates with you!¡±

    Zu An blinked. ¡°Why can¡¯t I go through the main gates?¡±

    Snow pursed her lips. ¡°The main gates are for the Chu nsmen to pass through. How could a drafted son-inw like you qualify? You¡¯d sully the n gates.¡±[ref]This is a very Chinese concept. Traditionally, when a man marries a wife, he ¡®takes¡¯ her from her maiden home and makes her a member of his own n. The reverse is generally considered incredibly shameful and reflective of a vast social gap between the two.[/ref]

    Zu An gave her a cool look. ¡°You¡¯ve got a pretty nasty mouth. I bet your boyfriend has a bad case of herpes.¡±

    Snow might not know what this meant, but she could easily tell that it was an insult. Furious, she grabbed him by the shirt and moved as though she was going to strike him. Before her fist could connect, Zu An copsed to the ground, screaming in mock pain.

    I... didn¡¯t even hit him yet? Snow looked on, stupefied. Clearly, ¡®flopping¡¯ wasn¡¯t a thing in this world.

    Chu Chuyan turned around to re at her. ¡°You are too impudent. No matter what, he¡¯s still the son-inw of the Chu n. In the future, you are not to treat him this way.¡±

    Snow felt wronged, but she didn¡¯t dare to argue. ¡°Understood.¡±

    Chu Chuyan nced at Zu An. ¡°Can you get up now?¡±

    Zu An mbered quickly to his feet, then said with a cheeky grin, ¡°I knew you cared about me.¡±

    Chu Chuyan frowned, subconsciously taking a step away from him to put some distance between them. She turned and began to walk inside. Her voice floated back, ¡°Father and Mother are waiting inside. Stop wasting time.¡±

    ¡°Just think about what you didst night! And now, you¡¯re pretending like nothing happened? Shameless! I¡¯m eager to see what Master and Madam are gonna do to you!¡± Snow stared daggers at him, then whirled around and followed her young mistress.

    Snow¡¯s words jogged Zu An¡¯s memory, and he recalled the conversation he had overheard earlier. Apparently, the previous Zu An had mbered into his sister-inw¡¯s bedst night? Oh, god. Apparently I¡¯m starting this game on hell difficulty!

    Quickly considering his options, he grabbed his head and whined, ¡°My head hurts!¡± before toppling towards the two women... Unfortunately, both stepped nimbly aside, leaving him to crash unceremoniously to the ground.

    This stunt left Zu An in unbearable agony, but he didn¡¯t dare cry out. Clearly, the same trick wasn¡¯t going to work twice. The people here clearly aren¡¯t gullible. They catch on quickly!

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you catch him?¡± Chu Chuyan nced at Snow in irritation.

    Snow¡¯s little mouth twitched. ¡°You didn¡¯t catch him either, young miss. Besides, I¡¯m pretty sure he¡¯s faking it.¡±

    Chu Chuyan spared a nce at the fallen Zu An, then said, ¡°I heard he was hit by lightning today. Perhaps he really is injured. Take him back and let him get some rest. Give him a bath as well. I¡¯ll let my parents know.¡± With that, she walked away gracefully from the courtyard.

    There was nothing Snow could do but arrange for two manservants to bring over a litter to carry Zu An away.

    Meanwhile, Zu Any on the litter, feeling rather puzzled. He had apparently mbered into his sister-inw¡¯s bed on his wedding night, but Chu Chuyan didn¡¯t reprove him for it at all. In fact, she hadn¡¯t even looked angry. Is her little sister adopted? He mused, his thoughts rather impure.

    They entered through a doorway and made their way down a long and winding pathway. They passed by a rock garden before finally reaching a pavilion. As they reached the pavilion Snow abruptly said, ¡°Put him here for now. Let¡¯s go get a few buckets of water so he can bathe himself.¡±

    Zu An waited for the footsteps of Snow and the servants to fade in the distance before stealthily opening his eyes. He had been ced within a gazebo next to a small pond. Seeing nobody nearby, he mbered to his feet. He peered at his reflection in the water, only to see that his hair waspletely tousled and his face was scorched ck. No wonder my freebie wife looked so disgusted when she saw me!

    Out of nowhere, a surge of power mmed against him from behind, propelling him straight into the pond.

    ¡°Heeeelp! HEEELP!¡±

    In truth, Zu An had swum in rivers ever since he was young, so there was no way he could possibly drown in a small pond like this. However, he was fairly certain that someone had just kicked him into the water. He didn¡¯t know what was going on, so he feigned drowning to buy himself some time.

    As he sshed around, he could vaguely make out a willowy form standing by the side of the water, smiling coldly at him. Zu An was perturbed. Why does Snow want to kill me? Is this some sort of scheme that my freebie wife concocted with an illicit lover? Or did the Chu n, shamed by what happened, decide to use an ¡®ident¡¯ to dispose of this son-inw of theirs?

    Multiple possibilities spun around in his mind. He decided to take his ruse all the way, going limp and floating to the surface of the water as if he had truly drowned.

    This seemed to surprise Snow. ¡°He¡¯s dead already? He got off easy,¡± she chirped. She tossed out a ribbon from within her sleeves and hooked it around the ¡®corpse¡¯ floating in the pond.

    Zu An was startled. So this little wench knows martial arts? I should be more cautious of her then.

    Snow squatted down by the water, reaching out towards his neck to check his pulse. Right at that moment, the ¡®dead¡¯ Zu An opened his eyes and sted a mouthful of water into Snow¡¯s face. As Snow instinctively closed her eyes, he pulled her toward him, dragging her down into the water with him.

    Snow knew instantly that she had fallen into a trap. She subconsciously began to circte her ki, intending to beat him up, but as soon as she opened her mouth, she swallowed arge mouthful of water.

    Garg. Garg. This was an era where few knew how to swim. Snow might be well-versed in martial arts, but swimming was beyond the scope of her abilities. In just a few seconds, she had already choked down many mouthfuls of water. She struggled desperately to pull herself back to shore, but there was nothing within her reach.

    Panicked, she flicked her wrist and sent out another white ribbon. It wrapped around a pole near the water¡¯s edge. Just as she was about to use it to pull herself back ontond, Zu Antched onto her with all four of his limbs, grappling onto her like an octopus. It made it impossible for her to exert any strength.

    Snow¡¯s face burned with humiliation and anger as she felt Zu An press himself even more tightly against her body. She struggled frantically, but Zu An¡¯s swimming abilities were just too much. With his prey firmly in his grasp, he sank deeper and deeper into the water. Snow felt her vision grow hazy as she continued to gulp in more water.

    Zu An sensed her struggling fade.. Guess that¡¯s about it. He released her and dragged her back onto drynd.

    Her eyes were shut, though her eyelids were quivering. She had an elegant nose and cherry-red lips. She possessed a delicate beauty... but she had a viper¡¯s tongue and a vicious heart too. It¡¯d be wonderful if she was a mute.

    ¡°So, what should I do now?¡± Zu An mused, quickly running through the possibilities. Someone in this estate wanted to kill him. Staying here was too dangerous. But, if he was to run away... even if he somehow made it through the great gates of the estate, he would be penniless. Not to mention, hecked knowledge about this world too. He¡¯d probably starve to death in days.

    Moreover, considering the shameful acts ¡®he¡¯ had just carried out yesterday, if he actually killed someone today, he would surely be hunted down as a criminal.

    Wait a sec. If someone was trying to make my death look like an ident, it would mean that they are afraid of openly killing me... Fine. I¡¯ll take this gamble.

    He pressed his ear against Snow¡¯s chest. There¡¯s no heartbeat! Aghast, he decided to use CPR to try and bring her back to life.

    As he loosened her robes, arge amount of candied fruits and nuts and other snacks fell out. He was stupefied. ¡°She eats a lot. How the hell is she so skinny?¡± But there was no time for pondering this question. He ced both hands against her chest and began pumping vigorously.

    Even after twenty chestpressions, Snow showed no signs of life. Just as he was about to try mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, an icy voice called out from behind him, ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    Zu An looked back, only to see Chu Chuyan standing nearby, her face cold as winter. He subconsciously looked down at Snow. Her hair was tousled, her dress was open, her undergarments and her pale skin were vaguely exposed... and his hands were pressed upon her chest.

    ¡°Uh... would you believe me if I said I was trying to rescue her?¡± Zu An said seriously. At the same time, he subconsciously pumped her chest again.

    Chu Chuyan walked over, a serene look on her face. ¡°Move aside.¡± She took a moment to examine Snow¡¯s condition before swiftly tapping several points on her body, her fingers moving like a blur.

    Zu An rubbed his eyes in disbelief. Sweet mother of god.So my freebie wife is also a kungfu master?! But it made sense, since even a maid like Snow knew martial arts. So. Is my freebie wife the one who wants me dead?

    ¡°Wifey dearest, how good is your kungfu?¡± Zu An probed.

    rgh. Before Chu Chuyan could answer, Snow convulsed, coughing up mouthfuls of water. Clearly, she had been saved. Chu Chuyan gently patted her on the back before turning around to fix Zu An with a frigid stare. ¡°What did you just call me?¡±

    ¡°Uh, sweetheart?¡± Zu An mentally shuddered and hurriedly changed the way he addressed her.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s gaze cooled further. She said tly, ¡°As I told you before our marriage, you may only address me as Miss Chu or as Chuyan. In the future, do not refer to me with those two terms you just used.¡±

    ¡°Got it, sweetheart!¡± Zu An assented immediately. ¡°So, how strong is your kungfu? What¡¯s your world ranking?¡±

    ¡°Kungfu? You must mean cultivation.¡± Chu Chuyan frowned slightly, but she still answered the question. ¡°The world is a vast ce. No matter how strong you are, there is always someone stronger; there is always a heaven beyond the heavens. How could I possibly know what my ¡®ranking¡¯ is?¡±

    Zu An mumbled, ¡°Guess that means you suck.¡±

    Chu Chuyan took a deep breath, but before she could reply, Zu An pressed on, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, though! We¡¯re family now, so I won¡¯t look down at you. How about this? Why don¡¯t you teach me some martial arts. Do you know any mysterious techniques that could allow someone to aplish in one year what takes normal people ten? Or maybe an ultimate attack that can be quickly mastered?¡± That¡¯s how these stories are supposed to go, right?

    Clearly, someone in the estate wanted him dead. He felt like danger was lurking in every corner, which made it necessary for him to quickly raise his strength so that he could protect himself. Moreover, some knowledge of martial arts would greatly aid him in exploring the Unknowable Regions in the future.

    ¡°There are no such techniques,¡± Chu Chuyan said dismissively. ¡°And even if there were, you wouldn¡¯t be able to master them.¡±

    ¡°Impossible!¡± Zu An leapt to his feet. ¡°I¡¯m sure I¡¯m a one-in-a-million talent. How could someone like me be unable to master your techniques? I bet you just don¡¯t want to teach me.¡±

    Chu Chuyan replied, ¡°All cultivators in the world begin tempering their body from a young age. This process requires arge amount of elementum. After reaching adulthood, your body would have fully matured, and there would be no point in wasting resources on it. Your talent is just barely a lower Ding, a lower fourth-ss. Even if you had begun training in your youth, there would still be no hope.¡± She slightly shook her head.

    What the hell is a lower Ding? He knew right away that it wasn¡¯t a high standard, but Zu An brushed it off. All the MC¡¯s in cultivation stories start off at the trash level, right? They just need to find suitable training techniques. For that matter, this was a good sign; from a certain perspective, starting off as trash tier meant he had already fulfilled half of the prerequisites for bing the main character.

    Snow was beginning to wake up, so Chu Chuyan immediately dismissed Zu An¡¯s presence. ¡°Snow, what happened just now?¡±

    1. The protagonist in Huang Yi¡¯s wuxia novel ¡®A Step Into the Past¡¯.

    2. The protagonist in Jinyong¡¯s wuxia novel ¡®Duke of Mount Deer¡¯.

    3. The protagonist in Jinyong¡¯s wuxia novel ¡®Duke of Mount Deer¡¯.

 Chapter 3: Lightning From Nowhere

    <h4>Chapter 3: Lightning From Nowhere</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Snow opened her mouth to speak, but Zu An cut her off hastily. ¡°The truth is, I tripped and fell into the pool. Snow tried to save me, but she identally slipped and fell in as well. Thankfully, I can swim a little and was just barely able to save her.¡±

    I have no clue who wants me dead. It¡¯s better to maintain the facade for now, until I figure out what the hell is going on.

    Snow¡¯s face turned livid with rage, but she couldn¡¯t squeeze out a rebuttal.

    ¡°Is that really what happened?¡± Chu Chuyan turned to Snow. ¡°You are soaking wet. Go clean up and change your clothes, thene eat with us.¡±

    After saying her piece, she drifted off gracefully without another word. Zu An resisted the urge to drop a sarcastic remark. She floats around everywhere in white robes, as if her feet aren¡¯t even touching the ground. If I saw her at night, I¡¯d swear she was a damned ghost.

    His attention was soon captured by another problem at hand. ¡°Snow, where can we wash up? Shall we go together?¡±

    ¡°Piss off!¡± Snow snapped. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that I¡¯m indecently attired right now, I swear I¡¯d beat this idiot up so bad that even his own mother wouldn¡¯t recognize him. She cast a mournful look at her snacks scattered across the ground before stamping her feet and storming off.

    Fortunately, Chu Chuyan had sent a servant to guide Zu An. He was brought to a room where he bathed and changed his clothes. Now that he was finally clean, Zu An walked up to the mirror in the room and scrutinized himself in it. Despite being much skinnier, he looked more or less simr to his old self. He sighed in satisfaction, ¡°Still a handsome devil. I might not be a match for Pan An, but I¡¯m still a smidge better than Ximen Qing.¡±[1]

    He was looking forward to sharing a meal with his freebie wife, but she simply had some servants deliver his food to him.

    ¡°What the hell, man? Am I a prisoner or something?¡± It dawned on Zu An that the position of a drafted son-inw was even lower than he had imagined. Apparently he wasn¡¯t even worthy of joining them at the table for meals!

    ¡°I refuse to be treated like a beggar!¡± Zu An couldn¡¯t fathom why the previous owner of this body had been willing to endure such insults. He shoved the dishes aside in a huff, but the aroma of food was overpowering. It didn¡¯t take long for his stomach to protest angrily.

    Zu An hesitated. In the end, he decided that a man should be flexible and know when to bow down. Thus, he pulled the dishes back toward him and began devouring them ravenously. I gotta say, this chef is pretty damn good.

    Satisfied, Zu An began to ponder how he was supposed to survive in this world.

    He rummaged around the room for some paper, then wrote ¡®Tips for Surviving Transmigration¡¯ at the top of a nk page.

    His mind began dredging up various bits of information from the many webnovels he had enjoyed in the past, but it didn¡¯t take long for him to drift off into fantasies about having aputer, the sensations of ying mobile games on his iPhone, the joy of trolling the hell out of people on inte forums...

    Before he knew it, the sky had turned dark. Wait a second. What was I nning to do earlier? He stared at the empty sheet before him with twitching eyelids before crumpling it into a ball and tossing it away. I¡¯ll go outside for a stroll. Let¡¯s see if I can learn anything about this world.

    Clearly, the previous owner of this body had lived a miserable life in this world. I am, by nature, a kind and helpful person. I need to help this dead guy get his own back and raise his status.

    With the help of his silver tongue, he was able to glean the location of Chu Chuyan¡¯s residence from some servants. As he approached her chambers, Snow¡¯s voice sounded from within. ¡°Miss, do you want to eat some sunflower seeds?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll pass. You shouldn¡¯t eat too many either. You might just end up cracking your teeth.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re scaring me again, young miss! Which reminds me. That guy¡¯s bing increasingly hard to handle. He used to be fine, but he seemed... off, today.¡±

    ¡°Yes, he does seem different today,¡± Chu Chuyan agreed. Zu An was a bit anxious to hear that, but she quickly continued, ¡°It might be due to the lightning strike. Could it have messed his mind up?¡±

    Snow guffawed loudly, arms wrapped around her belly. As Zu An stood outside, speechless, he heard herughter die down, and she cut off abruptly with a snort. ¡°Young miss, why haven¡¯t you confronted him over what happenedst night?¡±

    Chu Chuyan said calmly, ¡°The events ofst night were quite bizarre. I¡¯ll discuss it with Mother and Father tomorrow before I decide what to do.¡±

    Zu An was delighted. It seems my freebie wife is quite clever. It seems I won¡¯t have to employ too many of those tired old tropes I saw in the tv series.

    ¡°You¡¯re letting him off too easily,¡± Snow muttered. ¡°Why didn¡¯t the lightning just kill him? You wouldn¡¯t have to waste your time with that piece of trash that way, young miss!¡±

    Chu Chuyan rebuked her. ¡°Don¡¯t say such things in the future.¡±

    For some reason, perhaps because Chu Chuyan hadn¡¯t mentioned what had happened by the pond, Zu An began to think that perhaps his freebie wife had nothing to do with the scheme against him after all. Wait. The hotter a woman is, the better she is at lying. I can¡¯t let my guard down.

    Still, Zu An could feel his temper rising as Snow prattled on and on, continuously insulting him. Enough is enough! He kicked the door open.

    Chu Chuyan was startled. ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s dark, so what else can I possibly be doing? I¡¯m going to bed, of course.¡± Zu An shot Snow a hard re. Surely there is some substance in this world I can force her to take that will make her lose her voice forever. We¡¯ll see how you¡¯ll talk shit about me then!

    Chu Chuyan bristled. ¡°Then why have youe here?¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it natural for husband and wife to sleep together?¡± Zu An replied casually as he sauntered into the bedroom.

    ¡°EEEEEEEP!¡± A miserable shriek echoed through the estate as Zu An was unceremoniously kicked out of the room.

    Delighting in his misfortune, Snow gloated, ¡°Jackass Zu, why don¡¯t you take a piss on the ground then stare at your own reflection in it? You seem to have forgotten who you are, if you think you can get close to our young miss!¡±

    To her surprise, instead of shame or rage, Zu An¡¯s face bore an amused smile.

    As I expected. Judging from his earlier interactions with Chu Chuyan, Zu An was fairly certain that they had never consummated their marriage. He had nned this little scene to test his theory, and the confirmation he had just received pleased him. It meant that he could start from scratch with this freebie wife of his.

    ¡°Did that bolt of lightning really fry your brains?¡± Snow was perplexed. He wasn¡¯t reacting the way she expected him to, and this soured her mood further.

    Realizing he was in danger of giving the game away, Zu An hurriedly wiped the smile off his face and put on an aggrieved, heartbroken look. ¡°Such injustice! I¡¯ve never heard of a wife who refuses to sleep with her husband!¡±

    ¡°Shut your mouth!¡± Chu Chuyan¡¯s face was bright red. With a wave of her sleeves, she shut the main door to her chambers. She could not let everyone in the estate hear his miserable howls.

    Zu An continued his wailing. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to sleep with me, then why did you marry me? Tomorrow, I¡¯m going to start a ruckus in the streets. I¡¯ll muster a troop of drummers and announce the truth to everyone! We¡¯ll see if the Chu n loses face, or if I do!¡±

    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t dare!¡± Chu Chuyan stood swiftly, a dangerous glint in her eyes. An imposing rippled from her body.

    Zu An sniffed. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I? My reputation is already in tatters anyway. Besides, isn¡¯t this what you want as well? To let the other rich young masters know that you are pure and unsullied...¡±

    Chu Chuyan took in a deep breath before ring at Zu An sharply. ¡°You really want to sleep with me?¡±

    ¡°Hell yeah I do!¡± Zu An said excitedly. What was wrong with this silly girl? Of course I do! He wasn¡¯t going to pass up this golden opportunity. As Eileen Chang once wrote, the best way to a woman¡¯s heart was through her... ahem. Anyway, rice, once cooked, cannot no longer be uncooked.[2]

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll let Snow apany you tonight,¡± replied Chu Chuyan calmly.

    Snow had been looking on gleefully, munching on melon seeds. At her young miss¡¯ pronouncement, however, the seeds turned to ashes in her mouth. What the hell? ¡°But young miss!¡±

    Chu Chuyan nced at her with amusement in her gaze. ¡°His hands have already been all over you today, when he saved your life. Besides, this is part of the responsibilities of any live-in maidservant. Are you unwilling?¡±

    Snow met her gaze and shuddered, not daring to reply. She means what she says. She bit her lips tightly, tears welling up in her eyes.

    Zu An stood there, stupefied. What nonsense is this? Shoving another woman into your own husband¡¯s bed? Then again, Snow tried to kill me during the day. Let¡¯s y along and see what their rtionship is exactly. He lowered himself to the bed. ¡°My dear Snow,e hither and help me disrobe.¡±

    Chu Chuyan wrinkled her brows slightly. This fellow was much more shameless than she had imagined.

    Snow cast a pitiful nce towards Chu Chuyan, but the young miss leisurely picked up a book to read, ignoring her. If Zu An had been closer, the title of the book would have been familiar to him - he had seen her reading this exact book earlier.

    Seeing the young miss¡¯ indifference, Snow gave into despair. She reluctantly approached Zu An, skewering him with a vicious stare. Steeling herself, she muttered, ¡°Get on with it, if you must! I¡¯ll just pretend like I¡¯m being bitten by a dog.¡± Her eyes glittered, dangerous yet uncertain, as she felt for a slender needle hidden within her hair.

    Chu Chuyan peeked over the book she had been ¡®reading¡¯, studying Snow discreetly.

    Even Zu An was beginning to feel queasy. I just wanted to y along and see what you guys are up to, but now I¡¯m not so sure. Should I go all-in?

    He turned it over in his mind, then made a decision. Screw it. If you women aren¡¯t embarrassed, why the hell should I be? Y¡¯all want to y games? Fine, I¡¯ll y to the end. Let¡¯s see who breaks first! He grinned lecherously as he pounced atop Snow.

    After what seemed like an eternity, an agonized howl rang out from the bedsheets.

    ¡°NO FUCKIN¡¯ WAY!¡±

    Zu An stared down at hisher regions in utter disbelief, still as a statue. Chu Chuyan peered at him, only to quickly avert her gaze. Her face swiftly reddened as pity flickered in her eyes.

    Snow, however, having just been granted a reprieve from execution, wasn¡¯t as kind. She put away her hidden weapons and dressed herself before mocking Zu An mercilessly. ¡°I used to think you were just a useless man... but now, I realize that I still thought too highly of you! It turns out you aren¡¯t even a man at all! Gosh, I¡¯m going to die ofughter!¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t even have the presence of mind to argue with her. His eyes brimmed with tears as he turned and slowly left Chu Chuyan¡¯s chambers, his footsteps heavy. This blow was simply too much for him. Anything else, he could deal with, but if he couldn¡¯t perform in bed with a woman, what was the point of it all?! His life¡¯s goal wasn¡¯t to be Sima Qian! [3]

    He wandered aimlessly for a time, until he came upon a crooked tree. Mechanically, he took off his belt, then hung it around a branch, having decided to just end it all. Who knows, maybe if I die I¡¯ll transmigrate back to my own world.

    A hoarse, aged voice snapped him out of his funk. ¡°Your manhood has simply been affected by a unique sealing spell. It isn¡¯tpletely hopeless.¡±

    Zu An looked around and saw an old man standing stooped over beside him, carrying a hoe. The old man¡¯s face was covered with countless wrinkles, and he seemed so frail that a strong gust of wind could blow him down.

    More memories surfaced in his mind. He vaguely remembered this old man as the servant responsible for cleaning the flower gardens. He rarely spoke and always kept to himself, and was either ignored or bullied by everyone in the estate. Everyone referred to him as ¡®Old Mi¡¯.

    The previous owner of Zu An¡¯s body had been sympathetic towards Old Mi, as they were both simrly mistreated, and so, he had secretly given Old Mi some desserts before. This was why the current Zu An had some vague memories of him.

    However, such details were irrelevant now. The only thing that mattered was what he had just said. ¡°Sealed? Who put a sealing spell on me?¡± Could it be Chu Chuyan? But judging from her earlier behavior, it doesn¡¯t seem to be the case.

    Old Mi shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know either. I imagine it was ced on you when you were very young.¡±

    ¡°Elder, do you know a way to unseal it?¡± Zu An grabbed the old man eagerly by the arm. After having read so many webnovels, he knew that this was no ordinary old man. Countless possibilities flooded his mind. I know this trope! He must be a retired but badass grandpa who, for various reasons, had to discard his former fame and secrete himself within the Chu n as an ordinary gardener.

    He was going totch onto this person firmly! There was no way he was going to let this opportunity go to waste!

    1. These are legendary yboys in Chinese history, their names are used sort of like how we would say Casanova or Adonis.

    2. Eileen Chang was a Chinese American author who wrote many famous novels like ¡®Lust, Caution¡¯.

    3. Sima Qian is considered to be China¡¯s foremost historian. He offended the emperor but in lieu of the death penalty, chose to let himself to be a eunuch so that he couldplete his great ambitions of writing a full history of pre-Han dynasty China.

 Chapter 4: The First Secret Manual

    <h4>Chapter 4: The First Secret Manual</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Of course I do.¡± Old Mi stroked his beard gently, but he inexplicably pulled out several strands of it. He tucked them quickly into his sleeves, his eyes turning cold.

    ¡°What¡¯s the method?¡± Zu An was so anxious that he didn¡¯t notice this minor detail.

    Old Mi looked at him sharply and said, ¡°The seal is located in a sensitive area which is extremely fragile. Dispersing it with an external force could easily result in internal damage. You have to rely on your own power to dissolve it. Once you reach the Master rank of cultivation and your ki bes spiritual, you¡¯ll naturally have the ability to unseal it.¡±

    ¡°Master rank? What is that?¡± Zu An stared nkly at Old Mi.

    Old Mi frowned. ¡°You don¡¯t even know such rudimentary concepts? No wonder everyone considers you useless.¡±

    Old Mi began to exin, allowing Zu An to understand the cultivation ranks of this world. The vast majority of cultivators were graded across nine ranks.

    Cultivators of the first rank would learn to use unique breathing techniques to harmonize with the natural world, drawing elemental ki into their bodies. This signified that they had formally embarked upon the path of cultivation. The second rank involved using that ki to temper their skin, increasing the rate of ki absorption. The third rank involved tempering the flesh, while the fourth rank involved tempering the muscles. The fifth rank tempered the bones, the sixth rank tempered the marrow, the seventh rank tempered the blood, while the eighth rank tempered your internal organs and established awork of ki meridians throughout your body. The ninth rank tempered the brain and the senses, allowing the storage of raw ki.

    Once cultivators were able to unite the raw, unruly streams of ki in the body into a ki vortex, the ki would continuously strengthen their limbs and bones, allowing them to attain the rank of Master. Masters who managed to develop their spiritual perception would be able to further rise to the rank of Grandmaster and control the fates of all those beneath them.

    Above the Grandmasters stood the ¡®Earth Immortals¡¯, who could topple mountains and overturn the seas with a wave of their hand. They were like the gods of the ancient legends.

    ¡°Temper the skin, flesh, and bones? That¡¯s a rather casual way of setting up the ranks,¡± Zu An mused to himself, an odd look on his face. ¡°So whates after Earth Immortals?¡±

    ¡°After Earth Immortals?¡± Old Mi gazed at the stars with a hint of eager anticipation. ¡°It is said that one will be able to wander through the stars and gain eternal life. s, no one in all of history has ever reached this rank.¡±

    Zu An was not interested in far-flung possibilities. He quickly brought the conversation back to the most pressing topic. ¡°I¡¯ve been told that I have no talent, and I¡¯m already an adult. How can I possibly reach the Master rank?¡±

    Old Mi nced at him. ¡°It is indeed pointless for you to train in any ordinary techniques. I, however, just so happen to possess a peculiar, ancient technique that I acquired in my early days. It should suit you perfectly.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s so peculiar about it?¡± Zu An¡¯s heart tightened.

    Old Mi replied, ¡°Ordinary cultivators rely on ki stones as well as various medicines and herbs to help them absorb natural energy. They use this energy to strengthen the body by creating ki meridians throughout their bodies. With your talent though... Putting aside the fact that you are already an adult, you would only be able to attain the third rank even if you had ess to vast amounts of ki stones. No one in their right mind would waste such a rare and valuable resource on one such as you.

    ¡°But my technique is different. It is the essence of rebirth through destruction. To master it, all you need to do is to get beaten up. Repeatedly. The more badly you get beat up, the more easily you will rise through the ranks.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s head spun. ¡°Why would such a ridiculous technique even exist in this world?¡±

    Old Mi was furious. ¡°Ignorant child! This divine technique is the only technique in the world that can grant etern-... ahem.¡± He cut off abruptly and pulled himself back on track. ¡°So, do you want to train in it or not?¡±

    ¡°Yes! Of course I want to train in it!¡± At this moment, Zu An was a drowning man grasping at straw. For the sake of his pride and joy, even the most ridiculous of techniques was worth a shot. ¡°But the two of us have never even met. Why are you being so kind to me?¡±

    Old Mi let out a long sigh. ¡°The truth is, I don¡¯t have much time left. I do not wish for this technique to be buried in the dirt with me.¡±

    Zu An finally understood the situation. ¡°Elder, may I ask your venerable name? I will definitely bring this technique to new heights and uphold your reputation.¡± By now, he was convinced that ¡®Old Mi¡¯ wasn¡¯t the man¡¯s real name.

    ¡°You should continue to address me as Old Mi. Heh heh... I¡¯m d to hear those words from you. It looks like I¡¯ve chosen well.¡± Old Mi chuckled eerily. ¡°Take this book back and slowly analyze it. Seek me out if there¡¯s anything you don¡¯t understand.¡±

    Old Mi tossed him a ck scroll, then turned to leave. He struggled to hide his delight. Finally! After so many years, I¡¯ve finally found an appropriate host!

    Many years ago, he had been given a top-secret mission. He had faced death countless times before finally managing to acquire this secret manual, but he chose not to turn it in afterwards. Instead, he killed hisrades, feigned death, and hid away, training in the art in secret. s, there¡¯s no such thing as a perfect secret. The organization that had hired him had caught wind of him and was close to uncovering his location.

    He had yet to fully master this marvelous art, and so was not fully equipped to face them head-on. The best option left to him was topletely alter his identity by employing a possession-and-rebirth technique he had acquired in his youth.

    In the first ce, Old Mi¡¯s current body was frail and decrepit. He had long sought to find a new body, and the current threat facing him only intensified his need.. However, finding a suitable host was no easy task. First and foremost, his target had to be trained in the same technique as him - only then would he be able to pour his base of cultivation into the target. Second, his target had to have a yin-dominant body.

    Possession was a highly dangerous endeavor; the possessor had to find a host that matched them almost perfectly. Old Mi himself was a eunuch; if he tried to possess a forceful, yang-dominant personality, he would most likely be burned alive.

    On the other hand, he was reluctant to transfer himself into yet another eunuch. In every world, eunuchs dreamed of being full andplete men. Who would be willing to be reborn as a eunuch?

    As a result of these conflicting requirements, Old Mi had yet to find a suitable candidate - until now, when he finally encountered this useless son-inw of the Chu n. The way the child had been sealed made him equivalent to a eunuch, but he wasn¡¯t really one. Old Mi was confident of slowly repairing it once he took over the child¡¯s body.

    Just as importantly, he didn''t seem to have any real family or friends. Even if he were to be possessed, any strange new mannerisms or personality changes would most likely go unnoticed. Moreover, this person was the son-inw of the Chu n; in the future, he would have plenty of opportunities to win fortune and glory. And, he had an absolutely gorgeous wife!

    Even a eunuch like Old Mi was aroused by the thought of Chu Chuyan¡¯s beautiful visage.

    Zu An knew none of this, of course. He eyed the scroll in his hands with excitement. This was his only hope, after all. He quickly made his way back to his room, eager to examine the scroll in private.

    He could not puzzle out what the scroll was made of. It seemed to be solid gold but was somehow silken to the touch. While he was browsing through its content, a cold, mechanical voice reverberated in his mind:

    ¡°Detected: Mountain Secret Scroll - [Phoenix Nirvana Sutra]. Consume it to activate a keyboard function?¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He hadn¡¯t expected a secret manual to fall into hisp so easily. Aren¡¯t the ¡®Twelve Unknowable ces¡¯ supposed to be super-deadly and super-mysterious ces? Aren¡¯t the scrolls supposed to be almost impossible to get?

    Despite his shock, he agreed to it without hesitation.

    In a heartbeat, the keyboard appeared before his hands. The scroll transformed into a streak of golden light that was sucked into the ¡®F2¡¯ key. The runes inscribed in the key glowed with that golden light, and the keyboard came to life, its keys glowing with subtle backlighting.

    You have found your first secret manual and have activated the Rage system. Part of the lottery rewards system is now avable.

    Rage System: As a dedicated Keyboard Warrior, your noble mission is to constantly drive the people around you berserk with rage. Once you have sessfully trolled your target, the owner of the keyboard shall receive an amount of Rage pointsmensurate to how furious the target has be. Rage points can be used to purchase items, use techniques, and y the lottery...

    A holographic disy with the above text materialized on an holographic disy above the keyboard. Zu An noticed that there were several function buttons and a cursor on the disy. He was able to move the cursor over the various function buttons. The ¡®Lottery¡¯ and ¡®Shop¡¯ functions were clearly visible, but a number of other functions remained blurred out and inessible.

    For now, the ¡®Lottery¡¯ function shed insistently, while the ¡®Shop¡¯ function was grayed out. Zu An surmised that it was the next function to be unlocked.

    At the bottom of this holographic screen was something resembling an ¡®item bar¡¯ or ¡®skill bar¡¯ present in the UIs of many RPGs, but it was dishearteningly empty. At the very top of the screen, there was a short line of text:

    Current Rage Points: 0.

    Zu An was puzzled. I¡¯m sure that I just pissed Snow off so much that I almost sent her period into disarray. Why didn¡¯t I receive any Rage points for it? I guess the keyboard hadn¡¯t been activated yet.

    He moved the cursor over the ¡®Lottery¡¯ function, then hit the enter key on the keyboard. A new paragraph of words appeared on the screen.

    Each lottery ticket costs 100 Rage points. As this is your first time activating a keyboard function, you are permitted to draw three tickets for free. The drop rates for these three tickets have been greatly increased, and the specific drops will be randomized. In the future, all lottery drops will be based on the user¡¯s level. Do you wish to begin drawing your tickets? Y/N.

    Holy shit, so this is a newbie gift package? Zu An excitedly clicked on ¡®Yes¡¯. A light marker suddenly appeared on the keyboard and began randomly shing across the keys.

    Zu An watched with eager anticipation. What sort of reward woulde up? A level 999 artifact saber? An iparably powerful pet? A hot little fairy maidenpanion wouldn¡¯t be bad either...

    As he was salivating over the possibilities, he saw the light marker suddenlye to a halt on the ¡®Space¡¯ key. Three words appeared on the screen: Thanks for ying!

    ¡°?¡±

    ¡°???¡±

    ¡°??????¡±

    Zu An was dumbfounded. Didn¡¯t you say the drop rates were greatly increased? I want my Midas Touch! I want mypletely overpowered MC powerup system! After all the exciting things he had imagined, this was a real downer. This keyboard system must be theughingstock of whatever system-universe ites from!

    Do you wish to continue drawing prizes? Y/N.

    ¡°You can go straight to hell!¡± Zu An gritted his teeth. Just as he was about to push the ¡®Yes¡¯ button, a sudden thought came to his mind. He quickly ran to a basin of water and washed his face before finally drawing his second prize.

    This time, he didn¡¯t let himself get lost in wild flights of fantasy. He stared unblinkingly at the light marker, calcting how much time the light spent atop each key. It would stop the longest on the ¡®Space¡¯ key, linger a little shorter on the number keys, and flit across the letter keys at lightning speed.

    I bet the amount of time it spends on each key corresponds to how valuable the prize under that key is. Still, his expectations had been lowered significantly by the earlier dismay. Anything would be better than the spacebar!

    His prayers were seemingly answered. The light marker slowly came to a halt atop the ¡®Q¡¯ key. Something appeared on the screen, and this time it wasn¡¯t a ¡®Thank you for ying¡¯.

    Zu An was overjoyed, but his smile quickly morphed into a rictus of disgust. Why does this ¡®reward¡¯ look exactly like the steel wool pads we used for scrubbing pots in the kitchen? Is the system encouraging me to walk the path of a chef? Or perhaps the path of a transmigrant merchant?

    Hell, I used to buy those things in packs of four! Why the hell would it appear in this reward system?! Zu An was beginning to question the meaning of life itself.

    Congrattions! You have won an ¡®Heiress Ball of Delights¡¯! [1]

    1. This is based on a Chinese inte meme that supposes the existence of rich women who payrge sums of money to hire boy toys, then perform SM acts on them. One of the meme-jokes is that these rich women like to use steel wool pads to scrub their boy toys¡¯her regions. The ¡®artifacts¡¯ used to do this are jokingly referred to as a ¡®Rich Lady¡¯s Ball of Delights¡¯.

 Chapter 5: Messed-up Rewards

    <h4>Chapter 5: Messed-up Rewards</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    What the actual fu-... He knew deep down that the system was trolling him¡ªhe could almost hear its mechanicalughter ringing in his ears! His train of thought was interrupted by a new line of words that appeared on the screen next to the ball of steel wool. Holding on to hope, he leaned over to read it.

    Heiress Ball of Delights: Legends say that this artifact is capable of granting rich women unspeakable delight. s, behind this great joy lies the tremendous suffering endured by countless boy toys. Thus, a particrly clever boy toy devised this item to protect himself.

    Artifact Effect: After using this artifact, any pain inflicted upon you by a woman wealthier than you is transformed into sheer bliss. Warning ¨C this artifact does not lower the actual amount of damage you take. If a rich woman inflicts lethal damage to you, you will not die but be left with yourst sliver of health.

    Do you wish to store this item into your item bar? You can use it when you wish by hitting the ¡®Q¡¯ key.

    Oh god, stop messing with me! Zu An stared at the now-materialized ball of steel wool in his hand. He was tempted to hurl it to the ground. What the hell is this thing good for? It¡¯s almostpletely useless, and ites with a bunch of conditions for use. I¡¯m not gonna be some richdy¡¯s boy toy. How the hell am I supposed to use this?

    Stone-faced, Zu An stored the ball of steel wool into his item bar. He ran over to the basin of water and washed his face again. Still not convinced that he had washed the bad luck away, he proceeded to wash his hands vigorously as well. Only then did he draw his third reward.

    The light marker flickered across the keyboard once more as Zu An watched anxiously. ¡°Please don¡¯t be the spacebar. Please don¡¯t be the Q key...¡±

    Finally, the ball of light came to a halt atop the ¡®B¡¯ key. The cold, mechanical voice thundered, ¡°Congrattions on winning ¡®Poisonous Prick¡¯!¡±

    Zu An was so incredulous, he nearly spat out a mouthful of blood. This keyboard is absolutely lewd. What kind of messed-up reward is this? It wasn¡¯t until he saw the image of a pitch-ck dagger appear on the screen that he realised it was his own thoughts that were lewd. [1]

    Poisonous Prick: There was once a man who licked this dagger gingerly just as victory was within his grasp. That one action cost him his life. Before he died, thest thing he said was ¡®poisonous prick¡¯!

    Artifact Effect: This is a cursed dagger. Anyone injured by this dagger will perish immediately.

    Zu An let out a sigh of relief. Despite its odd name, it was essentially an incredibly powerful weapon. Of course, the biggest challenge was that he actually had to injure his foe with it first.

    After having seen how powerful Snow and Chu Chuyan were, he knew that even touching them in a real fight was next to impossible, let alone actually causing them injury. Mm. I better keep it low-key for now. Sneak attacks are the name of the game! In ¡®Duke of Mount Deer¡¯, Wei Xiaobao was able to use one sharp dagger to win the love of seven beautifuldies. I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll be able to use mine to win at least seventy.

    Wait a sec. Zu An blinked. If I identally scratch myself with it, will I die? He stared at the shiny dagger in his hand. He had an inexplicable urge to test this, but he quickly quelled the thought of using himself as a guinea pig. That¡¯d be a dumb way to die.

    Excited by his sess, Zu An tried to draw more lottery tickets, but each time, he was met with the same response: Not Enough Rage Points.

    ¡°Trolling for rage? That¡¯s easy!¡± Zu An stroked his chin as his mind turned towards Snow. He let out an evil cackle. Eeep. I¡¯mughing like I¡¯m the viin in this story. But he couldn¡¯t help himself.

    Thinking about Snow automatically brought up the embarrassing events that had transpired earlier. His face began to twitch, and his joy at acquiring a priceless treasure instantly vanished. His first and foremost priority was to repair his ¡®little Zu An¡¯.

    Wait a second. Wasn¡¯t the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra sucked into the keyboard? Zu An¡¯s face turned ashen. Was he really destined to be a eunuch? His gaze flicked instantly to the keyboard, and he saw that only the F2 key remained lit. He pressed it, and words appeared on the screen: Do you wish to train in the [Phoenix Nirvana Sutra]? Y/N.

    He hurriedly selected ¡®yes¡¯, and specks of golden light floated out from the F2 key. They nketed him, filling his body withforting warmth.

    Instant max level! C¡¯mon, instant max level! Zu An chanted repeatedly. Eventually, the golden light dissipated, and he opened his eyes. The air seemed sweeter and fresher, and the world around him looked more vibrant. Time to test this out. He hurled a full-blooded punch against the nearest stone wall.

    ¡°Ow ow ow ow ow ow!¡± Zu An nursed his hand, tears welling up in his eyes. Nothing changed at all! No, wait. Nine incrediblyplicated rune formations had appeared on various parts of his body, connected by a web of lines. However, these formations were empty in the middle.

    They glowed for a moment before seeping beneath his skin. Zu An panicked for a moment, until he noticed the runes flicker once more inside his body.

    ¡°What the hell are these things?¡± Taking a closer look, Zu An noticed golden specks floating in the center of the lowermost rune formation. He remembered what the mysterious old man had said about this unique technique. He lowered his head, staring at his bloody fist. It all made sense now.

    This bullshit technique really does require sustaining injuries to level up. Having yed countless video games in his past life, Zu An quickly recognized the simple levelling mechanic set up by this Keyboard Warrior system. All he had to do was fill up each formation with those golden specks to level-up his skill.

    As for the golden stuff? Clearly, he could only acquire it by getting beaten up.

    Well, anything is worth it for the sake of ¡®little Zu An¡¯ - I mean, for my pride and joy! Even though this is a bullshit technique, I¡¯ll still train in it. Zu An gritted his teeth and threw another punch at the wall. Although it hurt almost as badly as before, the number of golden specks within the formation did not grow. Zu An stared at his fists.

    He thought for a moment, piecing together what just happened. Unlike the first time, he had forewarning of what would happen, and thus he had subconsciously held back to protect himself. Naturally, the benefits were also reduced.

    So I can¡¯t even train using self-getion? Looks like the only choice is for someone else to beat me up. But who? Damn this all to hell! The more he thought about it, the more ridiculous it seemed, and the angrier he became.

    He spied a rat scrounging for food by his feet, and his anger ratcheted up another notch. My life really sucks. Living in this crappy ce is one thing, but living in a warren of rats?! Heshed out viciously with his foot, sending the rat sailing through a nearby window. As he was admiring his awesome ser skills, the door to the house flew open.

    ¡°Did you throw this rat?!¡± A crisp voice came through the doorway, followed by a youngdy. She was short and slender, with red lips and perfectly white teeth. Her hair was short but neatly cut, and her bangs just barely reached her eyes. Her perfectly adorable image was somewhat marred by the rat in her hand.

    Squeak! Squeak! The rat squealed and struggled vainly in vain.

    ¡°Careful, the rat might bite you,¡± Zu An warned.

    ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯m afraid of these things.¡± The young woman clenched her fist, and the rat let out one final, miserable shriek before goingpletely limp.

    Gulp. Zu An swallowed, hard. Is this really a girl? He watched as she tossed the rat¡¯s corpse aside and wiped her hand disdainfully on her dress.

    The girl then stared icily at him. ¡°I have no idea what my big sister was thinking. She brought you back but didn¡¯t punish you?¡±

    Zu An had been distracted by the sound of someone chewing outside. He was just about to ask about it when her words struck him like a hammer. ¡°Uh, big sister?¡±

    He took a second look and immediately saw the resemnce between her and Chu Chuyan, although she was clearly much younger. Most likely, this was the Second Miss of the Chu n, Chu Huanzhao. He was slowly assimting the memories of his ¡®predecessor¡¯, so he was more informed about his surroundings now. The one thing he couldn¡¯t understand was why the Chu n had given the Second Miss such an awful name.[2]

    She was dressed in skin-tight leathers that entuated her slender waist and her perky bottom. A leather whip was fastened to her waist. She looks like one hot little pepper. She¡¯spletely different from her ice-cold older sister. They came from the same mother, so why are they such pr opposites?

    ¡°What the hell are you staring at you, you dog?¡± Chu Huanzhao was already vexed, and him eyeing her up and down with his beady little eyes only served to infuriate her further.

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Huanzhao for 10 Rage points!

    Zu An noticed that the Rage Counter above his keyboard had changed from ¡®0¡¯ to ¡®10¡¯. Joy washed over him. This girl seems to have a terrible temper. I¡¯d be shortchanging myself if I didn¡¯t seize this chance to earn some more Rage points.

    He felt the gears turning in his mind. ¡°Honestly, I have to get this off my chest. Your big sister has a very pretty name, ¡®Chuyan¡¯. Why did your parents give you such an awful name, ¡®Counterattack¡¯?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Huanzhao for 666 Rage points!

    Zu An shrank inside. That¡¯s... a pretty extreme amount of rage.

    Chu Huanzhao¡¯s visage reddened with fury. ¡°Pah! ¡®Chuyan¡¯ was the name she gave herself! Her real name was ¡®Zhaodi¡¯!¡±[3]

    Zhaodi?! Zu An struggled to reconcile the image of his elegant, white-robed wife - a fairy Immortal who drifted around gracefully - with her vulgar name, but failed. His face contorted with the effort.

    Zhaodi? Huanzhao? Wait a sec, I seem to recall that the eldest son is named ¡®Youzhao¡¯?

    ¡°Are you mocking me?¡± Chu Huanzhao interrupted his musings.

    ¡°No, no!¡± He denied hastily, seeing the fury in her eyes. ¡°Oh, right. So why don¡¯t you just change your name too?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Huanzhao for 199 Rage points!

    ¡°I want to, but my parents won¡¯t let me, nor will my sister! Hmph. She was able to change her name, but she doesn¡¯t give a damn about anyone else.¡± Her face clouded over with anguish as she recalled the lifelong abuse she had received from her ssmates.

    ¡°W-wait a sec!¡± Chu Huanzhao suddenly remembered who she was talking to. ¡°Stop trying to make friends with me. I¡¯ve got a score to settle with you regardingst night!¡±

    Zu An was happily counting all the Rage points he had just umted. He had 875 Rage points, enough to draw eight prizes! This time, I¡¯m bound to get something better than the useless crap I drewst time, right? Distracted by this, he replied offhandedly, ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sure what happenedst night was just a misunderstanding.¡±

    ¡°You climbed into my bed. How is that a misunderstanding?¡± Chu Huanzhao smiled coldly.

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Huanzhao for 10 Rage points!

    Huh. So few Rage points for that? Clearly, she has a lot of issues about her name in particr.

    ¡°Then why didn¡¯t you stop me? You could¡¯ve called for guards or something!¡± replied Zu An.

    ¡°I...¡± Chu Huanzhao¡¯s pale face flushed beet-red. ¡°I don¡¯t know what happened either. I think I was asleep.¡±

    ¡°Well, and I was drunk. I don¡¯t know how I ended up in your room. Honestly, I¡¯m sure something strange is afoot.¡± Zu An cast aside the notion of umting more Rage points. The most important task at hand was to pacify this little brat from hell. I wonder if she knows martial arts. Young people often underestimated their own strength and did not know when to hold back. If she killed him by ident, he wouldn¡¯t even have the chance to mourn his own passing.

    ¡°Are you suggesting that I perhaps dragged you into my room?¡± Chu Huanzhao gave him a frosty smile. ¡°As the saying goes, wine is the purveyor of lust. You could¡¯ve gone anywhere after you got drunk, but you just so happened to choose my bed. This is proof of your lust for me!¡±

    Zu An stared at herpletely t chest, then let out a long sigh. ¡°You¡¯re a kid. How could I have lewd thoughts about you? If I really did have lewd thoughts, I would¡¯ve headed to your sister¡¯s room.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao instantly exploded. ¡°I¡¯m a grown-up! I even help to manage parts of the family business at times! I¡¯m not like you, a good-for-nothing who does nothing more than to eat and sleep! How dare you talk down to me?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Huanzhao for 99 Rage points!

    Zu An snorted under his breath. Clearly, no matter what world you were in, the one thing young adults hated the most was others treating them like little kids.

    ¡°You know, if you keep ring and huffing and puffing like that, nobody would ever dare to marry you. Honestly, try to act more like a woman. Why don¡¯t you pick up needlework, or some other feminine activity?¡± Zu An tried to sound as sincere as he could, his eyes filled with warmth and concern. ¡°Be a good girl, now. This is all for your own good.¡±

    Despite his fears about being beaten to death, he just couldn¡¯t pass up all the potential Rage points that were at stake!

    ¡°AHHHHHHH!¡± Chu Huanzhao felt herself going berserk. What the hell is wrong with this bastard? Why is he lecturing me as though he was one of my elders?

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Huanzhao for 33 Rage points!

    ...33 Rage points! ...33 Rage points! ...33 Rage points! ...

    Zu An nearly chortled aloud as he watched his Rage points skyrocket. This little girl is so easily provoked. It¡¯s a walk in the parkpared to farming points off of that icy wife of mine.

    ¡°Do you want to beat me up? Don¡¯t forget that I¡¯m your brother-inw! If you abuse your elders, the heavens will strike you down with lightning!¡± Zu An grew nervous. The girl was so mad that he half-expected to see steam rising from the top of her head. If she got any angrier, she''d probably lose all her hair and go bald.

    But then again... it might not be such a big deal if she really did attack him. Her limbs were so short. Having a pretty youngdy like her pounding her fists against his chest couldn¡¯t possibly be life-threatening. In fact, it might even help him break through to the next level of his technique!

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Huanzhao for 55 Rage points!

    Before Zu An could celebrate, something immensely powerful struck him in the chest. He threw up a mouthful of blood and fell backwards onto the bed.

    Chu Huanzhao retracted her fist, her face twisted in disdainful sneer. ¡°Y¡¯know, for a moment there I thought you might actually have some real skills, given how hard you were trying to piss me off. Bah! You are as weak as a chicken!¡±

    1. In the original Chinese text, the name of the item is ¡®dagger with poison inside¡¯, but the character for dagger is reced with a homophone for female genitalia.

    2. Huanzhao literally means ¡®Counterattack¡¯.

    3. Zhaodi literally means ¡®summoning your sister-inw¡¯

 Chapter 6: The Wager

    <h4>Chapter 6: The Wager</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An stared at her tiny, pale little fist. Yet again, he found himself questioning reality.

    ¡°Honestly, someone as weak as you is not worth my effort.¡± Chu Huanzhao let out a piercing whistle. ¡°C¡¯mere, Bootlicker!¡±

    Zu An was puzzled. Huh? How could such a young girl have bootlickers following her around? Are the men of this world really such pansies?

    "Woof!"

    Ferocious barking came from a distance away, and Zu An realized his error. So her ¡®bootlicker¡¯ was actually a dog! But honestly, what type of name is that? Heh, heh, heh. Seems like weird names are a fort¨¦ of this family. [1]

    His smirk slid off his face as a creature the size of a panther bounded inside, staring down at him with oily green eyes. Okay, technically this thing is shaped like a dog, but... this is way too freakin¡¯ huge!

    ¡°Who¡¯s a good boy, Bootlicker!¡± Chu Huanzhao squatted down to rub the monster¡¯s head, and the beast wagged its tail joyfully.

    Zu An gulped, eyes transfixed by the massive beast in front of him. ¡°You call this thing a dog?!¡± Blood leaked from the corner of the creature¡¯s mouth. Btedly, he realized where the chewing sounds he¡¯d heard earlier hade from..

    ¡°Scared now?¡± Chu Huanzhaoughed diabolically, then pointed straight at him. ¡°Bootlicker, bite him! Bite him hard!¡±

    In one smooth motion, the huge dog leapt towards Zu An without a moment¡¯s hesitation. Clearly, this wasn¡¯t its first rodeo.

    Blood drained from Zu An¡¯s face as he saw that giant, bloody maw flying towards him. That huge thing will take off my entire arm in one bite! Even more concerning, he knew just how deadly rabies could be. Who knew what sort of deadly viruses the dog¡¯s drool contained? This world didn¡¯t have rabies shots. If he was infected, he¡¯d be doomed.

    On top of all that, the beast had just eaten a few rats alive. Maybe it was now carrying some rat gues!

    Zu An reacted without thought, leaping frantically to the side. The dognded on a chair next to the bed, shattering it to pieces.

    Oh my sweet Lord Almighty... Zu An was pretty sure that his body wasn¡¯t as tough as that chair. He fled. His first thought was to use Chu Huanzhao as a shield since she had promised not to beat him up personally... but the little girl had already run outside. She was watching his ordeal from a nearby window, delight stered all over her face. She had even shut the door behind her!

    In his mind, Zu An cursed her entire n a thousand times over as he ran in circles around the table in the center of the room. There was no way he could outrun that huge dog, so all he could do was dodge around what little furniture there was to keep away from it.

    The dog was simply too damned big, so big it couldn¡¯t slip under the table to get to him. This was the only thing keeping Zu An alive.

    s, his body was weak to begin with, and he¡¯d been struck by lightning earlier in the day, not to mention the punch he¡¯d just suffered from Chu Huanzhao.. After just a few minutes, Zu An felt as though his lungs were about to explode. He was sure that he¡¯d felt the warm, foul-smelling breath of the monstrous canine brush the back of his neck several times. It took all his will just to keep his legs moving, keeping him ahead of that salivating maw.

    A part of him was surprised that he hadsted this long. He credited this to him training in the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, which had increased his physical strength slightly. However, his limited training was no use in oveing this huge, ferocious beast.

    ¡°You dumb mutt! Why do you have to chase him around the table? Just leap over the damn thing!¡± The youngdy spectating from outside stamped her feet in displeasure. Her voice, normally crisp and pleasant, was now a demonic howl.

    The huge dog seemed to understand its master¡¯s words. It let out a loud howl, then leapt onto the table and mbered across towards Zu An.

    Zu An tipped the table over, putting the tabletop between him and the creature. Holding onto the table legs, he tried to push it away with the table. The dog used its head to smash a hole through the tabletop, its jaws inches from Zu An¡¯s face. The weight of it bore him down to the ground, as he kicked feebly at the monster¡¯s belly. It strained to squeeze more of its bulk through the hole in the table, and Zu An felt his arms giving way. The difference in strength was too great. The dog¡¯s jaws inched closer to him.

    Zu An could smell the dog¡¯s foul breath as it sttered gobs of saliva all over his face. It wed furiously at the tabletop with its front paws, gouging huge holes in it, as though it were made of wet paper.

    Zu An¡¯s heart froze as the dog¡¯s teeth and ws filled his vision, their points sharp as daggers. I¡¯m gonna get killed by a dog. Damn, I¡¯m a disgrace to all transmigrators.

    Wait a second. Dagger? Zu An was struck by a sh of inspiration. He summoned his Keyboard and hammered the ¡®B¡¯ key, summoning his Poisonous Prick from the item bar. Just as it appeared in his hand, the table shattered. The dog¡¯s massive mouth flew towards him... and its teeth chomped down on the dagger.

    The dog had been aptly named as Bootlicker, for it loved to lick random objects. It reflexively brushed its tongue against the dagger, opening a tiny gash across the tip of its tongue. A series of strange, ck runes appeared across its entire body, as if drawn in ash. The dog trembled once before falling down to the ground, all traces of life snuffed out.

    ¡°It actually died?¡± Zu An sighed in relief. He waspletely spent. Hey motionless on the ground, unable to move so much as a finger.

    ¡°Bootlicker! What¡¯s wrong?!¡± Chu Huanzhao, watching from outside, was certain that her beloved dog was about to win, but it had all gone wrong in an instant. Bewildered, she ran in to assess the situation. s, no matter what she did or said, the dog failed to respond.

    ¡°How dare you kill my Bootlicker?!¡± Chu Huanzhao exploded in fury as the reality of Bootlicker¡¯s death sank in.

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Huanzhao for 233 Rage points!

    Zu Ancked the energy to respond, but he subconsciously transferred the Poisonous Prick back into his item bar. It was better to be safe than sorry, after all. Best keep it hidden unless absolutely necessary. The huge dog and the table had blocked the girl¡¯s line of sight. She probably didn¡¯t see exactly what happened.

    ¡°You¡¯ll pay for Bootlicker¡¯s death!¡± Chu Huanzhao was close to tears. Her parents were always busy with n affairs, and her sister was always away. She had few ymates in the estate; in a way, Bootlicker had been her only friend.

    As hey unmoving, Zu An saw a small foot sh furiously towards him.

    ...10 Rage points! ...10 Rage points! ...10 Rage points!

    Zu An let out a muffled groan. He was simply too exhausted to dodge her kick. Thankfully, it connected with his buttocks. The fleshy lumps just barely managed to cushion the blow.

    The sight of him just lying there further fueled Chu Huanzhao¡¯s anger. She drew the whip from her waist and, with a flick of her wrist,shed him with it.

    ¡°Aah!¡± Zu An reflexively bolted upright, spine unnaturally straight, the pain from her strike triggering muscles he thought were too tired to move.

    Chu Huanzhao gave a satisfied nod at his ridiculous reaction. ¡°Scared now? My sister was worried about others bullying me, so she found this weapon just for me. It¡¯s called ¡®Wailing Whip¡¯! It¡¯ll amplify any pain my enemies feel tenfold! No one can withstand such pain.¡±

    ¡°Wailing Whip?¡± Zu An swallowed, hard. That name alone was proof that this was a nasty piece of work. Amplify pain tenfold? No wonder that hurt so much!

    What really surprised him was that that single strike had substantially increased the golden matter in his first formation. The increase was far greater than what he had gained from punching the stone wall. In fact, the first formation was almost full, most likely due to thebined damage her punch, kick and whip strike had inflicted.

    This really is a bullshit technique! Zu An mentally cursed the technique¡¯s creator a thousand times over. That guy had to be a masochist of the highest order!

    Despite it all, he wanted to know what would happen once the formation waspletely full. Judging from the amount he¡¯d just gained, a few more hits from the whip would probably do the trick.

    He shuddered as he recalled the soul-incinerating pain he had just suffered. A few more hits? He couldn¡¯t even take one more!

    It wasn¡¯t just about enduring the pain. The lightning strike, getting punched and kicked, and fending off a giant man-eating dog had all taken a huge toll on his constitution. He was barely clinging onto life. He sensed that the next whip strike would end him for good.

    Chu Huanzhao interpreted his silence as true fear, and stayed her whip. Instead, she gloated, ¡°Hmph! Scared now, huh? If you kneel down, kowtow and apologize, then lick my shoes clean, maybe I¡¯ll be in a good mood and spare your life.¡±

    She sat down on a chair, crossed her legs arrogantly, and wiggled her feet at him. Zu An took in her long and slender legs. If a picture of her in this pose was posted online back in his own world, it would undoubtedly garner manyments of marvel.

    ¡°Tsk!¡± Zu An was enraged by her suggestion. There might be some perverts who would actually look forward to that, but not him!

    Chu Huanzhao smirked. ¡°It seems you have some spirit in you. How about this? Let¡¯s make a wager.¡±

    ¡°What kind of wager?¡± replied Zu An nervously. This little sister-inw of his was clearly a massive sadist. He had to be careful.

    Chu Huanzhao gestured with her whip. ¡°If you can take three hits of my whip without screaming in agony, I¡¯ll no longer me you for killing my Bootlicker. What do you say?¡±

    Her eyes glinted in anticipation. No ordinary person could withstand the pain inflicted by a whip that amplified agony tenfold. She had offered this wager to hand him a glimmer of hope, then watch as it quickly turned to despair. She desired to see his futile struggle to control his pain, and the inevitable, pitiful howls that would follow. Only with this much could the hatred in her heart be soothed.

    She really is a pervert! Just as Zu An was about to refuse, he remembered the Ball of Delights he had won earlier. It had seemed aughably useless reward back then, but it was perfect for the situation at hand.

    ¡°Fine! I ept your wager!¡± Zu An prayed fervently that the description of the item¡¯s effects was urate. If not, he was a goner.

    ¡°Wait a second! What if you lose?¡± Chu Huanzhao asked.

    ¡°What do you propose?¡± Zu An could sense two little horns emerging from the top of her head. This little beauty sure has a little demon hidden inside her.

    Her eyes shed eagerly. ¡°If you lose, I¡¯ll grant you the right to kneel down and lick my shoes.¡±

    Zu An was dumbstruck. Again with the licking? How did the Chu n produce a pervert like you?! ¡°That¡¯s not fair, unless you also agree to lick my shoes if I win.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao sniggered. ¡°You are in no position to bargain. First, you have to make amends for killing my dog. Win this bet first if you want to make another about licking your shoes.¡± She was certain he stood no chance.

    ¡°Fine!¡± Zu An felt his blood begin to boil. This little girl was simply too much of a freak. It was time he taught her the real meaning of the word freaky.

    Chu Huanzhao drew back her whip, but Zu An interrupted her hastily. ¡°Wait a sec!¡±

    Chu Huanzhao frowned. ¡°Are you backing out?¡±

    ¡°Lemme grab some water first.¡± Zu An needed an opportunity to activate the Ball of Delights. Chu Huanzhao snorted but didn¡¯t stop him. She was in no hurry.

    Zu An secretly called forth the Ball of Delights as he drank some water. He stared at the sparkling steel wool pad and gulped. So how am I supposed to use this thing? I don¡¯t actually have to scrub myself... there, do I?

    This item can be activated by scrubbing it against any part of your skin. The holographic screen appeared, disying these words. It seemed someone - or something - had read his mind.

    Zu An had no time for idle thoughts. Turning his back to Chu Huanzhao, he discreetly scrubbed the steel wool on his hand. The item description appeared on the screen, together with an extra line of text.

    Activation sessful. For the next hour, any pain inflicted on you by a wealthier woman will be transformed into euphoria. Warning ¨C this artifact does not lower the actual amount of damage you take. If a rich woman inflicts lethal damage to you, you will not die, but be left with yourst sliver of health.

    Uses remaining: 2/3

    Zu An didn¡¯t even have the strength to bother cursing at the Keyboard anymore. This piece of garbage... not only is it almost useless, but its usage is limited too? It looks like I can only use it two more times. This keyboard was clearly devised by the most unscrupulous of fiends!

    ¡°Are you ready yet? Stop dawdling over there.¡± Chu Huanzhao sounded dissatisfied. Clearly, she was growing impatient.

    1. The Chinese term for ¡®bootlicker¡¯ is literally ¡®licking dog¡¯.

 Chapter 7: Breakthrough

    <h4>Chapter 7: Breakthrough</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An turned around, grabbed a chair, and sat down. ¡°Let¡¯s begin. I only have one request ¨C don¡¯t hit my face. I rely on my good looks to keep myself fed.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao ground her teeth in fury, but she didn¡¯t want her parents or her sister to find out about any of this, so she assented. ¡°Fine. I won¡¯t hit your face.¡± With a snap of her wrist, she sent the whip howling through the air. It struck him in the chest with a terrifying crack, ripping a gaping hole in his shirt and sttering blood everywhere.

    Chu Huanzhao shed a victorious smile... but it quickly froze, then curdled. The anticipated howl of agony never came, and there was not even a pained whimper. Zu An simply sat there, still and quiet. He did, however, have a peculiar look on his face.

    As the whip struck, Zu An had felt no pain - instead, a wave of pleasure overcame him. He struggled to still his facial features and maintain hisposure, but only partially seeded. He felt like a man lost in a desert taking a bite out of a juicy, frozen watermelon, or a schr who had ced first in the imperial exams. He felt such rapture that he almost moaned in pleasure.

    However, he willed himself to silence, knowing that there could be others about. He didn¡¯t want word to spread that he was some sort of masochist.

    ¡°Huh?!¡± Chu Huanzhao stared at him with wide-eyed shock. She had not predicted this. He must be forcing himself to remain silent and pretending indifference. Yeah. That¡¯s gotta be it! Thest time I hit him, he bawled like a baby. He¡¯s probably mping his jaws shut for the sake of this wager!

    Clenching her teeth, Chu Huanzhao struck a second time. She knew better than anyone else just how terrifying the Wailing Whip was. Someone with incredible willpower could probably endure one strike, but not a second.

    The whip drew a second gash across Zu An¡¯s chest, marking him with a huge and bloody ¡®X¡¯. Chu Huanzhao stared at him eagerly. Let¡¯s see if you scream this time.

    ¡°Hmm? Mmm...¡± Zu An struggled to hold in his moaning, but he had reached his limit. He almost blushed at the amount of pleasure he felt. A whole new world of sensations had opened up for him.

    Chu Huanzhao felt her hairs stand on end. Everything that had happened today was theplete opposite of what she had expected. She took some time to consider, then decided to strike a different part of him. Maybe his chest is alreadypletely numb from his injuries.

    Taking a deep breath, she shed her whip against his leg. s, she was let down once again. Although his face was twisted by what must have been sheer agony, not even a whimper escaped his lips.

    ¡°I... win, right?¡± Zu An noticed that the first rune formation glowed golden, and the second one was almost half-full. Seems like this little brat really went all out in whacking me.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t possible!¡± Chu Huanzhao¡¯s eyes widened further. She stared at the whip in her hand, bewildered. Is my whip broken?

    She contemted for a while, then walked over to Zu An and handed the whip to him. ¡°Hit me with it and see what happens.¡±

    Zu An was instantly wary. ¡°Are you serious?¡±

    ¡°Stop jabbering and hit me! Just remember, don¡¯t hit me in the face.¡± Chu Huanzhao gave him a disparaging look, her nose stuck haughtily in the air. She closed her eyes, hershes quivering.

    Zu An sighed as he studied her perfectly smooth, pale, oval-shaped face. The women of the Chu n are all weirdos, but I have to admit, they have good genes.

    There was no way he was going to hit her face. It wasn¡¯t because he was a feminist; rather, he was worried about what the Chu n would do to him once they found out.

    He chuckled softly. ¡°I swear, all my life I¡¯ve never heard of someone making a request like this. I promise to satisfy you.¡± This little wench hit me hard as hell. Time to give her a taste of her own medicine.

    Heshed out viciously with the whip. Unfortunately, his body was terribly weak. Despite his pain being converted into pleasure, the real damage to his body had not been diminished. It was a minor miracle that he was still alive. As such, there was no real power behind his strike.

    His blow was soft and weak, but as soon as it connected, Chu Huanzhao shrieked, clutching the tiny wound it had made, her face contorted in pain. ¡°That hurts!!¡±

    Zu An watched as tears streamed down her face. For the first time, he rejoiced in having drawn the Ball of Delights as his prize.

    ¡°You bastard! Why¡¯d you hit so hard?!¡± Chu Huanzhao nursed the wound with one hand and scrubbed her face furiously with the other.

    Zu An was struck dumb. ¡°You clearly hit me way harder just now.¡±

    ¡°Then why didn¡¯t you scream?¡± Chu Huanzhao stared at him curiously. She was very aware that his blow only held a fraction of the force that she had used.

    Zu An coughed lightly, then said with a straight face, ¡°A real man will never scream in pain.¡± Sometimes, you gotta fake it until you make it.

    Chu Huanzhao blinked, then nodded uncertainly. ¡°I-it looks like I underestimated you. Fine. You win. I won¡¯t me you for killing Bootlicker.¡±

    She turned to take her leave. She had to find her maidservant quickly to poultice her wound. I hope it doesn¡¯t leave a scar.

    However, Zu An stopped her with an expectant look on his face.

    ¡°Don¡¯t leave yet,¡± he implored. ¡°Whip me a few more times.¡±

    It was Chu Huanzhao¡¯s turn to be struck speechless. She could not believe what she had just heard.

    ¡°Ahem-hem-hem!¡± Zu An realised how masochistic that statement made him seem, and hurried to correct himself. ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant! I meant to say, let¡¯s make another wager.¡±

    His second rune formation was nearly full. How could he pass on such a wonderful opportunity? Besides, his Ball of Delights would still be active for a while longer, and it would be a shame to let it go to waste.

    ¡°What¡¯s the wager?¡± Chu Huanzhao replied without thinking.

    Zu An said, ¡°Same as before. If I win, you are no longer allowed to take me to task for climbing into your bedst night. If you win, um... right. I¡¯ll... I¡¯ll lick your shoes.¡±

    Although there was much about this world that was foreign to him, he was fairly certain that a groom climbing into his sister-inw¡¯s bed on his wedding night was probably an unforgivable offense. If his sister-inw was willing to drop the matter, his life in the Chu n would improve immeasurably.

    Unexpectedly, Chu Huanzhao¡¯s flushed a bright scarlet. ¡°Why are you so fixated on licking my shoes?! You pervert! I¡¯m gonna go tell my sister!¡±

    Zu An was in disbelief. You were the one who came up with this perverted bet in the first ce!

    ¡°Fine! I ept your wager!¡± Chu Huanzhao rubbed her hands together in anticipation. She was just like any other gambler; she didn¡¯t understand how or why she had just lost, but she was determined to win the next round.

    ¡°Then please whip me!¡± Zu An intoned heroically.

    Threeshes ensued. Chu Huanzhao stood open-mouthed. The man had copsed to the ground, unmoving, but he hadn¡¯t let out a single peep. ¡°Doesn¡¯t that hurt?¡±

    ¡°Of course it hurts! But a real man never cries out in pain!¡± Zu An sensed that his third rune formation was half-full. He would have danced with joy, but he did not want to set off her suspicions.

    Chu Huanzhao fell silent. This is the most courageous man I¡¯ve ever seen in my life. He¡¯s clearly pathetically weak, but he has such amazing willpower! She had encountered many mighty figures whose strength far outstripped Zu An¡¯s, but none of them had been able to endure more than two strikes from her whip.

    ¡°Would you like to make a third wager?¡± Zu An probed.

    Chu Huanzhao narrowed her eyes. ¡°Do you... have some sort of special fetish?¡±

    ¡°Of course not!¡± Zu An protested innocently. Oh hell no. I refuse to end up saddled with that type of reputation. ¡°I just want to make you lick my shoes.¡±

    ¡°In your dreams! No deal!¡± The old Chu Huanzhao would have agreed in a heartbeat, but having lost twice in a row - to someone she had thought would have no chance of winning at that! - she was feeling a bit antsy.

    Zu An had expected her to turn down this third wager, and so, he proposed new terms. ¡°Then if I win, you have to respectfully address me as ¡®brother-inw¡¯ every time you see me. Deal?¡±

    Chu Huanzhao took her time to consider the odds. The man was her brother-inw to begin with, so it would be no big deal even if she lost. She nodded. ¡°Deal!¡±

    A new contest began! After the firstsh, Zu An could not contain himself any further, and quivered as he let out a low moan. It wasn¡¯t a moan of pain, but one of sensual arousal.

    ¡°I knew you were a pervert! I¡¯m done here!¡± Chu Huanzhao¡¯s face was beet-red. She stamped her feet angrily before picking up Bootlicker¡¯s corpse and fleeing the scene.

    ¡°Hey, what about the two remaining hits!¡± Zu An called out desperately, but Chu Huanzhao disappeared into the night like a terrified little rabbit.

    Jeez. She¡¯s no fun. Zu An grumbled to himself. Thankfully, the third rune formation was close to full. He struck out with a fist to test out his newfound strength.

    ¡°You actually reached the third step of the second rank? And you¡¯re almost at the pinnacle of the third step, at that!¡± A voice called out, and a figure walked into the room. This was none but Old Mi.

    Was he hiding nearby and watching this entire time?! Zu An felt a surge of anger, but he didn¡¯t let it show. Instead he asked, ¡°What do you mean, ¡®third step of the second rank¡¯?¡±

    Old Mi exined, ¡°Previously, I exined the nine ranks to you. At the second rank, you temper your skin. From the second rank onwards, there are nine small steps between sessive ranks. Kid, in just two short hours you actually managed to reach the third step of the second rank! That¡¯s intriguing. It takes an ordinary person months - or even years! - to draw in enough to reach the first rank, let alone the second rank. You, a lower Ding ss talent, actually managed to reach the third step of the second rank in mere hours. The secret manual I gave you might be formidable, but it shouldn¡¯t have allowed you to gain strength that quickly.¡±

    Zu An quickly deduced what had happened. After he had absorbed the secret manual, the F2 button had carved all nine formations onto his skin. This allowed him to skip the most difficult part of the process, which was drawing enough ki into the body, and start from the second rank. He had already filled up two formations and was almost done with the third, which ced him on the third step of the second rank.

    He racked his brains for a usible exnation to offer Old Mi. Cowardice was the only true way of survival, after all! He was still very weak at the moment. If he demonstrated a ridiculous amount of talent, others might grow jealous and attempt to take his life.

    Old Mi¡¯s muttering interrupted his musings. ¡°It seems the Wailing Whip truly is a formidable weapon. Not only that, your resistance against the pain must have somehow amplified its effectiveness. The unique technique of this secret manual was undoubtedly the catalyst, causing you to experience these incredible results.¡± Should I try this in the future too?

    Hearing Old Mi¡¯s piece together the truth on his own ord, Zu An no longer saw the need to concoct an excuse anymore. He was just about to ask what powers his new level unlocked when a wave of pain crashed into him. He howled.

 Chapter 8: Faith in Brother Spring

    <h4>Chapter 8: Faith in Brother Spring</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The suspicion faded from Old Mi¡¯s face. ¡°I was wondering how you managed to endure the agony inflicted by the Wailing Whip. Clearly, you were using your tremendous willpower to resist it. Your mental fortitude is quite admirable.¡±

    Zu An, however, was mentally firing off curses as fast as he could think of them. Did I get a counterfeit Ball of Delights? Wasn¡¯t it supposed to grant pain immunity? What the hell is going on?!

    It took him a second to figure it out. The Ball of Delights onlysted for an hour, and that hour had just passed. While it had made him immune to the damage-amplifying strikes of the Wailing Whip, the injuries he¡¯d sustained were still fresh. Now that the ball¡¯s numbing effects had worn off, he was feeling the pain from these wounds.

    Old Mi walked over to examine his wounds. ¡°Count yourself lucky, kid. If that little girl had hit you one more time, you would¡¯ve died.¡± Old Mi sighed in amazement. ¡°Your body is unbelievably weak. I¡¯m amazed that you managed to endure so many blows.¡±

    Only then did Zu An remember the other effect the Ball of Delights granted. It was something like, any ¡®lethal damage¡¯ inflicted by a woman with more money than you wouldn¡¯t kill you outright, right? Hey, doesn¡¯t that mean I now have a huge advantage when facing off against rich women?

    He mentally pped himself. What are you thinking! What kind of a man picks fights against women!? On top of that, the restrictions on the Ball of Delights made its usage incredibly impractical.

    Old Mi pulled out a bottle of medicinal powder and cast it over Zu An¡¯s wounds with a wave of his sleeves. ¡°Take these two bottles of medicine. This one is to be applied externally, and the other is to be ingested. Spend the next few days recuperating. Don¡¯t let yourself get killed.¡±

    A cool, refreshing sensation spread over Zu An¡¯s wounds, granting him immense relief. With heartfelt gratitude he said, ¡°Elder, I really don¡¯t know how I should thank you.¡±

    Old Mi chuckled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Soon, you¡¯ll know.¡± He revealed a toothy old grin and took his leave.

    Zu An paid him no heed. He waspletely focused on the rewards he had received. He had farmed Chu Huanzhao for a total of 1444 Rage points, which meant that he could y the lottery 14 times! His image of her improved dramatically. She has the potential to be my ATM in the future.

    He dragged himself onto his bed, and with nothing else to do, he decided to try his hand at the lottery. Thankfully, the Keyboard was virtual and could be controlled via his thoughts alone. Otherwise, he doubted that he had the strength to even pick up a physical one.

    He mentally ¡®clicked¡¯ on the lottery button, then began eagerly watching as the light marker danced across the keyboard. What reward will I receive this time?

    He was baffled when he noticed that, this time, the light only flickered across the numbers and the spacebar; it didn¡¯t touch the letters at all. Then he recalled the earlier notice mentioning that only part of the rewards were currently avable. Only the first three pulls had been unlimited because they were part of the newbie package. He would probably have to unlock the letters in the future.

    Wait a sec. I also remember something about a ¡®greatly increased drop rate¡¯ for the first three pulls... but one of them was still a ¡®Thanks for ying¡¯. Doesn¡¯t that mean the normal drop rate is...

    Thanks for ying!

    Zu An frowned, but this was to be expected. He didn¡¯t worry too much, and spent another 100 Rage points for another pull.

    Thanks for ying!

    Thanks for ying!

    Thanks for ying!

    ......

    Eight tries in a row, but all of them were ¡®Thanks for ying¡¯!

    I¡¯m going to bloody ... Zu An was on the verge of smashing the Keyboard to pieces. It was a pity that he couldn¡¯t farm Rage points off himself; otherwise, he would have maxed out his meter.

    He wanted to wash up before trying again, but his injuries made moving impossible. He didn¡¯t have the strength to even sit up.

    He was oblivious to the pair of eyes watching him coldly from outside his window. If he had but nced over, he would have instantly recognised the willowy frame of Chu Chuyan¡¯s personal maid, Snow.

    Has this man gone mad? Snow¡¯s beautiful eyes clouded with confusion as she watched Zu An¡¯s face twist and contort. The man was even floundering his hands and stamping his feet feebly. She took a closer look at the situation and was taken aback by the bloody wounds that covered his body. The Wailing Whip?

    She was familiar with the tell-tale marks of the Second Miss¡¯ weapon. Her face was a mixture of satisfaction and regret. ¡°I guess it¡¯d be better for him to die at her hands. If I act personally, I would run the risk of exposing myself.¡± She knew just how weak this useless son-inw was; there was no way he could survive so manyshes from the Wailing Whip. He was almost certainly going to die in bed.

    She turned and departed, returning to her own room. After ensuring that no one was around, she began to nibble on some melon seeds as she quickly scrawled out a secret message on a piece of paper.

    ¡°Respected young master, rest assured; the young miss remains pure and unblemished. The two have not shared a room together. I believe that I will get rid of Zu An soon. I expect you will hear some good news soon.¡±

    She began to detail Zu An¡¯s impotence, but hesitated and scrubbed that part out. She was unable to ount for what caused it, and she was also unwilling to let her young master know that another man had touched her.

    She gritted her teeth in anger as she recalled how that bastard Zu An had touched almost every part of her body by the pool, and then gone even farther in Miss Chu¡¯s room. She hatefully bit down on a few seeds. Letting him die by the hands of the Second Miss is letting him off easy. I was nning to let him experience utter torment tonight.

    She could not forget Chu Chuyan¡¯s role in the night¡¯s events, instructing her to wait upon Zu An. She bit her lips and added another line to the message. ¡°I may be overthinking things, but I sense that the young miss harbors suspicions against me. Please do not dy in carrying out your mission, young master.¡±

    After finishing the letter, she sealed it and then summoned a beautiful little hawk. She attached the letter onto the hawk¡¯s foot. ¡°Hurry up and deliver it to the young master.¡±

    The hawk seemed to possess human sentience. It spread its wings and then quickly flew off into the night.

    Zu An was blissfully unaware of how narrowly he had just escaped assassination. All of his attention had been focused on the lottery. Finally, on his tenth attempt, the ball of light came to a halt on the ¡®1¡¯ key. An image of a red bottle appeared on the virtual screen, apanied by a line of text.

    Faith in Brother Spring (S): In the unfathomably ancient cosmos, there has long been a famous saying ¨C ¡®Have faith in Brother Spring, and you shall gain evesting life!¡¯ This bottle will quickly replenish your health. So long as you are still alive, even the deadliest of wounds will be healed and you will regain all your health.

    ¡°Faith in Brother Spring?!¡± These random Chinese inte memes caused Zu An to strongly suspect that the creator of this keyboard came from his world... but that didn¡¯t make sense. Despite modern society¡¯s technological advancements, it wasn¡¯t even close to being able to produce something like this Keyboard. [1]

    He withdrew the item and hefted it in his hand. It bore a resemnce to the health potions found in modern-day video games. He considered his present state, then immediately quaffed it. He was worried that he would drop it, weak as he was. That would suck.

    Once the red liquid entered his stomach, a warm sensation spread through his limbs and into his bones. The terrifying wounds caused by the Wailing Whip began to close at a visible rate, and even the scorch marks he had suffered from the earlier lightning strike were healing, regenerating fresh new skin.

    ¡°Oh, wow. It¡¯s this effective?!¡± Zu An sat up, no longer feeling himself teetering on the edge of death anymore. His body swiftly reverted to normal, as though he hadn¡¯t been injured at all.

    This is a miracle drug! If I had a supply of this, I¡¯d be virtually invincible! Wait a second ¨C ¡®Faith in Brother Spring (S)¡¯. What does the ¡®S¡¯ stand for? Zu An pondered a moment. It probably means ¡®small¡¯. And it should bear some simrity to how healing potions work in games, right?

    There was probably a limit to how much health a small potion could restore. If he levelled up in the future and had too much health, a single small potion might not be able to heal him fully. Unfortunately, the stupid exnation didn¡¯t give him any details as to the maximum amount of health a bottle like this could restore.

    He stood up and stretched his body. His vitality had returned, and he sensed a new degree of power in his limbs. He credited his new-found strength to him reaching the third step of the second rank.

    He put his body through a series of tests and evaluated his current strength to be equivalent to that of four normal menbined. One must know that he had been weaker than an average man prior to this transformation!

    However, the result failed to satisfy Zu An. His current rank had note easily, but he didn¡¯t feel that powerful. He felt he had not gained any advantage over an ordinary cultivator.

    It was hisck of knowledge of this world that hindered his understanding. This was and where a person¡¯s status and authority was determined by their progress as a cultivator. The Emperor - an Earth Immortal - had the highest status and was also the strongest cultivator. The leaders of the various major sects and the patriarchs of major ns were usually Grandmasters, while the Kings, Princes, and Grand Marshals were generally Masters. Ordinary Generals and the Nine Ministers were of the ninth rank, while most dukes andmandants, as well as some marquesses, were of the eighth rank. City governors were usually of the seventh rank, and so-on and so-forth.

    The lowest-level officials such as vige teachers and vige tax collectors only needed to be at the second rank. Reaching second rank was more than enough to qualify them as officials of the imperial court, granting them amensurate sry and resources for cultivation. Many spent their entire lifetimes struggling and failing to reach this level. In fact, only 10% of most would-be cultivators made it to the first rank of harmonizing with the natural world. Reaching the second rank required an enormous amount of ki stones, which was out of reach for most ordinary folk.

    After spending some time getting used to his ¡®new¡¯ body, Zu An returned to the lottery. This time, he harbored no illusions that he would draw a decent prize. All he wanted was to get something, even an item that may seem useless like the Ball of Delights. It had taken him a thousand Rage points to get a single bottle of health, and he only had four pulls left. He just hoped they wouldn¡¯t all be empty draws.

    The first three pulls were unsessful. On the fourth, however, the ball of light finally came to rest on the ¡®0¡¯ key. Stunned, Zu An shifted his gaze to the screen, and saw a strange crimson pill appear in the center.

    Marrow Cleansing Pill: Why is it that you train so hard every day, yet your results pale inparison to those of some young masters who just go through the motions? There is a famous saying ¨C genius is 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration. However, that 1% inspiration is often more important than the 99% perspiration. This pill will cleanse and refine your marrow, dramatically improving your body¡¯s overall quality and increasing your gains.

    Zu An recalled that both Chu Chuyan and Old Mi had dismissed his body as one that was extremely unsuitable for cultivation. With this pill in hand, I¡¯m sure to quickly rise up the ranks, earn a higher sry, win the affections of beautiful women, and begin my trek up to the highest heights of society!

    1. Li Yuchun, with ¡®chun¡¯ meaning spring, was a very popr Chinese singer some years back. Because she dressed in a tomboyish manner, many people nicknamed her ¡®Brother Spring¡¯. Her fanbase made a meme by photoshopping her pictures to make her look like Jesus, then captioned them with ¡®Have faith in Brother Spring, and you shall gain eternal life!

 Chapter 9 â€“ Wifeâ€™s Best Friend

    <h4>Chapter 9 ¨C Wife¡¯s Best Friend</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Without hesitation Zu An swallowed the pill, and immediately a cool sensation spread from his mouth, surging into his head, his limbs, and seeping into his bones.

    ck droplets began to ooze from his skin, and it continued to do so for a full hour before the process ended. Zu An finally opened his eyes. He felt lighter, and his senses sharper than ever.

    The chronic aches and pains he suffered from previously were gone. His body buzzed with energy, and his hands and feet, which usually felt cold, were warm and full of vitality.

    ¡°So this thing really works?¡± Zu An was delighted. He did not know the extent to which his innate talent had improved, but the physical transformations were self-evident.

    I wish I¡¯d started off with this thing. Despite his lower Ding ssification, he had still been able to fill up nearly three of his formations by suffering seven strikes of the Wailing Whip. What if I¡¯d taken this Marrow Cleansing Pill first? I probably would¡¯ve filled up five, right?

    A lower Ding ss, if tranted to modern-Earth standards, was equivalent to a D-. It really did suck.

    The ck goop was still all over him. He gave it a whiff, and his face scrunched right up. What a stench! He raced off to take a bath.

    After he was done washing up, he returned to his bed and prepared to turn in for the night. He only had 44 Rage points left, so he set his mind to hatch a new scheme to farm some Rage points off his ¡®ATM¡¯. He would need those points to get more precious items.

    He continued to assimte the memories of his body¡¯s previous owner. The patriarch of the Chu n held the title of duke within the empire, and Brightmoon City was his fiefdom. The Chu n had a total of three children ¨C the eldest son was called Youzhao, the eldest daughter was Chuyan, and the second daughter was Huanzhao.

    The previous owner of this body was an orphanedmoner who had been raised by his aunt and uncle. He was known throughout the region as a good-for-nothing. Aside from being handsome, he had no redeeming qualities.

    Zu An still couldn¡¯t wrap his head around why such a powerful n would draft such a useless son-inw into the family. It¡¯s a ploy. There has to be some sort of scheme behind this.

    Despite his misgivings, he now held the Keyboard Warrior System as his trump card. With it, his future seemed brighter, and there was less to fear. Comforted by these thoughts, he drifted off into a peaceful slumber.

    Early the next morning, while he was still half-asleep, a loud ruckus erupted in his room. ¡°Hurry up and rise! The Master and Madam are waiting for you in the ancestral hall!¡±

    ¡°Shut up... lemme sleep a bit more...¡± Zu An replied groggily. He waspletely exhaustedst night and had gone to bed veryte. He turned over, intending to go back to sleep.

    Frigid water suddenly drenched him. With a squawk, he jolted upright, all his drowsiness gone.

    He saw several servants glowering at him. Next to them was a young man who was holding a copper basin in his hands and sniggering at him.

    ¡°Did you throw the water at me?¡± Zu An red at the young man, more memoriesing to the surface. He was called Diao Yang and was a junior squad leader in the estate. He had given Zu An plenty of trouble in the past.

    ¡°So what if I did? Are you really starting to consider yourself one of the masters here? I have no idea what the young miss saw in you,¡± said Diao Yang sharply.

    Zu An saw through the young man right away. Given how beautiful Chu Chuyan was, there were bound to be many who desired her, like toads lusting for a swan. Diao Yang was most likely one of them. Although the difference in status between them guaranteed that he would never have a chance, that didn¡¯t mean he could easily countenance another toad getting her.

    Wait wait wait! I¡¯m not a toad, he is the toad here! His whole family are toads!

    Zu An¡¯s mocking look enraged the squad leader further. ¡°Why are you staring at me? You wanna hit me? Go ahead and try then!¡± He jutted his face towards Zu An. This useless son-inw is even weaker than a woman. I could beat him up with both hands and one leg tied behind my back. The previous owner of this body was cowardly and submissive by nature, and had been frequently assaulted by Diao Yang. These encounters had emboldened the junior squad leader.

    Unfortunately, he had miscalcted. This was no longer the same Zu An as before! Diao Yang glimpsed a ck blursh out and hit him right on the nose, and blood spurted out everywhere.

    Zu An retracted his arm, then shook his head. ¡°Man, what¡¯s going on with this world? Why does everyone keep asking me to hit them?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll kill you, you bastard!¡± Diao Yang¡¯s mind wentpletely nk. He never would¡¯ve imagined that this useless coward whom he looked down upon would actually dare to kill him. Blinded by rage, he drew his saber to strike, only to hesitate in the next moment. Wait a second, how did he suddenly be so strong?

    You have sessfully trolled Diao Yang for 537 Rage points!

    A deep voice boomed from behind him, ¡°What¡¯s going on in here?¡±

    An enormous mountain of a man walked into the room. Immediately, the others bowed respectfully and called out, ¡°Greetings, Captain!¡±

    Zu An recognized the captain of the guards for the Chu n, Yue Shan. Diao Yang hurried over to him andined, ¡°Captain, we came over to escort him to the ancestral hall, but not only did he refuse to get up, he even used his status as son-inw to beat us up! Look at me! He broke my nose!¡±

    Zu An marveled at his performance. He¡¯s pretty good at putting on a show, and I¡¯m impressed by his ability to twist the truth.

    Yue Shan frowned. He nced at Diao Yang¡¯s bleeding nose, then took in Zu An - still dripping water - and the copper basin on the ground. These clued him in to what had just transpired.

    ¡°Everyone is waiting in the ancestral hall, while all of you are here causing a ruckus! Go to the ancestral hall now! Everything else can wait.¡± Yue Shan snorted. He simply couldn¡¯t give a damn about such petty matters.

    Knowing Diao Yang¡¯s character, he was fairly certain the man had deserved the punch. But of course, he didn¡¯t see the need to speak out on Zu An¡¯s behalf. The cowardly son-inw was beneath him, and there was no point in offending one of his colleagues for his sake.

    Zu An copsed with a groan. ¡°Argh! I¡¯m badly hurt. I can¡¯t get out of bed.¡±

    ¡°You are hurt?¡± Yue Shan walked over to take a look. When he saw theshes on Zu An¡¯s body, he could not hide his astonishment.

    Zu An congratted himself on his own cleverness in going to bed in his bloody clothes. ¡°Yes... Last night, Second Miss came to see me and then whipped me repeatedly with her Wailing Whip.¡±

    Startled whispers broke out among the other onlookers. Clearly, quite a few of them had tasted the deadly agony inflicted by Chu Huanzhao¡¯s whip.

    Only Diao Yang was unconvinced. ¡°Nonsense! You had strength aplenty when you socked me in the face. There¡¯s no way you are hurt.¡±

    Yue Shan cut him off. ¡°Everyone in the ancestral hall is getting impatient. Let¡¯s waste no more time. The truth about what happened will be revealed soon enough. Pick him up and carry him to the ancestral hall.¡±

    He instructed the servants to find a stretcher before sending Diao Yang off to see the physician. Unexpectedly, the junior squad leader refused adamantly. He applied a bandage to his nose while insisting that he would go with them.

    When Yue Shan¡¯s back was turned, Diao Yang whispered into Zu An¡¯s ears, ¡°Don¡¯t get smug, brat. Soon, you won¡¯t be a member of the Chu n. Then, I¡¯ll teach you what the words ¡®a fate worse than death¡¯ means.¡±

    Zu An was puzzled. Why did this fellow seem so certain about this? Was it because he had crawled into Chu Huanzhao¡¯s bed on his wedding night? But judging from Chu Chuyan¡¯s reaction, the Chu n didn¡¯t seem bothered by it... and besides, I¡¯ve already ¡®suffered¡¯ her retaliation.

    Ruminating on his suspicions, he let himself be carted into the ancestral hall. The hall was huge, with an enormous que at the very end of it that read ¡®Hall of Admiration¡¯. Each word was carved deeply and firmly, and it radiated solemn majesty.

    nking this que were a pair of enormous portraits. There were poems and couplets calligraphed at the side of each painting. Judging from their attire, these two had to be important ancestors of the Chu n. Beneath each portrait were ced incense, name tablets, and various sacrificial devotions.

    Two seats were arranged in front of the incense, and they were upied by a middle-aged man and woman. The man was bearded, but his face shone like jade. He was the perfect image of a handsome, gentle schr.

    The noblewoman had arching eyebrows, eyes that shimmered like an autumn¡¯ske, and her hair done up in a bun, fastened with a golden headdress shaped like a peacock. The peacock¡¯s plumes red outwards, framing her perfect hairdo. This was a woman of luxury and poise.

    Zu An knew that these two had to be the current leaders of the Chu n, Patriarch Chu Zhongtian and his wife, Qin Wanru. When her gaze fell on him, he instinctively shrank in awe and dread. Clearly, the previous owner of this body was so utterly terrified of her that even now, some residual fear remained.

    He noticed many men in the hall were focused on neither Chu Zhongtian nor Qin Wanru. He traced their furtive nces, and it brought his line of sight toward a young woman dressed in a red blouse and a ck skirt, seated next to Chu Chuyan. This woman was the perfect personification of charm itself. The skin covering her oval face looked as soft as butter, and her almond-shaped eyes could hold any soul captive. Every inch of her oozed a sensual allure that filled any man who set eyes on her with the most inappropriate of thoughts.

    Oh my! She¡¯s ginormous! Zu An¡¯s gaze fixed upon her chest. No wonder everyone is staring at her!

    The woman seemed to feel his gaze on her, but instead of anger, a hint of a smile touched her lips. This smile was so captivating, just a glimpse of it could soften any heart.

    His memories named her as Pei Mianman, and she was a dear friend of Chu Chuyan. She was the young miss of the famous Pei n of the Imperial City. She had recentlye to take in the sights of Brightmoon City and had grown quite close to Chu Chuyan.

    There were others situated in the hall as well, but he couldn¡¯t recognise all of them. Some had grim looks on their faces, while others seemed to be gleefully anticipating his demise.

    Madam Qin noticed the amount of attention Pei Mianman was receiving, and displeasure shed across her face. She let out a gentle cough, which seemed to startle Chu Zhongtian as well. He immediately began his interrogation, ¡°Zu An, do you know why you have been brought here?¡±

    ¡°Of course. It¡¯s because I climbed into my sister-inw¡¯s bed on my wedding night,¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°Pffffft!¡± A wave of suppressedughter swept through the hall. Pei Mianman covered her mouth, her face reddening slightly. She hadn¡¯t expected there to be such a shameless person in the world.

    Everyone else stared at Zu An fiercely. Not only had he done somethingpletely shameless, he was shaming them all before the Pei n. What a wretch he was!

    Before Patriarch Chu could speak, Madam Qin smashed her teacup to the ground in fury. ¡°Miscreant! Are you proud of yourself for having done something so vile?¡± She was fiercely devoted to her two daughters. Yet, an offender who had taken advantage of one of her daughters dared to speak of his crime so nonchntly!

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Wanru for 254 Rage points!

    Silence reigned in the ancestral hall. Everyone in the Chu n knew that while their patriarch was amiable and kind, their matriarch¡¯s temper was terrifying.

 Chapter 10: A Trap

    <h4>Chapter 10: A Trap</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An replied calmly, ¡°I know that I deserve a thousand deaths for having carried out such a despicable, beastly deed. That¡¯s why, when the Second Miss came to speak to mest night, I decided to atone for my sins. I didn¡¯t resist as she struck me again and again with her Wailing Whip. I took a total of eight strikes before she forgave me.¡±

    Those in the hall scoffed at his obviously empty boast. Didn¡¯t resist at all? Pagh! If the Second Miss really wanted to beat you up, how could you possibly resist or dodge even if you wanted to!

    Only then did Chu Zhongtian and his wife register the bloodstains on his clothes, as well as the fact that he was on a stretcher. Yue Shan spoke up, ¡°My lord, the young master said that his wounds from the Wailing Whip were so grievous that hecked the strength to move, so we had to carry him here.¡±

    ¡°Huanzhao?¡± Qin Wanru was startled, but she did not dismiss the story as she knew her daughter¡¯s temperament. Flustered by this turn of events, she snapped, ¡°This is ridiculous behavior!¡±

    Chu Zhongtian wore an odd look. ¡°Wanru, we summoned everyone today for the sake of what happened to Huanzhao. If she has already personally punished Zu An, perhaps we can let this matter rest?¡±

    He recalled the conversation he¡¯d had with his daughter from the previous day. It had fueled his own suspicions that not all was as it seemed, and that Zu An could be innocent. However, he had called this meeting for the sake of his wife, and to satisfy the side branches of the Chu n who were doing their own investigations.

    Upon hearing these words, Zu An felt his heart go out to the man. It¡¯s almost impossible to find such a wonderful father-inw!

    Before Qin Wanru had a chance to respond, a high-pitched voice screeched, ¡°Big brother, I must disagree. Our Chu n has always taken pride in the strictness of our n rules. We¡¯ve never had something so unsightly happen! If we simply waved it away, the Chu n would be disgraced! Do you know how many rumors are flying about these days? Everyone is saying that this brat hastched onto both sisters at once! If we do not punish him, it¡¯ll further fuel the spread of these evil rumors!¡±

    The speaker was a grim-faced, middle-aged man seated directly below Chu Zhongtian. His eyes were weighed down by heavy, dark bags, and he gently fanned himself as he spoke. ording to Zu An¡¯s new memories, this was Chu Tiesheng. He was a member of the second branch of the Chu n, and Chu Chuyan addressed him as ¡®Second Uncle¡¯.

    ¡°Second Uncle, what are you talking about?! It¡¯s not like he did anything to me that night!¡± A beautiful young woman had barged in from an adjoining hall. She was dressed in fiery, skin-tight leathers, which contrasted sharply with the general coldness of the grand hall.

    Chu Zhongtian snapped, ¡°Huanzhao, why are you out here? Go back inside immediately!¡±

    ¡°Stop yelling at her! You shouldn¡¯t yell at children like that!¡± Qin Wanru red at her husband, then turned to beam at her daughter. ¡°It¡¯s alright, Huanzhao. Don¡¯t listen to your father. Come and sit next to me. Tell Mother what this is all about.¡±

    Chu Zhongtian chuckled in embarrassment. No one batted an eyelid; clearly, this was an everyday urrence.

    Chu Huanzhao used the whip in her hand to point at Zu An. ¡°Mother! Last night, I really did use the Wailing Whip to beat him up. In the end, I also agreed to forgive what he did. I don¡¯t want to go back on my word!¡±

    Zu An gave her a huge mental thumbs up. Although the little girl had a sadistic streak, at least she was an honest gambler.

    A rotund man seated opposite Chu Tiesheng spoke up. ¡°Niece, you are still too young to understand the wicked ways of this world. Any of us could¡¯ve punished Zu An; you were the only one who shouldn¡¯t have! If word of this spreads, everyone will assume that the scandal is true. You aren¡¯t even married yet. Think about what this would do to your reputation!¡±

    He was deadly serious as he spoke, but the huge amount fat on his face had creased into what looked like a smile. In fact, many people mistakenly thought that he smiled all the time, which made him hard to dislike. He was toying with a glittering goldenpass.

    Zu An recognized this ¡®smiling tiger¡¯ as the Third Uncle of the Chu n, Chu Yuepo. His head started to ache. Why do all these members of the side branches want me dead? On the surface, I¡¯m nothing more than a useless son-inw. How did I piss off so many people?

    In the silence that followed, the young miss of the Pei n, Pei Mianman, whispered a question to Chu Chuyan. ¡°Doesn¡¯t the Wailing Whip magnify all pain tenfold? Is he perhaps an expert who has been hiding his true abilities?¡±

    Despite her quiet voice, her question carried through the hall. Zu An cursed under his breath. This woman has a sweet smile, but a devious heart. What a total bitch!

    Chu Chuyan frowned slightly. Snow, seated behind them, seized the chance to answer. ¡°He doesn¡¯t even know martial arts. How can he be an expert?¡±

    Chu Tiansheng¡¯s eyes lit up. He hurriedly said towards the Master and Madam, ¡°Big brother, sister-inw! Everyone here knows just how powerful the Wailing Whip is. I imagine even the two of you would find it hard to endure eight blows. How could an ordinary person like him do so?¡±

    Chu Zhongtian exchanged nces with his wife. There was some truth to his words. Chu Huanzhao was indignant. ¡°I really did hit him eight times! Or are you all using me of lying?!¡±

    ¡°My lord, I¡¯m sure that Second Miss would never lie, but she¡¯s always been a kind and gentle person. She must have shown mercy and held back as she struck him. When we went to summon him earlier, he hit me forcefully and broke my nose! It¡¯s impossible for him to be as injured as he ims to be.¡± Diao Yang was quick to throw his support behind Chu Tiansheng.

    Those gathered in the hall were incredulous. The Second Miss? Kind and gentle? How could you say such lies with a straight face? Since when did she ever show anyone mercy with that whip of hers?

    Still, the proceedings thus far had been quite ridiculous. She... didn¡¯t fall for her brother-inw, did she?!

    Chu Tiansheng used Diao Yang¡¯s interruption to advance his case. ¡°The truth is in to see. Not only did Zu An show no remorse for his detestable actions, he even manipted our kind, naive Huanzhao in an attempt to escape sanction for it. We should punish him in ordance with n rules as a warning to others!¡±

    Chu Zhongtian furrowed his brows, eyes hooded in thought. He was clearly weighing the merits of this new argument. Zu An groaned inwardly. He was just about to speak up in his own defence when a servant rushed in.

    ¡°Master! Madam! A woman hase and is causing a huge fuss. She insists on seeing your son-inw. She has already gathered quite a crowd!¡±

    ¡°A woman?¡± Qin Wanru was stunned. ¡°A woman from which n?¡±

    Chu Chuyan, who had remained calm throughout, felt her curiosity pique. Did Zu An know other women?!

    Zu An stared stupidly. How many lovers did this guy have?! But why is it that I have no memories of any?

    Snow, standing behind Chu Chuyan, wore the faintest of smiles. I didn¡¯t expect you to survive your injuries fromst night. Thankfully, I made ample preparations.

    In response to Qin Wanru¡¯s questions, the servant nervously stuttered, ¡°F-from the Red Harmony Courtyard.¡±

    Instantly, the hall was thrown into an uproar. Everyone knew what type of establishment the Red Harmony Courtyard was!

    ¡°It¡¯s a disgrace to let this nonsense continue outside our estate. Bring her inside!¡± Qin Wanru ordered coldly, her voice quivering with barely-contained anger.

    A woman in a gaudy dress and make-up sashayed into the hall. When she caught sight of Zu An, she threw herself at him, sobbing and wailing. ¡°You heartless man! After you had your fill, you said you were broke and couldn¡¯t pay, but promised instead to bring me into your household as a concubine. You even told me that I could be a sister to the young misses of the Chu n. That was the only reason I agreed. How could you just abandon me?!¡±

    Snow idly toyed with her ponytail, her eyes narrowed to crescent slits. Let¡¯s see you make it out of this alive.

    It was purely a case of her word against his. Even if you deny it, no one will believe you unless you make public the fact that you are impotent... which would be even more embarrassing for the n. No matter what, you¡¯ll no longer be the son-inw after today.

    Young master, your dreams will quickly be a reality.

    The members of the second and third branches fell silent, and an uneasy silence filled the hall. There was nothing more to be said.

    Chu Zhongtian, who had been amodating Zu An so far, was furious. Amon whore openly bragging about bing a sister to his precious daughter? This was an absolute disgrace... and it was all because of Zu An!

    ¡°Vile miscreant! What do you have to say for yourself?!¡± Qin Wanru red at Zu An, her eyes spitting fire.

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Zhongtian for 78 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Wanru for 300 Rage points!

    Zu An himself wondered how the previous owner of this body had managed to survive this long. He had transmigrated to this world just a day ago, but everyone seemed to want him dead! So, who hired this prostitute to deal with me? The second branch? The third? Maybe Miss Pei? Looks like mooching off my wife isn¡¯t going to be that easy.

    He calmly turned to face the gaudily-dressed woman. ¡°What¡¯s your name again?¡±

    ¡°Oh, you heartless man! Don¡¯t even pretend you don¡¯t know me. You passionately called out my name ¡®Springflower¡¯ so many times, but now you¡¯ve forgotten it?¡± the prostitute said with a cold smile.

    Zu An didn¡¯t argue with her, but answered with a smile of his own, ¡°Ah. Please forgive me, sweet Springflower, I¡¯ve been busy recently and it slipped my mind. How much do I owe you for your services?¡±

    ¡°My services?! You don¡¯t have to put it so bluntly.¡± Springflower waved her fingers flirtatiously. ¡°We were together for nearly half a month. That would make it a total of twenty... no, thirty silvers.¡±

    At this, those in the hall felt their disdain for Zu An deepen. You were actually interested in such a cheap working girl? How thirsty were you?

    ¡°Thirty silvers?¡± Zu An nodded. ¡°That¡¯s pretty cheap. How about this? I¡¯ll give you three hundred silvers, and we¡¯ll consider the extra a betrothal gift.¡±

    The assembled nsmen sucked in icy cold breaths in shock. Was this fellow suicidal? They looked towards the main dais, and saw that both Chu Zhongtian and his wife were ashen-faced.

    Miss Pei studied Zu An curiously. She sensed something odd about him.

    ¡°Truly?¡± Joy blossomed on Springflower¡¯s face.

    ¡°Of course!¡± Zu An turned to Chu Chuyan. ¡°Sweetheart, I don¡¯t have any money right now. Could you loan me three hundred silvers?¡±

    Everyone in the hall stared at him as though he were insane. You are actually asking your wife to pay for your whoring?! What the hell is wrong with you! Chu Chuyan is going to rip him apart on the spot!

    Contrary to everyone¡¯s expectations, Chu Yuyan nodded. ¡°Very well. Servants, bring me three hundred silvers.¡±

    The hall was thrown into a state of confused chaos. No one understood what was going on. Even Pei Mianman stared at her in astonishment. Was this truly her best friend?

    Qin Wanru was about to explode, but Chu Zhongtian nudged her arm gently and pursed his lips towards their daughter. Madame Chu frowned deeply, but stayed silent, waiting for events to y out further.

    Zu An silently acknowledged Chu Chuyan¡¯s move. My freebie wife really is as cold as ice and especially clever. She was probably the only one who knew for sure that he was being maligned, as she had personally witnessed his impotence. There was no way she would believe he had been out whoring.

    Wait. Why am I on the verge of breaking down in tears?

 Chapter 11: Surrounded By Danger

    <h4>Chapter 11: Surrounded By Danger</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    If the mastermind of this plot was Chu Chuyan herself, he would have no choice but to embarrass himself by revealing his ¡®shorings¡¯ to clear his name. Fortunately, this wasn¡¯t necessary. Yet.

    Zu An gathered his thoughts, then said to Springflower, ¡°You came at just the right time. This silver should cover your relocation expenses. Thest woman I took home was sent to the military camp, but she cannot endure much more. You¡¯ll be recing her there.¡±

    ¡°Relocation expenses?¡± Springflower finally smelled something fishy. ¡°Wait a second. Why is she in a military camp?¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t know?¡± Zu An looked mildly bemused. ¡°My wife is perfect in almost every respect. Her only failing is that she dotes on me too much and gets a tiny bit jealous. Thest time I brought home a woman like you, she made up a story to get her sent to our military camp to service our soldiers. My goodness. She gets to be a blushing bride multiple times a day. I feel bad for her.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Chuyan for 433 Rage points!

    Chu Chuyan had never imagined he would paint such a portrait of her. Seeing the weird looks she was getting from the assembled members, the urge to kill Zu An welled up in her for the first time. However, the events of the past two days had simply been too strange, and he did fulfill all of her criteria. Finding another groom would expose the n to scandal all over again.

    With all this in mind, she forced herself to sit in stony silence.

    ¡°Military camp?!¡± Springflower was horrified. Working girls had their own hierarchy. The ssiest ones were the ¡®queens of flowers¡¯. Below them were the ordinary courtesans, and then came those who worked in brothels, like herself. On the bottom rung were those that serviced the army, and most were sent there as punishment for some infraction.

    Soldiers were thirsty, yet had incredible endurance. Not many women could endure such abuse¡ªfewsted more than six months. Springflower¡¯s face turned ghostly white as she recalled the stories she¡¯d heard from her coworkers about these camps.

    Zu An nodded and went on. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, though. These are members of our private army. They¡¯ll take good care of you! They¡¯ve been looking forward to someone fresh.¡±

    Qin Wanru could no longer contain her rage. ¡°Miscreant! The Chu n...¡±

    She was about to say that the Chu n and its army never took part in such shameful deeds, but Springflower had already lost her mind. She let out a shrill scream and yelled, ¡°I don¡¯t want to go to an army camp! Everything I said was a lie! I don¡¯t even know this man!¡±

    She grabbed onto Diao Yang¡ªwho had been standing nearby¡ªand shook him forcefully. ¡°Diao Yang, the situation ispletely different from what you said it would be! Say something! I don¡¯t want to go to an army camp!¡±

    Diao Yang¡¯s turned pale, and he shoved her aside. ¡°Don¡¯t try to nder me, you crazy bitch! The Chu n¡¯s forces have strict moral standards! How could we possibly¡ª¡±

    He was cut off abruptly as a tremendous burst of power gripped him, preventing him from uttering another word.

    Chu Zhongtian¡¯s face was as cid as water. He looked at Springflower. ¡°This man asked you toe here and say what you just said?¡±

    Springflower nodded frantically, like a chicken pecking at rice. ¡°He found me and gave me twenty silvers, and said that I¡¯d earn even more after the deed was done. This is a duke¡¯s estate, full of nobles. I was sure I¡¯d earn enough for a lifetime if I helped out. That¡¯s why I snuck in! Please forgive me, my lord!¡±

    Only then did Chu Zhongtian release his energy grip on Diao Yang. ¡°Do you have anything to say?¡±

    Diao Yang¡¯s face was ashen. He fell to his knees. ¡°Please forgive me, Master! I was instructed to do this.¡±

    ¡°Instructed by who?¡± Chu Zhongtian barked.

    ¡°I... I don¡¯t know.¡± Diao Yang swallowed hard, then hurried on, ¡°That person spoke to me from the other side of a wall. He bribed me to do it! I¡¯ve always hated the fact that our young miss ended up marrying someone so useless, so like a fool I agreed. Please show me mercy on ount of my many years of service, Master!¡±

    Hearing this, Snow finally rxed the tight grip she had on her ponytail.

    Chu Zhongtian snorted, then waved for him to be removed. He red at everyone present with a face like thunder. ¡°It seems clear that Zu An was maligned. Considering that he has already been punished, this matter is settled. No one is to speak of it in the future. Any objections?¡±

    Chu Tiesheng gently fanned himself, while Chu Yuepo continued to toy with hispass. Neither spoke. Given that they had yet to discover the mastermind behind all this, neither was willing to make a move that would invite scrutiny.

    Zu An let out a long sigh of relief. Finally, it''s over. However, it seemed his mother-inw was unwilling to let him off just yet. ¡°Are we going to spare him, just like this?¡±

    ¡°Of course not.¡± Chu Zhongtian smiled ingratiatingly at her. ¡°Zu An has gotten himself involved in all manner of unsightly affairs. To ensure he doesn¡¯t cause trouble in the future, he will be sent to the Brightmoon Academy to cultiv-...¡± He wanted to say ¡®cultivate¡¯, but changed his words as he remembered how poor Zu An¡¯s physique was. ¡°Ahem, to be a man of learning. That way, at least he¡¯ll be able to assist the n as an ountant or something.¡±

    ¡°Brightmoon Academy?¡± Zu An was taken aback. But, considering that Chu Zhongtian was the duke of Brightmoon City, the Brightmoon Academy was most likely affiliated to their n.

    His attention shifted to the Rage points he had umted. This little episode had generated another 1646 Rage points. Time to y the lottery again!

    He was carried back to his room. Just as he was about to draw his prizes, a red blur burst in.

    Recognizing the Second Miss of the Chu n, Zu An grew wary. ¡°Why are you here?¡± Did she figure out that my wounds were feigned?

    Chu Huanzhao hopped onto a nearby table and sat down, her slender little legs dangling in midair. ¡°I came here to apologize to you.¡±

    ¡°Apologize?¡± Zu An was at a loss for words.

    Chu Huanzhao looked ufortable. ¡°Per our wager, I agreed to forget about what happened that night. But, I wasn¡¯t able to protect you today. You even ended up being punished for it.¡±

    Zu An was amused. This little girl has an honest side to her. He was anxious to y the lottery, and was not interested in wasting time with her. He casually waved a hand. ¡°Oh, whatever. You¡¯re a kid. It¡¯s only normal that you don¡¯t have much say in the family.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Huanzhao for 66 Rage points!

    Zu An blinked. Only then did he realize Chu Huanzhao¡¯s face had turned ugly. She snorted and hopped off the table. As she left, she said, ¡°In the future, I¡¯ll protect you when you are at the academy. If anyone tries to bully you, just tell them you are under my care!¡±

    Zu An rolled his eyes behind her back. You¡¯re just a little slip of a girl, but you act like you are thedy boss or something. He was the son-inw of the estate. After what happened today, no one in the family would dare to bully him, at least for a while.

    He put all that out of his mind. He looked around to make sure no one else wasing, then hopped out of bed. He washed his hands and face solemnly, then pulled out a joss stick. He lit it and chanted a prayer. ¡°Buddha, Brahma, Jehovah, Ah... any gods that exist, please protect me and grant me a good item.¡±

    Factoring in the 66 Rage points he had just earned from Chu Huanzhao, he now had a total of 1712 Rage points. He summoned the Keyboard, selected the ¡®Lottery¡¯ function, then carefully pressed ¡®Enter¡¯. The light marker appeared and shed across the numbers on the keyboard.

    Thanks for ying!

    Thanks for ying!

    Thanks for ying!

    ... Ohe ON! Zu An was irate. Do I have the worst luck in the world, or are the drop rates really that low?

    It wasn¡¯t until his thirteenth attempt that the light marker finally escaped the clutches of the ¡®Space¡¯ key andnded on the ¡®8¡¯ key instead. He looked up excitedly. This was a new key. He wondered what it would grant!

    A small bottle materialized, filled with a green crystalline liquid. Its description appeared below.

    Poison Bottle: This is a thrown weapon. It causes everyone within a small area to feel numb and powerless. It ignores all defenses for targets below the fifth rank.

    Zu An was ecstatic. In any game and any world, skills and techniques that bypassed defenses were always overpowered as hell. His one regret was that it only worked against targets below the fifth rank. Then again, he probably wouldn¡¯t run into bosses above the fourth rank for some time, right?

    Aww, hell, I hope I haven¡¯t jinxed myself.

    Now he had yet another trump card up his sleeve. Zu An happily stored the little green bottle into his item bar. Its color was slightly unlucky, but that was a minor gripe. He used up his four remaining attempts but came away empty-handed. This thing has a really crappy drop rate.

    Despite it all, Zu An was pleased that he was able to earn Rage points so easily. The only drawback was that earning points made everyone hate him. This is a cultivator world. I hope I don¡¯t end up getting picked off by some random boss. Mm. I need to pick my targets carefully in the future!

    Man, I really wish I was like one of those endgame MC¡¯s who could wipe out entire worlds with a single thought. I guess all I can do for now is keep a low profile and slowly grind my way up.

    Suddenly, new messages began to pop up.

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Wanru for 2 Rage points!

    ... 2 Rage points! ... 2 Rage points! ... 2...2... 2... 2... 2...

    Zu An blinked at the sudden series of messages. What¡¯s going on with that mother-inw of mine? How did I piss her off this time?!

    ***

    Qin Wanru paced angrily around the private quarters she shared with her husband. ¡°That bastard really pisses me off! My poor, sweet Yan¡¯er. Her future marital prospects have been dashed by that fellow¡¯s hands.¡±

    Chu Zhongtian poured a cup of tea and hastened to present it to his wife. ¡°This was Chuyan¡¯s personal decision.¡±

    Qin Wanru swallowed the tea in one gulp, her anger undiminished. ¡°It was all for the sake of your Chu n!¡±

    Chu Zhongtian smiled awkwardly and changed the subject. ¡°Honestly, I¡¯m more concerned about who exactly is secretly targeting Zu An.¡±

    Qin Wanru frowned, her anger overshadowed by the serious discussion at hand. She took a seat on a cushioned chair nearby. ¡°Agreed. Before this, I didn¡¯t fully believe your suspicions, but the events in the ancestral hall this morning suggest that he is being secretly targeted.¡±

    Chu Zhongtian nodded. ¡°And why would he, on his wedding night, suddenly run off into Huanzhao¡¯s bed? He can be a scoundrel at times, but I really don¡¯t think he¡¯s that bold.¡±

    Qin Wanru snorted. ¡°He seemed quite bold this morning, didn¡¯t he?¡±

    Chu Zhongtian went on. ¡°Someone knocked Huanzhao out that night. That¡¯s the only exnation. She would never have let him get into her bed otherwise. You don¡¯t really think he¡¯s capable of that, do you?¡±

    ¡°Honestly, if he did have that level of talent, I wouldn¡¯t be half as mad as I am right now,¡± Qin Wanru retorted. Clearly, she was exceedingly disgruntled by how useless her new son-inw was.

    Chu Zhongtian sighed. ¡°There¡¯s something I haven¡¯t had a chance to tell you yet. That same night, our spirit creek was defiled.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Qin Wanru shot up, thunderstruck. Ever since the Chu n had been established, it had relied on two primary sources of revenue. The first was the salt trade, while the second was the arms trade. The Chu n¡¯s dominance in the arms trade was due to the significantly higher quality of their weapons,pared to theirpetitors¡¯. This was dependent on two things: their marvelous rune formations, and the spirit creek which was used to cleanse and temper weapons.

    Every n had their own rune formations, and some of them were on par with the Chu n¡¯s. The spirit creek, however, was exclusive to the Chu n. It was the criticalponent to the n¡¯s sess in the arms industry.

    ¡°You were so furious at what Zu An did that night that I was afraid to tell you.¡± Chu Zhongtian kept a careful eye on her facial expressions as he continued. ¡°Right now, I suspect that someone drugged him and put him into Huanzhao¡¯s bed on his wedding night. Using this distraction, they seized the chance to defile our spirit creek.¡±

    Qin Wanru was frantic. ¡°Can the spirit creek be restored?¡±

    Chu Zhongtian shook his head. ¡°A small quantity of demonspit was poured into the spirit creek. It will remain defiled for at least twenty years. Thankfully, whoever did this did not have arge supply of it; perhaps, in a few decades, the spirit creek will manage to cleanse itself."

    ¡°Who knows if the Chu n will even be around in a few decades!¡± Qin Wanru knew that demonspit was the vilest and most toxic substance in the world. If their spirit creek had been polluted by demonspit, there was nothing they could do right now to save it. ¡°Who do you think carried this out? The Emperor¡¯s faction, or King Qi¡¯s faction?¡±

 Chapter 12: Keeping Mum

    <h4>Chapter 12: Keeping Mum</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Chu Zhongtian fell silent upon hearing his wife¡¯s words. The founder of the Zhou Dynasty, Emperor Taizu, had lost his sons to the war that founded the empire. Taizu¡¯s younger brother offered his second son¡ªthe current King Qi¡ªto Taizu for adoption.

    However, Taizu sacrificed his own life in a bitter fight to defeat an expert from the foreign tribes. Mindful of the instability of the newly-formed Empire and the tender age of his adopted son, Taizu nominated his younger brother as his sessor with his dying breath. This led to the rise of Emperor Taizong.

    Inheriting the will of Taizu, Emperor Taizong conquered vast swathes ofnd, greatly expanding the territories of the Zhou Dynasty. The many battles¡ªand the injuries which he suffered¡ªtook their toll on his physical body, and he reached his limit prematurely. When it was time to choose an heir, he was put in a bind.

    By convention, the throne belonged to Taizu¡¯s lineage. He had only assumed the crown because King Qi had been far too young to govern. Now that King Qi was a grown man, it was only right for him to pass the throne to him.

    But greed lurks in the hearts of all men. Even though King Qi shared Taizong¡¯s blood, he had been adopted by Taizu, and thus Taizong did not see him as his own son. As such, he favored his own eldest son, King Jin, instead.

    Taizong hatched a clever n. He issued an edict, dering that the first of the two to reach the Earth Immortal stage as the sessor to the throne.

    King Jin, as the eldest son of Taizong, was naturally older than King Qi. He also enjoyed the full backing of Taizong, which granted him far more resources for cultivation. It went without saying that King Jin was the first to reach the Earth Immortal stage, and seeded his father to be the incumbent Emperor Gaozong.

    This decision caused much controversy, as many older subjects in the imperial court were loyal to Taizu¡¯s lineage and supported King Qi¡¯s right to rule. To cate them and avert a civil war, Taizong hinted that King Qi could one day seed Gaozong when he passed on.

    A hundred years had passed since then, and Gaozong was nearing the end of his life. The issue of session came up once more, and Gaozong chose to proim his own son as the crown prince. King Qi¡¯s followers were upset by this pronouncement, and were infuriated that the designated crown prince was far less talented than the prodigious King Qi.

    Despite their opposition, Emperor Gaozong had ruled for a hundred years, and had consolidated great power and influence during his reign. shes had erupted between both factions in recent years, both openly as well as covertly.

    The Chu n, through its dominance in both the salt trade and the arms trade, had unbelievable wealth that rivaled that of a country. Given the significant resources at its disposal, it was inevitable that both factions would seek to win their support. However, Chu Zhongtian had taken a fiercely neutral stance, as he had no wish to embroil the Chu n in the current war of session. In response, the Imperial faction had intensified their overtures, and were pushing to cement an alliance through marriage.

    Chu Zhongtian and his wife had been deeply troubled by this matter because the Chu n, unlike other ns, harbored a huge secret. Furthermore, Chu Chuyan had a huge role in the business empire of the Chu n. If she were to be married into the Imperial faction, the Chu n would risk being swallowed whole.

    Chu Chuyan was aware of what was at stake, so she proposed taking the initiative to hold an open selection for her spouse. She chose the most useless fellow in the city and rushed through the marriage ceremony in order to crush any ideas that the Imperial faction or King Qi¡¯s faction had in mind.

    This sequence of events had led Qin Wanru to suspect the culprit who ruined the spirit creek had been sent either by the emperor or by King Qi.

    ¡°Regardless of who the culprit is, we have troubling days ahead of us,¡± Chu Zhongtian said gravely. ¡°Sang Hong is going to take over as the governor of Linchuan Commandery.¡±

    Brightmoon City was under the jurisdiction of Linchuan Commandery.

    Qin Wanru eximed in astonishment, ¡°Vice Minister of Finance, Sang Hong!¡±

    The Minister of Finance was one of the Nine Ministers that managed the finances of the empire, with the Vice Minister of Finance as the second-in-charge. Sang Hong, who supervised the salt and arms trade within the empire, was an aide to the emperor. It was clear he was being assigned to the Linchuan Commandery in order to deal with the Chu n.

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard rumors that he¡¯s a callous person who has no qualms killing his kin if he needs to. Many noble ns have fallen apart due to his intervention. I fear that our Chu n is in grave danger,¡± Qin Wanru remarked worriedly.

    Seeing the traces of fear streaking the face of his usually headstrong wife, Chu Zhongtian embraced her and said, ¡°We¡¯ll deal with it ordingly when ites our way. Our Chu n is no pushover! Sang Hong is no more than an eighth rank; let¡¯s see who gets thestugh!¡±

    Qin Wanru rolled her eyes at her husband. ¡°Is his cultivation the only thing that matters? Great Bandit Chen Xuan of the Hidden Dragon Mountain is no more than a sixth rank, so why haven¡¯t you managed to eradicate him even after so many years?¡±

    Chu Zhongtian harrumphed coldly. ¡°That Chen Xuan is a sly fellow. Every time I rush over after receiving news of him, he disappears without a trace. I suspect he has an insider within this city that has been tipping him off, or else I would have caught him long ago!¡±

    A thought popped into Qin Wanru¡¯s mind. ¡°That gang of bandits illegally peddles salt and plunders passing merchants, killing them in cold blood. We should toss the matter into Sang Hong¡¯s hands. He won¡¯t be able to turn a blind eye to this matter as the governor.¡±

    Chu Zhongtian¡¯s eyes lit up as well. ¡°What a wonderful idea! That reminds me, I heard that the merchant convoy of the Yu n is heading over to Brightmoon City. We have to inform them of this matter lest they get ambushed by Chen Xuan¡¯s group¡ªyowch ouch ouch ouch...¡±

    Before Chu Zhongtian could finish, Qin Wanru grabbed his ear tightly, saying, ¡°You are just worried about their matriarch, Yu Yanluo, aren¡¯t you? She was the number one beauty of the capital back then. I know that you shamelessly courted her before, only for her to end up marrying the Cloudmidst Duke. Are you thinking of rekindling the spark between you two?¡±

    Chu Zhongtian desperately pleaded for mercy, ¡°My dear wife, they have already been married for so long. How could I possibly bear such intention toward her? You mustn¡¯t spout such nonsense!¡±

    However, Qin Wanru still refused to release her grip, sniffing coldly instead. ¡°I heard that the Cloudmidst Duke recently passed away in an ident. Doesn¡¯t that mean that Yu Yanluo is single now?¡±

    Chu Zhongtian¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Is that true?¡±

    Skewered by his wife¡¯s murderous gaze, he quickly changed his tone and said, ¡°My dear wife, doesn¡¯t the fact that I¡¯m ignorant about her affairs show that my eyes have never been on her? Besides, you know the current circumstances I am in. How could I have any intentions towards her?¡±

    Seeing the hurt look on Chu Zhongtian¡¯s face, Qin Wanru hurriedly released his ear. ¡°Husband, I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    Chu Zhongtian shook his head. ¡°No, I¡¯m the one who has let you down.¡±

    Qin Wanru hated to see her husband so downcast, so she quickly changed the subject. ¡°Where did Chuyan go?¡±

    Chu Zhongtian replied, ¡°She¡¯s bringing the young miss of the Pei n around the city.¡±

    Qin Wanru furrowed her brows. ¡°As someone from the Pei n, she¡¯s probably a member of King Qi¡¯s faction. I can¡¯t help but think that she has darker intentions in mind for suddenly choosing to study at Brightmoon Academy.¡±

    Chu Zhongtian chuckled in response, ¡°Rest assured! Our daughter is a smart child, she knows what to do.¡±

    Qin Wanru harrumphed. ¡°Pei Mianman might be young, but she has the face of a cunning vixen. Those peach blossom eyes of hers seem to be constantly seducing the men around her. I don¡¯t like her.¡±

    Chu Zhongtian burst intoughter. ¡°Are you worried that she would snatch your daughter¡¯s man?¡±

    Qin Wanru chuckled at the thought of Pei Mianman falling for Zu An¡¯s witless features. It was inconceivable! ¡°I would celebrate if she took that scoundrel away from Chuyan!¡±

    ...

    ¡°Achoo~¡±

    Zu An suddenly let loose a powerful sneeze. He wondered which young miss or madam was currently thinking of him.

    ¡°Young master, have you caught a cold? I¡¯ll find some thicker clothes for you to put on right away!¡± Before Zu An could react, a young man had already wrapped a robe around him.

    The stupefied Zu An took a closer look at the young man before him. He appeared to be fourteen or fifteen years old, and was dressed in a set of blue clothes. His hair was tied into two buns on top of his head. Together with hisrge eyes, they lent him a docile, youthful look.

    ¡°Wait a moment, who are you?¡±

    ¡°Young master, you¡¯re teasing me. This servant is your studypanion!¡± the young man replied with a flirtatious smile.

    ¡°Studypanion?¡± Zu An was bbergasted for a moment, but concluded that it had to do with him attending the Brightmoon Academy. He was just heading to one of their n¡¯s subsidiaries. Was it really necessary to assign him a studypanion?

    Looks like the Brightmoon Duke¡¯s estate is indeed needlessly rich. Yeap, just how I like it.

    ¡°What did you call me earlier?¡±

    ¡°Young master?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t hear you. Louder!¡±

    ¡°Young master!¡±

    ¡°Not bad, not bad. Lad, you have a bright future ahead of you.¡±

    Joy blossomed on Zu An¡¯s face. Nothing had gone his way since his transmigration. He might be the son-inw of a Duke¡¯s estate, but not a single person respected him, let alone addressed him as ¡®young master¡¯.

    Finally meeting someone who treated him with respect soothed him from head to toe.

    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±

    The youth jolted into attention and replied anxiously, ¡°Young master, my name is Cheng Shouping.¡±

    ¡°What ping?¡± Zu An thought that studypanions usually had characters like Fu (Fortune), Wang (Prosperity), or Cai (Money) in their names. At the very least, they would go with something that was easy to remember like Wah On. Who in the world gave this fellow such a weird name?[1]

    ¡°Cheng Shouping, derived from ¡®guarding one¡¯s lips like a tightly corked bottle¡¯. It¡¯s a name that the Master bestowed on me!¡± He puffed out his chest proudly.[2]

    ¡°Not bad, you were worthy enough to be granted a name by your Master.¡± Zu An wasn¡¯t familiar with the customs in this world, but he reckoned it a huge honor to be given a name by one¡¯s master. Take Zheng Chenggong from his timeline, for example. After he was bestowed a surname by the emperor, everyone began addressing him by the honorific ¡®Lord of Imperial Surname¡¯.

    ¡°Young master, you tter me. I was deeply favored by the Master while I was working for him, but one day, I found myself transferred to the kitchens. I was afraid I might have unintentionally offended the old master somehow, but now that I have been assigned as young master¡¯s studypanion, I finally understand my Master¡¯s intentions! He must have been trying to temper me by putting me through adversity, so that I would be ready to take on a greater cause when the need arises!¡± Light glittered in Cheng Shouping¡¯s eyes at his passionate promation.

    ¡°Wait a moment...¡± the more Zu An listened to Cheng Shouping¡¯s story, the more bizarre it sounded. He was well aware of how others in the Chu Estate thought of him, and yet, this fellow thought that this assignment was an honorable job?

    Looks like he¡¯s not a very brightd.

    Besides, this fellow had started out working by Master Chu¡¯s side, so how did he end up being transferred over to a ce like the kitchens?

    Zu An let the matter drop. He was more interested in his own affairs. ¡°It seems like you have been in the Chu Estate for quite some time. You should know a few things, right?¡±

    Cheng Shouping thumped his chest and said, ¡°That goes without saying! From the old master down to the servants working in the Chu Estate, no one keeps any secrets from me!¡±

    Zu An needed to know more about the Chu Estate. He had only arrived here two days ago, yet so many were already plotting his demise, and he had no idea what the root cause of it all was. He was acutely aware of the perilous position he was in.

    He mulled for a moment before asking, ¡°Do you know why the Chu n chose me as their son-inw?¡± This was what bugged him the most. Chu Chuyan, from her background down to her appearance, was impable, whereas Zu An, from every perspective, was useless trash through and through. It should have been impossible for their paths to have ever crossed, but in a mysterious turn of events, they had be married to one another. This reeked with suspicion.

    Cheng Shouping seemed bewildered by Zu An¡¯s question. ¡°Isn¡¯t that because of young master¡¯s devilishly handsome looks?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes shot wide open. It would seem that Cheng Shouping shared some of his talent for earnestly spewing nonsense. ¡°Ahem, ahem. While what you¡¯re saying makes perfect sense, is there no other reason behind it?¡±

    ¡°None at all. The young miss chose you because of your dashing looks back then.¡±

    Don¡¯t you have a shred of self-awareness in you at all? There¡¯s nothing you have that can be called a strength other than that! Cheng Shouping was careful not to allow even a sliver of his inner thoughts slip through his mask. His expression was as earnest as it could get.

    ¡°You¡¯re saying that the young miss chose me personally?¡± Zu An astutely picked out the crucial information hidden amidst Cheng Shouping¡¯s words.

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. Madam wasn¡¯t satisfied with her decision and had implored her to reconsider her options,¡± Cheng Shouping replied.

    Zu An hurriedly interjected, ¡°You don¡¯t need to say anything unnecessary to me.¡±

    He had presumed that Chu Chuyan had been forced into marrying him by her parents; that would exin the dissatisfaction and killing intent she had directed toward him. However, what Cheng Shouping said earlier disproved this.

    But why would Chu Chuyan choose him as her spouse? That young miss¡¯ eyes were as sharp as they could get!

    Pui pui pui! She must have fallen for my dashing looks and desired a taste of my body!

    1. This is a reference to a Hong Kong movie, Flirting Schr, where the main lead enters the House of Wah as a studypanion to the two young masters of the house.

    2. Shou means ¡®guard¡¯ and ping means ¡®bottle¡¯

 Chapter 13: Divine Physician Ji

    <h4>Chapter 13: Divine Physician Ji</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An¡¯s expression darkened once more at this thought. A curse had been put on this lousy body of his, such that he could do nothing even if a beautiful woman were to leap into his embrace.

    Recalling Old Mi¡¯s words, he turned back to the young man beside him and asked, ¡°Shouping, are you familiar with the Master stage?¡±

    ¡°Everyone in the Zhou Dynasty knows about it. Is young master unfamiliar with it?¡± Cheng Shouping threw Zu An a quizzical look.

    Zu An nearly choked. He quickly replied, ¡°Of course I am familiar with it! I was just testing you!¡±

    ¡°I see!¡± Cheng Shouping¡¯s eyes widened with realization. ¡°Masters are able to draw raw ki from the world freely, allowing them to soar through the sky. They are top-notch figures in this world.¡±

    Zu An was astonished to hear that. ¡°How many Masters are there in our Brightmoon City?¡±

    ¡°How many?¡± Cheng Shoupingughed as though Zu An had told a great joke. ¡°None at all!¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Zu An was stunned. Brightmoon City looked pretty big to him, so how could there not be even a single Master here?

    ¡°Leaving Brightmoon City aside, I doubt that there are any Masters in our entire Linchuan Commandery!¡± Cheng Shouping eximed. ¡°You should know that in the Zhou Dynasty, only the Three Dukes, the Grand Marshall, the General of Swift Steed, and a few Kings are Masters. There are so few Masters around. How could we have any in our Brightmoon City?¡±

    Cheng Shoupingunched into a lengthy exnation about how one¡¯s position corresponded to one¡¯s cultivation level in this world. The more Zu An listened, the more shocked he grew. Old Mi was making fun of me! There are only that many Masters in the world. Even with the help of the Keyboard, I would be a withered old man by the time I reach the Master stage. Not to mention, he doesn¡¯t even know about my trump card. Just where did he get the confidence that I would be able to reach Master stage?

    As Zu An brooded, he noticed Cheng Shouping watching him with strained patience, as if he were struggling to deal with a simpleton. He seethed inwardly. ¡°You sure know quite a lot, don¡¯t you?¡±

    Cheng Shouping was smiling so brightly that his facial features all squished together. ¡°Young master, you¡¯re ttering me.¡±

    ¡°You are a cultivator too?¡±

    Cheng Shouping¡¯s smile froze momentarily before he lowered his head gloomily and replied, ¡°That¡¯s not it. I have no talent in cultivation or in sensing raw ki.¡±

    Zu An nodded slightly. ¡°Idle people like you sure know how to live life well. You¡¯re so knowledgeable despite your inability to cultivate.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Cheng Shouping for 33 Rage points!

    Zu An pondered for a moment. ¡°Are there any extremely skilled physicians in Brightmoon City? The kind whose reputations have spread far and wide?¡± This won¡¯t do. I¡¯ll be an old fossil before I reach Master stage if I took the conventional way! I need to find some other means instead.

    Since this was a world of cultivation, there had to be miraculous physicians around, those who could pull off the impossible. Perhaps they would be able to solve the problem he was facing.

    ¡°Extremely skilled physicians? Ah, there is one!¡± Cheng Shouping seemed to delight in enlightening others. ¡°Divine Physician Ji is Brightmoon City¡¯s... No, to be more urate, he¡¯s the most skilled physician in the entire Linchuan Commandery. There¡¯s no illness that he can¡¯t treat!¡±

    ¡°Ji? He can¡¯t possibly be Ji Xian, right?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°Ji Xian?¡± Cheng Shouping scratched his head in confusion. ¡°He isn¡¯t.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s interest was sparked. ¡°Let¡¯s go then! Bring me to him!¡±

    Cheng Shouping dithered, frowning slightly ¡°Young master, weren¡¯t you whipped by the Second Miss just a moment ago? No matter how I look at it, you should...¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes swam about as he searched for a lie. ¡°I¡¯m visiting Divine Physician Ji to have those wounds treated!¡±

    ¡°But our estate¡¯s physician has already tended to young master. You¡¯ll recover with a few days of rest. There¡¯s no need for you to look for Divine Physician Ji,¡± Cheng Shouping replied.

    ck lines streaked across Zu An¡¯s face as he replied, ¡°Are you the young master or am I the young master? Why do you have so much nonsense? Just take me there!¡±

    ¡°Young master, please be at ease. I¡¯ll bring you there right away!¡± Cheng Shouping quickly put on a fawning smile once more.

    Zu An was a little surprised by Cheng Shouping¡¯sposure. Now that he thought about it, he also hadn¡¯t earned many Rage points by insulting thed earlier. Perhaps the years he had spent in the Chu Estate had thickened his skin.

    Zu An quickly changed his clothes and instructed Cheng Shouping to lead the way. He had worried that he would be barred from leaving the estate, but the gate guards let them through with barely a nce.

    He thought about the incident that happened the previous night and asked, ¡°Where is the First Miss?¡±

    ¡°The First Miss appears to have gone out,¡± Cheng Shouping replied.

    Zu An heaved a sigh of relief. He did not relish the thought of facing that master-and-servant pair again. ¡°Speaking of which, do you know Snow?¡±

    Cheng Shouping¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Who doesn¡¯t know Sister Snow? She¡¯s the personal attendant of the First Miss! Not only is she beautiful, but she has a sweet voice as well. Countless people in the estate consider her their dream lover. Young master, if you don¡¯t mind, can you help bring us together?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re talking nonsense again.¡± Zu An was speechless. Where did this fellow get the confidence to court Snow? ¡°Put your mind to better use. Do you have any information concerning her? For example, has she been working in the Chu Estate from a young age?¡±

    ¡°Ah, no she hasn¡¯t.¡± Cheng Shouping was deted by Zu An¡¯s contemptuous dismissal of his romantic aspirations. It looks like the young master is interested in Snow too. I heard that the personal maidservants ofrge ns are usually given to the groom as concubines. ¡°Sister Snow was saved and brought to the Chu Estate three or four years ago. She¡¯s obedient and intelligent, so she quickly won the First Miss¡¯ favor and was appointed as her personal maidservant."

    ¡°Obedient?¡± Zu An could not reconcile that sharp-tonguedss with that word. However, the fact that she had only been in service to the Chu n for three to four years upied his mind.

    ¡°How about the second branch and the third branch? How are their rtionships with my father-inw¡¯s branch?¡± Zu An thought about what had transpired in the ancestral hall. He sensed an inexplicable enmitying from Chu Tiesheng and Chu Yuepo.

    ¡°Still fine, I guess,¡± Cheng Shouping replied thoughtfully. ¡°The Second Master spends his days managing the arms trade whereas the Third Master manages the salt trade. They are the close aides to our Master.¡±

    ¡°Arms? Salt?¡± Zu An was taken aback. This was the world of cultivation! Even if they weren¡¯t managing the spirit stone trade, they should at least be rearing demonic beasts or doing other fantasy stuff. Why were they dealing with such... ordinarymodities?

    As if sensing Zu An¡¯s thoughts, Cheng Shouping exined, ¡°Young master, you shouldn¡¯t underestimate these twomodities. They can bring about massive profits for the family. It¡¯s through these twomodities that our Chu n umted wealth equal to that of a country. You should know that there are only a small number of individuals who are privileged to be able to cultivate in our world. The rest are ordinary mortals like us, unable to sense the raw ki in the air. Arms and salt are daily necessities that we cannot do without.¡±

    Zu An clicked his tongue in annoyance. ¡°What do you mean by ¡®we¡¯? Don¡¯t lump me together with ordinary mortals like you. I am someone who can cultivate!¡±

    Cheng Shouping blinked his eyes at Zu An, a retort sticking in his throat. The young master was really as the rumors put him out to be¡ªutterly inept yet incredibly boastful.

    It doesn¡¯t matter. He¡¯s the young master after all. I¡¯ll help him win the First Miss¡¯ heart. There¡¯s no gratitude greater than to one who delivers charcoal in a snowstorm. If I help him while he¡¯s still down, he¡¯ll view me as his confidant when he finally makes it big. Once that happens, I¡¯ll naturally rise through the ranks. Perhaps, I might even be able to get together with Snow... Teehee~

    ¡°Why are youughing foolishly to yourself?¡± Zu An smacked Cheng Shouping on the back of his head. ¡°Where¡¯s Divine Physician Ji¡¯s residence?¡±

    Cheng Shouping recoiled and fussed with his hairdo. ¡°Young master, you mustn¡¯t hit my head. It took me a lot of effort to do up this hairstyle!¡±

    Zu An looked at the two ¡®steamed pork buns¡¯ sitting atop Cheng Shouping¡¯s head, and wordlessly shook his head. ¡°Enough! Hurry up and lead the way.¡±

    He had already gained a rough understanding of the situation in the Chu Estate. He still hadn¡¯t uncovered the culprit plotting his death, but resolving the problems below his belt was still the most urgent task at hand.

    ¡°Young master, I think you need not look for Divine Physician Ji anymore,¡± Cheng Shouping said as he ran after Zu An.

    ¡°Why is that so?¡± asked Zu An, bewildered.

    Cheng Shouping exined, ¡°Divine Physician Ji has established a rule that anyone who seeks consultation with him has to pay 100 silver taels as a consultation fee.¡±

    ¡°100 silver taels just for a consultation? That¡¯s daylight robbery!¡±

    From what Zu An had observed over thest two days, the currency in this world was simr to that of ancient China. A thousand copper coins was equivalent to one silver tael, and ten silver taels was equivalent to one golden tael.

    There was another currency that was more valuable than gold, and that was ki stones. However, ki stones were hard toe by, so he had yet to determine their value.

    The units of measurement in this world differed from that of ancient China; it was simr to the modern world instead. One tael was equivalent to 50 grams. The purchasing power of silver here was still fairly high as it remained a rare resource. A silver tael was worth around 1800 RMB.

    To pay 100 silver taels¡ªwhich was equivalent to 180,000 RMB!¡ªjust for consultation was ridiculous. It was no wonder Zu An kicked up a fuss!

    Zu An pondered for a moment then draped his arm around Cheng Shouping¡¯s shoulders. ¡°Lil¡¯ Pingping, I¡¯m a little short on cash at the moment. Can you do me a favor and help me just this once? I¡¯ll pay you back with interest once I get the money.¡±

    Cheng Shouping quietly felt for the money pouch hanging by his waist. ¡°Young master, I¡¯m a mere servant. If you don¡¯t have money, then how could I have any?¡±

    Zu An had noticed Cheng Shouping¡¯s subtle movements, but he ignored them. Even if Cheng Shouping had had some money on hand, it was unlikely that he would have 100 silver taels. ¡°Do you know a ce in Brightmoon City that sells ves?¡±

    ¡°Young master, are you referring to the ve market? That¡¯s where nobles trade their servants and maids, and they are usually worth between a handful to a few tens of silver taels...¡± Cheng Shouping trailed off, and Zu An could feel him tense up. He turned stiffly to look at Zu An and swallowed. ¡°Young master, you can¡¯t be thinking of selling me, are you?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression immediately turned solemn. ¡°How is that possible? What kind of person do you take me to be?¡±

    Zu An had already determined that Cheng Shouping was worth a handful of silver taels at most. Besides, he was a servant of a Duke¡¯s estate, so it could be difficult to broker his sale.

    Despite Zu An¡¯s reassurances, Cheng Shouping was still a little unnerved. He quickly said, ¡°Young master, there¡¯s actually another way around this. Besides paying 100 silver taels, you can also get a consultation by aplishing a task for him.¡±

    Those words put Zu An¡¯s heart at ease. He pped Cheng Shouping¡¯s shoulders and remarked heartily, ¡°You should have said that earlier! I nearly sold you just now!¡±

    Cheng Shouping could only stare.

    Despite Zu An¡¯s obvious excitement, Cheng Shouping was glum. The tasks set by Divine Physician Ji were not easily aplished. Nevertheless, out of fear of getting sold, he held his tongue.

    A few more turns led them to a well-appointed residence. Zu An felt his jaw drop as he took in the crowd gathered outside. ¡°Why are there so many people around?¡±

    Cheng Shoupingughed sheepishly. ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell young master earlier? Divine Physician Ji¡¯s ce is always swamped with people.¡±

    Zu An recalled how difficult it was to secure appointments with top specialists in elite hospitals back in the modern world; some had to be made months in advance. He supposed it was only natural that it would be simr in Divine Physician Ji¡¯s case.

    Wait, this isn¡¯t right either. Doesn¡¯t a consultation cost 100 silver taels? Are the people of this world that rich? But these people gathered around are dressed quite shabbily. They can¡¯t have that sort of money..

    ¡°Where is Miss Ji? Why is Miss Ji not here?¡± Someone in the crowd shouted, triggering amotion.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, we want to meet Miss Ji!¡±

    ...

    Zu An was stunned by what he¡¯d heard. He turned to Cheng Shouping and asked, ¡°Is the Divine Physician Ji you were referring to a girl?¡±

 Chapter 14: Mission

    <h4>Chapter 14: Mission</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Of course not,¡± Cheng Shouping replied, scanning the crowd on tiptoes. ¡°Divine Physician Ji is Miss Ji¡¯s father. Miss Ji is not only a gorgeous beauty, she¡¯s also known to be a warm and kind person. She often provides free consultations for the poor, making her incredibly popr in the city. These people are likely here to catch a glimpse of her.¡±

    Zu An scoffed, ¡°Gorgeous beauty? Even someone like Snow is deemed to be a beauty in your eyes. A mere studypanion like you must have never seen real beauty before, or else your standards wouldn¡¯t be this low!¡±

    Cheng Shouping¡¯s face flushed indignantly, but before he could defend himself, a red-faced man who was in the crowd turned to confront them. ¡°Oi, brat! What do you know? Miss Ji¡¯s beauty rivals that of Miss Chu from the duke¡¯s estate in our Brightmoon City! It¡¯s a shame Miss Chu has recently married a useless wastrel, so there¡¯s no point mentioning her anymore. Right now, Miss Ji is the only goddess in my dreams!¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face turned incredibly livid. How could this fellow insult him straight to his face? He wouldn¡¯t be a true keyboard warrior if he took this lying down!

    He cupped his ear as if listening earnestly to the red-faced man¡¯s words. Then, he shouted back, ¡°What did you say? Miss Ji is the goddess of your wet dreams?¡±

    Zu An was currently at the third step of the second rank, so his voice was much louder than an ordinary person¡¯s. Not a single person missed his exmation, and they all turned their heads towards themotion.

    This sudden scrutiny flustered the red-faced man. ¡°What are you talking about? I said dreams¨D¡±

    Zu An cut him off sharply. ¡°Ah, that exins why you said that you wanted to steal something of Miss Ji¡¯s to take home with you. My gosh, you are a disgusting excuse for a human being. Please stay away from me.¡±

    As Zu An spoke, he pushed the red-faced man backward, as if trying to prevent him getting closer. His true goal, however, was to shove the red-faced man into the waiting hands of the now-infuriated crowd.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t say that! I wasn¡¯t...¡± Sensing the murderous res trained on him, the red-faced man panicked. He tried his best to exin himself, but his stuttering and stammering were to no avail, as someone in the crowd yelled out ¡°Get him!¡±

    They fell on him in a blur of snarling faces and angry fists.

    You have sessfully trolled Lu Renjia for 666 Rage points!

    Zu An calmly smoothed the front of his robe as he stepped around the melee and made his way leisurely to the entrance of the residence.

    Cheng Shouping stared nkly. This works too? Despite his surprise, he rushed to catch up to Zu An.

    A furious howl issued from within the residence. ¡°All of you, scram! What¡¯s the meaning of this, causing such a cacophony outside another¡¯s house this early? You¡¯re disturbing this old man¡¯s sleep!¡±

    The tightly shut doors to the residence finally creaked open.

    ¡°Divine Physician Ji is out! Divine Physician Ji is out!¡±

    The crowd surged towards the doorway, Lu Renjia all but forgotten, leaving behind a pitiful man lying on the ground covered in footprints.

    Zu An examined the man who had just walked out of the residence. He had a thin face that retained a shadow of the beguiling features of his younger years. However, his untrimmed beard, heavy eyebags, and the overwhelming odor of alcohol pouring off him reduced him to nothing more than another scruffy middle-aged man.

    Despite his appearance, Zu An did not look down on him. His ears were still ringing from that earlier roar. Without a doubt, Divine Physician Ji¡¯s cultivation was far higher than his.

    This is more like it. It¡¯s clear that this man has the air of a hidden expert, simr to that drunk sword immortal. Except that his face isn¡¯t that round.

    ¡°Divine Physician Ji, where¡¯s your daughter?¡± Someone standing by the side asked with a fawning smile.

    Divine Physician Ji shot him a nce and demanded, ¡°Who are you?¡±

    ¡°Divine Physician Ji, do you not recognize me anymore? I am Wang Fugui! I often drop by your ce!¡± That man hurriedly introduced himself.

    ¡°I don¡¯t remember you.¡± Divine Physician Ji dug his ear before leisurely flicking his ear wax away. ¡°This Divine Physician only remembers the faces of prettydies. Why would I bother with a mere moneybag... Ahem ahem, I mean, customer! Anyway, you probably never spent a single cent here.¡±

    Wang Fugui chuckled sheepishly. ¡°I have never patronized your business before, but Miss Ji has treated my illness several times¨D¡±

    ¡°Goddammit! I knew that it was weird how my business has dropped off recently!¡± Divine Physician Ji cut in furiously. ¡°It turns out that that damnedss has been treating all of you for free. All of you, scram!¡±

    ¡°Damnedss?¡± Zu An was surprised to hear those words. To refer to his daughter in such a manner, are they really blood-rted?

    ¡°We¡¯re here to look for Miss Ji, not you...¡± Under Divine Physician Ji¡¯s re, Wang Fugui¡¯s words faded away meekly.

    ¡°She¡¯s not around! I sent her out of the city to pick some medicine so that she¡¯ll stop interrupting my business!¡± Divine Physician Ji pulled out a chair and droppedzily into it. ¡°Those who want to be treated, either fork out 100 silver taels as consultation fee orplete my task. If you aren¡¯t here to be diagnosed, you better get out of my sight right now. If not, don¡¯t me me for getting nasty!¡±

    Upon hearing that their goddess was absent, the crowd gathered dispersed in a sh. Their departure looked rehearsed¨Dthis was definitely not the first time they had been dismissed in this manner. A few individuals who desperately needed a consultation stayed and begged earnestly, ¡°Divine Physician Ji, we can¡¯t afford to pay 100 silver taels. Please, master, do some good and have mercy on us.¡±

    Divine Physician Ji took a sip from the wine gourd he was carrying. Without bothering to look any of them in the eye, he said, ¡°I, Ji Dengtu, can treat hundreds of illnesses, but the illness that you are suffering from is beyond my means.¡±

    One of those who had stayed immediately panicked. ¡°I haven¡¯t even exined my symptoms to you yet, so how do you know that I can¡¯t be treated?¡±

    Divine Physician Ji finally met the man¡¯s flustered gaze. ¡°That¡¯s because the illness you¡¯re suffering from is poverty! How can I treat something like that?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have any of the virtues that a physician ought to have! How can you call yourself a divine physician?¡± That man¡¯s face turned scarlet as he turned and left in a huff of wounded pride.

    Unperturbed, Divine Physician Ji loungedzily in his chair, idly humming a tune. He paid no heed to the insults hurled at him.

    It was then that a man with a ratty face stepped forward and discreetly pushed a picture book filled with vibrantly colored portraits into Divine Physician Ji¡¯s hands. ¡°Divine Physician Ji, I just managed to obtain this recently. It¡¯s the newest edition of Heaven On Earth.¡±

    Divine Physician Ji jolted upright. He snatched the picture book over and flipped through it hungrily. Zu An, who was standing nearby, could just about make out the scantily-dresseddies that adorned each page.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t too bad!¡± Divine Physician Ji stuffed the book into his clothes before patting the other party¡¯s shoulder with a look of approval. ¡°You may go in. I¡¯ll treat youter on.¡±

    This freaking works too?

    Zu An was dumbstruck. I have ¡®Pimp of the Young Maidens¡¯, ¡®XX Records of Youth¡¯, and ¡®Morphing Into a Dragon In the Face of Storm¡¯ with me too... Do you want them? It¡¯s just a pity that I can¡¯t draw, or else I could just produce one and offer it to him...

    ¡°Why is he able to enter?¡± Those who had not witnessed the exchange cried indignantly.

    Divine Physician Physician harrumphed sternly. ¡°That¡¯s none of your business. You want to enter too? Sure. Pay the consultation fee or finish my task!¡±

    ¡°But your task is simply too difficult! You¡¯re just making things hard for us!¡± Someoneined.

    It was then that Zu An noticed a signboard by the doorwaybeled ¡®Today¡¯s Task¡¯. On it was written: This Divine Physician is going to concoct a Ki Refinement Pill. I need 10 Assrip Wolf goubaos for my medicine.

    Zu An had heard of goubaos before. They were stone-like objects that grew inside a dog¡¯s stomach, spherical or elliptical in shape, and colored either ashen-white or grayish-ck. They were effective in soothing blood flow, clearing blockages, and detoxifying.

    However, what in the world was an Assrip Wolf? Some sort of mutant wolf in the world of cultivation?

    Hearing theints from those around, Divine Physician Ji sneered contemptuously. ¡°Do I look dumb to you? Why would I bother giving out tasks if they aren¡¯t hard?¡±

    The crowd lost their patience, and began speaking over one another.

    ¡°But every Assrip Wolf is at least at the second rank, and the leader of the pack could very well be in the third rank!¡±

    ¡°They always gather in packs numbering anywhere between dozens of wolves to over a hundred! An ordinary person would be torn to shreds!¡±

    ¡°Goubaos are incredibly rare! One would be lucky to find a single goubao from 10 Assrip Wolves!¡±

    ...

    ¡°Shut up! You¡¯re all too noisy!¡± Divine Physician Ji red at the crowd. ¡°It¡¯s not that Assrip Wolves are powerful; all of you are simply too weak! If any of you were to reach rank four, wouldn¡¯t you be able to clear this task within minutes easily?¡±

    Veins popped out from the temples of some in the crowd as they hollered. ¡°Any cultivator who has reached the fourth rank is already qualified to be a city lord! How can we possibly match up to such people?¡±

    Zu An looked on silently. From the infuriated statements of the crowd, he realized that most of the cultivators were at the second rank, and there were hardly any third ranks around. Using such a standard as a gauge, wouldn¡¯t that mean he wasn''t actually that weak?

    ¡°Cut the crap. Do the task if you want, or else just get lost! It¡¯s not as if I¡¯m forcing any of you into it!¡± Divine Physician Ji lost his patience. ¡°Stop blocking my doorway and obstructing my business. Shoo shoo shoo!¡±

    Zu An tugged at Cheng Shouping¡¯s arm and asked, ¡°This fellow is so arrogant. Isn¡¯t he afraid of getting beaten up?¡±

    Cheng Shouping was shocked to hear those words. He quickly put his finger up to silence Zu An and pulled him into a back alley. ¡°Divine Physician Ji possesses unfathomable power. Plenty of impatientds have tried to strong-arm him into treating them before, but do you know what happened to them?¡±

    ¡°They got thrown out?¡± Zu An asked.

    From his expression, Zu An could tell that Cheng Shouping was unimpressed by hisck of imagination. ¡°They¡¯re all lying under their tombstones right now.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s that vicious?¡± Zu An stroked his lower jaw in astonishment. ¡°Isn¡¯t the magistrate going to interfere in this matter?¡±

    Cheng Shouping exined, ¡°Divine Physician Ji isn¡¯t a divine physician for nothing. You don¡¯t know how many experts are indebted to him over the years. Even the city lord has to show some respect in his presence. Not to mention, thoseds had tried to strong-arm him first, so the cases were ruled in his favor.¡±

    Zu An was determined. ¡°Is there really no way toplete the task?¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡± Cheng Shouping replied matter-of-factly. ¡°Those who are weak don¡¯t have the ability toplete the task, and those who are strong could simply pay the consultation fee instead of wasting their time on the task. He had grown fed up with the number of peopleining about his fee, so he came up with these impossible tasks to stuff their mouths.¡±

    ¡°No wonder!¡± Zu An nodded. That Ji fellow had intended for the tasks that he set to be impossible for themon folk to aplish in the first ce!

    Wait a moment! A thought suddenly shed across Zu An¡¯s mind, and he narrowed his eyes at Cheng Shouping. This darned thing knew that the task was impossible, yet he didn¡¯t give me a heads-up before bringing me here. He must be doing this in order to meet Miss Ji.

    Zu An¡¯s face darkened as he addressed Cheng Shouping. ¡°You should return to the Chu Estate first. I¡¯ll walk around by myself.¡± His happiness was at stake here, so he had to give it a try no matter how tough it was! Anyway, he had the Poisonous Prick and the Poison Bottle. As long as he was careful, he might just be able toplete the task.

    Of course, he had to make sure to do it without drawing the attention of the Chu n. The Chu n thought of him as nothing but trash, and enemies lurked in the shadows who were out to take his life. If they were to learn that he had managed to raise his cultivation to the second rank, their next attempt would be more deadly.

    Lying low is the key to survival!

    Cheng Shouping was astonished. ¡°Young master, you aren¡¯t thinking of attempting the task, are you?¡±

    Zu An wondered if his actions had given away his intentions, but Cheng Shouping carried on before he could fashion an excuse. ¡°Young master, do you know why those wolves are named as Assrip Wolves?¡±

 Chapter 15: Plum Blossom Twelve

    <h4>Chapter 15: Plum Blossom Twelve</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Because of their fierce temper?¡± Zu An hazarded a guess.

    Cheng Shouping corrected him. ¡°It¡¯s because they are skilled at striking the ass. Once they sink their sharp, jagged fangs into your rear, they¡¯re impossible to shake off. They¡¯ll yank everything out, and before you know it, your intestines and organs are decorating the floor.¡±

    ¡°Hey, say what you want, but stop running around me and jabbing your fingers here and there!¡± Zu An grumbled irritably, cing his hands protectively over his backside. He resisted the temptation to give Cheng Shouping a good kick.

    Cheng Shoupingughed in response. ¡°This humble servant is just worried for young master¡¯s safety. These wolves are going to rip through your ass, which is why they call them the Assrip Wolves. Not only that, they are highly aggressive creatures that like to gather in huge numbers. Even powerful cultivators refuse to get involved with them, preferring to detour around them if possible!¡±

    Zu An felt a chill run up his rear end. He cleared his throat noisily. ¡°Do you think that I would get involved with those disgusting things?¡±

    Cheng Shouping eyed Zu An suspiciously for a moment, but felt the tension drain out of him as he recalled the rumors surrounding the young master. ¡°It does seem unlikely for you to do so.¡±

    Zu An read the mockery in Cheng Shouping¡¯s eyes, but decided to let it lie for now. ¡°Return to the estate first. Remember, don¡¯t tell anyone that I¡¯vee here.¡±

    With Miss Ji away, Cheng Shouping found no reason to linger. I¡¯d rather head back to the estate and see if Sister Snow is back! So, he thumped his chest and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, young master. Have you forgotten what my name is? My mouth is sealed like a cork on a bottle!¡±

    Zu An looked at Cheng Shouping doubtfully. He got the feeling that this wasn¡¯t a particrly trustworthy fellow.

    After Cheng Shouping had left, Zu An covered his face with a loose piece of cloth and squeezed through the crowd. The strength he¡¯d gained recently made it much easier for him to shove others aside as he made his way through. He looked at the scruffy middle-aged man slouched in the chair and asked, ¡°Are you really able to treat all illnesses?¡±

    He had to verify this first. It would be a huge waste of time and effort if he¡¯d aplished the task, only to find out his condition was not treatable.

    ¡°Other than the affliction of poverty, there¡¯s nothing in this world that I can¡¯t cure!¡± Divine Physician Ji rocked his chair leisurely, his eyes still closed.

    ¡°What if I manage to finish the task but you can¡¯t treat my illness?¡± Zu An couldn¡¯t shake his worry.

    Divine Physician Ji opened his eyes and assessed him from head to toe. His eyes finally fell between Zu An¡¯s thighs, and he said, ¡°Isn¡¯t it just a little niggle in your crotch? You speak as if you have some sort of terminal illness!¡±

    Zu An felt his heart swell with delight. If Divine Physician Ji could identify the root of his condition with a single nce, it seemed there was a good chance that he could be cured!

    His joy dimmed as he registered the bizarre nces directed at him by some of the bystanders. After hearing that he had a problem there, it seemed most felt either pity or contempt for him.

    ¡°Tsk tsk tsk. Impotent at such a young age. It looks like youngsters nowadays are getting weaker!¡±

    ¡°You must learn from his lesson! If you don¡¯t work hard in your younger years, you¡¯ll only despair in yourter years.¡±

    ¡°Ah? Could it be a sexually transmitted disease? Oh dear, will I get infected by standing so close to him?¡±

    ...

    Zu An had no idea who had uttered thestment, but in a split second, the crowd parted to give him a wide berth.

    He idly recalled a question he had seen on the inte in his previous life. If someone were to barge into the toilet while you¡¯re bathing to snap some photos, which part of you should you cover first? It went without saying that the answer was the face!

    Zu An was d that he had preemptively covered his face, or else he would have been thoroughly embarrassed. He silently cursed Divine Physician Ji. Had he never heard of a patient¡¯s confidentiality before? How could he have the temerity to shout something so private out loud?

    He gathered himself. ¡°Good. I¡¯ll be epting this task then. Where can I find the Assrip Wolves?¡± Since no one could see his face, he would take advantage of this opportunity to ferret out some useful information.

    ¡°You?¡± Divine Physician Ji eyed him up and down before shaking his head. ¡°You¡¯re too weak. You¡¯re just going to get your ass handed to you.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not your concern. I wouldn¡¯t have epted this task if I wasn¡¯t confident about it,¡± Zu An replied. He was just going to take a look. If it was really impossible, he could always retreat and try writing out Pimp and the Young Maidens instead.

    ¡°I won¡¯t stop you if you¡¯re courting death. There¡¯s a Wolf Valley right outside the city. Go and look for it yourself.¡± Divine Physician Ji rolled his eyes at him before returning to his nap.

    Zu An nodded. As he headed off, a man in the crowd tried to dissuade him. ¡°Lad, don¡¯t go. There¡¯s nothing more important than your life!¡±

    Another man standing beside him scoffed. ¡°I can¡¯t agree with that. As a man, what¡¯s the point of living if something has happened down there?¡±

    ...

    Zu An knew that if he¡¯d stayed any longer, the Keyboard would begin harvesting Rage points off him personally. He stalked off with a snarl on his face. He¡¯d barely made it a few steps before a ceramic bottle dropped into his hands.

    Huh, what¡¯s going on?

    While he was still taken aback by the object that had almost magically appeared in his hands, a voice sounded in his ears. ¡°Recovery medicine. It might just save your life. The Wolf Valley is very dangerous, so just run if things aren¡¯t working out.¡±

    Zu An immediately recognized Divine Physician Ji¡¯s voice. He looked over his shoulder, but Divine Physician Ji was still resting quietly in his rocking chair. It seemed those around him had not heard his words, as they continued to implore his help.

    Zu An felt his heart warm. Despite his sharp tongue, Divine Physician Ji was a softie inside. As expected¨Dhow could there be a physician in the world who had no regard for human life?

    There was no way Zu An could have sensed Divine Physician Ji¡¯s cold sneer. You smeared my daughter¡¯s reputation earlier, huh? Here''s a bottle of medicine to give you a false sense of security, and encourage you to venture deeper into the Wolf Valley. Heh, you¡¯ll be dead before you even know what struck you!

    It seemed Zu An¡¯s shenanigans had not escaped Divine Physician Ji¡¯s sharp eyes and ears.

    Oblivious to all this, Zu An continued on his merry way out of the city. He hadn¡¯t had a good look at the city previously, since he had been cooped up in Chu Chuyan¡¯s carriage. This was the first time he could truly take in this brand new world.

    The streets and buildings wereid out in a simr fashion to those of the historical dramas he was familiar with, although the locals were dressed differently.

    The garments in ancient China were conservative, with women covering up as much skin as possible. In contrast, Zu An had already spotted quite a few women in the city walking around in revealing skirts, unting their smooth, fair thighs.

    It seemed the women of this world weren¡¯t shy in showing off their figures, and the men around them appeared to be perfectly used to it too.

    For a moment, Zu An felt as if he had returned back to his own era, where the streets were littered with dashing men and beautiful women decked out in all sorts of different clothing. The only difference was that the outfits all had a distinctively old-fashioned oriental twist.

    It looked like this world of cultivation was much more liberal than ancient China. Despite his initial astonishment, Zu An quickly grew ustomed to his surroundings. There were plenty of women back in his modern world who wore hanfu out into the streets anyway.[1]

    Hm? Why does that woman have an additional pair of ears on her head? And what¡¯s with that thing swaying behind her bum?

    How frightening!

    Zu An gasped, but quickly recalled the world¡¯s history as told to him by Cheng Shouping earlier. A thousand years ago, the emperor led mankind into a war against the foreign tribes, eventually driving them to the borders of the world.

    A thousand years of fighting had caused all sorts of factions to intermingle, and a peaceful coexistence gradually developed. Many foreign tribespeople chose to settle down in human territories, and the humans generally epted them.

    Zu An began to observe more closely, and noticed that the prevalence of these foreign tribespeople amongst the local popce was still very low. It was roughly akin to spotting a foreigner in his homnd in his previous life. Mankind was still the dominant demographic here.

    It¡¯s just a pity that I have no interest in beastmen. Cat-women and wolf-girls don¡¯t pique my interest at all, though I wouldn¡¯t mind some foxy vixens.

    Zu An¡¯s thoughts ran wild. I wonder if there are any elves here. I do like elves quite a bit. Mermaids would be great too, though I wonder if the mermaids in this world have legs or a tail for their bottom half.

    Ah, could there be dragons here too? Dragon girls really excite me. But, given the massive size of dragons, would I end up getting crushed to death?

    ...

    Remembering the current state of his body, Zu An¡¯s excited face crumbled in despair. ¡°I can¡¯t even get it to stand now, so what¡¯s the point of fantasizing about all this?¡±

    Zu An felt a sudden tap on his shoulder. A voice called out from behind him, ¡°Brother Zu, where are you heading to?¡±

    He turned around and saw a man dressed in ck smiling cheerfully at him. A ck mole on his lower jaw bounced energetically as he spoke. He had a bold tattoo on his neck that seemed to be an artistic impression of the word ¡®Twelve¡¯.

    He thanked the fates that the previous owner of this body wasn¡¯t illiterate. Surviving in this world after his transmigration would have been a pain, otherwise.

    Nevertheless, he felt his head ache. The man who approached him had the characteristic look of a run-of-the-mill viin. Why the hell am I so unlucky? Problems simply have to crop up every single time I head out.

    As the silence stretched out, a cold glint shed across the neer¡¯s eyes, but he quickly concealed it with a smile. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Don¡¯t you recognize me anymore? I¡¯m Plum Blossom Twelve! We had alcohol and yed dice together!¡±

    Plum Blossom? Could there be a weirder surname in the world?

    Zu An couldn¡¯t resist himself. ¡°Could it be that you have a younger sister called Plum Blossom Thirteen?¡±

    ¡°Sister?¡± There was a moment of stunned silence before Plum Blossom Twelve burst intoughter. ¡°If my thirteenth brother were to hear that, he would surely give you a good pummeling!¡±

    Ah? There¡¯s really a Plum Blossom Thirteen?

    Heart beating faster in expectation, Zu An asked, ¡°Then, do you know a hairstylist named Wu Liuqi?¡±[2]

    ¡°Wu Liuqi? Hairstylist? What are you talking about? I¡¯ve never heard of him before.¡± Confusion was written all over Plum Blossom Twelve¡¯s face. ¡°Why? Do you know him?¡±

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know him.¡±

    This rendered Plum Blossom Twelve speechless. Why ask me if I know Wu Liuqi if you don¡¯t know him either?

    You have sessfully trolled Plum Blossom Twelve for 10 Rage points!

    Zu An blinked in surprise. You¡¯re getting angry just like that? Seems like you¡¯re quite narrow-minded.

    ¡°Hm? It looks like you¡¯ve buffed up quite a bit.¡± Plum Blossom Twelve grabbed Zu An¡¯s shoulder and squeezed.

    You damned pervert, Zu An thought as he shook off Plum Blossom Twelve¡¯s grip. ¡°It¡¯s probably just the good food in the duke¡¯s estate.¡± He intentionally brought up the name of the Chu n, hoping that Plum Blossom Twelve would back down. He had something to attend to at the moment, and he didn¡¯t want anyplications.

    Who are you trying to fool here? No matter what you ate, there¡¯s no way you could have grown that quickly in just two days, Plum Blossom Twelve thought. However, he never would have imagined that Zu An could be a cultivator overnight. ¡°Where are you heading to?¡±

    ¡°Ah, I¡¯m thinking of taking a quick trip out of the city,¡± Zu An responded vaguely.

    Plum Blossom Twelve¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°What a coincidence! I¡¯m heading out of the city too, buddy!¡±

    Zu An favored Plum Blossom Twelve with an unreadable smile and asked, ¡°Is that so? May I know where Brother Twelve is heading to then?¡±

    Plum Blossom Twelve¡¯s eyes swam for a moment, and he asked in return, ¡°Bro, where are you heading to?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m heading to the Wolf Valley,¡± Zu An replied candidly.

    ¡°What a coincidence, I¡¯m heading there too!¡± Plum Blossom Twelve replied gleefully. This fellow is a fool, just as always. He really doesn¡¯t know the first thing about discretion.

    Hm? Wait a moment, why is this fellow heading to the Wolf Valley?

    Forget it, who cares why he¡¯s heading there? The Wolf Valley is a great ce to get rid of him and steal his items. I can just throw him into the wolf pack, and no one will be the wiser. The Chu n will never be able to trace this back to me.

    He had already failed in his mission once, and had been severely punished by his sect master. He hadn¡¯t expected that his quarry would survive being struck by lightning.

    You shan¡¯t escape my clutches this time!

    1. Hanfu is a term used for the historical styles of clothing worn by the Han people in China.

    2. Plum Blossom Thirteen and Wu Liuqi are characters in the animated series ¡®Scissor Seven¡¯.

 Chapter 16: Deep Brotherly Ties

    <h4>Chapter 16: Deep Brotherly Ties</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An chuckled to himself. ¡°It would be wonderful to have Brother Twelve taking care of me along the way.¡± He had already confirmed that this fellow harboured vile intentions. This was the perfect opportunity for him to discover who was behind these attempts on his life.

    The two of them left the city together.

    Only during this tour of the city did Zu An realize just how fortunate he was on the day he transmigrated. The slums he had woken up in were on the outskirts of the main city, beyond whichy the wilderness. Soldiers and cultivators still patrolled those outskirts to ward off the myriad of wild beasts that sometimes intruded from the nearby Hidden Dragon Mountain. These beasts were numerous, and sometimes osted travelers passing by the foot of the mountain. Sentry posts had been erected just past the slums to guard against them, and to dissuade ordinary mortals from wandering beyond.

    It was fortunate that Zu An had Plum Blossom Twelve with him. Thetter presented an item to the guards, which appeared to be travel documents that also revealed his cultivation. Satisfied by this, the guards allowed them to pass through.

    After leaving the sentry post behind, Zu An gave Plum Blossom Twelve a look of admiration. ¡°Brother, what¡¯s your current cultivation level? Those soldiers seemed to look up to you.¡± He wanted to learn more about who he was dealing with, so that he could prepare countermeasures in advance. It helped that Plum Blossom Twelve was still unaware of Zu An¡¯s newfound power.

    Plum Blossom Twelve was obviously ttered. ¡°It¡¯s still so-so. I¡¯m only at the third step of the second rank.¡±

    Looks like he isn¡¯t that powerful either. That¡¯s equivalent to me cultivating for a day, Zu An thought.

    Plum Blossom Twelve waited expectantly for Zu An tovish him with further praise, anticipating another chance to humblebrag. Instead, Zu An kept silent, staring at nothing.

    Plum Blossom Twelve put his silence down to ack of knowledge. After all, Zu An was useless trash that knew nothing of cultivation levels. He wouldn¡¯t know just how difficult it was to reach the third step of the second rank.

    Zu An continued with his line of questioning. ¡°Wow. You must be the strongest one amongst your brothers, right?¡± He remembered how the protagonists of many webnovels had to deal with an enemy¡¯s friends, family, n and other nonsense affiliations, after defeating said enemy. This showed the importance of gathering information before acting.

    ¡°Nay, that¡¯s not so. There are quite a few who are as strong as me, and the strongest one is actually my thirteenth brother. He¡¯s already reached the third rank,¡± Plum Blossom Twelve dered proudly. His thirteen brothers had been enjoying quite a bit of fame these past few years.

    ¡°If all of you are this formidable, wouldn¡¯t your sect master be a really incredible figure?¡± Zu An followed up naturally.

    ¡°Of course! Our sect master is already...¡± Plum Blossom Twelve realized that he had already said too much, and quickly changed his words. ¡°Forget it. You don¡¯t know anything about cultivation anyway. What¡¯s the point of telling you all this?¡±

    Zu An regretted how quickly Plum Blossom Twelve had caught on to him, but at least he¡¯d managed to sniff out some useful intelligence.

    Shortly after leaving the sentry post, they spied someone walking in their direction. His face visibly darkened upon seeing Plum Blossom Twelve. He immediately pulled down his bamboo hat to shade his face, turned around, and hurried off.

    There was a sh of recognition in Plum Blossom Twelve¡¯s eyes. He caught up with him in a fewrge strides, while calling out, ¡°Brother Tan, what are you in such a rush for?¡±

    Brother Tan gave up his attempted escape, turning to face them instead. He tightened his grip around the saber in his hand and asked, ¡°Plum Blossom Twelve, are you here to capture me?¡±

    Plum Blossom Twelve raised his hands innocently. ¡°Brother Tan, it¡¯s one thing for you to suspect others, but why are you suspecting me too? Have you forgotten those days we spent fighting against the Azure Dragon Sect? If you hadn¡¯t risked your life to carry me out, I would be dead right now!¡±

    ¡°You still remember that?¡± Brother Tan¡¯s was visibly relieved at those words.

    ¡°How could I ever forget such a selfless act? In any case, it¡¯s just a misunderstanding between our sect master and yourself. You have nothing to fear as long as you clear things up, so why do you have to run?¡± Plum Blossom Twelve asked. ¡°We used to hang out with one another, eating and drinking the night away. I haven¡¯t been able to find anotherpanion since you left.¡±

    Brother Tan¡¯s eyes reddened, and veins popped out from his hands. ¡°You need not speak on his behalf. How can I possibly swallow the humiliation of having my wife taken away from me? My only regret is my failure to kill him with my saber back then!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not my ce toment on the grudge between you and the sect master. Personally, I really pity you.¡± Plum Blossom Twelve patted Brother Tan¡¯s shoulder in constion. ¡°However, a true man like you will neverck for women. Given your capabilities, you can easily find a ce for yourself. There¡¯s no need to lose heart.¡±

    Brother Tan¡¯s eyes glimmered with gratitude. ¡°Our brothers have been hunting me down thesest few days. You¡¯re the only one who still cares about me.¡±

    ¡°Of course! We¡¯re brothers who have braved danger shoulder to shoulder! How can the bond we sharepare to theirs?¡± Plum Blossom Twelve replied with a chuckle.

    Brother Tan was deeply moved. ¡°Brother, can I entrust you with something?¡±

    Plum Blossom Twelve patted his chest and said, ¡°Feel free to speak your mind! As long as you don¡¯t ask me to betray my sect, I¡¯ll do anything for you!¡±

    ¡°Of course, I won¡¯t ask anything of you that puts you in a bind!¡± Brother Tanid out his problem. ¡°It¡¯s like this. I had to escape in a hurry, and left behind the 100 silver taels that I saved up over the years. Can you return to the sect and fetch it for me? I¡¯ll split half of it with you!¡±

    ¡°Brother Tan, you¡¯re too kind! That¡¯s no trouble at all! How could I ept payment from my benefactor? Don¡¯t worry, you can count on me to retrieve your money!¡± Plum Blossom Twelve assured him with a wave of his hand.

    ¡°You¡¯re truly a good brother!¡± Brother Tan was delighted. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, half of it is yours once you¡¯ve retrieved it! Go to the backyard in my residence. The silver is hidden in the wall, behind the ninth brick on the sixth row...¡±

    ¡°Alright, I got it.¡± Plum Blossom Twelve nodded. ¡°Unfortunately, I¡¯m a little busy at the moment, so you¡¯ll have to wait for a bit. I¡¯m apanying this brother here to the Wolf Valley.¡±

    Brother Tan shot a nce at the ditzy-looking Zu An, and he quickly inferred what was going on. He knew just what kind of ce the Wolf Valley was¡ªit was perfect for disposing corpses, and they had often used that location to covertly eliminate high-profile targets. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll help you take care of him.¡±

    Plum Blossom Twelve sped his fist. ¡°My deepest gratitude to you, Brother Tan.¡±

    Zu An felt his breath catch in his throat as Brother Tan advanced towards him, saber in hand. ¡°Why do I have to suffer for the sake of your brotherhood?¡±

    He was considering revealing his cultivation, when Plum Blossom Twelve suddenly darted forward, grabbed Brother Tan¡¯s face, and drew a dagger right across his neck. Zu An stiffened in shock.

    Brother Tan staggered forward, eyes wide with horror and disbelief, his hands going to his ruined throat. He pointed a finger at Plum Blossom Twelve and stammered hoarsely, ¡°Y-you...¡±

    Plum Blossom Twelve casually wiped the blood off his dagger with a handkerchief. ¡°Not only will I be rewarded by our sect master, I can take all your money for myself as well. Why should I bother helping you?¡±

    ¡°You won¡¯t... won¡¯t die a... good death...¡± Brother Tan fell to the ground, his lifeblood leaking through his fingers. He took one final breath and passed on, his eyes still wide open with indignance. There was no peace in death for Brother Tan.

    ¡°Only the weak bark insults in a fit of anger.¡± Plum Blossom Twelve sheathed his dagger, then walked over to Zu An to assure him. ¡°Brother Zu, you need not be afraid. He¡¯s a traitor of our sect, a person who deserves to die!¡±

    ¡°Oh...¡± Zu An swallowed. ¡®Brother Zu¡¯ sounded particrly jarring all of a sudden. After all, thest person Plum Blossom Twelve had addressed as ¡®brother¡¯ was currently lying on the ground, ughtered like a pig.

    A heavy cloud hung over them as they continued onward. Zu An was flustered, but there was a refreshing quality to the air that helped calm him. It smelled sweet and clean. Perhaps it¡¯s due to the raw ki lingering in the air. Small wonder that so many people in this world were able to cultivate.

    The presence of the border patrols seemed to deter wild animals from this area, and they were able to proceed in rtive safety. Not many wild animals ventured this far from the Hidden Dragon Mountain, and those that did were weak.

    ¡°Now that I think about it, why are you heading to the Wolf Valley?¡± Plum Blossom Twelve asked out of curiosity.

    ¡°Divine Physician Ji¡¯s task for today is to acquire goubaos. I¡¯m heading there in hopes that I might get lucky.¡± Zu An tried to look as naive as he could.

    ¡°Get lucky?¡± Plum Blossom Twelve burst into heartyughter. Even he would only dare to walk around the outskirts of the Wolf Valley, but this fellow actually dreamed of entering the valley to search for goubaos?

    Zu Anughed awkwardly. ¡°I¡¯m just trying my luck. Who knows? Maybe I¡¯ll find some wolf carcasses lying around.¡±

    Plum Blossom Twelve looked at Zu An disdainfully. This brat sure is dumber than a rock. Nevertheless, he still held his tongue. His n woulde to nought if Zu An were to back down now. ¡°You¡¯re the son-inw of the Chu n. Can¡¯t you get them to pay the consultation fee instead?¡±

    He was familiar with the rules of Divine Physician Ji¡¯s clinic too.

    Zu An sighed deeply and said, ¡°Brother, what kind of standing could a son-inw like me possibly have in the Chu n? Everyone looks down on me, so who would spare me any money? In the end, it¡¯s brothers like you that treat me the best. We haven¡¯t met in so long, but you¡¯re still willing to do me this huge favor.¡±

    ¡°Of course! If I don¡¯t stand up for my brothers, who else should I stand up for?¡± Plum Blossom Twelve was impressed than this dumbd actually possessed some self-awareness. ¡°Is the First Miss of the Chu n really pretty?¡±

    Someone like him could never have the opportunity to meet the lofty First Miss of the Chu n. All he knew of her came from the rumors floating around.

    ¡°She¡¯s like a fairy descended from heaven,¡± Zu An replied honestly. That wife of his was indeed a looker.

    ¡°How did it go with her? Did it feel like you were floating into the sky?¡± Plum Blossom Twelve shot Zu An a licentious look.

    Zu An sneered coldly on the inside, but his tone was the pr opposite. ¡°She was fair, tender, and smooth. It was the best I¡¯ve ever had.¡±

    Plum Blossom Twelve swallowed and replied enviously, ¡°You sure are a lucky son of a bitch.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Plum Blossom Twelve for 99 Rage points!

    Zu An was delighted. This Plum Blossom Twelve was yet another toad lusting after the flesh of a swan.

    A gust of wind brought with it the scent of blood, and the pair noticed some bone fragments scattered on the ground in front of them. It was difficult to tell what animal they belonged to. Plum Blossom Twelve chuckled to himself and said, ¡°Those wild beasts that venture out of the Hidden Dragon Mountain leave some remains behind, at least. However, if you were to fall into the hands of those Assrip Wolves, there won¡¯t be anything left by the time they¡¯re done with you.¡±

    They were right on top of the Wolf Valley, and nobody else was around. Plum Blossom Twelve did not fear Zu An backing out anymore.

    ¡°So that¡¯s the Wolf Valley?¡± Zu An saw the terrain dip downwards in front of him, opening into what seemed vaguely like a valley. Feigning a look of fright, he grabbed Plum Blossom Twelve¡¯s arm and eximed, ¡°Big brother, you need to protect me! You¡¯re a formidable cultivator, right?¡±

    ¡°Yeap, it¡¯s right in front of us. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll make sure to ¡®protect¡¯ you properly,¡± Plum Blossom Twelve said with a sinister smile. ¡°Zu An, do you know that I¡¯ve always been in awe of you? I never knew someone could be so naive. You haven¡¯t grown any smarter after surviving that lightning strike. Look, you walked right into my trap right after.¡±

    Zu An let his eyes grow wide. ¡°Big brother, what are you talking about?¡±

    He had intended to catch Plum Blossom Twelve off guard and assault him, but dyed as he heard Plum Blossom Twelve¡¯s words. He had to learn more about this matter.

    In any case, he was the stronger of the two just by a little bit, and he had trump cards like the Poisonous Prick and the Poison Bottle up his sleeve. He fancied his chances against Plum Blossom Twelve.

    Plum Blossom Twelve pushed him away, and he copsed weakly to the ground. This deepened the disdain in Plum Blossom Twelve¡¯s eyes. He brushed the part of his robe that Zu An had grabbed earlier. ¡°Since I¡¯m in a good mood today, I shall enlighten you before sending you on your way. Yes, I was the one who brought you to the outskirts and tied you to a tree that stormy night. I just didn¡¯t think that you would be so lucky as to survive getting struck.¡±

 Chapter 17: A Bird Swooping Down

    <h4>Chapter 17: A Bird Swooping Down</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An gasped in mock horror. ¡°You were the culprit? I have no beef with you, so why must you harm me so?!¡±

    Plum Blossom Twelve replied with a cold sneer, ¡°You only have yourself to me for offending someone whom you shouldn¡¯t have.¡±

    ¡°Who did I offend?¡± Zu An asked anxiously.

    Plum Blossom Twelve nted his foot on Zu An¡¯s back and smacked him in the face with his dagger. ¡°You don¡¯t need to know that. Why don¡¯t you ask King Yama once you reach the underworld?¡±

    Zu An was surprised by that remark. This world actually had the concepts of King Yama and the underworld too?

    ¡°The Chu n will never let you off if you dare to kill me!¡± Zu An fired back. He had to know if the culprit was a member of the Chu n.

    ¡°Ahhh, I¡¯m so scared!¡± Plum Blossom Twelve patted his heart with an exaggerated look of fright. ¡°We¡¯re in the wilderness, and your corpse will never be found. No one will know how you died.¡±

    Plum Blossom Twelve paused briefly. ¡°However, it¡¯s good of you to remind me. It¡¯s better to be safe than sorry. You¡¯re right, I shouldn¡¯t make a move on you myself. I shall toss you into the Wolf Valley and have the Assrip Wolves devour everyst bit of your body. Then, not even the Chu n will be able to trace this back to me!¡±

    Zu An was intrigued. Judging from his tone, the mastermind behind this was not from the Chu n.

    ¡°Ah, do you know why they are called the Assrip Wolves?¡± Plum Blossom Twelve asked with a sinister smile. Before Zu An could reply, he answered his own question. ¡°That¡¯s because they are skilled in tearing one¡¯s ass apart. They don¡¯t kill their prey right away. You¡¯ll be forced to watch helplessly as they tear your intestines out and devour you bit by bit. I wonder just how painful that would be.¡±

    Zu An was perplexed. What was the point of saying all of this now? Did Plum Blossom Twelve have some sort of torture or gore fetish?

    Plum Blossom Twelve took Zu An¡¯s silence as a sign of overwhelming fear, and assumed all was under his control. He gleefully continued his monologue. ¡°However, if you could answer some questions of mine, I would consider granting you a quick and less painful death.¡±

    ¡°What do you want to know?¡± Zu An asked. Could it be that the previous owner of this body had found out some shocking secret, which prompted others to send assassins after him?

    Plum Blossom Twelve squatted down and looked at Zu An with a bizarre smile on his face. ¡°How big is the First Miss of the Chu n?¡±

    Zu An stared at him in stunned silence.

    He had thought of all sorts of possible questions that Plum Blossom Twelve could ask, but who could have thought it would be this?

    ¡°Around this big.¡± Zu An gave a rough indication with his hands. He might not have seen it before, but it was not as if Plum Blossom Twelve would know better.

    ¡°What about her waist? How slender is it?¡±

    ¡°Around this size, I think?¡± Zu An was growing impatient. If he couldn¡¯t obtain any more intelligence out of this would-be assassin, he didn¡¯t want to waste any more time here.

    ¡°What about down there? What sounds does she make? Holy shit, I¡¯m getting hard just thinking about it!¡± Plum Blossom Twelve felt his throat turning parched from the heat. He pulled down his pants and ordered, ¡°Come, suck on it!¡±

    If he couldn¡¯t have a taste of the First Miss of the Chu n in this life, he might as well satisfy his desire for her through this indirect method.

    Again, Zu An was so incredulous he could not speak.

    He had nned to probe Plum Blossom Twelve for the identities of his enemies, but it seemed this fellow was perverted beyond belief!

    Zu An felt his patience snap. He wrestled the dagger out of Plum Blossom Twelve¡¯s hands, and without any hesitation, he sliced away the root of all his evil.

    ¡°AHHHH!¡± Plum Blossom Twelve had been too distracted to put up his defenses in time. With a shriek, he grabbed at his crotch and rolled around in agony. His forehead connected solidly with a nearby tree trunk, and he lost consciousness.

    Plum Blossom Twelve had a very long dream. In the dream, his sect leader sent him to the royal pce to serve as a eunuch. He was pinned down onto a table and his manhood was severed, and then he was thrown into a small room. He was locked up for several days straight, without any food or drink. His throat was so parched, he felt like he was about to die of thirst.

    As if heaven had heard his pleas, rain began to fall from the sky. It felt warm on his face, and had a delicious saltiness to it.

    Hepped it up greedily, but quickly sensed something was amiss. He opened his eyes and found himself tied to a tree. He strained against his bonds, but they did not give at all. It was then that he realized that the rope was no ordinary tool. It had been specially prepared to deal with low-level cultivators like him.

    What¡¯s going on here?

    Plum Blossom Twelve struggled to make sense of his predicament. Wasn¡¯t he in the midst of bringing that useless trash Zu An over to the Wolf Valley? He felt traces of liquid on his face, so he subconsciously licked at it. It tasted the same as the rainwater from his dream.

    He saw Zu An nearby, pulling up his pants. Zu An addressed him apologetically. ¡°My bad. You simply wouldn¡¯t wake up, and I couldn¡¯t find any water around to ssh you awake with. So, I could only make use of what I had. It has been a bit too hot thest two days, so it ended up being a little yellowish.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s exnation left no doubt in Plum Blossom Twelve¡¯s mind as to what exactly that liquid on his face was. He remembered how he had drunk several mouthfuls of it in his dream, and he shuddered in sheer horror. ¡°Bloody hell!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Plum Blossom Twelve for 777 Rage points!

    ¡°Bro, it looks like the weather is getting to you too.¡± Zu An felt anticipation bloom in his heart. There were Rage points to be earned here. As a keyboard warrior, he would be ashamed not to exploit this opportunity to its fullest!

    Plum Blossom Twelve bellowed angrily, ¡°How dare you tie me up? Hurry up and release me!¡±

    Zu An leaped down from the fallen tree trunk he had been standing on. ¡°Have you forgotten what happened earlier?¡±

    Plum Blossom Twelve felt his horror grow as he recollected the earlier chain of events. I was stepping on thisd earlier, wanting him to give me a... He nced downward, only to see that his crotch was a bloodied mess. Even though the flow of blood had stopped, what should have been there was no longer there! He let out a miserable cry. ¡°Where is it?!¡±

    His furious howl caused his wounds to rupture once more, causing blood to spurt out.

    Zu An was amazed by just how resilient the constitution of cultivators was. In his previous world, a man who suffered such an injury would have died from excessive blood loss by now. Yet Plum Blossom Twelve was actually able tost this long.

    Zu An dug his ears casually, irritated by the sudden howl from Plum Blossom Twelve. He pointed to a long bamboo pole not too far away. A thin thread was tied to one end of the bamboo pole, and a bloody, finger-shaped object was hanging from it. ¡°There. Your treasure is right there.¡±

    ¡°You bastard! You dared to assault me!¡± Recalling everything that just happened, Plum Blossom Twelve realized that he had been done in.

    You have sessfully trolled Plum Blossom Twelve for 999 Rage points!

    It seems like men, regardless of which world they are from, are extremely concerned about their treasure. This was thergest influx of Rage points yet that Zu An had seen.

    ¡°You are a cultivator too?¡± Plum Blossom Twelve demanded, his rage lessening.

    Even if he were caught off guard, there was no way an ordinary mortal could have snatched his dagger away just like that.

    For Zu An to have exerted the immense force that he did, his cultivation level had to be even higher than his own. But how could this be? That brat had been powerless before him just a few days ago!

    ¡°I¡¯m the one asking the questions here, not you.¡± Zu An patted the dagger against Plum Blossom Twelve¡¯s mouth. ¡°Speak! Who¡¯s the one who ordered you to kill me?¡±

    Plum Blossom Twelve hadn¡¯t expected the tables to be turned on him so quickly. Still fuming inside, he turned his head to the side and refused to speak.

    ¡°You don¡¯t want to talk, huh?¡± Zu An was unperturbed by Plum Blossom Twelve¡¯s reaction. Instead, he picked up the bamboo pole by the side and dangled the finger-like object in front of Plum Blossom Twelve. ¡°Actually, having it severed is not as terminal as you think. If you seek treatment in time, you might just be able to reattach it. However, if you dy, the cells will start to die out... By then, even a deity wouldn¡¯t be able to save you anymore!¡±

    At least, that was the case in the modern world. Considering that this was the world of cultivation, where all sorts of supernatural powers existed, it should be possible to do the same here too.

    Plum Blossom Twelve seemed buoyed by Zu An¡¯s words. His eyes seemed to regain some of their former spirit. ¡°Will you really let me go if I speak?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll consider it,¡± Zu An replied.

    Plum Blossom Twelve cleared his throat coldly. He was usually the one doing the threatening, so he knew full well how the story would go.

    Zu An shrugged casually. ¡°You won¡¯t stand a chance at all if you don¡¯t talk. If you talk, there might still be a chance. It¡¯s your choice.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s an order from my sect leader,¡± Plum Blossom Twelve confessed.

    ¡°What¡¯s your sect leader¡¯s name?¡± Zu An asked.

    Plum Blossom Twelve hesitated. He scanned his surroundings warily, and after he was sure no one else was around, he finally replied, ¡°The name of my sect leader is Mei Chaofeng.¡±

    Zu An surmised from his actions that Plum Blossom Twelve greatly feared his sect leader. Wait a moment, Mei Chaofeng?

    ¡°There¡¯s no way your sect leader is a blind woman, right?¡± Zu An swallowed.

    ¡°Huh? Of course not.¡± Plum Blossom Twelve replied in confusion. He had no idea where Zu An got such a notion. ¡°Our sect leader is a man through and through.¡±

    With a few follow-up questions, Zu An confirmed that this so-called sect leader was not the person he had in mind. Running through his memories, he failed to find any impression of the sect leader of the Plum Blossom Sect. So he asked, ¡°Why does your sect leader want to kill me?¡±

    Plum Blossom Twelve¡¯s eyes darted around furtively. ¡°There¡¯s no way mere underlings like us can fathom the thoughts of the sect leader.¡±

    Zu An sneered coldly. ¡°You want to y games with me?¡± He grabbed the bamboo pole and made as if to toss it into the valley.

    ¡°W-wait, Wait! I remember it now!¡± Plum Blossom Twelve stammered anxiously. ¡°A mysterious person paid a visit to our sect leader one day. Our sect leader brought him into his private chamber, where they had a long chat. Right after that, he ordered me to get rid of you.¡±

    ¡°Who¡¯s this mysterious person?¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be calling him a mysterious person if I knew!¡±

    Zu An scoffed coldly in response. ¡°It looks like you need to learn a lesson before you¡¯re willing to talk, huh?¡±

    Plum Blossom Twelve hurriedly eximed, ¡°I really don¡¯t know who that person is! They were dressed head to toe in ck, and wore a ck bamboo hat thatpletely concealed their face. I don¡¯t even know if that person is a man or a woman, let alone their identity!¡±

    Plum Blossom Twelve seemed on the verge of tears, so Zu An decided to take his word for it. He switched to another line of questioning. ¡°What¡¯s the current situation in your Plum Blossom Sect?¡±

    After some back-and-forth, Zu An finally got a rough handle on the situation. The Plum Blossom Sect was the biggest underground sect in Brightmoon City. The sect leader was Mei Chaofeng, and he had 13 godsons. They were named Plum Blossom One all the way to Plum Blossom Thirteen, and those in the pugilistic world knew them as the Thirteen Guardians of Plum Blossom.

    The Plum Blossom Sect controlled most of the underground business in Brightmoon City, and their greatest sources of ie were the protection fees they imposed on businesses and the casinos they operated.

    After divulging the abilities of the Thirteen Guardians of Plum Blossom, Plum Blossom Twelve finally demanded, ¡°Can you return my treasure back to me now?¡± All this while his eyes had never left that thing hanging on the bamboo pole, not even for a moment. Once I recover from this, I¡¯ll crush this bastard¡¯s jewels and feed it to the dogs. After that, I¡¯ll mince him bit by bit until my anger is finally quelled!

    Zu An had kept one eye on the notifications that he¡¯d been receiving, and was secretly delighted.

    You have sessfully trolled Plum Blossom Twelve for 9 Rage points! ... 9 Rage points! ... 9... 9... 9...

    It looked like this fellow carried a deep grudge against him.

    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll give it back to you.¡±

    He felt ufortable holding on to it, even if it was on a bamboo pole. He quickly pushed it towards Plum Blossom Twelve.

    A ck shadow swooped down, apanied by the sound of pping wings. In a sh, the object that had been hanging at the end of the bamboo pole disappeared without a trace.

    Zu An turned to stare at the massive ck bird that had just perched on a nearby tree branch. It looked like a massive, oversized crow. It seemed to have a worm-like object in its beak... What else could it be other than Plum Blossom Twelve¡¯s treasure?

    The crow eyed the two men below gleefully, then tilted its head upward and swallowed its prize.

    ¡°NOOOOO!¡± Plum Blossom Twelve¡¯s anguished cry echoed across the valley. Frightened by the sudden noise, the massive bird flew away and out of sight.

    Zu An stared after the dwindling silhouette in horrified wonder.

    Plum Blossom Twelve just stared.

 Chapter 18: I Wonâ€™t Agree to it Unless You Write it Down

    <h4>Chapter 18: I Won¡¯t Agree to it Unless You Write it Down</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An smiled sheepishly. ¡°Bro, you can¡¯t me me for that.¡±

    ¡°Screw you!¡± Blood spurted from between Plum Blossom Twelve¡¯s legs, and he cked out once again.

    You have sessfully trolled Plum Blossom Twelve for 999 Rage points!

    Despite the current turn of events, Zu An only acquired 999 Rage points. It seemed there was a hard cap to how many Rage points could be earned for a single sessful troll.

    ¡°Awoooo~¡±

    From afar, the howling of a wild beast could be heard. Zu An slipped behind arge rock and peeked around the corner, scanning the valley ahead of him. He saw some gray shadows moving about. Most likely, these were the legendary Assrip Wolves.

    He thought about the task that brought him here, and a n began to form in his mind.

    ...

    When Plum Blossom Twelve awoke once more, he found that he was no longer tied to a tree, and he was overwhelmed with joy. Had it all been just a nightmare?

    He nced downwards.

    You have sessfully trolled Plum Blossom Twelve for 233 Rage points!

    Zu An was starting to feel sorry. At this rate, Plum Blossom Twelve would go bald from stress before he reached his forties. ¡°Don¡¯t get too agitated. I helped you bandage your wound earlier. If it were to open up once more, even the deities wouldn¡¯t be able to save you!¡±

    Plum Blossom Twelve looked upward, towards the source of the voice. A steep slope led up from where he was to where Zu An was. The brat was squatting nonchntly at the lip, looking down at him. Another surge of anger overcame him, and he bellowed, ¡°You piece of shit! I¡¯ll kill you!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Plum Blossom Twelve for 333 Rage points!

    He dashed up the slope, ignoring the sudden surge of paining from between his legs that caused his eyes to redden. Just as he was about to reach his target, a swift kick sent him tumbling down once more.

    You have sessfully trolled Plum Blossom Twelve for 28 Rage points!

    ¡°How can this be?¡± Plum Blossom Twelve was shocked. He was convinced that he¡¯d suffered defeat thest time because he¡¯d been caught off guard. But now, he¡¯d been overpowered in a direct confrontation. Could Zu An¡¯s cultivation really be higher than his own?

    ¡°I¡¯d advise you to save up your strength. You¡¯ll have a hard time dealing with the Assrip Wolves, otherwise,¡± Zu An counseled him.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Plum Blossom Twelve asked with a sense of foreboding. He heard low growling all around him, and noticed some Assrip Wolves circling him, drawn by the scent of blood. It dawned on him that he was standing smack in the middle of the Wolf Valley.

    ¡°Fuck!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Plum Blossom Twelve for 367 Rage points!

    Plum Blossom Twelve¡¯s first instinct was to run up the slope. Assrip Wolves were in the second rank, but he was faced with a half-dozen of them. He wouldn¡¯t dare tangle with them while in peak condition, let alone now, when he was severely injured.

    But Zu An towered over him, a fearsome obstacle blocking his path to safety. ¡°Don¡¯t waste your strength; you¡¯ll never get past me. However, if you help me gather ten goubaos, I¡¯ll pull you up.¡±

    Zu An finally got a good look at the feared Assrip Wolves. They had ck fur with white stripes on their backs, though the fur around their stomach was yellowish-brown in color. Their ears were long and sharp. They shared the same shape as the wolves in his previous life, but they were about the size of a spotted hyena.

    ¡°You bastard! You said you¡¯d let me off if I answered your questions earlier!¡± Plum Blossom Twelve gritted his teeth in fury.

    You have sessfully trolled Plum Blossom Twelve for 100 Rage points!

    ¡°I only said I¡¯d consider it,¡± Zu An countered indignantly.

    ¡°How much longer do you need to consider?!¡± Plum Blossom Twelve did not dare look up at Zu An. He eyed the approaching Assrip Wolves warily. He knew that one small slip would be the end of him.

    Zu An replied, ¡°I¡¯m done considering. I figured it would be a pity to kill you right away. Instead, I¡¯ll squeeze whatever remaining value I can out of you.¡± He had never seen the Assrip Wolves in action before, so he had no idea how powerful they were. It was best to have Plum Blossom Twelve take them on first.

    Plum Blossom Twelve had no words.

    What sins did Imit in my previous life to encounter such a shameless fellow?

    You have sessfully trolled Plum Blossom Twelve for 666 Rage points!

    Zu An looked at the Rage he had umted in the system, and was truly impressed. This was much more than what he had earned from his encounter with Chu Huanzhao.

    ¡°Life is very precious. Even if you have lost your treasure, there are still other joys in life to indulge in. Not everything has to be about sex.¡± Zu An hoped his words of constion would motivate Plum Blossom Twelve. It would make his task more difficult if Plum Blossom Twelve gave up without a fight. ¡°How about this? As long as you can obtain a single goubao, I¡¯ll save you right away!¡±

    Plum Blossom Twelve was heartened by this, but he quickly remembered how Zu An had reneged on his previous promise.

    ¡°I won¡¯t take your word for it! I demand you write me a contract.¡±

    It was hard to watch a strong, hard man like Plum Blossom Twelve on the brink of tears.

    ¡°Where the hell am I going to find paper?¡± Zu An grumbled. ¡°How about this instead? I swear that if I go against my words, for a month, I shall... Gah, that¡¯s not right. For three days, I won¡¯t be able to raise my gpole!¡±

    Zu An figured that, given his current condition, this was a harmless promise. No matter how formidable Divine Physician Ji is, there¡¯s no way he could cure me in just a few days anyway... Oh dear, why do I feel like crying all of a sudden?

    Plum Blossom Twelve was overjoyed. The vows and contracts made in this world carried binding power, and breaking them would invite swift retribution. Since Zu An dared to make such a promise, there could be no doubting his sincerity. It was just that the duration was a little...

    ¡°No, that won¡¯t do. You must swear that you won¡¯t be able to raise it up for an entire lifetime!¡±

    Zu An flew into a rage. ¡°Screw you! Think about just how beautiful my wife is! Isn¡¯t it bad enough not to be able to have rtions with her for three days? The most I¡¯ll go is seven days. No more haggling!¡±

    Plum Blossom Twelve thought Zu An¡¯s argument extremely convincing. If he had a wife as beautiful as the First Miss of the Chu n, he would want to spend all day in bed. Not being able to perform for seven days would be a nightmarish curse for Zu An.

    Of course, Plum Blossom Twelve was not privy to the fact that Zu An was forbidden from even entering the room of the First Miss.

    ¡°Alright, it¡¯s a deal then!¡±

    Plum Blossom Twelve pulled himself together, and a fighting spirit zed in his eyes. Retrieving one goubao was not a hopeless endeavor. Once he returned to the city, he would have his godfather and his twelve godbrothers exact vengeance for him. He was determined to turn this repugnant fellow into minced meat no matter what!

    There were no kind-hearted souls amongst the Thirteen Guardians of Plum Blossom. Only those who were vicious and tenacious could rise to such a position. With a snarl, Plum Blossom Twelve tore away the sleeves of his shirt and used the fabric to secure his wounded crotch.

    In a sh, the Assrip Wolvesunched themselves at him. Three of them mounted a frontal assault while the other three tried to blindside him from the rear.

    Zu An felt a chill run down his spine. The Assrip Wolves were much more agile than he had anticipated, and their hides looked pretty thick. Plum Blossom Twelve was a cultivator at the third step of the second rank, who wielded enough power to shatter a tree trunk with a single punch. Yet, these wolves shrugged off his blows with nothing more than a howl of rage.

    Plum Blossom Twelve sent an Assrip Wolf flying with a heavy punch, but was immediately put on the defensive as another beast lunged at him from behind. His brow furrowed with intense concentration, eyes darting around as he tried to keep track of all his opponents at once. ¡°Damn it! If I¡¯m to collect goubaos for you, don¡¯t you think you should at least let me have my dagger?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Plum Blossom Twelve for 187 Rage points!

    ¡°Catch!¡± Zu An shouted as he flipped the dagger towards the besieged assassin. He wasn¡¯t concerned that Plum Blossom Twelve might take the opportunity to attack him. There was no way he would be able to shake off the half-dozen bloodthirsty beasts long enough to make it up the slope.

    Plum Blossom Twelve had waged countless battles in his brutal and bloody ascent to the position of the Thirteen Guardians. His moves weren¡¯t shy, but every single one of them was direct and practical.

    He willingly suffered non-threatening injuries in order to deal heavy blows to the attacking Assrip Wolves, all the while protecting his vital organs.

    ¡°Ah, so the belly is the major weak spot of these Assrip Wolves.¡± Plum Blossom Twelve ignored the heads and necks of the Assrip Wolves, opting to create openings to plunge his dagger into their bellies instead.

    The instincts that gave the Assrip Wolves their name also made the fight easier for Plum Blossom Twelve. They could have easily overpowered him by attacking from different angles, but they seemedpelled to circle behind him and target his backside.

    Exploiting this predictable pattern, Plum Blossom Twelve managed to kill all six wolves, though the fight had taken an immense toll on him. He copsed to the ground in exhaustion, covered in numerous bites and deep gashes. ¡°Hurry and pull me up!¡± Plum Blossom Twelve demanded. Thest Assrip Wolf had let out an ominous howl as it died, no doubt summoning itsrades to avenge it. It wouldn¡¯t be long before more Assrip Wolves appeared.

    ¡°You haven¡¯t fulfilled your end of the bargain. Where¡¯s my goubao?¡± Zu An asked, still squatting leisurely at the lip of the slope.

    ¡°Screw you!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Plum Blossom Twelve for 78 Rage points!

    Plum Blossom Twelve was irate, but he did not hesitate. He quickly disemboweled the six Assrip Wolf carcasses and searched their stomachs thoroughly. He almost gagged at the stench, but soldiered on bravely.

    As he fumbled around he felt a hard, elliptical object, and his face lit up in joy. ¡°Hahaha, I found it! I found it!¡±

    ¡°Awoooo~¡±

    The overwhelming scent of fresh blood had drawn the rest of the Assrip Wolf pack like flies to rotting food. Out in front was a wolf that was muchrger than any other¡ªthat was clearly the pack leader.

    ¡°Hurry and pull me up!¡± Plum Blossom Twelve repeated, panic in his voice.

    Zu An, however, was in no hurry. He thought for a moment, then demanded, ¡°Throw me the goubao first.¡±

    ¡°Hell no! What¡¯s stopping you from betraying me once I throw it to you?¡± Plum Blossom Twelve was no fool.

    Zu An was offended. ¡°Are you questioning my character? Didn¡¯t I make a serious vow earlier? Throw the goubao to me, quickly! If you continue dilly-dallying, the other Assrip Wolves will be upon you before you know it.¡±

    From Zu An¡¯s vantage point, he saw the Assrip Wolves racing across the valley floor. They would arrive in less than a minute. Left with no choice, Plum Blossom Twelve tossed the goubao to Zu An.

    ¡°Quick, pull me up!¡±

    Zu An slipped the goubao into his bag. He fished out the rope he had used to restrain Plum Blossom Twelve, and tossed one end down into the valley. ¡°Here, grab it.¡±

    Plum Blossom Twelve tried grabbing the rope, but it was several meters too short. He couldn¡¯t reach it even if he jumped. His anger almost eclipsed his fear of the approaching wolves. ¡°Are you toying with me?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Plum Blossom Twelve for 144 Rage points!

    ¡°Ah!¡± Zu An eximed in astonishment. ¡°How was I to know that the rope would not be long enough? You should have prepared a longer rope for situations like these!¡±

    Plum Blossom Twelve was so infuriated, he was on the verge of losing his mind. ¡°Can¡¯t you just take a few steps down this slope?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Plum Blossom Twelve for 500 Rage points!

    Zu An shook his head vehemently. ¡°I can¡¯t. I¡¯m afraid of those Assrip Wolves. What if I slip?¡±

    It was clear as day to Plum Blossom Twelve¡ªZu An had no intention of saving him. ¡°But you swore on it! Do you know the consequences of breaking your oath?¡±

    Zu An shrugged nonchntly. ¡°I vowed to save you, but I didn¡¯t promise that I would be sessful. I¡¯ve already done my part. You¡¯re the one who can¡¯t reach the rope. How could you me me for it?¡±

 Chapter 19: The Young Woman in the Lake

    <h4>Chapter 19: The Young Woman in the Lake</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°The sect master and my thirteenth brother will surely avenge me!¡± Plum Blossom Twelve knew there was no escape from Zu An¡¯s vile trickery.

    Zu An took out a notebook from his bag and scribbled down the names of the Plum Blossom sect master and Plum Blossom Thirteen. ¡°I¡¯ll have to settle my grudge with them eventually,¡± Zu An replied. The Plum Blossom Sect was his only lead in his hunt for whoever was masterminding these attempts on his life.

    It wasn¡¯t long before Plum Blossom Twelve waspletely surrounded by Assrip Wolves. He had time for onest retort before he was torn to shreds.

    ¡°You won¡¯t... won¡¯t die a... good death...!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Plum Blossom Twelve for 999 Rage points!

    Plum Blossom Twelve probably never expected that he would utter the same exact words that Brother Tan had two hours ago.

    ¡°Who was the one who said that only the weak hurl insults?¡± Zu An sighed deeply to himself. He nced down at the bloody scene below and shivered. He was not one for gore. He turned and departed swiftly.

    So far, he had only acquired one of the ten goubaos needed.

    How was he going to gather the other nine?

    Brute force would be a terrible idea. Plum Blossom Twelve had taken them head on, but had only managed to kill six of them before dying. Zu An knew that there was no way a beginner cultivator like himself could match up.

    He had also assessed that the leader of the Assrip Wolves was likely at the third rank. Zu An was no match for it one-on-one, let alone in a battle where he was outnumbered.

    He still possessed the Poisonous Prick and the Poison Bottle, and he might have given it a go against any other type of wild beast. But watching Plum Blossom Twelve get absolutely wrecked by these Assrip Wolves had him frightened.

    I should try drawing the lottery. Maybe I can get something useful in order to deal with those Assrip Wolves.

    Zu An brought out the Keyboard, and was astonished to see a whopping 7220 Rage points at his disposal. The greatest contributor was undoubtedly Plum Blossom Twelve.

    Zu An felt sorry that the assassin was already dead. He would have loved to continue squeezing out more Rage points from him.

    If Plum Blossom Twelve had known that that was the only motivation Zu An had had for saving him, he would probably have died of anger right away.

    Zu An trembled in anticipation as he pulled up the lottery interface. He hit the ¡®Enter¡¯ key. The shing light marker came to rest on the ¡®Space¡¯ key.

    Thanks for ying!

    Zu An¡¯s face darkened. He was just about to try again when a sudden thought came to him. Wait a moment, did I forget one of the key steps?

    Ah! I didn¡¯t wash my face!

    Zu An paused his lottery-drawing and retraced the route he had taken earlier. He remembered passing by a stream on his way to the valley.

    While there was no statistical evidence to back up his superstition that washing his face could increase his chances of striking the lottery, the ritual itself felt reassuring to him.

    He knelt by the stream and washed his face thoroughly. He scrubbed his hands too for good measure, then turned his attention back to the lottery.

    He hit the ¡®Enter¡¯ key again, and the light marker flickered across the keyboard, stopping on the ¡®0¡¯ key. A crimson pill floated out¡ªanother Marrow Cleansing Pill!

    Zu An felt his heart leap in excitement. See? I knew washing my face helped!

    Not wanting to waste this sudden inflow of luck, he quickly tried the lottery once more, and won yet another Marrow Cleansing Pill. His smile grew wide¡ªhe could barely contain his happiness!

    Thanks for ying... Thanks for ying...

    Sess! Yet another Marrow Cleansing Pill!

    After his fourth Marrow Cleansing Pill, Zu An¡¯s smile began to fade. He wondered if these were the only prizes he would ever win.

    Thanks for ying... Thanks for ying...

    Another dozen tries led to more Marrow Cleansing Pills, and nothing else.

    A voice notification came from the Keyboard just as Zu An was about to lose it.

    ¡°In view that the user has obtained sufficient Marrow Cleansing Pills to raise your cultivating talent to the maximum level, Marrow Cleansing Pills will no longer appear in the list of rewards. The Shop function is now open. The user may purchase more Marrow Cleansing Pills in the Shop.

    ¡°A new reward has been assigned to the ¡®0¡¯ key. Please look forward to it.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face clouded over. Why can¡¯t you just tell me what the new reward is instead of telling me to look forward to it? Look forward to it, my ass!

    With his internal rant out of the way, Zu An began exploring the new ¡®Shop¡¯ function. A merchant icon was now visible on the screen. Clicking on it, he saw only one item for sale¡ªMarrow Cleansing Pills!

    What shocked him even more was that a single pill cost 10,000 Rage points!

    This isn¡¯t right! Zu An recalled thest few times he had yed the lottery. Even though there were times that his luck was poor, he still managed to get something decent roughly once every ten tries. That made the item in the shop ten times more expensive than the ones from the lottery!

    This is a scam!

    He tried to recall his experiences with other simr in-game shops. All of them had sold items at a premium price, and bought them back at much lower prices. Perhaps this shop functioned in the same way¡ªthat would exin why the Marrow Cleansing Pills it sold were so expensive.

    I won¡¯t need it anyway.

    The Keyboard had notified him that he had already acquired sufficient Marrow Cleansing Pills to raise his talent to the maximum level. Purchasing more from the shop would be a waste of hard-earned Rage points.

    He decided to save the 3000 Rage points he had left, and consume the Marrow Cleansing Pills he had on hand. That would give him time to put his mind at ease. Besides, his luck might just increase alongside his talent for cultivation.

    He knew from previous experience that consuming the Marrow Cleansing Pill would force out the impurities in his body, coating him in ayer of dirty gunge. Since he was currently out in the wilderness with no spare clothes on hand, he chose to disrobe before swallowing a Marrow Cleansing Pill.

    He made sure to fully assimte the medicinal energy of the first pill before consuming the second one. As a keyboard warrior, he knew the importance of caution. His body was terribly weak. Consuming all the Marrow Cleansing Pills at once might cause a huge surge of medicinal energy that could blow it to pieces. That would be a ridiculous way to go!

    Zu An felt his body growing gradually warmer, and impurities began seeping out from his pores at a visible rate. He jumped into the water to wash away the disgusting ck goo before it could umte.

    After consuming thest Marrow Cleansing Pill, he realized that he had underestimated the medicinal energy they contained. While it had beenfortable at the start, the heat inside his body steadily intensified, and he felt as if his cells were being broken down and reconstructed. His bones, muscles, and skin felt like they were going to burst apart.

    ¡°Shit!¡± Zu An felt his fear rising. The pain sharpened suddenly, and he cked out.

    Zu An awoke slowly. He was still in the water, but he was now lying on a huge boulder near the riverbank. The surroundings were foreign to him¡ªhe must have been out a long time, and had drifted a significant distance downstream.

    ¡°It¡¯s fortunate that I wasn¡¯t eaten by piranhas while I was knocked out,¡± Zu An muttered, inspecting his body. He was relieved to find his limbs and other major parts of him still properly attached.

    The intense pain from earlier had vanished without a trace, reced by lightness and vigor. He could clearly sense a difference in his body, although the exact changes eluded him.

    He took a deep breath. The air smelled exceptionally sweet.

    ¡°Hm? The third rune formation has been filled up too?¡±

    The third rune formation was fully filled with golden specks. Strictly speaking, he had only just reached the third step of the second rank, since the formation had only been partially filled before.

    Looks like talent really makes a huge difference. Now, just breathing can cause the golden specks inside the formations to slowly umte.

    Zu An was curious to know just what his current talent was. He had been a lower Ding previously, equivalent to a D-. If each Marrow Cleansing Pill increased his talent by a single rank, five of the pills would have caused him to gain five ranks¡ªfrom D- to D, to D+, C-, C, and finally, C+.

    No, that¡¯s not right. The Keyboard told me that I had enough pills to reach the maximum level of talent, so each Marrow Cleansing Pill should increase my rank by arger margin. Shouldn¡¯t my talent currently be A+ or S?

    Or could there be a S+ above S?

    I wonder what the highest level of talent in this world is. That¡¯s something for me to figure out.

    Zu An looked around and saw that things were very different. He could see the tree leaves rustling in the wind, a butterfly fluttering its wings, an ant moving its feelers, a beautiful woman slowly raising her head out of the water, the fish in the water chasing prawns...

    Wait, what was that?

    Zu An turned around quickly and saw a young woman several meters away. She had yet to notice his presence, probably because he had been lying unconscious, and had been blocked by therge boulder.

    The young woman stood upright, revealing her slender and delicate shoulders, as well as the fair, smooth skin covering her chest. She was humming a leisurely tune as beautiful as an oriole¡¯s song.

    Water trickled down her arms and towards her chest as she lifted them overhead. With his enhanced vision, Zu An could pick out the water droplets hanging on her eyshes. They made her eyes even more alluring.

    ¡°Gulu~¡±

    Zu An swallowed. Could it be that the increase in his talent extended to his luck with girls too?

    ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡±

    The young woman, suddenly rmed, turned toward the noise.

    Sensing danger, Zu An subconsciously hid behind the boulder. Being caught like this in his previous life would have led to a lecture, nothing more. However, this was the world of cultivation! No ordinary human would bathe in the wilderness like this!

    Zu An¡¯s cultivation was still scraping the bottom of the barrel, and there was a good chance this woman was far stronger than him.

    If she were vicious and unforgiving, it was likely Zu An would suffer the same fate as Plum Blossom Twelve.

    ¡°Miss, would you believe me if I said that I was just passing by?¡± Zu An knew it was toote for him toy low. The best strategy would be to quickly rify the situation for what it was¡ªa mere coincidence.

    ¡°W-who are you?¡± The young woman sounded flustered.

    Hm? Thisdy seems to be on the shy side.

    Zu An replied, ¡°I came to gather medicine, but I was set upon by wild beasts and fell into the river. I lost consciousness along the way, and before I knew it, I found myself here.¡±

    ¡°Medicine? What kind of medicine were you gathering?¡± The young woman¡¯s voice came from the other side of the boulder. Clearly, she was using it to conceal her body as well.

    Zu An was taken somewhat aback. Aren¡¯t you focusing on the wrong thing here? Is the medicine I¡¯m gathering the most important thing here?

    Nevertheless, Zu An replied politely, ¡°I¡¯m gathering goubaos.¡± This was the only medicine that he knew from his limited time in this world.

    ¡°The wild beasts who chased you were Assrip Wolves?¡± the young woman asked softly.

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right,¡± Zu An replied. He was surprised by how knowledgeable this woman was despite her young age.

    ¡°The Wolf Valley is indeed not too far away from here. Since you dared to gather goubaos, you must be quite a powerful cultivator.¡± the young woman said.

    Zu An replied with a sheepish smile, ¡°You can say so, I guess.¡± While anyone he met could be a wolf clothed in sheepskin, he himself was a sheep clothed in wolfskin. He had no choice but to pretend, if he wanted to stay alive.

    ¡°Oh...¡± the young woman trailed off into silence. She was quiet for a long while before finally speaking up again. ¡°I¡¯m going to get dressed now. Can you... close your eyes?¡±

 Chapter 20: Adorable

    <h4>Chapter 20: Adorable</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An was delighted by her words. For all his worrying, it seemed this young woman was fairly agreeable. This simplified the situation tremendously.

    ¡°I understand,¡± Zu An replied.

    He heard the sshes of someone making their way out of the water, and his thoughts went wild. He felt incredibly conflicted¡ªshould he take a peek, or not? His sense of honor struggled feebly against his baser desires.

    Just imagining the young woman¡¯s body rising from the water¡¯s surface, her skin smooth as the finest jade, was enough to make even his nose feel warm. He reached up to touch it, and his fingers came away red.

    Holy shit, I¡¯m bleeding!

    It seemed the Marrow Cleansing Pills had considerably boosted the yang energy in his feeble body.

    ¡°Ahh!¡±

    The young woman¡¯s sudden scream rmed Zu An. He wondered if this was the part of the story where the fair maiden suffered a bite from a venomous snake. If that were the case, he wouldn¡¯t have minded sacrificing his own life to suck the venom out of her.

    A tremor shook the ground under him, as if a train were heading in his direction, and his face warped in horror.

    ¡°Run!¡±

    A cold but wonderfully soft hand grabbed Zu An¡¯s arm and pulled him toward the center of the river. The massive boulder Zu An had been hiding behind shattered into innumerable pieces, revealing a humongous beast. It bellowed in fury at the pair huddled in the water.

    ¡°Is that a rhinoceros?¡± Zu An was astounded. The creature was almost asrge as an elephant! Were all the animals in this world on steroids? And why were its eyes so red? It was almost as if it was afflicted with mad cow disease or some such!

    ¡°That¡¯s a Crazy Red-Eyed Rhino, a fourth rank beast. It has a poor sense of smell and a horrible temper. It has the habit of attacking any living being in sight,¡± he heard a tender voice beside him exin.

    Zu An turned to take in the young woman¡¯s appearance. She had straight bangs that covered her forehead, and loose locks of hair hung down by her ears, entuating her small face. Her clear peach-blossom eyes perfectlyplemented her fairplexion, and she exuded a youthful air.

    Of course, the most striking thing about her was her perfect nakedness.

    ¡°Aah!¡± Noticing Zu An¡¯s gaze, the young woman cried out and lowered her gaze. Her distress seemed to further infuriate the Crazy Red-Eyed Rhino standing by the river bank.

    ¡°Turn around, turn around!¡± the young woman bawled.

    ¡°Don¡¯t cry, I¡¯ll turn around right now!¡± Zu An spun about hastily. The young woman¡¯s soft and gentle demeanor seemed to drive any lecherous thoughts from his mind... Although, considering the current state his body was in, there was no way he could act upon any such thoughts

    The young woman wrapped her arms around her breasts and muttered softly, ¡°Thank you.¡±

    ¡°Where are your clothes?¡± Zu An inquired.

    ¡°T-they are still by the shore.¡±

    The young woman spoke shyly as she raised a slender arm to point in the direction of the shattered boulder.

    ¡°What if the Crazy Rhino doesn¡¯t leave the area? Could we ovee it somehow?¡± Zu An asked, discreetly trying to assess the young woman¡¯s cultivation.

    Given how scared she was of a fourth rank rhinoceros, he did not think she was very strong.

    ¡°Crazy Red-Eyed Rhinos have extremely thick skin. Even cultivators of the fourth rank struggle to harm it,¡± the young woman shook her head as she replied.

    ¡°We can still give it a shot,¡± Zu An said. The Poisonous Prick should be particrly effective against enemies with a high defense rating but low attack power and speed. This would be the perfect opportunity to further his charade as an expert cultivator, and forestall any questions from the young woman regarding his status.

    ¡°T-there¡¯s no need for it. This should be over very soon,¡± the young woman replied.

    While Zu An was trying to figure out what the young woman meant, the Crazy Red-Eyed Rhino started swaying from side to side as if intoxicated. It took a few uncertain steps and copsed in a heap.

    ¡°Did you defeat it?¡± Zu An swallowed, his throat suddenly dry. Was this young woman just feigning weakness?

    She nodded in reply. ¡°I sprinkled some medicine on the boulder earlier. The rhino rammed into the boulder and breathed it in.¡±

    ¡°What medicine could be potent enough to knock out such a huge rhino?¡± Zu An was bbergasted. Something else in her statement that disturbed him. ¡°Why did you put that medicine on the boulder?¡±

    ¡°I... I was worried...¡± the young woman stammered, her voice dwindling. ¡°I was worried that... you would peek at me. However, there¡¯s no need to worry. It¡¯s just a sedative! It isn¡¯t dangerous!¡±

    Zu An inhaled sharply. If that medicine was potent enough to knock out that huge rhino so quickly, he would have been sleeping for a month straight if he had tried to peek earlier!

    ¡°Can you close your eyes now? I¡¯m going to get dressed...¡± the young woman said timidly, as if afraid of offending him with her question.

    ¡°Of course,¡± Zu An replied. Unlike in TV dramas, there were neither infuriated insults of ¡®You lecher!¡¯ nor attempts on his life, merely a lingering sense of embarrassment. Were all young women in this world so adorable?

    The image of Snow and her sharp tongue dispelled these nascent thoughts.

    Seeing Zu An with his eyes closed, the young woman started her swim to shore.

    Hearing the sshing of water, a tiny crack appeared between Zu An¡¯s tightly shut eyelids. His eyes had been deprived for so many years, and it was finally time to reward them a little.

    He admired her graceful strokes as she glided through the water like a mermaid, her figure vaguely visible through the water.

    When she finally got to the shore, Zu An¡¯s heart pounded in anticipation. She was going to put on her clothes now!

    The young woman raised her hand unexpectedly. A wall of water rose into the sky, concealing her body.

    Zu An immediately flew into a state of rage. ¡°Who are you guarding against? Do you think I¡¯m that kind of person?!¡±

    A brief moment passed, and the wall of water crashed back down. The young woman had finally finished dressing. She turned back to the river and waved. ¡°I have finished dressing. You may open your eyes now.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± Zu An replied. This woman¡¯sck of awareness is staggering.

    He swam toward the shore, and his eyes lit up when he finally managed a good look at the young woman. She was dressed in a blue dress, and the strip of whitece fastened around her waist entuated her slender figure.

    She looked at Zu An and blinked herrge eyes. She looked like a perfect porcin doll. Zu An was dazed. It was as if he were looking at Asuka Saito!

    Another problem presented itself, snapping him out of his reverie. His clothes weren¡¯t with him!

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you getting out?¡± The young woman stared at the man in the water, but quickly averted her gaze, her cheeks flushing red.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you earlier that I was knocked out and carried here by the current? I have no idea where my clothes are,¡± Zu An said.

    The young woman considered this. ¡°Since you were washed downstream by the river, it¡¯s likely that your clothes are further up.¡±

    ¡°Can you apany me there? I¡¯m a little afraid to make the journey on my own.¡± Seeing her shy personality on disy, his fear of getting killed by her hand morphed into an urge to take advantage of her. Now that she had let her guard slip, it was time to seize the upper hand.

    The young woman pondered for a moment, then nodded in agreement. ¡°Okay. The area isn¡¯t very dangerous. Few wild beasts stay near the river, although more wille down for a drinkter in the evenings. You should be safe as long as you don¡¯t provoke the Fiery Wolves from the Wolf Valley.¡±

    ¡°Then what¡¯s with this rhino?¡± Now that he could examine the Crazy Red-Eyed Rhino close-up, he was deeply awed by just how huge it was.

    The young woman¡¯s face reddened. ¡°It followed me down from the Hidden Dragon Mountain.¡±

    Zu An was astonished. ¡°You entered the Hidden Dragon Mountain?¡± Even a simpleton knew that there were many powerful beasts hiding there. All sorts of people had warned him never to enter the mountain. Yet, this young woman had entered the mountain all alone? Could it be that she was actually very powerful?

    Zu An was starting to regret his decision. Was he actually courting his own death here?

    ¡°Indeed. There are some herbs that can only be found in the depths of the Hidden Dragon Mountain.¡± The young woman put her hands through the straps of her basket of herbs and lifted it up. She smiled innocently and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go. I¡¯ll apany you to retrieve your clothes.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, miss.¡± Zu An swam alongside. ¡°Right! My name is Zu An. May I know what your name is?¡± Now that he knew the young woman was actually a powerful expert, he wanted to get closer to her.

    ¡°Zu An? What a peculiar name,¡± the young woman mumbled to herself before answering his question. ¡°My name is Ji Xiaoxi.¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°Your name sounds much nicer than mine.¡±

    The young woman¡¯s face reddened in embarrassment.

    She seemed to have a soft side to her, and this emboldened Zu An. ¡°Xiaoxi, if you¡¯re harvesting medicine in the Hidden Dragon Mountain, doesn¡¯t that mean that you¡¯re quite a powerful expert?¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi shook her head, replying unconcernedly, ¡°I¡¯m only at the third rank. The only reason why I can enter the mountain is due to this item my father gave me.¡±

    As she spoke, she took out a transparent bottle containing bits of green powder.

    Zu An was perplexed. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi replied, ¡°It is a medicine made out of dried dragon feces. It carries the naturalmanding aura that dragons possess, and it keeps the wild beasts in the mountain at bay.¡±

    Zu An was astonished. To think that dragons really existed in this world!

    Ji Xiaoxi tucked the bottle away securely before muttering with a pout, ¡°It¡¯s just that this thing is too smelly, so I would usually bathe and change my clothes after leaving the mountain. I didn¡¯t expect to... bump into you.¡±

    ¡°This is just how fate works.¡± Zu An chuckled. Seeing frustration forming on the young woman¡¯s forehead, he quickly changed the topic. ¡°Wait a moment. If that¡¯s the case, why did the Crazy Red-Eyed Rhino attack you earlier?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because of its feeble senses,¡± Ji Xiaoxi exined. ¡°The Crazy Red-Eyed Rhino cannot smell the dragon feces, so it isn¡¯t scared away. It is also a highly aggressive species. I identally provoked it as I passed by its territory, so it chased me all the way down here.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡± Zu An nodded in understanding. As he thought about the physique of the Crazy Red-Eyed Rhino, an idea sprung to mind.

    The two of them continued chatting on the way upstream, and before long, they reached the spot where Zu An had been. His clothes were still folded neatly on the ground.

    ¡°Xiaoxi, can you turn around?¡± Truthfully, Zu An didn¡¯t mind being watched, but he didn¡¯t want to be viewed as a pervert.

    ¡°Mmhmm,¡± Ji Xiaoxi replied and ran all the way behind a tree. Zu An mbered onto the riverbank and put on his clothes. He confirmed that his goubao and the silver taels he¡¯d taken from Plum Blossom Twelve were still there, and heaved a sigh of relief.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯m done changing,¡± Zu An called out.

    Ji Xiaoxi finally walked out from behind the tree. Upon taking a closer look at Zu An, her eyes zed over.

    Surprised by her reaction, Zu An touched his own face and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Is there something weird about me?¡±

 Chapter 21: An Innovative Idea

    <h4>Chapter 21: An Innovative Idea</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°No, that¡¯s not...¡± Ji Xiaoxi quickly averted her eyes. ¡°I didn¡¯t think that you were that good-looking.¡± She had been too embarrassed to take a good look at him while in the water earlier on, and it was only now that she finally got a good glimpse of his appearance.

    ¡°Indeed. Back in my hometown, my family and friends nicknamed me Sanlitun¡¯s Daniel Wu.¡± Zu An was more than delighted to be acknowledged by a beauty. When Cheng Shouping mentioned that the First Miss of the Chu n had taken him for a spouse due to his looks, he thought that it was just bootlicking. It seemed his looks were indeed considered outstanding in this world.[1]

    ¡°Who is Daniel Wu?¡± Ji Xiaoxi asked in confusion.

    ¡°Ah, he¡¯s one of the best-looking men back in my homnd,¡± Zu An replied as he began to reminisce about his other world. He missed his handphone and the inte, and the boredom of having nothing to do really grated at him.

    ¡°Oh.¡± Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s face reddened a little. All of a sudden, she said, ¡°You aren¡¯t a good person.¡±

    ¡°Ah? Why is that so?¡± Zu An was astonished. While the young woman was a little naive, there was no doubt that she was stronger than him. If she were to turn against him right now, it could spell trouble.

    ¡°You said that the Assrip Wolves were chasing you, and you fell into the water in a moment of fluster. However, there are no Assrip Wolf tracks in this area. Furthermore, your clothes are folded neatly on the riverbank, which means you had been rxed as you entered the water. The situation is entirely different from what you described,¡± Ji Xiaoxi said as she pointed to the marks on the ground. She was naive, but she wasn¡¯t a fool.

    Zu Anughed in embarrassment. However, the time they had spent chatting with one another had given him a good grasp of her personality. He quickly exined, ¡°I didn¡¯t want to lie to you, but I was afraid that you would misunderstand, especially given the situation we were in. That¡¯s why I spun such a tale. However, it¡¯s true that I lost consciousness and was swept downstream. I assure you that I wasn¡¯t lying about that.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Ji Xiaoxi assessed him suspiciously from head to toe. ¡°You seem to be in perfect condition though. You don¡¯t appear to be ill to me. Give me your hand.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Zu An was a little perplexed, but she had an air about her that made it hard to refuse. He stretched his hand out obediently.

    Three icy fingers fell on his wrist, and in that moment, Ji Xiaoxi transformed into a different person, her gentle tenderness reced by an unexpected severity.

    Even a chatterbox like Zu An dared not say anything out of fear of interrupting her.

    ¡°I see. There¡¯s indeed a problem with your Sea of Yin Pulse,¡± Ji Xiaoxi retracted her fingers. Her wariness toward him lessened, reced by pity. ¡°I¡¯m afraid Ick the skills to treat you. However, you need not worry. My father should be able to do it.¡±

    Seeing the young woman eyeing the lower half of his body in sympathy, Zu An felt tears brimming in his eyes. Which man would be willing to show weakness to a woman? He wanted to tease her, but now that she¡¯d clearly seen the state he was in... How embarrassing!

    Zu An regretted giving his arm to her so obediently. But then again, how was he to know that this young woman was actually such a capable physician?

    Wait a moment, her surname is Ji, and she¡¯s skilled in medicine too. It can¡¯t be that coincidental, right?

    ¡°May I ask who your father is?¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi replied with a sweet smile, ¡°My father is Ji Dengtu. He is somewhat famous in Brightmoon City, so you might have heard of him.¡± She had been unsure of him, but she put her wariness aside after learning of his illness. The earlier peeking incident had to have been an unintended coincidence.

    ¡°Ah, Divine Physician Ji. I have heard of him,¡± Zu An replied. He considered telling her about how Divine Physician Ji¡¯s task had brought him here, but thought better of it.

    Mistaking his unfocused look for concern over his illness, she quickly consoled him. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll bring you home to meet my father. He should have a way to treat you.¡±

    ¡°But I still need to collect goubaos.¡± Zu An was skeptical of Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s offer to help. He had seen just how in love with money Divine Physician Ji was, and he had not hesitated to put down his daughter in public. There was little chance someone like that would help him if he did notplete the task.

    Ji Xiaoxi hesitated at his words. ¡°But given your strength, I¡¯m afraid that...¡±

    Her meaning was crystal clear. It¡¯s not that I want to look down on you, but your strength is indeed trash.

    Zu An chuckled in response. ¡°I had been troubled by this matter as well, but I figured a way out after meeting you.¡±

    ¡°After meeting me?¡± Ji Xiaoxi appeared unsure. ¡°But I¡¯m only at the third rank. If I use the dragon feces, those Assrip Wolves would only stay as far away as possible. As for the sedative, I used it all up when dealing with the Crazy Red-Eyed Rhino.¡±

    That this young woman had survived all this time seemed a minor miracle to Zu An. She had just given away all of her trump cards to a stranger without any hesitation. Had she never contemted the possibility that he could be a bad person?

    Perhaps she believed that she had no need to ward herself against someone afflicted with his condition.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I don¡¯t need your help. I can settle this by myself,¡± Zu An replied with a secretive smile. ¡°You mentioned earlier that the Crazy Red-Eyed Rhino is highly aggressive?¡±

    ¡°Indeed,¡± Ji Xiaoxi nodded. Her eyes widened in realization. ¡°You¡¯re intending to use the Crazy Red-Eyed Rhino to deal with those Assrip Wolves? Even though the Crazy Red-Eyed Rhino has thick skin, it¡¯s much slower than those Assrip Wolves. It¡¯ll be hard for it to kill them. Not only that, the leader of the Assrip Wolves appears to have reached the third rank. In a real fight, I¡¯m afraid that the Crazy Red-Eyed Rhino wouldn¡¯t be a match for them.¡±

    ¡°I have an idea in mind.¡± Zu An replied, still smiling mysteriously. He made his way downstream. Ji Xiaoxi followed closely behind, still perplexed.

    They returned to the ce they had first met, and saw that the Crazy Red-Eyed Rhino was starting to rouse. As potent as Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s sedative was, the amount she¡¯d used had not been enough to knock the massive beast out for long.

    Zu An quickly turned to Ji Xiaoxi and asked, ¡°Do you have a handkerchief?¡±

    ¡°I do.¡± Ji Xiaoxi pulled out a clean white handkerchief and passed it to him. It had a light orchid fragrance.

    Zu An hesitated. ¡°Do you have one that is used? It¡¯ll be a pity to dirty this one.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, I¡¯ll just wash it afterwards.¡± Ji Xiaoxi waved her hand casually.

    Zu An doubted she would even want to touch it once he was through. He said instead, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll owe you a handkerchief then. I¡¯ll buy you a new one when we get back to the city.¡±

    With that, he took out the Poisonous Prick and wrapped it tightly with the handkerchief, leaving the tip exposed.

    Ji Xiaoxi was still confused. ¡°What are you going to do?¡±

    ¡°Stand back,¡± Zu An said without exining. After making sure Ji Xiaoxi was a safe distance away, he walked up to the Crazy Red-Eyed Rhino. He grabbed the creature¡¯s tail with one hand, and used the other to shove the entire dagger, hilt-first, up the rhino¡¯s ass.

    The rhino brayed in groggy anger.

    You have sessfully trolled Crazy Red-Eyed Rhino for 2 Rage points! ... 2... 2... 2...

    Zu An was surprised. Perhaps these wild beastscked intelligence, and therefore generated much fewer Rage pointspared to humans.

    The abrupt insertion of a foreign object into its rear jolted the Red-Eyed Crazy Rhino fully awake. It rose to its feet and tried to look behind it. However, its body was just too inconveniently bulky. It spun around in a small circle, but could not figure out what had happened.

    It heard a whistle, and turned to see a human waving madly at it. This whipped the creature into a rage. This human must have been the shameless culprit who had dared to fool around with its rear end!

    Its eyes grew redder and redder, and snorted a breath of white smoke from its nose. It lowered its head and charged like a frenzied bull.

    Having sessfully attracted the rhino¡¯s aggression, Zu An turned tail and fled.

    From a distance, Ji Xiaoxi watched the human-and-rhino chase by the side a bbergasted look on her face. ¡°This is the idea he has in mind? It feels... disgusting.¡±

    Still worried about Zu An¡¯s safety, she ran after them.

    Fortunately, even though the Crazy Red-Eyed Rhino was at the fourth rank, itsck of speed offset its bulky body and powerful defense. Even at maximum effort, it was unable to close the distance with Zu An.

    The chase continued all the way to the borders of the Wolf Valley. The Crazy Red Eyed Rhino came to a sudden halt at the valley¡¯s entrance. Sensing that it was about to enter the territory of the Assrip Wolves, it instinctively hesitated.

    Seeing this, Zu An turned around and yelled, ¡°Hey, you big oaf! How does it feel to have your ass busted? Don¡¯t you want to get revenge? I guess yo'' mama wasted her effort giving birth to a big lump of trash like you!¡±

    The Crazy Red-Eyed Rhino had no understanding of human speech, but it could sense a taunt. It recalled the insolent act of aggression done to it earlier, and charged forward once more, eyes burning with rage.

    Who cares about the Assrip Wolves? My skin is extremely tough. Those lousy dogs and their weak bites are nothing.

    You have sessfully trolled Red-Eyes Crazy Rhino for 2 Rage points! ... 2... 2... 2...

    Laughing arrogantly, Zu An led it straight toward the den of the Assrip Wolves.

    The Assrip Wolveszed in their den, having just finished their meal. It was a huge pity that the human had been so skinny. There had not been enough to share amongst their hundred wolf brothers.

    Hunger was not the worst feeling in the world. To only be given one small bite while one was starving, that was the worst. That single scrap only heightened the feeling of deprivation!

    All of a sudden, the leader of the Assrip Wolves pricked up its ears. He sensed a small tremor in the ground. Could it be some huge creature had dared to enter their territory?

    ¡°Awooooooo~¡±

    The pack leader summoned its pack, preparing to deal with the intruder.

    What¡¯s this, another human?

    The pack leader was befuddled by the brazen behavior of the humans. However, it was not one to turn down a free meal that was delivered to its doorstep.

    With a bark, it ordered the pack to encircle the human.

    Seeing that the Assrip Wolves were starting to make their move, Zu An spun and ran back the way he came, breezing past the chasing rhino and out of the Wolf Valley. The Red-Eyed Crazy Rhino, with its massive bulk,cked the agility to execute the same maneuver. It hurtled clumsily onward, straight into the den of the Assrip Wolves.

    The sudden appearance of the massive rhino caught the Assrip Wolves off guard. They hurriedly scattered to avoid the impact, but some were too slow, and were violently crushed under the rhino¡¯s massive bulk.

    The Assrip Wolf pack leader was incensed by this intrusion. If this were a fifth rank beast, it would have swallowed its anger and tolerated it. However, this rhino was merely at the fourth rank, and it was a dumb and clumsy oaf to boot! There was no way it would fear such an enemy!

    ¡°Awoooooo~¡±

    The leader immediately ordered its pack to let the human go, and focus on the rhino instead. That human was barely skin and bones, but taking down this rhino would feed them for at least ten days. The choice of prey was obvious.

    The pack of Assrip Wolves converged on the Crazy Red-Eyed Rhino, attacking its rear. Some of the more daring wolves leaped onto its back and mped their fangs down.

    The thick hide of the Crazy Red-Eyed Rhino was nothing to scoff at. The wolves almost lost their teeth as they bit down, without leaving as much as a scratch. Despite sustaining no injuries, the attacks from these Assrip Wolves infuriated therger beast. It tossed them off and ran them down, crushing their bodies.

    It seemed to grin smugly at its victory, mocking the wolves for not knowing their ce.

    This insolence provoked the leader of the Assrip Wolves. It raised its head toward the sky and let out a frightening howl towards its pack members.

    Are you all idiots? Have you forgotten what our specialty is? Wreck his ass!

    1. Daniel Wu is considered one of the most good-looking male stars in China back in the 1990s-2000s, probably the Chinese equivalent to Tom Cruise. Sanlitun is an upscale district in China, with popr bars and shopping malls.

 Chapter 22: Thereâ€™s Poison in its Shit

    <h4>Chapter 22: There¡¯s Poison in its Shit</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Upon receiving the orders, the Assrip Wolves came to their senses and changed their strategy. While some stayed in front to distract the Crazy Red-Eyed Rhino, the rest of the pack circled to its back to attack its ass.

    The Crazy Red-Eyed Rhino seethed in rage. Why is everyone going after my ass today?!?! While the rhino boasted tough, coppery hide which the Assrip Wolves could not hope to prate with their teeth, this protection did not extend all the way to its backside. The softest part of its body was its ass.

    The Crazy Rhino tried its best to ram the disgusting wolves, but it was ponderouspared to the agile Assrip Wolves. Each time it charged, the wolves simply danced away. After dozens of attempts, it was left panting heavily, its head spinning from overexertion.

    The wolves seized the chance to counterattack, ceasing their probing strikes andunching themselves at the Crazy Rhino¡¯s ass.

    Therger animal panicked. I really shouldn¡¯t havee to this darned ce. It¡¯s all that damned human¡¯s fault!

    You have sessfully trolled Red-Eyes Crazy Rhino for 2 Rage points! ... 2... 2... 2...

    As furious as it was, it did not hesitate to flee when it became necessary. It turned tail and charged toward the opening of the wolf den. The wolves rushed to block its escape. This bountiful meal had been delivered straight to their doorstep, and there was no way they were letting it escape.

    Watching from the top of a slope, Ji Xiaoxi felt sorry for the poor rhino. ¡°The Crazy Red-Eyed Rhino is simply at far too much of a disadvantage against the Assrip Wolves. If it was any other wild beast possessing higher offensive prowess and agility, the Assrip Wolves would have been no match.¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t that Crazy Rhino bully you earlier? I¡¯ll take revenge for you.¡± The lie slipped easily from Zu An¡¯s lips.

    ¡°But it¡¯s so pitiful!¡± Ji Xiaoxi eximed. ¡°It looks like it won¡¯tst long. Should we save it?¡±

    Zu An quickly grabbed her arm to stop her from doing anything. Ji Xiaoxi really has too much sympathy in her. She¡¯ll definitely be exploited by others in the future. Also wow, her arm is so soft. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it won¡¯t die that easily. Just continue watching.¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi was skeptical of what Zu An had just said, but she did as he said. To her surprise, something unexpected urred.

    An exceptionally well-built wolf finally found an opening to bite down on the Crazy Red-Eyed Rhino¡¯s ass. Excited by its sess, it prepared to rip out its intestines, just like with any other prey. Without warning, a shudder shook the wolf¡¯s body and it fell to the ground,pletely still.

    A second wolf followed, suffering the same fate. Then a third, and then a fourth...

    ...

    It took the deaths of over twenty Assrip Wolves before the pack finally noticed something was amiss. They backed away fearfully from the Crazy Red-Eyed Rhino.

    They barked and howled at each other.

    What¡¯s going on?

    I don¡¯t know either!

    I know!

    What?

    That fellow¡¯s shit is poisoned!

    ...

    The pack leader of the Assrip Wolves was infuriated.

    Think about how much shit we have eaten over the years! When have we ever been poisoned before? That big oaf must possess some ability that we don¡¯t know of. Be careful, everyone!

    This calmed the rest of the pack. It was beyondmon sense that a living creature could have poisonous feces. They would never be able to mount a sessful hunt if that were so!

    The Crazy Red-Eyed Rhino also noticed this unexpected development. Could it be that my ass possesses some unknown power? Why didn¡¯t Mama ever tell me about this?

    Realizing that the once-arrogant Assrip Wolves were steering clear of its ass, the Crazy Red-Eyed Rhino rxed its defensive stance and wiggled its ass at the wolf pack, taunting them. ¡®Come and get a taste of my ass if you dare!¡¯ It seemed to shout.

    Zu An chuckled at the brazen disy of the Crazy Red-Eyed Rhino. ¡°I didn¡¯t think that it would behave so immodestly.¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s face, on the other hand, had flushedpletely red. This was too much for a demure woman like her. She turned her gaze away, but could not suppress her curiosity. ¡°How did you do it? Was it that dagger?¡±

    Zu An nodded. ¡°I applied a deadly poison on the dagger¡¯s de. When the Assrip Wolves bit down on the Crazy Rhino¡¯s rear, the de nicked them and poisoned them.¡± He wasn¡¯t willing to reveal the true secret behind the Poisonous Prick, so he made up a usible excuse instead.

    ¡°I see.¡± Ji Xiaoxi nodded. It seemed reasonable, but she wondered just what kind of poison in the world could remain effective for so long. After all, there was only so much poison that one could coat on the tip of a dagger. It shouldn¡¯t have been enough to kill over twenty Assrip Wolves, no matter how potent the poison was.

    Down in the Wolf Valley, the Assrip Wolves had gone berserk at the provocations of the Crazy Red-Eyed Rhino. One after another, they dashed forward to sink their teeth into its ass, and each time, the unfortunate wolf would suffer the sting of the Poisonous Prick. The battlefield piled up with Assrip Wolf corpses.

    ¡°Ohhhhh~¡±

    When the foreign object had been stuffed into its rear end, the Crazy Red-Eyed Rhino had felt great pain. However, it had slowly gotten used to the intrusion, and the pain had gone away. Now, the object vibrated each time the Assrip Wolves bit down on it, sending spasms of pleasure through the rhino¡¯s body. The door to a whole new set of experiences was opening right before it.

    The Assrip Wolves pulled back a second time,municating in panicked howls.

    That fellow¡¯s shit is really poisoned!

    How could shit possibly be poisoned? Are you denying the experience and traditions of our tribe for over the past thousand years? That was the pack leader.

    Why don¡¯t you go and have a taste then! This was from a wolf almost the same size as the pack leader. The two almost never saw eye-to-eye.

    Fine, I¡¯ll go then!

    The pack leader knew that this particr wolf coveted its position. It also sensed the fear pouring off the other pack members, and knew that it would not be long before it lost the respect of the pack. It had to act personally to reinforce his position as pack leader, and reinstate their confidence in its leadership.

    Prowling behind the Crazy Red-Eyed Rhino, it saw an opening and darted forward, swift as lightning. This was the end. Just as it had happened countless times before, it would pull out the intestines of this ursed rhino and bring about its demise.

    As the pack leader hung in the air mid-strike, the rhino stiffened. The prolonged and intense battle had caused putrid gases to umte in its stomach. The obstruction in its rear end had prevented their escape thus far, but the pressure had grown too much. The rhino felt its abdomen clench, followed by the sound of cloth ripping. A massive, resounding fart escaped its rear end, sending a huge amount of feces flying, together with the foul dagger that had been lodged inside.

    The leader of the Assrip Wolves wound up smeared in foul excrement. Enraged, it prepared tounch another devastating attack when its body suddenly seized up, and it fell to the ground dead.

    While the dagger had not been propelled with enough force to inflict a lethal wound, it had managed to nick the wolf¡¯s face along the way. That was enough to kill it.

    You have sessfully trolled Assrip Wolf King for 10 Rage points!

    A chorus of anguished wolf howls erupted.

    Its shit is really poisoned!

    Our King has died from shit!

    ...

    All of the other Assrip Wolves were scared out of their wits. They lost their will to fight and scattered, fleeing toward the mountain forest.

    The Crazy Red-Eyed Rhino shook its head. It did not fully understand what had happened, but the near-death experience at the teeth and ws of the Assrip Wolves had clearly shaken it. It stumbled away on uneven legs. It was in no mood to find and exact vengeance on the human who had started it all.

    With that, peace returned to the valley. Zu An was the first to slide down the slope. At the bottom, he opened his arms wide and called up, ¡°Xiaoxi, be careful. I¡¯ll catch you.¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi shook her head and replied, ¡°There¡¯s no need for that.¡±

    She flipped herself into the air,nding gracefully on the valley floor. It was a performance far more spectacr than what Zu An had managed earlier.

    Zu An recalled that Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s cultivation was higher than his own, and scratched his head sheepishly. He hastened to the middle of the battlefield to retrieve the Poisonous Prick.

    It was fortunate that the Crazy Red-Eyed Rhino had relinquished its hold on the dagger. It saved him from needing to use the Poison Bottle to knock it out so that he could retrieve it.

    ¡°Argh, the smell!¡±

    Even though the Poisonous Prick had been wrapped in a handkerchief, it still gave off a putrid stink. Zu An took out his water bottle and washed it over and over before finally keeping it.

    Ji Xiaoxi had hoped to examine just what kind of formidable poison the dagger was coated with, but found herself too embarrassed to ask. She let Zu An put away the dagger withoutment. In her view, everyone had their own secrets to survive in this world, and it seemed a little insensitive of her to ask about such a private matter.

    Zu An misread her hesitation for something else. Gingerly, he picked up the handkerchief by a corner and handed it to her. ¡°Here, I¡¯ll give this back to you. You can try washing it to see if it¡¯s still usable.¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi froze, her mouth half-open. She stared at the yellowish stains that covered the handkerchief, which smelled horrendous.

    You have sessfully trolled Ji Xiaoxi for 1 Rage point!

    Zu An was amused by her response. Thisdy sure has an even temper. Even this only generated a single Rage point. It looks like she¡¯s the kind to never get angry at anyone.

    ¡°You can toss it away. I don¡¯t want it anymore.¡± Ji Xiaoxi forced herself to smile as she spoke. She noticed Zu An¡¯s earnest look, and felt a twinge of guilt.

    Zu An casually tossed the handkerchief to the side and said, ¡°I¡¯ll buy you a new one.¡±

    He didn¡¯t want to keep the handkerchief either. Even the thought of washing it was enough to disgust him.

    Ji Xiaoxi nodded casually, clearly putting it out of her mind. She looked around at the corpses of the Assrip Wolves and said, ¡°Let¡¯s harvest any goubaos quickly, before the wolf pack returns.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. After what just happened, I¡¯m sure those Assrip Wolves have lost any will to fight. I reckon that they won¡¯t be back anytime soon,¡± Zu An said.

    Little did he know that this incident had caused the Assrip Wolves to question their entire existence. Fearful, they stopped targeting the asses of their prey for months, which nearly led to their extinction.

    Despite his confidence, Zu An quickly got to work. He tore open the stomachs of the Assrip Wolf carcasses one by one, and managed to collect a total of twelve goubaos, including the one Plum Blossom Twelve had retrieved for him earlier.

    It was a pity there wasn¡¯t anything else, like a demonic core or some other fancy fantasy item. He had read a lot of novels regarding transmigration previously, and was still looking forward to obtaining some sort of special reward. However, there was no such thing to be found, even after searching through the carcass of the pack leader several times.

    ¡°You¡¯re truly formidable. You managed to kill so many Assrip Wolves,¡± Ji Xiaoxi remarked in admiration.

    ¡°Hahaha, you¡¯re ttering me.¡± Despite Zu An¡¯s humble words, his expression clearly said he would wee more praise.

    Zu An made sure to tuck the goubaos away securely. Ji Xiaoxi watched in silence for a long while, then said, ¡°I have a request to ask of you. I know that it might sound unreasonable, but I would still like you to hear me out.¡±

 Chapter 23: A Mysterious Madam

    <h4>Chapter 23: A Mysterious Madam</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An was intrigued, especially considering how embarrassed Ji Xiaoxi seemed. ¡°Feel free to speak your mind. Consider us buddies who have gone through tough times and bathed... Ahem ahem, ignore what I just said. What I mean is that I already consider you a friend, so say what you will.¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi quickly pulled back her fist, and her earlier embarrassment returned. ¡°You see, my father has been concocting a certain medicine recently, and one of the ingredients required is Assrip Wolf goubaos. Since there aren¡¯t likely to be Assrip Wolves in the Wolf Valley for a while, it might be difficult to secure this ingredient. Would you be willing to sell some to me?¡±

    Zu An wondered how Ji Xiaoxi would react once she realized that he was collecting these goubaos for her father. However, his mouth moved far faster than his brain. ¡°How much do you intend to offer for them?¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi replied, ¡°Ordinary goubaos aren¡¯t that expensive, but the market price for an Assrip Wolf goubao is ten silver taels each.¡±

    Zu An was astonished. These things are actually that expensive? He thought it through, and found it made perfect sense. The Assrip Wolves were savage, and only one in ten of them produced a goubao. Those who wanted to hunt Assrip Wolves had to put their lives on the line. Even the slightest mistake could result in their asses getting ripped.

    Zu An¡¯s mind whirred quickly, and he replied, ¡°Isn¡¯t it wrong to calcte it like that? It seems to me that Assrip Wolf goubaos are impossible to procure in Brightmoon City.¡± If Divine Physician Ji could really buy them off the market, there would be no need for him to put up this task in the first ce.

    Zu An paused for a moment before continuing. ¡°Furthermore, as you pointed out, there won¡¯t be any Assrip Wolves in the Wolf Valley in the short run. The price of Assrip Wolf goubaos will definitely skyrocket very soon.¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi blinked her eyes in consideration before nodding in agreement. ¡°You¡¯re right, what you said makes sense. My apologies, I failed to take these factors into ount.¡±

    Zu An was dumbfounded. He was just trying to sound her out, yet she was so quick to apologize? She really was too innocent for the vile world out there. He had a hard time believing that she was rted to that conniving Divine Physician Ji.

    ¡°How about this? I¡¯ll buy these goubaos for thirteen... Ah, no. I mean, fifteen silver taels each. How does that sound to you?¡± Ji Xiaoxi looked at Zu An expectantly. ¡°I only have that much money on me.¡±

    The amount of care Ji Xiaoxi took in making her offer made Zu An feel sorry for Divine Physician Ji. What use was it for him to rue money so desperately? With a daughter like this, all of his wealth would merely benefit his son-inw.

    ¡°Sure. How many are you intending on buying?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°Thank you!¡± Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s eyes lit up in delight. ¡°I wish to buy ten of them. Is that too many?¡±

    ¡°No, of course not. Here, I¡¯ll give them all to you,¡± Zu An said with a chuckle, as he handed her all twelve goubaos. His main reason for hunting these things was to avoid paying the consultation fee anyway. He had no further need for them.

    Considering that he had just earned 150 silver taels, even if he paid 100 silver taels for the consultation, he would still have 50 silver taels remaining. I wonder if Divine Physician Ji will spit blood once he learns what happened.

    Ji Xiaoxi waved her hands and said anxiously, ¡°That won¡¯t do! I don¡¯t have enough money to pay for them all!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t charge you for the extra two. You can treat it as a gift,¡± Zu An ced his hand on her shoulder as he spoke heartily. ¡°We¡¯re friends after all!¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Ji Xiaoxi was overjoyed. ¡°You really are a nice person!¡±

    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t hand out the ''nice guy'' card so freely,¡± Zu An said, his face all scrunched up. He let out a sudden, pained yelp. ¡°Ah? Why does my hand... hurt so much?¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi stuck her tongue out and said, ¡°Oh, I nearly forgot. My father applied ¡®Anti-Jackass Cream¡¯ on my clothes. I¡¯ll get the antidote for you right away!¡±

    An image of Divine Physician Ji cackling gleefully shed across Zu An¡¯s mind. He finally understood why that fellow was willing to let his daughter venture into the mountain all alone to gather herbs. He had already prepared her thoroughly.

    Ji Xiaoxi grabbed a bottle from her bag and rubbed a little of its contents on Zu An¡¯s hand. She pulled his hand over to her mouth and blew lightly over it. ¡°Does it still hurt?¡±

    He looked at her face, which was the size of his palm, and chuckled. ¡°It did hurt a lot earlier, but after you blew on it, it no longer hurts anymore.¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s face reddened. ¡°You¡¯re teasing me.¡±

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but remark, ¡°Xiaoxi, if you treat everyone so well, bad guys will take advantage of you.¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi replied without any hesitation, ¡°I won¡¯t allow any guy to touch my body though. You aren¡¯t like those normal men.¡±

    Zu An had no words.

    Am I being treated like a sister right now? It¡¯s a pity that the Keyboard doesn¡¯t collect Rage points from me. It would be exploding off the charts right now!

    Ji Xiaoxi recognized how her words sounded and quickly apologized. ¡°Ah no, that¡¯s not what I mean! I...¡±

    Seeing how Ji Xiaoxi was too flustered to exin herself, Zu An patted her head and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. We¡¯re friends, so I won¡¯t mind it.¡±

    Since he had already been treated as a sister, he might as well take full advantage. In his previous life, there were plenty of trashy men who pretended that they were gay in order to get close to girls, before worming their way into their beds.

    Pui! Who is a trashy man? Definitely not me!

    As his thoughts wandered, he noticed Ji Xiaoxi looking at him in sympathy. ¡°Ah... I should have told you that the medicine is on my hair too...¡±

    Zu An stared at his hand, as swollen as a bun, and almost burst into tears. Didn¡¯t you just wash yourself in the river earlier on?

    ...

    A young man and a young woman walked side by side along a mountainous route leading towards Brightmoon City. As they walked, the young woman moved closer to herpanion, but the young man leaped to the side as if she were some kind of poisonous mushroom.

    ¡°Don¡¯t touch me!¡± Zu An stared at Ji Xiaoxi warily.

    Ji Xiaoxi looked at him apologetically. Her lips pouted indignantly as she said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t do it on purpose.¡±

    Zu An knew that he had had iting, and it was immature to me her for his suffering. ¡°Fine, you didn¡¯t do anything wrong. It was my fault for approaching you too carelessly. Speaking of which, how did you produce that wall of water in the river earlier?¡±

    Ever sinceing to this world, he had been curious about everything concerning cultivation, and he wanted to know all he could about it.

    Ji Xiaoxi widened her eyes. ¡°You were peeping on me back then?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s heart skipped a beat. He hadpletely forgotten about that! ¡°Ah, I didn¡¯t hear anything from you, so I took a quick peek out of worry. Rest assured, I didn¡¯t see anything at all. You blocked everything off with that wall of water.¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi was not convinced, but decided to trust him in the end. ¡°Cultivators of the third rank are able to release their ki a short distance away. They are able to form armor, a ki barrier, or anything you can think of within a radius of three chi[1] around them. I used that principle to create the water wall.¡±

    ¡°I see!¡± Reaching the second rank made one¡¯s skin more resilient, and reaching the third rank allowed one to release their ki externally. He looked forward to seeing what special skills he could learn when he advanced his cultivation further.

    Ji Xiaoxi suddenly stopped in her tracks. She pricked up her ears, as if picking up on something. ¡°Big brother Zu, do you hear that?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Zu An asked. He didn¡¯t hear anything at all.

    ¡°I hear people fighting.¡± Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s eyebrows arched upward. Clearly, she wasn¡¯t too fond of violence.

    ¡°Let¡¯s leave the area quickly,¡± Zu An said. If he were a powerhouse, he would have headed straight towards the fight to show off his strength, but he was currently a weakling, even weaker than Ji Xiaoxi. This world was simply too dangerous for him right now, and keeping a low profile would suit him the most.

    As the saying went, the one whoughsstughs the best!

    ¡°I think we should take a look. There might be someone who needs to be treated,¡± Ji Xiaoxi grabbed Zu An and stopped him. Her gentle eyes held a firm resolve.

    Seeing her sincerity, Zu An found himself caving in to her request. ¡°Okay then. However, if it gets too dangerous, don¡¯t me me for running ahead of you. Also, I trust that you don¡¯t have poison on your hands, right?¡±

    ¡°Rest assured, there¡¯s no poison here!¡± Having secured Zu An¡¯s approval, Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s eyes became slits that arched upwards to form two smiling crescents.

    The two of them hurried in the direction of the ruckus. In another valley, they found a carriagepletely surrounded by ck-clothed men. Guards circled the carriage, trying their best to fend off the assault, but they were severely outnumbered. The ck-clothed attackers also seemed more powerful, their strikes sharp and vicious. Many guards had already fallen, lying in pools of blood.

    It was only a matter of time before the remaining guards would be defeated.

    Zu An noticed that the guards were all wearing white shirts with golden stitchings on their sleeves. It made them look distinguished.

    ¡°How bloody extravagant. Even their guards have such expensive clothes. How rich must they be?¡± Zu An nced at his scruffy outfit resentfully. They look more like the son-inw of a duke estate, and I could pass off as their guard!

    ¡°But what¡¯s the use of dressing well? It¡¯s just all for show!¡± Zu An¡¯s envy was only appeased by the sight of the finely-dressed guards being forced back under the onught of their attackers.

    ¡°Those men are from the ckwind Stockade!¡± Ji Xiaoxi eximed in a hushed tone. Even though she was kind and innocent, she was no fool. She didn¡¯t rush out blindly just because she saw that there were casualties. Instead, she pulled Zu An behind a bush to observe the situation.

    The oue of the battle was already sealed. They would only be giving their lives away by rushing out now. Nevertheless, Ji Xiaoxi still felt conflicted as she watched the brutal killings happening right before her eyes.

    ¡°ckwind Stockade? That¡¯s a name for cannon fodder! This Stockade must be some minor organization that barely sees the light of the day,¡± Zu An scoffed.

    ¡°Far from that,¡± Ji Xiaoxi replied solemnly. ¡°The ckwind Stockade is a bandit gang founded by Great Bandit Chen Xuan. They are known to be strong and incredibly vicious. They make a living by plundering passing merchants, and have already taken countless lives.¡±

    Zu An struggled to understand. ¡°Why haven¡¯t the authorities dispatched an army to eliminate them? There are so many experts in the city, after all. Are they all okay with these bandits messing around like that?¡±

    From what he knew, most of the stronger cultivators had been taken in by the government. It was unlikely a simple band of bandits could withstand the fighting prowess of a city¡¯s military force.

    Ji Xiaoxi exined, ¡°Duke Chu and City Lord Xie have sent many soldiers out to eliminate them over the years, but these bandits are not that easy to deal with. They are elusive and hard to track down. If the city sends too few soldiers, the bandits eliminate them without hesitation. Too many soldiers, and the bandits merely venture deeper into the mountain and bide their time. As soon as the soldiers retreat, theye out once more. These bandits are a huge menace to Brightmoon City.¡±

    Zu An was embarrassed by the ineptitude of the Chu n. Despite looking like a huge deal, they couldn¡¯t even handle a mere bandit gang.

    Something she said tickled the back of his mind. ¡°You mentioned that the ckwind Stockade has always been able to move in advance to avoid the army? It sounds like they have an insider working for them.¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi nodded in agreement. ¡°Big brother Zu, you are really clever. That¡¯s what my father said too.¡±

    The image of that greedy middle-aged man shed across Zu An¡¯s mind once more. It was inconceivable that a scruffy pervert like him could be sober enough to analyze such matters.

    ¡°Madam, we have them tied down. You must leave right away!¡± Down in the valley, a white-clothed guard shouted into the carriage behind him as he shoved an enemy away.

    1. About one meter.

 Chapter 24: Collusion

    <h4>Chapter 24: Collusion</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An had been paying attention to that carriage in the middle of the scuffle. Its extravagant and imposing construction naturally drew attention.

    Is it a Rolls Royce? Appearance-wise, the carriage bore no simrity, but the overall impression it gave made Zu An draw the connection.

    Regardless of which world one was in, the aesthetics of humans were quite uniform, and this carriage was a masterpiece from every angle. Every single contour embodied the blood, sweat, and tears of a master craftsman. It was drawn by four handsome steeds, all with a muscr build and lustrous coats that conveyed impable majesty.

    The carriage wheels and even the hooves of the horses were cloaked in blue light. It was an extremely delicate formation that allowed the carriage to maneuver through difficult terrain without causing the passengers seated inside the carriage the slightest disturbance.

    Zu An had ridden in the Chu n¡¯s carriage before, but it paled inparison to the one right before his eyes.

    A charming female voice came from within the carriage. ¡°Go? Where can I go?¡± Her tone of voice seemed both coy andnguid at the same time, but was colored with more than a hint of confusion.

    ¡°What a melodious voice!¡± Ji Xiaoxi muttered to herself in a daze. Zu An, on the other hand, thought nothing of it. In his modern, digital world, there were plenty of people who made a living using their voices, be it voice actors, vtubers, and other content creators. He had heard far too many beautiful voices to know that a good voice didn¡¯t equate to good looks. Countless pitiful souls had been fooled by the false allure of a beautiful voice.

    The ck-clothed attackers seemed to lose their senses for a moment, then burst into concertedughter. ¡°Just as we thought, Madam Yu is indeed in there! Brother, let¡¯s push on! Soon, we¡¯ll be able to have a taste of the previous number one beauty of the capital!¡±

    This drew a chorus of cheers from those in ck, spurring them on.

    The eyes of the white-clothed guards reddened at these words, but there was only so much they could do against overwhelming numbers. No matter how much they tapped into the hidden potential in their bodies, they could not stand against this onught.

    ¡°Ah! So it¡¯s her!¡± Ji Xiaoxi eximed in astonishment.

    Zu An was intrigued. ¡°Why? Do you recognize the person in the carriage?¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi shook her head and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know her in person, but I have heard of her. Cloudmidst¡¯s Yu n deals in ki stones, and they are the most renowned tycoons in the world. Back in those days, the matriarch of the Yu n, Yu Yanluo, awed the entire capital with her grace and beauty, and countless men still pine for her to this day.¡±

    As she mentioned this, Ji Xiaoxi suddenly recalled how her father often proimed himself to be Yu Yanluo¡¯s number one fan, and her face flushed with embarrassment.

    Zu An frowned in confusion. ¡°Judging by what you just said, the Yu n should be pretty formidable. It doesn¡¯t make sense that they can¡¯t handle a group of bandits.¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi corrected Zu An. ¡°The ckwind Stockade isn¡¯t any ordinary band of bandits. They are an incredibly powerful gang that even Duke Chu is¡ª¡±

    Before she could finish, Zu An cut in, ¡°No matter how formidable they are, bandits are still bandits. Besides, just as you said, the Yu n is one of the richest ns in the country, and their matriarch is a known beauty. They are bound to attract attention from enemies and other major powers. If this is the standard of the guards they have, how in the world did she manage to survive to this day without any major incidents?¡±

    ¡°Ahh...¡± Ji Xiaoxi hadn¡¯t expected such a strong reaction from Zu An. She pondered for a while before responding, ¡°Her husband, the Cloudmidst Duke, passed away recently in an ident. That could have caused some internal turmoil within the Yu n, and consequently affected the quality of guards she brings around with her.¡±

    ¡°Politics inside major ns sure are messy,¡± Zu An remarked with a sigh. It had only been two days since he joined the Chu n, and he had already suffered so many near death encounters. Someone like Yu Yanluo was likely to have faced far more of such run-ins than him.

    ¡°Is the one leading the bandits down there Great Bandit Chen Xuan?¡± Zu An asked, pointing to the leader of the ck-clothed attackers.

    Ji Xiaoxi shook her head and replied, ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem to be him. Chen Xuan is a sixth rank cultivator, possibly even reaching the seventh rank. None of those below have even reached the fifth rank.¡±

    ¡°Ah, that reminds me of a question I have been wanting to ask you for a long time. How do you discern the cultivation level of a person?¡± Zu An asked. It was not as if this were a game, where enemy levels were disyed above their heads. His inability to discern the cultivation level of his enemies would make it hard to deal with any future threats.

    After all, not everyone was like Plum Blossom Twelve, foolishly giving away their cultivation level.

    ¡°You don¡¯t even know that?¡± Ji Xiaoxi asked in surprise. Nevertheless, she still exined the matter patiently. ¡°In the first rank, a cultivator learns to sense raw ki. In the second rank, a cultivator¡¯s skin hardens, allowing them to deal with ordinary swords barehanded. In the third rank, a cultivator gains the ability to release ki in a radius of three chi around his body to form barriers to block against enemy attacks.

    ¡°In the fourth rank, a cultivator is able to project ki away from their body, allowing for long-distance attacks. In the fifth rank, a cultivator awakens their ability to control the elements and imbue them into their attacks. In the sixth rank, a cultivator can form an elemental barrier to defend against elemental-type attacks.

    ¡°In the seventh rank, a cultivator¡¯s regeneration is significantly boosted, such that the attacks of low-level enemies wouldn¡¯t be able to keep up with their rate of recovery. In the eighth rank, a cultivator bes able tomunicate with raw ki, allowing him to tap into a far greater reserve of power. I¡¯m not familiar with levels beyond that, but it seems that even flight is possible once one reaches a certain level.

    ¡°Those bandits below are incapable of using elemental attacks, which means none of them have reached the fifth rank. I believe that the leader of this group is the ckwind Stockade¡¯s Third Master, Bao Gang.¡±

    ¡°I see!¡± Zu An nodded, grateful for her exnation. His new-found knowledge helped him to process the battle more clearly, and he was able to roughly grasp the fighting prowess of thebatants.

    Most of the ck-clothed bandits below were at the second rank, though a couple of them had reached the third rank. Only the leader of the bandits was at the fourth rank.

    ording to what he knew, a fourth rank cultivator was eligible to be named the lord of a smaller city whereas a third rank cultivator could serve as a magistrate of a smaller city. It seemed thatparing the ckwind Stockade to ordinary ruffians was indeed unwise.

    The guard captain of the Yu n was at the fourth rank too, and his subordinates were all at the third rank. Their strength had allowed some of them to survive so far. Unfortunately, their numbers were too small to matter. Their defeat was already sealed.

    ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± The leader of the ck-clothed bandits suddenly turned around. Zu An and Ji Xiaoxi had spoken too loudly, and had inadvertently revealed their presence.

    ¡°You should leave, quickly!¡± Ji Xiaoxi hissed at Zu An. She was the one who proposeding here to help the wounded. She wouldn¡¯t allow Zu An to get hurt because of her.

    She had nearly used up all of the medicine she¡¯d brought with her, and was not confident in dealing with the bandits.

    ¡°What about you?¡± Zu An was surprised. Was thisss really intending to stay behind to hold back the enemies?

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I can protect myself. Besides, my father is Ji Dengtu. They dare not to touch me,¡± Ji Xiaoxi said hurriedly.

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°Those bandits dared to ost the renowned Yu n! There¡¯s no way they¡¯ll respect the mere daughter of a divine physician.¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi was taken aback by Zu An¡¯s words. She was about to inform him that her father was actually a really formidable figure, but Zu An instructed anxiously, ¡°Hide yourself well and don¡¯te out!¡±

    He leaped out of cover and bellowed, ¡°Oho! You dare tomit such atrocities in public, in the middle of the day, under the glorious rays of the sun?¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s mouth widened in shock. Was Zu An out of his mind? Revealing his presence to the bandits was one thing, but provoking them on top of that?

    As expected, the bandits hollered back, ¡°Where did this nasty brate from? Are you nning on interfering in the affairs of our ckwind Stockade?¡±

    Zu An froze. ¡°You¡¯re from the ckwind Stockade?¡±

    ¡°Of course! Who are you?¡± The bandit leader stared at Zu An warily. This brat had suddenly leaped out of nowhere, and there was nothing he could use to identify him. It made sense to first do some probing to determine who they were dealing with.

    At this sudden development, the battle between the bandits and the guards came to an uncertain halt.

    Zu An sped his fist and introduced himself. ¡°I am Cheng Shouping. Those in the pugilistic world know me as someone with lips as tight as a cork on a bottle!¡±

    Over in the bushes, Ji Xiaoxi blinked in bewilderment. Who is Cheng Shouping?

    The ck-clothed bandits shared her confusion. They had never heard of such a figure in the pugilistic world before. Nevertheless, they treated him as a formidable expert. No one else would dare to stand before them so calmly.

    The guards of the Yu n grew nervous at this exchange. The guard captain shouted out loud, ¡°That hero over there, we¡¯re from the Cloudmidst¡¯s Yu n! If you¡¯re willing to lend us a helping hand, the Yu n will surely repay the favor generously!¡±

    Bao Gang¡¯s face darkened immediately. He gestured to his subordinates to go around the forest and seal off this ¡®Cheng Shouping¡¯s¡¯ escape route. They could not allow anyone to know that it was the ckwind Stockade that had carried out the attack on the Yu n¡¯s carriage.

    ¡°Generously?¡± Zu An repeated contemtively. ¡°How generous?¡±

    Those of the Yu n were bbergasted by this response. This man isn¡¯t ying by the norms! Shouldn¡¯t he say something along the lines of ¡®a true hero doesn¡¯t expect any rewards¡¯ and lend us a helping hand?

    Despite this, the guard captain replied straight away, ¡°I dare not say the wealth of our Yu n can truly rival that of the country, but be it gold, silver, legendary weapons, ki stones, or even conferment of nobility, regardless of what it is that you need, our Yu n will surely satisfy your demands!¡±

    Zu An nodded in response. ¡°That sounds like a fair offer, but I¡¯m a man of culture who appreciates fine art. I heard that your matriarch used to be the number one beauty in the capital. Could I ask for her instead?¡±

    Bao Gang was dumbfounded. He had feared the intruder woulde to the aid of the Yu n, but he definitely hadn¡¯t expected such a crude remark! It was all he could do not to rebuke him. In any case, it seemed the intruder was not an immediate threat. He pulled his subordinates back, and ordered them to stay vignt.

    The face of the guard captain darkened. ¡°Please do not joke around.¡±

    Zu An shrugged casually. ¡°I¡¯m not joking around. As long as your matriarch is willing to apany me for one night, I¡¯ll settle these men from the ckwind Stockade for you.¡±

    Behind the bushes, Ji Xiaoxi felt heat rising from her face. That man is obviously... yet he still puts on such a licentious act!

    But while she was privy to Zu An¡¯s circumstances, the Yu n guards were not. They red daggers at him.

    You have sessfully trolled Yu Bin for 99 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled Yu Jun for 99 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled Yu Meng for 99 Rage points!

    ...

    Seeing the huge inflow of Rage points, Zu An marveled at howpatible the Rage system was with him. For him, earning Rage points was almost as easy as breathing. The only regret he had was obtaining this Rage system sote in life. With his skills on the inte forums, he would have earned enough to ascend to godhood by now!

    He was surprised that no points hade from Madam Yu. Was she perfectly okay with his rude remarks?

    Disregarding the murderous gazes of the guards, Zu An turned to Bao Gang and said, ¡°I have a deep respect for the ckwind Stockade, especially after hearing of the great deeds you have pulled off. The only regret I have in my life is not having the opportunity to join your ranks. Since fate has brought us together today, may I humbly ask you to take me in? I don¡¯t need anything at all. I just hope that you can share Madam Yu with me once you¡¯re done here.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Yu Bin for 99 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled Yu Jun for 99 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled Yu Meng for 99 Rage points!

 Chapter 25: A Chance For Survival

    <h4>Chapter 25: A Chance For Survival</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Bao Gang burst intoughter. ¡°Of course, that isn¡¯t a problem at all! Our ckwind Stockade wees men from all walks of life. Shall we get rid of these remaining guards together first?¡±

    Despite his words, Bao Gang was thinking of something very different on the inside. Assaulting the Yu n was a huge matter, and he couldn¡¯t risk even the slightest possibility of the news leaking out. If this intruder were to get away, it would spell trouble for them.

    He hadn¡¯t yet ordered his men to move against this outsider because he was unsure of his background. Moreover, their hands were still full with the Yu n guards. Eliminating the guards before dealing with the outsider was the best y.

    In any case, this man was unlikely to be at the fifth rank or higher, or else he would have single-handedly dealt with the Yu n guards. There would be no need to propose a partnership then.

    Hidden behind the bushes, Ji Xiaoxi grew more bewildered as the scene unfolded. She couldn¡¯t figure out what Zu An was trying to pull here. If she hadn¡¯t known about Zu An¡¯s peculiar condition, she would even have suspected him of meaning exactly what he¡¯d said.

    ¡°Sounds good to me!¡± Zu An drew his dagger and charged towards the nearest Yu n guard.

    The Yu n guard barely moved, but the impact threw Zu An several meters backward.

    Both the ckwind Stockade bandits and the Yu n guards wore wide-eyed stares.

    They thought that they had encountered an expert in the wilderness, but it turned out that he wasn¡¯t even a match for a third rank guard! Not only that, the guard was almostpletely exhausted by the bitter battle earlier!

    You have sessfully trolled Bao Gang for 99 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled ckwind Stockade Bandit A for 99 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled ckwind Stockade Bandit B for 99 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled ckwind Stockade Bandit C for 99 Rage points!

    ...

    Bao Gang felt like an utter fool. He had taken so much care earlier, tiptoeing around this intruder, calcting the best way to victory and scheming to win this man over. Yet, it turned out that the intruder was merely at the second rank!

    He felt incredibly tempted to end the brat¡¯s life with a sh of his de. However, he could not discount the possibility that this was all an act to get Bao Gang to let down his guard. He suppressed his murderous urge for the time being. You dare make a fool out of me? Just wait till I¡¯m done with the Yu n. I¡¯ll skin you alive!

    You have sessfully trolled Bao Gang for 199 Rage points!

    Looking at Bao Gang¡¯s twitching cheeks, happiness bloomed in Zu An¡¯s heart. This fellow sure is kind to provide me with so many Rage points.

    As the two sides shed again, Zu An fell back from the front lines. Instead, he wove in and out of the battlefield, striking with his de now and then. He was trying to get a feel of the battlefield while adapting to his newfound powers. After all, he had never been in a proper battle before, even when dealing with Plum Blossom Twelve.

    His actions only made those from the ckwind Stockade grit their teeth in frustration. Not only were his antics ineffective, he was actively hindering their attacks! If not for the Third Master¡¯s orders, they would have dly decapitated this nosey fellow by now!

    You have sessfully trolled ckwind Stockade Bandit A for 33 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled ckwind Stockade Bandit B for 33 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled ckwind Stockade Bandit C for 33 Rage points!

    ...

    The battle was short and sharp, and all of the Yu n guards were eventually captured. After a moment of hesitation, Bao Gang did not kill them on the spot, choosing instead to ce some restrictions on their bodies.

    He nned to extract critical intelligence regarding the Yu n from them, and they could be used as pawns to ckmail Madam Yu.

    Seeing that the Yu n¡¯s guards had been subdued, Zu An rubbed his hands licentiously and began making his way toward the carriage. ¡°Finally, I¡¯m going to see Madam Yu¡¯s beautiful face in person.¡±

    ¡°The Yu n will never let you off!¡± One of the guards red furiously at him, a sword pressed against his neck.

    You have sessfully trolled Yu Bin for 299 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled Yu Jun for 299 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled Yu Meng for 299 Rage points!

    ...

    Zu An chuckled softly. ¡°We¡¯re in the wilderness. The Yu n will never find out what I did here.¡±

    ¡°Bro, aren¡¯t you getting ahead of yourself?¡± Bao Gang¡¯s cold and scornful tone drifted over from behind him.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    Bao Gang waved his hand, and his subordinates immediately surrounded Zu An. ¡°There¡¯s no one who wouldn¡¯t be interested in a beauty like Madam Yu, and there are so many of us, but only one of her. Sadly, there isn¡¯t enough of her to go around, so how could we share her with you?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re going to cast me away after making use of me?¡± Zu An pointed at Bao Gang, his body trembling in fury.

    ¡°Pui!¡± Bao Gang spat coldly. ¡°Where did this ruffiane from? With your measly second rank cultivation, I really wonder where you found the gall to negotiate with me!¡±

    Bao Gang was certain of Zu An¡¯s rank after observing him in battle. Thetter definitely wasn¡¯t feigning weakness.

    ¡°Mince him up and feed him to the dogs!¡± Bao Gang yelled. He instantly felt lighter and more refreshed. He could finally vent all of his repressed anger.

    ¡°Hold it right there!¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi had exhausted all her patience. Zu An¡¯s situation was desperate. She had no idea what he was up to, but she had to intervene before he was killed.

    ¡°There¡¯s actually another person here!¡± Bao Gang eximed in astonishment. He had assumed that Zu An¡¯s was the only presence that he¡¯d sensed, especially after that brazen entrance. He had been too careless. If that woman were to flee the area and spread the news of their deed... Just the thought of it made him sweat profusely.

    ¡°Hahaha, Third Master! It¡¯s yet another beautifulss! Lady luck sure is smiling on us today!¡± Seeing Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s beautiful face, the ck-clothed bandits let out catcalls in anticipation.

    While they had said that they would have fun with Madam Yu earlier, the men of the Stockade knew their ce. There was no way they would be granted someone of Madam Yu¡¯s status. Someone like her would be specially reserved for the Masters¡¯ use.

    However, this young woman was a different matter. She was a nobody who had appeared from nowhere. If they could capture her, she would be theirs!

    ¡°My father is Brightmoon City¡¯s Ji Dengtu! Release this man immediately. We swear we won¡¯t divulge anything that we saw today!¡± Ji Xiaoxi was well aware that confronting them with her current cultivation level would be futile. The only y was to invoke her father¡¯s name.

    There was a moment of silence, then the bandits burst into heartyughter. ¡°Hah, Ji Dengtu is just a mere physician! Who do you think you are trying to scare?¡±

    ¡°Shut your traps!¡± Bao Gang frowned upon hearing those words. His big brother hadid out the few people in Brightmoon City who were not to be messed with, and Ji Dengtu was one of them.

    After a moment, he slowly shook his head. ¡°I have heard of Ji Dengtu¡¯s reputation, but I¡¯m afraid that we can¡¯t risk news of this matter getting out. Brothers, capture her! The first one to bring her to me will get the first taste of her!¡±

    There was a collective roar of excitement, and the bandits rushed towards the lone woman.

    ¡°Watch my Finger Flick Secret Art!¡±

    A cry came from behind Bao Gang, and he heard something whizz toward him. Without hesitation, he spun and shed his sword at the object, shattering it into pieces.

    ¡°Hahaha! Is this your Finger Flick Secret Art?¡± Bao Gang sneered coldly. His maliciousughtersted but a moment, then blood drained from his face in horror. ¡°Y-you...¡±

    He fell face-first in the dirt, along with the fewpanions around him.

    ¡°Third Master, what¡¯s wrong?¡± The ck-clothed bandits abandoned their attempt to reach Ji Xiaoxi, and rushed back to help their fallen leader. As they reached him, they too copsed to the ground.

    Zu An heaved a sigh of relief. He¡¯d been waiting patiently for the bandits to gather close together so he could make use of his Poison Bottle. Just as the opportunity had presented itself, Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s sudden appearance had nearly foiled his n.

    He¡¯d been prepared to fight the remaining bandits who had strayed out of the area of effect in their attempt to reach Ji Xiaoxi. Fortunately, these bandits were dumber than he¡¯d thought. Too anxious to save their Third Master, they ran into range of the Poison Bottle¡¯s effects and were knocked out, sparing him a great deal of effort.

    ¡°You brat! What kind of sorcery did you cast on us?!¡± Bao Gang bellowed furiously as hey on the ground. The ki in his body had beenpletely sealed, and he couldn¡¯t move a single muscle. His entire body felt numb, as if it wasn¡¯t his own anymore.

    You have sessfully trolled Bao Gang for 333 Rage points!

    ¡°I¡¯ve already told you. This is my Finger Flick Secret Art. This technique drains the ki from everything within a thirty-meter radius. You looked down on me, and this is the price for that.¡± Despite his brave words, Zu An dared not approach Bao Gang. He wasn¡¯t sure whether there were still traces of the poison lingering in the area. If he were to get poisoned as well, that would spell disaster.

    ¡°I-I understand it now! We were blind for daring to snub you.¡± Bao Gang quickly changed his tone after realizing the situation he was in. This intruder was really feigning weakness all this while! ¡°Madam Yu is right in there, and she¡¯s all yours. We won¡¯tpete with you for her anymore!¡±

    The Yu n guards were still in a daze. Everything had happened so quickly, they were unsure what to make of the situation.

    ¡°Pui!¡± Figuring that the poison had had enough time to fully disperse, Zu An finally walked up to Bao Gang¡¯s side and pped his face with his knife. ¡°Heh, do you think that you¡¯re in any state topete with me right now? Who was the one who wanted to mince me up and feed me to the dogs earlier on? Who were the ones who wanted to take advantage of our Xiaoxi?¡±

    As she rushed over, Ji Xiaoxi overheard Zu An¡¯s intimate way of addressing her, and her face reddened.

    You have sessfully trolled Bao Gang for 147 Rage points!

    As the Third Master of the ckwind Stockade, Bao Gang had lived like a king the past few years. When had anyone dared to p his face with a knife?

    ¡°I have eyes but failed to recognize Mount Tai. Please have mercy on me. Our ckwind Stockade will surely remember your mercy!¡± As infuriated as Bao Gang was, he found theposure to invoke the name of the ckwind Stockade, hoping that it could instill some fear in Zu An.

    Zu An was amused by his use of the idiom. ¡°Oh? You have Mount Tai here too? Alright then. Since you have used such a flowery turn of phrase, I¡¯ll give you a chance. As long as you can answer my question well, I¡¯ll spare you.¡±

    The leader of the Yu n¡¯s guards was appalled by Zu An¡¯s words. ¡°You mustn¡¯t let them go! They are vile criminals who have ughtered many innocent people.¡±

    Zu An rolled his eyes at him. ¡°Who gave you permission to speak here? If you want to decide on how to deal with them, why didn¡¯t you capture them earlier?¡±

    The guard captain¡¯s face reddened, but he was powerless to do anything. The restrictions ced on their bodies prevented them from acting, no matter what Zu An did.

    You have sessfully trolled Yu Bin for 111 Rage points!

    Zu An approached one of the ck-d bandits and said, ¡°I¡¯ll start with you. What instruments can you y?¡±

    The bandit was stunned. ¡°I can¡¯t y any instruments.¡± Why in the world would bandits like them, who lived a life of violence and plunder, learn how to y instruments?

    ¡°What¡¯s the point of living in the world when you can¡¯t even y good music?¡± Zu An sneered. He ended the man¡¯s life with a swift stroke of his knife.

    You have sessfully trolled the bandits of the ckwind Stockade for 666 Rage points!

    Zu An moved on to the person beside him and asked, ¡°What about you? What instruments can you y?¡±

    That man swallowed hard. He couldn¡¯t y any instruments either, but the corpse of hispanion was still fresh beside him. There was no way he could admit that out loud. A sh of inspiration came to him, and he replied, ¡°I can whistle!¡±

    ¡°In what bloody world do you consider whistling to be ying an instrument?¡± Zu An slit his throat as well. The bandit died with a fawning smile on his face.

    You have sessfully trolled the bandits of the ckwind Stockade for 666 Rage points!

    The soft-hearted Ji Xiaoxi couldn¡¯t stand to watch anymore. She walked over to him and quietly tugged on his sleeves. ¡°Big brother Zu, isn¡¯t this a little too cruel?¡±

    Zu An sighed deeply. ¡°Xiaoxi, you are too kind. If we had fallen into their hands, they would have shown you what true cruelty is. Besides, didn¡¯t I give them a chance to live? As long as they can give me a satisfactory answer to my question, I would spare their lives.¡±

    The bandits from the ckwind Stockade were all on the verge of crying. How does this count as giving us a chance for survival?

 Chapter 26: A Goddamned Question

    <h4>Chapter 26: A Goddamned Question</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An had no idea how long the poison wouldst. Once these bandits shook off its effects, the tables would surely be turned on him. He had to eliminate all danger before then.

    At least he was not torturing these bandits, unlike the twisted protagonists in some of the novels he¡¯d read.

    Ji Xiaoxi knew deep down that Zu An was right about the bandits. The lecherous looks they had directed towards her were still fresh in her mind. Reluctantly, she held back from persuading him away from his course of action.

    Zu An moved on to the next bandit in line. That bandit shot a nce at his two deadpanions, and yelled defiantly, ¡°Kill me if you want to! Cut out that hypocritical crap of giving us a chance for survival! We¡¯re all bandits, not a single one of us knows how to y any instruments!¡±

    Zu An¡¯s knit his eyebrows together. ¡°Is that so? Fine, I¡¯ll choose another question then. It¡¯s amon sense question that any human should be able to give an answer to.¡±

    The bandit didn¡¯t expect Zu An to be so amodating. A flicker of hope shone in his eyes. ¡°Fine,¡± he said, ¡°ask away.¡±

    Zu An pointed to his own face and asked, ¡°Am I handsome?¡±

    The bandit immediately gushed, ¡°Definitely! I¡¯ve never seen a man as handsome as you. You¡¯re the most handsome man in Brightmoon... Ah, no, it should be the most handsome man in the entire world! Even the elven princes will kill themselves out of embarrassment in your presence! Err... Yes, and even that number one beauty of the capital, Madam Yu, will ovte right in your presence. Heh, even she wouldn¡¯t be worthy of you...¡±

    Given the current circumstances, even if Zu An had resembled an Assrip Wolf, the bandit would have still buttered him up to high heavens.

    The other bandits who were still alive looked sympathetically at theirpanion. Coming up with all these phrases to suck up to their enemy must have been extremely difficult.

    mes of anger burned in the eyes of the Yu n guards. After witnessing Zu An¡¯s cruelty, they dared not direct their rage toward him. They could only re hatefully at that bandit who had uttered those insolent words about their matriarch.

    You have sessfully trolled Yu Yanluo for 99 Rage points!

    Zu An was entertained by this. This was the first time he was receiving Rage points from Madam Yu. It looked like this bandit had really gone overboard with his bootlicking.

    Seeing the smile on Zu An¡¯s face, the bandit was overjoyed. He quickly asked, ¡°Does my answer satisfy you?¡±

    ¡°You know too much.¡± With a quick motion, he ended the babbling bandit¡¯s life.

    You have sessfully trolled the bandits of the ckwind Stockade for 666 Rage points!

    The Yu n guards were dumbstruck. He dares to give such a flippant reason?

    ¡°Pfft~¡±

    A trace ofughter came from within the carriage, which was swiftly muffled. Silence returned.

    Zu An moved on to the fourth bandit and asked, ¡°Same question. Am I handsome?¡±

    That bandit¡¯s eyes darted about. The tragic fate that befell the bootlicker was still fresh in his mind. ¡°You are ugly, but you are overflowing with masculini...¡±

    Before he could finish his sentence, Zu An had already slit his throat. ¡°You must be blind.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled the bandits of the ckwind Stockade for 666 Rage points!

    He moved on to the fifth bandit and asked the same question once more.

    The bandit felt his dder loosen as he saw Zu An standing before him. The other two had both been killed despite giving opposing answers! His voice quivering in fear, he replied, ¡°I... I don¡¯t know...¡±

    Zu An made quick work of him. He sighed deeply and remarked, ¡°What¡¯s the point of living in this world when you don¡¯t even know something like this?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled the bandits of the ckwind Stockade for 666 Rage points!

    ...

    Moving from one bandit to the next, he finally reached their leader, Bao Gang. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s your turn.¡±

    Bao Gang sniffed coldly. ¡°I¡¯m going to die no matter what I say. You¡¯re the one who calls the shots anyway. Since that¡¯s the case, why bother putting up this farce? Just kill me then. However, I can assure you that my two brothers will avenge me. They¡¯ll surely tear you into countless pieces!¡±

    Zu An nodded slowly before replying with a sigh, ¡°You¡¯re right. I did go a bit too far earlier.¡±

    Bao Gang would have cried if not for his final sliver of reason. A bit too far? I¡¯ve nearly crapped in my pants!

    ¡°How about we do this then? I¡¯ll give you a question that has a standard answer. As long as you get it right, I promise that I¡¯ll release you,¡± Zu An said.

    ¡°Are you serious about that?¡± Even though Bao Gang knew that it was unlikely, his instincts for survival stillpelled him to go along with Zu An¡¯s game. After all, being alive was a wonderful thing. He could plunder other people¡¯s money and sleep with other people¡¯s wives. He could not enjoy these things if he were dead.

    Zu An nodded and replied, ¡°Of course I¡¯m serious. This question definitely has a standard answer. If you think my verdict is wrong, I¡¯ll even tell you the correct answer so that you can die in peace.¡±

    Bao Gang gritted his teeth. ¡°Ask your question.¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°¡®To sit before a feast of three hundred lychees every day¡¯. What¡¯s the next line after this?¡± Heh, there¡¯s no way you can possibly answer this ancient poem that came from my realm.

    Surprisingly, Bao Gang¡¯s eyes lit up in delight. ¡°I know, I know! The next line is ¡®A lifetime I shall be a Lingnan man¡¯.¡±

    Zu An felt his jaw drop. No doubt the culture of this world was very simr to that of ancient China in his own world, but he¡¯d never expected that they would share the same poems too. Didn¡¯t that mean he couldn¡¯t giarize poems to unt his literary talent, like so many other transmigrators?

    ¡°Wrong!¡± Zu An¡¯s face was livid as raised his dagger and prepared to plunge it into Bao Gang.

    Bao Gang screeched in indignance. ¡°Impossible! I have heard of that poem before! ¡®A world of eternal spring beneath Mount Luofu, loquats and bayberries harvested fresh. To sit before a feast of three hundred lychees every day, a lifetime I shall be a Lingnan man!¡¯ I definitely got it right! Why don¡¯t you tell me how I¡¯m wrong?¡±

    Zu An sneered coldly. ¡°The next line is clearly ¡®In a year I shall eat 109,500 lychees¡¯! This is a question on mathematics, not poetry!¡± He raised his dagger up high and plunged it down.

    ¡°You swindling bastard!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Bao Gang for 999 Rage points!

    Zu An cleaned his dagger on the bandit leader¡¯s body before exhaling deeply. ¡°Now you know.¡±

    ¡°Gulu~¡±

    The Yu n guards swallowed in fear. Didn¡¯t we scold this fellow earlier on, too? Shit, we¡¯re goners!

    However, Zu An paid no heed to them. Instead, he began ransacking the corpses of Bao Gang and the other bandits.

    Ji Xiaoxi wondered what he was doing. ¡°Big brother Zu, are you trying to find their tokens to verify their identity?¡±

    Zu An shook his head and replied, ¡°Why would I do that? I¡¯m checking for valuables... Goddamnit, how is that they don¡¯t even have a single copper coin?!¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi was speechless. So too were the Yu n guards.

    Ji Xiaoxi exined weakly, ¡°These bandits are out to plunder. I don¡¯t think that they would bring their money out with them.¡±

    The words made perfect sense to Zu An, but they couldn¡¯t settle the ache in his heart. After all the trouble he had been through, even using up a Poison Bottle, he had ended up empty-handed.

    What? Are you asking about the Rage points that they had provided me? Heh, can Rage points be eaten as food? It isn¡¯t an epted currency in this world!

    His fruitless search over, Zu An finally noticed the shivering guards behind him. He quickly put on what he thought to be a kind smile and asked, ¡°I think it¡¯s only fair for me to pose a question to the rest of you too. Now that I¡¯ve saved your lives, how do you intend to repay me?¡±

    The Yu n guards felt their souls leaving their bodies. They had witnessed the tragic fate that had befallen the bandits of the ckwind Stockade, and were severely traumatized as a result. Just hearing the word ¡®question¡¯ was enough to make them shiver reflexively.

    ¡°Young hero, thank you for reaching out a helping hand to us and saving our lives. I am willing to offer you 10,000 gold taels aspensation for your help. May I know if such an arrangement is to your satisfaction?¡± A feminine voice emerged from within the carriage, which had been silent all this while.

    A graceful hand parted the door curtains, and an absolutely gorgeous woman slowly made her way out.

    Zu An believed that he had built up a high level of resistance against beautiful women. After all, hadn¡¯t he seen countless different beauties in movies, dramas, and all sorts of inte videos in his previous life?

    Be it Chinese, European, American, or even in 2D, he thought he¡¯d seen all the world had to offer while swiping through Tiktok videos everyday. As such, he didn¡¯t take the title of ¡®number one beauty of the capital¡¯ seriously. It was probably just a title some country bumpkins came up with, who didn¡¯t know what true beauty was.

    As he watched Madam Yu descend from her carriage, he realized that he had been sorely mistaken. No matter how many beauties he had seen through his handphone screen, nothing beat the powerful visual impact of seeing one in real life.

    Her skin was more tender than a young girl¡¯s, and it seemed like it was covered in a thinyer of milk, making it both smooth and soft to the touch. Her eyes seemed to reflect the countless stars in the sky, giving off a brilliance that drew people in.

    Her face was a wless masterpiece, and her long neck entuated her gracefulness. Her hair, which was artfully arranged in a bun, lent her a distinguished maturity.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes slowly moved downward and swept over her shapely breasts. Her white dress was slightly tightened around her waistline, which highlighted her slender waist. The curves from her hip to her waist were so perfect that it made one salivate.

    Even Ji Xiaoxi couldn¡¯t hide her sense of inferiority in the presence of such magnificence. Even though those around her alwaysplimented her beauty, she knew she came nowhere close to matching the mature and elegant disposition of Madam Yu.

    ¡°Do I look good?¡± Despite Zu An¡¯s crude, assessing gaze, Madam Yu didn¡¯t lose her temper. Instead, her lips curved up in a gentle smile.

    ¡°Yes, you do look good,¡± Zu An replied with a nod. ¡°I thought that I was the best-looking person in this world, but you are just a tier beneath me.¡±

    ¡°Pfft~¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi failed to tamp down herughter. Her inner gloom was swept away in an instant.

    Yu Yanluo was equally taken aback. She was used to men fawning over her looks, but none of them ever acted so... so naturally.

    ¡°You¡¯re an interesting person,¡± Yu Yanluo chuckled, covering her mouth with a delicate hand. Herughter felt warm, like the onset of spring that banished the frost and coaxed flowers into bloom. ¡°What¡¯s your name? You identified yourself as Cheng Shouping, but thatdy over there addresses you as big brother Zu. I believe thetter should be your real name, right?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have the habit of giving my name away after doing a good deed,¡± Zu An replied with a shake of his head. He had used Cheng Shouping¡¯s name so that his studypanion would shoulder the me for whatever he was going to do next. His standing in the Chu n was precarious. Until he had a firmer grasp on the situation there, he did not want to reveal that he wasn¡¯t as helpless as others thought him to be.

    Yu Yanluo took in the bandit corpses strewn around, and her lips curled up charmingly. ¡°But I don¡¯t have that much money with me now. If you don¡¯t tell me your name, how am I going topensate you for the amount you deserve?¡±

    Zu An scratched his head in frustration, conflicted over this matter. In the end, the money was too great a temptation. ¡°Come with me for a moment!¡± He grabbed Yu Yanluo¡¯s hand and pulled her to one side.

    Yu Yanluo nced at the hand that was grabbing her wrist. A cold glint shed across her eyes, but she remained silent.

    The eyes of the Yu n guards bulged out of their sockets. They knew that their matriarch hateding into contact with any man, yet she allowed this rascal to grab her without saying anything?

    Some of them contemted ordering that impudent man to let go of their matriarch, but the memory of the bandits¡¯ recent suffering at his hand robbed them of their courage.

    Zu An pulled Yu Yanluo to a remote corner before he spoke. ¡°First, allow me to rify myself. I¡¯m not saying this for the sake of the 10,000 gold taels...¡±

    With a sharp nce towards his hand, Yu Yanluo cut him off. ¡°Can you let go of my hand first?¡±

 Chapter 28: Dumb Lass

    <h4>Chapter 28: Dumb Lass</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Big brother Zu, you should head in and look for my father first. Tell him that you¡¯re my friend. I¡¯ll join you once I¡¯m done treating the patients here,¡± Ji Xiaoxi told Zu An apologetically as she attended to the crowd gathered before her.

    ¡°Sure.¡± Zu An had nned to do that anyway. If he let Ji Xiaoxi and Divine Physician Jipare notes on him, the lies he had spun would quickly unravel.

    The entrance to the Ji residence was left empty, as the mass of patients that had blocked it earlier were now crowded around Ji Xiaoxi. The rocking chair out front was empty as well. Clearly, Divine Physician Ji had retired into his residence.

    Zu An stated the reason for his visit, and a servant quickly led him into a courtyard. Gesturing toward one of the rooms, the servant said, ¡°The old master is in there. You may enter alone.¡±

    Divine Physician Ji considered the areas where he brewed medicine as sensitive areas, and prohibited servants like them from entering them. As for the threat of outsiders possibly harming Divine Physician Ji, that worry was for naught. There was no one in Brightmoon City who would dare to mess around here.

    Zu An pushed the door open and entered the room. He heard crudeughtering from within, and his expression twisted oddly. After a few more steps, he noticed that Divine Physician Ji was not brewing medicine. Instead, hey on a chair, browsing through a suspicious-looking book. It was probably that erotic book that he¡¯d been bribed with earlier in the morning.

    The divine physician¡¯s perverted expression and gooseflesh-inducing cackles made Zu An wonder how this vulgar middle-aged man had produced a daughter as sweet as Ji Xiaoxi.

    ¡°Hm? You returned earlier than I thought. Did you manage to gather all of the goubaos?¡± Divine Physician Ji¡¯s eyes didn¡¯t leave the book for even a moment, but he was still able to urately identify Zu An.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t bring any goubaos with me,¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°Tsk. What are you doing here then? Scram, scram, scram, don¡¯t interrupt me while I¡¯m reading my book.¡± Divine Physician Ji shook a leg leisurely as he impatiently waved Zu An away.

    Zu An took out a stack of banknotes and waved them around. ¡°While I don¡¯t have any goubaos, I do have money with me. Do you want it?¡±

    ¡°Heh, why should I decline money that¡¯s delivered to my doorstep?¡± As swift as a hurricane, Divine Physician Ji flew out of his rocking chair and snatched the bank notes out of Zu An¡¯s hands. They were worth exactly 100 silver taels. ¡°You were a poor bloke earlier. How did you manage to strike it rich all of a sudden? Hm? And why do these banknotes look oddly familiar...¡±

    Zu An began sweating upon hearing those words. Is this man so obsessed with money that he can even recognize his own banknotes? Fearing Divine Physician Ji would discover that he had obtained these banknotes from Ji Xiaoxi, he quickly forged ahead. ¡°I¡¯ve already paid you the consultation fee. It¡¯s your turn to treat me.¡±

    Divine Physician Ji tucked the banknotes into his clothes. ¡°Fine then. Since you¡¯ve delivered the money right into my hands, I¡¯ll be gracious and help you take a look at it. Take off your pants!¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Zu An was stunned.

    ¡°What do you mean, ¡®Huh¡¯? How am I going to examine your condition if you don¡¯t take off your pants?¡± Divine Physician Ji shot Zu An a disdainful look. It¡¯s not as if you¡¯re a babe. Do you think that I¡¯m that interested in getting an eyeful of you?

    ¡°Weren¡¯t you able to diagnose my condition with a single look this morning?¡± Zu An found it hard to ept that he had to take off his pants in front of another guy.

    ¡°I could only tell that there¡¯s a seal nted on your body. If I don¡¯t take a closer look, how am I supposed to tell what kind of seal it is?¡± Divine Physician Ji grumbled. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to take it off, so be it.¡±

    ¡°Fine fine, I¡¯ll do it!¡± Zu An cried out tearfully. His future happiness was riding on this, so he had to put his pride aside for the time being. Considering how happy this middle-aged man had looked while browsing through his erotic magazine, it should be safe to assume that he didn¡¯t swing the other way.

    ¡°Oho, it looks quite delicate,¡± Divine Physician Ji remarked casually.

    ck streaks darkened Zu An¡¯s face. If not for the fact that I¡¯m no match for you, I¡¯d have surely pressed you down to the ground and pummeled you by now!

    Divine Physician Ji returned to his chair and said, ¡°You need not worry. You have been struck by the Great Yinyang Pulse Severing Palm, which has affected your development. As long as the seal on your body is removed, you¡¯ll revert back to normal.¡±

    Zu An was overjoyed. There¡¯s still hope! He quickly pulled up his pants and asked, ¡°What¡¯s this Great Yinyang Pulse Severing Palm? How do I get rid of the seal?¡±

    Divine Physician Ji replied, ¡°Based on what I know, it¡¯s a domineering sealing palm strike that has been passed down in the royal pce. As long as you raise your cultivation to the Master stage, you¡¯ll be able to tear through the seal with ease.¡±

    Zu An nearly spurted blood. Why was he working so hard if all he got in return was the same damned answer? ¡°I know that already. I wouldn¡¯t have bothered consulting you if I could reach Master stage that easily. Return me my money! It looks like your reputation as a divine physician is a mere exaggeration!¡±

    ¡°Heh. There are only a few Masters in the world. Even if you get lucky and reach that level, I reckon that you would have one foot in the grave by then. You wouldn¡¯t be able to put that thing to use anymore,¡± Divine Physician Ji mocked him gleefully. ¡°Forget it. Seeing how pitiful you are... I do have another way to treat you. However, it won¡¯t be easy.¡±

    ¡°What is this other way? No matter how hard it is, I¡¯ll definitely do it!¡± Zu An nearly sobbed in relief. Just as he thought he had reached a dead end, a new door had been thrown open right before him!

    ¡°Tsk. Given your capabilities, what can you possibly do?¡± Divine Physician Ji sneered in disdain. ¡°Forget it, I¡¯lle up with it myself. However, you have to do something for me first before I¡¯ll save you.¡±

    ¡°What? But I already paid you the treatment fee!¡± Zu An cried indignantly.

    ¡°What treatment fee? It¡¯s called consultation fee for a reason!¡± Divine Physician Ji red at Zu An coldly. ¡°What I¡¯m setting out now is the treatment fee! Have you never seen a physician before?¡±

    Zu An finally understood why this middle-aged man had so many patients hollering at his doorstep every day. However, this was not the time to be concerned with that. He asked instead, ¡°What do you need me to do?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have any hobbies in my life except to collect the dudous[1] of beautiful women...¡± Before Divine Physician Ji could finish, Zu An cut him off contemptuously with a raised middle finger. ¡°You¡¯re such a repulsive man.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t want to be treated anymore?¡± Divine Physician Ji sneered.

    Zu An bowed obsequiously. ¡°Esteemed physician, please continue speaking.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s more like it. If you can get the dudou of Cloudmidst Commandery¡¯s Yu Yanluo...¡± Divine Physician Ji quickly shook his head. ¡°Forget it, you¡¯ve probably never stepped out of Brightmoon City before, so how could you possibly cross paths with such a legendary figure? Let¡¯s see... The Chu n¡¯s matriarch, Qin Wanru, Brightmoon Academy¡¯s teacher, Shang Liuyu, or Immortal Abode¡¯s courtesan, Qiu Huolei... Well, if you can obtain the dudous of any single one of them, I¡¯ll ept it as the treatment fee.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes widened in horror. He hadn¡¯t heard of thest two before, but he did know Qin Wanru. He swallowed and said, ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid that the Brightmoon Duke could learn of your interest in his wife? He¡¯ll pin you to the floor and beat you up!¡±

    ¡°Who is he to me? Do I look like I¡¯m afraid of him?¡± Divine Physician Ji replied proudly.

    ¡°If you¡¯re that formidable, why don¡¯t you obtain their dudous yourself?¡± Zu An sneered.

    Divine Physician Ji cleared his throat before replying, ¡°I am, after all, a divine physician. I need to uphold my reputation! How could I do something as underhanded as that? Listen well! This matter should only be known between you and me. If anyone else were to find out about it, not only will I not admit to it, but I¡¯ll make sure that the town learns about your erectile dysfunction!¡±

    Zu An flew into a state of rage. ¡°Just who are you using of having a dysfunction!?¡±

    Divine Physician Ji stared tantly at Zu An¡¯s crotch and said, ¡°Why don¡¯t you try getting it up then?¡±

    ¡°Heh, it¡¯s not like you¡¯re some hotdy. I must be out of my mind to get it up for you!¡± Zu An hollered in anger.

    Divine Physician Ji wrapped his arm around Zu An¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°Alright, stop being so stubborn. Aplish what I ask of you, and I¡¯ll make sure you be a healthy man once more.¡±

    A myriad of emotions flickered across Zu An¡¯s face. He reluctantly acquiesced. ¡°Fine!¡±

    For his own happiness, he had to go all out!

    Zu An didn¡¯t know how he left the Ji Residence. His mind was sopletely preupied with his newly-assigned hell-level mission that he even forgot to bid Ji Xiaoxi farewell.

    He hadn¡¯t heard of Shang Liuyu and Qin Huolei, but Qin Wanru... Gah...

    Recalling the earlier incident in the ancestral hall, he cursed Ji Dengtu¡¯s horrible tastes. Qin Wanru was admittedly beautiful, but her temper was the worst.

    On top of that, Qin Wanru was his mother-inw. If he were to be caught stealing her dudou... setting aside Chu Zhongtian, even Chu Chuyan would skin him alive!

    Just imagining the terrifying sight was enough to make him instantly dispel that possibility.

    That left Yu Yanluo. It was a huge coincidence that he had saved her not too long ago. That being said, if he were to knock on her door and ask for her undergarment, wouldn¡¯t he be thrown out of her residence right away?

    Damn it, that perverted old man! Why the hell did hee up with such dastardly terms?

    Shortly after Zu An had left, Ji Xiaoxi finally finished treating all of her patients and rushed back into the residence. However, only her father remained. ¡°Where is he?¡±

    ¡°Who?¡± Divine Physician Ji asked.

    ¡°Zu An. He didn¡¯te in?¡± Ji Xiaoxi asked worriedly.

    ¡°Ah, that fellow. I have already sent him off.¡± Divine Physician Ji eyed his daughter suspiciously. ¡°You know him?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I met him on the road. He helped me,¡± Ji Xiaoxi replied.

    A furrow formed on Divine Physician Ji¡¯s forehead. ¡°Stay away from him in the future. There¡¯s no such thing as a good man in the world. I know just what kind of dirty thoughts are running through his head.¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s face reddened. ¡°He isn¡¯t like any other men.¡±

    Divine Physician Ji chuckled. ¡°Heh, he¡¯s indeed different from other men. I guess that¡¯s all right. You have nothing to lose hanging out with him.¡±

    From her father¡¯s words, Ji Xiaoxi surmised that Zu An had already been diagnosed. She asked anxiously, ¡°Can he be treated?¡±

    ¡°Of course! Who do you think your father is?¡± Divine Physician Ji said smugly as he stroked his beard. ¡°However, his condition is a little troublesome. I¡¯ll need to spend some time thinking about it.¡±

    A smile blossomed on Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s lips. ¡°Yes, I believe in father¡¯s capabilities. Ah, speaking of which, I managed to procure some Assrip Wolf goubaos. Weren¡¯t you looking for them as ingredients for your medical concoction?¡±

    Divine Physician Ji was taken aback. He hurried to check on the goods, and saw that there were indeed Assrip Wolf goubaos. His face turned into a mask of fury. ¡°You went to the Wolf Valley? What if something happened to you? You shouldn¡¯t put yourself at risk for something like this!¡±

    He had given something to his daughter to repel wild beasts, but if she provoked and killed an Assrip Wolf, the rest of the pack wouldn¡¯t have turned a blind eye. She could have exposed herself to great danger!

    Ji Xiaoxi replied with a sweet smile, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I didn¡¯t hunt those Assrip Wolves. I bought them from someone else.¡±

    Divine Physician Ji heaved a sigh of relief. Then something tickled his curiosity. ¡°Who¡¯s so capable as to be able to gather so many goubaos?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s big brother Zu who came in earlier. He didn¡¯t tell you?¡± Ji Xiaoxi asked in confusion.

    ¡°You bought them from Zu An?¡± Divine Physician Ji swiftly sensed amiss. He hurriedly took out the notes he had just received as he asked, ¡°How much did he sell them for?¡±

    ¡°A-around 12 silver taels each,¡± Ji Xiaoxi stammered out.

    ¡°Goddamnit! That brat actually sold it to you at such a high price?¡± The banknotes in his hand seemed to beughing at him. How did a hawk like himself end up getting done in by a mere worm?!

    ¡°Actually, it isn¡¯t that expensive. This stuff can¡¯t be easily bought in the market after all,¡± Ji Xiaoxi replied, her face and hands flushed with embarrassment. She was d that she had mentioned a slightly lower price. Her father would never have forgiven big brother Zu otherwise.

    ¡°How did I give birth to such a dumbss!¡± Divine Physician Ji cried out as he shambled back to his room. That naive look on his daughter''s face was enough to exasperate him!

    1. A dudou is the undergarment worn by women in the past era.

 Chapter 28: Dumb Lass

    <h4>Chapter 28: Dumb Lass</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Big brother Zu, you should head in and look for my father first. Tell him that you¡¯re my friend. I¡¯ll join you once I¡¯m done treating the patients here,¡± Ji Xiaoxi told Zu An apologetically as she attended to the crowd gathered before her.

    ¡°Sure.¡± Zu An had nned to do that anyway. If he let Ji Xiaoxi and Divine Physician Jipare notes on him, the lies he had spun would quickly unravel.

    The entrance to the Ji residence was left empty, as the mass of patients that had blocked it earlier were now crowded around Ji Xiaoxi. The rocking chair out front was empty as well. Clearly, Divine Physician Ji had retired into his residence.

    Zu An stated the reason for his visit, and a servant quickly led him into a courtyard. Gesturing toward one of the rooms, the servant said, ¡°The old master is in there. You may enter alone.¡±

    Divine Physician Ji considered the areas where he brewed medicine as sensitive areas, and prohibited servants like them from entering them. As for the threat of outsiders possibly harming Divine Physician Ji, that worry was for naught. There was no one in Brightmoon City who would dare to mess around here.

    Zu An pushed the door open and entered the room. He heard crudeughtering from within, and his expression twisted oddly. After a few more steps, he noticed that Divine Physician Ji was not brewing medicine. Instead, hey on a chair, browsing through a suspicious-looking book. It was probably that erotic book that he¡¯d been bribed with earlier in the morning.

    The divine physician¡¯s perverted expression and gooseflesh-inducing cackles made Zu An wonder how this vulgar middle-aged man had produced a daughter as sweet as Ji Xiaoxi.

    ¡°Hm? You returned earlier than I thought. Did you manage to gather all of the goubaos?¡± Divine Physician Ji¡¯s eyes didn¡¯t leave the book for even a moment, but he was still able to urately identify Zu An.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t bring any goubaos with me,¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°Tsk. What are you doing here then? Scram, scram, scram, don¡¯t interrupt me while I¡¯m reading my book.¡± Divine Physician Ji shook a leg leisurely as he impatiently waved Zu An away.

    Zu An took out a stack of banknotes and waved them around. ¡°While I don¡¯t have any goubaos, I do have money with me. Do you want it?¡±

    ¡°Heh, why should I decline money that¡¯s delivered to my doorstep?¡± As swift as a hurricane, Divine Physician Ji flew out of his rocking chair and snatched the bank notes out of Zu An¡¯s hands. They were worth exactly 100 silver taels. ¡°You were a poor bloke earlier. How did you manage to strike it rich all of a sudden? Hm? And why do these banknotes look oddly familiar...¡±

    Zu An began sweating upon hearing those words. Is this man so obsessed with money that he can even recognize his own banknotes? Fearing Divine Physician Ji would discover that he had obtained these banknotes from Ji Xiaoxi, he quickly forged ahead. ¡°I¡¯ve already paid you the consultation fee. It¡¯s your turn to treat me.¡±

    Divine Physician Ji tucked the banknotes into his clothes. ¡°Fine then. Since you¡¯ve delivered the money right into my hands, I¡¯ll be gracious and help you take a look at it. Take off your pants!¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Zu An was stunned.

    ¡°What do you mean, ¡®Huh¡¯? How am I going to examine your condition if you don¡¯t take off your pants?¡± Divine Physician Ji shot Zu An a disdainful look. It¡¯s not as if you¡¯re a babe. Do you think that I¡¯m that interested in getting an eyeful of you?

    ¡°Weren¡¯t you able to diagnose my condition with a single look this morning?¡± Zu An found it hard to ept that he had to take off his pants in front of another guy.

    ¡°I could only tell that there¡¯s a seal nted on your body. If I don¡¯t take a closer look, how am I supposed to tell what kind of seal it is?¡± Divine Physician Ji grumbled. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to take it off, so be it.¡±

    ¡°Fine fine, I¡¯ll do it!¡± Zu An cried out tearfully. His future happiness was riding on this, so he had to put his pride aside for the time being. Considering how happy this middle-aged man had looked while browsing through his erotic magazine, it should be safe to assume that he didn¡¯t swing the other way.

    ¡°Oho, it looks quite delicate,¡± Divine Physician Ji remarked casually.

    ck streaks darkened Zu An¡¯s face. If not for the fact that I¡¯m no match for you, I¡¯d have surely pressed you down to the ground and pummeled you by now!

    Divine Physician Ji returned to his chair and said, ¡°You need not worry. You have been struck by the Great Yinyang Pulse Severing Palm, which has affected your development. As long as the seal on your body is removed, you¡¯ll revert back to normal.¡±

    Zu An was overjoyed. There¡¯s still hope! He quickly pulled up his pants and asked, ¡°What¡¯s this Great Yinyang Pulse Severing Palm? How do I get rid of the seal?¡±

    Divine Physician Ji replied, ¡°Based on what I know, it¡¯s a domineering sealing palm strike that has been passed down in the royal pce. As long as you raise your cultivation to the Master stage, you¡¯ll be able to tear through the seal with ease.¡±

    Zu An nearly spurted blood. Why was he working so hard if all he got in return was the same damned answer? ¡°I know that already. I wouldn¡¯t have bothered consulting you if I could reach Master stage that easily. Return me my money! It looks like your reputation as a divine physician is a mere exaggeration!¡±

    ¡°Heh. There are only a few Masters in the world. Even if you get lucky and reach that level, I reckon that you would have one foot in the grave by then. You wouldn¡¯t be able to put that thing to use anymore,¡± Divine Physician Ji mocked him gleefully. ¡°Forget it. Seeing how pitiful you are... I do have another way to treat you. However, it won¡¯t be easy.¡±

    ¡°What is this other way? No matter how hard it is, I¡¯ll definitely do it!¡± Zu An nearly sobbed in relief. Just as he thought he had reached a dead end, a new door had been thrown open right before him!

    ¡°Tsk. Given your capabilities, what can you possibly do?¡± Divine Physician Ji sneered in disdain. ¡°Forget it, I¡¯lle up with it myself. However, you have to do something for me first before I¡¯ll save you.¡±

    ¡°What? But I already paid you the treatment fee!¡± Zu An cried indignantly.

    ¡°What treatment fee? It¡¯s called consultation fee for a reason!¡± Divine Physician Ji red at Zu An coldly. ¡°What I¡¯m setting out now is the treatment fee! Have you never seen a physician before?¡±

    Zu An finally understood why this middle-aged man had so many patients hollering at his doorstep every day. However, this was not the time to be concerned with that. He asked instead, ¡°What do you need me to do?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have any hobbies in my life except to collect the dudous[1] of beautiful women...¡± Before Divine Physician Ji could finish, Zu An cut him off contemptuously with a raised middle finger. ¡°You¡¯re such a repulsive man.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t want to be treated anymore?¡± Divine Physician Ji sneered.

    Zu An bowed obsequiously. ¡°Esteemed physician, please continue speaking.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s more like it. If you can get the dudou of Cloudmidst Commandery¡¯s Yu Yanluo...¡± Divine Physician Ji quickly shook his head. ¡°Forget it, you¡¯ve probably never stepped out of Brightmoon City before, so how could you possibly cross paths with such a legendary figure? Let¡¯s see... The Chu n¡¯s matriarch, Qin Wanru, Brightmoon Academy¡¯s teacher, Shang Liuyu, or Immortal Abode¡¯s courtesan, Qiu Huolei... Well, if you can obtain the dudous of any single one of them, I¡¯ll ept it as the treatment fee.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes widened in horror. He hadn¡¯t heard of thest two before, but he did know Qin Wanru. He swallowed and said, ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid that the Brightmoon Duke could learn of your interest in his wife? He¡¯ll pin you to the floor and beat you up!¡±

    ¡°Who is he to me? Do I look like I¡¯m afraid of him?¡± Divine Physician Ji replied proudly.

    ¡°If you¡¯re that formidable, why don¡¯t you obtain their dudous yourself?¡± Zu An sneered.

    Divine Physician Ji cleared his throat before replying, ¡°I am, after all, a divine physician. I need to uphold my reputation! How could I do something as underhanded as that? Listen well! This matter should only be known between you and me. If anyone else were to find out about it, not only will I not admit to it, but I¡¯ll make sure that the town learns about your erectile dysfunction!¡±

    Zu An flew into a state of rage. ¡°Just who are you using of having a dysfunction!?¡±

    Divine Physician Ji stared tantly at Zu An¡¯s crotch and said, ¡°Why don¡¯t you try getting it up then?¡±

    ¡°Heh, it¡¯s not like you¡¯re some hotdy. I must be out of my mind to get it up for you!¡± Zu An hollered in anger.

    Divine Physician Ji wrapped his arm around Zu An¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°Alright, stop being so stubborn. Aplish what I ask of you, and I¡¯ll make sure you be a healthy man once more.¡±

    A myriad of emotions flickered across Zu An¡¯s face. He reluctantly acquiesced. ¡°Fine!¡±

    For his own happiness, he had to go all out!

    Zu An didn¡¯t know how he left the Ji Residence. His mind was sopletely preupied with his newly-assigned hell-level mission that he even forgot to bid Ji Xiaoxi farewell.

    He hadn¡¯t heard of Shang Liuyu and Qin Huolei, but Qin Wanru... Gah...

    Recalling the earlier incident in the ancestral hall, he cursed Ji Dengtu¡¯s horrible tastes. Qin Wanru was admittedly beautiful, but her temper was the worst.

    On top of that, Qin Wanru was his mother-inw. If he were to be caught stealing her dudou... setting aside Chu Zhongtian, even Chu Chuyan would skin him alive!

    Just imagining the terrifying sight was enough to make him instantly dispel that possibility.

    That left Yu Yanluo. It was a huge coincidence that he had saved her not too long ago. That being said, if he were to knock on her door and ask for her undergarment, wouldn¡¯t he be thrown out of her residence right away?

    Damn it, that perverted old man! Why the hell did hee up with such dastardly terms?

    Shortly after Zu An had left, Ji Xiaoxi finally finished treating all of her patients and rushed back into the residence. However, only her father remained. ¡°Where is he?¡±

    ¡°Who?¡± Divine Physician Ji asked.

    ¡°Zu An. He didn¡¯te in?¡± Ji Xiaoxi asked worriedly.

    ¡°Ah, that fellow. I have already sent him off.¡± Divine Physician Ji eyed his daughter suspiciously. ¡°You know him?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I met him on the road. He helped me,¡± Ji Xiaoxi replied.

    A furrow formed on Divine Physician Ji¡¯s forehead. ¡°Stay away from him in the future. There¡¯s no such thing as a good man in the world. I know just what kind of dirty thoughts are running through his head.¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s face reddened. ¡°He isn¡¯t like any other men.¡±

    Divine Physician Ji chuckled. ¡°Heh, he¡¯s indeed different from other men. I guess that¡¯s all right. You have nothing to lose hanging out with him.¡±

    From her father¡¯s words, Ji Xiaoxi surmised that Zu An had already been diagnosed. She asked anxiously, ¡°Can he be treated?¡±

    ¡°Of course! Who do you think your father is?¡± Divine Physician Ji said smugly as he stroked his beard. ¡°However, his condition is a little troublesome. I¡¯ll need to spend some time thinking about it.¡±

    A smile blossomed on Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s lips. ¡°Yes, I believe in father¡¯s capabilities. Ah, speaking of which, I managed to procure some Assrip Wolf goubaos. Weren¡¯t you looking for them as ingredients for your medical concoction?¡±

    Divine Physician Ji was taken aback. He hurried to check on the goods, and saw that there were indeed Assrip Wolf goubaos. His face turned into a mask of fury. ¡°You went to the Wolf Valley? What if something happened to you? You shouldn¡¯t put yourself at risk for something like this!¡±

    He had given something to his daughter to repel wild beasts, but if she provoked and killed an Assrip Wolf, the rest of the pack wouldn¡¯t have turned a blind eye. She could have exposed herself to great danger!

    Ji Xiaoxi replied with a sweet smile, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I didn¡¯t hunt those Assrip Wolves. I bought them from someone else.¡±

    Divine Physician Ji heaved a sigh of relief. Then something tickled his curiosity. ¡°Who¡¯s so capable as to be able to gather so many goubaos?¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°It¡¯s big brother Zu who came in earlier. He didn¡¯t tell you?¡± Ji Xiaoxi asked in confusion.

    ¡°You bought them from Zu An?¡± Divine Physician Ji swiftly sensed amiss. He hurriedly took out the notes he had just received as he asked, ¡°How much did he sell them for?¡±

    ¡°A-around 12 silver taels each,¡± Ji Xiaoxi stammered out.

    ¡°Goddamnit! That brat actually sold it to you at such a high price?¡± The banknotes in his hand seemed to beughing at him. How did a hawk like himself end up getting done in by a mere worm?!

    ¡°Actually, it isn¡¯t that expensive. This stuff can¡¯t be easily bought in the market after all,¡± Ji Xiaoxi replied, her face and hands flushed with embarrassment. She was d that she had mentioned a slightly lower price. Her father would never have forgiven big brother Zu otherwise.

    ¡°How did I give birth to such a dumbss!¡± Divine Physician Ji cried out as he shambled back to his room. That naive look on his daughter''s face was enough to exasperate him!

    1. A dudou is the undergarment worn by women in the past era.

 Chapter 29: Little Aunt And Her Close Friend

    <h4>Chapter 29: Little Aunt And Her Close Friend</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Ji Xiaoxi stuck out her tongue in response. As she did so, she spied the book on the chair. Out of curiosity, she picked it up and leafed through it. Just seeing the contents of a single page was more than enough to turn her face red as an apple. She ran up to her father, shouting, ¡°Father, how can you read this sort of improper stuff? If my little aunt were to see it, she¡¯ll start arguing with you again!¡±

    It was then that Ji Dengtu remembered that he had left his stuff behind. He quickly snatched the book out of Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s hands and scoffed, ¡°Hmph! I have already parted with your mother a long time ago; your little aunt can¡¯t do anything to me!¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi stomped her foot angrily. ¡°It¡¯s because you always act in such a manner that little aunt doesn¡¯te here anymore.¡±

    ¡°Pui! Who wants her toe? You don¡¯t know just how carefree I am these days!¡± Ji Dengtu waved his hands impatiently, dismissing the matter. ¡°You should sleep early tonight. You¡¯ll be returning to the academy tomorrow. Let¡¯s see how you¡¯re going toin to your little aunt then!¡±

    Ji Dengtu rushed back to his room and closed the door to seek refuge.

    Zu An had just gotten back to the Chu n estate when he suddenly received a notification.

    You have sessfully trolled Ji Dengtu for 345 Rage points!

    Zu An giggled like a small child. It seemed Divine Physician Ji had finally found out who had sold the goubaos to Ji Xiaoxi. To be honest, he did feel a twinge of guilt for scamming that kind young woman.

    Back in his room, Zu An fetched himself a bowl of water and washed his face and hands, performing the customary ritual before trying his hand at the lottery. He was interrupted by the sudden entrance of an old man. This old man was dressed tidily; there wasn¡¯t the slightest crease to be seen in his clothes. His white hair wasbed neatly in ce, reflecting his strict character.

    Zu An was startled by his presence. He vaguely remembered this man as the Chu n¡¯s butler, Hong Zhong. He was a loyal and responsible man who was deeply trusted by the patriarch of the Chu n.

    ¡°Is there something up?¡± Zu An asked.

    Hong Zhong studied Zu An beforeying out the reason for his sudden appearance. ¡°By the instructions of the Master, you¡¯re to head to the academy once you have fully recovered from your injuries. Shouping will lead you there tomorrow morning, so I¡¯ll have to ask young master to make the necessary preparations.¡±

    Zu An was dismayed. ¡°But I haven¡¯t recovered from my injuries yet. Aiyoo, it hurts...¡± You must be kidding me! I still have plenty of things to do! How can I waste my time on studies?

    Hong Zhong carried on nonchntly, ¡°Young master, you need not put on an act. An injured person wouldn¡¯t head out to y for an entire day. This matter isn¡¯t up for discussion. Someone will be escorting you to the academy tomorrow morning.¡±

    Zu An was surprised at how well-informed the old man was. It was then that he noticed Cheng Shouping standing behind the butler, eyes darting about furtively, not daring to meet him in the eye. His rage red up, as intense as a forge fire. That fellow promised he would keep it a secret, yet he sold me out in less than a day!

    Hong Zhong instructed Zu An in a few more matters and departed, leaving Zu An and Cheng Shouping to stare at one another.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you keep secrets like a cork in a bottle?¡± Zu An clenched his fists so tightly together that his knuckles creaked.

    Cheng Shouping rushed to his side and began massaging his back. With a fawning smile, he exined, ¡°The butler dropped by to check on young master¡¯s injuries, but young master wasn¡¯t around. He caught me and started grilling me. What could I have done? I didn¡¯t intend for things to end like this either.¡±

    Zu An scoffed coldly, ¡°But what did you promise me before?¡±

    Cheng Shouping was quick to defend himself ¡°Young master, I didn¡¯t say a single word about you heading to Divine Physician Ji¡¯s ce to check on your injuries. No matter how he threatened or bribed me, I didn¡¯t give in at all!¡±

    Zu An was so furious that he almostughed out loud. ¡°So, I should be thanking you instead, huh?¡±

    ¡°Ahahaha, you don¡¯t need to go that far.¡± Cheng Shouping replied as he fiddled with his fingers shyly. ¡°However, if you really want to reward me, I¡¯m not against it either...¡±

    Zu An pped Cheng Shouping on the back of his head. ¡°You really think that I¡¯mplimenting you?!¡±

    Cheng Shouping quickly steadied the two buns on his head to prevent them from copsing. Full of indignance, heined, ¡°Young master, can you not hit my head? Like I told you before, this hairdo is incredibly difficult to make.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t talk to me in that tone!¡± Zu An shivered in disgust. ¡°Ah right, where did my wife go?¡± I¡¯ve been out for an entire day now. I wonder if thatss misses me or not.

    ¡°What wife?¡± Cheng Shouping blinked his eyes in confusion.

    Zu An felt like kicking him.

    A moment passed, and Cheng Shouping¡¯s eyes widened in realization. ¡°Ah! You¡¯re referring to the First Miss! She went out with the young miss of the Pei n earlier in the morning. When she returned, she received news that a problem had cropped up with the family business, so she headed out to settle it. The First Miss has been working really hard recently. She supports half of the Chu n¡¯s businesses by herself, and there are so many things that require her attention. It would have been so much easier if she were a man.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An¡¯s face darkened. ¡°Are you asking for a beating? If she were a guy, what would I be here for?¡±

    ¡°Young master, that¡¯s not what I mean,¡± Cheng Shouping protested as he humbly poured a cup of tea for Zu An to apologize for his mistakes.

    The urge to pummel Cheng Shouping remained within Zu An. He finally understood why he¡¯d been demoted from serving as Chu Zhongtian¡¯s attendant to working in the kitchens. ¡°Ah right, what¡¯s with Miss Pei?¡±

    He still remembered how that woman nearly caused his death back at the ancestral hall with just a few words, but for some reason, he found it hard to hate her. It was not that he was forgiving, but her chest was simply too big!

    ¡°Ohhh~ Young master, you¡¯re such a naughty person. Are you lusting over the First Miss¡¯ friend?¡± Cheng Shouping favored Zu An with a knowing look as he intentionally stretched his voice out suggestively. ¡°Well, Miss Pei is indeed very attractive. There were no men in our estate who could keep their eyes off her when she visited earlier on. Young master, I¡¯m rooting for you!¡±

    Zu An was beyond exasperated. ¡°It¡¯s really a miracle that the Chu n didn¡¯t send you to the royal pce to serve as a eunuch.¡±

    Cheng Shouping¡¯s smile turned into a sickly grin. ¡°Young master, don¡¯t scare me!¡±

    Zu An couldn''t be bothered to waste his breath on him. ¡°Who asked you whether she¡¯s good-looking or not? What I want is information on her!¡±

    ¡°ording to rumors, Miss Pei appears to be from Eastriver¡¯s Pei n. That¡¯s a massive n with over a thousand years of heritage behind them, boasting a history even longer than our Chu n. She¡¯s on good terms with our First Miss, and it seems like she¡¯s here to study in Brightmoon Academy,¡± Cheng Shouping offered.

    Zu An was intrigued. ¡°She¡¯s here to study too?¡± The private academy of the Chu n actually epted outsiders as well? He supposed that, considering her close ties with Chu Chuyan, it was not all that surprising.

    ¡°Of course! Our Brightmoon Academy is renowned far and wide. Those from the othermanderies oftene here in hopes of pursuing an education there!¡± Cheng Shouping said proudly.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t understand why Cheng Shouping was feeling so proud about an academy he wasn¡¯t even involved with, but he was rather surprised at the fame of the Brightmoon Academy. It seemed like his father-inw was quite a prideful man.

    However, this wasn¡¯t important right now. He had to focus his attention onpleting the task assigned to him by Divine Physician Ji first!

    Damn it, that Ji Dengtu is really a bloody pervert!

    Zu An cursed him once more in his heart before he inquired, ¡°Do you know Yu Yanluo?¡±

    ¡°Yu Yanluo?¡± Cheng Shouping¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Of course! She used to be the number one beauty in the capital back in those years! You don¡¯t know how many men view her as their dream lover!¡±

    ¡°For a studypanion, you know far too much...¡± Zu An eyed Cheng Shouping doubtfully.

    Cheng Shouping looked around suspiciously before leaning closer to Zu An. ¡°Young master, let me tell you a secret that you mustn¡¯t tell anyone. Master used to be one of Yu Yanluo¡¯s pursuers, but he failed in the end.¡±

    Zu An was floored by this revtion. He didn¡¯t think that there would be such a rtionship between Yu Yanluo and Chu Zhongtian. That beautiful woman he¡¯d met in the valley earlier hadn¡¯t looked very old. Yet, she belonged to the same generation as Chu Zhongtian?

    ¡°Madam flies into rage every time this matter is mentioned. Master nearly had his ears torn off on several asions!¡± Cheng Shouping covered his mouth with both hands to muffle his giggling.

    Zu An rolled his eyes. His theory had been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt. His father-inw had shown great mercy in banishing Cheng Shouping to the kitchens. It was no wonder why this fellow was eventually assigned as his studypanion. With such loose lips, there was no one in the estate who could possibly tolerate him!

    ¡°Young master, you¡¯re the only one that I¡¯ve told this matter to. You mustn¡¯t tell anyone else about this!¡± Cheng Shouping repeated his warning.

    Zu An sneered coldly upon hearing these words. He was willing to bet five copper coins that this wasmon knowledge throughout the whole estate.

    ¡°Where does Yu Yanluo stay in Brightmoon City?¡± Zu An asked. He had to find an opportunity to visit her. Even if it wasn¡¯t for Ji Dengtu¡¯s task, he should at least im hispensation for saving her.

    ¡°She doesn¡¯t stay in Brightmoon City,¡± Cheng Shouping replied, perplexed. ¡°She married the Cloudmidst Duke, so she should be staying at the Cloudmidst Commandery.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Zu An couldn¡¯t believe what he¡¯d just heard. Is this a scam? Have I been given an empty check?

    ¡°However, their n deals in ki stones, and they have branches in all of the major cities. They have one in Brightmoon City too. Perhaps, she mighte by for an inspection one of these days,¡± Cheng Shouping added.

    Zu An let go of the breath he was holding. If he was right, Yu Yanluo should be staying in Brightmoon City for the next few days, which meant that he had some time to collect his money.

    He asked a few more questions before sending Cheng Shouping away.

    After verifying that no one else was around, he summoned his Keyboard and checked his Rage points bnce. He¡¯d had 3000 Rage points left over after drawing all the Marrow Cleansing Pills thest time. Following that, he¡¯d earned quite a bit from the Yu n guards and the ckwind Stockade. All in all...

    Current Rage Points: 22269.

    Woah, I have struck it rich!

    Feeling like a tycoon, Zu An immediately began drawing the lottery.

    As expected, the first one was ¡®Thanks for ying!¡¯.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, I have money!¡± Zu An thought little of it and continued drawing the lottery.

    Thanks for ying... Thanks for ying...

    It wasn¡¯t until the thirteenth attempt that the light finally stopped on the ¡®4¡¯ key.

    Zu An heaved a sigh of relief. He reminded himself that this was the reward for patience and perseverance.

    Noticing that the light marker had stopped on a new key, he took a closer look. In front of him was a fruit that glowed golden from its core.

    The Keyboard provided a sparse exnation: Ki Fruit. It raises the ki capacity of a cultivator.

    Zu An¡¯s great experience with games in his previous life granted him instant insight into the purpose of this fruit. It was a basic experience-boosting consumable.

    Such good stuff ought to go into his stomach right away, so that his mind could rest in peace. Zu An immediately took it out and bit into it. Unexpectedly, there was no stter of juice. Instead, the fruit seemed to melt as soon as it entered his mouth, and a stream of ki swiftly suffused his body. This stream of ki appeared to be drawn in by some unknown force and surged straight toward the fourth formation under his skin.

    The fourth formation was muchrger than the previous three. Even after the stream of ki had been fully assimted into the formation, it was only a third of the way full.

    ¡°Just this much?¡± Zu An was dissatisfied with the results. Despite sounding so formidable, its effects were still inferior to the whipping he¡¯d received.

    He couldn¡¯t help his frustration. It can¡¯t be that the only way to raise my cultivation level is to be whipped, right? That would be so wrong!

 Chapter 30: Hellhole

    <h4>Chapter 30: Hellhole</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An¡¯s dissatisfaction with the Ki Fruit¡¯s effects stemmed from his poor knowledge of cultivation. In this world, ordinary cultivators took months or even years to raise their cultivation by a single step. Even Plum Blossom Twelve had trained diligently for over two decades in order to reach the level he was at, only for Zu An to catch up to him overnight.

    The rate at which Zu An was growing his cultivation would have astounded anyone in the world.

    On top of that, the Phoenix Nirvana Scroll, which had activated the Keyboard, was no ordinary artifact. It offered the cultivator the unconventional method of raising his cultivation through suffering harm, and its effects far surpassed that of most cultivation techniques. Zu An had no realistic reference point for levelling cultivation, and thus he was less than impressed by the Ki Fruit¡¯s amazing effects.

    Zu An continued drawing the lottery, and obtained yet another Ki Fruit. In the end, he¡¯d used his 22,200 Rage points to draw a total of 16 Ki Fruits.

    ¡°Is this the only thing I can draw from now onwards?¡± Zu An muttered in disdain. Doing a quick calction, he¡¯d obtained a Ki Fruit roughly every 14 draws.

    He wondered if the chances of obtaining a prize were 1-in-10 or 1-in-20. If it was the former, he was really darned unlucky. If it was thetter, it seemed like his luck was still decent.

    Considering how handsome I am, it must be thetter!

    Zu An swallowed the Ki Fruits one after another. It took a total of three Ki Fruits to fill up the fourth formation, five Ki Fruits to fill the fifth formation, and eight Ki Fruits toplete the sixth formation. That exhausted his store of Ki Fruits.

    Zu An noticed the number of Ki Fruits needed to fill up his formations looked oddly familiar to him. Wait a moment, isn¡¯t this the Fiboni sequence?

    As a qualified keyboard warrior, he had to be familiar with all sorts ofplicated-sounding terms, so that he could appear to possess superior intellect as he prowled the inte forums. He was aware that many phenomena in the natural world obeyed the Fiboni sequence¡ªthe arrangements of cones, pineapples, tree leaves, the number of petals on a sunflower, the construction of beehives, the patterns on the wings of a dragonfly, the golden rectangle, the golden ratio, and so on.

    However, he didn¡¯t expect these rune formations of his to obey the golden ratio too. Was the Fiboni sequence actually some hidden rule of the universe?

    Zu An took no delight in his discovery. He knew that the numbers in the Fiboni sequence grew exponentially bigger as the sequence progressed. That meant the amount of Ki Fruits he would need in theter stages could reach astronomical figures.

    He was grateful for the Marrow Cleansing Pills he¡¯d consumed earlier, which helped increase his talent. If he¡¯d had to rely solely on Ki Fruits, he would be doomed!

    After a quick calction, he determined that the rate at which his cultivation had grown when struck by the Wailing Whip was faster than the rate of growth via the consumption of Ki Fruits. This was despite his talent only being at the lower Ding ss back then! In the end, it seemed that getting beaten up was a much more reliable method.

    Then again, he couldn¡¯t possibly go looking for women to beat him up every day, right?

    Heaving a deep sigh, Zu An reached for a cup of water to drink. Unexpectedly, the cup shattered as he grabbed it. He stared nkly for a moment, then realized that this was a result of the sudden increase in his strength.

    Out of curiosity, he conducted a few more experiments to test out his strength. This helped him to gradually limate to the changes in his body.

    When he was at the third step of the second rank, his strength had been roughly equivalent to that of 4 adult men. Now that he was at the sixth step of the second rank, his strength wasparable to that of twenty adult men.

    This sparked a thought in his mind. He took out a paper and scribbled out some rough calctions. When he finally put down his brush once more, he wore a troubled expression. It really obeys the Fiboni sequence. If I sum up all of the numbers in the sequence up to this point, it equals twenty.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± A sinister voice came from the doorway.

    Zu An lifted his gaze and saw Old Mi standing at the entrance to his room. His skin still looked like the withered peel of an orange, and he was so thin that it seemed he would be blown away by the slightest gust of wind.

    ¡°You¡¯re here.¡± Despite his outward appearance, Zu An dared not to look down on him. His instincts screamed that this enigmatic old man was a dangerous person to mess with.

    Hm? Why would I think that he¡¯s dangerous? Is it because he looks ugly?

    Zu An didn¡¯t voice those thoughts aloud. Even a keyboard warrior had to prioritize his survival over earning Rage points.

    ¡°Hmm, you seem to have grown stronger,¡± Old Mi eyed him with astonishment. He¡¯s been able to make another breakthrough so swiftly. It seems like the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra is indeed formidable.

    ¡°I fought with a few people when I went out earlier in the day,¡± Zu An replied, trying his best to look honest.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Try striking me once.¡± Old Mi had no reason to doubt Zu An, mostly because he assumed Zu An possessed no other means to raise his cultivation.

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare to.¡± While Old Mi was likely an expert, Zu An was hesitant to hit such a frail-looking old man. It would be horrible if something were to go wrong.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to worry, just use your full might against me. You aren¡¯t able to hurt me yet,¡± Old Mi said.

    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll strike you then.¡± Zu An¡¯s thoughts echoed Old Mi¡¯s sentiments. He gathered his strength and hurled a punch towards Old Mi¡¯s chest.

    Instead of his full strength, he exerted just a third of his might. As a keyboard warrior, it is unbing to reveal all of my cards. Hiding behind a veil of anonymity... Pui pui pui! I mean, surviving till the very end is the most important thing of all!

    Besides, this was a good chance to test out another one of his theories.

    Old Mi raised a shaky hand, but blocked Zu An¡¯s strike without any trouble. ¡°Not bad, not bad. You have already reached the fourth step of the second rank.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Zu An eximed in astonishment. Just as I thought, it¡¯s very difficult for others to tell my cultivation level with the naked eye. It¡¯s the same as thest time. He was only able to discern my cultivation after seeing my punch.

    That being said, it was still possible for a stronger cultivator to tell roughly what rank a weaker cultivator was at.

    ¡°Given your rate of cultivation, it¡¯s not entirely impossible for you to reach the Master stage in the future.¡± Old Mi¡¯s eyes were filled with delight. He had thought that Zu An was untalented, but who could have predicted he was actually a healthy bud? It shouldn¡¯t take long before he was ready to be possessed.

    Old Mi chuckled to himself. ¡°I heard that you¡¯re heading to Brightmoon Academy tomorrow?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Zu An replied with a constipated look. There were bound to be plenty of cousins and rtives from the side branches of the Chu n there as well. His identity as the Chu n¡¯s son-inw was likely to invite a great deal of trouble. At least, that was how the plot usually developed in novels.

    Foremost in his mind was not the trouble that he might encounter, but the amount of time he would be wasting. There were too many things he needed to aplish right now.

    ¡°Once you arrive at the academy, look for a child named Wei Hongde. No matter how you go about doing it, make sure to build a good rtionship with him. It¡¯ll be best if you can be his friend,¡± Old Mi said slowly.

    ¡°Wei Hongde?¡± Zu An repeated the name. ¡°Who is that? Is he your cousin? What¡¯s the reason behind getting close to him?¡±

    ¡°You need not bother about that. Remember, make sure not to reveal my identity to anyone else,¡± Old Mi replied with a smile. It looked unnaturally eerie, embedded in his withered face. ¡°I imparted a secret art to you, so it isn¡¯t too much of me to ask something like that of you, right?¡±

    ¡°Of course not! Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll definitely do my best to get close to him!¡± Zu An smiled his most earnest smile. On the inside, however, he was curious as to how an outsider came to be enrolled in the Chu n¡¯s private academy. Could he be a drafted son-inw, just like me?

    ¡°Alright, you should rest well.¡± Old Mi patted his shoulder before tottering away.

    After sending Old Mi off, Zu An retired for the night andy down on his bed. He tried formting a n to obtain Yu Yanluo¡¯s dudou, and racked his brain to the point where a bald spot threatened to appear on his head. However he was unable toe up with anything feasible. He gradually drifted off to sleep, muttering curses at Divine Physician Ji.

    The following morning, Cheng Shouping woke him, bringing his breakfast.

    Seeing how his meal had been brought to him, Zu An felt his annoyance at Cheng Shouping lessen. It was nice to have a studypanion attending to his every need.

    After finishing his meal, he dragged Cheng Shouping off to Brightmoon Academy with him. Since it was an order from his father-inw, he had no choice but to follow it. He would just have to find a chance to sneak outter on.

    ¡°Hm? Why are we leaving the Chu Estate?¡±

    ¡°The Brightmoon Academy is located in the east of the city.¡±

    ¡°Oh...¡± Zu An was a little perplexed as to why the Chu n¡¯s private academy was situated so far away from the estate.

    His jaw dropped when he found himself standing before a cluster of magnificent buildings. The entrance was tall and imposing, and there was a que with the words ¡®Brightmoon Academy¡¯ hanging above. Each word seemed permeated with sword ki, giving them a sharp edge.

    Dormitories and other buildings with different functions stretched as far as the eye could see and beyond. He was transported back to his days attending university in his modern world. The one difference was that this Brightmoon Academy was, without a doubt,rger than any university he knew of.

    ¡°Is the Chu n¡¯s private academy this big?¡± Zu An asked in bewilderment.

    ¡°What private academy?¡± Cheng Shouping looked perplexed.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t the Brightmoon Academy a private academy built by the Brightmoon Duke?¡± Zu An was starting to realize that he might have had the wrong idea.

    ¡°Young master, don¡¯t spout nonsense! You might bring disaster to the Master!¡± Cheng Shouping¡¯s face paled in horror. He quickly pulled Zu An aside. ¡°The Brightmoon Academy is directly under the Minister of Ceremonies, the leader of the Nine Ministers. It serves as a facility to nurture talented individuals for future service in the royal court...¡±

    It seemed that in this world, all official positions were monopolized by cultivators, from the Three Lords and Nine Ministers all the way down to normal teachers and tax officials.

    In order to prevent nobles from dominating official positions¡ªafter all, distinguished families had an innate advantage when it came to nurturing cultivators¡ªthe emperor had ordered academies constructed across the country, promoting the idea of education without discrimination. Even ordinary civilians were allowed to attend these academies.

    Everyone, regardless of their social status, had to study in a county-level cultivator academy in order to qualify for the Three Tiered Examinations, namely the Prefectural Examination, Capital Examination, and Imperial Examination.

    The names were simr to what Zu An remembered from his previous world, but the subjects that were being tested were vastly different. While his own world required knowledge of the Four Books and Five ssics, in this world, one needed to know cultivation.

    Ordinary examinations would first be held in county-level academies located in major cities, such as the Brightmoon Academy.

    Exceptional candidates would be picked out and sent to Administrative Centers¡ªheaded by Prefectural Generals¡ªto participate in the Prefectural Examination, where they would be pitted against the brightest talents from all counties in that prefecture. Those who cleared the Prefectural Examinations would be qualified to serve as officials, but they were limited to lower-ranking positions.

    Most chose to proceed on to the capital to participate in the Capital Examinations. There, talented individuals from the various prefectures wouldpete for the title of ¡®Capital Schr¡¯.

    Those who became Capital Schrs would then participate in the Imperial Examination personally hosted by the emperor himself. Doing well in the Imperial Examination ensured a higher-ranking starting post. On top of that, Capital Schrs gained the chance to receive feedback from the emperor himself, who was the strongest cultivator in the world. Just a single pointer from him was equivalent to years of cultivation.

    Of course, this path was only avable to the most talented individuals. The majority of candidates were eliminated in the county-level ordinary examinations. They could either choose to study harder and attempt the examination the following year, or opt for an academic position, where they would work under an official. Most officials were cultivators who were overwhelmingly concerned with furthering their cultivation, and couldn¡¯t be bothered to handle cumbersome administrative affairs personally. They hired advisors and subordinates to handle them instead.

    These advisors and subordinates were usually those who had failed in the county-level ordinary examinations, or had no talent for cultivation at all. Such jobs were seen as fairly adequate.

    Clearly, Chu Zhongtian intended for Zu An to walk this path after entering Brightmoon Academy. Aside from cultivation, the academy also imparted to its students essential knowledge on other subjects, such asw, economics, and so on.

    ¡°Young master, stop daydreaming over there and go inside,¡± Cheng Shouping waved him forward. ¡°I¡¯ll be waiting for you at the entrance till you¡¯re released from the academy.¡±

    Zu An rolled his eyes.

    Shit. It wasn¡¯t easy for me to finish my studies in my previous life, but as soon as Ie to this world, I¡¯m being forced to study yet again? What kind of hellhole am I trapped in?!

 Chapter 31: The Woman in the Gazebo

    <h4>Chapter 31: The Woman in the Gazebo</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An considered simply turning around and leaving the academy, but Cheng Shouping was eyeing him, and his lips were too loose to be trusted. If he were to run right in front of Cheng Shouping¡¯s eyes, it was guaranteed that everyone in the Chu n would hear of it before the day was up.

    Since he had no ce to go other than the Chu n estate, he could only swallow his pride.

    Ahh, the life of ady-moocher isn¡¯t easy either! I guess I¡¯ll enter the academy first, then sneak away when no one is around.

    Zu An grabbed the school bag which Cheng Shouping had prepared for him. To think that someone as old like me will still be carrying a school bag to school. This is so awkward!

    With an awful look on his face, Zu An passed through the entryway and found himself standing before a quiet street. Lush trees grew along its sides, providing natural shelter to the pedestrians.

    Zu An looked around and noticed several beautiful women sporting youthful ponytails walking around the area. Their short skirts fluttered in the light breeze, revealing glimpses of their fair thighs.

    Wow, the students in this world dress a lot more openly than I thought. Maybe going to school isn¡¯t that bad after all...

    Another massive gate towered further along the street, and a guard was stationed there, verifying the identities of the students. This was likely to be the official gate that led to the academy proper.

    Zu An gave his surroundings a quick scan before darting off onto a pathway to the side that led away from the area.

    You want me to go to school? Impossible! There¡¯s no way in hell I¡¯m going to school again!

    Zu An swiftly made his way along the path, which was amply sheltered by the surrounding trees. It seemed the academy had gone overboard with foresting the academy grounds. He saw tall trees and flowers everywhere. After taking a few turns, he realized that he was lost.

    By the time he finally left the premises of the Brightmoon Academy, he could hardly recognize his surroundings.

    ¡°Where is this?¡± It had barely been two days since Zu An arrived in this world, and he hadn¡¯t had time to familiarize himself with the sprawling Brightmoon City. Try as he might, he couldn¡¯t ce where he was.

    ¡°Given how famous the Yu n is, I guess I should be able to find her residence by grabbing a passerby and asking him for directions,¡± Zu An muttered to himself. The only thing upying his mind waspleting the task assigned by Ji Dengtu so that he could regain his manhood. What was the point of cultivation and whatever else when his equipment was malfunctioning?

    Zu An wandered the area, but to his consternation, there was not a single person to be found.

    *Boom!!*

    A streak of lightning shed across the sky, followed by the rumble of thunder from afar. It began to drizzle lightly.

    The drizzle wasn¡¯t much of a concern to Zu An, but the lightning unnerved him. A lightning strike had brought him to this world, but he wasn¡¯t naive enough to believe that being struck a second time would transport him back to his own world. It was more likely that he would just drop dead.

    *Boom!!*

    The rumbling of thunder reached a crescendo. Spotting a gazebo not too far away, Zu An ran to take shelter.

    Safely in the gazebo, he was surprised to discover that it was already upied. A woman in a simple dress sat on a stool in the gazebo, leaningzily against one of the gazebo¡¯s pirs. She gazed through the rain into the distance, one hand propping up her chin.

    Her forefinger was hooked around a green wine gourd, which she twirled lightly. The movement was so slight, and it seemed that the gourd would fall at any moment, but it did not.

    Something else drew Zu An¡¯s attention. The woman¡¯s shoes were ced neatly on the ground, and her beautifully-shaped feet were curled up naturally on the chair, slightly visible under the hem of her dress. They seemed made of the finest white jade, and the tops of her feet were smoother than silk.

    Zu An admitted that he had an obsession with a woman¡¯s face, chest, hips, and legs. He wasn¡¯t particrly concerned with how the rest of her looked. However, he was starting to understand why some people had a thing for feet.

    ¡°Have you seen enough yet?¡± The woman hadn¡¯t bothered to turn around, but she knew exactly what was happening behind her.

    ¡°Not yet,¡± Zu An replied reflexively, only to regret it right away. He really should kick this habit of letting his mouth run. He kept forgetting that he wasn¡¯t on the inte anymore, where he was protected by a veil of anonymity. People could literally beat him up here!

    While his cultivation had grown significantly yesterday, and he now possessed strength rivaling twenty men, he had an inexplicable feeling that the woman sitting before him was not someone he could deal with.

    Clearly, the woman had not expected such a straightforward response. She turned around to study the shameless man that had barged into the gazebo. Satisfied, she turned her attention back to the rain. ¡°Continue watching then.¡±

    Zu An was floored by her response. He had seen all sorts of bizarre individuals on the inte, but he had not expected such nonchnce. On top of that, in the moment that her head was turned towards him, he¡¯d been captivated by her gorgeous features. However, her clear eyes were slightly diminished, their distant look tinged with mncholy.

    She sat unmoving, her back resting against the pir, and watched the rain before her. An asional breeze blew droplets of rain into the gazebo, slowly soaking her, but she remained unfazed. Her quiet breathing could be heard, even amidst the pattering rain.

    Zu An drank in her captivating profile, but her air of mncholy was contagious. His heart slowly grew as heavy as the atmosphere around him.

    His gaze swept outward to the rain nketing the city. An unfamiliar tune filled the air around him, taking his breath away. For a moment, he saw a waterfall flowing in reverse, returning upward; the seeds of a dandelion flower drifted off into the distance, filling the sky with a multitude of tiny umbres; the sun rose from the west and set in the east; the ten years he had spent working himself to the bone in the kitchen during his years in school...

    ¡°You¡¯re crying?¡±

    An elegant voice caressed him out of his reverie, and Zu An realized that he was tearing up. The woman sitting opposite him stared at him curiously.

    ¡°I miss my home,¡± Zu An replied, wiping the tears off his face. He had been so overwhelmed by both the excitement and horror of having transmigrated into a foreign world that he hadn¡¯t had any time to think about his home. The momentary shback made him remember his parents in the other world, and he couldn¡¯t bear to imagine how anguished they must have been to learn of his death.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The woman¡¯s expression flickered. She seemed surprised that he¡¯d understood her music.

    Zu An noticed the instrument in the woman¡¯s hands. It was shaped like a seashell. ¡°You were ying that earlier?¡±

    ¡°Mm,¡± the woman nodded in reply.

    ¡°Could I borrow it for a moment?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°You know how to y music?¡± The woman had not expected that.

    Zu An smiled in self-deprecation. ¡°I¡¯m a jack-of-all-trades when ites to useless skills that can¡¯t be used to earn a living.¡±

    The woman chuckled and tossed him the instrument. Zu An turned it around in his hands, examining it. While this seashell-like instrument had a unique appearance, the principles behind how it functioned were easy enough to figure out. Just as he was about to try out some notes, he noticed a light lipstick imprint on the mouthpiece. He hesitated, then turned to the woman and asked, ¡°May I?¡±

    The woman smiled and nodded.

    Zu An brought the instrument to his lips to test it out. It took him just a few moments to figure out all the notes that it could y. It bore a striking resemnce to the ocarina in his previous life.

    The woman¡¯s melody had made him nostalgic for his home, so he subconsciously yed Scenery of Hometown[1]. He had worked hard to learn it during his university years, just so that he could pick up girls. Onlyter did he realize with regret that no matter how well he could y the ocarina, it was still no match for a Ferrari.

    Memories from his previous life shed across his eyes, feeling more like half-remembered dreams. Was it Zhou Zhuang who dreamt of bing a butterfly, or a butterfly that dreamt of bing Zhou Zhuang?[2]

    The melody wound slowly to its end, leaving the two of them in a deep reminiscence, with only the sound of rain between them.

    The woman seated opposite him reached up to wipe the corner of her eyes. Zu An broke the silence. ¡°You¡¯re crying too.¡±

    The woman sighed softly. ¡°I saw vast fields, the setting sun, and farewells, all carried within your melody. What¡¯s the name of the tune?¡±

    ¡°Scenery of Hometown,¡± Zu An replied. ¡°What about yours?¡±

    ¡°The Silent Sea.¡± The woman picked up her gourd and took a sip of wine. ¡°Do you want some?¡±

    Zu An hesitated. ¡°I don¡¯t have a cup.¡± For some reason, he harbored no perverted thoughts toward the woman sitting before him. He wasn¡¯t feeling like his usual self.

    The woman tossed him the gourd. ¡°It¡¯s not as if I mind. Why are you so restrained?¡±

    The woman¡¯s carefree attitude seemed to clue Zu An in to how stiffly he was behaving. Tilting his head backwards, he lifted the gourd and took a huge mouthful. As soon as the wine flowed into his mouth, he felt a surge of heat engulf his body, burning him up.

    The sensation caused him to choke, and he began coughing violently. His face flushed red. ¡°What wine is this? It¡¯s so strong!¡± It was even more potent than the vodka he had once drunk in his previous life.

    ¡°It¡¯s called ¡®Burning Sky¡¯. The high alcoholic content is hard for most people to bear. It¡¯s due to my special constitution that I often drink this wine to warm my body,¡± the woman replied. She took her gourd back and sipped lightly. A slight blush graced her snowy cheeks. She really seemed to enjoy the alcohol.

    ¡°My name is Zu An. May I know your name?¡± Zu An asked.

    The woman shook her head lightly and smiled. ¡°Life is a series of transient fates. If we¡¯re going to part in the end, we might as well not get to know one another.¡±

    Zu An frowned petntly. ¡°But I already told you my name.¡±

    ¡°You were the one who told me on your own ord. I didn¡¯t ask for it.¡±

    ¡°I feel like I just got taken advantage of,¡± Zu An grumbled in displeasure.

    The woman burst intoughter. ¡°You drank my wine. It doesn¡¯t seem to me like you¡¯re at any disadvantage.¡±

    ¡°I guess so.¡± Zu An noticed that the rain was slowlying to a halt, so he rose to his feet. ¡°If fate brings us together once more, will you tell me your name?¡±

    ¡°I doubt that we¡¯ll be able to meet again.¡± The woman shook her head. She shot a nce at the school bag he was carrying, and her face adopted a bizarre expression. ¡°You¡¯re a student of Brightmoon Academy?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s heart skipped a beat. A truant student would never admit to his own truancy. He eyed the woman warily. ¡°If you aren¡¯t going to answer my question, why should I answer yours?¡±

    The woman pointed to the bag he was carrying. ¡°I can tell even if you don¡¯t say a thing. You¡¯re carrying a backpack that only the students of Brightmoon Academy have. It should be lesson time now; what are you doing here?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve spent more than twenty years studying from my days in kindergarten all the way until university. I don¡¯t ever want to go to school again!¡± Zu An replied in frustration.

    Kindergarten? University? The woman¡¯s eyes flickered in confusion, but she left her questions unspoken. I am also keeping many things to myself, so what right do I have to question him?

    ¡°Thanks for your wine. I¡¯ll be heading off.¡± Zu An was still thinking of looking for Yu Yanluo. This concerned his lifetime of happiness! It had to take precedence over everything else.

    ¡°Sure. It looks like we might just meet one another again in the near future.¡± A yful smile touched the woman¡¯s lips.

    Zu An eyed her impassively. Like I¡¯d trust you. Isn¡¯t the use of enigmatic words to hook the interest of men an intrinsic trait of beautiful women?

    Barely a moment after Zu An left the gazebo, he noticed a ck-clothed man walking along the pavement. The man nced casually at him as he walked by. He¡¯d taken a mere handful of steps before he backtracked quickly and called out, ¡°Zu An?¡±

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Zu An frowned at the man in ck. He had a long scar stretching from his nose all the way to his right cheek. A plum blossom insignia was visible near his neckline. Zu An¡¯s heart skipped a beat. Plum Blossom Twelve had borne a simr tattoo.

    1. A Japanese tune yed by Sojiro

    2. This refers to a poem of a man who dreamt of bing a butterfly before waking up. As he woke, he wondered which one was truly the dream¡ªhim being a butterfly, or him dreaming of waking up as Zhou Zhuang.

 Chapter 32: The Easiest Way to Earn Money

    <h4>Chapter 32: The Easiest Way to Earn Money</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The man sneered coldly. ¡°You sure are forgetful! I am Plum Blossom Thirteen! I even went gambling with you once. Have you forgotten me so quickly?¡±

    ¡°Plum Blossom Thirteen!¡± Plum Blossom Twelve had named him the strongest amongst Mei Chaofeng¡¯s thirteen godsons, having reached the third rank in his cultivation.

    Zu An was exasperated. Why must all the enemies I encounter be stronger than me? At the same time, he marveled at how the previous owner of this body was so talented at diving headfirst into danger. To think that he¡¯d actually gone gambling with people like this!

    ¡°Where¡¯s Twelve?¡± Plum Blossom Thirteen asked.

    ¡°What Twelve? Why are you asking me?¡± Zu An feigned ignorance. He was surprised at how quickly Plum Blossom Thirteen hade for him.

    ¡°Stop pretending. Someone saw you leaving the city together with him, and now he¡¯s nowhere to be found!¡± Plum Blossom Thirteen said with a chill in his voice.

    ¡°Ah, I remember now! You¡¯re referring to Plum Blossom Twelve!¡± Zu An pped his hands together as if he¡¯d hit upon something. ¡°Shortly after we left the city, we bumped into a person who went by the surname Tan. He took off after that Tan guy, and we parted ways. I¡¯ve no idea what happened to him afterward.¡±

    ¡°A person who went by the surname of Tan... Could it be that traitor, Tan Wei?¡± Plum Blossom Thirteen demanded.

    Zu An said, ¡°It seems like you have an idea of what happened. Great! Since we¡¯ve cleared the air, I¡¯ll be taking my leave now.¡± If he were facing a beautiful female assassin, he might have considered chatting a little longer. However, he wasn¡¯t interested in thepany of a fierce-looking man with a scar on his face.

    ¡°Wait a moment!¡± Plum Blossom Thirteen reached out to grab Zu An¡¯s shoulder.

    The assassin¡¯s crushing grip showed Zu An that Plum Blossom Thirteen¡¯s strength far exceeded his. He suppressed the urge to attack him. ¡°What else do you need from me?¡±

    Plum Blossom Thirteen dipped a hand into his robe and withdrew a piece of paper. ¡°Isn¡¯t it about time you repaid the debt you owe me?¡±

    ¡°Huh? What debt?¡± Zu An was dumbfounded.

    ¡°You aren¡¯t thinking of shirking your debt, are you? It¡¯s written out clearly on paper, and you marked it with your fingerprint, too!¡± Plum Blossom Thirteen wore a dangerous smirk.

    Zu An leaned in to take a closer look. The document stated that he owed Plum Blossom Thirteen a thousand silver taels, and it was marked at the bottom with a red fingerprint. Memories began to surface in his mind.

    Apparently, he had visited a gambling den together with Plum Blossom Thirteen, and had ended up losing all of his money. Desperate to recoup his losses, he¡¯d borrowed more from Plum Blossom Thirteen, only to end up losing yet another thousand silver taels.

    Shit! This fellow really is a useless trash. It¡¯s no wonder why everyone looks down on him, so much so that even a maid dares to lecture him to his face!

    Zu An was disappointed by the previous owner of his body. His existence had really been aplete waste of space in this world. A thousand silver taels was equal to 1,800,000 RMB!

    ¡°You said that you¡¯d repay me once you returned to the Chu Estate. So where¡¯s my money?¡± Plum Blossom Thirteen stretched out his empty palm towards Zu An. ¡°If you don¡¯t have money, I''ll follow the terms of the contract and sever your hands.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m the young master of the Chu n! You dare raise your hand against me?¡± Zu An found the courage to stand up for himself. Even though he had earned a bit of money from Ji Xiaoxi and Plum Blossom Twelve, he wasn¡¯t even close to having a thousand silver taels to his name.

    Besides, even if he had the money, he wasn¡¯t willing to waste it on repaying the debt of some useless rascal! Why should he use his hard-earned money to repay the debt owed by another man? Not to mention, he had the Chu n backing him up!

    ¡°If you really owe him money, my honest advice would be to return his money to him. Vows and contracts hold great power in this world, and anyone who dares to vite them will suffer heavenly retribution. Even the Brightmoon Duke wouldn¡¯t be able to protect you if you go against your promise,¡± a cold voice drifted over from the gazebo.

    ¡°Oh? There¡¯s actually such a beautiful woman hiding here?¡± Plum Blossom Thirteen¡¯s eyes filled with wonder upon seeing the woman in the gazebo.

    ¡°Are you thinking of flirting with me?¡± The woman tilted her head slightly, her tone one of idle curiosity.

    Plum Blossom Thirteenughed heartily. ¡°So what if I...¡± He trailed off as he saw the green wine gourd dangling from her fingers, twirlingzily. Something seemed toe to his mind, and heughed awkwardly. ¡°Miss, you¡¯re misunderstanding me. Our Plum Blossom Sect is an upright sect. There¡¯s no way I would do something like that.¡±

    This deepened Zu An¡¯s curiosity over the woman¡¯s identity. She had to be a formidable figure if even the arrogant Plum Blossom Thirteen didn¡¯t dare to provoke her. He made use of this opportunity to snatch the promissory note from Plum Blossom Thirteen. He needed a closer look.

    ¡°Are you thinking of ripping up this promissory note? It¡¯s no use. I have spare copies with me. It won¡¯t change a thing at all,¡± Plum Blossom Thirteen scoffed coldly.

    Zu An paid him no heed. He scanned the terms of the agreement, and his eyes lit up. ¡°ording to this contract, the loan is only due in three days. There¡¯s still time, so why are you in such a rush? Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll repay your money in three days¡¯ time!¡±

    Plum Blossom Thirteen frowned. He didn¡¯t want to let Zu An off the hook so easily, but the woman in the gazebo... He decided to go along with Zu An. ¡°Fine. If you can¡¯t return my money in three days, not even the Jade Emperor will be able to save you!¡±

    He snatched the promissory note back from Zu An¡¯s hands before taking his leave. He headed for their sect¡¯s headquarters. He had to inform the sect master about what he had seen today so that he could take the necessary precautions.

    As he left, Zu An looked over to the woman in the gazebo. ¡°He seems to be quite afraid of you.¡±

    The woman in the gazebo smiled at him. ¡°He¡¯s not afraid of me; he just doesn¡¯t want to make trouble for his sect. I must say, I am quite curious as to how you¡¯re going to raise a thousand silver taels within three days.¡±

    Zu An returned to the gazebo and put on a mischievous smile. ¡°If you¡¯re willing to lend it to me, I can chase after him and return him his money right away.¡±

    The woman was stunned for a moment. She observed in a low voice, ¡°You really are thick-skinned.¡±

    Zu An sighed. ¡°What else can I do? Honest men are disadvantaged no matter which world you are in. Having thick skin goes a long way.¡±

    The woman shook her head and took another sip of wine. ¡°I don¡¯t know you well, so why should I lend you my money? Besides, I don¡¯t have that much either.¡±

    Zu An had anticipated her response, and chuckled cheekily. ¡°On the ount that we once shared a gourd of wine together, why don¡¯t you tell me what the most lucrative sectors in the city are? I¡¯ll try my luck with those.¡±

    The woman put down her wine gourd and studied him again. ¡°You¡¯re quite an interesting person. The two most lucrative sectors in Brightmoon City are salt and metal. Most people in this world are ordinary mortals; they need to eat, and they farm. Life in this world revolves around those two things.

    ¡°Besides those, there are also the Yu n¡¯s ki stones. Ki stones are a highly profitable business. They are rare and valuable, and the demand for them far surpasses the supply.

    ¡°Of course, I have only highlighted themercial avenues that the city has to offer. If you¡¯re sufficiently strong as a cultivator, there are far more means for you to earn money.¡±

    Zu An rolled his eyes. ¡°If I were strong enough, I wouldn¡¯t have been threatened by those scoundrels from the Plum Blossom Sect.¡±

    ¡°Then it can¡¯t be helped then.¡± The womanughed casually.

    ¡°Actually, there¡¯s a far easier and more convenient way to earn a lot of money at once.¡±

    ¡°Oh? What is it?¡± The woman¡¯s interest was piqued.

    ¡°I once heard of a theory from a handsome guy. He said that there were countless women in this world, but a man¡¯s energy is limited. If we men use our limited energy to flirt with every woman wee across, we¡¯re just wasting our energy for nothing. So, he decided to devote his energy solely towards flirting with rich women. Now that I think about it, his words make a lot of sense. I should learn from his example,¡± Zu An¡¯s tone was dead serious.

    ¡°What a refreshing way of describing a mooch. You really are one-of-a-kind,¡± the woman replied snidely.

    ¡°Miss, won¡¯t you consider me? A suave, considerate, and ravishing man like myself would be perfect for you.¡± Zu An marketed himself mboyantly.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you already the young master of the Chu n? And yet, you still want to flirt with me?¡± The woman spat on the floor. ¡°Scumbag.¡±

    Zu An was shell-shocked. ¡°You know me?¡±

    ¡°Not at the start. But it wasn¡¯t hard for me to guess after hearing the conversation between you and Plum Blossom Thirteen,¡± the woman pointed out with a smile. ¡°The news is all around town. The princess of Brightmoon City, the First Miss of the Chu n, has just gotten married, and her spouse isn¡¯t any distinguished young master, but a useless piece of trash.

    ¡°To be honest, I was curious as to why someone as outstanding as Chu Chuyan would choose a person like you for her husband. However, now that I¡¯ve met you in person, I think I know why.¡±

    Zu An puffed out his chest. ¡°Because I¡¯m good-looking?¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s because you¡¯re shameless.¡± The woman stretched, her body drawing a beautiful arc. ¡°I¡¯ve been out for a while, so I should be heading back now. If fate permits, we¡¯ll meet again.¡±

    She turned and left, heading toward the bamboo forest behind the gazebo.

    Her departing silhouette looked a little forlorn. Despite her asional smiles and chuckles, a cloud of sorrow hung around her that refused to dissipate.

    ¡°I wonder what¡¯s weighing down her mood.¡± Zu An slipped into deep thought, then shook himself. Hm? Why am I so intense all of a sudden?

    Zu An quickly reined in his thoughts and headed off in search of Yu Yanluo.

    Meanwhile, Plum Blossom Thirteen sprinted all the way to the headquarters of the Plum Blossom Sect, located in the southern district of the city. He headed straight for the sect master¡¯s study room.

    *BAM!*

    ¡°Bad news, sect master...¡± As soon as he barged in, he heard a shriek of horror. A naked woman darted to one side, scrambling to find something to cover her body.

    ¡°If you can¡¯t give me an appropriate exnation for this, report to the Enforcement Hall and submit yourself to twentyshes.¡± A one-eyed man sat behind a formidable desk. He grabbed the hair of the panicking woman and pressed her down beneath it.

    ¡°Wuuuuu...¡±

    The room was silent save for the indistinct mumbling of the woman.

    Plum Blossom Thirteen swallowed hard. Tan Wei¡¯s wife sure has fair skin. He banished the thought and regained his focus. ¡°I just met Zu An.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Needless to say, the one-eyed man was the sect master of the Plum Blossom Sect, Mei Chaofeng.

    ¡°Who is Zu An?¡± Mei Chaofeng leaned against the back of his chair as a hint of pleasure rippled across his face.

    ¡°It¡¯s the man whom you ordered Twelve to eliminate a while ago,¡± Plum Blossom Thirteen replied hurriedly.

    ¡°Ah, the young master of the Chu n?¡± Mei Chaofeng¡¯s body straightened, a hint of rage coloring his lone eye.

    Cough cough... The woman beneath the table dry-heaved.

    Mei Chaofeng nced under his desk before returning his focus to Plum Blossom Thirteen. ¡°Twelve messed things up thest time, so I gave him another chance to make up for his mistakes. What¡¯s wrong? Did he fail his mission again?¡±

    Plum Blossom Thirteen replied, ¡°I heard from our brothers in the sect that they spotted Twelve leaving the city together with Zu An. I thought the matter settled. Yet, Zu An has appeared in the city again, even though Twelve hasn¡¯t returned.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Mei Chaofeng frowned, sensing something amiss.

    ¡°I asked him about it. He said that the two of them bumped into Tan Wei not too long after leaving the city. Twelve chased after Tan Wei, and they parted ways.¡±

    ¡°Wuuuuu~¡± Hearing the name ¡®Tan Wei¡¯, the woman under the table struggled anxiously, trying to rise to her feet. Mei Chaofeng held her down firmly.

    Plum Blossom Thirteen¡¯s throat went dry. ¡°Godfather, is it possible for Twelve to have been...¡±

    ¡°Impossible!¡± Mei Chaofeng dismissed it with a wave of his hand. ¡°Be it in terms of cultivation level or wits, Tan Wei is far from being a match for Twelve. There¡¯s no way he¡¯d pose a threat to Twelve.¡±

    ¡°Report!¡± A sect member appeared in the doorway to the study. ¡°We have found Tan Wei¡¯s corpse outside the city.¡±

 Chapter 33: Hong Yuan

    <h4>Chapter 33: Hong Yuan</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Mei Chaofengughed heartily upon hearing the news. ¡°What did I tell you earlier? There¡¯s no way Tan Wei could have been Twelve¡¯s match.¡±

    His arrogantughter could not cover the muffled weepinging from beneath the table. Without hesitation, he pped the woman who was there. ¡°What are you crying for? Now that Tan Wei is dead, you¡¯ll be mine from now on. I guarantee you that you¡¯ll have a much better life than before!¡±

    Plum Blossom Thirteen swallowed. I think it¡¯s better if I marry an ugly wife in the future, just to be safe. If I really want to have prettydies, I can find them on the streets.

    ¡°Report!¡± Another flustered sect member presented himself at the entrance of the study room. ¡°Sect master, we have found traces of Lord Twelve¡¯s clothes in the vicinity of the Wolf Valley. It¡¯s stained with blood.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Mei Chaofeng rose to his feet and mmed his palm on the table in agitation.

    Plum Blossom Thirteen subconsciously averted his eyes. The sight before him was simply a little too disturbing.

    Mei Chaofeng pulled up his pants and walked briskly to the doorway. He snatched the tattered and bloodied fabric from the hands of the sect member and examined it closely. He could just about make out the word ¡®Twelve¡¯ embroidered on it. ¡°It really belongs to Twelve!¡±

    ¡°The culprit must be Zu An! I¡¯ll kill him right now!¡± Plum Blossom Thirteen bellowed in rage. He grabbed his dagger and moved to rush out of the room.

    ¡°Nonsense! No matter how weak and useless that fellow is, he¡¯s still the son-inw of the Chu n in name. Are you so anxious to throw away your life by killing him in the city?¡± Mei Chaofeng red at Plum Blossom Thirteen coldly. ¡°Besides, how could Twelve possibly get done in by that piece of trash?¡±

    At these words, Plum Blossom Thirteen regained hisposure. No matter how little the Chu n thought of this son-inw of theirs, if he were to execute Zu An publicly, they would still exact vengeance in order to uphold the reputation and honor of the Chu n.

    And the Chu n¡¯s vengeance wouldn¡¯t just stop at Plum Blossom Thirteen. It would fall upon the entire Plum Blossom Sect as well.

    That was the reason why Plum Blossom Twelve had initially lured Zu An out to the suburbs and tied him onto a tree to be struck by lightning. It had been a perfect n. Who could have expected Zu An would be lucky enough to survive that ordeal?

    A sudden thought struck Plum Blossom Thirteen. ¡°Godfather, could it be possible that Zu An has been feigning weakness all this while? It doesn¡¯t make sense why the First Miss of the Chu n would be interested in useless trash like him otherwise.¡±

    Mei Chaofeng brushed it aside with a wave of his hand. ¡°Impossible. I have insider information that confirms he is utter trash through and through. As for why the First Miss of the Chu n chose him as her husband, the reasoning isplicated and can¡¯t be exined concisely.¡±

    ¡°If he wasn¡¯t the culprit, that leaves only onest possibility,¡± Plum Blossom Thirteen said in a low voice.

    ¡°Where in the world did you catch the bad habit of halting your sentences halfway? Hurry up and spit out whatever you want to say!¡± Mei Chaofeng hollered impatiently.

    Plum Blossom Thirteen continued hurriedly, ¡°I think that Zu An might have powerful experts by his side, guarding him. For him to survive the lightning strike a few days ago, and then to ovee Twelve¡¯s second assassination attempt is too much of a coincidence. There must be an expert helping him from the shadows!¡±

    ¡°An expert helping him?¡± Mei Chaofeng frowned. ¡°That¡¯s impossible. You should have seen the intelligence on that pathetic piece of trash. There¡¯s no way he could be acquainted with any experts.¡±

    ¡°But earlier today, I saw him together with someone in the academy...¡± Plum Blossom Thirteen leaned closer to Mei Chaofeng and told him about the woman he had encountered in the gazebo earlier on.

    ¡°You did well. While Shang Liuyu isn¡¯t known for her cultivation, she has the academy backing her. That woman is also an enigmatic one, so it¡¯s best not to cross her if possible.¡± Mei Chaofeng pondered for a moment before shaking his head. ¡°However, based on her personality, it¡¯s unlikely that she would get involved in such a matter.¡±

    ¡°If his protector isn¡¯t from the academy, could it be that the Chu n has assigned a guard to protect him?¡± Plum Blossom Thirteen asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s a waste of resources to protect useless trash.¡± Mei Chaofeng snorted dismissively. ¡°But that cannot be ruled out. It¡¯s possible The Chu n assigned someone to protect him in secret. I¡¯ll need to consult the client about this. Before I do, we have to make sure to proceed carefully. We need to kill him using our wits, not brute force.¡±

    Plum Blossom Thirteen¡¯s lips curved in a sinister smile as he took out the promissory note. ¡°I thought that this was useless, but it seems this could y a crucial role in our mission. I¡¯ve already issued him an ultimatum. If he doesn¡¯t fork out the money within three days, even the Jade Emperor won¡¯t be able to stop us from chopping off his hands!¡±

    Mei Chaofeng¡¯s mood lifted instantly. ¡°As expected of someone I¡¯ve groomed with my own hands. You did well! The Chu n has strict rules that forbid any of their n members from gambling. I reckon that Chu Zhongtian wouldn¡¯t stand up for that useless son-inw for a matter like this!¡±

    Oblivious to all of the scheming urring behind his back, Zu An finally arrived at the Yu n¡¯s vi, having asked a few passers-by for directions.

    In terms of scale and magnificence, it paled slightly inparison to the Chu Estate. However, it possessed a serene and peaceful air that the Chu Estatecked.

    ¡°Is Second Master Jian in?¡± Zu An enquired as he approached the guards by the entrance.

    He had done his research. Yu Yanluo¡¯s husband, the Cloudmidst Duke, went by the surname of ¡®Jian¡¯. Naturally, the brother-inw who had entered the valley to fetch Yu Yanluo also bore the ¡®Jian¡¯ surname.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± The guard eyed Zu An warily.

    Zu An tossed a piece of silver over. It was part of what he¡¯d looted from Plum Blossom Twelve earlier.

    The guard¡¯s expression softened upon receiving the silver piece, and he favored Zu An with a slight smile. He leaned in closer and replied, ¡°The Second Old Master is out at the moment. He isn¡¯t in the vi.¡±

    Zu An sighed in relief. It was clear to him that there was internal strife within the Yu n, and Second Master Jian appeared to be on bad terms with Yu Yanluo. What if his act of saving Yu Yanluo had actually foiled Second Master Jian¡¯s n? If so, he could be walking right into a trap.

    It was paramount to know if Second Master Jian was in, and Zu An was relieved to learn that he was not. To the guard, he said, ¡°I wish to meet your Madam.¡±

    The guard was amused. ¡°There are plenty of men in the world who wish to meet our Madam. I¡¯m afraid that this bit of money isn¡¯t enough.¡±

    Instead of wasting his words on the guard, Zu An took out the jade token he had obtained from Yu Yanluo. ¡°Do you recognize this? I am a friend of your Madam. Ry my presence to her, and I¡¯m certain that she¡¯ll meet me.¡±

    Seeing the huge ¡®Yu¡¯ word inscribed on the jade token, the guard¡¯s eyes widened in astonishment. ¡°My apologies for failing to recognize an esteemed guest! Milord, how should I address you?¡±

    Zu An let impatience creep into his tone. ¡°Don¡¯t bother with unimportant matters. Hurry up and report my presence!¡± He was not foolish enough to leave behind any information that Second Master Jian could use to look into his identity.

    ¡°Unfortunately, our Madam has gone to the neighboringmandery to handle some affairs,¡± the guard replied bitterly.

    That was unexpected. Zu An tried to hide his dismay. ¡°When will she return?¡±

    ¡°She will be gone for ten to fifteen days,¡± the guard replied.

    Zu An turned and left. What a waste of my time. He was vexed to hear that Yu Yanluo was not around. Was she hiding from him to avoid paying hispensation?

    Before he¡¯d taken more than a few steps, Zu An abruptly turned back around. Returning to the guard at the vi entrance, he demanded with an outstretched hand, ¡°Return me my silver piece!¡±

    The guard looked as if he had eaten a fly. How can there be such a stingy person in the world? How dare you take back money that you have already given out! Had it been anyone else, the guard would have surely paid him no heed. However, this man was likely Madam¡¯s friend, so the guard dared not offend him. There was nothing to do but give the silver piece back, however unwillingly.

    You have sessfully trolled a guard for 66 Rage points!

    So few Rage points... It¡¯s no wonder why you don¡¯t even deserve a name! For someone who had once collected over 20,000 Rage points, collecting such pocket change was almost beneath him. Almost.

    After leaving the Yu n vi, Zu An spent some time strolling around Brightmoon City to familiarize himself with the surroundings. Good decisions could only be made with a good understanding of the context, and he knew that his knowledge of his surroundings was too limited.

    He spent half a day in careful observation as he meandered through the streets and alleys. His efforts helped him gain a rough understanding of theyout of Brightmoon City and the locations of several major facilities. At the very least, he wasn¡¯t utterly ignorant anymore.

    The sun dipped below the horizon, prompting Zu An to return to the Chu Estate.

    A brief moment questioning the servants revealed that Chu Chuyan had yet to return, and it didn¡¯t seem like she would be returning anytime soon. This left him feeling a little distressed.

    He had nned to borrow some money from her to tide him through this crisis. After all, she had been forting in lending him three hundred silver taels back at the ancestral hall.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Don¡¯t I feel embarrassed asking money from a woman? Absolutely not! Ady-moocher should have some self-awareness of his own position. Since I¡¯ve suffered so much scorn and disdain by bing the drafted son-inw of the Chu n, it¡¯s only natural that I should enjoy the privileges thate with it!

    In truth, Zu An had always been envious of the male lions he¡¯d seen on the National Geographic Channel, lounging about on the grasnds of the African Continent. Other than fighting one another from time to time, they barely needed to do anything at all. They could count on their huge harem of lionesses to hunt for them while they idled in their dens.

    All right, I¡¯ve made up my mind. I can¡¯t just be content with mooching off the Chu n; I need to be more ambitious than that. I shall be the Moochlord of this world!

    However, when Zu An thought about that disappointing little brother of his below, tears of bitterness began flowing down his cheeks.

    ¡°Why are you crying?¡± an old voice came from behind him.

    Zu An jolted in shock. He whipped around and saw Old Mi standing by the doorway. ¡°Are you a ghost? Do you not make a sound when you walk?¡±

    Ignoring Zu An¡¯s questions, Old Mi posed one of his own. ¡°Have you just returned from the academy?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Zu An replied. I¡¯m not really lying. I did go to the academy earlier in the day. It¡¯s just that I left right away.

    ¡°Did you meet Wei Hongde?¡± Hunched over in the doorway, Old Mi stared levelly at Zu An, waiting patiently for a response.

    ¡°It was my first time there today. I couldn¡¯t find him.¡±

    Old Mi nodded in response before reminding him, ¡°You need to hurry up.¡±

    ¡°Got it!¡± Zu An¡¯s cheeks colored slightly in embarrassment. He reminded himself to look into that fellow so that he could at least be ountable to Old Mi for this.

    ¡°All right. You should get some rest.¡± Old Mi turned and left the room.

    A fiery red figure whirled into the room. ¡°Oi, Zu An! Why didn¡¯t I see you in the academy today?¡±

    Needless to say, it was the Second Miss of the Chu n, Chu Huanzhao.

    Hearing those words, Old Mi spun around and eyed Zu An intently.

    ¡°Where did your manners go? You should be calling me brother-inw instead!¡± Zu An¡¯s heart skipped a beat, but he put on a brave face and red back at Chu Huanzhao.

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Huanzhao for 24 Rage points!

    Chu Huanzhao was about to blow her top, but she suddenly remembered the bet they¡¯d had with one another that night. She had no choice but to reluctantly obey him. ¡°B-brother-inw, why didn¡¯t I see you in the academy today?¡±

    Noticing Old Mi¡¯s intent look, Zu Anughed sheepishly. ¡°The academy is so big. It¡¯s not surprising that you couldn¡¯t find me.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao shook her head. ¡°That¡¯s not right. I searched all of the first grade sses, but I couldn¡¯t find you. There¡¯s no way you were assigned to the higher grades having just joined the academy, right?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Lianying for 99 Rage points!

    From the sharp re that Old Mi was directing towards him, it was clear that he had figured out the truth. Zu An sensed a beating on the way. As the tension grew, yet another figure barged into the room.

    ¡°Damn you, Zu An! We were kind enough to send you to the academy to get an education, but you actually dared to y truant!¡±

 Chapter 34: Infiltration

    <h4>Chapter 34: Infiltration</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The voice carried loudly into the room even before its owner came into view. It was none other than the matriarch of the Chu n, Qin Wanru! As soon as she stepped into the room, she skewered Zu An with a furious re.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Wanru for 478 Rage points!

    Zu An¡¯s heart nearly leaped out of his chest in fright. How did she know that I yed truant so quickly? He spied Cheng Shouping hiding meekly behind her, and blood rushed to his head in anger.

    This bastard! He sure knows how to tell on others!

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to go to the academy.¡± Faced with Qin Wanru¡¯s murderous re, Zu An could only buck up his courage and speak up for himself. If he wanted any rights in the Chu n, he would have to fight for them... even if it seemed an impossible battle.

    ¡°That¡¯s not up to you to decide!¡± Qin Wanru bellowed. Her expression was enough to curdle his blood. ¡°You had better be there tomorrow. I¡¯ll make sure someone is there to watch you. If you dare to pull something like this again, don¡¯t me me for getting nasty!¡±

    With a sharp exhale, Qin Wanru stormed out of the room. Furiously unwilling to let this transgression slide so easily, she turned back around and ordered, ¡°Go to the Reflection Room and copy out our Chu n¡¯s family rules a hundred times. I¡¯ll check on it, so you had better make sure that you don¡¯t miss out even a single word!¡±

    ¡°Family rules?¡± Zu An¡¯s face immediately darkened. He never thought that themon scene that was yed out in countless historical dramas in his previous life would happen to him too!

    Cheng Shouping giggled secretly, rejoicing over Zu An¡¯s bad luck. His actions did not escape Qin Wanru, and she turned on him with a frosty stare. ¡°You have failed in your duties by allowing your master to y truant, yet you don¡¯t seem embarrassed by your actions at all! Since that¡¯s the case, I shall have you copy the family rules together with him!¡±

    Cheng Shouping felt his jaw drop.

    This was a total miscarriage of justice! He was merely an innocent bystander here!

    Chu Huanzhao stuck out her tongue at Zu An and ran over to her mother¡¯s side. She pulled her mother¡¯s arm and said, ¡°Mother, I reckon that my brother-inw is just having difficulties trying to adapt to the academy. Give it a few days. I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll do better.¡±

    ¡°What did you call him?¡± Qin Wanru¡¯s frown emerged once more.

    ¡°B-brother-inw...¡± Chu Huanzhao¡¯s face reddened. She was embarrassed because it was unseemly for her to have lost a bet against Zu An.

    ¡°How can this useless fellow be worthy of being your brother-inw? You aren¡¯t to call him like that anymore, is that clear?¡± Qin Wanru red at her daughter. She was reaching her boiling point, and yet her daughter still found ways to vex her even more.

    ¡°Orh~¡± Chu Huanzhao pulled a face at Zu An, as if to say it wasn¡¯t her decision not to uphold their contract. Her mother¡¯s edict meant she had no choice but to go against the terms of their bet.

    Qin Wanru pulled her daughter out of the room behind her. ¡°Come with me. Make sure not to hang out with people like that in the future. You¡¯ll only be led astray.¡±

    Watching Madam Chu depart, Zu An simply couldn¡¯t understand why that tigress allowed Chu Chuyan to bring him into the Chu n, given her deep displeasure with him. Judging by her ferocity, it was no wonder why Chu Zhongtian had never taken in any concubines over the years. He sympathized with his father-inw for having to spend his life with such a fierce creature.

    At the same time, he wondered if Ji Dengtu had a masochistic streak in him. What in the world drove his interest in such a woman?

    Old Mi¡¯s voice snapped him out of his thoughts. ¡°If you continue ying truant tomorrow, I¡¯ll break your legs.¡± After saying his piece, he left the room too.

    Zu An was terrified by Old Mi¡¯s pronouncement. The angry undercurrents permeating his tone left Zu An in no doubt that he would carry out his threat.

    Once everyone was gone, Cheng Shouping burst out, ¡°That old man must be out of his mind! How dare a mere gardener threaten our young master? Young master, you need not worry. I¡¯ll report this matter to Madam right away and have her teach Old Mi a lesson!¡±

    Just as Cheng Shouping was about to make his escape, Zu An grabbed him by his cor and dragged him back into the room. ¡°Looks like you¡¯re quite ustomed to making little reports to my mother-inw, huh?¡±

    Cheng Shouping fell to his knees and hugged Zu An¡¯s thighs. ¡°Young master, you wrong me! I didn¡¯t see youing out of the academy even after everyone else had been released, so I feared you were in danger. Thus, I ran all the way back to the Chu Estate to inform Madam, so that she could mount a rescue. My loyalty to you is like the unceasing flow of a river; the stars and the moon above can vouch for that!¡±

    Zu An sneered. ¡°So I should be thanking you for this, huh?¡±

    Cheng Shouping immediately put on a fawning smile. ¡°How can this humble one be worthy of young master¡¯s gratitude? I¡¯ll be satisfied as long as you¡¯re willing to quell your anger."

    ¡°Given your bootlicking skills, you should never have ended up in such a pitiful plight. Did you do something to offend my mother-inw?¡± Zu An remembered how Madam Chu had ordered Cheng Shouping to copy the family rules as well. There seemed to be more to this story.

    ¡°Of course not! How could this humble one dare to offend Madam?¡± Cheng Shouping shook his head vehemently. ¡°Back then, when I heard Madam telling Master that she was going to bring in some concubines for him, I immediately went around to find suitable women as candidates for the Madam. Given my loyalty, how could I possibly offend her?¡±

    Zu An saw the truth immediately. Qin Wanru wasn¡¯t being serious, but you actually brought women back for her to choose. You should be d that she didn¡¯t have her servants beat you to death on the spot!

    ¡°Young master, let¡¯s hurry to the Reflection Room to copy the family rules. Otherwise, Madam is going to punish us for disobeying her orders again,¡± Cheng Shouping said bitterly.

    ¡°What are you in such a hurry for? It¡¯s merely the family rules. How long could it possibly take?¡± Zu An remembered how his teacher had punished him by making him copy down the ssroom rules in his younger days. How difficult could it be to copy a couple of rules? With his writing speed, it would be a walk in the park!

    If I have aputer here with me, I can easily copy it a thousand times even... Oh, wait a moment, there isn¡¯t any difference between copying it once and copying it a thousand times on theputer. I nearly forgot about the Ctrl-C and Ctrl-V functions.

    I wonder if my keyboard will have simr functions in the future too.

    While Zu An thought little of the punishment, he eventually caved in to Cheng Shouping¡¯s incessant pleading. With a deep sigh, he made his way toward the Reflection Room. After all, since Madam Chu was punishing him, the least he could do was to appear repentant.

    The Reflection Room was a ce where punishment was meted out to members of the Chu n who had erred. They functioned like istion cells in the prisons in his previous life, but looked much more weing.

    ¡°This room doesn¡¯t look as bad as I thought,¡± Zu An murmured.

    ¡°Young master, let¡¯s get to work quickly. We won¡¯t be getting any sleep tonight otherwise,¡± Cheng Shouping said tearfully.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it just copying a hundred times? What¡¯s so hard about that?¡± Zu An rolled his eyes. This fellow really is a country bumpkin. In Zu An¡¯s previous world, there were books that contained ten million words or more!

    ¡°Where are the family rules?¡± Zu An looked through the bookshelves, but found nothing that rted to them.

    ¡°It¡¯s all there.¡± Cheng Shouping pointed to the wall. He looks so calm. He must be unaware of how huge a punishment this is.

    Zu An turned his head to take a look. ¡°Holy shit!¡±

    A huge stone tablet stood against the wall, stretching from floor to ceiling. It was inscribed with many small characters. At a nce, it had to contain several thousand words.

    What the hell! Why does the Chu n need so many family rules? Are they just trying to make life difficult for the younger generations?

    With a face verging on tears, Cheng Shouping passed paper and a brush to Zu An. ¡°Young master, let¡¯s start now.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes darted around as his mind worked. Finally, he turned to face Cheng Shouping. ¡°Little Pingping, did you not dere your loyalty to me earlier?¡±

    Cheng Shouping immediately puffed out his chest. ¡°Of course! My loyalty to young master is unwavering, nothing can¡ª¡±

    Zu An spoke over him. ¡°You don¡¯t need to say it out loud. You can prove your loyalty to me through your actions instead.¡±

    He pushed the paper and the brush back toward Cheng Shouping, and patted his shoulder. ¡°I¡¯ll be counting on you.¡±

    Cheng Shouping¡¯s quizzical expression quickly turned to horror as the meaning of what Zu An said dawned on him. Looking at the stone tablet that waspletely covered in words, he whined, ¡°Young master, this won¡¯t do. I can¡¯t possibly copy all of it by myself!¡±

    ¡°A man should never say that something is beyond his capabilities,¡± Zu An encouraged him. ¡°Trust me, you can definitely do it.¡±

    Cheng Shouping looked ready to bawl his eyes out. Zu An had to find something better to motivate him with. He quickly racked his brains, and an idea came to mind. ¡°As long as you copy the family rules in my stead, I¡¯ll create an opportunity for you to interact with Snow alone in the future.¡±

    ¡°Is young master serious about this?¡± Cheng Shouping¡¯s eyes lit up.

    Zu An nodded vigorously. ¡°Of course! Just think about it. There are times when I would need some privacy together with my wife. Naturally, you¡¯ll be left alone with Snow.¡±

    Cheng Shouping was moved with emotion. Sniffing his snot back up his nostrils, he grabbed Zu An¡¯s hand tightly. ¡°Young master, you really are the best to me!¡±

    Zu An pulled his hand back quickly, his lip twisting in disgust. ¡°Let¡¯s not get touchy here. All right, do your best then! I¡¯m heading out for a walk.¡±

    Bringing up Snow reminded Zu An of Chu Chuyan¡¯s current absence. Since Snow was her personal maidservant, it was likely that she would be away as well. This was a golden opportunity to search her room. Hopefully he could find something pointing to the identity of the individuals who were out for his life.

    Even though he was looked down upon in the Chu Estate, he was still the young master of the Chu n. No one would dare to block his way.

    He arrived at the courtyard outside Chu Chuyan¡¯s residence. Thankfully she valued a peaceful environment, and Snow was the only one waiting on her. This made it easier for him to sneak into her room.

    He walked up to the door and tried to push it open, but it wouldn¡¯t budge. Just as he had expected, the room was locked.

    ¡°Who is she guarding against?¡± Zu An muttered. He would not let this minor obstacle stop him.

    He scanned his surroundings. Sure that no one was around, he whipped out a ck cloth and concealed his face. He couldn¡¯t afford to be caught sneaking into his wife¡¯s room¡ªthat would be too embarrassing!

    He circled around the residence and found a window that faced a secluded area of thepound. He took out a dagger, slipped it through a crack in the window, and pushed thetch open.

    ¡°Heh, it doesn¡¯t take a genius to figure this out.¡± Zu An smiled gleefully. The nifty tricks he¡¯d seen in the historical dramas from his previous life really came in handy.

    He pushed the window open and leaped in. The intoxicating fragrance of his wife immediately filled his lungs. Her scent was especially pleasant. It was just a pity that he couldn¡¯t touch her.

    He was familiar with theyout of the ce, having been here once before. He searched the study room quickly, but found nothing noteworthy, so he swiftly moved on to her bedroom.

    He started off by searching around the bed. In the dramas he¡¯d watched, there were usually secret knobs that triggered secretpartments in the bed.

    Unfortunately, his examination did not reveal any secretpartments. He did, however, uncover a book hidden beneath a pillow. The title of the book was [Sweet Pampered Wife: Dominating Sword Immortal¡¯s Ny-Nine Days of Searching For Love].

    He remembered seeing Chu Chuyan secretly reading the book back in the carriage. Out of curiosity, he leafed through it. Its contents were strikingly simr to those female romance web novels in his previous life.

    While flipping through the book, his eyes fell on an elegantly hand-written note in the margins of one of the pages. ¡®Love arises from nowhere, and it grows deeper and deeper...¡¯

    Zu An¡¯s mouth hung open. He hadn¡¯t expected that frosty-faced wife of his to have such a... such a youthful side to her.

    ¡°Tsk tsk tsk~¡± Zu An quickly and carefully reced the book in its original position, and sighed in relief. If that woman were to find out that he had looked through this, she would surely skin him alive.

 Chapter 35: Why are Your Pectoral Muscles so Big?

    <h4>Chapter 35: Why are Your Pectoral Muscles so Big?</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    After searching the bed, Zu An turned his attention to the drawers along the side of the room. He opened one, and found that they were filled with beautiful dresses. Each dress was made with an incredibly smooth andfortable material, and each was delicately embroidered.

    He moved on to the second drawer¡ªdresses. The third drawer¡ªstill dresses...

    All the eight drawers were filled with all sorts of beautiful clothes, leaving Zu An ck-jawed. Women sure have a lot of clothes.

    The ninth drawer was different, but its contents made Zu An¡¯s face redden. He was looking at a stack of neatly-folded undergarments.

    Zu An nced furtively around the room before taking one out and stuffing it into his robe. She has so many of them anyway. She probably wouldn¡¯t know if one of them went missing.

    These words failed to ease the disappointment he felt towards himself for his actions.

    He had such a beautiful wife, but he was unable to touch her. In the end, he had to resort to stealing her undergarments. To make things worse, he realized that the current condition his body was in prevented him from using the undergarments as he intended.

    ¡°Damn it!¡± Zu An swore as he prepared to put the undergarment back into the drawer. A sudden thought struck him. Wait a moment, can¡¯t I just pass this to Ji Dengtu toplete my task? I reckon that he won¡¯t be able to tell who it belongs to anyway!

    This thought made him ufortable. This was still his wife¡¯s undergarment, even if the two of them were rted only in name. It didn¡¯t take a genius to figure out just what that perverted middle-aged man was going to do with it.

    ¡°Forget it! I¡¯ll just buy a new set of undergarments from a random shop and give it to him,¡± Zu An muttered under his breath. Unfortunately, he realized none of those four women whom Ji Dengtu mentioned were ordinary people. If he were to buy a low-quality one off the streets, the divine physician would surely see through his deception in an instant.

    ¡°I¡¯ll just use Snow¡¯s then!¡± Zu An recalled how Snow, despite being a maidservant, was fairly well-dressed. In fact, most people who saw her without knowing who she was would probably mistake her as a young miss of a distinguished n.

    Thatss tried to kill me anyway. I don¡¯t feel any guilt using her undergarments to aplish my task.

    His mind made up, Zu An hastened to the adjacent room, which belonged to Snow. Immediately, he started sifting through her belongings. Snow¡¯s room was extremely clean. Earlier on, he''d been able to find romance novels hidden in Chu Chuyan¡¯s room. However, when it came to Snow¡¯s room, there was nothing in it that hinted at her interests or preferences, other than a handful of melon seeds scattered around.

    ¡°Is thess really that innocent, or is she simply that good at concealing her true nature?¡± Zu An wondered. He had hoped to gather some information from her personal possessions, but they held no tangible clues to help him decipher her character.

    A sudden, slight noise from outside the room made him jump in fright.

    Could it be that Chu Chuyan has decided to return early? This won¡¯t do. I can¡¯t let her find out that I have snuck in here, especially not with this incriminating evidence on me. Otherwise, I won¡¯t be able to wash my reputation clean even if I were to leap into the Yellow River!

    Noticing some screens at the back of the room, Zu An scrambled behind them and held his breath. Through the slight crack between the screens, he was still able to observe part of the room.

    A ck-clothed figure slipped in and began rummaging around Chu Chuyan¡¯s room.

    ¡°A woman?¡± Even though the face of the ck-clothed figure was concealed, the rtively smaller physique and alluring silhouette hinted strongly that it was a woman.

    A closer look ruled out any possibility that the figure was a man. It was impossible for any man to have suchrge pectoral muscles, no matter how hard he trained them.

    The woman took her time tob through the room, but seemingly came up empty-handed. She stood in the middle of the room and muttered to herself, ¡°It isn¡¯t here either? Where could she be hiding it then?¡±

    ¡°Hm?¡± Zu An was rmed. The woman¡¯s voice was astonishingly familiar. It belonged to the close friend of Chu Chuyan, whom he had met back at the ancestral hall¡ªPei Mianman.

    ¡°Who¡¯s there?!¡± The woman¡¯s head whipped around, her gaze focused in his direction.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An¡¯s sudden surprise at the woman¡¯s unexpected identity had caused his emotions to fluctuate and had raised his heartbeat, which caught the woman¡¯s attention.

    Before he had even considered escaping, the screens burst into pieces, and he saw the woman flying toward him, her palm out in front and ready to strike.

    In any other situation, Zu An would surely haveplimented her on how fair and smooth her hand was. At the moment, though, he was far from being in the mood to do so. Goosebumps had risen all over his body, and every single cell in his body was screaming at him that he was in great danger.

    He threw out a fist in an attempt to fend off the attack, but as soon their hands connected, he was thrown backwards in a spray of blood.

    Despite possessing the strength of twenty grown men, Zu An¡¯s power paled inparison to that wielded by the fair-handed maiden.

    Sensing the other party¡¯s killing intent, Zu An dropped all thoughts of caution. He started to shout, ¡°Help...¡±

    Since the woman had snuck into Chu Chuyan¡¯s room in the middle of the night dressedpletely in ck, she was surely trying to avoid detection. There had to be plenty of experts in the duke¡¯s estate who could deal with her. All he had to do was to catch their attention!

    Before his cry could leave his throat, the woman had closed the distance. She seemed to strike him lightly on the chest with her palm, but the impact made him feel as if he had been knocked over by a train. His breath left him in a gentle wheeze.

    The woman sneered coldly as Zu An¡¯s body slumped weakly to the ground. A mere second-rank cultivator actually dared to exchange blows with me.

    Knowing that her strike had surely killed him, she squatted down and tried to take off the cloth covering his face to reveal his identity.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes shot open. While the woman was caught off guard, he wrapped himself around her body, employing the rear naked choke technique taught in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

    It went without saying that a truly qualified keyboard warrior needed to have basic knowledge in all fields, in order to make his words sound logical. He¡¯d seen plenty of videos exining the technique on the inte in his previous life. Unfortunately, he¡¯dcked the physical capability to put what he knew in theory into practice. However, now that he was stronger than ever, he was confident that he could employ such techniques even more smoothly than any UFC champion!

    He knew very well that this woman¡¯s cultivation was far higher than his, and her earlier movements had been too fast for him to follow. If he allowed her time and space, he had no hope of survival. His only chance at victory was to try to turn it into a physical brawl. By exploiting the physical differences between a man and a woman, he might just be able to make aeback.

    The previous strike from the woman could have very well ended his life, had he not decisively taken out the Heiress Ball of Delights in time. He hoped that the item¡ªbased on its description¡ªwould keep him alive, even if it was by the thinnest thread.

    Having the item also renewed his courage and gave him the will to fight back.

    Pei Mianman hadn¡¯t expected such a twist to the situation. She used her elbow to strike his body again and again, hoping that he would loosen his grip. Despite her repeated blows, his viselike grip remained firm.

    The man had wrapped his body around her tightly. His legs wound around hers and forced them wide open, and her breasts were being molded into all sorts of shapes under the pressure of his elbows.

    She had never been taken advantage of by a man all her life, and certainly had never been ced in such a humiliating position. There was no way she could possibly take this lying down!

    You have sessfully trolled Pei Mianman for 999 Rage points!

    She stopped holding back, and tried to apply her killing moves on him.

    To her dismay, however, he had pinned her down in an extremely bizarre position, which made it difficult for her tond any effective blows on him. She attempted to leverage her flexibility to escape from his grip.

    She could barely contain her anger. She swore to herself that, if she could break free from this fellow¡¯s grip, she would grind everyst bit of his bones to dust!

    You have sessfully trolled Pei Mianman for 999 Rage points!

    Zu An couldn¡¯t spare any attention to check on his Rage points. He waspletely focused on holding the woman down. He knew that, if she were to break free, it would spell disaster for him.

    Strangely, it seemed his strength had grown considerably greater since he¡¯d first shed with her. From their earlier exchanges, it was apparent that she was much stronger than him. Given that, it should have been very difficult for him to hold her down. Yet, even though he was in a difficult position, his rear naked choke was still keeping her locked in ce.

    Pei Mianman had also noticed this anomaly. No matter how she struggled and fought back, the other party simply wouldn¡¯t let her go. In fact, it felt like his grip was growing stronger with each blow shended on him.

    As it turned out, Old Mi had neglected to inform Zu An that the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra had another effect other than allowing the practitioner to raise their cultivation level by suffering damage. It also increased the stats of the practitioner in proportion to the severity of their injuries. The closer the practitioner was to death, the greater their fighting prowess would be.

    Under normal circumstances, a human would grow weaker the more injuries they sustained, resulting in a drastic reduction in their stats. On top of that, being on the verge of death was an extremely dangerous position. A single strike would result in an instant knock-out. For these reasons, the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra¡¯s enhancement in strength wasn¡¯t as powerful as it sounded in theory.

    However, Zu An had the Heiress Ball of Delights, which allowed him to remain in a near-death state without the risk of dying. It also negated the adverse effects brought about by his injuries. Thisbination maximized the potential of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra¡¯s effects.

    The two continued their tussle, rolling across the ground in a tangle of limbs. Eventually, Zu An managed to gain the upper hand and turn the tables on the woman. He pinned her firmly to the ground, rendering her immobile.

    Pei Mianman found it more and more difficult to breathe, as her neck was slowly crushed by the man¡¯s grip. She tried her best to w at his hand, but to no avail. It was as if she was fighting with a monster who knew nothing of pain or death.

    She sensed her life slowly slipping away. Unwilling to meekly meet her demise, a vicious glint shed across her eyes, and a spark of ck me formed inconspicuously on the tip of her finger.

    She had not dared to use her elemental ability out of fear that the fluctuations in the elements would rm the experts of the Chu n. Once her identity was revealed, all of the hard work she had put in during this period of time would have gone to waste.

    But all of that was pointless in the face of imminent death.

    Just as she was about to make her move, the man whispered in her ear, ¡°Pei Mianman, I think we can cooperate with one another.¡±

    In truth, Zu An could have summoned the Poisonous Prick and easily ended her life. However, his mind was filled with the image of her in the ancestral hall¡ªher ravishing figure, her soul-stealing peach-blossom eyes, and the unfathomable smile that lingered on herely face¡ªand he found himself reluctant to make a move.

    It was indeed true that the world was biased towards those who were good-looking.

    Zu An knew himself as a simple man true to his desires, and he found nothing wrong with that.

    Pei Mianman was shocked to hear those words. The man had seen through her identity! On top of that, the voice sounded oddly familiar. ¡°Who in the world are you?¡±

    She sensed the other party loosening his grip on her neck. After a moment of hesitation, she dispelled the ck me she had summoned.

    ¡°You nearly caused my death in the ancestral hall back then. Have you forgotten about me so quickly?¡± Zu An scoffed.

    Pei Mianman¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Ah, you¡¯re Chu Chuyan¡¯s useless husband, that... Ah. What¡¯s your name again?¡±

    Zu An rolled his eyes, hard.

 Chapter 36: Exchange

    <h4>Chapter 36: Exchange</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Clearly, this woman had never taken him seriously before! As the good-for-nothing son-inw of the Chu n, she didn¡¯t think that his name was worth remembering. She only knew him as the ¡®useless husband of my close friend¡¯.

    Of course, that was to be expected. The gulf between the two of them was as great as the distance between the clouds in the sky and the dirt on the ground. No wonder she couldn¡¯t be bothered to remember his name.

    ¡°My name is Zu An. Get it deep inside your head!¡± Zu An snapped angrily. Just because it was understandable didn¡¯t mean he would ept it meekly! To think that he had assumed his dashing appearance and eloquent speech had left this beautiful woman with asting impression of him!

    ¡°Yes yes, I remember it now,¡± Pei Mianman replied through gritted teeth. After the intense physical brawl they had, it was hard for her to forget. ¡°What are you doing here?¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that the question I should be asking you?¡± Zu An harrumphed.

    Pei Mianman¡¯splexion darkened. ¡°You said that we can cooperate with one another. I would like to hear what thoughts you have in mind.¡± She flicked her finger lightly, and a spark of me began dancing on her fingertip.

    ¡°You are here in search of something, right?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°Indeed.¡± Pei Mianman knew that he must have seen her earlier actions, so it would be meaningless to deny it now.

    ¡°Judging from your expression, I¡¯d say that you haven¡¯t found what you¡¯re looking for yet. I can help you,¡± Zu An said.

    Had Zu An said this in the past, she would haveughed her head off and dismissed his offer immediately. However, he had managed to ovee her in the physical brawl earlier. It would be foolish of her to continue viewing him lightly. ¡°What do you want?¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°Since you¡¯re Chu Chuyan¡¯s close friend, you should know of my awkward position in the Chu n. The two of us are only a couple in name. I want you to help me gain recognition as the real son-inw of the Chu n. In return, I¡¯ll help you find what you need.¡±

    Pei Mianman stared at him in stunned silence, then burst intoughter. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to be serious about chasing her. But then again, Chu Chuyan is indeed a gorgeous beauty. Even a woman like me isn''t immune to her charms. Very well, it¡¯s a deal then!¡±

    ¡°You agreed to it so easily?¡± Zu An was surprised by how candid her eptance was, and began doubting her sincerity.

    ¡°Are you worried that I¡¯d renege on this agreement once you release me?¡± Pei Mianman scoffed coldly. She raised her hand up before him. ¡°If I hadn¡¯t been moved by your offer, you would have been reduced to ashes by now.¡±

    Only then did Zu An notice the ck me flickering on her fingertip, and he almost jumped in shock. This woman was a fifth rank expert! No wonder he¡¯d almost lost his life to her!

    Pei Mianman observed coldly, ¡°Was it very exhrating for you to take advantage of your wife¡¯s close friend? Hurry up and let go!¡±

    As her finger drew closer to him, Zu An hurriedly released her and backed away into a corner.

    Pei Mianman quickly smoothed out her messy clothes, which were now cloaked inyers of dusty fingerprints. Just thinking about the physical contact they¡¯d had with one another brought cold anger to her eyes, and she wondered if she should just kill him anyway.

    Noticing the menacing look on her face, Zu An quickly changed the topic. ¡°What are you looking for?¡±

    Pei Mianman hesitated for a moment. ¡°An ounting book.¡±

    ¡°What ounting book?" Zu An was a little surprised. He didn¡¯t think that a mere book of ounts warranted so much effort.

    She chuckled softly, but didn¡¯t answer his question. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you more once you gain some standing in the Chu n.¡± Her first thought was not to honor the alliance between them. However, she¡¯d infiltrated the Chu n twice so far, and both times, she¡¯d failed to turn up even a single clue. Perhaps having this man as an insider wasn¡¯t necessarily a bad thing.

    Of course, this man had to be qualified first before he could participate in her ns.

    A thought came to her, and she narrowed her eyes at him. ¡°You haven¡¯t told me what you¡¯re doing here in the middle of the night.¡±

    Zu Anughed awkwardly. ¡°Would you believe me if I tell you that I¡¯m just here for a stroll?¡±

    Pei Mianman rolled her eyes. As she did so, she spied a silk cloth peeking out from under Zu An¡¯s robe. ¡°Hm? What¡¯s this?¡±

    Zu An tried to stop her, but she was too fast. The item he¡¯d tried so hard to hide was snatched away in an instant.

    Pei Mianman looked at the female undergarment in her hand and shook uncontrobly withughter. ¡°You snuck here in the middle of the night just to steal your wife¡¯s undergarment? I have never felt more disdain for anyone in my entire life!¡±

    Zu An felt his face heat up. He rushed forward and wed the undergarment back into his arms. ¡°It¡¯s none of your business!¡±

    Pei Mianman gaze grew more bizarre. ¡°As expected of the man who climbed into his sister-inw¡¯s bed on his wedding night. I never expected you to be this brazen, but it seems there¡¯s no limit to your shamelessness.¡±

    From what she¡¯d said, Pei Mianman wasn¡¯t the one who tossed him into Chu Huanzhao¡¯s bed. If so, who else could be the culprit?

    Zu An went along with Pei Mianman¡¯s remark. ¡°Forget sisters-inw. I find the close friends of my wife much more appealing.¡±

    Pei Mianman maintained her usual graceful smile, but a dangerously sharp glint shed across her eyes. ¡°There are plenty of men who have flirted with me over the years, it did not end well for any of them. If you aren¡¯t afraid, you can give it a try too.¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°Forget it then. I had a taste earlier, anyway.¡±

    ¡°What did you say?¡± Pei Mianman¡¯s face darkened.

    You have sessfully trolled Pei Mianman for 256 Rage points!

    ¡°Nothing much. Anyway, we should leave quickly, especially after themotion we created. We wouldn¡¯t want to rm the others from the Chu n.¡± Zu An nced at Pei Mianman in disappointment. Despite her open and flirtatious appearance, she wasn¡¯t the type who could take a joke.

    ¡°That makes sense,¡± Pei Mianman nodded in agreement. ¡°Let¡¯s part ways. However, if I were to hear any rumors about tonight floating around, know that I wouldn¡¯t hesitate to cut out your tongue.¡±

    Zu An immediately covered his mouth. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the only ones who will know about what transpired here are you and me.¡±

    Pei Mianman sniffed coldly. ¡°You better forget everything that happened today.¡±

    She leaped out of the window, then turned around. Under the moonlight, her figure looked more entrancing than ever. ¡°Speaking of which, what kind of skill did you use earlier? Why did your strength suddenly surge?¡±

    Zu An had found that equally confusing. ¡°I don¡¯t know either. Perhaps it¡¯s a manifestation of my potential in the midst of a crisis.¡±

    ¡°If you aren¡¯t willing to tell me, so be it. Keep your secrets.¡± Pei Mianman scoffed. Her beautiful silhouette vanished into the night.

    Zu An smiled bitterly to himself. He really had no idea how it happened, but this wasn¡¯t the best time to brood. Afraid that someone woulde to check on themotion, he dashed back to his room.

    Once he was in the safe confines of his room, he took out a bottle and swallowed the pill inside.

    He had learned from his previous lesson, and had no intention of allowing history to repeat itself. The effects of the Heiress Ball of Delights were time-limited, and once the effects wore off, the sudden onught of pain and frailty could be unbearable enough to kill him outright.

    This bottle of pills wasn¡¯t the Faith in Brother Spring he had drawn from the Keyboard. It was the recovery medicine he¡¯d obtained from Ji Dengtu before heading off to the Wolf Valley.

    Could he be scamming me, though? The possibility worried Zu An. In the end, he supposed the man was still a divine physician, and he wouldn¡¯t be underhanded enough to tamper with his own medicine. Besides, as the father of someone as pure and kind as Ji Xiaoxi, surely he couldn¡¯t be that evil of a person?

    Zu An felt that he was flirting with disaster, but after swallowing the medicine, he could feel a surge of warmth suffusing his body, gently repairing his wounds.

    This put Zu An¡¯s heart at ease. He had to admit that Ji Dengtu¡¯s medicine was indeed formidable. While it didn¡¯t provide instantaneous healing like Faith in Brother Spring, it was still as effective at bringing a person back to peak condition. The effects were just more gradual.

    As expected of the medicine from a divine physician!

    He¡¯d quaffed the pill just in time. The effects of the Heiress Ball of Delights had begun to wear off, and Zu An began to feel aching pain all over his body.

    ¡°This really is an incredible item.¡± Ignoring the pain, Zu An stared at the Heiress Ball of Delights in his hand. If not for this item, he would have lost his life earlier on.

    He hadn¡¯t been too impressed when he¡¯d used it to deal with the Wailing Whip. After all, he had only experienced its pain immunity effect back then. This was the first time he was testing out its ridiculous immunity-from-death effect, and it was really as overpowered as it sounded.

    It was no exaggeration to say that he would have died ten times over in the fight with Pei Mianman, had it not been for the Heiress Ball of Delights. Just thinking about how he spent one use of it on a mere bet filled him with self-reproach. What a huge waste that had been! He only had one use of it left, and who knew how long it would take before he drew an item like this again?

    Zu An suddenly remembered the requirement for the activation of this item. The other party must be a woman richer than him in order for the item to take effect. He felt intensely relieved that Yu Yanluo had been absent from her vi today. If he had received the 10,000 gold taels from her, it would have drastically reduced the number of women in the world who were richer than him. It would be difficult to rely on the Ball of Delights in that case.

    It looks like I shouldn¡¯t im mypensation for the time being.

    Zu An felt severely conflicted. Was he actually doomed to living the life of a pauper?

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Wanru for 3 rage points! ... 3... 3...

    Zu An was stunned. Had he somehow offended Madame Chu again? She seemed to get angry far too often. Could this be an effect of the hormonal imbnces caused by premature menopause?

    In a room inside the duke¡¯s estate, Chu Zhongtian poured a cup of tea for his wife. ¡°I heard that you punished Zu An by making him copy the family rules a hundred times. Isn¡¯t that a bit too much?¡±

    QIn Wanru scoffed in anger. ¡°That fellow will never be anything great if we don¡¯t push him hard! Do you know what he did today? He actually yed truant! No, that¡¯s not right. I received news from the academy that he didn¡¯t even step through the gates of the academy! Isn¡¯t this ridiculous?¡±

    Chu Zhongtian nodded in agreement. ¡°That fellow has indeed gone overboard. However, you need to take his circumstances into consideration too. He is someone with low self-esteem, and having to marry into our Chu n must have ced great pressure on his shoulders. I heard that many in the estate look down on him. If you punish him so harshly, wouldn¡¯t you just breed ill-will in him? That could really cause great disturbances in the family in the future.¡±

    Qin Wanru red at her husband. ¡°It¡¯s all your fault! Chuyan wouldn¡¯t have had to choose such an inept man as her husband otherwise. I can¡¯t do much for her as her mother, but the least I can do is to help her keep her husband in line. Even if Zu An has no talent for cultivation, it isn¡¯t a bad idea for him to study hard and learn some management skills, so that he could take on some responsibilities in the future. At the very least, people won¡¯t make our Chuyan out to be aughingstock.¡±

    ¡°Wanru, does this mean that you have epted him as Chuyan¡¯s husband?¡± Chu Zhongtian couldn¡¯t help asking.

    ¡°Pui!¡± Qin Wanru spat out coldly. ¡°If you had just given me your approval, I¡¯d have driven that fellow out of our n in a heartbeat."

 Chapter 37: Grandgale

    <h4>Chapter 37: Grandgale</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Chu Zhongtian sighed bitterly. ¡°Wanru, you know our daughter¡¯s personality. Once she has chosen a person, no matter how incapable he is, she won¡¯t change her mind anymore. Do you want her to remarry?¡±

    Qin Wanru shared her husband¡¯s feelings of helplessness. ¡°Even if Chuyan never mentioned why she chose that useless piece of trash, how could we as parents not know her reasoning? She¡¯s afraid that if we bring in someone who¡¯s too strong-willed and capable, he might covet the businesses of our Chu n. That would put her in a spot between her husband and us. She¡¯s doing it for our sake. As her mother, part of my duty is to think on her behalf. At the very least, I should groom Zu An to be a decent human being.¡±

    Chu Zhongtian nodded as he grasped her intentions. ¡°Ah, so that¡¯s the reason why you¡¯re so strict on him.¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡± Qin Wanru rolled her eyes. ¡°Why else would I order him to copy our family rules? Do you think that just anyone is worthy of copying our Chu n¡¯s family rules? I am doing this to let him know that I already think of him as a member of our Chu n, and I¡¯m encouraging him to turn over a new leaf and work harder in the future.¡±

    ¡°But I heard that you ordered Cheng Shouping to do it together with him. Do you view him to be a member of the Chu n too?¡± Chu Zhongtian asked.

    ¡°Pui! I just can¡¯t stand that skunk!¡± Rage boiled up inside her as she thought of Cheng Shouping and his fawning smile. How dare he bring those wretches before her and urge her to pick out concubines for her husband! ¡°Besides, a hundred copies is too much. If I don¡¯t get someone to help Zu An, he won¡¯t be able to finish it even if he worked through the night.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think that my wife would be so considerate!¡± Chu Zhongtian burst intoughter. After he regained hisposure, he continued, ¡°However, Zu An doesn¡¯t seem to be a bright child. Given his wits, I doubt that he¡¯ll be able to appreciate the deeper intentions behind your actions.¡±

    Qin Wanru was silent.

    This possibility seemed usible... No, it was definitely the case. How else could that fellow have be such a renowned wastrel in the city, if not for an otherworldly level of stupidity?

    ¡°Should I y the good man here? I¡¯ll head over there and tip him off,¡± Chu Zhongtian offered.

    Qin Wanru thought about it for a moment before nodding. ¡°Bring some snacks over too so that it doesn¡¯t appear too abrupt.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Chu Zhongtian smiled. The entire world said that he had married a shrew. Theyughed at him for being just a ve to his wife. However, he knew very well that his wife possessed a sharp mouth but a soft heart. She was much better than those who put on a tender front but schemed in the shadows.

    He ordered his servant to prepare several boxes of desserts, then made his way over to the Reflection Room. Through a window, he saw a silhouette diligently copying down the family rules. He nodded in approval as he muttered to himself, ¡°At least he¡¯s hardworking.¡±

    Chu Zhongtian pushed the door open and entered the room. ¡°You must be exhausted by now. Take a short break. Your mother-inw told me to bring some...¡± He trailed off, his smile freezing on his face. There was only one person in the room¡ªCheng Shouping. Zu An was nowhere to be seen.

    Cheng Shouping rushed over immediately, and hugged Chu Zhongtian¡¯s thighs in agitation. With tears streaming down his face, he cried out, ¡°Master, I knew that you wouldn¡¯t have forgotten about me! The years I spent diligently serving you have not gone to waste. To think that you would deliver food to me personally in the middle of the night. I am moved to tears!¡±

    Chu Zhongtian resisted the urge to kick Cheng Shouping away. With forcedposure, he inquired, ¡°Where¡¯s your young master?¡±

    As if reminded of a tragic event, Cheng Shouping¡¯s wailing intensified. ¡°Young master came by earlier, but when he saw how many words there were in the family rules, he ordered me to copy it by myself. Old master, my hands are already on the verge of falling off!¡±

    Since Zu An wasn¡¯t here anyway, Cheng Shouping found no reason to hold back.

    ¡°That scoundrel! How dare he!¡± Even the usually kind and patient Chu Zhongtian was infuriated by Zu An¡¯s audacity, especially considering how much thought his wife had put into this. How could that brat snub his wife¡¯s goodwill? The more he thought about it, the more he couldn¡¯t stand it.

    He stormed out to settle the score with Zu An. He¡¯d barely taken a few steps when he sensed Cheng Shouping following him. He turned on the boy with a frown. ¡°Why are you following me?¡±

    ¡°I... I¡¯ll bring you to young master¡¯s side!¡± Cheng Shouping was impressed by his own wits. To think that he managed to find such a perfect excuse on the spot. Not only would he be able to avoid his current punishment, he could also earn some brownie points with Master Chu. What magnificent intelligence he possessed!

    Chu Zhongtian snorted dismissively. ¡°There¡¯s no need for that, I¡¯ll make my own way. You can continue copying the family rules.¡± This was the bastard who spread the news that he¡¯d been grabbed by the ear by his wife, turning him into theughingstock of the whole city. He couldn¡¯t help but feel a surge of rage every time he saw Cheng Shouping.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Cheng Shouping widened his eyes in disbelief.

    Master, do you not dote on me anymore? Master, what did I do so wrong? Master...

    He returned to the room and saw that Chu Zhongtian had left the box of snacks behind. He almost cried in relief. It looks like Master still cares about me.

    Zu An¡¯s injuries were still only half-healed. As hey in bed recuperating, a notification popped up.

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Zhongtian for 283 Rage points!

    Huh? It¡¯s my father-inw this time around? What in the world could have happened to cause even a kind man like him to lose his temper?

    As Zu An turned the question over in his mind, a figure barged into his room, clearly incensed.¡°You brat! You¡¯re indeed here!¡±

    ¡°Father-inw.¡± Zu An struggled to rise from his bed and failed. ¡°Pardon me. I¡¯m injured at the moment, so I can¡¯t get up to greet you properly...¡±

    The way Zu An addressed him made Chu Zhongtian¡¯s eyelid twitch uncontrobly. For some reason, he felt incredibly ufortable hearing Zu An call him ¡®father-inw¡¯. His attention was pulled away by the rest of Zu An¡¯s words. He eximed in astonishment, ¡°You¡¯re injured?¡±

    ¡°Yes, father-inw.¡± Zu An looked at Chu Zhongtian indignantly.

    Chu Zhongtian rushed forward to examine him. ¡°You¡¯re severely injured! How did this happen?¡±

    You¡¯re lucky that Ji Dengtu¡¯s medicine has already healed half of my injuries. My earlier state would have surely scared you to death! Zu An kept these thoughts to himself. Instead, he replied, ¡°I¡¯m not sure either. I was taking a stroll in the estate when a ck-clothed man suddenly leaped out and attacked me. Thankfully themotion alerted some nearby guards. If not, I would have already lost my life.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s words were only partially true. It just so happened that there was someone in the estate who was out for his life, and it would be good to have Chu Zhongtian investigate the matter. Rooting out those who were targeting him would be a tremendous weight off his shoulders.

    His initial thought was to pin the me on Plum Blossom Thirteen, and use the Chu n to eliminate the Plum Blossom Sect. It would have been a good idea, if not for Cheng Shouping¡¯s warning that the Chu n was extremely opposed to any of its n members gambling.

    A distant rtive of the Chu n had once lost money, and the lender had knocked on the gates of the Chu n to demand repayment. In a moment of rage, Chu Zhongtian had the legs of that distant rtive crushed as a stern warning to the rest of the n members.

    Since Plum Blossom Thirteen still possessed his promissory note, Zu An had no choice but to put away that idea.

    ¡°Something like that actually happened?¡± A tight frown formed on Chu Zhongtian¡¯s face as possibilities quickly shed across his mind. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll tighten the security around the estate to prevent further such incidents.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, father-inw!¡± Zu An said in gratitude.

    Chu Zhongtian nodded in response. He ordered his attendant to summon the estate¡¯s physician, and assured Zu An once more, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, your injuries aren¡¯t fatal. You¡¯ll recover soon. I¡¯ll investigate this matter. For now, don¡¯t trouble yourself, and get some rest.¡±

    ¡°But I haven¡¯t finished copying the family rules yet. I need to get back to the Reflection Room to work...¡± Zu An struggled to rise to his feet, putting on the act of a diligent student.

    The guards nking Chu Zhongtian scoffed silently in disdain. Who do you think you are putting on an act for? Do you think that we don¡¯t know what kind of person you are?

    However, Chu Zhongtian had no doubts about Zu An¡¯s intentions. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you can leave it all to Cheng Shouping.¡± With that, he quickly left the room. In truth, he harbored his own suspicions that someone was after Zu An¡¯s life, and this incident was further proof. He would have to discuss this matter thoroughly with his wife toe up with a countermeasure.

    Zu An could only offer his almost-earnest sympathy to Cheng Shouping. Friend, I¡¯ll be counting on you.

    Shortly after Chu Zhongtian left, someone brought a physician to him. The physician prepared a prescription for him then proceeded to bandage his body.

    In truth, there was no need for all this hassle. Ji Dengtu¡¯s medicine was extremely effective, and it only needed time to work in order to get him back to full health. However, it would be difficult for Zu An to exin all this, so he left the physician to his work.

    It was some time before everyone finally left his room, giving Zu An the privacy to inspect his own physical condition.

    He had been too severely injured earlier to properly examine himself. Now that he could take a look, he realized that all nine formations on his skin had been fully filled. As they glowed, a new set of nine formations appeared in his muscles all over his body.

    What¡¯s going on? Weren¡¯t there only six formations filled up before?

    Zu An could hardly believe it. He rubbed his eyes forcefully before taking another look. He truly wasn¡¯t hallucinating.

    Could it be due to the battle I had with Pei Mianman?

    After all, I did suffer quite a bit of damage from her. Her strikes had shattered most of my ribs. If not for the Heiress Ball of Delights, my injuries would have been enough to kill me ten times over.

    Even though he knew that the effects of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra allowed him to raise his cultivation faster the more injuries he sustained, he never expected such drastic results.

    Based on his previous calctions, filling the seventh formation would have taken thirteen Ki Fruits. He would have needed twenty-one for the eighth formation, and thirty-four for the ninth formation. That added up to a total of sixty-eight Ki Fruits!

    Converted into Rage points, even if he obtained one Ki Fruit for every ten tries at the lottery, he would still require 68,000 Rage points.

    Comparing these two methods, it was indeed far more efficient for him to raise his cultivation by getting beaten up than to rely on his Rage points.

    Maybe I should try harder to get myself beaten up in the future?

    He was definitely not a masochist, but the rewards were really tempting.

    This excitement was short-lived, and he dismissed the idea. He¡¯d only managed to make such huge gains because of the effects of the Heiress Ball of Delights. If not for that magical item, he would have died many times over.

    He could only use the Heiress Ball of Delights once more, and he couldn¡¯t afford to squander it. Without this trump card, not only would future encounters be extremely painful, but there was also a risk that a moment of carelessness would lead to his death. He doubted that he would be lucky enough to survive such beatings each and every time.

    All things considered, it was best for him to rely primarily on Ki Fruits. Despite being a slower method, it was at least safer and steadier.

    Zu An took a closer look, and he realized that some additional lines had formed among the nine formations on his skin, connecting them with one another. Together, they formed an imprint of a strange, massive bird.

    The bird looked as if it was about to p its wings and soar into the sky. It had a snowy body and a crimson tail. Yellow spots that resembled small eyes dotted its body.

    What was more eye-catching, though, was its head. It seemed to be a cross between a tiger and a demon, but did not closely resemble either. It had a ferocious and terrifying appearance that induced goosebumps.

    ¡°What is this?¡± Zu An was perplexed. He noticed something that could be a seal at the bottom right corner of the bird imprint. There was a word on the seal: Grandgale.

 Chapter 38: The Nine Hatchlings of a Phoenix

    <h4>Chapter 38: The Nine Hatchlings of a Phoenix</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Grandgale. Is this the mythical beast from ancient Chinese legend?

    As someone whose battlefield was the inte forums, it was imperative for Zu An to be well-versed in the ¡®ssic of Mountain and Seas¡¯ and other such mythical legends. This massive and bizarre bird imprint did seem to match the descriptions of the mythical beast, Grandgale, depicted in these books.

    ording to the legends, the Phoenix had nine hatchlings, simr to how the Dragon had nine sons. The first was Peacock, the second was Garuda, the third was Fire Phoenix, the fourth was Golden Phoenix, the fifth was Blue Luan, the sixth was Ice Phoenix, the seventh was Hundredwarble, the eighth was Blue Mard, and the ninth was Grandgale!

    You¡¯re asking me why I remember all of this clearly? There¡¯s a long and tearful story to it! Back in the modern world, I had applied for a position in the gaming department in NetEase. The written examination had all sorts of bizarre questions. Compared to the nine sons of the Dragon, whose names contain so many convoluted characters, the nine hatchlings of the Phoenix are far easier to remember!

    That being said, there existed many different interpretations of the nine hatchlings of the phoenix. He only remembered one of those versions.

    It struck Zu An that the cultivation technique he was practicing was none other than the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra. For Grandgale¡¯s imprint to appear after he reached the peak of the second rank was unlikely to be a coincidence.

    It was likely that a new phoenix hatchling imprint would emerge every time he reached the peak of a rank. However, what were these phoenix hatchling imprints for? It couldn¡¯t be just for scaring others, could it?

    Having done some experimentation, he¡¯d deduced that outsiders couldn¡¯t see the formations on his body. It was unlikely that anyone could see the imprint of the phoenix hatchling either. Scaring others with it seemed out of the question.

    An idea seized him, and he began channeling his ki into Grandgale¡¯s imprint. Once it waspletely suffused with ki, Grandgale¡¯s ferocious eyes suddenly lit up, and the avatar of Grandgale materialized before his eyes.

    Zu An¡¯s heart beat faster. It was working!

    But what can this avatar do though? Is it like a pet of some sort?

    He thought for a moment, then ordered Grandgale to ram itself into the wall to test out its might. The avatar pped its massive wings, whipping up a huge gale which blew the tables and chairs aside and threw the room into disarray.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes widened in anticipation as he waited for Grandgale to make its move. However, before he knew what was happening, a sudden burst of force pushed his body straight forward, mming him face-first into the wall in front of him.

    *BAM!*

    Behold, a human painting!

    Zu An slowly slid down the wall, leaving behind a distinctly human silhouette on the snowy-white walls. Two trails of blood dribbled down from near the top of the silhouette¡ªleft there by his shattered nose.

    Holy shit!

    Despite his annoyance, Zu An felt excitement bubbling out of him. It turned out that Grandgale¡¯s ability was instantaneous movement! If he used it well, it would be an invaluable tool forunching assaults against his opponents or fleeing from powerful enemies.

    I wonder what the maximum distance I can travel with this skill. Without even wiping away the blood from his nose, Zu An began channeling his ki into Grandgale¡¯s imprint, attempting to summon it once more.

    Instantly his head spun, and he lost his concentration. Apparently, his ki had been depleted.

    The skill Grandgale granted him consumed arge amount of ki, and at his current level, he could only afford to activate it once a day. Perhaps, when his cultivation level rose and his ki capacity increased, he would be able to use it more often.

    With a deep sigh, Zu An slowly climbed back into his bed andy down. He noticed that his encounter with the wall had granted him a substantial amount of golden specks in the first formation in his muscles.

    From what he recalled of Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s exnations, reaching the third rank would allow a cultivator to release their ki externally, to create armor and barriers to fend against attacks. Despite only being at the first step, there was no doubt that he was a full-fledged third rank cultivator now.

    Excited to test out his newly-gained ability, he tried his best to squeeze out whatever ki he had left in his body. Straining, he managed to form a barrier in front of him. It was smaller than the size of a palm, and it dissipated immediately as there was no ki left to sustain it.

    Nevertheless, Zu An was over the moon. Theoretically, he was as strong as 88 adult men now, which would make him a slightly weaker version of Superman from theics of his previous life. Even if he couldn¡¯t beat the top tier heroes in the Marvel Universe like Hulk and Ironman, he should at least be able to beat the pushovers, ck Widow and Hawkeye, with ease.

    This, together with Poisonous Prick and Grandgale, would be his key to surviving in the Chu Estate. No matter who was after him, at least he now had a fighting chance.

    His short burst of happiness was followed by the onset of pain. With nothing else to distract him, the bruises he¡¯d sustained red up in agony. Zu An hissed through gritted teeth. ¡°Argh, crashing against a wall sure is painful!¡±

    His old wounds had been close to healing, but his experiment with Grandgale had caused several new injuries. Not daring to mess around anymore, hey quietly in bed and waited patiently for Ji Dengtu¡¯s recovery medicine to work its wonders. Unknowingly, he fell asleep.

    The next morning, Zu An woke up feeling frail even after a night¡¯s rest. It felt like he¡¯d only recovered from about half of the wounds he¡¯d sustained from the fight with Pei Mianman. This left him slightly dissatisfied. It looked like he had overestimated Ji Dengtu by equating the effectiveness of his recovery medicine with that of Faith in Brother Spring.

    If others were to learn of these thoughts, he would have been chased around town by an angry, cleaver-wielding mob. Innumerable cultivators would have fallen to their knees in the hopes of obtaining this Hundredflower Impermanence Pill. To dismiss it as an inferior medicine was truly unforgivable!

    It suddenly hit Zu An that he had forgotten to draw the lottery. Too many things had happenedst night, and it had slipped his mind. So, he took out the Keyboard and checked his Rage points. He¡¯d been left with 69 points previously, but after earning a fair bit from the Chu Zhongtian, Qin Wanru, and Pei Mianman, he now had 3,273.

    He frowned unhappily. He¡¯d definitely gone easy on Pei Mianman the previous night, since he¡¯d only managed to obtain such a small amount from her. Then again, no man would be able to bring themselves to treat such a top-notch beauty too harshly.

    He started to miss Plum Blossom Twelve and the bunch from the ckwind Stockade. He reminisced about the good memories that he¡¯d created with them.

    Heaven, please bestow me with an antagonist whom I can antagonize!

    *Whoosh!*

    The door flew open, and in barged a suave young man, his perfect hairbed neatly in ce. He walked up to the bedside and gazed loftily down upon Zu An. ¡°How much have your injuries recovered? Are you able to go to the academy today?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Hong Xingying for 299 Rage points!

    ¡°I¡¯m more or less alright, I guess,¡± Zu An replied subconsciously. ¡°No, wait a moment. Who are you?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± The young man turned and walked out without bothering to answer. He froze for a moment as he caught sight of the human-shaped imprint on the wall in his peripheral vision, but quickly regained hisposure and left the room with his chest puffed out and his head high.

    Zu An was still a little dazed. It was just a moment ago that I made a wish, and I was instantly sent an antagonist to antagonize? Surely my prayers can¡¯t be that effective! Who is that fellow though? And why is he contributing so many Rage points even though it¡¯s the first time we¡¯re meeting one another?

    ¡°Young master~¡± It was then that an using voice sounded by the doorway. Cheng Shouping appeared by the doorway wearing two heavy eyebags.

    Zu An jolted in shock. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? Did a vixen suck out your yang essence?¡±

    Cheng Shouping tottered over weakly. ¡°Young master, how can you say such a thing? I spent the entire night copying the family rules a hundred times, all by myself! I didn¡¯t even sleep a wink!¡±

    Zu An smiled sheepishly as he got up and poured his exhausted studypanion a cup of water. ¡°Little Pingping, you should be d that you were in the Reflection Room copying the family rulesst night. If you had been with me, you would be a corpse right now.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, young master.¡± Cheng Shouping epted Zu An¡¯s cup of water humbly. It took a while for his mind to process Zu An¡¯s statement. ¡°Wait a moment. What do you mean ¡®I would be a corpse right now¡¯?¡±

    Zu An pointed to the human-shaped imprint on the wall and said, ¡°Do you see that? An assassin dropped byst night to kill me. It¡¯s only thanks to the blessings of heaven and my superior skills that I managed to escape the ordeal. If you had been around, you would have been forced to put your life on the line to save me. It¡¯s very likely that the enemy¡¯s dagger would have plunged right into your brittle body and torn it apart.¡±

    Cheng Shouping gulped fearfully as he muttered, ¡°Thank god I was in the Reflection Room.¡±

    ¡°What did you say?¡± Zu An¡¯s eyebrows shot up.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Cheng Shouping replied immediately with a fawning smile, ¡°I said that it was a pity that I wasn¡¯t around. A person as loyal as me would surely have put my life on the line to protect you. That assassin would have had to step over my dead body before he couldy his hands on you!¡±

    Cheng Shouping was so passionate in this deration that his spittle flew everywhere. Zu An quickly shoved his face aside. ¡°That¡¯s enough of you. Aren¡¯t you getting too into the script? Let me ask you something instead. Who¡¯s that proud-looking fellow who just walked out earlier?¡±

    ¡°Him? He¡¯s the precious son of Butler Hong, Hong Xingying,¡± Cheng Shouping replied. ¡°That fellow is a conceited punk, but there¡¯s no denying that he¡¯s a prodigious cultivator. Despite having never gone through any formal education, he managed to reach the third rank by studying on his own. Butler Hong has always been proud of him, and the Master and Madam are full ofpliments for him too. They are expecting him to be one of the leaders of the younger generation in the Chu Estate, and they have been grooming him.¡±

    Ah, so he¡¯s the son of Butler Hong. It¡¯s no wonder why his hair isbed so impably, just like his father¡¯s.

    ¡°Tsk, I doubt he¡¯s that formidable. After cultivating for over a decade, he has only managed to reach the third rank?¡± Zu An scoffed. Useless trash like me can reach the third rank in just three days, but even I don¡¯t go around boasting about it!

    Cheng Shouping shook his head wryly. No wonder they say that the young master has his head in the clouds. Despite being utterly incapable, he still runs his mouth as if he¡¯s a bigshot. If you could reach the third rank in your lifetime, I bet even the Master and Madam would beughing in their sleep!

    ¡°Why are you staring at me like that?¡± Zu An red at Cheng Shouping.

    Cheng Shouping stered a smile back onto his face. ¡°I was thinking that maybe I should tell Madam to let you rest for the day, given how severely injured you are.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. These small injuries won¡¯t hinder me. My father-inw and mother-inw are asking me to attend the academy for my own good, so how can I let them down?¡± Zu An thumped his chest as he spoke resolutely. Needless to say, he wasn¡¯t interested in attending the academy, but remaining in the estate was far more boring.

    Due to the assassination attempt the previous night, Chu Zhongtian had stationed two guards at the entrance of his room, which prevented him from sneaking out even if he wanted to. Rather than being confined, he preferred to go to the academy instead. Perhaps he could find an opening to slip away and pursue his own agenda.

    Hearing Zu An¡¯s motivated speech, Cheng Shouping¡¯s mouth dropped open, wide enough to fit a whole fist. He rushed forward and ced his hand on Zu An¡¯s forehead. ¡°Young master, what¡¯s wrong with you? Are you having a fever?¡±

    ¡°Scram!¡± Zu An kicked him aside.

    ¡°Hahaha! Zu An, you¡¯re really bing more and more mature. It looks like the effort I have spent on you isn¡¯t in vain!¡± A peal ofughter sounded outside, and Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru walked in with satisfied smiles on their faces.

    ¡°Father-inw, mother-inw, what are you doing here?¡± Zu An pretended to look ttered. Ah, it sure is hard having to put on an act every day. At this rate, I might be eligible for the Oscars if I transmigrate back to my previous world.

    ¡°I heard from Xingying that you have recovered from your injuries and are intending to head to the academy. I was a little worried, so I came over to check on you.¡± Qin Wanru¡¯s usually-stern face held a tinge of gentleness.

 Chapter 39: The Thief in the Flower Field

    <h4>Chapter 39: The Thief in the Flower Field</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°I thought things through yesterday, and I realized that you were sending me to the academy for my own good as well.¡± It was then that Zu An noticed Hong Xingying standing behind the two of them. Thetter had a disinterested look on his face, and couldn¡¯t be bothered to meet Zu An¡¯s gaze. Why does this fellow treat me so coldly? It¡¯s almost as if I owe him hundreds of silver taels!

    ¡°You have wisened up quite a bit.¡± Chu Zhongtian seemed in a good mood. He gently stroked his beard. ¡°Chuyan will be delighted to hear this too.¡±

    A zealous look shed in Hong Xingying¡¯s eyes at the mention of the First Miss, but he quickly concealed it.

    Qin Wanru smiled at Zu An. ¡°Since you have decided to go to the academy, you should have Xingying apany you. He¡¯s also attending the academy from today onward. It would be good if the two of you looked after one another. Xingying is a smart and mature child, so I¡¯m sure you can learn a lot from him.¡±

    Hong Xingying bowed in deference. ¡°Madam, you¡¯re ttering me. I¡¯ll do my best to take care of him.¡±

    Zu An clicked his tongue quietly. It sounds good if you ask us to ¡®look after one another¡¯, but put crudely, you¡¯re basically using him to keep an eye on me. They must be quite worried after I yed truant yesterday, so they¡¯re sending someone with me to prevent such things from happening again.

    This also exined why Hong Xingying was so furious earlier on. It hadn¡¯t been easy for him to secure a chance to study at the academy, and Zu An¡¯s injuries almost cost him this chance. It was only natural for him to get angry.

    While the academies here preached education without discrimination, securing a spot wasn¡¯t easy. At the very least, each applicant would have to prove their worth. Well-connected individuals like Zu An could get an easy pass.

    It was much harder for others like Hong Xingying and the other servants of the Chu n, as they required their Master¡¯s approval to enter the academy.

    Shouldn¡¯t Hong Xingying be thankful to me, then? If not for me, how else could he have secured a chance to attend the academy?

    Despite earning Rage points from Hong Xingying earlier, Zu An still felt that he¡¯d gotten the short end of the stick in this situation.

    Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru lectured him a while longer before taking their leave. Hong Xingying tossed his head arrogantly and left the room as well.

    Zu An proceeded with his morning ablutions. Someone delivered breakfast to him as he was getting ready, so he had Cheng Shouping sit down and eat together with him.

    Unexpectedly, his offhanded action caused thetter to tear up.

    Young master, even though you¡¯re a little dumb, very boastful, and awfully incapable... you treat me really well! You don¡¯t think of me as a subordinate. Yes, I¡¯ve decided. I¡¯ll help you to gain a footing in the Chu n no matter what!

    If Zu An had been aware of his thoughts, he would probably have kicked him in the face.

    ¡°Ahem ahem!¡± A hunchbacked figure passed by his window.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you y truant today. Remember to look for Wei Hongde.¡± A voice rasped in Zu An¡¯s ears as he ate.

    He raised his head to take a look, but Old Mi¡¯s figure was already nowhere to be seen.

    Zu An nudged Cheng Shouping. ¡°Did you hear a voice earlier?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t hear anything at all. Burp~¡± Cheng Shouping was so engrossed in his food that his eyes had never left the table.

    Zu An rolled his eyes in disdain. ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid of choking to death?¡± The voice he¡¯d just heard sent a shiver down his spine. For some reason, the mysterious old man scared him. Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru seemed almost docilepared to him.

    He would do well to take a good look around the academy today.

    After finishing his meal, Cheng Shouping helped Zu An pack some daily necessities.As they walked out of the door, they found Hong Xingying already waiting outside, a sword in his arms. Upon seeing the duo, he asked impatiently, ¡°What took you so long?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Hong Xingying for 99 Rage points!

    Is there a problem with thisd?

    Zu An couldn¡¯t stand it any longer. ¡°Are you the young master or am I the young master? What¡¯s wrong with waiting for a while?¡±

    ¡°So what if you¡¯re the young master? There isn¡¯t a single person in the Chu Estate who doesn¡¯t know of your background. Do you think that you can scare me?¡± Hong Xingying sneered coldly.

    Zu An looked him over from head to toe. ¡°Do I owe you money?¡±

    Hong Xingying was stunned by the abrupt question. ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡±

    ¡°Then why are you so hostile toward me?¡± Zu An asked.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Hong Xingying¡¯s body stiffened. He hadn¡¯t expected Zu An to confront him directly. He nced at Cheng Shouping, and chose to approach the matter carefully. ¡°I don¡¯t hate you personally. I just think that it¡¯s a huge pity for the First Miss. The First Miss is such a talented and wonderful person. A man like you will never be a match for her!¡±

    ¡°This... He¡¯s the young master after all. It isn¡¯t appropriate for you to say such words,¡± Cheng Shouping protested weakly.

    Zu An was amused by Cheng Shouping¡¯s response. I didn¡¯t think thisd would stick his head out for me in front of someone else.

    Hong Xingying nced at Cheng Shouping coldly. ¡°Is there anything wrong with what I have just said? Why don¡¯t you point out his strengths to me then?¡±

    Cheng Shouping frowned in concentration. After a long moment, he dered, ¡°While the young master doesn¡¯t have any talents, at least his appearance is passable!¡±

    Zu An, infuriated, immediately shoved Cheng Shouping aside. It was a miracle that this fellow could survive in the Chu n to this day with such a foul mouth! ¡°Ah, I get it now. In other words, you¡¯re Chuyan¡¯s admirer!¡±

    Hong Xingying¡¯s fair face immediately reddened upon hearing those words. ¡°Who says so! I¡¯m not her admirer! Stop talking nonsense!¡±

    Hong Xingying¡¯s triple-denialbo was too good an opportunity to pass up. ¡°A capable servant and a beautiful miss; what a beautiful yet tragic love story! Still, don¡¯t you think it¡¯s shameless to covet another man¡¯s wife?¡±

    ¡°You!!!¡± Hong Xingying red at Zu An before turning his head away with a growl. He didn¡¯t want to waste his breath arguing with thetter anymore!

    You have sessfully trolled Hong Xingying for 100 Rage points!

    Unfortunately for Hong Xingying, Zu An had no ns on letting him off so easily. He walked up to Hong Xingying and looped an arm around his shoulders. ¡°Fine fine, let me put it in another way then: The woman you love became my wife. That makes you sound less like an asshole for coveting my wife, right? Do you feel better now?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Hong Xingying for 333 Rage points!

    Hong Xingying gnashed his teeth in anger and he gripped the handle of his sword tightly. He somehow managed to hold himself back from drawing his sword. Taking a deep breath, he said, ¡°All you¡¯re capable of is running your mouth! Hah, just you wait! The academy treats everyone equally. Soon I shall have you know the gulf that exists between you and me!¡±

    Zu An chuckled softly. ¡°I admire your confidence. You put on one face before my father- and mother-inw, only to act in a different manner behind their backs. Aren¡¯t you afraid that I would report this matter to them?¡±

    Hong Xingying was unfazed by the threat. ¡°Go ahead and tell them then. Let¡¯s see whether they¡¯ll believe a piece of trash like you, or a capable servant like me.¡±

    Zu An pulled Cheng Shouping over. ¡°I have an eye-witness here.¡±

    Cheng Shouping shook his head frantically. ¡°I didn¡¯t see or hear anything at all!¡±

    Zu An felt something in him about to snap. ¡°Why are you acting like a coward?¡±

    Hong Xingying sneered at the farce ying out in front of him. ¡°Force him all you want to. It¡¯s futile. If there¡¯s one person that Master and Madam trust the least in this estate, it¡¯s him.¡±

    After saying his piece, Hong Xingying strode ahead of them, putting some distance between him and Zu An. It was as if he felt disgusted just standing next to trash like them.

    Zu An and Cheng Shouping were left in his wake, staring speechlessly at one another. Zu An sighed deeply. ¡°How in the world did you end up in such a miserable position? You should consider just smashing your head into that pir over there and ending your life.¡±

    ¡°You have fallen so low that even a servant dares to criticize you, and you still dare to pick ws with me!¡± Cheng Shouping retorted indignantly.

    Zu An snarled, then turned his gaze to the young man walking away from them. A smile slowly formed on his lips. It wasn¡¯t easy for me to stumble upon such perfect prey like you. I should take my time to milk you, lest you copse before I have my fill of Rage points.

    The three of them arrived at the entrance of Brightmoon Academy. Zu An nced wistfully in the direction of the winding side path he¡¯d taken the day before, and the image of a carefree woman swirling a gourd of wine shed across his mind. He wondered if he would be able to meet her once more.

    There were fewer people queuing up at the entrance of the academy aspared to the day before. Bored with waiting, Zu An took the time to look around. He spied a young man and a young woman tugging at one another, deep in conversation.

    The man was quite good-looking, but he smelled of powder and perfume. His skin was fairer than most women, and from time to time, his eyes would twinkle seductively. This ¡®young man¡¯ seemed suspicious, and reminded Zu An of the stereotypical cross-dressing plotline that was often portrayed in historical dramas.

    I¡¯m not as foolish as Liang Shanbo. There¡¯s no way I¡¯ll let something as good as this slip past me!

    Zu An walked over and looped an arm across the young man¡¯s shoulders. ¡°Hey bro, have we met each other before?¡±

    You¡¯re the one who wants to cross-dress as a guy, so you can¡¯tin even if I take advantage of you a little. Hahaha~

    ¡°You are...?¡± The ¡®young man¡¯ seemed a little confused. He was clearly trying to recall if he had ever met Zu An before.

    Zu An was perplexed. He didn¡¯t expect this ¡®young man¡¯ to respond so nonchntly. His gaze tracked downward, and he spotted the Adam¡¯s apple on his throat. His stomach instantly started churning. Shit, it¡¯s just a guy who looks like a girl!

    He retracted his arm as if in shock, and apologized, ¡°My bad, I thought you were someone else.¡±

    The young woman standing opposite the young man red at Zu An as if he was an idiot, displeased that he had suddenly barged into their conversation. ¡°Sigh. Where were we?

    ¡°Ah yes, I remember now. Big brother Xiu, how did I wrong you and irk you so much? Tell me, and I¡¯ll change! Why must we break up with one another?¡± The woman was beautiful, and the tears glistening in her eyes gave her an incredibly pitiful look.

    Zu An examined the feminine man closely. Is this sort of man considered charming in this world? Even if I were to bepared with him... Sigh, let¡¯s not talk about such a depressing topic.

    The man reached out to grab the woman¡¯s hand, his voice brimming with emotion. ¡°This isn¡¯t your fault. I¡¯m just afraid that... I won¡¯t love you anymore in the future. So, I want to break up while we¡¯re still in love with one another. I shall bear all of the pain and heartache alone.¡±

    Zu An froze. This must be one of the trashiest break-up excuses I have ever heard! Holy shit, is this fellow the ancestor of the Scumbag Sect?

    His words made the woman burst into tears. ¡°Big brother Xiu, I didn¡¯t know that your love for me runs so deep! It¡¯s all my fault. I shouldn¡¯t have pushed you so much. They always say that distance makes the heart grow fonder. Perhaps you¡¯ll love me once more if we part for one another temporarily.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief. Are the women in this world so gullible? I see... Looks like this is really a haven for me!

    ¡°I¡¯m d that you understand me so well!¡± the young man replied with an agitated tone. The scene flipped suddenly on its head. ¡°Now that we have broken up with one another, can you introduce me to your close friend? I¡¯m referring to the young miss from the Liu n that you have been...¡±

    *Smack!*

    There was a limit to how dumb a human could be. The young woman pped him full in the face and fled tearfully.

    The young man opened his fan and lightly stroked the cheek that had been pped. He looked wistful as he intoned deeply, ¡°The tender hand of a beauty; how it entrances me so.¡±

 Chapter 40: Just Like His Name

    <h4>Chapter 40: Just Like His Name</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An gave him a thumbs-up. ¡°I thought that I¡¯m as trashy as a person could possibly get, but it looks like I still have a long way to go before reaching your level.¡±

    The man was not offended by Zu An¡¯s words. Instead, he closed his fan and chuckled softly. ¡°I can offer you some pointers if you want to. I am Xie Xiu. May I know what your name is?¡±

    ¡°I am Zu An.¡± Zu An thought that the man¡¯s name was really reflective of his appearance¡ªhe sure was a charming man.[1]

    ¡°Oh? Your name sounds familiar. I seem to have heard it somewhere before,¡± Xie Xiu contemted this as he ced his fan beneath his chin.

    Zu An was about to respond when Cheng Shouping waved at him and called out, ¡°Young master, it¡¯s going to be your turn soon. Come over!¡±

    Zu An sped his fist at Xie Xiu and said, ¡°Brother Xie, if a chance arises, I hope to learn the art of how to be a scu... Pui pui pui! I mean, the art of courtship from you in the future!¡±

    ¡°You seem to be a fellow peer. Of course, you are wee to do so,¡± Xie Xiu sped his own fist in reply.

    Zu An made his way swiftly back to the queue. In front of him, Hong Xingying sneered coldly. ¡°Birds of the same feather flock together. People like you can only make friends like that.¡±

    Zu An shrugged nonchntly. ¡°What a pity that it¡¯s a person like me who ended up marrying the goddess of your dreams.¡±

    Hong Xingying immediately lost his temper. ¡°You dare to insult the First Miss?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Hong Xingying for 321 Rage points!

    Zu An chuckled in response. ¡°We¡¯re a married couple. How could a statement like this be considered an insult?¡±

    ¡°You!!!¡± Hong Xingying almost drew his sword on the spot.

    You have sessfully trolled Hong Xingying for 344 Rage points!

    A staff of the academy knocked on the door and shouted, ¡°What are you causing a ruckus for? Those who dare to cause trouble will be immediately stripped of their qualifications as a student!¡±

    Hong Xingying tamped down on his anger and turned stiffly to face forward. It would be a shame to ruin his own future over a wastrel like Zu An. Just wait till I make a name for myself in the academy. I shall free myself from the position of a servant, and I won¡¯t have to hold back anymore!

    Zu An shook his head. It was a pity they couldn¡¯t carry on further. He turned his attention to Cheng Shouping. ¡°What¡¯s the background of that man named Xie Xiu?¡±

    Cheng Shouping replied, ¡°He¡¯s the Second Young Master of the City Lord Estate.¡± Then, he leaned a little closer and continued with a hushed voice, ¡°He¡¯s a renowned wastrel in the Brightmoon City. He¡¯s well-versed in zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting¡ªhe¡¯s dabbled in practically everything. Be it eating, drinking, whoring, or gambling, there¡¯s nothing that he wouldn¡¯t do. However, his cultivation appears to be his weak point. Because of that, his father is at a loss as to what he should do with him.¡±

    Just like you, young master, Cheng Shouping silently added in his heart. But soon, he shook his head in rebuttal. How can our young masterpete with him? At least this Second Young Master Xie is proficient in so many skills!

    ¡°A wastrel? Interesting!¡± Zu An noticed that Xie Xiu had just approached another woman, Noticing his gaze, Xie Xiu nodded slightly in acknowledgment.

    ¡°Next, Wei Suo!¡±

    Zu An was just about to wave to Xie Xiu when the staff member¡¯s voice thundered out. His eyes widened in surprise. He never thought that he would hear such a refreshing name in this world.[2]

    He turned to look, and observed a young man of smaller stature stepping forward. His overall appearance strongly resembled a sneaky rat, entuated by the two buckteeth he had. He gave the impression of a cunning man who wouldn¡¯t hesitate to do all sorts of underhanded things.

    Wow, his parents must be prophets to have given him such a fitting name!

    The academy staff member took out a crystal ball. The staff member pricked Wei Suo¡¯s finger and squeezed a droplet of his blood onto it. The crystal ball gave off a faint glow that was hardly visible unless one paid close attention.

    ¡°Lower Ding.¡± (Equivalent to D-)

    Wei Suo had been staring at the crystal ball in hopeful anticipation. Upon hearing the result, his excitement deted like a leaky balloon.

    The procedure baffled Zu An. He turned to Cheng Shouping and asked, ¡°What are they doing over there?¡±

    Cheng Shouping had an answer ready. ¡°They are testing the students¡¯ aptitude for cultivation. All students who seek to enter the academy must go through this process. The sses they will be assigned to, as well as the cultivation resources they will be allocated with, will be determined by the results of this test.¡±

    Zu An was truly amazed. ¡°Little Pingping, how is it that you have an answer to every question I ask?¡±

    Cheng Shouping stuck his chest out in pride. ¡°Of course! As a qualified studypanion, it¡¯s only right for me to find out such details beforehand!¡± His tone was gleeful.

    Zu An patted Cheng Shouping¡¯s head, but deep inside, he was starting to worry a little. He hadn¡¯t expected to go through an aptitude test in order to enter the academy. Given how many Marrow Cleansing Pills he had eaten, his talent should be at the maximum. Would the result of his test blow the minds of everyone here?

    For an ipetent wastrel to suddenly be a top-notch cultivation prodigy, such a sudden transformation was bound to incur great suspicion. Would he be kidnapped to whatever passed off as a scienceb in this world, to be dissected for research?

    Zu An¡¯s first thought was to swap Cheng Shouping¡¯s blood for his own, but the chances of pulling that off were slim, considering that there were so many eyes here.

    Forget it! If I can¡¯t maintain a low profile to survive, I could still take the domineering route just like the great Chen Beixuan![3]

    The staff member in front called out yet another name. ¡°Ma Zhu!¡±

    ¡°Here!¡± A slightly plump young man ran forward.

    The staff pricked his finger and squeezed a droplet of blood on the crystal ball. A momentter, the crystal ball glowed with a soothing white light. If the result of Wei Suo¡¯s test was like the spark of a firefly, Ma Zhu¡¯s result was like a bright light bulb.

    ¡°His talent is upper Yi!¡± (Equivalent to B+)

    The surrounding crowd broke out in excited chatter. Even the academy¡¯s staff began whispering amongst themselves. Few cultivators in the country had an aptitude that reached Yi ss. Within the boundary of a prefecture, an upper Yi ss cultivator could easily be considered as a genius!

    Ma Zhu clearly understood the significance of having an upper Yi ss talent. After bowing to the academy¡¯s staff, he strutted down like a proud peacock, enjoying the envious looks that others directed toward him.

    Hong Xingying sneered at Ma Zhu¡¯s pretentious attitude. A mere upper Yi ss talent, and he acts as if he owns the world. How embarrassing!

    He had been waiting for this day for a long time. He knew that his talent was top-notch amongst his peers, and that it could even rival that of the First Miss.

    The only reason why the First Miss was more outstanding than him was due to the abundance of cultivation resources she had at her disposal. The mere son of a butler like himself couldn¡¯t hope to acquire the same amount. Over time, the disparity between the two of them only grewrger andrger.

    Over the past few years, he had served the Chu n to the best of his ability. He carried out all of the missions that Master and Madam assigned to him perfectly, no matter how tiring or difficult they were. He considered all his efforts to be worth it, as long as he could glimpse the ravishing profile of the First Miss from afar.

    The disparity in their backgrounds made him feel inferior to and unworthy of the First Miss. He chose instead to devote himself to silently protecting her. He would have been satisfied if she could find a capable man from an outstanding background who was worthy of her.

    To his delight, the Chu n had chosen to draft in a son-inw for the First Miss. Men of distinguished standing would never lower themselves to such a demeaning station, and so those who participated in the selections were lesser nobles and ordinary civilians. It seemed that his chance hade.

    While he might have been no match for the young masters of the distinguished ns, he backed his aptitude in cultivation to set him apart from the lesser candidates, and so attract the First Miss¡¯ attention.

    In fact, it was rumoured that Madam Chu had already decided on him as her son-inw. Everyone around him congratted him as if the oue was settled. While he maintained a nonchnt air, in truth, it felt as though the warmth of spring had entered his heart, bringing with it the blossoming flowers of happiness. From time to time, it seemed the First Miss smiled at him faintly; it turned out that she was interested in him too.

    His mind was filled with the thought of how the beautiful and lofty First Miss would soon be his wife. He imagined how he would be able to embrace her tender and fragrant body to sleep every night, which made him giggle in his sleep.

    The results of the draft were like a p in the face. The First Miss had chosen a notorious good-for-nothing as her husband instead. When he heard the news, he fell from cloud nine down into the pits of gloomy despair. He became theughingstock of those around him.

    He wallowed in depression for a time, before rage bubbled up in his breast to take its ce. Why? If she had chosen an outstanding man, I would have willingly conceded defeat. But this Zu An is useless trash! How can he be worthy of the First Miss?!

    Is it because he looks handsome?

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Impossible! The First Miss isn¡¯t such a shallow woman!

    He brooded for a long time, and came to the sad conclusion that it was all due to his humble background. He was just a servant in the Chu Estate, so it had never crossed the mind of the First Miss to think of him as a man.

    Thus, he begged his father to use his connections to get him into Brightmoon Academy. Doing well in the academy would be the first step towards bing an official and building up his own n. By then, he would be able to stand on equal terms with the First Miss and have her notice him as a man.

    So what if the First Miss is already married? Her husband is trash! I can definitely win her over!

    His only regret was that the goddess of his heart would not be a maiden anymore. However, as long as she could be his, none of that would matter. Besides, what about Second Miss Chu? She might have a bad temper, but she already possesses such moving beauty despite her young age. She¡¯s bound to be a gorgeous woman on par with the First Miss in just a few years!

    I have plenty of time anyway! I can wait for her to grow up!

    This day shall go down in the history of Brightmoon Academy¡ªNo, the entire country shall remember this very day! I, Hong Xingying, shall rise from dust to be a majestic dragon! Everyone here is no more than a stepping stone on the way to the heights of my greatness! Everyone here shall witness history being made! I have waited for this moment for a very long time!

    Hong Xingying¡¯s heart harbored great ambitions.

    ¡°Next, Hong Xingying!¡±

    Hong Xinging turned and fixed Zu An with a hard stare. ¡°Watch and realize the gulf that exists between you and me. There¡¯s not a single part of you that¡¯s worthy of the First Miss. Only I can bring the First Miss happiness!¡±

    Zu An raised a hand. ¡°Teacher, this man over here has a fetish for other people¡¯s wives! He keeps thinking of taking my wife for his own. Wouldn¡¯t it be dangerous for the other female students and teachers if such a person was allowed into the academy?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Hong Xingying for 156 Rage points!

    Hong Xingying had not expected Zu An would be so shameless as to lodge aint with the teacher! No matter which world one was in, those who made petty reports on others were always the most reprehensible scum! Does he have no sense of shame at all?

    Hong Xinging was on the verge ofshing out, when the cold stare of the academy staff member froze him in ce. ¡°That student over there! While our academy prioritizes the aptitude and cultivation of our students, we pay great heed to the students¡¯ character as well. I hope that you will tread wisely in the future.¡±

    Hong Xingying bowed immediately. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll heed your guidance.¡± He knew that the staff member¡¯s opinion of him could go no lower, but it mattered not. His strength alone would reverse their impression of him!

    The staff member nodded in acknowledgement of Hong Xingying¡¯s respectful words, then gestured him forward. ¡°Come over here and have your aptitude tested.¡±

    Hong Xingying took a deep breath as he made his way over to the crystal ball. Just like the students before, he squeezed a droplet of blood onto it. A momentter, the crystal ball shone with a blinding radiance. If Ma Zhu¡¯s light was that of a lightbulb, Hong Xingying¡¯s was that of the moon.

    1. Xiu (Ðã) has the meaning of being outstanding and good-looking.

    2. Wei Suo (sounds simr to â«¬ in Chinese) is a word that¡¯s used to refer to crude and vulgar man, especially those who are licentious or contemptible.

    3. Chen Beixuan is the main protagonist of the novel Rebirth of the Urban Immortal Cultivator.

 Chapter 41: The Ten Great Beauties

    <h4>Chapter 41: The Ten Great Beauties</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°This is... Jia ss talent!¡± (Equivalent to A)

    ¡°My gosh! How many students of Jia ss talent has our academy had since its founding?¡±

    ¡°It isn¡¯t just our academy. Jia ss talent is rare and invaluable across the whole country!¡±

    ...

    Those gathered around the testing area were astonished. Even the teacher who had conducted the test saw him in a new and positive light. With a warm smile, he began asking Hong Xingying for his personal details.

    This was simply what reality was like. For someone who was sufficiently strong, a minor w meant nothing.

    Not to mention, there was no evidence to back up Zu An¡¯s allegations. The truth could have been something very different.

    Hong Xingying walked down the stairs with a gleeful smile on his face, basking in the limelight. It felt like eating a chilled watermelon on the hottest day of summer. At the same time, he felt a twinge of regret. If only he had known it would be like this, he would never have wasted his time serving humbly in the Chu Estate.

    No matter how well I do, the First Miss thinks of me as nothing more than a servant. If only I had entered the academy a little earlier! I might have be of equal standing with the First Miss by now.

    Such thoughts only made him feel greater rage toward the fellow who had conveniently benefitted from his mistake. He walked up to Zu An and said coldly, ¡°Do you finally understand the difference between the two of us?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Hong Xingying for 66 Rage points!

    Zu An was a little perplexed. Shouldn¡¯t Hong Xingying be feeling fulfilled and overjoyed right now? Why is he still contributing Rage points? Could it be that he¡¯s suffering from a hormonal imbnce or something?

    ¡°Next, Zu An!¡±

    Upon hearing the teacher¡¯s call, Zu An stepped forward. The teacher pushed the crystal ball to him with a frigid expression. ¡°A man should rely on his own strength to defeat his opponent. Stooping to make petty reports is truly unbing.¡±

    ¡°Who is the strongest person in your academy?¡± Zu An asked calmly.

    The teacher was taken aback by the question. ¡°It¡¯s the principal, of course.¡±

    ¡°If the principal were to p you for no reason one day, how will you respond to it?¡±

    ¡°I...¡± The teacher was at a loss for words. ¡°The principal would never do something like that. Even if such a thing happens, I believe that there would be a deeper reason behind the principal¡¯s actions.¡±

    Zu An smiled wryly in response. ¡°If I were you, I would report it to his superior. I don¡¯t know how you can criticize others when you don¡¯t even have the courage to make such reports!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Ni Dian for 233 Rage points!

    ¡°Calm down, calm down.¡± The teacher beside him tried his best not tough as he pulled his fuming colleague aside. He cleared his throat, then turned to Zu An. ¡°Let¡¯s get straight to the test, all right?¡±

    Now that he could examine the crystal ball close-up, Zu An noticed a few nearly indiscernible lines on its surface. It was most likely a formation of some kind. He pricked his finger and squeezed a droplet of blood onto the crystal ball.

    ¡°What aptitude could that fellow possibly have?¡± Hong Xingying sneered coldly, craning his neck to take a look.

    There was a brilliant burst of light, as if the crystal ball had turned into the sun itself! Those who hadn¡¯t been blinded by this would have been astounded to see that the light was still growing visibly brighter.

    ¡°What the hell! I¡¯m turning blind!¡±

    Simr cries echoed out from the onlookers as they covered their eyes in terror.

    With a jarring sound, the crystal ball blew up. The blinding light faded, leaving behind ss fragments and a trail of smoke that rose slowly from the charred tabletop.

    ¡°W-what happened?¡±

    ¡°Is that... upper Jia ss?¡± (Equivalent to A+)

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible! Even a cultivator of upper Jia ss talent couldn¡¯t possibly destroy the crystal ball!¡±

    ¡°Then, is this the legendary transcendent ss talent?¡±

    ¡°The transcendent ss talent is just a rumor. No one has seen it for the past few centuries!¡±

    ...

    Walking along a street some distance away, a beautiful figure came to a halt. Her lips curled up into a graceful smile. ¡°The son-inw of the Chu n sure is an interesting man.¡±

    While the teachers of the academy huddled together, discussing the matter intently, Zu An walked over to Hong Xingying and said calmly, ¡°Do you finally understand the difference between the two of us?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Hong Xingying for 999 Rage points!

    Hong Xingying felt his hands and feet turn icy-cold. His eyes reflected confusion, rage, and embarrassment all at once. He couldn¡¯t understand how such a situation could have happened. It should have been his turn to shine and make a name for himself, but now he was a mere sidekick to the man he¡¯d looked down upon all this while. Why is the world so unfair to me?!

    Meanwhile, Zu An sped his fist toward those around him and said, ¡°Thanks for going easy on me.¡± He spoke as if they had held back during their own tests so as not to outdo him.

    You have sessfully trolled Wei Suo for 66 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled Ma Zhu for 66 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled...

    He looked at the stream of Rage points he had just earned. Attending the academy suddenly seemed like a decent idea. After all, he had such adorable ssmates from whom he could milk Rage points whenever he needed to.

    While Zu An gloated, a voice spoke up weakly, ¡°Young master, weren¡¯t you only at lower Ding thest time Master tested your aptitude?¡±

    Zu An turned, and saw Cheng Shouping staring at him with eyes full of confusion.

    How can anyone be so bad at reading the situation... Once again, Zu An found it miraculous that Cheng Shouping had managed to survive all this while.

    Cheng Shouping¡¯s revtion was a bright ray of hope piercing through Hong Xingying¡¯s despair. He burst intoughter. ¡°I remember now, I remember now! He has been through the aptitude test before, and he¡¯s only at lower Ding ss...¡±

    He exposed Zu An¡¯s identity, and the notorious reputation he had in Brightmoon city.

    ¡°He¡¯s the young master of the Chu n?¡±

    ¡°What young master? He¡¯s just a drafted son-inw!¡±

    ¡°How in the world did someone like him catch the eye of the First Miss of the Chu n?¡±

    ¡°Perhaps he might have some exceptional strengths?¡±

    ...

    The male students smiled crudely at each other, a knowing glint in their eyes.

    The other female students whispered to each other excitedly.

    ¡°That man is quite the looker. He isn¡¯t as bad as the rumors put him out to be.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°You don¡¯t say! How else could he have caught Chu Chuyan¡¯s eye otherwise?¡±

    ¡°Heh. No matter how capable Chu Chuyan is, she still ended up marrying such a useless husband.¡±

    ¡°Hehehe...¡±

    The teachers who were managing the aptitude test were familiar with the rumors surrounding the drafted son-inw of the Chu n. The teacher known as Ni Dian scoffed disdainfully. ¡°I knew it! The crystal ball must have been faulty. Since the Brightmoon Duke has tested this rascal himself, there can¡¯t be any mistake. Zu An, lower Ding, Yellow ss!¡±

    The academy was divided into three grades, and each grade was further divided into four different sses, namely Yellow, ck, Earth, and Sky. Those of Hong Xingying¡¯s talent were bound to be allocated to the Sky ss, and so too was the student with upper Yi ss talent. As for Wei Suo, his Ding ss talent would likely see him allocated to the Yellow ss, just like Zu An.

    Another teacher was to protest this decision when his ears suddenly pricked up. Far beyond the gathered crowd, in the forested grounds of the academy, a beautiful figure had caught his attention. He gazed at her for a moment, then chose to hold his tongue. With that, the matter was decided.

    Zu An had all but given up on his n to maintain a low profile and survive. However, his frustration slowly dissipated as those around him slowly came to the conclusion that he was indeed of poor talent, despite what the most recent test had revealed. Naturally, he weed such a misunderstanding, and did not argue.

    Hong Xingying walked up to Zu An and snorted derisively. ¡°A crow is, in the end, just a crow. No matter how desperately it ps its wings in an attempt to scale higher, it¡¯ll never morph into a phoenix.¡± With that deration, he left. It was almost as if continuing to speak with Zu An would besmirch his honor.

    Zu An, still celebrating that one of his worries had been resolved, chose to let Hong Xingying have thest word for now. He turned to Cheng Shouping, ¡°I¡¯ll be entering the academy now. You can return to the estate on your own.¡±

    ¡°Young master, did I say something wrong?¡± Cheng Shouping asked with a quaver in his voice.

    Zu An patted his shoulder lightly and smiled. ¡°Not at all. You did well.¡±

    A brilliant smile broke out on Cheng Shouping¡¯s face. ¡°Young master, you¡¯re the best to me!¡±

    Zu An immediately pushed him away. ¡°Hey, speak properly. I forbid you from speaking in such an effeminate manner in the future!¡±

    A staff member walked over and led them into the academy. Along the way, the staff member provided them with a reminder. ¡°There are activated formations around the perimeter of the academy. Their main purpose is to guard against intruders, but it would be best if you did not wander around. identally triggering them could be dangerous.¡±

    Those words rmed Zu An. He had been extremely fortunate not to have wandered into one of them and triggered it the day before. However, he was a little curious as to how formations in this world looked like. Could they be simr to the formations that Huang Yaoshi set up on the Peach Blossom Ind?[1]

    ¡°How dangerous are these formations?¡± Zu An was curious to know.

    ¡°You¡¯ll find out in the future,¡± the staff member replied with a smile that could almost be described as dark. He looked as though he had read Zu An¡¯s mind.

    As they continued on, they passed by an empty field that resembled a schoolyard from his previous life. Curiously, there was a group of youths squatting right in the middle of the field.

    ¡°Squat properly! Let¡¯s see if you dare arrivete again in the future!¡± A middle-aged man red at the bunch of youths, a ruler in hand.

    The middle-aged man had a bald patch in the middle of his head, but he hadbed his hair across it aggressively to try to cover it up. It was a feeble attempt, as he had very little hair on both sides, and the few miserable strands did little to cover up the big, shiny spot.

    The man seemed to sense Zu An¡¯s intent gaze, and whipped around to re at him. ¡°What are you looking at?!¡±

    Oh my, what fiery temper!

    Zu An wasn¡¯t the type to take such provocation lying down. He loaded up a retort and was just about to fire away when the young man named Wei Suo tugged on his sleeves urgently. ¡°You mustn¡¯t offend him!¡±

    Surprised, Zu An turned to look at Wei Suo. ¡°Why? Is he a formidable figure?¡±

    Wei Suo lowered his voice. ¡°He¡¯s the discipline master of our academy, Lu De, nicknamed Baldhead. He¡¯s known for being extremely strict with students. Do you see the ruler he¡¯s using to beat the students?¡±

    ¡°I see it.¡± As Zu An looked on, one of the students in the field was struck by the ruler wielded by the middle-aged man, and wailed in pain.

    ¡°The word ¡®Virtue¡¯ is inscribed on the ruler. Every time he teaches the students a lesson, he ims that he¡¯s using ¡®Virtue¡¯ to win over the students. It¡¯s said that getting hit by that ruler is even more excruciating than being struck by the Wailing Whip, the weapon of the Second Miss of the Chu n. He¡¯s not like the teachers we met earlier on; he wields great authority in this academy. It¡¯s best for you not to provoke him,¡± warned Wei Suo.

    ¡°What era are we in? Is physical punishment still in fashion?¡± Zu An retorted. ¡°Is no one going to stop him?¡±

    ¡°Shhh, don¡¯t speak so loud!¡± Wei Suo rushed over anxiously to cover Zu An¡¯s mouth. ¡°In the academy, he¡¯s the one who boasts the greatest authority after the principal. Furthermore, he¡¯s a sixth rank cultivator. Who would dare to butt into his affairs? Besides, there are plenty of arrogant students in this academy who like to cause trouble, and the academy needs someone like him to keep them in line. Because of this, his superiors implicitly approve of his behavior.¡±

    Zu An nodded as Wei Suo¡¯s exnation sank in. Curious, he asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t you a new student in the academy as well? Why are you so familiar with all this? For you to even know about my sister-inw¡¯s Wailing Whip...¡±

    ¡°Of course, I did my homework beforeing here!¡± Wei Suo replied proudly. He thought that he saw respect in Zu An¡¯s eyes, and that spurred his desire to show off. He nudged Zu An¡¯s shoulder. With a conspiratorial smile, he said, ¡°Have you heard of the Ten Great Beauties of our academy¡¯s Sweetheart Ranking?¡±

    1. This is a reference to the Legend of the Condor Heroes and Return of the Condor Heroes.

 Chapter 42: Female Principal

    <h4>Chapter 42: Female Principal</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Ten Great Beauties?

    ¡°What kind of overused clich¨¦ is this?¡± Zu An retorted. ¡°This is the kind of plotline used only in old novels from more than a decade ago!¡±

    ¡°What novels?¡± Wei Suo was confused by the nonsense Zu An was rambling. Nevertheless, he still continued on. ¡°Who cares whether it¡¯s clich¨¦ or not? It¡¯s because people like it that it bes a ssic!¡±

    Zu An burst intoughter. ¡°That makes sense. Go on, who are these Ten Great Beauties?¡±

    Wei Suo nodded in approval of Zu An¡¯s response. A good listener always knew when to fawn and when to respond, if not the speaker would only look like a fool, rambling on on his own. ¡°The number one beauty is, of course, the First Miss of the Brightmoon Duke¡¯s n, Chu Chuyan. She¡¯s like a snow fairy descended from heaven to the mortal world. She boasts great beauty and powerful cultivation, making her the dream lover of ny-nine percent of the men in the academy!¡±

    Wei Suo heaved a long sigh of regret and said, ¡°It¡¯s just a pity that she married a few days ago, and it¡¯s rumored that her husband is a notorious good-for-nothing in the city. Many students in the academy were infuriated by the news, and wanted to confront him and challenge him to a duel. I reckon that that fellow is dead meat.¡±

    Zu An clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles creaked. He grabbed Wei Suo¡¯s shoulder, a bright smile on his face. ¡°What did you say? Can you repeat it again for me?¡±

    ¡°Yowch!¡± The excruciating pain in his shoulder made Wei Suo realize his mistake. He recalled what he had just heard at the entrance to the academy and quickly put on an apologetic smile. ¡°My bad, I nearly forgot that you were that useless... Pui pui! Brother, you¡¯re a dashing man with great charms. You have at least seventy to eighty percent of my charisma. It¡¯s no wonder why the First Miss of the Chu n chose you in the end!¡±

    Zu An stared at Wei Suo¡¯s jarring buck teeth. This fellow is so thick-skinned, he almost seems to possess my own ir. ¡°Why do you say that only ny-nine percent of the men in this academy like her?¡±

    ¡°The First Miss of the Chu n has too cold of a personality. Her natural disposition seems to be to keep others away from her,¡± Wei Suo replied.

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Zu An thought of the romance novel that she was reading in secret, and the edges of his lips curled up slightly. ¡°That¡¯s because you don¡¯t understand her well.¡±

    ¡°Of course we don¡¯t understand her as well as you do!¡± Wei Suo grumbled in envy. You have even interacted with her at a negative distance before, so how can you possibly not know her?

    Zu An carried on, oblivious to Wei Suo¡¯s crude thoughts. ¡°Other than the First Miss of the Chu n, who else is on the list?¡± It seemed a good idea for him to gather as much intelligence on the academy as possible.

    Wei Suo pondered for a moment. ¡°In second ce is Pei Mianman, who recently transferred from another academy. Her figure... Hehehe! Let me put it this way, the first thing thates to the mind of any man who sets his eyes on her is the bedroom. She¡¯s the perfect romantic fantasy of all men in the academy!¡±

    Zu An cast his mind back to the physical brawl he¡¯d had with her previously, and nodded in agreement. ¡°Mm, it¡¯s indeed a lethal weapon.¡±

    Wei Suo side-eyed Zu An in disdain. You¡¯ve never seen her before, so why are you talking as if you know a thing or two here?

    Zu An noticed subtle differences in Wei Suo¡¯s description of the two women. ¡°If she is liked by all of the men in the academy, why is she ranked in the second ce instead of the first?¡±

    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s because you aren¡¯t thinking long-term!¡± Wei Suo adopted the lecturing tone of a senior student. ¡°She¡¯s a dream lover but not a suitable wife. Someone like the First Miss of the Chu n is far better for a long-term rtionship, and that¡¯s why she¡¯s ranked in the first ce.¡±

    Zu An was impressed by just how much thought went into sorting out the rankings. ¡°Your wisdom knows no bounds! Who¡¯s in third ce then?¡±

    Wei Suo replied, ¡°In third ce of the Sweetheart Ranking is our academy¡¯s foreignnguage teacher...¡±

    ¡°What? Foreignnguage teacher?¡± Zu An was appalled. ¡°There¡¯s such a thing as a foreignnguage in this world?¡±

    Just what kind of bad luck is this? Zu An vividly recalled the torturous days he¡¯d spent learning a secondnguage in his previous life. It seemed like history was going to repeat itself once more in this world. From what he remembered, there was an author called Mars-something that scored really well in his examinations. Unfortunately, he¡¯d failed his English examination, and ended up in a second-rate university.

    ¡°Of course there are foreignnguages in our world!¡± Wei Suo stared at Zu An as if he were an idiot. ¡°The previous great war drove the other tribes into the barrennds. Nevertheless, there are still many foreigners in our society, and they have their own culture,nguage, and practices. Naturally, we should try to learn about them, or else we would be at a disadvantage when dealing with them!¡±

    Zu An was surprised by this information. As he had just arrived in this world, he knew very little about the war between mankind and the foreign tribes. Nevertheless, he could sense the pride and confidence that the humans of this world gave off.

    It¡¯s good that I got transmigrated into an era of prosperity and peace. This way, I can spend my life in bliss as a scion of nobility, Zu An thought in relief.

    ¡°Where was I?¡± It took some time for Wei Suo to get back on track. ¡°Ah yes, in the third ce is the foreignnguage teacher, Liu Shangyu. On top of her captivating appearance, she has a graceful and gentle personality. If it were up to me, I would have surely ced her in the first ce! Unfortunately those brats in the academy prefer women of the same age.¡±

    So, this fellow prefers older women despite being a brat himself? Hm, wait a moment! Did he just mention that the foreignnguage teacher is called Liu Shangyu?

    Isn¡¯t that the person Ji Dengtu mentioned? Hmmm, it looks like I should find an opportunity to get close to her...

    ¡°Do you know what the cultivation level of this foreignnguage teacher is?¡± It seemed imperative to gather what information he could now. Being caught red-handed for stealing her dudou could lead to a tragic death otherwise.[1]

    ¡°Cultivation?¡± Wei Suo frowned. ¡°Miss Liu isn¡¯t known for her cultivation in the academy, so the information about that is sketchy. I reckon that she should be in the fourth rank at most.¡±

    ¡°Fourth rank?¡± Zu An¡¯s eyes lit up. It looks like the gap between us isn¡¯t too big. Does that mean that I can give it a try?

    Wei Suo ignored hisment. ¡°In the fourth ce is our principal, Jiang Luofu. She¡¯s definitely a queen bee, and gives off an air of power. Not only is she beautiful, but she¡¯s also the strongest cultivator in our academy.¡±

    Zu An was surprised. ¡°The principal is a woman?¡±

    ¡°Who says that the principal has to be a man?¡± Wei Suo looked at Zu An as if he were a country bumpkin blinded by stereotypes. ¡°Principal Jiang could have ced first, but she slid down to fourth due to her busy schedule. I must say that the brats of this generation really aren¡¯t up to scratch.¡±

    A staff member, who had been listening in intently, cleared his throat and swiveled to re at Wei Suo. ¡°You dare gossip about the principal behind her back? Are you tired of living?¡±

    Wei Suo smiled apologetically. ¡°Alright alright, I shan¡¯t talk about the principal anymore.¡±

    Satisfied, the staff member turned back around.

    Wei Suo continued to Zu An, ¡°In the fifth ce of the Sweetheart Ranking is the young miss of the neighboring Sunspring Duke, Wu Qing. Just like the others, she¡¯s known for her good looks, but rumors abound that she has a horrible temper.

    ¡°In the sixth ce is the young miss of the city lord, Xie Daoyun. She¡¯s the older sister of Xie Xiu, whom you met at the entrance of the academy earlier. Unlike her younger brother, she¡¯s an incredibly talented woman, with a gentle personality to boot. In my view, the only reason why Wu Qing is ranked ahead of her is due to her father¡¯s halo.¡±

    ¡°In the seventh ce is Ji Xiaoxi, the daughter of Divine Physician Ji Dengtu. Her small stature makes her look really adorable. For hardcore fans of hers, she doesn¡¯t lose out to Chu Chuyan or Pei Mianman at all. She¡¯s the love of all lolicons. It¡¯s just a pity that she isn¡¯t my type of dish.¡±

    Zu An nodded in response. To think that the young woman he met in the valley would actually be studying in Brightmoon Academy as well. This sure was a huge coincidence. I should probably hang out with her more often. After all, my life as a man rests on her father¡¯s shoulders!

    ¡°In the eighth ce is the young miss of Brightmoon City¡¯s Zheng n, Zheng Dan. They are rumored to be the second wealthiest n in Brightmoon City, losing out to only the Chu n. Anyone who marries her in the future will be able to save thirty years of struggling in the corporate world. Of course, that¡¯s nothingpared to you, who married the First Miss of the Chu n.¡±

    Zu An sighed deeply. While others thought that he was living a carefree and abundant life in the Chu n, only he knew of the difficulties and danger he faced every step of the way. No one in the Chu Estate really treated him as the son-inw of the Chu n.

    But of course, as a man, he still had his own pride to uphold. He pretended to look ttered by Wei Suo¡¯s remark.

    ¡°However, there are rumors that the Zheng n is intending to enter into a political marriage with the newly-appointed governor of the Linchuan Commandery. I wonder if the rumors are true.¡± Wei Suo couldn¡¯t hide his displeasure. ¡°It really is frustrating. There are so many wolves out there, but so little meat. And yet another one has just been taken.¡±

    Zu An patted Wei Suo¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Rx, there are still many single women out there. I believe that, with your capabilities, you¡¯ll surely be able to find a good wife in the future!¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡± Wei Suo¡¯s chin lifted in pride. Unfortunately, the Sweetheart he was most interested in was Principal Jiang. His motivation left him like air from a leaky balloon, and his tone grew listless. ¡°In ninth ce of the Sweetheart Ranking is the Second Miss of the Chu n, Chu Huanzhao. It¡¯s clear that she has the makings of a great beauty, but she has yet to blossom fully. On top of that, she behaves like a rascal, which is why she¡¯s ced near the bottom of the rankings.

    ¡°As for tenth ce, I can¡¯t remember her name at the moment. She has a special disposition that makes others subconsciously forget about her...

    ¡°In any case, those who are able to get into the top ten of the Sweetheart Ranking are outstanding beauties. In my view, there¡¯s nothing to choose between them in terms of appearance; what really affects their ranking are their personalities and several other external factors at y.¡±

    Wei Suo¡¯s logical analysis left Zu An with a newfound respect for the buck-toothed man. ¡°I didn¡¯t think it possible to look at things from such a perspective. As expected of a veteran!¡±

    Wei Suo waved his hands in a gesture of humility. ¡°You¡¯re too kind. My knowledge is limited to mere theories. I¡¯m nowhere on par with you, who have already gotten some action with the number one beauty on the Sweetheart Ranking... Ah, why do I suddenly feel like crying?¡±

    ¡°Enough, enough. The two of you, stop spouting nonsense. Wei Suo, you should head to your ss.¡± The staff member gestured to a ssroom not too far away. The academy was sorge that it had taken them a long time to reach their destination.

    Having dismissed Wei Suo, the staff member beckoned Zu An over. ¡°Come with me. The principal wishes to meet you.¡±

    Wei Suo was quick to protest. ¡°We¡¯re all freshmen! Why is the principal meeting him and not me?¡± he cried indignantly.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The staff member rolled his eyes at Wei Suo. ¡°You got in here through clearing the entrance examinations, whereas he got in here through his connections. How can the two of you possibly be considered the same?¡±

    Zu An stood to the side, feeling a little awkward. Hey, hey, hey, should you really be saying these words before me? I¡¯m a man with pride, you know!

    Hearing the staff¡¯s exnation, Wei Suo had no choice but to resign himself to his fate. He began trudging listlessly toward his ssroom. A scant few stepster, he turned around suddenly and yelled, ¡°Make sure to take a good look at the principal! When you get back, I want you to tell me what color her stockings are today!¡±

    Zu An was too stunned to respond.

    The staff member¡¯s face darkened. He looked ready to give Wei Suo a good beating. Sensing his impending doom, Wei Suo dashed into the ssroom to seek refuge.

    The staff member turned back to Zu An, looking vexed. ¡°Don¡¯t listen to that fellow¡¯s nonsense. If you were to get on the principal¡¯s bad side, not even the Brightmoon Duke will be able to protect you.¡±

    Zu An grunted in acknowledgement. He was starting to feel a little curious about this principal.

    The staff led him to a tall building nearby, which looked different from the ssroom building. An expensive-looking red carpet covered in exquisite embroidery wasid over the stairs of this building.

    ¡°How extravagant!¡± Zu An marveled at how those in power always distinguished themselves from the masses. Regardless of which world one was in, the grandest building in a school was always the administrative building.

    The staff member offered Zu An a stern reminder. ¡°The staff office is here too. While most teachers rarely drop by here, it¡¯s in your best interests not to mess around.¡±

    Zu An favored him with another grunt as he scanned the staff office, hoping to find Liu Shangyu¡¯s table. As he did so, it suddenly struck him that there was no way Liu Shangyu would ever leave her dudou lying on her office table.

    The two of them walked up the stairs, all the way to the top floor. They walked down a long corridor to the room at the very end. The staff member rapped sharply on the door. ¡°Lord Principal, I have brought Zu An.¡±

    ¡°Tell him toe in,¡± a voice sounded behind the door. Despite the formal tone, the uniquely rich and melodious voice was more than enough to spark all sorts of thoughts in a man¡¯s mind.

    1. A dudou is a woman¡¯s traditional undergarment, simr in form to a halter top.

 Chapter 43: Tripitaka

    <h4>Chapter 43: Tripitaka</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°You should go in by yourself. Return to your ssroom on your own after you are done meeting the principal,¡± instructed the staff member. It was apparent from the principal¡¯s words the staff member was not needed in the room. Knowing his ce, the staff member took his leave.

    The door to the office was pretty heavy. Zu An pushed it open and entered. He was greeted by a bulky-looking office desk ced centrally in the room. He couldn¡¯t tell what kind of wood it was made of, but a single nce was enough to tell that it was definitely not cheap.

    Beside the office desk stood a huge bookshelf filled with all sorts of books. Zu An tried to use his enhanced eyesight to scan through the book titles, but was astonished to find that no matter how he squinted, the characters remained blurry and indistinct.. At this distance, he should have been able to easily read the words on the book covers.

    A cold voice came from off to the side. ¡°You are Zu An?¡±

    Zu An nced over, and saw the principal sitting on a sofa on the other side of the room.

    The first toe into his line of sight were her long and alluring legs. They were wrapped in dark-colored stockings that shimmered slightly and made his throat dry up from the heat. Her plump thighs, paired with her A-line skirt, hinted at a hidden and unexplored domain that spurred a man¡¯s thirst for adventure and knowledge. Her tight-fitting shirt highlighted her well-filled breasts, and her beautiful and impable face was entuated by her slender, swan-like neck, and her hair, which was shaped into a graceful bun. She emanated an air of nobility and elegance.

    This was the woman ranked fourth in the Sweetheart Ranking, as well as the principal of Brightmoon Academy, Jiang Luofu.

    ¡°Enjoying the view?¡± Jiang Luofu inteced her fingers together and interrogated Zu An.

    ¡°Indeed,¡± Zu An nodded without thinking.

    ¡°I find your gaze highly disrespectful.¡± Her words chilled the room by several degrees.

    You have sessfully trolled Jiang Luofu for 99 Rage points!

    Zu An felt a great pressure weighing down on him and immobilizing him. He spoke up hurriedly, ¡°Soh cah toa?¡±[1]

    Jiang Luofu¡¯s face twisted in confusion.

    Unwilling to concede, Zu An tried a second time. ¡°I solemnly swear that I¡¯m up to no good?¡±

    Jiang Luofu stared at Zu An as if his brain had somehow stopped developing during infancy. Is this fellow an idiot?

    The pressure on him lessened. Zu An rushed toward her excitedly and asked her, ¡°Sis, are you really a transmigrator too? I¡¯ll be your lil¡¯ bro, so cover me!!¡±

    Before he could leap onto the sofa, Jiang Luofu raised a leg to stop Zu An¡¯s advance.

    ¡°What do you mean, ¡®transmigrator¡¯?¡± Jiang Luofu¡¯s eyebrows knit together. She couldn¡¯t make sense of the situation. Even though she had heard rumors that the drafted son-inw of the Chu n was a wastrel, she had never heard that he was a fool!

    Zu An was surprised. ¡°Are you sure you aren¡¯t a transmigrator? What¡¯s with this office-wear cosy then?¡±

    ¡°What nonsense are you spewing?¡± The principle was utterly befuddled by the words Zu An was using. ¡°I acquired this set of clothes in a hidden realm by coincidence. I thought that it looked interesting, so I ordered some tailors to replicate it. Why, have you seen it before?¡±

    ¡°Urk. I happened to see them in my dream once before.¡± Naturally, Zu An dared not give away his background. As he replied, he wondered just what this ¡®hidden realm¡¯ was. It was a pity that the principal didn¡¯t appear interested in offering an exnation.

    Following the war against the foreign tribes, as the races began to coexist in harmony, the culture and sense of aesthetics of different races began to ovep. At some point in time, clothing with more modern elements came into fashion. While Jiang Luofu¡¯s outfit was a little avant-garde for this world, it wasn¡¯tpletely uneptable.

    ¡°In your dream?¡± Jiang Luofu frowned in contemtion. While odd, such a thing was not entirely impossible. urrences that were beyond humanprehension weremon in this world.

    Zu An¡¯s gaze drifted downward of its own ord. Given their current positions¡ªJiang Luofu had one foot raised in order to keep Zu An away¡ªhe could vaguely catch a glimpse of something which he wasn¡¯t supposed to see.

    *Bam!*

    A great force struck Zu An in the chest as the principal¡¯s kick sent him flying.

    Jiang Luofu¡¯s voice was ice. ¡°The Brightmoon Duke asked me to take care of you as a favor to him. However, given your wretched nature, I doubt that you would survive even two days in the academy.¡±

    Zu An climbed to his feet and spat out a mouthful of blood. To his surprise, his injuries weren¡¯t as serious as he thought they would be. Clearly, Jiang Luofu had gone easy on him. ¡°Aren¡¯t you exaggerating things a little?¡±

    Surprised flickered across Jiang Luofu¡¯s eyes as she watched Zu An. ¡°You don¡¯t seem to be as weak as the rumors put you out to be.¡±

    His eyes widened as she continued, ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry. Whether you are seeking a leisurely life, or whether you¡¯re a wolf dressed in sheepskin, it matters not to me. I¡¯m not so close to the Brightmoon Duke as to tell him everything I know of.¡±

    Zu An wiped away the blood trickling out the corner of his mouth. ¡°Thank you, principal.¡±

    Jiang Luofu continued calmly, ¡°While your strength is greater than I expected, it isn¡¯t considered outstanding within the academy. There are many students here who aren¡¯t subordinate to the Chu n, so I advise you not to go around causing trouble.¡±

    Zu An stuck out his chest. ¡°Do I look like the kind to cause trouble?¡±

    Jiang Luofu tantly disregarded his question. ¡°Fights are prohibited in the academypounds, but if both parties agree to it, the right to duel will be granted. The academy cannot take sides in such a situation, so you ought to think it through before epting any duels.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your advice, principal.¡± Zu An was a little surprised. He could tell that Jiang Luofu was really looking out for him. Is it because of my rtionship with the Chu n? That doesn¡¯t seem like it. She did mention that she isn¡¯t close to Chu Zhongtian. If so... could it be that she has been charmed by my handsome appearance?

    Jiang Luofu picked up a document that she had just received and began flipping through it. A deep furrow formed on her forehead. ¡°Your talent is lower Ding ss? Impossible! Hm? You broke the crystal ball during your aptitude test?¡±

    Zu An sensed the situation going awry. However, the multitude of eyewitnesses that had been present made it impossible for him to deny it. Attempting to hide something that happened in the academy from its own principal was nothing short of foolishness, so he had no choice but to admit to it. ¡°The crystal ball must have been faulty.¡±

    ¡°Come over here.¡± Jiang Luofu beckoned with her finger.

    Zu An walked up to her as he wondered if this woman was going to send him flying with another kick.

    ¡°Give your hand to me,¡± Jiang Luofu ordered with unquestionable authority.

    ¡°What are you going to do?¡± Despite Zu An¡¯s question, he still offered his hand to her. What happened next made his eyes bulge in disbelief. Jiang Luofu straightened, then pulled his finger into her mouth!

    What¡¯s going on? Could it be that the number one expert in the academy, the famously beautiful principal, had sumbed to his dashing appearance and was lusting after his body? Was she going to use her authority and power to take advantage of him?

    What a joke! As a man, I, Zu An, will never bow to such tyranny, even from a beautiful woman...

    Well, that being said, should I just give in this once? I mean, just look at her! Maybe I should just ask her to be gentler with meter on...

    ¡°Ah!¡±

    A sudden spike of pain made Zu An yelp loudly.

    ¡°A man like you can¡¯t even take this bit of pain?¡± Jiang Luofu pushed him disdainfully aside.

    Zu An noticed a small bite mark on his finger, which was continuously seeping blood. Jiang Luofu licked her lips. The crimson blood staining her cherry lips gave her an irresistible touch of seductiveness.

    ¡°Are you a dog?¡± Zu An gave up caring about the consequences. The contrast between the reality and his expectations was so great, and his disappointment manifested itself as rage.

    Surprisingly, Jiang Luofu let the insult pass. She looked at him with eyes that were difficult to read. ¡°Your aptitude has indeed reached the legendary transcendent ss.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s heart skipped a beat. He finally understood why she had wanted to taste his blood.

    Jiang Luofu closed her eyes, seemingly considering her options. She took her time, then breathed out deeply and asked, ¡°Who else knows about this?¡±

    Zu An subconsciously took a step back. ¡°Don¡¯t mess around. I¡¯ll have you know that quite a few people know about this. My wife, my father-inw, and my mother-inw are all aware of this. There are many people who have my back...¡±

    Seeing Zu An¡¯s guarded appearance, Jiang Luofu burst intoughter, banishing the chill in the air that had been ever-present since Zu An entered the office. ¡°Little brat, are you worried that I¡¯ll take your life? Given how you willingly bore the reputation of a wastrel for so many years, you must be aiming for something huge. Someone that determined wouldn¡¯t tell such a massive secret to anyone, not even your own wife.¡±

    Seeing Jiang Luofu¡¯s confidence, Zu An knew that his scam had failed. So, he bucked up his courage and replied, ¡°Fine, you¡¯re right. I have never told anyone about this. But remember, many people know that I havee to your office today. If anything happens to me, those of the Chu n will surely hunt you down!¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Enough, enough!¡± Jiang Luofu¡¯s head was starting to hurt from all his shouting. She massaged her temples with her thumbs. ¡°Who said that I¡¯m going to kill you?¡±

    ¡°If you aren¡¯t, why are you asking me about all this?¡± Zu An was so worried that she would make a move against him that he had even summoned the Heiress Ball of Delights in secret. If it came to that, he was willing to wager his own life against hers. As long as he was able to effectively use the Heiress Ball of Delights in tandem with the Poisonous Prick, he might just be able to turn the tables on her.

    ¡°I just want to warn you that you¡¯re still too weak at the moment. If others were to learn of your transcendent ss talent, it would spell disaster for you,¡± Jiang Luofu said.

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°Is my situation that serious?¡±

    Jiang Luofu rolled her eyes. ¡°All this while, the transcendent ss talent has existed as nothing more than a legend. No one has ever witnessed it before. What do you think?¡±

    Fearing that Zu An wouldn¡¯t understand the severity of this matter, she spelled out the dangers facing him explicitly. ¡°A cultivator possessing a transcendent ss talent would be coveted by every powerful faction. If they are unable to win you over to their side, their next move will be to destroy you. No matter what, no side could afford to allow a rival power to groom a cultivator that holds as much potential as you do. Furthermore, it¡¯s said that the blood of a human who possesses transcendent ss talent can be used to...¡±

    Jiang Luofu¡¯s face flushed a little. ¡°In any case, until you¡¯re strong enough to protect yourself, it¡¯s best for you to keep your true nature under wraps.¡±

    Zu An swallowed as he finally understood the implications of his maxed-out talent. ¡°In other words, I¡¯m like Tripitaka now?¡±[2]

    ¡°Tripitaka? What¡¯s that?¡± Jiang Luofu was perplexed.

    Zu An quickly changed the subject. ¡°There were at least a dozen people who witnessed my aptitude test earlier. What if they were to spread the word?¡±

    Jiang Luofu shook her head in response. ¡°There¡¯s no need to worry. Transcendent ss talent is, after all, no more than a legend in this present age. It¡¯s not something ordinary cultivators would even consider. Besides, you have done well keeping up the pretense of a wastrel over the years, so it¡¯s unlikely that anyone would question your true nature. I¡¯ll erase the relevant records for you, but you¡¯ll have to make sure to keep a low profile too. Give it some time, and everyone will forget about it soon enough.¡±

    Zu An nodded earnestly. ¡°Thank you, principal.¡±

    There was a moment¡¯s silence, then he asked hesitantly, ¡°Principal, why are you treating me so well?¡±

    Jiang Luofu looked at him impassively. ¡°As the principal of Brightmoon Academy, it¡¯s my responsibility to protect each and every single one of my students.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s all?¡± Zu An narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

    ¡°What else do you expect?¡± Jiang Luofu¡¯s gaze turned cold. ¡°You can¡¯t be thinking that I¡¯m fond of you because of your looks, can you?¡±

    Zu An nodded. ¡°I think that reason is much more convincing.¡±

    Jiang Luofu stared at him for a long while. ¡°It¡¯s truly a miracle that you¡¯ve managed to survive all along,¡± she observed in wonder.

    1. SOH CAH TOA is a helpful mnemonic phrase used to remember the forme for trigonometric functions, which is ubiquitously taught in schools.

    2. Tripitaka, also known as Tang Sanzang, is a Buddhist monk and main character in Journey to the West. He is personally helpless in defending himself, and relies on three supernatural beings to escort him on his journey.

 Chapter 44: Blackmail

    <h4>Chapter 44: ckmail</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Jiang Luofu tossed him a sack. ¡°You can beat it and return to your ssroom now.¡±

    Zu An caught the sack and opened it. Inside were a few medicinal herbs and a red gemstone that was roughly the size of his finger. Intrigued, he asked, ¡°What¡¯s all this?¡±

    Jiang Luofu replied, ¡°Cultivation resources that you¡¯ll need. The medicinal herbs are used for a medicinal bath, and the energy in the ki stone is to be absorbed and assimted into your body.¡±

    Just to make sure Zu An did not misunderstand her intentions, she quickly added, ¡°All students receive a set of this. This is the amount that students in the Yellow ss are entitled to.¡±

    ¡°So this is a ki stone?¡± Zu An took out the red gemstone to take a closer look at it. It looked identical to a ruby from his previous life.

    Jiang Luofu was bewildered. ¡°You¡¯ve never seen one before? How did you cultivate up to your current rank then?¡±

    Zu An was unwilling to reveal the details surrounding his Keyboard, so he quickly changed the topic. ¡°Didn¡¯t you mention that I am a transcendent ss talent? If so, I should at least qualify for entry into the Sky ss, right? Even if you don¡¯t intend to assign me there, I should be entitled to the cultivation resources that a student in the Sky ss receives!¡±

    Jiang Luofu snorted. ¡°Do you think that I can adjust the amount of cultivation resources you receive arbitrarily? The resources that every student in the academy receives is decided by the royal court¡¯s Ministry of Rites. We need to ount for every single one of the cultivation resources we distribute to our students, and submit the records for verification. If you don¡¯t mind anyone finding out about your aptitude, then by all means, take more.¡±

    ¡°Forget it then,¡± Zu An replied sheepishly. He had the Keyboard anyway, so there was no need for him to take on additional risk just for a few ki stones.

    ¡°Get lost.¡± Jiang Luofu was afraid that she would begin pummeling him if he were to loiter in her office any longer.

    After leaving the Principal¡¯s Office, Zu An fantasized over Jiang Luofu¡¯s long and sexy legs... Pui pui pui, I¡¯m thinking about what she said! It looks like troubles keeping one after another. This Tripitaka constitution of mine is sure to invite great trouble in the future. Vixens might start pouncing on me while I¡¯m walking down the street.

    He reached the ssroom where he¡¯d parted ways with Wei Suo, and saw that almost all the seats inside were taken. The students inside were distracted by the movement outside the room, and directed their curious gazes towards the doorway.

    So I¡¯m not just an ordinary freshman, but a transfer student who joined in the middle of the semester?

    The teacher standing at the podium was a nd, middle-aged man with average looks. He was the sort of person who could disappear into a crowd easily¡ªthat was how forgettable his features were.

    Clearly, he had received the news that Zu An would be joining his ss. He stopped his lesson and gestured for Zu An to enter the ssroom. ¡°Everyone, this is a new student who will be joining us from today. Please give him a warm wee!¡±

    ¡°Wele~¡±

    There was a smattering of apuse as his ssmates dragged out their greeting lifelessly.

    Zu An was reminded of his days in middle school. The scene before him was simply too familiar.

    ¡°New ssmate,e over here and introduce yourself,¡± invited the teacher.

    Zu An walked up to the podium and said, ¡°Zu An. Male. Heterosexual.¡± With that, he walked off.

    The middle-aged teacher blinked stupidly at him.

    Is that all?

    Some of the female students below began whispering amongst themselves.

    ¡°Wow, he has an attitude. I like it!¡±

    ¡°How suave!¡±

    ¡°He looks like a phnderer though.¡±

    ¡°Heh, how can someone as good-looking as him not be a phnderer? Bad guys are so much more attractive.¡±

    ...

    The male students responded very differently. They looked at Zu An with eyes filled with hostility.

    ¡°That fellow is really arrogant. I really want to beat him up.¡±

    ¡°How is he good-looking? He¡¯s no match for me at all!¡±

    ¡°Why is it a guy again? Our resources are going to be thinned yet again.¡±

    ...

    Zu An looked at the several hundred Rage points he had just earned in an instant. All of his new ssmates suddenly looked incredibly cute to him.

    ¡°Here, here!¡±

    Wei Suo was waving at him from near the back of the ss. Zu An was a little hesitant¡ªhe wanted to find a beautiful woman to sit with¡ªbut his quick survey from the podium earlier showed that there were no particrly gorgeousdies here. He eventually settled down beside Wei Suo.

    *Tok tok tok!*

    The middle-aged teacher knocked on the podium. ¡°Let¡¯s continue the lesson. Where was I?¡±

    He quickly flipped his book before continuing on, ¡°Ah, here it is. All right, I¡¯ll be continuing the lesson...

    ¡°Curb the sinners with punishments, andpliment the brave. Reward handsomely those who work for the people, but with tact and wisdom. Enforce the businessws, and evict those who seek to profit illegally. Buildmerce but focus on agriculture, for a decline in agriculture shall spread unease and tear the country from within. Should there be spare food, allow the people to donate them for higher standing. In this way, the people will be motivated and not be indolent in their work.

    ¡°Just as a pipe with holes will never be full, an official who receives payment that is not earned through his hard work will result in failure. Rewarding the meritorious with official positions; this is what it means to tap into the wisdom of the people. With the people standing brave and motivated, the country will be invincible. If a country gives rewards by merit, the country will govern itself, and doubts will be quelled. This is what it means by using politics to reduce politics, and to use words to destroy empty words. This is why a system of merit and nobility is necessary.

    ¡°As long as a country stands strong, it shall be invible. Soldiers dispatched will return victorious, and territories annexed can be safeguarded...¡±

    These long texts made Zu An¡¯s eyes ze over. He understood every individual word that the teacher spoke, but when strung together, they made no sense to him at all.

    ¡°What is he talking about?¡± Zu An presented Wei Suo with a confused face.

    Wei Suo shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t understand either.¡±

    ¡°What is this lesson?¡± No matter what, Zu An used to be a university student. It wasn¡¯t possible for him to suddenly be illiterate.

    ¡°This seems to be a lesson on the principles of criminalw,¡± Wei Suo exined. ¡°That teacher over there is Zhang San, nicknamed ¡®Sinner Beyond Laws¡¯. He¡¯s one of the advisors serving under the vice magistrate, and he¡¯s well-versed in the legal loopholes in the country. He asionally visits as a guest lecturer to impart knowledge about the legal process to the students. You also know that given our aptitude, it¡¯s impossible for us to progress anywhere in our cultivation. Thus, most of our lessons involve such practical knowledge so that we can do something useful in the future.¡±

    Zu An had a decent understanding of the various official positions and their corresponding cultivation level in this world. The lord of Brightmoon City was at the seventh rank, and serving directly under him were the vice magistrate and the chief administrator. Those two were considered his right-hand men, and the two of them were at the fifth rank.

    Under the vice magistrate were the Six Departments, namely the Military Affairs Department, Law Department, Civil Department, Personnel Department, Tax Department, and the Agriculture Department, and they were responsible for managing matters rting to their own fields. The leader of each department was at the third rank.

    Of course, the fact that Brightmoon City was a major city yed a huge role in exining why the cultivation levels of its officials were on the higher side. For mid-sized cities, their city lords would only be at the fifth rank, and their vice magistrates and chief administrators would be at the third rank. As for small cities, their city lords could only be at the fourth rank.

    The middle-aged teacher lecturing on the podium, ¡®Sinner Beyond Laws¡¯ Zhang San, was in the Law Department under the vice magistrate of Brightmoon City. Whenever he had free time on hand, he would drop by Brightmoon Academy to hold lectures and educate the students.

    This was a practice that wasn¡¯t foreign to Zu An. There were plenty of part-time lecturers in the university in his previous world too.

    ¡°How is it? Isn¡¯t Principal Jiang wonderful?¡± Wei Suo asked with a knowing look. It was almost as if he was showing off his own girlfriend.

    Zu An recalled that warm yet smooth sensation on his finger earlier, and he subconsciously replied, ¡°Indeed.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the color of her stockings today?¡± Wei Suo asked excitedly, almost like a true fanboy.

    Zu An backed away a bit to put some distance between them. ¡°ck, I think.¡±

    ¡°As expected of my goddess! Oooh~¡± Wei Suo let out an incredibly embarrassing moan, as if just knowing the color of her stockings was enough to fill him with pleasure.

    Zu An shook his head in disdain. This fellow sure was a pervert!

    There was a sudden and sharp whizzing sound, and Wei Suo cried out in pain. A huge bump formed on his forehead.

    Zu An noticed a piece of chalk on the floor right beside Wei Suo. Who would have known that all teachers, regardless of which world they hade from, were skilled in this secret art?!

    Then again, in his previous life, this would only have resulted in a slight knock. Unfortunately, the teachers in this world were powerful cultivators. If they were to get serious, even a flying piece of chalk could take a person¡¯s life.

    On the podium, Zhang San red at Wei Suo, his face livid. ¡°That student over there,e up here and answer this question.¡±

    Wei Suo was bewildered. ¡°What question?¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An quietly gave him a thumbs up. This fellow sure is brave to ask such a question.

    Zhang San furiously bellowed, ¡°If you don¡¯t know, beat it to the back of the ssroom and listen to my lecture obediently!¡±

    Without hesitation, Wei Suo beat it to the back of the ssroom.

    Zu An sat upright while cursing in his heart. Damn it, I hate it when teachers ask questions. It always leaves my heart thumping in fright. Just what did I do wrong to have to go through such torture even after transmigrating into another world?

    It wasn¡¯t easy for Zu An to survive until the lesson was finally over. Hey on his table, a deste look on his face. He wondered when these days would finallye to an end.

    All of a sudden, a shadow was cast over Zu An, as if the sky had turned dark. He opened his eyes and saw a fatty standing right next to his seat, looking down on him smugly.

    ¡°Yes?¡± Zu An asked with a disinterested tone. If it had been a beautiful woman, he would have considered entertaining her a little, but he really couldn¡¯t be bothered with a darned pig.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be waiting for you in the forest.¡± That fatty threw these words at Zu An, then left the ssroom. A few other students who looked like his henchmen quickly followed him.

    ¡°Who¡¯s that fellow? Is he ill in the head?¡± Zu An asked, unsure of what just happened.

    Wei Suo, walking over from the rear of the ssroom, overheard him and shushed him. ¡°Shh, don¡¯t talk so loudly! That fellow is the ss boss, Man Yu. He¡¯s quite a vicious character.¡±

    Looking at the fearful look on Wei Suo¡¯s face, Zu An let out a small chuckle. ¡°You got beaten up by him before?¡±

    Wei Suo could onlyugh awkwardly in response. ¡°I would advise you to head over there for a look. If you turn up, the most he¡¯ll do is to take away your ki stones. Otherwise, you¡¯re just going to get a beating from him.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s interest was piqued. ¡°That fellow steals ki stones?¡±

    Wei Suo nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. They took away the ki stones that I just received. It¡¯s not a huge deal, since people of our talent aren¡¯t going to progress far in our cultivation anyway. Ki stones are useless to us; there¡¯s no point offending that fellow over this.¡±

    ¡°But I heard that ki stones are quite valuable,¡± Zu An remarked.

    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s true. I heard that they are worth at least 10 gold taels each on the ck market, and that¡¯s if anyone is willing to sell it at all,¡± Wei Suo replied.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes lit up. If you¡¯re talking about money, I¡¯m all in. 10 gold taels, that¡¯s 180,000 RMB! He was still new to this world, and was more used to the currency in his previous world. It sounded much more relevant to him.

    It just so happened that money was the one thing hecked right now. If he could just obtain a few more ki stones, the problem would be easily settled.

    The excitement in his heart grew too much for him to bear. He leaped out of his seat and rushed outside.

    It didn¡¯t take long for him to reach the forest the fatty had pointed out to him. It was a remote area, and there weren¡¯t many people around. Clearly, that pig had scouted out this area beforehand.

    ¡°Looks like you still know your ce.¡± Upon seeing Zu An, the fatty, Man Yu, sauntered over and stretched out his fleshy hand. ¡°Hand me all of the cultivation resources you received today, and I¡¯ll protect you from now onward.¡±

 Chapter 45: Canâ€™t I At Least Ask About It?

    <h4>Chapter 45: Can¡¯t I At Least Ask About It?</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An was unfazed by the threat. Instead ofplying, he too stretched out his hand and demanded, ¡°Hand over all of your ki stones, and I¡¯ll treat it as if nothing happened at all.¡±

    Man Yu lost his temper. ¡°Brat, you¡¯re asking for it!¡± He raised his mortar-sized fist and sent it flying toward Zu An¡¯s face with ferocious speed and uracy. This was the move that he had used to subjugate countless students who refused to obey him. One strike was all it took to erase every shred of confidence of his victim.

    You have sessfully trolled Man Yu for 177 Rage points!

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An was a little dissatisfied. The fatty seemed furious enough, but the Rage points he provided did not match up to his appearance. He raised a hand calmly and stopped the fatty¡¯s punch with ease.

    Man Yu gasped in utter horror. He tried frantically to retract his fist, but it simply wouldn¡¯t move.

    Zu An sighed deeply. ¡°I asked you nicely, but you just wouldn¡¯t listen. Must things reallye to this point? Are you finally willing to hand over your ki stones now?¡±

    His cultivation had already reached the third rank. In terms of strength, he was as powerful as eighty-eight adult menbined. This fatty was lower second rank at most, since he¡¯d been sent to the Yellow ss. There was no way this fatty could ever be a match for him.

    Man Yu was unwilling to concede defeat. He sent his other fist hurtling toward Zu An, but again, it was stopped with extreme ease.

    It seemed the fatty was unwilling to submit. Zu An had to rectify the situation. He tightened his grip around his fist.

    ¡°Ouch ouch ouch! Let go, let go!¡± Man Yu had his eyes squeezed shut in pain, and tears were about to leak out. He had not expected to be overpowered by this skinny monkey.

    You have sessfully trolled Man Yu for 66 Rage points!

    ¡°Cut the crap and hand your ki stones over!¡± Zu An¡¯s tone was menacing. He tightened his grip further.

    ¡°I¡¯ll hand it over, I¡¯ll hand it over...¡± Man Yu could almost hear his finger bones creaking. He used his gaze to indicate the pouch hanging at his waist. ¡°It¡¯s there!¡±

    Worried that there was some sort of mechanism hidden in the pouch, Zu An released Man Yu¡¯s hand warily and instructed, ¡°Take it out and hand it over to me.¡±

    Man Yu quickly pulled out his pouch and poured out the ki stones inside. As he ced them one by one into Zu An¡¯s hand, the fat hanging on his cheeks began to tremble.

    You have sessfully trolled Man Yu for 9 rage points! ... 9... 9... 9...

    ¡°Huh? Only 7 ki stones?¡± Zu An could not hide his disappointment. He had dreamed of making a huge killing out of this, but who would have expected this bully to be so ipetent?

    ¡°I only managed to gather this many. As you know, very few cultivation resources are allocated to those in our ss! This is all I managed to collect from those I can handle!¡± Man Yu exined anxiously.

    ¡°What about the ones you collected before?¡± Zu An demanded.

    You have sessfully trolled Man Yu for 666 Rage points!

    Are you trying to suck me dry?!

    Man Yu¡¯s expression turned indignant as he eximed, ¡°I really don¡¯t have anything else. Most of what we collect needs to be submitted upward! Why don¡¯t I just give you 2 ki stones and be friends with one another? I promise that I won¡¯t report this matter upwards. Otherwise, once Boss Ye learns about it, you¡¯ll be in deep trouble!¡±

    ¡°Oho, you¡¯ve even managed to form a supply chain out of this trade?¡± Zu An was amused. ¡°Who¡¯s the Boss Ye you¡¯re referring to?¡±

    ¡°Ye Chenliang from Third Grade Earth ss, cultivation of upper third rank. A mere First Grade Yellow ss student like you won¡¯t be a match for him at all!¡± Man Yu sneered coldly.

    Zu An¡¯s forehead creased in a frown. That fellow is stronger than me. This is really a bit troublesome.

    Noticing Zu An¡¯s reaction, Man Yuughed heartily. ¡°Are you finally getting scared now? If you¡¯re scared, you better hand everything over to me now!¡±

    This was how human rtionships worked. As soon as Man Yu noticed Zu An¡¯s hesitation, he forgot all about his earlier promise of giving him 2 ki stones and instead demanded everything back.

    ¡°You sure talk a hell load of nonsense!¡± Zu An lost his patience and pped Man Yu in the face, causing thetter¡¯s consciousness to flicker for an instant. He stowed his newly-acquired ki stones away. ¡°I¡¯ll be taking all of these. Tell your Boss Ye toe and look for me.¡±

    ¡°You skwunk! You¡¯ll wegwet it!¡±

    ¡°Heh, air is leaking out of your broken tooth. I suggest you stop speaking.¡±

    ...

    You have sessfully trolled Man Yu for 666 Rage points!

    Zu An returned to the ssroom, and saw Wei Suo looking around nervously. As soon as thetter saw him, he rushed over. ¡°How is it? Are you fine?¡±

    Zu An burst intoughter. ¡°If you¡¯re really that concerned, why didn¡¯t you follow me into the forest to back me up?¡±

    Wei Suo shrugged and said, ¡°Given how weak I am, I would only have dragged you down if I had gone with you. If I had gotten caught and was used as a hostage, you¡¯d have had to waste your energy trying to rescue me.¡±

    Zu An rolled his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s not like you¡¯re a beautiful woman. Why would I bother rescuing you?¡± Despite that damning statement, he still tossed a ki stone over to him.

    ¡°T-this...¡± Wei Suo stared at the ki stone in his hand in bewilderment. ¡°Where did you get it from?¡±

    ¡°That darned fatty appreciated how handsome I was and gave it to me,¡± Zu An replied casually.

    ¡°How is that possible?¡± Wei Suo eximed. ¡°That fatty has someone backing him. You need to be careful of him!¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t think much of it. ¡°Backing? Is his backing bigger than the Brightmoon Duke?¡± Even though he wasn¡¯t highly-regarded in the Chu n, it was not something privy to outsiders. It would be a waste if he didn¡¯t use this card well.

    ¡°Indeed,¡± Wei Suo nodded in agreement. ¡°Marrying the First Miss of the Chu n has really catapulted you up to the moon.¡±

    After returning to his seat, Zu An asked Wei Suo in a hushed tone, ¡°How do we use ki stones?¡±

    Wei Suo was intrigued to hear that question. He hadn¡¯t expected Zu An to be clueless about something that was somon sense. Nevertheless, he still exined it patiently. ¡°ce the ki stone on your palm and drive your cultivation technique ordingly. Absorb the ki from the stone to nourish your body.¡±

    Zu An racked his mind, and realized that the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra didn¡¯t contain any techniques that allowed him to directly absorb ki. Unwilling to give up, he ced a ki stone on his palm and willed his body to absorb the ki. Nothing happened.

    He recalled that the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra had been described as an alternative route to cultivation. Instead of the conventional method of absorbing ki to temper one¡¯s body, it relied on sustaining injuries to grow stronger.

    Frustration grew within Zu An. If he¡¯d had a choice before, he would surely have switched out this masochistic cultivation technique for a different one as soon as an opportunity arose. However, his life-and-death fight with Pei Mianman the night before had shown him the true prowess of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra.

    As they had fought, he had found himself growing stronger and stronger, up to the point where his strength had rivalled hers. On top of that, he realized that for every cultivation rank he mastered, he would gain a phoenix hatchling imprint. No matter how foolish he was, it was apparent to him that this technique possessed extraordinary prowess. It would be a waste to give up on it.

    This meant that ki stones werepletely useless to him. Zu An took some time to consider this issue before nudging the fellow seated beside him. ¡°Hey,d. You want to buy my ki stones?¡±

    Wei Suo¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°How many do you have?¡±

    ¡°I have 7 of them,¡± Zu An replied. If he could sell them for 10 gold taels each, and factoring in the silver taels that he had saved up thus far, he would be able to pay off his debt of a thousand silver taels.

    Of course, he was reluctant to fork out his own money to repay the debt of that dead idiot, but the mysterious woman in the gazebo had warned him that really bad things would happen if he were to break a contract. It was always better to be safe than sorry.

    He wondered if he would get an opportunity to see her again. Should I find some time to drop by the gazebo?

    ¡°How much are you going to sell them for?¡± Wei Suo asked.

    Zu An wrapped his arm around Wei Suo¡¯s shoulders as he said, ¡°You mentioned earlier that hardly anyone would sell ki stones, making it an invaluable resource. Since we¡¯re brothers, I shan¡¯t take advantage of you. 11 gold taels each. I¡¯ll even give you a special discount and round it down. 75 gold taels!¡±

    Wei Suo blinked his eyes. ¡°I know that I¡¯m not very smart, but you shouldn¡¯t try to fool me either. Shouldn¡¯t it be 70 gold taels after rounding down?¡±

    Zu An grunted in displeasure. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I would have just asked for 10 gold taels each! 75 gold taels is the lowest I can go, and that¡¯s after factoring in our friendship as well!¡± Zu An passed the bag of the ki stones over. ¡°Here, take the ki stones and give me my money.¡±

    Wei Suo replied bitterly, ¡°I don¡¯t have that much money.¡±

    Zu An frowned. ¡°How much do you have then?¡±

    Wei Suo flipped through his pockets, then turned hisrge, innocent eyes toward Zu An. ¡°I have 54 silver taels.¡±

    Zu An nearly erupted there and then. ¡°If you can¡¯t afford it, why in the bloody world did you ask for the price?¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t I ask for the sake of it?¡± Wei Suo replied with a shrug.

    Zu An¡¯s face darkened. He was done with talking. He pressed Wei Suo down under the desk and began hitting him.

    ¡°Hey, didn¡¯t you say that we¡¯re brothers?!¡±

    ¡°It was a lie.¡±

    ...

    The next lesson was a military strategy lesson conducted by a teacher from the Military Department.

    ¡°To win without a fight, leaving the soldierspletely unharmed, that¡¯s the goal of a true general. Compliments! Compliments! Through supporting one another through tough times, a sense of camaraderie and a rtionship of mutual interest can be formed. Common enemies will be fought down together, andmon interests shall be pursued in cooperation. This is the way to winning without losing a single soldier; an offense without a battering ram; a defense without a moat...

    ¡°When a hawk strikes, it pulls in its wings and lies low first. When a ferocious beast assaults, it lowers its posture and prowls warily first. When a true sage moves, it should disy the gullibility of a fool...¡±[1]

    Once again, Zu An found himself utterly lost. It was almost as if a fly was buzzing around his ears, leaving him so annoyed that he was on the verge of exploding. He couldn¡¯t ept that he had to go to school again after transmigrating, and be forced to sit through such torturous lessons.

    He felt that he was wasting his life away. It was already bad enough that he¡¯d wasted his previous life. Was he going to squander this life away on useless nonsense like this as well?

    For a moment, the thought of standing up and walking out crossed his mind. However, the teacher standing before him possessed a cultivation of upper third rank, not to mention he was an official of the royal court as well. It was best for him to keep a low profile.

    Yup. It¡¯s not toote for me to run away after his lesson too.

    Despite Zu An¡¯s prayers, this lesson didn¡¯t pass by in a sh. It dragged on and on, a long and gruelling ordeal. By the time the ss was over, he was on the verge of going crazy.

    ¡°This won¡¯t do! I must leave this ce!¡± With a darkened face, Zu An rose and stormed out.

    Wei Suo quickly caught up with him and spoke with a fawning smile. ¡°Are you heading to the canteen to have your meal? Let¡¯s go together. I¡¯ll treat you!¡± It was apparent that the earlier beating had been extremely effective in winning him over.

    Hisment reminded Zu An that it was already the afternoon. If he left right now, he would still have to eat lunch and waste his precious money on buying a meal! It seemed much better to eat in the academy first before leaving.

    As they walked, Zu An suddenly remembered Old Mi¡¯s instructions. If he were to leave school without making any progress on his mission, that fellow wouldn¡¯t let him off the hook easily. He turned to Wei Suo. ¡°Speaking of which, given how well-connected you are in this school, do you happen to know a person named Wei Hongde?¡±

    ¡°Of course, he¡¯s my older brother! Do you know him?¡± Wei Suo asked curiously.

    ¡°Your older brother?¡± Zu An narrowed his eyes doubtfully. Wow, this sure is a coincidence. ¡°But your names don¡¯t sound alike to one another.¡±[2]

    ¡°Who says that brothers need to have simr names?¡± Wei Suo grumbled. ¡°My older brother¡¯s name sounds so old-fashioned, unlike mine. Wei Suo, Wei Suo; don¡¯t you think my name sounds awe-inspiring?

    Zu An stifled hisughter. ¡°Yes yes yes, your name sounds much cooler. Is your older brother in school right now?¡±

    ¡°He is. His talent is much better than mine, so he¡¯s currently in Grade Three Earth ss.¡± Envy surfaced in Wei Suo¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°What does your family do?¡± Zu An needed to know more. He couldn¡¯t figure out why Old Mi wanted him to get close to Wei Hongde.

    ¡°My father used to work for the Chambein of Pce Revenue, but a few years ago, he chose to move to Brightmoon City for his retirement. Of course, we can¡¯tpete with your Chu n,¡± Wei Suo replied.

    Chambein of Pce Revenue?

    Based on what he knew, the Chambein of Pce Revenue was one of the Nine Ministers, governing the emperor¡¯s treasure vault. Most of those working for him were the trusted eunuchs and servants of the emperor. What does Old Mi intend to do by having me get close to this Wei Hongde?

    A harsh cry echoed through the air. ¡°Boss Ye, that¡¯s the fellow who stole our ki stones!¡±

    Sensing what wasing, Wei Suo bounded to one side like a frightened rabbit, as if disavowing any rtionship he might have had with Zu An.

    1. This is an excerpt from Six Secret Strategic Teachings, Military Secret, attributed to Jiang Ziya.

    2. Wei Hongde sounds like an upright name whereas Wei Suo has connotations of being a despicable person.

 Chapter 46: I Have Tried it Myself

    <h4>Chapter 46: I Have Tried it Myself</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An was speechless. This fellow really knows no loyalty.

    He looked over to where the voice came from, and saw the fatty recounting the earlier incident in the forest to a young man¡ªnot forgetting to exaggerate the details, of course. The young man stood in Zu An¡¯s path and red daggers at him. ¡°So you¡¯re the bastard named Zu An?¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m your father,¡± Zu An replied.

    You have sessfully trolled Ye Chenliang for 555 Rage points!

    Clearly, this unhinged young man was none other than the ¡®backing¡¯ that the darned fatty had mentioned back in the forest, Ye Chenliang.

    ¡°Very well. You have managed to provoke me too,¡± Ye Chenliang grated. He clenched his fists tightly, his knuckles creaking and popping. It had been long since anyone had dared to speak to him in such a tone, especially a student from the lowest Yellow ss.

    Zu An shrugged nonchntly. ¡°Looks like you¡¯re a ¡®man of words¡¯. If you¡¯re all that capable, why don¡¯t you bite me then?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Ye Chenliang for 666 Rage points!

    A cold glint shed across Ye Chenliang¡¯s eyes. As he readied himself to make a move, a teasing voice off to the side interrupted him. ¡°As a fellow ssmate, allow me to remind you out of goodwill that the punishment for fighting on schoolpounds is expulsion.¡±

    Zu An risked a quick look, and saw a couple sharing augh not too far away. The man was no other than Xie Xiu, whom he had met at the academy¡¯s entrance earlier in the morning.

    Ye Chenliang ground his teeth. Even though Xie Xiu was an ipetent wastrel, he was still the son of the city lord, and he dared not offend the Xie n just yet. He suppressed his rage and spitted Zu An with a cold stare. ¡°Very well. I want a duel with you!¡±

    Zu An rolled his eyes. ¡°Do I look like a servant who fights you as and when you like? How embarrassing it would be for me to ept your duel! Rejected!¡±

    Ye Chenliang¡¯s rage exploded from within. ¡°You don¡¯t even have the guts to ept my duel? And you call yourself a man?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Ye Chenliang for 777 Rage points!

    Off to the side, Xie Xiu again offered a reminder. ¡°A duel needs consent from both sides. You aren¡¯t allowed to pressure the other party into epting the duel.¡±

    Zu An knew that Xie Xiu was outlining the academy rules for his sake, although he already knew all of this thanks to his meeting with the principal. Naturally, he wouldn¡¯t fall for such a low-level taunt.

    A vicious spark shed across Ye Chenliang¡¯s eyes. He red at Xie Xiu coldly. ¡°Second Young Master Xie, I believe that this matter is none of your business.¡±

    Xie Xiu chuckled casually in response. ¡°It is none of my business. But as a senior, isn¡¯t it normal for me to offer some advice to a junior who has just joined the academy?¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Ye Chenliang was seething, but there was nothing to be done about Xie Xiu, so he turned his attention back to Zu An once more. ¡°Everyone says that the First Miss of the Chu n was blind to have married a wastrel. I had my doubts that Miss Chu could really be such a poor judge of character, but it seems like there¡¯s some truth to these rumors after all. It turns out that you¡¯re a good-for-nothing that hides behind his words but doesn¡¯t back them up with action!¡±

    Themotion had already attracted a huge crowd. Initially, everyone thought that Ye Chenliang was at it again, bullying yet another lower grade student. Their disdain for his actions, paired with Zu An¡¯s fairly good looks, meant almost everyone was subconsciously rooting for Zu An.

    However, as soon as it was revealed that Zu An was that useless drafted son-inw of the Chu n, the crowd¡¯s mentality toward him shifted. The eyes of the men reddened with jealous rage, while the gazes of the women cooled with disdain. Clearly, they all saw this fellow who possessed absolutely no capabilities as worthless. What was the use of looks if there was nothing else inside?

    Zu An registered the huge stream of Rage points flowing into his system. It seems like my wife is quite popr after all. Just by learning my identity, all of these male students have contributed several thousand Rage points to me.

    His mind turned subconsciously to the Ten Great Beauties of the Sweetheart Ranking that Wei Suo had described in great detail. If I were to flirt with all of them, wouldn¡¯t all of the men in the academy contribute an endless stream of Rage points to me?

    Zu An smiled smugly at Ye Chenliang. ¡°I had no idea why you were kicking up such a huge fuss, but it turns out that you¡¯re yet another one of Chuyan¡¯s admirers. No wonder you carry such great enmity toward me!¡±

    ¡°Shut your mouth! Trash like you isn¡¯t worthy of even mentioning Miss Chu¡¯s name!¡± Ye Chenliang hollered furiously. In truth, he knew full well where he stood in the academy. Although he seemed fairly well-respected, it was only because those from the major ns mostly ignored him. Compared to those true geniuses from the Sky ss, he was still sorelycking.

    As such, despite his desire for Chu Chuyan, he had never tried to make a move on her. He knew that he stood very little chance, if any at all. Yet, who would have thought his goddess would actually fall into the clutches of such a worthless man? Such an atrocity could not be tolerated!

    When Man Yu reported that the culprit who stole all of the ki stones was this bastard, he seized on the opportunity to put him down before the entire academy. Through this, Miss Chu would realize that this pathetic creature could never be worthy of, and that he was the superior choice!

    Zu An sighed deeply. ¡°I, as her husband, am not worthy of speaking my wife¡¯s name? Are you saying that a stranger like you is worthy of it then?¡±

    Ye Chenliang took a deep breath. He observed the agitation of the crowd around him, and slowlyposed himself. ¡°I shan¡¯t argue with you. Miss Chu is the goddess of our hearts, and you¡¯re nothing but a coward who doesn¡¯t even have the courage to fight me. Know your own ce and get lost!¡±

    This fired up the crowd, who joined in.

    ¡°Get lost from the Chu n if you aren¡¯t going topete!¡±

    ¡°How can a nipoop like you be worthy of the First Miss of the Chu n?¡±

    ¡°You are no man!¡±

    ¡°You are no man!¡±

    ¡°You are no man!¡±

    ...

    The crowd had started off slinging a variety of insults, but at some point in time, everyone somehow began chanting the same words.

    Zu An was overjoyed as he basked in their fury. These students sure are adorable. Despite not knowing one another, they are providing me with so many Rage points. That¡¯s another several thousand into my ount!

    ¡°Rubbish! He¡¯s more of a man than the rest of you are!¡±

    A figure clothed in all red dashed in to stand in front of him.

    Zu An almost fell over in surprise. It was actually Chu Huanzhao! He hadn¡¯t expected her to stand up for him. It looked like the beating he¡¯d suffered the other day hadn¡¯t been in vain.

    The crowd recognized Chu Huanzhao as well. She was a celebrity in this academy, after all. Besides being Chu Chuyan¡¯s younger sister, she was ranked ninth in the Sweetheart Ranking, and she took her Wailing Whip along with her everywhere. It would be difficult not to recognize her.

    Seeing Chu Huanzhao stepping out to defend Zu An, Ye Chenliang frowned. ¡°How do you know whether he¡¯s a man or not?¡±

    Chu Huanzhao tilted his chin upward and stated matter-of-factly, ¡°Of course I know! I tried it myself!¡±

    The crowd exploded in a huge uproar. Wei Suo¡¯ eyes bulged out of their sockets, and he shot Zu An an enthusiastic thumbs up. Big bro, I shall follow you from now on. You must impart to me the tricks you use to pick up girls!

    Even Xie Xiu, who was enjoying the show from the sidelines, choked on his melon seeds and ended up coughing violently. His handsome face turned beet red. So did the eyes of every single man present in the crowd.

    ¡°You beast!¡±

    ¡°You actuallyid your hands on such a young girl!¡±

    ¡°They are sisters! Sisters!!!¡±

    ¡°Now that I think of it, I¡¯ve heard rumors that the son-inw of the Chu n climbed into his sister-inw¡¯s bed on his wedding night!¡±

    ¡°Oh? But the Second Miss of the Chu n doesn¡¯t seem to be angry about it?¡±

    ¡°Goddamnit, she must have been won over by his skills in bed!¡±

    ¡°I also want such luck with women too!¡±

    ...

    Zu An nearly cackled out loud. The rate at which Rage points wereing in was increasing exponentially!

    Instead of joining their male counterparts in their envious fury, the women exchanged wide-eyed looks, and their attitude toward Zu An began to change.

    ¡°A man who can win over the First Miss and Second Miss of the Chu n surely has his own strengths too, right?¡±

    ¡°It could be due to his good looks.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you think that his actions are that of a run-of-the-mill scumbag?¡±

    ¡°But he¡¯s so handsome~¡±

    ...

    The angry shouts and excited whispers made Chu Huanzhao realize how badly she¡¯d been misunderstood, and she hurriedly tried to rify herself. ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant! He took seven strikes from my Wailing Whip without even a whimper, that¡¯s why I said he¡¯s more of a man than any one of you!¡±

    She turned to Zu An and red at him, her cheeks flushed bright red. ¡°It¡¯s all your fault!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Huanzhao for 33 Rage points!

    The smile on Zu An¡¯s face grew even brighter.

    Opposite them, Ye Chenliang sneered. ¡°That¡¯s impossible. Even if you wish to cover for him, you shoulde up with a more usible excuse. Everyone knows that your Wailing Whip amplifies pain tenfold. There¡¯s no way he could have been able to withstand that!¡±

    Chu Huanzhao red at Ye Chenliang. ¡°You think that I¡¯m lying to you all?¡±

    Ye Chenliang sniffed coldly. ¡°You know best whether you¡¯re lying or not. Try asking the crowd then. See if anyone believes that he could take seven strikes from the Wailing Whip without letting out a cry.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡±

    The onlookers responded as one, Wei Suo included. Clearly, many of them had suffered the agony of being struck by the Wailing Whip before. Even those who had yet to experience it firsthand knew of the Wailing Whip¡¯s effects. None of them believed it possible for anyone to take sevenshes without letting out a cry.

    Chu Huanzhao lost her patience. ¡°I¡¯m the Second Miss of the Chu n! When have I ever lied before?¡±

    Zu An rolled his eyes. Thisss does have a fiery temper, but she doesn¡¯t possess her older sister¡¯s smarts. What¡¯s the point of you trying so hard to vouch for your own words?

    ¡°Who knows whether you¡¯re fabricating lies in order to protect him? There¡¯s no way we will believe your words, unless...¡± Yu Chenliang smirked at Zu An. ¡°Unless you prove it to us right now. Whip him before our eyes and let us witness it personally!¡±

    ¡°Fine!¡± Chu Huanzhao reached for her whip as she stalked toward Zu An.

    Zu An stumbled backwards in shock. It was amon saying that those withrge breasts had small brains. Thisss was as t as an airne runway, so how could she still be such a blockhead?

    He had finally realized just how powerful the Heiress Ball of Delights was after his fight with Pei Mianman. It was almost like having an additional life.

    He dearly regretted wasting it once on a bet with Chu Huanzhao, and he would have to be insane to do it once more!

    ¡°Calm down!¡± Zu An quickly grabbed her hand.

    ¡°It¡¯s all because of you that I ended up being embarrassed here. Let me strike you with my whip once so as to show all of them that I¡¯m not lying!¡± Chu Huanzhao hissed in agitation.

    Zu An thought quickly. ¡°Don¡¯t you find it embarrassing that you¡¯re doing exactly what he¡¯s asking you to? It¡¯s almost as if he¡¯s treating you like a servant!¡±

    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re right too.¡± Chu Huanzhao nodded, frowning. ¡°What should I do then?¡±

    ¡°Why bother with them? It¡¯s not as if he can force me to duel with him. Haven¡¯t you heard of the saying, ¡®Never let a retard pull you down to his level¡¯?¡±

    ¡°Who are you calling a retard?¡± Ye Chenliang¡¯s face ckened.

    ¡°Whoever¡¯s replying to me, of course!¡± Zu An shrugged, sparing a sympathetic look for his adversary.

    You have sessfully trolled Ye Chenliang for 99 Rage points!

    ¡°It¡¯s no wonder why everyone says that the sister-inw is the true sweetheart. I¡¯ll have to make sure to marry a wife who has a younger sister in the future too. I just wonder if her family will be as generous as the Chu n¡¯s as to offer both of their daughters to me!¡± Ye Chenliang began his counterattack.

 Chapter 47: Mooching Requires Skills!

    <h4>Chapter 47: Mooching Requires Skills!</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The crowd cheered wildly. Clearly, they agreed with what Ye Chenliang had said.

    Chu Huanzhao¡¯s felt as though her cheeks were on fire. ¡°What nonsense are you spouting?!¡± Unable to take such humiliation, she flicked her Wailing Whip toward Ye Chenliang.

    Ye Chenliang was well prepared. He dodged her strike nimbly, and then threw her a question of his own. ¡°Chu Huanzhao, are you challenging me to a duel?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right! I¡¯m challenging you to a duel so that I can rip that foul mouth of yours apart!¡± Chu Huanzhao tried to strike Ye Chenliang a second time.

    ¡°The one I want to challenge is that Zu wastrel! Why are you butting into this as well? Could it be that the two of you are really in a rtionship?¡± Ye Chenliang demanded loudly as he again dodged her attack. He had no desire to fight Chu Huanzhao. Setting aside her background as a scion of the Chu n, just the pain of being struck by the Wailing Whip was something that he never wanted to experience ever again in his entire life.

    Chu Huanzhao¡¯s entire face burned red. She maneuvered her whip dexterously, trying tond a clean strike on Ye Chenliang.

    Ye Chenliang dodged frantically as he yelled challenges over his shoulder at Zu An. ¡°Zu wastrel, are you really a man? Are you only capable of mooching off women? If you have guts, fight with me!¡±

    Zu An shrugged in response. ¡°It¡¯s with my own ability that I¡¯m able to pimp myself out. Why should I make a move when I have others to do it for me? If you¡¯re really as formidable as you think, go and find a woman who would stand up for you! Hah! But looking at your face, I doubt anyone will want you even if you paid them!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Ye Chenliang for 233 Rage points!

    Chu Huanzhao turned around and red at Zu An sharply. ¡°You shut up!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Huanzhao for 99 Rage points!

    The crowd also turnedpletely silent. Xie Xiu stared without blinking, his face frozen in a look of bewilderment. Finally, he intoned deeply, ¡°That man has truly reached the zenith of shamelessness!¡± The crowd around him nodded their heads vehemently.

    You have sessfully trolled the onlookers for 66 Rage points! ... 66... 66... 66...

    Zu An felt his heart soaring to the heavens. I¡¯m striking it rich! If I had known this would happen, I would havee to the academy yesterday as well!

    All of a sudden, a figure leaped out to interpose themselves between Chu Huanzhao and Ye Chenliang. ¡°Miss Chu, since Ye Chenliang didn¡¯t agree to your duel, it isn¡¯t appropriate for you to corner him so.¡±

    The figure was wearing a white shirt that fluttered gracefully in the wind. With one hand behind his back, he easily grabbed the Wailing Whip out of the air with the other. He was the spitting image of a gant and dashing warrior.

    Amotion broke out amidst the female students.

    ¡°Waaa, it¡¯s Young Master Yuan!¡±

    ¡°Young Master Yuan is truly gant.¡±

    ¡°To think that he could catch Wailing Whip so easily... He must have reached the fourth rank, right?¡±

    ¡°What fourth rank? He¡¯s already reached the peak of the fourth rank! It probably wouldn¡¯t be long before he makes a breakthrough to the fifth rank!¡±

    ¡°Waaa, he¡¯s so handsome! He¡¯s so much better than that shameless scum whose only talent is hiding behind a woman¡¯s back!¡±

    ...

    Zu An¡¯s face slowly turned dark as night. Those women sure are fickle-minded. Just a moment ago they were speaking up for me, but now they¡¯re singing an entirely different tune.

    The neer spoke with a voice as calm as the surface of ake in winter. ¡°What you¡¯re doing is an infringement of the academy rules. If this matter blows up, not even the Brightmoon Duke would be able to stop the academy from expelling you.¡±

    ¡°Yuan Wendong, don¡¯t stick your head where it doesn¡¯t belong!¡± Chu Huanzhao tried furiously to free her whip from his grasp, but it did not budge no matter how much force she exerted.

    The white-clothed man known as Yuan Wendong smiled an impable smile. ¡°Chu Second Miss, are you intending to get yourself expelled here?¡±

    Chu Huanzhao red at Yuan Wendong furiously. ¡°Are you threatening me?¡±

    ¡°I dare not. I am friends with your older sister, so naturally, I do not wish to see anything happen to Chu Second Miss,¡± Yuan Wendong said as he finally released his grip.

    Chu Huanzhao hastily pulled the Wailing Whip back to her side, but a look of uncertainty flickered across her face.

    Seeing that someone was standing up for him, Ye Chenliang puffed out his chest and strutted over to Zu An. ¡°I¡¯ll teach you a lesson today. In the end, this is a world where you can only count on yourself. Someone who relies on external help is bound to fall one day...¡±

    Before he could finish his words, a gentle voice emerged from within the crowd. ¡°T-that¡¯s not it! He... He¡¯s actually really formidable!¡±

    All eyes instantly turned toward the source of the voice, eager to see who was intervening this time around. A young woman with a face no bigger than the size of a palm stepped forward, blushing furiously. She appeared incredibly ufortable being the center of attention.

    ¡°Oh? Who¡¯s this woman? She¡¯s so pretty~¡±

    ¡°Heh, look at how uncultured you are. That¡¯s called cute!¡±

    ¡°You must be new here, right? How could you fail to recognize the seventh-ranked woman in the Sweetheart Ranking, Ji Xiaoxi? She¡¯s the daughter of Divine Physician Ji, and her talent in pill concoction is second to none amongst her peers!¡±

    ¡°Why is she speaking up for Zu An? Could it be that she also...¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t spout nonsense! How could a fairy like her possibly have any rtions with that human scum?¡±

    ...

    The discussions continued fervently. Even Ye Chenliang was taken aback by this development. He quickly put on a kind smile and asked gently, ¡°Junior Ji, what are you doing here?¡±

    He had to tread carefully here. This Ji Xiaoxi had caused a huge stir from the first day she¡¯d arrived at this academy. Due to her adorable looks, some perverts had begun to harbor deviant thoughts toward her. Yet, as soon as they came into contact with her clothes, they found themselves poisoned right away. Many of them ended up suffering for up to half a month.

    In the end, all of them were expelled from the academy. Some spected that it was due to the vastwork of connections Divine Physician Ji had built up in his earlier years. Many powerful figures owed him favors, and they did not hesitate to lend a helping hand upon hearing that his daughter had been bullied. However, there were others who imed Ji Xiaoxi herself had powerful backing within the academy.

    Regardless of which one it was, it was clear that she wasn¡¯t someone whom Ye Chenliang could afford to offend.

    ¡°I was just passing by when I saw a lot of people gathered here...¡± Standing before so many people, Ji Xiaoxi felt a little intimidated. Nevertheless, she gathered her courage and dered, ¡°I saw that you all misunderstood big brother Zu, and big brother Zu wasn¡¯t willing to exin himself either. That¡¯s why... I stepped out.¡±

    She really was doing this for Zu An?

    More frantic whispering broke out amongst the crowd. It was unthinkable that the drafted son-inw of the Chu n, despite being known for his inadequacy, would not only be able toy his hands on both of the Chu n¡¯s sisters, but form a rtionship with the famous little fairy, Ji Xiaoxi, too!

    What in the world is going on here?

    Is it because I¡¯m not handsome enough, or am I just not enough of a scumbag? Or is it my cultivation that women take issue with, or perhaps my background isn¡¯t good enough?

    The men in the crowd weighed these thoughts carefully, and each came to the same conclusion. Other than their appearances, there was nothing about them that was inferior to that shameless man! A burst of rage was unanimously directed towards Zu An.

    You have sessfully trolled the onlookers for 99 Rage points! ... 99... 99... 99...

    The sudden surge of Rage points assured Zu An that he was right not to sneak out earlier. Choosing to have his lunch in the academy was arguably the best decision he had ever made.

    Ye Chengliang swallowed as he watched the situation unfold before him, utterly confused. What is going on here? I was just trying to teach this fool his ce! Why are so many women stepping forward to protect him?

    Something must be really wrong with this world!

    ¡°Junior Ji, what¡¯s your rtionship with him?¡± Ye Chenliang was unable to ept such a reality.

    ¡°He...¡± Ji Xiaoxi looked at Zu An, and she blushed again. ¡°He¡¯s my good friend.¡±

    Her face had reddened as she recalled how they had first met in the river, both of thempletely nude. While she now knew that he was deficient below the belt, knowing that her body had been seen by a man still made her feel a little peculiar inside.

    Those gathered around mistook her reaction for shyness and embarrassment, and their hearts turned cold. How can this be? Even our beloved little fairy has been snared by that man¡¯s demonic clutches!

    Oblivious to their misunderstanding, she began to exin herself. ¡°I once went to the Hidden Dragon Mountain, and there I saw him kill dozens of Assrip Wolves with my own eyes. Even their leader was not spared.¡±

    All of the men nearly burst into tears. It¡¯s all over. Our little fairy actually went into the Hidden Dragon Mountain together with him. A man and a woman, all alone in the middle of the wilderness. The mountains must have awakened their primal instincts andpelled them to... Goddamnit!

    ¡°That man actually monopolized three of the top ten beauties in the Sweetheart Ranking! Don¡¯t hold me back, I¡¯m going to duel him!¡±

    ¡°No one is holding you back, go ahead and fight him! If he really managed to kill dozens of Assrip Wolves, you¡¯re just going to be cannon fodder to him.¡±

    ¡°Hmph! I¡¯m only waiting for Ye Chenliang to be done with him. I¡¯ll have you know that I am not in the habit of ganging up on others!¡±

    ¡°Tsk.¡±

    ...

    As he heard her tale, Ye Chenliang felt droplets of cold sweat form on his forehead. He spared a look at Zu An, lounging in a disinterested manner, before turning to face Ji Xiaoxi with disbelief painted on his face. ¡°He killed dozens of Assrip Wolves? Are you serious?¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi nodded. ¡°I wasn¡¯t able to make sense of how he was able to do it, but he did. If you don¡¯t believe me, you can go and ask my father. He can testify to this matter.¡±

    A chorus of despairing groans rang out from the onlookers. Holy shit! They have even gotten to the stage where they have met the parents!

    Off to the side, Xie Xiu¡¯s mind was working on a different matter. Ji Xiaoxi specializes in pill concoction, and so her cultivation is weakerpared to her peers. However, she¡¯s still a third rank cultivator. Despite this, even she was unable to tell how Zu An managed to kill those Assrip Wolves. Does this mean that he has attained an unimaginable level of speed?

    It wasn¡¯t just Xie Xiu who had such thoughts in mind.

    Many others, including Ye Chenliang, had also grasped the hidden meaning in Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s words. It was hard to imagine that she was lying, especially since she¡¯d even brought Divine Physician Ji into the picture. Ji Xiaoxi was known to be an extremely good-natured person, and hardly anyone had seen her lie before. She would never put her father¡¯s reputation on the line over something like this!

    While every word she¡¯d said was true, the way she had worded her statement had unintentionally led them astray.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°I told you! My brother-inw is a formidable man, but all of you refused to believe me! Hmph!¡± Chu Huanzhao¡¯s voice was full of vindication as Ji Xiaoxi turned the tables on those naysayers. Despite this, she still turned around and narrowed her eyes at Zu An. She was curious as to when this fellow had managed to hook up with other women outside.

    This won¡¯t do. My big sister isn¡¯t around these days, so I need to help her keep him in line. I can¡¯t let those whor... Chu Huanzhao¡¯s eyes fell on the innocent-looking Ji Xiaoxi, and she was unable to finish the word. That really went against her conscience.

    The expressions of those gathered there slowly changed as they processed all of the information revealed thus far. Earlier on, Chu Huanzhao¡¯s im that Zu An had taken seven strikes from the Wailing Whip without crying out had seemed an exaggeration to them. But now, with Ji Xiaoxi providing her testimony, they started to wonder if Zu An could truly be an incredible expert of some sort.

    As their minds churned, Zu An walked up to Ye Chenliang and shook his head in sympathy. ¡°Allow me to teach you a lesson too. The only reason why you think mooching is unreliable is because you aren¡¯t handsome enough. That¡¯s why youck the imagination to fathom just how charming a man like me can be. You can¡¯t even deal with either of the two women standing by my side right now, and you still dream of dueling me?¡±

    Chu Huanzhao¡¯s jaw dropped to the floor, followed by Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s.

    Everyone around was staggered by his promation. Their eyes had been opened to a new height of shamelessness.

 Chapter 48: Mooching Ainâ€™t Easy

    <h4>Chapter 48: Mooching Ain''t Easy</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    You have sessfully trolled Ye Chenliang for 999 Rage points!

    Ye Chenliang had never felt so insulted before. He had been brimming with confidence as he confronted Zu An, fully intending to drag him down from his high horse. Who could have predicted that it would all backfire on him?

    At this point, he had already dropped the idea of dueling Zu An. He was definitely not going to tangle with someone who could kill dozens of Assrip Wolves.

    ¡°You¡¯re merely a lower Ding ss cultivator. Why are you pretending to be an expert?¡± an usatory voice called out.

    Zu An narrowed his eyes. He had already spotted Hong Xingying amidst the crowd. Did I dig up his grave in his previous life? Why in the world is he tenaciously biting onto me like a mad dog?

    Those who had been present at his testing earlier on nodded in agreement. ¡°Indeed. His aptitude is only lower Ding ss!¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s currently in the Yellow ss, so how strong could he possibly be?¡±

    All this left Ye Chenliang feeling deeply conflicted. There was no way these people were lying, given that there were so many witnesses testifying to it. At the same time, it was unlikely for both Ji Xiaoxi and Chu Huanzhao to be lying. Just what in the world was happening here?

    It was possible for him to investigate further in order to uncover the truth, but, to be honest, he was starting to feel a little intimidated. He had utterly embarrassed himself earlier on, and if he were to make a wrong move here, he could very well lose his ce in the academy.

    Yuan Wendong noticed the indecision ying out on Ye Chenliang¡¯s face, and berated him inwardly for being utterly useless. It seems like I¡¯ll have to do this myself.

    He stepped forward and sped his fist toward Zu An. ¡°I was initially unwilling to get involved in this matter, but you are simply too overbearing. You have trampled over the blood, sweat, and tears of the cultivators who have worked diligently to reach their current level. What skill each of us possesses didn¡¯te by coincidence. On the other hand, you chose to walk down a twisted path. If I allow you to get away with this, I cannot imagine just how many juniors will be misled by your example and be degenerates like you. So, I, Yuan Wendong, representing all of the hardworking cultivators of the academy, will challenge you to a duel.¡±

    Hearing Hong Xingying mention that Zu An was only a lower Ding ss cultivator had boosted his confidence. Besides, even if Zu An was feigning weakness, he still had faith that he would be the victor.

    Yuan Wendong¡¯s cultivation wasn¡¯t at the peak of the fourth rank, unlike what most people believed. Just two days ago, he had managed to break through to the fifth rank. There were only a few people in the entire academy currently at the fifth rank. Apart from those few fearsome monsters, he was confident that he wouldn¡¯t lose to anyone.

    Besides, Zu An had built up the perfect stage for him to elevate his reputation one step further. This good-for-nothing was just another stepping stone toward greatness. Moreover, the Yuan n and the Chu n were currentlypeting over the arms trade. Zu An¡¯s defeat would be the perfect tale to sully the reputation of the Chu n.

    Yuan Wendong¡¯s monologue about diligence and whatnot won him the goodwill of the crowd. There was a lingering sentiment of envy and resentment toward Zu An¡¯s reliance on women, and most were simply overjoyed to see someone willing to step forward to deal with him. This piece of drama would be enough to satisfy their hunger for the day.

    ¡°You speak as if you¡¯re the only one working hard. Do you know how hard I have worked too?¡± Zu An retorted indignantly.

    Yuan Wendong snorted. ¡°What have you worked hard on?¡±

    ¡°I worked hard on my mooching skills! Do you think that it¡¯s that easy to be a mooch?¡± Zu An argued vehemently.

    The men in the crowd had had enough.

    ¡°Shit! This is too much. I really want to beat him up!¡±

    ¡°Me too!¡±

    ¡°Shall we just do it together?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s allow Yuan Wendong to have a go first.¡±

    ...

    A beautiful figure, who just happened to be passing by, heard Zu An¡¯s deration and burst intoughter. He sure is shameless. I really wonder how in the world he managed to catch Chuyan¡¯s eyes.

    She continued on her way. This minor scuffle held no interest for her.

    Yuan Wendong sneered coldly at Zu An¡¯s statement. ¡°Mooching? How meaningless. Do you really expect to count on women for the rest of your life? Take a look at your current circumstances. Who are you going to count on to get you through this quandary? Chu Huanzhao? Or Ji Xiaoxi? Even the two of thembined won¡¯t be a match for me. In the end, men should rely on themselves. That¡¯s what true strength is!¡±

    Zu An sighed deeply. ¡°I didn¡¯t think that you would suffer from ack of imagination too. What gave you the impression that I can¡¯t rely on a woman to get me through this crisis? Pei Mianman! Come here and help me deal with this hateful fellow!¡±

    Pei Mianman?

    That name made everyone freeze on the spot. That was the name of a beauty whose reputation in the academy rivaled Chu Chuyan! On top of that, while Chu Chuyan had a cold demeanor and distanced herself from others, Pei Mianman had an alluring figure and a gentle smile that posed a fatal charm to all men. There was no man who didn¡¯t fancy her.

    Was it even possible for such a goddess to be involved with this shameless fellow?

    Impossible! That was the first thought in everyone¡¯s mind.

    As expected, deafening silence followed Zu An¡¯s shout. The crowd began jeering at him.

    Yuan Wendong couldn¡¯t contain hisughter. ¡°Do you know who Pei Mianman is? How could someone like her possibly be interested in you? You¡¯re a toad lusting for the flesh of a swan!¡±

    He had once been entranced by that woman as well, and he had done everything he could to court her. However, he soon discovered that her gentle exterior concealed an utterly cold heart. She viewed all men to be worth nothing at all, which made her an even more difficult target to court than Chu Chuyan.

    How could such a woman possibly be involved with the shameless man standing before him?

    ¡°I saw you just now. If you leave right now, I¡¯m going to divulge everything that happened between us right here!¡± Zu An shouted out loud.

    The figure who was attempting to sneak away stopped short. Zu An¡¯s threat had really triggered her. ¡°Shut up!¡± she shouted back.

    Hurried footsteps sounded, and a young woman dressed in a red top and a ck skirt strode across to join the fray. Her skin that was smooth like jade; her enchanting, almond-shaped, peach-blossom eyes that seemed to speak; her proud andmanding figure; all of these made men feel numb all over and made women shy away in embarrassment of their own form.

    Pei Mianman had forsaken her usually gentle demeanour. Her face was as dark as the sky in a thunderstorm. She red at Zu An furiously. ¡°If you dare speak a word about that, I¡¯ll kill you right away!¡±

    Her words, and the forcefulness with which she spat them out, settled the doubts of everyone present. The hearts of countless men shattered in unison.

    To think that such a thing could be true! Our dream lover has actually gotten into that kind of rtionship with this shameless man!

    Zu An, meanwhile, was feeling a little perplexed. The Rage points he was obtaining seemed to be only half of what he had reaped earlier. What¡¯s going on? Is Pei Mianman¡¯s chest not big enough, or is her face not beautiful enough?

    I thought that her being the secret guest of this show would push my earnings of Rage points to greater heights, but it¡¯s starting to show signs of slowing down instead...

    He scanned the crowd with a frown. The angry faces of the men had been reced with envy... as well as respect.

    Even Wei Suo, who had run as far away as he could, had returned. He grabbed onto Zu An¡¯s sleeves, eyes sparkling. ¡°Big bro, you¡¯ll be my only big bro for the rest of my...¡±

    Before he could finish, he was crushed under the onrushing stampede of men swarming to reach Zu An. ¡°Master, take me in as your disciple!¡±

    ¡°Master, choose me. I wish to inherit your art of mooching, and I believe that I have the qualifications too!¡±

    ¡°Hah, I¡¯m the one who looks more like him! If anyone is going to inherit master¡¯s status as a legendary moocher, it¡¯s me!¡±

    ¡°Heh, you¡¯re already thinking of overthrowing your master despite having yet to be epted? Master, you mustn¡¯t take in that sort of backstabbing bastard as your disciple!¡±

    ...

    Zu An could onlyment at how outstanding he was. Even if the Keyboard had epted Respect points and not Rage points, he would still have been able to rise to the top of the world.

    Following her deration and the ensuingmotion, Pei Mianman¡¯s eyelids had started twitching uncontrobly. She gritted her teeth so tightly that they creaked audibly through her closed lips. ¡°You must be feeling pretty cocky now, hm?¡±

    Zu An casually waved a hand. ¡°Let¡¯s not reminisce about the past now. Help me get rid of those two fellows... Ah no, throw that damned traitor over there into the mix too.¡± He pointed to Hong Xingying, who was hiding amidst the crowd.

    In truth, Zu An had called out her name with a feeling of trepidation. He hadn¡¯t been sure that she would lend him her aid. If she had turned against him instead, he would have had no choice but to try summoning his final trump card, the beautiful principal.

    The furious re that Pei Mianman was directing at Zu An disappeared suddenly, reced by an unexpectedly tender smile. ¡°All right.¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    She pointed to Yuan Wendong, Ye Chenliang, and Hong Xingying, and said, ¡°Let¡¯s duel. The three of you cane at me together.¡±

    The faces of the trio immediately twisted in horror. Yuan Wendong hurriedly spoke up. ¡°Miss Pei, we are...¡±

    Pei Mianman cut him off with a frosty smile. ¡°I thought you mentioned something along the lines of a man relying on his own strength. Yet, the three of you are now afraid to ept a challenge from me? If you¡¯re too scared, kneel down and kowtow to Zu An, and I¡¯ll pretend as if nothing happened today.¡±

    Hong Xingying immediately erupted in anger. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll ept your duel then! Who¡¯s afraid of...¡± Before he could even finish his boast, a ck blur streaked forward and sunk a fist right into his abdomen. He copsed in a heap, his body curled up like a cooked prawn as he gasped desperately for breath.

    Pei Mianman casually blew on her fist. ¡°A cultivator who hasn¡¯t even reached the fourth rank. I sure wonder where you got your confidence from. The two over there, it¡¯s your turn.¡±

    Yuan Wendong¡¯s face turned pale. He cursed Hong Xingying for being a braindead fool. He knew that the whole academy was watching, and it would be a huge humiliation to back out of this fight like a coward. ¡°Pei Mianman, you better not go too far. You should know that I¡¯ve reached the fifth rank too!¡±

    As he said those words, golden light began to shine forth from his hands. Numerous swords flew from the sheaths of the surrounding onlookers and began to revolve around him. It was quite an imposing sight.

    ¡°That fellow has reached the fifth rank? I thought that he was still at the peak of the fourth rank!¡±

    ¡°He sure hid it well! I wonder who he is plotting against, for him to conceal his strength this way. It¡¯s lucky that he was forced to reveal it today.¡±

    ¡°Heh, looks like we¡¯ll have a good show to watch. Who do you think will win?¡±

    ¡°Do you even need to ask? It¡¯s our goddess, of course!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not so clear-cut. Ye Chenliang is not a weakling. In a two-on-one fight, I reckon that even Miss Pei will find herself a tight spot.¡±

    ...

    Spurred on by thements from the crowd, Ye Chenliang began driving his ki to form a transparentyer around his body that resembled a tortoise¡¯s shell.

    Zu An was astounded by the sight. Ye Chenliang was manifesting his ki as an armor around his body, which revealed that he had reached the peak of the third rank. Meanwhile, Yuan Wendong seemed to be attracting metal to himself, just like a certain helmeted fellow he¡¯d read about in his previous life. Clearly, his elemental attribute was metal.

    Zu An knew he wasn¡¯t a match for either of the two of them. Although, if he used Grandgale¡¯s instantaneous movement together with the Poisonous Prick, he might still stand a chance.

    Yuan Wendong knew that he who made the first move controlled the flow of the battle. He waved his hand in a grand arc, and the dozens of swords revolving around him flew toward Pei Mianman. At the same time, Ye Chenliang charged forward like a bull, using the flying swords as cover to ram the beautiful silhouette standing before him.

    Even someone as fearless as Zu An felt a twinge of worry for Pei Mianman. The woman herself, however, appeared to bepletely unfazed. ck mes burst out from beneath her feet and soared up around her like a divine dragon. All of the swords that came into contact with the ck mes vanished one after another at an astounding rate.

 Chapter 49: The Legend of the Moochlord

    <h4>Chapter 49: The Legend of the Moochlord</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Ye Chenliang found himself charging headlong toward Pei Mianman all alone.

    He had seen how the dozens of swords had been vaporized in an instant, and it terrified him. If the ck me was even able to melt metal, what chance would a body made out of flesh and blood have?

    He had never expected Yuan Wendong¡¯s swords to be so useless. At least a rock would still cause a ssh when dropped into a pool of water. All of those swords had disappeared without achieving anything at all.

    By the time his rational mind had processed the amount of danger he was in, it was already toote for him to stop. He could only watch in despair as his body headed straight for destruction.

    A middle-aged man with a bald spot on his head suddenly appeared between the two of them. He ced a hand on Ye Chenliang¡¯s head and stopped his charge in its tracks.

    ¡°A mere third rank actually attempting to knock over a fifth rank by ramming her. What have you been learning in the academy all of these years?¡± the middle-aged man bellowed furiously. He turned his re on Pei Mianman. ¡°You too. Do you need to be so vicious towards your fellow schoolmate?¡±

    Pei Mianman reined in her ck mes. ¡°All I did was stand here. What can I do if he so fervently wishes to court his own death by charging in like a madman?¡± With that, she turned her back on the widely-feared discipline master and walked away.

    The crowd, who had just witnessed her strength, quickly opened up a path for her to pass through.

    Just like them, Zu An was a little taken aback by Pei Mianman¡¯s strength.

    It¡¯s fortunate that she hadn¡¯t used her elemental powers yesterday. I would have ended up being vaporized like those swords! No matter how powerful the Heiress Ball of Delights is, there¡¯s no way it can safeguard my life if I¡¯ve already been burned into ashes.

    The discipline master, Lu De, watched Pei Mianman depart in silence for a moment. When he turned to look at Ye Chenliang, his expression had changedpletely. ¡°Are you the one causing a fuss here?¡±

    Ye Chenliang felt his soul trying to escape from his body. He pointed frantically at Zu An and eximed, ¡°Teacher, it wasn¡¯t me! He was the one causing trouble!¡±

    Lu De turned to Zu An, his voice cold. ¡°You were the one causing trouble here?¡±

    Zu An shrugged nonchntly. ¡°I stood here without making a move from start to finish. They are the ones who insistently tried to provoke me one after another, wanting me to duel them. If you don¡¯t believe me, you can ask all the other students here.¡±

    The crowd quickly verified Zu An¡¯s words. They might have looked down on Zu An for relying on women previously, but the clear demonstration of his unbelievable mooching skills had left them feeling only respect and admiration. Not only was he involved with four out of the Ten Great Beauties of the Sweetheart Ranking, these four even included the top two beauties, Chu Chuyan and Pei Mianman! If they could just learn a thing or two from this master, they would be set for life.

    Zu An could have never imagined that for decades, the legend of the ¡®Moochlord¡¯ would continue to be passed down through each generation of students. There was even a group of people who revered him so greatly that they couldn¡¯t bear to use his real name, addressing him as ¡®The Man¡¯ instead as a show of respect.

    Seeing the students vouch for Zu An, Lu De¡¯s face hardened into ice. He began to strike Ye Chenliang mercilessly with the ruler in his hand. ¡°I¡¯ve long heard that you have been forming factions in the academy to bully the weak! Very well, let me show you what it means to reform a person through virtue today!¡±

    The ruler in the hands of the discipline master was far more formidable than Chu Huanzhao¡¯s Wailing Whip. Ye Chenliang shrieked in agony under its blows, his heart filled with a sense of injustice. Yuan Wendong was the one who started the fight, so why are you only hitting me?

    Despite his indignance, Ye Chenliang knew better than to voice those thoughts out loud. Yuan Wendong might look like a gentleman on the surface, but that was just a cover to conceal his viciousness. Now that he had reached the fifth rank, Ye Chenliang definitely couldn¡¯t afford to offend him.

    After dealing with Ye Chenliang, Lu De turned his gaze toward Hong Xingying, who was still curled up on the ground. ¡°The same goes for you too. It¡¯s only your first day at the academy, but you¡¯ve already gotten yourself into trouble. Do you think that I dare not to teach you a lesson just because you¡¯re from the Chu n? I shall make sure to beat the academy rules into your bones today!¡±

    Hong Xingying nearly burst into tears.

    I was the one who suffered the most tragic plight earlier on, so why must I endure more suffering now?

    It had only been a day since he arrived in the academy, so he wasn¡¯t clear about the academy¡¯s internal politics. He pointed his finger at Yuan Wendong and whined, ¡°Teacher, why aren¡¯t you punishing him then?¡±

    A cold glint shed across Yuan Wendong¡¯s eyes.

    Lu De scoffed in response. ¡°He¡¯s reached the fifth rank, but what about you? I can tell you frankly that the students who are able to reach the fifth rank are the brightest talents in our country, and they¡¯ll be regarded as treasures no matter where they go. If any of you are able to reach the fifth rank in the future, the academy won¡¯t concern itself with your misbehavior, as long as you don¡¯t go too far.¡±

    Zu An felt his heart skip a beat. Clearly, strength was important no matter which world one was in. The students that had gathered around didn¡¯t appear surprised by Lu De¡¯s deration. They were well-versed in these ¡®implicit rules¡¯.

    After Lu De was done saying his piece, he dragged the two wailing fellows away behind him, leaving the crowd praying for their safety.

    Wei Suo, who was hugging Zu An¡¯s thigh, gulped fearfully. ¡°Boss, there was a moment there that I feared for your life when you talked back to him. Those who fall prey to Baldhead usually don¡¯t fare too well.¡±

    Zu An chuckled in response. ¡°Since Lu De seeks to reform the students through virtue, it¡¯s only right for him to listen to the voice of reason.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re probably the only one who dares to reason with him.¡± Xie Xiuughed heartily as he walked over to Zu An. ¡°I regarded myself as a man who has conquered many beautiful flowers, but it seems I¡¯m stillckingpared to Brother Zu. To think that you would be able to win the hearts of four of the beauties in the Ten Great Beauties. I¡¯m humbled by your aplishments. I hope that we can sit down together to trade our insights in the future.¡±

    ¡°Brother Xie, you¡¯re ttering me. Don¡¯t you have one by your side too?¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°By my side? Why am I not aware of it?¡± Xie Xiu was taken aback. While there was nock of beautiful women by his side, he didn¡¯t think that any of them had reached the level of the Ten Great Beauties.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t your sister one of the Ten Great Beauties? Brother Xie, it would be great if you could introduce her to us.¡±

    Xie Xiu nearly choked on his saliva. ¡°T-that... I still have matters to attend to, so I¡¯ll be taking my leave.¡± Completely ignoring Zu An¡¯s attempts to make him stay, he stumbled away frantically without a backward nce.

    Zu An was dumbfounded. ¡°Why does it look as if he has seen a ghost?¡±

    Unlike Xie Xiu, Wei Suo¡¯s reverence for Zu An only deepened. ¡°Boss, you have my highest respect. You aren¡¯t content with having the four of them, and still want to conquer young master Xie¡¯s older sister. Truly unthinkable. There are none in our generation who can hope topare to you!¡±

    ¡°You sure have a smooth tongue. You would have surely thrived in the corporate world.¡± Zu An shoved Wei Suo aside, slightly disgusted by all his fawning. He turned his attention to Ji Xiaoxi and bowed slightly. ¡°Miss Ji, you have my earnest gratitude for your assistance in the earlier matter.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao butted in before Ji Xiaoxi could respond. ¡°What do you mean by this? I was the one to help you first!¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s cheeks colored slightly. ¡°It¡¯s nothing much, I was just doing what was right. I need to leave now.¡±

    Clearly still ufortable with being the center of attention, she began to jog away. However, after barely taking a few steps, she turned back around. ¡°I nearly forgot. Do drop by my home when you have some time on hand. My father would like to talk with you.¡±

    ¡°Oooh~¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The crowd stared at the two of them weirdly, which surprised Ji Xiaoxi. She btedly realized the innuendo hidden within her words, but she had no idea how to begin rifying the matter. In the end, she gave up and ran away, blushing furiously.

    ¡°What the hell was that? How dare she seduce you in my presence?!¡± Chu Huanzhao huffed angrily. The way her small chest puffed in and out looked incredibly adorable.

    Zu An rolled her eyes at her. ¡°It¡¯s not as if you¡¯re my wife, so why are you butting your nose into my business?¡±

    The true meaning behind Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s words was clear as day to him. Most likely, it was regarding the trauma he was suffering from. It looked like he would have to make haste in his quest to acquire some dudous. Perhaps, he might just be able to fool that old pervert Ji Dengtu.

    ¡°I... I¡¯m just keeping an eye on you on my older sister¡¯s behalf!¡± Chu Huanzhao¡¯s cheeks puffed out indignantly. ¡°It hasn¡¯t been long since my older sister left, and you¡¯re already messing around with other women!¡±

    Zu An replied nonchntly, ¡°You can go ahead and ask your older sister if she needs you to keep an eye on me.¡±

    That wife of mine looks at me the same way a person would look at a stranger on the street. No, I might even be less than a stranger to her. Why should I keep my chastity for her then... Pui pui pui, what the hell am I talking about?

    ¡°Hmph! Stop flirting around here.¡± Yuan Wendong walked over with a loathsome look on his face. ¡°Zu An, I don¡¯t believe that you can live your life hiding behind women. It won¡¯t be long before the ns Tournament. By then, let¡¯s see if you can get a woman to substitute you on the ring!¡±

    Zu An was confused. He turned to Chu Huanzhao and asked, ¡°What ns Tournament?¡±

    Chu Huanzhao was pouting unhappily, but still answered his question. ¡°Just like our Chu n, the Yuan n is involved in the arm trade too, so thepetition between our two ns is fierce. In order to avoid escting the conflict, the two ns have decided to hold a tournament once every three years. The juniors of both ns must participate, and the winner of the tournament will get to decide the market share that each n gets for each sector for the next three years.¡±

    ¡°Do I need to participate as well?¡± Zu An asked.

    Chu Huanzhao nodded in reply. ¡°Everyone in the n needs to participate. My older sister and cousins from the second branch and third branch were the representatives in the previous tournament. Since you¡¯re the son-inw of our Chu n, it¡¯s likely that you¡¯ll have to step forward and represent us too.¡±

    Zu An felt strangled by this abrupt news.

    What the hell is this? I can¡¯t even enjoy the privileges of being the son-inw of a prestigious n, but I still need to fulfill my responsibilities?

    ¡°Then... is the Yuan n a ducal n too?¡±

    Chu Huanzhao shook her head. ¡°No. Their n has a noble lineage too, but they are without a fief. In terms of position, they are far beneath my father.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it embarrassing for a ducal n to have topete with minor powers to decide the market share through a duel?¡±

    Before Chu Huanzhao could answer him, Yuan Wendong interrupted her, still wearing the same ugly expression. ¡°The Brightmoon Duke has a high standing, but our Zhou Dynasty is a ce ruled byws. Besides, the Chu n isn¡¯t the only n with ducal lineage.¡±

    Zu An nodded. ¡°Ah, I get what you¡¯re saying. In other words, you have someone else backing you. No wonder you¡¯re barking so loudly. It turns out you already have a master!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Yuan Wendong for 321 Rage points!

    Noticing some academy staff not too far away, Yuan Wendong took a deep breath. ¡°You have nothing but your sharp mouth, so I shan¡¯t waste my time bickering with you. Just wait till the day of the tournament...¡±

    Yuan Wendong leaned toward Zu An and whispered softly, ¡°I¡¯ll break your limbs and turn you into a cripple!¡±

    Zu An sighed deeply. ¡°I think you should first worry about how you are going topensate these fine students for their swords.¡±

    Lu De¡¯s sudden appearance had broken up the fight, and most of the crowd had drifted off. However, a dozen or so students still lingered, casting hesitant nces at Yuan Wendong, shuffling their feet but not moving away.

    Yuan Wendong had used their swords to attack Pei Mianman earlier, only to have her burn their swords to cinders with her ck me. While they felt that Yuan Wendong should take responsibility andpensate them, their fear of him had held them back so far.

    However, as Zu An brought up the issue, they found their voices and began shouting over one another.

    ¡°Compensate us our swords!¡±

    ¡°I spent a lot of money to purchase that sword of mine!¡±

    ¡°My sword is the work of Master so and so, and was known to be able to slice through metal like mud...¡±

 Chapter 50: Fertile Water Should Be Kept In Oneâ€™s Own Rice Pad

    <h4>Chapter 50: Fertile Water Should Be Kept In One¡¯s Own Rice Pad</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ck streaks clouded Yuan Wendong¡¯s face. ¡°Shut up! My n produces the finest arms, so why would I shirkpensation for those lousy swords of yours?¡±

    It took him a great deal of effort to finally cate the riled-up crowd. By the time he was free to turn his attention to Zu An once more, he had already fled the scene.

    You have sessfully trolled Yuan Wendong for 123 Rage points!

    Chu Huanzhao had dragged Zu An over to the cafeteria. It amused Zu An that the design of the cafeteria was pretty simr to those he had seen in the universities of his previous life. The only difference was that there was no need for them to get the food by themselves. Instead, waiting staff were around to take their orders.

    Chu Huanzhao tossed him the menu. ¡°I¡¯ll treat you, so feel free to order anything you want!¡± she dered with the generous air of a wealthy woman.

    Wei Suo, who had been banished to another table by her, gave Zu An a thumbs-up. This new big brother of his was the perfect role model for all moochers in the world.

    Yup, mooching is indeed the way to make it in the world. I should learn from big brother and find a sugar momma to live off. Oof, but Principal Jiang is way out of my league. I should hone my skills on someone easier first...

    Zu An didn¡¯t even bother to look at the menu. He turned to the waiter who was serving them. ¡°Give me one of everything, then.¡±

    He was quite curious about the food in this world, and most of what was on the menu seemed interesting. To be honest, he didn¡¯t recognize most of those dishes, so it would be good if he could give everything a try.

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Huanzhao for 99 Rage points!

    ¡°Don¡¯t listen to him,¡± Chu Huanzhao hastily instructed the waiter. She shot Zu An a sharp re. ¡°Are you a pig? Are you sure you can finish all of it?¡±

    ¡°Of course not,¡± Zu An shrugged leisurely. ¡°However, I can just have a mouthful of each of them. As you know, I came from a poor family and haven¡¯t tried many things before. Since someone is treating me today, I¡¯ll have to try everything I can.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao slowly picked her jaw back off the floor.

    ¡°This won¡¯t do. I¡¯ll only allow you to order ten... No, just eight dishes!¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Zu An asked.

    To be honest, he was rather impressed. He thought that the four dishes would have been more than sufficient for the two of them, especially considering the small stature of hispanion. Who would have thought that she would ask for eight dishes?

    It looks like nobles really live extravagant lives. I must learn from their example... Ahem, I mean admonish them thoroughly!

    Chu Huanzhao¡¯s face reddened. ¡°I... I don¡¯t have that much money.¡±

    Zu An shook his head in disappointment. ¡°Then you shouldn¡¯t have told me to order whatever I liked. Why boast when you don¡¯t have the means to back up your words?¡±

    Chu Huanzhao could hold her temper no longer. She mmed her palm on the table and shot to her feet, roaring, ¡°Damn you Zu An, are you going to eat or not?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Huanzhao for 666 Rage points!

    ¡°I¡¯m eating. Why would I not eat?¡± Zu An nced at the dumbfounded waiter off to the side. ¡°Bring me eight of the most expensive dishes you have here then.¡±

    ¡°No problem~¡± The waiter hesitated, ncing at Chu Huanzhao to seek her approval. She did not object, and he quickly ran off to process their order.

    This exchange had not gone unnoticed by a group of guys seated not too far away. They leaned in to whisper to each other.

    ¡°Did you see that? Mooching is not as glorious as we think. In the end, he needs to tread carefully around those he¡¯s mooching off of. If things go badly, he would be reduced to cannon fodder for them to blow off steam!¡±

    ¡°That''s not what I see. To me, it looks like it¡¯s his sugar momma who is treading carefully around him.¡±

    ¡°Tsk! Who cares who is treading carefully around who? If I couldnd such a beautiful sugar momma, I wouldn¡¯t mind even if I need to be at her beck and call!¡±

    ¡°Me too!¡±

    ¡°Me too!¡±

    ¡°The lot of you are too unambitious... though I¡¯d be willing too.¡±

    ¡°Tsk~¡±

    ...

    Chu Huanzhao glowered at Zu An as she continued her interrogation. ¡°Zu An, you bettere clean. How did you get yourself tangled up with those women?¡±

    Zu An knocked on the table andined, ¡°Hey hey hey, watch how you address me! Call me brother-inw!¡±

    Chu Huanzhao nearly choked at those words. Her chubby cheeks puffed up once more as she grumbled in displeasure, ¡°Are you going to continue harping on that? I did lose to you in a bet, but I¡¯ve already called you brother-inw for so long now. I even stepped forward for you today. No matter how you look at it, I¡¯ve done more than enough to repay the favor!¡±

    Zu An clicked his tongue. ¡°When you said that you would cover me, I thought that you were a big shot in the academy. Yet, it turns out that you can¡¯t even deal with a mere scrub. In the end, I still had to make a move myself!¡±

    Chu Huanzhao was bbergasted. ¡°You call that making a move yourself? You simply got a bunch of women to stand up for you!¡±

    ¡°Does that make any difference?¡± Zu An shrugged nonchntly. ¡°I relied on my own abilities to secure their help.¡±

    All those twists and turns in logic made Chu Huanzhao¡¯s head spin. In the end, she waved her hands impatiently and said forcefully, ¡°Enough! Hurry up and confess! How did you hook up with them?¡±

    Zu An frowned. ¡°What do you mean by hook up? You¡¯re a maiden! Can you not use such awful sounding words?¡±

    Chu Huanzhao¡¯s face scrunched up in disdain. ¡°I didn¡¯t know that you had such a delicate side. Disgusting.¡±

    Zu An: ¡°...¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m trying to teach you something here. A girl shouldn¡¯t get mad at everything like a fuse always on the verge of blowing up. If you could just mellow down a little and use some cutesy phrases, you wouldn¡¯t be ranked ninth out of the Ten Great Beauties.¡±

    ¡°Hah, do I need you to teach me that? I can do it if I want to,¡± Chu Huanzhao sniffed dismissively.

    Zu An¡¯s interest was piqued. ¡°Oh? Why don¡¯t you give it a try then?¡±

    ¡°Stop messing around!¡° Chu Huanzhao rolled her eyes before pouring herself a cup of tea. She casually propped her leg up on the bench beside her. Her leg was beautiful, but her posture, not so much. Nevertheless, with her neat, shoulder-length hair, she gave off a uniquely feral charm.

    Seeing how naturally she¡¯d assumed this sitting posture, Zu An scrapped all ideas of getting her to be more demure.

    ¡°After prattling on about so much, you still haven¡¯t told me how you met them!¡± Chu Huanzhao relentlessly pursued her line of questioning.

    Zu An knew that she would continue to annoy him if he didn¡¯t answer her question, so he tried to be casual with his answer. ¡°I met Ji Xiaoxi earlier when I was looking around the city. As for Pei Mianman, isn¡¯t she your older sister¡¯s close friend? It¡¯s only natural for her to step in when the husband of her close friend is being taken advantage of, no?¡±

    Chu Huanzhao narrowed her eyes skeptically. ¡°Is that all?¡±

    ¡°What else do you think?¡±

    By then, the waiter had started to bring out their dishes. The fragrance wafting out from the freshly-cooked dishes made Zu An¡¯s mouth water. Without waiting, he dug in.

    Chu Huanzhao, on the other hand, was still caught up in the matter. ¡°That¡¯s not right. No matter how I look at it, your rtionship with them isn¡¯t that simple. Besides, I¡¯m not the only one who feels this way. Everyone is saying the same thing too!¡±

    Zu An wolfed down the food, answering her between mouthfuls. ¡°Those people also see you as a part of my harem. What do you think?¡±

    ¡°Hah! Just thinking about that drives me mad!¡± Chu Huanzhao gritted her teeth furiously. ¡°It¡¯s all your fault!¡±

    Zu An burst intoughter. ¡°Aren¡¯t I your brother-inw? It¡¯s only natural to keep the good stuff within the family.¡±

    ¡°What did you say?¡± Chu Huanzhao¡¯s eyebrows shot up.

    Zu An put up his hands sheepishly. ¡°I mean that we¡¯re one family, so we should help one another when in need.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao was still doubtful. ¡°Are you sure there¡¯s nothing more between you and those women?¡±

    ¡°Of course not.¡± Zu An wouldn¡¯t have admitted it even if he¡¯d had a rtionship with them, though in this case, that was the truth.

    Chu Huanzhao heaved a deep sigh of relief. She finally turned her attention to the table, but half of the dishes served had already been swept clean. She grabbed her chopsticks in agitation and eximed, ¡°Are you a pig? Leave some for me!¡±

    Zu An was a little surprised. ¡°As the young miss of a ducal n, surely you have already had your fill of such dishes?¡±

    Chu Huanzhao stuffed her cheeks full as she answered, ¡°My mother is very strict with me. She barely gives me any pocket money, and these dishes are expensive. I can¡¯t bear to spend my money on them on normal asions.¡±

    ¡°Aww, how pitiful. Come, you should have more.¡± Zu An picked up a piece of meat and ced it into her bowl out of sympathy.

    ¡°Thanks, brother-inw.¡± She frowned right after saying those words. Wait, I¡¯m the one spending money here. Why am I thanking you for that?

    ¡°Stop putting food in my bowl. You¡¯re getting your saliva on my food!¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t look like it¡¯s curbing your appetite at all though, is it?¡±

    ...

    After the two of them had their fill, Zu An suddenly asked, ¡°Huanzhao, what do you think of me?¡±

    Chu Huanzhao was surprised for a moment, then replied without much thought. ¡°Even though you¡¯re a little hateful, a little perverted, and a little weak, you¡¯re still barely passable as a human.¡±

    Zu An rolled his eyes. Are you praising me or criticizing me here? ¡°Then, who do you think in the manor doesn¡¯t want me to be your brother-inw?¡±

    Chu Huanzhao was a straight shooter, so it would be good to gather some intelligence from her that could aid in his search for whoever was trying to kill him.

    Chu Huanzhao burst intoughter, amused by the question. ¡°There are way too many people to name!¡±

    Zu An held back his urge to pummel her. ¡°I¡¯m referring to those who hate me to the point that they are out for my life.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao fell silent, deep in thought. Just as Zu An thought that she had narrowed it down to a certain someone, she suddenly said, ¡°There are still a lot of people...¡±

    Zu An was dumbfounded. It was unlikely this sillyss was lying, which only proved just how hateful the original owner of this body had been. To think that there would be so many people in the Chu n who wanted him dead!

    ¡°What about your older sister then?¡± Zu An stared into Chu Huanzhao¡¯s eyes without blinking, trying to peer through her eyes and see into her thoughts.

    Even though it was only a slim possibility, there was no denying that Snow was her personal maidservant. Without her permission, it was unlikely that Snow would dare to act so audaciously.

    ¡°My older sister?¡± Chu Huanzhao was confused. ¡°Why would she want to take your life?¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that there are a lot of people in the manor who are after my life? Wouldn¡¯t your older sister be one of them too?¡± Zu An asked.

    Chu Huanzhao shook her head vehemently. ¡°You¡¯re the groom personally chosen by my older sister. My parents had selected a long list of outstanding young men for my older sister to choose from, but she didn¡¯t even spare them a single nce. In the end, she chose a wastr... Ahem, ahem, I mean a man like you. Many people tried to stop her, counseling that she was ruining her own future. Yet, she said that she would marry no one other than you. Even to this day, I¡¯ve no idea what she sees in you.¡±

    As she said this, she looked Zu An up and down, her face a mask of sheer contempt.

    ¡°Hey hey hey, you¡¯re hurting my feelings over here!¡±

    Zu An fell into deep thought. He had heard about this from Cheng Shouping previously, and Chu Huanzhao had just confirmed his story. From the look of it, the only one in the manor who could be ruled out as the culprit was Chu Chuyan.

    His eyes fell upon thess who was wolfing down her food before him, and he swallowed his words back down. No, that¡¯s not right. The one who is the most unlikely to kill me in the manor is thisss, followed by Chu Chuyan.

    ¡°What is your older sister dealing with nowadays?¡± Zu An asked.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°No idea,¡± Chu Huanzhao replied without looking up. She was too busy attacking the delicacies before her.

    Zu An frowned in annoyance. ¡°You¡¯re her younger sister, why wouldn¡¯t you know?¡±

    Chu Huanzhao¡¯s rebuttal was swift. ¡°And you¡¯re her husband, so why don¡¯t you know a thing at all?! I¡¯m not engaged in whatever is happening back at home.¡±

    ¡°Eat, eat, eat, all you know how to do is eat. Despite being a glutton, it doesn¡¯t look like your chest is growing one bit.¡± Zu An stared at her t chest as he wondered. They are born from the same mother, so why is there such a huge difference between the two of them?

    ¡°Hold it right there. What do you mean?¡± Chu Huanzhao had only just finished eating. When she noticed his gaze, she immediately flew into a state of fury.

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Huanzhao for 666 Rage points!

    Zu An was amused. He hadn¡¯t expected her to be so sensitive about her own chest. That being said, he didn¡¯t want to anger her right now, so he said, ¡°I¡¯m saying that you should pay some heed to your own appearance. At least wipe your mouth after eating.¡±

    As he spoke, he reached out to pick off a grain of rice sticking to the corner of her mouth.

    Chu Huanzhao¡¯s face flushed a fiery red. ¡°Hey, haven¡¯t you heard that it¡¯s inappropriate for a man and a woman who aren¡¯t in a rtionship to have such intimate contact? You can¡¯t possibly be carrying that sort of licentious thoughts toward me, are you?¡±

    Zu An clicked his tongue in annoyance. ¡°It¡¯s only at a time like this that you think of yourself as a woman, huh?¡±

    Chu Huanzhao was stunned for a moment, then nodded slowly, clearly confused. ¡°That¡¯s true too.¡± From her tone, it seemed like she had given up on thinking altogether.

 Chapter 51: What Strengths Do I Have?

    <h4>Chapter 51: What Strengths Do I Have?</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°I¡¯ve already been stalled by Yuan Wendong and the others for too long. It¡¯s going to be afternoon sses soon, so I¡¯ll be heading back first,¡± said Chu Huanzhao.

    There was hardly anyone left in the canteen. She casually wiped her mouth and stood.

    ¡°What ss are you in?¡± Zu An asked out of curiosity.

    ¡°I...¡± Oddly enough, Chu Huanzhao began to fidget ufortably. Her voice also became a little weaker. ¡°I¡¯m from the ck ss.

    ¡°Laugh if you want to. My older sister was a prodigy in the Sky ss, reputed to be the strongest amongst the students, whereas I¡¯m nowhere near inparison to her. I have been mocked many times in the past, so I can¡¯t be bothered with it anymore.¡±

    Unexpectedly, Zu An patted her shoulders gently. ¡°You must have had a hard time, huh? You don¡¯t need to worry anymore, I¡¯m here to lower the bar. I¡¯m from the Yellow ss, remember?¡±

    He still remembered how everyone seemed to harbor ill will toward him when he¡¯d first arrived in this world. Thisss was the only one who stood up for him when everyone in the ancestral hall was trying to get him punished. Seeing how downcast this matter had left her, he couldn¡¯t bring himself to make a jab at her.

    Chu Huanzhao was taken aback by his remark. She stared at him deeply for a moment before muttering softly, ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Zu An continued, ¡°Everyone has their own strengths. Perhaps your strength just doesn¡¯t lie in cultivation.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao felt her eyes misting over as she looked at him, touched by his words. ¡°What do you think my strength is, then?¡±

    Zu An was left speechless by her question.

    I was justforting you. I didn¡¯t expect you to take it for real!

    Nevertheless, staring into Chu Huanzhao¡¯s expectant eyes, there was no way he could bring himself to say that she had no strengths at all, right?

    However, the two of them had only known each other for a short period of time, and no matter how much Zu An racked his brain, he couldn¡¯t seem to say what her strengths were. It took him a long while before he finally squeezed out an answer. ¡°Your legs... are long?¡±

    As ridiculous as it might sound, it was actually an honest thought. Even now, he could still remember that pair of slim and perfectly proportionate legs dangling loosely while she was seated on a table that night. Those were a sweet pair of legs that could easily walk into the heart of any man.

    It seemed the saying was true: those who were smaller in the chest were more thanpensated for by their legs.

    Of course, that was possibly the worst answer he could have given Chu Huanzhao. ¡°Pui, you pervert!¡± she spat, then fled from him with her face bright red.

    Zu An stared at her departing back, his face all scrunched up.

    What¡¯s the point of just scolding me like this? Where are your Rage points? Why didn¡¯t I receive anything at all? This is unfair!

    Wei Suo walked over and fawned all over him. ¡°Boss, I find myself more and more in awe with you. I reckon you are the only one in the academy who can make the tomboyish Second Miss Chu show such embarrassment.¡±

    ¡°Of course. Who do you think you are talking to?¡± Zu An replied cockily. ¡°Ah right, what sses do we have in the afternoon?¡±

    He had been thinking of escaping from the academy once he was done with lunch, but he¡¯d unexpectedly received a huge wave of Rage points in his confrontation earlier. That had changed his mind about the academy, and he started to feel that things were not that bad here after all.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s an etiquette and music ss,¡± replied Wei Suo.

    ¡°Etiquette and music?¡± Zu An¡¯s eyes lit up.

    He¡¯d noticed amon pattern from elementary school up to university¡ªthe Music Department always had the most beautiful female teacher. Be it their refined disposition or their graceful profile, it was hard to find even a single w in them. Now that he was in a world filled with ki, the music teachers had to be even more beautiful.

    Zu An had never looked forward to a ss that much before. He bounded back to the ssroom, and ran into the fatty Man Yu chatting loudly with his sidekicks. Their group quickly fell silent as they noticed Zu An¡¯s presence.

    They had no choice but to lie low for the time being. They were no match for Zu An, and their backing wasn¡¯t as strong as his either. In fact, Ye Chenliang was probably still being savaged by Lu De in the schoolyard at this very moment.

    That Baldhead was really a sadist. Anyone who got caught by him would experience suffering that they would never forget.

    Of course, Zu An couldn¡¯t give a damn about them. His eyes were glued to the doorway of the ssroom as he waited excitedly for the beautiful teacher who would soon walk in.

    Finally, in walked a trembling old man. Zu An saw all of his dreams shatter right before his eyes.

    Where are the promised refined disposition and graceful profile? At the very least, I should get a female teacher, right? Why in the world did I get an old man?!

    The old man cleared his throat noisily. ¡°Open your textbooks, we shall be starting a new chapter today¡ªRules of Propriety.[1]

    ¡°Values and morals are meaningless if not based on propriety. Reforming the society and improving the culture will be for naught if propriety is absent. Distinguishing between right and wrong will be impossible if propriety is not put in ce.

    ¡°A liege and his subject, a father and his son; how could these ties be established if propriety is not upheld? A teacher and a student; how can a conducive rtionship for the inheritance of knowledge be constructed if there¡¯s ack of propriety to dictate the rtionship? A militarymander and his soldiers; how should authority be maintained if propriety is neglected? Rites to worship the deities and the deceased; how could sincerity be conveyed if rituals were tock propriety?

    ¡°Thus, men should learn respect, humility, and concession to uphold propriety. Parrots are capable of speech, yet mere birds they are. Apes are capable of speech, yet mere beasts they are. If humansck propriety, even if they are capable of speech, what is there to differentiate them from mere beasts? It¡¯s theck of propriety that fathers and sons share a woman.

    ¡°Thus we have sages who determine propriety and educate the people. It¡¯s the existence of propriety that humans know to set themselves apart from beasts...¡±

    ...

    Save me!

    Zu An was drowning in utter despair. Not only was the promised beautiful music teacher non-existent, but he even had to go through the torture of listening to the old man¡¯s chanting. This was even worse than being in prison!

    He stared out the window and wondered if he could escape from this ssroom if he were to use Grandgale¡¯s ability. However, considering how Wei Suo had mentioned that the teachers in the academy were all experts, he felt that the likelihood of that was very low.

    Either way, that vile Baldhead, Lu De, was probably still in the schoolyard. If he were to escape right now, he could just fall right into that evil man¡¯s grasp.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Finally, it was simply not worth revealing his trump card in public over such a minor reason.

    With all that reasoning out of the way, Zu An could only dispel any thought of escape.

    That being said, there was no way he was going to pay attention to these lessons. It was not as if these sermons would help him in life anyway even if he understood them.

    So, he decided to secretly do his own personal work in ss, just like how he secretly yed mobile games under his desk in his previous life. He summoned the Keyboard, then turned warily toward Wei Suo and asked, ¡°Do you see anything here?¡±

    Wei Suo was bewildered by Zu An¡¯s abrupt question, and he replied without thinking, ¡°I see your hairsome face.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s handsome, not hairsome.¡±

    ck streaks covered Zu An¡¯s face. I know that he has buck teeth, but he really needs to work on his pronunciation.

    At least that confirmed no one could see his keyboard. He sighed internally in relief.

    Let me see how many Rage points I have. Hm?

    Zu An rubbed his eyes in disbelief. He actually had 57,454 Rage points in total! That was more than the grand total of all he had earned prior to today!

    He quickly recalled what he had done for the day. He had earned quite a bit earlier in the morning at the academy gates, as well as bits and pieces over the course of the morning. Of course, the bulk of it hade from the main event earlier in the afternoon with Ye Chenliang, Yuan Wendong and the others. The crowd had simply been too kind, enthusiastically offering him their Rage points over and over.

    This newly-gathered datapelled Zu An to rethink his strategy. No matter how he tried to squeeze an individual dry, the amount of Rage points he could earn from just a single person was just too limited. It would be much wiser for him to spread his out and earn it from a crowd instead. That would be far more efficient.

    Yeap, it looks like I should focus more on AOE skills in the future. The more butthurt people there are, the better it would be for me.

    After deciding on his new n, Zu An moved on to look at the Keyboard¡¯s lottery. It quickly dawned on him that he wasn¡¯t in a good position to do his usual hand-washing ritual.

    Forget it, I¡¯ll justpromise a little.

    Zu An wanted to forsake the hassle and simply press the ¡®Enter¡¯ key to get the drawing over and done with. However, his trembling hands simply wouldn¡¯t heed his orders.

    No! I can¡¯t skip any step at all. Even if I don¡¯t wash my face, the least I should do is to wash my hands so as to cleanse my luck!

    So, he spat in his hands and rubbed them together vigorously before finally hitting the enter button at ease.

    The light marker swiftly shed across the keyboard before finally stopping on the ¡®4¡¯ key. Ki Fruit!

    Zu An was delighted.

    It looks like washing my hands is really important. I actually got it in a single shot!

    Meanwhile, his deskmate, Wei Suo, watched as he spat saliva onto his own hands and froze. He shifted his chair discreetly away from Zu An, wanting to put some distance between them.

    I know that my boss is a master moocher, but I didn¡¯t think that he would have such horrid hygiene practices. I wonder if my Chu Chuyan and the others know that he does such stuff.

    Zu An was oblivious to how bizarre his current actions seemed in the eyes of others. He was much too focused on the lottery.

    Thanks for ying!

    Thanks for ying!

    Thanks for ying!

    Shit, yet another wave of ¡®Thanks for ying¡¯!

    ...

    Oh, another Ki Fruit.

    ...

    Thanks for ying... Ki Fruit... Thanks for ying... Ki Fruit...

    Zu An drew the lottery over a hundred times, and the light marker finallynded on a key that was different from before¡ªthe ¡®1¡¯ key. It was Faith in Brother Spring!

    Zu An heaved a sigh of relief. This was what he had really wanted to draw. Thest time he got injured, he used Divine Physician Ji¡¯s medicine, but the rate of recovery had been less than satisfactory. Were he to find himself in a dire situation, there was no way his enemy would wait for him to heal up before continuing their assault!

    With Faith in Brother Spring around, he would at least have another trump card in hand. The ability to instantly restore himself back to full health was almost the same as having an additional life.

    Zu An continued drawing the lottery, hoping to get something different. After all, the products from the Keyboard tended to be high quality. It seemed, however, that fate had abandoned him. The only results he got were ¡®Thanks for ying¡¯ and more Ki Fruits.

    Damn it, I can¡¯t believe that my luck is this bad!

    He spat another mouthful of saliva on his own hands and rubbed them thoroughly between his fingers and even into his fingernails before resuming the drawing once more. With over 57,400 Rage points this time around, he could draw a total of 574 times.

    Wei Suo, who was looking on, swallowed hard. He wondered if his boss was out of his mind.

    No, I shouldn¡¯t harbor such thoughts. Boss is the man known as the master moocher! How can I dare evaluate him usingmon logic? Could this be his secret to how he managed to court so many beautiful women? I must learn from his example!

    So, Wei Suo also spat in his hand and began rubbing his saliva all over his own hands. He couldn¡¯t resist the urge to raise his hands up and smell them, and the stench was so powerful that it nearly knocked him out.

    All this was lost on Zu An, who was engrossed in his lottery drawing. Finally, he grinned in excitement. The light marker hadnded on a different key this time around¡ªthe ¡®9¡¯ key!

    Fortune Pill!

    Artifact Effect: Maximizes your luck to the greatest degree for two hours. Any event or trial that is luck dependent will end in an oue favorable to you.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes lit up. This was exactly the item he needed right now! With this, wouldn¡¯t he be able to draw something useful from the lottery every single time?

    It was as if the Keyboard had read his mind. A small disimer suddenly appeared at the bottom of the screen. Note: The Fortune Pill doesn¡¯t work on the keyboard¡¯s lottery system.

    Shit!

    Zu An nearly smashed the Keyboard on the spot. The Keyboard had undeniably brought him many conveniences, but the sheer frustration he went through while using it was no less real.

    If he couldn¡¯t use the Fortune Pill for the lottery, what use did he have for it? He was in the real world right now! It was not as if he was ying a game where luck could improve the equipment drop rates when he killed mobs.

    Instead of a luck booster, I would rather get something that improved my looks.

    Hmm... then again, my looks don¡¯t need any improvement.

    1. Propriety, in Chinese, is a much more expansive word, epassing the ideas of manners, etiquette, and values.

 Chapter 52: Loan Sharks

    <h4>Chapter 52: Loan Sharks</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An finished spending all of his Rage points on the lottery, but failed to get anything new. It was all either ¡®Thanks for ying¡¯ or Ki Fruits.

    In the end, his loot consisted of fifty-five Ki Fruits, a bottle of Faith in Brother Spring, and a Fortune Pill. With the additional data, he could reliably state the probability of a Ki Fruit appearing as roughly one in ten. It would appear that his luck had not been great previously.

    With no more Rage points to spend, he secretly swallowed all of the Ki Fruits one after another and watched as the first formation inside his muscles slowly filled up with golden specks. By the time he ate the fifty-fifth Ki Fruit, his first formation was already full, and some golden specks had appeared in his second formation too.

    ¡°It looks like it really obeys the Fiboni sequence,¡± Zu An muttered to himself.

    Based on the Fiboni sequence, the previous number was 34, which meant that the current number should be 55. The results matched his hypothesis.

    The additional bunch of golden specks in his second formation was actually the additional ki he had rued from identally crashing into the wall while testing out Grandgale.

    ording to the rules of the Fiboni sequence, and ounting for the probability of drawing Ki Fruits, he would need at least 89,000 Rage points in order to clear the second formation. This was really a huge pain to deal with.

    Why is it that other cultivators have it easy while I have to struggle so hard to raise my cultivation through every step?

    However, looking from another perspective, the other cultivators had to work through a mountain of cultivation resources and also study day in and day out before they finally reached their current levels. It seemed he had no grounds toin.

    The day¡¯s events had given him a rough grasp of the hierarchy inside Brightmoon Academy. Those who had reached the fifth rank were considered true prodigies, even at a national level. Only a few of them fit into this category, and so far, the only ones he knew about were his wife, Pei Mianman, and that Yuan Wendong he¡¯d met earlier.

    Just below them were those who had reached the fourth rank. They were also fairly respected in the academy, and there weren¡¯t many of them around either. Most of them had decent talent and considerable background.

    The students in the Earth ss and ck ss were mostly at the third rank, though some were still below that rank.

    As for the Yellow ss, who boasted the greatest number of students of the entire academy, merely being at the second rank was more than enough for one to be the ss bully.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Judging by this standard, Zu An was, at his current level, an average student in the academy. Realizing this made him feel much better about himself.

    He had ended up spending the whole boring afternoon ss entertaining himself by drawing the lottery. As soon as the ss was over, a horde of students charged out of the ssroom toward the academy¡¯s gates, eager to leave that hellhole as soon as possible.

    Clearly, he wasn¡¯t the only one who found the ss sheer torture.

    Wei Suo was no exception. ¡°Boss, see you tomorrow~¡± he threw over his shoulder as he dashed off. Within moments, he had vanished from view.

    This familiar scene reminded Zu An of his previous life, where the final school bell of the day would invariably trigger a stampede of students. To be honest, he was starting to miss it a little.

    Zu An slowly packed up his stuff, relishing the changes in his body after his most recent breakthrough. Right now, he should wield the strength equivalent to 143 adult men. Such strength should be sufficient to knock out an elephant from his previous world in one hit.

    Even at the third rank, he was already this strong. He couldn¡¯t help but wonder just how terrifying those at the eighth rank, ninth rank, or even the Masters would be.

    This world is really too frightening. If a weak man were to date a strong female cultivator, he might just end up getting identally crushed while they are getting hot and steamy with one another. If this were to happen, he would probably suffer from low self-esteem even after being reborn into another life.

    ¡°Brother-inw, brother-inw~¡±

    Raising his head, Zu An saw Chu Huanzhao waving toward him excitedly from outside the ssroom. Her animated gestures made her seem more like a tomboyish girl, which was a refreshing change from her usual overly-masculine attitude.

    Zu An eyed her warily. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean ¡®what¡¯s wrong¡¯? We¡¯re heading home! What else could we possibly be doing?¡± Chu Huanzhao immediately snapped back. ¡°What¡¯s with your attitude? I specially came all the way down here to find you as soon as ss ended!¡±

    ¡°Ah, so we¡¯re going home.¡± Zu An exhaled deeply in relief. He¡¯d honestly thought that thisss hade up with another darned idea to torture him.

    ¡°I wasted a trip here yesterday because you didn¡¯te to ss,¡± Chu Huanzhao grumbled. ¡°Luckily I got my hands on you today. I have already given my mother a guarantee that I would keep an eye on you.¡±

    Zu An was intrigued. ¡°Didn¡¯t your mother send Hong Xingying here for that exact reason? Where is he? I still have a score to settle with him.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao scrunched her nose a little as she replied, ¡°It seems he¡¯s decided to take residence in the academy. He¡¯s probably frightened of getting punished once he returns to the Chu Estate, so he¡¯s seeking refuge here.¡±

    ¡°The academy provides lodging too?¡± Zu An was surprised. This was yet another simrity between Brightmoon Academy and the schools in his previous life.

    ¡°Of course,¡± Chu Huanzhao replied. ¡°The Brightmoon Academy is the best academy in this region, so many students travel all the way to Brightmoon City from the nearby municipalities to enroll here. Those who live in Brightmoon City can afford to return home every day, but those from abroad don¡¯t have that kind of luxury, and so the academy prepared lodging specifically for them. You see that building over there? Those are the dormitories.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao pointed to the west, and he tracked her finger with his gaze. He could vaguely make out a few buildings scattered within the forest a fair distance away.

    ¡°I see,¡± Zu An replied, lost in thought. It might be a good idea to specially take a trip to the school dormitories one of these days. He could make a killing there, farming for Rage points.

    His thoughts were interrupted by a sudden influx of Rage points. While each contribution was small, the total amount was still substantial due to the sheer quantity of them.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    Zu An scanned the area, and registered hostile gazes from many of those around them. He quickly realized what they must be seeing. Him, walking alongside Chu Huanzhao down a pathway sheltered by trees¡ªit looked oddly picturesque.

    Huh, what¡¯s with this ce evoking the atmosphere of childhood lovers?

    His feelings surprised him, but he quickly shook his head to clear it. He tossed out some of the more inappropriate thoughts he was harboring, and decided to focus on earning Rage points instead.

    ¡°Sister-inw, hold my arm,¡± Zu An said as he offered his left hand to Chu Huanzhao.

    Chu Huanzhao gave him a puzzled look. ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re a family. Doesn¡¯t linking hands with one another perfectly disy the harmony of our family?¡± Zu An replied seriously.

    Chu Huanzhao grew furious. ¡°Do you take me for an idiot? You¡¯re trying to take advantage of me!¡± she yelled angrily as she drew the Wailing Whip and flicked it toward him.

    ¡°Holy shit! If you don¡¯t want to hold my arm, so be it. There¡¯s no need to resort to violence!¡± Zu An retorted in a fluster as he dodged her whip.

    Doggedly, Chu Huanzhao continued to chase him, clearly not intending to let the matter drop so easily. ¡°I¡¯ll kill you, you pervert!¡±

    Those watching erupted in jubnt delight. It seemed that true justice still existed in this world.

    Hah, this is what boy toys like you deserve! It ain¡¯t that easy to win the favor of those rich women!

    The chase ensued all the way to the entrance of the academy before Chu Huanzhao relented. It was not because she had found her conscience once more, but because Baldhead Lu De happened to be standing right there. His very presence created a palpable tension in the air, and those in the area feared even to speak loudly.

    Even the brash Chu Huanzhao was no exception.

    She stuck her tongue out at Zu An before tucking away her whip. Grabbing his sleeves, she pulled him out of the academy behind her. ¡°Hmph! Let¡¯s see if you dare to run your mouth again in the future. I¡¯ll settle the score with you once we get home!¡±

    Lu De scanned the crowd with sharp, hawk-like eyes, on the hunt for potential troublemakers to confront before theymitted their mischief. As his eyes fell upon the duo holding on to one another, he gave a sudden jerk.

    What¡¯s going on with the Chu n? Are they really nning on having the two sisters share a husband?

    While such a thing wasn¡¯t unheard of in this world, it usually only happened if the man in question was overwhelmingly outstanding. Zu An, however, was a notorious wastrel in Brightmoon City, so how could he be worthy of such an arrangement?

    Even the Second Miss of the Chu n alone, though less eligible than her illustrious older sister, was so far out of Zu An¡¯s league. How he could ever hope to live up to the pair of them together was a mystery.

    Oblivious to Lu De¡¯s considering stare, Zu An walked out of the academy and found Cheng Shouping waving excitedly toward him. ¡°Young master, young master~¡±

    ¡°You have been waiting here for me all day long?¡± Zu An felt his heart warm. Cheng Shouping had barely slept a wink the night before in order to copy the family rules for him, yet he had still chosen to wait patiently at the academy¡¯s entrance for him today. What loyalty!

    ¡°No no, I went back to get some sleep first beforeing back here. I¡¯m ttered by your concern, young master,¡± Cheng Shouping replied with a bright smile. ¡°Hm? Young miss, you¡¯re here too?¡±

    ¡°Mm,¡± Chu Huanzhao acknowledged him with a perfunctory grunt. Her own servant, who had been waiting outside for her, quickly led a stallion over for her. While Zu An was a poor judge of horseflesh, this stallion still looked like a fine specimen to his untrained eyes.

    The Chu n really doesn¡¯t horse around.

    ¡°Hm? Where¡¯s your horse?¡± Chu Huanzhao looked around in confusion.

    That question left Zu An in an awkward spot, and Cheng Shouping answered her in his stead. ¡°The young master and I walked here this morning.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao¡¯s frown deepened. ¡°Why didn¡¯t the servants in the estate assign a horse to you?¡±

    Isn¡¯t the reason blindingly obvious, even to you? Cheng Shouping retorted in his mind. Despite this, he was a little surprised to see that the young master was on fairly good terms with the Second Miss.

    Chu Huanzhao pondered for a moment. She passed the reins of her stallion back to her servant and told Zu An, ¡°I¡¯ll walk with you. It just so happens that I want to stretch my limbs a little.¡±

    ¡°Actually, I don¡¯t mind sharing a ride with you,¡± replied Zu An.

    Cheng Shouping¡¯s face immediately drained of color. The Second Miss was known for her legendary temper. It seemed Zu An was going to suffer the agony of the Wailing Whip for his brazenment.

    ¡°Beat it!¡± Unexpectedly, Chu Huanzhao berated him but showed no further sign of anger.

    Cheng Shouping blinked his eyes rapidly. Am I dreaming? Why does it feel like something is amiss here?

    A mocking voice cut through the air. ¡°Hoh, you¡¯re finally out.¡±

    Zu An looked toward the source of the voice. A man with a scar on his face was leaning against a tree, looking at them. Who else could it be but Plum Blossom Thirteen?

    ¡°Has no one told you that your smile is a little crooked?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Plum Blossom Thirteen for 178 Rage points!

    Plum Blossom Thirteen¡¯s smile froze in ce. He spat coldly, ¡°Hah, a sharp tongue is all you have! I¡¯m here to remind you that another day has passed, and it¡¯s almost time for you to repay your debt. If you can¡¯t fork out the money by then, I¡¯ll be chopping both of your hands off.¡±

    ¡°You owe him money?¡± Chu Huanzhao stared at Zu An, her eyes wide with shock.

    Zu An nodded. Yet again he berated that dead fellow who had gotten him into this huge mess.

    Chu Huanzhao retrieved her money purse. ¡°How much does he owe you? I¡¯ll repay his debt.¡±

    Plum Blossom Thirteen was astonished. Is this wastrel doing so well that even this prettyss is taking the initiative to repay his debt?

    To her, he replied, ¡°He owes me one thousand silver taels.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao gasped. She ced her purse back into her robe and slowly took a step back. ¡°Pretend as though I hadn¡¯t said a thing at all.¡±

    Zu An eyed Chu Huanzhao in disdain. Thisss keeps trying to show off, but in the end, she never has the money to back up her bragging. It was the same back at the cafeteria, too.

 Chapter 53: Framing

    <h4>Chapter 53: Framing</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Seemingly sensing Zu An¡¯s look of disdain, Chu Huanzhao¡¯s face reddened. She eximed in frustration, ¡°Why in the world did you borrow so much money from him?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Huanzhao for 241 Rage points!

    Plum Blossom Thirteen let go of the breath he was holding. He¡¯d been worried for a moment there that the girl was really going to pay off Zu An¡¯s debt. His goal here was not money but Zu An¡¯s life, after all!

    ¡°We visited a gambling den a while back to try our luck, and he ended up losing more than what he¡¯d had.¡±

    It was best to expose Zu An¡¯s true colors to this beautifulss to make her think twice about repaying his debt in a moment of hot-bloodedness. Come to think of it, thisss does look quite familiar to me.

    ¡°Zu An, you son of a bitch! You actually went to gamble? Don¡¯t you know that that¡¯s a huge taboo in our Chu n? Justst year, one of my cousins visited a casino and ended up getting his legs broken!¡± Chu Huanzhaoshed out furiously.

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Huanzhao for 333 Rage points!

    Plum Blossom Thirteen¡¯s heart skipped a beat as recognition finally struck him. This beautifulss before him was none other than the Second Miss of the Chu n! This is weird... I thought that the wastrel Zu An isn¡¯t wee in the Chu n, but that doesn¡¯t seem to be the case here.

    Zu An felt a throbbing between his temples. Plum Blossom Thirteen haunting his every step was annoying beyond belief. ¡°Stop following me around like a vengeful spirit. I¡¯ll pay you back what I owe you, alright?¡±

    As he spoke, he reached into a pouch in his robe and said, ¡°I have seven ki stones. This stuff can¡¯t be bought out there in the market, so they should be at least worth eight hundred silver taels. I have another hundred silver taels here too...¡±

    Cheng Shouping¡¯s eyes popped. He was certain that the young master had been broke just this morning. How did hee by all this money just by spending a few hours in the academy?

    Despite putting together everything of value that he had, Zu An was still a little short of the amount he needed. That left him in an awkward position. Fortunately, Chu Huanzhao fished out a ki stone of her own and tossed it over to Plum Blossom Thirteen.

    ¡°I have one more here. Keep the change as a tip. Now beat it!¡±

    Plum Blossom Thirteen opened up the pouch Zu An had passed to him, a doubtful look on his face. He frowned in confusion as he verified the contents were, indeed, ki stones. ¡°How did you get so many of them?¡±

    ¡°How is that any of your business? Hurry up and hand over my promissory note,¡± Zu An demanded, hand outstretched.

    ¡°That won¡¯t do. What if you stole these ki stones in the academy? We don¡¯t ept stolen goods,¡± Plum Blossom Thirteen was starting to get flustered. His true purpose was to take this fellow¡¯s life, but things were starting to go awry. How was he to know that Zu An would stumble upon the means to repay the debt?

    ¡°I¡¯m good looking, so people gave it to me of their own ord. If you don¡¯t believe me, you can enter the academy yourself and ask around,¡± Zu An¡¯s tone dripped with disdain. ¡°You keep on finding excuses to avoid returning the promissory note to me; just what intentions are you harboring? Huanzhao, let¡¯s head back and tell our father about it. The Plum Blossom Sect is really trying to climb over our heads.¡±

    Plum Blossom Thirteen sweated in utter distress. Typical drafted sons-inw were usually embarrassed to admit their own identity, since it was considered shameful to marry into the bride¡¯s family. Yet, Zu An had no qualms with identifying himself as a fellow member of the Chu n, and the way he addressed Chu Zhongtian as ¡®father¡¯ was so ironically natural.

    Shameless!

    That being said, thest thing he wanted was for the Brightmoon Duke to get involved in this matter. He could get away with it if Zu An still owed them money, but he had just cleared his debt. By doggedly clinging onto this matter, even a fool would be able to tell that they harbored malicious intentions.

    ¡°Enough, enough! I¡¯ll return you your promissory note. Happy?¡±

    Plum Blossom Thirteen took out the note and handed it to Zu An. He had brought it as insurance, in case Zu An made a scene by using him of causing trouble in the vicinity of the academy. It would have made the perfect prop to silence any spectators with. How was he to know that it woulde back to bite him?

    Zu An took the note and examined it closely. It was indeed the one with his thumbprint. ¡°Speaking of which, didn¡¯t you mention that you have made copies? Take them out as well.¡±

    ¡°I said that to pressure you. How can something like a promissory note be copied that easily? Besides, a copy carries no legal power at all,¡± replied Plum Blossom Thirteen grudgingly.

    Zu An passed the debt note over to Chu Huanzhao for a second opinion. After confirming that Plum Blossom Thirteen wasn¡¯t lying, he quickly tore the debt note into pieces before rubbing it between his both hands, reducing it into dust.

    For someone who wielded the strength of 143 grown men, crushing a piece of paper into dust was a piece of cake.

    Despite the oue, he still wasn¡¯t satisfied. He thought of the dramatic ck mes wielded by Pei Mianman. With a simple snap of her finger, the problem would have automatically resolved itself. He, on the other hand, still needed to squeeze the paper with all his might like a fool.

    ¡°Since your debt has been erased, I¡¯ll be leaving now.¡± Plum Blossom Thirteen had to inform his sect leader that the n to deal with Zu An through his debt had not seeded.

    ¡°Wait, don¡¯t go!¡± Zu An suddenly eximed. There was still time for a twist. Before Plum Blossom Thirteen could make sense of the situation, Zu An yelled at the top of his lungs, ¡°Help me! Save me! The Plum Blossom Sect is trying to rob me here!¡±

    Plum Blossom Thirteen stared at Zu An as if he had lost his mind. What is this scoundrel up to?

    He did not have to wait long for the answer to arrive.

    A slight breeze brushed across them, heralding the sudden appearance of a middle-aged man with a bald spot. He gazed down at the three of them, his face dark.

    ¡°What¡¯s happening here?¡±

    The new arrival was none other than the discipline master Lu De. He had been diligently patrolling the area, and had rushed over as soon as he¡¯d heard themotion.

    Zu An had banked on Lu De being around, which was why he¡¯d intentionally shouted. He was thankful for the discipline master¡¯s swift intervention. Without hesitation, heunched into his sob story. ¡°Teacher, this man stole the ki stones we received from the academy!¡±

    Plum Blossom Thirteen nearly spurted blood. He waved his hands frantically in denial. ¡°You¡¯re lying! I didn¡¯t take your stuff!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Plum Blossom Thirteen for 666 Rage points!

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Teacher, if you don¡¯t believe me, you can check his pouch! The ki stones he stole from us were distributed by the academy, so there¡¯s an index number inscribed on every single one of them.¡±

    In order to prevent corruption within the various academies, the royal court had a strict quota as to the amount of cultivation resources each student was entitled to. This was enforced by inscribing an index number on each of the ki stones so that they could be traced if anything were to ur.

    In order to avoid trouble when dealing with such ki stones on the ck market, both parties would sign an agreement to certify that it was a fair trade. If not, they would at least make sure to erase the index numbers on the ki stones. However, Plum Blossom Thirteen wasn¡¯t familiar with the ki stone market, and he had been too preupied with getting back his sect master to report his failure, so he¡¯d ended up getting careless.

    ¡°Bastard, you scammed me!¡±

    Plum Blossom Thirteen finally caught on to what was going on. No wonder that fellow had been so forthright in handing his money over to him. As it turned out, he had devious ns in mind!

    You have sessfully trolled Plum Blossom Thirteen for 777 Rage points!

    You aren¡¯t as dull-witted as I thought. Zu An was tempted to say it out loud to earn another wave of Rage points, but Lu De was standing right there. Instead, he yed the part of a wronged victim and cried, ¡°Are you saying that I¡¯m lying? How awful! I¡¯m lucky that there¡¯s an eyewitness here who saw everything that happened earlier! He can testify for me!¡±

    He grabbed Cheng Shouping¡¯s arm and pulled him forward, ¡°Am I right?¡±

    Feeling the immense force on his arm, Cheng Shouping immediately volunteered, ¡°Indeed, this fellow stole our young master¡¯s ki stone! Uwaa, young master, why do you lead such a tough life? You get bullied no matter where you go!¡±

    Cheng Shouping¡¯s convincing act surprised Zu An. He¡¯d been worried that Cheng Shouping would let him down at this critical moment, but it seemed this fellow was a born actor!

    I shall give him an extra chicken drumstick for dinner!

    ¡°Of course he¡¯s going to speak up for you; he¡¯s your servant!¡± Plum Blossom Thirteen cried out anxiously. This master-servant pair is the true embodiment of shamelessness!

    A frown creased Lu De¡¯s forehead. Instead of questioning Cheng Shouping further, he turned to Chu Huanzhao and asked, ¡°Chu Second Miss, is that really the case?¡±

    Lu De could still address Chu Huanzhao by name in the academy, but now that they were outside the academy walls, he had to show some respect to the Brightmoon Duke.

    ¡°That¡¯s right! Not only did this Plum Blossom-something steal his ki stone, but he also stole mine as well! Teacher, if you don¡¯t believe my words, you can check his pouch. One of the ki stones in there should have my index number...¡± Chu Huanzhao used her sharp words to further fan the mes. Her beautiful appearance was much more efficient at evoking pity than Zu An¡¯s. No man could resist the desire to stand up for a damsel in distress.

    A couple of students who had just gotten off sses overheard Chu Huanzhao¡¯s deration. A strong urge came over them, and they almost dashed forward to tear the vile criminal, Plum Blossom Thirteen, into shreds.

    Zu An¡¯s jaw nearly fell onto the floor. Fearing the worst, he had prepared a long, passionate monologue to convince Lu De. However, his partners turned out to be much more reliable than he¡¯d given them credit for.

    As Chu Huanzhao pitifullyined to Lu De about how she was bullied, Zu An thought that he saw a pair of devil¡¯s horns flicker above her head. He sternly reminded himself that no matter who he offended in the future, he could never, ever offend this youngdy.

    Plum Blossom Thirteen could feel his head throbbing. The pressure was so great, he feared he would suffer a hemorrhage.

    Despite this Second Miss Chu''s innocent appearance, she¡¯s able to lie so smoothly without batting an eyelid! Aren¡¯tdies of noble ns supposed to be upright and dignified?!

    My godfather was right! Nobles are all downright shameless scum who have no qualms engaging in deception!

    Plum Blossom Thirteen felt a shiver run down his spine as Lu De turned his menacing gaze on him. ¡°It¡¯s not like that...¡± he stammered weakly.

    Before he could exin anything, Lu De had already cut him off. ¡°There¡¯s no need for words here. The truth wille out once we check your pouch.¡±

    Plum Blossom Thirteen still had plenty to say, but a ruler as heavy as a mountainnded between his shoulder des, pressing him down and squeezing the air out of his lungs. He struggled to even breathe, and exining himself was out of the question.

    This sudden development rmed him. Of the Thirteen Guardians of the Plum Blossom Sect, he was the strongest. He was the sect¡¯s sharpest knife when it came to fights in the underworld, and rarely had he ever failed a mission. And yet, this bald man had rendered himpletely powerless with a simple ruler.

    No wonder the sect master had warned him strictly not to mess with those in the academy.

    But I didn¡¯t do anything at all!

    Plum Blossom Thirteen had done a lot of bad things in his lifetime, and he was fully prepared to face any enemies who tried to get back at him. Yet, this was the one time where the situation left him so frustrated. It was all that scoundrel¡¯s fault!

    You have sessfully trolled Plum Blossom Thirteen for 888 Rage points!

    Zu An noticed that Plum Blossom Thirteen was ring at him furiously. He responded with an embarrassed smile, which brought another offering of Rage points.

    Lu De examined the eight ki stones in the pouch carefully, then angrily cast them aside. His cold gaze fell on Plum Blossom Thirteen. ¡°These ki stones are from our academy, and the index numbers indicate that they have only been issued earlier today. What do you have to say for yourself?¡±

    The ruler pressing down on him finally lifted a little, giving Plum Blossom Thirteen a chance to catch his breath and exin himself. ¡°I was wronged! The two of them gave the ki stones to me on their own ord! Zu An owed me a thousand silver taels from gambling, and they were using the ki stones to offset the debt!¡±

    Zu An retorted with a cold sneer, ¡°Don¡¯t you think you should at least try harder when searching for an excuse? All of Brightmoon City knows that the Chu n punishes their n members harshly for gambling! Justst year, a fellow got his legs crushed by the Brightmoon Duke for fooling around in a casino. How would I, as a drafted son-inw, dare to dabble in gambling, let alone incur a debt of a thousand silver taels? No matter how brazen I am, I would never do something like that!¡±

    ¡°Indeed! Who doesn¡¯t know that our Chu n is extremely strict on n members gambling?¡± Chu Huanzhao ced her hands on her waist as she agreed sassily. ¡°At least do your homework first beforeing up with a lie!¡±

    ¡°Bloody hell!¡± Plum Blossom Thirteen nearly suffered a stroke right there and then. This shameless, adulterous couple!

    You have sessfully trolled Plum Blossom Thirteen for 999 Rage points!

 Chapter 54: Try Shouting All You Want, Letâ€™s See If Theyâ€™ll Agree With It

    <h4>Chapter 54: Try Shouting All You Want, Let¡¯s See If They¡¯ll Agree With It</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Lu De¡¯s brow furrowed even deeper. His gut told him that something was amiss.

    ¡°Taking a thousand steps back, even if I did owe you money from gambling, where¡¯s the promissory note then? Why don¡¯t you bring it out and show everyone?¡± challenged Zu An.

    Plum Blossom Thirteen shouted back in agitation, ¡°I¡¯ve already given you the promissory note!¡±

    Zu An raised his hands up high and said innocently, ¡°Teacher, so as to prove my innocence, I ask you to search my body to see if I have the note he speaks of!¡±

    ¡°You tore it up earlier!¡± Plum Blossom Thirteen finally understood why Zu An had done that. From the very start, he was already scheming to do him in!

    Zu An sighed helplessly before answering, ¡°Even if I tore it up, there should still be traces of it around, right?¡±

    ¡°You crushed it so thoroughly that it turned to dust and scattered with the wind earlier!¡± Plum Blossom Thirteen insisted.

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°Aren¡¯t you trying a little too hard? Who in Brightmoon City doesn¡¯t know that I¡¯m notoriously useless? If I did have the power to crush a piece of paper to dust, would I have been assigned to the Yellow ss in the first ce?¡±

    ¡°But he really...¡± Plum Blossom Thirteen felt a chill run down his spine. He turned anxiously to Lu De, but the discipline master gave him no chance to exin.

    ¡°Enough!¡± Lu De roared furiously. ¡°I don¡¯t care what misdeeds your Plum Blossom Sect gets up to out there, but I won¡¯t stand for you bullying our students! Today, I¡¯ll break two of your legs. Go back and tell Mei Chaofeng, if his subordinates dare to mess with the academy once more, I will show no mercy.¡±

    Lu De flicked his sleeves, and the ruler flew straight for Plum Blossom Thirteen¡¯s knee joints. There were two resounding ¡®thwacks¡¯, and the assassin fell over with a yelp of agony.

    From the unnatural angle at which Plum Blossom Thirteen¡¯s legs were bent, Zu An could tell that he had suffered aplete fracture in both legs. He gasped in astonishment. He had heard from Wei Suo just how painful Lu De¡¯s ruler could be, but judging from Plum Blossom Thirteen¡¯s current state, it was apparent that Lu De had been going easy on the students he disciplined.

    Even more shocking was how Lu De had used his ruler. He had not been holding on to it at all¡ªthe ruler had struck Plum Blossom Thirteen¡¯s legs all on its own before flying back into Lu De¡¯s hand.

    That thing is an artifact! Zu An reminded himself never to fall into Lu De¡¯s hands, lest he suffered the same fate!

    You have sessfully trolled Plum Blossom Thirteen for 567 Rage points!

    As he groaned on the ground, Plum Blossom Thirteen shot a venomous re at Zu An.

    This was natural human behavior. Plum Blossom Thirteen dared not me Lu De, who was far stronger than him, so he could only vent his emotions on the weaker Zu An instead.

    He swore to himself that he would snap off that scoundrel¡¯s four limbs¡ªno, five limbs!¡ªonce he recovered from his injuries. Then, he would slice him up slowly, piece by piece, and toss them all into Wolf Valley!

    Lu De passed the ki stones back to Zu An. ¡°Take care of them well. You¡¯re too weak at the moment, so it¡¯s even more important for you to learn how to conceal your own wealth.¡±

    Zu An nodded his head vigorously and replied, ¡°You¡¯re right, teacher. Unfortunately, that fellow also stole my money as well. If you could help me get those back too...¡± He trailed off with a sheepish chuckle.

    This fellow sure is trouble, Lu De thought to himself. However, since Zu An was indeed a student of the academy, he waved a hand toward Plum Blossom Thirteen. With a beckoning gesture, the money purse flew from Plum Blossom Thirteen¡¯s waist andnded softly in his hand.

    ¡°How much money did he take from you?¡± asked Lu De.

    Zu An took the entire money pouch and said, ¡°This is all mine. Thank you, teacher, thank you.¡±

    Lu De¡¯s frown grew so deep his eyebrows almost touched. Although he was suspicious of Zu An¡¯s im, he was well aware that Plum Blossom Thirteen¡¯s hands weren¡¯t clean, and he probably came by his money through underhanded means. With that in mind, he decided to let it slide, and allowed Zu An to do as he pleased.

    Plum Blossom Thirteen didn¡¯t see it the same way. ¡°Those taels are mine!¡± he cried indignantly.

    You only gave me a hundred silver taels earlier on! The remaining eight hundred are all that I¡¯ve managed to painstakingly save up over thest few years!

    Plum Blossom Thirteen hadn¡¯t expected Zu An to be so shameless as to stoop to petty thievery! He never trusted anyone but himself, so he always carried his money around with him no matter where he went. Who could have thought that his many years of savings would be stolen from him just like that?

    You have sessfully trolled Plum Blossom Thirteen for 999 Rage points!

    ¡°You¡¯re saying that this is your money?¡± Zu An leisurely dangled the money pouch in front of the stricken Plum Blossom Thirteen. ¡°Try calling for them then. Let¡¯s see if they¡¯ll respond to your call?¡±

    That was the final blow.

    Unable to take it anymore, Plum Blossom Thirteen felt his heart convulse, and fresh blood spurted out from his mouth.

    What the hell! Who in the world is the antagonist here?

    You have sessfully trolled Plum Blossom Thirteen for 999 Rage points!

    Lu De shot a nce toward Plum Blossom Thirteen and Zu An, but chose not to interfere. He waved a hand toward the gathered crowd. ¡°All right, show¡¯s over. Stop loitering around and go home!¡±

    Zu An waved Plum Blossom Thirteen goodbye and left with Chu Huanzhao and the others.

    ¡°Just you wait, Zu scoundrel! Our Plum Blossom Sect will never let you off that easily!¡± The echoes of Plum Blossom Thirteen¡¯s vile curses could be heard even from a distance away.

    You have sessfully trolled Plum Blossom Thirteen for 999 Rage points!

    Zu An shook his head. This wasn¡¯t the first time the Plum Blossom Sect had tried to deal with him, and it was naive to think that he would be able to survive every single assassination attempt of theirs. He would have to find a way to deal with them soon.

    They had made it a short distance when Cheng Shouping couldn¡¯t hold himself back any further. He ran up to Zu An with a fawning smile. ¡°Young master! My respect for you flourishes like the relentless tides of a river...¡±

    ¡°Flourishes? Pui!¡± Zu An shoved Cheng Shouping¡¯s head aside. He fished out a silver ingot from Plum Blossom Thirteen¡¯s money pouch and threw it at Cheng Shouping. ¡°Here, your reward. You did well earlier.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, young master~¡± Cheng Shouping fondled the silver ingot delightfully.

    ¡°Where¡¯s mine?¡± Chu Huanzhao demanded, stretching out her fair hands towards him. They were as smooth as jade.

    Zu An also tossed a silver ingot to her, but this only made Chu Huanzhao arch her eyebrows. ¡°So little? Are you trying to wave away a beggar?¡±

    The smile on Cheng Shouping¡¯s face froze instantly. He felt like he had just been offended.

    Zu An massaged his temples. ¡°How much do you want then?¡±

    ¡°At least half of it!¡± Chu Huanzhao eximed excitedly. She had never felt such a strong feeling of aplishment before. While she often got her way in the Chu Estate, it never felt satisfying since no one dared to stand in the way of the Second Miss.

    ¡°Half of it? This is daylight robbery!¡± Zu An eximed in horror.

    ¡°Hmph! If I hadn¡¯t backed you up there, do you think that Baldhead would have believed you so easily?¡± Chu Huanzhao stuck her small chest out proudly. ¡°I put the reputation of our Chu n on the line in order to help you! Don¡¯t you think that that was at least worth half of the loot?¡±

    ¡°The highest I can go is a third,¡± Zu An replied sharply. He grabbed a few banknotes and shoved them over to her.

    This seemed to satisfy Chu Huanzhao. She counted the few notes she had in her hands again and again, an excited gleam in her eyes.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An eyed her in disdain. ¡°Say, do you really need to act like this? No matter what, you¡¯re still the Second Miss of the Chu n! Do you need to get so excited over just a few hundred silver taels?¡±

    ¡°This is different. This is money that I didn¡¯t receive from my parents; money that I earned with my own hands. Isn¡¯t that a cause for celebration?¡± Chu Huanzhao replied with a sweet smile.

    Does thisss have some kind of misunderstanding as to what ¡®earning money¡¯ means? If her parents were to learn that I have led her astray, wouldn¡¯t they skin me alive?!

    Just thinking about that tigress Qin Wanru was more than enough to make Zu An shudder in fear. He grabbed hold of Chu Huanzhao¡¯s arm and told her gravely, ¡°Make sure not to speak a word of this matter to your parents.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao blinked her eyes in confusion. ¡°Why? This is the first time I¡¯m earning money; they would be happy about it!¡±

    ¡°Errr...¡± Zu An pondered for a moment, then approached the matter from another perspective. ¡°From what you know of them, do you think that they¡¯d allow you to continue earning money through such a method?¡±

    ¡°Hmmm. Well, I guess that makes sense too. Fine, I won¡¯t tell them.¡± Chu Huanzhao carefully slotted the banknotes into her robe before patting Zu An¡¯s shoulders. ¡°Make sure to call me the next time you encounter a good deal like this!¡±

    Zu An was amused. Isn¡¯t thisss a born tyrant?

    Once they arrived at the Chu Estate, the two of them parted ways. After all, their residences were not located in the same direction.

    Zu An returned to his little house and pulled Cheng Shouping over to one side. ¡°Lil¡¯ Pingping, do you know how much it costs to buy a small residence in the city?¡±

    Not only was he tired of the disdain he continually received in the Chu Estate, there was also someone in the Chu n who was out to kill him. Getting his own ce of residence would make life much morefortable, not to mention safer.

    He would have suffered it if he didn¡¯t have a choice, but now that he had hundreds of silver taels and seven ki stones that he could trade for money, he could be considered a ¡®thousand-aire¡¯.

    Back in his previous world, countless men dreamt constantly of traveling back to the ancient era to live an easy and decadent life, surrounded by gorgeous wives and beautiful maids... And now that he was in this world, he finally had a chance to fulfill his dreams!

    In his current state, ¡®gorgeous wives¡¯ was probably a pipe dream, but at the very least, he could aim for ¡®beautiful maids¡¯, right?

    Cheng Shouping¡¯s face fell instantly. His voice was that of a heartbroken suitor. ¡°Young master, are you going to abandon me?¡±

    ¡°Cut that out! Stop portraying me as a heartless man trying to dump you!¡± Zu An snapped angrily. ¡°I just want to get a small residence so that I¡¯ll have somewhere to retreat to when things aren¡¯t going well. If you wish to continue following me then, you¡¯re more than wee to. Also, do you know how much beautiful maids cost?¡±

    The mention of ¡®beautiful maids¡¯ immediately sparked a gleam in Cheng Shouping¡¯s eyes. He immediately began analyzing the costs for the young master. ¡°Well, a small residence costs around several hundred silver taels, though some of the more rundown ones can probably be acquired at a hundred silver taels. As for beautiful maids though, they can get pretty pricey. Over at the market, their prices range from tens of silver taels to over a thousand silver taels.¡±

    Zu An felt relieved that the housing prices here weren¡¯t as ridiculous as in his previous world. His thousand silver taels was around 180,000 RMB, which was only enough for him to buy a toilet in the city.

    ¡°There¡¯s such a huge price difference amongst the different maids?¡± Zu An was surprised. ¡°How is it that some of them cost over a thousand silver taels?¡±

    ¡°I heard that those are skilled in the four arts, be it zither, chess, calligraphy, or painting. On top of that, they are also as beautiful as fairies from heaven...¡±

    Before Cheng Shouping could finish his description, Zu An waved a hand impatiently. ¡°Enough enough, I¡¯m not nning to open a brothel here. Why would I need such multi-talented maids? We¡¯ll just look for some more decent-looking ones with a gentle disposition. The other skills aren¡¯t important.¡±

    Cheng Shouping nodded quietly, but harbored very different thoughts on the inside. If you can¡¯t afford it, just say so. There¡¯s no need to insist that you don¡¯t need them.

 Chapter 55: You Canâ€™t Shirk Off Responsibility Just Because You Have Put On Clothes!

    <h4>Chapter 55: You Can¡¯t Shirk Off Responsibility Just Because You Have Put On Clothes!</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Remember not to mention this matter to anyone in the estate,¡± Zu An reminded him sternly.

    Cheng Shouping thumped his own chest. ¡°Young master, have you forgotten my name? I am the man who keeps secrets like a cork on a bottle, Cheng Shouping!¡±

    Somehow, his confident assurances only stoked Zu An¡¯s unease. He felt like he had just made a terrible mistake.

    ¡°I¡¯ll leave you to look into the matter. I¡¯m feeling a bit tired right now, so I think I¡¯ll rest for a while. Ah right, get me a bucket of water to wash my face first.¡± Zu An dismissed Cheng Shouping with a wave of his hand.

    His n was to wash his hands and face, then use the Rage points he had just earned from Plum Blossom Thirteen to draw the lottery. For now, his future looked very bright.

    ¡°Looks like you¡¯re in a good mood,¡± an old, hoarse voice rasped in his ear.

    Zu An leaped up in shock. He spun around and saw Old Mi standing behind him. With his heart still pounding, he yelled, ¡°Why do you always walk around without making any sound? You¡¯ll really scare me to death one of these days!¡±

    Old Mi ignored Zu An¡¯s remark and posed a question of his own. ¡°You didn¡¯t y truant today, right?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯d already warned me beforehand, so how would I dare?¡± Looking deeply into the eyes that were hidden byyers of skin folds, Zu An felt subconsciously that he would have suffered the same fate as Plum Blossom Thirteen had he dared to y truant today.

    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Old Miughed eerily. ¡°Did you meet Wei Hongde?¡±

    Old Mi¡¯s smile caused Zu An to break out in goosebumps all over.

    ¡°Not yet.¡± Old Mi¡¯s forehead began to crease further in a frown, which prompted Zu An to add quickly, ¡°However, I managed to be friends with his younger brother.¡±

    ¡°He has a younger brother?¡± Old Mi was confused.

    ¡°Yes, his name is Wei Suo...¡± Zu An briefly exined the situation.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think that he would have another son. Heh, it looks like he¡¯s living quite a good life, hm?¡± Old Mi muttered under his breath.

    Zu An was stunned for a moment. ¡°What did you say?¡±

    ¡°Nothing.¡± Old Mi shook his head. He tossed a pouch of silver taels to Zu An and said, ¡°Take this money. Treat those two brothers to a meal and hang out with them more. I need you to get closer to them.¡±

    Zu An probed a little. ¡°May I know why? Can you let me in on whatever it is too so that I can prepare myself beforehand?¡±

    Another chillingly eerie smile split Old Mi¡¯s face in two. ¡°You¡¯ll know in due time.¡± With that, he began to totter away.

    Zu An was left puzzled. You can¡¯t be trying to get me to steal some kind of secret treasure in the royal treasury, are you?

    He quickly counted the money in the pouch he had just received from Old Mi. There were a hundred silver taels in total. He wondered how an old farmer inside the Chu Estate had managed to save up so much money.

    With a deep sigh, Zu An decided to let the matter rest. He turned his attention to the Keyboard and checked his Rage points. After his spending spree that afternoon, he¡¯d been left with 54 Rage points, but his bnce had risen back up to 8,305.

    It was just a short encounter, but Plum Blossom Thirteen had single handedly provided him with more than eight thousand Rage points!

    Despite this oue, Zu An was dissatisfied. Once again, the result had proven that it was much more efficient to farm using AOE skills rather than single target skills. He could only hope that more enemies like Plum Blossom Thirteen would appear.

    He proceeded with his ritual of washing his hands and face with practiced movements, then turned his attention to the lottery. However, just as he was about to start, a servant rushed in. ¡°Young master, Master and Madam are calling you over right now!¡±

    Zu An widened his eyes in shock. It can¡¯t be that they already know about me leading Chu Huanzhao astray, can it?

    With a growing feeling of unease, he followed the servant around the estate. The servant led him from corridor to corridor, navigating an incrediblyplicated route. Zu An grew suspicious that the servant was leading him into some sort of trap.

    It was only when the two of them finally arrived before a hall with plenty of maids standing at the doorway that he finally heaved a sigh of relief. With so many people around, I doubt that my enemies would try to pull anything.

    His eyes fell on one particrss with a slender waist and a delicate ponytail, dressed in a green robe. He was a little rmed by her appearance, but he maintained a brilliant smile on his face as he walked over and said, ¡°Oh? It has only been a few days since west met, Snow, but your waist has gotten even slimmer. Are you not eating well outside? Aw. Come, I¡¯ll help you massage it a little.¡±

    As he spoke, his hands darted forth to encircle her waist.

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for 256 Rage points!

    Zu An was surprised. He didn¡¯t know that Snow wasn¡¯t her real name. It was quite rare for maids to have a proper surname and name these days, and even rarer to possess such an eloquent one. It seems she has quite the mysterious background.

    Even though he managed to infuriate Snow before, he hadn¡¯t awakened the Rage system back then. This was the first time he was seeing her true name.

    The youngss easily dodged his hands. She red at him frostily. ¡°It has been a few days, but you¡¯re still as detestable as ever.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face immediately turned grim. ¡°You¡¯re going a little overboard. Whatever the case, we did spend a night with one another. Are you going to shirk your responsibilities now that you¡¯ve got your clothes back on?¡±

    ¡°You!!!¡± Snow¡¯s face flushed red right away.

    The trauma she¡¯d suffered by having her pure, maidenly body ravaged by this dirty scoundrel¡¯s lecherous gaze would never go away.

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for 999 Rage points!

    ¡°Are you angry? Hit me then. Hit me then~¡± Zu An taunted like a little rascal. Back when she had kicked him into the pond, he wasn¡¯t a cultivator yet, so he wasn¡¯t able to discern her level of strength. It was high time for him to check her out.

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for 999 Rage points!

    Snow¡¯s rage was so strong that she was feeling faint. She never thought that such a shameless person could exist in the world. She seriously considered throwing propriety out the window and pummeling the man before her.

    ¡°Stop messing around ande in!¡± Chu Chuyan¡¯s unique cold, melodious voice sounded from the hall.

    Snow took a deep breath as she forced herself to calm down. Her voice was as chilly as her name. ¡°Master and Madam are waiting for you inside. You should get going.¡±

    Zu An shook his head in regret. He smoothed out his clothes and strode into the hall.

    Chu Zhongtian, Qin Wanru, Chu Chuyan and Chu Huanzhao were seated at a round table filled with all sorts of exquisite dishes. Chu Huanzhao shot him a nce in silent warning.

    Thisss is still quite loyal after all. Looks like I didn¡¯t dote on her for nothing.

    ¡°Zu An, how audacious of you to seduce a maid of the estate in our presence. What do you take Chuyan for? What do you take our Chu n for?¡± Qin Wanru bellowed, her face a dark cloud of anger.

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Wanru for 447 Rage points!

    Her anger was fully justified. She was already dissatisfied with having her precious daughter marry such a wastrel, and yet, he still went around seducing the maidservants of the estate. This was preposterous!

    ¡°I didn¡¯t seduce her!¡± Zu An cried out as though wronged.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Qin Wanru snorted. ¡°You still want to argue your way through this? Do you think that our ears are for decoration?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Wanru for 522 Rage points!

    Beside her, Chu Zhongtian coughed softly and exined, ¡°Zu An, you might not be aware because you aren¡¯t a cultivator, but this bit of distance isn¡¯t a problem for us. We can hear everything happening outside loud and clear.¡±

    Zu An was touched by how good-hearted Chu Zhongtian was. ¡°Father-inw, I really am not lying. That¡¯s because Snow is already my woman.¡±

    A ripple of shock passed through everyone present. Even Chu Chuyan¡ªwho had been leisurely watching the drama unfold as if she had nothing to do with it¡ªchoked on her tea. She hurriedly took out her handkerchief and dabbed at the corners of her mouth.

    Chu Zhongtian stared at Zu An in disbelief, although there seemed to be the slightest tinge of respect mixed in with his shock.

    Qin Wanru¡¯s mouth fell agape, as if her mind had somehow short-circuited.

    Chu Huanzhao had been in the midst of sneaking some food into her mouth when Zu An made his pronouncement, and she secretly snuck him a thumbs up. Her brother-inw really was quite the formidable figure. No wonder Plum Blossom Thirteen had gotten done in so badly.

    ¡°Zu An, how dare you spout such nonsense?!¡± Snow stood behind him, her face livid.

    Just as Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru could hear what was going on outside, Snow had pricked up her ears to follow the conversation going on inside.

    The moment she heard Zu An im that she was his woman, she nearly lost her mind.

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for 999 Rage points!

    *BAM!*

    Qin Wanru mmed her palm onto the table. ¡°Where have your manners gone? Get out!¡±

    Snow looked at Qin Wanru indignantly, and she attempted to protest weakly, ¡°Madam, I...¡±

    Chu Chuyan interjected quietly, ¡°Snow, you should leave the room for now.¡±

    Left with no choice, Snow backed out of the room. She didn¡¯t forget to re viciously at Zu An as she left.

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for 400 Rage points!

    Watching the drama unfold, Zu An chuckled on the inside as he praised himself for his sharp wits. A single sentence from him was all it had taken to earn this huge sum of Rage points.

    As soon as Snow left the room, Qin Wanru¡¯s gaze turned so severe, she looked ready to strangle someone. ¡°Zu An, you had better tell us what¡¯s going on here. Do you know that we reserve the right to sentence a drafted son-inw like yourself to death for seducing a maid in the estate?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Wanru for 587 Rage points!

    In his mind, Zu Anmented theck of basic human rights that gued all drafted sons-inw. Sighing softly, he took his time to exin himself. ¡°I didn¡¯t seduce Snow; Chuyan gave her to me. She personally ordered Snow to apany me in bed.¡±

    Qin Wanru frowned upon hearing those words. She turned to her daughter and asked, ¡°Chuyan, is that true?¡±

    What¡¯s wrong with my daughter? Did she really send a woman to bed her own husband? I thought that I¡¯d set a good example for her to follow. All these years, have I ever allowed any woman to approach your father?

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s face flushed red. She shot a furious re at Zu An before answering, ¡°Mother, I did say such words. However, it was intended to be no more than a joke. You need not listen to his nonsense.¡±

    ¡°Is that true?¡± Qin Wanru asked doubtfully.

    ¡°Of course!¡±

    Chu Chuyan shot a nce at Zu An and said, ¡°Hurry up and take your seat. You should watch what you say in the future. If not, you wouldn¡¯t even know who you have offended.¡±

    Zu An lodged his protest immediately. ¡°That won¡¯t do! I¡¯m relying on my mouth for a living!¡±

    How was he supposed to earn Rage points if he didn¡¯t run his mouth off?

    Chu Huanzhaoughed uproariously. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you made a living off of your face?¡±

    Zu An betrayed hardly any embarrassment. ¡°I¡¯m going down both routes. It¡¯s always better to diversify your talents so as to remainpetitive in the market.¡±

    ¡°Enough! Stop spouting all that nonsense and eat!¡±

    For some reason, the friendly chatter between Zu An and her second daughter annoyed Qin Wanru.

    Zu An slipped into his seat and took a discreet look at Chu Chuyan. Honestly, this woman did treat him fairly well. Despite what had just happened, she still didn¡¯t reveal his impotence. That piece of information would have effectively dispelled any doubts that Qin Wanru harbored about the rtionship between him and Snow.

    ¡°What are you looking at me for?¡± Chu Chuyan asked nonchntly, without turning to look at Zu An. She idly picked up a piece of vegetable.

    ¡°You¡¯re beautiful. I¡¯ve read books in which women are described as being ¡®so beautiful that one couldn¡¯t resist feasting on her looks¡¯. To be frank, I was quite skeptical about such a possibility, but I¡¯m starting to see it for myself,¡± replied Zu An with a smile.

    His wife¡¯s side profile was truly perfect in every sense. Her smooth and delicate skin looked so inviting; it was such a pity that he couldn¡¯t give her a kiss.

    Chu Chuyan was a little surprised by his words. ¡°It looks like you¡¯re feeling much more optimistic than before.¡±

    Zu An knew that she was referring to his impotence. He¡¯d kicked up a huge fuss about it thest time. ¡°I was still brooding over it earlier, but all of my frustrations seem to vanish in the face of your beauty.¡±

 Chapter 56: A Lower-Tier Steed

    <h4>Chapter 56: A Lower-Tier Steed</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    A furious blush consumed Chu Chuyan¡¯s cheeks. Countless people had praised her beauty over the years, but most of them did it in an indirect manner. This was the first time someone had so directly and passionatelyplimented her, and it left her a little self-conscious.

    Meanwhile, Qin Wanru¡¯s frown only deepened. This fellow sure has a slippery tongue. The more I look at him, the more hateful he bes.

    Chu Zhongtian coughed lightly. ¡°It¡¯s impolite to speak at the dining table,¡± he reminded Zu An.

    Zu An decided to rein himself in for now, and the five of them continued their meal in silence. It didn¡¯t take long for them to finish up, and the servants quickly entered with saltwater for them to gargle their mouths with while they whisked away the tes and utensils.

    Zu An was puzzled at this new development. Food was usually sent to his room, but today, he had been called over to the main table to eat together with the rest of the family. Was this a sign that he was starting to be epted by them?

    While he was pondering this, Chu Zhongtian suddenly spoke up. ¡°Chuyan, how was your trip to Luling?¡±

    Zu An was taken aback. Were they going to talk business in his presence? Had they truly stopped viewing him as an outsider?

    ¡°I investigated the matter, and it appears the goods were intercepted by the ckwind Stockade. I swept the area with my men, but it was as if they had vanished from the face of the world. I couldn¡¯t find a single trace of them,¡± replied Chu Chuyan.

    The ckwind Stockade? Zu An fell into deep thought.

    Two days ago, when he met Yu Yanluo in a mountain valley outside the city, he had also stumbled across a group of people who identified themselves as bandits from the ckwind Stockade. Just thinking of this matter really infuriated him. Yu Yanluo had simply left him empty promises, then performed a vanishing act. Truly, the more beautiful a woman, the more scheming she was.

    Chu Zhongtian sighed deeply. ¡°That¡¯s the unique trait of the ckwind Stockade. They are always able to sense danger and flee beforehand. As soon as we dispatch an army, they hike deep into the Hidden Dragon Mountain to seek refuge. We can¡¯t possibly dispatch an army to escort our goods every single time. This is really a tough nut to crack.¡±

    He paused for a brief moment. ¡°I heard that the ckwind Stockade assaulted the Yu n¡¯s convoy a while ago, and quite a few of their men lost their lives. We could work together with the Yu n to deal with this poisonous tumor.¡±

    Qin Wanru snorted. ¡°I think you¡¯re just interested in Yu Yanluo, aren¡¯t you?¡± she said coolly. ¡°The Yu n already has enough problems to deal with. How could she possibly spare the attention to help us deal with the ckwind Stockade?¡±

    Chu Zhongtian¡¯s face immediately reddened. He pulled his wife¡¯s sleeves and said, ¡°It¡¯s not what you¡¯re thinking. Besides, the kids are still around...¡±

    Qin Wanru turned her head away, coldly ignoring her husband.

    A knowing smile graced Zu An¡¯s lips. It seemed like his father-inw had courted Yu Yanluo in his younger years. Well, he could rte to that. She was indeed unbelievably beautiful.

    Chu Chuyan broke the awkward atmosphere by clearing her throat, and she continued her report. ¡°Our arms business is currently suffering. The pollution of the spirit creek means that our n has lost our greatest advantage when ites to weapon-crafting. In addition, the Yuan n has found a fairly formidable runemaster to enchant their items. The weapons they forge now are not so far below ours in quality, and they¡¯re cheaper too. They have already eaten into quite a bit of our market share. At this rate, even the foundations of our business might be shaken.¡±

    Zu An processed the information he had just heard. He remembered the slight bluish glow he¡¯d seening from a formation inscribed on Yu Yanluo¡¯s carriage¡ªthat was probably the work of a runemaster. Runemasters were probably capable of adding functions to items, so naturally, weapons that were inscribed with runes tended to be more powerful than ordinary ones.

    If only that darned academy stopped preaching propriety and started teaching more practical knowledge, I wouldn¡¯t have been so bored out of my mind.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    In truth, Zu An had misunderstood the Brightmoon Academy. It was deemed to be the best academy within the nearby municipalities for good reason, and the teachers working there were the cream of the crop. The only reason he was learning about propriety and other such drivel was because he was in the Yellow ss.

    Those in the Yellow ss had barely any cultivation talent anyway, so it was meaningless for them to learn much about subjects rted to cultivation. As such, they only had one or two lessons each week that touched upon general knowledge rting to cultivation.

    On the other hand, the other sses, especially the Sky ss, were focused mainly on cultivation and had fewer lessons on other minor subjects.

    Qin Wanru frowned at her daughter¡¯s report. ¡°How in the world did the Yuan n manage to hire a runemaster? When did they find such connections?¡±

    ¡°They don¡¯t have them, but the neighboring Wu n does. The patriarch of the Wu n is a duke as well, and they have been interested in snatching up our Chu n¡¯s market share for quite some time now. I¡¯ve done my own digging, and it seems the Wu n is secretly backing the Yuan n in this matter. Otherwise, the Yuan n wouldn¡¯t have dared to challenge us openly,¡± replied Chu Chuyan.

    ¡°Indeed! That Yuan fellow was really arrogant at school today. He said that he would teach my brother-inw a lesson during the ns Tournament!¡± Chu Huanzhao had had no ce in the conversation thus far, but now that a familiar name had finally popped up, she immediately leaped at the opportunity to make her presence known.

    Qin Wanru flew into a rage. ¡°The Yuan n has gone too far! Even a servant or a dog of our Chu n shouldn¡¯t face such oppression from them!¡± She mmed her palm onto the table. ¡°Let¡¯s go! We¡¯ll head over to the Yuan Estate to reason with them!¡±

    Zu An sent Qin Wanru a venomous look, not bothering to hide the fact that he¡¯d taken offence at her statement.

    ¡°My wife, please calm yourself. Sang Hong has already been appointed as the governor, and without a doubt, he¡¯s looking for a reason to crack down on us.¡± Chu Zhongtian quickly stood up to restrain his wife. ¡°We all need to calm down and take things slowly, or else we might just worsen our plight.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyebrows shot up. Despite the Chu n¡¯s morous exterior, it seemed they were surrounded by threats.

    Chu Zhongtian stroked his wife¡¯s back to calm her down. As he did so, he turned to Zu An. ¡°Zu An, Yuan Wendong must have made things difficult for you. Are you all right?¡±

    Before Zu An could respond, Chu Huanzhao butted in, ¡°It wasn¡¯t just Yuan Wendong. Even Hong Xingying wanted to deal with my brother-inw too! He¡¯s supposed to be a subordinate of our Chu n, but that damned two-faced scoundrel chose to side with outsiders instead!¡±

    Zu An was touched by how Chu Huanzhao was speaking up for him. At the very least, she doted on him more than his own wife did.

    Chu Zhongtian frowned. ¡°Hong Xingying?¡±

    Qin Wanru spoke up. ¡°I know that child. He has a huge ego, and he was really fond of your older sister previously. Naturally, he doesn¡¯t carry any goodwill toward Zu An. As you know, young people tend to find it hard to rein in their emotions.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao wasn¡¯t willing to let the matter go. ¡°But he...¡±

    ¡°All right,¡± Qin Wanru waved her into silence. ¡°That child is a diligent one, and his father has been loyal to us for many decades. Don¡¯t bring up such minor matters in the future. It¡¯ll only harden their hearts against us.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao¡¯s cheeks puffed up in indignation. You¡¯re afraid of hardening the hearts of Hong Xingying and his father, but what about my brother-inw?

    Zu An, on the other hand, wasn¡¯t particrly fazed. He could understand how a useless drafted son-inw like him stood below Butler Hong and his son. Cheng Shouping had told him before that Qin Wanru was interested in having Chu Chuyan marry Hong Xingying, and the woman herself seemed to have shown her hand.

    He snuck a nce at Chu Chuyan, but her face betrayed no particr emotion. It didn¡¯t seem like she had any interest in Hong Xingying.

    Chu Chuyan changed the topic. ¡°I¡¯m more concerned about the ns Tournament that¡¯s going to be held half a month from now. Everything else can wait.¡±

    Qin Wanru frowned. ¡°Haven¡¯t we won every single tournament thus far? As long as you¡¯re around, who in the Yuan n could possibly be a match for you?¡±

    Chu Zhongtian shook his head and chimed in, ¡°The Yuan n are no pushovers. They share the same title as the Chu n as one of the Four Merchant Powerhouses. It¡¯s only because theyck a noble position that they have not dared offend us, so most of the tournaments we¡¯ve had thus far were mainly just for show. However, now that they have the Wu n to back them, we can expect them to go all out. In fact, I suspect that the Wu n might secretly dispatch their own cultivators to participate.¡±

    He paused, then turned to Zu An with a face full of conflict. ¡°Furthermore, with Zu An participating as well, we¡¯ve already lost the first round.¡±

    Zu An was utterly dumbstruck. I was just watching from the sidelines. How in the world did I get sucked in as well?

    ¡°Ah, I¡¯m not a cultivator in the first ce. Do I need to fight in the ns Tournament too?¡±

    ¡°ording to the rules of the ns Tournament, every single offspring of the n must participate. Since you¡¯re the son-inw of our Chu n, there¡¯s no way that the Wu n and Yuan n will allow you to sit out. Moreover, the governor will most likely step in and denounce any move on our part to shield you from participation. In fact, the main reason why we called you here today is to give up a heads-up so that you can prepare yourself for it,¡± said Chu Zhongtian.

    Chu Huanzhao grew anxious at her father¡¯s words. ¡°Just earlier today, Yuan Wendong proudly dered that he was going to cripple my brother-inw! If we send him in as well, wouldn¡¯t that be the same as sending him to his death?¡±

    ¡°That works out just fine,¡± Chu Chuyan answered.

    Zu An¡¯s heart skipped a beat. Even if you aren¡¯t pleased with me, surely you shouldn¡¯t resort to such means to kill your own husband, right?

    Chu Huanzhao shared his horror. She stared at Chu Chuyan in disbelief and murmured, ¡°Sister, you...¡±

    Seeing their expressions, Chu Zhongtian hurriedly cut in. ¡°Let your older sister finish. She wouldn¡¯t say such words for no reason.¡±

    Chu Chuyan took her time toy out her points. ¡°The most outstanding offspring of the Yuan n is no other than Yuan Wendong. I heard that he¡¯d recently made a breakthrough to the fifth rank. I don¡¯t fear him, but we don¡¯t have anyone else in the n who is a match for him, and the Yuan n wouldn¡¯t be so foolish as to send him against me. In other words, Yuan Wendong is bound to win a single round since no one else will be able to deal with him.

    ¡°If so, rather than waste any of our other experts on him, it would be much better to send Zu An to face him. This way, there¡¯s still a chance for the others to win their battles.¡±

    Zu An grasped the point she was making. To have the weakest face the strongest so as to conserve their forces; it was basically the ¡®Tian Ji Racing Horse¡¯ strategy.... Pui, what am I saying? I¡¯m not the weakest horse here!

    Chu Huanzhao was still troubled by this n. ¡°Isn¡¯t it still very dangerous for my brother-inw?¡±

    Qin Wanru¡¯s forehead creased slightly. Isn¡¯t my second daughter a little too concerned about that wastrel today?

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll arrange for their match to be the veryst. If we manage to achieve an overwhelming advantage by then, the final match would be rendered meaningless. If so, we can simply call it off.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao blinked her eyes as she considered her sister¡¯s statement. ¡°What if the victor hasn¡¯t been decided by then?¡±

    Chu Chuyan hesitated, then hurriedly shook her head. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it can¡¯t possibly be that coincidental.¡±

    Stop nting gs here! You¡¯ll jinx it! Zu An retorted in his mind.

    He sighed softly and offered his own take on the situation. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if the victor hasn¡¯t been decided by then. As you know, the stars of the show usually make their appearances at the very end. I¡¯ll make sure to pull off a gloriouseback for the Chu n if ites down to that.¡±

    It had only taken him a couple of days to transform from an utterly inept human being to a third rank cultivator. With half a month still to go, he should still be able to raise his cultivation by a fair bit. Even if he couldn¡¯t reach the fifth rank, he still possessed the items and other cheats from the Keyboard. With a good strategy, he should still stand a fair chance of winning.

    Zu An¡¯s assurances only brought a furrow to Qin Wanru¡¯s forehead. ¡°Zu An, since Yan¡¯er has already chosen you, I shan¡¯t pursue your past anymore. However, can you at least kick your habit of bragging? A man can be weak, but he must possess good virtue. Yuan Wendong has already reached the fifth rank, which means that he can already control the elements. Yet, you still want to fight against him and win? Hah!¡±

    After saying those words, Qin Wanru got to her feet, shook out her sleeves, and left the hall.

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Wanru for 763 Rage points!

    Zu An shrugged leisurely, not bothering with any further exnation.

    Qin Wanru seemed deeply prejudiced against him. It was amon saying that mothers-inw tended to grow on their sons-inw, but why did it seem like his rtionship with Qin Wanru was deteriorating sharply?

 Chapter 57: Putting on Airs

    <h4>Chapter 57: Putting on Airs</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Chu Zhongtian also rose to his feet. ¡°Zu An, I understand your desire to stand up for the Chu n. You have good intentions in mind, but... Aah, you shouldn¡¯t think too much about this matter. Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll settle the ns Tournament.¡±

    With that, he too turned and left. Judging by his hurried footsteps, he seemed to be chasing after his wife.

    My father-inw is really the typical example of a henpecked husband, but he¡¯s indeed a good person at heart. He does treat me well even though I¡¯m a wastrel. I just wonder if he¡¯s actually a sly, old fox who puts on a kind face...

    Chu Huanzhao skipped over to Zu An¡¯s side to talk to him, but was interrupted by Chu Zhongtian¡¯s voice, echoing from outside the hall. ¡°Zhao¡¯er, your mother is looking for you!¡±

    ¡°Oh~¡± the excitement in Chu Huanzhao¡¯s face copsed like a house of cards. She waved Zu An a helpless goodbye before dragging her feet out reluctantly.

    ¡°You¡¯re on good terms with Huanzhao?¡± Chu Chuyan¡¯s voice contained a hint of surprise.

    Zu An smiled cockily. ¡°I¡¯m quite a likable person after all.¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s mouth worked silently, but she could find no suitable response.

    She stared at him for a moment longer, then turned to take her leave. ¡°Right, I should give you a reminder. A man shouldn¡¯t make promises that he isn¡¯t able to fulfill.¡±

    Zu An felt disconste. There was not a single person here who was willing to trust him. He sure led quite the tragic life.

    He suddenly remembered an important matter and rushed out to catch up to Chu Chuyan. ¡°Honey, honey~¡±

    Chu Chuyan whipped around and yelled, ¡°Shut up! I told you not to call me that!¡±

    ¡°You only told me not to call me your wife.¡± Chu Chuyan¡¯s eyebrows had climbed almost to her hairline, and she looked on the verge of exploding at any moment.Seeing this, Zu An quickly changed what he was about to say. ¡°Then, should I call you Yan¡¯er instead?¡±

    Chu Chuyan was caught off-guard by that, and fell silent.

    It sounds weird hearing him call me the same way my father and mother call me. But if I don¡¯t allow him to call me that, he might just keep calling me honey or darling!

    ¡°If you still have any sense of shame, you should stop buzzing around the young miss¡¯ side like a fly!¡± Snow leaped forward and interposed herself between the two of them. Her disdainful gaze slowly lowered toward his crotch.

    ¡°Why do you interfere when I speak to my wife?¡± Zu An rolled her eyes. ¡°You have already disyed your bare self to me, yet you still prance around me all day long. Just which of us is the shameless one here?¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Snow¡¯s face immediately turned as red as an apple. That incident was the greatest blemish in her life, yet this fellow still dared to raise it! Her anger flew through the roof in an instant, and she was a second away from drawing her sword and decapitating the hateful man standing before her.

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for 999 Rage points!

    ¡°Enough, the two of you should stop messing around.¡± Chu Chuyan worried that Zu An would be sliced to pieces if she didn¡¯t intervene. ¡°So, what did you call me for?¡±

    Zu An shot a nce at Snow and swiftly estimated the length of her sword. He took a few steps back to keep himself out of her range, then turned to Chu Chuyan and said, ¡°There¡¯s someone who¡¯s out for your hubby¡¯s life. Are you going to get involved?¡±

    Snow¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and her trepidation significantly lessened her rage. She stared at Zu An uncertainly, her mind racing.

    Chu Chuyan noticed that Zu An had stopped calling her ¡®honey¡¯, but had chosen to address himself as her hubby instead. ¡°Who¡¯s out for your life?¡±

    Zu An snuck a nce at Snow and took in her worried expression before unveiling the mystery. ¡°The Plum Blossom Sect.¡±

    ¡°The Plum Blossom Sect?¡± Chu Chuyan was surprised. ¡°How did you get involved with them?¡±

    Zu An shrugged helplessly. ¡°I don¡¯t know either. Someone who¡¯s as handsome and charming as me usually avoids having any enemies, but those from the Plum Blossom Sect keep making attempts on my life. Remember that time I was struck by lightning? That was the handiwork of Plum Blossom Twelve.¡±

    ¡°Are you certain about it?¡± Chu Chuyan¡¯s usualposure was clouded over with astonishment.

    Zu An nodded. ¡°Would I lie to my own wife?¡±

    Snow was quick to retort, ¡°Go to the streets and ask around; the lies you have spouted are more than enough to be made into a whole novel. Lying to your own wife...¡± A re from Chu Chuyan prompted Snow to quickly correct herself. ¡°... Lying to the young miss doesn¡¯t pose any challenge to you at all!¡±

    Zu An stared at Snow intently. ¡°Say, why do you keep trying to get in my way every single time? Are you trying to use this sort of lowly method to attract my attention?¡±

    ¡°I...¡± Snow choked and nearly fainted on the spot. ¡°Young miss, don¡¯t stop me. I must ughter this darned scoundrel today!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for 725 Rage points!

    Zu An immediately bolted behind Chu Chuyan, seeking cover from Snow, who relentlessly pursued him with her sword in hand. The two of them ran circles around Chu Chuyan, Snow unable to catch up, Zu An failing to shake his dogged pursuer.

    ¡°Yan¡¯er, aren¡¯t you going to stop her? She¡¯s trying to kill your hubby!¡± Zu An cried out in desperation as he dodged Snow¡¯s attacks.

    Chu Chuyan shot a cold look at Zu An. ¡°If you dare touch my body with those hands of yours once more, I¡¯ll be the one to ughter you instead.¡±

    Zu An sheepishly released his hold on her. While he was dodging Snow¡¯s attacks, he had taken the opportunity to feel out Chu Chuyan physically. He hadn¡¯t expected Chu Chuyan to see through his intentions so quickly.

    From his brief encounter, though, his wife¡¯s body felt surprisingly cold. It was almost like holding on to an ice sculpture.

    ¡°You said that Plum Blossom Twelve was the one who caused you to get struck by lightning, but do you have any evidence?¡± Chu Chuyan asked.

    ¡°He confessed to it himself.¡± Chu Chuyan seemed to have no intention of stopping Snow. Zu An began to worry that she was using Snow to get rid of him permanently this time around.

    ¡°Where¡¯s he?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s dead. He got eaten by wolves.¡±

    Chu Chuyan was speechless.

    Snow snorted. ¡°You don¡¯t even have any evidence on hand. How can you expect the young miss to believe your words?¡±

    Chu Chuyan finally stopped Snow from pursuing Zu An, then said, ¡°Snow is right. Even though the Plum Blossom Sect has done many vile deeds over the years, they are well-connected, making them hard to deal with. Without concrete evidence, there¡¯s nothing much we can do to them.¡±

    ¡°Young miss, I think that fellow is just spouting nonsense! Why would the Plum Blossom Sect target him, and risk offending our Chu n?¡± Snow¡¯s chest rose and fell rhythmically as she panted for air. Surprisingly, Zu An¡¯s stamina was much better than she had imagined.

    Chu Chuyan nodded slightly in agreement with Snow. If they were to confront the Plum Blossom Sect right now, the sect would im that there was no evidence to incriminate them, and that would be the end of it.

    Zu An regretted having killed Plum Blossom Twelve so quickly. He should have gotten thetter to write a statement or something. Of course, the circumstances back then were dire, and he hadn¡¯t had the luxury of thinking so far ahead.

    ¡°Even if I don¡¯t have any evidence on Plum Blossom Twelve, I had a run in with Plum Blossom Thirteen earlier in the day at the gates of the academy. He threatened to sever my limbs and slice me up piece by piece until I was finally dead. There were plenty of witnesses, so I couldn¡¯t possibly have falsified that, right?¡±

    A moocher should solve problems through his mooching ways.

    Zu An looked down on those who could have easily resolved their problems through their connections, but insisted on solving them with their own strength instead, as if that made them superior. Weren¡¯t connections part of a person¡¯s strength as well?

    ¡°Why would Plum Blossom Thirteen suddenly threaten you at the academy? It seems to me they must be holding some kind of leverage over you!¡± Snow grabbed Chu Chuyan¡¯s arm as she sneered at Zu An.

    Zu An looked at Snow with an unreadable smile. ¡°I just realized that you have been speaking up for the Plum Blossom Sect for quite a while now. It can¡¯t be that you have some ties with them, do you?¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Snow jerked in shock. She nced at Chu Chuyan subconsciously, and denied his usation vehemently. ¡°How could I possibly be rted to the Plum Blossom Sect? I just can¡¯t stand people like you spreading lies and falsehoods everywhere!¡±

    ¡°Many people witnessed the incident today. If you don¡¯t believe me, you can call the Second Miss over to verify the matter. She witnessed the matter with her own eyes. Is the Chu n really going to take this insult lying down?¡± Zu An eximed indignantly.

    Chu Chuyan was really impressed by how Zu An had readily included himself as a family member of the Chu n. He¡¯d invoked the n name without the slightest awkwardness.

    She pondered for a moment before responding to his challenge. ¡°Dealing with the Plum Blossom Sect isn¡¯t that simple. So far, we still haven¡¯t managed to find out which power is backing them. Besides, even though my father is a duke, he isn¡¯t an official of the royal court. He would be overstretching his boundaries if he attempts to take things into his own hands. So, there¡¯s very little we can do against a threat from them.¡±

    Zu An clicked his tongue in annoyance. ¡°You can¡¯t deal with a mere underworld organization despite being a ducal n. Even I feel ashamed for you!¡±

    Chu Chuyan stared at him, speechless.

    Snow put her hands on her hip and berated him loudly. ¡°Aren¡¯t you getting ahead of yourself? Do you even know anything about court politics at all? Don¡¯t you know that those who are in high positions are often treading on thin ice? Stop spouting all of this nonsense if you don¡¯t know anything at all!¡±

    Zu An shot her a condescending nce. ¡°Yes yes, you know everything. But what a pity it is that you¡¯re just a maid.¡±

    A vein popped out from Snow¡¯s temple. She turned big, needy eyes toward Chu Chuyan. ¡°Young miss, please, I really want to beat him up!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for 367 Rage points!

    Chu Chuyan chuckled softly. ¡°I understand how you feel, but you have to show some respect to him. He¡¯s the son-inw of the Chu n after all. The way you two keep bickering with one another, you look almost like an old couple.¡±

    Snow jolted in horror, and she cried out indignantly, ¡°What do you mean, an old couple! Young miss, you shouldn¡¯t crack such jokes!¡±

    Ignoring Snow, Zu An turned to Chu Chuyan and said, ¡°Forget it, I knew that the Chu n can¡¯t be relied on. I have my own way of dealing with this matter, but I need you to back me up.¡±

    The Plum Blossom Sect had already sent Plum Blossom Twelve and Plum Blossom Thirteen after his life. There was no way Zu An would swallow his grudge and forgive them. Besides, they would never let him off the hook just because he was willing to forgive them. Since it had alreadye down to this, the best thing to do was to seize the initiative and destroy the Plum Blossom Sect first.

    Chu Chuyan frowned. ¡°Back you up?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m asking you to support me,¡± Zu An exined. ¡°I¡¯ll be making a trip to the Plum Blossom Sectter on. I don¡¯t need you to do anything; you just have to ensure my safety.¡±

    Snow sniffed coldly. ¡°Aren¡¯t you just using our young miss¡¯ name to do as you please?¡±

    Zu An paid no heed to Snow¡¯s mockery. ¡°I could possibly do it on my own. I¡¯m just worried that I¡¯d screw with the Plum Blossom Sect too hard that they¡¯d end up resorting to desperate measures.¡±

    ¡°You, screw the Plum Blossom Sect too hard? What a joke!¡± Snowughed derisively, not bothering to hide her contempt..

    Chu Chuyan, however, nodded in agreement. ¡°Very well, I shall apany you. However, I¡¯ll first make things clear that I¡¯m following you in my capacity as an individual. You won¡¯t have the backing of the Chu n for this matter.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t need it.¡±

    The boulder weighing down Zu An¡¯s heart was finally released. With Chu Chuyan around, he wouldn¡¯t have to worry for his own life anymore.

    ¡°What are you up to?¡± Snow asked with a deep frown.

    Zu An¡¯s confident look had sparked her curiosity.

    ¡°It won¡¯t be fun if I tell you beforehand.¡± Zu An wagged her finger at her before turning toward Chu Chuyan with an inviting gesture. ¡°Yan¡¯er, this way.¡±

    A slight knit formed between Chu Chuyan¡¯s brows. She was clearly ufortable with the way he was addressing her. However, considering how the shameless Zu An mighte up with even worse ways to address her, she decided to let it slide.

 Chapter 58: Sheâ€™s Lusting After My Body

    <h4>Chapter 58: She¡¯s Lusting After My Body</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Chu Chuyan had nned to order the servants to prepare a carriage, but Zu An stopped her. In his mind, a moonlit stroll was just what they needed to nurture their feelings for one another. It wouldn¡¯t be as romantic on a carriage, especially since the journey would be awfully short.

    Chu Chuyan didn¡¯t insist on the carriage, so the two of them walked out onto the streets together.

    It didn¡¯t take long for them to draw the attention of the passers-by, though it was mostly due to Chu Chuyan. A woman with an appearance and disposition like hers was always the center of attention no matter where she went.

    Snow, with her adorable face entuated by her little ponytail, captured her fair share of admiring nces as well.

    As for Zu An, he was more or less just a sidekick meant to highlight the two beauties. Of course, the man himself vehemently disagreed with that opinion. He was sure his handsome features and roguish charm would catch the eye of any woman present.

    ¡°Look, look! That¡¯s the First Miss of the Chu n!¡±

    ¡°Oh my, she¡¯s really as beautiful as a fairy!¡±

    ¡°That maid standing next to her looks sweet too. She is much more beautiful than most young misses from other prominent ns!¡±

    ¡°Of course! How can someone subpar be worthy of serving Miss Chu?¡±

    ¡°Oh? How would you justify that toad standing by her side then?¡±

    ¡°Ah, that fellow must be the notoriously useless drafted son-inw of the Chu n. Just look at his oily face! It¡¯s obvious that he¡¯s no good.¡±

    ¡°Miss Chu is pretty, but I must say that she doesn¡¯t have an eye for people.¡±

    ¡°Are you saying that the son-inw chosen by the Chu n is no match for you?¡±

    ¡°Huh? Even I would beat that fellow with ease!¡±

    ...

    Zu An was offended by the jarringmentsing from the onlookers.

    You¡¯re the toad, your whole family are toads!

    In order to further disgust those badmouthing him, he stuck closer to Chu Chuyan, giving the appearance that they were very intimate with one another.

    As expected, his move was rewarded by a tidal wave of Rage points.

    Hahahahahaha! Envy me more! I hope all of you die of envy!

    Zu An¡¯s heart blossomed with happiness. Wealth and a beautiful wife were meant to be unted. He would be letting down all of his haters if he failed to put his excellent resources to use to earn some additional Rage points!

    ¡°Did you bring me out on a walk just to satisfy your shallow pride?¡± Chu Chuyan saw through Zu An¡¯s intentions right away, and regretted her choice to walk with him. How was she to know that he¡¯d had such ns in mind?

    Zu An smiled back at her. ¡°Of course not. I¡¯m just trying to nurture our feelings for one another.¡±

    Chu Chuyan resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

    Behind them, Snow cleared her throat noisily. ¡°What kind of feelings could possibly be nurtured between you and our young miss? Stop putting yourself on a pedestal!¡±

    Zu An had grown ustomed to Snow¡¯s poisonous tongue. He let her remarks slide right off, and rebuked her mercilessly, ¡°Your masters are speaking over here. Servants should know when to excuse themselves.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for 300 Rage points!

    ¡°You!!!¡± Snow pointed a finger at Zu An furiously. You are really forcing me to use my trump card, huh? ¡°I guess heaven gave you a big mouth topensate for what youck below.¡±

    She made a big show of staring pitifully at his crotch.

    Surprisingly, Zu An was unfazed. ¡°Regardless of whether I¡¯mcking or not, it doesn¡¯t change the fact that I¡¯m the first man who saw and touched your body.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for 999 Rage points!

    Snow couldn¡¯t fathom how this man could be so thick-skinned. Even while he was talking about her body, he wasn¡¯t the least bit embarrassed.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s patience snapped. ¡°Enough! Don¡¯t the two of you find it embarrassing, talking about such matters on the street?¡±

    In unison, the two of them turned their faces away from each other and sniffed dismissively.

    Their synchronised movements left Chu Chuyan with the ridiculous thought that these two were in fact the real couple, and she was no more than a third wheel.

    She quickly evicted the thought from her mind. ¡°Speaking of which, I heard that you killed dozens of Assrip Wolves?¡±

    Zu An was surprised to hear that. ¡°Where did you hear that from?¡±

    ¡°Huanzhao told me about it. She was so triumphant that it almost looked like she was boasting about something incredible.¡±

    Recalling the excited look on her younger sister¡¯s face, Chu Chuyan¡¯s lips curled up into a brilliant smile, the first crack of spring revealing itself after an eternal winter. All of the men watching her at that very moment fell into a daze.

    ¡°Of course. Your hubby is no longer the same person as he used to be. I¡¯ll let you know that I¡¯m quite a formidable figure now!¡± Zu An replied with a proud expression that was practically screaming to be fed with more and more praise.

    Snow burst intoughter. This fellow just can¡¯t stop his bragging, huh?

    Chu Chuyan, on the other hand, dismissed Zu An¡¯s words. She was all too familiar with his proclivity toward boasting. Ji Xiaoxi had probablye up with a white lie to save him from the quandary he was in. Most likely, those Assrip Wolves had already been knocked out by Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s poison before the two of them moved in for the kill.

    ¡°Since we¡¯re on this topic, how did you get acquainted with Pei Mianman?¡±

    This was the greatest mystery she had yet to solve. Pei Mianman was not the sort to offer her help to this sort of fellow.

    ¡°Naturally, she was charmed by my looks. She fell in love with me at first sight and lusted after my body!¡± Zu An couldn¡¯t possibly mention their encounter in Chu Chuyan¡¯s chambers, so he simply came up with something on the spot.

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for 99 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled Passerby A for 99 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled Passerby B for 99 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled Passerby C for 99 Rage points!

    ...

    Snow and some other passers-by muttered curses under their breath at his brazen pronouncement.

    Chu Chuyan was also rendered speechless by Zu An¡¯s shamelessness. She was more inclined to believe that Pei Mianman had helped him out of respect for their friendship. However, even with that exnation, there was still one more matter that didn¡¯t make sense.

    ¡°I heard that, during the confrontation at the academy, you mentioned some night that the two of you had inmon. What happened?¡±

    Zu An hesitated. ¡°I¡¯m afraid that you won¡¯t believe me.¡±

    Chu Chuyan replied calmly, ¡°How would you know that if you don¡¯t give it a try?¡±

    Hearing that, Zu An sighed deeply and said, ¡°That night, we were tightly entwined together, and were rolling all over the floor. She doesn¡¯t want others to know about that.¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s expression turned frosty in an instant. ¡°I really don¡¯t like how you spout lies one after another so easily. Does it hurt you to speak the truth for once? It¡¯s one thing for you to run your mouth in front of me, but if Pei Mianman were to hear those words, you can be sure that she¡¯d kill you in a heartbeat.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Chuyan for 99 Rage points!

    After berating him soundly, Chu Chuyan walked ahead, a winter storm brewing on her face. Seeing that her young miss had lost her temper, Snow quickly rushed forward to grab Chu Chuyan¡¯s arm, then turned around to direct a triumphant smile at Zu An.

    Zu An could only sigh deeply to himself. I told you that you wouldn¡¯t believe it. Just what is wrong with this world? Everyone takes my lies at face value, only to doubt all of the truths I reveal!

    That aside, it sure was difficult to earn his wife¡¯s Rage points. Despite hinting at an extramarital affair, she only deigned to give him ny-nine Rage points. What a scrooge! Perhaps she had really been born as a cier.

    Lost in thought, Zu An failed to notice that the two women had already gotten far ahead of him. He rushed to catch up with them.

    It took a while before Chu Chuyan¡¯s expression finally softened. She hesitated, then asked, ¡°Are you not having a good time at the Chu Estate?¡±

    Her question surprised Zu An. ¡°Why would you ask that?¡±

    ¡°I heard that you¡¯re nning to buy a residence outside,¡± Chu Chuyan answered.

    Zu An felt something snap.

    That darned bastard Cheng Shouping! He promised me to keep it a secret, but he still ended up rambling all about it to the entire world! I was still feeling guilty for forgetting to bring him out together with me, especially since I did promise to help him get together with Snow.

    But now? Eat shit, you twat!

    ¡°Nah, I¡¯m just a little interested in the property market,¡± Zu An replied sheepishly. He needed her help for what was going to happenter, and it wouldn¡¯t do for him to anger her now.

    Chu Chuyan replied with a nod, then fell silent once more. Just like that, the group of three trudged down the streets with nary a word between them.

    With nothing to upy him, Zu An looked around and noticed that many of the passers-by taking second and even third nces at Chu Chuyan, some of their gazes lingering on even after she had passed by. Yet more signs that his wife¡¯s graceful figure and beautiful appearance were almost universally attractive.

    Finally, the three of them arrived at the entrance of a resplendent-looking business. Zu An turned to Chu Chuyan and said, ¡°We¡¯re here.¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    There was a constant flow of traffic in and out of the front entrance, a testimony to how well the business was doing.

    Chu Chuyan nced at the que above the entrance, on which the words ¡®Silverhook Casino¡¯ were elegantly carved, and her face darkened a little. ¡°You brought me to a gambling den?¡±

    Zu An nodded. ¡°Indeed.¡±

    He had heard out that the Plum Blossom Sect was thergest underworld organization in Brightmoon City. Their sources of ie included protection fees from the nearby stores, as well as high-interest loans, but their most lucrative business was none other than their casino.

    Money was the foundation of all organizations, and most conflicts stemmed from disagreements over money. Since the Chu n was unable to utilize its authority to resolve his problem, he nned to wage an economic war against the Plum Blossom Sect by ruining their key source of ie. That would cripple the Plum Blossom Sect.

    However, such a course of action risked severe bacsh from the Plum Blossom Sect. If he went too far, they might be left with nothing to lose. In their desperation, it was very likely that they would make an outright attempt on his life. Chu Chuyan was here to act as insurance in that scenario.

    Given Chu Chuyan¡¯s rank five cultivation and her identity as the First Miss of the Chu n, the Plum Blossom Sect wouldn¡¯t dare to act too recklessly.

    It was true that the Chu n¡¯s hands were tied on many matters, but any attempt to harm one of their family members would bring down the wrath of the n¡¯s military might. By that point, even if this matter were to be brought before the royal court, the Chu n would have nothing to fear.

    Of course, all of Zu An¡¯s nning would be for naught if Chu Chuyan refused to cooperate with him. Her face had darkened even further. ¡°Don¡¯t you know that our Chu n strictly forbids its n members from engaging in gambling?¡±

    ¡°Does it? Why?¡± Zu An feigned ignorance.

    That the Chu n even had such a rule baffled him. While he knew some noble ns that were very firm on their discipline, none had ever gone to the extent of forbidding gambling outright.

    Chu Chuyan answered him calmly. ¡°Our Chu n had a patriarch who was obsessed with gambling, and nearly gambled the n¡¯s fortunes away. It took many generations of wise leadership and diligence before the Chu n finally built itself back up. Despite that, our businesses and our fief are still less than half of what they used to be. If not for that one misstep, the Chu n would have been the only dominant power in Brightmoon City.¡±

    Zu An nodded in understanding. The four major noble ns in Brightmoon City consisted of the Chu n, the Zheng n, the Yuan n, and the Wang n. The Zheng n dealt in salt, silk, and potteries; the Yuan n specialized in the arms trade; the Wang n had taverns and was mostly involved in food industries.

    While none of them held as high of a noble position as the Chu n, each of them wasparable in terms of fortune.

    The Yu n¡¯s base of operations wasn¡¯t in Brightmoon City, and so they were not taken into ount.

    From Chu Chuyan¡¯s exnation, Zu An finally understood that many of the industries that were now taken up by the other ns used to be monopolized by the Chu n. The history of the Chu n was quite illustrious after all.

    ¡°So, the Chu n inscribed it into their family rules that no offspring of the Chu n is allowed to gamble. While you aren¡¯t strictly considered an offspring of the Chu n, you¡¯re still my husband in name. Needless to say, you need to abide by this rule as well.¡±

    A husband in name is still a husband; do you need to emphasize on ¡®in name¡¯ that much? Zu An retorted silently.

    That being said, he had predicted this situation beforehand, and had prepared a response. ¡°That¡¯s all well and good, but I¡¯m not here to gamble. I was forced into a corner, and I have no choice but to retaliate in order to protect myself. I believe that the Chu n doesn¡¯t have a family rule that forbids us from fighting back when an enemy has us surrounded, right?¡±

 Chapter 59: Gamblerâ€™s Fallacy

    <h4>Chapter 59: Gambler¡¯s Facy</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Retaliation?¡± Chu Chuyan was stunned. ¡°Are you calling gambling a form of retaliation?¡±

    ¡°Indeed,¡± Zu An replied matter-of-factly. ¡°With all the influence it wields, it would be an easy feat for the Chu n to deal with a mere underworld organization, or so I thought. It turns out it was all for show. Since your hands are tied, I can only help myself, then.¡±

    ¡°What do you intend to do?¡± Chu Chuyan asked.

    ¡°I¡¯ll win all of their money, of course!¡± Zu An said earnestly.

    Snow sneered. ¡°In the end, isn¡¯t that still gambling?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s only called gambling if there¡¯s risk involved. If we win all the time, it¡¯s called ¡®withdrawing money¡¯. The old patriarchs of the Chu n forbade its n members from gambling to ensure thatter generations did not repeat their ancestors¡¯ mistakes. They never anticipated one of their descendants marrying a Gambling God like me, who can win every single bet he makes. If they did, they would surely give their wholehearted approval!¡±

    Chu Chuyan scoffed callously. ¡°There¡¯s no gambler in this world who makes a bet thinking that he would lose his money. Just look at how many people have lost their fortunes from gambling!¡±

    Zu An took out a money pouch from his robe and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t be using the Chu n¡¯s money. I got this from Plum Blossom Thirteen earlier today. Even if I lose, I would just be returning these possessions back to their owner. What do you think about it?¡±

    Chu Chuyan didn¡¯t respond immediately. She seemed to be seriously considering what he¡¯d said. Zu An stared at her for a moment before giving onest push. ¡°Since you have chosen to marry me, you should believe in me a little.¡±

    Those words seemed to strike a chord in Chu Chuyan¡¯s heart. She had the strangest sensation that there was something different about this Zu An,pared to how he was before. Hm? Why would I have such a ridiculous feeling?

    Snow interrupted her thoughts, tiptoeing to whisper into Chu Chuyan¡¯s ears. ¡°Young miss, I think that fellow is determined to enter the casino and gamble. Even if you refuse him now, he¡¯ll onlye by aler on. Why don¡¯t you let him use up his money under your watch, so that he¡¯ll drop whatever thoughts he has about buying a house and acquiring a couple of beautiful maids outside?¡±

    Chu Chuyan nodded in agreement. Snow¡¯s suggestion was an insightful one. If Zu An were to use his money to buy a house outside and fill it with pretty maids, what would be of the Chu n¡¯s reputation?

    No wonder they said that men mustn¡¯t be spoilt with money.

    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll allow it this once. However, I expect you to leave with me once you spend all of your money. If not, I won¡¯t hesitate to resort to force,¡± Chu Chuyan said calmly.

    Zu An blushed in embarrassment as he gave her a level look. ¡°You don¡¯t need to resort to force. You can do whatever you want to do with me; I won¡¯t resist at all.¡±

    Chu Chuyan sniffed in response. This fellow always fools around like this.

    Just as they were about to enter the casino, Snow suddenly clutched her stomach and gave a loud cry. Chu Chuyan turned to her with concern. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Snow, her cheeks red, walked over to Chu Chuyan¡¯s side and whispered softly to her. After which, Chu Chuyan nodded in response and instructed her, ¡°Go ahead. Come back and look for us once you¡¯re done.¡±

    ¡°Alright. Thank you, young miss.¡±

    Watching as Snow hurried off, Zu An turned to Chu Chuyan and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with her?¡±

    Chu Chuyan red at him impatiently. ¡°It¡¯s a matter for women only. Don¡¯t even try to pry into it.¡±

    ¡°Alright alright, I won¡¯t pry into it,¡± Zu An replied with a leisurely smile. He could pretty much guess it, even if Chu Chuyan wouldn¡¯t exin it out loud.

    The two of them entered the casino, and soon became the center of attention, drawing the gazes of everyone inside. Chu Chuyan¡¯s outstanding appearance made it impossible to be discreet. Her wless face, graceful silhouette, and impable disposition stood in stark contrast to the crude bustle in the casino.

    The men who frequented the casinos tended to be boorish, and Chu Chuyan¡¯s beautiful appearance fanned the mes of their lust. Some of them even began directing catcalls at her.

    However, there were many who clearly recognized who she was, and swiftly put an end to theirpanions¡¯ foolishness.

    ¡°Are you tired of living? That¡¯s the First Miss of the Chu n!¡±

    ¡°Woah, she¡¯s so pretty! Who¡¯s that cocky fellow standing beside her, then?¡±

    ¡°He must be the husband of the Chu First Miss, that wastrel son-inw.¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°He does look pretty average to me. How did he ever win her fancy?¡±

    ¡°I wonder too. He looks pretty ordinary, although just a little more handsome, and with more delicate features. That kind of man can¡¯t be relied on! If I have to say, masculine men like me are the best!¡±

    ¡°Goddamnit! That lucky son of a bitch!¡±

    ...

    Zu An was roundly detested by all those in the casino, but he was more than happy to ept their offerings of Rage points. Going on frequent walks in public with his wife seemed a sound strategy. With it, he would never have to worry about ack of Rage points.

    If Chu Chuyan had been privy to his current thoughts, she would have worn through her kindness and patience, and pummeled him until his cheeks were swollen like a pig¡¯s.

    ¡°Chu First Miss, what brings you here today?¡±

    The manager of the casino was Plum Blossom Seven. As soon as he¡¯d received news of Chu First Miss¡¯ arrival, he had rushed out to wee her, a professional businessman¡¯s smile masking his uneasiness at her presence.

    Is she here to deal with the Plum Blossom Sect? I¡¯ve already sent my men to inform the sect master about it, but heaven knows whether he¡¯ll make it in time or not.

    He knew that he didn¡¯t have the means to deal with a rank five cultivator. Moreover, she was the First Miss of the Chu n as well, which meant that he had to be careful not to insult her. This was a problem far beyond his means to deal with!

    Chu Chuyan was clearly unused to such a rowdy and crude atmosphere. She used a hand to fan away the smoke lingering in front of her. ¡°You need not pay any heed to me. I¡¯m apanying him today.¡±

    It was only then that Plum Blossom Seven noticed Zu An. Then again, who would have bothered with a perfectly ordinary man when there was such a gorgeous woman standing before them?

    ¡°Oh, so it¡¯s young master Zu! May I know what business you have with us today?¡±

    Plum Blossom Seven kept his fake smile stered on his face as he silently cursed Zu An. This fellow was known to be a wastrel who was inept in both academics and martial arts, and had only seeded in life because of his looks.

    In the past, this sort of man would have been beneath his notice, but right now, he actually had to force a smile and speak politely to him. Damn it, I want to mooch off a woman too!

    You have sessfully trolled Plum Blossom Seven for 200 Rage points!

    Having received Plum Blossom Seven¡¯s offering, Zu An¡¯s lips curved upwards. ¡°Are you cursing me in your mind right now?¡±

    Plum Blossom Seven¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and he beat out a hasty denial. ¡°No no, of course not. You¡¯re the young master of the Chu n. How would I dare do something so disrespectful to you?¡±

    There was no missing Plum Blossom Seven¡¯s implication that, if not for his status, Zu An would have been treated as worse than trash.

    Plum Blossom Seven noticed Zu An¡¯s gaze wandering around the casino, and tried to probe his intentions. ¡°Young master Zu, may I know what brings you here today?¡±

    ¡°What other reason would I be here for other than to gamble? Do you think that I woulde here to eat?¡± Zu An replied impatiently.

    Plum Blossom Seven clicked his tongue quietly. You¡¯re only putting on a smug act because you¡¯re faring well now. Would you have dared to talk to me in such a manner in the past, huh?

    You have sessfully trolled Plum Blossom Seven for 300 Rage points!

    Wait a moment, he¡¯s here to gamble?

    Realization suddenly struck Plum Blossom Seven, and he turned to look at Chu Chuyan in disbelief. Am I hearing things? A member of the Chu n is here to gamble, and he even brought Chu First Miss with him?

    Chu Chuyan remarked nonchntly, ¡°Like I said, I¡¯m only here to apany him. You need not look at me.¡±

    Plum Blossom Seven quickly turned back to Zu An. ¡°You said that you¡¯re here to gamble?¡±

    ¡°Are you that deaf that I need to repeat myself again?¡± Zu An looked at Plum Blossom Seven in disdain. ¡°Why? Don¡¯t you wee me here?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Plum Blossom Seven for 99 Rage points!

    Plum Blossom Seven¡¯s instinctive rage was quickly reced by frenzied joy. ¡°Of course not! We wee you with open arms! Come, invite young master Zu to the VIP room!¡±

    He knew that the sect master had tasked Plum Blossom Thirteen to deal with Zu An, but not only had he ended up losing the promissory note, he¡¯d even gotten his legs fractured. However, since the one responsible was none other than Lu De from Brightmoon Academy, the sect couldn¡¯t exact vengeance.

    Simrly, Zu An was the young master of the Chu n and a student of Brightmoon Academy. Without suitable justification, the Plum Blossom Sect couldn¡¯t afford toy hands on him. They¡¯d been at a loss as to what to do, yet at a moment like this, this fellow had walked right through their door!

    You¡¯re here to gamble? Hah! You must not know what kind of ce this casino is! Even if your family is loaded, we¡¯re still able to make you lose everything within a single night!

    Everyone knew that Chu n forbade its n members from gambling, and Brightmoon Academy had their own rules against it as well. While Plum Blossom Seven had no idea what the Chu First Miss was doing here, their casino had plenty of tricks up to ensure that Zu An incurred an overwhelming debt.

    By then, they just had to announce it all over town, and it would be all over for Zu An. Without the protection of the Chu n and the academy, the Plum Blossom Sect would be able to do as they pleased to him!

    Nay, Brother Thirteen would probably want Zu An all to himself.

    He wouldn¡¯t have sent his men to inform the sect master, if only he¡¯d known beforehand that their appearance here was nothing major. It would have been much better to wait for Zu An to be drowning in debt before reporting his aplishments to the sect master.

    Zu An raised his hand to forestall Plum Blossom Seven. ¡°There¡¯s no need for the VIP room. I enjoy the bustle out here.¡± His n needed plenty of people around as witnesses. The cold and empty VIP room simply wouldn¡¯t do.

    Meanwhile, at the main headquarters of the Plum Blossom Sect, a gathering of sect members stood respectfully before a green-robed woman.

    ¡°Miss Qiao, what brings you here today?¡±

    If Zu An had been there, he would have surely recognized the green-robed woman as none other than Snow.

    A woman hid frantically in a corner, holding up pieces of clothing to cover her naked body. Snow nced at her and remarked coldly, ¡°There should be a limit to just how lustful you are. You keep her by your side despite having killed her husband; aren¡¯t you afraid of vengeance?¡±

    That woman was the wife of Tan Wei, who had met his end at the hands of Plum Blossom Twelve.

    Mei Chaofeng burst into heartyughter. ¡°You¡¯re thinking too much, Miss Qiao. I have already conquered both her body and her heart!¡±

    The woman lowered her head further, seemingly embarrassed at Mei Chaofeng¡¯s words.

    Snow¡¯s forehead furrowed in disgust. ¡°I¡¯m here to inform you that Zu An is at Silverhook Casino right now.¡±

    Mei Chaofeng was stunned. ¡°What¡¯s he doing at the casino?¡±

    ¡°Your brain must have been dulled from lust.¡± Snow¡¯s expression was disdainful. ¡°He¡¯s at the casino to gamble, of course.¡±

    Her insult stoked Mei Chaofeng¡¯s wrath. If not for the fact that the young master favors you and gave you the Anyang Token, I would have surely toyed with you until your legs wouldn¡¯t close!

    His face remained a calm mask. ¡°That Zu An is nothing more than a fool. He lost a thousand silver taels to us thest time around, and yet he still hasn¡¯t learned from his lesson?¡±

    Snow gave a slight shake of her head. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t get careless. Based on what I¡¯ve heard, it seems like he¡¯s pretty confident this time around. He said that he¡¯s here not to gamble but to withdraw money.¡±

    ¡°Hahahaha!¡± Mei Chaofeng¡¯sughter was so great that even the tiles on the roof shook. ¡°Just what kind of ce does he take our Silverhook Casino to be? No matter how much money he has, I have the means to make him lose it all!¡±

    Snow, however, was unimpressed by how lightly he was taking this matter.

    ¡°It¡¯s still best for you to be careful. He seems different than before. I can¡¯t put my finger on it, but since he dared to boast before Chu Chuyan, I reckon that he has some n in mind.¡±

    Mei Chaofeng shook his head.

    ¡°Miss Qiao, you¡¯re only saying all of this because you¡¯re unfamiliar with how the casino works. Those who have lost big in the casino tend to suffer from what we call the Gambler¡¯s Facy. They believe that, having lost so much money, their luck will somehow turn around if they keep ying. However, all of them eventually end up losing everything they have, including their wives!¡±

 Chapter 60: Just Who is the Antagonist Here?

    <h4>Chapter 60: Just Who is the Antagonist Here?</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°In any case, you ought to be careful.¡± Snow was reassured by Mei Chaofeng¡¯s exnation. ¡°Do you want to head to the casino to take a look at yourself?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that.¡± Mei Chaofeng took a huge swig of wine. ¡°Plum Blossom Seven might be weak, but he¡¯s been able to rise to such a high position because of his gambling skills. No one has managed to best him in the past decade. In fact, he hasn¡¯t had to take a personal hand in the business for a long time. His bunch of trained underlings are able to hold the fort all on their own. With him at the Silverhook Casino, nothing can go wrong. Stay here and wait patiently for the good news!¡±

    ...

    Meanwhile, at the casino, Plum Blossom Seven bowed slightly toward Zu An. ¡°Young master Zu, may I know what you wish to y?¡±

    Plum Blossom Seven was disgusted with how subservient he had to act, but he knew that his sacrifice would soon pay off. Once this fellow lost all of his money, he would pay back the humiliation he¡¯d suffered a hundredfold.

    ¡°Which game is the most dependent on luck?¡± Zu An took a look around as he asked. The reason why he darede to this casino to ¡®withdraw money¡¯ was, of course, not because he was some kind of Gambling God. Rather, he had a trusty tool known as the Fortune Pill in his grasp.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Some of the rewards given out by the keyboard were questionable, but if used appropriately, they could be incredibly formidable. Zu An had experienced this firsthand.

    Take the Fortune Pill for example. He¡¯d initially nned to use it on the lottery, but the disimer provided by the Keyboard put that n to rest. He¡¯d been at a loss as to how to best use it, and that had left him feeling upset for a long while.

    Only with the appearance of Plum Blossom Thirteen did an idea pop into his mind. While skill had great influence over the oue of a gamble, the most important factor of all was none other than luck. In the face of absolute luck, even the greatest of gambling skill was powerless.

    Of course, this was built on the assumption that no one was cheating. Otherwise, even the luckiest person in the world would be scammed of all of his money.

    For that reason, he had to bring Chu Chuyan along with him. It was not just out of consideration of his own safety, but to also ensure that the dealers in the casino didn¡¯t cheat.

    Chu Chuyan was a fifth rank cultivator. While she hardly knew anything about gambling, it was unlikely that the dealers could pull off any tricks without her sharp eyes noticing.

    ¡°The game that¡¯s most dependent on luck is no other than the Dices Trove!¡± Plum Blossom Seven replied with a chuckle.

    While dice appear to be dependent on luck at first nce, our dealers are skilled enough to roll any numbers we want to. Let¡¯s see how you lose all of your money here!

    ¡°What¡¯s Dices Trove?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s just guessing whether the number is ¡®big¡¯ or ¡®small¡¯,¡± Plum Blossom Seven replied, surprised at the question.

    ¡°Then just say that it¡¯s ¡®Big and Small¡¯. Why do you need to find such a pointless name for it?¡± Zu An said with a scornful look.

    This time around, Plum Blossom Seven kept his cool.

    Heh, it looks like you don¡¯t even know about dice at all. It¡¯s no wonder why you lost a thousand silver taels thest time around. This time, I¡¯ll make sure you lose at least 10,000 silver taels; no, tens of thousands of silver taels! With that, I shall officially retire from business!

    ¡°Hahaha, Zu An! You sure know how to court your own doom!¡± Arrogantughter boomed from the entrance to the casino.

    Zu An turned, and was greeted by the sight of Plum Blossom Thirteen being pushed in on a wheelchair. His eyes were red, like those of a madman.

    Plum Blossom Seven was rmed by Plum Blossom Thirteen¡¯s sudden arrival. This fellow! Can¡¯t he hold it in a little? We should rope this scoundrel in first before doing anything. What do we do if he chickens out and runs away?

    Zu An, on the other hand, seemed delighted to see Plum Blossom Thirteen. ¡°You should rest at home if you¡¯re injured. If you keep moving about, you might just end up breaking your arms too.¡±

    Plum Blossom Thirteen clenched his jaws so tightly, his gums were in danger of injury. ¡°You scoundrel! Now that the teachers of the academy aren¡¯t around to protect you anymore, let¡¯s see how you¡¯ll fare! Men, smash that brat¡¯s arms and legs!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Plum Blossom Thirteen for 798 Rage points!

    ¡°Yes, boss!¡±

    Given Plum Blossom Thirteen¡¯s high standing in the Plum Blossom Sect, it was only natural that he would have plenty of subordinates serving under him.

    As soon as those brutes began charging at Zu An, he ducked behind Chu Chuyan and eximed fearfully, ¡°Honey, you see, you see! Those fellows dare to act so arrogantly even in your presence! This should be enough to show that I¡¯m not lying to you, right?¡±

    Chu Chuyan bristled at how Zu An had addressed her, but it didn¡¯t feel appropriate to correct him with so many onlookers. She vented her rage at Plum Blossom Thirteen instead. ¡°What did you say earlier?¡±

    A chilling aura instantly nketed the area, and the bustling casino fell eerily silent. Many of the gamblers found themselves shivering inexplicably.

    Plum Blossom Thirteen almost fell out of his wheelchair. He rushed here as soon as he¡¯d heard that Zu An was in the casino, but he didn¡¯t know Chu Chuyan had apanied him. No matter how brazen he was, he would never have messed around in her presence.

    That was a fifth rank expert right there! With the exception of the the sect master, even the whole Plum Blossom Sectbined wouldn¡¯t be a match for her!

    The tension was so thick it was hard to breathe. Plum Blossom Seven immediately stepped forward to mediate. ¡°Miss Chu, it¡¯s a misunderstanding! Brother Thirteen was hurt earlier today, so it can¡¯t be helped that he¡¯s a little on edge. He¡¯s definitely got the wrong person here.¡±

    ¡°Got the wrong person?¡± Chu Chuyan sneered coldly. She turned to Zu An and asked, ¡°How do you want to deal with him?¡±

    Zu An was a little surprised by that question. Chu Chuyan was usually very cold towards him around the estate, so he hadn¡¯t expected her to show him such respect outside.

    Beaming at the current situation, he pointed at Plum Blossom Thirteen. ¡°Since that fellow wanted to break my limbs, let¡¯s return the favor and break his.¡±

    ¡°Very well.¡±

    A white blur streaked forward before anyone could react, and Plum Blossom Thirteen cried out in pain. He toppled out of his wheelchair, and his groans continued loudly as hey on the floor, his limbs bent at odd angles. Clearly, his arms and legs had been broken. Blood leaked out through the bandages around his knees.

    Chu Chuyan calmly returned to Zu An¡¯s side, resuming her frosty demeanor. A chorus of horrified gasps were heard around the casino.

    Underneath her beautiful and graceful appearance, she¡¯s actually such a vicious individual?

    Those who had catcalled earlier swallowed in fear, and surreptitiously took several steps backward to blend into the crowd.

    Zu An gave Chu Chuyan a thumbs-up. As expected of my wife. Straightforward and vicious¡ªah no, I mean straightforward and elegant.

    Chu Chuyan turned to Zu An and said nonchntly, ¡°Don¡¯t think too much into it. I¡¯m not doing this for you. I¡¯m doing this to uphold the honor of the Chu n.¡±

    She had doubted Zu An¡¯s story, but Plum Blossom Thirteen¡¯s arrogant attitude had settled them. Even if Zu An had exaggerated the situation, his version of events was likely not too far off from the truth.

    The Plum Blossom Sect was indeed nning to end his life!

    While the Chu n steered clear of politics so as to not rouse the suspicions of the royal court, it was not one to respond meekly to direct attacks. The fact that Plum Blossom Thirteen had dared to utter such threats toward a member of the Chu n in her presence was clear provocation.

    If I hadn¡¯t made a move, everyone would have seen that our Chu n are pushovers!

    ¡°It¡¯s all the same! We¡¯re all from the Chu n after all!¡± Zu An remarked gleefully.

    Chu Chuyan rolled her eyes. This fellow¡¯s skin is really as thick as the city walls!

    Zu An sensed a good chance to reap Rage points. He ran up to Plum Blossom Thirteen and gazed down on him from above. ¡°What did I say earlier? Since your legs are injured, you should have stayed at home obediently to recuperate. If you insisted on staying out, you might just injure your arms. Still, you chose to ignore my advice and did as you pleased. Hah! You must be regretting your foolishness right now!¡±

    Plum Blossom Thirteen roared at him furiously, ¡°Zu An, stop hiding behind others and fight me one-on-one!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Plum Blossom Thirteen for 999 Rage points!

    ¡°Hah! Unlike the powerless hoodlum that you are, I have connections and backing to rely on. Do you know how precious my body is, now? A lowlife like you isn¡¯t worth dirtying my hands over! Besides, why don¡¯t you get with the times? Who still ys one-on-one these days?¡±

    Holy shit! This level of shamelessness is insane!

    The crowd grew disgruntled. You¡¯re also a lowlife just a few days ago, but now, you¡¯re really taking yourself to be a noble, huh?

    You have sessfully trolled Passerby A for 66 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled Passerby B for 66 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled Passerby C for 66 Rage points!

    ...

    Even Chu Chuyan, looking on impassively, felt an urge to stifle Zu An¡¯s horrible mouth.

    Plum Blossom Thirteen finally reached the limit of his patience and bellowed, ¡°Precious? You must be joking! You are just a mooch!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Plum Blossom Thirteen for 999 Rage points!

    ¡°So what if I am? If you¡¯re that capable, why don¡¯t you find a rich, beautiful, and powerful wife like mine then?¡± Zu An said as he leisurely wrapped his arms around Chu Chuyan¡¯s shoulders.

    You have sessfully trolled Plum Blossom Thirteen for 666 Rage points!

    At this point, Plum Blossom Thirteen couldn¡¯t tell whether he was angry at Zu An¡¯s shamelessness, or at the fact that he had been unable to find a wife like Chu Chuyan.

    Zu An¡¯s gleeful boasting had riled up the crowd as well, and a huge serving of Rage points was served up to him on a tter.

    Not going to the VIP room now seemed an inspired decision. Without a crowd to watch the show, how could he earn so many Rage points?

    Chu Chuyan tilted her body slightly, shaking off Zu An¡¯s arms. Her face was dark. She whispered harshly, ¡°Shut up! You¡¯re really embarrassing me!¡±

    This level of unfettered shamelessness had far surpassed herprehension.

    At this, Zu An walked back over to Plum Blossom Thirteen. ¡°Look, now you¡¯ve angered my wife. Fine, I¡¯ll fight you one-on-one then!¡±

    There were question marks in Plum Blossom Thirteen¡¯s eyes.

    What? You¡¯re the one who angered her in the first ce! Why are you pinning the me on me?

    You have sessfully trolled Plum Blossom Thirteen for 666 Rage points!

    Wait a moment, did you say one-on-one?

    Before he could react, the sole of a boot smashed right into his face, causing his nose to bleed profusely.

    Zu An sighed deeply as hemented, ¡°You cried desperately for me to fight you one-on-one, and yet, you turned out to be so weak that you can¡¯t even handle a single blow from me? Why must you put yourself through such misery?¡±

    Son of a bitch! You only ept my challenge after breaking all my limbs, huh?!

    Countless times, Plum Blossom Thirteen had imagined how he would pummel Zu An until shit came spilling out of his guts, once there was no one to back him up. Yet, when it seemed his opportunity had finally arrived, he had ended up on the wrong end of a beating instead.

    Being humiliated by a wastrel! The sheer frustration and anger that welled up within him knocked him out cold.

    You have sessfully trolled Plum Blossom Thirteen for 1024 Rage points!

    Zu An was a little surprised. This was the first time that his Rage points earned in a single troll had exceeded 1000. Could this be the true upper limit of a person¡¯s rage, or was this amount of rage just too difficult to generate?

    He prepared to smash his foot into Plum Blossom Thirteen again, but Plum Blossom Seven and the others had recovered from their daze, and rushed forward to stop him.

    ¡°He has already passed out. Please let him go.¡±

    The words felt awkward to Plum Blossom Seven. Their Plum Blossom Sect were specialists in bullying others, and these were the words usually spoken by weaklings trying to y the hero. He had never imagined that he would be put in such a position one day.

    This truly is...

    For the first time in his life, Plum Blossom Seven found himself doubting whether he was really a bad guy!

    You have sessfully trolled Plum Blossom Seven for 666 Rage points!

 Chapter 61: Iâ€™m Jealous

    <h4>Chapter 61: I¡¯m Jealous</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An waved his hands and addressed the crowd. "I¡¯m sure that you all saw how reluctant I was to make a move earlier. But he insisted that I fight him one-on-one, so I had to oblige. Who could have known that this fellow was all talk, and was actually so weak?¡±

    The crowd of gamblers looked at Zu An with conflicted expressions.

    You¡¯re so good with your mouth that no one is a match for you when ites to arguing.

    At first, they couldn¡¯t fathom how this wastrel had managed to win the fancy of the Chu First Miss. No matter how hard they tried, they could find no way in which they were personally inferior to him. They honestly felt that she should have chosen them instead.

    However, it was finally dawning on them that there was one thing in which Zu An was clearly superior¡ªthe thickness of his skin.

    Seeing how incensed the onlookers had be, Zu An considered saying a few more words to agitate them further and squeeze some extra Rage points from them. However, he decided that slow and steady growth was the optimal strategy. There was no point in squeezing these people dry right away.

    He addressed Plum Blossom Seven. ¡°I have a feeling that my luck will be good today. Come, let¡¯s begin.¡±

    ¡°Of course! Young master Zu, this way please!¡± Plum Blossom Seven¡¯s heart blossomed with happiness.

    I feared Brother Thirteen¡¯s interference had messed things up. But this fellow is insisting on barging right through hell¡¯s gates! Well, since he¡¯s already gotten this far, I¡¯d be letting him down if I didn¡¯t squeeze at least a hundred thousand silver taels out of him!

    The one thing that concerned him was any possible interference from the Chu First Miss. He would have to find an opportunity to lure her away, or else she would surely stop her husband from racking up a huge debt.

    The casino patrons watched intently as Plum Blossom Seven led Zu An to a gambling table. After the earlier spectacle, they were all curious to see what would happen next. They crowded around the table to watch the show.

    Zu An examined the gambling table before him with keen interest. The only gambling dens he¡¯d seen in his previous life were in dramas and movies¡ªthis was the first time he was seeing one up close.

    It appeared different from what he¡¯d envisioned. Betting ¡®big¡¯ and ¡®small¡¯ were just two of the ways to y¡ªthere were many other bets that yers could ce as well.

    Even though Zu An had never yed this before, the way the table wasid out made the rules pretty self-exnatory. It didn¡¯t take him long to figure out what was going on.

    There were three dice in total. If the result ranged between 4 to 10, it would be considered ¡®small¡¯. Between 11 to 17, it would be considered ¡®big¡¯. For these two options, the payout was 1:1.

    It was also possible to bet that all three numbers on the dice would be the same¡ªthe payout rate for this was 1:24.

    For yers looking for a riskier bet, they could go further and bet on the specific number that the dice would show if they were the same, such as all of the dice showing ones, or all showing twos. The payout for that was a massive 1:150!

    Alternatively, one could bet on the sum of the numbers of the three dice. Betting on the sum being ¡®4¡¯ or ¡®17¡¯ had a possible payout of 1:50. If one chose ¡®5¡¯ or ¡®16¡¯, the payout was 1:18. The easier it was for the sum to be reached, the lower the payout would be.

    ¡°Young master Zu, would you like to bet on ¡®big¡¯ or ¡®small¡¯?¡± Plum Blossom Seven asked with a bright smile. In his mind, he was concocting the perfect scenario to ensure that Zu An walked out of the casino in heavy debt.

    Zu An shot a nce at Plum Blossom Seven. ¡°Are you nning on allowing me to win a few rounds first so that I don¡¯t get scared off?¡±

    Plum Blossom Seven was shaken. How did he know?

    The astonishment in his eyes vanished so swiftly that it seemed merely an illusion, and heughed smoothly. ¡°Young master Zu, you¡¯re making fun of me. How can any of us possibly interfere with the oue? The only thing that is at y on this gambling table is luck.¡±

    Still feeling a little uneasy, Zu An dragged Chu Chuyan over to his side. ¡°Is that so? I should warn you beforehand that my honey is a fifth rank cultivator. If you get caught trying to pull any tricks in front of her, you shouldn¡¯tin if your hands get sliced off,¡± he threatened Plum Blossom Seven.

    Chu Chuyan shot a sharp re at Zu An, dissatisfied with the intimate way he had addressed her. Of course, there was no way that she could reveal the true nature of their rtionship in front of so many witnesses.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An¡¯s ploy worked, however, and Plum Blossom Seven¡¯s smile froze in ce. ¡°Young master Zu, please be assured. We at the Silverhook Casino are proud of our reputation. There¡¯s no way we would resort to underhanded tricks. Do you see the inscriptions on our dice shakers? These are artifacts inscribed by a runemaster in the capital. It can iste a cultivator¡¯s ki, preventing them from reading the oue within.¡±

    The other gamblers clicked their tongues in annoyance. They knew full well that there were no casinos that didn¡¯t resort to underhanded tricks. While it was true that the inscriptions on the dice shakers prevented cultivators from reading or interfering with the oue, these runes didn¡¯t impede any physical interference. It was likely that there were mechanisms under the table that could change the numbers at thest moment.

    Of course, those crowded around were united in their desire to see the smug Zu An lose it all, so none warned him of this possibility. They were just here to enjoy the show.

    Plum Blossom Seven, however, knew better than to underestimate the keen sight of a fifth rank cultivator. He knew that she could uncover any tricks he yed, which left him feeling a little stifled. This was a hitch in his n for sure, but it was not the end.

    At the very least, he was confident he could make Zu An lose his entire fortune even without resorting to trickery.

    ¡°Young master Zu, how much are you nning to bet?¡±

    Zu An secretly took out the Fortune Pill and swallowed it, then dered, ¡°I dislike dragging things out, so it goes without saying that I¡¯m going all in!¡±

    ¡°All in?¡± Plum Blossom Seven was stunned.

    ¡°You operate a casino but you don¡¯t know what ¡®all in¡¯ means?¡± Zu An rolled his eyes in disdain. ¡°Going all in means to bet everything!¡±

    Like hell I wouldn¡¯t know what ¡®all in¡¯ means! Plum Blossom Seven¡¯s smile faltered for a moment. He suppressed his overflowing rage and said, ¡°Young master Zu sure is a straightforward man.¡±

    He signaled the dealer with his eyes. With Zu An going all in right from the first round, they had to be cautious, to avoid scaring him off right away.

    The dealer received Plum Blossom Seven¡¯s signal. He raised the dice shakers and shook them for a while before finally mming them down on the table. ¡°ce your bets!¡±

    Zu An took out a wad of banknotes and waved them at Plum Blossom Seven. ¡°Plum Blossom Thirteen was kind enough to gift these to me. I wonder how much you¡¯re going to give me this time around.¡±

    Plum Blossom Seven¡¯s face twitched. He had already heard about what happened to Plum Blossom Thirteen. You tricked Brother Thirteen and made use of the academy¡¯s teacher to get your way. How can you be so shameless as to im that it was a gift?!

    You have sessfully trolled Plum Blossom Seven for 155 Rage points!

    No matter. This is a good opportunity for me. Plum Blossom Thirteen is nothing more than an oaf; he thinks that the world revolves around him just because his cultivation is higher. Over the years, the sect master has ced high expectations on him because of that. Today, I shall prove to the sect master that brains are more important than brawn!

    The smile on Plum Blossom Seven¡¯s face widened further. ¡°Young master Zu, are you going to bet on ¡®big¡¯ or ¡®small¡¯?¡±

    Zu An scanned the table leisurely. He had a sense of what Plum Blossom Seven had in mind. It was unlikely that he would rig the first round, since he did not want to scare Zu An off. So, regardless of whether he bet on ¡®big¡¯ or ¡®small¡¯, he would have a fair chance of winning.

    But then, why would Zu An even be interested in a mere 1:1 payout?

    He confidently ced all his banknotes¡ªworth a thousand silver taels¡ªon ¡®17¡¯, saying, ¡°We should go big or go home. That¡¯s how I like to roll!¡±

    A slight furrow formed on Chu Chuyan¡¯s forehead as Zu An ced his bet without batting an eyelid. Even if she was no gambler, she knew full well that betting on a single number was much riskier than just betting on ¡®big¡¯ or ¡®small¡¯, especially on a number like ¡®17¡¯. The payout for that was 1:50!

    With such a high payout, the most likely oue of betting a silver tael was to lose that silver tael!

    Chu Chuyan was about to advise Zu An against it, but hesitated. Even if he lost, it wouldn¡¯t be so bad. At the very least, he would give up, and she would be able to get him away. She didn¡¯t like the smell of this ce.

    ¡°Open it! Open it!¡±

    The spectators began cheering loudly for the dealer to reveal the number. They shared the same thoughts as Chu Chuyan, and they were eager to see how the showoff would react after losing a thousand silver taels in an instant.

    It would be best if the Chu First Miss could see her husband¡¯s true colors, and realize that he was a wastrel who couldn¡¯t be reformed. Perhaps, in her moment of disappointment, they might just stand a chance with her.

    For a woman as beautiful as her, being married before was hardly a dealbreaker.

    Even Plum Blossom Seven couldn¡¯t contain his glee. Heughed boisterously. ¡°Young master Zu, you¡¯re still too young. You should go slow and steady to make big money. Why don¡¯t you allow our casino to lend you some money so that you can earn more? Don¡¯t worry, since you¡¯re part of the Chu n, we won¡¯t even charge you any interest!¡±

    That was how they had managed to lure Zu An into losing a thousand silver taels thest time. Back then, he had been cautious, gambling tael by tael. But now, just a few dayster, he had somehow gotten so full of himself that he could throw away a thousand silver taels without even batting an eyelid!

    Gosh, he¡¯s like a chicken who has somehow transformed into a phoenix. Is mooching off women really that lucrative?

    Maybe I¡¯ve been going about it the wrong way thus far.

    While Plum Blossom Seven was engrossed in his thoughts, he suddenly sensed something amiss. Around him, the casino had, at some point, turned deathly silent. The surrounding gamblers were all looking at him, their faces hard to read. Their expressions seemed to carry a tinge of... pity?

    A fearsome premonition struck Plum Blossom Seven¡¯s heart, and he hurriedly turned to take a look at the game table. The dice shaker had been removed, and the three dice proudly disyed the numbers ¡®6¡¯, ¡®6¡¯, and ¡®5¡¯, which added up nicely to 17!

    Plum Blossom Seven felt his mind explode there and then. He stared nkly as he struggled toe to terms with what had just happened.

    With a 1:50 payout, their casino had just lost 50,000 silver taels!

    Bloody hell, 50,000 silver taels!

    Plum Blossom Seven felt his vision cking out just thinking about that humongous sum. It was equivalent to half a month of profits for their casino!

    He shot a ferocious re at his disciple, wondering if Zu An had somehow bought the man off. However, he quickly dismissed the possibility. He had investigated the backgrounds of his disciples carefully before taking them in, and he was certain that they were all trustworthy.

    Could Zu An have just been lucky?

    Zu An waved leisurely at him, an insufferable smile on his face. ¡°Hahaha, you brothers sure are kind to me. It wasn¡¯t so long ago that Plum Blossom Thirteen generously gifted me eight hundred silver taels, and now, you¡¯re giving another fifty thousand. Hahahaha! Time to pay up.¡±

    Plum Blossom Seven nearly spurted blood. Like hell I¡¯m giving you money!

    You have sessfully trolled Plum Blossom Seven for 543 Rage points!

    Just a moment ago, he¡¯d belittled Plum Blossom Thirteen for falling prey to Zu An so easily. Who would have thought that a worse fate awaited him?

    No, wait a moment. His tone... Doesn¡¯t that mean that...

    ¡°Young master Zu, are you leaving now?¡± Plum Blossom Seven asked anxiously.

    ¡°What else would I do?¡± Zu An replied with a smile. ¡°I¡¯ve already won fifty thousand silver taels. Why would I need to continue gambling here?¡±

    He was truly impressed with the effects of the Fortune Pill. To be honest, he hadn¡¯t been confident about his chances at all, but things really worked out in his favor, just as the pill had promised.

    Plum Blossom Seven flew into a panic. If he allowed Zu An to walk away with fifty thousand silver taels just like that, the sect master would surely skin him alive!

    ¡°Young master Zu, please wait a moment!¡± Plum Blossom Seven rushed to block Zu An¡¯s way. His henchmen stepped in to surround Zu An, weapons in hand.

    Zu An¡¯s face darkened. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? You¡¯re not allowing me to leave with the money I¡¯ve earned? Is this how your casino operates?¡±

    As he said this, he slyly snuck behind Chu Chuyan and pushed her forward gently. ¡°Honey, these people are out to cheat us!¡±

    Chu Chuyan was ufortable enduring such physical contact with another man, but it wasn¡¯t the right asion to berate him. Once again, she could only channel her anger toward Plum Blossom Seven and his cronies. ¡°Are you intending to make a move on us?¡±

    The other gamblers joined in the protest.

    While they couldn¡¯t stand how a toad like Zu An had managed totch itself onto a swan like Chu Chuyan, they couldn¡¯t allow the casino to default on its obligation to pay a fellow gambler his winnings. If they let it happen to Zu An, it could very well happen to them some other day too.

 Chapter 62: Guts Turning Green with Regret

    <h4>Chapter 62: Guts Turning Green with Regret</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    A chill enveloped Plum Blossom Seven¡¯s body. He sensed that just one wrong word would cause him to turn into a frozen statue. He quickly raised his hand and gestured for his henchmen to back down. Then, with a fawning smile, he said, ¡°Miss Chu, you¡¯re misunderstanding my intentions. How could we possibly dare to make an enemy out of you? I apologize for not having disciplined my people well.¡±

    Sensing that the danger had passed, Zu An leaped out once more. ¡°Why are you blocking our way then? Also, where are my fifty thousand silver taels?¡± he demanded arrogantly.

    Zu An¡¯s smug attitude began to grate on Plum Blossom Seven, and he was starting to understand why Plum Blossom Thirteen had lost all reason and barged into the casino. This scoundrel was truly despicable scum all the way to his core, a man who possessed no true ability, but relied solely on the backing of his connections.

    ¡°The reputation of our Silverhook Casino isn¡¯t just for show; of course we¡¯ll pay up. Men, bring young master Zu¡¯s money over!¡± Despite his frustration, Plum Blossom Seven had no choice but to force a smile with Chu Chuyan around. The more he thought about it, the more furious he became.

    You have sessfully trolled Plum Blossom Seven for 344 Rage points!

    In terms of weight, fifty thousand silver taels was too heavy to carry around, so banknotes were conventionally used to represent suchrge sums.

    Plum Blossom Seven had his henchmen pass the banknotes to Zu An. ¡°Young master Zu, please keep them well.¡±

    Fifty thousand silver taels was by no means a small sum of money, but the Silverhook Casino could still afford the loss. They couldn¡¯t allow this matter to leave their reputation in tatters.

    After receiving the money, Zu An began counting every single note one by one. Plum Blossom Seven¡¯s face turned even more livid.

    ¡°Young master Zu, are you doubting us? Do you suspect us of underpaying you?¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that obvious? To be safe, I think I should count my money properly.¡± He casually pushed half of it towards Chu Chuyan, saying, ¡°Honey, help me count this.¡±

    Chu Chuyan turned her body sideways and snubbed him, not bothering to hide her disgust at the dirty money earned from the casino.

    Those running the casino also felt a cloud of fiery rage slowly consuming their minds. In their view, Zu An was openly gloating by counting his winnings right in front of them. It made them seriously contemte just smashing his face in, consequences be damned.

    Of course, this meant yet another wave of Rage points. Each individual contribution was small, so thankfully there were quite a number of them. Just like that, Zu An earned yet another thousand or so Rage points.

    ¡°Young master Zu, are you done counting yet?¡± Plum Blossom Seven asked with barely-suppressed anger.

    ¡°Oof. I was doing perfectly well a moment ago, but you suddenly disrupted me, and now I¡¯ve forgotten what number I was at.¡± Zu An flung his hands around in an exaggerated manner, then restarted his counting.

    Plum Blossom Seven nearly lost it.

    Where¡¯s my sword?!?!

    You have sessfully trolled Plum Blossom Seven for 800 Rage points!

    Zu An counted everything once more, then sighed with pleasure. ¡°The feeling of counting money sure is great.¡±

    Just looking at the stack of notes in Zu An¡¯s hands made Plum Blossom Seven¡¯s heart bleed. That is our money! Damn it!

    However, his years of experience as the manager of the Silverhook Casino allowed him to conceal his emotions and maintain a professional smile before his patrons. ¡°Young master Zu, are you intending to leave now?¡±

    Zu An tilted his head sideways and offered Plum Blossom Seven a sardonic smile. ¡°Are you really intending to stop us? Honey...¡±

    ¡°Ah, no, no, no, of course not!¡± Plum Blossom Seven waved his hands at Zu An to cate him. He cursed Zu An under his breath. That lout took every opportunity to bring up his backing. ¡°Young master Zu, please don¡¯t misunderstand me. I was just thinking that, sincedy luck is on your side today, it would be a waste for you not to y a few more rounds and take back more winnings.¡±

    Chu Chuyan frowned at this suggestion. It was obviously a ploy by the casino to keep Zu An here and slowly strip him of his winnings.

    It was such a tant attempt that she felt no need to warn Zu An. Any human being with the slightest semnce ofmon sense would have seen through it and rejected it immediately.

    However, things didn¡¯t y out the way she had envisioned.

    ¡°I also think that my luck is extraordinarily good today! Since you¡¯ve extended such a sincere invitation to keep earning your money, I would be letting you down if I left just like that. Very well, I¡¯ll y a few more rounds!¡±

    ¡°Young master Zu, this way please!¡± Plum Blossom Seven was overjoyed. He had been afraid that Zu An was going to leave right then.

    Since you have chosen to stay, I shall not only make you pay back all of the money you have won through sheer luck, I¡¯ll make sure that you incur a huge debt on top of that! Otherwise, I shan¡¯t be known as Plum Blossom Seven!

    Chu Chuyan clenched her fists tightly as Zu An wasted no time strutting back to the gambling table. This fellow knew that it was a trap, yet he still foolishly leaped right in. No wonder those in the city look down on him so much!

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Chuyan for 233 Rage points!

    A storm was brewing on her face. Her opinion of him had just started to improve after what had just happened earlier, but in the end, he was still the same wastrel as before.

    It looks like I was expecting too much out of him.

    Surprisingly, this thought quelled her rage and helped her regain herposure. She calmly followed Zu An over to the gambling table, her emotions firmly under control.

    Plum Blossom Seven did not feel confident in allowing his disciple to handle the next round, and decided to assume the responsibility.

    ¡°Oh ho, you¡¯re going to hold the fort personally? Are you that afraid of losing?¡± Zu An teased.

    A vein popped out from Plum Blossom Seven¡¯s temple, but he quickly replied with a fawning smile, ¡°Of course not. This fellow seems a bit too nervous at the moment¡ªlook at how his hands are trembling! I¡¯m afraid that his inexperience will dull your enjoyment. However, you need not worry. Withdy luck shining on you today, I have faith that you¡¯ll do well.¡±

    Despite his words, Plum Blossom Seven¡¯s thoughts flowed in a different direction.

    Luck? Hah! Those who depend on luck in the casino have already had their wives sold off to brothels!

    ¡°Well, well, aren¡¯t you a smooth talker! I ept your well wishes. Let¡¯s begin,¡± Zu An replied with a smile.

    ¡°How much do you intend to bet this time around, young master Zu?¡± Plum Blossom Seven asked.

    With an extravagant sweep of his arm, Zu An replied grandly, ¡°Do you even need to ask? I¡¯m going all in! A true man should be decisive and charge right in!¡±

    Those words made Chu Chuyan shake her head, but she made no move to stop him. The other gamblers shook their heads as well. They had seen many such people in the casino over the years¡ªthose that got ahead of themselves as soon as they earned a bit of money, and eventually ended up losing it all back to the casino.

    It wasmon for gamblers who were faring badly to wish poor luck on others who fared well. The other patrons quietly gathered around again to watch the show, waiting and wishing for Zu An to lose all of his money.

    Plum Blossom Seven was more than delighted at Zu An¡¯s pronouncement. ¡°Young master Zu sure is direct!¡±

    He had feared Zu An would y carefully after his huge killing. It would have been troublesome if he¡¯d lost his nerve before losing all fifty thousand silver taels. However, since Zu An was betting everything on this single round, Plum Blossom Seven would still be able to face the sect master, even if he couldn¡¯t get Zu An into debt.

    Out of the blue, Zu An said, ¡°You can¡¯t be nning to cheat, right?¡±

    Plum Blossom Seven nearly choked at the sudden usation. He quickly waved his hands to assure him. ¡°Look at how many veterans there are in here; I would never dare to cheat in front of them! Besides, Chu First Miss is watching me as well. There¡¯s no way I would be able to fool her if I attempted something.¡±

    The payment ratio was set well in favor of the casino. It was extremely difficult to beat the odds, and anyone was almost guaranteed to lose in the long-run. Even if someone won a few rounds now and then, they were most likely to leave the casino having made a loss.

    Zu An nodded. ¡°Very well, hurry up and shake the dice.¡±

    Plum Blossom Seven favored him with a cold sneer as he began shaking the dice shaker dexterously. His arm moved so swiftly that it left an afterimage in its wake, and drew awed exmations from the crowd.

    While Plum Blossom Seven wasn¡¯t a particrly strong cultivatorpared to the other godsons of the sect master, he had managed to secure his current position through his superior skill at gambling.

    As long as he willed it, he could get any number he wanted.

    He decided to shake out a triple, which allowed him to win all bets, regardless of whether one bet on ¡®big¡¯, ¡®small¡¯, or even a specific number. The only chance to win was if Zu An bet on triple, which was extremely difficult to win given the long odds.

    Halfway through his shaking, Plum Blossom Seven suddenly hesitated. What if that fellow somehow wins the bet while being all in?

    Betting on a triple had a payout of 1:150, which meant that he would owe Zu An seven-and-a-half million silver taels. Even if they sold the entire Plum Blossom Sect, they wouldn¡¯t be able to raise that much money!

    Even so, it would be close to impossible for Zu An to win. There were six different sets of triples, so even if Zu An did bet on a triple, he still only had a one-in-six chance.

    What am I so afraid of?

    Plum Blossom Seven quietly reassured himself as he finally mmed the dice shaker onto the table. He looked at Zu An and smiled. ¡°Young master Zu, please ce your bets.¡±

    His predatory gaze seemed to say: ¡®Come and deliver your money right here!¡¯

    Zu An, however, was in no rush to proceed. He first turned to look at Chu Chuyan, who said to him, ¡°Rest assured, he didn¡¯t cheat here.¡±

    Considering the disparity in their cultivation¡ªChu Chuyan was at rank five whereas this fellow was only at rank two or so¡ªthere was no way Plum Blossom Seven would be able to hide any tricks from her.

    However, Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°That¡¯s not what I¡¯m not asking. I¡¯m asking you if you have any copper coins on hand.¡±

    Chu Chuyan was confused. ¡°Copper coins? What do you need those for?¡±

    As someone in charge of the Chu n¡¯s businesses, she always had some money on hand in case of emergencies. At Zu An¡¯s request, she fished out a single copper coin from her coin pouch.

    ¡°Lend it to me for a moment.¡± Zu An plucked the copper coin from her hand and leaned over to whisper in her ear, ¡°Help me blow on it.¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s face immediately turned cold. ¡°Stop messing around.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An insisted with a chuckle. ¡°Just help me out this once. As long as you give it a wisp of your divine breath, I promise you that I will win this bet.¡±

    ¡°Blow on it! Blow on it! Blow on it!¡±

    The gamblers in the room loved a goodmotion, and they began chanting in unison.

    With all eyes on her, Chu Chuyan found herself put on the spot. She had no choice but to blow softly onto the copper coin. Her fair cheeks colored with a slight tinge of red. She told herself that she would surely settle this score with Zu Anter on.

    Zu An smiled in satisfaction as he felt a slight breeze tickle his fingers. ¡°All right, with my wife¡¯s divine breath on my side, my win is assured. I shall bet on whatever this copper coin falls on!¡±

    As he said those words, he flicked the copper coin up into the air. Everyone watched with bated breath as the copper coin fell onto the gambling table and rolled around. Even Chu Chuyan was unable to tear her gaze away.

    She had intended to watch nonchntly from the sidelines, but Zu An¡¯s request for her to blow on the coin had ended turning her into a participant in his show.

    Her heart, which had for many years remained still, began to hasten for once. She found herself anticipating¡ªalmost eagerly¡ªthe result of the toss.

    The copper coin continued to roll until it finally struck the edge of the gambling table. It rebounded, before finally settling on the box indicating triple ones.

    With a hearty peal ofughter, Zu An ced all of his fifty thousand silver taels¡¯ worth of banknotes onto the box, dering, ¡°Since destiny has decreed so, I shall stake all of my money here!¡±

    ¡°Open it! Open it! Open it!¡±

    All the gamblers around found themselves dying to know the oue of the throw. Needless to say, they were all praying for Zu An¡¯s loss. This man actually dared to flirt with his wife in the middle of the round. How abominable!

    With his hand still on the shaker, Plum Blossom Seven¡¯s face twisted in horror. How could this be possible?

    His mind went nk, and his ears failed him. He couldn¡¯t seem to hear any of themotion ringing around the table; all he saw were mouths opening and closing, seemingly shouting something at him.

    ¡°Hm?¡±

    Seeing how the dealer wasn¡¯t lifting the dice shaker, the gamblers realized something was amiss. This brat couldn¡¯t have been so lucky as to have really guessed it, can he?

    ¡°Plum Blossom Seven, why aren¡¯t you lifting the dice shaker?¡±

    ¡°Hurry up and open it!¡±

 Chapter 63: I Am the God of Gambling!

    <h4>Chapter 63: I Am the God of Gambling!</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    All the gamblers who had been eagerly anticipating Zu An¡¯s shameful downfall now sensed an even greater drama about to unfold. The atmosphere rose to a new high as they pressed Plum Blossom Seven to reveal the oue.

    At the urging of his disciples, Plum Blossom Seven finally snapped out of his daze. He swallowed hard and cursed himself for being so foolish as to actually roll a triple. If it had been any otherbination, he wouldn¡¯t have lost so badly.

    He could already imagine the tragic plight that awaited him.

    That¡¯s seven-and-a-half million silver taels! We wouldn¡¯t be able to raise that much money even if we sell all of the Plum Blossom Sect¡¯s businesses!

    The sect master will dice me up and feed me to the dogs!

    The vividness of that image steeled his resolve, and he discreetly slipped his hand beneath the table. A switch was cleverly hidden there, that would trigger a mechanism to change the oue of the dice.

    Given the current circumstances, there was nothing to do but gamble and pray that Chu Chuyan wouldn¡¯t notice.

    Unfortunately, he had no understanding of just how powerful a fifth rank cultivator was. His action wasn¡¯t a gamble at all, but a guaranteed failure. As soon as his hand started moving, he found himself shrouded by a white aura, and in an instant, his entire hand had frozen up, bingpletely immobile.

    ¡°What are you trying to do over there? Cheat?¡±

    Chu Chuyan had been watching him like a hawk, especially since she was personally invested in this round of gambling. She couldn¡¯t possibly allow anyone to tamper with the oue.

    Zu An sighed deeply and said, ¡°I warned you not to cheat, but you wouldn¡¯t listen to me.¡±

    He casually pointed to one of Plum Blossom Seven¡¯s disciples. ¡°You over there, open it!¡± he ordered.

    ¡°Open it! Open it! Open it!¡±

    The eyes of the gamblers around had turned red in agitation. Will we be seeing a miracle today?

    Plum Blossom Seven, on the other hand, was in a state of utter panic. He was just about to say something when an unseen pressure crushed down on him, preventing him from uttering a single word.

    The disciple that Zu An had pointed to hesitated, at a loss as to what to do. He looked around fearfully, but there was no one else around to back him up. In the end, he stretched forth a trembling hand and removed the cap from the dice shaker. Three brilliant red dots stared upwards at him.

    There was a moment of breathless silence. Then, the casino erupted in an uproar.

    Even Chu Chuyan¡¯s breathing hastened!

    At a payout of 1:150, that made a colossal sum of seven-and-a-half million silver taels! How could anyone wrap their head around that number?

    The Chu n was renowned for its vast fortunes that rivalled the wealth of a country. Its salt and arms businesses brought in huge amounts of money every single day. Even so, its annual profits paled inparison to what Zu An had just won.

    The Chu n wouldn¡¯t make that much even if they saved up three years of profits!

    Zu An looked at Plum Blossom Seven gleefully. ¡°Thanks a lot. If you hadn¡¯t stopped me earlier, I would have walked away with only fifty thousand silver taels. Never in my wildest dreams did I see myself winning seven-and-a-half million silver taels here. I must say, your mouth really brings me good luck! Here¡¯s a tip of ten silver taels for you. Use it to buy yourself a cup of tea or something to quench your thirst.¡±

    Those words reminded Plum Blossom Seven of how desperately he had tried to keep Zu An from leaving, and made him feel like an utter fool. In the end, it was he who had brought about his own downfall!

    The ten silver taels shone dully in the muted light of the casino, silently mocking him for his naivety. Unable to take any more, he spurted a mouthful of blood and copsed to the ground.

    You have sessfully trolled Plum Blossom Seven for 1024 Rage points!

    His copse only fueled Zu An¡¯s displeasure. ¡°Hey, hey, hey! Don¡¯t think that you can escape from this just by fainting. You,e here and settle the debt!¡±

    Just like how Chen Daozai was able to earn 27,000,000 HKD with just 20 HKD, I, Zu An, have earned seven-and-a-half million silver taels with just a thousand silver taels today! Converted into the currency of my previous world, that would be 13,500,000,000 RMB![1]

    This is what being the God of Gambling means!

    ...

    Meanwhile, over at the headquarters of the Plum Blossom Sect, Mei Chaofeng let out a leisurelyugh. ¡°Say, Miss Qiao, you really need not worry so much. From the moment that trash decided to enter the Silverhook Casino, he fell firmly into my grasp! It¡¯s impossible for anything to go wrong! Once he rakes up a debt of tens of thousands of silver taels, you can rest assured that there would no longer be a ce for him in the Chu n.¡±

    Snow nodded in agreement. ¡°Indeed. The Chu n is extremely strict on its n members, and Madam Chu has never had a high opinion of her useless son-inw. Even if he made a loss of several thousand taels, not to mention tens of thousands of taels, I reckon that Madam Chu would do everything she could to evict him from the household!¡±

    Mei Chaofeng thought for a moment. ¡°The only problem facing us is that Chu First Miss. She wouldn¡¯t turn a blind eye as he rakes up a huge debt. Miss Qiao, may I ask you to head over there and find a way to distract her? We need to lure her away before our brothers in the casino can work on Zu An.¡±

    Snow shook her head in response. ¡°It¡¯s too risky. Chu First Miss already harbors some suspicion toward me. If I lure her off at this juncture, I¡¯ll surely give away my identity. We can¡¯t mess everything up just to deal with Zu An.¡±

    Mei Chaofeng nodded slightly before bursting intoughter. ¡°Indeed. The young master will only be able to rest easy with Miss Qiao keeping an eye on Chu First Miss, to ensure that she isn¡¯t sullied by other men.¡±

    Snow¡¯s face immediately turned cold. ¡°Don¡¯t gossip about the young master behind his back.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just joking, I¡¯m just joking!¡± Mei Chaofeng replied with augh. On the inside, however, he bristled at how rudely Snow was talking to him. A meress like you dares to strut about just because you have the young master¡¯s favor. Hmph! It¡¯s only a matter of time before I get the young master to betroth you to me. Then, you¡¯ll know what fate awaits those who offend me!

    Snow stood up and looked in the direction of the gambling den. She recalled all the bickering she¡¯d had with Zu An over thest few days, and a hint of worry crept into her eyes. ¡°Why do I have an ominous feeling about this?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re worrying too much! That wastrel can¡¯t possibly pull off anything!¡± Mei Chaofeng replied casually, amazed at how much women liked to worry about pointless matters. ¡°If I¡¯m not wrong, it should be about time we received news of our sess.¡±

    Just after he said those words, there was the sound of approaching footsteps. A sect member rushed over while shouting anxiously, ¡°Sect master, b-bad...!¡±

    Mei Chaofeng¡¯s face immediately darkened. ¡°Who are you calling bad? p your own face!¡±

    The sect member was stunned, but out of fear of Mei Chaofeng, he knelt down immediately and pped himself viciously without protest.

    Meanwhile, Mei Chaofeng leisurely picked up his teacup and blew across it lightly. ¡°Remember, don¡¯t act in such an uncultured manner in the future.¡±

    ¡°Yes...¡± The sect member felt unfairly maligned, but he dared not refute the sect master¡¯s words.

    Mei Chaofeng finally nodded his head in satisfaction. ¡°Speak. What¡¯s happened?¡±

    The sect member got around to his report. ¡°It was a loss of fifty thousand silver taels.¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Fifty thousand?¡± Mei Chaofeng burst intoughter. It wasn¡¯t as much as he¡¯d imagined, but Plum Blossom Seven still performed immactely this time around, especially since he had done it right under the nose of the Chu First Miss. ¡°Fifty thousand silver taels should be enough to get Zu An kicked out of the Chu n.¡±

    Snow¡¯s lips betrayed the barest hint of a smile. She concurred that a debt of fifty thousand silver taels would be enough. With some subtle nudging, she was certain that Madam Chu¡¯s patience with that detestable fellow would wear out, and she would not hesitate to kick him out.

    The sect member realized that his words had been misinterpreted, and anxiously rified the matter. ¡°Sect master, I meant that we have lost fifty thousand silver taels!¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Mei Chaofeng¡¯s smile froze instantly. His eyes slowly turned back to the sect member, and his gaze became murderous. ¡°What did you just say?¡±

    The sect member had no choice but to suppress his fear and repeat his report once more. ¡°It was the Silverhook Casino that has lost fifty thousand silver taels to the young master of the Chu n.¡±

    *Bam!*

    The teacup in Mei Chaofeng¡¯s hands shattered as he flew into a state of rage. ¡°What the hell is Plum Blossom Seven doing? How could he lose that much money to that wastrel? Even if I were to put a pig on the gambling table, it wouldn¡¯t be so inept as to lose fifty thousand silver taels!¡±

    ¡°Actually, it was all lost in a single round,¡± reported the sect member.

    ¡°In a single round?¡± Surprised, Mei Chaofeng quickly demanded the details of the matter, which the sect member duly provided.

    After hearing the full story, Mei Chaofengpsed into silence, but hisplexion slowly lost its angry red hue. He dismissed the sect member with a wave of his hand, then leisurely made his way back to his chair to sip on yet another cup of tea.

    Snow couldn¡¯t stand how Mei Chaofeng could remain unfazed by news of the loss. She barged forward and demanded, ¡°Why are you still sitting down here, sipping on your tea? Aren¡¯t you going to head there to take a look? You¡¯ve already lost fifty thousand silver taels!¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no rush,¡± Mei Chaofeng replied calmly. ¡°Miss Qiao, don¡¯t let your anxiety get ahead of yourself.¡±

    ¡°How can I not be anxious? You won¡¯t be the only one to bear the responsibility for ruining the young master¡¯s ns!¡± Snow pointed out coldly.

    Mei Chaofeng clenched his fists furiously at her use of the young master¡¯s name to threaten him, but he quicklyposed himself and exined, ¡°It would have been a serious problem if Plum Blossom Seven had lost fifty thousand silver taels after a series of bets. However, just as you have heard, they had only gambled a single round. It¡¯s obvious that Zu An had simply been lucky.

    ¡°Luck might save him once, but it won¡¯t save him every time. Rest assured, Plum Blossom Seven will earn the money back very quickly and ce Zu An in debt.¡±

    ¡°What if Zu An refuses to continue gambling?¡± asked Snow with a frown.

    Mei Chaofeng burst intoughter. ¡°I¡¯ve seen countless people like him over the years. They lose themselves as soon as something goodes their way. He doesn¡¯t have the wisdom to quit while he¡¯s ahead. Besides, Plum Blossom Seven is there. Even if Zu An wanted to stop, he has his own ways of keeping him there in the casino. I wouldn¡¯t have ced him in charge of the casino otherwise.¡±

    ¡°You seem to trust Plum Blossom Seven a lot,¡± Snow observed.

    ¡°Of course! He¡¯s one of my most trusted aides.¡± Mei Chaofeng revealed a hint of triumph. ¡°I have nurtured quite a few talents over thest few years. Just wait and see, good news should being in very soon.¡±

    His statement was followed by a flurry of footsteps at the door. Mei Chaofeng pointed and remarked with augh, ¡°See what I just said? Looks like they¡¯re here now.¡±

    Snow¡¯s lips slowly parted in a faint smile. It looks like the Plum Blossom Sect is still quite reliable after all.

    After a moment, a sect member scrambled into the room, his facepletely pale. He rushed to Mei Chaofeng and panted, ¡°R-report... Lost... Lost seven-and-a-half million silver taels!¡±

    Mei Chaofeng¡¯s face darkened immediately. ¡°What do I always tell you all? Why do none of you ever learn? If you can¡¯t even keep yourposure, you¡¯ll never be able to achieve great things!¡±

    Mei Chaofeng suddenly twitched, and he asked sharply, ¡°Hm? What did you just say?¡±

    ¡°Seven... seven-and-a-half million silver taels...¡± reported the sect member once more.

    Ravenous joy broke out on Mei Chaofeng¡¯s face. ¡°Hahaha, seven-and-a-half million silver taels! That brat is done for! Even if the Chu n sells all of its properties, it won¡¯t be able to raise that much money!¡±

    It¡¯s no wonder why my sect member is so agitated!

    Mei Chaofeng had already forgiven his subordinate for his breach of etiquette. Even he could hardly keep his cool after hearing such a shocking number.

    Snow was floored by the report. ¡°That fellow actually lost seven-and-a-half million silver taels?¡±

    For someone to lose so much money within such a short period of time was beyond her imagination.

    Despite it all, the news put her heart at ease. If Zu An had racked up a debt of tens of thousands of silver taels, there was an outside chance that the Chu n would be willing to clean up after him. However, a debt as huge as seven-and-a-half million silver taels was absolutely out of the question.

    Not just the Chu n; if one threw in the Yuan n, Zheng n, and Wang n as well, it might still be impossible to raise such a huge sum.

    Mei Chaofeng poured a cup of wine and passed it to Snow. ¡°Miss Qiao, your mission has been sessfully aplished. May you be able to return to the young master¡¯s side soon.¡±

    1. Chen Daozai was a character yed by Andy Lau in the 1989 actionedy film God of Gamblers.

 Chapter 64: Reaching the Peak

    <h4>Chapter 64: Reaching the Peak</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Although Snow was not a drinker, the news that Zu An was a goner filled her with such overflowing joy that she subconsciously epted Mei Chaofeng¡¯s offer of wine. ¡°I¡¯m grateful for your help all this while. Once I¡¯m back at the young master¡¯s side, I¡¯ll make sure to speak to him on your behalf.¡±

    Mei Chaofengughed heartily. ¡°Yes, may we have a pleasant partnership!¡±

    They clinked their sses together in celebration. Seeing this, the sect member realized his words had been misunderstood. With a voice verging on tears, he rified nervously, ¡°Sect master, it¡¯s not Zu An who lost seven-and-a-half million silver taels. We are the ones who owe him that amount!¡±

    Mei Chaofeng was in the midst of celebrating his victory when he heard those words. His hands, which had never trembled while taking the lives of others, twitched violently. The wine cup that he was holding fell to the floor, shattering into countless pieces.

    Snow felt her mind go nk as well. Not even in her wildest imaginings had such a situation arisen.

    ¡°Repeat that again.¡± Mei Chaofeng¡¯s expression was dreadful. His high cultivation meant it was almost impossible for him to mishear anything. Never once had he asked a subordinate to repeat a report, but what he¡¯d heard was simply so incredible that he had to verify it once more.

    ¡°Zu An has won seven-and-a-half million silver taels in the Silverhook Casino. Master Seven has already fainted, and the brothers in the casino are at their wits¡¯ end. Sect master, please hurry to the casino to hold down the fort!¡± the sect member cried out anxiously.

    Mei Chaofeng found himself unable to move.

    Seven-and-a-half million silver taels. Just how much money was that?

    Without even considering the Plum Blossom Sect, not even the surrounding municipalitiesbined could earn that much money in their annual taxes!

    Over! It¡¯s all over!

    Mei Chaofeng¡¯s legs were trembling so hard that even standing upright was impossible. His body swayed, and he stumbled backwards into the chair behind him.

    Snow, on the other hand, had held on to ast shred ofposure. She anxiously asked the sect member, ¡°What happened? How did Zu An earn so much money?¡±

    The sect member was surprised to see such a ravishing young woman in the sect master¡¯s room. Even though most of her face was concealed by a veil, her shapely figure and bewitching eyes were more than enough to hint at her beauty. However, this was no time for him to be distracted.

    ¡°He first bet all his money on ¡®17¡¯, which has a payout of 1:50. That won him fifty thousand silver taels. After that, he bet all of his money on triple-ones, and with its payout of 1:150, he won seven-and-a-half million silver taels right away.¡±

    Mei Chaofeng finally recovered from his daze. He leaped out of the chair like a ferocious lion and grabbed the sect member by his cor. ¡°How could that wastrel possibly win both bets? The possibility of that happening is so small... Did he cheat?¡±

    ¡°He didn¡¯t!¡± The sect member went numb with fear. He prayed that the sect master wouldn¡¯t snap his neck in a fit of rage. ¡°There¡¯s no way anyone could cheat in front of us in the Silverhook Casino. That¡¯s why all of our brothers are spooked.¡±

    Snow spoke. ¡°Could it be that Chu First Miss sensed the revolutions in the dice and secretly whispered the oue to him?¡±

    Despite saying so, Snow didn¡¯t really believe in that possibility. She couldn¡¯t imagine Chu Chuyan participating in a gamble, let alone helping out that wastrel.

    Mei Chaofeng shook his head adamantly. ¡°Impossible. Our dice shakers have formations inscribed by a renowned runemaster in the capital. These formations iste ki, preventing anyone from sensing what¡¯s happening within the dice shakers. Even a Grandmaster wouldn¡¯t be able to read the results of the dice shakers, let alone a fifth rank cultivator! Otherwise, casinos in this world would have long gone bankrupt by now!¡±

    Snow sighed deeply. ¡°There¡¯s no point specting here. We should hurry to the scene and take a look ourselves.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right...¡± Snow¡¯s words spurred Mei Chaofeng to shake off his lingering panic and regain hisposure. ¡°Ry my orders. All of our brothers are to follow me to the Silverhook Casino right now!¡±

    His mind was made up.

    Pay up? That¡¯s a sum of money that I¡¯ll never be able to fork out even if I work my entire life!

    That¡¯s seven-and-a-half million silver taels! I won¡¯t be able to raise that much money even if I sell everything in the Plum Blossom Sect!

    Mei Chaofeng had already made up his mind to default on this debt even if it meant falling out with the Chu n.

    The headquarters of the Plum Blossom Sect was not located too far away from the Silverhook Casino. Mei Chaofeng¡¯s nervousness imparted a swiftness to his steps, and it didn¡¯t take him long to arrive at the casino.

    A huge crowd of people had already gathered outside by now. The news that someone had managed to earn seven-and-a-half million silver taels had spread like wildfire, and curious passers-by had begun gathering around the area to watch themotion.

    It took quite some effort for Mei Chaofeng to squeeze his way through the crowd. Pandemonium had broken out in the casino, and the onlookers were chanting loudly, ¡°Pay up, pay up, pay up~¡±

    Hoh, they have a good sense of rhythm.

    Zu An was lounging in a chair that someone had brought over for him, his feet resting arrogantly on the gambling table. Someone had delivered a cup of tea to him, and more were busy massaging his back and legs. Even more outrageous, there were maids waiting on him, plucking grapes one-by-one to feed him.

    This ridiculous scene left Mei Chaofeng utterly speechless. He could tell that the servants and maids attending to Zu An were reserved specially for guests in the VIP room. Why were all waiting on that wastrel?

    Are you trying to start a mutiny? At least poison the goddamned grapes that you¡¯re feeding him!

    You have sessfully trolled Mei Chaofeng for 400 Rage points!

    Upon seeing the inflow of Rage points, Zu An waved his hands and said, ¡°Shoo, shoo! Open up a path.¡±

    He pushed the people closest to him aside, and found himself face-to-face with a livid Mei Chaofeng.

    Zu An leisurely stretched a hand out. ¡°You must be Sect Master Mei. Since you¡¯re here, I¡¯d have to ask you to hurry up and pay me my earnings. It¡¯s seven-and-a-half million silver taels in total~¡± he demanded in a singsong voice.

    Chu Chuyan, who had been standing off to the side with a permanent look of disdain, took several discreet steps toward Zu An. Mei Chaofeng was known to be a vicious figure who had ruled Brightmoon City¡¯s underworld in recent years. Many innocent lives had been lost at his hands.

    Zu An¡¯s words made Mei Chaofeng¡¯s cheeks twitch. How in the world can I raise seven-and-a-half million silver taels for you?

    Zu An sighed softly at Mei Chaofeng¡¯s silence. ¡°Sect Master Mei, you can be considered a distinguished individual in Brightmoon City. Surely you aren''t thinking of defaulting on your debt, are you? There is no shortage of eyewitnesses here.¡±

    ¡°Indeed! Pay up, pay up~¡±

    The surrounding crowd took up the chant. There were so many of them right now, and Chu First Miss was here to back them up too. There was no need for them to fear the Plum Blossom Sect!

    Their only regret was not betting together with Zu An. If they had, they would have made a huge killing as well.

    If they could do it all over again... well, it was still unlikely that any of them would have had the guts to bet on triple-ones. The probability of that oue was just too low.

    Mei Chaofeng took a deep breath to calm himself. ¡°There are too many people here to talk things out. Why don¡¯t we proceed inside to discuss the matter thoroughly?¡±

    Unexpectedly, Zu An tly rejected his request. ¡°I think it¡¯s perfectly fine to discuss things here. Everyone here is so warm-hearted, and they say such pleasant words. I love it here. As the saying goes, a gentleman has nothing to hide from others. Sect Master Mei, feel free to speak here.¡±

    You must be joking! How am I supposed to earn Rage points from everyone else if I discuss things with you in private?

    Mei Chaofeng was incensed at his refusal. This bastard!

    You have sessfully trolled Mei Chaofeng for 631 Rage points!

    ¡°Very well. Since young master Zu wishes to talk things out here, let¡¯s do it then.¡± Mei Chaofeng¡¯s years of ruling the underworld weren¡¯t just for show. It didn¡¯t take long for him to adapt to the situation. ¡°Since young master Zu¡¯s luck is so good here, why don¡¯t you ept another gamble?¡±

    He wasn¡¯t sure what was going on here, so he decided to personally make a move. Regardless of whether Plum Blossom Seven and the others had betrayed him, or if Zu An had really been that lucky, now was the time for this situation to unravel. He was confident that no one could pull any tricks with him watching.

    So what if Zu An had wonseven-and-a-half million silver taels from him? He was confident that he could win it back.

    Everyone thought that Plum Blossom Seven was the number one gambler in the Plum Blossom Sect, but they had forgotten the fact that it was Mei Chaofeng who had imparted the knowledge to him. Factor in the difference in cultivation as well, and there was no way Plum Blossom Seven would stand a chance against Mei Chaofeng in a gambling match.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    It was only because Mei Chaofeng had risen to a high position that he had stopped managing the casino personally.

    What if Mei Chaofeng lost the bet?

    Firstly, Mei Chaofeng didn¡¯t think that he would lose. Also, it was not as if losing the bet would drastically alter the current situation. What was the difference between owing Zu An seven-and-a-half million silver taels and owing him ten million silver taels? He couldn¡¯t pay up either way.

    Desperate times called for desperate measures indeed.

    Chu Chuyan grew a little anxious at Mei Chaofeng¡¯s invitation. While she could easily see through Plum Blossom Seven¡¯s attempts at trickery, the same couldn¡¯t be said for Mei Chaofeng. Just like her, Mei Chaofeng was a fifth rank cultivator, and he was clearly much more experienced. It was likely that his dirty tricks would go undetected by her.

    She hastened over to Zu An, meaning to counsel him to turn down the offer. After all, he was a really hot-headed person. He¡¯d even fallen for Plum Blossom Seven¡¯s provocation so easily; it would really be the end if he recklessly epted Mei Chaofeng¡¯s invitation.

    Surprisingly, before she could even say a word, Zu An had already turned down the invitation with a wave of his hand. ¡°Why would I gamble with you? I have already won seven-and-a-half million silver taels! Besides, I reckon that you¡¯d have difficulties trying to fork out the seven-and-a-half million silver taels in the first ce; you wouldn¡¯t be able to pay me even if I won anything else from you. Do you really take me for an idiot? Cut the crap and pay up! I¡¯m itching to return home to embrace my honey in bed!¡±

    Even if Mei Chaofeng had the money, there was no way Zu An would continue. It had been quite some time since he¡¯d taken the Fortune Pill, and its effects were bound to fade soon.

    Zu An¡¯s words brought a relieved smile to Chu Chuyan¡¯s lips. This fellow looks reckless, but he isn¡¯t a fool after all.

    Her mind btedly registered hisst sentence, and her smile quickly slid off her face.

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Chuyan for 199 Rage points!

    The other gamblers who had crowded around simmered in envy. Barely half a month ago, Zu An had been a notorious wastrel that they¡¯d looked down on. Yet, in the blink of an eye, he had won seven-and-a-half million silver taels, an unimaginable fortune! Not only that, he had somehow married such a beautiful wife. He was the literal definition of ¡®winning in life¡¯!

    Of course you are proud of your aplishments, but do you need to keep unting them in front of us?

    Just the thought of Zu An having his way with the ravishing Chu First Miss sent blood gushing to their heads. They had merely gathered to watch the drama unfold, but they were all seized by the same sudden thought: it wouldn¡¯t be too bad of an idea for Mei Chaofeng to strangle the life out of this darned scoundrel!

    You have sessfully trolled Gambler A for 77 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled Gambler B for 77 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled Gambler C for 77 Rage points!

 Chapter 65: Despair

    <h4>Chapter 65: Despair</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An joyfully reaped his bounty of Rage points. His wisdom for rejecting a private discussion with Mei Chaofeng was once again affirmed.

    The triumphant look on Zu An¡¯s face made Mei Chaofeng grit his teeth in anger.

    Just a month ago, this trash wasn¡¯t even worthy of standing before me. Even my underlings could make him hunch over respectfully.

    Now, in the span of just a few days, not only is he standing before me as an equal, he even dares to threaten me so openly?

    Shit! I should have pimped myself out as well when I was younger!

    You have sessfully trolled Mei Chaofeng for 666 Rage points!

    Mei Chaofeng took in another deep breath topose himself. He seemed to be doing that a lot today. He beckoned to his subordinates. ¡°Men, bring Plum Blossom Seven over!¡±

    There was a short lull, and some of his henchmen appeared, dragging an utterly horrified Plum Blossom Seven in with them. As soon as Plum Blossom Seven saw Mei Chaofeng, he fell to his knees and hugged the sect master, tears and snot flowing down his face as he cried pitifully, ¡°Godfather, I have let you down! I didn¡¯t expect to bring such huge trouble to you!¡±

    Without sparing a nce for Plum Blossom Seven, he kicked his whimpering godson aside and coldly dered, ¡°The earlier gamble was conducted under Plum Blossom Seven¡¯s own discretion, and was not officially sanctioned by our casino. If you want money, get it from him. Since Plum Blossom Seven has flouted the rules of our sect and brought shame to our sect, I hereby dere that he¡¯s permanently expelled from the Plum Blossom Sect!¡±

    ¡°Godfather! Sect master! You can¡¯t treat me like that! I have worked hard for you over the years...¡± Plum Blossom Seven knew immediately that he was being abandoned, and wild panic set in. He didn¡¯t even have the ability to fork out ten thousand silver taels, let alone seven-and-a-half million silver taels! He wouldn¡¯t be able to raise that much money even if he were to sell himself off as a ve!

    He was on the verge of protesting further, but one of his now-former brothers smashed a fist right into his chin, knocking his lower jaw out of ce. That prevented him from uttering any more.

    The casino fell deathly silent as everyone witnessed Plum Blossom Seven¡¯s pitiful fate. They suddenly remembered that the Silverhook Casino was run by an underworld organization that had murdered countless innocents in cold blood.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes narrowed.

    It looks like this fellow is quite skilled at cleanups. Even so, it¡¯s not that easy to run away with my money!

    ¡°Sect Master Mei, do you consider everyone here to be fools?¡± Zu An said. ¡°Plum Blossom Seven is your godson and your aide, and this casino is a business run by your Plum Blossom Sect. Yet, you refuse to acknowledge both when you lose money. After this disy, who would dare visit your casino in the future?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, that¡¯s right~¡±

    The surrounding crowd whispered agreement amongst themselves. The most important thing to a casino was its credibility, and a casino thatcked credibility was bound to close down.

    If the Plum Blossom Sect wouldn¡¯t even honor its agreement to someone who had the backing of the Chu n, it didn¡¯t take a genius to figure out what would happen to powerless individuals like them when they finally struck it rich.

    Mei Chaofeng sneered coldly at Zu An¡¯s threat. ¡°I can tell you outright that I¡¯ll be taking your money today! I¡¯ll dly pay all the other customers whatever they have earned. In the entire Brightmoon City, you will be the only one to whom I won¡¯t even pay a single copper coin. What can you do about it?¡±

    Hah, a wastrel like you wants to fight with me? No matter how hard a bird tries to fly to a higher branch, it¡¯ll never transform into a phoenix! I have weathered all sorts of storms over the years. What could a mere brat like you possibly do to me?

    Do you think that the world is only filled with reasonable people? Very well, I¡¯ll show you the treacherous side of the world then!

    ¡°Sect Master Mei, your behaviour is absolutely shameful!¡± Chu Chuyan¡¯s stepped forward, her face cold, but she was unexpectedly held back by Zu An.

    Zu An favored Mei Chaofeng with a smile. ¡°Sect Master Mei, do you think that there¡¯s nothing I can do to you?¡±

    ¡°What can you possibly do?¡± Mei Chaofeng scoffed contemptuously.

    A mere wastrel who has risen to his current position on the coattails of a woman; what could he possibly be capable of?

    Zu An shrugged calmly. ¡°It¡¯s fine if you aren¡¯t willing to pay me. From this day forward, I¡¯ll head to every single casino under your name and teach all of these people how to ce their bets. I shall make sure that every single one of them wins every single round they y. What do you all think of that?¡±

    Those words immediately galvanized the gamblers, and their excitement spread quickly to the spectators outside.

    ¡°Sounds good!¡±

    ¡°Love live young master Zu!¡±

    ¡°Young master Zu, you¡¯re handsome!¡±

    ¡°Young master Zu, you¡¯re like our new parent!¡±

    ¡°Young master Zu, has anyone told you that you and Miss Chu make the perfect pair?¡±

    ¡°Holy shit, how could you spout such tant lies?¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you doing the same too?¡±

    ...

    As the old sages once said: for a fifty-percent increase in wealth, a man would choose to take risks; to double his wealth, a man would be willing to forsake all social norms; to quadruple his fortune, a man would be willing tomit any crime, even murder.

    The amount of wealth that could be earned at the gambling table was massive¡ªZu An was living proof of that. In one round, he had multiplied his fortune one hundred and fifty times!

    Who could possibly keep theirposure when offered such a chance? Many of these gamblers were people who were willing to die for money. If the Plum Blossom Sect then dared to withhold every person¡¯s winnings, these gamblers would undoubtedly band together and riot, no matter how powerful the Plum Blossom Sect was. There was no way the Plum Blossom Sect would survive such a challenge.

    Mei Chaofeng understood the implicit threat in Zu An¡¯s words. His face twisted in consternation. ¡°You¡¯re really able to win every round?¡±

    Zu An gave him another cool shrug. ¡°I¡¯ve already won seven-and-a-half million silver taels from you today. What do you think? Please call me the God of Gambling from this day onward!¡±

    Blinded by the promise of great riches, the surrounding crowd worshipped him with their shameless ttery.

    ¡°God of Gambling~¡±

    ¡°God of Gambling~¡±

    ¡°God of Gambling~¡±

    ...

    Zu An closed his eyes and savored the cheers of the crow. All that wascking was an appropriate background music track to underscore his awesomeness.

    Mei Chaofeng¡¯s cheeks began twitching uncontrobly. He had no idea how Zu An managed to do it, but based on his confident tone, it appeared that his wins had not been down to luck at all.

    There was no rational way to justify his wins as mere coincidence, and no way that a person could ever be that lucky.

    If this fellow were to lead the other gamblers and wreak havoc in his other casinos, his business would be runpletely into the ground. However, paying up wasn¡¯t an option either. This was a sum of seven-and-a-half million silver taels, not just seventy-five thousand!

    He found himself well and truly in a quandary.

    Just then, a disturbance broke out near the entrance.

    ¡°Stand aside, stand aside!¡±

    A squad of soldiers barged in, led by a young man wearing golden armor. This young man had a slender frame and a decent-looking face, and the shine from his armor amplified his eye-catching appearance.

    ¡°Waaaa, what a handsome man!¡± The girls close to him whispered excitedly.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An sniffed indignantly. Aren¡¯t they merely being seduced by the uniforms alone? These women really haven¡¯t seen much of the world before.

    He snuck a nce at Chu Chuyan. Upon seeing her nonchnce toward the new arrivals, he heaved a sigh of relief.

    ¡°Who is causing trouble here?¡± The youngmander scanned the crowded casino floor, and his gaze fell on Zu An.

    ¡°What are you looking at me for? Are you envious that I¡¯m better looking than you?¡± Zu An responded impatiently. The fact that this man had eyed him right from the moment he entered betrayed his ill intentions. With that established, there was no reason to hold back.

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for 100 Rage points!

    Sang? What a rare surname, Zu An thought to himself.

    The youngmander¡¯s mouth hung open. Clearly, he¡¯d been about to interrogate Zu An, but the abrupt jab had thrown himpletely off course, leaving him clueless as to how to proceed.

    Fortunately for him, Mei Chaofeng rushed to his side, embracing his newly-found backing. ¡°Commander Sang, you¡¯ve arrived just in time. This fellow has conducted fraud in our casino. When I confronted him about it, he threatened to lead the other gamblers in cheating at my casinos in order to ruin my business.¡±

    The members of the crowd werepletely dumbstruck. We know that you are from the underworld, but surely that¡¯s too tant a lie? Do you think us braindead fools?

    Despite this, not a single person came forward to speak up for Zu An. They knew just how unreasonable the world could be, and so no one wanted to get involved until it was clear which side was odds-on to be the winner.

    While the money promised by Zu An was enticing, it would be all for naught if they were killed before they could even earn or spend it.

    The youngmander named Sang Qian immediately stepped forward and bellowed, ¡°Do you know what¡¯s the crime ofmitting fraud?¡± He turned to Mei Chaofeng. ¡°Ah right, how much did he scam you?¡±

    ¡°Seven-and-a-half million silver taels,¡± Mei Chaofeng replied with a bitter smile.

    ¡°Seven-and-a-half million silver taels?¡± Sang Qian repeated dumbly. His brain was still processing the shock..

    Do you all y with such high stakes here? My father was once the Minister of Finance, but that¡¯s still considered an astronomical sum of money by the royal treasury!

    His face lit up in excitement. ¡°The crime ofmitting fraud involving a huge sum of money warrants a sentence of three to ten years in prison, or even beyond that in particrly severe cases. For daring to scam the Silverhook Casino for over seven-and-a-half million silver taels, you should resolve yourself to spend your entire life in prison!"

    Zu An rolled his eyes, not bothering with response. Instead, he turned to Chu Chuyan and asked, ¡°Honey, who is this fellow? Why has he decided my crime and pronounced my sentence just after hearing from that Mei fellow? It looks like he has been epting quite a bit of money from the Plum Blossom Sect, huh?¡±

    Those words sparked amotion in the crowd.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s lips crept upward in a slight smile. ¡°Commander Sang is the son of the ex-Minister of Finance. Lord Sang has be the new governor of our Linchuan Commandery. You shouldn¡¯t take him lightly.¡±

    Sang Qian sketched her a quick bow. ¡°Miss Chu, you¡¯re too kind. I¡¯ll be needing the Chu n¡¯s help for our work here in the future.¡±

    No man in the world could resist a beauty on the level of Chu Chuyan. Even though this father-son pair had obviously been sent here to deal with the Chu n, Sang Qian still wanted to impress her.

    Just as Sang Qian was congratting himself on his impable etiquette, a harsh voice rang out, ¡°Tsk~ I was wondering how capable of a person you were, but it turns out that you¡¯re someone relying on connections just like me.¡±

    There stood Zu An, casually picking his ears.

    Sang Qian nearly choked on his own breath. Although he¡¯d never met Zu An in person, the reputation of the notorious drafted son-inw of the Chu n was well-known. This wastrel was aughingstock in his own circle! And yet, he had to associate himself with this scoundrel now?

    What utter humiliation!

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for 300 Rage points!

    Mei Chaofeng¡¯s eyes widened in astonishment as well. Sang Qian was a man of prestigious background. His father was an illustrious official from the royal court, holding power over huge swathes ofnd.

    On the other hand, Zu An was nothing more than a scoundrel who had been lucky enough to have gotten involved with the Chu n.

    Can they even be considered to be backing you? How shameless must you be to say such words! How shameless!

    You have sessfully trolled Mei Chaofeng for 300 Rage points!

    Zu An was puzzled. His insult had been directed at Sang Qian, yet he had somehow provoked Mei Chaofeng as well. It strongly suggested some kind of illicit, underground rtionship between the pair of them.

    Meanwhile, Chu Chuyan observed the rage in Sang Qian¡¯s eyes and chuckled quietly to herself. The world finally gets to see Zu An¡¯s shamelessness as well. She cleared her throat and said, ¡°Young master Sang, if I¡¯m not mistaken, you¡¯re merely themander of the River Patrol Team. You don¡¯t have the right to interfere in civil cases such as this. It doesn¡¯t seem appropriate for you to pass judgment on this matter.¡±

 Chapter 66: In a Tight Spot

    <h4>Chapter 66: In a Tight Spot</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Brightmoon City was amercial hub that was heavily involved in the salt and metal industries, and goods were frequently imported and exported. Most of the trade was facilitated along the river, and so the River Patrol Team was formed. The River Patrol Team dealt with the threat of smugglers, and was also tasked with protecting the shipping of strategic resources and necessities, especially from the ferocious beasts that frequented certain points along the river.

    Sang Qian answered Chu Chuyan calmly, ¡°While I¡¯m responsible for the River Patrol Team, it¡¯s also my job to ensure the security of the people. With so many people gathered here today, a sudden disturbance could easily lead to a stampede. Isn¡¯t it only natural for me to drop by and enquire about it?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to trouble Commander Sang with this matter,¡± a gentle voice suddenly called out.

    A young man holding a paper fan walked in from the entrance, escorted by a group of guards. He had a face that was as fair as white jade, and he gave off a schrly air.

    ¡°Is this person a guy or a girl?¡±

    ¡°Shhh, are you tired of living? He¡¯s the young master of the City Lord Estate!¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ...

    Zu An was stunned to see Xie Xiu here. He¡¯d never understood why royal families and nobles liked to rear male concubines, but if they were as beautiful as Xie Xiu, it would be perfectly normal...

    Pui, what the hell am I thinking about?

    Sang Qian¡¯s eyes turned grim as soon as he caught sight of Xie Xiu. ¡°So it¡¯s young master Xie! If I recall correctly, young master Xie should be studying in Brightmoon Academy at the moment and has no official position yet. Isn¡¯t it inappropriate for you to issue an order to the guards despite theck of authority?¡±

    Xie Xiu snapped his paper fan shut and smiled calmly at Sang Qian. ¡°Of course I¡¯m not the one who brought these guards here. I had been drinking at the Heavenly Immortal Tavern just a moment ago when I spied Uncle Pang leading a group of men over. It was merely a moment of curiosity that made me tag along as well. Isn¡¯t that so, Uncle Pang?¡±

    A pot bellied man stumbled into the casino, using one hand to steady his officials¡¯ hat and prevent it from falling off. The man had clearly been in a hurry to get here.

    ¡°This man is the vice magistrate of the city, Pang Chun. He¡¯s a fifth rank cultivator, as well as the third-in-charge of Brightmoon City. He¡¯s on good terms with our Chu n, so you better not run your mouth and insult him by ident." Chu Chuyan hurriedly forewarned Zu An, fearing that he might spew nonsense at any moment.

    Zu An nodded vigorously at her, though his features were oddly twisted. A man named Pang Chun? Just what in the world are his parents thinking?

    In spite of these distracting thoughts, Zu An managed to glean some important information from Chu Chuyan¡¯s words. The Chu n shared a close rtionship with the city lord, but just a few days ago, Chu Zhongtian had mentioned that the governor Sang Hong had been dispatched to the Linchuan Commandery to deal with them. It was safe to assume that Sang Hong¡¯s appointment represented the will of the royal court.

    My gosh, could the Chu n be harboring thoughts of rebellion? Are they colluding with local officials to undermine the royal court?

    Zu An thought that he had grabbed on to a pair of sturdy thighs, but it turned out to be a boat that was on the verge of capsizing. No wonder they weren¡¯t in a position to deal with a mere underworld organization!

    Should I find an opportunity to leap off this boat?

    If Chu Chuyan had known what he was thinking, she would have thrown him to the ground and beaten him to a pulp.

    Pang Chun sped his fist and greeted Sang Qian with a smile. ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you, Commander Sang.¡±

    Sang Qian dared not offend the vice magistrate, the third-in-charge of Brightmoon City. He answered quickly, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s a pleasure to meet you too, Lord Vice Magistrate.¡±

    The two of them quickly traded pleasantries before turning their attention to Xie Xiu. This seemed to amuse the young man. ¡°What are the two of you looking at me for? I have no official position, so you should deal with the situation here ording to the rules!¡±

    Sang Qian could think of more than a few retorts. Don¡¯t pretend that we don¡¯t know you were the one who called Pang Chun here! His loyalty to your father runs deep, so who else would he listen to other than you?

    Pang Chun, on the other hand, favored Sang Qian with another smile. ¡°Commander Sang, would you mind if I take over this case?¡±

    Sang Qian forced himself to smile. ¡°This is the jurisdiction of the Lord Vice Magistrate. I dare not to overstep my boundaries.¡±

    The vice magistrate wielded great authority, and was responsible for maintaining security within the city. In essence, he wasparable to a sheriff or police chief.

    Pang Chun¡¯s expression grew serious as he considered the other parties gathered in front of him. ¡°What happened here?¡±

    Chu Chuyan stepped forward and exined the chain of events to Pang Chun.

    When Pang Chun heard the words ¡®seven-and-a-half million silver taels¡¯, he almost jumped in shock, just like the many others before him who¡¯d heard it for the first time. However, he quickly recovered and followed Chu Chuyan¡¯s ount to its logical conclusion. ¡°Sect Master Mei, it looks like you¡¯re in the wrong here. Since you opened a casino, it¡¯s only right for you to ept a loss. Otherwise, if all casinos were to operate in the same way as you, the world would be in utter chaos!¡±

    Mei Chaofeng was infuriated to see that Pang Chun was siding with Chu Chuyan, but he still answered withposure. ¡°Lord Vice Magistrate, you are unaware of the full story. This man took only two rounds to win seven-and-a-half million silver taels. That¡¯s beyond the realms of reason. There¡¯s no doubt that he employed some form of trickery. How could we ept such a thing?¡±

    Zu An was amused by the usation. ¡°Say, don¡¯t you think that it¡¯s embarrassing that a casino owner like you is worried about his customers cheating? Does this show that your skills arecking, or that you¡¯re just downright shameless?¡±

    ¡°You!!!¡± Mei Chaofeng furiously pointed his finger at Zu An. If the two of us were alone, I would have smashed this lowly bug with a single finger of mine!

    Shit!

    You have sessfully trolled Mei Chaofeng for 499 Rage points!

    Pang Chun agreed with Zu An¡¯sment. ¡°Sect Master Mei, since you im that Zu An has cheated, do you have any evidence to back up your statement?¡±

    This was the first time Zu An enjoyed the privileges of having a superior back him up. Every single word uttered was in his favor¡ªalthough he was indeed on the side of reason this time around.

    Mei Chaofeng hesitated a little before answering. ¡°I don¡¯t have any evidence. I was not present earlier. Furthermore, Zu An came here together with Miss Chu. Miss Chu is a fifth rank cultivator, and there¡¯s no way our men in the casino would have been able to tell if she¡¯d tried to pull a fast one.¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s face turned frosty at his nder. ¡°Are you insinuating that I am a cheat?¡±

    Since both sides had already fallen out with one another, Mei Chaofeng had no qualms offending the Chu n. ¡°Well, that¡¯s hard to tell. He¡¯s your husband after all. Who knows whether the two of you are working together to scam me?¡±

    ¡°Our Chu n will not ept such nder. I shall challenge you to a duel!¡± her tone of voice sucked all the warmth out of the air.

    Mei Chaofeng refused to back down. ¡°I have addressed you respectfully thus far out of consideration for the Chu n. Don¡¯t take my consideration as a weakness!¡±

    Zu An could barely contain his excitement as the conflict escted, eager to witness an incredible duel. He was curious to see how rank five cultivators shed with one another, to learn how to better protect himself when dealing with one in the future.

    As for whether Chu Chuyan would be hurt in the duel... to be honest, he wasn¡¯t worried about that at all. Both Xie Xiu and the vice magistrate were here, and Brightmoon City was still the fief of the Chu n. There was no way Chu Zhongtian would allow his own daughter to be bullied here.

    On top of all that, she had the backing of the Brightmoon Academy as well.

    It was clear that Mei Chaofeng was at a severe disadvantage.

    Xie Xiu chose this moment to step forward and defuse the situation. ¡°Please calm down and allow me to speak justice. As everyone in Brightmoon City knows, the Chu n has always strictly forbidden its own members from gambling...¡±

    All eyes turned instantly on Zu An, which left Xie Xiu momentarily at a loss for words. However, he quickly fashioned a usible excuse. ¡°Well, Zu An has only just married into the Chu n not too long ago, so he might be unfamiliar with their rules. However, I trust that everyone in Brightmoon City knows what kind of person Chu First Miss is like.¡±

    ¡°Indeed, how could Chu First Miss possibly cheat?¡±

    ¡°Sect Master Mei, it¡¯s one thing for you to refuse to pay up, but how could you stoop to ndering Miss Chu too?¡±

    ¡°Indeed! Miss Chu would never resort to such despicable tricks!¡±

    ...

    A chorus of statements from the crowd backed Xie Xiu up.

    Zu An was surprised by the resounding poprity of his wife. I hadn¡¯t expected so many people to like her. It seems my position is precarious.

    Xie Xiu raised his hand to calm the crowd down, then continued. ¡°Also, as everyone knows, I¡¯m someone with hardly any strengths, and spend my days idly... I dare not im knowledge in any other field, but I admit to being proficient when ites to matters concerning gambling. To my knowledge, all the tools used in casinos are specially inscribed by runemasters in order to prevent cultivators from tampering with the oues by using their ki. It¡¯s false to im that Miss Chu was cheating just because her cultivation is higher.¡±

    As he watched events unfold, Sang Qian had also be annoyed at how Mei Chaofeng had chosen¡ªof all things!¡ªto drag Chu Chuyan¡¯s name through the mud. In such a situation, he had no choice but to speak up. ¡°Indeed. I can vouch with my life that Chu First Miss wouldn¡¯t cheat either. She...¡±

    Before Sang Qian could finish his sentence, Zu An muttered contemtively, ¡°Honey, if you admit that you were cheating right now, will we be able to get that guy over there tomit suicide?¡±

    There was the sound of crickets chirping. Sang Qian, Xie Xiu, Pang Chun and Mei Chaofeng all stared at him, their expressions ranging from stunned disbelief to outright fury.

    It¡¯s just a figure of speech, are you really taking it literally?!?! What the hell? Just what kind of son-inw did the Chu n draft into their household?

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for 213 Rage points!

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s face had also darkened. ¡°Be quiet. Don¡¯t talk nonsense.¡±

    Sang Qian pretended to have missed Zu An¡¯s remark, and tried to continue on. Wait, where was I at earlier? Damn that fellow!

    ¡°Miss Chu would never cheat, but as for young master Zu, I trust that everyone in the city is familiar with his personality, as well as his... talent. It¡¯s impossible for him to win seven-and-a-half million silver taels here within two rounds. That only leaves a single possibility¡ªhe has bribed Plum Blossom Seven ahead of time to scam the casino of its money!¡±

    Sang Qian had fallen just short of openly iming that Zu An was trash.

    Mei Chaofeng¡¯s eyes lit up. His earlier usation had contained many loopholes, but Sang Qian¡¯s argument demonstrated firmly that Zu An had used illegitimate means to obtain the seven-and-a-half million silver taels. Not only that, this provided the perfect tform to turn the tables on Zu An and go on the offensive.

    As expected of someone who hade from the capital! What an ingenious ploy!

    ¡°Wuuuuu~¡± Plum Blossom Seven, who had been watching from the sidelines, was scared out of his wits. He hadn¡¯t expected to be dragged into this shitshow. Unfortunately, with his lower jaw broken, there was little he could do to defend himself.

    *Pah~ Pah~ Pah~*

    Slow apuse rang out. All eyes turned to find the source, only to see that it was Zu An. ¡°Commander Sang, could you possibly be one of the bosses behind this Silverhook Casino?¡±

    Sang Qian¡¯s face immediately darkened. ¡°What rubbish are you talking about? ndering an official of the royal court is a heavy crime!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for 200 Rage points!

    ¡°If you aren¡¯t one of the bosses of the Silverhook Casino, why haven¡¯t you stopped speaking up for them ever since you stepped in here?¡± Zu An asked.

    Sang Qian sniffed coldly. ¡°I¡¯m just making a logical deduction based on the facts here.¡±

    ¡°As you said, it¡¯s only a deduction. So, based on how you¡¯ve been speaking up for Mei Chaofeng, I¡¯m just making a logical deduction that you are in cahoots with the Plum Blossom Sect. May I know if my deductions can be entered as evidence?¡±

    ¡°You!!¡± Sang Qian turned his face away. ¡°I can¡¯t be bothered to argue with someone like you.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for 100 Rage points!

    Sang Qian was slowly calming down. Given the disparity in their standings, it was beneath him to argue with Zu An in public.

    Zu An let him be, and turned to the plump Pang Chun instead. ¡°Lord Vice Magistrate, in your many years of experience dealing with such cases, I trust that you have a clear idea as to what¡¯s going on here?¡±

    Sang Qian countered, ¡°Lord Pang, please don¡¯t allow the threats of another man to affect your judgment.¡±

    ¡°This...¡± Pang Chun found himself in a tight spot. Sweat droplets were falling from his forehead.

    Of course, the current situation was crystal clear. However, the Plum Blossom Sect had been ¡®offering tributes¡¯ to the various administrative departments in the city over thest few years, and their backers had been hard to pin down. Since Sang Qian was already openly backing the Plum Blossom Sect, could it mean that the Plum Blossom Sect was backed by none other than Sang Hong?

 Chapter 67: Xie Xiuâ€™s Principles

    <h4>Chapter 67: Xie Xiu¡¯s Principles</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Of course, with the son of the city lord and First Miss Chu watching, he was sure to offend one of the parties involved no matter what he decided. Dealing with this situation was making his head ache.

    He was granted a reprieve by the sound of galloping hoovesing from outside. A glint shed across both Sang Qian¡¯s and Mei Chaofeng¡¯s eyes.

    In the entire Brightmoon City, the only power that controlled an army of cavalry was the Chu n.

    The sound of hooves died as the horses were reined in. A tall figure built like a metal tower marched into the casino, followed closely by a group of soldiers, resplendent in their golden armor and red cloaks. There was a sharpness in their eyes that kept others away. As soon as they entered the casino, they split into two rows, taking up positions along the sides and surrounding everyone.

    Their sharp and organized footsteps turned the atmosphere grim and heavy.

    ¡°This is the Chu n¡¯s Red Cloak Army. They do look much more formidable than those from the River Patrol Team.¡±

    ¡°Shhh, quiet down! Are you truly tired of living?¡±

    ...

    Sang Qian¡¯s cheeks twitched as the whispers of the crowd reached his ears. He stepped forward and demanded in a loud voice, ¡°Yue Shan, what are you doing? How dare the Chu n mobilize its private army without any legitimate justification? Are you plotting a rebellion?¡±

    Even though Sang Qian had only been appointed recently, he was still able to recognize the leader of the Chu n¡¯s Red Cloak Army.

    ¡°We received word that our First Miss had been bullied, so we came to protect her. Surely our Chu n is justified in ensuring the safety of its own n members?¡± Yue Shan replied coldly.

    He walked up to Chu Chuyan and bowed respectfully. ¡°Paying respects to the First Miss.¡±

    This turn of events further hyped Zu An up. How cool would it be if he calls me ¡®young master¡¯ in such a situation?

    He eagerly awaited Yue Shan to greet him too, but thetter merely looked at him hesitantly before turning away without a word. It seemed Yue Shan was disregarding his presence.

    Chu Chuyan smiled in response to themander¡¯s greeting, and she reached out to help Yue Shan up.

    After the exchange of formalities, Yue Shan quickly got straight to the point. ¡°First Miss, the Master has said that no matter how weakened our Chu n has be, we will not allow a mere underworld organization to threaten us with impunity. As long as you give the word, we¡¯ll obliterate the Plum Blossom Sect today!¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    His deration immediately provoked a huge reaction from the crowd.

    Even Mei Chaofeng shuddered in shock at his words. The Plum Blossom Sect had fared well in recent years not because they were powerful, but because the powers in Brightmoon City had implicitly recognized their existence and turned a blind eye to their activities.

    However, if they were to fall out with one another, the head of an underworld organization like him, even with the backing of some higher-ups, couldn¡¯t possibly be a match for a ducal n!

    Putting aside the fact that the Brightmoon Duke was an eighth rank cultivator, just the Chu n¡¯s Red Cloak Army was more than enough to obliterate the entire Plum Blossom Sect!

    He had no choice but to turn to Sang Qian for help.

    Sang Qian was also taken aback by how decisive the Chu n was regarding this matter, and was unsure what stance to take.

    Seeing his adversaries¡¯ reactions, Zu An felt exhrated. He had indeed made the right choice to cling onto the thighs of the Chu n. It sure felt good to oppress others with his connections!

    He even forgot his earlier thoughts to abandon this ¡®sinking ship¡¯.

    In the end, Pang Chun was the first to speak. He coughed slightly and remarked, ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem appropriate for the Chu n to get involved with the administration¡¯s affairs here.¡±

    Those words jolted Sang Qian out of his daze, and he hurriedly added, ¡°Indeed! Is the Chu n intending to stage a rebellion?¡±

    Chu Chuyan stepped forward with a sneer. ¡°Is clearing an underworld organization considered a rebellion? I must ask you to watch your words. If not, I have no choice but to consider you to be intentionally defaming the Chu n.¡±

    With the First Miss of the Chu n making her stance known, the soldiers of the Chu n ced their hands on the handles of their swords, ready to draw their des and clear the field as soon as themand was issued.

    Sang Qian swallowed in fear. ¡°Whether the Plum Blossom Sect is an underworld organization or not, and the manner of its punishment, should be a matter for the city lord to decide. It¡¯s against the rules for the Chu n to overstep its jurisdiction.¡±

    ¡°Very well, let¡¯s follow the rules then.¡± Chu Chuyan¡¯s eyes turned utterly cold. ¡°Someone plotted to electrocute my h... husband in the suburbs of the city. Right after that, there was an attempt to assassinate him outside the city. And, just recently, someone tried to make use of his debt to sever his limbs... All these are rted to the Plum Blossom Sect. May I ask Lord Pang to arrest Mei Chaofeng and his thirteen godsons, as well as all of the ranking members of the Plum Blossom Sect? They must be thoroughly interrogated to ascertain their involvement in this matter.¡±

    ¡°Ah, that...¡± Pang Chun was put in a tight spot. He turned a pleading gaze toward Xie Xiu.

    Xie Xiu himself was unsure how to manipte the situation. He had heard rumors that Zu An was barely tolerated in the Chu n, but the current situation appeared to disprove them. In fact, Chu Chuyan appeared to be ready to go all out for Zu An.

    This left him feeling deeply envious. While he maintained a cordial friendship with Zu An, he was still a man after all. No man could remain unmoved after seeing a woman as beautiful as Chu Chuyan standing up for another man.

    However, Xie Xiu quickly centered himself. His end goal wasn¡¯t to snare a perfect woman like First Miss Chu. After all, no matter how perfect a woman was, the happiness she offered could never be a match for a harem of women.

    At the very least, that was his life¡¯s philosophy. He knew better than to be involved with extraordinary women, as they would only hinder his phndering. He liked how things currently were¡ªflirting around with lesser-known beautiful women and doing as he liked in a carefree way; this was what life should be like!

    Pang Chun, waiting for Xie Xiu to give him a directive, couldn¡¯t fathom the bizarre expressions he was making. This left him at a loss as to what to do.

    Noticing his silence, Chu Chuyan spoke up once more. ¡°If Lord Pang is worried about offending others, why don¡¯t I have my men personally capture them and deliver them to the magistrate¡¯s court?¡±

    ¡°Miss Chu, please calm down.¡± Pang Chun took out a handkerchief and wiped his brow. ¡°Let¡¯s talk things over first.¡±

    Sang Hong¡¯s eyes had turned grim at Chu Chuyan¡¯s testimony. Attempted assassination of a member of a ducal n was a serious crime. Sensing the killing intent of the Chu First Miss and the members of the Red Cloak Army surrounding them, he dared not speak up for the Plum Blossom Sect recklessly anymore. Doing so could put his father in hot water.

    Mei Chaofeng¡¯s heart pounded out a frenzied beat. Am I going to meet my end here?

    A vicious glint shed across his eyes as he made up his mind. At the very least, I¡¯ll take some of them down with me!

    A voice came to him. ¡°Write out a promissory note for seven-and-a-half million silver taels and put an end to the matter here.¡±

    Mei Chaofeng could tell that it was Snow secretly transmitting her voice to him. Somehow, he¡¯d lost track of the original reason behind this whole exchange. The Chu n was going hard on him because he owed seven-and-a-half million silver taels. Was it really safe for him to write out such a note, though?

    Sensing Mei Chaofeng¡¯s hesitation, Snow continued in a rush, ¡°Are you a fool? If you write a promissory note, you can buy yourself time to think of ways to dy the payment, or even nullify it all togetherter on! If the Chu n were to eradicate your Plum Blossom Sect today, the years of effort that the young master put in would go down the drain!¡±

    A tight furrow formed on Mei Chaofeng¡¯s forehead as he replied, ¡°The Chu n doesn¡¯t have the authority to pass judgment on us. If they dare to make a move here, the governor would surely mp down hard on them afterwards.¡±

    Snow was frustrated by Mei Chaofeng¡¯s inability to understand the gravity of the situation. ¡°It¡¯s not so simple. The city lord of Brightmoon City is someone from King Qi¡¯s faction. Besides, once you''re locked up in prison, there will be no shortage of people stepping forward to testify against you. You know full well how many evil deeds the Plum Blossom Sect hasmitted over the years. Once the authorities start looking into it more seriously, you¡¯ll be done for!¡±

    Mei Chaofeng was conflicted, but he knew that there was no other option. He turned to Chu Chuyan and bowed. ¡°Our Plum Blossom Sect has acted inappropriately today and offended Miss Chu. Please ept my humblest apologies. I hope that you¡¯ll be magnanimous and forgive us for our mistakes today.¡±

    Having to say such subservient words before such a huge crowd left him with a burning heat on his cheeks. There was no doubt that he would be theughingstock of the crowd after tonight. Just like that, the reputation that he had built up painstakingly over many years would be left in ruins.

    It was the only thing that he could do. He dared not test the Chu n¡¯s determination to pull him down. If the Chu n ordered its army to apprehend everyone from the Plum Blossom Sect, it would spell the end of the sect for sure.

    If the decision only affected him, he might have considered throwing all caution to the wind to uphold his dignity. However, the Plum Blossom Sect didn¡¯t just belong to him.

    There was someone else behind him, and that someone had devoted great effort and resources towards supporting him over the years. If the Plum Blossom Sect were to be destroyed in a single night, and he somehow managed to save his own life, there was no doubt that his backer would subject him to a cruel death.

    In the end, he could only set aside his pride and apologize to thisdy who was much younger than him. Every single stare directed at him from the crowd weighed on him like a huge burden of shame.

    Despite his apology, Chu Chuyan appeared unmoved. He knew very well that it was impossible to settle the matter with just a few words, so he shouted, ¡°Men, bring me paper and a brush!¡±

    A subordinate rushed over with the writing materials he¡¯d requested. He quickly wrote out a promissory note and handed it over to Chu Chuyan. ¡°Miss Chu, here is a promissory note for seven-and-a-half million silver taels. We¡¯re willing to admit our loss and pay what is owed to you. However, we can¡¯t afford to fork out such a huge sum of money at a moment¡¯s notice¡ªthere¡¯s probably no power in the world who has the ability to pull that off. So, I beg Miss Chu for her patience. We¡¯ll make sure to pay interest on this debt every year. As for the main sum, we¡¯ll find a way to raise the money. May I know your thoughts on this arrangement?¡±

    Mei Chaofeng had yed a little trick here. The note stated that the money was owed to Zu An, and not the Chu n. While there was no good way for him to default on a debt to the Chu n, there was still room to maneuver if the promissory note was made out just to Zu An.

    Chu Chuyan noticed this detail, but let it pass. Since the money had been won by Zu An, she didn¡¯t think it appropriate for her to im his earnings as property of the Chu n. So, she turned to Zu An and asked, ¡°What do you think?¡±

    Zu An was pleased that Chu Chuyan sought his opinion. He examined the note, then remarked pretentiously, ¡°Aiyo. If only Sect Master Mei did this earlier, this matter could be resolved easily. But you just had to try your luck. Looks like you¡¯re the kind of person who needs a spanking before you¡¯ll learn!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Mei Chaofeng for 888 Rage points!

    Mei Chaofeng nearly spurted out blood on the spot. If not for the Chu n, I would never allow a wastrel like you to talk shit to me!

    He nearly gave in to his urge to pummel Zu An into dust, but one nce at Chu Chuyan and the Red Cloak Army that Yue Shan had brought was enough for him to choke down his grievance.

    Examining the note further, Zu An questioned, ¡°Hm? You¡¯re only going to pay the interests? Well, I shall be magnanimous and go easy on you. I shall charge only ten percent per annum. I trust that it¡¯s eptable to you?¡±

    ¡°Yes, it is,¡± Mei Chaofeng replied through gritted teeth.

    To be fair, a rate of ten percent per annum was not at all exorbitant. Compared to the high interests charged by the Plum Blossom Sect for their loans, an interest rate of ten percent was almost nothing.

    Yet, why did these wordsing out of Zu An¡¯s mouth sound so jarring? Furthermore, the merciful look on his face made it seem as if he was showing pity to a beggar...

    You have sessfully trolled Mei Chaofeng for 345 Rage points!

    Zu An waved a hand and epted his agreement. ¡°Since you¡¯ve agreed to it, let¡¯s tally the interest payments right now, shall we? Ten percent of seven-and-a-half million silver taels is seven-hundred-and-fifty thousand silver taels. Are you going to pay with silver ingots or banknotes?¡±

    Sang Qian, Xie Xiu and Pang Chun all turned nk stares at him.

    Mei Chaofeng¡¯s mouth opened and closed, but no words came out.

 Chapter 68: Fiance

    <h4>Chapter 68: Fiance</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Even the soldiers from the Chu n¡¯s Red Cloak Army couldn¡¯t help but stare at one another. Their young master was more than a little shameless.

    ¡°Where in the world do you see anyone collecting interest right after making a loan? At the very least, you should wait a year!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Mei Chaofeng for 200 Rage points!

    ¡°Ah? There isn¡¯t such a practice?¡± Zu An looked around in confusion, feigning ignorance of the rules of these financial practices.

    Chu Chuyan wished the ground would open up and swallow her whole. Why in the world had she chosen such a shameless fellow as her husband?

    ¡°The usual practice is indeed to collect the first interest payment in a year¡¯s time. However, based on what I know, Sect Master Mei does practice ¡®90% for 130%¡¯, so I don¡¯t think it¡¯s unreasonable for us to collect seven-hundred-and-fifty thousand silver taels in advance.¡±

    The so-called 90% for 130%¡¯ referred to amon practice of loan sharks. The loan shark would sanction a loan with a ten-percent interest rate, but only give the individual 90% of the agreed amount. He would then demand 130% back at the end of three months. Many individuals had been driven to bankruptcy by these loan sharks and their shady practices.

    Chu Chuyan considered the ten-percent-per-annum interest rate to be extremely merciful, considering The Plum Blossom Sect¡¯s typical rate of ten percent per month. If not for the fact that seven-and-a-half million silver taels was indeed a huge sum, she wouldn¡¯t have epted such terms.

    Of course, she could tell that the Plum Blossom Sect had no intentions of paying off their debt in full. Thus, it was best to collect as much as they could before the Plum Blossom Sect tried anything.

    Mei Chaofeng gritted his teeth. He had already realized that he wouldn¡¯t be getting out of this without forking out a sum. He waved a hand impatiently and ordered, ¡°Men, bring one hundred thousand silver taels¡¯ worth of banknotes here!¡±

    As his subordinates scurried off, he turned to Chu Chuyan and said, ¡°Miss Chu, please pardon me. Even this sum is impossible for us at a moment¡¯s notice. However, we¡¯ll pay you one hundred thousand silver taels first as a show of sincerity. We¡¯ll repay the rest at the end of the year. Is that eptable to you?¡±

    Mei Chaofeng didn¡¯t even bother to consult Zu An on this matter. He did not dare take a chance on whatever bullshit that scoundrel might spew. In any case, he could tell that the real decision-maker here was Chu Chuyan.

    Chu Chuyan hesitated for a moment before nodding in agreement. Based on her estimation, a hundred thousand silver taels was likely to be the maximum sum that the Plum Blossom Sect could raise on such short notice. It wouldn¡¯t be good to force the Plum Blossom Sect into too tight of a bind.

    One of Mei Chaofeng¡¯s subordinates appeared with the banknotes. Mei Chaofeng''s first intention had been to hand them over to Chu Chuyan, but after some thought, he decided to pass them to Zu An instead. ¡°Young master Zu, would you like to count them?¡±

    It would be hard for him to get those banknotes back if theynded in Chu Chuyan¡¯s hands. However, if they were with Zu An... Hehehe, I have my means to make him spit it out!

    ¡°Yes, of course!¡± Zu An greedily took the banknotes and began counting them one by one. With each banknote worth a hundred silver taels, a sum of one hundred thousand silver taels meant that there were a thousand banknotes in total.

    Mei Chaofeng nearly choked on his saliva. It was just a figure of speech! Who in the world counts out such a sum of money right in front of others?

    You have sessfully trolled Mei Chaofeng for 111 Rage points!

    Watching Zu An counting out the banknotes one by one like a scrooge, Sang Qian frowned in iprehension as he wondered why a woman as beautiful as Chu Chuyan would choose to marry such an unseemly man. It was like a fresh flower being covered in a pile of cow dung. I would have been a much better choice than him!

    Many in the crowd shared the same thought, including the soldiers of the Red Cloak Army. Zu An watched his bnce of Rage points rise steadily.

    Zu An suddenly eximed in astonishment, which drew everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°Hm? Why is there a banknote missing?¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°How is that possible? There are so many witnesses, so how could there be money missing?¡± Mei Chaofeng asserted, his face growing dark.

    Sensing the intent stares of the crowd, Zu An shrugged casually. ¡°I¡¯m just saying it to test if you are lying to me or not.¡±

    Mei Chaofeng stared at him furiously.

    So you¡¯re just making fun of me?

    You have sessfully trolled Mei Chaofeng for 211 Rage points!

    By the side, Sang Qian¡¯s patience finally snapped. ¡°Enough! Since this matter has been resolved, all of you should disperse now!¡±

    He didn¡¯t want to stay here and watch a wastrel prance around as if he owned the world. The fact that he was powerless to do anything to him only fueled his frustration.

    Pang Chunughed heartily and said, ¡°Indeed. Since the matter has been resolved, you all should go back to do what you were doing. Let¡¯s leave, everyone.¡±

    All this while, his heart had been pounding in his throat, ready to leap out of his mouth at any moment. If the Chu n had gotten into a conflict with the River Patrol Team here, or if the Plum Blossom Sect got desperate and attempted to break out of the casino, the situation could very well have escted into a major incident. In the end, he would have had to be the one to take responsibility for the matter.

    Following the orders of the two highest-ranking individuals present, the gamblers and spectators quickly dispersed. They had no wish to linger further and be embroiled in whatever followed.

    Xie Xiu waved a hand and Zu An, saying, ¡°Brother Zu, you have really refreshed my opinion of you today. I shall treat you to wine another day. I would honestly love to trade insights with you.¡±

    Zu Anughed in response. ¡°There are also many things that I would love to learn from Brother Xie too, such as your ability to tread freely amongst flowers without a single petal falling upon you.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s talk about it another day~¡± Xie Xiu smiled sheepishly as he noticed the terrible look on Chu Chuyan¡¯s face. You sure are an incredible man. To think that you would dare to say such words in front of your own wife.

    Afraid of getting caught up in Chu Chuyan¡¯s wrath, he bade a quick farewell and fled.

    Zu An felt slightly dissatisfied by his haul this time around. The crowd had left before he could earn his fill of Rage points, and he felt as though something was missing inside. So, he turned to Mei Chaofeng and asked, ¡°Sect Master Mei, are you still going to keep your casino open? Can Ie here to gamble once more?¡±

    Mei Chaofeng red silent daggers at him.

    If you daree here once more, I shall rip off your skin!

    You have sessfully trolled Mei Chaofeng for 267 Rage points!

    Chu Chuyan couldn¡¯t stand to watch this anymore. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    No matter how nonchnt she seemed, even she couldn¡¯t stand all of the shocking words that constantly fell out of Zu An¡¯s mouth.

    Yue Shan marched right up to Zu An and personally escorted him out of the casino. As someone who had served the Chu n for many years, he was used to the proper way in which nobles acted, and so Zu An¡¯s shameless actions were hard for him to endure.

    Mei Chaofeng watched coldly as Zu An and the others left, his fists clenched tightly in anger.

    ¡°Sect master, are we really going to pay that fellow seven-and-a-half million silver taels?¡± One of his dumber subordinates approached Mei Chaofeng and asked worriedly.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid!¡± Mei Chaofeng pped the man hard, and he copsed to the ground.

    With a dreadful look on his face, he stalked off to the room that served as his private retreat in the casino. As he opened the door, he found someone already waiting for him inside.

    ¡°Miss Qiao, you¡¯re the one who got me to write out that promissory note. How do you intend to resolve this matter?¡± Mei Chaofeng asked as he shut the door. His tone was no longer as amiable as before.

    ¡°You should have a good idea of just what kind of situation you were in earlier. Would you have gotten out of it if you hadn¡¯t written out that note?¡± The sweet voice that confronted him belonged to none other than Snow. Seeing Mei Chaofeng¡¯s cheeks twitching, she consoled him, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the promissory note is in the hands of the wastrel Zu An. You should be able to get it back with ease.¡±

    Mei Chaofeng frowned. ¡°I¡¯m just worried that he would hand the note over to the Chu n.¡±

    Snow shook her head and replied, ¡°There¡¯s no need to worry about that. Chu Chuyan is a proud woman, so she wouldn¡¯t take Zu An¡¯s money. As for Chu Zhongtian, he is upright to a fault, and the Chu n strictly forbids gambling. He wouldn¡¯t forsake his principles and ept money earned through gambling. In fact, the Chu n will not approve of Zu An¡¯s actions today; on the contrary, it¡¯s likely that he would be severely punished. After all, his actions fly in the face of what the Chu n stands for.¡±

    ¡°Will they chase Zu An out of the Chu n over this?¡± Mei Chaofeng asked.

    Snow sighed deeply. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Seven-and-a-half million silver taels is a huge sum of money, but if we could get Zu An chased out of the Chu n over it, it¡¯s still not too bad.¡±

    Mei Chaofeng was at a loss for words.

    It¡¯s not your money, so of course you don¡¯t feel anything about it! Do you even understand what seven-and-a-half million silver taels is worth? With this much money, I would be able to hire assassins to get rid of the patriarch of the Chu n! And yet, you think it¡¯s okay that I¡¯ve spent this much money just to deal with a wastrel?

    Fortunately, Snow¡¯s next statement managed to cate him a little. ¡°Rest assured, I¡¯ll personally make a move tonight. Not only will I steal the promissory note, I¡¯ll also get rid of that brat so as to resolve any future problems.¡±

    Mei Chaofeng was overjoyed. ¡°Thank you, Miss Qiao.¡±

    With his strength, he could kill Zu An as easily as he could an ant. However, Zu An was usually either in the Chu Estate or Brightmoon Academy, leaving him with no chance to make a move. An insider like Snow had a much higher chance of getting the job done.

    Meanwhile, in the Zheng Estate¡ªlocated not too far away from the Silverhook Casino¡ª a woman was staring at a man seated attentively before her. Her eyes were clear like refreshing spring water, and her skin was fair as snow. ¡®Gorgeous¡¯ would be an apt word to describe her.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, young master Sang? You look rather agitated today.¡± The woman poured a cup of tea for the man before her. Her movements were incredibly graceful, and could be easily mistaken as part of some borate dance.

    This man was none other than Sang Qian, who had just left the Silverhook Casino.

    ¡°Miss Zheng¡¯s tea brewing skills are indeed a feast for the eyes.¡± The woman¡¯s elegant voice and tender disposition calmed Sang Qian¡¯s heart.

    The woman smiled gently. ¡°Once the period of our engagement is fulfilled, I¡¯d be more than happy to brew tea for you every day.¡±

    This woman was none other than the young miss of the Zheng n, Zheng Dan. The Zheng n had entered into an alliance with the Sang n through the promise of marriage, making her Sang Qian¡¯s fianc¨¦e.

    Even though this was not the first time they were meeting, Sang Qian¡¯s eyes still shone with wonder. When Sang Qian first heard that his father had engaged him to the daughter of a businessman in Brightmoon City, he had been unsatisfied. He¡¯d even fought with his father on several asions over the matter.

    However, as soon as he met Zheng Dan, all his opposition instantly vanished into thin air. The reason for that? The daughter of that businessman was simply too beautiful. It was not at all a harsh fate to be married to such a woman.

    ¡°Thank you, Miss Zheng.¡± Sang Qian reached out to take the teacup, secretly making use of this opportunity to brush Zheng Dan¡¯s hand. However, Zheng Dan pulled it away gracefully.

    ¡°Young master Zheng, I¡¯ll be yours once we marry one another. When we do, I¡¯ll go along with whatever you wish to do with me. But now...¡± The meaning behind Zheng Dan¡¯s words was crystal clear. She didn¡¯t want to get intimate with him prior to their marriage.

    A hint of rage flickered across Sang Qian¡¯s eyes, but he swiftly concealed it. The more Zheng Dan acted shyly, the more enticed he was. It felt almost like someone was tickling his heart, stoking his desire for her. He even wondered if all men were born such deste creatures, only desiring things that were out of their reach.

    ¡°Something happened earlier at the Silverhook Casino...¡± In order to conceal his awkwardness, Sang Qian quickly went through what happened earlier.

    A tinge of astonishment colored Zheng Dan¡¯s face as she remarked, ¡°Hm? The Silverhook Casino actually allowed Zu An to walk away with winnings amounting to seven-and-a-half million silver taels? I¡¯ve long heard that the young master of the Chu n is a wastrel, but it looks like the rumors can¡¯t be trusted.¡±

    Her tone, which seemed to beplimenting another man, left Sang Qian feeling ufortable inside. ¡°Hmph, he was just lucky. He just managed to get two bets right blindly.¡±

    Zheng Dan chuckled softly as her crimson lips curled up into a beautiful smile. It wasn¡¯t hard to decipher Sang Qian¡¯s thoughts, so she intentionally avoided saying anything to trigger him.

    Sang Qian continued, ¡°Since we¡¯re here, I have something that I could use your help with.¡±

 Chapter 69: Honey Trap

    <h4>Chapter 69: Honey Trap</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zheng Dan smiled and said, ¡°We¡¯re going to be a family soon. Any problem you¡¯re facing is naturally my problem too. Feel free to speak.¡±

    Sang Qian quietly clicked his tongue. You speak such beautiful words, but you wouldn¡¯t even allow me to hold your hands.

    ¡°Zu An has a promissory note for seven-and-a-half million silver taels at the Silverhook Casino at the moment. He¡¯s under the protection of the Chu n, and he spends the rest of his time at Brightmoon Academy. As you know, I¡¯m not in a good position to interfere in the affairs of the academy. May I ask you to get close to him and ¡®borrow¡¯ the note from him?¡±

    ¡°How should I get close to him?¡± Zheng Dan frowned, an ominous premonition growing in her heart.

    ¡°All men in the world are vulnerable to the ensnarement of a beauty, and trash like him even more so. With your looks, you¡¯ll surely be able to enchant him easily and make him do your bidding.¡± Sang Qian made a confident gesture as the corners of his lips crept up in a cold sneer.

    Zheng Dan¡¯s expression immediately turned frosty. She stood up and demanded hotly, ¡°Just what kind of person do you take me for?¡±

    Sang Qian quickly exined himself. ¡°I know that I¡¯m putting you in a tight spot, but you¡¯re the only one I can trust. That¡¯s why I came to seek your help.¡±

    His excuses did little to cate Zheng Dan¡¯s rage. ¡°So, the idea you came up with is to have your fianc¨¦e seduce another man?¡± she snarled angrily.

    Sang Qian frowned. ¡°Don¡¯t phrase it so awfully. I just want you to find an opportunity to get close to him. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m asking you to get in bed with him. I reckon a lowlife like him barely has any experience with women. With your looks, all you have to do is whisper some sweet nothings at him, and you¡¯ll have him dancing to your tune.¡±

    ¡°His wife is the number one beauty of Brightmoon City, Chu Chuyan! With someone like that by his side, can he really be considered as someone who has no experience with women?¡± retorted Zheng Dan.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never thought of you as inferior to Chu Chuyan in any way. In terms of appearance, each of you has your own charms. The only reason people see her as the number one beauty is in deference to her position as the daughter of the Brightmoon Duke. Haven¡¯t you thought that stealing her man would help to vent the frustrations you¡¯ve pent up all these years?¡± Sang Qian¡¯s keen senses had noticed the slight fluctuation in Zheng Dan¡¯s tone, so he decided to push a little harder.

    He was aware that, despite his fianc¨¦e¡¯s gentle exterior, she had always viewed Chu Chuyan as her rival. She would easily lose herposure whenever it came to affairs involving Chu Chuyan.

    As expected, Zheng Dan¡¯s eyes immediately lit up. She was intrigued by Sang Qian¡¯s proposal. ¡°Since you don¡¯t mind, I¡¯ll give it a try. However, if Zu An manages to take advantage of me, the one that¡¯ll lose out is you.¡±

    Sang Qian burst outughing. ¡°Others might not know better, but I know that beneath your gentle exterior lies a proud soul. Trash of Zu An¡¯s level could never catch your eye, so how could you possibly allow him to take advantage of you?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s too early to say that. Since you want me toy a honey trap for him, I¡¯ll have to offer him some benefits in order to hook him. We should prepare for the worst. How much would you be willing to tolerate?¡±

    ¡°The limit of my tolerance... at most, a hug. No, that won¡¯t do as well. Just holding hands, that''s the most I can ept!¡± Just the thought of Zu An taking advantage of his fianc¨¦e made Sang Qian itch all over. ¡°Once the matter is done, I¡¯ll make sure to cut off his hands.¡±

    Zheng Dan chuckled softly at Sang Qian¡¯s disy of jealousy. What¡¯s the big deal about holding hands? I just have to wash them afterward. It¡¯s merely his ego that makes him overly obsessed with such trivialities.

    ¡°Speaking of which, why did you all settle for the promissory note? You can¡¯t possibly believe the Plum Blossom Sect has the resources to fork over all those silver taels, right?¡± asked Zheng Dan.

    ¡°The Plum Blossom Sect alone doesn¡¯t have the ability to raise that much money, but it¡¯s a different story if we consider the master they¡¯re serving,¡± Sang Qian said with a schemingugh.

    While they were currently partners, ultimately, their goals still differed from one another. If they ever had a falling out in the future, this note would prove an invaluable weapon.

    Zheng Dan merely nodded in response. She couldn¡¯t be bothered with the details of such lowly schemes. The higher a person¡¯s standing, the more they scorned such despicable and dirty tricks. ¡°Tell me more about this Zu An. I¡¯ve only heard rumors about him thus far. Since you met him today, the information you have should be more urate.¡±

    Thinking about his encounter in the casino, Sang Qian began speaking hatefully, ¡°He¡¯s a minor character who let his arrogance get ahead of his ability just because he managed to climb up to the high branches of the Chu n. He¡¯s an incredibly shameless and despicable person...¡±

    ...

    ¡°Achoo!¡±

    Zu An rubbed his nose and wondered who was talking about him behind his back.

    Beside him, Chu Chuyan nced over and said, ¡°You must be very happy right now.¡±

    Zu An replied with a chuckle, ¡°Anyone would feel happy after winning seven and a half million silver taels.¡±

    ¡°With how the incident has blown up, I reckon my parents are already aware of it by now. Let¡¯s see how you deal with them then,¡± Chu Chuyan scoffed in response.

    Zu An was taken aback. ¡°It¡¯s still an issue even if I won?¡±

    ¡°This isn¡¯t about the money. My parents care a lot about the reputation of the Chu n, and it¡¯s a known fact that our Chu n strictly forbids its n members from gambling. You went a bit too far this time, nearly stirring up a conflict between our private army and the local guards. There¡¯s no way they¡¯ll turn a blind eye to that,¡± replied Chu Chuyan.

    Zu An was displeased. ¡°But that¡¯s seven-and-a-half million silver taels we¡¯re talking about here! Does the annual profit of the Chu n evene close to that number? Why am I going to get punished after earning so much money?¡±

    ¡°Are the seven-and-a-half million silver taels in your hands right now?¡± Chu Chuyan silenced him with a sharp jab. ¡°We all know there¡¯s no way the Plum Blossom Sect will repay its debt. We¡¯re putting ourselves at risk for a nk promise of repayment. It¡¯s only natural that my parents would get angry.¡±

    ¡°But can¡¯t we still collect interest from them every year?¡± asked Zu An weakly.

    ¡°That¡¯s just mere words. There¡¯s bound to beplicationster on,¡± Chu Chuyan sighed.

    She knew the Plum Blossom Sect would renege on its promise, but there was nothing she could do. She couldn¡¯t possibly order the Red Cloak Army to massacre the Plum Blossom Sect, after all¡ªthat would be falling right into the enemy¡¯s trap. If that happened, the royal court would have all the justification it needed to deal with the Chu n.

    ¡°Young miss, young miss~¡±

    Snow ran toward them, gasping for breath.

    ¡°Where did you go? What took you so long?¡± asked Chu Chuyan with a frown.

    Snow quickly exined, ¡°I also don¡¯t know what¡¯s up today, but my stomach feels unwell....¡±

    Zu An waved his hand before his nose in disdain. ¡°In other words, you went to take a shit, right? You must¡¯ve filled up the entirevatory if you took so long.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Snow was struck dumb.

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for 444 Rage points!

    She had rushed over after meeting with Mei Chaofeng, and she was just making an excuse to satisfy Chu Chuyan. A normal person would have let the matter rest without furtherment. Who knew Zu An would actually dig deeper, and even scorn her? It was almost as if there was a stenching from her!

    ¡°Young miss, look at him!¡± Snow stomped her feet angrily as she tugged Chu Chuyan¡¯s sleeves in protest.

    I¡¯m going to kill this vile fellowter in the night, so we can¡¯t get into a conflict right now. I¡¯ll make myself the prime suspect, otherwise.

    Chu Chuyan red at Zu An. ¡°Could you stop being so disgusting?¡±

    It was worth noting that, even though she had berated Zu An, she had still subconsciously shaken off Snow¡¯s hand. Clearly, Zu An¡¯s remark had affected her perception of Snow, too.

    This minor gesture was a critical blow to Snow.

    This scoundrel...

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for 300 Rage points!

    Zu An shrugged casually and said, ¡°If anyone here is disgusting, it should be that human-shaped shit-maker over there, not me.¡±

    ¡°Shit-maker?!¡± Snow felt blood rushing to her head, and nearly fainted on the spot. For a split second, she was willing to throw everything away just to obliterate that bastard in front of her. She had never felt such extreme hatred for anyone. If she could, she would have diced up his body from head to toe.

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for 888 Rage points!

    Even Yue Shan, who was walking silently ahead of them, shuddered a little at that insult. Our young master might be trash in every other aspect, but his ability to provoke rage is really top-notch. I doubt there¡¯s anyone in the whole of Brightmoon City who can hold a candle to him. To safeguard my mental health, I should really try not to cross him in the future.

    ¡°Enough! Stop messing around, both of you. Don¡¯t either of you feel embarrassed, causing a public spectacle here?¡± Chu Chuyan could almost see smoke rising from Snow¡¯s head, so she quickly separated the two.

    Snow huffed impatiently and turned her head away. If I don¡¯t make this fellow beg for a quick death tonight, I¡¯ll renounce my own name!

    An old man stood by the entrance of the Chu n. His clothes were prim and proper, with not a single wrinkle in sight. His white hair wasbed neatly. His appearance reflected his austere personality.

    Zu An recognized the old man. He was the butler of the Chu Estate, Hong Zhong.

    Hong Zhong greeted Chu Chuyan with a bow, and she quickly greeted him in kind. The old man had loyally served the Chu n for decades now, and he had earned the respect of everyone in the estate.

    After exchanging greetings, Hong Zhong informed them, ¡°Master has ordered me to bring the young master to the study once he returns.¡±

    Then he turned around and led the way forward. Chu Chuyan shot an I-told-you-so nce at Zu An and followed Hong Zhong to the study.

    Zu An was surprised that Hong Zhong¡¯s attitude and tone were no different than before. By now, the old man should have heard about the conflict he¡¯d had with Hong Xingying earlier in the day. So why did he seempletely unfazed?

    Hong Zhong seemed to have guessed Zu An¡¯s thoughts. ¡°Young miss, young master, I already heard about what happened with Xingying. That child has always been proud and reckless, and it was in a moment of folly that he crossed the young master. Allow me to apologize to the young master on his behalf. Young master, I hope you won¡¯t take this matter to heart. I¡¯ll teach him a lesson once hees back.¡±

    ¡°Uncle Zhong, you¡¯re taking this matter too seriously. Zu An has his faults, too,¡± Chu Chuyan quickly replied.

    Zu An was obviously displeased by that response. What does this have to do with me? It¡¯s that proud fellow who keeps trying to mess around with me.

    He was just about to say something when Chu Chuyan shot him a piercing re, leaving him no choice but to swallow his words. It seemed Hong Zhong had a high standing in the Chu Estate.

    Fine. I¡¯ll let this go, since you¡¯re my wife.

    Hong Zhong shook his head and added, ¡°I know that child well. He harbors some grandiose thoughts, so it¡¯s inevitable that he feels a little frustrated at the moment. Without a doubt, he was the one who started this conflict. Even though Master and Madam haven¡¯t said anything about this matter, I¡¯ve been feeling deeply guilty about it.¡±

    His words carried a deep sincerity. Zu An couldn¡¯t fathom how someone as upright and honest as Hong Zhong could possibly have raised such a narrow-minded son. Out of consideration for the old butler, he decided that he wouldn¡¯t exact vengeance on Hong Xingying, as long as he didn¡¯t mess with him anymore.

    Chu Chuyan responded with her own heartfelt reassurance, and with just a few words, she was able to quickly alleviate Hong Zhong¡¯s awkwardness. She smoothly transitioned the conversation over to the Chu n¡¯s businesses, and it didn¡¯t take long for the atmosphere to lighten.

    Zu An had wondered how someone as cold as Chu Chuyan could properly manage the Chu n¡¯s businesses. Now, he was starting to see why.

    It wasn¡¯t long before the group arrived at the study, where Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru were waiting for them.

    ¡°Zu An! The gall! The audacity! How dare you visit the casino so publicly? Not only that, you even brought Chuyan with you!¡± Qin Wanru mmed a palm on the table and red at him angrily.

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Wanru for 77 Rage points!

 Chapter 70: A Huge Killing

    <h4>Chapter 70: A Huge Killing</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The sound of his wife¡¯s palm hitting the table startled Chu Zhongtian, who was in the midst of sipping his tea. He gave an involuntary jerk, nearly causing his tea to spill. In order to conceal his awkwardness, he cleared his throat and went along with his wife. ¡°Indeed! Zu An, do you know what you¡¯ve done wrong?¡±

    Zu An inwardly scoffed at Chu Zhongtian for being a henpecked husband, but he replied with all the sincerity he could muster, ¡°I know that I¡¯ve done wrong.¡±

    Both Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru were taken aback by Zu An¡¯s response. They had expected him to rebut them, as he had done many times before, and they had even thought of how to counter his rebuttals. Zu An¡¯s unexpected act of yielding took the wind out of their sails, leaving them scrambling to find an appropriate way to continue the conversation.

    Chu Chuyan and Yue Shan exchanged surprised nces. This show of obedience from Zu An was startling. Was this really the fellow who had dominated everyone else in the casino with his sharp mouth earlier?

    Qin Wanru pondered for a moment before deciding to go ahead with the script she prepared earlier. ¡°Don¡¯t you know that our Chu n has rules forbidding our members from gambling?¡±

    ¡°I was unaware until you just mentioned it,¡± Zu An lied without even batting an eyelid. He thumped his chest and confidently reassured her, ¡°Mother-inw, please quell your rage. Don¡¯t let your anger harm your body. I promise never to walk into that sort of vile and depraved ce in the future.¡±

    Just how dumb must Mei Chaofeng be to allow him to enter the casino and continue winning their money? This promise was basically a no-brainer!

    Qin Wanru¡¯s righteous anger deted even further. Zu An¡¯s oddly earnest attitude had robbed her of her chance to use her prepared lines. She turned to re at Chu Chuyan instead. ¡°You should have warned him then! How could you go along with him?¡±

    Chu Chuyan hesitated for a moment, but in the end, she decided not to expose Zu An¡¯s lie. ¡°It was my negligence.¡±

    She was worried that Zu An would be too severely punished, so she decided to carry some of the me for him.

    Snow was tempted to speak up, but she held her tongue in the end. I¡¯m going to take this fellow¡¯s lifeter anyway, so it doesn¡¯t matter whether the Chu n punishes him or not.

    Needless to say, Qin Wanru clearly saw through Chu Chuyan¡¯s attempt to cover for Zu An. Just what kind of sorcery has Zu An cast on my daughter to make her speak on his behalf so soon?

    It was as if her precious daughter had been stolen from her! She red sharply at Zu An.

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Wanru for 33 Rage points!

    Zu An was stunned by this sudden notification. Even Chu Chuyan has already spoken up on my behalf, yet you¡¯re still angry at me? Aren¡¯t you being too unreasonable?

    That being said, he was more than happy to receive additional Rage points. It was his key to growing stronger, after all.

    Chu Zhongtian coughed lightly before interjecting with a deep voice, ¡°This matter was blown way out of proportion. We nearly got into a fight with the local guards. In the end, the main culprit who started this is still you...¡±

    Before he could finish his words, Zu An took out the promissory note and presented it to his parents-inw. ¡°Allow me to offer this seven-and-a-half million silver taels to the two of you. Chuyan is my wife, which makes me her man. Naturally, anything I own belongs to the Chu n too.¡±

    ck streaks appeared on Chu Chuyan¡¯s face. While the words Zu An had said were true, they sounded oddly jarring.

    Qin Wanru huffed in response. ¡°We could never ept your money. Our Chu n prides itself on its incorruptibility. We have and will never touch dirty money earned through drugs, prostitution, and gambling. If we do take your money, outsiders will start gossiping about how our Chu n has fallen so far that we need our son-inw to gamble in order to help with our finances.¡±

    ¡°Indeed. We can¡¯t ruin the good reputation the Chu n has built up over several centuries over this. Keep your money well, and don¡¯t ever bring up this matter again,¡± added Chu Zhongtian.

    At this, Snow heaved a sigh of relief. Even though she had guessed that this would be the case, she hadn¡¯t been able to shake her worry that the promissory note would somehow fall into the hands of the Chu n. It would have been terribly difficult to clean up the situation in that case. It was heartening to see that things were still going ording to n.

    Zu An stuffed the note back into his robe. In the end, you¡¯re just turning it down because it¡¯ll be hard to collect the money. If seven-and-a-half million silver taels wereid out right before your eyes, I reckon that you wouldn¡¯t be able to remain so ¡®incorruptible¡¯.

    How much could the Chu n possibly earn in a year? What are mere family rules, in the face of absolute profits?

    What a pity...

    Zu An was troubled by this oue. He knew that the promissory note was useless in his hands, since he didn¡¯t have the ability to demand that the Plum Blossom Sect repay its debt. At most, he could only try to im the annual interest.

    Mei Chaofeng, however, was obviously not an honest person. It was extremely naive to expect him to fork out the interest on his own. It was a given that he would try all sorts of tricks to avoid payment.

    ¡°You have to be punished for what happened today. If not, we¡¯ll be sending out the wrong signal to the other n members. Your actions today might leave them with the wrong impression that it¡¯s no big deal to visit the casino!¡± Qin Wanru mmed her fist on the table as she spoke. ¡°Head to the Reflection Room and copy our family rules ten thousand times!¡±

    ¡°Ten thousand times?¡± Zu An¡¯s eyes popped in disbelief. ¡°How am I supposed to finish copying that?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll be grounded in the estate until you finish copying the family rules, lest you go around stirring trouble again,¡± said Qin Wanru with a gleeful glint in her eyes.

    Hmph, don¡¯t think that I¡¯m unaware that you got Cheng Shouping to copy the rules on your behalf the previous time. Now that you have to copy it ten thousand times, you won¡¯t be able to finish it even if you recruit him to help. With this, you¡¯ll have no choice but to remain in the estate obediently for the next few nights.

    ¡°You¡¯re dismissed. Head to the Reflection Room right away and start copying.¡±

    At Qin Wanru¡¯s orders, Zu An had no choice but to depart with a bitter look on his face. After he was gone, Chu Chuyan couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Mother, isn¡¯t ten thousand times too many? How long would it take for him to finish copying all of that?¡±

    ¡°Why? Are you sympathizing with him now?¡± Qin Wanru sniffed.

    ¡°When did I start?¡± Chu Chuyan¡¯s face reddened a little. Why in the world would I sympathize with that shameless fellow?

    Chu Zhongtian interjected with a soft chuckle, ¡°Chuyan, you need not worry. Your mother might have a sharp mouth, but she¡¯s a softie inside. It might look like she¡¯s punishing Zu An, but in truth, she¡¯s protecting him. Just think about it. Would the Plum Blossom Sect let him off after suffering such a huge loss at his hands? If Zu An continues gallivanting around the city, it would only be a matter of time before they made a move on him. If we don¡¯t have any evidence against them on hand by then, we won¡¯t be able to exact vengeance for him.

    ¡°However, if he remains in the estate obediently, no matter how many connections the Plum Blossom Sect pulls, they wouldn¡¯t be able to bypass our guards to harm him.¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s eyes widened with understanding. ¡°I didn¡¯t know that you put so much thought into it. I should have considered it more.¡±

    A gentle smile finally emerged on Qin Wanru¡¯s stern face. ¡°Chuyan, you¡¯re far more talented than any one of us here. All youck is just experience and time. In time toe, you¡¯ll eventually surpass the two of us.¡±

    Chu Chuyan let her lips curve up in a smile, but her eyes shone with a hint of sorrow. By that time, my youth would be gone, and I¡¯d still be all alone.

    Zu An wasn¡¯t even a consideration for her.

    ...

    ¡°Achoo!¡±

    Zu An rubbed his nose as he wondered which youngss was thinking about him.

    ¡°Young master, you¡¯re finally back!¡± a young voice called out as Cheng Shouping rushed over, the two buns on his head bouncing away.

    He heard that the young master had gone out with Snow this time, and he was hoping to bump into her if he rushed over in time. To his disappointment, the only person beside Zu An was the butler, Hong Zhong.

    A sinister smile curled Zu An¡¯s lips as he grabbed Cheng Shouping by his cor and said, ¡°You came at a good time. Let¡¯s head off to copy the family rules together.¡±

    ¡°Again?¡± Cheng Shouping¡¯s face crumbled immediately. ¡°How many times do we need to copy them this time around?¡±

    Zu An waved his hands casually with a smile, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s not much. Just ten thousand times.¡±

    ¡°Ten thousand times?¡± Cheng Shouping recoiled in horror. Is our young master bad at math? Or does he have a different understanding of what ¡®ten thousand¡¯ means?

    Just like that, the horrified Cheng Shouping was dragged all the way to the Reflection Room in thepany of Zu An and Hong Zhong. Once they arrived at their destination, Hong Zhong said, ¡°Young master, please do not leave the Reflection Room until you¡¯re done copying the family rules.¡±

    He left right after that, leaving Zu An and Cheng Shouping to stare at one another.

    ¡°Young master, please spare me. I can¡¯t possibly copy the family rules ten thousand times!¡± Cheng Shouping was determined not to help Zu An this time around, no matter what thetter said. He was still traumatized by how he had been tricked into copying the family rules all alone for the entire night the previous time.

    ¡°C¡¯mon. Who else is going to help me if not you?¡± Zu An wrapped his arms around Cheng Shouping¡¯s shoulders and nudged him with a smile.

    Cheng Shouping shook his head adamantly. ¡°Hmph, I refuse!¡±

    Seeing this, Zu An sighed deeply before taking out a banknote. ¡°Huh, I was still thinking of rewarding you with a hundred silver taels if you were to help me with this task. However, since you aren¡¯t willing to do so, I¡¯ve no choice but to look for someone else then.¡±

    While the debt note of seven-and-a-half million silver taels hadn¡¯t been cashed out yet, he did manage to take away a-hundred-and-fifty thousand silver taels from the casino earlier. Looking at it this way, his trip to the Silverhook Casino had still been fruitful.

    Cheng Shouping¡¯s eyes lit up. His hand shot out to swipe the banknote, and he smiled obsequiously. ¡°As the studypanion of the young master, how can I possibly allow someone else to wait upon you? It¡¯s only normal for me to do it.¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll leave it to you then. I¡¯ll be heading off to sleep now.¡± Zu An yawned. It seemed his short walk outside had been quite draining.

    A tight knot instantly formed on Cheng Shouping¡¯s forehead. ¡°But young master, I can¡¯t possibly copy them by myself ten thousand times!¡±

    Zu An rolled his eyes and replied, ¡°Why do you think I gave you a hundred silver taels? Don¡¯t you know how to use it to buy the help of the other studypanions in the estate?¡±

    Cheng Shouping¡¯s eyes lit up for a second. A momentter, however, he frowned. ¡°But wouldn¡¯t that leave me with less money for myself?¡±

    Zu An shrugged casually. ¡°I¡¯ve already given you the money. It¡¯s up to you whether you want to copy it on your own or get others to help you; you just have to finish copying the family rules ten thousand times.¡±

    After saying those words, he strutted away gleefully, leaving Cheng Shouping behind to struggle with his options.

    On the way back to his residence, Zu An began calcting the amount of Rage points he had earned. Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousands...

    Holy crap! I managed to get 60,224 Rage points!

    A bright smile broke out on Zu An¡¯s face. On the basis of what happened earlier, it was much better to y the antagonist than the protagonist.

    He reached his small residence, and was just about to wash his face and prepare to draw the lottery when a voice suddenly came from behind him.

    ¡°How did you manage to do it?¡±

    Zu An jumped three feet into the air. He hurriedly turned around to take a look, and saw the feeble Old Mi appear behind him.

    What the hell! This fellow looks as if he would crumble at the slightest gust of wind, but he walks around without making a sound at all. Even after I¡¯ve raised my cultivation by so much, I¡¯m still unable to sense his presence at all!

    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± Zu An quickly replied, not daring to throw his weight around in front of Old Mi. He was able to act fearlessly before others to earn Rage points, but for some reason, he was well and truly intimidated by Old Mi. It seemed folly to provoke the old gardener.

    Why is that so?

    Zu An turned the question over in his head, but was unable toe up with an answer.

    Old Mi eyed Zu An with small beady eyes filled with curiosity. ¡°The entire estate has been talking about how you managed to win seven-and-a-half million silver taels from the casino. How did you manage to do it?¡±

 Chapter 71: Knock-You-Up Eyes

    <h4>Chapter 71: Knock-You-Up Eyes</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An blinked. ¡°Perhaps it was my good luck?¡±

    It wasn¡¯t exactly a lie. He had won the bets due to his good luck, he just didn¡¯t disclose the reason behind his good luck.

    ¡°Good luck?¡± Old Mi frowned, clearly dissatisfied by his answer.

    ¡°What else could it possibly have been? I couldn¡¯t possibly cheat under the noses of those veteran dealers at the Silverhook Casino, right?¡± replied Zu An.

    Old Mi saw some sense in those words. He was well aware of the limits of Zu An¡¯s capability, so he decided to let the matter go. As he walked out the door, he said, ¡°For the next few days, don¡¯t head out if you don¡¯t need to. You have a note for seven-and-a-half-million silver taels from the Plum Blossom Sect. They won¡¯t let you off that easily.¡±

    Zu An felt a surge of warmth suffuse his heart, and he wondered if he had misunderstood this old man. It looks like he still cares for me. He isn¡¯t coveting my wealth despite knowing that I¡¯ve struck it rich.

    Little did Zu An know that there was no need for Old Mi to covet his wealth. After all, the money would all be his once he possessed Zu An¡¯s body in the future.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Once Old Mi left the room, Zu An quickly shut the door. He double-checked that there was no one else in the room, then proceeded with his washing ritual. With that, he was ready to start drawing the lottery.

    He summoned the Keyboard and loaded up the lottery function. As he prepared to hit the ¡®Enter¡¯ key, he suddenly noticed some slight changes. Taking a closer look, his eyes were drawn to a notification.

    You have sessfully umted a total of 100,000 Rage points. The letter keys are now unlocked for the lottery drawing.

    Zu An was stunned for a moment, then his heart erupted in frenzied joy. Did this mean that he could draw prizes from the letter keys now? The Heiress¡¯ Ball of Delights and the Poisonous Prick might have looked like troll items at first nce, but they had proven to be incredibly useful. It was likely that any other he obtained from the Keyboard would be pretty decent.

    His heart full to the brim with anticipation, he hit the ¡®Enter¡¯ key.

    Unsurprisingly, he was greeted with a curt ¡®Thanks for ying!¡¯, but that did little to dampen his excitement. He had seen with his own eyes the light marker moving across the letter keys on the Keyboard, which proved that it was possible for him to obtain a different reward if the marker halted on one of them.

    Heunched into another round without hesitation.

    Thanks for ying!

    Thanks for ying!

    Thanks for ying!

    ...

    Congrattions, you have won a ¡®Ki Fruit¡¯!

    ...

    Thanks for ying!

    Thanks for ying!

    ...

    After a while, Zu An was able to confirm his earlier conclusion that the chances of drawing a Ki Fruit were around one in ten. Unfortunately, the probabilities of drawing a Poison Bottle, Fortune Pill, and Faith in Brother Spring were still uncertain.

    As he continued drawing, Zu An¡¯s excitement started to fade. All his sesses thus far had only been Ki Fruits.

    I have enough Rage points to draw the lottery 602 times. I can¡¯t be so unlucky as to be unable to draw anything new at all, right?

    As soon as this thought arose, he mmed his palm on a nearby wooden table and threw it out of his mind. What in the world am I doing here? Knock on wood! I can¡¯t be raising gs and jinxing myself like that!

    Fortunately, on something like his five-hundredth draw, the light marker finally stopped on the ¡®D¡¯ key.

    What could it be?

    His heart pounding, Zu An quickly looked at the item he had received, only to see a pair of thin, transparent lenses that looked oddly like contact lenses.

    Congrattions, you have won a ¡®Knock-You-Up Eyes¡¯!

    Zu An¡¯s face scrunched up.

    Hisst few experiences with the Keyboard had given Zu An a glimpse into its ridiculous naming sensibilities, so this notification wasn¡¯t too surprising. He brushed past it and moved on to the item description.

    Knock-You-Up Eyes: This item is renowned as one-half of the ¡®Ultimate Insemination Duo¡¯, the other half being the ¡®Thousand-Li Chastity Robbing¡¯ skill wielded by an expert only known by his surname Song.[1]

    Artifact Effect: When wearing this item, you may select whether to activate the item¡¯s effect when you look at a target. As long as the target makes eye contact with you, they will immediately experience pain equal to that of delivering a 10-month-old child. This effect doesn¡¯t discriminate against gender or race. The pain inflicted by this item willst for an hour. Uses: 3

    Angry ck streaks shed across Zu An¡¯s eyes. He would have much preferred to obtain the ¡®Thousand-Li Chastity Robbing¡¯ skill instead. He had no idea who that expert was, but he was definitely worthy of respect.

    Still, this ¡®Knock-You-Up Eyes¡¯ looks pretty useless. It only makes the target feel pain, without dealing any actual damage. What¡¯s the use if the individual were to recover once the duration is over?

    It honestly feels more like voodoo magic to prank a friend...

    As he pondered further, though, he realized that this skill could work wonders at critical moments. He remembered reading a scientific study in his previous world that stated the pain experienced during childbirth as the highest possible level of pain a person could experience. The scientists then developed a machine that simted the pain of childbirth, and many of the men who had been subjected to it¡ªwhether voluntarily, out of love for their wives, or involuntarily as some form of revenge¡ªended up crumbling to the floor wailing.

    He could definitely use this item to incapacitate an adversary during a critical moment in a battle to turn the tide.

    It was a pity then that this item had a limit of three uses, which meant that he couldn¡¯t abuse it.

    He wondered as well if this item could work on multiple people at once. If he activated this item in a situation where he was ring at multiple people, would he be able to incapacitate them all at once?

    All sorts of possible scenarios surfaced in his mind, and he broke out into derangedughter.

    Zu An turned his attention back to drawing the lottery, but the light marker never fell on the letter keys again. All in all, he managed to draw fifty-eight Ki Fruits.

    He swallowed them one after another and relished the soothing feeling of ki gushing through his body. The second formation in his muscles swiftly began filling up with golden matter, but there wasn¡¯t enough ki to fill itpletely. It eventually made it to two-thirds full.

    Based on the Fiboni Sequence, 89 Ki Fruits were needed to fill this second formation. He had already filled it up a little previously, and adding in the fifty-eight Ki Fruits he had just eaten, he would need about twenty more in order to make a breakthrough.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help his frustration. It hadn¡¯t been easy for him to earn 60,000 Rage points, and yet it couldn¡¯t even fill up a single formation. Not only that, gaining strength would only get harder as he progressed further. It would take an astronomical sum of Rage points to fill up every single formation. He couldn¡¯t imagine just how long it would take for him to reach the higher cultivation ranks.

    Seeking to distract himself, he stretched his body to test out his newfound strength. Currently, he wielded the strength equal to two hundred grown menbined. He felt that he was bing superhuman, but then recalled how the cars in his previous world boasted hundreds of horsepower. With this bit of strength he had, he wouldn¡¯t even match up to the force of a car elerating at its maximum.

    Of course, now that he had startedparing his physical ability with that of a car, there was no way he could be considered an ordinary mortal anymore. Once again, he found himself wondering just how terrifying the power of high-rank cultivators in this world was.

    Little did he know that that was the wrong way of looking at the situation. Higher rank cultivators gained the power to tap into the raw ki around them, so it was no longer urate to gauge their strength using ¡®human-power¡¯ as the unit of measurement.

    With nothing else to do after drawing the lottery, Zu An decided to drop by the Reflection Room to see how Cheng Shouping was faring. He was curious to see how many others he had hired.

    When he finally arrived at the entrance of the Reflection Room, he saw Cheng Shouping gritting his teeth, the brush in his hand flying swiftly across a sheet of paper. He was all alone inside the room.

    Zu An stared at him for a moment.

    This fellow is really nut over money! He can¡¯t even bear to use some of it to hire someone else to help him out. But since that¡¯s what he wants, so be it.

    Zu An left his studypanion to his task and returned to his residence. He headed straight for his room, and was just about to enter it when he noticed a broken strand of hair on the wooden doortch. He froze.

    Ever since he found out that someone in the Chu Estate was out to kill him, he had been keeping his guard up. Every time he left his room, he would set up a small mechanism to let him know if an intruder were to sneak in¡ªand the mechanism had clearly been triggered.

    Right now, the question was whether the person who had snuck into his room was still inside.

    Zu An slipped the Poisonous Prick into his sleeves, then carefully nudged the door open and headed in. This would be a good opportunity to test out his newfound strength.

    As soon as he stepped inside, a strong gust of wind assaulted him from behind, carrying with it a ck figure that charged straight for him. Zu An had been well prepared, and quickly rolled away before stabbing with the Poisonous Prick toward the ck silhouette.

    The ck-robed assassin was surprised that her attempt had failed, and her target was far faster than she¡¯d anticipated. Her own attempt to evade him was just too slow, and the dagger made a solid contact.

    Despite this, Zu An was less than pleased. He sensed that, while it had connected, the tip of the dagger had failed to pierce flesh.

    ¡°Hm?¡±

    The ck-d figure had retreated several meters and was crouched on top of a table. Her exmation revealed her astonishment. Zu An¡¯s swift reflexes did not fit with his image as a wastrel, and the dagger he¡¯d brandished had been sharp enough to pierce through her Ki Armor and slice right through the fabric of her clothes. Had she been just a hair slower, she would have been wounded by his unexpected riposte.

    Zu An was himself assessing his would-be assassin. She was dressed in ck cloth, and her hair had been carefully wrapped up to avoid giving away any hints of her identity. Nevertheless, from her crisp and pleasing voice, he could tell that the figure was a woman, and likely a beautiful one at that.

    Her eyes were well hidden beneath a veil, but they seemed very familiar to him. A spark shed across his mind, and he remarked instinctively, ¡°Snow!¡±

    The ck-d assassin gave a start. She slowly took off her veil. Her face was cold. ¡°You¡¯re actually a cultivator?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s earlier reaction had been faster than any ordinary mortal¡¯s.

    In response, Zu An chuckled softly and replied, ¡°Aren¡¯t you one too?¡±

    ¡°I always thought that you were a wastrel, but it turns out that you¡¯ve been putting on an act all along. What are you scheming?¡± Snow growled.

    Zu An sighed deeply and replied, ¡°A powerful cultivator like you, serving as a mere maid in the Chu n. I should be the one asking you what you¡¯re scheming.¡±

    ¡°Forget it, it doesn¡¯t matter. You¡¯re going to die tonight anyway!¡± Snow fired back hotly.

    Zu An retorted indignantly, ¡°Aren¡¯t you a vicious one? We might have our differences, but it doesn¡¯t change the fact that we had once shared a night in bed with one another. As the saying goes, a day as a couple, a hundred days of gratitude¡ª¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Snow shrieked.

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for 444 Rage points!

    That matter was a constant thorn in her side. Every night, she would dream about how her pure body had been defiled by his vile hands, and she would jolt awake in revulsion.

    Conditioned by all the verbal sparring that she¡¯d exchanged with him over the past few days, she reflexively responded to Zu An¡¯s provocation. ¡°You aren¡¯t even a man at all. Where do you find the courage to say such words?¡±

    As she insulted him, she shot a disdainful nce between his legs, making sure to express her full scorn for him.

    She had expected Zu An to fly into a state of fury or to wither in embarrassment, but he was somehowpletely unfazed. ¡°Even though we didn¡¯t manage it in the end, I reckon that what we shared counts as half a day of couplehood, at least. That would equate to fifty days of gratitude. How can you be so heartless as to assassinate someone whom you owe fifty days of gratitude to?¡±

    What the hell! Is that saying even supposed to work that way?!

    1. One ¡®li¡¯ (Àå) is five hundred meters, or just under a third of a mile.

 Chapter 72: What Did You Do to Me?

    <h4>Chapter 72: What Did You Do to Me?</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Snow felt like she was being driven crazy. She must have sinned deeply in her previous life for her to have to encounter such a fellow. ¡°Not only will I kill you today, I¡¯ll sever your tongue and feed it to the dogs!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for 500 Rage points!

    Zu An was still thinking of the right response to squeeze more Rage points out of her, but Snow gave him no chance. She darted forward for a second attack.

    She¡¯s fast!

    Realizing that he would be unable to dodge in time, Zu An channeled everyst bit of strength in his body to protect himself. Her palm crashed into his raised fist. Zu An jerked as though mmed head-on by an onrushing truck and was sent flying, smashing into the wall behind him. His hands felt like they were moments from shattering, such was the sheer force of the impact.

    He tried to rise back to his feet quickly, but the pain was too severe. He vomited out a puddle of blood.

    How could such thin arms and legs wield so much strength?

    Snow was equally surprised by their exchange. She stared at the red imprint on her own palm as she recalled the strength he had used to meet her strike. She remarked in astonishment, ¡°Hm? You¡¯ve actually reached the third rank!¡±

    Zu An felt as though his innards had been wrecked, but he forced out a calm smile and said, ¡°Did you just realize that on top of my good looks, I¡¯m also an incredible cultivation prodigy? Did that make you fall deeply in love with me?¡±

    ¡°Fall deeply in love? Don¡¯t bullshit me!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for 211 Rage points!

    Her face darkened further, and she rushed forward to nt a vicious kick squarely in Zu An¡¯s abdomen. He was sent tumbling backwards, making a few revolutions before finallying to a halt.

    ¡°Zu wastrel, you have really managed to stoke my ire today. I won¡¯t let you get off the hook easily today. I¡¯ll make sure that you suffer so much that you¡¯d wish you were dead!¡±

    Thisss sure knows how to bear a grudge. Zu An silently took out the Heiress¡¯ Ball of Delights and prepared to activate it, but froze as he btedly realized a problem.

    Right now, he had a debt note worth a hulking seven-and-a-half million silver taels on him. That meant there were only a handful of people who were richer than him in Brightmoon City. Even if the seven-and-a-half million silver taels wasn¡¯t something he could cash out in the short-run, he still had a-hundred-and-fifty thousand silver taels on hand right now.

    There was a strict condition to the Heiress¡¯ Ball of Delights¡ªthe enemy had to be a woman richer than him in order for its effects to be invoked.

    Surely a maid like Snow can¡¯t possibly be richer than me, right?

    The only reason why Zu An had been able to keep calm all this while was due to this trump card he had on hand. Using thebination of the Heiress¡¯ Ball of Delights and the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, he had managed to stand his ground even against a fifth rank cultivator. No matter how powerful Snow was, he was sure she couldn¡¯t be more formidable than the renowned prodigy Pei Mianman.

    He never imagined that his newfound wealth would be the reason behind his own downfall. In the blink of an eye, he found himself in a precarious situation.

    Unwilling to give up on this possibility, Zu An asked out loud, ¡°Hey, can I ask you a question? How much money do you have?¡±

    Snow was stunned. Of all the possibilities she¡¯de up with, she hadn¡¯t expected Zu An to ask such an irrelevant question. ¡°That¡¯s none of your business. All you need to know is that I¡¯ll be very rich once I kill you.¡±

    Her response drew a deep sigh from Zu An. It seemed that using the Heiress¡¯ Ball of Delights was out of the question. The item was his strongest trump card, and he couldn¡¯t bear to waste it if the situation wasn¡¯t clear-cut.

    Zu An¡¯s mind whirred to action as he tried to think of a way out. ¡°Why do you want to kill me?¡± He hoped to extract some information while she was still in a mood to gloat.

    ¡°Despicable and shameless scum like you do not deserve to live on the face of this world!¡± Snow spat out angrily.

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for 99 Rage points!

    Zu An was stunned. He didn¡¯t think that Snow¡¯s grudge toward him ran this deep. Is it really possible to hate someone as handsome as me so thoroughly?

    ¡°Are you trying to stall for time? Don¡¯t even dream about it!¡± Snow leaped into the offensive once more. She decided to target Zu An¡¯s limbs this time, intending to rip them off.

    Unexpectedly, Zu An managed to avoid her initial attack with a quick backflip, after which, they traded a few blows. Despite Zu An spurting out blood each time her strikes connected, he somehow seemed to get faster and stronger the more severe his injuries became. In fact, Zu An was almost approaching her level of strength.

    Zu An knew that this was the effect of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra. He would be able to exert an extraordinary amount of force when he was severely injured, but without the Heiress¡¯ Ball of Delights to keep him alive, he had no idea when he would exceed his limit and drop dead. He prepared to summon and use Faith in Brother Spring as soon as he sensed he was approaching his limit.

    ¡°Did you learn some sort of secret art?¡± asked Snow.

    There were techniques that significantly boosted a cultivator¡¯s strength for a short period of time, but they tended toe with overwhelmingly negative side effects.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°If you call me ¡®big brother¡¯, I¡¯ll consider letting you in on the secret,¡± said Zu An with a chuckle.

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for 111 Rage points!

    ¡°You¡¯re courting your own death!¡±

    A silver needle suddenly appeared in Snow¡¯s hand, and in an instant, Zu An saw a barrage of needles flying in his direction.

    What the hell! A hidden weapon?

    Zu An tried desperately to dodge the needles, but he still ended up getting pierced by quite a number of them. Fresh blood streamed out of his wounds, and he lost his grip on the dagger in his hand. It fell to the ground with a loud ng.

    ¡°You have strength, but you know nothing ofbat skills. You¡¯re just a fat pig waiting to be ughtered!¡± Snow sneered coldly.

    Zu An stayed silent. Was that barrage of needles considered abat skill? I haven¡¯t learned anything of that sort yet, but if I could learn such skills, I might be able to exert far greater power for the same level of physical strength.

    ¡°A piece of trash will forever remain trash. I¡¯ve no idea how you managed to cultivate, but it all ends here.¡± A cold sneer rested on Snow¡¯s lips. ¡°Anyst words?¡±

    Zu An spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva and chuckled. ¡°You stabbed me with your needles today. I¡¯ll make sure to return the favor and stab you hard one day.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not like you can use needles...¡± The smile on Snow¡¯s face suddenly vanished as the innuendo finally sunk in. She trailed off, her face cold as winter. ¡°I really don¡¯t know whether I should be impressed with you or not. Even with your dying breath, you still want to take advantage of me.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for 404 Rage points!

    Zu An wiped his lips, leaving a bloody trail across his cheek. He looked at her in a bizarre way. ¡°How do you know I¡¯ll die?¡±

    ¡°Do you have any other trump cards then? Take them out and impress me then!¡± scoffed Snow.

    ¡°I¡¯m just afraid that you won¡¯t be able to bear it.¡± Zu An had hardly any strength left in his body. He had to lean against the wall just to maintain his posture. ¡°Have you ever been pregnant before?¡±

    Snow¡¯s eyes popped, first in bewilderment and then in unrestrained fury. ¡°What nonsense are you spouting?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for 303 Rage points!

    How dare a man ask a maiden like her whether she had been pregnant before? Snow resolved to tear out Zu An¡¯s tendons one by one to satisfy her anger.

    A sinister smile had crawled onto Zu An¡¯s lips. ¡°I can make you pregnant.¡±

    Snow had grown numb to Zu An¡¯s taunts. She didn¡¯t bother with getting angry. After all, it would be wasted on someone who was going to die very soon.

    She walked right up to him and gazed upon him from above. ¡°Hand over the promissory note, and maybe I¡¯ll...¡±

    She trailed off before she could finish, and subconsciously touched her abdomen. What¡¯s going on? Why does my stomach suddenly feel so bloated?

    She nced quickly at her abdomen, but it was stillpletely t. Without warning, her body suddenly arched backward as an aching pain spread out from her lower back.

    ¡°What did you do to me?¡±

    Snow began to panic. She had never experienced these sensations before, and whatever was happening to her transcended the realms of her understanding.

    Zu Anughed lightly. ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you that I could make you pregnant? Did you take my words to be a joke?¡±

    It was indeed impossible for him to turn the tables with his own strength, and he had to resort to using the Knock-You-Up Eyes. To his astonishment, however, the item didn¡¯t produce intensebor pains right away. Instead, it seemed to induce the sensations of pregnancy first. This subtle difference could spell a huge difference in a pitched battle, and he would have to take careful note in the future.

    There was no way Snow would believe that she was truly pregnant. In a moment of rage, she resolved to end Zu An¡¯s life there and then, but she was stabbed by a sudden, excruciating pain in her abdomen.

    ¡°Ahhh~¡±

    She tried her best to stifle her cries, but the pain had grown truly unbearable. She copsed into a squat, and felt the urge to curl up into a ball and roll around. She clutched at her abdomen, her face pale and sweaty.

    Zu An immediately took advantage of this opening to leap on her. He was in bad shape after their previous exchanges, and he dared not give her a chance to make aeback. He wanted to force her down onto the ground and into a close-quarters brawl, where he was more confident of defeating her.

    Shocked, Snow hurriedly raised her hand to push him away, but she was engulfed in yet another wave of excruciating pain which caused her arms to jerk to a halt. She was mmed to the ground, and the weight of her attacker fell fully on her.

    Snow panicked as she found herself pinned under Zu An¡¯s body. She tried to retaliate by striking at his head, but the constant, stabbing pain in her abdomen made it impossible to exert her strength properly.

    As soon as she raised her hand, Zu An had already pinned her wrist back down onto the ground. She struggled against his grip, but for some reason, Zu An¡¯s strength seemed well on par with hers, and she wasn¡¯t in the condition to exert the full extent of her prowess. The awkward position she was in made it hard for her to maneuver, furtherplicating her attempts at defense.

    In the end, her struggling did nothing but give Zu An more chances to take advantage of her body.

    Zu An had to admit that, despite Snow¡¯s ferocious temper, she did have a good figure. It wasn¡¯t as exaggerated as Pei Mianman¡¯s, but her slim and soft body felt refreshingly youthful.

    Somehow, he couldn¡¯t bear to kill her quickly.

    Snow¡¯s cheeks flushed red. ¡°What did you do to me?¡± she demanded. She realized that her struggles did nothing but give Zu An pleasure, so she stopped moving altogether.

    ¡°As I¡¯ve told you, I¡¯m giving you a taste of what pregnancy feels like. Why don¡¯t you believe me?¡± Looking at how Snow had been fully incapacitated by the sheer pain, Zu An wondered how a man would react in response to it.

    ¡°You shameless lout!¡± Snow¡¯s anger was shot through with humiliation. Unaware of the existence of the Knock-You-Up Eyes, she thought that Zu An was mocking her yet again. After all, she only knew of one way to get pregnant in this world.

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for 798 Rage points!

    ¡°So, it¡¯s alright for you to kill me, but I¡¯m shameless for trying to retaliate?¡± Zu An sneered coldly. ¡°Who¡¯s the one who sent you here? Speak!¡±

    Snow turned her face to the side. She tried to silently gather her ki and turn the tables with a single blow, but whatever ki she could gather would dissipate with each new wave ofbor pains.

    What¡¯s going on? This pain keepsing back, and it¡¯s even growing stronger!

    As a young maiden herself, there was no way for Snow to know that this was a unique sensation experienced by mothers in childbirth.

    ¡°You refuse to speak? I guess I¡¯ll tear off your clothes and parade you in front of everyone in Brightmoon City then!¡± said Zu An.

    ¡°How dare you!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for 444 Rage points!

 Chapter 73: Unexpected

    <h4>Chapter 73: Unexpected</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    From her experience of who Zu An was, she knew it waspletely possible for this despicable and shameless scum to follow through with his threat. Just thinking of the sheer humiliation she would suffer threw her into a panic.

    She opened her mouth to speak, but a new wave ofbor pains set in and reduced her words to pained moans.

    ¡°You think I dare not do so?¡± Zu An threatened her. ¡°Let¡¯s try it out then!¡± He ripped off her outer garment.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    He had searched her room once before, but all he¡¯d found were melon seeds and other tidbits. After having spent some time in the Chu Estate, he was certain that it wasn¡¯t Chu Zhongtian, Qin Wanru, or Chu Chuyan who was out for his life. That suggested that there was someone else behind Snow.

    Being under the gaze of an unknown enemy was simply too dangerous¡ªhe didn¡¯t even know who to put up his guard against! He was determined to figure out who the mastermind was today. He wouldn¡¯t be able to sleep in peace otherwise.

    Ripping off Snow¡¯s outer garment revealed her fair and slender arms. Even Zu An had to admit that her name was fitting for her appearance. Her skin really was as fair as snow

    ¡°I¡¯ll definitely kill... Aiyooo~¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for 998 Rage points!

    ¡°Are you still refusing to speak? I must tell you that there isn¡¯t that much left for me to take off... Wait a minute, are you doing this on purpose to seduce me?¡±

    Seduce you? To hell with you!

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for 1024 Rage points!

    Snow was on the verge of losing her mind. As if the inhuman pain radiating from her abdomen wasn¡¯t enough, she still had to suffer the torture of his words as well. Just wait until I recover! I¡¯ll surely rip your mouth off!

    ¡°If you still refuse to talk, I¡¯m going to rip open your clothes!¡± Zu An grabbed her cor with both hands, but stopped short of actually going through with his threat. All he wanted was to force her to reveal the mastermind who was trying to kill him.

    ¡°You¡¯re the one who forced my hand!¡± Snow¡¯s voice became chillingly cold, and her eyes began to shine with a strange green glow.

    Zu An felt his goosebumps rise. Without hesitation, he summoned Grandgale and instantly moved tens of meters away and out of the room, whipping up a furious wind.

    At the same time, Snow¡¯s hair suddenly began to grow, as if a seal had been removed. Strands of hair darted forth in Zu An¡¯s direction like vines.

    What the hell! What in the world is this? Zu An was horrified. It was as if the woman in front of him had suddenly turned into Medusa, and he felt a terrifying pressure.

    The force of her hair was strong enough even to pierce through the walls, tearing holes in them. Had he not summoned Grandgale to teleport away, he would have been utterly decimated there and then.

    Snow didn¡¯t expect that Zu An would have the means to escape so quickly. She moved swiftly to chase after him.

    ¡°Zu wastrel, I¡¯ll tear you into shreds... Aiyo~¡± Snow copsed by the doorway, clutching her abdomen.

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for 500 Rage points!

    Zu An swallowed in fear. Isn¡¯t this woman much too scary? She¡¯s actually able to withstand the pain of childbirth and attack me! If shees after me once more, I¡¯ll be in real danger!

    The sounds of a disturbance came from not too far away. Someone in the estate had finally sensed themotion and was rushing over.

    Conflict flickered across Snow¡¯s face for a moment. Instead of attacking him, she staggered toward the wall of the estate. As she reached it, she turned around and red at Zu An hatefully. ¡°I¡¯ll be back!¡±

    Then, she leaped over the wall and disappeared under the cover of night.

    Not long after Snow had made her escape, a figure flew over, her white skirt fluttering as she descended like a fairy¡ªChu Chuyan.

    She recoiled in horror as she caught sight of Zu An covered in blood. ¡°What happened? What¡¯s wrong with you?¡±

    Zu An finally heaved a sigh of relief. He shed her what he thought to be his most charming smile before fainting in her direction.

    He was already severely injured, but he had still been forced to deplete all of his ki in order to summon Grandgale and avoid Snow¡¯s ultimate attack. He had been hanging on by sheer will thus far, but Chu Chuyan¡¯s presence melted his remaining tension, causing him to pass out on the spot.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s first reaction toward Zu An falling into her embrace was to push him away, but she hesitated as she took in the extent of his injuries, which bought enough time for Zu An tond softly into her arms.

    She thought about how the man had tried simr tricks to take advantage of her in the past, and a furrow formed between her brows. If you¡¯re tricking me this time too...

    However, such thoughts were swiftly banished once she checked his condition with her ki. To her shock, Zu An¡¯s life was really hanging by a thread.

    ...

    When Zu An finally regained his consciousness, he found himself lying on a bed, surrounded by people. Other than Chu Chuyan, Chu Zhongtian, Qin Wanru, and those from the second branch and third branch were all present. Most of them were examining the marks on the wall caused by Snow¡¯sshing hair, clicking their tongues in amazement.

    It¡¯s fortunate that I kept Poisonous Prick back into the Keyboard. It would have been troublesome if one of them had found it.

    Zu An realized that he was bandaged from head to toe. It seems like I¡¯m constantly getting severely injured. This was definitely not the first time he had been bandaged like this.

    All of a sudden, he felt a warm handkerchief gently dabbing his face, wiping off his sweat. He tried to focus his gaze, and saw Chu Huanzhao sitting by the bedside, taking care of him with a look of serious concern.

    Zu An felt heartened and conflicted at the same time. He noticed Chu Chuyan standing not too far away, a nonchnt look on her face, as if she had nothing to do with all of this. Her attitude made it seem as if he were someone else¡¯s husband. In the end, the one who cared the most for him was still his sister-inw.

    Chu Huanzhao noticed that Zu An had opened his eyes and eximed in delight, ¡°Father, mother, big sister, he¡¯s awake!¡±

    Chu Zhongtian quickly rushed to his side and asked, ¡°How are you feeling?¡±

    Zu An took a look around before murmuring, ¡°It hurts~¡±

    Chu Zhongtian nodded in sympathy before adding, ¡°Chuyan used her ki to sustain you earlier, buying enough time for our physician to treat and bandage you. You were really in grave danger for a moment there.¡±

    Zu An was a little surprised to hear that. He took another look at Chu Chuyan, but her face remained as impassive as ever. It was impossible to tell that she was the one who had saved his life. But still, it looks like I¡¯ve misread her.

    Qin Wanru walked over and asked, ¡°What happened? How did yound yourself in such a state?¡±

    ¡°Snow tried to kill me earlier,¡± replied Zu An.

    He regretted not being able to force Snow to reveal the identity of her master, but his interactions with Chu Chuyan and her parents had given him confidence that it was unlikely to be one of them. Thus, he wasn¡¯t afraid to reveal the truth out loud.

    As he spoke, he watched the reactions of the others around him closely, hoping to discern something. Unfortunately, no one looked exceptionally suspicious to him.

    ¡°Snow?¡± Zu An¡¯s words shocked everyone, and all eyes turned to Chu Chuyan.

    Even Chu Huanzhao was panicked at that revtion. ¡°Brother-inw, how could my big sister possibly make an attempt on your life?¡±

    Zu An rolled his eyes in response. ¡°I¡¯m quite certain I said Snow instead of your big sister.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao could think of a fair number of retorts. Snow is my big sister¡¯s personal maidservant. Wouldn¡¯t everyone suspect her if you say it in such a pointed manner?

    Chu Chuyan frowned under the sudden scrutiny. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen Snow around for quite a while.¡±

    ¡°Men, bring Snow over!¡± Chu Zhongtian ordered.

    He wasn¡¯t going to assume Snow¡¯s guilt just because of what Zu An had said. After all, Snow was his daughter¡¯s personal maidservant. There was a need to investigate this matter properly.

    The servants soon returned with news. ¡°Snow is not in the estate at the moment. We aren¡¯t able to find her anywhere.¡±

    Chu Zhongtian¡¯s face darkened. It seemed Snow had managed to escape from the estate after being exposed.

    Qin Wanru sat down by the side of the bed. ¡°What happened earlier on? Fill us in on the details.¡± Her silk dress flowed along the gentle curves of her waist and buttocks, drawing nces from the leader of the second branch Chu Tiesheng.

    Zu An brieflyid out his encounter with Snow, though he wisely chose to conceal his abilities.

    The frown on Qin Wanru¡¯s forehead tightened as she heard the story. Chu Tiesheng remarked, ¡°Sounds like a load of nonsense. If Snow really intended to kill you, how could a piece of trash... I mean, how could you have possibly been able to fend her off?¡±

    Zu An shot him a searching nce. He wondered if Chu Tiesheng could be the one pulling Snow¡¯s strings. However, if that were really the case, it was foolish of him to speak up for Snow at a time like this.

    Chu Huanzhao stood forward and spoke on Zu An¡¯s behalf, ¡°My brother-inw is more formidable than you know. He suffered several strikes from my Wailing Whip without even letting out a cry, and he even subdued a group of third rank and fifth rank cultivators in the academy earlier today.¡±

    No one in the room believed in her words. It was simply too ridiculous. It was one thing for Zu An to be able to stand his ground against third rank cultivators, but she had roped in fifth rank cultivators as well!

    Third branch leader Chu Yuepo burst outughing. ¡°Lil¡¯ Zhao, you¡¯re simply being too kind! How could he possibly have the strength to deal with a fifth rank cultivator? Would anyone even believe that?¡±

    Chu Tiesheng nodded in agreement. ¡°Indeed. I see that you have been speaking up for Zu An all this while. I think that you should maintain an appropriate distance from him, so as not to encourage any rumors. This is especially important given how the two of you shared a bed during his wedding night...¡±

    Qin Wanru immediately red at Chu Tiesheng and bellowed, ¡°Watch your mouth! Are these words that should being out from the mouth of an elder? She¡¯s still young, and she¡¯s only speaking up for Zu An as a fellow family member. Don¡¯t try to twist her words with that dirty mind of yours!¡±

    Chu Tiesheng turned his head away in a huff, his cheeks coloring in embarrassment. ¡°I was just worried about the Chu n¡¯s reputation.¡±

    As much as Qin Wanru disliked Chu Tiesheng¡¯s words, she had to admit that there was some sense in what he had said. Her second daughter had indeed been too close to Zu An in recent days.

    She couldn¡¯t possibly have fallen in love with him, right?

    She dismissed the thought as quickly as it hade. How could that be possible? Zu An doesn¡¯t have a single quality that could win a woman¡¯s heart! How could Huanzhao possibly fall for him?

    Qin Wanru knew that her second daughter was a rowdy one, so Zu An¡¯s antics probably just looked interesting to her. After all, Chu Huanzhao hadn¡¯t had anyone to y with in the Chu Estate over the years.

    While Qin Wanru doubted that the two of them would ever strike up a serious rtionship, she resolved to find some time to talk to her second daughter about this. It was probably best if they kept some distance between them.

    Meanwhile, Chu Zhongtian had been examining the marks on the walls. ¡°Based on Zu An¡¯s earlier description, Snow should be a fifth rank wood element cultivator.¡± he dered in a deep voice.

    Wood element?

    Zu An recalled how Snow¡¯s hair had wreaked havoc around the room. For a moment, she had seemed like Medusa¡¯s incarnation.

    ¡°Fifth rank?¡± Chu Zhongtian¡¯s statement sparked a hugemotion.

    None of them could have imagined that obedient littless who was often caught snacking on melon seeds was actually a fifth rank cultivator.

 Chapter 74: I Need to Become Poor

    <h4>Chapter 74: I Need to Be Poor</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°How could he still be alive if a fifth rank cultivator wanted him dead?¡± Chu Tiesheng remarked contemptuously.

    This question was shared by everyone in the room. Seeing that everyone¡¯s eyes were on him, Zu An responded slowly, ¡°Her stomach suddenly started hurting halfway through, or else I would really have been dead.¡±

    Hurting?

    Everyone was stunned. They hadn¡¯t expected such a childish excuse. For a fifth rank cultivator to fall victim to a stomach ache in the midst of a battle and fail to kill a mere mortal¡ªno, someone even weaker than an ordinary mortal¡ªwas simply inconceivable.

    Doubt was stered on everyone¡¯s faces, except for Chu Chuyan¡¯s. ¡°I don¡¯t think he¡¯s lying.¡±

    The other n members looked at her as if she¡¯d lost her mind.

    Qin Wanru frowned, wondering if her daughter was speaking up for Zu An out of consideration for their marriage.

    ¡°I realized some time ago that there was something wrong with Snow. She hid it well, but after all the time we have spent together, it was inevitable that she would let things slip now and then. I kept it a secret so that I could investigate who was directing her.¡±

    Her words were slow and unhurried, but her leisurely andposed manner seemed appropriate to the situation at hand.

    She continued, ¡°However, I don¡¯t understand why she would make a move on you.¡± She turned a questioning look at Zu An.

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand it either,¡± replied Zu An innocently. Had I known that you weren¡¯t the one she was working for, I would have exposed her right from the start. I wouldn¡¯t have had to feel so jittery around her for so long, then.

    Her words surprised those present, but also cleared up their doubts about Zu An¡¯s story. They were amazed by how well Snow had concealed her identity, and were puzzled as to who the mastermind behind her could be.

    Chu Zhongtian silenced the buzz in the room with a cough, then turned to Zu An. ¡°You should recuperate from your injuries first. I¡¯ll assign a few personal guards to protect you. We can¡¯t allow such an incident to happen again.¡±

    ¡°Personal guards? How personal are they going to be?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s mind drifted of its own ord to the beautiful bodyguards he had seen in dramas in his previous life.

    Chu Zhongtian calmly gestured to the buff men standing at attention by the doorway, shattering whatever unrealistic thoughts had formed in Zu An¡¯s mind. He left Zu An with some consoling words, then gestured to the others to leave the room with him and to let Zu An get some rest.

    Chu Huanzhao stayed on, reluctant to leave. She was bugging Zu An over the money he had won in the casino, and was aggrieved that he hadn¡¯t brought her along for something that fun.

    Qin Wanru had already walked out of the room, but then noticed her second daughter was conspicuously absent. She turned back around and saw Chu Huanzhao acting chummy with Zu An. Her frown returned and she bellowed, ¡°Huanzhao, let¡¯s go!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Wanru for 3 Rage points! ... 3... 3...

    Zu An was amused by how hot-tempered his mother-inw was. Are you afraid that I would steal your second daughter too? What are you so worried about? Is it because I¡¯m too good looking?

    Chu Huanzhao reluctantly pulled herself away from the bedside at her mother¡¯s insistence. Chu Chuyan was thest one to leave, a brooding look on her face.

    Once everyone was gone, Zu An took a look at the Rage points he had earned¡ª6,929. Of course, most of them had been from Snow.

    He didn¡¯t rush into drawing the lottery this time around. He knew, based on previous experience, that he would not be able to draw anything worthwhile with such a paltry amount of Rage points. It was probably best to wait until he had saved up more. Perhaps it might even improve his luck.

    Anyway, given that he had just drawn an item in hisst sitting, there was no way he would draw another one so soon. At least that was what his gambler¡¯s instinct told him.

    Thinking of this made him deeply regret using the Knock-You-Up Eyes so quickly. It¡¯s all Snow¡¯s fault! I really need to give her a good walloping in the future!

    This brought him to another extremely important question¡ªhis wealth. He was far too rich at the moment for his own safety!

    How much was seven-and-a-half million silver taels? Even considering the whole wide world, there were probably fewer than a handful of people who were richer than him.

    Unknown to Zu An, the only reason why the situation had turned out the way it had was because the Silverhook Casino had intentionally removed the betting limits in order to reel him in. Had it been any other customer, the casino would have prohibited such a huge bet on the oues with high payouts.

    Ultimately, Zu An¡¯s reputation as a wastrel yed to his advantage. The casino thought that it could take advantage of him, but they had ended up doing themselves in instead.

    Coming back to the present and to Zu An. The earlier fight with Snow had highlighted a major consequence of his victory at the casino¡ªhe was no longer able to use the Heiress¡¯ Ball of Delights!

    One of the requirements of the Heiress¡¯ Ball of Delights was that his assant had to be a woman richer than him. Now that he had a promissory note worth seven-and-a-half million silver taels on him, there was no way of satisfying this requirement.

    The loss of this trump card could prove fatal. As important as money was to him, he treasured his life far more.

    If he had been able to cash out the seven-and-a-half million silver taels, he could have recruited a group of top-notch experts to protect him. Unfortunately, all he had was a promise written on a piece of paper, whichplicated matters significantly.

    He had to think of a way to make himself poorer!

    While it was unlikely for him to be able to recover the full amount of the debt, the note itself still had value. Just throwing it away was not an option, as he would lose the massive amount of leverage he had over the Plum Blossom Sect. It would be best if he could get something out of it somehow.

    Zu An racked his brain for ideas. He thought of ways in which characters in the movies squandered their money. He came up with plenty of them, but shot them down one after another. Most of the ideas were impossible to execute in this world.

    As he stressed over this problem, a shadow suddenly loomed over him. A hunchbacked figure had materialized by the side of his bed, giving him the shock of his life. His head jerked up, but it was Old Mi.

    ¡°Elder, you keep appearing out of nowhere. One of these days, I¡¯ll really suffer a heart attack.¡±

    As Zu An said those words, he nced at the doorway discreetly. Chu Zhongtian should have assigned some guards to protect him. How did they still allow Old Mi to slip in?

    ¡°Don¡¯t bother looking. Those children can¡¯t possibly sense my presence,¡± said Old Mi, his face carrying a hint of smugness.

    Zu An¡¯s expression turned bitter. ¡°It looks like the Chu Estate is reallycking in talent. I heard them talking about how their guards were carefully selected but groomed, but it seems like it was all talk.¡±

    Old Mi sniffed at Zu An¡¯s grumbling. ¡°What do you know? Just because they aren¡¯t able to stop me doesn¡¯t mean that they are helpless against other intruders. Those guards are actually quite decent. They would be enough to ensure your safety in Brightmoon City. Even if Snow returns, she won¡¯t be able to harm you as long as you are under their protection. At the very least, they¡¯ll be enough to buy time for the arrival of reinforcements.¡±

    Zu An sighed in relief. Finally, he could reap the benefits of having powerful backers. This is how it¡¯s supposed to be. As a young master of a ducal n, I shouldn¡¯t need to deal with my own enemies personally. I shouldmand an army of guards ready to wallop anyone who stands in my way!

    ¡°I hadn¡¯t expected something to happen right after I left. You need to be more careful in the future. Don¡¯t go around causing trouble,¡± instructed Old Mi.

    Zu An¡¯s heart warmed. He didn¡¯t know Old Mi had been so concerned about his safety. ¡°Thank you for your concern, elder. I¡¯ll be more careful in the future.¡±

    Old Mi nodded in reply, and shuffled over to feel Zu An¡¯s pulse. ¡°Your injuries are extensive, but it¡¯s fortunate that you were treated promptly, and there doesn¡¯t seem to be any permanent damage. Also, it seems like your cultivation has risen quite a bit due to this encounter too.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An hadn¡¯t been able to check on his own condition earlier. A quick inspection showed that the second formation had beenpletely filled, and the third formation was around one-third full. He had reached the third step of the third rank.

    He had to eat fifty-eight Ki Fruits just to fill the second formation by two-thirds, and the third formation was bound to require more¡ªto be exact, a hundred and forty-four of them. That equated to 150,000 Rage points or so.

    So far, the most he had earned in a single setting was around 60,000 to 70,000 Rage points, and that was when he had the benefit of a crowd around him. Such opportunities were rare, and he didn¡¯t have the confidence to pull them off often.

    On the other hand, the injuries he suffered from fighting with Snow had, through the effects of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, raised his cultivation by the equivalent of eighty Ki Fruits¡ªequivalent to roughly 80,000 Rage points. That was more than the total amount of Rage points he had earned in a single event previously.

    Of course, using such a situation to raise his cultivation was like walking on a tightrope between two tall mountains¡ªit was simply too dangerous! All it took was a moment of carelessness for him to fall to his death!

    This was real life, not some video game. He couldn¡¯t just set a save point and restart if things went awry. Relying on the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra to raise his cultivation was asking for trouble. At the very least, he wouldn¡¯t resort to it unless he was really desperate.

    Old Mi ryed some additional instructions to Zu An before leaving the room. Oddly enough, even though Zu An¡¯s eyes had been fixed on the frail old man all this time, he realized that he wasn¡¯t sure how thetter had even walked out of the room. He was right to treat Old Mi as an unfathomable expert.

    Zu An was left alone in the room once more. He turned his full attention back toward how to squander off the fortune he had just earned.

    ...

    Meanwhile, in a courtyard several li away, the night was split by the sound of a teacup shattering on the ground.

    A beautiful figure rolled around restlessly on her bed, grabbing her nket tightly. Her hair was matted with sweat, and her maidenly face was contorted in pain. ¡°Zu An, I swear that I¡¯m going to take your life if that¡¯s thest thing I¡¯ll do!¡±

    This woman was none other than Snow.

    She hadn¡¯t dared to return to her rooms in the Chu Estate. She knew that her actions had rmed the members of the Chu n, and the pain in her abdomen was overwhelming. Instead, she fled to a residence she had prepared beforehand.

    She had been so confident that the assassination would go smoothly, but somehow that scum had managed to best her! What sorcery did that bastard cast on me to make me suffer such unbearable pain?

    She half-suspected that she¡¯d unknowingly sustained a hidden injury. It was hard to believe that Zu An had the ability to pull off something like this.

    Regardless of the true cause, the fact remained that she had failed, and it was safe to assume that her identity as a spy in the Chu n had been revealed. She had put an unimaginable amount of effort into infiltrating the Chu n, but she¡¯d ended up failing her mission thanks to a mere ant. Her frustration at this turn of events drove her to the brink of insanity.

    After what seemed like an eternity, the unbearable pain suddenly vanished without a trace. It wasn¡¯t a gradual reduction, but an instantaneous disappearance.

    Just a second ago, Snow had been writhing in pain, but in the next moment, the pain had miraculously subsided.

    She initially thought that it was a mere hallucination, but when the pain didn¡¯t return after some time, her heart was finally put at ease.

    So, what in the world was that?

    Snow rose from her bed and wiped off the sweat trickling down her face. She felt incredibly fatigued, and her clothes werepletely soaked.

    She quickly grabbed a new set of clothes and changed into it. She reminded herself to visit a physician for a thorough check-up, just in case she had been inflicted with some sort of weird disease.

    Right now, however, she had something more important to attend to. Once she was done changing, she hurriedly left the residence.

    ...

    In the headquarters of the Plum Blossom Sect, Mei Chaofeng¡¯s eyes widened in astonishment after listening to Snow¡¯s story. ¡°What? The assassination failed even though you had personally made a move?¡±

 Chapter 75: The Treatment

    <h4>Chapter 75: The Treatment</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Snow¡¯s face reddened. Failing to deal with someone of Zu An¡¯s caliber was utterly shameful. ¡°I¡¯m still not sure what happened, but I suddenly felt an unbearable pain in my abdomen. That fellow is simply too lucky to have encountered me in such a state.¡±

    As she said those words, she recalled that this wasn¡¯t the first time she¡¯d been done in by Zu An.

    ¡°Yes, that fellow does have oddly good luck,¡± replied Mei Chaofeng. Could someone who had won seven-and-a-half million silver taels from his casino in two rounds possibly have bad luck?

    Women really can¡¯t be trusted. Snow acts as if she owns the world, but she messed everything up as soon as she got down to business. If I¡¯d known she was so untrustworthy, I would never have written out the promissory note for seven-and-a-half million silver taels!

    It was his faith in her ability to easily retrieve the note that made Mei Chaofeng ede to writing it out in the first ce. Who could have known that Snow would actually fail in her mission, and leave a huge, steaming pile for him to clean up?

    A murderous glint shed across Mei Chaofeng¡¯s eyes. ¡°It looks like I have to personally make a move then!¡±

    The seven-and-a-half million silver taels¡¯ debt was a curse that constantly gued him no matter what he was doing. He was constantly worried aboutplications that could arise from it. Things would remain manageable if the note stayed with Zu An, but what if Zu An were to pass it on to someone else?

    Snow was quick to advise him, ¡°You mustn¡¯t act recklessly. After the recent incidents, the Chu n would surely tighten its security and assign some personal guards to protect Zu An. Even if you make a move, the chances of sess would be slim at best.¡±

    ¡°What should I do then?¡± Mei Chaofeng was exasperated. It was still this woman¡¯s fault for rming the Chu n. ¡°We can¡¯t touch him in the Chu Estate, and it¡¯s even more impossible in the academy. In fact, I suspect that Plum Blossom Twelve¡¯s death might have been the doing of the academy.¡±

    He suddenly recalled Plum Blossom Thirteen¡¯s report that Zu An had been chatting amicably with Shang Liuyu in the gazebo. He couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that there was more to that meeting, especially considering everything that had happened recently. He couldn¡¯t wrap his head around how a piece of trash like Zu An managed to obtain the help of so many distinguished individuals.

    A smile crept onto Snow¡¯s fair face. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll arrange something soon. It won¡¯t take us long to drive him out of the academy.¡±

    Mei Chaofeng knew that Snow was a special envoy dispatched to Brightmoon City by the young master, and she had ess to many resources if required. He did not doubt her words.

    ¡°As long as you can get that scum expelled from the academy, I¡¯ll personally make a move to ensure his death.¡± After all that had happened, Mei Chaofeng dared not delegate the matter to his subordinates anymore. To prevent further mishaps, he had to deal with this problem personally.

    Snow was relieved by his deration. ¡°With Sect Master Mei personally making a move, that fellow¡¯s days are numbered!¡±

    She was confident she could deal with Zu An by herself, but the excruciating abdominal pain she had suffered earlier had left her traumatized. It was an experience she never wanted to go through ever again. Mei Chaofeng¡¯s decision to take a personal hand in this was truly a blessing.

    ...

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The following morning, Zu An woke to the sight of a beaming Cheng Shouping standing right beside his bed. He recoiled in shock, then asked warily, ¡°What are you up to?¡±

    ¡°Young master, Master has told me to inform you that you don¡¯t have to head to the academy today. You may stay at home to recuperate from your injuries,¡± Cheng Shouping replied, his smile growing more delighted.

    Zu An nodded and asked, ¡°Is that why you have that silly look on your face?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just feeling happy on young master¡¯s behalf. It looks like Master and Madam regard you very highly. They even sent professional guards to your side in order to ensure your safety. This is a special treatment that even the young miss doesn¡¯t enjoy!¡±

    As Zu An became more valued in the eyes of the Chu n, Cheng Shouping, as Zu An¡¯s studypanion, would be pulled up well. It looks like a brilliant future awaits me. I¡¯ll be the most respected among the servants, and the maids will be desperate to gain my favor. Even Snow...

    Thinking about Snow, Cheng Shouping¡¯s smile suddenly froze. ¡°Young master, was it really Snow who injured youst night? It¡¯s hard to imagine that such an adorable girl could actually be so ferocious.¡±

    Zu An red impatiently at Cheng Shouping and berated him. ¡°Do you think that I¡¯d lie to you about that? My father-inw and my wife have already investigated the matter, and they concluded that Snow had infiltrated the Chu n with ulterior motives. She¡¯s serving another master. Hm? It can¡¯t be that you have some sort of special rtionship with her, right?¡±

    Cheng Shouping stiffened. He hurriedly waved his hands in denial. ¡°No no no, please don¡¯t misunderstand. I ampletely unrted to Snow. I knew that she wasn¡¯t a good person right from the start. Despite being the First Miss¡¯ maidservant, she dressed herself up and threw tantrums as though she were the mistress of the estate. It looks like I was right after all; she was indeed a spy. If I were to see her on the street in the future, I¡¯ll surely bring her before you so that you can punish her ordingly!¡±

    Zu An was shocked by Cheng Shouping¡¯s ability to change his tune faster than even the most experienced of opera singers. If you really met Snow, all she would need to do is to toss her hair gently, and you¡¯d be a goner. Tsk, you¡¯re really all say.

    ¡°Ahem ahem~¡±

    A light coughing came from outside. Zu An raised his head, and a smile broke out on his face as he saw Chu Chuyan standing by the doorway. ¡°My wife dotes on me the most. She¡¯s the first one in the entire estate to visit me personally.¡±

    Cheng Shouping eyes were filled with indignant hurt. Am I not a human to you? Of course, he dared not put himself on the same pedestal as the First Miss, so he quickly stepped aside and invited Chu Chuyan in. ¡°First Miss, please.¡±

    Chu Chuyan stared at the two of them, aplicated look on her face. She¡¯d heard the conversation between the two of them loud and clear. Birds of the same feather do flock together.

    She did not enter the room, but spoke from where she was. ¡°Divine Physician Ji will being over to treat youter on. He¡¯s an entric person, so I came to warn you to restrain yourself in front of him. Make sure that you don¡¯t offend him with your words.¡±

    From the time they had spent together, she¡¯d concluded that Zu An was a troublemaker through and through. It was as if his vile mouth existed for the sake of infuriating everyone around him. She wouldn¡¯t have cared if it were anyone else, but Divine Physician Ji was no ordinary man. She was worried that Zu An would create a scene in front of Divine Physician Ji, and came to offer him a piece of advice.

    ¡°Divine Physician Ji? That¡¯s great!¡±

    Zu An was stunned for a moment before exploding in joy. He had thought of slipping out to look for Divine Physician Ji, just to find out how preparations for the treatment of ¡®little Zu An¡¯ wereing along. However, the personal guards assigned to him were, in every sense of the word, personal. There was no way to shake them off, and he coulde up with no legitimate excuse for him to leave Chu Estate.

    Just as his frustrations mounted, the Chu n had actually invited Divine Physician Ji over for him.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s mouth dropped open slightly, then she nodded. ¡°Ah, I nearly forgot that you¡¯re acquainted with Ji Xiaoxi. There should be no problem then.¡±

    She had already heard about what had transpired in the academy.

    ¡°Honey, Ji Xiaoxi and I are only friends. There¡¯s nothing going on between us.¡±

    ¡°Hm? Why are you rifying that to me?¡± Chu Chuyan was baffled.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to be shy,¡± Zu An said with a chuckle. ¡°An amazing man like me is bound to attract the attention of women no matter where I go. But, honey, there¡¯s no need to get jealous. I swear that you¡¯re the only one I like. I¡¯d never do anything to let you down!¡±

    Chu Chuyan stared at him, speechless, and Cheng Shouping mirrored her expression.

    ¡°Speaking of which, honey, were you the one who specially invited Divine Physician Ji over to care for me? Ahh, my wife is really the best!¡± Zu An walked over and seized the moment to hold her hands.

    Chu Chuyan left the room, her face livid. I should never have dropped by this fellow¡¯s room!

    Cheng Shouping stared at Zu An, aplicated look in his eyes. Finally, he muttered, ¡°Young master, now I understand how you were able to marry the First Miss.¡±

    ¡°Is that even a question at all? It¡¯s all due to my charming looks!¡± Zu An boasted smugly.

    Cheng Shouping shook his head. ¡°No, it¡¯s because you¡¯re thick-skinned.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes narrowed sharply. ¡°Oh? Are you done copying the family rules?¡±

    Cheng Shouping immediately lost his bravado. He put on a fawning smile and replied, ¡°Ah... Hahaha, not yet. I¡¯m still on my break.¡±

    ¡°Break, my ass! Hurry up and finish copying them!¡± Zu An bellowed. ¡°I already gave you the money. You were the one who chose to be a scrooge and not hire any helping hands!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll head over right now...¡± replied Cheng Shouping hurriedly. The young master is not just thick-skinned, he¡¯s narrow-minded too. I must pay heed never to offend him.

    Shortly after Cheng Shouping left the room grumbling, the butler, Hong Zhong, showed Ji Dengtu into Zu An¡¯s room.

    ¡°Divine Physician Ji, this way please!¡±

    Hong Zhong¡¯s austere manner was highlighted by how he dressed. His hair wasbed neatly, without a single strand out of ce, and his clothes were free of wrinkles. All these gave him an imposing presence.

    At the moment, though, he was conducting himself humbly and respectfully.

    Zu An was reminded of Chu Chuyan¡¯s personal visit to offer her warning. From the looks of it, this licentious physician was really quite a big deal.

    Hong Zhong began introducing the two men to one another. ¡°Young master, this is Divine Physician Ji. He boasts incredible medical skills, so please do not offend him.¡± He bowed toward the divine physician. ¡°Divine Physician Ji, this is young master Zu An of our Chu n. He was severely injured by a fifth rank cultivatorst night. We¡¯ve already treated him at the manorst night, but we¡¯d like for you to take another look, just to be safe.¡±

    ¡°Oh~¡± Divine Physician Ji''s reply was perfunctory. He stroked his beard and put on an arrogant air. However, when he finally caught sight of Zu An on the bed, his eyes immediately widened in astonishment.

    Hong Zhong was thrown off by his reaction, and he asked hurriedly, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Divine Physician Ji? Is there a problem here?¡±

    Divine Physician Ji coughed lightly to conceal his surprise before replying, ¡°I¡¯m going to examine him now, and I need some privacy.¡±

    ¡°Yes, please go ahead. We¡¯ll be right outside, so feel free to give us a call if you have any need for us.¡± Hong Zhong knew that Divine Physician Ji had many rules when it came to treating a patient, so he didn¡¯t enquire further. With a wave of his hand, he gestured for the other servants in the room to leave.

    Once they were all gone, Divine Physician Ji walked over and sat beside the bed. He pped his hand down on Zu An¡¯s thigh and eximed, ¡°Not bad! I didn¡¯t think that you would be able to escape from a fifth rank cultivator. You sure are a bag of surprises, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    His physical greeting had been none too gentle, and Zu An gasped in pain.

    Zu An had a strong feeling that Divine Physician Ji had done it on purpose. Didn¡¯t I earn just a few silver taels from your daughter back then? Do you really need to go this far?

    ¡°It was just luck. She fled in a hurry when she noticed the experts in the estate rushing over. I only survived by a hair¡¯s breadth,¡± said Zu An almost truthfully. There was no way he would reveal his trump cards to others.

    Divine Physician Ji nodded in understanding. ¡°Dumb Chu is an eighth rank cultivator after all. It¡¯s normal for any assassin to fear him.¡±

    The way Divine Physician Ji addressed Chu Zhongtian as ¡®Dumb Chu¡¯ made Zu An wonder if there was some conflict between the two of them. Considering that perverted request Divine Physician Ji had made, could it be that... he had pursued Qin Wanru in his earlier years, only to have Chu Zhongtian beat him to it?

    That¡¯s not right. If that was the case, why would the Chu n invite him over to treat him?

    Forget it, I will have nothing to do with whatever grudges they hold. What¡¯s important right now is that one little matter.

    ¡°Divine Physician Ji, have you found a cure yet?¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you go out to the streets and find out who I am? How could it be impossible for me to cure you?¡± Divine Physician Ji scoffed. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve brought it here!¡±

    Zu An looked out of the doorway, and saw Butler Hong and the other guards standing not too far away. He was a little hesitant to talk about this in the presence of so many outsiders.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Divine Physician Ji assured him, ¡°they won¡¯t be able to hear what we¡¯re saying.¡±

 Chapter 76: Evanescent Lotus

    <h4>Chapter 76: Evanescent Lotus</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An was stunned. What rank is this fellow at? From the way he speaks, he seems quite incredible. He must be pretty strong.

    However, the matter concerning ¡®little Zu An¡¯ was more important at the moment. So, he struggled out of his bed and rummaged through his cupboard. At the bottom of a pile of clothes, he took out a silk dudou. It was the one which he had ¡®borrowed¡¯ from Snow¡¯s room the other day.

    After Snow¡¯s tant attempt on his life, he had no qualms giving away her personal possessions to this perverted physician.

    Divine Physician Ji was impressed that Zu An still had the strength to get off his bed. ¡°You have quite a special constitution. Despite being so severely injured, you¡¯re still able to move about on your own. It looks like you have managed to fool the entire Chu n.¡±

    Zu An rolled his eyes. Of course. The bliss I will experience for the rest of my life hinges on this. For that, I would have crawled my way over even if I couldn¡¯t walk.

    ¡°Here, I got the thing you wanted. You should be able to treat me now, right?¡±

    Divine Physician Ji casually epted the dudou, but after taking a closer look, he frowned suddenly. ¡°Whose is this?¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°It¡¯s Qin Wanru¡¯s.¡± Zu An knew that Divine Physician Ji was no fool. If he were to say that the dudou belonged to Shang Liuyu or whoever Qiu Honglei was, thetter would surely doubt him. After all, there was no way he could have gotten his hands on their personal possessions. The only name he could realistically get away with was Qin Wanru.

    I¡¯m sorry, mother-inw, but for the sake of the happiness of your daughter¡¯s marriage, I¡¯ll have to wrong you this once.

    Divine Physician Ji narrowed his eyes doubtfully. ¡°Are you sure you didn¡¯t buy this off the street to fool me?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s heart skipped a beat, but he kept his nervousness from showing on his face. He bravely doubled down on the lie. ¡°Look at the material. Do you think that it¡¯s possible to buy such well-made goods off the street so easily?¡±

    Divine Physician Ji carefully examined the dudou before nodding in agreement. ¡°I guess you¡¯re right. The material is of fine quality, and this is indeed something that came from the Chu n.¡±

    Zu An was shocked into stillness. This fellow can actually tell whether or not a piece of underwear came from the Chu n? You pervert! Just how many dudous have you stolen from the Chu n over the years for you to be able to differentiate them from the rest?

    ¡°I did what you asked. It¡¯s time for you to fulfill your end of the promise.¡± Zu An looked at Divine Physician Ji expectantly.

    This matter was the overriding concern of his right now.

    Divine Physician Ji hugged the dudou to his breast. ¡°I¡¯ve found a way to remove the seal, but I¡¯m stillcking the main medicinal herb.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face darkened immediately. ¡°Are you toying with me? I¡¯ve already brought you the item you needed, but now you¡¯re telling me that you aren¡¯t ready yet?¡±

    ¡°Do you think that it¡¯s that easy to release the Great Yin-Yang Pulse-Severing Palm? Even with my skills, I still had to look up over a hundred ancient manuals before I managed to find a reliable way to resolve your issue. The form to forge the Spirit Root Unsealing Pill requires eighty-one rare medicinal herbs, and I¡¯ve already found eighty of them for you. However, thest item on the list is proving particrly difficult toe by,¡± replied Divine Physician Ji.

    In truth, he had exaggerated matters quite a bit. Most of the medicinal herbs weremon ones that could be easily bought from the local apothecary. The key to the treatment was actually the form itself, which fused the essences of thesemon herbs in an ingenious manner to create something incredible.

    He hadn¡¯t expected Zu An toplete his mission so quickly, and being caught off-guard was what drove him to concoct such an borate story. However, the part about himcking the main ingredient was true.

    Spirit Root Unsealing Pill?

    Zu An¡¯s eyelids twitched at the name. Wow, its name sure is straightforward, huh? ¡°What¡¯s the main ingredient you¡¯recking? No matter how much it costs, I¡¯ll buy it for you!¡±

    He had a hundred and fifty thousand silver taels with him at the moment, as well as a promissory note worth seven-and-a-half million silver taels. With such wealth, he could definitely be considered a tycoon.

    Yet, Divine Physician Ji shook his head and said, ¡°You won¡¯t be able to buy the herb even if you have the money.¡±

    ¡°What is it called? I don¡¯t believe that there¡¯s anything in the world that can¡¯t be bought with money!¡± eximed Zu An anxiously.

    ¡°The herb is called the Evanescent Lotus. It¡¯s said to only flower once every thousand years, and its petals are rumored to possess the ability to raise a person¡¯s cultivation by a whole step. Do you think that something as precious as that can be valued with money?¡± Divine Physician Ji shot the nouveau-riche Zu An a disdainful look.

    ¡°Something like that exists in the world?¡± Zu An was stunned. ¡°That doesn¡¯t make sense. There should be a difference in the amount of ki needed for a high-rank cultivator to make a breakthrough aspared to a low-rank cultivator, right?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what makes it so mystical,¡± replied Divine Physician Ji. ¡°It seems to possess some sort of supernatural power. The effects of the flower petals don''t conform to the established rules. Regardless of whether one is a high-level cultivator or a low-level cultivator, a flower petal can indeed raise one¡¯s cultivation by a whole step.¡±

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, shouldn¡¯t cultivators keep the flower petal until they¡¯re strong before consuming it? No one would be so foolish as to waste such a precious treasure when they¡¯re still weaker,¡± asked Zu An.

    ¡°What you said isn¡¯t wrong, but the world isn¡¯t always that convenient. Many cultivators die prematurely before reaching their peak, and the items they stockpile often end up benefiting others instead,¡± said Divine Physician Ji. ¡°It¡¯s a dangerous world we live in, and there are many stumbling blocks along the path of cultivation. What¡¯s most important is still the present.¡±

    Zu An was surprised to hear those words. Is the world really that dangerous?

    ¡°Besides, the Evanescent Lotus only flowers for several hours. Once that window is missed, the lotus will wither and lose its miraculous effects. So, anyone who obtains it would always consume it right away instead of saving it for the future,¡± added Divine Physician Ji.

    ¡°Couldn¡¯t you have said that right from the start?¡± Zu An scoffed disdainfully. ¡°Then where can we find the Evanescent Lotus? Aren¡¯t there merchant associations out there who could get you whatever you needed for the right price?¡±

    In the cultivation novels he had read in his previous life, there would always be some mysterious merchant association that could acquire anything as long as you had the money. These mysterious merchant associations would often be incredibly powerful, and were not beholden to any other power.

    ¡°There are indeed such merchant associations,¡± replied Divine Physician Ji. However, he shook his head and continued, ¡°The problem is that the Evanescent Lotus is simply too rare. It only flowers once in a thousand years. Even I have only read about it in old records. I haven¡¯t seen it in person before. It¡¯s highly unlikely that merchant associations would have them either.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s brow furrowed immediately. ¡°Wait a moment. You¡¯ve never seen it before? Then how do you know that the treatment will work? Is this a scam? Are you trying to get me to find the Evanescent Lotus for you so that you can use it to raise your cultivation?¡±

    Divine Physician Ji flew into a fit of rage. ¡°Go out into the streets and ask around then! I, Ji Dengtu, am the very hallmark of professionalism. Do I look like the kind of person who would do something like that?¡±

    The image of Divine Physician Ji secretly flipping through an erotic magazine came straight to mind, and he nodded subconsciously in response. ¡°You do.¡±

    Divine Physician Ji sputtered, choked with anger. In the end, he turned his head away with an indignant sniff. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have bothered with treating you if Xiaoxi hadn¡¯t begged me to help you! I¡¯ll be frank with you, the Spirit Root Unsealing Pill is something I came up with after browsing through countless old records. I might have never seen the Evanescent Lotus in person, but there are others who have. Combining the notes they had left behind with my sharp intuition for medicine was what helped mee up with the form.¡±

    ¡°In other words, this pill hasn¡¯t been proven to work yet?¡± asked Zu An sharply.

    Divine Physician Ji was really fuming this time around. ¡°You have no trust in my medicinal skills? If that¡¯s the case, you should find someone else whom you trust instead!¡±

    Then, he turned around and stormed off.

    Zu An lurched forward to grab his arm and apologized sheepishly. ¡°It was just a passing remark. Divine Physician Ji, why would I ever doubt you? Here, I¡¯ve prepared a small gift for you. Please quell your anger.¡±

    He secretly slipped the older man a small booklet.

    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Divine Physician Ji shot a disdainful nce at the booklet, not bothering to hide his indifference.

    Zu An gave him a secretive smile and nudged him lightly. ¡°Just take a look.¡±

    Ever since he¡¯d seen Divine Physician Ji getting bought by an erotic magazine, he had prepared one of his own just in case. There was no harm in getting close to Divine Physician Ji, especially since his expertise was needed to treat ¡®little Zu An¡¯.

    Divine Physician Ji disinterestedly flipped the booklet open, and was greeted with these words written on the first page: Everyone has their own misfortunes...

    It seemed perfectly nd, but as he read on, his breathing began to hasten. He swiftly kept the booklet into his robes. It¡¯s too wasteful to read good material like this early in the day. I¡¯ll take my time to slowly appreciate itter at night.

    ¡°You¡¯re quite a talented one,d!¡± Divine Physician Ji patted Zu An shoulders with an approving nod.

    Zu An sighed in relief and chuckled gleefully inside. You¡¯re already impressed with just this much? Hah! You¡¯ll be floored by the huge collection I have stored in my mind right now. People in this world reallyck good entertainment.

    ¡°Where did you manage to get such good stuff?¡± asked Divine Physician Ji secretively.

    ¡°I heard it from a traveling monk.¡± Zu An dared not im credit for it. He¡¯d have to hide his face in public if word ever got out that he had written such stuff down.

    ¡°That monk sure is...¡± Divine Physician Ji bobbed his head in awe. I guess monks haven¡¯t been spending their days meditating in vain after all. I sure have underestimated them. ¡°For a moment, I thought that you were the one who wrote this story. I would have been truly impressed if you were able to write such an exciting story despite your equipment being nonfunctional.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face darkened. If not for the fact that I still need you to treat my affliction, I¡¯d have made sure to squeeze every single Rage point out of your miserable body!

    ¡°If the Evanescent Lotus is really as rare as you say, wouldn¡¯t that mean my case is hopeless?¡± Zu An felt his heart falling into the abyss of despair.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to be so glum. Since you¡¯ve offered me something good, I¡¯ll give you a clue.¡± Ji Dengtu stroked his beard leisurely, putting on the air of an expert.

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯d be deeply grateful if you could offer me some guidance.¡± Zu An almost couldn¡¯t stand his own subservient attitude.

    ¡°I recently heard rumors that a stalk of Evanescent Lotus has been found in the Ursae Dungeon. Whether you¡¯ll be able toy your hands on it or not, would depend on your own capability,¡± replied Ji Dengtu.

    ¡°Ursae Dungeon?¡± Zu An was dumbfounded. He had no idea what that was.

    Ji Dengtu frowned. ¡°Aren¡¯t you from Brightmoon Academy? Why don¡¯t you know about it?¡±

    ¡°Am I supposed to know everything just because I¡¯m from Brightmoon Academy? I only enrolled there two days ago!¡± Zu An retorted hotly.

    Ji Dengtu admitted that what Zu An said made sense. ¡°As you can imagine, there are many formidable cultivators out in the world. Over time, they have conquered newnds and expanded human territories. However, the world is vast, and there are still many secrets that we have yet to uncover.

    ¡°Dungeons can be found in every prefecture. No one knows where these dungeons came from, but their existence has been traced back to the oldest human records. It¡¯s almost as if they have been there since the creation of the world.¡± There was an expectant look in Ji Dengtu¡¯s eyes as he spoke.

    ¡°Rumor has it that these dungeons are small worlds created by ancient deities. Some of these small worlds look just like our world. However, there are also those which are fraught with danger but also contain possible rewards.¡±

    Zu An nodded. Basically, they¡¯re the same as the dungeons in games, right?

    ¡°Over time, most of these dungeons fell under the control of the royal court, and the court now uses them to nurture new batches of loyal cultivators. In other words, only the students of official cultivator academies have the right to enter these dungeons,¡± Ji Dengtu concluded.

 Chapter 77: The Right to Enter Dungeons

    <h4>Chapter 77: The Right to Enter Dungeons</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Are you serious! The royal court is actually that dominant?¡± eximed Zu An.

    He had no notion of the royal court¡¯s power thus far, but Divine Physician Ji had just given him some idea of just how powerful the Great Zhou Dynasty was.

    From his description, dungeons were ces that were likely filled with fortuitous encounters and treasures, and seemed the perfect ces for cultivators to significantly raise their prowess. Yet, the royal court had been able to monopolize these invaluable resources.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Such an overbearing move would surely have been met with severe objections from individual sects and unaffiliated cultivators, who would have contested this decision fiercely. Nevertheless, the royal court still managed to maintain their control, and everyone else had been forced to acknowledge it.

    Either you submit to the royal court and join the academy, or you give up your dream of ever seeing the treasures in these dungeons.

    ¡°Why do you think most of the experts in the world decided to take on roles in the royal court?¡± Ji Dengtu chuckled in response.

    ¡°Wait a moment.¡± Zu An suddenly noticed a gap in Ji Dengtu¡¯s logic. ¡°Based on what you¡¯ve said so far, these dungeons have existed for a long time. If cultivators have been visiting dungeons since the inception of time, surely they would have been stripped of resources by now?¡±

    Ji Dengtu shook his head. ¡°You¡¯re underestimating the scale of these dungeons. These dungeons are independent worlds with rules of their own, and many of them are of a sizeparable to our world.

    ¡°They have their own ecosystems, so many of the items in dungeons would regrow over time. It¡¯s simr to how an apple tree doesn¡¯t stop bearing fruit just because you pluck one apple off it.¡±

    ¡°But if cultivators abuse the resources, they would still eventually run out,¡± said Zu An.

    If the dungeons were under his control, he would have made sure to scrape out all of their resources for his own benefit. Surely other cultivators before him had harbored such thoughts.

    ¡°As I said, these dungeons areplete worlds of their own. Sometimes the entrances lead to different ces within the dungeons, withpletely differentyouts. Only a miniscule part of these dungeons have been explored to date. It¡¯s simply not possible to empty out their resources.¡± Ji Dengtu rolled his eyes. ¡°Besides, dungeons don¡¯t remain constantly open. Most of them only open once every few years, and stay open only between several days to several months.¡±

    Zu An slowly started to form a clearer picture. ¡°So, you want me to enter the Ursae Dungeon to find the Evanescent Lotus? Based on what you¡¯ve said, the Evanescent Lotus should be an incredibly valuable resource coveted by many experts. How could someone like me possibly snatch it under the eyelids of those experts?¡±

    Ji Dengtu waved his hands impatiently. ¡°You really are ignorant. In dungeons, it¡¯s not the strongest person who will stumble upon a fortuitous encounter; it¡¯s the one who is blessed with luck. As long as you¡¯re lucky enough, the item will naturally appear right before you.

    ¡°There are strong people who are born with bad luck, and so they miss many of these encounters. That being said, most experts do have good luck, or else they wouldn¡¯t have been able to attain the strong power they boast.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face turned bitter. Had he known this earlier, he would have never used his Fortune Pill in the casino. His heart sank with the weight of regret.

    Ji Dengtu mistook his expression for worry over acquiring the Lotus, and tried to console him. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I can tell that you¡¯re a person with great luck. After all, despite being an utter good-for-nothing, you were still chosen by Chu First Miss as her husband. As long as you can earn the right to enter the dungeon, you might just be able to stumble upon something good.¡±

    Ji Dengtu had neglected to mention just how rare something as valuable as the Evanescent Lotus was bound to be. The chances of finding it were equivalent to trying to find a single needle in the vast ocean. In fact, he had no faith that Zu An would be able to obtain it at all. The only reason why he bothered with such lengthy exnations was to safeguard his reputation.

    I have already given you the treatment method. There¡¯s nothing else I can do for you if you can¡¯t find me thest ingredient required, so don¡¯t point your fingers at me.

    Ji Dengtu suddenly remembered the booklet he had just received, and his conscience pricked at him. So, he took out a blue pill from his robe and passed it to Zu An. ¡°This is the Spirit Root Unsealing Pill that I crafted using the other 80 medicinal herbs. All that¡¯s missing is just the Evanescent Lotus. Bringing the Evanescent Lotus to me before it withers will be difficult, so you should carry this blue pill around with you instead. All you have to do is to swallow the blue pill and the Evanescent Lotus simultaneously, and you¡¯ll be able to release your seal.¡±

    Zu An carefully epted the blue pill, but still directed a wary look at Ji Dengtu. ¡°I don¡¯t know much about medicine, but are you sure you aren¡¯t toying with me? Aren¡¯t you supposed tobine the ingredients together in a cauldron or something for it to work properly? Will it really work if I just eat the two of them simultaneously?¡±

    ¡°Are you doubting my skill as a physician?¡± Ji Dengtu red at Zu An imposingly. ¡°Who do you think I am? Don¡¯t put me on the same level as those inept physicians out there! Medicinal herbs like the Evanescent Lotus shouldn¡¯t be refined. Trying to do so would only cause it to lose its medicinal properties for nothing!¡±

    Zu An couldn¡¯t shake his skepticism. ¡°Is it possible that the Evanescent Lotus is all it takes to release my seal, and your so-called Sealing Pill is just for show?¡±

    Ji Dengtu was deeply offended by Zu An¡¯s words. He reached a hand out to swipe the blue pill back. ¡°If you don¡¯t want it, give it back to me!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just joking~¡± Zu An quickly stowed the blue pill away in his robe before shing Ji Dengtu a cheerful smile.

    Ji Dengtu huffed impatiently. ¡°If not for the booklet you offered me earlier, I wouldn¡¯t have even given you the pill! Speaking of which, do you have more of such stories? Why don¡¯t you give them to me as a sign of respect for your elders?¡±

    You old pervert, Zu An thought, careful not to let it show on his face. ¡°Why don¡¯t you finish this story first, and I¡¯ll think of moreter on?¡±

    Of course he would never give out everything in one shot. He would definitely require Ji Dengtu¡¯s help in the future, and it would be better to keep some bait to dangle in front of him in those moments.

    The news that Zu An had more of such stories in reserve brought glee to Ji Dengtu¡¯s face. ¡°Wonderful! Even though you might be inept in certain aspects, your weaknesses are made up for by your talent in this field. I see a brilliant future ahead of you,d!¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face darkened. Aren¡¯t you insulting me here?

    Ji Dengtu gave a start. ¡°Ah, I nearly forgot. Rather than worrying about whether you¡¯re able to find the Evanescent Lotus inside the Ursae Dungeon, I believe that your efforts are better spent on making sure you can enter the dungeon at all.¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Zu An was taken aback. ¡°But I¡¯m a student of Brightmoon Academy! Do the restrictions still apply to me?¡±

    ¡°Of course they do!¡± Ji Dengtu stared at Zu An as if he were an idiot. ¡°Even though dungeons tend to be fraught with dangers, they are also filled with fortuitous encounters, and all cultivators naturally desire an opportunity to enter and discover their rewards. There are simply far too many people coveting a limited resource, so restrictions have to be put in ce.

    ¡°A prefectural dungeon is usually controlled by the academy nearest to it, but, as you know, a prefecture has many academies. These academies would usually send their students over prior to the opening of the dungeon. Only a limited number of slots are avable, so out of fairness, a selection tournament is held to decide who will be allowed in.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s rage boiled over. ¡°Do you take me for a fool? A selection tournament? How could I possibly win something like that?¡±

    He had managed to secretly raise his cultivation to the third rank thus far, but he was well aware that there were plenty of fourth rank and fifth rank cultivators in Brightmoon Academy. Furthermore, students from the other academies in the prefecture would be participating in the selection tournament as well. Unless he were to reveal all of his trump cards, he stood absolutely no chance.

    Of course, he would never choose to reveal all of the trump cards he held. Doing so would only expose his techniques to his enemies.

    Moreover, Ji Dengtu wasn¡¯t aware that Zu An was able to cultivate. He had told him about the Evanescent Lotus clearly knowing that it was a hopeless cause.

    ¡°Calm down, calm down!¡± Ji Dengtu said sheepishly. ¡°Even though it¡¯s probably impossible for you, you do have a capable wife. Chu First Miss can be said to be one of the most outstanding cultivators amongst the younger generation. There¡¯s no doubt that she would be able to get into the dungeon. So, you can just get her to find the Evanescent Lotus for you.¡±

    ck streaks crisscrossed Zu An¡¯s face. ¡°As you said, the Evanescent Lotus is an incredible treasure, and even a single petal could raise one¡¯s cultivation by a whole step. Even if she did manage to find it, she would just eat it herself.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you her husband? If her husband is ailing, then it¡¯s her duty to help you. Or does she intend to live her entire life and die an old maid?¡±

    Zu An red daggers at Ji Dengtu. If he¡¯d been strong enough, he might have just slit his throat there and then. This bastard was really jabbing all of his sore spots today.

    ¡°Then again, it probably isn¡¯t a wise decision to count on your wife. Couples tend to split up in the face of adversity, after all.¡± Ji Dengtu suddenly changed his tune. ¡°However, you do have other means. Take for example, big-breasted Pei from Brightmoon Academy... Ah, I mean Pei Mianman. Isn¡¯t she interested in you too? If you can¡¯t count on your wife, you could turn to your lover instead. She¡¯ll surely be willing to help you.¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi had informed Ji Dengtu of the events that had transpired in the academy, and the divine physician was honestly impressed by Zu An¡¯s exploits. ¡°I must say, you are quite a wild guy. You¡¯re still able to win the affection of so many beauties despite your troubles down below. If you don¡¯t mind, could you share your secret with me?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s veins began popping out of his temple. You just have to keep mocking me, huh? Just you wait! I¡¯ll remember this! Once I recover from my affliction, I¡¯ll make sure to dig up all of your old wounds and ther salt over them!

    Of course, he dared not say these words openly in front of him.

    Ji Dengtu realized that Zu An wasn¡¯t responding well to his teasing, and gradually grew bored of it. ¡°Oh right, I nearly forgot. The Chu n invited me here to treat your injuries.¡±

    As he spoke, he began to inspect Zu An¡¯s physical state, clicking his tongue in wonderment. ¡°There¡¯s really something strange about your body. An ordinary human would have died after suffering such severe injuries, but you¡¯re still alive and kicking. Not only that, your natural rate of recovery seems to be much faster than average too.¡±

    The news surprised Zu An. Perhaps this is another effect of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra. This is a skill that relies on getting hurt in order to grow stronger, so it makes sense that it would strengthen a practitioner¡¯s recovery. Otherwise, they would die before they ever be strong.

    Ji Dengtu prescribed him some medicine then left with an excited look on his face. He was in a rush to enjoy the little booklet he had just obtained.

    After Ji Dengtu¡¯s departure, Zu Any down, deep in thought. How can I earn the right to enter the dungeon and find the Evanescent Lotus?

    A whileter, his lips gradually curled into a smile.

    ...

    The following morning, Zu An struggled up from his bed, insisting on heading to the academy. Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru were very pleased to see his proactive attitude towards learning, and for once, they felt that there was hope for him. However, they were still quite worried about Zu An¡¯s injuries, so they called the estate¡¯s physician over to examine him.

    To their collective astonishment, they found that Zu An had already mostly recovered from his injuries.

    ¡°Hm. It looks like Ji Dengtu¡¯s reputation wasn¡¯t just hearsay.¡± Chu Zhongtian had no way to know that this was the result of Zu An¡¯s cultivation technique, so he attributed the credit to Ji Dengtu.

    Qin Wanru chuckled softly and said, ¡°You weren¡¯t thrilled to let him enter the estate back then.¡±

    ¡°That fellow keeps eyeing you lecherously. How can I possibly allow him to enter the estate?¡± Chu Zhongtian sniffed.

    ¡°Aiyo~ Are you getting jealous over there?¡± Qin Wanru gently nudged Chu Zhongtian as she felt her cheeks heat up slightly.

 Chapter 78: The Eighth Beauty

    <h4>Chapter 78: The Eighth Beauty</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An felt that Chu Zhongtian had been wise to reject Ji Dengtu. There was a good chance that he might have been cuckolded otherwise. Then again, given how desperate Ji Dengtu was to resort to stealing women¡¯s dudous, he was probably a typical shut-in who was all bark and no bite.

    Since Zu An seemed fine, there was no reason for Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru to stop him from going to the academy, although they still arranged for a couple of bodyguards to escort him.

    Zu An knew better than to be one of those nitwits in the movies, who desperately tried to escape from their bodyguards, only to fall into real dangerter on. Right now, he only wished that the Chu n would assign him even more guards. There was no telling when Snow or Mei Chaofeng might just pop out from a random alley and try to take his life.

    While Zu An maintained his wariness, Chu Huanzhao seemed to be in a cheerful mood. She was a happy-go-lucky person who rarely allowed anything to bother her for too long.

    ¡°Brother-inw, brother-inw! Hurry up and tell me how you managed to earn so much money from the Silverhook Casino the other day! My mother dragged me away before you were able to tell me anything!¡± Chu Huanzhao¡¯s eyes were gleaming with curiosity.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t the Chu n strictly forbid gambling?¡± Zu An asked. ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid that your mother would punish you for asking about such things?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just asking about it. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m going to gamble. Besides, my mother doesn¡¯t care that much about me anyway!¡± Chu Huanzhao grabbed Zu An¡¯s arm and began shaking it. ¡°Brother-inw, just tell me, all right? Please~¡±

    Zu An¡¯s heart skipped as he felt her soft palms on his arm. Why does thisss have no concept of the proper distance between people of opposite genders? This won¡¯t do. I really need to educate her properly so that she doesn¡¯t get taken advantage of by some stinky brat in the future!

    To be frank, he was quite proud of what he had achieved in the casino the night before, and it was truly a waste to keep such a great story to himself. He heaved a helpless sigh, as if he was giving in to Chu Huanzhao¡¯s pleas, before finally recounting the exciting chain of events that had him crowned as the God of Gambling.

    Ji Dengtu¡¯s reaction to the booklet he had prepared let him know that, even though the people of this world were strong, there was little in the way of entertainment in this world. It wasn¡¯t like his previous life, where TV dramas and movies were readily avable for consumption.

    Zu An¡¯s riveting story gripped Chu Huanzhao¡¯s attention tightly from beginning to end. Even the guards of the Chu n looked at him with respect, impressed with his storytelling ability.

    Even if he does get kicked out of the Chu n in the future, he¡¯ll still be able to make a living for himself by telling stories on the bridge.

    As his tale drew to a close, Chu Huanzhao exhaled deeply. ¡°It¡¯s such a pity that I wasn¡¯t able to see it with my own eyes.¡± Her voice was full of regret. ¡°Brother-inw, if you¡¯re nning such exciting things in the future, you must make sure to bring me with you, all right?¡±

    Zu An nodded in agreement. ¡°All right, all right~¡±

    Despite how fierce Chu Huanzhao had been when they¡¯d first met, it seemed that she had warmed up to him pretty quickly.

    ¡°Let¡¯s hook pinkies to seal the promise then!¡± Still worried that Zu An would leave her behind, she stretched her little finger forth.

    Her long, slender fingers reinforced Zu An¡¯s belief that she was truly a beauty in the making. It was just too bad that she harbored the soul of a reckless young boy. What a waste of a good face and body.

    ¡°All right.¡± Left with no choice, Zu An stretched his hand out and hooked pinkies with her.

    ¡°This seal of promise willst for a hundred years!¡± Delighted, Chu Huanzhao¡¯s eyes curved into beautiful crescents.

    The guards of the Chu n were astonished. What special charm does this useless drafted son-inw have? Not only did Chu First Miss choose him as her husband, but even the Chu Second Miss seems to be on close terms with him too!

    Should I find an opportunity to consult him on this? While it¡¯s impossible for us to get close to the young misses, there are still many beautiful maids in the estate.

    Only Cheng Shouping stood limply some distance behind. Snow, my beautiful Snow. Why must you be a spy? My sorrow is like the raging tides of the river. I fear that I¡¯ll spend a life devoid of love.

    A suddenmotion startled the group.

    ¡°Step aside, step aside! The horse is running wild!¡±

    They turned around and saw a carriage careening rapidly along the street towards them. The coach master sawed at the reins with all his might, but the horses had run amok and were beyond his ability to control.

    ¡°Young master, be careful!¡±

    The guards of the Chu n quickly formed up around Zu An and Chu Huanzhao to shield them from the oing threat. Cheng Shouping darted into the formation and hid behind the two of them.

    Just as the carriage was just about to collide with the group, a guard dashed forth and grabbed the harness along the horse¡¯s nk. The muscles on his arm bulged as he forcefully pulled the two crazed horses to a halt.

    The surrounding crowd broke out in apuse, impressed by the guard¡¯s brave heroics.

    ¡°Aiya~¡±

    There was a startled feminine cry, and someone tumbled out of the carriage. The abrupt halt had caused the person sitting inside to lurch forward and out.

    Everything happened so quickly that the guards of the Chu n had no time to react. The person staggered past them and rammed right into Zu An.

    Dazed, Zu An subconsciously reached out to catch the person. The sheer impact staggered him a few steps backward. Chu Huanzhao quickly reached out to support him, saving him from an awkward fall.

    ¡°Y-young master, thank you for your help.¡± A slightly frightened voice came from within his embrace. The voice was beautifully crisp and gentle, like the melodious clinking of pearls.

    Zu An lowered his head and saw a beautiful womanying in his arms. There was a tinge of redness on her fair cheeks, and her eyes gleamed brightly. Her dress was embroidered with flowing water and fleeting clouds, and woven out of the finest threads. A single nce was enough to determine that she was from a rich family.

    Her extravagant dress was in no way vulgar, and her beauty was enhanced by the solemn grace with which she carried herself. All who saw her felt nothing but goodwill towards her.

    Standing at Zu An¡¯s side, Cheng Shouping finally took a proper look at her appearance, and he shuddered as if struck by a bolt of lightning. This is bad, this is bad. How could there be such a beautiful woman in the world? I can¡¯t resist anymore. I think I¡¯m already in love with her!

    ¡°Zheng Dan, what the hell are you up to?¡± Chu Huanzhao demanded in a huff.

    Zheng Dan?

    The name was familiar to Zu An. If he remembered Wei Suo¡¯s ount of the Sweetheart Ranking of Brightmoon Academy correctly, Zheng Dan was ranked eighth. No wonder Chu Huanzhao recognized her, since they attended the same academy.

    Zu An would be lying if he did not admit Zheng Dan was gorgeous. Looking at her close-up, her fluttering eyebrows, enchanting eyes, and inviting red lips all called to him sensually.

    Zu An wondered who the creator of the Sweetheart Ranking was. So far, every single one of the women he had seen who were in the Top Ten of the Sweetheart Ranking were indeed ravishing beauties, worthy of their fame.

    ¡°Hey, how much longer are you going to continue holding onto her?¡± Chu Huanzhao demanded impatiently. She was annoyed at how the two of them were still staring at one another lovingly.

    At her remark, Zu An finally snapped out of his daze and put the woman down. ¡°Young miss, are you all right?¡±

    She really has a soft body. It¡¯s almost as if she has no bones at all.

    ¡°T-thanks for saving me.¡± The woman quickly tidied up her slightly-messy hair before favoring Zu An with a smile.

    Cheng Shouping¡¯s regret was immense. He should have rushed forward earlier! Not only would that have demonstrated his loyalty toward the young master and Chu Second Miss, he would have been able to hold an absolutely gorgeous babe in his arms as well.

    ¡°You would have fallen to the ground if I hadn¡¯t supported the two of you. Why aren¡¯t you thanking me?¡± Chu Huanzhao snapped.

    Zheng Dan bowed slightly to Chu Huanzhao and remarked with a smile, ¡°My gratitude to Chu Second Miss too.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t hear any sincerity in your voice at all.¡± Chu Huanzhao crossed her arms and turned her face away, refusing to acknowledge Zheng Dan.

    Zheng Dan kept her cool despite Chu Huanzhao¡¯s rudeness. She turned back to Zu An and said, ¡°Our horses were frightened by something earlier, but thankfully you managed to catch me as I was thrown out. The consequences would have been dire had I fallen on the ground.¡±

    ¡°Any man in my ce would have surely offered his help. It would be a loss to all men in the world if such a beautiful face were to be scarred,¡± replied Zu An with a smile.

    Zheng Dan chuckled softly at hispliment. ¡°Young master, you tter me.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao couldn¡¯t stand any more of this farce. ¡°Hey, hey, hey! Why are the two of you flirting right in front of me? Don¡¯t you think that this is too much?¡±

    Zheng Dan turned to Chu Huanzhao in surprise. ¡°Chu Second Miss, is he your lover? My apologies.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao¡¯s face immediately reddened. ¡°Pui! He¡¯s my brother-inw. Stop feigning ignorance! I don¡¯t believe that you don¡¯t know who he is!¡±

    Zheng Dan¡¯s eyes widened in astonishment. ¡°Ah! So you¡¯re the husband chosen by Chu First Miss! I¡¯ve heard many things about you. It¡¯s a pleasure to finally meet you.¡±

    ¡°Mere rumors can¡¯t hold a candle to the real me, right?¡± Zu An couldn¡¯t resist asking.

    Zheng Dan shook her head and smiled softly. ¡°Young master, you have a truly heroic heart. Indeed, the rumors don¡¯t do you justice.¡±

    Flowers of happiness bloomed in Zu An¡¯s heart. He was aware that Zheng Dan was just being polite, but that didn¡¯t dampen the joy of being praised by such a beautiful woman.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Ever since he¡¯d arrived in this world, all he had been hearing was ¡®wastrel¡¯ and ¡®trash¡¯. It was rare that someone had such a high opinion of him, and even rarer than she was such a great beauty.

    It looks like I have pretty good luck with women after all.

    ¡°I still have some matters to attend to, so I won¡¯t take up any more of your time.¡± Zheng Dan smiled again, then bowed slightly before taking her leave, leaving a faint fragrance in her wake.

    Chu Huanzhao noticed that Zu An and Cheng Shouping were still dreamily staring at Zheng Dan¡¯s departing figure, and was overwhelmed by rage. ¡°What are you staring at? She¡¯s already gone!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Huanzhao for 100 Rage points!

    Zu An couldn¡¯t resist remarking, ¡°Sister-inw, it¡¯s not that I want to nag at you, but you should learn a thing or two from her. Every gesture of hers exudes gentleness and femininity, leaving a lingering impression in the hearts of others.¡±

    Cheng Shouping also nodded vehemently in agreement.

    Chu Huanzhao nearly exploded on the spot. ¡°What did you just say? You want me to learn that disgustingly tender act she puts on? It¡¯s already nauseating enough for me just to witness it!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Huanzhao for 348 Rage points!

    Zu An frowned. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t insult her just because she has good looks and acts demurely.¡±

    ¡°Only licentious men like you will be fooled by her appearance. Do you know that she¡¯s already engaged? Despite having a fianc¨¦, she still got all touchy with you in public instead of trying to keep her distance. That should be more than enough to show what kind of person she is!¡± Chu Huanzhao scoffed.

    She¡¯s engaged?

    Zu An felt a palpable sense of loss. This was simply how men were. Even though he harbored no feelings for Zheng Dan, he still hoped that all beauties in the world would revolve around him.

    Cheng Shouping shared in his despair. My budding love... Is it going toe to an end once more just like that?

 Chapter 79: Honorary Teacher

    <h4>Chapter 79: Honorary Teacher</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Chu Huanzhao was ted by the disappointed reactions of the two men. ¡°Her fianc¨¦ is none other than Sang Qian, the man you metst night. Sang Qian¡¯s father is obviouslying after our Chu n, and the Zheng n has quite a few business-rted conflicts with us here in Brightmoon City. Zheng Dan surely has an ulterior motive in mind in approaching you. Only perverts like you would fall for her honey trap!¡±

    Sang Qian¡¯s fianc¨¦? Zu An fell deep into thought as he recalled the arrogant youngmander from the casino.

    ...

    The ornate carriage of the Zheng n sat in a remote alley. The panic on the coach master¡¯s face had long since vanished. His voice was calm andposed. ¡°Young miss, did you manage to obtain the debt note?¡±

    Zheng Dan shook her head. ¡°It wasn¡¯t on him. It seems we¡¯ll have to try a bit harder.¡±

    When Zu An had caught her earlier, she had snuck her hands into his pockets and searched them. Unfortunately, she hadn¡¯t found anything.

    ¡°That wastrel must have used up a lifetime¡¯s worth of good fortune for a chance to touch our young miss¡¯ body with his unworthy hands!¡± the coach master spat in a huff.

    Zheng Dan smiled faintly. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I was fully-clothed, and he hadn¡¯t dared to let his hands wander about. I suffered no outrage.¡±

    The coach was relieved. ¡°Young miss, I¡¯ve been by your side since you were young. I can¡¯t bear to see anyone taking advantage of you. Speaking of taking advantage, that Sang fellow sure is ridiculous. How in the world could a man possibly think of having his fianc¨¦ey a honey trap for another man?¡±

    Zheng Dan brushed the matter aside. ¡°Uncle Yue, calm down. First and foremost, my engagement with Sang Qian is a political marriage, a rtionship built on mutual profit. It¡¯s inevitable that there would be some give and take."

    The coach master named Uncle Yue sighed deeply. ¡°Young miss, you¡¯ve suffered much for the Zheng n.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s for myself too,¡± Zheng Dan replied with a smile. ¡°Anyway, I won¡¯t really let Zu An take advantage of me. Besides, the earlier encounter with him has made this matter even more interesting.¡±

    ...

    Chu Huanzhao continued to assault Zu An¡¯s ears with her ranting, and the torture only came to an end when they arrived at the academy. Chu Huanzhao headed straight toward her ssroom, but Zu An headed for the administrative building and the office of the beautiful principal.

    He knocked on the door. ¡°You may enter,¡± Jiang Luofu¡¯s captivating voice came in response.

    Zu An pushed the heavy door open and walked in. There were many interesting objects inside the office, but it was still Jiang Luofu herself who stood out the most.

    Under the rays of the morning sun, her skin looked fair like snow. Her eyes were deep and enchanting, her nose was sharp and lofty, and her bright red lips looked ever so inviting. She was the perfect blend of imposing and seductive, two seemingly opposite characteristics somehow working in perfect harmony.

    Her long, lustrous hair, put up in a perfect bun with a golden hairpin, was just begging to be let loose. Her cascading long hair would feel smoother than silk flowing through Zu An¡¯s fingers.

    It was only out of fear that he dared not make a move.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°What a coincidence, I was just about to look for you.¡± Jiang Luofu was mildly surprised by Zu An¡¯s visit. She gently waved her hand, and a light breeze blew across his face. The heavy door behind him closed smoothly.

    ¡°Principal, you have something for me?¡± Zu An wasn¡¯t so narcissistic to think that Jiang Luofu had somehow fallen for his good looks.

    ¡°You¡¯re acquainted with Shang Liuyu?¡± Jiang Luofu arched an eyebrow at Zu An as she fiddled with a hairpin that was the twin of the one holding her hair in ce.

    ¡°Shang Liuyu?¡± Zu An shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know her.¡±

    His thoughts began to race. Could it be that Ji Dengtu¡¯s request to have him steal Shang Liuyu¡¯s dudou had been exposed? Probably not. I haven¡¯t even met her before!

    ¡°You don¡¯t know third ce Shang Liuyu of the Sweetheart Ranking?¡± Jiang Luofu¡¯s eyes narrowed skeptically.

    ¡°I mean, I have heard of her name, but I¡¯ve never met her in person.¡±

    Zu An was oddly reminded of Wei Suo¡¯s starry-eyed excitement over Jiang Luofu, and his gaze slowly drifted down to take in the beautiful principal¡¯s legs.

    Hmm, they do look as smooth as jade. Oh, nude stockings today? Wow, they look good on her.

    Jiang Luofu swifty noticed his crude stare, and her eyes narrowed in displeasure.

    Zu An gave a frightened start, and he quickly added, ¡°I think that those are nothing more than empty rumors. How can that Shang-something possibly be more beautiful than you? With those legs you have, there¡¯s no way she could hold a candle to you!¡±

    Zu An¡¯s extremely earnest tone drew an amused chuckle from Jiang Luofu. ¡°I¡¯ve received countlesspliments from others in the past, but you¡¯re the first one to dive into such borate detail.¡±

    Spurred on by her yful tone, Zu An straightened his back and doubled down, ¡°Of course, it¡¯s a sincere thought from the bottom of my heart!¡±

    ¡°Shang Liuyu will be upset to hear your words,¡± Jiang Luofu replied with a teasing smile. ¡°Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s ungrateful of you to talk badly of her behind her back?¡±

    ¡°Ungrateful?¡± Zu An was confused. I don¡¯t even know this person, so how could I possibly be ungrateful to her?

    Jiang Luofu took out a book from her drawer and began flipping through it. ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you not to reveal the fact that you possess transcendent-ss aptitude? You mentioned the aptitude test you had at the school entrance, and I said I would deal with the relevant records. However, someone else had already dealt with them before me. I did a little digging, and it was Shang Liuyu.¡±

    She stared at Zu An intently for a moment before asking once more, ¡°Are you certain that you aren¡¯t acquainted?¡±

    ¡°Hmm... Could my charm have reached such a level where I unknowingly made a woman fall head over heels for me?¡± Zu An lightly caressed his face as he remarked with astonishment.

    Jiang Luofu didn¡¯t know whether to roll her eyes orugh.

    Wow. This guy¡¯s skin must be as thick as the city walls.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t know her, then forget I ever asked.¡± Jiang Luofu cleared her throat. ¡°You were looking for me?¡±

    Zu An walked over and casually pulled himself a stool. He sat down opposite her. ¡°Yes, I was. I want to be an honorary teacher at the academy.¡±

    Amused by what she had just heard, Jiang Luofu crossed her legs subconsciously. ¡°Are you insane, or am I out of my mind? Did you just say that you wish to be a teacher at our academy?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Zu An nodded vigorously.

    Now that he was closer to Jiang Luofu, he was able to truly savor her beauty. Her ample breasts led down to a slim waist in a perfect curve that excited his visual senses. Just staring at her like this would likely make his nose bleed.

    Jiang Luofu scoffed at his request. ¡°Don¡¯t you know the requirements to be a teacher in our academy? If you wish to teach cultivation-rted subjects, you need to be of the sixth rank or above. A teacher of literary subjects can be of a lower rank, but these staff we employ are all officials from the royal court who are skilled in their respective fields, be itws, rites, or social affairs. May I ask if you¡¯re a sixth rank cultivator or an official of the royal court?¡±

    ¡°Of course I know all that, but I¡¯m not nning to apply the proper way. I¡¯m hoping that it¡¯s possible for me to be an honorary teacher or something by sponsoring the academy,¡± replied Zu An sheepishly.

    Most institutions in his previous life had such a ¡®hidden use¡¯. A tycoon sponsoring a school would be able to get a building named after him, and his children would get preferential treatment when it came to enrolment. If the donor had a high standing in society, he might even be conferred the title of an honorary professor.

    ¡°Sponsor?¡± Jiang Luofu blinked her eyes in surprise. She had never heard of something like this before, but it did sound like a worthwhile option to discuss. After a moment, however, she shook her head. ¡°Tsk, you¡¯re just a drafted son-inw of the Chu n. How much money could you possibly have?¡±

    ¡°Is seven-and-a-half million silver taels enough for you?¡± replied Zu An.

    The promissory note he held was utterly useless if it remained in his hands. He didn¡¯t have the ability to cash out the money, and it was more than likely to bring him more trouble in the future. Most of all, holding on to it nullified his greatest trump card, the Heiress¡¯ Ball of Delights!

    That was equivalent to losing a life!

    Money was wonderful, but survival came first.

    After careful contemtion, he had decided to donate the money, but where and how to donate the money were questions worth pondering. It was best if he could get tangible benefits out of it.

    ¡°Seven-and-a-half million silver taels?¡± Jiang Luofu¡¯s eyes widened in shock. Even by her standards, this was a ridiculous amount of money. ¡°Where did you manage to get so much money?¡±

    Sensing Jiang Luofu¡¯s doubts, Zu An quickly shared the encounter he¡¯d had at the Silverhook Casino with her.

    ¡°How did you manage to do it?¡± eximed Jiang Luofu.

    She had never been too bothered with the affairs in Brightmoon City, which was why she was only hearing about this major incident now.

    ¡°I was lucky, I¡¯d say,¡± replied Zu An shyly.

    It wasn¡¯t technically a lie, since he had used the Fortune Pill to boost his luck.

    ¡°If you aren¡¯t willing to speak the truth, then no matter. Well, well, well, you¡¯re really piquing my interest here.¡± Jiang Luofu leaned forward slightly to reassess Zu An. ¡°Everyone says that the First Miss of the Chu n has married a useless husband, but why does it seem like there¡¯s more than meets the eye? You sure are hiding many secrets, be it your transcendent ss aptitude, your cultivation; even a trip over to the Silverhook Casino easily scored you seven-and-a-half million silver taels from Mei Chaofeng!¡±

    Zu An cowered slightly at Jiang Luofu¡¯s sudden approach. His gaze was filled with a snowy valley that was so enticing, he was afraid that he would inadvertently make a move to offend the beautiful principal.

    Attraction usually starts from interest. After careful contemtion, Zu An felt that informing her of her immodesty was the best choice. ¡°Your skin is peeking through your clothes.¡±

    Jiang Luofu lowered her gaze to her own attire, and the edges of her lips inched upward. ¡°You¡¯re not like any other men. I don¡¯t mind showing myself off if it¡¯s you.¡±

    Zu An was taken aback. ¡°Really?¡±

    Dammit, I should have taken my own sweet time looking! Could I actually be ady killer? How could I have won goodwill from Jiang Luofu and the legendary Shang Liuyu so easily, otherwise?

    ¡°Of course. You aren¡¯t a real man in my eyes; more like a fellow sister, I¡¯d say.¡± Jiang Luofu waved her hand dismissively.

    Zu An had expected her to say ¡®little brother¡¯, but being viewed as a ¡®fellow sister¡¯ was not a remark that he could tolerate. ¡°Principal, what do you mean by that?¡±

    Jiang Luofu chuckled softly at Zu An¡¯s livid expression. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t tell anyone about it.¡±

    The sympathetic gaze directed at his crotch was more than enough for Zu An. In that instant, he felt a tremendous urge to smash his head against the wall and end his pitiful life right there.

    What the hell is going on? Why are more and more people finding out about it?!

 Chapter 80: Intentional

    <h4>Chapter 80: Intentional</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Are all high-rank cultivators able to sense my affliction with a nce?¡± Zu An couldn¡¯t help but ask. If that was really the case, he couldn¡¯t bear to face anyone anymore.

    Still chuckling, Jiang Luofu shook her head and replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I learned about it from another source. You don¡¯t have to worry about anyone sensing this about you.¡±

    Zu An felt a great weight lift off him, but he was also consumed by a burning rage.

    It must be that darned Ji Dengtu! He must have revealed my condition while flirting with someone else. What the hell! Aren¡¯t doctors supposed to have a code of ethics that they¡¯re supposed to follow?

    ¡°Ahem, ahem, it looks like we have strayed off-topic.¡± To clear away the awkwardness in the air, Zu An quickly brought the focus back to the main purpose of his visit. ¡°I don¡¯t expect any wages or tangible benefits from my title as honorary teacher. Naturally, I won¡¯t be teaching any sses either. All I need is official recognition.¡±

    Jiang Luofu gave the matter some thought, but she eventually shook her head. ¡°If a powerful cultivator with a good reputation had donated the seven-and-a-half million silver taels, I would have explored the possibility. However, you should be well aware of your reputation. If I really bestowed on you the title of honorary teacher, I¡¯ll probably be covered in spit. Brightmoon Academy would also be theughingstock of the country. I can¡¯t afford to take that risk.¡±

    She paused for a moment before adding with a helpless smile, ¡°Who asked you to behave so wildly over the years? You¡¯ve only ended up hindering yourself.¡±

    Of course, Jiang Luofu had no way of knowing that the original Zu An had been real trash, so she assumed that he had just been cking off.

    Her decision didn¡¯t surprise Zu An. He¡¯d fully expected Jiang Luofu to turn down his request, and was only using this as padding before revealing his true intentions. ¡°If I can¡¯t be an honorary teacher, I want you to give me a slot to participate in a dungeon then.¡±

    It seemed a huge waste to spend seven-and-a-half million silver taels for a slot to enter a dungeon. But factoring in how he was unlikely to be able to cash out the promissory note, and also that it rendered the Heiress¡¯ Ball of Delights useless, the price was just about eptable.

    If he were to participate in the selections while banking on his own capabilities, he wasn¡¯t fully confident of emerging victorious, even if he used all of the means he had. It would be all over for him if he were to encounter some monstrously talented prodigy from another academy, or something like that.

    This matter concerned the welfare of ¡®little Zu An¡¯ and his future happiness; he needed guarantees. In a sense, it was like insuring against the worst possible oue. On top of that, he hoped the sum of money could buy him the goodwill of Brightmoon Academy¡¯s directors, which would make the deal much more worthwhile. It had only been a few days since he had transmigrated over to this world, but it was already apparent to him that academies held an incredibly high standing in this world.

    Jiang Luofu¡¯s face darkened. ¡°Don¡¯t you know that the dungeons only open once every few years? There¡¯s high demand and the slots are limited; each academy would only send a few of their most outstanding students to enter the dungeon. Even prodigies have to go through intensepetition in order to earn the right to qualify. How could I just give a slot away that easily?¡±

    Zu An shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t believe that you, as the principal of the academy, wouldck such authority. It¡¯s seven-and-a-half million silver taels we¡¯re talking about here. I can¡¯t just be giving it away for free, can I?¡±

    Jiang Luofu stared at Zu An with eyes so sharp that they seemed able to prate any lies he dared to spout. ¡°What do you intend to do in the dungeon?¡±

    ¡°Of course it¡¯s to search for treasures and see if I¡¯m lucky enough to stumble on any fortuitous encounters!¡± replied Zu An.

    He didn¡¯t intend to talk about the Evanescent Lotus so as to avoid any unintended trouble.

    Jiang Luofu nodded. ¡°I can see where you¡¯reing from. Dungeons do hold many enticing opportunities for cultivators. However, the slots to the dungeons are monitored by many eyes, including the Ministry of Rites. I can¡¯t just give the slot away on a whim.¡±

    Zu An immediately lost his patience, but before he could say anything, Jiang Luofu raised her hand to forestall him. ¡°Calm down and allow me to finish. While I can¡¯t give the slot to you directly, I can still pull some strings from the shadows and assign you rtively weaker opponents. This way, you¡¯ll be able to rightfully obtain qualification, and the academy will be free from unwanted scrutiny.¡±

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t that mean that I¡¯ll have to fight for the slot then?¡± Zu An was a little hesitant about this n. He wanted to keep his trump cards hidden as much as possible. He preferred to be the one pulling the strings from the dark instead.

    Jiang Luofu straightened. ¡°I don¡¯t know why you¡¯ve been cking off all of these years, but this is a world where the strong are respected. As long as you¡¯re able to prove your worth, you¡¯ll be able to receive high standing and ample cultivation resources. If you continue tog behind the others, you¡¯ll only be overtaken by everyone else. The gap between you and those ahead of you will continue to increase, and you¡¯ll find it hard to catch up to them.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be honest; I don¡¯t really understand your thought process. Despite what might be in your past, you should know that you¡¯re a student of our academy now. You don¡¯t have to fear or cower before any enemies anymore. You can feel free to reveal your talents under our protection, and only then will I be justified to allocate more cultivation resources to you.¡±

    Zu An was moved by Jiang Luofu¡¯s words, He could sense that she really had his welfare in heart. However, his reasons forying low were a littleplicated. First and foremost, there was no way he could tell her that the old Zu An had been real trash, and that he was totally different.

    To give himself cover, he replied with a random rebuttal. ¡°If my enemy is the emperor, will you be able to protect me too?¡±

    Jiang Luofu was full of passion after her rousing speech, but Zu An¡¯s question choked her up. Her fair face immediately flushed red. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t do anything about it. Then again, who do you think the emperor is? How could you possibly have the capability to offend him?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just joking! Don¡¯t worry about it. I¡¯ll take your words to heart and do whatever that is needed. All right, I think I should be heading off to ss now,¡± replied Zu An.

    Jiang Luofu waggled her finger. ¡°Aren¡¯t you forgetting something?¡±

    Zu An subconsciously leaned his head forward, wondering if she was asking him for a goodbye kiss. Are my charms really that powerful? Well, I guess it doesn¡¯t hurt for me to give a small peck on such a beautiful face.

    Perhaps out of instinct, Jiang Luofu suddenly recoiled backward, creating some distance between the two of them. ¡°Where¡¯s the seven-and-a-half million silver taels you promised?¡±

    Zu An finally realized what she was referring to. With a sheepish smile, he took off his shoes, pulled out a piece of paper, and ced it on the table.

    Jiang Luofu froze for a moment, totally speechless.

    Then, with a face dripping with disdain, she picked up a brush and used its tip to unfold the note. She frowned as she read the contents. ¡°It¡¯s a promissory note?¡±

    Zu Anughed sheepishly. ¡°With the academy¡¯s influence and your wits, I believe that it won¡¯t be hard for you to squeeze the money out of the Plum Blossom Sect.¡±

    ¡°I was wondering why you would be so magnanimous as to donate so much money to the academy... Forget it. I thought that I was taking advantage of you earlier, but this more than soothes my conscience. I¡¯ll deal with the matter concerning the dungeon slots. You should hurry to ss now,¡± replied Jiang Luofu.

    ¡°Alright! See you, my gorgeous principal!¡± Zu An waved goodbye and dashed off, faster than a hare.

    Jiang Luofu¡¯s cherry lips curved into a slight smile. ¡°What an interestingd he is,¡± she murmured under her breath.

    She turned back to the promissory note that was freshly dug out from the fellow¡¯s shoes, and her smile turned sickly. There seemed to be an awful stench wafting from it, although it could be just her imagination. She stowed the note away with a disgusted look before tossing the brush into the rubbish bin.

    Meanwhile, Zu An leisurely strutted his way to the ssroom, his heart much lighter now that it was finally relieved of the boulder that had weighed it down. Although, deep down, he still felt that it was a waste to give away seven-and-a-half million silver taels just like that.

    Forget it, I¡¯ll just leave it in the gorgeous principal¡¯s hands for a few days as dowry. I¡¯ll bring her back home, together with my money, in the future!

    If anyone in the academy could hear his thoughts right now, they would have been absolutely floored. Plenty of men were fond of Principal Jiang, but he was the only one who dared to harbor such thoughts.

    By the time Zu An returned to the ssroom, he noticed that the ss had already started. The teacher was a scrawny middle-aged man with oily hair arranged in a distinctive center parting.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An discreetly snuck to his seat, but his attempt at secrecy was disrupted by a sudden loud m on the podium. ¡°Who allowed you to enter the ssroom?¡±

    This loud m jolted many of the snoring students awake. All of them quickly turned their eyes on Zu An.

    The way this fellowshed out at him so abruptly seemed ludicrous to Zu An. ¡°You were focused on the lesson earlier, and I didn¡¯t want to interrupt you. I chose toe in quietly instead.¡±

    ¡°The least you can do is to report your arrival after beingte! And yet, you dare to strut in openly like it¡¯s perfectly normal. This is a tant show of disrespect for your elders!¡± the teacher berated him hotly.

    Zu An felt more than a little exasperated. This teacher was blowing up a small matter for no good reason. I don¡¯t even know him, so why is he so hostile towards me?

    Most of the students in the ss were pleased to see Zu An getting scolded. They had fallen into despair as theymented how a man like him could have won the fancy of so many beautiful women while they remained single. Naturally, they were more than happy to see him suffer.

    Despite the heat directed at him, Zu An replied unhurriedly, ¡°I waste because Principal Jiang summoned me over to have a word. Teacher, if you don¡¯t believe me, you¡¯re free to ask Principal Jiang about it.¡±

    The middle-aged man choked at Zu An¡¯s words. Is this fellow trying to one-up me by bringing the principal into this?

    You have sessfully trolled Yang Wei for 44 Rage points!

    Zu An gasped upon seeing the name in the system. The man¡¯s physical appearance finally started to make sense.

    Yang Wei felt the need to be cautious.

    Is this fellow really rted to Principal Jiang? I¡¯ve never seen her so personally involved in a student¡¯s affairs before. I thought that he was just a normal student who would be easy enough to deal with, so I agreed to help that fellow without hesitation. However, it seems like the matter is moreplicated than I thought.

    Well, it¡¯s toote to change my mind now.

    ¡°Why did Principal Jiang summon you?¡± Yang Wei asked, trying to investigate their rtionship.

    Zu An shrugged. ¡°She just asked me how¡¯s school been, and if I¡¯m adapting well to school life.¡±

    The furrows on Yang Wei¡¯s forehead deepened. ¡°You should return for your seat first.¡±

    As he continued with the lesson, his mind was distracted by this unknown rtionship between Zu An and Principal Jiang. The Principal Jiang he knew of was not someone who would be so concerned with a student.

    It suddenly hit him that Principal Jiang had been alone all of these years. Other than the child in the nother ss, she didn¡¯t seem to have any rtives or friends. How could she possibly be rted to Zu An?

    Most likely, the Brightmoon Duke has asked her to take care of Zu An, and she is just doing this on his ount. Hmph! I nearly got duped by him!

    You have sessfully trolled Yang Wei for 58 Rage points!

    Zu An was taken aback. What is wrong with this fellow? Is he really intent on going against me?

    He wondered if he had offended this fellow somewhere, but nothing came to mind. Could it be that my good looks have seduced far too many women, including a woman whom he¡¯s interested in?

    ¡°Boss, you¡¯re formidable!¡± eximed Wei Suo.

    ¡°There are plenty of things I¡¯m formidable at. To which are you referring to?¡± asked Zu An.

    Wei Suo gave him a thumbs-up. Such extraordinary shamelessness... As expected of my boss! ¡°Needless to say, I¡¯m referring to how you won seven-and-a-half million silver taels from the Silverhook Casino yesterday. News has already spread all around the city, and everyone is curious to know how you managed to do it!¡±

    Zu Anughed humbly. ¡°Naturally, it¡¯s due to my one-of-a-kind character!¡±

 Chapter 81: Guys, Time to Wake Up for the Show!

    <h4>Chapter 81: Guys, Time to Wake Up for the Show!</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Wei Suo was taken aback. How am I supposed to carry on the conversation like this? He found something else interesting to continue with. ¡°Speaking of which, what color is Principal Jiang¡¯s stocking today?¡±

    Zu An thought about Jiang Luofu¡¯s long and shapely legs, and he subconsciously answered, ¡°Nude-colored~¡±

    Wei Suo swallowed. ¡°As expected of my goddess. Ahh, I¡¯m so jealous of you. You were able to meet her twice despite having just arrived a few days ago. I haven¡¯t even gotten a chance to meet her once thus far!¡±

    Zu An burst intoughter. ¡°You¡¯re so obsessed with her even though you have never met her before?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t understand. Distance makes the heart grow fonder. From the moment I caught a glimpse of her on the street, I was captured by her charms. My heart and body belong to her,¡± said Wei Suo, lovestruck.

    Zu An shook his head in disdain. Heart and body, my ass. As if she would be interested in your body.

    ¡°Speaking of which, who is this teacher who keeps putting on airs?¡± Zu An took this opportunity to gather some information.

    As expected of a true gossip master, Wei Suo immediately offered an answer. ¡°His name is Yang Wei, Brightmoon City¡¯s Civil Affairs Administrator. He¡¯s in charge of collecting agricultural taxes in the city. He¡¯s also our arithmetic teacher.¡±

    ¡°Ohhh, arithmetic teacher,¡± Zu An murmured contemtively.

    ¡°Zu An, get up and stand at the back of the ssroom!¡± Yang Wei bellowed from the podium all of a sudden.

    His voice was a peal of thunder, jolting awake the students who had just barely fallen asleep once more. Some nearly peed their pants at the scare.

    What the hell are you up to? Can¡¯t a student get some proper sleep here?

    Everyone turned to look at Zu An, curious to know just what dastardly deed had earned the teacher¡¯s wrath. Some of his ssmates had grown quite impressed with him. Ever since he¡¯d enrolled in the academy a few days ago, he had crashed headlong into trouble after trouble.

    It had only been several minutes since the ss started, but the teacher had already shouted at him twice.

    Zu An frowned. He knew that Yang Wei was hostile toward him, but he didn¡¯t expect thetter to act up so quickly.

    ¡°Are you deaf? Didn¡¯t you hear me telling you to stand at the back of the ssroom?¡± Yang Wei stepped down from the podium to re at Zu An with a darkened face.

    Zu An sneered coldly. You aren¡¯t even offering me any Rage points. It¡¯s obvious that your anger is feigned. So, he replied leisurely, ¡°If I may ask, why are you punishing me?¡±

    ¡°Instead of paying attention in ss, you started chatting with the ssmate next to you. Tell me, should I not punish you for that?¡± Yang Wei said haughtily.

    This was the privilege of having higher standing. If a teacher was determined to punish a student, he could easily find an excuse for it, and no one could fault him. Besides, Zu An hadn¡¯t been listening to the lesson, which spared Yang Wei the trouble of having to think of an excuse to deal with him.

    Zu An¡¯s eyebrows shot up. The Yellow ss was filled with the worst students in the academy, and hardly anyone was paying attention to the lesson. He¡¯d seen a third of them sleeping and another third of them chatting. There were even a couple secretly ying cards at the back of the ssroom.

    Instead of dealing with those clowns, he chooses toe after me instead...

    Zu An had spoken to Wei Suo without looking at him earlier, to avoid giving Yang Wei a reason to re up. However, it made no difference. Since Yang Wei was determined to get him, he could have noints if Zu An reacted ordingly.

    ¡°Teacher, I¡¯m afraid I don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re saying. I¡¯ve been listening intently all this while, and I haven¡¯t talked to anyone. Do you have any evidence to prove that I haven¡¯t been paying attention?¡± asked Zu An.

    His rebuttal left Yang Wei speechless.

    Dealing with a mere student was supposed to be a walk in the park. He just had to find a reason to punish him before blowing the matter up and having him expelled. Without the protection of the academy, those lords would have an easier time dealing with him.

    Who would have expected Zu An to talk back to him?

    Due to the significance of the academies in this world, respect for the teachers was paramount. It was unprecedented in the history of the academy for a student to talk back to a teacher.

    No matter¡ªhe could turn this situation around to his advantage. He was still struggling to find a legitimate excuse to have Zu An expelled; after all, he was just an ordinary teacher. While he could dish out punishments to students, having them expelled went beyond the scope of his authority.

    However, if Zu An went against propriety and openly challenged him, it would be the perfect excuse to drive him out of the academy.

    ¡°I saw you chatting away with the person seated next to you. Are you telling me that my eyes are ying tricks on me?¡± Yang Wei said hotly.

    Zu An countered sharply, ¡°If you saw the two of us chatting with one another, shouldn¡¯t you call both of us out? Why single me out? It can¡¯t be that a respected teacher is picking on one of his students, can it?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what that student¡¯s name is, that¡¯s why I only called you out,¡± Yang Wei hurriedly exined.

    Zu An burst outughing. ¡°Oh? That sure is weird. I don¡¯t recall introducing myself when I walked in earlier. I¡¯ve only enrolled in this academy a few days ago, and this is my first lesson with you. Yet, you actually knew my name... I¡¯m positive that you¡¯re intentionally picking on me right now.¡±

    The other students who were watching the exchange narrowed their eyes. None of them were fools. Something weird was going on.

    While none of them was fond of Zu An, they detested their teachers much more. This was especially true for scrawny middle-aged men whobed their hair into awful center-partings like Yang Wei.

    If teachers were truly intentionally picking on students, any of them could be next!

    With all eyes on him, Yang Wei shifted ufortably. He quickly rified, ¡°Who in Brightmoon City hasn¡¯t heard of you, Zu An? You got into a conflict with a fifth rank senior, and you gambled in the Silverhook Casino and won seven-and-a-half million silver taels. How could I not know who you are?¡±

    I nearly fell into his trap! Yang Wei had been duly warned of Zu An¡¯s sharp mouth, but he hadn¡¯t expected him to be this formidable. He reminded himself to keep his guard up, lest he got done in like Mei Chaofeng.

    Zu An nodded slightly. ¡°Well, even if you do know me, I wasn¡¯t talking earlier. As a teacher, you shouldn¡¯t nder your own students.¡±

    ¡°Rubbish! I saw you chatting with the ssmate next to you with my own eyes! Do you think that I, as a teacher, would wrong you?¡± Just a moment ago, Yang Wei had been pleased that he hadn¡¯t had to falsely use Zu An. And yet, the rascal had the nerve to start lying outright?

    ¡°That¡¯s hard to say. As they say, a huge jungle is home to all kinds of weird birds.¡± In the face of Yang Wei¡¯s open hostility, Zu An felt no need to hold himself back. ¡°Since you im that I was chatting with the ssmate next to me, why don¡¯t you present some evidence then? Otherwise, I¡¯ll sue you for defamation!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Yang Wei for 666 Rage points!

    Yang Wei nearly fainted from anger. He had always been the one to fabricate false usations against others. And yet, the one time he¡¯d caught someone in the midst of wrongdoing, he found himself unable to mete out justice!

    How the hell am I supposed to find evidence for this? It¡¯s not like there¡¯s a recorder around!

    ¡°You have evidence, right?¡±

    Yang Wei was unwilling to throw in the towel. He turned to Wei Suo and demanded sternly, ¡°Speak! Did you talk to him earlier?¡±

    Wei Suo blinked his eyes innocently. ¡°Teacher, I didn¡¯t.¡±

    Zu An secretly shed Wei Suo a thumbs-up. He had been prepared to remind him not to give him away, but thed apparently knew how to read the room. Youngd, you have potential!

    ¡°I...¡± Yang Wei was so angry that he had trouble even forming words. The academy¡¯s culture is really deteriorating. Each batch of students is worse than the previous one!

    Fortunately, Yang Wei hade prepared. He wouldn¡¯t trip over something as minor as this. Hah, all you have is your mouth. I shall show you the absolute difference between us!

    Yang Wei took a deep, calming breath. ¡°You im that you have been earnestly listening to my lesson. In that case, you should be familiar with what I¡¯ve just taught you, right?¡±

    Many of the other students found Yang Wei¡¯s demand unreasonable. After all, arithmetic was not a simple subject. Even a diligent student would find it difficult to fully understand what was being taught right away. To them, it was clear as day that Yang Wei was picking on Zu An.

    Some of them feltpelled to speak up for Zu An¡ªthey were still young and hot-blooded, after all. However, to their shock, Zu An agreed to the challenge without any hesitation. ¡°Indeed I am. The content you are going through is too easy for me. Of course I know it.¡±

    While this world had a mystical element of cultivation, itgged behind Zu An¡¯s modern world when it came to other fields of study.

    Who do you think I am? I¡¯m a university student who has been through the torture of the National College Entrance Examination! Your arithmetic questions are a child¡¯s y to me!

    Yang Wei was delighted. You could have chosen to back down, but your arrogance has gotten the better of you!

    ¡°This is my first time seeing such an arrogant student! Very well, I¡¯lle up with twenty questions. As long as you can answer any of them correctly... No, I mean three of them correctly, I¡¯ll believe that you weren¡¯t lying. How does that sound?¡±

    He was confident that Zu An wouldn¡¯t be able to answer even one of them correctly, but the incident at the Silverhook Casino had taught him the value of being conservative. While Zu An might be able to get one right by some stroke of luck, there was no way he could answer all three correctly!

    Wei Suo felt a deep sense of worry at how the situation had unfolded.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Yang Wei¡¯s arithmetic ss was notoriously difficult. When it came to other subjects, students could still get by through memorization, but the same trick didn¡¯t apply to arithmetic. In a previous test, Yang Wei had upped the difficulty of the questions, and everyone had ended up flunking it. Now that he was intentionally picking on Zu An, he was bound to set the hardest questions. It was unlikely that anyone would be able to answer any of them.

    Just as Wei Suo was about to warn Zu An, thetter confidently epted the challenge. ¡°Sure, that¡¯s fine by me. What if I manage to answer all of the questions correctly?¡±

    ¡°Answer all of the questions correctly?¡± Yang Wei burst intoughter, as if he had heard the most hrious joke in the world. ¡°If you can get all of them correct, I¡¯ll resign from the academy and let you take over my position!¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°It¡¯s a deal then!¡±

    ¡°Deal!¡± Yang Wei smirked, secretly wondering if Zu An was out of his mind.

    Do you think that the questions I set will be easy? As a Civil Affairs Administrator handling taxes, I have been dealing with arithmetic for decades now! With my experience, I reckon there¡¯s no one in the entire prefecture who can surpass me in this field!

    That fool must have only seen the papers I have set in the past. Let me tell you this... I have been dumbing down the questions for the sake of the students! I shall go all out this time and show you how terrifying arithmetic can be!

    ¡°What if you can¡¯t answer at least three questions correctly?¡± Yang Wei challenged Zu An provocatively.

    ¡°Since you¡¯re willing to put your career in the academy on the line, it¡¯s only fair that I do the same too. If I¡¯m unable to answer three questions correctly, I¡¯ll leave the academy on my own ord,¡± replied Zu An.

    Yang Wei¡¯s joy wasplete. You¡¯ve jumped straight right into my trap! Since that¡¯s the case, you have no one to me but yourself!

    The tense standoff between teacher and student got the rest of the Yellow ss riled up. No matter which world they¡¯re from, everyone loves a goodmotion. Besides, hardly any students in the Yellow ss actually cared about their studies. To them, gambling was much more fun and productive.

    They crowded around, anxious for the show to start.

 Chapter 82: Popular Star Shang Liuyu

    <h4>Chapter 82: Popr Star Shang Liuyu</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Yang Wei took great pride in his upation as a teacher, and the rowdy atmosphere that had arisen irked him to no end. It was more suitable for a streetside show than a ssroom! However, he had no choice but to bear with it. The priority was still to deal with Zu An. ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, we shall have the students here bear witness to the proceedings, lest someone refuses to acknowledge the better on.¡±

    Zu An raised a hand to forestall him. ¡°Wait a moment.¡±

    ¡°Why? Are you afraid now?¡± Yang Wei asked with a frown. He was worried that Zu An would back down at thest second.

    ¡°Afraid?¡± Zu An burst intoughter. ¡°No way! I just want to find a witness for our bet.¡±

    Yang Wei gestured to the students around him and asked, ¡°Are these people not enough for you?¡±

    ¡°Of course not!¡± Zu An replied matter-of-factly. ¡°If you win, these witnesses would be enough for you. However, if I win, I¡¯m afraid that we won¡¯t have enough say to make you fulfill the end of your promise. After all, we¡¯re all of lower standing than you.¡±

    ¡°Are you saying that I¡¯d lose to you?¡± Yang Wei snorted angrily.

    He might not have excelled as a cultivator, but he was still proud of his expertise when it came to arithmetic. No one was allowed to question his ability in that field.

    ¡°Nothing is for certain in this world. If you aren¡¯t willing to do it, let¡¯s just call off the bet.¡± Zu An shrugged before turning to leave.

    Seeing how Zu An was about to back down at thest moment, Yang Wei immediately panicked. It hadn¡¯t been easy for him to lead his prey by the nose so far, and he was just on the verge of ensnaring him. There was no way he could allow Zu An to leave at this juncture.

    So, he replied, ¡°Very well then. Let¡¯s find another teacher to bear witness to this. However, I don¡¯t know who would be free at this time.¡±

    Yang Wei had intended to rope in a colleague he was on closer terms with, but at that very moment, a refreshingly gentle voice came from the doorway. ¡°I shall be the witness to this bet.¡±

    The melodious voice immediately caught the crowd¡¯s attention, and all the heads in the ssroom swiveled to find its source. In an instant, the previously bustling ssroom fell silent.

    A woman was leaningzily against the door frame. Her skin was fair and her lips were crimson. Her dress flowed along her body like silk, vaguely hinting at her beautiful figure. Even though her dress only revealed a small portion of her fair hands and legs, her appearance was more than enough to steal the breaths away from all the men present.

    She had a carefree disposition that lent her actions an indescribable grace. Even in her casual, leisurely pose, she still looked as beautiful as a goddess descending from the sky.

    Had it not been for the green wine gourd hanging from her waist, she could have been easily mistaken as an ethereal fairy untouched by the mortal world.

    ¡°T... Teacher Shang!¡±

    The brief silence in the ssroom was erased by a loud cheering. As one, the students rushed forward to crowd around the woman, excitement painted on their faces.

    Even Yang Wei¡¯s breathing hastened as well.

    In truth, he had been reluctant to teach at the academy. His work at the Civil Affairs Department was more than enough to keep his hands busy. Had it not been for the rules of the royal court dictating him to serve as a teacher, he would have never bothereding to an academy to teach a bunch of immature brats.

    However, the first time he held a lesson at the academy, he¡¯d caught sight of this woman¡¯s face, and all of a sudden, his obligation felt less like a chore. In fact, he would find reasons to stay at the academy, in the hope that he would be able to catch another glimpse of her.

    Zu An, too, was also surprised by this development. To his astonishment, he had actually met this woman before. They¡¯d spent time ying with a flute in the gazebo back then... Ah pui, pui, pui! I mean we bonded through music!

    He had asked the woman for her name afterward, but she had refused to tell him, saying that they would meet each other again if fate permitted.

    Back then, he¡¯d assumed that she was just turning him down. How easy could it be for two strangers to meet one another once more in this massive world? However, with the benefit of hindsight, it seemed likely that she had known he was a student from Brightmoon Academy, and that their meeting again was inevitable.

    Zu An was far from a dense protagonist in a novel. With everyone around him addressing her as ¡®Teacher Shang¡¯, as well as those men acting as if they were animals in mating season, it was in to see that this woman was Shang Liuyu, ranked third on the Sweetheart Ranking.

    That would exin why the gorgeous principal had asked him if he was acquainted with Shang Liuyu, and why she had helped him alter the records of his aptitude test. All of it wasing together now.

    Yang Wei¡¯s face lit up with what he thought was his nicest smile. ¡°Teacher Shang, what brought you here today?¡±

    Shang Liuyu returned his smile and said, ¡°I just happened to be passing by. I heard amotion, so I came in to take a look.¡±

    Her smile was so potent that Yang Wei felt his heart melting. However, his face immediately heated up as he recalled the situation facing him. He quickly exined, ¡°Sorry you had to bump into something like this. This student is simply too obstinate, so I¡¯m hoping to teach him how to respect his elders.¡±

    Shang Liuyu threw a nce at Zu An, and the corners of her lips inched upward. ¡°I happened to overhear that the two of you are intending to make a bet against one another. Why don¡¯t I be the witness for your bet?¡±

    ¡°Sounds good~¡±

    ¡°Teacher Shang, you¡¯re the best~¡±

    ¡°Teacher Shang, you¡¯re my idol!¡±

    Loud cheers broke out in the ssroom. Clearly, Shang Liuyu was awfully popr.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°This...¡± Yang Wei was a little hesitant to ept Shang Liuyu¡¯s offer. It should have been easy enough for a teacher like him to deal with an unruly student. If another teacher were to get involved too, there could be unexpectedplications.

    ¡°Am I not wee here?¡± Shang Liuyu looked at Yang Wei quietly with her beautiful eyes.

    This was the first time Yang Wei was interacting with her in such proximity. The image of her perfect face hit him right in the chest¡ªa critical strike!¡ªleaving him short of breath. ¡°T-that¡¯s not what I mean! You¡¯re more than wee here!¡±

    Yang Wei quickly convinced himself that it was no big deal. I never get a chance to interact with Shang Liuyu, and this is the perfect opportunity to disy my talents before her. While I might becking in terms of cultivation, there¡¯s no one in Brightmoon City who can match me when ites to arithmetic!

    His skill at arithmetic was difficult to unt. He couldn¡¯t possibly walk up to Shang Liuyu and start reciting all sorts of mathematical equations¡ªshe would think that he was insane! It was unlikely that he would ever get another opportunity to impress her with his skill.

    ¡°Teacher Shang, this way please.¡± Yang Wei guided her toward the podium obsequiously.

    Zu An clicked his tongue at his subservience. Surely, this was the epitome of ¡®simping¡¯.

    Shang Liuyu casually took a seat before smiling at the students. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s quieten down so as to not interrupt their match.¡±

    Her words seemed to contain some sort of sorcery. The ssroom that had been as noisy as a wet market a moment ago fell utterly silent. Zu An nodded slightly, impressed by her charisma.

    Yang Wei rolled up his sleeves, motivation pumping through his veins. He was determined to prove his worth to his goddess. Using all the knowledge he had rued over the past few decades, he crafted out twenty highly difficult questions. He was confident that none of these students would be able to solve them¡ªeven he himself would stumble on them if he got distracted for a moment!

    He could already imagine what was about to happen. Zu An would nibble on his brush in frustration as he found himself utterly stumped by the questions. He would shamelessly im that these questions were unsolvable. Then, before the respectful eyes of the students, he, Yang Wei, would slowly decipher every single question, leaving all who witnessed it in awe of him.

    Maybe Shang Liuyu will look at me with glittering eyes too. This might just be the start of a blissful rtionship!

    Just thinking about it was more than enough to make his cheeks quiver fromughter.

    No, no, no, I have to calm down. A lot of eyes are on me right now. I need to take care of my image!

    Mindful of his demeanor, Yang Wei coughed softly before passing the test paper to Zu An. ¡°It is not toote to back out now. If you can¡¯t even do a single question, you¡¯ll have to leave the academy.¡±

    He was only saying those words in front of Shang Liuyu to create the impression that he had no intention of cornering his student; it was the student himself who insisted on it. Of course, given the current, heated atmosphere, there was no way Zu An could back out easily.

    In response, Zu An chuckled softly and said, ¡°You¡¯ll be the one leaving the academy if I get everything right.¡±

    Not just Yang Wei, but even the other students in the ssroom felt that Zu An had a screw loose in his head. Shang Liuyu merely watched the scene with an enigmatic smile on her lips, as if she knew something that the others didn¡¯t.

    ¡°Ignorant and arrogant!¡± Yang Wei flew into a furious rage. ¡°You shall pay the price of being so full of yourself!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Yang Wei for 541 Rage points!

    He didn¡¯t take being insulted in front of his goddess too well, especially by a mere student.

    Ignoring the outburst, Zu An shrugged leisurely and took the test paper.

    Without warning, he exploded withughter. ¡°Is that all you got?¡±

    To be honest, he hadn¡¯t been certain that he would be able to answer all of the questions. After all, he wasn¡¯t too sure how far mathematics had developed in this world. However, when he saw the questions on the paper, he realized that he had been overestimating Yang Wei¡¯s ability.

    ¡°I advise you to focus your efforts on answering the questions instead of letting your mouth run. If you can¡¯t finish the paper before sses to an end... Heh...¡± Yang Wei didn¡¯t finish his sentence, but his implied meaning was clear enough.

    Shang Liuyu spoke up. ¡°There isn¡¯t much time before the sses to an end. Isn¡¯t that too much of a rush? Why don¡¯t we do this instead? Since I¡¯m taking the next ss, I¡¯ll allocate half of the lesson to you so that you can take things slowly.¡±

    Yang Wei was taken aback by the proposal. However, he didn¡¯t think that Shang Liuyu had proposed this to help Zu An. After all, the two were not rted in any way, so there was no reason for her to look out for him.

    My goddess is probably just pitying Zu An and wants to give him a chance. She must also be worried that others would use me of bullying the juniors, and she¡¯s doing this with my reputation in mind. How touching.

    Yang Wei was so moved that tears were about to leak out from his eyes. He quickly nodded in agreement. ¡°Yes, what Teacher Shang makes perfect sense. Zu An, I¡¯ll give you another half a ss to answer the questions then.¡±

    Arithmetic is a subject where either you get it, or you don¡¯t. If you don¡¯t understand the question, I can give you all the time in the world, and it will do you no good.

    Zu An had given up on responding to Yang Wei. Instead, he started reading the first question.

    ¡®3 people drink 3 buckets of water in 3 days. How many buckets of water do 9 people drink in 9 days?¡¯

    Wei Suo¡¯s eyes lit up right away. ¡°This is such an easy question! Even I can answer that! If 3 people drink 3 buckets of water in 3 days, it should go without saying that 9 people would drink 9 buckets of water in 9 days!¡±

    Most of the spectating students nodded in agreement. Only a small minority felt that there was something wrong with the answer Wei Suo proposed, but they couldn¡¯t put their finger on what it was.

    Yang Wei smirked at Wei Suo¡¯s confident statement. Do you think that I woulde up with such an easy question? Of course, he didn¡¯t bother putting a halt to the discussions going around. He would love more than anything for these people to mislead Zu An.

    Zu An, meanwhile, shook his head in disappointment.

    Even elementary-schoolers would be able to solve such a question easily. 3 people drink 3 buckets of water in 3 days, which means 3 of them drink a bucket of water each day. Multiplying it proportionately, 9 people should drink 3 buckets of water each day, and 27 buckets of water in 9 days!

    Zu An wrote down the answer, and Yang Wei¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief. How could this be possible?

    The first time he had seen this question on an ancient record, he had ended up falling for its trick and answered wrongly. Afterward, he posed this question to many of his colleagues, and most of them would instinctively answer ¡®9 buckets of water¡¯. How did this fellow solve it so easily?

    Then again, this question wasn¡¯t too difficult. It was possible that Zu An had just gotten lucky.

    Hmph, this is the easiest question of the lot! The difficulty will only increase with each passing question. I don¡¯t believe that you can remain so lucky!

    Now that Zu An had managed to answer a question, though, it would probably be more difficult to chase him out of the academy. If only I had known that this would happen, I wouldn¡¯t have set the bar so low.

    You have sessfully trolled Yang Wei for 9... 9... 9...

    Seeing the inflow of Rage points, Zu An was surprised by how well Yang Wei lived up to his name. Even his Rage points dribbled in, instead of flowing in a steady stream.[1]

    He moved on to the second question.

    ¡®A farmer¡¯s wife is washing bowls by the river. Passers-by ask her why she has so many bowls to wash. She answers that she had just hosted a number of guests. Every 2 people would share a bowl of rice, every 3 people would share a bowl of soup, and every 4 people would share a bowl of a side dish. All in all, there are 65 bowls. How many guests did she host?¡¯

    1. In Mandarin, Yang Wei¡¯s name is a homophone for a medical term (Ñôðô) referring to impotence.

 Chapter 83: Shameless

    <h4>Chapter 83: Shameless</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    One of the students immediately eximed in horror, ¡°Isn¡¯t that family too stingy? Two people have to share a bowl of rice? How in the world do they eat like that?¡±

    Yang Wei¡¯s face darkened. ¡°Why are you picking faults with the question? We¡¯re here to answer the question, not to gossip about whether the family is stingy or not.¡±

    Zu An chuckled softly under his breath. He couldn¡¯t understand why Yang Wei would think that such a simple question was somehow difficult. Could it be that people in this world didn¡¯t understand the concept of algebra?

    Zu An did a rough calction before writing down ¡®60¡¯.

    ¡°Gulp~¡±

    Yang Wei swallowed in shock. How could this be? Did the fellow see the answer key beforehand? No, that¡¯s impossible. I came up with these questions on the spot! Are these questions actually that easy?

    He started to doubt his sanity, but wasforted by the confused looks on the faces of the students all around. Nay, how can that be? That fellow must have guessed the answer to the question, and happened to get ¡®60¡¯ on his first try. Yes, that¡¯s definitely the case.

    Zu An moved on to the third question.

    ¡®In Brightmoon City¡¯s market, a rooster is worth 5 qian, a chicken is worth 3 qian, and three chicks are worth 1 qian. The farmer used a total of 100 qian to buy 100 animals. So, how many roosters, chicken, and chicks did she buy in total?¡¯[1]

    Hm? This question looks pretty interesting. There are three unknown variables but we can only formte two equations here. However, since the number is pretty small, we can just do a guess and check.

    Of course, we won¡¯t exhaustively guess all of the possibilities to figure out the answer. There¡¯s a trick to it. Taking the number of roosters, chickens, and chicks to be x, y, and z respectively, we can simplify the equation to y = (100 -7x)/4.

    Given that the number of roosters, chickens, and chicks have to be whole numbers, the equation (100 - 7x) must be a number that is divisible by 4, which means that x has to be an even number.

    From there, we can quickly deduce that there are 4 roosters, 18 chickens, and 78 chicks in total![2]

    When Yang Wei saw Zu An writing the answer out, his mind nked out for an instant. Three questions! He has already managed to answer three questions correctly!

    He couldn¡¯t throw his weight around and insist that Zu An¡¯s answer was wrong because of the huge crowd watching. While these students might not be able to solve the questions properly, it was easy enough for them to verify the answer by working backward. On top of all that, Shang Liuyu¡¯s eyes were on him too!

    How in the world is the fellow doing this? Isn¡¯t he supposed to be trash? How is he able to answer all of these questions so easily? On top of that, the speed at which he¡¯s solving these problems is unbelievable!

    With Zu An having answered three questions correctly, the bet had already been lost. Yang Wei couldn¡¯t chase him out of the academy anymore. Instead, he had to pray that Zu An wouldn¡¯t be able to solve all of the questions, or else he would find himself in a tight spot.

    He had never thought that such a situation would ur, so he agreed to the bet without any hesitation. Zu An¡¯s high proficiency in arithmetic was unexpected, and it left him panicking inside.

    No, there¡¯s nothing to fear. The questions are getting progressively harder, especially for thest one. I found it in an ancient record. Putting aside the students, even he couldn¡¯t solve the question himself!

    No matter how incredible this fellow is, there must be a limit to his capability. There¡¯s no way he can solve such an ancient difficult question too!

    To his dismay, Zu An¡¯s brush flew across the page as he solved question after question, eliciting shocked exmations from the surrounding students. Initially, they¡¯d assumed he had just lucked out and somehow managed to guess the right answer. However, the fact that he was able to solve question after question correctly with hardly any pause proved that he was a true arithmetic prodigy.

    Many of them were hoping to see Zu An make a fool out of himself. After all, he had married Chu Chuyan, the most beautiful woman in their academy, and flirted with many of those in the Sweetheart Ranking. They couldn¡¯t ept how he had a harem when the rest of them were still single. Any one of them would have pounced on the slightest chance to drive him out of the academy.

    Strangely enough, as the challenge progressed, none of them were disappointed to see Zu An answering the questions one after another. Instead, they were starting to tremble in excitement. After all, the one thing that was more interesting than seeing a fellow ssmate being expelled was seeing their own teacher being expelled!

    The faintest trace of a smile crept onto Shang Liuyu¡¯s lips as well. Her eyes were locked onto Zu An. He really looked quite suave when he was focused on a task.

    She was reminded of their first meeting in the gazebo, which further spurred her curiosity about him. Just how many secrets is this fellow hiding?

    In contrast to Shang Liuyu¡¯s rxed demeanor, Yang Wei dabbed at his forehead frequently with his handkerchief, which was already drenched in his cold sweat. He could sense the eyes of the crowd lingering on him silently, which made goosebumps rise all over his body. Calm down, calm down... Yes, there¡¯s nothing to worry about. There¡¯s no way he¡¯ll be able to solve thest question!

    Finally, Zu An reached thest question.

    ¡®Two farmers¡¯ wives brought a total of 100 chicken eggs to Brightmoon City¡¯s market to sell, and the two of them earned the same amount of money after selling out their goods. The first told the second, ¡°If I had as many chicken eggs as you, I would have been able to earn 15 silver qian.¡± The second then replied, ¡°If I had as many chicken eggs as you, I would only have been able to earn 6 and two-third qian.¡± How many chicken eggs do each of them have?¡¯

    The students began discussing the question fervently amongst themselves.

    ¡°This is weird. They¡¯re both selling chicken eggs, right? Why are their prices different then?¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that perfectly normal? It¡¯s obvious that one of them is better-looking than the other. People will naturally buy from the farmer¡¯s wife that looks better even if it¡¯s more expensive, and the uglier looking one has no choice but to lower her price to bring in customers.¡±

    ¡°What wise words!¡±

    ...

    Zu An was stunned to see this question. He turned to Yang Wei and asked, ¡°You can¡¯t actually find this question hard, right?¡±

    Yang Wei was bubbling with frustration. Of course! Why else would I leave it for thest? However, at this point, he dared not underestimate Zu An anymore. So, he responded vaguely, ¡°Those who are able to solve it naturally see no difficulty in it.¡±

    ¡°Indeed, it¡¯s not hard at all,¡± replied Zu An.

    This was basically a problem involving simultaneous equations with four variables. While the calctions were tedious, the question itself was, by no means, difficult.

    Yang Wei was ticked off by Zu An¡¯s answer. I was just being courteous with you, but you sure are putting on airs, huh? Why don¡¯t you try solving it and show me the correct answer then!

    You have sessfully trolled Yang Wei for 222 Rage points!

    Zu An threw a perplexed nce at Yang Wei. He scribbled out a series of calctions on another sheet of paper before finally jotting down the answer: The first farmer¡¯s wife had 40 eggs and the second farmer¡¯s wife had 60 eggs.

    Many of the students had been diligently checking Zu An¡¯s answers for him. There was a short pause, and one of them eximed excitedly, ¡°He got it right! He managed to get all twenty questions right!¡±

    The crowd was astonished. A growing number of eyes began to dart toward Yang Wei, his earlier wager still fresh in everyone¡¯s minds. Since Zu An had sessfully answered twenty questions, it was time for him to resign from his job at Brightmoon Academy.

    There seemed to be a loud ringing in Yang Wei¡¯s ears. Everything that had just happened defied hismon sense. His mission to trample all over an ipetent student was supposed to be sweet and easy! Who could have expected the tables to be turned on him?

    This isn¡¯t right! Isn¡¯t he supposed to be a notorious wastrel? How can he possibly be so skilled at arithmetic?

    Zu An turned to look at the ravishing Shang Liuyu, and favored her with a smile. ¡°Teacher Shang, right? As our witness, I¡¯d like you to dere the winner of this bet.¡±

    ¡°Needless to say, you¡¯ve won.¡± Shang Liuyu nodded in response as she directed a knowing smile at him.

    With the contest decided, Zu An turned to Yang Wei and said, ¡°Teacher Yang, I recall someone mentioning that he would resign from the academy if I managed to answer all twenty questions correctly. May I know if your words still hold true?¡±

    Yang Wei¡¯s face swiftly flushed bright red. He pointed his finger at Zu An in agitation as he bellowed, ¡°You cheated! That¡¯s right, you must have cheated!¡±

    All concern over embarrassing himself in front of his goddess had flown out the window. The most important thing right now was for him to keep his job! If not, he would go down as the first teacher in the entire Great Zhou Dynasty to be forced to resign under pressure from his student. He would never be able to raise his head again if he suffered such humiliation!

    ¡°Tsk!¡±

    Disgruntled snorts echoed throughout the ssroom. The students were all rather dissatisfied by his weak-minded attempt to renege on his promise.

    Shang Liuyu frowned as well. ¡°Teacher Yang, all of us can bear witness to the process. How could he have possibly cheated?¡±

    Yang Wei could feel contempt in Shang Liuyu¡¯s gaze, which made him even more agitated. He hurriedly fashioned an excuse. ¡°I remember now! These questions can all be easily guessed as long as you¡¯re lucky. The numbers aren¡¯t that big anyway. He could have just tried each number one by one to get the answer. Look at his workings! Do any of you understand what he¡¯s written down? He¡¯s obviously guessed his way through!¡±

    Some of the students carefully examined Zu An¡¯s workings, and they found themselves agreeing with Yang Wei¡¯s words. They really are illegible... If he really guessed all of the answers, doesn¡¯t that mean his luck was way too good? Then again, he did win seven-and-a-half million silver taels from the casino just yesterday, so he probably has nock of luck.

    Zu An sighed deeply. ¡°Your reputation as a shameless man precedes you, but your shamelessness has managed to exceed my wildest imagination. You have no qualms spouting nonsense in front of your own students. Why don¡¯t you just tell us whether my answers are right or not?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the point of getting the answers right? If the steps you take to get there aren¡¯t right, these answers are all just flukes that deserve no marks!¡± Yang Wei forcefully argued for his logic. ¡°This is simply themon rule of arithmetic sses. The purpose of the rule is to deal with those who copy answers, and others who luck out like you!¡±

    Shang Liuyu chuckled softly before remarking, ¡°Teacher Yang, I don¡¯t think that words make much sense. Even if he¡¯s lucky enough to guess an answer or two correctly, he can¡¯t possibly be that lucky to get all twenty questions correct. Perhaps he¡¯s using a method so novel that no one has seen it before?¡±

    Her good looks and refined poise allowed her to convince others easily, without the need for her to push her point of view aggressively.

    ¡°Teacher Shang is right!¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t make sense for there to be such a huge coincidence in the world.¡±

    ...

    Yang Wei¡¯s eyebrows twitched in anger. Is this woman intentionally trying to go against me? With both his job and his honor on the line, he couldn¡¯t care less about fostering his rtionship with her.

    His face dark with rage, he began putting Shang Liuyu down. ¡°Teacher Shang, you¡¯re a foreignnguage teacher, so I don¡¯t me you for not knowing arithmetic. The methods he has jotted down are absolutely nonsensical. Even the arithmetic teachers of the Royal Academy in the capital wouldn¡¯t be able to understand them. There are no such methods in the world. Therefore, the only remaining possibility is that he managed to get everything correct by chance. If you don¡¯t believe that, why don¡¯t you get him to exin the steps he took to reach the correct answer?¡±

    He had already decided that, no matter whether Zu An¡¯s exnation made sense or not, he would simply shrug it off as nonsense. With his reputation on the line, he couldn¡¯t care less about how others thought of him at this moment.

    Shang Liuyu found herself in a tight spot. Yang Wei was a renowned arithmetic expert in Brightmoon City, which made him quite an authoritative figure on the subject. She wasn¡¯t in a good position toment on this matter.

    With no way to help, she turned her gaze toward Zu An. She was curious to see how he intended to deal with this situation. He always had a knack for resolving problems through unusual means.

    ¡°With your poor aptitude in arithmetic, I doubt you would understand my methods even if I tried to exin them to you,¡± Zu An replied calmly.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Yang Wei was so angry that he beganughing instead. ¡°Hahaha! Do you hear what that arrogant man is saying? I¡¯ve never heard such an insolent student before. I¡¯ll report this to the academy and have it expel you under the grounds of disrespecting your teacher!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Yang Wei for 521 Rage points!

    1. Tael and qian are units of weight measurement used in Ancient China, with 1 tael (~37.7g) roughly being equal to 10 qian (~3.7g). Qian is more frequently used in reference to coins whereas tael is used in reference to therger ingots.

    2. There are actually two other possible answers to the question. I will leave it to the reader to figure out the other two possibilities, either by using the method outlined, or by further refining the second-tost step.

 Chapter 84: Not a Single Question Correct

    <h4>Chapter 84: Not a Single Question Correct</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An chuckled at Yang Wei¡¯s expression. He looked like he was about to burst a blood vessel. He said to the teacher, ¡°There¡¯s a very easy way to resolve this situation. I¡¯ll set twenty questions too. Regardless of whether you cheat or guess your way through, as long as you can solve them all... Forget it, I¡¯ll give you a discount. If you even solve half of them, I¡¯ll pack up my stuff and get out of the academy immediately. If you don¡¯t, I will hold you to your earlier wager. How does that sound?¡±

    No matter what, Yang Wei was still an official of the royal court, and a teacher officially hired by the academy. Neither Zu An nor the academy was in a good position to terminate him over a mere bet. However, what if Yang Wei couldn¡¯t even answer a single question Zu An set? No matter how shameless he was, there was no way he would suffer the ignominy of staying in the academy.

    Yang Wei was taken aback by the sudden proposal. He was intimidated by how Zu An had managed to easily solve all twenty questions, and his confidence was rapidly deting.

    Shang Liuyu took this opportunity to chime in, ¡°Teacher Yang, surely you can¡¯t be intimidated by your student, right?¡±

    ¡°Of course not!¡± Yang Wei immediately straightened up. ¡°Do your worst then! I¡¯ll solve even 200 questions if that¡¯s what it needs to make you submit!¡±

    This wasn¡¯t a bad bet to make. Even if he was not confident in solving all twenty questions, at the very least, solving ten of them would be well within his capabilities. He was a renowned arithmetic expert in Brightmoon City after all, having calcted years of taxes for the Civil Affairs Department. There was no way a young punk¡¯s questions could trip him up. As long as he seeded, he would be able to send Zu An packing from the academy!

    Zu An had an inkling of what Yang Wei was thinking based on his reaction, and he smiled to himself. I shall show you the horrors of mathematics then!

    There were many usible questions he coulde up with, but he decided not to use the less-mainstream geometry questions. He doubted anyone in this world knew about pi, calcting the area of a circle, and that sort of thing. Setting those questions would only make the others think he was intentionally making things difficult for Yang Wei.

    In order to crush Yang Wei thoroughly, what he had to do was toe up with questions that everyone understood, but were unable to solve. Got it!

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    With quick, deft strokes of his brush, Zu An wrote out twenty questions in a sh. He handed the sheet of paper over to Yang Wei with the sincerest of smiles. ¡°Since you¡¯re a renowned arithmetic expert, I trust that these questions wouldn¡¯t pose any problem to you.¡±

    Yang Wei was surprised by Zu An¡¯s sudden humility. He cleared his throat. ¡°Of course. How difficult could questionsing from a junior like you be?¡±

    He took the paper and read the first question:

    ¡®There are two numbers, each between 1 and 20. The sum of the two numbers is given to Person A, and the product of the two numbers is given to Person B. Person A told Person B that he didn¡¯t know what the two numbers were, and Person B said that he didn¡¯t know either. With that, Person A said that he knew the answer now, and Person B replied that he knew the answer too.

    ¡®What are the two numbers?¡¯[1]

    Based on the questions Yang Wei hade up with, the concept of multiplication did exist in this world, so it wasn¡¯t out of the sybus.

    Yang Wei blinked his eyes several times after reading the question. What the hell is this? I¡¯ve never seen such questions before! T-this... How the hell do I solve such a question?!

    The question looked simple enough at first nce, but as he tried to solve it, cold sweat began dripping from his face. Despite the knowledge he had rued throughout his entire life, he found himself unable to figure out a way to solve this question!

    The surrounding students also began discussing the question.They had never seen such a novel question before. However, even after racking their brains for a long while, they had no idea where to begin.

    ¡°Silence!¡±

    Yang Wei was hoping for some inspiration from the students around him, but most of their discussion was nonsensical, contributing nothing. This made him incredibly frustrated.

    The students stuck out their tongues at him in response. You¡¯re the one who can¡¯t solve the question. Why are you venting your frustrations on us?

    Yang Wei¡¯s face turned as ck as charcoal at their mutterings. It was then that he realized there were only twenty numbers in total. At most, I¡¯ll just try the numbers one by one. I reckon that¡¯s how that fellow solved my questions earlier!

    He quicklyposed himself and proceeded with his calctions.

    The students looked on as he began working through the problem, feeling deeply impressed. As expected of the teacher. He managed to find a way to work out the answer in just a few moments.

    Meanwhile, Zu An was sitting cross-legged on a chair, calmly sipping a cup of tea which Wei Suo had brought out from god-knows-where. His eyes were fully on Shang Liuyu, appreciating her marvelous figure. He¡¯d met quite a few beauties aftering to this world, but even he had to admit that her charm was the real deal.

    Shang Liuyu, on the other hand, was focused on the question. Even though she was a foreignnguage teacher, she still knew a thing or two about arithmetic. She had been able to solve most of Yang Wei¡¯s questions earlier, but the question Zu An devised was simply too bizarre. No matter how she thought it through, she couldn¡¯t make heads or tails out of it.

    She threw a discreet nce at Zu An, only to see him staring at her. She was amused by how his attention was wandering despite being in the midst of an important bet. Thisd sure is confident in himself. He really is different from the others.

    In contrast to Zu An¡¯s rxed demeanor, Yang Wei¡¯s clothes werepletely drenched in sweat. He¡¯d made some initial progress through trial and error, but the more he progressed, the more muddled he became. Somehow, every answer he arrived at didn¡¯t seem right to him.

    He swallowed and shot a look at Zu An, who stared back at him with an enigmatic smile on his lips. All of a sudden, it struck him. This fellow must have intentionally put the hardest question in front to trap me! I nearly fell for his ploy!

    Yang Wei decided to move on to the next question. He would return to this er on.

    He flipped over to the second question, and this was what he saw.

    ¡®There are three doors in front of you. Behind one of the doors is a treasure, but there is nothing behind the other two. After you select a door, someone opens one of the two remaining doors, revealing an empty room. Then, the person offers you the chance to switch to another door. To maximise the probability of choosing the door that hides the treasure, would you switch to another door? Please state the reason behind your decision.[2]

    Yang Wei was delighted.

    That fellow has indeed put the hardest question in front. This is much easier! Hmph! Isn¡¯t the probability the same regardless of whether I change doors or not? He even tried to mislead me by phrasing the question to make it seem as if there¡¯s a better decision. Do you take me for a fool?

    He quickly wrote down ¡®I won¡¯t switch to another door¡¯. However, still worried that his answer might be too ambiguous, he jotted down ¡®Regardless of whether I switch doors or not, the probability of selecting the door with the treasure is the same¡¯.

    Satisfied with his answer, he moved on to the third question.

    ¡®Five pirates managed to obtain 100 ki stones in a raid. Pirate A was given the right to decide how to distribute the bounty, but the proposal hees up with must be agreed upon by more than half of the pirates in order for it to be epted. Otherwise, he would be thrown into the sea, and Pirate B will be given the right to determine the distribution, with the same rules applied. Assuming that you¡¯re Pirate A, how should you distribute the ki stones in order to maximize your gain?

    ¡®Please assume that the pirates are rational arithmetic experts, and they¡¯re able to urately calcte their gains and losses to decide on the best course of action that maximizes their gains.¡¯[3]

    Yang Wei was stunned. Just what in the world is in that fellow¡¯s mind for him toe up with such weird questions?

    His first response was to equally distribute the ki stones among all the pirates, but he soon threw out the answer and tried to calcte other possibilities.

    The surrounding students alsounched into fervent discussion, but none of them had a clue what the optimal distribution for Pirate A was.

    Shang Liuyu found the use of the term ¡®pirates¡¯ in the question rather endearing. Thisd surees up with interesting questions.

    After struggling for a while, Yang Wei took out his already-soaked handkerchief once more and wiped his forehead. He was in full-blown panic. He couldn¡¯t find a way to verify whether his answer was right or not.

    Should I move on to the next question?

    Yang Wei remembered how Zu An had chosen to put the hardest question in front, and he figured that the questions behind should be easier. Taking a deep breath, he proceeded with the fourth question.

    ¡®Five prisoners, numbered from 1 to 5, take turns to draw green beans from a rucksack filled with 100 green beans. The rules state that they¡¯ll have to take at least one green bean. The prisoners are not allowed tomunicate with one another, but they are able to count the number of beans left in the rucksack through touch. Which of the five prisoners has the highest chance of survival? All the prisoners who end up with the most beans and all with the least beans will be sentenced to death.

    ¡®Note:

    1) All of the prisoners are smart, rational people who will decide on the best course of action for them.

    2) Their primary aim is to survive. If that is not possible, they will aim to kill as many people as possible.

    3) There¡¯s no need to fully distribute all 100 green beans amongst themselves.¡¯[4]

    Yang Wei nearly burst out cursing on the spot. What is this dumb question? Why are there so many rules here? The question looked simple at first nce, but if one were to start thinking about the specifics, there were so many factors to consider that it could blow one¡¯s mind.

    He spent a while attempting to work out a solution before eventually giving up and moving on to the next question.

    ¡®There are 100 people on an ind. 5 of them have red eyes and 95 of them have blue eyes. This ind has three weird rules:

    ¡®1) They are not allowed to look into mirrors or any other reflective surfaces, so they aren¡¯t able to determine their own eye colors;

    ¡®2) They can¡¯t tell others what their eye colors are;

    ¡®3) Once a person realizes that he has red eyes, he would have tomit suicide that very night.

    ¡®One day, an adventurer arrived on the ind. Oblivious to the rules, while he was partying with everyone else, he identally let it slip that ¡°Some of you have red eyes¡±.

    ¡®Assuming that everyone on the ind is smart and capable of logical deduction, what do you think will happen on the ind afterward?¡¯[5]

    Yang Wei¡¯s eyes lit up. This question was much easier than the ones before. He grabbed his brush right away and began jotting down his answer.

    ...

    ...

    ...

    Just like that, with bouts of smiles and bouts of stress, he went through the questions one by one. Eventually, he realized that he was only able to solve a few of them.

    By this time, a huge crowd had formed outside the ssroom. sses had already ended, but to everyone¡¯s astonishment, none of the students from the most mischievous Yellow ss had left yet. Out of curiosity, the students from the other sses decided to head over to take a look. It didn¡¯t take long for news of the bet between Zu An and Yang Wei to spread around the entire academy, drawing in massive crowds.

    If it was only a simple duel between Zu An and Yang Wei, the proud prodigies of the Sky ss wouldn¡¯t have bothered. However, the presence of Shang Liuyu changed things.

    Shang Liuyu was the most popr teacher in Brightmoon Academy. Her sses were always packed to the brim, and her students were always incredibly focused. Their eyes were simply too caught up in appreciating her beauty to be distracted by anything else.

    Some of the students came to watch the drama, but the majority flocked over to ogle Shang Liuyu. However, it didn''t take them long to be drawn to Zu An¡¯s questions.

    What was interesting about Zu An¡¯s questions was that they were very easily understood. Most of them felt that the questions were easily doable, and they naturally began to discuss the possible solutions with one another. Even the prodigies of the Sky ss, who were usually only interested in cultivation, began making their own calctions too.

    ¡°Brother-inw, you¡¯re the best!¡±

    Chu Huanzhao wasn¡¯t one to miss amotion, and she seemed oddly proud about the situation. It was almost as if she was the one in the limelight right now. She didn¡¯t question her feelings; she put them down to a shared sense of glory with a fellow Chu n member.

    The adorable Ji Xiaoxi was also standing amidst the crowd, poring over the questions with interest. The slight frown on her face did little to mar her beauty. How are these questions supposed to be solved? Should I go back and ask my father about them? Ah, but father isn¡¯t interested in this kind of thing. He only fancies those perverted magazines he has stowed in his room. He seems to have gotten a new book recently, and he¡¯s being very secretive over it. He doesn¡¯t even allow me toe close to it. Hmph...

    Pei Mianman, dressed in a ck cloak that concealed her proud figure, was also watching the spectacle. Her lips inched up into an amused smile. This fellow sure is an interesting one. Chu Chuyan does have a sharp eye for people. Should I find an opportunity to nab him over to my side? It should be interesting to take her stuff away from her...

    Hiding at the very back of the crowd was Zheng Dan, who was feeling particrly flustered. The reports she had browsed through depicted Zu An to be a good-for-nothing, and she had put his big win at the Silverhook Casino down to an incredible bit of luck. She hadn¡¯t expected Zu An to be this skilled in arithmetic.

    It looks like it wasn¡¯t just luck at y at the Silverhook Casino. I reckon that even Yang Wei will be done in by him. I sure do wonder who was the one who sent Yang Wei after him, though.

    Still, I should probably proceed carefully from now on, lest my honey trap backfires on me.

    After what seemed like forever, Shang Liuyu issued a reminder to the embattled arithmetic teacher. ¡°Teacher Yang, time is already up.¡±

    Yang Wei wiped off the sweat on his face. ¡°Give me a while more, I¡¯m just about finished.¡±

    All along, he had been the one to see students struggling to solve his questions under the time limit. Who knew he would be put in the same position one day?

    However, with so many spectators, he couldn¡¯t bring himself to shamelessly drag things out for too long. He made a few final strokes with his brush, then put it down and said, ¡°I¡¯m done.¡±

    To be honest, he had no confidence in all but two of the answers he had written down. However, he still felt he was in with a chance. At the very least, he should be able to get ten questions correct.

    He was relieved that he hadn¡¯t dered arrogantly that he would get all twenty questions right. If so, it would already be all over for him. As long as he could get ten questions correct, he would be able to salvage some of his pride. After all, everyone here knew just how difficult the questions were.

    ¡°How is it? I managed to at least get ten of them right, didn¡¯t I?¡± Waiting calmly as Zu An checked his answers, Yang Wei slipped his sweat-soaked handkerchief back into his pocket, a triumphant smile emerging on his lips.

    He was confident that no one in the entire Brightmoon City would be able to fare better than him on the test¡ªwell, except for Zu An the pervert, anyway.

    ¡°As expected of Teacher Yang, he managed to answer all of the questions!¡±

    ¡°Wow, that¡¯s really impressive. I don¡¯t even know how to answer a single question at all.¡±

    ¡°Teacher Yang is not our arithmetic teacher for nothing. How can he hold his own without possessing some skill?¡±

    ¡°Still, I must say that the questions Zu An came up with are truly tough. His proficiency in arithmetic is at least on par with Teacher Yang.¡±

    ¡°I reckon it¡¯s just Teacher Yang going easy on him. There¡¯s no reason for him to take a student so seriously, after all.¡±

    ...

    Yang Wei¡¯s back slowly straightened with pride as he savored thementarying from the surrounding students. It seemed he had managed to build up quite some prestige for himself over the years. He patted his chest and turned to nce at Shang Liuyu, relieved that he had at least managed to salvage his reputation in front of her.

    However, Shang Liuyu wasn¡¯t looking at him at all. Her eyes were fixed intently on Zu An, curious as to what the results would be.

    Zu An finally broke his silence. ¡°Is this the level you¡¯re at? It looks like I¡¯ve overestimated you. You didn¡¯t even manage to get a single question correct!¡±

    The ssroom erupted in chaos.

    ¡°What?¡± Yang Wei swore that he was hearing things. There¡¯s no way I could have gotten everything wrong! He red at Zu An in aggravation as he hollered furiously, ¡°Lies! How dare you nder me!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Yang Wei for 1024 Rage points!

    He had been feeling good about himself just a second ago, but now, practically everyone in the academy heard the announcement that he hadn¡¯t gotten a single question correct. This sudden nosedive his emotions took was simply too great for him to bear!

    1. The Impossible Puzzle, first published in 1969. The name of the puzzle was coined by Martin Garnder in his formtion of it in 1979. There have been several formtions of this puzzle since.

    2. This is the famous Monty Hall Problem.

    3. This is the Pirate Game, a simple puzzle in Game Theory.

    4. The only reference to this puzzle I can find is online at http://perplexus.info/show.php?pid=3759&cid=29062

    5. This is one of the formtions for the Blue-Eyed Inders Problem.

 Chapter 85: You Again!

    <h4>Chapter 85: You Again!</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°How is it possible that I got all of the answers wrong? You must be saying that in order to win the bet! There¡¯s no other reason for that!¡± Yang Wei red at Zu An angrily. He was confident that he should have gotten at least ten questions correct. He could never ept that he had actually gotten everything wrong.

    ¡°Indeed! How could Teacher Yang possibly get everything wrong? He¡¯s our academy¡¯s arithmetic teacher!¡±

    ¡°Zu An is going too far, lying just to win the bet. It only shows how despicable he is as a person!¡±

    ...

    Zu An didn¡¯t lose his temper despite all of the criticisms directed at him. Instead, he raised the paper Yang Wei had justpleted up high and said, ¡°Very well, let me enlighten you on your mistakes then. Look at the first question. The right answer is 2 and 2, and yet you wrote 10 and 15. You must have just made a random guess, hoping that you¡¯d somehow get it right.¡±

    Yang Wei¡¯s face heated up in embarrassment. It was true that he had guessed two random numbers. He¡¯d simply gotten more and more confused as he thought about the problem, and eventually gave up. However, there was no way he was going to admit to it. ¡°Your question is simply illogical. Given these conditions, how can anyone possibly deduce the answer?¡±

    ¡°Oh, is that so?¡± Zu An shook his head disdainfully.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Since you don¡¯t understand it, allow me to enlighten you. Person A knows the sum of the numbers, but he doesn¡¯t know what the two numbers are. If the sum of the numbers is either 2 or 3, he would immediately know that the two numbers are (1, 1) and (1, 2) respectively. Simrly, if the sum of the number is either 40 or 39, he would know that the numbers are (20, 20) and (20, 19) respectively. Therefore, the possibilities for the sum of both numbers is narrowed down to be between 4 and 38.

    ¡°Let¡¯s take 4 as an example. If 4 is the addition of both numbers, the two numbers could possibly be (1, 3) or (2, 2), so A is unable to determine which is correct.

    ¡°Now, let¡¯s look from Person B¡¯s perspective. If the number B got was a prime number, namely 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, so on and so forth, he would be able to deduce right away that the numbers are 1 and the number itself. Those are the only two factors after all. Since he was unable to deduce what the number was right away, we can eliminate all prime numbers.

    ¡°Back to A¡¯s perspective, assuming that the sum of the numbers is 4, and the product of the numbers isn¡¯t 3¡ªwhich is likely, since B would immediately know the answer if it were¡ªit only leaves thebination of (2, 2) that fulfills the criteria.

    ¡°There are otherbinations of two numbers that sum up to more than 4, such that A is unable to deduce what the two numbers are, and B is unable to follow up with a corresponding deduction too.¡±

    After his lengthy exnation, Zu An shook his head and sighed deeply. ¡°See, as long as you had the right direction in mind, you would have gotten the answer on your first try. Isn¡¯t it simple? That¡¯s why I chose to put this question first. Who knew you couldn¡¯t even solve such a simple question? Haaa~¡±

    The spectating students began gossiping amongst themselves.

    ¡°Hmmm, the logic is pretty simple now that he has exined it.¡±

    ¡°Tsk, why weren¡¯t you able to solve it then?¡±

    ¡°I just wasn¡¯t able to think of it on the spot! I mean, even Teacher Yang couldn¡¯t get it right either!¡±

    ...

    Yang Wei¡¯s face reddened at the damningments from the spectating students. ¡°Fine, let¡¯s take it that I answered this question wrongly out of carelessness. What about the next question, then? Isn¡¯t the probability the same no matter which door is chosen? There¡¯s no way I could be wrong about that!¡±

    That was the question that he was the most confident about.

    The crowd murmured in agreement. ¡°Indeed, the probability should be the same no matter which door is chosen. Whether he chooses to switch to another door or not shouldn¡¯t make a difference.¡±

    Yang Wei¡¯s words were in line withmon sense.

    However, Zu An sighed deeply and remarked, ¡°It¡¯s one thing for the students to get this question wrong, but how could an arithmetic teacher like you make the same mistake too? This sure is... Hai...¡±

    His condescending attitude so angered Yang Wei that he was on the verge of exploding. ¡°Why don¡¯t you put away that mysterious act of yours and point out what¡¯s wrong with my logic?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Yang Wei for 472 Rage points!

    Zu An finally got around to his exnation. ¡°No matter which door you select, the chances of selecting the treasure is one-third. In other words, the total probability of the treasure being in the two remaining doors is two-thirds. If I open one of the two doors to show an empty room, wouldn¡¯t the probability of the treasure being behind the only remaining unchosen door be two-thirds? Given that, you should definitely change your choice of door since the chances of getting the treasure are higher!¡±

    ¡°Rubbish!¡± said Yang Wei. ¡°The probability of each door having the treasure behind it is independent. It should all be one-third. How could one of them suddenly be two-thirds?¡±

    Zu An shook his head in response. ¡°I fully expected that someone of your IQ wouldn¡¯t be able to understand suchplicated logic. Well, let me phrase it in a much easier way for you. Assuming that there are 10,000 doors before you, and only one of them has a treasure behind it. If you choose any of the 10,000 doors, your chances of getting the treasure is only 1-in-10,000, right? With such probability, it¡¯s almost impossible for you to get it right. It¡¯s almost certain that the treasure is in the remaining 9,999 doors.

    ¡°So, if I open 9,998 of the remaining 9,999 doors and show that they are all empty, and I offer you the same choice, will you be willing to switch to the other remaining door?¡±

    ¡°Of course I would switch!¡± replied Yang Wei without much thought. However, right after he responded, his mood darkened. Could I really be wrong about that?

    Zu An nodded in satisfaction. ¡°As expected of an arithmetic teacher! You surely got it quickly enough. It looks like you aren¡¯t beyond salvaging yet.¡±

    Steam almost began rising from the top of Yang Wei¡¯s head. It sounds like this fellow¡¯s praising me, but why do his words sound so jarring?

    You have sessfully trolled Yang Wei for 333 Rage points!

    Zu An continued deconstructing his problems. ¡°Moving on to the next question about the pirates. The optimal distribution of ki stones for Pirate A is either (97, 0, 1, 2, 0) or (97, 0, 1, 0, 2). Look at your own answer. Is it right?¡±

    Yang Wei angrily refuted Zu An¡¯s answer. ¡°Nonsense! Pirate A would practically be taking all of it for his own. How could the other pirates possibly agree to it?!¡±

    ¡°I told you that these pirates are smart people who are able to rationally weigh their gains and losses and make the best decision. If we were to put you in their ce, I reckon that you would be dead by now!¡± replied Zu An with a shake of his head.

    Heunched into the exnation without preamble. ¡°Let¡¯s work backwards through this question, starting from Pirate E. He¡¯s the safest one of them all since he¡¯s in no threat of being thrown into the sea. Thus, his strategy is the simplest. As long as everyone ahead of him dies, he¡¯ll be able to monopolize all 100 ki stones.

    ¡°As for Pirate D, whether he survives or not depends on whether there are any survivors in front of him. If it everes down to a situation when only he and Pirate E is left, Pirate E is bound to oppose his distribution no matter what and feed him to the sharks. That will let Pirate E monopolize all of the ki stones. Thus, Pirate D is inclined to support Pirate C for his own survival.

    ¡°As for Pirate C, based on the logic of Pirate D, he would surely propose (100, 0, 0) since he knows that Pirate D would surely support him unconditionally in order to avoid getting killed by Pirate E. With his own and Pirate D¡¯s vote, he would be able to get majority support for his proposal and monopolize all 100 ki stones safely.

    ¡°However, Pirate B, as a perfectly logical thinker, is aware of Pirate C¡¯s distribution n. What he would do is to propose a distribution of (98, 0, 1, 1). Pirate D and Pirate E would be inclined to support him since they would be able to receive 1 ki stone, which is more beneficial to them aspared to Pirate C¡¯s distribution n. With that, he would be able to get the majority and hoard 98 ki stones for himself.

    ¡°Unfortunately, Pirate A is also no pushover. After analyzing everyone¡¯s strategy, he is aware of the scheme Pirate B is cooking up. So, he chooses to give up on Pirate B, who is likely to vote against him regardless of what he offers, and proposes a distribution of (97, 0, 1, 2, 0) or (97, 0, 1, 0, 2). With this proposal, Pirate C and either one of Pirate D or Pirate E would be able to receive more than what they would earn in Pirate B¡¯s distribution. Since that¡¯s the case, they would support Pirate A, thus allowing Pirate A to secure three votes and im a majority. With this, he easily secures 97 ki stones for himself.¡±

    Everyone gasped in astonishment. ¡°Aren¡¯t those pirates way too smart?¡±

    ¡°How frightening it would be if the pirates in real life were that smart too!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s just a hypothetical situation. Anyone who is that smart won¡¯t have to resort to piracy!¡±

    ¡°I guess so...¡±

    ...

    Yang Wei¡¯s eyes stared nkly. He was dazed on his feet, unable to hear anything at all.

    Zu An was displeased with his reaction. Hey, hey, hey, can you not sumb so easily? You haven¡¯t provided me with enough Rage points yet!

    To his dismay, even as he shot Yang Wei¡¯s answers down one by one and exined the remaining questions, thetter only provided him with a few hundred Rage points. It seemed the arithmetic teacher had already suffered a mental breakdown.

    ¡°My gosh, he really didn¡¯t get a single question right! Isn¡¯t Teacher Yang a little too ipetent?¡±

    ¡°He always sticks his nose up high as if he¡¯s a big deal. Yet, it turns out that he¡¯s all talk!¡±

    ¡°Tsk, why does our academy have someone like him as a teacher? Won¡¯t he mislead the students at this rate?¡±

    ...

    The criticisms of the surrounding students were like knives stabbing into Yang Wei¡¯s heart, and something in him finally broke. He let out a frenzied roar and rushed out of the ssroom with his hands covering his ears. He kept going at full pelt, ignoring all the shouts directed at him. He was desperate to get out of this darned ce as soon as possible.

    It was all too humiliating! He thought that he could easily trample all over Zu An, but who knew he would end up being the one trampled on instead? After this incident, there was no way he would dare to show his face in Brightmoon Academy anymore.

    For a teacher to be unable to answer any of the questions posed by his students¡ªhe would definitely be aughingstock not just in Brightmoon City but in the surrounding municipalities too!

    Wei Suo rushed forward to massage Zu An¡¯s shoulders. ¡°Boss, you¡¯re incredible!¡±

    The other students also crowded around to offer him tea and snacks. With such arithmetic prowess, he would have a bright future ahead of him even if he waspletely inept as a cultivator. It was only prudent to curry favor with him right now.

    Chu Huanzhao tried to squeeze through to talk to her brother-inw, but a huge wall of students had crowded in, blocking her way and shutting her out. Frustrated, she stomped away in a huff. ¡°Bootlickers!¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s face was also red, her cheeks flushed in excitement at the impressive feat that she had just witnessed. At the same time, though, she was worried for Zu An. Won¡¯t he be in trouble for offending a teacher of the academy like this?

    Pei Mianman¡¯s lips curled upward suggestively, leaving the men around her swooning. ¡°It seems making a deal with that fellow wasn¡¯t so bad after all. It looks like I might just be able to get something from him.¡±

    Not too far away, Zheng Dan, who had been studying the reactions of these women, could barely conceal her shock. She thought that the rumors of Zu An¡¯s rtionships with them were just hearsay. After all, how could Zu An possibly charm all of these outstanding women?

    A deep and powerful bellow cut through the ruckus. ¡°What are all of you doing here instead of attending sses? Are you trying to rebel against the academy?¡±

    The voice sent instinctive shudders down many a spine. All of them had, at some point, suffered trauma from their experiences with the owner of this voice.

    A middle-aged man rocking a bald spot on his head stormed towards the gathered crowd, ruler in hand. Who else could it be other than discipline master Lu De?

    The crowd automatically parted to open up a path for him. At the very center of themotion, he saw Zu An seated grandly on a chair, being served by his fellow students. Deep furrows appeared on his forehead as his eyebrows knit together in dismay.

    However, when he caught sight of Shang Liuyu, his frown immediately smoothened out. ¡°Ah, Teacher Shang is here too! What in the world happened here? I saw Yang Wei rushing off with his head lowered almost to the floor. I called out to him, but he didn¡¯t respond.¡±

    ¡°He probably feels embarrassed,¡± replied Shang Liuyu with a faint smile. She quickly exined the events that had transpired earlier. Her smooth voice sent tingles through the heart, and it was a pleasure just to hear her speak.

    ¡°You again?¡± Lu De red at Zu An. The gentle look that he had favored Shang Liuyu with was gone, reced by a severe expression.

 Chapter 86: Bai Susu

    <h4>Chapter 86: Bai Susu</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The intense heat of Lu De¡¯s gaze immediately sent Wei Suo and the others scurrying into the background. Not one of them felt safe remaining by Zu An¡¯s side.

    Those disloyal bastards. He calmly returned Lu De¡¯s gaze. ¡°Yang Wei picked on me first. He was the one who proposed this bet in the first ce. Why am I the offender for epting his wager?¡±

    ¡°Have you forgotten our academy rules? The most important value we embrace is to respect the teachers. No matter how capable you are, if you don¡¯t even have basic respect for your elders, you¡¯ll only be a menace to the world once you¡¯re out of the academy!¡± Lu De berated him sternly.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid that I don¡¯t concur. A student should respect his teacher only if the teacher is a good role model. However, Yang Wei intentionally picked on his students because of personal reasons. Is such a person worthy of being respected as a teacher?¡± replied Zu An with a frown.

    Lu De was further incensed by Zu An¡¯s temerity to talk back to him. ¡°No matter what, he¡¯s still your teacher! Even if there¡¯s an issue with him, you should leave it to the academy to investigate the matter. How could a student like you attempt to deal with him by your own ord?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean by ¡®dealing with him by my own ord¡¯? Our bet was open and fair. Everyone present can testify on my behalf,¡± said Zu An as he gestured to the students around. ¡°We invited Teacher Shang here to be our witness to ensure that everything was conducted appropriately.¡±

    Shang Liuyu nodded in agreement. ¡°Indeed. Teacher Yang agreed to it as well.¡±

    ¡°Teacher Shang, don¡¯t be fooled by this fellow!¡± Lu De sent a smile Shang Liuyu¡¯s way before turning back to Zu An with a stern expression. ¡°You really are a gambler through and through, huh? One of our ten core academy rules prohibits gambling, but you openly walked into the Silverhook Casino to gamble with your money, causing a huge uproar. Do you know what kind of negative influence you have brought to our academy? I haven¡¯t even taken you to task for that, and now you¡¯re even betting against a teacher in the academy? Hmph! We don¡¯t need a person like you in our academy. You should return to your Chu Estate!¡±

    The surrounding crowd grew agitated. No one expected Lu De would dish out such a severe punishment as expelling Zu An on the spot.

    Of course, given Lu De¡¯s strength and standing in the academy, doing so was well within his authority.

    Hong Xingying, hiding at the back of the crowd, sneered coldly. You sure acted arrogantly, huh? It looks like retribution has finally caught up with you! It must be humiliating for you to be expelled from the academy. Do you know how much the Chu n values its reputation? You can be darned sure that Master and Madam won¡¯t spare you easily!

    Just two days ago, Hong Zhong had warned him to keep himself in check. In order not to cause trouble for his father, Hong Xingying wisely decided to stop messing with Zu An and focused his efforts on cultivating instead.

    He had been in the midst of cultivating earlier when he was drawn over by themotion. He followed the rest of the crowd, and was confronted with the sickening sight of Zu An basking in the limelight. He felt physically sick, as though he¡¯d just eaten some shit.

    He was just about to turn his back on the nauseating sight when the situation took its dramatic twist. He was more than exhrated by this development, and decided that he would add two dishes to his lunchter on to celebrate.

    Another one who shared Hong Xingying¡¯s feelings was Yuan Wendong. He had always been proud of the high standing he¡¯d gained in the academy over the years, and was well-respected by many. He had hoped to announce his breakthrough to the fifth rank with a huge bang, but his ns had been ruined by Zu An.

    He wouldn¡¯t have felt so frustrated if he had lost to an expert. But, of all people, it had to be the piece of trash he had been looking down on all this while, Zu Wastrel An! His humiliation had been amplified a hundredfold. He would have much preferred to have been killed rather than live with this unbearable shame!

    When he arrived at the scene and saw Zu An sitting haughtily on the chair with his legs crossed, he immediately felt an urge to step forward and teach that arrogant prick a lesson. However, he was forestalled by the presence of Pei Mianman. His previous defeat to her was fresh in his mind, and that took all the wind out of his sails. He could totally imagine Zu An shamelessly summoning his harem of women as soon as he tried to make a move, so he had no choice but to hold himself back.

    That left him feeling stymied, but Lu De¡¯s arrival brought about an unexpected development that chased away the heaviness in his chest.

    Zu An noticed the trickle of Rage points from Hong Xingying and Yuan Wendong. Those two fellows are as persistent as cockroaches. However, this wasn¡¯t the time to bother about them. He was just about to respond to Lu De, when Chu Huanzhao suddenly stepped forward to join the fray.

    ¡°Discipline Master Lu, you¡¯re taking this too far. How can you expel my brother-inw just like that? It¡¯s not like he gambled in the academy. Besides, can the bet he made with the arithmetic teacher even be considered gambling? And anyway, the one who proposed the bet was Yang Wei, so why aren¡¯t you punishing him?¡± Chu Huanzhao¡¯s face was red with indignation.

    Zu An gave her a thumbs-up. It looks like it¡¯s always the sister-inw who really cares for the brother-inw. It seems suffering the viciousshing of the Wailing Whip was not for nothing.

    Lu De responded calmly, ¡°For privately proposing a bet to a student despite being a teacher of the academy, he is henceforth terminated from his position in Brightmoon Academy. What else do you have to say?¡±

    The sudden announcement of Yang Wei¡¯s abrupt termination sent shockwaves around the ssroom once more. While Yang Wei had wagered to back out of the academy on his own ord, it was still just a verbal promise. He could always have chosen to hang around shamelessly if his skin was thick enough.

    However, things were different now that the academy had officially terminated his position. There was no way for Yang Wei to return, and it was likely that no other academies in the prefecture would be willing to hire him.

    Chu Huanzhao was poised to retort, but Lu De cut her off with a sharp look. ¡°Speaking of which, Chu Second Miss colluded with this fellow to deceive me at the gates of the academy not too long ago. I haven¡¯t settled that score with you yet.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao wilted under Lu De¡¯s intimidating stare. As a young woman, it was difficult for her to stand up against someone of Lu De¡¯s caliber.

    Finally, it hit Zu An. Now I know why I feel like this fellow is picking on me. It¡¯s all because of what happened back then! Still, isn¡¯t he nitpicking here?

    Shang Liuyu spoke up, a cool expression on her face. ¡°Going by Disciple Master Lu¡¯s words, shouldn¡¯t I, as the witness of their bet, be punished as well?¡±

    ¡°Teacher Shang, that¡¯s not my intention. It was out of kindness that you participated, in order to maintain a sense of fairness. Punishing you for this would not be appropriate.¡± Lu De put on his most handsome smile as he answered Shang Liuyu. His receding hairline made him look less than charming.

    ¡°Tsk!¡± The crowd clicked their tongues in unison.

    Of course, none of them dared to voice out their criticism of Lu De¡¯s actions. Well, except for one.

    ¡°Aiyo, Discipline Master Lu. You sure are exemplifying the very meaning of ¡®double standards¡¯ here.¡±

    Zu An blinked his eyes in surprise. The voice was smooth and sweet, which surely meant it belonged to a gorgeous woman. But, for some reason, he felt that something about it was a little off.

    With his sharp eyes, he noticed Lu De¡¯s cheeks twitching a little in response. Not only that, many of the male students swallowed fearfully, and some even began trembling uncontrobly.

    Their female counterparts, on the other hand, seemed unconcerned.

    A light breeze brought with it the scent of perfume, filling the ssroom with a pleasant aroma. Zu An wondered idly if this was the scent of a renowned brand.

    Behind it came a slim figure. Dressed in a white robe, with long hair, shapely eyebrows, peach blossom eyes, and delicate facial features¡ªif this person wasn¡¯t a man, he would surely have countless pursuers after him.

    In Zu An¡¯s mind, the only one who could possibly match him was Xie Xiu. However, despite Xie Xius¡¯ delicate, feminine appearance, his manner and gestures were masculine, which made it impossible to mistake his gender.

    The man walking toward him had a feminine manner that made it really hard to distinguish whether he was a man or a woman. Whether it was the way he folded his arms, or the way his hips swayed as he walked, there was a distinctive feminine quality to it all.

    ¡°Who¡¯s that person?¡±

    Zu An was, after all, someone who had lived in the information era, and he had seen all kinds of unholy things on the inte. Inparison to them, this man seemed perfectly normal. At the very least, his appearance was attractive, which made him much less disturbing.

    What he was most curious about right now was the man¡¯s identity.

    Unfortunately, Wei Suo wasn¡¯t around to chip in with the necessary information. The coward had long since burrowed into a hidden corner somewhere. Instead, it was Shang Liuyu who secretly whispered the details to him. ¡°He¡¯s Bai Susu, a teacher in charge of imparting cultivation in the academy. The Yellow ss has very few cultivation sses, and you¡¯ve only arrived just a few days ago. There¡¯s no reason for you to have met him yet.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Bai Susu...¡± Zu An found the name rather odd for a man.

    ¡°Aiyo~¡± Lu De imitated Bai Susu¡¯s feminine tone, then spat in disdain. ¡°As a man, could you at least try to be less disgusting? You¡¯re really giving me goosebumps!¡±

    ¡°You treated little sister Shang so kindly earlier, yet you act so crudely towards me?¡± Bai Susu sniffed coyly. ¡°How do I pale inparison to little sister Shang? Is it my looks?¡±

    There was the sound of dry retching. The surrounding crowd reached their limits of tolerance, and hurriedly dispersed.

    Even Shang Liuyu¡¯s carefree smile looked a little stiff. Clearly, she had not appreciated theparison all that much.

    Lu De¡¯s face darkened. ¡°Bai Susu, don¡¯t butt into things you have no business in. Scram!¡±

    ¡°Haiyoh! Look at what you¡¯re saying!¡± Bai Susu raised his hand daintily. He perfectly adopted the pose of a courtesan beckoning her customers in a brothel. All hecked was a handkerchief in his hand. ¡°They¡¯re my students too, so how could this possibly be none of my business?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes widened as the reality of the situation sank in. Clearly, Bai Susu was at loggerheads with Lu De. It would serve him well to cling tightly to this beautiful man¡¯s slender thighs in the future.

    However, just observing Bai Susu¡¯s mannerisms made him swallow hard. What if this fellow is into guys? What am I to do if he lusts after my dashing face?

 Chapter 87: Authority

    <h4>Chapter 87: Authority</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°So what if he might be your student? All students in this academy are subjected to the academy rules!¡± Lu De¡¯s eyelids twitched continually at Bai Susu¡¯s dainty gestures. He felt a strong urge to dig a hole and bury Bai Susu in it. ¡°Zu An has flouted the academy rules by partaking in gambling and publicly talking back to a teacher in the academypound. Either offence would be more than enough to have him expelled from the academy.¡±

    To be frank, Zu An wasn¡¯t too worried. After all, he had huge backing in the academy now. However, since Bai Susu had stepped in to help him, he was more than willing to take a back seat and enjoy the show.

    Bai Susu shook his head. ¡°Big brother Lu, it looks like you have some misunderstanding here. Zu An did gamble in the Silverhook Casino, but that was outside the academy. As far as I know, the academy rules only apply within the boundaries of the academy itself. As for talking back to a teacher, I¡¯ve already heard about the ins and outs of the matter. It was Yang Wei who proposed the bet, and Zu An was pressured into epting it.

    ¡°If you¡¯re going to punish him over this, wouldn¡¯t others think that our academy is tantly siding with a teacher who picked on a student despite him having lost a bet? That would truly be a huge scandal. Word would spread beyond Brightmoon City to the entire country. By then, the world will think of us, teachers of Brightmoon Academy, as cowards who can¡¯t take a loss.¡±

    The intimate way in which Bai Susu addressed him made Lu De shudder in disgust.

    To be fair, Bai Susu¡¯s point did make some sense. However, the fact that it was his old nemesis who raised this point was more than enough reason for Lu De to disregard it. After all, Bai Susu had no particr ties to Zu An either, and was intervening in this matter just to annoy Lu De.

    This made Lu De even more obstinate. ¡°Hmph, I am the discipline master of the academy. I have the final say as to how students should be dealt with. Teacher Bai, your interference is not needed here!¡±

    Bai Susu ced his arms on his hips in displeasure as he berated Lu De, ¡°Hey, are you going to tantly ignore all reason? This is an abuse of power! I¡¯ll report you for that!¡±

    Lu De burst intoughter. ¡°Go ahead then. Even if you report this matter up to the capital, this matter is still under my purview. If you have any disagreements with my judgment, why don¡¯t we settle it with a fight then?¡±

    ¡°Hmph, let¡¯s do it then! I¡¯m not afraid of you!¡± Bai Susu scoffed.

    He took out a plum blossom flower from his robe, and a powerful aura burst out from him. The sudden wave of force forced the students surrounding him to retreat hurriedly.

    Watching the other students struggling under Bai Susu¡¯s sudden show of force, Zu An was intrigued as to why nothing was happening to him. His eyes fell on Shang Liuyu, who was standing casually in front of him. His forehead creased in thought.

    Seeing Bai Susu take out his plum blossom flower, Lu De¡¯s expression turned grave. He raised his ruler up high, ready to strike his enemy down.

    While the students from the ck ss and Yellow ss looked flustered, those from the Sky ss and Earth ss looked upon the brewing battle with anticipation in their eyes. These two individuals were true sixth rank experts, and they were likely the strongest cultivators in the academy other than the principal.

    A battle between sixth rank experts was exceedingly umon; many people went through their entire lives without having an opportunity to see this grand spectacle. Naturally, none of the students were going to miss this precious opportunity to see them in action.

    Yuan Wendong stared unblinkingly at the two teachers as he waited for the battle tomence. He was hoping to draw inspiration from their battle to aid in his next breakthrough. Even though he was only one rank behind them, he knew that many individuals were unable to take the final step to progress beyond the fifth rank in their entire lives.

    Only Pei Mianman yawned in boredom, throwing a disinterested nce in Zu An¡¯s direction. She noticed that he was staring at Shang Liuyu¡¯s beautiful side profile, and her lips curled into a smile. What a pervert he is.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The tension was so thick it could be cut with a knife. Bai Susu¡¯s face was a grim mask, and Lu De looked as if he was ring at a mortal enemy. They assessed each other with intense focus, searching for openings to strike.

    ¡°You have been staring at each other for a long time now. Are you two going to fight or what?¡±

    Anguid voice broke through the tight and nervous atmosphere. It was none other than Zu An, hands over his head, stretching his back outzily.

    You have sessfully trolled Bai Susu for 666 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled Lu De for 666 Rage points!

    The gathered crowd was stunned. He actually dares to offend Lu De and Bai Susu at once. What a brave man he is!

    Zu An was unable to help himself. What can I do? A man has to earn his keep. My calling as a keyboard warrior requires me to stick my head out.

    Bai Susu and Lu De exchanged nces, and the two enemies shared a rare moment of telepathic connection. Let¡¯s call a truce and get rid of this shameless fellow first, all right?

    Before they could make a move, a cold, authoritative voice rang out. ¡°What are you all doing?¡±

    Bai Susu and Lu De widened their eyes in shock, and hurriedly kept away their weapons. They bowed respectfully to the person striding toward them. ¡°Paying respects to the principal.¡±

    ¡°Paying respects to the principal!¡±

    ¡°Paying respects to the principal!¡±

    ...

    The other teachers and students hurriedly followed their lead.

    Zu An was surprised at this sight. It never crossed his mind that this gorgeous principal would actuallymand such authority in this world.

    A beautiful figure slowly walked toward them. Her skin was as fair as snow. Her long, slender neck gave her a noble and graceful air, and her hair was pinned gracefully in ce. Her captivating appearance was more than enough to put anyone who saw her under her spell. However, her sharp, piercing eyes gave her an air of imposing authority.

    Her slender legs, wrapped in skin-tight, nude-colored stockings, peeked through her fluttering skirt, rounding off her considerable physical charm.

    Zu An secretly wondered if all these people were intentionally bowing down in order to sneak a peek at her legs. At the very least, he could be certain that one of them was.

    Wei Suo was staring intently at Jiang Luofu¡¯s eyes, his gaze full of unrestrained passion. He swallowed as if he couldn¡¯t believe his eyes, and excitement was sttered all over his face.

    That idiot!

    Zu An clicked his tongue in disdain. His gaze went subconsciously towards Shang Liuyu, and he noticed that she was wearing a long skirt that left only her heels uncovered. His mind drifted to the time they spent in the gazebo, and how her casual way of sitting had revealed her smooth thighs. In his humble opinion, Shang Liuyu¡¯s legs were more than a match for Jiang Luofu¡¯s.

    ¡°What are you looking at?¡± Shang Liuyu asked curiously.

    Zu An replied with a smile, ¡°You should consider wearing a shorter skirt. It¡¯s such a pity to conceal the beautiful legs you have.¡±

    Shang Liuyu¡¯s mouth fell open, and a tinge of redness suffused her cheeks. ¡°If not for our previous meeting in the gazebo, you would never get away with making such remarks. A student should act like a student; don¡¯t go around casually teasing your teachers.¡±

    ¡°Does that mean that I can do so as long as I¡¯m serious about it?¡± asked Zu An.

    Shang Liuyu¡¯s expression turned bizarre. ¡°Your personality sure is... It¡¯s no wonder why so many people have a beef with you even though it has only been days since you enrolled in the academy.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re just jealous of how handsome and attractive I am. Have you noticed that there hasn¡¯t been a single woman in the academy who has been out to get me yet?¡± Zu An pointed out with a shrug.

    His statement surprised Shang Liuyu. That¡¯s true. Those who have been trying to get even with him are all men. On the other hand, it¡¯s always a woman who stands up for him in his times of crisis. Even Bai Susu, who can somewhat be considered a woman, is siding with him.

    Their secret whispers were picked up by Jiang Luofu. She snorted under her breath. So much for not knowing Shang Liuyu. Look at just how chummy the two of them are!

    She was familiar with Shang Liuyu¡¯s character. She had a carefree and gentle personality that made her seem easy to get along with. However, she always made sure to maintain some distance between herself and others. Beneath her warm and inviting appearancey a cold and reticent heart. She had never chatted so intimately with anyone else before.

    After a brief look, Jiang Luofu cleared her throat and red at Lu De and Bai Susu. ¡°What are the two of you doing? Despite being teachers, the two of you intend to fight in the academypound before the eyes of so many students?¡±

    Bai Susu covered his mouth with a slim hand and giggled. ¡°Big sister Jiang, you misunderstand. This fellow was picking on one of our students constantly for no reason. If you don¡¯t believe my words, you can ask anyone else here.¡±

    Lu De nearly exploded at Bai Susu¡¯s bare-faced usation. However, he knew better than to act up in the presence of Jiang Luofu. He quickly strung together his argument. ¡°Principal, Zu An has no respect for his elders, and he goes around gambling with others. He¡¯s poisoning the conducive learning environment of our academy by propagating bad habits. I decided to have him expelled from the academy on these grounds. However, this fellow simply had to stand in my way!¡±

    Jiang Luofu heaved a helpless sigh. These two would never stop trying to pin the me on the other. She waved them into silence. ¡°Enough! The two of you can cut it out. I am well aware of the situation. Since it was Teacher Yang who proposed the bet, he should face the consequences for it, lest our academy bes aughingstock to the rest of the world.¡±

    ...

    Yang Wei returned to the ssroom just in time to hear Jiang Luofu pronounce her verdict, and sank into despair.

    He had dashed out earlier because of the overwhelming humiliation he had suffered, but managed to regain hisposure after a while. He reminded himself that he was an official formally appointed by the royal court. His reputation in Brightmoon City, the connections he possessed, and the power he wielded in society all far surpassed that of Zu An. As such, there was no need to worry over what had just transpired. It wasn¡¯t worth it to run away and lose his job over this.

    So, he had bucked up his courage and marched back to the ssroom. He had resolved himself to stick around as a teacher even if this incident left a permanent mark on his career and his reputation at the academy. While the humiliation might mean that he would walk around the academy with his head bowed, he would bear it stoically.

    He had not expected his return to be greeted by Jiang Luofu¡¯s merciless verdict.

    It had taken a considerable amount of courage for him to return, and he was not about to go meekly, without a fight. Bracing himself, he stepped forward and said, ¡°My position as a teacher is formally appointed by the royal court, as evidenced by the records in the Ministry of Rites. Even if you¡¯re the principal, you don¡¯t have the power to terminate my appointment like this!¡±

    Loud boos echoed all around. No one had expected Yang Wei to be so shameless as to return after everything that had happened.

    ¡°Despite being an arithmetic teacher, you were outdone by a student in your field of expertise. Our academy does not need a teacher as inept as you. I will personally write a report to the Ministry of Rites to have your position as a teacher formally revoked,¡± said Jiang Luofu coldly.

    There was no way someone with her wits could be fooled. She knew that Yang Wei was intentionally picking on Zu An. Since she couldn¡¯t be bothered to work out who the mastermind was, she had decided to simply kick him out and end things there.

    Had Zu An been an ordinary student, she would still have weighed the pros and cons beforeing to a decision. But he wasn¡¯t. As the all-important principal of Brightmoon Academy, she could shrug off his identity as the drafted son-inw of the Chu n. However, the same couldn¡¯t be said about his transcendent ss aptitude and all the mysterious events urring around him.

    She couldn¡¯t allow someone with limitless potential to be stifled in her academy. Compared to what he could be in the future, a mere third rank official was nothing at all.

    Yang Wei was utterly appalled. There was no way he could bring himself to linger after that. He turned tail and fled in a fluster, unwilling to stay even a second more. Just thinking about the gleeful smirk that would be on Zu An¡¯s hateful face made him want to rip that wastrel¡¯s mouth off.

    You have sessfully trolled Yang Wei for 999 Rage points!

    The notification left Zu An speechless. Wait a moment, it was the principal who stripped you of your position, so why are you ming me for that? Wow, you really are a loser who picks on the weak.

    Yang Wei¡¯s mind was consumed with rage. It¡¯s all that bitch¡¯s fault for sending me here. It should have been an easy affair, yet I ended up suffering such a grievous humiliation. That bitch better have an exnation for me, or else I swear that I¡¯ll make her suffer for this!

    Lu De frowned at Yang Wei¡¯s receding figure. It truly was an unsightly affair. Shaking his head, he turned to Jiang Luofu. ¡°Principal, I do agree that Yang Wei had iting. However, it doesn¡¯t change the fact that Zu An talked back to his teacher and gambled on academy grounds. Shouldn¡¯t he be punished for his deeds?¡±

 Chapter 88: I Want to Keep a Low Profile Too!

    <h4>Chapter 88: I Want to Keep a Low Profile Too!</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Discipline Master Lu, I¡¯d say that it was more of a contract than a gamble. I believe that you¡¯re exaggerating this matter. Contracts have binding power, and since Zu An won, it was only right for Yang Wei to fulfill the end of his promise,¡± replied Jiang Luofu with an air of finality.

    Lu De was unwilling to drop the matter. ¡°But...¡±

    Jiang Luofu looked at Lu De calmly. ¡°Are you questioning my words?¡±

    Lu De¡¯s heart skipped a beat. He hurriedly lowered his head and said, ¡°I dare not!¡±

    Zu An was thrilled at this exchange. The domineering aura of the gorgeous principal is amazing! Even the fierce Lu De is nothing more than a mere hatchling in her eyes. Tsk, tsk, tsk, it looks like I really have to hold on tight to her wonderful thighs.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The surrounding crowd bobbed their heads in unison, firmly on the principal¡¯s side. Yang Wei had started the conflict in the first ce, and he¡¯d had iting. Lu De¡¯s intervention had been absolutely unnecessary.

    That being said, no one had dared to step forward to speak up for Zu An, out of fear of offending Lu De. They weren¡¯t friends with Zu An anyway, so there was no reason for them to stick their necks out for him. All in all, the principal¡¯s verdict was still a satisfactory conclusion to the incident.

    Of course, there were some who were unhappy at this, with Yuan Wendong, Hong Xingying, and Ye Chenliang among them. To them, the principal had arrived at a bad time. It seemed that every time Zu An got into trouble, there would always be someone around to clean his backside for him. What¡¯s with his goddamned luck?!

    You have sessfully trolled Yuan Wendong for 444 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled Hong Xingying for 444 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled Ye Chenliang for 444 Rage points!

    ...

    While Zu An weed the inflow of Rage points, he was left unsatisfied by the rtively small amount. I should really try to enrage a few more short-tempered prodigies during my time here.

    Jiang Luofu still had more to say. ¡°Since Yang Wei has been fired, our academy is short of an arithmetic teacher. It just so happens that the contract between Yang Wei and Zu An specified that thetter would take over the position if the former lost. Until a new arithmetic teacher is appointed, all arithmetic sses in the academy will be taken by him.¡±

    A queer silence descended upon the crowd. All eyes turned toward Zu An. Lu De, Bai Susu and Shang Liuyu all wore various quizzical expressions, and their confusion was clearly shared by the rest of the students.

    Even Pei Mianman, who was still giggling at the situation, felt her smile freeze in ce. What¡¯s going on? Doesn¡¯t that mean that I¡¯ll have to call that fellow ¡®teacher¡¯ from now on?

    Being unceremoniously thrust into the spotlight was hard to bear even for the thick-skinned Zu An. His gaze subconsciously drifted towards Jiang Luofu, and she winked at him. He suddenly remembered his request to be an honorary teacher for seven-and-a-half million silver taels earlier that morning. She had rejected it without any hesitation earlier, so why change her mind all of a sudden?

    He put the thought to the side. The most important thing now was to exploit this situation to earn a huge wave of Rage points!

    He gave a slight cough and turned to Lu De, Bai Susu, and Shang Liuyu. ¡°Well, I guess we¡¯ll be colleagues from this day onward. Please take good care of me.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Lu De for 999 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled Bai Susu for 999 Rage points!

    How in the world is this fellow worthy of the same position as the rest of us?!

    Zu An felt a twinge of regret that Shang Liuyu didn¡¯t offer him any Rage points. It seems like she has a pretty good impression of me.

    Having earned his due from his fellow teachers, he turned to the students around him and sighed deeply. ¡°I would love to keep a low profile too, but it¡¯s a pity that my talents and skills don¡¯t permit me to do so. Since that¡¯s the case, I have no choice. From today onward, I¡¯ll have to ask all of you to call me Teacher Zu.¡±

    A huge uproar broke out there and then.

    Why is this fellow acting so smug? I want to beat him up!

    You have sessfully trolled Yuan Wendong for 999 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled Hong Xingying for 999 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled Ye Chenliang for 999 Rage points!

    What the hell is going on? Have I gone mad, or is this world bonkers? How could this piece of trash be a teacher in the academy?

    You have sessfully trolled Student Spectator A for 222 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled Student Spectator B for 222 Rage points!

    ...

    The massive inflow of Rage points delighted Zu An, who thrived on such schadenfreude. Ahh, my ssmates sure are cute. Really, there¡¯s no need for you all to be so kind!

    That being said, their murderous gazes were still pretty terrifying. Zu An ducked behind Shang Liuyu and asked her, ¡°Big sister Shang, you¡¯ll protect me if these students were to pick on me, right?¡±

    Shang Liuyu took a deep breath before answering, ¡°I honestly want to give you a beating too.¡±

    It was also at this point that Lu De finally snapped out of his shock and eximed in horror, ¡°Principal, how can we appoint a student as a teacher?!¡±

    ¡°Is there anything wrong with it?¡± replied Jiang Luofu calmly. ¡°In the history of our Great Zhou Dynasty, there are plenty of outstanding students who decided to stay on in their academy to teach their juniors.¡±

    ¡°But those are outstanding students, talented individuals who possess capabilities far surpassing others. How could Zu An be put on the same pedestal as them?¡± questioned Lu De.

    If he weren¡¯t standing before Jiang Luofu, he would certainly have resorted to even more extreme words to vent his frustrations.

    Bai Susu also btedly returned to reality, and he chimed in with a coy smile, ¡°Discipline Master Lu, your words don¡¯t make much sense. He¡¯s being appointed as an arithmetic teacher, not a cultivation teacher. Whether he¡¯s strong or not has nothing to do with this. Zu An has already proven his outstanding talent in arithmetic in his earlierpetition with Yang Wei. With the ability he has disyed thus far, I don¡¯t see anything wrong with appointing him as our arithmetic teacher.¡±

    To be fair, Bai Susu agreed that appointing Zu An just like that was a p in the face to all teachers. However, Lu De¡¯s vehement opposition to Zu An¡¯s appointment swiftly changed his mind. He had shed with Lu De innumerable times over the years, and neither of them could stand the other. Thus, whatever Lu De opposed, he would support, and vice-versa.

    Lu De¡¯s face turned grim. ¡°Bai Susu, now isn¡¯t the time for us to be arguing with one another! Are you really okay with a student like him bing a teacher of our academy? That would make our academy theughingstock of the world!¡±

    ¡°How would it make our academy aughingstock?¡± Bai Susu said with a dainty wave of his hand. ¡°If anyone dares to mock us, we can challenge them to an arithmeticpetition, with Zu An to represent us. We¡¯ll silence them all with our true capability!¡±

    Lu De could find no way around Bai Susu¡¯s argument. Even he had to admit that Zu An was a prodigy at arithmetic. Yang Wei was publicly known to be the most talented arithmetician in the surrounding municipalities, but he had still ended up suffering such a tragic defeat. He would be hard-pressed to find someone who could match Zu An¡¯s skill.

    Jiang Luofu stepped in to calm the waters. ¡°You need not worry about that. He¡¯s just filling in for the time being. He isn¡¯t an officially employed teacher, and his details will not be recorded with the Ministry of Rites. Once the Ministry of Rites appoints a new teacher here, I¡¯ll relieve him of his position. Also, aside from teaching arithmetic lessons, Zu An, you¡¯ll continue to attend lessons like any other student. Any objections?¡±

    This fellow sure is a troublemaker. Right after I appoint him a position, he immediately begins parading around like a proud cat with its tail stuck in the air. It literally took him mere moments to offend the entire academy. I¡¯m finally starting to see why he has been cking off all of these years. Given his affinity for troublemaking, his enemies would have sent real experts to assassinate him a long time ago if he hadn¡¯t feigned weakness.

    Zu An obediently replied, ¡°I have no objections.¡±

    Do I look like I have no objections? You¡¯re just using me as an unpaid part-time worker!

    Of course, there was no way Zu An would dare to voice his objections out loud. He was not one to go around offending people indiscriminately. He could sensitively discern who were the ones he could offend and who he couldn¡¯t. One person that he absolutely couldn¡¯t offend at this point was Jiang Luofu, his greatest backing. He still nned to cling tightly onto her smooth, luscious thighs for the foreseeable future, so it made sense not to excessively annoy her.

    Lu De sighed with relief upon hearing that his appointment as a substitute teacher was a temporary one. This was still a tolerable oue. Thankfully, there was no need to publicly go against the principal. The rest of his hair might have fallen out because of the stress.

    With no one voicing their opposition, Jiang Luofu nodded and said, ¡°This matter is settled, then. All of you should return to your ssrooms. Break time is already over, so none of you should be congregating here.¡±

    At the direct order of the principal, the students swiftly dispersed.

    In contrast to Yuan Wendong and the others, who looked as if they had shoveled shit into their mouths, Chu Huanzhao was in a merry mood. Her excited expression clearly indicated that there was much she wanted to say to Zu An. However, under the stern watch of the teachers, she had no choice but to return to her ssroom. Nevertheless, she constantly snuck nces at Zu An as she walked away.

    Pei Mianman let herself be swept away by the crowd, the tiniest fraction of a smile on her lips. Thisd actually managed to be a teacher of the academy. This is getting more and more interesting.

    Shang Liuyu summoned the students of the Yellow ss back into the ssroom and started on her foreignnguage ss. As usual, the students were excited to attend her ss. Waaa, Teacher Shang¡¯s ss is so beautiful... interesting! I mean, interesting!

    Zu An started to head back into the ssroom with his fellow ssmates. He wasn¡¯t lusting over Shang Liuyu¡¯s beauty, but was honestly curious about thenguages of the other races in this world. This topic was much more interesting than the nonsensicalw and etiquette sses he had attended thus far.

    Unexpectedly, Jiang Luofu stopped him. ¡°What do you think? Your seven-and-a-half million silver taels weren¡¯t spent in vain, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, indeed. What I got was worth every tael,¡± replied Zu An obsequiously.

    While the humongous inflow of Rage points was great, he was excited just imagining how all students of the academy would have to respectfully address him as ¡®Teacher Zu¡¯ from now on. Yup, I should try that on my honey next time and have her call me ¡®Teacher Zu¡¯ too.

    ¡°When you turned me down earlier, I thought I had lost my one and only chance. Who knew that you had follow-up arrangements ready?¡±

    Zu An fought off the urge to express his gratitude by diving forward and hugging her thighs. He knew that she would more than likely scorn him as a pervert.

    ¡°It was indeed a hopeless cause earlier this morning. No matter how much money you threw at me, there was no way I could possibly have you appointed as a teacher. I never imagined Yang Wei would challenge you to a bet, much less offer to have you rece him if he loses. By proving your worth before the entire academy, you gave me the opportunity to push things along.

    ¡°Even though you aren¡¯t registered as an official teacher yet, rest assured that you¡¯ll still be orded the privileges of one. I¡¯ll have someone lead you over to the staff¡¯s exclusive dormitoryter. If you need a ce to rest, you can head there whenever you want to. You¡¯ll also be paid monthly stipends as well. Since you¡¯re a temporary teacher, you¡¯ll only be paid eighty percent of the usual wages. I trust that won¡¯t be a problem?¡±

    ¡°Of course not!¡± Zu An was overjoyed.

    There¡¯s actually an exclusive staff dormitory! It looks like there¡¯s no need for me to get Cheng Shouping to buy a house outside anymore. Living in the academy is so much better¡ªthere are youthful female students and gentle and beautiful teachers here!

    Zu An suddenly remembered something vital. ¡°Speaking of which, now that you¡¯ve managed to get me appointed as a teacher, what about the dungeon slot we discussed earlier?¡±

    Jiang Luofu blinked a couple of times as her mind worked. A yful smile slowly crept onto her lips. ¡°Since you¡¯re even capable of taking down a teacher, I trust that a simple qualification examination shouldn¡¯t be a problem for you.¡±

    Without waiting for a response, she waved in dismissal and walked away, leaving a dumbfounded Zu An in her wake. What do you mean, ¡®it shouldn¡¯t be a problem for me¡¯? Does that mean that she¡¯ll make arrangements for me, or does she intend for me to win the selections with my own strength?

    ¡°You¡¯re close with Principal Jiang?¡±

    His musings were interrupted by a pleasant voice right beside his ear. He turned to see Shang Liuyu standing right behind him.

 Chapter 89: Bixie Swordplay Manual

    <h4>Chapter 89: Bixie Swordy Manual</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An found the two women really interesting. Each of them had asked him the same question about the other. ¡°You could say so. My dashing appearance makes it inevitable that women would fall for me.¡±

    Shang Liuyu didn¡¯t know whether to roll her eyes.

    She let out a long sigh before offering him a piece of advice. ¡°You¡¯d best not say those words in front of our principal. She doesn¡¯t like people with slick tongues.¡±

    Zu An was surprised by that. The gorgeous principal seems to have taken a liking to me, though. Is this because I¡¯m too charming? I¡¯ve long heard that the power of love allows one to overlook their partner¡¯s ws.

    ¡°Big sister Shang, I¡¯m ttered by your concern,¡± replied Zu An with a chuckle.

    Shang Liuyu sniffed. ¡°I¡¯m only helping you since you yed me a decent melody once before. However, I¡¯ve already repaid the favor, so don¡¯t expect me to help you anymore.¡±

    She had expected Zu An would be disappointed, but to her surprise, his eyes lit up. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s simple enough to fix. I have plenty of melodies to spare. I¡¯ll y you another one if an opportunity arises in the future.¡±

    A rare tinge of excitement flushed Shang Liuyu¡¯s usuallyposed face. ¡°Really? You have more melodies on par with the one you yed previously?¡±

    ¡°Of course! Let¡¯s find a convenient night to bond over music, shall we? Where¡¯s your dormitory room? I also have a room in the staff¡¯s dormitory now. We might even be neighbors with one another!¡± Zu An¡¯s mind filled with tales of how his senior transmigrators had giarized all kinds of poems from their previous world to show off their ¡®literary talent¡¯.

    Since this world doesn¡¯t allow me to giarize poems, surely I should at least be able to giarize some melodies right? Pui, what am I even saying? It¡¯s called propagating the wondrous culture of the modern world. A noble act like this shouldn¡¯t even be called giarism!

    An enigmatic smile yed across Shang Liuyu¡¯s lips. ¡°Isn¡¯t it perfectly fine to meet during the day? Why must we meet at night?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because we have lessons during the day. Right now, I¡¯m taking on the roles of a student and a teacher simultaneously, so I¡¯ll be busier than ever. I reckon I¡¯ll only be free at night,¡± replied Zu An earnestly. ¡°Other than exchanging melodies, you can also help me with my studies. I¡¯ve attended the academy for a while now, but it seems I haven¡¯t even attended any of your sses.¡±

    ¡°Help you with your studies?¡± Shang Liuyu repeated, a bizarre look on her face. ¡°We¡¯ll talk about it another time.¡±

    Other students had begun streaming out of the ssroom. She didn¡¯t want to be seen too close to him in public, so she bade a quick farewell and headed off.

    As he watched her beautiful silhouette depart, Zu An couldn''t shake the thought that she was a little bipr. She could be friendly in one moment, only to be distant in the next.

    The foreignnguage ss had ended quickly because the bet, and all that followed it, had eaten into it. Next up was cultivation ss.

    Zu An was excited about this. He had been through all sorts of useless lessons the past few days, but he believed that none of them would be as practical as this. While he did have a convenient system that allowed him to level up through an alternative method, hisck of knowledge on conventional cultivation made it hard for him to assess the threat that his opponents carried. This fueled his strong desire to learn more about this subject.

    The cultivation teacher was Bai Susu. As soon as he walked in with his hips swaying seductively, the noisy ssroom immediately settled down.

    This was not the ss of some third rank teacher. A true sixth rank expert stood before them. Unless they were tired of living, it was wise not to act up before him.

    On top of that, Bai Susu¡¯s eerily seductive aura was a huge deterrent to the students. No one wanted to risk drawing his attention. If he somehow called any of them to his office for a private chat, they could be in for a virgin experience.

    Bai Susu walked up to the podium and scanned the faces before him, letting his eyes drift leisurely before stopping on Zu An. A smile emerged on his face as he said, ¡°I have been to this ss many times now, but this is the first time I¡¯m pleasantly surprised. There¡¯s actually a colleague of mine seated here as well.¡±

    The surrounding students immediately directed looks of envy toward Zu An. He simply responded with a shy smile. He was delighted to see yet another wave of Rage pointse in.

    Bai Susu cleared his throat and said, ¡°Before I begin the ss, let me first make an important announcement. The Ursae Dungeon is about to be opened, and while most of you are unlikely to stand a chance, you may still register for the selections if you¡¯re interested.¡±

    His words caused a stir in the ssroom. The students began whispering amongst one another excitedly.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An was a little surprised to see that the Ursae Dungeon wasmon knowledge. It looks like I really need to brush up on my general knowledge of this world. Yup, that¡¯s the perfect excuse to get Shang Liuyu to tutor me after school...

    ¡°Hm? The dungeon is opening up much earlier this year.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s half a year earlier than usual, right?¡±

    ...

    Those who were more well-informed were surprised by the news.

    Bai Susu quickly exined, ¡°Dungeons are existences that are shrouded in mystery to us. The current conclusions we have made about them might not necessarily hold true, such as our assumptions of their opening times. However, there does seem to be something peculiar about the premature opening of this dungeon, and venturing into it would certainly prove more dangerous than usual. Unless you have the capability, it¡¯s best for you not to covet what could be inside the dungeon. Know that the academy will not be taking responsibility for your death.¡±

    ¡°Teacher Bai, you¡¯re thinking too much. We have at least that much self-awareness.¡±

    ¡°Indeed. Those who usually qualify to enter dungeons are always those from the Earth ss or the Sky ss. How could anyone from our Yellow ss possibly qualify?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re just there to enjoy the show.¡±

    ...

    ¡°It¡¯s good that you all understand. Alright, let¡¯s start today¡¯s lesson. Even though most of you are likely to take on academic roles in the future, our Great Zhou Dynasty is, after all, founded on military might. All of you should possess some fundamental knowledge, so that you won¡¯t disgrace yourself and our academy with your ignorance,¡± said Bai Susu.

    ¡°I¡¯ve already imparted to you the basic cultivation technique. How far each of you can reach will depend on your talent and on fate. For today, I¡¯ll be teaching you somebat skills. While your cultivation technique allows you to strike harder and move faster than ordinary mortals, such gains are meaningless if you don¡¯t put your strength and speed to good use.¡±

    Those words made Zu An¡¯s eyes light up. His fight with Snow had already enlightened him on the importance of properly harnessing raw physical prowess. In his severely injured state, his strength and speed had been boosted to a levelparable to hers by the effects of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra.

    However, as soon as she employed herbat skills, he had been forced to a corner, unable to retaliate. It was simr toparing an ox to a tiger. In terms of absolute strength, an ox was likely stronger than a tiger. However, it was always the tiger hunting the ox, simply because the ox couldn¡¯t exert its strength effectively. Zu An, as the ox, was currently facing the same problem.

    Thus, he sharpened his focus upon hearing that Bai Susu was instructing them inbat skills.

    Bai Susu pushed back the hem of his robe and pulled out a meter-long sword. The students¡¯ eyes went wide with astonishment. They were certain that Bai Susu hadn¡¯t had a sword on him when he entered, so where did he conjure it from?

    Some students studied him carefully to see if there was any way to feasibly hide such a long sword, but it simply didn¡¯t seem possible.

    Hm, wait a moment. He couldn¡¯t have been hiding it there, could he?

    A flicker of excitement shed across Bai Susu¡¯s fair face as he said, ¡°All right, I¡¯ll be imparting to you the Thirteen Forms of Elementary Swordy.¡±

    Zu An nearly spurted blood. He had read plenty of novels in his previous life, and all of them had techniques with awe-inspiring names. Given how top-notch Brightmoon Academy was, he had expected to be introduced to secret arts on the level of Dugu Nine Swords or Six Pulse Divine Sword.

    Yet, this secret technique he¡¯d been hoping for bore such a humble name. ¡®Elementary Swordy¡¯¡ªthe name reeked of weakness!

    Many in the ss shared his thoughts, and they began booing.

    Bai Susu seemed to have expected such a reaction. He waited for the students to calm down before he exined, ¡°Don¡¯t look down on the Thirteen Forms of Elementary Swordy. You should know that these Thirteen Forms are the foundation of all swordsmanship. All the mystical and amazing swordys you see are basically an extension of the Thirteen Forms.

    ¡°The Thirteen Forms have been continuously refined over the centuries to maximize their prowess. Its aim is to bring down your enemy using the fastest speed and in the shortest distance. Most powerful experts in the world eventually return to the basics, and their movements are more or less simr to the Thirteen Forms.¡±

    The students were cated by those words, and they gave Bai Susu their fullest attention once more.

    Bai Susu nodded in satisfaction. He raised his sword up high and began lecturing, ¡°The Thirteen Forms are namely ¡®Stab¡¯, ¡®Chop¡¯, ¡®Tap¡¯, ¡®Swing¡¯, ¡®Pick¡¯, ¡®Flick¡¯, ¡®Intercept¡¯, ¡®Sweep¡¯, ¡®Slit¡¯, ¡®Shed¡¯, ¡®Cloud¡¯, ¡®Revolve¡¯, and ¡®Rise¡¯. All of them are simple, direct and to the point¡ªthere¡¯s nothing fancy about them at all. However, even though they look simple enough, mastering them will be a challenge. I¡¯ll demonstrate the Thirteen Forms once for you, then slowly impart them one by one in subsequent lessons.¡±

    With that, Bai Susu¡¯s demeanor suddenly changed. His air of femininity faded as the sword in his hand morphed into a cold burst of light, causing the students in the ssroom to shiver involuntarily.

    Watching the swordy on the podium, Zu An couldn¡¯t help but recall a poem.

    Once there was a fairdy by the name of Gongsun, a greatmotion she would stir when she danced with her swords.

    Mountains are shamed by the crowds she draws, even heaven and earth would sway with her grace.

    Her de glimmers as bright as the nine suns Hou Yi downed, her moves swift like the dragon chariots of the heavenly gods.

    With thunderous fury shemences her dance, but with the tranquility of the reflected moon in the sea it concludes.

    ...

    Haaa, what a pity that he¡¯s a guy. What a waste of his beautiful appearance, or else it would be a truly marvelous sight.

    The Thirteen Forms were soon fully demonstrated. Seeing the awed looks of the students around, Bai Susu asked with a smile, ¡°Isn¡¯t it formidable?¡±

    ¡°Amazing!¡±

    ¡°The Elementary Swordy actually wields such great prowess!¡±

    ¡°I think it looks suave too. Girls will surely fall for me if I can master this!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because Teacher Bai has a beautiful appearance. Just look at your own face... Tsk, tsk, tsk.¡±

    ...

    Bai Susu took out a little mirror to check if his hair was disheveled, then continued on with the lecture. ¡°All right, I¡¯ve shared with you the strengths of this technique, so naturally, I should also talk about its weaknesses, lest the lot of you attempt to do something rash with it.

    ¡°My swordy might have looked formidable, but that¡¯s because my cultivation is higher than yours. Strength and speed are necessary to bring out the prowess of this swordy to its maximum potential. If your cultivation is not at a high level, executing this swordy will reveal all sorts of openings. This technique has powerful offensive prowess, but its defense is fragile inparison.

    ¡°However, you need not worry. It¡¯s unlikely that you¡¯ll sh with powerful cultivators in the future. You should find this swordy sufficient to deal withmon thieves and bandits.¡±

    ¡°Tsk~¡±

    The excitement in the room dimmed significantly as the weaknesses of the style wereid bare. Most of the students lost their initial enthusiasm. I should have known. Anybat skills that are imparted to our Yellow ss are bound to be nothing special.

    However, Zu An was intrigued by Bai Susu¡¯s description of the swordy. Since he did notck strength or speed, its weakness didn¡¯t apply to him. In fact, if he could synergize Grandgale¡¯s instantaneous movement together with this swordy, he would be able to exert an incredible amount of force.

    He thought about the Bixie Swordy in TheSmiling, Proud Wanderer, a wuxia drama series he had watched in his previous life. That technique was also straightforward, and focused mainly on offense. In the eyes of true experts, it was filled with openings. However, if it was used in unison with a powerful movement technique, the swordsman would be nigh impossible to deal with.

    As long as you¡¯re fast enough, openings are not openings anymore. You¡¯d be able to release your prowess to the greatest degree.

    The more Zu An thought about it, the more excited he was. However, he soon realized something. He lowered his gaze to look at ¡®little Zu An¡¯, and tears welled up in his eyes.

    Is it destiny?[1]

    1. Bixie Swordy is infamous in the Wuxiamunity as a skill that requires one to castrate himself in order to learn, which is simr to Zu An¡¯s current plight.

 Chapter 90: Sent Right To My Doorstep

    <h4>Chapter 90: Sent Right To My Doorstep</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Despite it all, Zu An was still determined to learn the Thirteen Forms of Elementary Swordy properly. After all, his survival was at stake. If he could pick up a powerfulbat skill, he would have yet another means to deal with his enemies.

    He earnestly listened to Bai Susu as he broke down every single form. Wei Suo tried several times to engage him in conversation, but his concentration never wavered. This frustrated Wei Suo. Bro, you¡¯re in the wrong ss. We of the Yellow ss don''t focus on cultivation.

    After ss, Zu An went through everything he had learned earlier when a staff member suddenly called out, ¡°Zu... Teacher Zu, your residence is ready. Would you like to head over to take a look?¡±

    It was inevitable that the staff member felt awkward addressing Zu An as a teacher. It was just moments ago that he was still a student. Who knew he would climb up thedder so quickly?

    ¡°It¡¯s you? What a coincidence!¡± remarked Zu An. It was the same staff member who had led him to the Principal¡¯s Office when he first arrived at the academy.

    ¡°It sure is,¡± replied the staff member with a polite smile. ¡°Come, I¡¯ll familiarize you with the area.¡±

    ¡°Sure!¡± Zu An nodded. It was the afternoon break anyway, and there was plenty of time for him to take a look before the afternoon sses began.

    ¡°How do I address you?¡± Zu An asked. It was their second time meeting, so it would be good if they could at least acquaint themselves with one another.

    ¡°I am Zhu Gan. I¡¯m in charge of the logistics affairs of the academy,¡± replied the staff.

    ¡°Zhu Gan? You have quite an imposing name. To live a carefree life and screw with anyone who stands in your way,¡± remarked Zu An.

    The staff member¡¯s face darkened. Clearly, this was not the first time someone had misunderstood his name. He quickly rified, ¡°No, it¡¯s not that Gan (¸É). It¡¯s the Gan (äÆ) with three droplets and the ¡®Gold (½ð)¡¯ character.¡±[1]

    An awkward cloud descended. Zu An tried tough it off. ¡°That sounds equally great too. Haha, hahaha~¡±

    Zhu Gan looked less than impressed by his attempt. Seriously, I don¡¯t sense any sincerity in yourpliment.

    It didn¡¯t take long for the two of them to reach a tranquil area dotted with vis¡ªa ¡®vi park¡¯, thought Zu An, forck of a better term. It was near a serene-looking forest, but the colorful grass along the road was trimmed neatly. Every now and then, an independent vi was vaguely visible amidst the trees. It bore a striking resemnce to the high-ss residential areas he had seen on TV in his previous life.

    They stopped in front of one of these vis. ¡°Teacher Zu, this is your residence. This token over here is the key, and your information is already imprinted on it. The formation around the residence will automatically identify you,¡± said Zhu Gan as he passed a translucent jade token to Zu An.

    Zu An examined the token, and he marveled at its appearance. It looked like something that hade out of a fantasy movie. It was way more ssy than the hotel keys he had seen in his previous life. ¡°Can I use this to enter the other residences?¡±

    His question left Zhu Gan speechless. Are you an idiot? Even a person thinking with his bum will be able to tell you that it¡¯s impossible.

    However, knowing how Zu An had an overwhelming tendency to get into trouble, he decided to warn him just in case. ¡°Of course not. If the formation senses that someone is trying to trespass on the residence, it will automatically attack the trespasser. You shouldn¡¯t mess around with the residences of the other teachers.¡±

    ¡°Oh~¡± Zu An was a little disappointed. ¡°Then, where¡¯s Teacher Shang Liuyu¡¯s residence? Is it neighboring mine?¡±

    ¡°Dream on!¡± Zhu Gan finally couldn¡¯t stand it anymore. Shang Liuyu was the dream lover of many male teachers in the academy, and he was naturally one of them. ¡°Teacher Shang¡¯s residence is located in another area. You won¡¯t find it here.¡±

    Zu An was truly amazed by just how needlessly rich academies in this world were. To think that every teacher would be allocated their own independent residence! The dormitories in my previous world are so much better. Everyone living harmoniously in the same cluster of buildings. Who knows? A babe might just live next door!

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zhu Gan ryed some additional information then quickly took his leave. He was afraid that he would cave in to his desires and end up giving Zu An a good pummeling. He simply couldn¡¯t stand how smug that rascal was acting.

    Zu An began to explore his own residence. It was simr to a courtyard house¡ªnot too big, but sufficient. The furnishings were not particrly elegant, but most of the necessities were provided. Overall, it was pretty amazing for free lodging.

    It looks like teachers in this world are treated really well. I guess I don¡¯t have to waste my money on buying a residence in the city. Hmph, if the Chu n angers me again, I¡¯ll... I¡¯ll run here to seek refuge!

    I wonder if the academy allows me to hire and bring in some beautiful maids...

    All of a sudden, he heard a gentle voiceing from the entrance of his residence. ¡°Teacher Zu, are you inside?¡±

    Zu An was surprised. Was my desire so great that the world feltpelled to send a beautiful maid my way? Or does the academy actually assign a beautiful maid to every teacher? This voice sounds a little familiar though...

    He rushed to the doorway and saw a traditional-looking beauty standing by the doorway. She looked at him with a pair of tender almond-shaped eyes.

    Zu An blinked his eyes. ¡°You are... Zheng Dan?¡±

    Is my luck with romance that strong? To actually be called ¡®teacher¡¯ by a beautiful woman like her... Ahhh, it really feels good!

    I should have gotten others from the academy over to take a good look. Let them see how this youngdy willingly calls me ¡®Teacher¡¯ with that sweet voice of hers. Watch and learn, all right?

    The beautiful woman smiled sweetly as she replied, ¡°Teacher Zu sure has an amazing memory. I didn¡¯t think that you would still remember me.¡±

    Zu An kept his incredulous snort to himself. I just saw you this morning. I¡¯d have to be senile to actually forget you this quickly.

    ¡°May I know what business Miss Zheng has with me?¡± Zu An remembered the warning that Chu Huanzhao gave him earlier that morning, so he didn¡¯t let the woman¡¯s beauty get the better of him.

    ¡°I was in too much of a rush earlier this morning, so I wasn¡¯t able to properly thank you for saving my life.¡± Zheng Dan raised her hands and shook the lunch box that she held. ¡°It happens to be lunchtime, and I had a feeling that you haven¡¯t had your meal yet. So, I personally cooked a few dishes and brought them over. I hope that you can enjoy them.¡±

    ¡°You cooked them personally?¡± Zu An frowned with a weird look on his face. ¡°Miss Zheng, didn¡¯t you attend the sses this morning?¡±

    Are you insulting my intelligence? I saw you at the entrance just this morning. When did you have the chance to return home to cook?

    Zheng Dan was an astute woman, and was able to swiftly guess what he was thinking. She exined calmly, ¡°My family has prepared a residence for me in the academy too. I prepared the food there.¡±

    ¡°Hm? Students can own a residence in the academy too?¡±

    Zheng Dan covered her mouth andughed lightly. ¡°Most people won¡¯t be able to, but our Zheng n has quite a bit of influence in Brightmoon City. So, we were granted some leeway.¡±

    The truth dawned on Zu An. It was likely that most of the notable young masters and young misses, Zheng Dan included, had their own residences in the academy.

    Pui! I thought that the academy was a sacred ce for learning! It seems that its purity has been marred by greed too!

    ¡°Teacher Zu, may we continue the conversation in your residence? If anyone passing by were to see this, it might lead to some negative rumors.¡± Zheng Dan looked at Zu An with eyes pitiful enough to melt the hearts of all men.

    As a mortal man, Zu An was no exception. He stood aside to let her in, andmented in a teasing voice, ¡°Are you worried that your reputation will be sullied if news of this got to Commander Sang?¡±

    Zheng Dan sighed gently. ¡°It seems like Teacher Zu knows about my engagement. Hai, there¡¯s nothing I can do. Inrge ns like ours, we don¡¯t have the freedom to decide who our partners will be.¡±

    Zu An was impressed with Zheng Dan¡¯s way with words. She was able to express her helplessness in being forced into marriage without making a negative remark about Sang Hong. It looked as if she was making a point, but in truth, she hadn¡¯t said much at all.

    Even if others were to hear about it, it wouldn¡¯t be a big deal.

    ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about such things. I¡¯m here today to thank you for your help.¡± Zheng Dan blinked herrge, gleaming eyes at Zu An. She looked even more ravishing up close.

    Even with all of the beauties around him, Zu An had to admit that the woman standing before him was incredibly good-looking. No wonder she was in the Top Ten of the Sweetheart Ranking.

    Zheng Dan took out some tes packed inside a wooden box and beganying them on the table. Her movements were precise and incredibly elegant. Zu An was reminded of the spirited Jiangnan women dressed in qipaos he had seen on TV in his previous life.

    Soon, the table was filled with tes of side dishes, and every single one of them looked appetizing. It was going to be a delightful feast.

    Zheng Dan was particrly proud of this. Her skill set wasn¡¯t just limited to brewing tea; in fact, her specialtyy in cooking. She was proud of her culinary skill, though she hardly had any time to cook. It was her interest in it thatpelled her to continue squeezing out time for this hobby. Not even Sang Qian had had the opportunity to enjoy her cooking yet.

    She waited quietly for Zu An to praise her cooking so that she could respond with words of humility. She had already scripted out the entire scenario in her head. Having yed the persona of a perfect young miss from an illustrious n for so many years, it was almost second nature to her.

    ¡°Oh, your lunchbox actually retains heat!¡± Zu An eximed as he picked up the wooden box to examine it more closely.

    Zheng Dan nearly choked on her saliva. She couldn¡¯t understand just what Zu An was up to, talking about such meaningless things. Nevertheless, she responded with a slight smile, ¡°The wooden box is inscribed with a formation that retains warmth. It isn¡¯t anything special.¡±

    Zu An nodded. ¡°I see.¡±

    He reminded himself never to underestimate this world. While itgged behind in terms of technological development, they were still able to achieve many things through the use of formations, be it the runes on Chu Chuyan¡¯s carriage that acted like a car¡¯s suspension system, or the ki-istion runes on the dice shakers. He remembered the Chu n mentioning something about inscribing runes on weapons as well. This was one area in which he sorely needed to brush up on his knowledge.

    Zheng Dan, meanwhile, had caught on to what was going on.

    Just a month ago, this fellow was still a delinquent idling his life away. It¡¯s only after bing the drafted son-inw of the Chu n that he came into contact with all of these things that we whoe from affluent ns think of asmon. It¡¯s inevitable that he¡¯s still quite ignorant about them. Well, a canary can¡¯t evolve into a phoenix just because it has flown to a higher branch.

    Despite being filled with scorn for Zu An, her smile remained impable. ¡°Teacher Zu, please have a seat. The food won¡¯t taste as nice once it has cooled down. Here, I¡¯ll pour you a cup of wine.¡±

    ¡°A cup of wine?¡± ncing at Zheng Dan¡¯s fair wrists peeking out from her sleeves as she poured out a cup of wine, Zu An remarked profoundly, ¡°Haven¡¯t you heard that alcohol tends to erode one¡¯s rationality?¡±

    1. Zu An misinterpreted the Gan to be (¸É), which can mean ''screwing someone'', and has a ¡°Just Do It¡± kind of attitude. However, it''s actually this Gan (äÆ), which he exins by breaking down the character into its constituent parts¡ªthe three water droplets on the left and the character for ''Gold'' on the right.

 Chapter 91: The Textbook Example of a Honey Trap

    <h4>Chapter 91: The Textbook Example of a Honey Trap</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Erosion of rationality... Zheng Dan was rendered speechless.

    Why doesn¡¯t this fellow go with the flow? Other men would surely try their best to showcase their gentlemanly side, but this guy is acting as if he was afraid that others might somehow miss his perversion!

    Despite the unexpected hup, Zheng Dan reacted fairly quickly. She put on a natural smile and replied, ¡°Teacher Zu is a gentleman; you aren¡¯t like other men. You¡¯ve saved my life, so there¡¯s no way I would think of you in such a light.¡±

    She felt queasy just saying those words. There was no way one could ever associate the word ¡®gentleman¡¯ with Zu An.

    ¡°Oh? I never knew I had such a noble side to me.¡± Zu An touched his face in delight, pleased with Zheng Dan¡¯s words.

    ¡°Allow me to propose a toast to Teacher Zu for saving my life.¡± Zheng Dan raised her wine cup as she looked at him with a gentle smile.

    Zu An hesitated. Based on what Chu Huanzhao had said, the Sang n wasn¡¯t on good terms with the Chu n. Since the Zheng n were going to be inws with the Sang n, it should be safe to assume that they were on the same page.

    If so, Zheng Dan¡¯s purpose for approaching him was suspicious at best. As narcissistic as Zu An was, he wasn¡¯t utterly blind.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t poison this wine, did you?¡± The multiple assassination attempts he had faced since arriving in this world made him wary of everything. He decided to simply ask outright, since it was in line with his character anyway.

    Zheng Dan replied with a smile, ¡°Teacher Zu, you¡¯re jesting with me. You¡¯re a teacher of the academy, as well as my benefactor. How could I possibly dare to poison your wine? If you¡¯re still worried, I can take a sip first.¡±

    With that, she lifted his cup and took a sip before handing it back to him.

    Her lips left a slight imprint on the edge of the cup. Zu An narrowed his eyes.

    She really is dropping a lot of hints here. This is obviously a honey trap. But what is her goal? Does she want intelligence on the Chu n from me? Or does she simply want to snatch me away from Chu Chuyan to satisfy her sense of superiority?

    He pondered this for an age, and concluded that he was simply too good-looking. There could be no doubt that Zheng Dan was simply lusting after his body. Yup, that must be the case.

    So, Zu An raised his wine cup with a smile and said, ¡°Miss Zheng, surely you¡¯re jesting. How could I possibly suspect you of drugging the wine? Here, let¡¯s have a drink.¡±

    Zheng Dan rolled her eyes. You just said it out loud earlier. You sure are refreshingly shameless, huh?

    In order to be safe, Zu An decided only to eat the dishes which Zheng Dan herself had partaken of. With his first mouthful, his eyes widened in wonder. ¡°Miss Zheng, your culinary skills are really top-notch! I¡¯ve never eaten anything as delicious as this before!¡±

    He had never eaten food as good as this before in his entire two lives. His previous world had indeed been filled with delicacies, but as a keyboard warrior, how could he possibly have had the time or the money to grab anything good?

    ¡°Teacher Zu, you¡¯re too humble. How could my culinary skills be a match for Chu First Miss?¡± replied Zheng Dan.

    Zheng Dan¡¯s attempt to stir up conflict between his wife and himself was tantly obvious, but he yed along. ¡°My wife? Hah, does she even know how to cook?¡±

    He grabbed his wine cup and downed the alcohol.

    The edges of Zheng Dan¡¯s mouth curved upwards with a hint of glee. Her n was working! Hmph, it¡¯s only because she¡¯s the First Miss of a ducal estate that she¡¯s able to one-up me in everything. How could she possibly be a match for me otherwise?

    ¡°With Miss Zheng¡¯s culinary skills, anyone who marries you will truly be blessed for life,¡± remarked Zu An.

    Zheng Dan replied with a smile, ¡°If Teacher Zu is fond of my cooking, I¡¯ll be more than happy to cook for you every day.¡±

    Zu An was a little taken aback by that remark. Aren¡¯t you getting a little too straightforward? It looks like you¡¯re quite the expert at ying romance, huh? Such words could easily stir the hearts of any man.

    ¡°You can¡¯t possibly do it for a lifetime. Commander Sang is going to get jealous,¡± replied Zu An.

    Zheng Dan nodded. ¡°It would indeed be inconvenient for me to continue cooking for you after my marriage. However, you can always drop by our estate whenever you¡¯re having a craving. With your knowledge, I¡¯m sure that you¡¯ll be good friends with Sang Qian.¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An was impressed. This woman has been dropping hints and trying to seduce me, but so far, she has been making sure to toe the line and not go overboard. By bringing up her engagement with the Sang n, she makes herself look like a gentle and virtuous wife. This further stirs a man¡¯s desire to conquer.

    Zheng Dan understood that the key to romance was not to charge ahead blindly; it was about keeping an appropriate distance and slowly reeling the other party in. So, she changed the topic. ¡°Teacher Zu, I have some doubts about one of the questions you came up with during yourpetition with Teacher Yang. May I ask you to exin it to me once more?¡±

    ¡°You want me to exin it to you?¡± Zu An couldn¡¯t keep his bizarre expression off his face. A female student having one-to-one remedial lessons at her teacher¡¯s house... I feel like I¡¯ve seen this plotline in adult films before.

    ¡°I know that it¡¯s a little brash of me to make a request of you all of a sudden, but I¡¯m quite interested in arithmetic as well. Whenever there¡¯s a question that I¡¯m unable to make sense of, it continues to linger in my mind for days. So, I beg your help to set my mind at ease.¡± She summoned her most innocent expression and slowly blinked herrge eyes at him.

    Interested in arithmetic? Wow, I¡¯ve never heard anything more bullshit than that. I¡¯d really feel bad exposing you if you''re taking this to such an extent.

    Despite his mental retorts, Zu An maintained an amiable expression. ¡°Which question are you having difficulties with?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the one about the red eyes and blue eyes. Why would all of the five inders with red eyesmit suicide on the fifth day?¡± asked Zheng Dan.

    Zu began to exin the question. ¡°This question can be solved using inductive reasoning. Assuming that there¡¯s only one red-eyed inder, he would see that everyone else around him has blue eyes, and through that, he would be able to confirm that the person with red eyes is him. As a result, he wouldmit suicide on the first night. That¡¯s straightforward enough.

    ¡°Moving on. Assuming that there are 2 red-eyed prisoners...

    ¡°On the very first day, the red-eyed inders will see 1 red-eyed inder and 98 blue-eyed inders, whereas the blue-eyed inders will see 2 red-eyed inders and 97 blue-eyed inders. At this point, no one can confirm whether they have red eyes or not, so no onemits suicide on the first night.

    ¡°However, this, in turn, tells everyone that there¡¯s more than 1 red-eyed inder amongst them. So, on the second day, the red-eyed inders, who see 1 red-eyed inder and 98 blue-eyed inders from their perspective, would know that they have red eyes too andmit suicide. On the other hand, the blue-eyed inders who see 2 red-eyed inders and 97 blue-eyed inders are still unable to confirm whether they have red eyes or not, so they don¡¯t make a move. As a result, the 2 red-eyed indersmit suicide on the second day.

    ¡°The same logic applies when there are 3 red-eyed inders too.

    ¡°On the first day, the red-eyed inders see 2 red-eyed inders and 97 blue-eyed inders, whereas the blue-eyed inders see 3 red-eyed inders and 96 blue-eyed inders. No one is able to confirm if they have red eyes, so no one dies the first night.

    ¡°On the second day, everyone knows that there is more than 1 red-eyed inder. The red-eyed inders see 2 red-eyed inders and are unable to confirm if they have red eyes, and the same goes for the blue-eyed inders too. So, no one dies on the second night.

    ¡°On the third day, everyone knows that there are more than 2 red-eyed inders. The red-eyed inders, who only see 2 red-eyed inders, realize that they themselves have red eyes too whereas the blue-eyed inders, who see 3 red-eyed inders, are still unable to confirm if they have red eyes. As a result, the 3 red-eyed indersmit suicide on the third day.

    ¡°Building on this reasoning we have developed, if there are 5 red-eyed inders, all five of them would realize that they have red eyes on the fifth day andmit suicide together.¡±

    ¡°I see!¡± Zheng Dan pped her hands, beaming with delight. ¡°I thought that the question was really tough, but now that you¡¯ve exined it, it all makes sense now. You¡¯re truly amazing!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re ttering me~¡± Zu An waved his hands humbly. Yourpliment is quite fake, but I¡¯ll take it.

    The conversation branched out and flowed smoothly from thismon point of interest. The slight awkwardness in the air gradually dissipated as the two of them became morefortable with one another. In the midst of their conversation, Zheng Dan stood up to refill Zu An¡¯s wine cup, and identally knocked his chopsticks onto the floor.

    ¡°Ah!¡± eximed Zheng Dan.

    She quickly bent down to pick the chopsticks up.

    Zu An was about to reach out to pick it up for her when his eyes grewrge. In the act of bending over, the fabric around her cor loosened slightly, vaguely revealing a pair of enticing snowy ridges.

    At the same time, her robe slipped downward slightly, partially exposing her fair shoulders.

    This woman must be doing it on purpose! Zu An swallowed quickly.

    You want to use your beauty against me? Hah! You must know that I¡¯m very vulnerable to people like you!

    Zheng Dan¡¯s cheeks reddened slightly. Although such nifty tricks came naturally to her, this was still the first time she was using them on a man. A little embarrassment was inevitable.

    After this brief incident, the two of them continued their conversation a while longer, before Zheng Dan finally stood up to take her leave.

    Zu An stood up as well. ¡°I¡¯ll walk you out,¡± he offered.

    ¡°Thank you, Teacher Zu.¡± Zheng Dan nodded in response. She flicked her wrist lightly, and her skirt slipped right underneath Zu An¡¯s feet. She lurched forward.

    *Tza~*

    The crisp sound of fabric tearing echoed loudly in the air as Zheng Dan crashed to the ground. Half of her skirt was torn off, revealing her smooth legs. Suddenly flustered, she desperately tried to cover herself, but how could a delicate pair of hands be enough to cover such long legs?

    Her sudden shyness made her even more alluring. Any man standing in her presence would surely feel duty-bound to protect her.

    However, Zu An simply blinked his eyes silently at the beautiful pair of legs before him.

    Does this woman really think that I would miss her flicking her own skirt under my feet? I don¡¯t know what she¡¯s up to, but she really is going all out.

 Chapter 92: Her Fragrance

    <h4>Chapter 92: Her Fragrance</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°My apologies, Miss Zheng. I didn¡¯t do it on purpose.¡± Zu An btedly rushed forward to help her up, feigning panic. He decided to go along with her act to see what she was up to. Since you want to put on a show, it would be rude of me not to y my part, right?

    Zheng Dan bit her lips in distress and used him, ¡°Teacher Zu, you sure are mean. You tore my skirt.¡±

    Her coy tone was fatal. Zu An¡¯s heart thumped furiously, despite knowing that she was putting on an act. He finally understood that the most formidable person in Journey to the West wasn¡¯t Sun Wukong, but Tripitaka. He was able to stay true to himself in the face of the many temptresses that attempted to seduce him along the way. He was truly a formidable man.

    ¡°I apologize for my misstep. Come, allow me to help you up.¡± Zu An reached out to support her.

    ¡°Ouch!¡± Zheng Dan yelped in pain. Tears brimmed in her reddened eyes. ¡°I-I think I sprained my ankle.¡±

    Zu An was impressed. What a waste that she isn¡¯t an actress. She would have surely won an Oscar by now. It¡¯s one thing to perform a tripping scene, but to sprain her leg as well?

    ¡°Teacher Zu, can you help me take a look?¡± Zheng Dan stared at Zu An, her eyes glistening with tears. It was hard not to feel pity for her.

    Zu An squatted down beside her and gently wrapped his hands around her legs. Her skin was smooth as the finest silk. ¡°Is it here?¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s a bit higher.¡± Zheng Dan bit her lips tightly. Her cheeks were tinted with a light blush, giving her a seductive vibe yet still retaining the innocence and shyness a young girl should have.

    ¡°Is the pain here?¡± Zu An slowly moved his hands up her ankles. Her legs were really small, and his hands wrapped around them nicely. The sensation of them under his hands, so warm and so smooth, was enough to send any men bonkers.

    ¡°No, not there... A little higher, a little higher.¡± Zheng Dan¡¯s face reddened. All of a sudden, she found herself regretting her decision. It was a terrible idea to let him take advantage of her in such a manner. Forget it. I¡¯ll teach this fellow a lesson once I obtain the promissory note!

    Zu An was amused. Since you¡¯re going to such lengths to ensnare me, it¡¯d be too rude of me to turn you down, right? His hands slowly crept up her ankles and toward her smooth calves.

    Zheng Dan¡¯s heart drummed out a frenzied beat as she felt Zu An¡¯s rough, hot palms on her. It was not a sensation that she had ever experienced before, and it made her realize that she was ying with fire. She quickly grabbed his hand to stop him from moving any higher. Then, she wrapped her arms around him, saying, ¡°Big brother Zu, I suddenly feel really cold.¡±

    Zu An swallowed as he replied, ¡°That¡¯s odd. I¡¯m feeling terribly hot.¡±

    A victorious smile crept onto Zheng Dan¡¯s lips. Even with a wife as beautiful as Chu Chuyan, he¡¯s still unable to resist my charms.

    ¡°Big brother Zu, can you hug me tight? I¡¯m feeling really cold,¡± said Zheng Dan pitifully as her hands quickly fumbled around his robe.

    She took care to make it seem as if she were teasing him with her hands, concealing the fact that she was actually searching for something.

    Hm? Why is it not here?

    She had done a quick search of his body earlier this morning, but hadn¡¯t found the promissory note. She had intentionally nned this scheme to get more intimate with him this time, yet it seemed she woulde up empty-handed again.

    Where in the world is this fellow hiding the note?

    Zheng Dan btedly nced between Zu An¡¯s legs. Could he be hiding it in his pants?

    Zu An, on the other hand, felt his mouth turning dry. This woman¡¯s powers of seduction sure are incredible. Even a slight touch from her is enough to stoke such intense desire.

    However, as she slowly moved her hand downward, Zu An immediately snapped out of it. He was reminded of a pitiful reality¡ª¡¯little Zu An¡¯ was still sealed off!

    Even now, when such a beauty had leaped willingly into his embrace, he could be no more than a mere spectator.

    Who in the world nted such a seal on me? Goddamnit! Zu An was on the verge of tears. He dared not let her continue touching him. If she were to notice that he wasn¡¯t reacting at all, his dysfunction would be exposed right away!

    He dared not imagine what it would be like with everyone in the city looking at him with eyes filled with aversion.

    As a man, he couldn¡¯t allow that to happen!

    He shoved the woman out of his embrace and hurriedly backed off. ¡°That... Miss Zheng, you should rest here for a while. I¡¯ll bring a physician over to check on you!¡±

    Watching as Zu An fled in a fluster, Zheng Dan was stunned for a moment, then burst out in suddenughter. At the same time, her eyes betrayed the conflicting thoughts in her mind. Everyone said that Zu An was a perverted good-for-nothing, and yet he had ended up behaving in such a gentlemanly way. On top of that, he also won seven-and-a-half million silver taels from the casino, and defeated a teacher in a duel.

    Just which one is the real you?

    The more Zheng Dan thought about it, the more curious she became. However, she hadn¡¯t forgotten her objective. She picked herself up off the floor. Making sure that Zu An was really gone, she closed the door and began searching the room.

    However, no matter how hard she looked, the promissory note was nowhere to be found. Her forehead creased in dismay as she murmured, ¡°Just where did that fellow hide the promissory note?¡±

    Since the note wasn¡¯t in the residence, she decided it was past time to leave. She couldn¡¯t possibly wait for Zu An to return with the physician¡ªif so, her lies about being injured would be exposed. On top of that, if rumors were to spread that she had visited another man¡¯s residence alone, her reputation would surely suffer.

    She didn¡¯t mind seducing Zu An privately, but no one else needed to know what went on between them.

    Zu An, on the other hand, ran all the way into the forest and hid himself. He knew that Zheng Dan was faking her injury, and he wasn¡¯t foolish enough to really find a physician. He waited until she was gone before heaving a sigh of relief.

    It looks like I need to find the Evanescent Lotus as soon as possible. I can¡¯t allow something like this to happen a third time!

    Just thinking about that incident between him and Snow made him look up into the sky wistfully, his eyes slowly tearing up.

    He returned to his residence and double-checked that nothing was missing before locking his door and trudging listlessly back to the ssroom.

    His mood remained low for the rest of the day, and soon, sses were dismissed.

    ¡°Brother-inw, brother-inw~¡±

    As Zu An dragged himself out of the ssroom, he suddenly heard an energetic voice calling for him. When he turned around to take a look, he saw Chu Huanzhao waving at him happily.

    A warm glow spread out from his heart. My sister-inw is still the best of all. However, he swiftly remembered the seal on his body, and his mood darkened again.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? Why do you look so downcast?¡± Chu Huanzhao had skipped her way over to him when she noticed his strange mood.

    ¡°Nothing much. I just want some quiet time to myself. Life has been too hard recently.¡± Zu An sighed deeply. The gloom around him was almost tangible.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? You defeated Yang Wei, and Principal Jiang even appointed you as the new arithmetic teacher. Shouldn¡¯t you be happy about it?¡± Chu Huanzhao found his mood iprehensible.

    ¡°I¡¯m just a relief teacher. It¡¯s not as if I¡¯ve been officially hired,¡± remarked Zu An disconstely.

    ¡°A relief teacher is still a teacher. If my father were to learn about it, he¡¯d surely see you in a new light!¡± Just imagining the sight made Chu Huanzhao tingle in excitement. ¡°Also, if my older sister learns that you became her teacher, her face is sure to take on all manner of interesting expressions. In the future, when you hold lessons in the Sky ss, you should make sure to pick her to answer your questions. She always acts as if she¡¯s the best! I really want to see her getting embarrassed at least once.¡±

    The scenarios painted by Chu Huanzhao did much to lift Zu An¡¯s gloomy mind. He especially savored the thought of having Chu Chuyan call him ¡®Teacher Zu¡¯ in public. That would surely be an interesting sight.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Speaking of which, where did you go earlier in the afternoon? I came over to ask you to join me for lunch, but I couldn¡¯t find you anywhere.¡± Chu Huanzhao sounded a little sullen. ¡°Confess! Were you hooking up with some girl?¡±

    Zu An was shocked by how sharp Chu Huanzhao¡¯s sixth sense was. ¡°How is that even possible? One of the academy¡¯s staff members brought me to take a look at the teacher¡¯s housing.¡±

    ¡°Teacher¡¯s housing?¡± Chu Huanzhao¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Oooooh! Give me the key!¡±

    ¡°What are you going to do?¡± Zu An had intended to show off his residence in the first ce, so he didn¡¯t hesitate to hand her the key.

    ¡°Waaaa, it really is the key to the academy¡¯s residences!¡± Chu Huanzhao fondly examined the key in her hands. A momentter, she exined, ¡°To be frank with you, I have always wanted a residence in the academy. However, my father and mother are very strict with me, and they say that it¡¯s a waste of money. Hmph! Even Zheng Dan has a residence, so why don¡¯t I, a daughter of a ducal n, have one as well?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s heart skipped a beat upon hearing Zheng Dan¡¯s name. He quickly tried to divert the conversation away from her. ¡°If you want, you can drop by whenever you want to.¡±

    ¡°That sounds great!¡± Chu Huanzhao slipped the key into her pocket. ¡°That¡¯ll be my new afternoon nap spot then. Ahhhh, it sure is great to have my own residence. I can lie down however I want to. I don''t have to lie awkwardly on the ssroom desk like the other brats in my ss anymore, heh.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re intending to have afternoon naps over at my ce?¡± Zu An nearly spurted blood. ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s convenient.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s inconvenient about that?¡± Chu Huanzhao eyed Zu An in suspicion. ¡°You can¡¯t be hiding a vixen there, can you?¡±

    ¡°No no, of course not!¡± Zu An¡¯s heart skipped another beat. He quickly rified, ¡°I mean, we are of the opposite gender after all. I think there¡¯s a need to keep some distance between us...¡±

    Chu Huanzhao¡¯s face immediately turned red. ¡°Brother-inw, what¡¯s going on in that mind of yours! It¡¯s not like I¡¯m nning to share a room with you in the residence!¡±

    Zu An btedly realized that he hadn¡¯t checked out theyout of the residence, due to Zheng Dan¡¯s sudden arrival. Now that he thought about it, there were indeed several bedrooms. The residence was probably spacious enough to house a whole family, let alone two people!

    To disperse the sudden awkwardness, he quickly continued, ¡°Come by if you want to, but at least return me my key. How am I supposed to enter my residence without it?¡±

    ¡°No can do!¡± replied Chu Huanzhao firmly. ¡°Isn¡¯t it weird for me to have to look for you in order to have my afternoon nap? If I have a key with me, I can head over whenever I want to. You can just apply for a spare key with the academy¡¯s quartermasterter on.¡±

    ¡°Ah? The key can be duplicated?¡± Zu An was surprised to hear that. From the novels he had read in his previous life, he had imagined the key to be one-of-a-kind.

    ¡°Of course it can be duplicated!¡± eximed Chu Huanzhao. ¡°You keep trying to turn me down for some reason. You can¡¯t really be intending to hide a vixen in your residence, are you?¡±

    She leaned toward him and began sniffing his body. Then, her face immediately warped in shock. ¡°Woah, woah, woah, I smell the scent of another woman on you! Wait a minute, why does this fragrance seem so familiar? Isn¡¯t this the one Zheng Dan uses?¡±

 Chapter 93: The Tournament Has Been Brought Forward!

    <h4>Chapter 93: The Tournament Has Been Brought Forward!</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An was utterly stunned. Is she a dog? How in the world is she able to sniff people out through their smell?

    Unable to believe it, he lifted his sleeves and smelled himself, but he only detected a faint fragrance. Don''t all women pretty much use the same fragrances? I can¡¯t tell the difference at all.

    Chu Huanzhao¡¯s hand shed out to grab his ear. ¡°Speak! What did you and Zheng Dan do? Did you do something that let me... I mean, my older sister down?!¡±

    ¡°Let go, let go!¡± Her grip was so painful that it nearly squeezed tears out of Zu An¡¯s eyes. He thought that his sister-inw was slowly bing gentler and more amicable, but she was still a Tyrannosaurus Rex at heart. ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything at all! This smell is probably from this morning, when she fell from the carriage and into my arms.¡±

    Their interaction caught the attention of the students passing by, who swiftly began gossiping amongst themselves.

    ¡°I thought that Zu An would at least fare a bit better now that he¡¯s a teacher, but it looks like he is still considered the lowest in the family.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, look at how he whimpers before Chu Second Miss, not daring to fight back at all.¡±

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s the life of a drafted-son-inw. Mooching is tough, y¡¯know.¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t look too bad. It must be quite pleasurable to be held like that by such a beautiful sister-inw.¡±

    ¡°Shoo, get away from me! What if your fetish is contagious?¡±

    ...

    The students¡¯ whisperings reached Zu An¡¯s ears, and he almost wept as he felt his reputation falling into tatters.

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Chu Huanzhao hesitantly released his ear, but she leaned forward to sniff him again. The doubt in her eyes refused to go away. ¡°Is there a fragrance in the world thatsts that long?¡±

    Zu An replied sheepishly, ¡°That¡¯s not something I¡¯d know.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao brooded for a while before finally backing off with a cold sniff. ¡°Hmph, I guess the stench of vixens tends to linger!¡±

    Zu An was silent for a while, frowning at her choice of vocabry. ¡°Honestly, where did you learn such crude words? You¡¯re ruining your reputation like that.¡±

    ¡°Why? Does your heart hurt when I insult Zheng Dan?¡± Chu Huanzhao morphed from the kind sister-inw into the little demon who had used her whip tosh him. ¡°My older sister rarely has time toe to the academy, so it goes without saying that I have to keep an eye on you in her ce, lest you do something to let her down!¡±

    ¡°I really didn¡¯t do anything at all! Can you stop ndering me?¡± Zu An¡¯s tears were on the brink of flowing out. Even if I wanted to do something, my current plight doesn¡¯t allow me to. Ahhhh, I really must get my hands on the Evanescent Lotus by hook or by crook, no matter what price I have to pay!

    ¡°That better be the case!¡± Chu Huanzhao gave onest sniff before her temper mellowed. ¡°Brother-inw, I¡¯m really not making a big fuss out of this. You should know that many men view my older sister as their dream lover, so it¡¯s inevitable that other women would be envious of her. Zheng Dan is one of them. Don¡¯t be fooled by her appearance; she¡¯s approaching you because she wants to prove her superiority by stealing my older sister¡¯s man.¡±

    Zu An wasn¡¯t too happy with that. ¡°Hey! Isn¡¯t it possible that she¡¯s simply approaching me because of my charm?¡±

    Chu Huanzhao eyed Zu An from head to toe before finally shaking her head. With a perfectly earnest look on her face, she replied, ¡°That¡¯s absolutely impossible.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s pride suffered a critical hit. I really want to beat thisss up. Can¡¯t she at least lie to make me feel better?

    ¡°Hey, brother-inw, there¡¯s no need to get so angry. At least you¡¯ve got my older sister. Isn¡¯t that enough?¡± Chu Huanzhao noticed the awful look on Zu An¡¯s face and quickly cated him with a smile. ¡°You don¡¯t know how many people in the academy are envious of you. They would willingly trade twenty years of their life just to marry my older sister in their lifetime!¡±

    Zu An rolled his eyes. ¡°Others might not know better, but you, of all people, should be aware of just what kind of rtionship your older sister and I have.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao smiled sheepishly. She had indeed heard about their peculiar rtionship. ¡°You have to give my older sister some time. You should also know that she¡¯s a proud person. It¡¯s inevitable that she¡¯s unable to ept you right away.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face darkened further. ¡°Is that how you console a person? Am I really as bad as you say?¡±

    Chu Huanzhao replied with a sharp nod. ¡°In the past, even I wouldn¡¯t have bothered to spare you a second nce. However, after getting to know you, I realized that you are different from what the rumors make you out to be. You do have a lot of strengths. I believe that my older sister will slowlye to like you once she knows what kind of person you are.¡±

    ¡°Hopefully.¡± In truth, Zu An wasn¡¯t too bothered about that. What was foremost in his mind was the Evanescent Lotus. Without that, even if Chu Chuyan really fell for him, it would still be for naught.

    Zu An¡¯s downcast tone and crestfallen silhouette weighed on Chu Huanzhao¡¯s heart. My brother-inw sure is pitiful. My older sister doesn¡¯t like him; my parents scorn him; even the servants don¡¯t show him respect. He must be having a tough time in the Chu Estate. I must treat him better so that he can feel the warmth of a family.

    With that, she ran up to him and called out sweetly, ¡°Brother-inw~¡±

    Taken aback by her sudden sugary tone, Zu An gave a little start. ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Nothing much. I just wanted to call you.¡± Chu Huanzhao¡¯s eyes domed into beautiful crescents.

    Zu An eyed her sideways. Chu Huanzhao was acting weirdly, but he was so absorbed in his own affairs that he decided to let it slip.

    By the time they walked out of the academy, Cheng Shouping and the servants of the Chu n were already waiting for them at the entrance. When Cheng Shouping saw Chu Huanzhao fluttering around Zu An like a butterfly, he was astonished.

    The young master is truly amazing. Not only did he manage to marry the First Miss, but he managed to win over the unruly Second Miss too. I really need to get the young master to teach me a thing or two. If I could just pick up a sliver of what he knows, it¡¯d be more than enough for me to get a beautiful wife!

    It was a silent trip home. Shortly after they returned to the estate, Chu Zhongtian called the two of them over for dinner. Surprisingly, Chu Chuyan was present as well.

    Zu An was slightly perplexed. As a student of Brightmoon Academy, Chu Chuyan should have been attending sses. Weirdly enough, however, the two of them had never encountered each other in the academy. From what Chu Huanzhao had said, it appeared that she really hadn''t been to the academy these few days.

    He wondered what she was so busy with. She seemed to be constantly traveling to all sorts of ces. Cheng Shouping once mentioned that she personally managed many of the Chu n¡¯s businesses. That could exin why she was constantly busy.

    When Chu Huanzhao saw Chu Chuyan and her parents at the dining table, she rushed up to them joyfully. ¡°Father, mother, big sister, you won¡¯t believe what happened in the academy today. Zu An was...¡±

    Qin Wanru cut her short. ¡°We can talk about thatter. For now, there¡¯s something more important we need to discuss.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao turned to Zu An and shrugged helplessly. Her cheeky gestures were really adorable.

    Zu An felt a surge of warmth in his heart. His sister-inw did treat him well, although the same couldn¡¯t be said about his mother-inw. Qin Wanru had quite a domineering personality, and she had never bothered to hide her contempt for him. It was fortunate that her two daughters weren¡¯t like her.

    I really wonder what¡¯s wrong with Ji Dengtu to make him lust after such a woman. Does he have some sort of weird fetish?

    If Qin Wanru could have read Zu An¡¯s thoughts at that moment, she would surely have erupted like a volcano.

    ¡°Chuyan, due to the premature opening of the Ursae Dungeon, the tournament against the Yuan n will be brought forward to two dayster. How are your preparationsing along?¡± asked Qin Wanru.

    ¡°The tournament?¡± Zu An¡¯s heart leapt into his mouth.

    This had been brought up some time back. The Chu n and the Yuan n were both active in the arms trade, which created an intense rivalry between the two ns. However, as nobles, it was beneath them to resort to underhanded methods likemon merchants¡ªsuch acts would severely tarnish their reputations. To divide the market, the ns agreed to let their juniors duel with one another in a tournament.

    This was intended to be a friendly duel, so as to avoid acrimony between the two ns. At the same time, the tournament would spur the juniors of the two ns to work harder on their cultivation.

    Zu An hadn¡¯t expected the ns Tournament toe so quickly.

    ¡°This should not be a problem,¡± replied Chu Chuyan. ¡°I¡¯ve been monitoring the training of the juniors of our Chu n, and they have been working diligently. From our past experiences, they should be able to hold their own.¡±

    Chu Zhongtian frowned. ¡°We can¡¯t use our previous experiences as a gauge. The Yuan n has the backing of the Wu n now, so the cultivators they dispatch are bound to be far stronger than in previous years.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao piped up, ¡°Since the Yuan n is seeking external help, why don¡¯t we do the same too? Aren¡¯t we disadvantaged like that?¡±

    ¡°What do you know?¡± Chu Zhongtian sniffed in response. ¡°If I were to ask for external help like them, wouldn¡¯t that demonstrate that our Chu n is really afraid of their Wu n? Besides, I¡¯ve lived my life proudly. I won¡¯t lower myself to resort to such tricks!¡±

    Zu An scoffed at his words. Isn¡¯t this the perfect example of someone who would suffer just to uphold his pride? It¡¯s really hard to associate the word ¡®proud¡¯ with this henpecked husband.

    ¡°Even if they engaged the help of the Wu n, there¡¯s no way they would stand a chance against me,¡± Chu Chuyan replied.

    Zu An was left slightly shaken. He hadn¡¯t expected his wife to utter such intimidating words. On top of that, not a single person¡ªnot Chu Zhongtian, Qin Wanru, or Chu Huanzhao¡ªquestioned her words. Her prowess was deemed a self-evident truth.

    She was a renowned prodigy of Brightmoon City, rumored to be at the fifth rank.

    Zu An had fought with two fifth rank cultivators thus far, and had nearly lost his life on both ounts. That being said, there were likely to be significant differences between fifth rank cultivators. Pei Mianman had easily defeated Yuan Wendong in a duel, even though they were both fifth rank cultivators. That bizarre ck me she summoned was a truly frightening entity.

    He wondered whether Chu Chuyan or Pei Mianman was more formidable.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    With Pei Mianman on his mind, his thoughts subconsciously drifted to the brawl they¡¯d had in Chu Chuyan¡¯s bedroom the other night. That woman¡¯s figure is truly incredible...

    ¡°You might be able to win a match, but there are a total of ten matches, and one of them is a sure loss. Honestly, I don¡¯t have much confidence going into the ns Tournament this time around.¡± Qin Wanru nced at Zu An as she shook her head.

    It was a rule that the juniors in the main family branch had to participate in one of the ten matches. There were fewer rules governing the participation of the other juniors. Those who were strong enough could be fielded, regardless of whether they were from another branch of the family, or a servant of the n.

    The Chu n¡¯s greatest disadvantage was none other than Zu An. The rules dictated that he had to participate in the tournament, and his match was considered a sure loss.

    Tsk, you really look down on me. As displeased as Zu An was, he maintained aposed expression. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll surely win my round.¡±

    Unfortunately, there wasn¡¯t anyone who took his words to heart. Even Chu Huanzhao, who usually supported him, didn¡¯t think that he could win.

    ¡°Don¡¯t harbor such unrealistic fantasies. Let¡¯s go with our previous n to pit you against Yuan Wendong. Even if you lose the match, you¡¯ll still be contributing significantly to the Chu n. I¡¯ll apany you to the academy tomorrow to ensure that Yuan Wendong would choose to face you. Try to find a way to rile him up,¡± said Chu Chuyan.

 Chapter 94: Whatcha Starinâ€™ At?

    <h4>Chapter 94: Whatcha Starin'' At?</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An blinked in surprise. ¡°You want me to rile Yuan Wendong up once more?¡± He¡¯d never expected such a suggestion out of his wife.

    Chu Chuyan thought that Zu An might be feeling intimidated, so she added, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll apany you tomorrow. No matter how you rile him up, I¡¯ll be there to ensure your safety.¡±

    Woah, what¡¯s with this sudden deration that almost sounds like a confession? Why does it feel like our positions have been reversed... Well, I guess it¡¯s fine. Mooching off others is pretty cool after all.

    Zu An nodded affirmatively. ¡°Rest assured, honey. Since you¡¯ve decreed it, I¡¯ll make sure to blow him up with rage!¡±

    The way Zu An referred to Chu Chuyan as ¡®honey¡¯ brought frowns to Chu Chuyan and Qin Wanru¡¯s faces, but neither made any furtherment.

    ¡°Big sister, you¡¯ll be heading to the academy tomorrow?¡± asked Chu Huanzhao.

    ¡°I am. What¡¯s with your expression?¡± asked Chu Chuyan with a smile. ¡°Could it be that you¡¯ve stirred trouble in the academy, and you¡¯re worried that the teachers willin to me?¡±

    ¡°Of course not! It¡¯s just that you haven¡¯t been to the academy for quite some time now. I¡¯m just delighted,¡± Chu Huanzhao replied indignantly, directing a secret wink at Zu An. ¡°Speaking of which, doesn¡¯t the Sky ss have an arithmetic ss tomorrow?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± replied Chu Chuyan. ¡°Actually, most of the cultivation sses in the academy don¡¯t serve much purpose to me anymore. These arithmetic sses are far more useful. After all, the Chu n has many finance-rted matters that need dealing with.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao tried her best to suppress her smile, her face straining with the effort. ¡°It just so happens that the academy brought in a new arithmetic teacher. He might be more to your liking.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯ve changed the arithmetic teacher? What happened to Yang Wei?¡± Chu Chuyan was surprised to hear that news. She had been so busy dealing with the affairs in the Chu n that she hadn¡¯t paid any attention to the recent happenings in the academy.

    ¡°It seems like Yang Wei has been fired for oppressing his students,¡± replied Chu Huanzhao vaguely.

    Chu Chuyan took her time to reply. ¡°I can¡¯t deny that Yang Wei has some serious character ws. However, his skills in arithmetic are the real deal. I¡¯m not sure if the new teacher will be able to fill his shoes.¡±

    ¡°Oh, he definitely will!¡± Chu Huanzhao shot a nce at Zu An as she replied. ¡°Yang Wei had apetition with the new teacher earlier today, but he suffered aplete loss.¡±

    ¡°Huanzhao, why do you keep looking at your brother-inw while talking?¡± Qin Wanru asked in displeasure. She felt like her second daughter was getting excessively close to Zu An. Then again, Huanzhao has always been a candid child. Am I thinking too much into it?

    Chu Huanzhao stuck out her tongue in response. She had nned to brag about Zu An before her parents, but changed her mind upon confirming that her older sister was going to have an arithmetic ss in the academy the following day.

    I would love to see her reaction when she enters the ssroom and sees that the teacher is Zu An.

    Just imagining it was enough to pump her full of excitement.

    ¡°Aplete loss? Are you certain? It¡¯s hard to imagine that someone of Yang Wei¡¯s caliber would be thoroughly defeated.¡± Chu Chuyan was astonished. ¡°How was thepetition held?¡±

    Chu Huanzhaounched into her telling of the story with unbridled excitement. ¡°It started with Yang Wei setting twenty questions for the new teacher. Unexpectedly, the new teacher swiftly answered them all, and got all of them correct. After that, the new teacher set twenty questions for Yang Wei, but after trying his best, Yang Wei didn¡¯t manage to get even a single question correct.¡±

    ¡°He didn¡¯t get a single question correct?¡± Chu Chuyan widened her eyes. ¡°How could that be possible? What kind of questions did the new teacher set?¡±

    Chu Huanzhao shot a nce at Zu An, clearly seeing the mirth in his eyes. He must be secretly delighted right now. Heh, look at how hard I¡¯m working to brag for him. I¡¯ll be expecting something good from him for this.

    ¡°The questions set by the new teacher were a little peculiar...¡± She began to roughly exin the twenty questions. For those that she wasn¡¯t too sure about, she naturally turned to Zu An for help.

    No one questioned how he was involved. It was an openpetition after all, and Zu An was a student of the academy. It wasn''t much for him to know the details of thepetition.

    After hearing the twenty questions, Chu Chuyan gasped in amazement. ¡°That new teacher seems truly formidable. I¡¯m starting to get a bit curious about him.¡±

    ¡°You should be.¡± A gleeful glean shone in Chu Huanzhao¡¯s eyes from having seeded in setting up her prank. It had been a long time since she was this happy.

    ¡°Hmph, it¡¯s nothing more than small tricks.¡± Qin Wanru sniffed. ¡°Ultimately, one¡¯s cultivation is still the most important thing in this world. Don¡¯t hold up the advancement of your cultivation over such trivialities.¡±

    ¡°Chuyan, it¡¯s good that you¡¯ve helped us manage the family business over the years, but these things are all of minor importance. You mustn¡¯t get too caught up in them,¡± said Chu Zhongtian.

    Chu Chuyan replied with a smile, ¡°Rest assured, I know my priorities.¡±

    Chu Zhongtian nodded in relief. ¡°That¡¯s good. You have always been mature even at a young age, and your mother and I have never needed to worry about you before.¡±

    Qin Wanru red at her second daughter. ¡°Huanzhao, take a look at your older sister. She already has her priorities set straight, whereas you are still spending your days idly and getting into trouble.¡±

    The smile on Chu Huanzhao¡¯s face immediately froze. I know that you want topliment my big sister, but surely you don¡¯t have toe around and berate me!

    Zu An, meanwhile, was beginning to understand why Chu Huanzhao had been so rebellious the first time they¡¯d met. Ever since she was young, she had been constantlypared to her outstanding big sister, and she was unable to catch up to her no matter what she tried. Anyone in her position would inevitably feel horrible about it.

    On top of that, Chu Chuyan had quite a cold personality as well. All in all, it seemed that there was not a single ordinary human in this family. In a sense, Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru weren¡¯t really good at raising kids.

    Oh well. Since she has an unhappy childhood, I guess I should try to take care of her a little more.

    ¡°You too, Zu An!¡± Qin Wanru had been in the middle of berating her daughter when she noticed Zu An watching in a rxed manner from the sidelines. She thought about all of the trouble that had urred ever since Zu An joined the family, and her rage was whipped up. Why are you acting so carefree? You¡¯re worse than Huanzhao!

    Zu An was astonished. He hadn¡¯t expected to suddenly be implicated in this.

    Chu Huanzhao was d to see that Zu An was there to tank the damage. It looks like my life can only get better now that my brother-inw has joined the family.

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll heed your teachings, mother-inw,¡± replied Zu An obediently. He had a firm grasp as to who was the one truly in charge here. In any case, there was no reason for him to provoke Qin Wanru unnecessarily.

    ¡°Forget it!¡± Qin Wanru was about to lecture Zu An to work harder, and that even if he couldn¡¯t cultivate, he could at least help with the family business and alleviate Chu Chuyan¡¯s stress. In that way, Chu Chuyan¡¯s talents wouldn¡¯t go to waste.

    However, she suddenly remembered Chu Chuyan¡¯s intentions for bringing him in, and her words could not leave her mouth.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Given Zu An¡¯s nature, it was a better use of her time to tutor Huanzhao instead. She was more likely to be of help in the future. With that, she directed her sharp eyes back to her second daughter and began nagging her.

    Chu Huanzhao was stunned. Why are you nagging me?! Just let me have my meal in peace, all right?

    After dinner was over, Zu An returned to his room and checked the Rage points he had earned. With the uing ns Tournament and the imminent opening of the Ursae Dungeon containing the Evanescent Lotus, he would need great power to back him up.

    God knows what Yuan Wendong is nning for the ns Tournamenting up in two days.

    Even though Yuan Wendong had been crushed by Pei Mianman, there was no denying he was a fifth rank cultivator. If he were to pull some kind of despicable move and kill him in the dueling ring...

    That seems a small possibility. I do have the Chu n backing me, after all.

    However, it was still possible for Yuan Wendong to feign carelessness and take off one of his limbs, or something like that. He had read plenty of novels in his previous life, and it was usually the offspring of noble ns that were the most despicable of all.

    While Chu Chuyan had promised to ensure his safety, it wasn¡¯t like Zu An to put all of his eggs in one basket. Bing strong in his own right was the real way to go.

    Including the points he had saved up from thest draw, he had 88,018 Rage points at the moment. Most of them hade from the crowd, right after Jiang Luofu¡¯s announcement that he was going to take over from Yang Wei as Brightmoon Academy¡¯s arithmetic teacher.

    Hehe, I sure was sharp-witted to immediately capitalize on the situation and trigger them.

    Just thinking about it filled him with glee. The incident also reinforced how inefficient it was for him to try squeezing Rage points out of an individual. It was much better to juice a whole crowd at once. To be honest, the academy still wasn¡¯t arge enough stage for him to truly shine. A day would eventuallye when he would stand before thousands and squeeze out every single Rage point from each of them.

    Just thinking about it makes me a little excited.

    Mindful of tradition, he started off by washing his hands and face before beginning to draw the lottery.

    As expected, he received a series of ¡®Thanks for ying!¡¯ messages.

    However, Zu An had already gotten used to it. He simply continued drawing the lottery, watching as the light marker flew across the various keys on the keyboard.

    Thanks for ying... Ki Fruit... Thanks for ying... Thanks for ying... Ki Fruit... Whatcha Starin¡¯ At... Thanks for ying... Ki Fruit...

    Zu An was starting to find drawing the lottery a chore. If the day came when he managed to amass several million Rage points, he would probably be drawing until his fingers broke.

    Hm? Wait a moment. Did I just get something weird?

    Zu An took a look at his notification logs and realized that he had managed to draw a new skill.

    He had been feeling somewhat lethargic, but he bolted upright when he realized that he had drawn something new. Thest few skills he¡¯d obtained were all pretty useful, and he was excited at what the new skill could be.

    He saw that the ¡®N¡¯ key was lit. He tapped it, and saw three words: Whatcha Starin¡¯ At.

    Zu An was stunned. Is the Keyboard mocking me?

    He pressed the ¡®N¡¯ key once more, but the same three words lingered on the screen, as if mocking his foolishness.

    ¡°What the hell? I¡¯m staring at you, shithead!¡± Zu An roared angrily.

    *Ding~*

    As if some sort of condition had been fulfilled, several more lines appeared on the screen.

    Congrattions on obtaining the skill: Whatcha Starin¡¯ At!

    Skill Effect: It¡¯s said that this is a taboo phrase in a certain region. Once used, it will undoubtedly result in a cmity of bloodshed. Whenever you use this skill, your target will reply with ¡°I¡¯m staring at you, shithead!¡±

    Zu An blinked his eyes in confusion. Is that all? Nothing else?

    Unwilling to give up, he squinted to see if there was any fine print or some such hidden away, but he could find nothing else.

    What¡¯s with this shitty skill?! What¡¯s the use of making my target say a few words?!

 Chapter 95: Sunflower Phantasm

    <h4>Chapter 95: Sunflower Phantasm</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    While the Heiress¡¯ Ball of Delights or the Knock-You-Up Eyes had names and descriptions that sounded utterly horrendous, they were items that could bring forth incredible effects in desperate moments if used well.

    However, Zu An couldn¡¯t think of even a single practical use for this skill.

    All it did was make the other party reply ¡®I¡¯m staring at you, shithead¡¯. Could there be anything more useless than this?

    A sudden thought surfaced in Zu An¡¯s mind. Could it be a taunt skill to earn the enemy¡¯s Rage points?

    However, he soon dismissed that line of thought. Even if it hadn¡¯t been turned into an official skill, just saying the words ¡®Whatcha starin¡¯ at?¡¯ was more than enough to provoke most people.

    One thing that surprised him was that this skill didn¡¯t have a limit to its use, unlike the other artifacts and skills he had received.

    Although this assuaged Zu An¡¯s heart a little, it didn¡¯t change the fact that this skill was much less useful than the previous few. He didn¡¯t know whether to celebrate or weep in sorrow.

    With a deep sigh, he continued to draw the lottery. He didn¡¯t get anything else new after that¡ªthey were all either ¡®Thanks for ying¡¯ or Ki Fruits. This oue was well within his expectations. After all, it was nearly impossible for him to be lucky enough to draw two skills or artifacts in a single sitting.

    So far, his third formation was one-third full, and devouring all of the Ki Fruits he had drawn was enough to fill it up fully. Based on the amount of ki he had currently, he was confident that he could summon Grandgale twice now. Previously, summoning it just once would sap him dry.

    It looks like my ki capacity is indeed increasing along with my growth.

    Zu An wondered if he would really unlock a new skill once the nine formations in his muscles were fully filled. Grandgale was a truly formidable skill, yet it was only the first one. Surely the skills that came after it would be even more powerful.

    However, just thinking about the astronomical amount of Rage points he would require to raise his cultivation level was enough to leave him shaking his head helplessly. Forget it, I shouldn¡¯t think about all this now. For the time being, I should focus on preparing for the battle two days from now!

    With his current ability, he was pretty confident that he would be able to protect himself against Yuan Wendong in the dueling ring. However, from what Jiang Luofu had said, cultivators would grow exponentially stronger the higher their rank. Since strong cultivators had the ability to secure cultivation resources for themselves, this let them grow faster than the others below them. Therefore, it was unwise for him to simply keep hiding his abilities.

    Zu An also btedly realized the significance of being a member of the Chu n. He was sitting on such a huge ship right now; it would be a huge waste if he didn¡¯t take full advantage. At the very least, he was determined to make the other members of the Chu n acknowledge him.

    While he did grumble about his wife¡¯s and inws¡¯ cold attitude towards him, deep down, he was aware that their prejudice toward him was justified. He had indeed been a good-for-nothing before. Had he been in their position, he would have surely scorned himself too.

    In fact, putting aside Chu Huanzhao, both Chu Chuyan and Chu Zhongtian actually treated him fairly well despite harboring the notion that he was a good-for-nothing. It was only Qin Wanru who berated him constantly, even punishing him by making him copy the family rules.

    Hmph, I should have given your dudou to that pervert Ji Dengtu...

    Jiang Luofu¡¯s advice made him realize that it was time for him to demonstrate his capability before the Chu n. At the very least, he had to let them know that he was an asset to the Chu n. When that happened, perhaps even Chu Chuyan would willingly fawn all over him...

    Just thinking about it made Zu An giggle under his breath. Saliva dribbled out of the corner of his lips.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t think he was strong enough to defeat Yuan Wendong yet. After all, Yuan Wendong was a fifth rank cultivator, and his ability to control multiple weapons simultaneously in battle made him seem almost like those swordmasters in fantasy novels. Pei Mianman was able to melt his weapons with ease, but if he were to be ced in her position, the most likely oue was him ending up being punctured full of holes.

    Also, he didn¡¯t want to showcase all of his trump cards in a public dueling ring. He did want to prove his worth, but giving away all of his techniques was nothing short of foolishness. It would give his enemies the vital intelligence required to deal with him.

    That¡¯s why people in my previous life preach about the importance of humility, and keeping a low profile. A wise man would rather silently strike it rich than parade his wealth around. Those who stick out too much would only incur the envy of others and eventually be destroyed.

    He spent a long time deep in thought, and decided to turn his attention toward the Thirteen Forms of Elementary Swordy Bai Susu had imparted to them earlier in the day. This swordy might be of limited use to ordinary folk, but its nature fitted him like a glove. If he could defeat Yuan Wendong with this swordy, he would be able to prove his own worth without giving away his trump cards.

    This thought made him quiver with excitement. He picked up the sword he received from the academy and began practicing the moves. Somehow, he was able to clearly remember the movements Bai Susu had demonstrated. He could almost see himself back in the ssroom, with the moves ying out in front of him. Perhaps this was an effect of his transcendent-ss aptitude.

    His movements started off a little awkward, but after several repetitions, they began to flow much more smoothly.

    An eerie voice cut through the silence of the night. ¡°Oh? I didn¡¯t expect your talent to be so high. You were actually able to grasp the academy¡¯s Elementary Swordy so quickly. All you¡¯recking now is practice.¡±

    Zu An recoiled in shock. He spun around, only to see a scrawny, hunched-over figure standing in the garden not too far away. Who else could it be if not Old Mi?

    ¡°When did you arrive?¡± asked Zu An with an innocent smile. On the inside, however, he warned himself to be more careful. If Old Mi were to discover the trump cards he had, he might just get screwed over.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been here for some time now,¡± replied Old Mi. ¡°I heard that you¡¯re likely going to be up against Yuan Wendong in the ns Tournament?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it seems so,¡± replied Zu An helplessly. What could he do when the Chu n wanted to use him as the ¡®inferior horse¡¯ to tie down the ¡®superior horse¡¯?

    Old Mi stroked his beard as he stared at Zu An intently. ¡°You¡¯re intending to use the Elementary Swordy to deal with Yuan Wendong?¡±

    Zu An felt his goosebumps rising up under Old Mi¡¯s sinister gaze. ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t know anybat skills other than this.¡±

    ¡°The Elementary Swordy is the basic swordy imparted to everyone in the academy. No doubt Yuan Wendong has learned it as well. I heard that he¡¯s a fifth rank cultivator. Aren¡¯t you courting death by attempting to challenge him with the Elementary Swordy?¡± Old Mi scoffed.

    ¡°But the teachers of the academy said that this swordy isn¡¯t as bad as its name makes it out to be. It¡¯s the foundation of all swordy, and even true swordmasters who have reached a certain point eventually return to it...¡± Zu An¡¯s weak protest buckled under Old Mi¡¯s re.

    ¡°You actually believe the nonsense the teachers of the academy spout in order to spur their students¡¯ motivation?¡± Old Mi looked at Zu An as if he was an idiot. ¡°You¡¯re not wrong to say that cultivators, upon reaching a certain level, would return to the basics, but it only works because they have developed the overwhelming speed and strength needed to crush their enemies. A newbie like you using this swordy to deal with an expert... you¡¯re really asking for a good walloping!¡±

    Zu An offered up a sheepish smile. ¡°Well, my match is scheduled at the very end. I probably wouldn¡¯t have to get into the dueling ring in the first ce.¡±

    Old Mi fell silent for a while, then said suddenly, ¡°I heard that you have a grudge against Yuan Wendong?¡±

    Zu An was surprised. The old gardener was always puttering about the Chu n estate, yet he seemed to know everything that was going on outside. ¡°Ah... We did get into a small scuffle in the academy.¡±

    ¡°A small scuffle?¡± Old Mi snorted. ¡°I heard that Yuan Wendong dered that he¡¯d cripple you.¡±

    ¡°Well, he had some strong grievances against me. He might have just been spouting empty threats in a fit of anger,¡± replied Zu An.

    ¡°You had someone there to fish you out thest time, but who would be able to save you in the dueling ring two days from now?¡± Old Mi rolled his eyes, which gave his already-terrifying face an even more frightening aspect. ¡°I heard that the First Miss wanted you to provoke Yuan Wendong again tomorrow?¡±

    ¡°Y-yeah...¡± Zu An felt a shiver run down his spine. This matter had only been shared among the few of them at the dining table earlier. How in the world did Old Mi learn about it too? Could he possibly know about the Keyboard as well?

    Old Mi stomped his feet in anger. ¡°Preposterous! Even if the First Miss doesn¡¯t like you, she shouldn¡¯t toss you into the fiery pit just like that!¡±

    His outburst heartened Zu An. ¡°Elder, please don¡¯t worry. My wife is just resorting to the strategy of using the weakest horse to tie down the strongest one. I¡¯m the one going upst, so there¡¯s a good chance that I won¡¯t need to fight at all.¡±

    Old Mi shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s different this time. The Yuan n came prepared. There¡¯s a high probability that you would have to fight as well. I¡¯ll impart a movement skill to you. Hopefully, you¡¯ll at least be able to protect yourself in the dueling ring.¡±

    Zu An was shocked into a moment of silence, before he suddenly cried out, ¡°Elder, you treat me too well!¡± To think that he had actually doubted Old Mi¡¯s kind intentions all this while!

    Old Mi replied with a smile, ¡°I don¡¯t hope for much in this life; I just hope that you can fulfill my regrets. I can¡¯t have you losing an arm or a leg.¡±

    You must be joking. It wasn¡¯t easy for me to find someone suitable. How could I let that brat, Yuan Wendong, leave any scars on your body?!

    Zu An had no inkling of Old Mi¡¯s sinister intentions, so he was utterly moved by the old gardener¡¯s gesture. So few people had treated him kindly ever since he came to this world, and Old Mi was, without a doubt, one of them.

    Old Mi cleared his throat and said, ¡°This movement skill is called ¡®Sunflower Phantasm¡¯. It doesn¡¯t require much ki to activate, but its effects are top-notch. Those who are talented only need half a year in order to reach a level of minor aplishment. We¡¯re short of time, but considering that your opponent is Yuan Wendong, it should be enough.¡±

    Zu An was a little perplexed. ¡°That doesn¡¯t make sense. If the movement skill is top-notch, shouldn¡¯t its activation require arge amount of ki?¡±

    Old Mi chuckled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not trying to trick you. While this movement skill requires very little ki to execute, most people face a huge hurdle that they are unable to ovee. But as for you...¡±

    At this point, Old Mi nced meaningfully at Zu An¡¯s crotch and continued, ¡°The hurdle is nonexistent for you!¡±

    Zu An blinked his eyes in bewilderment. What does that mean?

    Old Mi coughed lightly and said, ¡°Gather your focus. I¡¯m going to impart to you Sunflower Phantasm¡¯s form, ki pathways, and crux to you. Listen carefully...¡±

    Roughly two hourster, Zu An began moving, flitting from left to right, again and again, leaving Old Mi utterly giddy. It took him a while to find his voice. ¡°Did you actually know the Sunflower Phantasm beforehand?¡±

    Zu An shook his head and replied, ¡°Of course not.¡±

    ¡°Then how did you manage to grasp it so quickly? You¡¯re already at the level of minor aplishment!¡± Old Mi eximed.

    ¡°I guess I¡¯m just talented?¡± Zu An offered shyly.

 Chapter 96: Young Master Shi

    <h4>Chapter 96: Young Master Shi</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Old Mi simply disregarded those words. A notorious wastrel of Brightmoon City possessing good talent? Is that even possible? Everyone else must have been blind all these years!

    He could only think of one exnation. ¡°Perhaps your body is well-suited for this movement skill. Quickly familiarize yourself with it. It should be enough for you to at least survive against Yuan Wendong. Also, don¡¯t tell anyone about this martial skill, and never speak its name ¡®Sunflower Phantasm¡¯ either. It might get you in trouble.¡±

    Zu An nodded quickly in response. ¡°Yes, I understand.¡±

    Looks like Old Mi is quite a low-profile person too. If that wasn¡¯t the case, how could he have remained a humble gardener in the Chu n for so many years?

    Hearing Zu An¡¯s assurances, Old Mi finally left the garden in peace.

    Zu An continued practicing the Sunflower Phantasm, but a thought soon surfaced in his mind. This movement skill is quick and unpredictable. It¡¯s too much of a waste to use it just for defense. What if I were to use it for offense?

    Zu An recalled Bai Susu¡¯s exnation that the Elementary Swordy was focused on dealing the greatest damage against one¡¯s opponent at the fastest possible speed and within the shortest distance. It had many openings in the eyes of a true swordmaster, but these openings became practically nonexistent if one could move fast enough, preventing them from being exploited.

    Just thinking about it made Zu An¡¯s heart beat faster. He started practicing the Thirteen Forms of Elementary Swordy and the Sunflower Phantasm in unison. Before, the Elementary Swordy had looked quite monotonous and straightforward. However, oncebined together with Sunflower Phantasm, it left brilliant gleams of light shing around the garden in unpredictable trajectories.

    Someone walking into the garden at that moment would see only a shadow flitting around amidst shes of light. The sight would have been more than enough to frighten them.

    All of a sudden, Zu An sensed a disturbance, and hurriedly retracted his sword. As he did so, a couple of guards rushed over, yelling, ¡°Young master, is something wrong?¡±

    These were the guards that Chu Zhongtian had assigned to protect him after the incident with Snow. You guys sure are useful. I didn¡¯t see you rushing in when Old Mi strutted right in earlier.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m just practicing my swordsmanship.¡± Zu An wiped the sweat off his forehead as he beamed a smile at them.

    ¡°All right, we shan¡¯t disturb you.¡±

    Seeing that there was nothing amiss, the guards quickly resumed their posts.

    ¡°Our young master¡¯s body sure is weak. Just practicing the Elementary Swordy is enough to make him sweat so profusely.¡±

    ¡°I sure pity our young miss.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m certain I sensed quite a hugemotioning from there, though. Am I hearing things?¡±

    ¡°Tsk, your nerves must be too strung up during this period. Do you think that it¡¯s possible for our young master to have caused a hugemotion by himself?¡±

    ¡°I guess not.¡±

    ...

    Zu An¡¯s face darkened at their whispering. There was a truly pressing need to enhance his reputation.

    He had been worried about the ns Tournament earlier, but he was more confident now that he had the Sunflower Phantasm. This movement skill and the Elementary Swordy were the perfectbination, reminiscent of the Bixie Swordy Manual from right out of the novel.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    All of a sudden, his face stiffened. He noticed that there was the word ¡®Sunflower¡¯ in its name. Old Mi had also mentioned a huge hurdle that most people were unable to ovee, which prevented them from learning the movement skill. On top of that, there was that lingering gaze on his crotch...

    What the hell!

    This can¡¯t be the Sunflower Manual, can it?![1]

    This terrifying thought made him toss his sword away in fright.

    Why am I constantly haunted by this?!

    Zu An could feel the malice the world bore towards him. It was one thing for ¡®little Zu An¡¯ to be sealed, but now, he was even paired with the Sunflower Manual and the Bixie Swordy Manual?!

    With a dreadful look on his face, Zu An stomped his way back to his residence and went to sleep. He had lost all motivation to continue practicing.

    ...

    Meanwhile, there was another person who was in a worse mood. In the headquarters of the Plum Blossom Sect, an expensive porcin cup was smashed to the floor, shattering into countless pieces.

    Kneeling on the floor, Mei Chaofeng¡¯s eyelids twitched in horror. That was his favorite teacup! A great deal of effort had gone into acquiring it, and he was so fond of it that he always kept it by his side. If anyone else had dared touch the teacup, he would have had the person held down, diced into pieces, and fed to the dogs. However, he dared not direct his anger towards the person who had just smashed it into pieces. He could only tremble fearfully on the ground.

    Another person knelt next to him. She was dressed in a green robe, and her hair was tied into a beautiful ponytail. It was none other than Snow.

    Mei Chaofeng had always had a bad impression of thess. Right now, however, he felt a strange sense of camaraderie with her.

    A young man sat majestically on the chair in front of them. He was dressed in a purple silk robe, fastened by a white belt around his waist. He had long, lustrous ck hair and a beautiful face.

    Unfortunately, his graceful appearance was somewhat marred by his livid expression. He red at the two kneeling before him, unfettered rage burning in his eyes.

    ¡°You ipetent fools! Snow, it wasn¡¯t so long ago that you sent me a message telling me that everything was under control. You told me that you would make that piece of trash, Zu An, disappear from the face of the world soon enough. Yet now you¡¯re telling me that you were exposed, and had to flee from the Chu n?¡±

    The young man had a smile on his face, but it did nothing to warm his cold and biting tone.

    ¡°Young master, please pardon me! Some minor idents urred along the way!¡± Snow lowered her head in utter shame as she gritted her teeth tightly. She had wanted to share the young master¡¯s burden, but who knew that she would end up messing things up?

    Not only that, but her failure was all because of that notorious wastrel of all people!

    ¡°Minor idents?¡± the young master sneered coldly. ¡°Do you know how many resources and connections I had to tap into in order to have you infiltrate the Chu n? You hadin in wait for so many years, and it was just about time to reap the fruits of your efforts. And yet, you managed to mess it all up just like that!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll surely make up for my mistakes! Young master, please spare me!¡± Snow kowtowed deeply, her body trembling uncontrobly.

    The young master sniffed as he turned his head aside, not wanting even to look at her anymore. He turned to Mei Chaofeng and bellowed, ¡°You too! Snow is still young, so it¡¯s understandable that she¡¯s inexperienced when ites to such worldly matters. However, you¡¯re the veteran here, a powerhouse of the underworld. How did you manage to get done in by that piece of trash too? You actually lost seven-and-a-half million silver taels to him! Did you even earn me that much money in total over the years?¡±

    Cold sweat dripped down Mei Chaofeng¡¯s back. Is the young master intending to make an example out of me so as to warn others? He berated Snow harshly earlier, but let her go softly. Now that it¡¯s my head on the chopping block, he¡¯s starting to assign responsibility.

    He anxiously defended himself. ¡°I apologize for my mistake. It was already toote by the time I received the news. I never thought that someone would be able to win seven-and-a-half million silver taels in just two short rounds. I wasn¡¯t nning to acknowledge the debt, but Miss Qiao insisted that I write out the promissory note, so I had no choice but to go along.¡±

    His nervousness was well-founded. The young man before him was the Sixth Young Master of the Shi n, Shi Kun, whose father served as the Minister of War. There was no question that the Shi n was one of the most prominent ns in the capital. Shi Kun was a dashing young man, and a renowned prodigy on top of that. He held the hearts of everyone in the Shi n, and he was often entrusted with great responsibilities.

    He was the one who managed most of the Shi n¡¯s ¡®underground affairs¡¯ as well. Based on what Mei Chaofeng knew, the Plum Blossom Sect had many equivalents that operated in the other prefectures all over the country.

    Despite how intimidating the Plum Blossom Sect seemed, the reality was that most of its earnings had to be submitted upward, to the Shi n. This was why Shi Kun had been furious to learn that they actually owed Zu An so much money.

    ¡°Oh? Snow ordered you to write it?¡± Shi Kun turned to look at Snow. ¡°Are you the spy of our Shi n, or are the spy of the Chu n?¡±

    Snow hurriedly exined herself. ¡°Young master, there was no way to defuse the situation back then. I didn¡¯t want to cause any furtherplications, and I thought that it would be easy to get the note back, so I didn¡¯t consider all the possible ramifications.¡±

    Shi Kun cleared his throat angrily. ¡°The Shi n has groomed you for so many years, yet you still remain so ipetently ignorant! Did you think that the Chu n would really dare to mobilize their Red Cloak Army for that? As long as they made a move, the royal court would surely have cracked down on them the following day!¡±

    Snow lowered her head. ¡°It was my mistake.¡±

    Shi Kun continued his interrogation. ¡°I can let that matter slip, but how did your assassination of Zu An fail so spectacrly?¡±

    ¡°That fellow looks like a good-for-nothing on the surface, but he¡¯s actually a cultivator,¡± replied Snow.

    ¡°He¡¯s a cultivator? What rank is he at?!¡± Shi Kun immediately rose to his feet in agitation.

    ¡°Around the third rank, but there¡¯s something weird about his fighting prowess...¡± Snow was a little uncertain about this. In terms of ki pulsations, it wasn¡¯t wrong to say that Zu An was at the third rank. However, the force he¡¯d exerted during their fight had far surpassed that.

    ¡°A fifth rank cultivator like you couldn¡¯t even kill a third rank cultivator?¡± Shi Kun found the situation so ludicrous that he beganughing like a maniac. ¡°Have all your training gone to waste?¡±

    Snow¡¯s face reddened. ¡°I don¡¯t really know what happened either. My stomach suddenly started hurting...¡±

    She had gotten a physician to check on her condition afterwards, and he had assured her that there was nothing wrong with her body. When she probed further about the sensations she¡¯d felt, all of the physicians she consulted told her that they were the symptoms that a mother would experience during childbirth.

    However, Snow was still a maiden. How could she have possibly been pregnant? On top of that, the symptoms had simply vanished all of a sudden, leaving her utterly confused at her physical state.

    ¡°Your stomach started aching during a critical moment? Utterly ipetent!¡± Shi Kun roared with an awful look on his face. ¡°Since Zu An isn¡¯t truly a wastrel, it would appear that he has been intentionally concealing his capabilities. His efforts did pay off, since he managed to get the Chu n to lower their guard and allow him to be their drafted son-inw. If only he was a wastrel, I would have nothing to worry about. However, if he¡¯s just putting on an act, there¡¯s a good chance that he might just win over the heart and body of Chu First Miss!¡±

    Just thinking about someone as beautiful as Chu Chuyanying in Zu An¡¯s embrace was enough to fill Shi Kun with a burning envy.

    Snow knew what Shi Kun was worried about, and quickly sought to ay his fears. ¡°Young master, there¡¯s no need to worry. The two of them are sleeping in different rooms, and the young miss isn¡¯t fond of Zu An at all. She won¡¯t let him have his way with her.¡±

    ¡°That might be true for the time being, but how can we be certain of this in the future?¡± Shi Kun began to pace nervously. ¡°This won¡¯t do. We need to deal with the problem as soon as possible. What¡¯s the progress with the n that you¡¯re working on at the moment?¡±

    Mei Chaofeng shot a nce at Snow before exining the situation almost mockingly. ¡°Miss Qiao arranged for an insider to get Zu An expelled from Brightmoon Academy so that I could find an opportunity to get rid of him outside. However, the person she engaged failed to chase Zu An out; on the contrary, he himself was expelled from the academy instead.¡±

    Shi Kun could hardly believe his ears. ¡°If I hadn¡¯t rushed here due to the opening of the Ursae Dungeon, I would never have known that there were so many issues cropping up! Hurry up and tell me what happened!¡±

    Snow had an awkward look on her face. ¡°I tapped your connection in Brightmoon City, who got Yang Wei to assist me in my scheme to have Zu An expelled from the academy. No one could have predicted that Zu An would be more skilled than Yang Wei in the field of arithmetic. In the end, Yang Wei had his own position as teacher terminated instead.¡±

    ¡°What? Why is this fellow able to do everything?¡± Shi Kun was astonished. The reports he had received thus far all suggested Zu An was a good-for-nothing, but it seemed that the reality was totally different.

    Well, I can think of one thing that that fellow is inept in. Snow¡¯s face reddened, but she had no intention of informing Shi Kun about it.

    1. The Sunflower Manual is a skill used by Dongfang Bubai in The Proud, Smiling Wanderer. He¡¯s an antagonist who¡¯s known to have castrated himself in order to learn it.

 Chapter 97: Realization

    <h4>Chapter 97: Realization</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°I¡¯m starting to get interested in this fellow now that I¡¯ve heard what you said. I¡¯ll be heading to the academy tomorrow to check him out myself.¡± Shi Kun gazed in the direction of the academy as he spoke. His tone was confident andposed, as if speaking of a trivial matter.

    Snow hung her head in shame. It¡¯s due to my ipetence that the young master has to make a move personally.

    ¡°Young master Sang is still waiting for me outside. I¡¯ll speak with him now.¡± Shi Kun stood up to take his leave, but halted just as he reached the doorway. He turned to Mei Chaofeng. ¡°What¡¯s the name of your subordinate who lost seven-and-a-half million silver taels?¡±

    ¡°Plum Blossom Seven,¡± replied Mei Chaofeng fearfully.

    Shi Kun nodded silently, then said calmly, ¡°There¡¯s no use keeping useless things by your side. Dice him up and feed him to the dogs.¡±

    ¡°Y-yes!¡± Mei Chaofeng¡¯s heart chilled a few degrees.

    He knew that this was Shi Kun¡¯s way of sending him an indirect warning, and it left him rather indignant. He was supposed to be the king of Brightmoon City¡¯s underworld, a powerhouse possessing unquestionable authority. When had a youngster ever dared to threaten him like this before?

    However, his immense displeasure dissipated as he saw the old man who followed Shi Kun out. Shi Kun was no threat to him¡ªthe youngster was unlikely to even be a match for him¡ªbut the old man, on the other hand, was far stronger than him.

    It looks like the Shi n is a force to be reckoned with. Even a guard of theirs possesses this much strength.

    A sliver of despair seeped into Mei Chaofeng¡¯s mood. It was the sad fate of those in the pugilistic world like him to be led around by the nose by these prominent ns.

    In the lounge outside, Sang Qian was getting impatient from all the waiting. However, as soon as he saw Shi Kun walking over, a weing smile spread across his face. ¡°Young master Shi, it has been a long while. You still look as handsome as before.¡±

    Shi Kun¡¯s angry visage was reced by a simrly warm smile. ¡°It has indeed been a while since we parted ways at the capital, but you still look as awe-inspiring as ever.¡±

    The two of them were acquainted with each other. After trading some pleasantries, Shi Kun finally got around to the topic at hand. ¡°May I ask what your father¡¯s intentions are? He has yet to make a move despite having been assigned to the Linchuan Commandery. I¡¯m unsure of the nature of his ns.¡±

    Sang Qian smiled in response. ¡°My father has been taking the time to make the necessary preparations. He says that if young master Shi wishes to make a move, you may proceed. Your ns will not interfere with ours.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard that Governor Sang Hong is a man who believes in meticulous preparation before taking action. It looks like this is truly the case.¡±

    In his mind, however, Shi Kun sneered coldly. He¡¯s just trying to push me to the front so that I can take the brunt of the impact. Are you going to make it look as if I can¡¯t deal with the Chu n, so that you can step out at thest moment to ¡®clean up the mess¡¯?

    ¡°Brother Shi is too polite. My father is just worried that your ns to conquer Chu First Miss may be disrupted if he makes the first move. If you can sessfully bring Chu First Miss over to your side, that would save us a lot of trouble.¡±

    Sang Hong¡¯s words were polite, but his heart was filled with envy. No man could be uninterested in Chu Chuyan having seen her ravishing looks firsthand. Unfortunately, while his father had been rising through the ranks, the foundations of the Sang n were still unstable, and theycked the dignity of the other well-established ns that had centuries of history behind them.

    Not only was his n on a lower footing than the Chu n, but others like Shi Kun were also pursuing Chu Chuyan. Because of these reasons, Sang Hong knew that he stood no chance at all. Thus, he had to make do with the Zheng n.

    It was fortunate that Zheng Dan was also beautiful, although her cultivation and standing were slightlycking. Despite that, he was still satisfied with having such a woman as his wife.

    Thinking about Zheng Dan reminded him of the honey trap he had entrusted her to set a while back. He had checked in with her to see how it was going, but she had yet to report sess. However, ording to her own words, ¡®everything is going ording to n¡¯.

    Hmph, I just hope that she doesn¡¯t get taken advantage of by that Zu An.

    He thought about how Zheng Dan wouldn¡¯t even allow him to hold her hand, and that went a long way in assuaging his worries. There¡¯s no way she would allow that piece of trash to get close to her.

    Meanwhile, Shi Kun was clearly pleased by Sang Hong¡¯s ttery. ¡°Hahaha, I¡¯m sure things would go well with Brother Sang¡¯s words of blessing. Once I manage to capture Chu First Miss¡¯ heart, I¡¯ll make sure to send you a wedding invitation, and we¡¯ll have a good drink together!¡±

    Hah, you just want to rub it in my face, huh? Sang Qian maintained an amiable expression, mindfully hiding his mental sneer. ¡°We¡¯re all working for the royal family. Allow me to propose a toast to Brother Shi with this cup of tea in ce of wine. To our sess!¡±

    ¡°Of course, of course. To our sess!¡± Shi Kun lifted his teacup as well, and touched it to Sang Qian¡¯s with a clink. He, too, had other thoughts in mind. You sure know how to phrase your words well. For the royal family, huh?

    In truth, the Sang n worked as aides for the emperor, whereas the Shi n was part of the empress¡¯ faction. On the surface, the royal couple seemed on good terms, but that was only because they had amon enemy at the moment¡ªKing Qi.

    Who could know what would happen in the future? Naturally, each n was wary of being too trusting of the other.

    His thoughts were perfectly mirrored in Sang Qian¡¯s mind.

    ...

    The following morning found Zu An in a much calmer state of mind. He¡¯d had some time to cool down and think things through. In this world of cultivation, where strength determined almost everything, he had to prioritize his strength over his dignity.

    This world hadn¡¯t been very kind to him. Having already been through several dangerous situations, there was no way he could cling stubbornly to his pride and refuse to practice this new technique just because it was something a eunuch trained in. It was much better to obtain another means to ensure his safety. I mean, while it does sound bad that I¡¯m learning the Sunflower Manual, it¡¯s not as if people in this world have watched The Proud, Smiling Wanderer. What do I have to fear?[1]

    He would definitely need the Sunflower Phantasm, be it for tomorrow¡¯s ns Tournament, or for entering the dungeon to unseal ¡®little Zu An¡¯.

    With that, he turned his focus to studying the Sunflower Phantasm once more, making sure to take careful note of every ki pathway.

    After breakfast, Chu Huanzhao knocked on his door to invite him to apany her to the academy. Zu An had been quite resistant to the idea of going to the academy, but he was less put off by it, now that he had such a beautiful sister-inw escorting him.

    However, today was a little different. Chu Chuyan, for the first time in forever, was going to the academy too.

    Zu An felt that it was unfair how vastly different Chu Chuyan was perceived,pared to him. Although she hadn¡¯t been to the academy in ages, everyone still treated her like a model student. On the other hand, if he simply skipped school for one day, others would condemn him as a hopeless delinquent.

    Due to Chu Chuyan¡¯s bewitching appearance, she usually traveled around in a carriage. This helped to prevent any unnecessary congestion on the streets.

    The soft cushions of the carriage and the faint fragrance lingering in the air reminded Zu An of the first time he had ridden in this carriage, when he had just arrived in this world. So much had happened since then.

    ¡°Honey, do you have any news about Snow?¡± asked Zu An.

    As usual, his way of addressing her left Chu Chuyan with a resigned look on her face. She had tried to correct him several times now, but he simply refused to budge on this. Admittedly though, she was starting to get used to it too, so she ended up letting him have his way.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t found her yet. It¡¯s as if she has disappeared into thin air. Why? Do you miss her?¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Me? Miss her?¡± Zu An nearly leaped to his feet in sheer disbelief. ¡°That woman tried to kill me multiple times! Do I look like a masochist to you? Why would I miss her?!¡±

    ¡°Speaking of which, you mentioned that this wasn¡¯t the first time she tried to kill you. Why didn¡¯t you tell me about that earlier?¡± asked Chu Chuyan.

    Zu An rolled his eyes. ¡°How could I be sure who was the one trying to kill me? She was your personal maidservant, after all. What if you had some boy toy outside, and wanted to kill me so that you could get together with him?¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s cheeks flushed red. ¡°What do you mean by ¡®boy toy¡¯? You really should , learn to keep your mouth in check!¡±

    ¡°Brother-inw, your situation sure is pitiful. You must have been incredibly worried all this while,¡± Chu Huanzhao chimed in.

    Zu An felt warmth surge through his heart. He red at Chu Chuyan. ¡°Look! It¡¯s my sister-inw who cares the most about me in the end. You should learn more from her example!¡±

    Chu Huanzhao was oddly amused by that remark. Back at home, her parents were always telling her to learn from her big sister. For the first time, someone was actually telling her big sister to learn from her instead. It felt awfully good to have the tables turned, for once.

    Chu Chuyan, on the other hand, disregarded his words entirely. ¡°Feel free to tell me anything from now onward. We¡¯re a family now, though...¡±

    She gave her little sister a hesitant look, then changed what she was about to say. ¡°... In any case, I¡¯ll make sure to protect you well, so don¡¯t worry.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°That¡¯s perfect! If anyone dares to bully me from now onward, I¡¯ll make sure to summon you so that you can nt their heads in the ground!¡±

    Chu Chuyan gave him a level look.

    ¡°I¡¯m not saying this just so that you can mess around.¡±

    ¡°I know, I know~¡± Zu Anughed. ¡°I must say though, your Chu n isn¡¯t as formidable as I thought it would be. Despite being a ducal n, you can¡¯t even deal with a single underworld sect. Heck, you can¡¯t even find a mere maidservant, either. I really think you all should work on that.¡±

    Chu Chuyan was unfazed by his usations. ¡°Now that you¡¯re a member of the Chu n as well, there are some things that I ought to tell you. While we are a ducal n, our situation isn¡¯t as rosy as it looks from the outside. To put it bluntly, we¡¯re currently caught in the middle of a battle over the throne.

    ¡°ording to the promise made by the preceding emperor, the crown should be passed on to King Qi. However, His Majesty instead wishes to pass the position on to his own son, the current crown prince. Under normal circumstances, the officials would be more inclined to respect His Majesty¡¯s decision¡ªalbeit grudgingly¡ªsince he¡¯s the only Earth Immortal stage cultivator at the moment. However, the crown prince is farcking in aptitude, and is nowhere close to matching King Qi.

    ¡°Many officials and ns were already displeased with His Majesty for reneging on his promise earlier, and the crown prince¡¯s insufficiency has further deepened their disapproval. King Qi made use of this opportunity to rally these officials over to his side, resulting in two major factions in the royal court.

    ¡°As powerful as His Majesty is, he¡¯s already very old, and the crown prince is ipetent and incapable of holding his own. This has left the two factions equally matched with one another. In order to gain the upper hand, both factions are trying their best to win over all the notable ns throughout the country. Our Chu n controls the salt and arms trade in Brightmoon City, which makes us a key target for both factions.

    ¡°However, our Chu n doesn¡¯t wish to get involved in this struggle, which is why we have refused to side with either of the factions. This has frustrated both factions simultaneously. His Majesty is worried that we would choose to side with King Qi, so he has appointed the Vice Minister of Finance, Sang Hong, as the governor of the Linchuan Commandery. As the Vice Minister of Finance, Sang Hong regtes the salt and arms trade, and this appointment was surely a direct move against our Chu n.

    ¡°Currently, King Qi seems content to watch from the sidelines. It¡¯s likely that he¡¯s waiting for Sang Hong and the others to wear us down, before riding in to offer a helping hand, to coax us into joining his faction. Speaking of which, the city lord of Brightmoon City is a member of King Qi¡¯s faction. You should have sensed it back at the casino too.¡±

    Zu An finally understood howplex the situation was. That exins why I¡¯ve been the target of such ire ever since I became the drafted son-inw of the Chu n, and why there are people openlying after my life. I had put it down to them coveting Chu Chuyan¡¯s beauty, but it seems like it¡¯s the entire Chu n they¡¯re after.

    1. Dongfang Bubai, one of the antagonists of The Proud, Smiling Wanderer, is known to be quite an interesting queer character, and the Sunflower Manual, which can only be practiced by one who has been castrated, has been a thing of meme in China.

 Chapter 98: Promise

    <h4>Chapter 98: Promise</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Thanks to all this, our Chu n has to tread carefully at the moment. We mustn¡¯t show any openings for our enemies to strike.¡± Chu Chuyan¡¯s voice betrayed more than a hint of worry.

    She knew deep down that there was no way to continuously fend off the schemes directed against them. It was only a matter of time before they got careless and sumbed. However, there was no other choice but to persevere.

    Zu An had his own doubts. ¡°I don¡¯t get it. Why do you insist on taking a neutral position? Wouldn¡¯t it be better to choose a faction to side with? At the very least, you wouldn¡¯t end up in this difficult position you¡¯re currently in.¡±

    Chu Chuyan shook her head and said, ¡°The main issue here is that both factions are equally matched, and there¡¯s no way to know which side would emerge the victor. If we pick the wrong faction to work with, our Chu n would be left in dire straits. Maintaining our neutrality might put us in a difficult position for now, but it would work out better in the long run as long as we can hold on until the fight has been decided. The winning faction would need some time to recover, and would willingly embrace any non-hostile powers. At the very least, this would ensure the survival of our Chu n.¡±

    Zu An was amazed. Those who dabbled in politics were definitely on a whole different level. Even someone as honest as Chu Zhongtian was thinking several steps ahead.

    Yup, I should be more careful. They¡¯re all cunning old foxes! Hmmm, didn¡¯t Pei Mianman sneak into the Chu n to steal some ounting records a while back? I wonder which faction she¡¯s from...

    Their carriage came to a sudden halt. And the sounds of amotion came from further ahead. With a frown, Chu Chuyan knocked on the side of the carriage and asked, ¡°What¡¯s happening outside?¡±

    A guard of the Chu n quickly answered, ¡°First Miss, it seems like the Sixth Young Master of the Shi n is here. Many people have filled the streets, and are throwing flowers and fruits into his carriage. So, the road is a little congested now.¡±

    Zu An was perplexed. ¡°Does he look like an ape or something? Why would so many people gather here to look at him, and even throw fruits into his carriage?¡±

    Chu Chuyan smiled in amusement. Chu Huanzhao stepped in to exin the situation to him. ¡°Silly brother-inw. Haven¡¯t you heard of Shi Kun from the Shi n?¡±

    ¡°Is he very famous?¡± Zu An asked. ¡°No one has ever gathered around to give me flowers even though I¡¯m a famous figure in Brightmoon City too.¡±

    Even Chu Huanzhao found that statement hard to swallow. She rolled her eyes and said, ¡°In your case, it¡¯s more notoriety than fame. His reputation is far better than yours. The Sixth Young Master of the Shi n is known for his good looks. Have you ever heard of the story of ¡®weing a carriage with fruits and flowers¡¯?¡±

    ¡°Nope.¡± Zu An was confused. What the hell is that?

    So, Chu Huanzhaounched into a rambling story. ¡°It¡¯s said that the Sixth Young Master of the Shi n has a beautiful appearance and a graceful demeanor. In his earlier years, whenever he toured the streets of the capital, even olddies would be infatuated with him and toss fruits into his carriage, filling it up. Upon hearing the story, another young master emted Shi Kun¡¯s example and drove his carriage around too, only to have the women of the capital fill his carriage up with spit.

    ¡°That should give an idea of how good-looking Shi Kun is. I thought that the story was just a rumor, but it seems like it¡¯s real.¡±

    ¡°It sounds like an exaggeration to me.¡± Zu An was displeased by the excited look on Chu Huanzhao¡¯s face.

    ¡°I shouldn¡¯t miss this opportunity. I should head out to see how dashing that man is!¡± Chu Huanzhao got to her feet and prepared to dive out of the carriage, but her older sister forestalled her.

    ¡°The Shi n belongs to the empress¡¯ faction. It¡¯s best for you not toe into contact with him,¡± Chu Chuyan remarked calmly.

    Zu An nodded vehemently in agreement. He red at Chu Huanzhao and said, ¡°It looks like your parents are right to constantly nag at you. When will you learn to be more mature like your older sister?¡±

    Disappointed, Chu Huanzhao sank back into her seat, her mouth shaped in an indignant pout. ¡°Brother-inw, you¡¯re just jealous.¡±

    Zu An sat up straight. ¡°No matter how handsome he is, how could he possibly be more handsome than me? It should be enough for you to admire me!¡±

    A tinge of red graced Chu Huanzhao¡¯s cheeks. She turned her head away and murmured, ¡°Shameless~¡±

    A gentle voice came unexpectedly from outside the carriage. ¡°Is Miss Chu inside? Shi Kun from the capital wishes to meet you.¡±

    Dreamy exmations immediately sounded outside.

    ¡°Waaaaa~ If only young master Shi would ask me out on a date like this!¡±

    ¡°Tsk, you should take a look at the mirror. Do you think you¡¯re worthy?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not as if you¡¯re at all pretty.¡±

    ¡°Stop arguing. None of you can possiblypete with Chu First Miss when ites to looks!¡±

    ¡°Tsk. No matter how pretty she is, it doesn¡¯t change the fact that she¡¯s already married. I¡¯ve been protecting my chastity for young master Shi¡¯s sake!¡±

    ...

    The surrounding discussions stoked Zu An¡¯s curiosity. He parted the carriage¡¯s curtains a little and caught sight of a few women swooning. Huh? I expected to see some beautiful women out there, but they¡¯re just a bunch of old hags. They don¡¯t evene close to matching my wife!

    Looks like that young master Shi isn¡¯t as suave as the rumors put him out to be.

    Zu An turned his gaze to the front, and what he saw was so bedazzling, it almost blinded him. Standing in front was a refined man who was so dashing, all who saw him would sing his praises for an hour straight!

    Too freaking handsome!

    Even Zu An had no choice but to acknowledge this. In terms of appearance, this man was nearly a match for him. However, it was known that womencked the ability to urately gauge how handsome a man was, so he turned away from the view outside and looked worriedly at Chu Chuyan.

    Unexpectedly, Chu Chuyan was as calm as the surface of ake in winter. She replied in a neutral voice, ¡°My apologies, but it¡¯s inconvenient for a married woman like me to meet with another man privately. I beg your pardon, young master Shi.¡±

    After saying her piece, she gestured for the coach to set off.

    Zu An was so delighted to hear those words, he was tempted to rush forward and embrace his wife tightly. All along, he had thought that his wife treated him so coldly because she looked down on him. However, it seemed she was impartial to everyone!

    In fact, it could be said that she treats me fairly well.

    ...

    Out on the street, Shi Kun watched the departing carriage with a hint of anger on his otherwise-beautiful face. The hands hidden within his sleeves were clenched tightly. Chu Chuyan, just you wait. You¡¯ll be mine soon!

    His awfulplexion didn¡¯t escape the notice of his surrounding fans, who broke into whispered gossip once more.

    ¡°That Chu woman sure is insolent. How dare she snub our young master Shi like this?¡±

    ¡°You could do that if you¡¯re pretty enough too.¡±

    ¡°Hmph! I wouldn¡¯t snub our young master Shi no matter how pretty I was!¡±

    ¡°Indeed! Why is she putting on airs? In the end, she still married a wastrel for a husband. I might not be able to best her in anything else, but at the very least, I¡¯ll find a husband superior to hers!¡±

    Of course, there were some who meekly pointed out, ¡°Young master Shi had a frightening look in his eyes for a moment there...¡±

    Such words of dissent were swiftly drowned out by the other fans. ¡°What do you know? That¡¯s what we call ¡®devilish charms¡¯! That¡¯s a unique manner that only our young master Shi possesses!¡±

    ...

    In the carriage, Chu Chuyan shifted ufortably under Zu An¡¯s intent stare. ¡°What are you looking at?¡± she finally asked.

    Zu An replied with a smile, ¡°I¡¯m looking at you, honey. I think I¡¯m growing fonder and fonder of you.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao couldn¡¯t stand this atmosphere. ¡°Hey, hey, hey, there¡¯s a child in here. Please control yourselves, alright?¡±

    Zu An was left speechless. I mean, it¡¯s true that you¡¯re young, but to call yourself a child seems to be going too far, no?

    ¡°Don¡¯t misunderstand. I didn¡¯t turn down the young master of the Shi n for you. I simply didn¡¯t want to get involved with the Shi n,¡± replied Chu Chuyan.

    That did nothing to dampen Zu An¡¯s joy. ¡°Regardless of the reason, I¡¯m quite happy that you rejected him.¡±

    Chu Chuyan felt her frustration grow. She felt like her point wasn¡¯t getting across to Zu An properly. After a moment¡¯s thought, she decided to state it bluntly. ¡°While I do identify myself as your wife while we¡¯re outside, we¡¯re both aware of what¡¯s going on in our marriage. It¡¯s impossible for me to fulfill my responsibilities as your wife. Therefore, I advise you not to be too involved in this rtionship, lest you get hurt in the future.¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Chu Huanzhao felt deep pity for Zu An when she heard those words. While the Chu Estate was rife with such spections, it waspletely different hearing it right out of her big sister¡¯s mouth. My brother-inw must be really devastated to hear those words.

    Unexpectedly, Zu An still maintained his jovial mood. ¡°I know. However, whether I like you or not is my own business. It has nothing to do with whether you like me or not. Besides, who knows? You might just fall for me in the future.¡±

    Chu Chuyan shook her head without a shred of hesitation. ¡°That¡¯s impossible.¡±

    Zu An shrugged casually, thinking nothing of it. ¡°Since you¡¯ve already put it out like that, I have something to rify with you as well. Since you don¡¯t intend to fulfill your responsibilities as my wife, would you mind if I look for other women?¡±

    Chu Huanzhao, who had been privately grieving for Zu An a moment ago, almost fell over in shock. Her eyes went wide. You horrible brother-inw! My big sister will teach you a lesson for daring to cheat on her!

    Chu Chuyan shared her surprise. She hadn¡¯t expected such a question out of Zu An, but she still answered calmly, ¡°I don¡¯t mind. It¡¯s just that you...¡±

    She let her gaze drop downward to Zu An¡¯s crotch. Since her little sister was in the carriage too, she chose not to say it out loud.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that. I should be able to recover in due time!¡± Zu An patted his chest proudly. He wasn¡¯t fully confident in his ability to find the Evanescent Lotus, but hisck of certainty didn¡¯t hinder him from putting on a strong front before Chu Chuyan.

    Chu Chuyan let the matter rest. She thought that he was trying to turn his eyes away from the cruel reality.

    Chu Huanzhao¡¯s jaw fell open. What in the world is going on here? Not only was it ridiculous for my brother-inw to ask my big sister if he could cheat on her, but my big sister didn¡¯t get angry at all, and even said that she was fine with it?

    Big sister, you must be unaware that my brother-inw is far more outstanding than you know! If you release your grip on him, all those vixens out there would surely snatch him from your grasp!

    No, this won¡¯t do. I need to help my big sister keep him in check!

    With the three of them harboring very different thoughts, they soon arrived at the academy. As a rule, students weren¡¯t allowed to ride their carriages into the academy, so they alighted at the entrance.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s appearance immediately stirred up amotion amongst those gathered there, with many thanking the heavens above for allowing them to catch a glimpse of this elusive beauty at the top of the Sweetheart Ranking.

    However, as they saw Zu An alighting from the same carriage, there was a huge outburst of envy. The unpleasant reminder that their goddess was already married to a good-for-nothing immediately soured their mood.

    ¡°What a coincidence. I didn¡¯t expect to meet Chu First Miss here too,¡± a familiar voice drifted over toward them.

    Zu An turned to take a look, and saw the magnificent Shi Kun standing not too far away. He had a dashing smile on his face, but, in Zu An¡¯s opinion, it only looked irritating.

 Chapter 99: Furious

    <h4>Chapter 99: Furious</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Waaa, how handsome!¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t he the renowned Sixth Young Master of the Shi n?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s no wonder why women like to give him food. Just look at his dashing appearance! Even I can¡¯t help but want to dote on him!¡±

    ¡°Is that so? He doesn¡¯t look as handsome as the rumors put him out to be. I mean, even young master Xie of our academy seems more than a match for him.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, don¡¯t talk about that trash of a man. How can that bastard be put on the same pedestal as young master Shi?¡±

    ...

    A group of passing female students began swooning over Shi Kun.

    ¡°Heh, women,¡± remarked Zu An scornfully.

    There were quite a few people around Shi Kun at the moment. Most of the faces were unfamiliar to Zu An, but some of them were recognizable. He had no trouble picking out Yuan Wendong and Ye Chenliang.

    Yuan Wendong had always carried himself as if he were the king of the world or some such. However, his usual arrogance was nowhere to be seen. He followed Shi Kun with an obsequious smile on his face, looking desperately for opportunities to fawn all over him.

    Ye Chenliang was even worse. His attitude was the textbook definition of ¡®bootlicking¡¯.

    The world is such a pragmatic ce, huh?

    Having seen plenty of this in his previous world, Zu An couldn¡¯t help but sigh deeply.

    Chu Huanzhao nced over at Shi Kun before murmuring softly, ¡°I thought that he would be really handsome, but he doesn¡¯t look so different from my brother-inw.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An¡¯s face darkened. Is she trying topliment me or insult me?

    Shi Kun began walking toward them with a disarming smile, which¡ªironically¡ªonly made Chu Chuyan frown. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, he quickly interrupted, ¡°It¡¯s one thing for Chu First Miss to call me ¡®another man¡¯ on the street, but now that we¡¯re in the academy, I should be considered as your ssmate too, right? I shouldn¡¯t just be ¡®another man¡¯ anymore.¡±

    Shi Kun¡¯s polite attitude left Chu Chuyan with no room to reject him. She nodded her head slightly and said, ¡°Yes, I understand.¡±

    Looking at the white-robed fairy before him, Shi Kun was mesmerized. Many beauties had actively offered themselves to him, some evening from prominent backgrounds, but none of them could match Chu Chuyan. Her ravishing looks and her regal manner gave her an ethereal air, as if she were a goddess from heaven.

    I must have her!

    Shi Kun¡¯s desire was growing stronger with each passing moment.

    He put on an impable smile that tingled the hearts of all the female students around them and said, ¡°Miss Chu, this is not actually our first meeting.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Chu Chuyan was surprised. ¡°Pardon my ignorance, but I don¡¯t recall having met you anywhere.¡±

    ¡°Around seven years ago, during a gathering in the capital, I had the honor of catching a glimpse of you across a pond. Words couldn¡¯t even begin to describe how enchanted I was. It was a pity that you had already left by the time I reached that spot. Ever since that day, my heart has been heavy with a lingering regret. I tried so hard to find the whereabouts of that beautiful fairy I saw over the years, but to no avail. It looks like heaven has finally taken pity on me, to bestow upon me the fate to encounter you once more.¡±

    ¡°Waaa! I never thought that young master Shi would be such a devoted man!¡±

    ¡°If those words had been meant for me, I would surely have fainted from bliss.¡±

    ¡°Yeah~ I thought that men with good looks were all phnderers, just like Xie Xiu! Who could have known that he would stay true to his feelings!¡±

    ...

    Zu An felt burning mes of rage consuming his heart. These lovestruck bimbos! Why are they getting so excited over a couple of words? At this rate, even if he shits in front of you all, you¡¯d still find a way topliment him!

    Throughout this entire duration, Shi Kun had been disregarding his presence to devote words of affection toward his wife. Surely no man in the world could tolerate this!

    Zu An walked right in front of Chu Chuyan and said, ¡°Brother Shit Kun, I believe that there¡¯s something very wrong with what you¡¯ve said.¡±

    ¡°Shit Kun?¡± Shi Kun¡¯s face immediately darkened in fury. ¡°Who are you calling Shit Kun? It¡¯s Shi Kun!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Kun for 315 Rage points!

    ¡°All right, all right, Brother Shit Kun.¡± Zu An shrugged off Shi Kun¡¯s words nonchntly. ¡°If I could summarize what I just heard from you: basically, after catching a glimpse of her a few years ago, you decided to hunt her down like a stalker. How could you then call this meeting the work of fate?¡±

    ¡°Who are you? Why should I answer your question?¡± Shi Kun sniffed coldly.

    There was no way he wouldn''t know who Zu An was. However, given his standing, the best way to deal with Zu An was to simply disregard his presence.

    ¡°Ah, you don¡¯t know who I am? I guess there¡¯s a need for a formal introduction then.¡± Zu An reached out to grab Chu Chuyan¡¯s hand. ¡°I am the husband of the goddess you dream day and night of. You spend all your time fantasizing about her, but I¡¯m spared the effort of having to rely on my imagination. The two of us share a bed, after all. Is that enough for an introduction?¡±

    Chu Chuyan felt a jolt run through her body as her hand was suddenly grabbed. Her instinct was to pull her hand out from Zu An¡¯s grasp, but she knew that doing so would embarrass him in front of the crowd.

    Besides, her very purpose of marrying Zu An was to forestall both the royal family and King Qi from pursuing a political marriage with the Chu n. If she let slip any indication that the rtionship between two of them was a distant one, all of her efforts would have been in vain.

    With these considerations in mind, she held herself back, and silently permitted him to hold her hand. Zu An had seemingly predicted this as well, which was why he had dared to do it in the first ce.

    What Chu Chuyan hadn¡¯t expected was how venomous Zu An¡¯s words could be. The crude terms he used made her ears heat up despite her cold personality. Is he taking advantage of me just because he knows that I wouldn¡¯t go against him?

    Understandably, the crowd erupted in a frenzy. They knew that Chu Chuyan and Zu An were wedded, but they had consoled themselves that she probably had other intentions in mind for marrying a good-for-nothing, and that she would never let him take advantage of her. In fact, it wasn¡¯t a stretch to think that the two of them had not consummated their marriage on their wedding night at all.

    However, Zu An¡¯s deration had shattered all of their fantasies. To make things worse, Chu First Miss did nothing to deny his ims, merely coloring in embarrassment. My gosh, I¡¯m going insane!

    Just thinking about how the number one beauty of Brightmoon City was pinned under a man like Zu An... Countless people immediately went bonkers with envy.

    You have sessfully trolled Gao Ren for 444 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled He Buyu for 444 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled Wu Zhenjian for 444 Rage points!

    ...

    The massive influx of Rage points soothed Zu An¡¯s heart, leaving him greatly heartened. Just like in the novels he had read in his previous life, it was easy to incur the ire of anyone, as long as a beauty was involved!

    It looks like this is worth working hard for. I need to get more beautiful women... Ah, it¡¯s not that I¡¯m a pervert, but I simply want to earn more Rage points.

    Shi Kun nced at their tightly-sped hands, and his cheeks began twitching. He had always viewed Chu Chuyan as his own personal possession, but she had now been touched by another man! Even though it was just her hand, it was more than enough to stoke his rage.

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Kun for 520 Rage points!

    ¡°Zu An, based on what I know, you and Chu First Miss sleep in separate rooms. She doesn¡¯t even allow you to enter her room, let alone share the same bed. Howughable it is that I¡¯m hearing such words from you.¡± Shi Kun sniffed in disdain.

    Zu An, on the other hand, was appalled. How does he know that we¡¯re sleeping in separate rooms? A sudden thought came to his mind, and he said, ¡°I don¡¯t recall mentioning my name at any point while introducing myself as Chuyan¡¯s husband. How did you know that my name was Zu An then? Could it be that you have sent spies into our Chu n? It just so happens that we uncovered a traitor by the name of Snow recently. Is it possible that you¡¯re the mastermind behind her?¡±

    Chu Chuyan immediately eyed Shi Kun suspiciously. If the Chu n was unable to find the mastermind behind Snow despite the influence it possessed, the mastermind was likely to be of high standing. Shi Kun definitely fulfilled that criteria.

    ¡°Rubbish! Snow? Winter? What do I know about such things? Stop ndering me!¡± Shi Kun vehemently refuted his usation. He hadn¡¯t expected Zu An to be so sharp. ¡°As for your name, it¡¯s public knowledge that Chu First Miss is married. It shouldn¡¯te as a surprise that I know your name.¡±

    Zu An scoffed in response. ¡°Since you do know me, why did you feign ignorance earlier? It looks like beneath your pretty face lies a hypocritical heart.¡±

    Shi Kun had no answer to that.

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Kun for 300 Rage points!

    Zu An carried on, ¡°Also, given your ¡®lofty¡¯ personality, shouldn¡¯t you choose to simply brush off my usations and ignore me? It¡¯s such a surprise to see you desperately trying to refute the words of a nobody like me. Could that be a sign of a guilty conscience?¡±

    Many of the spectators nodded in agreement. As hateful as Zu An was, there was logic in his words. This behavior was indeed at odds with young master Shi¡¯s personality. Could he really be carrying a guilty conscience?

    It was clear to Shi Kun now that Zu An had set a trap for him to leap into. He finally understood how Mei Chaofeng and Snow felt while dealing with this guy. He mentally cursed Snow. Why didn¡¯t you kill this disgustingly reprehensible man earlier?!

    He took a deep breath to calm himself down, and proceeded to ignore Zu An. ¡°Chu First Miss, please don¡¯t allow his words to affect the good ties between the Chu n and Shi n. I¡¯m honestly unaware of the affairs that have transpired in your estate, and rest assure, they have nothing to do with the Shi n.¡±

    Chu Chuyan had already made up her mind regarding this, and she replied calmly, ¡°I hope so. Our Chu n might not be a prominent n, but we would never allow anyone to take advantage of us.¡±

    Shi Kun gave an awkwardugh. ¡°Chu First Miss, you¡¯re jesting with me. A ducal n like yours is clearly a prominent n. Besides, I¡¯ve admired you for a long time now. I wouldn¡¯t do anything that would harm you.¡±

    Before Chu Chuyan could respond, Zu An cut in, ¡°Ah, that reminds me. You mentioned that you met my wife a few years ago, and she has been lingering in your dreams since then. You didn¡¯t expect to meet her in Brightmoon Academy, and you feel that it¡¯s the work of fate, right?¡±

    ¡°Indeed.¡± Shi Kun gave him a cold stare. ¡°Back then, Chu First Miss hadn¡¯t married you yet, so what¡¯s wrong with me admiring her? I''ve admired her for so many years that these feelings have be deeply rooted in my heart. I know that she¡¯s married now, but I can¡¯t control how I feel about you. Chu First Miss, I beg your pardon for that.¡±

    ying the sentimental man here, huh? Zu An sneered coldly. There were plenty of PUA lessons on the inte in his previous life. As a proud keyboard warrior, how could he be unaware of them?[1]

    ¡°Oh? That¡¯s quite weird. I recall hearing that the Shi n is a prominent n in the capital, and it has many connections at its disposal. Chuyan isn¡¯t some nobody either; she¡¯s the First Miss of the Chu n! Even if you had just asked the people who were in the area back then, there would surely have been some who knew of her identity. Yet, you im that you couldn¡¯t find her all this while, and even put on a ¡®it¡¯s fate that brought us together¡¯ act. At this point, I honestly can¡¯t tell whether you have malicious intentions in mind, or if you¡¯re just in ipetent.¡±

    1. PUA is amon abbreviation for ¡®pickup artist¡¯.

 Chapter 100: What Do You Mean By That?

    <h4>Chapter 100: What Do You Mean By That?</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Shi Kun choked. Despite his careful maneuvers, he had still fallen into Zu An¡¯s trap.

    If he said that he¡¯d failed to find Chu Chuyan, he would be admitting to being ipetent. If he said that he did, that would mean that he had indeed concocted a deliberate ploy to feign a coincidental meeting with her. Neither oue was eptable to him.

    Fortunately, someone stepped forward to cover his awkwardness¡ªYuan Wendong. ¡°Zu An, it looks like the time you spent loitering in the streets has taught you how to bandy words with others. Who do you think young master Shi is? A gentleman like him doesn¡¯t get into arguments with others, so it¡¯s only natural that he¡¯s at a disadvantage in your sort of exchange. In any case, how could young master Shi possibly be ipetent?

    ¡°Not one person hasn¡¯t heard of young master Shi¡¯s talents. He¡¯s a prodigy in cultivation, and it¡¯s said that he¡¯s already on the verge of reaching the sixth rank, despite his young age. On the other hand, what are you good at? Mooching off women? Bickering like amon street urchin?¡±

    Shi Kun¡¯s entourage immediately burst intoughter. They were making use of this opportunity to help him vent his anger.

    Zu An tilted his head to observe Yuan Wendong. He asked him, ¡°You must be very fond of bones, yes?¡±

    Yuan Wendong had expected Zu An to fly into an ugly state of rage, and was caught off-guard by such a nonchnt response. Without thinking, he said, ¡°No, I¡¯m not.¡±

    A young master of a wealthy n like him had nock of delicacies on his table. Why would he bother chewing bones?

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, why do you keep wagging your tail before Shi Kun as if you¡¯re begging him for a reward?¡± replied Zu An contemptuously. ¡°We had our differences thest time we met, but your guts were still respectable. Where did your pride and your honor go? Even I am starting to feel embarrassed on your behalf!¡±

    ¡°You are really...¡± Yuan Wendong¡¯s face reddened in anger. Zu An had unexpectedlyid a trap for him, and he had foolishly jumped into it on his own ord!

    You have sessfully trolled Yuan Wendong for 888 Rage points!

    Most importantly, what Zu An said wasn¡¯t wrong. He used to be the star of the academy, and had countless followers fawning in his wake. He wasn¡¯t used to his new role, but there was no helping it, since the Shi n was simply too important. He had no choice but to set his difort aside, and do his best to please Shi Kun.

    Having Zu An point it out in public was like a tight p in his face. It left him feeling so humiliated, he would have dived right into a hole if there had been one in front of him.

    ¡°Brother Yuan, please do not mind him. This fellow knows nothing but how to engage in meaningless bickering. You mustn¡¯t lower yourself to his level,¡± Shi Kun consoled him.

    Yuan Wendong gave Shi Kun a grateful nce for giving him a way out. He gritted his teeth tightly to snap him out of his daze, and red angrily at Zu An. ¡°Young master Shi is right! You only know how to engage in meaningless squabbling! This is the world of cultivation. If you¡¯re that capable, why don¡¯t you duel with me? I¡¯ll beat you up so badly, even your mother wouldn¡¯t be able to recognize you anymore!¡±

    Zu An immediately retreated behind Chu Chuyan. ¡°Honey, that fellow dared to threaten me. Beat him up!¡±

    Chu Chuyan felt a headache setting in. I really chose the wrong husband. This fellow sure knows how to stir up trouble.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    However, with the purpose of the confrontation firmly in mind, she yed along. ¡°Yuan Wendong, no matter what, Zu An is still the son-inw of our Chu n. I can¡¯t allow outsiders to take advantage of him. If you want to challenge him, you have to get past me first.¡±

    As Chu Chuyan took a step forward, Yuan Wendong subconsciously took a step back. If I had the ability to defeat you, do you think I would bother to bend over backwards for Shi Kun?

    Of course, there was no way he dared to vent his rage at Chu Chuyan, so he kept his eyes fixed firmly on Zu An and said, ¡°Zu wastrel, how can you call yourself a man, when you hide behind a woman¡¯s back every time something happens?¡±

    Just thinking of howprehensively he had been defeated by Pei Mianman the previous time was enough to make his face turn ominously dark.

    Zu An shrugged in response. ¡°If I, who managed to get so many beautiful and powerful women on my side, cannot be considered a man, what does that make someone who couldn¡¯t even find a single woman like you?¡±

    ¡°I...¡± Yuan Wendong was at a loss for words. Why the hell am I feeling so cornered?!

    You have sessfully trolled Yuan Wendong for 642 Rage points!

    Just then, Shi Kun muttered something, and Yuan Wendong¡¯s eyes lit up. A gleeful smile crept into his eyes as he replied, ¡°Gloat all you want now. You might be able to hide behind a woman for now, but let¡¯s see what you can do at tomorrow¡¯s ns Tournament!¡±

    Zu An sighed deeply. ¡°It looks like you¡¯re a sucker for pain, huh? You really want to have the living daylights beaten out of you. Oh well, forget it, it¡¯s time to drop the act. I¡¯ll show you my true prowess at tomorrow¡¯s ns Tournament. Just try to hold back your tears then, all right?¡±

    ¡°Your true prowess?¡± Yuan Wendong cackled wildly, his spine arching backward. ¡°Very well, I¡¯d love to see young master Zu¡¯s incredible strength tomorrow! Hahahahaha!¡±

    Shi Kun wore a satisfied smile as well. ording to Snow¡¯s testimony, Zu An was only a third rank cultivator. No matter how powerful he was, there was no way he could defeat a fifth rank cultivator like Yuan Wendong.

    Of course, in order to prevent any mishaps, he would make sure to inform Yuan Wendong about Zu An¡¯s true strength.

    ¡°I can even tell you right now that I¡¯ll be thest one up as the Chu n¡¯s secret weapon. I hope that you won¡¯t back out at thest moment!¡± said Zu An.

    Yuan Wendongughed. ¡°Rest assured, I¡¯ll show you the true meaning of despair!¡±

    The Chu n¡¯s intentions were clear as day. They were most likely putting Zu An¡¯s match at the very end in order to protect him. By then, if victory had already been decided, there would be no need for him to fight anymore. Hmph, did you think that our Yuan n is still the same as before? Be prepared for the shock of your life!

    Zu An was really making a big show of everything right now. Yuan Wendong could scarcely contain his excitement as he imagined just how ridiculous that wastrel would look when he was forced into the dueling ring the next day.

    This idiot!

    This was Yuan Wendong¡¯s evaluation of Zu An.

    Seeing that their goal had been achieved, Chu Chuyan quickly pulled Zu An away from the scene. Shi Kun stiffened as he witnessed that.

    The rtionship between Chu Chuyan and Zu An doesn¡¯t seem as stale as Snow put it out to be. Could they have gotten closer to one another during this period of time?

    Feeling as if he had been cuckolded, Shi Kun felt rage boiling in his blood.

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Kun for 222 Rage points!

    Zu An was in no mood to care about the Rage points he was receiving. He was focused on Chu Chuyan¡¯s hand, which was cool, soft, and smooth to the touch. He was pleased that thetter had taken the initiative to grab his hand this time around.

    However, as soon as they were away from the crowd, Chu Chuyan released her grip and said, ¡°You did well earlier. You managed to stir up his rage. It¡¯s very likely that he would choose you tomorrow.¡±

    Zu An was also pleased with his performance. ¡°I¡¯m pretty confident in my ability to infuriate others, after all.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I can tell.¡± Thinking about how Snow was often left fuming in his wake, a smile slowly spread across Chu Chuyan¡¯s face.

    Chu Huanzhao did not share their confidence. ¡°Big sister, what if Zu An really finds himself in a position where he needs to fight Yuan Wendong? Yuan Wendong is a fifth rank cultivator, and he hates Zu An with a passion now. It¡¯s almost certain that he would take advantage of the duel to hurt Zu An!¡±

    Chu Chuyan tried to ay her fears. ¡°Based on our arrangements, the tournament should be decided in the first few rounds. Rest assured, Zu An wouldn¡¯t have to fight at all.¡±

    ¡°But what if things go wrong?¡± Chu Huanzhao insisted anxiously.

    ¡°If things don¡¯t go ording to n, Zu An should just admit defeat right away. Besides, my father and I will be there to observe. We won¡¯t allow anything to happen to him,¡± replied Chu Chuyan.

    Chu Huanzhao frowned. ¡°Still, Zu An has already challenged Yuan Wendong publicly. If he admits defeat right away on the dueling ring, how could he face anyone else in the future?¡±

    ¡°Is his dignity or his life more important?¡± asked Chu Chuyan.

    After saying those words, she turned to Zu An and said, ¡°I must give you fair warning. I recognize that you have a tendency to provoke others. You have been able to remain safe thus far mostly due to luck, but your luck will eventually run out. You really should try to change your behavior. You might end up regretting it if you offend someone you shouldn¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Rest assured, I only offend the people I can afford to offend,¡± replied Zu An. If I don¡¯t offend others, how do I get my Rage points? Besides, it¡¯s not like I indiscriminately anger everyone around me. I¡¯d never offend someone I know I can¡¯t afford to.

    To date, Zu An had never tried to earn Old Mi or Ji Dengtu¡¯s Rage points, and for good reason. While it looked like he had been living recklessly so far, in truth, it was all a calcted risk.

    Of course, once my little Zu An is released, I¡¯ll find an opportunity to get even with Ji Dengtu. Hmph!

    Chu Chuyan misunderstood his meaning. She thought that he was disregarding her kind advice, and she let out a resigned sigh. It seems like there¡¯s no persuading him.

    ¡°I¡¯ll head to my ssroom. We¡¯ll meet after school.¡± With that, Chu Chuyan walked away with a heavy heart.

    Once she was gone, Chu Huanzhao heaved a deep sigh of relief. ¡°Oof, I feel so stifled I¡¯m about to burst! There were so many times that I nearly sumbed and told her about it!¡±

    Zu An looked at Chu Huanzhao curiously. ¡°Is it really a good idea for you to team up with me to fool your big sister?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s more interesting this way, isn¡¯t it? Mwahahaha!¡± Chu Huanzhao let out a viinous cackle. ¡°She even said that she¡¯d meet you after school. I wonder how she would react when she sees you in the ssroom.¡±

    ¡°Now I¡¯m quite curious to know too.¡± Zu An was hyped up by Chu Huanzhao¡¯s remarks. ¡°What do you think I should say when I meet her in the ssroomter on, to make the scene even more dramatic?¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t speech and drama your specialty? Why are you asking me instead?¡± Chu Huanzhao scoffed. ¡°Just look at what happened with Yuan Wendong and Ye Chenliang! I reckon that there¡¯s no one better than you at teasing others!¡±

    ¡°A, you¡¯re ttering me. I¡¯m usually quite honest, y¡¯know.¡± Zu An was starting to feel a bit embarrassed by herpliments.

    ¡°Honest?¡± Chu Huanzhao looked at him with an enigmatic smile on her lips. ¡°Did you think that I¡¯ve never caught you eyeing my legs from time to time? Confess! You¡¯ve actually thought of taking both of us sisters to be your wives before, haven¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°No no, definitely not!¡± Zu An was shocked by the thought. Isn¡¯t Chu Huanzhao being a little too forward, asking such a question directly?

    ¡°Tsk! You think I don¡¯t know what you men are always thinking about?¡± Chu Huanzhao sniffed disdainfully at him. ¡°You¡¯d better not let my mother or my big sister know that you¡¯re harboring such thoughts. They¡¯ll take turns to skin you alive!¡±

    After saying those words, she skipped off toward her ssroom, leaving a dumbfounded Zu An in her wake.

    Wait a moment, what does she even mean by those words?

 Chapter 101: Young Miss of the Wu Clan

    <h4>Chapter 101: Young Miss of the Wu n</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    However, Zu An¡¯s thoughts were soon brought back to the arithmetic ss he was going to have at the Sky ss. This was the first time he was going to make an appearance. Entering the ss normally wouldn¡¯t highlight just how extraordinary he was.

    After racking his brain for a way out, Zu An¡¯s eyes lit up. He made his way over to the administrative building, but the staff there told him that Shang Liuyu wasn¡¯t in the office but in her dormitory. So, Zu An began making his way over to the staff¡¯s dormitory.

    Seeing this, the staff in the office couldn¡¯t help but mock him.

    ¡°Yet another one who has gone bonkers over Teacher Shang, huh?¡±

    ¡°Teacher Shang¡¯s charm is really on another level. Didn¡¯t you see how even Discipline Master Lu tries to capture her attention too?¡±

    ¡°Wait a moment, doesn¡¯t Lu De already have a wife?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the second spring of a middle-aged man. Well, you get it.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s one thing for Discipline Master Lu to make a move, but even this little fellow wants to court Teacher Shang too. He really should learn his ce.¡±

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell him that Teacher Shang never allows anyone to enter her courtyard? That fellow¡¯s effort would only end in vain.¡±

    ¡°Hah. A mere Yellow ss student actually manages to be a teacher by pulling some connections or something. It would be good to make him suffer a bit.¡±

    ...

    Oblivious to the fact that he was being thought of as a joke back in the office, Zu An rushed over to the staff¡¯s dormitory. Following the instructions of the staff, he ran all the way to Shang Liuyu¡¯s residence.

    Tok tok tok, Zu An knocked on her door.

    At the same time, he secretly took out his key token to give it a try, but the residence showed no signs of opening. Indeed, there was no way the academy would have made such an elementary mistake with the dormitory.

    ¡°Who is it?¡±

    A lethargic voice sounded from the courtyard. It had a chilly edge that ryed the impatience of its owner.

    ¡°Big sister Shang, it¡¯s me!¡± replied Zu An.

    Naturally, he wouldn¡¯t call her Teacher Shang like others did. That would be too formal and distant!

    ¡°You were looking for me?¡± asked Shang Liuyu.

    Zu An looked at the firmly closed door before him as he wondered what she meant by this. Given our ties, you wouldn¡¯t even open the door for me? Still, considering that he was the one who had a favor to ask, he decided to answer honestly, ¡°I have a melody which I need big sister Shang to help me y.¡±

    There was a moment of silence in the courtyard before the door opened a little. Shang Liuyu¡¯s cool voice sounded, ¡°Come in.¡±

    Without thinking much into it, Zu An walked in and found that Shang Liuyu¡¯s residence looked much more picturesque than his. There was even a pool in her courtyard filled with clear water that glistened under the sunlight.

    A private swimming pool? How extravagant!

    Zu An felt that he shouldin about this to Jiang Luofu about the difference in treatment between the two of them. The 7,500,000 silver taels he had spent shouldn¡¯t go to vain!

    ¡°You havee up with a new melody?¡± a gentle voice sounded.

    Zu An turned around, and his eyes immediately lit up.

    Shang Liuyu was dressed in a loose robe that revealed her cor bone. She was busy wiping her wet hair, but there were still some water droplets trailing down her skin, as if she had just taken a bath. The length of the robe was of perfect length, exposing the beautiful curvature of her legs. Her fingernails were painted a light shade of pink, which brought attention to her slender fingers. She casually flung her hair sideways before lying down on a rattan chair hanging beneath a tree.

    With azy vibe, she asked, ¡°You didn¡¯te all the way here just to gape at me, right?¡±

    ¡°Ah, of course not! I have a melody which I need you to y for me.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face actually turned red in her presence. Most women, when faced with the assessing stare of a man, would either get embarrassed or angry, but Shang Liuyu¡¯s eyes carried an air of nonchnce, as if she had already seen past mortal desires. Her casual attitude made Zu An feel embarrassed about himself instead.

    ¡°What melody is it?¡± asked Shang Liuyu in curiosity.

    In truth, there were plenty of people who used this excuse to approach her. It was hardly a secret that she was fond of good melodies, but most of them couldn¡¯t even pique her interest. However, the melody Zu An yed back at the gazebo amazed her, touching the deepest sentiments she had concealed in the bottom of her heart.

    It was a melody that was different from how music was typically yed in this world, but the path of music shared amonality¡ªit aimed to touch a person¡¯s soul. It was the melody he yed that filled her with curiosity and goodwill toward this young man. She couldn¡¯t figure how someone as young as he was would be able to y such a beautiful and emotional melody.

    ¡°The name of this melody is called ¡®God of Gamblers!¡±

    Zu An had been thinking about how he could make a suave appearance, so naturally, he turned to all of the cool entrances he had seen in films. In the end, he came to a conclusion. A suave entrance can¡¯t do without a BGM!

    Unfortunately, this world didn¡¯t have voice recorders. He couldn¡¯t possibly y his own BGM while walking in. That would just look terribly awkward and underwhelming. He needed to find someone to y it for him. Of everyone he was acquainted with, the only one who could help him with this favor was only Shang Liuyu.

    Though admittedly, it was also an excuse to find this beautiful teacher once more.

    ¡°God of Gamblers?¡± Shang Liuyu had a peculiar look in her eyes when she heard the name. ¡°It does sound quite fitting with you. How does the melody go?¡±

    Clearly, she had also heard about how Zu An won 7,500,000 silver taels in the Silverhook Casino.

    ¡°Let me demonstrate it once first.¡± Zu An could remember how the melody roughly went, but ying it out was a different matter. After all, the BGM he had heard in his previous world wasn¡¯t yed with a single instrument. It was a melody consisting of multiple instruments carefully synthesized together.

    Initially, Shang Liuyu didn¡¯t think much of the matter, but as soon as Zu An began humming the melody, she sat upright to listen intently to him.

    After Zu An finished humming the melody, he looked at her with an anxious look on his face as he asked, ¡°How is it?¡±

    Shang Liuyu breathed out deeply before saying, ¡°This melody harnesses some sort of magic thatpels one¡¯s heart to race passionately. I felt the shivers from it. It sounds a bit like the war songs of the beastmen, but it¡¯s different from that. How did you manage to do it?¡±

    ¡°Ahahaha, that¡¯s not important for now. I want to know if you¡¯re able to y it out in full,¡± asked Zu An anxiously.

    He was worried not about whether Shang Liuyu would like it or not but whether she could emte it properly. After all, its poprity had already been tested in his previous life.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°This melody is a little weird. Let me give it a try. Can you hum it once more for me?¡± Shang Liuyu pulled out an unusual instrument from her residence that looked a little like a harp. The harp was made of a material that had a glistening texture like jade and emanated a faint blue light.

    Shang Liuyu¡¯s graceful fingers strummed the strings on the harp, producing a sound that was very different from harps. The music range of the instrument seemed to be far wider, and it could produce sounds that the instruments in his previous life couldn¡¯t.

    Shang Liuyu thought about the melody she had just heard as her fingers began moving along the ¡®harp¡¯. For parts which she was uncertain about, she would turn to Zu An to seek rification. Slowly but surely, the God of Gamblers BGM was being recreated in the world of cultivation.

    ¡°Why do you suddenly need me to y this melody?¡± Shang Liuyu slowly began to rx as the melody approachedpletion, so she turned to Zu An and asked out of curiosity.

    Toward that question, Zu An replied, ¡°Needless to say, it¡¯s to use it for my own background music...¡±

    He began to exin how he was going to conduct an arithmetic ss in the Sky sster on.

    Shang Liuyu chuckled at his response. ¡°You sure put in a lot of effort in order to change Chu First Miss¡¯ impression of you.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not just for her. This is my first time teaching a ss as a teacher, which makes my entrance even more important. Ah right, do you think I should put on some make-up? Do you think putting on a pair of sses would make me look more mature?¡±

    Before Shang Liuyu could answer, the voice of a young woman suddenly sounded, ¡°I knew it! Shang Liuyu, you¡¯re hiding here!¡±

    The voice had a clear and melodious quality to it, but it was a pity that it had an oppressive tone that left one feeling ufortable.

    Zu An turned his gaze over. Standing by the door which he had forgotten to close earlier stood a woman dressed in red. She had an ostentatious pearl ne hanging around her neck which highlighted her smoothplexion, as well as a jade bracelet around her wrist.

    With a quick sweep, he could tell that all of the essories the woman wore were expensive.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this woman afraid of getting robbed unting her wealth openly like this?¡± murmured Zu An under his breath.

    Even though the woman was wearing rather extravagantly, she didn¡¯t give off the crass scent of a nouveau riche. Admittedly though, it could be just her beautiful appearance at y here.

    ¡°You are?¡± Shang Liuyu looked at the woman standing by the doorway with doubtful eyes.

    That woman¡¯s rage intensified. ¡°Shang Liuyu, you don¡¯t know me?! I had taken one of your sses before!¡±

    Shang Liuyu replied calmly, ¡°I don¡¯t go through the trouble of remembering each and every one of my students¡¯ names.

    She emanated an air ofposure that seemed to curb the woman¡¯s fiery temper, leaving thetter with no room to act up.

    It was then that a man walked up and introduced the woman, ¡°This is the First Miss of the Sunspring Duke¡¯s Wu n, Wu Qing.¡±

    Another man stood forward right after and added, ¡°She¡¯s ranked fifth on the Sweetheart Ranking. Teacher Shang, how could you not have heard of someone as famous as her?¡±

    ¡°Fuck, Wu Qing?¡± eximed Zu An. He had never imagined that anyone would have such a weird name.[1]

    However, his remark caused the trio to immediately turn their heads toward him. With a slightly awful look on her face, Wu Qing asked, ¡°What did you just say?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Wu Qing for +233 Rage!

    Zu An btedly realized what he had just said, so he quickly rified, ¡°No no, I mean it as an exmation. I didn''t mean that I want to fuck you or anything... Gah! Anyway, it¡¯s not what you¡¯re thinking!¡±

    He felt like he was only worsening the situation with his exnation.

    ¡°How dare you use such vile words to take advantage of Miss Wu!¡± The twockeys beside the woman looked at Zu An with an incredulous look on their faces as they began to berate him.

    ¡°State your name! I would like to see which n you are from to dare act so insolently!¡± Wu Qing¡¯s face remained livid, as if a volcano on the verge of an explosion.

    1. Wu Qing is a homonym for ¡®Heartless¡¯.

 Chapter 102: Rumors

    <h4>Chapter 102: Rumors</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°I am no other than the renowned Shi Kun!¡± Zu An thumped his chest as he dered proudly.

    Shang Liuyu was dumbfounded by what she had just heard. This fellow is far more shameless than I thought.

    ¡°Shi Kun? You¡¯re the Sixth Young Master of the Shi n?¡± asked Wu Qing. ¡°You do have a pretty face, but it turns out that you¡¯re just a shameless pervert, huh?¡±

    Zu An nodded in agreement, ¡°That¡¯s right, Shi Kun is a shameless pervert! Get that fact in your mind!¡±

    Wu Qing was taken aback. She didn¡¯t expect the other party to admit it so candidly. ¡°It looks like you still have some self-awareness.¡±

    Seeing that she was about to be led astray, the twockeys quickly reminded her with a whisper, ¡°Young miss, that man is Zu An.¡±

    Zu An had been causing a hugemotion in the academy over thest few days, so there was hardly anyone who didn¡¯t know of him. Wu Qing only failed to recognize him because she had her hands full with other matters and couldn¡¯te to the academy.

    ¡°You dare to lie to me?¡± Wu Qing¡¯s face immediately reddened in anger. Just thinking about how she was taken for a fool earlier made her anger rage like an inferno.

    You have sessfully trolled Wu Qing for +600 Rage!

    ¡°Have you never been fooled before in your entire lifetime?¡± asked Zu An curiously.

    ¡°Of course not! Who would dare to lie to me?¡± Wu Qing harrumphed in response.

    ¡°Ah, that exins why you¡¯re so gullible.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Wu Qing.

    You have sessfully trolled Wu Qing for +666 Rage!

    Wu Qing took a deep breath to calm herself down before saying, ¡°So, you¡¯re the man chosen by Chu Chuyan?¡±

    Zu An was surprised. ¡°You¡¯re close with Chuyan?¡±

    If the two of them were close friends, it didn¡¯t seem too appropriate for him to be earning Rage points from Wu Qing.

    ¡°Of course we¡¯re close. We can¡¯t be any closer with one another!¡± sneered Wu Qing. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that she has chosen a good-for-nothing as her husband, and I thought that it was just exaggeration. However, from the looks of it now, it seems like there¡¯s some truth to the rumors. Other than a good-for-nothing, you¡¯re also a shameless pervert too. It¡¯s no wonder you¡¯re so scorned in Brightmoon City!¡±

    Hearing those words, Zu An heaved a sigh of relief. It¡¯s good that they aren¡¯t close to one another. Now that he thought about it, the Chu n had mentioned that the ns Tournament would be different from before because the Yuan n had a ducal n backing it, and the ducal n seemed to be the Wu n.

    So, he walked up to Wu Qing and assessed her carefully. He had to admit that despite this woman¡¯s horrible temper, she did have a beautiful appearance. ¡°Young miss Wu, you kept mentioning that I¡¯m a shameless pervert, but how have I acted perverted in any way? Or could it be that your mind is filled with that kind of stuff?¡±

    Standing in such proximity with a man left Wu Qing feeling flustered. She quickly backed off and said, ¡°Just listen to your filthy mouth! What else could you be if not a shameless per...¡±

    She wanted to berate Zu An, but recalling what she had just said, she suddenly found herself at a loss for words. She realized that if she were to insist that Zu An was a pervert, it would mean that she was harboring that sort of thoughts in her mind.

    Seeing that their young miss was losing the fight here, the two men beside Wu Qing quickly stepped forward to back her up. ¡°Zu An, how dare you make light of our young miss?¡±

    Zu An looked at the two men standing before him in interest as he asked, ¡°May I know who are you two?¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The man on the left raised his head proudly and dered, ¡®I am Pan Long from Sunspring City¡¯s Pan n!¡±

    The man on the right also stuck his neck out and said, ¡°I am Fu Feng from Sunspring City¡¯s Fu n!¡±

    The Pan n and Fu n were prominent ns, which was why the two of them could hold their heads up high. They couldn¡¯tpete with the massive Wu n and the Chu n, but they were at least on par with the Zheng n, Yuan n, and Wang n.

    The two of them had grown up with Wu Qing, and they were awed by her beauty from the very first meeting. On top of that, the Wu n was a ducal n too, which prompted the two of them to fawn on her in hopes that they could one day win her favor and rise to greater heights.

    This was also the reason why they reacted so strongly when Zu An ¡®bullied¡¯ Wu Qing.

    ¡°Pan Long, Fu Feng?¡± remarked Zu An contemtively. ¡°Great names. They sound perfectly appropriate for the two of you!¡±[1]

    Zu An took out a notebook from his robe and wrote down a few words. Then, he showed them to the two men and asked, ¡°Is it this Pan and this Fu?¡±[2]

    ¡°Urk, it isn¡¯t. It¡¯s written like that.¡± The two of them subconsciously went along with Zu An¡¯s flow and corrected his writing. However, they soon noticed that something was amiss. ¡°Wait a moment, why are you trying to remember our names?¡±

    ¡°Hm? It¡¯s nothing much,¡± replied Zu An calmly. ¡°I¡¯m thinking of failing you for your arithmetic ss. I¡¯m afraid that I might forget your names, so it would be good to jot it down in advance.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Pan Long.

    ¡°...¡± Fu Feng.

    What the hell! Isn¡¯t this an abuse of power?

    It was also then that Wu Qing finally snapped out of her daze. Looking at the two petrified men beside her, she asked with a frown, ¡°What are the two of you afraid of? He doesn¡¯t have the authority to decide the scores of our arithmetic grades anyway!¡±

    The two of them turned to Wu Qing and said with a tearful look on their faces, ¡°Actually, he does have the authority. He¡¯s our newly-appointed arithmetic teacher.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Wu Qing.

    You fools! Why didn¡¯t you tell me in advance?!

    Zu An put on a smile and said, ¡°Young miss, have you realized that you¡¯ve offended someone you shouldn¡¯t have? If you apologize to me right now, I might consider being the better man and forgive you for your offense.¡±

    Wu Qing gritted her teeth in anger, ¡°What¡¯s a mere arithmetic teacher like you acting all pompously for? In the first ce, arithmetic isn¡¯t important to students from the Sky ss at all!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Wu Qing for +233 Rage!

    ¡°It¡¯s of lesser importance, but if a proud young miss of a ducal n like you were to fail her ss, I reckon that you¡¯d be theughingstock of the entire academy, right?¡± Zu An smiled slyly.

    Wu Qing gulped. The other party was right. She had apetitive streak in her, which was why she was determined topete with Chu Chuyan in everything. If she were to fail a ss, that would be a huge blow to her pride.

    ¡°I dare you to fail me then! You should know that my father is the Sunspring Duke. Even the academy dares not to take him lightly!¡± After the initial fluster, Wu Qing soon calmed down and realized that there was no reason for her to fear Zu An at all.

    ¡°That might be true for other teachers since their careers are at stake here. However, I¡¯m just a temporary teacher. Once the royal pce sends a teacher over, I¡¯ll be relieved of my duties. I don¡¯t have any future here anyway, so what do I have to fear?¡±

    Zu An thought about how office politics worked in his previous world. As long as one bore no expectations of career progression, there was no need to be scared of one¡¯s superior.

    Wu Qing was stunned. If Zu An really didn¡¯t care about his own future, there would really be nothing she could do to him. But at the same time, she couldn¡¯t possibly lower her head to apologize to him either. So, she could only turn her head away and harrumph, ¡°Hmph! I didn¡¯te to look for you today!¡±

    She turned her attention toward Shang Liuyu and said, ¡°Shang Liuyu, it¡¯s time to settle our scores!¡±

    Shang Liuyu smiled back at Wu Qing and asked, ¡°Have you forgotten that I¡¯m a teacher too? Aren¡¯t you afraid that I¡¯d fail you for your foreignnguage ss too?¡±

    Wu Qing was rendered speechless. It took her awhile before she found her voice once more. ¡°You aren¡¯t as shameless as that fellow. Besides, you can¡¯t possibly not care about your own future too!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true. Looks like I can¡¯t learn his tricks after all.¡± Shang Liuyu shot a nce at Zu An and smiled faintly. Then, she turned back to Wu Qing and asked, ¡°So, what business do you have with me?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re asking the obvious, vixen! Why are you acting all innocent after stealing my boyfriend?¡± roared Wu Qing.

    ¡°Vixen?¡± This was the first time Shang Liuyu was hearing anyone calling her as such, and she couldn¡¯t help but burst intoughter. ¡°Who¡¯s your boyfriend?¡±

    ¡°Have you stolen too many men that you can¡¯t even remember yourself anymore?¡± eximed Wu Qing. ¡°Needless to say, it¡¯s Second Young Master Xie Xiu!¡±

    Upon hearing Wu Qing im that Xie Xiu was her boyfriend, both Pan Long and Fu Feng lowered their heads in disappointment.

    ¡°Xie Xiu?¡± Shang Liuyu repeated calmly. ¡°You¡¯re misunderstanding something here. I don¡¯t have any rtions with him. Putting him aside, I¡¯m not in a rtionship with any man at the moment.¡±

    ¡°But he told me that he has fallen in love with you! How could he possibly abandon me if you hadn¡¯t seduced him?¡± roared Wu Qing.

    Pan Long and Fu Feng couldn¡¯t help but remind her softly, ¡°Young miss, you aren¡¯t officially together with Xie Xiu.¡±

    Wu Qing red at the two of them sharply. ¡°Shut up!¡±

    Pan Long and Fu Feng quickly zipped up their mouths with bitter smiles.

    Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°You and you,e over here.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Pan Long and Fu Feng were wary as to what Zu An was up to, but they still did as thetter said anyway.

    ¡°As your teacher, I feel obliged to educate you about some life lessons. Have you ever heard of the phrase ¡®bootlickers eventually get trampled by the boots they are licking¡¯?¡± asked Zu An.

    This was Pan Long and Fu Feng¡¯s first time hearing about such a phrase, but they could easily guess what Zu An was driving at. Their faces flushed red, but they knew that they couldn¡¯t afford to blow their top against a teacher. So, they could only curse him in their hearts.

    You have sessfully trolled Pan Long for +444 Rage!

    You have sessfully trolled Fu Feng for +444 Rage!

    After dealing with the two annoying bootlickers, Zu An felt that there was a need to help clear the air for Shang Liuyu, so he turned to Wu Qing and said, ¡°I¡¯m familiar with Xie Xiu, and I¡¯ve seen him breaking up with other women on many asions. The reasons he offers are always varied. Are you sure that he isn¡¯t just saying those words just to ditch you?¡±

    Wu Qing was taken aback. Now that she thought about it, there was indeed such a possibility. Her face immediately reddened in embarrassment.

    ¡°The rest of you can leave now,¡± Shang Liuyu said with an utterly cold tone. No matter how good-tempered she was, there was no way she could tolerate these three running all the way here to criticize her as a vixen.

    ¡°I¡¯ll look into the matter properly.¡± Wu Qing harrumphed before leaving awkwardly.

    She had stomped here angrily, only to lose her confidence upon hearing Zu An¡¯s words. It sure was a bad day for her

    Not too long after heading out, Wu Qing suddenly paused a brief moment to look at Pan Long and Fu Feng. ¡°Tell me the truth. Who is more beautiful, me or Shang Liuyu?¡±

    ¡°Of course it¡¯s you!¡± Pan Long and Fu Feng replied without any hesitation. Despite saying so, the sight of Shang Liuyu¡¯s beautiful corbone and her fair skin was still lingering in their minds.

    ¡°Hmph, useless!¡± Women tended to be sensitive toward the insincere remarks men made, which was probably the reason why Wu Qing was able to see through their true thoughts right away. ¡°That Shang Liuyu is indeed a vixen! How could she wear such indecent clothes to seduce men? Listen up, I have a mission for you two!¡±

    ¡°Young miss, feel free to pass down any instructions you have!¡± Pan Long and Fu Feng immediately straightened their posture.

    Wu Qing¡¯s lips curled up as she said, ¡°I want you to spread the word that Shang Liuyu has been meeting Zu An in her residence dressed inappropriately..¡±

    Hmph let¡¯s see whether Xie Xiu will continue to like her once her reputation sours. Also, if others were to learn that Chu Chuyan¡¯s husband has been cheating on her outside, it would surely be a huge blow to her!

    Why am I so smart? I was actually able to think of a perfect n to kill two birds in one stone.

    ¡°Ah? Is it really good to do that?¡± Pan Long and Fu Feng nced at one another hesitantly. Both Shang Liuyu and Zu An were teachers, and they had a good impression of Shang Liuyu too.

    ¡°What¡¯s so bad about that? It¡¯s not like we¡¯re lying anyway! Isn¡¯t she dressed inappropriately earlier on?¡± Wu Qing harrumphed. ¡°I¡¯m only asking you to ry the truth here, but you can¡¯t even do that much? What a disappointment!¡±

    Pan Long and Fu Feng quickly replied anxiously, ¡°Please leave it to us! We¡¯ll definitely aplish the task to your satisfaction!¡±

    It was only then that Wu Qing¡¯s mood improved a little. ¡°That¡¯s more like it!¡±

    1. Pan Long Fu Feng is a saying that trantes to ¡®Climbing onto the back of a dragon and leeching off a phoenix¡¯. It refers to someone who gets into the good graces of someone prominent and rises to high standing.

    2. He¡¯s changing their surnames to another homonym which suits the saying ¡®Pan Long Fu Feng¡¯.

 Chapter 103: Appearance

    <h4>Chapter 103: Appearance</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Meanwhile, Zu An looked at Shang Liuyu quietly for a moment before he remarked, ¡°You sure have it tough as a teacher. Your students even stomped right up to your doorstep to torment you.¡±

    Shang Liuyu rolled her eyes. ¡°Isn¡¯t it all because you didn¡¯t shut the door properly? How else do you think they managed to get in here?¡±

    ¡°Ah, I forgot to close it in a moment of excitement,¡± replied Zu An sheepishly.

    ¡°Forget it. Let¡¯s go through the melody once more to see if there are any problems with it.¡± Shang Liuyu ced her fingers on the harp once more and stroked it lightly, producing a passionate melody that sent one¡¯s heart thumping.

    The melody soon came to an end, and Zu An nodded his head in excitement. ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I had in mind! Big sister Shang, you are a true prodigy!¡±

    ¡°How can I be considered a prodigy? It¡¯s the creator of this melody who is the true prodigy here.¡± At this point, Shang Liuyu looked at Zu An in interest and asked, ¡°You really aren¡¯t the creator of this melody?¡±

    ¡°It really isn¡¯t me. I only happened to hear it in my dreams.¡± As thick-skinned as Zu An was, he wasn¡¯t so shameless as to actually im these songs as his own creation.

    ¡°I see. I didn¡¯t expect you to be so humble.¡± Shang Liuyu picked up something that resembled a seashell from the side and passed it over to him. ¡°Here, take this.¡±

    Zu An was just about to correct Shang Liuyu¡¯s misunderstanding when he found himself presented with a seashell. Perplexed, he asked, ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°This item is able to record sounds it has just heard. You can use it to y that... background music when you enter the ssroomter on,¡± answered Shang Liuyu.

    ¡°You aren¡¯ting with me?¡± Zu An asked in disappointment.

    ¡°I¡¯m not about to embarrass myself publicly.¡± Shang Liuyu¡¯s face reddened.

    She felt like Zu An was really a bag of surprises; he coulde up with all sorts of bizarre things even when it came to just teaching a ss.

    ¡°Eesh, I see.¡± Seeing that there was no other choice, Zu An epted the seashell. Under Shang Liuyu¡¯s guidance, he soon understood how to use it.

    Isn¡¯t this practically a recorder?

    Once again, Zu An was amazed by how wondrous this world of cultivation was. Despite being technologically underdeveloped, what it wascking waspensated by the wonders brought about by ki. Many of the conveniences of the modern could be emted through the use of artifacts and formations.

    ¡°Big sister Shang, do you have any hair wax that I can borrow?¡± asked Zu An.

    ¡°Hair wax?¡± Shang Liuyu didn¡¯t understand what Zu An was asking for.

    ¡°Err, I¡¯m referring to gel that helps to keep your hairdo in ce,¡± Zu An roughly exined what hair wax did.

    ¡°Ah, I think I have something simr to that here,¡± replied Shang Liuyu. She headed into her residence for a while before returning with a bottle filled with some sort of gel. ¡°What kind of hairdo are you going for?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m thinking of doing it like this...¡± Zu An described how a slick back hairstyle roughly looked like as he applied the gel on his hair and tried to shape it. However, his fingers turned out to be clumsier than he thought.

    Shang Liuyu smiled at this sight and said, ¡°I¡¯ll help you.¡±

    She ushered him to sit on a stool before helping him tidy up his hairdo.

    Being in proximity with one another, Zu An could smell a light fragranceing from her, and it made his heart thump. If he wasn¡¯t mistaken, she should have just gotten out of the pool when he arrived, so there was no time for her to apply any fragrances or powder.

    So how could she still smell so nice? Could it be the cosmetics she usually applied have seeped into her skin?

    Shang Liuyu started off by tidying his back before moving over to the front tob his fringe. She was so focused on the task that she subconsciously bent down a little, revealing a sight that made Zu An¡¯s nose nearly spurt blood.

    She had just finished bathing, so the robe she donned was a little loose. Previously, they were still standing a distance away, so all he could see was just bits of her shoulder, corbone, and such. However, now that she was bending down a little right in front of him, her loose cor ended up drooping down a little, revealing her fair skin and attractive ridges.

    Gulp~

    Zu An mentally reminded himself to remain calm, but he couldn¡¯t help but gulp down a mouthful of saliva.

    The sound caught Shang Liuyu¡¯s notice, which brought her attention to his peculiar response. She lowered her head to take a look, and her face swiftly flushed red. She immediately shot to her feet and took several steps backward. There was a moment of silence before she spoke awkwardly, ¡°It should be roughly done. You can head to ss now.¡±

    Zu An was impressed by theposure she was showing as a mature woman, choosing to avert the matter and dampen it down. Had it been a younger girl, she would have likely started shrieking and caused a huge fuss.

    But again, Shang Liuyu was in the midst of helping him when he identally took advantage of her. No matter how thick-skinned he might be, it was still quite an awkward situation for him too. ¡°Thank you for your help today. I¡¯ll treat you to a meal next time.¡±

    Since Shang Liuyu was intentionally avoiding the topic, he wouldn¡¯t be so dumb as to intentionally bring it up. This was the kind of telepathic connection mature people shared with one another. Hmmm, I¡¯m more of a youth right now though.

    Shang Liuyu¡¯s expression gradually returned to normal. With a slight smile, she said, ¡°There are plenty of people who want to treat me to a meal. It might take a long time before it reaches your turn.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d expect no less from you.¡± Knowing her explosive poprity in the academy, Zu An knew that her words were true. ¡°If the opportunity arises then.¡±

    It was about time for the arithmetic ss, so Zu An quickly waved her goodbye before heading for the Sky ss.

    ...

    Unlike the rowdy Yellow ss, the Sky ss was much quieter. It was filled with proud prodigies, after all. Even if they had time to spare, they would rather keep it to themselves so as to appear high and lofty. They felt that it was beneath them to fool around like how the students of the other sses did.

    However, everyone¡¯s eyes still naturally drifted toward a certain person. Chu Chuyan was sitting quietly all on her own, but somehow, it felt like she was shrouded in a mysterious mist, reminiscent of a fairy descended from heaven.

    As expected of the number one beauty!

    This was the thought that surfaced in everyone¡¯s mind. It was rare to see Chu Chuyan around, even in the academy, and this made everyone treasure even more so treasure every glimpse they could get of her.

    Shi Kun intentionally chose a position nearer to the back of the ss so that he could fully appreciate her perfect figure. Yuan Wendong and the others sat around him, trying their best to butter him up in hopes to get into his good graces. Shi Kun would respond to their remarks from time to time, but his attention was clearly on the fairy sitting in front of him.

    He noticed that the other students kept sneaking nces toward Chu Chuyan, and it made anger well up in his heart. How dare these men covet my woman?

    But again, in a change of perspectives, it proved just how charming the woman he had chosen was. This thought alleviated his anger a little.

    Isn¡¯t there another woman in the ss who is rumored to equal Chu Chuyan in beauty called Pei Mianman or something? Why don¡¯t I see her around?

    Most of the prodigies in the Sky ss had their own businesses to deal with outside the academy, so there was no requirement on their attendance. As a result, it was rare for the whole ss to be present on any given day. It wasn¡¯t too odd that Pei Mianman wasn¡¯t around today.

    Ah right, there¡¯s also another beauty going by the name of Zheng Dan too, right?

    Shi Kun¡¯s eyes drifted around, and he swiftly caught sight of a beautiful woman who emanated a traditional grace. Her gestures were gentle and demure, overflowing with feminine charm.

    Even for someone with standards as high as Shi Kun couldn¡¯t deny that she was a ravishing woman.

    ¡°Sang Qian sure is lucky.¡±

    It was not a secret that Zheng Dan was Shang Qian¡¯s fianc¨¦, so there was no way he wouldn¡¯t know about it.

    What a pity!

    Had it been anyone else, Shi Kun would have probably tried to snatch Zheng Dan over to his side. It wasn¡¯t as if he hadn¡¯t done it before over the years anyway. However, the Sang n was currently favored by the emperor, so it wouldn¡¯t be wise to get on their bad side for the time being.

    Fortunately, the Sang n didn¡¯t have a stable foundation. If any mishap were to happen in the future... Hehehe, I reckon that he¡¯d have no choice but to turn to me for help. By then, all I have to do is to point to Zheng Dan, and she¡¯d be mine...

    His imagination began to run wild as he thought about how he would slowly break her virtuousness and drag her toward the abyss. Eventually, she would lose herself and fall head over heels for him.

    He had done such tricks plenty of times to be deeply familiar with how it went.

    Toward these women, all he wanted was just the sense of exhration from sessfully dominating them. He didn¡¯t bear any feelings for them, so he didn¡¯t particrly mind that they were married or not. On the contrary, conquering married women brought a greater thrill to him.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    However, it wasn¡¯t the same for Chu Chuyan. He had devoted his feelings to her, and he wouldn¡¯t allow anyone to sully her.

    Not too far away, Zheng Dan could sense Shi Kun¡¯s heated gaze, so she directed a faint smile toward him in response. She had long heard of the reputation of the Sixth Young Master of the Shi n, and he was as dashing as the rumors put him out to be. It was just that his gaze felt a little ufortable.

    Inparison, she felt that Zu An was more of a gentleman.

    Haaa, it sure is a weird world we live in. A true gentleman has his reputation in shambles, but a wolf in sheep¡¯s clothing like Shi Kun enjoys such a good reputation.

    As such thoughts surfaced in her mind, her eyes subconsciously moved toward Chu Chuyan, only to see her sitting there quietly like a noble princess.

    Hmph! I wonder how you¡¯d feel if you found out how helpless your husband is before my charm!

    Zheng Dan couldn¡¯t really understand herself anymore. She never allowed any men toe close to her, disallowing even her fianc¨¦ to hold her hand. Yet, how in the world did she get so bold as to allow Zu An to...

    Am I really going this far in order to prove my charm by snatching away Chu Chuyan¡¯s man?

    For some reason, this thought left Zheng Dan feeling deeply ufortable. She noticed how the other male students were sneaking nces at Chu Chuyan, and that made her feel even more irritated. All of these lustful men!

    It was then that the door to the ssroom suddenly burst open. Everyone quickly turned their gazes over, thinking that the teacher had finally arrived. However, it was Wu Qing walking in with a frosty look on her face instead.

    Wu Qing was actually quite a looker as well, and there were many students who were interested in getting close to her. However, the chilling aura she was emanating at this very moment kept everyone else at bay. No one wanted to get involved with her when she was in an irritated mood.

    Without saying a word, Wu Qing walked over to her seat and sat down. It was then that she noticed Chu Chuyan sitting beside her, and her rage immediately flurried. So, she stood back up, stomped over to Chu Chuyan¡¯s side, and gazed down on her coldly. ¡°Zu An is your husband?¡±

    Chu Chuyan frowned upon hearing the question, but she still nodded in response. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right.¡±

    Her purpose of marrying Zu An was to sever the thoughts of those who wereing after her and the Chu n, so there was no reason for her not to admit to it.

    Shi Kun understood the rationale behind Chu Chuyan¡¯s actions too, but hearing his beloved woman acknowledging another man as her husband still left him feeling deeply ufortable. His face turned awfully livid as he became cognizant of a problem he had neglected till now.

    He was aware that Chu Chuyan was still a maiden due to Snow, but no one else knew about that. Most people would have assumed that her chastity would have already been taken by now. So, if he were to marry her in the future, wouldn¡¯t everyone think that he had been cuckolded?

    ¡°Since he¡¯s your husband, shouldn¡¯t you keep a close eye on him? Why is he flirting around with other women?!¡± Wu Qing harrumphed coldly before stomping back to her seat.

    Chu Chuyan was stunned. She had no idea what in the world Wu Qing was talking about here.

    That being said, Wu Qing¡¯s words left plenty of room for spections as the other students in the Sky ss began whispering to one another. The desire to gossip was innate in all humans, even for lofty prodigies.

    ¡°Zu An actually tried to flirt with Wu Qing?¡±

    ¡°Holy! That man sure is a beast! He actually wants to monopolize the young misses of two ducal ns!¡±

    ¡°Despite having a wife as beautiful as Chu Chuyan, he still wants to find other women outside. Hmph, he really should learn his own ce!¡±

    ¡°Haven¡¯t you heard of the saying that the grass is always greener on the other side? Chu Chuyan might be a goddess to us, but Zu An has already had a taste of her, so naturally he doesn¡¯t cherish her as much anymore. It¡¯s always the things that are out of reach that look more attractive.¡±

    ¡°Oof! Why do your words feel like a knife stabbing into my heart?¡±

    ...

    The gossips all around made Shi Kun¡¯s eyelids twitch in horror. Does that fellow really wield such amazing capabilities?

    It was then that a wild melody began ying in the air, causing goosebumps to rise amongst the students. It left their blood racing, as if they were about to march into a battle to save the world.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    The bewildered crowd turned their sights toward the entrance of the ssroom, only to see a towering figure slowly making his way in. His hair wasbed in a slick hairdo that no one had seen before, but for some reason, it looked pretty good. He wore a ck uniform that made him look increasingly imposing with every step that he took.

    ¡°Who¡¯s that guy?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the uniform worn by the academy¡¯s teacher¡¯s right?¡±

    ¡°Rubbish! When has the teacher¡¯s uniform looked so suave before?¡±

    ...

    Meanwhile, Chu Chuyan was feeling a little perplexed. Why does that person look oddly familiar to me?

    Shi Kun was in the midst of taking a sip of water while formting a n to deal with Zu An when he finally caught a proper look at the person walking toward the podium. He immediately choked on his water, causing a mess.

 Chapter 104: How Are You Going to Compete With Me?

    <h4>Chapter 104: How Are You Going to Compete With Me?</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Wait a moment! Isn¡¯t that person on the podium Zu An?

    Shi Kun rubbed his eyes, fearing that he was seeing things.

    There were many people who shared the same thought as him. Almost every single student in the room was staring at Zu An with eyes widened in disbelief.

    ¡°How did that fellow make his hairdo? It looks pretty cool. Should I give it a try someday too? Also, what¡¯s with the music? It really makes my heart pump fast,¡± murmured Xie Xiu softly.

    ¡°Now that I¡¯m taking a closer look at him, he¡¯s actually quite good-looking. He looks much more imposing in this dress-up than his casual look,¡± added Zheng Dan.

    ¡°Why does this fellow look much more pleasing to me than before? My gosh, I must be going mad!¡± Wu Qing harrumphed coldly.

    Chu Chuyan also only started to recover from the initial shock at this point. She realized that she really wasn¡¯t seeing things and that the person on the podium was no other than her husband. Even with her usual cold personality, she felt her face burning up. Had there been a hole right beside her, she might have just leaped in without a second¡¯s hesitation.

    ¡°What are you doing?!¡± She transmitted her voice secretly to Zu An anxiously.

    Zu An shot a nce at her, but he didn¡¯t respond to her question.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Chu Chuyan bit her lips and carried on, ¡°Stop messing around and go back!¡±

    She had never felt so embarrassed in her entire life before. All her life, she had always been the one in control. Even in the academy, she was a lofty existence that no one dared to mess with.

    But at this very moment, she felt like she was sitting on a bed of needles. She felt like everyone was directing weird stares at her, waiting to make aughingstock of the Chu n.

    Meanwhile, Zu An had already gotten into position and had turned over to face the students before him. Upon noticing the furiously blushing Chu Chuyan, he put on a stern expression and said, ¡°That student over there, please be reminded that we¡¯re having a ss over here. You should stop sending messages secretly to your teacher in the midst of the lesson.¡±

    ¡°Ohh~¡±

    Amotion broke out within the ss as they figured that Zu An was addressing Chu Chuyan over here. Considering their married status, it didn¡¯t take a genius to figure out what they were whispering to one another about. A little bit of drama here and there was always weed.

    However, not everyone was taking this well.

    ¡°Acting all chummy in public, don¡¯t you have a sense of shame?¡± Wu Qing clicked her tongue in annoyance as she clutched the hems of her clothes tightly.

    Zheng Dan also frowned at the remark too. ¡°It looks like the two of them are closer than I thought. It might get a bit troublesome...¡±

    Meanwhile, Chu Chuyan felt an urge to cover her own face. She had never felt so embarrassed in her entire life. What in the world is wrong is that fellow¡¯s mind?

    Wait a moment, did he just say ¡®teacher¡¯?

    Shi Kun also bore the same doubts in mind, so he gestured at his underlings. Unexpectedly, his underlings averted their gazes, not responding to him at all. Left with no choice, he could only step forward himself to challenge Zu An. ¡°Take a look at your surroundings closely. You¡¯re in the Sky ss right now. This isn¡¯t a ce where someone from the Yellow ss should be.¡±

    It looks like these people are really inept. They sure don¡¯t know how to read the situation! I really should find myself new underlings soon!

    ¡°Oh? Did you just say that this isn¡¯t a ce where I should be?¡± Zu An looked at Shi Kun with a yful look in his eyes.

    ¡°Of course. A person should know his ce. There¡¯s nothing wrong with you being in the Yellow ss; you¡¯re simply born with inferior talent. However, it would be a grave mistake if you try to forcefully overstep your boundaries in hopes of breaking into higher grounds.¡±

    Shi Kun was determined to trample Zu An all the way into the ground before everyone else. He wanted to see if the Chu n would still ept that wastrel even after he was being humiliated before so many people.

    ¡°Look at what you¡¯re doing. What¡¯s with that earlier melody and your hairdo? All your desperate attempts to raise your standing look no more than a joke before prodigies like us.¡±

    He gestured to the people around him as he spoke, only to frown right after. He noticed that the atmosphere in the room had suddenly gotten weird, and everyone else was looking at him peculiarly. Even Yuan Wendong had a hesitant look on his face.

    What¡¯s going on here?

    Shi Kun suddenly felt a terrible premonition, as if something really bad was about to happen.

    Chu Chuyan rose to her feet and looked at Shi Kun coldly, ¡°Young master Shi, Zu An is my husband. Regardless of his level ofpetence, it¡¯s not your ce to criticize him.¡±

    She might not be fond of Zu An, but she couldn¡¯t bring herself to sit still while others were putting down her husband right before her eyes.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s act of standing up for Zu An only further stoked Shi Kun¡¯s fury. However, he didn¡¯t allow his emotions to show through, still maintaining the perfect smile on his face. ¡°Young miss Chu, you have misunderstood my words. I don¡¯t mean to criticize the Chu n. I just think that someone as outstanding as you should have married an equallypetent man. That fellow over there isn¡¯t worthy of you at all.¡±

    ¡°Marry an equallypetent man?¡± Chu Chuyan burst intoughter. ¡°Such worldly standards bear no meaning to me. I think that Zu An is perfectly fine as he is.¡±

    She was outstanding enough as she was anyway; she didn¡¯t need her husband to be capable too. On the contrary, it wouldn¡¯t be a good thing if her husband was toopetent.

    Zu An felt deeply moved to hear those words.

    I didn¡¯t think my stone-cold wife could actually be this warm. Ah? What¡¯s with this sudden influx of Rage points?

    To his confusion, Zu An realized that he had received a huge wave of Rage points on the system. He turned to look at the students before him, only to see all of the male students ring at him with infernos of rage burning in their eyes.

    ¡°Did he save the world in his previous life or something? How in the world did someone like him win the fancy of our goddess?¡±

    ¡°I finally understand why I couldn¡¯t catch the attention of the goddess. It turns out that I was too outstanding all this while!¡±

    ¡°Who could have known that our goddess would have such an unusual taste? Instead of outstanding men, she prefers those who are average.¡±

    ¡°Tsk! You im yourselves to be outstanding, but aren¡¯t the rest of you nothing much before Chu Chuyan too?¡±

    ¡°Then what about young master Shi then? He should be outstanding enough for you, right? Yet, have you ever seen Chu Chuyan showing any interest in him before?¡±

    ...

    The whisperings amongst the students in the ssmate made Shi Kun¡¯s eyelids twitch intensely. This woman actually put me down in public!!! But why don¡¯t I feel angry at all? Instead, it only makes her feel different from the other women I have met in my life.

    Hmph! Anyway, it¡¯s all Zu An¡¯s fault! Just what right do you have to enjoy Chu Chuyan¡¯s affection?

    Seeing that the situation had ripened enough, Zu An cleared his throat. He was perfectly fine with hiding behind his wife¡¯s back, but this Shi Kun guy was really getting on his nerves.

    ¡°You said that I look no more than a joke before you people. May I know which group of people are you referring to here?¡±

    Shi Kun was delighted to hear Zu An¡¯s response. Chu Chuyan¡¯s earlier interference had left him with no space to continue his attack, but this fellow was actually foolish enough to speak up at this juncture. Hmph, looks like he¡¯s truly a good-for-nothing who can¡¯t possibly aplish any big. Just a small victory, and he lets it get over his head.

    ¡°Naturally, I¡¯m referring to those of noble birth or possess outstanding aptitude for cultivation.¡± Shi Kun nced at the crowd in the ssroom. ¡°To everyone in this room, you¡¯re just a joke.¡±

    With the standing and reputation of the Shi n, he felt that there was no way those in the ssroom would refute his words, especially not for an insignificant wastrel.

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Zu An turned to Xie Xiu and prompted him, ¡°That male student who looks like a girl over there. Stop looking around, I¡¯m talking to you. Do you think that I¡¯m a joke?¡±

    Xie Xiu looked stifled to be implicated in this mess. Why the hell are you dragging me down with you? He shot a nce at the livid Shi Kun before turning back to Zu An. In the end, he sighed deeply and said, ¡°Of course not.¡±

    In the first ce, King Qi¡¯s faction, which the Xie n was in, was at loggerheads with the empress¡¯ faction that the Shi n was in, so there was no reason for Xie Xiu to defer to Shi Kun in the first ce. On top of that, Zu An was a teacher of the academy, which gave him even less reason to side with Shi Kun.

    Satisfied with the answer, Zu An allowed Xie Xiu to sit back down before pointing out another student. ¡°That beautiful female student sitting on the front row, do you think that I¡¯m a joke?¡±

    Zheng Dan was rather pleased to beplimented ¡®beautiful¡¯ before the ss, but being forced to stand against Shi Kun in public left goosebumps all over her arms. She could only give a vague response, ¡°How could that be?¡±

    Her fianc¨¦ was Sang Qian, who belonged on the same side with Shi Kun at the moment. However, considering Zu An¡¯s current standing as the academy¡¯s teacher, there was no way she would dare to openlybel him as a joke.

    That Shi Kun looks quite sharp-witted, so why is he so dull-headed right now?

    Zu An nodded in satisfaction before moving his gaze toward Wu Qing. ¡°Young miss Wu, do you think that I¡¯m a joke?¡±

    Wu Qing gritted her teeth. She was very tempted to nod her head, but after getting done in earlier on this very issue, there was no way she would foolishly leap into his trap once more. Besides, Xie Xiu had already made a stance earlier. There was no way she would oppose her big brother Xie Xiu in public. So, she could only indignantly harrumph, ¡°I dare not to.¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s eyes widened in bewilderment. What¡¯s going on today? Why are these people all speaking up for Zu An?

    Furthermore, some of them were on bad terms with her, making it even more ridiculous in her view that they would actually side with Zu An.

    All of a sudden, she thought about the inexplicable words that Wu Qing had uttered before her earlier, and a thought arose in her head. It can¡¯t be that that fellow has managed to hook up with Wu Qing, right?

    It wasn¡¯t just Chu Chuyan who wasn¡¯t able to make sense of the situation. Shi Kun was utterly dumbfounded too. He couldn¡¯t figure what was wrong with these people. Why are they going against me over mere trash?

    After questioning a few students, Zu An finally reined in his smile to look at the bbergasted Shi Kun. With an authoritative voice, he ordered, ¡°Go and stand outside the ssroom.¡±

    Shi Kunughed at the sheer ludicrousness of the situation. ¡°Who do you think you are? How dare you order me around?¡±

    Chu Chuyan was equally confused too. What¡¯s going on? This fellow is acting all weird today. No, it¡¯s not just him but everyone here!

    Zu An sighed softly and said, ¡°The rules of Brightmoon Academy dictates that students who talked back to their teacher during ss are to be severely punished. In the worst-case scenario, they can even be expelled from the academy. Do you think that my words are just for show?¡±

    Actually, he knew that there was only so much the rules could do. The academy couldn¡¯t possibly expel the Sixth Young Master of the prominent Shi n over such a minor issue. However, if it was a minor punishment, the academy wouldn¡¯t say anything much about it.

    ¡°You, a teacher?¡± It was as if Shi Kun had heard the most hrious joke in the world. He was just about to say something when Yuan Wendong anxiously pulled his sleeves to stop him.

    ¡°He really is the new arithmetic teacher of Brightmoon Academy.¡±

    Shi Kun¡¯s first thought was that Yuan Wendong was out of his mind. However, he soon saw a few other people nodding in agreement with a look of sympathy on their faces, and his smile immediately froze over.

    ¡°Bloody hell, why didn¡¯t you say it earlier?!¡±

    Shi Kun was so enraged that he broke out of his usual gentleman persona and cursed out loud.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t ask us!¡±

    Yuan Wendong felt wronged as well. There¡¯s no one in the academy who doesn¡¯t know about this matter. Don¡¯t you have a powerful intelligencework? How am I to know that you hadn¡¯t heard of this?

    Shi Kun felt so suffocated that he could spurt blood. Why didn¡¯t Snow or Mei Chaofeng tell me about this? They made me embarrass myself before the entire ss! It¡¯s no wonder why the atmosphere in the ss felt a little off.

    Fortunately, with his sharp wits, it didn¡¯t take him long to find a way out of this quandary. ¡°I just transferred over today, so I¡¯m still ignorant about the affairs of this academy. Besides, you didn¡¯t introduce yourself when you entered earlier, so I don¡¯t think that I should be med for this misunderstanding.¡±

    Zu An nodded in agreement. ¡°You¡¯re right. I reckon that you would feel indignant if I punish you just like that too. Well, since that¡¯s the case, why don¡¯t we resolve this problem through arithmetic instead? I¡¯ll conduct a test today, and anyone who can¡¯t answer the question correctly will have to stand outside the ssroom. Does that sound fair?¡±

    Those words immediately shocked almost every student present in the ss. The sight of Yang Wei failing to answer even a single question correctly was still fresh in their minds.

    Oblivious to the reactions of his ssmates, Shi Kun was stunned for a moment before epting the offer right away. ¡°Yes, that sounds fine by me.¡±

    He prided himself in beingpetent in both his cultivation and academics. He didn¡¯t think that the questions Zu An came up with could possibly stump him. Besides, the bet involved not just him but everyone else in the ss. He was confident that no one else in the ss would be able to answer a question that even he couldn¡¯t answer. Surely Zu An wouldn¡¯t go to the extent of sending everyone out of the ssroom, right? His wife was amongst the crowd after all!

    ¡°Alright, listen carefully.¡± Zu An began posing his question.

    ¡°This question involves two people, A and B. A only speaks lies whereas B only speaks the truth, but the two of them can only answer questions through nodding or shaking their heads. One day, you¡¯re faced with two diverging roads, Road One and Road Two. One of them leads to the capital whereas the other one leads to a small vige. It just so happens that A and B are standing before you at this very moment, but you don¡¯t know who is A and who is B, and you don¡¯t know whether nodding means yes or no. Right now, you have to ask them a question and figure out which road leads to the capital. Given so, what¡¯s the question that you¡¯ll ask?¡±

    The students in the ssroom gasped upon hearing the question. As expected, it was indeed a tough question!

    Shi Kun was dumbstruck by what he was hearing. Even after hearing the question in full, he was still having difficulties trying toprehend what was going on. A long timeter, he finally answered with a reddened face, ¡°I don¡¯t know. However, I don¡¯t believe that any of the other students can answer the question either. I dare you to test her too!¡±

    He pointed his finger at Chu Chuyan. He felt that even if he were to get punished, as long as Chu Chuyan was by his side, that would be pretty much a blessing in disguise. If you really want to send your wife into my arms, I¡¯m more than happy to take her.

    Hearing those words, Zu An walked over to Chu Chuyan¡¯s side and looked at her quietly. At this very moment, Chu Chuyan¡¯s mind was in a fluster. She was still having difficulties trying to snap out from her earlier shock, and the question Zu An posed earlier had stumped her as well.

    One must know that she was famed as the number one prodigy of the academy for many years now, respected by all of the other students. If she couldn¡¯t even answer a question correctly here and ended up getting punished for it, her reputation would fall into shambles!

    Zu An could see her panic through her eyes, and a smile crept onto his lips. ¡°Are you ready? I¡¯ll be posing you a question now.¡±

    ¡°Go ahead.¡± Chu Chuyan had never felt so nervous before. Her mind had gonepletely nk as her mind short-circuited from trying to figure out how the earlier question was supposed to be solved.

    Then, right before everyone¡¯s eyes, Zu An asked, ¡°Your question is what does 1+1 equate to?¡±

 Chapter 105: You May Look But Donâ€™t Laugh!

    <h4>Chapter 105: You May Look But Don¡¯t Laugh!</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°What the hell? He¡¯s too shameless!¡±

    ¡°This is ridiculous!¡±

    ¡°I curse those who spread the stench of love in public to premature deaths!¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ...

    Amotion broke out in the ssroom. Were it not for the fact that Zu An was a teacher, they would have surely drowned him in their saliva by now.

    Interestingly, at odds with the fury and looks of envying from the male students, the female students had their eyes twinkling in excitement.

    ¡°Waa, how cool! If only I had such a domineering boyfriend too!¡±

    ¡°This is the kind of situation that I¡¯ve only seen in the romance novels I have read!¡±

    ¡°If someone were to protect me like that too, I think that I just might faint from bliss.¡±

    ...

    Chu Chuyan, with her sharp ears, could hear the whisperings loud and clear. A faint tinge of red had started spreading on her fair cheeks. She couldn¡¯tprehend what was going on here at all. I only haven¡¯t been to the academy for a few days. How in the world did Zu An manage to be a teacher in the academy?

    Her first thought was that everyone in the ssroom was colluding together to fool her, but she immediately refuted that line of thought. Zu An didn¡¯t have the connections to make the prodigies of the Sky ss do his bidding, especially not Shi Kun.

    Then, she remembered the bizarre look in her younger sister¡¯s eyes yesterday, which looked almost as if she was going tough out loud but was desperately holding it in. From the looks of it, it would seem that she already knew about this matter but was intentionally concealing it.

    That damnedss! She actually colluded with an outsider to prank her older sister. But... is Zu An really considered an outsider?

    Zu An looked at the Rage points flowing in, and he felt that his students were simply too cute. I¡¯ll give them a higher grade for their arithmetic scorester on... Well, except for a few people, that is. Heh, I¡¯m that petty of a person!

    Seeing that Chu Chuyan wasn¡¯t responding at all, Zu An smiled and asked, ¡°Why? Are you having difficulties with the question?¡±

    ¡°The answer is 2.¡± Chu Chuyan¡¯s face was as red as an apple.

    She had never expected things to turn out like that, but again, the earlier question was indeed beyond her ability to answer. She might be able to think of the answer if she was given more time to ruminate over it, but answering it on the spot was clearly impossible. Rather than to be sent out of the ssroom and punished for getting the wrong answer, she would rather grab onto the Zu An¡¯s helping line.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. As expected of the number one prodigy of the Sky ss. Alright, you may sit back down,¡±plimented Zu An.

    Chu Chuyan usually kept her head up high regardless of the situation. Be it her background or her capability, she had the confidence to uphold her pride before anyone else. But at this very moment, her face was lowered all the way down. It was simply too awkward!

    This fellow must be doing it on purpose! Even when other people are giving leeway, they would do it secretly so as to not get caught. Yet, this fellow goes around unting it as if he¡¯s afraid that others wouldn¡¯t know about it!

    Aspared to Chu Chuyan¡¯s overflowing embarrassment, Shi Kun felt like he was on the verge of a mental breakdown. ¡°The question you have posed is unfair!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Kun for +711 Rage!

    Zu An shot a nce at him and asked, ¡°Are you the teacher or am I the teacher?¡±

    Shi Kun red at Zu An coldly as he eximed, ¡°If you are the teacher, you shouldn¡¯t show such tant favoritism!¡±

    Zu An shrugged calmly. ¡°Since you know that I¡¯m the teacher, you should also know that it¡¯s my right to choose the question I want to ask. The questions Ie up with on the spot are random. You only have your own luck to me if you got a more difficult question.¡±

    The other students were rendered speechless. How does this fellow spout such tant lies without feeling embarrassed at all? We can all see that you¡¯re siding with your wife here, alright?

    Shi Kun still wanted to protest against this matter, but Zu An cut him off. ¡°As your teacher, I feel obliged to teach you a life lesson too. The concept of fairness doesn¡¯t exist in this world. Let¡¯s take young master Shi for example, you were born with a golden spoon in your mouth. You had the best teachers to build up your foundation from a young age, and you never had anyck of cultivation resources. Inparison,moners struggle just to make a living. Do you know how much hard work they have to put in just to obtain a single ki stone? As such, even if their aptitude is on par with you, they still end upgging behind you. Are you going to stand up for them and say that it¡¯s unfair then?¡±

    ¡°You...¡± Shi Kun was unable to refute Zu An¡¯s words.

    The students in the ssroom nodded in agreement. Most of them thought that Zu An had only be an arithmetic teacher out of his shamelessness and luck, so they looked down on him. Yet, who could have thought that he would actually be able to speak of such deep words?

    Indeed, true fairness never existed in this world. Whatever semnce of fairness that could be seen on the surface were just stability measures implemented by the ruling ss to cate the less privileged.

    Most of the students in the Sky ss came from prominent backgrounds, but there were also ordinary civilians amongst them too. They rted deeply with Zu An¡¯s words. It was luck that they were born with superior cultivation aptitude, but nevertheless, they still had to work harder than anyone else just to keep up with those who were privileged to have a strong backing. All of their experiences made them cognizant of just how unfair the world was.

    Chu Chuyan also raised her head then to look at the towering figure standing on the podium. For a moment, she found herself dazed. Is this the same man I know of? Had I been too busy with the n¡¯s affairs that I ended up neglecting him, not even trying to understand who he is as a person?

    However, the infuriated Shi Kun wasn¡¯t willing to let things rest like that. ¡°You¡¯re just forcing your twisted logic here. We can find any teacher here, and I¡¯m certain that they¡¯ll agree that the questions you have asked are biased!¡±

    Zu An shrugged. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m indeed intentionally siding with Chu Chuyan. What do you intend to do about that? If I don¡¯t side with my own wife, who else should I be siding with? You? It¡¯s not as if you¡¯re my sugarbaby. Even if I¡¯m looking for a sugarbaby, Xie Xiu over there looks much better than you!¡±

    Hearing Zu An calling her as his wife, Chu Chuyan, for the first time in her life, felt cherished and cared for. Over the years, it had always been her holding the fort for the Chu n, shelttering it from storms. It felt weird to be on the receiving end, but it warmed her heart.

    But what did that fellow mean by sugarbaby?

    Meanwhile, Xie Xiu was intending to enjoy the show quietly by the sideline. As someone from King Qi¡¯s faction, he was more than delighted to see Shi Kun from the empress¡¯ faction getting embarrassed in public. Besides, the two ns had been vying over the Chu n, so he would be more than delighted to see an esction in conflict between the two.

    Yet, who could have thought that Zu An would suddenly call his name? And furthermore, sugarbaby?

    His face immediately turned as red as an apple. His feminine appearance had always been a thorn in his heart, and no one had dared to speak about it in his presence before. Yet, when Zu An mentioned it right before the ss, he oddly found himself not being as angry as he thought he would. It just felt a little awkward and embarrassing.

    I guess this fellow has always been too crass that anything he says just feels normal at this point, that¡¯s why I don¡¯t feel too mad about his remark.

    ¡°But still, he really is a weirdo!¡± Xie Xiu might not be particrly angry about it, but he felt that there was a need to return the favor in the future.

    Meanwhile, Wu Qing¡¯s eyes widened in astonishment. It can¡¯t be that Big brother Xie Xiu has rejected me because he¡¯s in a rtionship with this fellow?

    Several images of two bodies pressed tightly against one another surfaced in her mind, causing her to shudder uncontrobly. Unable to bear the notion of it, she shot a piercing re at Zu An. This hateful fellow actually wants to steal my man, huh?!

    The star of the show, Shi Kun, looked as if someone had forced shit down his throat. Due to his beautiful appearance, there were people who had secretly called im a ¡®boy toy¡¯ behind his back jokingly, and he would always make sure to dig those people out and send them to the maker.

    Yet, he was actually being told that he was beneath Xie Xiu even as a boy toy? For some reason, that remark made him even more infuriated? Are you saying that I¡¯m less charming than him?!

    For someone who had always taken pride in his appearance, he couldn¡¯t ept this!

    ¡°Zu An, you better not go too far! I might not be able to touch you in the academy, but outside, I have plenty of ways to make you die a horrible death!¡±

    Shi Kun had never thought that he would hate a person so much. It had always been his creed to exact vengeance against anyone who dared to stand against him right away, so he had hardly any enemies around. Zu An was the only one who was still prancing around him after so long.

    To make things worse, Zu An¡¯s identity did make it a lot trickier to deal with him, even if he were to pull the connections of the Shi n too.

    Thinking up to this point, Shi Kun couldn¡¯t help but begrudge Snow for her ipetence. Why didn¡¯t you get rid of this disgusting man earlier? If only you have seeded, I wouldn¡¯t have to go through this public humiliation!

    Shi Kun¡¯s threat made Chu Chuyan¡¯s face turn cold. However, before she could say anything at all, Zu An had already begun shouting in agitation, ¡°Everyone, you must bear witness to this! That fellow said with his own mouth that he would kill me. If anything happens to me in the future, the murderer must be no other than him!¡±

    All of the students in the ssroom were pretty much numb to Zu An¡¯s shamelessness by now. They could only direct looks of sympathy toward Shi Kun.

    Shi Kun felt incredibly stifled. The anger must have really gone to his head for him to actually make such a careless remark in public.

    Then, Zu An¡¯s expression changed back to that of a stern teacher once more, and he said authoritatively, ¡°Shi Kun, you have talked back to your teacher multiple times over the course of the lesson. Going by the academy rules, I punish you to stand at the center of the field till noon.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re punishing me?¡± It was so ridiculous that Shi Kun beganughing instead. ¡°What can you do about me if I refuse to go?¡±

    With his background, he could easily study at the best academies in the capital. He couldn¡¯t care less about his candidature in a mere Brightmoon Academy.

    ¡°If you refuse, I¡¯ll report the matter to the academy. Of course, with your background, I reckon that the academy wouldn¡¯t expel you. However, you need not think about entering the Ursae Dungeon this time around.

    Zu An was curious as to why Shi Kun would suddenly appear here. Given his background as the offspring of one of the prominent ducal ns in the capital, there was no reason for him to travel all the way here just to attend Brightmoon Academy.

    Initially, he thought that Shi Kun was here for Chu Chuyan, but to go so far for a woman, even if Shi Kun was truly a devoted man, it was unlikely that the elders of the Shi n would allow him to fool around like this.

    It was then he recalled the news about the Ursae Dungeon opening in advance, and the timing of Shi Kun¡¯s arrival seemed far too exact for it to just be a coincidence.

    And just as Zu An expected, Shi Kun¡¯s smile cracked upon hearing the remark. He had indeede to Brightmoon City for the Ursae Dungeon, namely because he received reliable intelligence that an Evanescent Lotus would be blooming very soon in the dungeon. One must know that even a single leaf from it could raise one¡¯s cultivation by a step. It was hard to resist such great temptation.

    He would really be foolish if he lost this opportunity over a mere squabble with someone of the lowest level.

    So, he took a deep breath and harrumphed, ¡°I just have to stand on the field, right? Fine! I¡¯ll report today¡¯s affairs to the academy as well. I believe that the academy won¡¯t condone your wilful actions either!¡±

    ¡°Here, wear this notice around your neck.¡± Zu An suddenly pulled a wooden notice out of nowhere and passed it over to Shi Kun.

    Shi Kun was taken aback for a moment. He took a look at the words on the wooden notice, and he nearly fainted from anger.

    ¡°I, Shi Kun, have been punished to stand here for talking back to my teacher. You may look, but please do notugh.¡±

 Chapter 106: Even Though You Keep Rejecting Me

    <h4>Chapter 106: Even Though You Keep Rejecting Me</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Shi Kun¡¯s eyelids twitched uncontrobly. In truth, being punished to stand on the field was really nothing much. He was used to being in the center of attention anyway. Someone of his appearance would naturally be in the center of attention no matter where he went. With his sharp wits, he could easily turn the punishment into a fan meeting.

    He was only so infuriated because he found the idea of doing Zu An¡¯s bidding humiliating.

    However, if he had to wear this wooden notice around him, the nature of the punishment changed. It would make it as if he was a pet that was disyed in public for everyone to see.

    ¡°What do you mean by this?¡± Shi Kun red at Zu An angrily.

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Kun for +444 Rage!

    ¡°I¡¯m doing this out of consideration of your reputation,¡± replied Zu An with a smile. ¡°Just imagine how humiliating about if the Sixth Young Master of the Shi n were to be mocked by a crowd! That¡¯s why I specially prepared this wooden notice to remind them not tough. It¡¯s a show of goodwill on my part.¡±

    Goodwill, my head!

    Shi Kun felt that he was really going insane. It was then that he was reminded of another problem here. ¡°Wait a moment, when did you prepare the token? It can¡¯t be that you were nning to deal with me right from the start?¡±

    Zu An shrugged calmly. ¡°I was just preparing for it in case the need arises. Who could have known that you would be so cooperative? With how proactive you were, I¡¯d feel embarrassed if I don¡¯t bring this out.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Shi Kun.

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Kun for +813 Rage!

    The students in the ssroom waited patiently, thinking that Shi Kun would blow up on Zu An. If so, Chu Chuyan would have to step forward to protect Zu An. Perhaps, the upper echelons of the academy might even be rmed.

    Yup, this is much more interesting than attending Yang Wei¡¯s lessons. Come, bring us another dozen of such teachers!

    Chu Chuyan was also keeping a close eye on the situation. If Shi Kun were to make a move, Zu An would be in grave danger. She was prepared to step in and protect Zu An if the need arises.

    Unexpectedly, Shi Kun took a deep breath before revealing an amicable smile. ¡°Yes, I was indeed too rash to earlier that I unintentionally talked back to you. It¡¯s only right for me to be punished. Rules have to be upheld in order to ensure discipline in the academy.¡±

    Saying those words, he grabbed the wooden notice and walked out of the ssroom calmly. His movements were so elegant that he felt like an enlightened sage for a moment there.

    The eyes of a few female students in the ss immediately began to twinkle.

    ¡°Waa, how cool!¡±

    ¡°Young master Shi is truly refined like a true gentleman.¡±

    ¡°He must have lost his cool for a moment after meeting his love rival.¡±

    ¡°I never knew he was so sentimental. I¡¯m getting more and more fond of him.¡±

    ...

    Zu An was surprised. He thought that Shi Kun would fight back violently, and he had a countermeasure for that too. Unexpectedly, thetter surrendered just like that.

    Is he backing down in order to protect his reputation before his fangirls? That doesn¡¯t make sense though.

    By this moment, Shi Kun had already walked out of the ssroom, and the smile on his face immediately vanished without a trace. It was reced with coldness.

    Hmph, I got careless earlier on. I shouldn¡¯t have left such words behind. If something happens to that fellow, the suspicion would be on me. No matter how angry I am now, I have to remain aposed exterior so that I can at least shirk off responsibility if others question me in the future.

    He had already made up his mind that he would make that disgusting fellow vanish from the face of the world.

    Naturally, he wouldn¡¯t foolishly follow Zu An¡¯s and hang the wooden notice around his neck. While making his way to the field, he casually swiped his hand over the notice and erased the words on it. He tucked the wooden notice under his arms casually, and it gave him a cool impression.

    It was then that a figure suddenly appeared beside him. It was the old man who had been following him all this while. ¡°Young master, should I make a move and kill that little bastard?¡±

    Shi Kun waved his hand and replied, ¡°There¡¯s no rush. If he dies right after having a conflict with us, the suspicion will be on us. The Chu n¡¯s strength shouldn¡¯t be underestimated. If our actions push them toward King Qi¡¯s side, we would have made a huge loss.¡±

    ¡°But that bastard actually dared to treat you in such a manner. Even I feel angry just by watching it!¡± the old man harrumphed. He had seen and heard everything that happened earlier in the ssroom clearly..

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, someone else will be dealing with it. It¡¯s going to be the ns Tournament between the Chu and Yuan n tomorrow. Call Yuan Wendong overter at night... No, I shouldn¡¯t make a move myself. I¡¯ll leave it to you to think of a way to settle Yuan Wendong. Tell him to feign an ident and kill Zu An on the dueling ring tomorrow. Even at the very least, he should cripple thetter,¡± said Shi Kun coldly.

    Over the years, there hadn¡¯t a single person who had offended him who got away scot-free.

    Soon, it was the end of ss, and the students swiftly noticed Shi Kun standing on the field. Out of curiosity, they gathered around the area, intrigued as to why he was standing there. Gossip spread quickly, and it didn¡¯t take long for them to hear that Shi Kun was being punished for talking back to his teacher in the ssroom.

    Many of Shi Kun¡¯s fangirls immediately flew into a state of rage.

    ¡°That Zu An is too shameless! Isn¡¯t he openly picking on young master Shi?¡±

    ¡°Indeed! Teacher like him is actually being openly biased toward his wife. He gave Chu Chuyan such a simple question only to make things hard for young master Shi. I¡¯m going to report him for this!¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Yes, we should report him together!¡±

    ...

    Compared to the indignant female students, the male students took it much better. Ever since Shi Kun arrived, all of these women seemed to have gotten into a frenzy, which displeased them by quite a bit. Thus, they were more than d to see Shi Kun ced in such an embarrassing position.

    There were quite a few of them who wanted to take this opportunity to mock Shi Kun, but before they could get close, they were already forced to retreat by a powerful aura.

    ¡°Scram!¡± the old man beside Shi Kun spat coldly.

    The students found themselves shuddering uncontrobly in the face of the old man, and it was only then that they were reminded of the fact that Shi Kun was someone whom they couldn¡¯t afford to offend. So, they quickly backed off.

    Over in the staff office, Disciple Master Lu De¡¯s gazed down at the field as his eyes narrowed slightly.

    I can¡¯t gauge the extent of that old man¡¯s strength. Are even the servants of the Shi n that powerful? It looks like I¡¯ve been underestimating the umtion of the Shi n. It¡¯s indeed best not to get involved with those prominent ns. Hmph! It feels like trouble keeps rolling in ever since Zu An arrived at the academy!

    Meanwhile, Zu An was marveling at how fast Rage points were being delivered into his ount. It¡¯s no wonder why there are so many boy bands in my previous life. Women sure don¡¯t hold back anything for their idols!

    ¡°Brother-inw, brother-inw! How did my big sister react earlier during your lesson? Hurry up and tell me about it!¡± Chu Huanzhao dashed over to Zu An¡¯s sight excitedly. She was initially intending on skipping ss to peek at the scene with her own eyes, but she stumbled upon Lu De as soon as she walked out of the ssroom. Horrified, she could only quickly returned back in and wait impatiently until the end of the ss.

    Nevertheless, her curiosity had been tickling her heart all this while, so she rushed out as soon as the ss was over.

    ¡°How could you collude with this fellow to dupe?!¡± The expectant look on Chu Huanzhao¡¯s face immediately left Chu Chuyan fuming once more. She reached out to grab her little sister by her ear.

    ¡°Hehehe, it looks like my big sister must have shown quite an interesting reaction back there!¡± Chu Huanzhao immediately sought refuge behind Zu An as she eximed excitedly.

    Chu Chuyan red at her in annoyance before slowly turning her gaze back to Zu An with intrigue in her eyes. ¡°How did you manage to be an arithmetic teacher?¡±

    She simply couldn¡¯t have imagined how such a turn of affairs happened.

    ¡°I still have plenty of surprises waiting for you to uncover,¡± replied Zu An gleefully.

    Chu Chuyan chuckled softly. ¡°Yes, you did surprise me today. However, now that you have openly offended the Sixth Young Master of the Shi n, you might face danger in the future.¡±

    ¡°What can I do when that fellow covets my wife? If I don¡¯t teach him a lesson, he might just climb all over me!¡± Zu An harrumphed..

    ¡°Who¡¯s your wife!¡± Chu Chuyan¡¯s face reddened. However, as soon as those words came out of her mouth, she suddenly remembered the current rtionship between the two of them and sighed deeply. It looks like I still haven¡¯t managed to get used to my new identity.

    ¡°Anyway, you should be careful for the time being. Try to stay by my side if possible lest Shi Kun sends someone to deal with you,¡± reminded Chu Chuyan.

    ¡°Honey, even though you keep rejecting me, it seems like you still care about my safety,¡± remarked Zu An with a smile.

    ¡°I told you not to call me that!¡± Chu Chuyan red sharply at him. ¡°I just don¡¯t want you toe to harm because of me.¡±

    Zu An nced at Shi Kun at afar and smiled, ¡°Rest assured, he probably won¡¯t send anyone after me in the next two days. It¡¯s going to be the ns Tournament the day after tomorrow anyway. Since he can kill me openly on the dueling ring, there¡¯s no reason for him to do something excessive.¡±

    Thinking from Shi Kun¡¯s standpoint, he would surely choose to make a move on himself during the ns Tournament.

    Chu Chuyan fell into deep thought as she realized what Zu An said made sense too. She raised her head, only to be faced with Zu An¡¯s confident expression. At that very moment, she suddenly felt that he was very different from how she thought him out to be.

    Nothing worthy of note happened afterward, and the day passed by quickly. When sses were finally over for the day, Zu An wanted to head to Shang Liuyu¡¯s residence to return the recording seashell to her. However, looking at the two sisters standing beside him, he changed his mind.

    It didn¡¯t feel like a wise move to talk about another woman before them.

    They left the academy and got onto their carriages. Under the escort of the Chu n¡¯s guards, they returned to the Chu Estate. Cheng Shouping hade to fetch Zu An, as usual, only to find himself abandoned outside.

    Usually, I¡¯d at least be able to walk with the young master and the second miss, but now I can only trail behind them. Ahhh, it feels like the first miss isn¡¯t as approachable as the second miss. If only the young master married the second miss...

    However, he soon thought about it from another perspective.

    If the young master and the first miss get closer with one another, a day wille that he bes officially acknowledged as the son-inw of the Chu n. By then, my standing will rise as well. Hmmm, if the young master marries the second miss too, will my standing rise even higher?

    Cheng Shouping quickly stifled those thoughts.

    You must be joking! The young master is just a little better looking and luckier than me. Other than that, there¡¯s nothing he¡¯s really better than me at. How could something like that possibly ur to him?

    Dinnertime, Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru called them over once more, hoping to talk to them about the ns Tournament tomorrow.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but think of how things had changed from when he first arrived here. Back then, he could only eat his meal all alone in his room, but now, he was frequently joining them at the main table. On top of that, Chu Chuyan seemed to have smiled at him several times today.

    Pui pui pui, why am I getting so happy over just a few smiles? I¡¯d really be a good-for-nothing if I get satisfied with just this much!

    Zu An eventually concluded that it was all because Chu Chuyan was too pretty. Humans were visual creatures, so it couldn¡¯t be helped that he would sumb easily to someone as beautiful as Chu Chuyan.

    But speaking of which, I¡¯m quite good-looking too. Why doesn¡¯t my wife drool in my presence then? This doesn¡¯t make sense!

    While Zu An was still in his daze, Chu Huanzhao had already begun chattering off about how Zu An had be an arithmetic teacher in the academy, though she did exaggerate some of the details. Honestly, she felt that she was going to blow up from bottling up such explosive gossip for so long that it felt great to vent it out.

    ¡°It really is heartening to hear that Zu An has managed to be the arithmetic teacher of Brightmoon Academy!¡± Chu Zhongtian smiled from the bottom of his heart. He thought that it was a pity that his son-inw was a good-for-nothing, but it turned out that he was good-for-something after all. Needless to say, this was something worth celebrating.

    Qin Wanru was surprised to hear the news too. She stared at Zu An for a while, but the images of theckadaisical man sitting before her and a teacher of the academy simply wouldn¡¯t ovep. It just so happened that Zu An giggled at that moment too, which somehow irked her. So, she ended up harrumphing, ¡°To think that you would get so gleeful just because you became an arithmetic teacher! In the first ce, you are just a temporary teacher who would be reced once the royal court appoints a new teacher over. Furthermore, based on what I''ve heard from Huanzhao, you picked on young master Shi in ss? Aren¡¯t you getting ahead of yourself just because you have managed to grasp onto some power? You¡¯re really a disappointment!¡±

    Zu An could only shake his head helplessly. I sure am unlucky to get a mother-inw who picks faults with whatever I do.

    Seeing this, Chu Huanzhao couldn¡¯t help but stand up for Zu An, ¡°Mother, it was Shi Kun who went overboard today. You shouldn¡¯t me brother-inw for this. Right now, I¡¯m more worried that someone will try to hurt Zu An on the dueling ring tomorrow.¡±

 Chapter 107: The Sharp-witted Brat

    <h4>Chapter 107: The Sharp-witted Brat</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Try to hurt him?¡± Qin Wanru was taken aback. She instinctively responded in turn, ¡°What¡¯s so great about him that someone would try to hurt him? Instead of thinking about these meaningless things, why don¡¯t you focus on the fight against the Yuan n tomorrow?¡±

    Chu Chuyan looked a little conflicted at Qin Wanru¡¯s words, hesitating whether she should talk about the matter.

    Chu Huanzhao, on the other hand, was not as patient. ¡°Mother, do you know that Yuan Wendong has already publicly dered that he would cripple my brother-inw during the ns Tournament? As if that wasn¡¯t enough, my brother-inw also riled up Shi Kun today. I can tell that Shi Kun is a narrow-minded fellow, so he would surely try to exact his vengeance here!¡±

    To that, Qin Wanru answered, ¡°Isn¡¯t it perfect that Yuan Wendong has fallen for our n? As for Zu An¡¯s safety, we won¡¯t have to worry about that since we won¡¯t be needing him to get on the dueling ring in the end. Besides, your father and I will be there too. Do you think that we would watch quietly as that Yuan fellow harmed Zu An?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just afraid that the Yuan n has some other ns in mind. For some reason, I¡¯ve been feeling a little jittery about this,¡± said Chu Chuyan.

    ¡°Yes, it would be best to be careful. We¡¯ll have Hong Xingying take the first match. He¡¯s one of the stronger ones in his generation, and he¡¯s not the strongest one in our Chu n either. It would be apt to have him take the first match and try out the Yuan n,¡± said Chu Zhongtian. ¡°I¡¯ve called them back a few days ago in order to train them. I don¡¯t think they would be too much problem dealing with the Yuan n or the Wu n.¡±

    Zu An thought about how regretful he was when he didn¡¯t see Hong Xingying in ss earlier today, but it turned out that he had been called back for special training.

    Qin Wanru turned to Zu An and said, ¡°I know that you have your differences with Hong Xingying. I don¡¯t care how the two of you are usually, but you aren¡¯t to provoke him tomorrow lest he performs less than satisfactory due to his mood.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao couldn¡¯t stand the favoritism going on. ¡°Mother, my brother-inw is going to fight tomorrow too! Shouldn¡¯t you care about his mood too?¡±

    Qin Wanru rolled her eyes. ¡°He¡¯s just there to stall Yuan Wendong. He won¡¯t even need to get on the field!¡±

    Chu Zhongtian burst intoughter, saying, ¡°Zu An, you don¡¯t have to get too worried. If it ever gets to your turn, you can just admit defeat.¡±

    Even an honest man like Chu Zhongtian was agreeing with his wife¡¯s view.

    Zu An was already used to this, so he replied with a smile, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. If I do need to fight tomorrow, it would mean that the Chu n is in a dangerous position. If so, I¡¯ll try my best to turn things around.¡±

    He felt that it was all fate that he was queued at the veryst. After all, the star of the show usually made their appearance at the very back, right?

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Pui! Shouldn¡¯t you say something nicer here?¡± Qin Wanru red at Zu An, unhappy at how he was speaking such inauspicious words.

    Feeling irked, she turned to her second daughter and said, ¡°Huanzhao, instead of worrying about others, you should worry about yourself instead. You spend your days idling and fooling around, resulting in your cultivation reaching only the third rank thus far. You¡¯ll be the secondst one to go up tomorrow. Your older sister should be able to settle the tournament in the first few matches, so hopefully, you wouldn¡¯t have to join the battle and get hurt.¡±

    ¡°Orh~¡± Chu Huanzhao pouted in dissatisfaction. However, the thought that she was right in front of her brother-inw lifted her mood a little.

    Chu Zhongtian turned to Chu Chuyan and said, ¡°Tomorrow, you, Hong Xingying, Yue Shan, Chu Hongcai, and Chu Yucheng will be going up. These five matches should be a takeaway. As long as we take another match aside from those, we should be able to clinch the victory.¡±

    Zu An secretly tugged Chu Huanzhao sleeves and asked softly, ¡°Who¡¯s Chu Hongcai and Chu Yucheng?¡±

    Chu Huanzhao raised her head to nce at her mother and big sister, acting almost as if a student checking out whether the teacher was paying attention to her, before quickly exining the situation to Zu An, ¡°Chu Hongcai is the son of my second uncle, serving as the vice-captain of our guards. He was responsible for protecting our n¡¯s spirit creek, but it ended up getting polluted the other day. Out of reproach, he has been reflecting quietly on it over the days, which is why you don¡¯t see him around.

    ¡°As for Chu Yucheng, he¡¯s the son of my third uncle. He has a chubby appearance that was quite cute when he was younger, but he simply became fat once he grew up. There¡¯s nothing particrly special about him.¡±

    Zu An nced at Chu Zhongtian. The second branch and third branch all bore sons, but all of you have are daughters. It looks like you aren¡¯t putting in enough effort.

    It was not that Zu An was discriminating against women, but for prominent ns, it was important for them to bear sons for the sake of their inheritance. If Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru were to have sons, they wouldn¡¯t have needed to sacrifice Chu Chuyan to marry him at the start.

    Hmmm, then I actually should be thanking my father-inw for failing in that responsibility then!

    It was also about this moment that Qin Wanru noticed their interactions, and her face immediately frowned in displeasure. ¡°Huanzhao, if you¡¯re done with dinner, you should head off to your room right away. You need to get plenty of sleep so as to not affect your performance tomorrow.¡±

    Just what¡¯s wrong with my two daughters? How can their eyes be that bad? It¡¯s one thing for my older daughter to marry Zu An¡ªshe was going for an average person in the first ce¡ªbut what¡¯s going on with my second daughter? Why is she getting closer and closer to Zu An?

    Chu Huanzhao murmured in displeasure, ¡°Didn¡¯t you just say that you don¡¯t need me on the field tomorrow?¡±

    However, when she found herself with her mother¡¯s raging eyes, she could only reluctantly return back to her room.

    Qin Wanru then turned to look at Zu An. ¡°You should return too. We still need to discuss the details regarding tomorrow¡¯s tournament.¡±

    Her attitude made it clear that Zu An was unqualified to participate in the discussions. In the first ce, Zu An¡¯s only duty here was to tie down Yuan Wendong, so there was no need for him to participate in the discussions.

    Zu An shrugged calmly in response. There¡¯s nothing meaningful here anyway. I might as well head back earlier.

    As he closed the door, he could vaguely hear some wordsing from within.

    ¡°The one who is the most formidable in the Yuan n should be Yuan Wendong. The others aren¡¯t a threat at all. As for the Wu n, most of their juniors aren¡¯t able topete with us, so they aren¡¯t a threat either...¡±

    As soon as Zu An walked out from the hall, Cheng Shouping rushed forward to his side with a fawning smile. ¡°Young master, did you have a pleasant meal?¡±

    Seeing this, Zu An suddenly felt that it wasn¡¯t that bad to have such an attendant by his side. An idea flickered across his mind, and he grabbed Cheng Shouping¡¯s shoulder and pulled him over to the side. ¡°For the ns Tournament tomorrow, are there any bets going on in the city?¡±

    Cheng Shouping nodded in response. ¡°There are. It looks like most people are more optimistic about our Chu n. They¡¯re staking their bets on our first miss¡¯ win...¡±

    Zu An quickly interjected, ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about the others. What¡¯s my current payout ratio?¡±

    Cheng Shouping had a bizarre look on his face as he raised a single finger up.

    ¡°1:10?¡± Zu An frowned. ¡°It¡¯s a bit low, but I guess it¡¯s not too bad.¡±

    He was just about to grab some banknotes from his robe when Cheng Shouping interrupted him, ¡°Young master, it¡¯s not 1:10 but 1:100.¡±

    Cheng Shouping thought that the prideful young master would be angered, but surprisingly, thetter beganughing heartily. ¡°1:100? Hahahaha! It looks like heaven is on my side! I¡¯m going to strike it rich!¡±

    Cheng Shouping blinked his eyes in bewilderment. What¡¯s going on? Did the young master suffered too many shocks recently and went insane?

    Zu An suddenly noticed another problem and hurriedly asked, ¡°Who are the dealers? It can¡¯t be just the Silverhook Casino, right?¡±

    The Silverhook Casino couldn¡¯t pay him the 7,500,000 silver taels it owed him previously. It was unlikely that they could fork out the money to pay him if he were to make a killing from them once more.

    Toward that, Cheng Shouping shook his head and replied, ¡°Nah. The Silverhook Casino have suffered a huge blow from the loss against you back then. Their finances are in trouble, and they have sullied their reputation as well. Their business is doing badly at the moment. The other ns in the city are making use of this opportunity to silently push out their own gambling business.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°That sounds perfect! Here is 20,000 silver taels. I want you to bet on my victory!¡±

    A momentter, he changed his mind and took back 10,000 silver taels. ¡°Forget it, it¡¯ll do for you just to buy 10,000 taels.¡±

    Based on what he had seen thus far, this world was tragically horrible in mathematics. That could be easily seen from the payout rates in casinos. They didn¡¯t put in ce safeguard measures against freak idents, such that if someone were to really luck out, he could potentially bankrupt the casino. The previous incident between him and the Silverhook Casino was one perfect example.

    Zu An was worried that the same would happen this time around. Instead of risking the casino defaulting on the payment altogether, he would rather reduce his winning to something that the casino was still able to ept. This way, he would at least be able to get his money. So, he chose to just bet 10,000 silver taels.

    However, Cheng Shouping flew into a fluster upon hearing those words. ¡°Young master, you shouldn¡¯t squander money away like that even if you have the means to do so!¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t know anything at all. Just do as I say! It¡¯s not convenient for me to head out right now, so I need you to do it in my ce,¡± Zu An harrumphed.

    Cheng Shouping grumbled under his breath, ¡°If you¡¯re really that confident, why did you take 10,000 silver taels back then? Would anyone be worried about winning too much money? In the end, you¡¯re just afraid of losing and want to cut your losses.¡±

    ¡°What did you say?¡± Zu An red sharply at Cheng Shouping.

    ¡°N-nothing much!¡± Cheng Shouping replied with a beaming smile. ¡°Young master, the Chu n strictly forbids gambling. I dare not to break its rules.¡±

    ¡°All you have to do is to make sure that no one finds out, no?¡± Zu An stuffed a hundred silver taels into Cheng Shouping¡¯s clothes. ¡°Here, this is your bonus for running an errand for me. I¡¯ll give you some dividends after I earn some money from the bet.¡±

    Cheng Shouping¡¯s eyes lit up. His attitude made a 180-degrees change right away. ¡°Sure thing! I¡¯ll get it done right away!¡±

    With that, he rushed right out of the room.

    Zu An was surprised at just how motivated he was. That fellow won¡¯t try to run away with my money, right? But again, the servants in this world have a contract on them, and the outside world is dangerous too. He doesn¡¯t have anywhere to run to.

    ...

    Meanwhile, Cheng Shouping made his way toward the casino while deep in thought.

    Our young master simply wanted to bet 10,000 silver taels on himself because he¡¯s dissatisfied with how everyone looks down on him. He has 7,500,000 silver taels on him anyway, so losing 10,000 silver taels is no big deal.

    However, as the young master¡¯s studypanion, it¡¯s my duty to share his worries. How can I watch as he loses money? Alright, I¡¯ll bet on the young master¡¯s opponent winning then! By then, when the young master loses the duel but still receives the money, he¡¯ll praise me for my sharp wits!

    Hahaha, I sure am sharp!

    Meanwhile, Zu An returned back to his residence, only to leap in shock. He realized that Old Mi was waiting for him inside.

    ¡°Elder, you¡¯re here.¡± Zu An was as obedient as a man could be at this very moment. He didn¡¯t dare to put on his usual unruly act at all.

    Old Mi nodded in response before saying, ¡°You progressed too quickly previously that I forgot to remind you. You mustn¡¯t use the Sunflower Phantasm I taught you unless ites to a desperate situation. Otherwise, it will likely bring you danger.¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Zu An was rendered speechless.

    I spent so much effort to learn my ¡®Bixie Swordy¡¯, but all of a sudden, I can¡¯t use it anymore?

 Chapter 108: Secret Plans

    <h4>Chapter 108: Secret ns</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Old Mi was feeling quite blue-balled at the situation. Ah, that¡¯s not right since I don¡¯t have my balls anymore. Well, just something like that.

    He only taught Sunflower Phantasm to Zu An because it wasn¡¯t easy for him to find a suitable cauldron, so he didn¡¯t want thetter toe to any mishap before he finally possessed thetter.

    However, he didn¡¯t expect Zu An to actually grasp the Sunflower Phantasm so quickly. There were nine levels to the Sunflower Phantasm, and the first level allowed one to maneuver freely even amidst the encirclement of cultivators of the same rank. Even if the opponent was a rank or two higher than him, there would be nothing to fear at all. If one could master it to the ninth level, even Masters would find it hard to nick one¡¯s sleeves.

    Most people would take several months just to grasp the first level, so Old Mi thought that several nights of effort learning the Sunflower Phantasm would just barely give Zu An the ability to protect himself during the ns Tournament.

    However, Zu An was unexpectedly talented in the movement skill, mastering the first level in a huff. In fact, he might have already reached the second level even. If he were to use it on the dueling ring tomorrow, it could spell trouble for Old Mi. While it was unlikely for anyone to be able to identify this movement skill in Brightmoon City, it was still better to be safe than sorry.

    The more Old Mi thought about it, the more nervous he felt. So, he decided toe over to warn Zu An in advance.

    Seeing that Zu An was shocked by what he had said, he carried on, ¡°I¡¯ll teach you another trick to alter the ki pathway a little. That way, it won¡¯t be easy for others to see through the origin of your movement skill.¡±

    Zu An was delighted to hear that. ¡°Elder, you¡¯re incredible! I didn¡¯t know you have the ability to change such a formidable movement skill so easily!¡±

    In his heart, however, he was rmed to know that his movement skill was a taboo in the world of cultivation. He was reminded of how Old Mi had warned him that he mustn¡¯t reveal the name of his movement skill, and now he was worried about him executing it too, even going to the extent ofing over to make some modifications. Just what could Old Mi be hiding here?

    I must be more careful, or else I might just get done in by him one day.

    While Zu An was practicing the newly revised version of Sunflower Phantasm, Cheng Shouping strolled by the major casinos in the city before finally choosing one that had a slightly higher payout for Zu An¡¯s loss.

    ¡°If he knows that I changed his bet, would he beat me to death?¡± Cheng Shouping suddenly hesitated a little.

    However, he soon persuaded himself otherwise.

    I¡¯m only doing this out of concern for the young master so that he doesn¡¯t lose his money along with his pride. There are some things that our masters cannot say to us as it undermines their pride, and it¡¯s at times like this that we servants have to deduce their true intention.

    To this day, he still couldn¡¯t understand why the Madam got angry at him when she said that she would bring in some concubines for the Master and he caringly brought a bunch ofdies in for her to choose from.

    Anyway, having convinced himself that this was the right thing to date, he betted all 10,000 silver taels on Zu An¡¯s loss.

    Shortly after he left, a man and a woman walked out of the casino. The man had a tall and dashing appearance whereas the woman looked dignified and elegant. They looked like a good pair.

    ¡°Young master, young miss.¡±

    The attendant who was in charge of receiving bets bowed to the couple. If Zu An was here, he would have immediately recognized the two of them to be familiar faces.

    The man was no other than Sang Qian, and the woman was Zheng Dan.

    ¡°Are you sure that man is Zu An¡¯s studypanion?¡± Sang Qian looked at Cheng Shouping¡¯s departing silhouette as he asked with a deep voice.

    After the mishap at Silverhook Casino, he secretly supported the Zheng n to establish a new casino in the city. The Zheng n was already dabbling in the gambling business, and the timely support from the Sang n further reinforced its foundation, allowing them to swiftly rise to power.

    ¡°Yes, he definitely is,¡± the attendant replied. ¡°His name is Cheng Shouping, and he¡¯s Zu An only servant.¡±

    ¡°He betted on Zu An¡¯s loss earlier?¡± Sang Qian couldn¡¯t believe what he was hearing.

    ¡°Yes, he betted 10,000 silver taels on it,¡± reported the attendant.

    Zheng Dan frowned. ¡°How could a servant like him possibly have 10,000 silver taels? He must have done it under Zu An¡¯s instructions. Still, I didn¡¯t expect Zu An to actually bet on his own loss.¡±

    Sang Qianughed heartily. ¡°After how he kept provoking Yuan Wendong time and time again, we thought that he might actually have some trump card up his sleeves, so we made sure to keep an eye out for his movements. Yet, who could have thought that he has already resigned himself to his loss? Hah, I guess we were expecting too much out of someone who came from the streets. Even after bing the young master of the Chu n, he still can¡¯t kick off his habit of taking small little advantages.¡±

    Zheng Dan frowned a little upon hearing those words as she thought about the gentlemanly young man who refused to take advantage of her despite her attempts at seduction, as well as the imposing fellow who overwhelmed everyone who stood in his way.

    All of the evidence she had seen thus far showed that Zu An was not an ordinary person.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Send someone to inform Shi Kun that his worry is unfounded. That fellow is not a threat at all,¡± said Sang Qian with a smile. ¡°Also, make sure to tamper with the bet the studypanion made earlier on.¡±

    The attendant nodded in response, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve already tampered with it. The bet paper was written using special ink. Tomorrow, the surface ink will recede, and the underlyingyer will surface. It¡¯ll show as him betting for Zu An¡¯s victory instead.¡±

    ¡°Well done!¡±plimented Sang Qian. ¡°You want to recoup your loss on the dueling ring through your bet? Dream on, I won¡¯t allow you!¡±

    All of a sudden, he remembered something and frowned, ¡°Wait a moment, why did that fellow only bet 10,000 silver taels? Doesn¡¯t he have much more money than that?¡±

    Zheng Dan put on a tender smile and said, ¡°Big brother Sang, have you forgotten? Most of what he earned from Silverhook Casino is just an empty cheque. He can¡¯t possibly take it out to gamble.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Sang Qian nodded. ¡°Even so, he should have 40,000 to 50,000 on him at the moment. Yet, he could only bring himself to take out 10,000 silver taels for this bet. I guess he simply can¡¯t rid himself of the miserly nature he picked up from the street.¡±

    Zheng Dan found herself disagreeing with Sang Qian¡¯s words. Somehow, she couldn¡¯t associate that man she had been trying to seduce with the word ¡®miserly¡¯. She hesitated for a moment before saying, ¡°Is it possible that he¡¯s spreading his bet over several casinos?¡±

    Sang Qian nodded in realization. ¡°Yes, that is possible. Send someone to look into it right away. He might be betting a smaller amount on our side to make us put our guard down while betting more elsewhere.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think he has the connections to know that this casino is under us,¡± said Zheng Dan.

    ¡°While the possibility is low, it¡¯s better for us to be safe than sorry,¡± said Sang Qian. ¡°Now that we¡¯re talking about him, what¡¯s your progress with him so far?¡±

    Zheng Dan¡¯s face reddened. She shook her head and said, ¡°I¡¯ve had two encounters with him thus far, but I can¡¯t figure out where he¡¯s hiding the debt note at.¡±

    She had searched him from head to toe, but she wasn¡¯t able to find the debt note anywhere. Where could he be hiding it? Could it be in the Chu n?

    ¡°You need to hurry up with that. As long as we can get our hands on the debt note, we¡¯ll be able to put the Silverhook Casino and the Plum Blossom Sect under our control anytime we want,¡± said Sang Qian.

    ¡°I know that.¡± Zheng Dan wondered if she should find a chance to drop by the Chu n, but she knew that such a move could incur the suspicion of the Chu n.

    ¡°Did that fellow take advantage of you?¡± Sang Qian suddenly asked suspiciously while eyeing him nervously.

    Zheng Dan immediately thought of the rough sensation of Zu An¡¯s hands on her thigh, and her heart skipped a beat. However, she maintained a poker face and replied calmly, ¡°Rest assured, how could I possibly allow that fellow to take advantage of me?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Sang Qian heaved a sigh of relief.

    ...

    Meanwhile, in the Yuan n, a group of people was sitting in a secret meeting room with grave looks on their faces. Someone knocked on the door, and Yuan Wendong headed out for a while. When he finally returned, there was a smile on his face.

    ¡°Sang Qian just sent news that Zu An has no trump cards at all. He secretly betted on his own loss.¡±

    The crowd burst intoughter. They turned to look at the beautiful woman sporting a ponytail and said, ¡°As I told you, Miss Snow, you¡¯re getting too worried over nothing!¡±

    Needless to say, the young woman was Snow. It wasn¡¯t convenient for Shi Kun to make a move himself, so he sent her over toe into contact with the Yuan n to warn them.

    ¡°He betted on his own loss?¡± Snow was confused.

    Others might not know better, but she knew deep well that Zu An had been hiding his true abilities thus far.

    ¡°Young master Yuan, you should still be careful tomorrow. Even though Zu An is only a third rank cultivator, his fighting prowess far surpasses that. You mustn¡¯t let your guard down.¡±

    Snow was reminded of how she failed her assassination attempt on Zu An despite going all out. While part of the reason was due to the sudden stomachache she had, Zu An¡¯s surprisingly great strength yed a huge part in that too.

    However, Yuan Wendong shrugged off her concerns, saying, ¡°No matter how powerful he is, isn¡¯t he just a third rank cultivator? No matter what he tries to pull, there¡¯s no way he can turn the tables against a fifth rank cultivator like me!¡±

    The others agreed with Yuan Wendong¡¯s words. In their view, there was a limit to how powerful a third rank cultivator could be.

    One of the elders in the secret meeting room chirped in, ¡°If Zu An has no trump cards prepared, aren¡¯t we making a mountain out of a molehill to send our young master after him? It seems like an awful waste.¡±

    ¡°That bastard Zu An has humiliated me many times now. I have to settle the grudge with him, or else others might just take me for a pushover. Besides, even though that fellow appears to be a wastrel, his capability definitely far surpasses what he shows on the surface. He might have some ideas in mind. Even Miss Snow hase all the way here to warn us that he isn¡¯t as simple as we think him out to be, so I believe that there¡¯s a need to be warier.

    ¡°In any case, I¡¯ll make sure I trample him into the ground tomorrow. I¡¯ll show him that a good-for-nothing will always be a good-for-nothing. He might have thought that he¡¯s smart for concealing his true ability, but I¡¯ll show him that his little tricks are nothing more than jokes before true prodigies like me!¡±

    ¡°But if you were to go up against him, the rest of us might not be enough to deal with the experts of the Chu n,¡± someone said worriedly.

    ¡°Rest assured, we have someone to deal with Chu Chuyan. May I invite Mister Wu in!¡± Yuan Wendong stood up as he gestured toward the wall by the side.

    The wall slowly opened, and a middle-aged man slowly walked in. Even theposed Snow couldn¡¯t help but pale in astonishment. This pressure... This fellow is a sixth rank cultivator?

    Yuan Wendong bowed at the middle-aged man before introducing him to the crowd, ¡°May I introduce to you Elder Wu Di from the Wu n. He¡¯s a sixth rank cultivator. No matter how powerful Chu Chuyan is, she¡¯s still no more than a fifth rank cultivator. As all of us know, there¡¯s a huge gap between the fifth rank and the sixth rank. With his help, we¡¯ll surely be able to win the battle tomorrow!¡±

    A fifth rank cultivator would be able to tap into the elemental energies of the world whereas a sixth rank cultivator could morph them into a defensiveyer around him. This enhancement in ability was more than enough for any sixth rank cultivator to defeat any fifth rank cultivator.

    The Yuan n was overjoyed to see that a sixth rank cultivator was going to join their line-up. With this, they were certain of their victory.

    However, Snow couldn¡¯t help but pose a doubt, ¡°This is the ns Tournament. Both sides are sending their juniors down. Considering this elder¡¯s age, putting aside the Chu n, even the city lord wouldn¡¯t agree to it.¡±

 Chapter 109: You Think I Wouldnâ€™t Recognize You Just Because Youâ€™re Wearing a Hat?

    <h4>Chapter 109: You Think I Wouldn¡¯t Recognize You Just Because You¡¯re Wearing a Hat?</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Miss Snow, you need not worry. We¡¯ve already made preparations in advance,¡± Yuan Wendong said with a smile. He took out a mask that was as thin as a cicada¡¯s wing and said, ¡°This is a mask made by one of the runemasters hired by our n. With this, he¡¯ll be able to disguise himself as a young man.¡±

    One of the main reasons why the Yuan n dared to challenge the Chu n was because they had the backing of the Wu n. The Wu n had dispatched a group of experts to assist them in the ns Tournament.

    While both the Yuan n and Chu n knew what was going on, there was still a need to keep up the pretense. Otherwise, if the crowd were to recognize that everyone on the Yuan n¡¯s side was actually from the Wu n, they would be embarrassed too.

    In order to solve this problem, the Yuan n and the Wu n figured out a solution, and that was to have their runemasters craft a batch of masks to disguise their identities. These masks looked identical to a human¡¯s face, making it impossible to tell the difference unless one stared at it up close.

    As soon as the middle-aged man named Wu Di put on the mask, he turned into a cold-faced youth. The crowd assessed him from multiple angles, but they were unable to find anything that could give away his identity.

    Snow was both amazed and horrified at the same time. ¡°With such masks, wouldn¡¯t you be able to impersonate anyone you want to?¡±

    If someone were to impersonate her young master, wouldn¡¯t she be unable to tell the difference too?

    Toward that, Yuan Wendong shook his head and replied, ¡°How could it be that easy to impersonate another person? No matter how well made the mask is, it can only alter a person¡¯s appearance. Impersonation requires far greater skill than that, such as imitating the voice, gestures, and everything else.¡±

    In truth, Yuan Wendong had the same thoughts in mind when he first saw the mask. He thought that he could turn into anyone he wanted and strut right into another house and sleep with another man''s wife.

    But how could there be something that convenient in the world?

    Snow calmed down a little after hearing those words. She turned her attention back to the ns Tournament, thinking that given how confident Yuan Wendong was about this matter, even if Zu An survived the ordeal by some stroke of luck, he would end up crippled at the very least.

    What a pity that I¡¯m not making a move myself!

    Just thinking about how her maidenly body had been sullied by that despicable fellow made her bite down on her lips hatefully.

    ...

    ¡°Ah choo~¡±

    Zu An sneezed. Now, which beautifuldy is thinking about me this time around?

    For thest few hours, Old Mi made him practice the modified version of the Sunflower Phantasm, and only after ensuring that it had been distorted to a point where it couldn¡¯t be recognized anymore did he finally leave with a contented smile on his face.

    With this, Zu An finally had some time to himself. Hey down on his bed to look at the Rage points he had collected in total.

    Hmm, 27,489, huh? That¡¯s less than I thought.

    While it looked like a substantial amount, the disastrous sess rate of the lottery meant that it was unlikely for him to obtain anything much.

    And as if the world was determined to prove him right, what he received subsequently were ¡®Thanks for participating¡¯ and 27 Ki Fruits. As for skills and artifacts, they had done well avoiding Zu An this time around.

    ¡°I knew that I shouldn¡¯t have bore any expectations!¡± Zu An harrumphed indignantly.

    Nevertheless, he still swallowed the 27 Ki Fruits right away.

    The fourth formation requires 233 Ki Fruits in total, so he only managed to fill a tenth of it in total despite his efforts. While mumbling grudgeful words toward the keyboard, he gradually drifted off to sleep...

    By the time Cheng Shouping returned, Zu An was already fast asleep, so he didn¡¯t interrupt him. He decided to tell Zu An about the matter after thetter lost the duel tomorrow.

    Hehe, the young master would surely be upset after losing the battle. If I take out the bet paper then and show him that I managed to win some money for him, he would surely be delighted. At least, that would assuage his hurt soul.

    I wonder how much money would the young master bestow upon me then...

    ...

    Soon, it was finally the day for the ns Tournament. In order to ensure fairness, both ns decided to hold it in an empty lot in the middle of the city.

    Many of the juniors of prominent ns in Brightmoon City gathered around the area early in the morning, wanting to join in the raremotion. It wasn''t every day that one got to see the juniors of two prominent ns sparring with one another. Even if not to join in themotion, they could also potentially pick up a thing or two from the battle, and that would make their trip here more than worth the effort and time.

    Naturally, the Chu n and Yuan n arrived the earliest as the juniors who were participating in the duelter on had to familiarize themselves with the fighting grounds.

    As for Zu An, who was there just to fill up the slots, everyone implicitly thought that it didn¡¯t matter whether he came in advance or not. Zu An himself also didn¡¯t have the self-awareness of a participant of the tournament either, so it never crossed his mind that he should try to familiarize himself with the grounds. Instead, he sat on a chair while ncing around, seemingly marveling at the grandeur of the event.

    Taking all of this into sight, Qin Wanru couldn¡¯t help but frown at how much of a bumpkin he was being. However, in view that they were in public right now, it wouldn¡¯t be proper for her to reprimand him before everyone else. So, she could only harrumph coldly and turn her head away.

    This was the first time Zu An was seeing the sons from the second branch and third branch.

    The second branch¡¯s Chu Hongcai looked like an outstanding young man. Instead of inheriting his father¡¯s dark, brooding look, Chu Hongcaimanded a proud and reticent aura from his bones.

    ording to the rumors, he used to be quite a prominent person in the Chu n, but he looked exceptionally toned down today. Perhaps he was still ming himself for failing to prevent the pollution of the spirit creek.

    As for the third branch¡¯s Chu Yucheng, he was an adorable little fatty. He had small beady eyes and a round physique. There was absolutely no doubt at all that he was the blood-rted son of the third branch¡¯s Chu Yuepo.

    Compared to Chu Hongcai, he was much more amicable. He even approached Zu An on his own ord to chat with him.

    After the interactions he had with them, Zu An felt that the sons of the second branch and third branch were really much more pleasing aspared to their fathers. He could still remember how Chu Tiesheng and Chu Yuepo used that mocking tone of theirs to put him down in the ancestral hall back then.

    Hm, is it possible for this little fatty to have inherited his father¡¯s genes though? Maybe under his kind exterior hides a sinister soul?

    Zu An suddenly felt a bit wary of Chu Hongcai. He subconsciously shot a nce at Chu Yuepo and Chu Tiesheng. The former was chatting with those around him about something whereas thetter was staring at...

    Hmm, is he staring at Qin Wanru right now?

    Given that this was a public event, it went without saying that Qin Wanru had made sure to dress herself up properly. She had put on all sorts of expensive jewelry to entuate her noble disposition and her silk dress she wore showcased her beautiful figure perfectly.

    Haa, why did Chu Huanzhao not inherit her mother¡¯s voluptuous genes?

    Seemingly sensing Zu An¡¯s gaze, Qin Wanru turned her head over and shot him a stern re.

    You have sessfully trolled QIn Wanru for +69 Rage!

    Zu An felt a little stifled. I¡¯m not the one ogling at you, so why are you getting mad at me?

    But when he turned over to look at Chu Tiesheng, thetter was already chatting with a few others around him. It made him wonder if his eyes were ying tricks on him.

    ¡°The patriarch of the Wang n has arrived!¡±

    Zu AN turned his gaze over and saw a thin middle-aged man leading a group of people onto the field.

    He had heard that the four prominent merchant ns in Brightmoon City were the Chu n, Yuan n, Zheng n, and Wang n. This was the first time he was meeting anyone from the Wang n.

    Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru stood up and weed those from the Wang n with a smile, and it didn¡¯t take long for them to start chatting merrily with one another.

    Zu An was surprised by that sight. He turned to Chu Huanzhao and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the background of those from the Wang n that your father is weing them personally?¡±

    If there was another person that was here to fill in the numbers, just like Zu An, that person would definitely be Chu Huanzhao. She also had no interest to familiarize herself with the fighting grounds, and she showed none of the tension someone who was about to face an important battle would have either. Instead, she was looking around with an excited look on her face.

    Upon seeing Zu An¡¯s question, she replied, ¡°I don¡¯t think they have any particr background. I only know that the Wang n is on good terms with us.¡±

    Chu Chuyan, who was resting by the side all this while, opened her eyes and exined, ¡°The Wang n specializes in agricultural products, and thergest tavern in Brightmoon City is managed by them. Our Chu n is on good terms with them because we have many business connections with one another. Our Chu n requires permits from the royal court in order to sell salt, and the royal court distributes permits based on how much rations the merchant sends toward the borders. Our Chu n doesn¡¯t specialize in agricultural products, so we need the Wang n¡¯s help on this aspect. That¡¯s also the reason why my parents regard them so highly. Huanzhao, you should stop idling your time away. How could you not know something as basic as that?¡±

    Chu Huanzhao stuck her tongue out as she grabbed her older sister¡¯s arm and said coyly, ¡°We have you around anyway~¡±

    Chu Chuyan looked at her little sister dotingly before shaking her head helplessly.

    Meanwhile, Zu An looked at Chu Huanzhao in scorn. Hah, looks like my sister-inw is also a wastrel too. Huh, why did I use ¡®also¡¯ here?

    ¡°The patriarch of the Zheng n has arrived!¡±

    Compared to the Wang n, Chu Zhongtian was much less amicable to the Zheng n. They simply nodded slightly to acknowledge each other¡¯s presence. The patriarch of the Zheng n, Zheng Yutang, didn¡¯t even bother to exchange pleasantries, walking straight toward the Yuan n¡¯s area and started chatting off with them.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An assessed Zheng Yutang closely and found that he had quite a suave appearance. Despite reaching middle age, he had a charming presence that gave others a good impression of him. It was no wonder why he had a beautiful daughter like Zheng Dan.

    All of a sudden, he realized that there was a beautiful woman dressed in a traditional qipao looking at him with a faint smile hanging on her lips. Who else could it be other than Zheng Dan?

    Zu An blinked at her in response, and for a moment, sparks seemed to fly. Zheng Dan¡¯s face immediately reddened, which caused her to turn her head away.

    ¡°Big sis, big sis! My brother-inw and Zheng Dan were exchanging flirting looks with one another!¡± Chu Huanzhao tattled on Zu An.

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t! I didn¡¯t! Stop spouting lies!¡± Despite being caught red-handed, Zu An refuted it without any hesitation.

    ¡°But I saw it with my own eyes. You even winked at her!¡± Chu Huanzhao bellowed angrily.

    Chu Chuyan frowned a little. ¡°Quieten down! What if others hear it?¡±

    It was fortunate that the clearing was quite noisy, so no one really paid notice to Chu Huanzhao¡¯s shouting.

    After berating Chu Huanzhao, Chu Chuyan turned to look at Zu An with eyes as calm as the water of a deepke, asking, ¡°Are you close with Zheng Dan?¡±

    For some reason, Chu Chuyan¡¯s pure eyes made Zu An feel a little guilt-ridden. ¡°I can¡¯t say that we¡¯re close. I just happened to save her once.¡±

    He quickly exined their rtionship with one another, though it went without saying that he excluded the events that transpired in his staff dormitory.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to be afraid. I¡¯m not scolding you over here,¡± Chu Chuyan replied with a smile. ¡°If you¡¯re really able to capture Zheng Dan¡¯s heart and pull the Zheng n over to our side, I would be more than overjoyed.¡±

    Zu An blinked his eyes doubtfully. Is sheying a trap here for me to jump in?

    ¡°Big sister~¡± Chu Huanzhao immediately protested toward how nonchnt Chu Chuyan was taking this matter. What¡¯s this? Why is she even less agitated than I am? It¡¯s your husband we¡¯re talking about here!

    However, Chu Chuyan continued mumbling under her breath, analyzing the situation, ¡°It¡¯s just a pity that Zheng Dan and Sang Qian are engaged with one another. If you snatch her over to your side, it¡¯ll turn the Sang npletely against you. It seems like the cons outweigh the pros...¡±

    Zu An waspletely speechless. Wait a moment, are you seriously analyzing the feasibility of the matter?!?!

    ¡°Principal Jiang of Brightmoon Academy has arrived!¡±

    Upon hearing those words, be it the Chu n or the Yuan n, everyone immediately stopped their chatter and headed over to wee Jiang Luofu. This showed just how high a standing Jiang Luofu had in Brightmoon City.

    However, incongruous exmations soon echoed amidst the crowd.

    ¡°Woah, those legs! I can get off on them for several days without any problem!¡±

    ¡°Where did she buy her stockings from? I should get a pair for my wife too!¡±

    ¡°Hah, do you think that yellow-faced woman you have back at home can be put on the same level as Principal Jiang?¡±

    ¡°Aiyo, I¡¯ll just blindfold her, alright? Just the stocking is enough to fulfill my fantasies!¡±

    ¡°Do you want to die? How can you gossip about Principal Jiang like that?¡±

    ...

    Zu An swiftly noticed a familiar face amidst the crowd¡ªJi Dengtu. He was hiding amidst the crowd, peeking at the beautifuldies present.

    Hah, did you think that I wouldn¡¯t recognize you just because you¡¯re wearing a hat? You should first do something about that perverted look on your face!

    Without a doubt, Ji Dengtu was here to have a feast for his eyes. But surprisingly, he isn¡¯t looking at Principal Jiang at all...?

 Chapter 110: Boring

    <h4>Chapter 110: Boring</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Ji Dengtu¡¯s eyes were flickering around the ce. Every time he saw a beautiful woman, a perverted smile reminiscent of that of famous detective Mouri Kogoro would creep onto his face.

    Upon careful look, Zu An sharply noticed that the ones Ji Dengtu had his eyes on were mostly mature women, especially married ones. He had no hesitation ogling at the wives of the patriarchs present, though his focus was still mainly on Qin Wanru. He was staring so hard that it felt like his eyes would just pop out.

    Zu An felt a little stressed about this. He wondered if he should tell his father-inw about this matter. After all, Chu Zhongtian did treat him pretty well, so he would feel bad if he got cuckolded.

    But again, it was not as if Ji Dengtu was really doing anything at all. His act of ogling at married women was both pathetic and hair-raisingly creepy, but it wasn¡¯t causing any real harm at all. Besides, he was still counting on Ji Dengtu to cure ¡®little Zu An¡¯. It wouldn¡¯t be wise to get on his bad side.

    This brought the same question back to Zu An¡¯s mind. Given how licentious Ji Dengtu was, why wasn¡¯t he ogling at Principal Jiang then? Putting aside Jiang Luofu¡¯s looks, just her legs were more than enough to drive any men into a frenzy. Wei Suo¡¯s infatuation was more than enough to say something about it, but it was as if Ji Dengtu was blind to it.

    Now that he was thinking about the matter, the four women Ji Dengtu mentioned back then were Yu Yanluo, Shang Liuyu, Qiu Honglei, and Qin Wanru; there wasn¡¯t any mention of Jiang Luofu at all.

    That doesn¡¯t make sense. Shang Liuyu is from the academy as well, so logically speaking, he should have thought of Jiang Luofu as well. There must be something deeper to this.

    ¡°I¡¯m truly thankful to you for being willing to make time to be the judge of the tournament. With this, there should be no question about the fairness of the verdict.¡±

    Jiang Luofu was as cold as she usually was, but men tended to dig into that. The crowd of men around her had heated looks in their eyes, and their eyes couldn¡¯t help but flicker downward to look at her legs.

    And that was with the high-level of self-control that these distinguished individuals had. As for the other men in the clearing, they were staring so hard that it looked almost as if they wanted to dive into her skirt.

    Amidst this group of people, the only one who had clear eyes was Chu Zhongtian. His eyes were without lust. Due to that, Jiang Luofu had a better impression of his gentlemanly gestures, replying, ¡°You¡¯re ttering me. The Chu and Yuan n have many offspring in our academy. I¡¯m just doing my part for my students.¡±

    ...

    While they were trading pleasantries, Zu An was scoffing under his breath, ¡°It looks like he has been henpecked for too long that he dares not show any hint of cheating at all. Qin Wanru is ring at him by the side after all.¡±

    Weak!

    Zu An felt that his father-inw should learn a thing or two from him. Look at how Chuyan doesn¡¯t mind me looking up other women at all.

    But of course, there was no way he would say those words aloud. If Chu Zhongtian were to know that he had been ¡®bullying¡¯ his daughter in such a manner, he would surely get a hell of a pummeling.

    ¡°The city lord has arrived!¡±

    A huge procession of soldiers walked into the clearing under the lead of a slightly tubby middle-aged man. Despite his tummy sticking out a little, he still had a dashing appearance that left no doubt that he was a looker in his younger years. He was the city lord of Brightmoon City, Xie Yi.

    Xie Xiu was trailing behind him with the usual subtle smile hanging on his lips. His cool appearance won him fervent exmations from the female spectators gathered around.

    The disparity in treatment left Zu An feeling deeply jealous.

    In terms of appearance, I¡¯m definitely not beneath Xie Xiu. So why am I not as popr as he is? Is it because my usualckadaisical attitude has fully concealed my true charms?

    Haaa, women sure are shallow. Why can¡¯t they see the interesting soul that lies inside of me?

    Ehh, wait a moment! Who is that beautiful woman standing next to Xie Xiu? Is it his new girlfriend? That fellow sure has a way with women. He always has a new woman by his side every few days, and every single one of themmands incredible charm. The one he has with him today is even more gorgeous than usual.

    That woman had a shapely oval faceplemented by her pointed eyebrows and snowyplexion. Her light green dress showcased her slender waist that one could easily wrap one¡¯s arm around.

    In terms of appearance and disposition, she definitely didn¡¯t lose out to Zheng Dan or Wu Qing. But unlike Zheng Dan had a demure charm and Wu Qing¡¯s fiery character, shemanded a natural tranquil grace that left one feeling at peace just by standing next to her.

    So this is what they meant by a refined, schrly vibe!

    Zu An took a closer look, and for some reason, he felt that the woman bore a bit of resemnce to Xie Xiu. It was then that a sharp, biting remark suddenly sounded right beside him, ¡°Pervert. You¡¯re looking at women again.¡±

    Zu An turned over and saw Chu Huanzhao staring at him sharply. He burst intoughter and replied, ¡°If I¡¯m a pervert, aren¡¯t you the same too?¡±

    ¡°How am I a pervert?¡± Chu Huanzhao asked in confusion.

    ¡°You kept staring at your brother-inw¡¯s handsome visage. How is your action different from me staring at other women?¡± Chu Chuyan had just gotten up to apany her parents to greet the various prominent figures arriving at the scene. She was likely to be the future matriarch of the Chu n after all, so it would be good for her to get acquainted with these people.

    It was for that reason that Zu An was able to make these kinds of jokes.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Who is staring at you?!¡± Chu Huanzhoa¡¯s face reddened.

    ¡°If you weren¡¯t staring at me, how do you know that I¡¯ve been looking at other women?¡± Zu An refuted.

    ¡°I...¡± Chu Huanzhao was at a loss for words for a moment, but it didn¡¯t take her long toe up with an excuse. ¡°I¡¯m just reminding you that it won¡¯t be long before the tournament starts. You need to calm down and stop looking around.¡±

    Seeing how Chu Huanzhao¡¯s face was already bright red, Zu An couldn¡¯t bring himself to tease her anymore. ¡°I know, I know. Oh yeah, do you know who that woman standing beside Xie Xiu is?¡±

    ¡°Ah, she¡¯s Xie Xiu¡¯s older sister, Xie Daoyun. She¡¯s known as Brightmoon City¡¯s most talenteddy. Hmph! Instead of cultivating, she chooses to spend her time studying what zither and chess. She¡¯s just wasting her life!¡± Chu Huanzhao said with a pout.

    Zu An was amused to hear those remarks. ¡°Are you sure you are in a position to criticize her? Is your cultivation higher than her, or do you have some remarkable talents that she doesn¡¯t have?¡±

    Chu Huanzhao immediately threw a tantrum. ¡°I¡¯ll sever ties with you if you continue acting like that!¡±

    Zu Anughed heartily. He was just about to say something when he heard a sweet chuckle sounding behind him. ¡°Looks like a lot of interesting things happened in the days I¡¯m not around?¡±

    A rousing fragrance drifted into the area. Zu An turned his head around, only to see a captivating figure standing before his eyes. Peach blossom eyes that were overflowing with sentiments, and a pair of proud, sinful humps that provoked evil thoughts in men... Who else could it be if not Pei Mianman?

    ¡°Big sister Pei~¡± Chu Huanzhao greeted Pei Mianman.

    Pei Mianman had a friendly rtionship with the Chu n, and she was Chu Chuyan¡¯s close friend too. Naturally, she was acquainted with Chu Huanzhao too.

    Pei Mianman giggled softly beneath her lips before replying, ¡°Your mouth has gotten much sweeter over thest few days.¡±

    She took a seat before Chu Huanzhao and began chatting with her.

    Chu Huanzhao couldn¡¯t help but notice the proud mountains she carried around with her, and she lowered her head to look at her own unimpressive in. Her lips subconsciously pouted a little, and with a deted voice, she asked, ¡°Big sister Pei, why haven¡¯t I seen you around in thest few days?¡±

    ¡°I had some matters to attend to outside.¡±

    ¡°Ohhh. You¡¯re the same as my big sister. It feels like you¡¯re always preupied with something.¡±

    ...

    Seeing how Pei Mianman was acting as if she didn¡¯t know him at all, Zu An couldn¡¯t help but wonder if all women were born actors. With no one to talk to, he could only sit there quietly. However, he couldn¡¯t help but smell the light fragrance Pei Mianman was giving off, and his eyes kept drifting toward her curvaceous body.

    Well, this is not too bad too.

    ¡°You said that you would help me find the ounting booklet I was looking for. Any clues so far?¡±

    Zu An was still feasting on the beautiful sight when Pei Mianman¡¯s voice suddenly sounded in his ears, causing him to jolt in fright. He quickly turned his head over, only to see that her back was still facing her. She was still chatting merrily with Chu Huanzhao.

    Woah, this woman sure is a sinister one. Is she honestly trying to seduce a married man right in front of his sister-inw?

    Zu An was amazed.

    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m asking you a question. Why aren¡¯t you answering?¡±

    Zu An knew that she was rying her message to him through ki, but the thing was that he had no idea how to do it. We will be exposed the moment I open my mouth!

    So, he ced his finger on her back and started writing: What about you? You said that you would help me chase Chu Chuyan? Is there any progress?

    There were so many things keeping him busy during this period of time, so why in the world would he bother with whatever ounting book Pei Mianman was looking for?

    When his finger touched Pei Mianman¡¯s back, her body suddenly stiffened. A flicker of ck me flickered into existence around her. However, when she realized that Zu An was just writing on her back, the ck me gradually dissipated.

    ¡°You don¡¯t know how to transmit your voice through ki?¡± Pei Mianman was baffled.

    One must know that they had really gone head-on against one another that night. Despite being a fifth rank cultivator, she was unable to curb him without using her elemental ability. Given how powerful Zu An was, it was hard to believe that he was unable to transmit his voice through ki.

    Wait a moment, isn¡¯t he making use of this opportunity to take advantage of me?

    Coldness flickered across her eyes. There was still a smile on her face as she continued to converse with Chu Huanzhao, but a sliver of killing intent flickered across the depths of her eyes.

    You have sessfully trolled Pei Mianman for +399 Rage!

    Zu An wasn¡¯t some dense dolt either. He could quickly figure out what Pei Mianman was thinking, so he hurriedly exined: My cultivation is pretty half-assed. I¡¯ve never gone through systemic education, so I can¡¯t do most of the tricks other cultivators are able to.

    Pei Mianman couldn¡¯t help but wiggle her body a little. Zu An¡¯s moving finger was tickling her.

    Thinking about Zu An¡¯s history, she thought that his exnation wasn¡¯t entirely imusible. ¡°Don¡¯t touch me anymore. I¡¯ll teach you how to transmit your voice through ki.¡±

    Noticing Pei Mianman¡¯s unnatural wiggling, Chu Huanzhao asked, ¡°Big sister Pei, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I just suddenly felt an itch on my back.¡± Pei Mianman¡¯s face reddened.

    It¡¯s lucky that the one sitting before me is the dumber younger sister. If it had been Chu Chuyan instead, there¡¯s no way my interactions with Zu An could have escaped her notice.

    Though now that I think about it, it would actually be quite exciting to do this in front of her with her husband. It¡¯s just a pity that this fellow isn¡¯t her real husband. Ahh, that makes everything boring.

    Just like that, Pei Mianman continued chatting with Chu Huanzhao while imparting to Zu An the way to transmit his voice via ki. It didn¡¯t take long for him to master the skill, and they were soon chatting more smoothly with one another.

    ¡°Help me find the whereabouts of the ounting book first, and I¡¯ll help you chase Chu Chuyan.¡±

    Help me chase Chu Chuyan first, and I¡¯ll find the whereabouts of the ounting book for you.¡±

    ¡°Are you testing my patience here?¡±

    ¡°Tsk. If that¡¯s the case, we can call off the deal. I¡¯ll tell the Chu n about this, and we can just go back to how it was before.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The negotiations came to a bottleneck, bringing about an awkward silence. Fortunately, anothermotion urred at this moment.

    ¡°Governor Sang has arrived!¡±

    ¡°The Sunspring Duke has arrived!¡±

    ¡°Young master Shi has arrived!¡±

    ...

    With the arrival of so many notable figures, even Chu Huanzhao ended up turning her gaze over curiously, remarking, ¡°Sang Hong used to be the Vice Minister of Finance managing the salt and arms trade, but he suddenly got dispatched to the Linchuan Commandery to serve as the governor. It sure is a coincidence that our n deals in salt too, huh? Only a fool wouldn¡¯t be able to tell that he¡¯s being sent here to deal with us!

    ¡°That Sunspring Duke is another one. Putting aside the fact that he¡¯s Wu Qing¡¯s father, the Wu n has never been on good terms with us before either.

    ¡°That Shi n is also on bad terms with us too. Looks like all of the bad eggs havee together to form a carton of skunks.¡±

    Pei Mianman smiled quietly at this sight. She was more than pleased with how things were turning out.

 Chapter 111: Too Popular

    <h4>Chapter 111: Too Popr</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An was surprised to see the ignorant Chu Huanzhao actually knowing so much about all of these intricate politics. In a sense, it showed how horrible of a situation the Chu n was in.

    The fact that they were appearing together meant that they weren¡¯t afraid of the Chu n finding out about their ties. It could even be viewed as a message to the rest of the world to urge them to choose a side.

    Sang Hong looked like a shriveled old man with a bit of a goatee. His appearance was far older than his actual age. Based on the rumors, he was quite apetent official in the royal court, being able to deal with ten times more documents than an ordinary person could.

    Despite his old appearance, his eyes had a spirited glimmer in them. There was an air of imposingness shrouding him.

    Seeing this, however, Zu An couldn¡¯t help but shake his head. Wow, he really reminds me of all of those overworked programmers I have seen in my previous life. As I thought, 996 is really toxic. [1]

    Inparison, his son, Sang Qian, looked more normal. While Sang Qian wasn¡¯t as eye-catching as Xie Xiu and Shi Kun, he had an air of militaristic valiance around him that brought about quite a few excited shrieks from the fangirls in the crowd.

    It was just that the attention of these women soon shifted over to Shi Kun.

    ¡°Big brother Shi, big brother Shi~¡±

    ¡°Big brother Shi, I love you~¡±

    ¡°Waaa, so handsome. My gosh, I¡¯m going to faint...¡±

    ...

    Zu An rolled his eyes in disdain. He really is like an ape. Wherever he goes, people just gape at him.

    He tapped on Pei Mianman¡¯s shoulders and asked, ¡°Hey, tell me the truth. Is that fellow really that handsome? I don¡¯t think he¡¯s as good-looking as I am.¡±

    ¡°You want to hear the truth or the lie?¡± Pei Mianman¡¯s lips curled up.

    ¡°Do you even need to ask? Of course it¡¯s the lie!¡± replied Zu An vehemently.

    Pei Mianman burst intoughter. ¡°You sure are an interesting fellow.¡±

    Meanwhile, Chu Huanzhao suspiciously eyed the two of them intently. Why does it seem like something is up between the two of them?

    All of a sudden, Zu An¡¯s face stiffened. He just received an incredibly terrifying notification in his system.

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for +99 +99 +99 +99...

    He leaped in shock right away. What¡¯s going on? Is Snow nearby?

    Just thinking about those vicious eyes filled with killing intent directed toward him made him search the area intently.

    At the same time, he was also perplexed as to what Snow was doing here. One must know that there were many experts gathered here. Putting aside all the fifth rank cultivators present, there were also eighth rank cultivators like Chu Zhongtian and Governor Sang Hong too. ording to the rumors, Jiang Luofu was an eighth rank cultivator too.

    Wasn¡¯t it foolish for a fifth rank cultivator spy like her to sneak in here?

    Even though Sang Hong and the Chu n were on bad terms, they still had their own images to keep up. For a matter as serious as a traitoring out of the Chu n, the Sang n would be obliged to help them too under public pressure.

    However, no matter how he searched around, he was unable to find Snow anywhere. It was then that a thought came to his mind. He turned to Shi Kun¡¯s side, and indeed, there was a fairplexionedd in his entourage staring at him.

    ¡°Wearing a mask, huh?¡±

    The inflow of Rage points and that familiar eyes were more than enough evidence for Zu An to verify her to be Snow. Of course, unlike some of those dumber historical dramas where a female lead tried to fool everyone into thinking that she was a man just by changing her hairdo and wearing male clothes, Snow was far more thorough. Her entire face was different from before, which probably meant that she was wearing some sort of mask.

    That being said, the mask was actually quite amazingly made. If not for the keyboard¡¯s identification feature, it was unlikely that he would have recognized Snow.

    With such thoughts in mind, she turned to Pei Mianman and asked nervously, ¡°Young miss Pei, is there a way to disguise your face entirely in this world?¡±

    ¡°Disguise your face?¡± Pei Mianman was surprised by the abrupt question, but she still answered it properly, ¡°There is. Formidable runemasters have the ability to create masks that changes a person¡¯s facepletely.¡±

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t that mean that it¡¯s extremely easy to impersonate another person?¡± asked Zu An anxiously.

    ¡°Based on what I know, it isn¡¯t that easy,¡± replied Pei Mianman with a shake of her head. ¡°Cultivators are exceptionally discerning when ites to such stuff due to their sharpened senses, making it hard to fool them. If you try to disguise yourself as someone whom everyone knows, the chances are that you¡¯ll end up getting seen through. But of course, given how huge the world is, there might just be someone who is able to pull it off impably.¡±

    ¡°I see. That¡¯s a relief,¡± Zu An heaved a sigh of relief.

    ¡°Why are you suddenly asking about this?¡± asked Pei Mianman curiously.

    Zu An casually answered, ¡°I¡¯m just thinking that it would be horrible if someone uses my charming face to fool young misses out there. That would really ruin my reputation!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Pei Mianman.

    ¡°...¡± Chu Huanzhao.

    Snow seemed to have noticed that Zu An was looking in her direction, so she quickly averted her gaze to avoid his notice.

    Zu An was also in no rush to expose her either. He turned to look at Shi Kun and sneered coldly under his breath. So, the mastermind of it all is you. Looks like my guess is spot-on. Well, let¡¯s have a good game then!

    All along, Shi Kun had been pulling strings from the shadows to deal with him, leaving him in a fluster to protect himself. However, the tables were turned now. Zu An knew who the true mastermind was whereas Shi Kun still thought that he was in the shadows. It was time to shake things up a little.

    You have sessfully trolled Wu Qing for +33 Rage points.

    Yet another wave of Rage points came flowing in, delighting Zu An. I didn¡¯t think that it was so popr. These people sure are in a hurry to send gifts my way.

    Wu Qing was standing behind a middle-aged man, ring at him discreetly. Zu An couldn¡¯t be bothered to waste his time with the tantrum of a haughty little ¡®princess¡¯, so he chose to focus his attention on the middle-aged man walking with her instead. Judging by his disposition, he should be the neighboring Sunspring Duke, Wu Wei.

    Seeing how he and Chu Zhongtian were chatting with beaming smiles on their faces, making it look almost as if they were old friends, Zu An couldn¡¯t help but marvel at how wily these old foxes were.

    While Wu Wei and Chu Zhongtian were chatting with one another, Sang Hong made his way over to the Zheng n, where Zheng Yutang and Zheng Dan had long stood up to wee him.

    ¡°Good, good~¡± Sang Hong assessed his future daughter-inw for a moment before nodding his head in satisfaction. Be it Zheng Dan¡¯s looks, etiquette, or disposition, there were no ws he could pick out from her. It was a pity that her background was a littlecking, but the Sang n was already plenty influential as it was already.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    On the other hand, Zheng Dan¡¯s cheeks flushed red upon hearing her future father-inw¡¯spliment, making her look even more feminine and dignified.

    Soon, everyone settled down into their seats. Sang Hong took the center seat, and beside him were City Lord Xie Yi and Principal Jiang Luofu. They were the judges of the tournament, so it was only normal for them to take the most esteemed positions.

    Chu Zhongtian and Wu Wei sat opposite to one another. From their positions, it was made clear that they were both cognizant who their true opponents were in the uing tournament.

    Following that were the patriarchs of the Yuan n, Zheng n, and Wang n. Shi Kun, despite being a junior, was also seated in their midst, which was testimony to his esteemed position.

    ¡°I heard you offended the Sixth Young Master of the Shi n?¡± Pei Mianman looked on the stage as she transmitted her voice over to Zu An with a smile. It looked like she had been keeping an eye out for the events in the academy too.

    Toward that question, Zu An harrumphed coldly and said, ¡°What do you mean by I offended him? He¡¯s the one who offended me?¡±

    ¡°You can put it however you want to.¡± Pei Mianman rolled her eyes. ¡°Still, as your alliance mate, I should warn you that the Shi n is not to be trifled with. Take that old man behind him, Shi Lezhi, for example. He¡¯s Shi Kun¡¯s protector, but he¡¯s an eighth rank cultivator. He could destroy as easily as it would be to stomp on an ant.¡±

    ¡°Eighth rank?¡± Zu An was shocked. ¡°Are eighth rank cultivators thatmon nowadays? I thought eighth rank cultivators are strong enough to be bestowed with the position of a duke or marquess. I mean, even a governor like Sang Hong is also at eighth rank as well. Why would that old man content himself with being a bodyguard for a young brat?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right to say that most governors are eighth rank cultivators, though they¡¯re still a bit too weak to be bestowed with the position of a marquess or duke. There are indeed some official positions that only eighth rank cultivators can take on, but it doesn¡¯t mean that they are avable to any eighth rank cultivator out there. There are only that few official positions, and there are many people eyeing them intently. Whether you can get it or not depends on your ability, luck, and background.

    ¡°There are plenty of experts who work hard their entire life, only to be unable to obtain the official position they want. All in all, the younger you manage to reach a certain height, the more likely you are to be chosen for an official position over the rest of yourpetitors. For someone like Shi Lezhi, who barely managed to reach the eighth rank in his silver years, has no more potential left in him anymore. Due to that, he¡¯s unable to obtain a good official position in the royal court. Inparison, he would be treated much better in his n instead.

    ¡°But while I said that he has no potential, that¡¯s only inparison to the other eighth rank cultivators. Against low-rank cultivators like you, he¡¯s still a behemoth whom you don¡¯t stand a chance against.¡±

    Zu An nodded in response, having roughly grasped what was going on.

    Basically, being an eighth rank cultivator was like obtaining a degree. Theoretically, you could get a job with this degree, but there were plenty of other people with degrees vying for the top jobs too. Due to the rifepetition, there were some who were unable to get an official position till their death.

    However, if the degree you received was no ordinary degree, for example, a first-ss honors degree, you would be viewed to have greater potential. Naturally, you would be more likely tond a job too.

    It would appear that Shi Lezhi was of average aptitudepared to his fellow degree holders, which resulted in his elimination in thepetition. However, it should be noted that this was only rtive to his fellow eighth rank cultivators. Compared to most other cultivators out there, he was more than worthy of beingbeled a prodigy.

    For the first time, Zu An was getting a glimpse into just howpetitive the world of cultivation was. To think that even someone who had managed to reach the eighth rank would be considered as a failure...

    Wait a moment, why am I feeling bad for that old man? He¡¯s an eighth rank cultivator, even if he¡¯s barely stepped into the rank. All it takes is a finger from him to squeeze me to death!

    It was then that someone came over to shout for him. It seemed like those participating in the tournament had to wait at a demarcated area in advance.

    ¡°Good luck. I believe that you¡¯ll be able to win,¡± said Pei Mianman with a smile.

    The two of them had sparred with one another that other night, and she had seen with her own eyes that this young man wasn¡¯t as useless as others think him out to be. Perhaps, he might just surprise everyone today.

    ¡°You have good eyes,¡±plimented Zu An.

    ¡°...¡± Pei Mianman.

    Chu Huanzhao couldn¡¯t take it anymore. She pouted unhappily and said, ¡°Big sister Pei, I¡¯m participating in the tournament too! Why aren¡¯t you rooting for me?¡±

    Toward that, Pei Mianman smiled gently and said, ¡°Little sister Huanzhao, isn¡¯t your victory already assured?¡±

    Chu Huanzhao could sense that Pei Mianman¡¯s words were insincere, so she continued sulking unhappily.

    She can¡¯t be trying to seduce my brother-inw, is she? Hmph! Just you wait, I¡¯ll surely tell my big sister about this!

    However, when she thought about her big sister¡¯s attitude toward Zheng Dan, she suddenly starting hesitating. She felt that her big sister was acting too nonchntly toward her brother-inw, as if it didn¡¯t matter to her at all.

    Forget it, I¡¯ll just have to be the doorkeeper then!¡±

    The two of them headed to the waiting area, where the other fighters from the Chu n were already gathered. At the far opposite were Yuan Wendong and the other fighters from the Yuan n. Out of fear that Yuan Wendong would back down on their duel, Zu An made sure to shout loudly, ¡°Hey, Yuan Wendong! I¡¯ll be magnanimous and tell you face on that I¡¯ll be thest one to go upter on. You better not back out, or else I¡¯ll curse your balls to drop off!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Yuan Wendong.

    You have sessfully trolled Yuan Wendong for +666 Rage!

    Yuan Wendong¡¯s face turned incredibly red. Putting aside how intense the rivalry between the two ns was, they would at least still maintain some level of etiquette in public. It was beyond his imagination that someone would actually hurl insults at him in such a manner as if a hoodlum.

    However, with so many prominent figures watching him, as furious as he was, he dared not to return the insult. Instead, he remarked coldly, ¡°Very well. I¡¯ll look forward to trying out Brother Zu¡¯s skills!¡±

    Hmph! If I don¡¯t cripple himter on, I shall renounce my surname!

    1. Famous quote from Jack Ma, Alibaba¡¯s founder, he rmended people to work from 9AM to 9PM for 6 days a week.

 Chapter 112: Does Your Face Hurt?

    <h4>Chapter 112: Does Your Face Hurt?</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    It wasn¡¯t just him. Quite a few people in the Yuan n also kindly contributed a substantial amount of Rage points to Zu An. In fact, even some of the bystanders were getting affected by the remarks too.

    Even Ji Dengtu had stopped ogling at all of the married women around him to look at Zu An.

    This fellow sure is asking for a beating. I must get my daughter to keep away from this fellow, or else it¡¯s only a matter of time before she gets implicated in his shenanigans.

    But again, that fellow gave me quite a nice book though. I wonder how many more of such books he has. If he gets beaten to a state of near-death by Yuan Wendong, should I step in and save him in view of the book he gave me?

    On the stage, Snow harrumphed softly, ¡°That man is as hateful as ever.¡±

    In front of her, Shi Kun surprisingly nodded in agreement. He could rte deeply to those words.

    ¡°He¡¯s a hoodlum through and through. He¡¯ll nevere to do great things,¡± sneered Sang Qian.

    Sang Hong, who was sitting in front of him, however, reminded him through ki transmission, ¡°The fact that he¡¯s able to earn 7,500,000 silver taels from the Silverhook Casino and be an arithmetic teacher in the academy shows that he¡¯s no ordinary individual. Don¡¯t be fooled by his exterior. I¡¯ve told you many times that you shouldn¡¯t just look at the superficial. You should peer deeper into the crux of matters.¡±

    ¡°I understand,¡± replied Sang Qian, though he actually thought nothing of what his father said.

    Meanwhile, Xie Yi secretly sent a ki transmission to asked Xie Xiu, ¡°Is that the man you spoke of?¡±

    ¡°Indeed. He¡¯s Zu An,¡± replied Xie Xiu.

    His older sister, Xie Daoyun, remarked with a frown, ¡°This man is incredibly crude. I don¡¯t like him.¡±

    Xie Xiu was just about to exin the matter when he recalled the Legend of the Moochlord in the academy. He seemed to recall Zu An asking him about his older sister once, and all of a sudden, he felt that he should keep his older sister safely away from that dangerous man.

    The Sunspring Duke, Wu Wei, guffawed, saying, ¡°So this is the drafted son-inw of the Brightmoon Duke? Looks like the Chu n is bound to fall into decline!¡±

    Wu Qing was overjoyed to hear her father putting down Zu An. Hah, we aren¡¯t in the academy today. I¡¯ll watch how you embarrass yourself through and through, Zu An!

    The only one on the stage who really knew about Zu An¡¯s background was Jiang Luofu. She looked at the young man who was calmly bearing the criticisms of the crowd, and she couldn¡¯t help but fall into deep thoughts.

    Just what is it thatpelled him to lie low all this while? Is he nning to strike his name out through the tournament today?

    Sang Hong cleared his throat and announced, ¡°The ns Tournament between the Chu n and the Yuan n is about to begin. First and foremost, allow me to reiterate the rules. Both sides are to confirm the sequence of which their fighters are going to enter the dueling ring and submit it upward. The sequence cannot be changed anymore afterward. Whichever side wins more battles will be granted 80% of the Linchuan Commandery¡¯s arms market whereas the losing side will be left with the remaining 20%. In the course of the battle, you are forbidden from intentionally executing fatal blows that could potentially lead to deaths, or else your rights as a fighter will be revoked. Have I made myself clear?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    The fighters on both sides replied in unison.

    However, Zu An had much to refute about the rules. In name, they were restricted from killing one another, but the use of the term ¡®intentionally¡¯ opened room for contention. A person could just im that he was too heated up in the duel and failed to hold back in the critical moment. As long as he didn¡¯t do it too obviously, no one could say for sure whether he was doing it on purpose or not.

    ¡°Now, submit the sequence paper. An incense¡¯s time from now, the tournament will officiallymence!¡±

    After making the announcement, Sang Hong returned back to his seat. For previous tournaments, they had only invited the city lord as the judge, but the nature of the tournament this time around was different. It wasn¡¯t just a fight between the Chu n and the Yuan n anymore. Instead, it was the Chu n against the Wu n. Naturally, they would need someone with more authority here.

    The two ns had already decided the sequence at which they would enter the dueling ring in advance. Chu Chuyan walked up to submit the sequence paper. It was also about this time that Hong Xingying passed by Zu An. He was the first fighter that the Chu n was sending up.

    On the surface, it looked like he was earnestly making preparations for the fight, but in truth, he was speaking in a voice so low that only the two of them could hear. ¡°Are you feeling gleeful over how you acted earlier on?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Zu An was baffled. Is this fellow trying to provoke me right before his fight?

    Hong Xingying harrumphed. ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going through your mind, but did you think that it was glorious for you to shout insults around like amon hoodlum? Didn¡¯t you notice how everyone was mocking you? No, they weren¡¯t just mocking you. They were mocking all of us from the Chu n!

    ¡°Someone like you will only be the source of the Chu n¡¯s humiliation. The Chu n has already be aughingstock for taking you in as its son-inw, and yet, you still continue to add on to it.¡±

    Zu An was amused. ¡°Have you forgotten how badly you got beaten up thest time around?¡±

    Those words subconsciously brought Hong Xingying¡¯s eyes toward Pei Mianman, and he gulped. However, he quickly snapped out of it and harrumphed coldly. ¡°You think you¡¯re all incredible hiding behind the back of a woman! Hah, you won¡¯t be able to get their help on the dueling ring today. Everyone will see you as the trash you are!¡±

    ¡°What makes you so certain that I¡¯ll lose?¡± Zu An felt that he should make use of this chance to make a bet with Hong Xingying, or else it would be a huge waste of this godsent opportunity.

    ¡°You can¡¯t be thinking that you¡¯re able to win the duel, are you?¡± sneered Hong Xingying. ¡°Your job today is just to lose and leave everything else to us. Only a person like me can bring glory to the Chu n. All someone like you can do is to enjoy the glory the rest of us earned through our blood, sweat, and tears!¡±

    Zu An wanted to refute those words, but the referee had already dered the start of the first round. So, Hong Xingying tidied up his clothes, raised his head, and began walking onto the dueling ring.

    ¡°How exhrating! I¡¯ve finally managed to vent all of my stress out today. That trash was put down by me to the point where he can¡¯t even refute anymore. Ahhh, this really feels good!¡±

    Hong Xingying had never felt so soothed before.

    Hmph, just watch as I bring the first victory into the hands of the Chu n! On the other hand, that fellow will be beaten up by the Yuan n before this huge crowd we have here. By then, both Master and Madam will know who is more suited for the first miss!

    Not only must I win today, but I must win with an overwhelming advantage! Only this way can I raise my head in the Chu n and catch the attention of Principal Jiang. I¡¯ll let her know of my talents, and perhaps, she might take care of me in the future. Then, I¡¯ll obtain an official position and return here to marry the first miss!

    Meanwhile, by the side of the dueling ring, Qin Wanru leaned toward her husband and whispered with a frown, ¡°What¡¯s with that person on the other side? Why haven¡¯t I seen him before?¡±

    Chu Zhongtian shook his head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know either. He probably isn¡¯t from the Yuan n but the Wu n. However, is there really a person like him amongst the experts of the Wu n?¡±

    ¡°Do you think that Xingying can win the battle?¡±

    Qin Wanru had a good opinion of Hong Xingying. He was an extremelypetent man, and his father had been loyal to the Chu n all these years too. In fact, she had favored Hong Xingying over all other candidates back then, but it was a pity that her daughter chose Zu An instead.

    Just thinking about it left her fuming, and she shot a sharp re in Zu An¡¯s direction.

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Wanru for +111 Rage!

    Zu An was feeling stifled. Please, it was Hong Xingying who messed with me earlier, and I didn¡¯t even get a chance to report back. What are you getting angry at me for? Is it your menopause?

    Unaware of his wife¡¯s thoughts, Chu Zhongtian casually replied, ¡°Xingying is quite talented, and our Chu n has held him back over the years. Nevertheless, he still managed to reach the pinnacle of the third rank. He might not be particrly powerful, but he¡¯s definitely not weak either. The person on the other side appears to be of the same rank as well. I think Xingying should be able to fare well against him.¡±

    Hearing her husband¡¯s words, Qin Wanru was finally able to set her heart at ease.

    On the dueling ring, Hong Xingying drew his sword and brandished it elegantly. He gazed at his opponent haughtily and said, ¡°Name yourself! I don¡¯t cut down nameless souls with my de!¡±

    ¡°Ooh, I never thought that there would be someone like that in the Chu n! He¡¯s so cool!¡±

    ¡°Well, anyone would look goodpared to their drafted son-inw.¡±

    ...

    Hong Xingying¡¯s cool words and suave face stirred a smallmotion amongst the girls. However, his attitude brought a frown onto Chu Zhongtian¡¯s forehead. This child shows off a little too much.

    In return, the other partyughed softly and said, ¡°I am the Yuan n¡¯s Chen Lei.¡±

    Then, he fell silent.

    Be it in terms of appearance or disposition, Chen Lei was indeed far beneath that of Hong Xingying. It didn¡¯t take long for the crowd to side with Hong Xingying.

    On the other hand, Hong Xingying frowned. He had never heard of this person before. However, the fact that this person wasn¡¯t one of the targets of the Chu n¡¯s investigation showed that he wasn¡¯t considered to be a threat.

    Alright, this Chen Lei guy shall be my stepping stone to rising to new heights! I¡¯ll make sure to win beautifully so that those important figures around will notice me!

    With such thoughts in mind, his fighting spirit began to surge. ¡°Pardon me!¡±

    Without any hesitation, he swung his sword and charged toward Chen Lei.

    Chu Zhongtian nodded in approval. He thought that Hong Xingying was taking a conceited attitude toward the duel, but fortunately, he didn¡¯t let his arrogance turn intocency. Thetter chose to take on a moderate offensive position in order to pressure his enemy.

    On the other hand, Chen Lei bellowed furiously as he whipped out his saber and dashed forward too. The two men shed with one another through their weapons, causing sparks to fly.

    The recoil from their sh caused both of them to retreat five steps simultaneously, but Hong Xingying was rmed by the prowess of his enemy. He never thought the nameless Chen Lei would actually harness such great power.

    ¡°Again!¡±

    Not daring to get careless, Hong Xingying abandoned his initial idea of unting his skills and chose a more stable fighting style.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    It didn¡¯t take long for the two of them to start trading blows with one another. Even from beneath the dueling ring, the spectators could feel the chilling airing from the sh of the two cold weapons.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of the two of them before, but they¡¯re stronger than I expected. Do all major ns have such powerful cultivators amidst them?¡±

    ¡°That Hong Xingying seems to be a student from Brightmoon Academy¡¯s Sky ss, but I¡¯ve never heard of this Chen Lei before.¡±

    ...

    The two of them were equally matched with one another. Sometimes, Hong Xingying would appear to be on the upper hand, only for Chen Lei to suddenly suppress him with a series of offensive strikes. The crowd felt their blood racing from the intense battle. They couldn¡¯t help but imagine how awe-inspiring it would have been if they had been in the dueling ring instead.

    Battles were usually only fun to watch if both parties were equally matched. One-sided battles simplycked tension and hype arising from an unpredictable oue. The crowd didn¡¯t think that the first match would be so intense, such that many of them found themselves rising to their feet to take a closer look.

    It was then that both Hong Xingying and Chen Lei shed furiously once more before parting from one another. The two of them gasped for air as they tried to regte the chaotic ki inside their bodies.

    The webbing between Hong Xingying¡¯s fingers had torn open a little, but he didn¡¯t pay it any heed. With so high stakes on the line in this battle, he couldn¡¯t afford to lose here. He had to win this battle to prove his worth to the Master, Madam, all of the prominent figures seated around, and most importantly of all, Zu An!

    Huh? Why did I think of that fellow at a moment like this? Tsk, how inauspicious!

    ¡°Intermediate Swordy!¡±

    Hong Xingying had been desperately learning everything the academy had to offer ever since he enrolled in it. Intermediate Swordy was a sword art taught only to the more talented students in the academy. Despite itsckluster name, its prowess was incredible, and it had very few openings too. It was at least three times more powerful than the sword art he was using previously.

    He had been practicing it diligently day and night so as to reveal it to everyone, especially Principal Jiang, at this critical moment!

    A metallic reverberation sounded as the sword in his hand blurred to form multiple silhouettes that pierced straight toward Chen Lei¡¯s vitals.

    Seeing this, Jiang Luofu gave a slight nod of approval. This student has a fairly high aptitude. Despite having joined the academy not too long ago, he has managed to grasp this swordsmanship to a decent level.

    With a loud ¡®puchi¡¯, the sword pierced right into Chen Lei¡¯s body.

    I won!

    Hong Xingying was just about to heave a sigh of relief when he noticed a sinister curl on the enemy¡¯s lips. He quickly tried to retract his de, only for his enemy to grab onto his sword before abruptly hacking his saber down.

    Tempestuous Saber Art!

    Chen Lei suddenly struck with a terrifying momentum as a hint of frenzy emerged on his forehead. His saber hacked down with terrifying might onto Hong Xingying.

    The ki armor Hong Xingying had manifested around him immediately cracked in the face of the Tempestuous Saber Art, causing him to spurt a mouthful of blood. As if a deted sandbag, he copsed to the bottom of the dueling ring.

    Chu Zhongtian immediately rushed forward to catch Hong Xingying. He quickly sealed off several of Hong Xingying¡¯s acupoints to curb his blood loss before proceeding on to neutralize the saber force still raging within thetter¡¯s body.

    ¡°The victor is the Yuan n¡¯s Chen Lei!¡±

    The official from the City Lord Estate dered to the crowd.

    With an ashamed look on his face, Hong Xingying muttered, ¡°Master, Madam, I...¡±

    It was then that a mocking voice sounded, ¡°Who was the one who dered proudly that he would bring the Chu n honor whereas someone else could only bring about humiliation? Does your face hurt at all?¡±

 Chapter 113: I Want to Mooch Too

    <h4>Chapter 113: I Want to Mooch Too</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°I...¡± Hong Xingying¡¯s face reddened. I actually got mocked by this fellow!

    You have sessfully trolled Hong Xingying for +999 Rage!

    However, he found himself unable to refute Zu An¡¯s words at all. He had simply bragged too much earlier. However, he quickly snapped out of it and argued back, ¡°You¡¯ll only suffer a more grievous loss than me! At least I was able to fight squarely against my opponent and only lost by the final strike...¡±

    Zu An clicked his tongue and grumbled in response, ¡°A loss is a loss. Besides, who said that I¡¯d definitely lose my battle? I¡¯ll show what a true expert looks liketer on!¡±

    ¡°Enough!¡± Before Hong Xingying could respond, Qin Wanru had alreadye to the limit of her patience. She red at Zu An frostily and said, ¡°Are you still a member of the Chu n or not? Instead of motivating your own teammates, you still came here to ridicule him!¡±

    Zu An shrugged casually as he said, ¡°He¡¯s already lost his match, so what¡¯s the use of motivating him? Is he going to go on stage and fight again?¡±

    ¡°Shut your mouth!¡± Qin Wanru snapped coldly. ¡°Anyone who gives his all on the dueling ring is worthy of the entire Chu n¡¯s respect. Be it whether he wins or loses, he¡¯s indubitably a member of our Chu n. If we¡¯re just going to mock anyone who loses, wouldn¡¯t it chill the hearts of everyone else? If you don¡¯t know how to watch your mouth, just keep it shut!¡±

    Chu Zhongtian also interjected too, ¡°Zu An, your actions are indeed inappropriate. Win and loss are perfectly normal. Our Chu n is not so narrow-minded and ungrateful as to put down our own people over a loss.¡±

    Zu An frowned. Then didn¡¯t any of you step up for me when Hong Xingying mocked me earlier?

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    He was just about to argue back when Chu Chuyan tugged on his sleeves. She spoke to him through ki transmission, ¡°Don¡¯t anger my mother anymore. You should return to your area and sit back down. We still need to discuss our battle ns forter on.¡±

    She was too concerned with the sequencing of their fighters earlier that she didn¡¯t notice Hong Xingying¡¯s earlier action of mocking Zu An, so she felt that he was acting out of line too.

    It was one thing if it was just Hong Xingying, but his actions would chill the hearts of the rest of their fighters too. After all, no one could guarantee their win here. If they had to suffer such humiliation from their own people for losing, they would surely feel deeply disappointed in the Chu n.

    After all, Zu An was still a member of the Chu n despite being the drafted son-inw. His attitude could be easily interpreted as the Chu n¡¯s attitude.

    Zu An sighed deeply and returned back to his own seat.

    Meanwhile, themotion over at the Chu n didn¡¯t escape the notice of the others. Watching as Zu An was berated by Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru, quite a few people couldn¡¯t help but mock gleefully, ¡°See, I knew that a drafted son-inw couldn¡¯t possibly have any standing in the household at all!¡±

    ¡°How could it be that easy to mooch off your wife? Look at how he was criticized. I reckon even a dog in the Chu n is treated better than him!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why I always say that youngsters like you all shouldn¡¯t think of taking shortcuts. You¡¯re bound to lose more than you gain!¡±

    ¡°But look at how beautiful the Chu First Miss is! I would be willing to suffer injustice as long as I can wake up to her pretty face every morning!¡±

    ¡°Tsk, you¡¯re a hopeless case... Alright fine, count me in too.¡±

    ...

    By the side of the dueling ring, Shi Kun leaned back leisurely on his chair as a satisfied smile crept onto his lips. ¡°Just as you¡¯ve said, Snow, that fellow really has no ce in the Chu n at all. Looks like my worries were unfounded.¡±

    Snow was also delighted to see Zu An being put down. ¡°Of course! The young miss has never allowed him into her room before, so young master, you don¡¯t have to worry about him taking advantage of the young miss!¡±

    Meanwhile, Yuan Wendong frowned a little.

    Given that Zu An didn¡¯t have any standing in the Chu n, did I make a mistake by choosing him as my opponent? It would only lower my standing to fight someone far beneath me.

    However, as soon as the thought surfaced in his mind, it was swiftly quelled once Zu An¡¯s hateful face surfaced in his mind. He reaffirmed his own decision once more. Later on, I¡¯ll make sure to cripple him for good so that he learns what¡¯s the price of running his mouth!

    Meanwhile, amongst the Zheng n, Zheng Dan had a hint of a smile on her lips. Looks like Zu An isn¡¯t as close to Chu Chuyan as I thought. I should exploit this opportunity to get to Zu An. As long as I y my cards well, I should be able to find the 7,500,000 silver taels debt note easily enough.

    But again, it was another question whether Zu An could survive to the end of the day or not. Even if he did manage to survive, it was likely that he would be crippled at the very least. If I show him some concern at a time like this, I should be able to win his sympathy easily, right?

    Meanwhile, Pei Mianman was looking upon the situation with an enigmatic smile. The more Zu An struggles in the Chu n, the more beneficial it is for me. He¡¯ll soon find himself left with no choice but to seek my help, and by then, I can get him to search for the ounting booklet on my behalf.

    ¡°Excuse me, this beautiful woman over here...¡±

    All of a sudden, a man approached her with a smile which he himself thought was charming.

    In truth, Pei Mianman had been catching the attention of the men around the area for quite a while now. After all, her figure was simply too alluring, such that men would find it hard to tear their eyes away from her. On top of that, she was sitting all by herself, which made it seem as if she didn¡¯t belong to any n. So, it was inevitable that some would try to get a shot with her.

    ¡°Scram!¡±

    Without bothering to look at the man, Pei Mianman raised her hand, revealing a vague flicker of ck me.

    ¡°Y-yes!¡±

    Upon realizing that the woman before him was not someone he could trifle with, the man backed off fearfully without the slightest hesitation. At the same time, those who were assessing the situation in search of an opportunity to approach Pei Mianman also hurriedly quelled any intentions they had in mind.

    Meanwhile, in the Chu n¡¯s resting area, Chu Huanzhao noticed that Zu An had an awful look on his face and passed a cup of tea over to him. ¡°Brother-inw, don¡¯t get angry. Come, drink a cup of tea and cool down a little. Actually, I also don¡¯t like that Hong XIngying fellow either. My father and mother have always been like this. They always treat us strictly, only to be amicable to outsiders. I really can¡¯t stand this at all. Sometimes, I wonder if I am really their child.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I do doubt that as well.¡± Zu An burst intoughter as he eyed her chest area, which was unlike her well-endowed mother and older sister.

    ¡°...¡± Chu Huanzhao.

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Huanzhao for +404 Rage!

    ¡°Where¡¯s my whip!¡± Chu Huanzhao bellowed furiously as she fumbled for her Wailing Whip.

    Zu An quickly retracted his smile and said earnestly, ¡°Huanzhao, thank you.¡±

    Hearing the unprecedented sincerity in his voice, Chu Huanzhao suddenly began fidgeting ufortably. ¡°D-don¡¯t sweat it! We¡¯rerades-in-arms working hard to earn money together after all!¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face darkened. He knew that she was referring to the time where they extorted money from Plum Blossom Thirteen. Really, does she have a misconception as to what it means to ¡®earn money¡¯?

    Soon, the second round began. It was the Chu n¡¯s Deng Zhaoke versus the Yuan n¡¯s Zhu Qing!

    However, there was a huge disparity in the strength of the two fighters this time around. Deng Zhaoke could barely hold on for a moment before losing to Zhu Qing. With this, the Chu n had lost two consecutive rounds!

    Everyone began muttering amongst themselves as they noticed that something was amiss. In the past tournaments, the Chu n was always at an advantage against the Yuan n, sometimes sealing the conclusion by the fifth or sixth round. Yet, the Chu n ended up losing the first two matches. Did this mean that a new era was about to descend upon Brightmoon City?

    Some of the smarter ones thought deeper into it. Be it in terms of standing or umtion, the Yuan n was no match for the Chu n. It was bizarre how they were suddenly able to dispatch two little-known subordinates to subdue the experts of the Chu n.

    Both Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru had a tight knit on their foreheads. They hadn¡¯t thought that they would lose two rounds simultaneously just like that. It seemed like things were going to get troublesome for them today.

    Chu Chuyan also had a frosty look on her face. She turned to look at her little sister and Zu An, who were chatting with one another at the back. Seeing how rxed they were made her heart clench tightly. She had arranged them at the very back in hopes that the conclusion would already be determined by the time it came to them, but given the current situation, they might just have to fight as well.

    This won¡¯t do. I can¡¯t allow this to happen!

    Zu An waspletely helpless, and her little sister had barely reached the third rank. They could be said to be the weakest ones on this dueling ring. On top of that, her little sister was a very yful person, such that she hadn¡¯t put in the effort to properly learnbat skills. In a real fight, she stood no hope at all.

    Qin Wanru couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Hubby, what if we lose the next match too?¡±

    ¡°Impossible,¡± replied Chu Zhongtian. ¡°Yue Shan is up next.¡±

    Upon hearing that it was Yue Shen up next, Qin Wanru heaved a sigh of relief. Yue Shan was the captain of the Chu Estate¡¯s guards, and he was in charge of the Red Cloak Army. Most importantly of all, his cultivation had already reached pinnacle fifth rank. With his standing, he usually wouldn¡¯t attend this sort of ns Tournament-kind of events, but it was different if the Wu n had gotten involved as well.

    It was for additional insurance that they added him to the name list. Thinking back, it was fortunate that they did so, or else the Chu n would have been in trouble this time around.

    Yue Shan¡¯s opponent was one of the offspring of the Yuan n. Needless to say, he easily clinched the victory, bringing loud cheers to the Chu n¡¯s side.

    However, Chu Chuyan¡¯s eyebrows remained furrowed. The best-case scenario for them was for Yue Shan to clear off one of the top experts of the Yuan n. This would lighten the pressure on the remaining fighters. Yet, his opponent turned out to be weaker than the fighters sent out by the Yuan n the previous two rounds. Somehow, it felt like the Yuan n had read their sequencing.

    In the fourth round, the Chu n¡¯s Chu Yucheng was faced against the Yuan n¡¯s Yuan Bao.

    Despite Chu Yucheng¡¯s adorably chubby appearance, he was a fearsome monster in the dueling ring. Like a mini tank, he rammed all around the ce, and it didn¡¯t take him long to knock his opponent down the ring.

    In the fifth round, the Chu n¡¯s Chu Hongcai was faced with the Yuan n¡¯s Yuan Ya.

    Chu Hongcai¡¯s swordsmanship was sharp and decisive. He swiftly overpowered Yuan Ya, forcing thetter to surrender.

    Three consecutive wins from the Chu n made the crowd nod in agreement, as if it ought to be the case. Indeed, the Chu n is still the dominant power in Brightmoon City!

    Only Chu Chuyan¡¯s frown was growing tighter and tighter. The victories scored by the Chu n were against the weaker offspring of the Yuan n, who were forced to join the battle due to the rule stating that every junior in the main branch had to participate in the ns Tournament. Due to that, the Yuan n was unable to substitute them with someone else from the Wu n.

    It was obviously a pairing of putting the weakest against the strongest... Is this a coincidence or what...

    As expected, the most worrying situation had happened. In the sixth round, the Chu n suffered a loss.

    With this, the score was tied at 3:3!

    For the seventh round, Chu Chuyan specially gave the Chu n¡¯s fighter, Lan Likang, a pep talk to motivate him. If he were to lose the match, even if Chu Chuyan were to win her match, it would still fall onto her little sister and Zu An to determine the winning round. If so, the Chu n would be doomed.

    Chu Chuyan carried fairly high prestige within the Chu n. Almost all of the juniors viewed her as their goddess. Having received her personal pep talk, Lan Likang was all pumped up. His fighting prowess immediately soared to 120%!

    Unfortunately, the cultivator sent by the Yuan n was a step stronger than him, causing him to be overpowered in every single sh. In hopes of meeting up to Chu Chuyan¡¯s expectations, he gritted his teeth and summoned his inner cosmos to grind down his enemy even at the expense of getting injured himself. In the end, both he and his opponent tumbled down the dueling ring together.

    It was a draw!

    Shocked gasps sounded from the crowd. It had never cut so close for the two ns before, especially for the seventh round. It was truly a bloody battle with both sides going all out against one another. The crowd waspletely overwhelmed by the tenacity of the fighters.

    Even the powerhouses present could sense the tension in the air. They perked up their attention to pay greater focus to the dueling ring. Otherwise, if a casualty urred under their watch, it would be a blow to their reputation.

    At this very moment, Chu Zhongtian, apanied by one of the Chu Estate¡¯s physicians, was performing emergency treatment on the severely injured Lan Likang. Despite his wounded state, Lan Likang had tears in his eyes as he looked at Chu Chuyan with an ashamed look on his face. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, first miss. I¡¯ve let you down. I wasn¡¯t able to win the match.¡±

    Chu Chuyan replied gently, ¡°His cultivation was higher than you. You have already done well fighting him to a draw. Just focus on your recuperation and don¡¯t think about anything else. Leave the rest to us.¡±

    It was time for her to get on the field now. Her enemy was the Yuan n¡¯s Di Wu, a young man with a ghastly paleplexion.

 Chapter 114: Youâ€™re a Horrible Person

    <h4>Chapter 114: You¡¯re a Horrible Person</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Elder Wu, be careful. Chu Chuyan is dubbed the number one prodigy of the younger generation, a genius among geniuses. You mustn¡¯t get careless,¡± reminded Yuan Wendong.

    He had set Wu Di against Chu Chuyan because thetter had always been the Chu n¡¯s pride, a symbol of the Chu n¡¯s strength. If they could defeat her in public, they could deal a huge blow to the Chu n¡¯s reputation, and further the subsequent rise of the Yuan n.

    ¡°Rest assured, I¡¯m a rank stronger than her. It¡¯ll be a walk in the park for me to defeat her,¡± said Wu Di calmly.

    Right now, all he was worried about was how he should win the battle without revealing his cultivation. He studied the spectators who had turned up for the duel. Governor Sang Hong won¡¯t be a problem, but it¡¯ll be hard to pull wool over the eyes of Chu Zhongtian or Principal Jiang. If they notice something, it could spell trouble.

    In the opposite corner, Yue Shan was also advising Chu Chuyan. ¡°First miss, your opponent is someone we have never heard of before. Given the circumstances, it¡¯s safe to assume that he¡¯ll be a tough opponent. You must be careful.¡±

    Chu Chuyan nodded calmly in response.

    Yue Shan couldn¡¯t help but chuckle softly. I guess I¡¯m worrying too much. How could the first miss possibly lose against a fellow junior?

    As the fighters were preparing, Qin Wanru was deep in discussion with her husband about the current state of affairs. ¡°Hubby, even if Chuyan wins this match, we¡¯ll only be leading by 4:3, with two matches to go. Are we really going to lose just like that?¡±

    She had confidence in her older daughter, but the same couldn¡¯t be said about their two remaining fighters.

    Chu Zhongtian could not hide his concern.

    ¡°The Yuan n has already fielded all of their experts, so Huanzhao¡¯s opponent shouldn¡¯t be too strong. Given the special attributes of the Wailing Whip, she still stands a chance at winning,¡± he said, but his tone was uncertain and devoid of confidence. He knew that his second daughter was a wilful girl who spent little time on her cultivation.

    As for Zu An¡¯s duel, he had already dismissed it as a hopeless match.

    Honestly, he found the situation incredibly bizarre. Even with the Wu n¡¯s help, the Yuan n should still have been no match for the Chu n. How could they have so many experts hidden away? This was truly puzzling.

    ...

    As they fretted, Chu Chuyan descended gracefully into the dueling ring, her footsteps light and soft. Her dress fluttered lightly as she stood serenely before the crowd, her elegant presence drawing enthusiastic cheers.

    ¡°Young miss Chu, you have our support!¡±

    ¡°Young miss Chu sure is gorgeous. How lucky Zu An is to have her as his wife!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with the guys? Why are they all acting like adolescent boys meeting a girl for the first time?¡±

    ...

    Shi Kun smiled upon hearing the cheers ringing from all corners of the arena. As expected of a woman I have set my eyes on. Her poprity truly knows no bounds. Only I am worthy of a woman as perfect as her!

    The unwee image of Zu An rudely interrupted his thoughts. His smile slipped, his face wrinkling in disgust. He felt like he had just eaten a fly.

    Zu An, who had intended to watch the show quietly, was suddenly surprised by a huge wave of Rage points. Once again, Chu Chuyan¡¯s beauty had managed to stoke the envy of the men, leading them to direct their indignance toward him.

    ¡°Ahhh, this must be what it means to be outstanding! Even when I¡¯m not doing anything at all, the cash just continues to roll in!¡± eximed Zu An.

    Chu Huanzhao¡¯s interest piqued instantly. ¡°Cash? Roll in? What cash?¡± She tugged at Zu An¡¯s sleeves, her voice full of excitement.

    Zu An gave her a silent nce before shaking his head. Looks like thisss has gotten hooked after the easy money she earned thest time.

    ¡°Nah, you heard wrongly.¡± In order to distract her, he quickly changed the topic, ¡°What¡¯s your older sister¡¯s cultivation rank?¡±

    ¡°She should be at pinnacle fifth rank, I think. I¡¯m not too sure about the details,¡± replied Chu Huanzhao.

    Zu An was amused. ¡°She¡¯s your older sister though. You don¡¯t know her cultivation rank?¡±

    Indignantly, Chu Huanzhao harrumphed, ¡°Why would I care about that?¡±

    The Yuan n¡¯s fighter chose this moment to step into the dueling ring.

    Zu An resolved to watch this duel carefully. He had never seen his wife in action before, and he was curious to know how far behind he was from the most talented cultivator in his age group.

    ¡°My name is Di Wu. I¡¯m looking forward to having a taste of young miss Chu¡¯s Snowflower Sword!¡± As he made his way forward, Wu Di marveled at the beauty of the white-dressed woman before him.

    Her eyes were as beautiful as the stars in the night sky, and her facial features looked as if they had been carefully painted on by a master painter. Wu Di felt mes stirring in the depths of his long-dormant heart.

    Despair followed swiftly, crushing him. If he was still young and had just reached the sixth rank, he would have surely done everything he could to pursue her. But he was well into his middle years, and had no potential left to develop. There was no way he would stand a chance with her anymore.

    I wonder just what kind of man in the world would be worthy of a woman as perfect as she is!

    He thought about the intelligence he had received which detailed how Chu First Miss had chosen a renowned wastrel in Brightmoon City as her husband, and envy immediately gripped him. This is unfair! How can that kind of fellow be worthy of her? If I¡¯m not qualified to pursue her, how could a man like him be wedded to this fairylike woman before me?!

    You have sessfully trolled Wu Di for +999 Rage!

    Zu An had been calmly watching the show from the rest area when a sudden inflow of Rage points shocked him. Huh, what¡¯s wrong with this Wu Di?

    He quickly scanned the surroundings and caught the Yuan n¡¯s fighter in the dueling ring ring at him intently. He pondered for a moment. Wu Di, Di Wu... Hm, interesting.

    Just then, the official from the City Lord Estate dered the start of the duel. Wu Di immediately turned his attention back to the beautiful woman before him, his mind made up. Even if you¡¯ll never be mine, I¡¯ll make you remember me for life. I shall make you suffer a tragic defeat today!

    He drew his saber, and it was immediately sheathed in red mes. Behind him, the vague avatar of a ferocious tiger could be seen. Waves of heat rippled out into the surroundings, drawing wide-eyed astonishment from the crowd.

    ¡°He¡¯s actually a fifth rank cultivator! How did the Yuan n find so many experts?¡±

    ¡°On top of that, his elemental attribute is fire, which happens to be at odds with Chu First Miss¡¯ ice element!¡±

    ¡°I wonder who would curb who.¡±

    ¡°Fire can curb ice, but ice can curb fire too. In the end, it boils down to who is stronger.¡±

    ...

    Chu Chuyan calmly drew her sword, revealing a transparent de tinged in light blue, trailing white mist as it moved - a result of the de¡¯s extreme cold condensing the water vapor surrounding it.

    Zu An snorted to himself.

    It¡¯s no wonder why my wife¡¯s personality is so cold - even her weapon is a block of ice!

    Hmm... Her personality is cold, she practices an ice-style cultivation technique, and she brings that chunk of ice everywhere around with her... Wouldn¡¯t the coldness result in painful menstrual cramps?

    He started to turn towards Chu Huanzhao, that very question on his lips, but he immediately changed his mind. Wouldn¡¯t I be treated as a pervert if I ask her such a question?

    With a furious roar, Wu Di raised his saber and charged forth with the momentum of a ferocious tiger.

    Zu An was awed by the sight. Woah, his attacks actuallye with special effects! I guess he¡¯s not just a sidekick after all. I wonder if my wife will be able to withstand his offense.

    In response, Chu Chuyan slowly raised her sword. With a simple flick of her wrist, she sent her sword piercing straight forth toward her enemy.

    The tip of Chu Chuyan¡¯s sword struck Wu Di¡¯s de with the sound of a high-pitched bell, shrill and loud enough to set ears ringing. The ferocious tiger avatar behind Wu Di immediately vanished without a trace, and a terrifying shockwave rippled forth from the two of them.

    Half of the spectators were sted by a wave of intense heat, while the other half shivered as if naked in the coldest winter.

    Thebatants only shed for an instant before swiftly retreating, creating some distance between them to recover. Wu Di stared at the beautiful figure several meters away in astonishment. He could tell that her ability to manipte ki was above his. Is this the difference between me and a true genius?

    But no matter how prodigious you might be, you can¡¯t erase away the twenty years of experience I have more than you! You¡¯re bound to lose this battle!

    Across from him, Chu Chuyan frowned. Her enemy¡¯s ki reserves turned out to be greater than she had expected. It looks like he¡¯s the strongest fighter from the Yuan n, joining this tournament to specifically deal with me.

    Neither let their thoughts affect their intensity. After the barest of breaks, they swiftly engaged each other again. Their speed of movement blurred their bodies into mere silhouettes. Chu Chuyan¡¯s attacks were elegant but deadly whereas Wu Di¡¯s offense was forceful and direct.

    It was a surprisingly even contest.

    ¡°That man is actually able to keep up with young miss Chu!¡±

    ¡°Does the Yuan n have an expert of this caliber?¡±

    ...

    Qin Wanru watched her daughter worriedly as she listened to the whisperings of the crowd. ¡°Hubby, what is that man¡¯s background?¡±

    Chu Zhongtian frowned deeply. ¡°I don¡¯t know, but something isn¡¯t right about him. Chuyan¡¯s Snowflower Sword is embedded with a chilling aura that affects the movement of her enemies, gradually slowing them down and tilting the battle in her favor. Yet, Di Wu seems unfazed by her chilling aura. This is truly weird.¡±

    ¡°Could it be that his fire cultivation technique is offsetting Chuyan¡¯s chilling aura?¡± asked Qin Wanru.

    ¡°It could be,¡± replied Chu Zhongtian as he continued assessing the situation.

    In the dueling ring, Wu Di and Chu Chuyan had again parted from one another as they tried to regte the agitated ki in their body.

    Wu Di¡¯s hands were cloaked in ayer of ice, but he dispelled it with a surge of me. His lips wore a fawning smile., ¡°I¡¯ve long heard of the amazing prowess of Chu First Miss¡¯ Snowflower Sword. It seems the rumors aren¡¯t exaggerated at all. It looks like I¡¯ll have to get serious then.¡±

    Beneath the dueling ring, Yuan Wendong frowned. Why is Elder Wu Di speaking so much today? He¡¯s usually proud and reticent; this is unlike him.

    Zu An, however, had an answer to that question. ¡°Hmph! That fellow must have found my wife pretty, so he¡¯s doing all sorts of things to capture her attention. Tsk, that attention whore!¡±

    Fortunately, Chu Chuyan was unfazed. True to the cold beauty she was, she stood there quietly, her eyes perfectlyposed.

    Wu Di felt his heart racing yet again as he met her pristine gaze. What a pity that fate has denied me such a fine woman! With a deep sigh, he channeled his regrets into the duel.

    Inferno Edge!

    Wu Di leaped into the air, his saber pointed skyward. The mes cloaking the saber intensified, forming asword of solid me ten meters long.

    ¡°Holy shit! Even Jiumozhi¡¯s me de isn¡¯t as dashing as this!¡± Zu An straightened upward, impressed by the spectacle. ¡°If I could learn such a cool technique in the future, I could easily win the fancy of any girl!¡± [1]

    ¡°I don¡¯t see anyone falling for Di Wu even after he executed the technique though,¡± replied Chu Huanzhao.

    Zu An kindly exined, ¡°That¡¯s because he is fundamentally unappealing. You need someone as good-looking as me to execute the technique in order for it to work.¡±

    Despite his off-hand tone, he was very worried for Chu Chuyan. He wasn¡¯t certain if she could cope with this technique. It would be a huge loss if she were to even lose a few strands of her hair to this Wu Di!

    In the ring, Chu Chuyan calmly swung her sword, and snowkes began to appear, growing more and more numerous. They encircled her in a swirling column several meters wide, creating the image of a goddess summoning a ferocious snowstorm.

    The spectators were awestruck.

    ¡°Woah, that¡¯s beautiful!¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Beneath that beauty lies great danger. Just a single snowke could turn you into an ice pop.¡±

    ¡°Say, if young miss Chu is that cold, wouldn¡¯t her husband freeze to death just by hugging her?¡±

    ¡°What do you know? She might be cold on the surface, but I bet that she¡¯s steamy hot on the inside.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re such a horrible person.¡±

    ...

    1. Jiumozhi is a character from Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils by Jin Yong.

 Chapter 115: Wu Di, Your Mum Is Calling You Back For Dinner!

    <h4>Chapter 115: Wu Di, Your Mum Is Calling You Back For Dinner!</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Unlike normal snowkes, those drifting around Chu Chuyan didn¡¯t fall to the ground and melt. Instead, they congregated together to form an ice lotus that embraced her body,

    Seeing this, Sang Hong nodded his head slightly and said, ¡°I¡¯ve long heard of young miss Chu¡¯s reputation as a prodigious cultivator, and it looks like she¡¯s as formidable as the rumors put her out to be. It¡¯s incredible that she¡¯s able to manipte her ki to such a degree.¡±

    Behind him, Sang Qian was staring at Chu Chuyan with heated eyes. Zheng Dan might be pretty too, but she¡¯s stillckingpared to Chu Chuyan. If I could have such a woman, I would wake upughing even in the midst of my sleep!

    In the past, he dared not to even dream about it. However, ever since he found out that Chu Chuyan had chosen Zu An, who was inferior to him in every way, as her husband, he suddenly felt that the fairy wasn¡¯t as far away as he initially thought.

    His thoughts were further affirmed after learning of his father¡¯s ns. Once the Chu n fell apart, she would no longer be the lofty daughter of a duke anymore. Perhaps, he might just stand a chance.

    The only troublesome part was that Shi Kun seemed to be interested in her too...

    Sang Hong currently had no idea what his son was thinking of. He turned to Jiang Luofu and began chatting with her, ¡°It must be thanks to Principal Jiang¡¯s guidance that young miss Chu is able to achieve such great aplishments at her young age.¡±

    While he was trying his best to keep himself in check, he still couldn¡¯t stop his eyes from drifting off to her legs. Her legs were exquisitely long and shapely, such that he wouldn¡¯t harbor any doubts if someone were to tell him it was the work of heaven. On top of that, she was wearing a pair of stockings that vaguely veiled her legs, bringing about a feeling of secrecy.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    This woman is truly a subus!

    Jiang Luofu smiled in response, ¡°Chu Chuyan¡¯s achievements are mainly built upon her high aptitude and intelligence. All we¡¯ve done is just to guide her a little.¡±

    ¡°Principal Jiang is too humble.¡± Sang Hong didn¡¯t think that he was a lustful man, but the woman beside him was simply too beautiful. Even with his level of self-control, he couldn¡¯t stop himself from sneaking nces at her.

    Back onto the dueling ring, Wu Di had finished charging up his attack. With the ten meters long inferno de in his hands, he pulled it down with incredible momentum, smashing heavily down upon the ice lotus.

    Fire and ice were nemeses to one another. Upon encounter, the outermost flower petals immediately melted before the mes, creating a pathway for the inferno de to strike all the way toward the center of the lotus, where Chu Chuyan stood.

    ¡°Young miss Chu, be careful!¡±

    ¡°Fairy Chu, be careful!¡±

    ...

    Chu Chuyan was simply too pretty that even though the crowd knew that they had no business in the duel, they still couldn¡¯t help but shout out warnings when they saw that she was in danger.

    Zu An got angry at how they were butting into his wife¡¯s business. Hey, even I am not shouting here, so what are all of you panicking for?

    It was displeasing to him to know that so many men were fantasizing about his wife, and whenever he was displeased, he was determined to make others displeased as well. So, he stood up and began shouting, ¡°Go, honey! Go, honey! Go, honey!¡±

    He was shouting so loud that it almost seemed as if he was afraid that others wouldn¡¯t know that the woman on the stage was his wife.

    And just as he had expected, as soon as he started shouting, countless murderous gazes turned his way.

    ¡°Is that man Chu First Miss¡¯ husband? Hah, he looks nothing special at all!¡±

    ¡°Nothing special? He¡¯s a renowned wastrel in the city!¡±

    ¡°How can the world be so unfair as to have a man like him marry my goddess? This is ridiculous!¡±

    ¡°Shit! My good mood is gone just by seeing his face!¡±

    ...

    By the sides of the dueling ring, Shi Kun clenched his hands so tightly together that he broke the handle of his chair. He had already thought of Chu Chuyan as his private possession, so he couldn¡¯t stand seeing another man calling her ¡®honey¡¯. It left him feeling as if he was being cuckolded.

    ¡°Shameless! He¡¯s way too shameless!¡±

    Ji Dengtu, who was fidgeting amidst the crowd to take advantage of those married women around him, shook his head.

    ¡°I need to find an opportunity to ask him about the continuation of the story. Did that Wang character change in the end? Huh? Why am I so into that Wang character? Did I identally put myself in his shoes? Pui pui pui!¡±

    ...

    Looking at the huge wave of Rage pointsing into his system, Zu An was overjoyed. I never knew having a beautiful wife is something so happy. Aiyoo, it¡¯s a happiness that none of you will ever be able to experience. Hahahaha!

    Chu Chuyan hadn¡¯t shown the slightest fluctuation in emotions despite having fought Wu Di for so long, but Zu An¡¯s shouting actually caused her fair cheeks to flush for a brief moment.

    Noticing the coy look on her face, Wu Di flew into a state of rage. You didn¡¯t react to anything I said earlier, but your face is reddening right now to him? On top of that, you dare to be distracted in the midst of a battle with me?!

    His overflowing anger caused the already massive inferno de to grow evenrger, causing it to push even deeper down on the ice lotus, threatening to sever it into two.

    The crowd gasped at the sight, thinking that Chu Chuyan was in a dire position.

    However, Wu Di was starting to frown. He realized that his inferno de was swiftly slowing down.

    Chu Chuyan stood at the center of the ice lotus, gazing at the inferno de above her head without a sliver of emotions in her eyes. Snowkes were still drifting around her. Just like that, the sh between the two of them came to a standstill.

    ¡°Look!¡± Someone sharply noticed an anomaly and eximed.

    The crowd quickly turned their eyes over, and they saw that the mes on the inferno de had stopped flickering. Instead, ayer of white mist had started forming on the surface of the saber.

    The inferno saber was turning into ice at a visible pace, and soon, even Wu Di would be turned into an ice sculpture too.

    Zu An gulped at the sight. My wife is actually this formidable... What if she decides to get violent with me one day? Wouldn¡¯t I be totally helpless before her? No, this won¡¯t do. I need to quickly grow stronger, or else she might just turn me into an ice sculpture one day!

    ¡°Even his ki is being frozen?¡± Some of the juniors spectating the match were stunned, though it was understandable as even the powerhouses gathered around were fazed by what they were witnessing.

    ¡°As expected of a woman I¡¯ve chosen!¡± A triumphant smile emerged on Shi Kun¡¯s face, as if Chu Chuyan¡¯s feat had brought him honor.

    On the other hand, both theplexions of those from the Wu n and Yuan n darkened. The presence of such a talented cultivator in the Chu n didn¡¯t bode well for them.

    City Lord Xie Yi sighed deeply, thinking that it was a pity that rejected a marriage of alliance from King Qi¡¯s faction back then.

    Meanwhile, a glint shed across Sang Hong¡¯s eyes. It¡¯s fortunate that Chu Chuyan is a woman. Otherwise, if Chu Zhongtian had such a formidable son, my ns would surely fall into shambles.

    Everyone was certain that Chu Chuyan would emerge victorious in this duel at this point. Even Chu Chuyan herself had spoken up to say, ¡°It¡¯s over.. Hm?¡±

    She was nning to retract her ki to free her opponent, but she suddenly sensed that something was amiss. The ice sculpture above her suddenly began cracking before dissipated amidst white mist. Wu Di fell back down to the ground with a shimmeringyer of light around him like a barrier.

    ¡°Sixth rank!¡±

    Everyone present was stunned. Elemental barrier was an ability that only cultivators that reached the sixth rank could utilize. It could guard against most lower-level elemental attacks.

    ¡°How could they possibly have a sixth rank cultivator?¡± Qin Wanru stood up with a look of disbelief on her face.

    Chu Zhongtian also shot a sharp look at the Wu n and said, ¡°Sunspring Duke, what do you mean by this?¡±

    Naturally, he was aware that the Yuan n definitely didn¡¯t have the resources or any offspring talented enough to reach the sixth rank, so the person on the field right now had toe from the Wu n.

    ¡°Brightmoon Duke, I¡¯m afraid I don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re saying. It¡¯s a duel between the Chu n and Yuan n, why are you asking me about it?¡± asked Wu Wei with a smile.

    Chu Zhongtian harrumphed coldly. ¡°Both of us know very well what¡¯s going on here.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it just a sixth rank cultivator? What are you making such a big fuss about? You¡¯re making it sound like no sixth rank cultivator is allowed in the ns Tournament. Lord Governor, is there anything wrong with what I¡¯ve said?¡±

    ¡°Indeed, there isn¡¯t such a rule.¡± Sang Hong nodded

    Chu Zhongtian frowned.

    There indeed isn¡¯t such a rule, but this is a tournament between the juniors of both ns. Even our talented Chuyan is only at the fifth rank, so how could the Yuan n have any sixth rank cultivator!

    Wu Wei burst intoughter. ¡°Brightmoon Duke, your daughter isn¡¯t the only prodigy in the world. The circumstances are already very clear now. Why don¡¯t you have your young miss admit defeat? It would be horrible if she got hurt in the midst of the battle, no?¡±

    It was amon agreement amongst cultivators that there was a huge gap between fifth rank and sixth rank cultivators. After all, the most prided elemental ability of fifth rank cultivators could be easily averted by the elemental barrier of sixth rank cultivators. There was no way Chu Chuyan could stand a chance against Di Wu like that.

    Chu Zhongtian looked at his daughter hesitantly for a moment before opening his mouth to say something. However, before he could speak up, Chu Chuyan¡¯s cold voice suddenly sounded from the dueling ring, ¡°The fight isn¡¯t over yet.¡±

    Even Shi Kun couldn¡¯t help but speak up, ¡°Young miss Chu, it¡¯smon knowledge that there¡¯s a huge gap between fifth rank and sixth rank cultivators. Please don¡¯t force yourself to fight on. Even if you admit defeat here, it won¡¯t sully your reputation.¡±

    He was worried that scars would be left on Chu Chuyan¡¯s perfect body if she were to force herself to fight against a more powerful cultivator. He wouldn¡¯t be able to ept it if she were to get disfigured due to this.

    However, Chu Chuyan simply replied nonchntly, ¡°Thank you for your concern, young master Shi, but I know what I¡¯m doing.¡±

    The patriarch of the Yuan n, Yuan Zhengchu, burst intoughter, saying, ¡°Since that¡¯s teh case, Di Wu, you should continue the fight with young miss Chu. Make sure not to harm her, alright?¡±

    Wu Di smiled in response. ¡°That¡¯s a given.¡±

    Hearing that his daughter was intending to continue the duel, Chu Zhongtian worriedly sent a ki transmission to her, saying, ¡°Just admit defeat if you find anything amiss. Don¡¯t put your life at stake for this.¡±

    Chu Chuyan nodded in response before eyeing Wu Di calmly.

    Wu Di chuckled softly and said, ¡°Young miss Chu, you¡¯re indeed a prodigy, but there¡¯s a rank of difference between the two of us. Your Snowflower Sword poses no threat to me at all. It doesn¡¯t serve any purpose for you to continue the fight.¡±

    For the first time since the start of the battle, Chu Chuyan finally responded to his words, ¡°There¡¯s nothing absolute in the world.¡±

    Right after saying those words, her body suddenly blurred as a cold glint shed from the sword in her hands. She swiftly directed a barrage of attacks toward him from all angles.

    Wu Di immediately understood her intentions.

    She knows that she can¡¯t hurt me with elemental attacks, so she decided to use her swordsmanship to defeat me. However, that¡¯s too naive. Have you forgotten that I¡¯m still able to use my elemental ability here?

    He stomped his foot on the ground, and two fire shackles materialized on the ground. Like agile snakes, the shackles darted straight for Chu Chuyan¡¯s legs. However, just as the shackles were about to lock onto their target, he suddenly hesitated.

    Wouldn¡¯t it be a huge waste if I leave a burn scar on the legs of a fairy?

    However, his face immediately warped in horror right after. He realized that his shackles had only locked down on a mere silhouette, and he hurriedly took on a defensive position. As expected, Chu Chuyan appeared behind him in the next instant.

    The two of them ended up trading several blows with one another.

    Wu Di wiped off the cold sweat from his forehead. Is this the difference between me and a true prodigy? Despite her being an entire rank weaker than me, I¡¯m still having difficulties trying to cope against her. If we were of the same rank, wouldn¡¯t I have already lost by now?

    At this point, he knew he couldn¡¯t afford to hold back anymore. He immediately gathered his full attention to deal with Chu Chuyan.

    As a result, the pressure on Chu Chuyan suddenly increased greatly. She had to deal with his saber and mes simultaneously, such that she ended up having many close shaves.

    Shi Kun straightened his back as he red at Wu Di cold. If you dare leave behind any scars on my woman, I¡¯ll make you suffer a fate worse than death!

    ¡°Game¡¯s over, young miss Chu!¡±

    Afraid that anyplications would ur if the battle dragged on, Wu Di knew he had to end the battle as soon as possible. He found a perfect opening to morph the saber in his hand into a thirty meters long sword of inferno to hack down on Chu Chuyan. Be it in terms of size or momentum, it was far stronger than the earlier attack heunched. Without a doubt, this was a prowess far beyond what a fifth rank cultivator could cope with.

    Even Chu Zhongtian stood up at this moment, ready to step in to save his daughter if it was required. Needless to say, the safety of his daughter took precedence over a duel.

    It was then that a teasing voice suddenly sounded, ¡°Wu Di, your mum is calling you back for dinner!¡±

 Chapter 116: Why Does No One Believe Me?

    <h4>Chapter 116: Why Does No One Believe Me?</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The crowd was baffled by the sudden shout, unable toprehend what was going on.

    On the dueling ring, however, Wu Di¡¯s body shuddered. What¡¯s going on? Why does someone know my real name?

    One must know that a middle-aged man like him wasn¡¯t qualified to participate in this ns Tournament. For that reason, he wore the mask made by a runemaster to disguise himself as a youth.

    There were so many eyes looking at him right now. If his identity were to be revealed right here, not even Governor Sang Hong or the Sunspring Duke would be able to cover him. There was no way the Brightmoon Duke would let this matter go easily. On top of that, for foiling the ns of the Wu n and Yuan n, he would surely be punished harshly when he returned.

    Did something happen to my mask? Wu Di subconsciously reached out to touch his face.

    This brief moment of hesitation caused his attacks to pause for a brief moment. Chu Chuyan¡¯s body was already cloaked in ayer of blue snow, enhancing her movement speed greatly. Her body blurred into a silhouette and pierced right through Wu Di¡¯s sword of inferno, only to stop right before his throat.

    ¡°You¡¯ve lost!¡± Chu Chuyan looked at Wu Di with clear eyes as she said calmly.

    Wu Di was astonished. While his concentration did wander for an instant, it should have been impossible for Chu Chuyan to pierce through his sword of inferno and ki armor. Yet, all of his defenses were shredded in the blink of an eye.

    What¡¯s going on? Is her cultivation not only at the fifth rank? But how could that be possible?!

    At this moment, Chu Chuyan¡¯s face had started to turn unnaturally red. In order to gather sufficient burst power to pierce through Wu Di¡¯s defenses, she had to utilize a forbidden art, resulting in her sustaining severe internal injuries.

    She nced down the stage, only to see Zu An looking at her with a smile. If not for his shout distracting Di Wu earlier, I might have already... Was it calcted, or was it just a coincidence?

    The official from the City Lord Estate dered, ¡°The victor of the seventh round is Chu Chuyan!¡±

    ¡°Objection!¡± After seeking affirmation from Wu Wei and his father, Yuan Wendogn leaped onto the dueling ring, pointed at Zu An, and said, ¡°The Chu n has cheated in the fight. Zu An¡¯s sudden shout affected the performance of our fighter!¡±

    How could the Wu n and Yuan n not be furious? One must know that Wu Di was their greatest trump card in this ns Tournament! They had even bore the risk of disguising him so as to have him defeat the pride of the Chu n, crushing their morale once and for all. Yet, it was all foiled due to the interference of a brat.

    The powerhouses spectating the duel had slight frowns on their foreheads. They were busy contemting the situation that they weren¡¯t able to give their judgment right away.

    So, Zu An made use of this opportunity to speak up, ¡°Oh? I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m having difficulties understanding what you¡¯re driving at. I simply eximed aloud because I¡¯m hungry, and yet it affected your fighter¡¯s performance? I must say, is this the level of concentration a sixth rank cultivator has?¡±

    Loud cheerings echde from the spectators. Clearly, most of the crowd was more supportive of the beautiful Chu Chuyan. They felt that the reasons the Yuan n came up with were too forced.

    Zu An¡¯s argument agitated Yuan Wendong as he argued furiously, ¡°You weren¡¯t just eximing casually. You clearly shouted Wu Di...¡±

    The moment those words poured out of his mouth, Yuan Wendong¡¯s heart skipped a beat. He knew he had screwed up.

    Zu An didn¡¯t hesitate to capitalize on Yuan Wendong¡¯s mistake.¡±Yes, I¡¯m pretty sure I shouted ¡®Wu Di, your mum is calling you back for dinner¡¯, not ¡®Di Wu¡¯. I don¡¯t understand why he would react to those words. Or does this mean to say that his true name isn¡¯t Di Wu but Wu Di?¡±

    ¡°A load of rubbish!¡± The flustered Yuan Wendong roared in rebuttal. How could Zu An know Wu Di¡¯s true identity? This doesn¡¯t make sense!

    You have sessfully trolled Yuan Wendong for +868 Rage!

    Di Wu? Wu Di?

    Chu Zhongtian silently mumbled those words under his breath when a thought shed across his mind. ¡°I heard that there¡¯s a member of the Wu n named Wu Di, and he¡¯s a sixth rank cultivator too. It just so happens that he cultivates a me element cultivation technique too.¡±

    Chu Chuyan immediately caught his drift. She immediately reached for Wu Di¡¯s face, ready to w out any mask he had on.

    It was then that Wu Wei moved andnded right on the dueling ring. Chu Chuyan felt a powerful force rushing up her sword, forcing her back. Fortunately, Chu Zhongtian appeared at this moment and neutralized the force jolting her before exchanging palm strokes with Wu Wei.

    Bam!

    A powerful force ravaged the surroundings, leaving the spectating crowd tumbling to the ground. A huge cloud of dust was stirred into the air.

    When the dust finally settled down once more, the dueling ring was alreadypletely cracked, looking as if it was on the verge of crumbling at any moment.

    Zu An was rmed to see this. It¡¯s said that eighth rank cultivators are able to tap into the natural energy of the world. Is this the prowess they wield?

    He was still feeling triumphant that he had turned into a little superman, butpared to the prowess of these top-level experts, his strength seemed nothing much inparison.

    ¡°Stinky brother-inw! You took advantage of me again!¡± Chu Huanzhao shoved the man crushing down on her body away before ring at him angrily.

    Zu An turned over with a look of indignance on his face. ¡°I only stood in front of you because I was afraid that you would get injured. How can that be considered as taking advantage of you?¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Chu Huanzhao harrumphed in response. ¡°I¡¯m already a third rank cultivator, what about you? Why would I possibly need a weakling like you to shield me? You¡¯re obviously taking advantage of me here!¡±

    Zu Anughed awkwardly in response. He misjudged the level of threat from the earlier shockwave. Somehow, he thought that Chu Huanzhao was far weaker than he was, so he tried to shield her under his body. However, it would be hard for him to exin this to her at the moment.

    Chu Huanzhao¡¯s face reddened as shepromised, ¡°Alright alright, I know that you¡¯re doing this for me. However, you shouldn¡¯t be so reckless in the future. I¡¯m the one who should be protecting you!¡±

    Seeing that Chu Huanzhao was no longer angry anymore, Zu Anughed it off and said, ¡°I would love nothing more than that. Oh? I see some dust on your chest area. Come, let me pat it off for you.¡±

    ¡°Scram!¡± Chu Huanzhao spat at him.

    Meanwhile, on the dueling ring, Chu Zhongtian red at the opposite Wu Wei with livid eyes as he questioned, ¡°Wu Wei, what do you mean by this?¡±

    ¡°Since the victor has been decided, why bother pushing this matter on?¡± Wu Wei shielded Wu Di behind him as he spoke calmly. That Yuan Wendong sure is a brainless dolt! He nearly gave Wu Di¡¯s identity away earlier on!

    Sang Hong also stepped onto the dueling ring to stand between the two of them. ¡°Indeed. Since the victor has been decided, there¡¯s no reason to sully the harmony here. It would only reflect badly on the royal court if two dukes of our dynasty fight it out in public like this.¡±

    Chu Zhongtian¡¯s face darkened further. He could tell that Sang Hong was protecting the Wu n here.

    It was then that City Lord Xie Yi interjected too. ¡°Yuan Zhengchu, do you all admit defeat for this match?¡±

    Yuan Zhengchu knew better than to argue over the win and loss of this match at a time like this. He quickly nodded and said, ¡°Yes, we admit defeat for this match.¡±

    Even though they were currentlygging behind 3:4, the remaining two matches were sure wins for them. There was no need for them to fuss too much about it over here.

    Xie Yi nodded with a smile and said, ¡°That¡¯s good. Let¡¯s move on to the next round then. Principal Jiang, what are your thoughts?¡±

    As someone from King Qi¡¯s faction, he was more than happy to see the royal court cornering the Chu n. It would be best if the Chu n was utterly cornered and left with no choice but to join their faction.

    Hmph, you wish to steer clear of everything and survive till the end? How could there be something that convenient?

    Jiang Luofu hesitated for a brief moment before nodding in agreement, ¡°I have no objections here.¡±

    With her wits, she could easily see the schemes that were being yed by the Wu n and Yuan n. However, the academy had never gotten itself involved in political strife, and strictly speaking, they were also a subsidiary of the royal court too. It made no sense for her to oppose Sang Hong publicly.

    Hearing her words, Wu Wei said with a smile, ¡°Brightmoon Duke, are you going to question the verdict of our three judges?¡±

    Chu Zhongtian was reluctant to let this matter rest, but he felt utterly helpless here. It was as if everyone here was down to get them. For the first time, he started wondering if he had erred in his decision. However, the Chu n had survived throughout the generations by maintaining a neutral stance. With this in mind, he decided to grit his teeth and persevere.

    ¡°Fine, let¡¯s move on to the next round then!¡±

    It was a huge loss for the Chu n to lose the arms market, but it was not a crippling blow to them. The Chu n was more reliant on the salt trade in the end.

    Furthermore, they had a lot of connections and supply routes that they had built up over the years. It was not something that the Yuan n could hope to subvert within a short period of time.

    ¡°Father, don¡¯t be too pessimistic. It¡¯s not certain that Huanzhao might lose. Even if she fights to a draw, we¡¯ll still stand a chance.¡±

    Chu Chuyan forced herself to maintain her poise despite feeling a surge of blood gushing up her throat. Taking a deep breath, she consoled her father silently.

    Currently, the Chu n was leading by 4:3. The best-case scenario was for Chu Huanzhao to win the battle, but even if she fought it down to a draw, the Chu n would still stand a chance. If the eventual result was a tie, they would determine the final winner through having each side elect a fighter onto the dueling ring. If it came down to that, it would be the Chu n¡¯s victory.

    Of course, both Chu Chuyan and Chu Zhongtian were treating Zu An¡¯s match to already be a loss.

    ¡°You¡¯re right!¡± Chu Zhongtian perked up his spirit. He walked over to Chu Huanzhao¡¯s side and began giving her some pointers, hoping that thisst minute cramming could do some good.

    Chu Huanzhao was still in a daze at the moment. She never thought that she would carry the fate of the Chu n on her shoulders. Feeling deeply unconfident, she said, ¡°I think my opponent is likely to have a higher cultivation rank than me.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s stronger than you, but it¡¯s a gap that can be bridged. As long as you use the ability of your Wailing Whip well, you would still stand a good chance.¡±

    Zu An also nodded in agreement. He had tasted the prowess of Chu Huanzhao¡¯s whip himself. The electrifying sensation as the whip struck down on my body... Ah, it¡¯s an experience never to be forgotten.

    Chu Huanzhao was still panicking. ¡°But... what if I fail to hit the enemy? Big sister, you also know the limitations of my strength! Even though I¡¯ve been abusing my strength to bully Zu An, still, to fight on a dueling ring is...¡±

    She was starting to regret just how she had idled her time away. She should have paid more focus to her training.

    On the other hand, Zu An was left utterly speechless as well. Why do arrows still fly my way even when I¡¯m not doing or saying anything at al?!

    Qin Wanru grabbed her hand and said grimly, ¡°Huanzhao, this battle concerns the future of the Chu n. No matter what, you must try your best!¡±

    Due to how serious the matter was, her voice was also much sterner than usual.

    Chu Huanzhao vehemently nodded her head. Her tenacity had been spurred by those words. She bit her lips a little anxiously as she replied firmly, ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll definitely win the match. I won¡¯t let father or mother down.¡±

    Zu An was a little shocked to see the determined look on Chu Huanzhao¡¯s face. Wait a moment, will thisss try to desperately hold on during the fightter on? This matter concerns the Chu n¡¯s future, so Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru won¡¯t intervene until the very final moment. What if she gets afflicted with some irrecoverable injuries or traumas?

    Seeing the humongous amount of pressure being heaped on Chu Huanzhao, Zu An stepped forward and said, ¡°Huanzhao, don¡¯t feel too pressured here. If you feel like things are going awry, just admit defeat. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m here.¡±

    ¡°No one will think of you as mute if you don¡¯t speak!¡± Qin Wanru raged at Zu An. It wasn¡¯t easy for her to spur her younger daughter¡¯s motivation, but this fellow was actually trying to undo her efforts!

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Wanru for +404 Rage!

    Chu Zhongtian also frowned as well. ¡°Zu An, it¡¯s a good thing for you if Huanzhao wins too. You don¡¯t stand much of a chance against Yuan Wendong.¡±

    Zu An was utterly frustrated by theck of trust in him. ¡°But I really do think that I can win the match.¡±

 Chapter 117: Childhood Trauma

    <h4>Chapter 117: Childhood Trauma</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°I¡¯ve told you many times that you have to kick off your bad habit of boasting!¡± Qin Wanru was already feeling stressed from worrying about the future of the Chu n, and Zu An¡¯s words seemed to be further fueling her fury. Were it not for the fact that they were in public, she would have reallyshed out at him. ¡°Now isn¡¯t the time for you to be running your mouth. I¡¯ll deal with you once we get back!¡±

    You have sesfully trolled Qin Wanru for +999 Rage!

    After saying her piece, she pulled Chu Huanzhao away. Chu Zhongtian also looked a little displeased too, but he chose not to say anything. Instead, he left with Qin Wanru to finish up thest minute cramming.

    Zu An stared at them with an incredulous look on his face.

    Wow, what¡¯s wrong with this world? Everyone doesn¡¯t hesitate to believe my lies, but when I speak of the truth, everyone starts doubting me. What a tough life I lead!

    Also, father-inw, you aren¡¯t doing your part here. Look at how fiery-tempered Qin Wanru is. You have to work harder to vent her inner mes at night, or else the one to suffer is me!

    It was then that Chu Chuyan¡¯s voice sounded in his ears. ¡°I know that you¡¯re dissatisfied with your current circumstances, and you wish to do something to prove yourself before my father and mother. However, you really need not do this. It¡¯s wiser to work within your limits instead. What you¡¯re doing now will only have adverse effects.¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s words were subtle, but the meaning behind what she was driving at was pretty clear. She also thought that Zu An was boasting over here.

    ¡°Orh.¡± Zu An couldn¡¯t be bothered to exin anymore. It was not as if anyone would believe him anyway.

    ¡°How did you know that person is called Wu Di?¡± asked Chu Chuyan.

    ¡°I guessed,¡± replied Zu An with a shrug.

    ¡°Guessed?¡± Chu Chuyan frowned, unsatisfied with the answer Zu An was providing.

    ¡°Yeap. I thought that the name ¡®Di Wu¡¯ sounds pretty weird, and considering the fact that the Wu n is backing the Yuan n, I wondered if his real name might just be Wu Di. So, I gave it a try, and it was unexpectedly a hit.¡± Zu An couldn¡¯t possibly reveal his system to her, so he could onlye up with an excuse.

    To his surprise, Chu Chuyan nodded in response. ¡°I see. It was a coincidence, but you really did me and the Chu n a huge favor this time around.¡±

    Zu An already had no inner energy left to retort anymore. See! You believed my lies so easily, yet you keep doubting me when I¡¯m saying the truth.

    ¡°Cough cough~¡± Chu Chuyan suddenly began coughing, and she quickly took out a handkerchief to cover her mouth.

    Zu An sharply noticed a red patch on her handkerchief, and he froze in ce. ¡°You¡¯re injured?¡±

    Chu Chuyan grabbed his arm to stop him from speaking on. ¡°I¡¯m fine. It¡¯s just a minor injury, so don¡¯t say anything about it.¡±

    Zu An noticed that Chu Chuyan¡¯s face was three shades paler than usual, which was a clear indication that her injuries were not as light as she was putting it out to be. In a fit of rage, he cursed, ¡°How dare the Yuan n and Wu n bully my wife? Tsk! I¡¯ll teach them a lessonter on!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Chu Chuyan.

    At this juncture, she already didn¡¯t know what she could say to Zu An anymore. So, she decided to turn her attention toward the stage to see how her younger sister was faring.

    Chu Huanzhao¡¯s opponent was Yuan Wenji, Yuan Wendong¡¯s cousin. While his cultivation was beneath that of Yuan Wendong, he was still around mid third rank. Theoretically speaking, Chu Huanzhao didn¡¯t stand much of a chance in this battle, but her possession of the Wailing Whip and Chu Zhongtian¡¯s pointers evened things out a little. As long as she yed her cards well, there was a fair chance she could defeat her enemy.

    On the opposite side, things looked a little tense over at the Yuan n too. They thought that they could clinch a decisive advantage in the first eight matches, so even if they lost this match, it still shouldn¡¯t have affected the conclusion.

    Yet, who could have thought that a mishap would ur on Wu Di¡¯s side? Despite being a sixth rank cultivator, he actually lost to a mere fifth rank cultivator. He really should change his name to Useless instead!

    Due to Wu Di¡¯s loss, the Yuan n was currentlygging behind 3:4, which made this match of critical importance. They had to win this round in order to be able to proceed on to the next round.

    Yuan Wendong took a look at Zu An and sneered coldly. You have been hiding their true prowes for so long, likely in hopes of proving your worth in this tournament. But what a pity, you bumped into me instead! Later on, I¡¯d show everyone that you¡¯re nothing more than a good-for-nothing. You¡¯ll regret provoking me time and time again!

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Looking at the two fighters on the dueling ring, the crowd began discussing amongst themselves.

    ¡°Woah, I didn¡¯t expect Chu Second Miss to be this pretty.¡±

    ¡°Of course! Given how pretty the older sister is, how could the younger sister fare too badly?¡±

    ¡°I heard that Chu Second Miss is in the ninth ce of Brightmoon Academy¡¯s Sweetheart Ranking!¡±

    ¡°I think she¡¯s justgging behind due to her young age. Give it a few years, and she¡¯ll surely blossom like a beautiful flower.¡±

    ¡°I think she¡¯s fine as she is at the moment. It would be better if she could be younger.¡±

    ¡°... Get away from us. We don¡¯t hang out with fiends like you!¡±

    ...

    Hearing the discussionsing from the crowd, Yuan Wenji shook his head and sneered coldly. Only he knew best just what kind of terrifying demon was concealed behind her beautiful exterior.

    His thoughts drifted back to the times when he was bullied by her, be it having his pocket money snatched, getting beaten up by her, having his pants pulled down right before the entire ss... He could still remember how she stood proudly before him,ughing evilly like a true demon. That had made him jolt awake from his nightmares far more than once.

    In the past, he dared not to exact vengeance on her out of fear of her position as the daughter of a duke, but with the Wu n¡¯s backing now, he no longer had any fear. He could make full use of his dueling ring to return everything he had suffered in the past to her.

    ¡°Chu Second Miss, we meet one another again,¡± said Yuan Wenji with a gleeful smile.

    He had intentionally hidden from Chu Huanzhao all these years while enduring arduous training in hopes of exacting vengeance one day. It was just a pity that his limited aptitude had decreed a cap on his future aplishments. Nevertheless, the fruits of hisbor should be more than enough to deal with her.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± asked Chu Huanzhao.

    Yuan Wenji choked on his breath for a moment there before turning red in anger. This woman actually doesn¡¯t remember me anymore! After bullying so much when I was younger, she actually forgot all about me!

    He wanted to speak it out and make her remember, but his logical mind eventually persuaded him otherwise. He was going to exact vengeanceter on anyway, and it would be dangerous if others were to catch him in the act.

    To be honest, nothing would happen even if he revealed it. Chu Huanzhao had bullied far too many people when she was younger that she could hardly count them anymore...

    Perplexed by theck of response, Chu Huanzhao was going to probe on when her father¡¯s voice sounded in her ears. She took a deep breath and calmed herself down. Holding the Wailing Whip tightly in her hands, as soon as the official announced themencement of the duel, she flicked her wrist to strike down on Yuan Wenji¡¯s body.

    Seeing this, Chu Chuyan nodded in approval. Her younger sister might becking in cultivation, but her skills with the Wailing Whip was the real deal... She had been using it well bullying others over the years, after all.

    However, Yuan Wenji was prepared for her attack. He dodged the whip with a sideward row before quickly charging forward. Against a long-ranged weapon like the whip, the wisest decision was for him to engage her in a close-range battle.

    Chu Zhongtian had already warned her about this in advance, so she slowly retreated to maintain the distance between them while flicking her whip to force Yuan Wenji to remain at bay.

    On the other hand, Yuan Wenji tried his best to approach her while dodging the whips. However, he eventually slipped up and got struck on his arm.

    ¡°ARGH!¡±

    The sheer pain had Yuan Wendong jolting in horror. It was really not something a human could endure. It felt as if someone had taken a screwdriver to hammer his bones.

    The crowd amidst the Chu n was delighted to see that the Wailing Whip was working its wonders. As long as she could get a few more hits in, the sheer amount of pain should be enough to make Yuan Wenji pass out.

    At her father¡¯s reminder, Chu Huanzhao continued to flick her wrist to pressure Yuan Wenji.

    ¡°Did you think that I¡¯m unprepared?¡± However, Yuan Wenji suddenly retrieved a shield from behind his back. It wasn¡¯t too big initially, but for some reason, it suddenly expanded to be big enough to shield his entire body.

    Chu Zhongtian immediately straightened his back. ¡°It¡¯s no wonder why the arms produced by the Yuan n suddenly improved so drastically. They have indeed managed to find a formidable runemaster to back them up!¡±

    The shield was indubitably the work of a runemaster, wielding the ability to expand and contract at will.

    In an instant, the tables were turned on Chu Huanzhao. Her whip was formidable, but Yuan Wenji was able to easily guard himself with the shield. Step by step, he slowly shortened the gap between them, rendering him helpless.

    Qin Wanru clutched her husband¡¯s arm and said, ¡°He seems to be prepared in advance.¡±

    Chu Zhongtian nodded with an awful look on his face. ¡°Indeed. There¡¯s no doubt that there¡¯s a spy in our Chu n now. They revealed our sequencing to the enemy; that¡¯s why they are able to curb us to this degree. They even thought of how to deal with Huanzhao¡¯s Wailing Whip in advance.¡±

    ¡°Who in the world is it?!¡± Qin Wanru turned to look at their own people, but with doubt lingering in her eyes, everyone looked like a possible spy to her.

    ¡°We¡¯ll slowly look into it once we get back.¡± Chu Zhongtian closed his eyes and sighed deeply. ¡°We¡¯re doomed today. However, this works fine too. At least we know the threats lurking by our side, so we can guard against them in the future.¡±

    ¡°But we¡¯re paying too great a price for that!¡± Qin Wanru knew just how important the arms market was, as well as the implication of losing it. ¡°Should we get Huanzhao to hold on a little longer? There might just be some hope.¡±

    Chu Zhongtian hesitated for a moment, but in the end, he decided to go along with his wife¡¯s wishes. He didn¡¯t want to lose the arms market which the Chu n had dominated for centuries either.

    Meanwhile, on the dueling ring, Yuan Wenji had already pulled close to Chu Huanzhao. A glint shed across his eyes as he suddenly rolled forward and swiftly got into extremely close range to Chu Huanzhao.

    Chu Huanzhao was horrified. She quickly hurled her fist forward in retaliation, but her cultivation was beneath that of Yuan Wenji, and her other hand was still holding onto the Wailing Whip. Given such disadvantages, how could she hold her own against him?

    Yuan Wenji grabbed her left hand and dislocated her wrist, leaving Chu Huanzhao crying in horror.

    rmed, Chu Zhongtian immediately stood up and dered, ¡°We admit defeat this round!¡±

    However, even while he was saying those words, Yuan Wenji gathered his strength toward his fist, and channeling his umtion of rage over the years, he struck heavily on her abdomen.

    Pu!

    With a spurt of blood, Chu Huanzhao was sent flying.

    Chu Zhongtian quickly rushed forward to catch his daughter before hurriedly dealing with her injuries. He had no spare attention to care about anything more given the circumstances.

    Those from the Chu n quickly crowded around Chu Huanzhao, leaving Zu An no space to squeeze in. So, he turned around to re at Yuan Wenji coldly, saying, ¡°We¡¯ve already admitted defeat, so why did you still deal such a vicious blow?¡±

    Under his guilty conscience, Yuan Wenji was overwhelmed by Zu An¡¯s imposing disposition for a brief moment and ended up stuttering.

    It was then that Yuan Wendong stood forward to speak up, ¡°How could an ordinary human like you know about the battles between cultivators? There¡¯s only a fine line between victory and loss in a fight, and Wenji has witnessed Chu First Miss¡¯ glorious splendor in defeating a sixth rank cultivator earlier. Who knows? Chu Second Miss might just have other means to exert in the situation back then. Who could have known that Chu Second Miss turns out to be socking instead? Haa, she really should learn more from her older sister and practice more.¡±

    Yaun Wenji also quickly snapped out of it and said, ¡°Indeed! I was simply too immersed in the fight earlier that I didn¡¯t hear the Brightmoon Duke¡¯s words!¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t hear my words?¡± Chu Zhongtian suddenly bellowed furiously. He had already confirmed that his younger daughter was in no danger, so he raised his head to look at the man still standing on the dueling ring. ¡°Are you saying that the words spoken by an eighth rank cultivator are too soft for the likes of you to hear?¡±

    A terrifying aura suddenly weighed down on the dueling ring, leaving Yuan Wenji gulping in horror. His body began shuddering uncontrobly as he took a step back.

    ¡°Is being an eighth rank cultivator that big of a deal to you?¡± Wu Wei suddenly appeared right in front of Yuan Wenji to shield him. ¡°This is a conflict between the juniors. What¡¯s an adult like you stepping into this and bullying the juniors for?¡±

 Chapter 118: Iâ€™ve Never Heard Such a Request In My Entire Life

    <h4>Chapter 118: I¡¯ve Never Heard Such a Request In My Entire Life</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Wu Wei, it looks like you¡¯re really asking for a fight here!¡± Chu Zhongtian took in a deep breath as he clenched his fists tightly together.

    ¡°The two of you should calm down.¡± Sang Hong also rushed down to stand between the two of them. ¡°The focus today should be the ns Tournament, so the two of you should stop taking the limelight here. Brightmoon Duke, allow me to say some words of fairness here. Yuan Wenji has already held back earlier, or else your daughter would have really been in danger.¡±

    ¡°Been in danger?¡± Chu Zhongtian sneered furiously. ¡°He dares?¡±

    Sang Hong could only brush off what Chu Zhongtian had said and continued on, ¡°Patriarch Yuan, even though Yuan Wenji didn¡¯t intend for this, he did go too far this time around. Why don¡¯t we have the Yuan n fork out Chu Second Miss¡¯ medical fees aspensation?¡±

    Needless to say, Yuan Zhengchu went along with Sang Hong¡¯s suggestion happily. ¡°Of course, that¡¯s only to be expected. I¡¯m willing to fork out 10,000 silver taels for Chu Second Miss¡¯ safe recovery.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. Our Chu n can at least pay for our own people¡¯s medical fees!¡± With a cold harrumph, Chu Zhongtian brought his younger daughter back to the Chu n¡¯s resting area.

    With Sang Hong siding with the Yuan n, Principal Jiang taking on a neutral position, and City Lord Xie opting for an ambiguous stance, it couldn¡¯t be helped that Chu Zhongtian was in a disadvantageous position when a conflict broke out.

    Amidst the crowd, Ji Dengtu shook his head and said, ¡°Dumb Chu, you¡¯re simply too tolerant. Even in the eyes of an outsider, you look nothing more than a coward. Why did Qin Wanru choose you of all people back then? Wouldn¡¯t it be great if she chose me instead? She would have been able to live a carefree life right now.¡±

    Wu Wei, and the patriarchs of the Yuan n and Zheng n traded gleeful nces. It looks like the Chu n¡¯s era hase to an end!

    Shi Kun also had a smile on his face. Taking away the arms market is the first step to unraveling the Chu n. Before long, Chu Chuyan will fall into my embrace.

    Unable to stand the situation, Xie Xiu whispered softly, ¡°Father, are we really not going to back the Chu n up?¡±

    ¡°Of course we¡¯re going to help them,¡± said Xie Yi. ¡°But when we should do so is a question worth pondering over.¡±

    Jiang Luofu was not interested in the factional wars urring before her eyes. Right now, she was just curious to see what Zu An would do next. He had transcendent ss aptitude, but that only symbolized his potential. He had wasted far too much time in his younger years, resulting in him being only at the third rank at the moment. He stood no chance at all against the fifth rank Yuan Wendong.

    While she had advised him to stop concealing his abilities and reveal his own worth, this situation was clearly not suitable for him to do so. He was simply too outssed here to prove himself.

    With a livid face, Chu Zhongtian was just about to lead the Chu n away with him when Yuan Zhengchu¡¯s voice suddenly sounded, ¡°Brightmoon Duke, we haven¡¯t finished the tournament yet. Why are you leaving?¡±

    Yuan Zhengchu would have never dared to speak to Chu Zhongtian in such a manner in the past, but with the backing of the Sunspring Duke and Governor Sang Hong, as well as the imminent victory right before him, he was feeling more confident than ever.

    ¡°What is there topete?¡± replied Chu Zhongtian lividly.

    All that was left in the Chu n was a wastrel, yet the Zheng n was insisting for the fight to go on. Wasn¡¯t this obviously an attempt to further put down the Chu n?

    Was I too tolerant over the years that even these small fries dare to climb all over me?

    Wu Wei chuckled softly and said, ¡°The tournament has to go on. Right now, the score between the two ns is 4:4, so we need the final match to decide the allocation of the arms market.¡±

    Sang Hong also nodded in agreement. ¡°Indeed. It¡¯s still a tie at the moment. Since we have been invited here to referee the match, it goes without saying that we must ensure fairness in the proceedings. If the Chu n leaves in advance, I¡¯m afraid that it¡¯ll make it hard for us to decide on the allocation of the arms market.¡±

    He was worried that if the Chu n walked away withoutpeting in the final round, it would create room for contention over the results of the tournament. The Chu n might choose to disregard the results, arguing that the tournament hadn¡¯t beenpleted back then. At the same time, he was also quite curious about the renowned drafted son-inw of the Chu n. Based on the reports he had received recently, while Zu An tended to act in a bizarre manner, he didn¡¯t seem to be as inept as his reputation suggested.

    Even Jiang Luofu also spoke up in agreement. ¡°Indeed. No matter what the situation is, we should still hold the final duel to conclude the tournament properly.¡±

    She was curious as to what Zu An would choose to do here. Would he continue to keep a low profile, or would he attempt to rise up and awe the crowd?

    It was just unfortunate that his opponent had to be Yuan Wendong, so it would be hard for him to do anything.

    While she was speaking, she uncrossed her legs and crossed them again the other way around. Her legs that were veiled in stockings were once again put into the center of attention, drawing the eyes of almost all of the men present. Of course, it was just a pair of legs, one might say, but it didn¡¯t hinder these men from developing further on it through their vivid imagination.

    With the other two making their stance, Xie Yi also nodded in agreement. ¡°Since this is the ns Tournament, we should see it to the end. Even if you wish to admit defeat, we should go by the proper procedures here.¡±

    Xie Yi was a little rmed to see Jiang Luofu¡¯s sudden show of support for Sang Hong, so he subtly hinted to Chu Zhongtian that they could admit defeat and end things here.

    Shi Kun immediately got anxious. If the Chu n were to admit defeat just like that, wouldn¡¯t his nning be all in vain? So, he quickly joined in the conversation too, ¡°Based on what I know, young master Zu of the Chu n has already agreed to fight it out with young master Yuan in order to settle their conflict. Furthermore, it looks like they have made such an agreement more than once?¡±

    Wu Qing also made use of this opportunity to gloat at Zu An too. ¡°Indeed, I can bear testimony to that. Zu An has challenged Yuan Wendong multiple times in the academy, saying that he would teach thetter a lesson in the ns Tournament. I have been looking forward to it for some time now.¡±

    Zu An immediately shot a nce at Wu Qing. You must be dying to fail my arithmetic ss, huh? He was indeed intending to fight it out with Yuan Wendong, but Wu Qing obviously harbored malicious intentions in mind for saying those words.

    Yuan Wendong also spoke up as well, ¡°Indeed. Brother Zu, you have challenged me multiple times, and I was looking forward to trying out your skills too. Since we have time now, I hope that you won¡¯t let me down.¡±

    Those from the Wu n and Yuan n quickly chirped in as well. ¡°Everyone should have heard how Zu An challenged Yuan Wendong earlier before themencement of the tournament too. How could he possibly back down now, right?¡±

    ¡°Fight, fight!¡±

    The crowd was always in for amotion, and they were still harboring grudges toward Zu An for unting his wife earlier on too. It went without saying who they were going to side with here.

    Chu Zhongtian frowned upon seeing this sight. He felt sorry for Zu An. They had intentionally told Zu An to provoke Yuan Wendong with the intention of having him tie down the strongest expert of the Yuan n, but unfortunately, the crowd didn¡¯t know of it, and they weren¡¯t in a good position to exin it either. As a result, they could only have Zu An face the bacsh on his own.

    Still, we can¡¯t really put Zu An in danger just like that.

    With a deep sigh, Chu Zhongtian chose to surrender. ¡°We¡¯ll be admitting...¡±

    But before he could finish his words, Zu An quickly cut him short. ¡°Father-inw, there¡¯s no need to admit defeat. Allow me to fight this round.¡±

    Chu Zhongtian was stunned. He didn¡¯t expect Zu An to want to fight despite the current circumstances. Beside him, Qin Wanru¡¯s fiery temper was ticked off once more. She red at Zu an and said harshly, ¡°What do you mean allow you to fight this round? Shouldn¡¯t you know your own capability the best? Look at what asion this is? This is not the time for you to boast!¡±

    Chu Zhongtian agreed with his wife¡¯s words too, ¡°Indeed. Yuan Wendong hates you down to the core. It¡¯ll be too dangerous for you to fight him on the dueling ring.¡±

    Chu Chuyan walked over to Zu An¡¯s side and advised, ¡°I know that you hope to contribute to the Chu n, but this is not the time for you to get reckless. Yuan Wendong is obviously seeking to exact vengeance on you on the dueling ring. You¡¯ll just be falling for his ploy if you head up right now! You need not care about how others view you. At the very least, all of us know that you¡¯re doing this for the Chu n.¡±

    ¡°Indeed, brother-inw. It¡¯s too dangerous for you to head up right now!¡± Even Chu Huanzhao opened her eyes and uttered feebly to dissuade him.

    Zu An squatted down by Chu Huanzhao¡¯s side and said, ¡°I was initially fine with backing down here, but the Yuan n has gone too far. They viciously dealt such a severe injury to you. It wouldn¡¯t do not to teach them a lesson!¡±

    By the side, Hong Xingying rolled his eyes. What is going on in that fellow¡¯s head? Even at a time like this, he¡¯s still running his mouth. However, with the earlier precedence, he dared not to speak his thoughts out loud for fear of getting humiliated once again.

    Chu Huanzhao¡¯s face reddened upon hearing those words. She snuck a peek at her mother before hurriedly saying, ¡°I know that you care about me, but you can¡¯t even defeat me. You¡¯ll just suffer a tragic defeat up there.¡±

    Zu An replied with a smile, ¡°Have you forgotten how I endured seven strikes of your Wailing Whip the other day? I¡¯m not as weak as you think.¡±

    Qin Wanru couldn¡¯t stand it anymore. She quickly interjected, ¡°Enough, enough! A man shouldn¡¯t make promises that he¡¯s unable to fulfill!¡±

    There¡¯s no way I¡¯m going to let you seduce my younger daughter too! I already warned Huanzhao the other time, but she still continues to get close to him!

    Without bothering to look at Qin Wanru, he looked at Chu Zhongtian directly and said, ¡°Father-inw, let me give it a try. Even if I don¡¯t go up, the Chu n is doomed to lose today anyway.¡±

    Chu Zhongtian frowned. ¡°I¡¯m not worried about losing. I¡¯m worried that you would be in danger.¡±

    Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°That Yuan Wendong wouldn¡¯t dare to kill me in public. At most, he¡¯ll just try to sever my hands or legs. If that¡¯s the case, it would give our Chu n an excuse to pressure them and renegotiate the distribution of the market shares.¡±

    Chu Zhongtian was stunned. He didn¡¯t think that there would be such a way out of it. If the Yuan n really tried to hurt Zu An, considering Huanzhao¡¯s previous injuries too, the Chu n would indeed have a im to state that the Yuan n was undermining the supposedly amicable ns Tournament and argue for its invalidation. By then, everything would be open for negotiation.

    Qin Wanru was equally taken aback too. All along, she had viewed Zu An to just be an ipetent braggart. She honestly didn¡¯t like him from the bottom of her heart. However, when she saw him insisting on going onto the dueling ring so as to fight for renegotiation rights for the Chu n, she suddenly found herself regretting her actions. Have I been undermining him thus far?

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The Chu n¡¯s Yue Shan and the others were also impressed by Zu An¡¯s wits and bravery too, and their impression of him improved greatly. Despite knowing that it was nigh impossible, he still charged his way through in hopes of paving an impossible path. This was what true courage meant.

    Only Hong Xingying sneered coldly in response. That guy has no capabilities at all; all he has is that sharp mouth of his. That¡¯s such a forced reason.

    Despite the reason Zu An came up with, Chu Chuyan still insistently shook her head, saying, ¡°We could have considered the move if it had been on any other asion, but Yuan Wendong hates you to the core right now. He won¡¯t just try to severely injure you. It¡¯s likely that he¡¯s aiming to cripple you for good.¡±

    Zu An shrugged with a bitter smile, ¡°I¡¯m already as crippled as I can get. What else can he do?¡±

    Chu Chuyan was taken aback by that remark. There¡¯s indeed nothing much to cripple Zu An for since he isn¡¯t a cultivator. Besides, his down there is also... Recalling the incident that night, her fairplexion was swiftly tinged in redness.

    ¡°Have you alle to a decision yet or not? Zu An, are you a man? Are you nning to back down on thest moment? If you want to, sure. All you have to do is to admit that you aren¡¯t a man and apologize to me publicly. I¡¯ll magnanimously forgive you for your offense toward me then!¡± said Yuan Wendong with an arrogant voice.

    ¡°If you¡¯re so desperate to get face-pped by me, it¡¯s only right that I give you what you want, right?¡± Taking use of the opportunity brought about by the Chu n while they were in a daze, Zu An leaped onto the dueling ring.

    ¡°Looks like you still have some guts!¡± Yuan Wendong¡¯s eyes lit up. Fearing that Zu An would back down, he quickly leaped onto the dueling ring. His movements were much cooler than Zu An¡¯s. ¡°You want to p me? Come on then! Try your best to p me then...¡±

    While he was speaking, there was suddenly a crisp ¡®pah¡¯ sound, and his ears began ringing. It all happened so quickly that he found himself unable to process what just happened.

    Zu An looked at his own hands before shaking his headmentably. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of a request as depraved as that in my entire life. However, since you¡¯re earnestly pleading with me, I guess I have no choice but to give you what you want.¡±

 Chapter 119: No One Can Defeat Me In My BGM

    <h4>Chapter 119: No One Can Defeat Me In My BGM</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    What just happened?

    The crowd was still cheering a moment ago when everything suddenly plunged into silence. Everyone¡¯s eyes were widened in disbelief.

    Sang Hong, Jiang Luofu, Xie Yi, and the other powerhouses were chatting merrily with one another. Those from the Wu n, Zheng n, and Yuan n were looking gleefully at Chu Zhongtian, waiting for him to be embarrassed. Shi Kun was feeling reassured after seeing Zu An had gotten onto the dueling ring, and he was just about to take a sip of water...

    All of them were frozen in ce at this very moment.

    It could be my eyes ying tricks on me, but did Zu An just p Yuan Wendong? How could that be possible?!

    Everyone¡¯s first reaction was that they were seeing things. Yuan Wendong was a renowned fifth rank cultivator where Zu An was a renowned good-for-nothing who was even weaker than a normal human.

    Everyone rubbed their eyes in confusion before double checking with thepanions beside them. In the end, they could only conclude that they weren¡¯t seeing things, and a huge uproar broke out.

    How did he do it?!

    Those from the Chu n, upon seeing Zu An leap onto the dueling ring, prepared to rush in to stop him. However, the sight that urred left all of them stunned too. Chu Zhongtian traded gazes with Qin Wanru, and Chu Chuyan¡¯s body shuddered. Their eyes were filled with iprehension.

    Only the person on the stretcher, Chu Huanzhao, began pping delightfully. ¡°Good job, brother-inw! Aiyo~¡±

    Her movements identally tugged on her injuries, causing her to groan in pain.

    Yuan Wendong waspletely dumbfounded. His head was still dazed from the impact of the strike. If not for the stinging pain on his cheeks, he would still be trying to figure out what had just happened.

    ¡°I got struck by that trash?¡±

    Rage immediately gushed into his head.

    You have sessfully trolled Yuan Wendong for +1024 Rage!

    He had imagined countless scenarios as to how he should best torture Zu An so as to vent his anger without revealing his killing intent. He had also thought about how he should react if those from the Chu n were to intervene and stop him. However, this was a scenario that had never crossed his mind, not even once!

    He was actually pped in the face by a trash, right before all of the notable figures in the city!

    ¡°I¡¯m going to kill you!¡±

    Yuan Wendong¡¯s rtively suave face immediately distorted from anger as he began charging toward Zu An.

    ¡°Wait!¡± Zu An raised his hand to stop him.

    ¡°It¡¯s toote to beg for mercy now!¡± spat Yuan Wendong angrily.

    Despite his words, he still came to a halt. He was thinking about how he could regain his pride. I should get this fellow to kneel before me, begging desperate for mercy with tears in his eyes. No, that still won¡¯t be enough.

    Zu Anbed his hand through his hair and swiped it backward. ¡°I was in too much of a hurry toe onto the ring that I forgot to y my specially prepared entrance music.¡±

    As he said those words, he took out a seashell from his robe, and a passionate melody began ying on the dueling ring.

    ¡°...¡± Yuan Wendong.

    ¡°...¡± Shi Kun.

    ¡°...¡± Wu Qing.

    ¡°...¡± Chu Chuyan.

    All of the students from the Sky ss immediately knew what was going on, having witnessed it themselves not too long ago during their arithmetic ss. However, the rest of the crowd was confused by this turn of events, which led to fervent discussions.

    ¡°What¡¯s with this melody? Why does my heart start pumping just by listening to it?¡±

    ¡°I feel passion rushing through my veins. Where are the viins?! I¡¯m going to kill them all and save the world!¡±

    ...

    Xie Daoyun had been sitting quietly in her seat for a long time now. She wasn¡¯t too fond of fighting, so the duels that had happened only made her feel drowsy. However, as soon as the melody was yed, her body immediately jerked upright. Wonderment filled her eyes.

    ¡°Gong, Shang, Jiao, Wei, Yu[1]... Hm? This note doesn¡¯t fit the music scale. There are so many notes which I¡¯ve never heard before! How did he manage to do it?¡±

    ¡°That fellow is always such a show-off.¡± Xie Xiu was awed too, though there was no way he would say it aloud. All of a sudden, a thought surfaced in his mind, and he turned to Xie Daoyun and asked, ¡°Big sis, you¡¯re good at music too, right? Why don¡¯t you make an entrance music for me too?¡±

    Xie Daoyun shook her head and replied, ¡°There¡¯s something odd about this melody. I reckon that it was produced by a top-notch master musician in the world. I¡¯m afraid that I¡¯m unable to produce melodies of the same level as this.¡±

    Xie Xiu was stunned. ¡°Is Zu An that talented in music?¡±

    He regretted saying those words right away, for he saw Xie Daoyun¡¯s eyes lighting up. ¡°This is a melodyposed by Zu An?¡±

    ¡°I think so. Zu An had yed it once in the ssroom, and I¡¯ve never heard it anywhere else before.¡± Xie Xiu hesitated for a while before deciding toe clean. There were many people in Brightmoon Academy who knew about this, so if Xie Daoyun really wanted to look into it, there was no way he would be able to hide it from her.

    ¡°This fellow seems to be an interesting one.¡± Xie Daoyun looked at the silhouette on the dueling ring with curiosity in her eyes.

    Jiang Luofu was also looking at Zu An too, but her eyes were more focused on the seashell in his hand. That seems to be Shang Liuyu¡¯s personal possession. She actually gave her own possession to him? Hmph! And you dare im that the two of you are unrted to one another?

    ¡°What¡¯s the point of putting on such a show? Don¡¯t you feel embarrassed?¡±

    Meanwhile, Yuan Wendong¡¯s face had turned as dark as charcoal. He didn¡¯t think that Zu An was asking him to stop in order to do this.

    ¡°What do you know? This is a ritual!¡± Zu An opened his hands slightly, reminiscent of the Buddha embracing the masses. ¡°In my BGM, I am undefeatable.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll soon know that all of these antics of yours arepletely useless. All it does is make you look like a clown!¡± Yuan Wendong tried his best to mock Zu An so as to regain some of his honor, but somehow, he felt that his skills in this aspect werecking inparison to thetter. Somehow, he had a feeling that he was still being one-upped, and that only made him even more infuriated.

    You have sessfully trolled Yuan Wendong for +400 Rage!

    Zu An sighed deeply and said, ¡°I really don¡¯t know where you find the courage to say these words even after getting pped by me. Don¡¯t you feel embarrassed?¡±

    Yuan Wendong nearly choked. He looked at Zu An and raged, ¡°I was only careless earlier! I didn¡¯t think that you would attack me just like that! Now that my guard is up, there¡¯s no way you stand a chance against me anymore!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Yuan Wendong for +511 Rage!

    Those words spurred a series of boos from the crowd. For a fifth rank cultivator to be struck by a good-for-nothing, surely something like this cannot be reasoned with just carelessness anymore, right?

    Yuan Wendong simply turned a blind eye to the reaction of the crowd. Snow had told him that even though Zu An was a third rank cultivator, his fighting prowess was higher than it looked. So, he wasn¡¯t too surprised that Zu An actually managed to strike him in a surprise assault.

    However, things were different now. He had picked up his attention to guard against Zu An, so how could thetter hurt him anymore? Hmph! Just wait till I get my hands on him. I¡¯ll first snap his hands then...

    Barely as these thoughts surfaced in his mind, another loud ¡®pah¡¯ sounded.

    Yuan Wendong staggered weakly, nearly tumbling over. Yet another stinging pain assaulted his cheeks.

    What just happened?

    Yuan Wendong was confused. All he saw was a blur earlier. There was just a split moment where he lost sight of Zu An, and at the next moment, he was struck once again on his cheeks.

    How is this possible?

    Yuan Wendong wasn¡¯t the only one doubting the matter. The crowd was equally baffled as well.

    Sang Hong narrowed his eyes. Unlike the others, he saw everything clearly with the sharp eyes he had as an eighth rank cultivator. Zu An had used a bizarre movement skill to get close to Yuan Wendong. His movements were simply too quick that thetter didn¡¯t get a chance to react at all.

    Shi Kun also frowned deeply too. He turned to direct a stern re at Snow as he asked, ¡°What¡¯s going on? There¡¯s nothing in your reports that states that he has a movement skill of this caliber!¡±

    Snow was equally bewildered too. ¡°I don¡¯t know about it either! He didn¡¯t use it thest time I shed with him!¡±

    ¡°Useless!¡± Shi Kun cursed coldly before turning his gaze back to the dueling ring.

    Snow¡¯s eyes reddened as she bit down on her lips. As indignant and aggrieved as she was, she held her tongue because she knew that she wasn¡¯t in a position to say anything more.

    Jiang Luofu also smiled approvingly. If I knew that he had such a trump card, I wouldn¡¯t have worried so much for nothing.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    However, the ones who were the most shocked of all were no other than those from the Chu n. Qin Wanru tugged her husband¡¯s hand as she asked, ¡°Hubby, are my eyes ying tricks on me?¡±

    Chu Zhongtian was no less shocked than her. He replied with a bitter smile, ¡°How could both of our eyes be failing at the same time?¡±

    Judging from Zu An¡¯s ki pulsation, it would appear that he was a third rank cultivator. However, how could a third rank cultivator move so quickly?

    As it turned out, Zu An had been concealing his true abilities all this while. Who could have thought that he had managed to silently cultivate to this level?

    Chu Chuyan couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Father, what is that movement skill he¡¯s using? Why haven¡¯t I seen it before?¡±

    Chu Zhongtian shook his head and replied, ¡°I¡¯ve never seen it before either.¡±

    The one who was the happiest about the current turn of events was no other than Chu Huanzhao. She looked at the figure on the dueling in excitement. My brother-inw is actually this formidable! Hmph, he actually lied to me for so long. I¡¯ll slowly settle the scores with youter on!

    ¡°Is this the standard of the Sky ss students of Brightmoon Academy? Tsk!¡±

    ¡°What fifth rank and prodigy? Even a normal person can p him so easily. I think even I am stronger than him!

    ¡°Are the two of them working with one another to put on a show before us?¡±

    ...

    Most of those in the crowd didn¡¯t have eyes that were as sharp, so they were unable to see through the crux of Zu An¡¯s movements. They simply thought that Yuan Wendong, despite being a fifth rank cultivator, was not pulling his weight and was getting pped by his opponent in a ridiculous manner.

    Hearing the discussions from the crowd, Yuan Wendong¡¯s eyes reddened.

    This bastard! How dare he humiliate me in such a manner?!

    You have sessfully trolled Yuan Wendong for +1024 Rage!

    He was feeling both angry and embarrassed, but more than that, he was shocked too. He hadn¡¯t seen how Zu An moved earlier, and his inability to understand what had happened was interfering with his ability to think straight.

    ¡°You fool! Is your elemental ability just for show?! There¡¯s something weird about Zu An¡¯s movement skill, so don¡¯t fight him face-on!¡± Wu Wei¡¯s voice sounded in his ears.

    Yuan Wendong¡¯s eyes lit up. He never thought of using his elemental ability as he assumed that a fifth rank cultivator like him would be able to curb a third rank cultivator easily. On top of that, he was worried that he would identally end the battle too quickly by leaving Zu An severely injured. So, he subconsciously thought that he had to fight slowly with Zu An so as to torture him.

    However, after having gotten pped twice, he couldn¡¯t care less about it anymore. He felt that he had to shred Zu An into pieces in order to vent his rage.

    ¡°You have thoroughly enraged me!¡± Yuan Wendong spat as he began to back away to the corner of the dueling ring, slowly creating distance between the two of them. Then, he slowly raised his hands as he embarked on the standard viinous monologue, ¡°I must admit, your movement skill is more formidable than I¡¯ve thought. However, before absolute power, that¡¯s all meaningless!¡±

    As he spoke, the swords and sabers of the crowd near the dueling ring began to tremble, as if some sort of force was summoning them. Shocked, the crowd quickly held their weapons tightly to keep it from flying away.

    Only those from the Yuan n were prepared and allowed their swords to be taken to the dueling ring. The swords swiftly gathered around Yuan Wendong, floating before him. Their tips were all pointed in one direction, toward Zu An.

    ¡°Is this the prowess of a fifth rank cultivator?¡±

    ¡°Woah! This army of flying swords is simply too awesome!¡±

    ¡°See! How could a fifth rank cultivator like Yuan Wendong possibly lose to that wastrel from the Chu n?¡±

    ...

    Qin Wanru was incredibly agitated. ¡°Why didn¡¯t Zu An use his movement skill properly to get close to Yuan Wendong and curb him? All of the things he could do, he waited silently for Yuan Wendong to create some distance between them! What¡¯s he going to do now then? No matter how fast his movement skill is, how can he dodge all of them?¡±

    The more she thought about it, the angrier she felt. ¡°He¡¯s showing off for nothing!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Wanru for +567 Rage!

    1. Basically refers to Do, Re, Mi, So, La respectively, just that it¡¯s a more traditional version to them in ancient China.

 Chapter 120: Milord, The Era Has Changed!

    <h4>Chapter 120: Milord, The Era Has Changed!</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Chu Zhongtian consoled, ¡°I guess Zu An is justcking in battle experience, so don¡¯t be too harsh on him. His earlier performance is already an unexpected surprise to us.¡±

    Qin Wanru still couldn¡¯t help but remark, ¡°It¡¯s true that I didn¡¯t bear any hopes for him at the start, but I didn¡¯t expect him to have such a formidable movement skill either. If he has such capability, it¡¯s not entirely impossible for him to achieve victory. Yet, he used it just to humiliate Yuan Wendong. He even had the spare effort to y that bee gee em or something. In the time he wasted, Yuan Wendong finally got serious in the duel. How can I possibly not get angry at this?¡±

    In her view, if Zu An had used his movement skill to catch Yuan Wendong off guard and strike his vitals, perhaps, he might have already won by now. Yet, all he did was just to p thetter twice. While it had indeed undermined the Yuan n¡¯s prestige, his actions had also riled Yuan Wendong up. Once a fifth rank cultivator got serious, it was impossible to bridge the difference with just a movement skill.

    This tournament was of great significance to the Chu n. If Zu An had admitted defeat right from the start, she wouldn¡¯t have felt so frustrated. Yet, she was shown a ray of hope here before being forced to watch the ray of hope slipping them by. The feeling of being so close yet so far was more than enough to make her go on a frenzy.

    Chu Zhongtian sighed deeply and said, ¡°He¡¯s still young. He¡¯ll learn after this incident. Right now, we should be prepared to step in, or else he might just die under Yuan Wendong¡¯s de.

    Chu Huanzhao couldn¡¯t help but speak up, ¡°Father, mother, why do the two of youck confidence in brother-inw? I believe that he¡¯ll be able to do it.¡±

    It was then that Hong Xingying finally found the perfect opportunity to make his piece known. ¡°Second miss, every rank of difference represents a huge gap between cultivators. If a fifth rank cultivator could be defeated that easily, Yuan Wendong wouldn¡¯t have been considered as a prodigy and an expert in our Brightmoon City.¡±

    He thought that he was loyal to the Chu n, but between seeing the Chu n losing the tournament and Zu An earning the winning point, he would rather see the former happen. He couldn¡¯t stand the idea of Zu An making a name for himself, and to make things worse, he lost the first match too. On top of that, he had even mocked Zu An greatly earlier, putting him down as useless.

    In the entire world, there would be no one who could stand such a grave face-pping.

    Chu Huanzhao¡¯s smile stiffened. She might not be fond of cultivating, but how could she possibly not know such basic knowledge? ¡°Hmph! My brother-inw will definitely be able to do it! Isn¡¯t that right, big sister?¡±

    Her voice sounded less confident, such that she had to turn to her older sister to affirm her belief.

    ¡°Maybe,¡± Chu Chuyan answered casually as she stared intently at the figure on the dueling ring contemtively.

    Currently, on the dueling, Yuan Wendong was surrounded by swords and sabers, and that brought him a huge boost of confidence. ¡°Zu An, I have to admit that your movement skill did surprise me. If you had struck me with all you had right from the start, you might have just stood a chance. However, you didn¡¯t grasp your opportunity well, and this is where it alles down.¡±

    Now that he had additional reassurance, Yuan Wendong was not that anxious to end the battle anymore. He wanted to y a cat-and-mouse chasing game, hoping to see Zu An¡¯s remorseful and despaired look.

    Zu An looked at him in intrigue as he remarked, ¡°I would be going easy on you if I defeat you right away. If I don¡¯t return what you did to Huanzhao earlier on, how can I vent her anger?¡±

    Beneath the dueling ring, Chu Huanzhao was overjoyed. She tugged on her parents¡¯ clothes and said, ¡°See, see! I knew brother-inw had his own reasons for doing that.¡±

    But Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru frowned. They felt that Zu An was taking everything too lightly here. But again, given that he was standing up for their daughter, they weren¡¯t in a position to say anything either.

    ¡°Who does he think he is?¡± Hong Xingying thought that Zu An was going for the second miss too despite already having married the first miss, and it made his envy go out of control. ¡°If he can defeat a fifth rank cultivator, I¡¯ll eat this table over here!¡±

    Chu Huanzhao didn¡¯t even bother reacting to Hong Xingying.

    Back to the dueling ring, Yuan Wendong was enraged by what he had just heard. ¡°Hahaha! So, you were going easy on me because you want to exact vengeance for your sister-inw? Hahaha! This is the funniest joke I have heard in all of these years!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Yuan Wendong for +666 Rage!

    ¡°Even a joke of such caliber is already considered as the funniest to you?¡± remarked Zu An in surprise. ¡°It looks like young master Yuan¡¯s worldly experience is truly shallow.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Yuan Wendong.

    You have sessfully trolled Yuan Wendong for +250 Rage!

    He really couldn¡¯t understand what was running through Zu An¡¯s mind to be able to joke at a time like this. He was worried that he might just be angered to the point of spurting blood if he were to continue listening to the Zu An¡¯s words, so he got straight to the point. ¡°I can¡¯t be bothered to talk nonsense with you. I¡¯ll show you the prowess of a fifth rank cultivator, as well as the difference between both of us!¡±

    With a wave of his hands, the floating swords and sabers immediately rained down toward Zu An. There was a look of frenzy and hatred in Yuan Wendong¡¯s eyes as he said, ¡°It hurts, doesn¡¯t it? Cry all you want now, for you¡¯re going to die next!¡±

    It was true that Zu An¡¯s movement skill was unexpectedly powerful, being able to catch him off guard. However, the entire dueling ring was filled with swords and sabers right now, allowing Yuan Wendong tounch an omnidirectional attack on Zu An. No matter where Zu An dodged, he would still get struck in the end.

    ¡°Brother-inw, careful!¡± Shocked, Chu Huanzhao¡¯s body sprung right up, but the pain had her slowly wincing back down onto the stretcher.

    Chu Zhongtian and Chu Chuyan also had grave looks on their faces. They were ready to leap in and save Zu An at any time.

    Shi Kun, however, frowned at the sight. Isn¡¯t Yuan Wendong hurrying things too much here? It was obvious that Chu Zhongtian would leap in and save Zu An if he were to go this far. If so, they might not be able to hurt Zu An as they had initially nned.

    On the dueling ring, Zu An unhurriedly shouted, ¡°Little Pingping~¡±

    Cheng Shouping had been waiting by the side of the dueling ring all this time. He threw a weirdly shaped shield over.

    Watching as Zu An nted the shield in front of him, Yuan Wendong sneered. I was still wondering what trump cards you have, but all you have is a shield in front of you? What about your sides and back then?

    My ability is to control all metal! I can easily get those flying swords to circumvent your shield to strike you!

    However, this was fine as well. With this, the Chu n would be less inclined to make a move.

    With a cold sneer, he diverted his attention amongst the swords and separated them into numerous waves; two to strike from the sides, one to strike from the back, and one to strike from the top.

    However, it was then that he noticed Zu An retrieving a piece of metal from the middle of the shield, emptying it out. As a result, the shield took on a U shape.

    The hell is that shield?! You¡¯re just making fun of me!

    Yuan Wendong thought that Zu An was either fooling around or was reminding the Chu n to intervene and save him. So, he quickly hastened the speed of his swords.

    Ah? What¡¯s going on? Why are my swords not heeding mymands anymore?

    Yuan Wendong was shocked. He tried to will the swords and sabers to move, but they were all shuddering in midair as another force attempted to wrestle control over his weapons.

    Then, all of a sudden, the swords and sabers all flew in amon direction¡ªtoward Zu An¡¯s shield. They stuck tightly toward it, and no matter how Yuan Wendong tried to control them, they wouldn¡¯t move at all.

    T-this... How could this be possible?

    The crowd was shocked by the turn of events.

    Yuan Wendong was horrified. He stared at Zu An, whose head was finally peeking from the shield now, and asked in disbelief, ¡°H-how did you manage to do it?¡±

    Zu An shook his head and sighed deeply. ¡°Milord, the era has changed.¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Ever since he saw Yuan Wendong¡¯s ability to control swords back at the academy, he had been thinking of a way to deal with this move. After all, it wasn¡¯t an easy feat to dodge multiple swords at once, and he didn¡¯t have Pei Mianman¡¯s destructive ck mes too.

    Besides, even if he could dodge it, he wouldn¡¯t go for it either. Yuan Wendong would be coolly maneuvering the swords against him while he was frantically running around like a rat! He wouldn¡¯t stand for that!

    I don¡¯t need my skills to work; I just need them to be cool!

    Zu An¡¯s first thought was to use mas, but the maism of natural mas was too weak. It would be hard for him to outpower the control of a metal element cultivator, or else all metal element cultivators would have been rendered irrelevant by now.

    However, it was fortunate that Zu An was standing on the shoulders of a giant. He had inherited the thousands of years of knowledge of mankind, which brought his attention to electromas. Electromas had the potential to be incredibly powerful, as witnessed by how they were able to raise cars and the sort in industrial usage.

    The principles were also quite simple, and it wasn¡¯t hard to put it into practice. All Zu An had to do was to contact one of the runemasters in the Chu n, and he was able to easily make it out.

    What posed arger problem was the flow of electricity as this world didn¡¯t have generators. But in exchange, there was something else that this world had¡ªlightning element cultivators. Using a special formation, it wasn¡¯t too tough to deposit electricity into something for a short period of time.

    Zu An had plenty of money anyway, so he was able to easily get all of these done. The work was quite simple, not requiring much skill at all, so the runemaster was able toplete it easily. In fact, he thought that it was so trivial that he didn¡¯t even bother reporting it to Chu Zhongtian.

    He thought that Zu An was simply making a toy to fiddle with. He had no idea what an electroma was, as well as the incredible maic force field it could create when activated.

    It was then that those in the crowd finally recovered from their daze. They tried to take a closer look at the bizarrely shaped shield in Zu An¡¯s shield to figure out what it is.

    ¡°Is that a secret weapon the Chu n came up with?¡±

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s to be expected. The Chu n has hundreds of years of history in smithing, so how could the Yuan n possiblypete with them?¡±

    ¡°Chu Zhongtian sure is an old wily fox. He was still acting as if the destruction of the spirit creek would cause the quality of his weapons to fall beneath the Yuan n, but it looks like he was nning to prove their superiority against the Yuan n during the ns Tournament!¡±

    ...

    Seeing the deep looks Sang Hong and the others directed toward him, Chu Zhongtian was dumbstruck. What¡¯s that in Zu An¡¯s hands? I¡¯ve no idea either!

    Back onto the dueling ring, Yuan Wendong really felt like fainting. Everything that had happened today had surpassed his understanding. Looking at the smiling face in front of him, he suddenly felt a chill on his back.

    Just how many more trump cards have that fellow prepared to deal with me?!

    Sensing the withering of Yuan Wendong¡¯s courage, the patriarchs of the Wu n and Yuan n quickly sent him a ki transmission to advise him.

    ¡°You fool! That weapon created by the Chu n might be able to deal with your flying swords, but its bulky size made it impossible to use it in close-quarterbat!¡±

    ¡°Just stop controlling your flying swords and fight with him face-on. Protect yourself with your sword ki. No matter how powerful Zu An¡¯s movement skill is, there¡¯s still a huge disparity between the two of you in terms of strength. He can¡¯t possibly hurt you!¡±

    Having listened to the pointers from the two of them, Yuan Wendong¡¯s fighting spirit swiftly returned to him. Indeed! Zu An might have prepared all sorts of toys here, but the disparity between our cultivation is not something he can bridge that easily. Even if I don¡¯t use my elemental ability, my cultivation itself would be enough to crush him!

    Yuan Wendong immediately calmed down after having thought things out. He looked at Zu An and said coldly, ¡°Zu An, your mysterious weapon did catch me off guard. However, that¡¯s the foundation of the Chu n, not you. Just like I told you thest time, there¡¯s a limit to how far you can go tapping into the strength of others. In the end, what that matters the most is your own strength!¡±

    Having been outdone time and time again on this dueling ring, he was desperate to reverse his crumbling reputation.

    He drew a sword from his waist and swung it casually. Its surface was swiftly imbued with a semi-transparentyer of sword ki. This sight amazed the crowd present in the area. As expected of a fifth rank cultivator. His control over sword ki is incredible!

    This, in turn, brought credibility to what Yuan Wendong said. It was true that the toy Zu An brought out was eye-catching, but it wasn¡¯t enough to win the battle. Once Yuan Wendong recovered from the initial impact, the battle would still be his to take.

 Chapter 121: Whatcha Staring At? (1)

    <h4>Chapter 121: Whatcha Staring At? (1)</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An was amused. ¡°Why do you like to raise gs so much? Have you noticed that you have already said those words many times now? Are you a parrot? Or are those words the only ones you know?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s raising gs?¡± Yuan Wendong was stunned for a moment before realizing he was getting too absorbed into Zu An¡¯s words for no reason. So, he roared angrily, ¡°All you have is that sharp mouth of yours!¡±

    Despite his vehement rebuttal, he dared not to let his guard down anymore. He immediately executed the strongest sword art he knew to attack Zu An.

    ¡°Frenzied Dance of the Roaming Dragon!¡±

    Yuan Wendong¡¯s body suddenly hastened, rushing toward Zu An like a bolt of lightning. He wasn¡¯t just charging in a straight line here. His direction was constantly changing, moving leftward at one moment only to change rightward in the next. This made it hard for Zu An to predict his movement, and it had the effect of cornering Zu An too, leaving him with nowhere to escape.

    The trajectory of his sword left behind after images, making it look like a dragon roaming around the battlefield. With incredible ferocity, his sword gushed toward Zu An, threatening to tear him into pieces.

    Chu Huanzhao nervously gripped her older sister¡¯s words whereas Chu Chuyan watched the scene attentively, prepared to dive in to save Zu An if he fell into a desperate position. It was just that she had been severely injured by Wu Di earlier, so she wasn¡¯t sure if she could make it in time.

    Zu An also drew his sword and executed the only sword art he knew: Brightmoon Academy¡¯s Thirteen Forms of Elementary Swordy.

    Given the powerful momentum Yuan Wendong wasing at him, he wouldn¡¯t be so foolish as to sh head-on with him. However, the issue was that Yuan Wendong had sealed off the surrounding area with silhouettes formed out of his sword ki, leaving him little space to maneuver around.

    Zu An was able to dodge most of the sword ki, but there were still quite a few that he was unable to dodge. For those, he had no choice but to gather his ki and try to fend against it.

    Jarring metallic reverberations echoed in the air as Zu An was forced to retreat several steps. He felt his ki crashing all over his body from the rebound, and his hands felt numbingly painful too. He nearly lost his grip on his sword even.

    Zu An frowned. It looks like there¡¯s arger gap between a third rank cultivator and a fifth rank cultivator than I thought.

    On the other hand, Yuan Wendong stood firmly on the spot, not yielding any space to Zu An at all. The earlier direct sh had affirmed his strength. That¡¯s all Zu An has. To think I nearly got scared by him earlier on!

    His face began to heat up thinking up to this point. You actually embarrassed me so much despite having only this much to you. I¡¯ll make you regret having been born in this world!

    You have sessfully trolled Yuan Wendong for +768 Rage!

    Zu An was speechless. This fellow gets angry whether he wins or loses. He really is a match for Qin Wanru¡¯s fiery temper.

    Nods of agreement could also be seen amongst the crowd too.

    ¡°I knew it. How could Zu An possibly be able to defeat the fifth rank young master Yuan? As soon as they start facing one another properly, the difference between them is made clear!¡±

    ¡°But I think Zu An is pretty formidable too. Is he really a good-for-nothing like what you all said?¡±

    ¡°Even if we underestimated him previously, how powerful could he get? Based on his ki pulsation, he¡¯s only a third rank cultivator at the very most. There¡¯s no way he could match young master Yuan!¡±

    ¡°It looks like he has been hiding his strength all this while, gritting his teeth to bear with the insults from the crowd all in hopes of showing his worth in this tournament. Had it been anyone else, it might have just worked. Unfortunately for him, his opponent is the fifth rank Yuan Wendong.¡±

    ¡°My gosh, what a scheming man he is! It¡¯s no wonder why he managed to marry Chu First Miss. He must have plotted for it!¡±

    ...

    There were quite a few people who shared the same thoughts as well. City Lord Xie Yi shot a deep look at Chu Zhongtian. This guy always puts on an honest and righteous look, but it looks like he¡¯s a wily old fox too.

    Sang Hong also made use of this opportunity to teach his son a lesson. ¡°Do you see that, Qian¡¯er? I told you that this person isn¡¯t as simple as we thought him out to be, right? He has hidden his true strength all this while.¡±

    Sang Qian nodded in response, but in his heart, he was thinking that Zu An was still no more than a third rank. He¡¯s no threat to us anyway.

    The fight on the dueling ring couldn¡¯t pique his interest anymore, so he decided to take this time to admire his beautiful fianc¨¦e instead. So, he turned to look at Zheng Dan, only to see thetter staring at Zu An intently. His face immediately darkened.

    Zheng Dan was oblivious to the fact that her fianc¨¦ was looking at her. At this very moment, she was staring at the person on the dueling ring with amazement in her eyes. ¡°That guy is actually a third rank cultivator! A man who can resist my seduction can¡¯t possibly be any ordinary person. However, why did he bet on his own loss then? Did he think that he was bound to lose today, or does he have a deeper reason behind this?¡±

    Hardly anyone thought that Zu An would win the battle, but Chu Huanzhao was one exception. ¡°My brother-inw is incredible! He¡¯s actually able to stand his ground against Yuan Wendong in a direct sh.¡±

    Beside her, Chu Chuyan exined kindly, ¡°That¡¯s because Yuan Wendong is afraid of his movement skill, so he opted for a wide range attack. That resulted in the dispersion of his strength, thus allowing Zu An to barely cope at the moment.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao was taken aback. ¡°Doesn¡¯t that mean that my brother-inw stands no chance at victory?¡±

    Chu Zhongtian sighed deeply. ¡°I thought that he might have a powerfulbat skill that¡¯s simr to his movement skill; if so, he might have still stood a chance. However, he¡¯s only using the Elementary Swordy of Brightmoon Academy. While the Elementary Swordy has been refined time and time again over the years, its ws are very obvious too. It works well against normal people, but against cultivators, it¡¯s stillcking.¡±

    ¡°Ah...¡± Chu Huanzhao started getting nervous after hearing her father¡¯s words.

    Hong Xingying, who had pricked up his ears to listen to the conversation, heaved a sigh of relief. When he saw how Zu An curbed Yuan Wendong¡¯s army of swords earlier with his bizarre weapon, his heart nearly pounded out of his chest.

    If this fellow really defeats Yuan Wendong, how can I keep my head up in the Chu n from this day onward? Fortunately, even the patriarch doesn¡¯t think that he can win now. That¡¯s good...

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Back onto the dueling ring, Yuan Wendong had started embarking on another wave of attacks toward Zu An, not wanting to give thetter any chance to catch a breather at all. He was determined to use his cultivation to crush Zu An into the ground.

    Zu An used the Thirteen Forms of Elementary Swordy to protect himself. While it was a little awkward, he still managed to barely hold on for the time being.

    ¡°Hm? Can the Elementary Swordy be used in such a manner too?¡±

    ¡°I must say that Zu An is not as weak as I thought after all.¡±

    ¡°But no matter how adept he is at it, it¡¯s still the Elementary Swordy in the end. The threat it can pose toward young master Yuan is limited.¡±

    ...

    Putting aside the crowd, even the powerhouses shared the same thoughts too.

    Sang Hong was surprised to see how Zu An, despite his young age, was able to grasp sword ki, an ability that most cultivators onlyprehendedter on in their cultivation. His aptitude is honestly amazing, but it¡¯s a pity that he¡¯s already in the Chu n. I wonder if it¡¯s possible for us to bring him over to our side.

    Jiang Luofu, on the other hand, frowned. If that earlier attack from him had been just a bit faster and inched leftward a little, its prowess would have been far greater. Is he stillcking in practice?

    Meanwhile, Zu An was feeling incredibly frustrated. There were many times that he was tempted to use his self-created Bixie Swordy, but thinking of Old Mi¡¯s warning, he couldn¡¯t help but hesitate. If even Old Mi was wary of revealing the existence of the skill, it was likely to be a threat far beyond what he could deal with.[1]

    He couldn¡¯t be certain that no one here knew of Sunflower Phantasm, but at the same time, he knew that he couldn¡¯t defeat Yuan Wendong if he didn¡¯t use it.

    As he had managed to push back other fifth rank cultivators like Snow and Pei Mianman in the past, he ended up underestimating just how powerful Yuan Wendong, someone who had just barely reached the fifth rank too, was.

    Now that he thought about it, his fights with Pei Mianman and Snow were quite desperate. He was on the verge of dying, which led to the activation of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, enhancing his ki, speed, and strength to be far greater than normal. This time around, however, he was fighting with a fifth rank cultivator under his normal condition.

    Yuan Wendong was also starting to get impatient after seeing that his attacks weren¡¯t getting through. He had been thoroughly humiliatedter on, so if he couldn¡¯t regain his reputation here, he would never be able to keep his head up in Brightmoon City anymore.

    Unable to take it any longer, he decided to resort to his strongest skill to defeat Zu An once and for all.

    ¡°Ravage of the Golden Dragon!¡±

    Yuan Wendong¡¯s body suddenly began spinning swiftly, causing the air on the dueling ring to gather so densely that it almost felt palpable. The torrential winds left Zu An feeling as if he was surrounded by massive waves that were ready to devour him whole.

    Yuan Wendong¡¯s movements began to blur out as well. In the blink of an eye, he suddenly appeared right behind Zu An, aiming his sword straight toward a ki meridian on Zu An¡¯s right hand. Once a cultivator¡¯s ki meridian was destroyed, no matter how high his cultivation used to be, he would be crippled for good.

    Of course, there were also treasures in the world that could heal severed ki meridians, but those were incredibly hard to find. On top of that, who would bother wasting such a precious treasure on a cripple?

    You have tolerated the insultsing from the world for so long, hoping to turn everything around through this tournament. You wanted to awe the Chu n and the entire Brightmoon City. Unfortunately, you met me. I shall beat you down to the trash you are. You have gotten used to being trash over the years anyway!

    ¡°Stop!¡± Chu Zhongtian noticed Yuan Wendong¡¯s intention, so he quickly headed toward the dueling ring.

    However, both Wu Wei and the patriarch of the Yuan n were prepared. They stepped forward to stop his path. ¡°Brightmoon Duke, why do you keep trying to interfere in the fight between juniors?¡±

    ¡°You two!¡± Chu Zhongtian was infuriated. He unhesitatingly attacked the duo before him with all his might, but the Sunspring Duke was equally matched with him, not to mention that Yuan Zhengchu was supporting him by the side. Even if he were to break through their defense, he still wouldn¡¯t be able to get to Zu An in time.

    By this moment, the tip of Yuan Wendong¡¯s sword was already on the verge of piercing into Zu An¡¯s wrist. But all of a sudden, Zu An shouted out loud, ¡°Whatcha staring at?¡±

    Yuan Wendong was stunned. Is this man sick in the head? Why is he asking such a question in the midst of the battle? Nevertheless, he still ended up replying reflexively, ¡°I¡¯m staring at you, shithead!¡±

    What¡¯s going on?

    Yuan Wendong was stunned. He wasn¡¯t nning to answer Zu An¡¯s question at all, but those words came out of his mouth as if he was possessed.

    In just this briefpse in concentration, Zu An¡¯s sword suddenly darted forth, and Yuan Wendong felt a stabbing pain in his wrist at the next moment. He lowered his head in disbelief, only to see Zu An¡¯s sword plunged into his wrist. Blood was trailing down from his wrist down to the floor.

    On the other hand, his own sword was only a few centimeters away from piercing into Zu An¡¯s wrist. Such a distance could have usually been covered just by him exerting a bit of force on the tip of his finger, but today, it felt like a gorge between two worlds.

    His face kept twitching as he tried his best to push his sword forth, but he suddenly felt utterly powerless. He couldn¡¯t even hold onto his sword anymore.

    What¡¯s going on? Have I... been crippled?!

    Yuan Wendong was bbergasted. Everything that had happened today was so ludicrous that he didn¡¯t even want to believe what he was seeing was real.

    1. He¡¯s referring to the skill which hebined the Sunflower Phantasm and Elementary Swordy together, which is simr to the Bixie Swordy in the sense it¡¯s thebination of the Sunflower Manual and another technique.

 Chapter 121.5: Whatcha Staring At? (2)

    <h4>Chapter 121.5: Whatcha Staring At? (2)</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    It was also at that moment Wu Wei and Yuan Zhengchu turned around to look at the results of the battle, expecting to see Yuan Wendong crippling Zu An. However, what they saw instead left both of their mouths agape.

    Yuan Zhengchu was taken aback for a moment before abruptly flying into a state of rage. With a ferocious look on his face, he leaped toward Zu An, roaring, ¡°How dare you hurt my son? Die!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Yuan Zhengchu for +1024 Rage!

    Even though Yuan Zhengchu¡¯s cultivation was beneath that of the two dukes, killing Zu An was still a walk in the park for him. Without holding back in the least, he struck forth with such powerful momentum that Zu An couldn¡¯t even dodge even if he wanted to.

    However, there was no need for Zu An to dodge at all, for a towering figure appeared before him in the next moment. Chu Zhongtian stopped Yuan Zhengchu attack, and with a mocking smile on his lips, he replied, ¡°Patriarch Yuan, this is a fight between the juniors. Don¡¯t you think that it¡¯s beneath you to interfere here?¡±

    Having been able to return these words to the dastardly Yuan Zhengchu left him feeling greatly soothed on the inside. He was a good person, but that didn¡¯t mean that he would allow anyone to trample over him. The Yuan n had been acting smugly for the entire day now, and it was time for them to suffer the consequences of their actions.

    ¡°You!¡± Yuan Zhengchu was infuriated, but his cultivation was lower than Chu Zhongtian, so he couldn¡¯t breach thetter¡¯s defense.

    Fortunately, Wu Wei stepped forward at this moment. However, instead of making a move toward Chu Zhongtian, he walked over to Yuan Wendong¡¯s side to first stop the bleeding. Then, he examined the wound with a livid face.

    Out of fear of Zu An¡¯s safety, he positioned himself to ensure that neither Yuan Zhengchu nor Wu Wei could hurt Zu An without going past him.

    Yuan Zhengchu also quickly rushed over to his son¡¯s side to support him. He took out a few recovery pills and popped it into thetter¡¯s mouth. Then, he turned to Zu An and bellowed, ¡°Doesn¡¯t the rule of the ns Tournament state that the fighters shouldn¡¯t harm their opponents? Yet, you viciously crippled my son! How vile is your heart?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Yuan Zhengchu for +999 Rage!

    Toward that, Zu An shrugged casually and replied, ¡°I¡¯m afraid I don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re saying here. There¡¯s only a fine line between victory and loss in a fight between cultivators, and it was just moments ago that I witnessed the glorious splendor of young master Yuan¡¯s swordsmanship. I thought that he might have some other trump cards that he hasn¡¯t utilized yet. As a third rank cultivator, you can¡¯t expect me to hold back against a fifth rank cultivator. How am I to know that young master Yuan would be far weaker than I thought. Haa, I shouldn¡¯t have put him on the same pedestal as my wife, Chuyan!¡±

    These were the words that Yuan Wendong said mockingly earlier on when Yuan Wenji intentionally injured Chu Huanzhao. Zu An was just returning the favor now.

    ¡°You!¡± Yuan Wendong bellowed in fury before abruptly passing out from the severity of his injuries and his agitation.

    You have sessfully trolled Yuan Wendong for +1024 Rage!

    ¡°You bastard! You dare to...¡± Yuan Zhengchu was maddened, but he couldn¡¯t think of a reason to refute Zu An¡¯s argument.

    You have sessfully trolled Yuan Zhengchu for +1024 Rage!

    It was then that Chu Zhongtian spoke up, ¡°Patriarch Yuan, Zu An is the son-inw of our Chu n, not a bastard. Out of consideration for your injured son, I¡¯ll let it slide this time, but know that our Chu n won¡¯t allow anyone to insult our family members!¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Yuan Zhengchu¡¯s face flushed red, but in terms of standing or cultivation, he was far beneath Chu Zhongtian. As angry as he was, he was unable to make a move here.

    Wu Wei took over the baton and turned to the judges of the tournament. ¡°Judges, it¡¯s a rule of this tournament that fighters aren¡¯t to hurt their opponents intentionally. In the earlier battle, while Yuan Wenji had harmed Chu Huanzhao, her injuries aren¡¯t severe and will recover with some time. However, Zu An has viciously crippled Yuan Wendong in this round. I ask of you to annul his qualification as a fighter and dere it as the Chu n¡¯s loss!¡±

    ¡°A load of rubbish!¡± Chu Zhongtian bellowed. ¡°Wu Wei, do you take everyone to be blind? It was Yuan Wendong who tried to exploit the battle to cripple Zu An earlier, only to end up suffering a counterattack. His fate is nothing more than a work of karma he brought upon himself. He has no one to me for his plight!¡±

    There were some amidst in the crowd who had clearly seen what happened earlier too, and they roared in agreement. ¡°That¡¯s right! It was Yuan Wendong who tried to cripple Zu An first!¡±

    However, the supporters of the Yuan n immediately fought back. ¡°Rubbish! Why would young master Yuan do that? A fifth rank cultivator like him needs not to pick on a third rank cultivator like Zu An! Zu An exploited his moment of carelessness to deal a vicious blow! What a sinister person he is!¡±

    In truth, most of the spectators were ordinary mortals or low rank cultivators, so they weren¡¯t able to clearly see what happened earlier on. They could only listen to the analyses of thoseing from both sides and decide a side to support.

    Meanwhile, instead of expressing his stance first, Sang Hong turned to Xie Yi and Jiang Luofu and said, ¡°City Lord Xie and Principal Jiang, what do the two of you think?¡±

    Old wily fox, Xie Yi thought in his mind. If he expressed his stance at a moment like this, he would only end up offending one side no matter what. However, as someone who had dabbled in politics for many years, he knew how to maneuver such situations too. ¡°Pardon my weakness, but I¡¯m unable to tell how young master Zu managed to strike young master Yuan ahead of time with the most basic Elementary Swordy. I have to ask Governor Sang to enlighten me on this.¡±

    His words voiced out the doubts in many of those present too. Anyone could tell that Yuan Wendong was in an advantageous position earlier on, but why would the tables be turned on him at thest moment?

    ¡°That trash! Why did Yuan Wendong answer Zu An¡¯s question at that critical moment? He deserves to be crippled!¡± Shi Kun gulped down a cup of a tea, but his agitated heart simply wouldn¡¯t calm down. He had made many preparations in order to ensure that Yuan Wendong would be able to get rid of Zu An, but his n had beenpletely foiled.

    Snow tried to console him, ¡°It could be that Zu An is simply too hateful, such that Yuan Wendong failed to hold himself in.¡±

    ¡°A trash indeed!¡± Shi Kun tightened his grip, crushing the teacup in his hand.

    Seeing this, Snow immediately fell silent. She wouldn¡¯t want to be implicated in Shi Kun¡¯s wrath at a moment like this.

    Amidst the crowd, Ji Dengtu narrowed his eyes.

    Thatd sure has a potent mouth. He¡¯s actually able to get that Yuan guy to answer him at that critical moment. But again, what¡¯s that movement skill he used? Somehow it looks a little familiar to me. Have I seen it somewhere before?

    But why can¡¯t I remember it? Is it because I tired myself out reading the booklet recently that it¡¯s starting to impair my memory? Hmm, it looks like I must curb myself a little. I should prepare some medicine to nourish myself up.

    The only one in the crowd who wasn¡¯t surprised by Zu An¡¯s victory was Pei Mianman. She sat leisurely in her seat, her beautiful profile drawing furtive nces from the men around her. However, she paid no heed to it. Her peach blossom eyes curled into a smile as she murmured, ¡°A man whom I can¡¯t kill; how could it be hard for him to defeat Yuan Wendong?¡±

    Back to the judges, Sang Hong internally cursed Xie Yi for being as slippery as an eel while silently listening to the discussions urring around him. In truth, he was also having difficulties understanding why Yuan Wendong would suddenly get distracted at that critical moment. He must be too young, that¡¯s why he¡¯s unable to focus properly.

    So, he turned to Jiang Luofu and asked, ¡°Principal Jiang, what are your thoughts?¡±

    The victory of the Chu n in the tournament would indubitably affect his future ns, which put him in a bad mood. Even Jiang Luofu¡¯s beautiful thighs couldn¡¯t stir him anymore.

    Jiang Luofu calmly responded, ¡°It was indeed Yuan Wendong who tried to cripple Zu An at the start, only to be counterattacked by Zu An. It was a critical moment, so neither side could afford to hold back against one another. Regardless of the oue, neither side can be med for their decision back there. Since the victor has already been decided, I don¡¯t think that there¡¯s anything much we should be discussing here.¡±

    Sang Hong was surprised to hear how supportive Jiang Luofu was of Zu An. However, she didn¡¯t intervene the previous few times he tried to undermine the Chu n, so it didn¡¯t seem like she was sided toward them. More likely, she was just ying the neutral role, as per normal for the academy.

    In any case, it didn¡¯t seem possible to reverse the situation anymore, especially not with what Jiang Luofu had just said. So, Sang Hong dered, ¡°Since the victor has been decided, I hereby dere that the Chu n has won the ns Tournament!¡±

    Even though Sang Hong was sent here to deal with the Chu n, he still had to uphold the dignity of the royal court. He couldn¡¯t act too explicitly against the Chu n, or else it would create openings for his enemies to dig at. With things already settled in stone, he could only go along with the flow and revise his future ns.

    Those from the Chu n immediately cheered happily. There were many incidents throughout the course of the day, and they thought that they would really suffer a loss in the hands of the Wu n and Yuan n this time around. Who could have thought that there would be such ast-minute reversal?

    On the other hand, those from the Wu n and Yuan n looked absolutely livid. After all of the preparations they had made, they would have never dreamed that things would end up like this. They were so close to victory there, only for it to slip past the cracks of their fingers. No one could possibly take it well.

    ¡°Governor Sang!¡± Wu Wei looked at Sang Hong with an awful look on his face. Clearly, he was displeased with Sang Hong¡¯s verdict.

    Sang Hong turned to look at Wu Wei calmly and said, ¡°Yes, I do understand that the Chu n has to take responsibility for young master Yuan¡¯s injuries too. Brightmoon Duke, I¡¯ll hold you responsible for young master Yuan¡¯s treatment fee. Do you have any objections?¡±

    ¡°Of course not!¡± replied Chu Zhongtian heartily. He was quite angry when the Yuan n mockingly offered to pay for the Chu n¡¯s medical fee, but it seemed like karma was real.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. We can at least pay for our own family member¡¯s medical fee!¡± Yuan Zhengchu spat coldly. He knew that this was a sign from Sang Hong that he had already given up on them.

    So, he indicated for their n members to stand up and return back to the Yuan Estate.

    It was then that Zu An suddenly spoke up, ¡°Wait a moment. Are you leaving just like that?¡±

    Yuan Zhengchu turned around and red at Zu An with fury burning in his eyes. ¡°Zu An, what else do you want?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Yuan Zhengchu for +783 Rage!

    Putting them aside, even those from the Chu n had no idea what Zu An was up to in attempting to stop the Yuan n¡¯s departure.

    ¡°Nothing much. I know that you all hate me so much that you would love nothing more than to tear me apart. Since that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll give you a chance to exact vengeance then.¡± Zu An pointed his sword toward Yuan Wenji. ¡°I¡¯ll challenge him to a fight. Let¡¯s settle the conflict right here right now.¡±

    Many of the spectators were also just about to leave when they heard those words and rushed back to their seats with excited looks on their faces. Yippie, another drama.

    Yuan Zhengchu was stunned for a moment before realization struck him. ¡°You want to exact vengeance for Chu Second Miss?¡±

    Zu An nodded. ¡°That¡¯s my intention in mind, but it¡¯s also an opportunity for your Yuan n too. From this day onward, I¡¯ll be protected by the guards of the Chu n. This is the only shot you got, and you won¡¯t get another chance if you pass this opportunity by. I advise you to carefully think it through.¡±

    On the stretcher, Chu Huanzhao was deeply excited. ¡°Brother-inw is the best to me!¡±

    Qin Wanru, on the other hand, frowned. ¡°This is utter nonsense. He only happened to defeat Yuan Wendong by coincidence, and all of a sudden, he thinks that he¡¯s invincible in the world? While Yuan Wenji is much weaker than Yuan Wendong, he¡¯s still beyond what someone of Zu An¡¯s caliber can deal with. Besides, the Yuan n has already suffered a loss to him, so they won¡¯t fall for the same tricks again. Isn¡¯t Zu An just forcing himself into the corner?¡±

    It was then that Yuan Zhengchu received a message from Shi Kun. ¡°ept his offer. Make use of this opportunity to cripple Zu An. Our Shi n will reward you handsomely.¡±

    Yuan Zhengchu had the same intention in mind, and the Shi n¡¯s promise was an additional incentive on top of that. Delighted, he turned to Zu An and sneered coldly, ¡°Very well. I hope that you won¡¯t regret your decision!¡±

    Zu An shrugged in response. ¡°Everyone present, please be my witness. This duel is fair and square. Regardless of who wins, no one is to exact vengeance on the other side after this!¡±

    Sang Hong¡¯s eyes lit up. He immediately agreed to it, ¡°Very well, I¡¯ll be the witness of the battle for these two young men then.¡±

    He didn¡¯t want to get involved in this matter either, but just earlier on, his son had informed him of Zu An¡¯s bet with a tearful look on his face. Upon hearing that they had just lost a million silver taels, he was utterly horrified. A million silver taels might be nothing much for established ns, but for the Sang n which had just risen through the ranks in recent years, it was definitely not a small sum of money.

    He was infuriated by his son¡¯s folly, but the deed was already done. He could only find a way to resolve this somehow. It just happened that the two of them were making a bet at a time like this. If something really happened to Zu An, they might just be able to shrug off the debt and treat it as if it never existed. So, he immediately agreed to it.

    His deration was so fast that even Chu Zhongtian couldn¡¯t even stop him in time.

 Chapter 122: Revelation

    <h4>Chapter 122: Revtion</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Jiang Luofu shot a surprised nce at Sang Hong, thinking that thetter was acting much more recklessly than usual. However, she thought nothing of it and rested back onto her seat. She leisurely crossed her legs and she prepared herself to watch the show. She was also curious to see if Zu An still had any surprises in store for her.

    With Sang Hong and Jiang Luofu setting the example, the other powerhouses also quickly returned to their seats to spectate this additional match.

    Qin Wanru tugged her husband¡¯s sleeves and asked, ¡°Does Zu An stand a good chance against Yuan Wenji?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡± Chu Zhongtian shook his head. ¡°Based on what he had shown earlier, he seems to be slightly weaker than Yuan Wenji. To be honest, I¡¯m still not very sure what happened to Yuan Wendong earlier to actually lose the battle.¡±

    Hong Xingying heaved a sigh of relief hearing those words. If that fellow had really returned victoriously to the Chu n after triumphing over a fifth rank cultivator, I really wouldn¡¯t know what to do with him. However, since his greediness got the better of him, it looks like he¡¯ll be done in here.

    If Zu An lost this match, whatever prestige he built up would vanish in an instant. If so, I wouldn¡¯t need to worry about anything anymore. Heh, in the end he¡¯s still nothing more than a hoodlum who managed to climb up through luck. I don¡¯t know how he managed to build up his cultivation, but he immediately forgot his pce right away. People like him will just die without even knowing how in the future.

    Meanwhile, Chu Huanzhao was panicking. ¡°Isn¡¯t my brother-inw in danger then?¡±

    Chu Zhongtian consoled her, saying, ¡°Rest assured, I¡¯ll step in and save him if ites down to it.¡±

    ¡°Tsk. Throughout this entire ns Tournament, have you managed to save anyone at all?¡± remarked Chu Huanzhao with a click of her tongue.

    This darned child!

    Chu Zhongtian nearly choked on her words. He was unable to find any words to refute what hsi second daughter just said. It took a long while before he managed to squeeze out, ¡°I¡¯ll move together with your mother and older sister if anything happenster on. That should be fine, right?¡±

    Only then did Chu Huanzhao finally nodded in approval. ¡°That¡¯s more like it.¡±

    Chu Zhongtian¡¯s face turned dark. What¡¯s the use of having daughters? She¡¯s already siding with others despite her young age. She¡¯s really going to be the death of me at this rate!

    On the other hand, the others from the Yuan n were currently surrounding Yuan Wenji, giving him a pep talk. ¡°Wenji, there¡¯s no need to get scared. His real cultivation is only at early third rank. He isn¡¯t a match for you in a proper battle.¡±

    ¡°Wendong only got careless earlier while fighting him. Put on these ear muffster on before the fight. Don¡¯t let the nonsensical chatter of that man distract you. Just focus your attention on hacking him down once you step onto the dueling ring. At the very least, try to get at least a hand and a leg from him!¡±

    ¡°You also don¡¯t have to get too worried about his movement skill either. We¡¯ve examined it closely earlier, but it¡¯s not a threat at all. You just have to do this...¡±

    ...

    On the dueling ring, Zu An yawned in boredom. ¡°Are you done discussing yet? Is this battle on or not?¡±

    But halfway through his words, he suddenly froze up.

    This sounds oddly familiar. Isn¡¯t this what Yuan Wendong did earlier on before I got onto the dueling ring. Oh shit, am I going to walk in his footsteps too?

    Pui pui pui! How can I bepared to him? That man doesn¡¯t even have a hundredth of my suaveness! Even the Goddess of Luck will specially look after me after seeing my handsome face!

    ¡°Since you¡¯re in such a hurry to court death, I¡¯ll fulfill your wish!¡± Yuan Wenji leaped onto the dueling ring with a darkened look on his face.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be like your cousin, who keeps prattling off but ends up disappointing everyone,¡± replied Zu An calmly.

    ¡°You resorted to despicable means to assault Brother Wendong earlier on! I¡¯ll make you pay for what you did to him!¡± Yuan Wenji drew his sword and pointed the tip at Zu An.

    It was then that Yuan Zhengchu berated loudly, ¡°What did I tell you earlier? Don¡¯t even talk to him! Put on your earmuffs!¡±

    Yuan Wenji¡¯s face reddened. He quickly put on the earmuffs that were given to him.

    Somehow, this guy¡¯s words seem to carry some sort of sorcery. I just can¡¯t help but want to refute whatever he¡¯s saying.

    On the other hand, Zu An was a little disappointed to see the earmuffs. The ¡®Whatcha Staring At¡¯ skill was unexpectedly useful in the earlier battle. While it only caused Yuan Wendong to be distracted for a split second, the opening it created was more than enough to make a difference in the midst of a heated battle.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    But if all of my opponents were to cover their ears when going against me in the future, wouldn¡¯t that skill be practically useless from now on?

    However, Zu An soon consoled himself that there was no way everyone would be constantly wearing earmuffs. The reason why Yuan Wenji was wearing it was not because he knew about the effects of ¡®Whatcha Staring At¡¯ but that he was afraid of getting distracted by his words and following in the footsteps of Yuan Wendong.

    ¡°Die!¡± Yuan Wenji sneered coldly as he drove his sword frontward. His proficiency in swordsmanship was beneath that of Yuan Wendong, but he had at least managed to grasp the basics, allowing him to exert formidable prowess.

    Zu An crossed several blows with him, and soon, he noticed that something was amiss. He realized that his movements were being predicted!

    ¡°Hahaha, that lousy movement skill of yours might look scary at first sight, but it only has that few maneuvers.¡± Having guessed Zu An¡¯s thoughts, Yuan Wenji burst into heartughter. His words didn¡¯t hinder his movements though as he continued to dish out ferocious shes toward Zu An.

    On the other hand, Zu An berated Old Mi in his head for imparting to him a wed movement skill. What¡¯s the use of it if it can be deciphered that easily?!

    To be fair, Zu An was using the revised Sunflower Phantasm that Old Mi changed in a fluster out of fear that someone would see through the real one. He didn¡¯t have time to properly think through the revised version through, resulting in it being riddled with openings. With several experts analyzing it simultaneously throughout the course of the earlier battle, it was inevitable that they would soon find a way to curb it.

    If Old Mi had been given more time to work on it, even the weaker, revised version would be strong enough that those present wouldn¡¯t be able to easily see through its openings.

    While Zu An was distracted, Yuan Wenji made use of the opportunity to push his attack on. A gleeful smile crept onto his lips as he shed his sword with a force so great that it could hack his leg into two.

    My luck isn¡¯t bad today. With the crippling of Yuan Wendong, no one in the younger generation of the Yuan n will be able topete with me anymore. On top of that, I¡¯d even be able to exact vengeance for Yuan Wendong, making a huge contribution to the Yuan n. With this, I should be next in line as the sessor of the Yuan n!

    Thinking back, I really need to thank Chu Second Miss for this. Even though you bullied me ever since I was still young, at least you made up for it by sending such a huge gift my way.

    Hahaha, just wait till I be the sessor of the Yuan n. I might just be able to have the Chu n betroth you to me so that I can bully you everyday. Just thinking about it makes me excited!

    Just as Yuan Wenji was about to sh through Zu An¡¯s legs, he astonishingly found that there was no resistance against his de. What he had shed through was just a mere afterimage¡ªthe real Zu An was already nowhere to be seen.

    From his peripheral vision, he saw a glint of lighting from the side. His heart jerked in fright as he hurriedly tried to sidestep away. Unfortunately, it was already toote.

    A cry of misery echoed on the dueling ring as an arm flew through the sky in an arc. It was still clutching onto a sword tightly, all five fingers twitching nonstop. It was a hair-raising sight.

    Then, Zu An smashed his feet into Yuan Wenji¡¯s abdomen, crushing him heavily onto the ground with a cry of misery. Yuan Wenji tried to rise back up, but his injuries were too severe for him to move. In the end, he stared at Zu An with quivering eyes as he cried out, ¡°Y... You¡¯re vicious!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Yuan Wenji for +1024 Rage!

    Losing his arm was one thing, but the earlier kick had smashed his ki core, crippling his cultivation for good. It was just a moment ago that he was dreaming about rising to greater heights, but in the next, he had fallen back into the dust. The nosedive drop in his emotions left him on the verge of a mental breakdown.

    Zu An walked over and gazed down on him from above. ¡°I¡¯m not a big-hearted person. If someone treats me well, I might still irk him with my words. However, if someone treats me badly, I¡¯ll return it to him tenfold. I was nning to just fracture your arm and injure your abdomen to exact vengeance from Huanzhao, but since you tried to sever my legs, you shouldn¡¯t me me for returning the favor.¡±

    From the sidelines, Hong Xingying gulped in fear. He felt a shudder run down his spine. He¡¯s too vicious!

    At this moment, those from the Yuan n flew into a state of rage, ¡°Zu An, you¡¯re courting death!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Yuan Zhengchu for +1024 Rage!

    You have sessfully trolled Yuan XXX for +444 Rage!

    You have sessfully trolled Yuan YYY for +444 Rage!

    ...

    How could Yuan Zhengchu remain calm after seeing two of his n members being crippeld? He led the experts of his n onto the dueling ring, intent to get back at Zu An.

    However, Chu Zhongtian was already well-prepared. He led the Chu n up onto the dueling ring as well to stop those from the Yuan n. ¡°Yuan Zhengchu, have you no sense of shame? After all your preaching earlier on, you¡¯re trying to interfere in a duel between the juniors now?¡±

    Yuan Zhengchu knew that he was no match for Chu Zhongtian, so he turned to Sang Hong and cried. ¡°Governor Sang, this man is too cruel! Please redress the grievances of our Yuan n!¡±

    Standing amidst the members of the Chu n, Zu An felt more confident than ever. So, he spke out loud, ¡°Uncle Yuan, I don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re saying here. We agreed beforehand to fight it out to settle our grudges, but you¡¯re whining right after the duel is over. Isn¡¯t this the attitude of a sore loser?¡±

    Yuan Zhengchu choked upon hearing those words. Who is your uncle? If I had a nephew like you, I would have drowned you in thevatory by now!

    You have sessfully trolled Yuan Zhengchu for +999 Rage!

    Sang Hong also felt incredibly frustrated too. The Yuan n is more useless than I have expected. They keep slipping up time and time again, expecting me to clean up their mess.

    Instead of expressing his stance, he turned to Jiang Luofu and said, ¡°Principal Jiang, I didn¡¯t expect the Thirteen Forms of Elementary Swordy to harness such great prowess. I must say that I¡¯m impressed.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s earlier strike was obviously one of the forms of the Elementary Swordy, but for some reason, Yuan Wenji, despite his higher cultivation, was unable to avoid the attack.

    Jiang Luofu thought back about the earlier duel, and to be frank, she couldn¡¯t understand how Zu An was able to bring forth such prowess with a rtively straightforward move. It felt like there were some bits of his swordy that was different from the Elementary Swordy, but she couldn¡¯t put her finger on just what it was.

    ¡°The Thirteen Forms of Elementary Swordy is the crystallization of centuries of wisdom of our academy, so it does have its strengths. It¡¯s just a pity that ourck of talent prevents us fromprehending the deeper intricacies lying within,¡± replied Jiang Luofu.

    Xie Yi also spoke up at this moment, ¡°Governor Sang, no matter how we look at it, Zu An¡¯s earlier strike was indubitably the most normal Elementary Swordy of the academy. If Yuan Wenji isn¡¯t even able to dodge such a strike, it¡¯d be hard to pin the me on Zu An for not holding back.¡±

    Sang Hong nodded in agreement. Given the circumstances, it would be hard for him to side with the Yuan n. ¡°Patriarch Yuan, we¡¯ve agreed not to pursue the results of the duel no matter who wins or loses. You¡¯re putting me in a spot here.¡±

    His words swiftly brought about nods of agreement from the crowd.

    ¡°Indeed! We heard it too!¡±

    ¡°The Yuan n are sore losers!¡±

    ¡°Just how lousy must he be to be unable to even deal with the Elementary Swordy?¡±

    ...

    Zu An heaved a sigh of relief. He had executed the Sunflower Phantasm for an instant there, and fortunately, no one had seen through it. All they saw was just the ordinary Thirteen Forms of Elementary Swordy from the academy, oblivious to the fact that it had been augmented by the Sunflower Phantasm to be the legendary ¡®Bixie Swordy¡¯. This sword art was bizarre in the sense how only those facing it would be able to feel its prowess. Onlookers would only be baffled by how the enemy inexplicably fell for his attack so easily.

    However, what Zu An didn¡¯t know was that there was someone in the crowd staring at him intently. ¡°That sword art he executed earlier, why does it resemble that man¡¯s so much? No, this won¡¯t do. I need to report it upward!¡±

 Chapter 123: Even Dogshit Has Its Uses

    <h4>Chapter 123: Even Dogshit Has Its Uses</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The crowd was getting riled up, and Yuan Wenji¡¯s loss was indeed embarrassing too. Seeing that the tides weren¡¯t on his side, he could only retreat with the Yuan n with a livid look on his face.

    Wu Wei knew that there was no way to salvage the situation anymore, so he swiftly left the scene too. He was frustrated by how Sang Hong refused to help them that he didn¡¯t even bother bidding his farewell.

    Wu Qing, before leaving with her father, shot Zu An a sharp re. This fellow foiled our Wu n¡¯s ns. Hmph! I¡¯ll get Pan Long and Fu Feng to think up something so as to vent this grudge!

    Jiang Luofu also stood up as well. She was nning to pose some questions to Zu An, but recalling the crowd they were standing before, it didn¡¯t seem like a good idea. So, she decided to pose her doubts once they were back at the academy instead.

    Watching as Jiang Luofu stood up, Ji Dengtu hurriedly lowered his head guiltily before walking out of the area. At the same time, he thought about how thatd from the Yuan n had broken his ki meridian and would surely require treatment. Another sum of moneying into my pocket then. Heh, little Zu An, I¡¯m liking you more and more!

    After Jiang Luofu left, most of the men who had been ogling at her at this time suddenly felt that there wasn¡¯t much point to this ns Tournament anyway, so they scattered too.

    Xie Yi sped his fist toward Sang Hong, bidding his farewell before returning back to the City Lord Estate. Along the way, he asked Xie Xiu, ¡°I heard that you¡¯re on good terms with him?¡±

    Xie Xiu nodded. ¡°We had some pleasant encounters with one another.¡±

    ¡°Try to get close to him in the academy. There¡¯s more to this child than what we see. Even if you aren¡¯t able to befriend him, you must make sure not to make an enemy out of him. Perhaps, it might fall on him to bring the Chu n over to our side.¡±

    Xie Xiu was put in a spot. ¡°Father, it¡¯s not like you don¡¯t know how I am like. I can win over women with ease, but if you want me to get close to a man... That¡¯s really out of my field of specialty.¡±

    Xie Yi¡¯s eyes immediately widened angrily. ¡°You still dare to say it aloud! You squander your time on women and cause a huge load of trouble everywhere. Just a few days ago, Lord Zhang came over toin on the behalf of his daughter. Do you know how embarrassed I was?¡±

    Xie Xiu responded with a sheepish smile. I mean, if we aren¡¯t meant to be, what¡¯s the point of holding on? Why do those women always act as if it¡¯s the end of the world whenever we break up?

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    At the same time, Xie Daoyun shot a re at her younger brother before speaking gently, ¡°Father, please leave Zu An¡¯s matter to me. It just so happens that I''m curious about him too.¡±

    Xie Xiu was nearly shocked out of his wits. ¡°Big sis, that fellow is a renowned moocher! You mustn¡¯t get fooled by him!¡±

    Xie Daoyun grabbed her younger brother¡¯s ears and twisted it angrily. ¡°Do you think that everyone in the world is like you? Besides, I¡¯m just going to consult him on music-rted matters. Why would anything happen out of that?¡±

    ¡°I guess so,¡± replied Xie Xiu in agreement.

    My big sister has high standards. She once said that her husband must be wise enough to govern a city and strong enough to bring stability to the country. A hoodlum like Zu An doesn¡¯t fit the criteria at all. It looks like I was just worrying in vain.

    After those from the City Lord Estate departed, Sang Qian rushed to his father¡¯s side and eximed anxiously. ¡°Father, how can you dere it as Zu An¡¯s victory? What about...¡±

    Before he could finish his words, Sang Hong had already interjected snappishly, ¡°What else do you expect me to do then? The Yuan n is useless! With so many eyes on me, do you think that it¡¯s possible for me to rule it as Zu An¡¯s loss? You should know that while the man above me wishes to deal with the Chu n, he values the reputation and image of the royal court even more!

    ¡°Besides, I haven¡¯t settled the score with you for getting involved with the creation of a casino on your own ord. You better clean it up well!¡±

    After berating his son, Sang Hong departed together with his subordinates with a livid face. Naturally, he wasn''t pleased by the results of today¡¯s tournament.

    Sang Qian¡¯s face darkened too.

    Even though my father is a formidable figure in the royal court, he doesn¡¯t seem to care much about our n. If he just earns off the stipends of the royal court without looking for additional ie out there, what¡¯ll happen to the rest of us?

    Besides, isn¡¯t this the usual practice of most officials? They all have their own business out there. My father is simply too old-fashioned and inflexible!

    It was then that a gentle voice sounded in his ears. ¡°Is Governor Sang unwilling to help?¡±

    The light fragrance drifting across the air was more than enough to make Zheng Dan¡¯s beautiful visage surface in his head. His irritation soothed a little just by her presence. ¡°Yeah, you know what my father is like too. He isn¡¯t willing to get involved in such matters.¡±

    Zheng Dan frowned. ¡°What do we do then? Are we really going to pay the 1,000,000 silver taels?¡±

    While the Sang n was involved in the casino as well, most of the money was still forked out from the Zheng n¡¯s side. If they suffered a loss, the one who would be done in more badly was still the Zheng n.

    ¡°Of course not!¡± eximed Sang Qian!

    He was still waiting to earn money off the casino, but who could have thought that a debt of 1,000,000 silver taels woulde in first? There was no way he could swallow that down!

    He turned his gaze toward the Chu n, and a thought suddenly surfaced in his mind. ¡°Say, since Zu An had to step onto the dueling ring today, don¡¯t you think that he¡¯ll entrust the bet paper to his studypanion in case it gets torn?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re saying that we can make use of this opportunity right now to snatch the bet paper over?¡± Zheng Dan¡¯s eyes lit up.

    ¡°Indeed. We need to do it fast too, otherwise we¡¯ll have no chance to do so once they realize it,¡± said Sang Qian.

    ¡°Alright!¡± Zheng Dan immediately wrote down another bet paper before the two of them began making their way toward the Chu n.

    Not too far away, Shi Kun noticed their irregr movements and frowned. ¡°What are those two up to?¡±

    Snow shook her head, not knowing what was happening either.

    Shi Kun harrumphed coldly. ¡°Now that I think of it, they were the ones who provided us with inurate intelligence yesterday. They can¡¯t be colluding with the Chu n in secret, are they?¡±

    The old man behind Shi Kun, Shi Lezhi, said, ¡°I don¡¯t think so. It¡¯s more likely that they have been duped. That brat is extremely cunning.¡±

    ¡°What should we do from now on then?¡± remarked Shi Kun with an awful look on his face.

    Now that Zu An had made such a huge contribution to the Chu n and reversed his ¡®good-for-nothing¡¯ image, the Chu n would surely view him in a different light. Perhaps, Chu Chuyan might even fall for him!

    Just thinking of Zu An bing the Chu n¡¯s real son-inw and holding his beloved woman in embrace was enough to fill his mind with envy.

    To make things worse, the previous few assassination attempts had been foiled, which meant that the Chu n was already on their guard. It wouldn¡¯t be easy to kill him at all.

    ¡°Young master, it¡¯s because your mind is in a fluster that you keep thinking of killing him directly. You¡¯ve neglected the fact that we have an advantage over him,¡± said Shi Lezhi with a smile.

    ¡°Hm?¡± Shi Kun hurriedly turned his gaze over.

    Shi Lezhi carried on, ¡°Right now, we wield great power in terms of politics and authority. We can simply use our strength there to get rid of him. Regardless of how powerful the Chu n might be, they don¡¯t have the strength to openly oppose the royal court. We can simply do this...¡±

    Upon hearing the n, Shi Kun¡¯s face swiftly cleared up in delight. ¡°Hahaha! It looks like wisdom doese with age! It¡¯s no wonder why my father appointed you by my side.¡±

    Snow was also amazed by what she had heard. It¡¯s no wonder why the number of unaffiliated cultivators is on the decline. Those in power sure know how to y their cards well. Those who offend them would eventually be cornered by their ploys before being plucked off.

    ...

    Meanwhile, Pei Mianman walked toward Zu An with a smile and said, ¡°Congrat...¡±

    Before she could finish his words, Zu An suddenly rushed off while saying, ¡°Give me a moment.¡±

    Pei Mianman¡¯s smile immediately froze in ce. One must know that most men would get excited just to be able to say a single word to her. Even though she had mercilessly rejected the men who tried to approach her earlier, there were still many who couldn¡¯t resist giving it a try anyway. Right now, she was taking the initiative to approach Zu An, but thetter was actually ignoring her!

    Is it because I¡¯m not charming enough, or that there¡¯s someone more attractive than me here?

    The only reason she could think of was that Zu An had gone to look for Chu Chuyan. Since thetter was his wife, she could still somewhat ept it. However, to her surprise, Zu An actually walked over to his studypanion and wrapped his arm around thetter before heading to the corner to whisper with one another.

    ¡°???¡± Pei Mianman.

    Wait a moment, could it be he doesn¡¯t like women?

    Meanwhile, Zu An was asking anxiously, ¡°I was too busy during this period of time that I didn¡¯t have any time to ask about it. Which casino did you bet at this time around? That¡¯s 1,000,000 silver taels we¡¯re talking about here! I¡¯m going to strike it rich!¡±

    Unexpectedly, Cheng Shouping looked at him with a tearful face as he spoke, ¡°Young master, I have to tell you something. Please don¡¯t get angry.¡±

    Zu An waved his hands andughed heartily. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m in a good mood today! I won¡¯t get angry.¡±

    Cheng Shouping immediately broke out into a smile as he took out the bet paper. ¡°I was worried that you would lose in the ns Tournament, so I thought that it would be good if I could earn some money to console your broken soul if that happened. Thus, I secretly betted on your loss instead. I mean, now that we won the ns Tournament, what does this bit of loss count as, right? Aren¡¯t I sharp-witted? Ah? Young master, why are you picking up your sword?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll bloody hack you to death!¡± Zu An felt that if the keyboard could gather his Rage points, it would surely be beyond 9000. How in the world did someone like Cheng Shouping manage to live to this day?

    It was also during then that Sang Qian and Zheng Dan rushed over and heard those words. They immediately froze on the spot.

    In the end, it turned out that it¡¯s this idiot of a studypanion who changed Zu An¡¯s bet on his own ord, but the two of them foolishly changed it back for him?

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for +1024 Rage!

    You have sessfully trolled Zheng Dan for +1024 Rage!

    Zu An was in the midst of chasing Cheng Shouping when he noticed the inflow of Rage points in his system. Why are those two getting so angry for, especially Zheng Dan? Isn¡¯t she still heads over heels for me just a moment ago?

    It was then that Cheng Shouping¡¯s delighted exmation sounded in the air. ¡°Eh? Why did the bet suddenly change? Did I remember wrongly? Hahaha! Young master, quick, take a look! It turns out that I betted on your victory instead!¡±

    Cheng Shouping passed the bet paper to Zu An excitedly.

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for +1024 Rage!

    You have sessfully trolled Zheng Dan for +1024 Rage!

    Zu An looked at the two of them before taking the bet paper from Cheng Shouping¡¯s hand. The bet was indeed on his victory, and the ratio was 1:100. Seeing this, he heaved a sigh of relief.

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for +66 +66 +66...

    You have sessfully trolled Zheng Dan for +66 +66 +66...

    Looking at the Rage points flowing in and thinking about what Cheng Shouping said earlier, a thought arose in Zu An¡¯s mind, and he hurriedly asked, ¡°You said you betted on my loss yesterday?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t.¡± Cheng Shouping tried tough it off. ¡°Needless to say, I believed that you would win right from the start. Why would I bet on your loss?¡±

    Like hell you believed in me!

    Zu An instinctively reversed the words of the Cheng Shouping, and it came to him what had happened. So, he turned around to look at Sang Qian and Zheng Dan with a smile and said, ¡°It looks like I have to thank the two of you then. If not for you changing the results of my bet back, I would have really been done in by this idiot of a studypanion I have here!¡±

    Having watched so many drama serials in his previous, he was aware of those little tricks involving special ink and the sort.

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for +1024 Rage!

    You have sessfully trolled Zheng Dan for +1024 Rage!

    However, the two of them maintained smiles on their faces as they said, ¡°Young master Zu, I¡¯m afraid that I don¡¯t really get what you¡¯re saying. We¡¯re just here to congratte you on your victory.¡±

    It was only a guess from Zu An¡¯s part, but the inflow of Rage points affirmed his guess. He shot a sharp re at Cheng Shouping, who was looking back at him with a fawning smile.

    This fellow is really untrustworthy, but his dumbness ispensated by his good luck. It would be good if I try to take advantage of that. He would be like a wild card I could use to throw my opponents off guard, simr to what happened this time around.

    After all, even a sheet of toilet paper or a pile of dogshit has its own use in this world.

 Chapter 124: Interrogation

    <h4>Chapter 124: Interrogation</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Thank you, thank you.¡± Zu An had just earned a huge sum of money while learning of a new way to exploit Cheng Shouping¡¯s unreliable nature, so his mood was pretty good.

    Sang Qian and Zheng Dan quickly chatted with him for a moment before leaving. As soon as they were out of his line of sight, Sang Qian¡¯s face immediately turned incredibly ugly. ¡°Damn it! Why did I foolishly help him change the bet back then?¡±

    Zheng Dan also had a bitter smile on her lips. ¡°Who could have thought that a studypanion would be so audacious as to defy his own master¡¯s orders?¡±

    Sang Qian agreed with those words. A thought suddenly arose in his mind, and he asked, ¡°This is indeed illogical. Do you think that it¡¯s possible that Zu An predicted that we would change his bet paper, so he intentionally betted on his loss so as to deliver the wrong message to the Yuan n?¡±

    ¡°He would be a truly terrifying person if he¡¯s able to think that far ahead.¡± Zheng Dan shook his head with a frown. ¡°I don¡¯t think that he¡¯s able to predict our actions to that extent. I reckon that he likely intended to spend the 10,000 silver taels to mislead the Yuan n, only for us to mistakenly change it back.¡±

    ¡°Damn it!¡± Sang Qian felt that his luck was really horrible recently. Things simply wouldn¡¯t go his way.

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for +999 Rage!

    ¡°Our initial n to swap the bet paper failed. What should we do next?¡± Zheng Dan took out the new bet paper she had prepared just earlier on and ripped it apart.

    ¡°It looks like I can only count on you for this,¡± Sang Qian looked at Zheng Dan as he spoke.

    Zheng Dan¡¯s face immediately turned cold. ¡°You want me toy a honey trap again?¡±

    Sang Qian smiled sheepishly as he replied, ¡°You¡¯re going to have to find the 7,500,000 silver taels debt note anyway. It¡¯s just looking for another bet paper here...¡±

    Zheng Dan interjected sharply with a wintry look. ¡°Sang Qian, why do you keep pushing your fianc¨¦e into the arms of another man? Do you have some sort of feitsh regarding that?¡±

    Sang Qian immediately lost his temper. ¡°I¡¯m not asking you to really sumb to him. Didn¡¯t you say that he didn¡¯t take advantage of you? Why are you saying as if I¡¯m asking you to sell your body to him?¡±

    Zheng Dan¡¯s eyes reddened tearfully. ¡°Those who walk along the river will eventually get their feet wet. Zu An isn¡¯t as weak as the rumors put him out to be. If he really tries to take advantage of me, I¡¯ll never be able to face anyone in the future!¡±

    In truth, she wasn¡¯t really opposed to getting close with Zu An. However, she couldn¡¯t afford to appear too willing here. She had to make Sang Qian feel guilty and aware that she was forced into this, and only then would he cherish her more and not pursue this matter after their marriage.

    Looking at the pitiful look on Zheng Dan¡¯s face, Sang Qian felt his heart shattering into pieces. He quickly consoled her, saying, ¡°I know that I¡¯m putting you in a spot here. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll protect you well. If Zu An dares to bully you, you can be certain that I¡¯ll take his life!¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Zheng Dan looked at Sang Qian withrge, watery eyes.

    ¡°Of course!¡± Sang Qian¡¯s heart softened at the sight of his beautiful fianc¨¦e. ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s just give up on the 7,500,000 silver taels debt note. We shouldn¡¯t risk it.¡±

    However, Zheng Dan shook her head in resignation and said, ¡°That wouldn¡¯t work either. The 7,500,000 silver taels debt note is important to your ns. On top of that, there¡¯s also our 1,000,000 silver taels bet paper too. For our future, I have no choice but to sacrifice myself.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll make it up to you.¡± Looking at the beautiful, gentle woman before him, Sang Qian felt that he was blessed to find such a virtuous fianc¨¦e.

    However, Zheng Dan¡¯s mind had already moved on to ponder upon how she should best approach Zu An.

    ...

    Zu An had a grand sneeze. He rubbed his nose as he murmured, ¡°Which beautifuldy is thinking of me now?¡±

    Beside him, Cheng Shouping quickly nodded fawningly.

    Earlier today, the young master showed his true worth and defeated a fifth rank cultivator. More importantly, he helped the Chu n win the ns Tournament. Without a doubt, his standing will rise greatly from this day onward, and the same goes for me too!

    At a moment like this, I must make sure to get into the young master¡¯s good books!

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid of your own wife hearing those words?¡±

    A teasing voice suddenly sounded at this moment, and Pei Mianman walked over with an air of fragrance around her.

    Zu Anughed softly and said, ¡°My wife has already said that she doesn¡¯t mind me looking for other women.¡±

    Pei Mianman was taken aback, not expecting Zu An to respond in such a manner. ¡°Chu Chuyan said those words?¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you ask her then?¡± Zu An pointed to Chu Chuyan as he said. ¡°How is it? Are you interested in bing my woman? Chu Chuyan is your good friend anyway, so I bet the two of you will get along with one another.¡±

    Cheng Shouping was stunned to hear those words, thinking that the young master was brave. It looks like I¡¯ve really underestimated him in the past. To think that he would try to seduce his wife¡¯s best friend right in front of her! T-this... When will the young master offer me some pointers to the secrets of his sess?

    ¡°You want to be my man?¡± Pei Mianman chuckled softly, not getting angry at all. ¡°It isn¡¯t impossible, but your current strength is still farcking.¡±

    Cheng Shouping¡¯s eyes immediately reddened, and he hurriedly lowered his head. His heart was thumping fast just by looking at Pei Mianman. She really is a temptress. Even her peach blossom eyes are more than enough to draw in the souls of others. The young master is trul amazing for being able to chat with her calmly.

    ¡°How high does my cultivation have to be in order to be considered strong enough?¡± asked Zu An with a smile.

    ¡°You¡¯ll know it by then.¡± Noticing that Chu Chuyan was making her way over, Pei Mianman stopped teasing Zu An. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be leaving now. Don¡¯t forget our promise.¡±

    She left the area after saying her piece, leaving behind a trail of fragrance behind her.

    ¡°What did you two agree on?¡± Chu Chuyan looked at Zu An doubtfully.

    ¡°We agreed for her to be my little wife in the future,¡± replied Zu An.

    Cheng Shouping was utterly impressed by those words. The young master is a true warrior!

    Chu Chuyan, on the other hand, was rendered speechless. Clearly, she didn¡¯t take Zu An¡¯s words seriously. ¡°You shoulde with me. Everyone has many things to say to you.¡±

    As soon as Zu An walked over to where the other members of the Chu n was, he found himself swarmed with a huge crowd.

    ¡°Young master, we didn¡¯t expect you to be this formidable! This is a recovery medicine special concocted by the Red Cloak Army...¡±

    ¡°Our young master defeated his enemy so easily that he didn¡¯t sustain any injuries at all. Why would he need your medicine?¡±

    ¡°Our medicine isn¡¯t just for healing injuries. It can hasten the recovery of one¡¯s ki too. Given the two battles the young master has fought earlier, he must have depleted his ki greatly.¡±

    ...

    ¡°A bunch of bootlickers!¡± spat Hong Xingying coldly. He couldn¡¯t stand how the others were rushing to fawn on Zu An.

    Quite a few of them were still showing concern for him earlier on, only to rush to Zu An¡¯s side right now. With Zu An¡¯s aplishment today, his rise in the Chu n was already inevitable. Seeing this, Hong Xingying¡¯s face turned livid.

    Tsk, the world sure is a mercenary ce! What should I do from now on...

    It was then that the vision before him darkened. He raised his gaze, only to see two servants of the Chu n had moved a table over and were looking at him intently. He immediately asked impatiently, ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    It looks like a fallen tiger would even get bullied by mere dogs. Even these weaklings dare to provoke me now, huh?

    ¡°I wonder who mentioned earlier that he would eat a table up if my brother-inw wins!¡± a teasing voice sounded.

    Chu Huanzhao was still lying on the stretcher in a tragic state, but judging from how she was shaking her fair legs leisurely in the air, it would seem that she was in a good mood.

    Had it been any other asion, Hong Xingying would find his heartstrings being pulled along by the movements of her long, slender legs, but the words she had spoken earlier had riled him up.

    Chu Huanzhao patted on the table and said, ¡°Look, I¡¯ve kindly prepared a superior redwood table just for you. It might be made of good material, but it¡¯s much softer than most other tables out there, so don¡¯t say that I¡¯m taking advantage of you. Oh right, I¡¯ve prepared a pot of water for you to aid in your digestion too. If it isn¡¯t enough, feel free to tell me. I can get the other servants to bring more over.¡±

    ¡°I...¡± Hong Xingying¡¯s mouth opened and closed, but he couldn¡¯t find any words to say at all. He was starting to regret not feigning unconscious earlier on, leading to him being ced in such an awkward situation.

    It¡¯s all that Zu An¡¯s fault!

    You have sessfully trolled Hong Xingying for +999 Rage!

    Zu An was still happily epting the crowd¡¯s gifts when he noticed this inflow in Rage points. He turned to look over in Hong Xingying¡¯s direction, only to see Chu Huanzhao ordering the servants to ce a massive table right before him.

    Oh? It looks like my sister-inw is helping me get even with him, huh?

    It was around then that Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru noticed the awkward position Hong Xingying was in. Chu Zhongtian red at his younger daughter and bellowed, ¡°Ridiculous! What are you doing?¡±

    Chu Huanzhao pouted unhappily as she replied, ¡°He was the one who said earlier that if my brother-inw can win the duel, he would gobble down a table right on the spot. You should have heard him loud and clear. It¡¯s not as if I¡¯m forcing him into anything!¡±

    ¡°Enough! How can you take such jokes seriously?¡± Qin Wanru shot a nce at the servants, and they immediately carried the table away anxiously. ¡°We¡¯re all one family here. It¡¯s also out of concern that Xingying said those words earlier. You should stop causing trouble here.¡±

    Be it out of consideration of Butler Hong or Hong Xingying¡¯s contribution toward the Chu n over thest few years, Qin Wanru was obliged to stand up for him. Nevertheless, she couldn¡¯t help but think that Hong Xingying wasn¡¯t as trustworthy as a person she thought he was.

    Chu Huanzhao still wanted to argue about the matter, but her older sister tugged her arm to stop her. So, she could only turn her head away unhappily and sulk.

    ¡°Thank you, Master and Madam.¡± Hong Xingying quickly bowed down to thank Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru. However, he was feeling incredibly bitter inside. He could feel the piercing staresing from the others.

    It¡¯s all Zu An¡¯s fault!

    You have sessfully trolled Hong Xingying for +999 Rage!

    Zu An was utterly bbergasted. What the hell? You¡¯re ming me for that too?

    It was obvious that there was no room for reconciliation between the two of them anyway, so Zu An decided to make use of this opportunity to squeeze out as many Rage points as he could. ¡°Actually, it¡¯s not that hard to eat a table. You can soak it in water for a few days to soften it before munching down on it. Otherwise, you can also have it grounded and mixed in water before drinking it. If you find it vorless, you can even coat it in flour before deep-frying it. Perhaps, you might just get addicted to the taste!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Hong Xingying.

    ¡°...¡± Chu Zhongtian.

    ¡°...¡± Qin Wanru.

    What in the world did I just hear? Who in the right mind would analyze the way to eat a table?!

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Qin Wanru harrumphed coldly and said, ¡°Men, bring the casualties back to the Chu Estate first!¡±

    She was worried that a conflict might break out if the two of them were to remain in each other¡¯s presence, so she quickly separated them.

    Zu An looked at the massive inflow of Rage pointsing in and smiled in delight. Oh well, I guess I should give it a rest for now. I have to think in the long-term. If I break Hong Xingying down right now, it¡¯ll be hard to earn anything from him in the future.

    After Hong Xingying was escorted off as a ¡®casualty¡¯, the remaining members of the Chu n also swiftly packed up and returned to the Chu Estate too.

    Once they were back at the estate, Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru instructed the others to wait outside and called Zu An alone into the study room.

    Everyone thought that Zu An was going to rise through the ranks after this incident, and they started thinking about how they should get close to him. Those who had offended him in the past also felt deeply regretful as they racked their brains for ways how they could salvage their rtionship with him.

    Over in the study room, as soon as the doors were closed, Zu Anughed heartily and said, ¡°Actually, you need not be too thankful to me. Chuyan is my wife, after all. It¡¯s only right for me to do my part for the Chu n. Of course, if you wish to reward me with 100,000 silver taels or something, I¡¯ll humbly ept your goodwill. Otherwise, I¡¯ll be fine with having a few beautiful maids to wait on me too.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Chu Zhongtian.

    ¡°...¡± Qin Wanru.

    ¡°...¡± Chu Chuyan.

    ¡°Dream on!¡± Unable to take it anymore, Qin Wanru mmed her palm on the table and questioned, ¡°Speak! Who sent you here?¡±

 Chapter 125: Hand My Prize Over

    <h4>Chapter 125: Hand My Prize Over</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An¡¯s words left Chu Zhongtian stumped too.

    Just how brazen must you be to dare ask for beautiful maids in the presence of your parents-inw and your wife? Do you think we would send you those topete with our daughter? There¡¯s no such parents in the world who would do that!

    Back then, I wanted a few beautiful maids too, but in the end, aren¡¯t I still single here?

    Chu Zhongtian couldn¡¯t help but direct a grudging look toward his wife.

    Zu An was shocked by those words too. A furrow gradually formed on his forehead as he asked, ¡°You can¡¯t be so stingy as to shirkpensation after the huge contribution I¡¯ve made for the Chu n, right?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Qin Wanru.

    Chu Chuyan finally spoke up at this moment, ¡°Do you still not understand the situation yet? We want to know who¡¯s behind you! What¡¯s your purpose of going this far to infiltrate our Chu n¡ªcough cough!¡±

    Halfway through her words, she suddenly began coughing violently. Chu Zhongtian quickly asked out of concern, ¡°Your injuries seem to be worse than I expected.¡±

    ¡°It isn¡¯t an issue. It won¡¯t get in my way.¡± Chu Chuyan shook her head before turning her gaze back to Zu An.

    ¡°I infiltrated the Chu n?¡± replied Zu An subconsciously. ¡°Weren¡¯t you the one who chose me as your drafted son-inw and brought me in?¡±

    A tinge of redness formed on Chu Chuyan¡¯s face as she exined, ¡°I was just thinking of... choosing an ordinary, unambitious man. I thought that you would fit the criteria. While the world says that you¡¯re inept... I don¡¯t care about all those. But now, I realized that you¡¯ve been keeping me in the dark all along.¡±

    Qin Wanru followed up as well, ¡°Indeed! You went through so much effort to hide your true strength so as to appear harmless before us. Without a doubt, you must be nning something great. On top of that, you were even able to circumvent the background check we conducted. This means that there has to be a greater power assisting you. Speak! Were you sent by the empress¡¯ faction or King Qi¡¯s faction?¡±

    Zu An finally understood why they were so angry at him, and he answered, ¡°Mother-inw, who do you think I was sent by then?¡±

    ¡°Shut your mouth! Don¡¯t call me mother-inw!¡± bellowed Qin Wanru furiously. ¡°It goes without saying that you¡¯re...¡±

    But halfway through her words, she suddenly froze up. She realized that Zu An¡¯s actions didn¡¯t benefit any of the factions she had just listed.

    ¡°If I really bear malicious intentions in mind, why would I risk exposing myself in order to help the Chu n win the ns Tournament? You should also be aware of the implications behind this tournament too,¡± added Zu An.

    ¡°Hmph! It might be because you weren¡¯t valued by the Chu n thus far, so you wanted to make a name for yourself to win our favor. At the same time, you would also be able to get together with Chuyan... Cough cough.¡±

    There was no way that she wouldn¡¯t have noticed that her daughter and son-inw hadn¡¯t been sleeping in the same room.

    ¡°Fine, allow me to put it in another way then. If I was from the empress¡¯ faction, why would I get into a conflict with Shi n, and why would Snow, whom they had slotted by Chuyan¡¯s side, be out for my life then?¡± said Zu An. ¡°And if I¡¯m from King Qi¡¯s faction... Oh? It does seem like there¡¯s a chance here.¡±

    Qin Wanru sneered coldly, ¡°Nothing more to say, huh?¡±

    However, how could Zu An possibly lose in an argument? He swiftly recovered and thought of an idea, ¡°There¡¯s actually an easy way to prove that I¡¯m not rted to King Qi.¡±

    ¡°How do you intend to prove it?¡± asked Chu Chuyan.

    Subconsciously, she hoped that Zu An had nothing to do with all of these powers. She didn¡¯t think that she was really fond of Zu An, just that she had already gotten used to being with him. While he was different from how she thought him out to be, it wouldn¡¯t be easy for her to find someone else at this point.

    Zu An pointed to heaven and swore, ¡°How about this? King Qi¡¯s sons will have no buttholes and all of his daughters will be my concubine. Now, you can¡¯t possibly still think that I¡¯m from King Qi¡¯s faction, right?¡±

    Qin Wanru¡¯s body recoiled in horror whereas Chu Chuyan hurriedly averted her embarrassed gaze/

    Chu Zhongtian burst out angrily, ¡°How can you say such words out loud! If King Qi hears of that, he¡¯ll have you executed right away!¡±

    Zu An chuckled cheekily in response, ¡°Well, doesn¡¯t that prove that I have no rtions with King Qi? You should trust me now, right?¡±

    ¡°Even if you aren¡¯t rted to King Qi, there¡¯s no saying that you might still be from the empress¡¯ faction,¡± said Qin Wanru. ¡°Who knows? You might just be putting on a skit with Shi Kun and the others so as to win our trust.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that simple to disprove too?¡± Zu An put his hands up and began swearing once more. ¡°From now on, the empress shall...¡±

    Chu Zhongtian hurriedly reached out to cover Zu An¡¯s mouth. ¡°Enough, enough! You shouldn¡¯t talk about the empress in such a manner even if she can¡¯t hear you. At this rate, it¡¯s only a matter of time that your rotten mouthnds you into deep trouble!¡±

    Zu An scoffed a little upon hearing those words. Sorry to let you down, but I¡¯m counting on this rotten mouth of mine to rise through the ranks.

    ¡°Then how do you possess your current level of cultivation?¡± Chu Chuyan stared at Zu An intently. ¡°Based on what I saw on the dueling ring, you should be at the third rank at the very minimum.¡±

    ¡°Are you surprised to see that your husband isn¡¯t a good-for-nothing contrary to what others say?¡± Zu An leaned toward Chu Chuyan as he asked with a smile.

    Chu Chuyan subconsciously took a step back to widen the distance between them before saying, ¡°I¡¯m more shocked than surprised. You haven¡¯t answered my question yet.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± Zu An pondered for a moment before replying, ¡°Actually, I¡¯ve been talented ever since a young age. It¡¯s just that I don¡¯t like bragging so I¡¯ve been keeping a low profile all this while. That¡¯s why the world misunderstands me... Ah! Themon popce simply doesn¡¯t understand prodigies and discriminate against them!¡±

    ¡°Do you take us as fools?¡± Qin Wanru couldn¡¯t take it anymore. ¡°We did a thorough check on you before epting you in as our drafted son-inw. In the past decade, you¡¯re a good-for-nothing from head to toe. Your deceased uncle doesn¡¯t know any cultivation either, so there¡¯s no one around you who you could have possibly learned how to cultivate from.¡±

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s like this. Many years ago, I met an old beggar who was on the verge of starving to death. Out of pity, I gave him a bun, and that made him extremely thankful to me. So, he imparted to me a cultivation technique. I¡¯ve been practicing it diligently since then, and before I knew it, I¡¯ve already reached my current level.¡± Zu Anughed heartily.

    He had seen plenty of martial arts movies in his previous life to know about the plot devices that give rise to the protagonist¡¯s power skips.

    ¡°Hah! A cultivator would actually be starving to the point where he needs you to save him?¡± Qin Wanru totally didn¡¯t believe the story at all. ¡°Are you taking me for a fool?!¡±

    ¡°I mean, cultivators can get into bad positions at times too! God knows what he has been through!¡± Zu An swiftly supplemented his story.

    Qin Wanru and Chu Zhongtian shot a nce at one another before nodding inconspicuously. If Zu An had tried to exin all of the details, they might have doubted him even more. However, Zu An¡¯s vehement and forceful attitude in insisting on his imperfect story somehow made him look much more credible.

    ¡°Very well, we¡¯ll believe you for the time being. However...¡± Qin Wanru¡¯s tone suddenly turned sharp. ¡°... if we were to ever find out that you have been deceiving us, you shouldn¡¯t me us for getting nasty on you!¡±

    ¡°But what if Chuyan and I already bear grandchildren for you by then? Won¡¯t you be a bit nicer on me on the ount of your grandchildren?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Chu Zhongtian.

    ¡°...¡± Qin Wanru.

    Chu Chuyan was both embarrassed yet enraged. ¡°Shut up! Who¡¯s going to bear children with you?!¡±

    Zu An shrugged calmly. ¡°Aren¡¯t we a couple? It¡¯s perfectly normal for us to have children.¡±

    ¡°Pui!¡± No matter how cold-natured Chu Chuyan was, she was still a young maiden. Zu An¡¯s teasing left her turning her head away in a huff.

    This fellow really is too much! Despite being... he still wants to make fun of me!

    Chu Zhongtian coughed lightly to alleviate the awkwardness in the room. ¡°So, Zu An...¡±

    But before he could finish his words, Zu An had already interrupted, ¡°Father-inw, please don¡¯t call me Zu An anymore. Please call me Ah Zu instead.¡±

    ¡°Ah Zu?¡± Chu Zhongtian was perplexed. ¡°That¡¯s quite a weird nickname you want me to call you by.¡±

    Zu An exined with a smile, ¡°Back at my hometown, Ah Zu is a term used to refer to handsome guys.¡±[1]

    Chu Zhongtian couldn¡¯t help but roll his eyes upon hearing those words. However, knowing that Zu An had a screw loose, he decided against arguing with him. ¡°Ah Zu, you¡¯ve crippled two of the most outstanding juniors in the Yuan n today. You must make sure to be careful from now on. I¡¯ll also dispatch more experts to protect you as well.¡±

    Qin Wanru added on, ¡°Also, you shouldn¡¯t get toocent just because you¡¯ve managed to win on the dueling ring earlier today by luck. Your true cultivation is still only at the third rank. If not for Yuan Wendong losing his focus at a crucial moment, the one to be crippled would have been you instead. You should try to keep a lower profile from now on.¡±

    Zu An shrugged helplessly. ¡°There¡¯s nothing I can do about that. Someone as outstanding as me is bound to be in the limelight no matter where I go. Even if I want to keep a low profile, the world doesn¡¯t allow me to do so!¡±

    Unable to stand all the bragginging from Zu An anymore, Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru decisively kicked Zu An out of the room.

    Once Zu An left the area, Chu Zhongtian turned to his daughter and asked, ¡°Chuyan, what¡¯s your take on this matter?¡±

    Chu Chuyan pondered with a frown before replying, ¡°I don¡¯t think that he¡¯s a spy sent by the other ns. No one would send someone of his character over to spy on us.¡±

    Thinking about Zu An¡¯s unruly personality, Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru agreed deeply with her words.

    ¡°No matter what, he¡¯s only a third rank cultivator at the moment. Even if there¡¯s something amiss with him, we still have the means to deal with him,¡± said Qin Wanru.

    Chu Chuyan nodded in agreement too. ¡°I¡¯ll pay closer heed to him in the future.¡±

    ...

    Meanwhile, as soon as Zu An left the room, Chu Huanzhao quickly walked up to him together with a group of people. ¡°Brother-inw, brother-inw! How is it? Did my parents reward you for your effort or something?¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The others in the crowd also looked at Zu An with heated looks in their eyes. No matter how low Zu An¡¯s position was in the Chu n previously, he was still its son-inw. With the merits he had rued through the tournament today, there was no doubt that he would be deeply favored by the Chu n from now on.

    It was also only then that a severe problem had dawned on Zu An. Wait a moment... Yeah, where is my reward?

    He got too caught up in Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru¡¯s tempo that he actually forgot about this matter!

    ¡°You didn¡¯t receive any rewards?¡± Noticing how Zu An had gone silent, she immediately felt indignant on his behalf. ¡°How can my parents act like that? My big sister should have spoken up for you!¡±

    ¡°Who says that there¡¯s no reward?¡± A smile curled on Zu An¡¯s lips. ¡°They have rewarded you to me.¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Chu Huanzhao was stunned for a moment before she finally understood what those words meant. Her face immediately reddened. ¡°Did they really...¡±

    It was then that she noticed the teasing look in Zu An¡¯s eyes and realized that he was making fun of her. She immediately lifted the crutches supporting her body and smacked it down on him. ¡°Stinky brother-inw, you lied to me! I¡¯ll beat you to death!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just joking! Ey, aren¡¯t you injured? How in the world are you able to run that quickly?¡± Zu An quickly scooted off, and Chu Huanzhao chased him desperately.

    The crowd was left staring at one another in bewilderment. The second branch¡¯s Chu Hongcai heaved a deep sigh of relief and said, ¡°That scared me! I thought that uncle really betrothed Huanzhao to him!¡±

    The plump Chu Yucheng¡¯s eyes curled into crescents as he said, ¡°That¡¯s not entirely impossible.¡±

    Chu Hongcai scoffed in response, ¡°What nonsense are you spouting? Just think about what kind of people Chuyan and Huanzhao are? How could the two sisters possibly wait upon the same man, not to mention, Zu An is just a drafted son-inw!¡±

    Chu Yucheng didn¡¯t bother arguing his point. Instead, he gazed at the two people running around the Chu n¡¯s courtyard contemtively. He could tell from Huanzhao¡¯s coy response earlier that she wasn¡¯t averse to the idea at all. On top of that, instead of taking out her Wailing Whip to strike him, she instinctively used her crutches instead.

    It looks like our drafted son-inw is quite an interesting man.

    ...

    In the midst of fooling around with Chu Huanzhao, he unknowingly returned back to his own residence. As soon as he opened the door, however, he found Old Mi standing right before him, leaving him jolting backward.

    For some reason, he simply felt ufortable in the old man¡¯s presence.

    Chu Huanzhao also noticed that there was a stranger present, and it btedly dawned on her that it was inappropriate that the second miss of the Chu Estate was actually prancing around with her brother-inw like that. Her face reddened as she harrumphed. ¡°Hmph! I¡¯ll settle the score with you next time!¡±

    Then, she quickly left the area.

    After Chu Huanzhao left, Old Mi turned to look at Zu An and asked coldly, ¡°How did you manage to raise your cultivation that quickly?¡±

    1. It''s a reference to Daniel Wu, otherwise known as Wu Yanzuwho was a known actor in maind China in thete 90s and early 2000s for his good looks and bod.

 Chapter 126: The Ways of a Vixen

    <h4>Chapter 126: The Ways of a Vixen</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An¡¯s heart skipped a beat. He knew that he couldn¡¯t possibly fool Old Mi with the same excuse he used for Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru. Of everyone in the Chu Estate, the one person who knew Zu An¡¯s circumstances the best was no other than Old Mi. Thetter knew that he was just an ordinary human a month ago, only embarking on the journey of a cultivator through the cultivation technique thetter imparted to him.

    ¡°How did you raise your cultivation that quickly?¡± Seeing how Zu An wasn¡¯t answering, Old Mi repeated his question once more, but his tone was much more impatient this time around.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s because I¡¯m still young, that¡¯s why I¡¯m cultivating a bit faster?¡± It took Zu An some effort to squeeze out an excuse.

    However, Old Mi simply red at him coldly, not bothering to respond at all.

    Zu An¡¯s face heated up. This excuse sounded ridiculous even to him. So, he pondered once again before replying, ¡°I entered the academy. The academy distributes ki stones to each of us to use in our cultivation. On top of that, the ki in the academy is much richer, so...¡±

    Before he could finish his words, Old Mi had already interjected once more, ¡°Even with ki stones, there¡¯s no way you could have progressed that quickly. Besides, the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra relies mainly on getting beaten up to raise your cultivation. Ki stones have limited effectiveness for you.¡±

    Zu An was surprised to hear those words. Old Mi mentioned that ki stones had limited effectiveness, not that it waspletely useless. Yet, why did it not work for him?

    He thought about how the system had turned the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra into a series of formations within his body. Could it be that the way he was practicing the cultivation technique was different from how it was supposed to be, resulting in some divergence? As a result of that, he could only raise his cultivation through getting beaten up or consuming Ki Fruits.

    Thinking deeper into it, he felt that it wasn¡¯t too bad since Ki Fruits were much easier to obtain than ki stones.

    While Zu An was distracted, Old Mi had finally lost his patience. He reached out to grab Zu An¡¯s hand to check on his condition personally.

    Zu An was still feeling gleeful at having defeated two experts on the dueling ring, but to his astonishment, he couldn¡¯t even dodge a casual grab from Old Mi. He tried to pull his arm out, but Old Mi¡¯s hand was like a metal w firmlytched on.

    ¡°The hell! Just how powerful is this old man?¡± Zu An was rmed.

    ¡°Hm?¡± eximed Old Mi in surprise. He flicked his long fingernail on Zu An¡¯s fingertip and created a small incision. Then, he squeezed out a small droplet of blood.

    He brought the droplet of blood up to his nose to have a whiff of it, and his body immediately jolted in shock. He looked at Zu An with eyes filled with disbelief as he asked, ¡°Transcendent ss aptitude?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s heart skipped a beat. He remembered the warning Jiang Luofu had given him regarding how he shouldn¡¯t reveal his aptitude level to others. So, he feigned ignorance and said, ¡°What transcendent ss aptitude?¡±

    However, Old Mi disregarded his words and reached out to grab his cors. He looked at Zu An with heated eyes as he asked anxiously, ¡°What happened to you during this period of time? How did your aptitude suddenly rise by so much?¡±

    He was certain that Zu An¡¯s aptitude was only at lower Ding a month ago, yet it suddenly rose to the legendary transcendent ss aptitude. How could he possibly not be surprised?

    Zu An knew that it was impossible for him to hide it anymore, so he quickly cooked up an excuse and said, ¡°I¡¯m not too sure either. I think it might be rted to that wild fruit I ate thest time I was at the city suburbs.¡±

    ¡°What wild fruit?¡± Old Mi asked on. ¡°How does it look like? Describe it to me.¡±

    ¡°Errr...¡± Zu An hesitated for a moment before continuing on. ¡°It¡¯s oval in shape, and its exterior is red in color. The fruit is covered with scalelike protrusions with sharp tips. The fruit has a thick skin that feels a bit wax, and its flesh is red in color. There are lots of ck bits embedded in its flesh...¡±

    Picturing the fruit based on Zu An¡¯s description, Old Mi began murmuring under his breath. Could it be the legendary Dhara Scales? No, that isn¡¯t right. The color of the flesh is a little different. Cold it be the Redcloud Divine Fruit then? The exterior looks different though. What could it possibly be...¡±

    Zu An almost burst intoughter there and then. You¡¯d be a god if you could guess it. That¡¯s a dragonfruit from my previous life! I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve heard of it anywhere ever since arriving in this world.

    ¡°It looks like you¡¯ve stumbled upon a fortuitous encounter, obtaining a fruit that could alter your aptitude. However, it¡¯s hard for me to imagine why a treasure of such a tier would actually be in the Hidden Dragon Mountain,¡± said Old Mi.

    Zu An chuckled in response, ¡°I guess dumb people arepensated by their luck.¡±

    A frightening smile surfaced on Old Mi¡¯s aged face. He patted Zu An¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°Wonderful. The higher your aptitude, the more heartened I am.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your concern, elder,¡± replied Zu An. He looked at this still bleeding fingertip as he reassessed his evaluation of Old Mi. All along, he thought of Old Mi as a ¡®grandfather gift pack¡¯ orded to newbie transmigrators so as to kick them off on their journey. However, it looked like he was sorely mistaken here. There was no one who would selflessly impart their teachings to a stranger for no good reason...

    ¡°You didn¡¯t use the Sunflower Phantasm in the tournament today, right?¡± asked Old Mi.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t. I used the modified version you imparted to me, and it looks like it was more than enough.¡± Had it been before, Zu An might have just confessed that he had used a move from the Sunflower Phantasm at the veryst instant in order to deal with Yuan Wenji, but he felt that he couldn¡¯t trust Old Mi anymore.

    ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± replied Old Mi with a nod. He also thought that his movement skill would be more than enough to deal with most low-level cultivators, so he didn¡¯t harbor any doubts toward Zu An¡¯s words. ¡°Alright, you should rest for now.¡±

    After saying those words, he began staggering his way out. Despite his seemingly slow movements, it took only a few moments for his silhouette topletely vanish from view.

    Zu An finally heaved a long sigh of relief. Somehow, being in Old Mi¡¯s presence made him feel incredibly pressured.

    It looks like I need to prepare a countermeasure against Old Mi...

    There was a problem here though. The pressure that Old Mi exerted on him earlier was even greater than what he had felt from Yuan Zhengchu and the others when they charged at him earlier today. This proved that Old Mi was indubitably an incredibly powerful cultivator, and this only left Zu An¡¯s heart feeling even heavier.

    Heaving a deep sigh, he closed his door.

    As per usual, he started off with washing his hands and face. Now that he was a bit more well-to-do, he even bought from fragrance and joss sticks in order to upgrade his ritual. As they say, the Goddess of Luck shines on those who are prepared.

    Once all preparatory work waspleted, Zu An dived into his lottery. He had umted a total of 58,835 Rage points thus far. Most of it hade from the ssh damage he had dealt upon the spectators. Indeed, a good performance needed to be enjoyed by a huge audience!

    Should I try to hug Jiang Luofu¡¯s leg in public next time?

    Zu An quickly dispelled that thought from his mind. While he would surely make a killing out of his Rage points, he might just end up dead from that.

    He drew the lottery as per usual, but he didn¡¯t obtain anything special. His total loot was only 59 Ki Fruits, which was pretty disappointing though it was within expectations. He swallowed the Ki Fruits and filled the fourth formation by roughly a third.

    Seeing this, he couldn¡¯t help but sigh deeply. He was only at the fourth step of the third rank, but the amount of Rage points he needed to make a breakthrough was already an astronomical sum. He couldn¡¯t imagine how he could possibly rake up enough Rage points for subsequent breakthroughs.

    All of a sudden, someone knocked on his door, and Cheng Shouping¡¯s fawning voice sounded, ¡°Young master, let¡¯s go redeem the bet paper. It¡¯s 1,000,000 silver taels!¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes immediately lit up as his low spirits cleared up in an instant. There had been too many things going on that he nearly forgot about this.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±

    Zu An charged out of the door, only to quickly return back in. ¡°No, this won¡¯t do. I need to find someone to apany me.¡±

    While his winnings this time around wasn¡¯t as exaggerated as what he had earned from the Silverhook Casino thest time around, it was still no small sum. Just the few guards from the Chu n might not be sufficient to get the matter done. He needed to find a reliable backing here.

    In the end, he felt that his wife was still the most reliable one of all. After the previous incident, she had experience handling things rting to the casino now.

    ...

    Meanwhile, Chu Chuyan was in the midst of circting her ki through her body to recuperate from her injuries. All of a sudden, an unnatural tinge of redness filler her face, and she abruptly lurched forward and sprouted a mouthful of blood. Shockingly, there were a few small shards of ice in her blood.

    Confusion flickered across her face as she murmured in disbelief, ¡°How could this be...¡±

    ¡°Honey, honey~¡± It was then that a familiar, light-hearted voice sounded from the outside.

    She quickly waved her sleeves, and the puddle of blood vanished without a trace. Following that, Zu An barged right in. ¡°Hm? Honey, what are you doing lying on the bed in the middle of the day? Are you trying to invite me to join you?¡±

    Chu Chuyan nearly choked. It¡¯s like this fellow is incapable of spouting anything good. ¡°What are you doing here?¡±

    Zu An said with a sheepish smile, ¡°I want to invite you out for a walk.¡±

    Chu Chuyan closed her eyes once more as she replied cidly, ¡°I¡¯ll pass.¡±

    She still remembered how she was duped by Zu An thest time around and ended up bing a spectacle on the street. She reckoned that he was doing the same this time around to satisfy his vanity.

    ¡°Err... Alright, I¡¯ll be honest with you. I¡¯m heading down to a casino to collect a payment, but I¡¯m afraid that they might attempt to pull something. I¡¯ll feel more assured with you by my side,¡± said Zu An with a smile. ¡°I¡¯ll split a portion of it with you!¡±

    ¡°You went to gamble again?¡± Chu Chuyan opened her eyes right away and stared at Zu An in displeasure.

    ¡°It¡¯s not a gamble; I¡¯m just collecting school fees. You see, they actually dared to put a ridiculous 1:100 payout on me! As an arithmetic teacher, I feel obliged to teach them basic math so that they¡¯ll understand the importance of risk control in the case of freak idents. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m taking a lot from them anyway,¡± answered Zu An vehemently.

    ¡°You can phrase it however you want to, but it doesn¡¯t change the fact that you¡¯re gambling,¡± Chu Chuyan harrumphed. ¡°The Chu n has strict rules against gambling. I already made an exception by following you to the Silverhook Casino thest time around; there¡¯s no way I¡¯ll do it again.¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°At least do it on the ount that I¡¯ve made such a huge contribution to the Chu n. I mean, instead of rewarding my merits, you all ended up interrogating me instead. Now, you wouldn¡¯t even apany me out for a walk. Hmph, it looks like there¡¯s no point staying at the Chu n anymore!¡± Zu An harrumphed lividly before stomping his way out.

    ¡°Where are you going?¡± Taken aback by Zu An¡¯s sudden tantrum, Chu Chuyan asked in bewilderment.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to announce to the world that we¡¯re divorcing one another!¡± Zu An waved his hand as he continued heading out without the slightest hesitation.

    ¡°Come back here!¡± Chu Chuyan cried out in rm.

    It wasn¡¯t easy for her to find a fitting husband to shield her from the other pursuers aiming for the Chu n. If Zu An were to leave, how in the world was she going to find another one?

    Besides, even if she could find someone who fit the criteria, surely she, as the proud first miss of the Chu n, couldn¡¯t possibly marry twice, right? That would be a huge embarrassment, as well as a scandal.

    However, Zu An paid her no heed at all. He continued heading out as if he couldn¡¯t hear her. So, Chu Chuyan bit her lips and dashed right in front to stop him. ¡°Fine fine, I¡¯ll apany you, alright?¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± It was hard for Zu An to stop his lips from curling up. He never thought that the usual tricks used by vixens in soap operas would be effective even for men. If he refuses, cry. If crying doesn¡¯t work, throw a tantrum. If even throwing a tantrum doesn¡¯t work, threaten him with your life!

    ¡°Of course!¡± replied Chu Chuyan. ¡°Only this time!¡±

    Zu An contemted for a moment longer before adding, ¡°I also want to sleep with youter tonight. Otherwise, I¡¯ll announce to the world that we¡¯re divorcing one another!¡±

    ¡°Go ahead then!¡± Chu Chuyan eyed Zu An coldly.

    Zu An nearly choked. Hey, you are supposed to follow the script here. ¡°We don¡¯t need to share a bed. Even just being in the same room is fine with me.¡±

    Chu Chuyan turned around and walked off, saying, ¡°If you don¡¯t catch up, I won¡¯t even bother going to the casino with you.¡±

    ¡°Wait a moment, does that mean that you¡¯re agreeing to my request?¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡±

    ...

    Having learned from her previous lesson, Chu Chuyan insisted on taking the carriage this time around. It didn¡¯t take them long to arrive at the entrance of the Four Seas Casino. This was where Cheng Shouping made his bet thest time around.

    ¡°Go and redeem the prize,¡± Zu An passed the bet paper to Cheng Shouping and instructed.

    ¡°Alright!¡± Cheng Shouping¡¯s eyes immediately lit up. He was more than willing to do fun tasks like this. He puffed up his chest and walked up to the counter, smacking the bet paper down loudly. With a voice loud enough for everyone in the casino to hear, he shouted, ¡°Manager, I¡¯ve struck the lottery. Pay up my 1,000,000 silver taels!¡±

    As one could expect, it immediately caught the attention of everyone in the casino.

    The manager¡¯s face immediately darkened. He shot a look at the person behind him before gritting his teeth. He took the bet paper and tore it into shreds, saying, ¡°Where did this swindlere from? How dare you take a fake bet paper to fool us? Men, chase him out!¡±

 Chapter 127: Youâ€™re In Trouble

    <h4>Chapter 127: You¡¯re In Trouble</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Cheng Shouping was bewildered. He had marched off to the counter gleefully to collect his money, thinking that the young master would reward him handsomely for his efforts. Yet, he actually messed everything up.

    It was a million silver taels they were talking about here!

    Cheng Shouping¡¯s eyes immediately reddened in agitation. With a cry of despair, he charged forward to brawl with the manager, only to be swiftly dragged out by the guards of the Four Seas Casino.

    ¡°Where did this lunatice from? Beat him up real good so that even his mother wouldn¡¯t recognize him!¡± The manager covered his swollen eyes as he pointed his finger at Cheng Shouping angrily.

    ¡°Oh? Is this how the Four Seas Casino treats its customers? Not only are you all shrinking payment, you even try to turn things around your customers to frame them, even attempting to beat them to death?¡± a sharp voice sounded as Zu An strutted into the casino imposingly.

    Beside him, Chu Chuyan also saw the pitiful plight Cheng Shouping was in, and her gaze turned cold. Even though she wasn¡¯t too fond of Cheng Shouping, he was still a member of the Chu n. She wouldn¡¯t allow outsiders to just trample all over him.

    Receiving Chu Chuyan¡¯s subtle gesture, the Chu n¡¯s guards immediately rushed forward to beat down the guards of the Four Seas Casino, saving Cheng Shouping from their clutches.

    ¡°Waaa, this woman is really pretty!¡±

    ¡°Are you blind? Don¡¯t you recognize the first miss of the Chu n?¡±

    ¡°As expected of Brightmoon City¡¯s number one beauty!¡±

    ¡°But what are they doing here? Doesn¡¯t the Chu n have strict rules against gambling?¡±

    ...

    The others in the casino, as well as passers-by, immediately rushed over to watch themotion.

    Cheng Shouping staggered over to Zu An¡¯s side with a swollen face. He hugged thetter¡¯s thigh as he cried out indignantly, ¡°Young master, that bastard over there has torn up the bet paper!¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyelids twitched. ¡°Stop using my clothes as a tissue paper to wipe off your snot.¡±

    Seeing that Chu Chuyan was here too, the manager from the Four Seas Casino dared not to put on airs. He quickly stepped forward to wee her with a smile, but his bruised eye made his appearance ratheredic. ¡°Young miss Chu, what brings you here today? I¡¯m the manager of this casino, Ol¡¯ Third Du. Pardon me myck of an appropriate wee.¡±

    Chu Chuyan harrumphed coldly and said, ¡°If I hadn¡¯te here, I wouldn¡¯t have known how little you thought of the people from our Chu n.¡±

    ¡°I dare not to!¡± Ol¡¯ Third Du hurriedly replied with a nervous smile. ¡°I didn¡¯t know he hade under your orders, so please forgive me for my earlier act of disrespect.¡±

    Zu An waved his hand impatiently. ¡°Enough. Don¡¯t waste our time with such pleasantries. Hurry up and pay the million silver taels you owe us.¡±

    Ol¡¯ Third Du put on a surprised look as he asked, ¡°Young master Zu, I¡¯m afraid that I don¡¯t quite understand what you¡¯re saying. The bet paper your servant brought to us is fake, so I¡¯m unable to cash it out for you.¡±

    ¡°Whether the bet paper is real or not, you should have had everyone to testify for it. Don¡¯t you think that it was highly inappropriate for you to tear it up just like that? That¡¯s an act of a guilty conscience,¡± said Zu An coldly.

    Those words were met with the fervent agreement of the crowd. The action of Ol¡¯ Third Du was suspicious in their eyes too.

    However, Ol¡¯ Third Du had already prepared an answer to that. ¡°I thought that this servant was falsifying the bet paper behind your back. It was out of consideration of the reputation of the Chu n that I tore the bet paper on the spot. Otherwise, it might lead to unnecessary gossip. I didn¡¯t know that he was doing it under your orders.¡±

    Since the bet paper had been destroyed, there was no way for Zu An to disprove his words anymore. Not to mention, his words made perfect sense too.

    As expected, those in the crowd immediately turned doubtful eyes toward Zu An.

    ¡°Oh? You¡¯re even trying to turn the tables on me, huh?¡± Zu An burst intoughter. ¡°It¡¯s fortunate that I made preparations in advance. I knew that you would try to pull something like that, so I kept the real bet paper with me.¡±

    Zu An took out the real bet paper from his robe and disyed it before everyone else. ¡°What a pity that your guilty conscience prevented you from even taking a close look at the bet paper, resulting in such an elementary mistake.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Ol¡¯ Third Du.

    You have sessfully trolled Ol¡¯ Third Du for +666 Rage!

    You have sessfully trolled Zheng Dan for +666 Rage!

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for +666 Rage!

    Zu An subconsciously nced at the tightly shut doors behind the counter.

    Zheng Dan and Sang Qian are indeed hiding inside. It looks like this is one of the Zheng n¡¯s businesses. It was wondering why Zheng Dan kept trying to get close to me previously, but it turns out that she does have ulterior motives in mind. Most likely, she was aiming for the 7,500,000 silver taels debt note I have on the Silverhook Casino, hoping to use it to devour the Plum Blossom Sect¡¯s businesses.

    Still, I must say that Sang Qian really went all out this time around. He even had his fianc¨¦ey a honey trap for me, casually hugging and touching me.

    Ey, that fellow can¡¯t have some sort of weird cuckold fantasies, does he? Oh my! If that¡¯s the case, I really should... make a friend out of him!

    In any case, it means that they are unaware that the 7,500,000 silver taels is no longer on me anymore. I should tell Jiang Luofu to keep this matter hidden for the moment. It¡¯ll be interesting to see the two of them desperately struggling, only to realize that it was all in vain.

    It was also then that Chu Chuyan spoke up, ¡°It¡¯s very easy to discern the authenticity of a bet paper. Casinos would pay careful heed to the material of the paper, the quality of the ink, and the handwriting on it so as to prevent forgery, and a record of it will be kept in the magistrate¡¯s office so as to avoid contention. On top of that, every casino would keep a spare copy of the bet paper for documentation purposes. I shall invite the vice magistrate over to look through your ounting book and judge this matter fairly.¡±

    As one of the decision-makers in the Chu n, she had to be well-versed with how businesses operated and thews of the country.

    ¡°Young miss Chu, please wait a moment!¡± It was then that someone suddenly ran out. ¡°I am the owner of the Four Seas Casino, Zheng Guanxi. It¡¯s an honor to have Chu First Miss and young master Zu visiting our premises.¡±

    There was no way the Zheng n would allow them to go to the vice magistrate for this. They were clearly at fault here, and things would be made clear with just a bit of investigation. On top of that, if the vice magistrate really ran through their ounting books, they could stand to lose far more than just a million silver taels.

    ¡°You¡¯re the owner of the Four Seas Casino?¡± Zu An shot a nce at the inner rooms of the casino as he spoke.

    It looks like Zheng Dan and Sang Qian aren¡¯t intending toe out. But again, given their lofty standing, they can¡¯t possibly openly intervene in the matters rting to the casino or else it could lower their standing. It was only normal for them to find someone else to take care of matters.

    ¡°Yes, I am!¡± replied Zheng Guanxi with an amicable smile.

    ¡°Zheng? Are you from the Zheng n?¡± asked Zu An.

    ¡°No no no, of course not. I have nothing to do with the Zheng n at all. How could someone as humble as me possibly be rted to the great Zheng n?¡± Zheng Guanxi denied it right away.

    Should I have used another name instead? Otherwise, it¡¯s very easy for others to see through my background. But again, it¡¯s much easier for me to settle problems when I bring the Zheng n into the picture to pressure others. Ah, this is really a dilemma.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care which n you¡¯re from. Just tell me, how are you intending to resolve this matter?¡± asked Zu An.

    ¡°Yes, of course.¡± Zheng Guanxi took out a handkerchief and dabbed away the small beads of sweat forming on his forehead. ¡°It was all Ol¡¯ Third Du acting on his own ord earlier. Our casino is unaware of the matter. I reckon that he¡¯s coveting this huge wealth.¡±

    ¡°???¡± Ol¡¯ Third Du.

    Zheng Guanxi wasn¡¯t about to give Ol¡¯ Third Du a chance to exin at all. ¡°Men, drag him down and bring him to the vice magistrate!¡±

    Ol¡¯ Third Du immediately panicked. ¡°You can¡¯t do this to me! I¡¯m just following the young miss¡¯...¡±

    Kacha!

    However, the guards were already prepared for this. With a single punch, they dislocated Ol¡¯ Third Du¡¯s lower jaw, causing his words to immediately turn into mumble jumble. There was no way to hear him clearly anymore.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to put up a pretense before me. Give me a straight answer, are you nning to pay up or not?¡± Zu An harrumphed.

    ¡°It goes without saying that we¡¯ll pay you whatever you have earned!¡± There was still a smile on Zheng Guanxi¡¯s face, but his hands were trembling. This was a million silver taels they were talking about here! The Four Seas Casino hadn¡¯t even earned that much money ever since its establishment. ¡°It¡¯s just that the sum is too big for us to raise right away. Could we write down a debt note for you first?¡±

    ¡°Sure, but I¡¯ll be expecting an annual interest rate of 40%,¡± replied Zu An with a nod.

    Zheng Guanxi was shocked. ¡°But you only demanded 10% from the Silverhook Casino back then!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a different story. They owe me 7,500,000 silver taels and are unable to raise the money within a short period of time. However, the sum you owe me is much lower. Are you trying to tell me that your casino doesn¡¯t have that much money despite having epted my bet?¡± Zu An harrumphed.

    It was fortunate that he had only betted 10,000 silver taels back then. Otherwise, he might not be able to get his money back.

    ¡°That¡¯s right! Why the heck are you operating a casino when you can¡¯t even pay your own customers?¡±

    ¡°I think that Ol¡¯ Third Du¡¯s action was simply a sign of the Four Seas Casino shirking payment!¡±

    ¡°Wow, it looks like the drafted son-inw of the Chu n is the nemesis of all casinos.¡±

    ¡°We should follow his lead next time around. He¡¯s our lighthouse toward prosperity!¡±

    ...

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The crowd pointed their fingers at Zheng Guanxi and criticized him, leaving him feeling incredibly flustered. All of a sudden, his body jerked a little, as if someone had suddenly whispered in his ears. Then, he turned to Zu An and said, ¡°How about this? We¡¯ll first pay you half of your winnings first, and as for the rest, we¡¯ll write it down as a debt at a 20% interest rate. How does that sound?¡±

    Zu An finally nodded in satisfaction. ¡°You should have done that right from the start! Bring the money out!¡±

    He hadn¡¯t expected to be able to collect the full sum of money right away, so receiving 500,000 silver taels on the sum was already pretty good for him. One must know that he had only managed to squeeze 150,000 silver taels out of the Silverhook Casino the previous time.

    In the casino¡¯s secret room, Sang Qian gritted his teeth as he muttered furiously, ¡°I really want to smash my fist into that man¡¯s face.¡±

    Zheng Dan shook her head helplessly and said, ¡°He has Chu First Miss by his side. You won¡¯t be able to touch him.¡±

    Sang Qian eyed Zheng Dan suspiciously as he asked, ¡°Why don¡¯t you seem angry at all?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s there to get angry about? Our n is to get close to him to steal the debt note anyway,¡± replied Zheng Dan as she looked at Zu An intently through the cracks of the door. ¡°We¡¯re just tucking our money with him for the time being. It won¡¯t be long before we reim what we have lost and even more.¡±

    Sang Qian nodded in agreement, ¡°We¡¯re counting on you then. You must make sure to protect yourself well. Remember, you mustn¡¯t allow him to take advantage of you.¡±

    ¡°I know,¡± replied Zheng Dan.

    ¡°Also, we should make some adjustments to the rules of the casino. We shouldn¡¯t offer such a high payout rate, and we should also put a cap on high payout bets. Otherwise, we might just be bankrupted by such freak idents,¡± said Sang Qian.

    He couldn¡¯t let his wife clean up after him every single time. In thest few days, for some reason, he had been feeling jittery inside, as if he was going to get cuckolded.

    ...

    After collecting their money and debt note, Zu An and the others prepared to return back to the estate. Zu An casually entrusted his banknotes over to Cheng Shouping, and it made thetter so excited that his hands wouldn¡¯t stop trembling.

    Zu An distributed some of the notes over to the guards too. The guards were hesitant to ept it at first, but seeing that Chu Chuyan wasn¡¯t saying anything, they finally epted it joyously. All of them had families to raise too, so additional money was naturally weed.

    ¡°Young master Zu, you look dashing today!¡±

    ¡°For some reason, he¡¯s looking more and morepatible with our first miss.¡±

    ¡°In consideration of this banknote, I¡¯ll reluctantly agree with that statement just this once.¡±

    ...

    Zu An stuffed a stack of banknotes into Chu Chuyan¡¯s hands too. ¡°Here, your share.¡±

    However, Chu Chuyan didn¡¯t ept it. ¡°I don¡¯t need it.¡±

    ¡°What are you getting so courteous for? You yed a huge part in collecting the debt too.¡± Zu Anughed heartily. ¡°Now that I¡¯m rich, it¡¯s my turn to provide for you!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Chu Chuyan.

    If he continues acting so haughtily, I think I really might give this fellow a good beating.

    Even after returning back to the Chu Estate, Zu An remained so overjoyed that he didn¡¯t sleep for the entire night. When he woke up the following day, he feltpletely refreshed. The blue sky filled with white clouds looked more beautiful than ever, and even the air felt more refreshing than usual.

    He was just about to set off to the academy to embark on another fruitful day when a bunch of constables suddenly charged into his residence and bellowed, ¡°Zu An! You¡¯re to follow us back to the yamen to be trialed for your crimes!¡± [1]

    1. Yamen is thew enforcement department in ancient China, where trials are held under the supervision of an official, often the vice magistrate or magistrate himself.

 Chapter 128: Dying Message

    <h4>Chapter 128: Dying Message</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An was stunned. He never thought that a day woulde where aw-abiding citizen like him would be arrested by the police.

    Trialed for my crimes? What crimes?

    While he was still overwhelmed by the situation, the constables had already fastened his hands behind his back with a pair of metal shackles. It was fortunate that he was protected by the guards of the Chu n, who wouldn¡¯t allow him to be taken away so easily by the constables, especially after epting his money the previous day.

    ¡°Zu An, are you trying to resist arrest here?¡± asked the head constable coldly.

    Zu An finally snapped out of his daze.

    Having been in this world for some time, he knew just how powerful the royal court was. He couldn¡¯t allow things to proceed down this direction. So, he stepped forward and stopped the Chu n¡¯s guards first before asking, ¡°You should give me a reason at the very least. I can¡¯t possibly allow myself to be taken away without any justifications, right?¡±

    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have done it in the first ce if you don¡¯t want others to know of it.¡± The head constable pointed to the side. ¡°You can¡¯t hear it?¡±

    Zu An turned his head sideward, only to be shocked by what he saw. A huge crowd was rushing in his direction with indignant looks on their faces, roaring furiously.

    ¡°Murderers have to pay for their crimes!¡±

    ¡°The Chu n oppresses the people and condones the vile deeds of their son-inw!¡±

    ...

    Looking at those banners that wrote stuff like ¡®Bring justice back to the Great Zhou Dynasty¡¯ and ¡®Commoners¡¯ lives matter¡¯, Zu An couldn¡¯t help but frown. He felt like he had been mired into a huge scheme.

    It was then that Chu Zhongtian, Qin Wanru, Chu Chuyan, and the others rushed out. Chu Huanzhao was still in the estate because she was still recuperating from her injuries, but Chu Zhongtian stopped her froming out.

    ¡°What happened?¡± Chu Zhongtian ordered his men to stop the rioting crowd before turning to the head constable with a cold look in his eyes.

    The attitude of the head constable immediately became much more amicable. ¡°Brightmoon Duke, Zu An is under suspicion for murdering Official Yang Wei and Commoners Plum Blossom Twelve and Plum Blossom Thirteen. The city lord has ordered us to arrest him to be trialed.¡±

    Everyone in the Chu n was shocked to hear those words. It was one thing for Plum Blossom Twelve and Plum Blossom Thirteen to be killed, but Yang Wei¡¯s death was quite a huge issue. He might be a low-ranking official, but he was still a subordinate of the royal court.

    Zu An¡¯s mind was quickly whirred into action. All three people had previous conflicts with him, so their deaths hinted strongly at a ploy directed toward him.

    ¡°Nonsense! Ah Zu has been in our Chu Estate all this while, so how could he possibly kill anyone?¡± Chu Zhongtian could also tell that it was an attempt to frame Zu An.

    ¡°We¡¯re just acting ording to the city lord¡¯s orders. Brightmoon Duke, I¡¯ll have to humbly ask you not to make things difficult for us.¡±

    However, the crowd only grew more inmed after seeing how the constables were bowing down to the Chu n.

    ¡°Is the Chu n trying to cover for a murderer?¡±

    ¡°Does thews not apply to the Chu n?¡±

    ¡°Where has the justice of our Great Zhou Dynasty gone to?¡±

    ...

    It was always easy to rile up the popce, especially when it came to acts of injustice from the rich and the powerful. Everyone was always quick to hop onto the bandwagon, speaking up indignantly as if they had suffered grievances themselves. This was simply how humans were.

    Chu Zhongtian realized that this matter would be hard to deal with. It would be a huge matter if the people were to turn against the Chu n against him over this. ¡°Very well, I¡¯ll follow you all back to the yamen. I would like to see how you intend to judge this case!¡±

    He patted Zu An¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°Ah Zu, don¡¯t worry. As long as I¡¯m here, I won¡¯t let you suffer any grievances!¡±

    He was a duke of the country after all. With him keeping an eye on the proceedings, the others wouldn¡¯t dare to carelessly make a ruling on the case.

    Zu An felt a surge of warmth into his heart. My father-inw is truly a decent person.

    Chu Zhongtian told Qin Wanru to hold the fort in the Chu Estate and be prepared to send reinforcements whenever required before leading a group of guards over to the yamen.

    Chu Chuyan was intending to follow as well, only to be stopped by Zu An. ¡°I need you to find a person for me. Ry these words to her...¡±

    Chu Chuyan was taken aback by the abrupt request, but she nodded in response before swiftly disappearing amidst the crowd.

    Cheng Shouping also quickly rushed up to Zu An¡¯s side fawningly, asked, ¡°Young master, young master! Is there anything I can help you with? I¡¯ll be willing to brave through a sea of me for you as long as you give the word!¡±

    ¡°Yes, I do have something I need you to do,¡± replied Zu An.

    Cheng Shouping¡¯s eyes lit up right away. ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Zip up your mouth.¡±

    ¡°... Orh.¡±

    Unless Zu An was tired of living, there was no way he would entrust anything important to the troublemaking Cheng Shouping anymore. He needed Chu Chuyan to deal with it personally in order to give him peace of mind. As for Cheng Shouping... all he needed to do was to disgust his opponents when the time came.

    As Chu Zhongtian was tagging along too, the guards didn¡¯t insist on shackling Zu An up. Just like that, they swiftly made their way toward the yamen.

    City Lord Xie Yi and Vice Magistrate Pang Chun personally stepped forward to wee them, saying, ¡°What brings Brightmoon Duke here today?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve already sent your men to arrest my son-inw, so how can I note by personally?¡± Chu Zhongtian harrumphed.

    Xie Yi shook his head bitterly and said, ¡°Someone knocked on the drums of the yamen, crying out his grievances. On top of that, an official is even implicated in the matter. Given the circumstances, I have no other choice than to hold a trial.¡± [1]

    ¡°Who¡¯s the one who knocked on the drums?¡± asked Chu Zhongtian.

    He had to at least figure out who his enemy was here first.

    As they headed into the yamen, Xie Yi replied with a lowered voice, ¡°It¡¯s Yang Wei¡¯s widow and the rtives of Plum Blossom Twelve and Plum Blossom Thirteen. Mei Chaofeng is here too.¡±

    Chu Zhongtian¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°It looks like the Plum Blossom Sect is determined to turn against our Chu n. I sure do wonder where their courage ising from.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t get careless. They seem to be confident this time around,¡± reminded Xie Yi.

    Once they entered the court, solemnity swiftly returned to Xie Yi¡¯s face as he stopped talking altogether.

    Zu An scanned the surroundings, only to see two long horizontal banners that wrote ¡®Laws made of our virtues, enforced through discipline¡¯. It gave an air of severity to the court.

    Xie Yi and Pang Chun headed toward the front of the court, where their seats were located. Simr to how it was depicted in historical dramas, there were two rows of guards standing by the sides of the court, standing on attention with long metal poles in their hands.

    There were several people kneeling before the court. One of them was a middle-aged woman, who appeared to be Yang Wei¡¯s wife from her fairly well-to-do attire. The others appeared to be farmers, which likely made them family members of Plum Blossom Twelve and Plum Blossom Thirteen.

    Mei Chaofeng was standing at one side, looking at Zu An with utterly cold eyes.

    Seeing this set-up, Zu An smiled quietly in anticipation. Very well, show me what you¡¯ve got then.

    ¡°Since the intiffs and the defendant are already present, I hereby dere themencement...¡± Xie Yi was just about to dere themencement of the trials when amotion sounded outside.

    ¡°Governor Sang has arrived!¡±

    Astonished, Xie Yi quickly got up with Pang Chun and the other subordinate officials to greet Sang Hong. Casualughter could be heard from the entrance as Sang Hong¡¯s voice sounded, ¡°Lord Xie, there¡¯s no need for you to rise. You¡¯re the one in charge of the court proceedings. I¡¯m here just to spectate.¡±

    Chu Zhongtian, on the other hand, was much less polite. ¡°Lord Sang, I really see you everywhere I go.¡±

    It was just a day ago when Sang Hong openly sided with the Yuan n, and now, he was here to deal with his son-inw. Even the most patient man in the world would lose his temper after being picked on time and time again.

    Toward that, Sang Hong calmly replied, ¡°I should have returned to my office, but I heard that something major has happened in the city. After quickly looking into it, I realized that it involves the Chu n. Out of concern, I came here to take a look lest the civilians im that thew of our Great Zhou Dynasty sides with those in power. Brightmoon Duke, surely you wouldn¡¯t mind, right?¡±

    Seeing that Sang Hong was pressuring him with thew, Chu Zhongtian replied calmly, ¡°No one is blind here. I won¡¯t stand idly if someone tries to distort the facts.¡±

    Sang Hongughed at those words. ¡°Of course, of course. Everything will be dealt with ording to thew. I believe that Lord Xie will handle the case promptly.¡±

    That wily old fox!, Xie Yi cursed under his breath. This put him in a quandary. That being said, as long as he judged the matter fairly, neither sides would be able to fault him.

    It was then that Zu An spoke up, ¡°I understand that Governor Sang is here to ensure the fairness of the procedure, but may I know in what capacity is young master Shi here to spectate the proceedings? Is he an official?¡±

    He had sharply noticed that Shi Kun hade together with Sang Hong.

    ¡°My father is the Minister of War...¡± replied Shi Kun calmly.

    But before he could finish his words, Zu An had already interjected sharply, ¡°I¡¯m asking you if you¡¯re an official. Why are you mentioning your father instead? Do you have nothing else to speak of other than your father?¡±

    ¡°You!!¡± Shi Kun¡¯s face immediately reddened in anger. With his background and his reputation, he was treated like a VIP no matter where he went. No one had ever tried to put him down in public in such a manner before.

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Kun for +500 Rage!

    ¡°What do you mean by ¡®you¡¯? You should watch the way you address your teacher. Is that how you were brought up in the Shi n?¡± Zu An¡¯s mouth was like a relentless machine gun, shooting out bullets endlessly.

    Shi Kun felt a little light-headed. Why am I being interrogated here instead?

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Kun for +653 Rage!

    ¡°Scoundrel, how dare a mere child like you dare to sully the name of the Shi n!¡± Shi Lezhi stood forth from Shi Kun¡¯s side to bellow at Zu An. He released his powerful aura to intimidate thetter.

    However, Chu Zhongtian immediately waved his hand to dispel Shi Lezhi¡¯s aura, saying, ¡°You should think twice before attempting to strongarm others in the court. Besides, Ah Zu isn¡¯t wrong either. He¡¯s a teacher at the academy. It¡¯s only right for young master Shi to pay respects to him as a student.¡±

    Shi Kun¡¯s face turnedpletely red. He felt incredibly stifled. There was no way he could bring himself to bow down politely to Zu An in the capacity of a student before so many people. That would be a stain on his reputation!

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Snow felt an urge to step forward to speak on her young master¡¯s behalf, but somehow, she felt guilt-ridden facing her old masters once more, leaving her at a loss.

    Fortunately for Shi Kun, Sang Hong stepped in at this moment, ¡°Zu An is in the position of a intiff now. Until he¡¯s finally cleared of his charges, it¡¯d be inappropriate to view him as a teacher of the academy. I believe that we should skip the formality for now. As for young master Shi, it¡¯s indeed inappropriate for him to view the proceedings without an official position. He shall stand by the doorway for now.¡±

    Sang Hong had taken on an impartial position, putting down both sides together. So, no one could raise any doubts against him.

    It was just that Shi Kun had expected to be able tofortably rest on a seat while watching the drama in the front rows, only to be shoved in together with the rest of the popce. It made him feel both humiliated and indignant.

    To be fair, Shi Lezhi had secretly released his aura to prevent anyone froming close to Shi Kun, giving him some privacy. But even so, Shi Kun¡¯s face remained incredibly livid.

    Zu An!!! Celebrate your little victory while you can. I¡¯ll make sure that you¡¯ll cry your eyes outter on!

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Kun for +444 Rage!

    ¡°Silence!¡± Seeing that Chu Zhongtian and Sang Hong had settled down in their positions, Xie Yi started off by silencing the crowd before mming a wooden brick onto the table, saying, ¡°Zu An, do you plead guilty?¡± [2]

    Zu An shrugged leisurely as he replied, ¡°What am I guilty of?¡±

    An opulently-dressed middle-aged woman pointed her finger at Zu An and bellowed, ¡°Zu An, how vicious you are! Despite having defeated my husband in apetition in the academy, you still weren¡¯t satisfied and viciously assassinated him! Milords, you have to redress my grievances!¡±

    The middle-aged woman proceeded on to bawl pitifully, but her reactions did nothing to faze Zu An. Instead, he asked calmly, ¡°What does Yang Wei¡¯s death have to do with me?¡±

    Xie Yi coughed softly and said, ¡°Lord Yang left a dying message that points you out as the murderer.¡±

    1. In the past, there would be a drum ced outside the yamen, where civilians could knock on it and request for a trial so as to have their grievances redressed.

    2. Just like how modern-day judges use gavels, the hammer to gather everyone¡¯s attention, in ancient China, the magistrate used a wooden brick called Jing Tang Mu, literally tranted to ¡®wood that disrupts the court¡¯.

 Chapter 129: Blessed By the Wisdom of Brilliant Detectives

    <h4>Chapter 129: Blessed By the Wisdom of Brilliant Detectives</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Dying message?¡± Zu An frowned.

    Vice Magistrate Pang Chun borated more on the matter, ¡°The deceased, Yang Wei, wrote down a ¡®Zu¡¯ word before he passed away. In view of the conflict you had with him two days ago in the academy, as well as the fact that there¡¯s no one else who goes by the surname ¡®Zu¡¯ in the entire Brightmoon City, we¡¯re left with no choice but to deduce that the person he¡¯s referring to in his dying message is you.¡±

    Even Chu Zhongtian found himself unable to remain calm upon hearing about the dying message, but Zu An forced himself to remainposed. He knew that it was exactly at times like this that he shouldn¡¯t panic. He had seen far too many dramas where the intiff just kept crying ¡®I¡¯m being framed¡¯ and ¡®I¡¯m innocent¡¯ to know that it was futile to do so.

    He took some time to ponder over the matter before saying, ¡°There should be a motive behind murder. I have no reason to kill Yang Wei.¡±

    ¡°No reason? You had a conflict with Yang Wei in the academy, and there are several hundred people who can bear testimony to that! You harbored hatred in your heart, so you assassinated my husband for that. You¡¯re a vile man through and through!¡± Yang Wei¡¯s wife roared at Zu An with a face warped with anger.

    ¡°Indeed, I did have a conflict with Yang Wei, but it was just a squabble regarding arithmetic, not to mention, I won the bet. Principal Jiang even appointed me as the stand-in arithmetic teacher, recing him. On the other hand, Yang Wei was thoroughly disgraced in public and fired from the academy. In other words, it was aplete victory for me. Is there a reason for me to make a move on an utter loser? It¡¯s far more likely for Yang Wei to make an attempt on my life than the converse,¡± replied Zu An.

    Xie Yi and Pang Chun looked at one another and nodded in agreement. Indeed, the killing motive made no sense here.

    Chu Zhongtian also turned to look at Zu An in astonishment.

    All along, he thought of his son-inw as someone with a reckless personality who spouted anything that came to his mind. To be honest, his impression of Zu An didn¡¯t change by too much despite thetter¡¯s outstanding performance on the dueling ring. After all, thetter was only at the third rank in terms of cultivation, which the Chu n had nock of.

    However, Zu An¡¯s ability to analyze the root of the problem here truly impressed him. He realized that he and his wife might have had a wrong impression of Zu An all this while.

    It was at this moment that Mei Chaofeng, who was still watching the show quietly a moment ago, stepped forward and said, ¡°That¡¯s hard to say. We have seen how vindictive Zu An is yesterday on the dueling ring. Yuan Wenji had only offended him, but he sliced away the other party¡¯s arm and crippled his ki core. It was in line with Zu An¡¯s character to thoroughly exact vengeance on Lord Yang after the conflict they had with one another.¡±

    Since it wasn¡¯t convenient for Shi Kun to participate in the trial, Mei Chaofeng had no choice but to intervene.

    Upon hearing his words, Yang Wei¡¯s wife seemed to have found a pir of support and immediately hopped on it, ¡°Right, right! That must be the case! Milords, please redress my grievances! My husband died a tragic death.¡±

    Theplicated situation left Xie Yi and Pang Chun frowning, not knowing how they should handle it.

    Sang Hong also joined in as well, ¡°Zu An, how do you exin the dying message Lord Yang left behind then?¡±

    ¡°Then how can you be certain that it¡¯s Lord Yang who left that word behind? Just think about it. If I¡¯m the murderer, do you think that I¡¯d allow my victim to write my name out?¡± replied Zu An.

    Sang Hong simply kept quiet with a smile. It was beneath him to join the debate directly. He was just pointing the crux of the matter out for Xie Yi and Pang Chun to handle the case on his behalf.

    As expected, Pang Chun immediately spoke up, ¡°Lord Yang¡¯s hands were hiding the word when we found him. It¡¯s only normal for the murderer to have not noticed it.¡±

    Zu An burst intoughter. ¡°If I may ask, which murderer would be so careless? It¡¯s one thing for him to leave his victim with a dying breath, but he actually didn¡¯t notice his victim attempting to leave a dying message too? Does that even make sense to you?¡±

    The spectating crowd began discussing the case through whispers too. The arguments from both sides made sense to them.

    ¡°Silence!¡± Xie Yi smacked the wooden brick on the table. ¡°Zu An, what you said made sense, but all of the evidence is pointing to you at the moment. Without a doubt, you¡¯re the prime suspect. If we¡¯re unable to find any other evidence, I¡¯m afraid that it would be hard to vindicate you.¡±

    ¡°If I may ask, when did Lord Yang die?¡± asked Chu Zhongtian.

    ¡°Brightmoon Duke, based on the autopsy record, he should have died yesterday night, around the zi hour to the chou hour.¡±

    (11PM to 3AM)

    ¡°Then there¡¯s no way it could be Ah Zu. He was resting in his estate yesterday night. Also, due to several incidents in the past, I have allocated several guards to protect him around the clock, so there¡¯s no way he could slip past my notice.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡± Xie Yi heaved a sigh of relief. If Zu An had an alibi, it would make things far more straightforward. However, just as Xie Yi was about to make his judgment, a voice suddenly sounded in the court.

    ¡°If I recall correctly, the testimony provided by kin of the intiff can only be used as reference and not absolute evidence, right?¡± said Shi Kun.

    Naturally, they had considered this too while they were concocting this scheme.

    Those words left Xie Yi frowning. There was indeed such a rule as there was a good chance that family members would try to cover for one another.

    Chu Zhongtian turned to Shi Kun and uttered coldly, ¡°Are you iming that I¡¯m spouting falsehoods here?¡±

    ¡°Brightmoon Duke, please pardon me. I¡¯m not doubting your character here, but given how many people there are in the Chu Estate, there¡¯s no way you could keep track of everyone¡¯s whereabouts. Furthermore, Zu An has disyed a formidable movement skill that could overwhelm even a fifth rank cultivator on the dueling ring yesterday. Given so, it shouldn¡¯t be too difficult for him to circumvent the guards in the estate if he truly intended to sneak out.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Chu Zhongtian.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Shi Kun¡¯s arguments were perfectly logical, leaving Chu Zhongtian with no room for argument. The crowd also immediately eyed Zu An in suspicion as well.

    Zu An turned around to look at Shi Kun and said, ¡°Young master Shi, you¡¯re well-prepared. It almost looks like you were the one who prepared this scheme to frame me.¡±

    ¡°I am just a concerned civilian. I don¡¯t think that there¡¯s anything wrong with me stating my opinion, right?¡± replied Shi Kun with a smile.

    Vice Magistrate Pang Chun finally spoke up, ¡°Zu An, what else do you have to say for yourself?¡±

    Zu An pondered for a moment before speaking up, ¡°I¡¯d like to visit the murder scene.¡±

    May all of the great detectives of the world bless me here. Please don¡¯t let those detective dramas I¡¯ve watched in my previous life, be it Justice Bao, Di Renjie, Sherlock Holmes, or Detective Conan, be in vain. Otherwise, I might really get done in here.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to head over to the scene personally,¡± replied Xie Yi.

    He gestured to his subordinate, and soon, someone brought an artifact that resembled a mirror over. Xie Yi infused his ki into it, and an image appeared on the surface of the mirror.

    It was the scene of Yang Wei¡¯s dead body!

    Zu An was quite amazed by the technologies this world had to offer. They actually created the equivalent of a camera in their own way, allowing them to store and disy images. It would appear that the runemasters in this world were far more formidable than he had thought.

    Zu An carefully examined the murder scene, and soon, a smile surfaced on his lips. ¡°Well, well! It looks like justice does exist in this world after all!¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± asked Xie Yi in confusion.

    The others on the court were equally bewildered as well. Even Shi Kun began frowning, wondering if they had identally messed up here.

    Zu An pointed to the blood words in the image and exined, ¡°The dying message left behind by Yang Wei was written with his right hand, but Lord Yang is left-handed. The true murderer seems to be unaware of that, resulting in this careless mistake.¡±

    ¡°Left-handed?¡± Pang Chun was taken aback. ¡°I¡¯ve known Lord Yang for many years, but I¡¯ve never known him to be left-handed.¡±

    ¡°Previously, when I was attending Yang Wei¡¯s arithmetic ss, he started out writing with his right hand. However, when the two of us startedpeting with one another, he subconsciously switched to his left hand in a moment of nervousness. From this, it should be clear that his master hand is his left hand. However, I reckon that most people are oblivious to that, which is also why the true murderer erred here.

    ¡°When a man tries to leave behind an important message in his dying breath, there was no way he would deliberately go through the trouble of using his non-master hand. Yet, Yang Wei¡¯s dying message was written with his right hand instead. This should prove that the dying message is fabricated by the true murderer.¡±

    Xie Yi frowned at those words. He turned to Yang Wei¡¯s wife and asked, ¡°Is Lord Yang left-handed?¡±

    The middle-aged woman was bemuddled by the current turn of events, but she still nodded anyway. ¡°My husband is indeed left-handed. It¡¯s out of fear that he would be mocked that he tries to use his right hand in public, but from time to time, he would still subconsciously resort to his left hand.¡±

    A huge ruckus broke out as soon as those words were spoken. Even Shi Kun was shaken too. How could he have known that they would have made such a mistake?

    Realizing that things were turning awry, Mei Chaofeng¡¯s face warped in shock, and he hurriedly chirped in, ¡°Zu An might be using this fact to take us for a ride! He intentionally faked the dying message in such a way so that he could absolve himself of me!¡±

    Faced with those words, Zu An shook his head and looked at Mei Chaofeng in ridicule, ¡°You must have not brought your brain out with you today. Do I look like I¡¯m mentally ill as to leave my name on the crime scene and turn myself into the prime suspect?¡±

    Xie Yi nodded in agreement. ¡°What Zu An says makes sense. With the doubts surrounding the dying message, there isn¡¯t any concrete evidence to prove that he¡¯s the murderer anymore. Lord Pang, I¡¯ll be counting on you to reinvestigate this matter and root out the murderer.¡±

    Pang Chun bowed slightly and said, ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll do my best to get to the bottom of this case.¡±

    With the case regarding Yang Wei¡¯s deathing to a standstill, the guards escorted Yang Wei¡¯s family members out of the court. Zu An turned around to look at Shi Kun and said, ¡°There were quite a few people in the academy who witnessed mypetition with Yang Wei, so most of them should be aware of the fact that he¡¯s left-handed. It¡¯s unlikely that they would make such a careless mistake. If I remember correctly, young master Shi has only joined our academy a day after the duel, right? Ah, that would exin why the true murderer is unaware of the fact that Lord Yang is left-handed!¡±

    Shi Kun refuted those words right away in agitation, ¡°Zu An, don¡¯t you dare nder me! How could I possibly be the culprit behind Lord Yang¡¯s death?!¡±

    Zu An burst outughing, ¡°Oh? But I didn¡¯t say that you were the murderer. Why are you getting so agitated?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Shi Kun.

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Kun for +523 Rage!

    That bastard! I nearly fell into his trap in a moment of carelessness!

    Zu An¡¯s words might be unfounded, but it did make sense as well. The crowd began pointing fingers at Shi Kun as they spected about the truth surrounding the case with their vivid imagination.

    Seeing this, Mei Chaofeng valiantly stepped forth to alleviate the social pressure heaped on his master, saying, ¡°Even if you aren¡¯t the culprit behind Lord Yang¡¯s death, there¡¯s no way you are unrted with Plum Blossom Twelve and Thirteen¡¯s deaths!¡±

    Zu An shrugged calmly. ¡°Why don¡¯t you bring out some concrete evidence instead of running your mouth?¡±

    Mei Chaofeng first bowed to Xie Yi and the others before starting on his testimony, ¡°A month ago, someone witnessed you leaving the city together with Plum Blossom Twelve. However, you were the only one who returned to Brightmoon City at the end of the day. Based on the results of our investigation, Plum Blossom Twelve died in the Wolf Valley, and there are eyewitnesses who have seen you handing over ten goubaos to Divine Physician Ji on the very same day. From this, we can deduce that Plum Blossom Twelve has fought hard against the Assrip Wolves to gather a bunch of goubaos, only for you to assault him and steal his loot!¡±

    Zu An rolled his eyes in disdain. ¡°You¡¯ve already said it with your own mouth that it¡¯s a deduction. Evidence! Where¡¯s the evidence!¡±

    ¡°The goubaos are the evidence! Furthermore, there are testimonies from eyewitnesses too. This is the most logical exnation regarding this matter!¡± said Mei Chaofeng vehemently.

    ¡°With the strength I¡¯ve shown on the dueling ring yesterday, I could have just hunted the Assrip Wolves and gathered the goubaos on my own. Why would I need to kill Plum Blossom Twelve for that? Besides, I also have an eyewitness on my side too. Back then, the daughter of Divine Physician Ji, Ji Xiaoxi, was with me. She can testify that I¡¯ve collected all of the goubaos by myself.¡±

    ¡°Then how can you exin the fact that the two of you left the city together, but you were the only one who returned alone?¡±

    Mei Chaofeng was feeling utterly exasperated at the moment. The other murder cases were all forged by them, and they made sure to nt ample evidence beforehand in order to incriminate Zu An. This was the only murder case that they were certain that the murderer was Zu An, so they thought that it would work out easily. Yet, who could have thought that no one would trust him even though he was speaking the truth here?

    What¡¯s with this injustice in the world?!

    You have sessfully trolled Mei Chaofeng for +497 Rage!

    ¡°He met someone named Tan Wei along the way and rushed off to chase that man, so we ended up parting ways. Is there anything wrong with that?¡± replied Zu An with an innocent look on his face.

    ¡°Based on what I know, Tan Wei is a traitor of the Plum Blossom Sect. It does make sense for Plum Blossom Thirteen to split up with Ah Zu to chase Tan Wei.¡± Chu Zhongtian added credibility to Zu An¡¯s words.

    Pang Chun also directed a nod toward Xie Yi as well, indicating that he was aware of this matter too. So, Xie Yi mmed the wooden brick on the table and dered, ¡°Alright! There¡¯s insufficient evidence here to prove that Zu An is the murderer here. Next!¡±

    Mei Chaofeng red at Zu An with gritted teeth. ¡°You might have been able to get by thus far with your glib tongue, but there¡¯s no way you can argue your way out of Plum Blossom Thirteen¡¯s death!¡±

 Chapter 130: Feelings Speak Louder Than Words

    <h4>Chapter 130: Feelings Speak Louder Than Words</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°I¡¯m amazed, Mei Chaofeng. In order to frame me, you even went to the extent of killing your closest aide, Plum Blossom Thirteen. Aren¡¯t you afraid that your deeds would chill the hearts of your subordinates?¡± asked Zu An.

    ¡°How dare you nder me when you¡¯re the one who murdered Plum Blossom Thirteen?!¡± Mei Chaofeng raged. ¡°It¡¯s a known fact in Brightmoon City that you had Plum Blossom Thirteen¡¯s limbs broken back then when he offended you!¡±

    To be exact, Plum Blossom Thirteen¡¯s limbs were broken by Discipline Master Lu De and Chu Chuyan, but these two people had extraordinary backgrounds, so Mei Chaofeng was reluctant to drag them into this matter. Thus, he neglected to borate on the exact details, choosing to focus on the fact that the incident happened under Zu An¡¯s order.

    Zu An could see through Mei Chaofeng¡¯s intention, but it just so happened that he didn¡¯t want to drag his wife into this matter, so he didn¡¯t expose it. ¡°Like you¡¯ve said, I was the one who had Plum Blossom Thirteen¡¯s limbs crippled back then. I¡¯ve already exacted vengeance on him, so why would I bother killing him afterward?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because Plum Blossom Thirteen is my strongest aide. You were afraid that you wouldn¡¯t be a match for him once he recovers, so you decided to make a move in advance and eliminate him while he¡¯s still incapacitated!¡± said Mei Chaofeng.

    As those words were spoken, the friends and family of Plum Blossom Thirteen wailed indignantly as they charged toward Zu An, though the guards standing by the side of the court quickly stepped in to stop them,

    ¡°Silence!¡± Xie Yi smacked the wooden brick on the table once more to bring order back to the court.

    ¡°You must be kidding me. I¡¯m able to defeat even a fifth rank cultivator, but you¡¯re telling me that I¡¯m afraid of a mere third rank cultivator?¡± replied Zu An.

    ¡°You only lucked out yesterday, that¡¯s why you were able to defeat Yuan Wendong. Everyone knows that. Besides, there¡¯s concrete evidence to prove that you were the one who killed Plum Blossom Thirteen, so there¡¯s no way you can talk your way out of this!¡± Mei Chaofeng harrumphed.

    ¡°Oh? What evidence do you have?¡± asked Zu An curiously.

    Mei Chaofeng first bowed to Xie Yi and the others before carrying on with his testimony, ¡°Based on the autopsy, Plum Blossom Thirteen died under the academy¡¯s Elementary Swordy. I believe that City Lord Xie has already verified this matter personally.¡±

    ¡°You can say that every student in Brightmoon Academy knows the Elementary Swordy. On what grounds are you insisting that Ah Zu is the murderer here?¡± questioned Chu Zhongtian.

    Mei Chaofeng waved his hand, and his subordinate immediately brought a sword over. ¡°The murderer was found by one of our patrolling disciples while he was assassinating Plum Blossom Thirteen, and he was almost surrounded. He fled in a hurry under the encirclement of my disciples and ended up leaving this sword behind.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Chu Zhongtian¡¯s eyes narrowed upon taking a closer examination of the sword. There was no way he wouldn¡¯t recognize it to be the weapon Zu An used on the dueling ring yesterday.

    Zu An shrugged calmly. ¡°After the tournament yesterday, I casually tossed the sword over to a servant in the Chu n and thought nothing of it afterward. It looks like you have managed to obtain it through bribing one of our servants.¡±

    Chu Zhongtian¡¯s face darkened. This, once again, affirmed the fact that there was a spy in their Chu n. There wasn¡¯t enough time for him and his wife to root out the spy yesterday, and their failure ended up creating an opening for their enemies to exploit.

    Mei Chaofeng paid no heed to Zu An and carried on, ¡°There were over a dozen people who witnessed your murder yesterday night. No matter how glib your tongue is, there¡¯s no way you¡¯re talking your way out of this!¡±

    A group of people immediately rushed in and recounted what they saw yesterday night.

    Unable to stand it anymore, Chu Zhongtian mmed the table and said, ¡°Preposterous! It was just a moment ago we established that the testimony of kin cannot be used as evidence, but are we going to listen to their testimonies now? They¡¯re all from the Plum Blossom Sect! There was no way they would dare to defy Mei Chaofeng openly in public!¡±

    Mei Chaofeng smiled calmly and replied, ¡°But we have concrete evidence aside from eyewitnesses. Zu An has a motive behind the murder too. Are you going to im that all of this is a coincidence? Brightmoon Duke, you can¡¯t be thinking of condoning a criminal just because he¡¯s your son-inw?¡±

    Chu Zhongtian flew into a state of rage and roared at Mei Chaofeng, ¡°Who do you think you are? How dare you speak to me in such a manner!¡±

    He was usually a mild-tempered man, but the events over thest two days had really been challenging the limits of his patience. On top of that, he had never liked the Plum Blossom Sect due to their deeds in the city, so he finallyshed out at Mei Chaofeng¡¯s gleeful attitude.

    Mei Chaofeng immediately felt a tremendous force sweeping toward him, and he faltered fearfully. Even with his fifth rank cultivation, he found that he was on the verge of copsing to the ground out of fright.

    It was then that Sang Hong stood up and consoled Chu Zhongtian, ¡°Brightmoon Duke, calm down! It¡¯s beneath your standing tosh out at a civilian like this!¡±

    Even though it looked like Sang Hong was advising Chu Zhongtian out of goodwill, in truth, he was warning thetter not to mess around here. On top of that, he also deflected the tremendous aura directed toward Mei Chaofeng too.

    Xie Yi also stood up to mediate in the situation then, leaving Chu Zhongtian with no choice but to take a step back from the time being.

    Even so, Mei Chaofeng¡¯s face still remained pale. It wasn¡¯t that easy to recover from the intimidating hostilitying from an eighth rank cultivator, such that Mei Chaofeng found himself unable to speak in a moment¡¯s time.

    Zu An took this time to think the matter through before remarking, ¡°How intriguing. Based on what you¡¯ve mentioned, I paid a visit to Yang Wei¡¯s house to assassinate him before sneaking into the Plum Blossom Sect to kill Plum Blossom Thirteen. Wow, I never knew that I was such a busy man.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing a vile man like you is incapable of!¡± Mei Chaofeng finally managed to calm his nerves to rebut Zu An. ¡°Besides, haven¡¯t you been cleansed of the suspicion of killing Lord Yang earlier on? That gives you more than enough time to pull off a kill on Plum Blossom Thirteen!¡±

    ¡°I see. So you¡¯re acknowledging that I¡¯m not the culprit behind Yang Wei¡¯s death too. Got it. As for your argument that I have more than enough time, I¡¯m afraid that you¡¯re sorely mistaken.¡± Zu An¡¯s tone suddenly changed at this point. ¡°I was clearly working hard with my wife to bear offspring for the Chu nst night. How could I have time to kill Plum Blossom Thirteen?

    ¡°Don¡¯t you know how tough it is for me to marry such a beautiful wife? Every day, I wake up praying that the sun would set earlier so that my wife and I could get some private time together. What kind of a man would I be if I leave behind my beloved wife at home to handle other matters?¡±

    ¡°???¡± Chu Zhongtian.

    He was utterly dumbfounded. Of course, he knew that Zu An was talking rubbish since he was aware that his daughter and son-inw were still sleeping in separate rooms at the moment. However, how could he say it aloud at this point? Wouldn¡¯t that be cing Zu An in danger?

    But at the same time, those words had practically tarnished his daughter¡¯s reputation...

    Oh wait, they¡¯re a married couple. It doesn¡¯t look like a big deal for them to be sleeping together, right...?

    Even so, it was incredibly weird for Chu Zhongtian to listen to his son-inw talking about his lovey-dovey affairs with his daughter, especially in public...

    A hugemotion immediately broke out amongst the crowd. Zu An might not have gone into detail, but a human¡¯s vivid imagination was a powerful weapon that could easily fill in any gaps in information. The thought of the beautiful Chu Chuyan being ruined in the hands of a swine named Zu An made all of them turn green in envy.

    You have sessfully trolled Yang Shanwei for +233 Rage!

    You have sessfully trolled Xiao Qun for +233 Rage!

    ...

    ¡°Rubbish!¡± an infuriated howl sounded from the crowd.

    Everyone turned their eyes over, only to see Shi Kun ring at Zu An with reddened eyes.

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Kun for +999 Rage!

    Even though Shi Kun knew that Zu An was lying, he still couldn¡¯t restrain the anger bubbling within him. The problem here wasn¡¯t whether he knew Zu An was lying or not; it was whether the crowd knew it or not! At this rate, by the time he finally married Chu Chuyan in the future, everyone would think that he was just picking up a second-handed good from Zu An!

    There was no way he could ept something like that!

    ¡°You have never consummated your marriage with Chu First Miss, so what are you bragging over there for?¡± roared Shi Kun.

    Zu An shot a nce at Shi Kun before remarking leisurely, ¡°What are you getting so agitated for? You can¡¯t be coveting my wife here, are you? Tsk tsk tsk, is this how the Shi n raises its offspring? Haaa~¡±

    Shi Kun¡¯s rage-o-meter immediately struck the limit. Bring me my fucking sword!

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Kun for +468 Rage!

    Behind him, Snow quietly tugged his sleeves and reminded softly, ¡°Young master, you need to hold it in, or else our ns will bepromised.¡±

    Shi Kun took in a deep breath before slowly calming down. That¡¯s right, Zu An is already done for over here. I should wait for the verdict to be passed before slowly settling the scores with him.

    Zu An looked at Snow in surprise. Oh? It looks like she didn¡¯t reveal my secret, or else Shit Kun wouldn¡¯t have been so angry. Why is she concealing it for me?

    Ah. Did she fall for me unknowingly?

    Noticing Zu An¡¯s stare, Snow returned a sharp re back. It¡¯s no wonder why the young master is so infuriated. Even I can¡¯t help but want to pummel him every time I see his face!

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for +520 Rage!

    Zu An was amused by the number. Oh hoh! Despite her refusal, it looks like her feelings are much more honest! [1]

    Seeing that Shi Kun was getting riled up, Mei Chaofeng quickly leaped in and said, ¡°The testimony of kin cannot be taken as evidence. Besides, Zu An¡¯s words carry falsehoods. Just ask anyone in the Chu n; all of them know that he has been sleeping in separate rooms with Chu First Miss, so how could thetter testify for him? Look! Despite the important asion, Chu First Miss is nowhere to be seen at all. This should be more than enough to prove how their rtionship as a couple is like!¡±

    ¡°Who says that I¡¯m not here?¡± a crisp and euphonious voice suddenly sounded from behind the crowd.

    The crowd quickly turned around, only to see a beautiful woman dressed in blue slowly walking over like a fairy from heaven.

    ¡°So this is Chu First Miss~¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s as ravishing as the rumors put her out to be!¡±

    ¡°If I had a wife like her, I would never get up from my bed anymore!¡±

    ¡°Yeah! Who would waste a precious night with such a beauty on killing a person instead? Only a fool would do that!¡±

    ...

    The remarksing from the crowd amazed Zu An. Despite all of the arguments he had made, it turned out that nothing was more convincing than Chu Chuyan¡¯s appearance.

    Chu Chuyan walked into the court and said, ¡°There¡¯s no need to investigate it anymore. He was sleeping with mest night.¡±

    Those words stirred huge waves right away. Chu Zhongtian widened his eyes. Sang Hong choked on the cup of tea he was sipping on. Even Xie Yi was too shocked to m the wooden brick to demand order in the court.

    ¡°What?!¡± Shi Kun turned to Snow with a face distorted in rage. ¡°Didn¡¯t you tell me that there¡¯s no way they will get together with one another?¡±

    Snow was equally confused too. Could there be a huge advancement in the rtionship between Chu Chuyan and Zu An in thest few days? But that was impossible!

    Even Zu An was in no mood to stare at the massive influx of Rage points falling into his piggy bank. He, too, was staring at Chu Chuyan with his mouth agape. He didn¡¯t expect her to stand up for him in this manner before such a huge crowd.

    One must know that even though the two of them were married, there were rumors abound that they were sleeping in separate rooms. Due to that, she still remained as the lofty, pure fairy in everyone¡¯s eyes.

    However, her admittance to having slept with Zu An would break even the persistence of the most tenacious of fanboys in deluding themselves that she was still chaste.

    She was actually willing to sacrifice her own reputation for me.

    Zu An was moved by this gesture. It turned out that Chu Chuyan had a warm heart under her cold exterior.

    Yup, I should do my best in the future to help her warm up her body too.

    ¡°Cough cough!¡± Xie Yi finally snapped out of his shock. He mmed the wooden brick on the table and demanded order. ¡°Chu First Miss, the court is not a ce for lies. Are you certain about what you have just said?¡±

    ¡°Naturally.¡± Chu Chuyan stood calmly at the center of the room as a light breeze tugged on her dress gently. The crowd found themselves falling intoxicated under her ethereal beauty. ¡°Also, I¡¯ve brought in a new eyewitness.¡±

    ¡°A new eyewitness?¡±

    Putting aside Chu Zhongtian, even Shi Kun and the others were confused. They couldn¡¯t imagine they could turn the tables with the evidence they had thoroughly prepared to incriminate Zu An.

    ¡°Bring in the eyewitness!¡± ordered Xie Yi.

    Chu Chuyan nodded in response, and the guards of the Chu n quickly escorted a person in. Mei Chaofeng was still standing confidently a moment ago, but when he saw the eyewitness Chu Chyan had brought over, hisposure shattered right away.

    1. The Rage points Snow provided, 520, means ¡®I love you¡¯ in Chinese.

 Chapter 131: A Final Chance

    <h4>Chapter 131: A Final Chance</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Snow¡¯s face also twisted when he saw the eyewitness¡¯ face. She quickly exined the current situation to Shi Kun.

    Needless to say, Shi Kun was infuriated that the tables had been turned in such a manner. He turned to Mei Chaofeng, spitting him with a piercing re. How dare you ruin my ns for the sake of your lust?

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Xie Yi quickly asked the eyewitness, keenly noticing the reactions of both Mei Chaofeng and Shi Kun.

    The woman who had been brought in by the guards of the Chu n knelt on the floor and said, ¡°City Lord Xie, I am the wife of Tan Wei, Madam Zhang.¡±

    ¡°Tan Wei?¡± Naturally, Xie Yi knew who Tan Wei was. He began assessing the various people present in the court, a meaningful gleam in his eyes.

    A slight furrow also formed on Sang Hong¡¯s forehead. It looks like their n is going to fail once again.

    ¡°What are you doing here? Go back right now!¡± Mei Chaofeng finally snapped out of his daze and rushed toward Madam Zhang, attempting to chase her away.

    His sudden, aggressive movement left Madam Zhang cowering in fear, a clear sign that she was extremely afraid of Mei Chaofeng.

    Chu Chuyan immediately stepped between the two of them and said calmly, ¡°Are you trying to intimidate my eyewitness?¡±

    Mei Chaofeng immediately rebutted her, anxiety coloring his tone. ¡°How can she possibly be an eyewitness? She¡¯s no more than my concubine!¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m Tan Wei¡¯s wife! You resorted to despicable means to force me to do your bidding!¡± Madam Zhang looked at Mei Chaofeng with eyes filled with hatred.

    Mei Chaofeng felt as if he had been plunged into icy-cold water. The woman before him suddenly looked foreign to him. She had been so subservient towards him in recent days, never hesitating to fulfill his requests. The dominance he had enjoyed over her made him feel rather cocky, and he even bragged about it before Snow. Yet...

    Was it all an act?

    Xie Yi secretly shot a nce at Sang Hong and saw that thetter wasn¡¯t responding at all. This gave him a good idea as to what was going on. ¡°Madam Zhang, feel free to describe any injustice you have suffered. We¡¯ll redress all of your grievances in this court.¡±

    With tears in her eyes, Madam Zhang began to exin everything she had been through.

    As it turned out, she and Tan Wei were childhood lovers, but the Zhang n opposed their rtionship out of scorn for Tan Wei¡¯s impoverished background. So, Tan Wei joined the Plum Blossom Sect in hopes of making it big, and his willingness to dive headlong into danger and the tenacity he disyed against the sect¡¯s enemies allowed him to swiftly rise through the ranks. It didn¡¯t take him long to make a name for himself, along with a tidy sum of money.

    Eventually, at Madam Zhang¡¯s insistence, her parents reluctantly epted their marriage. The fulfillment of their love after such a long and difficult path made them cherish each other even more, and they lived together in great bliss. But one day, the sect master of the Plum Blossom Sect paid them a visit and became enamored with Madam Zhang¡¯s beauty.

    So, heid out a scheme to take Madam Zhang¡¯s body for himself, which incurred Tan Wei¡¯s rage. Tan Wei tried to stand up for his wife, but there was just too huge a difference in their cultivation ranks. In the end, it was only with Madam Zhang¡¯s help that Tan Wei barely managed to escape with his life.

    In order to keep her husband safe, Madam Zhang chose to lower herself in service to her enemy, allowing Mei Chaofeng to demean her in any way he wanted to. She was able to persevere only because Mei Chaofeng had promised her that he would let Tan Wei go.

    However, not too long ago, she received news that Tan Wei had been killed by Plum Blossom Twelve, and that drove her into despair. She considered ending her life there and then to apany her husband in the afterlife, but her anger and indignance stopped her. She couldn¡¯t allow Mei Chaofeng to be let off the hook just like that.

    So, she changed her attitude. She began going along with Mei Chaofeng, in order to win his affection. She made Mei Chaofeng think that he had conquered her with his charm, and he lowered his guard against her.

    In truth, she had been secretly collecting evidence of Mei Chaofeng¡¯s wrongdoing, and she was only waiting for an opportunity to make her move. Earlier that day, the first miss of the Chu n had paid her visit, and she immediately knew that her chance hade.

    ¡°Rubbish! It was this lowly woman who seduced me, coveting my power and authority. Tan Wei chose to leave on his own ord, out of humiliation. I¡¯ve never tried to force myself on Madam Zhang before!¡± Mei Chaofeng defended himself anxiously.

    There was no way Zu An was going to miss this perfect opportunity. ¡°Hah! A woman, seducing you on her own ord? Did you think that you¡¯re the same as me? You should get yourself a mirror and take a hard look at your own face!¡±

    Mei Chaofeng felt blood rushing into his head. If not for the fact that they were in the middle of a courtroom, he would have rushed forward and given Zu An two tight ps.

    You have sessfully trolled Mei Chaofeng for 501 Rage points!

    Chu Chuyan also fell silent. She felt a little offended by what he had just said.

    It was then that Vice Magistrate Pang Chun spoke up, offering the court a reminder. ¡°Madam Zhang, what you¡¯ve just mentioned is unrted to the current case. We¡¯ll try your case separately afterwards.¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s rted to the current case!¡± Madam Zhang raised her head and spoke resoundingly. ¡°Yesterday, I personally heard Mei Chaofeng ordering his subordinates to falsify the evidence. He was also the one who killed Plum Blossom Thirteen. In the entire Plum Blossom Sect, he seems to be the only one who has the ability to imitate some kind of academy sword art.¡±

    Her words understandably raised a huge uproar. Even the kin and friends of Plum Blossom Thirteen turned to look at Mei Chaofeng, their eyes widened in disbelief.

    ¡°You slut! How dare you frame me?!¡±

    In his heart, Mei Chaofeng felt deeply regretful. If only he had gotten rid of that woman while he could, he would never have ended up in his current plight. However, if he could do it all over once more, he would probably make the same choices. For some reason, he simply couldn¡¯t grow sick of Madam Zhang no matter how he toyed with her.

    Madam Zhang chose to disregard him and continued on with her testimony. ¡°Lord Yang Wei¡¯s death seems to have something to do with him too. I believe his killing wasmitted by some influential figure.¡±

    Everyone was shocked to hear those words. Yang Wei¡¯s wife tried to dash towards Mei Chaofeng in a frenzy, attempting to w his skin off with her nails, only to be held back by the courtroom guards.

    Excited whispering broke out amongst the crowd as well. Despite theck of any concrete evidence, they had already chosen to believe Madam Zhang¡¯s testimony. Mei Chaofeng¡¯s act of killing Tan Wei and dominating his wife was so vile that it incensed the crowd.

    ¡°That useless trash!¡± Shi Kun was infuriated. How could he possibly not be? They were just moments away from condemning Zu An to hell, but their scheme had now been unraveled, all for the sake of a mere woman!

    Shi Lezhi sent a voice transmission to Shi Kun in order to reassure him. ¡°Young master, please do not worry. You aren¡¯t directly involved in this matter, so there¡¯s no way Madam Zhang knows your identity. Besides, Mei Chaofeng knows his ce. He¡¯ll step forward to shoulder the me if it looks like things are going awry. He would never dare to give you away.¡±

    ¡°Hmph!¡± Shi Kun snorted coldly, but Shi Lezhi¡¯s reassurances did little to lift his mood.

    Xie Yi mmed the wooden brick on the table once more before issuing his order. ¡°Men, arrest Mei Chaofeng and all of the eyewitnesses who used Zu An of murder earlier. We¡¯ll be interrogating them. I¡¯ll make sure to get to the bottom of this case so that those who have died can rest in peace!¡±

    Mei Chaofeng was a powerhouse who had ruled the underground world for many years, so he was unfazed by the guards in the courtroom. His first thought was to bust out of the courtroom and flee, but he swiftly brushed off that urge. After all, Governor Sang, City Lord Xie, and Brightmoon Duke were present as well. Even Vice Magistrate Pang was more than a match for him. There was no way he could get away, and any attempt to do so would only serve as proof of his guilt.

    Instead, if he stayed put, there was still a chance to turn things around. He still had quite a few connections in the city, and young master Shi held great power in his hands as well. It was possible that he could yet be vindicated.

    With such thoughts in mind, he gave up struggling and allowed the guards to shackle his limbs.

    While he was being taken into custody, Zu An walked up to him with a smile and said, ¡°What a surprise, don¡¯t you think? Just two hours ago, you were trying to shackle me, and yet you are the one being shackled now. The world sure is a mysterious ce, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°You bastard! Don¡¯t act so smug. You might have gotten lucky today, but you won¡¯t stay lucky for life. All it takes is you slipping up once, and that will be the end of you!¡± spat Mei Chaofeng furiously.

    With the help of young master Shi¡¯s influence, he could continuously hatch schemes against Zu An. Even if one failed, all he had to do was to try again. Even if Zu An managed to survive ny-nine of the schemes, as long as he slipped up the hundredth time, he would still be a goner.

    You have sessfully trolled Mei Chaofeng for 998 Rage points!

    ¡°What a pity it is that you¡¯ll never live to see that day,¡± said Zu An with a smile.

    The crime of killing an official of the imperial court, together with the other murder cases under his name and all the underhanded deeds he hadmitted over the years¡ªall of these were more than enough to have him executed multiple times over.

    ¡°Zu An, I¡¯ll make sure to drag you down with me even if I die!¡±

    Even while Mei Chaofeng was being pulled away, his roars could still be heard from afar.

    ¡°Ipetent people sure love to talk big.¡± Zu An shook his head in disdain.

    He was just about to put down Shi Kun and earn a few more Rage points when he noticed that he had vanished from view. It seemed he was in no mood to remain here any further, especially after seeing how his n had been unraveled.

    Following all this, Xie Yi assigned several guards to Madam Zhang in order to protect her until the storm died down. With that, the court was dismissed.

    The spectators slowly dispersed, but the excitement from the drama they had just witnessed had yet to ebb. It was inevitable that, within the next few days, everyone in Brightmoon City woulde to learn of every single detail regarding this incident.

    Before Sang Hong left, he directed a long look at Chu Zhongtian before remarking, ¡°Brightmoon Duke, you really do impress me.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re impressed by me? What for?¡± replied Chu Zhongtian.

    Sang Hong nced at Zu An before exining himself. ¡°I¡¯m impressed by your sharp eyes. While everyone was looking down on him, you chose to defy the odds and take him in as your son-inw. It seems like your ability to judge people is far sharper than mine.¡±

    It was rare to see Sang Hong so frustrated. Chu Zhongtian delightfully epted the praise and replied, ¡°Governor Sang, you¡¯re too kind. Hahaha!¡±

    After that brief exchange, the two of them went their separate ways.

    On the way back to the Chu n, Chu Chuyan couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°How did you know that Madam Zhang would help you?¡±

    The corners of Zu An¡¯s lips inched upward as he exined, ¡°To be honest, I encountered Tan Wei during my journey out of town. I learned that he had a sum of money stashed away in the wall of his residence. I was still quite poor back then, and since he was already dead, I thought of taking his money for my own. Unexpectedly, I stumbled upon Madam Zhang, who was secretly paying respects to her deceased husband at the residence.

    ¡°It was then that I realized that the rumors about Madam Zhang willingly bing Mei Chaofeng¡¯s lover might have been a lie. By paying respects to her deceased husband, it showed me that she cared a lot for him, and the fact that she had to do it secretly meant that she was trying to conceal it from the Plum Blossom Sect. Piecing together all of these clues, I was able to roughly figure out her intentions, which is why I told you to bring her over to the courtroom earlier.

    ¡°I knew that only the prestige and standing you hold as the daughter of a duke would be enough to convince her to make her move.¡±

    Chu Chuyan felt a deep admiration for Madam Zhang. ¡°She¡¯s truly a strong woman. In order to exact vengeance for her husband, she was willing to suffer such humiliation. It¡¯s truly a blessing that her sacrifice hasn¡¯t been in vain.¡±

    ¡°Yes, she is indeed someone worthy of respect.¡± Zu An nodded in agreement. ¡°If something happens to me, will you be willing to put aside everything and exact vengeance for me too?¡±

    Chu Chuyan rolled her eyes. ¡°Haven¡¯t you heard of the saying, ¡®good people die prematurely, but vermin gue the world for centuries¡¯? I doubt that any harm could possiblye to you.¡±

    ¡°Ahahaha, I¡¯m ttered by how highly you think of me.¡± Zu Anughed.

    His reaction made Chu Chuyan scoff under her breath. I¡¯m notplimenting you over here! ¡°Speaking of which, weren¡¯t you just mentioning that you were going to take Tan Wei¡¯s money for your own? Madam Zhang is already so pitiful. Surely you aren¡¯t going to keep her husband¡¯s money after learning her story?¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Of course not,¡± replied Zu An. ¡°I gave the money to her on the spot. If not, how could I have been so certain that she would help me out this time around?¡±

    ¡°It looks like you aren¡¯t rotten to the core yet.¡± Despite her slightly harsh remark, a smile slowly formed on her lips. She was quite satisfied with how Zu An had handled this matter.

    It was then that Zu An suddenly realized a new problem. If Mei Chaofeng was done for, wouldn¡¯t the Plum Blossom Sect be the next to crumble? If so, the promissory note for seven-and-a-half million taels of silver guaranteed to him by the Plum Blossom Sect would be a mere empty check!

    It¡¯s fortunate that I magnanimously donated it to Brightmoon Academy beforehand. Oh well, I guess it¡¯s Jiang Luofu¡¯s problem now.

    ...

    Night descended upon Brightmoon City. In one of the cells of the Yamen, Mei Chaofeng was just about to start cultivating when he suddenly sensed a disturbance. He opened his eyes.

    He could vaguely hear deep groansing from not too far away. It was the sound of the patrolling guards being knocked out.

    Soon, a figure appeared before his cell. The figure whipped out a key that he had just swiped from the prison warden and unlocked the cell.

    ¡°Mister Shi!¡±

    Even though the figure was masked, Mei Chaofeng was still able to recognize the other party.

    ¡°The young master has sent me here to get you out,¡± replied Shi Lezhi.

    Mei Chaofeng frowned. ¡°Are we escaping just like that? Isn¡¯t that as good as admitting to my crimes?¡±

    ¡°Are you still dreaming of being vindicated? You should have known better and kept that thing between your legs under control!¡± Shi Lezhi ground out with an angry huff.

    ¡°That slut! I¡¯m going to kill her!¡± Just thinking about the matter was more than enough to stoke Mei Chaofeng¡¯s anger.

    ¡°Madam Zhang is under the protection of the City Lord Estate at the moment. You shouldn¡¯t even bother thinking about it,¡± replied Shi Lezhi. ¡°The young master has tasked me to save you in order to give you onest chance. As long as you¡¯re able to get rid of Zu An, the young master will send you to another city, where you can continue to live freely. Otherwise... you should know better than anyone else what happens to those who prove themselves useless.¡±

 Chapter 132: Murder Ploy

    <h4>Chapter 132: Murder Ploy</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Mei Chaofeng¡¯s face darkened. He pointed out grimly, ¡°I¡¯m not useless. I still have the Plum Blossom Sect.¡±

    To be frank, he was unwilling to assassinate Zu An. It was bound to be an incredibly dangerous undertaking, for Zu An was no longer the same person he used to be. On top of that, even if he seeded, he wouldn¡¯t be able to stay in Brightmoon City anymore. Both the Chu n and Brightmoon Academy wouldn¡¯t let this matter rest easily.

    He was the sect master of the Plum Blossom Sect, but he was being treated as a sacrificial pawn here!

    ¡°The Plum Blossom Sect?¡± Shi Lezhi sneered coldly. ¡°The news that you have killed Plum Blossom Thirteen has already gotten out, and it hasn¡¯t been long since you killed Plum Blossom Seven too. Those subordinates of yours have already lost their respect and loyalty for you. You can¡¯t be thinking that you¡¯re still the same high and mighty sect master you were, right?¡±

    Mei Chaofeng gritted his teeth furiously.

    I also knew that killing Plum Blossom Seven would make my subordinates lose trust in me, but what choice did I have? Young master Shi issued a directmand to me!

    Plum Blossom Thirteen was my most trusted aide, but your Shi n forced me to kill him in order to put your n into action. Yet, you¡¯re ming all of these on me now?

    Mei Chaofeng felt incredibly indignant, but knowing the current position he was in, he dared not to voice his thoughts aloud.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here first.¡± Even with Shi Lezhi¡¯s powerful cultivation, he dared not to get careless here. Raiding a prison was definitely not a small matter. If he were to get caught, even the Shi n would suffer a huge bacsh.

    The two of them quickly left the prison to head for a remote residence within the city.

    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t return to the Plum Blossom Sect for the time being. Once they notice that you¡¯re gone, they would surely issue an arrest warrant for you. Rest here for the time being instead,¡± said Shi Lezhi.

    Mei Chaofeng looked at the dpidated walls around him as he thought about how he was still feasting on meat, gulping down wine, and surrounded by beautiful women yesterday. He couldn¡¯t help but wonder how he had fallen so low in the blink of an eye.

    Noticing the dissatisfied look in Mei Chaofeng¡¯s eyes, Shi Lezhi said, ¡°You need not get too depressed. Once you¡¯ve aplished the young master¡¯s mission, you¡¯ll be able to live grandly as you previously did in another city.¡±

    Mei Chaofeng frowned. ¡°Killing Zu An is not hard at all, but the problem is that he has the protection of the Chu n. He has guards with him wherever he goes, and he spends his time either in the academy or the Chu n. There¡¯s no chance to assassinate him at all!¡±

    If we could kill Zu An that easily, why would we even bother plotting the earlier scheme for him? We would have just assassinated him outright!

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ve found a way to kill him,¡± replied Shi Lezhi.

    ¡°Oh? What is it?¡± Mei Chaofeng¡¯s interest was piqued. He would love nothing more than to kill that bastard with his own hands and vent his anger.

    ¡°Do you remember the bizarre melody he yed on the dueling ring yesterday?¡± asked Shi Lezhi.

    ¡°Of course I do! He calls it bee gee em or something,¡± replied Mei Chaofeng in a huff. Even he had to admit that the melody was quite cool, albeit excessive.

    ¡°Zu An uses a seashell to y the music, and based on the results of our investigation, the seashell is the personal possession of a foreignnguage teacher of Brightmoon Academy. It seems like she has never lent it to anyone else before,¡± said Shi Lezhi.

    Mei Chaofeng was surprised. ¡°Is that fellow involved with Shang Liuyu too?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s wife was the number one beauty of Brightmoon City, and he was rumored to be in a rtionship with many beautiful women in the academy too. To this day, the legend of the Moochlord was still spreading all around the city, creating a huge hype.

    Mei Chaofeng could understand if that was all there was to it. Those women were mostly youngsses who tended to be gullible after all. But who could have thought that even a gorgeous, mature woman like Shang Liuyu would be involved with that fellow too?

    He began doubting his ownmon sense. Are men like Zu An in trend nowadays?

    He thought about how he could only toy with women like Madam Zhang¡ªand it even brought him trouble in the end!¡ªwhereas Zu An was involved with several of the most beautiful and distinguished women in Brightmoon City all at once. This disparity left him feeling so sour as if he had been plunged into a vat of vinegar. He was envious.

    ¡°We don¡¯t know what his rtionship with Shang Liuyu is, but it seems like they are quite close with one another,¡± said Shi Lezhi.

    ¡°Tomorrow, when he arrives at the academy, we¡¯ll ask him out for a private meeting using Shang Liuyu¡¯s name. In one of your reports to the young master, you mentioned that Plum Blossom Thirteen spotted them together in a gazebo near the academy. We¡¯ll ask him out there. I reckon that he wouldn¡¯t turn down the invitation.¡±

    ¡°Very well. I¡¯ll make sure to tear off that bastard¡¯s kin and rip off his tendons so as to vent my anger!¡± Mei Chaofeng clenched his fists tightly.

    ...

    You have sessfully trolled Mei Chaofeng for +812 Rage!

    Looking at the sudden inflow of Rage points, Zu An snorted. That fellow sure carries a huge grudge for me. Oh well, he¡¯s locked behind bars right now, so he¡¯s no longer a threat anymore.

    So, he turned his attention back to Chu Chuyan and said, ¡°Honey, you really aren¡¯t going to consider allowing me to move over? I mean, you even went to the extent of admitting to sleeping with me in public!¡±

    ¡°What about it?¡± Chu Chuyan¡¯s tone was impassive.

    ¡°Just think about it! What a loss it would be if you have to bear such a reputation when we aren¡¯t even staying together, right?¡± exined Zu An. ¡°It¡¯s out of consideration for you that I¡¯m suggesting for us to stay together with one another!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Chu Chuyan.

    Knowing that it was impossible for her to win this thick-skinned man in an argument, she decisively shut her doors on him.

    Zu An¡¯s nose was nearly struck by the mming doors, and he hurriedly backed away in fear. Then, he sighed deeply. ¡°Haaa, it looks like there¡¯s still a long way to go.¡±

    Meanwhile, at the master bedroom of the Chu Estate, Chu Zhongtian exined everything that had happened in the courtroom to his wife. In the end, he concluded wistfully, ¡°Ah Zu looks like a reckless person on the surface, and his words tend to be jarring too. However, he has a sharp mind that allows him to analyze a problem and tackle it at its roots. There were many times where I was still in the midst of processing the situation when he had alreadyunched a counterattack.¡±

    ¡°Is he really that formidable?¡± asked Qin Wanru skeptically.

    ¡°I¡¯ve already told you everything that happened, so you should be able toe to a judgment yourself. If you still reserve some doubts about this matter, you can seek Chuyan for further rifications too.¡± Chu Zhongtian was a little displeased to hear his wife¡¯s doubt. Do I look like someone who just runs my mouth without careful thought?

    Qin Wanru frowned. ¡°Then why does he portray himself as a good-for-nothing all these years?¡±

    Chu Zhongtian shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know either. We should find a suitable time to ask him about it.¡±

    ¡°Say, is it possible for him to be a spy sent by other ns?¡± asked Qin Wanru.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem like it,¡± replied Chu Zhongtian. ¡°To be honest, I was indeed surprised when he won the ns Tournament back then, but I didn¡¯t think much about it. After all, he¡¯s only at the third rank. However, his performance in the courtroom today made him realize that he¡¯s a person with keen situation awareness. I think it¡¯s more likely that Chuyan just happened to stumble upon a good husband.¡±

    ¡°You shouldn¡¯te to a conclusion that quickly.¡± Qin Wanru harrumphed. ¡°Have you forgotten Chu Chuyan¡¯s intention for seeking a husband? If Zu An is as capable as you put him out to be, and he intentionally hid his capability thus far, there¡¯s a good chance that he might have his own ns in mind. His presence might not necessarily be a blessing for the Chu n.¡±

    ¡°Surely it¡¯s not as severe as you think?¡± replied Chu Zhongtian sheepishly.

    ¡°Have you forgotten about our Youzhao?¡± eximed Qin Wanru. ¡°We might be able to keep his conditions under wraps from outsiders, but there¡¯s no way we can hide it from Zu An for long. If Zu An learns of Youzhao¡¯s condition and bears ill will toward him, what will be of our Chu n? By then, what will happen to our Chuyan? She would be put in a difficult position!¡±

    Chu Zhongtian hesitated for a moment and said, ¡°If that¡¯s the case, we should consider having Chuyan inherit the Chu n. She has sacrificed too much for the Chu n over the years.¡±

    ¡°But the royal court and the other ns would never approve of it!¡± Qin Wanru sighed deeply. ¡°Forget it. We¡¯ll just have to take a step at a time and see how it goes.¡±

    ...

    The following morning, Zu An woke up and headed for Brightmoon Academy. Now that he was a teacher, attending the academy didn¡¯t feel like a chore anymore. On the contrary, he looked forward to exploiting his authority as a teacher everyday.

    Chu Huanzhao wanted to apany him to the academy, but Qin Wanru stopped her. Thetter felt that her second daughter was getting far too close to her brother-inw, so under the pretext that she was still injured from the ns Tournament, she insisted on having her rest at home.

    As for Chu Chuyan, she hardly went to the academy in the first ce, not to mention that she was also injured at the moment. Naturally, she didn¡¯t go with Zu An either.

    Due to that, Zu An¡¯s silhouette looked particrly lonesome today... Well, thatckey Cheng Shouping couldn¡¯t really be considered as apanion after all!

    Earlier in the morning, the Chu n received the news that Mei Chaofeng had escaped from prison. Out of worry, Chu Zhongtian assigned more guards to Zu An¡¯s side in order to protect him. These guards were from the Red Cloak Army, and they were skilled in coborative assault. Even when faced with an enemy of higher cultivation rank, they could at least hold their own until reinforcement arrived.

    So, Zu An was able to arrive at Brightmoon Academy without any problem. He was a little disappointed as he thought that Mei Chaofeng would try to spring an assault on him on the way, but it turned out that he was just a coward who had chosen to hole himself up.

    To be frank, he was even more infuriated at the City Lord Estate. He didn¡¯t think that they would be so ipetent as to allow Mei Chaofeng to escape from prison. Had it not been for the fact that they were in King Qi¡¯s faction, he would have thought that the City Lord Estate had intentionally let Mei Chaofeng loose.

    Having arrived at the academy, Zu An looked at the ravishing youthful women walking by him, and he suddenly felt refreshed. This was much more of a pleasing sight than the disgusting Shit Kun and Mei Chaofeng.

    Seeing that there was still some time before the first ss, he headed over to Shang Liuyu¡¯s residence, intending to use the pretext of returning her recording seashell to her in order to visit her.

    This was a trick he had learned from his peers in his previous life. One of the mostmon tricks they used to approach a woman was to borrow some of their items so that they could ask them out to return itter on. By repeating this process several times, it was only a matter of time before they got close to one another.

    He skipped merrily all the way to Shang Liuyu¡¯s residence and knocked on her door. When the door finally opened, he saw a properly-dressed Shang Liuyu sitting on a swing in the courtyard, stroking her zither lightly.

    What a bummer. I thought that I might be able to see her in her sleepwear or something bying by earlier.

    There was a smile on Shang Liuyu¡¯s face as she took her seashell back from Zu An. ¡°It looks like you have stirred quite a storm over thest two days. Your name has been echoing through the streets of the entire Brightmoon City.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t look too surprised,¡± remarked Zu An.

    Even quietly watching the woman before him was enough to make Zu An feel fulfilled. It was no wonder why people called it ¡®feast for the eyes¡¯.

    ¡°Someone who¡¯s able topose that kind of melody can¡¯t possibly be a wastrel.¡± Shang Liuyu gently stroked her zither, and a soothing note yed under her fingers.

    Zu Anughed. ¡°You do have sharp eyes! I have innumerable strengths hidden within me. You¡¯ll soone to realize that I have a treasure trove in me waiting to be uncovered!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Shang Liuyu.

    She had no idea how to respond to those words at all. As if reflecting her feelings, a slight dissonance emerged in the melody she was ying.

    Zu An continued hanging around for a bit longer before finally taking his leave. When he finally walked out of Shang Liuyu¡¯s residence, his footsteps were lighter than ever. Be it her euphonious voice or the melodious tunes she yed, it made him feel like he was having an eargasm.

    Not too long after returning to his ssroom, a student suddenly stuffed a paper note into his hands, saying, ¡°Teacher Shang told me to pass this to you!¡±

    Zu An was taken aback. He unfolded the paper note and read its message: See you in the gazebo two hours from now.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Hm? Could this possibly be the start of the legendary confession scene I¡¯ve seen so often in dramas and animes?

    However, he quickly tossed away that thought. Something smells very fishy here. We have just met one another a moment ago, so how could she possibly be in such a rush to ask me out once more?

    No matter how narcissistic he was, he didn¡¯t think that his charm was great enough to make the mild-tempered Shang Liuyu approach him so proactively.

    More importantly, there was no way Shang Liuyu would task a student to pass a note to him on her behalf. This could easily spark rumors about their rtionship in the academy, and it was something which she had been careful to avoid thus far.

    He thought about how Mei Chaofeng had escaped from prison earlier in the morning, and a momentter, he decisively made his way toward the administrative office.

    It didn¡¯t take long for him to arrive in the Principal¡¯s Office, where Jiang Luofu sat in her chair with her long legs resting casually on the flower pots in front of her.

    Light grey color!

    It was amazing how the color of Jiang Luofu¡¯s stockings was constantly changing, though what was even more remarkable was how everything simply looked nice on her.

    It looks like having beautiful legs is the key here.

    Yup, I¡¯m definitely not ogling over here. I¡¯m just looking at it on Wei Suo¡¯s behalf in case he asks me about it.

    ¡°You¡¯re here. It just so happens that I was about to look for you.¡± Before Zu An could reveal the purpose behind his arrival, Jiang Luofu had already spoken up in advance.

 Chapter 133: Surprise!

    <h4>Chapter 133: Surprise!</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± asked Zu An in surprise.

    ¡°It¡¯s about the slots into the dungeon,¡± replied Jiang Luofu as she crossed her legs leisurely. It was as if she was unaware of how tempting her casual movements were to men. ¡°Do you want to enter the dungeon as a student or a teacher?¡±

    After Zu An¡¯s feat of defeating Yuan Wendong and Yuan Wenji in the dueling ring, no one would question his qualification to enter the dungeon anymore.

    ¡°Naturally, I want to enter as a teacher!¡± replied Zu An.

    It was better being a teacher. It looked good on him, and he could exploit his standing too.

    ¡°As a teacher, you¡¯ll have to be responsible for the students¡¯ safety in the dungeon,¡± said Jiang Luofu.

    Zu An was taken aback to hear those words. He was entering the dungeon in order to look for the Evanescent Lotus, so it would be inconvenient for him to have to take care of the other students on top of that. So, he argued, ¡°Isn¡¯t the very purpose of the students entering the dungeon is to challenge themselves? It¡¯s counterproductive to assign teachers to shield them from danger. Those kids would never mature if we keep tucking them under our wings like little hatchlings!¡±

    ¡°Kids?¡± Jiang Luofu was rendered speechless. That fellow is a student himself too, and he¡¯s trying to preach here like he¡¯s superior to the rest of them.

    She exhaled deeply before exining the matter, ¡°The dungeon is as much of a menace as it is an opportunity. There would always be casualties each time a dungeon opens, which is why the academy is forced to put some restrictions in ce in order to manage risk. Only fifth rank and selected fourth rank cultivators are allowed to move freely in the dungeon. As for the rest, they are to follow a group led by a teacher.¡±

    After gaining a rough grasp of the situation, Zu An finally nodded and said, ¡°No problem. It¡¯s not as if any students would select my group anyway.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Jiang Luofu.

    This fellow¡¯s thought process really is different from the others. Haaa, forget it. I¡¯ll just send more teachers in then.

    ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s move on to the second matter then,¡± said Jiang Luofu. ¡°The academy needs you to step forward and take over all of the businesses of the Plum Blossom Sect in our stead. You should be aware that it isn¡¯t apt for us to step forward to handle this sort of matter.¡±

    Zu An was amused. ¡°Didn¡¯t I already hand the debt note to you? You should be the one handling the aftermath, so why are you leaving it to me now?¡±

    ¡°I was nning on making a move, but thatwsuit of yours ended up sending Mei Chaofeng straight to jail. The Plum Blossom Sect is on the verge of copsing right now, and there are many people eyeing their lucrative businesses right now. It¡¯s just that they are curbing one another at the moment, so no one has been able to make a move yet,¡± said Jiang Luofu.

    ¡°However, it¡¯s different from you. Everyone knows that the Plum Blossom Sect owes you 7,500,000 silver taels, so you have the legitimacy to take over its businesses. On top of that, the academy will be providing you support from the back, so you should be able to handle it with ease.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you pushing me out to borrow the Chu n¡¯s name for this matter?¡± Zu An pointed out.

    It was likely that Brightmoon Academy had its own n to collect the debt, but Mei Chaofeng¡¯s sudden imprisonment messed things up. Everyone¡¯s eyes were on the businesses of the Plum Blossom Sect right now, leaving Brightmoon Academy was in an inconvenient position to make a move here. It was still an academy under the royal court after all, so it wouldn¡¯t look good if it were to get involved directly in such matters. As such, it needed someone to step forward in its ce.

    The best candidate here was indubitably Zu An. Not only did he have legitimacy, but he also could borrow the name of the Chu n to pressure the others. Even if he was doing it on his own ord, the other powers would still think he was representing the Chu n.

    Once the other powers realize that the academy had joined hands with the Chu n, they would have no choice but to back down.

    ¡°It isn¡¯t a good thing for a man to be too smart.¡± Jiang Luofu tapped her brush lightly on the table as she looked at Zu An with a yful smile.

    ¡°I won¡¯t do it. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m getting anything out of this anyway,¡± Zu An rejected it without any hesitation.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Jiang Luofu was unfazed by Zu An¡¯s rejection. ¡°I guess I¡¯ll have to pick another person to take your slot for the Ursae Dungeon then.¡±

    Zu An immediately pped a smile on his face and replied, ¡°Ahahaha, I¡¯m just kidding. As a teacher of the academy, it¡¯s only right for me to do my part and share the academy¡¯s burden. Besides, I was the one who gave you the debt note in the first ce. It¡¯s only right for me to clean up the mess. Leave it to me!¡±

    Jiang Luofu stared at Zu An silently for a long moment before exhaling deeply. ¡°I must say, you¡¯re the most thick-skinned person I have seen in recent years... Speaking of which, you were looking for me?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes immediately gleamed as he began speaking, ¡°Actually, it¡¯s the same matter as what you were saying...¡±

    He quickly exined the situation to Jiang Luofu.

    ¡°You want to get me to subdue Mei Chaofeng for you?¡± Jiang Luofu harrumphed.

    ¡°I mean, just think about it. Mei Chaofeng definitely knows a lot of secrets surrounding the Plum Blossom Sect, such as its ounting logs, cash flow, procurement of resources, and so on. Even if you take over the Plum Blossom Sect¡¯s businesses, you¡¯ll have trouble maintaining them without such vital information, right?¡± exined Zu An.

    ¡°I guess your words do make some sense. Fine, I¡¯ll apany you then!¡± Jiang Luofu finally stood up from her chair, which made her tall stature even more apparent.

    Along the way to the gazebo, the two of them began chatting.

    ¡°I¡¯m quite curious as to how you managed to defeat the Yuan brothers in the dueling ring the other day. Your swordy was a little different from our academy¡¯s Elementary Swordy.¡±

    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. I¡¯m simply too talented, so my understanding of the sword art goes far deeper than anyone else¡¯s.¡±

    ¡°... You¡¯re obviously on good terms with Shang Liuyu. You still lied to me previously that you don¡¯t know her at all.¡±

    ¡°How could I possibly dare to lie to you? I really didn¡¯t know her back then!¡±

    ¡°How far have you progressed with her? I haven¡¯t seen her allowing anyone to enter her residence for many years now, let alone lending her personal possession to others.¡±

    ¡°Is it really fine for you, the principal of Brightmoon Academy, to gossip about your own subordinates?¡±

    ...

    Amidst their conversation, they finally arrived in the vicinity of the gazebo. Jiang Luofu kept a distance away while Zu An walked toward the gazebo by himself.

    Even from a distance away, he could see a person with long fluttering hair sitting in the gazebo, dressed in an attire that resembled that of Shang Liuyu¡¯s.

    But bro, have you ever seen how wide your back is? Even if you wear a woman¡¯s clothes, there¡¯s no one in the world who could possibly mistake you for ady, let alone someone as beautiful as Shang Liuyu!

    Who could have possibly thought that the sect master of the Plum Blossom Sect would actually be a cross-dressing perv!

    However, out of consideration that Mei Chaofeng had gone all out to even dress up for the asion, it would be rude of Zu An not to cooperate with him.

    ¡°Big sister Shang, why did you ask me out here?¡± Zu An called out Mei Chaofeng with a tender voice. Of course, he made sure not to get too close to the gazebo lest thetter OHKO¡¯d him.

    ¡°You thought that it was Shang Liuyu, but it¡¯s I, Mei Chaofeng! Hahahaha!¡± Mei Chaofeng tossed the wig he was wearing aside, ripped up the dress he was wearing on top of his clothes, and turned around to face Zu An triumphantly.

    ¡°H-how could it be you? Where¡¯s big sister Shang?!¡± eximed Zu An in horror.

    In the shadows, Jiang Luofu rolled her eyes. Wow, his acting sure is horrendous.

    ¡°There¡¯s no big sister Shang here. It has been me from the start to the end! Are you surprised? Hahaha!¡±

    The fluster in Zu An¡¯s eyes left Mei Chaofeng feeling so exhrated that he could moan in pleasure! He had suffered so much due to Zu An over thest few days, and he was finally able to return the favor now!

    ¡°It¡¯s you!¡± Zu An subconsciously staggered backward in fright. ¡°No, this can¡¯t be. How could your arms possibly stretch into the academy too?!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to the young master¡¯s massive influence, or else it would have been hard for me to grab hold of the slippery loach you are!¡±

    Mei Chaofeng was in no hurry to kill Zu An. it¡¯s all due to this bastard that I ended up losing everything. How could I let him off the hook so easily? I need to make him suffer and enjoy his screams of agony in order to cate the wrath boiling in my blood!

    ¡°Is the young master you¡¯re talking about Shi Kun?¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An already knew their rtionship beforehand, but the same couldn¡¯t be said about the woman listening in to their conversation. He was trying to get Mei Chaofeng to confess to it before her.

    ¡°Of course it¡¯s...¡± Halfway through his words Mei Chaofeng suddenly realized that he was being sounded out here. So, he harrumphed coldly and said, ¡°Hmph, you want to know who the young master is? I won¡¯t let you have your way! I want you to die indignant and ignorant!¡±

    ¡°You want to kill me?¡± Zu An sped his head in horror. ¡°I¡¯m the son-inw of the Chu n, as well as a teacher of the academy. If you dare to touch me, neither the Chu n nor the academy will let you off!¡±

    ¡°Hahaha, I might have hesitated over that in the past, but what do I have to lose now? Thanks to you, I¡¯ve lost everything. There¡¯s no way I can remain in Brightmoon City anymore. After killing you, I¡¯ll head to another city and live a carefree life. Once I¡¯m gone, what can the Chu n or the academy do about me?¡± Mei Chaofengughed coldly.

    ¡°They have already put out a warrant for you. You could have simply left the city, but you chose to bear the risk in order to assassinate me. Someone must have promised you a new life elsewhere if you sessfully take my life!¡± Zu An continued trying to probe deeper.

    ¡°Does it make a difference? You¡¯re an eyesore to me. I should have sliced you into pieces right from the start!¡± sneered Mei Chaofeng. ¡°Why don¡¯t you try kneeling down and begging me for mercy? I might just consider having mercy on you and bestow upon you a quick death!¡±

    Of course, even if Zu An really pleaded for mercy, there was no way he would let Zu An die an easy death. He wanted to humiliate Zu An by making him beg like a dog before plunging him into despair by reneging on his words.

    Seeing this, Zu An sighed softly and said, ¡°What makes you so certain that you¡¯d be able to kill me?¡±

    ¡°Your confidence must be bursting after defeating Yuan Wendong in the ns Tournament yesterday,¡± scoffed Mei Chaofeng. ¡°You must be unaware that Yuan Wendong is a weakling who has only barely managed to reach the fifth rank. Despite his weakness, he still gotcent and fell for your tricks, resulting in his defeat. But before me, you stand no chance at all!¡±

    Right after saying those words, his powerful aura burst forth as he took a step forward. He eyed Zu An intently, hoping to relish in the terror reflected in thetter¡¯s eyes.

    Unfortunately, Zu An wasn¡¯t giving him what he wanted. ¡°It¡¯s no wonder why you ended up serving others your entire life. The scope and depth of your thoughts are narrowed by your long years of subordination. All you think of is minor schemes and pitting your life against others. However, for those who are in positions of power like me, we don¡¯t even have to lift a finger to deal with someone like you.¡±

    ¡°???¡± Jiang Luofu.

    Mei Chaofeng was taken aback by those words. He anxiously scanned the surroundings, and after confirming that there was no one around, heughed disdainfully. ¡°Don¡¯t even bother with that pathetic act of yours. The Chu n¡¯s guards are currently waiting at the entrance of the academy, so there¡¯s no way they¡¯ll be able to make it here on time. Even if they dide to your rescue, they aren¡¯t a match for me either.¡±

    ¡°Who said that I¡¯m talking about them?¡± Zu An shrugged. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you have looked into my background before assassinating me? You should know that my nickname in the academy is ¡®Moochlord¡¯. Except for special cases like the ns Tournament, I wouldn¡¯t even bother dirtying my hands with my enemies¡¯ blood!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re the most shameless man I¡¯ve ever seen. You don¡¯t even have the slightest sense of shame for mooching off other women!¡± scoffed Mei Chaofeng.

    ¡°It¡¯s a capability in itself to be able to mooch off others; what do I have to be embarrassed about?¡± replied Zu An disdainfully. ¡°If you¡¯re jealous, why don¡¯t you try mooching off a woman too? If you can, that is.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Mei Chaofeng for +514 Rage!

    ¡°I...¡± Mei Chaofeng choked at Zu An¡¯s remark. It took him quite a while before he was able topose himself. ¡°Yuan Wendong might be trash, but he did get one thing right¡ªit¡¯s futile to rely on women. In the end, the only one whom you can really count on is yourself. Look at the current situation, who can you summon to save you now? Chu Chuyan? Pei Mianman? Or Shang Liuyu? Try calling them here now then.¡±

    The Shi n had already done its homework in advance. Chu Chuyan and Pei Mianman were not in the academy today, and Shang Liuyu wasn¡¯t known for her cultivation. As for Chu Huanzhao, Ji Xiaoxi, and the others, they didn¡¯t pose a threat to him at all.

    ¡°Try calling a woman out right now then. Aren¡¯t you proud of your mooching skills?¡± sneered Mei Chaofeng.

    Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°Someone like you is destined to never understand the frustrations of a popr man like me. Forget it, I¡¯ll fulfill your wish this once then. Gorgeous principal,e out!¡±

    ¡°Gorgeous principal? Jiang Luofu?!¡± Mei Chaofeng gasped in horror.

    If Zu An wasn¡¯t lying to him, it would really be disastrous. A cultivator of Jiang Luofu¡¯s level could ughter him as easily as squashing an ant. Out of fright, he quickly scanned the surroundings, but to his relief, nothing happened at all.

    ¡°Hahaha, you¡¯re making meugh my head out! You actually thought that you could mooch off Principal Jiang? Who do you think you are? Stop daydreaming here!¡± Mei Chaofeng was finally able to set his heart at ease. ¡°However, you did remind me that we are too close to the academy right now. Someone might juste by if I continue to dawdle here. Since that¡¯s the case... meet your death!¡±

    Blue lightning crackled around Mei Chaofeng¡¯s fist as he charged forward and smashed it toward Zu An. The sheer force of his attack was so great that even before itnded, Zu An already found himself suffocating under its might.

    ¡°Holy shit!¡± Seeing that Jiang Luofu wasn¡¯t making a move at all, Zu An realized that he might have gone too far this time around.

 Chapter 134: They Are My Wife and Children Now!

    <h4>Chapter 134: They Are My Wife and Children Now!</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An immediately used the fake Sunflower Phantasm to dodge to the side, sessfully surviving Mei Chaofeng¡¯s first strike.

    Unfortunately, Mei Chaofeng had seen his movement skill the other day too, so he knew how to ovee it as well. With a cold harrumph, he hurled another punch over, but this time, he made sure to seal off Zu An¡¯s path of escape.

    Cornered, Zu An had no choice but to use the real Sunflower Phantasm to dodge this strike. While evading the attack, he cried aloud, ¡°Gorgeous Principal Jiang, I know my mistakes now! Save me! If I die here, there won¡¯t be anyone to help you take over the Plum Blossom Sect!¡±

    ¡°Hm?¡± Mei Chaofeng had no idea how Zu An managed to dodge his attack at all. Perplexed, he hurriedly tried to follow up with another attack, only to recoil in shock in the next moment.

    A woman had suddenly appeared right in front of Zu An.

    Her long beautiful legs were as attractive as ever, but Mei Chaofeng¡¯s attention was captured by the pencil she was holding in her hand. ¡°P-Principal Jiang!¡±

    Zu An heaved a sigh of relief. ¡°Principal Jiang, you¡¯re finally willing toe out!¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that someone who is in a position of power like you and need not lift a finger at all? What a wonder it is for me to spot you in such a terrible position, isn¡¯t it? Hm?¡± remarked Jiang Luofu with an enigmatic smile.

    ¡°Hahaha, my useless mouth just can¡¯t help but brag. Don¡¯t mind it too much!¡± Zu Anughed it off sheepishly. This woman sure is narrow-minded. She actually got offended by those remarks.

    ¡°I heard that you¡¯re intending to mooch off me too?¡± However, Jiang Luofu wasn¡¯t intending on letting him off the hook so easily.

    ¡°Of course I am!¡± replied Zu An matter-of-factly.

    ¡°What did you say?¡± Jiang Luofu frowned.

    ¡°I mean, I haven¡¯t managed to mooch off you yet.¡± Zu An quickly changed his words. ¡°Hey, Mei Chaofeng is getting away!¡±

    While the two of them were chattering off, Mei Chaofeng immediately sprinted off with all his might. From the moment Jiang Luofu appeared before his eyes, he had already realized that there was no way he would be able to kill Zu An anymore. In fact, under normal circumstances, he would have already been a goner, but by a stroke of luck, she ended up getting distracted, creating an opening for him to escape.

    Jiang Luofu raised her head calmly before casually swiping the pencil in her hand across the air with a cold harrumph.

    Mei Chaofeng felt a chilling sensation on his legs before abruptly tumbling forward.

    ¡°What happened?¡±

    Bewildered by this mystifying situation, he turned around to take a look, only to see his legs standing upright on the ground several meters behind him. Then, he lowered his head to take a look at himself and saw that half of his legs had been amputated. It was also then that the pain finally started setting in, and he let out of a shriek of agony.

    Zu An gulped. He secretly nced at Jiang Luofu¡¯s side profile as he quietly patted his chest in relief.

    Holy shit! I didn¡¯t know she was this strong! If she really held a grudge against me for all of the remarks I¡¯ve made, wouldn¡¯t I have already died several times by now?

    Just look at what happened to Mei Chaofeng!

    Ah, but again, he isn¡¯t as good-looking as I am. It might just be the disparity in our looks.

    ¡°I¡¯ll leave the rest to you.¡± Jiang Luofu couldn¡¯t even be bothered to talk to Mei Chaofeng. She took a seat in the gazebo and naturally rested her legs on the bench.

    Zu An walked over to Mei Chaofeng¡¯s side gleefully and gazed down at him from above, ¡°You thought that it was just me, but Principal Jiang is here too! Are you surprised?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Mei Chaofeng.

    You have sessfully trolled Mei Chaofeng for +1024 Rage!

    He would have never known that the tables would be turned on him so quickly. The words that he had just spoken were returned to him right away.

    ¡°You son of a bitch! What are you acting so smug for? You¡¯re nothing more than a weakling who relies on women!¡± Mei Chaofeng gritted his teeth furiously.

    You have sessfully trolled Mei Chaofeng for +1024 Rage!

    Zu An sighed deeply and said, ¡°Don¡¯t you think that it takes true skills to be able to tap into the strength of others?¡±

    ¡°How could you possibly be able to get Principal Jiang¡¯s help? This is impossible...¡± murmured Mei Chaofeng in disbelief. He couldn¡¯t ept how things had turned out.

    ¡°This is the privilege entitled to good-looking people like me. Hideous beings like you will never understand it.¡± Zu An looked at Mei Chaofeng in pity.

    ¡°...¡± Mei Chaofeng.

    You have sessfully trolled Mei Chaofeng for +666 Rage!

    Zu An took a step sideward to dodge the blood spurting out of Mei Chaofeng¡¯s wounds due to his emotions getting the better of him.

    Wow. The people in this world sure are tenacious like cockroaches. Even in such a state, he still hasn¡¯t fainted yet.

    ¡°This reminds me of my encounter with Plum Blossom Twelve. He also persevered for a very long time before he finally copsed,¡± remarked Zu An cheerily.

    ¡°You were indeed the one who killed Twelve!¡± Mei Chaofeng red at Zu An furiously. Just thinking about how he had the tables turned on him yesterday despite having spoken the truth made blood rush to his head in a fit of anger.

    You have sessfully trolled Mei Chaofeng for +999 Rage!

    Zu An walked up to Mei Chaofeng and squatted down in front of him. ¡°Plum Blossom Twelve tried to kill me, so I returned the favor to him. It¡¯s justified self-defense. Now that I¡¯ve satisfied your curiosity, it¡¯s time for you to spill the beans. Tell me where your ounting book and assets are. And not to forget, your connections with other officials, your supply routes, and all of the vital information concerning your businesses.¡±

    Mei Chaofeng had chosen to lie down on the ground, seemingly having epted his fate. Nevertheless, Zu An¡¯s words still made himugh in ridicule, ¡°Just how foolish do you think I am to tell you all of those?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Mei Chaofeng for +730 Rage!

    ¡°Don¡¯t you know that being able to die an easy death is a blessing as well?¡± Zu An sighed deeply as he gazed down at Mei Chaofeng with eyes filled with sympathy.

    ¡°Hmph! Try your worst then! I won¡¯t be a man if I even let out even a squeak!¡± The Plum Blossom Sect had tortured innumerable people over the years for information, so Mei Chaofeng was familiar with how interrogation worked.

    ¡°It looks like people in this world really dock imagination. Well, let me educate you a little.¡± Zu An moved a boulder from the side over and settled himself down on it, reminiscent of a bard getting into afortable position for a long story.

    ¡°You should have heard about how eels and loaches dive into any holes that they see, right? If I strip you bare and throw into a barrel filled with eels and loaches, where do you think they¡¯ll head into?

    ¡°If that isn¡¯t enough for you to talk, we could have you buried into the ground, revealing only just your head. I¡¯d slice the skin at the top of your head and pour mercury in. Before long, you¡¯ll find yourself itching from head to toe. It would be so unbearable that you would be wiggling desperately, hoping to alleviate the itch, but of course, what could you do when you¡¯re stuck in the ground with nowhere to go. Eventually, you¡¯re left with no choice but to dive out, tearing your skin out of your body. Hmmm, would a person without skin start bleeding profusely? I guess we could put that to the test.¡±

    ...

    Those bizarre torture methods made even Jiang Luofu¡¯s heart skip a beat. Where in the world did someone as young as him learn of all of these vicious means?

    ¡°Brat, kill me if you want to! There¡¯s no use talking such crap with me!¡± Despite Mei Chaofeng¡¯s words of bravado, his quivering voice gave his fear away. He suddenly felt that the Plum Blossom Sect didn¡¯t look that vile anymorepared to the great viin standing before him.

    You have sessfully trolled Mei Chaofeng for +444 Rage!

    ¡°I¡¯m not done yet. Based on what I know, you fooled around with quite a few women over the years. You don¡¯t harbor any feelings for most of them, but it seems there¡¯s an exception. If my memory fails me not, there¡¯s a woman living in the northern part of the city who goes by the name of Wang Cuihua. She bore twins for you, did she? Ahh, it must be relieving for you to depart with the knowledge that your blood continues to exist in this world even after your death,¡± remarked Zu An with a smile.

    Mei Chaofeng¡¯s eyes immediately reddened. He quickly turned to Jiang Luofu and roared anxiously, ¡°Principal Jiang, is the academy going to condone such actions? ¡®Never bring one¡¯s family into the picture¡¯¡ªthat¡¯s a rule that even those in the underworld like us observe!¡±

    Before Jiang Luofu could respond, Zu An had already cut right in. ¡°Who says that I¡¯m going to harm them? I just want to reassure you that you don¡¯t have to worry about them after your death. I¡¯ll make sure to take good care of your wife and raise your children as if my own. Ah, I should probably call them my wife and my children now.¡±

    ¡°You!!!¡± Mei Chaofeng was so angry that he wanted to lurch at Zu An to tear his head off, but Jiang Luofu¡¯s earlier strike had severed his ki meridians as well, leaving him utterly powerless at the moment.

    You have sessfully trolled Mei Chaofeng for +999 Rage!

    ¡°Have you thought it through yet?¡± asked Zu An. ¡°Do you want to just get it over and done with, or do you want to first suffer a little first before finally caving in to my demands? I don¡¯t particrly mind it either way.¡±

    Why in the hell did I get myself involved with this demon!

    Mei Chaofeng began sobbing sorrowfully. He was intending to grit his teeth through Zu An¡¯s torture and die a valiant death, but he wasn¡¯t even given that option at all. He knew deep down that he would never toil through the tortures Zu An spoke of, not to mention that thetter was even holding his wife and children as hostages against him.

    This wasn¡¯t even a choice at all.

    ¡°There are two ounting books for the Plum Blossom Sect. One of them is in the secret chamber in my study room, and the other one is located in a secretpartment in my bedroom...¡±

    Mei Chaofeng stared numbly at the blue sky above him as he monotonously revealed everything regarding the Plum Blossom Sect.

    ¡°Fucking Zu An, you¡¯ll die a horrible death!¡± Mei Chaofeng cursed with gritted teeth. He could already feel himselfing closer to death¡¯s embrace as blood continued to flow out of his legs.

    You have sessfully trolled Mei Chaofeng for +999 Rage!

    Zu An smiled in response, ¡°My apologies, but ording to my wife, good people tend to die prematurely whereas vermins gue the world for centuries. It looks like I still have hundreds of years ahead of me.¡±

    Pu~

    Unable to take it anymore, Mei Chaofeng spurted a mouthful of blood.

    Just like that, the powerhouse who had ruled Brightmoon City¡¯s underworld for decades was angered to death. Even in his dying breath, his eyes continued to glower in indignation.

    You have sessfully trolled Mei Chaofeng for +1024 Rage!

    Zu An rushed over to the gazebo and eximed excitedly, ¡°Gorgeous principal, I¡¯ve aplished my mission perfectly!¡±

    Jiang Luofu looked at Zu An with a conflicted gaze. ¡°It must be agonizing to be your enemy.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An shed her an innocent smile in response, saying, ¡°I¡¯m also d that you¡¯re a friend too.¡±

    Jiang Luofu harrumphed softly before rising to her feet. ¡°Let¡¯s go, I¡¯ll get someone to clean up this area afterward. As for the takeover of the Plum Blossom Sectter on, I¡¯ll send someone over to help you with itter on.¡±

    ¡°You can leave it to me!¡± Zu An patted his chest as he gave his guarantee.

    Just like that, the two of them returned to the academy.

    ...

    Two hourster, Shi Kun finally heard of the news and ended up dropping his cup onto the floor. ¡°Mei Chaofeng is dead? How can that be possible?¡±

    Shi Lezhi replied grimly, ¡°I¡¯ve verified it personally. There¡¯s no doubt about it.¡±

    ¡°This doesn¡¯t make sense. Mei Chaofeng is a pinnacle fifth rank cultivator, so killing Zu An should have been a walk in the park for him. How could he have failed?¡± Shi Kun couldn¡¯t understand what was going on.

    Snow remarked softly by the side, ¡°Young master, someone spotted Zu An returning back to the academy together with Principal Jiang.¡±

    ¡°Jiang Luofu? Are you saying that she¡¯s working with Zu An now?¡± Shi Kun was appalled. Jiang Luofu¡¯s cultivation and standing made her a dangerous enemy. He would think twice whether he really had the means to deal with her right now.

    ¡°It should just be a coincidence. Mei Chaofeng might have just been unlucky to bump into her,¡± remarked Shi Lezhi. Not even in his wildest imagination could he fathom any sort of rtionship between Zu An and Jiang Luofu.

    Shi Kun also shared the same thoughts too. ¡°Goddamnit! Why does that scoundrel have such good luck?¡±

    This was not the first trap he hadid for Zu An, but thetter was able to ovee them every single time.

    ¡°Young master, the Ursae Dungeon will be opening three days from now. No one will know if we make a move against him there. I¡¯ll make a move personally then to destroy him for good!¡± said Snow.

    Shi Kun nodded in agreement. ¡°That¡¯s the best we can do for now. I¡¯ll bring in a batch of people into the dungeon to aid you.¡±

    As Zu An got stronger, the threat he posed would be greater as well. Every night that passed, there was a chance that the woman he had set his eyes upon could lose her chastity. This was not something he could ept.

 Chapter 135: The Tenth Beauty

    <h4>Chapter 135: The Tenth Beauty</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Over the next three days, Zu An busied himself with taking over the businesses and connections of the Plum Blossom Sect under the aid of the academy.

    Shi Kun was aware of his movements, but he chose not to make a move at all. That fellow is dead meat once we enter the Ursae Dungeon anyway. There¡¯s no reason for me to deal with him right now.

    Meanwhile, the academy also began holding selections for the dungeon slots. All fifth rank cultivators received a free pass whereas the others had to undergo an intense tournament to prove themselves qualified.

    The dungeon was filled with dangers after all. A weakling who couldn¡¯t protect himself in the dungeon was likely to end up dying in vain.

    At the end of the selection, the weakest cultivator to get selected to enter the dungeon was at third rank.

    The world of cultivation was truly pragmatic.

    Just like what Jiang Luofu had mentioned, chances were reserved only for those who proved themselves worthy. The round of selections ensured that those who could enter were all experts, and the opportunities offered in the dungeon would only further widen the disparity between the strong and the weak. This meant that the weak would never be able to catch up with the footsteps of the strong.

    It looks like it¡¯s the same for all worlds, huh? Lag behind others for one step, and you¡¯llg behind them your entire life.

    Once again, Zu An was ddened by the connections he had. He was able to reserve a slot for himself without having to undergo the selections at all. Wahahaha!

    The morning of the third day, the selected students marched off to the mountain at the back of Brightmoon Academy, a ce which was usually forbidden to both students and teachers alike.

    A major reason why the royal court had been able to monopolize the dungeons was because most major academies were established in the vicinity of dungeons. There were even some academies where a dungeon was located on the academypound, and such was the case for Brightmoon Academy.

    Dungeons had existed in this world since time immemorial, and the ki around them tended to be far richer. Having academies established near dungeons created favorable cultivation conditions for the students.

    There was a clearing in the middle of the bamboo forest behind Brightmoon Academy, where several straw huts stood. In each of these straw huts resided a senior teacher of the academy. It seemed like they were camping out here to guard something.

    At the very center of the clearing was a gate-like structure that somewhat resembled a door. Space in the center of this door appeared a little distorted, creating something reminiscent of a vortex.

    ¡°This is the entrance into the dungeon. This door usually looks no different from the gates you would see in the city, and only on specific days would you see it in its current state. It should take a while longer before the portal is fully opened.¡± Chu Chuyan was here with Zu An today. Noticing the curious gleam in his eyes, she began exining to him how things worked here.

    ¡°You seem to be very knowledgeable about all of this. Have you entered this dungeon before?¡± asked Zu An.

    Chu Chuyan shook her head and replied, ¡°This dungeon only opens once every few decades, so it¡¯s my first time here too. It¡¯s a pity that Huanzhao is missing this opportunity due to her injuries.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao wanted toe too, but the injuries she had sustained at the ns Tournament were simply too severe. Her fighting prowess was only so-so even at her peak condition, let alone in her weakened state. Out of worry for her, Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru forbade her from entering the dungeon.

    Due to this, she threw quite a huge tantrum. In the end, she forced Zu An to bring back some ¡®local specialties¡¯ from the dungeon for her before finally revealing a smile.

    ¡°I still don¡¯t understand why you insist on entering this dungeon. You should have heard of the dangers that lurk within dungeons, right?¡± asked Chu Chuyan.

    A smile formed on Zu An¡¯s lips as he replied, ¡°Are you worried about me?¡±

    Chu Chuyan replied impassively, ¡°I¡¯m just giving you a warning lest you die foolishly in there. It would be troublesome for our Chu n to find another son-inw!¡±

    ¡°Rest assured, I¡¯m a person born under a lucky star. I¡¯ll definitely be able to walk out of the dungeon alive,¡± replied Zu An cheekily.

    Chu Chuyan turned her head away with a cold harrumph.

    ¡°Chuyan, your husband is going in too? Do you need us to look after him as well?¡± a seductively sweet voice suddenly sounded.

    Zu An turned around to take a look, only to find himself faced with huge racks.

    Pei Mianman keeps strutting around parading that good figure of hers. Does she not know how embarrassing it is for men to have a bleeding nose in public?!

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. How can he mature under the protection of others? Besides, he¡¯s entering the dungeon as a teacher. It wouldn¡¯t do for him to be taken care of by his students instead,¡± replied Chu Chuyan.

    ¡°Oh? You¡¯re finally acknowledging that I¡¯m a teacher now, uh? Come, call me Teacher Zu~¡± said Zu An.

    Chu Chuyan choked on her breath. Unable to stand this fellow anymore, she ignored him and stomped away.

    ¡°How does it feel to have a beautiful wife whom you can see but not touch?¡± Pei Mianman walked over to Zu An¡¯s side and asked teasingly.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you let me touch you, and I¡¯ll give you an answer to your question?¡± replied Zu An.

    ¡°Are you cheating on your wife in public? What a horrible man you are~¡± Pei Mianman giggled softly.

    Seeing their interactions, Chu Chuyan frowned a little. ¡°Mianman, what are you doing over there?¡±

    While she didn¡¯t think that she was fond of Zu An, he was still her husband in-name. How could he flirt together with other women right in front of her?

    ¡°I¡¯ming~¡± replied Pei Mianman. She blinked at Zu An and said, ¡°Your wife is getting jealous. This is a good start. Don¡¯t forget our deal. You need to help me look for my ounting book.¡±

    Leaving behind a peal of seductiveughter that seeped right into one¡¯s bones, she turned around and took her leave. The men in the vicinity felt their hearts tingling in response to herughter, which induced them to direct irked looks toward Zu An.

    Just what¡¯s so great about this guy that he¡¯s able to win the fancy of so many beautiful women?

    Shi Kun had also been watching their interaction, and his eyes flickered in worry. ¡°I didn¡¯t think Pei Mianman is on such good terms with that scoundrel. Will she get in the way of our ns?¡±

    Shi Lezhi shook his head and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t think so. However, to be safe, we can get someone to lure her away first before making a move.¡±

    Shi Kun nodded in agreement. ¡°It¡¯s a pity that you aren¡¯t able to enter the dungeon with us, or else assassinating Zu An would have been a walk in the park.¡±

    Shi Lezhi looked at the teachers guarding the dungeon¡¯s portal and said, ¡°Jiang Luofu will be personally standing guard with these teachers while the portal is active in order to prevent unauthorized cultivators from entering the portal and threatening the students. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s possible for me to sneak in under their eyelids. However, the squad we have prepared is more than enough to kill Zu An ten times over, so I reckon that nothing will go wrong.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fortunate that we spent a great deal of effort to slip Snow into the academy back then. It looks like we¡¯re finally reaping the fruits of ourbor,¡± replied Shi Kun with a nod.

    ¡°Speaking of which, the cultivation technique Snow practices is rather queer. It¡¯s bizarre how no one in the academy has found out about her yet,¡± remarked Shi Lezhi.

    ¡°It seems to be a special ability of her n. We should ask her more about it after this.¡± Shi Lezhi looked at a slender figure standing amidst the students with a satisfied smile on his lips. He was confident about his preparations too.

    More and more people were gathering in this clearing, and all of them had excited looks on their faces. They were looking forward to entering the dungeon and stumbling upon all sorts of fortuitous encounters. If things go well, it might just spell their rise to greatness.

    Zu An noticed that there were quite a few familiar faces amidst the crow, such as Bai Susu, Lu De, Xie Xiu, Wu Qing, Zheng Dan, Ji Xiaoxi, and many others. Of course, there were many more students that he didn¡¯t recognize, but they were likely to be students from the Sky ss or Earth ss.

    Spotting Zheng Dan amidst the crowd, Zu An couldn¡¯t help but wonder why she hadn¡¯t been using her honey trap on him in recent days. News of Mei Chaofeng¡¯s death had already spread far and wide, so it should have been an opportune moment for her to strike so as to im the businesses of the Plum Blossom Sect. Or was she remaining idle because she thought that the 7,500,000 silver taels debt note had be scrap paper?

    Ji Xiaoxi still looks as adorable as ever; it¡¯s just a pity that she¡¯sthered with poison all over. I can¡¯t even touch her hand.

    While scanning through the students, Zu An caught sight of a slender figure dressed in light green. Despite having concealed her face with a translucent veil, the faint outline of facial features left hardly any doubt that she was a beautiful woman.

    Who is she? I don¡¯t recall having seen her in the academy before. She¡¯s ravishing.

    Hm? Her facial features look a little familiar...

    It was also about then that he heard whispersing from the students around him.

    ¡°Waaa, is that the mysterious tenth ce of the Sweetheart Ranking?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s extremely rare to see her at the academy. It looks like she¡¯s finally making an appearance due to the dungeon.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, what¡¯s her name again? Why can¡¯t I remember it?¡±

    ¡°I think she¡¯s called Qiao Xue-something?¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it something Xueying?¡±

    ¡°Nonono, I remember it to be Qiao something-Ying.¡±

    ...

    Zu An burst intoughter upon hearing their discussion. Those dunces. If you put it all together, isn¡¯t it just Qiao Xueying? Ah? Why does this name sound so familiar?

    Wait a moment, what¡¯s her name again? Why can¡¯t I remember it all of a sudden?

    Zu An¡¯s mind suddenly fuzzed out. Many names suddenly popped up in his mind simultaneously, and every single one of them seemed right yet not really so to him, leaving him utterly muddled.

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for +233 Rage!

    What?

    The sudden notification from the system cleared Zu An¡¯s mind in an instant.

    It¡¯s Snow! What is she doing here?

    When he spotted Shi Kun earlier, he scanned thetter¡¯s entourage and noticed that Snow was conspicuously missing. It was weird why her name was popping up here all of a sudden.

    He began to scan the entire clearing for anyone who could possibly be Snow, and eventually, his eyes fell upon the mysterious tenth ce of the Sweetheart Ranking.

    For a moment there, he seemed to see rage reflected in her eyes, but it vanished in a split moment that it left him wondering if he was seeing things.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    He thought about how Wei Suo was unable to recall the name of the tenth beauty while introducing the top ten of the Sweetheart Ranking to him, and he suddenly noticed something really queer about that. Given Wei Suo¡¯s personality, it was nigh impossible for him to forget the name of a beauty.

    Just earlier on, the whispering students knew all of the characters to her name, but for some inexplicable reason, they weren¡¯t able to piece it all together with certainty. Even Zu An himself ended up forgetting the name in a sudden moment of daze.

    If not for the system¡¯s notification, he could have ended up like the other students too.

    So, the elusive tenth beauty of the academy is actually Snow?!

    No matter how wild Zu An¡¯s imagination could have been, there was no way he could have fathomed such a plot development. She¡¯s a maidservant in the Chu n, but at the same time, she¡¯s also a student in the academy too? How in the world did she manage to do it? Shouldn¡¯t the Chu n be aware of it too?

    In fact, it¡¯s bizarre how someone as meticulous as Chu Chuyan failed to realize that her personal maidservant was her ssmate too!

    While he was still shocked over this matter, Jiang Luofu suddenly began walking toward the portal. As per usual, her legs veiled in stockings swiftly drew heated gazes from the nearby men. For some reason, she was wearing a pair of sses today, which had the effect of mellowing down her usual domineering aura to draw out an air of elegance instead.

    The crowd immediately fell silent. Other than Zu An, there was hardly anyone who would dare to act unruly in Jiang Luofu¡¯s presence, especially not with that imposing disposition of hers.

    Jiang Luofu walked to the front of the crowd and shot a sweeping nce across the students before saying, ¡°There¡¯s still an hour before the Ursae Dungeon opens. Before then, there are some things which I have to remind you of.

    ¡°You are elites of the academy, chosen through careful selections. Most of you are ambitious and bear great expectations for the dungeon, hoping to stumble upon all kinds of fortuitous encounters inside. There¡¯s no doubt that there are many opportunities awaiting you, but you ought to know that there are all kinds of dangers lurking within there too. Despite our warnings and the measures put in ce, we would still have several casualties each time the dungeon opens. I don¡¯t expect it to be any different for your group. There are bound to be some who would lose their lives inside the dungeon for good.¡±

    Unease appeared on the faces of the crowd as they began whispering softly to one another.

 Chapter 136: Whoâ€™s Taking Care of Who?

    <h4>Chapter 136: Who¡¯s Taking Care of Who?</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Everyone had some idea of the dangers they were going to face in the dungeon, but subconsciously, they were still more focused on the gains rather than the risks. However, having someone of Principal Jiang¡¯s standing emphasizing this issue forced them to take the risks seriously.

    ¡°It¡¯s not toote to back down now. Once you enter the dungeon, you¡¯ll have tost till the tenth day, when the dungeon finally closes, in order to be teleported out. There¡¯s no way for you to leave in advance once you pass through the portal,¡± Jiang Luofu scanned the crowd as she pointed out the risks calmly. ¡°All of you have signed the liability waiver beforehand, so you should know that the academy will not be taking responsibility for anything that happens to you inside the dungeon.¡±

    The students nced at one another in uncertainty, but none of them was willing to back down. It was hard for them toe this far, so they couldn¡¯t bring themselves to back out now just like that.

    ¡°The map of the Ursae Dungeon is randomized each time we enter it. Even with teachers guiding the way, it won¡¯t make too much of a difference,¡± said Jiang Luofu. ¡°All fourth rank and fifth rank cultivators will be moving on their own inside the dungeon. With your cultivation rank, you should be able to protect yourself. If you really wish to put your abilities to the test and sharpen your edge, it¡¯d be best for you to move independently. As for the rest of you, you¡¯ll be following a teacher and exploring the dungeon in a group.¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    At this point, Jiang Luofu paused for a brief moment before continuing on, ¡°In previous years, if an individual wishes to move independently, we would allow him to do as he pleases. However, there seems to be something unusual about this dungeon this time around, so it¡¯ll be better to tread carefully. If you haven¡¯t reached fourth rank yet, I rmend you to stay close to a teacher.¡±

    The crowd was a little disappointed to hear those words. They knew that it would be safer being by a teacher¡¯s side, but that also meant that they would get less out of the dungeon as well. Any fortuitous encounters they stumbled along the way would have to be shared with everyone else.

    At that moment, a voice suddenly sounded, ¡°Principal Jiang, are there any rules as to which students are paired to which teacher? After all, there are some teachers whose levels of strength are a little concerning to us. Wouldn¡¯t it be unfair if we are forcefully assigned into their groups?¡±

    It was from Shi Kun.

    If they wanted to deal with Zu An, it would be best for there to be fewer people by his side.

    As he said those words, he turned his gaze toward Zu An, andughter broke out amidst the crowd. It was indeed true that Zu An¡¯s cultivation rank was lower than many of the students present, so how could they count on him when danger struck?

    Jiang Luofu naturally knew whom Shi Kun was referring to, and she replied calmly, ¡°Since this involves the safety of our students, we won¡¯t be enforcing the student to join any groups. The students are free to choose which teacher they wish to go with.¡±

    As soon as those words were spoken, the students immediately rushed over toward some of the teachers, as if fearing that the academy would back down on its words.

    ¡°I choose Teacher Bai!¡±

    ¡°I choose Discipline Master Lu!¡±

    ¡°I choose Uncle Wang!¡±

    ...

    It didn¡¯t take long for the students to finish their selection. There were many students who picked Bai Susu and Lu De, which wasn¡¯t surprising since they were the strongest teachers in the academy. Most teachers also had a couple of students around them too.

    There was just one ring exception¡ªZu An. He didn¡¯t have a single person by his side at all.

    Laughter sounded in the clearing. Most students still tried to hold it back a little, but Shi Kun didn¡¯t even bother concealing his ridicule at all.

    Chu Chuyan frowned. Zu An was still her husband in-name, so it made her feel ufortable to see him being publicly humiliated. She instinctively wanted to group with him, but she suddenly thought about the earlier advice for fifth rank cultivators to move independently. If she were to go to his side now, it would only make others think that she was trying to protect them, thus embarrassing him even further.

    Qiao Xueying hesitated a little too. She was thinking of joining Zu An¡¯s group, and she could do so as her fifth rank cultivation hadn¡¯t been revealed yet. Being in the same group would make it much easier for her to make a move on him.

    But she decided against it in the end. It was simply too jarring for her to join Zu An¡¯s group right before everyone. Furthermore, if she was the only one to return from the dungeon despite being paired with him, she would surelye under doubt too. It wouldn¡¯t be wise for her to make herself stand out right now.

    It was then that a timid voice sounded. ¡°I¡¯ll... join your group.¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi shyly shuffled to Zu An¡¯s side. Just saying these words aloud had sapped her courage dry, leaving her small facepletely reddened.

    Zu An felt touched. She sure is kind. It was obvious that she was intending to choose Bai Susu earlier, but upon seeing that there¡¯s no one by my side, she chose toe over here instead.

    He was intending on rejecting her¡ªjust her goodwill would be enough for him¡ªbut on second thought, he remembered that his motive in the dungeon was to look for the Evanescent Lotus. Ji Xiaoxi was well-versed in all sorts of medicine, so she might be able to offer him substantial help regarding that. Thus, he decided to ept her in the end.

    ¡°Miss Ji, you must think twice! It¡¯s too dangerous being by his side!¡±

    ¡°Indeed! He¡¯s only a third rank cultivator. You shoulde with us instead.¡±

    ...

    Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s poprity was really showing through right now. There were many people who stood forward to advise her to change her mind.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Teacher Zu is actually quite formidable too,¡± Ji Xiaoxi shook her head as she replied with a soft tone.

    Pei Mianman secretly poked the cold beauty standing next to her and said, ¡°Hey, it looks like your husband is quite popr with women.¡±

    Chu Chuyan was surprised by Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s action too. She had heard that Ji Xiaoxi had stood up for him once in the academy, but still, the fact that she was choosing him under such circumstances showed that they were really quite close with one another.

    ¡°Tsk, yet another one has stepped forward.¡± Pei Mianman nudged Chu Chuyan and gestured forward.

    Chu Chuyan raised her head and saw Zheng Dan walking toward Zu An¡¯s side as well.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    The crowd was bewildered. They had never known Zheng Dan to be on good terms with Zu An.

    Seeing this, Zu An found himself unable to stifle his smile. ¡°Is Miss Zheng intending to join my group too?¡±

    Zheng Dan shook her head and said, ¡°That¡¯s not it. There¡¯s just one thing I would like to inform you of.¡±

    ¡°Oh? What is it?¡± Zu An was perplexed.

    Zheng Dan leaned closer to him and whispered softly, ¡°You need to be careful. Someone is intending to take your life in the dungeon.¡±

    With those words, she shed him a ravishing smile before returning back to her group.

    The crowd exhaled deeply in relief upon seeing Zheng Dan¡¯s departure. It would be insane if even Zheng Dan chooses Zu An too. There¡¯s just no way a man can be that popr.

    Zu An, on the other hand, fell into deep thought. Someone is intending to kill me? Is it Shi Kun and his group? Since even Snow is here today, it¡¯s likely that they¡¯re trying to pull something.

    Zheng Dan looked at the grave expression on Zu An¡¯s face, and her lips curled up a little.

    If Zu An was too weak to escape from Shi Kun¡¯s scheme, it wouldn¡¯t change anything at all, so Shi Kun wouldn¡¯t me her either. However, if Zu An managed to get away, he would remember this debt and bear goodwill toward her.

    This was a sure-win situation for her no matter what happened.

    It¡¯s just a pity that Shi Kun is nning to have him assassinated in the dungeon. It would have been a good opportunity to get close to him if I could join his group. But now, I should probably keep my distance to avoid getting implicated.

    Jiang Luofu frowned a little when she saw Ji Xiaoxi choosing to go with Zu An, but she chose to refrain frommenting on the matter. With the group selectionpleted, she began wrapping up her speech, ¡°The deeper you proceed into the dungeon, the greater the degree of danger you¡¯ll face. Know your own limits and don¡¯t blindly charge ahead. Ultimately, what you can obtain in the dungeon depends on luck. There¡¯s no need to force it.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Principal Jiang!¡± the students answered in unison.

    It was then that the portal behind Jiang Luofu suddenly began distorting further, creating circr ripples across its surface. It took a while before the ripples finally calmed down, forming a light-blue translucent gateway. Concentrated ki could be senseding from the other side of the gateway.

    The crowd was excited. If the concentration of ki was already at such a high level even while they were at the entrance of the portal, wouldn''t it be even more amazing once they were inside?

    ¡°The portal into the dungeon has fully opened. I wish all of you the best of luck,¡± said Jiang Luofu.

    With Lu De and Bai Susu leading the crowd, the students began making their way through the portal into the dungeon. Shi Kun paused at the entrance for a brief moment to turn around and look at Zu An. There was a hint of glee on his face.

    Zu An suddenly thought of something. Since that fellow is nning to make use of the secrecy of the dungeon to assassinate me, can¡¯t I do the same too?

    Chu Chuyan walked over to Zu An¡¯s side and reminded softly, ¡°There¡¯s something wrong with how Shi Kun is looking at you. You should follow me once we¡¯re in the dungeonter on just to be safe.¡±

    However, Zu An shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m one of the teachers leading a group after all. How could I let a student protect me?¡±

    Chu Chuyan frowned. ¡°Look at the asion. You shouldn¡¯t be bothered about such stuff at a time like this.¡±

    ¡°If you really want to help me, help me keep a lookout for the Evanescent Lotus,¡± said Zu An.

    The more hands to help him, the better it would be. At least it was much better than him fumbling around all alone.

    ¡°Evanescent Lotus?¡± Chu Chuyan was surprised. ¡°What do you need it for? It¡¯s a legendary treasure known to be able to raise a person¡¯s cultivation. Even if I manage to find it, I don¡¯t think that I¡¯ll be willing to spare it to anyone else.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s pretty frank of you. Oh well, treat it as if I hadn¡¯t said that then.¡± Zu An shrugged, not thinking much about it.

    However, Ji Xiaoxi spoke up in agitation, ¡°Big sister Chu, my father prescribed medicine for him that onlycks the Evanescent Lotus now. He needs it in order to cure his... trauma.¡±

    The shy look on Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s face was more than enough to tell Chu Chuyan what she was referring to. Chu Chuyan shot an awkward gaze at Zu An¡¯s crotch as her face reddened as well. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll help you keep a lookout for it then. However, you shouldn¡¯t bear too much expectation out of it. It¡¯s an elusive treasure that has mostly only been heard of in stories.¡±

    Feeling too embarrassed talking about such a topic, Chu Chuyan quickly turned her head away and walked off.

    ¡°Oh? What did you say to your wife for her to walk away in embarrassment?¡± Pei Mianman walked over and asked in curiosity.

    ¡°It¡¯s a secret. Haven¡¯t you heard of the saying ¡®A secret makes a man, man¡¯?¡± Zu An shook his finger.

    ¡°Your mouth sure spouts interesting stuff.¡± Pei Mianman chuckled softly. ¡°Alright, you should take care of yourself. Don¡¯t get killed in there.¡±

    After saying those words, she made her way into the dungeon.

    Soon, the only ones left in the clearing were Zu An and Ji Xiaoxi. Just as they were about to head to the portal, Jiang Luofu suddenly stopped the two of them. ¡°Take good care of her. If she loses even a strand of hair, you need not bothering out of the dungeon anymore.¡±

    Zu An burst intoughter. ¡°Principal Jiang, you¡¯re too kind! I don¡¯t need Miss Ji to take care of me. Besides, you¡¯re asking too much out of her.¡±

    Jiang Luofu harrumphed coldly. ¡°Are you an idiot? I said to take care of her! You better make sure that not the slightest harmes to her!¡±

    ¡°???¡± Zu An.

 Chapter 137: Too Big!

    <h4>Chapter 137: Too Big!</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Even when they were already inside the dungeon, Zu An was still unable to snap out of it. He continued staring at Ji Xiaoxi in bewilderment, trying to process what had just happened.

    Ji Xiaoxi felt a little flustered under his intense stare. ¡°Teacher Zu, what are you looking at?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re being too distant, addressing me as a teacher.¡±

    ¡°Big... brother Zu.¡±

    ¡°Call me Ah Zu.¡±

    ¡°Ah Zu?¡±

    Zu An circled around Ji Xiaoxi as he assessed her intently. He found it hard to connect this adorable littledy before him to the cold, domineering Jiang Luofu. Unable to take the intrigue anymore, he finally asked, ¡°Is Principal Jiang your mother?¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi hurriedly shook her head. ¡°That¡¯s not it. She¡¯s my little aunt.¡±

    ¡°Little aunt?¡± For some reason, Zu An heaved a deep sigh of relief upon hearing that Principal Jiang wasn¡¯t her mother. Indeed, how could ordinary men be worthy of Principal Jiang? Only someone as suave as me can barely qualify!

    At the same time, he finally understood how Jiang Luofu came to know about the sealing of ¡®little Zu An¡¯. He was still worried that those of a certain cultivation rank could see through his condition, but fortunately, that wasn¡¯t the case. He wouldn¡¯t dare to walk onto the street anymore if the whole world were to learn of his impotence.

    But speaking of which, while they were rtives, wasn¡¯t it extremely unprofessional of Ji Dengtu to share his condition with Jiang Luofu? Wasn¡¯t patient confidentiality the number one value all physicians had to uphold?

    This also exined why Ji Dengtu, despite ogling at all of the women around, chose to turn a blind eye to the most beautiful Jiang Luofu. It turned out that he wasn¡¯t in a good position to make a move at all.

    Eh, that doesn¡¯t make sense either. Ji Dengtu isn¡¯t blood-rted with Jiang Luofu at all. Given his perverted nature, it¡¯s odd that he bears no lustful thoughts toward her at all!

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Ah Zu?¡± Ji Xiaoxi noticed that the furrow on Zu An¡¯s forehead was tightening and loosening every now and then, so she asked out of concern.

    ¡°Ah? It¡¯s nothing at all. Oh right, where¡¯s your mother? I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever heard you mention her before.¡± Zu An tried to probe a little deeper.

    Ji Xiaoxi lowered her face. ¡°She was already gone while I was still an infant. I have no recollections of her at all.¡±

    As she spoke, her long eyshes began quivering slightly as tears glistened in her eyes. Seeing that she was on the verge of tears, Zu An immediately panicked. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have asked about that. Sorry, please don¡¯t cry!¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi sniffled a little as she wiped off her tears. She forced on a smile and said, ¡°I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m already used to it.¡±

    With this, Zu An dared not to continue probing anymore. He would just have to find another chance in the near future to enquire about it.

    Following that, he began to assess their surroundings. They were on a in filled with yellowish des of grass at the moment. It seemed to be autumn here right now. There were a few smaller forests scattered here and there on the ins, as well as a few short hills.

    He could spot bits of ck and yellow by the horizon, which appeared to be a mountain range or something. It was just too far away that he wasn¡¯t able to confirm it.

    This dungeon looks more normal than I thought.

    Zu An heaved a sigh of relief. He had expected to be teleported into a world where dinosaurs and all sorts of monsters ran rampant, but it turned out to be not much different from the world outside.

    The crowd who were still excited from entering the dungeon also gradually calmed down too.

    ¡°Mianman, let¡¯s go.¡± Chu Chuyan saw that Zu An was having fun chatting away with Ji Xiaoxi, but her expression remained impassively cold as per normal, making it hard to discern her thoughts. Her dress fluttered with a tap of her feet, and within moments, she was already nothing more than a disappearing dot in the distance.

    ¡°As expected of the number one prodigy of the academy. Her movement skill is truly amazing.¡±

    ¡°As if it was her movement skill really caught your eye. You¡¯re making it so obvious that I feel bad trying to expose you.¡±

    ¡°Wipe your mouth. You¡¯re drooling.¡±

    ...

    ¡°Protect yourself well. Don¡¯t let yourself get killed~¡± Pei Mianman shot a seductive look in Zu An¡¯s direction as she ryed her voice to him via ki. Leaving behind peals of tinklingughter in the air, she also headed off in the direction where Chu Chuyan had departed toward.

    It would appear that they were nning on exploring the area together for now, but considering the massive size of the dungeon, it was likely that they would part ways eventually.

    ¡°Woah, thatughter. I feel like my soul almost got sucked out of my body.¡±

    ¡°Ahhh, I feel like my body is going to melt just by listening to it.¡±

    ¡°Nah, your body is just weak.¡±

    ...

    Hearing the discussions around him, Zu An shook his head scornfully. Look at how useless all of you are! I had my body pressed right next to hers on the floor before, but I don¡¯t even bother to boast about it. Yet, all of you are getting so happy just because you got to listen to herughter... Haaa, it¡¯s no wonder why you all are just students whereas I¡¯m a teacher!

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Shi Kun looked at the silhouettes of the two women and fell into deep thoughts. I haven¡¯t paid much attention to it in the past, but Pei Mianman is truly alluring. From the way she looks to the way she acts, she emits an irresistible seductive charm that men are fallible too. Those like Chu Chuyan are suited to be wives, but Pei Mianman¡¯s type would make perfect lovers.

    If I recall correctly, she¡¯s not a member of the main lineage in the Pei n. I might just have a chance to make her mine.

    In order to avoid suspicionter on, Shi Kun made sure to note into contact with Zu An or even look at him. No one would be able to pin the me on him this way.

    ¡°Good luck, everyone. I¡¯ll be making a move first,¡± Shi Kun sped his fist at the crowd as he spoke. Other than Zu An and a few others who knew of the devious n he had concocted, his etiquette was perfect. Paired with his good looks, it was likely that this gesture would win him quite a bit of goodwill from the crowd.

    The other fifth rank cultivators also began departing too.

    ¡°Those in my group, make sure to follow me closely so that you don¡¯t get lost.¡± Lu De beckoned to the students under him and led them off too. He wasn¡¯t particrly fond of Zu An, so he didn¡¯t bother bidding thetter goodbye.

    Bai Susu, on the other hand, sashayed over and said, ¡°Teacher Zu, would you like toe with us?¡±

    Zu An replied with a smile, ¡°Teacher Bai, I appreciate your goodwill, but we¡¯re intending to explore on our own.¡±

    You must be kidding! In all of the novels I¡¯ve read, when has the protagonist ever gone along with the group before? He would always move all alone so that fortuitous encounters can fall on him and him alone.

    My luck will be sullied if I follow you all!

    ¡°Alright then. You must make sure to take care of Xiaoxi, alright? There are many in the academy who are fond of her, including me. If anything happens to her... we won¡¯t let you off,¡± said Bai Susu with a coyugh.

    ¡°Teacher Bai, I can take care of myself!¡± Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s face reddened. She didn¡¯t want to bring trouble to Zu An.

    ¡°You¡¯re truly a kind person, Xiaoxi. Here, take this. If you ever find yourself in a dangerous position, open it. I¡¯ll rush over right away to save you if I¡¯m in the vicinity.¡± Bai Susu passed over an item that looked a little like a signaling stick over to Ji Xiaoxi.

    ¡°Thanks, Teacher Bai.¡± Ji Xiaoxi epted Bai Susu¡¯s goodwill.

    Even after Bai Susu left, there were still quite a few people who came over, hoping to change Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s mind. Seeing that her mind was made up, they eventually settled with giving her medicine, weapons, or defensive artifacts.

    Zu An was amazed. ¡°Xiaoxi, I didn¡¯t know you are so popr in the academy. It¡¯s almost as if you¡¯re the academy¡¯s pet!¡±

    ¡°Ah~ Aren¡¯t you making fun of me by saying that I¡¯m a pet?¡± Ji Xiaoxi pouted in dissatisfaction.

    ¡°I¡¯m saying that you¡¯re adorable.¡± Zu An couldn¡¯t help but think that even a pouting Ji Xiaoxi looked incredibly adorable. He instinctively wanted to pet her head, but recalling how his hands became hopelessly swollen thest time he did so, he could only hesitantly retract his hand.

    It¡¯s almost like Ji Dengtu is projecting himself on the rest of the world. He thinks that all men are as perverted as he is, so he goes to such an extent to protect Ji Xiaoxi, not leaving any gaps at all.

    His exnation cated Ji Xiaoxi, and she broke out in a smile. ¡°Here, I can¡¯t use all of it myself. I¡¯ll give some to you too.¡±

    She stuffed some of the bottles of medicine and hidden weapons into Zu An¡¯s hands, which conveniently brought him a huge inflow of Rage points too. He quickly took a look around him, only to see many of the male students ring daggers at him.

    He was initially intending to attempt to reject the gifts out of politeness, but the reactions of those around him changed his mind. He epted everything Ji Xiaoxi gave him heartily and said, ¡°Thanks, Xiaoxi! Hahaha!¡±

    It was yet another flood of Rage points.

    Tsk tsk tsk. As your teacher, let me give you all a life lesson here: Bootlickers have no future at all! You can fawn on women all you want, but it¡¯ll never get you anywhere!

    ¡°Cough cough. It looks like Brother Zu is always in the limelight no matter where you go.¡± Xie Xiu walked over with a smile, feeling deeply impressed with Zu An. He couldn¡¯t fathom how Zu An was able to survive to this day with how he was constantly attracting aggression from those around him.

    Zu An straightened his back and cleared his throat before saying, ¡°Please call me Teacher Zu instead.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Xie Xiu.

    What the hell? How am I supposed to follow up with that?

    However, Zu An quickly changed his tune and said, ¡°But in view of our rtionship, I¡¯ll allow you to just call me Ah Zu!¡±

    ¡°Ah... Alright, Ah Zu.¡± Due to Zu An¡¯s disruption, Xie Xiu nearly lost his train of thought. ¡°The dungeon only opens once every few decades. If something happens here it¡¯ll be nigh impossible to investigate the matter. Due to that, it has always been an ideal ce to kill and plunder. You must make sure to tread carefully over the next ten days.¡±

    ¡°Hahaha, I didn¡¯t expect you to be so concerned about me. Alright, I¡¯ve made up my mind. I¡¯m going to make a friend out of you!¡± It was at this point that Zu An abruptly changed the topic. ¡°Speaking of which, that beautiful woman sitting next to you during the previous ns Tournament is your older sister, right? Why didn¡¯t she enter the dungeon too? Can you introduce her to me?¡±

    Xie Xiu was rendered speechless. Are you just trying to get close to me in order to flirt with my big sister?

    ¡°My big sister isn¡¯t interested in dungeons and that sort of stuff...¡± Xie Xiuughed awkwardly before swiftly fleeing the area. It felt rather ufortable for him to be trying to get close to a man.

    Before long, the only ones left at the starting point were Ji Xiaoxi and Zu An. Ji Xiaoxi couldn¡¯t help but remark, ¡°Ah Zu, you¡¯re a bad person.¡±

    ¡°How am I a bad person?¡± asked Zu An.

    ¡°You¡¯re still trying to flirt around even though you¡¯re already... already...¡± Ji Xiaoxi shot a nce at Zu An¡¯s crotch, but her shyness made her eyes flicker around awkwardly. ¡°... like that down there.¡±

    ¡°What do you know? This is called preparing for the future! I¡¯ll be up and going by the end of this dungeon anyway!¡± replied Zu An. ¡°Only fools would prepare for what that is right ahead of them. Those who are truly wise like me are constantly thinking multiple steps ahead!¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi blinked her eyes in surprise. She didn¡¯t expect him to be so optimistic. After all, finding the Evanescent Lotus in this massive dungeon was like searching for a needle amidst the boundless ocean.

    She felt that Zu An¡¯s optimism was unfounded, but she couldn¡¯t bear to point it out and dampen his morale.

    ¡°Where should we head to?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll head west! West all the way!¡±

    ...

    The two of them chatted merrily while heading westward, but all of a sudden, Zu An heard the sharp rustle of the wind. He immediately grabbed Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s arm and pulled her to the side.

    Several yellowish thorns had pierced into the very spot they were standing on earlier. Had they not moved away earlier, the thorns would have prated their body, dealing severe damage to them.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    Zu An noticed a rat clicking its teeth in their direction. While it did resemble a rat in terms of appearance, it was massive in size,parable to a warthog!

    However, what was more important at the moment was the numbing pain assaulting Zu An¡¯s arm. He turned to Ji Xiaoxi with an exasperated look as he said, ¡°Xiaoxi, the antidote~¡±

 Chapter 138: Donâ€™t Raise Flags!

    <h4>Chapter 138: Don¡¯t Raise gs!</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Ji Xiaoxi was still staring at the humongous rat monsters in bewilderment, having never seen them before despite frequently exploring the Hidden Dragon Mountain.

    Zu An¡¯s words snapped her out of her thoughts, and she quickly took out a blue pill from her bag and passed it over to him. ¡°Hurry up and eat this. You should be immune to my poison once you consume it.¡±

    Zu An was surprised to hear those words. ¡°Are you certain you want to give it to me? Aren¡¯t you afraid that I might attempt something once I¡¯m immune to the poison on your body?¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s face reddened as she said, ¡°You aren¡¯t like any other men. Besides, we¡¯ll have to survive in this dungeon for ten days, so we¡¯ll definitely need to look out for one another. It¡¯ll be inconvenient if you get poisoned every time you touch me.¡±

    Needless to say, Zu An understood what she meant by ¡®you aren¡¯t like any other men¡¯. He didn¡¯t expect that being impotent would actually bring about such a benefit. It was no wonder why many men in his previous life posed as gays to approach women. It turned out that just by appearing non-aggressive could greatly lower the guard of a woman.

    ¡°Did your father give you this pill?¡± asked Zu An.

    Considering the extreme lengths Ji Dengtu went to in order to protect her, it was unthinkable for him to prepare such an ¡®exception¡¯ too.

    ¡°I concocted it myself,¡± replied Ji Xiaoxi. ¡°I learned quite a bit from my father over the years, so I tried making it myself.¡±

    Zu An nodded in realization, but he quickly noticed another problem. ¡°Is the pill safe? Are there any side effects from consuming it?¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi quickly waved her hands and said, ¡°Ah, don¡¯t worry! I¡¯ve chosen medicinal herbs with milder properties, so you don¡¯t need to worry about suffering from side effects.¡±

    Zu An was finally able to put aside his worries and swallow the pill. As promised, the numbing pain on his hand swiftly vanished. To test out the immunity effect of the pill, he tried touching Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s robe, only to ecstatically realize that the poison really wasn¡¯t acting up at all.

    He tried to touch her hair and pinch her cheeks, but the numbing pain didn¡¯t set in anymore.

    ¡°Ah Zu, you¡¯re hurting me.¡± Ji Xiaoxi rubbed her pinched cheeks as sheined grudgingly.

    Zu Anughed off herint awkwardly, saying, ¡°You have good skin.¡±

    ¡°Jip jip~ jip jip jip~¡±

    The furious squeaking of the humongous rat sounded. It couldn¡¯t understand how those two could remain calm in its presence and even flirt with one another. It was as if they were treating it to be invisible!

    Its enraged protest brought Zu An and Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s attention back to the present.

    ¡°Xiaoxi, do you recognize that rat over there?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen it before, but it doesn¡¯t seem too powerful based on the aura it¡¯s emanating.¡±

    ¡°My thoughts exactly.¡±

    While the rat couldn¡¯t understand what the two were saying, it could still sense the disdain in their eyes. Knowing that it was being looked down upon, it flew into a state of wrath. With loud squeaks, it charged toward the two of them, ready to sink its teeth onto their flesh.

    Unfortunately for it, Ji Xiaoxi and Zu An were already third rank cultivators. As fast as the rat was moving, the two of them were still able to dodge its charge with ease.

    ¡°It seems to be at the second rank.¡± Based on the rat¡¯s speed and strength, Zu An was able to deduce its rough cultivation rank. If that was all it had, it wouldn¡¯t pose much of a threat to him.

    However, what he was concerned about were the thorns that shot out from the ground earlier.

    On the other hand, seeing that its charge had failed to work, the rat suddenly stood upright, and its size suddenly expanded by half. Taking a closer look, however, Zu An realized that it was not that its body had expanded but that its fur was standing upright, making it lookrger than normal.

    ¡°Be careful!¡± Ji Xiaoxi suddenly eximed.

    Three sharp thorns suddenly shot out from the rat¡¯s body toward Zu An.

    ¡°A long-range attack!¡±

    Zu An eximed as he dodged the thorns with ease. With his current level of speed, even without resorting to Sunflower Phantasm, he could still easily deal with attacks from a second rank cultivator.

    He noticed that there was a clump of fur behind the rat¡¯s head that was yellowish in color aspared to its overall beige fur. The thorns that were just shot out seemed to havee from the clump of yellow fur.

    The rat grew even more agitated upon seeing that its attack had missed, so it arched its back and shot out a few more thorns.

    Same as before, Zu An dodged the fur, but on top of that, he also whipped out his sword to test the uracy of his swordsmanship. With a sh of his sword, he sessfully deflected some of the thorns.

    This is kind of weird though. Why isn¡¯t this fellow attacking Ji Xiaoxi at all? Could it be biased toward good-looking people? I don¡¯t think I pale anywhere inparison to her though...

    The rat continued firing several rounds of thorns, but not a single one of them struck. It btedly realized that it was outssed here, so it immediately turned tail and fled.

    However, Zu An leaped forward to stop its path. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t go! I haven¡¯t had my fun yet.¡±

    The enraged rat immediately shot out another three more thorns toward Zu An, only for it to be dodged with ease yet again.

    So, it tried to flee once more, only to be stopped yet again. Just like that, the process repeated several times, and by the end of it, the rat was left with a huge bald patch behind its head.

    You have sessfully trolled Goldenfur Monstrous Rat for +6 +6 +6 +6...

    Zu An was amused. So this fellow provides Rage points too! Another reason not to stop then.

    So, he continued messing around with the rat, and it didn¡¯t take long for it to turnpletely bald. It was only then that Zu An finally decided to end its life.

    ¡°Ah Zu, can we let it go instead? It¡¯s so pitiful,¡± pleaded Ji Xiaoxi. The tears brimming in the rat¡¯s eyes had evoked her sympathy.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Of course, Zu An wouldn¡¯t reject such a simple requesting from the adorable Ji Xiaoxi, so he waved his hand, gesturing for the rat to get lost. Utterly relieved to be spared, the rat darted off into the forest right away.

    ¡°This world doesn¡¯t seem as dangerous as I thought.¡± Zu An was still worried at first, but after the earlier easy victory he had against the rat, his confidence was now bursting. ¡°Isn¡¯t the academy being far too cautious?¡±

    Pui pui pui! What in the world am I saying? After watching so many drama serials, I should know better than to raise gs!

    Ji Xiaoxi shook her head and said, ¡°We¡¯re probably still in the outer perimeter of the dungeon, where the cultivation ranks of the ferocious beasts tend to be weaker. If we proceed deeper in, we should encounter more troublesome enemies.¡±

    Zu An nodded in response. He was still more worried about Shi Kun¡¯s assassination ploy at the moment as he didn¡¯t know how thetter would move.

    Would he attempt the assassination himself?

    That¡¯s unlikely. Those in positions of power like him wouldn¡¯t be willing to sully their hands when they have underlings to do the dirty work for them.

    Hm? Why did I call it ¡®dirty work¡¯?

    It was then he suddenly heard a series of weird rustling noises. He quickly turned hispanion and asked, ¡°Xiaoxi, did you hear something?¡±

    ¡°Ah? I didn¡¯t hear anything.¡± Ji Xiaoxi was confused.

    ¡°Oh.¡± Zu An nodded before returning to his thoughts.

    Snow did enter the dungeon this time around too. If Shi Kun is unwilling to make a move himself, it¡¯s likely that she would do the dirty work instead. But after the previous fight we had, she should have already been traumatized by thebor pains she experienced. It¡¯s unlikely that she would be making a move alone.

    Rustle rustle~

    The noises sounded again, and this time, even Ji Xiaoxi heard it too. The two of them turned their heads around warily, only for their faces to warp in horror. They found themselves faced with quite a few Goldenfur Monstrous Rats.

    ¡®Quite a few¡¯ might be a major understatement, for there was a whole army of little beady eyes staring at them. Such a sight was more than enough to induce panic in just about anyone!

    ¡°How many of them is this?¡± Zu An gulped.

    ¡°There are definitely a few hundred of them at least. I can¡¯t really see their backline clearly, but their number could easily go over a thousand.¡± Ji Xiaoxi also felt flustered too. It was normal for a woman to be afraid of such stuff.

    One of the Goldenfur Monstrous Rats leaped out and began squeaking to thergest of its kind, its paws pointing toward the two of them. While Zu An and Ji Xiaoxi had no idea what it was saying, the indignant tone in the squeaks was more than enough to tell them that it wasining about something.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you think this rat looks a little familiar?¡± Zu An eyed the bald patch of skin behind the rat¡¯s head as he asked.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°It seems to be the one we met earlier.¡± Ji Xiaoxi was incredibly nervous as well.

    Thergest Goldenfur Monstrous Rat let out a few piercing squeaks, and the rest immediately rose on their back feet.

    Realizing that things were going awry, he immediately grabbed Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s arms and fled.

    You must be kidding! If it¡¯s just a couple of thorns, we might still be able to handle it with ease. However, if it¡¯s going to be thousands of them, that¡¯s like facing an arrow rain from an enemy! No matter how I dodge, I would still be porcupined in an instant!

    A split momentter, the spot where the two of them were standing on earlier was bombarded with thorns. The Goldenfur Monstrous Rats were furious to see that the two of them had dodged their attacks, so they immediately gave chase with enraged squeaks. Like the march of an army, they trampled down everything that stood in their path. From afar, it looked almost as if a tsunami was crashing down on them.

    ¡°It¡¯s all my fault. If I hadn¡¯t asked you to spare it, we wouldn¡¯t have ended up in such a position,¡± said Ji Xiaoxi apologetically.

    ¡°It¡¯s not your fault. None of us expected things to end up like that,¡± said Zu An. ¡°Let¡¯s stop talking for now lest we run out of breath.¡±

    The two of them ran off for quite a while, but the pursuing Goldenfur Monstrous Rats showed no signs of letting up at all. While they were unable to catch up, they were still biting persistently onto their tail.

    ¡°What should we do now?¡± asked Ji Xiaoxi nervously.

    ¡°Weren¡¯t you fine entering the Hidden Dragon Mountain all alone? Why would these darned rats dare to chase you?¡± asked Zu An curiously.

    ¡°It was too busy chatting with you that I forgot to bring out the medicine earlier. It¡¯d be toote to do it now since they have already seen our looks. Just smell itself won¡¯t be enough to deter them anymore,¡± replied Ji Xiaoxi.

    Actually, she had methods to make these rats ignore her, but she couldn¡¯t allow Zu An to brave through danger all alone. That was also why she was still running with him.

    ¡°...¡± Zu An.

    He was frustrated, but he couldn¡¯t bring himself to me Ji Xiaoxi for this. None of them expected to be faced with such a situation at the outer perimeters of the dungeon¡ªor to be more exact, there was probably no one as unlucky as them to encounter this.

    Ahh, maybe heading westward isn¡¯t a good idea after all.

    Noticing Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s worried expression, he consoled, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, they¡¯re bound to give up soon!¡±

    It was not like they had a huge grudge between them. It was not as if he had killed their brethren; all he had done was to make one of the Goldenfur Monstrous Rats go bald. Unless this fellow was the son of the Rat King or something, it didn¡¯t make any sense for them to continue chasing him.

    Such a thought was swiftly dispelled from his mind by the end of the second hour. Zu An¡¯s heart hadpletely sunk by then. It was as if the army of rats knew not of exhaustion at all; they continued chasing them with fervor.

    ¡°Ah Zu, I... I can¡¯t run anymore!¡± Ji Xiaoxi was gasped for breath.

    ¡°There¡¯s a mountain valley ahead. We¡¯ll have more room to maneuver around there!¡± Zu An¡¯s eyes lit up as he caught sight of a mountain valley right ahead of him.

    The problem right now was that they were running on a in, where there was nowhere they could hide at all. If they tried to fight the rats in a ce like this, they would just get swamped down in an instant.

    However, it was different in the mountain valley. There were all sorts of obstacles, giving them the room to hide and evenunch counterattacks. After all, the rats weren¡¯t too powerful individually.

    There was just one issue¡ªmountains tended to look deceptively close.

    Zu An was initially running with Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s hand in his, but after a couple times where she nearly fell down, he decided to just lift her up and carry her in his arms. It was fortunate that she was small in size, so it hardly took any strength to carry her.

    Being held in a princess carry made Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s face redden in embarrassment. She had never been so close to a man before. She could only console her again and again that big brother Zu was just trying to save her here, and that he was different from other men...

    Finally, Zu An arrived at the mountain valley.

    A chilling cold gale blew his way. His body was still burning hot from all the running he had done, but astonishingly, the gale blew all of the heat away and made him shudder in coldness.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Zu An was confused.

    However, this wasn¡¯t a good time to be thinking about other matters. He hurriedly scanned his surroundings for good spots where the two of them could hide and recover a bit.

    It was then that Ji Xiaoxi suddenly eximed with a hint of delight in her voice, ¡°Ah Zu, look! Those rats aren¡¯t following us here!¡±

    Zu An turned his head around, only to see that the Goldenfur Monstrous Rats had stopped just a few meters short of the mountain valley. They were pacing around the perimeter of the mountain valley in frustration, but at the same time, they dared not toe in.

    ¡°Is there some sort of terrifying existence in the valley that instills fear in them?¡± murmured Zu An worriedly.

 Chapter 139: Come Here!

    <h4>Chapter 139: Come Here!</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An quickly scanned the surroundings. There wasn¡¯t anything different about the mountain valley he was in other than the fact that the air was unnaturally crisp and refreshing.

    ¡°Ah Zu, what should we do next?¡± asked Ji Xiaoxi.

    ¡°Let¡¯s just wait here for the time being. There¡¯s something weird about how the rats are reacting to the mountain valley.¡± Zu An couldn¡¯t see anything amiss about the mountain valley, but he felt that it would be better safe than sorry.

    Ji Xiaoxi nodded in agreement. She took out a water bottle from her waist pouch and took a sip. The earlier journey had really tired her out.

    After hydrating herself, she passed the water bottle over and asked, ¡°Do you want to have a sip too?¡±

    Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°Nah. I¡¯ll probably finish up the water in that small bottle of yours in a few gulps. You should save it for yourself instead.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, this is actually an artifact my father had a runemaster make for me. Despite its small appearance, it¡¯s able to store a lot of water. It¡¯s plenty for the two of us.¡±

    ¡°A storage tool!¡± Zu An was impressed.

    He took the bottle over and examined it, but he couldn¡¯t spot anything different. However, when he tried gulping it down, he realized that there was almost no end to the supply of water it contained.

    Ji Xiaoxi couldn¡¯t help but notice that Zu An was drinking right off the rim of the bottle, and her face reddened. She thought that he would pour it into his mouth instead. Isn¡¯t this an indirect...

    Nevertheless, she quickly calmed herself and said, ¡°It¡¯s not really a storage tool. It can only be used to store water.¡±

    So it¡¯s a downgraded version of a storage ring, Zu An nodded in realization. ¡°Are storage tools artifacts that only exist in the legends?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s exaggerating it to say that they only exist in legends, but they¡¯re indeed quite rare. Only top-notch runemasters are capable of forging them, and the space in most of them is limited. Even therger ones can only store this amount of stuff...¡± Ji Xiaoxi gestured with her hand to give a rough idea.

    So, around a meter cubed big?, Zu An thought.

    ¡°Is there anything you want to eat? My father prepared quite a lot of food for me.¡± As she spoke, Ji Xiaoxi took out all kinds of food from the little pouch. There were desserts, biscuits, and even fruits.

    ¡°Woah, are you Dora*mon?!¡± Zu An was utterly amazed. How in the world is such a small pouch holding so much stuff?!

    ¡°This is also another artifact my father had a runemaster forge for me. It should be considered as a type of storage tool.¡± There was a faint tinge of red constantly lingering on Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s face as she spoke, making her look incredibly adorable.

    ¡°...¡± Zu An.

    It was just a moment ago you told me that storage tools are extremely rare, but it turns out that you have two of them with you. Aren¡¯t you trying to show off to me right now?!

    ¡°These are osmanthus cakes bought from Xu Ji. It¡¯s absolutely delicious. These are peach blossom cakes, a special product from the neighboring province. If you don¡¯t like sweet food, I also have nuts with me too...¡± Ji Xiaoxi fished out arge bunch of tidbits and began introducing them one by one. The gleam in her eyes showed that she was excited to show off her little stash.

    Zu An was rendered speechless. ¡°It feels like you¡¯re here to enjoy the scenery as a tourist than to explore the dungeon.¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi scratched her head in embarrassment. ¡°I wasn¡¯t nning on taking so much stuff with me, but my father was worried that I wouldn¡¯t have any food to eat while I¡¯m in here, so he stuffed all of these into my pouch.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Zu An.

    Wow, who could tell that Ji Dengtu actually would be such a doting father?

    Speaking of which, why didn¡¯t the Chu n prepare anything for me then? Ahh, this disparity sure is heartbreaking. Hmmm, it doesn¡¯t seem like Chu Chuyan brought anything with her too though. I guess the Chu n is stricter with its family members; they think of it as a trial.

    Zu An tried his best to make himself feel better.

    There was an expectant look in Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s eyes when she offered her desserts to him, so Zu An felt that it wouldn¡¯t be good to disappoint her. He tried the osmanthus cake, and his eyes immediately lit up in delight. ¡°It¡¯s fragrant!¡±

    Meanwhile, the army of Goldenfur Monstrous Rats, who were still camping outside the mountain valley, flew into a state of rage. What the hell? It¡¯s tired for us to chase you all the way here too! Do you know how parched our throats are after running so several hours straight? How could you pic right in front of us?!

    You have sessfully trolled the Goldenfur Monstrous Rats for +6 +6 +6...

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An¡¯s eyes lit up. He was receiving a small number of Rage points from each of the rats, but one must know that there was an army of them here. It was quite a sizeable amount in total.

    Knowing that this was a good opportunity to squeeze out more Rage points from them, he turned to look at the army of rats and beckoned them over with a wag of his finger.

    ¡°Oh? Why are you all sitting there so pitifully? Why note in and share our snacks?¡±

    Behind him, Ji Xiaoxi blinked herrge eyes in confusion, She couldn¡¯t understand why Zu An was provoking those rats right now, but his tone was so annoying that even someone as mild-tempered as her felt an urge to beat him up.

    As for the rats, they couldn¡¯t understand what Zu An was doing, but his provocative tone and gesture were more than enough to fan their anger.

    You have sessfully trolled the Goldenfur Monstrous Rats for +6 +6 +6...

    Some of them couldn¡¯t stand it and tried to charge over, but barely a few stepster, they hesitantly came to a halt before retreating back down.

    Looking at the huge influx of Rage points, Zu An was overjoyed. A true keyboard warrior wouldn¡¯t give up on an opportunity to troll, so he continued taunting them gleefully.

    You have sessfully trolled the Goldenfur Monstrous Rats for +6 +6 +6...

    Finally, one of the rats finally couldn¡¯t stand it anymore and charged right in. There was a notable bald patch at the back of its head.

    With this rat leading the pack, the rest quickly sumbed to their rage and charged in as well. While rushing forth, some of them pricked up their fur, preparing to shoot their thorns.

    ¡°Crap. It looks like I identally went overboard.¡±

    rmed, Zu An immediately turned tail and ran, only to realize that Ji Xiaoxi was still doltishly sitting on the floor, munching on her snacks. He quickly rushed out to grab and her arm and pulled her away with him.

    ¡°Ahhh! My candied fruits! I was just about to eat them!!!¡± Ji Xiaoxi stared at the snacks she had left on the floor with a horrified look on her face.

    ¡°I¡¯ll buy them for you once we¡¯re out of the dungeon!¡± shouted Zu An.

    ¡°You said the same thing when you borrowed my handkerchiefst time. You still haven¡¯t repaid me yet,¡± murmured Ji Xiaoxi in discontentment.

    Zu Anughed sheepishly. He had really forgotten about that. ¡°That too. I¡¯ll pay everything back all at once.¡±

    After charging into the mountain valley and seeing that nothing was happening, the Goldenfur Monstrous Rats were further emboldened. With furious squeaks, they continued to chase Zu An tenaciously. That damned human is too hateful! We must rip off his flesh and gobble down his bones in order to vent our anger!

    Due to theplicated terrain around the mountain valley, it was much easier for Zu An and Ji Xiaoxi to escape this time around. However, to their dismay, they were still unable to shake the rats off their tail. There were simply far too many of them, and they had a sharp sense of smelling too. No matter how well the two of them were hiding, the rats would find them swiftly and summon theirrades to encircle them.

    In the end, they were forced to a corner and decided to seek refuge on a big tree.

    Unfortunately, the Goldenfur Monstrous Rats still managed to find them in the end. It took only a few moments for a huge crowd of rats to gather beneath the tree.

    They tried to climb up the tree trunk, but unfortunately, there were only so many rats that could climb up the tree trunk at once. Zu An was stronger than each of them, and he also had the advantageous high ground here. As a result, he could basically kill one of them with each sh.

    The leader of the Goldenfur Monstrous Rats stepped atop one of the boulders and began squeaking away. Soon, they abandoned their initial n to climb up the tree and instead began to nibble away at the tree trunk. Once the tree was felled, they would pounce forward and tear those two humans to shreds.

    Hearing the wood gnawing sounding from below, Zu An started to panic a little. ¡°Xiaoxi, do you have any poison that can knock all of them out?¡±

    Medicine and poison were two sides of a coin. Considering herpetence in medicine, it was likely that she was fairly well versed in poison too.

    ¡°I do have something like that,¡± replied Ji Xiaoxi hesitantly.

    ¡°???¡¯ Zu An.

    He was just asking out of desperation, not really expecting much out of it, but who could have thought that she really had something like that? If that¡¯s the case, why didn¡¯t you use it earlier? We wouldn¡¯t have to end up in such a desperate position in the first ce!

    Seemingly seeing through the doubts he had in mind, Ji Xiaoxi exined meekly, ¡°I didn¡¯t think that they have done anything too overboard to justify that. Strictly speaking, we were the ones interrupting their peaceful lives. It feels wrong to poison them to death.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Zu An.

    She¡¯s simply too kind! I really can¡¯t imagine how in the world she managed to survive in this dangerous world to this day with that kind heart of hers.

    ¡°What if the tree falls and we get eaten by them?¡± asked Zu An.

    Ji Xiaoxi hesitated a little before replying, ¡°I don¡¯t know. They might just retreat soon. If things reallye to that point, I... I¡¯ll poison them.¡±

    Zu An knew that Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s personality, and he felt that it would be going too far to force her to do something that went against her conscience. In truth, things weren¡¯t that dire yet either. He could use Grandgale the moment the tree felled to escape. At the very least, they should be able to break out of the rats¡¯ encirclement.

    As for whether they would really be able to escape from the rats or not, he would leave it to the calling of fate.

    The two of them didn¡¯t notice that when the corpses of the killed Goldenfur Monstrous Rats fell on the floor, their blood seeped through the ground at an unusually swift pace. There were no puddles of blood at all.

    A whileter, one of the Goldenfur Monstrous Rats was in the midst of nibbling on the tree trunk when it suddenly cried out in misery.

    Zu An quickly took a look, only to see a bone palm striking through its back. As crimson blood flowed down the white bones, it created quite an eerie spectacle.

    This sinister event only marked the first of many soon-toe deaths. More and more screams of agony echoed throughout the mountain valley as the other Goldenfur Monstrous Rats fell to the same fate, prated by a white palm.

    ¡°Where did those thingse from?¡± Zu An was appalled. He felt like he was watching a horror movie unfolding right before his eyes.

    ¡°Big brother Zu, I¡¯m afraid!¡± Ji Xiaoxi subconsciously hid behind Zu An¡¯s back as she gripped his sleeves tightly.

    ¡°Xiaoxi, don¡¯t be scared. I¡¯ll make sure to protect you well,¡± consoled Zu An.

    He was flustered by the unexpected happenings too, but somehow, the presence of a woman in need tended to embolden the guts of a man. He couldn¡¯t allow himself to show cowardice before Xiaoxi.

    He carefully examined the situation and soon figured out what was going on.

    These bone palms hadn¡¯t appeared out of nowhere; they were rising from the ground. They weren¡¯t just limited to the area around the trees. Where his eyes could see, the soil was loosening as palms rose up and strike at the Goldenfur Monstrous Rats.

    ¡°Just how many of them are there?!¡± Zu An gulped.

    Panic devoured the Goldenfur Monstrous Rats. Coming under such a frightening assault, how could they still be in the mood to nibble on the tree trunk? They fled for their life right away, but to their dismay, it was futile. White hands rose from the soil to grab their legs.

    The rats squeaked in desperation, but those bones, despite looking so brittle that they would snap at any moment, harnessed terrifying strength that they couldn¡¯t break out of.

    Soon, skeletons began rising from the ground. They weren¡¯t entirely bones yet; most of them were still half covered in flesh, and there were traces of clothes to be seen on them. It was just that their clothes had mostly dposed from being buried for far too long.

    It might be much more urate to term them as ¡®zombies¡¯.

    The zombies picked up the Goldenfur Monstrous Rats in their hands, brought them up to their mouths, and began munching down on them. Blood sttered all over the air. The mountain valley was swiftly dominated by two sounds¡ªthe despaired cries of the Goldenfur Monstrous Rats and the ripping of flesh.

    It was as if hell had descended upon the world.

 Chapter 140: Hell on the Mountain Valley

    <h4>Chapter 140: Hell on the Mountain Valley</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Even thergest Goldenfur Monstrous Rat King was panicked. It rammed the closest zombie down to the floor, forcing it to release thetter to release the rat that it was chomping on.

    Without any hesitation, the rat king bit down on the zombie¡¯s bone with a loud cracking sound. Before long, the zombie had already lost several of its fingers.

    The zombie tried to climb to its feet, but crushed under the weight of the rat king, its attempts were futile.

    ¡°Jip jip jip!¡± The rat king squeaked furiously at the zombie, possibly trying to brag or utter words of justice for its deceasedrades.

    Its squeaks were reciprocated by a resounding thwack on its head.

    Bam!

    Another zombie swung a wooden bat in its hand, sending the Goldenfur Monstrous Rat King flying for several meters before finally crashing back down on the ground.

    ¡°Jip!¡±

    The infuriated rat king arched its back and directed the golden fur behind its head right at the zombie.

    ¡°Holy shit!¡± Zu An was rmed. The rat king was clearly far stronger than itspanions¡ªits thorns were a meter long, and every single one of them was shining with a golden lustre. They looked just like javelins.

    Shoosh shoosh shoosh!

    The thorns shot out a speed far faster than a slow zombie could dodge. It was struck squarely by the thorns, and the sheer impact pinned it onto a cliff face.

    ¡°Jip jip!¡±

    The Goldenfur Monstrous Rat King squeaked in glee. It had returned the favor for the earlier bat to its head.

    Ji Xiaoxi remarked in astonishment, ¡°If those thorns were to strike us, we might just lose our lives!¡±

    Zu An nodded in agreement. He wasn¡¯t too familiar with the power level ssification of ferocious beasts in this world, but the Goldenfur Monstrous Rat King seemed to be around pinnacle third rank to early fourth rank.

    He wasn¡¯t confident of defeating the rat king in a direct battle without relying on his cheat keys.

    ¡°W-what is that!¡± eximed Ji Xiaoxi. Her voice quivered as she pointed her finger at a certain direction.

    Zu An quickly looked over, only to see the zombie that had been pinned to the cliff face had started moving. It lowered its head to nce at its chest, causing its eyeballs to pop out a little from its face. It felt almost like a literal expression of horror.

    Then, it stretched its hand forth and began plucking the thorns out of its body. There was no sttering of blood; there was just a mysterious dense fluid flowing out a little.

    Zu An¡¯s lips twitched. It was fortunate that he didn¡¯t eat too much earlier, or else he might have just retched at this sight.

    As for Ji Xiaoxi, she had already long turned her face away, not wanting to look any longer.

    The zombie plucked off all of the thorns before charging toward the Goldenfur Monstrous Rat King once more with the bat in its hand.

    ¡°Jip~¡±

    The fur on the rat king pricked up, but it was not out of aggression but fear. It had already resorted to its strongest move, but its enemy remainedpletely fine despite being struck by it squarely. How could it possibly fight against an opponent like this?!

    So, it turned tail and fled. It might still feelpelled as a king to protect its own people, but it realized that the current circumstances were so dire that it would be a blessing if it could escape with its life.

    Watching the scene from above, Zu An couldn¡¯t help but frown. The defensive prowess had shocked him. He didn¡¯t think that they would be able to remain unfazed even after suffering such a heavy blow. He couldn¡¯t even fathom just how much it would take in order to kill one of them.

    ¡°Xiaoxi, are there any records about zombies in this dungeon?¡± asked Zu An.

    Ji Xiaoxi shook her head in response. ¡°I have never heard any records of zombies in the Ursae Dungeon before. There¡¯s nothing on that in the academy¡¯s archive, and my father has never mentioned it to me before.¡±

    Zu An felt a little unnerved. He recalled hearing that the dungeon had opened ahead of its anticipated time, and Jiang Luofu had reminded him that there was something amiss about the dungeon this time around too.

    Is something happening right now because I¡¯m here? Hell! Isn¡¯t that special treatment orded only to novel protagonists?

    While making internal retorts, Zu An¡¯s mind was still whirring to process the situation. ¡°Are there light elemental spells or something in this world? How in the world are we supposed to kill off such monsters?¡±

    ¡°Light elemental spells?¡± Ji Xiaoxi frowned. ¡°I don¡¯t know much about spells, but there are cultivators who have grasped the light element before, just that they are incredibly rare. I don¡¯t think that there are any light element cultivators in Brightmoon City. As for dealing with the zombies, there are some records rting to that. It seems like they would stop moving once you sever off their heads. Aside from that, there are rumors that they are vulnerable to fire element cultivators.¡±

    ¡°Fire element?¡± Zu An frowned.

    Will ordinary fire work against them? But again, it seems almost impossible to light up a fire in this windy mountain valley.

    He swiftly ran through all of the skills he had learned, but none of them seemed to be useful against these zombies. Even his prided ¡®Bixie Swordy¡¯ didn¡¯t seem too useful against these incredibly high defense zombies. He could totally imagine his sword striking down on a zombie¡¯s neck, only to rebound off.

    In the end, only a third of the Goldenfur Monstrous Rats managed to make their escape. Most of them were picked up by a zombie and chomped down on like a sandwich. It was unfortunate that they werend creatures, and a huge number of zombies happened to be lurking underground.

    In fact, the only reason why a third of them could escape was because there weren¡¯t too many zombies who awakened at the start. However, as the scent of blood began to fill the mountain valley, more and more decrepit zombies climbed out of thend in seek of prey.

    ¡°Do you have any medicine to erase our scent? Hurry up and scatter them around us, or else it¡¯ll be toote!¡± said Zu An anxiously.

    It felt like they had just fallen deeper into danger. It was just Goldenfur Monstrous Rats lurking beneath them earlier, but now it had been reced by the even stronger zombies. There was no chance for them to escape at all even if they wanted to. Their only hope right now was for them not to be discovered.

    ¡°I do.¡± Ji Xiaoxi whipped out a medicine bottle from her pouch and began sprinkling it around them.

    Zu An finally heaved a sigh of relief.

    ¡°How long will it take for them to return back to the ground?¡± Looking at the zombies lurking under him, Zu An felt his heart growing heavier and heavier.

    ording to the movies, zombies usually shied away from light. It was still daytime at the moment, but natural sunlight was blocked off by the surrounding mountains in this valley, dimming the surroundings. To make things worse, the sun appeared to be setting at the moment.

    Are these corpses going to roam for the entire night?

    Zu An found himself wondering how these dungeons came to be. The concepts of day and night applied in here, and there was a sun during daytime too. He wondered if the moon would rise when night fellter.

    Meanwhile, the zombies were happily feasting heartily on their prey. Flesh and blood seemed to be utmost delicacies in their eyes, but the same couldn¡¯t be said about the humans present.

    As the stench of blood grew thicker and thicker, Zu An felt his stomach churning, but he forced it down.

    Ji Xiaoxi, on the other hand, wasn¡¯t that fortunate. In the first ce, she was afraid of such things, and she ate a lot of stuff earlier too. The heavy stench of blood and the sight of zombies chomping off the Goldenfur Monstrous Rats all around her were challenging the tolerance of her stomach. She eventually sumbed and started vomiting.

    I guess even the most adorable of fairies don¡¯t vomit strawberries and rainbows.

    ¡°Shit!¡± Zu An¡¯s heart skipped a beat, for there was something worse urring.

    The slight ruckus caused by Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s vomiting caused the feasting zombies to turn their gazes over. Most of them didn¡¯t have eyeballs, but Zu An could be certain that they were staring at them.

    Some of those that failed to secure a Goldenfur Monstrous Rat for themselves earlier began making their way toward the tree.

    Zu An shuddered in fear. The tree was already unstable from the nibbling the rats had done to it earlier, and it wouldn¡¯t take much to fell it. Just thinking about the pitiful plight of those rats that had fallen into the clutches of the rats made a shiver run down his spine.

    He quickly turned to Ji Xiaoxi and asked, ¡°You should have no qualms using your poison against zombies, right?¡±

    ¡°My poison only works on living beings. The undead isn¡¯t afraid of it,¡± replied Ji Xiaoxi with a pale face. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s all my fault.¡±

    Had it not been for her earlier gluttony, she wouldn¡¯t have drawn these zombies over to their side.

    ¡°There¡¯s no point talking about this now,¡± said Zu An. ¡°I¡¯ll lure them off. Make sure that you don¡¯t make a noise at all.¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi was rmed. ¡°You can¡¯t! We should go together!¡±

    Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°I have a movement skill that should allow me to maneuver around these slow zombies. It¡¯s likely that both of us will die if we go together. Besides, if I lure the zombies away, you¡¯ll be able to bring the others over to save me too.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Big brother Ah Zu~¡± Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s eyes reddened. She knew that she would only add to his trouble by sticking together with him, but human¡¯s emotions didn¡¯t always obey logic.

    She felt that she was the one whonded Zu An in such a dangerous position.

    Noticing the dull look on Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s face, Zu An quickly said, ¡°You mustn¡¯t do anything foolish, or else my efforts will be in vain!¡±

    ¡°Alright... but big brother Ah Zu, you must promise me that you¡¯ll stay alive!¡± Tears were brimming in Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s eyes as she spoke.

    ¡°Are you nning to repay me by betrothing yourself to me if I manage to survive this ordeal?¡± Zu An teased as he assessed the situation below.

    Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s face reddened. ¡°But you already have a wife...¡±

    ¡°Hahaha, my wife doesn¡¯t mind me having other women. Alright, I''ll be going off!¡± With a smile, Zu An leaped toward an opening below that he spotted.

    The zombies were rmed by him. Most of them turned their sights toward him right away, but there was still a small number of them who were looking toward the crown of the tree Ji Xiaoxi was on.

    So, Zu An pped his hands loudly and shouted to attract their attention. ¡°Hey, you boney freaks! I dare you to catch me! If you catch me, you can stick your bones into me wherever you want!¡±

    Maybe it was because the zombies understood his words or that he was simply making too much of amotion, all of the zombies immediately turned in his direction and charged over.

    Before such a terrifying threat, Zu An executed Sunflower Phantasm right away to weave in between the gaps of the zombies, trying to lure them further away from Ji Xiaoxi.

    Unfortunately, there were simply far too many zombies that dodging was no easy feat, even if he had a powerful movement skill in his arsenal. There was once where barely after his foot touched the ground, a ck shadow smashed right down on his head. It happened to coincide with his downtime, the split instant where he was gathering momentum once more for the next move.

 Chapter 141: Desperation

    <h4>Chapter 141: Desperation</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Cornered, Zu An had no choice but to raise his sword to deal with the iing attack. Swords weren¡¯t built to collide directly with blunt weapons, and the ck lump of a weapon wielded by the attacking zombie seemed to pack quite a punch. So, he chose to use the ¡®flick¡¯ form of the Elementary Swordy in order to redirect the attack to the side.

    Despite so, he still felt a powerful rebound numbing his arm. The zombie¡¯s strength was on par with him, and it had the advantage in terms of weapon too. While he had managed to hold on for the time being, things weren¡¯t looking good for him.

    He rolled on the ground to dodge the next few follow-up attacks from that zombie. When he turned around and saw the holes left on the ground, he btedly realized just what kind of weapon the zombie was wielding.

    It was actually a hoe!

    Now that he thought about it, most of the zombies he encountered along the way wielded wooden bats, carrying poles, choppers, axes, and that sort of weapons. Only a small number of them wielded swords, sabers, spears, and the more typical type of weapons.

    Why do they look like refugees?

    Zu An had noticed earlier that these people wore tattered clothes, and he thought that they had simply dposed from having stayed underground for too long. But right now, he couldn¡¯t help but wonder if their clothes had been so tattered right from the start.

    The sight before him really resembled the army of refugees he had seen in historical dramas in his previous life.

    Regardless of whether they were refugees or whatever, it was still a fact that they had turned into zombies. Not daring to let his mind wander, he ced his focus back on the battle and used Sunflower Phantasm to dodge the attacksing from all around.

    His initial intention was to run out of the valley. Those Goldenfur Monstrous Rats that had made out with their life proved it to be a viable escape route, and there were grounds to believe that the activity of these zombies was limited to the valley.

    Unfortunately for him, the rats had lured far too many zombies to the entrance of the valley while they were escaping earlier, resulting in a huge crowd there. He had attempted to make his way through a couple of times, only to be forced back in the end.

    Left with no choice, he could only head deeper into the valley.

    He knew that given that he was only cing himself in greater danger by heading deeper into the valley, but he had no other choice. The zombies with hoes were all roughly as powerful as him, and those wielding sabers and swords were even stronger.

    In a one-to-one, he could still hold his ground using Sunflower Phantasm, but he was faced with a huge army right now. Just remaining alive on this battlefield was tough enough for him, let alone attempting a counterattack.

    In fact, it was thanks to Sunflower Phantasm that he was still managing to hold on thus far. Even if another even more powerful cultivator from the academy had been in his ce, it was likely that he would have already been swamped down by the hordes of zombies by now.

    ¡°Whatcha staring at? Whatcha staring at? Why aren¡¯t you staring at me?!¡±

    Zu An¡¯s furious curses echoed through the mountain valley. He tried to use his ¡®Whatcha Staring At¡¯ skill to distract the zombies, but thetter simply stared at him as if he was a fool, not reacting in the least.

    It turned out that ¡®Whatcha Staring At¡¯ only worked on intelligent lifeforms capable of speech, so these undead zombies were unfazed by it.

    After running for a very long time, Zu An finally found himself cornered. Sunflower Phantasm might be a powerful skill, but there were limits to what he could do with it. Space was limited in this mountain valley, and the terrain was tough to navigate. There was just so much he could do to dodge the zombies.

    With his back faced against the cliff, he found himself faced with a crowd of zombies that had gathered in a semicircle before him. He gulped nervously, wondering if he might just meet his end here.

    Damnit! I haven¡¯t even released my seal yet. Am I not going to be a real man even before I die?

    Zu An found himself empathizing with the eunuchs he had seen in dramas in his previous life. No matter how dangerous it was for them, they still insisted on taking their ¡®treasure¡¯ back so that they could be buried with it.

    What the hell am I even thinking about?

    While Zu An was shuddering in disgust at that thought, the zombies had already darted impatiently at him. He immediately summoned Grandgale, and the bird avatar manifested in front of him. With a step, he leaped onto a tree growing off the cliff face and hugged tightly onto it.

    The zombies were confused for a moment due to his sudden disappearance, but one of the zombies swiftly spotted him, pointed in his direction, and released a piercing screech to inform itsrades.

    The other zombies raised their heads, and upon spotting him, they immediately began climbing the cliff face. Their movements were astonishingly agile, almost as if monkeys.

    Zu An was horrified. Hold on for a moment! Aren¡¯t these zombies supposed to be slow? Why the hell are they so good at climbing? If this was a game, that would definitely be a bloody bug!!

    He quickly scanned his surroundings, hoping to find another ce to leap toward. With the rise in his cultivation, he was now able to summon Grandgale twice, which meant that he could make another escape attempt. However, the entire area was flooded with zombies, such that even if he leaped elsewhere, it wouldn¡¯t take long before he was cornered once more.

    I probably should save it up when I¡¯m in a really desperate situation.

    In this short moment, the zombies had already reached the root of the tree and were starting to climb onto the tree trunk to head for him.

    With a cold harrumph, Zu An thrust his sword forward and knocked the iing zombies down to the ground. It was a desperate attempt, but it was unexpectedly sessful. It dawned on him that he was actually in an advantageous position here.

    The tree trunk hadn¡¯t been nibbled through by the Goldenfur Monstrous Rats, so it was still quite resilient. On top of that, this tree was hanging off the cliff face, making it hard for the zombies to approach and knock it down. There were only so few zombies who could approach him at once, and he could easily knock them down.

    In other words, he was currently standing on a fortress that he could guard to the end of time!

    Knowing that he could finally catch a breather, Zu An heaved a sigh of relief.

    However, he knew that he wasn¡¯t out of danger yet. His circumstances hadn¡¯t really gotten much better. He wasn¡¯t in a game, where killing the zombies would give him experience points and equipment for him to gear up and make aeback. He merely found a foothold for himself for the time being.

    The zombies tried a few more charges, but Zu An was able to knock them down by exploiting the advantageous terrain. Eventually, the zombies gave up on climbing the cliff face altogether.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Finally having some time to rest, Zu An exhaled deeply. Are the zombies giving up now? If so, as long as I canst till daybreak, I¡¯d be able to reunite with Ji Xiaoxi. I did sacrifice myself to save her this time around, so even if she doesn¡¯t betroth herself to me, at the very least, her affection meter toward me should have hit the max, right?

    Amotion suddenly broke out beneath him. The horde of zombies suddenly parted to open up a path, and dozens of new zombies walked over.

    ¡°Hm? These zombies look much cleaner.¡± Compared to the other ugly zombies whose flesh was dposing and had pus flowing out, these newly arriving zombies looked far more pleasant to his eyes.

    However, the smile on his face swiftly froze up. These zombies were retrieving a bow from their backs, nocking an arrow and aiming it toward him.

    ¡°%^(@#¡± Zu An.

    He felt like cursing right now. How in the world could zombies be able to shoot arrows?

    How are these refugees? They¡¯re practically an army!

    By then, the archers had already released their arrows. Over a hundred arrows swooshed across the air, leaving Zu An so frightened that he quickly hid behind the tree.

    Pu!

    Zu An¡¯s body jolted. He inched forward a little before ncing back to look at the arrow tips that had pierced through the tree. They were stained with bits of crimson blood.

    Holy shit!

    He realized that he had gotten careless. He was in the world of cultivation right now! Regardless of whether they were zombies or not, how could the arrows they fired possibly be stopped by a mere tree?

    It was all those dumb dramas I watched! Somehow people are able to magically survive bullets just by hiding behind a car. They¡¯re really imparting the wrong image to the viewers here!

    Damn it!

    Does this world have the concept of ¡®tetanus¡¯ too? Those zombies have rotting flesh and pus on them. Eek, who knows how much bacteria was on those arrows? Shit!

    Goosebumps rose on Zu An¡¯s skin, but with another new barrage of arrowsing up, this was no time for his thoughts to be wandering. Not daring to use the trees to hide from the arrows anymore, he raised his sword and prepared himself to deflect the iing arrows.

    Due to him suffering quite some injuries from the arrows that had pierced through the tree earlier, his strength and speed were enhanced by a fair bit. Nevertheless, he still found himself struggling to cope amidst the arrow rain.

    He could deflect those arrows that were aimed directly at him, but he couldn¡¯t deal with those that were aimed toward the tree. On top of that, the arrows also carried great force behind them, jolting his arm numb. It probably wouldn¡¯t take long before the arrows shot the tree down, and by then, he would be a goner.

    While his mind was wandering about, he failed to stop one of the arrows, resulting in it piercing right into his shoulder. The sheer force nearly knocked him out of the tree, but fortunately, he managed to grab onto one of the tree branches in the nick of time.

    Am I really going to die here today?

    An old but majestic horn sounded at this moment. It seemed to carry some sort of mysterious power that left one¡¯s blood pumping furiously.

    However, Zu An could hardly raise his mood at all. Having watched so many historical drama series, he knew that such horns were used for military signaling in wars.

    He was still uncertain at the start, but the horn verified his doubts that these zombies were indeed an army!

    It¡¯s all over. I can¡¯t even deal with these zombies, and they¡¯re still bringing reinforcement in! Hm? Wait a moment. Why aren¡¯t they firing anymore?

    Zu An looked downward, and to his surprise, he saw the zombies staring toward the other end of the valley. These zombies were incapable of speech, but Zu An could still sense the nervousness on their half-dposed faces.

    What¡¯s going on?

    Zu An was taken aback by the anomalous behavior of these zombies. Nevertheless, he still made use of this opportunity to take out some medicines to rub on his wounds.

    He didn¡¯t use ¡®Faith in Brother Spring¡¯, which he had drawn from the keyboard. It would be a waste to use that miraculous medicine that could heal even the most severe of injuries here. Now that he thought about it, it was really a huge waste for him to use it on the injuries from the Wailing Whip.

    The medicines he was using now were those Ji Xiaoxi had given to him. To be more exact, it was the medicines the male students had given to Ji Xiaoxi, only for her to pass it to him.

    ¡°Is it possible for some of them to secretly ce poison in these medicine bottles in order to harm me?¡± murmured Zu An contemtively. If they had predicted that Ji Xiaoxi would pass their medicines to him, there was a good chance that they would try to tamper with them.

    However, he quickly dispelled those thoughts from his mind. He didn¡¯t think that those male students were that smart, and he trusted in Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s judgment too. She had taken a look at these medicines herself, and given her astute sense for medicine, she would have been able to tell that they had been tampered with or not.

    Tok! Tok! Tok!

    A series of coordinated footsteps sounded from afar, causing Zu An¡¯s face to darken. It made his heart thump nervously as a heavy atmosphere loomed in the air.

 Chapter 142: Luck and Risk

    <h4>Chapter 142: Luck and Risk</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An turned in the direction where the zombies were staring at. The depths of the mountain valley had been cloaked in grayish mist initially, making it impossible to make out anything at all. However, he could now make out some silhouettes.

    As the footsteps came closer, the silhouettes became clearer too.

    Rows of zombies orderly marched out from the mist, only stopping around tens of meters away. Unlike the other zombies he had been dealing with all this while, these zombies looked far cleaner. Their bodies weren¡¯t dposed, and they were dressed in armor. They had long spears and sharp swords in their hands, and those in the frontlines even had shields on their arms.

    ¡°Holy shit, are they elite monsters?¡± Zu An widened his eyes in horror. While the earlier zombies were refugees, the ones who had just appeared were indubitably soldiers.

    Do zombies form armies too?

    Zu An felt that things were getting far too ridiculous for hismon sense to process.

    It was already tough enough for him to deal with those refugees, and he actually had to fight with a bloody army now? That was definitely a one-way ticket to hell!

    While Zu An was feeling despaired, he noticed some abnormalities urring beneath. The zombies camping right beneath him were currently grabbing their weapons tightly as they eyed the army before them warily. They didn¡¯t seem to be on the same side as one another despite being zombies.

    It was then that the formation of the army suddenly opened up, and a knight squad slowly made its way forward. These knights were riding on zombie horses that were shrouded in ck mist, looking quite simr to the duhans he had seen in animations in terms of character design.

    These knights were dressed in armor that was clearly a tier higher than the footsoldiers around them.

    The one standing at the forefront of this knight squad wore exquisitely-designed armor that stood out from the rest. It donned a ck cloak that made it look as if it was embraced by darkness, and its head waspletely covered by the helmet. The only facial feature one could see on it was two bundles of two mes glowing amidst the helmet, presumably its eyes.

    Without a doubt, it was the captain of the squad.

    As soon as it drew its sword, the other soldiers followed suit that drew their weapons too.

    The knight captain pulled on the reins of his steed, and thetter rose up imposingly. That was the signal for the charge. Under his lead, the knights under hismand charged toward the enemies. The footsoldiers behind also began charging forth while maintaining their formations.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on? Is this Zombies VS Zombies?¡± Zu An was baffled. At this point, he felt like he wouldn¡¯t be surprised even if he saw flying pigs in this world of cultivation.

    He thought that the refugee zombies would immediately turn tail and run¡ªit was obvious that both sides were on different levels in terms of equipment and strength¡ªbut to his surprise, the refugee zombies didn¡¯t back down from the battle. Instead, they roared furiously as they charged forward to meet the soldiers with the shabby weapons they had in hand.

    Somehow, it looked as if themoners were rising up in arms to start a revolution against the royal court or something.

    It was then that the sky suddenly darkened. Zu An raised his head and saw a massive rain of arrows flying forth from the army¡¯s backline. Compared to that, the barrage of arrows Zu An faced earlier couldn¡¯t even be considered as a drizzle.

    Under the arrows, quite a number of the refugee zombies were immediately pinned down to the ground, unable to rise back up anymore.

    Zu An examined the arrows curiously. He had shed with quite a few zombies now, but despite his attempts, he hadn¡¯t been able to cut down a single one of them. Yet, these arrows were actually able to im their lives?

    Are their archers too strong, or is there some sort of special enchantment on these arrows?

    Soon, the zombies of both sides started shing with one another. The momentum of the knights¡¯ charge was simply too powerful. The refugee zombies, armed with shabby weapons, couldn¡¯t possibly hope to stop them. In the blink of an eye, the knights had already sliced a huge opening through their formation.

    The footsoldiers marched in right after and sliced down the refugee zombies with ease.

    ¡°It¡¯s a one-sided ughter!¡± Zu An was appalled. The refugee zombies that had cornered him earlier were actuallypletely helpless against the army!

    The refugee zombies were tenacious in their assaults, attempting to make use of their numerical advantage to swarm down the enemies standing in their path. Even when their bodies were sliced into halves, they continued to bite down on the soldiers, not giving up until their final breath. Unfortunately, their tenacity wasn¡¯t enough to bridge the huge gap in their strength and equipment.

    Soon, there was no longer any living soul amidst the refugee army¡ªoh, it should be standing corpses instead. Their bodies had been minced into pieces, scattered all over the battlefield.

    The captain of the knight squad scanned the battlefield before finallying to a halt under the tree Zu An was on.

    Zu An slowed his breathing so far that it almost came to a halt. He was afraid to make the slightest noise out of fear that the knight captain would notice him. He had nearly lost his life just dealing with those refugee zombies; against this organized army of zombies, he stood no chance at all.

    It was fortunate that the tree was pretty high up, and the knight captain hadn¡¯t raised its head to take a look.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    On top of that, the refugee zombies had chomped down on quite a few Goldenfur Monstrous Rats earlier, causing the stench of blood and flesh to overwhelm the area. Otherwise, his scent as a living person would have surely caught the attention of the zombies no matter how he tried to hide.

    The knight captain was scanning the battlefield for survivors, whom he stomped down without any mercy. After ensuring that there were no more survivors, the captain waved his hand, and the sharp nging sound of a gong echoed. The soldiers swiftly got back into formation before marching their way back to the depths of the mountain valley.

    ¡°Woah, they even have gongs to signal for retreat!¡± Zu An¡¯s eyes were nearly bulging out of his eyes. These zombies were far more professional than he had expected.

    After the soldiers were finally a far distance away, Zu An finally leaped down from the tree. Looking at the broken limbs filling the area, his cheeks began twitching uncontrobly. If Ji Xiaoxi was here, she would have probably vomited everything out by now.

    ¡°It sure was a wasted trip!¡± Zu An gritted his teeth in frustration.

    I nearly lost my life multiple times, but I didn¡¯t gain anything at all. Even in games, trash monsters like zombies would still drop some gold coins and weapons!

    Hm? Wait a moment. Even though there aren¡¯t any gold coins here, there are quite a few weapons here though.

    Zu An quickly scanned the battlefield. He automatically ignored those hoes, carrying poles, and those sort of unconventional weapons. To him, a weapon¡¯s valuey not in its prowess but its coolness. Only the suavest weapon could match his noble disposition.

    He recalled how a few of the zombies were wielding swords and sabers earlier, so he started scouring around. However, his efforts ended up disappointing him. He was actually unable to find a single proper weapon at all. The swords and sabers the refugee weapons had been wielding had broken from shing against the stronger weapons of the zombie army.

    If only I could find some weapons from the zombie army.

    Unfortunately, the zombie army had already taken the ¡®corpses¡¯ and weapons of theirrades while they were sweeping the battlefield earlier.

    Speaking of which, since those fellows are already dead, what would happen if they ¡®die¡¯ again?

    Zu An suddenly tripped over something, causing him to stagger forward. He quickly steadied his bnce before turning around to take a look¡ªit was a pitch ck arrow. It wasn¡¯t the arrows which the refugee zombies had shot at him earlier.

    ¡°It¡¯s from the zombie army!¡±

    Zu An thought about how the rain of arrows from the zombie army had decimated the refugee zombies, which he hadn¡¯t even been able to kill a single one of thus far. Clearly, these arrows weren¡¯t ordinary either.

    The zombie army had recollected most of their arrows while sweeping the battlefield, but they had simply shot too many of them earlier that it was inevitable that they would miss out some.

    Zu An quickly continued scavenging the battlefield, and he eventually found seven of them.

    Just by holding these arrows in his hand, he could feel an eerie, chilling sensation gripping his heart. There was definitely something extraordinary about them.

    ¡°I wonder how powerful these things are when used against humans.¡± Zu An picked up a quiver and tossed the arrows into it. He was unskilled in archery, but he didn¡¯t think that it was a huge problem. With his current strength, he could simply toss them like javelins.

    After confirming that there was nothing worthy of note, Zu An quickly headed back to where he hade from. He was worried about how Ji Xiaoxi was faring at the moment.

    He rushed back to the tree where the two of them had parted ways, but thetter was nowhere to be seen. rmed, he quickly searched the area. To his relief, he couldn¡¯t find any of her possessions in the area, which meant that she likely got out of the mountain valley safely.

    His first thought was to rush out of the mountain valley to find her, but thinking about how much time had passed since they parted ways, it didn''t seem likely for him to be able to catch up with her anymore. Besides, the dungeon was going to be opened only for ten days. He needed to find the Evanescent Lotus, so time was precious to him.

    It would be a huge waste of time for him to go about looking for Ji Xiaoxi right now. Most likely, she would return to the mountain valley to look for him.

    After a brief moment of hesitation, he decided to venture deeper into the mountain valley.

    He knew that there were great dangers lurking there, but based on the knowledge he had acquired from reading plenty of fantasy novels in his previous life, he knew that powerful guardians usually came hand-in-hand with great treasures. Given how powerful the zombie army was, could they be possibly protecting some sort of amazing artifact?

    For the sake of ¡®little Zu An¡¯, he was determined to brave through danger this once!

    So, he gritted his teeth and began flitting toward the depths of the mountain valley warily. He was prepared to summon Grandgale to flee if any danger came his way.

    To his surprise, perhaps it was due to the earlier rampage of the zombie army, the mountain valley was oddly peaceful. There were no ferocious beasts or zombies along the way.

    The zombie army was nowhere in sight, but Zu An wasn¡¯t worried about losing track of them. He could feel an eerily chilling sensation lingering in the air, the remnant of the zombie army¡¯s aura.

    As long as he traced this aura, he should be able to find their base without worrying about getting too close to them.

    He continued chasing for around an hour¡¯s time before suddenlying to a halt. He could hear heavy footsteps vaguely sounding just ahead of him. So, he slowed his footsteps and carefully proceeded forward. Soon, he caught sight of the zombie army.

    However, the current situation was a little baffling. The zombie soldiers were marching forward orderly, disappearing amidst a hill.

 Chapter 143: Chase

    <h4>Chapter 143: Chase</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An rubbed his eyes in confusion, wondering if he was seeing things. However, he soon figured that there was likely to be a cavern there that was just slightly out of his sight, thus creating the earlier illusion that they were disappearing into the hill.

    This hill was not too big, spanning just a hundred meters in height and several hundred meters in width. However, there was something unusual about it. Naturally formed hills tended to have ridges, making them look rugged, but this hill actually had a smooth surface. The trees growing on it looked oddly orderly too. It felt more like a carefully managed garden instead.

    Once the zombie army was gone, Zu An carefully made his way over to the foot of the hill to take a look, only to realize that he was mistaken. It was actually not a cavern but a pair of majestic stone doors. There were quite a few bizarrely-shaped stone creatures standing by the sides of the stone doors, which he was unable to recognize due to hiscking knowledge about the world.

    It looks like I need to find Shang Liuyu to hold some nighttime remedial lessons for me.

    He noticed that the stone doors were closed, so he tried to push it open. However, as soon as his palm came into contact with the doors, he immediately felt a chilling vibe racing through his arm, making him shudder.

    This ce is too sinister!

    He took a look around the area, and he soon had a rough understanding just what kind of ce he was at. The surroundings looked very reminiscent of a grave, and he was starting to think that the little hill before him wasn¡¯t actually a hill but a massive mound.

    During the Qin and Han Dynasties, they used to bury members of the royal family in mounds. It was only in the Tang Dynasty that they began building mausoleums. As for the other dynasties, due to theircking wealth, their graves weren¡¯t as impressive.

    Zu An examined the area carefully, but he was unable to find a way to open the doors. In the end, he was left with no choice but to give up.

    I doubt that a treasure like the Evanescent Lotus would appear in a ce as sinister as this, Zu An consoled himself

    He realized that the sun had already risen by now, so he felt that he ought to head back now to meet up with Ji Xiaoxi. I should ask her if she knows what kind of environment the Evanescent Lotus tends to thrive in.

    On the way back, Zu An couldn¡¯t help but wonder how the stone doors were meant to be opened. All of a sudden, he felt goosebumps rising all of his body as warning bells rang in his mind. He immediately executed Sunflower Phantasm to dodge to the side.

    A cold gleam of light shot out from behind a boulder right after and struck down on him.

    Thanks to his timely execution of Sunflower Phantasm in the nick of time, Zu An barely managed to escape with his life. Nevertheless, there was still a ring cut on his chest that was bleeding profusely. It was caused by the earlier strike from the enemy. Had it not been for him dodging in time, he would have been split into two.

    ¡°Hm?¡± The enemy was perplexed to see his sure-kill strike falling empty.

    On the other hand, Zu An assessed the enemy who nearly took his life just a moment ago. Instead of a zombie or a ferocious beast, he was actually a living human. The clothes he wore and the slightly familiar face he had was telling of his identity. ¡°You¡¯re from the academy!¡±

    ¡°Ah, so it¡¯s Teacher Zu! My apologies, I realized that there were many zombie carcasses along the way, so I¡¯ve been on the edge all this while. As soon as I noticed some movements, I thought that it might be a powerful zombie, so I made a move out of panic. I didn¡¯t expect that it would be you!¡± That student¡¯s voice was as sincere as it could be.

    Zu An sneered coldly in his heart. It was obvious that the earlier attack was nned out, so how could you have possibly not seen me? You must be taking me for a fool!

    However, he didn¡¯t allow his thoughts to show on his face. Instead, he put on a smile and asked, ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Shi Shangfei from the Earth ss,¡± replied the student.

    ¡°Shit Shangfei?¡± Zu An burst intoughter. He pped the student¡¯s shoulder andughed, ¡°You have an interesting name there!¡±

    That fellow¡¯s cultivation should be aroundte third rank based on his earlier attack.

    ¡°You¡¯re too kind.¡± Shi Shangfei¡¯s body tensed up as soon as Zu An began pping his shoulder, afraid that thetter would try to make a move on him. He was so nervous that he didn¡¯t even notice that Zu An was making fun of his name.

    ¡°Oh right, what are you doing alone here? Shouldn¡¯t you be traveling in a teacher¡¯s group?¡± asked Zu An.

    Shi Shangfei respectfully answered, ¡°Teacher Zu, my group encountered a pack of wolves along the way. We got separated while running away in a fluster.¡±

    ¡°This dungeon seems even more dangerous than I expected,¡± remarked Zu An.

    ¡°Indeed.¡± Shi Shangfei nodded in agreement. ¡°Speaking of which, how did these zombies in this mountain valley die?¡±

    Zu An thumped his chest and said, ¡°Needless to say, I valiantly slew them down with my sword!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Shi Shangfei.

    Would it kill you to stop bragging? If you really are that capable, I¡¯ll swallow my sword down right here right now! But again, if he wasn¡¯t shameless, he should have realized that someone of his caliber isn¡¯t worthy of Chu First Miss and backed down by now!

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Shangfei for +300 Rage!

    ¡°Teacher Zu, you came here with Ji Xiaoxi, right? Why don¡¯t I see her around?¡± Shi Shangfei had to tread carefully here. He was confident of dealing with Zu An alone, but he couldn¡¯t say the same if Ji Xiaoxi were to get involved too.

    ¡°She went off to gather some wild fruits. Ah, there she is!¡± Zu An gestured to the area behind Shi Shangfei with a slight jerk of his head.

    Shi Shangfei subconsciously turned his head around, only to realize that something was amiss right away. He immediately tried to retreat, but it was already toote. A sharp pain on his neck caused him to hurriedly wrap his hands around it, but even so, he was unable to stop his blood from flowing out.

    ¡°W-why?!¡±

    He couldn¡¯t believe that a teacher would actually kill a student so easily. He was confident in his acting skills earlier, and his exnation made sense too. Even if the other party harbored some doubts, he shouldn¡¯t have resorted to a killing move right away!

    Zu An sighed deeply. ¡°You must be dreaming if you think that you can y off as a goody two shoes after throwing me a tight p. You could have still held your own against me if you had chosen to fight me directly, but you simply had to unt your acting skills here. Don¡¯t you know that people used to call me Sanlitun¡¯s Liang Chaowei[1]?¡±

    While Shi Shangfei had no idea who Liang Chaowei, he could tell as much that he had been seen through right from the start. He was trying to make Zu An put his guard down, but in the end, he was the one who put his guard down instead. It made him feel enraged and remorseful.

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Shangfei for +723 Rage!

    ¡°You... Wipe that smug look off your face! I¡¯ve already told mypanions... You will die soon!¡± Shi Shangfei¡¯s face reddened as more blood flowed out of his neck.

    ¡°Oh? I should thank you on behalf of yourpanions then. That¡¯s such a relief. I had already put my guard down, and if not for your warning, I might have just fallen for their assassination! But now, they¡¯re going to be the ones to die.¡± Zu An chuckled mockingly.

    ¡°Y-you...¡± Shi Shangfei felt that he was going to pass out from anger. Is he not going to at least let me die in peace?!

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Shangfei for +856 Rage!

    ¡°Stop wasting time over there! Why aren¡¯t you dead yet? Have some self-awareness here as an insignificant cannon fodder character! People like you should die within a minute of screentime, or else you¡¯re going to slow the pace of the film! Besides, isn¡¯t it ufortable for you to wrap your hands around your neck like this? Come, let me help you.¡±

    Zu An stepped forward and pried Shi Shangfei¡¯s hands away from his neck, causing blood to spurt out of the deep cut in his neck right away. In just a few moments, Shi Shangfei had breathed hisst with his eyes widened in indignance.

    Damn it!

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Shangfei for +1024 Rage!

    Zu An proceeded to search his body, but he was only able to find some dry rations, silver pieces[2], and ki stones. The saber which Shi Shangfei wielded was only so-so in terms of quality, severelycking inparison to the weapon the Chu n had prepared for him.

    Eek, he¡¯s poorer than I thought.

    There was no way a millionaire like Zu An would be interested in such low-level loot.

    While feeling disappointed by thecklustre gains, he began reflecting on the earlier situation. This was not the first encounter he had with danger; his battles with Pei Mianman and Snow had nearly taken his life too. However, those two were fifth rank cultivators, so it was only normal for him to be threatened by their prowess.

    Shi Shangfei, on the other hand, was only a third rank cultivator, but he, too, nearly took his life away with that very first strike.

    This made Zu An realize that he was still being too careless at the moment. He would have to be far more attentive to his surroundings, or else he would make an easy target for others.

    Ah, Shi Shangfei mentioned earlier that he had already called hispanions over...

    A sharp piercing sound suddenly echoed above as a ck shadow swiftly whizzed toward Zu An.

    This time, Zu An was prepared. He took a step sideward, but he didn¡¯t just stop there. He quickly followed up with a roll to escape even further away.

    Right after hepleted that set of movements, the ground where he was standing, along with the ces where he could have evaded to, were pierced with three arrows each.

    Judging from the speed and strength of the arrows, the enemy was likely to be stronger than the zombies he had faced earlier, but that didn¡¯t mean that he would be harder to deal with. After all, he was facing a whole army of zombies earlier whereas there was only one archer right now!

    Asmon sense dictated, in order to defeat a long-range enemy, the first thing one had to do was to arrow the distance first.

    So, as soon as Zu An dodged those arrows, he immediately rushed in the direction where the enemy hade from. As long as he could close the distance, he was confident that he would be able to overpower his enemy with his ¡®Bixie Swordy¡¯.

    However, just as he was about to reach the archer, another three more people suddenly appeared by his side. One wielded a sword, one wielded a saber, and thest one wielded a spear. Their weapons were different from one another, but their attacks were incredibly coordinated. Each of them was able to urately aim at his vitals from different directions.

    So, Zu An did the wisest decision anyone could do in that situation¡ªrun.

    Based on the aura emanated by these people earlier, the weakest of them were at early fourth rank, and the spear user had already reachedte fourth rank. As powerful as his ¡®Bixie Swordy¡¯ was, his cultivation was simply too low at the moment. If it was one-to-one, he might still stand a decent chance, but that wasn¡¯t the case right now.

    If he pushed himself, he probably could kill one or two of them, but he would also end up sustaining grievous injuries, possibly getting killed even.

    Please, my life is worth much more than yours! How much of a waste would it be if I traded my life for mere small fry?

    The enemies also didn¡¯t expect Zu An to suddenly turn tail and flee either. There was a moment of awkward silence amongst them before they hurriedly chased him. The archer had also managed to recover by this point, and he swiftly nocked an arrow and aimed it at the fleeing Zu An.

    He released the arrow with utmost confidence that it would strike its target. Yet, it was as if Zu An had eyes behind his back. At the veryst moment, he twisted his body sideways and dodged it impably.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°???¡± Archer.

    Zu An patted his thumping heart in relief. He had been guarded against this archer from the very start, so as soon as he heard the arrow, he immediately began taking evasive measures. Of course, part of the credit went to the Sunflower Phantasm¡¯s elusive footwork, or else it would have surely taken far more effort.

    As for the other few fourth rank cultivators chasing him, they were rmed to find that Zu An was much faster than they had expected.

    At fourth rank, a cultivator¡¯s agility would be significantly boosted, allowing him to cover great distances with a single leap. Theoretically speaking, they should have been able to catch up with a mere third rank within moments. Yet, while they hadn¡¯t shaken off yet, they were unable to close the distance at all!

    Zu An was also feeling incredibly pressured too. He finally understood why martial artists could easily leap ahead of their opponents and intercept them in the movies. He was getting a firsthand experience of it at the very moment.

    Every single time the fourth rank cultivators behind him leaped, they would be able to close the distance significantly. If not for the fact that they needed tond on the ground and build up momentum for the next leap, they would have already caught up with him by now.

    Even though Sunflower Phantasm did increase his speed significantly, this movement skill was focused more on the element of ¡®phantasm¡¯ instead of ¡®fleeing¡¯. Due to that, he was unable to shake them off despite having run quite a while now.

    1. Liang Chaowei is a Hong Kong renowned actor.

    2. Silver taels actually have fairly high purchasing power in ancient China, such that even a meal at an average restaurant wouldn¡¯t even cost a silver tael. Silver pieces are a more irregr, smaller denomination of it, consisting of pieces of silver stones

 Chapter 144: Is He Going to End Me In a Single Strike?

    <h4>Chapter 144: Is He Going to End Me In a Single Strike?</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Tens of li away, a teacher and a group of students were gathered around a petite woman. Upon seeing her eyelids fluttering open, they began cheering in delight.

    ¡°Xiaoxi, you¡¯re finally awake!¡± Bai Susu patted his chest in relief, calming down his shocked heart.

    Ji Xiaoxi groggily opened her eyes as her memory slowly drifted back to her.

    She remembered how Zu An had helped her lure away the zombies. She had wanted to help him, but there was nothing she had learned that was useful against those zombies. So, she could only try her best to hold back her tears while watching Zu An left with the huge group of zombies before hurriedly rushing out of the mountain valley in seek of help.

    Unfortunately for her, it was already night time then, and there were many dangers lurking on the in. For some reason, the dragon feces she carried with her seemed to be not as effective as before. While most ferocious beasts still dared not approach her, they continued prowling in the vicinity. Upon realizing that she was only a young woman, they began trying to probe her, wanting to see how powerful she was.

    Later on, she even encountered a pack of wolves, who chased her all around the ce. Left in a desperate position, she hurriedly lit up the signaling stick Bai Susu had given to her previously.

    It was fortunate that Bai Susu and his group happened to be in the area, so they rushed over to save her. However, her umted exhaustion from having run around the ce finally took its toll on her, causing her to pass out. It was only now that she finally regained consciousness.

    ¡°Xiaoxi, how are you feeling?¡± Bai Susu heaved a sigh of relief inwardly. If anything were to happen to her, Principal Jiang would really go on a rampage.

    ¡°I... I¡¯m fine. Quick, you need to save big brother Ah Zu!¡± eximed Ji Xiaoxi.

    At this moment, she really hated herself for her weakness. How could she have fainted at this crucial moment?

    ¡°Zu An?¡± The crowd only remembered right now that she was supposed to be with Zu An. They were too focused on her earlier that they automatically neglected that pesky man.

    ¡°What happened to the two of you?¡± asked Bai Susu.

    ¡°We encountered a group of Goldenfur Monstrous Rats earlier in the day. In order to hide from them, we stumbled onto a mysterious mountain valley...¡± Ji Xiaoxi quickly recounted everything that had happened.

    ¡°What? The entire ce is filled with zombies?!¡± Bai Susu was rmed.

    Such a situation had never happened before. While the academy had warned the students gravely earlier, it was mainly to keep the students on their guard, an additional safety precaution. On the whole, the Ursae Dungeon is still rtively safe, and there were centuries of records to testify to it.

    There had never been a sighting of zombies in here before.

    However, Bai Susu didn¡¯t doubt Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s words. Putting aside the fact that she was known for her honest-to-fault nature, he had also started to realize that something was amiss in here while exploring the area. The number of ferocious beasts and the extent of their aggression were far greater than before.

    ¡°Hurry up and save him!¡± Ji Xiaoxi tugged Bai Susu¡¯s sleeves as she pleaded with the surrounding students.

    The students nced at one another hesitantly, and eventually, one of them stood forward and said, ¡°If there are really as many zombies as you mentioned, we¡¯d just be running to our deaths too.¡±

    ¡°Indeed. Besides, given how much time has passed, it¡¯s likely that he has already...¡±

    ...

    ¡°That¡¯s nonsense! Big brother Ah Zu is definitely fine!¡± Ji Xiaoxi had always been a kind-hearted but shy individual, so she had never gotten angry at anyone over the years. Yet, she actuallyshed out at someone here for Zu An.

    Bai Susu fell deep in thought. There was some sense in what the other students were saying too. It was not that they were afraid of death, but the chances were indeed likely that Zu An was already...

    On top of that, if they were to encounter the zombie swarm while trying to save Zu An, there was a high chance that they would meet with casualties. As the teacher-in-charge of this group, he had to prioritize the safety of his students.

    ¡°If you aren¡¯t going, I¡¯ll go by myself!¡± Ji Xiaoxi rose to her feet and tried to walk away, but she had sprained her leg while running away from the wolves earlier. The stabbing pain in his leg caused her to lose bnce and fall back down onto the ground.

    ¡°How are you going to save him in your current state!¡± eximed Bai Susu in frustration. ¡°Let¡¯s do this instead. The rest of you stay here; I¡¯ll go take a look by myself.¡±

    There was some risk leaving these students alone here since they consisted of the weaker students, but considering that they were in the outer perimeter and that there were quite a few people in his group, they should be able to fare fine even if ferocious beasts approached them.

    It was then that a lofty voice sounded.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go.¡±

    The crowd turned around, only to see a graceful woman dressed in a white robe standing by the side. Who else could it be other than Chu Chuyan?

    ¡°Young miss Chu, what are you doing here?¡±

    ¡°Young miss Chu, did you meet with some trouble?¡±

    ...

    The crowd was surprised by her presence. Quite a few men immediately stepped forward to talk to her.

    A pity for them, Chu Chuyan didn¡¯t even bother to shoot them a nce. She walked straight toward Ji Xiaoxi and said, ¡°Where¡¯s the mountain valley you split up with him at?¡±

    In truth, she had been feeling quite uneasy ever since entering the dungeon. Zu An¡¯s sudden appearance in the ns Tournament had foiled the ns of many powers, so it was very likely that someone would try to exact vengeance on him here.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    With worry guing her mind, she eventually decided to turn around to take a look. It happened so that she caught sight of Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s signaling stick, so she rushed over to take a look. She also happened to overhear her words too.

    Ji Xiaoxi was stunned by the beautiful woman before her for a moment, but she quickly snapped out of it. She swiftly drew out the rough location of the mountain valley on the ground for reference.

    Chu Chuyan turned to Bai Susu and said, ¡®Teacher Bai, you should take care of them. I should be fine alone.¡±

    Leaving those words behind, she swiftly flitted into the distance.

    Gazing upon her gradually vanishing silhouette, Ji Xiaoxi couldn¡¯t help but mumble under her breath, ¡°She¡¯s truly ravishing close-up...¡±

    Bai Susu heaved a sigh of relief too. It was good that Chu Chuyan arrived in time. She could alreadypete with the teachers of the academy in terms of cultivation, so there was no need to worry about her safety.

    ...

    Meanwhile, Zu An was still desperately trying to get away. Having watched plenty of military-rted movies in his previous life, he decisively chose to hide in one of the forests he passed by. Of course, it was not as if he really had real experience in jungle warfare at all, but the situation was desperate enough to warrant a try.

    The four cultivators chasing him were all at the fourth rank, so he didn¡¯t stand a chance at all in a direct encounter. He had to find an opportunity to split them up and strike them down one by one. There were plenty of covers and obstacles in the forest, making it harder for them toe to each other¡¯s aid.

    On the other hand, the four cultivators frowned upon seeing that Zu An had fled into the forest. That being said, there was no way they would give up just because of that, especially since they had the advantage in terms of absolute power. Thus, they charged into the forest without much hesitation too.

    Zu An leaped around the forest nimbly, making full use of his movement skill and the trees in the area. It was much harder for the four cultivators to follow him now, and for once, he was starting to widen the distance between him and his pursuers. If he continued running on, there was a good chance that he could shake them off.

    However, he knew that even if he managed to flee from them once, he might not necessarily be able to flee from them every single time.

    There seemed to be plenty of people after his life in this dungeon. If he wanted to survive to the end, he would have to start getting rid of some enemies.

    So, he searched for a tree with a lush crown and leaped into it, making use of the leaves to conceal his presence.

    A short momentter, the four cultivators arrived in the vicinity.

    ¡°What happened? Did we lose him?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t panic! He should be hiding in the vicinity!¡±

    ¡°Everyone, be careful. Make sure to check the branches above too. He could be hiding amidst the trees!¡±

    ...

    Zu An¡¯s heart immediately sank. These people were supposed to be students of the academy, but their actions spoke nothing of amateurs at all.

    Honestly, Jiang Luofu needs to pull up her stockings. How could she not know when there are so many spies in the academy! I really need to give her an earful when I return!

    The four of them searched the area for a while, but it was no easy feat to find an individual when there were so many usible hiding spots in the forest.

    ¡°This won¡¯t do. It¡¯s no different from searching for a needle in a haystack.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s split up. It¡¯ll be much more efficient.¡±

    ¡°Won¡¯t it be dangerous if we split up though? The young master said that his fighting prowess is greater than what it seems on the surface.¡±

    ¡°Tsk! No matter how strong he is, he¡¯s just a mere third rank cultivator. He can¡¯t possibly y us with a single sh of his sword, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right! We¡¯re not like that useless Yuan Wendong anyway. Why would that fool even bother talking to him at that crucial moment? He was asking to be crippled!¡±

    ¡°Alright then, let¡¯s split up and search the area. If you encounter him, there¡¯s no need to go all out. Just try to slow him as much as you can and wait for us to support you.¡±

    ...

    The four of them took a direction each, and they slowly scanned outward with wary looks on their faces. The one who was heading in Zu An¡¯s direction was the archer.

    This was good news, for he felt that the archer posed the greatest threat to him. Having to deal with the other three melee fighters was already tough enough, but having to keep a lookout for the ranged archer too was really pushing the limits of his focus.

    On top of that, the hardest part about running away earlier was that he had to dodge the arrowsing from the archer too, which significantly affected his speed. As a result, the four cultivators were able to slowly gain on him, leaving him with no choice but to head into this forest.

    If he could get rid of this archer, he would have more room to maneuver around, be it whether to engage the other three in a fight or flee.

    And this fellow was the one who said that I can¡¯t OHKO him earlier. Hah! Since he already raised the g, I¡¯m obliged to fulfill his prophecy!

    However, looking at the silhouettes of the other three in the distance, Zu An decided to give up on this tempting idea. Fourth rank cultivators were able to cover long distances pretty quickly, and there was no guarantee that he would be able to get the archer in a single shot. The archer was, after all, a fourth rank cultivator as well.

    If he screwed up here, he could very well get encircled andnd himself deeper in danger.

    The silhouettes of the four cultivators gradually disappeared amidst the forest, but Zu An still chose to hold his position. His decision proved to be right, for a few momentster, all four of them suddenly ran back in unison and scanned the surroundings, only to sigh in disappointment.

    ¡°Hmph, looks like that fellow really isn¡¯t here.¡±

    Zu An sneered coldly in his mind. I¡¯ve seen plenty of such trivial tricks on TV. If you think that you can fool me with that, you really ought to get your brain checked out.

    The spear user, seemingly the leader of the group, turned to the archer and instructed, ¡°Po Zhongyou, you¡¯ll camp here in case Zu An escaped our notice and returns back here.¡±

    Zu An was delighted to hear that. He was still feeling dismayed at having missed an opportunity to make a move, but who could have thought that they would deliver theirrade right into his hands.

    Though, I must really say that their group sure has queer names. There was that Shit Shangfei earlier, and now there¡¯s this Poo Zhongyou. What¡¯s with their obsession with scat?

    Po Zhongyouughed heartily in response. He raised his bow up high and dered, ¡°Very well! If he darese back here, I¡¯ll end his life with a single arrow!¡±

    The others nodded in response before swiftly into three directions to resume their search. Clearly, they were afraid that Zu An would get away.

    Po Zhongyou took a while to assess the area as he murmured to himself, ¡°I should find a vantage point to get a clearer view of the surroundings. Hmm, that tree looks not bad.¡±

    With a satisfied nod, he nimbly leaped onto one of the lower-lying branches of the tree and swiftly made his way up to the top. However, there was a surprise waiting for him there. He found himself weed with the sharp, cold glint of a sword.

    It was a fast, sharp, and urate sh. To make things worse, he was still in midair when the attack urred, making it impossible for him to maneuver around. He couldn¡¯t dodge even if he wanted to.

    This lightning-fast sword slit his throat, turned his shocked exmation into guttural groans.

    ¡°How about that? You said that I couldn¡¯t get you in a single sh, right? Looks like it¡¯s time for you to review your review.¡±

    The leaves parted, and Zu An¡¯s gleeful face emerged from within.

 Chapter 145: A Family Should Remain Together

    <h4>Chapter 145: A Family Should Remain Together</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Po Zhongyou grabbed the sword on his neck, hoping to push it away. However, it was futile. The damage was already done, and it had sapped him of whatever strength he had. His hands simply slumped feebly on the sword as he struggled to take in his final breath.

    His mind had devolved into chaos. Why is this fellow here? Has he been waiting here all this while to ambush me?

    He finally understood why the young master instructed them to show utmost caution lest they were done in by this fellow¡¯s slyness.

    But the young master didn¡¯t tell me that this fellow would be so despicable! Even when having sessfullynded a fatal blow, he still doesn¡¯t want to let me rest in peace!

    Looking at the look of ridicule on Zu An¡¯s face, Po Zhongyou felt heat rushing into his head. Blood also gushed up his throat and sttered everywhere.

    You have sessfully trolled Po Zhongyou for +1024 Rage!

    Po Zhongyou continued to re at Zu An with widened eyes, but his body had begun slumping forward. He was already dead.

    ¡°It¡¯s over already?¡±

    Zu An was disappointed. He was still hoping to obtain a bit more Rage points from the other party.

    He retracted his sword beforeying Po Zhongyou¡¯s corpse down on the branch. He started off by searching thetter¡¯s body, but there were only some dry rations and recovery medicine. The bow he wielded seemed to be quite decent, but it was a pity that Zu An didn¡¯t know archery.

    He took a look at the arrows Po Zhongyou had in his quiver, but they snapped fairly easily once he exerted some force on them. It was clear that the quality of those arrows was far beneath those he had obtained from the zombie army. He couldn¡¯t bother to keep inferior products with him, so he tossed it aside too.

    ¡°Damn it, it¡¯s yet another poor bloke!¡± Zu An cursed.

    Why are these cultivators so poor? At least Shit Shangfei had some silver pieces on him, but this Poo Zhongyou has nothing of value at all!

    He was just about to toss Po Zhongyou¡¯s body down when he suddenly changed his mind. Trash can have value as well if put to good use.

    So, he lifted Po Zhongyou¡¯s body and began flitting in the direction of where the saber user had headed off to earlier. The saber user was the weakest one of the other three, so he should be fairly easy to deal with.

    ...

    Meanwhile, at the northern area of the forest, Shi Zhenxiang was marching forward warily with a saber in hand, scanning the area thoroughly. However, he couldn¡¯t find any traces of Zu An at all.

    ¡°Lil¡¯ bro, I¡¯ll definitely exact vengeance for you!¡± he murmured through gritted teeth.

    He was none other than the elder brother of Shi Shangfei.

    The two of them were orphans, and they were each other¡¯s pir of support. They went through all sorts of grueling training in their earlier years, and they had aplished numerous difficult missions too. They were promised that if they could aplish this mission from young master Shi, they would be granted the freedom to go wherever they wanted to.

    Who could have thought that things would turn out like this?

    It was just yesterday that they were reminiscing on their childhood while sitting before the setting sun, dreaming about the fruitful life they would have ahead of them. His younger brother even said that it would best if the two of them could marry two sisters, so they would be able to remain close with one another.

    But all of it hade to naught!

    ¡°That bastard Zu An! I¡¯ll slice you into pieces!¡± Shi Zhenxiang swore.

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Zhenxiang for +876 Rage!

    All of a sudden, he heard footsteps sounding behind him. He immediately turned around to take a look, only to see Po Zhongyou waving to him. He heaved a sigh of relief and said, ¡°Didn¡¯t our leader ask you to camp there? Why did you suddenlye here?¡±

    Shi Zhenxiang couldn¡¯t help but notice that Po Zhongyou¡¯s eyes were ringly wide, and he wondered if thetter¡¯s eyes had gone bad from practicing his archery too much.

    ¡°I saw a silhouette running in this direction, so I came over to take a look.¡± Zu An stood behind Po Zhongyou, holding up thetter¡¯s body while speaking in a deeper, muffled voice. It wasn¡¯t exactly identical to Po Zhongyou¡¯s voice, but it was sufficient to dupe someone who wasn¡¯t paying close attention.

    ¡°What? Zu An is here?¡± Shi Zhenxiang gripped his saber tightly as he hurriedly scanned his surroundings. ¡°Great! I¡¯ll be able to exact vengeance for my little brother then!¡±

    Zu An had already known this saber user¡¯s name from the earlier influx of Rage point, so he was able to deduce right away that he was Shit Shangfei¡¯s older brother. I must say, what¡¯s wrong with their parent¡¯s heads? Why the hell did they give them such names? One is called Shi Shangfei (Flying Shit) and the other one is called Shi Zhenxiang (Shit Smells Nice)?

    ¡°Why are you heading toward my side? We should split up so as to widen our search radius!¡± Shi Zhenxiang noticed that Po Zhongyou was walking in his direction, so he immediately harrumphed in displeasure.

    Hm? Wait a moment, why is his walking posture so weird? Also, that voice earlier on...

    While Shi Zhenxiang was in the midst of making sense of those incongruencies, a ck silhouette suddenly charged in his direction. He instinctively pulled his saber upward and sliced the ck silhouette into two. It was only after the ck silhouette fell to the ground did he btedly realize that it was Po Zhongyou. His eyes immediately widened in disbelief, ¡°A-ah? Why would it be you...¡±

    What left him even more confused was that even though Po Zhongyou was slightly weaker in close-quarterbat as an archer, thetter wasn¡¯t so weak as to be killed by him in a single strike.

    It was at this moment of confusion that a cold glint shot straight for his neck.

    This time around, the one who was confused was Zu An instead. He was confident that his sword would be able to plunge into Shi Zhenxiang¡¯s neck, but to his astonishment, he found himself unable to push his sword in, as if there was invisible armor around thetter¡¯s neck.

    He suddenly remembered that third rank cultivators were capable of ki emanation. They could manifest their ki around their body to form an armor so as to guard against attacks. The higher one¡¯s cultivation rank was, the greater the defensive prowess and area of the ki armor.

    This was also one of the decisive advantages that higher-ranked cultivators had over lower-ranked cultivators. Sometimes, a lower-ranked cultivator might not even be able to pierce through the ki armor of a higher-rank cultivator in battle, making it hardly a fight at all.

    But of course, the manifestation of ki armor was extremely consuming on one¡¯s ki, so no one would keep it on at all times. This gave lower-ranked cultivators a chance to defeat higher-ranked cultivators.

    It was for the same reason that Zu An was able to defeat the fifth rank Yuan Wendong and kill the fourth rank Po Zhongyou. He had caught them off guard, such that they couldn¡¯t even activate their ki armor in time.

    After Shi Zhenxiang blocked off Zu An¡¯s assassination attempt, he immediatelyunched a counterattack by bringing his upraised saber downward.

    In face of the attack, Zu An quickly back his sword to fend against the saber, but the terrifying mighting from the saber knocked the sword out of his hands. He was forced to hurriedly retreat a few steps to recover his momentum.

    However, Shi Zhenxiang had no intention of letting Zu An catch a breather. He continued charging forward to pressure him. ¡°You son of a bitch, I nearly fell for your trap! Hah, you¡¯re a goner now!¡±

    They were around ten meters away, but Zu An felt as if the saber was right in front of him. He quickly rolled sideward to dodge the attack, making him look rather unkempt.

    It was the correct decision, for the tree that was just behind him earlier was split into two by Shi Zhenxiang¡¯s invisible saber ki.

    Zu An¡¯s heart jolted in fright. Third rank cultivators could only manifest ki around themselves for protection whereas fourth rank cultivators could exert their ki further outward tounch an attack. This meant that his enemy was, to some extent, capable of long-ranged attacks too, making him a far greater threat than he had initially expected.

    Shi Zhenxiang quickly followed up with a series of attacks, chasing Zu An around the ce as heughed heartily, ¡°You don¡¯t even have your weapon on your hand now; how do you expect topete with me? I¡¯ll tear your flesh out and exact vengeance for my little brother!¡±

    ¡°What are you talking so much nonsense for?¡± sneered Zu An.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    With a furious outburst of speed, he suddenly charged forward with astonishing speed, arriving right before Shi Zhenxiang in the blink of an eye.

    Zu An¡¯s sudden approach scared Shi Zhenxiang out of his wits. While he was slightly distracted earlier with his words, he had been continuously swinging his saber to pressure Zu An, and his eyes had never looked away from Zu An at any point. Yet, thetter actually managed to bypass his saber and arrive right in front of him without him knowing how!

    Just like that, the tables were turned. The two of them were so close that Shi Zhenxiang¡¯s saber was behind Zu An. At least for this very instant, his saber was renderedpletely useless.

    On the other hand, Zu An was holding onto a ck arrow, and he was in the midst of thrusting it toward Shi Zhenxiang¡¯s wrist.

    When Shi Zhenxiang finally caught a good glimpse at the weapon Zu An was holding, disdain surfaced in his eyes. Arrows had to be shot from a distance in order to gain momentum for a powerful strike. Using it as a dagger at close-range would only greatly discount its prowess.

    Not to mention, he also had his ki armor to protect him too. While he was caught off guard by Zu An¡¯s mysterious approach, the difference in their cultivation rank meant that there was no way Zu An could breach his defense.

    However, barely a moment after those thoughts surfaced in his mind, he felt an excruciating pain stabbing into his wrist. A wintry chill flowed in through his wrist and diffused throughout his entire body, making him shudder uncontrobly. He felt like his entire body had been encased in ice.

    Following that, he felt stabbing paining from his hands and legs, and before he knew it, he had already crashed down onto the ground, unable to get up anymore.

    ¡°You severed my tendons!¡± Shi Zhenxiang immediately realized what was going on, and he eximed in horror.

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Zhenxiang for +999 Rage!

    Zu An looked at him apologetically. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but you were simply too strong. For my own safety, I have to be more thorough.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Shi Zhenxiang.

    The hell! So the reason why you¡¯re callously crippling me is because I¡¯m too powerful?

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Zhenxiang for +666 Rage!

    However, Shi Zhenxiang soon came to terms with it. He had been raised as a death soldier whose only worthy in his ability to aplish dangerous missions, even at the expense of his life. He knew that he was already a goner at this point, but there was just onest question that continued to linger in his head.

    ¡°Where did that arrow in your hande from? Why is it able to breach my ki armor?¡±

    ¡°I picked it up on the floor,¡± replied Zu An with a smile.

    He had thought that these arrows harnessed extraordinary power from the very start. After all, these were the arrows that had killed the monstrously resilient zombies with ease. It was for that reason that he thought of using it to breach Shi Zhenxiang¡¯s ki armor, and to his relief, it worked out well.

    However, he noticed that the arrow in his hand had lost some of its magnificent lustre after being used. It looked like there was a usage limit to it.

    ¡°...¡± Shi Zhenxiang.

    Do you take me for a three-year-old child? A weapon that you picked up off the street was able to breach my ki armor?

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Zhenxiang for +250 Rage!

    ¡°Now, how should I deal with you?¡± Zu An squatted down and asked.

    ¡°Kill me if you want, but don¡¯t even dream about getting anything out of me!¡± Shi Zhenxiang harrumphed coldly. His only regret here was his failure to exact vengeance for his younger brother.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be merciful and give you a chance here. You can do whatever you want, but as long as you can survive a strike from my dagger, I¡¯ll let you off. How does that sound?¡± Zu An began whipping out Poisonous Prick as he spoke.

    ¡°Are you serious?¡± Shi Zhenxiang knew that there was definitely a loophole here, but his innate desire to live stillpelled him to take on Zu An¡¯s offer.

    ¡°Of course! I¡¯ve crippled your limbs earlier, but I didn¡¯t cripple your cultivation. You should still be able to use your ki armor, right?¡± said Zu An with a benevolent smile.

    He had intentionally spared Shi Zhenxiang earlier because he wanted to use thetter to try out the prowess of his tools.

    Shi Zhenxiang nced at the quiver Zu An was carrying as his face darkened. ¡°You¡¯re just toying with me here. That arrow you used earlier was able to prate through my ki armor easily. I don¡¯t stand a chance at all.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t be using those arrows,¡± said Zu An. ¡°You should have noticed how my arrow lost its lustre after being used. Each of them can only be used once before being rendered ineffective, and I only have that few of them left. Why would I waste them on you?¡±

    Shi Zhenxiang was stunned. Those words sounded credible to him. It was indeed not worthwhile to waste something as valuable as those arrows on a cripple like him. ¡°Very well, I¡¯ll agree to your challenge. I hope that you can hold the end of your promise.¡±

    He channeled his ki and formed a translucent armor around his body. Hmph, you were only to get the better of me because your arrow has the ability to pierce through my ki armor. Don¡¯t even think that you can do the same with that lousy dagger of yours!

    On the other hand, Zu An was in no rush to make his move. He began asking leisurely, ¡°Are you on good terms with your younger brother?¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡± replied Shi Zhenxiang.

    It looks like this fellow had uselesspassion in him. As long as I survive this ordeal, even if I can¡¯t recover from my injuries and exact vengeance personally, I¡¯ll use all of the wealth I¡¯ve amassed to hire an assassin to kill him!

    Zu An nodded in realization. He raised Poisonous Prick up high and plunged it downward. Before Shi Zhenxiang¡¯s incredulous gaze, the dagger pierced through his ki armor as if it was no more than a b of tofu before slightly piercing into his skin.

    Zu An was intending to see how effective Poisonous Prick was on a cultivator¡¯s ki armor, as well as the effectiveness of its sure-death effect on high-rank cultivators. It might have worked on his previous opponents, but there was no guarantee that it would continue working on stronger enemies too.

    Shi Zhenxiang was shocked when his ki armor was breached, but he saw that the dagger had barely scraped his skin, he heaved a sigh of relief. He was just about to say something when his body suddenly shuddered. Before he knew it, he was already plunged into endless darkness.

    Right before his death, thest words he heard were, ¡°Since the two of you are so close to one another, why don¡¯t you join him in hell then? A family should stay together through tough times, no?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Zhenxiang for +1024 Rage!

 Chapter 146: Unexpected Situation

    <h4>Chapter 146: Unexpected Situation</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    While Zu An had managed to deal with two enemies thus far, he dared not let his guard down at all.

    While he was shing blows with Shi Zhenxiang earlier, he realized that even though he had defeated a fifth rank cultivator and killed a fourth rank cultivator before, there was a lot of luck at y there. In a real fight, defeating a fourth rank cultivator was definitely no easy feat.

    It was fortunate that he had Poisonous Prick and the armor-piercing arrow he had picked up earlier, or else he couldn¡¯t even breach their ki armor. The remaining duo was of even higher cultivation rank, so defeating them would pose much more of an issue.

    It looks like I can¡¯t brute force my way through. I need to think up a strategy and make it work.

    Looking at Shi Zhenxiang¡¯s corpse, an idea floated into Zu An¡¯s mind.

    ...

    Meanwhile, after searching the forest in vain for quite some time, the remaining two killers realized that they might have run in the wrong direction. So, in ordance with their previous agreement, they headed back to where the bow user was supposed to be camping to meet up, only to bump into one another.

    The sword user asked, ¡°Brother Jia, did you find anything on your end?¡±

    ¡°I couldn¡¯t find anything. What about you, Brother Zhen?¡± asked the spear user.

    The sword user¡¯s name was Zhen Liumang whereas the spear user¡¯s name was Jia Zhengjing. They were both death soldiers groomed by the Shi n. It was in the recent two years that they were dispatched to the Brightmoon Academy, and they soon got on fairly good terms with one another.

    ¡°I couldn¡¯t find any trails on my side. Could he have headed northward, to where Shi Zhenxiang is?¡± asked Zhen Liumang. ¡°Should we head to the north area to take a look?¡±

    Jia Zhengjing shook his head. ¡°Let¡¯s meet up with Brother Po first. If Brother Shi hasn¡¯t returned yet, we¡¯ll head northward to take a look.¡±

    ¡°Alright then!¡±

    With someone to cover them, their movements were less careful this time around. They swiftly raced back to the area where they left Po Zhongyou.

    ¡°Say, if neither of us found any traces of Zu An at all, is it possible that he has turned around and headed back to where Brother Po is?¡± asked Jia Zhengjing.

    Zhen Liumang replied with augh, ¡°Brother Po would have long shot Zu An to death if he spotted him. Even we would have trouble dealing with his arrows if we can¡¯t get close to him.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Jia Zhengjing nodded. He suddenly noticed a silhouette in front and remarked, ¡°Ah, Brother Shi is... back...¡±

    His words carried a hint of doubt as he realized that Shi Zhenxiang was standing a little too high above ground. They quickly rushed over, only for their faces to pale in shock. They realized that Shi Zhenxiang was hanging off a tree with a noose around his neck.

    ¡°Brother Shi!¡± eximed Zhen Liumang in horror.

    They had been together with one another in Brightmoon Academy some several years now, resulting in them forging a bond of camaraderie. He was horrified to see the other party hanging off the tree. Without any hesitation, he rushed forward to sever the rope so as to put Shi Zhenxiang¡¯s body down.

    ¡°Be careful!¡± warned Jia Zhengjing.

    However, it was already toote. The moment the rope was severed, a ck shadow suddenly darted across the air.

    Stuck in midair, Zhen Liumang was unable to dodge the arrow at all. Fortunately, he wasn¡¯tpletely unguarded. He swiftly swung his sword to deflect the arrow, but before he could even heave a sigh of relief, something on Shi Zhenxiang¡¯s body suddenly exploded.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    With a scream of horror, he quickly tossed the body away. It was fortunate that he had activated his ki armor to protect himself earlier, so even though the explosion had dealt significant injuries to him, it wasn¡¯t fatal.

    The shockwave of the explosion pushed him toward the ground. He was just about to curse at the evil bastard whoy out this series of despicable traps when the ground beneath him suddenly caved in, and he fell into a pit.

    Ahhhh!

    A scream of horror sounded. There appeared to be some kind of mechanism inside the pit to deal with its unsuspecting victim.

    Everything happened in the blink of an eye, catching everyone off guard. Jia Zhengjing was horrified too, but he held back his urge to check on hisrade. Instead, he scanned his surroundings carefully.

    All of a sudden, a silhouette darted toward him from the side with a ck dagger in hand.

    ¡°Over there, huh!¡± Jia Zhengjing¡¯s spear rushed forth like a silver dragon rising from the sea. In terms of force and speed, his spear thrust was indubitably far stronger than the dagger brandished by the silhouette.

    However, he soon sensed that something was amiss and leaped backward. When he finally nced downward to take a look, he realized that his armor had been slit open, revealing his inner shirt.

    Had the enemy moved even a single inch closer, the dagger would have pierced through his skin and skewered his abdomen.

    ¡°Where did the dagger in his hande from?¡± Jia Zhengjing was shocked. He had been maintaining his ki armor all this while, so ordinary attacks shouldn¡¯t have possibly hurt him at all. Yet, that earlier strike actually managed to prate both his ki armor and the soft armor he had bought at a high price. This was inconceivable to him!

    On the other hand, Zu Anmented over his failure. The earlier strike was a good one, but the short strike range of Poisonous Prick and the sharp reflexes of his enemy worked against him. Otherwise, he could have bragged about having killed a pinnacle fourth rank cultivator in a single strike.

    Thinking about this, he suddenly found himself filled with awe for Dongfang Bubai. While he wasmenting about the shortness of his dagger, thetter was already dominating the world with just a couple of needles in hand.

    The battle didn¡¯t stop right after this sh. Jia Zhengjing was, after all, no ordinary student. He had been groomed as a death soldier from a young age, and he had learned many new things in Brightmoon Academy too. He swiftly recovered from his astonishment and charged forth with a furious roar, thrusting the spear in his hand toward Zu An.

    With the earlier precedence, his movement was more controlled and careful this time around, but its force was still not to be underestimated. The spear seemed almost to be ripping vacuums in the path of its movement.

    Zu An dodged sideward before attempting to make another frontal charge, but he suddenly felt a strong galeing from his side. He quickly retracted his dagger and pulled it to his side, blocking off the sudden spear sweep.

    Despite having sessfully blocked the attack, the sheer force from the spear sweep forced Zu An to use Sunflower Phantasm to retreat a few steps before he was able to neutralize the impact.

    On the other hand, a cold sneer formed on Jia Zhengjing¡¯s face. He had been learning spearmanship from a very young age, so how could he possibly allow anyone to get close to him so easily? In fact, the attack he had made earlier harnessed the full force he had as a pinnacle fourth rank cultivator, and it should have been more than enough to crush the enemy.

    However, the smile on his face soon froze. There wasn¡¯t as much feedback from the blow as he had expected, as if he had struck a bed of cotton.

    ¡°Your movement skill...¡± mumbled Jia Zhengjing. He could tell that the other party had used his bizarre movement skill to neutralize the force of his attack.

    He had also heard about how Zu An¡¯s bizarre movement skill had won the limelight at the ns Tournament, but the intelligence team had also figured out that while the movement skill looked impressive at first sight, it was riddled with openings.

    But that was clearly not the case, be it when the other party attacked him or evaded his attack.

    On the other hand, after neutralizing the sweep with some difficulty, Zu An charged toward the spear user once more. He heard a groaning from the trap, which meant that the sword user wasn¡¯t dead yet. He had to quickly eliminate the spear user so as to avoid it turning into a two-on-one situation.

    However, all of his offensive attempts were parried by the spear with loud ngs. This was the difference arising from their cultivation rank andbat experience. It wouldn¡¯t be easy for Zu An to catch the spear user off guard.

    Zu An¡¯s face turned grim. He dished out blows at an increasingly faster speed, and paired with Sunflower Phantasm, he really looked like a specter haunting the battlefield.

    Sweat began trickling down Jia Zhengjing¡¯s face. He finally understood how a fifth rank cultivator like Yuan Wendong ended up getting crippled by Zu An. The world mocked Yuan Wendong for foolishly underestimating his opponent, but that was only because they had yet to have a taste of his swordsmanship themselves.

    It was indeed the Thirteen Forms of Elementary Swordy from Brightmoon Academy, but it was somehow elevated to another level in Zu An¡¯s hands. His attacks looked straightforward, but when paired with the movement skill, they became nearly impossible to predict.

    Jia Zhengjing had managed to hold on thus far, but he definitely wasn¡¯t as rxed as he appeared to be. The cold sweat drenching his body was the best evidence of it.

    He was still attempting tounch attacks initially, but after trading several blows, he was forced to take on a defensive position. It was only at times after Zu An failed an assault that he was able to sneak in an attack, but then Zu An would swiftly retaliate with a counterattack, nearly doing him on several asions. In the end, he was forced to go into full defensive.

    He desperately swung his spear to form an impregnable defensive shell around him, reminiscent of a barrier.

    It was incredibly frustrating for him. He should have been at an advantageous position here, but he could only resort to holing himself up like a tortoise here.

    On the other hand, Zu An¡¯s hands were starting to feel numb from having shed with the spear user too many times. There were several asions where his dagger was nearly jolted flying when they crossed blows, but having learned a lesson from his previous encounter with Shi Zhenxiang, he made sure to hold it tighter than ever.

    After several blows, Zu An didn¡¯t dare to go too aggressive anymore. He chose to skirt around the spear user instead to wait for an opportunity to strike.

    He knew that the initiative was in his hand right now. The spear user was swinging his spear to create a defense shell around his body at the moment, but it was obvious that he couldn¡¯t keep this up for too long. He was depleting his ki at a terrifying rate, and it was only a matter of time before his reserve emptied out.

    The spear user would eventually have to thrust his spear outward tounch an attack, and that would create space for Zu An to enter and end the fight.

    A short moment passed, and Zu An noticed that the defense shell had gotten smaller from before. It would appear that the spear user had noticed this problem too and was attempting to conserve his energy. A smile crept on Zu An¡¯s lips. There was no way he would allow the spear user to catch a breather, so he headed inward once more to pressurize the other party.

    At this very moment, Jia Zhengjing was feeling so stifled that his lungs were going to blow up. He had never felt so aggrieved in a fight before. He obviously had the advantage in terms of speed and strength, but the sheer elusiveness of the other party¡¯s movement skill was more than enough to undo whatever advantage he had.

    He was still infuriated at the start, but soon, his heart turned cold upon realizing the terrible situation he was in. He would indubitably sumb to the other party at this rate and lose his life. He had to make a counterattack.

    But the problem was thatunching a counterattack would force him to expose his openings, and he might die even faster as a result of that. That pitch-ck dagger Zu An was holding in his hands gave him dangerous vibes. Every time it came close to him, goosebumps would rise on his body.

    However, a twist in the situation suddenly urred then.

    A silhouette leaped out from the pit and grabbed onto Zu An before shouting, ¡°Brother Jia, kill him!¡±

    It was Zhen Liumang! There was still an arrowhead stuck in his leg, and his body was filled with terrible wounds, but he was still alive!

    Zu An realized that he had gotten careless. He could still hear groans from the pit at the start, but as the voice grew deeper and quieter, he thought that the other party had sumbed to his injuries and died. Yet, who could have thought that he was simply biding his time for an opportunity to strike?

    This wily fox!

    Zu An tried to break free of Zhen Liumang¡¯s grip, but thetter was at mid fourth rank, an entire rank stronger than him. The sheer difference in their strength made it impossible for Zu An to break free.

    ¡°Die!¡± sneered Zhen Liumang.

    In his view, the greatest threat Zu An posed was just his movement skill. So, he began channeling his ki to enhance his strength, intending to crush Zu An¡¯s bones.

    He might have sustained great injuries here, but it would be all worth it if he could kill this fellow. The young master had dered that he would handsomely rewarded the person who managed to kill Zu An.

    However, Zhen Liumang¡¯s body suddenly froze up at this critical moment as he found his own strength seeping out of his body. Thest sight he saw before everything went dark was Zu An nicking his arm with his dagger, then a bunch of profound, ck runes began seeping in through his wounds.

    ¡°What dagger is that... How could it be this formidable...¡±

    With those parting words, Zhen Liumang¡¯s breathed hisst.

    Meanwhile, Zu An was feeling incredibly stressed out even though he had managed to kill one of his enemies. The problem right now was that the sword user¡¯s hands were still fixed to his body. He would need a moment¡¯s time to fully shake off the burden hanging on him, but it was clear that the spear user wouldn¡¯t give him the chance to do so.

    No matter how powerful Zu An¡¯s movement skill might be, its prowess was bound to be discounted with a burden hanging off him.

    Jia Zhengjing¡¯s spear shot toward him with the grim reaper¡¯s scythe. Now that Zu An had lost the advantage of his movement skill, he was no more than a moving target now.

 Chapter 147: Magical Flashlight

    <h4>Chapter 147: Magical shlight</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Faced with this undodgeable spear thrust, Zu An suddenly shouted out, ¡°Whatcha looking at!¡±

    At the same time, he tossed his dagger straight toward Jia Zhengjing.

    ¡°I¡¯m looking at you, shithead!¡±

    Jia Zhengjing was stunned. He finally understood why Yuan Wendong would actually respond to Zu An¡¯s remark at that critical moment during the ns Tournament. It turned out that Zu An¡¯s taunting ability had already risen to the level where it could be considered as a true weapon!

    But it was all toote. Watching as the dagger sink into his chest, Jia Zhengjing closed his eyes indignantly.

    Goddamnit, how did things turn out like this!

    You have sessfully trolled Jia Zhengjing for +1024 Rage!

    Meanwhile, Zu An wasn¡¯t faring much better himself either. While Jia Zhengjing¡¯s momentarypse in attention allowed Zu An to adjust himself to dodge the fatal blow, he was still left with a deep puncture in his chest.

    Withborious movements, he pried open Zhen Liumang¡¯s hands and shook off his body before staggering over to Jia Zhengjing¡¯s fallen corpse to retrieve Poisonous Prick. He made sure to confirm that the two of them were indeed dead before heaving a sigh of relief.

    It was not his first life-and-death battle, but this was the first time it had been so gruesome.

    Ah, just what sins have Imitted to suffer such a fate? How great it would have been if I was still in my air-conditioned room, enjoying a cool cup of c while ying my games? Why the hell did I have to transmigrate into this horrible world and fight desperately for my life?

    Zu Any on the ground, panting heavily. It took him a while before strength finally returned to his body. With a deep sigh, he began applying some recovery medicine on his wounds to stop the bleeding.

    It was fortunate that cultivators in this world had incredibly resilient bodies. Had it been in his previous life, that deep puncture in his chest would have probably taken his life even before he could be transported to the hospital.

    Zu An bandaged his wounds messily before beginning to sweep the battlefield. Just as he had expected, there weren¡¯t much money or any ki stones on the remaining two assassins too.

    It was also then it dawned on him that it was meaningless to death soldiers like them to build up wealth. They were forced to take on dangerous missions where they could very well lose their lives, so it was meaningless for them to umte material possessions. So, they opted to trade whatever they had to raise their fighting prowess instead. At the very least, that would increase their chances of survival.

    In the end, to Zu An¡¯s dismay, he only found some dry rations and recovery medicine. He had spent so much effort and resources on the traps he had constructed¡ªhe wasted his precious armor-piercing arrows and hidden weapons Ji Xiaoxi had given him¡ªbut he got hardly anything in return. Heck, he didn¡¯t even earn much Rage points either!

    Just thinking about it made Zu An greatly aggrieved. He ran over to Jia Zhengjing¡¯s side to strip off his soft armor. There were a cut and a hole in it, both caused by Zu An in the earlier battle, but the other parts were still working fine. It was still barely usable.

    Considering how a pinnacle fourth rank cultivator was using it as a defensive tool, it should be of fairly decent quality. Just to be safe, Zu An grabbed another sword and tried hacking at the soft armor, and to his relief, it couldn¡¯t pierce through it at all.

    His first thought was to wear the armor backward since the cut and puncture was only at the front of the armor. This way, he would get full protection for the front of his body.

    However, on second thought, he felt that if it ever came to a point where he would need this soft armor, it was highly likely that he would already be running away. In such a case, it would be more important for him to protect his back instead. So, he flipped the armor around and wore it the proper way.

    Following that, he leaped into the pit and recollected the armor-piercing arrows that hadn¡¯t lost their lustre yet. All in all, there were four of them which were still usable.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Other than that, he also noticed a miniature hand crossbow in the pit which appeared to belong to Zhen Liumang. It probably dropped from his arm while he was falling into the pit.

    Zu An attached the hand crossbow onto his wrist as his feelings of aggravation finally soothed a little. At least he managed to loot two usable pieces of equipment after that difficult fight, so it was not all that bad.

    After taking whatever he could, Zu An headed over to a quiet location to take a look at the Rage points he had amassed thus far. He was initially nning to save up his Rage points so that he could use them up all at once. Perhaps, he might just get something good that way. However, after the near-death experience he just had, he finally came to understand the danger he was in, and he dared not to remaincent anymore.

    Just like the death soldiers, he ought to convert all avable resources he had into tangible strength so as to increase his chances of walking out of this dungeon alive.

    To his astonishment, he actually managed to amass a hulking 75,873 Rage points!

    There was no ce to wash his hands and face right now, so he chose to rub on the bloodstains on his body instead, consoling himself that red is the color of auspiciousness.

    He began drawing the lottery. The light marker quickly shot across the keyboard before eventually stopping at the letter ¡®D¡¯.

    Ding!

    Congrattions, you have won a ¡®Magical shlight¡¯!

    Zu An¡¯s eyes slowly widened in disbelief. He never thought that he would actually manage to draw an artifact right away. Is Lady Luck finally shining on me now?

    He quickly took a look at the description of the item.

    Magical shlight: The greatest work of a bald scientist in another world.

    Artifact Effect: It¡¯s able to light up in the presence of light without requiring any energy sources at all. Of course, this also meant that this shlight would never light up in the absence of light. It¡¯s rumored that this shlight harnesses an incredible effect, but no one has been able to figure out its use for the past thousand years. Could you possibly be the exception? Uses: 3

    ¡°...¡± Zu An.

    His mind waspletely blown after reading the description. For a shlight to light up in the presence of light instead of the absence of it... What is bloody wrong with that scientist¡¯s mind?

    He was really wondering if that bald scientist was named Haw Kar-ying![1]

    And what shocked him more was that there was actually a use limit on this lousy piece of shit! Even if there was unlimited use for this, he wouldn¡¯t be able to find a ce to put it to use at all!

    What was even worse was that the description hinted at an incredible effect, but it refused to borate on what it was. What the hell? You might as well not say anything at all!

    Zu An tried thinking deeper into it, but he couldn¡¯t figure a use for this shlight at all. So, he decided to just continue on with the lottery.

    Perhaps it was because he used too much of his luck on drawing the first artifact, but the next 18 draws gave him a ¡®Thanks for ying¡¯!

    Zu An¡¯s eyelids twitched, wondering if he had used up his luck. When he finally pulled a ki Fruit on his neenth pull, he heaved a sigh of relief.

    All he got were ¡®Thanks for ying¡¯ and Ki Fruits afterward, to the point that he was getting numb. It was like an endless repetitive cycle.

    But all of a sudden, the light marker stopped on the letter ¡®Y¡¯. Zu An froze for a moment, wondering if he was seeing things. When was thest time I managed to draw two items simultaneously?

    He was too used to having horrible luck that this sudden outburst of fortune caught him off guard. He hurriedly checked on the details.

    Congrattions on drawing ¡®Befriend a Rich Man¡¯!

    Befriend a Rich Man: When you reach a certain level of wealth, appearance, age, personality, and all of those superficial traits will be rendered meaningless. Everyone will think of you as an amicable man overflowing with charisma.

    Artifact Effect: Every time you spend 100,000,000 coins, you¡¯ll be able to make a target view you as a friend. The effectsts for an hour.

    1. This is a character from ¡®From Beijing With Love¡¯, a 1994 Hong Kong spoof of James Bond. There was a scientist in the film (named Da Vinci but transliterated to Cantonese) who created a sr-powered shlight, which lights up in the presence of light.

 Chapter 148: Moonâ€™s Reflection

    <h4>Chapter 148: Moon¡¯s Reflection</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An suddenly thought of his previous life¡¯s Jack Ma, the creator of Alibaba, as well as Uncle Wang, who charismatically lectured the crowd that they ought to start with a small financial target, for say, a hundred million RMB.[1]

    Hmmm, I could do that too, right? If I go in public and start talking about how easy it is to get a pretty wife or something, I should be able to collect a massive outburst of Rage points.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Yeap, this idea is not bad. I ought to give it a try too.

    He examined the ¡®Befriend a Rich Man¡¯ skill and found that even though it had no usage limit, there was actually a huge restriction to it¡ªmoney.

    However, he noticed that the artifact effect was described rather ambiguously. The 100,000,000 coins seemed to be referring to copper coins, which meant that it was 100,000 silver taels each use. Hmm, that doesn¡¯t sound too much.

    Currently, he had 650,000 silver taels on him at the moment, and the Four Seas Casino still owed him another 500,000 silver taels. In total, he would be able to use the ability six times.

    Had anyone else known what he was thinking, they would have surely burst out cursing. 100,000 silver taels was definitely a huge sum. One must know that even wealthy merchant ns in this world would have difficulty forking out 100,000 silver taels at one go.

    Right now, Zu An was considering another problem, and that was the effect of the skill after spending the money. The details in the artifact effect werecking, only mentioning that he could turn a target into his friend for an hour. However, there were many different kinds of friends too, such as friends who had been through hardship and friends who scurried off in the face of trouble. He wasn¡¯t certain how effective the skill would be.

    For example, if I try this skill on Jiang Luofu, could the two of us be friends with a lot of benefits?

    Zu An was a little tempted, but he suddenly recalled the sealed state he was in and fell gloomy.

    My priority right now should be to find the Evanescent Lotus. Let me put all misceneous thoughts away for now.

    He continued to draw the lottery, but he didn¡¯t get anything else that was worthy of note. His final loot was 70 Ki Fruits. With that, he had used a total of 156 Ki Fruits on his fourth formation, which meant that he just needed 77 more to fill it up entirely.

    While it looked like the speed of his cultivation was incredibly slow at the moment, it was already much faster than the other cultivators in this world. Others had to spend at least decades of hard work in order to reach his current cultivation rank whereas it only took him a month or so.

    Besides, his cultivation would rise significantly every time he suffered a beating due to the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, which meant that it was only a matter of time before he caught up with the others.

    If others were to learn of his secret, they would surely go green with envy and chase him down for his cultivation secret.

    Zu An had noticed this too, but he viewed it as a path he had to tread down. After all, he was aiming to be the strongest man in the world!

    He had read far too many webnovels in his previous life, and his head had been poisoned by all sorts of overpowered protagonists. Hepared himself with those protagonists¡ªas if he was on the same level as them¡ªand he felt that his current aplishments were stillcking inparison.

    Well, a top-notch prodigy like me should aim for the stars, right?

    After some rest, Zu An felt that he was faring much better now, so he headed out of the forest to resume looking for Ji Xiaoxi. His mood was pretty good from having obtained two artifacts from the lottery.

    However, the moment he walked out of the forest, the smile on his face froze up. Goosebumps rose all over his body, and his heart began thumping out of nervousness.

    There was a woman dressed in a green dress before him. She had a graceful slender figure and an alluringly willowy waist. A slight breeze swept across thend, fluttering her skirt. Her face was hidden behind a veil, shrouding her in an air of mystery.

    Any other men would be delighted to stumble upon such a beautiful woman in the wilderness, but Zu An was in no mood to appreciate her beauty. He had a firsthand experience of the terrifying power harnessed within her slender profile.

    This woman was no other than Snow!

    Thetter had already noticed him too, and her lips curled up in glee. Found him!

    Zu An¡¯s eyes flickered around nervously for a moment before he finally managed to calm his nerves. Instead of turning tail and fleeing, he walked over with a smile and said, ¡°Oh? Miss Qiao, I never expected to meet you here.¡±

    Snow was surprised. Given the grudge between them, she thought that the two of them would break out into a fight right away upon meeting one another, but the other party was approaching her amicably instead.

    It took a moment before she realized that she was currently Qiao Xueying of Brightmoon Academy, not Snow. It was only natural that he didn¡¯t recognize her.

    Hmph! It must be because I¡¯m in the tenth ce in the Sweetheart Ranking that he¡¯s trying to chat me up! This fellow sure is... Despite being impotent, he¡¯s still so lecherous!

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for +233 Rage!

    Zu An¡¯s heart skipped a beat. Woah, she must really hate me a lot. She¡¯s raging at me when all I¡¯ve done here is to greet her?

    Watching as Zu An approached her like an ignorant fool, Qiao Xueying¡¯s lips curled up in ridicule. All of a sudden, she didn¡¯t want to kill him that quickly anymore. That fellow made me suffer so much thest time, making me... me... that! How can I vent my anger if I don¡¯t toy with him a bit?

    ¡°Miss Qiao, you seem to be in a really good mood. Is it because of me?¡± Zu An sighed deeply. ¡°I guess it can¡¯t be helped. With my dashing appearance, it¡¯s hard for any woman not to be in a good mood upon meeting me.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Qiao Xueying.

    Still as thick-skinned as ever, I see.

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for +131 Rage!

    However, she maintained the smile on her lips and said, ¡°Young master Zu, aren¡¯t you afraid that your wife will be displeased?¡±

    Hmph, I shall twirl you around my fingers like an utter fool. I¡¯ll first make you fall for me before exposing my true identity to you. Heh, let¡¯s see how you¡¯ll react to that!

    Zu An waved his hands and said, ¡°Miss Qiao, please do not worry. My wife has said that she doesn¡¯t mind me looking for another woman. If you don¡¯t believe me, you can feel free to ask her.¡±

    Qiao Xueying clicked her tongue in annoyance. How dare this fellow mess around with other women behind the young miss¡¯ back?

    However, barely as this thought surfaced in her mind, she realized that she was still addressing Chu Chuyan as young miss and feeling indignant on her behalf. It looked like the years she spent by Chu Chuyan¡¯s side had really left a deep impression on her.

    ¡°Miss Qiao, what are you doing alone? It¡¯s not safe for you to walk around alone. This dungeon seems to be far more dangerous than stated in the records,¡± said Zu An. ¡°However, now that you¡¯ve met me, there¡¯s no need to worry anymore. I¡¯ll protect you from now onward.¡±

    ¡°You?¡± Qiao Xueying couldn¡¯t help but sneer mockingly. However, she quickly changed her tone and replied, ¡°You have my deepest gratitude, young master Zu.¡±

    ¡°Wait a moment, what¡¯s with that ¡®you¡¯? Do you not believe me?¡± Zu An immediately got agitated. ¡°Have you heard of Yuan Wendong? He¡¯s a fifth rank cultivator¡ªa fifth rank cultivator, I joke you not¡ªand I defeated him! There¡¯s also...¡±

    Qiao Xueying couldn¡¯t be bothered to listen to his nonsense. She interrupted him and asked, ¡°Did you meet any other students along the way?¡±

    ¡°Students? I don¡¯t think so. You¡¯re the first one I encountered. Ah, it must be fate bringing us together!¡± Zu An chuckled.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t meet anyone?¡± Qiao Xueying eyed the wound on Zu An¡¯s chest. ¡°What¡¯s with that injury then?¡±

    ¡°Ah, I stumbled into a few zombie soldiers and fought against them. Ahhh, it was really a tough fight. There¡¯s really something weird about this dungeon! I didn¡¯t think that there would actually be zombies here... The academy should have told us something in advance!¡± Zu An spoke with a hint of fright in his voice. His acting was as genuine as one could imagine.

    Qiao Xueying pondered over Zu An¡¯s words. She recalled what she had seen in the mountain valley she passed by earlier, and a furrow formed on her forehead. Did Jia Zhengjing and the others encounter the zombies and get killed off by them?

    ¡°Hm? Honey, what are you doing here?¡± Zu An suddenly nced behind Qiao Xueying and eximed in delight.

    ¡°Young miss!¡± Qiao Xueying¡¯s body shuddered as she subconsciously turned around to take a look, only to see no one behind her.

    Zu An was waiting for this opportunity all this while. He intentionally dragged the conversation around the ce in order to make Qiao Xueying lower her guard so as to create this opportunity.

    Without any hesitation, he drove his dagger straight toward Qiao Xueying¡¯s heart. He didn¡¯t show any mercy this time around, resorting to Poisonous Prick for this attack. While it was a pity to let a beauty die just like this, he was well aware that she had entered the dungeon to take his life. With her fifth rank cultivation, anypassion he showed would likely spell in his death.

    ¡®Bixie Swordy¡¯ was fast enough as it was, and Zu An had taken her by surprise this time around. Even a cultivator of Qiao Xueying¡¯s level couldn¡¯t hope to dodge it.

    Psh!

    Blood sttered all over the ce.

    Zu An had managed to pierce his dagger into Qiao Xueying¡¯s body! However, he didn¡¯t look relieved at all. There was something weird about the feedbacking from the dagger.

    As he had expected, ripples suddenly appeared on the ¡®Qiao Xueying¡¯ which he had pierced, and she eventually morphed into a flower that dissipated into thin air. Meanwhile, the real Qiao Xueying was standing several meters away, ring at him chillingly.

    From the moment she turned around and saw no one at all, she knew that she had made a fatal mistake. Her initial thought was to use her ki armor to guard against his iing attack, but every cell in her body was tingling, warning her of a terrifying danger that was encroaching on her.

    She couldn¡¯t understand why Zu An could make her feel such a great threat, but she instinctively resorted to a talent that she could only use three times in her life, Moon¡¯s Reflection, and transferred the damage she suffered onto a flower.

    ¡°You actually made me waste a use of my Moon¡¯s Reflection!¡± bellowed Qiao Xueying.

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for +1024 Rage!

    One must know that every use of Moon¡¯s Reflection was equivalent to an additional life! She had been in danger many times since a young age, but she could never bring herself to use Moon¡¯s Reflection. She knew that this technique could save her three times from a powerful opponent whom she stood no chance before, which was why she treasured it greatly.

    Yet, she actually wasted it on a man whom she thought of nothing more than a mere ant!

    Despite her furious bellow, there was no one to answer her. Zu An had already turned around to flee back into the forest, and he was just a moment away from vanishing from Qiao Xueying¡¯s side.

    1. Wang Jianlin was an inte meme for a while for saying that ordinary people should start with a small financial goal of 100 million RMB first, which is equivalent to around 15 million USD.

 Chapter 149: Addicted to Labor

    <h4>Chapter 149: Addicted to Labor</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Qiao Xueying finally understood that Zu An had recognized her right from the start, and he was just putting on an act to make her lower her guard so as to kill her.

    She nned to make a fool out of Zu An, only to realize in the end that she was the fool all along. The explosion of embarrassment and fury in her head nearly drove her insane that very instant.

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for +1024 Rage!

    She immediately gave chase right away, determined to mince that darned bastard into pieces so as to vent her anger.

    Zu An ran off as fast as he could, but he realized that even while using Sunflower Phantasm, he was still unable to outrun Qiao Xueying. If not for theplicated terrain in the forest, he would have been caught by now.

    After running a while, Zu An made use of an opportunity where he was in her blind spot to climb up a tree and conceal his aura, hoping that she wouldn¡¯t find him.

    Qiao Xueying chased over, only to realize that Zu An¡¯s figure had vanished. Her footsteps gradually slowed to a leisurely stroll, and she remarked calmly, ¡°Zu An, I¡¯ll admit that your strength has caught me off guard. But if there¡¯s one thing you should have never done, it¡¯s to run into this forest.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. It was through exploiting the terrain of the forest that he managed to get rid of Jia Zhengjing and the others, which was why he instinctively tried to emte his previous sess.

    ¡°Have you forgotten my awakened element?¡±

    Qiao Xueying casually raised her hand, and the leaves on the ground suddenly began moving on their own ord. Their soft surface hardened into sharp knives, and they shot straight toward where Zu An was hiding.

    Zu An leaped down from the tree, knowing that the other party had already found him. He stared at her in astonishment as he asked, ¡°You¡¯re able to sense me?¡±

    Qiao Xueying was in no rush to make her move. ¡°Every tree and every grass in this forest are my eyes and ears. Where could you possibly hide?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face turned grim. If what she said was true, he had really cornered himself by choosing to escape into the forest. However, he still found it hard to believe that those who had awakened the wood element would actually be powerful to this extent. At the very least, he hadn¡¯t seen any fire element cultivators summoning magma from underground yet.

    ¡°What¡¯s with that sh earlier on? Why did it leave me with an overwhelming sense of dread, as if I was facing death itself?¡± asked Qiao Xueying.

    This was the question that had been guing her mind all this while. Given the disparity in their strength, there was no way Zu An¡¯s attack could have breached her defense.

    ¡°You want to know? Call me big brother Zu, and I¡¯ll tell you,¡± replied Zu An casually.

    In his head, however, his mind was whirring quickly to figure a way to escape from this situation.

    Qiao Xueying¡¯s face turned cold. ¡°It has been a while since west met, but you¡¯re still as hateful as ever.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for +400 Rage!

    Zu An sighed deeply. ¡°It has been a while since west met, but your mouth is still as foul as ever.¡±

    Qiao Xueying harrumphed coldly. She slowly flicked her finger upward, and the leaves in the area began dancing around her body. ¡°I¡¯ll break your arms and legs. Let¡¯s see if you can still talk tough afterward.¡±

    With a wave of her wrist, the leaves immediately whizzed toward Zu An¡¯s limbs, moving at a speed so fast that it seemed to reach him in the blink of an eye.

    Zu An¡¯s silhouette blurred as he dodged those leaves by a hair¡¯s breadth. Cold sweat began trickling down his back. If not for his Sunflower Phantasm, that earlier attack would have punctured him full of holes.

    Knowing that he would be a goner if he remained in a defensive position, he began charging toward Qiao Xueying tounch a new wave of offense, hoping to curb her attacks even by a little. At this point, he had already switched out to a regr sword. He was reserving Poisonous Prick for critical moments so as to avoid revealing its true nature. Otherwise, it would be much harder for him to defeat his opponents if others were guarded against it.

    ¡°Hm?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s movement skill was so bizarre that Qiao Xueying was unable to make sense of it. She chose to back away for the time being, but Zu An¡¯s sword continued to pursue her tightly, not letting her escape at all.

    With a cold harrumph, she waved her hand. The leaves in the area began fluttering around her like dancing butterflies, blocking off Zu An¡¯s attacks.

    Zu An tried to approach her from different angles, but he was unable to pierce through the barrier of green leaves.

    ¡°It¡¯s just the most ordinary Elementary Swordy from the academy, but you were able to bring out such prowess from it. I guess it was not entirely bad luck that Yuan Wendong lost to you,¡± said Qiao Xueying.

    If not for the huge gap in their cultivation ranks, she might not have been able to cope with him and his swordy in a direct encounter. But of course, there was no way she would say those words aloud lest this hateful man got too gleeful.

    ¡°However, it¡¯s all over now!¡±

    Zu An immediately realized that things were getting bad for him. He hurriedly backed away, but countless vines were slithering across the ground like an army of snakes, rushing in his direction.

    Zu An tried his best to dodge the vines with his movement skill.

    Is this the true prowess of a fifth rank cultivator? The power of elements is truly difficult for lower-ranked cultivators to cope with. Thinking back, it¡¯s truly a relief that I prepared an electroma to deal with Yuan Wendong¡¯s army of swords. Otherwise, no matter how formidable ¡®Bixie Swordy¡¯ is, I probably won¡¯t be able to defeat him.

    Zu An¡¯s movements grew faster and faster, but the vines in the area began weaving together to form a huge, slowly stifling his escape routes. Slowly but surely, he was getting cornered.

    Once, when he wasnding on the ground, a tree branch lying on the ground suddenly morphed into a rope, catching him off guard. He lost bnce for a moment before crashing into a tree. Countless vines immediately darted forth to bind him in ce.

    Zu An tried his best to struggle out of the vines, but he wasn¡¯t able to break free.

    Qiao Xueying slowly walked up to him with a triumphant smile hanging on her lips. ¡°Oh? Why aren¡¯t you running anymore?¡±

    ¡°You were desperately trying to get me to stay. How could I let you down?¡± replied Zu An.

    Qiao Xueying¡¯s face turned cold. She picked the sword he had dropped on the ground and said, ¡°Hmph, your tongue still remains sharp even when you¡¯re already at death¡¯s door. Let¡¯s see if you¡¯ll still continue running your mouth after I sever your tongue!¡±

    ¡°Sever whatever you want, but at least make sure it¡¯s a clean cut so that I can attach it back.¡± Zu An gulped.

    Qiao Xueying burst intoughter. Perhaps it was because victory was already in her grasp, she was actually humored by Zu An¡¯s words. ¡°You want me to cut your tongue cleanly? That isn¡¯t a problem at all. If you trust me, I can dice your body up clean enough so that you can reattach your body piece by piece afterward.¡±

    ¡°I trust you. There¡¯s no need for you to demonstrate it,¡± replied Zu An hurriedly.

    Qiao Xueying harrumphed. ¡°That won¡¯t do. You don¡¯t have a choice here.¡±

    Zu An sighed deeply before putting on a more severe tone, saying, ¡°Snow, have you forgotten how it felt to give birth thest time?¡±

    Just hearing the words ¡®give birth¡¯ was more than enough to make Snow stagger backward in horror. That excruciating pain that seemed to seep right into her bones had dealt to her asting trauma, such that she had many nightmares about it over thest few nights. ¡°W-what do you mean? Were you... Were you the one who did it to me back then?!¡±

    This was a question she had been wondering for quite some time now. She had visited many physicians to check on her condition back then, but all of them said that there was nothing wrong with her body at all. No one was able to figure out the cause of those abrupt spasms she suffered.

    Most of them told her that her symptoms were identical to thebor pain suffered during childbirth. As a maiden, she felt deeply offended and angered to hear those words.

    ¡°I told you that I would give you a taste of what pregnancy feels like, but you still continue to pursue me relentlessly. Are you getting addicted to childbirth now?¡±

    Zu An had already decided to use his ¡®Knock-You-Up Eyes¡¯. There were only two uses remaining, but considering the current circumstances, it didn¡¯t seem like he had any other choice now.

    I was too kind thest time around, and it cost me another use of this skill. I mustn¡¯t make the same mistake anymore.

    It was at this moment that Zu An suddenly widened his eyes. He stared at something right behind Qiao Xueying in disbelief for a moment before eximing in surprise, ¡°Honey, you¡¯re here?¡±

    This time around, Qiao Xueying didn¡¯t even bother to turn around. She sneered coldly, ¡°Did you think that I would fall for the same trick twice?¡±

    But the next moment, she suddenly found her body trembling uncontrobly. A thinyer of ice had formed on her body, freezing her in ce.

    Chu Chuyan slowly walked over as she said, ¡°So you were Snow. I should have guessed.¡±

    ¡°Y-young miss...¡± Qiao Xueying¡¯s heart shuddered.

    It really is her! Damn it, it¡¯s all Zu An¡¯s fault! If not for him distracting me, I wouldn¡¯t have been done in so easily!

    So, she shot Zu An a re.

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for +530 Rage!

    Zu An was rendered speechless. What is wrong with this woman? The one curbing you here is Chu Chuyan! What does this have to do with me?

    ¡°Young miss? I don¡¯t think I¡¯m worthy of being addressed that way by you,¡± said Chu Chuyan.

    As she spoke, she walked over to Zu An¡¯s side. With a swipe of her hand, frost immediately cloaked the vines and weakened their structure, allowing her to break them with just a tpa of her finger.

    Excited, Zu An rushed forward to give her a big hug. ¡°How wonderful, honey! I never thought that I would meet you here. Come, give me a hug of love!¡±

    Chu Chuyan dodged his hug with a sidestep, ignoring him altogether. She turned her eyes back onto Qiao Xueying.

    Many emotions flickered across Qiao Xueying¡¯s face, and in the end, she sighed deeply and said, ¡°I¡¯m deeply grateful for young miss¡¯ care and concern over the years. It¡¯s just that I already have a master, so I ask for your forgiveness.¡±

    ¡°Who¡¯s the master you speak of? Shi Kun?¡± asked Chu Chuyan.

    Qiao Xueying shook her head and said, ¡°I apologize, but I cannot reveal that to you.¡±

    Chu Chuyan frowned. She wasn¡¯t sure about how she should deal with the current situation either. In the midst of this silence, Zu An stepped forward and offered a solution, ¡°Isn¡¯t this easy to deal with? Ask her any question you want to, and if she refuses to answer or lies, I¡¯ll strip off a piece of her clothing. If she refuses to speak till the end, I¡¯ll take off all of her clothes and tie her to a tree at the entrance of the forest so that everyone can admire her body.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Chu Chuyan.

    Qiao Xueying¡¯s body trembled in fury. ¡°You bastard!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for +1024 Rage!

    Zu An sighed softly and said, ¡°You also know that you serve a different master, so you should have known what your plight would be if you got caught. If you¡¯re going to continue insisting on your silence, I¡¯m going to start.¡±

    He picked his sword back up and pointed it toward her robe.

    Chu Chuyan stepped forward and stopped him. ¡°Enough. It won¡¯t do to humiliate a woman like this.¡±

    Zu An shrugged. ¡°We¡¯re the only ones here. You¡¯re a woman, and I¡¯ve already seen everything her body has to offer. How can this be considered a humiliation?¡±

    Chu Chuyan found herself at a loss for words. For some reason, Zu An¡¯s words always had their own twisted logic that made it hard to argue against him.

    Qiao Xueying red at Zu An so sharply that it felt like daggers were going to fly right out of her eyes. That matter was her greatest shame, but this man actually spoke of it as if it was nothing at all.

    You have trolled Qiao Xueying for +512 Rage!

    Chu Chuyan waved her hand and dispelled the frost shrouding Qiao Xueying¡¯s body. ¡°Leave.¡±

    Qiao Xueying was stunned. ¡°You¡¯re letting me off?¡±

    ¡°Your motives for approaching me were impure, but it doesn¡¯t change the fact that we had been sisters for many years. I can¡¯t bring myself to take your life. I wish you all the best from now onward,¡± said Chu Chuyan.

 Chapter 150: Itâ€™s Precisely Because of You that Iâ€™m No Match for Them

    <h4>Chapter 150: It¡¯s Precisely Because of You that I¡¯m No Match for Them</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An felt that his wife was being needlessly kind to her enemies, and he had a strong feeling that it would backfire on her in the future. Nevertheless, the words that poured out of his mouth ended up beingpliments, ¡°Honey, your heart is truly made out of gold. It¡¯s no wonder why others call you a fairy!¡±

    Qiao Xueying shot a re at Zu An hatefully, ¡°Our young miss is a fairy, but it¡¯s a pity that she married a fellow like you. It¡¯s almost like a flower had been stuck on top of cow dung!¡±

    Zu An shrugged off those remarks and said, ¡°It¡¯s no wonder why people say that you¡¯re a long-haired, willow-waisted boor. Don¡¯t you know that cow dung can provide a flower with a lot of nutrients, allowing it to blossom more ravishingly than the others? In my view, it¡¯s a flower¡¯s greatest blessing to be stuck on top of cow dung.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Qiao Xueying.

    ¡°...¡± Chu Chuyan.

    ¡°What fate it is to actually bump into young miss Chu here!¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Refreshingughter suddenly sounded in the distance. The three of them quickly turned their heads over, only to see Shi Kun walking over with his entourage.

    Admittedly, Shi Kun did look dashing amidst the bunch of crooked faces around him, but the more good-looking he appeared, the more Zu An wanted to sink a punch into his face. It was enough for this world to have a hottie like him; there was no need for another inferior recement!

    Qiao Xueying¡¯s eyes widened in astonishment upon seeing Shi Kun. She knew that her failure must have disappointed the young master, but what she was more worried about right now was a conflict breaking out between the young master and the young miss. What was she to do if that were to happen?

    Chu Chuyan shot a nce at Shi Kun and said, ¡°Young master Shi, what brings you here?¡±

    ¡°I was just taking a look around the dungeon and happened to pass by here. It sure was a stroke of luck for me to stumble upon young miss Chu here,¡± replied Shi Kun with a smile.

    His eyes had been intently fixed on Chu Chuyan all this while, treating Zu An as nothing more than thin air.

    ¡°A stroke of luck? That¡¯s hard to say.¡±

    Chu Chuyan nced at Shi Kun and theckeys around him. There were two fourth rank and five third rank cultivators, but it was worth noticing that she had never seen them in the academy before. It was a wonder how the Shi n managed to slip them into the dungeon.

    ¡°Young miss Chu, you¡¯re making fun of me.¡± Shi Kun was still maintaining a smile on his lips, but his heart had already turned cold. Snow is indeed useless. Again and again, she keeps failing me. Now that Zu An has met up with Chu Chuyan, it won¡¯t be easy to take his life anymore.

    ¡°I¡¯ll have a chat with you when we¡¯re out of the dungeon. For now, we need to continue exploring the area.¡± Chu Chuyan turned around and left the area.

    Under normal circumstances, she wouldn¡¯t fear Shi Kun and hisckeys, but for some reason, the injuries she sustained from fighting the sixth rank Wu Di on the dueling ring the other day wasn¡¯t healing well.

    Shi Kun¡¯s cultivation was unlikely to be beneath hers, and he had Snow on his side too. Considering all of theirckeys as well, she was definitely at a disadvantage here.

    ¡°Young miss Chu, please wait for a moment,¡± Shi Kun called out. ¡°There are all sorts of bizarre phenomena urring in the dungeon, making it more dangerous than before. Why don¡¯t we group up so that we can look after one another?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that,¡± replied Chu Chuyan. She didn¡¯t even bother to turn around to answer.

    ¡°You still don¡¯t get it? She¡¯s telling you not to be amppost! Get lost, don¡¯t interrupt our lovey-dovey time.¡± Zu An waved Shi Kun away in disdain before hurriedly chasing after Chu Chuyan.

    Watching their departing silhouettes, Shi Kun clenched his fists furiously, cracking his joints.

    Damn you, Zu An! You won¡¯t remain smug for long!

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Kun for +512 Rage!

    Meanwhile, after chasing up to Chu Chuyan, Zu An asked curiously, ¡°Honey, it was queer how you coincidentally appeared when I was in a critical situation. Have you been secretly following me out of worry?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not that free,¡± replied Chu Chuyan. ¡°I met Ji Xiaoxi earlier, and she informed me that you were in danger. So, I came over to take a look.¡±

    ¡°Is Xiaoxi fine?¡± asked Zu An anxiously. He had been worrying about Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s plight all this while. He had indeed lured the zombies away, but there were all sorts of other dangers lurking in the dungeon too. It didn¡¯t seem safe for her to be traveling all alone.

    ¡°Other than the sprain on her leg, she¡¯s fine,¡± replied Chu Chuyan. She paused for a brief moment before asking once more, ¡°She seems to be very anxious about you. The two of you don¡¯t seem to be normal friends.¡±

    ¡°Ah, I didn¡¯t think that you would figure it out so quickly.¡± Zu Anughed heartily. ¡°It¡¯s not that I want to brag about my charisma, but people used to call me ¡®Kidnapper of Ladies¡¯ Hearts¡¯, ¡®Widow¡¯s Bane¡¯, ¡®Auntie Bewitcher¡¯... Any women who have gotten to know me will find themselves falling deeply in love with me... Ahhhh, don¡¯t go!¡±

    Chu Chuyan harrumphed coldly. ¡°Why didn¡¯t Snow fall for you then?¡±

    ¡°She might look desperate to kill me on the surface, but this is what you call ¡®a loving, quarreling couple¡¯[1]. Love and hate are two sides of a coin. Who knows? Her feelings for me might just flip over in the next moment!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Chu Chuyan.

    ¡°But honey, you don¡¯t need to get jealous! No matter how many womene to love me in the future, none of them can possibly shake the position you have in my heart!¡± Zu An patted his chest confidently.

    ¡°You sure are confident in yourself,¡± remarked Chu Chuyan.

    ¡°Of course! The key to a man¡¯s charm is his confidence!¡± answered Zu An.

    Chu Chuyan couldn¡¯t be bothered to argue with him on this. Her eyes fell upon his chest, and she eximed in astonishment, ¡°What¡¯s with this wound? Did Snow cause it?¡±

    ¡°How could she have the ability to do so? It¡¯s caused by Shi Kun¡¯s otherckeys.¡±

    Zu An quickly filled her in on the fight he had previously in the forest.

    Even someone as calm as Chu Chuyan was shocked by the news. ¡°Ate fourth rank, two mid fourth rank, and an early fourth rank cultivator were chasing you, but you still managed to turn the tables on them?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m incredible, aren¡¯t I?¡± replied Zu An gleefully.

    ¡°But how could that be possible?¡± Chu Chuyan couldn¡¯te to terms with it.

    Zu An was only a third rank cultivator at the moment. While he did manage to defeat Yuan Wendong on the dueling ring back then, everyone could tell that his victory was, to a huge degree, luck. There was no doubt that he was indeed stronger than most third rank cultivators, but his strength wasn¡¯t so great as to be able to defeat four fourth rank assassins!

    ¡°There¡¯s still a lot to me which you don¡¯t know of, but it¡¯s fine. Time will eventually show you,¡± said Zu An with a mysterious smile.

    ¡°Then how did you get caught by Snow earlier?¡± asked Chu Chuyan.

    Zu An scratched his head sheepishly as he replied, ¡°Well, we just happened to be in the forest. Her elemental ability is wood, and I happened to get careless.¡±

    Chu Chuyan nodded in realization before falling silent.

    ¡°Ah right, why did you leave earlier? Those are the assassins that Shi Kun has brought into the dungeon toe after my life. As my wife, shouldn¡¯t you stand up for me?¡± asked Zu An. There was a hint of dissatisfaction in his tone.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s face reddened. It took her a long while before she finally answered, ¡°I can¡¯t defeat them.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t defeat them?¡± Zu An was taken aback by the unexpected answer. ¡°But you¡¯re the number one prodigy of Brightmoon City! Your words just shattered the majestic impression I have of you in my heart.¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± snapped Chu Chuyan. Then, she exhaled deeply and exined, ¡°Shi Kun¡¯s cultivation is not beneath mine, and he has Snow and a huge group of assistants by his side. How are we supposed to stand up to them in the earlier situation?¡±

    ¡°But you have me on your side too!¡± grumbled Zu An in discontentment.

    Honestly, he would love more than anything to get rid of Shi Kun. Thetter had made many attempts to take his life in the past, and there was little doubt that he would continue to do so in the future too.

    To snip off the root of the problem, Zu An would have to eventually deal with Shi Kun, and this dungeon was the greatest opportunity he had. Otherwise, once they were out of here, it would be hard to touch Shi Kun, especially since he had powerful experts constantly guarding him.

    ¡°It¡¯s precisely because of you that I¡¯m unable to defeat them!¡± Chu Chuyan rebutted coldly.

    Zu An was rendered speechless for a long while. He had never known this cold wife he had was actually so good at arguing.

    ¡°Hahaha, I heard from Elder Shi that young miss Chu has suffered significant injuries on the dueling ring, but it looks like your injuries are more severe than I thought.¡±

    A peal ofughter sounded from the distance as Shi Kun walked out with a paper fan in his hand. He was apanied with his group ofckeys, and Qiao Xueying was standing amidst them with aplicated look on her face.

    Chu Chuyan immediately turned around with a deep frown. ¡°You were eavesdropping on us?¡±

    Shi Kun snapped his paper fan shut before continuing on with a smile, ¡°Young miss Chu, are you unaware that I practice a wind element cultivation technique? There¡¯s a skill amongst wind cultivators known as ¡®Whisking Wind¡¯ that allows one to amplify any sounds in the area, and we just happen to be standing in the direction of the windflow.¡±

    Chu Chuyan nced at theckeys, who had dispersed around the area, and asked, ¡°What do you intend to do? Are you trying to pick a fight with me?¡±

    Shi Kun shook his head. ¡°Young miss Chu, you¡¯re misunderstanding. I¡¯ve admired you for a very long time, so you need not fear that I¡¯ll make things hard for you. The only one I wish to deal with here is Zu An.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s heart sank. So Chu Chuyan is still injured. It¡¯s no wonder why her face continued to remain pale over thest few days.

    ¡°Zu An is my husband. Your action is no different from provoking me,¡± replied Chu Chuyan.

    Zu An was stunned. He hadn¡¯t expected Chu Chuyan to say such words. Her usual cold attitude made him doubt if they were really a family, but during such a critical moment, she actually openly acknowledged him to be her husband.

    What¡¯s going on? Why do I feel so touched?

    Shi Kun¡¯s suave face distorted upon hearing those words. He began pacing around in irritation before snapping furiously, ¡°Just how in the world is this scoundrel qualified to be your husband? Young miss Chu, you¡¯re a woman bestowed with utmost beauty and top-notch cultivation talent by heaven. Only the most outstanding man in the world is qualified to stand by your side! That man over there is nothing but trash...¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Kun for +256 +256 +256...

    Zu An interjected in before Shi Kun could even finish his words, ¡°Hold it there for a moment, Brother Shit Kun, could the ¡®most outstanding man in the world¡¯ you speak of be referring to you?¡±

    ¡°So what if it is?¡± replied Shi Kun arrogantly.

    ¡°Oh? If I¡¯m not mistaken, the most outstanding man in the world should be His Majesty. If you really mean what you say, could that mean that you think that even His Majesty isn¡¯t as powerful and outstanding as you are?¡± Zu An chuckled softly.

    ¡°I...¡± Shi Kun nearly choked right there. He never thought that Zu An would pick such a fault from his words. ¡°That¡¯s naturally not what I mean. You should stop trying to twist my words to nder me!¡±

    No matter how arrogant Shi Kun was, there was no way he would dare to disrespect the emperor. If the emperor were to hear of this matter, it would bring down not just him but his entire n too. As a prominent n in the capital, he grew up listening to stories about the emperor, so he naturally knew how terrifying the emperor was.

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Kun for +444 Rage!

    ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, wouldn¡¯t it mean that you were just boasting about your own capabilities?¡± scoffed Zu An. He looked at Shi Kun with eyes dripping with disdain.

    ¡°...¡± Shi Kun.

    He felt that the refined and gentlemanly image he had painstakingly built up over the years was going to be ruined in the hands of this scoundrel! Why is this bloody rascal so hateful?!

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Kun for +512 Rage!

    Chu Chuyan also added in at this moment, ¡°I¡¯m choosing a husband here, not a schr or a general. It just happens that Zu An fits my criteria, so I¡¯m afraid that I¡¯ll have to turn down your feelings for me.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes lit up. He reached out to grab Chu Chuyan¡¯s cool yet tender hands and said, ¡°Honey, I knew that you are fond of me!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Chu Chuyan.

    Her instinctive reaction was to shake off his hand, but considering the context, it didn¡¯t seem right for her to do so.

    This fellow sure knows how to take advantage of me!

    Looking at the tightly linked hands between the two of them, Shi Kun¡¯s face turnedpletely livid. ¡°Chu Chuyan, I¡¯ve always thought of you as a pure maiden, but how dare you hold the hand of another man? Are you such a loose woman?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Kun for +999 Rage!

    1. It¡¯s used to describe a couple, often married, who keeps arguing with one another, but despite the apparent disharmony, they are actually in love with one another and cares for each other, just that they express their feelings in a different way.

 Chapter 151: Befriend a Rich Man

    <h4>Chapter 151: Befriend a Rich Man</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An nearly burst outughing upon hearing those words.

    Please, she¡¯s my wife. I¡¯ll hold her hands whenever I want to. What business of it is yours? Aren¡¯t you too narcissistic? You actually want my wife to remain maidenly for your sake?

    That obsession of yours is a mental disorder! Go and get yourself locked up in the asylum or something!

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s face turned cold. ¡°It¡¯s out of your ce to interfere in the affairs of me and my husband.¡±

    Even someone who was as nonchnt as her was getting angry at this situation too. What¡¯s wrong with him? Even Zu An looks far more normalpared to him!

    Shi Kun took a deep breath to calm himself before saying, ¡°I thought of you as a fairy descending from heaven, and I was intending to pursue you slowly. However, it looks like my n isn¡¯t going to work out. If I continue taking my time, another man would only get to you before me.¡±

    By the side, Qiao Xueying felt a little hesitant to speak up. Young master, there¡¯s actually no need for you to worry. Zu An is... But she found herself unable to speak up as she wouldn¡¯t be able to justify why she hid this matter from him in the first ce.

    Zu An and Chu Chuyan also shot looks of astonishment toward Qiao Xueying too, clearly bearing the same thoughts in mind. They also didn¡¯t expect thetter to hide the fact that Zu An was impotent from Shi Kun.

    Zu An nudged his wife and whispered softly, ¡°See? Even though Snow keeps taunting me about that, she still cares a lot for my reputation.¡±

    Chu Chuyan was also perplexed about the situation too. Could these two really be the what ¡®loving, quarreling couple¡¯ that Zu An spoke about earlier?

    Their intimate interaction further fanned the inferno burning in Shi Kun¡¯s heart. ¡°I shall just skip the hassle and get straight to the act. Right here right now, I shall kill Zu An and seal the deal with you!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Kun for +678 Rage!

    ¡°You were indeed the culprit all along! The reason why you slotted Snow into the Chu n and slipped so many of yourckeys into the academy was all to make me yours?¡±

    ¡°Indeed! I was mesmerized by you at first sight, so I made many arrangements for it over the years. Many women have offered themselves to me, but I didn¡¯t even spare a nce at them. Our rtionship shall be perfect, built upon purity. Aren¡¯t you impressed by the sheer devotion I carry for you?¡± Shi Kun looked at Chu Chuyan in anticipation.

    At the same time, he felt greatly tilted as well. The goddess in his heart had already been sullied by another man¡¯s hand now. He couldn¡¯t help but wonder if they had even more intimate interactions over the days, and just the thought of it was enough to drive him insane.

    He had more than a decade of effort into this just so that he could court thedy of his dreams. It was finally all within grasp, and all that was left was for him to make a move. Yet, another man actually got to her first! How could he possibly not be angered?

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Kun for +785 Rage!

    ¡°You disgust me,¡± said Chu Chuyan with a deep frown.

    ¡°You!!!¡±

    Shi Kun could have never thought that all the sacrifices he had made would lead to such an oue. His face turned so livid that it looked as if it would seep out ink.

    ¡°Very well. Since you harbor no feelings for me, it looks like I¡¯ll have to go around it by force. You might hate me at the start, but once your body is mine, you¡¯ll eventuallye to ept and love me. Hahaha!¡±

    ¡°Shameless!¡± Chu Chuyan¡¯s eyes zed with frost. Unable to take it anymore, she drew her sword and charged right toward Shi Kun.

    However, Shi Kun was already prepared. He summoned four tornadoes around him as he stepped forward to meet with Chu Chuyan¡¯s attack.

    It was said that if one were to master the Shi n¡¯s Wind God Form to the highest level, one would be able to summon nine devastating tornadoes that could bring about ruination. Even though he was only able to summon four at the moment,pared to those in his age group, he could easily count as one of the three most talented cultivators in the entire history of the Shi n.

    Soon, the two of them began crossing blows with one another, causing a snowstorm to rage. The surrounding grass was covered in frost, and many of the trees in the area were battered down by the powerful wind.

    Behind Chu Chuyan, Zu An silently slipped out Poisonous Prick, ready tounch a surprise attack on Shi Kun as soon as thetter showed an opening. How could he possibly tolerate another man coveting his wife?

    However, his n was destined to nevere to fruition, for Shi Kun¡¯sckeys were not fools. The two fourth rank and five third rank cultivators immediately charged toward Zu An.

    They had just seen with their own eyes just how much Shi Kun hated Zu An, so they implicitly understood that they would be handsomely rewarded if they ended Zu An¡¯s life with their own hands.

    It was just that Zu An was no pushover either. He was already angry enough as he was, and theseckeys still wanted to stand in his way at a moment like this. With a sh of his sword, he ended the life of one of the third rank cultivators mercilessly.

    The remaining sixckeys immediately froze up in ce.

    To their horror, none of them had actually managed to see how Zu An managed tond the blow earlier. His sword was clearly aimed at Shi Kun, but for some inexplicable reason, it twisted in an unnatural angle, and before they knew it, one of theirrades had already fallen. This eerie urrence crushed their confidence to defeat Zu An, causing them to hesitate.

    Qiao Xueying, who had been watching him all this while, was rmed too. She knew that Zu An had been ying the fool in the Chu n all this while, but she never expected him to actually know such profound swordy.

    She suddenly recalled how Zu An had dragged her into theke back then. She thought that it was due to her fear of water that led to her getting done in that easily back then, but looking back at it now, Zu An¡¯s unexpected strength probably yed a huge role as well.

    Just thinking about his hands pumping down on her chest made her face redden in embarrassment and fury.

    He really is a despicable scoundrel through and through!

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for +128 Rage!

    The other sixckeys had been intimidated by Zu An¡¯s attack, but that wasn¡¯t enough to stop them. Their initial n was to confront Zu An head-on and take him down, but right now, they chose to split up and encircle him instead.

    No matter how powerful Zu An might be, there was so much he could do against the encirclement of six skilled cultivators. He could only try his best to dodge their attacks using Sunflower Phantasm. It was fortunate that these cultivators were far weaker and less skilled than Jia Zhengjing and the others, or else he would have probably been dead by now.

    Everyone implicitly understood that the key of the battley in the fight between Shi Kun and Chu Chuyan. If Shi Kun won, Zu An would definitely fall as well. If Chu Chuyan won, a bunch of third rank and fourth rank cultivators like them wouldn¡¯t possibly dare to confront her.

    All of a sudden, Shi Kun burst intoughter and said, ¡°Chuyan, if you had been in your peak, I would probably only have an equal chance of defeating you. In your current state, however, you stand not a sliver of a chance at all!¡±

    Under the augmentation of Wind God Form, his sword formed countless after images, as if a storm battering down on the enemy.

    On the other hand, Chu Chuyan ignored Shi Kun¡¯s words and formed an ice barrier before her in order to deal with Shi Kun¡¯s attack.

    The swords crashing on the ice barrier produced jarring nging noises, and soon, cracks began forming on the surface of the ice barrier.

    Shi Kun roared inughter upon seeing the cracks whereas Chu Chuyan¡¯s frown deepened.

    Eventually, the ice barrier sumbed, and Shi Kun morphed into a tornado and charged forth. Everything that stood in his way, be it rocks or stones, were crushed into smithereens. Nothing could stand in the path between him and Chu Chuyan anymore.

    Chu Chuyan knew that she would be disadvantaged in a direct battle against Shi Kun in her current state, so she chose to kite him instead. She danced around the battlefield like a snow fairy amidst the storm.

    Zu An was worried for Chu Chuyan after learning of her injuries, so he made sure to keep an eye out for her. He noticed that she was being forced back by the mini storm ravaging the area. While she hadn¡¯t been struck yet, it didn¡¯t seem like she would be able tost long before this overwhelming force struck her.

    His heart couldn¡¯t help but tremble in worry. His momentary distraction caused him to suffer a few more wounds on his wound, but fortunately, he was still able to dodge in time and avoid any fatal injuries.

    Chu Chuyan was taking a defensive position at the moment, but that didn¡¯t mean that she had given up on the fight yet. Soon, the opportunity she was waiting for arrived, and she harrumphed coldly, ¡°Did you think that you were the only one capable of summoning a storm?¡±

    Her sword moved in a beautiful arc, reminiscent of a dance. A snowstorm swiftly began to build up around her before gushing in Shi Kun¡¯s direction.

    The two storms collided with one another in a deafening collision, producing devastating wind des that rippled outward, ravaging everything with its touch. Everything was sliced into two under their furious assault, be it grass, tree, or even boulders.

    Sensing the terrifying shockwave heading in their direction, the battling cultivators quickly retreated to seek cover. One of the early third rank cultivators wasn¡¯t able to get away in time and ended up getting battered by the surrounding ice shards, smashing bloodied holes in his body.

    Zu An was appalled. The strength wielded by fifth rank cultivators was indeed far beyond his current means to deal with. It would appear that his triumph over Yuan Wendong was indeed mostly due to the help of modern technology.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Meanwhile, Chu Chuyan and Shi Kun were standing in the heart of the storm, their silhouettes flickering here and there as they hurled blows at one another.

    It was slowly bing apparent that the windstorm was getting overwhelmed by the snowstorm, and it eventually got to a point where everything within twenty meters radius of Chu Chuyan turned snowy white. Shi Kun¡¯s hair, limbs, and the surface of his body were coated in ayer of frost.

    Even he was taken aback by this oue. It¡¯s no wonder why this woman was dubbed as the most talented prodigy of Brightmoon City. Despite her current state, I¡¯m still in a disadvantageous position against her in a direct sh.

    ¡°What are you dawdling over there for? Help me!¡± Shi Kun red at Qiao Xueying sharply.

    His earlier actions toward Chu Chuyan had effectively led to aplete fallout. By this point, he couldn¡¯t care about his pride or dignity anymore. Or rather, if Chu Chuyan and Zu An were to get out of here alive, both he and the entire Shi n would be shamed!

    Qiao Xueying was still deeply conflicted. She was unwilling to make a move against Chu Chuyan, but she couldn¡¯t disobey the young master¡¯s order either. Biting her lips, she eventually decided to charge toward Zu An instead.

    The young master didn¡¯t mention whom she should help anyway, so it was the same for her to deal with this hateful fellow too.

    Zu An clicked this tongue. This shrew just wouldn¡¯t give up, huh?

    With a fifth rank cultivator joining the fray, the pressure on Zu An was immediately heightened. But surprisingly¡ªperhaps it was due to Qiao Xueying holding back, or that her coordination with the other cultivators wascking¡ªhe found himself barely able to hold on against such a powerful line-up.

    On the other hand, Shi Kun frowned upon seeing her actions. It should have been obvious that he was telling Qiao Xueying to back him up, but she chose to attack Zu An instead. Does she still feel a bond toward the Chu n?

    However, this wasn¡¯t the time to be pursuing such stuff. He had to focus his attention on dealing with Chu Chuyan for the time being. In any case, as long as the others subdue Zu An¡¯s quickly, they would be able to focus their strength on dealing with Chu Chuyan.

    Chu Chuyan also noticed the situation over on Zu An¡¯s side too. Zu An was already in a bad position dealing with six cultivators simultaneously, and the addition of Snow into the line-up further worsened his plight.

    In a moment of agitation, her face suddenly began to turn unnaturally red. Then, she spurted a mouth of fresh blood filled with ice fragments, causing her aura to weaken significantly.

    Shi Kun was delighted to see that. It looks like her injuries are finally acting up on her now. Heh, there¡¯s no way I can lose now!

    So, he immediately moved in to pressure her, causing a twist in the situation.

    Zu An swiftly noticed the anomaly with Chu Chuyan, and considering the terrible position he was in too, it would only be a matter of time before they got done in here. So, he took in a deep breath and shouted out loudly, ¡°Wait a moment! I¡¯m friends with your young master!¡±

    Qiao Xueying rolled her eyes. You¡¯re friends with the young master? Hahaha! Why don¡¯t you say that I¡¯m in love with you instead? That would have been far more credible!

    The otherckeys were also intending to shrug off Zu An¡¯s remark and continue their assault, but unexpectedly, Shi Kun shouted back, ¡°Hold it right there! He¡¯s indeed my friend!¡±

 Chapter 152: A Friendâ€™s Wife Shouldnâ€™t Be Coveted

    <h4>Chapter 152: A Friend¡¯s Wife Shouldn¡¯t Be Coveted</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Everyone immediately turned to look at Shi Kun in astonishment upon hearing those words.

    ¡°???¡± Qiao Xueying.

    ¡°???¡± Shi Kun¡¯sckeys.

    Qiao Xueying even began wondering if the young master had lost his sanity. How could he possibly be friends with Zu An? That¡¯s impossible!

    Chu Chuyan was utterly dumbfounded too. What is Shi Kun up to this time around?

    But the one who was the most dumbfounded of all was no other than Shi Kun. He felt like his mind had turned into mush as two conflicting tendencies arose in his head. He even wondered if he had gone mad.

    Meanwhile, Zu An heaved a sigh of relief. In this critical moment, he decided to use his skill ¡®Befriend a Rich Man¡¯!

    Still, how does this skill take my money away though? Do my banknotes just mysteriously disappear or something? More importantly, do I need to bring my banknotes with me, or does it just apply to money that belongs to me?

    Goddamnit! I lost 100,000 silver taels just like that! Even a firework goes off with a bam, but my 100,000 silver taels vanished without even a poof!

    Just looking at the culprit who forced him to use the skill filled him with great fury, but he forced himself to put on a smile. He walked over to Shi Kun with his arms opened wide, as if preparing to embrace thetter. ¡°Ah, my friend! My deepest apologies for the misunderstandings we had between us earlier!¡±

    Qiao Xueying looked at Zu An as if he was an idiot. You want to hug the young master? Hah, your arms are going to be severed off!

    Chu Chuyan also felt her heart thumping nervously. She silently approached the two of them, thinking that she would step right in to save Zu An in case Shi Kun attempted anything.

    But to everyone¡¯s disbelief, Shi Kun also opened his arms wide as well to invite Zu An in for an embrace, replying, ¡°My friend, I¡¯ve no idea what gotten over me earlier. Please forgive me for my earlier foolishness.¡±

    Qiao Xueying rubbed her eyes in bewilderment.

    Oh my god, I¡¯m going to go blind. When in the world did the young master be friends with Zu An?! Did I get off the wrong side of my bed today? Or am I actually dreaming right now?

    She looked at theckeys around her, only to see disgusted expressions on their faces. Their reactions told her clearly that she wasn¡¯t seeing things here.

    Chu Chuyan also thought that the situation unfolding before her eyes was utterly ridiculous. It made her suspect if Zu An had been on the same side as Shi Kun right from the start.

    No, that can¡¯t be. Given Shi Kun¡¯s personality, there¡¯s no way he would tolerate his subordinate bing my husband. If so, Zu An is likely sent by other ns. Is he from the emperor¡¯s faction or the empress¡¯ faction?

    All of a sudden, Chu Chuyan felt her body turning icy-cold. She had tried her best to guard against them, but she still fell for their schemes in the end.

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Chuyan for +512 Rage!

    She wasn¡¯t the only one who felt despaired. The others were also contributing a lot of Rage points to Zu An too.

    Looking at the inflow of Rage points in his system, Zu An silently thought, Honey, please calm down for now. I¡¯ll exin it all to youter!

    Just as he and Shi Kun were about to embrace one another, he summoned Poisonous Prick and aimed it right toward thetter.

    He had been wondering how he could best use ¡®Befriending a Rich Man¡¯ since it was time-limited, and the concept of ¡®friends¡¯ was simply too vague. Everyone had their own interpretation of it, after all!

    However, he figured that friends, regardless of what kind, would probably not have their guards up against one another, which created the perfect scenario for him to use Poisonous Prick. As long as he could get close enough to nick the other party with it, he would be able to carry out any assassination with ease.

    As Poisonous Prick swiftly approached Shi Kun, a sinister smile suddenly crept on Shi Kun¡¯s face. He deflected Poisonous Prick with his sword before abruptly sinking a punch into Zu An¡¯s body.

    Pu!

    Zu An spurted a mouthful of blood as he staggered backward. It was fortunate that he had his guard up all along, such that he managed to use Sunflower Phantasm in the final moment to ward off the impact, or else that single punch would have been more than enough to end his life.

    This was yet another scene thatpletely confounded everyone. It was just a second ago that they were friends delighted to reunite with one another, but in the next second, they fell out with one another and tried to take each other¡¯s life. Just what kind of bizarre y was this?!

    Chu Chuyan was bewildered, but she still rushed forward to catch Zu An and stop Shi Kun fromunching any follow-up attacks.

    Zu An fell right into Chu Chuyan¡¯s embrace, but he was too bewildered by the happenings to enjoy her soft andforting arms. Instead, he stared at Shi Kun in shock as he eximed, ¡°Why?! We¡¯re obviously friends with one another!¡±

    He couldn¡¯t make sense of the current situation. While the Keyboard system did often offer terrible prizes, he had never faced any trouble with the effectiveness of its tools before. So, why would it fail him now? Why would Shi Kun still be guarded against him and even attempt to take his life?

    Shi Kun looked at Zu An with a smile and said, ¡°We¡¯re friends, but that doesn¡¯t change the fact that your wife is pretty. As they say, true friends go through prosperity and suffering together, so I shan¡¯t hold myself back either.¡±

    ¡°^&*%#@¡± Zu An.

    If the system could collect his Rage points too, it would definitely rocket shoot through the limit right away.

    He had never thought that his assassination attempt would actually fail due to this.

    Indeed, ¡®Befriend a Rich Man¡¯ had turned Shi Kun into his friend, but this perverted bastard couldn¡¯t curb his lustful thoughts for Chu Chuyan because she was too pretty! In other words, he was determined toy his hands on Chu Chuyan regardless of whether Zu An was his friend or not!

    Shit, how could I have overlooked such a possibility? Someone as cold-hearted as Shi Kun wouldn¡¯t hesitate to kill his friend as long as he could gain something out of it!

    Damn it, that¡¯s 100,000 silver taels over there! It¡¯s all going to waste just like that!

    Zu An thought that there was no greater misery in life than losing 100,000 silver taels in an instant, but it turned out that he was gravely wrong. Even the saddest songs in the world couldn¡¯t hope to describe the anguish he was feeling at this very moment!

    It looks like even though the skill can change my affection meter with an individual, it cannot change the individual¡¯s personality. Betrayal does happen between friends after all, so I shouldn¡¯t hope to think that everything would be fine just because I be friends with someone.

    Damn it, is there a rewind button in this world? Let me do it all again!

    Shi Kun slowly walked over to Zu An and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re suddenly a friend of mine, but as a fellow friend, allow me to reassure you that you can leave in peace. I¡¯ll take good care of your beautiful wife after your death.¡±

    Ever since he obtained the Rage system, he had been the one to anger others and make them stamp their feet maddeningly, but for the first time in forever, he was actually the one getting angry this time around. Shi Kun was simply too depraved and warped that he couldn¡¯t stand it at all.

    It wasn¡¯t just Zu An who was angered here. Chu Chuyan also looked at Shi Kun with a frosty look on her face. ¡°The world praises the Sixth Young Master of the Shi n for being a humble gentleman, but who could have thought that a depraved beast hides beneath his cover of eloquence!¡±

    Qiao Xueying also silently nodded in agreement. The current Shi Kun was indeed very different from the man in her memories. She could understand him for resorting to some underhanded means to court the woman he fancied, but ever since arriving in this dungeon, perhaps it was due to him knowing that nothing would get out, he lost the morals he usually shackled on himself and began acting as he pleased.

    The current Shi Kun felt incredibly foreign to her, leaving her with a great sense of loss.

    Shi Kun sneered ruthlessly, ¡°Chu Chuyan, you were the one who forced me to do this. If you hadn¡¯t gotten overly intimate with other men, I wouldn¡¯t have anxiously resorted to such means either!¡±

    ¡°You lunatic!¡± bellowed Chu Chuyan.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Well said, honey!¡±plimented Zu An with a thumbs up. Then, he added his own share in too, ¡°You fucking pervert!¡±

    Initially, Shi Kun didn¡¯t pay much heed to Zu An¡¯s criticisms at all. In his view, Zu An was already a dead man, and whatever insults he hurled were nothing more than the death throes of the weak. In fact, Zu An¡¯s shoutings only further proved his strength and power, which left him with immense satisfaction.

    However, it was a different thing to see him doing it together with Chu Chuyan. It felt as if they were the real couple here, and it ignited the pot of envy in his heart.

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Kun for +996 Rage!

    ¡°Bastard Zu An, I¡¯ll slice you into pieces!¡±

    The light around Shi Kun suddenly distorted. Taking a closer look, many translucent wind des were floating around him, ready to strike forth at any moment to stter blood.

    Tempestuous des!

    With a furious howl, the wind des began revolving furiously in Zu An¡¯s direction. Even without trying out their sharpness, Zu An had no doubt that he would be sliced into sashimi pieces at this rate.

    Naturally, Chu Chuyan wouldn¡¯t leave him to the lurch. With a bellow, she transformed everything within a three meters radius into ice, shrouding the two of them amidst a blue barrier reminiscent of an eggshell.

    It was just that this blue barrier was much more resilient than mere eggshells. The onught of wind des produced ¡®kacha kacha¡¯ sounds upon striking the barrier, but they were unable to breach its defense.

    However, Zu An wasn¡¯t optimistic about the situation they were in. He noticed that Chu Chuyan¡¯s face was turning pale, and her breathing was getting more and more irregr.

    Shi Kun burst intoughter and said, ¡°Young miss Chu¡¯s ¡®Blue Guardian¡¯ is indeed as spectacr as the rumors put it out to be. I just wonder how long can itst. It looks like it¡¯s diminishing at a visible pace.¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s blue barrier had been six meters wide at the start, but it had diminished to just around two meters now.

    ¡°The young master is truly formidable!¡±

    ¡°Looks like even the number one prodigy of Brightmoon City is nothing before him!¡±

    ¡°No matter how formidable she is, she¡¯s just a woman. Before our dashing young master, it¡¯s inevitable that she would sumb! Hahaha!¡±

    ...

    Laughter roared in the surroundings as Shi Kun¡¯sckey cheered loudly for him by the sidelines. It was apparent to anyone with eyes that Shi Kun had the advantage here. The only one who remained silent was Qiao Xueying, who watched the scene with a brooding look on her face.

    A momentter, the blue barrier grew even smaller, bing just a meter wide. It left the duo inside with no choice but to huddle closely together.

    Had it been on any other asion, Zu An would surely have been delighted to get so intimate with Chu Chuyan, but looking at her ghastly pale face and the sweat dripping profusely from her cheeks, he couldn¡¯t remain in his merry mood anymore.

    Meanwhile, Shi Kun watched as the cracks on the blue barrier grew more and more numerous, and a smile finally broke on on his face.

    It¡¯s all finally going to be over. I¡¯ll first deal with Zu An before sealing the deal with Chu Chuyan.

    Chu Chuyan is a prideful woman though. If I force my way with her, it¡¯s unlikely that she¡¯d agree with it. Perhaps I should spare Zu An and use his life to threaten her to submit to me?

    Shi Kun was a little conflicted. The notion of Chu Chuyan submitting to him for another man displeased him greatly, but the thought of the lofty beauty kneeling before him for her husband felt incredibly enticing too. Ahhh, my heart is racing now.

    All of a sudden, Zu An asked, ¡°Brother Shit, are you filial to your mother?¡±

 Chapter 153: The First Man To Get Pregnant in the Great Zhou Dynasty

    <h4>Chapter 153: The First Man To Get Pregnant in the Great Zhou Dynasty</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Of course! Why would I not be filial to my mother?¡± Shi Kun snapped in response.

    The Great Zhou Dynasty embraced the value of filial piety. No matter how lofty a person¡¯s standing was, they dared not to be pinned with thebel of being unfilial.

    ¡°How can you im that you¡¯re filial without going through the hardship brought about by ten months of pregnancy and the pain ofbor? You don¡¯t know the suffering your mother has been through in order to have you!¡± Zu An sighed deeply.

    ¡°...¡± Chu Chuyan.

    She had no idea why Zu An was saying such words at this moment, but again, he had always been an unpredictable person to her.

    The otherckeys were dumbfounded too. Everything that had happened today was so ridiculous that it felt like a badly written novel. The young master and Zu An identified one another as their friends, then they fell out with one another, and now, they were suddenly talking about filial piety. What was wrong with this world?!

    ¡°...¡± Shi Kun.

    He harrumphed coldly and said, ¡°It¡¯s out of consideration of our friendship that I patiently answered your ridiculous question. Now that I¡¯ve fulfilled your curiosity, you can depart with peace of mind!¡±

    ¡°Since you view me as a friend, it¡¯s only right for me to bequeath you with a gift. I¡¯ll allow you to experience the joys and hardship of pregnancy so that you can better appreciate your own mother and be a more filial son!¡± A mysterious smile emerged on Zu An¡¯s face.

    ¡°What nonsense is that?¡± Shi Kun and hisckeys stared at Zu An as if he was a fool. How could a man possibly get pregnant?

    Only Qiao Xueying was rmed at those words, and she shouted out loud, ¡°Young master, be careful!¡±

    ¡°Be careful?¡± Shi Kun was perplexed. Victory was already in his grasp, and very soon, Chu Chuyan would be his. What was there to be careful about?

    Ah? Why does my stomach suddenly feel bloated? Did I eat something bad? Argh, it¡¯s getting fuller and fuller...

    Shi Kun¡¯s face scrunched a little. He thought that he was suffering from diarrhea. One must know that he valued his image as a refined gentleman greatly, so it would be extremely humiliating for him if he had to run to the toilet in the presence of so many people.

    Hm? Why does it feel like my stomach is getting bigger and heavier?

    He looked down at his own stomach, but there were clearly no changes at all.

    It¡¯s getting more and more swollen!

    It was a weird disconnect between how he felt and what he saw, and it made him doubt his own senses. He turned to hisckeys and asked, ¡°Is my stomach getting bigger?¡±

    ¡°Bigger? It isn¡¯t.¡±

    Theckeys shook their heads in confusion. At the same time, they began trading nces with one another.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t there something very different with the young master today?¡±

    ¡°Yeah! He imed that Zu An was his friend, and now, he¡¯s asking if his stomach is getting bigger...¡±

    ¡°Say, it is possible for the young master to have gone mad from envy from seeing Zu An and young miss Chu getting so intimate with one another?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s very possible.¡±

    ...

    Shi Kun couldn¡¯t help but reach out to fondle his stomach, but no matter how he touched it, the bizarre sensations he was feeling just wouldn¡¯t go away.

    Soon, a mystifying pain assaulted him, causing his handsome face to scrunch together. It was an incredibly weird pain,ing from hisher region. He had never felt anything like this before. It felt like his soul was screaming from within.

    He was, after all, a reputed prodigy, a young master from a prominent n. He forced himself to swallow down the pain and stopped himself from screaming out loud. He couldn¡¯t bring himself to shriek before hisckeys and the woman he loved.

    Fortunately, the painsted for around ten seconds before finally fading off, as if it had never been there.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Shi Kun frowned. He realized that the wind des he had been controlling were showing signs of dissipating, so he quickly focused his attention on them once more.

    But around thirty secondster, that familiar yet foreign pain assaulted him once more.

    ¡°Ah?¡±

    The sudden assault of excruciating pain caused Shi Kun¡¯s wind des to nearly scatter on the spot. W-why is iting again?! He tried his best to endure it, and once again, the pain vanished after a few seconds.

    ¡°Have I been cultivating too hard that my cultivation is going a little berserk?¡± Shi Kun felt that he should get Elder Shi Lezhi to take a close look at his current condition.

    He quickly regathered his focus to control the wind des once more, but he couldn¡¯t shake off the worry that the excruciating pain would strike him once more.

    Even though he was already mentally prepared for it, when the unbearable pain struck again around twenty secondster, he still nearly caved in on the spot.

    Shit! Stop it!

    Worst of all, he realized that the interval between each assault of pain was growing shorter, and the pain was getting more and more intense.

    ¡°What¡¯s he doing?¡± Chu Chuyan stared at the livid-faced Shi Kun in confusion.

    She could sense that the wind des in the surroundings were suddenly alternating between strong and weak. Right now, it even looked like they were going to dissipate. This lessened the pressure on her greatly.

    ¡°He might be reflecting on his evildoings now,¡± sneered Zu An.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    That fellow would have never imagined that the pain he¡¯s suffering is known asbor pain. Well, no man in this world would have that experience to share with him, and no woman would talk about this before a man in this fairly conservative era.

    Given how desperate the situation was bing, he had no choice but to use ¡®Knock-You-Up Eyes¡¯ here. Its effects were fairly splendid, but it was a pity that he only had one use of it left after this.

    Zu An wanted to rush forward to get rid of Shi Kun once and for all, but seeing that Qiao Xueying and the others had already run over to cover him, he had no choice but to drop that thought. With his current strength, he couldn¡¯t hope to overpower them.

    Zu An pondered for a moment before taking out ¡®Faith in Brother Spring¡¯ and handing it over to Chu Chuyan. ¡°Honey, drink this.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Wary about the bottle of suspicious liquid, Chu Chuyan was a little hesitant to drink what Zu An was offering her.

    ¡°This is recovery medicine. Don¡¯t worry, it has no poison and side effects, and it¡¯ll send you back to full health right away!¡±

    Zu An was a little reluctant to bring it out and this was the only bottle he had left, so it was basically taking away his only bonus life left.

    However, he knew that the crux of whether they could survive this ordealy with Chu Chuyan. He was clearly insufficient to deal with a fifth rank cultivator at the moment, not to mention that there was a bunch of fourth rank and third rank cultivators around too.

    As long as Chu Chuyan could recover back to full power, she should be able to deal with the threat right before them. Besides, she was his wife too, so it was not like he was giving such a precious treasure away to an outsider.

    Chu Chuyan stared at Zu An quietly for a moment before finally nodding. ¡°Very well.¡±

    Then, she downed the content inside the bottle in a single gulp.

    Frankly speaking, what she was doing here was incredibly risky, and it was far beyond herfort zone. As the daughter of a ducal n, there were constantly plenty of people out for her life. On top of that, her beautiful appearance attracted the lust of the men around her, leaving her with no choice but to be constantly wary of her surroundings.

    From a young age, she was taught to never ept food from others and never allow her drinking water to be out of her sight. Due to such an upbringing, she had been able to keep herself safe thus far.

    Her reflexive reaction if anyone were to offer her a bottle of unidentified fluid was to ignore it. If the person offering the bottle to her was someone of special standing, making it impolite for her to turn that person down right away, she would ept it with a smile, but she wouldn¡¯t really drink it.

    But for some reason, after looking into Zu An¡¯s eyes, she actually broke the own rule she had set for herself.

    Is it because he¡¯s my husband? Is it because I sensed sincerity in his eyes? Or is it because of the look of reluctance on his face?

    Even she had no idea what was going through her mind either when she chug down the drink.

    That being said, she didn¡¯t bear much hope for his ¡®recovery medicine¡¯. After all, given Zu An¡¯s background and strength, it was unimaginable for him to bring out anything decent.

    But all of a sudden, she felt a warm surge of energy gushing through her body into her limbs. The dull paining from her injuries and the chaotic ki raging in her body began to alleviate swiftly.

    ¡°What medicine did you give me? How could it be so potent?¡± asked Chu Chuyan in astonishment.

    ¡°It¡¯s the medicine my teacher gave me back then. It¡¯s said to be able to revive even a dead corpse. How is it? Are your injuries fully recovered now?¡± asked Zu An.

    Previously, when Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru grilled him about his background, he imed that a mysterious man had taught him how to cultivate. It would make perfect sense for him to push this matter over to his ¡®teacher¡¯ too, or else Chu Chuyan would start suspecting him once again.

    ¡°Your teacher must be a formidable person,¡± remarked Chu Chuyan. ¡°Even though I haven¡¯t fully recovered yet, my injuries should have healed by around 60 to 70 percent. I¡¯ve never seen such an incredible recovery medicine before!¡±

    Even a recovery medicine concocted by someone of Ji Dengtu¡¯s caliber would require some time in order for it to take effect, but this medicine was actually able to heal a person instantaneously. If sold in the market, its value would be immeasurable!

    ¡°Of course! Your husband is an amazing man, after all!¡± replied Zu An gleefully. Then, he suddenly noticed something that she said and frowned. ¡°Wait a moment, you said that your injuries only recovered by 60 to 70 percent?¡±

    ¡°Yes, it recovered by that amount instantaneously. Isn¡¯t that good enough? I was still having trouble trying to hold on earlier, but my condition is good enough to put up a fight now.¡± Chu Chuyan was more than satisfied with the results, so she couldn¡¯t understand why Zu An had a discontented look on his face.

    Of course it isn¡¯t enough! I was able to recover my wounds instantaneously thest time I drank it, so why is it different for Chuyan? Could it be that the effect of the items from the system is discounted for others?

    No, that doesn¡¯t make sense though. The items should either work or not work at all; there shouldn¡¯t be any reason why the effect is discounted.

    Wait a moment!

    Zu An suddenly remembered that the ¡®Faith in Brother Spring¡¯ had a parenthesis behindbeled S. Could this mean that it only heals lower-ranked cultivators to full health, but its effects are less effective on higher-rank cultivators?

    His years of gaming experience in his previous life helped him to swiftly figure out the truth. Chu Chuyan¡¯s cultivation rank was much higher than his, so even if he could recover to full health, that didn¡¯t mean that she would be able to do the same too.

    ¡°Argh, it hurts!¡± eximed Shi Kun.

    No matter how strong his willpower was, the pain arising from childbirth was not something a human could endure. Once he started crying out, he couldn¡¯t stop anymore. Screams of misery escaped from his mouth, shocking everyone present.

    ¡°Young master, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Theckeys panicked, unable toprehend what was happening to Shi Kun. They couldn¡¯t see any injuries on him, so why was he suffering so much?

    Shi Kung¡¯s face had distorted from sheer pain, such that he couldn¡¯t even speak a word at all.

    Qiao Xueying nced at Zu An fearfully. There was no way she couldn¡¯t tell that Shi Kun was suffering from the same symptoms as she did back then. She had thought that it could have been just as coincidence as it was unthinkable to her how it could have been Zu An¡¯s doing, but it turned out to be really the case!

    Zu An reined in his thought and shouted, ¡°Quick, kill them!¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡± Chu Chuyan had no idea why Shi Kun would suddenly be in such great pain, but an opportunity had finally presented itself.

    So, she immediately charged over to Shi Kun¡¯s side. Despite her incredibly fast movement, her motions remained pleasingly graceful, reminiscent of a true fairy.

    Qiao Xueying¡¯s face paled. She raised her hand and channeled the vines on the floor toward Chu Chuyan in hopes of stopping her.

    In response, Chu Chuyan calmly swung her sword and tapped it lightly on the vinesing her way. Those vines that had been touched by her sword were immediately cloaked in ayer of frost, falling heavily back to the ground and losing their ability to move.

    Qiao Xueying hurriedly took out a bottle of medicine and threw it over to one of theckeys, saying, ¡°Quick, feed this to the young master!¡±

    Zu An was rmed. He had no idea what that medicine was, but it would cause a variable if Shi Kun were to eat it. So, he immediately made a move and charged forth as well.

    He was determined to take down Shi Kun while thetter was down!

 Chapter 154: Divine Beast Devouring Kun

    <h4>Chapter 154: Divine Beast Devouring Kun</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    However, Shi Kun¡¯sckeys were already prepared to deal with Zu An. The stronger four of the fiveckeys stepped forward to stop Zu An whereas the weakest hurried over to feed Shi Kun the medicine.

    They had witnessed Zu An¡¯s elusive movement skill and swift swordy, so they dared not to let down their guard. They swung their weapons before them to create a defensive arc, aiming not to bring down Zu An but just to keep him at bay.

    Zu An tried to charge forth numerous times, but he was forced to retreat before them. These fourckeys were stronger than him in terms of cultivation ranks, so it was hard for him to bypass them in a forceful charge.

    By then, the weakest subordinate had already reached Shi Kun and was offering him the pill. Shi Kun was dripping tears and snot around the ce from the sheer pain. If someone told him that eating shit could alleviate his suffering, he would probably do so without any hesitation.

    He swallowed the pill without any hesitation, and a momentter, his pain really began to alleviate. While it didn¡¯t disappear entirely, it had receded to a level where he could still barely tolerate it.

    ¡°Why would you have a pill like this?¡± Shi Kun¡¯s face was drenched in sweat, such that his hair was sticking to his face. He looked at Qiao Xueying with appreciation in his eyes.

    Qiao Xueying nced at Zu An with a slightly reddened face as she answered, ¡°I suffered the same plight back then too, so I prepared some medicine in the off case the same thing happens once more.¡±

    The previous encounter had really traumatized her, and being unaware of the cause of it only scared her more. So, she requested some Pain Suppression Heart Calming Pills from Divine Physician Ji in the off case that it happened to her once more. Who could have thought that it would really be put to good use here?

    Zu An was dumbfounded. He didn¡¯t think that this trump card of his was ovee so easily!

    Why is my luck so bad today? Goddamnit!

    I wasted 100,000 silver taels on ¡®Befriend a Rich Man¡¯ for naught, and ¡®Faith in Brother Spring¡¯ wasn¡¯t as useful as I thought. And now, I¡¯ve wasted a precious use of ¡®Knock-You-Up Eyes¡¯ too.

    He had used so many of his trump cards, but they still weren¡¯t out of danger yet. This was really a huge loss to him!

    Since Shi Kun had already recovered, Zu An dared not to push too much anymore. He quickly retreated to Chu Chuyan¡¯s side, and the battle between Chu Chuyan and Qiao Xueying came to a halt too.

    ¡°Well done!¡± said Shi Kun. His face was still pale and he couldn¡¯t stop clutching his stomach, but he was in a much better condition now.

    ¡°Brother Shit, congrattions on being the very first man in the Great Zhou Dynasty to have a taste of pregnancy andbor pain. Don¡¯t you feel more appreciative of the sacrifices your mother had to make for you now? Don¡¯t you think that you¡¯ll be a far more filial son now?¡± said Zu An.

    What was done was done. He would just have to make it back by squeezing more Rage points out of Shi Kun.

    ¡°You were the one who did it earlier?¡± Shi Kun growled lividly. ¡°Wait a moment, what do you mean by pregnancy?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Kun for +233 Rage!

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious? The pain you suffered earlier was a symptom ofbor pain. Actually, I¡¯m quite curious as to where it would hurt for you. After all, you shouldn¡¯t have a womb as a man, right?¡± asked Zu An.

    ¡°...¡± Shi Kun.

    It turns out that he really is the culprit here. Just thinking about the hellish experience he had just gone through made rage rush into his head.

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Kun for +1024 Rage!

    Qiao Xueying was astonished too. It really is pregnancy! Wait a minute, doesn¡¯t this mean that I was knocked up by that hateful Zu An? Her face immediately flushed red.

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for +1024 Rage!

    ¡°I¡¯ll kill you!¡± Veins popped out on Shi Kun¡¯s temples as he gathered his wind des once more.

    Instead of stepping away, Zu An took a step forward and said, ¡°Oh? You want to have a taste of pregnancy again?¡±

    Those words immediately jotted up the intense spasms of pain that assaulted him earlier, and he began shuddering uncontrobly. The wind des around him dispersed right away as he muttered with a hint of fear, ¡°H-how did you do it?!¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°Well, this skill is called ¡®Knock-You-Up Eyes¡¯. All it takes is one nce from me, and that person will be able to enjoy the joys of childbirth. Does any of you want to give it a try too?¡±

    Wherever Zu An¡¯s gaze fell on, that person would instinctively take a step back. Be it Shi Kun or hisckeys, no one had any interest in suffering the pain of childbirth.

    Even Qiao Xueying was frightened too. She was probably the only one who could empathize with Shi Kun as she had been through the same unbearable pain too.

    ¡°Rubbish! How could there be such... an entric skill in the world!¡± Shi Kun couldn¡¯t stop his voice from quivering. Without a doubt, he was already scarred for life.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you already try it out yourself? Would you like to try it once more to see if I¡¯m lying or not?¡± Zu An took another step forward.

    Once again, Shi Kun and hisckeys retreated a step as they waved their hands frantically.

    ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else, we¡¯ll be taking our leave then.¡± Zu An grabbed Chu Chuyan¡¯s hand. ¡°Honey, let¡¯s go.¡±

    Chu Chuyan was still dazed even up to this point. Everything that had happened so far had transcended hermon sense.

    Is it really possible for there to be a skill in the world that makes one pregnant just by looking at them? Doesn¡¯t that mean that he can make me pregnant whenever he wants to?

    Those thoughts made Chu Chuyan¡¯s face heat up.

    All of a sudden, she raised her hand and formed an ice barrier right behind the two of them. Innumerable wind des crashed onto the ice barrier the next instant.

    Zu An quickly turned around, only to see that Shi Kun and hisckeys were chasing after them.

    ¡°Hahaha, I nearly got scared off by you!¡± Shi Kun sneered in disdain.

    Zu An¡¯s faced darkened. ¡°It looks like you really want another taste of pregnancy, huh? You better pray that you have enough medicine for everyone there then!¡±

    Those words made Shi Kun¡¯sckeys recoil in fear. If all of them were to fall under the ¡®Knock-You-Up Eyes¡¯ skill, the ones prioritized for the medicine would definitely be Shi Kun and Qiao Xueying. As for the rest of them... it was likely that they would have to suffer through the full course of the skill.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Shi Kun harrumphed coldly. ¡°Don¡¯t be intimidated by him! How could there be a skill in the world that could induce pregnancy? Even if there is, he definitely has to pay a heavy price for it. Otherwise, given his vindictive personality, how could he possibly let us off? He could have just ended all of us with a nce instead of talking so much!¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He realized that he had underestimated Shi Kun all this while. He should have known that a person who could reach his position at that age was bound to be no fool.

    He could use the ¡®Knock-You-Up Eyes¡¯ again, but there were too many people here, and they had painkillers on them too. It was likely that his skill would just go to waste once more. He would be much better reserving this skill to use on someone else in the future.

    Chu Chuyan pulled Zu An behind her and red at Shi Kun coldly, ¡°We haven¡¯t finished our earlier battle. Let¡¯s continue then!¡±

    ¡°Your aura... Why do you seem unharmed?!¡± Shi Kun¡¯s eyes widened in shock.

    The earlier sh had proved that he wasn¡¯t a match for Chu Chuyan in a direct confrontation, not to mention that his limbs were still weak from the extreme pain he just suffered from the ¡®Knock-You-Up Eyes¡¯. In his current condition, he wouldn¡¯t stand a chance against her at all.

    Someone quickly exined to Shi Kun how Zu An had fed her a bottle of medicine, which led to Shi Kun staring at Zu An deeply. ¡°I must admit, I have made a grave error thinking that you were an insignificant good-for-nothing. With all of the means you have disyed here today, there¡¯s more reason for me to eliminate you for good here!¡±

    The more outstanding Zu An was, the higher chances of him winning Chu Chuyan¡¯s body and soul over. Besides, even if not for Chu Chuyan, it was a threat in itself to make an enemy out of a talented individual who possessed a myriad of means. The wisest move was to stifle Zu An while he was weak, or else he would surely pose a great threat in the future.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you being too confident here?¡± remarked Chu Chuyan with a frown.

    She had recovered greatly from her injuries whereas Shi Kun was in a weakened state at the moment. Even if hebined forces with Qiao Xueying here, she was confident that she could deal with them.

    As for the others, given the powerful movement skill that Zu An had demonstrated earlier, he should be able to hold his own against them until her battle came to an end. Overall, they should have been in an advantageous position here, so she couldn¡¯t understand why Shi Kun was making such confident remarks here.

    ¡°Indeed, it would be hard for me to defeat you in my current condition. Had it been any other situation, I would have offered a truce.¡± Shi Kun paused for a moment as he nced at Zu An. ¡°However, that fellow is a huge variable. I¡¯ll have to get rid of him here regardless of the cost!

    ¡°Heed my summons, Devouring Kun!¡±

    Shi Kun raised his ring up high as he muttered an esoteric chant. His ring began to glow with a grayish light as a terrifying pressure crushed down from above.

    All of hisckeys immediately fell to their knees under the pressure, unable to move at all. A green barrier formed around Qiao Xueying, allowing her to barely hold on.

    Zu An wasn¡¯t faring any much better either. The sudden outburst of pressure made it hard for him to breathe, as if a mountain was crushing down on his back. His bones began to creak under the force.

    If even fourth rank cultivators were finding it hard to hold on, how well could a third rank cultivator possibly stand against it? It was just that he gritted his teeth and tried his best to hold on here. He didn¡¯t mind mooching off others, but he wouldn¡¯t allow himself to kneel before Shi Kun.

    It was just that willpower could only do so much against absolute strength. Just as he was about to cave in, he felt a cooling touch wrapping around his hand, and the pressure on him suddenly alleviated.

    A blue barrier was erected around them. Chu Chuyan had activated her Blue Guardian once more.

    It was daytime, but the sky suddenly darkened. Zu An raised his head, only to be appalled by what he was seeing.

    A massive beast of over three hundred meters in length had floated into appearance in the air. It was grayish in color, reminiscent of a massive whale. However, its appearance was far more frightening than any whales. There was a blood-red light ring from its eyes, and it had a massive mouth filled with innumerable sharp teeth. Its appearance looked more than enough to intimidate any lifeform into submission.

    Looking at the whiskers curling down from its mouth, Zu An frowned doubtfully. Why does this look like the kun[1] I¡¯ve seen in game ads in my previous life?

    ¡°This aura... Ninth rank?!¡± Chu Chuyan¡¯s face paled. ¡°No, its aura is at ninth rank, but its strength is much weaker.¡±

    But no matter how much weaker the summoned beast was, it was still far beyond her means to deal with.

    A gleeful smile emerged on Shi Kun¡¯s face as he said, ¡°This is the means our Shi n possesses. It¡¯s a defensive tool that my n has specially prepared for me, and I was reserving it only for dire situations. Zu An, you should be d that you¡¯re going to die in the hands of Divine Beast Devouring Kun...¡±

    However, Zu An interrupted him before he could finish his words, ¡°Wait a moment, you said that this beast is called Devouring (Shi) Kun too? Ah, it actually has the same name as you! Is it your father?¡±

    1. Kun is a mythological fishlike monster which is known to be able to transform into a roc in the air.

 Chapter 155: Absolute Freeze

    <h4>Chapter 155: Absolute Freeze</h4>

    Stunned, Shi Kun lost track of what he was about to say.

    Before Zu An pointed it out, he hadn¡¯t noticed that his name and Devouring (Shi) Kun were actually homonyms. However, despite the divine nature of the Devouring Kun, it was still a beast. By asking if it was his father, the other party was insinuating that he was a beast as well!

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Kun for 885 Rage points!

    The otherckeys also stared at Zu An in astonishment.Wow, he dares to further rile up the young master even when he¡¯s already in such a situation. He¡¯s really going to die a terrible deathter on.

    Qiao Xueying was also surprised by Zu An as well. Thetter might be hateful, but even she had to admit that he had guts. If she had been in his position, she wouldn¡¯t have even dared to breathe loudly in the presence of such a powerful beast, yet Zu An was still able to maintain hisposure. It was truly hard to tell whether he was feigning courage or if he really was that brazen!

    ¡°Talking tough even though you¡¯re already on the verge of death, huh? You¡¯ll soon regret having been born with that mouth of yours!¡± Shi Kun snapped.

    ¡°Who dares summon me?¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    A voice suddenly boomed out of nowhere. It was from the massive Devouring Kun above, and shockingly, it was actually capable of human speech!

    ¡°O great divine beast Devouring Kun, I, offspring of the Shi n, beseech your help in eliminating my enemy!¡± Ever since Zu An pointed out that their names were homonyms, he couldn¡¯t help but feel incredibly awkward calling out the divine beast¡¯s name.

    ¡°Let me see just how powerful your enemy is that you were willing to use up your final chance to summon me!¡± The Devouring Kun directed its blood-red eyes toward Chu Chuyan and Zu An, then it bellowed furiously. ¡°Audacious! How dare you summon me for mere sixth rank and third rank ants!¡±

    ¡°Sixth rank?!¡± Shi Kun turned to Chu Chuyan in shock.

    She has already reached the sixth rank! No wonder I¡¯m no match for her. This woman sure hid her true ability well! If not for the fact that she has sustained severe injuries, I wouldn¡¯t have stood a chance against her at all!

    Qiao Xueying was dumbstruck as well. Despite being by Chu Chuyan¡¯s side for so many years, she didn¡¯t know that she had already made the breakthrough to the sixth rank.Did it happen recently?

    ¡°Honey, you¡¯re more amazing than I thought!¡± Zu An remarked in awe.

    Chu Chuyan let out a long sigh and said, ¡°I improved too quickly, and I¡¯vepromised my foundation because of it. The battle with Wu Di left me with asting trauma. I wouldn¡¯t have rushed things if I had known that things would turn out this way.¡±

    Trauma? Was Faith in Brother Spring unable to cure her trauma?

    Zu An was perplexed, but he knew better than to enquire about it in front of so many people.

    Shi Kun looked at the massive divine beast above and said, ¡°Those two might not possess high cultivation ranks, but their defeat is of utmost importance to me. I beseech you to curb the youngdy for me, but please do not kill her. As for this man, do as you please with him, but leave a final breath in him, so that I can deal with him afterwards.¡±

    He was afraid that the Devouring Kun would go overboard and take Chu Chuyan¡¯s life, so he made sure to carefully remind it not to. It was worth summoning Devouring Kun this one final time, as long as he could settle this matter with Chu Chuyan and make her his.

    As for Zu An, he had a weird movement skill and all sorts of bizarre skills, making him an extremely tricky opponent to deal with. He wanted the Devouring Kun to render him powerless so that he could slowly torture him afterward.

    The Devouring Kun snorted coldly, causing a slight storm to stir in the sky. ¡°You humans carry such depraved thoughts. Forget it! I promised three favors to the ancestors of your Shi n for the graciousness they showed me, and this is the final favor. With this, my soul will finally be able to rest.¡±

    As a divine beast who had lived for innumerable years, it could see through Shi Kun¡¯s thoughts with a nce.

    Chu Chuyan stared at the massive beast in the sky intently as she finally figured out the reason for the dissonance between its aura and its true strength.It turns out that it¡¯s just the manifestation of its soul, and not its true body. That makes perfect sense. In the first ce, there¡¯s no way a storage ring would berge enough to store such a massive lifeform!

    ¡°Ah Zu, run away,¡± whispered Chu Chuyan in a hushed voice.

    Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°I can¡¯t leave you all alone in such a critical situation. If we must die here, we¡¯ll die together.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the point of dying together?¡± Chu Chuyan frowned. ¡°If you live through this ordeal, you¡¯ll at least be able to inform my father and have him exact vengeance on the Shi n on my behalf.¡±

    ¡°You should leave, then. I¡¯ll help you hold them here!¡± said Zu An.

    Even though he didn¡¯t mind mooching, he couldn¡¯t leave his wife to face such a precarious situation alone.

    ¡°How are you going to hold them here?¡± Chu Chuyan was getting agitated by Zu An¡¯s obstinacy. Not wanting to waste time with him, she nudged him lightly, and Zu An was immediately pushed several li away.[1]</a>

    Shi Kun and the others were astonished by her sudden action. They immediately tried to give chase, but a blue barrier suddenly appeared in front of them, blocking their path.

    ¡°Lord Devouring Kun!¡± Shi Kun eximed, looking to the heavens.

    The body of the massive divine beast in the sky flickered. Despite its bulky physique, it was able to move with astonishing crity. Before anyone present could even see it move, its tail had already struck the blue barrier.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s Blue Guardian had been able to withstand the barrage of wind des from Shi Kun earlier on, but it shattered immediately under the force of the Devouring Kun¡¯s strike, dissipating into thin air.

    ¡°Pu!¡± Chu Chuyan spurted out a mouthful of blood as she was sent helplessly flying through the air.

    ¡°Lord Devouring Kun, don¡¯t hurt her!¡± eximed Shi Kun. If Chu Chuyan were to die or lose a limb here, all of the effort he had put in over this period of time would have been in vain.

    Devouring Kun turned its massive head towards him, and a ferocious glint shed across its red eyes. ¡°Are you teaching me how to do things?¡±

    ¡°I dare not!¡± Shi Kun quickly lowered his head as he subconsciously retreated several steps. Even though he was the one who summoned the divine beast, he wasn¡¯t certain if it would refrain from attacking him if he got on its nerves.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll curb her and leave her for you to deal with,¡± said Devouring Kun. ¡°Even though we are of different races, I have to admit that this woman does look beautiful. If I were still in possession of my body, I might just be unwilling to leave her to you.¡±

    Shi Kun was left speechless.So what if you have a real body? Even a single strand of your hair is wider than Chu Chuyan¡¯s waist. What could you possibly do to her?

    However, he soon remembered that some divine beasts gain the power to take human form upon reaching a certain cultivation rank. The thought of the Devouring Kun getting steamy with Chu Chuyan ruined his mood right away.

    Shit, this really annoys me. Why does it have to be such a perverted kun?

    By this time, Chu Chuyan had found her feet again. She wiped off the bloodstains at the corners of her mouth and uttered coldly, ¡°I might be defeated, but I won¡¯t be humiliated. You¡¯ve forced me into this.¡±

    In the sky, the Devouring Kun burst intoughter. ¡°So what if I¡¯ve forced you into doing anything? Lass, your strength is nowhere inparison to mine. Struggle all you want¨Dit¡¯ll all be in vain. Just surrender! Young master Shi will treasure you well.¡±

    ¡°Hmph!¡± Chu Chuyan¡¯s face turned cold as she slowly rose into the air.

    The eyes of Shi Kun and hisckeys widened in disbelief.

    While cultivators were able to leap through the air upon reaching the fourth rank, only ninth rank cultivators possessed the ability to truly fly in the air. This wasmon knowledge in this world.

    What was with the sight before them, then? Chu Chuyan was definitely not a ninth rank cultivator, so how could she rise up in the air in such a manner?

    ¡°Hm?¡± The Devouring Kun was also taken aback by what it was witnessing. It reassessed thess in front of it, wanting to see what she was up to.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s hair and her dress fluttered freely in the air, entuating her slender figure. She gave off a noble and lofty aura that mesmerized everyone present, and even Shi Kun¡¯sckeys began eyeing her tantly, not bothering to hide their gazes from Shi Kun.

    Only Qiao Xueying sensed a whiff of danger. However, her side held the overwhelming advantage at the moment¡ªthere was an iparably gigantic kun on their side, after all. She couldn¡¯t understand her inner feeling of unease

    ¡°Absolute Freeze!¡± Chu Chuyan cried out.

    Blue light gushed out from her body, causing the surrounding temperature to plummet swiftly. Snow began to descend on the surrounding area, nketing the earth in white. Even the sky had taken on an eerie ice-blue hue.

    It was truly a pleasing sight to behold, especially when paired with Chu Chuyan¡¯s immacte beauty. Shi Kun¡¯sckeys were enchanted. Shi Kun himself gasped with wonder as well.Such a beautiful woman will soon be in my embrace. Ahh, what bliss!

    Qiao Xueying was the only one who retained her sense of reason. She quickly grabbed Shi Kun¡¯s robe and pulled him away. The other two fourth rank cultivators also noticed that there was something amiss with the situation, and hurriedly backed away as well.

    However, the remaining third rank cultivators reacted slower than the rest, and it didn¡¯t take long for them to be cloaked in frost. Their movements grew slower and slower, and they eventually turned into ice sculptures. The inertia from their earlier motion caused them to fall forward and shatter into countless ice fragments. Eerily enough, their bodies were so thoroughly frozen that not even a single drop of blood was spilled.

    Looking at the remains of his shattered subordinates, Shi Kun swallowed fearfully. ¡°Th-this¡­¡±

    The prowess Chu Chuyan was showcasing was clearly abnormal. This was definitely far beyond what someone of her cultivation rank was capable of.

    ¡°Mere tricks!¡± Devouring Kun sneered in disdain. It had seen what had happened on the ground, but it didn¡¯t think that it posed a threat to him at all. How could those weak ants even be ced in the same category as itself?

    It felt that it was beneath it to even dodge an attack of this caliber, so it stayed floating where it was without moving. It didn¡¯t believe that Chu Chuyan had the means to freeze its three-hundred-meter long body.

    It¡¯s nothing more than a breeze to me.

    However, its carelessness soon spelled its downfall. Its eyes widened when it realized that its body was actually beginning to freeze, and there was a hint of fear in its voie as it eximed, ¡°No, that¡¯s not right. This is¡­ absolute zero!¡±

    With an immediate swish of its tail, it tried to escape from this domain of ice, but it was already toote. Its massive body was alreadypletely covered in frost, and the mes of its life had begun to extinguish.

    ¡°This is impossible! How could a cultivator as weak as you possibly know such a profound forbidden art?¡± The Devouring Kun howled in disbelief as it desperately tried to flee. However, as a manifested soul, it no longermanded the great strength it did at its peak, and it couldn¡¯t stop the frost from engulfing it.

    ¡°Stop! Someone of your rank can¡¯t possibly sustain this forbidden art! You¡¯ll die! Even if you somehow survive it by chance, all of your ki meridians would be destroyed as a result of this! Stop right now!¡±

    Its initialckadaisical and teasing voice slowly warped with horror and fury before finally weakening into desperate pleas.

    However, nothing it said was able to faze Chu Chuyan at all. She continued channeling the forbidden art with an impassive look on her face.

    Slowly, the degree of the Devouring Kun¡¯s thrashing grew smaller and smaller as it lost strength. Eventually, its blood-red eyes were coated in blue frost as well, and its massive body lost its ability to levitate in the air. It began to plummet to the ground.

    An object of such massive size falling to the ground from such a great height was bound to crash with devastating impact. The Devouring Kun¡¯s body immediately shattered upon collision, producing a mushroom-shaped cloud and sending out a massive shockwave that devastated the forests in the vicinity.

    It was fortunate that the Devouring Kun was only a soul manifestation. Otherwise, if it possessed its original body and had fallen from such a height, the impact of it would have been as though the entire dungeon had been struck by a giant meteor.

    ¡°It¡¯s finally over¡­¡± A poignant smile lifted the corners of Chu Chuyan¡¯s lips as her body finally sumbed to the strain. She couldn¡¯t sustain her flight anymore and began falling to the ground.

    I guess it isn¡¯t too bad to die like this. It¡¯s just a pity that Shi Kun ran away too quickly, so I wasn¡¯t able to kill him. I wonder if Ah Zu will be able to escape from their clutches¡­

    It was then that a nervous voice called out, a voice that sounded incredibly familiar. ¡°Honey!¡±

    She found herself falling straight into a warm embrace. She opened her eyes, and Zu An filled her field of vision. But his presence hardly brought her any relief at all; if anything, it only maddened her. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you run away!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Chuyan 520 Rage points!

    She was already a cripple now, and the threat was far from over. She had failed to deal with Shi Kun and some of hisckeys, and there was no doubt that they would continue their pursuit of him once they returned to their senses!

 Chapter 156: Loversâ€™ Suicide

    <h4>Chapter 156: Lovers¡¯ Suicide</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°How could I leave my wife and run off on my own?¡± replied Zu An grimly.

    Looking at Chu Chuyan¡¯s pale face and blood stained dress, he felt a bitter feeling in his chest. He quickly took out some recovery medicine and fed it to her. ¡°Quick, eat this. While it isn¡¯t as miraculous as the medicine I gave you earlier, it¡¯s still medicine concocted by Divine Physician Ji. It¡¯ll do wonders to your recovery.¡±

    Many of them were given to him by Ji Xiaoxi. Considering how much Ji Dengtu doted on his daughter, he wouldn¡¯t scrimp on this.

    ¡°It¡¯s no use. My ki meridians are already ruined.¡± Chu Chuyan shook her head. Her voice was incredibly calm despite her plight, as if she had already resigned herself to fate.

    ¡°Who says that it won¡¯t work! There¡¯s definitely a way out of this! We¡¯ll look for Divine Physician Ji afterward. I¡¯m sure that he¡¯ll be able to figure something out!¡± Zu An insisted vehemently as he stuffed the best medicine in his possession into Chu Chuyan¡¯s mouth.

    As perverted as Ji Dengtu was, his medical skill was the real deal. Besides, even if he couldn¡¯t do anything about it, surely there would be something in this huge world of cultivation that would work!

    And even if there was nothing in this world that would work, he still had the Keyboard with him! The items from its lottery might just be able to create the miracle required to treat her!

    ¡°Cough cough~¡± Chu Chuyan had never been treated so crudely before, and it made her both embarrassed and agitated. However, she didn¡¯t even have the strength to move right now, let alone fight against him.

    ¡°It looks like you¡¯re on good terms with Ji Xiaoxi.¡± Chu Chuyan noticed that the sachets holding the medicine bottles had been embroidered with flowers, and there was even a faint fragranceing from them. It was clearly meticulously prepared by a woman.

    ¡°I told you that your husband is popr with women,¡± Zu An teased. However, he suddenly recalled that she was already in a bad condition and that it would be bad to anger her. So, he quickly changed the topic and said, ¡°We encountered an army of zombies in a valley a while ago. I told her to escape and seek help while I lure them away, and out of worry, she gave these to me.¡±

    Chu Chuyan sighed softly and said, ¡°Why are you exining this to me?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just afraid that you¡¯ll be jealous,¡± replied Zu An sheepishly.

    Chu Chuyan didn¡¯t respond to him anymore.

    By then, Shi Kun and the others had already turned their sights over. Shi Kun¡¯s face was so dark that it looked as if it was going to drip ink. ¡°Young miss Chu, you really do impress me. I didn¡¯t think that you would have such a powerful move that allows you to even deal with the Devouring Kun. However, you ended up crippling yourself for that. Was it worth it?¡±

    He viewed Chu Chuyan as his ideal wife and did everything he could to attain her, only for her to be crippled right before his eyes. There was no way his n would allow him to marry a cripple like her.

    With her beautiful appearance, even if she had lost her cultivation, he would still have been more than willing to bring her in as a concubine to serve him. However, her injuries were so severe that it was unlikely that she would survive this ordeal.

    Years of nning had gone to vain just like that. He had even resorted to using his greatest trump card, but it all ended up for naught. How could he possibly not be disappointed?

    Qiao Xueying had aplicated look on her face. While she had entered the Chu n with ulterior motives, the years she had spent together with Chu Chuyan had made the two of them as close as sisters. She honestly hoped that she could marry the young master.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    In her view, only the Sixth Young Master of the Shi n was worthy of bing the young miss¡¯ husband. No matter how she looked at Zu An, he wasn¡¯t worthy of her in any way.

    She never thought that Chu Chuyan would rather cripple herself than to give in to Shi Kun. It made her feel deeply guilty, for she knew that she was responsible for forcing Chu Chuyan to this point too. She reproached herself for the decisions she had made.

    Meanwhile, Chu Chuyan gazed into the sky despite having heard Shi Kun¡¯s question. She wasn¡¯t interested in answering him at all.

    Zu An noticed that there was hardly any focus in her pupils at all. He realized that she wasn¡¯t looking at the sky but nking out. Her heart had sumbed to despair¡ªshe had already given up.

    Her body temperature was frighteningly cold. Holding onto her felt like hugging a piece of ice that had been frozen for over a thousand years, chilling Zu An down to his bones. If even hugging her was enough to make him so ufortable, it was hard to imagine just how cold she must be feeling at the moment.

    During this short period of time, Zu An had already inspected her body with his ki. An ordinary person¡¯s ki meridians should have been overflowing with vitality, but Chu Chuyan¡¯s looked like the aftermath of an explosion. It was tattered and suffused with an air of destion.

    She was even weaker than an ordinary human in her current condition, let alone regaining her cultivation. The devastation of her meridians had crippled her, leaving her body almost paralyzed.

    Zu An even suspected that she might have died right away had she not consumed ¡®Faith in Brother Spring¡¯ prior to using the forbidden art.

    Shi Kun didn¡¯t seem too displeased even though Chu Chuyan wasn¡¯t answering his question, Instead, he murmured to himself, ¡°You were the number one prodigy of Brightmoon City. Even if we look at the entire world, there are very few of our age who canpete with you. You stood at such a high and lofty position, only to be reduced to a cripple now. No, you are even less than a cripple. In your current state, you wouldn¡¯t be able to tend to your daily life...¡±

    ¡°Shut up! No one will think that you¡¯re mute if you don¡¯t speak!¡± Zu An bellowed in frustration. He was already worried about Chu Chuyan¡¯s dying spirit, and yet Shi Kun still continued running his mouth. Based on his limited knowledge regarding medicine, he knew that the effectiveness of any treatment had a huge part to do with the will of the patient.

    If the patient had already given up hope, it would really be all hopeless.

    ¡°Hmph! Lowly trash like you would never understand the troubles we prodigies face!¡± Shi Kun looked at Zu An coldly. ¡°People like us are born superior to the masses. We have our own pride and dignity, and we won¡¯t allow ourselves to be looked down upon or pitied. Even if you managed to save her life, it¡¯d be nothing more than torture to her if she has to live her life as a cripple.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t object to you calling my wife a prodigy, but how is the like of you considered a prodigy too? You can¡¯t even defeat my wife despite her injuries, and you had to bring out reinforcement like a loser. That Devouring Kun was a ninth rank cultivator or something, right? He still got destroyed by my wife in a single hit. What about you then? What are you capable of? What rights do you have to be spoken on equal terms with her?¡± Zu An was already feeling terrible just by looking at Chu Chuyan¡¯s state, but this fellow still had to continue buzzing around like a pesky little fly, challenging the limits of his tolerance.

    ¡°...¡± Shi Kun.

    Being told by a good-for-nothing whom he looked down upon that he wasn¡¯t a prodigy was a humiliation to him. But he was indeedckingpared to Chu Chuyan, making him unable to refute Zu An¡¯s words at all.

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Kun for +314 Rage!

    What are you acting so smug for? It¡¯s not you who is formidable but Chu Chuyan!

    Shi Kun could only console himself in such a manner. He reminded himself that it was beneath him to bicker with people of Zu An¡¯s caliber and calmed his emotions before carrying on, ¡°I might becking, but I have a huge n behind me. Even at birth, I¡¯m already at a height where you can never hope to reach no matter how you struggle. I don¡¯t say these words with the intention to brag; I¡¯m just conveying the truth to you. The resources I have at my disposal far surpasses yours. It¡¯s unlikely that you¡¯ll ever be able to treat her no matter how you struggle, but it¡¯s different for me.

    ¡°Not only can I preserve her life, but I can reconnect her ki meridians too. If you truly love her, hand her over to me instead of selfishly keeping her by your side. You¡¯ll only be stalling her future.¡±

    Qiao Xueying nodded in agreement too. ¡°Indeed, the Shi n has a lot of connections in the capital and the physicians in the imperial court. They also have innumerable treasures at their disposal. Their means definitely far surpassed what the Chu n is able to do. If you hand the young miss over to the Shi n, the young master would definitely figure out a way to treat her!¡±

    Seeing that Zu An had fallen into deep thought, a hint of a smile curled on Shi Kun¡¯s lips. For someone of his position, there was no need to resort to violence all the time. Sometimes, he could get things done just by appealing to a person¡¯s morality and utilizing some of the advantages he was blessed with.

    He would try his best to cure Chu Chuyan upon receiving her, but admittedly, the chances of her making a full recovery were unlikely. That being said, it should be easy to sustain her life, which meant that he would be able to keep her as a concubine by his side.

    It was just a pity that she wouldn¡¯t be able to move, so he wouldn¡¯t be able to do a lot of fun stuff with her.

    Thinking that Zu An had really been persuaded, Chu Chuyan¡¯s eyes zed with fear. She feebly muttered, ¡°D-don¡¯t hand me to anyone else.¡±

    Even though she didn¡¯t like howckadaisical and boastful Zu An was, at this very moment, she only felt at ease being by his side. She was afraid that he would be moved by Shi Kun¡¯s words and hand her over to that scoundrel.

    Zu An directed a smile at her and said, ¡°Honey, what are you saying? How could I possibly hand you to another man? I was just thinking of another problem.¡±

    Shi Kun¡¯s face darkened. ¡°Zu An, are you really intending on foiling young miss Chu¡¯s future over your own selfishness?!¡±

    Zu An rolled his eyes. ¡°Please, I¡¯ve watched far too many dumb protagonists falling for such tricks on TV that I think that it¡¯s an insult that you even think that you can fool me with something of this level. You¡¯re trying to stand at a moral high ground to criticize me just so that you can conceal those depraved thoughts in your mind. I must really look gullible in your eyes, huh? I¡¯ll take responsibility for my own wife¡¯s condition. An outsider like you can scram!¡±

    Shi Kun¡¯s face turnedpletely cold. ¡°What arrogant words! You can¡¯t even protect her well, and you still dream of treating her? Young miss Chu, you might me me right now, but I¡¯m certain you¡¯ll understand my intention in the future!¡±

    With a wave of his hand, he ordered hisckeys to kill Zu An. While he figured that there were some restrictions to the ¡®Knock-You-Up Eyes¡¯ skill, the pain he had suffered earlier was not something he would want to experience twice. He wasn¡¯t willing to take the risk once more, so he ordered hisckeys to do the job instead.

    Meanwhile, he would just wait patiently for an opportunity to leap in and end Zu An¡¯s life for good!

    ¡°W-wait.¡± Chu Chuyan spoke up feebly.

    Shi Kun¡¯s face lit up in delight. He raised his hand to stop his subordinate and asked, ¡°Young miss Chu, have you thought things through?¡±

    Ignoring him, Chu Chuyan turned to Zu An and said, ¡°Kill me.¡±

    ¡°???¡± Zu An was dumbfounded.

    It was so abrupt that he was taken off guard.

    However, Chu Chuyan got even more anxious upon seeing that Zu An wasn¡¯t reacting. She quickly added, ¡°I¡¯m already a cripple now, and you aren¡¯t a match for them. Are you intending to watch as I get humiliated by another man? You should flee after killing me and inform my parents about what happened here. Get them to avenge my death. That¡¯s all you can do for me now.¡±

    Zu An exhaled deeply. He slowly raised his sword up.

    Chu Chuyan closed her eyes. A peaceful smile appeared on her face as she waited for the descent of the sword that would im her life.

    ¡°Zu An, you dare!¡± bellowed Shi Kun.

    Even though Chu Chuyan had spoken softly, he was still able to hear everything loud and clear. He would rush over to snatch Chu Chuyan over if he could, but he was afraid that a sudden move from his part would end up agitating Zu An into making a reckless move.

    Zu An ignored him. He pulled his sword downward, but the trajectory caused his stab himself in the chest instead.

    Shi Kun and Qiao Xueying were dumbfounded. They didn¡¯t expect Zu An to hurt himself. What is that man up to?

    Qiao Xueying even wondered if Zu An was trying tomit a lovers¡¯ suicide for Chu Chuyan. Even though he¡¯s hateful, I didn¡¯t think that his feelings for the young miss would actually run this deep.

 Chapter 157: Diving Right Into Danger

    <h4>Chapter 157: Diving Right Into Danger</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Shi Kun was dumbfounded. Is hemitting suicide because he can¡¯t win? Well, that works in my favor too.

    His two fourth rank cultivators also heaved a sigh of relief. To be honest, they wouldn¡¯t want to face Zu An if they had a choice too. Even though thetter was a third rank cultivator, he was incredibly tough to deal with, not to mention those bizarre skills he had up his arse.

    In Zu An¡¯s embrace, Chu Chuyan felt droplets of blood sttering on her body. With disbelief reflected in her eyes, she muttered anxiously, ¡°W-what are you doing?¡±

    Why is he trying to kill himself instead? Is he trying to do a lovers¡¯ suicide because he was unable to save me?

    Perhaps it was due to the years of bond they had as master and servant, Chu Chuyan actually had the same thoughts in mind as Qiao Xueying.

    A tinge of redness surfaced on Chu Chuyan¡¯s pale face as she said, ¡°You need not do this. We¡¯re not...¡±

    Before she could finish his words, Zu An had already interjected, ¡°We can whisper sweet nothingster. For now, let me kill these hateful fellows first.¡±

    With one hand holding onto Chu Chuyan to keep her body leaned toward him, Zu An brandished the sword in her other hand and bellowed furiously, ¡°Have a taste of my forbidden art, Return of the Myriad Swords!¡±

    Everyone was still trying to make sense out of Zu An¡¯s bizarre behavior when he suddenly shouted out loud, causing the crowd to recoil in fear. They had just witnessed Chu Chuyan¡¯s forbidden art destroyed the Devouring Kun in a single strike, so they were particrly sensitive toward the words ¡®forbidden art¡¯ at this very moment.

    Considering Zu An¡¯s earlier bizarre behavior and the sudden imposing aura he was giving off, even Shi Kun instinctively decided to back down for the time being to assess the situation before deciding what to do next.

    While everyone was putting their guard up against Zu An, thetter tossed his sword aside, picked up Chu Chuyan, and fled.

    ¡°???¡± Shi Kun.

    ¡°???¡± Qiao Xueying.

    ¡°???¡± The two fourth rankckeys.

    Everyone was stunned for a brief moment before it finally dawned on them that they had fallen from Zu An¡¯s feint. Thetter was just trying to intimidate them so as to buy some time for his escape! Knowing that they had fallen for such a cheap trick made the crowd tremble in fury.

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Kun for +666 Rage!

    You have sessfully trolled Fourth Rank Lackey A for +233 Rage!

    You have sessfully trolled Fourth Rank Lackey B for +233 Rage!

    Qiao Xueying looked at Zu An fleeing silhouette with aplicated look on her face. She couldn''t give a damn about Zu An¡¯s life and death, but she couldn¡¯t help but be worried for Chu Chuyan. On one hand, she was relieved that the young miss managed to get away, but on the other, she was worried that Zu An didn¡¯t have the ability to treat her. This plunged her into a state of dilemma.

    ¡°Chase them!¡±

    The infuriated Shi Kun ordered with a roar before darting forward nimbly. As a wind element cultivator, his speed was significantly enhanced aspared to his peers. Given the disparity in their cultivation ranks, as well as the fact that Zu An was holding onto a person in his arm, he should have been able to catch up with Zu An in just a few seconds. Yet, to his bewilderment, he had only managed to close the gap slightly even after chasing for quite a while.

    Chu Chuyan was initially perplexed by Zu An¡¯s act of self-harm, but when he fled with her in his arms, she immediately understood what was going on. For a moment there, she found herself admiring his sharp wits. However, no matter what kind of ingenious n he came up with, the disparity in their cultivation ranks made it impossible for him to turn the tables on Shi Kun.

    ¡°Let me down. You might still be able to get away if you escape alone.¡±

    ¡°Shut up! How can I leave you to the lurch?¡± replied Zu An grimly.

    Under the effects of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, as long as he umted a certain degree of damage, his ki would go into a berserk mode, causing a significant enhancement in his strength and speed.

    It was using this trump card that he managed to curb Pei Mianman and Qiao Xueying back then, though he understood that these two women had gone easy on him out of other considerations. They were probably afraid of alerting the experts of the Chu n, so they opted for a physical brawl instead, which allowed him to stand his own against them.

    If they had used their elemental powers, they would surely have been able to defeat a low level cultivator like him with ease.

    Now that they were in the dungeon, there was no reason for Shi Kun and Qiao Xueying to hold back anything against him. While Zu An was in a strengthened state from the effects of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, he knew that he wouldn¡¯t be a match for them.

    He chose to harm himself and trigger the effects of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra not to raise his fighting prowess but to enhance his speed for escape. That was also why Shi Kun hadn¡¯t been able to chase up with him thus far.

    ¡°We won¡¯t be able to get away,¡± remarked Chu Chuyan with a deep sigh.

    She didn¡¯t know what kind of secret art Zu An had used in order to increase his speed, but Shi Kun was a fifth rank wind element cultivator. The difference in fundamental speed between them was as clear as day. It was only a matter of time before Zu An got caught.

    ¡°There¡¯s a ce where there might still be a glimmer of hope,¡± said Zu An as he gazed at the small hill not too far away.

    He hadn¡¯t been just blindly running away and hoping for the best. All this while, he was thinking about what he could do in order to get out of this quandary, but none of his skills and trump cards were working at all. Furthermore, it didn¡¯t seem like reinforcement wasing, or else the massivemotion earlier on would have already drawn someone over. He figured that it might be due to the terrifying emergence of the Devouring Kun that everyone was choosing to keep their distance.

    Given so, there was only one way out¡ªdive right into the depths of danger to create an opportunity.

    He had witnessed with his own eyes those terrifying zombies marching into the hill, but Shi Kun¡¯s groupcked that information. If he lured them there, he might just be able to find a way out of it.

    Of course, he understood how frightening the zombie army was. The odds were likely that he and Chu Chuyan would die in their hands too, but doing nothing at all guaranteed certain death too. At least they still stood a glimmer of hope over with the zombies. Besides, it didn¡¯t sound like too bad of a deal if he could pull his enemies down to the grave together with him.

    Welp, I guess humans buy lottery for a reason. As long as they luck out, everything would be smooth-sailing. I mean, what¡¯s a life without dreams?

    By then, the pursuers behind them were already pressing closer. Shi Kun¡¯s teasing voice sounded, ¡°Hah! Run as fast as you can; I sure would like to see where you intend to run to! The moment you run out of ki is the moment of your death!¡±

    He had made sure to keep tabs of the whereabouts of the academy¡¯s teachers before confronting Zu An and Chu Chuyan, so he knew that everyone else was a far distance away from them at the moment. They wouldn¡¯t be able to get here any time soon whereas all he needed was five minutes in order to catch up with Zu An.

    ¡°Snow, stop him!¡± Seeing that there was a forest ahead, Shi Kun bellowed.

    Qiao Xueying hesitated, but she eventually still waved her wrists, and the trees before Zu An seemed toe immediately to life. All sorts of vines began darting toward his leg, attempting to trip him over.

    Zu An had fallen for this trick once and learned from his previous lesson. He immediately executed Sunflower Phantasm to the limits and dodged everythinging his way.

    For some reason, he felt that there were more openings in the assault of the vines than the previous time.

    Shi Kun¡¯s face darkened. Naturally, he could tell that Qiao Xueying was intentionally going easy on the two of them, but at this juncture, he chose not to say anything about it.

    Wind God Dash!

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Shi Kun¡¯s legs began moving so quickly that they turned into a blur, raising his movement speed by a great deal. This movement skill was extremely harsh in terms of ki depletion, so he would avoid using it unless the situation necessitated it.

    Hearing the ¡®whoosh¡¯ behind him, Zu An knew right away that Shi Kun was going to attempt something. So, he sidestepped in an attempt to dodge the attack, but it was toote. Shi Kun¡¯s sword had already struck his back.

    ¡°Hm?¡±

    Shi Kun expected his sword to plunge right through Zu An¡¯s chest, but instead, he felt a huge counterforce pushing back the tip of his sword. It was then that he realized that Zu An was wearing an armor underneath!

    He would have never thought that this poor bloke would actually have such a powerful armor, resulting in his attack which should have been enough to prate Zu An¡¯s chest to barely sink in by an inch. By the time he attempted to increase the force, Zu An had already run off.

    Shi Kun harrumphed coldly. I¡¯ve already caught up with you. Where else do you think you can escape to?

    Under the buff of Wind God Dash, his speed was at least 20% faster than Zu An. On top of that, the other party was holding onto a person in his embrace and didn¡¯t have a sword anymore. If he couldn¡¯t even take down Zu An with such an overwhelming advantage on his side, he would really be utterly inept!

    Shi Kun directed his sword toward Zu An¡¯s legs, thinking that it would be an easy fight once he severed thetter¡¯s tendons and crippled him.

    However, Zu An abruptly flung his sleeves backward, and a shadow suddenly shot out from his wrist area.

    Shi Kun could tell right away that it was a hidden crossbow. He remembered one of hisckeys having such a weapon. However, he didn¡¯t think much of it as such weapons crossbows could only pose a threat toward low ranked cultivators. For a high level cultivator like him, the arrows wouldn¡¯t even prate his ki armor.

    So, he continued pushing his sword ahead,pletely disregarding the arrow shot in his direction.

    But just as his sword was about to pierce into Zu An¡¯s leg, his body suddenly jolted. To his bewilderment, the arrow had actually pierced through his ki armor to sink into his shoulder. While the soft armor he was wearing had mostly cushioned the impact, limiting the injuries he sustained, he could feel a bizarre chill seeping into his wounds and spreading all over his body, causing him to shudder uncontrobly.

    ¡°What is this? Is the arrowced with poison?¡± Shi Kun was shocked. He hurriedly drove his ki in order to drive off the coldness.

    At the same time, Zu An abruptly turned around and attacked Shi Kun too. There was a pitch-ck dagger in his grasp.

    ¡°Young master, be careful!¡± Qiao Xueying had experienced the prowess of the dagger herself, so she immediately shouted out a warning.

    Shi Kun had suffered a bit fromcently thinking that he could use his ki to block the enemy¡¯s arrow, so he wisely chose to face Zu An¡¯s dagger directly this time around. He tossed aside his sword decisively and generated several wind des to strike at Zu An.

    The abrupt wind des struck Zu An squarely, causing him to spurt blood. The strike had sustained significant injuries to him. On top of that, the obstruction of the wind des closed up the temporary opening Shi Kun had revealed, giving thetter more than enough time to dodge his iing attack.

    Seeing this, Zu An could only sigh helplessly and back away,.

    The hidden crossbow was a weapon he had obtained from Jia Zhengjing¡¯s group, but he reced the normal arrows with the armor-piercing arrows he had obtained from the zombie army.

    It was fortunate that the mechanism of the hidden crossbow was rather simple. All Zu An had to do was to trim down the length of the armor-piercing arrow and slot them into the crossbow for it to work. Thanks to it, he managed to catch Shi Kun off guard for a moment there.

    But it was a pity that he didn¡¯t manage to kill him in the end.

    Zu An noticed that Qiao Xueying and the other two fourth rank cultivators were about to catch up, so he quickly turned around and continued fleeing.

    Meanwhile, Shi Kun stopped momentarily on the spot to consume a recover medicine and expel the chilling aura that had seeped into his body with his ki. Then, he extracted the arrow from his chest and examined it with a frown. ¡°Just what kind of arrow is this? How could it be this formidable?¡±

    This wasn¡¯t the time for him to be brooding too much over such matter. Zu An had already gotten a lead on him, so he quickly ordered hisckeys to continue the chase.

    Eventually, Zu An finally arrived at the stone doors at the foot of the mysterious hill. Seeing that Shi Kun and the others were still hot on his heel, he gritted his teeth and began walking toward the stone doors.

    Chu Chuyan had remained in his embrace throughout the chase. From where she was, she could clearly see his blood-soaked clothes and hear his furiously thumping heart and his erratic breathing. Slowly, her eyes that were previously clouded in despair began filling with something else.

    Born with great talents, she had always been the tall figure who protected others under her wing. Yet, in a twist of fate, she found herself helplessly in the arms of a man who was desperately doing everything he could to save her. He could have run off by himself, but he refused to let go of her, a baggage who was dragging him down.

    ¡°Fool...¡±

    Chu Chuyan silently murmured her evaluation of him before slowly closing his eyes.

    Zu An was oblivious to the thoughts of the beauty in his arms. He ran over to the stone doors worriedly, fearing that he wouldn¡¯t be able to open it. However, perhaps it was because the effect of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra had significantly enhanced his strength, this time, he was actually able to open a small crack that was enough for a person to slip in.

    The pitch-ck cavern thaty before him screamed of untold dangers. Zu An clenched his fists tightly before heading into the darkness.

    ...

    Not too longter, Shi Kun and the others finally arrived before the stone doors too. They could feel the chilling airing from the cracks of the slightly ajar doors, and their eyes flickered in hesitation and trepidation. ¡°What¡¯s this ce?¡±

    ¡°Hmph! If even Zu An can enter this ce, is there any reason why we can¡¯t? Chase him!¡± With a grand wave of his hand, he took the lead and charged right in.

    He had lost far too much today that he couldn¡¯t give up at this juncture.

 Chapter 158: We Might Not Have Been Born In the Same Quilt, But We Shall Die in the Same Grave

    <h4>Chapter 158: We Might Not Have Been Born In the Same Quilt, But We Shall Die in the Same Grave</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    When Zu An walked through the stone doors with Chu Chuyan in his embrace, he was surprised to see that the interior of the cavern wasn¡¯t as dark as he expected.

    There was faint grayish light providing some illumination behind the stone doors, making the surroundings look slightly ashen. It looked a little like the smoke drifting from small viges, just that this smoke depicted not of life but death.

    An eerie wind blew over, causing Zu An¡¯s goosebumps to rise up. The surroundings had an inexplicable atmosphere that made him feel incredibly ufortable. At the same moment, he was starting to feel a little weak from having lost too much blood.

    All of these observations made him realize that the environment in this cavern wasn¡¯t friendly to living beings. In the context of a game, it would be something like a death aura that constantly gnawed away at one¡¯s health points. While the effects weren¡¯t too pronounced on cultivators, this could be fatal for Chu Chuyan, who was already in a weakened state.

    So, Zu An quickly stuffed a couple of medicine into Chu Chuyan¡¯s mouth and ate some himself too. It was only then that the feeling of difort finally alleviated a little.

    He was relieved that he had found quite some recovery pills from Jia Zhengjing and the other assassins. Together with the medicine that Ji Xiaoxi had given to him prior to their separation, they should be able to hold on in here for a while at least.

    Chu Chuyan had never been treated so brashly by a man before, but she knew that he was doing it for her sake, so she didn¡¯t lose her temper. Still, she simply couldn¡¯t get used to it. To turn her focus away from her awkwardness, she asked, ¡°What¡¯s this ce?¡±

    She realized that Zu An¡¯s earlier escape wasn¡¯t aimless; he had a destination in mind right from the start.

    ¡°This is the cavern of the zombie army. I reckon that it¡¯s a mausoleum...¡± Zu An quickly filled her in about what he had seen at the valley earlier on.

    ¡°The den of the zombie army...¡± Chu Chuyan¡¯s eyes widened in shock. ¡°Aren¡¯t you courting death by running in here?!¡±

    She had already resigned herself to her death, so it didn¡¯t matter where she was. However, she couldn¡¯t stand the idea of Zu An putting himself into danger for her sake.

    ¡°Instead of sumbing to Shi Kun outside, we might as well take a gamble here. Perhaps, if we shake things up enough, heaven might just take pity on us and show us a way out.¡± Zu An¡¯s tone was casual, but his nerves were all strung up, ready to react as soon as any danger surfaced.

    Chu Chuyan sighed deeply and said, ¡°You didn¡¯t have to force yourself to save me. You could have escaped all alone, but you leaped deeper into the abyss instead.¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem that bad to die together and be a pair of lovebirds.¡± Zu An chuckled. ¡°Even if we aren¡¯t born in the same quilt, we should die in the same grave as a couple.¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s pale face blushed a little. ¡°Pui. You¡¯re thinking of taking advantage of me even at a time like this.¡±

    ¡°What can I do? I¡¯m afraid that there wouldn¡¯t be any chance to say these words in the future.¡± Zu An noticed that Chu Chuyan¡¯s eyes were half-closed, as if she would fall into a deep sleep at any moment. In order to pique her spirit, he was doing everything he could to attract her attention.

    ¡°If we do get out of this alive, won¡¯t you consider living in the same room as me?¡± asked Zu An with a cheeky smile.

    ¡°Even at a time like this, you still are in a mood to talk about such stuff?¡± remarked Chu Chuyan.

    ¡°It¡¯s even more so during times of trouble that we need something to look forward to. This darned ce is really terrifyingly scary.¡±

    While Zu An chatted, he was scanning the area carefully while proceeding forward. Due to the gray fog lingering in the surroundings, his vision was limited. Nevertheless, he could still tell that they were currently walking through an extremely long passageway.

    This passageway was inclined downward, which meant that they were heading underground. Perhaps they were heading to the depths of hell itself.

    The walls along the passageway were dry and smooth on touch. There were all sorts of marks on them, which on careful examination, appeared to be murals. It depicted the scene of a gruesome battlefield.

    However, Chu Chuyan didn¡¯t pay any heed to all of this. She was brooding about what Zu An said before replying feebly, ¡°Why are you so insistent about living together with me? You¡¯re already...¡±

    Her words trailed off halfway, perhaps not wanting to hurt Zu An¡¯s feelings.

    Zu An burst intoughter and said, ¡°You¡¯re my wife after all. It doesn¡¯t make sense for newlyweds to sleep in separate rooms, no? As for my physical condition, you need not worry about it. I have already consulted Divine Physician Ji about it, and all that¡¯scking is just the main ingredient. Once I get my hand on it, I¡¯ll be able to treat my affliction, and we¡¯ll be a pair of blissful couple.¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s face reddened. She instinctively disregarded the final sentence and asked, ¡°You¡¯re referring to the Evanescent Lotus?¡±

    ¡°Indeed. Who knows? I might just find it here,¡± replied Zu An.

    Chu Chuyan fell silent. A ce that was creeping with an air of malevolence like here couldn¡¯t possibly give birth to a treasure like the Evanescent Lotus.

    However, with the despairing situation they were already in, she didn¡¯t want to destroy his confidence. So, she replied, ¡°Alright. If we ever get out of this situation safely, you can move into the same room as me.¡±

    She was well aware of her condition. It was unlikely that she would be able to walk out of the dungeon alive, so she didn¡¯t mind satisfying him a little before her death.

    ¡°Really?¡± Zu An was overjoyed. He never expected to hear such a response from Chu Chuyan.

    Chu Chuyan was just about to reply when she suddenly caught sight of something. ¡°What... is that?¡±

    Zu An also raised his head to take a look, only to realize that the passageway was far taller than he had expected. The ceiling was thirty meters high, and there were countless rubies embedded in it, emanating a faint red glow.

    ¡°T-this...¡± Zu An was unable to see it clearly due to the concealment of the fog. However, a sudden slight breeze dispersed the fog slightly, granting him a much clearer view of the things that were on the ceiling. They weren¡¯t rubies at all but the eyes of countless bats!

    These bats wererger than any other Zu An had ever seen before, each spanning the size of a bathtub. Their sinister appearances and sharp fangs were more than indicative of their vile nature.

    ¡°Be careful, those are Vampiric Boar Bats! They are known to be able to suck the blood of a cattle dry within seconds!¡± Chu Chuyan warned Zu An anxiously.

    Even though she had already resigned herself to fate, she was still innately disgusted by such creatures.

    Making a quick estimation based on the number of red eyes on the ceiling, there had to be at least a thousand of these Vampiric Boar Bats above them. Zu An gulped. If all of them were to swipe down on them at once, the two of them would be instantaneously reduced to dry corpses.

    Isn¡¯t this ce the base of the zombie army? Why would there be vampiric bats here too?

    All of a sudden, the hibernating bats began to move. They seemed to have caught a whiff of blood in the air. As more and more of them woke up, Zu An realized that things were going to get troublesome.

    One must know that both he and Chu Chuyan were coated in fresh blood at the moment. They must have looked truly delectable in the eyes of those vampiric bats at this very moment.

    It was then that a peal of heartyughter sounded behind, ¡°Hahaha! Looks like I¡¯ve finally caught up to you!¡±

    Shi Kun and the others were around ten meters away from them at the moment, and he was staring at them with a cold sneer sitting on his lips. He had already summoned dozens of wind des around him, ready to end Zu An¡¯s life at any moment.

    Zu An knew that it would be hard for him to deal with Shi Kun in his current condition, so he decisively shot an arrow toward the ceiling before hurriedly diving to the ground with Chu Chuyan.

    The bats were still rousing from their sleep when the great reverberation from the sudden arrow agitated them, causing them to spread their wings and swipe downward right away.

    ¡°What are those?!¡±

    Shi Kun was horrified to see a wave of ck lifeforms swooping in his direction. He instinctively shot out the wind des around him to stop them.

    Bursts of blood exploded in the air as ten of the vampiric bats were immediately reduced to shreds. Unfortunately, such a course of action was no different from poking a ho¡¯s nest. All of the surrounding bats immediately identified Shi Kun as their enemies and charged toward him.

    Shi Kun¡¯s face paled. He quickly channeled his ki to summon even more wind des around him so as to fend against the onught of the bats. At the same time, Qiao Xueying also anxiously summoned a swirl of green leaves around her so as to fend off the aggressors.

    As for the two remaining fourth rank cultivators, they also did everything they could to hack down the vampiric bats heading in their direction. However, there were simply too many of them, and every single one of them was fairly strong.

    One of the fourth rank cultivators made a slip-up and ended up getting his defenses breached by a vampiric bat. It immediately bit down on his neck and began sucking.

    A miserable cry sounded. He anxiously tried to pull the bat away from his neck, but in an attempt to do so, he ended up forsaking all defense. As a result, even more bats swooped down and began sucking his blood.

    His miserable cries didn¡¯tst long, for his tall and brawny body dried up at a visible pace. It took just a few seconds before he was reduced to just a mere corpse.

    Shi Kun was enraged and horrified. Knowing that the danger these bats posed, he dared not to hold back anymore. He immediately summoned a tornado filled with wind des to massacre all of the massive bats around him.

    Qiao Xueying¡¯s face also turned frosty. She began flicking the green leaves outward like sharp daggers, sniping down the massive bats one by one. At the same time, the little ponytail on her head began to grow, extending into countless vines filled with green thorns. These vinesshed through the bats mercilessly, smacking them down.

    The remaining bats swiftly realized that they had picked on someone beyond their means and hurriedly escaped the area, leaving behind just a couple of carcasses lying around.

    Despite this, Qiao Xueying didn¡¯t retract her hair right away. Looking at the bloodied bat carcasses hanging on the tree vines extending from her hair, she disdainfully raised her sword and chopped it off. In just a few moments, however, her hair grew back to its original length.

    On the other hand, Shi Kun took a look around, but Zu An and Chu Chuyan were no longer anywhere to be seen. By this point, it was apparent that they had been done in by them, and he flew into a state of rage. ¡°Bastard Zu An! Even if I have to chase you through the gateways of hell, I¡¯ll mince you into pieces!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Kun for +999 Rage!

    ¡°Young master, this ce feels sinister. I have an ominous feeling about this. Why don¡¯t we retreat first and reassess the situation?¡± asked Qiao Xueying.

    Shi Kun harrumphed coldly and said, ¡°Are you getting worried about your young miss now? Did you think that I didn¡¯t notice that you went easy on them earlier on? Whose fault do you think it is that they were able to get here in the first ce?¡±

    ¡°I...¡± Qiao Xueying felt a little indignant. She was earnestly saying those words out of worry for Shi Kun. As a wood element cultivator, she was able to sense the life force lingering around her, but this ce exerted a strange pressure on her that made her unable to exert her ki smoothly. It felt like there was some sort of terrifying existence lurking in here.

    Shi Kun btedly realized that he had already lost a lot of his subordinates, and it would be unwise for him to fall out with Qiao Xueying at this point in time. So, he mellowed his tone and said, ¡°Snow, I was a little too agitated so my words turned out harsher than I thought. Don¡¯t take them to heart. While this ce is a little sinister, it¡¯s just filled with Vampiric Boar Bats and those sorts of monsters. As long as we keep our guard up, we shouldn¡¯t face too much trouble. We can¡¯t possibly watch idly while young miss Chu dies in Zu An¡¯s hands. Let¡¯s quickly find her and get out of here, alright?¡±

    Qiao Xueying nodded. ¡°Yes, young master. It was indeed my fault earlier. I was too soft.¡±

    Shi Kunughed heartily and said, ¡°It¡¯s fine. This shows that you¡¯re a sentimental person who values loyalty. I would have been far more worried if you were able to bring yourself to be callous to young miss Chu instead.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Hearing those words, Qiao Xueying, who was conflicted all this while, was finally able to squeeze out a smile. ¡°Thank you for your understanding, young master.¡±

    Shi Kun nodded before beckoning her deeper into the passageway.

 Chapter 159: Donâ€™t Come Here

    <h4>Chapter 159: Don¡¯t Come Here</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    While Shi Kun and the others were dealing with the Vampiric Boar Bats, Zu An quickly slipped deeper into the passageway with Chu Chuyan in his hands.

    ¡°I wonder if those bats carry viruses on them,¡± murmured Zu An worriedly.

    There were many bats flying around earlier, and the air was suffused with their flesh and blood. One must know that bats were known as a vat of germs and viruses in his previous world; many diseases that gued humans had originated from them. Even the great Bear Grylls, a man who stood at the top of the food chain, had to cook them for several hours before daring to eat them.

    However, such thoughts were swiftly dispelled from Zu An¡¯s mind. We¡¯re already on the verge of getting killed! Who cares about viruses or germs?

    After running for some time, Zu An noticed that he was finally approaching the end of the passageway and heaved a sigh of relief.

    While the passageway was still fairly safe, there was only one road to run and nowhere to hide. If Shi Kun were to catch up with them in there, they would be doomed.

    Of course, the end of the passageway was likely to be filled with dangers too, especially the zombie army Zu An encountered previously. So, he was nning to find a hiding spot and camp there. As long as he didn¡¯t alert the zombie army, he should stand a fair chance of surviving this ordeal.

    His n was simply to lure Shi Kun sufficiently deep into the cavern, where he would be utterly obliterated by the zombie army.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    He carefully entered the cavern, only to feel two terrifying wind pressure gushing down toward his head right away. Fortunately, he was prepared and immediately used Sunflower Phantasm, allowing him to retreat a meter back right away.

    Once he regained his footing, he immediately took a look at his assants. They were two ax-wielding zombie soldiers.

    The two zombie soldiers were stunned by their missed attacks. They were certain that their strikes were going tond squarely, so it was unimaginable to them how their target was able to vanish right before their eyes.

    However, after a brief moment of astonishment, they instinctively raised their axes and began chasing after Zu An.

    Zu An shook his head. These two zombie soldiers looked to be at the second rank at most, so there was no way they could have been a match for him. It was just that he was reluctant to get into a fight with Chu Chuyan¡¯s in his arms, so he chose to flee instead. In any case, his speed was faster than the two of them anyway, so there was nothing to worry about.

    But unexpectedly, their chase rmed some of the other soldiers, leading to more and more people getting on Zu An¡¯s tail, as if a deadly snake game. Soon, there were more than twenty soldiers chasing after him.

    Seeing this, Zu An frowned. He was starting to get a little pressured now, knowing that he couldn¡¯t continue like that. At this rate, it wouldn¡¯t take long for the zombies to fully encircle and corner them.

    So, while escaping their attacks with his movement skill, he began scanning the area for ces to hide. To his dismay, even though the area was far wide than the passageway, there were no hiding spots around. The cavern was practically empty.

    ¡°Your movement skill is really incredible,¡± remarked Chu Chuyan.

    She saw how Zu An was able to maneuver around the zombies without getting struck at all, reminiscent of a butterfly weaving around a field of flowers. This was not her first time seeing Zu An¡¯s movement skill, but for some reason, it seemed much more formidable than before.

    As a prodigious cultivator, she was naturally interested in his movement skill too.

    He really has done well concealing his true skills. It¡¯s no wonder why Shi Kun and hisckeys end up suffering a lot under his hands. He really is... scheming.

    ¡°It was imparted to me by my teacher. It¡¯s my trump card to survive dangerous situations.¡± Zu An was nning to attribute everything that he couldn¡¯t exin to his teacher.

    ¡°Your teacher is an incredible person. I can¡¯t figure out its crux even when watching it up close,¡± said Chu Chuyan.

    She might have lost her cultivation, but her eyes were still working perfectly. She had been paying attention to Zu An¡¯s movement skill all this while, but to her astonishment, she was still unable to make sense of it.

    ¡°He¡¯s indeed an incredible man.¡± Thinking of the unfathomably powerful Old Mi, Zu An nodded in agreement as well.

    ¡°What about that skill of yours which... makes other pregnant?¡± This was the one thing that Chu Chuyan was the most curious about. She had seen with her own eyes just how much Shi Kun suffered from it earlier on, and she couldn¡¯t imagine how there could be such a skill in the world. At least Zu An¡¯s ingenious movement skill was still within the boundaries ofmon sense, but that skill sounded nothing but illogical to her.

    Now that she thought about it, it was weird how Snow failed to assassinate him in the Chu Estate back then. Everyone was baffled back then to hear that a fifth rank cultivator had suddenly suffered from a stomachache and ended up failing her mission, but looking at it retrospectively, Zu An must have used this skill against her.

    Snow must have been enraged to have such an embarrassing skill used on her...

    ¡°It¡¯s not real pregnancy; the skill just simtes the feeling of childbirth. However, there¡¯s a hefty price to pay for using it too, so there¡¯s a limit to how many times I can use it. Otherwise, I¡¯d have made that bastard faint from the pain!¡± Zu An suddenly changed his tone at this point and said, ¡°Honey, if you¡¯re interested, there¡¯s actually no need for me to use the skill at all. We can do it for real.¡±

    Chu Chuyan was rendered speechless. It was as if he had to tease her every few words he spoke. However, having known one another for quite some time, she had gotten used to him running his mouth that it couldn¡¯t faze her as much anymore. ¡°Earlier, your speed and strength increased significantly after you got injured. Was it a skill you learned from your teacher too?¡±

    ¡°Yup. The cultivation technique I¡¯m learning is rather peculiar.¡± Zu An thought about how Old Mi had been hiding amidst the Chu Estate all this while, as if a dangerous power was after his life. This made him realize that the skills he was learning could potentially bring about danger, so he wasn¡¯t sure if he should tell Chu Chuyan about the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra or not as it could risk implicating her too.

    Fortunately, Chu Chuyan didn¡¯t probe deeper into it. One¡¯s cultivation techniques and skills were considered a secret in this world as revealing them were no different from exposing one¡¯s openings to another. Her questions earlier were a little overboard, but she simply couldn¡¯t resist her curiosity, especially since she was already on the verge of death.

    She didn¡¯t think that Zu An would answer her question earnestly. Is he not guarded against me at all?

    Zu An looked at Chu Chuyan and fell into deep thought once more. Afraid that she would fall asleep, he tried searching for a topic to engage her, but the warning bells in his mind suddenly red then. He immediately darted aside instinctively.

    Pu!

    A sharp spearnded on the spot where he was standing earlier.

    Zu An noticed that there were nine zombie soldiers armed with spears standing not too far away. In terms of physique and equipment, these zombie spearmen were clearly of a higher position than those zombie axemen.

    Those zombie spearmen orderly ced their shields and spears in front of them before marching a step by a step toward Zu An, closing the distance between them. Their orderly footsteps and imposing vibes made Zu An feel as if he was faced with an entire army.

    This wasn¡¯t good for Zu An. The formation of the zombie spearmen was much more organized, leaving no room for him to weave around with Sunflower Phantasm. As a result, he could only continuously back down.

    Soon, he could already see the wall of the cavern behind him. He knew that if he backed any further, it would really be the end of him. So, he waited for an opportunity to dash forward to leap above their heads. This was the only way out that he could see here.

    But while he was in the midst of jumping past them, three of the zombie spearmen leaped up into the air and thrust their spears from multiple angles toward Zu An.

    ¡°*&%*[email protected](¡° Zu An.

    What the hell! These zombies are actually able to jump so nimbly too?!

    The earlier clumsy zombie axemen had left him with a mistaken impression of the zombie soldiers as a whole, which led to him underestimating what the zombie spearmen were capable of.

    Stuck in midair, there was no way for him to dodge. However, he didn¡¯t give up just like that either. He quickly raised his arm and shot out an arrow from his hidden crossbow. It struck one of the spearmen in the air squarely.

    Under the impact, the spearmen were knocked down to the ground, and after twitching for a bit, it stopped moving altogether. It looked like the armor-piercing arrow was indeed extremely effective against these zombies.

    At the same time, Zu An also took out Poisonous Prick to deflect one of the spears heading in his direction, pushing it a few centimeters away to his side, where another zombie spearman was standing. Then, making use of this opening, he quickly nicked Poisonous Prick toward one of the zombie spearmen, causing a loud screeching sound from the dagger scraping against the bones.

    Zu An thought that he could end the life of the spearman with that, but unexpectedly, thetter remained perfectly fine. It was then that he realized that these zombies were undead creatures, so the effectiveness of Poisonous Prick was limited on them.

    To make things worse, the spearman retaliated by thrusting his spear toward Chu Chuyan.

    The might of the iing spear wouldn¡¯t have posed a threat to Chu Chuyan in the past, but right now, it was more than enough to shatter her entire body. She sighed deeply before closing her eyes in resignation.

    Seeing that Chu Chuyan was going to be struck, Zu An howled furiously as he forcefully twisted his body midair to take the spear thrust with his own back.

    Pu!

    Blood spurted from Zu An¡¯s mouth, but he couldn¡¯t care much about it in the midst of the battle. He made use of the impact from the stab to bolt out of the encirclement of the spearmen.

    Meanwhile, upon feeling warm fluid dripping on her face, Chu Chuyan opened her eyes, only to see a trail of blood seeping from Zu An¡¯s mouth. She was able to figure out what had happened immediately, and her long eyshes quivered in disbelief.

    ¡°Young miss!¡±

    Numerous vines shot across the air to smash the axemen who were about to hack their axes down on Zu An and Chu Chuyan.

    Zu An turned his head around, only to see that Qiao Xueying had appeared in the vicinity. Her hair had morphed into vines once more and was currently pummeling a zombie. Meanwhile, Shi Kun and his other two fourth rankckeys were also busy fighting with a group of zombie soldiers.

    ¡°What are you looking at? It¡¯s not as if I¡¯m trying to save you!¡± Noticing Zu An¡¯s gaze, Qiao Xueying red at him and harrumphed.

    ¡°I know that you¡¯re embarrassed to admit that you care about it. Don¡¯t worry, I understand.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Chu Chuyan.

    This fellow sure is narcissistic. Also, is he seducing another woman right in front of me? This feels... weird.

    Qiao Xueying noticed Shi Kun shooting a bizarre nce at her upon hearing Zu An¡¯s words, and it made her both embarrassed and infuriated. ¡°What nonsense are you spouting? I¡¯ll kill you!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for +134 Rage!

    As she said those words, she sent a vine straight toward Zu An, intending to tie him down.

    However, Zu An was already prepared. With a chuckle, he dodged the vine easily and escaped. Qiao Xueying immediately tried to pursue him, but a new group of zombie soldiers charged forth to stop her path.

    Shi Kun, on the other hand, was incredibly displeased to see this. It was one thing for Zu An to be holding onto his dream lover, but to think that he would dare to flirt with his maid too! He red at the skeleton axemen around him and roared furiously, ¡°How dare you block my path? Go to hell!¡±

    A powerful outburst of wind des gushed outward, slicing the zombie axemen into slices. The zombies might be incredibly resilient, but there was no way they could survive after being sliced into pieces.

    However, Shi Kun¡¯s actions caught the attention of the zombie spearmen. They immediately turned around, directed their spears toward Shi Kun, and began marching over. These spearmen were much more difficult for Shi Kun to deal with; even his powerful wind des only left small marks on the shields of the spearmen before dissipating.

    Watching as the formation of zombie spearmen approached him, Shi Kun¡¯splexion darkened. He gathered his strength and swept his sword outward, releasing a ten meters long ki that sliced all of the shields of the zombie spearmen into two.

    The zombie spearmen looked at the half-shattered shield and let out a miserable cry.

    ¡°Shit, they are calling theirpanions!¡± eximed Qiao Xueying.

    While Shi Kun¡¯s group was gued with chaos, Zu An decided to head deeper into the cavern. He was thinking of seeking refuge first till both Shi Kun and the zombie army wore each other out before slipping past them to escape the cavern.

    Shi Kun immediately noticed Zu An¡¯s escape and tried to give chase. He, too, didn¡¯t want to stay in this cavern for too long anymore, so he wanted to quickly secure Chu Chuyan and end Zu An¡¯s life so that he could leave this ce. He wasn¡¯t certain if he could remain safe if Zu An were to venture any further in.

    However, the formation of zombie spearmen stood in his path, so he could only roared at Zu An furiously. All of a sudden, he noticed that Zu An had stopped running. Thetter¡¯s footsteps halted for a brief moment before he began retreating. Seeing this, Shi Kun burst intoughter, ¡°Hahaha, what¡¯s wrong? Why aren¡¯t you running anymore?¡±

    Zu An continued gazing at the depths of the cavern as he retreated. With a gulp, he asked, ¡°Brother Shit, how many zombie spearmen are you able to deal with simultaneously?¡±

    Shi Kun was confused by the same question. Then, he heard the sound of orderly matching echoing from the depths of the cavern. He took a closer look and saw rows of zombie spearmen marching out from a stone door at the other end of the cavern.

    Shi Kun recoiled in horror, bellowing, ¡°Fuck you, Zu An! Don¡¯t you daree over here!¡±

 Chapter 160: Iâ€™m the One Suffering the Brunt of the Impact!

    <h4>Chapter 160: I¡¯m the One Suffering the Brunt of the Impact!</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    With a look of absolute horror, Shi Kun bellowed at Zu An ferociously.

    But of course, there was no way Zu An was going to listen to Shi Kun. With Chu Chuyan in his arms, he ran right toward where Shi Kun was.

    Looking at the zombie spearmen trailing behind him, Shi Kun felt like something was exploding in his mind. Not once had he ever hated a single person in his life so much as he did at this moment.

    The situation didn¡¯t allow him any respite to wallow in his emotions though. He hurriedly utilized all of his means possible to fend against the zombie spearmen and escape, otherwise he would be swamped very soon.

    ¡°Young master, be careful!¡±

    Qiao Xueying directed some of her vines toward Shi Kun to block some of the zombie spearmen charging toward him. The wood element¡¯s ability seemed to be advantageous toward the undead, possibly because of its life attribute.

    As powerful as Shi Kun¡¯s Tempestuous des were, there was no flesh or blood for him to shed off from the bodies of the zombie spearmen, not to mention that they were wielding shields. As a result, he found himself in a helpless position.

    If I¡¯m struggling against them too, given how weak Zu An is, he should be dead by now, right?

    At this point, he couldn¡¯t care less whether Zu An was dead or not; his focus was on Chu Chuyan. He quickly scanned his surroundings, only to widen his eyes in the next moment. He saw Zu An weaving around the zombie spearmen in a blur, waiting for opportunities tond a strike. Amazingly, every strike he dealt would end with the death of a zombie spearmen.

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t make sense! His strength and speed are only at most a match for me!¡± Shi Kun was bewildered. He had tasted the defensive prowess of the zombie spearmen personally, and they were definitely not the kind of mobs where one could kill in a single spear thrust.

    Wait a moment, spear?

    Shi Kun suddenly noticed that Zu An was wielding a spear identical to those of the zombie spearmen. It seemed like he had just picked it up from the floor. A thought surfaced in his mind, and he immediately hollered to his other twopanions, ¡°Use the zombie¡¯s weapons! They can curb them!¡±

    Right after saying those words, he immediately picked up one of the spears fallen on the ground and started brandishing it. Despite hiscking proficiency with the spear, he found that the zombies¡¯ movement speed would be slowed by at least half if hended a blow, thus relieving the pressure on him.

    Who could have thought that their spear would actually wield such great prowess!

    Shi Kun considered bringing a batch of these spears out. It might just be some sort of incredibly powerful weapon!

    Qiao Xueying and the other fourth rank cultivators quickly followed suit. They grabbed a spear each and began fighting back. It looked like they would be able to hold on for the time being.

    While Zu An had lured most of the zombie spearmen over to Shi Kun¡¯s side, there were still five who were still insisting on chasing him.

    ¡°Let me down,¡± said Chu Chuyan feebly.

    Zu An shook his head, refusing to let her go.

    Chu Chuyan sighed helplessly and exined, ¡°It won¡¯t be easy for you to deal with so many zombie spearmen while holding onto me. You can put me down by the corner first and fight them off. Once you¡¯re done, you can just... just pick me up and leave.¡±

    ¡°Ah, I misunderstood your words.¡± Zu An chuckled softly. He gently ced her down by the corner of the cavern while standing guard in front of her. Then, he turned around and charged toward the five zombie spearmen.

    He exerted Sunflower Phantasm to its very limits, stabbing the spear in his hand toward them. However, due to hiscking proficiency in spear, he found it hard to circumvent the zombie spearmen¡¯s shields to strike their bodies.

    ¡°Time your attacks carefully to the moment they strike,¡± reminded Chu Chuyan.

    She had already resigned herself to fate, but she didn¡¯t want to see Zu An dying for her here. As the number prodigy of Brightmoon City, herbat sense and experience far surpassed that of the current Zu An.

    Zu An nodded. He flitted amidst the zombie spearmen, baiting their attacks. He waited until the moment one of them lowered their shields slightly to thrust their spear forward to swiftly push his own spear through, striking it squarely in the chest.

    Using the same trick, he struck another one of the zombie spearmen squarely in the chest, killing it on the spot. However, while his spear was still lodged inside its body, one of its allies suddenly charged forward to grab the other end of his spear, attempting to pull it off his hand.

    ¡°Let go!¡± bellowed Zu An as he attempted to retract the spear forcefully.

    The zombie spearman lurched forward from the sudden tug, but it still insisted on holding the weapon. Just like that, the two of them started a ludicrous tug-o-war match in the midst of the sinister battlefield.

    It was then that the other two zombie spearmen also nked him from the sides and attempted to take him down while his hands were busy.

    Just as it looked like Zu An was going to fall under their coordination, he suddenly raised his arm and shot an arrow right into the head of the zombie spearman tugging on his spear.

    ¡°...¡± Zombie spearman.

    What happened to sportsmanship?! It¡¯s supposed to be a proper battle, so how can you resort to hidden weapons?

    You have sessfully trolled Zombie Spearman for +6 +6 +6...

    Zu An was amused to see that. He didn¡¯t think that these zombie soldiers would possess sentience. It was just a pity that they didn¡¯t seem too smart, or else the amount of Rage points he could earn would have been greater.

    But again, if they were really smart, he would probably face much greater difficulty dealing with them.

    While his mind was wandering a little, his body hadn¡¯t stopped moving at all. After shooting down the zombie spearman before him, he swiftly retracted his spear and stabbed it into the bodies of the remaining two zombie spearmen by his sides in quick session.

    After eliminating the five zombie spearmen, Zu An delightfully turned his head around to report his sess to Chu Chuyan, only to be nearly scared out of his wits.

    Three zombie axemen had already arrived by her side, and they were already in the midst of hacking their axes down on her. Despite so, Chu Chuyan simply looked on with a peaceful expression on her face, not making the slightest noise at all.

    Zu An immediately threw the spear in his hand forward with a javelin and killed one of the zombie axemen. Then, he raised his hidden crossbow and shot the other one down.

    As for thest one, he drove Sunflower Phantasm to its very limits, and just in the nick of time, he managed to block off the ax at the veryst moment. He then quickly picked up one of the spears lying around and ended the zombie axeman¡¯s life.

    After it was all done, he quickly checked Chu Chuyan¡¯s condition carefully as he eximed, ¡°Are you injured? Why didn¡¯t you ask for help?!¡±

    ¡°You were in a dangerous position earlier too. I didn¡¯t want to distract you. Besides, I¡¯m already a goner. It makes no difference whether I die right now or a littleter.¡± Chu Chuyan¡¯s face slowly reddened as she quickly added, ¡°Also, can you stop touching me?¡±

    Zu An scratched his head sheepishly as he quickly retracted his hand. ¡°I¡¯m checking if you¡¯re injured. I¡¯m not trying to taking advantage of you.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Chu Chuyan replied with a nod before falling silent.

    Meanwhile, the other zombie spearmen had seen the tragic plight of itsrades over at Zu An¡¯s side and quickly charged toward him. With a rough estimation, there should be at least thirty to forty of them.

    A deep furrow immediately formed on Chu Chuyan¡¯s face. ¡°Hurry up and let me down!¡±

    ¡°That won¡¯t do. I¡¯m unable to keep so many of them at bay simultaneously. If I leave you here, you¡¯ll die without a doubt!¡± Zu An shook his head. After how Chu Chuyan refused to speak up despite being in imminent danger, he knew that he couldn¡¯t leave her alone anymore.

    He quickly picked up her body before charging right into the midst of the zombie spearmen. He had to take the preemptive move here, or else things would get troublesome once they finished creating an encirclement around him.

    His movements were unpredictable, and he was swiftly getting more and more adept at using the spear together with his Sunflower Phantasm. Quite a few zombie spearmen were struck squarely by him and fell dead even before they could even react.

    ¡°You can only use one hand holding onto me, and it¡¯ll affect your speed and form too. You can¡¯t use a spear properly with just one hand. On top of that, you¡¯re also hastening the rate of depletion of your ki too. At this rate, you¡¯ll really die!¡± said Chu Chuyan anxiously.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, didn¡¯t you say that vermins live for centuries? I won¡¯t die that easily!¡± said Zu An. ¡°I¡¯m d that my wife isn¡¯t a pig, or else it won¡¯t be as easy for me to fight with you in my arm.¡±

    Chu Chuyan grumbled coyly, ¡°You¡¯re the one who is a pig.¡±

    Seeing that Zu An had already made up his mind, she chose not to say anything lest she distracted him. Nevertheless, there was still a worried furrow persisting on her forehead. It wouldn¡¯t be easy for him to deal with so many zombie spearmen simultaneously even in his peak state, let alone now that he was handicapped with her.

    A whileter, however, Chu Chuyan realized that she had still been underestimating Zu An¡¯s strength. Even while holding onto her, he was still able to move elusively, and every strike of his spear was able to effectively im the life of a zombie spearman.

    In fact, in terms of strength and speed, he was already on par with her in her peak condition. Factoring in his powerful movement skill too, if she didn¡¯t resort to her elemental powers, it was likely that she wouldn¡¯t be a match for him.

    After consecutively killing 23 zombie spearmen, Zu An¡¯s speed began to slow down. His exertion was starting to take a toll on him, evidenced by his heavy breathing. Holding a person in one hand and brandishing a spear in the other was definitely a tiring act, such that Zu An¡¯s right arm was aching terribly, almost to the point of numbness.

    To make things worse, the more he killed the zombie spearmen, the more attention he attracted from the others. More and more of them were forsaking Shi Kun¡¯s side to charge at him.

    Damn it! Are zombies attracted to my charm too?

    ¡°Brother Shit, you always talk as if you¡¯re the greatest in the world, so why aren¡¯t you pulling your weight right now? All of your zombies areing my way now!¡± cursed Zu An.

    Shi Kun immediately cursed back without bothering to put on his usual pretense, ¡°Bloody hell! We were the ones who were controlling the bulk of the zombies earlier, giving you an easy time. Stop grumbling and do your part!¡±

    He was clearly the one who was receiving the brunt of the blow here, and yet, the one who was holding onto his beloved goddess still dared to im the greatest credit here andin about it. This made Shi Kun feel incredibly stifled.

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Kun for +999 Rage!

    On the other hand, Zu An had no spare attention to check the inflow of Rage points anymore. He tightened his left hand, pulling Chu Chuyan closer to him, and he continued brandishing his spear at those zombie spearmen.

    Unfortunately, both his speed and strength had clearly fallen greatly. Barely after he killed a zombie spearman and was going to retract his spear, one of its allies immediately thrust its spear toward Chu Chuyan. Clearly, they had realized that Chu Chuyan was his greatest weakness right now.

    Zu An gritted his teeth as he twisted his body and took the blow for Chu Chuyan.

    Puchi!

    The spear plunged into Zu An¡¯s flesh, leaving his consciousness flickering for an instant. He was already in a weakened state at the start, and this attack nearly took him down for good.

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡± Chu Chuyan cried out anxiously.

    Zu An squeezed out a smile and replied, ¡°It¡¯s almost like I¡¯m putting my life on the line to court you. Have you considered betrothing yourself to me in reciprocation?¡±

 Chapter 161: Superficial Brothers

    <h4>Chapter 161: Superficial Brothers</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°How could you be in the mood to joke despite being in such a situation?¡± eximed Chu Chuyan.

    Zu An dodged an attacking from one of the zombie spearmen as he replied, ¡°Since I¡¯m already injured, shouldn¡¯t I at least try to maximize whatever benefits I have for myself? Otherwise, I would just be getting hurt for nothing.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Chu Chuyan.

    She was really having difficulties trying to catch up with Zu An¡¯s leap in logic. Is this what a normal person should be thinking about in a situation like this?!

    Despite Zu An''sckadaisical tone, he was already giving it everything he got. He hurriedly consumed a Blood Replenishment Pill to heal himself up, or else he would probably die right away if he were to be struck even once more.

    A warm flow of energy gushed through his body and his limbs. While the rate of recovery wasn¡¯t instantaneous like ¡®Faith in Brother Spring¡¯, it was still fairly fast by conventional standards. He could feel his injuries slowly closing up, and his mind felt invigorated once more.

    Zu An was earnestly d that Ji Xiaoxi had teamed up with him earlier on and given him so many precious medicines from Divine Physician Ji. Otherwise, he would have already died by now.

    In any case, the recovery in stamina gave Zu An the strength he needed to continue his fight against the zombie spearmen. His arm was still persistently aching, but he forced himself to turn a blind eye to it and pushed himself. There were several times where his spear grew dull from overuse, and he would simply decisively toss away his spear and snatch a new one from his enemy¡¯s hands.

    Through sheer tenacity, he eventually managed to defeat the dozens of zombie spearmen around him.

    Zu An stabbed the current spear he had on hand into the ground and leaned his body on it in order to remain standing. He was desperately gasping for air, and his chest was pumping up and down intensely. His face was reddened, and his hair was drenched in sweat, which dripped down on the beauty he was holding onto.

    Chu Chuyan took a good look at the man who was giving his all to protect her. She knew deep well that if not for him insistently holding onto her, he should have been able to escape easily with his formidable movement skill and speed.

    Was this how it felt like to be protected by someone?

    Zu An wasn¡¯t exactly strong, but his persevering spirit and tenacity touched her heart. She had never been protected by a man in such a manner before. The sweat and blood that had soaked part of her cloak carried the thick scent of masculinity that made her heartbeat hasten.

    Seeing that Zu An was looking at him, Chu Chuyan quickly averted her gaze.

    ¡°It¡¯s fortunate that it was only this much. If there were any more zombie soldiers, I might not have been able tost until now,¡± said Zu An.

    He immediately regretted raising that g, for the sound of coordinated footsteps sounded once more right after he made that remark. He raised his head to take a look, only to see yet another toon of zombie soldiers walking over. This time around, they weren¡¯t equipped with spears but swords.

    Sensing a far greater aura from them than from those zombie spearmen, Shi Kun¡¯s face turned livid. ¡°Zu An, you really have a foul mouth!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Kun for +666 Rage!

    Zu An was also rendered speechless.

    First the zombie axemen, then the zombie spearmen, and now the zombie swordsmen. The hell, is this Civilization V? Bloody hell!

    Zu An cursed under his breath, but he still slowly got to his feet. His hand was still trembling at the moment, not from fear but from having overexerted himself earlier on.

    ¡°Put me down! You might still stand a chance if you run away now. You have already saved me many times so far, and I¡¯m earnestly grateful to you. However, there¡¯s no need for you to persevere. Even if I don¡¯t die in their hands, I also don¡¯t have much time left to live. You don¡¯t have to give up your life for me!¡±

    As the two of them were close together, Chu Chuyan could clearly sense his trembling body. She knew that he had already reached his limit and would die without a doubt before the assault of these zombie swordsmen.

    ¡°Say no more. You¡¯re my wife, so how can I abandon you?¡± Zu An revealed a bitter smile. ¡°Of course, if you wish to help me, you¡¯re more than wee to give me a kiss. You might just be able to unlock my hidden potential with that.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Chu Chuyan.

    How can you still act like a ruffian at a time like this?

    Zu An still wanted to continue borating on this topic, but those zombie swordsmen weren¡¯t giving him any ck at all. They charged toward him with their swords in hand, moving at a speed that was a third faster than those zombie spearmen.

    Astonished, Zu An quickly raised his spear to protect himself.

    Bam!

    The spear and the sword collided with one another heavily. The powerful rebound from the impact nearly sent his spear flying from his hand.

    Astonishingly, the individual prowess of these zombie swordsmen had actually reached the fourth rank!

    Zu An should have been able to overpower them in terms of strength and speed in his berserk state, but due to his severe injuries and the earlier prolonged battle, his body was already utterly exhausted and weakened, which put him in no state to sh directly with these zombie swordsmen.

    While he was shing with the first zombie swordsman, the others flitted over tounch their attacks too. Zu An hurriedly swept his spear horizontally and barely managed to fend against their attacks with difficulty. Unexpectedly, one of the zombie swordsmen suddenly raised his leg and kicked him squarely in the chest, sending him flying three meters away.

    The impact of the kick left the ki in Zu An¡¯s body in disarray, rendering him powerless for a moment there. The nearby zombie swordsmen also had no intention of allowing him to recover either. They quickly charged forward to hack down on his body.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An thought that it was the end, but a green silhouette suddenly appeared in front of him. She quickly weaved a massive made out of vines, blocking off the swordsing from all around.

    Taken aback, Zu An stared at the slender woman standing right before him.

    Qiao Xueying red at him and said, ¡°What are you looking at me for? I¡¯m not saving you! Anyway, you owe me two lives now!¡±

    Zu An chuckled cheekily and replied, ¡°Yes yes. It looks like there¡¯s no other choice for me than to repay your magnanimity by betrothing myself to you.¡±

    Qiao Xueying¡¯s face reddened. While blocking off the attacks from the surrounding zombie swordsmen, she harrumphed furiously, ¡°One of these days, I¡¯ll make sure to rip off that stinky mouth of yours!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for +233 Rage!

    ¡°You¡¯ve never had a taste of it before. How do you know whether it¡¯s stinky or not?¡± Zu An burst intoughter.

    ¡°...¡± Qiao Xueying.

    ¡°...¡± Chu Chuyan.

    Unable to take it anymore, Qiao Xueying snapped, ¡°If you have the strength to talk, hurry up and get up from there. I can¡¯t hold on much longer!¡±

    The zombies surrounding her and Shi Kun earlier numbered even more than Zu An¡¯s, so she didn¡¯t have it easy either despite her higher cultivation. It was true that the life force from her wood element cultivation was able to curb these zombies to a certain extent, the reverse was true as well. The deathly aura lingering in this cavern was also suppressing her prowess too.

    Due to that, the difficult battle she had earlier had also nearly sapped her dry. Under the relentless sword shesing from all around, her vine began to slowly wither.

    Just as the vines were about to copse, Zu An suddenly stood up, and his spear morphed into a blur. In just an instant, he released over a dozen thrusts, piercing several zombie swordsmen closest to them dead.

    ¡°Y-you... How did you...¡± Qiao Xueying was shocked.

    The strength and speed Zu An had exerted in that split moment were greater than what he had revealed thus far in the entire battle!

    Zu An shrugged in response. ¡°Well, I managed to make a breakthrough while I was fighting.¡±

    One of the reasons why he was caught off guard earlier, other than the fact that his ki was in disarray, was because he realized that he had made a breakthrough.

    Phoenix Nirvana Sutra allowed him to raise his cultivation by suffering hits, and he had sustained significant injuries over the course of the battle. The earlier heavy kick he suffered provided thest few golden specks required to fill his fourth formation.

    The rise of every cultivation step could recover one¡¯s vitality and injuries to some extent, providing Zu An with the strength needed for him to continue fighting at least for the moment.

    ¡°...¡± Qiao Xueying.

    ¡°...¡± Chu Chuyan.

    ¡°...¡± Shi Kun.

    One must know that even making a breakthrough of a single cultivation step was incredibly difficult to even for prodigies like them. It was unthinkable to them that a person could actually make a breakthrough in the midst of a battle!

    To make things worst, Zu An even spoke with a matter-of-fact tone, as if it was perfectly normal for everyone else. It made it seem like the effort they had put into advancing their cultivation rank had been in vain.

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for +211 Rage!

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Kun for +444 Rage!

    Looks like my wife is the best after all. She doesn¡¯t get jealous of my rise in cultivation, unlike the other two. Hmmm? Why didn¡¯t I receive any Rage points from the other fourth rank cultivator?

    Curious, Zu An turned to look over at Shi Kun¡¯s side, only to find that the only surviving fourth rank cultivator had been pinned on the wall. His body was filled with ring wounds, which made it seem like he had been hacked to death. His eyes were widenedrge, a sign that he had died with many grievances.

    Why is it that a third rank cultivator is able to hold his ground here whereas a proudte fourth rank cultivator like me ended up biting the dust? Goddamnit!

    Zu An could roughly fathom the thoughts of the fourth rank cultivator in his final moments, but he had been too preupied with fighting the zombie soldiers on his side that he couldn¡¯t spare any attention toward the system, so he didn¡¯t know if the fourth rank cultivator had provided him with any Rage points.

    All of a sudden, Zu An heard the sound of wind whooshing around him. The zombie swordsmen had begun swarming around him once more.

    He quickly activated Sunflower Phantasm and treaded amidst the enemies. From time to time, whenever he spotted an opening, his spear would dart forth tounch a surprise attack.

    Unfortunately, these zombie swordsmen were far more skilled than the earlier zombie swordsmen. Most of them were able to react on time to block his surprise attacks, and he had to trade at least ten blows before he could end his target¡¯s life.

    Shoosh shoosh...

    A sharp sound of something piercing through the air sounded. Zu An¡¯s heart skipped a beat as he raised his gaze to take a look. Just as he had expected, several arrows were headed from different directions toward him and Chu Chuyan.

    There were around eight archers in the vicinity!

    Zu An was able to deflect these arrows with his spear, but he could hardly feel relieved at all. The worst-case scenario had indeed happened.

    He had witnessed the prowess of these zombie archers back in the valley. While there weren¡¯t too many of them at the moment, their ability to coordinate with the zombie swordsmen made them a major threat. It would be nigh impossible to fight the archers and the swordsmen simultaneously.

    Zu An¡¯s worries were swiftly proved right.

    Every time he was about to kill a zombie swordsman, an arrow would whiz in his direction, leaving him with no choice but to retract his spear and go on the defensive. And if he tried to go for the zombie archers first, the zombie swordsmen would swiftly tie him down with a barrage of attacks.

    He had to weave around the zombie swordsmen using Sunflower Phantasm and use their bodies to hide from the zombie archers. He was still barely able to hold on for the time being, but now that his movements had be severely restricted, it had gotten far harder for him tounch counterattacks.

    He knew that he would be a goner at this rate. If he lost focus for just a split moment, he would be either pierced by an arrow or hacked to death. Otherwise, he would also fall once he ran out of ki.

    ¡°Brother Shit, why don¡¯t youe over and lend me hand? We¡¯re on the same boat now. Why don¡¯t we put aside our grievances so as to tide through this crisis together?¡± said Zu An.

    He was a little perplexed as to why these arrows were aimed at him but not at Shi Kun. It was weird how these zombies were specificallying after him.

    On the other hand, Shi Kun had already noticed the situation over on Zu An¡¯s side, and he said with a chuckle, ¡°With Brother Zu¡¯s formidable skills, I believe that dealing with those minions shouldn¡¯t be an issue with you. I shan¡¯t embarrass myself here.¡±

 Chapter 162: Iâ€™m Actually An Expert

    <h4>Chapter 162: I¡¯m Actually An Expert</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An¡¯s strength frightened Shi Kun. Despite being at the third rank, the prowess he disyed was not beneath that of a fifth rank cultivator. Other than the fact that he was unable to tap into elemental powers, he was effectively no different from a fifth rank cultivator.

    On top of that, the earlier ¡®recovery¡¯ waspletely iprehensible to him. Those who could make breakthroughs in the midst of the battles were truly the prodigies of the prodigies; every single one of them would eventually leave the mark in history.

    Without a doubt, Zu An was a major threat to him which he had to stifle in the cradle right now!

    But at the same time, he was worried about all of those weird skills that Zu An had disyed thus far, so he was thinking of making use of these zombies to force them out.

    With such thoughts in mind, he said, ¡°Doesn¡¯t Brother Zu have that skill to make others pregnant? Shouldn¡¯t you be able to get out of this quandary by using it on these zombies?¡±

    ¡°Did someone m a door into your head? Just how dumb must you be to actually think that zombies can get pregnant?¡± cursed Zu An.

    In the first ce, these zombies were obviously insensitive to pain, but even if it worked, he only had one use left of ¡®Knock-You-Up Eyes¡¯. Given the army he was standing before, it would be meaningless even if he used it.

    Shi Kun nearly choked after hearing Zu An¡¯s words. Bloody hell. If even a man can get pregnant, why can¡¯t a zombie do the same?

    However, the experience he had withbor pains earlier on was so traumatic that he didn¡¯t want to talk about it before his goddess andckey, so he could only bottle his anger up inside.

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Kun for +456 Rage!

    Zu An naturally knew that Shi Kun wouldn¡¯t help him, and he was just intending it as a casual remark. He was trying to think out of the box to see if there were any means he could resort to in order to resolve the situation before him. Unfortunately, no matter how he racked his brain, he was unable to figure out a solution.

    These zombies are simply too hard to deal with. If only I have light elemental magic that novel protagonists usually wield... Hm? Wait a moment, light?

    Zu An suddenly remembered that he had drawn a bizarre shlight earlier on. He had no idea what it was used for, but it had the ability to emanate light in the presence of light. Could its light possibly be effective against the undead?

    It felt like a waste to spend a use of the shlight to verify his conjecture, but desperate situations called for desperate measures. He had to try everything possible.

    There¡¯s no use keeping all three uses of the shlight if I died anyway.

    So, the breather he got while weaving amidst the zombie swordsmen, he stabbed his spear onto the ground and summoned the Magical shlight.

    It was fortunate that even though he was in the midst of a mausoleum, the walls of the cavern, for some reason, emanated a faint luminescence. That was also why he could see his enemies and fend against them for so long.

    Not too far away, Shi Kun and Qiao Xueying had been keeping a lookout on the happenings over on Zu An¡¯s side. When they saw him tossing away the weapon in his hand, the two of them were shocked.

    Shi Kun wondered if Zu An had finally crumbled to the pressure and decided to give up here.

    On the other hand, Qiao Xueying was more worried about Chu Chuyan. As for Zu An... for some reason, she thought that he was like a persistent cockroach that continued grasping onto life no matter how dire the situation was. She had a feeling that he would still be standing even after she passed away.

    Soon, the two of them saw Zu An taking a short stick out of nowhere. Realizing that he was up to something, they made sure to keep a close eye out on him. They knew that he was a person with many mysterious means up his sleeves, so they couldn¡¯t help but wonder if that short stick was his trump card.

    Meanwhile, Zu An was feeling utterly jittery. The zombie swordsmen were already charging toward him whereas he didn¡¯t have a weapon in hand anymore. If the Magical shlight didn¡¯t work as well as he thought, both he and Chu Chuyan would be goners today.

    With his heart thumping in trepidation, he switched on the shlight.

    Overwhelming light poured forth, nearly blinding Shi Kun and Qiao Xueying.

    While there was some luminescence in the mausoleum, it was barely faint enough for one to see. When the ¡®short stick¡¯ in Zu An¡¯s hand suddenly lit up, for a moment there, they thought that they were staring at the sun in the eye.

    The zombie swordsmen fared even worse against the light. They let out miserable screeches as they desperately tried to back away. Those who were closest to Zu An even began smoking up.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An was delighted. The Magical shlight was indeed useful against the undead! He noticed that the zombie archers in the distance were in the midst of nocking their arrows, so he quickly aimed the shlight in their direction.

    No matter how fast an archer¡¯s arrow was, there was no way it could have been faster than the speed of light. Under the scorching brilliance of the shlight, the zombie archers shrieked in horror as they tossed aside their bows, covered their eyes, and ran away.

    Chu Chuyan was baffled by what she was seeing. The scene before her transcended hermon sense. It was one thing for this ¡®short stick¡¯ to be able to light up, but who could have thought that the zombies would be afraid of its light?

    While light did have a curbing effect on zombies, it wasn¡¯t at such an exaggerated degree.

    Delighted by the amazing effect of the torchlight, Zu An delightfully cast the shlight on the zombie soldiers all around him, mocking them, ¡°Heh, why don¡¯t youe here? Weren¡¯t you acting all smug earlier on?¡±

    Where his light shone, the zombies fled. It felt almost like a shepherd dog herding sheep.

    He aimed his shlight here and there, and soon, the zombie soldiers were forced to retreat to the two corners.

    You have sessfully trolled Zombie Axemen for +6 +6 +6...

    You have sessfully trolled Zombie Spearmen for +6 +6 +6...

    You have sessfully trolled Zombie Swordsmen for +6 +6 +6...

    You have sessfully trolled Zombie Archers for +6 +6 +6...

    Zu An was overjoyed. These zombie soldiers contributed a small number of Rage points each, but there was practically an army of them right in front of him. It all added up to an incredible sum.

    Shi Kun was dumbfounded. ¡°What is that in your hand?¡±

    Zu An sighed deeply and said, ¡°Since things have alreadye to this point, I shan¡¯t continue my act anymore. I¡¯m actually a light element cultivator, a hidden expert of this world.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Chu Chuyan.

    ¡°...¡± Qiao Xueying.

    ¡°...¡± Shi Kun.

    To hell with light element! Is there even such an element in the world?

    Besides, someone like you actually ims to be an expert? Hell! Who was the one who was chased around like a headless chicken earlier on?

    ¡°Brother Zu, you should have brought that item out earlier!¡± Shi Kun wondered if he could snatch that item over. No matter how he looked at it, it was clearly a powerful artifact.

    Zu An shrugged casually. ¡°I forgot about it.¡±

    Due to his shrugging action, the shlight ended up casting its brilliance on the zombie soldiers on the right side of the cavern, inducing them to shriek in pain.

    You have sessfully trolled the Zombie Soldiers for +6 +6 +6...

    Shi Kun was rendered speechless. How the hell can you forget something like this? Do you know how desperately I¡¯ve been fighting all this while? I even lost most of myckeys! Yet, you¡¯re trying to get away just by saying you forgot about it?

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Kun for +999 Rage.

    ¡°What can I do? I have too many skills on me that it¡¯s hard for me to keep track of them all,¡± replied Zu An with a helpless tone.

    ¡°...¡± Shi Kun.

    Listen to what that shithead is saying! Damn it, I really want to sink my fist into his face!

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Kun for +334 Rage!

    However, given the current circumstances, he had no choice but to suppress his fury and squeeze out a smile. ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, may I trouble Brother Zu to drive the zombies away so that we can explore the depths of the cavern? I feel that there are great treasures hidden in here. Let¡¯s bury the hatchet, and I¡¯ll let you have the first pick of whatever we find inside. How does that sound?¡±

    ¡°Sounds good to me,¡± replied Zu An.

    Chu Chuyan immediately tried to stop him, only to see Zu An herding all of the zombies toward Shi Kun¡¯s side in the next moment.

    Shi Kun¡¯s face warped in horror. ¡°Brother Zu, what do you mean by this?¡±

    ¡°With Brother Shit¡¯s formidable skills, I believe that dealing with those minions shouldn¡¯t be an issue with you. I shan¡¯t embarrass myself here,¡± replied Zu An with a smile.

    He returned Shi Kun¡¯s words back to him.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be making a move first.¡± With Chu Chuyan in his embrace, Zu An waved his hand and walked away coolly.

    ¡°...¡± Shi Kun.

    ¡°...¡± Zombie soldiers.

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Kun for +999 Rage!

 Chapter 163: The Mysterious Womanâ€™s Voice

    <h4>Chapter 163: The Mysterious Woman¡¯s Voice</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An headed deeper into the cavern with Chu Chuyan in his embrace. Had it been half an hour ago, if he had a chance to shake off Shi Kun, he would surely turn tail and leave the mausoleum. After all, the zombie army was a huge threat to him.

    However, after witnessing the ability of the Magical shlight to curb the undead, he changed his mind.

    His experience in games and novels told him this creepy mausoleum he was in had great dangers lurking in here, and rewards and risks came hand-in-hand. There was a good chance that there were incredible treasures lying in wait here.

    In the first ce, his motive was entering the Ursae Dungeon was to secure the Evanescent Lotus and release his seal. Whether he would live in bliss or misery for the rest of his life counted on this, so naturally, he wouldn¡¯t give up this precious treasure hunting opportunity!

    Since he had an ace in his hand right now, it would be a waste not to use it to its fullest potential.

    ¡°I wonder how the ¡®use¡¯ for this shlight is calcted by.¡±

    Zu An remembered that the Magical shlight could only be used thrice. Since it had remained lit all this while, did it mean to say that as long as the light didn¡¯t go out, it would still be considered as one use?

    If that was the case, it was truly a relief that this mausoleum had been emanating a faint light all this while to keep the shlight powered. Just to be safe, he even fumbled for an ignitable paper roll he was carrying with him and kept it in his hand, prepared to light it up in case he ever stumbled into apletely dark location.

    ¡°Honey, did you see Shi Kun¡¯s expression earlier? How in the world did he find the confidence to ask me to cooperate with him after what he has done?¡± Zu An harrumphed. ¡°It¡¯s just a huge pity for Snow. She¡¯s likely going to die with him there. Will you me me for that?¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Given how depleted Shi Kun and Qiao Xueying were, it was unlikely that they would be able to stand their ground against so many zombie soldiers.

    ¡°Eyy. Honey, Snow did save us twice earlier. Am I being too heartless leaving her to the lurch here? Should I turn around and just save her? Heh, I bet Shi Kun is going to be so angry that he would explode like a volcano.¡± Just imagining the situation was enough to bring a smile to Zu An¡¯s face.

    ¡°Hm? Honey, why aren¡¯t you saying anything at all?¡± Zu An suddenly noticed that something was amiss. He hadn¡¯t heard Chu Chuyan¡¯s voice for a while now. So, he lowered his head to take a look, only to see the woman in his embrace had her eyes tightly shut and face ghastly pale. She was hardly breathing at all anymore.

    Ever since she used the forbidden art, her life had already been hanging by a thread. If not for Zu An feeding her so many of Divine Physician Ji¡¯s recovery medicine, she would have already breathed herst by now.

    But even so, Divine Physician Ji¡¯s medicine only provided her with some respite; it couldn¡¯t cure her affliction. On top of that, they had been so busy on the escape that she hadn¡¯t been able to get any rest at all. She was forcing herself to focus earlier on out of worry for Zu An¡¯s safety, but now that they were finally out of danger, her tensed nerves finally rxed, and she was swiftly consumed by exhaustion.

    ¡°Honey!¡± eximed Zu An in a panic.

    He might not be a physician, but he could sense Chu Chuyan¡¯s life slowly slipping away. He quickly took out a bunch of medicine and fed it into her mouth.

    ¡°It¡¯s useless. Her ki meridians have been destroyed. Your medicine cannot fit the root of her problem,¡± a feminine voice suddenly sounded. The voice had a pleasant melodious quality to it, but at the same time, it carried an air of authority too.

    ¡°Who?! Who is the one talking?!¡± Zu An quickly swept his shlight around the cavern, searching for the person who had just spoken to him. However, he was unable to find anyone at all. A chill suddenly crept down his spine. Could it be a ghost?

    ¡°You need not care who I am. I¡¯ll only ask you one question. Do you wish to save her?¡± the feminine voice sounded. The voice seemed to have been whispered in his ears, but at the same time, it sounded so vague that it could have been from a far distance away too.

    ¡°Of course I do!¡± replied Zu An.

    ¡°Very well. Walk on, and you¡¯ll stumble upon a spirit medicine. Harvest it and feed it to her, and she¡¯ll be able to preserve her life,¡± the feminine voice sounded.

    Zu An didn¡¯t get to action right away. Instead, he asked grimly, ¡°How can I trust your words?¡±

    He knew that there was no such thing as a free lunch in the world. He did often fantasize himself as the protagonist of the world, but he wasn¡¯t so naive as to think that a random stranger he met in this mausoleum would actually help him out of goodwill.

    In his view, the owner of the voice sounded more like a demon often depicted in stories. It was probably trying to lure him into its trap through temptation.

    ¡°You have no other choice but to trust me. There¡¯s no other way for you to save her,¡± replied the feminine voice coldly.

    Zu An¡¯s heart sank. He knew that the other party was right.

    Unless he was lucky enough to stumble onto the other teachers of the academy and Ji Xiaoxi as soon as he walked out of this mausoleum, and they happened to have some sort of incredible treasure on them that could treat Chu Chuyan¡¯s condition... but how could that be possible?

    In the first ce, if the others had stumbled upon such a precious treasure, it was unlikely that they would spare it to Chu Chuyan. They had no obligation to do that. Besides, he had a feeling that not even Ji Dengtu would be able to treat Chu Chuyan even if he was here, or else Chu Chuyan wouldn¡¯t have been so despaired.

    ¡°Alright, tell me where to go!¡± Zu An gritted his teeth.

    For Chu Chuyan¡¯s sake, he could only march on no matter what kind of dangers lurked ahead of him.

    Judging from how the mysterious voice had spoken with a rude tone earlier instead of trying to entice him, Zu An reckoned that she wasn¡¯t lying to him.

    Damn it, what¡¯s wrong with me? Why am I more inclined to trust her just because she was rude to me?

    Zu An carried Chu Chuyan¡¯s body and walked in the direction pointed out by the feminine voice. Somehow, looking at this seemingly endless path before him, he felt that he was walking right into the mouth of a gigantic beast. Only the illuminationing from his shlight was able to calm his unease a little.

    Unlike before, he found himself faced with many divergent paths along the way, making the road far moreplicated than before. He felt that he had walked into abyrinth, and it didn¡¯t take him long to lose his sense of direction.

    Had it not been for the feminine voice guiding him along, he would have been utterly lost.

    He did encounter quite a few zombie soldiers along the way, and some of them were even stronger than the zombie swordsman. However, under the shine of his Magical shlight, the zombie soldiers were forced to run away from him, as if he was the monster here.

    Even the feminine voice couldn¡¯t help but remark, ¡°Looks like it¡¯s the will of heaven. If not for that mysterious item you have there, you would have never been able to reach the center of the underground pce with your strength.¡±

    Zu An made use of this opportunity to strike up an opportunity with that voice, ¡°Based on what you¡¯re saying, it seems like you have already been here for quite some time. Are you a human or a... ghost?¡±

    The feminine voice giggled softly. ¡°What do you think?¡±

    The image of a demure womanughing gently surfaced in Zu An¡¯s head. ¡°Well, regardless of whether you¡¯re a human or a ghost, you¡¯re bound to be a very beautiful woman.¡±

    ¡°Beautiful...¡± The voice suddenly fell silent at this point. There was a long pause before it sighed in destion, ¡°What¡¯s the use of being beautiful?¡±

    It was a casual remark, yet it sent Zu An¡¯s body trembling. His heart began beating nonstop, as if something had triggered his adrenaline. Back when he watched ¡®Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils¡¯, he couldn¡¯t understand why Duan Yu would be so entranced with Wang Yuyan just by hearing her voice.

    However, at this very moment, he finally understood that there were some women who had voices so entrancing that it could draw a person in.

    I guess perverts can be turned on by just about anything.

    Zu An made a jab about himself before his eyes suddenly lit up. He realized that the passageway was opening up into a wide space. Even with a brief look, it seemed to be at least several football courtsrge.

    What caught his attention the most was theke in front of him. It wasn¡¯t weird for there to be an umtion of water inside a cavern, but the pristine rity of the water was unnatural. On top of that, there were sprouting nts emanating a faint green light growing above the water. The surface of theke was cloaked in a thinyer of mist. All in all, it looked extremely conspicuous in the midst of the dark underground pce.

    While Zu An wascking inmon sense in this world, he could still tell as much as the nts were anything but ordinary.

    As if having guessed his thoughts, the feminine voice said, ¡°Indeed. The medicine that can cure yourpanion is inside theke.¡±

    Zu An could sense that Chu Chuyan¡¯s breathing was bing lighter and lighter. It was to the point where he couldn¡¯t hear it anymore unless he was focusing hard. Knowing that there was no time to be lost, he rushed over to theke with her in his arm.

    However, an instinctive shudder ran through his body in the next moment,pelling him to stop in his footstep. He turned his stiffened neck toward the left.

    He was too excited upon seeing the glowing nts above theke that he forgot to assess his surroundings carefully, and it was only now that he was able to see what he had neglected.

    There were rows of terracotta halberdiers standing in a neat formation in the midst of this massive underground square. They had towering figures, standing at around 1.85 meters tall. Even with a rough nce, Zu An could tell that there were several thousands of them.

    By the sides of the halberdier formation were formations of war chariots, and behind them was a huge battalion of archers...

    In other words, he was really faced with aplete army here!

    Zu An rubbed his eyes in disbelief, wondering if he had returned back to Qin Shihuang¡¯s Mausoleum Site Museum he had visited in his previous life.

    Isn¡¯t this practically the terracotta army?

    However, there was a difference between the two. The terracotta soldiers before him were dressed neatly in vibrant armor. Their sharp weapons hinted that they were all elite soldiers. They couldn¡¯t bepared with the dpidated terracotta soldiers he had seen in the Mausoleum Site Museum in his previous life.

    As if having sensed an intruder, blue light started gleaming in the eyes of the sleeping terracotta soldiers, and all of them suddenly turned to look at him simultaneously.

    It was hard to describe this feeling. The eerieness of being stared down by thousands of terracotta soldiers all at once was so intimidating and sinister that he nearly suffocated.

    Kacha!

    The terracotta soldiers in the front row began moving. They held their halberds loosely in their arms, but for some reason, they seemed to be pointed toward Zu An. Their movements were still a little awkward at the start, but slowly, they were bing more nimble.

    Zu An gulped. He couldn¡¯t even be bothered to gauge the individual fighting prowess of these terracotta soldiers anymore. With their numbers, they could easily crush him to death if they swarmed down on him all at once.

 Chapter 164: Choice

    <h4>Chapter 164: Choice</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°What are you in a daze for? Hurry up and beam that light on them!¡± the feminine voice lectured. She was displeased with how he was losing his focus at such a critical moment.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An finally snapped out of his daze. He quickly raised his shlight and aimed it at the terracotta soldiers before him.

    Under the ring radiance of his shlight, the vibrant colors on the terracotta soldiers began fading at a visible pace. They had been charging forward mightily a moment ago, but without a shred of hesitation, all of them turned tail to flee in the presence of the shlight. Some of them even tripped over in a moment of anxiety.

    The huge contrast between how they acted before and after made the scene appear quite ludicrous. They quickly returned back to their original position and turned their heads around, acting as if they couldn¡¯t see or hear anything at all.

    The blue light in their eyes also quickly receded. It was almost as if they had returned back into lifeless sculptures.

    ¡°Looks like it¡¯s in the instinctive nature of all lifeforms to oppress the weak and fear the strong.¡± Zu An continued directing his shlight toward the terracotta soldiers, but none of them reacted at all.

    However, Rage points was still steadily flowing into his system.

    You have sessfully trolled the Terracotta Soldiers for +6 +6 +6 +6...

    If not for the fact that Chu Chuyan is in a bad condition, I¡¯d stand here and suck all of your Rage points dry!

    Seeing that the terracotta soldiers no longer posed a threat for the time being, he quickly made his way over to theke. It was only in proximity that he realized that the green nts floating were all lotus leaves, nearly covering nearly the entireke. The faint green light he saw earlier on came from them.

    What was different about these lotus leaves was their glistening verdant exterior that greatly resembled jade. Interestingly, the huge cluster of lotus leaves surrounded a small lotus flower that sat at the very center of theke.

    Despite the sombre environment in the cavern, a divine and beautiful lotus was in full bloom. Its petals were snowy in color, resembling the beautiful fingers of ady. At the center of its petals was a yellowish core that emanated a mysterious glow that resembled the stars in the sky.

    Zu An was delighted. This must be the medicine that the mysterious voice was talking about. He was just about to head over and harvest it when he suddenly froze in ce. He realized that the lotus had suddenly vanished from view, leaving behind just its verdant leaves around.

    Is there someone else around? Is that person¡¯s cultivation rank so high that I couldn¡¯t even see his movements?

    Zu An quickly scanned his surroundings, but there was no one else to be seen other than the terracotta soldiers. At that moment, he felt like his body had been plunged into icy water. I came so far, only to be foiled at thest moment. Am I doomed to watch helplessly as Chu Chuyan loses her life?

    ¡°What are you doing? Isn¡¯t the lotus still at the same spot?¡± Noticing Zu An¡¯s crestfallen expression, the feminine voice spoke up once again.

    Taken aback, Zu An quickly raised his head to take another look, but mysteriously, the lotus had reappeared at the same spot where hest saw it.

    ¡°Huh? What¡¯s going on?¡± Zu An rubbed his eyes in confusion, only to see that the lotus had disappeared once again. This time, instead of averting his gaze, he chose to stare intently on the same spot.

    As he had expected, the lotus reappeared once more a few secondster!

    It seemed like the lotus possessed the mysterious ability to phase out of appearance.

    All of a sudden, he remembered what Ji Dengtu had said to him, and his face warped in astonishment. With a slightly bitter voice, he asked, ¡°By any chance, is it possible that this lotus is called ¡®Evanescent Lotus?¡±

    ¡°Indeed, it¡¯s called Evanescent Lotus,¡± the feminine voice replied.

    Zu An¡¯s breathing immediately hastened. He had finally stumbled upon what he had been searching all this while! However, still unable to believe his luck, he asked, ¡°I heard that the Evanescent Lotus blooms once every thousand years, and its flower only remains for several hours each time around. How long has this flower bloomed for?¡±

    His voice was quivering in fear, as if he was afraid that the lotus would wither in the next moment.

    ¡°While the Evanescent Lotus does take a long time to bloom, it doesn¡¯t take a thousand years. Also, this flower is a little special. You need not worry about it withering,¡± replied the feminine voice.

    ¡°It won¡¯t wither? How can that be possible?¡± Zu An was stunned. That was different from what he had heard from the others.

    ¡°Due to the environment this lotus grew up in and several other factors, it¡¯s different from the other ¡®Evanescent Lotuses¡¯,¡± the feminine voice said. ¡°Do you want to slowly discuss this with me or save yourpanion first? I can sense her life force gradually extinguishing. In around sixty seconds, she¡¯ll die for good.¡±

    ¡°Are there any other Evanescent Lotuses here?¡± Zu An asked hurriedly.

    ¡°Other Evanescent Lotuses? Hah, it¡¯s already a huge blessing that you were able to find this one, but you¡¯re still hoping to find more here?¡± the feminine voice harrumphed. ¡°You need not worry. This one is more than enough to save her. If she manages to repair her ki meridian, she can even raise her cultivation by an entire rank right away!¡±

    ¡°The Evanescent Lotus cannot repair her ki meridian?¡± Zu An was stunned. He didn¡¯t expect this medicine to only be able to preserve her life. For someone as proud as Chu Chuyan, there was no way she could bear living as a cripple for the rest of her life.

    ¡°This woman must have used a forbidden art far beyond her means to end up in such a state. It wouldn¡¯t be a forbidden art if one didn¡¯t have to pay a price for it,¡± remarked the feminine voice.

    Zu An¡¯s face darkened. Had it been any treasure, no matter how formidable it would be, he would have unhesitatingly used it to save Chu Chuyan.

    But this was Evanescent Lotus, the treasure he had been searching hard for all this while!

    Being sealed down there really shattered his pride and dignity, and he couldn¡¯t bear to allow himself to remain in this state. He knew that it was already a huge stroke of luck that he was able to stumble upon this Evanescent Lotus, and if he missed this opportunity, it was unlikely that he would ever find another one in his lifetime.

    If so, he could only hope that he would one day reach Master rank and dispel the seal using his own power. Now that he was finally a cultivator, he knew how difficult it was to raise his cultivation rank. Even at the very least, he felt that it would take him fifty years to reach Master rank.

    But he would have already turned into an old man by then! What was the use of unlocking ¡®little Zu An¡¯ when he was already a step in the grave?

    Besides, there was no guarantee that he would ever reach Master rank. After all, cultivation was not just all about hard work. There was also a chance that he might never get to regain his functions as a man.

    And most importantly of all, the Evanescent Lotus couldn¡¯t repair Chu Chuyan¡¯s meridians. Even if he saved her, she would have to live her life as a cripple. She might be thankful to him, but how long would her gratitudest?

    If she were to meet a man that was far more outstanding than him in the future, what would be of him?

    He wouldn¡¯t be able to say a thing at all, for he couldn¡¯t even fulfill his basic duties as a husband. Women had physical needs that needed to be satisfied too. Having read all kinds of adultery cases in his previous life, he couldn¡¯t neglect the possibility of Chu Chuyan leaving him for another man.

    He would be doing a noble deed now by saving her, but could he really confidently say that he wouldn¡¯t regret it when she scorned him for his impotence and ended up getting together with another man?

    He lowered his gaze to look at the sickly Chu Chuyan, then he clenched his fists tightly. He gently put her down before hurriedly leaping across theke to pluck the Evanescent Lotus out.

    ...

    Back to Shi Kun and Qiao Xueying¡¯s side, they were currently encircled by an army of zombie swordsmen.

    These zombie swordsmen were incensed by how Zu An undermined them earlier, but the blinding light he emanated earlier on was so terrifying that they instinctively dared not to exact vengeance on him. So, they could only vent their rage on the two remaining victims with them. In their view, the humans hade to this cavern together, so they were allrades.

    The ones to suffer the aftermath of Zu An¡¯s taunting was, needless to say, Shi Kun and Qiao Xueying. For some reason, the zombie axemen, spearmen, and swordsmen suddenly seemed to be stronger than before.

    In the first ce, the two of them were already approaching their limits, cing them in a very dangerous position.

    While Shi Kun was cursing Zu An furiously in his mind, Qiao Xueying said, ¡°Young master, we shouldn¡¯t remain here any longer. Let¡¯s return to the surface.¡±

    Shi Kun fell silent. To be honest, he felt indignant to retreat just like that. He had lost so many of hisckeys and used his most treasured trump card, but even so, he was still unable to attain Chu Chuyan.

    However, he also understood that it was meaningless for them to remain here. They couldn¡¯t even deal with the zombie soldiers before them, let alone venture any deeper from here.

    Unlike Zu An, they didn¡¯t have a tool that could repel the zombies.

    Goddamnit, why does Zu An have so many weird artifacts on him?

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Kun for +345 Rage!

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s head out now and camp outside the tomb. They can¡¯t possibly camp there their whole life!¡± Shi Kun harrumphed.

    He had already made up his mind to snatch Chu Chuyan over and take away all of Zu An¡¯s treasures. Why choose when he could have it all?

    The two of them slowly retreated while fending against the zombie soldiers. When they were just about to return back to the passageway, a terrifying pressure suddenly crushed down within the area.

    Shi Kun and Qiao Xueying¡¯s face warped in horror. Without any hesitation, they tried to channel all of the ki they had and run away. However, for some reason, their ki simply wouldn¡¯t heed their control. They found themselves frozen on the spot, unable to move at all.

    A ck fog arose in the center of the room, and a ck-armored general riding on a steed slowly appeared amidst the ck fog. All of the zombie swordsmen, zombie spearmen, zombie axemen, and zombie archers immediately halted their attack and bowed down to pay respects to it.

    Qiao Xueying found her heart beating rapidly.

    The aura emanated by the ck-armored general is even more terrifying than the Devouring Kun the young master summoned earlier. On top of that, the fact that the zombie soldiers are bowing down to it shows that it has the ability tomand lower-level soldiers. There¡¯s no way we would stand a chance against it!

    The ck-armored general nced at the duo, and astonishingly, it began uttering human speech, ¡°Hah! Two weaklings had the lot of you terrified to such an extent?¡±

    Its voice was hoarse like the vilest demons in the innermost depths of hell.

    The zombie soldiers quickly tried to exin the situation, producing some bizarre noises while making some gestures. It would appear that theircking intelligence disallowed them from speaking.

    However, the ck-armored general listened to their words and muttered to itself, ¡°There are still two more of them, and one of them is holding onto an artifact that releases terrifying light...¡±

    It swept the surroundings and noticed the body of Shi Kun¡¯sckey pinned on the wall. With a wave of its hand, the corpse flew into its grasp. ¡°He might be dead, but we shouldn¡¯t waste his flesh and blood.¡±

    As it said those words, the corpse began to dry up at a terrifying rate. In just a few seconds, all that was left of it was a ball-sized leftover that seemed to be made up of a mishmash of bone and flesh.

    ¡°The scent of fresh blood is ever so alluring.¡± The ck-armored general tossed the ¡®ball¡¯ to the side as it moaned in pleasure, as if it hadn¡¯t felt so exhrated in a long time now.

    Shi Kun gulped fearfully.

    This is too terrifying! That fellow actually feeds on human flesh and blood! Am I going to die in this darned ce? Had I known earlier, I wouldn¡¯t have used Devouring Kun in a fit of recklessness earlier. Now I don¡¯t stand a chance against that monster anymore.

    With such thoughts in mind, he began cursing the culprit who had led him into this situation.

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Kun for +777 Rage!

    The ck-armored general finally turned his gaze upon the two of them, and it said, ¡°So, which of the two of you should I dine in to first?¡±

 Chapter 165: Heh, Men!

    <h4>Chapter 165: Heh, Men!</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Seeing that the ck-armored general had turned its sight to him, Shi Kun nearly peed his pants. He had lived a life of greatness, being born into a prominent n, blessed with both looks and talent. There was a bright future ahead of him.

    Am I really going to die in this lousy ce like that?

    When he thought about how his brawny subordinate was sucked down into a ball by that ck-armored general, he began shuddering in fear.

    All of a sudden, green light surfaced on Qiao Xueying¡¯s body, then she spurted a mouthful of blood. It was hard to tell what she had done, but she had managed to break free of the restraint rooting her in ce. She quickly ran over to Shi Kun¡¯s side and touched his head, and the same green light swiftly suffused his body too.

    This was the power of life force, and it had the ability to curb the death aura of the undead.

    Qiao Xueying¡¯s face had turned pale, and blood was trailing from the corner of her lips. Clearly, using this power was extremely draining on her.

    ¡°Young master, we need to run!¡±

    There were still another few more seconds before Shi Kun was released from his seal, but before an expert of the ck-armored general¡¯s caliber, even a second or two was enough to take their lives. Not daring to waste any time, Qiao Xueying grabbed Shi Kun¡¯s body and immediately ran toward the passageway.

    ¡°You¡¯re courting death!¡± The ck-armored general flew into a state of rage and charged toward the duo.

    Looking at the speed of the ck-armored general, a hint of despair shed across Qiao Xueying¡¯s eyes. She gritted her teeth as her face steeled in determination. She knew that it was impossible for her to get away, so she decided to sacrifice herself to buy some time for the young master to escape instead.

    Her hair morphed into countless vines that began whipping at the ck-armored general. She was alreadypletely depleted, and she was burning her life force here in order to sustain herself.

    She considered using her two remaining uses of Moon Reflection here as well. While it wouldn¡¯t allow her to get away from the ck-armored general, at the very least, it could buy them some time for the young master to run away.

    Her only worry right now was that the young master wouldn¡¯t be able to flee decisively.

    If he insists on standing alongside me to fight the ck-armored general, it¡¯s likely that both of us will end up dying here.

    But all of a sudden, she felt a force pushing her from behind, sending her flying in the direction of the ck-armored general. She had been too focused on defending against the enemy in front of her that her back was unguarded, which resulted in her falling frontward helplessly.

    At that moment, Qiao Xueying¡¯s mind wentpletely nk. The only person behind her was the young master, so there wasn¡¯t even any doubt on who could it be.

    Even so, she was reluctant to let go of that tiny sliver of hope that she might just be mistaken. She still turned around, hoping that she had it all wrong.

    And when she finally saw Shi Kun¡¯s frantically fleeing silhouette, she finally descended in despair. It turned out that in Shi Kun¡¯s heart, she was nothing more than a pawn that could be thrown out at any moment in order to block an arrow...

    The ck-armored general reached out and wrapped its massive hands around Qiao Xueying¡¯s neck. The force was far greater than what Qiao Xueying could deal with, but it didn¡¯t matter anymore as her heart had already died.

    She closed her eyes and waited for the moment that she was reduced to a dried corpse.

    Unexpectedly, nothing happened even after a whileter. She opened her eyes, only to see a perplexed look on the face of the ck-armored general. To be more exact, its face was hidden in ayer of ck mist, but for some reason, she was still able to perceive its feelings.

    ¡°Another betrayal scene, huh?¡± remarked the ck-armored general wistfully before sighing deeply. It seemed to have dredged up memories from the distant past.

    Then, it harrumphed coldly and said, ¡°I¡¯ve always looked down on those who dared to betray theirrades. Come back here!¡±

    It raised its other hand and began conjuring ck mist, which swiftly revolved to form a ck hole directed toward the entrance of the passageway.

    Shi Kun was in the midst of fleeing frantically in the passageway when he suddenly felt a powerful force pulling him back from behind. He immediately lost his bnce and tumbled a few rounds backward. In his fluster, he whipped out a sword and stabbed it into the walls of the passageway before barely stabilizing himself.

    He was astounded by how a wind cultivator like himself was actually utterly helpless before this furious wind pulling him back. He could only desperately grasp onto the handle of the sword to hold his position.

    But soon, the suction force grew stronger, causing him to fly in the air. His hands were also gradually slipping from the handle of his sword. In the end, one of his hands couldn¡¯t hold on anymore and slipped off the handle, and he hurriedly reached out to w at the cavern wall beside him before he could steady himself.

    He knew that he would be a goner once he got pulled in, so he could only grit his teeth and hang on. His fingers were starting to bleed from wing against the rough cavern wall, but he couldn¡¯t care about that right now.

    ¡°Looks like you have a strong desire to live, but it¡¯s meaningless.¡± The ck-armored general¡¯s fingers twisted as the suction force grew even greater, determined to pull Shi Kun back.

    But all of a sudden, its body stiffened before it eximed in a mixture of horror and anger. ¡°How dare you covet the Evanescent Lotus!¡±

    It was in no mood to deal with Shi Kun anymore after the emergency struck. ck mist rose from his back and covered it and its steed before vanishing without a trace. Qiao Xueying, who was in its grasp, was brought away with it.

    Shi Kun was still desperately struggling in the passageway with a despaired look in his eyes as he knew that he was swiftly approaching his limits. But all of a sudden, the suction force vanished without a trace, and he fell heavily onto the ground, knocking his face swollen.

    Even so, he was delighted by the turn of events. He wasn¡¯t sure what had happened, and he didn¡¯t dare to investigate either. He quickly fumbled to his feet and ran out of the mausoleum desperately. Even when he had finally escaped through the stone doors, he continued running until he was finally several li away.

    ...

    Meanwhile, Zu An pulled out the Evanescent Lotus before slowly plucking out its petal one after another to feed his wife. There was a pained look on his face. ¡°Honey, do you know what I gave up for your sake? If you treat me badly in the future, you would be worse than a human...¡±

    ¡°Heh, men~¡± sneered the feminine voice. ¡°Your wife¡¯s life is hanging by a thread, but you¡¯re still dreaming of raising your cultivation. If I was her, my heart would be chilled by your deed.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t know shit at all!¡± cursed Zu An. However, he couldn¡¯t be bothered to exin it since his seal wasn¡¯t anything honorable either.

    ¡°How dare you speak to me in such a manner?¡± said the feminine voice sharply.

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for +314 Rage.[1]

    Zu An was stunned. Is that the name of that mysterious woman? What a queer surname she has. Had I not watched ¡®Legend of Mi Yue¡¯[2] in my previous life, I wouldn¡¯t even know how to read that character.

    However, he was in no mood to bother about her. He realized that Chu Chuyan couldn¡¯t swallow the petal because she was already unconscious. Recalling how the feminine voice had reminded him that she only had sixty seconds left to live, Zu An didn¡¯t dare to hesitate at all. He first bit the flower petals himself before feeding it to her mouth-to-mouth.

    It was a dream of countless men to share a kiss with Chu Chuyan, but Zu An was in no mood to enjoy it at all. His mind was dominated by his worry for her to think about it at all.

    He didn¡¯t dare to dawdle in the slightest throughout the entire process. He fed the petals of the Evanescent Lotus a mouthful by a mouthful to her. Both his nose and mouth were filled with a fragrance, but he couldn¡¯t tell whether it wasing from the lotus itself or Chu Chuyan.

    A whileter, Chu Chuyan finally opened her eyes. It was hard to tell whether it was because she had recovered from her earlier frail state, but she stared at him with a red tinge on her cheeks.

    ¡°You¡¯re awake?¡± Zu An was delighted. His heart was finally put at ease.

    ¡°W-what are you doing?¡± Chu Chuyan looked at the petals in his hands before ncing at his lips.

    Feeling a little guilt-ridden, Zu An quickly rified, ¡°I was saving you earlier! I wasn¡¯t trying to take advantage of you.¡±

    Chu Chuyan was silent a while before nodding. ¡°I know.¡±

    The atmosphere was a little awkward. Zu An didn¡¯t know what to say, so he instinctively bit the flower petals and leaned forward to feed her again. However, halfway through his actions, he suddenly froze up.

    She¡¯s awake now, right? There¡¯s no need for me to feed her like that anymore.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Chu Chuyan was also stunned by his action. She fidgeted unnaturally for a moment before turning her head away, saying, ¡°I can do it myself.¡±

    Zu An knew that she wouldn¡¯t ept his mouth-to-mouth feeding now that she was already awake, so he could only pass the remaining petals over to her. ¡°Here you go.¡±

    Meanwhile, he swallowed the petal of the Evanescent Lotus that was already in his mouth, wondering if one was enough for him to dispel his seal. He took out the unsealing pill that Ji Dengtu had forged for him and swallowed it down right away.

    Then, he quickly began examining the changes in his body.

    As soon as he swallowed the unsealing pill, he could sense surges of heat gushing toward his abdomen. At the same time, there was also a refreshing pulse that appeared to be from the Evanescent Lotus.

    The surges of heat swiftly mixed together with the refreshing pulse as they moved downward, opening several of his ki meridians. He felt like the shackles on his body were gradually being pried open.

    ¡°There¡¯s a chance!¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes lit up and he focused his attention on channeling thebined energy flow to open up his sealed meridians.

    Everything went well at the start, but thebined energy flow suddenly seemed to have met with a particrly resilient barrier that he couldn¡¯t break down no matter what he tried. Every time he tried, thebined surge of energy would whittle down a little. Eventually, he could only watch helplessly as it vanished.

    There¡¯s not enough medicinal energy!

    Zu An was on the verge of tears. Heaven, just why is my life so hard?!

    However, it was not all in vain. Zu An realized that his fifth formation had been filled up. Theoretically speaking, it would have required 377 Ki Fruits, which would have taken him a great deal of time. However, he managed to clear it easily with just a single flower petal here.

    The rumors were true! A single flower petal could indeed raise one¡¯s cultivation by a step.

    But what¡¯s the use of that? The ability I really wanted still hasn¡¯t returned yet!

    ¡°What is this medicine?¡± asked Chu Chuyan.

    Her mind was in a mess earlier, so she subconsciously swallowed down all of the flower petals which Zu An gave her. But when she felt a surge of mystical calming energy suffusing her own body, she immediately realized that what she had just consumed was not anything ordinary,

    Her ki meridians were still in tatters, but her injuries were healing at an insane pace. In fact, she had a feeling that as long as she recuperated carefully over the next few years, she might just be able to reforge her devastated ki meridians!

    While her cultivation would probably still remain crippled, and her movements might be even less nimble than that of an ordinary person, still, it was much better than being paralyzed her entire life.

    ¡°I chanced upon this medicine here, and I noticed that you were already on yourst breath, so I gave it to you.¡± Zu An was not the type of person who didn¡¯t leave his name behind after doing a good deed, but it felt way too intentional if he revealed the name of the Evanescent Lotus here. Besides, he was feeling too frustrated at having lost a chance to unseal ¡®little Zu An¡¯ that he didn¡¯t even want to mention it right now.

    Then, it suddenly dawned on him why he hadn¡¯t heard the feminine voice all this while.

    ¡°Who dares to touch my Evanescent Lotus?¡± a furious voice bellowed not too far away.

    1. It¡¯s a different Mi from Old Mi. However, this surname is quite rare, notably the surname of Queen Dowager Xuan in the Qin Dynasty.

    2. It¡¯s a famous historical drama on the Qin Dynasty following Queen Dowager Xuan, otherwise known as Mi Yue.

 Chapter 166: Soul Suppression Seal

    <h4>Chapter 166: Soul Suppression Seal</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    You have sessfully trolled Zombie General Zhang Han for +999 Rage!

    Zhang Han?[1]

    Zu An was taken aback. Why does this name sound so familiar?

    However, he didn¡¯t have any spare attention to be thinking deeper into this matter. Even the zombie soldiers were hard enough to deal with, and now a zombie general had emerged too. Without a doubt, this wasn¡¯t someone whom he could deal with.

    He was still perplexed as to why he could harvest the Evanescent Lotus so easily earlier. Such treasures tended to have powerful beasts protecting them.

    Speak of the devil indeed!

    Zu An quickly picked up Chu Chuyan with the intention to flee, but the zombie general was simply too fast. There was no chance for him to run away.

    ck mist rose out of nowhere, and a ck-armored general emerged from it. It scanned the surroundings before finally ring at the terracotta soldiers by the side. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you stop the invader?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Terracotta soldiers.

    We did try, alright! But that terrifying light in his hand is able to strip us of our colors easily...

    It was then that Zu An noticed that the ck-armored general was holding Qiao Xueying in his hands. Looking at the dazed look in her eyes, he couldn¡¯t help but wonder what the ck-armored general had done to her.

    Ah, why isn¡¯t Brother Shit anywhere to be seen? Is he dead? Also, why did this ck-armored general spare Qiao Xueying¡¯s life? Do zombies have lust too?

    Zu An was impressed with how he still had the leisure to think about such random thoughts even when he was in such a dangerous position.

    The ck-armored general looked at Zu An and Chu Chuyan before turning his attention toward theke behind them. His face warped in horror as he eximed, ¡°No!¡±

    His figure blurred, and almost instantaneously, he appeared right beside the two of them. He gazed at the disappeared Evanescent Lotus in theke and shuddered fearfully. ¡°You two actually... plucked the lotus out. Do you know how big of a cmity you¡¯re bringing to the world?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Zombie General Zhang Han for +1024 Rage!

    Zu An finally understood what Qiao Xueying and the others had gone through earlier. The terrifying pressure exerted by the ck-armored general was so great that he was nearly rendered breathless.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    He was still feeling confident from having raised his cultivation by a step, but cruel reality poured a pail of cold water over him.

    He knew that there was a huge gap of power between him and the ck-armored general, so he could only hope to use the Magical shlight to deal with it. He bit his tongue to regain his rationality before quickly aiming the shlight toward it.

    Noticing the white light in Zu An¡¯s hands, the ck-armored general harrumphed coldly before warping into a blur. As fast as the speed of light was, it was limited by the movement of Zu An¡¯s hands. With its strength, it wasn¡¯t too difficult for it to dodge the radianceing from the shlight.

    Sensing that the ck-armored general was right by his side, the rmed Zu An quickly tried to turn his shlight earlier, but a sudden numbing sensation in his arm caused him to drop the shlight into theke. Perhaps it was due to it falling into the water, its light flickered for a moment before switching off.

    Zu An was relieved that he had kept the Magical shlight back into his keyboard¡¯s space in the nick of time, or else he would have been pained by its loss.

    Knowing that it was unlikely for him to be able to curb the ck-armored general even if he brought out the Magical shlight again, he decided to just feign as if it had disappeared into theke.

    ¡°Where¡¯s the Evanescent Lotus? Bring it out!¡± The ck-armored general red at Zu An and Chu Chuyan coldly. By this moment, it had already tossed Qiao Xueying to the side.

    Zu An gulped fearfully as he replied carefully, ¡°What lotus? I didn¡¯t see anything at all?¡±

    At the same time, he cursed that feminine voice in his mind.

    Why didn¡¯t she warn me that there was such a formidable fellow guarding this ce? I wouldn¡¯t havee if I knew in advance!

    Wait a moment, she lured me here before disappearing all of a sudden. Could it be that she has some other intentions in mind?

    The ck-armored general harrumphed coldly. It was just about to say something when it suddenly caught the scent of something. It immediately turned its sights toward Chu Chuyan and eximed, ¡°You actually ate it!¡±

    Chu Chuyan widened her eyes in astonishment. She quickly turned to Zu An and asked in disbelief, ¡°You... The flower you fed me earlier is the Evanescent Lotus?¡±

    Zu An nodded his head helplessly. The ck-armored general was obviously no fool, so there was no point putting on an act anymore.

    Chu Chuyan immediately lost her patience. ¡°Weren¡¯t you waiting for an opportunity to use the Evanescent Lotus to undo the seal on your body? Why did you give it to me?¡±

    Zu An sighed deeply and said, ¡°There¡¯s bound to be another way out of this. Otherwise, I¡¯ll just have to make do with it. I can¡¯t simply watch as you die before my eyes.¡±

    By the side, Qiao Xueying also snapped out of her daze, and a hint of astonishment surfaced in her eyes. She was also aware of Zu An¡¯s affliction, and she couldn¡¯t believe that thetter actually gave away something that could have cured his impotence to save the young miss...

    To be honest, she had always looked down on this good-for-nothing ruffian, and she believed that he was nowhere inparison to the young master. However, everything that had happened today made her doubt her judgment, especially when she remembered how Shi Kun used her as a shield earlier on. On the other hand, Zu An was actually willing to make such a huge sacrifice in order to save Chu Chuyan.

    The contrast couldn¡¯t be made more obvious here.

    The ck-armored general, however, had no interest in listening to their conversation. He stood by the side of theke with a grave expression on his face. The calm surface of the water began to ripple as a light blue luminescence emerged from the depths of theke.

    It quickly raised its hands to form an incrediblyplicated seal before spreading ayer of ck aura over the surface of the water/

    Some timeter, the water surface finally regained itsposure. Nevertheless, one could still vaguely see the light blue luminescence striking on theyer of ck aura, seemingly intent on bursting forth.

    ¡°What is he doing?¡± Zu An noticed the unnatural actions of the ck-armored general too. He was thinking of making use of this opportunity to flee, but the pressure crushing down on his body kept him firmly in ce, leaving him unable to move at all.

    ¡°He seems to be setting up some kind of formation to seal something beneath the water,¡± replied Chu Chuyan distractedly. Her mind was still an utter mess from having learned that Zu An had used the Evanescent Lotus to save her, such that she couldn¡¯t even focus on the current situation they were in.

    Despite being a youngdy who had never done that kind of thing, she was still aware of how important a man viewed potency to be. In some cases, they might even value it even more than their life.

    He made such a huge sacrifice for me...

    Chu Chuyan stared at Zu An in a daze as many thoughts shed across her mind.

    Meanwhile, the ck-armored general finally turned its attention back to Zu An and Chu Chuyan. It looked considerably more exhausted than before, but its face warped in ferocity as it bellowed, ¡°You actually dared to foil the Soul Suppression Seal here. It¡¯s fortunate that it hasn¡¯t been long since you consumed the Evanescent Lotus, so its medicinal effect hasn¡¯t receded entirely. As long as I use your body as a tribute, I should be able to calm those rampaging dead souls beneath!¡±

    With a wave of its hand, Chu Chuyan immediately flew out of Zu An¡¯s grasp and into its hand.

    rmed, Zu An roared, ¡°What are you doing?!¡±

    ¡°As I¡¯ve said, I¡¯m going to use the blood and flesh of you invaders to repair the formation so as to appease the rampaging souls of the dead!¡± The ck-armored general waved its hand, and the terracotta soldiers rushed forward to hold Zu An and Qiao Xueying down. ¡°Bring them over to the altar!¡±

    With a flit, it immediately arrived outside a circr tform around a hundred meters away. It ced Chu Chuyan down on top of a stone table.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s ki meridians were currently all severed, so she couldn¡¯t even struggle at all. She wasn¡¯t afraid of death, but she couldn¡¯t help but worry for Zu An. He had sacrificed so much for her that her conscience wouldn¡¯t rest easy if she were to die right now.

    Zu An¡¯s heart was in disarray as the terracotta soldiers pushed him and Qiao Xueying over to the circr tform. He thought of what the ck-armored general said about them breaking the Soul Suppression Seal, which sounded like some sort of sealing formation.

    However, they didn¡¯t do anything after entering this ce other than to harvest the Evanescent Lotus.

    Wait a moment!

    He quickly turned toward theke and saw that the verdant lotus leaves had lost their luster and had started withering, and the mist shrouding the water surface had vanished too.

    Could the lotus leaves be the formation, and the Evanescent Lotus is its formation core? Goddamnit!

    Zu An cursed angrily in his mind. If it¡¯s such an important formation, why didn¡¯t you protect it well? You shouldn¡¯t have allowed me to get close so easily!

    But then, he caught sight of the huge army of terracotta soldiers by the side and wentpletely silent.

    Ah...

    Those terracotta soldiers were obviously here to protect the formation. With their prowess, even Chu Zhongtian wouldn¡¯t have been able to get close to the Evanescent Lotus. Yet, who could have thought that Zu An would have a tool that could suppress all of these undead beings...

    I wonder what¡¯s sealed at the bottom of theke that even this powerful zombie general is so afraid of it. Could it be that woman named Mi Li?

    Thinking back, there was no way the feminine voice would have lured him here without any reason. Most likely, this was what she was aiming for.

    But again, given how melodious that woman¡¯s voice was, it was hard to imagine her as some sort of terrifying monstrosity.

    ¡°What are you thinking of?¡± Qiao Xueying¡¯s voice suddenly sounded at this moment.

    Zu An turned over and saw Qiao Xueying looking at him withrge eyes. ¡°Ah, you aren¡¯t dead yet?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Qiao Xueying.

    Why is this fellow so hateful? I really feel like pummeling him every time he opens his mouth.

    But to her own surprise, she didn¡¯t get mad at Zu An this time around.

    ¡°Why did you give the Evanescent Lotus to the young miss?¡± asked Qiao Xueying.

    ¡°She¡¯s my wife. Do you expect me to watch as she dies before my eyes?¡± Zu An harrumphed in response.

    To that, Qiao Xueying replied calmly, ¡°Others might not know better, but I know how the rtionship between the two of you are. You can¡¯t even be considered a proper couple.¡±

    ¡°Will you cut it out?¡± Zu An spat venomously. ¡°I was already regretting it, but you just have to continue harping on it, huh? Are you here to rub it on me?¡±

    A faint smile finally emerged on Qiao Xueying¡¯s lips. ¡°That sounds much more like you.¡±

    She previously thought that Zu An¡¯s ruffianlike attitude was hateful, but in a change of circumstances, she felt that he looked authentic instead. There wasn¡¯t that disgustingyer of hypocriticism around him.

    Shi Kun surfaced in her mind, and her face darkened once more.

    By then, the two of them had already arrived on the circr tform.

    ¡°Honey!¡±

    ¡°Young miss!¡±

    Upon seeing Chu Chuyan on the stone table, the two of them called out worriedly.

    ¡°I... I¡¯m fine,¡± replied Chu Chuyan feebly, though she knew that she wouldn¡¯t be very soon.

    Zu An finally got a chance to assess this ce carefully, and he noted that the area looked very alike to those tribute altars he had seen on television in his previous life. The altar was circr in shape, filled with all sorts of esoteric runes. At the center was the stone table where Chu Chuyan was lying on. Around her were all sorts of jars and vats that seemed to be filled with all sorts of horrors.

    At the perimeter of the altar, there were nine massive pirs that were sculptured with a coiling dragon often seen in eastern legends. Even the scales of the dragon looked incredibly lifelike.

    Zu An and Qiao Xueying were tied to two of the pirs.

    The ck-armored general walked over with a saber in its hand and said, ¡°Let¡¯s start with your blood to warm up the altar. So, who shall be going first this time around?¡±

    1. He¡¯s a famous military general in the Qin Dynasty in its waning years.

 Chapter 167: I am Qin Shihuang!

    <h4>Chapter 167: I am Qin Shihuang!</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    As soon as Zu An heard those words, he pointed to Qiao Xueying and eximed, ¡°Her! Let her go first!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Qiao Xueying.

    ¡°Wow, I really should thank you for your generosity, huh?¡± Qiao Xueying shot Zu An a deathly re.

    ¡°You aren¡¯t even my woman, so why should I protect you? Not to mention, we¡¯re enemies now. Haven¡¯t you heard of the saying ¡®kick them while they¡¯re down¡¯?¡± Zu An wasn¡¯t embarrassed in the least.

    Qiao Xueying sighed deeply and said, ¡°Haaa, you do have no reason to protect me.¡±

    Zu An was a little bbergasted by how easily Qiao Xueying was going along with him. ¡°Am I hearing things? You¡¯re actually agreeing with me?¡±

    Qiao Xueying rolled her eyes and said, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? Why do you look so horrified when I¡¯m agreeing with what you said? Do you actually enjoy having me refute you? Disgusting!¡±

    On the stone table, Chu Chuyan burst intoughter. The two of them always bicker with one another whenever they meet. It really feels like a love-hate rtionship.

    The ck-armored general shot a nce at Zu An before saying, ¡°At least you¡¯re much franker than that man earlier on, a genuine scoundrel.¡±

    ¡°Wait a moment, why am I a scoundrel? Haven¡¯t you seen how devoted I am to my wife?¡± Zu An immediately lost his temper. ¡°Oh, wait a moment. Does that mean that Shi Kun abandoned her? Did he try to use her as a shield so as to buy time for his own escape?¡±

    Qiao Xueying was taken aback. ¡°How did you know? Have you been spying on us?!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have such an interest.¡± Zu An shrugged. ¡°Do I even need to watch to see it to know? It¡¯s a scene so clich¨¦ in drama series that it hardly interests me anymore.¡±

    ¡°What is ¡®drama series¡¯?¡±

    Neither Qiao Xueying nor Chu Chuyan had heard of it before.

    ¡°That¡¯s not important. The important thing is that you should have finally seen what kind of a man Shi Kun is. He¡¯s someone who values his own life above others. Putting aside a servant like you, I reckon that he wouldn¡¯t hesitate to abandon his own father in times to danger!¡± said Zu An. ¡°That¡¯s why I say that women like you are shallow. You think that good-looking guys are bound to have pretty hearts too. Please! Men who look good are bound to be creeps!¡±

    A split secondter, he quickly supplemented, ¡°Cough cough, I¡¯m the exception, of course. Someone as handsome and gentle and kind as me is one-of-a-kind in the world!¡±

    ¡°Stop it, I¡¯m going to puke.¡± Qiao Xueying rolled her eyes. ¡°It¡¯s already bad enough that I¡¯m going to die here, so can you at least stop torturing me?¡±

    ¡°Hey, are you going to continue being so rude?¡± Zu An was displeased.

    The ck-armored general finally interjected with a cold harrumph. ¡°How long are the two of you going to fight for? Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll take both of your lives at once so that you can continue bickering on your way to hell.¡±

    It raised its hands, and two sabers materialized before their heads like a guillotine. It looked like they would fall at the next second and decapitate the two of them.

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡± Chu Chuyan cried out in rm, but she couldn¡¯t move at all. Even if she was in her peak condition, she still wouldn¡¯t have been a match for this ck-armored general.

    Qiao Xueying closed her eyes. Ever since she was treated like a shield by Shi Kun, her heart had already died. At this point, death felt almost like a relief to her.

    It was then that Zu An suddenly spoke up, ¡°Brother Zhang Han, there¡¯s a question that I need to ask you.¡±

    Those abrupt words left Chu Chuyan taken aback. Even Qiao Xueying also opened her eyes in intrigue. Who is he talking to?

    The two women took a look around, but there was no one else around.

    ¡°Zhang Han...¡± The ck-armored general shuddered upon hearing the name. It took a long while before he finally responded wistfully, ¡°It has been a long time since anyone has called me that. I¡¯ve almost forgotten my own name.¡±

    Qiao Xueying¡¯s lower jaw nearly dropped to the ground. The zombie general has a name, and Zu An actually knows it? What¡¯s the worlding to?

    Chu Chuyan was stunned too. Zu An had really given her a lot of surprises over thest few days. More and more secrets were surfacing from him, stoking her curiosity. She realized that she had never really gotten to know the real Zu An all this while.

    ¡°How do you know my name?¡± Zhang Han turned to Zu An with doubt in his eyes.

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°If I say that we¡¯re friends in our previous life, would you believe me?¡±

    He had already used his skill ¡®Befriend a Rich Man¡¯. Yet another 100,000 silver taels going to waste... Damn!

    He had learned his lesson from his previous failure with Shi Kun. He knew that even if he became friends with the target, he still couldn¡¯t change the target¡¯s train of thought. Thus, he chose to proceed with this matter carefully, not daring to be too direct.

    ¡°Friends?¡± Zhang Han was stunned for a moment before roaring intoughter. ¡°I, Zhang Han, have no friends. I didn¡¯t have any before, and I¡¯ll never have any!¡±

    Despite those words, Zu An noticed that the two sabers in the sky subconsciously moved sideward a little.

    He sighed softly and said, ¡°Y¡¯know, we have a word for people like you¡ªtsundere. Are you sure that you don¡¯t want to have friends? Surely it must be lonely for you to guard this lifeless tomb all alone for so many years?¡±

    Zhang Han was silent for a while before sighing deeply. ¡°Lonely? Time already holds no meaning to me, so what does loneliness count as?¡±

    Both Qiao Xueying and Chu Chuyan nced at one another in bewilderment. The scene before them was simply too iprehensible. In the dingy depths of this underground pce, Zu An is actually having a philosophical debate with a zombie?

    However, Zhang Han soon snapped out of his daze. He stared at Zu An with blue mes burning intently in his eyes as he asked, ¡°Who in the world are you? How do you know my name?¡±

    ¡°A woman named Mi Li told me,¡± replied Zu An.

    He made sure to assess the ck-armored general skeleton carefully as he said those words, hoping to garner some information from thetter¡¯s reaction.

    ¡°Hmmm~¡± A surprised, feminine remark sounded from the depths of the underground cavern. However, it was so soft that others couldn¡¯t hear it at all.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Her Majesty? No, that¡¯s impossible!¡± Zhang Han shook his head vehemently with a fearful look on his face, as if he had just learned something incredibly terrifying.

    ¡°Her Majesty?¡± Zu An¡¯s eyes lit up as he remembered a piece of history in his previous life.

    In the Spring and Autumn¨CWarring States period, the Qin Country was originally on good terms with the Jin Country. It supported the fleeing Duke Wen of Jin onto the throne, ushering in prosperous times for the Jin Country, who swiftly moved to conquer the states around it. Unfortunately, the Qin Country harbored great ambitions¡ªit intended to conquer the Central ins, and the Jin Country was both literally and figuratively standing in its way.

    The Jin Country couldn¡¯t bear the notion of the Qin Country expanding its influence to the Central ins either, so a conflict broke out between the two countries. It eventually led to the Battle of Xiao, where the Jin Country set up traps for the Qin Country along the way and defeated thetter¡¯s army. That led to aplete fracturing of rtions.

    Having be enemies with the Jin Country, the Qin Country soon proposed a political marriage with the Chu Country in order to strike an alliance. It just so happened that the Jin Country was amon enemy between the two of them, so it didn¡¯t take much for them to get together on the same bed.

    In the next hundred years toe, the Qin Country and Chu Country sustained their bonds by intermarriage. The queen of the Qin Country would often be the princess of the Chu Country, and the men of the Chu Royal Family went by the surname of ¡®Xiong¡¯ while its women went by the surname of ¡®Mi¡¯.

    ¡®Mi¡¯ was a truly rare surname, so it was easy to link it to the Chu Country.

    However, the Chu Country¡¯s princesses who had married into the Qin Royal Family were only able to be queens. Theoretically speaking, there were only two of them who were qualified to be termed as empresses.[1]

    However, based on what he knew, neither Qin Shihuang nor Qin Ershi had any historical records on their empresses.

    ¡°How do you know Her Majesty¡¯s name? There should have been no one in the world who knows who she is. Who are you?¡± The ck-armored general rushed up to Zu An as it demanded with a fevered tone.

    The other party¡¯s powerful presence made it hard for Zu An to breathe. He gulped fearfully as his heart quivered in hesitation. Should I gamble it?

    He was aware that even if the ck-armored general viewed him as its friend, it was unlikely that it would let Chu Chuyan go. Since that was the case, he had no choice but to give it a try.

    Go big or go home! If I¡¯m right, it¡¯ll be all good. If I¡¯m wrong, well, death is the worst that can happen.

    ¡°Hahaha! You¡¯re asking who I am?¡± Zu An suddenly burst into heartyughter.

    Qiao Xueying turned to stare at him with a bewildered look. Has this fellow been scared silly?

    ¡°I¡¯m the one who has risen above the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors[2] to be the first sovereign emperor of the world! I am Qin Shihuang, Ying Zheng[3]!¡± Zu An put on an air of royalty as he spoke. ¡°How could I possibly not know the name of my own empress?¡±

    In a hidden space in the depths of the underground pce, within a big crystal coffin,y a beautiful woman drabbed in the fineries worn only by the empress. She opened her eyes and spat, ¡°That bastard! How dare he takes advantage of me?¡±

    On the altar, Zhang Han was utterly shocked. He staggered a few steps backward in shock before murmuring weakly, ¡°Y-Your Majesty?¡±

    Qiao Xueying was baffled, unable toprehend what they were saying at all.

    What sovereign emperor and Qin Shihuang? Why haven¡¯t I heard any of that before? It¡¯s lucky that we¡¯re the only ones here, or else if word were to spread that he proimed himself as emperor, the whole Chu n will be executed together with him.

    Only Chu Chuyan frowned upon hearing those words. She remembered hearing those names from the historical records in the academy, but there were very few details stated in there. This world was severelycking in the research of historical text.

    ¡°Zhang Han, why are you not kneeling despite being in my presence?!¡± Zu An roared majestically, but his heart was beating quickly in unease. Did I go too big this time around?

    ¡°Chambein of Pce Revenue, Zhang Han, pays respects to Your Majesty. Long live Your Majesty!¡±

    The ck-armored general recalled how it thought thetter felt close to it earlier on. With all of this circumstantial evidence in ce, it quickly kneeled onto the floor and kowtowed to Zu An.

    The two women were so shocked that their eyeballs nearly popped out. It was unbelievable to them how a powerful expert like the ck-armored general was actually kowtowing to Zu An. They would have never imagined this to be possible.

    Chu Chuyan fell into deep thought. The ck-armored general had identified himself as the Chambein of Pce Revenue, which was one of the Nine Ministers. He was in charge of collectingnd taxes and managing the imperial family¡¯s vault. He was also responsible for maintaining the imperial garden, imperial chambers, and all building-rted matters.

    That would exin why the ck-armored general was so powerful. It turned out that it was a ninth rank cultivator. This would also exin why this ce resembled the mausoleum of the imperial family.

    But what is happening with Ah Zu? Is he really that Ying Zheng he ims himself to be?

    ¡°How long are you going to continue holding me hostage?¡± said Zu An coldly.

    ¡°I dare not to!¡± Zhang Han quickly released the bindings around Zu An as it wondered why the emperor had turned so weak.

    Having guessed its thoughts, Zu An added, ¡°I¡¯ve only just regained my memories. I haven¡¯t regained my strength yet. You may rise.¡±

    Zhang Han nodded in realization, satisfied with the exnation. ¡°Thank you, Your Majesty. It looks like Xu Fu has sessfully found the art of longevity for Your Majesty. Congrattions, Your Majesty! Long live Your Majesty!¡±

    Zu An was dumbfounded.

    Wow, this is really queer. It¡¯s exactly as what I¡¯ve heard about the Qin Dynasty in my previous life... but did the Qin Dynasty in my previous life have such formidable cultivators too?

    Something must be wrong here!

    However, since he had already begun the act, there was no choice but to see it through to the end. So, he sighed deeply and said, ¡°What¡¯s the point? My Great Qin Dynasty has already fallen!¡±

    Zhang Han quickly kneeled onto the ground frightfully and cried out, ¡°I deserve death for my ipetence!¡±

    1. The distinction is made between the Qin Country and Qin Dynasty. Before the Qin Country united the Central ins and formed its own empire, it had kings and queens. It¡¯s only after the unification that emperors and empresses came to be.

    2. They are mythological rulers of ancient China. Qin Shihuang believed that he¡¯s above them, which is why he put the two words together to highlight his high standing.

    3. Qin Shihuang is his title, which means Founding Emperor of Qin, whereas Ying Zheng is his birth name.

 Chapter 168: The Undead Army

    <h4>Chapter 168: The Undead Army</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An was surprised, not expecting his words to frighten the other party so much. He made use of this opportunity to ask, ¡°What¡¯s your crime?¡±

    Zhang Han¡¯s face tremored amidst the ck mist, as if tears were streaming down his face. ¡°Even though I was able to hold on for a moment, the empire¡¯s elite forces were still wiped out under his leadership. I was the one who ruined the final hope of the empire, resulting in it being destroyed by the remnants of the Six Eastern Countries[1].¡±

    The history was indeed no different from what Zu An remembered. Fearing that he would agitate Zhang Han, he chose not to probe any further. Instead, he heaved a deep sigh andmented, ¡°Such is life. There¡¯s little that a man can do before heaven¡¯s will.¡±

    Zhang Han was taken aback. He remembered the emperor he remembered was a strong-willed and austere figure, so the other party¡¯s gentle attitude caught him off guard.

    Zu An turned to gaze at theke and asked, ¡°What¡¯s sealed in there to make you so frightened?¡±

    This was what he was so frightened about. He wasn¡¯t too worried about giving himself away with that question since Zhang Han was mostly active in Qin Ershi¡¯s era, so it was only normal for Qin Shihuang to not know of his affairs.

    ¡°It¡¯s the dead spirits of the hundreds of thousands of rebels from the Six Countries. We¡¯ve used the Soul Suppression Seal to seal them in theke thus far, but I didn¡¯t expect Your Majesty to...¡±

    ¡°Then we have to make sure to seal it well. The armies of the Six Countries bear a great grudge against our Great Qin. It¡¯ll rm my empress if they rush out.¡±

    Those words made the blue mes in Zhang Han¡¯s eye sockets flicker a bit, but he didn¡¯t say a word.

    ¡°My subordinate, is there no other way to suppress these dead spirits?¡± Zu An gestured toward Chu Chuyan. ¡°She¡¯s a friend I¡¯ve made in this generation. Spare her.¡±

    ¡°Your Majesty, these dead spirits have been sealed using the Evanescent Lotus as the formation core over the past thousands of years. Now that the formation core has disappeared, the Soul Suppression Formation¡¯s copse is imminent. We have to use her flesh to appease the raging dead spirits before she fully assimtes the medicinal properties of the Evanescent Lotus so that we have more time to think of another way to reinforce the seal!

    ¡°The empire should take priority! Your Majesty, please rethink your decision!¡±

    Zu An was frustrated to hear Zhang Han insisting on using Chu Chuyan¡¯s blood as a tribute. He was, after all, not Qin Shihuang, and there was a huge disparity in their strength. There was nothing he could do if the other party insisted on not listening to him.

    ¡°However, we can release this woman and have her serve Your Majesty.¡± Zhang Han pulled Qiao Xueying over with a grasp and pushed her down before Zu An.

    Qiao Xueying struggled, but how could she possibly be able to overpower Zhang Han?

    Looking at the indignant woman kneeling before him, Zu An was a little amused. ¡°Why don¡¯t you try calling me master?¡±

    ¡°Pui!¡± Qiao Xueying spat at Zu An, but her saliva was blocked off by Zhang Han.

    ¡°How dare you offend Your Majesty? Die!¡± Zhang Han roared coldly as his ck aura intensified.

    ¡°Forget it, I¡¯ll spare her life. She¡¯s still somewhat a friend of mine.¡± Zu An hurriedly stopped him.

    ¡°Friend?¡± There was a hint of disdain in Zhang Han¡¯s voice.

    Zu An¡¯s heart skipped a beat. He could sense that thetter¡¯s tone wasn¡¯t as respectful as it was before. Could he be sounding me out? What the hell! Are zombies supposed to be that intelligent?

    All of a sudden, effervescence suddenly sounded from theke. The surface of the water was bubbling furiously, threatening to push through the ck mist on the surface. There were numerous blue figures which appeared to be struggling free of theke.

    These blue figures were dressed in armor and wielded sharp sabers. They looked like elite soldiers.

    Zhang Han was rmed. His ck steed had silently manifested by his side, and he swiftly hopped onto it and rushed toward theke.

    At the same time, the terracotta soldiers also raised their weapons and charged toward theke.

    In just a few moments, over a hundred translucent blue soldiers had rushed out from theke. Unlike the zombie soldiers, they didn¡¯t have corporeal bodies. They looked more like just souls.

    When they saw Zhang Han, they began howling furiously at them. Even though it was hard to discern their voices, their tones were more than enough to reveal the deep-seated hatred they bore for him.

    They swiftly got into formation before charging toward Zhang Han.

    ¡°Am I seeing things?¡± Zu An rubbed his eyes in confusion. He felt that the formations both armies were taking looked oddly simr.

    However, he knew that this was no time for his thoughts to be wandering. He quickly rushed toward the stone table at the center of the altar, intending to use this opportunity to save Chu Chuyan and take her away.

    Qiao Xueying bit her lips as she ran together with him too, clearly hoping to save Chu Chuyan too.

    ¡°You saved me previously, and I¡¯ve returned the favor now. You can call it equals,¡± said Zu An.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± replied Qiao Xueying softly. But soon after, she harrumphed, ¡°But I saved you twice previously If we really count it carefully, you still owe me once.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Zu An.

    This woman sure doesn¡¯t give in!

    Not wanting to bicker with her now, he turned his attention to untying the ck rope tying Chu Chuyan down to the stone table. To his astonishment, even though the ck rope didn¡¯t appear to be tangible, it was more resilient than any other material he hade by.

    He even tried using Poisonous Prick on it, but it was to no avail.

    ¡°Step aside!¡± Qiao Xueying formed a hand seal, and countless green leaves began revolving around her body. With daggerlike sharpness, they darted toward the ck rope.

    Unfortunately, as soon as the crisp, green leaves came into contact with the ck rope, they quickly began to wither. Qiao Xueying tried it for a few more times, but the ck rope simply wouldn¡¯t budge. Instead, she only ended up depleting the ki she had barely regained by half.

    ¡°This rope is made out of the zombie general¡¯s death aura. There¡¯s too big of a difference between your cultivation ranks, so you won¡¯t be able to sever it,¡± said Chu Chuyan. ¡°You should hurry up and leave. There¡¯s no need to bother with me.¡±

    However, Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°You¡¯re my wife, so how can I abandon you? Besides, I even fed you the Evanescent Lotus! If I don¡¯t save you here, I¡¯d be making a huge loss!¡±

    Chu Chuyan was rendered speechless. She was still pretty moved a moment ago, but in the next moment, Zu An went back to being Zu An.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t that fellow kneel down to you earlier? Hurry up and order him to free the young miss!¡± eximed Qiao Xueying.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An rolled his eyes. ¡°Are you blind? Didn¡¯t you see me ordering him to free her earlier?¡±

    Qiao Xueying turned to look at theke, where Zhang Han was fighting against the blue warrior spirits, and bit her lips in anxiety. ¡°What do we do then? By the time he finishes dealing with those dead spirits, he would surely return to activate the blood tribute!¡±

    Zu An was also put on a spot. The absolute power difference left him very little room to maneuver in this situation.

    ¡°I¡¯ll take a more forceful attitudeter on. Hopefully, he¡¯ll be intimidated and back down.¡± Given the circumstances, he could only try to pull something with his identity as Qin Shihuang,

    ¡°Hmph, childish!¡± a feminine voice suddenly sounded in his mind.

    ¡°You¡¯re finally back!¡± Zu An gritted his teeth in fury. Ultimately, all of this trouble stemmed from this woman.

    ¡°Who are you talking to?¡± Qiao Xueying and Chu Chuyan asked in bewilderment.

    Zu An was taken aback to hear those words. Can¡¯t the two of them hear this woman¡¯s voice?

    ¡°Did you think that Zhang Han really believes that you¡¯re Ying Zheng? Once he¡¯s done dealing with those dead spirits, not only will that woman die, you won¡¯t fare any better either!¡± remarked the feminine voice coldly.

    1. The Qin Dynasty annexed the Six Countries, which are the main powers of the Central ins then, but there were still constant revolts, especially when Qin Ershi, the son of Qin Shihuang, took over. Hemitted a lot of atrocities that forced lots of people to rise up and dere themselves ¡®independent states¡¯.

 Chapter 169: Ancient Secrets

    <h4>Chapter 169: Ancient Secrets</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Nonsense! If he doesn¡¯t believe me, why would he kneel to me...¡± Zu An suddenly snapped out of it. ¡°Wait a moment, I nearly got led by the nose. What can he possibly do to me? I¡¯m the First Sovereign Emperor, Ying Zheng!¡±

    ¡°...¡± The feminine voice.

    ¡°You¡¯re still going to continue that act?¡± sneered the feminine voice. ¡°Do you know who I am then?¡±

    ¡°You are...¡± Zu An was just about to reply when he suddenly remembered his role and quickly corrected himself, ¡°You are my wife, the empress of the Qin Dynasty?¡±

    ¡°...¡± The feminine voice.

    ¡°Then shouldn¡¯t you know better than to talk nonsense in my presence?¡±

    Zu An scratched his head sheepishly. ¡°What can I say? I just regained my memory after all. There are many things that I still don¡¯t remember...¡±

    ¡°Shut up! How could I possibly not recognize my own husband? Don¡¯t bother trying to use that nonsense you fooled Zhang Han with on me!¡± sneered the feminine voice. ¡°Besides, you didn¡¯t even fool Zhang Han at all.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Zu An remembered the other party saying something simr to that previously. Did Zhang Han really see through me?

    ¡°You made three mistakes before Zhang Han earlier,¡± said the feminine voice. ¡°First, Ying Zheng is a vicious tyrant who knows nopassion. If he reallyes back to life and learns that Zhang Han has sent the main army of the Great Qin to its grave, there¡¯s no way he would spare that man that easily.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m still weak from having just regained my memories. There shouldn¡¯t be anything wrong with me trying to cate him for the time being.¡± Zu An felt that he was getting more and more immersed in the act.

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong with trying to cate him, but your words are too childish. You remarked earlier that ¡®Such is life. There¡¯s little that a man can do before heaven¡¯s will¡¯, but that¡¯s not Ying Zheng¡¯s personality. Ying Zheng believes that his merit surpasses that of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, and he sees himself as an existence on par with the sun and the moon. How could he possibly bow down to life or heaven?¡± scoffed the feminine voice.

    Zu An fell silent. He was a keyboard warrior after all. He might be able to dominate the onlinemunity, but feigning the First Sovereign Emperor without any practice beforehand was clearly beyond his means.

    ¡°The second error you made is to im that the ponytail girl is your friend,¡± said the feminine voice.

    ¡°What¡¯s the problem with that?¡± asked Zu An in confusion.

    ¡°Ying Zheng is an arrogant person. He wouldn¡¯t allow anyone to be on the same standing as him, let alone have any friends. You could have called the woman your subordinate, servant, or even ything, and Zhang Han would have spared her. Yet, you chose to address her as your friend,¡± exined the feminine voice.

    Zu An nodded in realization. That would exin why Zhang Han¡¯s tone changed after that. However, unwilling to give up just like that, he tried to argue, ¡°Hmph! I¡¯m already a new man after having lived a new life. What¡¯s wrong with me having a new personality? How could he be so certain that I¡¯m a fake from all that?¡±

    ¡°How could a person¡¯s personality change that much? Besides, you still have an even more fatal error aside from those two,¡± said the feminine voice.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Zu An¡¯s heart skipped a beat.

    ¡°You mentioned that you¡¯re worried that those dead spirits will rm me if they manage to rush out from theke?¡± The feminine voice was filled with ridicule when she said those words.

    ¡°Is there something wrong with that?¡± Zu An was confused.

    Instead of answering the question directly, the feminine voice asked, ¡°Do you know who those undead spirits are?¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t they the dead souls of the revolutionaries from the Six Eastern Countries?¡± asked Zu An.

    ¡°Hahaha! If you wish to act as Ying Zheng, you shouldn¡¯t trust the words of others that easily!¡± The feminine voiceughed chillingly. ¡°Those dead spirits aren¡¯t the revolutionaries of the Six Eastern Countries but the 200,000 soldiers that formed the core army of the Qin Dynasty!¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Zu An was shocked.

    ¡°Back then, Zhang Han, as the Chambein of Pce Revenue, was in charge of supervising the prisoners at Mount Li for the construction of the imperial mausoleum. The world was in disarray then, and the Qin Dynasty was at threat. He led the prisoners of Mount Li to defeat the invading revolutionary armies. In view of his contribution, the imperial court began supplying him with more and more soldiers, eventually entrusting the core army to him.

    ¡°Zhang Han was indeed fairly capable. With his skills, he suppressed the enemies and nearly quelled the revolution. However, a formidable figure emerged then... In the Battle of Julu, both he and Wang Li were defeated by the Hegemon-King of Western Chu, Xiang Yu[1], and he suffered yet another defeat in the Battle of Zhangwu too. On top of that, he¡¯s also on bad terms with Zhao Gao[2]. Out of fear that he would be killed, he chose to side with Xiang Yu, so he led the 200,000 elite soldiers of the Qin Dynasty on a losing battle against Xiang Yu.

    ¡°The ones sealed under theke are the dead spirits of the 200,000 elite soldiers of the Qin Dynasty.¡±

    Zu An was rmed. It was no wonder why those dead spirits were filled with hatred for Zhang Han... It turned out that they were betrayed by him!

    ¡°So, they wouldn¡¯t rm you because they are Qin soldiers?¡± Zu An analyzed where he had gone wrong.

    ¡°No. It¡¯s because Ying Zheng wouldn¡¯t worry about that,¡± replied the feminine voice.

    ¡°???¡± Zu An was bewildered.

    What¡¯s wrong with you and your cliffhangers? Can¡¯t you just finish your sentence properly in one go? Don¡¯t you know how tiring it¡¯s me to keep cueing you to continue on?

    ¡°Do you know what Zhang Han was doing before he led the soldiers to suppress the revolutionaries?¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you mention earlier that he was the Chambein of Pce Revenue, in charge of building the imperial mausoleum or something?¡± replied Zu An.

    ¡°To be more exact, he wasn¡¯t building the imperial mausoleum but the empress¡¯ mausoleum,¡± replied the feminine voice.

    ¡°Empress¡¯ mausoleum?¡± Zu An was stunned. ¡°Is there such a thing? I don¡¯t recall there being such a thing in historical records. In fact, there¡¯s nothing about Qin Shihuang¡¯s empress at all.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because Ying Zheng destroyed all of my records, just like how he torched all of the Confucian books,¡± replied the feminine voice. ¡°Since you have some understanding of this piece of history, you should be able to guess my origin from my surname.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a princess of the Chu Country?¡± asked Zu An.

    ¡°Indeed, I¡¯m from the Chu Country. Due to my position as the empress, there are many nobles from Chu who have a high standing in the Qin Country too. At the start, our interests were aligned with Ying Zheng, so we helped him rule the country and even suppress all of the rebellions going on.

    ¡°Unfortunately, the Qin was ambitious and wanted to rule over the world. The Chu stood in its way too, which resulted in an irreconcble conflict between us. My uncle is Lord Changping, Xiong Qi, and he even became the prime minister of the Qin Country. However, as a citizen of our Chu, his heart still lies with our country. So, when the Qin first raised its arms to invade the Chu, my uncle rallied his soldiers and rebelled, resulting in the worst defeat the Qin has suffered ever since it embarked on its ambitious conquest.

    ¡°Ying Zheng was infuriated with us. He entrusted 600,000 soldiers to Wang Jian[3] and tasked him to eliminate the Chu while clearing away all of Chu¡¯s influence in the Qin. As the princess of the Chu Country, I¡¯m naturally one of the first ones to be hit hard.

    ¡°I was soon removed from my position, and all of the nobles from the Chu in Qin are ughtered too. Even my son, Fusu, due to having the Chu bloodline running through his veins, lost his right to session and was exiled to the border to build the great wall...¡±

    Zu An was taken aback. ¡°Fusu is your son?¡±

    ¡°Is there anything wrong about it?¡± Mi Li¡¯s voice suddenly turned chillingly sharp.

    ¡°No no, of course not. There isn¡¯t anything wrong here...¡± replied Zu An sheepishly. He was still imagining her to be a beautiful and graceful big sister type woman, but all of a sudden, she turned into an auntie who already had a child. It broke the immersion of his fantasy.

    He finally came to a realization. There was actually a lot of contention surrounding the session to the throne after Qin Shihuang in his previous world. Many people believed that Fusu, as the eldest son, should have donned the crown, just that Huhai[4], Li Si, and Zhao Gao schemed to steal the throne, killing Fusu through their ploys.

    Even so, historians still couldn¡¯t understand why Qin Shihuang dispatched his eldest son, Fusu, away from the center of politics over to the border. Some imed that he was intending to temper Fusu and have him build a good rtionship with the Meng n[5] and the military so as to prepare for his session. There were also some who said that this was simply an act of exiling Fusu.

    However, as it turned out, Fusu had simply lost his right to session due to his mother¡¯s bloodline!

    ¡°Ying Zheng had always hated women due to his mother¡¯s adultery with Lao Ai, and the tragic defeat the Qin suffered to the Chu further fanned his hatred toward me. Unsatisfied with just stripping me of my position, he ordered Zhang Han to construct this mausoleum to seal me off lest I seek vengeance on him in the future. So, if you were truly Ying Zheng, why would you care about those soldiers rming me?¡± scoffed Mi Li.

    Zu An finally understood where it all went wrong. Goddamnit, why does the circle of nobility has to be so messed up?!

    ¡°Wait a moment, auntie. I have a question...¡±

    ¡°What did you call me?¡± There was a hint of fury in Mi Li¡¯s voice.

    Zu An was rendered speechless. You already have a child, but you still don¡¯t want people to call you auntie? What should I call you instead? Lil¡¯ sis?

    Despite his internal retorts, he was a flexible man and quickly changed his tune, ¡°Big Sis Empress, based on the history I know, Qin Shihuang and Zhang Han should have been ordinary mortals. They shouldn¡¯t have possessed such mystical powers. Yet, Zhang Han turned into an indestructible zombie and possesses great power, and big sis, you seem to have lived for thousands of years now, bing something that¡¯s neither living nor dead...

    ¡°I want to know what happened to you all. Why would you be brought over from Earth to this world of cultivation, and where did you learn these abilities?¡±

    Mi Li was bewildered. ¡°Earth? I don¡¯t get what you¡¯re saying. We¡¯ve always been in this world, and our abilities are of course things that we slowly grasped over time. If not for Zhang Han¡¯s strength, how could he have possibly be the Chambein of Pce Revenue, one of the Nine Ministers?

    ¡°As Zhang Han¡¯s current state, that¡¯s because he cultivated a certain dark element cultivation technique, offering his own physical body up in order to attain eternal life.¡±

    Zu An was baffled. ¡°You have always been in this world?¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The confirmation left him extremely confused. It seemed like a huge coincidence that this world had the same dynasties and events as his previous one, the only difference being the existence of supernatural abilities.

    Is this like a parallel world, just that it¡¯s mixed with an additional element called cultivation?

    Putting together what he knew thus far, he deduced that something major might have happened in this world after the Qing Dynasty[6], resulting in a huge gap in civilization. It was only a long timeter before civilization began to resurface.

    The new civilization had not only humans but all sorts of lifeforms. In the battle for resources, all sorts of wars broke out. Eventually, the first emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty managed to rise up on top and achieve victory for mankind, driving all of the foreign races off to the borders to suffer.

    As for all of the dynasties prior to the huge gap in civilization, the people in this world collectively termed them as the ¡®ancient era¡¯.

    It was then that Mi Li¡¯s voice suddenly broke his train of thought. ¡°You have too many questions. Hurry up and make your decision. Once Zhang Han finishes curbing the escaping dead spirits, it¡¯ll be the end of you and those two women.¡±

    1. Xiang Yu is a famous figure in the final years of the Qin Dynasty. He was the de facto chief of the rebels, and he defeated the armies of the Qin Dynasty battle after battle. Unfortunately, heter lost to Liu Bang, who then moved on to establish the Han Dynasty.

    2. Zhao Gao is a eunuch official who is known to be very influential in the Qin Dynasty due to him being deeply trusted by Qin Ershi, which, in turn, gave him the power to do as he pleased.

    3. He¡¯s one of the renowned generals of the Qin Country back then

    4. This is the birth name of Qin Ershi, the eventual sessor to Qin Shihuang

    5. The Meng n is the closest aide to Qin Shihuang. The Great Wall was by the borders, guarded by the Meng n, which was also why people thought that Fusu was there to win the Meng n over to his side and build up his influence.

    6. This is the final dynasty of China before World War II broke out

 Chapter 170: Cold Sweat

    <h4>Chapter 170: Cold Sweat</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An finally snapped out of it. ¡°What decision?¡±

    ¡°Help me break free of my seal. I¡¯m the only one who can deal with Zhang Han here.¡± There was a hint of majesty in Mi Li¡¯s voice.

    ¡°Oh~¡± Zu An finally came to a realization. ¡°So, you lured me to pluck that Evanescent Lotus in order to create a distraction with those dead spirits so that you can make use of this opportunity to flee, is that it?¡±

    ¡°Is there a problem here? It¡¯s only normal to make use of all resources in one¡¯s possession,¡± replied Mi Li.

    ¡°Since you¡¯re that formidable, why don¡¯t you break free of your own seal to deal with Zhang Han? Why must you go about it in such a roundabout manner?¡± retorted Zu An.

    ¡°Ignorant! This seal was constructed by Ying Zheng using the power of his dynasty! How could it be broken that easily?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for +233 Rage!

    ¡°But I don¡¯t know whether what you said is true or not, and based on what I¡¯ve heard, you¡¯re even more terrifying than Zhang Han. In my opinion, those who need to be sealed off are usually the most tyrannical viins. If you¡¯re actually a bad person, wouldn¡¯t I be cing myself into greater danger by saving you?¡±

    Despite Zu An¡¯s words, he was already more or less convinced by Mi Li by now. After all, all of the details she provided fitted in with the history he knew.

    ¡°What about the 200,000 Qin soldiers who are innocently killed and sealed under theke? Do you think that they¡¯re tyrannical viins?¡±

    Zu An was rendered speechless.

    ¡°Besides, you don¡¯t have any choice. Once Zhang Han finishes dealing with those dead spirits, that woman over there will be killed without a shred of doubt.¡± Mi Li continued pushing her point on.

    Meanwhile, Chu Chuyan and Qiao Xueying were baffled to see how Zu An was talking to himself, only to jolt in astonishment when a mysterious feminine voice suddenly sounded in their ears.

    ¡°W-who is talking?¡± Qiao Xueying scanned her surroundings warily.

    Chu Chuyan was rmed too, but she felt that this voice sounded familiar. She had a vague impression of hearing it in her semi-conscious state earlier on.

    ¡°Stop looking around. You won¡¯t be able to find her. You can think of her as the owner of this ancient mausoleum,¡± exined Zu An.

    ¡°The owner of this mausoleum...¡± Qiao Xueying¡¯s face paled. If even the general was strong enough to plunge them into despair, she couldn¡¯t fathom just how powerful the owner would be.

    ¡°Ah Zu, don¡¯t agree to her request for my sake. There¡¯s already no point in me living on in my current state. You should quickly escape with Snow instead.¡± The sharp-witted Chu Chuyan figured out right away that the feminine voice was trying to spur Zu An into doing something by using her plight as bait.

    At the same time, she also realized that it was futile to persuade Zu An here. She had said such words innumerable times along the way, only to no avail. So, she quickly turned to Qiao Xueying and said, ¡°Snow, in view that I¡¯ve treated you well over the years, hurry up and take Ah Zu away! Otherwise, it¡¯ll be toote once the ck-armored general returns!¡±

    Qiao Xueying was hesitant. She couldn¡¯t bring herself to abandon Chu Chuyan, but her logical mind was telling her that she couldn¡¯t do anything here anyway. After all, they couldn¡¯t even break the rope tying Chu Chuyan down.

    ¡°Hurry up and leave!¡± shouted Chu Chuyan anxiously.

    Qiao Xueying bit her lips. She decided to abide by the young miss¡¯ wishes and flee with Zu An. However, at that very moment, the feminine voice sounded once more, ¡°You feel that it¡¯s meaningless for you to live on because you used a forbidden art and ended up devastating your ki meridians, turning into a cripple. I have a way to make you recover and even rise to a higher level.¡±

    Chu Chuyan was stunned. One must know that she had always been a lofty figure in Brightmoon City, and losing her cultivation was a huge blow to her. There was no doubt that Mi Li¡¯s offer was extremely tempting to her, but she eventually chose to turn it down. ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. Snow, hurry up and take Ah Zu away!¡±

    However, Zu An asked deeply, ¡°Do you really have a way to make her recover?¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡± replied Mi Li proudly.

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Do you take me for a fool? How could I possibly tell you right now?¡± Mi Li snapped impatiently.

    ¡°Very well, I¡¯ll agree to your request. I¡¯ll unseal you, but in return, you must save her.¡±

    With things alreadying to this point, he decided to gamble once more.

    Chu Chuyan was horrified to hear that. ¡°Ah Zu, calm down and don¡¯t listen to her trickery. Snow, what are you doing? Why aren¡¯t you taking him away?!¡±

    Qiao Xueying shook her head and said, ¡°Young miss, even though I¡¯m not fond of Zu An, I have to admit that he really has guts this time around. This is a rare chance for your recovery; it¡¯s worth taking this bit of risk. At most, we¡¯ll just die together.¡±

    I don¡¯t really want to live anymore anyway... And as for Zu An, his existence itself is a gue to the world. His death would be a blessing to all living beings! Hmph!

    Seeing that the two of them had made up their minds, Chu Chuyan knew that she wouldn¡¯t be able to talk them out of it. She was touched by their gesture, but she wasn¡¯t the type to say any sentimental words.

    ¡°What does it take to remove your seal? Do I just have to pluck out a talisman or something?¡± asked Zu An.

    ¡°How could it be that easy?¡± replied Mi Li. ¡°Back, in order to seal me, Ying Zheng set up this Soul Suppression Seal in order to ensure that I¡¯ll never able to reincarnate. Zhang Han was the supervisor of this mausoleum, so he knows how powerful the formation is. So, he, together with Xiang Yu, made use of the power of this formation and the Evanescent Lotus to construct a pseudo Soul Suppression Seal to curb the 200,000 dead spirits.

    ¡°The pseudo Soul Suppression Seal is, after all, a fake, so you were able to release it easily just by plucking out the Evanescent Lotus. However, the one that has sealed me off is different. If you wish to remove the seal, you¡¯ll have to destroy the seal¡¯s Human Seal, Earth Seal, and Heaven Seal.¡±

    Zu An was amazed. ¡°Wow, you sure lived a tragic life. Aren¡¯t the two of you a couple? Looks like he really hates you a lot.¡±

    ¡°Shut your mouth!¡± Mi Li¡¯s tone was quite sharp. Zu An¡¯s words had dredged up some of the terrible memories in her mind.

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for +250 Rage!

    ¡°How am I going to help you without speaking?¡± Zu An harrumphed. Is this the attitude someone asking for a favor should have? ¡°What are those seals you speak of, and how can they be released?¡±

    Mi Li fell silent for a long while before she said awkwardly, ¡°I... don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°???¡± Zu An.

    ¡°Big sis, you don¡¯t even know what the seals are and how they can be broken? Are you toying with me here?¡± Zu An was frustrated.

    Mi Li was equally frustrated too. ¡°Do you have no brain? Who in the world would let the person they are sealing know the way to ovee the seal?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for +66 Rage!

    Zu An was amused by the small amount of Rage points he had just received. Looks like she¡¯s feeling a little embarrassed about this too.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°If I really want to deal with an enemy, I wouldn¡¯t go through the trouble just to seal him; I¡¯d have just killed him outright. Speaking of which, isn¡¯t it weird that he went through so much trouble just to keep you down here? Isn¡¯t it much easier to just kill you to end things there?¡± asked Zu An.

    ¡°Who said he didn¡¯t kill me?¡± replied Mi Li.

    Zu An felt a chill ran down his back. A sudden realization struck him, causing his tone to be much more courteous than before. ¡°That means that you¡¯re currently...¡±

 Chapter 171: Human Seal

    <h4>Chapter 171: Human Seal</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you give it a guess?¡± There was a teasing edge to Mi Li¡¯s guess.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to,¡± replied Zu An. Please, an auntie who already bore a child like you should stop acting cutesy here. Though, it was not as if he would really dare to say those words aloud.

    ¡°You¡¯ll know once you save me,¡± said Mi Li. ¡°Zhang Han has already imed the upper ground there. It won¡¯t be long before he returns. Are you sure you want to continue discussing this with me here?¡±

    ¡°Then you should at least tell me how I should release the Heaven, Earth, and Human Seal, no?¡± replied Zu An. Surely you should know that, right?

    ¡°Look ahead of you. You should see a passageway behind the altar. Walk to the end of it, and you¡¯ll see a formation. As long as you stand on the formation, you¡¯ll be able to trigger the Human Seal. If you can undo the Human Seal, the formation will automatically trigger the Earth Seal, and finally the Heaven Seal.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure what you¡¯ll encounter in each seal, but if one thing is for sure, you¡¯ll meet with great danger. There¡¯s a good chance that you might end up losing your life. If you wish to back down, there¡¯s still time for you to do so.¡±

    Zu An shot a nce at Chu Chuyan and said, ¡°Why would I regret saving a person I treasure?¡±

    Redness crept onto Chu Chuyan¡¯s fairplexion upon hearing those words. Too embarrassed to look him in the eye, she quickly averted her gaze. There were actually many things bottling in her heart that she wanted to voice out, but she suddenly found herself at a loss for words.

    Meanwhile, Qiao Xueying alternated her gaze between Chu Chuyan and Zu An before sighing deeply in her heart.

    Zu An grasped Chu Chuyan¡¯s hand and said, ¡°Honey, I¡¯ll be undoing the seal now. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll definitely find a way to rescue you. If I end up losing my life in there, you mustn¡¯t marry another man, or else I won¡¯t be able to rest in peace.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Qiao Xueying.

    This fellow really is as hateful as ever.

    Chu Chuyan was still moved by this touching scene a moment ago when the mood suddenly shattered under Zu An¡¯s remark. ¡°I would die too if you lose your life inside. How would I be able to marry another man?¡±

    ¡°But what if some powerful sword immortal or something descends from the sky and saves you from Zhang Han¡¯s grasp? I mean, that¡¯s how it¡¯s always written in books!¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s face immediately turned scarlet red. ¡°You saw my book that day!¡±

    He lied to me saying that he saw nothing at all! Just thinking about how that embarrassing book title was seen by another person made her feel so ashamed that she wanted to dig hole and bury herself in.

    Zu An burst intoughter before walking toward the passageway where the Human Seal was. As he walked away, he raised his hand and waved it as an expression of farewell to her.

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡± Chu Chuyan suddenly called out.

    Delighted, Zu An turned around, expecting to hear words like ¡®I¡¯ll surely wait for you toe back. If you don¡¯t, I¡¯ll live my life as a widow¡¯. Ah, looks like my sacrifice wasn¡¯t in vain after all.

    Unexpectedly, things didn¡¯t proceed in the direction he expected.

    ¡°Ah Zu, if you dare die in there, I¡¯ll immediately marry another man!¡± shouted Chu Chuyan.

    Qiao Xueying was bbergasted. What¡¯s wrong with the young miss?

    Then, Chu Chuyan quickly added, ¡°So, you muste back alive!¡±

    Zu An was initially feeling a little stifled by those words, but upon hearing her change in tone, his mood cleared up, and he replied heartily, ¡°Roger that!¡±

    Qiao Xueying bit her lips. Damn it, the young miss has been led astray by that fellow!

    Zu An slowly headed deeper into the passageway. Unlike the underground passageway he passed by earlier, this passageway was clearly much more exquisite. Be it the floor or the walls by the side, they were all borately carved into beautiful artworks.

    There were all kinds of animal sculptures ced by the sides of the passageway. Taking a brief look, Zu An could see pairs of leaping horses, crouching tigers, proning elephants, wild boars, stonefishes, bears, lions, panthers, camels, qilins, and so on. There were also some animals which he didn¡¯t recognize, and he wondered if they were mythological beasts or creatures unique to this world.

    Every few meters, he would see a copper maid sculpture gilded in gold. The sculpture was sitting in a kneeling position, holding up antern. Its posture was elegant, resembling the sculpture of ¡®Changxin¡¯s Pce Lantern¡¯ he had seen in a museum in his previous life.

    After advancing for around a hundred meters, he finally came to a halt outside a stone chamber. He noticed that the stone chamber had an incredibly borate formation constructed around it, and at the very center of the intricate patterns was the character, human (ÈË).

    This was likely to be the Human Seal he had heard about from Mi Li. He was just about to activate it using the method he had just learned from her when he suddenly heard footsteps. He turned around, only to see a willowy woman standing right behind him.

    ¡°Hm? What are you doing here?¡±

    The willowy woman was no other than Qiao Xueying.

    ¡°It¡¯s meaningless for me to remain by the young miss¡¯ side. Since I can¡¯t release her from the ck rope or protect her from the ck-armored general, I might as welle with you and see if I can be of any help. Besides, I doubt that a third rank cultivator like you to break the seal all by yourself,¡± replied Qiao Xueying.

    ¡°I sure do wonder why the world put a decent-looking face on you, only to ruin it with a vile mouth,¡± retorted Zu An.

    Qiao Xueying rolled her eyes. ¡°The same goes for you too.¡±

    Despite their bickering, Zu An was still d to have another person¡¯s help. An additional pair of helping hands meant a higher chance of breaking the seals.

    QIao Xueying took out a couple of recovery medicine and ki pills and swallowed them. She hesitated for a moment before passing a set to Zu An too. ¡°Do you need it?¡±

    Despite the differences they had, they were somewhat standing on the same front right now. It was only right for her to share her resources with him too.

    Zu An shook his head. He felt that he was in the perfect state at the moment. If he really recovered from his injuries, the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra would lose its effects right away.

    ¡°Forget it then,¡± replied Qiao Xueying with a pout. She thought that Zu An was throwing a tantrum with her, so she decided to ignore him too.

    The two of them walked to the corner of the formation. Zu An stretched his hand over and said, ¡°Give me your hand.¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°What?¡± Qiao Xueying was perplexed as to what Zu An was up to, but she still handed her hand over obediently.

    Unexpectedly, she found her hand being grasped by a warm and firm grip right after. She immediately frowned at the abrupt physical contact. She was just about to blow her top when Zu An exined his action, ¡°Mi Li mentioned earlier that we¡¯ll be teleported into another space once we trigger the seal. We should keep our hands together so as to avoid getting teleported into different locations.¡±

    He wasn¡¯t certain how this teleportation formation worked, after all. He had yed plenty of games in his previous life to know that there was something called ¡®random teleportation¡¯. If they were to be teleported into different locations, it could pose a great deal of trouble trying to meet up with one another.

    ¡°Are you sure you aren¡¯t just trying to take advantage of me?¡± Qiao Xueying eyed their linked hands with a look of skepticism on her face. She wasn¡¯t used to being in physical contact with other men, let alone this hateful fellow.

    ¡°You¡¯re doubting that I¡¯d take advantage of you?¡± scoffed Zu An. ¡°Please! My wife is the number one beauty of Brightmoon City! Do you think that I would choose a washboard without breasts and bum like you over her?¡±

    ¡°Who are you saying is a washboard?¡± bellowed Qiao Xueying with gritted teeth. To think that my perception of him actually improved a little earlier on. Tsk! Looks like a leopard can¡¯t change its spots. He¡¯s still as hateful as ever!

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for +468 Rage!

    She lowered her head to look at her own breasts. Fine, it¡¯s not very big, but it isn¡¯t small either! Besides, you¡¯re saying that my bum is small? You must be blind!

    Just thinking about this matter was enough to make blood surge into her head. She was just about to blow up once more when Zu An pulled her into the middle of the formation. There was a mysterious outburst of light, and their visions suddenly blurred. For a moment, there was a sudden feeling of weightlessness, as if they had fallen into a hole.

    By the time they snapped out of it, they realized that their surroundings had brightened up. They were no longer in the dingy underground pce but a grand city. There were towering city walls and grand city gates right before their eyes, emanating an air of ancient majesty.

    ¡°Holy shit, how in the world is it this big?!¡± eximed Zu An.

    Qiao Xueying¡¯s face reddened.

    This pervert. Staring at a person¡¯s breasts. Hm? Wait a moment, how could there be a big-breasted woman inside the seal?

    She quickly raised her head to take a look, but there was no one in her line of sight aside from Zu An. It was then that she noticed that he was looking at the sky, so she quickly followed his line of sight, only to freeze up in the next moment.

    Right before the city gates stood twelve humongous copper giants gleaming with a golden light. They stood in two rows before the city gates, facing one another. They were already ten meters tall in a sitting position, and their feet looked to be at least two meters long. Their very presence felt incredibly intimidating.

    Qiao Xueying subconsciously leaned a little closer to Zu An before her heart would calm down a little. ¡°How do we break this seal?¡±

    Zu An pondered for a moment before replying, ¡°Since it¡¯s called the Human Seal, it should be safe to assume that it has something to do with humans. I don¡¯t see any signs of humans in the surroundings surroundings though... Do we have to enter the city in order to trigger the event?¡±

    Qiao Xueying contemted for a moment before nodding in agreement. ¡°Let¡¯s enter the city to take a look then.¡±

    Judging from the tremendous height and span of the city walls, they could already imagine just how prosperous the city would be.

    However, when they finally walked up to the city gates, they realized that they couldn¡¯t open it no matter how they pushed.

    One must know that Zu An¡¯s strength was at least half a ton now, which should have been more than enough to open this city gate. Yet, despite the two of them exerting their forces in unison, the city gate wasn¡¯t budging at all. They tried knocking too, but there was no response.

    ¡°Let me try flipping over the city wall to take a look.¡±

    Qiao Xueying took several steps back before running forward and leaping upward toward the top of the city wall.

    While fifth rank cultivators were still incapable of flight, they could easily cover great distances with their leaps, reminiscent of the qinggong[1] often seen in wuxia novels. Considering how she had even built up some momentum before her leap, she should have been able to easily get to the top of the city wall.

    Yet, to her surprise, she realized that she was only able to reach half of the height of the city wall even at the highest point of her leap.

    So, she tapped her foot on the side of the city wall to make a second leap. At the same time, a vine shot forth from her sleeves to head for the top of the city walls.

    But to her astonishment, the city walls suddenly grew even taller, resulting in her constantly being stuck at the halfway point of the city walls no matter how high she tried to climb.

    In the end, she could only give up and leap back down. ¡°There¡¯s something amiss about this city wall.¡±

    Zu An had also witnessed the shocking sight earlier, so he understood what she was referring to. He took a moment to think things through before suggesting, ¡°Should we try ramming the city gate down?¡±

    With theirbined strength, they should be able to exert a forceparable to those ancient battering ramsmonly used for fortress sieges.

    ¡°Shoo, I¡¯ll do it!¡±

    After her earlier failure, Qiao Xueying was anxious to restore her reputation before Zu An. Her hair began to flutter along with the wind, growing longer and longer before abruptly darting toward the city gates.

    Zu An had personally tasted the prowess of her ¡®hair whips¡¯ before. It was powerful enough to even tear apart the walls of his residence as if they were made of paper. Given her prowess, it should be more than enough to smash a hole into the city gate.

    But unexpectedly, when her hair finally rammed onto the city gates, a resounding ¡®bam¡¯ echoed, but the city gates still wasn¡¯t budging at all..

    ¡°Hm?¡± Qiao Xueying was stunned.

    Unwilling to ept the oue, she wanted to give it another try, only to be stopped by Zu An. ¡°Stop. Look behind you.¡±

    Qiao Xueying quickly turned around, only for goosebumps to rise all over her arms. The twelve copper giants who were standing in two rows facing one another earlier had all turned their gazes toward them.

    These copper giants started rising to their feet, their height growing to over twenty meters in height. With huge strides, they began making their way toward the two of them.

    The ground shuddered under their heavy footsteps, as if an earthquake was currently rattling the earth. Zu An gulped fearfully as he remarked, ¡°Bloody hell... Are copper giants considered ¡®humans¡¯ too?¡±

    1. A terminology used in wuxia novels to refer to superhuman movement skills

 Chapter 172: The Twelve Golden Giants

    <h4>Chapter 172: The Twelve Golden Giants</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but remember a legend. It was said that after Qin Shihuang unified the Central ins, he gathered all of the weapons of his enemies in Xianyang, melted them down, and had them constructed into twelve humongous copper sculptures, each weighing over a thousand boulders. He ced these copper sculptures in his imperial court.

    In ancient China, copper and gold were used interchangeably, so copper sculptures were considered golden sculptures too. Also, the ¡®weighing over a thousand boulders¡¯ should have been an exaggeration too, but it seemed to have been realized in this world. No matter how he looked at it, the copper giants before him had to weigh at least tens of tonnes each.

    ¡°Be careful!¡± Seeing how Zu An was still nking out even though the copper giants were already charging over, Qiao Xueying quickly grabbed his hand and pulled him aside.

    With a loud ¡®bam¡¯, the area where the two of them were standing earlier waspletely smashed under the foot of one of the copper giants. When it finally removed its foot, there was a massive footprint left in its wake. Had Zu An and Qiao Xueying not run away, regardless of whether they were at the third rank or the fifth rank, they would have surely been smashed into pulp.

    ¡°You owe me yet another life.¡± Qiao Xueying harrumphed.

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t count. I would have dodged even if you didn¡¯t pull me away,¡± retorted Zu An.

    ¡°You sure are shameless!¡± berated Qiao Xueying.

    There was no time for them to argue on. Another copper giant had begun charging in their direction, so they hurriedly dodged once more.

    These copper giants gleamed with a golden glow, and their narrow eyes carried an inexplicable air of imposingness. There were some weird symbols on their forehead, which resembled the characters for ¡®1¡¯ to ¡®12¡¯.

    Could these copper giants be called Copper Giant One, Copper Giant Two, so on and so forth? Hm. This kind of reminds me of those fellows from the Plum Blossom Sect.

    While his mind wandered, he rushed toward the back of the closest copper giant. He knew that while the massive physique of these copper giants looked terrifying, it also limited their ability to maneuver around agilely. It would be hard for them to turn their bodies around and make small adjustments.

    Zu An looked no more than ant before these humongous copper giants, but he wasn¡¯t afraid at all. He concentrated his ki in his leg and kicked its heel.

    These copper giants were shaped like a human, which meant that their massive bodies were currently pivoted on their heels, making it one of their weaknesses. If he could even just twist their heels, the copper giants might find themselves unable to sustain their body weight anymore and copse to the ground.

    Unfortunately, there tended to be a divergence between theory and practice.

    Despite putting his full might into his strike, the copper giant he attacked remainedpletely unfazed. There wasn¡¯t even any mark left on its heel. Instead, the terrifying rebound left a stabbing pain reverberating through his bones, leaving him feeling as if he had fractured his leg.

    All of a sudden, he remembered a joke he had read about in his previous life.

    An ant saw an elephant on the road and dived into the earth, leaving just one of its legs exposed. A passing rabbit saw it and asked in iprehension, ¡°Why are you exposing your leg out in the open?¡±

    To that, the ant replied, ¡°Shh! Don¡¯t make a noise. I¡¯m going to trip the elephant over!¡±

    Right now, Zu An felt that he was the overly confident ant, attempting to use his measly leg to trip the copper giant over.

    The copper giant seemed to be provoked by Zu An¡¯s attack, and it raised its leg to kick back at him.

    Zu An immediately made a sidestep, but he felt another gush of wind headed in his direction. So, he quickly executed the Sunflower Phantasm to flee several meters away.

    Soon, the jarring sound of metal scraping against one another sounded. Another copper giant had drawn a several meters long sword and cut it down on where Zu An was standing a moment ago, scraping out sparks from the friction against the ground.

    Zu An gulped fearfully. He had noticed right from the start that these copper giants had a sword sheath hanging by their waists, but he thought that they were just ornaments. Who could have thought that they were actually real weapons?

    It was a sword by the copper giants¡¯ standards, but to Zu An, it looked more like someone was hurling a massive billboard straight toward his face.

    ¡°What do we do? These copper giants are invulnerable to swords and spears; my sword has already shattered against them!¡± Qiao Xueying dodged several of the copper giants¡¯ attack before rushing over to regather with Zu An. They stood back-to-back with one another, gasping hard to catch their breath. It would appear that she wasn¡¯t faring any better either.

    Zu An noticed the broken sword in her grasp and murmured, ¡°I don¡¯t believe that they¡¯re really invulnerable to weapons!¡±

    So, he summoned Poisonous Prick and dashed right for one of the copper giants.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Even if you can¡¯t be hurt with kicks and swords, I don¡¯t believe that you¡¯ll be able to remain unharmed before my Poisonous Prick!

    While these copper golems were clearly inanimate beings, which meant that the sure-kill effect of Poisonous Prick wouldn¡¯t work, its sharpness should still be more than enough to slice right through their defenses.

    Zu An was moving so fast that Qiao Xueying was actually seeing multiple copies of Zu An around. She knew that this was the effect of his extreme speed and unique movement skill, and she couldn¡¯t help but be impressed by his means. It¡¯s no wonder why so many of us are unable to kill him even though he¡¯s only at the third rank.

    Zu An executed his ¡®Bixie Swordy¡¯ to its limits. With every flit, he would appear right beside one of the copper giants and swipe his dagger with lighting speed, shaving off arge b of ¡®meat¡¯ from the copper giant¡¯s heels.

    The heat had really gotten to him. Now, he was more determined than ever to make them fall.

    Ahhhh!

    The copper giants began howling out loud, frightening Qiao Xueying. Wait a moment, do these copper giants feel pain?

    The copper giants continued swinging their swords down on Zu An. Their movements were slow, but this weakness wasplemented by their long limbs and massive swords. Every strike from them really felt like a finishing blow from a boss monster. Even with Zu An¡¯s powerful movement skill, there were still many times where he nearly got swept away by those huge ass swords.

    On top of that, the copper giants also didn¡¯t hesitate to use their legs and fists whenever the situation warranted too. It made it look as if twelve humans were desperately trying to swat off a fly, creating quite a ludicrous scene. But putting aside the ridiculousness of the sight, their attacks were effective, especially since they stirred powerful shockwaves that battered down on Zu An even if they missed their target.

    A whileter, Zu An found himself staring in shock at the twelve copper giants. He was certain that he had already sliced off huge bs of ¡®meat¡¯ from the copper giants, but for some reason, they were still moving perfectly normally, which didn¡¯t make sense at all!

    ¡°Look, they¡¯re regenerating from their wounds!¡± Qiao Xueying pointed to the heels of the copper giants as she shouted.

    Zu An quickly took a look too. Just as Qiao Xueying had said, their wounds were healing at a visible pace. The copper bs he had sliced off slowly sunk into the ground, and it tallied with the rate of regeneration of those copper giants.

    ¡°It looks like they are able to regenerate automatically in this environment,¡± said Qiao Xueying with a pale face.

    Even though these copper giants werecking in agility, their attacks were powerful and they were nigh indestructible. How could they possibly win this match?

    To make things worse, they were severely short on time. If they dragged things out, Chu Chuyan might have already died in Zhang Han¡¯s hands by the time they returned to save her.

    ¡°I heard that fire curbs metal. Are you able to use any fire element skills, like fireball or something?¡± asked Zu An.

    Qiao Xueying rolled her eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t you know better than anyone else that I¡¯m a wood element cultivator? If I can use fire, the first one to burn is myself!¡±

    Zu An clicked his tongue in disdain. ¡°Trash. I don¡¯t expect you to be like those novel protagonists who can pull out all five elements from their ass, but shouldn¡¯t you at least be at the level of a lesser viin with two elements or something? Haa, I really shouldn¡¯t bear any expectations of you at all lest I get disappointed again.

    ¡°...¡± Qiao Xueying.

    ¡°What kind of nonsensical novels do you read? Cultivators in this world can only awaken to a single element. This ismon sense,mon sense!!!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for +233 Rage!

    Qiao Xueying gnashed her teeth furiously. This fellow really is my nemesis. We must have been enemies our previous life!

    ¡°Since you¡¯re all-so-knowledgeable aboutmon sense, why don¡¯t you tell me what we should do now?¡± Zu An dodged an attack from the copper giant as he asked.

    Qiao Xueying fell silent for a moment before murmuring, ¡°As the saying goes, ¡®The great dao isplete at fifty, fate ounts for forty-nine, and the final onees up to unpredictability.¡¯ There¡¯s no such thing as an unbreakable seal in this world. These copper giants must have a weakness, just that we haven¡¯t stumbled upon it yet.¡±

    ¡°A load of nonsense. Give me something that I can work with!¡± scoffed Zu An.

    Qiao Xueying¡¯s face reddened. She red at Zu An and said, ¡°I¡¯m saying that you should stop staring at their legs! They must have a weakness somewhere else!¡±

    ¡°Somewhere else?¡± Zu An examined the copper giants once more, specifically choosing to eye their crotch first. However, there was nothing there, which seemed to indicate that these copper giants didn¡¯t have the concept of gender. If so, a ball kick was unlikely to be too effective.

    The two of them split up and continued weaving around the copper giants while searching for their weakness, and soon, Qiao Xueying noticed something.

    ¡°Hey, could their weakness possibly be that strange mark on their foreheads?¡±

    She noticed that the marks on their foreheads would glow dimly every single time the copper giants moved.

    Hearing her analysis, Zu An nodded in agreement. ¡°Yes, that does seem to be likely. I guess there¡¯s some truth to themon adage that big-breasted women tend to be not too smart.¡±

    Qiao Xueying was stunned. Huh? What does being big-breasted have to do with me? My breasts aren¡¯t too big in the first...

    Realization suddenly struck her. He was basically insulting her for having small breasts in an indirect manner!

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for +666 Rage!

    ¡°But these copper giants are way too tall. We can¡¯t reach them even if we know what their weakness is,¡± grumbled Zu An.

    Of course, as cultivators, both Zu An and Qiao Xueying were able to easily leap over twenty meters in height, but the problem was that the copper giants they were dealing with weren¡¯t stationary objects. They would attack them as soon as they came close!

    Zu An might have been able to outmaneuver them on the ground, but if he were to leap right up to their faces, wouldn¡¯t that just be courting his own death?

    He had no intention of being swatted down like a mosquito, so he hurriedly racked his brain for a solution. Soon, his eyes lit up, and he eximed, ¡°Ah, I got it!¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± asked Qiao Xueying.

    ¡°How long can your hair extend for? How resilient are they?¡± asked Zu An.

    Qiao Xueying¡¯s ability to extend her hair as she pleased andsh them around like whips had left quite a deep impression on him.

    Qiao Xueying was hesitant to answer those questions. These were secrets that a cultivator would never tell another soul, or else others would be able to guard against her attack. However, seeing the earnest look on Zu An¡¯s face, she eventually still answered honestly, ¡°I should be able to extend them over thirty meters long. As for their resilience... it¡¯d be hard for normal swords and sabers to sever them.¡±

    ¡°Good. I need your hair to extend as long as possible now,¡± said Zu An as he grabbed onto her hair and started tugging on it.

    Qiao Xueying felt enraged and humiliated by how a man was actually holding onto her hair. Just as Zu An wished, her hair immediately extended outward, morphing into whips that threatened tosh down on him.

    ¡°Hey hey hey, calm down! I¡¯m doing this in order to break the seal!¡± exined Zu An hurriedly. While grabbing her hair, he weaved around the copper giants and wrapped her hair around all of their legs.

    The sharp-witted Qiao Xueying swiftly figured out his intention. Hmm, he does have quite some ideas in mind. But at the same time, she felt a little frightened too. Given the strength of these copper giants, wouldn¡¯t they simply tug out all of her hair and make her bald?

    As soon as those thoughts arose in her head, she suddenly felt a strong tug on her head. Before she could even react, she was already sent flying by the movement of the copper giants. With tears brimming in her eyes, she cursed the culprit who put her in her miserable state, ¡°Zu An, you bastarddddddd!¡±

 Chapter 173: Earth Seal

    <h4>Chapter 173: Earth Seal</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    It was then that a massive sword swiped down in Qiao Xueying¡¯s way. Even from afar, she could already hear a thunderous rumble swiftly crescendoing the closer it came to her. The sheer force was so great that even if it could probably amputate a limb from the other copper giants, let alone her frail body.

    Qiao Xueying¡¯s first instinct was to dodge, but she was currently flying through the air with nowhere to pivot her body on. It was impossible for her to dodge at all. Seeing the sword growing bigger and bigger before her eyes, she sighed softly and closed her eyes, resigning herself to fate.

    She was already tired of living anyway, so it didn¡¯t seem too bad for her to die just like that. The only regret she had now was to be unable to see the breaking of three seals through and save the young miss. Will Zu An be able to do it alone?

    The thought of Zu An made rage explode within her head.

    It¡¯s all due to him that I¡¯m dying right now! Will he even feel the slightest tinge of guilt toward me when he thinks about this in the future? Haa, I doubt so. How could that man possibly know of guilt?

    ¡°I bet that you¡¯re cursing me right now.¡±

    A teasing voice suddenly sounded right beside her as Qiao Xueying felt herself falling into a warm embrace. She quickly opened her eyes, only to see Zu An staring at her, leaving her taken aback.

    However, she quickly snapped out of her daze. She pointed right behind him and eximed, ¡°Sword! Sword! ...¡±

    She was so panicked that she couldn¡¯t even construct aplete sentence properly.

    A ck shadow shed across the air, and her hair was suddenly severed. Then, Zu An quickly pulled her several meters away, and by a close shave, she managed to avoid that iing sword.

    Feeling the frenzied shockwave caused by the massive sword thatnded just several inches away from her, Qiao Xueying found her hair scattering messily all over her face. She stared at the man holding on to her with a dazed expression, her heart inexplicably thumping faster.

    ¡°What¡¯s with this feeling? Why is my face turning red? Why is my heart beating so fast? Why am I reacting to this fellow...¡± Qiao Xueying¡¯s mind was an utter mess.

    ¡°I saved your life again. We should be equals now, right?¡± said Zu An with a smile.

    Qiao Xueying¡¯s face reddened. She opened her mouth, but no word woulde out.

    ¡°Are you feeling your heart beating fast? Do you feel an emotion you have never felt before engulfing your body?¡± Zu An suddenly dropped this question.

    ¡°S-so what if that¡¯s the case!¡± Qiao Xueying blurted those words out so quickly that she regretted it right now. How could I have admitted to it? Damn it, this fellow is going to act all smug over it now!

    Unexpectedly, Zu An replied, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t think that you¡¯re in love with me just because of that. This is a perfectly normal urrence. Using professional jargon, it¡¯s called ¡®Suspension Bridge Effect¡¯. It¡¯s perfectly normal for your heart to beat fast when crossing a dangerous suspension bridge, and if you coincidentally meet with another person then, you¡¯ll mistake your physical reactions as a sign of affection for that person. But no, that¡¯s not love.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Qiao Xueying.

    That long speech was more than enough to make her snap out of her unusual state. ¡°Hah, of course! Even if I fall in love with a pig, a dog, or even a zombie, I¡¯d never fall in love with a guy like you!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for +111 Rage!

    Zu An was speechless. Your words don¡¯t look too credible with that little amount of Rage points you¡¯re supplying me with. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t fall in love with a venomous littless like you either.¡±

    Despite the bicker, Zu An¡¯s attention was still on the battle. Without any hesitation, he charged toward the copper giants with Poisonous Prick in hand.

    Those copper giants had been tied together using the ¡®rope¡¯, and of course, Zu An didn¡¯t expect Qiao Xueying to be able to trip them over with her strength. Instead, he tied the legs of those copper giants together, hoping that they would trip each other over with their own strength.

    As their movements weren¡¯t coordinated, with one heading one way and the other heading another, it didn¡¯t take long for the first copper giant to trip over and fall. Like a set of dominos, more and more copper giants fell down to the ground.

    Had the copper giants been normal humans, they would have tried to sever the hair wrapped around their ankles. With their astounding strength, it was likely that they would have been able to rip through Qiao Xueying¡¯s resilient hair with ease.

    Unfortunately, it was clear that they werecking in intelligence. They simply iled their legs around in futility, unable to free themselves from the hair wrapped around their legs even to the veryst moment.

    Zu An made use of this opportunity to run to the nearest copper giant and stab Poisonous Prick into the center of their forehead.

    At close proximity, he could feel more concretely than ever just how huge and powerful these copper giants were. Looking at their whopping heads and big eyeballs, he couldn¡¯t help but feel a little intimidated. If Snow is wrong about this, I might really just meet my end here.

    Puchi!

    His dagger stabbed right into the copper giant¡¯s forehead. However, due to the size of the giant¡¯s head and short reach of the dagger, somehow, it looked more like a toothpick poking into someone¡¯s head instead.

    Feeling more and more uneasy about this, he quickly retrieved his dagger and backed away, fearing the copper giant¡¯s retaliation.

    To his surprise, the sharp glint in the copper giant¡¯s eyes gradually dimmed before vanishing altogether. It had reverted back to a dead copper sculpture.

    Delighted to see that it was effective, Zu An quickly used the Sunflower Phantasm to rush for the next copper giant. He plunged his dagger into the center of its forehead and retracted it before rushing to the next target...

    He was extremely efficient about this. In just a few seconds, he had already eliminated eleven of the copper giants. However, just as he was about to deal with the twelfth one, the final remaining copper giant suddenly roared furiously and sessfully struggled free of the hair binding its leg. It climbed back up to its feet and smacked its palm down toward Zu An.

    Seeing the twist in the situation, Zu An quickly changed his direction and retreated several meters away. The force of the palm was so great that even the shockwave might have been enough to end his life. Considering that he was already injured at the moment, he didn¡¯t want to take this risk.

    In just a few short moments, the copper giant had managed to rise back to its feet. Looking at its copsedrades, it still felt a surge of anger despite itscking intelligence. It roared furiously to the sky.

    You have sessfully trolled First Emperor¡¯s Copper Giant No. 1 for +9 +9 +9...

    As expected of the number 1. The boss of the group is indeed much harder to deal with.

    Zu An backed off to Qiao Xueying¡¯s side, and he couldn¡¯t help but notice that her long hair had been chopped off to barely ear length. He chuckled a little and remarked, ¡°Say, wouldn¡¯t it be interesting if my hand had slipped earlier and chopped off all of your hair?¡±

    ¡°On the ount that you saved me earlier, I shan¡¯t hold this one against you.¡± Qiao Xueying harrumphed. She patted her hair softly, and her short hair swiftly grew longer, even forming a ponytail on its own.

    Zu An was dumbfounded. He couldn¡¯t resist touching her newly-grown ponytail, remarking, ¡°Oh? I didn¡¯t think that you would have such a function. Must be convenient not tob your hair every morning.¡±

    Qiao Xueying shot a piercing re at Zu An as she snatched her ponytail back. ¡°Don¡¯t you know that a man and a woman should keep some distance between each other?¡±

    Zu An was amused by that remark. ¡°We had far more intimate interactions than this in the past, and you¡¯re suddenly talking about distance with me?¡±

    Qiao Xueying¡¯s eyebrows shot up. ¡°You still dare to talk about that!¡±

    Zu An burst intoughter. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s talk about serious matters. I need to extend your hair again. I¡¯ll tie that big fellow up.¡±

    The earlier long lock of hair had scattered all over the ce due to the copper giant¡¯s struggling, so Zu An couldn¡¯t use it anymore.

    Qiao Xueying was troubled by the request. ¡°That wouldn¡¯t do. I¡¯ve exerted myself too much today, so I won¡¯t be able to regrow it in the short-term.¡±

    Earlier in the underground pce, she cut off a huge chunk of her hair because it was stained in bat¡¯s blood, and another huge chunk of it was severed here. On top of that, she had been exerting herself all this while, so there was no way to replenish her lost energy.

    ¡°What do we do then?¡± Zu An looked at the copper giant charging toward them with a contemtive frown.

    ¡°What are you nking out for? Hurry up and dodge! We can think of another wayter on!¡± eximed Qiao Xueying.

    To her surprise, Zu An shook his head and replied, ¡°Chuyan won¡¯t be able to wait that long. I need to take care of it right now.¡±

    Qiao Xueying rolled her eyes. ¡°Stop bragging over here! If you can really take care of it right away, I¡¯ll follow your... surname...¡±

    Before she could finish her words, Zu An suddenly vanished from the spot. The next moment, he was already right before the copper giant¡¯s forehead, the ck dagger in his hand plunged right into the center of its forehead.

    The copper giant¡¯s movements jolted from the sudden attack, and the light in its eyes gradually faded. Its body started falling frontward under the force of inertia.

    Zu An quickly pulled out his dagger before pushing his leg against the copper giant¡¯s head and leaped backward. The copper giant crashed heavily onto the ground, causing a cloud of dust to rise into the air.

    Witnessing this grand sight, Qiao Xueying¡¯s face reddened a little. Why does this fellow suddenly look a little charming?

    ¡°What did you say earlier?¡± asked Zu An as he made his way over to her side.

    ¡°N-nothing.¡± Qiao Xueying was relieved that he had moved too quickly to hear what she had said, or else she would have been ced in an awkward position. ¡°How did you manage to do it?¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    While his movement skill was formidable, it would at least still leave behind traces for one to track his movements. Yet, the earlier attack was so swift that it almost looked as if he had teleported right in front of the copper giant in a sh.

    ¡°Curious?¡± asked Zu An as he leaned in toward her.

    Qiao Xueying leaned backward unnaturally as she nodded her head, ¡°Yeah.¡±

    ¡°Call me big brother, and I¡¯ll let you in on the secret,¡± replied Zu An cheerfully.

    He had used Grandgale¡¯s power earlier. Due to the earlier advancement in his cultivation, he had enough ki to barely use it thrice a day.

    This skill was perfect for fleeing, dodging, and assassination, but his cultivation was simply too low at the moment that it was only useful for dealing with dumb oafs with the copper giants. If he tried using it on other high-rank cultivators, who possessed inhuman reflexes and all sorts of elemental abilities, the chances of a sessful assassination would have been much lower.

    Qiao Xueying simply ignored him. She was more concerned about something else here. ¡°We should have cleared the Human Seal, right?¡±

    Right after she said those words, the twelve copper giants vanished in a burst of light. Then, the feeling of weightlessness shrouded the two of them once more as their surroundings blurred. Before they knew it, they were already back at the underground pce.

    It was then that Qiao Xueying noticed that their hands were linked together, so she quickly shook it off.

    Zu An shrugged casually, thinking nothing of it.

    ¡°Hm? I never thought that you would be able to clear the Human Seal,¡± Mi Li¡¯s voice sounded. Her excitement was showing through her tone, as if she was finally seeing a ray of hope.

    Barely after those words were spoken, the sealing formation beneath them suddenly opened up, causing them to fall to a deeper level beneath.

    Zu An noticed that there was another simr sealing formation on this deeper level, and he figured that it was the Earth Seal.

    ¡°The Earth Seal will be harder than the Human Seal. Do you want to rest a bit first before entering?¡± asked Mi Li.

    Zu An shook his head and replied, ¡°There¡¯s no need for that.¡±

    Chu Chuyan was still waiting for him outside, so they needed to make haste here.

    Qiao Xueying also shared the same thought too. The two of them stood on the Earth Seal, not saying a word at all. Mysteriously, the two of them instinctively reached out in unison to hold each other¡¯s hands.

    The same feeling of weightlessness assaulted them. When they opened their eyes once more, they realized that they were in the midst of darkness.

    A frown formed on Zu An¡¯s face as he remarked doubtfully, ¡°Why are we still in the underground pce?¡±

 Chapter 174: How Lonely It Is to be Invincible

    <h4>Chapter 174: How Lonely It Is to be Invincible</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°No, that¡¯s not right. This isn¡¯t the underground pce we were in earlier,¡± said Qiao Xueying with a shake of her head. Her cultivation was much higher than Zu An¡¯s, so her senses were far sharper. ¡°The area we were at earlier was filled with death aura, but it¡¯s much weaker here.¡±

    Zu An scanned their surroundings carefully, and his face suddenly scrunched in bitterness. ¡°If we aren¡¯t in the underground pce, what¡¯s with those things then?¡±

    Qiao Xueying traced his gaze before jolting in horror. Several hundred meters away from them stood an army of terracotta soldiers. It was identical to what they had encountered back at the underground pce!

    ¡°Earth Seal, huh? These terracotta soldiers are made out of mud and are buried underground, making them intricately rted to the earth. They must be the enemies we have to face here,¡± said Zu An grimly.

    Qiao Xueying suddenly thought of something and sighed, ¡°It¡¯s a pity that the bizarre light-emitting stick of yours fell into theke earlier, or else you¡¯d be able to easily deal with these fellows and break the seal.¡±

    A mysterious smile surfaced on Zu An¡¯s lips as he summoned the Magical shlight out. ¡°Are you referring to this?¡±

    Qiao Xueying widened her eyes in astonishment at the ck stick he had in hand. ¡°Ah? Didn¡¯t it fall into theke earlier? Why do you still have it? Wait a moment, does that mean that you have a lot of it in your possession?¡±

    She was quite certain that Zu An hadn¡¯t picked up the stick after it fell into theke earlier.

    ¡°How could I have duplicates of an artifact as precious as this? This is the same one you saw earlier on,¡± replied Zu An. ¡°It¡¯s just that it is linked to me telepathically, so it would automatically return to my side.¡±

    Qiao Xueying looked at Zu An with aplicated look on her face. Just a month ago, she still thought that this man was a good-for-nothing, only to be bombarded with surprises one after another. ¡°Why is it that the undead in the underground pce is so fearful of the light emanated by that stick?¡±

    Zu An chuckled softly and said, ¡°You haven¡¯t called me big brother yet. I¡¯ll answer your question once you do it.¡±

    Qiao Xueying spat on the ground and said, ¡°Pui, you sure are shameless! You shouldn¡¯t be hooking up with other women behind the young miss¡¯ back!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a different case though. Have you forgotten that Chuyan has already given you to me? Since my wife has already approved of this, how can this be called ¡®hooking up¡¯?¡± said Zu An. ¡°Besides, if anyone is hooking up with who, it¡¯s you. You¡¯re the one holding onto my hand tightly now.¡±

    Qiao Xueying immediately retracted her hand hurriedly. With a reddened face, she exined in a fumble, ¡°Y-you were the one who told us to link hands in case we strayed apart!¡±

    It was quite entertaining to Zu An to see her furiously blushing cheeks. Despite her vile tongue, she does have a good face and an alluring figure. There¡¯s no denying that she¡¯s a beauty.

    Zu An felt that he was suited to be a wastrel of a rich family. He would be perfectly satisfied living an idle life, spending his free time teasing some women. It didn¡¯t seem like that bad of a way to spend his whole life.

    Pui! Zu An, how can you be won over by her charms so easily? Have you forgotten how she tried to kill you time and time again? You mustn¡¯t be so shallow!

    Zu An scorned himself.

    Meanwhile, Qiao Xueying looked at him with a bizarre face. ¡°Why are you looking at me with such licentious eyes? You must be thinking of something perverted.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean by licentious eyes? Please watch your use of words, young miss. This is called a caring gaze!¡± corrected Zu An.

    It was then that some noises began sounding ahead of them. The two of them quickly turned their gazes over, only to see the terracotta soldiers turning in their direction.

    ¡°Hurry up and use that shlight of yours to deal with them! It feels kind of weird getting stared at by so many eyes.¡± Qiao Xueying fidgeted ufortably under their stare.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Zu An felt rather disturbed by their gazes, so he switched on the shlight and directed it toward the terracotta soldiers.

    A white pir of light immediately shone down on the army of terracotta soldiers, causing them to immediately break out of their neat formation.

    ¡°What do we need to do in order to break the seal? Do we really need to get rid of all of them?¡± Even with a rough sweep of the surroundings, Qiao Xueying could spot at least a thousand terracotta soldiers around. It definitely wouldn¡¯t be an easy feat to deal with them unless Zu An used the light-emitting stick in his hand.

    Zu An also shared the same thoughts in mind. He continued shining his shlight on the terracotta soldiers. Where the light shone, the terracotta soldiers in the area would find their colors swiftly fading before crumbling into pieces, reminiscent of a snowman exposed directly under the sun.

    ¡°It¡¯s no wonder why we weren¡¯t allowed to take pictures in museums. It turns out that light is quite a powerful weapon against antiques,¡± murmured Zu An as he walked into the enemy¡¯s formation with his shlight in hand.

    ¡°So this is what it means for a person to single handedly defeat thousands. Ah, what a pity that there¡¯s no spectator here to witness my greatness, or else my name would surely shake the world,¡±mented Zu An. He suddenly remembered a song from his previous world and began singing it aloud, ¡°s, how forlorn it is to be invincible~ s, how empty it is to be invincible~¡±

    ¡°...¡± Qiao Xueying.

    Why did he suddenly start singing? The melody of the song sounds so weird. Also, aren''t the lyrics a little too arrogant? Hmmm, but it does carry quite a bit of impact.

    I wonder which formidable expertposed this song. It¡¯s impossible for an ordinary man topose such a majestic song. Argh, but it sounds so incongruous hearing such a song from a mere third rank cultivator!

    Meanwhile, Zu An was still busy shing at the terracotta soldiers with an excited smile on his face, ¡°C¡¯mon! I dare you toe nearer!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled the Terracotta Soldiers for +6 +6 +6...

    Why is this human so despicable? Why don¡¯t you put down that light-emitting stick in your hand and have a proper fight with us then? I swear that I¡¯ll beat the shit out of you within seconds!

    ¡°Heh, a bunch of weaklings!¡± sneered Zu An.

    However, he noticed that while the shlight could suppress them, its killing prowess was still severelycking. For one, he had to shine the light directly on them in order to deal damage, and the damage output stopped as soon as he moved the light away.

    ¡°Wuwuwuw~¡±

    A warhorn suddenly sounded at this moment. The terracotta soldiers standing on war chariots waved the gs in their hands, and the formation gradually calmed down. Soon, a row of warriors armed with shields marched to the forefront to block off the terrifying light shining down on them.

    Zu AN was stunned. These fellows are actually capable of strategizing?

    He tried to shine the shlight from different angles, but the light waspletely blocked by the shields. The soldiers had wisely chosen not just to block in front of them but above them too.

    This is ridiculous!

    It was then that Zu An¡¯s eyes narrowed in horror. He noticed that the archers standing at the far end at the back of the terracotta soldiers were nocking their arrows on their bows.

    ¡°Run!¡± Zu An immediately turned around and ran. He noticed that Qiao Xueying still hadn¡¯t snapped out of her daze yet, so he quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her away with him.

    ¡°What are you doing?!¡± Once again, Qiao Xueying was angry by the sudden physical contact, but the whooshing sound above her soon silenced her rage.

    She raised her gaze and saw a rain of arrows headed their direction, and her face immediately paled in fright.

    What the hell! This fellow was still singing hismentations about being invincible at one moment, and in the next, he was fleeing faster than anyone else. Know some shame!

    ¡°We won¡¯t make it in time!¡± Zu An knew that they couldn¡¯t possibly outrun the arrows, so he turned to Qiao Xueying and asked, ¡°How long can your barrierst for?¡±

    ¡°Not too long,¡± replied Qiao Xueying with a pale face.

    ¡°Buy some time for me!¡± Zu An halted his footstep as he began digging the ground with Poisonous Prick.

    Qiao Xueying was unsure what he was up to, but she still waved her wrist and weaved several tree vines together to form a shield. Right after that, the arrows began striking squarely on the vine shield.

    Qiao Xueying let out a muffled groan upon the strike. Forcefully bearing the powerful impact of the arrows was inflicting significant internal injuries on her.

    She wasn¡¯t even in a state to speak at all. She focused all of her ki on repairing her tattered vine shield. She should have been able tost several minutes, but for some reason, she felt like an eternity had already passed her by.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Qiao Xueying suddenly eximed loudly as she sensed one of the arrows piercing through her defense and plunging into her shoulder. She gritted her teeth tightly to bear with the pain as she continued to focus her ki on her vine shield.

    Nevertheless, she knew that she was swiftly approaching her limit and could onlyst for another three more seconds before her defense crumbled. By then, the two of them would be turned into porcupines.

    3!

    2!

    1!

    Qiao Xueying felt her body finally caving into exhaustion. Before she closed her eyes, she muttered, ¡°I never thought that I would end up dying with this fellow.¡±

    ¡°Oh? I never knew that you were so interested in a lovers¡¯ suicide with me,¡± a teasing voice sounded.

    Stunned, Qiao Xueying hurriedly opened her eyes, only to see that she was lying in a shallow pit. The arrows flying over simply fell to the other side of the pit

    So this was what he was digging all this while...

    Qiao Xueying finally understood Zu An¡¯s intention, but she soon became conscious of the fact that she was held tightly in Zu An¡¯s arm. They were directly in front of one another, such that she could feel Zu An¡¯s breathing on her face. Just a slightly closer, and their lips would be touching.

    ¡°What are you doing!¡± Shocked, Qiao Xueying began struggling instinctively.

    However, Zu An held onto her closely and said, ¡°Stop moving! It wasn¡¯t easy for me to dig this trench hole! You¡¯ll expose yourself and get shot if you continue struggling!¡±

    As if to verify his words, an arrow happened to brush across her sleeves right after. Seeing this, she immediately remained still, not daring to move at all.

    In order to alleviate the awkwardness she felt, Qiao Xueying turned her head sideward and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the theory behind digging this pit? Why does the arrow shoot right above us and not on us?¡±

    Zu An began exining patiently, ¡°This is what we call a trench hole. As you know, arrows usually fly in an arc, descending diagonally down on their enemy. However, this trench hole is created in a way such that it¡¯s impossible for any arrows to hit us unless they fall vertically downward. That¡¯s why no arrows are able to hit us.¡±

    It was a relief that his dagger was able to slice through any material as easily as if ripping through paper, and his strength was freakishly great now. Otherwise, there was no way he could dig out a trench hole big enough for the two of them to hide in within such a short period of time.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Qiao Xueying still looked a little confused. She couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Why do you know so much stuff?¡±

    ¡°It took you awhile, but I¡¯m d that you finally realized my wisdom. You must have been blind to not recognize my greatness in the past,¡± replied Zu An. Even though she¡¯s hateful, I must admit that she really has a soft body.

    ¡°...¡± Qiao Xueying.

    Will you die if you just stop arguing with me for a moment?

    The rain of arrows suddenly began to thin. Clearly, the archers had realized that they weren¡¯t able to hit them.

    Just as the two of them were about to heave a sigh of relief, the ground began to rumble loudly.

    It was the cavalry! The cavalrymen had begun on their charge!

 Chapter 175: Big Brother

    <h4>Chapter 175: Big Brother</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The two of them arched their head upward to take a look, only to see a toon of cavalrymen charging furiously in their direction. They were so fast that it would only take moments for them to arrive at the trench hole.

    Given the charging prowess of the cavalrymen, there was little doubt that they would be reduced into meat b right away.

    Zu An instinctively shone the shlight toward the cavalrymen, only to see them raising a shield in front of them. So, he changed his target toward their steed, only to be shocked once again to see that their horses¡¯ eyes were covered in cloth.

    He was utterly dumbfounded. What the hell? You¡¯re terracotta soldiers, beings made out of mud! Where in the world did you get the cloth from?

    In any case, he had to figure out a way to resolve the crisis right before his eyes.

    An idea came to his mind, and he activated Sunflower Phantasm and continuously executed ¡®Pick¡¯ of the Elementary Swordy, digging out a small hole.

    He was rather impressed by how simplistic the Elementary Swordy of Brightmoon Academy really was. The idea of ¡®pick¡¯ was fully expressed in the movement, evidenced by how efficient his de was picking up the rock floor and tossing them aside.

    If the creator of the Elementary Swordy were to learn that his sessor was using his technique to dig a hole, he would probably be so mad that he would leap right out of his coffin.

    But of course, that was none of Zu An¡¯s concern right now. He was only d that Poisonous Prick was incredibly sharp, or else he wouldn¡¯t have been able to dig so efficiently.

    Qiao Xueying waspletely confused by Zu An¡¯s action. Is he intending on building a hole to hide from this toon of cavalrymen?

    Hda it been in the past, she would have surely shrugged over Zu An¡¯s action as utter nonsense, but after everything they had gone through together, she decided to aid him as well. She gathered the remnant of her ki and ced her hand on the ground. Soon, vines shot out from the ground, creating a circr hole.

    As the cavalrymen were getting closer and closer, Zu An suddenly abandoned the hole and pulled Qiao Xueying away with him, retreating from the area.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it toote to run away right now?¡± Qiao Xueying was perplexed.

    However, what confused her even further was that Zu An actually stopped after barely running thirty meters.

    He turned around to face the charging cavalrymen with his dagger in hand, reminiscent of a panther ready to pounce at any moment.

    Qiao Xueying couldn¡¯t make sense of anything at all. Is he really intending on facing the cavalrymen head-on? That¡¯s suicide!

    But in the next moment, she witnessed a sight that ckened her lower jaw. The cavalrymen¡¯s steeds in the front row were suddenly rmed by something and abruptly fell over, crashing heavily onto the ground. The brittle material they were made of caused them to shatter into bits.

    With the front row suddenly copsing over, there was suddenly an obstacle for the cavalrymen behind them. In such a situation, the other cavalrymen ought to stop or divert to another pathway, but unfortunately, the inertia from their furious charge disallowed them to stop. As a result, the damage snowballed further as more and more cavalrymen fell over and copsed.

    It was then that Zu An moved. He charged toward the chaotic cavalrymen and ended the life of those who hadn¡¯t died yet while assassinating those who were still on their steeds.

    Typically speaking, even though the cavalrymen had lost the momentum of their charge, they should have still been in an advantageous position due to their higher altitude from being on the back of a horse, making them hard to deal with. However, Zu An was equipped with the Magical shlight. By shining the light here and there, those cavalrymen swiftly flew into chaos, creating the best setting for Zu An¡¯s Sunflower Phantasm to shine.

    He weaved amongst the cavalrymen with unpredictable footsteps, asionally executing the ¡®Bixie Swordy¡¯ to lop off the heads of the terracotta soldiers.

    After having fought with them for a while, he had already figured out what their weakness was¡ªtheir heads!

    Roughly an incense¡¯s timeter, over a hundred cavalrymen returned back to the dust. Half of them died from stumbling over one another, and the other half was killed by Zu An.

    ¡°Is that fellow really a third rank cultivator?¡±

    Looking at the Zu An flitting around the battlefield like an apparition, Qiao Xueying felt a chill running down her back. Despite Zu An¡¯s low cultivation rank, he looked more like an assassin than the most formidable assassin she had seen. His attacks were simple and clean, devoid of any excess movement. Every time he made a strike, he would be able to reap a life with him.

    Meanwhile, Zu An gasped for breath from his overexertion. He had managed to achieve fair results, but he ended up expending himself greatly too.

    It was also then that the remaining members of the terracotta soldiers finally snapped out of it. The archers at the backline decided to continue firing even at the expense of shooting their ownrades, resulting in a rain of arrows swiftly falling.

    ¡°Quick, hide in the trench hole!¡± Qiao Xueying pulled Zu An over, afraid that he was too tired to move.

    Unexpectedly, Zu An threw a shield to her and said, ¡°What are you running for? We got a shield now.¡±

    The best tool to deal with archers were naturally shields. It was out of desperation earlier that Zu An had to dig a trench hole in a hurry earlier, but after clearing away the cavalrymen, the battlefield was now littered with shields.

    The two of them quickly set up a couple of shields in front of them to conceal their bodies. The arrows rained down on them furiously, but they couldn¡¯t hurt them at all.

    Zu An made use of this opportunity to ask Qiao Xueying, ¡°We already have shields, but you still wanted to pull me into the trench hole. Be honest, are you hoping that I would embrace you in there once more?¡±

    ¡°Embrace your head!¡± Qiao Xueying kicked him with a reddened face. It¡¯s all this fellow¡¯s fault! He always brings out weird ideas that I end up getting thrown off tempo. ¡°Speaking of which, how did you make those cavalrymen fall over just by digging those round holes?¡±

    Zu An wagged his finger and said, ¡°That¡¯s a secret too. Call me big brother, and I¡¯ll tell you.¡±

    Qiao Xueying gritted her teeth angrily. She took a look at the battlefield and saw that there were hundreds of terracotta soldiers in front. On the other hand, she was severely injured at the moment. Given the current circumstances, it seemed unlikely that she would be able to live to the end of the ordeal.

    Not wanting to die ignorant, she sumbed to her curiosity and muttered almost inaudibly, ¡°Big... bro... ther...¡±

    ¡°???¡± Zu An.

    He didn¡¯t expect that Qiao Xueying would actually do as he said. Did the sun rise from the west today?

    Seeing the utterly shocked look Zu An was directing toward her, Qiao Xueying¡¯s face reddened. She red back at him and said, ¡°What are you looking at? I¡¯ve already done what you told me to. Hurry up and tell me the answer!¡±

    ¡°What did you do? I didn¡¯t hear clearly,¡± said Zu An with a smile creeping on his lips.

    ¡°You¡¯re toying with me?¡± Qiao Xueying flew into a state of rage.

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for +398 Rage!

    Zu An quickly added, ¡°I mean, I really didn¡¯t hear it clearly. Just do it once more, and I¡¯ll give you the answer right away.¡±

    Qiao Xueying bit her lips and her pride shed with her curiosity. In the end, she tilted her head sideways and murmured, ¡°Big brother...¡±

    ¡°Ah, my good lil¡¯ sister.¡± The gleeful smile on Zu An¡¯s face enraged Qiao Xueying. ¡°Alright, the theory is actually pretty simple. If you have lived in the grassfield before, you should be aware that grasnd horses are afraid of rodent holes. They¡¯re afraid that they would break their legs if they identally step into it. In order to avoid being affected by my shlight, the terracotta soldiers covered the eyes of their horses, preventing them from seeing the holes on the ground. But by doing so, they ended up courting their own death.

    ¡°As long as we can get the first row to copse over, the remaining horses behind would follow suit due to the speed of their charge and the fact that the eyes of their horses were covered. As a result, they ended up tumbling over one after another like domino tiles.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve lived in the grassfield before? Why do you know such details?¡± Qiao Xueying was perplexed. Based on the intelligence she had received while infiltrating the Chu n, she was certain that Zu An couldn¡¯t have been to the grassfield before.

    Zu An shrugged arrogantly. ¡°Don¡¯t you know that your big brother is a knowledgeable man well-versed in every field? Even without traveling out of the city, I still know what¡¯s going on in the outside world!¡±

    The inte in his previous life was filled with all sorts of weird trivia that one couldn¡¯t earn money off. A true keyboard warrior would make sure to diligently learn such trivia so that they could utilize them in arguments to make them appear informed.

    ¡°Pui, shameless!¡± Qiao Xueying spat with a furious blush on her face. I must have been possessed to actually call this fellow big brother!

    The rain of arrows soon ceased after the terracotta soldiers knew that their arrows weren¡¯t working. The first row of footsoldiers began marching forward. Remaining strictly in their formations, they marched their way forward slowly but steadily. The shields in their arms remained raised in order to fend against the mysterious beam of light.

    Zu An remembered reading trivias on forums mentioning that the best way to deal with footsoldiers was to strike them from the sides or the rear, messing up their formation. Otherwise, even cavalrymen would suffer heavy losses if they had to go through an army of footsoldiers in their formation.

    He looked at the steeds lingering in the area. As the cavalrymen toon has just been defeated, quite a few horses were left lying around the area.

    ¡°We¡¯ll ride the horses to circle to their back.¡±

    Zu An quickly leaped on top of one of the horses before urging it forward. Even though these horses were made out of mud, they really felt no different from war steeds. In fact, they looked even suaver than the steeds Zu An had seen in dramas.

    ¡°Hurry up!¡± Seeing that Qiao Xueying was still standing in a daze, he quickly beckoned her.

    ¡°Yes...¡± Qiao Xueying forced a smile as she struggled to walk over and leap on top of a horse, only for her body to waver and copse to the ground.

    It was fortunate that Zu An noticed her anomaly and quickly rushed down to catch her. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    To his astonishment, he felt something wet on his hand. When he took a closer look at his hand, he realized that it was stained in blood. He quickly flipped her around to take a look, only to see that an arrow was piercing into her back, soaking her robe in blood.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me that you¡¯re injured? You had the time to bicker with me, but you didn¡¯t have the time to tell me something as important as this?¡± Zu An tore out a piece of cloth to apply slight pressure on her wound to slow the bleeding.

    Qiao Xueying opened her mouth to retort, but she found that she was too weak to mutter a word.

    ¡°Bear with it!¡± Zu An bellowed. He eyed the footsoldier formation, which was steadily advancing on them, and made a quick estimation of the time they had left. Then, he tore off the robe covering her back.

    ¡°W-what are you doing?!¡± Qiao Xueying was rmed by his sudden action and quickly struggled.

    ¡°Stop moving! I¡¯m helping you pull out the arrow, or else there¡¯s no way we can stop the bleeding.¡± Zu An picked up a dagger from the ground and gently cut away a thin piece of flesh around the arrow. Then, he pulled out the arrow lodged inside her body.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Qiao Xueying¡¯s body shuddered as sweat continued trickling down her forehead profusely.

    Zu An quickly applied pressure on her wounds with a piece of cloth as he asked, ¡°Where¡¯s your medicine?¡±

    He had finished his stock in the earlier battle, but he recalled that Qiao Xueying still had some.

    ¡°It¡¯s inside my robe, but...¡±

    Before Qiao Xueying could finish her words, Zu An had already slipped his hand into her robe to look for it.

    ¡°You!¡± Qiao Xueying raised her hand to p him, but she was too frail to do anything at all.

    ¡°Stop grumbling! It¡¯s an urgent situation here. Besides, it¡¯s not as if I¡¯ve never touched you before,¡± said Zu An.

    He moved on to apply the medicine on the wound before hurriedly wrapping it up.

    His words reminded Qiao Xueying of the encounter they had with one another back at the Chu n, and her pale face tinged in red.

    ¡°It¡¯s a pity that this fellow is unable to...¡±

    As soon as this thought surfaced in her head, Qiao Xueying jolted in horror. What in the world am I thinking about here?!n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

 Chapter 176: Desperation

    <h4>Chapter 176: Desperation</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Seeing that the footsoldiers were getting closer and closer, Zu An dared not to waste any more time. Knowing that Qiao Xueying was in no state to ride a horse by herself, he pulled her into his embrace and rode on the same steed together.

    He grabbed a cloth and tied Qiao Xueying onto himself before squeezing his thighs on the horse, urging it to gallop toward the nk of the footsoldiers.

    Qiao Xueying was deeply embarrassed by their amorous position, The two of them were currently sitting face-to-face on the steed. In order to prevent her from falling from the shakiness, Zu An had wrapped her thighs around his body, resulting in her sitting in his embrace.

    It was fortunate that she was small in size, or else Zu An wouldn¡¯t even be able to look at the road ahead of him.

    Even though it was hard for her to ept it, she knew that this was the most logical solution out of the quandary they were in. If he had left her be, she would have been torn apart by those terracotta footsoldiers. She was simply too weak to ride on a horse herself, and even grabbing onto Zu An¡¯s body was beyond her current means. This was the only position they could take for her not to hinder his movements by too much.

    Still, it didn¡¯t change the fact that this position was too humiliating! She was too embarrassed to even talk in such a position, so she simply leaned her head against his shoulder and feigned unconsciousness so as to avoid the awkwardness.

    Meanwhile, Zu An wasn¡¯t in any mood to enjoy the situation either. He was just d that Qiao Xueying was light enough not to affect his movements by too much.

    He skirted around the formation of the footsoldiers, searching for an opening to strike.

    When the footsoldiers noticed that he had moved to their nk, they immediately turned around to face him. However, this was within Zu An¡¯s expectations. He continued circling around their formation while shining his shlight in their direction, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

    Initially, the archers were still firing their arrows in hopes of suppressing Zu An, but the horse was moving too fast for their arrows tond properly. On top of that, the archers couldn¡¯t change their positions freely out of fear of the shlight, so their maneuverability was severely limited.

    As the formation of the terracotta soldiers fell into disarray, the archers gradually lost their coordination, making their arrows far less threatening than they were at the start.

    Zu An galloped around the ce with all sorts of fancy maneuvers, such as the famous ¡®S¡¯-shaped and ¡®B¡¯-shaped movements, but nevertheless, it was only to the point that he was about to puke from the twisting and turning he was doing that he finally saw a small opening he could capitalize on.

    He immediately grabbed hold of the opportunity and charged straight forward, heading diagonally to the back of the footsoldiers¡¯ formation, where the archers were hiding. He knew that he had to get rid of the archers first, or else their long-ranged attacks would be a huge problem once they regained their momentum.

    The furious charge of the war steed scattered the archer formation, putting them in a flustered state.

    Zu An leaped down from his horse while sending it straight into the footsoldiers¡¯ formation to buy him some time. Using this opportunity, he morphed into a blur and reaped the lives of the archers in the vicinity.

    These archers might be a huge threat from a distance away, but once Zu An managed to close the distance, they became no more than docile sheeps waiting to be ughtered. They were far less skilled than footsoldiers and cavalrymen in close-quarterbat. On top of that, Zu An¡¯s swift and unpredictable movement made it impossible for them to even nick his sleeves, let alone stop his rampage.

    Meanwhile, Qiao Xueying continued hanging in front of him like a ko beartching onto a tree. In order not to affect his movements, she gathered whatever that was left of her strength to hug him tightly.

    She tried paying attention to his movement skill, hoping that she could figure out the crux behind it now that she was looking at it up close, but it only ended up making her giddy instead. So, she decided to turn her head away and just listen to the voices in the surroundings.

    Somehow, listening to the clean sound of his dagger tearing through the bodies of the archers one after another sounded oddly pleasing.

    It¡¯s fortunate that the young miss isn¡¯t around, or else his suaveness would have surely...

    A whileter, the surroundings finally quietened down. All she could hear was Zu An¡¯s heavy breathing. She opened her eyes to take a look, only to see that all of the archers had copsed to the ground. However, Zu An had also sustained considerable injuries too. No matter how weak the archers were, they had a decisive numerical advantage, so they weren¡¯tpletely helpless against him.

    Noticing that all of the wounds were on his back, Qiao Xueying¡¯s heart jolted in shock. ¡°You must have suffered a lot of injuries while protecting me.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t possibly use you as a shield, right?¡¯ Zu An shrugged. ¡°Besides, I was the one who tied you in front of me. How embarrassing it would be for me if you were to get injured right before my eyes?¡±

    Qiao Xueying bit her lips.

    ¡°Oh right, do you have any recovery medicine?¡± asked Zu An.

    He was already severely injured right from the start, and it was only thanks to the effect of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra that he was able to deal with the archers. However, the new injuries he had sustained further worsened his state, such that he could feel himself swiftly approaching his limits.

    It was good that he had managed to deal with the cavalrymen and archers, but there were still another 500 footsoldiers left. It was unlikely that he would be able tost to the end against them in his current situation.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have any left,¡± replied Qiao Xueying guiltily.

    She had been charging from battle into battle, suffering severe injuries one after another. She ended up having to pop a recovery medicine every now and then, resulting in the fast depletion of her medicine.

    ¡°I guess I can only wish myself all the best.¡± Zu An took in a deep breath before charging toward the footsoldiers next. He held onto the Magical shlight in one hand, intending to use it to open up a path for himself, while tightening his grip around Poisonous Prick in the other.

    Under normal circumstances, even a fifth rank cultivator like Shi Kun wouldn¡¯t stand a chance against all of these terracotta soldiers, but there was still a small sliver of hope for Zu An here. Their formation had already fallen into chaos due to his earlier disruptions, allowing him to weave amidst them with his Sunflower Phantasm, and he could use the Magical shlight to curb the terracotta soldiers if he was ced in a dangerous position.

    On the other hand, the terracotta soldiers were also enraged too. They never thought that their cavalry toon and archer toon would actually be wiped out by just two individuals. On top of that, the two individuals still dared to charge right into their formation.

    He really is looking down on us!

    You have sessfully trolled the Terracotta Soldiers for +9 +9 +9...

    The footsoldiers charged forward like a gushing wave, drowning Zu An out.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Using Sunflower Phantasm, Zu An skillfully dodged the attacks of the footsoldiers while sneaking in attacks here and there. If he really found himself cornered, he would randomly point the shlight around, hoping to intimidate the footsoldiers so as to buy himself some room.

    It was like a small piece of leaf floating in the midst of stormy waters. It looked as if it would sink at any moment, but it still continued to hold on against all odds.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t tell how long it had been, but his arms started to grow heavier and heavier. He was incredibly d that his weapon was a dagger at this moment. While it was short, its light weight allowed for speedy maneuvers without taking too much of a toll on his stamina. If it had been a sword in his hands instead, there was no way he could havested this long.

    Even so, it didn¡¯t change the fact that his cultivation was only at the third rank. While both Sunflower Phantasm and the Elementary Swordy didn¡¯t consume too much ki to execute, there was still a limit to his ki capacity. After battling for so long, his ki was nearly on the verge of drying out.

    Every strike that he made seemed to be ten times more arduous than usual.

    He began to regret it. He should have spent all of his Rage points before entering the Earth Seal. Even if he didn¡¯t obtain some sort of cheat artifact or skill, it would be good if he could get some Ki Fruit to raise his cultivation too.

    He was just too fearful of exposing his Keyboard earlier. After all, Qiao Xueying was by his side and the unfathomably powerful Mi Li was keeping an eye on him. But if it could save his life, he would rather expose the existence of the keyboard to the rest of the world.

    However, it was already toote for regrets. He was surrounded by enemies, and the slightest carelessness would result in his death. In such a situation, there was no way he could afford to multitask and draw the lottery simultaneously.

    It was then that ten terracotta soldiers thrust their halberds toward him, and he quickly used Sunflower Phantasm to dodge to the side. Unfortunately, in his exhausted state, the area where he stopped ended up deviating slightly from where he intended to, resulting in him stepping on the broken leg of a terracotta soldier on the ground.

    It was a fatal error. He lost his bnce and fell sideward.

    There was no way the terracotta soldiers would miss out on this golden opportunity. Multiple halberds immediately shot toward Zu An¡¯s body right away.

    In order to protect Qiao Xueying from knocking against the ground, he had instinctively positioned himself in a way such that her body was exposed on top, but this also meant that the halberds would stab into her first.

    So, Zu An used his dagger to deflect two of the halberds, but there were two more that he couldn¡¯t knock away in time. Left with no choice, he raised his left arm and blocked the remaining halberds for Qiao Xueying.

    Pu!

    Two halberds stabbed into his left arm, causing blood and flesh to scatter all around the air. Strength receded from his left hand, leaving him unable to maintain his grip on the shlight anymore.

    More terracotta soldiers marched up then, brandishing their halberds at him.

    Knowing that he was really on the verge of death this time around, Zu An roared furiously as he severed the head of the halberds lodged into his arm with his dagger before rolling sideward with Qiao Xueying. This set of maneuver allowed him to dodge the attacksing his way in this critical moment.

    He continued to execute a series of Sunflower Phantasm to regain his momentum, but he was still unable to shake off the terracotta soldiers chasing after him. Left with no choice, he could only squeeze out the remnant of his ki to execute Grandgale onest time, allowing him to instantaneously move a hundred meters away and escape from the encirclement of the terracotta soldiers.

    Despite having survived, he couldn¡¯t bring himself to feel relieved at all. His ki was reallypletely depleted this time around, and he had lost the Magical shlight too. Perhaps it was due to the distance, he wasn¡¯t even able to retrieve it back into the Keyboard.

    On top of that, his vision was also beginning to blur. He knew that this was the side effect of having lost too much blood and the overwhelming fatigue.

    ¡°It looks like we¡¯re really going to die here together...¡± murmured Zu An as he gasped for his breath.

    He couldn¡¯t even find the strength within him to remain standing, so he slumped onto the ground and watched helplessly as the terracotta soldiers charged his way.

    Unexpectedly, Qiao Xueying didn¡¯t respond to him this time around. She stared at his profusely bleeding arm and the tips of the halberds still lodged into his flesh.

    She lowered her head and remarked softly, ¡°You might have been able to defeat them if you didn¡¯t bring me along with you.¡±

    Zu An shook his head and replied, ¡°Even if I didn¡¯t bring you along, I still wouldn¡¯t be able to defeat so many of them. My cultivation is too low for me to deal with so many soldiers at once.¡±

    Qiao Xueying¡¯s eyes were still focused on his bleeding arms. ¡°Why did you block that attack for me? You could havested a bit longer if you hadn¡¯t done so.¡±

    Zu An groaned in dismay as he remarked weakly, ¡°Argh, it maddens me just to think about it. Indeed, why did I do that? It¡¯s not like you¡¯re my wife, so why did I even try to save you? If I had another chance to do things once over, I¡¯d surely hurl you over to take the blow for me. Goddamnit, it angers me just to think about it...¡±

    Looking at the remorseful attitude he was putting on, Qiao Xueying burst intoughter. ¡°Really, you alwayse up with the most inappropriate responses to situations. It¡¯s no wonder why you¡¯re so hated.¡±

    ¡°Hey, I just saved your life, right? The least you can do is stop being so foul-mouthed...¡± rebuked Zu An.

    Before he could finish his words, Qiao Xueying suddenly raised her head and nted her soft lips on his.

    Zu An widened his eyes in shock.

    This time, he had to admit that her mouth didn¡¯t taste foul at all. On the contrary, there was a hint of sweetness even.

    However, he couldn¡¯t understand why she would kiss him at a time like this. Could it be that she has been coveting my body for too long and couldn¡¯t resist my charms anymore now that we¡¯re already on the verge of death?

    It was a long while before their lips parted away. Her pale cheeks flushed red. She was about to say something when Zu An suddenly eximed in horror, ¡°That was my first kiss!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Qiao Xueying.

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for +999 Rage!

 Chapter 177: Half Lifeâ€™s Fate

    <h4>Chapter 177: Half Life¡¯s Fate</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°What are you looking at? Ah, I get it now. You actually fancied me all this while. You only fought with me often because you wanted to attract my attention!¡± Zu An thought about how those in their adolescence first came to know of love but didn¡¯t know how to express their feelings, so they ended up bullying their crushes so as to attract their attention.

    Mm, makes perfect sense.

    ¡°...¡± Qiao Xueying.

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for +999 Rage!

    ¡°Forget it, since we¡¯re going to die now, I shan¡¯t hold it against you,¡± continued Zu An with a sigh. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t tell Chuyan what you did to me even if we reunite with her on the way to the afterlife.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Qiao Xueying.

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for +1024 Rage!

    Zu An was still going to continue saying something when Qiao Xueying finally exploded. ¡°Are you done yet?!¡±

    ¡°Not really. I reckon I can go on for three days straight if need be. Heaven has blessed me an astoundingly wonderful mouth¡ªI mean, even you couldn¡¯t resist the temptation to kiss me, no?¡± said Zu An as he reached out to touch his lips.

    ¡°...¡± Qiao Xueying.

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for +1024 Rage!

    She was really frenzied at the moment. This bastard!!! I must have been possessed earlier to actually bear all that kind of thoughts toward him earlier!

    She took a deep breath and harrumphed coldly, ¡°Don¡¯t you feel anything different about your own body?¡±

    ¡°Different? What difference could there possibly... Hm?¡± Zu An lifted his hand but suddenly froze up in shock. He realized that his injuries had mostly recovered, and even his ki had been fully restored. ¡°W-what¡¯s going on?¡±

    ¡°I just used one of my race¡¯s secret art on you¡ªHalf Life¡¯s Fate. From now on, you¡¯ll share half of my lifespan and vitality. As for the recovery of your wounds, that¡¯s just a bonus,¡± exined Qiao Xueying.

    ¡°What? I only have half of your lifespan and vitality?¡± Zu An was rmed. ¡°Just what grudge do you hold against me to do this to me? I could have lived to a ripe hundred years of age, but I only have of your lifespan now?!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Qiao Xueying.

    Zu An sighed deeply and said, ¡°Forget it, I know that you¡¯re doing this to save me too. So be it then.¡±

    Qiao Xueying gritted her teeth angrily and spat, ¡°Do you not know how long my original lifespan is?¡±

    Zu An assessed her from head-to-toe before replying, ¡°Well, looking at your curved eyebrows and small lips, I doubt that you¡¯re a person blessed by fate. I reckon you don¡¯t have too many years ahead of you. Seventy to eighty at most, I¡¯d say.¡±

    ¡°Under normal circumstances, I can at least live till 1500 years old, but I shared half of it with you. Yet, you¡¯re stillining about that?¡± sneered Qiao Xueying coldly.

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°W-what? 1500 years old?!¡±

    Qiao Xueying turned her head away angrily. ¡°That¡¯s the minimum here. As I raise my cultivation further, it¡¯s not impossible for me to live for 2000 years.¡±

    ¡°How can a human live for so long...¡± A thought suddenly struck Zu An. ¡°Wait a moment. You aren¡¯t a human?¡±

    ¡°Who told you that I¡¯m a human?¡± Qiao Xueying rolled her eyes. ¡°I just happened to grow up in the human world.¡±

    ¡°What race are you then? Dragon girl? Vixen?¡± Curious, Zu An tried to pry up her skirt to take a look.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Qiao Xueying was both embarrassed and angered. She quickly pulled her skirt back down and bellowed, ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m trying to see if you have a tail,¡± replied Zu An earnestly.

    ¡°...¡± Qiao Xueying.

    Unwilling to let the matter rest at that, he continued probing on, ¡°Speaking of which, what¡¯s your main body then? Ah, I remember that you were able to conjure vines at will. My gosh, you can¡¯t be a tree demoness, are you?¡±

    His impression of tree demons stopped at old men forcing beautiful young women into bing their concubines... Well, at least that was how it was portrayed in dramas.

    ¡°You¡¯re the one who¡¯s a tree demoness! Your entire family is tree demonesses!¡± screamed Qiao Xueying.

    ¡°What are you then?¡±

    ¡°I shan¡¯t tell you!¡± Qiao Xueying looked at the two halberd tips that were still lodged in his arm, and she suddenly found her heart mellowing down once more. ¡°Nothing good wille out of you knowing my identity. It¡¯ll only bring you trouble.¡±

    ¡°Alright alright, if you aren¡¯t going to tell me, so be it,¡± grumbled Zu An.

    After the short bicker they had with one another, the terracotta soldiers were already barely tens of meters away from them. He quickly plucked out the halberd tips in his arm before charging toward them with Qiao Xueying wrapped around him.

    With his body healed and ki restored, it was as if he had been born anew. The recovery of his injuries meant that he no longer enjoyed the enhancements from the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, but at the very least, he didn¡¯t have to be scared of suddenly dropping dead anymore.

    Still, the sharp reduction of his speed made it much harder to him to dodge the attacks from the terracotta soldiers even when he was using Sunflower Phantasm. He managed to make a decenteback, but it didn¡¯t take long for his body to be covered in cuts once more.

    He looked for an opportunity to escape from the terracotta soldiers before gazing down on Qiao Xueying. Before her doubtful gaze, he leaned down and kissed her.

    ¡°Uwuu!¡± It took Qiao Xueying a bit of effort to struggle free of him in her injured state. She red at him furiously and bellowed, ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    ¡°Nothing much. Since I was able to be restored back to full health with one kiss, I thought that I could continue recovering from my injuries by kissing you a few more times.¡±

    Zu An was perplexed as to why it wasn¡¯t working. Do I need to maintain the kiss a little longer?

    ¡°Ridiculous!¡± shouted Qiao Xueying. ¡°Half Life¡¯s Fate is the most valuable secret art for those of our race. It can only be used once in our lifetime!¡±

    ¡°It can only be used once in your lifetime?¡± Zu An was stunned. ¡°You gave your most valuable thing in your life to me?¡±

    Qiao Xueying¡¯s face reddened. ¡°I just didn¡¯t want to die here, so don¡¯t think too much into it.¡±

    ¡°You could try to cook up a better lie. You were still mired in despair earlier,¡± remarked Zu An.

    ¡°Why do you have so many things to say? I just suddenly don¡¯t want to die anymore, alright? Besides, I¡¯m only here to help you save the young miss!¡± bellowed Qiao Xueying.

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for +213 Rage!

    He still wanted to continue asking about it, but the terracotta soldiers had already caught up with him at this point, so he could only turn his focus back to the fight.

    At this point, the terracotta soldiers were alreadypletely confused. They were certain that Zu An was on the verge of copsing a moment ago, but all of a sudden, he was filled with energy once more.

    Are humans supposed to be as resilient as cockroaches?

    They watched helplessly as theirrades fell one after another. Despite each and every one of their desperate attempts to inflict a wound on him each, they were still unable to end his life.

    And things only took a worse turn when that human picked up the glowing stick. The burst of light would force them back whenever they wanted tounch a decisive assault, thus hastening their defeat.

    After a bitter fight, Zu An finally managed to defeat all of the terracotta soldiers, but he left one of them alive at the very end.

    He noticed that the woman in his embrace had already lost consciousness. In the first ce, she was already severely injured and lost a lot of blood, but she still activated her race¡¯s secret art to save him. The huge decrease in her vitality caused her to fall into a worse state.

    Zu An initially tried to anger her so as to keep her conscious, but it was impossible for him to continue talking to her while he was busy dealing with those terracotta soldiers. By the time he noticed it, she had already lost consciousness.

    He ced his fingers on her philtrum and noticed that her breathing had grown incredibly shallow.

    Putting aside the fact that they still had to ovee the Heaven Seal afterward, even if he brought her out right now, it was unlikely that she would be able tost till he finally found someone to treat her.

    So, he decided to slow down his pacing at this crucial moment and finish spending all of his Rage points. He was hoping that he could get something to save her life. He did draw ¡®Faith in Brother Spring¡¯ several times in the past, so things were notpletely hopeless yet.

    If he could draw some artifacts to help him deal with the Heaven Seal, that would be even better. Just the Earth Seal itself nearly had them killed, and the Heaven Seal was guaranteed to be even harder.

    As for why he chose to draw the lottery here, it was because he didn¡¯t want to do it in front of Mi Li, which was why he intentionally spared the final terracotta soldier for the time being lest he got automatically teleported out for clearing the Earth Seal.

    He had 49,217 Rage points at the moment, much less than the usual amount. The terracotta soldiers did supply him with quite a bit of Rage points, but due to theircking intelligence, the amount he received from each of them was limited.

    In any case, he had 492 tries here. As Qiao Xueying¡¯s life was already hanging by a thread, Zu An couldn¡¯t be bothered to do his usual rituals anymore, diving straight into the lottery.

 Chapter 178: You Actually Did that Kind of Thing to Me

    <h4>Chapter 178: You Actually Did that Kind of Thing to Me</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Thanks for participating... Thanks for participating... Ki Fruit... Thanks for participating...

    Zu An would usually feel depressed when he got ¡®Thanks for participating¡¯, but he wasn¡¯t even in a mood to brood over it anymore. He simply continued redrawing the lottery again and again, praying hard to get what he wanted.

    However, hisplexion slowly turned more and more awful. He didn¡¯t get ¡®Faith in Brother Spring¡¯ or any artifact or skill. He did get quite a few Ki Fruits, drawing 49 of them... but that was not what he needed right now!

    There were only two more draws left right now.

    ¡°Shit, I can¡¯t possibly be that unlucky, can I? Oh please, Jade Emperor, Gautama Buddha, and all of the great gods of the world, please bless me so that I can draw a ¡®Faith in Brother Spring¡¯!¡± Zu An prayed.

    However, the result of the first draw was still ¡®Thanks for participating¡¯...

    With this, he was really down to hisst try. A conflicted look appeared on his face as he murmured, ¡°Great gods above, please bless my draw. I¡¯d willingly not draw anything good for the next time if I can get ¡®Faith in Brother Spring¡¯ this time around!

    Zu An was just about to click on the draw button when he still felt worried, so he supplemented, ¡°Forget it, I¡¯ll stake my luck for the next three times here. As long as I can get ¡®Faith in Brother Spring¡¯, I¡¯d rather not draw any skills or artifacts at all for the next three times!¡±

    He was feeling the pinch even while making the promise as he felt that he was making a huge loss here. However, thinking about how Qiao Xueying sacrificed half of her lifespan in order to save him and was currently on the verge of death, he felt that he should at least do this much for her.

    He had never felt so uneasy drawing the lottery before.

    This shaky hands pressed down on the enter, and the light marker began moving all over the Keyboard. When it finally stopped on the number ¡®1¡¯, he was so moved that he could burst into tears. ¡°O¡¯ heaven, it looks like I¡¯m still your favored one!¡±

    But looking at it from another perspective, the fact that he wasn¡¯t able to get it in the past few hundred draws, only for it to finally appear after he made a vicious vow felt like the world was ying a nasty prank on him.

    In any case, he quickly supported Qiao Xueying up. Her body felt frighteningly limp and cold, making his heart skip a beat. He hurriedly poured ¡®Faith in Brother Spring¡¯ into her mouth.

    However, Qiao Xueying was unconscious at the moment, such that she wasn¡¯t even able to swallow the fluid by herself. Soon, a droplet of medicine leaked from the corner of her lips.

    It made Zu An¡¯s heart bleed. That¡¯s worth more than gold! Left with no choice, he could only pour the medicine into his own mouth before feeding it to her mouth-to-mouth. He gently guided the medicine down her throat bit by bit.

    Fearing that the precious medicine would leak out, he dared not to move his mouth away, leaving the two of them in an amorous position.

    ¡®Faith in Brother Spring¡¯ was as incredible as ever. Not too long after she drank the medicine down, Qiao Xueying began to slowly open her eyes. The first thing she saw was a magnified view of Zu An¡¯s face in front of her, and it left her dazed by the sight for a moment before quickly snapping out of it. She immediately pushed him away and shouted, ¡°What are you doing?!¡±

    As she spoke, she subconsciously raised her arm to wipe her mouth because she felt a moist sensation by the corner of her lips.

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for +123 Rage!

    ¡°Why are you wiping it away?! That¡¯s precious medicine over there!¡± eximed Zu An. ¡°I¡¯m not evenining about your saliva here, yet you¡¯re acting as if I took advantage of you?¡±

    Qiao Xueying¡¯s body trembled. ¡°You pervert! How could you do such a thing to me while I¡¯m unconscious?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for +168 Rage!

    What¡¯s with this woman? She¡¯s so angry, but she only provided me with so few Rage points? What happened to her usual 999s?

    ¡°What do you mean by ¡®such a thing¡¯? I¡¯m saving you here, alright! You wouldn¡¯t swallow the medicine I fed you earlier, so I had no use but to force-feed you.¡±

    Qiao Xueying was stunned. She could indeed taste medicine on the tip of her tongue, and the medicine seemed to be of rather high quality at that. She had never drunk anything as potent as this before.

    She could feel most of her injuries recovering. Even the arrow wound on her shoulder didn¡¯t hurt anymore; there was an itch instead, a sign that the wound was in the midst of recovering.

    It was then that she realized that she had misunderstood the other party. A hint of awkwardness appeared on her face as she said, ¡°Ah... I¡¯m sorry. I hope that you can understand that any woman would react greatly when ced in such a situation.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because they¡¯re strangers. It¡¯s not the first time the two of us are kissing anyway, so why are you reacting so greatly?¡± retorted Zu An.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Qiao Xueying¡¯s face reddened. ¡°How can that be the same? I did it earlier in order to save you. It¡¯s not like I really wanted to kiss you or anything.¡±

    Zu An felt wronged. ¡°I also did that earlier to kiss you... Pui, I mean to save you!¡±

    Qiao Xueying felt a little awkward at the situation. She untied the bindings on her and put some distance between the two of them. ¡°Anyway, I kissed you earlier in order to activate Half Life¡¯s Fate. There¡¯s nothing more to that. We aren¡¯t a couple, so please do not kiss me casually in the future.¡±

    ¡°Do not kiss you casually?¡± Zu An was amused by that remark. ¡°In other words, I kiss you as long as there¡¯s a legitimate reason or if you agree to it?¡±

    Qiao Xueying felt that her mind was getting muddled by all of the semantics he was arguing about. She eximed furiously, ¡°How could I possibly agree to that?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s hard to say,¡± Zu An said with the smile of a wily, old fox.

    Qiao Xueying was made a little ufortable by his smile, so she averted her gaze and murmured, ¡°There¡¯s not a chance that would happen... Hm? Wait a moment...¡±

    She suddenly realized something and turned over to re at him, ¡°If you had such a medicine, why didn¡¯t you bring it out in the first ce? Did you intentionally do it in order to trick me into using Half Life¡¯s Fate?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for +666 Rage!

    There were all sorts of conspiracy theories filling her mind. I actually fell for this fellow¡¯s despicable n and gave away my most important thing!

    ¡°I¡¯m being ndered here,¡± eximed Zu An. ¡°I paid a huge price in order to get that medicine out at thest moment. If I had it all along, I would have drunk it long ago! Besides, I didn¡¯t even know of that Half Life¡¯s Fate or something skill in the first ce, so how could I have tricked you into using it?¡±

    Qiao Xueying thought that those words made sense. Half Life¡¯s Fate was her greatest secret, such that even Shi Kun was unaware of it. It was unthinkable for Zu An to possibly know of its existence prior to this.

    However, when she scanned the surroundings, she couldn¡¯t help but ask doubtfully, ¡°How did you manage to exchange for that medicine in here?¡±

    ¡°I have my means, of course. Just like how you paid a heavy price to use Half Life¡¯s Fate, I had to pay a heavy price for this medicine too!¡± Technically speaking, Zu An wasn¡¯t lying. Just thinking about how he wouldn¡¯t get anything good in the subsequent three rounds of lottery draws made his heart bleed.

    However, Qiao Xueying seemed to have misunderstood his words. She thought that he had used some sort of skill he could only use once in a lifetime like her, which made her feel incredibly grateful. ¡°Actually... you really don¡¯t have to treat me so well.¡±

    Zu An waved his hands and said, ¡°Putting aside our history, you did save my lives several times here, so I won¡¯t leave you to the lurch. I count my debts quite clearly.¡±

    Qiao Xueying stared at Zu An in a daze as emotions rippled in her eyes.

    Why is it that some people simply don¡¯t understand such simple reciprocation? In times of danger, all he cares about is himself.

    Seeing tears welling up in Qiao Xueying¡¯s eyes, Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°You¡¯re feeling moved with just this much? Tsk tsk tsk, you must have led a miserable life.¡±

    ¡°Nonsense, who is moved here? Sand just got into my eyes, that¡¯s all. Look at the dust flying all around the ce!¡± Qiao Xueying turned her face away as she grumbled obstinately.

    ¡°Since you¡¯ve fully recovered, go and deal with thest terracotta soldier. I¡¯m too tired, so I want to rest a little,¡± said Zu An as he sat down.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Not daring to look at him, Qiao Xueying unhesitatingly made her way over to subdue thest terracotta soldier.

    ¡°Pitiful fellow. Looks like he has turned into her punching bag,¡± remarked Zu An. He took out the 49 Ki Fruits he had just drawn earlier and swallowed them. A warm surge of energy flowed through his ki meridians, leaving him feeling as if he was soaked in a warm spring. He felt incrediblyfortable.

    Hm?

    To his astonishment, Zu An realized that he managed to fill up the sixth formation after consuming the 49 Ki Fruits. One must know that the sixth formation should have taken him 610 Ki Fruits in order to fill up!

    He had barely managed to fill up the fifth formation earlier from consuming a leaf of the Evanescent Lotus, so how in the world did he manage to fill up the sixth formation so quickly?

    But then, he quickly remembered the hellish battle he had just been through, as well as the severe injuries he had suffered along the way. Had it not been for Qiao Xueying¡¯s Half Life¡¯s Fate, he would have already died numerous times.

    The Phoenix Nirvana Sutra was a skill that increased one¡¯s cultivation through suffering a beating. It would appear that he hadn¡¯t suffered the beating in vain.

    Of course, his greatest takeaway here was still the several centuries of lifespan he had gained from Half Life¡¯s Fate. It was such a huge gift that he didn¡¯t know what to say at all.

    ¡°Why are you looking at me like that?¡± Qiao Xueying was walking back after dealing with the terracotta soldier when she noticed that Zu An was staring at her weirdly.

    ¡°I suddenly feel that you look pretty nice,¡± replied Zu An with a chuckle.

    He intended it as an emptypliment, but taking a closer look, her skin was fair like snow and her eyes twinkled like the stars. He instinctively neglected her appearance previously since she was dressed as a maid, but now that she was wearing normal clothes, her beauty was really starting to shine through. It was no wonder why she was ranked amidst the top in the Sweetheart Ranking.

    Qiao Xueying blushed upon hearing those words. She spat, ¡°Leave those words to fool Chu Chuyan instead.¡±

    ¡°You aren¡¯t even going to call her young miss anymore?¡± asked Zu An.

    ¡°I am a spy who infiltrated the Chu n, not a real maid of the Chu n. Why would I continue calling her young miss?¡± Qiao Xueying sounded oddly exasperated. ¡°Besides, I made such a huge sacrifice in order to save her this time around. I should have repaid the debt I owed to her all this while.¡±

    ¡°Alright then...¡± Zu An still wanted to say something, but there was a sudden gust of wind that reduced the corpses of the terracotta soldiers into dust, causing them to dissipate into nothing. Soon, the space around the two of them distorted as the familiar feeling of weightlessness swallowed them.

    By the time the two of them regained their awareness, they were already back at the underground pce.

    Noticing that the two of them were standing at the center of the Earth Seal, they immediately realized what was going to happen next from their previous experience, and they eximed in unison, ¡°Be careful!¡±

    As they shouted those words, they grabbed the other party to leap away from the seal. But before they could move away, they suddenly became conscious of each other¡¯s movements and fell in a daze. Then, the Earth Seal suddenly opened up, and they fell to the third level.

    ¡°Oh? You were still arguing with one another earlier, but all of a sudden, the two of you started holding hands and worrying about one another. I wonder what happened inside to bring about such a huge change,¡± Mi Li¡¯s teasing voice echoed from the surroundings.

    The two of them quickly retracted their hands. Qiao Xueying turned her head sideward and murmured, ¡°Who¡¯s worried about him? I would have lent a helping hand even if mypanion was just a pig.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not that kind-hearted as you. If it was a pig standing beside me, I wouldn¡¯t have bothered to even reach out to it,¡± replied Zu An.

    ¡°Who are you insulting here?¡± Qiao Xueying immediately turned over and red at him.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I pull you earlier? That proves that you¡¯re not a pig.¡± Zu An shrugged.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need you to prove that I¡¯m not a pig...¡± Barely as those words came out of Qiao Xueying¡¯s mouth, she suddenly realized how weird her words sounded.

    ¡°Looks like men really can¡¯t be trusted. Your wife is still in danger, yet you¡¯re still in the mood to flirt around with other women. Hah...¡± sneered Mi Li.

 Chapter 179: Heaven Seal

    <h4>Chapter 179: Heaven Seal</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An frowned.

    This woman seems to bear a great deal of ill will for men. It seems like Qin Shihuang has really broken her heart back then, resulting in her hatred for all men in the world.

    ¡°Who¡¯s flirting with him? Where¡¯s the Heaven Seal? Let¡¯s proceed to the third stage!¡± eximed Qiao Xueying.

    Mi Li¡¯s voice echoed once more, ¡°How unexpected. I never thought that the two of you would be able to break the Human Seal and Earth Seal. While you seem to have struggled quite a bit, it doesn¡¯t seem like you have exhausted yourself too much. This is truly a miracle. I¡¯m aware of Ying Zheng¡¯s means; it shouldn¡¯t have been possible for the two of you to clear the two trials at all.¡±

    Zu An knew that she was speaking the truth. For the Human Seal, if not for Qiao Xueying¡¯s extendable hair tripping over the copper giants and the razor-sharp Poisonous Prick, it was unlikely that he would have been able to defeat those astonishingly resilient, self-recovering copper giants.

    It was even much more of a close shave in the Earth Seal. Had it not been for the Magical shlight suppressing the terracotta army and the skillful maneuvers of Sunflower Phantasm, he would have died many times over. He was confident that even an expert of Chu Zhongtian¡¯s caliber wouldn¡¯t have fared better than he did if ced in the same situation.

    Even so, he only survived due to Qiao Xueying¡¯s sacrifice via the Half Life¡¯s Fate.

    ¡°Since you knew that we wouldn¡¯t seed, why did you still put us through the risk?¡± asked Zu An.

    A peal of euphonious but chillingughter echoed. ¡°I have nothing to lose anyway. Even if you fail, all I have to do is to wait a while longer for the next batch of people to enter the underground pce. Time is one thing that I don¡¯tck.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Zu An.

    ¡°...¡± Qiao Xueying.

    ¡°So we were just your guinea pig?¡± Zu An gritted his teeth when he thought of the various times he nearly lost his life in the trials.

    ¡°You had the choice but to challenge the seals. I didn¡¯t force you into this,¡± replied Mi Li coldly.

    Zu An really felt like leaving there and then, but knowing that Chu Chuyan was still waiting for him, he could only swallow his anger down and said, ¡°Fine, let¡¯s go!¡±

    He walked up to the Heaven Seal together with Qiao Xueying and stepped on top of the formation together.

    There was a burst of white light. When the feeling of weightlessness finally disappeared, the two of them froze in ce. They thought that the Heaven Seal would be fraught with dangers, but their surroundings hardly looked threatening at all.

    It was a peaceful sight of the countryside. There was a stream flowing gently with a small bridge above it. The light breeze delivered the songs of the birds far and wide. In the far distance, men could be seen plowing the field and women weaving cloth by their homes. Chickens were roaming the fields in search of food, and dogs were lyingzily under the sun.

    ¡°This is the Heaven Seal?¡± muttered Qiao Xueying uncertainly.

    All she could see was a peaceful countryside vige; she couldn¡¯t imagine any dangering from here.

    However, Zu An remarked deeply, ¡°Don¡¯t be fooled by appearances. This vige might just be filled with powerful experts.¡±

    ¡°Powerful experts?¡± Qiao Xueying looked at the people around and replied, ¡°Doesn¡¯t seem to be the case. While few of them do emanate some ki, their cultivation doesn¡¯t seem to be even at your level. They can¡¯t possibly be experts.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean ¡®even at my level¡¯?¡± demanded Zu An angrily.

    It was then that they realized that their hands were linked once again, and they quickly retracted their own hands.

    ¡°It¡¯s just in case we get teleported to different ces!¡± Qiao Xueying¡¯s eyes swam around the area as she exined.

    ¡°That¡¯s what I was thinking too.¡± Zu An was also a little astonished by how he kept instinctively grabbing the hands of that foul-mouthed woman.

    In order to alleviate the awkwardness, Qiao Xueying quickly added, ¡°Ah, I think we shouldn¡¯t trust that woman¡¯s words too. The fact that she¡¯s sealed here means that she¡¯s an extremely dangerous person. If we release her without preparing any means to curb her, there¡¯s a chance that she might renege on her promise and not save Chu Chuyan. In fact, it¡¯spletely possible for her to turn against us too.¡±

    Zu An knew that she was referring to Mi Li, and he replied, ¡°I know that too, but there¡¯s no other option at the moment unless we¡¯re willing to watch helplessly as Chuyan is tributed.¡±

    Qiao Xueying fell silent. It was possible for the two of them to escape alone, but Chu Chuyan would be a goner. She wouldn¡¯t be able to live with her conscience if that were to happen.

    Zu An gazed at the faraway vige and said, ¡°Let¡¯s focus our effort on dealing with the Heaven Seal first. Judging from the dangers we faced from the earlier two seals, the Heaven Seal is likely to have dangers hidden in here too.¡±

    Qiao Xueying nodded in response as she scanned her surroundings warily. It was fortunate that Zu An¡¯s medicine had allowed her to recover greatly. She wasn¡¯t back to her peak yet, but she was at least able to protect herself now.

    They walked over to the entrance of the vige, intending to approach one of the vigers to ask about the situation here. Unexpectedly, a dog that was basking in the sun suddenly started barking at the two of them.

    Zu An initially thought that it was some sort of ferocious beast, but no matter how he assessed the dog, it looked just like a native Chinese dog to him. Put in a world of cultivation, it looked as harmless as a sheep.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    However, its barks quickly piqued the attention of the vigers. Quite a few of them brought hoes and carrying poles with them and surrounded the two of them warily. A brawny man stood forward and warned deeply, ¡°Who are you? What are you doing here?¡±

    Zu An sped his fist and said, ¡°Hello, we were passing by the area when we lost our way. May I know where we are at the moment?¡±

    The brawny man frowned. ¡°With that suspicious ratlike face of yours, you must be a fugitive. Leave our vige right now, or else we¡¯ll be calling the constables over!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Zu An.

    What the hell? It¡¯s one thing for you to say that I¡¯m a fugitive, but suspicious ratlike face? How can this dashing face of mine be ratlike?!

    You should really get your eyes checked out!

    Zu An was infuriated and about tosh out like a shrew, but Qiao Xueying pulled him aside and stepped forward with a smile, saying, ¡°Hello, fellow brothers. My brother and I encountered some bandits a few days ago and ended up having to flee desperately for our lives. It wasn¡¯t easy for them to shake them off, and we happened to stumble by your vige right after. It¡¯s not our wish to disturb your peace, but we lost our luggage and possessions along the way, and we¡¯re now thirsty and hungry. May I ask you to spare some water for us?¡±

    The brawny man¡¯s attitude immediately became much more amicable upon seeing Qiao Xueying¡¯s beautiful appearance. It was also only then that he noticed that the back of her dress was stained in fresh blood, which further piqued his pity. He quickly said, ¡°Those bandits sure are hateful to harm a young miss like you! Come in and have a rest, we¡¯ll prepare some food and water for you. We¡¯ll get a physician to prescribe some medicine for you too.¡±

    Qiao Xueying was soon escorted into the vige by a huge group of people. Before leaving, she even blinked her eyes at him, expressing her glee in full.

    Excuse me?

    What¡¯s wrong with these vigers? I approached them amicably, but they tried to chase me away as if I¡¯m a thief. Qiao Xueying¡¯s body was cloaked in blood and clearly doesn¡¯t look like a good citizen at all, but they ended up getting so friendly with her?

    Bloody hell! Is this world all about appearances? But my appearance doesn¡¯t lose out to her at all...

    In the end, Zu An could only attribute the matter to the fact that Qiao Xueying was a girl.

    Hmph, despite the honest looks of those vigers, they¡¯re all old perverts!

    He trailed behind the group with a nasty look on his face, watching with a sullen expression as the vigers delivered a cup of water into her hands and even invited an old physician over to prescribe some medicine for her.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t Snow being too unguarded here? Isn¡¯t she worried at all that the water might be spiked?¡± retorted Zu An.

    It was fortunate that Qiao Xueying hadn¡¯t lost herself in the preferential treatment she was receiving. She thanks the vigers before making use of this opportunity to gather some information, ¡°Big brother Chen, may I know where am I at?¡±

    It had only been moments since she entered the vige, but she already knew the surname of the brawny man. It looked like women really had an advantage when it came to this sort of stuff.

    ¡°This is the Dong Commandery¡¯s Chen Vige,¡± replied the brawny man.

    ¡°Dong Commandery?¡±

    Qiao Xueying was stunned. She didn¡¯t recall there being a ¡®Dong Commandery¡¯ in the Zhou Dynasty.

    Meanwhile, Zu An frowned upon hearing those words. He was aware that Qin Shihuang was from the Qin Dynasty, and he vaguely remembered there being a Dong Commandery under the Qin Country¡¯s jurisdiction. It was located in the Henan, Hebei, and Shandong provinces.

    What¡¯s happening in the Heaven Seal?

    He had been carefully examining his surroundings all this while, and he noticed that most of the vigers were ordinary civilians. Even the few cultivators amidst them were not too strong either. It was hard to believe that this was the final trial of the Soul Suppression Seal.

    ¡°Miss Qiao, you should hurry up and leave after taking a rest. You¡¯re of unknown background, so our vige dares not to keep you with us. If anything happens, our entire vige might be collectively punished,¡± said the brawny man named Chen Wei.

    ¡°Collective punishment...¡± mumbled Zu An.

    The Qin Dynasty was known for its draconianws that employed collective punishments. In this era, farmers were bound to theirnds, forbidden from leaving their ¡®allocated areas¡¯. People who roamed into other territories like Zu An and Qiao Xueying were either nobles or fugitives. It would be one thing if they were nobles, but if the local magistrate found their vige guilty of harboring fugitives, everyone here might be killed under the crime of failing to report the matter to the authorities. Given so, there was no way they would dare to ept strangers.

    ¡°Thank you, big brother Chen, and all of the uncles and aunties here too.¡±

    Qiao Xueying didn¡¯t want to put them in a spot, so after chatting for a while longer, they left the Chen Vige. While waving the vigers goodbye, Qiao Xueying asked Zu An softly, ¡°What do you think is going on in this Heaven Seal? I don¡¯t get what¡¯s happening at all.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m also having trouble making sense of this,¡± replied Zu An with a shake of his head.

    Qiao Xueying pondered for a moment before suggesting, ¡°Should we try searching the area to see where the other roads lead to?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no point doing that,¡± replied Zu An. ¡°Have you forgotten how it was like for the Human Seal? We tried to enter the city, but we couldn¡¯t get in no matter what we tried. Since we were teleported to this vige, the crux is likely in here.¡±

    Qiao Xueying bit her lips. She also knew that it was likely to be the case, but this didn¡¯t bode well for them since there was nothing for them to work with. ¡°What should we do now then? We can¡¯t even enter the vige.¡±

    Zu An rolled his eyes. ¡°Are you dumb? We can just sneak in at night to take a look!¡±

    Qiao Xueying sighed deeply and remarked, ¡°These people treated me quite well. I really hope that they won¡¯t be our enemies.¡±

    ¡°The Chu n treated you fairly well too, but you didn¡¯t have any trouble turning your back on them,¡± scoffed Zu An.

    Qiao Xueying immediately blew up. ¡°Are you done yet? Your words have been carrying thorns since a while ago!¡±

    ¡°Is it? I¡¯m just speaking the truth,¡± replied Zu An with a shrug before averting his gaze awkwardly.

    Qiao Xueying suddenly burst intoughter. ¡°I get it now. You must be jealous because you saw them treating me well despite having ignored you.¡±

    ¡°Rubbish! Would I care about all that?¡± eximed Zu An as he walked away. ¡°Let¡¯s take a look around the perimeters of the vige to familiarize ourselves with the terrain first. It¡¯s going to be sunset soon.¡±

    He wasn¡¯t too worried about time here because he realized that the flow of time in the trial was different from the outside world. As long as he didn¡¯t stall for too long, he should still be able to make it in time.

    ¡°Just as I¡¯ve thought! Heh, what a narrow-minded man he is!¡± Qiao Xueying followed him with an amused smile on her lips. Her mood suddenly felt much better than before.

 Chapter 180: Antares Occupying the Heart

    <h4>Chapter 180: Antares upying the Heart</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The vige wasn¡¯t too big, having only just dozens of families or so.

    It was already nightfall by the time they finished circling the perimeter of the vige. The men working on the fields had returned home, and joyousughter could be heard from some of the residences. Of course, there were also unfortunate ones filled with shoutings and sighs.

    In any case, this was indeed a typical historical vige.

    Zu An and Qiao Xueying snuck into the vige and listened in to the conversations from various households, hoping to gather some clues.

    ¡°Hm? There are some weird noisesing from there.¡± Qiao Xueying tugged Zu An¡¯s sleeves and pulled him toward one of the residences.

    Soon, when they were right by the residence, they were finally able to figure out what those weird noises were¡ªheavy breathing and the creaking of the bed. There were also some flirtatious whispers between a man and a woman too...

    Qiao Xueying¡¯s face reddened. She clicked her tongue and said awkwardly, ¡°How lewd it is of them to do this at such an early hour.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re too ustomed to the extravagant life of rich ns that you don¡¯t understand the hardship ofmoners. Most of them are too poor to afford oilmps, so what else do you expect them to do after sunset?¡± replied Zu An.

    Qiao Xueying covered her ears as she scoffed, ¡°Spoken like a true expert in the topic. Enough, let¡¯s head to the other residences.¡±

    ¡°Ah, this reminds me of a quiz. Do you want to give it a try?¡± asked Zu An.

    ¡°What quiz? Tell me about it.¡± Qiao Xueying refused to believe that her intelligence wascking, and the atmosphere was still quite awkward after hearing those amorous soundsing from the residence. Thus, she decided to give it a try.

    ¡°Divine Physician Ji invented a medicine where the woman will sumb if the man ate it, and the man will sumb if the woman ate it. If both the man and the woman took the medicine, who do you think will sumb first?¡± asked Zu An.

    Qiao Xueying¡¯s face reddened. She cursed softly, ¡°That old man really is a darned pervert! To think that he¡¯s actually respected as a divine physician! Instead of bringing sce to those suffering, he wastes his timeing up with this sort of weird stuff!¡±

    Zu An burst intoughter. ¡°You can criticize Ji Dengtu all you want once you return to Brightmoon City. So, what¡¯s your answer to that question?¡±

    ¡°How could I possibly know the answer to a question like this?!¡± Qiao Xueying turned her reddened face away.

    ¡°Heh, I knew that there¡¯s no way you can figure out with that small brain of yours. Alright, I¡¯ll give you the answer. Naturally, it¡¯s the bed that sumbs first!¡± Zu Anughed heartily.

    Qiao Xueying red at Zu An and sneered, ¡°If you dare to speak of such crude jokes before Chu Chuyan, she¡¯ll definitely chase you out of the Chu n.¡±

    ¡°Heh. She might chase anyone away from the Chu n, but definitely not me,¡± replied Zu An.

    ¡°I sure do wonder where your confidencees from.¡± Qiao Xueying harrumphed before stomping away to look for more clues.

    Zu An shrugged leisurely as he quickly caught up with her.

    A whileter, they arrived at the vige chief¡¯s residence, which happened to be the brawny man Chen Wei¡¯s home. It turned out that his father was the vige chief.

    As the vige chief, it went without saying that their family was much better off. At the very least, they could afford oilmps. The shadows of their silhouette could be seen on the walls as they chatted by the windows.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    With a fearful voice, the vige chief said, ¡°Antares upying the Heart; that¡¯s the omen of an impending crisis!¡±

    However, Chen Wei thought nothing of it. ¡°Father, ¡®Antares upying the Heart¡¯ is nothing more than an ancient legend exploited by those in power to achieve their goals. How could something like this foretell disaster?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t get it because you¡¯re too young... When the world believes in it, even something that¡¯s false can be true. A crisis can be made to happen by human will,¡± replied the vige chief with a shake of his head.

    ¡°Even if ¡®Antares upying the Heart¡¯ does happen as the legends foretell, the one to suffer would just be the emperor. What does this have to do with ordinary civilians like us? In fact, it¡¯ll be a day of celebration for us all if that tyrant dies!¡±

    ¡°Shush! Are you tired of living?!¡± The horrified vige chief immediately muffled his son¡¯s mouth. ¡°That¡¯s a crime that warrants nine familial exterminations! If someone hears your words and reports it, we¡¯d all be goners!¡±

    Chen Wei harrumphed in response, ¡°It¡¯s not like there¡¯s anything wrong with what I just said. The phenomenon of ¡®Antares upying the Heart¡¯ is something for the emperor and the nobles to worry about. It has nothing to do with us.¡±

    ¡°I hope so...¡± The vige chief¡¯s voice was filled with worry.

    The two of them lost their mood to continue the conversation, so they soon retired for the night.

    ¡°What does ¡®Antares upying the Heart¡¯ mean?¡± Zu An was perplexed by the conversation. He was just about to ask Qiao Xueying when he noticed that she was staring at the sky in a daze.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Zu An also turned to look at the sky, only to see stars scattered amidst the cloak of darkness. He couldn¡¯t see anything amiss.

    Thinking back, it had been many years since he saw such a starry sky due to light pollution in the city.

    With a worried look on her face, Qiao Xueying pointed to a certain part of the sky and said, ¡°Do you see the two brightest stars over there?¡±

    Zu An looked in the direction where she was pointing toward and saw two stars that were visibly brighter than the others.

    ¡°The one on the upper left side is Antares, an ominous star thought to be the omen of disaster and death. There are three stars on the lower right side of it; they form the Heart Mansion of the Twenty-Eight Mansions[1]. The brightest one at the center represents the Son of Heaven, the emperor, whereas the two by the side represents the crown prince and themon popce. Right now, the Antares has halted inside the Heart Mansion, positioned right beside the star representing the emperor. This is one of the most ominous celestial events known as Antares upying the Heart.¡±

    ¡°Celestial event?¡± scoffed Zu An. ¡°Do you believe in such superstition too?¡±

    Having been brought up in a world of science and logic in his previous life, there was no way he would believe in such stuff. But on second thought, his Keyboard system, the existence of cultivation, and all of the supernatural elements in this world weren¡¯t things that could be exined scientifically.

    ¡°How can that be called superstition? Every time this phenomenon urs, it would end with the sudden death of an emperor or a prominent official. Sometimes, it could even result in great bloodshed!¡± Qiao Xueying was displeased with Zu An¡¯s nonchnt attitude.

    This is amon knowledge everyone knows of, so why does that fellow think nothing of it at all?

    A thought suddenly surfaced in Zu An¡¯s mind. ¡°Say, could the trial of the Heaven Seal be rted to this Antares upying the Heart?¡±

    Qiao Xueying¡¯s eyes widened in astonishment. ¡°I hope not, or else we¡¯ll be in grave danger.¡±

    As she spoke, she suddenly realized that Zu An¡¯s face was inexplicably getting brighter. She quickly turned to the sky and saw that the night sky had suddenly brightened up. A burning ball of mes was descending from the sky.

    ¡°A meteor!¡± eximed Qiao Xueying.

    ¡°You actually know of meteors too?¡± asked Zu An in surprise.

    ¡°Of course! Don¡¯t you know that powerful fire element and earth element cultivators have a forbidden art where they can summon meteors?¡± Qiao Xueying felt that Zu An was making a huge fuss out of nothing.

    The fireball grewrger andrger in their eyes, such that they could see theyer of mes cloaking its surface. Zu An murmured, ¡°Where do you think the meteor will fall? Surely we can¡¯t be so unlucky as to have it fall right where we are, right?¡±

    Barely after he said those words, the meteor suddenly exploded, fragmenting into multiple smaller fireballs. The impact of the explosion seemed to have affected its trajectory, resulting in it descending toward their direction instead.

    ¡°You and your wretched mouth!¡± roared Qiao Xueying angrily. She grabbed his arm and immediately fled the scene.

    The mes might appear to be faraway at first sight, but the speed of its descent was incredible. It took only a few breaths to appear right before their eyes.

    Qiao Xueying¡¯s face paled in horror. Such naturally formed meteor shower was far more powerful those produced by a cultivator¡¯s forbidden art. It might look no more than a speck earlier in the sky, but as it came into proximity, the span of the mes turned out to be so vast that there was no way they could escape from it in time.

    It was Qiao Xueying pulling Zu An away at the start, but it soon turned into Zu An pulling her away instead.

    Using Sunflower Phantasm, Zu An weaved around the inferno rain and escaped. While it was easy for Zu An to avoid getting hit by the meteor shower, it was hard for him to cope with the shockwave produced when each fragment struck the ground. One must know that this bundle of mes was as destructive as a missile!

    On top of that, the heat swiftly engulfing the area was threatening as well, swiftly devouring the oxygen in the area.

    If Zu An had been a normal person, just a single bundle of mes falling in his vicinity would be able to take his life. Fortunately, his body was far more resilient than it used to be, allowing him to withstand the shockwaves ravaging the surroundings for the time being.

    It was just that the meteor shower was endless; the mes kept pattering down, and it looked like there was no end to them. Zu An felt his entire body aching, and the air he breathed in was so hot that it felt like it was going to sear his lungs.

    Qiao Xueying flicked her arms, and countless green leaves swiftly wrapped around them, forming a barrier that shielded them from the impact of the shockwaves.

    ¡°I feel like the wisest decision I have made today is to bring you in with me. I didn¡¯t know that you have so many functions to you,¡± remarked Zu An.

    ¡°And the dumbest decision I have made today is toe in here with you. I feel like I¡¯ve made a huge loss,¡± grumbled Qiao Xueying.

    Another loud explosion urred, causing Qiao Xueying to let out a groan from the impact. She tumbled into his embrace as the leaf barrier she produced showed signs of scattering. However, she quickly rechanneled her ki to stabilize the barrier.

    Noticing the blood sipping from her lips, Zu An quickly said, ¡°Stay closer to me and make your barrier slower. You¡¯ll be able to better conserve your energy this way.¡±

    ¡°No way in hell!¡± Qiao Xueying took a step back and intentionally made the barrier evenrger.

    ¡°The hell! Are women all that unreasonable and irrational?¡± Zu An couldn¡¯t understand why she was doing this at all. So, he reached forward to wrap his arm around her waist and pulled her in toward him. By keeping a close posture, they could reduce the surface area of the barrier significantly, thus reducing the impact of the shockwave on them.

    ¡°What are you doing?!¡± Qiao Xueying struggled.

    However, Zu An held her arm tightly and snorted impatiently, ¡°What are you making such a huge fuss for? It¡¯s not the first time we¡¯re hugging and kissing anyway. There¡¯s bound to be more dangers further on in the Heaven Seal, so don¡¯t you think you should save up some energy to deal with the threats that¡¯ll being our wayter on?¡±

    Qiao Xueying knew that he was making sense here, so after a moment of hesitation, she decided to follow his instructions and decrease the size of her leaf barrier.

    It took a while before the explosions finally subsided. Qiao Xueying finally dispelled the leaf barrier, and the two of them headed out from their hiding spot to take a look around. The surroundings had been utterly ravaged. The vige had been set aze, and human figures could be seen rushing around to rescue the injured and put out the mes. Cries could be heard here and there.

    Zu An fell silent.

    The meteor shower was earlier was terrifying, but it¡¯s not enough to be considered as the trial of the Heaven Seal. Could there be more to this?

    1. This is a constetion system used in China and East Asia, such as Japan.

 Chapter 181: Paradox

    <h4>Chapter 181: Paradox</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    In view of the help the vigers had offered her earlier on, Qiao Xueying rushed over to help them put out the fire and transport the casualties. From time to time, she would even use her powers to prop up copsing roofs.

    Unexpectedly, Zu An didn¡¯t step forward to help her but headed to the fields instead. Qiao Xueying wanted to call him over to aid her, but looking at his departing silhouette, she clicked her tongue in annoyance.

    What a petty man he is. Is he still holding a grudge against the vigers over what had happened earlier?

    Zu An headed toward the brightest ce on the field, wanting to verify something in his memories.

    The earlier meteor had shattered into many pieces, and thergest one had fallen around half a kilometer away from the vige, smashing a huge crater into the ground. Even from a distance away, Zu An could already feel the heat gushing toward him, forcing him to channel his ki in order to ward it off.

    Even so, he was still unable to approach the center of the crater due to the limitations of his cultivation. There were still traces of burning embers around, keeping him at bay. Nevertheless, he had managed to find what he was looking for.

    A line of words was written on thergest meteor, leaving a bizarre expression on Zu An¡¯s face. He raised his head to look at the stars above, wondering if heaven really was a sentient existence.

    He returned to the vige with a heavy heart. Qiao Xueying immediately headed to his side to drag him over. ¡°Where did you go earlier? Since you¡¯re back, you should lend the vige a helping hand.¡±

    However, Zu An shook his head and replied, ¡°What¡¯s the use of it? We can¡¯t change the conclusion anyway. It¡¯ll be all in vain.¡±

    Qiao Xueying immediately lost her cool. ¡°How could you be like that? Yes, they did treat you badly earlier, but you should know that it¡¯s the result of this country¡¯s strictws. What happened afterward showed that they have kindness in their hearts. In the end, they still offered us water and medicine, no?¡±

    ¡°To you, that is,¡± corrected Zu An.

    Qiao Xueying was stunned. ¡°You can¡¯t really be holding a grudge over that, are you? Can you stop being so petty as a man?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not the issue here. It¡¯s just that it¡¯ll all be in vain. You¡¯ll know soon enough,¡± replied Zu An. ¡°Let me give you a word of advice¡ªdon¡¯t bother wasting your strength here either.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t be bothered with you!¡± Qiao Xueying harrumphed before diving back to aid the vigers.

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for +11 +11 +11...

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but let out a chuckle upon seeing the Rage points he was receiving. She really is holding a grudge against me, huh?

    A whileter, the clobbering of horse hooves suddenly sounded in the distance. Following that, an official led a toon of soldiers over to their side.

    An uneasymotion broke out amongst the vigers. After all, this was an era where encountering an official usually meant nothing good. The vige chief quickly rushed forward and greeted the official humbly, ¡°Lord Wang, what brings you here?¡±

    ¡°How could I note here after the earlier meteor shower? I need to report this matter to the imperial court right away!¡± Paying no heed to the vige chief, Lord Wang gestured for his subordinates to search the area with a wave of his hand.

    The vige chief hesitated for a moment before asking, ¡°Lord Wang, you see... Our vige suffered a huge cmity, and almost every single family has suffered great damage. Is it possible for the magistrate to spare some money so that we can tide through this crisis...¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    However, Lord Wang interjected before he could finish those words, ¡°The imperial court is tight on its finances at the moment. We¡¯re fighting the foreign races over on the northern border at the moment, and the construction of pces and imperial mausoleum all require money too. You should be able to resolve something as simple as this by yourselves. Don¡¯t trouble the imperial court over mere trivialities!¡±

    The vige chief grew more agitated as he replied, ¡°But our harvest is bad this year, and many of our houses have been burned down...¡±

    A soldier suddenly rushed over anxiously and interrupted him with an urgent report, ¡°Bad news, Lord Wang!¡±

    Lord Wang angrily kicked the soldier and bellowed, ¡°Show some propriety!¡±

    The indignant soldier rubbed where he was kicked while pointing in the direction of where the fragments of the meteor had fallen. ¡°Over... Over there! T-there are words on the meteor!¡±

    ¡°Words?¡± Lord Wang¡¯s eyes lit up. He immediately made his way over where the soldier was pointing.

    If it¡¯s an auspicious omen and I report it upward, His Majesty might just promote me in a spur of joy!

    What was written on the meteor actually wasn¡¯t too important at all. That was where schrs came in. With their glib tongue, they could turn even the most ordinary words into the greatest blessings for the Qin Dynasty! After all, the fact that these words hade from the sky orded great significance to them!

    A group of soldiers quickly followed Lord Wang¡¯s footsteps to take a look, and some of the curious vigers tagged along as well. Chen Wei rushed forward to support his father as the two of them trailed behind the procession. He asked softly, ¡°Father, why did you beg that darned official? It¡¯s obvious that there¡¯s no way he would donate any money to us to help us through this crisis! You¡¯re just asking to be humiliated!¡±

    The vige chief sighed deeply and said, ¡°It was at least worth a try. For the sake of the vigers, what do my pride and honor mean?¡±

    Chen Wei sighed deeply before ring at Lord Wang¡¯s back with eyes filled with hatred.

    Lord Wang was still dreaming of being promoted and rising to the peak when he finally saw the words on the meteor and froze up. He felt a chill engulfing his entire body, and his legs suddenly turned so wobbly that he could hardly remain standing.

    His subordinates had to massage his chest before he finally recovered from the shock.

    ¡°W-who is the one who carved these words?!¡± bellowed Lord Wang. He pointed his finger at the vigers as he roared furiously, ¡°You better confess to your crime, or else none of you will be getting out of here alive!¡±

    The vige chief was perplexed as to what was going on. So, he walked through the crowd to take a look at the meteor, only to see the following words inscribed on it¡ª¡¯The Founding Sovereign Emperor shall die and divided hisnd will be.¡¯

    ¡°This... This...¡± He began trembling fearfully before suddenly copsing to the ground. It was fortunate that Chen Wei quickly reached forward to help him up.

    ¡°Hah, do you think that this will be all over just because you fainted?¡±

    Lord Wang was far too infuriated to let this matter off easily. Had it been any other words, he could have easily twisted the meaning of the message to turn it into an auspicious omen. However, what was inscribed on the meteor stone was clearly a desecration to the emperor. He wouldn¡¯t dare to interpret it in any way no matter how brazen he was!

    ¡°My father has really fainted!¡± argued Chen Wei.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care whether he really fainted or not. You better get to the bottom of this matter, or else I¡¯ll make sure every single one of you suffers for this!¡±

    After saying these words, Lord Wang took out a mirror to report this matter to his superior.

    Meanwhile, Zu An simply looked on by the side calmly. He noticed that the mirror was simr to video calls in his previous life, and he couldn¡¯t help but marvel once more at how amazing the world of cultivation was. Theck of scientific advancement didn¡¯t hinder them from going globalized at all!

    Lord Wang lowered his head and back subserviently to the man in the mirror as he reported the matter. After reporting the matter, he stowed away the mirror before turning to the vigers with a hostile look on his face. ¡°Interrogate every single one of the vigers. If we don¡¯t find out who carved those words, all of you are going to die for this!¡±

    A hugemotion broke out upon hearing those words. They were here just to watch the drama, yet who could have thought that they would end up getting implicated in this mess?

    ¡°It¡¯s not us! We were all busy trying to extinguish the fire earlier on!¡±

    ¡°We can¡¯t even read, let alone write!¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve been wronged! Everyone knows that I¡¯m blind!¡±

    ...

    The vigers immediately began crying for mercy.

    Qiao Xueying pulled Zu An¡¯s hand and asked, ¡°Did you see who carved those words? I was too busy trying to put out the fire that I didn¡¯t pay attention to what¡¯s going on on the other side.¡±

    Zu An shook his head with a heavy heart.

    A viger suddenly pointed to Zu An and eximed, ¡°I think I saw that man walking toward the meteor earlier!¡±

    ¡°Indeed! Those two people are of doubtful background. They must be the ones who did it!¡±

    Many people quickly spoke words of agreement. With their lives at stake, they were desperate to me anyone they could.

    ...

    Qiao Xueying was stunned. She had helped them out of goodwill earlier, but they actually repaid her in such a manner.

    ¡°This is just how humans are like. Treat it as a lesson,¡± remarked Zu An.

    Qiao Xueying shot a peculiar nce at Zu An. ¡°Hmph, you talk as if you have already reached enlightenment. You aren¡¯t even that old yet.¡±

    ¡°What does wisdom have to do with age? There are people who have lived for decades only to remain as fools,¡± replied Zu An as he kept a lookout for the movements of the soldiers. He was ready to break out of the encirclement if required.

    Hearing the testimony of the vigers, Lord Wang immediately turned his attention to the two of them. Their soldiers also quickly scattered in the surroundings, encircling the area so as to prevent them from getting away.

    Just as Zu An was about to make a pre-emptive move to curb the two of them, a hint of doubt suddenly flickered across Lord Wang¡¯s eyes before he burst intoughter, ¡°Ah, Lord Censor! I¡¯ve been looking for you over thest few days! I never thought that you would actually be here!¡±

    ¡°Lord Censor?¡± Zu An was dumbfounded. He thought that Lord Wang was spouting nonsense so as to catch them off guard, but he soon realized that that couldn¡¯t possibly be the case. There was no reason for the other party to spout such a meaningless lie.

    Having yed plenty of games in his previous life, he soon figured that this mission was like an RPG where he took on an alternate identity for the sake of progressing the storyline.

    Lord Wang red at the vigers who had spoken up earlier and spat, ¡°What nonsense are you spouting? This man over here is a censor of the imperial court, so how could he inscribe such desecrating words on the meteor? Watch your mouth before you speak!¡±

    After berating the vigers, he turned to Zu An and said, ¡°Lord Censor, the imperial court ordered us to find the culprit within a day, or else we would be stripped of our positions and sentenced to death. You have the highest seniority here, so I¡¯ll heed yourmand for this matter.¡±

    Zu An knew that the other party was basically dumping the responsibility on him, but he figured that this was the crux to oveing the Heaven Seal, so he epted the role. ¡°Very well, I¡¯ll take responsibility for this matter. Interrogate every household individually lest they collude on their testimonies!¡±

    ¡°Yes, Lord Censor!¡± With a wave of his hand, Lord Wang ordered his soldiers to split up and interrogate the vigers separately.

    After rying the instructions, he turned to Zu An fawningly, only to be cast away as an annoyance. ¡°Why are you still dawdling here? Can¡¯t you see that there¡¯s ack of manpower here too? Hurry up and get to work too!¡±

    ¡°Y-y-yes!¡± Lord Wang nodded with his back bent respectfully.

    Despite being treated like an underling, he was still ddened that he managed to dump this matter on someone else. Even if something went wrongter on, the person who would take the brunt of the impact would be the Lord Censor.

    Once Lord Wang left the area, Qiao Xueying couldn¡¯t hold back her curiosity anymore and asked, ¡°When did you be a censor here?¡±

    ¡°This is the role the Heaven Seal has allocated to me. Most likely, we have to find the culprits who inscribed those words in order to clear this trial,¡± replied Zu An.

    ¡°Hm? That sounds quite easy. It doesn¡¯t seem as dangerous as the Human Seal or the Earth Seal.¡± Qiao Xueying heaved a sigh of relief.

    ¡°You¡¯re letting your guard down too soon. If we fail to solve this crime, it¡¯s very likely that we¡¯ll be put to death under the Qin Dynasty¡¯sws. Lord Wang is only serving as an assistant at the moment, so his punishment would only be limited to being stripped of his position. Why else do you think he would be so happy to see me here?¡± replied Zu An.

    ¡°But that¡¯s the worst-case scenario, right? This case doesn¡¯t seem too difficult since there are only so few people in the vige. Besides, there are plenty of skilled interrogators amongst the constables, so they should be able to get some information out,¡± replied Qiao Xueying. ¡°Also, I¡¯m able to clear quite a few people too. Those who were trying to put out the fire with me earlier shouldn¡¯t have the time to approach that meteor fragment to carve those words.¡±

    ¡°If only it¡¯s that easy... There¡¯s actually no solution to this problem.¡± Zu An heaved a deep sigh.

    He finally understood why this was the Heaven Seal. It had something to do with the stars in the sky, and it was a trial that would lead to certain death.

    ¡°Why so?¡± Qiao Xueying was perplexed. ¡°If I recall correctly, you headed in the direction of this meteor earlier on. You should have been able to see who it was that approached the meteor!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the very reason why I¡¯m saying that there¡¯s no solution to this problem...¡± Zu An paused for a moment before continuing on. ¡°The words were inscribed already on this meteor when it fell from the sky.¡±

 Chapter 182: The Way Out

    <h4>Chapter 182: The Way Out</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°How could that be possible?¡± Qiao Xueying was stunned. However, her face soon lit up in delight as she replied, ¡°Isn¡¯t that even better? You just have to speak the truth, and the vigers will all be cleared of suspicion!¡±

    ¡°How dumb do you have to be to actually say those words aloud?¡± Zu An looked at Qiao Xueying with scorn in his eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t you know what the implications of speaking the truth are? That¡¯s basically affirming the fact that heaven has decreed the emperor¡¯s death! There¡¯s no way the emperor would let us off if we report it in such a manner!¡±

    ¡°What do we do then?¡± eximed Qiao Xueying. ¡°We can¡¯t say the truth, and the vigers here are innocent too. We can¡¯t possibly force one of them to confess to it so as to be the scapegoat here, right?¡±

    ¡°It won¡¯t be easy to pull that off even if we want to do so,¡± replied Zu An coldly. ¡°The Qin Dynasty has extremely strictws. Such grave disrespect to the emperor warrants nine familial exterminations! Who would possibly admit to such a grievous crime, not to mention that they are wronged here!¡±

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t that mean that it¡¯s impossible for us to find the murderer within the span of a single day?¡± Qiao Xueying felt her heart plummeting.

    ¡°There¡¯s a way out of this.¡± Zu An turned his sight toward the vigers as his voice started turning chillingly cold.

    ¡°What way?¡± asked Qiao Xueying.

    ¡°If no one wishes to admit to it, we just have to kill all of the vigers living in the vicinity of the meteor. The culprit has to be one of these vigers anyway, and the emperor doesn¡¯t care too much about the livelihood of his people. With that, we can sessfully conclude this case without a hitch,¡± replied Zu An deeply.

    This was how the ¡®Antares upying the Heart¡¯ incident in the 36th Year of Qin Shihuang¡¯s rule unfolded in history. No one in the vige admitted to inscribing those words, so the officials eventually had all of the vigers killed. They would rather exterminate everyone than let the murderer run free.

    Zu An was d that he knew about this piece of history, so he knew the way out of this paradox, allowing him to clear the Heaven Seal far easier than the earlier two trials.

    However, Qiao Xueying immediately objected to it,¡± That won¡¯t do! It¡¯s too cruel. I won¡¯t agree to it!¡±

    Zu An frowned. ¡°You should be aware that everything you see is just an illusion produced by the Heaven Seal. They aren¡¯t real people at all, so what¡¯s so cruel about this?¡±

    Qiao Xueying shook her head vehemently and said, ¡°But from our earlier encounter with them, they feel no different from living humans to us. Even if it¡¯s just an illusion, I can¡¯t bring myself to take the lives of so many innocent people for my own selfish goals. You can say that I¡¯m naive and foolish, but this oversteps what my conscience allows.¡±

    Zu An scoffed in response, ¡°But you sure were decisive when you chose to take my life, huh?¡±

    Qiao Xueying¡¯s face immediately heated up. ¡°That¡¯s a different story! You were bound to be an enemy, not to mention that you¡¯re very hateful too. You can¡¯t possibly expect me to show mercy to you.¡±

    Zu An touched his own face and remarked, ¡°Such a handsome face, and you actually found me hateful? Looks like your eyes are nothing more than adornment on your face.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Qiao Xueying.

    It was then that Lord Wang rushed over and whispered to Zu An in a suppressed voice, ¡°Lord Censor, we¡¯ve interrogated all of the vigers, but none of them admit to knowing how to write. I think we should just...¡±

    He pulled his thumb over his neck, gesturing to kill off the vigers. ¡°The murderer won¡¯t be able to get away this way, and we¡¯ll be able to remain ountable to His Majesty.¡±

    Before Zu An could reply, Qiao Xueying had already interjected, ¡°That won¡¯t do!¡±

    Lord Wang¡¯s face darkened. ¡°Young miss, if you have objections to how I do things, why don¡¯t you propose another solution then? If we don¡¯t kill these people, the ones to die would be us! Lord Censor, you must be decisive at times like this!¡±

    Qiao Xueying tugged Zu An¡¯s sleeves, seeking his support for this matter.

    Zu An sighed deeply and said, ¡°Lord Wang, interrogate them once more. If there are still no clues, we¡¯ll figure out another solution.¡±

    ¡°I understand, Lord Censor,¡± replied Lord Wang with a nod.

    Just as he was about to leave, a soldier suddenly rushed forward and reported, ¡°Bad news, my lord! The vige chief died in the midst of the interrogation, and his son is causing a ruckus right now. He turns out to be a fairly powerful cultivator, and he has already injured quite a few of our brothers!¡±

    Lord Wang huffed in anger. ¡°Preposterous! How dare he mess around at a time like this? Anyone who tries to obstruct public order ought to pay with his life. Kill him!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    The soldier was just about to leave the area when Zu An suddenly stopped him. ¡°Wait a moment! How did the vige chief die?¡±

    ¡°Lord Censor, the vige chief was already ailing in health and the earlier shock worsened his condition. Our brothers might have used a bit of torture on him during the interrogation, but we made sure not to go too far! All the other vigers were able to take it without any problems; the vige chief was the only one who suddenly dropped dead!¡± the soldier hurriedly replied as he wiped off his cold sweat.

    Zu An nodded in response. Considering that the vige chief was already in poor condition earlier on, it wasn¡¯t too surprising for him to die in the midst of interrogation. It was the standard practice in this era to torture the suspects in order to get them to confess, so the soldiers couldn¡¯t really be med for this.

    ¡°For the time being, capture his son and lock him up. I¡¯ll deal with himter on.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    The soldier quickly left the area to carry out Zu An¡¯s order, and soon, Chen Wei found himself surrounded by a toon of soldiers. No matter how violently he struggled, it was hard for him to deal with so many enemies at once. Soon, his hands were shackled in chains, and he was locked up in a room.

    ¡°Are you really intending to kill them?¡± asked Qiao Xueying anxiously.

    Zu An turned to look into her eyes for a moment before asking, ¡°Do you really intend to save them?¡±

    Qiao Xueying nodded right away.

    He pondered for a moment before saying, ¡°If you promise to call me ¡®big brother¡¯ from now onward, I¡¯ll consider helping you.¡±

    ¡°I...¡± Qiao Xueying¡¯s face reddened. She was only able to call him that back then because she thought that she was already on the verge of dying and didn¡¯t want to die ignorant. There was no way she could bring herself to call him ¡®big brother¡¯ under normal circumstances.

    Zu An sighed deeply and remarked, ¡°Looks like you¡¯re all talk. You spoke as if you really wanted to save all of these people, but in the end, you can¡¯t even lower your pride to call me ¡®big brother¡¯ for their sake.¡±

    Qiao Xueying huffed angrily. ¡°You¡¯re taking advantage of me!¡±

    Zu An shrugged. ¡°Have I ever imed to be a saint before? Why would I bother helping a bunch of people unrted to me if there are no benefits on the line for me? Not to mention, they even tried to backstab me earlier on.¡±

    Qiao Xueying gritted her teeth. ¡°Will you really save them if I call you big brother?¡±

    ¡°Just to be sure, I¡¯m expecting you to continue calling me that in the future,¡± corrected Zu An. ¡°Also, I¡¯ll only be trying my best. There¡¯s no guarantee that I¡¯ll be able to save them.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t even guarantee sess, why should I continue calling you big brother? That¡¯s ridiculous!¡± Qiao Xueying protested.

    ¡°Well, you can stop calling me big brother if I fail to save them, but you should at least call me that at the start, no?¡± asked Zu An with a smile.

    ¡°Alright then. I hope that you can hold to the end of your promise.¡± Qiao Xueying pursed her lips as her face blushed bright red. It took her a while before she finally murmured softly, ¡°B-big brother.¡±

    Zu An leaned a little closer as he asked, ¡°What did you say? You were too soft that I can¡¯t hear you clearly.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t go too far!¡± Qiao Xueying red at him angrily.

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for +33 Rage!

    ¡°What can I do? Your voice was too soft.¡±

    Zu An was a little disappointed by how few Rage points Qiao Xueying was contributing now. She used to be like a barrel of gunpowder, providing an explosion of Rage points at the slightest jab. Yet, it felt like her gunpowder had started to run low, such that her contribution of Rage points was getting pathetically low.

    ¡°You¡¯ll be dead meat if you dare to lie to me!¡± Left with no choice, Qiao Xueying could only call out once more with a reddened face, ¡°Big brother!¡±

    Zu An burst intoughter. ¡°Yes, my good little sis. How obedient!¡±

    After saying those words, he began making his way toward where Chen Wei was imprisoned.

    On the other hand, Qiao Xueying remained rooted to the spot. She subconsciously touched her own cheeks and realized that it was burning hot. I must be going mad!

    Meanwhile, Zu An stopped outside the room where Chen Wei was locked in as he fell into deep contemtion. It should go without saying that he didn¡¯t choose to save the vigers just because Qiao Xueying called him big brother. He was someone who hade from the modern world after all. His values didn¡¯t allow him to let so many innocent people die for his own selfishness.

    His logical mind told him that these vigers were just illusions created by the Heaven Seal, but his senses were telling him a different story. All of these felt far too real to him, and he couldn¡¯t differentiate the vigers from anyone else he had met before. He wasn¡¯t willing to take this gamble, and he didn¡¯t want this to be a trauma that would haunt him for life.

    As such, he had been racking his brain to figure a way out of this quandary ever since he saw those words on the meteor. Even if Qiao Xueying hadn¡¯t called him ¡®big brother¡¯, he would have still tried his best to save them.

    If Qiao Xueying knows about this, she would probably provide an explosion of Rage points, right?

    However, Zu An still decided against telling her. Aspared to several thousand Rage points, he thought that it was much more worth it to have thatss call him ¡®big brother¡¯ in the future. The knowledge that she used to be an enemy who made an attempt on his life made the entire thing even more so exhrating.

    He quickly adjusted his mood before pushing the door open to enter the room. Inside, Chen Wei was tied tightly to a pir.

    ¡°Scum of an official, I knew that you looked suspicious from the very start! This must be your scheme!¡± Chen Wei¡¯s eyes immediately reddened upon seeing Zu An, and he struggled to free himself from his rope to pounce at thetter, only to no avail.

    You have sessfully trolled Chen Wei for +444 Rage!

    ¡°Hold still!¡± One of the guards swung his pole down on Chen Wei to silence him before ncing at Zu An fawningly. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare disrespect Lord Censor!¡±

    Zu An nodded in response before saying, ¡°I have questions to ask him. Wait outside.¡±

    ¡°Yes, of course!¡±

    The guards quickly made their way out of the room.

    By then, Qiao Xueying had finally caught up with him, and she closed the door behind her before keeping a wary watch outside so as to ensure that no one came close.

    Only then did Zu An finally start speaking, ¡°I know that you have been framed.¡±

    ¡°You scumbag, it was indeed you!¡± Chen Wei¡¯s eyes gleamed in hatred. Just thinking about his father¡¯s death and the hardships the other vigers were going through made his anger flurry.

    You have sessfully trolled Chen Wei for +999 Rage!

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to get so agitated. I¡¯m here to save you,¡± replied Zu An.

    ¡°Save me?¡± Chen Wei sneered with a frown. ¡°Should I thank you for that then?¡±

    ¡°Chen Wei, my... my big brother is really here to save you!¡± persuaded Qiao Xueying.

    Hearing those words, Chen Wei shot a deep look at Zu An before finally falling silent.

    ¡°I know that you have been framed because I ran over the moment the meteor fell. The words were already inscribed on its surface by then,¡± said Zu An.

    Chen Wei¡¯s body jolted in horror upon hearing those words. ¡°Doomed. Our entire vige is doomed!¡±

    Zu An was surprised to hear those words from the other party. ¡°What makes you say that?¡±

    The horrified Chen Wei stared nkly in front of him as he murmured, ¡°I thought that we might just be able to survive this ordeal if we find the culprit who inscribed those words, but if those words are really a decree from heaven... There¡¯s no way the emperor would stand for something like this! He¡¯ll surely push the me to us so as to put down the unease stirred by this matter!¡±

    Qiao Xueying couldn¡¯t help but nce at Zu An. Those words were surprisingly simr to what she had heard from him earlier.

    Zu An also didn¡¯t expect this brawny man to be so sharp-witted as to figure out the implications right away. ¡°It seems like you¡¯re quite a smart man. I do know of a way for you to get out of this, but I¡¯m not sure if you¡¯ll have the guts to carry out.¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

 Chapter 183: The Real Way to Unlocking the Heaven Seal

    <h4>Chapter 183: The Real Way to Unlocking the Heaven Seal</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°I have never feared anything in my life, not even the heavens!¡± dered Chen Wei proudly.

    Zu An was impressed by how that fellow was able to speak so confidently despite being in a bad situation himself. His mental fortitude indeed far surpassed that of normal people.

    ¡°Very well. I want you to plead guilty and admit to having inscribed those words,¡± said Zu An.

    Qiao Xueying was still intrigued as to what kind of idea Zu An might have when she froze up upon hearing those words. Wait a moment, isn¡¯t that as good as pushing him right into hell?!

    ¡°Hahaha!¡± Chen Wei also snorted inughter. ¡°I reckon that you were unable to find the real culprit either, so you want to coax me into being the scapegoat here?¡±

    ¡°I thought that you are a smart man, but it seems like I was mistaken. I should have described you as ¡®short-sighted¡¯ instead.¡± Zu An shook his head.

    ¡°You!!¡± Chen Wei flew into a state of anger. There was no one who would be happy at being described as short-sighted.

    You have sessfully trolled Chen Wei for +256 Rage!

    ¡°Think it through properly. Even if no one admits to this crime, you¡¯re already doomed for death. However, if you admit to it, the only one who needs to die here is you. Is that logic hard for you toprehend?¡±

    Chen Wei was enraged. ¡°But that¡¯s a grievous crime that warrants nine familial exterminations! How can I possibly admit to it lightly?¡±

    ¡°Nine familial exterminations? Based on what I know, your mother died in your younger years, and you have been living alone with your father all of these years. Your father has just died, so who else would be implicated by the nine familial exterminations?¡±

    Chen Wei was stunned. It was at this moment that he realized that he was the only one left in his family.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    After a moment of contemtion, he shook his head and said, ¡°That won¡¯t do. There are plenty of vigers who are at loggerheads with us here, and we frequently have conflicts with one another. I can¡¯t bear the notion of dying for those bastards. Why should I sacrifice myself for their happiness? I¡¯d rather all of us die together!¡±

    This really put Zu An in a spot. He thought that Chen Wei was the type of righteous person who would be more than willing to sacrifice himself for the rest of the vige, but it turned out that his evaluation waspletely off.

    ¡°I don¡¯t fear death, but I¡¯m not content with dying in such a humbling manner. A true warrior should go down with a bang! If our vigers are destined to die, I¡¯d rather inform them about the implications of this matter and have them raise their arms in rebellion! The world has been suffering under Qin¡¯s tyranny for some time now. I trust that many would heed my rally!

    ¡°You seem to be a righteous person as well. Why don¡¯t we join forces and do something great together? By then, you can be whatever you want, be it a king, a duke, or a marquess. You won¡¯t be tied down to being just a humble censor!¡±

    Chen Wei¡¯s words were so passionate that they made Zu An¡¯s heart race.

    It seems like some people are born with the charisma of a leader. Their words naturally rouse the emotions of others, and Chen Wei is one such person. If not for the fact that I don¡¯t belong to this world, I might just be persuaded by him.

    ¡°How dare you spout such disrespectful words before an official of the imperial court? You must be tired of living!¡± sneered Zu An.

    However, Chen Wei didn¡¯t look intimidated at all. He puffed his chest up and said, ¡°I reckon that you¡¯re dissatisfied with the Qin Emperor¡¯s tyrannical rule as well, considering how you bothered saying so much to me. Since that¡¯s the case, why don¡¯t you take a leap of faith and try for the huge one? Are kings and nobles given their high status at birth?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Zu An.

    Hearing that famous quoteing from several thousand years ago, Zu An suddenly felt his mouth drying up a little. ¡°By any chance, is it possible that you go by another name, Chen Sheng[1]?¡±

    ¡°Chen Sheng?¡± Chen Wei fell into deep thoughts. ¡°That¡¯s a good name. I¡¯ve been wanting to change my name for some time now. Very well, I shall be known as Chen Sheng from this day onward!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Zu An.

    H-hold on a moment, what¡¯s going on here? How in the world did Chen Sheng pop out here?!

    Zu An felt his mind being plunged into disarray.

    If this fellow was really Chen Sheng and he ended up getting killed together with the other vigers, wouldn¡¯t there be no more ¡®Uprising of the Poles¡¯[2]?

    If so, the Qin Dynasty wouldn¡¯t have fallen so quickly, which means that... history is changing?

    Zu An was stunned. The most important rule of anyone transmigrating back in time was to not change history, or else it could lead to all sorts of bizarre changes in the plotline!

    It looks like I can¡¯t allow Chen Wei¡ªah, it should be Chen Sheng now¡ªto die!

    Cold sweat began trickling down Zu An¡¯s back as he finally understood how devious the Heaven Seal was. Most people wouldn¡¯t be able to find the culprit who inscribed the words and end up dead. Those who were more vicious would attempt to kill all of the vigers to silence them, but Chen Sheng¡¯s death would inadvertently change the trajectory of history and stir to a series of unpredictable changes that was unlikely to lead to anything good.

    To put it in simpler terms, there were two requirements he would have to fulfill here in order to clear the Heaven Seal: He would have to punish the culprit and remain ountable to the imperial court while ensuring Chen Sheng¡¯s survival.

    Now that he thought about it, the record on the ¡®Antares upying the Heart¡¯ incident might not be fully urate. It was indeed stated that everyone in the vige had been killed, but it was possible for some of them to escape, most notably, Chen Sheng.

    If I had blindly trusted the historical records, I would have been done in just like that!

    Now that he thought about it, Snow was really his star of fortune. If not for her insisting on it, he probably wouldn¡¯t have been as determined to save the vigers. Once Chen Sheng died, it would be impossible to ovee the Heaven Seal, and he would end up dropping dead somehow.

    Zu An quickly sorted out his thoughts and replied, ¡°I¡¯ll pass on that. You shouldn¡¯t bother trying to rally the vigers on your side either. All of them have families to take care of, so how could they possibly throw in their lot with you and risk facing nine familial exterminations? Besides, you also mentioned that some of them bear grudges toward you, so there¡¯s a possibility that they might stab you in the back after refusing your offer. Now is not a good time for you to make a move yet.¡±

    Chen Sheng¡¯s face darkened. He was ovee by passion earlier that he failed to think things through carefully. Zu An¡¯s analysis brought him back to his senses, and he remarked in frustration, ¡°What should I do then? Am I to wait for death here?¡±

    ¡°If you trust me, you should admit to inscribing the words, and we can conclude the case like that. I¡¯ll find a way to save you afterward, and by then, you¡¯ll be free to do whatever you want,¡± replied Zu An.

    Cheng Sheng didn¡¯t respond right away. He stared at Zu An intently for a moment before asking, ¡°Why are you helping me?¡±

    Zu An knew that Chen Sheng wasn¡¯t the type to trust others easily. He took a while to consider the matter before answering, ¡°To be frank with you, I wasn¡¯t intending to get involved in this matter at the start. Things would have been much simpler for me if I simply killed all of you. However, my little sister pleaded on your behalf, and I¡¯m not too fond of killing the innocent either. That¡¯s why I¡¯m taking this risk to help you all.¡±

    Qiao Xueying nodded in agreement. ¡°Indeed! Chen Sheng, you can trust him. He might have a suspicious-looking face, but he¡¯s not a bad person at heart.¡±

    Zu An clicked his tongue. Are you praising or insulting me here?

    Seeing that Chen Sheng still wasn¡¯t saying a word at all, Zu An decided to give it onest hard push. ¡°If you aren¡¯t going to agree with it, I¡¯ll kill you right away. I¡¯m not going to risk you revealing the content of our conversation to anyone else.¡±

    Those words made Chen Sheng heave a sigh of relief instead. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll ept your request.¡±

    The few of them continued to sort out the details before Zu An finally brought Lord Wang over.

    ¡°He has already confessed to the matter. He was the one who secretly inscribed those words on the meteor.¡±

    Lord Wang was overjoyed to hear that. ¡°I never thought that Lord Censor would actually have a way to deal with this. I¡¯m impressed!¡±

    He beckoned his subordinates over and ordered, ¡°Men, execute that miscreant right now!¡±

    ¡°Wait a moment!¡± Zu An hurriedly stopped Lord Wang before pulling him over to one side. ¡°Are you intending to kill that suspect just like that?¡±

    ¡°What else do we do if not execute a man who hasmitted such grievous crimes?¡± asked Lord Wang in bewilderment.

    ¡°You should send him to Xianyang[3] and have His Majesty judge him personally. Perhaps, His Majesty might be delighted by your merits and reward you handsomely,¡± said Zu An.

    ¡°Wise indeed!¡± Lord Wang¡¯s eyes twinkled in delight. ¡°Men, tie that man up and ce him inside the cage! I shall personally escort him back to the capital! Lord Censor, do you want toe along with us?¡±

    ¡°I still have other matters to attend to, so I¡¯ll have to pass,¡± Zu An rejected with a shake of his head.

    Lord Wang was overjoyed to hear that. ¡°Lord Censor, I¡¯m truly grateful for your guidance. I¡¯ll never forget the grace you¡¯ve shown to me today.¡±

    ¡°Lord Wang, you¡¯re too humble,¡± replied Zu An. I¡¯ll already be more than thankful if you don¡¯t hate me for this.

    When the vigers found out that it was Chen Wei who inscribed those words on the meteor, even those who were close to him usually began pointing fingers at him, criticizing him for his actions. Everyone had just been taken on a trip to hell¡¯s gate, so all of them were incredibly irritable at the moment. Naturally, they would vent their wrath at the culprit who nearly cost them their life.

    Chen Sheng was infuriated to see how he was criticized by the vigers despite saving their lives. He was just about to act up when Zu An walked over to his side andmunicated with him discreetly through ki transmission, ¡°Commoners tend to be ignorant, so don¡¯t hold it against them. Think about it optimistically. They rallied against you easily today, but this also means that you can also easily rally them in the future to help you with your ambition.¡±

    A glint shed across Chen Sheng¡¯s eyes as he nodded discreetly. He lowered his head silently and obediently followed the guards into the cage.

    Both Zu An and Qiao Xueying exchanged nces before quickly leaving from another direction. Once they were out of everyone¡¯s sight, they made a huge detour andid in ambush at where they knew the convoy would have to pass by in order to get to the capital, Xianyang.

    In the end, they managed to save Chen Sheng without too much of a hassle. In the first ce, the guards weren¡¯t too strong, and Lord Wang was too anxious to im his reward that he barely brought anyone along with him. He would have never thought that someone would be so brazen as to attempt to save a criminal of the imperial court.

    ¡°Lord Wang, what do we do now?¡±

    The floored subordinates quickly gathered around Lord Wang¡¯s side as they asked anxiously. It was an absolute death penalty for them to actually let such an important criminal escape under their watch!

    ¡°How am I to know what to do?!¡± Lord Wang was incredibly vexed too. Not only had he lost his chance at a promotion, but it seemed like his head was going to be lopped off at this rate too.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we return to the Chen Vige and kill everyone? We can im that no one has confessed to inscribing those words, so...¡± one of the subordinates suggested

    ¡°You fool!¡± Lord Wang smacked the subordinate¡¯s head. ¡°I¡¯ve already reported the matter to the royal court! I would be asking for trouble if I suddenly changed my statement!¡±

    Another subordinate spoke up, ¡°What if we im that Chen Wei tried to break free and ended up harming some of our brothers, so we killed him on the spot as punishment?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea. But how do we deal with the issue of the corpse then?¡± Lord Wang nodded in approval.

    ¡°One of the prisoners have died in the yamen yesterday, and we haven¡¯t reported it upward yet. We could use his corpse in ce of Chen Wei¡¯s. Those of the imperial court won¡¯t recognize him anyway,¡± replied the subordinate.

    Lord Wang¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°That¡¯s a good idea. Quick, let¡¯s get to action then! We¡¯re all tied on the same boat right now, so you better make sure to keep your mouth shut! Understood?¡±

    The others nodded in agreement.

    ...

    Meanwhile, Zu An and Qiao Xueying brought Chen Sheng to a remote ce and said, ¡°You won¡¯t be able to return to the Chen Vige anymore. What are your ns now?¡±

    ¡°What about my father¡¯s corpse? I can¡¯t just leave him there...¡± Chen Sheng frowned.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve already ordered some of the men to bury your father,¡± replied Zu An. ¡°Of course, it won¡¯t be anything glorious. It can¡¯t be helped since you¡¯re a fugitive right now.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, benefactor. I¡¯m thankful for your help.¡± Chen Sheng bowed deeply to Zu An out of gratitude before saying, ¡°Please do not worry. I shall change my name from this day onward so as to not implicate you. Like I¡¯ve said before, I shall be known as Chen Sheng from this day onward. I¡¯m thinking of heading over to Yangxia City to seek refuge with one of my good friends.¡±

    ¡°By any chance, is it possible that your friend is named Wu Guang?¡± asked Zu An.

    Chen Sheng was stunned. ¡°How do you know that?¡±

    ¡°It was just a random guess. Well, I wish you all the best for the future,¡± replied Zu An sheepishly.

    Chen Sheng sped his fist and said, ¡°I¡¯ll surely repay the grace you¡¯ve shown me today. Farewell!¡±

    With that, he bade the two of them farewell before taking his leave. For some reason, his departing silhouette looked rather stalwart.

    As Qiao Xueying watched as Chen Sheng left, she asked the man beside her, ¡°Are you hiding something from me?¡±

    1. Sheng means ¡®Victory¡¯. Chen Sheng is one of the rebels rising from the farmer ss, dering himself the king of the Chen Country. However, he waster put down by Zhang Han. He¡¯s known for his quote ¡®Are kings and nobles given their high status at birth?¡¯

    2. As most of Chen Sheng¡¯s supporters are farmers and peasants who don¡¯t have proper weapons, they tended to wield farming tools and stuff, resulting in the coining of a term that literally trantes to ¡®Raise your poles in rebellion¡¯

    3. Xianyang is the capital of the Qin Dynasty

 Chapter 184: The Woman in the Crystal Coffin

    <h4>Chapter 184: The Woman in the Crystal Coffin</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An clicked his tongue. ¡°Isn¡¯t it normal for me to be hiding things from you? It¡¯s not as if you¡¯re my wife. You sure are nosey for an outsider.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Qiao Xueying.

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for +666 Rage!

    Damn it, I really want to beat this fellow up!

    Qiao Xueying summoned her inner nirvana to suppress her rage before asking, ¡°How did you know that he went to look for Wu Guang? It¡¯s almost as if you know what¡¯s going to happen next.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Why are you calling me ¡®you¡¯ instead of ¡®big brother¡¯?¡± remarked Zu An in dissatisfaction. ¡°Anyway, regarding your question, it¡¯s simply because I¡¯m smart. In time toe, you¡¯ll realize that I have many more wondrous abilities in store.¡±

    ¡°Look at how gleeful you are acting!¡± Qiao Xueying harrumphed. Despite her sharp words, she was still in a good mood after how Zu An had stood forward and saved the Chen Vige at her request, so she decided not to hold this against him. ¡°I wonder when the seal will be removed.¡±

    ¡°We might need confirmation from the imperial pce¡¯s side first.¡± Zu An was still a little uneasy about this. He wasn¡¯t sure whether his n would really work out or not.

    Meanwhile, Lord Wang had finished falsifying the crime scene. He activated his Communication Mirror to ry the statements he had prepared beforehand to the imperial court.

    A short momentter, the area around Zu An suddenly began to distort as the familiar feeling of weightlessness enveloped him. By the time he snapped out of it, the two of them were already back at the familiar underground pce.

    ¡°The two of you are actually unharmed... You were actually able to ovee the Heaven Seal so easily!¡± Mi Li¡¯s surprised yet delighted voice sounded in Zu An¡¯s ears. It would appear that she had never thought that they would be able to ovee the difficult trials posed by the three seals.

    Easy? Was it really easy?

    Zu An thought about the process he had gone through in order to ovee the Heaven Seal. To be fair, it was indeed not as difficult as the previous two seals. This trial challenged not one¡¯s cultivation orbat prowess but one¡¯s sharp judgment and... luck.

    Zu An was extremely lucky that he chose to help the vigers in the end and was aware of the fact that Chen Sheng mustn¡¯t die there, or else there was no way he could have figured out the only way to survive the ordeal.

    Had it been another cultivator who was unaware of the history involved¡ªno, even if it had been another transmigrator who possessed the same knowledge as him¡ªthere was an almost certain chance that he would have ended up dying there.

    While Zu An was still brooding over this matter, the seal formation on the ground opened up, revealing a pitch-ck hole.

    ¡°The three seals have been breached. You should be able to head out now, right?¡± asked Zu An.

    ¡°My coffin is in the next level. I need you to pull out the sword on my coffin in order to fully release the seal,¡± replied Mi Li.

    Zu An was just about to head down when Qiao Xueying pulled his hand and warned, ¡°Be careful.¡±

    Zu An nodded in response. ¡°You should wait for me here. If anything happens, lure the ck-armored general here right away so as to get those two dogs to bite one another... Ah, that won¡¯t work either, huh? If she really intends to harm us, I reckon that you wouldn¡¯t have time to run away either. Let¡¯s do this instead. For the time being, you should return to Chuyan¡¯s side to stall for some time. If you don¡¯t see me after an incense¡¯s time, you should inform the ck-armored general of what¡¯s happening down here.¡±

    Qiao Xueying was reluctant to heed Zu An¡¯s words on this. ¡°No, I¡¯ll apany you down there. At the very least, we¡¯ll be able to look out for one another.¡±

    ¡°That won¡¯t do. You won¡¯t be a match for her even if you follow me down there. Haven¡¯t you heard of the saying ¡®don¡¯t put all of your eggs in one basket¡¯?¡± said Zu An with a shake of his head.

    Qiao Xueying fell silent. She wasn¡¯t a match for Zhang Han at all, let alone Mi Li. If Mi Li really intended to harm them, her presence wouldn¡¯t make a difference at all. The wiser move was indeed to have her stay on top so that they would have a card to deal with Mi Li if the worst-case scenario urred. ¡°Alright then. Take care of yourself.¡±

    Zu An replied with a nod before carefully jumping down to the next level. It was a small, enclosed area with a luminescent crystal coffin sitting at the center.

    He was just about to head over when a cold voice suddenly echoed in his ears, ¡°Who did you say was a dog earlier?¡±

    ¡°Ah, you heard it all?¡± Zu An¡¯s face heated up in embarrassment. It was always awkward to be caught speaking badly about someone else.

    Mi Li sighed deeply and said, ¡°Old people tend to have sharp ears. Somehow, I¡¯m always able to hear it when someone talks bad about me.¡±

    Zu An reverted back to his usual shameless self and rambled, ¡°As expected of Your Majesty, your cultivation has indeed reached an unprecedented level where I can only look up to. Ah, my respect for you gushes like the relentless tides of the Yellow River. I can¡¯t even begin to fathom anyone elseing close to your greatness!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Mi Li.

    ¡°Hmph. Your glib tongue reminds me of Zhao Gao[1]. It¡¯s displeasing,¡± snorted Mi Li.

    Zu An was rendered speechless. He never thought that a day woulde where he would bepared to Zhao Gao, and the blow was doubled at the knowledge that thetter was a eunuch.

    That¡¯s a low blow, a low blow!

    ¡°Enough! Hurry up and retrieve the sword floating in mid-air,¡± said Mi Li. ¡°That sword is the energy source of the Soul Suppression Seal. Anyone else who approaches the sword would have been pierced by its sword ki before they could evene close, but as you¡¯ve managed to breach the Soul Suppression Formation and obtained its recognition, you won¡¯t face any threat from it.¡±

    ¡°This isn¡¯t another trap, is it?¡± Zu An was intimidated after hearing how formidable the sword was.

    ¡°What do I have to gain from fooling you? I¡¯m hoping to break out of this seal too. Besides, you don¡¯t have time to spare. Zhang Han has already sessfully suppressed the dead spirits and would soon be returning to your wife¡¯s side to conduct the blood ritual,¡± said Mi Li.

    Recalling how Chu Chuyan was still lying helplessly on the altar, Zu An gritted his teeth and made his way toward the crystal coffin. He noticed that there were nine ropes made out of some sort of metal coiling around the crystal coffin. These ropes were connected to an ancient sword that was floated, its tip pointing downward at the coffin.

    Even before walking close, he could already sense a powerful pressure gushing in his direction, feeling his heart with deference. He gathered his willpower and resisted the urge of kneeling down.

    You must be kidding me! As a proud transmigrator, how could I kneel to a mere sword?!

    Standing above the immortals, gazing loftily upon the world, I shall dominate heaven with my keyboard in hand. Millions of keyboard warriors there may be in the world, but all shall lower their heads in my presence, for none can hope to match I, the Keyboard Emperor.

    Zu An murmured these words to cheer for himself. Perhaps it was a psychological effect, but the pressure weighing down on him actually began lessening, eventually reaching a point where it was neglectable.

    ¡°Hm? You¡¯re actually able to withstand the pressure of the Tai¡¯e Sword?¡± eximed Mi Li in surprise.

    ¡°Tai¡¯e Sword?¡± Zu An was surprised by how familiar the name of the sword was. Isn¡¯t this one of the ten most famous swords in history?

    ¡°Indeed. The Tai¡¯e Sword is a Sword of Kingship existing since the inception of the world, just that it was formless and unnoticeable. However, its sword ki is already existent all over the world, merely awaiting an opportune moment to gather. At the hands of the right person at the right time in the right ce, this sword will be formed. It was in the hands of two master swordsmiths of our Chu Country that this sword was coincidentally forged. One of our kings has once in thousands of soldiers with this sword in hand...¡±

    Mi Li¡¯s voice reflected her admiration for her ancestors.

    ¡°It¡¯s just that when the Chu Country was finally defeated by the Qin Country, this sword ended up falling into Ying Zheng¡¯s hand. Ironically, he ended up using this sword to seal me off.¡±

    Looking at the sword floating above the coffin, Zu An was convinced that the sword before him was different from the one he read about in his previous life. This sword didn¡¯t seem to belong in the mortal world; it felt more like a weapon that hade right out of a legend or a novel.

    Instead of retrieving the sword right away, he said, ¡°To be frank with you, Your Majesty, I¡¯m a little hesitant about this. I¡¯m worried that you might renege on your promise to save my wife after I let you out. After all, we have no way to curb you given your cultivation.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have a choice here. Zhang Han is already walking to the altar at this moment. Your wife is going to die if you don¡¯t free me soon,¡± sneered Mi Li.

    ¡°I don¡¯t deny that I¡¯m anxious to save my wife, but aren¡¯t you even more anxious than me? I wonder how long have you been sealed here for. A thousand years? Two thousand years? Or maybe ten thousand years even? When will your next opportunitye if you fail to grasp this one?¡±

    Mi Li fell into a state of silence. She was clearly not as calm as she appeared to be. ¡°Indeed, this is a rare opportunity for me too. What do I have to do in order to earn your trust then?¡±

    It was Zu An¡¯s turn to be put in a spot. He had no idea what he could use to bind Mi Li to her agreement. He recalled the lines he had heard in the novels in his previous life and tried asking, ¡°Why don¡¯t we sign a master-servant contract? You won¡¯t be able to hurt me anymore in the future as long as you acknowledge me as your master.¡±

    ¡°Hahaha!¡± Mockingughter echoed in the room for a moment before Mi Li sneered coldly, ¡°Who do you think you are to make me acknowledge you as your master? Even Ying Zheng was unable to make me submit back then, let alone a kid like you!¡±

    ck lines streaked across Zu An¡¯s face as he eximed, ¡°Hey, that¡¯s too much over there! You¡¯re the one who told me to suggest something, and now you¡¯re getting angry at me for proposing an idea. What do you say we should do then?¡±

    Mi Li pondered for a moment before replying, ¡°Let¡¯s do this instead. Grab a piece of paper and we¡¯ll seal a contract with our respective terms. In exchange for helping me out of this coffin, I¡¯ll promise to save your wife and not hurt you and the other two women. You should also be aware that contracts have binding power in this world. Not even I am able to renege on it.¡±

    This was not the first time Zu An had heard of that, so he nodded his head in agreement. ¡°Very well! But where am I supposed to find paper here?¡±

    ¡°You fool! There¡¯s no reason why paper is absolutely needed here. Can¡¯t you write on your clothes too? As for ink, you have plenty of wounds on your body. You can just use your blood in recement,¡± remarked Mi Li coldly.

    Zu An was irritated by her snappish tone.

    This old woman sure is cranky. If not for the fact that you¡¯re an elder, I would have...

    Unfortunately, he was unable to think of anything significant he could have done to a person far stronger than he was.

    Anyway, he quickly penned down the terms of the contract before frowning. ¡°There¡¯s only my palm print here. The contract wouldn¡¯t be binding without yours, right?¡±

    ¡°You just have to bring it over for me to press my palm down on it,¡± said Mi Li.

    ¡°Where are you?¡± asked Zu An. He searched the area around him, but the voice sounded like it could havee from anywhere.

    ¡°You really are a thorough fool. Aren¡¯t I in the crystal coffin right in front of you?!¡± bellowed Mi Li.

    ¡°...¡± Zu An.

    Damn it, it¡¯s all because of this cranky old woman that I¡¯m getting a bit dumb here!

    He sullenly walked over to the crystal coffin as he wondered how Mi Li handled her daily needs inside the coffin.

    Wouldn¡¯t she need to pee and shit too? Ah, but she¡¯s already dead, right? All that¡¯s left of her is probably just a dried-up corpse. Eesh, I¡¯ve always stayed away from horror stories and films in the past. Damn it, I hope that whatever that¡¯s in the coffin won¡¯t be too scary...

    However, he froze up upon walking over to the coffin¡¯s side. He found that what was lying inside the crystal coffin wasn¡¯t a terrifying dried-up corpse but a woman far more beautiful than his wildest imagination.

    1. He¡¯s a eunuch especially noted for the great power he wielded after Qin Ershi took over the crown from the deceased Qin Shihuang. He¡¯s known for the saying ¡®calling a deer a horse¡¯, where he insolently ims that a deer brought to Qin Ershi is a horse so as to probe the officials to see who is on his side and remove those who stood against him.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

 Chapter 185: A Descent of His Sword, And All Nobles Shall Rush Westward!

    <h4>Chapter 185: A Descent of His Sword, And All Nobles Shall Rush Westward!</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The woman was dressed in a ck dress, and her hands were ced gracefully on her abdomen. Shey quietly inside the crystal coffin. There was a hint of redness on her lips, making her appear seductive but, at the same time, dangerous as well.

    She had an impably beautiful face. Her skin should have been unnaturally pale from being holed up in this dark underground cavern for many years, yet such wasn¡¯t the case. Perhaps it was due to the contrast with her ck dress, her skin gave off a luster reminiscent of white jade.

    Her nose was curved in a shapely angle, and her lips glistened alluringly. Her delicate lower jaws and her slender neck further entuated her moving face, making it hard for anyone to resist her charms.

    Zu An had never seen the ck dress she was wearing before, but the first thought that crossed his mind was that it was the phoenix robe worn by the empress. There were golden embroideries of auspicious beasts on the ck silk dress, making it look grand and graceful. It granted its wearer an inexplicably imposing air.

    The dress wasn¡¯t fitted perfectly; it was slightly on therger side. Nevertheless, her beautiful curves were still vaguely showing through the dress, hinting at just how great her figure was.

    She was covered fully in cloth, such that only her head, hands, legs, and a small part of her ankles were peeking out. Zu An couldn¡¯t help noticing that there were red bangles locking her hands and legs in ce.

    He had expected to see a mummy or a skin-and-bones old granny. Even in the most optimistic situation, he thought that she would be a middle-aged auntie or something. After all, she was Fusu¡¯s mother, and Fusu was already an adult when he died.

    Through that calction, it wasn¡¯t too hard to figure that she had to be at least thirty to forty years of age when Ying Zheng sealed her off. Even if her aging had slowed due to the seal, surely being sealed for thousands of years should have done something to her.

    Yet, she miraculously managed to retain a youthful look. One could easily mistake her for a youngdy in her early twenties.

    What the hell? Isn¡¯t she a bit too young? On top of that, how is she so beautiful?

    ¡°Have you seen enough yet?¡±

    The woman lying in the crystal coffin suddenly opened her eyes to gaze at him coldly.

    Zu An¡¯s heart jolted in fright. It was just a moment ago that she looked alluringly beautiful, the type of woman who would be a man¡¯s fantasy, but the moment she opened her eyes, her disposition changed altogether. Her sharp eyes carried an indescribable authority that made her feel lofty and unapproachable. It felt like it was only right for all beings to prostrate before her.

    ¡°Of course not. Do you know how pretty you are?¡± Zu An leaned against the coffin as he propped up his chin with his hand, continuing to gaze at her with a smile on his lips.

    He disliked how she was acting as if he was a mere ant before her presence.

    You might be an empress in the past, but the Qin Dynasty has already fallen from grace. Stop putting on airs here!

    ¡°...¡± Mi Li.

    She was a little taken aback by Zu An¡¯s response. All other men, with the exception of Ying Zheng, were terrified by her presence, not daring to even breathe loudly. It was rare that a man actually dared to smile and even tease her.

    ¡°Stop talking nonsense and hand the contract over so that I can seal it,¡± said Mi Li. I¡¯ll punish this fellowter on for his insolence.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Zu An was also worried about Chu Chuyan¡¯s safety, so he dared not to dy this matter at all. He pushed the lid of the crystal coffin away, and a chilling air immediately gushed his way, making him shudder uncontrobly.

    ¡°What the hell! You were actually lying in a ce like this for several thousand years?! It must have really been tough on you!¡± Zu An rubbed his own shoulders as he eximed in horror.

    ¡°Yes, it has indeed been tough...¡± murmured Mi Li with a brooding look on her face.

    She had been stuck here so long that she had forgotten most of her emotions, so Zu An¡¯s sudden concern left her feeling a little wistful.

    However, she didn¡¯t allow her emotions to show through. Instead, she scoffed coldly, ¡°If you want to know, you can try lying in here yourself.¡±

    ¡°Really? This crystal coffin doesn¡¯t look big enough for two though. I¡¯ll probably end up crushing you if Ie in as well. Are you sure that you don¡¯t mind?¡± asked Zu An with a hint of delight in his voice.

    ¡°...¡± Mi Li.

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for +444 Rage!

    She had no idea how Zu An was able to twist her provocation in such ridiculous manners to tease her.

    ¡°Do you know what¡¯s the consequences of teasing me?¡± Mi Li¡¯s voice turned cold as she looked at Zu An severely.

    ¡°It¡¯s only normal that I react this way after witnessing your beauty. What can I do when you¡¯re that good looking?¡± replied Zu An with a smile. ¡°Besides, are you really thinking of killing me over this?¡±

    ¡°Death would onlye as a sce to you. I¡¯ll dig out your eyeballs and sever your tongue,¡± threatened Mi Li coldly.

    ¡°But aren¡¯t you going to sign a contract with me? You won¡¯t be able to harm me by then.¡± Zu An shrugged away her threats nonchntly.

    Mi Li was stunned. ¡°Is that why you¡¯re acting so fearlessly?¡±

    Zu An nodded. ¡°Of course. I need to test if your contract is reliable or not. How can I trust you if you¡¯re going to threaten me each time I casually drop a remark?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Mi Li.

    Zu An¡¯s argument sounded so solid that she was actually unable to find a rebuttal to it for a very long while. In the end, she harrumphed impatiently and said, ¡°Stop wasting time and bring the contract over.¡±

    Zu An passed the contract over to her, only to see her remainingpletely motionless, not reaching to receive the contract at all. The two of them ended up staring at one another nkly.

    ¡°You can¡¯t move?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t say!¡±

    Zu An chuckled sheepishly, ¡°Ahahaha, I¡¯ll help you then.¡±

    He reached out to grab her hand, only to be shocked by the sheer coldness of her body. The coldness was so biting that it seemed to seep right into his bones.

    ¡°Are you a human or a ghost?¡± asked Zu An with a gulp.

    ¡°What do you think?¡± Mi Li looked at him with a menacing smile.

    After finally adapting to the shocking coldness, Zu An¡¯s attention was soon captured by the astonishing sticity of her hand. He couldn¡¯t help but pinch her hands a little. Then, his gaze slowly trailed over to her chest, and he murmured softly, ¡°I guess I need to try it to find out.¡±

    However, the sheer murderous intent in her eyes was enough to make him back down fearfully. He grumbled inint, ¡°You were the one who refused to answer my question first.¡±

    Then, he dabbed some blood on her finger before imprinting it on the contract.

    Mi Li was just about to say something when her body suddenly shuddered. Her gaze fell upon the bloodstains on his body, and her eyes grew contemtive.

    However, Zu An didn¡¯t notice her reaction at all. He heaved a sigh of relief before stowing the contract away in his robes. Then, he turned to the sword above the coffin and asked, ¡°I just have to take the sword down, right?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Be careful, and make sure that you don¡¯t let it slip down. I have no wish of being stabbed to death at the final moment,¡± replied Mi Li.

    Zu An was perplexed. ¡°If this sword could kill you, why didn¡¯t Ying Zheng do it back then? It¡¯s really weird that he went through the trouble of sealing you.¡±

    ¡°You sure have a whole lot of questions. Your wife will really be dead if you continue dawdling here,¡± remarked Mi Li.

    Zu An¡¯s heart palpitated in unease when he recalled the situation Chu Chuyan was in. Not daring to waste any more time, he leaped into the air and grabbed the metal chain with one hand and the Tai¡¯e Sword with the other.

    The moment his hand came into contact with the sword¡¯s handle, his entire body suddenly jerked, and his mind was plunged into chaos. By the time he finally snapped out of it, he realized that he was no longer in the underground pce but a resplendent hall.

    He couldn¡¯t construe words that could aptly describe just how grand the hall was. It made him feel iparably insignificant, as if he was no more than a speck of dust before everything else.

    ¡°You¡¯re here,¡± an authoritative voice suddenly sounded.

    Zu An immediately turned his gaze over. A Dragon Throne was ced at the forefront of the hall, and a ck-robed man was seated upright on top of it. His very presence was overpowering, as if everything in the world was under his thumb.

    Woah, his disposition is indeed top-notch. He¡¯s able to look cool just by sitting there. If only I could learn half of his skills¡ªno, even 10% would suffice¡ªI would be the coolest kid on the street!

    ¡°Who are you?¡± asked Zu An with narrowed eyes.

    The man seated on the Dragon Throne had his appearance veiled by ayer of mist, making it impossible to discern his looks. However, Zu An soon noticed the Five-wed Golden Dragon[1] embroidered on the man¡¯s ck robe, and a thought surfaced in his mind. ¡°You are the Founding Sovereign Emperor?¡±

    ¡°It matters not who I am,¡± replied the name donned in the dragon robe. ¡°What¡¯s important is that you¡¯re here.¡±

    Zu An gulped.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    What the hell is going on here? Has he found out that I¡¯m intending to save his empress, so he¡¯s going to kill me now? Wait a moment, I even teased Mi Li earlier on! Could he have been spying on me all this while? Goddamnit, I¡¯m a goner then!

    The man wearing the dragon robe rose to his feet, which sent Zu An retreating several steps out of fear. It was just that this hall was freakishly huge, such that he was unable to find the exit even after scanning the area.

    ¡°You need not fear. I don¡¯t n to take your life.¡± Seeing right through Zu An¡¯s worries, the man wearing the dragon robe said. ¡°A man who can ovee the Human, Earth, and Heaven Seal is one who is wise and blessed with luck. You¡¯re worthy of the undertaking.¡±

    ¡°Regarding that... I¡¯m stillcking in terms of training, so I fear that I¡¯m going to let down your expectations. Why don¡¯t you find another person instead?¡± asked Zu An hesitantly.

    Given how gravely the man wearing the dragon robe was speaking, he figured that the other party was going to issue an incredibly difficult mission. It¡¯s probably something that will require me to charge through the fields of hell or something. No way I¡¯m going to do that!

    ¡°Very well,¡± replied the man in the dragon robe.

    Zu An was surprised, not expecting the other party to be so easy to negotiate with. He quickly added, ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll be taking my leave now.¡±

    After saying those words, he turned around and quickly speed walked away.

    However, the resounding roar of a dragon suddenly sounded¡ªthe man in the dragon robe had drawn his sword. Puffs of smoke was stirring in front of Zu An, and vaguely he seemed to see an entire army staring quietly at him.

    A descent of his sword, and all nobles shall rush westward[2]!

    For some reason, Zu An couldn¡¯t help but remember a poem he had read in his previous life.

    It was then that the man spoke with cold authority, ¡°No one in the world can reject me. The only fate that awaits those who dares is death!¡±

    ¡°I-I was just joking earlier! Elder, please feel free to ask anything of me! Be it scaling a mountain of swords or descending in a sea of mes, I¡¯ll do it without batting an eyelid!¡± Zu An immediately changed his words right away.

    A ck object suddenly flew in Zu An¡¯s direction, and he subconsciously reached out to grab hold of it. It was only after catching it that he realized that it was a sword. When he raised his head once more, he realized that the man in the dragon robe wasn¡¯t holding onto anything anymore.

    The sword Zu An was holding right now was the same one that the man in the dragon robe had unsheathed earlier, and upon closer examination, he realized that it was actually the Tai¡¯e Sword!

    ¡°With Tai¡¯e in hand, seek out West Houndhill[3], and you¡¯ll know what you must do,¡± said the man in the dragon robe.

    1. The Five-wed Golden Dragon is a symbol reserved specifically only for the emperor.

    2. This is a description praising Qin Shihuang, saying that all nobles would rush to Xianyang to submit to the Qin Country at his orders.

    3. This is the ce where Qin Feizi¡¯s father, Da Luo, lived with his brothers. Qin Feizi is the founding king of the Qin Country.

 Chapter 186: Primordial Origin Sutra

    <h4>Chapter 186: Primordial Origin Sutra</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°West Houndhill?¡± As a keyboard warrior who used to hang out in forums in his previous life, Zu An had some impression of this name. It seemed to be an auspicious ancestralnd for the Qin Royal Family.

    But still, why can¡¯t you just tell me what I¡¯m heading to the West Doghill for? Why are experts like you fond of ying it secretive? Do you actually think that doing this makes you appear wise?

    ¡°Remember, you must bring Tai¡¯e with you to West Houndhill,¡± instructed the man in the dragon robe.

    ¡°Why?¡± asked Zu An.

    ¡°Tai¡¯e is the key into the West Houndhill.¡±

    ¡°Key?¡±

    Zu An looked at the sword in his hand as he wondered just howrge the door must be to require such a massive key.

    ¡°Of course, I won¡¯t make you work in vain. Sealed in Tai¡¯e is the first half of the Primordial Origin Sutra. It can temper your body and has a strong cleansing and recovery effect. It should be of great help to you.¡±

    ¡°Primordial Origin Sutra?¡± repeated Zu An.

    Just from the name itself, he could tell that it was likely to be something formidable. He could care less about the tempering and cleansing effect, but the recovery effect was something that he direly needed at the moment.

    The Phoenix Nirvana Sutra¡¯s ability to strengthen his body when he was low on health was indeed formidable, but it was very dangerous too. If he failed to keep a close eye on his health bar and identally overstepped his limits, it would really spell the end for him.

    On top of that, most recovery medicines took quite some time to take effect, including Divine Physician Ji. If he was in a critical condition, it was unlikely that those medicines wouldn¡¯t be able to save his life. In the end, the only one that was truly reliable was ¡®Faith in Brother Spring¡¯, but it was simply too hard to draw it from the lottery.

    ¡°How do I cultivate the skill?¡± asked Zu An.

    ¡°Immerse your consciousness on the sword, and you¡¯ll be able to feel it,¡± replied the man in the dragon robe.

    Zu An was worried that the other party would try to possess him, so he made sure to keep a sliver of his consciousness in his surroundings. After all, it was amon plot in the drama series and novels he had seen in the past.

    He tried focusing his consciousness on the Tai¡¯e Sword, and a series of words emerged in his mind.

    ¡°Heaven and earth yet severed in the primordial, bleak and unseen. Everything originates from the primordial...¡±

    It was then that the Keyboard¡¯s voice sounded, ¡°Detected: Westhound Hill¡¯s Secret Scroll - [Primordial Origin Sutra]. Consume it to activate a keyboard function?¡±

    Zu An was overjoyed. What an unexpected surprise! I actually managed to find another secret art here?

    He quickly epted the option. ck mist swiftly gushed into the F3 key, forming a mysterious imprint on it.

    ¡°Begin tempering your body?¡± prompted the Keyboard.

    Tempering my body? What does this mean?

    However, fearing that he would miss this opportunity if he rejected the option, he quickly selected ¡®Yes¡¯.

    Following that, he saw a surge of ck mist gushing out from the Keyboard and embracing his body. He had a feeling that the world¡¯s ki¡ªno, it was a power that was much purer and nourishing than ki, something that he had never sensed before¡ªgushing into his body.

    Is this the ¡®primordial ki¡¯ which books often talk about?

    He could sense that his body and meridians were being reforged by the primordial ki gushing into his body. It felt like he was soakedfortably in a warm spring, but from time to time, there would be a sharp tearing sensation as if someone was sawing him up.

    It was fortunate that the pain receded swiftly, and there was a vague feeling of exhration after each burst of pain. If not for that, he would have thought that he had fallen into the other party¡¯s trap.

    ¡°Detected sealed ki core under the abdomen. Dispel the seal?¡± prompted the Keyboard once more.

    Zu An was stunned for a moment there before ravenous joy soaked his entire being, and he nearly leaped up in excitement. ¡°Yes, dispel it!¡±

    The primordial ki gushed toward his abdomen in order to break open the seal, simr to how the energy from the petal of the Evanescent Lotus did earlier. However, what was different was that the primordial ki was much more concentrated and powerful. The energy from the Evanescent Lotus might not be enough to knock down the seal, but under the forceful ramming of the primordial ki, the bottleneck that stood in his way earlier began loosening.

    As if sensing themotion over here, the primordial ki in the other parts of his body was swiftly channeled over to lend a helping hand. It didn¡¯t take long for all of the primordial ki to be concentrated in his abdomen, leaving Zu An feeling deeply nervous.

    He remembered hearing from Old Mi that the region was extremely fragile, and even the slightest mistake could easily result in irreversible damage.

    The primordial ki better not make a mistake here! I might be sealed right now, but at least I¡¯m still a man! If this primordial ki were to strike too hard and identally knock ¡®it¡¯ off, I might just ram my head into a pir and end my life right here right now!

    It was fortunate that the primordial ki was far more formidable than he had expected. Soon, there was a vague ¡®pop¡¯ sound. Zu An sensed something which had been blocked for many years had finally opened up, leaving him refreshed and invigorated. His body suddenly felt lighter than ever.

    He might not know much about the seal, but he knew that whatever that was nted on him previously had finally been undone.

    What made things better was that the primordial ki didn¡¯t dissipate after breaking the seal down. It continued to circte around his body to temper it.

    Zu An lowered his head to take a look, and his eyes swiftly reddened from sheer excitement. The little chick which he had been feeling greatly insecure about had finally unfurled its wings and matured into a grand roc!

    That very feeling that he would wake up every morning to in his previous life was finally back!

    Zu An was tempted to raise his head and howl like a wolf to vent the overflowing feelings welling up in his heart.

    Finally, finally! I¡¯ve finally managed to get back what I¡¯ve lost!

    All this while, everyone thought that I¡¯ve been living the high life. Suave, handsome, kind, and having a wonderful wife; I¡¯m the very embodiment of a winner in life! Yet, only I know the best that it was all just a facade. If I can¡¯t even work it down there, everything else is meaningless.

    Rejoice, for all those days of wallowing in despair over my impotence is finally over!

    Were it not for the fact that it was too embarrassing to tell others that he used to be impotent, he would have nged the gongs and went around announcing this joyous news to everyone!

    Then, he lowered his head to take another look, only to jolt in fright. ¡°But this... isn¡¯t this a little too exaggerated?¡±

    Watching as the remaining bits of primordial ki continued to temper his body, he felt a little embarrassed but gleeful at the same time. By the time the tempering came to an end, his body had already fully recovered from its previous wounds, and he was overflowing with energy. He felt stronger than ever.

    It was then that the Keyboard¡¯s voice sounded once more, ¡°Unable to unlock the new function due to the ipletion of the Primordial Origin Sutra.¡±

    ¡°Hm?¡± Zu An was stunned for a moment before realizing that he only had the upper half of the Primordial Origin Sutra.

    ¡°You¡¯re blessed with talent and luck. It¡¯s unexpected that you¡¯re able toplete the first level of tempering so quickly. Your strength, resilience, and recovery ability have been greatly enhanced from before,¡± said the man in the dragon robe.

    ¡°Every level you advance in the Primordial Origin Sutra, your body will undergo transformative changes. Cultivators of the same rank will find it hard to hurt you, and the damage you receive from the attacks of higher rank cultivators would be greatly reduced too. If you¡¯re able to reach the highest level of the skill, as long as you aren¡¯t ground to ashes, your body will be able to regenerate back to its original state. By then, you¡¯ll be the strongest man in the world!

    ¡°However... can you stop pointing that thing at me?¡±

    Zu An was flustered. He squirmed around ufortably as he tried hiding his own body, saying, ¡°My apologies. I have only just finished tempering my body. This is a natural reaction, a natural reaction!¡±

    The man in the dragon robe harrumphed coldly as he said, ¡°Of course I know that! How else do you think that you¡¯re still able to speak to me?¡±

    Zu An scratched his head sheepishly as he changed the topic, ¡°Speaking of which, why is there only the upper half of the Primordial Origin Sutra here? May I know where the lower half is?¡±

    ¡°The lower half is in the West Houndhill,¡± replied the man in the dragon robe. ¡°You¡¯ll be able to obtain it when you get there in the future.¡±

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but doubt if that man was doing it intentionally. You¡¯re giving me a taste of the Primordial Origin Sutra in advance before telling me that it¡¯s split into half so as to force me to do your bidding.

    In any case, it was all worth it since he was able to release the seal on his little brother, not to mention that this skill was able to be used together with the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra. One needed him to be severely injured and the other allowed him to recover quickly. This was the perfectbo!

    ¡°The Primordial Origin Sutra requires you to practice it often. The more you use it, the easier it is for you to advance to the next level. Protect yourself well. Don¡¯t die before managing to find the West Houndhill,¡± said the man in the dragon robe.

    ¡°Thank you for your advice, elder. May I know how I can find the West Houndhill?¡± replied Zu An.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The man in the dragon robe fell silent for a long while before finally replying, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°Is there no writings, maps, or anything that serves as a clue?¡± asked Zu An.

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing at all.¡± The man in the dragon robe shook his head.

    ¡°Nothing at all?¡± Zu An was rmed. Isn¡¯t this a darned trap? Given how big the world is, how am I to find a single location without any clues at all?!

    The man in the dragon robe continued, ¡°I am just a sliver of a soul at the moment. My knowledge is limited, and much time has passed since then. The West Houndhill might not be at the same ce it used to be. You can only count on yourself for that.¡±

    His figure began to turn faint, looking as if he would vanish at any moment.

    Zu An anxiously asked, ¡°Is there a time limit to this mission?¡±

    ¡°None at all. However, my memories tell me that you should aplish this mission as soon as possible,¡± replied the man in the dragon robe.

    Zu An heaved a sigh of relief. He was d that there was no time limit here, so he could take his time to look for the West Houndhill.

    The aura of the man in the dragon robe grew even fainter as he said, ¡°I¡¯m about to vanish soon. Ask if you have any other questions, and I¡¯ll answer you.¡±

    ¡°How should I deal with the woman in the crystal coffin?¡± asked Zu An carefully.

    A sharp glint shed across the eyes of the man in the dragon robe as he replied, ¡°Kill her!¡±

    ¡°Kill her?¡± Zu An was stunned. The two of you used to be a couple after all, is there a need to be so vicious? Not to mention, it¡¯s such a pity to kill a woman as beautiful as she is... ¡°But she¡¯s much stronger than me. How can I bear to kill her?¡±

    ¡°You can do it... Use the Primordial Origin Sutra... purify...¡± The man in the dragon robe finally dissipated, leaving just a few murmurs behind.

    The sight before Zu An blurred, and by the time he snapped out of his daze, he was already back in the underground pce. Held in his hand was the Tai¡¯e Sword.

    ¡°What are you dazing off up there for? Hurry up and get down here!¡± shouted Mi Li.

 Chapter 187: Accident

    <h4>Chapter 187: ident</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An released the rope and leaped down from mid-air, saying, ¡°You are more anxious than I thought.¡±

    Mi Li¡¯s face darkened. ¡°Are you taking advantage of me?¡±

    ¡°How could I dare to do that?¡± Zu An was in a good mood at the moment. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve retrieved the sword now. Are you able to move now?¡±

    ¡°Use the Tai¡¯e Sword to sever the shackles on my limbs...¡± Mi Li suddenly gasped when she noticed the monster that was growing beneath his abdomen. Her face reddened as she bellowed, ¡°How dare you harbor that sort of filthy thoughts of me!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for +678 Rage!

    Zu An was immediately ced in an awkward position. He quickly turned his body around as he said, ¡°Sorry about that. Something happened earlier on.¡±

    Mi Li slowly calmed down after the initial outburst. She was still counting on the other party to save her, so she didn¡¯t want to turn against him yet. So, she changed the topic and said, ¡°What happened earlier? How did you manage to ovee the Heaven Seal?¡±

    She didn¡¯t think much of the Human Seal and the Earth Seal, but she had heard things about the Heaven Seal. Back then, Ying Zheng boasted before her that no one would be able to breach it, saying that it had nothing to do with one¡¯s cultivation at all.

    Zu An was stunned to hear that abrupt question. It seems like she thought that I was referring to the Heaven Seal... I guess that¡¯s fine too. She¡¯s probably going to get angry again if she knows that the man in the dragon robe told me to kill her

    So, he went along with the flow and answered her question frankly, ¡°We were teleported to a vige in the Dong Commandery when a meteor suddenly fell from the sky...¡±

    After going through the details, Zu An couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Actually, there is something that I don¡¯t get about the Heaven Seal. If it was constructed by Qin Shihuang, why would he make saving Chen Sheng the crux of oveing the seal? Chen Sheng yed a huge role in the eventual downfall of the Qin Dynasty, so no matter how I look at it, Qin Shihuang should have desired his death more than anything else.¡±

    Hearing that question, Mi Li sighed deeply and said, ¡°I finally understand why Ying Zheng was confident that no one would be able to breach the seal. He constructed the seal out of a snippet of history, using the fate of the Qin Country as its lynchpin. The seal is bound to the naturalws of the world, and it isn¡¯t something that a human¡¯s will can influence.

    ¡°Regarding the question you asked, it¡¯s because it¡¯s heaven¡¯s will at y here, not Ying Zheng¡¯s. The Qin Dynasty was eventually overthrown by the revolutionaries backing Chen Sheng. Since the Heaven Seal was constructed with the fate of the Qin Dynasty as its lynchpin, the key to resolving it is to guide the snippet of history toward the downfall of the Qin. Ying Zheng probably would have never imagined that things would turn in such a manner!

    ¡°How unexpected it is that a moment ofpassion actually ended up saving you! There¡¯s nothing more ironic than that to a tyrant like Ying Zheng! Hahaha!¡±

    Hearing her frenziedughter, Zu An asked curiously, ¡°Do you hate him a lot?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not something you should concern yourself with.¡± Mi Li harrumphed in response.

    Zu An shrugged nonchntly. This old hag sure has quite the temper.

    ¡°You¡¯re indeed a person blessed with great luck. Despite your low cultivation, you were able to venture to the depths of the underground pce and decipher the Soul Suppression Seal. It looks like it was all the work of fate!¡± remarked Mi Li deeply.

    ¡°Oh? Doesn¡¯t that mean that our meeting is also the work of fate?¡± asked Zu An with a chuckle.

    ¡°You have been making fun of me time and time again. Are you that tired of living?¡± Mi Li¡¯s expression turned cold.

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for +345 Rage!

    Zu An thought nothing of her threat. ¡°You can¡¯t harm me anyway; we¡¯ve already signed a contract on that! Besides, what¡¯s the big deal in me talking a bit more casually? I reckon that you must not have too many friends back then.¡±

    Having hit the nail on the head, Mi Li¡¯s face reddened. ¡°I don¡¯t need any friends!¡±

    ¡°Humans are social creatures, so how could you possibly not need any friends?¡± Zu An remarked as he made his way back to the crystal coffin. With the Tai¡¯e Sword, he severed the shackles binding her limbs. ¡°Since fate brought about our meeting, why don¡¯t we make friends with one another?¡±

    The moment she was freed from her shackles, Mi Li leaped out from the crystal coffin onto a stone sculpture by the side. She red at him coldly and said, ¡°I¡¯ll sever your tongue if you dare run your mouth once more!¡±

    Zu An replied with a beaming smile, ¡°I don¡¯t believe that.¡±

    Now that she was standing at a high point, she looked even taller and more graceful than before, as if a beauty who had walked out of a painting. Her presence breathed some life into this dingy underground cavern.

    ¡°Ignorant!¡± Mi Li¡¯s eyebrows shot up as she slowly floated into the air. Her robe fluttered furiously as a powerful aura burst out from her.

    The powerful aura crushed on Zu An, leaving him suffocated. This force was many times stronger than what he had felt from the Tai¡¯e Sword earlier on!

    If not for the fact that his body had been tempered by the primordial ki earlier on and that the Tai¡¯e Sword was warding off half of the pressure for him, he might have been forced into a kneeling position by now.

    Even so, Zu An felt that he couldn¡¯t hold on for too long. He wanted to say something, but the immense pressure made it impossible for him to even open his mouth at all.

    Floating imposingly in mid-air, Mi Li swept her hands behind her back as she gazed down on Zu An with an air of majesty. She remarked coldly, ¡°Someone like you wishes to befriend me?¡±

    Zu An drove his Primordial Origin Sutra to its limit, using its prowess to help him withstand the powerful pressure on him. He could already feel his bones creaking under the force, on the verge of sumbing.

    ¡°Looks like you do have some guts. What a pity that you¡¯re too weak,¡± remarked Mi Li coldly. She was just about to raise the pressure a notch further when she suddenly felt a gust of cold air battering on her body. Perplexed, she lowered her head, only to be stunned in the next moment.

    Simrly, Zu An was in the midst of fending against the pressure exerted on him when it suddenly vanished without a trace. His pride disallowed him from lowering his head, so he ended up seeing everything that could be seen.

    Even when he was faced with the terrifying pressure, he was still able to stand his own against it without suffering any injuries. However, the sight he was seeing right now left a heated sensation in his nose. He had to quickly stifle his nose in order to prevent blood from gushing out.

    It was hard to tell what really happened, but Mi Li¡¯s clothes suddenly burst apart without any warning. It was reduced to little fragments that scattered swiftly with the wind, exposing her perfect figure.

    Her body really showed how biased heaven could be at times, taking care of some people far more than others. Every single line on her body seemed to be carefully sculpted, and her skin glistened warmly like precious jade.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Mi Li soon snapped out of her daze, and a hint of fluster finally cracked her lofty expression. She quickly darted behind the sculpture to hide as she screeched, ¡°Cover your eyes! Don¡¯t look!¡±

    Zu An obediently covered his eyes, just that there was a slight crack between his fingers that allowed him to take a little peek. Watching her hiding her body in a panic, a bizarre smile crept on his lips as he remarked, ¡°It really is fate at y here. Heaven must have seen how you were bullying me, so he¡¯s giving you a stern warning for it.¡±

    ¡°Shut your mouth, or else I¡¯ll kill you!¡± Mi Li quickly twisted her finger to weave her ki around her body, forming a ck cloak around her. It was just that the ck cloak made out of ki didn¡¯t feel as reassuring as real clothes.

    Thinking about how her body was actually exposed to Zu An, she nearly fainted from anger.

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for +999 Rage!

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but retort, ¡°I heard that items produced in the Qin Dynasty, be it weapons or bricks, have to bebeled with the craftsmen¡¯s name. If there were any defects with an item, the craftsman would have to take responsibility for it. Due to that, items from the Qin Dynasty are supposed to have quality reassurance. What can I say? It seems like rumors can¡¯t be trusted after all.¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Nonsense! No matter how well made my robe was, how could it possiblyst for several thousand years without degrading?!¡± Mi Li cursed Zu An. I was in too much of a rush to deal with him that it actually slipped my mind!

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for +813 Rage!

    Zu An felt a little pained by therge amounts of Rage points popping up in his system.

    Damn it, it¡¯s all going to waste!

    He still remembered the vow he made in order to save Qiao Xueying. He said that he would rather not draw anything good for the next three times as long as he could obtain ¡®Faith in Brother Spring¡¯.

    Of course, he had thought of a countermeasure beforehand. He thought that as long as he drew the lottery as soon he got any Rage points for the next three times, he would be able to nullify the consequences of the vow without suffering too much of a loss. Due to that, he couldn¡¯t help but feel pained at the huge contributions Mi Li was making to his Rage points ount.

    ¡°Do you have any clothes I can change into?¡± asked Mi Li.

    Zu An had to exert all of his self-control in order to stop himself from bursting intoughter. ¡°I do, but it¡¯s my clothes. If you don¡¯t mind...¡±

    ¡°Throw it over!¡± shouted Mi Li.

    Zu An took out a fresh set of clothes from his luggage and tossed it over. He knew that he would be in the dungeon for ten days or so, so he made sure to bring a change of clothes too.

    Now that he thought about it, he was pretty pathetic as a transmigrator. The other transmigrators he had read of in the novels were usually equipped with storage rings and all sorts of cool artifacts, allowing them to travel around coolly. Yet, he had to lug around ame bag with him everywhere he went. It was really ruining his cool reputation here!

    A snowy arm shot out from behind the sculpture to catch the clothes before swiftly retracting behind it. ¡°Turn around. If you dare to look in my direction, I¡¯ll dig out your eyes even at the risk of breaching the contract!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not like you have anything I haven¡¯t seen yet...¡± grumbled Zu An in irritation.

    ¡°What did you say?¡±

    Mi Li¡¯s face was so red that it looked almost as if she was on the verge of erupting.

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for +684 Rage!

    ¡°Nothing!¡± Sensing that the other party¡¯s tolerance was already at its limit, Zu An quickly turned his head around. There¡¯s no meaning in me earning more Rage points now anyway. It¡¯s not worth taking the risk now.

    Rustling sounds echoed behind the sculpture as Zu An made use of this opportunity to draw the lottery. He noticed that he had umted a total of 7434 Rage points in total, and he was quite impressed at how quickly he was earning Rage points.

    Wow, it hasn¡¯t even been a long time since thest draw, but I¡¯ve already amassed so many Rage points. I¡¯m almost like a Rage points harvester! I¡¯ll be able to draw the lottery 74 times... Surely I can¡¯t be so unlucky as to not draw a single item at all, right?¡±

    Zu An nervously pressed the spacebar, only to see ¡®Thanks for participating¡¯, ¡®Thanks for participating¡¯...

    Even up to the 74th time, he actually didn¡¯t get anything at all, not even a single Ki Fruit!

    What the hell! How in the world is my vow so effective?!

    Zu An gulped down his saliva as he made up his mind to never make any casual vows anymore. There was really something sinister about making promises in this world.

    ¡°I¡¯m done!¡±

    Mi Li suddenly shouted, her voice returning back to its usual coldness. It seemed like she had managed to recover from her earlier embarrassment.

 Chapter 188: Blood Tribute

    <h4>Chapter 188: Blood Tribute</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An quickly turned his head over, and his eyes lit up in excitement. If Mi Li looked graceful and seductive in her earlier court robes, her menswear made her look valiant and imposing. She was gant like a man, yet tender like a woman.

    ¡°Woah, you look a bit suaver than me, though you¡¯re stillcking in the masculinity aspect. Overall, I¡¯d say that you¡¯re just a bit beneath me. At least the girls on the streets will barely notice your presence when you¡¯re standing next to me,¡± remarked Zu An.

    Mi Li was already starting to get used to his foul mouth by now. She shot him a re and said, ¡°About what happened earlier on...¡±

    Before she could finish her words, Zu An had already interrupted right in, ¡°Hm? Did anything happen? I didn¡¯t see or hear anything at all.¡±

    Mi Li¡¯s lips crept up upon seeing how Zu An had decided to feign ignorance. Heh, looks like he still has some tact after all. However, she soon suppressed her smile and returned back to her usual imposing look.

    ¡°Ah right, big sis empress, you need to follow me right now to save Chuyan! I¡¯m afraid that they won¡¯t be able on for too long!¡± eximed Zu An.

    ¡°What did you call me?¡± Mi Li¡¯s eyebrows shot up.

    ¡°Big sis?¡± asked Zu An. ¡°I mean, you seem to be just that teeny little bit older than me, so I can¡¯t call you little sis... Or would you prefer me to call you auntie or grandma?¡±

    ¡°Grandma...¡± Mi Li¡¯s eyelids twitched as cracking sounds echoed from her knuckles.

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for +256 Rage!

    She took in a deep breath to calm herself down before remarking coldly, ¡°Let¡¯s go and save your wife.¡±

    Zu An immediately looked upward, only to realize that every level of the seal was tens of meters tall, and the walls were too smooth to provide any support. He might have managed to fall his way down here, but he had no way of getting back up. So, he could only turn to Mi Li sheepishly and say, ¡°Big sis empress, help me.¡±

    ¡°Someone of your cultivation rank wouldn¡¯t even be qualified to serve me tea back then!¡± Mi Li harrumphed coldly. Still, she grabbed him by his clothes and flew all the way up to the top.

    Looking at how deep this cavern was, Zu An couldn¡¯t help but wonder how Qiao Xueying was able to get back up. However, he soon remembered those extendable vines of hers and figured that it wouldn¡¯t be a problem for her at all.

    For a moment here, Zu An wondered if he could feign acrophobia here as an excuse to wrap his arms around Mi Li¡¯s body. It was just a brief nce earlier on, but her body was really as incredible as one could imagine.

    But then, he thought about the terrifying pressure he suffered earlier and swiftly dispelled that thought. Safetyes first!

    ...

    After Qiao Xueying parted with Zu An, she headed all the way up to the topmostyer, where Chu Chuyan was still bound to the altar. Upon seeing that she was still surviving thus far, she heaved a sigh of relief.

    ¡°Snow!¡± Chu Chuyan noticed themotion and turned her head over, only to see that Qiao Xueying was all by herself. She immediately asked hurriedly, ¡°Where¡¯s Ah Zu? Is it possible that he...¡±

    Just thinking about the terrible fate that might have befallen Zu An choked up Chu Chuyan¡¯s voice, causing her eyes to redden.

    Qiao Xueying sighed deeply. She sure is beautiful. She looks like a fairy even when tearing up. It¡¯s hard for me to resist her charms even though I¡¯m a woman too.

    ¡°Miss Chu, didn¡¯t you abhor in the past? Why are you so concerned about him now?¡± asked Qiao Xueying. As she asked those questions, she couldn¡¯t help but nce in the direction of the seal as she wondered how Zu An was faring at the moment.

    Chu Chuyan was a little taken aback by how differently Qiao Xueying was addressing her, but she understood that there was no way thetter could consider calling her ¡®young miss¡¯ since she was serving a different master. ¡°He has made such a huge sacrifice for me. He could have escaped safely if he had chosen to abandon me.¡±

    ¡°Is that all there is to it?¡± asked Qiao Xueying as she sat down by the altar.

    Chu Chuyan was stunned by Qiao Xueying¡¯s question. Indeed. Is the reason why I¡¯m feeling so worried really because he has saved my life?

    She thought about how Zu An continued to hold onto her even while fighting with the zombie warriors, even unhesitatingly using his body to shield her multiple times. Afterward, he even bravely challenged the danger Soul Suppression Seal just for the sliver of hope that she could be freed from the altar.

    Most importantly of all, he was willing to even give up the Evanescent Lotus, a crucial ingredient he needed to cure his impotency, so as to save the dying her...

    Recalling the pained look on his face afterward, a smile unknowingly crept onto Chu Chuyan¡¯s face. However, she soon snapped out of her thought when she remembered that Qiao Xueying had returned without Zu An by her side.

    ¡°Snow, where is he right now? Did something happen in the seal?¡± asked Chu Chuyan anxiously.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he¡¯s fine. We¡¯ve managed to ovee all three of the seals together,¡± replied Qiao Xueying.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°It looks like you¡¯re quite formidable to be able to ovee those seals. I¡¯ve really underestimated you all this while,¡± remarked Chu Chuyan with a sigh.

    In her view, even though Zu An possessed all sorts of mysterious means, he was still, after all, a third rank cultivator. She naturally believed that it was the Qiao Xueying who had the higher cultivation rank here who contributed more.

    Qiao Xueying sighed deeply and said, ¡°Miss Chu, it looks like you really don¡¯t understand him.¡±

    Chu Chuyan blinked her eyes in confusion, not understanding the reason behind the other party¡¯s words. ¡°Snow, you seem to have changed. You used to detest Ah Zu a lot, and the two of you always argued over everything. But now... I can¡¯t really put it in words, but your attitude toward him has changed greatly.¡±

    Qiao Xueying¡¯s heart skipped a beat. She quickly eximed, ¡°You¡¯re thinking too much into it! That fellow is still as hateful as ever to me!¡±

    Just thinking about how that man had angered her time and time again over thest few days was more than enough for her to gnash her teeth in anger.

    ¡°Snow, you still haven¡¯t told me where he is yet,¡± said Chu Chuyan with a frown.

    ¡°He went to save that mysterious woman. Who knows? Maybe he¡¯ll get enchanted by her too.¡± Qiao Xueying thought about Mi Li¡¯s voice and guessed that thetter must be quite a beautiful woman.

    ¡°This powerful seal was used to seal that woman, which means that she must be an incredibly dangerous individual. I really don¡¯t know whether saving her is the right thing or not,¡± said Chu Chuyan out of worry.

    Qiao Xueying was a little displeased by Chu Chuyan¡¯s response. ¡°Miss Chu, instead of worrying about the peace and prosperity of the whole of humankind, why don¡¯t you worry a little more about that fellow first? It¡¯s already approaching the time the both of us agreed on, but he still isn¡¯t out yet. I really don¡¯t know whether he has met with danger or not.¡±

    Chu Chuyan was a little stunned to hear those words. A contemtive look appeared on her face.

    ¡°What are the two of you talking about?¡±

    A sinister air suddenly gushed in their direction, causing the two women to turn their heads over. The ck-armored general, at some point in time, had returned back to the altar.

    They quickly nced at theke, only to see that it had already calmed down. All of the evil spirits who had escaped earlier were either destroyed or resealed.

    Qiao Xueying immediately leaped to her feet and stood in front of Chu Chuyan, protecting her. Her heart was pounding in unease as she was aware that she couldn¡¯t stop the ck-armored general due to the vast difference in their cultivation.

    ¡°Snow, hurry up and leave. You aren¡¯t a match for him!¡± eximed Chu Chuyan.

    ¡°That won¡¯t do! We went through so much in order to save you, so how can we give up right now? Besides, I¡¯ve already promised that fellow to protect you!¡± Qiao Xueying pursed her lips tightly together.

    ¡°Hm? Where¡¯s the other man?¡± The ck-armored general took a look around, but Zu An was nowhere to be seen.

    Qiao Xueying was worried that Zu An hadn¡¯t saved that mysterious woman yet¡ªif so, luring the ck-armored general would undo their efforts¡ªso she replied, ¡°He has already left.¡±

    ¡°Left?¡± The ck-armored general was stunned. ¡°He thinks that he can escape from my grasp after daring to impersonate the Founding Sovereign Emperor in my presence?¡±

    Qiao Xueying and Chu Chuyan¡¯s face paled. The mysterious woman was right; Zhang Han had really seen through Zu An¡¯s lies.

    ¡°Forget it. I¡¯ll settle the score with him after I mend the seal.¡± The ck-armored general looked at Qiao Xueying as he asked, ¡°Are you intending to stop me?¡±

    Without bothering to respond to that question, Qiao Xueying raised her hand and summoned innumerable green leaves around her before tossing them over to the ck-armored general like razor des. After consuming Zu An¡¯s ¡®Faith in Brother Spring¡¯, she had regained at least half of her strength by now.

    However, in the face of her attacks, the ck-armored general didn¡¯t even bother to dodge at all. Those green leaves simply withered in the face of the ck fog shrouding him.

    Qiao Xueying clenched her fists tightly as she began spurring the growth of her hair. This time around, however, she didn¡¯tunch an attack. Instead, she created a bush of thorns around the altar, hoping to stall the ck-armored general as long as possible.

    ¡°Scram!¡± Zhang Han manifested a spear in his hand and swept it horizontally, splitting the bush of thorns into half right away.

    Qiao Xueying had already mentally prepped herself for the worst, but even so, she didn¡¯t think that her strongest defensive skill wouldn¡¯t even be able tost a second before the enemy.

    She tried to dodge the attack, but she was still a split second toote. She, too, was struck squarely by the impact of the spear, causing her body to fly across the air like a sandbag before crashing heavily by the side of the cavern.

    Zhang Han had no intention of letting Qiao Xueying off just like that. He flitted over to the ce where Qiao Xueying was going tond at in advance and held his spear up high in position. With a cold sneer, he said, ¡°Since you¡¯re thepanion of that wretched fool who dared to impersonate His Majesty, I¡¯ll send you on your way as well!¡±

    Qiao Xueying knew that there was no way for her to escape anymore. Left with no choice, she prepared herself to activate Moon¡¯s Reflection in order to block this fatal attack, but a voice suddenly sounded in the room.

    ¡°Stop it right there, or else I¡¯ll bite my tongue and end my life right now!¡±

    It was from Chu Chuyan. She knew that the value of the tribute would be greatly reduced once dead, allowing her to use this against Zhang Han.

    Her efforts worked out. Zhang Han paused for a moment before instantaneously returning back to the altar. ¡°It¡¯s good that you reminded me. I might have bound your limbs, but you¡¯re still able to move your tongue.¡±

    After saying those words, he tapped his finger on her chin and sealed off all of her movements.

    ¡°Forget it, there could beplications if I drag it out. I shall handle the tribute first.¡±

    Zhang Han began to chant in some sort of obscurenguage. ck fog gathered from the surroundings to converge around the altar, causing the air to be as viscous as ink. Demons of all shapes of sizes seemed to be hidden within the ck fog, slowly wing their way toward Chu Chuyan.

    No matter how mentally resilient Chu Chuyan was, she couldn¡¯t help but feel creeped out by those monsters. She wanted to run, but the shackles on her arms disallowed her from moving at all.

    Qiao Xueying bit her lips as she charged forward once more in an attempt to save Chu Chuyan.

    ¡°Since you¡¯re courting for death, I¡¯ll allow you to die with her!¡± sneered Zhang Han.

    A hand manifested from the ck fog rushed forth and sped tightly down on Qiao Xueying, trapping her in ce. Her strength seemed to fade in the presence of the ck fog, rendering her helpless.

    The hand lifted her up in an attempt to toss her into the ck fog, only for a severe voice to suddenly echo across the hall. ¡°Audacious! How dare you hurt this Sovereign Emperor¡¯s woman?¡±

 Chapter 189: Trump Card

    <h4>Chapter 189: Trump Card</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zhang Han¡¯s hand quivered from the abrupt booming voice, and his airs seemed to dete a little. He quickly turned his gaze toward the direction where the voice hade from, only to see two suave boys walking in his direction.

    Zu An and Mi Li.

    Mi Li shot a surprised nce at Zu An. Thetter¡¯s shout actually caused her heart to tremble. For a moment there, the imposing air he emanated that very instant actually carried some of Ying Zheng¡¯s ir. However, recalling that it was Zu An they were talking about here, she quickly evicted that thought from her mind.

    Simrly, Zhang Han was stunned for an instant too, but he quickly snapped out of it and sneered coldly, ¡°I thought that you¡¯ve escaped, but who could have thought that you would be so foolish to return. I still haven¡¯t settled the score with you for impersonating His Majesty!¡±

    However, Zu An harrumphed coldly and said, ¡°Insolence! How dare you speak so arrogantly to me? Do you want your nine families to be exterminated?¡±

    Qiao Xueying and Chu Chuyan were shocked by those words. They knew Zu An¡¯s background well enough to know that it was an empty scare, but his disguise had already been seen through!

    Putting them aside, even Mi Li couldn¡¯t help but direct a nce at him. This fellow¡¯s skin is really thicker than the city walls!

    ¡°Just how long more do you intend to impersonate His Majesty? I didn¡¯t have the time to pursue the matter earlier, but you really are trying to climb over my head, aren¡¯t you?¡± A powerful pressure burst forth from Zhang Han, crushing down on everyone including Qiao Xueying and Chu Chuyan.

    Zu An also felt his breathing suddenly bingborious under the pressure, but fortunately, he had already thought of a countermeasure beforehand. He quickly hid behind Mi Li¡¯s body, and just as he had expected, the pressure immediately alleviated significantly. So, he gleefully continued his mockery, ¡°Audacious! Even if you don¡¯t recognize me, shouldn¡¯t you at least recognize her?¡±

    ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± Zhang Han took a look at Mi Li, but he was unable to recognize her due to her menswear. ¡°You won¡¯t be able to escape death no matter whom you bring out here!¡±

    ¡°Zhang Han, I never thought that you would have already forgotten about me!¡± sneered Mi Li.

    Zhang Han was stunned. He might not be able to recognize Mi Li¡¯s appearance, but the voice sounded extremely familiar to him. He began assessing her intently before eximing in horror, ¡°Mi Li!¡±

    Mi Li stepped forward and scoffed, ¡°Looks like you still do remember me.¡±

    Qiao Xueying and Chu Chuyan began assessing Mi Li curiously. From her voice, they could tell that she was the woman sealed down there, but they didn¡¯t expect her to be so gorgeous.

    However, what caught Chu Chuyan¡¯s attention more was the fact that she was wearing menswear, presumably Zu An¡¯s clothes. Was she naked when Zu An saved her from the seal?

    While all sorts of thoughts filled up the two women¡¯s minds, Zhang Han¡¯splexion turned a little awful, and even his voice began quivering in fear. ¡°H-how did you get out?¡±

    ¡°In the first ce, it was only a matter of time before I managed to break the seal. What makes you think that I won¡¯t be able to escape?¡± asked Mi Li coldly.

    Zhang Han turned to Zu An furiously and shouted, ¡°You were the one who set her free!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Zhang Han for +999 Rage!

    Zu An shrugged casually, saying, ¡°Do I need your permission to save my own woman?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Qiao Xueying.

    ¡°...¡± Chu Chuyan.

    ¡°...¡± Mi Li.

    Does this fellow really think of himself as Ying Zheng? Who do you think you¡¯re saying is your woman?

    ¡°Do you know what a grievous mistake you have made by setting her free?!¡± roared Zhang Han in agitation.

    Before Zu An could ask about it, Mi Li had already interjected with a harrumph, ¡°Zhang Han, you have served as Ying Zheng¡¯s guard dog for so many years. It¡¯s about time for me to settle the scores with you.¡±

    Zhang Han swung his spear sideward and sneered coldly, ¡°I was assigned to look after this ce and keep you sealed under His Majesty¡¯s orders. Since you managed to escape, I¡¯ll just have to imprison you back into your seal!¡±

    ¡°You want to seal me back?¡± Mi Li burst intoughter. ¡°You?¡±

    Instead of responding to Mi Li¡¯s taunt, Zhang Han thrust his spear forth like a formidable dragon toward Mi Li, generating formidable momentum that horrified Zu An and the others. They knew that they would surely be torn apart if that attack had been directed toward them.

    However, with a cold harrumph, Mi Li rushed forward to confront him, and it didn¡¯t take long for her to unravel his offense.

    With no one maintaining the altar anymore, the ck fog filled with vile demons slowly began to dissipate. Zu An made use of this opportunity to sneak over to the altar and help Qiao Xueying up. Looking at the two women, he asked worriedly, ¡°Are the two of you fine?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± the two women replied in unexpected unison, which shocked the two of them.

    Zu An was surprised by it as well. All of a sudden, he had an inexplicable feeling that he was caught cheating by his wife.

    In the end, it was Chu Chuyan who snapped out of it first and said, ¡°You should take a look at Snow. Her injuries are far more severe than mine.¡±

    As a seal had been ced on her mouth, her words were a bit muffled.

    Zu An turned to Qiao Xueying and asked, ¡°How are you feeling?¡±

    Qiao Xueying pushed him off and said, ¡°I won¡¯t die.¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Noticing the trail of blood trickling down the corner of her lips, Zu An quickly pressed her down and said, ¡°Don¡¯t move, you¡¯ve sustained significant injuries. You should quickly channel your ki to alleviate your condition.¡±

    Qiao Xueying instinctively wanted to refute him, but sensing the concern in his voice, she eventually decided to hold her tongue.

    Meanwhile, Chu Chuyan was a little perplexed by their unnatural interaction. The two of them usually devolved into heated arguments as soon as they encountered one another, but the atmosphere between them felt a little different at this very instant, almost tender even.

    Bam!

    A dull thud suddenly sounded. The three of them immediately turned their heads over, only to see Zhang Han copsing heavily on the ground.

    Mi Li slowly made her way toward Zhang Han and said, ¡°In the years I¡¯ve been sealed, I swore that the first thing I would do when I¡¯m free is to make you suffer a fate worse than death!¡±

    Zhang Han climbed up from the ground as he raised his hand, beckoning to the terracotta soldiers behind him. They immediately drew their weapons and aimed it at Mi Li.

    Mi Li red at them fiercely and roared, ¡°I am the empress of the Great Qin Dynasty! Who dares to disrespect me?¡±

    The terracotta soldiers immediately put down their weapons and turned around as if nothing had happened at all.

    I swear in my goddamned life I¡¯ve never seen more spineless soldiers than that!, retorted Zu An in his head.

    Zhang Han also didn¡¯t expect to encounter such a situation either. He roared at the terracotta soldiers furiously, ¡°She has been stripped of her position by His Majesty! What are you afraid of her for?!¡±

    Despite his infuriated howls, the terracotta soldiers didn¡¯t respond at all, ying dead.

    Mi Li stopped her footsteps and waved her sleeve in front of her. A streak of red light shed across the air, and the hands which Zhang Han had been holding his spear with suddenly plopped to the ground.

    Zu An and the two women beside him nearly popped their eyes out. Zhang Han was an opponent they werepletely helpless before, even when he was taking them lightly. Yet, Mi Li was actually able to sever his hands with just a wave of her sleeves?

    The disparity in prowess was so great that the three of them were struggling toe to terms with it!

    Mi Li flung her sleeves outward, disgusted as if she had gotten something unclean on her hands. She gazed at Zhang Han coldly as she uttered impassively, ¡°Now, what else should I sever?¡±

    Zhang Han quickly retreated a few steps back, but unexpectedly, he wasn¡¯t as frightened as Mi Li thought he would be. ¡°I admit that I¡¯m indeed not an opponent for you, but did you think that His Majesty wouldn¡¯t have prepared anything to deal with you in case the seal got broken?¡±

 Chapter 190: Recovery

    <h4>Chapter 190: Recovery</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Mi Li¡¯s eyes turned steely. ¡°He prepared a hand?¡±

    ¡°It was out of reminiscence of his ties with you that he chose to seal you instead of killing you...¡± said Zhang Han.

    Before he could finish his words, Mi Li had already interjected with a sneer, ¡°As if he could have really killed me!¡±

    ¡°Indeed, His Majesty was unable to kill you at the start. However, he soon found something that could do it. However, in view that you¡¯re already sealed, he entrusted the item to me in case a mishap urred. I never thought that a day woulde where I would really have to use it!¡± replied Zhang Han.

    ¡°I¡¯d love to see what you have that could kill me!¡± sneered Mi Li, thinking nothing of his threats at all.

    ¡°Have you ever heard of ¡®Red Tears of Lady Xiang¡¯?¡±

    ¡°Red Tears of Lady Xiang?¡± Mi Li frowned. She had no impression of this at all.

    ¡°It¡¯s only natural that you don¡¯t, for this is something that happened after you were sealed.¡± Zhang Han began reminiscing about the past. ¡°There was once when His Majesty was traveling around when he encountered a gale at the Mountain Xiang Shrine and was unable to cross the river. So, His Majesty asked the high priest what kind of god ¡®Lord Xiang¡¯ was, to which, the high priest replied that she was ¡®Yao¡¯s daughter¡¯ and ¡®Shun¡¯s wife¡¯[1], and she was buried here.

    ¡°His Majesty was extremely angry at ¡®Lord Xiang¡¯, believing that she was intentionally acting against him. So, he ordered his men to chop down all of the trees of Mountain Xiang.

    ¡°But all of a sudden, a red droplet suddenly fell from the sky and swiftly dyed the ground around Mountain Xiang red. All of the soldiers who came into contact with the red ground would dissipate into dust. That single encounter killed over half of His Majesty¡¯s imperial guards, and even His Majesty himself almost got done in as well. Spectionster arose that the red droplet was a symbol of Lord Xiang¡¯s rage, a divine retribution toward those who had disrespected her.

    ¡°His Majesty ordered the high priest to lead a group of cultivators into Mountain Xiang and extract three droplets of the lethal poison from it. The poison became known as ¡®Red Tears of Lady Xiang¡¯. His Majesty has used one himself, and he entrusted the other two to me in case you ever broke out of your seal.¡±

    Mi Li sneered in response, ¡°You make it sound amazing, but I don¡¯t believe that any poison in the world would be that amazing.¡±

    Zhang Han sighed deeply before ncing in the direction of theke, saying, ¡°The defeat in the battle of Zhangwu resulted in the death of 200,000 Qin soldiers, but you should also know that those soldiers were the elites of our Qin Dynasty. There were many experts amongst them; they couldn¡¯t possibly have been defeated so easily even if they hadid down their arms.¡±

    Mi Li¡¯s heart jolted in astonishment, and she blurted out in astonishment, ¡°You used that poison against them?¡±

    ¡°Indeed,¡± replied Zhang Han with a nod. His voice was quivering out of fear. ¡°It was just a droplet. A single droplet, and 200,000 elite soldiers of the Qin Dynasty were reduced to dust.¡±

    Mi Li¡¯s face darkened. She raised her right hand, only to suddenly notice the presence of a red droplet on her palm. There was a red thread connecting from the bottom of the red droplet all the way to her elbow, and it was still streaming upward.

    ¡°Scram!¡± bellowed Mi Li coldly.

    A powerful aura gushed outward as she channeled her ki toward that red thread, hoping to force it out of her body. At her cultivation rank, most poisons could no longer hope to threaten her any more.

    However, a deep frown soon formed on her forehead. The red thread might be thin, but it was unstoppable. Her ki swiftly dissipated in the face of the poison, such that the most she could do was just to barely slow the spread of the poison by a little.

    ¡°It¡¯s no use. ¡®Red Tears of Lady Xiang¡¯ is a poison which could even kill Earth Immortals, so how could you possibly be able to withstand it?¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zhang Han¡¯s voice carried no joy, just fear and wistfulness. Clearly, the poison had reminded him of the past, causing guilt and all kinds of emotions to swiftly rush up his mind.

    Meanwhile, the other three watching themotion were stunned. It was just a moment ago that Mi Li made an awe-inspiring entrance and subdued Zhang Han with ease... but who could have thought that there would suddenly be such a huge turnaround?

    Zu An knew that they would be Zhang Han¡¯s prey if Mi Li were to be done in. There was no way he could ept this oue after everything he had done to free Mi Li. He immediately shouted, ¡°Sever your hand and stop the spread of the poison!¡±

    ¡°The ¡®Red Tears of Lady Xiang¡¯ wouldn¡¯t have been able to kill an Earth Immortal if it could be dealt with that easily. From the moment she was afflicted with the poison, it had already spread throughout her entire body. It wouldn¡¯t do a thing even if she severs her hand now.¡±

    Mi Li turned her head over and looked at Zu An in surprise. ¡°You don¡¯t wish for my death?¡±

    ¡°How could I possibly wish for big sis empress¡¯ death? Even if we were to just look at this from an aesthetic point of view, you look far more pleasing than that Zhang Han.¡±

    Chu Chuyan and Qiao Xueying nced at one another. That fellow sure is brazen. How in the world does he find the courage to tease that powerful female zombie?

    In her view, a normal human couldn¡¯t possibly live for that long, so they assumed that Mi Li was a zombie like Zhang Han and the others, albeit a beautiful one.

    Zhang Han was also rendered speechless. Wait a moment, did he just indirectly say that I¡¯m ugly?!

    You have sessfully trolled Zhang Han for +444 Rage!

    ¡°You¡¯re asking for it!¡±

    Zhang Han morphed into a bundle of ck aura and charged toward Zu An. He might have lost his hands, but the difference in their cultivation ranks was absolute. Even if he had lost his legs on top of htat, he would still have been able to kill Zu An easily.

    Zu An could have possibly dodged the attack with his movement skill, but what would happen to Qiao Xueying and Chu Chuyan behind him if he were to do that? So, he chose to grit his teeth and attempt to fend off the attack with the Tai¡¯e Sword.

    On the other hand, Mi Li waved her sleeves, and the Tai¡¯e Sword suddenly flew out of Zu An¡¯s hands and pierced right into Zhang Han¡¯s chest as swiftly as a bolt of lightning. The impact pushed Zhang Han back all the way to the opposite end of the underground hall and pinned him right onto the wall.

    Zhang Han lowered his head to look at the Tai¡¯e Sword. Disbelief filled his face first before swiftly being reced with resignation. He murmured feebly, ¡°This is fine too. It¡¯s good that it¡¯s all over. I¡¯ve already been tortured for several thousand years now, and it¡¯s about time for me to return to the earth...¡±

    His voice gradually grew softer and softer before his head finally hung limply off his neck. He had breathed hisst.

    Zu An shot a thumbs up at Mi Li and said, ¡°Woah, you were actually able to kill that powerful Zhang Han in a single blow! My respect for big sis empress gushes forth like the relentless tides of the river...¡±

    ¡°Gush your head!¡± Mi Li interjected even before he could finish his bootlicking. ¡°How could it be that easily to kill him? He has simply given up on himself.¡±

    Those words made Zu An direct his gaze toward Zhang Han, and all of a sudden, he felt some sympathy for thetter.

    He was the general who had stood forward in the Qin Dynasty¡¯s times of crisis and turned the tables on the rebels. Many thought that he would be the savior who would breathe life back into the dying Qin Dynasty, but he ended up surrendering to the enemy after a huge defeat. As if that wasn¡¯t enough, he even plotted the deaths of their final 200,000 elite soldiers.

    He had fallen from a hero into a criminal in an instant. The sheer guilt must have been gnawing away at his heart over the years.

    His desire to live pushed him to continue existing in such a wretched state to this day. Most likely, Zu An¡¯s impersonation of Ying Zheng, the return of Mi Li, and the vengeance of the 200,000 evil spirits had dredged up his memories of the past, something which he had been trying to ignore to this day, and it finally crushed his heart andpelled him to choose death.

    Perhaps it was because his feelings had been heard, Zhang Han¡¯s body suddenly began disintegrating along with the wind.

    Along with his death, the ck ropes binding Chu Chuyan finally disappeared as well. Zu An quickly pulled her down from the altar and eximed, ¡°Honey, are you alright?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Chu Chuyan was still unable to move properly due to her devastated ki meridians, so she could only copse feebly in his embrace. A trace of redness surfaced on her cheeks.

    Noticing how limp her body was, Zu An quickly moved her over to Qiao Xueying¡¯s side before rushing over to Mi Li. ¡°Big sis empress, are you fine?¡±

    ¡°You just want to ask me how your little wife can be saved, no?¡± Mi Li saw through his thoughts right away and harrumphed coldly.

    Zu An smiled sheepishly and said, ¡°I¡¯m also concerned about you too. Is there anything I can do to help you?¡±

    He leaned in closer, intending to see how the situation with her arm was.

    However, Mi Li waved her hand and pushed him off, blocking off his gaze. She uttered coldly, ¡°How could such mere poison hope to faze me?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good, that¡¯s good.¡± Zu An heaved a sigh of relief. ¡°Big sis empress, can you fulfill your promise and tell me how to heal my wife?¡±

    Mi Li alternated her gaze between Zu An and Chu Chuyan for a moment as her expression flickered a little. She seemed to be making an extremely difficult decision.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Is there a problem?¡± Zu An¡¯s heart skipped a beat.

    However, Mi Li simply shook her head as she looked at him with a bizarre gaze.

    Chu Chuyan spoke up feebly, ¡°The copse of my ki meridian is not something that can be solved easily; you shouldn¡¯t make things difficult for her. Don¡¯t worry, I promise you that I won¡¯t try to end my life in the future.¡±

    After how Zu An and Qiao Xueying had done everything they could to save her, even if she found her life meaningless, she wouldn¡¯t undermine the sacrifices they had made for her by ending her own life.

    Mi Li harrumphed coldly. ¡°There¡¯s no need to use such tricks on me. Saving you is no big deal for me. I¡¯m just contemting on something else.¡±

    Zu An was overjoyed to hear that. ¡°Big sis empress, please enlighten us!¡±

    A glimmer of hope surfaced in Chu Chuyan¡¯s eyes too. Despite her nonchnt words, she had been known as a prodigy even from a young age. There was no way she would be content with living as a cripple for the rest of her life.

    Meanwhile, Qiao Xueying was intrigued by Mi Li¡¯s words. Based on her knowledge, there was nothing in the world that could recover destroyed ki meridians. She couldn¡¯t help but wonder what kind of method Mi Li was intending to use here.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you learn the Primordial Origin Sutra? Primordial ki is the purest ki in the world, born at the inception of the world. Aside from tempering your own body, you can also use it to heal the injuries of others,¡± said Mi Li.

    Zu An¡¯s heart skipped a beat. ¡°Wait a moment... how did you know that I¡¯ve learned the Primordial Origin Sutra?¡±

    ¡°Do you think that I wouldn¡¯t know that Ying Zheng sealed off the Primordial Origin Sutra in the Tai¡¯e Sword? Hmph! Even if I didn¡¯t know that, I could also tell as much from the moment I saw you. A body that has been tempered by primordial ki is greatly different from that of an ordinary human.¡±

    ¡°I see!¡± Overjoyed, Zu An quickly made his way over to Chu Chuyan, hoping to infuse his primordial ki into her body to heal her.

    However, Mi Li soon interjected, ¡°Infusing the primordial ki into another person¡¯s body won¡¯t work as well as it did with yours. It¡¯ll only allow her to barely regain her mobility and be self-sufficient, but she won¡¯t regain her ability to cultivate.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face paled. ¡°That¡¯s different from what you said!¡±

    ¡°What are you panicking for?¡± Mi Li red at him before continuing on, ¡°Not too long ago, I learned another thing that should make it easy for her to fully recover.¡±

    1. Both Yao and Shun are mythological rulers of ancient China, one of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors.

 Chapter 191: Choice

    <h4>Chapter 191: Choice</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°How do I do it? Can¡¯t you just finish your words at once?¡± Zu An was frustrated at how Mi Li seemed to reveal bits and pieces of information, as if trying to reel him in.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Chu Chuyan also looked at Mi Li in anticipation. Needless to say, she would rather recover her full cultivation than to just recover her mobility.

    With a gleam in her eyes, Mi Li asked, ¡°Have you heard of ¡®transcendent aptitude¡¯ before?¡±

    ¡°Transcendent aptitude?¡± Chu Chuyan and Qiao Xueying traded gazes, but they could see the doubt in each other¡¯s eyes.

    Qiao Xueying pondered for a moment before speaking up, ¡°Based on what I know, transcendent aptitude is just a legend. In fact, many doubt the veracity of its existence as even the most talented cultivators in the world are only at Upper Jia (A+), and there are less than ten of them around. Given so, how could transcendent aptitude really exist?¡±

    Both Chu Chuyan and Qiao Xueying were already extremely talented individuals, but they were only at Lower Jia. Every step above signified a huge difference, such that even cultivators of Upper Jia aptitude were far beyond their reach, let alone transcendent aptitude.

    ¡°You need not doubt the validity of its existence,¡± said Mi Li. She pointed to Zu An and continued, ¡°That¡¯s because he¡¯s one.¡±

    ¡°???¡± Chu Chuyan.

    ¡°???¡± Qiao Xueying.

    The two of them turned to look at Zu An in unison.

    He possesses the legendary transcendent aptitude? How is that possible?!

    The two women were extremely familiar with him, so they knew how much of a renowned wastrel he was in Brightmoon City. Back then, before taking Zu An in as her husband, Chu Chuyan even secretly had his aptitude checked, and he should have been at Lower Ding (D-).

    Even if he had been hiding his true skills and cultivation all this while, surely he couldn¡¯t conceal his aptitude too?

    ¡°He¡¯s a transcendent aptitude cultivator? Elder, could you be mistaken?¡± asked Chu Chuyan.

    It was true that Zu An had impressed her with his skills this time around, but she was still unable to even fathom him being of the legendary transcendent aptitude. Even her Lower Jia (A-) aptitude was already enough for her to reach the sixth rank, so how could he possibly still only be at the third rank at the moment?

    ¡°I¡¯m also perplexed by how weak he is, but there¡¯s no way I would be mistaken about this. I came into contact with his blood earlier, and he definitely possesses transcendent aptitude,¡± replied Mi Li.

    Feeling the gazes of the three women being centered on him, Zu An scratched his head in embarrassment and said, ¡°I was intending to conceal my aptitude and blend into the midst of normal folks like you, but it looks like I¡¯ve been found out. Yes, I¡¯m indeed someone who possesses the legendary aptitude. I hope that you won¡¯t treat me any differently because of that in the future.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Chu Chuyan.

    ¡°...¡± Qiao Xueying.

    The two of them were utterly bewildered by his admittance. What¡¯s wrong with the world? A fellow like him actually possesses transcendent aptitude?

    Even with both Mi Li and Zu An confirming the matter, hisckadaisical air around him still made them think that he was just joking with them.

    ¡°It¡¯smon knowledge that transcendent aptitude cultivators grow swiftly, but that in itself is not enough to be considered transcendent. The key reason why they are considered transcendent is because their blood essence is top-notch nourishment to all cultivators. Those who consume the blood essence of a transcendent aptitude cultivator can greatly increase the speed of their cultivation and heal all of their injuries. In fact, there are even rumors that if one were to assimte all of the blood essence a transcendent aptitude cultivator possesses, one can achieve true longevity,¡± said Mi Li.

    ¡°Big sis empress, can you stop licking your lips? You¡¯re making me a bit afraid.¡± Zu An gulped fearfully as he finally understood why Jiang Luofu had directed a weird look toward him upon realizing that he was a transcendent aptitude cultivator.

    Aiyo, you should have just said it earlier. If gorgeous principal needs my ¡®essence¡¯, I¡¯d be more than willing to give it to you... Ah, wait a moment, it¡¯s not the same essence.

    ¡°Longevity?!¡± Chu Chuyan and Qiao Xueying eximed in astonishment.

    There were many cultivators in this world who lived a far longer lifespan than ordinary humans, but thus far, none of them had been able to truly escape death. Even for Mi Li, they thought that she had only been able to live so long because she had been converted into an undead even if there were some anomalies here.

    Undead creatures trade their bodies and physical functions in order to attain a greater lifespan, so it was unheard of for any undead to be able to retain their beauty like Mi Li.

    ¡°The part regarding longevity should be false,¡± said Mi Li with a shake of her head. ¡°In the history of humankind, I¡¯ve never heard of any transcendent aptitude cultivator achieving true longevity before. Ying Zheng has also tried pursuing longevity back then, resorting to all sorts of means including capturing and assimting a transcendent aptitude cultivator, but he wasn¡¯t able to achieve his goal in the end.¡±

    Chu Chuyan and Qiao Xueying looked confused. They clearly had never heard of Ying Zheng before.

    Zu An, on the other hand, was appalled. As expected of Qin Shihuang! He actually has the ability to find a transcendent aptitude cultivator and assimte him.

    On one hand, he felt sympathetic to his ¡®fellowrade who possessed transcendent aptitude¡¯, but at the same time, he found himself wondering what kind of state Mi Li was in at the moment. If even Qin Shihuang was unable to achieve longevity, it was hard for him to imagine how Mi Li was able to survive through so many years, albeit in a sealed state.

    ¡°Elder, you still haven¡¯t told me what I have to do in order to restore Miss Chu¡¯s ki meridians.¡± Qiao Xueying had always been short-tempered, and she noticed how Mi Li still hadn¡¯t gotten to the crux of the matter despite bbering on for so long.

    ¡°Haven¡¯t I made it plenty obvious by now?¡± Mi Li harrumphed. ¡°He just has to infuse his blood essence and channel the Primordial Origin Sutra along with his primordial ki into her body, and that would be sufficient to restore her ki meridians.¡±

    ¡°Blood essence?¡± Chu Chuyan was confused. ¡°Do I have to drink his blood?¡±

    Mi Li frowned. ¡°Aren¡¯t the two of you a couple? Why don¡¯t you get anything at all?¡±

    All of a sudden, Chu Chuyan suddenly realized something, and the same thought surfaced in Qiao Xueying¡¯s mind as well. The two of them quickly whispered to one another as their faces reddened in embarrassment[1].

    ¡°B-but... How can that be drunk...¡± Chu Chuyan had never felt so embarrassed before. She had to squeeze out the veryst bit of courage she had in her body in order to utter those words.

    ¡°Drunk?¡± Mi Li was stunned for a moment before realizing what Chu Chuyan was thinking of. A bizarre smile crept on her lips as she said, ¡°It¡¯s not wrong to put it that way, but you¡¯re ¡®drinking¡¯ it not through that mouth.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Zu An.

    Big sis empress, you would surely have been a meme master had you lived in the modern era.

    Qiao Xueying and Chu Chuyan were maidens, but they weren¡¯t so ignorant as to be unable toprehend what Mi Li was talking about, especially since thetter had made it rather explicit. Their faces turned so red that they looked almost like ripe apples ready to be bitten into.

    Mi Li also didn¡¯t bother beating around the bush. ¡°The bloodline of a transcendent aptitude cultivator possesses great life force and mystical energy whereas the primordial ki is the purest substance in the whole world. You¡¯d need the two of them in order to restore your ki meridians I¡¯ll impart to you a form in order to draw in the ¡®essence¡¯ he¡¯s pumping into you during the amalgamation of yin and yangter on, lest you end up wasting such precious energy and fail to make a full recovery.¡±

    ¡°H-how can I do that?!¡± Chu Chuyan¡¯s face waspletely flushed, and she was so nervous that she could hear her own heart beating in a fluster. She had never thought that the cure would be something like this.

    While she was a couple with Zu An, that had only been in name. It was just to silence the mouths of the other powers.

    She was touched that Zu An had put his life on the line to save her, and there was no doubt that she carried great goodwill for him at the moment. But still, this was her first time encountering such a situation, so it was inevitable that she would feel intimidated and frightened.

    Meanwhile, Qiao Xueying pressed her lips together with a brooding look in her eyes. She had never expected things to turn out like that, and it left her feeling a little dazed.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with this?¡± asked Mi Li in bewilderment. ¡°The two of you are a couple... Hm? You¡¯re still a maiden?¡±

    She finally understood what the crux of the problem was. She turned to Zu An and eximed, ¡°You¡¯re unable to do it?¡±

    How could a man be told to his face that he was ¡®unable to do it¡¯? Zu An immediately roared back, ¡°Who says that!¡±

    His voice was a little shaky though since he was indeed impotent till a while ago...

    Nevertheless, his words reminded Mi Li of that tent in his pants she saw in the crystal coffin a moment ago, and it brought a hint of awkwardness to her face. I guess I had misunderstood him. ¡°Since you¡¯re able to do it, why in the world are you leaving your beautiful wife to wilt on her own?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Zu An.

    Sis, trust me. I want to do it too! I just... can¡¯t!

    ¡°Forget it, you don¡¯t have to say anything. I reckon that it¡¯s some sort of ridiculous melodrama at y here.¡± Mi Li suddenly sounded a little irritated. She turned to Chu Chuyan and said, ¡°Based on what I¡¯ve seen thus far, the two of you carry mutual feelings for one another. I don¡¯t understand what your reason for rejecting is, but are you certain that you would rather remain an ordinary human who can¡¯t even raise your hands above your shoulders for the rest of your life?¡±

    Qiao Xueying hesitated for a moment before advising her too, ¡°Miss Chu, you should know of the terrible plight the Chu n is in at the moment. You won¡¯t be able to protect the Chu n anymore if you were to be a cripple. Zu An has nearly lost his life multiple times in order to save your life. Are you going to let his sacrifice and hard work go to vain?

    ¡°I know that someone of your caliber is bound to have high expectations for your future partner, but what¡¯s done is done. Zu An is your husband after all, and a day like this is bound toe. Do you detest him so much as to reject him even when your future is at stake here?¡±

    ¡°No, that¡¯s not it... It¡¯s just that...¡± Chu Chuyan¡¯s eyelids fluttered as an internal conflict broke out in her heart.

    Mi Li shot a nce at Zu An and urged him with her voice transmission. ¡°Are you a man or not? What are you standing there in a daze for?! Are you still expecting her to make the first move?¡±

    Zu An finally snapped out of her daze. He gathered his determination before walking over to Chu Chuyan¡¯s side and carried her soft body up before whispering tenderly in her ears, ¡°Am I not alright?¡±

    Chu Chuyan was taken aback by the sudden snow of tenderness, and it left her even more flustered. ¡°N-no, that¡¯s not it. It¡¯s just that...¡±

    ¡°Just listen to me this once. For both of our sakes...¡± said Zu An while gazing deep into her eyes.

    Chu Chuyan had never seen such an earnest look on Zu An¡¯s face before, and it made her face turn red. She hesitated for a long moment before finally nodding inconspicuously.

    Qiao Xueying sighed deeply before walking out.

    Mi Li quickly imparted a form to Chu Chuyan before remarking, ¡°You should have the form remembered by now. Make sure to use itter on.¡±

    Before taking her leave, she noticed that quite a few terracotta soldiers were still sneaking peeks over, so she sneered and said, ¡°The lot of you want to watch the show?¡±

    The terracotta soldiers immediately turned their heads away and stood still, as if having turned back into statues.

    Mi Li harrumphed before. She flung her sleeves and formed a veil of ki around the altar.

    Inside the veil, Zu An ced Chu Chuyan on top of the stone tablet as he gently undid her belt, revealing her fair skin.

    The chilling sensation tingled Chu Chuyan¡¯s skin. She couldn¡¯t help but hesitate here. ¡°W-wait a moment, Zu An! I... I don¡¯t know...¡±

    Zu An sighed softly and said, ¡°Do you hate me?¡±

    ¡°N-no, that¡¯s not it...¡± Chu Chuyan couldn¡¯t even meet Zu An¡¯s gaze. She turned her head sideward as a tinge of red consumed her body. ¡°It¡¯s just that... just that...¡±

    Chu Chuyan was so flustered that she couldn¡¯t say anything meaningful in a long while.

    Zu An leaned in closer and gently sealed off her cherry lips, causing Chu Chuyan¡¯s eyes to widenrgely. In that instant, her mind turned nk.

    1. Blood essence is also a traditional Chinese medicine term referring to abination of ¡®blood¡¯ and ¡®essence (sperm)¡¯.

 Chapter 192: Weâ€™ll Meet Once Again Soon

    <h4>Chapter 192: We¡¯ll Meet Once Again Soon</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Chu Chuyan whimpered a little upon the abrupt kiss. She instinctively raised her hands to push Zu An off, but she eventually held her hands back after a moment of hesitation. Seeing that she wasn¡¯t resisting him, Zu An moved on to undo her clothes, causing them to flow down her body and onto the floor. This made her heart thump even faster.

    Am I really going to lose my body to him?

    She had always been the pride of the Chu n from a young age. Her beautiful appearance and top-notch cultivation talent made her the center of attention no matter where she went to. Many men viewed her as their dream lovers, but they dared not to approach her, thinking that they were unworthy of her. So, they buried their desires in the depths of her heart.

    Of course, there was also nock of outstanding men expressing their affection for her, just that none of them was able to move her.

    The man of her dreams was a true hero, someone who could inspire admiration from her but at the same time dote and love her...

    However, she was simply too outstanding that few could match her, even for those from a generation older. So, she thought that the man of her dreams didn¡¯t exist in real life, so she relied on novels in order to fulfill her imagination.

    But the more outstanding the protagonists of those novels were, the more closed her heart became in real life, She became more and more disillusioned with the men she met.

    That was also why she had no qualms about looking for a renowned wastrel in Brightmoon City as her husband. All men were the same in her eyes anyway.

    While she viewed Zu An as a shield necessary for the Chu n¡¯s extenuating circumstances, she was willing to ept him as kin or a friend, considering that they were going to live decades together. However, she never thought that a day woulde where she could see Zu An as a man, let alone as a romantic interest.

    Far too many things had happened in this trip. It was still fresh in her head how Zu An insisted on staying with her despite their dangerous plight, holding onto her tighter than ever while fending off the enemies...

    While she was still deep in thought, she was unaware of just how fatal the charm of her bare skin was toward the man standing right before her. When she finally became cognizant of the heavy presence of a man in front of her, her heart suddenly began beating quickly.

    And when Zu An finally overcame her final hurdle, she felt something that had been encasing her heart all this while shattering.

    She stared at the man in front of her as two streams of tears flowed down the corner of her eyes. She had no idea why she was tearing up, but her body seemed to havepletely gone out of her control.

    ...

    Meanwhile, Qiao Xueying was sitting right outside the barrier Mi Li had constructed with a nk look on her face.

    There was a fact that she had hidden from Zu An. Half Life¡¯s Fate was a secret art that only a few of her race were able to use, and most of them wouldn¡¯t use it in their entire lifetime. If they ever used it, they would only use it on their other partner. Such had been the way since ancient times.

    ¡°I really made a huge loss!¡± Qiao Xueying bit on her lips as she kicked on a little rock grumpily. She never thought that she would end up using this skill on another woman¡¯s husband, and that made her incredibly exasperated.

    The knowledge that those two were consummating their marriage just a few meters away from her made her feel even more irritated, causing her to kick those rocks with greater force than before. As a result, the opposite wall ended up being filled with holes.

    ...

    Some timeter, Chu Chuyan¡¯s cold expression gradually mellowed down. Her tears had already dried up, but her eyes were still glistening as beautifully as ever. She felt a hint of strength returning back to her limbs.

    The final shreds of her modesty made her instinctively push the man on her aside, but her strength was still toocking at the moment.

    She had never felt so helpless before in her entire life. Under normal circumstances, all she needed was a single finger to press Zu An down, yet the tables were turned on her today. Hmph! Once I recover my strength, I¡¯ll show him what true strength is!

    But barely after those thoughts surfaced in her mind, it was dissipated with a powerful ram from Zu An.

    Her cheeks flushed like zing mes as her initial resistance gradually turned into subconsciouspliance...

    Some timeter, she suddenly heard Mi Li¡¯s voice sounding in her ears, ¡°Guard your spirit. From this point onward, circte the ki in your body using the form I¡¯ve imparted to you earlier. Make sure that you assimte his precious blood essence entirely.¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s body shuddered as her skin further reddened. She was looking at us all along?

    A feeling of shame and awkwardness swiftly engulfed her mind, leaving her on the verge of losing her mind.

    ¡°Don¡¯t lose concentration right now!¡± shouted Mi Li.

    Chu Chuyan was, after all, an incredibly talented cultivator. She was blessed with decisiveness and sharp judgment. She knew that it wouldn¡¯t be worth it if she were to lose this precious opportunity due to her embarrassment.

    So, she began circting her ki along with the form imparted to her, directing Zu An¡¯s blood essence toward her injured ki meridians to repair them. It was just that every time she reached a critical period, a sudden ram from Zu An would shatter herposure, undoing her efforts.

    Annoyed, she wanted to tell Zu An to cut it out, but her embarrassment made it hard for her to approach the topic, so she could only bear with it silently.

    In truth, she was also misunderstanding Zu An too. It was not that he was intentionally being forceful here; on the contrary, he was trying to repair her copsed ki meridians as carefully as possible. Unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t control his strength properly as he hadn¡¯t gotten used to his newly enhanced body yet. On top of that, Chu Chuyan had never been through such an experience before, making her incredibly sensitive.

    Chu Chuyan kept trying to circte her ki along with the form again and again, but for some reason, she started to feel her consciousness blurring out...

    At the same time, Zu An suddenly noticed something and quickly turned to the side, only to see Mi Li standing by one side. rmed, he quickly grabbed the clothes on the ground to cover the two of them before asking, ¡°Big sis empress, what are you doing? While I don¡¯t particrly mind it, Chuyan might get embarrassed here...¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, she can¡¯t see me,¡± replied Mi Li.

    Zu An was stunned. He quickly lowered his gaze, only to see Chu Chuyan¡¯s eyes zed with confusion. Astounded, he asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with her?¡±

    ¡°Nothing. I just have some things I need to talk to you about,¡± replied Mi Li.

    Zu An scratched his head awkwardly and said, ¡°Can¡¯t we find another timing? It feels rather offensive to you to have a conversation at a time like this.¡±

    Mi Li ignored his words and said, ¡°I¡¯m here to bid my farewell to you.¡±

    ¡°Bid your farewell to me?¡± You¡¯re going to leave?¡± asked Zu An anxiously.

    ¡°You¡¯ve saved me from the seal, and in return, I helped you save your little wife. Since we¡¯ve fulfilled the ends of our promise, there¡¯s no reason for me to remain here anymore,¡± replied Mi Li.

    ¡°But I¡¯ll miss you if you suddenly leave like that,¡± remarked Zu An. He was still feeling delighted at how things were finally working out after all of the hardships he had been through, but the news of Mi Li¡¯s impending departure made him feel a little empty inside.

    Is this what they call ¡®camaraderie forged in times of hardship¡¯? Gah! Who am I lying too? It¡¯s just because she¡¯s pretty, that¡¯s all.

    Zu An shot a nce at Chu Chuyan, and he suddenly felt a bit disdainful toward himself for letting his thoughts wander at a time like this.

    You phnderer!

    ¡°You¡¯ll miss me?¡± An enigmatic smile surfaced on Mi Li¡¯s lips. ¡°Perhaps, we might just meet one another not too longter.¡±

    Zu An sighed softly and said, ¡°You¡¯re a person who stands at the top, possessing strong cultivation and a lofty standing. While the Qin Dynasty might have fallen, the two of us clearly live in different worlds. A starving camel is still bound to be bigger than a horse. I doubt that we¡¯ll have a chance to meet one another after this parting.¡±

    ¡°A starving camel is still bound to be bigger than a horse? Those words sound oddly jarring to me,¡± Mi Li harrumphed. ¡°It¡¯s too early for you to start missing me now. Perhaps, in our next meeting, you¡¯d rather that we never had met one another ever again.¡±

    ¡°How could that be? There¡¯s no man who wouldn¡¯t be delighted to meet with the gorgeous big sis empress, unless he isn¡¯t a man at all!¡± said Zu An resolutely.

    A rare chuckle sounded from Mi Li, and she remarked, ¡°I hope that you¡¯ll remember your words!¡±

    Leaving those words behind, her silhouette vanished from view.

    Zu An felt a little empty by her sudden departure, but he quickly snapped out of it and continued healing Chu Chuyan¡¯s injuries with his Primordial Origin Sutra.

    Meanwhile, Mi Li had returned back to outside the ki barrier she had constructed. She raised her hands and saw that a red teardrop had appeared on her left palm too. There was a red thread that extended all the way to her elbow and beyond.

    She knew deep well that the red threads had already weaved their way through her limbs and bones, filling up her entire body. It was just moments away from reaching her heart.

    ¡°It looks like Zhang Han really wasn¡¯t lying. The ¡®Red Tears of Lady Xiang¡¯ does have the prowess to poison even an Earth Immortal to death!¡± Mi Li¡¯s eyebrows arched in hatred. ¡°Ying Zheng, you wouldn¡¯t even let me off even after death, huh?¡±

    Conflict flickered across Mi Li¡¯s eyes. She exhaled deeply before murmuring, ¡°I guess I have no choice here.¡±

    ck spirals began forming in her eyes before a transparent silhouette drifted out from her body. Had someone been watching the scene, they would have noticed that this transparent silhouette looked identical to Mi Li.

    This transparent silhouette drifted upward for a bit before turning around to gaze at the body on the ground. She could see the red threads fully covering her body, and the next moment, her body suddenly disintegrated into dust, scattering along with a gust of wind.

    Watching this scene, the transparent silhouette sighed softly, ¡°Ying Zheng, I¡¯ve gritted my teeth for thousands of years for this day, yet as soon as I was freed from my restraints, I still ended up getting done in by you. However, do you think that you can end my life with just this much?¡±

    With a wave of her hand, she tossed a helmet she had casually picked up aside before swiftly darting through the ki barrier into Chu Chuyan¡¯s body.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s dazed eyes gradually twisted into ck spirals, simr to the ones that had appeared in Mi Li¡¯s eyes earlier. However, Zu An happened to be distracted by the helmet earlier that he failed to notice it. By the time he turned his gaze back, all had already reverted back to normal.

    Seeing his lover staring at him, Zu An gently wiped off the beads of sweat on her forehead and said gently, ¡°That scared me. I thought that Mi Li returned.¡±

    ¡®Chu Chuyan¡¯ sneered coldly and said, ¡°Do you detest her that much? That¡¯s not what you said earlier.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°It¡¯s not that I detest her. She¡¯s simply far too powerful. On top of that, she has already been sealed for several thousand years now. God knows whether she¡¯s a human or ghost.¡±

    ¡®Chu Chuyan¡¯ slowly raised her hands and wrapped it around his neck. Her fingernails began extending eerily before finally stopping right behind his heart. ¡°So, do you think that she¡¯s a human or a ghost?¡±

 Chapter 193: Confrontation

    <h4>Chapter 193: Confrontation</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°A ghost, I guess. A human shouldn¡¯t be able to live for that long,¡± replied Zu An after a moment of contemtion.

    ¡°Is that so?¡± remarked ¡®Chu Chuyan¡¯ as she prepared to sink her sharp fingernails into his heart.

    ¡°But I think that she¡¯s quite a pitiful person too. She was sealed all alone in this forlorn underground pce for several millennia, without even a person to talk to,¡± Zu An suddenly added.

    ¡°Pitiful?¡± ¡®Chu Chuyan¡¯s¡¯ movements came to a halt.

    ¡°Indeed, honey. I¡¯ll promise you that I¡¯ll never treat her the way that Ying Zheng treated you,¡± vowed Zu An.

    ¡°What¡¯s the use of promises? As soon as our interests diverge, you¡¯ll surely turn your back on me,¡± sneered ¡®Chu Chuyan¡¯.

    Zu An sensed that there was something weird with how Chu Chuyan was speaking, such that he had a feeling that he was talking to another woman cloaked in Chu Chuyan¡¯s skin. However, this thought was swiftly driven out of his mind. He thought that it was only normal for Chu Chuyan to act differently after what she had just been through.

    He couldn¡¯t help but scorn himself.

    How could I think of other women while I¡¯m with her? That¡¯s too greedy!

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not that kind of person.¡± Zu An thought that Chu Chuyan was just feeling insecure after having lost her first time, so he chose to console her. ¡°Besides, how could our interests diverge. We¡¯re a couple; everything of mine is yours. There¡¯s nothing to nitpick between us.¡±

    ¡°I guess so.¡± ¡®Chu Chuyan¡¯ chuckled softly. ¡°You sure have a glib tongue.¡±

    ¡°Can we not talk about other matters now and focus on what we¡¯re doing instead,¡± said Zu An as he leaned in closer to kiss her.

    ¡®Chu Chuyan¡¯ tilted her head sideward, dodging his kiss. Sensing the current condition of her body, she couldn¡¯t help but frown in displeasure. I thought that this body has already fully recovered, but isn¡¯t she far too slow?! How could she not heal her ki meridians up even after so long? Just what in the world has she been doing all this while?

    Left with no choice, she could only tolerate the man ramming at her as she continued her recovery.

    She was the empress of the Qin Dynasty after all, so she wasn¡¯t foreign to such happenings. Back then, her ancestor, Empress Xuan Mi Bazi, in order to resolve a threat guing the northwest borders of the Qin Country, went to the extent of offering her body up to the King of Yiqu and bore two sons for him.

    After the Qin Country finally bulked up, she found an opportune moment to kill the King of Yiqu, thus resolving the threat of the Yiqu once and for all.

    This set a precedent for the women of the Qin Dynasty¡¯s imperial family. They viewed their bodies to be no more than tools for a greater goal. It was not to say that Mi Li had ever used it with that intent before, but she wasn¡¯t as resistant to it.

    Besides, she had no qualms about betraying Ying Zheng at all. In fact, she would love more than anything for him to witness this sight with his own eyes and hopefully flip over in his grave.

    Meanwhile, Zu An was a little surprised by Chu Chuyan¡¯s reaction. He didn''t know that she would reject his kiss, and for a moment there, she had an extremely unfamiliar expression on her face.

    Fearing that he would see through her disguise, ¡®Chu Chuyan¡¯ chose to divert the topic elsewhere and ask, ¡°Hey, who do you think is more beautiful, me or Mi Li?¡±

    ¡°Of course it¡¯s you!¡± replied Zu An unhesitatingly.

    ¡°...¡± ¡®Chu Chuyan.

    ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡®Chu Chuyan¡¯ sneered coldly as her fingernails began stretching outward once more.

    Zu An paused for a moment before adding, ¡°To be honest, I was just saying those words to tter you. Mi Li¡¯s beauty doesn¡¯t lose to yours; the two of you have different styles. You have a cool, refreshing disposition whereas she¡¯s noble and majestic. It¡¯s hard topare the two of you against one another...¡±

    ¡®Chu Chuyan¡¯s¡¯ lips finally curled upward, satisfied with his response. However, she soon noticed something and asked with a frown, ¡°Why did your body suddenly be so agitated when I start talking about her?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Zu An.

    He had never thought that ¡®Chu Chuyan¡¯ would be so sensitive as to detect minor changes in his body, which made him incredibly awkward. He didn¡¯t know how to exin this since it would be disastrous of him to exin to his own wife how he ended up thinking about another woman while getting hot and steamy with her.

    Fortunately, ¡®Chu Chuyan¡¯ didn¡¯t continue probing on. She stretched her hand forward and wrapped them around his waist.

    Zu An was more than delighted by her invitation. All this while, she had been silently epting whatever he was doing to her, putting him at a loss as to what her true thoughts were. However, her show of proactiveness put down the boulder of unease weighing on his heart, and he finally let go of his restraint and went all out.

    ¡®Chu Chuyan¡¯ found herself getting overwhelmed by Zu An¡¯s furious assault. She rolled her eyes in fury. Isn¡¯t this woman far too weak? She can¡¯t even deal with this much!

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for +233 Rage!

    Zu An was stunned.

    Mi Li? Hasn¡¯t she already left the area? Is she secretly eavesdropping in the area?

    rmed, he quickly searched the area, but Mi Li was nowhere to be seen.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± asked ¡®Chu Chuyan¡¯.

    ¡°Say, is it possible that Mi Li is hiding in the area, secretly watching the two of us?¡± asked Zu An with a frown.

    ¡®Chu Chuyan¡¯s¡¯ heart skipped a beat. ¡°I don¡¯t think so. Didn¡¯t she leave earlier? What made you think that she¡¯s still in the area?¡±

    Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°Well, I hope that I¡¯m thinking too much into it too.¡±

    ¡®Chu Chuyan¡¯ replied with an ¡®Mm¡¯ before actively wrapping her limbs around the man on top of her, spurring the heat dominating Zu An¡¯s mind. With such a beautiful woman seducing him, it didn¡¯t take long for all other misceneous thoughts to be swiftly expelled from his head.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    She secretly ced her hand on Zu An¡¯s waist and pressed her slender fingers down softly, causing Zu An¡¯s body to shudder from delight. He soon sumbed, causing his yang energy to be swiftly pumped into her body, amalgamating with her yin energy.

    ¡®Chu Chuyan¡¯ had no qualms with using her body as a tool¡ªnot to mention that this wasn¡¯t her body either¡ªbut this body was simply too weak to endure the tempering of the primordial ki.

    She disliked the feeling of her life being grasped in the hands of another person, not to mention that Zu An was no more than an ant in her eyes. Her pride didn¡¯t allow her to be dominated by a man of his caliber. She felt that a mere tool ought to remain as no more than a tool.

    Thus, she used her secret art to prematurely unleash his yang energy before pushing him away to quietly assimte his blood essence and primordial ki.

    Zu An was still intending to continue getting steamy with her, but the abrupt rejection left his heart feeling a little empty. However, looking at the situation from another perspective, it could be due to Chu Chuyan not knowing how to face him.

    This thought made the situation far more eptable to him.

    It was then that he noticed that Chu Chuyan had turned her attention back to cultivation. He felt a burst of respect for her. As expected of a true prodigy. She really doesn¡¯t let go of any opportunity to cultivate.

    Perhaps it was due to the umted fatigue from going through battle after battle, Zu An suddenly felt a little drowsy. Before he knew it, he had already dozed off.

    ¡®Chu Chuyan¡¯ opened her eyes to nce at him. She hesitated for a moment before sitting back down to focus on repairing her ki meridians. I¡¯ll decide what to do next after fully harmonizing my soul with this body.

    Some timeter, Zu An suddenly felt a chilling sensation on his throat. He immediately opened his eyes, only to see that Chu Chuyan had put her clothes back on, reverting back to her usual cold self. She was standing before the altar with a sword pressed against his neck. Her expression looked a little unusual, as if she was conflicted over something.

    Zu An was immediately jolted awake from his daze. He dared not to move carelessly, fearing that any sudden movements would agitate the other party into ending his life. So, he asked carefully, ¡°Honey, what are you doing?¡±

    ¡®Chu Chuyan¡¯ sneered coldly and said, ¡°I can¡¯t allow a man who has taken my body to continue existing in this world.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Zu An.

    The hell! Are you serious?

    ¡°I went through so much difficulties in order to save you, but you¡¯re going to kill me for that? Don¡¯t you think that you¡¯re being too ungrateful here?¡± eximed Zu An.

    ¡®Chu Chuyan¡¯s¡¯ face reddened as she snapped furiously, ¡°Was that even ¡®difficult¡¯ for you?¡±

    Zu An also felt that he had, to some extent, taken advantage of the situation earlier, so he scratched his head sheepishly and said, ¡°Putting that aside, everything else that I¡¯ve done before should mean something, right? I mean, I almost died several times trying to save you here!¡±

    ¡®Chu Chuyan¡¯ harrumphed coldly and said, ¡°You need not feel too wronged about this. You¡¯ve just enjoyed something which many men never would in their entire lifetime. You should be able to die in peace with that knowledge.¡±

    Zu An shook his head and said. ¡°That wouldn¡¯t do. I¡¯m not the kind of man to give up an entire forest for a tree. You mentioned yourself that you don¡¯t mind me looking for another woman. If you no longer want to be with me, we can just split up and live our own lives. Is there a need for you to be so callous with me?¡±

    ¡®Chu Chuyan¡¯ was stunned. She never thought that the two of them would have such a bizarre promise between them, though what infuriated her more was Zu An¡¯s attitude toward this matter.

    Why are you acting all so self-righteous when talking about cheating on your own wife?

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for +404 Rage!

    The sudden influx of Rage points from Mi Li shocked Zu An once more. He stared at Chu Chuyan intently with a contemtive look on his face.

    ¡°A man like you is only going to scourge the world. For the sake of all womankind, I shall eliminate you here!¡± ¡®Chu Chuyan¡¯s¡¯ sword darted straight toward Zu An¡¯s neck. She knew that there was no way that Zu An would be able to dodge this sword with his strength.

    But to her astonishment, her attack actuallynded empty.

    She red at Zu An coldly and said, ¡°You anticipated my attack and dodged it in advance?¡±

    How could he know that I would really make a move on him? Even before I moved my sword, he had already moved sideward to dodge!

    Zu An felt cold sweat dripping down his back as he murmured fearfully, ¡°Big sis empress, it¡¯s actually you!¡±

    ¡®Chu Chuyan¡¯ was stunned. ¡°How did you know it¡¯s me?¡±

    With her standing and cultivation rank, she couldn¡¯t even be bothered to cook up lies before Zu An to deceive him. She was confident that she was in control of the situation here, and that Zu An couldn¡¯t possibly hope to turn things around on her anymore.

    Hearing her admittance, Zu An felt his heart sinking. ¡°What did you do to Chuyan?¡±

    ¡°Chuyan? Needless to say, she¡¯s dead.¡± ¡®Chu Chuyan¡¯ raised her hands to look at her own slender hands. ¡°I have to admit that her body is really not bad. She might be weak at the moment, but her aptitude is decent. She barely meets the mark for my new body.¡±

    Upon hearing that Chu Chuyan was dead, Zu An felt his body turning stone-cold. ¡°You were already harboring such intentions right from the start when you imparted that form to her!¡±

 Chapter 194: Mercy

    <h4>Chapter 194: Mercy</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Indeed, that¡¯s a form that I happened to stumble upon. By circting her ki ording to the form, she fully opened up her heart and body, resulting in the weakening of her will. That made it much easier for me to enter her body.¡±

    Even though it was Chu Chuyan¡¯s body, the other party was speaking with the same tone and attitude as Mi Li.

    ¡°Why did you possess her body? You already have your own, and in terms of beauty and cultivation, you don¡¯t lose out to her either...¡± A thought suddenly arose in Zu An¡¯s mind then, and he eximed, ¡°Wait a moment, could it be that poison Zhang Han used earlier?¡±

    ¡®Chu Chuyan¡¯ nodded in response. ¡°The Red Tears of Lady Xiang was far more potent than I thought. Even with my cultivation, I was unable to resist the terrifying lethality of the poison. It took just a few moments for the poison to fully scourge my body. I only managed to escape with my soul through using a secret art I¡¯ve learned by chance, but even so, my soul is also afflicted with a tinge of the poison. I¡¯m in a far weaker state than before.¡±

    She paused for a brief moment before supplementing, ¡°Of course, it¡¯s more than enough to deal with you.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why you chose to take Chu Chuyan¡¯s body for your own?¡± Zu An couldn¡¯t believe how that dastardly Zhang Han still continued to haunt him even after his death! His mind swiftly whirred into action as he tried to figure out a solution.

    ¡°Indeed,¡± replied Chu Chuyan with a sneer. ¡°I told you that we would meet again very soon, but you didn¡¯t believe me.¡±

    Zu An finally understood why Mi Li would say those words earlier on, even emphasizing that their reunion might be less than pleasant.

    ¡°Big sis empress, we did have a good partnership with one another earlier, no? There¡¯s no need for us to turn against each other. Why don¡¯t I find another host for you to possess instead?¡± said Zu An.

    ¡®Chu Chuyan¡¯ shook her head and said, ¡°I¡¯m satisfied with the body I have now; I don¡¯t want to switch into anyone else¡¯s. Besides, did you think that it¡¯s easy to assimte a soul into a body? My soul has already sustained some damage earlier on; if I were to switch into another person¡¯s body, my soul will sustain irreparable damage, perhaps dissipating even. Why should I take such a risk?¡±

    The realization that there was no win-win solution out of this made Zu An¡¯s heart sink. His voice also turned cold as well, ¡°You signed a contract with me earlier. You can¡¯t hurt us. Aren¡¯t you afraid of divine retribution?¡±

    ¡®Chu Chuyan¡¯ burst intoughter, causing her originally cold face to suddenly appear a little seductive. ¡°But I¡¯ve already saved her in ordance with our promise. Besides, Mi Li is already dead now. Even if there¡¯s divine retribution, it should all be over by now.¡±

    ¡°Did you think that your deeds can be concealed from the eyes of heaven?¡± Zu An figured that since even the Keyboard was able to sense that she was Mi Li, surely heaven, whatever it was, would be able to tell the same too.

    Heaven was a very abstract concept to him, but this world seemed to believe in its existence. He was just worried that the divine retribution would identally hurt Chu Chuyan too.

    ¡°Are you trying to stall for time to see if the contract would be evoked?¡± ¡®Chu Chuyan¡¯ could see through his thoughts right away. ¡°You need not bother. The contract we signed was null.¡±

    ¡°Null?¡± Zu An was stunned.

    ¡®Chu Chuyan¡¯ sneered coldly, ¡°Did you think that I would shackle myself so easily? I wasn¡¯t the one who personally ced my thumbprint on the contract; you took my finger and pressed it down on it. Since the contract wasn¡¯t sealed on my own ord, it goes without saying that it isn¡¯t binding.¡±

    ¡°???¡± Zu An.

    Wait a moment, is there such a rule to it too? The hell!

    Zu An felt deeply remorseful. Now that he thought about it, it did make much sense.

    ¡®Chu Chuyan¡¯ raised the sword up high and said, ¡°I¡¯ve only exined everything to you out of gratitude that you¡¯ve freed me from my seal. It should alle to an end now.¡±

    ¡°Wait a moment!¡± Zu An suddenly shouted out. ¡°I have a suggestion!¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Perhaps it was due to her long istion that resulted in her desire for human contact, ¡®Chu Chuyan¡¯ actually decided to listen to him. In the past, she would have never bothered exchanging so many words with a mere ant.

    Zu An put away his enraged expression and said, ¡°Well, big sis empress, why don¡¯t you continue living on as Chu Chuyan then? Chu Chuyan and I are just a couple in name anyway. As long as you¡¯re willing, I¡¯ll get a real wife whereas you¡¯ll get someone to conceal your identity. You¡¯ve been alone several thousand years now; the lonely nights must be hard for you to bear. We happen to get along just fine anyway, so why don¡¯t we just make do with one another?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Mi Li.

    ¡°...¡± Chu Chuyan.

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for +666 Rage!

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Chuyan for +666 Rage!

    Upon seeing Chu Chuyan¡¯s name in the system, Zu An heaved a sigh of relief. He had intentionally said those words in order to see if the real Chu Chuyan was still conscious inside her body. It seems like her soul is still around. That means that there¡¯s still hope here.

    However, Mi Li was unaware of Zu An¡¯s real intention. She never thought that there would be such a shameless man in the world. She was still feeling touched by the deep feelings they harbored for one another a moment ago, but as soon as danger struck, he immediately abandoned her without second thoughts!

    Pui! Men are all the same!

    Zu An acted as if he was oblivious to Mi Li¡¯s anger as he continued on, ¡°Big sis empress, you might be strong, but you¡¯ve been sealed for over a thousand years now. The world has changed greatly since the Qin Dynasty, so it¡¯s only normal for you to be unfamiliar with how things are now. It¡¯ll be hard for you to move around in your current state. If you were to identally let it slip that you¡¯re actually a soul forcefully possessing Chu Chuyan¡¯s body, the cultivators of the world would surely raise their arms to subdue you. I know that you have the strength to deal with it, but surely having such flies buzzing around you must be annoying, no?¡±

    A mocking smile crept onto Mi Li¡¯s face. ¡°Your words are indeed persuasive. However, you¡¯re simply too despicable of a person to trust. Even Zhao Gao doesn¡¯t hold a candle to you.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face immediately copsed. ¡°Can you notpare me to a eunuch? It really raises my goosebumps.¡±

    Mi Li¡¯s heart suddenly skipped a beat. Ah, there¡¯s one aspect which he¡¯s unlike Zhao Gao. At least he¡¯s not impotent.

    That thought barely shed across his mind for a moment before she quickly snapped out of it and said, ¡°Are you done yet? If so, it¡¯s time for you to get on your way.¡±

    ¡°W-wait! I still have more to say!¡± eximed Zu An. ¡°Big sis empress, won¡¯t you at least consider it? I mean, it¡¯s not your body anyway, so you have nothing to lose. In fact, I¡¯ll make you savor every moment of it... Cough cough, I mean, you can count on me to take good care of you and familiarize you with the new world!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Mi Li.

    ¡°...¡± Chu Chuyan.

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Chuyan for +1024 Rage!

    Zu An was overjoyed to see that. He felt that he might just be able to provoke Chu Chuyan enough for her to gain sufficient strength to wrestle back control over her body.

    Mi Li took in a deep breath before saying, ¡°You¡¯ve really reached a new peak of shamelessness here. Since I¡¯ve taken over her body, I¡¯ll do her favor and help her get rid of the bane of her life.¡±

    Zu An was displeased to hear that. ¡°You were the one who took her ce and ruined our love for one another. Yet, you still want to stand on the moral high ground and criticize me for my actions. If anyone is shameless here, it¡¯s indubitably you!¡±

    Mi Li was enraged by those words. ¡°You¡¯re courting death!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for +730 Rage!

    Her sword rushed forth toward Zu An.

    Zu An immediately used the Sunflower Phantasm to dodge her attack, but as soon as he summoned his ki, he suddenly felt an unbearable heat assaulting his abdomen, causing his ki to suddenly go into disarray. This resulted in a significant slowdown in the flow of his ki.

    He suddenly remembered how Old Mi suddenly trailed off while talking about the requirements for cultivating this technique and put it together with all of those movies he had seen in his previous life. In just an instant, he had already figured out what was going on.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Most likely, Sunflower Phantasm was a technique that could only be practiced by eunuchs. He was only able to fulfill the condition previously due to ¡®little Zu An¡¯ being sealed, but the release of the seal had made him a real man. As a result, he couldn¡¯t use Sunflower Phantasm anymore.

    That moment of daze bought enough time for Mi Li¡¯s sword to rush forth and pierce right into his chest.

    ¡°Gah!¡±

    The powerful force thrust Zu An across the air, pinning him to the other end of the underground hall just like Zhang Han.

    Mi Li shot him onest nce and murmured, ¡°You should learn to quieten down once you get to the underworld.¡±

    After saying her piece, she was about to turn around and leave when she suddenly heard a strained voiceing from behind, ¡°I count on my face and my words to make a living, so how could I possibly quieten down?¡±

    Mi Li turned around and gasped in shock, ¡°Y-you... You aren¡¯t dead yet?!¡±

    She was able to kill even Zhang Han with a single blow, though a huge part of the reason was due to Zhang Han losing his will to live. Nevertheless, the fact still stood that Zhang Han was a ninth rank cultivator whereas Zu An was only at the third rank!

    ¡°As the saying goes, a couple for a day, a hundred days of gratitude. You must have subconsciously gone easy on me out of consideration of the deep bond we shared earlier.¡± Zu An pulled out the sword lodged into his chest with a smile.

    At the same time, he patted his chest in relief that he had activated the Heiress¡¯ Ball of Delights in advance earlier, thus allowing him to avert the fatal blow.

    He was worried for a moment there that his wealth might exceed Mi Li¡¯s. After all, he was a hundred thousandaire now. If Mi Li was really poorer than him, not only would he be wasting a precious use of the artifact, he would also die here!

    He had never hated himself for being rich so much in his entire life, but fortunately, everything went well.

    Mi Li was the empress of the Qin Dynasty after all, a person of great wealth and prestige. The Qin Dynasty might have fallen, but this mausoleum was supposed to belong to her, which meant that everything that was buried here was her possession.

    Besides, Mi Li was possessing Chu Chuyan¡¯s body, who probably had a fortune of at least a million silver taels, considering how she was actively involved in all of the businesses of the Chu n. So, regardless of whether the Heiress¡¯ Ball of Delight was taking Mi Li or Chu Chuyan¡¯s wealth into consideration, they ought to be richer than him.

    Mi Li waspletely stunned by this development.

    Did I really fall for him, such that I subconsciously went easy on him? How could that be possible?!

 Chapter 195: Wood Elf

    <h4>Chapter 195: Wood Elf</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The notion that she would actually fall in love with a mere ant left Mi Li feeling utterly frenzied.

    Zu An made use of the opportunity where she was doubting her own tastes to drive the Primordial Origin Sutra in order to heal his wounds. He had to say that his body was indeed much more resilient now that it had been tempered by the primordial ki.

    In the past, had he suffered such a powerful blow, his chest would have been burst open by the sword ki a long time ago. Whatever organs that were in his chest should have been reduced to meat paste by now.

    Yet, there was only a deep, gaping wound in his chest at the moment. Make no mistake, it was definitely a fatal wound, but it was recovering at a visible rate.

    It wasn¡¯t easy for him to pull the sword out of his chest. Hearing the scraping sound between the sword and his ribcage, Zu An couldn¡¯t help but fall into a wistful daze as he thought about how frightened he would be if such a thing had happened to him in his previous life.

    At the same time, he wondered if Chu Chuyan¡¯s sword might be infected with tetanus¡ªthat would have been horrible. However, considering his current constitution, he reckoned that it would be hard for that kind of disease to get him down.

    ¡°W-what are you doing?!¡± Qiao Xueying¡¯s shocked voice sounded from not too far away. She had rushed over to take a look upon hearing themotion by the doorway.

    What she saw really frightened her. Zu An was sliding down the cavern wall with a trail of blood behind him. Vaguely, she saw him holding onto a familiar-looking bloodied sword.

    Isn¡¯t that Chu Chuyan¡¯s Snowflower Sword?

    Qiao Xueying quickly rushed over to support the limp Zu An. From close-up, he could see just how terrifying his wounds were. She instinctively reached into her robe to grab a bottle of medicine to treat him, but she btedly realized that she had already used up everything in the earlier battle.

    ¡°Miss Chu, are you out of your mind?!¡± Qiao Xueying red at ¡®Chu Chuyan¡¯ in anger. ¡°I know that it might be hard for you to ept what had happened earlier on, but it was done all in order to save you. You need not go to this extent, right?!¡±

    Zu An was surprised to see Qiao Xueying standing up for him. He remarked with a helpless smile, ¡°The one who tried to save me earlier is killing me now, and the one who tried to kill me earlier is saving me now. This world sure is a funny ce.¡±

    Qiao Xueying red at Zu An sharply. ¡°You are in the mood for jokes even after suffering such a severe injury?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m still alive, aren¡¯t I?¡± Zu An could feel her softness of her body, and it made it hard for him to associate her with the woman who had been trying to kill him all this while.

    Qiao Xueying was stunned. All this while, she thought of Zu An as a despicable man who was afraid of death, but he was surprisingly calm in the face of his demise. Inparison, another person who always kept a refined appearance before him turned out showing his ugly side in the face of death.

    Mi Li looked at the duo before her as a mocking smile crept on her lips. ¡°I didn¡¯t think that someone as lowly as you would be fancied by so many women.¡±

    Pricked by those words, Qiao Xueying immediately pushed Zu An to the side and eximed, ¡°Who fancies this fellow?!¡±

    Zu An, on the other hand, looked gleeful with how things turned out. He shrugged casually and said, ¡°What can I do about this? I¡¯m handsome and well-cultured. No woman who hase to know me is able to resist my charm. Big sis empress, you might have also fallen in love with me too, or else why would you say those words of jealousy?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Qiao Xueying.

    ¡°...¡± Mi Li.

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for +513 Rage!

    ¡°You¡¯re courting death!¡±

    Mi Li waved her sleeves, and a sword tens of meters long burst forth.

    ¡°Be careful!¡± Zu An immediately prepared to dodge right after saying those words. He held Qiao Xueying in his arms and rolled a few rounds on the ground before managing to dodge that attack.

    A deep sword gorge appeared from where Mi Li was standing all the way to the wall where the two of them were leaning on just a moment ago. It looked almost as if the world had been severed into two.

    Qiao Xueying was bbergasted. ¡°T-this...¡±

    She could hardly believe what she was seeing. Having been with Chu Chuyan for a long time now, she was more aware than anyone else just how talented thetter was. There was no way the other party could be this powerful!

    Zu An quickly exined to her, ¡°Be careful! She isn¡¯t Chuyan anymore. She has been possessed by Mi Li!¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Qiao Xueying quickly turned to Chu Chuyan in shock. That would exin why the other party was behaving so unusually. ¡°Did Miss Chu...¡±

    Zu An quickly shook his head and replied, ¡°Chuyan is still fine. It¡¯s just that her soul has been suppressed for the time being, leading to her losing control over her body.¡±

    Mi Li ced her hands behind her back and assessed Zu An in interest, ¡°Despite your low cultivation, your eyes are quite sharp.¡±

    ¡°Of course! You haven¡¯t seen my true capabilities yet. With time, you¡¯lle to see the wide extent of knowledge I boast. I can even let you have a taste of the ¡®secret arts¡¯ of those Japanese masters!¡±

    ¡°Japanese? What is that?¡± Mi Li was perplexed as to what Zu An was saying, but she wasn¡¯t that interested either. ¡°With that bit of skills you have, there¡¯s no secret art you can possibly bring out that would impress me.¡±

    It was then that she paused for a moment before asking, ¡°Though I do have a lingering doubt in my mind. How do you know my name right from the start?¡±

    There was no way Zu An would reveal the existence of the Keyboard to her, so he replied, ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you that I¡¯m Ying Zheng¡¯s reincarnation? From the moment I heard your voice, your name surfaced right at the top of my head.¡±

    ¡°Like hell I¡¯ll believe that!¡± Mi Li harrumphed as she flung her sleeves furiously, sending another burst of sword ki toward Zu An.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Be careful!¡± Qiao Xueying immediately pulled Zu An to the side in order to dodge the attack.

    Yet, who could have known that Zu An would try to pull her in the other direction to evade the attack, resulting in them offsetting each other¡¯s strength. Their bodies were jolted backward before crashing back into one another, resulting in them stopping on the spot.

    ¡°...¡± Zu An.

    ¡°...¡± Qiao Xueying.

    However, what was even more surprising was that the burst of sword ki suddenly divided into two and diverged from the two of them. It seemed like Mi Li had learned from her previous lesson and aimed her attack in prediction of where they could have evaded. It was this stroke of coincidence that led to them being stuck on the spot, thus dodging Mi Li¡¯s sure-kill attack.

    ¡°...¡± Mi Li.

    Zu An burst intoughter. He looked at the woman in his embrace and remarked, ¡°Wow, we were actually able to dodge even this attack. It looks like you really are my star of fortune.¡±

    Qiao Xueying quickly shoved him off before ring at him with a reddened face.

    ¡°Please, look at the asion, won¡¯t you! Why the hell are you acting like a coy youngdy at a time like this?¡± Zu An was rendered speechless. ¡°Besides, I can¡¯t feel anything from that airne runway of yours! If anything, I only feel your ribcage jabbing at me. You¡¯re nothingpared to big sis empress!¡±

    Those words went against his conscience a little. It was true that Qiao Xueying had a slender frame, but she wasn¡¯t that small as to really be considered t. At the very least, she was bigger than Chu Huanzhao.

    ¡°...¡± Qiao Xueying.

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for +325 Rage!

    She had no idea what an airne runway was, but it didn¡¯t take a genius to figure out what Zu An was driving at. Naturally, there was no woman who liked having her body criticized, regardless of whether it was big or small.

    Mi Li thought about everything that had happened while she was recuperating from her wounds. It was true that this wasn¡¯t her body, but still, she was experiencing it all from a first person perspective...

    And as if that wasn¡¯t enough, Zu An was bragging about it before another person.

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for +404 Rage!

    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen anyone as hateful as you before. Since you want to die that much, I¡¯ll fulfill your wish!¡±

    Right after saying those words, a ck circle suddenly formed in front of her, swiftly manifesting innumerable swords out of ki. Then, like a machine gun, the swords shot toward the two of them with frightening momentum.

    ¡°Holy shit!¡± Zu An¡¯s eyes nearly popped out. The entire area was filled with sword ki that there was no way for him to hide at all!

    It was not that he had never seen flying swords before. Back in the ns Tournament, Yuan Wendong had used his metal elemental powers to control multiple swords at once, and Shi Kun also had his wind des too. However, those were nothing inparison to what he was facing at this very moment. The sheer pressure exerted by those swords was enough to leave him in despair.

    This woman is really intending to end my life!

    ¡°Be careful!¡±

    Qiao Xueying quickly rushed in front, and her hair began growing like crazy, forming a thorny shrub in a split instant. At the same time, countless green leaves gathered to form a barrier before them.

    The des stabbed right into the shrub, gradually whittling it down. It grew thinner and thinner before dissipating away. Following that, the sword ki advanced on to the green leaves barrier, whichsted for only three breaths before copsing too.

    Determination shed across Qiao Xueying¡¯s eyes as she pushed Zu An away while resolving herself to be pierced through by the sword.

    ¡°Snow!¡± shouted Zu An.

    Qiao Xueying was torn into countless pieces by the ravaging sword ki right before his eyes.

    ¡°You actually killed her!¡± Zu An¡¯s eyes reddened in fury as he red at Mi Li hatefully.

    ¡°What are you screaming for? She isn¡¯t dead yet!¡± Mi Li harrumphed as she nced sideward.

    Tens of meters away, Qiao Xueying¡¯s body gradually appeared, but her face had turned pale.

    It was then that Zu An remembered that she had a life preservation skill named ¡®Moon¡¯s Reflection¡¯ or something. She had used it to deal with the Poisonous Prick back then.

    ¡°Are you alright?¡±

    Zu An rushed forward to inspect her body.

    ¡°Don¡¯t touch me!¡± Qiao Xueying swatted his hands away coldly.

    ¡°It¡¯s good that you¡¯re fine, it¡¯s good that you¡¯re fine.¡± Zu An breathed a sigh of relief.

    ¡°We might be fine now, but it doesn¡¯t look like it¡¯ll stay that way for long.¡±

    Qiao Xueying¡¯splexion looked horrible. She felt that a lifetime¡¯s worth of bad luck had suddenly assaulted her. She was first betrayed by Shi Kun, then she used her most precious Half Life¡¯s Fate, and now she had squandered two uses of Moon¡¯s Reflection here, a skill which she could only use three times in her whole life!

    Just what in the world did I owe this fellow my previous life?!

    Mi Li looked at her in interest. ¡°So it¡¯s the secret art of the Elf Tribe, Moon¡¯s Reflection. Judging from the skills you have used thus far, you must be a wood elf.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He assessed Qiao Xueying closely and asked, ¡°You¡¯re an elf?¡±

 Chapter 196: You Stupid Sword

    <h4>Chapter 196: You Stupid Sword</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An had seen all kinds of dramas and movies regarding elves. They were supposed to be the most beautiful, graceful, andpassionate race out there in the world. Countless otakus had probably drooled over them in their homes.

    ¡°Is there anything wrong with that?¡± Qiao Xueying rolled her eyes.

    ¡°There¡¯s no problem with it, just that... aren¡¯t elves supposed to have pointed ears?¡± Zu An asked as he propped up the air covering her ears.

    Qiao Xueying pushed his hands away with an awful look on her face.

    It was Mi Li who answered his question, ¡°She seems to be a half-elf. In other words, she¡¯s a cross-breed between a human and an elf.¡±

    Qiao Xueying¡¯s face paled further. This matter had been a thorn in her heart for the longest time, and her head was often lowered in shame due to this.

    Unexpectedly, Zu An suddenly burst intoughter and said, ¡°Ah, so she¡¯s multiracial! That¡¯s good. Multiracial people tend to be the most beautiful, and they tend to inherit the strength and talents of both their parents.¡±

    Qiao Xueying was taken aback by those words. All of those who learned of her identity would usually criticize her for her impure lineage. This was the first time she was hearing of the term ¡®multiracial¡¯, but somehow, it brought her greatfort.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± whispered Qiao Xueying softly. In so many years, he was the first one who hadn¡¯t discriminated against her, even finding a reason tofort her.

    Zu An replied with a smile, ¡°You need not thank me. Speaking of which, what do you think of me? Why don¡¯t we make do with one another and bear a multiracial baby too? I bet our son will be the most handsome being in the world, and our daughter will have beauty rivaling even the goddesses!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Qiao Xueying.

    Okay, I take back what I said earlier. It looks like his shamelessness is an incurable disease.

    ¡°If I remember correctly, the Elf Tribe¡¯s Moon Reflection should allow them to teleport their bodies several kilometers away, serving both as a survival and escape mean. Yet, you¡¯re still here... Is it for this shameless man?¡± asked Mi Li teasingly.

    Zu An stared at Qiao Xueying in shock, and thetter immediately protested, ¡°How could I be doing it for him? Of course it¡¯s for Miss Chu, whom I¡¯m indebted to! Hurry up and get out of her body right now, or else I¡¯ll make sure to make things tough for you even at the expense of my own life!¡±

    Mi Li burst intoughter in the face of Qiao Xueying¡¯s threat, causing the underground cavern to tremor a little. A momentter, she finally reined in her smile and sneered, ¡°You¡¯re going to do that?¡±

    Qiao Xueying¡¯s face paled. Even from the earlierughter, it was apparent that Mi Li was far stronger than her. She stood no chance at victory here.

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget, I¡¯m here too!¡± Zu An stepped forward and grabbed Qiao Xueying¡¯s hand.

    Perhaps she wasn¡¯t paying any heed to it since they were already in the face of death, or that she had simply gotten used to it since they had been holding hands through the three trials, Qiao Xueying didn¡¯t try to shake off Zu An¡¯s hand this time around. Instead, the warmth imparted to her made her feel much more confident and assured.

    ¡°...¡± Mi Li.

    You¡¯re just a third rank cultivator. What can you possibly do here?

    Zu An made use of this opportunity to console Qiao Xueying, saying, ¡°You don¡¯t need to be afraid. She has been greatly weakened due to her soul leaving her previous body. On top of that, the earlier poison seems to have afflicted her soul too. Given how potent it is, as long as we were to hold on, she might just end up sumbing first.¡±

    One must know that Qiao Xueying¡¯s shrub had been utterly obliterated by Zhang Han in an instant earlier on, but it was actually able to fend against Mi Li¡¯s sword ki for quite a while. This hinted that Mi Li had be severely weakened.

    Qiao Xueying¡¯s spirits immediately perked up upon hearing that.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to whisper amongst yourselves; I can hear you loud and clear. You¡¯re right, I¡¯m indeed severely weakened at the moment. However, I still have more than enough strength to curb the two of you!¡± Mi Li harrumphed coldly.

    With a wave of her sleeves, she sent another outburst of sword ki toward Zu An and Qiao Xueying.

    Her sword ki was much less concentrated this time around, so Zu An and Qiao Xueying immediately took evasive measures. But halfway through, the sword ki suddenly converged into a crescent arc to strike down on Qiao Xueying.

    With a cry of agony, Qiao Xueying spurted out a mouthful of blood and copsed on the floor.

    Mi Li had made sure to control her strength properly, inflicting severe wounds on Qiao Xueying while making sure not to go too far as to make thetter feel that her life was at risk, thus leaving her unwilling to resort to her final use of Moon¡¯s Reflection lest she escaped from this cavern and divulged her secrets.

    And just as she had predicted, Qiao Xueying indeed didn¡¯t use her trump card.

    I might not be able to kill her in a single move, but as long as I umte enough damage on her, it¡¯s only a matter of time before she¡¯s sent to hell!

    By the time Qiao Xueying realized what Mi Li was up to, it was already toote. She couldn¡¯t move at all, let alone channel her ki to activate Moon¡¯s Reflection. She could only watch helplessly as a massive sword shed in her direction.

    But all of a sudden, a figure dashed forward and blocked the sword for her.

    The sword shed down on Zu An¡¯s back, causing him to spurt a mouthful of blood. Qiao Xueying watched the man in front of her with a bbergasted look on her face. For a long time, she wasn¡¯t able to say anything at all.

    ¡°What deep feelings the two of you have for one another,¡± sneered Mi Li. ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll send the two of you off together!¡±

    She shed her sword once more, unleashing multiple streams of sword ki on Zu An all at once. She was intending to cut them down together and end this farce once and for all.

    ¡°Run!¡± eximed Qiao Xueying. She knew that Zu An wouldn¡¯t be able to save her, and he would only end up getting sliced to pieces at this rate.

    ¡°How can I abandon you at a time like this?¡± Zu An wiped off the trail of blood on his lips and directed a cool smile toward her. However, he was definitely not as rxed as he was appearing at the moment. He was desperately driving his primordial ki to protect his body, praying that the Heiress¡¯ Ball of Delights would continue working its wonder.

    He was worried that the Heiress¡¯ Ball of Delight wouldn¡¯t be able to reassemble him if he were to be reduced into minced meat.

    Pu pu pu!

    All of the sword kinded on Zu An¡¯s body, causing his blood to stter all over. Qiao Xueying¡¯s eyes brimmed with tears as she watched the man before her was reduced to a bloodied mess. To her surprise, however, his body still remained mostly intact. It wasn¡¯t sliced to pieces as she expected.

    Mi Li also widened her eyes in astonishment as she began to doubt herself. Have I been weakened to the point where I can¡¯t even defeat a third rank cultivator anymore?

    Zu An could feel his body desperately trying to take in the surrounding primordial ki. He felt that this mausoleum was definitely built on a blessednd as the primordial ki lingering in the area was extremely concentrated, possibly umted over the span of over a thousand years. Otherwise, there was no way it would have been sufficient to fuel the recovery of his injuries.

    Seeing that Zu An had spurted out yet another mouthful of blood, Qiao Xueying quickly rushed forward to wipe off the blood from his lips and asked worriedly, ¡°Are you alright?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m fine.¡± Zu An put on the coolest smile he could think of as he replied. Given his nature, there was no way he wouldn¡¯t exploit this opportunity to act cool.

    Qiao Xueying¡¯s lips also curled up into a helpless smile too. She used to hate hisckadaisical attitude, but it was somehow bringing herfort now. No matter what kind of circumstance he¡¯s in, he still remains so optimistic.

    As his injuries recovered to a fair degree, Zu An shakily climbed back to his feet. He knew that it wouldn¡¯t do for him to continue taking a beating from Mi Li.

    No matter how powerful the Heiress¡¯ Ball of Delights was, he wasn¡¯t willing to gamble on its ability to keep him alive when he was torn into pieces. He would have to retaliate to stand any chance of getting out of this alive.

    Sensing Zu An¡¯s fighting will, Mi Li remarked, ¡°Despite your low cultivation, your willpower is far stronger than I thought. I¡¯m truly impressed here. It¡¯s no wonder why you were able to break the Human, Earth, and Heaven Seal.¡±

    ¡°Hah, to think that you still remember those three seals! Is this how you repay someone who saved you from the prison you were in?¡± spat Zu An.

    Mi Li sighed softly and said, ¡°I wasn¡¯t nning on taking your life either, but I didn¡¯t expect to fall for the Red Tears of Lady Xiang. I had no choice but to use your wife¡¯s body, and you did something unforgivable to me afterward. I can¡¯t possibly keep you alive after everything that has happened.¡±

    Her face began reddening, though it was hard to tell whether it was out of rage or embarrassment.

    Zu An cried in indignance, ¡°I was supposed to be getting steamy with my wife, but you snuck in on your own ord. How could you me me for that?!¡±

    ¡°I let you take advantage of you; that¡¯s more than enough to repay the debt of gratitude I owe to you for saving my life. Now, you should be able to die in peace!¡±

    Mi Li was incredibly frustrated at the moment. She was the empress of the Great Qin Dynasty, the number one beauty of the Central ins, a noble personage standing beneath only the Sovereign Emperor. Countless men would be willing to give their lives up just to have a whiff of her fragrance, but this fellow actually wasn¡¯t content with taking advantage of her?

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for +999 Rage!

    Zu An finally understood why Mi Li was so angry at him. It turned out that she couldn¡¯t stand the notion of being taken advantage of!

    He felt incredibly indignant about this. If he had really gotten on Mi Li¡¯s body earlier, he could at least ept her attempts to kill him, but the one he was getting steamy with earlier was his wife!

    This was a huge loss!

    Zu An took in a deep breath and sneered coldly, ¡°I¡¯m someone who managed to clear the Human, Earth, and Heaven Seal. Did you think that I wouldn¡¯t have any trump cards?¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Oh? I would like to have a look for myself then,¡± replied Mi Li.

    She was indeed curious as to see what secrets Zu An had in store. Till now, she found it hard to believe how someone as weak as him was able to pull off such a miracle.

    Zu An¡¯s body was trembling weakly, on the verge of copsing over at any moment. Yet, he insisted on standing upright with his chest pumped out as he said, ¡°Tai¡¯e, since you have already acknowledged me as your master, stand by me as we subdue this demoness together! Show your glory to the world once more!¡±

    He raised his hand up and bellowed, ¡°Come, my sword!¡±

    The Tai¡¯e Sword was still pinned to the wall from Mi Li¡¯s killing blow on Zhang Han earlier on.

    Mi Li was shocked to hear those words. She knew just how powerful the Tai¡¯e Sword was. If Zu An was really able to summon its prowess, she would be hard-pressed to deal with him in her current state.

    She quickly gathered her ki in preparation to defend herself against the powerful Tai¡¯e Sword, but soon, she found herself dumbfounded. The Tai¡¯e Sword was still lodged into the wall, not moving at all.

    This ced Zu An in an incredibly awkward position. Why does other people¡¯s swords fly over as soon as they give themand whereas mine doesn¡¯t do shit at all! Do I really not have a protagonist¡¯s halo?

    Unwilling to give up, he bellowed once more, ¡°Come over, you stupid sword!¡±

    He even tried to send a sliver of his ki over to draw the Tai¡¯e Sword over, but unfortunately, he was only at the third rank. He wasn¡¯t able to manifest his ki over long distances yet, so it dissipated barely after leaving his body.

    Thus, the Tai¡¯e Sword remained fixed on the wall.

    Even with someone as brazen as Zu An, he still found himself utterly humiliated. ¡°Goddamnit,e right now!¡±

    Unfortunately, the Tai¡¯e Sword still remained fixed on the wall, not budging at all. Even Qiao Xueying couldn¡¯t bear the cringy sight anymore and covered her own face. This was simply too painful to watch!

    ¡°Hahaha! Are you intend to kill me withughter since you aren¡¯t able to do it with force?¡± Mi Liughed fearlessly.

 Chapter 197: Face to Face

    <h4>Chapter 197: Face to Face</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    After chuckling for a moment, Mi Li¡¯s face suddenly turned severe. ¡°I won¡¯t waste my time fooling around with you anymore.¡±

    This time around, she rushed straight toward Zu An herself. After her sword ki failed to take his life time and time again, she decided to make the move personally.

    Zu An was appalled by the sight. He quickly dodged to the side while berating, ¡°Tai¡¯e, you bastard! I swear that you¡¯ll be dead meat if you don¡¯t get down right now!¡±

    The Tai¡¯e Sword shuddered a little as a metallic reverberation echoed in the air. It fell from the cliff and flew straight into Zu An¡¯s hands.

    Overjoyed, Zu An immediately swung the sword toward the iing Mi Li.

    Mi Li was horrified by the turn of events. She wouldn¡¯t fear Zu An and the Tai¡¯e Sword if she had been in her peak, but in her current state, she had no choice but to avoid facing them directly.

    Zu An finally got a chance to examine the sword in his hand closely. He flicked its de as he remarked, ¡°What a wretched sword you are. You refused to move when I asked you nicely. You needed me to raise my voice at you and threaten you before you''re finally willing to move.¡±

    Weng weng weng~

    The sword whirred a little in protest, unhappy with the way how Zu An was phrasing it.

    Mi Li nced at the Tai¡¯e Sword for a moment, but she decided against confronting it head-on. ¡°Isn¡¯t that just like you? It¡¯s no wonder why it resonates well with you.¡±

    ¡°Hey! Just because you can stuff whatever you want into your mouth doesn¡¯t mean that you can let whatever you want spill out from it!¡± Zu An harrumphed. ¡°What do you mean by that it¡¯s like me? Do I look wretched to you?¡±

    ¡°Is that not the case?¡± sneered Mi Li.

    Even Qiao Xueying, who was copsed weakly in a puddle of blood, nodded in agreement.

    Zu An coughed softly to conceal his awkwardness before swiftly changing the topic. ¡°What¡¯s the use of saying so much? Now that I have the almighty sword in my hand, I shall show you why flowers are red!¡±

    ¡°You want to teach me a lesson?¡± It was as if Mi Li had heard the most hrious joke in the world. ¡°If Tai¡¯e Sword is at its peak, I might still hesitate a little in its face. But now? Heh!¡±

    Right after saying those words, she suddenly appeared right in front of Zu An.

    Zu An was horrified. He quickly swung his sword at Mi Li frantically,unching a barrage of extremely aggressive attacks. He had chosen to abandon all defense and go all out to bring Mi Li down at all costs, which was a wise move since he had the Heiress¡¯ Ball of Delight sustaining the final bit of his health bar and the Primordial Origin Ki constantly healing him up.

    Mi Li frowned in response. She couldn¡¯t bear the thought of even suffering the slightest injuries in the hands of a mere ant. She began to retreat, but it only raised Zu An¡¯s spirits higher and he upped his aggression a notch higher.

    Unfortunately, the gap between the two of them was too great. It didn¡¯t take long for Mi Li to find an opening in his attacks and retaliate, knocking him into the sky, where he flew in an arc before crashing heavily into the ground.

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡± eximed Qiao Xueying.

    She tried to rush forward to catch him, but the severity of her injuries hindered her movements.

    ¡°Since you care for him that much, the two of you can be a pair of lovebirds in the afterlife!¡± sneered Mi Li.

    She raised her hand to end Qiao Xueying¡¯s life too, but a feeble voice suddenly sounded behind her, ¡°I¡¯m not dead yet!¡±

    The two women immediately turned around. Qiao Xueying was overjoyed to see that Zu An was still breathing whereas Mi Li was utterly shocked. The force she had used earlier would have been enough to kill even a fifth rank cultivator, let alone a third rank like him!

    Zu An shakily got back to his feet. It was extremely strenuous at first, but his posture got more and more firm. The Primordial Origin Sutra was desperately taking in primordial ki from the surroundings to repair his body. Of course, the rate of recovery couldn¡¯t possibly match the rate he was sustaining injuries at, but fortunately, he had the Heiress¡¯ Ball of Delight to keep the final sliver of his health bar hanging, so he was somehow still able to maintain his condition, no matter how awful it was.

    Mi Li¡¯s face turned cold. She was starting to lose her temper. That fellow is like a cockroach who simply wouldn¡¯t be squashed! Annoying!

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for +444 Rage!

    It was a substantial amount of Rage points, but Zu An wasn¡¯t happy in the least. He had raised a g previously that he wouldn¡¯t get anything good for the next three draws. So, no matter how many Rage points he earned now, it was just going to go down the drain.

    He was just impressed with himself, really. How could he still be so calctive even when he was already on the verge of death?

    Mi Li darted toward him once more as swiftly as a bolt of lightning. Zu An swiftly gathered his strength and retaliated with his Tai¡¯e Sword.

    Bam!

    Once again, Zu An was sent flying. The massive force struck his vitals squarely, such that he would have surely died under normal circumstances.

    However, Mi Li dared not to let her guard down. She kept her eyes on him intently.

    Her wariness wasn¡¯t without reason, for Zu An shakily rose to his feet once more right after.

    ¡°Big sis empress, harder!¡±

    Mi Li¡¯s face turned cold. She zapped forward once more andunched a series of sharp stabs toward Zu An¡¯s body.

    Yet, a momentter, the bloodied Zu An struggled to his feet once more and shouted, ¡°Harder!¡±

    Bam!

    He was responded with yet another fatal blow.

    ¡°Big sis empress, have you not been eating at all? Ah, I forgot that you¡¯ve been trapped in that coffin for thousands of years.¡±

    Bam!

    ¡°Harder!¡±

    Bam!

    ...

    Meanwhile, Qiao Xueying¡¯s eyes had already been blurred with tears. She cried for Zu An to stop provoking that demoness, but thetter simply wouldn¡¯t listen to her.

    This torture happened for countless times before Mi Li finally stopped. There was aplicated glint in her eyes as she said, ¡°I must say, you might be weak, but I¡¯ve never seen anyone with as much willpower as you. It¡¯s no wonder why you were able to conquer the Tai¡¯e Sword.¡±

    ¡°But it¡¯s a pity that I¡¯m still no match for you.¡± Zu An sighed deeply. While he was still in no danger due to the effects of the Heiress¡¯ Ball of Delight, the absurd difference in their strength made himpletely helpless before her. He didn¡¯t stand a chance at all.

    ¡°Forget it. Your courage and willpower has won my admiration. If it¡¯s a man like you... Cough cough.¡± Redness tinged Mi Li¡¯s face. ¡°Now that I think about it, it¡¯s not somethingpletely uneptable either. I¡¯ll let you off for now.¡±

    After leaving behind those words, she turned around to leave. However, Zu An immediately spoke up to stop her, ¡°Wait a moment! You might have let me off, but that doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m letting you off. Return my wife to me!¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    He knew that it was just a matter of time before Mi Li destroyed Chu Chuyan¡¯s persona entirely. By then, she would be really dead.

    Mi Li turned around with a malicious look on her face. ¡°Don¡¯t test my patience!¡±

    The Great Qin Dynasty was known for its strictws, and she was an empress who stood only beneath a single man. While she wasn¡¯t a tyrant like Ying Zheng, she wasn¡¯t the type of person to value the sanctity of life either. Even if it was a close aide who had served her for many years, she wouldn¡¯t hesitate to kill him if the other party were to get on her bad side.

    Under normal circumstances, she would have unhesitatingly sentenced Zu An to ¡®death by a thousand cuts¡¯ for daring to offend her here. She was only sparing him out of admiration for his strong willpower, but thetter actually tried to climb over her head instead!

    Qiao Xueying immediately tried to persuade Zu An to step down, ¡°Ah Zu, you¡¯ve already tried your best. I believe Miss Chu has seen your efforts and is thankful to you for it. There¡¯s no need for you to persist any longer. You can¡¯t win here.¡±

    In her view, it was already a miracle that Zu An was still to survive till now, but there was only so much that a human body could take, not to mention that he hadn¡¯t been able to inflict the slightest damage on Mi Li thus far. This was apletely hopeless battle, and there was no point prolonging it.

    However, Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°That¡¯s my wife over there. We¡¯ve already consummated our marriage. There¡¯s no way I can watch as she loses her life indignantly here!¡±

    ¡°Very well, I¡¯ll grant your wish then!¡± Mi Li was getting deeply annoyed by now. She was born in the royal family, and the only rtionship she had in her life was with Ying Zheng. These circumstances led to her not believing in love and whatnot. However, Zu An¡¯s determination was shaking the pragmatic values she had embraced thus far.

    How is this woman able to acquire something that I was never able to so easily? No, it matters not. I¡¯ll just have to sever this bond that they share then!

    She flitted right in front of Zu An instantaneously, which spurred Zu An to immediately raise his sword to protect himself. However, he had sustained injuries far too grievous that even with the recovery from the Primordial Origin Sutra, it took all he had just to barely remain standing. He was in no condition to use his sword at all.

    Mi Li flicked her finger, and the Tai¡¯e Sword immediately flew several meters away and stabbed right into the ground.

    Following that, she wrapped her hand around his neck and sunk her long fingernails into his skin, causing a spurt of blood that dyed her fair fingers with a touch of seductive red.

    ¡°I can¡¯t understand how you are able to survive thus far. It might be due to some secret skills you possess, or a special lineage perhaps. However, regardless of what you are, there¡¯s no way you can survive once you lose your head.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been going easy on you thus far, which is why I¡¯ve never specifically aimed for your head. However, since you don¡¯t know what¡¯s good for you, there¡¯s no need for me to spare my grace on you any longer. I don¡¯t believe that you¡¯ll be able to survive one I tear your head off!¡±

    To be honest, Zu An was also curious as to whether the Heiress¡¯ Ball of Delight would be able to continue protecting him even after his head was twisted off. If he was still alive at the end of which, how would it work? Would his fallen head simply reattach to his body?

    But what if she crushes my head like a watermelon, reducing my brain to mush? Will I be able toe back to life with that?

    Zu An¡¯splexion turned awful at that thought.

    Noticing the subtle changes in his expressions, Mi Li sneered coldly as she prepared herself to twist off his head. But all of a sudden, her body froze up.

    ¡°Ah Zu, kill me!¡±

    The malicious look in Mi Li¡¯s eyes vanished without a trace, reced with Chu Chuyan¡¯s anxious expression. Her eyes were glistening with tears.

    Zu An was delighted to see her. ¡°Honey, you¡¯ve managed to ovee her?¡±

    ¡°I am only able to temporarily wrestle control back over my body from her, but I won¡¯t be able tost too long at this rate. Hurry up and kill me!¡± eximed Chu Chuyan.

    There was no way someone as proud as her would allow another woman to take over her body. Just the thought of how that woman would use her body to do that kind of stuff with other men in the future made her shudder in disgust. She would rather die than to allow something like that to happen!

    Her words made Zu An hesitate. Chu Chuyan hadpletely put down her defenses, such that even Zu An, despite his severe injuries, could kill her with ease at this very moment. However, how could he really do that?

    If he was really able to ept her death, there was no way he would have persisted for so long.

    ¡°Hurry up!¡± Chu Chuyan cried pleadingly.

    Zu An¡¯splexion turned dark. He knew what was the logical decision he ought to make here, but was this even a question that should be answered with logic at all?

    This brief moment of hesitation allowed Chu Chuyan¡¯s body to be taken over by the domineering Mi Li once more. ¡°You lowly woman. How dare you try to fight against me?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re the lowly woman here!¡± Chu Chuyan¡¯s eyes regained their rity.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s face kept alternating to and fro between Chu Chuyan and Mi Li, speaking to one another inpletely different tones. It was really an extremely eerie sight.

    Zu An knew that he couldn¡¯t hesitate anymore. So, he picked up the Tai¡¯e Sword and aimed its tip toward Chu Chuyan¡¯s heart. As long as he pushed it forth a little, her life woulde to an end.

    Seemingly knowing that Zu An wouldn¡¯t be able to do it, Chu Chuyan gritted her teeth, grabbed the sword with her left hand, and pulled the sword toward her chest.

 Chapter 198: Double the Happiness

    <h4>Chapter 198: Double the Happiness</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Chuyan!¡± eximed Zu An in horror.

    The severity of his injuries was enough to offset any enhancements he received from the effects of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, such that he couldn¡¯t even draw his sword back properly.

    The sword pierced into her chest, and a trail of blood began seeping out.

    Zu An despaired, but all of a sudden, he noticed that the sword hade to a halt.

    It turned out that her right hand also reached out to grab the sword, desperately trying to hold it in ce. Or to be more exact, it was Mi Li who was trying to stop her frommitting suicide!

    It was yet another incredibly eerie side. One hand was trying to hold the sword back whereas the other was trying to push it in, resulting in a standstill.

    Zu An found his head descending into a mess. He knew that this standstill wouldn¡¯tst for long. He would have to kill her now, or else she would be overwhelmed by Mi Li soon enough.

    But he really couldn¡¯t do it!

    ¡°Is there anything I can do to save her?¡± Zu An racked his brain to see if there was anything he could do, but he had only transmigrated into this world not too long ago, so his knowledge was severelycking. He had already used all of the tools he could in order to deal with Mi Li.

    Wait a moment, there¡¯s something which I haven¡¯t used yet¡ª¡¯Knock-You-Up Eyes¡¯! I still have one use of it. I nearly forgot that there¡¯s still this skill.

    However, his joy swiftly dissipated into despair. This skill still couldn¡¯t save Chu Chuyan. All it could do was to inflict severe pain on Mi Li, perhaps opening a window of opportunity for him to kill her. If he really wanted to kill Chu Chuyan, he could have done it right here, right now.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    He suddenly thought about the words the man in dragon robe told him in the seal. It seemed like he could use some sort of ¡®purifying ability¡¯ from the Primordial Origin Sutra, but the problem was that he didn¡¯t know how it worked!

    So far, he had only learned how to channel the primordial ki to temper his body and recover his injuries. He hadn¡¯t been taught anything about purifying at all.

    Then, he thought about how he was able to reconnect Chu Chuyan¡¯s ki meridians earlier.

    Do I need to connect our bodies together in order to do the purification?

    However, he soon shook off that thought. One must know that the man in dragon robe was likely to be Ying Zheng, and regardless of how their rtionship was, it didn¡¯t change the fact that Mi Li was his empress. Just how messed up did he have to be to tell another man to screw his wife?

    At the very least, it didn¡¯t seem likely for Ying Zheng to have any fetish about infidelity.

    But how do I purify her then?

    It was then that Zu An suddenly felt the pushing force on the sword growing stronger and stronger. Mi Li was clearly gaining ground here. He had to do something right away, or else it would be toote.

    Forget it, I should just give it a try!

    ¡°Big sis empress, I¡¯ve been going easy on you thus far, but it looks like I¡¯ve no choice now,¡± said Zu An.

    ¡°You¡¯ve been going easy on me thus far?¡± Mi Li burst intoughter.

    Even Chu Chuyan and Qiao Xueying also widened their eyes, unable toprehend what Zu An was intending by saying those words at a moment like this.

    Zu An sighed deeply and said, ¡°Since you know that I¡¯ve learned the Primordial Origin Sutra, you should know from whom I¡¯ve learned it too.¡±

    ¡°Ying Zheng!¡± eximed Mi Li in astonishment.

    ¡°Indeed. Not only has he imparted to me the Primordial Origin Sutra, but he has also told me the way to purify you!¡± said Zu An.

    As expected, Mi Li¡¯s face immediately darkened. She was so shaken that Chu Chuyan managed to garner greater control over the body, resulting in the sword being pulled even deeper into her chest.

    rmed, Zu An quickly pulled the sword outward with all his might.

    ¡°...¡± Chu Chuyan.

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Chuyan for +250 Rage!

    This bastard! It wasn¡¯t easy for me to find an opportunity to make a move, but you¡¯re foiling it right now!

    ¡°No, that¡¯s not right. You would have done it earlier if you were able to purify me. There¡¯s no need for you to sustain such severe injuries at all in the first ce.¡± Mi Li soon found a gap in Zu An¡¯s words.

    To that, Zu An quickly replied, ¡°What can I say? I¡¯m a pervert. Big sis empress, how could a pervert like me possibly be willing to kill someone as beautiful as you?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Chu Chuyan.

    ¡°...¡± Mi Li.

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Chuyan for +333 Rage!

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for +333 Rage!

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for +256 Rage!

    Zu An was quite curious as to why the Rage points he was receiving from Chu Chuyan and Mi Li were the same.

    Could it be because they¡¯re sharing the same body? What a pity it is that Chu Chuyan would soon die under Mi Li¡¯s possession. If the two of them could share consciousness, wouldn¡¯t it be double the happiness for me?

    But speaking of which, why are you joining the crowd too, Qiao Xueying?

    It took a bit of effort for Zu An to shrug off his misceneous thoughts and continue on, ¡°Besides... we did have an intimate moment with one another. I¡¯m not as heartless as you as to be able to turn against someone whom you were... tightly bonded with just a moment ago!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Chu Chuyan.

    ¡°...¡± Mi Li.

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Chuyan for +1024 Rage!

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for +1024 Rage!

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for +1024 Rage!

    This huge output of Rage points frightened Zu An.

    What the hell! Why are they supplying me the same amount of Rage points all at once? Heh, this means that the excuse I¡¯m spinning up works, right?

    It was then that a resounding explosion sounded.

    All of them quickly turned their heads over, only to see theke not too far away bubbling furiously. The massive green lotus leaves had already vanished without a trace, and the entire underground cavern began shaking intensely. Bits of stone fragments fell to the ground from the ceiling.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± asked Zu An.

    ¡°The ghosts are here,¡± replied Mi Li with a deep frown.

    ¡°???¡± Zu An.

    Mi Li quickly borated, ¡°Zhang Han has incited the death of the 200,000 elite soldiers of the Qin Dynasty back then. Afraid that these soldiers would rise as vengeful spirits to exact vengeance on him, he conspired with the Hegemon-King of Western Chu to use the lingering aura of my Soul Suppression Seal together with the Evanescent Lotus to set up a smaller Soul Suppression Seal to suppress those 200,000 evil spirits.¡±

    Zu An was impressed. ¡°Just the lingering aura of your seal is enough to suppress over 200,000 evil spirits? My gosh! You¡¯re even more frightening than ghosts!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Mi Li.

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for +378 Rage!

    ¡°After you released the Soul Suppression Seal, the foundation of the smaller seal that Zhang Han had set up gradually lost its effectiveness,¡± replied Mi Li. ¡°It¡¯s all your fault! If not for your intervention, I wouldn¡¯t have forgotten about this. I was going to leave here as soon as possible, but now I¡¯m forced to deal with this trouble with you lot!¡±

    Zu An rolled his eyes. ¡°Are you saying that you¡¯re afraid of those 200,000 evil spirits? I mean, those evil spirits were sealed with just the lingering aura of your Soul Suppression Seal!¡±

    ¡°Of course I wouldn¡¯t be afraid of them if I was in my peak. However, the Red Tear of Lady Xiang has destroyed my body, and the current body I¡¯m using is simply too weak. I won¡¯t be able to cope with them in my current state.¡± Mi LI harrumphed coldly.

    ¡°...¡± Chu Chuyan.

    She had been viewed as a prodigious cultivator even from a young age, an existence who towered over the others. This was the first time that someone had scorned her to be weak, and to make things worse, she actually couldn¡¯t refute it.

    How maddening!

    ¡°Why are you telling me all of this?¡± Zu An was perplexed as to why Mi Li was suddenly exining all of this to him.

    Amotion suddenly happened not too far away. The terracotta soldiers had also noticed the happenings over at theke and quickly made their way over, but arge bunch of blue evil spirits abruptly rushed out of theke and swiftly engulfed the first row of the terracotta soldiers.

    While Zu An was dumbfounded by the sight, Mi Li¡¯s voice suddenly sounded, ¡°Why don¡¯t we make a deal?¡±

 Chapter 199: Life-and-Death Contract

    <h4>Chapter 199: Life-and-Death Contract</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°What kind of deal?¡± asked Zu An as he gazed upon the undead army in horror. He hadn¡¯t even resolved the crisis with Mi Li when another disaster began falling upon him.

    It looks like I¡¯m really doomed now.

    ¡°You should also know that everyone here will die once those vengeful evil spirits rush out,¡± said Mi Li.

    The intrigued Zu An asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t they soldiers of the Qin Dynasty before their deaths? It¡¯s one thing for them to hate Zhang Han, but surely you should be able to order them as the empress of the Qin Dynasty?¡±

    Mi Li shook her head and replied, ¡°It¡¯s true that they were soldiers of the Qin Dynasty, but they died with a heart filled with hatred, and they were sealed for a thousand years afterward. Their hatred has eroded their sentience, turning them into vengeful spirits. All that¡¯s left in them is viciousness and bloodlust, and it¡¯s in their instinct to eliminate all living creatures before them. None of us will live once they fully escape from the confines of thatke.¡±

    ¡°What kind of deal are you proposing then?¡± asked Zu An.

    He was only able to joke around with Mi Li because she was pretty, but there was no way he would bother entertaining these evil spirits.

    ¡°Instead of wasting your purification on me, use it to deal with those vengeful spirits. This will be beneficial to both of us!¡± replied Mi Li.

    Zu An was delighted. It seems like this woman really thinks that I¡¯m able to purify her and is afraid now.

    With such thoughts in mind, his attitude became even harder. ¡°Why should I? You nearly caused my wife¡¯s death. I have no reason to let you off so easily!¡±

    Mi Li¡¯s face darkened as she struggled internally toe to a decision. She took a nce over at theke and saw that the terracotta soldiers were gradually being pushed back. It was only a matter of time before the vengeful spirits overwhelmed them.

    After all, there was a huge difference in terms of forces. There were over 200,000 evil spirits whereas there were only around several thousand terracotta soldiers. If not for the fact that the evil spirits weren¡¯t able to escape the seal all at once, the battle would have ended in an instance.

    ¡°Fine! I¡¯ll leave your wife¡¯s body, but you mustn¡¯t use your purification against me. On top of that, you must gather resources for me so that I can reconstruct my body,¡± replied Mi Li grimly.

    Zu An was delighted. This was the best oue he could hope for. It seemed like she was really frightened of the so-called purification. ¡°Very well, I¡¯ll agree to your deal. Hurry up and get out of Chuyan¡¯s body right now!¡±

    ¡°Do you take me for a fool? What if you renege on your promise afterward?¡± sneered Mi Li.

    ¡°What do you want me to do then? Should we seal another contract then?¡± asked Zu An.

    ¡°That won¡¯t do. There are far too many loopholes with contracts, and you seem to be quite a despicable man. Who knows what kind of verbal traps you have prepared for me!¡± rejected Mi Li right away.

    ¡°...¡± Zu An.

    ¡°Big sis empress, I do recall that you were the one who tampered with the contract and reneged on our promise earlier. How in the world do you have the cheek to raise this matter before me?¡±

    Damn it, it angers me just to think of it!

    ¡°Ah Zu, you mustn¡¯t ept her deal! That woman is a crafty one. She¡¯s definitely up to something!¡± eximed Chu Chuyan.

    Qiao Xueying nodded in agreement too. ¡°Indeed, this woman is vile. We can¡¯t trust her!¡±

    ¡°Foolish women. All is fair in war! I don¡¯t know any of you, so it¡¯s only normal for me to pull some tricks. You should me yourselves for being foolish enough to fall into my tricks. However, things are different now that we¡¯re on the same boat!¡± Mi Li harrumphed.

    Zu An was rendered speechless by Mi Li¡¯s shamelessness. Somehow, he felt a little offended by her words. However, he knew that he had no choice to go along with Mi Li¡¯s demands since he was just putting on an act right now.

    ¡°What do you want to do then?¡±

    Mi Li had already thought things through properly. ¡°There are simply far too many usible loopholes in the contract. Let¡¯s just simplify things and go with a ¡®Life-and-Death Contract¡¯ instead. This way, none of us can pull anything at all.¡±

    ¡°Life-and-Death Contract? What¡¯s that?¡± asked Zu An in confusion.

    Mi Li quickly exined, ¡°A promise transcending life and death shall be made; two shall age together...¡±

    Qiao Xueying couldn¡¯t help but interject, ¡°How shameless. Aren¡¯t you just using this as an excuse to snatch Miss Chu¡¯s husband?¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s shocked expression showed that she had the same thoughts in mind too.

    Mi Li flew into a state of rage, bellowing, ¡°What are you two dumb women thinking about? Who in the world would want to snatch this scum from you? That poem isn¡¯t used to describe romance between a man and a woman back then but the camaraderie shared by those in the military. As the words suggest, it refers to a promise to die together on the battlefield with one¡¯srades in times of crisis.¡±

    Qiao Xueying¡¯s face reddened. ¡°I... I mean exactly that!¡±

    Chu Chuyan was also embarrassed by her thoughts that she didn¡¯t notice Qiao Xueying¡¯s anomaly.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°This contract would seal both of our souls together. If you die, I¡¯ll die as well, and vice-versa. This way, we won¡¯t have to worry about each other doing anything contrary to our interests,¡± replied Mi Li. ¡°This is the only way I¡¯ll feel secure enough to leave your wife¡¯s body. Otherwise, I¡¯ll rather all of us go down together.¡±

    ¡°You want us to die together?¡± Zu An hesitated upon hearing those words. He didn¡¯t want to entrust his fate into the hands of another person.

    Chu Chuyan gritted her teeth and said, ¡°Ah Zu, don¡¯t agree to that. Bring Snow out of here; I¡¯ll stall her for the time being!¡±

    Zu An frowned upon hearing those words. Before he could say anything, Mi Li had already interjected, ¡°You really are a dumb woman. He would have long run away if he¡¯s able to abandon you! He wouldn¡¯t have waited till now, sustaining such severe injuries for you!

    ¡°Besides, if anyone is disadvantaged in this contract, it¡¯s me! I haven¡¯t even scorned him yet, and you¡¯re already scorning me? Do you know how powerful I am? There are few in the world who have the ability to hurt me whereas your man is so measly weak. I am the one who should be worried here!¡±

    Qiao Xueying still wasn¡¯t willing to let this matter slide. ¡°Hmph, who¡¯s scorning who? At the very least, he should be able to live till a thousand years old, possibly higher than that once his cultivation rank goes up. It¡¯s his loss for tying his fate with you!¡±

    She had shared at least 700 to 800 years of her lifespan to him through her Half Life¡¯s Fate, and cultivators usually had a lifespan far longer than ordinary mortals. Living a thousand years was really a walk in the park for him.

    After she had contributed half of her lifespan to Zu An, there was no way she would be content to see Zu An dying together with another woman. What a huge loss it would be for her if that were to happen!

    ¡°A thousand years?¡± Chu Chuyan was surprised, not knowing why Snow was saying those words. Given Zu An¡¯s current cultivation rank, he was still a long way off from living a thousand years.

    On the other hand, Mi Li harrumphed coldly and said, ¡°A thousand years? Hmph! Even if he lives for two thousand, I¡¯m still the one suffering a huge loss here!¡±

    Qiao Xueying and Chu Chuyan fell into silence. They knew that she was right here, especially since she had already lived for an immeasurable period of time in this dark underground cavern.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t resist asking, ¡°Big sis empress, how old are you?¡±

    ¡°Who are you asking this question?¡± Mi Li rolled her eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t you know that it¡¯s rude to ask a woman for her age?¡±

    Toward that, Zu An replied, ¡°I have no doubt even if you say that you can live for ten thousand years, but I reckon that you should have been sealed down here for several thousand years now. If you¡¯re already nearing your final years, don¡¯t I have much to lose by sealing this Life-and-Death Contract with you?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Mi Li.

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for +777 Rage!

    Qiao Xueying burst intoughter upon hearing those words. There were so many times where Zu An drove her crazy, but it was oddly exhrating to see him do the same to other people.

    ¡°You brat! Stop challenging my patience!¡± Mi Li¡¯s eyelids twitched as she bellowed with gritted teeth.

    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll agree to your request to get into a Life-and-Death Contract with you,¡± replied Zu An.

    Qiao Xueying and Chu Chuyan immediately eximed anxiously, ¡°Ah Zu, you mustn¡¯t!¡±

    However, Zu An stopped them with a wave of his hand and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I don¡¯t have much to lose by signing this contract. We need to resolve the situation before us after all, so it wouldn¡¯t do for us to get stuck at an impasse here.¡±

    Qiao Xueying and Chu Chuyan didn¡¯t think that it was right for Zu An to sign such a contract with Mi Li, but they knew that what he said was true. Since he had already made up his mind, they decided to ept his decision.

    As for Zu An, he knew that he was just taking Mi Li for a ride here. He was actually desperate to sign whatever contract she said so as to tie her down, just that he was afraid that his act would be seen through if he appeared too enthusiastic, which was why he nonchntly changed the subject so as to appear rxed.

    Fortunately, his distractions worked out well, and Mi Li didn¡¯t notice a thing at all.

    ¡°How do we sign this ¡®Life-and-Death Contract?¡± asked Zu An.

    Mi Li raised her hand and said, ¡°Give me a drop of your blood essence.¡±

    ¡°Blood essence?¡± Zu An scratched his head awkwardly. ¡°Is this really good? I mean, to take off my pants before all of you is really a bit...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Qiao Xueying.

    ¡°...¡± Chu Chuyan.

    ¡°...¡± Mi Li.

    ¡°Wash those filthy thoughts out of your mind!¡± bellowed Mi Li. ¡°Blood essence refers to the origin of your life force. It¡¯s different from your normal blood, and it definitely isn¡¯t what you¡¯re thinking of!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for +517 Rage!

    Zu Anughed sheepishly. It sure was awkward to have misinterpreted her words in a lewd manner... though honestly, he didn¡¯t think that he was to be med for this since he did use the other type of ¡®blood essence¡¯ to fix up Chu Chuyan¡¯s ki meridians earlier on.

    Mi Li couldn¡¯t be bothered to waste her words with him, so she pressed her forefinger on his forehead and pulled out a droplet of blood essence that looked far more vibrantly crimson than ordinary blood.

    Chu Chuyan was horrified. She tried to stop her, but Mi Li said, ¡°Rx, I won¡¯t hurt your man.¡±

    Zu An suddenly felt a surge of powerlessness. Fatigue far greater than whatever he had felt before swept across his body. It would seem like losing one¡¯s blood essence really took a huge toll on one¡¯s body.

    ¡°Stretch out your finger and draw the same symbols with me,¡± instructed Mi Li.

    ¡°Be careful, Ah Zu!¡± warned Qiao Xueying.

    Chu Chuyan also added, ¡°If you sense anything amiss, stab your sword through my heart right away.¡±

    Zu An assured them with a smile, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, she isn¡¯t able to kill me.¡±

    He wasn¡¯t frightened of Mi Li as long as the Heiress¡¯ Ball of Delight was still working.

    ¡°You¡¯re oddly confident,¡± remarked Mi Li, displeased by how lightly Zu An was taking her.

    However, Zu An didn¡¯t bother saying anything. He raised his hand and touched the tip of Mi Li¡¯s finger. The icy sensation felt incrediblyfortable, and for a moment there, he wondered if thisfort wasing from Chu Chuyan or Mi Li.

    ¡°Gather your focus!¡± Mi Li frowned. Zu An¡¯s expression made her feel incredibly ufortable. ¡°Slowly draw along with me.¡±

    Zu An replied with a nod. With the tips of their fingers linked together, using the blood essence as ink, they drew out a profound formation in mid-air.

    Once the formation wasplete, a golden light burst forth and rushed into each of their foreheads before finally vanishing without a trace.

    Zu An blinked his eyes nkly. All of a sudden, Mi Li felt far more intimate to him, and he intuitively knew that she hadn¡¯t been lying to him. This contract was indeed able to make the two of them share fates.

    This wasn¡¯t a feeling conveyed through words, but a natural enlightenment arising from the rules of the world.

    Zu An suddenly thought about an incredibly important question, and he asked, ¡°What do you intend to do once you leave my wife¡¯s body?¡±

    He was eager for Mi Li to leave Chu Chuyan¡¯s body earlier that he hadn¡¯t really thought about the aftermath, but now that their fates were linked together, he began worrying that Mi Li would suddenly dissipate and die off. That would spell his death as well.

 Chapter 200: I Havenâ€™t Had Enough Fun Yet

    <h4>Chapter 200: I Haven¡¯t Had Enough Fun Yet</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Mi Li lowered her head to look at his sword and said, ¡°I¡¯ll stay in the Tai¡¯e Sword for the time being.¡±

    Zu An was surprised. ¡°The Tai¡¯e Sword could house people too?¡±

    Mi Li rolled her eyes and said, ¡°Divine weapons with the Tai¡¯e Sword contain a pocket of space within them. It¡¯s fortunate that the sword spirit has been greatly depleted, or else it wouldn¡¯t be easy for me to slip in easily.¡±

    ¡°The sword spirit has been greatly depleted?¡± Zu An was perplexed by those words.

    Mi Li looked at Zu An as if he was asking the obvious as she exined, ¡°The Tai¡¯e Sword¡¯s spirit suffered a heavy blow in a battle back then, and ever since then, Ying Zheng had never used the sword ever again. However, he felt that it would be a huge waste to abandon it, so he chose to use it as the Soul Suppression Seal¡¯s formation core, using it to supply energy to the formation. Over thousands of years of having its energy extracted, the Tai¡¯e Sword is far more weakened than ever. Otherwise, someone of your caliber couldn¡¯t possibly hope to wield it. The moment you got into contact with it, you would have already been torn into shreds by its sword ki!¡±

    Zu An nodded in realization.

    Mi Li had hinted at the great strength the Tai¡¯e Sword wielded several times throughout their encounter, but he hadn¡¯t noticed anything particrly outstanding about it while holding it in his hand. If its sword spirit was already depleted right from the start, it would be more of like a ¡®dead sword¡¯ that only retained a small portion of its true powers. Other than its sharp edge and resilient de, there was probably nothing really noteworthy to it at the moment.

    ¡°Have your wife let go of the de first,¡± said Mi Li as she watched helplessly as the sword stabbed in and out of her chest repetitively. She dared not to let her guard down at all, or else she might just drop dead in the next moment.

    ¡°Chuyan, you can let go of the de now. Everything is under control,¡± said Zu An hurriedly.

    Chu Chuyan hesitated for a moment before finally releasing her grip.

    Mi Li began murmuring a series of obscure chants before her silhouette began rising out of Chu Chuyan¡¯s body before seeping into the Tai¡¯e Sword, which caused the sword to reverberate lightly.

    Zu An could somehow sense that the sword had be a little different from before, but he couldn¡¯t really put his finger on how it was different.

    Meanwhile, Chu Chuyan¡¯s body suddenly fell limp and copsed to the side. Astonished, Zu An rushed forward to support her, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°She just hasn¡¯t regained full control of her body yet since I was on the dominant side earlier. Don¡¯t worry, she¡¯ll be fine soon,¡± replied Mi Li.

    ¡°Hm? Why does your voice sound so feeble?¡± asked Zu An curiously.

    ¡°What else do you expect? A normal human¡¯s soul would dissipate as soon as it leaves its body, and I¡¯ve already left two bodies in a row now. Isn¡¯t it obvious that I¡¯m going to suffer tremendous damage from that?¡± replied Mi Li hatefully.

    Clearly, she was holding a grudge toward him for that.

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for +233 Rage!

    Zu An chuckled sheepishly as he wisely chose not to incur her ire at a time like this. He turned his attention back to the beauty in his arms and asked, ¡°Honey, how are you feeling?¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s eyes slowly fluttered open. She stared at him for a moment before her cheeks suddenly turned red, which spurred her to push him away. Then, she awkwardly walked over to Qiao Xueying¡¯s side to help her up.

    ¡°...¡± Zu An.

    Why is she suddenly acting so distant? She was still so concerned about me while Mi Li was in her body.

    ¡°Stop acting all lovey-dovey over there now. Hurry up and purify those vengeful spirits! Otherwise, once all 200,000 of them rushes out of theke, all of us will be doomed!¡± reminded Mi Li.

    ¡°Alright!¡± replied Zu An decisively as he made his way toward theke.

    But barely a few stepster, his footsteps suddenly halted. He hesitantly turned around and asked, ¡°So, about that... how do I purify those vengeful spirits again?¡±

    ¡°???¡± Mi Li.

    Chu Chuyan and Qiao Xueying also looked at him in bewilderment. It was thetter¡¯s great confidence that persuaded Mi Li to leave earlier, but judging from what he was saying now...

    ¡°You don¡¯t know the art of purification?¡± Mi Li finally grasped what was going on and asked in disbelief.

    Zu An shyly replied, ¡°I was supposed to learn it, but Ying Zheng¡¯s soul dissipated before he could teach me that...¡±

    ¡°!!!¡± Mi Li.

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for +1024!

    She was really on the verge of exploding from anger. How could she have been fooled by him into willingly inflicting such grievous damage to her soul?!

    ¡°I¡¯m going to mince you up!¡±

    The Tai¡¯e Sword reverberated sharply as it flew out of Zu An¡¯s hands and began chasing him around, attempting to hack off his neck.

    ¡°...¡± Chu Chuyan.

    ¡°...¡± Qiao Xueying.

    They finally understood why he had chosen to ept Mi Li¡¯s condition despite the risks. It turned out that it was just bravado.

    He sure is scheming. He doesn¡¯t even bat an eyelid when he makes such a tant lie!

    Meanwhile, Zu An was frantically scurrying around like a mouse as he shouted, ¡°We already signed the Life-and-Death Contract, so our fates are linked to one another now! If you kill me, you¡¯re going to die too!¡±

    Upon hearing those words, the Tai¡¯e Sword finally paused in mid-air. That being said, it continued to convey Mi Li¡¯s overflowing rage through its intense vibration. If it was possible, she would indubitably slice Zu An down into a thousand pieces right away, but the contract left her with no choice but to swallow down her grievances.

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for +1024 Rage!

    ¡°Shall we leave this ce first? We should tide across this crisis first. You can always settle the score with meter on,¡± suggested Zu An.

    ¡°...¡± Mi Li.

    It took a long time before she finally calmed down. ¡° Leave? Those evil spirits have already seen all of you and locked onto your auras. Even if you run to the ends of the world, they¡¯ll still track you down and kill you. You¡¯ll have to resolve the problem right now.¡±

    ¡°But I don¡¯t know the art of purification!¡± cried Zu An bitterly.

    ¡°Once you cultivate the Primordial Origin Sutra to the second rank, you¡¯ll be able to purify any malevolent beings with your primordial ki,¡± replied Mi Li.

    ¡°Second rank?¡± Zu An was put in a spot. ¡°But I¡¯m only at the first rank at the moment.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve been channeling the Primordial Origin Sutra all this while in order to heal your injuries, so I reckon that you should be on the verge of a breakthrough now. Try channeling it again to heal your wounds,¡± said Mi Li with a cold harrumph.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Zu An began channeling the Primordial Origin Sutra, and soon, he felt his wounds recovering swiftly.

    It was then that the Tai¡¯e Sword suddenly let out a metallic reverberation and pierced right toward his body. Zu An focusing his attention on recovering his wounds, so there was no way he could cope with the unexpected attack.

    Qiao Xueying and Chu Chuyan also didn¡¯t expect Mi Li to suddenly make a move here, so it was toote for them to stop her. They could only watch helplessly as the Tai¡¯e Sword pierced right into Zu An¡¯s body.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°What are you doing?!¡± hollered the two women. Chu Chuyan even began making her way forward to deal with Mi Li.

    ¡°This is necessary to raise the speed of his breakthrough. Those terracotta soldiers are already at their limit,¡± replied Mi Li coldly.

    Qiao Xueying and Chu Chuyan quickly turned their heads over, only to see that the terracotta soldiers were swiftly getting overwhelmed by the evil spiritsing out from theke.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I know what I¡¯m doing. I won¡¯t go too far as to take his life,¡± replied Mi Li as she stabbed the de yet into another part of Zu An¡¯s body.

    ¡°...¡± Chu Chuyan.

    ¡°...¡± Qiao Xueying.

    Zu An took in a sharp breath as he asked, ¡°Are you sure you aren¡¯t making use of this opportunity to get even with me?¡±

    ¡°So what if I am? Do you how huge of a loss you have caused me? Just man up and bear with it!¡± replied Mi Li gleefully. She did feel a bit better after stabbing Zu An a few times.

    ¡°...¡± Zu An.

    Wow, I didn¡¯t think that she would admit to it so frankly.

    Knowing that the situation was dire, he could only continue channeling the Primordial Origin Sutra and pray that he would make a breakthrough as soon as possible.

    Some timeter, he suddenly jolted as he felt his body growing lighter than ever. He found himself entering a profound state of consciousness, reminiscent of the moment right before his transmigration.

    It was a dark and silent ce, nothing to be seen, heard, or felt at all. No matter how he tried to widen his eyes, there was simply nothing at all.

    A whileter, a brilliant light suddenly red from the distance. He couldn¡¯t even begin to describe how bright that light was. He previously thought that the sun was the greatest source of light for the world, but it was nothingpared to what he was witnessing at this very moment.

    The light swiftly spread all around, and soon, the world he was in was no longer dark anymore.

    He tried to perceive his surroundings carefully as the light had already reached his surroundings, but before he could see anything, he had already been jolted awake.

    That earlier sight... is that the inception of the world?

    Zu An was stunned. He felt that the surrounding air felt far more refreshingly sweet than it ever had. Nourishing primordial ki began gushing in his direction. If he had only been able to sense a small amount of primordial ki in his surroundings no matter how he searched in the past, right now, he no longer had to exert any effort at all. Primordial ki was automatically drawn to him, allowing him to absorb it at a far faster speed than before.

    Chu Chuyan and Qiao Xueying saw his severe wounds recovering at a rate visible to the eye.

    ¡°Hm, I didn¡¯t expect you to make a breakthrough so quickly. I haven¡¯t had my fun yet,¡± remarked Mi Li regretfully.

    ¡°...¡± Zu An.

    ¡°Hurry up and tell me how to purify those evil spirits!¡± said Zu An with a darkened face.

    ¡°Channel your primordial ki into the Tai¡¯e Sword and sh at those evil spirits. That would be enough to purify them,¡± replied Mi Li.

    Qiao Xueying immediately asked, ¡°But the battle over there is so intense. Given his cultivation, even the slightest shockwave could easily take his life!¡±

    She was indeed putting light of Zu An¡¯s strength, but everyone could tell that she was saying those words out of concern.

    Against that, Mi Li calmly replied, ¡°He¡¯s holding the Sword of Kingship; those terracotta soldiers will know better than to attack him. As for those evil spirits, the second rank primordial ki is their natural nemesis. They won¡¯t be able to pose a threat to him.¡±

    Qiao Xueying¡¯s worries were finally put to ease.

    Chu Chuyan, on the other hand, had thought things out even deeper. ¡°But there are over 200,00 evil spirits here. If he stabs them one by one, there won¡¯t be an end to it.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it won¡¯t take too long,¡± replied Mi Li.

    Zu An had another question to ask, ¡°The primordial ki in this underground pce is much more concentrated than anywhere else, but there¡¯s still a limit to it. On top of that, my rate of absorption is limited too. I don¡¯t think that my stamina will be enough to purify all 200,000 evil spirits.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that. Those evil spirits harness a certain amount of primordial ki in their bodies, so you¡¯ll be able to continue healing up throughout the battle,¡± replied Mi Li. ¡°Besides, your body is far more resilient than you think. Your current injuries would have been enough to kill any other cultivators ten times over.¡±

    Zu An nodded in response, though he knew that he was only able to hang on due to the Heiress¡¯ Ball of Delight. Looking at the time, its effects should be running out very soon. He still remembered the agony he went through once the effects died out after he was struck by the Wailing Whip, and he had no intention of going through that once more. He was determined to heal up as much as possible before then.

    So, with the Tai¡¯e Sword in hand, he made his way over toward theke. Perhaps it was due to them sensing the presence of the Tai¡¯e Sword, the terracotta soldiers opened up a pathway for him, allowing him to quickly arrive at the frontlines.

    The sudden presence of a living being immediately spurred the aggression of the evil spirits. As if sharks catching onto the scent of blood, they began charging toward him with shrill shrieks.

 Chapter 201: Dominating the Kindergartens with My Fists and Kicks

    <h4>Chapter 201: Dominating the Kindergartens with My Fists and Kicks</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    As soon the evil spirits sensed the presence of the Tai¡¯e Sword, all of them backed away in fright. It looked almost as if a bunch of ravenous folks had run to the dining table, awaiting to dine into their food, only to find a te of shit under the metal lid...

    Zu An wasn¡¯t too sure what was going on, but seeing all of those evil spirits fleeing as if they had seen a ghost bulked up his courage. He immediately rushed forth and stabbed the Tai¡¯e Sword into one of the slower evil spirits.

    Despite being termed as ¡®evil spirits¡¯, they had corporeal bodies and were equipped in armor too. It seemed to be the equipment they wore prior to their death, and it was due to it that the formation of the terracotta soldiers ended up copsing so quickly.

    However, their defense seemed to be useless before the Tai¡¯e Sword. Zu An was able to slice through their armor and body as easily as a burning iron brand slicing through an ice cube.

    Puchi!

    The evil spirit shrieked in horror upon being stabbed before its body suddenly dissipated into specks of blue light. Part of it was absorbed into the Tai¡¯e Sword whereas the remaining part that harnessed a sliver of primordial ki was absorbed by Zu An to heal his wounds.

    Zu An finally understood what Mi Li meant by ¡®it won¡¯t take long¡¯. Most of these evil spirits were as strong as him, and those inmanding positions were even more powerful. Yet, regardless of how powerful these evil spirits were, Zu An was able to curb them with a sh each.

    Rather than a massacre, it felt more like the balloon popping game he yed once in his childhood. Any evil spirit that came into the slightest contact of his sword would immediately dissipate.

    Chu Chuyan was nning to step forward to lend a helping hand, but she realized that any help she offered would only be excessive. It was as if Zu An was the evil spirit haunting them here!

    Initially, the evil spirits were still rushing to escape from theke, but under Zu An¡¯s frightening prowess, they ended up leaping back into theke to seek refuge.

    A huge bunch of evil spirits ended up gathering in theke, not daring toe up. However, it was apparent that they weren¡¯t willing to get sealed again, so it resulted in a standstill.

    Zu An was put on a spot.

    I¡¯ve only killed a hundred evil spirits or so thus far. Do you need to be so afraid? Aren¡¯t you supposed to be vengeful spirits overflowing with malice, elites of the Qin Dynasty? Don¡¯t you find it embarrassing to be hiding like cowards?

    Zu An provoked them with his hands and taunted, ¡°Why don¡¯t youe up if you dare?¡±

    But those evil spirits simply turned a blind eye to him. Do you take us for fools? Why don¡¯t youe down here instead?

    Needless to say, Zu An wouldn¡¯t be so foolish as to leap into theke. He knew how to swim, but fighting in the water was clearly disadvantageous to him, especially since the movements of the Tai¡¯e Sword would be greatly slowed.

    ¡°What do we do now?¡± asked Zu An.

    Mi Li harrumphed in response, ¡°Aren¡¯t you good at provoking others? Why don¡¯t you use your advantage to lure them out?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Zu An.

    ¡°I might be good at provoking others, but I don¡¯t know if it¡¯ll work on ghosts. Those fellows know that they¡¯ll die if theye up. No matter how dumb they are, they wouldn¡¯t fall for my tricks,¡± replied Zu An.

    ¡°Try harder then. I believe in you,¡± replied Mi Li teasingly.

    Zu An was a little annoyed at how Mi Li was nonchntly looking at all of this, as if she was watching a soap opera. Irritated, he tossed the Tai¡¯e Sword away before turning to the evil spirits underwater, bellowing, ¡°Fine, I won¡¯t use my sword. I¡¯ll beat the crap out of you guys with my bare fists!¡±

    Those evil spirits were stirred by what he had said. Zu An¡¯s attitude was simply too haughty that it really was asking for a beating.

    ¡°Are you going to continue hole yourself up when I¡¯ve already abandoned my sword? Tsk, what a bunch of scaredy cats. I heard that you¡¯re supposed to be elites of the Great Qin Dynasty? How embarrassing!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled the Evil Spirit Warriors for +6 +6 +6...

    Seeing that his taunts were indeed affecting them, Zu An decided to push a bit harder, ¡°It¡¯s no wonder why the Qin Dynasty was brought down so easily. With soldiers like you all, how could the Qin Dynasty possibly not fall?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled the Evil Spirit Warriors for +9 +9 +9...

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for +233 Rage!

    While she was suppressed here by Ying Zheng, she was still the empress of the Qin Dynasty. It was infuriating to hear another person making light of the Qin Dynasty in such a manner.

    Zu An was about to continue his taunt, but the evil spirits couldn¡¯t take it anymore. With furious howls, they rushed out and pounced on him.

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡± cried Chu Chuyan in astonishment.

    She immediately ran over to help him. After the previous recovery, she managed to repair her ki meridians and advance her cultivation by a rank, rising up to pinnacle sixth rank.

    Had it not been for her injuries being too severe, such that a portion of the medicinal properties of the Evanescent Lotus was devoted toward preserving her life, she should have already made a breakthrough to the seventh rank by now.

    For someone who wasn¡¯t even twenty years of age to be nearing the seventh rank, this was definitely a remarkable feat even considering all of the prodigies in the history of the Zhou Dynasty.

    As for Qiao Xueying, she was simply too injured to make any move, so she could only get anxious by the side.

    Chu Chuyan moved as swiftly as lightning, and it took only a moment for her to reach Zu An¡¯s vicinity. However, thetter¡¯s body was already swamped by evil spirits by then.

    The prowess disyed by the evil spirits was more than enough to kill Zu An several times over.

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡±

    While Chu Chuyan still wasn¡¯t ustomed to their current rtionship yet, she couldn¡¯t remain calm when he was in such deep danger. She quickly froze all of the evil spirits in her way and rushed over to Zu An¡¯s side.

    But all of a sudden, an explosion suddenly urred, dissipating all of the evil spirits approaching Zu An at a furious pace.

    Zu An emerged from the crowds of evil spirits, keeping them at bay easily with just his fists and kicks.

    Chu Chuyan was stunned. When did Zu An be so formidable?

    She could tell that these evil spirits were mostly at early third rank, but there were fourth rank and fifth rank cultivators mixed amongst them too. Admittedly, they weren¡¯t very strongpared to Zhang Han and Mi Li, but they had a huge numerical advantage here. On top of that, they were well-versed with coborative offense, possibly because they were from the army in their previous life.

    Yet, they were being defeated by Zu An so easily?

    Meanwhile, Zu An was feeling extremely exhrated from bullying the evil spirits. He felt like an adult marching into a kindergarten to tyrannize a bunch of kids. These evil spirits were extremely vulnerable to the purification from the primordial ki, so he wrapped his primordial ki all over his body to ensure that not a single evil spirit could get close to him.

    The evil spirits would rather attack the stronger Chu Chuyan than linger in Zu An¡¯s vicinity.

    ¡°How dare you bully my wife!¡± bellowed Zu An as he rushed over.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s face reddened upon hearing those words. While these evil spirits possessed hardly any sentience at all, she still felt embarrassed being called as such in public.

    The evil spirits were infuriated too. Are you done or not?

    So, the leaders of the evil spirits began taking charge, and the evil spirits swiftly changed strategies. Instead of fighting him in close-quarterbat, they used their weapons to attack him from afar.

    This put Zu An in a great deal of trouble. There was only so far his hands and legs could reach after all. While his attacks infused with primordial ki were able to smash through those weapons with ease, the problem was that another evil spirit would fill its ce right away.

    A whileter, Zu An realized that he was exerting himself too much. It took him far too much effort to kill an evil spirit, such that any primordial ki he gained from it wouldn¡¯t be enough to make up for the loss in stamina.

    Left with no choice, Zu An could only raise his hand and shout out, ¡°Come, my sword!¡±

    Surprisingly, the Tai¡¯e Sword immediately rushed into his hand this time around.

    ¡°Big sis empress, you¡¯re unexpectedly obedient,¡± remarked Zu An. He felt incredibly satisfied by how he was able to coolly summon his sword like how it was portrayed in the dramas and movies.

    ¡°Prattle on and I¡¯ll sever your tongue. It doesn¡¯t affect me anyway as long as I keep you alive,¡± replied Mi Li sharply.

    ¡°...¡± Zu An.

    This woman¡¯s temper is really horrible.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An vented his wrath on the evil spirits, popping them off like balloons once again. It took only a few moments for him to ughter all of the evil spirits that had risen from theke. Even those that had gone for Chu Chuyan ended up being destroyed too.

    The rest quickly darted back into theke to hide.

    ¡°Why are you running off again? Let¡¯s continue the fight!¡± said Zu An in displeasure.

    You have sessfully trolled the Evil Spirit Warriors for +6 +6 +6...

    Noticing that they were eyeing his Tai¡¯e Sword intently with anger in their eyes, Zu Anughed sheepishly. He tossed the sword into the cliff face and said, ¡°Ah, I got too engrossed in the fight earlier. Don¡¯t worry, I promise you that I won¡¯t use my sword this time around.¡±

    By working his talentedly glib tongue once more, he sessfully lured the evil spirits once more. Of course, these evil spirits eventually fell to the Tai¡¯e Sword without putting much of a fight afterward.

    You have sessfully trolled the Evil Spirit Warriors for +9 +9 +9...

    Zu An scratched his head awkwardly andughed, ¡°Hahaha, this is thest time, really. I can¡¯t help my instincts. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll throw my sword even further this time around so you don¡¯t have to worry about me using it anymore.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled the Evil Spirit Warriors for +9 +9 +9...

    Like hell we¡¯ll believe you! You¡¯re even nastier than evil spirits like us!

    This time around, no matter how Zu An tried to bait and threaten them, the evil spirits simply refused to leave theke. Left with no choice, he summoned the Tai¡¯e Sword back and asked, ¡°Big sis empress, they aren¡¯ting out at all. What should we do?¡±

    Mi Li sighed deeply and said, ¡°They must have been appalled by how shameless you are.¡±

    Chu Chuyan and Qiao Xueying nodded in agreement too. It was a rare sight to see the three women standing on the same front.

    ¡°...¡± Zu An.

    ¡°What should we do now then? Even if they are willing toe at me, there¡¯s no end to them if I continue purifying them one by one at this rate,¡± said Zu An.

    Not to mention, I¡¯ve already duped them twice, so how could they possibly fall for it once more.

    ¡°Go and grab the helmet and spear over there,¡¯ said Mi Li as she pointed the Tai¡¯e Sword in a certain direction.

    Zu An quickly rushed over there and picked up the fallen helmet and spear by the wall. It took him a while before realization finally struck. ¡°It¡¯s Zhang Han¡¯s items!¡±

    He immediately realized what Mi Li was up to, and he brought those two items right by theke. It was then that Mi Li¡¯s silhouette rose from the Tai¡¯e Sword, emanating an imposing air worthy of a true empress.

    ¡°I am the empress of the Qin Dynasty, Mi Li. Some of you should have seen me before.¡±

    Chaos immediately broke out amidst the evil spirits. While few of them had seen Mi Li in person, they were able to recognize the ck phoenix robe embroidered with the unique patterns of the imperial family she wore.

    However, even though everyone recognized her, not a single person kneeled down to pay respect to her. Instead, they directed confused and wary looks at her.

 Chapter 202: An Evil Woman

    <h4>Chapter 202: An Evil Woman</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°You¡¯re all brave warriors of the Qin Dynasty, just that you were betrayed by one of your own and died with grievances,¡± said Mi Li.

    She paused for a moment to check the indignant looks on their faces before carrying on, ¡°You were pirs of the Qin Dynasty, and your demise has left a gaping hole in our empire. Not too long after you fell, our Great Qin was taken over by those barbaric rebels. I am as upset and indignant as the rest of you. We aren¡¯t enemies but allies on the same front! Who is the one whonded all of us in this plight?¡±

    ¡°Zhang... Han...¡±

    The evil spirits howled in unison as theke began bubbling furiously. Their eerie voices echoed loudly within this underground hall.

    Zu An was deeply impressed by the sight before him. These evil spirits actually weren¡¯t too sentient. They were left with only their instincts, leaving them incapable of speaking. At the very most, they could only release some insignificant howls.

    Yet, somehow, they were able to speak Zhang Han¡¯s name out loud. This showed just how much they hated that man, such that his name continued to linger in their minds even after their deaths.

    ¡°Indeed, it¡¯s Zhang Han! Our Great Qin has entrusted our hopes to him, but he betrayed our imperial court. For his own safety, he chose to surrender to the rebels and sent out core force to the grave. He deserves to die a thousand times over!¡± roared Mi Li powerfully.

    Zu An frowned a little upon hearing those words. To be honest, he was a little sympathetic toward Zhang Han over here. To the soldiers of the Qin Dynasty, he was indeed a traitor who had backstabbed all of them, but there was no way he wouldn¡¯t choose to be the savior of the Qin Dynasty instead of a backstabbing sinner if he had a choice.

    With his previous sesses on the battlefield, his political enemies in the imperial court began worrying over his growing influence and attempted to nder him before the emperor. It was already tough enough to deal with the rebels, but he had to keep an eye on his back on top of that. He knew that even if he won the battle against the rebels, it was likely that his political enemies would find a reason to frame him and bring him down. Cornered, he was eventually driven into surrendering to the rebels.

    As for killing his 200,000 soldiers, that wasn¡¯t his idea either. As someone who had already surrendered, he wasn¡¯t in a position to stop the rebels either.

    A single wrong step was more than enough to drop him into the abyss. There was no longer any turning back anymore.

    Of course, even though Zu An sympathized with Zhang Han a little, he wasn¡¯t so dumb as to talk about all of these at a time like this. He simply watched the situation quietly by the side, curious to see how Mi Li would wrap things up.

    ¡°Just a moment ago, I¡¯ve already killed the sinner, Zhang Han, and exacted vengeance for the Qin Dynasty and all of you!¡± Mi Li shot a nce at Zu An, urging him to throw the helmet and spear into theke. ¡°This is his helmet and weapon!¡±

    Zu An felt a sharp pain in his heart. Both the spear and the helmet had a beautiful luster that hinted they weren¡¯t ordinary items. If he were to put it on auction, it would surely stir a bidding war. It was really a huge pity to throw it away just like that.

    However, when he looked into theke and saw hundreds of thousands of eyes staring back at him, he felt goosebumps rising all over his body. With a deep sigh, he tossed the helmet and spear into theke with a reluctant look on his face.

    As soon as the helmet and spear fell into the water, the evil spirits immediately rushed forward with reddened eyes. Seemingly viewing the two pieces of equipment to be Zhang Han himself, they opened their mouths wide and chomped down on them.

    Zu An was dumbfounded.

    What the hell? Zhang Han¡¯s spear and helmet look to be of a simr level as the current Tai¡¯e Sword, and yet, the evil spirits are munching down on them with their teeth?

    However, what was even more shocking was that the spear and helmet were actually growing smaller at a visible pace, and it didn¡¯t take long before itpletely vanished from view.

    ¡°...¡± Zu An.

    The wrath of the evil spirits cated a little after devouring Zhang Han¡¯s armor and spear. In fact, some of them even had serene expressions on their faces.

    Mi Li made use of this opportunity to ask, ¡°All of you have turned into evil spirits due to your hatred toward Zhang Han. However, now that Zhang Han is dead, are you really content to continue living in such a state, never to be reincarnated?¡±

    Those words made the evil spirits struggle for a moment. Clearly, their inability to find inner peace was torturing them too.

    ¡°It¡¯s about time for you to let go of your persistence and reincarnate into a new body,¡± said Mi Li. ¡°I¡¯ll lend you a helping hand. A Life¡¯s Gate will appear hereter on; you¡¯ll be able to be born anew once you pass through the gate.¡±

    Zu An was in the midst of watching the show when a form suddenly sounded in his ears. It was a ki transmission from Mi Li. ¡°Channel the second rank of your Primordial Origin Sutra and manifest it in this manner corresponding to the Art of Afterlife...¡±

    Zu An immediately did as he was told, channeling the primordial ki from the world together as he muttered, ¡°Dirt to dirt, earth to earth. Those who have departed ought not to linger here...¡±

    As Mi Li¡¯s voice sounded, a white gate suddenly appearing in mid-air. It was initially around the size of a palm, but it gradually grewrger before eventually reaching several meters in height. The gate gave off an air of divinity and majesty.

    Zu An widened his eyes in awe. He had never seen such a cool effect before. If I use this to show off in the future, won¡¯t everyone bow down to me in awe?

    At the same time, he felt the disparity between him and Mi Li in terms of experience. Thetter was clearly much more knowledgeable than him, knowing all kinds of different stuff.

    He turned to look at Mi Li, only to be surprised to see that her silhouette had vanished without a trace.

    Wait a moment, has she left together with the Life¡¯s Gate? Ah, what a pity. If only I knew in advance, I would have taken my chances with the beautiful big sis empress...

    ¡°...¡± Mi Li.

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for +555 Rage!

    ¡°You really are a pervert through and through.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An was delighted to hear her voice. ¡°Ah, you¡¯re still here! You really scared me earlier! Where did you go to?¡±

    ¡°Of course I¡¯ve returned back to the Tai¡¯e Sword! Why would I remain outside after the Life¡¯s Gate has been opened? I¡¯d be asking to be purified!¡± replied Mi Li snappishly.

    It was only then that Zu An remembered that Mi Li had made a deal with him precisely out of fear of his purification ability. The white gate seemed to possess some sort of mysterious suction power that drew the evil spirits out of theke and through it. They had peaceful looks on their faces as they passed through the gate, seemingly filled with great expectations for their next life.

    There was a thin film in the gateway, and the evil spirits who passed through it would vanish without a trace, as if they had been transported into another mysterious world.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but ask in wonderment, ¡°Is it the afterlife beyond the Life¡¯s Gate?¡±

    ¡°Of course not,¡± sneered Mi Li.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Zu An was confused.

    ¡°The afterlife is something fleeting and beyond reach. There might be some powerful experts in the world who have the ability to reincarnate, but it¡¯s not something that ordinary mortals can hope for. That Life¡¯s Gate is nothing more than a manifestation of your purification ability. The evil spirits who pass through it will simply be disintegrated into the most fundamental form of ki,¡± exined Mi Li.

    ¡°...¡± Zu An.

    This woman is simply too vicious! Her speech was so impassionate that even I fell for it, but it turned out to be a big fat lie?! Looks like I must really keep my guard up against her in the future, or else I might just get sold one day!

    ¡°Of course, this is a fair ending for them too. Evil spirits aren¡¯t entitled to peace even after death,¡± added Mi Li.

    Like hell I would believe that!

    But of course, Zu An wasn¡¯t so dumb as to tell the evil spirits the truth of the Life¡¯s Gate.

    ¡°Don¡¯t waste this precious opportunity. Hurry up and assimte the primordial ki emanated by the evil spirits,¡± reminded Mi Li.

    At her reminder, Zu An realized that the primordial ki in the surroundings was growing more and more concentrated along with the disintegration of the evil spirits. So, while maintaining the Life¡¯s Gate, he drove his Primordial Origin Sutra to heal his injuries.

    Meanwhile, Chu Chuyan stood by his side to guard him. At the same time, she kept an eye out for Qiao Xueying as well, feeling a bit worried for thetter since she had sustained severe injuries too. While it was not to the extent of being fatal yet, it could possibly pose some danger to her if left untreated for too long.

    ¡°Honey, I¡¯ll be fine. You should take care of Snow first,¡± Zu An opened his eyes and said.

    Chu Chuyan responded with a nod before rushing over to Qiao Xueying¡¯s side. She noticed that thetter had already fallen into a semi-conscious state, so she quickly infused her ki into her body. While it was not as pure as primordial ki, it should be enough to slowly heal her injuries up.

    Some timeter, Qiao Xueying¡¯s eyes slowly fluttered open. Upon seeing that it was Chu Chuyan who was saving her, there was aplicated look on her face for a moment before she whispered softly, ¡°Thank you.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to thank me. It¡¯s Ah Zu who told me to save you,¡± replied Chu Chuyan.

    Qiao Xueying smiled softly in response. ¡°You¡¯re still the same as always. Despite harboring kind intentions at heart, you simply wouldn¡¯t admit to it.¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s cheeks flushed a little. The rtionship between the two of them was a little awkward at the moment. While Qiao Xueying was a spy sent by a hostile power to infiltrate the Chu n, somehow, Chu Chuyan was unable to bring herself to hate her.

    But of course, after all that had been said and done, it was impossible for their rtionship to go back to how it was before.

    After a moment of hesitation, she changed the topic and asked, ¡°Speaking of which, you were on bad terms with Ah Zu all this while. How did the two of you be so much closer all of a sudden?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t misunderstand it. There¡¯s nothing between me and him at all. We¡¯re just two individuals working with the same goal in mind. We happened to share a bit of camaraderie from our shared efforts to save you earlier; there¡¯s nothing else other than that,¡± replied Qiao Xueying.

    Chu Chuyan chuckled softly. ¡°I didn¡¯t say anything. Why are you in such a rush to refute my words?¡±

    Qiao Xueying¡¯s face heated up. She wasn¡¯t saying anything else, but she found her heartbeat hastening. What¡¯s wrong with me? It¡¯s not like I¡¯m lying or anything. Why would I feel so conscience-stricken?

    ...

    It took a few hours before the 200,000 evil spirits were fully purified. With the disintegration of the final evil spriit, the temperature in the underground hall suddenly seemed to raise by a few degrees. At the same time, the ckke slowly turned clear.

    Zu An heaved a sigh of relief. He had managed to recover fully from his terrifying wounds by absorbing the primordial ki, and he felt more spirited than ever.

    While he was healing his wounds through the Primordial Origin Sutra, his body underwent aplete tempering session too. He was at least two times more resilient than before. In fact, he had a feeling that he could withstand a full power blow from a fifth rank cultivator without taking much damage as long as thetter didn¡¯t tap into his elemental prowess.

    He lowered his head to look at ¡®little Zu An¡¯. He couldn¡¯t help but remember how shocked he was when he first heard of the story of Lao Ai[1] using his thing as an axle to turn the wheels of a carriage. However, now that he looked at it once more, it seemed no more than a child¡¯s y to him.

    He couldn¡¯t help but notice that he had only absorbed less than half of the primordial ki earlier on. Most of the energy produced by the disintegration of the evil spirits had gone into the Tai¡¯e Sword instead.

    Zu An sighed softly and said, ¡°Big sis empress is truly a cunning one. After all the trouble I¡¯ve been through, it turns out that you¡¯re still the biggest victor of all.¡±

    1. The secret lover of Ying Zheng¡¯s mother, known for having a huge junk down there.

 Chapter 203: Call Me Master

    <h4>Chapter 203: Call Me Master</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    A silhouette rose out of the Tai¡¯e Sword¡ªMi Li. She was previously dressed in Zu An¡¯s clothes, but now that she had turned into a soul, she had reverted back to the ck empress robe she was wearing previously.

    Why is she still wearing clothes even when she has turned into a soul? Just who is she guarding against?

    Mi Li felt a little displeased upon seeing Zu An¡¯s gaze. She harrumphed coldly and said, ¡°You¡¯re the one whonded me in my current state. So what if I absorb a bit of energy from those evil spirits to heal my soul? You should remember that we¡¯re linked with one another now. You should be praying that my soul remains as healthy as it gets.¡±

    ¡°Yes yes yes, I would love no more than big sis empress to live for tens of thousands of years. It would be even better if you can live for all eternity,¡± replied Zu An fawningly.

    ¡°Haa. Since ancient times, all cultivators, no matter how strong they may be, aren¡¯t able to escape from the fate of eventual declination. True immortalhood is simply too far beyond reach,¡± remarked Mi Li. Then, she suddenly directed a sharp re at Zu An and said, ¡°Besides, you obviously have the face of a short-lived brat. What¡¯s the use if I¡¯m the only one who is able to live for a long time?¡±

    ¡°Wait a moment, what do you mean by ¡®I have the face of a short-lived brat¡¯?!¡± protested Zu An angrily.

    ¡°That mouth of yours is simply too good at drawing the ire of others. You¡¯re bound to make a lot of enemies in your lifetime, so you¡¯re obviously going to be short-lived,¡± replied Mi Li.

    ¡°As a cultivator, how can I cower in fear before my enemies? In my view, rather than a threat, my enemies are nothing more than a grindstone that pushes me to higher grounds!¡± said Zu An.

    Mi Li was surprised. ¡°I must have been underestimating you. I didn¡¯t expect to hear such words from you.¡±

    Chu Chuyan and turned over to look at Zu An, surprised by his perspective toward this matter.¡±

    Meanwhile, Qiao Xueying was already used to it. Having fought together in the three seals, she had longe to a realization that Zu An was no longer the wastrel son-inw of the Chu n whom she had looked down on in the past.

    But Zu An suddenly burst intoughter and remarked, ¡°Of course. Someone as cool as me attracts the attention of women no matter where I go.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Mi Li.

    ¡°...¡± Chu Chuyan.

    ¡°...¡± Qiao Xueying.

    Allow me to take back those words I¡¯ve just said. He¡¯s still as thick-skinned as ever.

    ¡°Forget it. So that you can at least live a little longer, I¡¯ll give you a reminder here. I¡¯m not the only one who benefited from assimting the 200,000 evil spirits earlier; the Tai¡¯e Sword has also been greatly nourished too. It has regained its powers to some degree. In the future, you can use its Kingship Domain to exert pressure on your enemies. You¡¯ll be able to fully seal the movements of lower rank cultivators and greatly weaken the strength of stronger opponents,¡± said Mi Li.

    Zu An was delighted. ¡°Doesn¡¯t that mean that I¡¯ll be unrivaled in the future?¡±

    ¡°It isn¡¯t as simple as you think. The Kingship Domain is powerful, but it saps a lot of energy each time it¡¯s activated. I reckon that you¡¯d only be able to activate it once every half a month, so I suggest you reserve this skill for truly desperate moments lest you find yourself without this trump card during moments that really count,¡± replied Mi Li.

    Zu An could ept such a limitation. After all, it wouldn¡¯t make sense for him to use such a powerful skill as and when he pleased. ¡°Ah, you mentioned ¡®lower rank cultivators¡¯ and ¡®stronger opponents¡¯ earlier. What would count as a lower rank cultivator and what would count as a stronger opponent? I need to know the exact detail so at least I¡¯d have some idea of what I¡¯m able to do.¡±

    ¡°I only know of the prowess of the Tai¡¯e Sword¡¯s Kingship Domain in its peak. Needless to say, it¡¯s still much weaker than it was at its peak, so I don¡¯t really have a gauge for you either. You should test it out for yourself in a battle instead,¡± replied Mi Li.

    ¡°I see...¡± Zu An was a little disappointed to hear those words, but he decided to think on the bright side instead. It was already good enough that he obtained another powerful skill he could use; there was no need for him to get too greedy here.

    He turned to the side to check on Qiao Xueying, only to notice that her face was extremely pale. So, he quickly rushed over and asked, ¡°How is she doing?¡±

    ¡°I used my ki to stabilize her injuries for the time being, but she needs to get proper treatment as soon as possible.¡±

    Zu An flicked the Tai¡¯e Sword impatiently and said, ¡°You went too far earlier.¡±

    ¡°The fact that she¡¯s still breathing now should be enough to show that I¡¯ve gone easy on her,¡± sneered Mi Li.

    Zu An snorted in response before hurriedly pulling Qiao Xueying to his side in order to treat her, but Mi Li¡¯s voice suddenly sounded at this moment.

    ¡°Are you intending to treat her with your Primordial Origin Sutra?¡±

    ¡°Indeed.¡± Zu An was confused as to why Mi Li was asking this question. ¡°Is there a problem with that?¡±

    ¡°You won¡¯t be able to do it. The first rank of the Primordial Origin Sutra tempers your body, the second rank purifies malevolent beings, the third rank cures all poison, and only at the fourth rank will you be able to treat others. You¡¯re stillcking in your current state,¡± replied Mi Li.

    Zu An was taken aback. ¡°But didn¡¯t I repair Chuyan¡¯s ki meridians earlier on?¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s face reddened upon hearing those words, and she quickly turned her head to the side awkwardly, feigning as if she wasn¡¯t listening to their conversation.

    Toward Zu An¡¯s question, Mi Li replied, ¡°That wasn¡¯t a conventional treatment method. You were using the amalgamation of yin and yang along with your transcendent ss aptitude as a medium in order to carry out the treatment, but surely you can¡¯t be thinking of doing it with everyone else in order to save them? Putting all other concerns aside, what if your patient is a man?¡±

    The thought of ramming into a man made Zu An shudder.

    Why the hell would I want to treat a man? It goes without saying that I¡¯ll only treat women! Bros, you shouldn¡¯t me me for being heartless, it¡¯s just that... how can I bring myself to do it?!

    ¡°Besides, not all women would be willing to be saved by you in such a manner.¡± Mi Li shot a nce at Qiao Xueying. ¡°Why don¡¯t you try asking her then?¡±

    Zu An turned to Qiao Xueying and asked, ¡°Snow, we¡¯rerades who have braved through danger together. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll definitely do everything I can to save you. Even if I have to squeeze out every single droplet I have, I¡¯ll do so without any hesitation just so that...¡±

    ¡°Go to hell!¡± Qiao Xueying interjected furiously as she exerted all of the strength she had to push him away..

    Chu Chuyan quickly rushed over to support Qiao Xueying before directing a re at Zu An. ¡°How can you joke around at a time like this?¡±

    Zu An felt indignant. ¡°All I wanted to do here is to save her! I mean, I¡¯m even willing to deplete my blood essence for her!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Chu Chuyan.

    ¡°...¡± Qiao Xueying.

    ck lines streaked across Mi Li¡¯s face. ¡°Time and time again, you renew my perception of how low a human can get.¡±

    Zu An sighed deeply,menting how no one in the world could empathize with him. However, considering the fact that Qiao Xueying was indeed not in mortal danger at the moment, it would be inappropriate for him to do that with her.

    That being said, it didn¡¯t hinder him from muttering grudgingly, ¡°Hmph, no wonder they say that ¡®three monks won¡¯t have water to drink[1]¡¯. If there aren¡¯t the two other women by the side, Snow might have just sumbed there and then.¡±

    It was then that the Tai¡¯e Sword suddenly flew into the air and knocked hard on Chu Chuyan and Qiao Xueying¡¯s nape, causing the two of them to copse onto the ground.

    Chu Chuyan was too busy taking care of Qiao Xueying and brooding over her changed rtionship with Zu An that she waspletely caught off guard from the attack. As for Qiao Xueying, she was simply too weakened to retaliate at all.

    ¡°What are you doing?!¡± rmed, Zu An bellowed at Mi Li. He quickly rushed forward to check on the two women¡¯s condition, heaving a sigh of relief when he noticed that they were only unconscious.

    ¡°Kill them,¡± ordered Mi Li coldly.

    ¡°You¡¯re sick in the mind!¡± retorted Zu An angrily.

    ¡°I know that you have a close rtionship with them, but a bond between a man and woman is not something that can be relied on. You have revealed far too many secrets to the two of them, be it your transcendent ss talent or the Primordial Origin Sutra... and if I¡¯m not mistaken, you¡¯ve practiced the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra too, right?¡± asked Mi Li.

    Zu An was taken aback. He looked at Mi Li warily as he asked, ¡°How do you know that?¡±

    Mi Li chuckled softly with a hint of pride in her eyes as she replied, ¡°Every time you get injured, your physical prowess would be enhanced greatly, be it your speed or your strength, allowing you to exert might far greater than your current cultivation rank. I¡¯ve seen records rting to it during my time in the imperial pce, so it isn¡¯t that difficult for me to fathom a guess.¡±

    Zu An fell silent. This woman is simply far too powerful and knowledgeable. It won¡¯t be easy to fool her in the future.

    ¡°However, there¡¯s one thing I still don¡¯t understand. The Phoenix Nirvana Sutra shouldn¡¯t have the effect of invulnerability. Why was I unable to kill you earlier on?¡± Mi Li frowned deeply. Despite all of the books she had read in her time, there was nothing that could exin this baffling situation.

    Zu An scratched his head awkwardly. The Heiress¡¯ Ball of Delight was simply far too embarrassing of a tool that he swore that he would never speak of its existence to anyone else.

    Fortunately, Mi Li didn¡¯t probe deeper into this matter. ¡°It matters not. I¡¯ll eventually uncover your secrets in time toe anyway. In any case, you should understand how dangerous it would be for your secrets to be revealed. Be it the Primordial Origin Sutra or the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, they are top-notch skills that even the strongest experts in the world coveted. On top of that, you should do well not to forget that you do possess transcendent ss aptitude, and there are many old monsters who desire your flesh and meat.¡±

    ¡°Surely people wouldn¡¯t really be so naive as to think that they would be able to achieve immortalhood by consuming the flesh of a transcendent ss aptitude cultivator?¡± asked Zu An meekly.

    ¡°Even Ying Zheng was unable to resist the allureing from the possibility of immortalhood back then, let alone the others.¡± Mi Li¡¯s expression grew a littleplicated when she mentioned Ying Zheng. ¡°Those people have already reached the peak of the world, holding onto great authority and wealth in their hands. There¡¯s nothing theyck in the world, and thus they are more fearful of death than anyone else.

    ¡°To them, as long as there was even a sliver of a chance of achieving immortalhood, they would have to give it a try. It was not as if they had anything to lose out of it. So, if they find out that you possess transcendent ss aptitude, they would even go to the extent of grinding down your bones so as to swallow every single part of you.¡±

    Zu An was horrified to hear Mi Li¡¯s descriptions. He subconsciously replied, ¡°But the two of them are the people closest to me at the moment. I don¡¯t think that they would reveal it to others.¡±

    ¡°Ying Zheng was also the man closest to me back then, but did that hinder me from getting backstabbed by him?¡± replied Mi Li with a vicious edge in her voice. ¡°Humans and feelings are the two most unreliable things in the world. Our fates are already tied together, so I can¡¯t allow any harm toe to you. If you aren¡¯t willing to make the move, I¡¯ll silence them myself.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The Tai¡¯e Sword rose to the sky and prepared to execute the two women.

    Shocked, Zu An quickly stepped in front of the two of them to protect them. ¡°You can¡¯t just deny all feelings in the world just because you have been betrayed in the past. Besides, if I were to kill two of the closest people to me over something like this, how would I be different from Ying Zheng then? Surely you wouldn¡¯t want to live your life with a second Yiing Zheng, right?¡±

    ¡°Ying Zheng might be vicious, but he¡¯s much more decisive and wiser than you are.¡± Despite her words, the Tai¡¯e Sword slowly fell back to the ground.

    ¡°Wait a moment, why is the Tai¡¯e Sword so heeding of yourmands? Aren¡¯t I supposed to be its real master?¡± eximed Zu An.

    ¡°That¡¯s because its sword spirit is still in hibernation from the injuries it sustained back then. In some sort of way, you can think of me as a temporary sword spirit for the Tai¡¯e Sword.¡±

    ¡°Oh? You¡¯re the Tai¡¯e Sword¡¯s sword spirit now?¡± Zu An¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you call me ¡®master¡¯ then?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Mi Li.

    1. It¡¯s actually a story about how an increase in personnel changes mindsets. When a monk is alone, he¡¯s forced to carry the water for survival purposes. When there are two monks, they choose to split the workload equally even if it introduces inefficiency. When there are three monks, everyone thinks that the other two would do the work, and they end up gettingzy.

 Chapter 204: River of Forgetfulness

    <h4>Chapter 204: River of Forgetfulness</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An was a little excited at the notion of someone as noble and powerful as Mi Li calling him master, but needless to say, how could someone as prideful and lofty as Mi Li do something like that.

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for +888 Rage!

    Looking at the Rage points he had received from Mi Li, Zu An¡¯s heart jolted in horror. He suddenly remembered something incredibly frightening¡ªhe hadn¡¯t plucked off the g where he wouldn¡¯t receive anything from the lottery draws yet.

    He had sworn back then that he wouldn¡¯t receive anything for the next three subsequent drawings.

    In truth, it was not that he had forgotten about this matter but he simply hadn¡¯t been able to find an opportunity to do it. Ever since he left the seal, he had been too preupied with dealing against Mi Li and purifying the 200,000 evil spirits that he wasn¡¯t able to get any time to himself.

    As a result, he was basically wasting every single Rage points he was earning right now.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you try saying that again?¡± asked Mi Li with tightly gritted teeth.

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you call me ¡®master¡¯ then?¡± Zu An quickly supplemented, ¡°You¡¯re the one who told me to say it again. I was just following your instructions!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Mi Li.

    If it had been back then, she would have surely had the man who dared speak to her in such a manner tossed out of her pce to be executed.

    When Zu An found the sharp de of the Tai¡¯e Sword pointed directly at his neck, he immediately recoiled in horror and eximed, ¡°Our fates are linked together now! You mustn¡¯t kill me!¡±

    ¡°I might be unable to kill you, but I can at least sever your tongue or your ears to vent my anger, right?¡± said Mi Li with a frosty voice.

    ¡°That won¡¯t do! If you inflict any injuries on my body, I... I¡¯ll kill myself right away!¡± Zu An harrumphed. ¡°At most, we¡¯ll just all die together!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Mi Li.

    She suddenly felt incredibly exhausted. This fellow is obstinate like a mule, but at the same time, he¡¯s shameless enough to ignore social conventions and the rules. How am I supposed to deal with someone like this?

    Zu An made use of this opportunity to add on, ¡°Also, you can¡¯t kill them either. What¡¯s the point of living in this world when I can¡¯t even protect my women?¡±

    ¡°Your women?¡± sneered Mi Li. ¡°That Chu woman is one thing, but are you calling that ponytail girl your woman too?¡±

    ¡°She isn¡¯t yet, but it¡¯s only a matter of time. After all, she has already been betrothed to me,¡± murmured Zu An in response. And you might be the next one too.

    ¡°What did you say?¡± Mi Li red at Zu An coldly as Tai¡¯e Sword rose into the sky.

    ¡°I¡¯m saying that big sis empress shouldn¡¯t get angry so often. Do you know that getting angry is bad for your skin?¡± Zu An pushed the Tai¡¯e Sword away from his face as he exined cheekily.

    ¡°Do I need you to teach me how to do things?¡± Mi Li sounded extremely displeased.

    ¡°I¡¯m just worried about you,¡± replied Zu An with a meek smile. ¡°Things are different now. You used to have plenty of maidservants by your side, so you need not worry about it back then. However, now that you don¡¯t have anyone to attend to you, you should start taking note of it now.¡±

    ¡°Hmph! I¡¯m born with natural beauty, so why would I have to care about all of that?¡± said Mi Li. ¡°However, what you said does makes sense. I happen to becking maidservants at the moment. These two women do look fairly decent. Shall I extract their souls and turn them into my maidservants?¡±

    Zu An was appalled. He didn¡¯t expect Mi Li would still be so determined to kill them after all that had been said. He decided to get straight to the point, ¡°That won¡¯t do. Absolutely not. If you take their lives, it¡¯ll be over between us!¡±

    Mi Li didn¡¯t get angry this time around. She looked at him quietly for a moment before eventually sighing deeply, ¡°You¡¯re still too young. You haven¡¯t seen how hideous a human can be, and you have never experienced betrayal from someone close to you before. You¡¯ll surely regret it in the future.¡±

    Zu An shook his head and replied, ¡°I¡¯m not the type of person who naively believes in human goodness either. It¡¯s just that I¡¯ve known them for some time, so I understand what kind of people they are. If they really do betray me, I reckon that they must have somepelling reason to do so.¡±

    Putting aside Chu Chuyan, even Qiao Xueying who had been out for his life thus far was obviously someone with a strong front but a soft heart. Thetter even went to the extent of sacrificing half of her lifespan in order to save him, so it went without saying that he could at least ord her with this bit of trust.

    Mi Li harrumphed coldly. ¡°Sometimes, you¡¯re wily like an old fox, but on other asions, you¡¯re as dumb as a brick. Forget it, I¡¯ll spare them on your ount, but we¡¯ll have to seal off their memories.¡±

    ¡°Seal off their memories?¡± Zu An was taken aback.

    ¡°Indeed. The secrets you hold are simply too dangerous that even if they don¡¯t intentionally betray you, there¡¯s no saying that they might identally leak it out to someone else. You don¡¯t have the ability to protect yourself at the moment, and I don¡¯t wish for anyone to know of my existence yet too,¡± said Mi Li. ¡°This matter is not up for negotiation. It¡¯s either I kill them or seal their memories. Make your choice!¡±

    ¡°Wow, I never thought that I would bump into the clich¨¦ amnesiac scene.¡± Zu An thought about the drama serials he had seen in his previous life and felt a little wistful. Such a plotline was usually just for the sake of creating drama out of nothing just so that the story can be prolonged for the sake of milking the audience.

    ¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking,¡± sneered Mi Li. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, they will remember whatever they need to. I¡¯ll just seal off the portions regarding our secrets.¡±

    Zu An smiled sheepishly upon having his thoughts seen through, but he was satisfied with this oue. From Mi Li¡¯s perspective, she had already made a hugepromise.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Right, how are you going to seal off their memories? Would it inflict any physical harm on them?¡± asked Zu An worriedly.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be using a skill known as ¡®River of Forgetfulness¡¯. It won¡¯t hurt their soul or body, so you need not worry.¡± Mi Li raised her hands and quickly formed a fewplicated hand seals.

    Zu An had to acknowledge that Mi Li¡¯s hands were indeed very pretty. They were long and slender, and her red fingernails gave off a dangerous yet tempting allure.

    Soon, Mi Li finished forming the hand seals. A river seemed to flow from between her hands, bearing the word ¡®Forgetfulness¡¯ on it. It washed over Chu Chuyan and Qiao Xueying¡¯s body before gradually disappearing.

    Zu An stared at the two women intently, afraid that something would go wrong. Fortunately, the two of them appeared calm throughout the entire procedure, not disying any anomaly at all.

    A momentter, Mi Li finally ced her hands down and said, ¡°It¡¯s done. They¡¯ll forget everything about me and your secrets once they rouse from their slumber.¡±

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Big sis empress, are you a runemaster?¡±

    The beautiful sight of Mi Li forming hand seals continued lingering in his head. He had heard that runemaster was another alternative route a cultivator could specialize it, and it was a mysterious but powerful upation. Runemasters were capable of achieving feats that would otherwise be impossible for cultivators.

    It was just a regret that he hadn¡¯t been able to get acquainted with a runemaster thus far. The Chu n did have a runemaster, but his skills were clearlycking inparison with Mi Li¡¯s, being only able to inscribe runes on weapons to enhance and enchant them with auxiliary effects.

    ¡°Of course! I¡¯m the greatest runemaster of the Great Qin Dynasty!¡± replied Mi Li proudly. Her air was so powerful that it colored Zu An impressed.

    It¡¯s amazing how some people are able to look cool even without trying. Haa, looks like I¡¯m still far from matching her level.

    ¡°The Life-and-Death Contract and Life Gate you taught me earlier is the means of a runemaster, right?¡± asked Zu An.

    ¡°Indeed!¡± Mi Li puffed her chest up high.

    Zu An pondered for a moment before asking in intrigue, ¡°If you¡¯re the strongest runemaster of the Qin Dynasty, you should be familiar with formations and the sort. How ironic it is that you ended up getting sealed instead!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Mi Li.

    Do you have to mock me at every turn? I really want to give this infuriating bastard a good pummeling!

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for +233 Rage!

    Noticing Mi Li¡¯s awfulplexion, Zu An wisely changed the subject, ¡°Speaking of which, why didn¡¯t you seal the Life-and-Death Contract with Ying Zheng back then? You wouldn¡¯t have to worry about him turning his back on you then, right?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s a guy who thinks that his merits surpass that of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, believing that he¡¯d live as long as heaven itself. How could he possibly allow his own fate to be bound to another person as an equal?¡±

    Zu An nodded in realization. ¡°So you asked him to sign the contract but got refused?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Mi Li.

    ¡°Ridiculous! The Life-and-Death Contract is a vow sealed only by two people deeply in love with one another. I¡¯m in a political marriage with him, so why would I even seal such a contract with him?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for +567 Rage!

    Zu An felt exasperated upon seeing yet another wave of Rage pointsing in. Argh, what a waste!

    ¡°Hold on for a moment,¡± eximed Zu An.

    He decided to draw the lottery right now to cut his losses. Based on his previous experiment, Wei Suo wasn¡¯t able to see his Keyboard, so the same could apply to Mi Li too though he wasn¡¯t too sure about that.

    Speaking of Wei Suo, he was starting to miss that fellow. I wonder if he has been secretly checking on Principal Jiang¡¯s stockings while I¡¯m away.

    Zu An quickly shook out the misceneous thoughts in his head and got to action. He was determined to get rid of the g he had nted as soon as possible so as to minimize his losses.

    He quickly checked on his Keyboard, only to be shocked to realize that he had actually umted a staggering amount of 34,584 Rage, which meant that he could draw 345 times!

    This was the first time he had hated how proficient he was at drawing the ire of others.

    Damn it! Snow, do you know how huge of a loss I¡¯ve made because of you? You better bear me a ser team¡¯s worth of children in the future, or else your conscience will never be able to rest easy!

    He quickly took a look and realized that thergest sum he had received was from the evil spirits. It was fortunate that there were only thousands of evil spirits nearing the surface of theke who had witnessed his shamelessness and contributed Rage points to him, or else the amount would have been even greater.

    If all 200,000 evil spirits contributed 6 to 9 Rage points each, that would total up to a sum of several million. Just how huge of a loss that would be?!

    It suddenly dawned on Zu An that he should prepare a huge megaphone wherever he went so that he could make sure to taunt everyone properly and squeeze them dry.

    With a heart bleeding in pain, Zu An began drawing the lottery. Just as he had expected, everything he got this time around was just ¡®Thanks for participating¡¯. He didn¡¯t receive a single thing at all!

    It looked like he really wouldn¡¯t be able to get anything until he finally removed the g.

    Seeing how Zu An was prancing around like a clown, Mi Li asked doubtfully, ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    ¡°Nothing much. Let¡¯s continue our previous conversation. Where were we again? Ah yes, I remember it now.¡± Zu An looked at the imposing Mi Li and blinked his eyes a few times before remarking, ¡°You mentioned that the Life-and-Death Contract is something that would only be used by a couple deeply in love. The fact that you used it on me... doesn¡¯t that mean that you¡¯ve already fallen for my charms?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Mi Li.

 Chapter 205: Itâ€™s Hard to Cure Brain Damage

    <h4>Chapter 205: It¡¯s Hard to Cure Brain Damage</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Mi Li was rendered speechless. Why does this fellow not operate like a normal human being?

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for +250 Rage!

    ¡°You fellow...¡± Mi Li gritted her teeth angrily, but before she could go on a rampage, Zu An suddenly raised his hand to stop her.

    ¡°Hold on for a moment.¡±

    ¡°What do you want?¡± asked Mi Li with a frown, not knowing what he was up to.

    Zu An summoned his Keyboard and began drawing his lottery once more.

    He had already lost over 30,000 Rage points in the previous lottery, so there was no way he was going to let history repeat itself. Thus, he decided to use up his Rage points right away!

    He was left with 84 Rage points previously, so with Mi Li¡¯s new contribution of 250, the sum had added up to a total of 334 Rage points, which meant that he could draw three more times.

    At this moment, he even felt that he was making a profit here.

    Just as he had expected, he got nothing from the three draws at all. However, his feelings were very different from before. He felt far more rxed now that he had finally gotten rid of the g weighing him down.

    I really mustn¡¯t make vows casually in the future. Karma is a bitch.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯m back. Big sis empress, what were you saying earlier on?¡± Zu An was in such a good mood that a smile lingered on his lips.

    ¡°I was going to say earlier that...¡± Mi Li was halfway into her words when she suddenly froze up. Huh, what was I going to say earlier? The earlier disruption had thrown her off her tempo.

    It took a long moment before she finally recalled what she was getting to. ¡°Hmph, don¡¯t you know better than anyone else why I¡¯m sealing this Life-and-Death Contract with you? It maddens me just to think about it! If you dare bring this matter up to make light of me in the future, I won¡¯t let you off the hook easily.¡±

    There was a slight moment of pause as Mi Li wondered if her threat was far too vague to be taken seriously, so she supplemented, ¡°I might be unable to kill you, but I can easily break your limbs. You need to be beaten up in order to raise your cultivation anyway, so I¡¯m actually doing you a favor here. Hmm, now that I¡¯m thinking about it, I¡¯m really tempted to give it a try.¡±

    Noticing how Mi Li¡¯s eyes were ncing toward his limbs, Zu An recoiled in horror. He quickly replied, ¡°T-there¡¯s no need to give it a try! I trust your words, I really do! Ah right, I have a question for you. If Ying Zheng knows a mean to deal with you, why didn¡¯t he simply purify you back then instead of creating such aplicated seal?¡±

    ¡°The purification of the Primordial Origin Sutra only works on souls. I was protected by my body back then, so why would I fear his purification?¡± Mi Li harrumphed.

    Zu An was perplexed. ¡°But he could have killed you and purified your soul right after, no? Pardon my frankness, but you should be weaker than Ying Zheng, right? Surely he should have some ways to kill you, right?¡±

    Mi Li had been vague about this matter thus far, but perhaps due to their fates being linked together now, she chose to borate deeper into the matter this time around. ¡°He¡¯s a headstrong person. He wanted me to submit to me, but how could I let him get his way? That being said, I do acknowledge that he probably spared me on the ount of our couple ties... It was shortly after our fight that Ying Zheng suddenly dropped dead, so I ended up getting stuck in my seal.¡±

    Zu An noticed a peculiarity in Mi Li¡¯s expression when she made those remarks, as if she was reminiscing the past. For some reason, he had a feeling that thetter was intentionally hiding something from him.

    He knew that further probing wouldn¡¯t make Mi Li reveal any information she didn¡¯t want to, so he decided to put the matter aside for now and only ask about it after they got closer to one another.

    ¡°You mentioned that Zhang Han used the lingering aura of the Soul Suppression Seal to seal off the 200,000 evil spirits together with Xiang Yu. Since Xiang Yu came to this mausoleum, considering the hatred he bore toward the imperial family, it didn¡¯t make sense for him to spare you,¡± asked Zu An.

    ¡°You surprisingly know quite a bit about Xiang Yu.¡± Mi Li was surprised. ¡°Indeed, Xiang Yu has harbor great hatred for the Qin Dynasty. He killed the Qin soldiers who surrendered back then, burned down the pces, and plundered Xianyang[1] as he pleased. When he learned about my existence from Zhang Han, he wanted toy his hands on me too.¡±

    There was a hint of fury in Mi Li¡¯s voice as he spoke. ¡°He has long heard of my beauty, and my identity as the empress of the Qin Dynasty also stoked his desire to conquer. He began bearing filthy thoughts about me. He started off by expressing his admiration for me in the underground pce, and eventually, he sumbed to his lust and tried to undo the Soul Suppression Seal.¡±

    Zu An was rmed. ¡°Given Xiang Yu¡¯s strength, even the Soul Suppression Soul shouldn¡¯t be able to stop him, right?¡±

    In his previous world, Xiang Yu was known to be a powerful general renowned for his martial prowess. In this world of supernatural abilities, wouldn¡¯t Xiang Yu be a terrifyingly powerful cultivator then?

    ¡°You¡¯re mistaken about that. Xiang Yu is indeed an extremely powerful individual; the Human Seal and Earth Seal couldn¡¯t stop him at all. He was able to ovee the trials far faster than you did,¡± replied Mi Li.

    Zu An scratched his head sheepishly. I mean, it¡¯s nothing much to lose to a legendary historical figure, right?

    ¡°However, he failed at the Heaven Seal. No matter how powerful he was, he was unable to stand against heaven¡¯s will. On top of that, he seems to have met with some trouble outside, so he ended up never returning to this mausoleum. It¡¯s for that reason that I thought that the Heaven Seal is fraught with dangers. If even someone as powerful as Xiang Yu wasn¡¯t able to breach it, I can¡¯t say that I bear any hopes for a third rank cultivator like you. Yet, you actually managed to seed at where he failed. Perhaps it¡¯s heaven¡¯s will at y here,¡± remarked Mi Li wistfully before she chuckled softly.

    But she suddenly remembered how she had been shackled into yet another cage shortly after being released, and herplexion turned awful once more.

    ¡°Looks like I¡¯m the one chosen by heaven,¡± remarked Zu An gleefully.

    His glee only further spurred Mi Li¡¯s displeasure. ¡°Hmph! If not for the Tai¡¯e Sword suffering great damage from Xiang Yu¡¯s attempt to breach the seal back then, it would have surely been far more difficult for you.¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t think that it was a big deal at all. ¡°The fact how everything worked out despite the odds stacked against me shows that it¡¯s the work of fate at y here. Don¡¯t you find it interesting how a third rank cultivator like me was able to aplish what the powerful Xiang Yu is unable to pull off?¡±

    Mi Li was slightly surprised to hear those words. She murmured under her breath, ¡°Fate, huh...¡±

    It took her a long while before she snapped out of it and said, ¡°You have been asking me questions for some time now. It¡¯s time for you to answer my questions now.¡±

    ¡°Big sis empress, feel free to ask anything of me. I¡¯ll answer your doubts to the best of my abilities!¡± replied Zu An with a smile.

    For some reason, Mi Li had a feeling that Zu An was going to concoct lies. ¡°Where did you obtain the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra from?¡±

    ¡°Well, I received it from a mysterious old man...¡± Since he was bound to Mi Li in a Life-and-Death Contract now, there was no reason for him to hide this from her. She was bound to find out once they returned to the Chu Manor anyway.

    Besides, Old Mi had always given him a sinister feeling, so it might be good for him to discuss this matter with Mi Li.

    Mi Li frowned. ¡°Is he your father or your grandfather?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Zu An.

    Why do I feel like I¡¯m being scolded here?

    ¡°Neither.¡±

    ¡°If he¡¯s unrted to you, why would he present such a powerful secret art to you? It¡¯s as clear as day that he¡¯s up to something,¡± sneered Mi Li.

    Zu An shared the same thoughts too, but he simply couldn¡¯t figure just what he had that Old Mi coveted.

    ¡°Is it my looks? Y¡¯know, I have a strong feeling that I¡¯m the one chosen by heaven, the protagonist of the world. I feel that it¡¯s only normal for powerful experts to want to impart all of their skills to me.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Mi Li.

    She eyed Zu An with narrowed eyes for a moment before asking, ¡°By any chance, are you deranged?¡±

    ¡°???¡± Zu An.

    You¡¯re the one who is deranged. Your entire family is deranged!

    ¡°If there¡¯s something wrong with your head, you ought to tell me right away. I might be a runemaster, but I am fairly well-versed in medicine too. I might just be able to treat your illness before it gets too severe. It¡¯smon knowledge amongst physicians that those with mental problems tend to be the hardest to treat,¡± remarked Mi Li.

    ¡°...¡± Zu An.

    However, he suddenly noticed something and asked, ¡°Wait a moment, you¡¯re a physician too?¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡± replied Mi Li proudly. ¡°Back then, the Qin Dynasty conquered the whole Central ins and gathered the collection of books from all annexed countries into its imperial pce. I would browse through those books whenever I had time. Eventually, I managed to converge my knowledge of runes and medicine together to create a new path for myself. You can say that I¡¯m still decent in the field of medicine.¡±

    Even though Mi Li said that she was only ¡®decent¡¯, there was an incredibly proud look on her face that screamed ¡®praise me, worship me¡¯.

    ¡°Since you¡¯re a physician, you should hurry up and treat Snow!¡± Zu An was overjoyed. Mi Li was turning out to be a far greater treasure than he had expected.

    Mi Li¡¯s face immediately turned cold. ¡°I don¡¯t have any medicinal herb or pills on me. How do you expect me to save me?¡±

    ¡°Tsk, looks like you aren¡¯t as formidable as I thought.¡± Zu An clicked his tongue.

    ¡°You need not try to rile me up,¡± replied Mi Li. ¡°I can treat her if the situation really necessitates it, but I¡¯m in far too much of a weakened state at the moment. It wasn¡¯t easy for me to heal up a little through those evil spirits, so why should I expend myself for a woman I owe nothing to? Besides, she isn¡¯t in mortal danger. All she needs to do is to consume some vitality restoring herbs or pills, and she¡¯ll be able to easily make a full recovery.¡±

    Zu An also realized that he had failed to assess the situation properly due to his worry, but still, he wasn¡¯t about to lose this quip. ¡°I still think that your skills as a physician aren¡¯t anything much. Otherwise, how could you get done in by poison so easily?¡±

    Mi Li really lost her temper this time around. ¡°Ignorant brat, what do you know? The Red Tears of Lady Xiang is not something that should exist in the mortal world. It¡¯s something that can kill even an Earth Immortal! If not for my knowledge of runes and medicine allowing me to draw my soul out of my body, I would have died by now!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for +512 Rage!

    Zu An was astounded. He didn¡¯t think that the poison was so potent. It was just a pity that Zhang Han had used up the final droplet, or else he would be able to easily eliminate anyone with that poison in hand.

    Mi Li felt that she would get a heart attack soon if she continued speaking to Zu An, so she decided to ignore him altogether. She turned to the terracotta soldiers and said, ¡°You¡¯ve worked hard. If not for you all fighting valiantly to buy us time, we wouldn¡¯t have been able to bring down those evil spirits so easily.¡±

    The terracotta soldiers were touched to hear those words. They had guarded this underground hall for over a thousand years now, and they were finally being recognized for their efforts. This was something incredibly honorable to them.

    ¡°Now that Zhang Han is dead and the Qin Dynasty has fallen, you¡¯ll serve me from now onward,¡± said Mi Li as she gazed down at the terracotta soldiers with an air of loftiness.

    Those terracotta soldiers looked at one another hesitantly for a moment before hurriedly getting to their knees to bow to her. This was a gesture of servility in the Qin Dynasty.

    Zu An was delighted to see this.

    Wouldn¡¯t I be able to do as I please with this? I¡¯ll get Mi Li to send those terracotta soldiers against anyone who dares to cross me! Ahhh, it looks like I¡¯m born to be a moochlord!

    While he was deep in his thoughts, an unexpected situation suddenly urred. Murderous intent shed across Mi Li¡¯s eyes as she raised her hand, and the Tai¡¯e Sword suddenly swept through the terracotta soldiers with immense momentum.

    Those unguarded terracotta soldiers were sliced into halves in an instant!

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    1. The capital of the Qin Dynasty.

 Chapter 206: Abled

    <h4>Chapter 206: Abled</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°???¡± Zu An.

    His eyes nearly bulged out upon seeing this sight.

    What¡¯s going on? It was only a moment ago that they pledged their loyalty to you, but you killed them right after? What about my army of terracotta soldiers? I haven¡¯t managed ot show them off yet!

    As if having sensed Zu An¡¯s doubts, Mi Li shot a nce at Chu Chuyan and Qiao Xueying and remarked, ¡°It¡¯s only on your ount that I spared them, or else they would have suffered the same fate as those terracotta soldiers.¡±

    ¡°Why did you kill them? They have already pledged their loyalty to you!¡± eximed Zu An.

    ¡°Loyalty?¡± sneered Mi Li. ¡°That¡¯s just a beautiful sounding word that people spout for the sake of it. If you don¡¯t want to be betrayed by your subordinates, you need to offer them something that they can¡¯t resist. What a pity that I¡¯m unable to ensure that in my current state, and I can¡¯t bring them with me either. Since that¡¯s the case, I might as well just kill them and be over with it lest they leak my secrets out in the future.¡±

    ¡°You killed all of them over that?¡± Zu An was horrified. ¡°They can¡¯t even speak! How could they leak your secrets?¡±

    ¡°They have witnessed everything that has happened here. Even if they are incapable of speech, there¡¯s no way I could allow them to continue existing on the world,¡± remarked Mi Li. ¡°I would rather be the one to betray others than to be betrayed.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Zu An.

    Sis, why in the world did you even bring out Cao Cao¡¯s famed words too?

    However, this incident made him realize that he and Mi Li lived inpletely different worlds. He had transmigrated over from the modern world, and while he was a little greedy, lustful, and handsome, he was still a good person overall. Unless someone threatened his life, he wouldn¡¯t go to the extent of taking a person¡¯s life.

    However, the world of cultivation was a cruel ce where everyone was born unequal. Those who were born in noble ns or possessed exceptional cultivation talent were far more privileged than their peers, and the positions of superiority they were in made them look down on those beneath them.

    Mi Li was one example of it. She used to be the lofty empress of a dynasty, and no one dared to cross her. That eventually bred an egocentric point of view in her.

    Noticing the awful look on Zu An¡¯s face, Mi Li harrumphed. ¡°Are you a man or not? I thought that you were a decisive person from the way you fought earlier, but you¡¯re far more of a wuss than I thought.¡±

    Zu An shook his head bitterly. ¡°How can that be the same? It¡¯s only normal to go all out in a fight against an enemy, but I can¡¯t bring myself to be vicious toward those who have never shown me hostility before.¡±

    ¡°Naive!¡± evaluated Mi Li. ¡°There were countless famed young generals who shared the same thought as you. They were able to conquer the battlefield, but they ended up getting backstabbed by those who envied them and lost their lives. I couldn¡¯t care less about your foolishness, but our fates are now tied together. I won¡¯t allow you to walk in their footsteps like an utter imbecile.¡±

    Zu An fell silent. He knew that Mi Li¡¯s words did have some sense to them, but he still couldn¡¯t ept her world view.

    Mi Li wasn¡¯t interested in preaching philosophy to Zu An either as she changed the topic. ¡°The two of them are about to wake up soon. You should know better than anyone else what you should and should not say before them. My soul has suffered quite some damage today, and it seems like the poison from the Red Tears of Lady Xiang is still affecting me. I¡¯ll need to hibernate for a long period of time in order to recuperate, so don¡¯t disturb me unless there¡¯s something important.¡±

    After saying those words, she returned back to the Tai¡¯e Sword. A momentter, her worried voice sounded once more, ¡°Brat, make sure that you don¡¯t carelessly die this time around. You should know that you have two lives on you right now!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Zu An.

    Her use of phrase...

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I might have many ws, but I do have one strength, and that¡¯s fear of death.¡±

    Zu An was probably the only one in the world who could openly boast about his fear of death. He waited for a while, but he didn¡¯t hear any response from Mi Li.

    ¡°At least say something. It¡¯s rude of you not to respond to me.¡±

    Despite his retorts, he had no intention of really knocking on the Tai¡¯e Sword to demand a sentimental goodbye message from Mi Li. Instead, he quickly rushed over to check on Chu Chuyan and Qiao Xueying.

    The two of them gradually woke up with a slight moan.

    ¡°How are you feeling?¡± Zu An looked at the two of them anxiously.

    Even though Mi Li had guaranteed him time and time again that they were fine, he found it hard to trust her after seeing how vicious she could be.

    As soon as Chu Chuyan opened her eyes, she saw that she was lying in the embrace of a man and immediately stiffened up. She instinctively pushed him away before darting aside. Despite her frantic movement, her fluttering hair and robe were still incredibly beautiful.

    As expected of my wife. She looks gorgeous no matter what she does. But while I admit that you¡¯re beautiful, you can¡¯t just turn your back on me like that!

    It was only then that Chu Chuyan realized that it was Zu An, and she retrospectively felt that her reaction was a little overboard. Her face reddened in embarrassment. ¡°Pardon me... I didn¡¯t know it was you.¡±

    Zu An felt a bit more assuaged upon hearing those words. ¡°It¡¯s fine. Do you still remember what happened earlier?¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s face reddened further as she turned her head away and muttered, ¡°D-did anything happen?¡±

    ¡°???¡± Zu An.

    Mi Li fooled me!

    ¡°Can the two of you spare some thought for the severely injured patient lying beside you?¡± grumbled Qiao Xueying.

    Her grudging voice made Zu An feel a bit apologetic. After all, she had only gotten injured due to him. ¡°My bad. I¡¯ll bring you out right now to see if we can get any recovery medicine from the other students.¡±

    ¡°Hm? If I recall correctly, you were severely injured earlier too. You look perfectly fine now though... Weird,¡± remarked Qiao Xueying in intrigue.

    Zu An reckoned that thispse in memory might be due to her forgetting about the Primordial Origin Sutra, so he tried asking, ¡°Do you remember how I got injured?¡±

    ¡°Of course I do. You were in the midst of saving me when... Hm?¡± Qiao Xueying suddenly froze up. ¡°Wait a moment, why can¡¯t I remember who hurt you?¡±

    Chu Chuyan also pressed on her temples as she sensed that there were some gaps in her memories.

    Zu An quicklyughed it off and said, ¡°Hahaha, who else could it be? It was the evil spirits and terracotta soldiers who hurt me!¡±

    ¡°Did you manage to clear off the evil spirits and the terracotta soldiers?¡± Chu Chuyan was astonished. One must know that there were 200,000 evil spirits, and those terracotta soldiers weren¡¯t pushovers either. ¡°How did you do it?¡±

    ¡°You want to know? Call me hubby and I¡¯ll tell you.¡± Zu An couldn¡¯t think of an excuse to clean up the mess Mi Li left for him, so he could only try to divert the topic elsewhere.

    Chu Chuyan turned her head away and ignored him.

    ¡°Let¡¯s head out first. Treating Snow takes precedence here,¡± said Zu An as he pulled Qiao Xueying into his arms and carried her up.

    ¡°Let me down!¡± The sudden princess carry left Qiao Xueying¡¯s pale cheeks reddening once more.

    ¡°Stop struggling. Your wounds will open up again,¡± reminded Zu An. ¡°You¡¯ve already given the most precious thing in your life to me, so it¡¯s only right for me to help you here.¡±

    ¡°Looks like you still have a conscience.¡± Qiao Xueying thought that Zu An¡¯s words made sense. She did use her Half Life¡¯s Fate on him, so it was only right for him to do this much for her. Besides, she had been carried in an even more embarrassing position back in the Earth Seal anyway.

    On the other hand, Zu An lowered his head contemtively. He had intentionally asked the question to probe how much Qiao Xueying remembered, and he heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing her answer.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    However, Chu Chuyan was utterly dumbfounded by those words.

    The most precious thing in her life? Isn¡¯t what is the most precious thing to a woman obvious?

    What¡¯s the situation with these two? He has just barely done that with me... then he suddenly went to hook up with Snow right after?

    Even though Chu Chuyan had betrothed Qiao Xueying to him back then, she still felt something very ufortable about the current situation.

    Zu An took the lead with Qiao Xueying in his arms. ¡°Why are you so light? You should eat a bit more meat. Your body won¡¯t grow properly if you just munch off melon seeds.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t like meat. Besides, what¡¯s wrong with melon seeds?¡± protested Qiao Xueying in dissatisfaction.

    ¡°Ah, I forgot that you¡¯re a tree demoness,¡± teased Zu An.

    ¡°You¡¯re the one who is a tree demoness! Your whole family is tree demonesses!¡± roared Qiao Xueying in response.

    ...

    Chu Chuyan noticed that even though the two of them were bickering as always, there was ack of tension and hostility in their interaction. She chuckled softly at their interactions before suddenly falling into a daze. She noticed that she was unable to get into their conversation at all.

    What¡¯s with this awkward feeling watching the two of them in front of me?

    ¡°How did you manage to clear those evil spirits?¡± asked Qiao Xueying.

    ¡°Well, I enlightened them with my words. They agreed that it isn¡¯t good for them to continue living in such a manner, so they willingly dissipated themselves into the world,¡± replied Zu An with a smile.

    ¡°Never mind if you don¡¯t want to tell me.¡± Qiao Xueying harrumphed.

    Zu An shrugged in response. He wasn¡¯t exactly lying either since the evil spirits were indeed fooled by Mi Li¡¯s words...

    It was then that a white silhouette suddenly shed across them. Chu Chuyan had run ahead of them.

    Noticing their doubtful gazes, she replied coldly, ¡°There are still some zombie soldiers lingering ahead. I¡¯ll clear the path.¡±

    Zu An nced at the Tai¡¯e Sword he was carrying on his back as he spoke, ¡°Actually, there¡¯s no need for that. I¡¯m a man who carries an aura of kingship. Those zombies will flee in my presence.¡±

    He recalled Mi Li mentioning that the Tai¡¯e Sword had the effects of suppressing the terracotta soldiers, and he thought that it should work on the weaker zombie soldiers above too.

    ¡°...¡± Chu Chuyan.

    ¡°...¡± Qiao Xueying.

    This fellow just can¡¯t stop bragging, huh?

    As the group headed back upward, the zombie soldiers who were roaming in the area swiftly gathered around them like sharks having caught the scent of blood. Chu Chuyan swung her sword at them, releasing a burst of frost that turned them into ice sculptures.

    Zu An was amazed. ¡°Honey, you¡¯re much stronger than before! What¡¯s your current cultivation rank?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m at pinnacle sixth rank. It¡¯s thanks to the Evanescent Lotus that you fed me...¡± Chu Chuyan suddenly jolted upon realizing something. She turned around to look at him curiously as a question lingered on the tip of her tongue, but her face reddened right away and she found herself unable to pose the question.

    Qiao Xueying, on the other hand, was more liberal. She asked directly, ¡°Speaking of which, you should be inept down there, right? Why are you suddenly ¡®abled¡¯ again?¡±

 Chapter 207: You Really Go All Out For Your Flirting

    <h4>Chapter 207: You Really Go All Out For Your Flirting</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s fair face tinged in red, and she began fidgeting awkwardly upon hearing those words.

    ¡°...¡± Zu An.

    As a woman, don¡¯t you feel embarrassed for asking about such a thing?

    ¡°What do you mean by I¡¯m not ¡®abled¡¯? I¡¯ve always been abled, alright?!¡± roared Zu An furiously.

    ¡°Heh!¡±

    His remark was met with a roll of the eyes from Qiao Xueying. Please! All of us here know the truth better than anyone else!

    Chu Chuyan eventually spoke up, ¡°Divine Physician Ji has checked on his condition and prescribed him medicine to cure him. The main ingredient is the Evanescent Lotus.¡±

    ¡°You mean the legendary Evanescent Lotus that can raise a cultivator¡¯s cultivation by a step for each flower petal consumed?¡± Qiao Xueying was shocked. ¡°He gave that to you?¡±

    As a cultivator, she knew better than anyone who difficult it was to raise one¡¯s cultivation even by a step, especially when one got to theter stages. A single flower petal could offset years of hard work one would need to make a breakthrough. If a high-level cultivator were to consume it, it could easily offset decades or even centuries of hard work! That was just how formidable of a treasure the Evanescent Lotus was!

    Chu Chuyan nodded in response as she looked at Zu An with a gentle look in her eyes.

    ¡°Rumor has it that the Evanescent Lotus has nine flower petals. How many of it did he give to you?¡± asked Qiao Xueying.

    Now that she thought about it, she did recall hearing about the Evanescent Lotus from Zhang Han, just that she was too affected by Shi Kun¡¯s betrayal and the despairing plight she was in that she instinctively ignored everything that was going on around her.

    ¡°He... gave it all to me.¡± Recalling how Zu An had fed her the flower petals mouth-to-mouth, her voice grew quieter and quieter.

    Qiao Xueying nced at Zu An with aplicated look in her eyes as she remarked, ¡°You really went all out to win Miss Chu over.¡±

    She had entered the underground pce together with them, but she ended up expending her most precious Half Life¡¯s Fate and lost half of her lifespan whereas Chu Chuyan obtained the Evanescent Lotus and grew by almost one whole cultivation rank.

    What¡¯s with this huge contrast? Why is my life so tough...

    Sensing Qiao Xueying¡¯s downcast mood, Zu An remarked, ¡°Don¡¯t feel that it¡¯s unfair. I gave up a lot for you too.¡±

    I used up tens of thousands of Rage points there, and that¡¯s not including the losses I made from the ¡®three times draw nothing at all¡¯ debuff! Otherwise, I might have just gotten something powerful or cool from this!

    Qiao Xueying was displeased as she wondered what Zu An had given up for her. But all of a sudden, she remembered the mysterious medicine he conjured out of nowhere that saved her life.

    Even though he didn¡¯t exin it explicitly to her, she knew that the more valuable something was in this world, the harder it would be to obtain it. Without a doubt, he had to pay a hefty price to obtain such potent medicine.

    Her memories were a little faint at the moment, but she had the impression that she was facing an incredibly terrifying opponent when Zu An rushed forward to stand in front of her and protect her.

    Such thoughts brought back a gentle look on her face.

    However, when her eyes swept across Chu Chuyan, the expression on her face grew gloomy.

    But it¡¯s already toote. They are already a pair. What a twist of fate this is. If only the two of them didn¡¯t consummate their marriage earlier...

    A thought suddenly shed across Qiao Xueying¡¯s mind as she remarked, ¡°Wait a moment. Miss Chu was the one who ate the Evanescent Lotus, right? How did you manage to recover then?¡±

    This fellow couldn¡¯t do it with me, but he could do it when it¡¯s with Miss Chu?

    ¡°I met with another fortuitous encounter in the seals and happened to release my seal,¡± replied Zu An vaguely. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s not talk about this anymore. Isn¡¯t it embarrassing for a youngdy like you to talk about such matters?¡±

    Qiao Xueying turned her head away. She was indeed feeling a little embarrassed about this all. However, she still had some doubts in mind. I entered the seals with him too, but I don¡¯t recall him stumbling upon any fortuitous encounter...

    As for Chu Chuyan, even though she was officially his wife, their rtionship was still in an awkward position at the moment, not to mention that they had just done that earlier on. There was no way she could bring herself to probe on more about this matter.

    So, the trio continued marching on broodingly. Chu Chuyan was still on her guard, worried that more zombie soldiers would pop up on their way out, but surprisingly, those zombie soldiers were making sure to steer clear of her.

    ¡°Are they hiding in advance because they knew that they¡¯re no match for me? That shouldn¡¯t be though. They shouldn¡¯t be smart enough to make such a call.¡± Chu Chuyan was perplexed.

    It was then that she heard Zu An asked, ¡°Snow, what do you intend to do from now on.¡±

    Qiao Xueying shook her head and replied with a deep sigh, ¡°I don¡¯t know either.¡±

    ¡°Since you¡¯ve already seen through Shi Kun¡¯s true colors, you should return with us to the Chu n. We¡¯ll wee you back,¡± said Chu Chuyan.

    Zu An nodded in agreement. ¡°Indeed. You¡¯re betrothed to me after all, so it doesn¡¯t make sense for you to stay elsewhere. We¡¯ve already warmed to each other anyway; I trust that you wouldn¡¯t have any problem warming up my bed in the future too.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Qiao Xueying.

    ¡°...¡± Chu Chuyan.

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for +250 Rage!

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Chuyan for +250 Rage!

    This fellow... Did his head get kicked by a donkey or something?

    Qiao Xueying ignored him and turned to Chu Chuyan, saying, ¡°Thanks for your offer, Miss Chu. I appreciate your goodwill, but there are still many things I have to clean up after severing my rtions with the Shi n.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Do you need my help?¡± Chu Chuyan was well aware that powerful ns had many means to keep their subordinates in check, such as to use their kin as hostages.

    Qiao Xueying shook her head and replied, ¡°It¡¯s fine, I can handle it myself.¡±

    Chu Chuyan sighed deeply and said, ¡°When did the two of us grow apart?¡±

    Qiao Xueying remembered how the two of them nibbled on melon seeds while reading romance novels together over the years, and it suddenly left her in a wistful mood. Great emotions welled up in her heart, and she suddenly found herself with so many words she wanted to say. Yet, the only words that eventually came out of her mouth were, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    ¡°There are far too many things that are beyond our control in life. I don¡¯t me you for that, Snow,¡± replied Chu Chuyan gently.

    The two of them fell silent afterward.

    Zu An wasn¡¯t too sure what was wrong with their rtionship, but he felt that they were making a big fuss out of nothing.

    Didn¡¯t we get along fine all this while? Why are they suddenly acting like characters in a mncholic soap opera? Y¡¯know, they always say that any arguments can be easily solved in bed at night.

    Of course, considering the disparity in their cultivation at the moment, Zu An wisely chose to hold his tongue out of consideration of his own safety.

    All of a sudden, the surroundings began to tremor as silt and rock fragments fell from the sky. Thest time such a tremor urred was when the 200,000 evil spirits rushed out from their seal, but the tremor this time around was even stronger than before.

    The zombie soldiers lurking in the surroundings immediately darted around fearfully like panicking flies.

    ¡°The underground cavern is going to copse! We need to hurry!¡± shouted Chu Chuyan in astonishment. She could feel the elemental ki in the surroundings falling into disarray, a sign that the ce was going to copse inward.

    Zu An reckoned that it might be due to the undoing of the Soul Suppression Seal, as well as the disappearance of the Evanescent Lotus, Tai¡¯e Sword, Zhang Han, and the 200,000 evil spirits. All of these caused the bnce in the underground cavern that had been delicately sustained over the past several thousand years to suddenly shatter, resulting in massive instability.

    ¡°What a pity!¡± remarked Zu An as he nced backward reluctantly. He was still thinking of returning back to this underground cavern to take a second look after seeking treatment for Qiao Xueying.

    One must know that this was the empress mausoleum of the Qin Dynasty; there were bound to be countless treasures in here! The fact that the Heiress¡¯ Ball of Delights worked earlier was more than enough to show that there was at least several hundred thousand silver taels worth of treasures in here.

    Putting all things aside, just the weapons and helmets the zombie soldiers were wielding were already of higher quality than those sold by the Chu n, and the Chu n¡¯s weapons were well-known for their quality in the Great Zhou Dynasty.

    Damn it! Am I going to lose such a huge fortune just like that? Argh! Forget it, I should be satisfied with having unsealed ¡®little Zu An¡¯, obtaining the Tai¡¯e Sword, and learning the upper half of the Primordial Origin Sutra. At the very least, all of my efforts and sacrifices weren¡¯t in vain.

    Besides, the greatest treasure in this underground pce is probably Mi Li. Not only is she knowledgeable about everything, but she has an amazing body to match her wisdom...

    As soon as those thoughts surfaced in his mind, Zu An suddenly felt a little guilt-conscience. He subconsciously nced at the Tai¡¯e Sword and was relieved to see that it wasn¡¯t reacting in any way. It would seem that Mi Li was really in deep sleep at the moment.

    I wonder if she¡¯s really able to read my thoughts...

    Zu An was quite amazed at his ability to think about all sorts of useless stuff even when the cavern was copsing on him right now.

    Anyway, with Chu Chuyan leading the way, the three of them soon saw a speck of light in front of them. Rushing forward, they finally managed to escape through the entrance of the cavern.

    It was a rule of thumb whenever a cavern started copsing, the protagonist and his team could only make it out the nick of time. True to the prophecy, barely a few seconds after they ran out, a deafening rumble sounded behind them as the underground cavern finally copsed entirely. Even the massive stone gates at the entrance were unable to withstand the pressure and were destroyed too.

    A cloud of smoke rose into the air, forming a mushroom in the sky.

    The ground also began to tremor under the impact, quaking up and down. On top of that, there seemed to be some sort of shockwave that was swiftly rippling outward in their direction.

    ¡°Be careful!¡±

    Chu Chuyan rushed forward to grab Zu An before fleeing toward the distant forest. She was already nearing the seventh rank by now, so naturally, she was able to move far quicker than Zu An.

    The sudden intimate contact caught Zu An off guard. He could smell her fragrance and feel the softness of her body.

    Wow, to be holding a beautiful woman in my arms while being held in the arms of my wife; is this what the pinnacle of harem looks like? I wonder how many men in the world is as blessed as I am!

    Perhaps it was due to her feeling Zu An intentionally leaning as close as he could to her, as soon as they arrived at the safer forest, Chu Chuyan tossed him to the side before harrumphed angrily.

    Zu An was rendered speechless. Is it that big of a deal for me to snuggle up to you? I mean, I was even inside you earlier!

    However, his attention was soon caught by the cloud of dust in the distance. Seeing how such a massive hill had copsed within moments, he found himself impressed once more by the prowess of nature.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s head tilted to the side before murmuring, ¡°Someone¡¯s here. There are quite a few of them.¡±

    ¡°A lot of people are heading our way?¡± Zu An instinctively searched the area for a ce to hide. ¡°Quick, let¡¯s find somewhere to hide and watch the situation first.¡±

    ¡°Hide?¡± Chu Chuyan¡¯s voice carried a hint of pride. ¡°I¡¯ve already recovered my cultivation. Why should I hide?¡±

 Chapter 208: The Circle of Nobility Sure is Complicated

    <h4>Chapter 208: The Circle of Nobility Sure is Complicated</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    It was then that it sunk in for Zu An that Chu Chuyan was already at pinnacle sixth rank.

    He was too used to keeping a low profile that it had be a habit for him to scheme against others in the shadows, but given Chu Chuyan¡¯s current cultivation, even if the teachers of the academy were to bring their students here, they might not necessarily be a match for her. Naturally, there was no need for them to act so carefully anymore.

    Mi Li was currently not around, Zhang Han was dead, and the zombie soldiers, evil spirits, and terracotta army werepletely destroyed. In this entire dungeon, there was probably not a single person who was stronger than her anymore. In the first ce, this dungeon was evaluated to be of lower risk, or else the academy wouldn¡¯t have sent just two sixth rank teachers in to lead the students.

    It was just that the appearance of the underground pce waspletely unexpected.

    Hm? Isn¡¯t this another opportunity for me to rake in Rage points again?

    Zu An sharply caught the scent of a business opportunity, but he eventually held back his urge to harvest Rage points.

    Forget it, I should dote on my wife instead.

    Even though Chu Chuyan had spoken such grand words, she didn¡¯t let her guard down. She continued staring warily in the direction where the voice hade from.

    ¡°Hm? It¡¯s Miss Chu!¡±

    Two figures rushed forward simultaneously. One of them moved in a seductive manner whereas the other one had a huge bald spot on his head.

    Zu An heaved a sigh of relief upon seeing them. ¡°Hey, Teacher Lu and Teacher Bai.¡±

    Needless to say, they were the teachers whom Brightmoon Academy had sent into the dungeon to lead the students, Bai Susu and Lu De.

    ¡°It¡¯s really a huge relief that you¡¯re fine!¡± Bai Susu and Lu De spoke in unison. When they realized that the other had spoken the same words as them, they shot sharp nces at one another before turning away with a cold harrumph.

    Following that, another group of people arrived at the scene too.

    There was one person with massive bosoms that immediately caught Zu An¡¯s eye¡ªPei Mianman. This woman really should learn water elemental skills. It seems far more matching to her aspared to fire.

    Pei Mianman also noticed Zu An¡¯s gaze and shot him a seductive look. Then, she moved over to Chu Chuyan¡¯s side, grabbed her hand, and asked, ¡°Aiya, what happened, Chuyan? Why do you have so much blood on your clothes? Let me see your injuries.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. This blood doesn¡¯t belong to me...¡± Chu Chuyan¡¯s face was a little red. Most of it hade from Zu An, but there was quite a bit that actually belonged to her...

    Thinking about how she was no longer a maiden anymore, a conflicted frown formed on her forehead. However, when she recalled how Zu An fought hard to protect her in the underground cavern, the slight frown gradually loosened.

    ¡°It¡¯s not yours...¡± Pei Mianman was stunned. She turned her gaze to Zu An with the intention to probe on, only for her eyebrows to shoot upward in surprise.

    Hm? Isn¡¯t that woman he¡¯s holding onto the tenth ce of the Sweetheart Ranking? To be holding onto another woman in the presence of his own wife, and for his wife to show no hint of criticism on her face at all... it looks like he does have some means.

    Qiao Xueying hurriedly whispered to Zu An and said, ¡°Quick, put my veil on!¡±

    Zu An knew that she was unwilling to have her true appearance seen by those in the academy, so he asked, ¡°Where¡¯s your veil?¡±

    Qiao Xueying¡¯s face reddened. ¡°It¡¯s inside my robe.¡±

    She was severely injured at the moment, so her body was incredibly weak. Even moving her fingers was tough enough for her, so it would be hard for her to grab her veil and put it on.

    Had it been another man, she would have never allowed the other party to take something from her robe, but if it was Zu An...

    Thinking about how they had spent a long time hugging one another while fighting together in the underground pce, as well as the fact that she had used her Half Life¡¯s Fate on him, she felt an inexplicable feeling of intimacy toward him.

    Besides, he had already seen and touched everything there was back at the Chu Manor, so it didn¡¯t seem much of a deal to let him touch her again.

    Hearing her words, Zu An immediately reached into her robes to retrieve a spare veil and cover her flushed face. Qiao Xueying breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing that Zu An didn¡¯t make use of this opportunity to take advantage of her.

    Pei Mianman happened to see this series of actions, and her eyes widened in astonishment. Wait a moment, is this for real? He just put his hands into her robe just like that?

    She subconsciously nced at Chu Chuyan and saw that she had noticed the happenings on that side too. Surprisingly, Chu Chuyan didn¡¯t respond at all.

    Pei Mianman was utterly dumbfounded.

    What¡¯s going on here? Even if Chu Chuyan doesn¡¯t like Zu An, he¡¯s still her husband. Surely she wouldn¡¯t allow him to cheat on her even if she doesn¡¯t like him, right?

    Also, what¡¯s with Zu An messing around with another woman before his own wife? He¡¯s a drafted son-inw! How could he have the guts to do this?

    Also, that tenth ce¡ªwhat¡¯s her name again? Qiao something, right?¡ªshe should have some sense of shame as to turn Zu An down here!

    Pei Mianman had no idea why a spectator like her was even more anxious than those involved in this matter. There must be something wrong in this world!

    ¡°Ah Zu~¡±

    A delighted voice suddenly sounded in the air and a small, feminine figure dashed forward. However, when she saw that Zu An was holding a woman in her arms, she immediately halted her footsteps.

    ¡°Xiaoxi!¡± Zu An¡¯s eyes lit up upon seeing the other party. He rushed to her side with Qiao Xueying in her arms and asked, ¡°Do you have any recovery medicine on you? Quick, she needs treatment right away!¡±

    ¡°Ah? Y-yes, I do have some recovery medicine on me...¡± Ji Xiaoxi quickly snapped out of her daze and started searching through her little bags. Soon, she found a bottle of medicine and fed it to Qiao Xueying.

    Meanwhile, more and more people were arriving at the scene. When they saw Qiao Xueying in Zu An¡¯s arms, they gasped in shock and incredulous voices began sounding.

    ¡°The woman he¡¯s holding is the tenth ce on the Sweetheart Ranking, right?¡±

    ¡°Indeed, that¡¯s her!¡±

    ¡°Holy shit, what¡¯s with his luck?!¡±

    ¡°Honestly, I¡¯m more impressed with his ability to cate all of those women rather than his ability to hook up with them. I mean, none of them look discontented at all despite him flirting with another woman right in front of their eyes!¡±

    ¡°Yeah! Pei Mianman and Chu Chuyan are whispering to one another, and Ji Xiaoxi is treating her love rival without any signs of jealousy at all. My gosh, this is unbelievable! He¡¯s really the role model of all men!¡±

    ¡°I used to think that young master Xie was the love expert in the academy, but it looks like the title is going to change hands.¡±

    ...

    Hearing their discussions, Xie Xiu smiled bitterly and murmured, ¡°I¡¯m indeed farckingpared to Brother Zu.¡±

    In order to enjoy the flowers in the garden without being tied down, he had always been careful not to choose the most beautiful ones. He knew that women who stood at the top tended to be prideful and wouldn¡¯t allow him to cheat on them.

    For the sake of the entire forest, he had no choice but to forsake some of the trees.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Yet, Zu An was able to aplish what he was unable to pull off.

    Meanwhile, Zheng Dan stared at Zu An with a doubtful glint in her eyes.

    Shi Kun was determined to kill him this time around, but it doesn¡¯t seem like anything has happened to him. Based on the intelligence, he shouldn¡¯t have the means to deal with Shi Kun¡¯s force, so how did he manage to survive? Was it Chu Chuyan¡¯s intervention?

    But what¡¯s with the woman he¡¯s holding in his hands then?

    Her gaze continuously alternated between Chu Chuyan and Qiao Xueying before ncing at Ji Xiaoxi and Pei Mianman. In the end, she could only conclude... The circle of nobility sure isplicated!

    Not too far away, Hong Xingying sighed in disappointment. This fellow sure is lucky.

    He rushed over to Chu Chuyan¡¯s side and asked, ¡°Young miss, are you fine?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m alright.¡± Chu Chuyan directed him a slight smile. They were all members of the Chu n after all, so it wouldn¡¯t do for her to be too distant to him.

    Her faint smile enchanted Hong Xingying. For a moment there, he had a feeling that the young miss had be even more beautiful. In the past, she felt like an unreachable flower,cking a human¡¯s touch, but the current her seemed tomand a much more feminine grace, making her even more alluring.

    Could this be the effect of her marriage?

    Hong Xingying knew that Chu Chuyan and Zu An were just a couple in name, but he was still unable to curb the envy in his heart.

    If not for that bastard¡¯s sudden intervention, I would have be the young miss¡¯ husband. She was supposed to be mine!

    You have sessfully trolled Hong Xingying for +1024 Rage!

    Pei Mianman watched as Hong Xingying turned around and left before remarking with a smile, ¡°Chuyan, that subordinate of yours seems to be very fond of you.¡±

    Chu Chuyan shook her head, not bothering to respond to that remark. There were far too many people who had expressed affection toward her over the years, so how could she possibly bother with every single one of them? Her time could have been used at something far more productive.

    At the same time, Zu An was shocked by the sudden influx of Rage points from Hong Xingying. Woah, I didn¡¯t know he harbors such a huge grudge toward me!

    After everything he had been through in the underground cavern, he had grown not just in terms of strength but ambition as well. He had seen how huge the world beyond what he had seen thus far was, and he didn¡¯t think that it was worth wasting his time with someone of Hong Xingying¡¯s caliber anymore.

    But still, it wouldn¡¯t do to keep someone who obviously bore malicious intentions toward him by his side. He would have to find a way to deal with him once and for all.

    ¡°Ah Zu, you¡¯ve bled a lot! Are you really fine?¡±

    After checking Qiao Xueying¡¯s condition, Ji Xiaoxi noticed that Zu An was covered in blood as well. His clothes that were even more tattered than a beggar showed just how intense of a fight he had just been through.

    To that, Zu An responded with a smile, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m fine. If you¡¯re still worried, do you want to check my pulse?¡±

    He offered his hand to her while saying those words.

    Zu An simply looked too miserable that Ji Xiaoxi was unable to calm the unease she felt in her heart despite his assurance. So, she ced her fingers on his wrist to read his pulse and diagnose his condition.

    ¡°Xiaoxi, I¡¯m really grateful to you this time around. If not for you, I would already have died many times by now,¡± said Zu An.

    Had it not been for the huge amount of medicine she had given him, there was no way he would have been able to toil through those difficult battles he had been through.

    It had just been a few days, but he had encountered the zombie soldiers, came under the assault of Shi Kun and his subordinates, and faced all sorts of crisis in the underground cavern. All in all, he must have fought at least a dozen battles by now. It was only thanks to her medicine that he had been able to pull it through all of these.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to thank me. You did save my life too. If not for you, I would have been killed by those zombies.¡± Sensing the earnest gratitude in Zu An¡¯s eyes, a flush of redness gushed up Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s neck.

    Zu An burst intoughter. ¡°Haha, let¡¯s skip all of these polite words then. It feels kind of weird to be thanking one another as friends. Ah, what brought all of you here?¡±

    Before Ji Xiaoxi could respond, Bai Susu had already spoken up, ¡°It¡¯s all due to Xiaoxi. Just not too long ago, young master Shi returned in a terrible state. He told us that a particrly terrifying zombie has captured all of you.

    ¡°Everyone was rmed upon hearing those words. After all, Shi Kun is a strong cultivator, and he has many experts under hismand. Worsees to worst, he has a lot of life preservation means given to him by the Shi n. If even he had such a close shave with the zombie, it was unlikely that others would fare any better against them.

    ¡°Most people wanted to leave the area, but Xiaoxi pleaded for us to save you, so we decided to make our way over.¡±

    Bai Susu didn¡¯t speak theplete truth. If it had only been Zu An, they wouldn¡¯t have cared even if he died. However, the problem was that Chu Chuyan was with him too. If she were to die here as well, they wouldn¡¯t be able to bear the responsibility of it.

    So, he quickly looked for Lu De¡¯s group and gathered some of the stronger student cultivators to explore the area. Unexpectedly, before they encountered any danger, they ended up meeting one another.

    Qiao Xueying¡¯s face twitched a little upon hearing Shi Kun¡¯s words. She seemed to be on the verge of saying something, but she eventually held herself back.

    On the other hand, Zu An harrumphed coldly. ¡°Where¡¯s Shi Kun right now?¡±

 Chapter 209: Iâ€™m Doing It For Your Good

    <h4>Chapter 209: I¡¯m Doing It For Your Good</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Aiyo~ Why are you suddenly shouting so loudly? You made my heart thump in fright!¡± Bai Susu patted his own chest softly, acting like a frightened, daintydy.

    ¡°...¡± Zu An.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    I think someone as handsome as me should stay away from him lest he bears any ulterior motive toward me.

    With such thoughts in mind, Zu An took several steps back away from Bai Susu.

    ¡°Shi Kun didn¡¯te over due to the severity of his injuries,¡± replied Bai Susu.

    ¡°Hah, that lucky bastard!¡± sneered Zu An. He reckoned that Shi Kun must be feeling really guilt-ridden at the moment that he dared note.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Bai Susu sensed something amiss with his tone, so he asked in curiosity.

    ¡°That bastard tried to kill me and Chuyan, resulting in the two of us nearly losing our lives in the underground cavern,¡± roared Zu An. He pointed to Qiao Xueying before carrying on, ¡°He even pushed her in front of a terrifying zombie just so that he could escape on his own. If not for the Goddess of Luck looking after us, we would have already lost our lives by now!¡±

    Qiao Xueying was still resting due to her feeble condition when she heard his words and her eyshes quivered slightly. She seemed to be a bit shaken upon recalling what happened earlier.

    The crowd flew into amotion upon hearing those words. One must know that fighting was disallowed amongst students of the academy, let alone killing one another and betrayed a fellow student to escape. These were all huge taboos!

    ¡°Nonsense!¡± Wu Qing leaped out and roared in disagreement. ¡°How could someone of young master Shi do something like that? You¡¯re ndering him!¡±

    Even though the one she fancied was Xie Xiu, she had a good impression of Shi Kun too. After all, most people viewed Shi Kun to be a refined gentleman. It was only in front of Zu An that he found himself so stifled that he ended up revealing his true colors.

    Besides, the Wu n was on bad terms with the Chu n too, and she detested Zu An quite a lot. Thus, she didn¡¯t hesitate to step forward and refute Zu An.

    Her words brought about a flurry of agreement from the crowd. Zu An was indeed not too well-liked amongst the student popce, and what Shi Kun mentioned earlier contradicted what they said.

    Of the entire crowd, the only one who knew that Zu An was telling the truth was Zheng Dan. However, the Shi n was, in some ways, an ally to the Zheng n, so naturally, she couldn¡¯t step forward to speak up on Shi Kun¡¯s behalf.

    Zu An rolled his eyes. ¡°Are you Shi Kun¡¯s mistress? Why do you pop out as soon as I mention this matter?¡±

    ¡°M-mistress?!¡± Wu Qing was utterly astounded. She was the daughter of a duke, someone who used to be held in high esteem, so when had anyone dared to speak so crudely to her?

    You have sessfully trolled Wu Qing for +581 Rage!

    ¡°How weird. If you aren¡¯t Shi Kun¡¯s mistress and you didn¡¯t witness the scene with your own eyes, why would you insist that I¡¯m talking nonsense?¡±

    ¡°I... I...¡± Wu Qing was rendered speechless. She had never been sharp-witted, so she was unable to make aeback even after some time.

    One of herckeys, Pan Long, stepped forward and said, ¡°Young master Shi¡¯s character is clear for everyone to see. It¡¯s only normal for Miss Wu to harbor doubts regarding what you¡¯ve mentioned.¡±

    Fu Feng nodded in agreement too. ¡°Indeed. Everyone knows that you don¡¯t get along well with young master Shi. That greatly reduces the credibility of what you¡¯re saying.¡±

    Their words brought about a wave of agreement from the crowd. Considering the enmity they harbor toward one another, it was only normal for Zu An to make use of this opportunity to nder Shi Kun.

    Zu An sighed deeply and said, ¡°The woman you¡¯re interested in is speaking on the behalf of another man, but the two of you still unhesitatingly stepped forward to her aid. Even for bootlickers, it sure is rare to see someone stooping down to your level.¡±

    ¡°You!!!¡± The two of them were infuriated to be described in such a manner.

    You have sessfully trolled Pan Long for +698 Rage!

    You have sessfully trolled Fu Feng for +698 Rage!

    ¡°Oh hoh! Are you intending to make a move on your teacher? Very well, I¡¯ll show you what it means to respect your teacher today!¡± Zu An entrusted Qiao Xueying over to Ji Xiaoxi before rolling up his sleeves and walking up to the two of them.

    Pan Long and Fu Feng were stifled. It was only now that they were recalling that Zu An had entered this ce as a teacher. As infuriated as they were, they dared not to attack a teacher in the presence of so many people.

    The more they thought about it, the more infuriated they became. They couldn¡¯t understand just what Principal Jiang was thinking to actually assign this hoodlum to be a teacher!

    You have sessfully trolled Pan Long for +777 Rage!

    You have sessfully trolled Fu Feng for +777 Rage!

    Zu An felt exhrated to hear the pleasant sound of Rage pointsing in. Due to the g he had raised for himself a while ago, all of the Rage points he earned had to go to waste, so he felt frustrated every time he saw Rage pointsing in. It felt like it had been forever since he hadst celebrated the inflow of Rage points.

    If only this Keyboard had a shop or something. I would have spent all of my Rage points on buying stuff before using thest bit for the lottery. This way, I would have been able to break the g without wasting my points.

    Barely as those thoughts arose in his head, Zu An suddenly froze up. It dawned on him that the Keyboard indeed had a shop. He could have used his Rage points to buy the Marrow Cleansing Pill! It was just that he instinctively disregarded the function as he thought that it wasn¡¯t worth the sum.

    Damn it! That is a huge loss!

    The crowd watched as Zu An¡¯s face distorted, and they jolted in horror. Lu De was worried that he would really attack Pan Long and Fu Feng. If that were to happen, things would really get messy.

    ¡°Enough, how can a teacher like you fight against a student?¡± Lu De walked in between them before ncing down at his tattered clothes. His eyelids immediately started twitching. ¡°Hurry up and change to other clothes!¡±

    Zu An clicked his tongue in annoyance. ¡°How am I to find any clothes here?¡±

    Cultivators had the ability to cleanse the dirt off their body, so there was no need for them to bathe or change clothes too often. Considering that the dungeon onlysted for ten days, most of them didn¡¯t bother bringing along a spare set of clothes.

    It¡¯s all Mi Li¡¯s fault! She kept shing at me viciously, causing my clothes to all be strips of cloth! Also, why did she only shred my upper half but left my lower half intact? I mean, how good it would be if she could cut a bit of holes on my pants too so that I can show off a little...

    Heh, the men would feel self-conscious and all women would start weeping tears. Haaa, but what a pity that it would nevere to be!

    It was then that a gentle voice sounded. ¡°I... I have spare clothes here!¡±

    The crowd turned their heads over, only to see Ji Xiaoxi shyly taking out a green robe from her bag. It wasn¡¯t convenient for her to move around as she was taking care of Qiao Xueying, so she could only toss it over.

    The crowd was stunned. Son of a birch! The two of them had already gotten that close to one another, such that Ji Xiaoxi actually brings about a spare set of clothing for him wherever they go?!

    All of the male students clenched their teeth in burning jealousy.

    Even yboy Xie Xiu couldn¡¯t keep his calm here.

    I really must consult him on this soon. How in the world was he able to build up a harem filled with top beauties without incurring their jealousy? But wait a moment, he couldn¡¯t possibly tell me his secret, right?

    Should I get my older sister toe into contact with him and see if she can figure something out?

    Xie Daoyun would probably feel deeply conflicted if she found out that her younger brother had the intention of selling her out.

    Meanwhile, Zu An looked at the new influx of Rage pointsing in, and his mood finally improved a little. Heh, it looks like no matter which world one is in, there¡¯s no better way to incur the ire of other men than to provoke them with beautiful women.

    Zheng Dan stared at Zu An in astonishment too. What¡¯s with this man? How could someone as average as him win the affection of so many beauties?

    This was simply how humans were. They would always value something more when it was in hot demand.

    Even Chu Chuyan also directed a surprised look at Ji Xiaoxi. She had heard previously that the two of them were friends, but from the looks of it now, it was clearly far more than that.

    Pei Mianman was the type of person to stoke the mes and stir trouble. She discreetly nudged Chu Chuyan and said, ¡°Chuyan, it looks like your husband is quite popr with women. You ought to keep a close eye on him lest he gets stolen by someone else.¡±

    Chu Chuyan harrumphed coldly. ¡°Feel free to take him. I don¡¯t care.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Pei Mianman¡¯s eyes glimmered in interest. I really don¡¯t understand why this man is so popr with women. Is there something special about him?

    On the other hand, Chu Chuyan was starting to feel a little frustrated.

    What¡¯s wrong with him? First Snow, then Ji Xiaoxi, and now even Zheng Dan is looking at him weirdly! He¡¯s supposed to be a wastrel in Brightmoon City, someone who is... not even a man... He only just cured his impotence back at the underground pce!

    So, just why are those proud and lofty women so interested in him? Am I blind or are they blind?

    Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s face reddened when she realized that everyone had misunderstood her. The truth was that she didn¡¯t prepare this spare set of man clothes for Zu An but her father. Ji Dengtu was an alcohol addict, and his drunken rampage was really one to behold. So, she would often bring some spare sets of clothes with her in case her father ever needed them.

    Who could have thought that it would lead to such a misunderstanding?

    She wanted to exin, but she wasn¡¯t particrly good at public speaking due to her shy nature. On top of that, she was worried about sullying her father¡¯s reputation, so she ended up stuttering helplessly.

    Zu An caught the clothes and replied with a smile, ¡°Thanks!¡±

    What a kind and adorabledy she is!

    He looked at her slightly chubby cheeks and wondered if she would burst into tears if he were to smooch her cheeks. However, as soon as those thoughts arose in his head, he suddenly felt a rush of scorn for himself.

    It was just a moment ago that she helped me, so how can I think of bullying her right away? Pui, you scum!

    He quickly tossed those thoughts to the back of his mind before grabbing the clothes to the side. Then, he made sure to dere loudly, ¡°I¡¯m going to change my clothes right now. Make sure that you don¡¯t sneak a peek!¡±

    All of the women clicked their tongues and turned away. Please, who would sneak a peek at him before so many people?

    Zu An proceed on to face the male students and added on, ¡°I mean it. You really shouldn¡¯t peep at me. I¡¯m saying this for your own good, especially my fellow male brethren.¡±

    Those words were extremely effective in piquing the curiosity of the listeners. Why is he suddenly saying all of these? Is it because he has something he dares not show us?

    By this point, all of the male students were already utterly exasperated with Zu An, not to mention that there were also those like Hong Xingying who hated him with a passion around. They would love more than anything to find out any physical defects he had just so that they could go around spreading it.

    So, with Pan Long and Fu Feng taking the lead, the male students discreetly snuck closer to Zu An to take a peek. Xie Xiu was curious as well, but his pride wouldn¡¯t allow him to peek at another man changing clothes.

    It was then that Hong Xingying suddenly walked back. He couldn¡¯t help but notice that the other party had an utterly horrified look on his face.

    Even though the two of them hadn¡¯t really spoken to one another before, Xie Xiu still couldn¡¯t help but lean closer and ask, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    Hong Xingying was such deep shock that his eyes were staring nkly into space. He murmured in a daze, ¡°You should take a look yourself.¡±

 Chapter 210: Trauma

    <h4>Chapter 210: Trauma</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Xie Xiu was more confused than ever.

    Following that, he saw Pan Long and Fu Feng returning with pale faces, seemingly having just received the scare of their lives.

    Unable to hold back his curiosity anymore, he quickly snuck forward, and soon, he finally saw it.

    Zu An was currently changing his clothes under a tree. He had taken off all of his tattered clothes, including his pants, revealing his well-toned body.

    Xie Xiu didn¡¯t think much of it at first nce. He knew that most women actually didn¡¯t like buff men, preferring to go for slender ones like him. So, there was no reason for him to be jealous of Zu An¡¯s figure.

    But when his eyes finally moved down a little, his body immediately recoiled in horror.

    ¡°How could this be?¡± Xie Xiu subconsciously rubbed his own eyes, wondering if he was seeing things.

    When he finally confirmed that his eyes were indeed not ying tricks on him, he immediately fell silent. He finally understood why everyone had such queer expressions on their faces.

    He tried holding his arm up topare the sizes, and his face immediately copsed.

    He¡¯s definitely doing it on purpose!

    Normal people would first wear their pants before wearing their shirt, but Zu An intentionally wore his shirt first... not to mention that he was changing incredibly slowly, and he would even swing left and right from time to time!

    That beast!

    Xie Xiu thought about how Zu An intentionally told them not to peep on him, and he immediately knew that it was a trap thetter had prepared for them.

    Meanwhile, the women by the side noticed that the returning guys had pale, listless looks on their faces, and they couldn¡¯t help but be curious as to what they had seen.

    The thoughtless Wu Qing turned to Pan Long and Fu Feng and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? You look as if you¡¯ve seen a ghost!¡±

    ¡°It was even more terrifying than a ghost!¡± replied Pan Long and Fu Feng with bitter looks on their faces.

    ¡°What did you see? Stop keeping me in suspense!¡± replied Wu Qing impatiently.

    Pan Long and Fu Feng were usually very heeding of Wu Qing¡¯smands, but they adamantly shook their heads and refused to answer this time around.

    You must be kidding me! How could I say something like that out loud?! We also have our pride, alright!

    The other women also asked the same question, but surprisingly, all of the male students seemed to be on the same front this time around. There was not a single person who divulged Zu An¡¯s secret at all.

    Pei Mianman noticed that Xie Xiu had walked over calmly earlier, only to return with a crestfallen look on his face. She couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Xiu¡¯er, what¡¯s wrong? You look horrible.¡±

    Being in King Qi¡¯s faction as well, she was in close contact with the Xie n and was good friends with Xie Daoyun. Due to that, she wasn¡¯t as restrained before Xie Xiu.

    Xie Xiu put on a strained smile and replied, ¡°It¡¯s nothing much. I¡¯m just amazed at what a huuugeeee world we live in.¡±

    It was a rather cryptic response from him, but he wasn¡¯t in a mood to be chatting at the moment. He walked under another tree, sat down, and stared into nk space.

    Pei Mianman turned to Chu Chuyan and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with those men?¡±

    ¡°How am I to know? You should ask Ah Zuter on,¡± replied Chu Chuyan with a reddened face.

    ¡°I guess so.¡± Pei Mianman nodded with a smile.

    Meanwhile, all of those men looked at the two whispering women as realization finally struck them. Many things that they had been unable to make sense of thus far suddenly clicked together.

    It¡¯s no wonder why the high and lofty Chu Chuyan would choose a useless wastrel as her husband. Everyone thought that he had nothing to boast of, but it turned out that there was one part of him that no one could see that was exceptional boastful.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    It¡¯s no wonder why he was able to win the fancy of so many beautiful women! It turned out that his secret weapon was that! What kind of woman wouldn¡¯t like that kind of man?

    ...

    Many thoughts ran through the minds of the male students. They thought about how those beautiful woman they idolized had been slowly conquered by that man¡¯s ¡®strength¡¯, and it immediately filled them withplicated emotions such as envy, self-consciousness, and admiration. But in the end, all of this morphed into rage.

    Hong Xingying had always looked down on Zu An, thinking that thetter wouldn¡¯t be able topete with him at all. Even when Zu An made a name for himself in the ns Tournament, he didn¡¯t think much of it, holding firm to his belief that he would eventually surpass him.

    However, what he had just witnessed was a huge blow to his confidence. It was something that he would never be able to match up to in his entire lifetime. Topete against such a man made him feel utterly inferior, and he felt that he would never be able to raise his head before Zu An ever again.

    You have sessfully trolled Hong Xingying for +999 Rage!

    He wasn¡¯t the only one who harbored such thoughts.

    You have sessfully trolled Pan Long for +999 Rage!

    You have sessfully trolled Fu Feng for +999 Rage!

    You have sessfully trolled Xie Xiu for +999 Rage!

    You have sessfully trolled Wei Hongde for +999 Rage!

    ...

    Zu An was delighted to see the huge inflow of Rage points. I warned all of you, didn¡¯t I? You were asking for it, so who can you me now?

    After wearing his clothes properly, Zu An turned around and walked back to the crowd, only to see a bunch of utterly crestfallen male students. Thank you for your generous contribution of Rage points, heh.

    All of a sudden, he noticed a particrly familiar name in the Keyboard¡¯s notifications.

    Wei Hongde? Isn¡¯t that the guy whom Old Mi told me to get close to?

    Zu An made his way over to Wei Hongde¡¯s side. Compared to the scrawny and sly-looking Wei Suo, Wei Hongde had a far more honest and upright look. It really made one wonder if they had reallye from the same womb.

    ¡°Brother Wei!¡± Zu An warmly wrapped his arm around Wei Hongde¡¯s shoulder and greeted him. ¡°I¡¯ve long heard of your name. It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you!¡±

    Wei Hongde didn¡¯t expect Zu An to suddenly walk over and hug him. He stiffened up in awkwardness as he asked, ¡°Do we know each other?¡±

    Long heard of my name? In terms of fame, there¡¯s no one in the academy who canpete with you. It has only been days since you arrived, but there¡¯s probably no one who hasn¡¯t heard of you yet.

    Wei Hongde¡¯s eyes wouldn¡¯t stop flickering toward Zu An¡¯s crotch as the image of what he saw earlier floated into his mind, causing his face to turn pale.

    ¡°Wei Suo and I are seated side by side. He¡¯s a good brother of mine, and I happened to hear him mention once that he has an older brother who attends the academy too. I¡¯ve been wanting to pay you a visit for some time now, but I haven¡¯t got an opportunity to do so till now,¡± exined Zu An.

    ¡°Ah, so it¡¯s Wei Suo.¡± Wei Hongde finally revealed a smile, exposing his bucktooth conspicuously. His doubts regarding whether Wei Suo and Wei Hongde were really brothers or not were finally dispelled.

    The two of them continued chatting for a while longer, but Zu An wasn¡¯t able to gather any useful intelligence. No matter how he looked at it, there was nothing special about Wei Hongde at all. Other than the fact that he had managed to get into the Sky ss, there was nothing particrly outstanding about him.

    He couldn¡¯t understand why Old Mi wanted him to get close to Wei Hongde.

    ¡°Ah Zu,e here for a moment!¡± a seductive voice sounded.

    Zu An turned his gaze over, only to see Pei Mianman looking in his way with her eyes curled into sweet crescent moons as she gently beckoned him over with her hands.

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    Zu An made his way over without hesitation. Needless to say, he would rather hang out with these gorgeousdies than those stinky men.

    Upon seeing this sight, the male students felt yet another gush of envy. They wanted to speak words of protest, but the memories of the shocking beast they had just witnessed rushed into their heads, and they immediately deted in disappointment.

    You have sessfully trolled Hong Xingying for +666 Rage!

    You have sessfully trolled Pan Long for +666 Rage!

    You have sessfully trolled Fu Feng for +666 Rage!

    You have sessfully trolled Xie Xiu for +666 Rage!

    You have sessfully trolled Wei Hongde for +666 Rage!

    ...

    ¡°Just what in the world happened back there? Why do all of them have such weird looks on their faces?¡± asked Pei Mianman curiously.

    Chu Chuyan looked disinterested by the side, but her pricked up ears told a different story.

    ¡°They might have been unintentionally traumatized,¡± replied Zu An in embarrassment. ¡°I told them not to peek, but they insisted on doing so.¡±

    ¡°...¡± The other male students.

    You bastard! You knew that we would want to look by saying those words! It was obviously a bait! Damn it, just why do I have to go through this torture? I need to get some water to wash that image out of my eyester on!

    You have sessfully trolled Hong Xingying for +233 Rage!

    You have sessfully trolled Pan Long for +233 Rage!

    You have sessfully trolled Fu Feng for +233 Rage!

    ...

    ¡°What trauma?¡± Confused as to what Zu An was referring to, Pei Mianman shot a sweeping nce at the male students.

    Usually, these male students would love more than anything to be met with Pei Mianman¡¯s seductive eyes, but at this very moment, everyone was feeling far too self-conscious to enjoy her gaze. Their eyes averted elsewhere, fearing that she would call them out.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing much, just some secrets amongst us guys,¡± replied Zu An with a mysterious smile. No matter how thick-skinned he was, it was simply too embarrassing for him to boast about his own assets.

    Afraid that she would continue interrogating him, he quickly took his leave and rushed over to Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s side.

    Pei Mianman stomped her feet in frustration as she pinched Chu Chuyan a little. ¡°Hey, is that your husband or other people¡¯s husband? Why does he keep running over to other women¡¯s side?¡±

    ¡°If you feel so indignant about it, why don¡¯t you go and snatch him back?¡± Chu Chuyan turned around and walked away.

    In truth, she had roughly guessed what was going on from the cryptic remarks made by those male students. It wasn¡¯t too hard for her to figure it out since she had a firsthand experience of it.

    Just thinking about what had happened back at the underground pce made her face steaming hot. She wouldn¡¯t be able to take it if Pei Mianman continued harping on the topic.

    Pei Mianman looked at Chu Chuyan with a confused frown. Why is everyone acting weird today?

    It was then that Lu De stepped out and gathered everyone¡¯s attention with a light cough. ¡°Alright. Since they¡¯re all fine, let¡¯s all get back to what we were doing. It¡¯s a rare opportunity for us to be able to explore a dungeon, and we still have three days left at the moment. Let¡¯s not waste our precious time, alright?¡±

    The male students agreed vehemently with Lu De¡¯s words and scattered in all directions like fleeing rabbits. It was simply too pressurizing for them to stay together with Zu An.

    Lu De and Bai Susu nced at one another before quickly gathering their team of students to depart from the area.

    Zu An remained in the area to take care of Qiao Xueying. Ji Xiaoxi had also sprained her ankle and was unable to move properly, so she stayed in the vicinity too.

    Zheng Dan had many things that she wanted to ask Zu An about, but with so many other women in the area, she wasn¡¯t in a convenient position to make her move. So, she directed him with a smiling gaze before leaving the area.

    Chu Chuyan had long wandered off from being unable to take the embarrassment.

    Pei Mianman hesitated for a moment, but harboring the same reservations as Zheng Dan did, she turned around and left for the ruins of the underground pce. She was hoping to see if she could find anything good from there.

    ¡°Was Zheng Dan shooting you a flirtatious gaze earlier?¡± Qiao Xueying pinched Zu An unhappily.

    Zu An was astonished. ¡°When did you wake up?¡±

    ¡°Why? Are you afraid that I saw something I shouldn¡¯t have?¡± Qiao Xueying harrumphed.

    ¡°Of course not. You must have been seeing things earlier. How could I possibly be in any rtionship with Zheng Dan?¡± replied Zu An with an earnest look on his face. How could I possibly admit to that before thedies?

    Qiao Xueying hesitated for a moment before advising, ¡°Be careful. That woman is getting close to you for that 7,500,000 silver taels debt note you have.¡±

    She hade into contact with Zheng Dan before as Shi Kun¡¯s subordinates, so she could easily guess what thetter was up to.

    ¡°Oh? I didn¡¯t think that you would be so concerned about me,¡± replied Zu An with a heartyugh. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t fall for her tricks that easily. Heh, I¡¯ll make sure that she makes the greatest loss she has ever made in her life!¡±

 Chapter 211: Less Than a Beast

    <h4>Chapter 211: Less Than a Beast</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Who¡¯s concerned about you? I¡¯m just reminding you on Miss Chu¡¯s behalf! I¡¯m feeling unwell now, so I shan¡¯t talk to you anymore,¡± spat Qiao Xueying coldly.

    After saying her piece, she flipped her body over and directed her back toward him, as if she had gone to sleep.

    Ji Xiaoxi also tugged Zu An¡¯s sleeves and said softly, ¡°Miss Qiao is severely injured. It¡¯s beneficial to her recovery to rest more, so you shouldn¡¯t interrupt her.¡±

    Zu An burst intoughter. Thisss is as kind as ever, always assuming the best of a person. Isn¡¯t it obvious that Qiao Xueying is just feigning sleep?

    ¡°Very well, we shall head to the side to talk then. Let¡¯s not disturb her rest.¡± It just so happened that Zu An had something to talk to her about.

    Listening to the departing footsteps of the duo, Qiao Xueying, who was indeed feigning sleep, gnashed her teeth in frustration. Just what does that fellow intend to say that he needs to do it behind my back?

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for +233 Rage!

    Zu An was amused to see the inflow of Rage points

    ¡°Big brother Zu, what are youughing at?¡± Ji Xiaoxi looked at him with herrge, innocent eyes.

    ¡°Nothing much,¡± replied Zu An. ¡°Why are you calling me big brother Zu again? Call me Ah Zu instead.¡±

    ¡°Oh...¡± Ji Xiaoxi couldn¡¯t understand why Zu An was so fixated on this address.

    ¡°Thanks for your clothes earlier on,¡± said Zu An. Looking at the innocentdy before him, Zu An really couldn¡¯t raise any thoughts of besmirching her. ¡°I apologize for causing the misunderstanding earlier. I¡¯ll exin it to themter on.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. We know that we¡¯re innocent, and that¡¯s all that matters,¡± replied Ji Xiaoxi with a shake of her head. Her eyes were as clear as water, carrying not a hint of other thoughts at all. ¡°Ah, you managed to find the Evanescent Lotus, right?¡±

    Zu An was taken aback. ¡°How did you know?¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s face reddened a little as she lowered her head in embarrassment. ¡°While I was checking your pulse earlier, I noticed that your injuries have fully recovered, and the area under your ki core has be... normal.¡±

    In fact, she noticed that the pulsation from that area was far more powerful even whenpared to other cultivators, but of course, a youngdy like her couldn¡¯t possibly say those words aloud.

    Zu An nodded and said, ¡°I did manage to find the Evanescent Lotus. Speaking of which, I really have to thank your father¡¯s pill for this.¡±

    He chose not to mention that the Evanescent Lotus had been consumed by Chu Chuyan, or else it would be hard to exin to Ji Xiaoxi how he managed to break free of his seal. After all, she was well-versed in medicine, so it would be hard to fool her with typical excuses. However, he couldn¡¯t say the truth to her either as he had already promised Mi Li not to reveal the existence of the Primordial Origin Sutra to anyone else.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect the pill to actually be effective. I was still worried that things might go wrong,¡± Ji Xiaoxi patted her chest and heaved a deep sigh of relief.

    ¡°???¡± Zu An.

    Wait a moment, there¡¯s something really weird about this reaction.

    The embarrassed Ji Xiaoxi exined meekly, ¡°It was the first time my father was making the unsealing medicine from some of the ancient medicine manuals. He was only 50% confident of sess, and it was so as to not make you worry that he kept it from you.¡±

    She didn¡¯t want to lie to him if possible, thinking that a physician should always inform his patient the truth. However, her father told him that the psychological state of the patient was also important to the treatment. Thinking that it did make sense, she reluctantly went along with her father.

    Thinking that it made sense, she reluctantly kept the matter from Zu An, only revealing it now that the treatment was over.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°...¡± Zu An.

    Ji Dengtu, that damned scammer!

    It was lucky that I encountered another fortuitous encounter, or else if I failed to recover after consuming the Evanescent Lotus, I might just lose all hope in life and end my misery there!

    Damn it, I¡¯ll make sure to settle the score with him!

    However, thinking about Ji Dengtu¡¯s unfathomably powerful cultivation, those thoughts swiftly evaporated from his mind. Forget it, I¡¯ll settle the score in some other way.

    ¡°Speaking of which, Xiaoxi, how is your leg doing?¡± asked Zu An. He remembered Bai Susu saying something along the lines that she had identally sprained her leg while looking for help. Feeling touched, he stretched his hand forth as he asked, ¡°Shall I help you massage it?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m already feeling much better.¡± Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s face reddened as she retracted her leg and subconsciously pulled her skirt down a little.

    It was due to her knowledge that Zu An wasn¡¯t a real man that she didn¡¯t mind those physical contact with him previously, but now that he had recover, she couldn¡¯t help but feel a little shy around him.

    On the other hand, Zu An was taken aback for a moment before realizing that he had identally went too far. Somehow, toward this incredibly kind and adorable littledy, he found himself unable to tease her without feeling guilt-ridden. So, he quickly put on a solemn expression and replied, ¡°Xiaoxi, I¡¯m sorry. It was due to me that you ended up wasting your time in the dungeon and wasn¡¯t able to harvest anything good.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not it. I think that the time I spent with you was quite fruitful!¡± replied Ji Xiaoxi excitedly. ¡°I¡¯ve never met with something as thrilling as this in my entire life. The experience in the mountain valley was definitely far more than anything I could wish for! As for the treasures, that means nothing much to me. My father has plenty of precious medicinal herbs anyway, so I¡¯m notcking in ingredients.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Zu An.

    Wow, rich people do think with a different mindsetpared to us, ordinary folks.

    Despite what Ji Xiaoxi said, Zu An still couldn¡¯t shrug off the guilt he felt. He felt that he should make up for it somehow.

    All of a sudden, a thought surfaced in his mind, and he took out a ki stone that was emanating a blood-red glow from his robe and stuffed it into her hands, saying, ¡°Here, I¡¯ll give this to you.¡±

    Mi Li¡¯s clothes back at the underground pce were donned with many precious ki stones, be it her cor, empress gown, or waist belt. While her clothester disintegrated from age, these ki stones remained perfectly intact. While Mi Li was changing her clothes, he secretly picked them up and stowed them away.

    Thergest ki stone of all was the one embedded at the center of her cor. Considering the possibility that it might have some significance to Mi Li, he decided to keep it for the time being so as to construct another cor with it for her. Instead, he chose to take out the secondrgest, the one that was embedded on her waist belt.

    Mi Li would probably be thankful when she finds out that I actually showed so much concern for her, right?

    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Ji Xiaoxi took a closer look at the ki stone, only for her face to warp in astonishment. Her mouth grew so big that one could stuff an entire egg in. ¡°Heaven grade ki stone!¡±

    Just like diamonds in his previous world, the ki stones in this world had different grades too. The ones that weremonly seen in the market and distributed by Brightmoon Academy were ordinary grade ki stones.

    A tier above that would be the earth grade ki stones. In terms of the quantity and concentration of ki, it was far superior to the ordinary grade ki stones. It was often used by major ns to nurture their core members.¡±

    Beyond that would be the heaven grade ki stone. It was said to be a resource monopolized fully by the imperial family, and it was said to be extremely rare. Only the emperor, empress, crown prince, and favored princes were qualified to use it. Most other princes, unless with a special exception, wouldn¡¯t even be able toe into contact with it.

    Zu An was taken aback, not expecting it to be a heaven ki stone. He had learned about the ssification of ki stones from the academy, but he had never seen one in person so he couldn¡¯t recognize it.

    ¡°I can¡¯t ept something as valuable as this!¡± eximed Ji Xiaoxi as she handed the crimson ki stone back to Zu An.

    ¡°How can I possibly take back a gift? Don¡¯t worry and ept it.¡± Even though Zu An knew that this ki stone was precious too, he still unhesitatingly insisted for Ji Xiaoxi to ept it.

    He recalled the turmoil he had been through ever since transmigrating into this world, especially the suffering he had suffered from Qiao Xueying. With such thoughts in mind, he directed a vicious re at the culprit.

    However, Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s presence brought warmth to his life. When she became cognizant of his affliction, she quickly thought up of ways to help him. Even in this dungeon, she also desperately tried to garner help in order to save him from the zombie soldiers too.

    ¡°It¡¯s simply too precious. I can¡¯t ept it!¡± Ji Xiaoxi shook her head vehemently. Due to how anxious she was, her fairplexion ended up turning a little red.

    Zu An grabbed her hands and said, ¡°Xiaoxi, no matter how important this ki stone is, it can¡¯t possibly be more important than you.¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi found her heart beating furiously as she wondered... Is he confessing to me?

    ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for you, I would have already died numerous times by now. On top of that, I wouldn¡¯t have recovered from my affliction either,¡± said Zu An solemnly. ¡°Does my life not mean as much as this ki stone in your eyes?¡±

    ¡°Of course not...¡± Ji Xiaoxi heaved a sigh of relief upon realizing that she was overthinking things. Yet, at the same time, she felt a profound emotion that she couldn¡¯t really put her finger on in her heart.

    ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, you should just ept it. I might just have more requests to ask for you in the future, and I shan¡¯t be paying the consultation fee then, alright?¡± said Zu An.

    ¡°Since that¡¯s the case... I¡¯ll ept it then.¡± Feeling the burning warmth of Zu An¡¯s hands, Ji Xiaoxi found herself at a loss as to whether she should retract her hands or not. ¡°Actually, if you look for me, you wouldn¡¯t have to pay consultation fee anyway... though I can¡¯t say the same for my father.¡±

    Thinking about the greedy and lustful Ji Dengtu, Zu An couldn¡¯t help but chuckle in response. ¡°Indeed, hahaha.¡±

    The two of them continued chatting for a while as they shared what they had encountered over thest few days. Soon, Ji Xiaoxi caved in to her exhaustion and dozed off on his shoulder.

    Her eyshes quivered slightly in the wind. Sunlight shone through the cracks of the tree leaves above them, bringing a gentle spotlight to her fairplexion.

    Zu An found himself feeling a little touched. She must have hardly slept a wink out of worry of my safety over thest few days. Now that she finally knows that I¡¯m safe, her body finally sumbs to her exhaustion.

    ¡°Cough!¡±

    Zu An turned to look at Qiao Xueying, only to see that she was seated with her back facing him. Her slender body had an alluring curvature to it, from the narrowing of her waist to the expansion toward her bum and thighs.

    ¡°That woman sure is beautiful when she finally sits still,¡± evaluated Zu An.

    Seeing that she wasn¡¯t reacting at all, he thought that she was simply murmuring in her dreams, so he turned his attention back to Ji Xiaoxi and tucked the strands of hair fluttering loosely on her face to the back of her ears.

    ¡°Cough cough!¡±

    The coughing sounded a little more discontented this time around.

    Zu An burst into softughter. ¡°Why don¡¯t you just get to the point if you¡¯re already awake? There¡¯s no need to cough over there to catch my attention.¡±

    ¡°I just wanted to see if you would do anything despicable to that youngdy like a beast.¡± Qiao Xueying finally turned her body around and rolled her eyes at him. She descended from the lineage of the elves after all, so her life force was far more plentifulpared to most other people. After having undergone Ji Xioaxi¡¯s treatment, she was in a much better state than before.

    ¡°Does this show that I¡¯m a gentleman then?¡± asked Zu An with a smile.

    ¡°No, it only shows that you¡¯re a pervert without any guts. In other words, you¡¯re less than a beast.¡± Qiao Xueying harrumphed.

    ¡°...¡± Zu An.

    He never thought that he would ever receive this evaluation.

    Qiao Xueying stretched her hand forth and asked, ¡°Where¡¯s mine?¡±

    Zu An was confused. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    Qiao Xueying harrumphed coldly and said, ¡°I braved through death with you in the underground pce, even using my most precious Half Life¡¯s Fate on you. I don¡¯t see you gifting me anything inpensation, but you seem to be oddly generous with that youngdy over there, hm?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for +256 Rage!

    Zu An¡¯s face heated up. It did seem like he was really a bit biased here. So, he quickly took out another ki stone that was previously embedded on Mi Li¡¯s gown and handed it over.

    Unexpectedly, Qiao Xueying tossed it right back at him and sneered, ¡°You gave her with such a big one, only to present me with this small pea? No thanks!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for +512 Rage!

    Zu An hurriedly handed over all of the remaining ki stones to her and said, ¡°This is all I have left; you can take it all. It should add up to berger than hers.¡±

    ¡°That won¡¯t do!¡± Qiao Xueying wasn¡¯t going topromise at all. ¡°I want aplete one that¡¯s not any smaller than hers.¡±

    Zu An was immediately put in a spot. The only onerger than Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s was the ki stone embedded on Mi Li¡¯s cor. Should I give it to her?

    Considering that Qiao Xueying had saved his life and handed over half of her lifespan to him, he did feel that his actions were a little unreasonable. However, just as he was about to take out thergest heaven grade ki stone, a cold voice suddenly sounded in his mind, ¡°Are you using my items to flirt with other woman?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for +999 Rage!

 Chapter 212: Thereâ€™s Something Wrong With Your Gaze

    <h4>Chapter 212: There¡¯s Something Wrong With Your Gaze</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An was taken aback. ¡°You¡¯re awake?¡±

    ¡°If I don¡¯t wake up now, are you going to give all of my possessions away to other women?¡± sneered Mi Li.

    Zu An scratched his head sheepishly, feeling awkward at having been caught in the act. He immediately put his expert level skill of changing the topic into y and asked, ¡°How did you manage to speak inside my head? Are you able to hear my thoughts?¡±

    ¡°The Life-and-Death Contract we¡¯ve sealed previously, in some ways, tied our souls together. Naturally, this means that we canmunicate via our souls. As for listening to your thoughts...¡± Mi Li paused for a moment to let out a sneer, ¡°... you need not worry about that. I have no interest in those filthy thoughts in your mind.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s one thing for you not to be able to listen, but another for you not to listen!¡± Zu An immediately felt nervous. It felt like he had been stripped bare of his clothes before another person.

    ¡°Anything involving souls and thoughts tend to be extremely cryptic. Unless one uses the Soul Searching Art, it won¡¯t be that easy to listen to another person¡¯s thoughts. In fact, even with the Soul Searching Art, one can only listen to bits and pieces of his mind, and it would inflict irrecoverable damage on the target too,¡± exined Mi Li coldly. ¡°If you still feel worried about it, why don¡¯t you try listening to my thoughts then?¡±

    Needless to say, there was no way Zu An would feel safe at the possibility of having his mind read. He immediately tried to listen to Mi Li¡¯s thoughts through his willpower, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn¡¯t heart anything at all.

    ¡°Could this woman be lying to me?¡± Zu An wondered. After all, heckedmon sense regarding this world, and it was obvious that Mi Li was an extremely knowledgeable person who was well-versed in many skills. Perhaps, the art of reading another person¡¯s mind might be a skill requiring some sort of special technique.

    An idea popped into Zu An¡¯s mind, and he immediately visualized the image of Mi Li kneeling on the floor calling him ¡®master¡¯...

    Pah!

    The Tai¡¯e Sword suddenly leaped up and pped his face before slotting back into its sheath. It was so fast that Zu An didn¡¯t have time to react at all.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you can¡¯t read my mind?!¡± roared Zu An angrily.

    ¡°There¡¯s something amiss with your gaze,¡± replied Mi Li nonchntly.

    ¡°...¡± Zu An.

    Please, you¡¯re hiding in the Tai¡¯e Sword, and the sword is right behind me. How in the world are you able to see my gaze?

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be heading back to sleep now.¡± Mi Li harrumphed. ¡°You aren¡¯t allowed to give my stuff away to anyone, or else I¡¯ll kill anyone whom I see is in possession of my items. As a man, don¡¯t you feel embarrassed to use another woman¡¯s items to flirt around? Have some pride, you scumbag!¡±

    Mi Li made sure to thoroughly put down Zu An before falling back into hibernation.

    Zu An was rendered speechless. She said earlier that she¡¯ll be going into deep sleep in order to repair her soul, but she leaped out as soon as I took out her stuff... Is she really sleeping or feigning it?

    ¡°What are you doing muttering to yourself?¡± Qiao Xueying eyed Zu An doubtfully as she noticed how his face was flickering with many emotions, as if he was deep in thought. ¡°Also, what¡¯s wrong with that sword of yours? Why is it moving on its own ord?¡±

    Zu An and Mi Li did exchange quite a few words via their telepathicmunication, but hardly a second had passed in realtime throughout the process, so Qiao Xueying didn¡¯t sense anything amiss.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing much,¡± replied Zu An. ¡°I just thought of a new sword art, so I tried simting it a little.¡±

    ¡°Your new sword art involves smacking your own face with it?¡± Qiao Xueying was unconvinced of the excuse Zu An thought up of.

    ¡°Of course not. That¡¯s why it¡¯s a failed simtion,¡± replied Zu An. He mustn¡¯t allow others to think that he had some weird masochistic tendency.

    Qiao Xueying finally snapped out of her daze and remembered her primary intention. With a huff, she demanded, ¡°Wait a moment, why are you thinking about some other sword art when I¡¯m asking you to give me a present? Forget it! Since it¡¯s that difficult for you, I don¡¯t want it anymore.¡±

    Just the thought that Ji Xiaoxi had received a ki stonerger than hers made her incredibly displeased, and from Zu An¡¯s expression, it seemed like he didn¡¯t have anythingrger either. After all, he couldn¡¯t possibly take back what he had already given to Ji Xiaoxi, right?

    It was one thing to understand his difficulties rationally, but emotions simply didn¡¯t conform to logic. The more she thought about it, the angrier she became.

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for +333 Rage!

    Zu An also felt his head hurting after seeing her Rage points. Mi Li had already made her stance clear¡ªhe couldn¡¯t give away any of her items to other women. But of course, he couldn¡¯t possibly let Qiao Xueying walk away without anything at all after all she had done for him...

    What else do I have then? I left the underground pce in a hurry, so I didn¡¯t manage to get anything good at all.

    Zu An searched his body, and all of a sudden, he thought of something¡ªthe Marrow Cleansing Pill!

    He quickly took a look at his Rage points and saw that he had managed to earn 33,595 of it within such a short period of time.

    Oh my, I¡¯m really a prodigy! I really have to thank those cute ssmates of mine for their generous contribution.

    He quickly bought a Marrow Cleansing Pill with 10,000 Rage points, only to remember how he had remarked previously that only a fool would waste so much Rage points to buy this...

    Damn it, I really should stop raising gs!

    Upon taking out the Marrow Cleansing Pill, he suddenly noticed a flicker in the price of the Marrow Cleansing Pill. He quickly took a closer look. At first glimpse, nothing seemed to be off, but upon careful inspection, he realized that there was an additional ''0¡¯ behind.

    The price had jumped to a whopping 100,000 Rage points!

    What the hell!

    Zu An leaped up in fury. The price would actually inte?! It used to be 10,000 previously, and now it¡¯s 100,000? Doesn¡¯t that mean that it¡¯ll leap up to 1,000,000 the next time?

    Hisplexion turned incredibly awful. He was still nning to give one of it to everyone around him, but it seemed like he couldn¡¯t afford that anymore.

    On second thought, it did make sense too. Items that could raise one¡¯s aptitude were precious and rare in this world. He thought that 10,000 Rage points was expensive in the past, but upon learning how important a cultivator¡¯s aptitude was, it was actually a pretty good deal.

    It¡¯s understandable why the Keyboard would gradually increase its price. I guess I should exchange for it only when I really need it. Otherwise, if its price leap to 10,000,000 or something, that would definitely be far out of my reach.

    Zu An gently ced Ji Xiaoxi against the tree before walking over to Qiao Xueying¡¯s side. He handed the Marrow Cleansing Pill to her and said, ¡°I don¡¯t have any other heaven grade ki stone anymore, so I¡¯ll give you something more precious.¡±

    Looking at the inelegant pill presented to her, Qiao Xueying scoffed in disbelief, ¡°What else could possibly be more valuable than a heaven grade ki stone?¡±

    ¡°Try eating it then.¡± Zu An delivered the pill to her mouth.

    ¡°What is this?¡± Qiao Xueying instinctively leaned backward to avoid the medicine as she eyed him warily. ¡°It can¡¯t be aphrodisiac, can it?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Zu An.

    Am I that kind of person in your mind?

    ¡°Yes, it is. Are you going to eat it or not?¡± Zu An¡¯s patience was gradually hitting its limits.

    Qiao Xueying¡¯s face reddened a little. She smelled the fragranceing from the pill, and somehow, there was something in the depths of her soul that seemed to crave for it, inducing her to gulp down her saliva. ¡°I reckon that you wouldn¡¯t have the guts to feed me aphrodisiac!¡±

    So, she opened her mouth and swallowed the pill whole.

    When her tongue identally slicked across Zu An¡¯s finger, thetter¡¯s body shuddered a little. Even her mouth feels soft as well.

    On the other hand, Qiao Xueying found her heart skipping a beat as an unnatural look appeared on her face. She quickly changed the topic and asked, ¡°What does your pill do?¡±

    ¡°It can raise a person¡¯s aptitude by a level,¡± replied Zu An.

    ¡°How could there be such a convenient pill in the world?¡± asked Qiao Xueying with a frown, refusing to believe his words.

    ¡°You¡¯ll know it soon enough.¡± Zu An couldn¡¯t be bothered to exin it.

    Qiao Xueying was just about to say something else when she suddenly felt a heat spreading throughout her body, gushing through her veins. Every pore on her body seemed to be tingling in delight.

    Astonished, she quickly focused her attention on assimting the medicinal energy.

    Some timeter, she slowly opened her eyes. Her pupils looked brighter than before, and the surrounding air smelled sweeter and fresher than ever. She could clearly see the fluttering wings of a dragonfly in the distance, as well as the rhythmic swaying of the grass. It was the same changes Zu An experienced when he consumed the Marrow Cleansing Pill back then.

    ¡°T-this... It really can raise a person¡¯s aptitude!¡± eximed Qiao Xueying in disbelief.

    Zu An rolled his eyes. ¡°You didn¡¯t believe it when I told you earlier. Do I look like the kind of person to give out empty promises?¡±

    Qiao Xueying rolled her eyes. How am I to know whether you¡¯re lying or not when you keep boasting all day long?

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    That being said, she was currently still fully immersed in her shock and delight that she ended up apologizing, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    Zu An was taken aback. ¡°Why are you apologizing to me?¡±

    Qiao Xueying had aplicated look on her face. ¡°A medicine that increases one¡¯s aptitude ispletely unheard of. This is indubitably one of the most precious medicine in the world. If others were to know of it, it would surely cause a huge flurry. If I hadn¡¯t pressured you for a present, you wouldn¡¯t have to waste such a precious pill on me.¡±

    ¡°How could this be called a waste?¡± replied Zu An with a smile. ¡°Besides, nothing else is more valuable than your Half Life¡¯s Fate. We¡¯rerades who have braved through death together. You¡¯re being too formal by saying those words.¡±

    ¡°Comrades...¡± Qiao Xueying felt a tingle in her heart when she heard those words. She suddenly lowered her head, making it impossible to see her expression. There were many words that lingered in her heart, but they eventually coalesced into two simple words, ¡°Thank you.¡±

    ¡°Compared to that, I think that you should be more concerned about is your hygiene. You don¡¯t smell too good at the moment,¡± Zu An fanned his hands before his nose as he remarked teasingly.

    Qiao Xueying froze up for a moment before she noticed theyer of filth on the surface of her skin. It seemed to be the impurities that had just been forced out of her body under the effects of the Marrow Cleansing Pill.

    Women tended to put great emphasis on their appearances, so she red at Zu An in a mixture of anger and embarrassment as she eximed, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say that earlier?¡±

    This fellow really is a bastard! It was just a moment ago that I was so moved by him, but in the next moment, he starts infuriating me once more!

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for +250 Rage!

    Zu An tried his best to stifle hisughter as he said, ¡°There¡¯s a river over there. You can change your clothes there.¡±

    He noticed that the male students had run in that direction to wash their eyes earlier.

    ¡°Do you need to borrow a set of spare clothes from Xiaoxi?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that!¡±

    Qiao Xueying struggled to sat upright before taking out a clean set of clothes from the ring on her finger.

    Zu An was surprised to see that she had a storage ring. He couldn¡¯t help but remark, ¡°How selfish. I was in such an awkward dress-up earlier, but you didn¡¯t offer me any change of clothes.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Are you sure that you wish to try on woman clothes?¡±

    Qiao Xueying slowly got to her feet. In the first ce, elves tended to recover fast from their injuries during to their great life force, and she had consumed Divine Physician Ji¡¯s pills and the Marrow Cleansing Pill earlier on. While she wasn¡¯t fully recovered yet, she was well enough to barely move around.

    ¡°No thanks!¡± Just the thought of being known as a cross-dresser in the academy made Zu An shudder in horror. He quickly shook his head. ¡°You seem to still have difficulties moving around. Do you need me to wash your body?¡±

    ¡°Scram!¡± replied Qiao Xueying sharply before heading all alone to the river.

    Zu An subconsciously nced at the Keyboard, only to shake his head in frustration. Where¡¯s the Rage points?

    It was then that Qiao Xueying suddenly halted her footsteps and beckoned for him with her hands.

    Zu An¡¯s eyebrows shot up. ¡°Why? Have you thoughts things through and decided to have me wash your body for you? You should know that I used to be known as a master scrubber!¡±

    Qiao Xueying rolled her eyes and said, ¡°I need you to stand guard for me lest someonees by.¡±

    ¡°But what if I were to see your body?¡± asked Zu An.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll dig out your eyes!¡± Qiao Xueying harrumphed before walking away. There was a visible hint of redness crawling up her neck.

 Chapter 213: Me and My Incredible Mouth

    <h4>Chapter 213: Me and My Incredible Mouth</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An looked at the sleeping Ji Xiaoxi, but he couldn¡¯t rest easy leaving her alone here, so he decided to call her along. However, her rhythmic breathing showed that she was having a good sleep at the moment, and he found himself unable to bear to wake her up. So, he carried her up instead.

    ¡°Mmm~¡± Ji Xiaoxi seemed to sense his movement and mumbled a bit as she adjusted her posture to a morefortable one, leaning her head against his chest.

    Zu An felt as if he was holding onto a cat in his arms, and gradually, he found his heart falling at ease.

    On the other hand, Qiao Xueying was delighted to see the clear river, so she immediately turned around to say something to Zu An, only to be met with the sight of him holding onto Ji Xiaoxi dotingly.

    Her mood immediately grew irate as she spoke annoyedly, ¡°Make sure you keep a lookout properly and don¡¯t allow anyone toe near!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s my loss if anyonees near, so I¡¯ll make sure to do a proper job at it,¡± replied Zu An.

    Tsk, I¡¯m the one who¡¯s going to make a loss here, Qiao Xueying thought. ¡°Also, you mustn¡¯t peek as well. Otherwise, I¡¯ll gouge your eyes out!¡±

    ¡°Hey, that¡¯s going a little overboard! We¡¯rerades who have braved through life and death, remember? Besides, I¡¯ve already seen everything that you have. It¡¯s not as if you¡¯ll lose a piece of flesh just because I take a peek on you right now,¡± mumbled Zu An in dissatisfaction.

    ¡°You!!!¡± Infuriated, Qiao Xueying¡¯s hair began growing once more.

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for +404 Rage!

    Zu An was appalled. ¡°Wait, calm down! Fine, I won¡¯t look, alright? It¡¯s not as if you have any assets worthy of peeping at anyway.¡±

    This woman sure has a fiery temper. As soon as she recovers a bit of energy, she doesn¡¯t hesitate to use her force at all. Isn¡¯t she afraid of worsening her injuries?

    Qiao Xueying gnashed her teeth in fury, seriously contemting whether she should whip him into ce. However, recalling how exhausted he was at the moment, as well as the fact that this was simply the type of person he was, she eventually chose to let the matter slip.

    She waved her hand, and a wall of water formed behind her. It was only then that she finally disrobed and slowly walked into the river. She was unable to swim, so she chose to remain close to the shore. It was fortunate that the river wasn¡¯t too deep, so there was nothing for her to be afraid of.

    To be honest, even though Zu An was keeping a lookout to keep any peeping toms at bay, there was actually not much need for it since the students that were here earlier had left. There was no one in the area anymore.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    So, Zu An rxed a little and calmly shot a discreet nce toward the river.

    A pity it was he didn¡¯t see what he wanted to see. There was only a veil of water mist, simr to what he saw when he first met Ji Xiaoxi in the river. Qiao Xueying had used her ki to cover her surroundings, preventing anyone from peeping on her.

    ¡°Tsk! Who are you guarding against?¡± murmured Zu An in displeasure.

    He could hear the sshing of water sounding in the river, and his mind amazingly filled in the gaps for him, painting out an erotic scene in his head. If this was a novel, a venomous snake should appear at this moment and bite her sensitive parts. This way, not only would he be able to y the hero, but he could make use of this opportunity to suck out her poison too.

    Hm, which novel did I read this from? I don¡¯t remember it anymore.

    Zu Anughed doltishly to himself when an exmation suddenly sounded from the river.

    ¡°Ah!¡±

    It was Qiao Xueying¡¯s voice.

    ¡°Holy shit, is it really happening?¡±

    Zu An hurriedly turned his gaze over, only to be met with a sight that left him dizzy.

    Qiao Xueying had leaped out of the river into the sky, such that there was nothing veiling her body anymore, revealing her fair skin and beautiful waist. Her skin was covered in droplets with water which glistened under the brilliant sun, giving herplexion a ravishing glow. For a moment there, she looked like a goddess.

    It was then that a massive red snake rushed into the sky as well and opened up its gaping mouth to bite down on Qiao Xueying.

    Zu An was utterly speechless. Am I actually a prophet or something?

    Not daring to hesitate, he quickly drew the Tai¡¯e Sword and rushed in to save her.

    Qiao Xueying twisted her body and forcefully moved sideward with a few inches, barely dodging this possibly fatal attack. Following that, she flicked her finger and sent two needles directly toward the snake¡¯s eyes.

    The snake hissed in agony before spurting out a pink mist from its mouth.

    Qiao Xueying was already severely injured from the very start, and the earlier evasion had taken up all of her strength. She wanted to dodge the pink mist, but her body wasn¡¯t moving as smoothly as she wanted, resulting in her being struck squarely.

    She tried to hold her breath, but it was of little help. Vertigo swiftly consumed her as she found herself losing control over her body and falling back to the ground.

    ¡°This is bad!¡±

    There were many rocks along the river, such that even if she wasn¡¯t stabbed by the sharp edges to her death, it was likely that she would end up disfigured. Unfortunately, her ki seemed to have been sealed by the pink mist, refusing to budge at all. She could only watch helplessly as she came closer and closer to the jagged surface under her.

    It was then that she felt herself falling into a warm and reassuring embrace. A familiar voice sounded, ¡°Snow, are you fine?¡±

    Qiao Xueying shook her head and said, ¡°Be careful. This is a Crimsonscale Python, a fourth rank beast. Its fighting prowess is nothing worthy of note, but its poison can be hard to deal with.¡±

    Zu An nodded in response. Aren¡¯t pythons supposed to be non-poisonous? Haaa, I guess anything is possible in the world of cultivation.

    Qiao Xueying couldn¡¯t help but feel incredibly worried. Zu An might be stronger than the average third rank cultivator, but it would still be extremely dangerous for him to fight against the Crimsonscale Python. She could have been able to deal with a fourth rank beast with ease had it not been for her severe injuries.

    Nevertheless, she still tried to step forward to help, but the numbness enveloping her body prevented her from gathering her strength at all. She knew deep well that this was the effects of the python¡¯s poison, and it made her incredibly frustrated. Left with no choice, she could only pray for the best for Zu An.

    At this very moment, the python was thrashing furiously in the water, infuriated by the loss of its vision. Zu An made use of this opportunity to push the Tai¡¯e Sword toward the python¡¯s heart. There was no way the python could survive if he couldnd a critical blow on it.

    However, his heart immediately skipped a beat right after. He subconsciously resorted to Sunflower Phantasm, but his body had already regained its yang energy. The sh in ki caused his body toe to an abrupt halt.

    It was also at this very moment that the pythonshed its tail over. Even without its eyes, it could still perceive the surroundings through vibrations on the ground.

    Zu An quickly pulled his sword in front of him, only to be struck by an immense force that sent him flying for tens of meters.

    ¡°Ah Zu, are you fine?¡± The worried Qiao Xueying quickly rushed forward in concern. It wasmon knowledge that beasts tended to be more powerful than human cultivators, and such a strike would be hard for even a fourth rank cultivator to bear, let alone Zu An.

    Unexpectedly, Zu An didn¡¯t suffer any fractures or ligament tears as a result of that. He climbed up from the ground as if nothing happened at all.

    It wasn¡¯t just Qiao Xueying who was surprising here; even Zu An was puzzled too. He knew that he shouldn¡¯t have been able to bear such an attack under normal circumstances, but to his surprise, his strength was actually much greater than before.

    He quickly took a look at his own internal condition, only to find that the seventh formation and eighth formation had been filled up.

    The seventh formation would require 987 Ki Fruits and the eighth formation would require 1597 Ki Fruits, such that it should have taken him a long time to fill them up through the lottery.

    How did it get filled up so quickly?

    He quickly thought back about what had happened thus far, and he suddenly remembered how he had been struck to the verge of death by Mi Li multiple times in order to save Qiao Xueying, barely holding on with the power of the Heiress¡¯ Ball of Delights. This was the first time he had suffered such grievous injuries.

    He couldn¡¯t even remember how many times he had risen from the bloodied ground around him. It was probably the endless cycle of suffering severe injuries and standing back up that the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra worked its magic and raised his cultivation greatly.

    Damn it, Mi Li sure is vicious!

    Just thinking about it made Zu An feel deeply fearful. It was fortunate that he had the Heiress¡¯ Ball of Delights to maintain the final bit of his health bar back then. However, he had also ended up expending its final use, which meant that he would have one less trump card to resort to in the future.

    It was then that the Crimsonscale Python charged in his direction once more. This time, Zu An didn¡¯t use Sunflower Phantasm but chose to dodge it manually instead.

    To his surprise, his movement speed was incredibly fast. It was true that he had made a breakthrough, but his speed and strength were far too exaggerated. It was no joke to say that he could almost match a fifth rank cultivator.

    What¡¯s going on?

    ¡°You fool! The Primordial Origin Sutra has tempered your body too, remember? It goes without saying that your physical capabilities have been greatly enhanced as a result of that. On top of that, you¡¯ve cultivated the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra. The two secret artsplement one another, increasing your speed to be far beyond that of the other cultivators in your rank. You should be around pinnacle fourth rank at the moment, possibly on par with the weaker fifth rank cultivators,¡± said Mi Li.

    ¡°You¡¯re awake?¡± Zu An was surprised and delighted.

    Given Mi Li¡¯s sharp eye of discernment, it was unlikely for her judgment to be off.

    Previously, he had to get into a severely injured state and activate the berserk mode of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra in order to achieve such strength and speed, but he was already at this level now even while he was still at full health.

    ¡°Hmph! How could I remain asleep when you¡¯re in danger? I¡¯ve no intention of dying a dog¡¯s death with you. I thought that you have encountered some thousand-year-old monster, but it turns out to just be a measly snake. How pathetic,¡± sneered Mi Li in scorn.

    ¡°Measly snake?¡± Zu An looked at the python, which had a circumference even thicker than a bucket, and he fell speechless. But again, a fourth rank beast was probably no different from an ant in Mi Li¡¯s eyes.

    It was then that the Crimsonscale Python suddenly lurched forward once more. By this point, Zu An was already starting to get used to his newfound strength and speed. He looked for an opportune moment to whip out Poisonous Prick and stab it into the python¡¯s body.

    ck runes swiftly formed around the nick he had left on the python, and thetter suddenly shuddered intensely before copsing to the ground. It was dead.

    ¡°That dagger of yours is quite meaningful,¡± remarked Mi Li. ¡°I¡¯ll have a good look at it when I have time. I¡¯ll be returning to rest now. You actually awoke me over such small fries. Tsk.¡±

    Mi Li¡¯s voice soon faded.

    This woman really appears and leaves like a ghost. I really wonder if she¡¯s just feigning sleep over there.

    However, Zu An was in no mood to ponder over that at the moment. He quickly rushed over to Qiao Xueying¡¯s side to check on her condition.

    Qiao Xueying breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing that he had killed the massive python. Then, as if the tension had left her body, she finally sumbed and began falling to the ground. Luckily, Zu An managed to make it in time to catch her.

    ¡°Clothes... Help me put them on...¡± Possibly out of embarrassment, Qiao Xueying¡¯s fair skin was dyed red, as if someone had smeared rose extract over her body.

 Chapter 214: Sucking Out Your Poison? Leave It To Me!

    <h4>Chapter 214: Sucking Out Your Poison? Leave It To Me!</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An fell into a daze. She was simply too beautiful that he forgot to avert his gaze.

    Qiao Xueying pulled her arms before her, one to cover her chest and the other to cover her legs. However, how much could her small hands possibly be able to cover?

    ¡°C-clothes...¡±

    Seeing that Zu An wasn¡¯t moving at all, Qiao Xueying raised her eyes, only to be met with his searing gaze. That made her feeling of embarrassment even more intense.

    It was only then that Zu An finally snapped out of his daze. He quickly grabbed her clothes and wrapped them around her.

    In order to alleviate the awkwardness, he said, ¡°How are you feeling? You were still fine earlier on, but you suddenly seem so weak now.¡±

    Qiao Xueying red at him sharply before responding, ¡°I was struck by the poisonous mist of the Crimsonscale Python...¡±

    ¡°Poisonous mist? Are you fine? I¡¯ll get someone to treat you right now!¡± Zu An was horrified. His Primordial Origin Sutra had only reached the second rank, so he couldn¡¯t use it to treat others yet. If she was afflicted with some sort of rare poison, he would really be put in a spot.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that...¡± Qiao Xueying pulled his sleeves and shook her head. ¡°The Crimsonscale Python¡¯s poison isn¡¯t lethal. It¡¯s just that the snake is lustful in nature, so its poison has a strong... aphrodisiac effect...¡±

    After saying those words, she quickly lowered her head. Her face was so red that it looked as if it was going to seep out blood.

    ¡°This...¡± Zu An was also left awkward. He never thought that he would encounter this sort of event. So, he coughed a little before replying, ¡°It should be fine once the effect fades.¡±

    He couldn¡¯t understand why characters who had fallen for aphrodisiac desperately needed to have sex in order to treat their condition. Wouldn¡¯t it be fine to just give it some time and let the effects fade? The human body was extremely good at detoxification, after all!

    Qiao Xueying shook her head and replied, ¡°The Crimsonscale Python isn¡¯t a powerful beast. Its body doesn¡¯t have any inner cores, and its skin and flesh serve no purpose at all. Despite so, it¡¯s still an incredibly valuable beast. Do you know why?¡±

    ¡°Is it due to its poison?¡± asked Zu An.

    Qiao Xueying nodded. ¡°Its poison has the effect of inducing a person¡¯s lust while rendering herpletely powerless to resist. Thus, it¡¯s one of the items which those officials and nobles fancied a lot. Due to the excessive hunting, it¡¯s extremely rare to spot a Crimsonscale Python in the outside world anymore. I didn¡¯t expect to encounter one here in this dungeon.¡±

    Zu An fell silent. It looks like regardless of which world one is in, it¡¯s those who possess power and affluence that tend to y the wildest.

    ¡°If it only evokes one¡¯s lust, it wouldn¡¯t have been so popr amongst the officials and nobles,¡± exined Qiao Xueying. ¡°The key thing is that if the poisoned individual doesn¡¯t... get an amalgamation of yin and yang with another man, the poison would start to erode one¡¯s ki meridians, possibly leading to death. Thus, the officials and nobles often use this in order to dominate a woman whom they can¡¯t easily win over.¡±

    ¡°Ah, you should have said that earlier. We¡¯re already so close to one another, so there¡¯s no way I would hesitate to treat your poison. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll definitely give it all I got. I won¡¯t stop until I finally eradicate the poisonpletely from your body!¡± said Zu An determinedly.

    As he said those words, he began taking off his clothes.

    ¡°...¡± Qiao Xueying.

    It was then that a gentle voice sounded from behind, ¡°What are... you all doing?¡±

    Zu An turned around, only to see Ji Xiaoxi standing not too far away, looking at them withrge innocent eyes filled with curiosity.

    ¡°Miss Qiao has been poisoned, so I¡¯m intending to treat her.¡± Her innocent gaze somehow made Zu An¡¯s face heat up in embarrassment.

    Meanwhile, Qiao Xueying buried herself in his embrace and feigned unconsciousness. It was simply too embarrassing.

    Ji Xiaoxi blinked her eyes and said, ¡°Is it the poison of the Crimsonscale Python? That¡¯s easy to treat. I¡¯ve got a Heartcalming Pill here.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Zu An.

    If it was possible for him to collect his own Rage points, that would surely have been a ¡®+1024 Rage¡¯ there!

    ¡°The Crimsonscale Python¡¯s poison seems to be quite formidable. Can it really be cured with such a simple pill?¡± Zu An epted the pill Ji Xiaoxi was offering him reluctantly.

    ¡°Of course. Back then, my father heard that a maiden has been taken advantage of by scion using the Crimsonscale Python¡¯s poison, so he specially concocted this medicine for me so that I can fend against... the toxicity of that horrible poison.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Zu An.

    He never thought that the perverted Ji Dengtu would actually protect his daughter so well, taking every single possible threat into ount! But again, it was probably because he was a pervert himself that he knew what sort of things other perverts would do, allowing him to make better precautions.

    Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s face reddened as the same thoughts arose in her mind too.

    I know that my father has an erotica hidden in his bed, under his nket. I saw it while I was cleaning up his room!

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Out of curiosity, she had flipped it open to take a look back then, but the content she saw was so horrifying that she tossed it away instantly. She finally understood why her father¡¯splexion had been so pale during that period of time.

    Hmph! If I ever find out the person who gave my father that kind of book, I¡¯ll make sure to give him a harsh scolding he¡¯ll never forget!

    It was then that she suddenly remembered yet another incident, where she saw her father rushing to his room excitedly with a woman¡¯s dudou in hand, only to be caught red-handed by her little aunt, who happened to visit at the moment. Her little aunt immediately confiscated it with an awful look on her face and berated him harshly.

    My father is really ridiculous...

    Ji Xiaoxi sighed deeply.

    Zu An was also cursing Ji Dengtu in his mind for concocting such medicine for no reason, causing him to lose such a golden opportunity with Snow.

    ¡°Give it to me...¡± Qiao Xueying could hear their conversation loud and clear. She noticed that Zu An was holding onto the Heartcalming Pill intently, not feeding it to her at all, so she could only ask for it herself.

    Zu An had no choice but to feed the pill to her. Still unwilling to give up, he said, ¡°If it¡¯s not enough to treat the poison, you can feel free to call me anytime.¡±

    Qiao Xueying¡¯s face heated up. This fellow is really thick-skinned!

    After swallowing the Heartcalming Pill, she felt a cold surge of energy gradually diffusing throughout her body, dispelling the heat that had previously enveloped her. Overjoyed, she turned to Ji Xiaoxi and said, ¡°Your father is truly an incredible physician!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re ttering him,¡± replied Ji Xiaoxi with a shy smile.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but feel even more disappointed. He could only change the topic and try not to think about it. ¡°Ah, I didn¡¯t see the traces of any beasts in the river earlier. Why would such a huge python appear out of nowhere?¡±

    After all, there were quite a few male students who headed over earlier to wash their eyes, but none of them got attacked.

    Qiao Xueying pondered for a moment before replying, ¡°It could be the smell of blood on me.¡±

    ¡°Smell of blood?¡± Zu An had a bizarre look on his face. ¡°You¡¯re having your period?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Qiao Xueying.

    ¡°...¡± Ji Xiaoxi.

    ¡°It¡¯s the blood from the injuries I suffered earlier on! Just what the hell is your head filled with?!¡± Qiao Xueying red at Zu An furiously.

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for +250 Rage!

    Zu An replied with a sheepish smile, ¡°Hahaha, I¡¯m just concerned about you, that¡¯s all.¡±

    At the same time, he couldn¡¯t help but notice the feeling of guilt welling up in his heart as he earned Qiao Xueying¡¯s Rage points. It had felt much more exhrating when she was an enemy.

    ¡°You should hurry up and leave. I¡¯m going to change my clothes.¡± Qiao Xueying gradually regained her strength and pushed him off. ¡°It¡¯ll be enough to have Miss Ji here with me.¡±

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll head over to the side. Call me if anything happens.¡± Zu An carefully put her down by the side before walking away. His intent would be too obvious if he insisted on staying here under such circumstances.

    After he left, Qiao Xueying quickly began putting on her clothes as she murmured softly, ¡°Miss Ji, about what happened earlier on...¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi smiled softly and replied, ¡°Big Sister Qiao, don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t tell anyone.¡±

    ¡°Thanks...¡± Qiao Xueying wasn¡¯t sure whether she was referring to her getting poisoned or her baring her body before Zu An earlier on, but in any case, she didn¡¯t dare to ask.

    After quickly putting on her clothes, she began engaging Ji Xiaoxi in a conversation,pletely ignoring Zu An. It made himpletely confused as he wondered how had he offended her.

    Some timeter, Chu Chuyan finally returned. In truth, she hadn¡¯t walked too far away; she simply didn¡¯t know how to face Zu An for a moment there.

    Upon hearing that there was a battle here, she quickly rushed back out of fear that something had happened. When she saw the Crimsonscale Python¡¯s corpse, she heaved a sigh of relief.

    She quickly asked about what had happened earlier, but both Zu An and Qiao Xueying gave really vague exnations. Even Ji Xiaoxi had a weird look on her face, which really rose doubts in her mind. However, she wasn¡¯t too interested in getting to the bottom of this matter since she had never been one to meddle in the affairs of another.

    They spent the next two days recuperating from their injuries and cultivating. Soon, it was the day that the dungeon exploration came to an end.

    Zu An thought that they would have to return back to the starting point, and he was confused why the other students weren¡¯t heading back to gather. However, Chu Chuyan informed him that the dungeon would automatically send them out once time was up, and there was no need for them to return through the same gate.

    Soon, the surroundings began to distort slightly as a familiar feeling of weightlessness enveloped them. Zu An couldn¡¯t help but find this sensation familiar as he had experienced this multiple times when he entered the Soul Suppression Seal. Is that considered a dungeon inside a dungeon then?

    By the time he finally regained his consciousness, he realized that he was already back at the mountain behind the academy. Chu Chuyan, Qiao Xueying, and Ji Xiaoxi were standing by his side. Those from the other academies were also gradually being teleported out one after another.

    Zu An took a look at the surroundings, and he suddenly spotted Shi Kun¡¯s silhouette. Recalling all he had been through, hatred gushed into his head as he whipped out his Tai¡¯e Sword and charged at him. ¡°Die, Shi Kun!¡±

    The other students were all in the midst of looking through their gains in the dungeon, and the other teachers were also busy taking a headcount to determine the casualties. No one expected Zu An to suddenly make such a move.

    Shi Kun was feeling quite crestfallen when he was teleported out, and the realization that Zu An was alive horrified him. He instinctively drew his weapon to protect himself.

    ng!

    To everyone¡¯s disbelief, Shi Kun¡¯s sword was actually shed into two halves right away!

    How could this be?

    This was imusible to them as Shi Kun¡¯s weapon was an earth grade weapon. Besides, even if he was only wielding a wooden stick, he should have been able to easily crush Zu An with his fifth rank cultivation.

    There was no way they could imagine that Zu An¡¯s sheer strength and speed were alreadyparable to a fifth rank cultivator, and the Tai¡¯e Sword was a legendary ancient weapon. Even with its sword spirit damaged, it was definitely a heaven grade at the very least.

    Not to mention, there was a huge vast in their mental states too. One was charging forward angrily with hatred whereas the other feeling deeply guilt-ridden. Given such conditions, it was only normal for Shi Kun¡¯s weapon to be broken so easily.

    Shi Kun didn¡¯t expect such a turn of events either. He watched helplessly as Zu An¡¯s sword swiftly closed in toward his chest. His body waspletely stiffened, unable to react on time at all.

    ¡°How dare you!¡±

    But a bellow echoed all of a sudden, and a figure carrying immense pressure rushed forward to attack Zu An.

 Chapter 215: Arguing

    <h4>Chapter 215: Arguing</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An didn¡¯t even have to look to know that the person protecting Shi Kun was Shi Lezhi as he had received an advanced notification from the Rage pointsing in.

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Lezhi for +444 Rage!

    That very instant, Zu An found himself unable to breathe. The gap between the two of them was too huge; it was beyond his means to deal with an eighth rank cultivator at the moment.

    He wanted to dodge, but it was hard for him to even move his fingers under the other party¡¯s pressure. Left with no choice, he could only channel the Primordial Origin Sutra so hurriedly temper his body so as to withstand Shi Lezhi¡¯s iing attack.

    It was then that a white silhouette shed across.

    If there was anyone who knew in advance that Zu An was going to make a move, that person would be no other than Chu Chuyan. She knew deep well that the other party was doing it in order to exact vengeance for her.

    She was forced to a point where she ended up copsing her own ki meridians, and it was only by chance that they found the Evanescent Lotus that she was able to barely survive. If not for all of the fortuitous encounters they had afterward, she would have already been a cripple by now.

    Not to mention, Shi Kun even dared to lust for her even when he knew that her life was already withering away.

    In truth, even if Zu An hadn¡¯t made a move earlier, she would have settled the scores with Shi Kun. So, upon seeing him make a move, she prepared herself as well, knowing that Shi Lezhi was likely in the vicinity.

    Bam!

    A loud explosion sounded. Shi Lezhi stood steadfast before Shi Kun whereas Chu Chuyan, holding Zu An in her hand, was sent skidding back over thirty meters before she finally regained her footing. A trail of blood seeped from the edges of her lips.

    Even though she was already nearing the seventh rank, she was still more than a cultivation rank weaker than Shi Lezhi.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An hurriedly asked, ¡°Are you alright?¡±

    What am I to do if she gets herself severely injured just after I barely managed to treat her injuries? Oh... Doesn¡¯t that mean that I have another reason to get snu snu... cough, I mean treat her once more?

    Chu Chuyan shook her head and replied, ¡°It¡¯s just some superficial injuries.¡±

    ¡°Oh...¡± Zu An was disappointed.

    His reaction confused Chu Chuyan, wondering what was wrong with him that he looked so unhappy that she was alright.

    The surrounding crowd also swiftly snapped out of their daze and started whispering amongst themselves.

    ¡°As expected of the strongest expert of our academy. To think that she¡¯s actually able to stand her ground against eighth rank cultivators!¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious that the expert of the Shi n went easy on her? Otherwise, an eighth rank cultivator would surely be able to ughter a fifth rank cultivator as easily as butchering a chicken.¡±

    ¡°Yes, it does look like the Shi n has gone easy for Miss Chu.¡±

    There were also some indignant voices mixed into the crowd too.

    ¡°You speak as if the Shi n would really dare to touch Miss Chu here! We¡¯re in Brightmoon City right now! If the Shi n dares to touch Miss Chu, putting aside the wrath of the Brightmoon Duke, even the academy wouldn¡¯t let this matter slip easily!¡±

    Meanwhile, Shi Lezhi stared at Chu Chuyan with a shocked look on his face. He knew deep well that he hadn¡¯t gone easy on Zu An since this was a rare opportunity for him to take Zu An¡¯s life, but Chu Chuyan actually managed to receive his attack and got away with just light injuries. Is she really a fifth rank cultivator? Why does it seem like she¡¯s already approaching the seventh rank instead?

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± a cold voice suddenly sounded.

    ¡°Principal Jiang!¡±

    The teachers and students of the academy quickly bowed to her, including Bai Susu and Lu De. Thetter two visibly heaved a sigh of relief at her presence.

    The only exception was Zu An, whose first reaction was to look at her thighs. Wow, it¡¯s still as long and slender as ever. Ahh, I can¡¯t pick a single w with it. She isn¡¯t wearing her usual stockings, but her skin is glistening with such radiance that it stands out even more than ever.

    Zu An was d that he didn¡¯t have a stocking fetish like Wei Suo, who was only satisfied when he saw one. Just a pair of pretty and well-proportionate legs was enough to leave him refreshed.

    ¡°Principal Jiang, it¡¯s not that I want to cause trouble, but that scoundrel tried to kill our young master earlier. Based on what I know, isn¡¯t it the death penalty to make an attempt on the life of another student?¡± asked Shi Lezhi.

    Jiang Luofu nodded in response. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s indeed the death penalty. Zu An, what do you have to say for yourself?¡±

    The other students also began gossiping amongst themselves.

    ¡°That Zu An is really getting ahead of himself! How dare he try to kill young master Shi?¡±

    ¡°Indeed! Does he not know just that he¡¯s just a mere ant before young master Shi?¡±

    ¡°So what if he¡¯s big down there? A man should count on his strength!¡±

    ...

    A lot of male students nodded in agreement. So what if you are blessed with a giant stick that allowed you to conquer a couple of inexperienced youngdies? Why don¡¯t you try that with the mature Principal Jiang too?

    Zu An was rendered speechless by the steady stream of Rage pointsing in. Seriously, shouldn¡¯t you all be envious of Shi Kun instead? Why are you hating on me here?

    Despite his retort, he was still fairly happy about it. After all, these were all precious Rage points to him!

    ¡°Principal Jiang, I agree deeply with what he said about an attempt on a student¡¯s life warrants a death penalty,¡± replied Zu An.

    ¡°Are you admitting to your crime?¡± Jiang Luofu harrumphed coldly.

    Ji Xiaoxi and the others were anxious to hear the chilling edge to Jiang Luofu¡¯s voice, but Zu An knew deep well that Principal Jiang was giving him a chance of exin despite her sharp tone. If she had really wanted to do him in, she could have simply pinned the crime on him right away.

    ¡°I attacked him out of rage earlier because Shi Kun sent his subordinates after me earlier in the Ursae Dungeon, nearly taking my life,¡± replied Zu An calmly.

    ¡°Utter rubbish! Only the students of Brightmoon Academy are allowed to enter the dungeon, and Principal Jiang is the one who personally chooses them. How could any n possibly slip their subordinates into the dungeon? Are you trying to cast doubt over Principal Jiang¡¯s character?¡±

    Before those from the Shi n had replied, Wu Qing had already interjected in. For some reason, she found Zu An absolutely abhorrent, possibly because he was Chu Chuyan¡¯s husband or that he had bullied her once before.

    Even though Wu Qing wasn¡¯t particrly popr in the academy, her words did make perfect sense and won the agreement of many students.

    Toward that, Zu An replied, ¡°Of course, there¡¯s no way I would cast doubt over Principal Jiang¡¯s character. However, what if the Shi n bribes our students beforehand? Many of those who attacked me earlier were students from the Earth ss, and it¡¯s obvious that they are following the orders from the same person.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Jiang Luofu frowned. She had already received a report that there had been a disproportionately higher number of casualties aspared to previous times. This could be considered as a severe incident, such that she would have to report this matter to the Ministry of Rites personally in the future.

    Wu Qing also fell silent too. Having born from a major n, she did know some of the underground deals that were often going on. Putting aside the Shi n, even the Wu n had some subordinates in the academy too. After all, there were plenty of students that had no power and background, making them easy to win over.

    By this point, Shi Kun had also finally recovered from his shocked state to begin his retaliation. ¡°A load of rubbish! Our Shi n has never done such a thing before! You must have encountered some sort of valuable treasure with those students in the dungeon, which piqued your greed. So, you made use of that opportunity to kill them off and pin the me on me!¡±

    Many of the close acquaintances of the Shi n voiced their agreement with Shi Kun¡¯s statement. Other than Xie Xiu, Pei Mianman, and Zheng Dan who knew the truth, most of the students found Shi Kun¡¯s statement rather credible too.

    After all, their impression of Shi Kun was a refined gentleman whereas Zu An was like an unruly hoodlum. Subconsciously, they would rather believe Shi Kun¡¯s words more.

    Zu An frowned upon hearing those words. He had no proof of what happened in the dungeon since most of those who went after his life was already dead. In the first ce, Shi Kun had decided to make a move in the dungeon because he knew that there would be no evidence left behind.

    Qiao Xueying opened her mouth to say something, only to be stopped by Zu An. He knew that the Shi n definitely had some leverage over Qiao Xueying so as to ensure that she was under their control, so he didn¡¯t want to put her in a spot.

    Besides, it wouldn¡¯t matter even if Qiao Xueying testified on his behalf. Shi Kun could just deny it the same way too.

    On the other hand, Shi Kun¡¯s eyes turned sharp when he noticed that Qiao Xueying was still alive, but he knew that this wasn¡¯t the time to confront her yet. He chose to focus his efforts on Zu An instead, saying, ¡°If you hadn¡¯t taken them off guard, how could a third rank cultivator like you possibly injure those fourth rank seniors form the Earth ss?¡±

    Zu An was amused to hear those words. ¡°You really do have the cheek to say that. If I recall correctly, you¡¯re a fifth rank cultivator, no? But if your servant didn¡¯t step in to save you earlier, you would have been ughtered like a helpless chick under my de.¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Shi Kun¡¯s face reddened. Till now, he still hadn¡¯t made sense of what had happened earlier on. He viewed it as a huge humiliation to be cornered by Zu An before such a huge crowd.

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Kun for +888 Rage!

    Meanwhile, Shi Lezhi¡¯s eyelids twitched upon hearing the word ¡®servant¡¯. He was well aware that he was indeed a servant of the Shi n, but no matter what, he was still an eighth rank cultivator. Even the Shi n would treat him with respect. Yet, this fellow actually used such a derogatory term on him!

    ¡°You brat! You¡¯re courting death!¡± With a furious roar, he charged forward.

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Lezhi for +999 Rage!

    Jiang Luofu casually stepped forth to stand between the two of them. She didn¡¯t say a word at all, but her intention was made clear. She wouldn¡¯t allow an outsider to deal with a member of the academy without her permission.

    Shi Lezhi was enraged. Even though they were both eighth rank cultivators, he knew deep well that Jiang Luofu was still young and had great potential in her, giving rise to a huge gap in their standings. He dared not to offend this mysterious woman, so he had no choice but to back down here.

    It¡¯s no wonder why Zu An is known to be a moochlord in the academy. He always has a woman to stand up for him!

    Of course, he didn¡¯t really believe that Zu An would be able to mooch off the great Jiang Luofu.

    Chu Chuyan also stepped in and spoke up too, ¡°I can testify for what happened in the dungeon. I didn¡¯t see with my own eyes how those students chased after Ah Zu, but Shi Kun did attempt to kill the both of us afterward.¡±

    Meanwhile, Zu An shook his head in dismay at how honest his silly wife was. She could have just insisted on whatever she wanted, and everyone would have simply sided with her without any hesitation.

    A hugemotion broke out amidst the crowd. If they were just enjoying the drama a moment ago, the knowledge that Chu Chuyan had been in danger earlier evoked their anger.

    How dare you make a move against our goddess? We won¡¯t let you off the hook no matter how handsome you are!

    Xie Xiu opened his fan and walked out of the crowd, saying, ¡°Miss Chu, based on what I know, young master Shi should be slightly weaker than you. Even if he had assistance from his subordinates, it doesn¡¯t seem likely that he¡¯ll be able to pose a threat to you.¡±

    This was the same doubt shared by many present. They directed doubtful gazes in Chu Chuyan¡¯s direction.

 Chapter 216: Only Women!

    <h4>Chapter 216: Only Women!</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Chu Chuyan knew that Xie Xiu was intentionally voicing out the doubt in everyone¡¯s mind so as to give her an opportunity to exin herself lest it resulted in anyplications afterward. ¡°That¡¯s because the Shi n has prepared an artifact for Shi Kun in times to danger. He has a ring with the spirit of an ancient beast named ¡®Devouring Kun¡¯ sealed within it.¡±

    ¡°Devouring Kun?¡±

    A hugemotion broke out upon hearing that name.

    Some of the less knowledgeable students turned to those around them to enquire about it whereas the smarter students made used of this opportunity to unt their knowledge.

    ¡°Devouring Kun is an ancient beast that spans over a hundred meters in length. It can continuously evolve through devouring the body of its enemies. Even the weakest Devouring Kun could rival a ninth rank cultivator upon adulthood...¡±

    The crowd gasped in shock upon hearing the exnation. They couldn¡¯t help but wonder how such a massive beast could possibly float in the air.

    Some of the students who were in the dungeon earlier also widened their eyes in realization. They recalled sensing a powerful pressure and a massive shadow in the sky at one point in time, just that it vanished soon after. It was a shocking encounter, but they didn¡¯t think much of it since they thought that it was natural for anything to happen in the mysterious dungeon.

    Not even in their wildest imagination could they have fathomed that it was released by Shi Kun. If that was really the case, the Shi n¡¯s ability to turn such a powerful being into their servant was truly frightening.

    However, there was one thing that they were more curious about. They couldn¡¯t fathom how Chu Chuyan could have escaped under the watch of such a terrifying being.

    Hearing the doubts from the surrounding crowd, Chu Chuyan answered, ¡°The Devouring Kun was just a soul fragment of its former self, so it¡¯s much weaker than usual. Nevertheless, it¡¯s still a being far beyond my means to deal with. Left with no choice, I could only resort to my forbidden art to subdue it. While I sessfully destroyed the Devouring Kun¡¯s soul fragment, it also resulted in the internal copse of my ki meridians as well, turning me into a cripple.¡±

    A hugemotion broke out upon hearing those words. They were astonished to learn that Chu Chuyan was even to defeat even a ninth rank ancient beast. As expected of the number one prodigy of our academy!

    There were also some who wondered what Chu Chuyan¡¯s forbidden art was to actually allow her, as a fifth rank cultivator, to defeat such a powerful opponent. Of course, they also understood that this was one of her greatest secrets, so there was no way she would reveal it to them.

    However, most people were simply shocked to hear that her ki meridians had copsed and she had turned into a cripple due to her forbidden art. One must know that Chu Chuyan had always been a lofty goddess in their eyes. Even if she was now married, it did little to mar her charms.

    On top of that, there were news going around that Zu An and Chu Chuyan still hadn¡¯t consummate their marriage yet. Those rumors were oddly convincing since no one thought that the Chu n would really treat the good-for-nothing Zu An as their son-inw...

    ... though the happenings at the n Tournament and the revtion of Zu An¡¯s ¡®strength¡¯ had shaken the faith of those men.

    Even so, Chu Chuyan still remained their dream lover.

    So, the knowledge that Chu Chuyan¡¯s ki meridians had copsed left them infuriated. Many even started speaking up against the Shi n.

    Jiang Luofu was horrified as well. She immediately rushed over to Chu Chuyan¡¯s side and grabbed her pulse to take a look, When she confirmed that her pulse was steady¡ªin fact, it was stronger than ever¡ªshe heaved a sigh of relief.

    ¡°What a joke! Are you really trying to im that you¡¯ve been crippled when everyone has seen you fending against my attack earlier?¡± sneered Shi Lezhi.

    Jiang Luofu also looked at Chu Chuyan doubtfully. Toward that, Chu Chuyan replied, ¡°That¡¯s because Zu An desperately did everything he could to save my life. He found and fed me an Evanescent Lotus, which eventually led to the recovery of my ki meridians.¡±

    She was too embarrassed to dissect the exact process of how Zu An saved her life, so she could only vaguely attribute it to the Evanescent Lotus. Even so, her cheeks still began burning up.

    ¡°The Evanescent Lotus!¡±

    Everyone eximed in shock! That was a legendary treasure which even a small petal could raise one¡¯s cultivation by a step!

    There were indeed rumors that there could be an Evanescent Lotus in the dungeon, and that was the ultimate treasure that many of them were aiming for too.

    It was just a pity that none of them was able to find it despitebing through the dungeon. They thought that it was just a rumor, but who could have thought that it was really existent.

    Everyone immediately began ring at Zu An withplicated looks on their faces.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t Zu An¡¯s luck way too good? How can heaven be so unfair as to let him stumble upon a treasure of that caliber?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m more surprised to hear that Zu An was actually generous enough to give the Evanescent Lotus to Miss Chu instead. It looks like he¡¯s going all-in this time around.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s no wonder why so many women stand steadfast for him. He does have some qualities that are deserving of their affection. At least, I don¡¯t think that I¡¯ll be able to do the same as he did.¡±

    ¡°I think that he¡¯s far too reckless. Such a gift could touch a woman¡¯s heart for a while, but as the gap between the two of them growrger andrger, they would still inevitably drift apart in the end.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I share the same thoughts too. Isn¡¯t it much better for him to use it for himself? Once he bes strong, he could have his free pick ofdies. Even Miss Chu would have a far higher opinion of him by then. In this world, it¡¯s one¡¯s strength that counts!¡±

    ...

    In contrast to the logical analysis by those envious men, the women present stared at Zu An with shining eyes. A man who would give his all for the woman he loved; wasn¡¯t this the love that they had been pursuing all their life?

    Pei Mianman bemoaned the poor decision she had made. She should have insisted on tagging along with Zu An back then. If so, she could at least get a share of the loot. To make things worse, Zu An¡¯s sacrifice had most likely won him Chu Chuyan¡¯s heart, such that their ¡®partnership¡¯ was going to fall apart.

    And most importantly of all, while she was a close friend to Chu Chuyan, she thought of thetter to be a rival too. She viewed herself to be inferior in no way to Chu Chuyan; in fact, she believed that her cultivation was a slight bit higher than that of Chu Chuyan¡¯s.

    However, Chu Chuyan¡¯s consumption of the Evanescent Lotus meant that her cultivation had at least risen by an entire rank, and the fact that she could stand her own against Shi Lezhi earlier hinted at just how powerful she had be.

    In other words, Chu Chuyan had just taken a huge lead over her.

    To make things worse, she knew that they were equal in terms of aptitude and resources. If she couldn¡¯t encounter a huge fortuitous encounter herself, it was likely that she would never be able to catch up with Chu Chuyan her entire life.

    The thought that she would always have Chu Chuyan towering over her for life made her feel incredibly irritated. She shot a re at the culprit whonded her in such a state. It¡¯s all his fault!

    You have sessfully trolled Pei Mianman for +666 Rage!

    Meanwhile, Zheng Dan also had aplicated look on her face. She had been wondering all this while how Zu An managed to escape from the borate schemes Shi Kun had concocted to kill him, and her doubts had finally been answered.

    I never thought that he would be such a sentimental man.

    Unlike the others, from her very first encounter with Zu An, Zheng Dan could already tell that he wasn¡¯t a good-for-nothing as the rumors put him out to be. She could sense an air of mystery looming around him, and this air of mystery was a fatal charm to her.

    The knowledge that he carried such deep feelings for Chu Chuyan left her feeling a little wistful. She wondered if her fianc¨¦, Sang Qian, would be able to do the same for her if they had been in the same position.

    She soon shook her head as a bitter smile emerged on her lips.

    Even Wu Qing couldn¡¯t help but direct a look of admiration toward Zu An. It looks like I¡¯ve misjudged his character all this while.

    Only Jiang Luofu directed a bizarre nce at Zu An. She was one of the rare few who knew just how what the Evanescent Lotus meant to him. He was actually willing to make such a huge sacrifice to save his wife in name?

    Sensing the gazes from the gossiping crowd around him, Shi Kun¡¯s face turned livid as he turned to Shi Lezhi for help.

    Shi Lezhi hadn¡¯t lived so many years in vain, so it didn¡¯t take long for him to figure out a solution. ¡°Rubbish! In this entire world, who has ever heard of anyone with copsed ki meridians recovering back to its original state? At the very most, the Evanescent Lotus should have only restored her mobility. She would have been weaker than an average human! Besides, the Evanescent Lotus is only known for its ability to raise a person¡¯s cultivation; there are no records of it reconnecting one¡¯s ki meridians. If you don¡¯t believe me, you can look for Divine Physician Ji and ask him about it!¡±

    The close acquaintances of the Shi n quickly chirped in agreement too.

    Jiang Luofu also frowned upon hearing those words. She didn¡¯t recall the Evanescent Lotus being able to reconnect a person¡¯s ki meridians either.

    Shi Lezhi¡¯s statement gave some inspiration to Shi Kun. He stood forward and spoke aloud, ¡°Even though Divine Physician Ji isn¡¯t here, his daughter, Ji Xiaoxi, is here. Everyone knows that Miss Ji has inherited her father¡¯s legacy, so why don¡¯t we get her to give her analysis on this matter?¡±

    Everyone immediately turned her sights to Ji Xiaoxi.

    Ji Xiaoxi was a shy person, and having so many eyes on her made her even more flustered. She found herself unable to say a word despite opening and closing her mouth repeatedly.

    ¡°Miss Ji, everyone knows that you aren¡¯t able to lie. Your opinion represents the authority of your father as well, so I suggest that you think things through carefully before making your statement,¡± said Shi Kun grimly.

    Zu An immediately protested angrily, ¡°Hey, Shit Kun! Are you trying to threaten an eye-witness here?¡±

    ¡°Threaten? I¡¯m just giving her a reminder lest a vile miscreant tries to blind her eyes!¡± Shi Kun harrumphed in response.

    No matter how he racked his brain, he couldn¡¯t figure out why, for a period of time, he actually thought of Zu An as his own friend. The matter made him feel so disgusted that he could puke.

    The only one who wanted ot puke wasn¡¯t just him though. Zu An was feeling utterly distressed that the 100,000 silver taels he had spent had gone down the drain just like that.

    The same went for the 100,000 silver taels he had spent for Zhang Han too. It was not utterly useless there, but its effects weren¡¯t so great as to be worth such a staggering sum. It looked like he would have think twice before using the ¡®Befriending a Rich Man¡¯ skill in the future since it was weaker than he had expected it to be.

    Ji Xiaoxi fell silent for a moment. Perhaps it was due to Shi Kun¡¯s words reminding her that this was a professional evaluation, her attitude suddenly grew solemn as she analyzed, ¡°Based on what i know, there are no records of the Evanescent Lotus having the ability to reconnect one¡¯s ki meridians.¡±

    Shi Kun burst intoughter upon hearing those words. He turned to Chu Chuyan gleefully and said, ¡°Do you hear that? Even Miss Ji has said so! It¡¯s obvious that you¡¯re spinning up a lie here!¡±

    Chu Chuyan frowned. She had indeed lied on this matter, but there was no way she could bring herself to reveal the truth before such a huge crowd.

    However, Ji Xiaoxi soon added, ¡°However, even though there are no records of the Evanescent Lotus reconnecting one¡¯s ki meridians, we can¡¯t conclude that there isn¡¯t such an effect. The Evanescent Lotus is simply too precious that no one would use it on a crippled person, so naturally, we wouldn¡¯t have evidence of it. If what Miss Chu said is real, this would be a major breakthrough in the medical field, bringing a ray of hope to those who are crippled by their copsed ki meridians.¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s face heated up. It would really be disastrous if she really misled the patients all over the world due to the lie she had spouted.

    She subconsciously shot a nce at Zu An as she made a mental note to rify the matter with Ji Xiaoxi privately, telling her that it would be better for the patients with copsed ki meridians to seek Zu An¡¯s help instead.

    Zu An seemed to understand the significance behind Chu Chuyan¡¯s nce. Well, those male patients should stay as far away from me as possible, and if the female patients are beautiful, I guess I could at least give it a try...

 Chapter 217: Lusting Over My Body

    <h4>Chapter 217: Lusting Over My Body</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Shi Kun was displeased to hear Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s words. ¡°Miss Ji, don¡¯t you find your words incredibly meaningless?¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s face reddened as she knew that her analysis had been far too vague. In truth, her medical knowledge told her that it was unlikely for the Evanescent Lotus to be able to reconnect one¡¯s ki meridians, but she chose to present the possibility forward in order to help Zu An anyway.

    Before she could give her response, Jiang Luofu had already joined the scene. ¡°She¡¯s doing her job by pushing forward the list of possibilities clearly here, so why are you saying that her words are meaningless?¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Shi Kun btedly realized that Jiang Luofu was Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s little aunt and recoiled a little. He was too agitated when he saw that Ji Xiaoxi was speaking up for Zu An that he forgot about their rtionship, so he quickly apologized, ¡°Pardon me, I¡¯ve misspoken.¡±

    ¡°The two of you insist on your own statements. As there are no conclusive evidence and eye-witnesses here to prove that either of you are right, I¡¯m not in a good position on what is right or not. So, the academy willunch a detailed investigation into this matter, especially the cause of death of those who have died in the dungeon, their backgrounds, and who they associate themselves with. I trust that the truth wille to light soon,¡± said Jiang Luofu deeply.

    As she said those words, her eyes lingered meaningfully on Shi Kun for a moment.

    Shi Kun¡¯s heart skipped a beat, but he kept his eyes firm as he replied, ¡°Thank you for redressing my grievances, Principal Jiang.¡±

    As long as he wasn¡¯t incriminated on the spot, everything else was eptable to him. He believed that the Shi n should have enough resources to work this case to his favor.

    Meanwhile, Chu Chuyan frowned in displeasure toward this verdict. She knew that there were no conclusive evidence since ess to the dungeon had already closed, and that the powerful Shi n would surely do everything it could to prevent Shi Kun from being ruled guilty.

    As for Zu An, he simply shrugged casually. He had expected such an oue since this was no minor matter. One must know that dering Shi Kun guilty here meant sentencing him to capital punishment. Even as Brightmoon Academy¡¯s principal, Jiang Luofu wouldn¡¯t dare to take such a gamble unless they had definite proof on the matter.

    It was also for that reason that Zu An resorted to the simplest method earlier on to resolve this matter, but he didn¡¯t expect Shi Lezhi to be camping in the vicinity all this while.

    Jiang Luofu pped her hands and said, ¡°Enough. All of you are to report your encounters and gains from the dungeon to the academy. Don¡¯t worry, the academy will not attempt to confiscate anything you have acquired. This procedure simply allows our teachers to provide you some constructive advice and pointers on how you can best use what you¡¯ve gained lest you go astray in your cultivation. Of course, we¡¯ll also bepiling the information for your juniors so that they can refer to your experiences for guidance.

    ¡°Once you¡¯re done, you should head back home and rest. You have three days to freshen yourself up!¡±

    The crowd cheered in delight. They had remained tense during the period of time they were in the dungeon, worried about the unknown dangers lurking everywhere while desiring to stumble upon a fortuitous encounter that would allow them to leap ahead of the others. The umtion of stress had made them incredibly exhausted, so this short break to let loose was more than weed.

    As the crowd gradually dissipated, Pei Mianman made use of the opportunity where Chu Chuyan was still engaged in a conversation with Qiao Xueying to walk over to Zu An¡¯s side and ask, ¡°Does our agreement still hold?¡±

    ¡°What agreement?¡± Zu An blinked his eyes in response.

    This woman is simply too seductive. Her peach blossom eyes twinkle as if they¡¯re smiling, and it can easily melt the heart of any man. It¡¯s lucky that I have the number one beauty as my wife, greatly raising my immunity toward beauties, or else I might have just fallen for her trap.

    Pei Mianman sighed softly and said grudgingly, ¡°I knew that you would have forgotten about the promise we made with one another.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Zu An.

    What¡¯s with your tone? You¡¯re acting as if I¡¯m an unfaithful man letting you down... though honestly, would any man really bear to abandon a woman like you?

    ¡°It looks you have no intention of finding the ounting book for me,¡± said Pei Mianman as she reined in her smile.

    Zu An replied with a shrugged, ¡°You didn¡¯t help me get close to Chu Chuyan either.¡±

    Chu Chuyan and I have gotten so close to one another that the distance between us has been negative at one point in time. Do you think that I would still need you to matchmake us now?

    Pei Mianman had also thought of this point as well. ¡°It looks like the two of you have gotten much closer after the time you have spent in the dungeon. Haaa, if I only I knew that it would turn out like this, I would have gone along with you too.¡±

    Those words brought a weird look onto Zu An¡¯s face. If you had gone along with us and ended up getting your ki meridians copsed as well, wouldn¡¯t I have to save the two of you then?

    He thought about theborious effort it would take him to save them and remarked deeply, ¡°Ah, it would indeed be good if you hade with me.¡±

    Pei Mianman was stunned, not understanding the meaning behind his words. She felt that there was something really weird about his expression that she couldn¡¯t help but pull her clothes tighter around her. ¡°I didn¡¯t help you previously because I didn¡¯t think that you would be able to settle Chu Chuyan so quickly. Why don¡¯t we do this instead? We¡¯ll continue with our previous promise, but I¡¯ll offer you something else instead. What do you think?¡±

    ¡°What can I ask for?¡± asked Zu An with a smile.

    ¡°Your smile looks a little frightening,¡± said Pei Mianman despite not showing the slightest hint of fear on her face. ¡°What do you want?¡±

    ¡°If I say that I want you, would you agree to it?¡± asked Zu An.

    ¡°You¡¯d have to try asking for it to know,¡± replied Pei Mianman with a dangerous smile.

    Zu An carefully assessed her seductive eyes for a moment before finally shaking his head, saying, ¡°Forget it, I don¡¯t want to be a scumbag who messes around with my wife¡¯s close friend.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Pei Mianman¡¯s smile froze up.

    Why does those words sound so awkward? You¡¯ve tried to seduce me so many times before, but all of a sudden, you¡¯re acting like a gentleman?

    If you aren¡¯t that kind of person, are you trying to say that I¡¯m the one who is trying to seduce you then?

    You have sessfully trolled Pei Mianman for +256 Rage!

    ¡°How about this? I haven¡¯t thought of my condition yet, so I¡¯ll inform you after making up my mind. For the time being, I¡¯ll try to keep a lookout for the ounting booklet on your behalf,¡± said Zu An.

    Since Chu Chuyan was officially his wife now, there was no way he would allow an outsider to undermine the Chu n¡¯s businesses. However, he was worried that Pei Mianman would try to work together with others if he turned her down, and that would make it much harder to guard against her.

    Since that was the case, it would be better to go along with him for the time being and see what she was up to.

    Yeap! That¡¯s my intention. It¡¯s definitely not because she has huge breasts!

    ¡°That¡¯s a wise decision~¡± Seeing that Chu Chuyan and Qiao Xueying were making their way over, Pei Mianman directed a flying kiss toward him before leaving with a seductive smile.

    ¡°What did you tell her that made her so happy?¡± asked Chu Chuyan doubtfully.

    ¡°I said that I would take her in as my concubine in the future so that she can call you ¡®big sister¡¯ in the future. That made her so happy that she simply wouldn¡¯t stop smiling. Ah, I guess she really lusts over my body,¡± remarked Zu An.

    ¡°...¡± Chu Chuyan.

    ¡°...¡± Qiao Xueying.

    This fellow is sure as shameless as ever!

    Chu Chuyan hesitated for a moment before remarking, ¡°It would be best for you not to rile her up. Despite her gentle and amicable appearance, she¡¯s actually incredibly vicious. Her ck mes can easily reduce you to ashes, so make sure not to let your guard down around her.¡±

    She was afraid that Zu An would identally provoke Pei Mianman. If thetter really chose to burn him down on a whim, there would be nothing she could do to save her.

    However, she btedly realized that her words sounded a little too naggy, so she quickly added, ¡°I¡¯ve already spoken to Snow, and she¡¯ll be bidding her farewell soon.¡±

    ¡°Bidding her farewell?¡± Zu An was surprised.

    Qiao Xueying nodded in response. ¡°I¡¯m thankful to Miss Chu¡¯s care and concern over the years, but my identity is a little sensitive. It¡¯s not suitable for me to continue remaining here.¡±

    ¡°Why are you only thanking her? What about me? I also took good care of you too!¡± remarked Zu An in displeasure.

    ¡°...¡± Qiao Xueying.

    She gritted her teeth furiously and said, ¡°If anything, you should be the one thanking me instead!¡±

    Zu An smiled sheepishly and said, ¡°Fine fine, we¡¯re both thankful to one another, alright? Besides, you didn¡¯t make much of a loss anyway. As long as you work hard in your cultivation, you should be able to recoup the loss in your lifespan.¡±

    Qiao Xueying fell silent. She knew that he was speaking the truth. The enhancement of her aptitude would allow her to cultivate much faster, thus recouping some of her lost lifespan.

    In truth, she didn¡¯t mind having used her Half Life¡¯s Fate anymore. Whenever she thought about Zu An rising from a puddle of blood to protect her back at the dungeon, she felt that it wasn¡¯t that bad of a decision for her to give him half of her lifespan. It was just that Zu An had far too foul of a mouth that she always ended up bickering with him whether she wanted to or not.

    ¡°What are the two of you talking about?¡± Chu Chuyan looked at them doubtfully.

    ¡°Nothing much,¡± replied Qiao Xueying with a shake of her head. Somehow, she didn¡¯t want to let Chu Chuyan know about this matter.

    Zu An also reined in his smile and asked, ¡°Are you really leaving?¡±

    Qiao Xueying nodded. ¡°There are things I need to settle back at the capital. I have many brethren whom I need to save.¡±

    Zu An sighed deeply and said, ¡°What a pity. It hasn¡¯t been long since we got to know one another once more, and all of a sudden, we¡¯re already parting ways. Oh well, I wish you a smooth journey then.¡±

    Qiao Xueying had aplicated look on her face. She looked at him and Chu Chuyan for a moment before offering her blessing, ¡°I wish you and Miss Chu a happy life together.¡±

    ¡°Why are you suddenly bringing me into this?¡± Chu Chuyan¡¯s face swiftly turned red. She initially intending to just be a couple in name with Zu An, but who could have thought that they would end up consummating their marriage in the dungeon. This unexpected development derailed her ns, leaving her at a loss as to how she should face Zu An in the future.

    So, when she heard Qiao Xueying¡¯s words, she stomped her feet furiously and walked away out of embarrassment.

    Qiao Xueying hesitated for a moment before saying, ¡°The young miss might look cold on the surface, but she¡¯s actually a little girl who harbors many fantasies. She tends to be very shy when ites to such matter, so don¡¯t pay too much heed when she suddenly gets angry. Give her some time, and I believe that she¡¯lle to ept you with time.¡±

    The two of them had spent many years together, so she had a good grasp of Chu Chuyan¡¯s character too.

    A gentle smile curled on Zu An¡¯s face. He hadn¡¯t known Chu Chuyan for a long time, but he already had a rough idea as to what kind of person she was. ¡°I know. Let¡¯s not talk about her now. Will we meet again in the future?¡±

    ¡°If fate permits, we¡¯ll meet again.¡± Qiao Xueying had no idea what brought her to say those words, but her face quickly turned bright red. Then, she turned around and left in a fluster, leaving behind just a trace of her fragrance.

    Not too far away, Shi Kun looked at the trio and spat coldly, ¡°How dare Qiao Xueying betray me!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll get rid of that traitor for you tonight,¡± said Shi Lezhi.

    However, Shi Kun shook his head as a chilling smile appeared on his lips. ¡°No, it would be far too much of a pity to simply kill her. She¡¯s a rare beauty after all, not to mention that she¡¯s an elven princess. It¡¯s only because she has given her all to serving me thus far that I have neverid my hands on her before. However, since she has chosen to turn her back on me, there¡¯s no reason for me not to make full use of her assets.¡±

    A smile that was implicitly understood by all men emerged on Shi Lezhi¡¯s face. Clearly, he had done plenty of such stuff over the years. ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll capture her and bring her before you.¡±

 Chapter 218: I Also Feel Helpless About It

    <h4>Chapter 218: I Also Feel Helpless About It</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    After bidding farewell with Ji Xiaoxi, Zu An departed the area with Chu Chuyan. In view that the academy had already granted them three days¡¯ worth of leave, they decided to head back to the Chu Manor.

    Chu Chuyan needed to report everything that had happened in the dungeon to her parents, especially about the fallout with Shi Kun lest they were taken off guard.

    As soon as they walked out of the academy, a short-haired woman suddenly leaped toward them with outstretched hands, shouting, ¡°Big sister, brother-inw!¡±

    Given how passionate his sister-inw was, how could Zu An possibly not reciprocate? He stretched his hand forth to hug her as he said, ¡°What a good child our Huanzhao is~¡±

    Aww, she¡¯s still as adorable as ever.

    Chu Huanzhao¡¯s face turned red. Shepletely ignored Zu An and leaped into Chu Chuyan¡¯s embrace instead. ¡°Big sister, you¡¯re finally out! I heard rumors that the dungeon is far more dangerous than before, so I was really worried about you.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Zu An.

    He awkwardly pulled his hands back. Damn it, I shouldn¡¯t have praised her.

    All of a sudden, another person leaped into his embrace, crying with a choked-up voice, ¡°Young master, I didn¡¯t think that you would miss me so much! I¡¯m moved to tears!¡±

    The two buns on Cheng Shouping¡¯s head tickled Zu An¡¯s nose. He was stunned for a moment before hurriedly pushing him away.

    Why does he always act in such a manner... Could it be that he really swings that way?!

    Meanwhile, Chu Chuyan stroked her younger sister¡¯s head dotingly and said, ¡°We did encounter some danger in the dungeon, Come, let¡¯s head back home first. I¡¯ll share the details with youter on.¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡± Chu Huanzhao waved her fist around excitedly. ¡°You must tell me every single detail, alright? It¡¯s such a pity that I didn¡¯t manage to join the dungeon expedition. I¡¯ve already recovered from my wounds, but our mother simply wouldn¡¯t allow me to go!¡±

    ¡°Our mother is just afraid that you would meet with danger inside. Besides, this dungeon is much different from before. If you have really went in, something might have just happened,¡± said Chu Chuyan with a reddened face.

    Needless to say, there was no way she was going to share every single detail with Chu Huanzhao, especially regarding that matter.

    ¡°What could possibly happen to me?¡± Chu Huanzhao thought nothing about it. She pointed a finger at Zu An and said, ¡°Even someone of his caliber is able to make it out safely, so why would it be any different for me?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Zu An.

    What do you mean by someone of my caliber?!

    ¡°Huanzhao, it has only been a few days since west met, but it looks like you¡¯re itching for a beating, huh?¡±

    Chu Huanzhao immediately hid behind Chu Chuyan and eximed, ¡°Big sister, look! He¡¯s bullying me again!¡±

    Chu Chuyan knew her younger sister¡¯s personality well, so she smiled helplessly and said, ¡°Alright, you should stop messing around. He isn¡¯t as weak as you think him out to be. Didn¡¯t you see his performance in the previous ns Tournament?¡±

    ¡°I did, but our mother said that he simply lucked out,¡± replied Chu Huanzhao. ¡°So, big sister, does he really have any true capabilities?¡±

    Zu An chuckled softly, knowing that Chu Huanzhao was intentionally asking this question to help strengthen his rtionship with Chu Chuyan. That sillyss. She doesn¡¯t know that I¡¯ve already reached that step with her older sister.

    Chu Chuyan nced at Zu An with a weird expression before finally nodding in response. ¡°Yes, our mother seems to be mistaken. He¡¯s pretty strong. He nearly killed Shi Kun with a single strike earlier.¡±

    ¡°Is our brother-inw that formidable?¡± Chu Huanzhao immediately ran up to Zu An and assessed him intently. ¡°As expected of a man whom I have high expectations for. You were actually able to beat his ass up!¡±

    Chu Chuyan frowned. ¡°Huanzhao, you should watch your tone. Ady shouldn¡¯t use... that sort ofnguage!¡±

    Chu Huanzhao shrugged nonchntly. ¡°Aiyo, it¡¯s more than enough to have you around for the demure feminine stuff. Just let me live however I want to, alright?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Chu Chuyan.

    She knew her younger sister well enough to know that it was futile to tell her off. So, she could only heave a helpless sigh and let it slip.

    Chu Huanzhao continued staring at Zu An intently before suddenly stretching her hand forth and asking, ¡°Give it to me.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Zu An was stunned.

    ¡°My gift. Didn¡¯t you promise to bring a gift back for me?¡± Chu Huanzhao frowned. ¡°You can¡¯t have forgotten about it, did you?¡±

    ¡°This...¡± Zu An scratched his head awkwardly. He really forgot about this matter, but it couldn¡¯t since he had been put through a series of life-threatening situations ever since entering the dungeon, so there was no way he would have any spare attention to think about that.

    Chu Huanzhao could tell that Zu An had forgotten from his expression, and the expectant look on her face immediately crumbled. ¡°Stinky brother-inw, I shan¡¯t talk to you ever again!¡±

    With a cold face, she turned around and stomped off. No matter how Zu An shouted for her, she refused to turn her head around.

    Watching the entire scene, Cheng Shouping shook his head. It looks like our young master really doesn¡¯t understand a woman¡¯s heart. How could he forget about something as important as this? I really have to give him some pointers in the future.

    I should share with him the great amount of knowledge I¡¯ve amassed from reading those romance novels!

    Chu Huanzhao ignored Zu Anpletely the entire journey back to the Chu Manor. She was intending to return back to her room to sleep when Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru suddenly started asking them about their experience in the dungeon, whichpelled her to stay out of curiosity.

    Chu Chuyan quickly shared everything that had happened in the dungeon, and Zu An supplemented on some of the details. Somehow, the two of them shared the same idea not to mention that matter.

    Chu Chuyan was simply embarrassed whereas Zu An was afraid that Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru would tear him into shreds upon learning the truth. Qin Wanru had never had a good impression of him in the first ce. Chu Zhongtian did treat him fairly well, but as a father, it was inevitable that he would be infuriated when his precious daughter had been taken advantage of by a good-for-nothing.

    So, he decided to wait till he finally assimted more into the family before announcing this joyous news.

    Chu Zhongtian, Qin Wanru, and Chu Huanzhao didn¡¯t notice their asional exchange of nces due to how shocking their experiences were, especiallyw hen they learned that Chu Chuyan¡¯s ki meridians had copsed at one point in time.

    Even though it was relieving that Chu Chuyan was currently standing before them safe and sound, Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru still hurriedly stood up and checked her pulse. It was only after ensuring that she was really fine did they finally sigh in relief.

    Qin Wnaru shot a sharp re at Zu An and bellowed, ¡°Our Chuyan nearly got crippled in order to save you. You really are a curse to our family!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled QIn Wanru for +481 Rage!

    ¡°???¡± Zu An.

    What in the freaking world? Why the hell are you ming me for this? Are we nemesis in our past lives? It¡¯s your Chu n who have made enemies out of everyone; why the hell are you ming me for everything that happens?

    Chu Huanzhao was still angry with Zu An a moment ago, but her mother¡¯s words immediately incurred her displeasure. ¡°Mother, you¡¯re going too far here. What does this have to do with my brother-inw?¡±

    Qin Wanru looked at Chu Huanzhao and said, ¡°Huanzhao, as the daughter of a ducal n, you must learn to weigh the pros and cons of whatever you do. Not all lives are equal in the world. It¡¯s not that you shouldn¡¯t help those in need, but if doing so ces you in danger as well, you should prioritize your safety instead.¡±

    Chu Chuyan also frowned and remarked, ¡°Mother, if not for Zu An finding the precious Evanescent Lotus and feeding it to me, I might have already been dead by now. Not to mention, he even saved me afterward...¡±

    ¡°If not for him, you wouldn¡¯t have been in danger in the first ce! Isn¡¯t it normal for him to save you?¡± Qin Wanru harrumphed.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Chu Chuyan was a little displeased to hear those words. While she knew that her mother was a headstrong person, she didn¡¯t think that it was much of an issue in the past. However, at this very moment, she felt that her mother was being a little too unreasonable here.

    It was fortunate that Chu Zhongtian was around to mediate the situation. ¡°Enough. The Evanescent Lotus did save Chuyan and further her cultivation by an entire rank. We should be thanking Ah Zu here instead. Ah Zu, don¡¯t take your mother-inw¡¯s words to heart. She¡¯s a little anxious after hearing about the danger Chuyan has faced in the dungeon.¡±

    Qin Wanru was unhappy with her husband¡¯s words, but she chose not to refute him.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, father-inw. I understand.¡±

    Zu An was frustrated at how Qin Wanru was pinning everything on him as if it was his fault, but he knew that he couldn¡¯t do anything else other than to ignore her.

    Qin Wanru was Chu Chuyan and Chu Huanzhao¡¯s mother, after all.

    ...

    Meanwhile, in the governor¡¯s residence, Sang Hong was in the midst of listening to Zheng Dan reporting the happenings in the dungeon to him.

    Zheng Dan was extremely uptight in front of her future father-inw, fearing that she would identally do anything to offend him. She revealed everything she knew about to him honestly.

    Looking at the tender woman in front of her, Sang Hong nodded his head silently. Her appearance and disposition are top-notch. While her acting does go over the top at times, it¡¯s not a bad thing for her to be a little calctive. Her personality wouldplement my son¡¯s recklessness.

    After listening to the full story, Sang Hong sighed deeply and said, ¡°I thought that Shi Kun¡¯s n was too immature, but I turned a blind eye to it since it would be to everyone¡¯s advantage if it works out. I wouldn¡¯t have to dirty my hands here too. However, since he has already utterly failed here, I¡¯d have no choice but to make a move personally then. Haa, I really hoped that I wouldn¡¯t have toe to this point.¡±

 Chapter 219: Even a God Canâ€™t Save Her

    <h4>Chapter 219: Even a God Can¡¯t Save Her</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An walked out of the study room gloomily, feeling an unprecedented feeling of loneliness.

    Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru had pulled Chu Chuyan aside to ask her for more details. Chu Huanzhao had spoken up on his behalf earlier, but she was still angry at him for forgetting her present. Even Snow wasn¡¯t around anymore, or else he could have bickered with her.

    As for Cheng Shouping, he was definitely out of question. Anything that he was informed of would be known to the world the following day.

    Looking at the bright moon in the sky, Zu An suddenly felt deeply wistful.

    He recalled a poem that went ¡®Raising my head to gaze at the clear moon, only to lower it out of nostalgia for my home¡¯. He couldn¡¯t understand this feeling in his previous world since he could always contact his home with a call, and even if he was at the opposite end of the globe, it would only take a day¡¯s journey at most.

    In the modernized world with all sorts of convenient transportation technology, it was hard for him to understand the feeling of missing one¡¯s home. It was only when he came to this foreignnd and had been picked on by Qin Wanru so many times that he finally understood it. The Chu n wasn¡¯t his home after all.

    He suddenly found himself missing his home, and it made him sigh deeply.

    It looks like I should really think about the matter of leaving.

    He did contemte this question previously, but back then, he had just transmigrated over not too long ago, knew nothing about this world, and had no money on him at all. Leaving abruptly clearly wasn¡¯t a wise decision.

    However, things were different now. He had hundreds of thousands on him, and he had officially be a cultivator too. Granted that his cultivation wasn¡¯t too high, he still shouldn¡¯t have too much difficulty protecting himself. More importantly, he even had an official position as a teacher of the Brightmoon Academy. He definitely had the ability to go independent now.

    Just as Zu An¡¯s thoughts were drifting afar, a pleasant voice suddenly sounded in his ears, ¡°What are you thinking of?¡±

    Zu An turned around, only to see that Chu Chuyan was standing behind him. Her smooth ck hair reached all the way to her waist, contrasting beautifully with her pale skin. Under the gentle moonlight, it looked like she was cloaked in ayer of divine light, making her seem like a fairy who had descended from heaven.

    She was currently staring at him with glistening eyes that seemed to contain a world of stars.

    Zu An found himself awed once again. The number one beauty of Brightmoon City indeed. Even the simplest gaze from her could easily drive countless men into a frenzy.

    ¡°Nothing much,¡± replied Zu An.

    Despite being awed by her appearance, he wasn¡¯t in his usual mood to tease her.

    Chu Chuyan noticed that he had aplicated look on his face, which prompted her to observe him even more closely. It didn¡¯t take her long to sense the gloomy vibe around him, which astonished her.

    All along, Zu An had always seemed to be a happy-go-lucky person who acted and spoke as he pleased. It was hard for her to imagine what was going through his mind for him to reveal such an expression on his face.

    ¡°I¡¯m really apologetic about what happened earlier. My mother bears no ill-will; it¡¯s just that she¡¯s too worried about me. She has always been blunt with her words, so don¡¯t take what she said to heart,¡± exined Chu Chuyan.

    Zu An was a little surprised to hear Chu Chuyan exin on behalf of her mother. He had known her to be quite a cold and lofty individual. She would rarely take the initiative to speak to him, let alone bothering to exin about such matters.

    He finally revealed a smile and said, ¡°I¡¯m living my life out with you, not her. There¡¯s no way I would pay her words too much heed.¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s face reddened. Looks like I¡¯m worried about him for nothing. He¡¯s still as thick-skinned as ever...

    For some reason, she had a feeling that Zu An was making fun of her mother with those words earlier, but thinking that the notion was far too ridiculous, she tossed it to the back of her mind.

    ¡°That¡¯s good. You must be exhausted after everything we¡¯ve been through. You should have a good rest,¡± said Chu Chuyan before she turned around and left.

    But a momentter, she suddenly halted her footsteps and turned around to look at the man behind her in bewilderment, asking, ¡°Why are you following me?¡±

    Zu An shrugged in response, replying, ¡°Didn¡¯t you tell me to have a good rest?¡±

    Chu Chuyan frowned. ¡°Why are you following me then? Your room is over there.¡±

    Zu An put on a shocked look at those words. ¡°Honey, you can¡¯t possibly have forgotten what you promised me in the dungeon, right? You said that you would live together with me! Well, my room seems too small for the two of us, so it would be better for me to move to yours instead...¡±

    Hearing as Zu An started prattling about how the room ought to be renovated, Chu Chuyan suddenly felt a migraine setting in. ¡°When did I promise you to live together?¡±

    Zu An stared at her intently. ¡°Are you feigning ignorance now? I know that cultivation prodigies like you have a photographic memory. Is this an attempt to renege on your promise?¡±

    ¡°I...¡± Chu Chuyan finally realized that she had indeed said something along the line, and her face immediately reddened. ¡°That won¡¯t do. I only said those words due to the special circumstances. Furthermore... I didn¡¯t fully agree to it either.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s too much!¡± Zu An was displeased. ¡°How could the first miss of the Chu n renege on her promise? Fine, I¡¯ll get everything to judge this matter on my behalf and determine who¡¯s right here!¡±

    He immediately stomped off after saying those words.

    ¡°W-wait a moment!¡± Chu Chuyan stopped him in a hurry. She had always been a shy person, and she wouldn¡¯t dare to walk out in the streets anymore if others were to learn of this matter.

    However, Zu An continued walking away without paying her any heed.

    This made her incredibly anxious, and all of a sudden, a chilling sensation gushed up her throat, and she spat out a mouthful of blood.

    Noticing her peculiar condition, the horrified Zu An immediately turned around and supported her. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? I was just joking with you. Surely you don¡¯t have to get so anxious as to start spurting blood, right?¡±

    It was then that he noticed several shards of ice in the blood she had spurted earlier, and it left him stunned.

    He was just about to ask her about it when her body suddenly sumbed and copsed sideward. He quickly rushed forward to hold her, and it was only then that he noticed that her lips had gonepletely pale, and there was a chilling frost enveloping her body.

    ¡°Honey, what¡¯s wrong?¡± asked Zu An anxiously.

    ¡°I... I¡¯m fine. It¡¯s just an old problem...¡± said Chu Chuyan weakly. She wanted to exin that this was an affliction she had been suffering from over the years, just that it had worsened after the ns Tournament, but she ended up fainting before she could finish her words.

    ¡°Honey, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll bring the physician over to treat you!¡± eximed Zu An as he carried her up.

    ¡°Don¡¯t bother wasting your effort. Normal physicians wouldn¡¯t be able to treat her.¡±

    A euphonious voice that sounded both lofty yet seductive suddenly sounded. It was from Mi Li.

    ¡°Big sis empress! You¡¯re awake?¡± Zu An was overjoyed.

    Mi Li harrumphed coldly in response, ¡°I woke up a long time ago. I need to check on your surroundings to see if there¡¯s any potential threat around you lest I get done in by your foolishness.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°So, did you find anything?¡± asked Zu An curiously.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t found anything at the moment, but...¡± Mi Li suddenly changed her tone and remarked sharply, ¡°I saw how that woman named Qin Wanru humiliated you earlier. I thought that you were quite a figure, but who could have thought that you¡¯re such a scorned individual in this manor?¡±

    Zu An was frustrated about it too. ¡°What can I do about it? She¡¯s the matriarch of the Chu n after all, not to mention that she¡¯s Chuyan and Huanzhao¡¯s mother.¡±

    ¡°That won¡¯t do. The more I think about it, the angrier I be. I felt almost as if she was scolding me.¡± Mi Li¡¯s tone suddenly grew frighteningly sharp. ¡°A mere wife of a duke dares to act so arrogantly. Back then, even the princes and their consorts dare not to breathe loudly in my presence. Hmph! Shall I secretly pull her elsewhere and get rid of her? Having someone like her around will only bring great trouble in the future.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s safety concerned her safety too. In her view, all threats should be nipped in the bud. Inparison, Qin Wanru¡¯s life and death meant nothing to her at all. She was the type of person who would rather massacre thousands than let a person who posed a threat to her run free.

    ¡°That won¡¯t do!¡± eximed Zu An in horror.

    He wasn¡¯t fond of Qin Wanru either, but to kill her over this was far too overboard.

    ¡°Ah, I understand it now.¡± Mi Li nodded in realization. ¡°That Qin Wanru does have a good face and nice figure. I never thought that you would be into older women. Fine, I¡¯ll do you a favor and capture her so that you can do whatever you want to her. We can always get rid of her after you have your fun with her.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Zu An.

    What in the world do you understand at all?

    ¡°Why is your default solution to all problems killing off the person?¡± Zu An was exasperated. ¡°She¡¯s the mother of my wife...¡±

    Before he could finish his words, Mi Li had already interjected with a cold harrumph, ¡°You only think that way because your lowly birth doesn¡¯t allow you toe into contact with how vile humans can be. Over the course of history, how many people have betrayed their families? Looking just at the imperial family, it¡¯smon for brothers to kill one another and im their wives... What I¡¯m doing is already nothing much!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Zu An.

    He was quiet for a long while before finally remarking deeply, ¡°The circle of nobility sure isplicated.¡±

    ¡°Sour grapes. You¡¯re just saying so because you¡¯re still too weak to even get into the upper society,¡± sneered Mi Li.

    ¡°Let¡¯s talk about that next time. What¡¯s with my wife¡¯s current condition? Why did you say that a normal physician wouldn¡¯t be able to treat her?¡± asked Zu An hurriedly as he noticed that his wife¡¯s body was getting colder and colder.

    ¡°There¡¯s a problem in the cultivation technique she practices, or should I say that this is amon problem that all ice elemental cultivators suffer from? Anyone who practices ice element cultivation techniques has to absorb frost into their body, and over time, it¡¯ll lead to an umtion of frost in their ki meridians, body, and internal organs.

    ¡°While there are known ways to alleviate the negative effects arising from the umtion of frost, it¡¯s impossible to get rid of them. After all, cultivation is a fight against heaven. It¡¯s only normal to suffer some retribution.¡±

    Zu An was confused. ¡°If there¡¯s such a huge risk to ice element cultivation techniques, why would anyone even learn them?¡±

    ¡°Despite the downsides of ice element cultivation techniques, they¡¯re incredibly powerful, possessing many advantages that other elements cannotpete with,¡± exined Mi Li. ¡°It¡¯s only normal to sacrifice some things for greater power.¡±

    ¡°That being said, while most ice elemental cultivators tend to have shorter lifespans and suffer from low fertility, it usually doesn¡¯t pose a direct threat to their life. Your wife¡¯s condition seems to stem from her hasty growth. On top of that, she has found another different angle to ice elemental cultivation techniques which greatly enhanced the might of her attacks and growth, but at the same time, it made the negative effects even more pronounced too.

    ¡°On top of that, you fed her the Evanescent Lotus, which forcefully raised her cultivation by a rank. That shook her foundation, further magnifying the problems she was already suffering from. The strike against that old man from the Shi n was thest straw that finally unleashed all of the problems she has umted thus far. Right now, the frost has already permeated all of her vitals. Even a god would find it hard to save her.¡±

 Chapter 220: What Do You Want Her Heart For?

    <h4>Chapter 220: What Do You Want Her Heart For?</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An was horrified. He thought that it was just a minor problem since it didn¡¯t seem like a big deal to spurt blood in the world of cultivation. He himself had probably spurted at least liters of blood by now, such that he had already gotten perfectly used to it.

    Yet, Chu Chuyan¡¯s problem turned to be so severe, such that even Mi Li evaluated it to be incurable.

    ¡°How could this be...¡± murmured Zu An.

    It was then that a voice suddenly sounded, ¡°Chuyan, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    A beautiful figure rushed over and pushed Zu An aside to snatch Chu Chuyan from his arms. Upon noticing that she had fallen unconscious, her face paled in horror. She turned to Zu An and roared, ¡°What did you do to my daughter?¡±

    ¡°She was still fine when I spoke to her earlier, but she suddenly spurted blood and fainted. It might be due to her ice cultivation technique progressing too fast, resulting in her suffering a bacsh from being unable to control the frost in her body...¡± replied Zu An.

    But before he could finish his words, Qin Wanru had already interrupted him, roaring, ¡°What do you know? My daughter is a prodigy! It¡¯s only normal for her cultivation to progress swiftly! I know that you have stood out quite a bit over thest few days, but you¡¯re still nothingpared to Chuyan! You have no right to criticize her!¡±

    Qin Wanru was already angry, and hearing such an evaluation from someone she had always looked down on further infuriated her.

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Wanru for +502 Rage!

    She carried her daughter up and rushed off to look for her husband. Why did I even waste time arguing with this fellow!

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Wanru for +9 +9 +9...

    Staring at Qin Wanru¡¯s departing silhouette, Zu An snorted in response. The only good thing about this woman is that she produces a lot of rage.

    ¡°How about it? Do you want to reconsider my suggestion?¡± Mi Li¡¯s gleeful voice sounded in his ears.

    ¡°...¡± Zu An.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°You know, there are times that I wonder if you are actually not an empress but a demoness.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m ttered by yourpliment,¡± replied Mi Li gracefully. ¡°Who in the world said that an empress has to be virtuous andpassionate?¡±

    Surprisingly, Zu An found those words oddly convincing. There were plenty of ¡®evil empresses¡¯ in history, and Mi Li seemed to fit right into the stereotype.

    However, he was too worried about Chu Chuyan to listen to Mi Li¡¯s belief as to what an empress should be like. He quickly followed Qin Wanru.

    Chu Zhongtian also rushed over upon hearing the news. While infusing his ki into her body to dissipate the frost, he waited impatiently for the n physician to arrive.

    Chu Huanzhao came over too, and she tightened her grip anxiously. While she had often bickered with her older sister because her mother was extremely fond ofparing the two of them, she knew deep well that her older sister doted on her a lot. They were actually on close terms with one another, and it pained her to see her older sister in such a state.

    Not too longter, a white-haired old man rushed over with a group of servants. Zu An recognized the other party to be the n physician, Bao Youlu.

    In the entire Brightmoon City, his medical skill was only inferior to that of Ji Dengtu. Given his abilities, he wouldn¡¯t lower himself to just serve a single ducal manor, but he was indebted to the Brightmoon Duke from an incident in his earlier years. On top of that, he was also getting old, making it harder from his travel around. As a result, he decided to stay at the Chu n to return the favor.

    A maidservant had already prepared a silk cloth and wrapped it around Chu Chuyan¡¯s wrist. Bao Youlu read Chu Chuyan¡¯s pulse through it, and soon, a tight frown formed on his forehead and he sighed deeply. His reactions made Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru extremely worried.

    A long timeter, he finally retracted his fingers, and Qin Wanru immediately asked anxiously, ¡°Physician Bao, how is my daughter?¡±

    Bao Youlu seemed a little hesitant to speak. Chu Zhongtian quickly dismissed all of the servants from the room. In view that Zu An was Chu Chuyan¡¯s husband in-name, he was allowed to stay.

    Once the others had left the room, Bao Youlu sighed deeply and said, ¡°Master, Madame, the frost has permeated the young miss¡¯ ki meridians and internal organs. There¡¯s no saving her anymore. It¡¯ll be best if you could prepare yourself for the inevitable.¡±

    ¡°???¡± Chu Zhongtian.

    ¡°???¡± Qin Wanru.

    ¡°???¡± Chu Huanzhao.

    ¡°...¡± Zu An.

    While they could tell that Chu Chuyan¡¯s condition was more severe than before, they didn¡¯t expect it to be at such an extent. When they heard this nightmarish diagnosis, all of them stiffened in ce.

    Meanwhile, Zu An sighed deeply as well. It was the same verdict as Mi Li hade to.

    ¡°H-how can this be? My daughter was stillpletely fine earlier! Why would she suddenly...¡± Qin Wanru began sobbing halfway through her words.

    Chu Zhongtian also asked anxiously, ¡°Indeed, Physician Bao! Chuyan has just made an advancement in her cultivation, so how could she possibly suddenly fall ill?¡±

    A glint shed across Bao Youlu¡¯s eyes when he heard those words. ¡°May I know how the young miss made a breakthrough in her cultivation?¡±

    This concerned his daughter¡¯s life, so Chu Zhongtian didn¡¯t dare to hide the details at all. He quickly told Bao Youlu about how they had found the Evanescent Lotus in the dungeon.

    ¡°I see.¡± Bao Youlu stroked his beard contemtively. ¡°I was still wondering why the young miss¡¯ condition would suddenly deteriorate despite being healthy all this while. It turns out that the root of the problem lies here.

    ¡°It¡¯smon knowledge that practicing ice cultivation techniques is harmful to one¡¯s body, but this effect is usually negligible. However, the young miss had her ki meridians severed in a dungeon. Even though she managed to reconnect them afterward, it still damaged her ki foundation. To consume the Evanescent Lotus in such a condition and forcefully raise her cultivation by an entire rank further magnified the instability, cing a huge burden on her body. This resulted in the current situation.¡±

    It was the same as what Mi Li said earlier, which proved that her skill was indeed the real deal.

    Everyone was stunned to hear those words. Bao Youlu¡¯s analysis made perfect sense, and it finally sunk into them that Chu Chuyan was indeed in danger.

    ¡°It¡¯s all your fault! If not to save you, our Chuyan¡¯s ki meridians would have never been severed! If you hadn¡¯t fed the Evanescent Lotus to her, she would have never suffered such an ill fate! You¡¯re the one who caused all of these problems!¡± Qin Wanru stood up and roared at Zu An like a tigress, looking as if she would pounce on him at any moment.

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Wanru for +1024 Rage!

    Zu An was in no mood to even bother with her at the moment. He was busymunicating with Mi Li telepathically. ¡°Big sis empress, is there really no way to save her?¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you that even a god wouldn¡¯t be able to save her?¡±

    ¡°But you mentioned that you were skilled in runes and medicine back at the dungeon. Even if a god is unable to save her, I believe that big sis empress will be able to pull it off!¡± eximed Zu An.

    Mi Li¡¯sughter sounded in his head. ¡°You¡¯re indeed good at bootlicking. You¡¯re right. If Ying Zheng is able topete with even the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, how could I possibly lose to a mere god? I do have a way to save her.¡±

    ¡°Big sis empress, please enlighten me!¡± urged Zu An.

    Mi Li harrumphed coldly. ¡°After how that woman treated you, are you sure you want to save her daughter?¡±

    ¡°The one I¡¯m saving here is my wife; it has nothing to do with Qin Wanru at all. Don¡¯t worry. If it¡¯s Qin Wanru that¡¯s lying there right now, I wouldn¡¯t even bother raising a finger for her,¡± replied Zu An.

    ¡°A man should at least know how to keep a grudge. If you repay enmity with kindness, how are you going to repay kindness then? Enmity should always be repaid with enmity!¡± Mi Li¡¯s tone finally alleviated a little. ¡°Your wife is in a tough position because the frost has seeped into her organs and ki meridians. What we need to do right now is to expel the frost from her body, but the slightest carelessness could easily destroy her ki meridians and inflict heavy damage on her organs. That would make her die even faster.

    ¡°She¡¯s the one who is the most familiar with her own body, be it her ki meridians or her organs. So, she should be the one dispeling the frost personally. The problem is that she¡¯s in no state to channel her ki at the moment, and her ki attribute is ice too. If she channels ice elemental ki into her body right now, it¡¯ll only worsen the problem.

    ¡°But putting aside these technical problems, you do have the simplest way out to cure her, and that¡¯s to undergo the amalgamation of yin and yang as the two of you did previously so as to expel the frost via heat. On top of that, you can channel the primordial ki toward her damaged ki meridians and organs to protect them. Through this, she should be able to recover fully in half a month to half a year¡¯s time.¡±

    Zu An asked in surprise, ¡°Why does it take that long?¡±

    There was a trace of mirth in Mi Li¡¯s voice as she replied, ¡°That¡¯s a dumb question. Do you think that doing it seven times a night is the same as doing once a night for a week?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Zu An.

    ¡°But this treatment method is a little too unconventional.¡±

    ¡°Stop putting on that act. I know that you¡¯re already celebrating this unexpected bliss,¡± remarked Mi Li coldly, seeing right through his righteous facade.

    Zu An¡¯s face heated up as he said, ¡°I mean, it¡¯s indeed something happy for me, but I¡¯m not sure if Chuyan would be willing to do it.¡±

    ¡°Is that something you should be concerned about right now?¡± snapped Mi Li in irritation.

    Regarding that, Zu An replied, ¡°It¡¯s easy to attain a person¡¯s body, but winning a person¡¯s heart is a different matter. I hope that she can ept me willingly in the future instead of having me to take advantage of her at times like this.¡±

    He scorned himself a little for saying that. Honestly, it was because he already had her body once that he wanted more.

    ¡°What do you want her heart for?¡± replied Mi Li disdainfully. ¡°As long as her body ustoms to yours, it¡¯s just a matter of time before her heart bes yours too. Youngsters like you really don¡¯t understand how the human mind works. Love is something that¡¯s bred over time.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Zu An.

    Is that an innuendo?

    ¡°Big sis empress, you mentioned that that¡¯s the simplest method, which means that there¡¯s a not-so-simple method too. May I know what it is?¡± asked Zu An.

    In the Tai¡¯e Sword, Mi Li¡¯s face turned livid as she said, ¡°Hmph, I really don¡¯t know whether you¡¯re feigning dumb or not. You keep acting like a little pervert all the time, only to act righteously at times like this. Forget it! Listen well, the difficult method involves...¡±

    ...

    Back to the room, Chu Huanzhao stopped the agitated Qin Wanru and said, ¡°Mother, you¡¯re being too much again. My big sister has already said earlier that this has nothing to do with brother-inw!¡±

    ¡°Shut up! You only know how to side with outsiders! Who is he to you? Is he more important than your big sister? Is he more important than your mother?¡± bellowed Qin Wanru.

    Chu Huanzhao pouted in displeasure. ¡°That¡¯s not what I mean.¡±

    ¡°Enough!¡± Chu Zhongtian finally lost his patience. He turned to Bao Youlu and asked, ¡°Physician Bao, is there really no way out of this?¡±

    Bao Youlu shook his head and replied, ¡°Pardon my ignorance, but I really can¡¯t figure out a way to treat her. Perhaps Divine Physician Ji might have an unconventional treatment to this, but I don¡¯t think that the young miss¡¯ condition looks too hopeful. On top of that, I heard that Divine Physician Ji left for the neighboring city a while ago.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll find him back right now!¡± said Chu Zhongtian.

    Qin Wanru quickly interjected, ¡°I¡¯ll go instead. You aren¡¯t on good terms with him.¡±

    ¡°How can I do that?¡± eximed Chu Zhongtian.

    Wouldn¡¯t this be practically sending his beautiful wife into the mouth of a lecher? He still remembered clearly that Ji Dengtu was one of Qin Wanru¡¯s suitors back then!

    It was then that a voice sounded, ¡°I do have an idea in mind.¡±

    Bao Youlu turned around to take a look, only to be displeased when he saw that the one speaking was Zu An. It was just a moment ago that he said that he had no way out of this when Zu An suddenly said that he had an idea. Such an action put Bao Youlu in a spot.

    Besides, he had never heard about the drafted son-inw of the Chu n being well-versed in medicine before.

 Chapter 221: Bad Daughter

    <h4>Chapter 221: Bad Daughter</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Bao Youlu asked with a smile, ¡°It turns out that the young master knows a bit of medicine too. May I know which divine physician have you studied under?¡±

    Despite his smile, his tone revealed his disdain for Zu An.

    Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t have any divine physician mentor.¡±

    Mi Li immediately protested in his mind, ¡°What do I count as then?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re my beautiful big sis empress, not my teacher,¡± replied Zu An.

    ¡°That¡¯s more like it.¡± Mi Li harrumphed. Even though Zu An couldn¡¯t see her expression, he could totally imagine her lips curling up slightly in glee.

    Meanwhile, Qin Wanru was already unhappy with Zu An when thetter had to butt in at a moment ago. Unable to take it any longer, she exploded in fury. ¡°If you don¡¯t know anything at all, just step aside and keep your mouth shut! Don¡¯t waste our time here! Zhongtian, you should quickly head to the neighboring city to look for Ji Dengtu. No matter what you do, you have to bring him over!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Our daughter¡¯s life is at stake here, so I¡¯ll make sure to bring him over even if I have to shamelessly beg him. I¡¯ll be leaving the internal affairs here to you then,¡± replied Chu Zhongtian grimly

    Without any hesitation, he flitted out of the room and soon vanished into the night.

    Zu An shrugged calmly and walked out too. Qin Wanru frowned a little upon seeing that, but she quickly turned her attention back to her daughter.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Why did youe out?¡± asked Mi Li in confusion.

    ¡°There¡¯s no way Qin Wanru would trust me no matter what I say, so there¡¯s no point wasting my breath there,¡± replied Zu An.

    ¡°You aren¡¯t going to save your wife anymore?¡± asked Mi Li teasingly.

    Zu An was silent for a moment before replying, ¡°I¡¯ll think of another way out.¡±

    It was then that a beautiful figure suddenly rushed out and eximed, ¡°Brother-inw, wait a moment!¡±

    Zu An turned around to take a look, only to see that it was Chu Huanzhao. His face turned a little gentler as he said, ¡°It¡¯s you, Huanzhao.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao stared at him intently with herrge eyes and asked, ¡°Do you really have a way to save my big sister?¡±

    Despite being in a cold war with him earlier on, there was nothing that was more important to her than her big sister¡¯s safety.

    ¡°I think it should work,¡± replied Zu An as he recalled the method Mi Li had taught him. He didn¡¯t think that thetter was fooling him.

    ¡°What do you mean by ¡®I think¡¯? Will it work or not?¡± asked Chu Huanzhao anxiously.

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯ll work,¡± replied Zu An affirmatively.

    ¡°Very well, I¡¯ll talk to my mother about it then.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao returned back to the room, and soon, loud bickering broke out inside. It was basically Chu Huanzhao insisting on giving Zu An a chance to treat Chu Chuyan and Qin Wanru vehemently rejecting it.

    Eventually, Chu Huanzhao ran out with tears in her eyes. She turned to look at Zu An and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll make sure that you get a chance to save my big sister!¡± After that, she ran right into the shadows of the night.

    Zu An was perplexed as to what she meant by that.

    It was then that Qin Wanru marched out angrily and bellowed, ¡°Just what kind of sorcery did you cast on Huanzhao that she¡¯s so sided toward you?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Wanru for +678 Rage!

    Zu An shrugged in response. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about. Huanzhao is already not young anymore and cane to her own judgment. You¡¯re underestimating your own daughter¡¯s intelligence.¡±

    ¡°I really dislike your slick tongue. I don¡¯t know how you duped our Chuyan back then, but how dare you try to do the same to our Huanzhao? Don¡¯t even dream of it!¡± Qin Wanru pointed a finger at Zu An as she bellowed furiously. ¡°If I ever find out that you¡¯re getting any ideas on the two of my daughters, I¡¯ll make sure that you die a terrible death!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Wanru for +777 Rage!

    Zu An¡¯s face turned cold. ¡°Are you done speaking yet?¡±

    He was already fed up enough as he was, and this woman still continued prattling on and on, pinning false usations she dreamed up of on him. He finally had enough of it.

    ¡°Y-you...¡± Qin Wanru was taken aback. She didn¡¯t think that the subservient drafted son-inw would actually dare to raise his voice at her.

    She was just about to rage once more when a maid suddenly eximed from behind, ¡°Madame, the young miss is awake!¡±

    Qin Wanru shot a piercing re at him. ¡°I¡¯ll settle the score with you afterward!¡±

    After saying her piece, she turned around and rushed back into the room.

    Meanwhile, Zu An hesitated a bit but didn¡¯t enter. Instead, he asked softly, ¡°Are you sure that chuyan will be fine for the time being?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s terminally ill, but her condition isn¡¯t that bad as to die within the next two days or so,¡± replied Mi Li.

    Zu An¡¯s heart was finally put at ease. He quickly called Cheng Shouping over and had him gather some medicine he needed from the Chu n¡¯s medicine vault. Even though the Chu n was pretty useless in many aspects, at the very least, they had an abundance of resources.

    Following that, he got a dummy and started revising what Mi Li taught him.

    Despite his high aptitude, he had no experience in treating a patient at all. It was one thing to know some theoretically and another thing to put it into practice. As such, he felt that there was a need to practice in advance.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± a hoarse voice suddenly sounded out of nowhere.

    Shocked, Zu An turned around, only to see Old Mi standing by the doorway.

    ¡°You¡¯re here.¡± Zu An quickly bowed to the other party.

    Old Mi nced at the dummy before asking doubtfully, ¡°Are you learning medicine at the moment?¡±

    ¡°I was just a little curious, so I wanted to give it a try,¡± replied Zu An sheepishly.

    ¡°Are you thinking of figuring out a cure for your seal?¡± Old Mi revealed a hideous smile. ¡°I heard that you¡¯re on good terms with Divine Physician Ji¡¯s daughter, but don¡¯t get misled by her. Your seal cannot be externally removed. You¡¯re better off focusing on your cultivation so that you can reach Master rank as soon as possible.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right, elder.¡± Zu An had a feeling that he shouldn¡¯t reveal the fact that he had already recovered to the other party.

    ¡°I heard that you managed to force the young master of the Shi n back. It looks like you¡¯ve stumbled upon a fortuitous encounter in the Ursae Dungeon,¡± remarked Old Mi curiously.

    ¡°I was lucky to find an Evanescent Lotus, which increased by cultivation by a bit,¡± replied Zu An respectfully.

    ¡°Evanescent Lotus!¡± Old Mi¡¯s breathing hastened. ¡°Did you eat it all?¡±

    Zu An shook his head and replied, ¡°I gave most of it to Chuyan in order to save her.¡±

    ¡°Foolish!¡± Old Mi pped his thigh furiously as he rose to his feet out of agitation. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you take it for yourself?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Lianying for +250 Rage!

    Zu An was taken aback. He thought that the other party was angry at him for not bringing the Evanescent Lotus, but it turned out that he was angry because he didn¡¯t eat it for himself?

    He actually cares so much about me... Could I have misunderstood him?

    ¡°Young miss Chu¡¯s ki meridians have been destroyed, and her life was hanging on a thread then. Given that we¡¯re a couple, I couldn¡¯t just leave her to the lurch,¡± replied Zu An.

    ¡°A couple?¡± sneered Old Mi. ¡°Don¡¯t you know better than anyone else what your rtionship with her is like? Is there anyone in this manor who really treats you as a young master of the Chu n?¡±

    Actually, there is. At least Chu Huanzhao and Cheng Shouping count, right?, thought Zu An. As for Chu Chuyan, to be honest, he wasn¡¯t too sure what she was thinking either. However, since she had allowed him to do it once, she should have somewhat acknowledged him, right?

    Old Mi shook his head at Zu An¡¯s naivety and said, ¡°Besides, don¡¯t you know full well how your body is like at the moment? You can¡¯t even do what a man can do, let alone cherish her!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Lianying for +666 Rage!

    ¡°...¡± Zu An.

    Bro, aren¡¯t you being too harsh? If it was me in the past, I would surely be angered out of embarrassment. You¡¯re lucky that I¡¯ve fully recovered, or else I would have definitely held a grudge against you over that.

    Seeing that Zu An wasn¡¯t reacting at all, Old Mi lost his interest in scolding Zu An. ¡°Forget it, what¡¯s done is done. There¡¯s nothing I can say that can change things anymore. However, I want you to know that you should prioritize your cultivation. Everything is transient except for true strength. Ah, I heard that Wei Hongde has entered the dungeon too. How is the mission which I¡¯ve entrusted you with going?¡±

    While keeping his expression steady, Zu An replied, ¡°We met up with one another in the dungeon and I bared myself to him. We¡¯re good friends now.¡±

    I consider him as a friend anyway. I don¡¯t care whether he thinks the same or not.

    Old Mi¡¯s tightly knitted frown finally loosened a little as he said, ¡°Good. Make sure to keep an eye on his family¡¯s movements. No matter how minor the matter is, make sure to report it back to me. Also, you mustn¡¯t let him know what you¡¯re doing. I believe that someone as sharp-witted as you are should be able to do as much.¡±

    ¡°No problem,¡± replied Zu An. Out of curiosity, he asked, ¡°However, what should I be keeping an eye out for?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t ask questions that you shouldn¡¯t be asking,¡± said Old Mi coldly. His eyes suddenly sharpened, and with a wave of his hand, the Tai¡¯e Sword flew into his grasp.

    Zu An immediately panicked. He would take the Tai¡¯e Sword right away, but there was simply too huge of a disparity in their strengths that he dared not to make a move carelessly.

    ¡°It¡¯s really a heaven grade weapon! It¡¯s no wonder why it can slice Shi Kun¡¯s sword into two. It looks like you¡¯ve made significant gains in the dungeon,¡± remarked Old Mi as he flicked the de lightly. After that, he casually tossed the sword back and said, ¡®Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t go so far as to covet your possession.¡±

    What¡¯s yours will eventually be mine anyway, Old Mi thought in his mind.

    ¡°Thank you, elder.¡± Zu An walked Old Mi out before directing a sharp re at the Tai¡¯e Sword. ¡°What happened to your self-respect? Why the hell did you fly over as soon as he beckoned for you?¡±

    Mi Li¡¯s silhouette rose from the de, revealing a grim look on her face. ¡°Do you know what¡¯s his current cultivation rank?¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± asked Zu An. He had always been very curious about this.

    ¡°He¡¯s at the ninth rank,¡± said Mi Li with a hint of fear. ¡°He isn¡¯t any weaker than Zhang Han.¡±

    ¡°Ah? He¡¯s actually that formidable?¡± Zu An was dumbstruck. One must know that Chu Zhongtian was known to be the strongest cultivator in Brightmoon City, but even so, he was only at the eighth rank. Yet, a scrawny gardener on the manor was actually at the ninth rank?

    However, he soon heaved a sigh of relief and said, ¡°Since you were able to beat Zhang Han up, there should be no need to fear this Old Mi.¡±

    Mi Li looked at Zu An solemnly and said, ¡°You can¡¯tpare the two just like that. I was able to defeat Zhang Han easily because he wanted to die right from the start. On top of that, I¡¯m only a soul at the moment, a severely depleted one at that after having to switch bodies twice. I won¡¯t be a match for him in my current state. So, I advise you not to offend him. I have no wish to die together with you.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Zu An.

    Big sis empress, your thighs are supposed to be extremely thick so that I can clutch onto them for safety!

    Zu An was just about to continue speaking when he heard Chu Huanzhao¡¯s voice from afar. ¡°Brother-inw! Quick, follow me. We¡¯ll be saving my older sister now!¡±

    A short-haired girl ran to his side, gasping for air. She seemed to be in a rush, having run all the way here.

    Zu An looked at her doubtfully. ¡°Your mother allowed me to treat your older sister?¡±

    ¡°Of course not! However, I¡¯ve knocked her out!¡± Chu Huanzhao innocently revealed an explosive news.

 Chapter 222: No Wonder Heâ€™s So Weak

    <h4>Chapter 222: No Wonder He¡¯s So Weak</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°???¡± Zu An.

    Unable to believe what he had just heard, he asked once more to seek rification, ¡°What did you say?¡±

    ¡°My mother carries prejudice for you, so there¡¯s no way she would allow you to treat my older sister. So, I knocked her out,¡± exined Chu Huanzhao. ¡°I used chloroform.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face darkened. ¡°How in the world did you manage to get your hands on that kind of stuff?¡±

    ¡°Well, I got them for entertainment purposes. Besides chloroform, I also havexatives, aphrodisiacs, and many others. You don¡¯t know how fun it was to y with those maids and servants back then. It¡¯s just a pity that they began avoiding me soon after, running frantically as soon as they see me,¡± remarked Chu Huanzhao regrettably.

    It was only then that Zu An remembered that thisss was a demon. When he first transmigrated into this world, Chu Huanzhao sent a dog to chase him all around and whipped him up good. He had clearly taken those to his mind, though their recently improving rtionship had changed his perception of her by a fair bit.

    ¡°I took a huge risk to help you, so you better make sure you treat my big sister!¡± Chu Huanzhao swung her fist furiously as she stared at him with a not-very-threatening expression.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, leave it to me!¡± said Zu An with a nod.

    It just so happened that Cheng Shouping returned at this moment and said, ¡°Young master, I¡¯ve got what you asked me. Ah, the Second Miss is here too?¡±

    Chu Huanzhao ignored Cheng Shouping and walked straight to Zu An side, craning her neck over to see the items that Zu An got. ¡°What are these?¡±

    ¡°These are the key items to save your older sister¡¯s life,¡± said Zu An as he quickly packed them up after checking them. ¡°Let¡¯s go. We need to make haste.¡±

    ¡°Young master, what are you nning to do? Is there anything I can do to help?¡¯ Cheng Shouping revealed a fawning smile.

    ¡°There is,¡± replied Zu An.

    ¡°What is it? Feel free to ask anything of me. I¡¯ll be more than willing to brave through a mountain of mes for you!¡± Cheng Shouping patted his chest as he gave his promise.

    It looks like I¡¯ve really gotten on the right boat this time around. Given how close the Second Miss is to the young master, even if the First Miss abandons him in the future, he can still hook up to the Second Miss and continue mooching off the Chu n.

    ¡°Shut your mouth and head back to your room,¡± said Zu An. Chu Chuyan¡¯s current state was a confidential secret in the Chu n. If news were to leak and the other ns learned of this matter, it would pose a disastrous blow to the Chu n. Given Cheng Shouping¡¯s leaky mouth, there was no way he would tell the other party this matter.

    ¡°Consider that done!¡± Cheng Shouping didn¡¯t look disappointed in the least. He zipped his mouth up and obediently marched his way back to his room.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Chu Huanzhao was still panicking a moment ago, but Cheng Shouping¡¯s response brought a smile to her face. ¡°That studypanion of yours really is an interesting guy.¡±

    Zu An was also surprised to see how obedient he was. ¡°I guess he has been struck down by life too many times that he¡¯s finally learning to tone it down.¡±

    The two of them rushed over to Chu Chuyan¡¯s room. There were some guards at the entrance of the room who tried to stop them. However, when they saw that it was Chu Huanzhao, they stepped aside and allowed them to pass.

    Zu An was deeply displeased. What¡¯s with this? I, the young master of the Chu n, am here to visit my wife, but they are only allowing me to pass on Chu Huanzhao¡¯s ount?

    There was no one in Chu Chuyan¡¯s room, not even a maid at all. There was only Qin Wanru lying unconscious by the side of the bed, seemingly deep in sleep. Her figure was much more voluptuouspared to Chu Chuyan and Chu Huanzhao, but oddly enough, she didn¡¯t appear plump.

    Looking at her moving profile, Zu An had to admit that she was indeed blessed with good looks. It was just a pity that her mouth was even worse than Snow¡¯s.

    Zu An felt that Huanzhao was really brave for leaving her mother unconscious all alone here. Wasn¡¯t she afraid that something would happen to her mother while she was gone?

    ¡°Where¡¯s Physician Bao?¡± asked Zu An as he took a look around.

    ¡°I drove him away. Since he doesn¡¯t know how to treat my big sister, he¡¯d just be a waste of space here.¡± Chu Huanzhao harrumphed.

    ¡°Are you sure it isn¡¯t because you¡¯re afraid that he would notice that you¡¯ve drugged your mother?¡± asked Zu An skeptically.

    Chu Huanzhao¡¯s face reddened a little as she eximed, ¡°That¡¯s just part of the reason. Aiyo, let¡¯s not bother with the details now, alright! Hurry up and treat my big sister!¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s faint voice sounded from the bed at this moment. ¡°Huanzhao, is that you?¡±

    Chu Huanzhao quickly rushed over to her side and pulled the curtains aside. There was no outsider at the moment, so there was no need for them to hide anything. ¡°Big sis, it¡¯s me.¡±

    A chilling frost immediately gushed out as soon as the curtain was parted. Chu Chuyan could be seen lying on the bed with a pale face.

    When she saw Zu An, a hint of redness crept onto her cheeks as she remarked, ¡°You... are here too?¡±

    Zu An nodded. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I can save you.¡±

    Chu Chuyan shook her head and said, ¡°I know my own condition the best. Haa, if only I knew that things would turn out like this, I wouldn¡¯t have eaten the Evanescent Lotus. It¡¯s a waste on someone like me. If you had eaten it instead, you would have been nearing the fifth rank by now.¡±

    Zu An sat by the edge of the bed as he tucked her hair to the side and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I was able to save you from the dungeon despite being on the verge of death, so naturally, something of this level won¡¯t faze me.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao was a little surprised to see this. She knew her older sister wasn¡¯t the type to allow a man to get so close to her, but she wasn¡¯t reacting at all to Zu An¡¯s touch. Did something happen between the two of them that I don¡¯t know of?

    Chu Chuyan thought about how she was saved in the dungeon, and her heart immediately began pounding hard. However, it aggravated her wounds a little, and she started coughing right away.

    Zu An quickly helped her up and patted her back softly to soothe her difort.

    Uweh!

    Chu Chuyan spat out a small mouthful of blood that was filled with bits of ice. Even the warmth of her blood wasn¡¯t able to melt those ice fragments, and they emanated a chilling air.

    Chu Huanzhao¡¯s eyes immediately reddened upon seeing that. ¡°Big sis!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. I¡¯ve been in this condition for quite some time now,¡± said Chu Chuyan as she forced out a smile. She suddenly noticed Qin Wanru lying unconscious next to her and eximed in horror, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with mother?¡±

    Chu Huanzhao wiped off her tears and exined in embarrassment, ¡°Well, no matter what I said, she wouldn¡¯t allow brother-inw to treat you, so I... I knocked her out.¡±

    ¡°You knocked her out?¡± Chu Chuyan immediately straightened her body, which sent her into a fit of coughing once more.

    Chu Huanzhao protested indignantly, ¡°What else could I do? She simply doesn¡¯t listen at all!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Chu Chuyan.

    She looked at her little sister with aplicated look on her face as she asked, ¡°Why are you so confident that he would be able to save me, even going to the extent of...¡±

    Chu Huanzhao bit her lips and replied, ¡°I feel like all of you have been misunderstanding him. He¡¯s not a person to lie about such serious matters. He didn¡¯t lie about being confident at the ns Tournament, and I don¡¯t think that he¡¯s lying about this either. Big sis, you should believe a little more in him too.¡±

    Zu An was moved to hear those words. Ahhh, my sister-inw is really the best. It¡¯s only due to your presence that the Chu n doesn¡¯t feel that cold.

    Seeing how agitated her younger sister was, Chu Chuyan sighed deeply and said, ¡°I believe in him too... but let¡¯s move mother to the wooden bed over there so that she can lie down. It wouldn¡¯t do to leave her here.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao pushed Zu An forward and said, ¡°Brother-inw, I¡¯ll be leaving it to you.¡±

    She had a small figure which made it inconvenient for her to carry Qin Wanru.

    Zu An wanted to say that it was inappropriate, but Chu Chuyan wasn¡¯t saying anything about it either. On top of that, the two sisters seemed to be secretly exchanging words with one another.

    So, he reluctantly walked over and carried the unconscious Qin Wanru up. As she hadpletely lost her consciousness, it was much harder to hold her up properly. Fortunately, this was the world of cultivation and Zu An¡¯s strength had far surpassed that of any ordinary man.

    He could have never told otherwise, but Qin Wanru¡¯s body was actually incredibly soft. Vaguely, he could smell the scent of rosesing from her.

    Zu An recalled having read about some research on the inte in his previous life that women who preferred rose-scented perfume tended to be more sexually active.

    That would exin why Chu Zhongtian always had eyebags and looked weak. With such a wife, he¡¯d probably be constantly sapped of his energy.

    That being said, perhaps due to her being his mother-inw, Zu An was unable to harbor any lustful thoughts toward her at all. To be honest, while carrying her to the side, the thought of dumping her onto the stone-cold floor did cross his mind. He could understand why Qin Wanru was prejudiced toward him, but nevertheless, that didn¡¯t mean that he could ept her treating him like this.

    However, upon remembering that Chu Chuyan and Chu Huanzhao were right behind him, he eventually decided against it.

    He casually ced her down on the wooden bed before heading back to Chu Chuyan¡¯s side.

    ¡°Brother-inw, how are we going to treat my big sister?¡± asked Chu Huanzhao anxiously.

    Zu AN was just about to speak up when he suddenly remembered something and remarked sheepishly, ¡°Regarding that... I need to discuss it privately with your older sister first.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao was first stunned for a moment before she pouted in dissatisfaction. ¡°Are you trying to get rid of me after all I¡¯ve done for you here? That¡¯s too much!¡±

    Zu An scratched his head awkwardly. ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m trying to get rid of you, but there are some things which your older sister doesn¡¯t want others to know of.¡±

    Those words made Chu Chuyan¡¯s heart skip a beat as she realized what Zu An was getting at. Her face began blushing furiously, but she tried her best to keep a straight expression as she said, ¡°Huanzhao, help me guard the room. Alert us if anyone tries to enter.¡±

    Seeing that she was reluctant to leave, Chu Chuyan added, ¡°What if father happens to return and sees that you¡¯ve knocked out our mother?¡±

    They had been sisters for many years, after all. She knew how she could curb her younger sister.

    ¡°He has already headed to the neighboring city, so how could he possibly return that quickly,¡± murmured Chu Huanzhao. However, she was still unable to shake off the worry of her father returning in advance, so she headed outside to keep watch.

    After her younger sister left, Chu Chuyan turned to Zu An and said, ¡°So, how do you intend to save me?¡±

    Zu An stared at her intently and said, ¡°Actually, you already know the answer deep down.¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s face quickly reddened as she averted her eyes. ¡°That won¡¯t do. Definitely not!¡±

    ¡°Why not? It¡¯s not our first time anyway...¡± replied Zu An.

    Chu Chuyan turned her face aside. By this moment, her redness had extended even to her neck. ¡°No means no. It¡¯s not the same as the previous time... If you try to touch me now, I¡¯ll kill you!¡±

    Despite her severely weakened state, her cultivation was still present. As a pinnacle sixth rank cultivator, she was definitely more than capable of killing Zu An in a heartbeat, though it would surely worsen her condition, bringing her a step closer to death.

    ¡°Do you hate me that much?¡± asked Zu An with a frown.

    ¡°It¡¯s not because I hate you, but... but... I¡¯m just not prepared...¡± Chu Chuyan was flustered, not knowing how to exin this. ¡°Anyway, it just won¡¯t do now!¡±

    Zu An could tell that she would surely cause a huge ruckus if he were to force the matter.

    Fortunately, he had asked for an alternative in advance. ¡°Forget it, I still have another way out of this. If you still aren¡¯t willing to go along with me for this, there would be nothing I can do anymore.¡±

    ¡°What way?¡± asked Chu Chuyan anxiously. I¡¯ll be fine with anything as long as it isn¡¯t the embarrassing thing we did in the underground pce.

    Zu An took out a gleaming silver needle and replied, ¡°Acupuncture. I¡¯ll use a special method to stimte the acupoints in your body so as to release the frost bit by bit.¡±

    Chu Chuyan frowned in doubt. ¡°If it¡¯s that simple, there¡¯s no way Physician Bao wouldn¡¯t be able to do it.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right. In fact, I¡¯m the only one in the whole world who is able to do this. Anyone else who tries to do the same will only be harming you,¡± replied Zu An.

    ¡°Why is that so?¡± asked Chu Chuyan with a frown, notprehending the basis of Zu An¡¯s confidence.

 Chapter 223: Compromise

    <h4>Chapter 223: Compromise</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°I¡¯m the only one who is familiar with every inch of your skin and ki meridians. I know how much strength to exert and which angle I should exert the force in. The slightest mistake here could easily destroy your ki meridians and internal organs, so it¡¯s an impossible deed for anyone who doesn¡¯t understand your internal condition well,¡± said Zu An.

    He wasn¡¯t speaking the truth here. The one who was familiar with Chu Chuyan¡¯s condition was actually Mi Li as she had entered Chu Chuyan¡¯s body previously, allowing her to know every nook and cranny inside.

    However, he promised Mi Li not to expose her existence, so he could only im it himself.

    Chu Chuyan was taken aback by those words. ¡°Why are you familiar with my physical condition?¡±

    Zu An chuckled softly and said, ¡°Have you forgotten? While I was treating you in the underground pce, I focused my attention on repairing your ki meridians. There¡¯s no way I could be unfamiliar with the insides of your body. There¡¯s no one else in the world who knows the insides of your body better than I do.¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s face immediately reddened. ¡°E-enough! Don¡¯t say anymore. Hurry up and apply your acupuncture on me!¡±

    Zu An smiled softly as he got Cheng Shouping toy out the medicine he had prepared beforehand. He crushed the medicine into powder before concocting it into a medicinal extract.

    Catching a whiff of the scent of medicinal herbs, Chu Chuyan couldn¡¯t resist asking, ¡°You know medicine too? But based on what I know, you¡¯ve never dabbled in medicine before.¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you that there¡¯s a mysterious grandfather who imparted to me his skills? That involves medicine too. It¡¯s just that I¡¯m not too interested in this field thus far. It¡¯s only because of your condition that I chose to pick it up,¡± replied Zu An with a smile.

    ¡°Who are you saying is a grandfather?!¡± Mi Li roared furiously in his head. ¡°Do I look old to you?¡±

    Please, you¡¯ve already lived for a few thousand years now. Do you reallyck that much self-awareness?

    But of course, there was no way Zu An would say those words out loud. He quickly replied, ¡°I¡¯m not talking about you. I¡¯m just using a figure I fabricated in the past to exin the knowledge I¡¯ve learned from you.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s more like it.¡± Mi Li harrumphed. ¡°Speaking of which, I¡¯m really interested to know where you picked up all your skills too. You knew my name right away when we first met too.¡±

    Zu An deeply regretted pushing himself into a pit here. He shouldn¡¯t have been honest with her and pushed everything to that mysterious grandfather too.

    ¡°We can talk about thatter. You¡¯re stuck with me for the time being anyway, so you¡¯ll eventually find out about my secrets. For now, let¡¯s focus our efforts on saving my wife first,¡± said Zu An.

    Mi Li fell silent, an expression of subtle acknowledgment. This made Zu An heave a sigh of relief.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Chu Chuyan noticed the subtle changes in Zu An¡¯s expression as he stood in a daze.

    ¡°Nothing much. Let¡¯s begin now.¡± Zu An reached out to grab Chu Chuyan¡¯s hand.

    Chu Chuyan instinctively tried to retract her hand, but Zu An didn¡¯t let go this time around. Instead, he forcefully pulled her hand over to his side.

    Chu Chuyan knew that her reaction was a bit too much given that he was treating her, so she resisted her urge to struggle and allowed him to do as he wished.

    Zu An soaked his silver needles into the mysterious medicinal extract for a moment before flicking it lightly. His movements were so smooth that he looked like a veteran physician.

    That made Chu Chuyan even more confused than before. This fellow sure is concealing a lot of secrets.

    Following that, she saw a blur fly across her eyes, and before she knew it, the silver needles were already stabbed into the webbing between her thumb and forefinger.

    She blinked her eyes in surprise. She expected the process to be painful, but she didn¡¯t feel anything at all. Instead, she could feel warmth diffusing into her body from the silver needles.

    Following that, Zu An pulled her sleeves up to her shoulder, revealing her beautiful arms.

    ¡°What are you doing?!¡± Chu Chuyan was horrified.

    ¡°You need not react so strongly. It¡¯s not like it¡¯s my first time seeing it anyway¡ªI¡¯ve already kissed it all I wanted to thest time. I¡¯m just applying acupuncture to the other acupoints on your arm,¡± remarked Zu An.

    Chu Chuyan was left incredibly embarrassed by those words. She couldn¡¯t help but recall the image of him kissing her body all over in the underground hall, and it made her both a little maddened and embarrassed too.

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Chuyan for +33 Rage!

    The influx of Rage points shocked Zu An, making him think that he had really identally angered her. However, when he saw the sum of Rage points, his heart was put at ease. She was probably just feeling frustrated out of anger.

    ¡°Pull your attention together. Stop thinking about all of this nonsense,¡± warned Mi Li.

    Knowing that he couldn¡¯t make the slightest error here, Zu An quickly gathered his focus and followed Mi Li¡¯s instructions. He channeled his ki into the acupoints through the silver needles on her arms, shrouding them in ayer of primordial ki.

    The primordial ki shouldn¡¯t have had any regenerative effects on anyone before he reached the fourth rank of the Primordial Origin Sutra, but he had intimate contact with Chu Chuyan before, having used his primordial ki to reconstruct her ki meridians previously. As a result, there was still a bit of his primordial ki lingering in her ki meridians, so he could channel them by resonating it with the primordial ki he was infusing into her body externally.

    Meanwhile, Chu Chuyan was surprised by how professional his acupuncture was. She felt a cold sensation surging through her arm, toward the silver needles. Then, she could visibly see frost being expelled into the surroundings from the silver needles.

    Zu An calmly ced her left arm on a cushion, but he didn¡¯t extract the needles there. Instead, he reached out to grab her right hand.

    By this point, Chu Chuyan could already tell that the treatment was effective, so she wasn¡¯t as resistant to it anymore. Instead, she cooperated with him to raise her arm and allowed him to roll her sleeves up.

    Zu An did the same with her right arm and filled it with silver needles.

    ¡°How are you feeling?¡± Zu An asked as he ced her right arm on a cushion too.

    ¡°My hands don¡¯t feel as chilly anymore. The frost around my acupoints are gradually being released outward,¡± remarked Chu Chuyan as she stared at the white mist released into the surroundings. ¡°I didn¡¯t think that it would actually work.¡±

    Toward that, Zu An replied, ¡°It¡¯s not that simple. The umtion of frost in your body is simply too severe. Your high aptitude has really backfired on you this time around. You advanced your cultivation far too quickly that your body is unable to adapt to the umtion of frost, making you particrly vulnerable to a bacsh whenever you sustain significant injuries.

    ¡°Now that I think about it, this problem can probably be traced back to the ns Tournament, when you incurred a severe injury while fighting with Wu Di. You were still barely able to keep it in control back then, but the seed has already been nted there. After that, your ki meridians got destroyed, your cultivation rank was forcefully raised by the Evanescent Lotus, and you suffered a strike from Shi Lezhi. All of these triggers caused you topletely lose control over the frost in your body.¡±

    This was Mi Li¡¯s analysis, and he was just rying it over to Zu An. Of course, the matter concerning the ns Tournament was something he shared with Mi Li so as to ensure that she could get a more urate assessment of the problem.

    ¡°That¡¯s indeed the case.¡± Chu Chuyan was feeling deeply impressed with Zu An. His diagnosis was spot-on.

    ¡°The umtion of frost has deeply permeated your organs and ki meridians, making this problem much moreplicated. This isn¡¯t an issue which we can resolve within days. At the very least, it¡¯ll require two to three months of daily acupuncture to expel the frost for you to recover from your current condition,¡± said Zu An.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be troubling you then.¡± Chu Chuyan heaved a sigh of relief.

    Even Physician Bao Youlu had mentioned earlier that her condition was hopeless, saying that it was unlikely that Ji Dengtu would be able to do anything about her condition too. The knowledge that she could recover within two to three months was already a miracle to her.

    However, Zu An¡¯s following words left her dumbfounded. ¡°It¡¯s good that you¡¯re willing to cooperate with me. Alright, you should take off your clothes now.¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°???¡± Chu Chuyan.

    ¡°What are you staring at me for? All I¡¯ve done thus far is to dissipate the frost in your hands! What¡¯s far more important is the frost umted in your organs!¡± Zu An rolled his eyes. ¡°How am I going to apply acupuncture on them if you don¡¯t take off your clothes.¡±

    ¡°I...¡± Chu Chuyan could tell that it was a reasonable request, but her embarrassment left her at aplete loss.

    ¡°It¡¯s not like I haven¡¯t seen your body before, so there¡¯s no need for you to make such a big deal out of it,¡± replied Zu An. ¡°If you have a huge qualm with it, we can do the first treatment method instead. It¡¯s actually far more effective, and you should be able to recover within days. The process will also be far more enjoyable... cough cough, I mean convenient.¡±

    Chu Chuyan immediately shook her head vehemently. There was no way she could ept the first treatment method. ¡°C-can you cover your eyes? I heard that there are skilled physicians who are able to apply acupuncture even with their eyes closed.¡±

    ¡°That won¡¯t do,¡± replied Zu An affirmatively. ¡°I¡¯m not as skilled as those physicians, and your condition is far more severe for me to take such a risk. Even the slightest misuse of fore here can cause devastating damage to your ki meridians and internal organs. It would be foolish for me to hinder one of my senses here and raise the level of difficulty for such aplicated operation.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Chu Chuyan.

    A long timeter, she bit her lips and red at Zu An sharply, saying, ¡°Are you doing it on purpose?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± asked Zu An innocently.

    Even when throwing a tantrum, she¡¯s still as beautiful as ever. It¡¯s really a feast for my eyes.

    ¡°The two treatment methods you propose are all... like that! It¡¯s not even an option at all!¡± Chu Chuyan was frenzied. ¡°Is there no third solution?¡±

    Zu An sighed deeply and said, ¡°Honey, you should also be aware of howplicated your condition is. You should thankful that there are two options for you to choose from here. How could there be a third one here?¡±

    Chu Chuyan was deeply conflicted. Naturally, the first treatment method was an absolute no, but the second one was...

    Sensing her hesitation, Zu An added, ¡°You can use a thin veil to conceal the more sensitive parts of your body. I doubt that I would need to apply acupuncture on those ces.¡±

    Hearing those words, Chu Chuyan heaved a sigh of relief and said, ¡°Very well... let¡¯s go with the second treatment method then.¡±

    Meanwhile, Zu An celebrated his victory. This was simply how humans were like. Had he proposed the second option right from the start, there was no way she would ept it. However, by throwing out the more uneptable first option in advance, it made the second one much more ptable.

    Lu Xun¡¯s quote really rings true. If you propose to open up a sky window in an enclosed room, there¡¯s no way the other party would ept it. However, if you propose to destroy the entire roof, the other party mighte to apromise and allow you to open a sky window.

    ¡°Can we... start from the back first?¡± Chu Chuyan lowered her body as her breathing hastened a little. She was obviously panicking at the moment.

    ¡°Of course, that¡¯s not a problem,¡± replied Zu An with a smile.

    Chu Chuyan pursed her lips in hesitation before finally sighing deeply. She loosened the belt around her waist, and her silk robe flowed down her shoulders, revealing her beautiful back,

    As expected of the number one beauty of Brightmoon City, her skin was so smooth that it looked almost like a mirror. Her figure curved smoothly along her waist all the way toward her bum. There was not a w to pick with her at all.

    Chu Chuyan pulled a silk cloth over to cover her front as she murmured in protest, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you starting yet?¡±

 Chapter 224: A Thief In the Middle of the Night

    <h4>Chapter 224: A Thief In the Middle of the Night</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°It¡¯s rare that I get to enjoy such beautiful scenery, so isn¡¯t it normal for me to want to stare a little longer?¡± asked Zu An with a smile. Even though he had admired her just a few days ago, he was too overwhelmed by pleasure to take a good look.

    ¡°...¡± Chu Chuyan.

    She couldn¡¯t imagine just how shameless a person had to be in order to say such words out loud.

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Chuyan for +233 Rage!

    Seeing that she was really angry, Zu An quickly reined in his smile and said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll begin right away. You mustn¡¯t exert your ki to resist me at all, or else it¡¯ll just undermine everything we have done thus far.¡±

    Chu Chuyan replied with a nod.

    It was taboo for a cultivator to sitpletely unguarded before another unless she was certain that she could trust the other party. Even though Zu An often spoke nonsense that left her with a headache, she still trusted him fully, especially when she recalled how he had fought hard to protect her back at the underground hall.

    Seeing that her body had finally rxed, Zu An began inserting the silver needles one by one onto the acupoints on her back.

    His movements were slow but controlled. He was worried that he would identally exert too much force and injure her body, and he wanted to avoid leaving behind any scars on her body too.

    Chu Chuyan sat with her eyes closed as she felt the sensations on her back.

    Every time a needle was inserted into her body, she could feel an additional tinge of warmth on her body. The frost in her body would begin flowing out from the nearest silver needle to it.

    She was still rather nervous at the start, but as more needles were inserted, her tensed nerves began rxing instead.

    Feeling as the frost in her body was slowly being expelled from her body, a thought suddenly arose in her mind as she thought of a crucial problem. She immediately asked, ¡°Will this lead to a steep fall in my cultivation?¡±

    After all, she was relying on her ice ki in order to deal with her opponent, If all of the frost in her body was fully expelled, wouldn¡¯t her Snowflower Sword, a sword art which she had practiced for man years now, bepletely crippled?

    Hearing her quivering voice, Zu An assured her, ¡°You won¡¯t. My acupuncture only removes the frost you¡¯re unable to control. It won¡¯t hinder the ice ki you¡¯re usually able to tap into.¡±

    Chu Chuyan was surprised to hear that. It was already a miracle that someone of her condition could be treated, but she wasn¡¯t so naive as to think that it wouldn¡¯t leave behind any adverse side effects. She was prepared to suffer a steep fall in her cultivation or even be crippled once again. Yet, who could have thought that there would be none of those?

    She thought about how pessimistic Bao Youlu was earlier. Thetter had been treating the members of the Chu n for years now, so she was familiar with the level of his skills. In fact, he was only second to Ji Dengtu in Brightmoon City.

    The only reason why she was getting out of this so easily was thanks to Zu An.

    She suddenly found herself with so many words that she wanted to say to Zu An, but she couldn¡¯t express them clearly. In the end, she whispered two words softly, ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Zu An smiled freely and said, ¡°We¡¯re a couple after all. It¡¯s only normal for me to help you, so there¡¯s no need to thank me.¡±

    ¡°A couple, huh?¡± murmured Chu Chuyan in a daze.

    A momentter, Zu An said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯m done with your back. Turn around.¡±

    Chu Chuyan turned her body over obediently, only to realize that something was amiss right away. Lowering her head to look at her bare body, she instinctively wanted to let out a scream, but she was afraid that she would rm her younger sister here.

    Given Huanzhao¡¯s character, this matter would surely spread throughout the manor within days!

    Looking at Chu Chuyan¡¯s reddened face, Zu An said with a smile, ¡°There¡¯s no need to be so anxious. Aren¡¯t you already covering your body with a nket? Besides, I can¡¯t see your sensitive spots anyway...¡±

    Didn¡¯t you say that you¡¯ve already seen all of it anyway? Chu Chuyan directed a grudging look toward Zu An, but she dared not to say those words aloud.

    Zu An eyed her slender neck, beautiful corbone, and snowy white skin, and thebination of these elements made him heat up a little.

    ¡°This woman is truly beautiful. There¡¯s not a w I can pick with her,¡± remarked Mi Li.

    Zu An was rendered speechless. Big sis, you¡¯re a woman too. Why do you sound like a perverted old man here?

    ¡°It¡¯s all your fault. If not for your intervention, I could have such a perfect body for myself,¡± grumbled Mi Li with gritted teeth. ¡°While it¡¯s inferior to my original body, I can still barely ept it given how beautiful it is.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for +256 Rage!

    ¡°...¡± Zu An.

    Wow, you¡¯re still holding a grudge over that?

    ¡°Can you stop staring at me...¡± Chu Chuyan had never felt so meek before. Never in her life had she pleaded with a person with such a tone.

    Her words stirred Zu An¡¯s heart, and he immediately snapped out of his daze. With a slightly reddened face, he said, ¡°I¡¯ll start right away.¡±

    Chu Chuyan lowered her head as she murmured an ¡°Mm¡± before falling silent.

    ¡°Eesh, I can¡¯t take it anymore! This stench of a budding romance is so hateful!¡± eximed Mi Li.

    ¡°Oh? Do people in your era use such ngs too?¡± Zu An was surprised. ¡°Heh, it¡¯s only normal for someone like you who was forced into a political marriage with Ying Zheng to be jealous of us.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Mi Li.

    ¡°Speak another word about that, and I¡¯ll wash my hands out of this and let your wife die!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for +666 Rage!

    Zu An immediately surrendered. ¡°Big sis empress, I was wrong. Calm down...¡±

    He had to coax her for a long while before her rage finally abated. He reminded himself to watch his mouth a little lest it really angered Mi Li.

    Zu An quickly reined in his thoughts and began applying acupuncture to her front.

    As she was holding onto a thin nket in front of her, many parts of her body were veiled. He had to raise lightly raise the nket a little in order to find the right acupoints to insert the needle.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s body trembled a little during the process, but she didn¡¯t say a word at all.

    The entire process was hard for both Chu Chuyan and Zu An to bear. After all, he had to hold himself in despite having such a great temptation sitting right in front of him.

    Noticing that his breathing was growing heavier and that sweat droplets were forming on his forehead, Chu Chuyan couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Is it very exhausting to treat me?¡±

    Zu An was stunned for a moment before realizing that she had misunderstood. Of course, there was no reason for him to rify such a beautiful misunderstanding, so he replied vaguely, ¡°I¡¯m fine. I can still hold on.¡±

    Chu Chuyan bit her lips hesitantly as she directed a tender and grateful gaze toward him.

    ¡°You¡¯re really more shameless than I thought. It looks like I need to tread carefully around you in the future lest I get duped by you,¡± sneered Mi Li.

    Zu An was rendered speechless. ¡°You can¡¯t twist the facts just because you¡¯re beautiful. If anything, you are the one who has been fooling me thus far.¡±

    ¡°Hmph! It doesn¡¯t change the fact that you¡¯re a horrible human being,¡± sneered Mi Li coldly.

    ¡°Big sis empress, you aren¡¯t a good person either. Oh? Doesn¡¯t that make us a perfect pair?¡± Zu An was almost done applying the acupuncture on Chu Chuyan, so there was no need to worry about offending her a little.

    ¡°Are you teasing me?¡± replied Mi Li with a sharpened voice.

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for +511 Rage!

    ¡°I¡¯m just joking with you. There¡¯s no need to get so mad,¡± replied Zu An.

    ¡°Had you dared to speak to me in such a manner back in that era, I would have had your tongue pulled out by now!¡± sneered Mi Li before falling silent.

    Zu An chuckled softly a little. It was kind of fun to bicker with her from time to time.

    A momentter, he began taking out the silver needles from Chu Chuyan¡¯s body one by one before asking, ¡°How do you feel now?¡±

    ¡°I feel like... I¡¯m resting in a hot spring.¡± Chu Chuyan was astonished. Her body had always been cold on touch, and she always felt like there was an ice cube sitting in her stomach. While that sensation hadn¡¯tpletely vanished yet, she did feel much better than before.

    Even with herck of knowledge regarding medicine, she could tell that the treatment method was effective.

    ¡°As long as we continue this treatment for another three months, we¡¯ll be able to cure you of your affliction,¡± said Zu An as he continued retrieving the needles while not forgetting to admire her body.

    By this point, Chu Chuyan had already gotten used to his bold re. She figured that since he had already seen everything that was to be seen, it didn¡¯t matter whether he took an additional look or not.

    ¡°Does it take that long?¡± asked Chu Chuyan with a frown.

    Considering the enemies that the Chu n had at the moment, she couldn¡¯t afford to let her condition be known by the others.

    ¡°That¡¯s why you should consider allowing me to move in with you. It¡¯ll be much easier for me to treat you when we¡¯re staying in the same room,¡± proposed Zu An gleefully.

    ¡°Give me some time, alright? I... really am not prepared yet,¡± asked Chu Chuyan with a pleading tone.

    Zu An relented a little. ¡°But still, it would incur suspicion if I drop by your room every day.¡±

    Chu Chuyan pressed her lips tightly together before saying, ¡°You cane by in the middle of the night, just make sure that no one sees you. I¡¯ll keep the door open for you.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Zu An¡¯s eyes lit up.

    His delighted reaction shocked Chu Chuyan. She quickly rified, ¡°You¡¯re justing over to treat me... Don¡¯t think too much into it!¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± replied Zu An with a chuckle. Well, when a guy and a girl meet together in the middle of the night every day, it¡¯s only a matter of time before they get close to one another

    A groan suddenly sounded as Qin Wanru, who had been lying on the wooden bed all this while, started moving a little. It seemed like the effect of the chloroform was running out.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s face paled in horror upon seeing that her mother was waking up. The thought of her mother stumbling upon a barely-dressed her being together with Zu An made her heart thump in fright. She immediately pushed Zu An and said, ¡°Why are you still standing in a daze? Hurry up and leave! Don¡¯t let my mother see you!¡±

    Zu An¡¯s dazed expression made her subconsciously lower her head, only to notice that her act of pushing her away had caused the nket covering her front to slip down, baring her body.

    ¡°...¡± Chu Chuyan.

    ¡°...¡± Zu An.

    ...

    Even after slipping out Chu Chuyan¡¯s room through the windows, Zu An couldn¡¯t help but smile foolishly when he reminisced everything that had happened earlier.

    It was then that a person suddenly flipped across the wall and happened to copse on his body, causing them to crash into one another.

    ¡°The hell!¡± Zu An was still immersed in his fond memories when someone forcefully snapped him out of his thoughts, so it was only normal for him to be enraged.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    But all of a sudden, he noticed that something was amiss¡ªor to be more exact, it was the soft sensation on his hand. This intruder had a soft and slender body, and she gave off a familiar fragrance.

    Clearly, the other party also didn¡¯t expect there to be someone beneath the wall. It made her infuriated to be suddenly fondled, such that she immediatelyunched an assault toward him.

    Fortunately, Zu An was no longer the same person he used to be. He quickly grabbed her arms and took a good look at her appearance, only to freeze in ce. ¡°It¡¯s you?¡±

 Chapter 225: Not Even a Drop Left

    <h4>Chapter 225: Not Even a Drop Left</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The other party also saw his face at the same time and stopped her attack. With a hint of surprise and joy in her tone, she eximed, ¡°It¡¯s you?¡±

    The intruder had a beautiful oval face and an exquisite ponytail tied with a blue butterfly knot. Who else could it be other than Qiao Xueying?

    ¡°What brings you here to the Chu n? Could it be because you missed me?¡± teased Zu An. Despite his casual tone, he was actually quite perplexed as it wasn¡¯t likely for here toe here after having betrayed the Chu n.

    At the same time, he noticed that her face was slightly redder than normal.

    Qiao Xueying also finally snapped out of her state and eximed in astonishment, ¡°Q-quick, call the Brightmoon Duke out!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Noticing the horror in her voice, Zu An quickly helped her up while scanning the surroundings warily.

    ¡°It¡¯s useless. I just received intelligence that the Brightmoon Duke isn¡¯t in the manor anymore,¡± a teasing voice sounded. Following that, an old man suddenly appeared on top of the manor¡¯s wall. His hands were ced leisurely behind him, and he eyed Qiao Xueying coldly as if a cat preying on a mouse.

    ¡°Shi Lezhi!¡± eximed Zu An in astonishment. Even though thetter had tried to mask his appearance, he was still able to recognize the other party right away.

    The old man was also astonished. His face darkened as he said, ¡°How did you recognize me?¡±

    Zu An pulled Qiao Xueying behind him as he said with a smile, ¡°No matter how you disguise yourself, you can¡¯t hide that scummy aura around you.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Shi Lezhi.

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Lezhi for +598 Rage!

    ¡°You sure have a sharp tongue. However, you¡¯ll soon understand that this is not a world where words matter. You¡¯ll regret having been born with that mouth of yours!¡± sneered Shi Lezhi coldly.

    Zu An looked at Shi Lezhi intently before scoffing, ¡°Just because I¡¯ve always concealed my true strength beneath my cheerful expression, you really think that I¡¯m a mere third rank cultivator, huh? Did you think that I would dare to provoke all of you if I only have that much? Since that¡¯s the case, I shall cast aside my disguise and reveal my true strength to you!¡±

    Zu An¡¯s disposition caused Shi Lezhi¡¯s eyes to narrow warily. He immediately gathered his ki and put up his guard against the other party. There was some sense in what the other party had said. It indeed made no sense for a third rank cultivator to maintain such a high profile, and anyone else in his ce would have already died many times over by now.

    To be honest, the happenings in the dungeon made no sense to him and Shi Kun. They couldn¡¯t understand why the army of third rank and fourth rank cultivators they had dispatched to kill Zu An would end up getting wiped out.

    That shouldn¡¯t have been impossible.

    And putting that together with Zu An¡¯s words, Shi Lezhi suddenly found himself wondering if Zu An was actually a hidden expert, just that he was intentionally suppressing his cultivation so as to numb those around him.

    Now that he thought about it, Zu An had managed to sever Shi Kun¡¯s weapon with a single strike back then. Had he not interfered, there was a good chance that Shi Kun might have already been dead by now.

    How could a third rank cultivator wield such power?

    Putting aside a third rank cultivator, even a fifth rank cultivator couldn¡¯t hope to defeat Shi Kun in a single hit!

    All of the evidence suggested that Zu An was indeed hiding his strength.

    Could he be a sixth rank, seventh rank, or eighth rank cultivator?

    Shi Lezhi¡¯splexion darkened. If Zu An really actually managed to reach a level at such a young age, he would indubitably grow to be a powerhouse in the future.

    Qiao Xueying also looked at Zu An in astonishment, wondering if thetter was really a hidden expert. The novels which she often read with Chu Chuyan often had such a development, such as the prince of some country feigning to be an ordinary worker or some incredibly powerful sword immortal disguising as a mortal to court a woman...

    Could he be the same as well?

    It was then that Zu An suddenly grabbed her hand and ran away. ¡°What are you dazing off for? Run!¡±

    He immediately activated Grandgale and instantaneously moved tens of meters away.

    ¡°...¡± Qiao Xueying.

    ¡°...¡± Shi Lezhi.

    The huge contrast in her expectations and reality caught Qiao Xueyingpletely off guard, such that she fell into a daze. Shi Lezhi also took a while before he finally realized what was going on. Just the thought that he had been fooled into putting his guard up against a mere trashy third rank cultivator left him feeling deeply humiliated.

    ¡°You bastard, I¡¯ll slice you into pieces!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Lezhi for +1024 Rage!

    With a powerful step, he charged toward Zu An with a speed as fast as a released arrow. To his astonishment, even though his speed as a eighth rank cultivator should have been much faster than that of a third rank cultivator, he was actually unable to catch up with thetter!

    ¡°How could this be possible?!¡±

    Shi Lezhi was astonished. Could that fellow possibly have been hiding his true strength?

    Meanwhile, Zu An continued screaming as he ran, ¡°Help, help! A madman is after me!¡±

    His voice echoed far and wide, swiftly drawing attention here.

    Qiao Xueying¡¯s lips crept up. All this while, she had scorned Zu An for not having any dignity, but it was only now that she realized that the nifty tricks he resorted to were actually oddly effective. At least, the guards of the manor were indeed rushing toward him.

    When the two guards saw them, they immediately drew their swords and siad, ¡°Who are you?¡±

    ¡°I am your young master! That man behind me is the intruder who crept into the Chu n!¡± shouted Zu An.

    Shi Lezhi was dressedpletely in ck, which made it obvious that he wasn¡¯t a good person. So, the guards quickly rushed forward to stop him, demanding, ¡°Who are you?¡±

    Unfortunately, barely after they said those words, Shi Lezhi grabbed their necks and twisted it, producing a crisp cracking sound. Just like that, the two guards breathed theirst.

    Zu An felt his goosebumps rising all over his body.

    One must know that those two guards were at the third rank too, but they were killed like helpless sheeps!

    While Zu An did possess some unusual means that made him far stronger than an ordinary third rank cultivator, he knew that he would onlyst a second or two at most against an eighth rank cultivator if he were to get caught.

    So, he desperately ran away with Qiao Xueying in his hand, but once the effect of Grandgale ran out, it turned out that Qiao Xueying was the faster one of them. As a result, it turned into Qiao Xueying dragging him along instead.

    Shi Lezhi¡¯s eyelids twitched. He had received an order from the young master to nab Qiao Xueying alive so that the young master could have a taste of her, so he went easy on her. Yet, it ended up creating an opportunity for Qiao Xueying to get away.

    He thought that she would run to the academy to seek help, but with a feint, she ran toward the Chu Manor instead.

    His fear of Chu Zhongtian made him hesitant to give chase, but all of a sudden, he received news that Chu Zhongtian had left the city in a hurry. With that, there was nothing for him to fear anymore.

    Even so, he still didn¡¯t want to rm the Chu n wherever possible, so he disguised himself first before continuing to give chase. Yet, who could have thought that Zu An would do exactly what he wanted to avoid?

    Had it been any other cultivator, he would have strangled him before the other party could let out a squeak, but for some reason, Zu An¡¯s burst speed actually outmatched him even when he was already giving it his all.

    A vicious glint shed across Shi Lezhi¡¯s eyes. With things havinge to this point, he had no choice but to quickly take down Qiao Xueying and kill Zu An so as to limit the disturbance. Otherwise, if news were to spread that he was here, it could cause a great deal of trouble.

    It was true that the Shi n didn¡¯t fear the Chu n, but the issue was that he was merely a guest elder in the Shi n. At this moment, the patriarch of the Shi n still didn¡¯t want to get into any direct confrontation with the Chu n just yet, so it was likely that he would be abandoned if he were to get caught here.

    Meanwhile, sensing that Shi Lezhi was getting closer and closer, Zu An began to panic. Isn¡¯t there usually a lot of guards in the manor? Why did it take so long for just two of them to appear here?

    The truth was that Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru were worried about the news of Chu Chuyan¡¯s illness leaking, so they intentionally sealed off this area and instructed them not toe in no matter what happened.

    So, even if the guards in the outer perimeters of the Chu n noticed amotion here, they dared not to barge in given the Master and Madame¡¯s orders.

    ¡°Zu An, what are you shrieking there for?¡±

    All of a sudden, a bellow sounded not too far away. Qin Wanru stared at him with her phoenix eyes from a distance away.

    The effects of the medicine had receded, resulting in her regaining her consciousness. She was a little perplexed as to why she would suddenly lose consciousness, but both Chu Chuyan and Chu Huanzhao insisted that she had overworked herself and fell asleep. Naturally, she wasn¡¯t convinced by that excuse, but not even in her wildest imagination could she have imagined that her own daughter would actually drug her and gang up with one another to dupe her.

    After that, Chu Chuyan told her that she was feeling a little better, a piece of news that Qin Wanru was skeptical about. She thought that her daughter was just consoling her.

    However, when Chu Chuyan held her hand, she astonishingly realized that her hand was much warmer than before. At the same time, she noticed that Chu Chuyan¡¯splexion also looked much better than before. So, she quickly rushed out to call Bao Youlu over to take a look.

    However, before she could leave the room, she heard amotion outside. So, she got Chu Huanzhao to stay with her older sister whereas she headed out to take a look.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    When she saw Zu An holding the hands of another beautiful woman, she immediately felt rage rush into her head.

    Very well, Zu An. It has just been moments before my daughter fell into danger, but you have already hooked up with another woman outside? Do you think that our Chuyan and the entire Chu n are pushovers?

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Wanru for +999 Rage!

    Zu An immediately pointed to the person behind and shouted, ¡°An intruder has snuck into our Chu n with malicious intentions in mind!¡±

    He didn¡¯t expose Shi Lezhi¡¯s identity out of fear that thetter would attempt a massacre after being cornered.

    Qin Wanru frowned upon hearing those words. She looked behind Zu An and immediately spotted the masked Shi Lezhi. Her eyebrows shot up as she questioned, ¡°Who are you? How dare you barge into our Chu n!¡±

    Shi Lezhi¡¯s eyes immediately lit up. Looking at the curvaceous woman before him, he couldn¡¯t help but murmur, ¡°What a bountiful woman!¡±

    Had he met with such a beautiful woman on any asion, he would surely do whatever it took to snatch her over so that he could toy with her.

    Unfortunately, he had already recognized the other party¡¯s identity. Knowing that she was the wife of the Brightmoon Duke, he could only toss the idea out of his head. At the same time, he felt a little jealous of the Brightmoon Duke too.

    It¡¯s no wonder why he didn¡¯t take in a concubine all of these years. Such a beautiful wife would be more than enough to suck him dry, so there¡¯s no way he would have any energy left for any concubines.

    Sensing the other party¡¯s disrespectful gaze, Qin Wanru roared in fury, ¡°You¡¯re courting death!¡±

    She raised her palm to attack Shi Lezhi.

    Worried that she would be put at a disadvantage due to being unguarded, Zu An immediately warned her with a shout, ¡°Be careful, he¡¯s an eighth rank cultivator!¡±

 Chapter 226: Despair

    <h4>Chapter 226: Despair</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Qin Wanru was shocked to hear those words. She couldn¡¯t have imagined that a random intruder who barged into the Chu n in the middle of the night would actually be an eighth rank cultivator!

    However, it was already toote to take back her attack.

    ¡°Forget it! So be it if I die!¡±

    Such a thought shed across Qin Wanru¡¯s mind.

    Shi Lezhi quickly responded with a punch on her palm. Out of fear that he would reveal his identity, he chose not to use any cultivation techniques or moves that could potentially identify him, using just the raw strength of an eighth rank cultivator.

    ¡°Ahhh~¡± With a cry, Qin Wanru was sent flying backward before falling onto the floor.

    ¡°Is this all you got?¡± Zu An¡¯s lower jaws nearly fell to the ground.

    Based on how she was able to keep Chu Zhongtian in line, he figured that she should at least be an eighth rank cultivator at the very least. Perhaps, out of respect for her own husband, she might even have intentionally suppressed her cultivation so that her husband could be known as the number one expert of Brightmoon City.

    But as the saying went, the higher the expectations, the greater the disappointment.

    Way too weak!

    Seeing how Qin Wanru was still struggling to get to her feet, Zu An reckoned that she should be fine for the time being and breathed a sigh of relief. Then, he turned to Shi Lezhi and shouted, ¡°Stinky old man, you sure are useless! For an eighth rank cultivator to be unable to catch up with a mere third rank cultivator, I feel sorry for your mother for giving birth to someone as useless as you!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Shi Lezhi.

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Lezhi for +1024 Rage!

    He finally understood why even the young master would end up losing his cool before this fellow. How could anyone not lose their temper at this?!

    ¡°You bastard! Once I get my hands on you, I¡¯ll tear off your limbs one by one and torture you for life!¡± bellowed Shi Lezhi as he darted straight for Zu An.

    His movement was so quick that his figure morphed into a blur. It took him only an instant for him to arrive right beside Zu An.

    Qiao Xueying¡¯s face paled in horror, but it was toote for her to do anything.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    But fortunately, Zu An was already prepared. He summoned Grandgale once more and moved tens of meters away once more.

    With the rise of his cultivation, he could summon Grandgale more than once per day now, and the distance he could move each time had greatly increased too. Unfortunately, he knew that this wasn¡¯t enough for him to escape from an eighth rank cultivator. Once he used up his three uses of Grandgale, he would bepletely helpless before Shi Lezhi.

    Shi Lezhi also had the same thoughts in mind. As an eighth rank cultivator, he could tell that Zu An was using some sort of secret art to escape from him. Such powerful techniques definitely had a limit to it, or else Zu An would have already fled by now.

    If so, all he needed to do right now was to wait for Zu An to deplete himself, and that would be the end of that bastard.

    Just thinking about how his initial ns were foiled due to Zu An¡¯s interference made him gnash his teeth in anger. I shan¡¯t allow him to die that easilyter on!

    Just like that, Zu An and Shi Lezhi vanished once more.

    Qin Wanru¡¯s body trembled in fear. She wasn¡¯t severely injured as the intruder seemed to have gone easy on her, simply pushing her away without inflicting much damage. Nevertheless, her ki was still shaken up by the impact, causing her body to go limp. She wouldn¡¯t be able to gather any strength to fight at least in the short-term.

    She thought about what Zu An did earlier, and a thought surfaced in her mind. Could he have intentionally lured the enemy away for my sake?

    That left her with a conflicted look on her face. However, she quickly realized that Zu An was still in danger and hurriedly summoned the guards over.

    ...

    Meanwhile, Zu An was just fleeing with Qiao Xueying in hand. At the same time, he quickly called out for Mi Li¡¯s help. ¡°Big sis empress, big sis empress! Hurry up and save me!¡±

    However, no matter how he called her, Mi Li refused to answer at all.

    ¡°Could she have gone back to sleep after guiding me on the acupuncture earlier?¡± Zu An was scared out of his wits. One must know that most times he dared to act boldly was because he knew that he had trump cards he could resort to if things went awry, such as the skills he had received from the Keyboard and Mi Li.

    Yet, who could have thought that his trump card would fail at this vital moment?!

    It was then that he noticed that Qiao Xueying¡¯s speed was getting slower and slower. He turned around to look at her, only to notice that her face had be as red as a cooked lobster. Her eyes were glistening brightly, looking as if she would tear up at any moment.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± asked Zu An anxiously.

    ¡°Shi Lezhi poisoned me. He was intending to have me serve Shi Kun.¡± Qiao Xueying bit her lips indignantly as her breathing began to grow a little unstable.

    Had it been half a month ago, when she was still filled with admiration for Shi Kun, she would have been more than willing to ede to Shi Kun¡¯s request even without any medicine. However, when she saw how Shi Kun was willing to abandon her as a pawn just so that he could survive back at the dungeon, all of the feelings she harbored for him died at that very instant.

    She would rather die than be taken advantage of by Shi Kun right now.

    So, she fled desperately as soon as an opportunity arose. She had no idea what was going through her mind¡ªit could be because she had lived there for many years or that she knew that Chu Zhongtian had the means to deal with Shi Lezhi¡ªbut she instinctively ran toward the Chu Manor.

    ¡°...¡± Zu An fell speechless upon learning of her situation.

    He never thought that Shi Kun would exact vengeance on Qiao Xueying so quickly. He had stopped Qiao Xueying from stepping forward to testify for him earlier despite the bad situation in order to avoid this situation.

    However, it seemed like he had overestimated Shi Kun¡¯s decency as a human.

    And it seemed like Shi Lezhi was someone without a shred of dignity too. Despite being an eighth rank cultivator, he had no qualms about poisoning a youngdy. Those of the Shi n were really worse than beasts!

    Qiao Xueying felt her body slowly growing weaker and weaker. Soon, she was no longer able to keep up with his footsteps anymore and ended up tumbling onto the floor.

    Of course, there was no way Shi Lezhi would let this opportunity slip past him. He immediately charged forward and exerted his terrifying pressure on the two of them, rendering them immobile.

    It was so powerful that Zu An even had difficulties trying to breathe, let alone summon Grandgale. All of a sudden, a thought surfaced in his mind, and he shouted, ¡°Whatcha staring at?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m staring at you, shithead!¡±

    The moment those words came out of Shi Lezhi¡¯s mouth, he fell into a daze. Why would I suddenly say those words?

    He had never even heard of such aeback before!

    Wait a moment, I think I heard of something simr back at the ns Tournament. It was during a crucial moment in the fight when Zu An suddenly shouted ¡®Whatcha staring at¡¯ and Yuan Wendong oddly replied ¡®I¡¯m staring at you, shithead¡¯. It was thispse in attention that caused Yuan Wendong to lose the match and end up crippled.

    Back then, everyone thought that Yuan Wendong was a fool for making such a foolish mistake... but now I look at it, it seems like Zu An possesses some sort of mysterious skill!

    But why would there be such a skill in the world?

    Shi Lezhi was utterly confused, but he would make sure to report this upwards in the future lest the young master fell for this trick in the future.

    Meanwhile, Zu An made use of the opportunity where Shi Lezhi released his pressure due to hispse of attention to summon Grandgale and move tens of meters away once more.

    By this point, Qiao Xueying was already on the verge of losing consciousness. She grabbed Zu An¡¯s cor and said, ¡°Kill me.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Zu An was baffled.

    ¡°Kill me! Otherwise, I¡¯ll only be humiliated once I fall into the hands of the Shi n!¡± eximed Qiao Xueying with the final shred of her rationality.

    Zu An shook his head and replied, ¡°Don¡¯t you know that I¡¯m a gentleman? How could someone like me possibly kill you? Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll definitely find a way to save you.¡±

    ¡°How do you intend to save me in such a situation?¡± Even in her state of grogginess, Qiao Xueying could see Shi Lezhiing closer and closer to them, gripping her with despair.

 Chapter 227: Six Pulse Divine Sword

    <h4>Chapter 227: Six Pulse Divine Sword</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°There has to be a way out of this. There must be!¡± appeased Zu An in agitation, almost as if he was trying to convince himself of it too.

    By this point, Qiao Xueying had alreadypletely lost her consciousness. Her hand was still clutching tightly to his cor, as if this was the only way she could faint in peace.

    Every time Zu An felt that Shi Lezhi wasing close, he would immediately turn around and shout ¡®Whatcha staring at?¡¯, to which, Shi Lezhi would bepelled to respond with a ¡®I¡¯m staring at you, shithead!¡¯.

    Using this short gap, Zu An would try to put some distance between them. It was just that this trick only worked if the opponent was caught off guard. After a few times, Shi Lezhi had already gotten ustomed to it, such that it had barely any effect anymore.

    In the end, Zu An ran into a remote courtyard before finallying to a halt while gasping for air.

    Shi Lezhi also stopped several meters away before slowly making his way over. He sneered coldly, ¡°Continue running. Why aren¡¯t you running anymore?¡±

    He could have rushed straight up to end things right away, but he was a little hesitant to approach recklessly because he was afraid that Zu An might still have some other trump cards in his hands. After all, thetter had already disyed many unbelievable means thus far.

    So, he first spread his ki around to check the surroundings, and only after confirming that there were no traps or cultivators in the area did he finally heave a sigh of relief.

    Haa, it looks like I¡¯m really getting scared for nothing here. No matter how many tricks he has up his sleeves, he¡¯s still no more than a third rank cultivator. What could he possibly pull off?

    However, Zu An revealed a mysterious smile and said, ¡°Run? Why should I? I specially chose this ce so as to grant you a quiet resting ce. You¡¯ll get to enjoy the fragrance of the flowers and the chirping of the birds here. You should be thanking me for my consideration here.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Shi Lezhi.

    He had no idea whether he was hearing things or that Zu An really had a screw loose. Really, how does he get the courage to say such stuff?

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Lezhi for +666 Rage!

    ¡°Did you think that I would continue falling for your tricks?¡± sneered Shi Lezhi coldly. He could still remember the humiliation he felt when he fell for Zu An¡¯s bluff earlier, and there was no way he would allow history to repeat itself.

    But all of a sudden, a shaky figure walked out from a nearby wooden hut and said, ¡°What happened? Why is it so noisy here?¡±

    Shi Lezhi quickly turned his gaze over with a frown, only to see an old gardener standing there. Thetter looked like a human-shaped, dried-up persimmon holding onto a hoe in his hand.

    What¡¯s going on? I checked everything within a thirty meters radius, and there should be no one here!

    However, sensing no pulsations of kiing from the old man at all, Shi Lezhi¡¯s heart was soon put at ease. He¡¯s no more than an ordinary old man. There¡¯s no need to fear him.

    So, he ignored the old man and maintained his gaze on Zu An, sneering, ¡°Looks like there¡¯s another person to join you on your afterlife journey.¡±

    Zu An quickly hid behind the gardener as he said, ¡°Elder, that guy dares to disrespect you!¡±

    Needless to say, this old gardener was Old Mi. Zu An had not been running blindly all this while; he was heading straight toward where Old Mi resided. Since Mi Li couldn¡¯t be counted on, the only one of the entire Chu Manor who had the means to save him was Old Mi.

    ¡°Your way of sowing discord isn¡¯t particrly ingenious,¡± remarked Old Mi with a frown. He was displeased with Zu An leading an outsider here, putting him at risk of being exposed.

    Zu An replied with a sheepish smile, ¡°Well, I¡¯m not lying. He really is disrespecting you.¡±

    Shi Lezhi suddenly felt uneasy listening to their conversation. He took a deep look at Old Mi, but nowhere on thetter¡¯s feeble silhouette could he see any hints of a powerful cultivator. After a short moment of hesitation, he sneered, ¡°Trying to put on an act once more, huh? Are you trying to buy time for your reinforcement to arrive?¡±

    He could hear themotion going on in the Chu Manor. All of the guards who were resting had woken up and were rushing here at this moment.

    Shi Lezhi had no intention of shing head-on with the Chu n, so he decided to get this matter done with and carry Zu An and Qiao Xueying out of this ce. As for the gardener, he would simply kill him off while he was at it. There was no need to keep this ant who had seen him alive in this world.

    However, Old Mi didn¡¯t pay any heed to Shi Lezhi at all. Instead, he nced at the woman in Zu An¡¯s embrace and asked, ¡°Who is she? Hm, Snow?¡±

    Having stayed in the Chu Manor for so many years, there was no reason why he couldn¡¯t recognize Snow.

    ¡°Indeed. That fellow rushed in with the intention to kidnap our people, and needless to say, there¡¯s no way someone as heroic as me could turn a blind eye to it! But that fellow refused to let the matter go and came after me as well!¡± eximed Zu An.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t Snow betray the Chu n?¡± Old Mi exposed his lie right away. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    Zu An finally answered sheepishly, ¡°He¡¯s from the Shi n. He¡¯s under orders to kill us.¡±

    He dared not to say that Shi Lezhi was here to kill Snow out of fear that Old Mi wouldn¡¯t make a move. He was betting on the fact that he was somewhat half a disciple to Old Mi that thetter wouldn¡¯t turn a blind eye to his dangerous plight.

    ¡°Shi n?¡± Old Mi¡¯s eyes narrowed contemtively.

    ¡°Are you done with your act yet?¡± Shi Lezhi was already losing his patience. ¡°Darned old man, get lost and I can grant you a painless death!¡±

    Old Mi sighed deeply and said, ¡°How disappointing. So many years have passed, and yet, I still see so many frogs in the well in the world of cultivation. A mere eighth rank cultivator like you dares to talk big before me?¡±

    ¡°How did you know...¡± Shi Lezhi¡¯s heart skipped a beat. He dared not to look down on the old gardener before him anymore.

    He used his ki once more to scan the other party, but he was still unable to detect anything at all. If so, there were only three possibilities. One, the other party¡¯s cultivation was far higher than his. Two, the other party was an ordinary person. Three, the other party was carrying some sort of artifact that concealed his artifact.

    After careful contemtion, Shi Lezhi figured that the third option was the most likely of all. Considering the other party was able to remainposed before him and see through his cultivation, it didn¡¯t seem like he was an ordinary person.

    As for the other party being far stronger than he was, how could that be? He was an eighth rank cultivator, one of the strongest experts in the world!

    There were only so few people who couldpete with him in Brightmoon City. Even against the number one expert Chu Zhongtian, he would still be able to put on a fight. No matter how powerful the old gardener before him was, it was simply impossible for him to be even stronger than Chu Zhongtian. Otherwise, how could he possibly lower himself to serve as a mere gardener in the Chu Manor?

    There were only so few ¡®hidden experts¡¯ in the world as cultivators needed a lot of resources to sustain their growth. Due to that, stronger cultivators tended to have a far higher standing in the world. Those who remained little-known were likely to be overtaken by their more well-known counterparts.

    Having finally thought things through, Shi Lezhi cast aside his fear. He didn¡¯t think that there was anything for him to fear here. Even if he¡¯s indeed stronger than me, he couldn¡¯t possibly kill me in a single blow, right? If things get awry, all I have to do is turn tail and run!

    ¡°It looks like I¡¯m getting timider with age. Forget it, I can¡¯t be bothered to waste my breath with you anymore.¡± Hearing the sound of the approaching guards, Shi Lezhi knew that he couldn¡¯t hesitate anymore.

    A powerful force rippled forth from his body, causing the nearby tree branches to snap off and fly away. The grass on the ground also pressed down to the earth, as if there was a massive hand pushing them down. Even the bloomed flowers in the vicinity were reduced to ashes in the blink of an eye.

    Seeing the disastrous fate that had befallen the flowers he had been taking care of all this while, Old Mi¡¯s wrinkled face trembled a little. ¡°I was still hesitating as to whether I should interfere or not, but now... you can drop dead.¡±

    Shi Lezhi sneered in response to Old Mi¡¯s rage. Where does he get the courage to make such boasts? It looks like those who are acquainted with Zu An are all braggarts!

    He didn¡¯t hold back in his attack at all, determined to st the darned old man into shreds with his force before using the remaining momentum of his attack to break Zu An¡¯s limbs. After that, he would bring the two of them back. While the young master had his fun with Qiao Xueying, he would make sure that Zu An thoroughly regret having been born on the face of this world!

    But all of a sudden, warning bells began ringing in his head, causing goosebumps to rise all over his body. It was almost as if every cell in his body was warning him of imminent danger, making his heart thump in unease. Yet, he was unable to discern anything dangerous about the situation he was in.

    Why is this so?

    He scanned his surroundings, but there was nothing amiss at all.

    The guards of the Chu n wouldn¡¯t be able to rush here in time, Zu An is still standing at his spot, and the old gardener... Huh? Where did the gardener go?

    It was then that an eerie voice sounded behind him. ¡°Since you¡¯ve already seen me, how could I let you escape with your life?¡±

    Before Shi Lezhi could respond, he felt a terrible pain at the back of his head. Realization struck him at that very instant, and he eximed, ¡°This movement skill and that speed, you¡¯re...¡±

    Unfortunately, before he could finish his words, his consciousness had already plunged into darkness. His body slumped forward before falling heavily onto the ground.

    Zu An was dumbfounded by what he had seen. ¡°Holy shit! I knew that you were powerful, but you actually killed an eighth rank cultivator just like that. This is way too... too...¡±

    He was unable to find a suitable adjective strong enough to express his current feelings at the moment.

    Old Mi nced at him nonchntly and said, ¡°I¡¯ll leave you to handle things here. You better think things through carefully before exining things to the Chu n. If you expose my identity once more, you can apany him on his journey.¡±

    With a tap of his foot, he vanished into the night.

    Zu An knew that Old Mi was hiding his identity at the moment, so he couldn¡¯t afford to appear in public. He recalled the chilling words he had left prior to his departure, and it sent a shudder through his body. He knew that Old Mi wasn¡¯t just making an empty threat here.

    It looks like there¡¯s some huge secret behind his identity.

    However, this was no time for Zu An to be pondering about this matter. He could already hear the footsteps of the Chu n¡¯s guards not too far away, so he quickly hid Qiao Xueying¡¯s body in the midst of bushes. Considering that thetter was a traitor of the Chu n, she would surely be put through a great deal of suffering if she were to be captured here.

    Soon enough, Qin Wanru and Yue Shan led a group of elite guards over. Upon seeing the sight before them, they halted their footsteps before widening their eyes in astonishment.

    They saw Zu An and Shi Lezhi standing face-to-face. Zu An¡¯s finger was pointing at Shi Lezhi¡¯s head whereas Shi Lezhi¡¯s punch had stopped in front of Zu An¡¯s chest.

    ¡°Zu An, a-are you fine?¡± Qin Wanru asked with a quivering voice.

    Despite her question, her heart had already turned cold. She had personally experienced just how powerful that ck-clothed man was, so she knew full well that there was no way Zu An could still be alive after receiving that punch.

    She couldn¡¯t help but think about how Zu An had lured the ck-clothed man away in order to save her, and it made her feel terrible inside. All this while, she had never hesitated to show her scorn toward him, but who could have thought that he would sacrifice himself to save her at such a critical moment?

    If he were to die here just like that, how could she possibly face her two daughters?

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Zu An, rest assured. I¡¯ll exact vengeance for you! Men, hack that bastard into shreds!¡± roared Qin Wanru furiously.

    So what if you¡¯re an eighth rank cultivator? The Chu Manor is not a ce where you cane and go as you please! Since you¡¯re already here, don¡¯t even think about leaving here alive!

    The guards immediately rushed forward, only for a familiar voice to sound right after.

    ¡°Haa. I¡¯ve been wanting to keep a low profile thus far, but you simply had to force my hand. You should have known that there¡¯s no way you could have stood a chance before my Six Pulse Divine Sword, so why did you even bother?¡± Zu An exerted a bit of force in his finger, pushing the already dead Shi Lezhi down onto the ground before the incredulous eyes all around him.

 Chapter 228: Admiration

    <h4>Chapter 228: Admiration</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    After saying his lines, Zu An even blew the tip of his finger, looking as if he had just fired a bullet.

    Everyone¡¯s mouth fell agape, and for a moment, there was an awkward silence lingering in the air.

    How powerful did the Madam say the intruder was again? Eighth rank?

    They had marched here with the resolve to lose at least half of their people, but such a powerful enemy was actually defeated by the young master with absolute ease.

    ¡°What kind of skill is the Six Pulse Divine Sword?¡±

    The guards stared at one another questioningly, only to see the ignorance in each other¡¯s eyes. So, they quickly directed their eyes toward their more knowledgeable leader, Yue Shan, instead.

    ¡°How am I to know?¡±

    Yue Shan¡¯s face heated up. He knew a lot of cultivation techniques andbat skills, but he had never heard of the Six Pulse Divine Sword before.

    Even though he had never heard of this skill before, just the name itself hinted that it was no ordinary skill. At the very least, it should be an earth grade skill. Perhaps, it might even be a heaven grade skill, especially since it carried the word ¡®divine¡¯ in it.

    Just like ki stones and weapons, thebat skills in this world could be divided into mortal grade, earth grade, and heaven grade too. The Elementary Swordy of Brightmoon Academy was a mortal gradebat skill.

    While mortal gradebat skill might sound weak, there was still a huge difference in the prowess of the cultivator whether he was usingbat skills at all. In fact, the only ces to obtainbat skills were major ns and the academies, such that the average cultivator without any significant background wouldn¡¯t know anybat skills at all. Most of them were fully reliant on their instincts andbat experience.

    Of cultivators in the same rank, those who hadbat skills can dominate those without them.

    Of those cultivators who hadbat skills, most of them were mortal gradebat skills. Usually, only the prodigies of the academies and core members of major ns were able to learn earth gradebat skills. As for heaven gradebat skills, those were already things of the legend.

    While the guards of the Chu n were trying to figure out what kind ofbat skill was the Six Pulse Divine Sword, Qin Wanru was still unable to recover from her shock.

    The other guards had never fought with the mysterious ck-clothed man¡ªthe other two who did were already dead by now. However, she had experienced the strength of the ck-clothed man herself.

    Despite being a sixth rank cultivator, she was still defeated in a single strike, and that was with the other party going easy on her. That showed that the ck-clothed man was far stronger than her.

    At the very least, he had to be at the seventh rank, very possibly an eighth rank too.

    Yet, Zu An killed this powerful expert so easily?

    How much time had passed? On top of that, there was no sound at all. All of these proved that Zu An defeated the ck-clothed man with an overwhelming advantage.

    But how could that be possible?

    Zu An was still maintaining his Six Pulse Divine Sword posture. Usually, anyone who saw this posture would wonder if he had lost his bonkers, but at this very moment, he seemed to be shrouded in a mysterious halo.

    ¡°Hurry up and check that person¡¯s identity!¡±

    Qin Wanru soon snapped out of her daze and took control of the situation. She ordered the guards to check on the deceased before walking over to Zu An¡¯s side.

    ¡°Zu An... are you alright?¡±

    ¡°I told you before, call me Ah Zu instead,¡± said Zu An as he struggled to his feet. It was honestly quite difficult to maintain that posture, and the slightest mistake might lead to him tugging on his balls.

    ¡°Oof oof! Help me up! My waist... waist...¡±

    In order to show off, Zu An had assumed an incredibly difficult posture earlier, such that it ended up straining his muscles.

    ¡°...¡± Qin Wanru.

    She had a whole bunch of questions she wanted to ask, but before she knew it, Zu An had reverted back to his usual self.

    What was I going to ask again? Damn it! This fellow made me forget what was on my mind!

    Qin Wanru stared at Zu An quietly for a moment before she finally managed to keep her emotions in check and asked, ¡°Are you injured? How are you feeling at the moment? I saw that man striking you squarely in your chest...¡±

    If the ck-clothed man was really an eighth rank cultivator, even her husband, Chu Zhongtian, the number one expert of Brightmoon City, would have suffered severe injuries at the very least. Due to that, she was very worried that Zu An was in bad shape.

    ¡°Injured? Ah yes, I¡¯m injured!¡± Zu An clutched his chest as he began shouting exaggeratedly and fell in the direction of her body.

    But halfway through his action, he suddenly remembered that it was not his own wife in front of him, so he quickly stopped what he was doing in fright and scratched his head awkwardly.

    ¡°Bring some heaven grade ki stone right away! If there aren¡¯t any heaven grade ki stones, the earth grade ones would do too. Also, prepare some top-quality medicine and nourishing medicinal herbs too! I need to recuperate from my injuries!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Qin Wanru.

    Hearing Zu An¡¯s ridiculous demands, Qin Wanru btedly realized that he actually wasn¡¯t injured at all. However, out of consideration that he had just made a huge contribution to the Chu n, she knew that this wasn¡¯t a good time to berate him, so she turned her attention toward Yue Shan instead.

    ¡°Have you found out the identity of the intruder yet?¡±

    Yue Shan shook his head and replied, ¡°Not yet. He doesn¡¯t have any identifying objects on him. On top of that, his face...¡±

    He nced at Zu An fearfully before remarking, ¡°The young master¡¯s Six Pulse Divine Sword is simply too powerful that the intruder¡¯s head seemed to have exploded. We can¡¯t recognize him at all.¡±

    Zu An suddenly felt incredibly disgusted. Isn¡¯t Old Mi a little too vicious? It¡¯s one thing to kill him, but you actually crushed his head as if it was a watermelon?

    Zu An quickly wiped his hands on his clothes. In order to show off, he had ced his finger on Shi Lezhi¡¯s head earlier. He realized that there was a sticky sensation on the tips of his finger, and he realized that it might just be blood or brain matter.

    That being said, he still enjoyed the 10% shock, 20% fright, 30% admiration, and 40% reverence gaze directed toward him from the guards. He felt invigorated by their gazes, as if he had just eaten a pile of ginseng.

    It feels so good to be strong! Well, even if it¡¯s fake, it¡¯s still something that I faked out with my own skills!

    ¡°Zu...¡± Qin Wanru was halfway through her words when she quickly remembered what Zu An said earlier and changed her method of address.¡± Ah Zu, do you know this person¡¯s identity?¡±

    Zu An hesitated for a moment before shaking his head. ¡°I¡¯m not sure. I was too worried about Chu Chuyan¡¯s injuries and was unable to sleep, so I began walking around the ce. However, this man suddenly appeared out of nowhere and attacked me.¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t reveal Shi Lezhi¡¯s identity as he knew that it could cause a great deal ofplications. Shi Lezhi was a renowned eighth rank cultivator, and if others were to know that Shi Lezhi had died in his hands, he would surely garner unwanted attention from the other powers in Brightmoon City.

    That would likely cause a great deal of trouble for him, especially since he didn¡¯t have the strength to protect himself from them yet. Besides, it wasn¡¯t his style to stand out in the open. He would rather hide in the shadows and assault his enemies secretly.

    I¡¯d rather let Shi Kun remain unnerved about the death of his subordinate.

    When Qin Wanru heard that he was worried for her daughter¡¯s safety, she nodded her head in approval. At least you have a conscience!

    However, Zu An¡¯s ount only intensified her doubts. ¡°Why did someone suddenly pop out and attempt to take your life?¡±

    Zu An shrugged calmly and replied, ¡°How am I to know? Someone as outstanding as me tends to attract admiring gazes from beautiful women all around. Some men might have held a grudge against me due to that and sought me for revenge.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Qin Wanru.

    ¡°...¡± Yue Shan.

    ¡°...¡± The guards.

    They suddenly understood that it was not anything weird for someone to be after his life. On the contrary, it would be weird if no one was trying to kill him.

    Seeing the reactions of the surrounding crowd, Zu An knew that they harbored some doubts regarding his response. Haa, how ironic. You trust me right away whenever I¡¯m lying, but as soon as I start speaking the truth, you immediately doubt me.

    ¡°How do you know he¡¯s an eighth rank cultivator then?¡± asked Qin Wanru.

    ¡°I guessed it. He looks pretty strong,¡± replied Zu An with an innocent blink of his eyes.

    Qin Wanru nodded in agreement. It would be impossible for an eighth rank cultivator to be killed by him so easily, so it was more likely for the ck-clothed man to be at seventh rank or even just pinnacle sixth rank.

    But regardless of which one it was, the ck-clothed man still wasn¡¯t someone whom Zu An could possibly deal with. So, she asked, ¡°How did you kill him?¡±

    ¡°How? I was just stronger than him,¡± replied Zu An with a shrug. ¡°Didn¡¯t you see how cool I was on the dueling ring during the ns Tournament? I¡¯m also an expert too, so isn¡¯t it normal for me to be able to kill another expert?¡±

    Qin Wanru harrumphed upon hearing his response. She thought that he was simply unwilling to reveal his trump card to them, so she didn¡¯t bother probing on.

    ¡°Speaking of which, where¡¯s the woman?¡±

    She suddenly remembered seeing Zu An pulling another woman¡¯s hand, and her face immediately darkened.

    ¡°Ah, that woman ran off the first opportunity she got,¡± replied Zu An. Then, he smacked his fist on his palm as he remarked in realization, ¡°Ah, I was just wondering how weird it was that someone would be after my life. Now that I think of it, that ck-clothed man might have been after the woman. Haa, what a pity that she ran off too quickly. I didn¡¯t even manage to ask her for her name! The least she could do is betroth herself to me for saving her life, right?¡±

    Yue Shan stared at Zu An with eyes filled with admiration. What an incredible man our young master is. To think that he would be dreaming of having another woman betroth herself to him in front of his mother-inw!

    On the other hand, Qin Wanru¡¯s thoughts went in a different direction. I was saved by him earlier too. Could he be trying to tease me here?

    ¡°Hmph! I reckon that he doesn¡¯t have the guts anyway!¡±

    Her thoughts left her feeling incredibly awkward, so she quickly turned her attention to the guards and began issuing orders. She instructed the guards to search the area to check if there were any other intruders in the area while assigning more guards to patrol the outer perimeters of the Chu n.

    Afterward, she summoned the members from the other branches, Yue Shan, Hong Zhong, and the other close aides of the Chu n to discuss this matter.

    Soon, the only one left in the courtyard was Zu An. After ensuring that everyone was gone, he carried Qiao Xueying out from the bushes, only to find that her body was searing hot, almost as if she hade right out of the furnace.

    Worried that others would notice her, he quickly carried her back into his room.

    It was fortunate that the guards assigned near his room had been dispatched elsewhere due to the sudden intruder, which made it easier for him to slip Qiao Xueying back into his room without getting caught by anyone.

    He quickly poured out a cup of cooling tea and fed it to Qiao Xueying, but it didn¡¯t seem to be working. He remembered how feverish patients in his previous world would usually have a cloth ced on their forehead to lower their temperature, so he headed out to fetch some water. However, before he could walk off, he suddenly felt something grabbing his arm.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    He turned his head around, only to see that Qiao Xueying had woken up. Her eyes weren¡¯t as clear as they usually were. Instead, they were zed with amorous intent. ¡°Don¡¯t go~¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just heading out to grab some water to cool you down. Or should I bring you to theke so that you can have a cold bath? That should help alleviate your effects of the poison, right?¡± asked Zu An anxiously.

    However, Qiao Xueying shook her head and said, ¡°There¡¯s no way the Shi n¡¯s poison can be resolved that easily.¡±

    ¡°Ah, do you still have the Heartcalming Pill Xiaoxi gave you previously?¡± asked Zu An.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have it.¡± Qiao Xueying shook her head while keeping her eyes intently on him.

    ¡°What do we do then?¡± Zu An frowned. ¡°Should I carry you over to Xiaoxi¡¯s ce now?¡±

    ¡°You dummy, are you feigning ignorance?¡± Qiao Xueying¡¯s usual sharp voice sounded incredibly sweet and pleasant, as if it had been mixed with honey.

 Chapter 229: Prodigy

    <h4>Chapter 229: Prodigy</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Her sweet voice felt like a cat yfully scratching at his heart. He looked at the blushing woman on the bed, and it made his throat go dry. He remarked hoarsely, ¡°Actually... I am a gentleman.¡±

    Qiao Xueying would have usually gotten mad upon hearing those words, but she ignored his words entirely. She continued grabbing his hand tightly and said, ¡°Don¡¯t leave me. I¡¯m afraid...¡±

    ¡°Yes, I won¡¯t leave your side.¡± Zu An took a seat by the side and tidied up her hair, which had been messed up a little by the sweat drenching her forehead.

    He wouldn¡¯t be so foolish as to leave at this moment. He had watched far too many television drama serials to know that another man would likely slip in and take advantage of her if he were to leave right now to look for an antidote.

    Qiao Xueying moaned softly before rushing forth to hug him tightly. She was a maiden after all, so she had no idea how to do that kind of stuff. She could only instinctively hug onto his body, as if this was the only way for her to vent the heat in her body.

    ¡°Help... help me...¡± mumbled Qiao Xueying indistinctively.

    Zu An even scorned himself a little. He had been traumatized by Ji Xiaoxi blocking his goal that he forgot the most primitive method to alleviate the effects of an aphrodisiac.

    Looking at the woman¡¯s plump lips, Zu An gulped down a mouthful of saliva as he began to lean forward.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    But just as their lips were about to touch, Chu Huanzhao¡¯s voice suddenly sounded by the doorstep, ¡°Brother-inw, brother-inw!¡±

    Zu An immediately jolted in horror. Shit, there would be hell if that littless encounters this sight!

    Qiao Xueying had already betrayed the Chu n, and Chu Huanzhao was a member of the Chu n. If they were to meet one another, there was no way Huanzhao would let her off easily.

    On top of that, Qiao Xueying¡¯s current state made the situation even moreplicated. He wouldn¡¯t be able to exin this matter if she were to see this.

    He quickly searched the area, but his room was simply too simple to hide anyone in here.

    Hearing as the footsteps grew closer, a thought suddenly popped into his head. He thought about a trick used by the protagonist of the Deer and the Cauldron, Wei Xiaobao, and he immediately wrapped Qiao Xueying up in a nket before cing her horizontally by the corner of the bed. Then, he drew the curtains to cover her up.

    After all of it was done, he sat in front of the bed in order to prevent her from rolling outward.

    ¡°Don¡¯t make a noise, alright?¡± warned Zu An. If Qiao Xueying were to let out even a moan here, he would likely suffer a terrible whipping from Chu Huanzhao.

    ¡°Brother-inw~ Brother-inw?¡± The footsteps grew closer before Chu Huanzhao suddenly barged through the door.

    Zu An¡¯s eyelids twitched. Thatss sure is a violent one. I clearly locked my door up earlier, but she still barged in without any hesitation anyway.

    ¡°It¡¯s you, Huanzhao.¡± Zu An forced a smile on, though he knew that his smile probably looked incredibly awful at the moment.

    ¡°Hm? You¡¯re actually in your room. Why didn¡¯t you respond to my calls then?¡± asked Chu Huanzhao doubtfully.

    ¡°You called me?¡± Zu An feigned ignorance. ¡°I didn¡¯t hear you. Ah, what brings you here? Weren¡¯t you looking after your older sister?¡±

    ¡°My mother is taking care of my big sister now. I heard that you crossed blows with an expert, and I... my big sister was worried that something might have happened to you, so she sent me here to check on you,¡± said Chu Huanzhao.

    Despite her nagging, her voice was gentle and carried a youthful quality, making it pleasurable to the ear. It was just that Zu An was in no mood to enjoy it right now.

    ¡°Is your older sister really worried about me?¡± asked Zu An in astonishment.

    ¡°She might not have said it aloud, but I can still tell as much. She hinted very strongly for me to head over to take a look,¡± replied Chu Huanzhao. She narrowed her eyes in suspicion and asked, ¡°Did something happen between the two of you in the dungeon? Why does it feel like the two of you have gotten much closer than before?¡±

    ¡°Did we? Hahaha, I guess I¡¯m just a very likable person. Your older sister¡¯s impression of me probably improved after spending several days together,¡± Zu Anughed it off.

    ¡°Oh yeah, how did you save my big sister? Herplexion looks much better than before, so it seems like your method is quite effective,¡± asked Chu Huanzhao curiously.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you ask your older sister instead?¡± Zu An could sense that Qiao Xueying was burning up furiously, so he was in no mood to exin anything to Chu Huanzhao at the moment.

    ¡°I asked her, but she wouldn¡¯t tell me!¡± Chu Huanzhao pouted. She took a seat by the bed before continuing on, ¡°I feel like the two of you have changed after returning from the dungeon, such that I have be the outsider now.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Zu An.

    I¡¯m a couple with your older sister. Isn¡¯t it obvious that you¡¯re the outsider here?

    However, he could still understand where Chu Huanzhao wasing from. After all, she and Chu Chuyan were close sisters all this while, so himing into the picture probably left her feeling as if she had lost her older sister.

    On top of that, he used to hang out often with Chu Huanzhao since she was the only one who didn¡¯t discriminate against him here. From such a perspective, Chu Chuyan was kind of like an outsider here too.

    So, the advancement of his rtionship with Chu Chuyan ended up resulting in Chu Huanzhao¡¯s exclusion, so it was inevitable that she would feel a little crestfallen.

    ¡°So, are you injured from the earlier fight?¡± Chu Huanzhao suddenly remembered her purpose here and began touching his body so as to check if he had any wounds.

    Zu An was shocked by her action. One must know that she was literally only a reach away from Qiao Xueying at the moment. Just a single careless movement could lead to her touching Qiao Xueying.

    So, he quickly shifted sideward a little and grabbed Chu Huanzhao¡¯s arms, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m fine. Given my skills, how could a mere intruder possibly pose a threat to me?¡±

    ¡°I heard that you used the Six Pulse Divine Sword or something?¡± asked Chu Huanzhao with a harrumph.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± asked Zu An indignantly as he noticed the scorn in Chu Huanzhao¡¯s voice.

    ¡°Heh! You might be able to fool others, but how can you possibly fool me? How could I not know what kind of level you¡¯re at?¡± Chu Huanzhao thought about how she had whipped Zu An back then, and it brought a gleeful smile to her lips.

    Zu An could also guess what she was thinking, and his face immediately darkened. ¡°You only managed to get your way because I was gentlemanly enough not to hold it against you. Besides, I¡¯ve grown a lot since then! Isn¡¯t it perfectly normal for a prodigy like me to advance my cultivation quickly?¡±

    ¡°Alright alright, you¡¯re a prodigy.¡± Chu Huanzhao was still smiling a moment ago when her face suddenly turned grim. She sniffed around a bit before remarking, ¡°Hm? Why is there the scent of a woman here?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Zu An.

    Are you a dog? How can you smell it?

    Qiao Xueying¡¯s scent was usually extremely subtle, but under the effects of the medicine, her body ended up emanating a sweet musky smell. Considering how close Chu Huanzhao was to her, it would be weird if she didn¡¯t smell it instead.

    ¡°Are you hiding a woman?!¡± Chu Huanzhao leaped to her feet in agitation. ¡°It¡¯s no wonder why you didn¡¯t respond to me earlier. You must be messing around with some women! Who is it? Come out!¡±

    She began searching the room while hollering.

    ¡°What are you shouting for? I¡¯ve been keeping myself chaste for your older sister... Am I that kind of person?¡± asked Zu An with a guilty look on his face.

    ¡°Yes, you¡¯re that kind of person!¡± eximed Chu Huanzhao. She kneeled onto the floor and began searching under the bed.

    She couldn¡¯t have imagined how attractive the curves of a youthfuldy like her was when crouching over to a man.

    Zu An quickly averted his gaze while fondling his nose. Damn it, why does this keep happening today? It¡¯s only a matter of time before I die in the hands of these women.

    After seeing that there was no one on the bed, Chu Huanzhao proceeded to search the other ces in the room. She opened the cupboard and checked behind the screens.

    But even though this room wasn¡¯t too big, she was unable to find anything at all.

    ¡°Speak! Where did you hide her?¡± Chu Huanzhao was starting to lose her temper.

    ¡°What woman could possibly be here? Didn¡¯t you already search the area? There¡¯s no one here!¡± Zu An shrugged helplessly.

    Chu Huanzhao suddenly remarked in intrigue, ¡°Speaking of which, you have been sitting there for some time now.¡±

    As she said those words, she began making her way over toward his side to check the area behind him.

    Zu An was so nervous that he felt that his heart was going to leap out of his chest. He quickly grabbed onto her and eximed, ¡°Huanzhao, I didn¡¯t know that you care about me so much. Are you jealous?¡±

    ¡°W-w-w-what? How could I possibly be jealous? I-I¡¯m just keeping an eye on you for my older sister!¡± roared Chu Huanzhao in response. ¡°Also, let go of my hands now!¡±

    Chu Huanzhao struggled to free herself from Zu An¡¯s grip, such that she stretched her hand forth to push him. However, she unexpectedly touched a certain part of his body instead, and both of their bodies stiffened up right away.

    Chu Huanzhao¡¯s face immediately flushed red as she shook off Zu An¡¯s hands. ¡°Y-you pervert of a brother-inw! You actually had... had such thoughts about me! I¡¯m going to tell my older sister!!!¡±

    With a stomp of her feet, she rushed out of the room in embarrassment.

    Zu An felt deeply frustrated. It wasn¡¯t that he was perverted, but this was simply a natural reaction after he was provoked by Qiao Xueying. It just so happened that Chu Huanzhao happened to touch it and think that it was directed toward her...

    In any case, he was still more than happy to chase her away, so he wouldn¡¯t bother trying to exin things to her.

    He quickly locked the doors of the room, only to see that thetch had beenpletely broken. It made his eyelids twitch a little. She really is like a dinosaur.

    Worried that someone else would barge in, he decisively used the Tai¡¯e Sword as the doortch instead.

    Meanwhile, Qiao Xueying, who was rolled up in a nket, fumbled about and was just about to fall to the floor when Zu An quickly rushed back to catch her before cing her back onto the bed.

    ¡°It looks like the Second Miss...¡± Qiao Xueying stopped her words halfway through as she reached out to hook his chin. Then, she leaned in with her warm lips.

    A soft, burning body and an alluring fragrance; Zu An felt like mini explosions were urring in his head. How could any man possibly resist such temptation?

    ¡°Why does your body smell so fragrant?¡± asked Zu An.

    Qiao Xueying¡¯s eyes stared at Zu An with groggy, semi-closed eyes as she murmured in response, ¡°Isn¡¯t it normal for a wood elf like me to give off the scent of flowers?¡±

    ¡°But why didn¡¯t I smell it previously?¡± asked Zu An curiously. This was a special scent that was unlike anything Zu An had smelled before. The two of them had hugged each other many times in the past¡ªthey had even bared their bodies before one another at one point in time¡ªbut he had never smelled this scent before.

    ¡°... Because... only when I¡¯m feeling... feeling excited will I... give off such a scent.¡± Qiao Xueying closed her eyes, but her long eyshes continued to flicker on. Her huffing chest showed just how nervous she was at the moment.

    Any man who didn¡¯t reciprocate after hearing those words would really be a dense blockhead.

    Zu An¡¯s pounded hard in his chest as he leaned in to kiss her.

    Unknowingly, Qiao Xueying¡¯s robe had already slipped down, revealing a body that was even more slender than that of normal women. Due to the effects of the medicine, her fair skin was covered in a reddish glow, making her even more captivating than usual.

    When the two of them finally became one, a hint of pain shed across Qiao Xueying¡¯s face. She leaned in and bit hard on Zu An¡¯s shoulders.

    ¡°Ssss!¡± Zu An hissed in pain. ¡°Why did you bite me?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m giving you a taste of how I¡¯m feeling.¡± Qiao Xueying looked at him with tearful eyes that were enough to melt even the most unsentimental man.

    Zu An felt a rush of emotions as he held her even more tenderly...

 Chapter 230: Promise

    <h4>Chapter 230: Promise</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    It took quite some time before the effects of the medicine finally receded, and Qiao Xueying¡¯s eyes finally regained her rity.

    Looking at the man on top of her, she bit her lips tightly as she wondered how Chu Chuyan was able to endure him back then. Even when her body was stimted by the medicine, she was still almost unable to recover from the impact.

    Back then, Chu Chuyan had her ki meridians tattered and her cultivation crippled, which meant that she was taking him in with just her weak body. Just the thought of it filled Qiao Xueying with respect for her.

    ¡°What in the world am I thinking about?!¡±

    The embarrassed Qiao Xueying lowered her head and leaned in to hug the man in front of her. She felt so embarrassed that she dared not to meet her eye.

    ...

    The following day, Zu An woke up refreshed. He subconsciously reached out to the person beside him to hug her, but his hands fell empty. The soft sensation he had experiencedst night wasn¡¯t there.

    Shocked, he quickly sat upward, only to find that the woman who was beside him had disappeared without a trace. It was only the lingering fragrance in the nket that proved that the eventsst night weren¡¯t just a dream.

    ¡°Snow!¡± Zu An quickly began searching the area.

    ¡°Don¡¯t bother wasting your strength. She¡¯s already gone,¡± a cold voice sounded. He saw Mi Li¡¯s soul lying casually on the wooden bed at the opposite end of the bed, vaguely revealing her fair, smooth legs through her robe. However, her beautiful face was currently cloaked in frosty anger.

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for +233 Rage!

    Zu An was stunned.

    She left? Just like that? But more importantly, why are you getting mad here?

    ¡°Big sis empress, what¡¯s wrong?¡± asked Zu An.

    ¡°You still dare to ask!¡± Mi Li immediately lurched up and got into a proper sitting position. ¡°You licentious bastard dared to show me such a hideous scene for an entire night!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for +513 Rage!

    Zu An felt goosebumps upon hearing those words. ¡°W-wait a moment, who told you to watch us? You could have just closed your eyes! Not to mention, you watched for the entire night? Gosh, I feel like I¡¯ve just been taken advantage of.¡±

    He quickly picked up the nket and wrapped it tightly around his body, as if guarding against a lecher.

    ¡°...¡± Mi Li.

    ¡°You said that I was taking advantage of you?¡± Mi Li darted straight to the side of his bed and stomped a foot onto the bed frame. She gazed down on him coldly as a dangerous glint shed in her eyes.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but notice how Mi Li¡¯s clothes were much more revealing this time around, exposing the humps of her chest. ¡°Do those of the Qin Dynasty dress so boldly?¡±

    One must know that Mi Li¡¯s clothes were made out of her consciousness, so it was entirely based on her preferences and habits.

    Wow, she¡¯s actually wearing a low cored dress. It looks like big sis empress is quite the frisky one.

    ¡°What are you looking at?¡± Mi Li was furious to see Zu An staring at her instead of answering her question.

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for +256 Rage!

    ¡°You¡¯re exposing your cleavage right in front of me. What choice do I have other than to look at it?¡± Zu An wondered why Mi Li was still so hot-tempered despite already being reduced to a soul. ¡°Besides, aren¡¯t you wearing such clothes so that others can see it? You should be d that I¡¯m appreciating your fashion sense.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Mi Li.

    ¡°You sure have a glib tongue. It¡¯s no wonder why you can dupe those little girls into falling for you.¡± Even though Mi Li¡¯s words were still biting, herplexion clearly improved a little. She straightened her body and tugged on her dress a little, seemingly feeling a little ufortable under his stare.

    This man really is a queer one. In the past, no matter what I wore, no one would dare to look at me with such fearless eyes.

    Even now, after the Great Qin Dynasty was destroyed and she was no longer an empress anymore, she would still have ripped off the eyes of anyone who dared to gawk at her.

    It was just a pity that her life was currently bound to this fellow, such that she couldn¡¯t afford to kill him or even punish him. It was incredibly frustrating for her to see that nothing worked on him at all, putting her at a loss.

    ¡°You said that Snow has already left earlier? Where did she go?¡± asked Zu An.

    ¡°How am I to know?¡± Mi Li harrumphed. She pointed to the side and said, ¡°You were sleeping like a dead log that she even had time to write a letter for you.¡±

    ¡°Letter!¡± Zu An noticed the presence of a letter on the table, and he quickly rushed over to pick it up.

    The sudden exposure of Zu An¡¯s naked body made Mi Li blush slightly. She quickly turned her head aside as she said, ¡°Can¡¯t you at least put on some clothes first?¡±

    ¡°You already saw everything for a night anyway. It doesn¡¯t make any difference whether I wear any clothes now or not.¡± Zu An rolled his eyes.

    ¡°...¡± Mi Li.

    This fellow really is infuriating!

    She turned back around to say something to him when she suddenly noticed a certain part of his body that made her heart skip a beat. It was so overwhelming that it actually stifled her words.

    However, Zu An didn¡¯t pay her any heed. He picked up the letter Qiao Xueying left behind and began reading it carefully.

    ¡®I¡¯m leaving now. Now that I¡¯ve fallen out with the Shi n, I need to relocate my people before the Shi n finallyes to and make a move. For the matterst night... thank you. Also, don¡¯t tell Miss Chu about it. If you aren¡¯t happy with staying in the Chu n, you can look for me at the capital.¡¯

    ...

    The words on the letter looked a little messy, seemingly reflecting the hesitation in her heart when she wrote them out.

    ¡°She¡¯s really gone...¡± Thinking about the warmth they sharedst night, he suddenly felt incredibly empty inside.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    He stowed the letter away before turning to look at Mi Li. He couldn¡¯t help but grumble grudgingly, ¡°Since you were around, why didn¡¯t you try to stop her? You should have at least woken me up so that I can bid her farewell.¡±

    ¡°Why should I do that?¡± replied Mi Li.

    ¡°...¡± Zu An.

    Wow. That was such a good point that I can¡¯t even find a single word to refute it.

    However, the more Mi Li thought about it, the more infuriated she became. ¡°Do you know how much trouble you put me throughst night?¡±

    ¡°Trouble?¡± Zu An was astonished. What did you even do for me at all?

    ¡°Hmph! You caused a hugemotionst night. I would have never imagined thatss¡¯ small body would be capable of producing such a loud scream. If I hadn¡¯t set up a barrier around the house, your affair would have been known by the whole Chu n by now!¡±

    The thought that an empress like her actually had to lower herself to clean up after him as if she was a eunuch or maidservant made her feel incredibly stifled.

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for +627 Rage!

    Zu An felt a gush of cold sweat upon hearing those words. He was so engrossed in the actst night that he didn¡¯t pay any heed to the details.

    ¡°T-thank you...¡± Zu An wasn¡¯t sure what he should say at a moment like this.

    ¡°You better not make me clean up after you once more. I won¡¯t be so patient the next time.¡± Mi Li was still angry from the unweed performancest night.

    Zu Anughed sheepishly before changing the topic. ¡°Since you¡¯re awake, why didn¡¯t you respond to my callsst night?¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you still alive and kicking now?¡± Mi Li rolled her eyes.

    ¡°I nearly died!¡± eximed Zu An. ¡°I had to use all of my trump cards in order to survive. If not for Old Mi, the two of us would have been dead by now.¡±

    ¡°Do you know why I didn¡¯te out?¡± asked Mi Li coldly.

    ¡°Is it because you can¡¯t defeat Shi Lezhi?¡± Zu An tried making a guess.

    ¡°...¡± Mi Li.

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for +314 Rage!

    This fellow¡¯s mouth really is... Argh!

    With a cold harrumph, she said, ¡°A mere early eighth rank can¡¯t possibly be a match for me. I didn¡¯t make an appearance because I didn''t want you to be dependent on me. You¡¯ll never be strong once you form a dependence on another person. Also, if you adopt the mentality that I¡¯d always clean up after you, you might just start foolishly leaping into danger at every opportunity you get.

    ¡°So that I can at least live a few more years, I think it¡¯s wiser for me to take some risks at the start. If you can¡¯t even survive such a trivial ordeal, I might as well end things here so as to not prolong my suffering.¡±

    Those words struck Zu An¡¯s heart like the loud chimes of a bell. He had indeed gotten much bolder than before due to Mi Li¡¯s presence, thinking that there was no way she would be able to turn a blind eye to him if he were to get in danger.

    A long timeter, he bowed deeply toward her and said, ¡°I¡¯ve been enlightened. I won¡¯t rely on you anymore and try my best to resolve my problems on my own.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t try your best; you have to be able to do it. In the future, unless it¡¯s an opponent of Master rank and above, you shouldn¡¯t even dream of making me save you. I hope that you can at least understand that much,¡± said Mi Li. ¡°Also, can you at least wear your clothes properly before speaking to me in the future? Stop flinging your thing around!¡±

 Chapter 231: I Wouldnâ€™t Usually Laugh...

    <h4>Chapter 231: I Wouldn¡¯t Usually Laugh...</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An was rendered speechless.

    No matter how thick his skin was, his face still couldn¡¯t help but flush red.

    However, he calmed down as he noticed Mi Li¡¯s slightly-flushed cheeks. ¡°Big sis empress, there¡¯s something I¡¯m curious about. Since you are in soul form, I can understand if you can create clothes and such. However, why can I see you blushing?¡±

    Mi Li suddenly turned around, shooting him a vicious look. ¡°Are you feeling cocky now? Let¡¯s see if you still feel cocky after I cut off your hateful thing!¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    After saying this, the Tai¡¯e Sword flew directly towards his crotch.

    This scared the living daylights out of Zu An. He jumped back into bed, wrapping himself tightly within theforter. ¡°Big sis empress, don¡¯t act rashly! This concerns the happiness of the second half of your life!¡±

    ¡°Hm?¡± Mi Li arched her slender brows. The Tai¡¯e Sword came to a halt, its point lowering slightly.

    Zu An hurriedly exined, ¡°If someone with my level of libido can¡¯t continue living on as a man, there won¡¯t be anything to live for anymore! If I end my life just like that, it won¡¯t be good for big sis either, will it?¡±

    ¡°Your level of libido?¡± Mi Li snorted. ¡°It seems like you at least understand yourself well.¡±

    She finally retracted the sword, and Zu An heaved a sigh of relief. A thought came to him. Is this sword still mine or not? Why is itpletely obedient to her now?

    ¡°Put on your clothes. This empress has some things to talk to you about.¡± Mi Li stood with her hands behind her back and averted her gaze.

    Hearing her serious tone, Zu An set aside his mischievous attitude and dressed quickly. While putting on his clothes, his gaze was drawn to a captivating red stain on the bed sheets, and his lips spread in a slight smile.

    When he was done, he asked hurriedly, ¡°Big sis empress, what did you want to talk about?¡±

    Mi Li turned around. Seeing him fully-dressed, her expression finally softened. ¡°I wanted to talk to you about your physical state. When I saw you fight against Zhang Han and the others, you were as slippery as an eel. However, when I fought against youter on, your movements seemed to have be much more rigid. It was the same when that Shi Lezhi or whoever was chasing after youst night. What is going on?¡±

    After all, possessing a miraculous movement technique like this was the same as having an additional life-saving weapon. She wanted Zu An to possess as many such skills as possible.

    When she brought up this topic, Zu An immediately became depressed. ¡°I¡¯m really going to cry if we keep talking about this... this movement technique seems to have been specially made for eunuchs!¡±

    ¡°Eunuch?¡± Mi Li was momentarily stunned. Her gaze subconsciously drifted down between his legs, as she wondered how this fellow could possibly have anything to do with a eunuch.

    Zu An¡¯s face flushed red. ¡°Um... you better notugh at what I¡¯m about to tell you!¡±

    Mi Li scoffed haughtily. ¡°Do you know how much strife and turbulence this empress has witnessed? Why would Iugh at some random words spoken by someone like you?¡±

    What kind of joke was this? The empress of a country was trained in such matters since childhood. Maintaining aposed exterior was the most basic of basics! If she suddenlyughed while facing the court councilors, she would have embarrassed the entire imperial family!

    Zu An hid a sigh of relief, and proceeded to tell Mi Li about the Sunflower Phantasm and his previous seal.

    As she listened to his tale, Mi Li¡¯s expression grew strange. Her red lips slowly spread open as her gaze swept over his face and his legs. In the end, sheughed out loud.

    Zu An¡¯s face darkened. ¡°You promised me you wouldn¡¯tugh!¡±

    Seeing Zu An throw a tantrum like a spoiled child only fueled Mi Li¡¯s mirth. The smile on her face grew bigger and bigger, and her entire body began to rock back and forth fromughter.

    Zu An¡¯s face darkened even further, and steam threatened toe out of his ears.

    Mi Li tried to curb herughter. ¡°I¡¯m so, so sorry, I wouldn¡¯t usuallyugh! Only when I cannot...¡±

    Another peal ofughter rocked her before she could even finish her sentence.

    Thoroughly humiliated, Zu An flew into a rage. ¡°Laugh then,ugh all you want! Why don¡¯t you justugh yourself to death!¡±

    Only after a long time did Mi Li¡¯s breathing finally start to steady. ¡°I really didn¡¯t expect that... you actually had such a miserable past.¡±

    Zu An turned his back to her. ¡°I don¡¯t want to talk to you anymore.¡±

    Mi Li snuggled closer. ¡°Don¡¯t be so tight-lipped...e,e, tell me about everything that has ever made you unhappy. Not only will you be able to release your pent-up frustrations, but I would be able to get some enjoyment out of it as well! Isn¡¯t this what you call a win-win situation?¡±

    Zu An waspletely shell-shocked.

    This woman really knew how to hit a man while he was down! If he hadn¡¯t been afraid that he couldn¡¯t defeat her, he would¡¯ve spanked her ass a long time ago.

    ¡°No wonder everyone had on such strange expressions when they found out you had given the Evanescent Lotus to Chu Chuyan! It turns out that was your seal-breaking medicine.¡± Mi Li reached out a long and slender finger, which glistened slightly as if lightly coated with an immortal elixir. She gently hooked it around his chin while saying, ¡°You really do go all-in with women...¡±

    Zu An¡¯s body froze as he felt the soft sensation beneath his chin. ¡°Aren¡¯t you just a soul? How am I able to feel your finger like this?¡±

    Mi Li pulled her hand back. ¡°Hmph, my current state is more urately described as a half-soul body, existing between an incorporeal and a material state. As long as I wish it, I can make it tangible to others.¡±

    Zu An stared nkly. Couldn¡¯t the two of us do some naughty things, then?

    *Smack!*

    A sharp and clear sound rang out. The Tai¡¯e Sword trembled slightly.

    Zu An gasped, clutching at his palm. ¡°What¡¯re you doing?¡±

    ¡°Who told you to have such despicable thoughts?¡± Mi Li snorted.

    Zu An bolted to his feet in an instant. He pointed at her and yelled, ¡°You told me that you couldn¡¯t read my thoughts!¡±

    Mi Li narrowed her eyes at him. ¡°This empress had eons more experience than you! What kind of subtlety could a brat like you possibly possess? I can see right through you with a single nce!¡±

    Zu An wasn¡¯t convinced. ¡°Why can you talk to me directly through my mind, then?¡±

    Mi Li replied with an indifferent tone, ¡°That is merely the result of a mysterious connection formed by the Life-and-Death Contract between us, which allows our souls tomunicate naturally via a special frequency.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°How do you even know a word like ¡®frequency¡¯?¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I just say that our souls are intimately linked? The words I use will be automatically tranted into something you can easily understand, and that you are most familiar with.¡± Mi Li exined.

    ¡°Is that really how it works?¡± Zu An was still skeptical.

    Mi Li was in no mood to argue the matter with him, and moved on to a more pressing issue. ¡°Brat, even though your cultivation is low, your knowledge and experiences are not. You were actually able to quickly deduce that your Sunflower Phantasm is only suited for eunuchs. Someone at the eighth rank would normally find such a deduction difficult, let alone someone at your level of cultivation. Don¡¯t tell me you really are a legendary genius?¡±

    ¡°But of course! Take a good look at who you are talking about!¡± Zu An¡¯s expression was full of pride, but on the inside, he continuously thanked Invincible East, Yue Buqun, Ling Pingzhi and all the other godfathers.[1]

    Mi Li pondered a moment before saying, ¡°Exin the Sunflower Phantasm¡¯s ki flow to me in detail. Do not omit the slightest bit of information.¡±

    Zu An nodded. Without hesitation, he revealed everything he knew about the Sunflower Phantasm.

    After listening intently to what he had to say, Mi Li fell deep into thought. A good whileter, her red lips finally opened gently. ¡°This movement technique is indeed miraculous, but some parts of it are not quite urate. Let me modify it for you slightly, and mix in a bit of my own movement technique. When you transfer your ki in the future, the various acupuncture points need to be used in such ways...¡±

    She demonstrated her points as she exined them, her figure dancing about gracefully. She was truly as elegant as a goddess descending from the moonlit clouds. Her body fluttered about like snowkes in a gentle breeze.

    Zu An waspletely entranced. That emperor really was a heartless creature, to seal away a goddess like this for thousands of years.

    Mi Li finally finished her demonstration, and noticed his somewhat dazed expression. ¡°Were you paying attention or not?!¡± she snapped in annoyance.

    ¡°Of course I was!¡± Zu An immediately replied.

    ¡°How much of it do you remember, then?¡±

    ¡°Pretty much all of it.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? Then why don¡¯t you go through it once for me?¡± Mi Li sneered. This fellow waspletely enchanted by me just now. How could he have possibly concentrated on learning the technique? This is a good chance for me to properly discipline him.

    ¡°No problem!¡± Zu An spent some time recalling what she¡¯d said. His eyes flew open, and took a step forward. There were suddenly two copies of him, both of them possessing an aura simr to his own. The resemnce was so uncanny that he himself found it almost impossible to distinguish them.

    Unfortunately, when he took a second step, his energies suddenly became chaotic. He staggered and crashed heavily to the ground.

    Zu An¡¯s face flushed with embarrassment. ¡°I made a mistake just now. Should I try again?¡±

    Mi Li was stupefied. ¡°Have you studied this before?¡±

    ¡°Of course. Aren¡¯t these just some modifications made to the basic Sunflower Phantasm? The only thing different is these clones.¡± As he reyed what had just happened in his mind, he discovered that this movement technique was already far better than his previous one.

    The previous Sunflower Phantasm had excelled in its fast speed and fiendishly elusive movements, and it did not telegraph in which direction the user was moving. Now, this set of movements also had powerful illusion effects.

    Such an effect would perfectly confuse any enemy he was fighting, especially if what the enemy saw was not just an afterimage, but copies of him that carried the same exact auras as himself. His enemies would not know which figure to attack.This was pretty much an entire extra life!

    Mi Li stared at him. ¡°No, I was talking about my directions just now.¡±

    ¡°No, I haven¡¯t. You¡¯ve only shown this to me once. Is it supposed to be hard?¡± A strange expression suddenly appeared on Zu An¡¯s face. ¡°Big sis empress, how long did it take you to learn this?¡±

    Mi Li turned her head away in disdain, her expression haughty. ¡°When this empress studied this before, I was able to immediately produce four copies! Your trifling two copies is just barely a pass.¡±

    Despite her words, she felt thoroughly ashamed inside. Back then, it had taken her an entire month just to produce two copies!

    1. Invincible East, Yue Buqun, and Ling Pingzhi are characters from The Smiling, Proud Wanderer.

 Chapter 232: Pleasant Countenance

    <h4>Chapter 232: Pleasant Countenance</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An didn¡¯t doubt her words. After all, Mi Li¡¯s powerful aura and her invincible form in the underground pce had made a deep impression on him. In his opinion, what she had described was only proper.

    ¡°Let me give it another try.¡±

    Spurred on by hispetitive nature, he began to practice the movement technique again.

    After countless tries, he almost managed to make a third figure appear. However, each time he got close, his energies would turn chaotic, causing him to trip over himself and fall miserably.

    After one final, unsessful try, he climbed back to his feet with a long sigh. ¡°It seems I can¡¯tpare to big sis empress after all. I¡¯ll have to keep up my earnest practice if I want to be like big sis and make four copies.¡±

    ¡°Honestly, you¡¯ve already done quite well. Practice earnestly and you will slowly improve.¡± Mi Li encouraged him the way a wise senior would, but inside, she was pretty shaken up.

    Transcendent-ss aptitude really is worthy of its legendary reputation! Not only does his blood essence possess extraordinary effects, he also learns things far faster than ordinary people.

    Her own aptitude already far surpassed others. Back then, her feat of producing two copies after just a month of training had already stunned countless people. And yet, this freak had actually seeded after listening to her describe it once!

    Excessivelyparing oneself to others could really anger one to death.

    Despite her feelings, his dispirited expression made her worry that her mischaracterization of her sess would affect his mentality and hinder his cultivation. Therefore, she had immediately tried to lift his spirits and bring him back to the right path.

    Zu An seemed relieved at her words. ¡°By the way, big sis empress, what do you call this movement technique?¡±

    Mi Li shook her head. ¡°There are many things that would only bring you more harm than good if you learn of them too soon. Wait until you can make nine clones before asking me again. Since this technique is still integrated into your Sunflower Phantasm, you can just continue calling it the Sunflower Phantasm.¡±

    ¡°Forget it, then.¡± Zu An was slightly disappointed. The name ¡®Sunflower Phantasm¡¯ gave him some anxiety. It brought up the image of Old Mi, which made him feel deeply ufortable. He would much rather look at this pretty empress¡¯ body instead.

    Sigh... I really care too much about outward attractiveness. That Old Mi actually treats me quite well, even though his motives are a bit strange...

    *Knock knock, knock knock...*

    Someone was knocking excitedly on his door.

    ¡°Young master, young master, Master invited Divine Physician Ji over!¡± Cheng Shouping¡¯s unique voice came loudly through the door.

    ¡°I¡¯m going into hibernation for a bit, and it will most likely be some time before I wake up again. The ¡®Red Tears of Lady Xiang¡¯ poison has already affected my soul, so I have to concentrate on neutralizing its effects.¡± Mi Li¡¯s beautiful eyes gazed deeply into his. ¡°Remember, if you want to be strong, you can never subconsciously rely on someone else. In the end, you have to face all challenges and dangers alone.¡±

    ¡°When will we meet again?¡± Zu An had begun to mock her inwardly. If you were so worried about the poison, why did you still waste so much time watching me suffer earlier? However, when it struck him that he wouldn¡¯t be able to see her again for a long time, he immediately felt regretful.

    ¡°That¡¯s hard to say. Perhaps a few months, perhaps a few years.¡± Mi Li¡¯s fierce expression mellowed as well. ¡°You must take care of yourself during this period. Don¡¯t go courting disaster. The movement technique I taught you should be more than enough for you to take care of yourself.¡±

    ¡°Hahaha, do I really look like someone who¡¯ll court disaster?¡± Zu An patted his own chest to reassure her.

    Mi Li only blinked at him.

    Why did she feel like this brat¡¯s words weren¡¯t at all reliable?

    Mi Li sniffed lightly. ¡°I hope you keep your word. Otherwise, it¡¯ll be one corpse but two lives.¡±

    With a flicker of flowing light, she disappeared into the Tai¡¯e Sword.

    ¡°Young master, young master!¡± Cheng Shouping¡¯s knocking grew louder and more insistent.

    Zu An put away the Tai¡¯e Sword. When he opened the door, a figure immediately tumbled into his embrace.

    With his hand pressed against those two hair buns, Zu An issued a stern warning. ¡°Don¡¯t touch me!¡±

    ¡°What...¡± Cheng Shouping backed up slightly, a hurt look on his face. ¡°Young master, do you not dote on me anymore?¡±

    Zu An resisted the urge to p him.

    ¡°You had better stop using those weird words with me. This young master is a straight man through and through.¡± Zu An¡¯s expression grew uglier by the second. ¡°You don¡¯t have a thing for my body, right?¡±

    Cheng Shouping giggled and said, ¡°It¡¯s a pity that this humble one isn¡¯t a girl, or else I¡¯ll definitely keep young masterpany every day.¡±

    Zu An snorted at his wanton ttery. ¡°What did youe yelling about so early in the morning for? What does Divine Physician Ji¡¯s arrival have to do with me?¡±

    Cheng Shouping shuffled over, lowered his voice and said, ¡°Young master, don¡¯t you want to pay the young miss a visit to express your concern? After all, the first miss is the one Master and Madam loves most dearly. For better or for worse, if young master ys his part well, Master and Madam might just pair you with the second miss out of a moment of happiness.¡±

    Zu An let out a resigned sigh. ¡°The Chu n is truly blessed to have a servant like you!¡±

    ¡°Young master is too kind with your praise.¡± Cheng Shouping rested his chin on his balled-up fists, a happy expression on his face.

    All jokes aside, Zu An figured that it would be good to take a look, whether it was out of affection or for any other reason. While he knew that there would be noplications as long as Chu Chuyan underwent his acupuncture treatment each day, Qin Wanru was not privy to that information.

    Given Qin Wanru¡¯sck of fondness for him, he knew that, if he didn¡¯t head over, this would be yet another reason for her to yell his ears off.

    Zu An arrived outside Chu Chuyan¡¯s residence. After the previous night¡¯s disturbance, the security along the way was much more strict.

    The residence itself was lightly guarded. It was clear that Madam didn¡¯t want news of Chu Chuyan¡¯s state to leak out.

    Two other people were waiting at the entrance. One of them had huge bags under his eyes that any master of time management would be proud of, and the other was elegant and polished, but stout. These were none other than Chu Tiesheng and Chu Yuepo, of the Chu n¡¯s second and third branches respectively.

    ¡°I pay my respects to second and third uncles.¡± Zu An sped his fist in formal greeting. Even though, back in the ancestral hall, these two had kicked him while he was down, etiquette still had to be maintained.

    Chu Tiesheng acknowledged him with an indifferent grunt. On the contrary, Chu Yuepo was much more cordial, his chubby face full of smiles. ¡°Ah, so it¡¯s little An...¡±

    Before he could finish, Zu An interrupted, ¡°Please call me Ah Zu.¡±

    ¡°Ahem...¡± Chu Yuepo was momentarily startled, but recovered quickly. ¡°Ah Zu, what exactly happened to Chu Chuyan? Why was there a sudden need to invite Divine Physician Ji over?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s heart skipped a beat. He hadn¡¯t expected Qin Wanru to hide the truth even from the two of them. In that case, he was clearly not dumb enough to reveal it. ¡°I don¡¯t really know either.¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°How could you not know? Aren¡¯t you two husband and wife? Since both of you came out of the dungeon together not too long ago, you should at least know something.¡± Chu Yuepo pulled him to one side. Even Chu Tiesheng pricked up his ears.

    Before Zu An had time to reply, a gentle voice called him from not too far away. ¡°Ah Zu, you¡¯ve arrived! Hurry up ande inside.¡±

    The three of them turned towards the sound of the voice, and saw a graceful and beautiful woman walk out from the residence. Who else could this be but Qin Wanru?

    ¡°I pay my respects to Madam.¡± Zu An was slightly overwhelmed by her sudden kindness. He had never seen Qin Wanru treat him so pleasantly before.

    An abnormal glint shed across Chu Tiesheng¡¯s previously-listless eyes as he caught sight of Qin Wanru¡¯s wonderful figure, but he concealed it instantly. He walked over to her in a leisurely manner and said, ¡°Sister-inw, what exactly happened? Why can¡¯t we enter?¡±

    ¡°Exactly,¡± Chu Yuepo echoed. ¡°We received news that Chuyan had fallen ill so we came to take a look, yet the guards outside the gates wouldn¡¯t even let us in.¡±

    Qin Wanru smiled faintly. ¡°I was the one who ordered that no one be allowed inside. Chuyan is experiencing some feminine ailments, and it isn¡¯t appropriate for others to visit her.¡±

    These words stopped them from persisting further. They took out some ancient medicinal mushrooms and offered them to her. ¡°Since the two of us can¡¯t help personally, the best we can do is offer these to speed Chuyan¡¯s recovery.¡±

    Qin Wanru bowed slightly, and gave Zu An a sharp look. ¡°Many thanks to you both. Ah Zu, why aren¡¯t you receiving them?¡±

    With a start, Zu An hurriedly collected their offerings and thanked them.

    ¡°I must ask brother-inws to take their leave. Chuyan isn¡¯t suffering from anything serious, and we have Divine Physician Ji with us.¡± Qin Wanru¡¯s dignified and graceful appearance soothed their hearts, as if they had been caressed by a cool autumn breeze. As expected of a duchess, they thought.

    Zu An scoffed inside. Why do you always show me apletely different side?

    After sending the two of them off, Qin Wanru brought Zu An into the residence.

    Zu An followed behind her, admiring her swaying figure. He contemted making Chu Chuyan eat a little more, just so she could also develop this type of feminine charm.

    Just then, he heard Qin Wanru¡¯s ice-cold voice right next to his ears. ¡°You didn¡¯t say anything unnecessary to them just now, did you?¡±

 Chapter 233: Daughter-Doting Devils

    <h4>Chapter 233: Daughter-Doting Devils</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°What do you mean by ¡®unnecessary¡¯?¡± Zu An asked, turned his head towards her.

    Qin Wanru¡¯s breath caught for a moment. ¡°You can¡¯t be stupid enough not to know such things, can you?¡±

    Zu An shrugged. ¡°They were both Chuyan¡¯s uncles, so why can''t I tell them anything?¡±

    ¡°You told them?¡± Qin Wanru¡¯s eyes widened in anger.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t. I just don¡¯t know why I can¡¯t tell them.¡± Zu An said. He wanted to take advantage of this situation to figure out what was really going on inside the Chu n.

    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Qin Wanru¡¯s expression mellowed. ¡°This matter concerns our Chu n¡¯s future, so we have to keep it quiet.¡±

    When Qin Wanru thought about how they would all be living under the same roof, and how difficult it would be for him to avoid contact with the second and third branches in the future, she added, ¡°Even though they are Chuyan¡¯s uncles, they aren¡¯t from the same branch. Everyone has their own considerations, so it¡¯s best to be careful.¡±

    Zu An nodded. ¡°Understood.¡±

    It looks like the three branches of the Chu n only seem to get along on the surface... but this isn¡¯t too shocking. In arge n, a sh of interests will make even blood brothers hostile towards each other, and Chu Tiesheng, Chu Yuepo and Chu Zhongtian are only cousins.

    The two of them swiftly arrived at Chu Chuyan¡¯s room, which was being guarded by the butler, Hong Zhong.

    A sh of surprise crossed Hong Zhong¡¯s face when he saw Zu An apanying Qin Wanru, but he quickly made it disappear. He stepped aside to allow them to enter.

    The two of them walked into the bedroom. Chu Zhongtian was seated slightly away from the bed, a grave expression on his face. Ji Dengtu was on one side of the screen, holding three thin threads that were connected to Chu Chuyan¡¯s wrist. His eyes were closed, and he stroked his beard subconsciously while sensing her pulse.

    Bao Youlu stood beside him with an envious expression. This type of suspended-thread pulse-measuring method was something he never had the privilege of learning. As expected of the publicly-acknowledged divine physician!

    Chu Huanzhao sat beside her older sister on the other side of the screen, her expression nervous. Even though Zu An had reassured her the previous day, she was unable to fully banish her anxiety.

    Chu Zhongtian nodded slightly to acknowledge their arrival, before returning to his own thoughts.

    Ji Dengtu turned his head towards Qin Wanru, a cheeky expression on his face.

    Qin Wanru¡¯s brows furrowed slightly. However, she didn¡¯t lose her temper, but sat quietly at Chu Zhongtian¡¯s side, gently holding his hand.

    When he saw this, Ji Dengtu clicked his tongue, his expression clearly annoyed.

    Zu An watched calmly as this mini-drama unfolded. It seems like the rumors of Ji Dengtu pursuing Qin Wanru in his younger years were true! However, Qin Wanru is surprisingly devoted to Chu Zhontian.

    This does make sense though. Not only is Chu Zhongtian handsome, he is also a mighty duke, a high-quality man in any world. Even though Ji Dengtu doesn¡¯t look too bad himself, he is a bit too sloppy, and is only a doctor. There¡¯s no way for him topete with a glorious duke.

    Isn¡¯t it obvious who thedies would pick?

    Zu An sighed inwardly. Having a pretty wife means you¡¯ll always be the target of others¡¯ envy! The previous Chu Tiesheng, now Ji Dengtu, even Shi Leizhi from yesterday!

    Father-inw, be careful not to let your backyard catch fire!

    Ji Dengtu retracted the three threads. The members of the Chu n immediately got to their feet and asked, ¡°Divine Physician Ji, how is her condition?¡±

    Ji Dengtu answered, ¡°I¡¯ve just finished my examination of young miss Chu¡¯s pulse. Even though the frost has entered her body and the condition looks hopeless, I can still vaguely sense a hint of vitality. It isn¡¯t as bad as how all of you previously described it to be.¡±

    Zu An noticed Ji Dengtu¡¯s body giving off some sort of radiance as he spoke. Although this fellow always seemed sloppy, it seemed that his aura waspletely different when speaking about his specialization.

    Did this scoundrel rely on this side of him to swindle Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s mother back then? Otherwise, it¡¯s really too hard to imagine how the mother of that pretty and lovely Ji Xiaoxi actually ended up with this slovenly lecher!

    Speaking of which, Ji Xiaoxi has yet to mention anything about her mother. I didn¡¯t see ady boss thest time I visited their house, and I know nothing at all about her mother.

    ¡°Is that really the case?¡± Chu Zhongtian actually jumped for joy.

    Bao Youlu was skeptical. After all, when he had checked Chu Chuyan¡¯s pulse the day before, she had already been beyond saving. However, Ji Dengtu¡¯s reputation was just too great... There was a moment of doubt, and he slowly lost confidence in his own diagnosis.

    Ji Dengtu shot Chu Zhongtian with an annoyed look. ¡°Dumb Chu, are you really doubting my skill in my own field?¡±

    Hearing his past nickname used in front of the juniors, Chu Zhongtian¡¯s face flushed beet red. At any other time, he might have tried to pummel him there and then. However, the health of his own daughter was on the line, so he swallowed his urge to snap back at him. ¡°How should we treat her, then?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t celebrate so quickly.¡± Ji Dengtu¡¯s expression turned solemn. ¡°Your precious daughter¡¯s situation is extremely strange. Even though there is a strand of vitality in her pulse, this life-force seems tock roots, as if it might disappear at any time. The frost in her body has already permeated all of her internal organs, making it practically impossible to extract through external means. Those areas are far too weak. The slightest mistake from an outsider would leave behind irreversible injuries, and perhaps even end her life directly.¡±

    On the other side of the screen, Chu Chuyan¡¯s expression flickered. What Ji Dengtu said was identical to what Ah Zu had saidst night. Just where exactly did this fellow learn all this medical knowledge?

    ¡°What if she tries to eliminate the frost herself?¡± Chu Zhongtian probed. ¡°Chuyan¡¯s cultivation has always been the strongest among her peers.¡±

    His face was full of pride as he said this.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Ji Dengtu snorted. ¡°Dumb Chu, what do you know? Chu Chuyan practices an ice cultivation technique, so her elemental ki is also ice-based. Using cold to fight against cold will only worsen her injuries and speed up her demise.¡±

    Even after being put down by Ji Dengtu, Chu Zhongtian restrained himself. After all, it was his own rotten idea.

    Ji Dengtu savored Chu Zhongtian¡¯s constipated expression. He had never felt such a refreshing feeling before. The duke¡¯s face was flushed entirely red, but there was no way for him to refute Ji Dengtu¡¯s admonishment.

    Seeing her husband bullied, Qin Wanru couldn¡¯t help but be upset. She said coldly, ¡°Since we do not know what to do, what does Divine Physician Ji wisely suggest?¡±

    Ji Dengtu¡¯s expression stiffened. With an embarrassedugh, he said, ¡°This... is something I still have to ponder. However, even if she is treated, young miss Chu¡¯s cultivation is most likely forfeit. At the very least, it will be far more inferior than before.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± His pronouncement shocked everyone present. Qin Wanru¡¯s reaction was strongest. ¡°This won¡¯t do, this definitely won¡¯t do. Chuyan has always been the strongest among her peers. If... if...¡±

    She couldn¡¯t finish her sentence.

    Ji Dengtu¡¯s expression turned grim. ¡°You need to understand that, with young miss Chu¡¯s current condition, keeping her alive would be the best we can do. Nothing is perfect in this world.¡±

    Bao Youlu echoed his sentiments. ¡°Indeed. It is a pity that this old one¡¯s skills are inferior, and was insufficient to even save young miss Chu¡¯s life. If Divine Physician Ji can save her, that is already far beyond my expectations. Preserving the young miss¡¯ cultivation might be impossible even if a daoist immortal descended upon this room.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s wore a strange expression. He wondered if he should step forward and at least put on some sort of act.

    Behind the screen, Chu Chuyan and Chu Huanzhao were both looking at him clearly sharing his thoughts.

    Sensing their pleading gazes, Zu An¡¯s chest puffed out slightly.

    Forget it, forget it. With big sis empress still asleep, it¡¯s better for me to keep a low-profile. The nail that sticks out gets hammered down. I¡¯ll only end up bringing disaster onto myself.

    Divine Physician Ji borated on a few other noteworthy matters before getting up to take his leave. He still had to ponder over the treatment method.

    Even though Chu Zhongtian was full of bitterness, this man had indeed saved his daughter¡¯s life, so he had to see him off.

    He never expected that Ji Dengtu would wave a dismissive hand at him. ¡°Just seeing your face makes me irritated. You don¡¯t have to see me out.¡±

    Chu Zhongtian¡¯s face immediately turned darker than charcoal. Beside him, Qin Wanru gently patted his hand in constion before ordering Hong Zhong to see the divine physician out.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need, really. It¡¯s enough if this brat apanies me.¡± Ji Dengtu randomly pointed at Zu An.

    Everyone in the room was stunned. None of them expected this divine physician to regard Zu An so highly!

    Only Zu An alone roughly guessed the real reason.

    Qin Wanru¡¯s brows furrowed. She said to Zu An, ¡°Since Sir Ji wants you to see him out, then you should do it properly. Sir Ji is our estate¡¯s esteemed guest, so you must not act carelessly.¡±

    Zu An cursed silently. If you let me borrow two sets of your underwear, he might not even be offended if I spat in his face.

    He obviously didn¡¯t dare say this out loud. He merely bowed to show that he understood.. He then looked towards Ji Dengtu. ¡°Divine Physician Ji, this way please.¡±

    ¡°Hmph!¡± Ji Dengtu wore a proud expression, strutting out in front without a single look at Zu An.

    Not long after the two had left the residence, Chu Tiesheng and Chu Yuepo emerged from goodness-knows-where. Both of them greeted Divine Physician Ji fawningly while giving him some precious gifts, trying to ferret out any information they could about Chu Chuyan¡¯s condition.

    Ji Dengtu was no fool. He happily epted their gifts, and rattled off a load of nonsense without actually saying anything.

    They left the two of them behind in a confused muddle,pletely at a loss as to what Divine Physician Ji¡¯s words really meant.

    Zu An was inwardly impressed. This fe takes money without doing any work, yet he can somehow avoid incurring any resentment. Just how many gifts did he receive in order to train this skill?

    After noticing that there was no one left around them, Ji Dengtu dropped his cold, prideful demeanor in favor of a ttering smile. He looped an arm intimately around Zu An. ¡°So, my little bro, about that book you wrotest time. Where¡¯s part two?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t write it, I don¡¯t have it, don¡¯t speak any nonsense.¡± Zu An refuted him directly three times.

    ¡°I understand, I understand.¡± Ji Dengtu put on the knowing expression of a fellow bro. ¡°Your literary skills are so cultured and refined, heheh, if Xiaoxi¡¯s little aunt were to see it...¡±

    Dark streaks appeared on Zu An¡¯s forehead. I¡¯m suffering more injustice than Dou E! If I had known ahead of time that I would run into that gorgeous principal, I would¡¯ve given you something else.[1]

    ¡°What happens in the second half? Come on, I need an update! I promise I won¡¯t tell anyone else.¡± Ji Dengtu pressured him. The book really did get his blood pumping, but itcked freshness, having been used too many times. He needed some new inspiration.

    ¡°I¡¯ll check to see if there¡¯s a sequel when I have the time.¡± Zu An felt a huge headacheing on. He had nned to stop doing this, but he really didn¡¯t want to offend such a powerful divine physician.

    ¡°Hahaha! Good, good. I don¡¯t know how you managed to write such a masterpiece even though you can¡¯t use your thing. Could it be that the more pure the man, the better you are at imagining these things?¡± Ji Dengtu cackled.

    Zu An ground his teeth so hard it hurt.

    Where¡¯s my damned knife?

    ¡°That¡¯s right, I heard from the Chu n that you fed the Evanescent Lotus to Chu Chuyan. You were actually willing to part with something like that?¡± Ji Dengtu had a strange smile on his face. ¡°Did your thing recover?¡±

    ¡°Go ask your daughter, she knows.¡± Zu An scoffed in annoyance.

    Ji Dengtu stopped dead in his tracks.

    ¡°What did you just say?!¡± a maddened voice yelled out.

    You have sessfully trolled Ji Dengtu for 999 Rage points!

    A wave of powerful pressure swallowed Zu An,pletely immobilizing him.

    1. Dou E is the main character in the y The Injustice to Dou E. She was framed for a crime by a jilted suitor, and was wrongfully executed.

 Chapter 234: Retaliation

    <h4>Chapter 234: Retaliation</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Ji Dengtu immediately grabbed his cor. ¡°What did you do to Xiaoxi?¡±

    ¡°Big bro, calm down, calm down.¡± How could Zu An have anticipated such a reaction? He immediately cried out in injustice. ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything to her!¡±

    ¡°Then why are you making me ask her if that thing of yours has healed or not?¡± A dangerous glint shone in Ji Dengtu¡¯s eyes. His usual, sloppy demeanor was nowhere to be seen.

    ¡°She asked me about it, so I told her everything that happened!¡± Zu An waspletely stupefied. Do all fathers be like this when other men approach their daughters? Do they just presume that they will all act like hungry pigs presented with cabbage?

    Only then did Ji Dengtu¡¯s expression ease. However, he immediately thought of something that made his brows shoot up again. ¡°Why would you two be talking about such matters?¡±

    ¡°Miss Ji is a naturally kind person. After all, isn¡¯t it normal to show concern for a friend?¡± Zu An tried to peel the divine physician¡¯s hand away from his cor. ¡°Besides, she has always studied medicine earnestly. When presented with such a difficult case, she would obviously be interested in the treatment method.¡±

    After saying this much, his temper began to re. ¡°How could you have the nerve to bring this up? If Xiaoxi hadn¡¯t told me, I wouldn¡¯t have known that your seal-lifting pill was just haphazardly put together! You didn¡¯t even know if it would work or not!¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    This ayed thest of Ji Dengtu¡¯s suspicions. He loosened his grip and said with an embarrassed chuckle, ¡°I didn¡¯t tell you about that because the psychological aspect of treatment is also extremely important. On top of that, I had seventy- to eighty-percent confidence in the medicine working...¡±

    He slowly trailed off, his voice bing quieter as his self-belief waned.

    Heh! Zu An sneered. Like I¡¯ll believe you! Old bastard, you really are something. If my body hadn¡¯t undergone that Primordial Origin Sutra¡¯s tempering, I would¡¯ve beenpletely scammed twice over!

    ¡°Please don¡¯t be so angry,¡± Ji Dengtu chuckled, ¡°Aren¡¯t you all fine now? I can tell that your vitality is brimming, and your Sea of Yin Pulse far stronger and steadier than the average man¡¯s. Shouldn¡¯t you be happy instead?¡±

    Happy my ass! However, in reality, Zu An was a little scared. This guy measured my pulse in the brief moment he grabbed my cor... This level of medical expertise really is frightening.

    Ji Dengtu suddenly put away his smile. ¡°Even so, stay further away from Xiaoxi in the future. You¡¯re not allowed to get close to her anymore,¡± he said seriously.

    ¡°Why?¡± Zu An was stunned. Ji Xiaoxi was cute and kind, and she treated him well. Who wouldn¡¯t want a friend like that?

    ¡°There is no ¡®why¡¯.¡± Ji Dengtu snorted. ¡°I didn¡¯t mind the two of you being friends before because your thing was useless. Now that it¡¯s working fine, there¡¯s no way I¡¯ll let you harm my precious daughter.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes flew wide open when he heard the word ¡®useless¡¯. Could you not be so direct...

    Ji Dengtu looked at him with a strange expression, adding, ¡°Besides, you even wrote that type of book. Your head is definitely filled with trash. How could I possibly feel at ease knowing you¡¯re around my daughter?¡±

    Zu An just stared.

    I¡¯m being bloody wronged here!!! Wasn¡¯t it you who wanted to read those types of books? I didn¡¯t even author those books!

    ¡°Let¡¯s stop talking about such gloomy matters.¡± Ji Dengtu changed the topic, looping his arm around Zu An again. ¡°Let¡¯s not let such thingse between men like us... by the way, when can I get part two of Principal Gao¡¯s story from you?¡±

    ¡°The second part of that story is temporarily unavable.¡± Zu An said through gritted teeth, ¡°But there is another story avable. Do you want it or not?¡±

    ¡°Ah... there is no part two?¡± Ji Dengtu¡¯s face was filled with disappointment. ¡°Is the new story as good as that other one?¡±

    ¡°It is, it¡¯s definitely even more exciting and wonderful. I guarantee that you¡¯ll feel things you¡¯ve never felt before.¡± Zu An had a rather strange smile on his face. Back then, for the sake of receiving Ji Dengtu¡¯s treatment, he¡¯d prepared several books in reserve to cater to his tastes.

    There were all sorts of different books. He just didn¡¯t know which one this fellow would like.

    Who would¡¯ve thought that a single story of Principal Gao was enough to do him in? As such, he hadn¡¯t been in a rush to give out any of the other books.

    Now, however, a special opportunity finally presented itself.

    ¡°Even more exciting and wonderful?¡± Ji Dengtu¡¯s eyes lit up. He demanded impatiently, ¡°Where is it? Hurry and give it to me, give it to me!¡±

    ¡°Wait here for a bit.¡± Zu An quickly ran back to his room. He fished out a green-covered book from the chest beneath his bed, an evil smile spreading across his face.

    He rushed back to Ji Dengtu, who was looking about anxiously, constantly pacing about like a cat on a hot tin roof.

    ¡°Here.¡± Zu An tossed the green booklet into his hands.

    Ji Dengtu¡¯s eyes widened, and he couldn¡¯t resist taking a peek. Zu An immediately stopped him. ¡°Go read it by yourself when you get home. It won¡¯t be good if you get caught reading this in the Chu Estate¡±

    His words made sense to Ji Dengtu. If he got worked up while reading, there was no way he could do anything to himself in such a public ce. It would be much better if he slowly enjoyed it in his room. Once he was in the mood, he could close the curtains, and then...

    Ji Dengtu looked like a man who had just obtained a priceless treasure. Zu An sneered inwardly. This work is a bit special... the color of its cover reflects its contents. [1]

    While some of these elements were present in books like the one he had previously given to Ji Dengtu, the focus was still on the main girl and the side chicks. It was enough just to substitute one of those side chicks or the main girl with someone familiar. The male lead was but a pitiful tool.

    However, this book was different. It was written in the form of a traditional novel from start to finish,pletely from the male lead¡¯s perspective, whichpelled the reader to imagine himself in his ce. Once he was sucked into the lush green plot, it would be toote for him.

    As the plot unfolded, and the numerous intimate possibilities began to grow and develop, the reader would find his excitement aroused, leaving him throbbing in anticipation of his fantasies being fulfilled... only to be hit in the face with wave after wave of green-tinted shame.

    Apart from a few freaks who found such a story satisfying, most ordinary people who read this would bepletely depressed. For some, it could even cloud their minds permanently, like a kind of mental impotence.

    It¡¯s all Ji Dengtu¡¯s own fault for bullying me just now. This¡¯ll teach him a lesson.

    He could already see the depression andck of faith in the world that would surely engulf Ji Dengtu¡¯s face after he finished the book. He subconsciously smiled at the thought.

    ¡°Brat, what are youughing about?¡± Ji Dengtu looked at him suspiciously.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I was just happy that my seal was removed.¡± Zu An exined.

    ¡°That¡¯s indeed something to feel happy about.¡± Ji Dengtu¡¯s relief was palpable. By this time, the two of them had already left the Chu estate. Looking around furtively, he dragged Zu An to a remote corner. ¡°By the way, since you were able to get Qin Wanru¡¯s underwearst time, could you grab another set for me?¡±

    ¡°What happened to the set I got you thest time?¡± Zu An¡¯s brows furrowed. He really didn¡¯t want to talk about this matter anymore. Previously, Snow had been a hated enemy whom he had thought to get rid of more than once, and so he¡¯d passed off her underwear as Qin Wanru¡¯s. Who would have expected the two of them to grow so close afterwards?

    His spirits fell immediately. I really suffered a huge loss this time...

    ¡°When I got home thest time, Xiaoxi¡¯s little aunt found out and confiscated it...¡± Ji Dengtu¡¯s voice was filled with grief. That sister-inw of his was a horrible person through and through!

    ¡°What?!¡± Zu An looked as regretful as Ji Dengtu on the surface, but he was overjoyed inside. Gorgeous principal, you¡¯re the best! I¡¯ll have to find a chance to properly thank youter!

    ¡°Help me look around. If you find another set, I¡¯ll agree to anything you ask of me!¡± Worried that Zu An wouldn¡¯t take his request seriously, Ji Dengtu patted his chest in a gesture of reassurance. ¡°This Ji Dengtu¡¯s reputation is still worth something! Far too many people want me in their debt, but the disdain I feel towards these contemptible creatures cannot be fathomed!¡±

    Zu An cursed silently. You want me to steal Madam¡¯s personal clothes for you? Won¡¯t I be beaten to death if I¡¯m caught? On top of that, how could I ever face Chu Chuyan in the future?

    However, the words this lecher had used finally hit home. ¡°You¡¯ll really agree to anything?¡±

    It seems this fe really has been infatuated with Qin Wanru for too long, he is actually willing to put up so much. If a piece of damn cloth really can be exchanged for that cute and adorable Ji Xiaoxi, then it might be worth the risk.

    ¡°Anything.¡± Ji Dengtu suddenly froze. As if he had read Zu An¡¯s mind, he immediately added, ¡°Except my daughter.¡±

    ¡°Am I really that type of person?!¡± Zu An yelled immediately. However, it seemed a strange coincidence. How did this fellow end up thinking along the same lines as himself? Could it be that they were the same type of person after all?

    ¡°All right. It¡¯s settled, then.¡±

    Not only had he been able to berate Chu Zhongtian, his long time adversary, as if he were scolding a grandchild, he had even obtained a new book and secured such a wonderful deal.

    Ji Dengtu¡¯s mood was excellent. He swaggered off with his head high and chest out, walking home like he was the hottest thing on the block.

    ...

    In contrast to his high spirits, in a study within another of Brightmoon City¡¯s residences, Shi Kun paced back and forth anxiously.

    There was a sudden knock at the door. He was usually one to wait patiently as others opened it, but this time, he found himself at the door not a secondter. ¡°What is it? Has Elder Shi been found?¡±

    ¡°Not yet. We¡¯ve already checked all possible locations, but there is still no sign of Elder Shi,¡± his subordinate reported with a grave expression.

    ¡°How could this be?¡± Shi Kun muttered to himself. He staggered backwards a few steps and fell into a chair.

    After sending Shi Lezhi out the day before to catch that traitor Qiao Xueying, he had waited patiently in this room. He had been full of expectation, looking forward to enjoying that elf princess for himself.

    However, after waiting for a long time without receiving any news, he¡¯d ended up dozing off. When he awoke with a start the next morning, Shi Lezhi had yet to return.

    His first reaction was to erupt in anger. He thought that Shi Lezhi had somehow acted on his own, perhaps even bringing Qiao Xueying to a secluded ce to use her for his own pleasure.

    After all, Shi Lezhi had brought a Shi family¡¯s special aphrodisiac with him that could make even the purest girlpletely lose herself. Snow was such a pretty thing, and so it wouldn¡¯t have surprised him if Shi Lezhi had been unable to hold back.

    However, he calmed himself down and cast aside this suspicion. Shi Lezhi had served the Shi n for many years, and had always remained loyal and devoted. He also understood the price of betraying the Shi n, and would never have chosen such folly.

    As such, the only possible exnation was that something had gone wrong.

    He immediately sent out all of the men he had under him, yet none of them could find Shi Lezhi.

    ¡°Could it be the Chu n?¡± Another subordinate asked. ¡°I heard that an assassin intruded into the Chu Estatest night, and the Chu n members... killed him.¡±

    1. Green is the color of cuckolding. The Chinese phrase ¡°to wear a green hat¡± is used to describe a cuckold.

 Chapter 235: Drawing Suspicion

    <h4>Chapter 235: Drawing Suspicion</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°There¡¯s no way...¡± Shi Kun shook his head. ¡°Justst night, we received news that Chu Zhongtian had left the city in a hurry. Who else in the Chu Estate could possibly be a match for Elder Shi?

    ¡°Elder Shi is an eighth rank cultivator! Even if he isn¡¯t a match for Chu Zhongtian, he is surely strong enough to protect himself. How could he possibly die quietly at the hands of someone in the Chu n?¡±

    The subordinate named Bian Tai remarked, ¡°It¡¯s just too big of a coincidence! Elder Shi went missing yesterday, just when an intruder was discovered by the Chu n. On top of all of this, we¡¯ve lost contact with all of the scouts outside the Chu Estate.¡±

    This time, apart from sending Shi Lezhi to protect Shi Kun in Brightmoon City, the Shi n had also dispatched the meticulous Bian Tai. Only with these two around Shi Kun did the Shi n¡¯s master feel at ease.

    Bian Tai¡¯s cultivation was far inferior to Shi Lezhi¡¯s, but he was an excellent schemer. The previous assassination attempts in the dungeon had been his doing, and should have been guaranteed to work. However, who would have expected them to end up facing a cheat like Zu An?

    Shi Kun felt a moment of trepidation. ¡°Those men who were watching the Chu Estate have also gone missing?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s correct,¡± Bian Tai confirmed. He continued, ¡°Based on all the information we currently have, this is the most likely scenario that could have taken ce:

    ¡°In order to escape pursuit, Qiao Xueying might have subconsciously sought shelter within the Chu Estate, since she is very familiar with it. Elder Shi most probably followed her there. However, perhaps fearing an encounter with Chu Zhongtian, he didn¡¯t dare to enter immediately.

    ¡°He could have met up with the men we had stationed around the Chu Estate, who then informed him that Chu Zhongtian had left. This could have ayed his fears, and made him decide to follow her inside. After all, he knows how important Snow is to young master.¡±

    As he spoke, Bian Tai kept a watchful eye on Shi Kun. As a trusted aide, he naturally understood what the two of them had nned.

    ¡°However, none of them expected there to be a hidden expert in the Chu Estate. Regardless of whether it was a head-on sh or a sudden ambush, in the end, Elder Shi was killed. Thereafter, the mysterious expert left the estate, silencing all of our scouts in the vicinity.¡±

    If Zu An were here, he would have definitely sighed in admiration. This person had actuallyid everything out as if he had witnessed everything himself¡ªhis suspicions were nearly identical to the truth.

    ¡°Could the Chu n be harboring a mysterious expert like that?¡± Shi Kun¡¯s face was full of disbelief. ¡°How could this be possible? Even Chu Zhongtian can¡¯t kill Elder Shi so easily! Are you telling me that this individual is even stronger than Chu Zhongtian?!¡±

    Bian Tai wore a forced smile. ¡°It seems inconceivable to me as well. However, if we eliminate everything that is not true, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.¡±

    Just then, another scout returned with a report. ¡°Reporting! This is news from within the Chu Estate. Last night, Madam Chu suddenly gathered all of the estate¡¯s guards and initiated the highest level of alert. They suspected that the intruder was an eighth ranked expert.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Shi Kun immediately straightened in his seat. Beside him, Bian Tai also turned a curious gaze on the newly-arrived scout.

    If the intruder was confirmed to be at the eighth rank, who else could it be but Shi Leizhi?

    After all, the number of eighth rank cultivators in Brightmoon City could be counted with one hand!

    ¡°What happened then?¡± Bian Tai asked.

    The scout replied, ¡°Madam Chu brought the guards to search for the intruder, and they discovered that he had already been killed by Zu An.¡±

    ¡°Zu An!¡± Even Bian Tai was shocked, not to mention Shi Kun.

    How could this be?!

    Shi Lezhi was an eighth rank expert, while Zu An was merely at the third rank. The former could kill thetter with hardly any effort, so how did he end up being killed by Zu An instead?

    ¡°Are you certain that it was Elder Shi?¡± Bian Tai was the first to gather his wits.

    ¡°ording to the information from within the Chu n, the intruder was struck in the head by Zu An¡¯s ¡®Six Pulse Divine Sword¡¯. Half his head was blown apart, and the face waspletely unrecognizable. It was impossible to confirm if the deceased was Elder Shi.¡± The scout¡¯s voice trembled as he spoke.

    ¡°''Six Pulse Divine Sword?¡± Bian Tai narrowed his eyes. ¡°Young master, ¡°this one is still ignorant and inexperienced. Have you heard of this battle skill before?¡±

    Shi Kun said furiously, ¡°How would he know of a bullshit skill like the ¡®Six Pulse Divine Sword¡¯? I chased him down like a dog in that dungeon. Why didn¡¯t I see him use it then?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Kun for 999 Rage points!

    (Zu An sneezed. Just who is thinking about me now?)

    When Shi Kun first heard about this fellow half a month ago, he didn¡¯t regard him as anyone important. There was no way such a scoundrel was worth treating as a rival.

    However, the most perfect and beautiful wife in his eyes had already been seized by Zu An, and he¡¯d been left covered in grime time and time again while chasing that brat through the dungeon. And now, even Elder Shi had met his end at the hands of this fellow?

    This was impossible!

    No matter what skill this scoundrel had, there was no way that he could have killed Elder Shi!

    Bian Tai spoke up. ¡°In the mountains behind the academy, Zu An was able to cleave through young master¡¯s sword in one move. The strength he disyed at that time was surely beyond a third rank cultivator. Could he have had some type of encounter in the dungeon that taught him this ¡®Six Pulse Divine Sword¡¯?¡±

    ¡°Not a chance.¡± Shi Kun¡¯s face was a dreadful mask. This aide of his was normally brilliant, so why did he keep bringing up such possibilities now?

    ¡°Elder Shi already analyzed him previously. That fellow¡¯s strength is indeed a bit strange, and he can¡¯t be ssified as a true third rank cultivator. However, at his peak, he wouldn¡¯t exceed the fifth rank in terms of strength. He cannot control any elemental force either, so he isn¡¯t even a match for a true fifth rank cultivator. There is no way Elder Shi¡¯s analysis was wrong.¡±

    Bian Tai opened his mouth to say something, but stopped himself.

    Shi Kun snorted coldly. ¡°Don¡¯t bring up that piece-of-trash Yuan Wendong. At the critical moment, he actually had the nerve to be distracted and talk to his opponent. Let¡¯s not forget that Zu An even prepared a secret weapon to specially restrain his flying swords. Without it, Zu An wouldn¡¯t have stood any chance, no matter how distracted Yuan Wendong had let himself be.¡±

    Bian Tai pondered for a moment, then said in a low voice, ¡°I concur that, with Zu An¡¯s strength, being able to kill Elder Shi is somewhat unrealistic. If that is the case, the most probable exnation is that he has a mysterious master behind him.¡±

    ¡°Mysterious master?¡± Shi Kun was stunned.

    ¡°Indeed.¡± Bian Su¡¯s thoughts moved like electricity, his words tumbling out of his mouth. ¡°Just like the intelligence Miss Qiao gave us before...¡±

    He noticed that Shi Kun¡¯s face became as dark as charcoal, and he hurriedly added, ¡°Even though Qiao Xueying has now betrayed young master, she was previously a loyal and devoted servant. Her reports from before should still be urate.

    ¡°How else could Zu An, Brightmoon City¡¯s notorious good-for-nothing, undergo such a transformation during this period of time, even to the extent of being able to face young master?

    ¡°There is definitely a hidden expert with profound cultivation instructing him. Only such a powerful cultivator couldpletely transform that piece of trash.¡±

    Bian Tai sighed deeply. ¡°Going back further, perhaps him bing the Chu n¡¯s young master wasn¡¯t anything unexpected. It wasn¡¯t that the Chu n had lost all reason. Perhaps, through this mysterious person behind him, all these irrational things can be exined.¡±

    ¡°A mysterious master...¡± Shi Kun still struggled with the possibility. He wasn¡¯t stupid¡ªon the contrary, he was considered extremely smart. He wouldn¡¯t have been able to reach his level of cultivation at such a young age otherwise. After listening to Bian Tai¡¯s analysis, he turned things over in his mind, and was shocked to discover that it was indeed the only possibility.

    ¡°Why would someone like him be deserving of all of this?!¡± His understanding of the situation merely inmed his hatred further. ¡°Why would such an incredible and mysterious person favor trash like Zu An? Wouldn¡¯t it be easier to choose someone with better aptitude to teach?¡±

    If they could easily kill Elder Shi, then their cultivation must at least be at the pinnacle of eight rank, with a possibility that they were even at the Master stage.

    How could he¡ªwho had enjoyed the finest garments and the most sumptuous of meals from birth¡ªhave never had the privilege of being guided by such an individual, while this little bastard did? The thought of it sent him berserk with a jealous rage.

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Kun for 1024 Rage points!

    Bian Tai shared his confusion. ¡°Perhaps that expert had been treated kindly by Zu An¡¯s ancestors, or he is somehow conspiring against the Chu n... I will have my people look into these things immediately.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need.¡± Shi Kun raised a hand to stop him. ¡°Let¡¯s return to the capital city as early as possible.¡±

    ¡°Return to the capital?¡± Bian Tai was shocked. ¡°We are going back just like this?¡±

    Shi Kun exploded with fury. ¡°Do you think I want to?! However, my life-saving artifact was used up in the dungeon, and now, even Elder Shi has been killed! On top of all of this, you¡¯re telling me that a terrifying and mysterious expert is lurking about, who might very well be Zu An¡¯s master. That scoundrel Zu An is my mortal enemy. If he asks his master to act against me, how could I possibly face him?¡±

    Bian Tai¡¯s brow furrowed. ¡°An expert on this level shouldn¡¯t act against juniors. Moreover, young master possesses extraordinary standing. How could the Chu n dare to act publicly against young master?¡±

    ¡°Just how precious do you think my life is? I cannot take the slightest bit of risk. There is no need to discuss this matter further. You can withdraw to make preparations. I am going to pay the Sang estate a visit.¡± After saying this, he sought out the guards with the highest cultivation levels and left with a grave expression.

    Bian Tai sighed inwardly as he watched Shi Kun¡¯s departing figure. He understood the temperament of this young master of the Shi n better than anyone else. His aptitude was extremely high, and while in public, he treated everyone perfectly. However, in reality, his personality waspletely rotten.

    Shi Kun had everything handed to him on a silver tter since birth, and everything went too smoothly for him. It was too easy for him to obtain whatever he wanted, and so he never treasured anything. Whenever he suffered a setback, he would immediately erupt in anger.

    He sensed a difference in the young master ever since he had returned from the dungeon. Shi Lezhi¡¯s tragic fate seemed to be the final straw that broke this camel¡¯s back.

    Shi Kun hurried to the Sang estate. Of course, this Sang estate wasn¡¯t the Governor¡¯s Estate where Sang Hong resided. Rather, it was where River Patrol Commander Sang Qian lived.

    Sang Qian was surprised by Shi Kun¡¯s arrival, but still went out to greet him with a smile.

    ¡°I didn¡¯te here for nonsense. I came to meet your father.¡± Shi Lezhi¡¯s death had cast a terrible shadow on Shi Kun¡¯s mood.

    His rude tone of voice caused Sang Qian to curse inwardly, and his brow furrowed. However, the Shi n¡¯s standing was too great, and he could not afford to offend the young master. He tamped down on his anger and said, ¡°Young master Shi must be joking. My father lives in the Governor¡¯s Estate. Why would he be in Brightmoon City?¡±

    The Governor¡¯s Estate was located in the capital city of Linchuan Commandery, not in Brightmoon City. Sang Hong usually remained in the Governor¡¯s Estate and seldom appeared in Brightmoon City, to forestall any rumors that he was somehow neglecting his duty.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for this meaningless charade, considering our close ties. I have urgent business to discuss with your father, so hurry and bring me to him.¡± Shi Kun said impatiently.

    With Shi Kun being so direct, there was nothing else for Sang Qian to do. After ensuring that they were alone, he escorted Shi Kun all the way to a private room in the rear hall.

    Sang Hong hade to Linchuan Commandery for the sake of dealing with the Chu n. Naturally, then, he had to be in Brightmoon City to oversee this effectively.

    Of course, there was no way to publicly reveal this, and so he usuallyy low in his son¡¯s estate.

    ¡°Just what is it that has made young master Shi so anxious?¡± Sang Hong inquired casually, calmly pouring a cup of tea.

    He was still feeling disgruntled. This fellow had barged in so directly, he was sure to have attracted attention from all directions.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Elder Shi diedst night.¡± Shi Kun said with a sullen expression.

    ¡°What?¡± Sang Qian cried out in rm.

    Sang Hong gave his son a dissatisfied look. This fellow was nothing like him, and had absolutely noposure. He took his time to return his teacup to the table before asking, ¡°Shi Lezhi died? Who in all of Brightmoon City could possibly kill him, or would even dare to kill him?¡±

    He understood Shi Lezhi¡¯s cultivation well. In all of Brightmoon City, he was at least one of the ten strongest individuals, perhaps even in the top five.

    Among those ten, only three or four possessed the ability to kill him. However, they were all individuals with high standing who were deeply entwined with the various other powers in the country. If any of them made a move, they would affect the bnce of powers tremendously. How could such an individual possibly afford to publicly offend the Shi n?

    Shi Kun¡¯s handsome face twitched, and he spat out a name through clenched teeth that Sang Hong hadn¡¯t expected at all.

 Chapter 236: Masked Individual

    <h4>Chapter 236: Masked Individual</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Zu An?¡±

    Sang Qian¡¯s exmation was pitched an octave higher than his usual speaking tone.

    It was extremely difficult to even associate Zu An with an eight rank expert like Shi Lezhi, let alone believe that Shi Lezhi had somehow been killed by him.

    ¡°Brother Shi, could there have been some mistake?¡± Sang Qian asked doubtfully. He wondered if this fellow had been too frightened after having almost tasted Zu An¡¯s sword in front of the dungeon entrance, and was now portraying Zu An as such a powerful foe in order to make his experience seem less embarrassing.

    However, to say he was capable of killing an eighth rank expert was just too ridiculous.

    Sang Hong was simrly disbelieving. However, he didn¡¯t lose his cool like his son, but looked calmly at Shi Kun instead. He knew that there was more to this.

    Sure enough, Shi Kun said bitterly, ¡°I really wish I were wrong as well...¡±

    He recounted the events of the previous night, as well as what Bian Tai had deduced. Of course, he left out some details that the two of them didn¡¯t need to hear, such as poisoning Qiao Xueying. He only said that they were catching a traitor.

    ¡°Ninth rank...¡± Sang Hong remained silent for a long time, seemingly deep in thought.

    Sang Qian spoke into the silence. ¡°Brother Shi, there isn¡¯t a single ninth rank cultivator in all of Brightmoon City. Could there be some misunderstanding on your part?¡±

    Knowing that Sang Qian didn¡¯t believe him, Shi Kun sneered and said, ¡°I¡¯ve already told you everything I should. I¡¯ll leave it up to you two whether you want to believe it or not. Either way, I¡¯m about to return to the capital. If something goes awry on your end, it¡¯ll have nothing to do with me.¡±

    ¡°Young master Shi is returning to the capital?¡± Sang Hong asked.

    ¡°Correct. The n has contacted me and ordered me to return early.¡± There was no way Shi Kun would admit to being frightened, and so he had toe up with a reason.

    With that, he exchanged a few final pleasantries before leaving hurriedly.

    When Shi Kun had left, Sang Qian said in puzzlement, ¡°Father, why would the Shi n order him to return at such a time?¡±

    Sang Hong said indifferently, ¡°Shi Kun¡¯s ns have all beenpletely ruined, and so, remaining here is meaningless for him. Moreover, Shi Lezhi¡¯s death must havepletely horrified him. He¡¯ll obviously want to use this as an excuse to leave.¡±

    ¡°What do you think about what he just said? Could there really be a mysterious ninth rank expert here?¡± asked Sang Hong curiously.

    ¡°Whether or not it¡¯s true, we can just ask and we¡¯ll know.¡± Sang Hong rose to his feet. He reached out to turn a porcin bottle on a nearby bookcase. The bookcase opened up, revealing a private room.

    A masked man strode out from within. Sang Qian assessed the figure from head to toe. He couldn¡¯t understand why his own father would hide anything from him. Even at this stage, he still had this fellow wear a mask.

    Sang Hong said in a low voice, ¡°You should¡¯ve heard Shi Kun¡¯s words earlier. What do you think?¡±

    ¡°Ninth rank? There shouldn¡¯t be anyone like that in the Chu n.¡± The man shook his head, then said in a mocking tone, ¡°If they really did have a ninth rank ally, the one at the head of the n wouldn¡¯t be Chu Zhongtian.¡±

    Sang Hong nodded. ¡°That is my deduction as well. However, Shi Lezhi¡¯s death in the Chu Estate doesn¡¯t seem to be false. Just what is going on here?¡±

    The masked man tapped his temple. ¡°I just recalled something. During the previous ns Tournament, Zu An became an overnight celebrity. He was interrogated by the Chu n¡¯s Madam, and she found out that he seemed to have received some techniques from a mysterious individual, who imparted the knowledge of cultivation to him before leaving.

    ¡°Could it be that he wasn¡¯t telling the truth, and that this strange person hadn¡¯t left, but remained by his side?¡±

    Sang Hong nodded. ¡°This is definitely a possibility. This can also exin how Shi Lezhi could die such a quiet death. I believe that, after he found out Chu Zhongtian had left the city, he decided to use the opportunity to infiltrate the estate and capture Zu An. After all, that brat has left Shi Kun in a rather sorry state. There¡¯s no doubting that he wanted revenge.

    ¡°However, who would have expected Zu An to have a mysterious expert backing him? If Shi Lezhi was ambushed by this mysterious individual, even if their cultivation was around Shi Lezhi¡¯s level, they could have killed him whether they intended to or not.¡±

    Having gotten a rough grasp of the situation, Sang Hong looked towards the masked individual. ¡°The issue now is, just who exactly is that mysterious expert?¡±

    The eyes of the masked individual betrayed a hint of puzzlement. ¡°I¡¯ve been in the Chu n for so many years, and yet I¡¯ve never noticed anyone like this... Could it be that Zu An¡¯s father had some connections, and that this person isn¡¯t from the Chu n?¡±

    Sang Qian spoke up. ¡°Back then, when the Chu n chose Zu An as their son-inw, we investigated his background. We suspected he might have some special background, but it turned out he was only an orphan raised by his uncle, who passed away not long ago.

    ¡°We looked into his uncle as well. He was merely an ordinary person, and there was nothing special about him.¡±

    ¡°Orphan...¡± Sang Hong pondered a moment. ¡°We weren¡¯t able to find out anything about his parents?¡±

    ¡°There was nothing.¡± Sang Qian shook his head. An rming thought struck him. ¡°Could he really have some sort of mysterious background?¡±

    ¡°That is most likely the case.¡± Sang Hong¡¯s eyes flickered. ¡°There is no kindness without cause or reason in this world. I refuse to believe that a piece of trash deserves the earnest fostering of a mysterious expert. Qian¡¯er, dive deeper into his background. See if you can find any clues regarding his parents.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± Sang Qian acknowledged immediately, but he wore a slightly troubled expression. ¡°I just fear that we might not find anything, since the previous investigations were extremely detailed.¡±

    ¡°We cast a wide thest time. Now that we know what we are looking for, we might unexpectedly find something.¡± Sang Hong had a considerable amount of experience in this field. He turned his gaze back to the masked individual. ¡°Of course, aside from Qian¡¯er, I must also trouble your distinguished self to investigate within the Chu n as well, to see if you can learn anything about that mysterious figure.

    ¡°If they exist in this world, then they will definitely have left behind some traces, no matter how mysterious they are. If we examine everything carefully, we should be able to find some clues.¡±

    The masked man had a serious look in his eyes. ¡°All right. I really want to find out just what kind of expert is hiding in the estate.¡±

    If there was really such a top-notch expert hidden in the estate, how could he possibly feel at ease?

    ¡°Thank you for your trouble.¡± Sang Hong moved on to a different line of questioning. ¡°By the way, how many people know about the matters regarding the Chu and Wang ns¡¯ merchant caravans? Would they end up suspecting you?¡±

    The masked individual sped his fist respectfully. ¡°I thank you for your concern, but there is no need to worry. I did not participate in that; it was something I heard about through a different channel. Even if they started investigating, they would not be able to trace anything back to me.¡±

    Sang Hong smiled. ¡°As expected of an experienced man like yourself.¡±

    ¡°Since I am taking care of matters for your respected self, it is only natural that I take extra precautions.¡± The masked individual hesitated a moment, then added, ¡°However, regarding the things that were previously promised to me...¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I have always been a man of my word,¡± answered Sang Hong. ¡°Chu Zhongtian shows no understanding of the times, so he is destined to be eliminated. At that time, the Chu n will be yours, as well as the one you yearn for.¡±

    The masked man was visibly embarrassed. ¡°I¡¯ve let your respected self see a shameful side of me.¡±

    ¡°Fair, graceful, and virtuous women belong to those of noble character; there is nothing abnormal about that. What is there to mock you for?¡± Sang Hong revealed a faint smile. ¡°Why did Chu Zhongtian suddenly leave the city? It seems like young miss Chu fell ill? Did he really spend the night trying to find Divine Physician Ji?¡±

    ¡°Indeed, something has happened to Chu Chuyan¡¯s health.¡± The masked man replied. ¡°It is a pity that the Chu n¡¯s Madam has kept her condition an absolute secret. Not even I understand the exact situation.¡±

    ¡°It could be side effects from the Evanescent Lotus.¡± Sang Hong fell deep into thought. After returning from the dungeon, Chu Chuyan¡¯s strength had increased sharply. Her ingesting the Evanescent Lotus was an open secret.

    ¡°I¡¯ve already sent some people to approach Zu An to inquire about Chu Chuyan. I will immediately contact your respected self when I receive any further news.¡± The masked man said.

    Sang Hong bowed slightly. ¡°All right. I leave this matter in your capable hands.¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Master Sang is too polite.¡± The masked man hurriedly rose to return the greeting.

    After chatting for a while longer, the masked man bid his farewell and left.

    When he had left, Sang Qian grumbled, ¡°Father, just who is that person? Why do you have to hide his identity even from me?¡±

    Sang Hong answered, ¡°That is his request. His identity is sensitive, and he is only willing to reveal it to me. Since I agreed to his request, it isn¡¯t proper for me to renege on my promise.¡±

    Knowing that his father had always been one whose words carried enormous weight, Sang Qian didn¡¯t dare say anything more. Instead, he began to mutter to himself, contemting who the mysterious man could be, and why keeping his identity a secret was so important to him.

    Sang Hong shook his head inwardly at his reaction. His son was indeed too impatient and reckless. No wonder the masked man had made such a request.

    He suddenly thought of another matter. ¡°Right, I heard that you had Zheng Dan approach Zu An again?¡± he said in a cold voice.

 Chapter 237: Courtesanâ€™s Meeting

    <h4>Chapter 237: Courtesan''s Meeting</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Sang Qian jumped. ¡°Why do you know about this?¡±

    ¡°The only way anything can truly remain hidden is if you silence all those involved.¡± Sang Hong said with a cold snort. ¡°A honey trap! Of course it would be someone like you whoes up with something like that!¡±

    Sang Qian flushed red with embarrassment. ¡°I was just trying to take over the Plum Blossom Sect¡¯s business! After all, we have a gambling parlor ourselves...¡±

    ¡°Enough. I don¡¯t want to know about such things.¡± Sang Hong cut him off with an impatient expression.

    ¡°Ah...¡± Sang Qian cursed endlessly in his heart. You¡¯re noble and virtuous, and you don¡¯t covet riches at all. However, a vast amount of wealth is needed to rise through the ranks of the royal court, so how can an official¡¯s sry be enough?

    Despite that, he tried to defend himself. ¡°Those with grand ambitions do not bother with mere trifles. Moreover, history has proved time and again how extremely useful sexual entrapment can be!¡±

    Sang Hong red at his son. ¡°Are you actually dumb? Others use carefully-groomed female spies toy their honey traps. Who in the world uses their own fianc¨¦e?!¡±

    Sang Qian chuckled sheepishly. ¡°I couldn¡¯t find a suitable candidate on such short notice, so I had Zheng Dan give it a try. Don¡¯t worry, she has a graceful and reserved disposition, and she is quite intelligent. She won¡¯t really let Zu An take advantage of her.¡±

    Sang Hong snorted coldly. ¡°I really don¡¯t know where you get your confidence. This is ying with fire! A single mistake and you¡¯ll end up giving away your wife too.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, father. How could he possibly match up to me in terms of appearance, family background and ability?¡± Sang Qian said arrogantly. ¡°Miss Zheng has always had such high standards, so how could she ever fall for such a guy?¡±

    Sang Hong frowned at how lightly his son was treating this matter. He was surely being a bit too cocky. However, he too had met that child Zheng Dan before. Although she looked gentle and sweet-tempered on the surface, she was definitely a headstrong girl. She had a distinguished background as well, so the chances of her falling for a mere drafted son-inw was extremely low.

    Reassured by his reasoning, he let himself rx a little. ¡°Forget it. Since things are the way they are, give her another task. See if she can find out anything about that mysterious expert behind Zu An.¡±

    Sang Qian was stunned. ¡°Didn¡¯t you already task me and that masked man to look into this separately?¡±

    Sang Hong shook his head. ¡°If that mysterious expert is concealing himself intentionally, they may not be able to root him out in the Chu n. The same can be said on your side. That is why we must hope that Zu An will end up getting ensnared by her beauty and identally reveal something.¡±

    His face was lined with worry. He had been supremely confident that he couldplete what he had set out to do in Brightmoon City. However, the news of this mysterious expert suddenly introduced more unknown variables. The sess or failure of his ns might very well hinge on this matter. That was why he had to determine what these variables were as soon as possible.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll talk to Zheng Dan.¡± Sang Qian agreed. He felt a sense of injustice. He had just been lectured on using his own fianc¨¦e as a honey trap, yet, in the end, his father had resorted to using this method at the earliest opportunity.

    After a slight hesitation, Sang Hong said, ¡°There is one other matter I need you to keep in mind. If Zheng Dan really ends up doing something that lets you down, what do you n to do?¡±

    ¡°How dare she?!¡± The image of Zheng Dan being defiled under Zu An appeared in Sang Qian¡¯s mind, and his eyes almost popped right out of their sockets. ¡°If she dares do anything that lets me down, I will make sure not even her family¡¯s dog is left alive!¡±

    ¡°As usual, your anger is driven by your ignorance!¡± Sang Hong angrily rebuked. ¡°If something like that really happens, you have to pretend as if nothing happened¡ª¡±

    He was cut off before he could finish. ¡°Isn¡¯t that the same as willingly bing cuckolded?!¡±

    ¡°Of course it isn¡¯t!¡± Sang Hong said furiously, his tone hard as iron. ¡°If you want to achieve great things, you must be able to endure far more than an ordinary person. When something really does happen, you cannot me Zheng Dan without getting to the root of the matter first! Otherwise, you will only end up pushing her further into the embrace of another man.

    ¡°What you have to do is console and forgive her,pletely ease her heart, and do as much as you can to make her continue working for you. Only after the overall situation has been resolved can you settle matters with her.¡±

    Sang Qian didn¡¯t really approve of this, but his father had always been strict, so he felt disinclined to argue. ¡°I got it.¡±

    His half-hearted tone caused Sang Hong to narrow his eyes. However, he refrained from saying anything further. He hoped that child Zheng Dan was smart enough not to head down the wrong path.

    Sang Hong sat down again. ¡°I just remembered. Weren¡¯t you nning to go to the Courtesan''s Meeting?¡± he inquired, leisurely sipping on some tea.

    ¡°Yes. I heard that the Immortal Abode¡¯s courtesan queen Qiu Honglei is even going to entertain a single guest in private. Lady Qiu¡¯s skills in the arts are exceptional. Countless men have prostrated themselves before her, and yet she has remained a pure woman to this day, only entertaining with art and never with her body. The men of this city have pined after her for a long time, and I¡¯m going to try my luck tonight as well...¡±

    As he spoke, he suddenly noticed that his father¡¯s eyes had begun to smolder dangerously, and his mouth snapped shut in embarrassment. Talking about such things with his father was far too inappropriate.

    Sang Hong snorted derisively. ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to go tonight. A glorious court official visiting a ce for prostitutes... what coulde next?!¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Visiting brothels ismonce for the suave and elegant. There¡¯s nothing uneptable about it,¡± Sang Qian defended himself.

    ¡°There¡¯s more to that Qiu Honglei than meets the eye.¡± Sang Hong said with a heavy voice. ¡°I even sent someone to look into her...¡±

    Ah, it turns out my father also has an interest in her. Sang Qian¡¯s face betrayed a knowling look. No wonder you¡¯re stopping me from going! It¡¯s because you¡¯re afraid I¡¯mpeting with you for her affections.

    With a single nce, Sang Hong knew immediately what kind of nonsense was going through his son¡¯s mind. His face became as dark as charcoal. ¡°Absolute nonsense! I just wanted to make sure I had all the information I needed toplete the task I was assigned. That woman is famous in Brightmoon City, so of course I would look into her. It is a pity that she is only an ordinary courtesan.¡±

    ¡°Was she always a courtesan to begin with?¡± Sang Qian wondered where his father was going with this.

    ¡°This is what¡¯s strange.¡± Sang Hong looked out the window, toward the south of the city. ¡°She was born with such great beauty that her reputation spread far and wide. If she was only an ordinary courtesan, how could she have possibly retained her purity after so many years?¡±

    ¡°Ah...¡± When his father put it this way, he also realized that something was off.

    Sang Hong carried on, ¡°Furthermore, you¡¯ve just announced your engagement with the Zheng n, and yet you¡¯re already looking for some courtesan. What exactly are you trying to show Zheng Dan and the entire Zheng n? In order to deal with the Chu n this time, we need the full support of the Zheng n. I do not want there to be any friction between our two ns because of your ¡®opportunity¡¯. Stay at home today. You aren¡¯t permitted to go anywhere!¡±

    Sang Qian was crestfallen. However, he understood that he couldn¡¯t go against his father¡¯s orders. He looked towards the south of the city, where the Immortal Abode was located, and his heart was filled with bitterness. He wondered which lucky bastard would end up picking this exceptional flower.

    ...

    After Zu An saw off Ji Dengtu, he returned to his room to carry out meditation cultivation. Qin Wanru was watching Chu Chuyan right now, so there was no way for him to head over to her.

    Not long after he sat down, there came a persistent knocking. ¡°Ah Zu, Ah Zu are you there?¡±

    Zu An stared nkly for a moment. There was something familiar about this voice. After thinking for a bit, he recognized the voice as belonging to Chu Yucheng, the junior from the third branch that he had met during the ns Tournament. They had also exchanged some greetings in Chu Estate before, but hadn¡¯t interacted much beyond that.

    What does this guy want from me? Zu An was puzzled. He got up to take a look. Sure enough, a chubby ball of a youngster stood at the entrance, a big smile stered on his face.

    His eyes were so narrowed that they almost formed a line.

    Zu An didn¡¯t dare underestimate him. During the ns Tournament, this fe had roved around like a small tank, his fat acting as the perfect meat shield, overwhelming his opponent without giving him a single chance to retaliate.

    Even more shocking was the presence of another person at his side. His hands were folded in front of him, hugging a sword. His face was cold and proud; this was none other than Chu Hongcai, of the second branch.

    ¡°Is there something the two of you need from me?¡± Zu An asked curiously.

    ¡°Of course! We need you for something good!¡± Chu Yucheng walked over and draped his arm around Zu An¡¯s shoulders, the knowing smile of a fellow bro on his face. ¡°Tonight is Immortal Abode¡¯s Courtesan''s Meeting! You in?¡±

 Chapter 238: Stop Talking, I Can Already Picture it!

    <h4>Chapter 238: Stop Talking, I Can Already Picture it!</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Courtesan''s Meeting?¡± Zu An¡¯s eyes brightened. How could such courtesans, who used the arts to entertain instead of selling their bodies, be missing from the historical dramas and novels in his past life? His interest was immediately piqued.

    He never expected to be able to experience such things personally! Just as he was about to agree, a sudden thought struck him. He shook his head and said, ¡°Take a good look at this pure and upstanding face of mine. Do I really look like someone who would go to a brothel?¡±

    Chu Yucheng was speechless.

    His eyes, which had been reduced to slits by his excessive smile, instantly widened.

    This brat... that¡¯s exactly the type of person you are!

    Even Chu Hongcai, who had been standing aloof by the side, turned around in astonishment. The fellow in front of him truly was shameless beyond imagination.

    Zu An snickered inside. He hadn¡¯t been in the Chu estate for long, but it had been long enough that he wasn¡¯t a stranger here. Neither branch had chosen to engage with him much during this period, and yet, they were suddenly inviting him to some Courtesan''s Meeting? How could that not seem suspicious to him?

    If he ended up going with them, only for them to suddenly rat him out to Qin Wanru or Chu Chuyan, he might be forced to take his own life to avoid their wrath.

    Chu Yucheng¡¯s round little eyes twitched. He seemed to guess Zu An¡¯s thoughts, and said with a smile, ¡°Ah Zu, you¡¯re thinking too much. Visiting brothels is a noble and distinguished affair in our Great Zhou Dynasty. As long as you don¡¯t bring anyone home, no one would consider it a big deal, not even your own cousins.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s correct!¡± Chu Hongcai chipped in with a nonchnt affirmation.

    Zu An narrowed his eyes at him. This fellow really cherished his words like gold! At least his bearing was more suave than that father of his with the dark eyebags.

    Chu Yucheng said with augh, ¡°The two of us were nning to head over ourselves, but we suddenly thought of inviting Ah Zu to join us for this happy asion. You¡¯ve already been in the estate for so long, and yet we are still not close at all! This would be the perfect chance to give you a big wee. Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll foot the bill this time. You can just focus on enjoying yourself.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s suspicions grew. Were these two fes really that nice?

    Their voices sounded sincere, however, and there was no hint of a lie.

    Ah, could this be because I was too brilliant during the ns Tournament? I even rescued Chu Chuyan from the dungeon! They must feel that my position is pretty much secure. That¡¯s why they are trying to curry favor and get on my good side!

    Noticing the change in his attitude, Chu Yusheng reached out his chubby hand to tug at his sleeve. ¡°We must hurry, or else there¡¯ll be way too many peopleter on. By then, we won¡¯t even be able to squeeze our way in!¡±

    ¡°Could it really be that bad?¡± Zu An was extremely doubtful.

    ¡°We can¡¯t me you for not knowing.¡± Chu Hongcai¡¯s eyes glittered, and he dropped his proud and reticent attitude. ¡°Ever since Qiu Honglei arrived in Brightmoon City two years ago, she immediately became the undisputed number one courtesan. Not only is she devastatingly beautiful, she is exceptionally talented in the arts, and is perfect in every respect. Her zither skills and the way she dances are even more dazzling. In my opinion, if not for her status as a courtesan, not even Chu Chuyan would be able to sitfortably on her throne as Brightmoon City¡¯s number one beauty.¡±

    ¡°Ahem ahem...¡± Chu Yucheng hurriedly tugged at his cousin¡¯s sleeve. ¡°What are you saying? Qiu Honglei is a brothel girl! How can youpare her to our cousin?¡±

    Chu Hongcai snorted irritably, but didn¡¯t argue further. He clearly acknowledged what had just been said.

    ¡°Qiu Honglei?¡± This name seemed very familiar. Zu An suddenly remembered how that lecher Ji Dengtu had offered to treat his condition, as long as he could obtain the personal underwear of severaldies. Qiu Honglei had been one of those mentioned.

    Even though he didn¡¯t need that old dirtbag to treat him anymore, his curiosity about this woman remained. After all, she was a woman that even Ji Dengtu couldn¡¯t forget, and the others he had mentioned¡ªYu Yanluo, Shang Liuyu, and even Qin Wanru¡ªwere all one-in-a-million beauties.

    Hm?

    A thought came to his mind. ¡°How old is this Qiu Honglei?¡±

    Yu Yanluo and Qin Wanru were both from Ji Dengtu¡¯s generation. There was no way this was true for this courtesan as well right?

    When he thought of a courtesan auntie...

    Zu An¡¯s expression immediately turned bizarre. However, as he thought about how Yu Yanluo and the others still maintained their exceptional appearances, he became less concerned with Qiu Honglei¡¯s age.

    Since this was a world of cultivation, living to a few hundreds of years, or even over a thousand years, waspletely possible. Once a cultivator reached a certain level of cultivation, they could prevent aging from affecting their physical appearance, making a person¡¯s age less of a consideration.

    ¡°No one knows her exact age. However, from the various fanclubs¡¯ rumors, she should be about the same age as our cousin.¡± Chu Hongcai spoke like one who was exceedingly familiar with the matter. If Chu Yucheng hadn¡¯t hurriedly cut him off, he might even have started preaching about the different Qiu Honglei fanclubs in Brightmoon City.

    Zu An waspletely stunned. This fe¡¯s aloof and reserved appearance was falling apart! It turned out that he was also a celebrity-chasing fanboy!

    Pah, what celebrity? Isn¡¯t this just lusting after someone¡¯s appearance and figure?!

    ¡°Let¡¯s head out first. We can talk about these things along the way. Otherwise, we really won''t be able to find any seats.¡± Chu Yucheng pulled them forward, one in each hand, hurrying them along.

    ¡°Wait!¡± Zu An still remained hesitant. ¡°Chuyan is sick, yet we are still going out for such... Ahem ahem... Isn¡¯t it irresponsible for us to go out for some cultural appreciation while she¡¯s in such a state?¡±

    Chu Yucheng stared nkly. ¡°Isn¡¯t she just experiencing a minor problem? What is there to worry about?¡±

    ¡°Exactly.¡± Chu Hongcai echoed him. ¡°She will get better after resting for a few days, but Qiu Honglei¡¯s Courtesan¡¯s Meeting is a one-time deal! ording to the rumors, Lady Qiu might even choose someone to meet her in private.¡±

    His eyes sparkled brilliantly as he spoke those words. It was clear that he had already begun to fantasize that he would be the lucky one chosen.

    Zu An gave them his best smile. ¡°You¡¯re right, Chuyan will get better after a few days anyway. We have to go pay this courtesan a visit.¡±

    Chuyan my love, it¡¯s not that I want to go about womanizing, but I have to in order to hide your condition! This humble husband can only pretend to follow them in a carefree manner. Sigh... I must sacrifice my actual feelings and entertain those vixens!

    ¡°Ah Zu, what¡¯s with that wide grin? What are you thinking about?¡± Chu Yucheng patted his shoulder with a meaty palm.

    Zu An was startled. ¡°No... nothing,¡± he said with a guilty conscience. He looked around to make sure no one else had noticed anything, then sighed in relief.

    Several fine steeds had been prepared for them at the gates of the Chu Estate. Since they were all men, there was no need for them to go by carriage.

    Zu An studied their little group, and realized that he had forgotten to bring Cheng Shouping along. He was just about to call for him, but the other two rushed to stop him, their expressions altering noticeably. ¡°Ah Zu, you mustn¡¯t fret over trifles!¡±

    ¡°Indeed, we brothers merely wish to drink merrily together with some girls. Why would we bring any subordinates?¡±

    Noticing their strong reactions, Zu An began to suspect them of setting a trap for him, and reminded himself to be vignt. However, he recognized that, even if he were to fall into a trap, Cheng Shouping¡¯s presence wouldn¡¯t really make a difference, and so there was no need for those two to fret like this.

    He peered closer and saw the nervousness in their eyes, and a ray of understanding struck him. It seemed that, having stayed with the Chu n for so long, Cheng Shouping¡¯s reputation as a bbermouth was alreadymon knowledge. If he apanied them to the brothel, it was certain that everyone in the Chu n would know of their visit within half a day¡¯s time.

    Even though visiting prostitutes in the Great Zhou Dynasty wasn¡¯t a shameful act, it wasn¡¯t anything to brag about, either. If word of their visit reached the Master¡¯s or Madam¡¯s ears, he would be in big trouble.

    Having considered these issues thoroughly, Zu An decided not to bring Cheng Shouping along after all. Thus, the trio mounted up and rushed towards Immortal Abode.

    ¡°By the way, I am slightly curious. Is it true that this Qiu Honglei doesn¡¯t provide sexual favors, but instead takes pride in entertaining others with her artistic talents?¡± Zu An asked along the way.

    ¡°Yup, this ismon knowledge, and not just in Brightmoon City.¡± Chu Hongcai seemed extremely proud as he said this. ¡°Tales of Lady Qiu¡¯s beauty have spread far and wide, and even people from the neighboringmanderies flock to catch a glimpse of her. It is precisely because she has remained principled and incorruptible that so many men have gone crazy over her.¡±

    ¡°The brothel has so many gentle and beautiful girls, yet none of you cherish them. All of you insist on scrambling madly for this unobtainable girl. Tell me, isn¡¯t this kind of rude?¡± Zu An couldn¡¯t help but sigh.

    Chu Hongcai and Chu Yucheng exchanged incredulous looks.

    Only after a moment did Chu Yucheng break out inughter. ¡°Ah Zu, even though your words are somewhat crude, you have hit the nail on the head! This is human nature.¡±

    ¡°Also, as for Qiu Honglei¡¯s purity, who could confirm such a thing? Do we just have to trust her on this?¡± Zu An shook his head. ¡°I still can¡¯t believe it. If she really has the body of a goddess like you all say, there¡¯s no way she could remain untainted after spending so many years in a brothel.¡±

    Chu Yucheng waspletely stunned. ¡°This... has indeed never been proven before.¡± How would one even go about proving such a thing? Moreover, if it was confirmed that she had been with a man before, wouldn¡¯t it mean that she wasn¡¯t pure anymore?

    Chu Hongcai couldn¡¯t hide his displeasure. ¡°Brother Zu, Lady Qiu isn¡¯t that type of person. Please do not speak nonsense about her or bring disgrace to her spotless reputation!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Hongcai for 168 Rage points!

    Spotless reputation?

    Zu An almost choked. How could a famous brothel courtesan ever have a spotless reputation? There was no way he would believe that.

    Heughed and said, ¡°This isn¡¯t idle spection, but rather, logical deduction. Think about it. Not only is she a ravishing beauty, she is also a brothel girl. You can easily imagine how many big shots are drooling over her. Moreover this is a world of cultivation, where the strong prevail. Could a brothel ever be in a position to refuse a request?

    ¡°Perhaps a certain official of high standing developed a strong interest in her. Would he be deterred by a flimsy im that she was only selling her artistic talents and not herself?¡±

    Chu Hongcai had been full of indignation, and was ready to counter Zu An. However, as he listened to this string of arguments, hisplexion gradually mellowed. These really were reasonable deductions.

    When he thought about how the perfect goddess in his heart had been pushed down and toyed with by who knew how many bigwigs, he immediately felt extremely unwell.

    Chu Yucheng noticed how his cousin¡¯s soul seemed to have left his body, and acknowledged how formidable Zu An¡¯s mouth really was. He hurriedly said, ¡°Brightmoon City is part of our Chu n¡¯s fief. Master has always acted with fairness, so he naturally wouldn¡¯t get involved in such a thing. The city lord is also known for being generous and refined, so there¡¯s little chance of him engaging in such disgraceful behavior either. With the two of them overseeing things here, who else would dare do something like this?¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An frowned and said, ¡°That may be true, but I just feel like this matter is still far from settled. If someone were topletely lose themselves to mindless desire, let go of all restraint...¡±

    Chu Hongcai immediately cut him off, covering his ears and shaking his head fiercely. ¡°Stop talking, stop talking! I am already starting to picture things!¡±

    Chu Yuchengughed. ¡°Our n is to enjoy ourselves, so let¡¯s not talk about things that will spoil the fun. Ah Zu will understand once wey our eyes on Qiu Honglei.¡±

 Chapter 239: Do You Think Youâ€™re All That Just Because You Have Money?

    <h4>Chapter 239: Do You Think You¡¯re All That Just Because You Have Money?</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An was thoroughly intrigued. Just how beautiful is this Qiu Honglei that she can drive so many men crazy?

    There was no need to talk about that old pervert Ji Dengtu.

    But even Chu Hongcai, this habitually aloof and quiet man, seemedpletely smitten.

    The three of them made haste towards the Immortal Abode. Even though Zu An had never ridden a horse before, he could just learn by watching the others. He was a cultivator after all, so maintaining his bnce wasn¡¯t too difficult.

    Along the way, Chu Hongcai and Chu Yucheng kepty trying to find chances to ask him about Chu Chuyan¡¯s condition.

    Zu An was fully aware of their attempts, and he bluffed his way through them.

    Soon, they arrived at a street filled with a mysterious fragrance.

    Chu Yucheng winked at Zu An, but his small eyes, set within his excessively chubby face, made it difficult to notice. ¡°New Apsara Lane has far more than just the Immortal Abode! This street has over a hundred different brothels. It is a man¡¯s paradise, not only in name but also in reality!¡±

    ¡°Over a hundred?¡± Zu An waspletely stupefied. Brightmoon City had such a big market for this?

    Even though Brightmoon City was arge city, it still paled inparison to the international metropolises of his past world. Most of the people were also poormoners without much disposable ie. Were there really enough customers to support this level of business?

    Chu Hongcai spoke, his face filled with pride.¡°This is why I say you arecking in culture. Brightmoon City is a well-known and bustling city, and it serves as themercial hub for the nearbymanderies. This ce even produces salt and steel, and is a populous city well-known to all the rich and famous.

    ¡°Not only does Brightmoon City have a huge poption, it is also crisscrossed by an endless stream of trade routes from many different ces. This has caused all sorts of professions to spring up and grow, creating the bountiful beacon of prosperity that is Brightmoon City.¡±

    His exnation gave Zu An a rough understanding. This ce was like Ancient China¡¯s Yangzhou.

    With a hundred thousand coins strung up by the thousands, we ride a crane to Yangzhou.

    It was a ce that many ancient people had yearned for.

    Brightmoon City was experiencing a simr boom.

    His eyes scanned the street, and sure enough, he saw brightly colored buildings of all different shapes and colors. There were many girls in skimpy clothing that exposed half their bodies. Some of them covered their mouths while giggling, and others were bold and unconstrained... their methods for attracting customers were as varied and miraculous as the eight immortals.

    Chu Yucheng took a deep breath and said with an intoxicated voice, ¡°Even the air is filled with the sweet aroma of seduction! This fragrance must be the sweet scent of all thedies here. This ce really is the paradise of men after all.¡±

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but remark, ¡°Are you sure that it isn¡¯t just the smell of cosmetics?¡±

    This fatty normally seemed rather polite and adorable. Who would have thought that he would be such an experienced veteran in this field?

    Chu Yucheng felt like he¡¯d been strangled.

    He had felt hot blood surging within him, and the words of fiery passion roaring within him were ready to set the whole ce aze. However, Zu An¡¯sment had caused him to choke, and all his words died in his throat.

    Zu An used this chance to take in his surroundings more deeply. Even though this New Apsara Lane was full of brothels, the most eye-catching ce here was definitely the Immortal Abode.

    A tall building with several floors, it rose steeply from the ground. In terms of design and scale, it far exceeded the other brothels around it.

    The reason Zu An noticed this building wasn¡¯t because of its rich ornamentation, of which every detail would have been praised in his previous world as a shining example of ancient cultural heritage. Nor was it because of the mboyant calligraphy with which the establishment¡¯s glorious name, ¡®Immortal Abode¡¯, was depicted on a que above the main entrance.

    It was because of the ocean of human flesh that had already gathered around the entrance. Amidst the sea of people, many were screaming the name of Qiu Honglei.

    Zu An waspletely stupefied. This scene was ying out exactly as if some celebrity had appeared in a downtown area in his previous world. Qiu Honglei hadn¡¯t even shown herself yet, so who knew what these people were hollering about.

    How can none of these people be aware that this goddess they are so crazy about will end up as a mere ything for the strong?

    ¡°Good thing we came early! There aren''t too many people here yet.¡± Chu Hongcai sounded pleasantly surprised.

    Zu An blinked at the mass of people in front of him. Bro, what¡¯s wrong with your eyes?

    Sensing Zu An¡¯s confusion, Chu Yucheng exined with a chuckle, ¡°These people are only here because they enjoy a goodmotion. They don¡¯t actually have the qualifications to enter the Immortal Abode. Second brother Hongcai isn¡¯t wrong¡ªwe can still be considered among the early arrivals. It seems like we can grab some good seats today.¡±

    As he spoke, he squeezed his way through the ground. His body was thick, at least twice as wide as a normal person¡¯s. This fellow had been a tank in the ns Tournament, so he had no trouble moving through these ordinary people.

    Chu Yucheng¡¯s chubby palm pushed forward, and the people in front of him staggered out of the way like drunks.

    His actions drew curses from those he offended, but when they realized his strength, not a single one dared to go beyond hurling a few tough words.

    Seeing all these people around him, Zu An¡¯s eyes began to twitch. These were all living sacks of Rage points! How could he let them go so easily? He began to yell loudly, ¡°Losers, please move out of the way. You all can¡¯t even go in, so why are all of you crowding around here blindly? You¡¯re just blocking the way.¡±

    Even though none of them had heard of the word ¡®loser¡¯ before, it wasn¡¯t hard to infer that it was a derogatory term. The crowd were quick learners, and in short order, all of them became furious.

    You have sessfully trolled Loser A for 99 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled Loser B for 99 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled Loser C for 99 Rage points!

    Zu An sighed in satisfaction at the influx of Rage points. How pitiful, his Keyboard System didn¡¯t even find these side characters important enough to be named.

    Chu Yucheng continuously wiped the sweat off his brow as he kept a keen eye on the swarm of people around them. His chubby body sweated easily, but he knew that the sweat he was currently producing definitely came from the anxiety stirred up in him by the fellow behind him.

    Chu Hongcai followed him, gripping his sword tightly. Even though their cultivation was far greater than these people around them, he knew there was no way they could stand against so many of them together, especially since many of these people were cultivators themselves.

    The two of them rattled off a constant stream of curses under their breath. There really was something wrong with this guy¡¯s head! Just what did the first miss see in him?

    You have sessfully trolled Chi Hongcai for 222 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Yucheng for 222 Rage points!

    Fortunately, they managed to squeeze their way to the entrance. The guards from the Immortal Abode stepped in to assist, holding back the furious crowd for them.

    A young man yelled out from somewhere in the crowd, ¡°Tsk, do you all think you¡¯re all that just because you¡¯ve got a bit of money? Do you think that it gives you the right to do whatever you want?¡± His voice was dripping with disgust.

    When he heard this, Zu An stopped in his tracks. He turned around and shed the youngster a wide smile. ¡°We¡¯re going in right now, but all of you can only watch stupidly from outside. Sorry, but money talks.¡±

    He even shrugged a perfect textbook shrug.

    You have sessfully trolled Loser A for 199 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled Loser B for 199 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled Loser C for 199 Rage points!

    ...

    Seeing even more Rage points pour in than before, Zu An almost orgasmed. He finally understood why viins always loved saying such cheesy, scripted lines.

    It really feels so damned good!

    He giggled as he put his arms around Chu Hongcai and Chu Yucheng. ¡°You guys definitely have to bring me to more lively ces like this in the future!¡±

    He wouldn¡¯t obtain many Rage points even if he bent over backwards trying to farm points off a single person. Meanwhile, just a random holler here had gotten him over ten thousand points.

    ¡°Sure, sure...¡± Chu Yucheng took out a handkerchief to mop up the sweat on his face. I¡¯ll have to be batshit crazy to invite you out again!

    The guards from the Immortal Abode were afraid that he would start a riot, so they quickly led the trio inside in a hurried and flustered manner.

    When they entered the establishment proper, Zu An¡¯s eyes were immediately drawn to the gleaming, crystalline river not too far away. Only now did he realize that the Immortal Abode was constructed along the bank of the Brightmoon River.

    He even noticed some pleasure boats by the riverbank.

    Aren¡¯t there already enough brothels here? Why are there still so many pleasure craft?

    The people in this city really know how to y...

    Zu An sighed. It seemed he stillcked imagination.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°How many silver taels did you have to spend to meet with this Qiu Honglei?¡± Zu An noticed that his twopanions had fished out exquisite invitation cards, and the guards smoothly let them through.

    ¡°Entering actually doesn¡¯t require any money. Immortal Abode has sent out invitations to all of the well known figures in Brightmoon City, as well as all other respectable figures. Each invitation allows one to bring apanion. As for your expenses afterwards, that will depend on how hard you y.¡± Chu Yucheng wiggled his brows, giving him a knowing look.

    Why is this damn fatty looking more and more like that actor Qiao Shan? Zu An thought jokingly. Then, he suddenly realized what the other party said, and immediately became upset.

    The Immortal Abode had issued an invitation to all respectable figures. If even the juniors of the side branches, Chu Yucheng and Chu Hongcai, were given one, where was his damn invitation?!

    Were they looking down on him?!

    This Immortal Abode can eat shit!

    He immediately turned to leave, his face as dark as a storm cloud.

    ¡°Ah Zu, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Chu Yucheng was shocked by this, and hurried over to check on him.

    Zu An said with a snort, ¡°This Immortal Abode has the nerve to not send me an invitation. They clearly don¡¯t give a shit about me! Why do I have to show them warmth when all they show me is their callousness? That whatever pretty courtesan or whatever, can she be as attractive as my wife? Forget it, forget it, I might as well go home to embrace my wife.¡±

    When they heard his words, the people in the hall all turned to look at him. Just which idiot was saying such things? He actually dared to im that Lady Qiu isn¡¯t as pretty as his wife?

    Is his wife a goddess?!

    These men had all been worried that they might not have the chance to show themselves off before Qiu Honglei. Now, an opportunity hade knocking on their doors.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you a shameless fool? Your wife...¡± Several of the men closest to him jumped to their feet, about to pummel the idiot who had dared nder their goddess. However, when they saw Zu An¡¯s face, they immediately looked like they had eaten a mouthful of shit. The rest of their words slinked back down their throats. ¡°Apologies, we¡¯ve disturbed you.¡±

    This fellow¡¯s wife really was prettier than Qiu Honglei. After all, Chu Chuyan was publicly acknowledged as the number one beauty in Brightmoon City! No matter how pretty Qiu Honglei was, her standing was still iparable.

    In a private room on the second floor, a pretty young heir watched this scene through the curtains, and scoffed, ¡°Not a trace of elegance! Aplete rascal! I really don¡¯t know what Chu Chuyan sees in him.¡±

    The voice was gentle and pleasant to the ear. Despite the generous dollop of anger, the words had the precise and unhurried cadence befitting a simple yet elegant schr.

    In reply, another man with delicate features said with a bitter smile, ¡°Sis, you cannot let yourself be deceived by his outward appearance. There is definitely more to him than meets the eye. Beneath his wanton and unrestrained exterior is a cool-headed and crafty mind.¡±

    If Zu An were here, he would have definitely recognized this person as none other than the city lord¡¯s young master Xue Xiu, while the pretty heir was actually his older sister, dressed as a man.

 Chapter 240: Pervert

    <h4>Chapter 240: Pervert</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Is that brat really as formidable as you say?¡± Xie Daoyun was still unconvinced. ¡°Even though he didn¡¯t perform terribly during the ns Tournament, his strength is still pretty limited...¡±

    Xie Xiu shook his head. ¡°That guy seems brash and unrestrained, but he is actually extremely cool-headed and intelligent. Sometimes, even I cannot see through him.¡±

    ¡°I couldn¡¯t care less about him, Chu Chuyan can have this headache all to herself.¡± Xie Daoyun turned her gaze away. In his current state, Zu An was clearly still not worthy of any special attention from her. She looked towards the pearl curtains hung on the second floor. Unfortunately, there was still no one there. ¡°When is this Qiu Honglei going to show herself?¡±

    She heard that Qiu Honglei¡¯s artistic skills were peerless, and that her poetry and her singing ability were unmatched. Since she herself was serious about music, she had decided toe and see what she could learn from this renowned artiste. She hadn¡¯t the slightest interest in Qiu Honglei¡¯s other talents.

    Xie Xiu exined, ¡°I fear we might have to wait a bit longer. Sis, what I am more worried about is that you might be recognized. Even though you are dressed as a man, a more observant person would definitely see through your disguise. If that happens, our father won¡¯t let me off easy...¡±

    The more he spoke, the more regretful he became. Bringing his big sister here had truly been too reckless of a decision.

    Women were terribly jealous andpetitive creatures, and his big sister, who was usually content with a simple life, was no different.

    Xue Daoyun sneered. ¡°Hmph, aren¡¯t you always causing trouble? Why don¡¯t I ever see you so scared of our father all those times?¡±

    Seeing her younger brother¡¯s face scrunch up, she relented. ¡°All right, all right. If you don¡¯t speak about it and I don¡¯t either, how would our father ever find out? I won¡¯t even show myselfter. If I have something to say or ament to make, I¡¯ll let you speak for me. Would that be enough?¡±

    Xie Xiu¡¯s eyes immediately lit up. ¡°Really?¡±

    He knew that he wasn¡¯t the most skilled with words. Whenpared to those with true talents, he wasn¡¯t even worth a second look. However, with his sister¡¯s help, there was a high chance that Qiu Honglei might look favorably on him. Who knows, he might even be the one chosen to meet her personally.

    ¡°Of course! But if Qiu Honglei decides to meet with you, you¡¯ll have to bring me with you.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Xie Xiu¡¯s expression fell immediately. He had envisioned an alluringly romantic date, where the two of them would engage in deep, intimate conversation that would continue naturally into the bedroom. However, with his sis apanying him, all of this went up in smoke.

    ¡°Normally, I leave you alone no matter how many girls you y around with, since they are all girls from respectable ns. However, this is different.¡± Xie Daoyun pinched her brother¡¯s ear. ¡°No matter how pretty or how talented Qiu Honglei is, our father will still never allow a brothel girl into the Xie n.¡±

    Xie Xiu began to mumble to himself. ¡°I was just looking forward to having some fun... I never said I was going to bring her home.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s even worse!¡± Xie Daoyun narrowed her eyes at him in annoyance. ¡°Even though Qiu Honglei has a good reputation, her background makes it such that she would never climb up the socialdder. Since you have no intention of taking her as a wife, then don¡¯t harm her chances of finding an ideal husband.¡±

    Xie Xiu said with a bitter smile, ¡°Sis, those who ask a girl in this type of ce to marry and leave her trade are usually extremely foolish... heh...¡±

    He trailed off. If another man had made the same argument, he would have looked down on them and given them an earful. However, since it was his big sister who said it, there was no way he could put her down.

    ¡°You men always treat girls like ythings!¡± Xie Daoyun said hatefully. Her expression suddenly stiffened. Her gaze hadnded on Zu An, who was in the hall below. ¡°You really are something! All of you are jackals of the same trade!¡± she yelled in a fit of anger, her face reddening.

    Confused by the sudden outburst, Xie Xiu followed her line of sight, and was immediately struck dumb.

    Zu An had his hands around a slender girl, and his hands seemed to already be moving inside her dress.

    This guy, why... How did he suddenly be so bold? With a goddess like Chu Chuyan as his wife, why would he still... Don¡¯t tell me that Chu Chuyan isn¡¯t enough?

    The extremely shocking scene that he had witnessed in the dungeon appeared in his head again.

    With something like that, perhaps a normal girl really might not be enough... Bloody hell...

    Xie Xiu¡¯s face had gone as dark as charcoal. He had finally freed himself from that psychological shadow not too long ago, and yet he¡¯d ended up remembering it again.

    He drained the cup of wine in front of him in one gulp to drown out these thoughts.

    ...

    Just as Zu An threw his tantrum and threatened to leave, one of the brothel-keepers in heavy makeup quickly strolled over.

    ¡°Aiyo~ It¡¯s the young masters from the Chu n! How long has it been?¡± As she spoke, she gently waved the handkerchief in her hands.

    Chu Yucheng waved back excitedly. ¡°Long time no see! Sister Hua has be so much more voluptuous, I see.¡±

    This is how women should be! Most women are as skinny as sticks. He really didn¡¯t understand what was wrong with some people¡¯s eyes.

    Chu Hongcai took the opportunity to exin to Zu An, ¡°Sister Hua¡¯s full name is Hua Weimian. Back in the day, she was also a famous courtesan within her region. However, as she got older, she became a brothel-keeper instead. In order to broaden theirworks, many great figures maintain good rtionships with her.¡±

    Zu An stared nkly. Who would have thought that this damn fatty, Chu Yucheng, was such a veteran despite being so young?

    However, wasn¡¯t this fellow¡¯s taste a bit entric? He seemed to prefer those who were quite a bit older. Also, wasn¡¯t this Sister Hua a little too big?

    His doubts were ayed as he considered Chu Yucheng¡¯s own rotund figure. Perhaps, in his eyes, only bigger girls could be considered slim.

    ¡°You little demon...¡± Sister Hua teased yfully. Her gaze suddenly shifted to Zu An. ¡°And this one is...?¡±

    She had spent so much time in these love houses, and her eyes were incredibly sharp. With a single nce, she took in Zu An¡¯s youthful facial features, his slight difort, and the curiosity in his eyes, and knew that he had never been to such an establishment before.

    However, his clothing was made of very fine material, and he had apanied the two young masters from the Chu n, which made him someone wealthy and respectable. As such, she didn¡¯t dare act carelessly.

    A servant from the Immortal Abode whispered a few words in her ear, and her expression became jovial. ¡°So you are young master Zu! No wonder young miss Chu ended up falling for you! You are clearly a talented person with a fiercely handsome face!¡±

    Those in her trade knew the major yers of Brightmoon City like the back of their hand. A recently-risen personage like Zu An was not only the young master of the Chu n, he was also a teacher at Brightmoon Academy, and she had already prepared a dossier on him. However, this was the first time she was seeing his face.

    Even though her words were clearly ttery, Zu An still felt amazing listening to them. Everyone always described him as a useless drafted son-inw, and that he was nothing but trash. Only this female brothel-keeper had called him young master Zu, and didn¡¯t even mention anything about him marrying into his wife¡¯s family, instead saying that Chu Chuyan liked him. He immediately felt a closeness to this woman.

    No wonder she was able to do so well for herself in this city!

    Chu Yucheng patted her bottom. ¡°My brother was upset that you had intentionally left him out by not giving him an invitation! Hurry and find some nice girls to help him cool off.¡±

    ¡°You wrong us, young master! Young master Zu is young miss Chu¡¯s sweetheart, and he is also Brightmoon Duke¡¯s ideal son-inw. Even if I had ten times more courage, I still wouldn¡¯t dare to send him an invitation! If I incurred their wrath, our Immortal Abode would be put in a tight spot!¡± However, Sister Hua knew that Chu Yucheng was giving her a way out, so she hurriedly added, ¡°As an apology, we¡¯ll waive all of young master Zu¡¯s expenses here tonight.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Spending a night in the Immortal Abode was an expensive affair, but it was well worth it to establish a good rtionship with Zu An. After all, he was the young master of the Chu n and a teacher at Brightmoon Academy.

    Furthermore, rumors abounded that he had won over a million silver taels through gambling. If he were pampered well, it would make him more than willing toe back to y again in the future.

    Envious whistles greeted her announcement, as the other patrons nearby overheard her.

    Chu Yucheng tried his luck. ¡°Sister Hua, you waived the bill for my brother, but what about us? Aren¡¯t you showing too much favoritism? Besides, the two of us are already so close.¡±

    Sister Hua rebuked him with a sharpugh. ¡°Who here doesn¡¯t know that the head of the third branch of the Chu n is a great salt merchant? The amount of money that our Immortal Abode brings in each month is equal to what your business makes in a single day. If I waive the bill for you, wouldn¡¯t I be showing you great disrespect?¡±

    Chu Yucheng rolled his eyes. ¡°Your Immortal Abode is well-known as a ce to blow money away. I might have believed you if you had said the opposite.¡±

    Sister Hua was all smiles. ¡°Aiyo~ let¡¯s stop ttering each other over our businesses. How about this¡ªI¡¯ll arrange for some beast-n girls to keep youpany. These girls have just arrived and they haven¡¯t even entertained any other guests before!¡±

    As she spoke, she gestured towards the back of the hall. Three gorgeously-dressed girls walked over.

    ¡°They¡¯ve never had customers before?¡± Chu Yucheng snorted disdainfully. He cast a skeptical eye over the approachingdies. If you really insist that they¡¯ve never entertained guests before, then this chubby young master is a pure and chase choirboy.

    However, beast-n girls were indeed a rare sight. When the humans had fought with the foreign tribes a thousand years ago, most of the foreign tribes had retreated to the borders of the empire. However, some of their nsmen had chosen to remain in the human territories.

    Their fates were normally extremely pitiful. If they weren¡¯t captured to serve as ves or servants, they were sold to ces like these. The most fortunate ones among them managed to marry one of the ordinary folk and lived simple lives.

    Despite their tragic plight, beast-n beauties were still considered rare treasures. Chu Yucheng had yet to have a chance to y with one, even after all these years.

    With these thoughts in mind, he made no move to unmask Sister Hua¡¯s lies.

    Sister Hua sighed in relief as she noted their satisfied expressions. ¡°Girls, treat these young masters well! I am going to receive other guests first. There¡¯s just so much to do for today¡¯s Courtesan¡¯s Meeting, and I must beg young masters¡¯ forgiveness.¡±

    ¡°Go, go, go!¡± Chu Yucheng was impatient to discuss the intricacies of life and the importance of proper ideals with a beast-n beauty, and so he was naturally eager for her to leave.

    Sister Hua smiled slightly and walked off, shaking her hips in an exaggerated manner.

    Chu Yucheng pulled thergest and most well-developed girl of the three into his embrace. Then, he pushed the most slender and delicate girl towards Zu An.

    The one left for Chu Hongcai was the most ordinary and mediocre one out of them.

    However, he didn¡¯t mind at all. He was whole-heartedly devoted to Qiu Honglei to begin with. None of the other girls could match up to his standards. Having an extra beast-n girl at his side was just like having an extra person to drink with. The more the merrier, after all.

    Chu Yucheng said to the youngdy in Zu An¡¯s embrace, ¡°This is my brother¡¯s first time in such an establishment, so serve him well! Don¡¯t scare him away, now.¡±

    The slender youngdy¡¯s face colored slightly. She lowered her head and said, ¡°It¡¯s also my first time.¡±

    Chu Yuchengughed loudly, not bothering to argue with her. He immediately began to work the girl in his arms. ¡°What race are you?¡¯

    That girly in his embrace, her arm hooked around his neck. Her charming eyes were like silk. ¡°This humble one is from the bear race,¡± she said.

    ¡°The bear race? That¡¯s perfect! This is the sort of build I¡¯m talking about!¡± As he said this, Chu Yucheng buried his head into the curves of her body.

    This perverted fatty! Zu An waspletely speechless. He still found such directness jarring.

    He looked at the youngdy who had been unceremoniously pushed into his arms and asked, ¡°What is your name?¡±

    ¡°My name is Leng Shuangyue...¡± The youngdy replied shyly, her gaze lowered and her voice as soft as the buzzing of a mosquito.[1]

    Zu An was stunned. Her name waspletely unexpected, especially for someone who worked at a brothel like this! Could it be a fake name?

    He was not swayed by her bashful expression.

    Just because he had never done anything like this before didn¡¯t mean he waspletely clueless.

    In his previous world, he had read the stories of too many experienced veterans. Those in her trade sometimes deliberately pretended to be fresh and pure to suit their customers¡¯ tastes.

    That was why all trades and professions had to be run by businessmen!

    ¡°What race are you?¡± The fluffy ears that stuck out from her hair had piqued his curiosity. He¡¯d only ever seen beastmen on TV before, and had never expected to actually have a chance to embrace and y with one after arriving in this world.

    ¡°I am a cat woman.¡± Leng Shuangyue replied.

    ¡°Catwoman?¡± Zu An¡¯s eyes lit up. His mind conjured up the svelte figure of Catwoman, Batman¡¯s nemesis, leaning over a motorcycle.

    His impression of the woman in his arms immediately improved.

    ¡°I¡¯ve always wanted to know. Do you beastmen have tails?¡± As he posed his question, he reached a hand behind her. Looking down from the second floor, the angle made it look as if he was reaching straight into her dress.

    ¡°This damn pervert!¡±

    It wasn¡¯t just Xie Daoyun who was furious. In another private room, another blushing woman spat with disgust.

    1. ¡¯Leng¡¯ is her surname. ¡®Shuang¡¯ means ¡®frost¡¯, and ¡®Yue¡¯ means ¡®moon¡¯.

 Chapter 241: Driving Everyone Crazy

    <h4>Chapter 241: Driving Everyone Crazy</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    If Zu An had seen her, he would have definitely wondered why this fellow¡¯s pectoral muscles were so huge.

    She was none other than Pei Mianman. She, like Xie Daoyun, was dressed as a man. However, while Xie Daoyun, aside from her pretty features, managed to pull off the look, this wasn¡¯t the case for Pei Mianman at all. Her chest still bulged outwards no matter how she tried to bind it. Add in her enchanting peach-blossom eyes, and anyone could tell with a single look that she was a woman.

    That was why she never left her private room.

    She was here to investigate Qiu Honglei. Sang Hong wasn¡¯t the only one who had suspicions regarding the courtesan¡¯s background¡ªKing Qi¡¯s faction also harbored their own doubts. From earlier reports, the assassinations of many of King Qi¡¯s officials seemed to be somehow tied to this woman. That was why she¡¯d made this special trip to the Courtesan¡¯s Meeting.

    Who knew that she would end up seeing Zu An here? Even more shocking, he seemed to be aplete natural in this environment! Even she couldn¡¯t help but blush when she saw what he was doing.

    ¡°I really should¡¯ve brought a mirror stone! If I could record this scene, who knows what sort of brilliant reactions I could get out of Chu Chuyan?¡± A sly smile appeared on Pei Mianman¡¯s face as she considered the possibilities.

    She was definitely not the only one looking at Zu An. The window belonging to one of the third-floor rooms cracked open, revealing a pair of cold eyes peering out from within.

    ¡°So that is Zu An? He doesn¡¯t seem all that special to me. Isn¡¯t he just another hopeless pervert? I really don¡¯t think he is worthy of junior sister¡¯s personal attention!¡±

    The man pulled the window closed, and turned to look at his femalepanion, who was lying on her side. Even though this wasn¡¯t their first meeting, it was still difficult for him to conceal the awe in his eyes. This woman really was too stunning.

    ¡°The original n was to choose someone from the second or third branch to carry out our ns. However, having looked at him closely, I¡¯ve changed my mind.¡± Her soft and bewitching voice could make any man¡¯s bones go limp.

    ¡°But he is nothing more than a Chu n drafted son-inw!¡± The man objected, stealing nces at her stunning face. ¡°He doesn¡¯t possess any real strength, let alone ess to the Chu n¡¯s resources. Wouldn¡¯t it be inappropriate to choose him?¡±

    His flickering eyes didn¡¯t escape the discerning notice of this exceptional beauty, but she had long since grown ustomed to the infatuated stares of men. ¡°That¡¯s precisely why he needs our help. Someone who has everything can¡¯t bepared to one who has received aid in a time of desperate need. There¡¯s no way he can refuse our help if he wants to control the Chu n. This way, we can weasel our way further into the Chu n¡¯s businesses. When the timees, we might not even need another diplomat.¡±

    The man frowned doubtfully. ¡°Junior sister, your words are reasonable. However, all the logic in the world cannot get around the fact that this fellow is still nothing more than a useless son-inw. He has no status at all to speak of, even within the Chu n! Even with our backing, will he really be able to control the Chu n?¡±

    ¡°ording to ourtest reports, the rumors about him being a good-for-nothing are untrue. In fact, he seems quite formidable. If someone like him managed to obtain young miss Chu¡¯s favor and be the Chu n¡¯s son-inw, how could he continue to endure being beneath others?¡±

    The gorgeous woman sat up and crossed her beautiful legs.

    Although the man couldn¡¯t see anything, the way her dress kept moving tempted him to no end. His throat became dry, and his breath grew short and ragged.

    She seemed to be quite fond of these ridiculous reactions men had towards her. Her lipspressed into a tight smile. ¡°Of course, I haven¡¯t finalized my decision yet. Let¡¯s see how he performs first.¡±

    ...

    Zu An had no idea so many people were eyeing him. He waspletely engrossed in Leng Shuangyue¡¯s physiology.

    ¡°Young master, please don¡¯t be like this...¡± Leng Shuangyue grabbed his hand, trying to stop him from reaching for her tail. ¡°This is a very intimate thing for us beast-n girls! I beg young master not to make trouble for this humble servant...¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°What does someone have to do to be able to touch it, then?¡± Zu An couldn¡¯t hide his regret. He really wanted to know if these beast girls had tails or not. After all, they didn¡¯t look that different from human girls on the surface.

    ¡°A beast-n girl has to acknowledge a man as her lover before he is... allowed...¡± Before she even finished speaking, Leng Shuangyue¡¯s neck became thoroughly red.

    Zu An was truly impressed by this girl¡¯s acting, such that even he was starting to get confused. Since she doesn¡¯t want me to touch her tail, I guess I¡¯ll hold off for now. I¡¯m not the sort of person who bullies girls.

    He shifted his focus to the furry ears that stuck out from her hair. He couldn¡¯t resist reaching out and kneading them between his hands. ¡°Wow, they really feel simr to a cat¡¯s. This really is adorable.¡±

    Leng Shuangyue¡¯s entire body shook. She felt as if a jolt of electricity had coursed through her body. Her legs closed reflexively, a moan escaping her lips.

    ¡°What happened?¡± Zu An was perplexed. Didn¡¯t I just rub her ears? Was there really a need for such a big reaction?

    He could see the barely-concealed bitterness in Leng Shuangyue¡¯s face. She exined, ¡°The ears of a beast-n girl are very sensitive. Only the most intimate lover is allowed to touch it...¡±

    Zu An was utterly baffled. ¡°Are you really a brothel girl?¡±

    I¡¯ve always been a good-tempered person, but aren¡¯t you taking it a bit too far with your acting?

    Look at that Chu Yucheng over there! He¡¯s got one hand inside that bear girl¡¯s dress, and one hand stroking her ears, but do you see her reacting in this way? She even seems to be enjoying it!

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, young master.¡± Leng Shuanyue looked at him pitifully, which only made her look even more adorable. However, apart from saying sorry, she couldn¡¯t say much else.

    Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out, sounding pleasantly surprised. ¡°Oh! Ah Zu!¡±

    Zu An raised his head to take a look. A skinny, buck-toothed kid was looking right at him.

    ¡°Wei Suo! Why are you here?¡± Zu An was d to see him. Ever since he had be a teacher, the two of them hadn¡¯t spent that much time together in the academy. Not only that, he¡¯d gone into the dungeon right after that as well. He found that he actually kinda missed this guy.

    ¡°I came with my brother!¡± Wei Suo ran over to him, pointing at Wei Hongde.

    Zu An nodded towards Wei Hongde. He¡¯s the one Old Mi wanted me to get close to. However, apart from the few words that we exchanged in the dungeon, we¡¯ve never really spoken to each other.

    Isn¡¯t this an excellent opportunity? What better way to build camaraderie than this?[1]

    Wei Hongde had no choice but to return the greeting. However, seeing Zu An again immediately triggered the scene from the dungeon, which began to rey in his mind. His expression became bizarre.

    Just like Xie Xiu, it had taken him a long time to free himself from this mental shadow. Now, he was back to square one.

    How could he allow himself to interact with this guy further? He left Wei Suo with a final few words, then rushed off to a different area of the hall.

    Wei Suo was full of excitement as he said to Zu An, ¡°I was just about to ask you what you were doing here! You even have this pretty beast girl with you.¡±

    When he saw Leng Shuangyue in Zu An¡¯s arms, his eyes immediately widened. He always spoke as if he were a hardened veteran of the brothel scene, running his mouth and showing off. In truth, however, he was nothing more than an armchair strategist! He¡¯d only managed to enter this establishment after begging his brother endlessly.

    However, who would have expected this docile-looking guy in front of him to be in the thick ofbat right away? His mood soured immediately. He really was a master who starved himself in order to teach a mere disciple!

    ¡°I came with my n brothers.¡± Zu An introduced Chu Yucheng and Chu Hongcai.

    Wei Suo greeted them in return, then pulled Zu An to one side. ¡°You people really are something! The members of the Chu n brought you to a brothel on their own initiative? Aren¡¯t you scared you might piss off young miss Chu?¡±

    ¡°Why would I be scared of her getting angry?¡± Zu An stuck out his chest and dered, ¡°In my home, If I tell her to go east, she definitely won¡¯t go west! She wouldn¡¯t dare to interfere with my affairs!¡±

    Pei Mianman, who was sipping tea in her private room on the second floor, almost choked to death. My dear Chuyan, you have no idea what kind of husband you¡¯ve ended up choosing!

    Zu An suddenly felt a chill run down his spine, as if someone was eyeing him from behind. He cast his gaze around guiltily, only letting out a sigh of relief once he didn¡¯t see Chu Chuyan. I¡¯m really going to screw myself over, nting all these gs for myself.

    Wei Suo was stupefied. He stared nkly for a while, then remarked with an admiring sigh, ¡°You truly are my model senior!¡±

    ¡°You are too kind with your praise.¡± Zu An sped his fist whileughing.

    ¡°My brother is calling for me. Let¡¯s talk some moreter.¡± Wei Suo bumped Zu An¡¯s shoulder and winked at Leng Shuangyue, his appearance as vulgar as vulgar could be.

    Zu An sighed. As the old saying goes, ¡®there are only incorrect given names, and no wrong nicknames¡¯. Why do I feel like this guy really was named perfectly, though?[2]

    He had just turned his attention back to his ¡®physiological research on cat girls¡¯ when a violent shout erupted.

    ¡°Get lost!¡±

    1. When he says ¡®this¡¯, Zu An is referring to visiting a brothel together with Wei Hongde. The original text references a four-part Chinese phrase: Going through windows together (pure friendship), raising spears together (having each other¡¯s backs in battle), coveting spoils (sticking together through thick and thin), and visiting prostitutes together (revealing their ugly side to each other). After all, if you did not trust one another, would you visit prostitutes together?

    2. His name is a homophone for a phrase (â«¬) that¡¯s used to refer to crude and vulgar men, especially those who are licentious or contemptible.

 Chapter 242: Should I Help, or Not?

    <h4>Chapter 242: Should I Help, or Not?</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An immediately jumped in fright. Who in the world would act like this in the Immortal Abode?

    Even though this was only a brothel, there was no way a business of this size didn¡¯t have anyone backing it.

    He wasn¡¯t the only one startled. All heads in the Immortal Abode turned towards the source of the sound. Everyone wanted to see who was causing trouble on such an important day in the Immortal Abode.

    Their gazes fell on a burly man with a sword in hand. He had one foot on a chair, and his de was stabbed straight through a table. He eyed the young masters seated there angrily, as if they had somehow provoked him.

    What attracted even more attention was his eye-catching red hair, which lent him a rugged and powerful air.

    Zu An snorted under his breath. Your hair is messy and looks like ramen noodles. How many people can pull off this sort of look? Do you think you¡¯re Xiaoli Feidao?![1]

    This was also the first time he¡¯d seen someone with red hair sinceing to this world. Could there be green hair too?

    *Smack!*

    As Zu An let his imagination run, one of the young masters at the table pped his palm down and stood up to confront the man. ¡°How dare you! Do you know who is sitting here?¡±

    ¡°Oh? Do enlighten me.¡± The red-haired rogue dragged a chair over and dropped into it unceremoniously, his expression full of interest.

    The young master who had stood up felt a sudden nervousness when he saw the overbearing man¡¯s subordinates. However, he reminded himself that this was Brightmoon City, and he was in the Immortal Abode, which helped to calm him down a little. He pointed at the luxuriously-dressed young master at the head of the table and said, ¡°This is Wang n¡¯s young master, Wang Yuanlong! Have you never even heard of the Chu, Yuan, Zheng, and Wang ns, which are Brightmoon City¡¯s four major ns?¡±

    Zu An was stunned by this revtion. He remembered Chuyan telling him that the Chu and Wang ns had always been on good terms, and could even be considered allied ns.

    ¡°Tsk. And here I was, thinking it was someone important.¡± The burly, red-haired man picked his ear with his pinkie. Then, with a flick of his finger, a clump of earwaxnded right smack on young master Wang¡¯s face. ¡°I might have had some reservations if you mentioned that you were Duke Chu¡¯s princess or City Lord Xie¡¯s young master. How does the son of an insignificant grain merchant find the courage to holler in this sort of ce?¡±

    Wang Yuanlong¡¯s lost hisposed expression immediately. This guy was trying to trample all over him!

    A brothel administrator came over, leading a group of Immortal Abode guards. ¡°Kind sirs, may I ask how you all entered this ce?¡± he asked the ruffians. Wang Yuanlong was a frequent visitor of this establishment. His family had money, and he was fond of spending extravagantly, so they had to treat him well. They couldn¡¯t allow him to suffer such perceived injustice.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°With invitation cards, of course!¡± The red haired man said, tossing a crumpled invitation card onto the table.

    ¡°Please forgive my unobservant eyes. Our Immortal Abode doesn¡¯t seem to have issued your distinguished self an invitation. If I may ask, how did you obtain this invitation card?¡± The administrator didn¡¯t even need to open the invitation to know that this invitation card was real.

    After all, these invitation cards were specially made by the Immortal Abode. They were unique in terms of their design and the materials used, and could not be easily replicated by others.

    ¡°You guys indeed didn¡¯t send me one, but obtaining them wasn¡¯t difficult. Isn¡¯t it all right for us just to snatch a few for ourselves?¡± The burly man shrugged his shoulders. He seemed unruffled, as if his actions were perfectly normal.

    The entire ce erupted in a suddenmotion. This group of ruffians actually dared tomit¡ªand admit to¡ªsuch acts so openly!

    Some of the more intelligent ones in the crowd quickly realized something else. The Immortal Abode only sent their invitation cards to prominent, well-established individuals. If these ruffians were able to steal so many in one go, then this man¡¯s strength was really worth consideration.

    The expressions of those from the Immortal Abode changed. Hisment was the same as a tant p in the face. ¡°This establishment does not wee you. I must ask all of you to leave,¡± the administrator said coldly.

    ¡°Hm? Are you scared that I don¡¯t have money?¡± This red haired man tossed a bag onto the table, which jangled with the familiar sound of silver ingots.

    This move only drew a sneer from Wang Yuanlong. ¡°Bumpkins will always be bumpkins. With so many reputable figures around, who would be so stupid as to bring actual silver here? All of use with banknotes.¡±

    ¡°You little bastard! You¡¯re courting death!¡± The red haired man immediately erupted in fury, as if prodded in a sore spot. He grabbed a te of food and threw it at Wang Yuanlong¡¯s face.

    Wang Yuanlong immediately dodged. Even though he wasn¡¯t a prodigy at cultivation, his status as a young master of the Wang n ensured that he nevercked for cultivation resources. Wealth could still nurture a respectable level of strength.

    However, things had happened too quickly. Although he managed to avoid getting hit in the face, the food still sttered all over him, leaving him in a rather sorry state.

    ¡°Preposterous, utterly preposterous!¡±

    Wang Yuanlong¡¯s entire body was shaking.

    The Immortal Abode¡¯s administrator couldn¡¯t continue watching this. He immediately ordered his men into action. Unfortunately, his strong and vigorous guards were all beaten up miserably by the red-haired man¡¯s subordinates before they could even get close to the man himself.

    The red-haired man didn¡¯t even nce behind him. He grabbed a clump of melon seeds from a te next to him, tossed them into his mouth, then spat the shells everywhere. ¡°This is a matter between the two of us, so why are you dragging other people into it? If you have the skills, why don¡¯t you just settle things with me?¡±

    Wang Yuanlong¡¯s expression was beyond awful. Even though he was fuming, he wasn¡¯t stupid. With the speed at which the red-haired man had thrown the te at him, and taking into ount the strength of his subordinates, all the evidence pointed to these overbearing people being stronger than him.

    An invitation card only allowed the bearer to bring a single guest, so all of his subordinates had remained outside. If they really started a fight, the one on the losing end would definitely be him.

    However, if he backed down, how could he maintain any semnce of respectability in Brightmoon City?

    He wouldn¡¯t have any dignity left!

    Today was also the day of the Courtesan¡¯s Meeting. If he embarrassed himself in the eyes of Qiu Honglei, he would cry until he had no more tears left to shed.

    As he struggled to find a way out of this tight spot he was in, a voice sudden cut in, dripping with ridicule. ¡°Hm? This brother seems unfamiliar to me. I reckon you probably don¡¯t show yourself much around the city.¡±

    Zu An was stupefied. Wasn¡¯t Chu Yucheng busy enjoying his bear girl? Why is he suddenly stepping forward? This doesn¡¯t seem like him at all.

    Noticing his confusion, Chu Hongcai exined, ¡°Our Chu n is in the salt business, and we need to trade some of our salt for the Wang n¡¯s grain in order to trade with the border settlements. Third brother Yucheng works closely with the Wang n, and has a good rtionship with Wang Yuanlong.¡±

    He rose to his feet as he was speaking. He clearly didn¡¯t want to see that red-haired man make things difficult for Chu Yucheng.

    Zu An shook his head. Madam really needs to look into what¡¯s going on in the Chu n! The rtionship between the main branch and the second and third branches are merely lukewarm, but the second and third branch seem to have forged a close-knit rtionship!

    ¡°Brother Yucheng!¡± When he saw Chu Yucheng step forward, Wang Yuanlong was almost moved to tears.

    Chu Yucheng didn¡¯t even have time to reply. The red-haired man immediately rolled his eyes and said, ¡°Where did this fat porkye from? We don¡¯t need you interfering in our affairs!¡±

    Chu Yucheng¡¯s breath caught. He was usually quite proud of his build, and saw it as the epitome of peak performance.

    And yet, this fellow had dared to call him a fat pig to his face. How could he possibly let this slide?

    ¡°I¡¯m going to bloody kill you!¡± Chu Yucheng roared in anger, sending a palm flying towards the red-haired man¡¯s face.

    His subordinates immediately rushed to defend him, and the crowd immediately cried out in rm. After all, those tough-looking guards had been beaten up so easily by these subordinates. It seemed to all the world like this little fatty was done for as well.

    Zu An rushed to Chu Hongcai¡¯s side. ¡°You¡¯re not going to help him?¡± he asked urgently.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need.¡± Chu Hongcai said with a cool and confident voice, his sword still cradled in his hands.

    In the time it took for them to exchange these words, Chu Yucheng had charged in like a wild boar, sending his opponents flying everywhere.

    ¡°Interesting.¡± The red-haired man sounded surprised.

    Almost casually, he gave the chair he was stepping on a quick shove, and it slid perfectly into the line of Chu Yucheng¡¯s mad charge, tripping him up and causing him to fall over.

    The red haired manughed disdainfully. ¡°What¡¯s the use of having so much strength if you don¡¯t know how to use it? A fat porky will always be a fat porky.¡±

    Chu Yucheng¡¯s eyes becamepletely bloodshot. He screamed incoherently as he charged toward his oppressor.

    This time, the red-haired man didn¡¯t dare stay still. Pushing off the table in front of him, he vaulted forward. The scabbard in his other hand flew toward Chu Yucheng¡¯s face.

    ¡°Be careful!¡± Chu Hongcai couldn¡¯t remain still any longer. From those brief movements, he could already tell that this person¡¯s cultivation was considerably higher than both his and Chu Yucheng¡¯s. Third brother Yucheng was most likely in trouble.

    He hurriedly drew his sword and leaped into the fray, thrusting it at the red-haired man.

    Zu An alone stood rooted to the spot, feeling slightly conflicted. Should I help them out?

    Madam Chu already seems to be on guard against the second and third branches¡ªshe might even be eager to get rid of them. However, these two took such enthusiastic care of me just now. It doesn¡¯t sit right with me if I don¡¯t help them out.

    1. Xiaoli Feidao is a series of five wuxia novels by Gu Long. The protagonist of the first novel, Li Xunhuan, goes by the moniker Xiaoli Feidao (Little Li Flying Dagger), because of his signature weapon. Zu An is probably referring to how his character appears in the 1999 TV Series Legend of Dagger Li starring Vincent Chiao.

 Chapter 243: I Would Never Hide My Name

    <h4>Chapter 243: I Would Never Hide My Name</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The battle swiftly reached a climax. Chu Hongcai¡¯s sword flicked out treacherously like a snake, heading straight for the red-haired man¡¯s vitals.

    The red-haired man took no chances, and immediately moved several feet to the side.

    Chu Yucheng used this chance to escape the misfortune of taking the thug¡¯s scabbard right to the face, but he was not quick enough to dodge the foot that was flying towards him. His opponent¡¯s kick connected, and his body rolled across the floor like a giant meatball, mming into a pir. The entire Immortal Abode seemed to shudder from the impact.

    You bastard! He¡¯d been humiliated in front of everyone, and especially in front of that bear girl he had just begun to get close to! What dignity did Chu Yucheng have left? His eyes grew even redder and he charged again, screaming at the top of his lungs.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    His defensive strength drew sighs of admiration from the onlookers. This fatty had suffered such a heavy impact, and yet he still seemed perfectly fine!

    Zu An watched with the cool eyes of a spectator. He could roughly gauge that, in terms of cultivation, both Chu Yucheng and Chu Hongcai were at the pinnacle of the fourth rank.

    However, their styles were totally different. The former possessed a powerful defense but a weak offense, while thetter possessed a powerful offense but a weak defense. If the two of them ever fought, Chu Hongcai would have to try to kill Chu Yucheng in one blow. The longer the fight dragged on, the more unfavorable it would be for him.

    Zu An sighed. From what Qin Wanru had said earlier, the main branch of the Chu n had a rocky rtionship with the second and third branches, and were always on guard against them.

    But when he saw Chu Yucheng and Chu Hongcai fight together like this, he could tell that they were extremely close.

    Sigh, I really wonder if it¡¯s because Qin Wanru¡¯s a failure as a person, or something like that. Self-reflection is important!

    Also, where did this red-haired dudee from? He has no trouble facing these two brothers at all. His cultivation seems to be much higher than theirs!

    Is he fifth rank or sixth rank? Zu An couldn¡¯t tell. That red-haired man didn¡¯t use any elemental power. Instead, he relied on his physical strength, speed, andbat experience, which seemed enough to easily deal with the situation facing him.

    Wang Yuanlong finally gathered himself. He took out a folding fan and rushed to join the fray. ¡°Brother Yucheng, let me help you!¡±

    Unfortunately, his cultivation was far inferior even to that of the Chu n brothers, which meant that there was an astronomical gap between him and the red-haired man. What could he even do?

    ¡°Ah...¡±

    There was a miserable cry, and he was kicked away as soon as he charged in.

    He didn¡¯t have the powerful defensive fat that Chu Yucheng possessed. The kick, and his subsequent tumble, seemed to have knocked even his internal organs into disarray. Hey on the ground groaning, unable to rise.

    A sharp crack rang through the air. The red-haired man had finally found an opening. His scabbard struck Chu Hongcai¡¯s arm.

    Chu Hongcai immediately felt intense pain erupt from where he had been hit, and he almost lost his grip on his sword.

    Although he just managed to keep a hold of his weapon, the flow of energy within his body was interrupted. He quickly harmonized his breathing, but it would be a while before he could continue the fight.

    Chu Yucheng understood what had happened. He interposed himself between his Second Brother and the red-haired man to buy Chu Hongcai some time.

    The red-haired man struck Chu Yucheng several times. If he¡¯d been facing an ordinary person, these strikes would have fractured bone ,and perhaps even caused severe internal injuries. However, this damned fatty in front of him seemed perfectly fine.

    Hended several more blows before growing impatient. He drew his de. ¡°Damned porky, let¡¯s see if your body can handle a few strikes from my de!¡±

    Chu Yucheng¡¯s immediately grew pale. If they couldn¡¯t even defeat their opponent when thetter didn¡¯t use a weapon, what were they going to do now that he had drawn his sword?

    No matter how tough his body was, it was still made of flesh and blood. How could it possibly withstand an expert¡¯s de?

    However, an arrow on a bowstring had to be fired. Since he¡¯d chosen his course, he could only brace himself, hoping that he could at least dodge a few attacks until Chu Hongcai recovered.

    Unfortunately, the red-haired man¡¯s strength had been amplified several-fold, now that he was using a de. His figure was quickly shrouded underyers of cold light.

    Zu An knew he had to step in now, before Chu Yucheng had ayer of fat sliced off him.

    He looked around. Picking up a teapot, he chucked it towards the red-haired man¡¯s head.

    After his ordeal in the dungeon and the transformation of the Primordial Origin Sutra, his strength and speed were both already around the fifth rank.

    Furthermore, he had timed his attack well byunching a sudden ambush from behind.

    By the time the red-haired man sensed the danger, it was toote to dodge.

    *Piang!*

    A shrill, clear note rang out. The teapot shattered to pieces.

    Scalding hot tea drenched his entire body.

    However, Zu An had no time to gloat. His eyes turned grave as he looked at the red-haired ruffian.

    A transparentyer of light flickered around his body, the tea flowing along its surface making the barrier especially obvious.

    Several cries of rm came from the second floor, which were quickly suppressed.

    There were clearly some well-informed people in the main hall as well. Someone shouted out, ¡°Sixth rank!¡±

    Originally, the onlookers had figured that this thug was just some country bumpkin who had gotten lost, and they had been content to watch things y out for their amusement. However, now that they knew that he was at the sixth rank, their expressions changed drastically.

    A sixth rank cultivator would already be considered a top level expert in Brightmoon City. Many teachers in the academy were also at the sixth rank.

    The red-haired man turned around, skewering Zu An with a fierce re. ¡°Attacking from behind isn¡¯t something an honorable person would do.¡±

    Zu An roared withughter. ¡°So, stealing invitation cards is honorable, then? I am someone who clearly distinguishes my benefactors from my mortal enemies. Show me a hero, and I¡¯ll treat him like one! But against a lowly, despicable character like you, I really have no choice but to stoop to some despicable methods.¡±

    ¡°Haha haha~¡±

    Laughter immediately erupted, none more excited than Wei Suo¡¯s, who enthusiastically cheered Zu An on. Wei Hongde had to push him back into his seat several times to avoid attracting unwanted attention.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± The red-haired man had a face as dark as a thundercloud, but he didn¡¯t act recklessly. This person had thrown the teapot with him with an extraordinary amount of strength, which was beyond what an ordinary person could possess. Remaining vignt was still the most important thing.

    ¡°I would never hide my name no matter what I do! My surname is Xie and my given name is Xiu!¡± Zu An thumped his chest proudly, his voice filled with conviction.

    All around the hall, jaws dropped open in stunned disbelief.

    Do you not know what that phrase means?

    Even Chu Yucheng and the others around him gave him questionable looks.

    ¡°Pfft!¡± Xie Xiu immediately choked on his tea.

    What the hell?

    ¡°Did I hear my name?¡±

    Xie Daoyun nodded at her brother, trying her hardest not tough. That fellow below really was full of surprises.

    But when she thought about having a younger brother this shameless, her face immediately flushed red. If that ever happened, she would probably be better off ending her own life.

    In the next room, Pei Mianman rested her chin on her hand, wearing a pensive look as she watched the scene below. ¡°As expected of this shameless little scoundrel... I really don¡¯t know how that frosty Chuyan had ended up taking a liking to him.¡±

    The stunning woman in the third-floor room sat by the windowsill, watching themotion below. When she heard Zu An¡¯s words, she couldn¡¯t help but smile. ¡°Isn¡¯t this fellow a bit too shameless?¡±

    The man at her side red his nostrils, greedily sucking in her body¡¯s scent. His hands moved subconsciously towards those endlessly seductive hips several times, but he didn¡¯t dare to actually touch them. ¡°How can a shameless guy like this be entrusted with such an important mission? Junior sister, it¡¯s not toote for you to change your mind.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s actually the exact opposite.¡± Her lips spread slightly in a faint smile. ¡°Only a shameless person like this can fulfill our ns. Hehe, I am growing more and more interested in him.¡±

    Even though he knew that her words didn¡¯t carry any romantic implications, just hearing this gorgeous woman express her interest in another man was enough to drive him mad with jealousy.

    ¡°It¡¯s time for me to head down before the situation gets out of hand.¡± The stunning woman turned around, her eyes sparkling like gemstones. She locked gazes with the man beside her. ¡°Senior brother, I need to change.¡±

    The man jumped up immediately. ¡°I¡¯ll leave right away...¡±

    The thought of her changing was enough to arouse his excitement.

    The woman saw him out. Just before she closed the door, she paused for a moment, and then said with a smile, ¡°Senior brother is not allowed to peek~¡±

    That man¡¯s face immediately flushed beet red. He stammered in a panicked voice, ¡°This senior is definitely not that type of person!¡±

    To prove it, he turned around and took huge strides down the corridor, quickly disappearing into the stairwell.

    ¡°Thanks senior~¡± She closed the door, and the beautiful smile on her face immediately vanished without a trace.

    A hint of coldness crept into her eyes. Her senior¡¯s less-than-subtle movements earlier had not escaped her attention. ¡°At least he isn¡¯t that much of an idiot.¡±

    ...

    In the main hall, the red-haired man furrowed his brow. ¡°You are Xie Xiu?¡±

    ¡°Who else would I be?¡± Zu An stuck out his chest proudly. ¡°In all of Brightmoon City, the young master of the Chu n aside, who else canpare to me in terms of handsomeness?¡±

 Chapter 244: Getting Too Worked Up

    <h4>Chapter 244: Getting Too Worked Up</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    On the second floor, Xie Xiu¡¯s handsome face had gonepletely red.

    Xie Daoyun was covering her mouth, desperately trying to contain herughter as she rocked back and forth on her seat. It took a while for her to finally recover herposure. ¡°Ah Xiu, I always thought that you were extremely shameless by constantly provoking other girls. But today, I¡¯vee to the conclusion that, in terms of shamelessness, you are a mere junior.¡±

    Xie Xiu said in annoyance, ¡°Don¡¯t try to stop me! I am going down to have a proper talk with him! Being inferior to him in other aspects is something I can endure, but how could I possibly lose to him in terms of handsomeness?!¡±

    He recalled the scene from the dungeon again, and it was clear that there was one area in which he could never hope topare. How could he tolerate losing in other areas as well?

    ¡°Who is stopping you?¡± Xie Daoyun blinked her eyes, her face full of amusement. ¡°Hurry up and go, then. Everyone in the hall can be the judge of who is the more handsome between the two of you.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no way I could end up as the loser!¡± As he took in the sea of people below, Xie Xiu¡¯s handsome face burned up. ¡°Big sis, you¡¯re learning from bad examples.¡±

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s face reddened slightly. ¡°Isn¡¯t it because I¡¯ve hung around guys like you for too long? All of your dirt is rubbing off on me.¡±

    All those who knew what Zu An and Xie Xiu looked like were dumbstruck. Just where did this fe get his confidence from? He dared pretend to be the young master of the City Lord¡¯s Estate in front of so many people?

    You¡¯re just a puny little drafted son-inw, so stop thinking you¡¯re all that!

    Only Wei Suo gave him a big thumbs-up. ¡°As expected of this humble one¡¯s boss! No wonder you have won the hearts of so many exceptional beauties!¡±

    ¡°You know nothing! It¡¯s because of his...¡± His big brother Wei Hongde cut himself off with a strangled croak. His expression became extremely ugly.

    Damn it, I¡¯m thinking about it again!

    ¡°Because of what?¡± Because Wei Suo was too weak, he hadn¡¯t entered the dungeon. Everyone else who had entered had tacitly agreed to keep events strictly confidential, so not even a well-informed gossipmonger like him knew a thing.

    ¡°Nothing. Don¡¯t ask about it.¡± Wei Hongde said with a huff, turning his attention back to this scene.

    ...

    Chu Yucheng and the others had grown wise to the red-haired man¡¯s considerable prowess. They didn¡¯t dare recklessly charge at him again, and regrouped at Zu An¡¯s side.

    Seeing Zu An¡¯s unconcerned expression, a strange feeling welled up within them. Was this guy too stupid, or was there something wrong with his head? Why didn¡¯t he feel any fear?

    After all, in their eyes, this fellow¡¯s strength was far beneath their own.

    ¡°Be careful. He might be at the sixth rank.¡± Wang Yuanlong didn¡¯t know about Zu An¡¯s secrets. He was extremely grateful to Zu An for helping them out, so he feltpelled to warn him. He was worried that Zu An might be in danger because thetter wasn¡¯t reading the situation correctly.

    Unexpectedly, Zu An dismissed his warning nonchntly. ¡°Just the sixth rank? Previously, I fought a grandmaster to a standstill! What is so special about someone at the sixth rank?¡±

    Zhang Han had been at the ninth rank, and Shi Lezhi, at the eighth rank. Not to mention that Devouring Kun that Shi Kun had summoned. He had fought against all of them before.

    He wasn¡¯t sure of big sis empress¡¯ cultivation level, but he figured that she was at least at the grandmaster level. The two of them had exchanged several hundred blows. Even though he¡¯d made it through because of the Heiress Ball of Delights, he had still experienced what it was like to fight against an extremely powerful opponent. That was why a sixth rank cultivator really didn¡¯t scare him.

    Clearly, no one else shared his thoughts. A strange silence fell across the hall. Then, everyone present erupted into thunderousughter.

    ¡°Did this guy go mad?¡±

    ¡°Fought a grandmaster to a standstill? Who does he think he is?¡±

    ¡°I reckon just a breath of air from a grandmaster would kill him!¡±

    ¡°Forget about a grandmaster, he¡¯s probably never even met a ninth rank cultivator in his entire life!¡±

    ...

    Mockery and ridicule erupted from all around him. It was clear that no one believed him.

    On the second floor, Xie Daoyun¡¯s beautiful brows drew together in a frown. ¡°Did you guys face a grandmaster in the dungeon?¡±

    Xie Xiu shook his head. ¡°No, but a power greater than the ninth rank appeared within, so there is a chance that he came into contact with it. But a grandmaster... he is probably bluffing.¡±

    Xue Daoyun snorted. ¡°I despise men who lie, let alone those who stoop to such absurd and obvious ones. Not only is he dishonest, but he has no wisdom to boot. He really is a disappointing man.¡±

    Xie Xiu observed a moment of silence for Zu An. His sister was an easygoing and gentle soul, and always treated others in a graceful and dignified manner. He had never seen her castigate someone so thoroughly before.

    Pei Mianman, who was in another room, didn¡¯t share her opinion. She eximed in surprise, ¡°Did this fellow really face a grandmaster before?¡±

    After all, the two of them had fought fiercely before. Although she¡¯d fought with all of her strength¡ªbarring her use of her elemental power¡ªshe still hadn¡¯t been able to deal with him.

    At that point in time, it seemed that he had just started cultivating.

    His strength really couldn¡¯t be judged using conventional means, and so the idea of him fighting against those of a higher rank wasn¡¯t impossible.

    However, she still shook her head, dispelling this thought.

    Grandmaster? That¡¯s just too absurd.

    Chu Hongcai and the others who stood together with Zu An were trapped under the intense stares of the crowd. All of them werepletely embarrassed.

    If Zu An hadn¡¯t just helped them out, they might have already run far away.

    ¡°I never expected the glorious young master Xie to be so arrogant. Grandmaster? Heh.¡± The red haired man sneered.

    In his second-floor room, Xie Xiu ground his teeth audibly.

    This was the same as getting kicked while he was already down!

    Zu An met his sneer with an equally coldugh. ¡°I would never hide my name! I already told all of you my distinguished name. Isn¡¯t it only proper that you should reveal your own as well?¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    That red haired man said proudly, ¡°I am Xuan Cheng!¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°Never heard of you.¡±

    He gave hispanions around him a quick look. Chu Yucheng, Chu Hongcai, and even Wang Yuanlong shook their heads. They had never heard of this person before either.

    ¡°After tonight, my great name will echo through Brightmoon City. Let¡¯s start with you.¡±

    The red haired man didn¡¯t seem angered. He stared straight at Zu An. ¡°Since you im to have faced a grandmaster, do you dare to endure three strikes from me?¡±

    Zu An gave him a mocking smile, and replied in a leisurely manner, ¡°I seem to remember someone saying that he would have reservations if he were facing either the young miss of the Chu n, or this humble Xie Xiu.Could you be feeling scared now? Are you deliberately offering me this ¡®three strikes¡¯ agreement to give yourself a way out? After all, we all know you can¡¯t afford to offend either me or my father, the City Lord.¡±

    The red-haired man exploded in fury. ¡°Your mom can eat dogshit!¡±

    A loud noise came from upstairs, as if a teacup had been smashed.

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s face was entirely red. ¡°This bastard dares to curse my mother!¡±

    On the other side, Xie Xiu rolled his eyes. ¡°Sis, aren¡¯t you getting too worked up? I am right here. The one down there is Zu An.¡±

    ¡°Of course I know that!¡± Xie Daoyun grudgingly acknowledged that her reaction had been a little excessive. However, she continued stubbornly, ¡°But that guy doesn¡¯t know! He thinks the one he is talking to is Xie Xiu, and yet he still cursed his mother. Isn¡¯t that the same as humiliating our mother?!¡±

    Xie Xiu waspletely stunned. Was that really the way this worked?

    No wonder he could never understand it when the girls he was courting became upset.

    Zu An noticed some Rage pointsing in, and his expression grew serious.

    You have sessfully trolled Chen Xuan for 444 Rage points!

    Chen Xuan?

    His mind was immediately shaken. Chen Xuan, Xuan Cheng!

    Xuan Cheng should be Chen Xuan¡¯s alias.

    He recalled Chu Chuyan warning him about a Great Bandit Chen Xuan, who operated outside Brightmoon City and plundered the merchant caravans plying the trade routes. The Chu n¡¯s caravans had been robbed multiple times by his gang.

    Because of his high cultivation and elusiveness, they had never been able topletely eradicate them.

    Why is this fellow suddenly so brazen, even daring to enter the city? Also, why does no one here recognize him? His red hair is so conspicuous!

    Zu An was momentarily puzzled, but he quickly recovered hisposure. This fe is rumored to be extremely vicious, so he must have silenced all those who have seen him. This would exin why nobody recognizes his appearance, and also why he dares to strut about in the city so openly.

    ¡°You¡¯ve seeded in angering me. I wanted to leave you with your life out of respect for City Lord Xie. However, since you don¡¯t treasure your life at all, don¡¯t me me for being impolite.¡±

    Chen Xuan was always wild and arrogant, and never hesitated once he made the decision to kill someone. So many irritating things had already happened to him since he¡¯d entered the city, and now, this fellow even dared to provoke him? He was way past his boiling point. So what if he was the young master of the City Lord Estate? He couldn¡¯t care less right now!

    ¡°Why is this ce suddenly so lively today?¡± A soft and gentle voice cut through the tension. It was beautiful enough to soften even the hardest heart.

    ¡°It¡¯s Lady Qiu!¡±

    ¡°Lady Qiu!¡±

    ...

    Everyone in the Immortal Abode began to cheer. They immediately turned their attention towards the second floor, losing all interest in the fight between the two boorish men.

    Even the previously-cautious Chu Hongcai couldn¡¯t resist turning around, his eyespletely entranced.

    The red-haired man¡ªwho had, just a moment ago, been hollering murderous threats¡ªalso looked towards the second floor. He wanted to see for himself which gorgeous chick this pretty voice belonged to.

 Chapter 245: A Heartbreaking Tale

    <h4>Chapter 245: A Heartbreaking Tale</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The doors to the second floor opened. A sweet, fair, and graceful figure slowly walked out, stopping just behind the pearl curtains.

    Even though her face was covered by a veil, her extraordinarily beautiful features could still be vaguely seen, providing just enough to trigger the endless fantasies of all who saw her.

    A strange tranquility fell upon the main hall.

    Those who frequented such establishments naturally saw their fair share of beauties. However, this woman before them waspletely different.

    Beneath her simple yet elegant brows were a pair of clear yet mysterious eyes. All those who saw them felt a powerful urge to cherish and protect the one they belonged to.

    A faint smile graced her soft lips, which were tender and beautiful. They seemed to sparkle like the morning dew, giving off a unique charm that left one¡¯s mouth dry.

    As her tender gazended upon each one of them, it made each of them feel unique and special, as if her affections were reserved for them alone.

    These thoughts swept across the minds of everyone in the Immortal Abode, from the aged elders to those who were barely of age, and their collective breathing began to hasten.

    ¡°Gulp~¡±

    The sounds of saliva being swallowed came from everywhere in the Immortal Abode, and no one was sure who started it first.

    All those who had been invited were respected figures in Brightmoon City. This sort of shameful act reflexively made their faces flush red, but no one seemed to think it inappropriate. On the contrary, this was a perfectly normal reaction to seeing such an exceptional beauty in the flesh.

    What formidable charm! Observing from her second-floor private room, where the door was always shut, Pei Mianman clicked her tongue quietly. As a woman herself, she was skilled in this field as well, so she wasn¡¯t too affected.

    She sneered as she took in the utterly captivated expressions of all the men present. ¡°Nothing more than a group of dirty lechers.¡±

    A thought struck her, and she turned her gaze in a certain direction. Surprisingly, she noticed that Zu An¡¯s eyes were still clear. Apparently, he wasn¡¯t as shameful as the others.

    At least there¡¯s still something good in this fellow. The corners of Pei Mianman¡¯s lips curved upwards ever-so-slightly into a smile so enchanting that not even a flower-covered field couldpare with it. It was just a pity that no one could see it.

    If she¡¯d had an inkling of what was going through Zu An¡¯s might right at this moment, she might not have been so quick to praise him like this.

    Zu An came from a different world, after all. He was used to seeing female celebrities on TV, and could swipe through the updates of countless beauties on TikTok. There was also the 2D world, which was full of perfect women who didn¡¯t really exist. After all this exposure, his concept of beauty naturally exceeded that of the men of this world by a fair margin.

    Moreover, his wife was Brightmoon City¡¯s number one beauty. Even if this Qiu Honglei was pretty, there was no way she would be prettier than her.

    There was also big sis empress, the gorgeous principal, Shang Liuyu, and many others. Any one of them was a match for her, and he was already close to all of them. He was already numb to all but the most exceptional beauties.

    This woman¡¯s bearing and seductiveness made him subconsciously think of Pei Mianman. The two of them actually shared some traits, with one of them being more flirtatious, while the other¡¯s seductiveness carried a hint of innocence.

    However, there was no denying that Pei Mianman¡¯s chest was far more developed than hers!

    Zu An carefully sized up Qiu Honglei¡¯s chest. Even though it was majestic, it stillcked sauce.

    If Pei Mianman had known what was inside his head, she would have been torn betweenughing and punching him in the face.

    On the surface, Qiu Honglei looked like she was looking at everyone, but in reality, half of her attention was on Zu An. When she saw how quickly his expression had cleared, she couldn¡¯t help but feel amazed.

    After all, she had tremendous confidence in her own charm. Just look at everyone else¡¯s reactions!

    As expected, this fellow is different. She reminded herself to be more careful when dealing with him in the future.

    She was none other than the woman who had been observing Zu An with her senior from their private room. After getting changed, she had decided toe out to appease and distract the crowd, and defuse the life-and-death battle that was on the verge of taking ce.

    While she was still praising Zu An for being an upright gentleman, she suddenly noticed that his eyes were staring wantonly at her chest.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    This fellow is really...

    She was momentarily stumped. She had just been praising him a second ago, and yet, in a sh, she immediately regretted doing so.

    Despite all the passionate stares that were trained on her, she was able to remain calm andposed, her heart not even fluttering once.

    Yet, for some reason, this fellow¡¯s gaze seemed to pierce right through her, making her feel as if she wasn¡¯t wearing any clothes. She subconsciously pulled her clothes tighter around her body.

    Her skills of seduction had long been practiced to perfection, and even an unintentional movement such as this worked to tug at the hearts of men, emphasizing the breathtaking nature of her graceful curves.

    Her movements did not escape the eyes of the other men. Cries of rm rang out from around the Immortal Abode.

    Out of all of them, Wei Suo¡¯s performance was the most disappointing. His body trembled uncontrobly. He looked around guiltily, then heaved a huge sigh of relief when he realized that nobody had noticed.

    Despite this, he still backed away slowly, withdrawing from the crowd while covering the front of his pants with his hands.

    His heart weighed heavily with shame and regret. What was wrong with him these days? He had never imagined his body would be so weak! He decided that he was going to head to the local pharmacy to buy some six-vored foxglove pills for supplementation.[1]

    Instead of the zealousness shown by the rest of the crowd, Zu An was full of disdain. So many madams in those period dramas cover their faces with veils, but those veils are all thin to the point of being almost transparent. Why do they even bother?

    Who would have thought that the girl in front of him would also use the same trick? That veil didn¡¯t cover shit!

    Did she wear it just to add a hint of mystery and enticement?

    You might as well just make your clothes a bit more transparent, then!

    His disdainful expression didn¡¯t escape Qiu Honglei¡¯s eyes, which showed just a sh of irritation.

    You have sessfully trolled Qiu Honglei for 33 Rage points!

    When he saw the Rage points, Zu An was stunned. What was going on? How did I end up provoking her? After all, the two of them didn¡¯t know each other at all! Furthermore, he was buried in a sea of people. Shouldn¡¯t it be hard for her to notice me even from where she¡¯s standing?

    He looked up with a puzzled expression, but Qiu Honglei had already turned her gaze away.

    ¡°I have humbly prepared a song for everyone. I hope everyone can offer me your kind opinion.¡±

    As she said these words, the corners of her lips curved slightly upwards, forming a faintly discernible smile. Her voice was soft and velvety, carrying subtle undercurrents of nuance.

    The same feeling arose in the hearts of everyone present. My soul truly belongs with this gorgeous woman!

    Xie Daoyun couldn¡¯t help but sigh in admiration as well. ¡°I¡¯ve always thought highly of myself, but in terms of temperament and charm, she¡¯spletely out of my league.¡±

    Xie Xiu was quick to console her. ¡°Big sister, you¡¯re going about it wrong. You are the glorious daughter of a city lord, and a well-known talent. No matter how pretty and charming she is, these are nothing more than cheap brothel tricks. How can shepare to you?¡±

    He was not only someone who frequented such ces of romance, but also a yboy who broke the hearts of countless women, and he¡¯d seen through such tricks a long time ago. As such, he was also able to snap out of Qiu Honglei¡¯s bewitching charm.

    Aside from Zu An, he was probably the most clear-headed man in the Immortal Abode.

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s smooth, porcin face became tinged with redness. ¡°You oily-mouthed smooth-talker. So there are the skills you obtained by deceiving all those girls. No wonder all those distinguished young misses suffered so badly.¡±

    Xie Xiu immediately voiced his injustice. ¡°Sis, I was trying to help you out!¡±

    ¡°Quiet! She¡¯s getting ready to y.¡± Xie Daoyun made a shushing gesture, and then settled in to observe the performance attentively.

    As a well-known talent in the arts, her skill at the zither was naturally wless. Now that she was here to evaluate a performance that was within her specialty, her demeanor became more serious.

    Her momentary sense of inferiority vanished without a trace, reced by a glowing radiance which spread outward from her cheeks to the rest of her face.

    Xie Xiu looked at her delicate features, and sighed deeply. ¡°Truly, a great beauty. It really is a pity, too much of a pity.¡±

    Even though Xie Daoyun was seriously evaluating Qiu Honglei¡¯s zither skills, she was still distracted by her brother¡¯s words. ¡°What is a pity?¡±

    Xie Xiu winked and said with a crafty smile, ¡°It¡¯s a pity that you are my dear older sister! Otherwise, why would I need to go looking for other girls?¡±

    After saying this, he immediately leaped out of her reach. Sure enough, Xie Daoyun huffed in shame and annoyance. ¡°You little brat, you even dare to tease me!¡±

    She jumped up and began to chase him. When she caught him, she immediately twisted his ear.

    ¡°Sis, please have mercy~¡± While Xie Xiu was pleading, a melodious wave of music washed over them. Qiu Honglei already began to y.

    Everyone pricked up their ears, paying special attention to the heavenly music. After all, it was rumored that Qiu Honglei would choose to meet someone personally that day, but no one knew what method she would use to choose her guest. That was why no one was willing to let any clues go. She might ask everyone for their opinions after she finished ying.

    As the crowd was entranced by Qiu Honglei, the female brothel-keeper Hua Weimian made her way out from a corner of the hall and said to Chen Xuan, ¡°It truly was inconsiderate of us not to have prepared an invitation for your distinguished self. Our Immortal Abode has specially prepared a feast for all of you to enjoy.¡±

    After finding out that he was a sixth rank expert, the Immortal Abode had quietly changed their mind about him.

    After all, this was a world that revered strength above all else. Within the boundaries of Brightmoon City, someone at the sixth rank could already be considered a top-notch expert.

    Such an expert was worth buttering up and being on good terms with.

    No one around them was at all surprised by this. In fact, it was only natural. This was just how the world worked.

    Chen Xuan frowned. He still wanted to settle his score with Zu An, but since Qiu Honglei had begun to y her zither, causing a further disturbance might incur the wrath of everyone here.

    Moreover, he was also interested in this great beauty and wanted to listen carefully as she yed, so that he could form a considered opinion when asked.

    Not wanting to stir up further trouble, he nodded at the brothel-keeper. With a member of the Immortal Abode staff leading the way, they were brought to a table on the other side of the hall.

    Hua Weimian sashayed over to Zu An and the others, apologizing profusely to Wang Yuanlong and Chu n¡¯s brothers. She arranged a new spread of food for them, and assured them that their expenses for the day would be fully covered by the establishment.

    With the offer of such generous treatment, there was no room for them to object. On top of this, they were worried they might miss out on Qiu Honglei¡¯s music. Chu Hongcai was already engrossed, straining to catch every nuance. How could he spare any attention for Sister Hua?

    Zu An sighed. This Sister Hua really was a formidable woman. Her grasp of timing was impable.

    She seemed to have disappeared off the face of the earth just as they had been about to fight to the death. Yet, once Qiu Honglei began to y the guqin, she had immediately emerged to mediate things. A great crisis was quietly averted without any fuss.

    Zu An kept his silence. This was the wisdom of survival, after all. There was nothing more to be said about it.

    He let himself be drawn in by the music of the zither.

    The music carried a special type of magical power. Even though there were no lyrics, the melodious sounds still managed to craft a poignant series of images in the mind.

    A cool breeze brushing past,

    The falling blossoms beautiful and diverse,

    A man drinks alone by akeside pavilion,

    Like an immortal exiled from heaven.

    Ady¡¯s heart ripples, summoning courage as she steps forth,

    The two face each other before the flowers and under the moon, paying their respects in love.

    One day, the man leaves without a farewell.

    The woman waits by thekeside every day,

    Only for the man to never return again.

    After many years, the manes in search of the woman, his face covered in wind and frost.

    The woman is nowhere to be found,

    Because she has long passed away.

    Heartbroken and grieving, he drinks away his feelings by theke,

    Only to learn from the mouth of a fisherman:

    There used to be a woman who sat here waiting for her man,

    However, she didn¡¯t manage to wait until his return.

    One day, as she held a jar of wine,

    She sat by thekeside, drinking and weeping.

    When the people found her,

    She had already drowned.

    No one knew if she had lost her footing, or if she had chosen to die.

    When he learned about all of this, the man wept silently.

    ...

    As the mournful music washed over them, all the men who hade seeking pleasure began to weep.

    1. Also known as Six-vored Rehmanni. It is amon type of Traditional Chinese Medicine used to treat yin deficiency, or ¡®heatiness¡¯.

 Chapter 246: Where Is My Soulmate? On the Other End of the World

    <h4>Chapter 246: Where Is My Soulmate? On the Other End of the World</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Pei Mianman, ovee with emotion, let out a long, shuddering sigh. ¡°That woman actually has such a soft heart underneath her flirtatious exterior. No one would want to make an enemy out of someone like this...¡±

    In the other private room, Xie Daoyun quietly dabbed at the corners of her eyes. As she looked at that fair and graceful figure behind the pearl curtains, she too sighed deeply. ¡°If we speak purely on her technique at the zither, I might still be slightly above her. However, in terms of imbuing emotions into her ying and moving the soul with music, I am truly inferior.¡±

    Xie Xiu echoed his sister¡¯s admiration. ¡°I¡¯ve heard many courtesans y the zither before. In the past, I was always generally appreciative of their ying. Only now do I realize that,pared to her, the others aren¡¯t even worthy of carrying her shoes.¡±

    He pivoted the conversation smoothly towards consoling his sister. ¡°But sis, you don¡¯t have to put yourself down for this. You¡¯ve always lived an extravagant life. You¡¯ve grown up in a warm and blessed environment, and your emotional experiences are like a nk canvas, so it¡¯s not shameful at all to be inferior to another in this aspect. She has experienced far more that you have in this ce of romance. Although she still looks like a sweet and innocent youngdy on the surface, her heart has surely been riddled with hurts.¡±

    His tone didn¡¯t carry the slightest bit of disdain, but was instead filled with praise. ¡°Only someone with such deep wounds could bring out so much emotion through her ying.¡±

    Xie Daoyun gave his brother a considering look. She had not expected him to be so knowledgeable. Father was usually always cursing him for being irresponsible, but it seemed like his curses were uncalled for.

    As the song ended, the audience was filled with frustrated disappointment. They were totally unaware that their faces were already drenched in tears.

    ¡°Excellent!¡±

    Many in the audience immediately rose to their feet with apuse and cheers. They were all trying to outdo one another, as if they were afraid that the goddess on stage would overlook them if they were too quiet.

    Qiu Honglei also stood. Leaving her zither behind her, she gracefully walked over to the railing. As she approached, two pretty girls helped to pull aside the pearl curtains to allow her to pass through.

    A beautiful face that could overturn the heavens appeared before everyone¡¯s eyes. She bowed slightly and said with a smile, ¡°This humble girl Qiu Honglei greets everyone.¡±

    Only now, when she was standing by the edge of the railing, did everyone notice that her arms were barely covered in ayer of snowy silk. Her snow white arms, as smooth as jade, were faintly visible.

    This woman really is good at using her physical assets. Pei Mianman could see through her tricks with a single look.

    It was a pity that the men below weren¡¯t as sharp as her. When they saw this sight, their breathing immediately became ragged, and their mouths lost all moisture. If only they could drag Qiu Honglei into their embrace, tear apart her snowy silk dress and ravage her exquisite body...

    Unfortunately, these would forever remain fantasies. With the whole world watching, who dared to court public anger and do such a barbaric thing?

    Zu An sneered. Mister Lu Xun really was right after all.[1] The human mind¡¯s ability to make associations really was too rich. It could conjure up the image of the naked body just by seeing an arm. Clearly, it worked the same way no matter which world he was in.

    Chen Xuan chose this moment to stand, boldly and confidently. ¡°Mydy, I am Xuan Cheng. It is an honor to meet you!¡±

    He lived a blood-soaked life, and so he was much bolder than others, and had fewer misgivings. As he spoke, he assessed her in an unrestrained manner.

    This face, this chest, this waist, that butt... even if you added up all of the girls I seized, they couldn¡¯t evenpare to a single one of your toes!

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    I must obtain this woman! He continuously repeated this mantra to himself with conviction.

    Qiu Honglei was unfazed by his provocative expression. She had long grown ustomed to the predatory male gaze.

    A faint smile appeared on her face. She bowed slightly. ¡°Well met, Sir Xuan.¡±

    Xuan Chengughed heartily. ¡°I never thought the day woulde when I would be called ¡®sir¡¯! I am the type of person who usually hates this sissy way of addressing someone. If others addressed me so, I guarantee you that their heads would have been swiftly separated from their bodies. However, when I hear Lady Qiu addressing me so, it instead feels extremely arousing.¡±

    The others all red at him, feeling offended.

    However, at this critical moment, none of them could spare him any attention. They were all striving to be the first to strike up a conversation with Qiu Honglei and impress her.

    ¡°This humble one is Du Chunfeng, my family runs a fur business. It¡¯s an honor to meet Lady Qiu.¡±

    ¡°This humble one is Zhao Dezhu, my father is the city¡¯s...¡±

    Before he could finish, his voice was drowned out by another¡¯s.

    ¡°This humble one is Yuan Junhui. It is an honor, Lady Qiu.¡±

    ¡°Hello Lady Qiu, my name is Wu Yun. My father is Wu Gang.¡±

    ...

    Introductions rose and fell in session. Most didn¡¯t even have a chance to finish their sentence before they were interrupted by someone else. Everyone was trying to leave the deepest impression possible in the shortest amount of time.

    Some even resorted to smashing teacups to attract Qiu Honglei¡¯s attention.

    Unfortunately for them, she had served as a courtesan for so many years, and had already seen every trick in the book. A simple thing like that was not enough to faze her.

    Besides, the ce was too noisy. The sound of a teacup shattering was quickly covered by the endless introductions.

    The young masters Wang Yuanlong and Chu Hongcai abandoned all vestiges of propriety. They crammed their way forward to introduce themselves, their faces red with the effort.

    Even Chu Yucheng threw aside the bear girl he¡¯d been glued to just a short while earlier, shoving his way forward while incoherently shouting his own introduction.

    Zu An watched all of this with great disdain. Didn¡¯t he just say that he liked buff and well-developed women, and that he didn¡¯t care for the slim ones?

    Even though Qiu Honglei¡¯s chest could be considered well-developed, she didn¡¯t have any fat to speak of. She would have been considered chubby if she¡¯d had a bit more meat on her, or skinny if she had a little less.

    Such a figure should definitely be considered a stick in Chu Yucheng¡¯s eyes.

    And yet, who would have expected him to gopletely mad for her?

    In the end, aren¡¯t you all only concerned with her face?

    Zu An really was looking down on them.

    ¡°Young master, why aren¡¯t you heading over to introduce yourself?¡± Leng Shuangyue asked curiously, blinking in puzzlement.

    These girls knew that their job was to entertain their customers when they returned to their seats.

    ¡°What kind of introduction is this? It¡¯s basically putting on a monkey show!¡± Zu An snorted in contempt. ¡°Look at that Qiu Honglei. She looks so cheerful and engaging, nodding towards all of these people, but she hasn¡¯t spared an ounce of interest for any of them.

    ¡°All of them said that they came to a brothel to pick a girl to have fun with. Why does it seem like the girl is the one doing the choosing instead?¡± Zu An¡¯s tone dripped with disdain. It wasn¡¯t that he had anything against Qiu Honglei. Rather, he couldn¡¯t stand the way these men were behaving, as if they had never seen a girl before.

    All of you are really embarrassing our male gender! Even if she is pretty, there¡¯s no need for you guys to simp for her so much, is there? Look at me. Even though I am living off a woman, I have to do it resolutely! Can¡¯t all of you just learn a little from my example?!

    Unable to read his thoughts, Leng Shuangyue merely assumed that he was dissatisfied with Qiu Honglei. She looked towards the second floor and exined quietly, ¡°You know, it¡¯s not easy for Lady Qiu, either. Even though she doesn¡¯t care much about them, she will still have to remember everyone¡¯s names. It is really hard for girls here to do that.¡±

    Zu An stared nkly. He couldn¡¯t help but sigh in amazement. ¡°It turns out bing the queen of courtesans isn¡¯t something you can achieve with just looks...¡±

    Leng Shuangyue nodded, clearly ovee with emotion. ¡°Correct! Our trade nevercks pretty girls, but it¡¯s no mean feat to be the queen of courtesans! Especially for someone like young miss Qiu.¡±

    Zu An gave her a strange look. ¡°Seems like you¡¯re quite close with this Qiu Honglei.¡±

    ¡°We aren¡¯t that close,¡± Leng Shuangyue hurried exined, ¡°but all of us are in the same brothel, after all. With all of us so close to each other, there¡¯s always the chance to overhear some things.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± Zu An let the matter lie. ¡°By the way, since all of you are from the same ce, you should know quite a few things about her, right? Can you tell me some?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t actually know that much... What does young master want to know?¡± Leng Shuangyue sighed inwardly with relief. He didn¡¯t seem to want to continue badgering her about her physiology.

    However, she was afraid that he might remember again, so she decided to attempt to distract him by answering any questions he had. As for the questions she couldn¡¯t answer, she would just im not to know.

    ¡°The things I want to know, you definitely know.¡± Zu An said with a chuckle. ¡°Has she ever had a boyfriend before?¡±

    ¡°Boyfriend?¡± Leng Shuangyue blinked but did not immediately reply.

    ¡°You know, like a partner.¡± Zu An exined.

    Leng Shuangyue gave a startled cry. ¡°Of course not! Everyone knows that Lady Qiu is perfectly pure. How could she have had a partner?¡± She waved her hands adamantly to punctuate her point.

    Zu An still wasn¡¯t convinced. ¡°Don¡¯t be scared, it¡¯s just the two of us here. There¡¯s no need to worry that you¡¯ll somehow harm her reputation.¡±

    Leng Shuangyue hurriedly said, ¡°She really hasn¡¯t had one before! I can guarantee this with my life! Lady Qiu has never had any partners, and she has always remained a virgin...¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Zu An¡¯s gaze drifted automatically to the beautiful figure on the second floor. This really was quite strange.

    From her second-floor room, Pei Mianman observed the scene below her with undisguised contempt. Those fawning men were really putting up a shameful disy.

    Men were good for nothing but being the ythings of women.

    Her heart skipped a beat, and she cast her gaze around for another figure.

    She finally caught sight of Zu An, who was sitting leisurely, and not embarrassing himself like the others. She nodded in satisfaction.

    You didn¡¯t end up disgracing Chuyan. You¡¯re not like all of these rotten and uncultured men.

    However, just as she started to smile, she noticed Leng Shuangyue at his side, peeling grapes and feeding them to him one by one.

    Zu An ate until his entire mouth was dripping with juices, yet he never forgot to tease the girl, messing with her until she squirmed in obvious difort.

    Pei Mianman¡¯s smile immediately turned cold. ¡°Men aren¡¯t good for anything after all!¡± she dered with a dismissive snort.

    After enduring the mindless disy, Qiu Honglei finally parted her red lips to speak. ¡°Thank you everyone for all your love. However, I feel like my skill at the zither has reached a teau recently, and I would love it if everyone could give me some pointers. Please help me see if there are any areas that can be improved.¡±

    As soon as she had begun speaking, the rowdy hall instantly became quiet. No one wanted to make her unhappy.

    When they heard what she said, they began to get all jittery.

    It¡¯s happening!

    The consensus had been that Qiu Honglei would use her song as the means to choose the one she most admired. Sure enough, it was now starting!

    ¡°Lady Qiu must be joking! The song you yed just now was truly sonorous and resonant, the notes lingering in the air perfectly. Your skill at the zither is clearly at its peak. How could there be anything beyond that?¡± one of the men, Zhao Dezu, piped up immediately. His introduction had been cut short earlier, and he was looking for a chance to redeem himself.

    Idiot!

    Everyone else immediately gave him the same damning assessment. Qiu Honglei was clearly trying to test everyone. What is your stupid bootlicking going to aplish?

    As expected, Qiu Honglei smiled faintly. ¡°Young master is too generous with his praise. Unfortunately, I wish to hear some more concrete opinions to address my inadequacies.¡±

    After saying this, she turned to the others, her eyes filled with encouragement and expectation.

    As her gaze moved to sweep across the private rooms above the main hall, she sneered inwardly.

    1. Lu Xun (1881-1936), is one of the most well-known modern Chinese writers.

 Chapter 247: Messed Up

    <h4>Chapter 247: Messed Up</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    All her suitors exchanged dismayed stares when they saw Qiu Honglei¡¯s encouraging expression.

    Her skills at the zither had clearly reached great heights. How could any of theseymen hope to say what she wanted to hear?

    Even if some of them did know a thing or two about ying the zither, how could they everpare to an expert like her?

    If they made a rash guess and pointed out something by mistake, wouldn¡¯t they just make a fool of themselves?

    That was why they all looked at each other, but not a single one of them was willing to take a risk. After all, there was only a single opportunity! They would lose their chance to get closer to their goddess if they couldn¡¯t satisfy her.

    All of them wanted to listen first and scope things out.

    When he saw their fear, Chen Xuan sneered. These young masters who lived like princes were all anxious and worried over nothing. They couldn¡¯t be considered real men at all.

    The thing about women is that the more you tter them and tend to them, the further away they will stay from you!

    As such, he walked over casually. Thumping his chest, he said, ¡°Lady Qiu, I do not know much about the details of ying an instrument, so I won¡¯t embarrass myself. However, in your music, I was able to hear the story of how a love was betrayed. I do not dare guarantee anything else, but if anyone dares to bully you in the future, I will immediately have my men cut him down, and I will make a wine cup out of his skull!¡±

    His appearance was wild and strong to begin with, and his words served to further enhance his masculinity. His proud, manly figure clearly set him apart from the other sissies in the hall.

    ¡°In that case, this humble girl will truly have to offer my thanks to such a brave warrior.¡± Qiu Honglei looked at him with her bewitching eyes. Her beautiful red lips parted slightly, and her eyes almost welled up with tears of gratitude.

    Seeing how he had obtained Qiu Honglei¡¯s favor, the surrounding young masters were instantly regretful. Had they known that this would have been the result, they would have stepped out first.

    The first man always left the deepest impression on a girl.

    Having been embarrassed by Chen Xuan earlier, Wang Yuanlong was in a rush to redeem himself. He said in a rush, ¡°Lady Qiu, I am but a humble young master of the Wang n, and I do not possess many other skills. However, my n¡¯s caravan routes extend far under the heavens, and so I still know a thing or two about the many differentnds. If mydy has a need for anything, I am most willing to have my men help you. I am sure that they can swiftly find what you seek.¡±

    After a slight pause, he looked at Chen Xuanand continued, ¡°After all, no matter how formidable a single person is, their energy is still limited in the end. How could it possiblypare to the power of a n?¡±

    He knew where his strengthsy. Even though his cultivation was far inferior to that of Chen Xuan, he was still the Wang n¡¯s only son. Where wealth was concerned, this barbarian wasn¡¯t even worthy of wiping the dirt off his shoes.

    Chen Xuan naturally knew what he was referring to. With a sneer, he said, ¡°Just another piece of trash who depends on his family. Not even your words are original.¡±

    He was clearly implying that Wang Yuanlong was imitating his style.

    ¡°What did you say?!¡± Wang Yuanlong became furious.

    ¡°Hm? Could it be that you want to fight? Come on then!¡± Chen Xuan also stood up, favoring the young man with a sinister smile.

    Wang Yuanlong¡¯s expression turned sickly. They hadn¡¯t even won when it was three-against-one earlier, and he himself had been left half-dead from a single kick. How could he possibly dare to fight with this person again?

    However, there was no way he would admit that he was scared when such a beauty was present. He froze, unsure of what to do.

    Fortunately, Qiu Honglei helped him out of his predicament. ¡°Sirs, please do not be like this. If the mood was ruined because of me, that would truly be an irredeemable sin.¡±

    As Qiu Honglei med herself, tears about to fill her eyes, the sound of countless hearts shattering echoed across the hall. Everyone turned to re furiously at the two miscreants.

    How dare they hurt Lady Qiu¡¯s feelings?!

    Setting Wang Yuanlong aside, even Chen Xuan, someone who was used to licking the blood off his de, grew flustered. He hurriedly apologized and promised not to cause any more trouble.

    With that, Qiu Honglei beamed. Her smile radiated with the warmth of spring that melted away ice and snow and heralded the blooming of a field of flowers. The hearts of all the men thumped wildly. They knew that they would never be able to forget this smile.

    Pei Mianman couldn¡¯t help but sigh. ¡°She really is a great beauty... it is hard even for a girl to resist her charms.¡±

    After a momentary silence, the hall quickly grew lively again. All the suitors seemed to regain their confidence, as if they had been given new life by that smile.

    Chen Xuan and Wang Yuanlong had zed a trail for them, and now all of them began to speak up, givingments on Qiu Honglei¡¯s earlier ying.

    For the sake of winning her favor, all of them began giving it their all.

    Some of them flexed their literary prowess, praising her performance as if nothing in the heavens above or earth below couldpare, and only asionally sprinkling in one or twoments on her so-called ¡®ws¡¯. As he listened to their rambling, Zu An grew more and more stupefied. He never expected this world to have this many graceful and elegant adjectives.

    Some of them unted their family backgrounds. Zu An was surprised at how many of them were scions of wealthy merchant ns in Brightmoon City. At the very least, he now had a better idea of how this world was structured.

    Some disyed their strength and potential, and there were even some fifth rank academy students in the mix. However, with a sixth rank cultivator present, they only paled inparison.

    ...

    Zu An continued to watch as the show unfolded, idly chewing on some melon seeds. Only then did he remember that he was actually a teacher at the academy.

    Hmph, I¡¯ll remember that student. He didn¡¯t even greet me when he saw me! I¡¯m going to fail him in my next ss.

    Qiu Honglei responded to each one of her suitors with a sweet and engaged smile, making them feel as if they were wrapped in a warm spring breeze.

    Zu An felt endless admiration for her. This woman¡¯smunication skills really were top-notch.

    But why hadn¡¯t that crazy fan Chu Hongcai said anything yet?

    While he was still trying to puzzle it out, he noticed Chu Yucheng bringing Chu Hongcai to the front to see their goddess up close. They got so close, in fact, that they even managed to catch a whiff of her fragrance.

    Chu Hongcai almost fainted.

    Fortunately, he still remembered what he hade for, and asked hurriedly, ¡°I wonder who Lady Qiu pictured while ying that song. Who could have had the fortune of obtaining Lady Qiu¡¯s favor?¡±

    Noticing that he was the young master of the Chu n¡¯s second branch, Qiu Honglei scanned the area around him, but didn¡¯t see the one she was looking for.

    Letting her gaze roam further, she noticed that Zu An was talking andughing with Leng Shuangyue at one side of the hall,pletely unconcerned with what was going on.

    She was bewildered.

    Have I not revealed enough of myself? Or are his standards just too high?

    You have sessfully trolled Qiu Honglei for 128 Rage points!

    The influx of Rage points left Zu An startled. The previous time might have been an ident, but for it to happen twice in session can¡¯t possibly be a coincidence, can it?

    Why did this girl keep targeting him?

    Could it be...

    That I am too handsome, and she can¡¯t help but drool over my suave face?

    By the time she looked at Chu Hongcai again, Qiu Honglei¡¯s expression had long since returned to normal. She said with a smile, ¡°I¡¯m afraid the Chu n¡¯s second young master has misunderstood. I do not have a lover. The song I shared just now was an interpretation of a folk story.¡±

    Despite it being known that Qiu Honglei was pure and unblemished, many of her suitors still secretly harbored fears. When they heard her say that she didn¡¯t have any lovers herself, there was a collective sigh of relief.

    This was how men were. They would be able to brush it off if they couldn¡¯t obtain something themselves. However, if someone else obtained that very thing, there was no way they could handle it.

    ¡°No wonder!¡± Chu Hongcai eximed, like someone who had suddenly seen the light.

    Those around him became impatient. ¡°Are you done yet? Everyone else is waiting!¡±

    ¡°Exactly! What are you ying at!¡±

    Chen Xuan also muttered, ¡°If you have a fart, then release it. Why are you beating around the bush?¡±

    Chu Hongcai¡¯s breath caught momentarily. A hint of anger shed across his face.

    Qiu Honglei didn¡¯t seem to have heard any of this. A curious expression appeared on her face, and she asked, ¡°Why did you say ¡®no wonder¡¯?¡±

    A smile spread across Chu Hongcai¡¯s face. Only then did he reply, ¡°No wonder I caught some disharmony as I was listening to Lady Qiu¡¯s song earlier. I was sure that it was because of Lady Qiu¡¯s tender age. Without personally experiencing such an unforgettable love, there wasn¡¯t a way for you to truly reproduce such a soul-wrenching feeling.

    ¡°With Lady Qiu¡¯s brilliant skill at the zither, I was worried I might be spouting nonsense, just like those academic critics who constantly nitpick the works of others, fussing over nothing.¡±

    Many of the suitors around him nodded inwardly. This fe was indeed quite clever, ying his cards in this manner.

    In reality, everyone could understand this reasoning. Even though Qiu Honglei was a courtesan who made endless connections, she had never taken it further with another man.

    Since she had no experience with true romance, she could only rely on her imagination to portray these emotions that only existed for her as literature. As such, they couldn¡¯t be considered real emotions.

    However, her performance had really been too moving, so no one had pursued such a thought. Even if some did, they felt like voicing this out would be disrespectful, so they didn¡¯t dare to say it.

    Chu Hongcai¡¯s breathing became ragged. He had been preparing for this moment for a long time.

    All of this was for the sake of leaving behind a deeper impression on his goddess.

    The ttery that some of the others resorted to was certain to fail. Those who ttered while trying to point out some make-believe ws were even more uneptable.

    Only he himself, who pointed out an issue that really existed, might truly obtain her favor.

    As expected, Qiu Honglei¡¯s expression did indeed change. After a long pause, she let out a long sigh. ¡°I had hoped that the second young master of the Chu n would have some prating insight. However, it seems like you weren¡¯t able to understand my ying at all.¡±

    Seeing Qiu Honglei¡¯s disappointment, the suitors around him¡ªwho had initially been full of regret¡ªwere overjoyed, and began roasting him.

    ¡°Exactly! Why don¡¯t you take a moment to think about who Lady Qiu is? Of course she can put in true emotions when ying!¡±

    ¡°Instead of being a decent person, you just had to try a dirty trick like this! You¡¯re definitely getting what you deserve!¡±

    ¡°Who does this fellow think he is? How dare he criticize Lady Qiu like this?!¡±

    ...

    Chu Hongcai couldn¡¯t care less about the others hitting him while he was down. Right now, Qiu Honglei¡¯s disdainful expression was the only thing that filled his mind.

    After all, no matter how coarse and boorish the others acted, she had always maintained a pleasant countenance. He was the only one she had treated with absolute ruthlessness.

    I¡¯m finished, I¡¯m done for...

    These words echoed throughout his mind as his soul slowly left his body. He could see Chu Yucheng moving his mouth, but he couldn¡¯t hear anything.

    Zu An was surprised by this unexpected development. Even though Chu Hongcai¡¯s words had been a little too direct, they were still reasonable. Qiu Honglei had served as a courtesan for so many years, so there was no reason why she would lose herposure just like that.

    ¡°Little catgirl, why woulddy Qiu get so upset?¡± Zu An asked the youngdy next to him curiously, subconsciously rubbing her ears.

    Leng Shuangyue¡¯s face immediately reddened. ¡°I... really... don¡¯t know... ah...¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An was brushing her ears with more force than before, causing the cat girl¡¯s entire body to tremble continuously. She hurriedly stammered, ¡°Maybe... maybe it has something to do with that matter...¡±

    As Zu An listened to her exnation, a sudden revtion came to him.

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s gaze had already moved towards the second floor. ¡°Young master Xie arrived a while ago, and yet he still hasn¡¯t said anything. I wish to hear the opinion of young master Xie.¡±

    Chen Xuan was stunned. ¡°Young master Xie? Which young master Xie?¡±

    ¡°How many young master Xies does Brightmoon City have? Of course she¡¯s referring to Xie Xiu!¡± Someone near him sneered. What a bumpkin. He waspletely led by the nose, and he still has no idea!

    Chen Xuan immediately erupted in fury. He red at Zu An. ¡°Damn brat, you had the nerve to mess with me earlier!¡±

 Chapter 248: Do You Know Who I Am?

    <h4>Chapter 248: Do You Know Who I Am?</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°So what if I messed with you? Are you going to bite me?¡± Zu An sat leisurely in his seat with an arm hooked around Leng Shuangyue,pletely unfazed.

    Chen Xuan immediately became furious. His de left his scabbard with a clean, sharp sound. His expression was treacherous, already seething with killing intent.

    You have sessfully trolled Chen Xuan for 444 Rage points!

    In his heart, Chu Yucheng gave Zu An a thumbs-up. This guy really was nasty. In the past, he had always thought that he was some useless drafted son-inw. He¡¯d never expected him to actually be such a fierce person!

    But that¡¯s what I like to see!

    Knowing just how powerless they had been before that red-haired man, he fervently wished for that bastard¡¯s face to be covered in as much dirt and grime as possible.

    He tried to drag Chu Hongcai over, out of worry that Chen Xuan would erupt in violence.

    Unfortunately, Chu Hongcai was still in a daze. He had shut himselfpletely off from the outside world, so Chu Yucheng was left to back Zu An up alone.

    After some hesitation, Wang Yuanlong stepped forward as well.

    Zu An was somewhat surprised. He hadn¡¯t expected these silver-spooned fellows to be this loyal when it really mattered.

    Chen Xuan sneered. ¡°Do you think you¡¯re all that just because there are more people with you now?¡±

    As one, his subordinates all rose to their feet, and his side instantly gained the numerical advantage.

    Seeing that conflict was about to break out, Qiu Honglei spoke up once more. ¡°I hope that everyone can indulge me this once. Could you all please not cause a disturbance in the Immortal Abode?¡±

    Even the coldest of hearts would melt at her sweet, pleading voice.

    Chen Xuan resentfully returned the de to the sheath. "I''ll leave you with your life for now, out of respect for Lady Qiu. We''ll settle things once we are outside the Immortal Abode.¡±

    Zu An immediately raised his voice. "How dare you im to have things to settle with me? Do you know who I am?"

    Chen Xuan was stunned at Zu An¡¯s utterck of remorse. Instead, that fellow had gotten even more cocky! Don''t tell me this fellow really is the heir of some bigshot?

    "And who exactly might you be?"

    When he heard these words, Zu An chuckled. ¡°It''s better if you don''t know who I am. That way, you can¡¯t find me once we leave the Immortal Abode."

    There was a moment of stunned silence, then the whole ce erupted withughter. This guy really was witty.

    Chen Xuan was speechless.

    You have sessfully trolled Chen Xuan for 666 Rage points!

    He had been yed by this guy over and over again today. How can he possibly endure this? He grabbed his de and charged at Zu An.

    Qiu Honglei hurriedly interposed herself between the two men. She turned a lovely, pitiful expression on Chen Xuan. ¡°Big brother Xuan, you promised me just now!¡±

    She blinked sweetly at him with herrge, tearful eyes. Chen Xuan swallowed, his throat suddenly dry. This really is quite the woman. I definitely have to bring her back with me, so that she can take good care of me.

    His anger was thus reced by a deep, yearning desire, and he forgot all about settling his score with Zu An.

    He sat back down, a big smile on his face.

    ¡°Thank you so much big brother Xuan~¡± Qiu Honglei smiled. She nced at Zu An. What was he going to do if I hadn¡¯t stepped in?

    In his second-floor room, Xie Xiu sighed. ¡°What a pity! That would have been the perfect chance to gauge Zu An¡¯s strength. Why did Qiu Honglei have to interfere?¡±

    Next to him, Xie Daoyun remarked, ¡°No matter how formidable he is, he is definitely no match for a sixth rank expert, right?¡±

    ¡°That may not be true.¡± Xie Xiu told her about what had transpired in the mountain behind Brightmoon city, where Zu An had defeated Shi Kun with a single blow of his sword. ¡°This guy¡¯s strength ispletely unpredictable. I really am curious as to just how strong he really is.¡±

    He wasn¡¯t the only one who sighed in pity. In her own room, Pei Mianman gently blew out the ck me hovering above her hand. ¡°There¡¯s no way that fe will cause trouble without any confidence.¡± Her tone became indignant. ¡°What am I getting all worked up for? He¡¯s not even my husband, hmph~¡±

    Qiu Honglei raised her head to gaze towards the second floor. ¡°Young master Xie, you still haven¡¯t answered my question... Could it be that young master truly feels my performance was so discordant?¡±

    Xie Xiu appeared by his windowsill, using his body to hide his older sister. He said with a smile, ¡°Lady Qiu must be joking. I was so stunned by your beautiful melody that I fell into a trance! That¡¯s why I was unable to reply to thedy¡¯s question.¡±

    Qiu Hongleiughed while covering her mouth. ¡°It has always been said that countless girls see young master Xiu as their ideal partner. Indeed, your words are just too sweet.¡±

    ¡°I was only speaking the truth.¡± In contrast to those crazy men below, Xie Xiu stood casually by the window, his eyes still clear, making him stand out from the rest.

    Seeing how the two of them carried on in such a pleasant manner¡ªone, a perfectly beautiful woman, and the other, a stunningly handsome man¡ªthe rest of the men in the hall grudgingly conceded that the two of them looked a perfect match.

    However, this concession left a sour taste in their mouths, and remembering Xie Xiu¡¯s background only served to lower their spirits further. Few would even consider themselves worthypetition.

    Chen Xuan was one who had no such misgivings. His heart burned as he saw this girl, whom he already considered his own exclusive property, conversing so intimately with another man.

    Furthermore, this Xie Xiu knew that someone else had impersonated him, and yet he hadn¡¯t said anything, which allowed for Chen Xuan¡¯s embarrassing moment earlier.

    These grievances piled up one after another, and he finally couldn¡¯t hold back his anger. ¡°Young master Xie, Lady Qiu wanted you to contribute some constructive criticism. Why are you wasting so much time with all this boot-licking?¡±

    Now that someone had taken the lead, everyone else began to echo in agreement. Everyone came to a brothel to see girls. In such a ce as this, all men viewed themselves as equal, no matter their social standing. Besides, this Brightmoon City didn¡¯t belong to the Xie n. Many of the men brazenly called Xie Xiu out, their courage fueled by the alcohol that they had consumed.

    Xie Xiu remainedpletely unperturbed by their baseless usations. He continued, ¡°As for Lady Qiu¡¯s performance, there was indeed a slight w.¡±

    At those words, a displeased chorus of hisses came from around the hall. Here was another idiot, offering up more vulgar ptrap.

    Chu Hongcai had just embarrassed himself earlier, and now this idiot was following in his footsteps.

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s smile stiffened as well. ¡°Oh? I¡¯d love to hear more.¡±

    Even though she asked everyone to voice any criticisms they had, she was more than confident in her own skills. She didn¡¯t believe that there were any realints to bring up.

    The constant stream of praise that had been showered upon her by her other adoring fans had also subconsciously inted her ego. As such, hisments left her feeling slightly resentful.

    At her invitation, Xie Xiu continued, ¡°Young miss Qiu¡¯s melody truly moved me to tears. Your ability to imbue emotions in your ying is truly magnificent. In this respect, there really isn¡¯t anything to pick at.¡±

    Chu Hongcai¡¯s face paled upon hearing this. He now understood what his greatest mistake was.

    It wasmon knowledge that Xie Xiu was the foremost practitioner when it came to the art of picking up girls, even though his cultivation wasn¡¯t anything to write home about. His words confirmed that Qiu Honglei¡¯s performance had been full of emotion.

    No wonder my words had only angered her. Sigh, I shouldn¡¯t have tried toe on so strongly, or made such a riskyment.

    As he chastised himself, Xie Xiu continued, ¡°Lady Qiu has already reached perfection in the art of imbuing emotions. However, there are some slight ws in your technique.

    ¡°Towards the end of your song¡ªperhaps because you were too focused and caught up in the emotions of it all¡ªthe ¡®zheng¡¯ note was held slightly longer, while the ¡®yu¡¯ note was yed slightly too early. This created a slight disharmony in the music.¡±

    The ¡®zheng¡¯ note was equivalent to the ¡®F¡¯ note in the modern world¡¯s understanding of music. The ¡®yu¡¯ note was equivalent to the ¡®A¡¯ note, which was a higher pitch than the ¡®zheng¡¯ note. This note excelled in expressing anger and other intense emotions.

    Qiu Honglei was stunned. She closed her eyes and reyed her own performance in her mind. Only after a long time did she open her eyes again.

    ¡°There is a saying among the courtesans of Brightmoon City: ¡®a mistake in the song results in endless gratitude for the consideration of our guests¡¯. Today, I¡¯ve finally increased my knowledge.

    ¡°Thank you, young master Xie, for your pointers. Otherwise, I would have been left self-satisfied, yet unaware of my own shorings.¡± Qiu Honglei offered him a deep bow.

    Xie Xiu hurriedly returned her show of respect. ¡°Young miss Qiu is too hard on herself.¡±

    As he bowed, his heart secretly burned with shame. Even though he did dabble in the zither, he only knew just enough to deceive other girls. His skills paled inparison to those of a true master like Qiu Honglei. There was no way he could have picked up this slight w.

    He had only been repeating what his big sister Xie Daoyun had told him.

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s high praise drove everyone mad with jealousy, which in turn served to inte Xie Xiu¡¯s ego. Now that he had earned her full respect, he wondered if he would be the one chosen.

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s voice came quietly from behind him, interrupting his musings. ¡°Don¡¯t forget what you promised. You have to bring me with you when you¡¯re invited.¡±

    Xie Xiu immediately felt his head begin to ache. Why in the world did I bring my big sister to a brothel? I¡¯m probably the first one to do something this stupid!

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s gaze began to roam the hall, sweeping across those gathered there.

    All the men instantly stood straighter, puffing out their chests, hoping that they might receive the simr sort of attention as Xie Xiu.

    However, there was nothing left to say that hadn¡¯t already been said. No one had any confidence in giving any better critique.

    Seems like that bastard Xie Xiu is the one getting lucky tonight.

    The atmosphere in the hall began to sour.

    Unexpectedly, Qiu Honglei suddenly said, ¡°I heard that distinguished young master Zu of the Chu n has also arrived. I wonder where he is right now?¡±

    When they heard her words, everyone¡¯s eyes instantly turned to Zu An. The grape that Leng Shuangyue had just fed him dropped out of his mouth.

    ¡°What is this woman ying at?¡± In her room on the second floor, a dangerous glint flickered across Pei Mianman¡¯s peach-blossom eyes. Her heart mysteriously grew suspicious.

    All who were present shared her puzzlement. After all, there were plenty of men who stood higher than Zu An.

    Put nicely, he was the young master of the Chu n.

    Put bluntly, he was nothing more than a lowly Chu-n leech.

    Why didn¡¯t Qiu Honglei, the crown jewel of the Immortal Abode, bat an eye towards any of them, yet suddenly chose to pay such special attention to him?

    Zu An¡¯s brow furrowed as he felt the heat of the guests¡¯ collective res. He knew that this woman already recognized him, given the Rage points he¡¯d received, and yet she insisted on pretending that she didn¡¯t.

    This is really strange!

    ¡°You are Zu An?¡±

    Before he could even say anything, there was the sound of gnashing teeth.

    You have sessfully trolled Chen Xuan for 1024 Rage points!

    Zu An waspletely shocked as he turned to look at the now-fuming Chen Xuan. Those who provided him with 1024 Rage points in one go were usually those who wanted him dead.

    Did I identally kill this guy¡¯s dad or sleep with his wife or something?

    Why in the world are you reacting like this for?

    Zu An sighed. ¡°I already tried to keep a low profile so as not to steal anyone¡¯s thunder. I left you all to do your thing, but I still somehow ended up bing the star. Someone as outstanding as me really can¡¯t avoid attention no matter where I go...¡±

 Chapter 249: Moving the Plan Forward

    <h4>Chapter 249: Moving the n Forward</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Qiu Honglei stared at him, speechless.

    So were Pei Mianman and Xie Daoyun, watching from the second floor.

    This guy really needs a good ass-whooping!

    The same thought popped into everyone¡¯s mind simultaneously.

    You have sessfully trolled the onlookers for 66... 66... 66...

    A cool, refreshing feeling swept over Zu An¡¯s entire body at the influx of Rage points. It seems like remaining low-profile really doesn¡¯t suit me! Being ced in the limelight is still the fastest way to earn Rage points.

    You have sessfully trolled Chen Xuan for 99... 99... 99...

    Zu An gave him a surprised look. From the way he was receiving Rage points, he fully expected this fellow toe charging right at him. And yet, that was somehow not the case.

    Qiu Honglei clearly shared his worry. She moved slightly, cing herself between the two of them as if unintentionally. ¡°It turns out young master Zu was here all along,¡± she said with a sweet and cheerful smile.

    As she came close, Zu An immediately smelled a natural, delicate fragrance like that of an orchid. She was already extremely beautiful from afar, and her charm up close was even more fatal.

    Thank heaven I¡¯ve already seen my fair share of beauties!

    Zu An secretly counted his blessings. If he hadn¡¯t spent so much time with Chu Chuyan, his resistance towards physical beauty might not be as high, and he would have probably made a fool of himself here.

    Zu An put these thoughts aside and met her gaze directly. ¡°If I am not mistaken, this should be our first meeting. Why would you suddenly ask about me in such a manner?¡± he said with a smile.

    Qiu Honglei couldn¡¯t help but feel slightly startled. After all, when other men interacted with her at such a distance, most of them couldn¡¯t keep their eyes from flickering all about, while others would stare nkly at her with eyes overflowing with desire. Eyes that maintained their rity as they stared straight into hers were truly rare.

    She quickly put aside her surprise, saying with a gentle voice, ¡°Even though I¡¯ve never met this young master before, I have long considered you a friend in spirit. I heard that young master found an exceptional treasure, the ¡®Evanescent Lotus¡¯, in the dungeon, whose petals alone could raise one¡¯s cultivation by a step. However, young master resisted such great temptation and fed it to his wife without any hesitation.

    ¡°Young master¡¯s love for his wife is enough to move the hearts of all women in this world. The proverbs are indeed true. Priceless treasures are easy to obtain, but true love is scarce. Young miss Chu is truly blessed.¡±

    ¡°Pah!¡± Pei Mianman spat viciously. What a cunning vixen. My dear Chuyan, my dear Chuyan, if you don¡¯t treat your husband right, he is going to get snatched away...

    When they heard Qiu Honglei use the words ¡®friend in spirit¡¯, amotion immediately broke out among the surrounding men.

    The news about the Evanescent Lotus only heightened their cries of rm.

    So far, news of this matter had only been circted within a small circle in the higher levels of society. Now that it was known, almost everyone secretly sighed inside. This fe really goes all-in for women.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    A small group silently mocked his stupidity. After all, the gap between him and young miss Chu was already so great. If Chu Chuyan¡¯s strength rose further, that gap would only grow.

    It wasmon knowledge that a marriage with too wide a gap was bound to fail.

    Regardless of what they thought of the rtionship between Zu An and Chu Chuyan, none of them could stomach the sight of Qiu Honglei looking at Zu An with such sparkling eyes. Their jealousy and anger immediately skyrocketed.

    Watching this influx of Rage points, Zu An was convinced that this woman was doing this on purpose. Wasn¡¯t she basically throwing him onto a rack to be roasted?!

    Sucks for you, I am different from everyone else. The more people hate me, the happier I be!

    ¡°But of course! I¡¯ve always treated women well. If Lady Qiu is envious of my Chuyan, you can consider being sisters with her. If I find another Evanescent Lotus, then I¡¯ll give it to you.¡± Zu An said with a big smile.

    ¡°This little bastard is too shameless.¡± Xie Daoyun couldn¡¯t hold back her criticism.

    Is it so easy to find an Evanescent Lotus? Are you really trying to bag a beautiful concubine with just these empty promises?

    Also, aren¡¯t you merely a drafted son-inw of the Chu n? Do you really have the nerve to walk up to them and ask for a concubine just like that?

    Her thoughts mirrored those of countless others in the hall. If res could kill, Zu An would have died a hundred times over by now.

    ¡°This humble girl doesn¡¯t darepete against first miss Chu.¡± Qiu Honglei¡¯s face flushed slightly. Other men always spoke to her using the most graceful words, out of fear of leaving a bad impression. She had never seen someone as direct as him, actually asking her to be his concubine!

    Zu An shrugged in an unconcerned manner. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, she¡¯s told me before that she doesn¡¯t care if I look for other women.¡±

    Pei Mianman almost choked.

    Xie Daoyun whipped her head around, giving her younger brother a look of disbelief. ¡°Did young miss Chu really say that?¡±

    Xie Xiu said with a bitter smile, ¡°Who knows if young miss Chu really said it or not? But he has said this more than once, and young miss Chu has never shown any reaction. The rtionship between those two might not be what we suspect.¡±

    ¡°Just what kind of person is young miss Chu? How could she possibly allow him to take concubines?¡± Xie Daoyun¡¯s face was full of disbelief. At the same time, she found herself more and more curious about the man below.

    Just what was going on?

    The other men in the hall weren¡¯t as kind. Curses rained down on Zu An from all sides.

    ¡°You are just a drafted son-inw! Why are you acting all smug?¡±

    ¡°I really don¡¯t know what your ancestors did to make a goddess like young miss Chu choose you! And yet, you are still looking for other women?!¡±

    ¡°Exactly! You actually have the nerve to set your sights on Lady Qiu? Absolutely absurd!¡±

    ...

    Even Wang Yuanlong quietly prodded Chu Yucheng. ¡°Did your first miss really say this?¡±

    Chu Yucheng said with a bitter smile, ¡°I really don¡¯t know either... But knowing our first miss¡¯ nature, there should be no way she would allow such a thing.¡±

    Chu Hongcai recovered from his previous daze just in time to give Zu An a look of shock. This guy really has guts! Is he not scared that the first miss would find out? Even if the first miss doesn¡¯t intervene, Master and Madam definitely won¡¯t hold their peace.

    However, since they were all standing on the same side for now, it wasn¡¯t appropriate for the two brothers to openly criticize Zu An. They discreetly shifted a few steps away to avoid getting caught in the stream of hate.

    No one was more excited than Wei Suo. ¡°All of you should know that this boss is my desk-mate! Half of our school¡¯s top ten beauties have already been subdued by him! Compared to that, picking up Qiu Honglei would be nothing much!¡±

    He began to recount Zu An¡¯s dy-killer¡¯ legends in a vivid and colorful manner. Everyone around him waspletely stunned.

    To mooch off of women to such a degree... isn¡¯t he already in a ss of his own?

    Wei Suo felt as if he were basking in his own glory as he saw more and more expressions of shock. The excitement in his voice grew exponentially.

    ...

    Zu An remained nonchnt as the rest of the crowd grew more furious with each new tale they heard. He quietly watched his Rage points build up.

    Curse me all you want! The more fiercely you curse, the more Rage points I get!

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s smile had frozen on her face. Her usual grace seemed to abandon her, and she was momentarily at a loss as to how to respond to this situation. It took her a while to gather herself, and she finally shed an embarrassed smile. ¡°The reason I invited everyone today was to listen to some critique for my music. Let¡¯s leave other matters for a different time.¡±

    Her beautiful brows curved gently as she spoke. The corners of her lips spread slightly upwards, and her eyes swirled with enchanting ripples.

    Everyone watching her instantly felt their hearts melt, and they began to speak on top of one another, echoing the same thoughts.

    ¡°Exactly! If you don¡¯t know anything about music, let someone else speak, and listen humbly to their wise opinions.¡±

    ¡°Lady Qiu, you shouldn¡¯t waste any more time on someone like this.¡±

    ...

    Despite what was going on, there was one thing that many people remained curious about. Hadn¡¯t that red-haired man been after his life? Why did he suddenly go quiet after hearing his name?

    It seems like the name of the Chu n really has sparked some reservations in him.

    Hmph, just another loudmouth with a coward¡¯s heart.

    With the crowd distracted, Chen Xuan had called over all of his subordinates. ¡°Do all of you understand what I just said?¡±

    ¡°We understand!¡± Those subordinates responded excitedly.

    All of them were notorious bandits who were used to living freely, taking whatever and whoever they wanted. Being in this city, bound by its endless rules, had left them feeling suffocated. The rewards they would gain bypleting this task would be enough for them to enjoy themselves for years toe.

    ¡°If you understand then go, do what you need to do.¡± With a wave of his hand, Chen Xuan dismissed his subordinates, who immediately dispersed.

    He stared at Zu An from a distance away, a malicious glint in his eyes. A nasty grin spread across his face. Luck really is more important than effort. I spent so much effort looking all over for you, and yet you¡¯ve ended up right in front of me. Little brother, I will get revenge for you today.

    This man was brothers with Mei Chaofeng! A few years ago, they had been dispatched quietly to Brightmoon City by the Shi n. One established an underground business in Brightmoon City, while the other established himself as a vicious bandit chief outside the city, killing and plundering the caravans that passed by.

    Over the years, the two brothers had generated a sea of wealth for the Shi n. In recognition of their services, the Shi n reduced the cut of the profits it was taking from them by half, as a reward for their contributions.

    Reducing the Shi n¡¯s cut by half may have seemed small percentage-wise, but the wealth that passed through their hands was astronomical. In real terms, this small reduction was already a huge amount.

    The two brothers were just about to reach the pinnacle of their lives, only for Zu An to suddenly appear.

    The younger brother¡¯s sessful casino was left in tatters, and the Plum Blossom Sect fell apart soon afterwards.

    Worst of all, Mei Chaofeng had actually been killed!

    The two brothers were orphans who had depended on each other for survival, and so their rtionship was far closer than that of ordinary blood brothers. When he¡¯d heard about his brother¡¯s death, his first reaction had been to avenge him.

    Unfortunately, given her status and cultivation, Jiang Luofu wasn¡¯t someone he could afford to provoke.

    And so, he had to settle for making Zu An the target of his anger instead. After all, all of this was that little bastard¡¯s fault.

    When Shi Kun hade to Brightmoon City, he had agreed to help Chen Xuan get rid of Zu An, and so he had bided his time.

    Who would have expected that, not long after the dungeon closed, Shi Kun would suddenly leave without a word?

    With Shi Lezhi¡¯s death, and the possibility of a ninth rank expert at Zu An¡¯s side, Shi Kun had returned to the capital with his tail between his legs. Obviously, he hadn¡¯t disclosed this publicly, to prevent embarrassing himself.

    Chen Xuan wasn¡¯t privy to this information. He had decided that his brother¡¯s standing was deemed too low to those higher up, and his death mattered little to them.

    Since Shi Kun wouldn¡¯t help him, he had to take care of the deed himself.

    He had always acted viciously and decisively. All those who had seen his real face had been silenced. As such, he had no qualms entering the city so openly.

    His original n had been to let his subordinates rx at this Courtesan¡¯s Meeting, before heading to the Chu Estate to carry out their revenge. Who knew that his luck would be so good, and that he would find this fellow right here?

    As such, he decisively moved his ns forward. This guy canugh all he wants now. He¡¯ll definitely pay for itter.

    You have sessfully trolled Chen Xuan for 631 Rage points!

    Zu An noticed another chunk of Rage points drop in. Zu An gave Chen Xuan a look out of the corners of his eyes, and a pensive expression appeared on his face.

    Sensing his sudden quietness, Qiu Honglei looked at him with a hurt expression. ¡°Could it be that my performance was so poor that young master Zu has nothing to say at all?¡±

 Chapter 250 - Why Donâ€™t You Do it, Then?

    <h4>Chapter 250 - Why Don¡¯t You Do it, Then?</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s hurt expression made all of the men in the hall re furiously at Zu An. This little bastard actually dared to hurt young miss Qiu!

    You have sessfully trolled the onlookers for 44... 44... 44...

    Zu An was overjoyed!

    This visit to the Immortal Abode has really been worth my while! These adorable perverts have gifted me so many Rage points... I¡¯ll have to properly tally them all upter.

    Sigh, it seems like my previous suspicions were right on. Trying to earn Rage points alone really is too slow, but with a pretty girl at my side, it¡¯s just too easy.

    Even now, he still cherished that night he¡¯d taken Chu Chuyan out for a stroll. Wherever he¡¯d gone that night, Rage points had been quick to follow.

    It really was a pity that Chu Chuyan¡¯s skin was so thin. After going out with him once, she had never agreed to go for a walk again.

    But now, wasn¡¯t Qiu Honglei an excellent candidate for this? With her background, showing herself in public wasn¡¯t a big deal at all. Pair this with her bewitching charm, and the results might be even better than what he could achieve in thepany of Chu Chuyan.

    Buoyed by this thought, he began to consider his reply. Taking advantage of the situation before him, he began, ¡°Young miss¡¯ skills at the zither have already been talked about enough just now...¡±

    ¡°Tsk!¡±

    The sound of tongues clicking echoed around the hall.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s eyes tinged with disappointment. I¡¯ve already decided to help you out, but you have to at least put in some effort!

    Otherwise, how could we possibly convince everyone here?

    After carefully taking note of everyone¡¯s reactions, Zu An continued casually, ¡°Though, in my opinion, not a single one of them hasmented on the most important point.¡±

    At his words, the hall erupted in an uproar. After all, not everyone here was unlearned and ignorant¡ªthere were some genuine talents here who had a clear understanding of the zither, and theirments on Qiu Honglei¡¯s ying were thoroughly appropriate.

    Among them, there was even a great talent like Xie Xiu. Don¡¯t tell me that he didn¡¯t pick up on this important point, yet you somehow did?

    Xie Daoyun shook her fist at him from the second floor. ¡°What is this guy ying at? Don¡¯t tell me even someone like him understands the zither?¡±

    While the rest of the crowd believed that Xie Xiu had provided his own evaluation earlier, the truth was that he had only borrowed his sister¡¯s expert analysis, which had been formed after her careful listening. And yet, Zu An still felt like hermentary had missed the most important point?

    She had enjoyed the arts since she was a child, and her achievements in this field were quite profound. As a proud and established member in her area of expertise, Zu An¡¯s words truly rubbed her the wrong way.

    To his sister¡¯s question, Xie Xiu shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t think he knows much about the zither.¡±

    Xie Daoyun scoffed. ¡°It seems like he¡¯s no different from the other fellow, deliberately sharing a provocative opinion. He is just teasing that girl, and then he¡¯ll move on after.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Xie Daoyun for 233 Rage points!

    She couldn¡¯t even be bothered to remember Chu Hongcai¡¯s name. As the daughter of the city lord, she never paid much attention to the affairs of the world, let alone the name of the child of a concubine.

    Zu An looked towards the second floor in surprise. So, Xie Xiu¡¯s older sister is upstairs too! Didn¡¯t that guy say he was gonna introduce me to her? Where is the follow-up on that?

    ¡°Why does young master Zu say such a thing?¡± Despite her slight disappointment, Qiu Honglei still did her best to give Zu An another chance, to see if he could turn things around.

    Zu An continued from where he left off. ¡°There are no issues with this youngdy¡¯s skills at the zither, and the blending of emotions into the notes was also exquisite. However, I couldn¡¯t help but notice two ws.¡±

    The crowd was so incensed that they began tough instead. This little shit was getting too cocky!

    Xie Daoyun knit her brows together in a frown. Even with all of her knowledge regarding the zither, she had barely managed to pick out a single problem, and that problem couldn¡¯t even be considered a big one. However, this brat actually dared to im that her ying had major ws, and two of them at that?

    Pei Mianman put her face in her palm, clearly embarrassed for his sake. It was a good thing Chuyan wasn¡¯t here. With her personality, she might have immediately dug a hole and jumped into it.

    ¡°Is that so? Then I must ask young master Zu for your advice.¡± Qiu Honglei¡¯s expression cooled further. What is wrong with this guy? How are others supposed to even help you out if you behave like this?

    You have sessfully trolled Qiu Honglei for 250 Rage points!

    Seeing such a meager haul, Zu An couldn¡¯t help but think that this woman really was stingy. ¡°Young miss, yourposition was too monotonous and nd. Itcks a bright rhythm, and the tempo is also unclear. That is why it can¡¯t help but sound slightly tedious.¡±

    Xie Daoyun scoffed, not bothering to hide her discontent. ¡°This fe really only knows how to spout a bunch of nonsense. The zither''s notes are gentle and muted to begin with. It¡¯s not an instrument that uses a clear tempo or rhythm.¡±

    Qiu Honglei furrowed her brow as well, clearly sharing simr thoughts. However, even before she could speak, several zither enthusiasts began to mock Zu An for being full of shit.

    Zu An didn¡¯t seem to mind at all. He continued to look calmly at Qiu Honglei.

    When she saw that he wasn¡¯t flustered at all, Qiu Honglei grew uncertain of herself. This guy doesn¡¯t look like an idiot, so why does he insist on saying such things? Don¡¯t tell me there really is something more to this?

    As such, she pursed her bright red lips and replied, ¡°Perhaps the young master has misunderstood. The music of the zither soothes the self, and soothes the people who listen to it. Since ancient times, the music of the zither has never excelled in rhythm or tempo. Rather, it is used to paint an artistic mood.¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°It really is interesting that you say the music of the zither soothes the self. When you performed for everyone just now, was it to please yourself or please others?¡±

    Qiu Honglei was stunned into a long silence.

    Upstairs, the beautiful brows of Xie Daoyun drew together in a frown. She began to have a vague understanding of what this fellow was trying to say.

    Pei Mianman leaned against the windowsill, an ambiguous expression appearing on her face. ¡°This fe really has some strange talents.¡±

    Perhaps because standing up was too tiring, she fetched a stool. She supported her breasts gently on the windowsill and sat down, immediately feeling much more rxed. She stretchedfortably, revealing her truly wondrous curves.

    Fortunately, each room had excellent privacy. Who knew how many pairs of eyes this would have attracted otherwise.

    Zu An continued, ¡°The notes that a zither produces are moderate and gentle, and its tone reaches deeply into the soul. The songs yed on a zither often evoke ¡®longsting peace¡¯, or perhaps ¡®transcendent hope¡¯, and other such feelings. These songs are usually yed in beautiful and peaceful settings of mountains and flowing rivers, or within a quiet and private inner residence. However, thedy insists on ying it in a noisy brothel! The environment here clearly shes with the intrinsic quality of zither music, so the music can¡¯t help but seem naturally dissonant. I believe that this might also be why thedy has felt her skills teau recently.¡±

    Xie Daoyun let out a cry of surprise from the second floor. She turned his words over carefully in her mind.

    Qiu Honglei had initially felt disapproval as well, but as she continued to listen, her forced smile gradually disappeared as she fell deep into thought.

    Seeing her smile disappear, the crowd believed that Zu An¡¯s words had made her angry. They immediately seized the chance to butter her up.

    ¡°That¡¯s nothing but nonsense! There are plenty of girls who y the zither in brothels! Who says that it has to be yed in a quiet setting?¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°Isn¡¯t it precisely because these establishments want to please all of you so-called ¡®enlightened schrs¡¯, that¡¯s why there are so many zither yers in brothels?

    ¡°Few ordinary brothel girls y the zither. More of them are proficient in instruments like the guzheng[1] or lute, which are good enough to please the ordinary folk. Those who choose to y the zither are often the queen courtesans in their respective brothels. They need to set themselves apart from the others. Because the zither is refined and elegant, they used it to raise their own status, market themselves differently, as if it would add a bit more of an otherworldly aura to their presence. However, they did not consider that a zither ispletely incongruous in a brothel setting.¡±

    The voices that were cursing him gradually quietened down. Some of them began to realize that his words weren¡¯t entirely without reason.

    Market themselves? Pei Mianman was still leaning against the windowsill, but she wore a strange expression. Even though the words this fellow used were crude, they were quite interesting. But now, not only did he end up offending Qiu Honglei, he had also offended all courtesan queens.

    As expected, when she heard his evaluation, Qiu Honglei¡¯s face becamepletely pale, and her chest trembled.

    Zu An immediately added, ¡°Of course, strictly speaking, this isn¡¯t Lady Qiu¡¯s mistake. Rather, this is just how things are. There¡¯s no need to be too bothered.¡±

    Qiu Honglei rolled her eyes with hidden resentment. ¡°How can I not be bothered? After hearing the young master¡¯s remarks, I might never y the guqin again.¡±

    Anguished wails greeted this pronouncement.

    ¡°Please, Lady Qiu! Your ying is really beautiful!¡±

    ¡°That brat is speaking nonsense! He doesn¡¯t know anything!¡±

    ¡°Exactly! If you don¡¯t y the zither again, then it would be a loss for all of Brightmoon City! No, the entire Great Zhou Dynasty!¡±

    ...

    These people continued to howl in grief, all the while ring at Zu An with hate-filled eyes.

    As he watched his Rage points rocket up another couple of thousand points, Zu An immediately became full of disdain. Simps and white knights everywhere. Keep licking boots until you find out there is actually nothing left for you.

    Of course, without all of you lovely bootlickers, where would I go to farm so many Rage points?

    At this moment, Xie Siu tilted his head slightly, as if he was listening to someone nearby. Sudden shock shed across his face, and he said loudly, ¡°Brother Zu, even though what you say makes a bit of sense, Lady Qiu has already masterfully yed her piece, and her emotions were perfectly blended into her music! The things you have pointed out are too vague, and there is nothing concrete.¡±

    After saying this, he smiled apologetically to Zu An. It was clear that tearing him down like this left him slightly embarrassed as well.

    When he noticed this expression, Zu An guessed that he was merely the mouthpiece, and that these were probably Xie Daoyun¡¯s words.

    Xie Xiu¡¯s objections encouraged the rest of the crowd.

    ¡°That¡¯s right! Everyone can speak about vague and broad principles. However, only specific pointers of improvement are truly worthwhile!¡±

    Zu An said in a calm and unhurried manner, ¡°The main reason why the zither is not suitable for a brothel environment is because the melodies it produced can be slightly too nd. Its sound color is also concentrated in the middle register. If it can be paired with another instrument that canplement it, the soundscape will be much richer, with moreyers, and the tempo and rhythm will be clearer. This will naturally make the music more appropriate to this setting.¡±

    Xie Daoyun snorted, and passed herments to Xie Xiu to convey.

    Xie Xiu¡¯s wore an expression of helplessness, but he still spoke in her ce. ¡°You make it sound easy, but different instruments have different sound colors and different qualities. The zither¡¯s sound is small and intimate to begin with. If other instruments are added to it, it could be overpowered, and the effect may be jarring.¡±

    Qiu Honglei nodded in agreement. ¡°Indeed. In fact, such ideas have been tried by many musicians before, but all of their efforts ended in failure. There is no practical way to implement what the young master says.¡±

    Hisses of glee could be heard from all directions. The crowd were ecstatic to see him embarrassed.

    ¡°With the right approach, all this can be easily solved. You all just haven¡¯t found it yet.¡± Zu An was slightly surprised. Was the level of musical understanding in this world really so shallow that they couldn¡¯t even figure out such a simple issue?

    Up on the second floor, Xie Daoyun snorted. Arguing with this fool was surely a waste of her time.

    This guy wants to brush over something no zither yer from past to present has ever achieved? If only it was that easy!

    She had a clear enough idea of what was going on. This fe was most likely a nobody, possessing only the slightest understanding of the zither. To think that she had actually engaged in such a passionate discussion with him just a second ago! The humiliation was almost overwhelming.

    By this time, Chen Xuan had also finalized his ns. Knowing that there was no way Zu An could feel good after being put down like this, he took the opportunity to twist the knife further. ¡°It¡¯s always easy to talk¡ªtalking is something anyone can do! If you have the skills, why don¡¯t you do it, then?¡±

    1. The zither that Qiu Honglei ys is the guqin, which is a shorter zither with five to seven strings. The guzheng is also a type of zither, which is a longer instrument with between 21 to 26 strings.

 Chapter 251: Do You Know How To Blow the Xiao?

    <h4>Chapter 251: Do You Know How To Blow the Xiao?</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    When they heard what Chen Xuan said, the rest of the crowd began to parrot him.

    ¡°Exactly! Instead of talking so much, why don¡¯t you give it a try yourself?¡±

    ¡°You spout so much nonsense. If you have the skills, why don¡¯t you do it!¡±

    ...

    It was obvious that everyone was unhappy at having their goddess belittled like this. At the same time, they were worried that Qiu Honglei might really be persuaded by him, and so they naturally went all out against him.

    Qiu Honglei was genuinely curious. ¡°I wonder, what is the correct method that young master speaks of? Could you show it to us?¡±

    It wasn¡¯t a big deal if Zu An couldn¡¯t answer her. She already had her own ns. This guy was too arrogant and out of control, and there was no guarantee that she could control him if they worked together in the future.

    This would be a good chance to knock him down a notch.

    Zu An said, ¡°The method indeed exists. But, before that¡ªwhat¡¯s in it for me?¡±

    ¡°What is in it for you?¡± Qiu Honglei was immediately stupefied.

    ¡°Yup. I came to the Immortal Abode as a guest to watch thedies entertain me, yet now, you all want me to perform for you? I¡¯d be losing out if I got nothing out of it,¡± Zu An said with a smile. Those characters from Finest Servant really were worth learning from. There was no way he was going to let an opportunity like this pass him by.[1]

    ¡°What sort of reward does the young master want?¡± Qiu Honglei¡¯s smile seemed just a little too cheerful. This fellow really refuses to be normal.

    Normally, she didn¡¯t even have to speak. With just a single look from her, countless men would fall one after the other. When she did speak, no one had ever refused her.

    Now, however, this fellow wanted to squeeze some benefits out of her?

    ¡°Lady Qiu, don¡¯t agree to him!¡±

    ¡°Exactly! He only craves your body!¡±

    ...

    The other men instantly grew nervous.

    Zu An turned around. ¡°Who was that? Get over here. Stop looking around. Yes you, the one who said something about craving the body.¡±

    The crowd slowly inched away, exposing the young master who had spoken.

    That young master began to squirm uncertainly. ¡°What do you want? Are you trying to use your background as a member of the Chu n to pressure me?¡±

    He didn¡¯t fear this Zu An, but he did fear the Chu n somewhat. After all, Brightmoon City was Chu Zhongtian¡¯s fiefdom.

    However, as he considered the situation further, he realized that not only was Zu An a drafted son-inw, he was even one who went out whoring. It would be lucky if he even managed to escape punishment from the Chu n. Why would they help him out in such a situation?

    This train of thought helped to calm him down.

    ¡°What was your name again?¡± Zu An asked.

    Just as the young master was about to reply, Zu An waved a dismissive hand in his direction. ¡°Forget it, there¡¯s no point in remembering the name of a background character.¡±

    That young master was left speechless.

    You have sessfully trolled Jiang Fan for 233 Rage points!

    ¡°You said that I craved her body just now. Does that mean that you don¡¯t?¡± Zu An stared at him curiously.

    ¡°I...¡± Jiang Fan subconsciously gave Qiu Honglei a look. He had never been in such close contact with her before. When he saw her devastatingly beautiful face up close, he almost fainted. ¡°Of course I don¡¯t!¡±

    Even though his heart craved her endlessly, he still clung desperately to the appearance of a modest man to leave her with a good impression.

    ¡°So you don¡¯t think Lady Qiu is pretty?¡± Zu An looked at him strangely.

    Jiang Fan said, ¡°Lady Qiu¡¯s beauty is like that of a celestial being. Of course she is pretty.¡±

    ¡°Then why don¡¯t you crave her? Is her beauty not to your taste?¡± Zu An frowned. ¡°Lady Qiu is already ridiculously pretty, but that¡¯s not even enough for you... don¡¯t tell me... you¡¯re not a man?¡± Zu An said with exaggerated horror on his face.

    Jiang Fan immediately went red as a beet. ¡°Of course I am a man! I adore Lady Qiu! It¡¯s just... it¡¯s just that...¡±

    He couldn¡¯t think through what to say even after racking his brain. Screw this guy!

    You have sessfully trolled Jiang Fan for 444 Rage points!

    After the ocean of Rage points from earlier, Zu An didn¡¯t care that much about this small trickle.

    However, when he thought about how even the smallest insect contained some nutrition, he knew he couldn¡¯t let it go to waste.

    ¡°If you are a man, that can only mean one thing.¡± Zu An sighed. ¡°You are way too fake. You don¡¯t even dare to admit your desire for women.¡±

    Jiang Fan¡¯s mouth worked, but no words came out.

    He had somehow dug the perfect hole for himself. However, he just couldn¡¯t admit to this no matter what!

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    You have sessfully trolled Jiang Fan for 666 Rage points!

    In her second-floor room, Pei Mianman¡¯s expression turned bizarre. This guy... I truly pity his enemies.

    Qiu Honglei stepped in to rescue the poor young master. ¡°Please don¡¯t trouble him further. How about we discuss what sort of benefits you want?¡±

    Zu An stared straight into her dazzling eyes, and a hint of a smile appeared on the corners of his lips. ¡°I want you...¡±

    *Thunk!*

    A strange noise came from upstairs.

    ¡°This guy really is a pervert.¡± Xie Daoyun said with a frown.

    Pei Mianman¡¯s expression became hard to read. She muttered to herself, ¡°Stinky brat, do you even know who she is? You dare take advantage of her?¡±

    At the same time, she began to scrutinize Qiu Honglei for any reaction.

    Only now did the rest of the men wake up, and they all began raining curses down on him.

    ¡°Have you gone mad? How dare you treat such a beautiful woman this rudely?!¡±

    ¡°How could someone like Lady Qiu agree to this type of condition?¡±

    ¡°You are simply a disgrace to all men! Utterly shameless!¡±

    ...

    You have sessfully trolled the onlookers for 99... 99... 99...

    Only Wei Suo secretly shed him a thumbs-up. His boss was truly the boss after all.

    However, seeing just how worked up the crowd had be, he didn¡¯t dare voice this thought, lest he invite disaster upon himself.

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s eyes flickered dangerously for the barest of moments. She said in a soothing voice, ¡°We¡¯ll just have to see if young master¡¯s method works or not. After all, this is something our predecessors have not been able to solve for hundreds, if not thousands of years. I truly cannot fathom how to make different instrumentsplement a zither.¡±

    When they heard her words, the entire ce grew hushed. Exactly! This is a problem not even the greatest names in the music world could solve. What can a little brat like him aplish?

    This thought, shared among most of the crowd, helped to calm their anxiety.

    ¡°In that case, let¡¯s begin with the second issue of your performance,¡± Zu An said.

    ¡°Second issue?¡± Qiu Honglei was momentarily taken aback, but then remembered that this fellow had brought up two ws. She was d that she had at least managed to retain someposure. With a smile, she said, ¡°I must ask for young master¡¯s guidance on this.¡±

    ¡°Your second issue is that the emotions were too intense. To be able to imbue emotions into one¡¯s ying is a wonderful thing, but...¡± Zu An paused slightly before continuing, ¡°The emotions you expressed were sorrow and anger. Not only are these emotions entirely at odds with the festive ambience of a brothel, they do not match the natural temperament of the zither either.¡±

    ¡°Eeeeey~¡± Watching from the second floor, Xie Daoyun eximed in surprise. ¡°What this fellow says actually makes some sense. I didn¡¯t even think of this just now.¡±

    Qiu Honglei sighed gently. ¡°What young master says is true. This song holds great meaning for me. I was feeling nostalgic at that moment, and I just couldn¡¯t hold myself back from ying it.¡±

    When they heard her words, quiet whispering broke out amongst the crowd. Does she actually have a lover?

    Just who was this blessed man?

    Seeing the emotion that flickered in the depths of her eyes, Zu An finally knew that a crack had appeared in her armor, exposing her true feelings. ¡°Lady Qiu, you are in the prime of your life. Your heart should be overflowing with joy, like the radiance of the sun, not wounded and sentimental as if covered in scars.¡±

    Qiu Honglei said with a smile, ¡°From the way you describe me, it seems like I¡¯ve suddenly aged a few decades.¡±

    Zu An sighed. ¡°Musices from the soul. Whether or not the you I describe is true, only thedy herself knows.¡±

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s sweet smile began to fade bit by bit. She had clearly been moved.

    ¡°We asked you to show us the method for bringing different instruments together. Why are you rambling about all of this?¡±

    Chen Xuan had grown impatient from listening. A chorus of agreement chimed out from the crowd.

    That stic smile immediately returned to Qiu Honglei¡¯s face. ¡°Exactly, young master. I am still waiting for you to broaden my horizons.¡±

    Zu An asked Leng Shuangyue, who was beside him, to fetch a xiao. ¡°Do you know how to blow the xiao?¡±[2]

    ¡°But of course.¡± Qiu Honglei revealed a smile.

    Enthusiastic catcalls broke out amongst the crowd, and Qiu Honglei immediately realized her mistake. Her face reddened, and she shot him a resentful look. ¡°Is young master making fun of me?¡±[3]

    ¡°That¡¯s not what I mean at all!¡± Zu An¡¯s expression darkened, and he red fiercely at the crowd. These idiots aren¡¯t good for anything else, but they¡¯re incredibly sharp when ites to picking up such things.

    ¡°If we examine all the avable instruments, the xiao and zither make the best pairing.¡±

    Qiu Honglei nodded her head. ¡°This is indeed the case. However, this is only true if wepare the xiao with other instruments. The tonal color of the zither is too unique. However, if the xiao is used to apany instead, the zither will be overwhelmed.. In that case, one might as well perform on the zither alone.¡±

    Zu An smiled in reply. ¡°I just happen to have a song in mind that perfectly suits thebination of zither and xiao.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Qiu Honglei¡¯s eyes brightened. Even Xie Daoyun subconsciously scooted a little closer to her window.

    In this world, the zither and the xiao weren¡¯t used inbination because either the xiao would overwhelm the zither, or the zither¡¯s sound would stand out too much. When the two performed as a duet, the resulting sound was mediocre at best, and even the best musicians had eventually given up on trying to make thebination work.

    This Zu An seems so confident. Does he really have such a formidable song?

    ¡°I¡¯ll write it out for you. Then, I¡¯ll y the zither, and Lady Qiu will help me blow the xiao.¡± Zu An gestured for Leng Shuangyue to bring him some writing materials.

    Zu An had already interacted with that beautiful big sister Shang Liuyu before through music. Since it had proven to be a fruitful avenue, he had continued to pursue it as a means to get closer to her.

    This led him to specially look into the music of this world. Even though he was no expert, transcribing the tunes of his previous world in a way that could be understood by the people of this world wasn¡¯t too difficult.

    ¡°Sure~¡± Qiu Honglei epted the xiao from him. Something urred to her, and she blushed a bright shade of red.

    This guy was doing this on purpose!

    Zu An didn¡¯t notice, as he was currently preupied with transcribing his song onto paper. He¡¯d originally learned how to y this song, ¡®Scenery of Home¡¯ in order to beef up his arsenal of weapons used to chase girls with. Because he really liked the drama series The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, he had memorized that song by heart as well.[4]

    This song from The Smiling, Proud Wanderer wasn¡¯t James Wong¡¯s ¡®Sea¡¯s Laughter¡¯, but rather the tuneposed by masterposer William Hu Wei-Li for the drama series starring Jackie Lui.[5]

    ¡°Oh? This song seems rather new and original...¡± As an expert in the musical field, Qiu Honglei could notice immediately that this tune waspletely different from any she had seen before.

    Could this fellow really make the zither and the xiao work together sessfully?

    She had merely been going along with the flow earlier. However, after seeing the melodyid out before her, her expression became serious.

    ¡°Will Lady Qiu be able to y it?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°The music seems slightly unfamiliar, but we can give it a try.¡± Qiu Honglei grew slightly nervous as she noticed the rather difficult syncopation.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s begin.¡± Zu An sat down in front of the zither, his previous frivolousness nowhere to be seen.

    His fingers moved lightly across the strings, producing a confident, rxed sound that carried throughout the entire hall.

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s disapproving expression immediately froze.

    Pei Mianman¡¯s expression also became a bit strange. This fellow actually had such a wide set of skills up his sleeve? Did Chuyan already know all about all of this? Was that why she decisively chose him as her husband?

    Those other spectators had been eagerly waiting for him to make a fool of himself. However, when they saw how he sat in front of the zither, they immediately sensed something amiss. When he struck the first few confident notes of his impassioned melody, every single one of them was blown away.

    1. Finest Servant is a Chinese webnovel that also deals with transmigration.

    2. The xiao is a Chinese vertical flute, blown from one end (simr to how a recorder is yed). It is usually made of bamboo.

    3. Blowing the xiao is Chinese ng for a blowjob.

    4. For those who want to listen to Scenery of Home, the song title in Chinese is ¹ÊÏçµÄÔ­·ç¾°.

    5. James Wong¡¯s ¡®Sea¡¯s Laughter¡¯ (²×º£Ò»ÉùÐ¦) is heard in the 1991 movie version of The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, and its sequel. The TV drama series referenced here is from 1996. William Hu Wei-Li (ºúÎ°Á¢) is aposer who worked on many wuxia films.

 Chapter 252: Keeping the Blessings Within the Family

    <h4>Chapter 252: Keeping the Blessings Within the Family</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An¡¯s ying was slowly joined by the sound of the xiao, painting out a sorrowful tune. However, Qiu Honglei¡¯s ying didn¡¯t seem as proficientpared to her skill at the zither.

    Xie Xiu couldn¡¯t hide his confusion. ¡°This doesn¡¯t seem right. With Qiu Honglei¡¯s skills, her skills with the xiao shouldn¡¯t be so far below her skill at the zither. Why does her ying sound so... so ordinary?¡±

    He had already chosen the most polite way of describing what he was hearing. Qiu Honglei¡¯s yingcked any semnce of smoothness, with somerge hups that were audible even to him. If it had been anyone else, they would have long been chased off the stage.

    Xie Daoyun frowned. ¡°It might be because she is unfamiliar with this song...¡±

    She quietly trailed off, unable to continue her justification. There¡¯s no way an expert would mess up this badly, is there?

    *Screech!*

    With that sharp, wrong note, Qiu Honglei had finally had enough. She lowered the xiao with a reddened face. This really was too embarrassing! She actually couldn¡¯t y the song!

    However, no one else doubted her skills. All of them instead rushed to reassure her:

    ¡°If not even a master like young miss Qiu could y it, then this song was probably just randomly thrown together!¡±

    ¡°Precisely! Brat, don¡¯t drag Lady Qiu down with you if you don¡¯t know how to y it yourself!¡±

    ...

    However, quite a few in the crowd had discerning ears. To them, Zu An¡¯s ying flowed freely in a natural, unforced manner, and did not sound at all like it had been recklessly put together. Surely, then, such an usation could not be levelled at the part he had written out for the xiao.

    Wang Yuanlong couldn¡¯t help but nudge Chu Yucheng. ¡°It seems that I have truly been deceived by the rumors. I thought that the young master of your Chu n was a good-for-nothing. I never expected him to actually possess such skill! No wonder Chu First Miss chose him to be her husband.¡± He sighed in admiration.

    Chu Yucheng also wore a strange expression. He nudged Chu Hongcai, who was next to him. ¡°Did you expect such a thing to happen?¡±

    Chu Hongcai shook his head dumbly. A hint of bitterness spread across his face as he watched how close and intimate Qiu Honglei and Zu An were.

    Chu Yucheng seemed to have guessed what he was thinking. He reached over to console his cousin. ¡°You don¡¯t have to feel so discouraged. They are only ying a duet together. It doesn¡¯t mean anything more. Besides, even if they do end up doing something together, it¡¯s better if Ah Zu were the one, instead of someone else. We should strive to keep such blessings within the family!¡±

    Chu Hongcai had no words for his cousin.

    What the hell do you mean, ¡®keep the damn blessings within the family¡¯? Should I be thanking you for your insight?!

    Zu An had also stopped to console Qiu Honglei. ¡°This song is somewhat difficult. The melody changes quite abruptly in certain ces, and the jumps are quite big. It¡¯s hard to y them correctly if you aren¡¯t familiar with the tune.¡±

    Qiu Honglei smiled at him appreciatively. Even though she normally acted the part of a world-toppling beauty, she was still a youngdy deep down. She had never encountered such an embarrassing predicament before, which had left her slightly dazed.

    Zu An carefully exined some easy ways to tackle the issues, as well as some areas in the song that deserved special attention.

    Qiu Honglei gradually calmed down. She closed her eyes to center herself, and then read through the entire song from start to finish. With that, she finally understood why she kept messing up.

    ¡°Let¡¯s try it again.¡± Qiu Honglei¡¯s expression was full of anticipation. Not only was she ready to redeem herself for her embarrassing performance earlier, but this song really seemed amazing to her, and she was eager to see what it would sound like when it was yed properly.

    ¡°All right!¡± Zu An smiled. Seeing that she was ready, he began to lightly pluck the zither.

    Qiu Honglei pursed her bright red lips and blew gently, her ten fingers moving along the xiao as if they were dancing.

    With the zither upying the middle register, and the beautiful and serene sound of the xiao floating across it, the music began to tug at the heartstrings of all those present. The melodies of the zither and xiao weaved in and out, going back and forth as if the two were having an intimate conversation, leaving all the men swimming in an endless sea of envy. Each of them wished fervently that they were the ones to have such an incredible opportunity with Lady Qiu.

    Xie Daoyun stood by the window of her private room, her eyes glued to the two of them performing this duet. She remarked, ¡°The pairing of the xiao and the zither works for this song, but itcks that distinct effect he had been bragging about earlier.¡±

    Just as she said that, the melody of the zither gradually grew louder, while the xiao retreated into the background. However, the sound of the xiao didn¡¯t fade awaypletely, but lingered like wisps of cloud blown by a gentle wind. This served to take the music to greater, more soul-stirring heights.

    ¡°This...¡± Xie Daoyun¡¯s beautiful face was full of awe. She muttered to herself, ¡°So the zither and the xiao can work in harmony together... such a pairing truly is wless.¡±

    The music from the zither grew more forceful, as if heralding the start of a war. However, the xiao remained as gentle and mellow as before.

    This carried on for a while, before the zither slowly became quiet again, with the xiao taking its turn to grow bolder. The two instruments continued in this vein, each taking their turn. It was almost as if there were several zithers and several xiaos performing at the same time.

    Even though the melodies of the zither and the xiao wereplex and constantly changing, each rose and fell in a perfect cadence, beautiful and moving.

    Xie Daoyun sighed in admiration. No wonder even Qiu Honglei, with her wondrous abilities,had struggled and failed several times. The song sounded soplex just from an audience¡¯s perspective¡ªshe couldn¡¯t imagine just how difficult it would be for the actual musician.

    The expressions of disdain slowly faded from the faces of the crowd, and they felt the blood pumping in their veins as the song reached its climax. They subconsciously rose to their feet, feeling as if they were currently on the battlefield, fighting for their families, fighting for their country, fighting for the fate of this world.

    As the music went on, the zither and xiao traded ces one final time. With the zither backing it up, the xiao took the lead, its notes swirling higher and higher.

    A mysterious wave of sorrow swept the hall, and the audience unknowingly began to shed tears.

    With a rousing crescendo of sound, the zither came to a sudden stop, and the music of the xiao faded as well.

    A magical silence filled the Immortal Abode, which no one dared to disturb.

    Qiu Honglei waspletely awestruck. She almost couldn¡¯t believe that she was the one who had yed such a moving melody.

    She lowered the xiao to look at the man sitting in front of the zither table.

    She had originally nned to help him out secretly, but who knew that he would be the one to bring her such a pleasant surprise?

    ¡°Young master Zu, does this song have a name?¡±

    Zu An stood slowly. ¡°This song is named ¡®The Proud, Smiling Wanderer¡¯. I will give this song to thedy as a gift in hopes that thedy can let your sorrows go, and to instead be proud and ever-smiling, just like this song.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re really giving it to me?¡± Qiu Honglei couldn¡¯t hide her stunned surprise. After all, in a brothel, a good song was enough to push even an obscure brothel girl to the title of courtesan queen.

    Even though she was well known in Brightmoon City, there were many other courtesan queens out there whose reputations far exceeded hers. With this song, however, her name might be well known throughout the world.

    ¡°Of course I am.¡± Zu An said with a smile. It was just a song after all¡ªwhat was she getting so emotional for?

    Pei Mianman snorted. ¡°This guy really doesn¡¯t skimp out when chasing after girls.¡± Watch me rat on you to Chuyan. She really needs to keep a tight leash on this husband of hers!

    However, she really hadn¡¯t expected this fellow to possess such a skill. She would definitely have to get him to write her a song some time in the future as well.

    Xie Daoyun also began to mutter to herself, ¡°Given time, Zu An will definitely be famous throughout the world.¡±

    Xie Xiu¡¯s face was filled with shock. ¡°Is this performance really that big of a deal?¡±

    Xie Daoyun rolled her eyes. ¡°You¡¯ve dabbled a bit in music, haven¡¯t you? You should understand that this ¡®Proud, Smiling Wanderer¡¯ ispletely groundbreaking.¡±

    Xie Xiu couldn¡¯t help but remark, ¡°But then again, this is still a world where cultivation strength is paramount. No matter how deep one¡¯s musical knowledge is, it will always remain a small field.¡±

    Xie Daoyun couldn¡¯t contain her frustration. ¡°Why are your words sounding more and more like father¡¯s? You all are just a bunch of uncultured trash!¡±

    She got up and stormed off in annoyance. Victory and defeat had already been decided. There was no way Xie Xiu would be chosen, and so she wouldn¡¯t have a chance of meeting Qiu Honglei either.

    However, her trip here hadn¡¯t been in vain, thanks to this song.

    She had many burning questions for Zu An, but the Immortal Abode really wasn¡¯t the best ce to pose them. Besides, it would be best if she didn¡¯t expose her identity here, so talking to Zu An would have to wait.

    Xie Xiu hesitated a moment before following his sister out. After all, there wasn¡¯t much point in staying here, and this was also the sort of ce where crooks were mixed in with honest folk. If something were to happen to his sister, there would be no way for him to redeem the situation.

    Qiu Honglei stood as well, and said to the crowd, ¡°I am feeling a little tired, so I will take my leave now. Everyone, please make yourselvesfortable.¡±

    After saying this, she turned around and walked off slowly, ignoring the pleas of the crowd for her to stay. Soon, all that was left of her was a lingering fragrance.

    Zu An stared nkly. The two of them had been chatting so happily just now. How could things end just like that?

    Was she leaving just like this?

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Hongcai for 233 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Yucheng for 233 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled Wang Yuanlong for 233 Rage points!

    ...

    Zu An immediately jumped in fright when he saw the Rage pointse in. What is going on?

    Looking around the hall, he noticed all of the other men staring at him with murderous eyes.

    Chu Yucheng walked over to him. ¡°Congrattions brother Zu, congrattions.¡±

    ¡°What congrattions?¡± Zu An was dumbfounded.

    ¡°Do you really not know, or are you just acting? Lady Qiu has already taken her leave, which means she has already made her decision. Who else could she have chosen other than you?¡±

    Chu Hongcai¡¯s face was darker than coal. This fellow had already gotten what he wanted, and yet he was still acting all innocent. How could he stand this?

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Hongcai for 345 Rage points!

    His heart burned with regret. Why did he bring this scoundrel with him today?

    However, it dawned on him that, even if he hadn¡¯t brought Zu An, he would still have offended Lady Qiu, and someone else would have definitely been chosen anyway.

    Sigh, I guess third brother speaks the truth. I suppose this can also be considered as keeping the blessings within the family.

    But then, why do I feel like crying so badly?

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°She chose me?¡± Zu An was momentarily stunned, then erupted inughter. ¡°Haha, didn¡¯t I tell all of you earlier? How can any woman resist my charms?¡±

    Chu Hongcai, Chu Yucheng and Wang Yuanlong shared the same open-mouthed expressions.

    As they stared at him, mouths agape, a delicate and pretty maid hurried over. ¡°Young master Zu, our young miss has invited you to meet her.¡±

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll be right over.¡± Zu An sped his fist towards the people at his table. ¡°Brothers should always remain loyal to each other. However, a beauty is calling for me. Please excuse this, gentlemen.¡±

    Chu Yucheng waspletely speechless. He hurriedly waved his hands, ¡°Since Lady Qiu is calling for you, you should just go.¡±

    Opposite him, Chu Hongcai¡¯s face had fallenpletely to the floor.

    Zu An turned and took a few steps after the maid, before suddenly hurrying back. He said quietly, ¡°How much does a night for a courtesan queen cost? I don¡¯t have any experience, and I really don¡¯t know anything about such matters.¡±

    Everyone at the table stared at him, dumbfounded.

    Zu An said with an embarrassed smile, ¡°I know that Sister Hua said that all of my expenses in Immortal Abode are waved today, but does that include the night with a courtesan queen? I forgot to bring any money out with me.¡±

    ¡°Piss off!¡±

    Hispanions had reached the limits of their patience. This guy really had no sense of shame!

    How could anyone put a price on Lady Qiu?

    If money was all anyone needed to get close to her, countless men of Brightmoon City would have already lost their family fortunes.

    Am I going to have to give up on this opportunity? Zu An curled his lips. However, borrowing money from people he knew really was quite embarrassing.

    With this in mind, he followed the maid halfway up the stairs before suddenly turning around and pping his hands, drawing everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°Do you all have any requests for me?¡± he asked loudly.

    In her private room, Pei Mianman was already back in her seat, sipping leisurely on some tea. When she heard his voice, her eyes narrowed suspiciously. What is this fellow up to now?

    The crowd was dumbfounded as well. ¡°Why would we want anything from you?¡± someone yelled resentfully.

    If there¡¯s something we want, it¡¯s for you to get out of our sight as soon as possible. Just looking at you is irritating.

    ¡°There¡¯s really nothing?¡± Zu An smile mischievously. ¡°For example, wouldn¡¯t you like me to be... a little gentler to your goddesster?¡±

 Chapter 253: Straw Bag and Trash

    <h4>Chapter 253: Straw Bag and Trash</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Pfft!¡±

    Pei Mianman spewed her tea everywhere.

    Just what kind of life had this fellow been living until now? Wasn¡¯t this a little too low?

    Everyone in the court reacted, immediately exploding with rage.

    ¡°Bloody hell... Don¡¯t stop me, I am going to hack that guy to pieces!¡±

    ¡°Where is my sword?¡±

    ¡°How can there be someone this low in this world?¡±

    ¡°Lady Qiu, do you even know what he is saying? How could you pick a degenerate like him?!¡±

    ...

    You have sessfully trolled Chen Xuan for 999 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled Jiang Fan for 999 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Hongcai for 999 Rage points!

    You have sessfully...

    Zu An went mad with happiness as he watched a new wave of Rage points pour in.

    An exceptional person really did have to do exceptional things!

    However, these guys already seemed like they were after his life, and there was not way he could possibly be stupid enough to stay here and let them beat him up.

    Before anyone could react in any meaningful way, he already escaped without a trace. The furious crowd was barred from following him by the staff of the Immortal Abode.

    Sister Hua directed her subordinates to restrain the enraged crowd, throwing a resentful look at Zu An¡¯s disappearing figure. This guy really knows how to cause trouble! Now I have this terrible mess to clean up.

    Zu An whistled happily as he followed the maid. He wondered if he should visit this sort of establishment again.

    Of course, with my amazing character, I would nevere here for the girls. But it really is just too easy to farm Rage points here!

    After just a rough calction, he determined that the number of points he¡¯d earned in the Immortal Abode was much greater than at any other time previously.

    If he could rake in so many points every day, ascending to immortality would not be such an impossible dream.

    Suddenly, his surroundings grew dark. He noticed that he had already left the interior of the Immortal Abode, and was standing in front of the sparkling Brightmoon River. The sky had grown dark, andnterns were just being lit, which indicated it was early evening. The reflections of thenterns on the water¡¯s surface made it seem as if there were countless moons in the night sky.

    Only the liveliness of a brothel street could have such wonderful scenery.

    Zu An sighed as he asked the maid, ¡°Cute lil¡¯ sis, where are we headed?¡±

    He looked around him. This doesn¡¯t seem like Qiu Honglei¡¯sdy chambers?

    ¡°Cute lil¡¯ sis?¡± That servant girl was startled. She had clearly never heard anyone being addressed in such a way before.[1]

    However,pared to the way others treated maids like her¡ªdisrespectfully, as if they existed only to be ordered around¡ªthis ¡®cute lil¡¯ sis¡¯ sounded rather nice.

    Her face grew suffused with happiness. ¡°The young miss is waiting for you on the boat.¡±

    ¡°Boat?¡± Zu An was bewildered. How was he ever going to get to a boat?

    The maid squatted down and slid open a wooden door on the balcony floor, revealing a stedder. He could just make out a small boat tied off nearby.

    ¡°Young master, please.¡± The maid gestured toward the stedder.

    ¡°So many formalities,¡± Zu An chuckled. However, this didn¡¯t really bother him. He took thedder down.

    As soon as he got in the boat, it slowly began to move towards the center of the river.

    Zu An frowned. This can¡¯t be some trap, could it?

    However, he soon dismissed the thought. He didn¡¯t seem to be one worth conspiring against.

    Besides, his cultivation had now increased. The more skilled one became, the more daring they became. He quickly calmed himself.

    ¡°What a pity that cute lil¡¯ sis didn¡¯t get on as well. I forgot to ask for her name.¡± Zu An felt a twinge of regret.

    ¡°As expected, young master is different from any other ordinary person. You don¡¯t seem to feel any fear.¡±

    A gentle female voice came from within the cabin. It was none other than Qiu Honglei¡¯s unique voice.

    ¡°What do I have to be scared of? That thedy will devour me?¡± Zu An said with a smile.

    ¡°Young master really knows how to joke around. Shouldn¡¯t I be the one afraid of being eaten by you?¡± Qiu Honglei¡¯s voice was smooth and rich, every word tugging at his heartstrings.

    ¡°Hurry up ande inside. The wind out there is too strong.¡±

    ...

    As they chatted with each other, a voluptuous figure appeared on the very balcony that Zu An had departed from.

    Pei Mianman stomped her feet as she watched that boat depart. ¡°What a crafty vixen!¡±

    Now that they had set out on the boat, there was no way she could listen in on their conversation.

    ¡°Forget it, I¡¯ll search her room first. Hopefully I can find something there,¡± Pei Mianman said in a huff. Her figure quickly disappeared without a trace.

    ...

    At the gorgeous woman¡¯s invitation, Zu An raised the curtained entrance to the cabin of the boat.

    Despite the small size of the boat, the interior of the cabin was warm and cozy. Zu An noticed a small carved tableid out with a few tes of exquisite-looking food. Qiu Honglei was sitting by the table and smiling at him.

    Her beautiful eyes seemed to harbor hidden messages within them.

    If he didn¡¯t know better, Zu An would have thought that she was a wife eagerly waiting for her husband to return home.

    A small and exquisitentern hung from the wall. The faint yellow radiance cast a glow over her body, covering her in a warm amber hue.

    ¡°Young master is staring so intently at that smallntern. Could it be that I am not as pretty as thatntern?¡± Qiu Honglei sounded slightly hurt. However, there was no real annoyance on her face.

    ¡°I¡¯ve just never seen such a yellowmp before,¡± Zu An said, as he took a seat at the table.

    If he¡¯d had his way, he would definitely have sat next to Qiu Honglei, just to be as close to her as possible.

    However, this boat was just too small! Just the table alone was enough to fill most of the room in the cabin. He couldn¡¯t find a way to squeeze in next to her, so he could only sit down opposite her.

    Is this girl doing this on purpose? Who is she even guarding against? Zu An thought resentfully.

    ¡°If the young master does not like themp, I can put it out.¡± Qiu Honglei rose halfway, revealing her endlessly seductive waistline.

    Zu An stopped her and said, ¡°There¡¯s no need. The yellow light actually makes me feel warm. Besides, I won¡¯t be able to admire Lady Qiu¡¯s beauty without it. That would really be a pity.¡±

    ¡°Young master¡¯s mouth really is sweet. No wonder you were able to please my maid so easily.¡± Qiu Honglei said with an alluring expression.

    Zu An jumped in fright. ¡°Do you have irvoyance or something?¡± How did she know what he¡¯d done when she¡¯d been so far away?

    Qiu Honglei smiled. She gave no exnation, only pointing at the two small pots beside her. ¡°Does young master wish to drink tea or alcohol?¡±

    ¡°Obviously alcohol!¡± Zu An said without hesitation.

    ¡°That is what I assumed as well. Anyone who canpose such an impassioned song as ¡®The Smiling, Proud Wanderer¡¯ is naturally a heroic man who loves alcohol.¡± Qiu Honglei picked up the pot and poured a cup for him.

    Out of worry that her long sleeves would touch the food on the table, she gently pushed them up, revealing beautiful arms that were even finer than white jade.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but sigh in admiration. Some people really were blessed at birth. Every single part of her body is a work of art.

    ¡°That¡¯s actually not the reason why I drink. I just want an excuse to justify any reckless actions after I drink.¡±

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s smile froze momentarily, but she quickly recovered. ¡°If you had said that before, I would have definitely thought of young master as a pervert. I might even have chased you out immediately.¡±

    ¡°What made you change your mind?¡± Zu An asked in curiosity.

    ¡°Anyone who can write such a song is definitely a righteous and valiant knight who is richly talented. I¡¯m sure that your vulgar and unrestrained actions are merely a form of camouge.¡± Qiu Honglei raised her cup with a smile. ¡°I am really happy that music has brought young master and I closer together in friendship. This humble girl offers the young master a toast.¡±

    Smelling the fragrance filling the air, Zu An couldn¡¯t help but sigh. ¡°Who says those who have talent can¡¯t be perverts?¡±

    Ji Dengtu¡¯s vulgar smile appeared in his head. Revolted, he quickly shoved that image out of his head. ¡°Also, that song isn¡¯t my work. I am only sharing in the achievements of another.¡±

    A wave of homesickness struck him. He worried that he might never be able to return to his previous world again, and grew dejected. Raising his cup, he drained it in one go.

    Qiu Honglei lowered her cup, leaving behind an imprint of her lips on the rim. ¡°The young master is too modest. Even though Honglei is foolish, I am familiar with all sorts of songs. This is the first time I¡¯ve heard of this ¡®Smiling, Proud Wanderer¡¯. If it wasn¡¯t written by young master, who else could it have been written by?¡±

    Zu An seemed on the verge of saying something, but hesitated. He gave up the thought of exining what was going on. After all, there was no way he couldn¡¯t tell her that he transmigrated here, right?

    There really is something wrong with this world! Whenever I speak the truth, no one believes me, but they don¡¯t question my lies at all!

    To hell with it!

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°May I ask young master a question?¡± Qiu Honglei looked calmly at him with her beautiful eyes.

    ¡°Please, don¡¯t keep calling me young master. Just call me Ah Zu in the future,¡± Zu An replied. ¡°What do you want to ask me?¡±

    Qiu Honglei said, ¡°To be honest, I have already heard quite a few rumors about young master. None of them were too good.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps you have heard that I am just a piece of trash? You don¡¯t need to worry about my feelings.¡± Zu Anughed in apletely unconcerned manner. ¡°I¡¯ve already gotten used to it.¡±

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s face tinged with red. She studied him curiously. ¡°It was only today that I discovered that young master is actually an extremely outstanding man. Why do you normally... treat this entire world like a game?¡±

    She really couldn¡¯t find the right words to portray how Zu An carried himself. The word ¡®lowly¡¯ seemed quite fitting, but that was too indecent. How could she say that in such a setting?

    ¡°I¡¯m not pretending, though. That¡¯s the sort of person I am,¡± Zu An said in a carefree manner.

    Qiu Honglei refused to believe him. ¡°It seems like young master still does not treat me as one of his own,¡± she said with a hurt expression.

    Zu An cursed silently. Are we husband and wife or something? We haven¡¯t even gone to bed yet, and you have the nerve to say this?

    Noticing his silence, Qiu Honglei probed further. ¡°Is the young master concerned that being too outstanding might instead make the Chu n uneasy?¡±

    Zu An stared nkly. ¡°Why would the Chu n feel uneasy about that?¡±

    Qiu Honglei smiled slightly. ¡°Brightmoon Duke currently has two daughters and a son. The son is serving in the capital as a... he is studying, while his second daughter is publicly known as...

    ¡°Publicly known as a brat that throws uncontroble tantrums. There¡¯s no way she could manage the matters of the Chu n.¡±

    Zu An burst outughing inside. You were going to say that she was publicly known as a straw bag idiot, weren¡¯t you? It¡¯s a phrase that you¡¯re so used to saying, you almost blurted it out.

    Honestly though, that youngss and I actually make a good duo. Straw bag and trash, haha~

    The merest hint of awkwardness flickered across Qiu Honglei¡¯s expression. She continued, ¡°Close to half of the Chu n¡¯s affairs are managed by first miss Chu. First miss Chu is very pretty and extremely talented. She is also the Chu n¡¯s most suitable heir. Unfortunately, she is also a woman.

    ¡°That¡¯s where the situation with her husband bes a little awkward. If he is toopetent, he might just take over the Chu n like a turtledove seizing the nest of a magpie.

    ¡°That is why first miss Chu would go out of her way to choose a... choose someone like you without any notable background. On the surface, it seemed like they picked someone who didn¡¯t have a single redeeming quality as her husband. I thought that I had guessed first miss Chu¡¯s intentions correctly. However, after meeting young master today, I havee to realize that I was gravely mistaken.

    ¡°Did you deliberately deceive young miss Chu, or did the young miss choose you as her husband because she knew about you right from the start?¡±

    Zu An gently swirled the cup in his hands, casually leaning against the wall of the cabin. His expression grew hard to read. ¡°This doesn¡¯t seem like something a courtesan should be concerned with, does it? Just who exactly are you?¡±

    1. The term that Zu An uses to address the maid is xiao jie jie (Ð¡½ã½ã) , which is amon way of addressing young women in modern-day society. It is not perverted or disgusting, but rather a casual way of addressing someone. This is also true for young men, who would be called xiao ge ge (Ð¡¸ç¸ç).

 Chapter 254: Losing Money Instead Of Being Paid

    <h4>Chapter 254: Losing Money Instead Of Being Paid</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°I am the Immortal Abode¡¯s Qiu Honglei! Did the young master forget so quickly?¡± Qiu Honglei pouted at him petntly.

    ¡°You im to be just a courtesan, yet you are so concerned with Duke Chu¡¯s family matters. You¡¯ve already analyzed everything in such detail. Does that seem like what a simple brothel girl would do at all?¡± Zu An sneered.

    Qiu Honglei sighed. ¡°Wasn¡¯t it not too long ago that young master was hollering to those other men that you were going to treat me gently?¡±

    Zu An was left speechless.

    No matter how thick his skin was, he still felt extremely embarrassed that she had heard him say this.

    ¡°I only said that just now to get them worked up! I was just kidding... Hahaha...¡± Zu An could no longer keep hisposure. Thoroughly embarrassed, he tried desperately to justify himself.

    ¡°But I¡¯d already chosen to meet with you alone tonight! By saying such a thing, you¡¯ve left my reputation in tatters. I¡¯m no longer a pure and innocent girl in their eyes.¡± Qiu Honglei grew more and more broken-hearted as she spoke. An emotional tear trickled out from the corner of her eye.

    Zu An really had to hand it to her. This woman¡¯s charm was too strong. Even though he was fully aware that she was putting on an act, he still couldn¡¯tpletely control his emotions.

    Qiu Honglei sobbed as she said, ¡°Even though I chose... chose you today, I am not a heartless girl... of course I need to ask about your family situation! I have to ask if your wife is an envious woman, and if her parents would tolerate me.

    ¡°That¡¯s why I wanted confirmation from the young master! I was trying to make an important decision earlier. I didn¡¯t expect to be misunderstood by the young master...

    ¡°After spending all these years in a brothel, I¡¯ve heard the tragic tales of too many of my seniors. If it wasn¡¯t a story of heartbreak, then it was a home with a violent man, or a lifetime of potential happiness in ruins.¡±

    ¡°Honglei doesn¡¯t wish to repeat their tragedy...¡±

    Her performance seemedpletely real,pletely like that of a youngdy who was worried about her future. Even the coldest of hearts would melt at the sight of her tears.

    It was just a pity that Zu An wasn¡¯t an ordinary person. He had always seen things rather differently. ¡°From what you¡¯ve just said, it seems you n to entrust your entire life to me?¡±

    ¡°If the young master does not dislike my poor self and young miss Chu¡¯s family doesn¡¯t mind either, then I... of course I am willing.¡± Qiu Honglei lowered her head in a bashful manner, her neck reddening slightly.

    Zu An sighed as he gazed upon this iparably tender and beautiful woman. ¡°If this figure of yours is considered poor, then I fear that everyone in the world is ugly.¡±

    Only then did Qiu Honglei¡¯s tears turn toughter. ¡°The young master must be joking. You must not say these things in front of young miss Chu in the future! Honglei doesn¡¯t want to be hated so soon aftermitting myself to you.¡±

    Shepletely immersed herself in this role, speaking as if she was about to be a concubine.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Chuyan told me herself that she doesn¡¯t mind if I look for other girls.¡± Zu An repeated, ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry if she will ept you either. In our family, there¡¯s no way she will ever disobey me willingly.¡±

    Qiu Honglei sneered on the inside. Who would ever believe that?

    ¡°But there is one other troubling matter.¡± Zu An wore a conflicted expression.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Qiu Honglei said out of curiosity. Could it be the Chu n¡¯s Madam?

    Indeed, if I was Brightmoon Duke, I wouldn¡¯t want my daughter¡¯s husband to have a concubine. If such a thing happened, how could the Chu n retain any dignity at all?

    Zu An studied her from head to toe. His intent gaze immediately made Qiu Honglei¡¯s heart hasten.

    ¡°What is the young master looking at?¡±

    ¡°You really are too pretty. This type of face, this type of physique... it isn¡¯t too much to call it devastatingly beautiful.¡±

    The corners of Hong QIulei¡¯s lips turned up slightly. This fellow has finally noticed my charm. ¡°As long as it pleases the young master. However, you still haven¡¯t spoken about the other issue.¡±

    ¡°This is precisely the issue...¡± Zu An corrected her. ¡°You are too pretty, and even hold the title of Brightmoon City¡¯s most famous courtesan. How could the Immortal Abode willingly let you go?¡±

    Qiu Honglei sighed with obvious relief. ¡°The young master needs not worry. I don¡¯t have a regr contract with the Immortal Abode. We have agreed that, were we to part ways, there would be no hard feelings. They will not make any trouble for me as long as I pay them a promised sum.¡±

    ¡°But they would surely demand a hefty sum for a star like you! You know that I am but a lowly drafted son-inw. I really don¡¯t have any money...¡± Touching upon this sorest or sore spots left Zu An full of embarrassment.

    Qiu Honglei had to stop herself from rolling her eyes.

    Like hell I¡¯ll believe you!

    Who in Brightmoon City doesn¡¯t know that you won seven-and-a-half million silver taels from Silverhook Casino? After that, you even won another million or so from another gambling den during the ns Tournament. And yet, you still dare to im that you don¡¯t have money?!

    You have sessfully trolled Qiu Honglei for 256 Rage points!

    However, she didn¡¯t let her anger show on the surface. Instead, she said with an embarrassed expression, ¡°The young master doesn¡¯t need to worry. I have also quietly saved up a little bit of money on the side. It should be enough for me to free myself.¡±

    ¡°Then that¡¯s great!¡±

    Zu An roared withughter, but he was frowning inside.

    This woman wanted to marry him even if she lost money!

    Even though I really am too charming, my face too handsome, with plenty of money in the bank... even though I am a publicly knowndy-killer, this is Qiu Honglei we are talking about!

    You are the most popr courtesan within a thousand miles, a well-known virgin-yer! With a crook of your finger, you can make endless men tread through mes for your sake! Would you really give up money instead of taking money to be with a man?

    Who would believe you?!

    Wait a minute. Could she have somehow subconsciously fallen for my suave greatness?

    His mind continuously wavered back and forth, and so did Qiu Honglei¡¯s.

    This man in front of her was different from other men. He wasn¡¯t anything like those dumb pigs who merely seemed astute on the surface.

    Having learned from her previous lesson, she realized that she was slightly too hasty. She didn¡¯t dare to continue to ask about the Chu n¡¯s matters.

    Instead, she brought the conversation back to romance. ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about these ordinary affairs for now. I¡¯ve always been a bit curious about something. Just how did young master create a song like ¡®The Smiling, Proud Wanderer?¡¯¡±

    ¡°Oh, I uh... seemed to have heard someone y it beside my ears in a dream one day. Then, I knew how to y it.¡± Zu An tried a random excuse. It wasn¡¯t because he didn¡¯t want to y the part of a talented nobleman. Rather he didn¡¯t truly dare im that he made this song.

    After all, he only remembered these few songs. If someone asked him topose another song, what was he supposed to do?

    That was why he had to shake this false reputation as soon as he could, to prevent things from getting out of hand. If that happened, his fall would be even harder.

    Qiu Honglei sighed in admiration. ¡°I¡¯ve read books which imed that some people¡¯s talentse from the heavens, but I never believed them. Only when I met young master did I realize that there really were people like this in the world.¡±

    Zu An almost screamed.

    Please take me off this pedestal! I really need to keep my low profile...

    Zu An couldn¡¯t stand being ttered like this. He hurriedly changed the topic. ¡°Speaking of which, the first song you yed clearly reflected your true emotions. Who were you thinking about when you yed that song?¡±

    ¡°The young master does not need to worry at all, that was merely an artistic piece. Honglei has never set her thoughts on anyone else before. Young master... is the first one.¡± Qiu Honglei lowered her head bashfully as she spoke, and her eyshes fluttered slightly. This really would make endless men go crazy.

    Zu An chuckled. Casually listening to her was fine, but taking her words seriously really might get him hurt badly. All of those girls would beughing behind his back if that happened.

    ¡°Was that story about your parents in the past?¡±

    *Bang!*

    A sharp noise rang out. Qiu Honglei¡¯s cup slipped out of her hands and fell onto the table, the smile on her face vanishing instantly.

    The silence dragged on for a long time, before Qiu Honglei sighed. ¡°Even if I deny it, I fear that young master won¡¯t believe me.¡±

    ¡°Just what happened to the two of them? Did your parents really pass away?¡± Zu An asked curiously. He had picked up some things from Leng Shuangyue earlier, but there was much that she hadn¡¯t known.

    Qiu Honglei took a deep breath. Her sweet smile from earlier was nowhere to be seen, and her voice was the coldest it had ever been. ¡°I do not wish to talk about what happened between them.¡±

    She regretted her words as soon as she spoke them. I¡¯ve probably offended him deeply.

    She had actually made it this far. Ruining everything right at the end like this truly was regretful.

    It¡¯s all my fault for not being able to let go of things from the past.

    She never expected Zu An tough instead. ¡°I wonder if thedy knows that your current appearance is much more real, and much more beautiful.¡±

    Qiu Honglei gave him aplicated look. ¡°The young master truly isn¡¯t anything like the rumors.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An reached out a hand. ¡°Let¡¯s introduce ourselves again. I am Zu An, you can call me Ah Zu.¡±

    Qiu Honglei stared nkly. Even though she didn¡¯t know what kind of greeting this was, she subconsciously reached out her hand. The two shook hands lightly. ¡°I am Qiu Honglei, you can call me Honglei.¡±

    She was stunned that she would take the initiative to make physical contact with a man. Perhaps it had been his clear, honest expression just now, or perhaps it had been that split second where she had been so emotionally vulnerable.

    The two of them sat in silence, savoring this moment of tranquility. Suddenly, amotion came from outside.

    There was a scream of rm, followed by the wantonughter of men.

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s brow furrowed. She tapped on the wall of the cabin, and inquired of the boatman outside, ¡°What¡¯s happened?¡±

    ¡°Young miss, there are bandits... ah!¡±

    There was a ssh. Clearly, the man had fallen into the water.

    Immediately following that, the small boat rocked violently, as if many people jumped onto it.

    ¡°This boat smells so good. Who knows, there might be a gorgeous woman inside.¡±

    ¡°If there is a girl, who¡¯s first?¡±

    ¡°Why not do it together?¡±

    Wretched and vulgar voices yelled out one after another.

 Chapter 255: Fake Meets Real

    <h4>Chapter 255: Fake Meets Real</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An was speechless. Am I really going to run into bandits when I¡¯m out here with a girl? Just what kind of shitty luck is this?

    Despite this, he wasn¡¯t that worried. His trip into the dungeon had boosted his cultivation greatly. As long as he didn¡¯t run into some ridiculously strong enemy, he wouldn¡¯t have an issue dealing with ordinary people.

    Just as he was about to console Qiu Honglei, a sweet fragrance filled his nose. She had already arrived at his side.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for young master to fear. I will protect you.¡± Qiu Honglei positioned herself in front of him. Her previously gentle and loving appearance was nowhere to be seen. Instead, her expression was determined.

    Zu An¡¯s jaw dropped open.

    Did we end up swapping scripts?

    The curtains were crudely torn away, and several masked men charged in.

    When they saw Qiu Honglei¡¯s beautiful figure, they all whistled, and their eyes zed over with infatuation.

    Qiu Honglei said in a grave manner, ¡°Who are you all? How dare you all behave like this in Brightmoon City? The Immortal Abode isn¡¯t a party you all can afford to offend! If you leave right now, I can still pretend like this never happened.¡±

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but feel a dash of admiration. She could still remainpletely calm when faced with such a situation! Her bearing was clearly different from other regr beauties.

    The masked men were momentarily stunned by her words, but their bravado quickly returned, and they retorted one after another:

    ¡°The Immortal Abode? Oh we are so so scared!¡±

    ¡°Before our ckwind Stockade, your Immortal Abode is nothing!¡±

    ¡°The one we are out to get is precisely your Immortal Abode!¡±

    ...

    The ckwind Stockade!

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s expression wavered for a moment. She had clearly heard of the ckwind Stockade before. They were a group of bandits based in the mountain forest, led by Great Bandit Chen Xuan, who plundered the caravans that passed by. Brightmoon Duke and the city lord had sent experts and armies to suppress them numerous times, but with little sess. Often, they even suffered serious casualties.

    ¡°You all are from the ckwind Stockade?¡± Zu An was a bit surprised. He¡¯d just seen Chen Xuan earlier, and he still had some impression of what his subordinates looked like.

    Even though these people were masked, they were clearly not the ones Chen Xuan had brought with him into the Immortal Abode. Could they have been waiting in ambush outside?

    ¡°What, scared?¡±

    The one in the lead snickered. ¡°Hand over your woman. If we brothers are in a good mood after we¡¯ve had our fun, we might just leave you with your life.¡±

    ¡°Hurry and leave, young master, I will hold the rear!¡± Qiu Honglei hurriedly pushed him toward the exit.

    Zu An waspletely speechless. We¡¯re in the middle of the river! Where am I supposed to go? However, he still nodded and said to her, ¡°All right, be careful.¡±

    With that, he turned tail and fled.

    Qiu Honglei stared nkly after him.

    She had fully expected him to modestly decline, and then frantically try to help her escape. Who knew he wouldn¡¯t even have an ounce of hesitation in him as he left?

    The men on the other side roared withughter. ¡°Lovelydy, the man you¡¯v chosen really is too stupid and cowardly! Why not follow us big brothers instead? We can promise you that you¡¯ll never go hungry.¡±

    Zu An turned a deaf ear to them. He reached the front of the boat and then looked around. Apart from a smaller boat beside them, there weren¡¯t any other bandits to be seen. The other flower boats were still making their way leisurely along the river, the scene still bustling with liveliness.

    He pondered for a moment before re-entering the cabin.

    Seeing him return, Qiu Honglei became nervous. ¡°Why did young master Zue back?¡±

    Zu An gave no reply. The eyes of the bandit leader lit up. ¡°His surname is Zu? Is this the Chu n¡¯s son-inw, Zu An?¡±

    ¡°What, am I already that famous?¡± Zu An said in amazement. His voice dripped with self-satisfaction.

    Qiu Honglei red at him from the side. Why did he admit to it so easily?

    That bandit couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°I heard that you won seven-and-a-half million silver taels from the Silverhook Casino, and then won another million from a different wager. Is that true?¡±

    Zu An nodded. ¡°What can I say? My luck has always been amazing. Winning a bit of money like this really isn¡¯t much, and isn¡¯t worth mentioning at all, if you ask me.¡±

    Qiu Honglei ced a hand on her forehead, a resigned expression on her face. It was clear that she had already given up on him.

    That bandit roared withughter. ¡°It appears that I am the one whose luck is in tonight! Not only did I snag a great beauty, I¡¯ve even gotten myself a cash cow. Hand over the money and I might consider letting you off.¡±

    Zu An shrugged. ¡°I didn¡¯t bring any money with me today. How about youe over to our Brightmoon Estate and ask my wife for it?¡±

    That bandit sneered. ¡°You can forget about trying to scare me by bringing in Brightmoon Duke. When has our ckwind Stockade ever feared him?¡±

    Zu An looked at him curiously. ¡°You speak with such confidence. I wonder, what is your position in the ckwind Stockade?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m obviously Master Chen Xuan! What, scared now?¡± That bandit snorted. ¡°Just be a good boy and write a letter to the Chu n to pay the ransom, or else I am going to chop off your limbs before sending you home.¡±

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help butugh. ¡°You are Chen Xuan?¡±

    Standing beside him, Qiu Honglei tugged at his sleeves, saying quietly, ¡°Young master, I believe it¡¯s best if we don¡¯t anger them.¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t say anything. All of this was too strange. If he hadn¡¯t learned what the true Chen Xuan looked like from his Keyboard system, he might have truly been deceived by this fellow.

    Isn¡¯t this an extortion scheme through and through?

    He¡¯d read so many stories online about some high-spirited fellows who had gone into sketchy ces to meet hot girls, only to end up being extorted and ckmailed by some big bad men.

    Wasn¡¯t this the same situation?

    ¡°What, do I not look like him?¡± Zu An¡¯s expression really was getting on the bandit¡¯s nerves.

    You have sessfully trolled Gu Yueyi for 233 Rage points!

    Gu Yueyi? Seeing the name pop up in his notifications, Zu An was momentarily stunned. This was a name he hadn¡¯t seen before.

    ¡°You do, of course you do!¡± Zu An couldn¡¯t keep the ridicule out of his voice. However, he didn¡¯t expose the other party. He wanted to see what this fellow was up to first.

    Even with a mask covering most of his face, Zu An could vaguely tell that Gu Yueyi was quite a youngd. The bandit frowned. He had clearly sensed something amiss from Zu An¡¯s reply. ¡°Stop spouting nonsense. Hurry up and write the note so I can contact the members of the Chu n and arrange for the ransom to be paid.¡±

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°Your decision doesn¡¯t seem all that wise to me.¡±

    Gu Yueyi¡¯s brow furrowed. ¡°Are you trying to teach me how to do things?¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°I am merely helping you analyze the situation. Look, even if I write a letter for you to send to the Chu n, what dignity would the Chu n have left if this glorious dukedom were to obediently hand over the ransom?

    ¡°Not only that, everyone in Brightmoon City already knows that this drafted son-inw isn¡¯t all that well received in the Chu Estate. Who knows, they might just use you all as an excuse to get rid of me, and even pocket my few million silver taels.

    ¡°This way, no one will me the Chu n for being heartless. Rather, the me would be on you for resorting to such cruel methods.¡±

    The bandits exchanged dismayed looks. Completely at a loss as to what to do, Gu Yueyi asked him, ¡°What should we do, then?¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°How about this? The two of us will go to the Chu Estate, and I¡¯ll bring out the banknotes for you,¡± Zu An said.

    Gu Yueyi sneered. ¡°Do you take me for a fool? What if you don¡¯te back out after I take you to the Chu Estate?¡±

    Zu An pointed at Qiu Honglei, who was still beside him. ¡°You¡¯ll still have her, won¡¯t you? With her as a hostage, I will definitelye back with the ransom! That is why you absolutely must not harm her, or else I won¡¯t be giving you any money!¡±

    Seeing their continued hesitation, he added, ¡°Even though Lady Qiu is pretty, there isn¡¯t enough of her for all of you to divide amongst yourselves. I have a few million silver taels in banknotes back home. That¡¯s enough for you to have a different girl every day. Wouldn¡¯t that be even better?¡±

    Gu Yueyi was still uncertain. He gave Qiu Honglei a subconscious look, and she nodded slightly in return without batting an eyelid.

    Only then did he concede. ¡°Fine,¡± he said gruffly, ¡°but you¡¯d better not y any tricks. Otherwise, not only will we take turns with her, we¡¯ll definitely kill you.¡±

    Zu An had observed their expressions and exchanges closely. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I am more scared of dying than anyone else.¡±

    Inwardly, he still couldn¡¯t puzzle out why Qiu Honglei was doing all of this. Did she really covet his few million silver taels?

    But with the Immortal Abode¡¯s informationwork, there¡¯s no way she doesn¡¯t know that most of the silver is in the form of a promissory note. Whether or not the note can even be exchanged for money is still an issue. What could she even do with something like that?

    ¡°All right, we are going to the Chu Estate!¡± Gu Yueyi waved his hand, gesturing for his subordinates to turn the boat about.

    ¡°The two of you had better not do anything fishy.¡± As he said this, two of Gu Yueyi¡¯s subordinates moved to stand behind the two hostages, and two shiny des swiftly appeared, hovering in front of their necks.

    ¡°Sorry I ended up making you lose so much money,¡± Qiu Honglei said apologetically.

    Zu An dismissed her remark casually. ¡°I am someone who loves the carefree life, and I love gorgeous beauties even more. Money can always be earned again, but once you are gone, you will really be gone!¡± Despite his words, he sneered coldly on the inside. Like hell I¡¯lle back out after I reach the safety of the Chu Estate! You¡¯re all probably in on this together, anyway.

    Once he was safe, he¡¯d have Yue Shan lead troops to capture and interrogate them, to figure out what they were really scheming at.

    When the timees, I should bring Qiu Honglei back to personally interrogate her one-on-one.

    The main reason why Zu An hadn¡¯t yet exposed anything was because Gu Yueyi¡¯s cultivation wasn¡¯t low. The ki rippling around his body seemed to be at the fifth rank. Of course, if he¡¯d been alone, Zu An wouldn¡¯t have cared much.

    However, Qiu Honglei was also present. Even though she looked soft and tender on the surface, he couldn¡¯t see through her at all.

    This either meant that her cultivation was either considerably higher than his, or that she had some type of artifact that concealed her aura.

    Regardless of which one it was, he didn¡¯t dare act carelessly.

    A suddenmotion erupted outside.

    ¡°Hahaha, I¡¯ve finally found Lady Qiu¡¯s flower boat!¡±

    Gu Yueyi suddenly turned around. ¡°What is going on?¡±

    Several muffled and miserable-sounding screams greeted his question.

    His expression growing dark, he immediately drew his de and ran out. He¡¯d been gone for just a split second before he was sent flying back in, as if struck by an artillery shell.

    The walls of the cabin were sted into pieces by the powerful wave of force, revealing the scene outside.

    They were surrounded by several small boats, one of them containing a red-haired man. He stood at the prow of his boat with a dominant stance. He looked down on Qiu Honglei as if he was looking at his spoils of war.

    His gaze shifted quickly to Zu An, his lips slowly spreading in a cruel smile.

 Chapter 256: Betrayal

    <h4>Chapter 256: Betrayal</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Who are you all? You actually dare to interfere in our ckwind Stockade¡¯s business?!¡± Gu Yueyi crawled up off the ground in a sorry state, wiping the blood off the corners of his lips.

    From that brief interaction, he clearly understood that the other party¡¯s cultivation was much higher than his own. His only chance was to pull out the ckwind Stockade bluff and hope that it could scare the other party off.

    ¡°ckwind Stockade?¡± The red-haired man¡¯s eyes went wide. He looked around at his brothers-in-arms around him, and burst out inughter. ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong with my hearing today, is there? Did he just say the ckwind Stockade just now?¡±

    The rest of them joined him in hisughter, their eyes full of ridicule and pity.

    Gu Yueyi cursed inside, but he couldn¡¯t figure out where the problemy.

    Zu An shook his head. It was truly embarrassing to see scammers screw up so badly.

    The red-haired man was none other than Chen Xuan, whom they had met in the Immortal Abode.

    He snuck a nce at Qiu Honglei beside him. While she had put on a panicked act, her expression still seemed extremely calm.

    Chen Xuan turned to face forward again and said coldly, ¡°I was wondering why the reputation of the ckwing Stockade seemed to be sufferingtely. It turns out it was you fellows who were passing yourselves off as us and ruining our reputation!¡±

    Gu Yueyi¡¯s face immediately drained of color. ¡°You... you are...¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll let you have the pleasure of obtaining this knowledge just before your death. I am Chen Xuan of the ckwind Stockade!¡± the red-haired man dered proudly.

    Gu Yueyi swallowed in fear. His eyes darted subconsciously towards Qiu Honglei.

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s beautiful brows came together in a frown. She clearly hadn¡¯t expected Chen Xuan to brazenly enter the city in such a public manner, even revealing himself before their very eyes.

    ¡°Senior, you should retreat quickly,¡± she said to him via ki transmission.

    ¡°Then what about you?!¡± Gu Yueyi hesitated. To him, this junior sister was just too beautiful. If she was left behind, wouldn¡¯t he merely be leaving amb in front of a tiger¡¯s den? There was no way he could forgive himself for this for the rest of his life.

    ¡°I have my ways to deal with this.¡± Qiu Honglei quickly replied. She urged him a second time to leave.

    ¡°I guess there¡¯s no choice then!¡±

    Gu Yueyi gritted his teeth. After all, his life was still the most important. Besides, this junior was a mystery to him, and to everyone else. No one else could see through her normally, so she might truly have some life-saving tricks up her sleeve.

    Making his mind up, he leaped over to where Zu An and Qiu Honglei were seated. He held his de right in front of them. ¡°Don¡¯te any closer, or I¡¯ll kill them in one move!¡± he warned Chen Xuan.

    Zu An smiled faintly at him. ¡°Bro, didn¡¯t you just say you were Chen Xuan? How did we end up meeting someone with the same name today?¡±

    ¡°Shut your mouth!¡± Gu Yueyi was both ashamed and angry.

    You have sessfully trolled Gu Yueyi for 345 Rage points!

    He never expected this Chen Xuan to be so formidable. The other party was rumored to only be at the peak of fifth rank, but from their brief exchange, he was clearly at the sixth rank!

    Chen Xuan snorted coldly. ¡°I am unrted to either of them in any way, and yet you want to use them to threaten me?

    ¡°That Zu brat, especially. I really want to skin him alive and feast on his flesh. I should thank you if you really do end up killing him!¡±

    Gu Yueyi gave Zu An a look. He never expected that this fellow would have been so good at provoking others, even this Chen Xuan. It seemed that he was most certainly going to meet his maker today. ¡°Even if you loathe this Zu kid, what about Lady Qiu? She is the most beautiful courtesan queen of the Immortal Abode. I refuse to believe that your heart isn¡¯t moved by her!¡±

    Chen Xuanughed heartily. ¡°What you said is correct. This girl is indeed quite fine, and perfect in every way. I really am quite fond of her.¡±

    Qiu Honglei did her best not to react.

    Gu Yueyi was ecstatic. ¡°In that case, let us go, or else I¡¯ll kill her!¡±

    Chen Xuan¡¯s face sunk. ¡°Ask anyone, and they¡¯ll tell you that Chen Xuan has always hated being threatened by others. Even if you kill her, it won¡¯t matter. I have never acted recklessly in my life. At worst, I¡¯ll just do a quick one while it¡¯s still warm, but afterwards, I will definitely skin you alive piece by piece!¡±

    Gu Yueyi stared at him, speechless, and Qiu Honglei had to avert her eyes.

    Zu An was alsopletely stupefied. While it¡¯s still warm?

    Was this guy really that much of a freak?

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    While they were still horrified, Chen Xuan stretched out his hand and clenched his fist. The de in Gu Yueyi¡¯s hands crumpled like fried dough.

    Metal element cultivator!

    Zu An already had his suspicions previously.

    Gu Yueyi¡¯s reaction was lightning-quick. He grabbed the twopanions beside him and threw them at Chen Xuan, while he himself jumped into the river without any hesitation. When his toes touched the water surface, his figure was already several zhang[1] away.

    Zu An nodded to himself as he watched. This fe¡¯s movement technique wasn¡¯t bad at all. He could actually move so easily on water. As expected of a fifth rank.

    The two sacrificialpanions never expected that they would be thrown under the bus by their own people. Shocked and furious, they brandished their weapons in panic, stabbing them towards Chen Xuan in an attempt to survive.

    Chen Xuan didn¡¯t bother to dodge. Instead, he took a step forward, letting the long des strike his body.

    Those two were overjoyed at first, but their expressions turned to horror in an instant. There wasn¡¯t the familiar sound of metal entering flesh, but rather the sound of metal striking metal. They could even see sparks fly along their des.

    Unfortunately, this was also thest thing that they would see. Chen Xuan reached out to grab their necks in hisrge, w-like hands, and snapped them like twigs. Two corpses fell limply to the ground.

    Zu An frowned inwardly. At the instant he was struck, his body seemed to produce a sh of metallic radiance, as if his entire body had somehow turned to metal. The des didn¡¯t even leave a single trace on his skin where theynded.

    Is hepletely invincible to des?

    Zu An felt a headacheing on. If this enemy really was invulnerable to ded weapons, dealing with him was going to be trouble.

    Chen Xuan was having none of this. He tried to chase after the escaping figure. Clearly, he had no intention of letting Gu Yueyi go.

    Just then, Qiu Honglei stood up, inadvertently blocking his way.

    Chen Xuan stopped, his brow furrowing slightly as he looked at her.

    Only now that he was so close to her did he discover how frighteningly beautiful she was. His frown immediately unraveled of its own ord.

    Qiu Honglei bowed slightly. ¡°I never expected that Stockade Leader Chen would personally make an appearance. There was some negligence on my part back in the Immortal Abode. I must ask the stockade leader to pardon me for that.¡±

    When he saw the high and mighty courtesan greet him so respectfully, her tone humble and obsequious, Chen Xuan¡¯s entire body shivered with pleasure.

    ¡°Haha, I won¡¯t me you for not recognizing me. Lady Qiu has shown me too much courtesy.¡± As he spoke, he reached out a hand towards her. Her exquisite curves tempted him endlessly. Even the great Chen Xuan, who had enjoyed his fair share of women, couldn¡¯t help but feel his breathing quicken.

    ¡°Stockade leader really is a great and magnanimous person.¡± Qiu Honglei took a discreet step backwards, perfectly evading his touch. ¡°Honglei wishes to prepare another feast in the Immortal Abode. I hope the stockade leader can be at ease, and let me properly offer you my apologies.¡±

    Chen Xuanughed. ¡°That apology can wait. Let me deal with this little bastard first.¡±

    ¡°Little bastard is cursing who?¡± Zu An suddenly asked.

    ¡°Little bastard is cursing you!¡± Chen Xuan subconsciously replied.

    Zu An smiled. ¡°Indeed, a little bastard is cursing me.¡±

    Chen Xuan¡¯s entire body quivered for a moment, then erupted in unrestrained fury. He reached out a meaty hand towards Zu An¡¯s neck. ¡°Damn brat, die!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Chen Xuan for 444 Rage points!

    Qiu Honglei hurriedly pulled Zu An behind her. ¡°Stockade Leader Chen, this young master is my friend. I hope Stockade Leader Chen can be magnanimous and spare his life.¡±

    Zu An was somewhat surprised that she had spoken up for him at such a time.

    Didn¡¯t this woman try to scam me just now? Why is she trying to save me now? Just what is she up to?

    Chen Xuan snorted coldly. ¡°If it was anyone else, I might have spared them as a favor to Lady Qiu. However, I absolutely must kill this fellow.¡±

    ¡°Why? Was it because I hurt your feelings back in the Immortal Abode?¡± Zu An was curious to find out. From the moment the other party had learned of his identity, he had immediately contributed a huge amount of Rage points. He had always wondered why.

    ¡°Why?¡± Chen Xuan¡¯s face warped in anger. ¡°Do you still remember Silverhook Casino¡¯s Mei Chaofeng? He was my brother! We depended on each other to survive for so many years. He was such a heroic figure, and yet he was killed through the actions of a miserable brat like you!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Chen Xuan for 999 Rage points!

    A sh of insight struck Zu An. ¡°So you are someone from the Shi n!¡±

    Now, he finally realized what was going on. This guy was Mei Chaofeng¡¯s sworn brother, so there was no way he wouldn¡¯t know about the conflict between the Shi n and himself. They were clearly two brothers working together for the Shi n¡ªone outside the city and one inside it; one in broad daylight, and one in the shadows.

    Chen Xuan licked his lips, his eyes flickering with a hint of excitement. ¡°What a pity that you learned this toote. Today, I am going to break every single one of your bones, and skin you alive bit by bit, to avenge my pitiful brother!¡±

    Now that he had revealed his secret, all those who had heard it would have to die, which would have included Qiu Honglei as well.

    However, she really was too ravishing! He grew reluctant at the thought of killing her. Perhaps, if he dragged her back to the mountains to tend his home, his secret would still be safe.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but remark, ¡°Just talk normally if you have something to say. Why do you always lick your lips at me? I¡¯m not a beautiful girl. It¡¯s so weird and gross.¡±

    Chen Xuan ground his teeth together audibly.

    You have sessfully trolled Chen Xuan for 666 Rage points!

    Qiu Honglei stared at him in stunned silence. This fe¡¯s mind really was a bit strange. How could he find the nerve to deliberately provoke the other party, especially considering the situation they were in right now?

    ¡°Shut your damn mouth! You will soon regret having such a crass mouth!¡±

    With a face as dark and scary as a thunderhead, Chen Xuan rushed forward. A crackling sound seemed toe from within his hands.

    Qiu Honglei narrowed her eyes. Her hand discreetly inched towards themp hanging nearby.

    Just before her pure white hand reached it, she suddenly pulled it back.

    Boisterousughter cut through the night air. ¡°Youngdy-killer, what made you run all the way here in the middle of the night? No one will even know if you ended up getting killed here.¡±

    An endlessly alluring figure leapt onto the deck. Shended with considerable force, which made her chest bounce, and the eyes of all of the men on board moved up and down in tandem.

    Even though her face was covered, Zu An still recognized Pei Mianman from a single look. After all, her ravishing figure was just too striking.

    After Chen Xuan¡¯s initial shock, a smile quickly appeared on his face. ¡°Hahaha, my luck really is too great, running into two astonishing beauties in one day. I¡¯ll be able to enjoy myself every day in the future.¡±

    Even though she was masked, her beautiful eyes and enchanting eyebrows made it obvious that she was also a great beauty.

    Besides, with this type of ridiculously gorgeous figure, her face was very much a secondary concern.

    When she heard his words, Pei Mianman¡¯s expression became cold. ¡°Mister Chen, you seem to have quite the guts.¡±

    Chen Xuan patted his belly. ¡°This Chen Xuan doesn''t only have great guts. There is another thing about him that is even greater!¡±

    ¡°You are courting death!¡± Even though Pei Mianman normally seemed charming and affectionate, she was still an unblemished youngdy. When had she ever had such vulgar words directed at her? A gout of ck me suddenly ignited, sweeping towards the bandit leader.

    Chen Xuan¡¯s expression grew wary. It was clear that he sensed the terrifying power of the ck me. He didn¡¯t dare face this attack head on like he did the des earlier.

    Seeing the fight begin, Qiu Honglei hurriedly said, ¡°Thank you female hero for your life-saving grace. There will definitely be a generous reward for your actions in the future.¡±

    After saying this, she dragged Zu An with her into the Brightmoon River, quickly swimming towards the distant riverbank.

    ¡°So cheap!¡± Thest thing Pei Mianman expected was for her to leave just like that. Not only that, she had taken Zu An with her too! Unfortunately, her hands were full with Chen Xuan right now, and there was no way to disengage so easily. She could only watch as the two of them drifted further away.

    1. Zhang is a unit of measurement equal to 10 chi. It is approximately 3.58 meters, or 11 ft 9 in.

 Chapter 257: All Ulterior Motives Ruined

    <h4>Chapter 257: All Ulterior Motives Ruined</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An hadn¡¯t expected Qiu Honglei to flee just like that, either. However, her strength was formidable, even exceeding his raw strength without the effects of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra.

    Caught off guard like this, he was unceremoniously dragged into the water after her.

    As soon as they entered the water, Qiu Honglei¡¯s waist moved like a mermaid¡¯s. Her legs swayed gently, swiftly propelling the two of them far away.

    Worried that the bandits of the ckwind Stockade might notice them, she pulled Zu An deeper into the water, staying away from the surface of the river.

    Sure enough, the other ckwind Stockade members who were searching for them on the water¡¯s surface quickly lost track of them.

    Zu An was dejected inside. Sis, could you have at least told me to prepare myself? Also, if I had stayed behind and worked with Pei Mianman, we should have been able to beat that Chen Xuan.

    However, as soon as he opened his mouth, everything became gurgle... gurgle gurgle...

    I¡¯m done for. Am I going to end up like Snow did?

    Even though he knew how to swim, he had never tried freediving for long periods before. Not only that, he hadn¡¯t been mentally prepared for this. If he¡¯d at least taken a full breath beforehand, he wouldn¡¯t have been in such a sorry state.

    Noticing his choking and struggling, Qiu Honglei gently swam over to him. Pressing her lips against his, she gave him a mouthful of air.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes immediately grew wide as dinner tes. He had seen scenes like that before in TV dramas! Back then, he had evenined that this was unrealistic. Who knew that he would personally experience it one day?

    As the air flowed from her lungs into his, Zu An¡¯s panicked struggling gradually stopped.

    His hands automatically moved to encircle her waist and bottom, and he could feel the other party¡¯s exquisite figure under his fingers. His resentment of her instantly vanished without a trace.

    I want more of this!

    When she sensed his movements, Qiu Honglei gently pushed him aside. She red angrily at him, then began to swim towards the riverbank.

    They continued on for a while before Zu An began to flop around again. He continuously pointed at his mouth, frantically gesturing that he needed air.

    Even in the dim lighting underwater, he could see Qiu Honglei¡¯s face turn red. Resolutely ignoring him, she picked up her pace.

    Finally, the two of them broke the surface. Zu An greedily sucked inrge gulps of air, as if he had just been born.

    Qiu Honglei had a slightly apologetic look on her face. ¡°Are you all right?¡± she asked in concern.

    ¡°You still have the nerve to ask me this?!¡± Zu An¡¯s voice was loud and indignant. ¡°I was gesturing madly at you for help, but youpletely ignored me!¡±

    Droplets of water slid down Qiu Honglei¡¯s face, her face reddening. ¡°It¡¯s your fault for being up to no good.¡±

    ¡°Is instinctively hugging you considered as being up to no good? I didn¡¯t even stick out my tongue!¡± Zu An said resentfully.

    Qiu Honglei was speechless.

    Honestly, she felt slightly regretful. Did she sacrifice too much for the sake ofpleting the mission?

    However, if she hadn¡¯t given him some air just now, he might have already drowned.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    After Zu An had vented his frustrations, he hurriedly turned to look into the distance. shes of light burst out from the centre of the river, lighting up the night sky and illuminating the two darting figures tangling with each other.

    Hm? Was Pei Mianman hiding her strength before? Is she actually strong enough to fight on equal footing with Chen Xuan?

    As if she had read his mind, Qiu Honglei¡¯s scarlet lips parted slightly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, that girl wields the me element, while Chen Xuan uses the metal element. Fire subdues metal, so she has a natural advantage.¡±

    Zu An rxed slightly, but still couldn¡¯t help but remark, ¡°Even if she has a natural advantage, that Chen Xuan¡¯s strength is still at the sixth rank. Moreover, they are in the middle of a river, which is unfavorable to a fire element cultivator. That friend of mine is still in danger!¡±

    ¡°This is still the wealthy district of Brightmoon City. The City Defense Army will surely dispatch soldiers here to investigate such a huge disturbance. That Chen Xuan won¡¯t dare stay for too long.¡± Qiu Honglei observed with a tight smile, ¡°It seems like young master and that friend share more than just a passing friendship. She risked danger in order to save you, and you have been worried about her safety all this time.¡±

    Zu An smiled faintly. ¡°If thedy is in danger, I will also be worried.¡±

    Qiu Honglei puffed out her cheeks indignantly. ¡°I had pegged the young master as an honest and sincere person. However, it seems that you¡¯re just another smooth talker with a slick tongue.¡±

    There really is more to this fellow than meets the eye! Even a woman with such beauty and strength showed up to help him... it seems like I am not the only one who has noticed him.

    ¡°I¡¯ll have to disagree with you here.¡± Zu An¡¯s tone was deadly serious. ¡°You said that I have a slick tongue, but when we kissed just now, there were no tongues involved at all. It¡¯s not as if either of us had the chance to feel the other¡¯s tongue,¡± he corrected earnestly.

    Qiu Honglei was, yet again, at a loss for words.

    In all her years in the Immortal Abode, she had always been the one who teased other men. She had never expected to be left so speechless today.

    She gave him a level look instead. Not deigning to reply to him, she instead began to climb ashore.

    The water had hidden her body from his sight earlier. Now that she left the water, endless droplets of water slid down her bare skin, tracing an exquisite figure. Every inch of her body offered up endless temptation.

    Zu An felt his nose bing warm. He discreetly brushed it, and was d that his nose wasn¡¯t bleeding. It would have been too embarrassing otherwise.

    ¡°Young master, please hurry ashore... ah!¡± Qiu Honglei had just turned around to help him up when she suddenly noticed his expression. Lowering her head, she realized what he was looking at. She yelped in rm, and hurriedly covered her chest with her arms.

    Zu An¡¯s face reddened. He didn¡¯t know what to say either. He mbered ashore with a guilty conscience.

    To cover his embarrassment, Zu An said, ¡°I¡¯ll escort thedy back to the Immortal Abode first, so that you can change your clothes.¡±

    He hadn¡¯t expected that Qiu Honglei would shake her head. She said in a somewhat troubled manner, ¡°How many prying eyes are there in the Immortal Abode? My current appearance will surely cause a huge disaster.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°Then what do we do?¡±

    Qiu Honglei bit her lips coyly and said, ¡°It might be better to go to young master¡¯s home instead. I could borrow some of your clothes once we get there.¡±

    This right here is the textbook example of seduction!

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s exceptional appearance, the emotions that were on disy, the situation that they were in, filled with suggestive connotations... surely no man in the world could refuse such a request, could they?

    It was a pity, then, that Zu An wasn¡¯t an ordinary man. He refused. ¡°This ce is too far from the Chu Estate, and the chances of being discovered by others there are also quite high. I believe you should also be familiar with my standing in the Chu n, and so it¡¯s obvious why it isn¡¯t a good idea to bring you back with me.¡±

    ¡°You are the respected young master of the Chu n young master. Can¡¯t you bring home even a single guest?¡± Qiu Honglei smiled faintly. This was exactly the type of situation she¡¯d hoped to engineer. She wanted him to realize just how unfavorable his current position in the Chu n was. The dissatisfaction he felt would surely spur his desire to climb up the Chu ndder. Things would then proceed smoothly ording to her tempo.

    Zu An rolled his eyes. Do you consider yourself a normal guest? You are the most famous courtesan queen in all of Brightmoon City! If I even thought of bringing you back with me, if Madam didn¡¯t blow her top, even lil¡¯ Huanzhao might stop talking to me.

    Besides, this girl¡¯s background is questionable, and her motives are impure. On top of that, Chuyan¡¯s condition is still poor. Bringing this girl back really isn¡¯t a sensible choice.

    He ignored her attempts at maniption and said, ¡°How about this? Why don¡¯t the two of us just get a room?¡±

    ¡°Get a room? What does that mean?¡± Qiu Honglei was confused.

    ¡°It¡¯s the same as finding a room in an inn. I¡¯ll find you a set of clothes for you to change into.¡± Zu An exined, his expressionpletely earnest.

    ¡°I think I¡¯ll pass. I can¡¯t help but feel like you¡¯re suggesting something fishy,¡± Qiu Honglei said with a smile.

    Just then, a mor approached them from a distance away, and soon, a group of people rushed over with torches in hand.

    Qiu Honglei gave them a look, hesitation arising in her heart. ¡°These seem to be people from the Immortal Abode.¡±

    ¡°Perfect! I would be perfectly at ease if you went back with them,¡± Zu An said with a smile.

    ¡°But I don¡¯t want anyone other than young master to see my current appearance!¡± Qiu Honglei looked at him withrge and pitiful eyes.

    Zu An inwardly praised her formidable powers. This woman really didn¡¯t let a single opportunity to tempt him go! She was a true queen of this field!

    He removed his outer robe and wrapped it around her. His nostrils were filled with her enchanting fragrance as he stepped closer to her. ¡°This should be enough.¡±

    His jacket was extremely long, and he was also taller than her to begin with. It was more than enough topletely conceal her figure from any impure eyes.

    Qiu Honglei tightened the robe around her with a conflicted expression. ¡°Does young master know how much of amotion my current appearance will create?¡± she asked.

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°Weren¡¯t you already nning to be my concubine? This would be the perfect chance for you to proim that you are already taken. Wouldn¡¯t that do?¡± he replied.

    Qiu Honglei stared nkly at him. She hadn¡¯t expected the other party to throw her schemes right back at her. She couldn¡¯t find a fitting response.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be taking my leave!¡± Zu An waved a hand in farewell. Only when she had brought up the Chu n did he suddenly remember that the frost afflicting Chu Chuyan had to be personally adjusted every day. These first few days were vital. If she missed a single treatment, the frost could easily re up again and cause even more harm.

    As such, his heart had been set on speeding home immediately.

    Sensing his hurry to leave, Qiu Honglei tried onest time to stop him. ¡°Ah Zu~¡±

    Zu An had just begun to leave. Hearing her calling after him, he stopped and turned back around. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s expression was full of wounded indignation. ¡°Do you hate me? Why are you in such a rush to leave?¡±

    ¡°I have something urgent to take care of. I¡¯ll meet with thedy again another time!¡± Zu An waved a hand in farewell, and his figure slowly disappeared under the night sky.

    ...

    Brothel Keeper Hua rushed over her with arge contingent of guards. ¡°Honglei, are you all right?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Qiu Honglei shook her head absentmindedly, her gaze still lingering in the direction Zu An had disappeared off to.

    Hua Weimian wanted to say something else, but when she saw Qiu Honglei wrapped in a man¡¯s robe, her expression grew serious. She immediately shouted out orders to her guards. ¡°All of you are not permitted to speak about today¡¯s matters to anyone. If I hear even a single rumor, I won¡¯t care who it was that leaked it. All of you will be beaten to death!¡±

    The guards¡¯ hearts were chilled by her pronouncement. They immediately nodded in acknowledgment.

    They hade ashore not far from the Immortal Abode. The group of them swiftly escorted Qiu Honglei back to the establishment.

    When she returned to her room, a maid had already prepared a tub of warm water. Qiu Honglei removed her drenched jacket, revealing a stunning figure that would make any man go crazy. She slowly entered the bathtub.

    As she soaked herself in the warm water, she reached out a smooth, snow-white arm. Zu An¡¯s robe, which had been hanging on the screen, flew into her hands. She rifled through the pockets, then snorted. ¡°That fellow really is a miser. He didn¡¯t even bring a single banknote with him.¡±

    Even though she didn¡¯t find any bank notes, she did find a pretty conch.

    ¡°Eh~¡± With her knowledge, she naturally knew that this thing could store music.

    She fiddled with it and the ssic God of Gambling BGM red out!

    Qiu Honglei felt her heart start to race passionately. It was only a long timeter that she finally let out a long sigh. ¡°Stinky Ah Zu, how could you still insist that you didn¡¯t create that ¡®Smiling, Proud Wanderer¡¯? You really love lying.¡±

    Suddenly, a slight sound came from outside the window.

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s rxed expression vanished. Getting up, she hurriedly covered her body with Zu An¡¯s robe. She red fiercely at the figure on the other side of the screen. ¡°Who told you toe in?¡±

    ¡°I only came out of worry for junior sister¡¯s safety... I didn¡¯t expect you to be bathing.¡± it was the sound of Gu Yueyi¡¯s voice. Despite his words, he showed no signs of halting. Even the sound of him swallowing could be heard.

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s expression grew cold. With a movement of her hand, a delicate bamboo pole with a small and exquisitentern on one end appeared out of thin air. Bathed in the bright yellow light of thentern, Gu Yueyi discovered in rm that he couldn¡¯t move at all.

 Chapter 258: Completely Exposed

    <h4>Chapter 258: Completely Exposed</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Gu Yueyi felt his hairs standing on end. He awoke from his lustful daze and hurriedly exined, ¡°Junior sister, I was confused earlier. I never intended to provoke you.¡±

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s voice was cold. She retracted the bright yellow light. ¡°If it happens again, do not me me for being impolite, even if you are a fellow sect member.¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes, yes, this was an ident! There definitely won¡¯t be a second time.¡± Gu Yueyi backed away hurriedly, drenched in cold sweat. Even though there was a screen between the two of them, he still lowered his head as close to the ground as possible to avoid angering her.

    Even though he already rated this girl extremely highly, he had never expected her to be this formidable.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Also, what¡¯s the deal with thisntern? Is it something Master gave her?

    Master really is biased!

    More cold sweat broke out as he remembered the many times he had tried to take advantage of her previously. He mopped at his face discreetly.

    However, something didn¡¯t add up. Usually, whenever he provoked her, she would always reply with a sweet smile. Why was she suddenly so angry today?

    ¡°Also, in the future, if you are going to escape, then just do it. Don¡¯t treat your own people like shields.¡± Qiu Honglei snorted coldly. It was clear that she was extremely dissatisfied with his actions on the boat.

    Gu Yueyi hurriedly nodded. ¡°Yes, yes, yes. Most definitely.¡±

    He cursed her silently in his heart. Since you¡¯re so formidable, couldn¡¯t you have just made your move on that boat? If the two of us had worked together, I wouldn¡¯t have had to run from Chen Xuan in such a sorry state!

    He kept his thoughts to himself, not allowing them to show on the surface.

    ¡°Just go.¡± Qiu Honglei waved her hand dismissively, clearly not in the mood to pay him any more attention.

    Gu Yueyi felt as if he¡¯d just received a great pardon. He fled in a hurry.

    Qiu Honglei fiddled with the seashell in her hands, a smile returning to her face.

    It was all that Chen Xuan¡¯s fault for ruining her ns this time around. However, things were still all right overall. She was sure that this man was worth her investment.

    ...

    ¡°Achoo~¡± A chill swept across Zu An as soon as he returned to the Chu Estate, making him sneeze violently.

    He found a set of clean clothes to change into, then hurried over to Chu Chuyan¡¯s room.

    I wonder if she remembered to leave me a way to get in. Zu An gave the sky a quick nce. A bright moon hung overhead. It was already extremelyte.

    He snuck his way over to Chu Chuyan¡¯s courtyard. Qin Wanru had personally ordered the number of guards to be increased, ever since the previous incident with the intruder.

    The security here was practically airtight, but Zu An had the strengthened ¡®Sunflower Phantasm¡¯ at his disposal. When there was no way to evade the guards¡¯ line of sight, he resorted to using Grandgale to dash across. This allowed him to sneak in without encountering any trouble.

    Zu An was incredibly upset. What the heck is this? Why do I have to act like a thief just to get into my own wife¡¯s room?!

    When he arrived in front of the previously agreed-upon window, Zu An noticed that the lights inside had already been turned off.

    My wife¡¯s skin really is too thin. She must be worried that others would be suspicious if the lights were still on.

    He looked all around him to make sure there was no one around. Then, he ced his hand on the window and gave it a gentle push.

    Hm? Why isn¡¯t it moving?

    Zu An tried again, this time with more strength. However, it still didn¡¯t budge.

    Is this the wrong window? He thought back to the conversation the two of them had had. Perhaps he remembered it wrongly.

    He tried a different window, but it wouldn¡¯t budge either. What the heck?

    He tried the rest of the windows. Not a single one was unlocked.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes grew wide. Hadn¡¯t they reached an agreement beforehand?

    He had just rejected such a powerful temptation by refusing Qiu Honglei, and yet, this was what he came back to?

    He turned the situation over in his mind, and figured that Chu Chuyan was probably still too shy, and was still unused to this arrangement.

    However, the removal of frost during this initial period was too important, and absolutely couldn¡¯t be dyed!

    He didn¡¯t dare call out to Chu Chuyan, for fear of rming the guards outside. Instead, he drew out a dagger. He gently inserted it into the crack between the window panes, and used it to push the bolt to the side.

    He tiptoed his way in, and then closed the window again.

    Why do I feel like a thief?

    This was clearly his own wife¡¯s room!

    Zu An felt incredibly unwell inside. He immediately straightened from his crouch.

    When he walked to the bedside, he could vaguely make out a wonderfully graceful figureying on her side.

    This girl really needs a good spanking. Just look at how gentle and sweet that Honglei is!

    Chu Chuyan had clearly already agreed to leave a window open. Zu An felt his teeth start to ache. He really had to find a way to keep his wife in line.

    Without saying a word, he slipped under the sheets and hugged her.

    Either way, the two of them already interacted so intimately in the dungeon. Later on, Chu Chuyan had even removed her clothes for him as he performed her treatment.

    He felt like he had to be slightly more proactive. Maybe then she wouldn¡¯t resist him so much.

    As his hands caressed her warm and fragrant body, Zu An grew puzzled. Less than a day had passed since he¡¯dst seen her. How did Chuyan¡¯s body suddenly be so well-rounded?

    ¡°Dear, don¡¯t be so fidgety~¡±

    The beautiful woman fidgeted in her sleep, muttering quietly.

    Zu An nearly jumped right out of the bed. He was scared out of his wits. This was clearly Qin Wanru¡¯s voice!

    Just then, Qin Wanru seemed to have noticed that something wasn¡¯t right either. She awoke groggily, and began to turn around to take a look.

    A finger shot out from the side, striking her acupoint.

    Qin Wanru moaned quietly and fell back to sleep.

    A slim and graceful figure sat up on the other side of the bed, revealing a lovely but displeased face. Who else could this be but Chu Chuyan?

    Zu An was dumbfounded. He lowered his head to look at the woman in his embrace. She was clearly much more endowed than his wife. She was none other than his mother-inw, Qin Wanru.

    What in the world is going on? Zu An¡¯s mind went nk.

    ¡°My mother was worried about my condition, so she insisted on sleeping here, to take care of me. I refused several times, but she continued to persist. I didn¡¯t want her to be suspicious, so I had to agree in the end.¡± Chu Chuyan had an embarrassed expression on her face.

    Zu An was momentarily struck speechless.

    What kind of stupid plot is this? How could I have expected this?!

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me ahead of time?¡± Zu An said in confusion. He¡¯d really suffered a huge fright earlier. His frail mind had been dealt a devastating blow, and he had yet to fully recover from his daze.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s gaze drifted downwards. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to let go?¡± she asked, her tone clearly disappointed.

    Zu An lowered his head, his face identical to a sad emoji.[1] He hurriedly withdrew his arms. ¡°This... I was in a daze just now and couldn¡¯t react.¡±

    Chu Chuyan snorted. Finally, she said, ¡°I asked Huanzhao to find you, but she said you weren¡¯t in the manor, so how could I let you know? That was why I locked all of the windows to warn you about the situation. How was I to know that you would just barge in?!¡±

    ¡°I thought that you were feeling slightly embarrassed about leaving your room open for the first time... The first few treatments for your illness are extremely important, so I had no choice but to enter.¡± Zu An exined. If he ended up bing some freak in her eyes, that really would be the end of him.

    Chu Chuyan bit her lips, hesitating, before she replied, ¡°Fine. But you cannot act so recklessly in the future. I cannot strike mother¡¯s acupoint so quickly every time. If she finds out that you... disrespected her, I fear that you won¡¯t be able to remain in the Chu n anymore.¡±

    She knew that her mother had never treated Zu An well. If she found out about this, she would definitely go crazy. That was why she¡¯d had no choice but to knock her unconscious.

    ¡°As expected, my wife really does worry about me!¡± A faint smile appeared on Zu An¡¯s face. All the energy he¡¯d spent saving her hadn¡¯t been in vain.

    ¡°Who is worried about you?¡± Chu Chuyan¡¯s face reddened slightly. ¡°I only wanted to warn you, since this could drag the entire family into an awkward situation,¡± she exined hurriedly.

    ¡°All right, all right. Hurry up and strip already.¡± Zu An said while opening the pouch containing the silver needles.

    Chu Chuyan red at him without speaking.

    This fellow really doesn¡¯t know how to have a proper conversation. This is clearly just a normal procedure, so why did it sound so strangeing from his mouth?

    She snorted quietly, then began to slowly undo her clothes.

    She had always been a prodigy at cultivation, so she obviously wouldn¡¯t settle for spending the rest of her life as a cripple.

    Of course, if the one who was carrying out the acupuncture was anyone other than Zu An, she would never have agreed to it.

    After the intimate events that had transpired in the dungeon, it seemed her resistance to the idea had been subconsciously weakened.

    Of course, she wasn¡¯t aware of this change in her at all.

    Zu An sighed in admiration of Chu Chuyan¡¯s fine, snow-like skin. Her body didn¡¯t possess Qiu Honglei¡¯s strong fragrance, but her faint scent was still enough to leave a deep impression on him.

    He removed a silver needle, and began the acupuncture procedure meant to remove the cold energy from inside her.

    ¡°Don¡¯t rm my mother,¡± Chu Chuyan warned him.

    Zu An stared nkly, then moved further away from Qin Wanru. ¡°Understood!¡±

    ...

    The procedure took a while, after which Zu An collected back all of the silver needles. He sighed deeply. ¡°Today¡¯s procedure has been sessfullypleted.¡±

    He was still struggling with how he was going to give her the next treatment. I can¡¯t scare her away. I have to do things slowly.

    ¡°Thank you...¡± Chu Chuyan quietly put on her clothes. When she noticed the fine beads of sweat on his forehead, her heart softened. She took out a handkerchief, about to help him wipe away his sweat.

    However, her hand suddenly froze, her expression turning cold. ¡°Where did you go today?¡±

    ¡°I went for a stroll with Yucheng and Hongcai.¡± Zu An said ambiguously. There was no way he could just tell his wife that he went to a brothel, right?

    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± Chu Chuyan gave an indignant huff.

    ¡°What else could it be?¡± Zu An said guiltily.

    Chu Chuyan became quiet for a while. She finally said into the silence, ¡°You have the smell of another woman on you.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Zu An immediately smelled his sleeves. I don¡¯t smell anything! Besides, I¡¯ve already changed into a new set of clothes! As a keyboard warrior, how could I possibly make this type of elementary mistake?

    How was she still able to notice?

    Were women that sensitive towards the smell of other women?

    Bracing himself, he said, ¡°Could you be mistaken? Perhaps I still have some of your mother¡¯s smell on me?¡±

    Chu Chuyan sneered. ¡°There¡¯s lipstick on your mouth.¡±

    Zu An was stunned speechless.

    He finally realized what happened. Qiu Honglei had pressed her lips against his while in the river.

    This damned lipstick is killing me!

    Zu An wanted to flee. He continuously cursed the unscrupulous businessmen of this world. Qiu Honglei had definitely used the most expensive rouge and lipstick, which caused him this problem!

    Wait, didn¡¯t she already give me permission to seek out other women before? What am I feeling all guilty for? Zu An subconsciously wanted to turn around and run, but after taking a few steps, a thought emerged in his mind.

    Forget it, I won¡¯t poke at this mess.

    When he returned to his own room, his body suddenly went rigid. A sword was pressed against his neck.

    1. The author uses the Chinese character ‡å (jiong, which refers to a patterned window) to describe Zu An¡¯s expression. The use of this character is an inte phenomenon in China.

 Chapter 259: A Magnificent Home with Magnificent Women

    <h4>Chapter 259: A Magnificent Home with Magnificent Women</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The chill of the de raised Zu An¡¯s goosebumps immediately. "Venerable hero, do you want money, or do you want... me? We can talk it out! Please don¡¯t let your hand slip!¡±

    As he said this, he secretly prepared Grandgale in order to teleport away.

    A snicker sounded from behind him. ¡°Money is something I can understand, but as for thetter... is that really something I would want?¡±

    A woman? Zu An sighed in relief when he heard the timbre of his attacker¡¯s voice. He might have been slightly worried if a man hade to assassinate him, but women were his specialty!

    ¡°Venerable heroine, this is where I¡¯ll have to disagree. You can insult my integrity, but you cannot insult my handsome face!¡± Zu An said with a firm expression.

    ¡°Pah, what a slick tongue you have. No wonder that slut Qiu Honglei fell for you.¡± With a whisper of sound, the de which was resting against his neck disappeared.

    Only then did Zu An turn around carefully. A masked woman limped over to his bed, then slowly sat down.

    As she sat down, a great wave rippled across her chest.

    Zu An swallowed. ¡°Big...¡± he couldn¡¯t help but blurt out automatically.

    Even though there probably was a screw loose inside his head, there was usually no way he would so easily lose hisposure like this.

    But her stealthy bodysuit was just too tight, and her enchanting figure was just too much for him to handle!

    He knew that he was in trouble as soon as these words came out of his mouth. Sure enough, the masked woman¡¯s eyes grew cold. ¡°What did you say?¡±

    ¡°I was just saying that I detected some... big jealousy from Miss Pei¡¯s words.¡± Zu An reacted quickly, immediately turning things around. He could instantly tell who she was by her peach-blossom eyes and massive chest, even if she was masked.

    ¡°Me? Jealous?¡± Pei Mianman removed her mask, casually tossing it to the side. A mischievous smile appeared on her face. ¡°Perhaps I seem a little... too nice to you?¡±

    Zu An immediately felt a great weight lift off his shoulders as she changed the topic. ¡°Forget it. I seemed to have forgotten that, sometimes, those who are too outstanding will always be too easily misunderstood.¡±

    Pei Mianman gave a disdainful sniff. ¡°I don¡¯t know how in the world Chuyan puts up with you.¡±

    ¡°You went to Chuyan¡¯s room?¡± Zu An immediately panicked. He had been busy with administering her treatment, so there was no way he could have paid attention to the activity outside. The security outside was tight, however, so unless she had an instant movement skill like his, she shouldn¡¯t have escaped their detection.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t.¡± Pei Mianman¡¯s expression grew strange. She didn¡¯t visit her close friend and instead went looking for her husband... ¡°I heard that she hasn¡¯t been feeling that well, so I didn¡¯t want to bother her tonight,¡± she hurriedly added.

    After saying this, she suddenly frowned, twisting her body unnaturally.

    ¡°You¡¯re wounded?¡± Zu An noticed that her movements had been a little stiff. It finally struck him as to what was going on.

    ¡°Hmph! I came all the way to save you, but you just ran off with that vixen! You left me to deal with that sixth rank Chen Xuan and all those ckwind Stockade subordinates of his alone! How could you have the nerve to ask me this right now?¡± Pei Mianman immediately erupted in fury, angry at Qiu Honglei, and angry at Zu An for actually fleeing with her.

    You have sessfully trolled Pei Mianman for 66... 66... 66...

    Zu An was immediately ashamed. ¡°I really didn¡¯t expect Qiu Honglei to drag me into the water with her back then! Everything happened so quickly... by the time I could react, I was already choking on water! She guided me to the riverbank. When I finally had a chance to turn around, I saw that the two of you seemed evenly-matched. Besides, The City Defense Army was on their way as well. I didn¡¯t want to go back only to cause more trouble for you.¡±

    He naturally left out the part when Qiu Honglei had given him oxygen. He had already pissed off his wife¡ªhe didn¡¯t want to piss off a second woman.

    Thank heaven he had wiped the lipstick off before he returned. Today might really have been the day of his funeral otherwise.

    ¡°Hmph, at least you had a bit of a conscience.¡± Hearing that he at least paid some attention to her situation, Pei Mianman¡¯s expression rxed a little. ¡°Bandit or not, Chen Xuan is still a sixth rank cultivator. Against someone like him, you¡¯ll be fortunate to get out alive. A small injury is nothing.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Where are you hurt? I have medicine.¡±

    That damned Phoenix Nirvana Sutra always left him on the brink of death. After he had made some money, the first thing he¡¯d done was to stock up on healing medicine, most of which was Ji Dengtu¡¯s best stuff.

    ¡°You¡¯re asking me where I got hurt, but why do you keep staring at my chest?¡± Pei Mianman¡¯s smile carried with it a dangerous glint.

    Zu An flushed red. ¡°I just wanted to know where you were injured out of concern!¡± he replied in a rush.

    ¡°Stop trying to guess. It¡¯s not where you think it is.¡± A puzzled expression lingered in Pei Mianman¡¯s eyes. ¡°Just how did Chuyan end up liking a scoundrel like you? I really just can¡¯t understand it! Not only her, but that vixen Qiu Honglei seems quite fond of you as well. I don¡¯t see a single exceptional thing about you.¡±

    Zu An smiled bashfully. ¡°I am someone with more introverted qualities. You¡¯ll have to be around me more if you want to find out my strengths.¡±

    ¡°You? Introverted qualities?¡± Pei Mianman immediately burst outughing, then winced in pain as her injuries red up. Her beautiful brows drew together.

    ¡°You¡¯ve hurt your back?¡± Zu An had already figured out that she¡¯d been injured. After all, in the area of getting hurt, he was already a true professional.

    ¡°Mm,¡± Pei Mianman grunted in confirmation. When she saw that he was about to examine her himself, however, she immediately raised her sword. ¡°It¡¯s none of your business. A small wound like this isn¡¯t an issue at all.¡±

    Zu An was startled and amused. This woman was always behaving so flirtatiously, but she was actually this conservative inside!

    ¡°It¡¯ll leave a scar if we don¡¯t treat it quickly,¡± Zu An warned.

    Pei Mianman sneered. ¡°Do you think I¡¯m like one of those dainty little girls? Cultivators are different from ordinary people, and I¡¯ve always recovered quickly. I¡¯ve lost count of how many times I¡¯ve been injured since I was a child. Do you see any scars from those wounds?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d originally assumed you were a precious daughter who¡¯d been doted on by a great family, but it seems like you¡¯ve had it quite hard.¡± Zu An was shocked when he heard that she suffered so many injuries during her childhood. It really was hard for him to reconcile this with her usually cheerful and flirtatious bearing.

    Pei Mianman¡¯s smile instantly vanished. ¡°I don¡¯t need your sympathy!¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t seem to mind her sudden change in attitude. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t tell Chuyan about this.¡±

    ¡°Why do I care if you mention this to her or not?¡± Pei Mianman turned away, but her expression rxed slightly.

    ¡°We still have to take care of the wound as soon as possible.¡± Zu An rummaged through his various drawers and trunks. ¡°We can¡¯t underestimate a wound from a sixth rank expert. Chuyan is the best example. Because of her negligence, she¡¯s still suffering from some hidden injuries she received in her fight against that Wu Di.¡±

    ¡°Chuyan¡¯s condition is actually that serious?¡± Pei Mianman¡¯s expression immediately grewplicated.

    ¡°It¡¯s not too bad. With a divine physician like yours truly, it¡¯s not a big deal at all!¡± replied Zu An.

    ¡°You?¡± Pei Mianman sneered. ¡°It was clearly Divine Physician Ji who paid her a visit.¡±

    ¡°Life is truly lonesome and deste as a snow-covered field... no one believes me when I speak the truth.¡± Zu An picked out several different medicines. ¡°Turn around and let me have a look at your injury.¡±

    With a slight hesitation, Pei Mianman turned around. ¡°You better not be thinking of taking advantage of me. I won¡¯t let you off that easy even if you¡¯re Chuyan¡¯s husband!¡± she said coyly.

    ¡°Look at how innocent my eyes are! Do I really seem like that type of person?¡± Zu An was beyond disgruntled.

    ¡°Hmph!¡±

    ...

    After a quick examination, Zu An discovered a three-inch long wound on her back, the clothing around it already soaked with blood. It wasn¡¯t obvious at first, only because her bodysuit was ck. ¡°That son of a dog Chen Xuan! How could he be so vicious?!¡±

    ¡°Hmph, he isn¡¯t anything special.¡± Pei Mianman raised her chin arrogantly. She clearly didn¡¯t want to be underestimated.

    ¡°Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know you¡¯re really strong and awesome.¡± Zu An gently tore the fabric around her wound.

    ¡°What are you doing!¡± Pei Mianman¡¯s entire body went rigid. She tightened her grip on her sword.

    ¡°Rx! How can I apply the medicine if I don¡¯t clean up the area around the wound?¡± Zu An replied. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t go so far as to take advantage of my own wife¡¯s close friend in her very own house.¡±

    ¡°Heh, I knew you wouldn¡¯t have the guts to do something like that.¡± Pei Mianman rxed as she noticed that he wasn¡¯t going any further.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An dabbed some medicine on the wound, cleaning it up gently. ¡°Does it hurt?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Keep going.¡± Pei Mianman frowned, clearly enduring the pain.

    The room quickly became quiet. Only the sounds of Zu An treating her wound could be heard.

    Pei Mianman blushed. This was the first time her skin was being touched like this by a man. However, acting shy really wasn¡¯t her style. After a moment, sheughed proudly and asked, ¡°Who¡¯s skin is better¡ªmine or Chuyan¡¯s?¡±

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°Do you want me to tell you that your skin is better than my wife¡¯s, or that my wife¡¯s skin is more perfect than yours?¡±

    When she saw Zu An kick the ball right back at her, Pei Mianman snorted. ¡°Hmph, you really are as sly as a fox. If I wasn¡¯t so sure that you grew up in Brightmoon City, I really would have wondered if you came out of some old monster.¡±

    Zu An was slightly taken aback by her words. I did kinda possess this body like an old monster... no, I¡¯m a small monster, at least. I was still young in my past world.

    When the treatment waspleted, Zu An said, ¡°All done. However, you¡¯ve lost a lot of blood, so your body is extremely weak right now. Don¡¯t go too crazy tonight, just stay here. Otherwise, if you end up getting attacked by some scoundrel, my heart really wouldn¡¯t be able to take it.¡±

    Pei Mianman¡¯s eyes flickered with a teasing light. ¡°Why do I feel like I¡¯ll be in more danger if I stay here?¡±

    ¡°Even if you don¡¯t trust my integrity, you should trust Chuyan¡¯s judgment in picking her husband. I¡¯m going to sleep next door, so you¡¯re on your own. You can leave whenever you want.¡±

    After a bit of hesitation, she said, ¡°Don¡¯t tell Chuyan about what happened today... don¡¯t tell any of her family members either.¡±

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help butugh. ¡°This is just a normal urrence. Why do you suddenly make it seem like some scandal? Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯ll remain a secret between us.¡±

    ¡°I never should have expected any good words toe out of the mouth of a scoundrel!¡± Pei Mianman spat, shutting the door in his face.

    Zu An¡¯s heart sank. Couldn¡¯t this woman at least let him grab some nkets?

    However, for someone with his current constitution, nkets didn¡¯t really make a difference anymore. In any case, he didn¡¯t feel like knocking on the door again.

    He went next door and dragged some stools together. Just as he was about to lie down to sleep, his heart jumped. Someone had suddenly appeared beside him.

 Chapter 260: Misunderstanding

    <h4>Chapter 260: Misunderstanding</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An suddenly turned around. Just as he was about to release his charged up power, he suddenly noticed an old and wrinkled face.

    ¡°Elder Mi?¡± It was actually Old Mi. This fellow always came and went without a sound, just like a ghost.

    Big sis empress said previously that he is at least at the ninth rank. It seems like her suspicions were right on.

    ¡°Correct. It seems like you have improved your vignce.¡± Old Mi nodded. Despite his praise, there wasn¡¯t even a trace of a smile to be seen on his face.

    ¡°Why did Elder seek me out today?¡± Zu An asked.

    He felt extremely gloomy inside. Why did this old man have to always appear so suddenly?

    If he appears when I¡¯m alone, then whatever. But if he suddenly appears out of nowhere when I¡¯m bonding with my close female friends, I would really have a heart attack!

    Besides, as a man, he really didn¡¯t want other men¡ªeven an old one like Old Mi¡ªto see his women.

    Unfortunately, Old Mi¡¯s cultivation was way higher than his. There was no way Zu An could tell him what to do.

    ¡°I heard that you went to the Immortal Abode, and even managed to secure the affections of their courtesan queen?¡± Old Mi looked at him with a strange expression.

    ¡°Elder has received news very quickly indeed...¡± Zu An chuckled in an awkward manner. ¡°I guess a guy with endless charm like me really is just naturally attractive to women, haha.¡±

    Even he was somewhat embarrassed saying these words.

    Old Mi¡¯s brow furrowed. ¡°Your mood seems to have improved a lot recently.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s been all right,¡± Zu An said with an embarrassed smile. He didn¡¯t know what the other party was trying to say.

    ¡°You were so depressed that you were on the verge of hanging yourself before, so why are you suddenly so carefree and happy? Don¡¯t tell me that you¡¯ve already discovered a different method of treating yourself?¡± Old Mi¡¯s eyes shifted to his crotch.

    Zu An felt a chill run through his legs. He subconsciously turned his body to the side to evade that gaze. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that everything would work out as long as I be a master? Why would I still feel gloomy when I have such prospects?¡±

    Old Mi always exerted a strange pressure on him that made him feel uneasy, and so he didn¡¯t dare reveal everything to him.

    He also warned himself to be more careful from now on. If this old man even glimpsed his heaven-piercing pir, things would turn sour very quickly.

    ¡°I see.¡± Old Mi softened his gaze, clearly epting this response. He continued, ¡°Since your body is no good, you should be more focused on raising your cultivation than chasing girls. It¡¯s not like getting with them means anything to you.¡±

    Zu An pressed his lips tightly together.

    You really make too much sense, old man. I can¡¯t argue against that at all.

    Old Mi believed that his manhood waspletely sealed, so the old man didn¡¯t think there was any meaning in him chasing after girls. If he continued to pursue them even with ¡®little Zu An¡¯ out ofmission, Old Mi will obviously be puzzled.

    ¡°There¡¯s more to that Immortal Abode courtesan than meets the eye, so don¡¯t get too involved. It¡¯s for your own good,¡± warned Old Mi. This was going to be his precious vessel, so he naturally didn¡¯t want anything to happen to it.

    ¡°Does Elder know anything about Qiu Honglei¡¯s background?¡± Zu An had always been curious about Qiu Honglei¡¯s background. However, he was slightly shaken to learn that, although this Old Mi only trimmed the grass around the Chu Estate day in and day out, he seemed to be aware of everything important within Brightmoon City. He really didn¡¯t know how this old man aplished this.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know the exact details, but there is no way she could be just a simple courtesan. Don¡¯t provoke her for no reason.¡± Old Mi stopped for a moment, and then looked towards the wall. ¡°Also, that youngdy from the Pei n next door. I don¡¯t know how you two ended up on good terms, but you shouldn¡¯t y with fire. If the Chu n ends up kicking you out because of this, heh...¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Even though he didn¡¯t go into specifics, his tone of voice made the threat crystal clear.

    Zu An shivered. ¡°I understand.¡±

    ¡°Keep in mind what I told you before. Keep interacting with the Wei n¡¯s brothers. Report everything that happens in their family to me, regardless of whether it is big or small. Don¡¯t leave out a thing.¡± With that, Old Mi tottered off. Although he looked like might be blown over by the wind at any time, it only took a few steps for him to vanish into the darkness.

    The pressure on Zu An immediately lessened considerably. However, just knowing that there might always be someone secretly watching him left him with an ufortable feeling that he just couldn¡¯t shake off.

    Why does he keep telling me to pay attention to the Wei n? Zu An thought to himself.

    While he wondered about this, Old Mi struggled with his own puzzle. Why do women have such a natural affinity for that brat? He is clearly no good down there...

    He turned it over in his mind for a long while, but couldn¡¯t find a satisfactory reason. With a shake of his head, he let the matter go.

    Forget it. What¡¯s wrong with having some close female friends? They¡¯ll all be mine eventually anyway.

    ...

    When Zu An woke up the next morning, he hurried next door to look for Pei Mianman. However, the room was empty, and the nkets had already been neatly folded. The beauty herself was nowhere to be seen.

    He noticed a letter by the window. Zu An walked over and picked it up. There was a single line, written in graceful handwriting: Remember what you promised me yesterday.

    Filling his nostrils with the fragrance that had been left behind on his bed, Zu An couldn¡¯t help butugh. Did this woman have a guilty conscience?

    Just then, a knocking came from outside. Zu An immediately grew overjoyed. Maybe she regretted leaving just like this and decided toe back. When he opened the door, however, he was instead greeted by a chubby face. His interest instantly vanished. ¡°So it¡¯s you...¡±

    ¡°Who else did bro think I was?¡± Chu Yucheng said in confusion. Behind him, Chu Hongcai also wore a puzzled expression.

    ¡°I thought that some goddess hade looking for me,¡± Zu An said in irritation.

    Chu Yuchengughed heartily. ¡°Immortal Abode¡¯s Lady Qiu is indeed nothing less than a goddess. So... how wasst night?¡±

    He winked at Zu An with an extremely lecherous expression.

    Chu Hongcai pricked up his ears as well, his fists clenched tightly. He was clearly extremely anxious.

    ¡°Of course it felt so good that I went straight to heaven.¡± Zu An returned his look with a knowing smile.

    Chu Yucheng was all smiles when he heard this, but Chu Hongcai almost imploded from anger. He turned on Zu An with an angry huff.

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Hongcai for 999 Rage points!

    Chu Yucheng immediately held him back, and then said to Zu An, ¡°Ah Zu, you know that he¡¯s a crazy Qiu Honglei fan, so this really is something hard for him to ept right away. You don¡¯t need to worry too much. It¡¯s not you that he is angry at.¡±

    Zu An said with a chuckle, ¡°I was just joking around. Qiu Honglei invited me to take a boat ride with her, but who did we run into but the ckwind Stockade? We barely escaped with our lives. It really was the worst.¡±

    ¡°What? What about Lady Qiu?¡± Chu Hongcai demanded in a panic.

    ¡°Mister Hoes-before-Bros, aren¡¯t you worried about me at all?¡± Zu An said in annoyance.

    ¡°You look perfectly fine to me,¡± Chu Hongcai mumbled.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, your Lady Qiu is fine. A mysterious person came to save us. When the City Defense Army finally arrived, that Great Bandit Chen Xuan had already fled,¡± Zu An exined, giving a series of half-truths.

    ¡°Chen Xuan was actually there?¡± Chu Yucheng cried out in rm. ¡°That bastard has plundered our caravans several times already. Our Chu n has dispatched our troops to track him down many times, but we¡¯ve never seeded. Now, he even has the nerve to brazenly enter Brightmoon City!¡±

    After leaving the Immortal Abodest night, Chu Hongcai had been so brokenhearted with grief, all he wanted to drink his sorrows away. Naturally, Chu Yucheng had followed him. The two of them ended up drinking until they both passed out, and only woke when the sky brightened. That was why they weren¡¯t too clear on what had transpired the night before.

    Chu Hongcai nodded in agreement. ¡°We participated in those attacks on the bandits as well, but that fellow is just too elusive. He¡¯s slippery as an eel. No one has ever even seen his true appearance.¡±

    Zu An wore a strange expression. ¡°The two of you have actually seen him before.¡±

    ¡°We have?¡± The two of them were dumbfounded.

    ¡°Not only have you two met him, you¡¯ve even faced him before,¡± said Zu An with a smile. ¡°He is that red haired fellow the two of you fought against in the brothelst night.¡±

    ¡°So that was him!¡± The two of them cried out in rm.

    Chu Yucheng cursed. ¡°I knew that guy couldn¡¯t be anyone good. I never expected him to be Chen Xuan, the bandit leader who is guilty of such monstrous crimes.¡±

    Chu Hongcai couldn¡¯t contain his excitement. ¡°This Chen Xuan is courting death! He even dares to run amok in Brightmoon City! We didn¡¯t know what he looked like before, but now that we do, it won¡¯t be easy for him to elude us anymore! I wonder what made him go sopletely crazy as to do such a thing.¡±

    Zu An rubbed his nose. He wentpletely crazy because he wanted to get revenge on me... Of course, there was no need to tell them that. ¡°By the way, why did the two of you seek me out so early in the morning?¡±

    ¡°Look at this memory of mine.¡± Chu Yucheng pped his forehead, and then brought out a box of food. ¡°Here¡¯s some steamed stuffed buns from the Cai stall, and some jellied tofu from the He stall. Both are quite famous in our city, and hard to get your hands on. Since it was already early in the morning by the time we returned, we decided to bring some of this back so that we could enjoy it together.¡±

    ¡°No one kisses ass without having ulterior motives.¡± Zu An secretly wondered if these fellows had poisoned the food.

    Chu Yucheng¡¯s face froze. ¡°Hongcai drowned his sorrows in alcoholst night. He thought that Lady Qiu had been... ahem, ravaged by youst night. That is why I dragged him over this morning to find out what happened. There was no way we coulde empty handed, right? We never expected Hongcai to be worried about nothing,¡± he exined with a chuckle.

    When he noticed that the two of them seemed to be taking delight in Zu An¡¯s disaster, he hurriedly brought out some bowls and chopsticks. ¡°We should quickly enjoy these while they are still hot. They won¡¯t taste as good when they get cold.¡±

    Seeing the two of them dig in ravenously, Zu An let go of his worries. He scooped a bowl of jellied tofu for himself. Wow, this stuff is great! I haven¡¯t enjoyed such wonderful vors in a long time.

    He continued to praise it as they walked to the main hall. ¡°White, tender, and smooth. Absolutely delicious. I¡¯ll have to get some moreter.¡±

    ¡°Haha, Ah Zu is a kindred spirit after all. I¡¯ll take you with me next time.¡±

    An angry voice suddenly rang out. ¡°Despicable! Shameless! Disgusting!¡±

    Zu An raised his head. Chu Huanzhao was glowering at him, her face entirely red.

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Huanzhao for 444 Rage points!

    Chu Yucheng said teasingly, ¡°Ah Zu, what did you do to upset our little Huanzhao?¡±

    ¡°Damn fatty, you aren¡¯t anything good either! Our sister¡¯s husband is being ruined by the two of you!¡± Chu Huanzhao stormed off, huffing and puffing.

    Chu Yucheng had a dumbfounded expression on his face. What does the character of your sister¡¯s husband have to do with us? We were just talking about tofu just now...

    ¡°Young master, young master! It¡¯s time to go to the academy! The horse has already been prepared for your amazing self!¡± Cheng Shouping said this eagerly while crawling out from who-knew-which corner.

    Only now did Zu An realize that their three-day vacation that had been granted to them after entering the dungeon had already passed. Today was indeed the day he had to return to the academy.

    The thought of attending the academy immediately made his expression sink momentarily. However, when he thought about the gorgeous principal, the beautiful Miss Shang, as well as the students waiting to have their Rage points farmed, his mood immediately brightened.

    ¡°Why are you sucking up to me like this?¡± Zu An asked while walking towards the entrance.

    ¡°I¡¯ve always given you my everything, young master...¡± Cheng Shouping bbered a load of nonsense before changing the topic. ¡°If young master could broaden my horizons by bringing me with him to the Immortal Abode the next time, that would be so, so amazing.¡±

    ¡°You good-for-nothing servant! How dare you encourage your master to visit such a filthy ce?!¡± There was a whistling sound as the tail of a whip flicked towards him. Chen Shouping¡¯s miserable wail echoed throughout the Chu Estate.

 Chapter 261: Assassination

    <h4>Chapter 261: Assassination</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An swallowed. He had a bit of history with this Wailing Whip himself. As for how it felt... he really didn¡¯t want to bring back those memories.

    Who could me Cheng Shouping for screaming so miserably?

    Chu Huanzhao had gotten more and more frustrated as time went on, and hade back for an exnation from Zu An. Who knew she would end up hearing Cheng Shouping say these things as soon as she returned? She was already fuming to begin with¡ªthis was simply pouring fuel on the fire!

    Onesh wasn¡¯t enough to make her feel better. A second strike followed.

    Seeing that she was about to strike out a third time, Zu An immediately rushed in to stop her. ¡°Okay, okay! This pitiful kid is going to die at this rate.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao became more annoyed the more she looked at him. She raised her whip, about to strike him again.

    In the end, she decided against it. She huffed angrily before turning around. ¡°I don¡¯t want to talk to you!¡±

    Zu An chuckled at her tantrum. Wasn¡¯t thisss getting more and more adorable?

    Didn¡¯t I say this before? Good genes and a pretty face are all that are important in the end. Even if she throws a bit of a tantrum, no one will find it that annoying.

    He then turned around to give Cheng Shouping a look. ¡°Honestly, you¡¯re going to get done in by that mouth of yours sooner orter. Be more careful in the future, and don¡¯t bber about everything all the time.¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Ow...¡± Cheng Shouping had a resentful look on his face. What the heck is this? The one who went to the Immortal Abode was young master, and the one who got to enjoy himself was also young master! Why am I the one getting beaten just for casually bringing this up?!

    Hmph! I thought highly of the second miss and young master all this time, but it¡¯s been all for nothing! I¡¯m only going to support the first miss from now on!

    Seeing his hurt and indignant expression, Zu An tossed him a silver tael. ¡°Get some medicine for yourself and rest up. Don¡¯t go with me to the academy today, lest lil¡¯ Huanzhao gets angry at you again.¡±

    The silver immediately made Cheng Shouping¡¯s eyes light up. He said with a beaming smile, ¡°Thank you so much, young master! Young master really is the best!¡±

    Someone as straightforward and generous like the young master deserves to have a different girl by his side every night! Of course, he didn¡¯t dare say this out loud, out of fear that he¡¯d get whipped again.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t stand his fawning look anymore. He turned to run after Chu Huangzhao.

    Usually, she always waited for Zu An before heading to the academy together. Yet today, she had mounted a horse and ridden off immediately.

    Only after great effort did Zu An finally catch up. ¡°Aiyo, who was it that made our lil¡¯ Huanzhao so angry?¡±

    Chu Huanzhao¡¯s expression was still furious, and she refused to say anything.

    Zu An nudged his horse over. ¡°Are you still upset that I didn¡¯t get you a gift? I¡¯ll buy you whatever you want right now! Big bro has money~¡±

    Chu Huanzhao couldn¡¯t stand his pestering. ¡°You know that¡¯s not why I¡¯m upset!¡±

    ¡°Then why are you upset?¡± Zu An asked with a smile.

    Chu Huanzhao¡¯s turned her head away. ¡°You already know the answer.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s put on a pensive expression. ¡°Was it because of what happened in the Immortal Abode?¡±

    Chu Huanzhao huffed angrily. Her small, snow-white face became a bit colder.

    ¡°I really was dragged there by those second and third branch fellows! They wanted to find out about your older sister¡¯s condition, so I had to deceive them and say that it wasn¡¯t a big deal! But they aren¡¯t stupid, so how would they trust me that easily?

    ¡°They wanted to bring me along with them to the Immortal Abode as a test. If there really had been something wrong with your older sister, then I wouldn¡¯t have had the heart to go and y around.

    ¡°I had to beat them at their own game. This was really a huge sacrifice for me! In order to make them think that Chuyan was fine, I had to brace myself and go to that sort of ce!¡±

    Zu An said all of this with a deadly earnest expression. He was even slightly amazed at his own ability to bullshit his way through.

    As for Chu Yucheng and Chu Hongcai... the two of you can just carry all the me for me! It was your fault for calling me out anyway.

    ¡°Are you telling me the truth?¡± Chu Huanzhao¡¯s expression finally eased a little.

    ¡°Of course! You know that I¡¯ve always been an upstanding person, so how could I let myself willingly enter such an establishment if I had a choice?!¡± Zu An said in a righteous manner. He stuck out his chest as he spoke, making himself look even more tall and upright.

    ¡°But... but I heard that the Immortal Abode¡¯s courtesan queen chose you... chose you to... enter her chambers alone,¡± said Chu Huanzhao angrily. Why do all of these wretches keep going after my brother-inw day and night?

    Zu An said with a chuckle, ¡°You¡¯re worrying too much. The two of us only chatted over some tea. We ended up running into ckwind Stockade¡¯s Chen Xuan before our conversation even got that far.¡±

    ¡°Chen Xuan!¡± Chu Huanzhao gave a frightened start. Even someone like her who paid little attention to the n¡¯s matters knew about this great bandit. Chen Xuan plundered the trade routes around Brightmoon City, and had given the Chu n much grief over the years.

    ¡°Brother-inw, nothing happened to you, right?¡± Even though he looked perfectly fine, Chu Huanzhao still tugged on his arm in worry, trying to check for injuries.

    A warm feeling surged within Zu An when he saw her sincere concern. Even though this brat was a little crafty and unruly, she really did treat him well.

    When he¡¯dnded in this world filled with dangers, she¡¯d been the only one who had made him feel some warmth. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m fine. A mere ant like Chen Xuan can¡¯t do anything to me.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Chen Xuan for 431 Rage points!

    Zu An was stunned by the sudden influx of Rage points. What kind of situation was this? Why did he end up receiving his Rage points?

    Don''t tell me...

    Just in time, he noticed a streak of ck approaching. All of Zu An''s hairs immediately stood on end. He grabbed Huanzhao and leaped off of their horses.

    Almost at that same instant, an arrownded where he had just been. The poor horse he¡¯d been on just a moment ago exploded under the powerful impact.

    Chunks of flesh sttered everywhere. Chu Huanzhao''s horse was absolutely horrified, rearing up on its hind legs before bolting for the hills.

    If Zu An hadn¡¯t grabbed her earlier, the consequences would have been too horrible to imagine.

    "What happened?" Chu Huanzhao was so scared that her face had gone deathly pale. She was usually extremely bold, but she had never seen flesh flying everywhere like this before! She held onto Zu An''s sleeves tightly, her body shaking uncontrobly.

    The surrounding Chu n guards snapped out of their shock. All of them hurriedly drew their weapons, protectively encircling the two of them as they began to scan the surrounding area vigntly.

    The people around them were in even greater panic. With all of them screaming and running around hysterically, how were they supposed to find out where the assassin was hiding?

    Zu An seemed to have picked up on something. He turned his head in a certain direction. A red-haired man was standing behind a pir on the third floor, arge bow in hand. When Chen Xuan realized that he had been discovered, he smiled cruelly. He raised a hand and drew his thumb across his throat before disappearing without a trace.

    Zu An frowned. This guys was actually a master at assassination! He immediately fled the scene after a failed attempt.

    Zu An would have preferred to fight the other party right here. If he could hold him here, the problem would have been dealt with once the City Defense Army or more Chu n guards arrived.

    What a pity!

    No wonder this fellow was still alive and well despite being constantly pursued by both the Chu n¡¯s and the City Lord¡¯s forces.

    Zu An¡¯s expression grew grim, knowing that he now had to be constantly on guard against a powerful assassin. This fellow could fail all he wanted, but his life would be forfeit if he messed up even once.

    ¡°Second miss, young master! We weren¡¯t able to find the assassin!¡± A skinny Chu n guard reported after searching the surrounding area.

    This guard¡¯s name was Jiao Shanhe. Although he looked a little like a monkey, he was the most outstanding scout in Chu n¡¯s private army, and was known to be extremely sharp and astute. After Snow¡¯s assassination attempt on Zu An, the n had arranged for him to protect Zu An.

    ¡°The assassin has already left,¡± Zu An said with a disappointed tone.

    Those guards were all stunned. How would you know that? But, having been around him long enough, they hade to recognize that this young master had some secrets, so they didn¡¯t doubt his words.

    ¡°Let¡¯s head to Brightmoon Academy first, just to be safe,¡± said another guard. This was Feng Daniu, the most evenly-tempered of the three guards. He was built like an ox, tall andrge, just as his name suggested.[1]

    ¡°Indeed, no one will dare to cause trouble in the academy. The Chu n will receive news about this soon, so Commander Yue will be there to escort the young miss and young master back.¡± Another guard swept an intimidating look over anyone who tried to approach them.

    This person was another guard the Chu n had assigned to watch over Zu An, named Zhou Lujun. His de technique was just as cold and sharp as his appearance.

    ¡°Okay!¡± Zu An had no objections. The academy was full of powerful individuals. Chen Xuan would bepletely outmatched if he went there.

    Zu An took in the youngdy¡¯s rmed expression, so he tried to console her in a quiet voice. ¡°Huanzhao, don¡¯t be scared. The assassin has already left.¡± She was still young, after all.

    ¡°Brother-inw, did you get hurt anywhere? Oh my goodness, there¡¯s so much blood!¡± Chu Huanzhao finally snapped out of her daze. Her small hands searched his body, a worried expression on her face.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine, this is all horse blood. That horse really had it rough!¡± Zu An felt terrible inside. He hadn¡¯t spent that much time with that horse, but he had always been someone who got attached easily.

    He would definitely make Chen Xuan repay this debt that was owed.

    ¡°That¡¯s good, that¡¯s good.¡± Chu Huanzhao slowly recovered from her shock. After such a bad scare, she hadpletely forgotten about the previous matter.

    Seeing these two holding each other,forting each other so intimately, Jiao Shanhe and the other guards looked at each other in dismay.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t the second miss and the young master a little too close?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think we should get too involved in Master¡¯s family affairs.¡±

    ¡°But what if something really does end up happening between them? Will Master and Madam me us?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think they will. Besides, second miss is still so young. Would young master really do something like that? Does he look like a savage?¡±

    ¡°He kind of does to me.¡±

    ...

    Their party rushed to the academy. A few guards remained at the entrance, while Chu Huanzhao left to attend her sses.

    Zu An went back to his staff dormitory instead. He wanted to wash up and get all of this blood off of him first.

    He had just taken off his clothes when he suddenly heard some activity by the entrance. His heart trembled. Did that Chen Xuan really sneak into the academy?

    With the Tai¡¯e Sword tightly clenched in hand, he swung the door open and thrust outwards.

    ¡°Ah!¡±

    There was a cry of rm. Zu An pulled back his sword in a panic. He immediately grew embarrassed when he saw the stunning beauty before him. ¡°Big sister Shang, why are you here?¡±

    ¡°I noticed someone was in when I was walking by. We haven¡¯t chatted in a while, so I decided to drop in.¡± Shang Liuyu was dressed in a long green skirt today. She quickly recovered from her shock. ¡°Who did you think I was? Why would you suddenly pull a de on me...¡±

    Before she finished her sentence, she noticed the incredible muscles on his exposed upper body. A light flush of color immediately spread across her neck.

    1. Daniu means ¡®big ox¡¯ in Chinese.

 Chapter 262: Clinging On

    <h4>Chapter 262: Clinging On</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Pleasee in first.¡± Zu An stepped to the side and gestured for her to enter. It really would be embarrassing if a passerby saw him standing half-naked outside like this.

    Shang Liuyu hesitated, giving his exposed upper body another look. In the end, her curiosity won out. She entered gracefully.

    Zu An closed the door and said, ¡°We ran into an assassin on the way to the academy, so my mind was slightly on edge.¡±

    ¡°Assassin? Someone wants you dead?¡± Shang Liuyu¡¯s beautiful eyebrows drew together in a frown. She couldn¡¯t think of anyone who would be brazen enough to attack him out in the open. After all, he was not just the young master of the Chu n, but also a teacher at the academy.

    ¡°ckwind Stockade¡¯s Chen Xuan.¡± Zu An filled up a basin of water, and then he exined what happened while he wiped away the horse blood that was still all over him.

    Shang Liuyu turned her head awkwardly to the side, pretending to admire the garden¡¯s scenery. ¡°ckwind Stockade¡¯s Chen Xuan? How did you end up provoking him?¡±

    ¡°He is brothers with Silverhook Casino¡¯s Mei Chaofeng.¡± Even though the two hadn¡¯t spent that much time together, Zu An still trusted Shang Liuyu¡¯s character. He didn¡¯t feel like there was a need to hide anything from her.

    ¡°So that¡¯s what happened,¡± Shang Liuyu said in a gentle voice. ¡°I¡¯ve heard Chen Xuan is at the sixth rank. What are you going to do now?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve always been a tenacious fellow. I won¡¯t die that easily!¡± Zu An said with a smile.

    But inside, he didn¡¯t feel that great at all. If they¡¯d fought head on, the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra¡¯s power boost might give him a chance at winning.

    However, Chen Xuan didn¡¯t have any intention of doing that! He¡¯d gone straight for assassination instead. Zu An was lucky to have been alerted by the Rage points this time, but no one knew if his luck would still be that good the next time.

    Shang Liuyu pondered a while, then fished out a pendant-like object. ¡°Keep this with you. It might be able to save your life at a crucial moment.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Zu An thought that it was a jade pendant at first, but after turning it over in his hands, he found that it was much thinner than a normal jade pendant. It¡¯s quite pretty, though. This white object seems to be glowing with a faint blue light.

    Shang Liuyu hesitated, then replied, ¡°You can just treat it as a jade pendant. It can help you block a single fatal attack. But remember, it will immediately shatter after blocking this attack, so you will be on your own afterwards.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s already really amazing, even if it can only block a single fatal attack!¡± Zu An never expected this little thing to be that useful. He was at a loss for words. He hurriedly tried to return it to her and said, ¡°There¡¯s no way I can ept something so precious!¡±

    Shang Liuyu smiled, but made no move to take it back. ¡°Even the most precious item cannot be as precious as a life. Keep it. I really do not wish to see a rare friend lose his life just like that.¡±

    ¡°Alright, I won¡¯t reject your kindness then. This really is something I need right now.¡± Zu An put away this ¡®jade pendant¡¯. ¡°But I don¡¯t have anything to give you in return at all... do you want money?¡±

    He didn¡¯t have anything precious on him right now. Those heaven-grade ki stones were Mi Li¡¯s, and he didn¡¯t dare to give them away, especially after she had scolded him. He didn¡¯t have any Marrow Cleansing Pills either. Even if he did, Shang Liuyu didn¡¯t even seem like the type who cared that much about cultivating, killing, or stuff like that.

    The only things of value on him were banknotes. Otherwise... he couldn¡¯t just offer his body, right?

    He didn¡¯t really mind that at all, but it was clear that she wouldn¡¯t agree.

    Shang Liuyu smiled faintly. ¡°I¡¯ll pass on the banknotes, but I am indeed a bit curious about what went on in the dungeon. You seem to have changed quite a bit aftering out.¡±

    ¡°No problem!¡± He smiled to himself. Of course I¡¯ve changed a lot! I¡¯m no longer a virgin anymore! Wait... was she really able to tell?

    ¡°Put on some clothes first.¡± She awkwardly averted her gaze as he stood up. All of that masculinity hitting her in the face was just too much. This fellow seemed so delicate and dainty before, but he¡¯s actually like this without his clothes on.

    ¡°Where have my manners gone? Haha...¡± Zu An was used to going shirtless in his previous world. He was just about done with cleaning up, so he threw on some clothes, then proceeded to tell her everything that happened in the dungeon.

    He was quite the storyteller, so his tale sounded exceptionally thrilling.

    Of course, he had to leave out some details because of his promise to Mi Li.

    Even so, Shang Liuyu was astonished. ¡°Many Brightmoon Academy students have entered the dungeon throughout the years, but all of their experiences added up together still pale inparison to yours!¡±

    Zu Anughed proudly. ¡°But of course! This just proves that I¡¯m the chosen one!¡±

    ¡°I really like this optimistic version of you.¡± Shang Liuyu had a gentle smile on her face, which soothed his soul like afortable autumn breeze.

    Zu An fumbled about his pockets. ¡°Oh, I should return that seashell I borrowed from you thest time.¡± He suddenly froze up.

    Only now did he remember that he¡¯d lent Qiu Honglei his robest night, and had forgotten to take the seashell out.

    Seeing his awkward expression, Shang Liuyu said with a smile, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Did you identally lose it?¡±

    ¡°I definitely didn¡¯t lose it. I just left it in a different robe.¡± Zu An was extremely embarrassed. ¡°I¡¯ll bring it to you another time.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no rush.¡± Shang Liuyu got up and said, ¡°It¡¯s time for my ss, anyway. Let¡¯s catch up another time.¡±

    ¡°Sure~¡±

    Zu An watched her figure slowly disappear into the distance. No wonder she has such a great reputation in the academy. How can anyone dislike her?

    Zu An had to get to his ss too. This time, it wasn¡¯t as a teacher. Arithmetic was only an elective in Brightmoon Academy, after all, so there weren¡¯t that many sses to teach.

    Most of his time in the academy was still spent in the Yellow ss, listening to the lectures of his ¡®colleagues¡¯.

    However, just as he reached the door to his ssroom, a hint of fragrance tickled his nose. He heard a cold, arrogant yet dignified voice right by his ear. ¡°Follow me to my office.¡±

    The voice carried unquestionable authority. Who dares to talk to me in such a tone?! Aren¡¯t you making me skip my ss?

    But when he turned around and saw those elegant sses, the body-hugging outfit, and those stunningly long legs, his expression immediately became obsequious. ¡°Understood, gorgeous principal!¡±

    All of the students in the ss popped their heads out of the window when they saw the two of them leaving together.

    Among them, Wei Suo¡¯s neck was definitely stretched out the furthest. He gasped. ¡°Principal is wearing nude-colored stockings again today! She seems to be quite fond of this style recently. Why doesn¡¯t she wear some ck stockings?¡±

    ¡°What do you know? I think this color looks great,¡± someone beside him scoffed.

    ¡°Pah! Of course ck looks the best!¡± Another student supported Wei Suo.

    ¡°If you ask me though, gray is more spicy.¡± Someone else offered up a different opinion.

    The students grew extremely worked up.

    ¡°Um... do none of you like white tights?¡± said a quiet, feeble voice.

    The others all turned around towards him. ¡°Pervert!¡± they shouted in unison.

    ...

    Zu An followed behind Jiang Luofu, his eyes glued to her swaying figure. The cadence of her walk was perfect, and only served to enhance her exquisite beauty.

    If her stride was even a bit longer, it would have seemed vulgar. Just a little shorter, and it wouldn¡¯t have fully disyed her natural, mature charm.

    The principal really is amazing!

    Zu An sighed in admiration. He really couldn¡¯t figure out why that pervert Ji Dengtu showed no interest in her.

    Please don¡¯t tell me the principal isn¡¯t some crazy crossdresser!

    Zu An¡¯s mind froze in fright. He immediately examined her carefully.

    After a thorough assessment, he was certain that she was the most outstanding among all women.

    This made Ji Dengtu a case worth pondering over.

    Lost in his own thoughts, he was startled when he heard Jiang Luofu¡¯s voice. ¡°Close the door.¡±

    ¡°Oh...¡± Only then did Zu An snap out of his daze. The two of them had already arrived at her office.

    Once the heavy door was closed, Jiang Luofu casually kicked off her heels and found a chair to recline into. Her long legs, which drove countless men crazy, were propped up on a stool.

    Her skirt was quite simr to the pencil skirts of Zu An¡¯s previous world. It was difficult for her skirt to cover everything.

    Zu An really had to apud her. Although he clearly couldn¡¯t see a thing, endless temptation still lurked within.

    ¡°Do I look good?¡± Jiang Luofu¡¯s teased.

    Zu An shivered, and immediately looked away. ¡°I didn¡¯t see anything!¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Jiang Luofu sniffed disdainfully. ¡°Who was it that kept staring at me on our way here, then?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s thick skin immediately activated. He hurriedly exined, ¡°I was studying the respected principal¡¯s gait! Your cultivation is amazingly profound, and even your walking is rich in cultivation insight! I took a few extra nces in the hopes of obtaining a breakthrough in my own cultivation...¡±

    Jiang Luofu couldn¡¯t hold back herughter. ¡°You really know how to twist words in your favor! What do you think, then? Did you gain any insights?¡±

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°I haven¡¯t studied it enough. If the gorgeous principal is willing to let me observe earnestly for research purposes, I might just be able toe up with some unstoppable movement technique.¡±

    His shamelessness left Jiang Luofu momentarily speechless. ¡°There is no need for that,¡± she finally said. ¡°The movement technique you disyed during the ns Tournament is already outstanding enough.¡±

    ¡°No, no, it¡¯s absolutely essential! I am a man who believes self-improvement has no bounds. I cannot let myself becent!¡± Zu An hurriedly changed the topic, worried that she might ask about the Sunflower Phantasm.

    Jiang Luofu rolled her eyes at him. ¡°Enough. We have more important matters to discuss. I heard that you were attacked by Great Bandit Chen Xuan on your way here?¡±

    ¡°Gorgeous principal, you have to take responsibility!¡± When Zu An heard this, he immediately ran over and hugged her legs, bawling his eyes out.

    ¡°What does this have to do with me?!¡± Jiang Luofu said impatiently, resisting the urge to send him flying with a kick.

    ¡°It¡¯s obviously because the gorgeous principal killed Mei Chaofeng! Chen Xuan has enough self-awareness to know that he is nothing before you, and so he¡¯s directing all of his hatred at me!¡± Zu An exined the rtionship between Chen Xuan and Mei Chaofeng, and their rtionship with the Shi n.

    ¡°No wonder no one could get rid of Chen Xuan after all these years. There was a mole in the upper echelons of Brightmoon City! So it was the Shi n...¡± Jiang Luofu was so startled by this information, she forgot to kick him away immediately.

    ¡°Is this enough to bring down the Shi n?¡± Zu An asked.

    That fe Shi Kun really is an annoying prick. He even has such a huge n backing him! He is way too dangerous to have as an enemy.

    ¡°How could it be that easy...¡± Jiang Luofu was just about to reply, but her beautiful brows came together in a frown. ¡°Have you had your fill of touching me? Let go already!¡±

 Chapter 263: Fragrant Barf

    <h4>Chapter 263: Fragrant Barf</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An clearly hadn¡¯t gotten enough of her legs yet, but he didn¡¯t want to die, either.

    He immediately let go, his expression as pure and honest as it could be.

    Jiang Luofu finally nodded in satisfaction. She continued, ¡°The Shi n is one of the bigger ns even in the capital, and their members are scattered all over the court¡¯s positions of power. We don¡¯t have much substantial proof to back our ims, and even if we did have something on them, they would just toss out a random scapegoat to take the fall. It wouldn¡¯t even cause a dent in their foundation.¡±

    ¡°Then how do I take down a n like this?¡± Zu An asked, feeling a bit annoyed inside. It sounded like the Shi n was the only who could mess with him, while he was powerless to retaliate.

    How could he stand this?

    ¡°The only way is to have a big n backing you as well, although big ns wouldn¡¯t usually fight to the death even if tensions escted severely.¡± Jiang Luofu replied with a frown. ¡°Of course, you can just ignore all of these things if you be strong enough yourself one day. But there¡¯s no way things would be so easy. Even if your cultivation surpassed the emperor¡¯s, there would still be too many things to worry about.¡±

    Zu An stayed silent. He remembered learning about the emperor¡¯s conflict with King Qi from the Chu n. The emperor was already publicly acknowledged as the strongest expert, yet he still couldn¡¯t aplish what he wanted. This thought immediately discouraged him.

    Noticing his crestfallen expression, Jiang Luofu tried to console him. ¡°You don¡¯t need to feel too down. You already have the Chu n backing you. Together with your status as a student of the academy, the Shi n wouldn¡¯t dare to threaten you openly, no matter how powerful they are.¡±

    Zu An sighed. ¡°Unfortunately, they have no intentions of dealing with me in the open...¡±

    Without anything linking Chen Xuan to the Shi n, neither the Chu n or the academy could do a thing even if Chen Xuan really did kill him.

    ¡°You just need to make it past this period,¡± Jiang Luofu continued. ¡°Shi Kun has already left Brightmoon City and returned to the capital. He¡¯s already too far away to do anything even if he wanted to.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s really left?¡± Zu An had also picked up a few rumors, but assumed that it was just some bluff.

    ¡°Indeed, and he left in quite the hurry too.¡± Jiang Luofu rubbed her temples. She clearly didn¡¯t understand this matter, either. ¡°Do you have any idea why he would leave?¡±

    ¡°No idea.¡± Zu An pretended to look puzzled, but in his mind, he guessed that it probably had to do with the sudden disappearance of Shi Lezhi.

    ¡°Let¡¯s talk about another important matter. Do you still remember what you promised me before entering the dungeon?¡± Jiang Luofu asked.

    Zu An was a little confused. ¡°Are you talking about the takeover of Plum Blossom Sect¡¯s property?¡± he hazarded.

    ¡°Correct.¡± Jiang Luofu smiled in satisfaction. ¡°Mei Chaofeng is already dead, and Plum Blossom Sect has gone up into smoke overnight. Countless people are eyeing their properties and other assets. Like I said before, the academy can¡¯t really step in, but everyone knows that you have a promissory note from the Plum Blossom Sect. It¡¯s perfectly justifiable for you to get involved.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about the specifics. I¡¯ll send some people to help you out when the timees.¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°So I¡¯m only doing this in name, like some sort of representative. The real takeover of all the assets will be taken care of by your people?¡±

    ¡°You can think of it that way.¡± Jiang Luofu leaned back into her couch after saying this, twirling a brush between her fingers in a rxed manner.

    Zu An didn¡¯t voice any objections. He¡¯d already made a deal with the academy¡ªin exchange for the promissory note for seven-and-a-half million taels that he had no way of redeeming, the academy would grant him the position of a teacher. Jiang Luofu had even helped him get rid of Mei Chaofeng personally.

    This was alsorgely the reason why he was able to casually converse with Jiang Luofu like this.

    Otherwise, this greatly-respected principal would have buried his irritating and troublemaking self six feet under a long time ago.

    He turned matters over in his mind. Even though he was adequately satisfied with how things had turned out, there was still something worth bringing up. ¡°Honestly, I don¡¯t even know if I¡¯ll be alive in a week. How can I possibly focus on taking over the Plum Blossom Sect¡¯s property?¡±

    ¡°This Chen Xuan situation is indeed tricky. I don¡¯t care much about his strength, but he really is a slippery character. However, his intent to kill you has given us a good opportunity to capture him.¡± Jiang Luofu stood up, gazing out at the view of Brightmoon City outside her window. ¡°Let me mull over it a little more. I¡¯ll contact you when I think of something.¡±

    ...

    Jiang Luofu¡¯s final words continued to echo in Zu An¡¯s head as walked out of the principal¡¯s office. Why did it sound like he was going to be bait?

    Either way, there wasn¡¯t anything he could do about it. He was merely a pawn in the schemes of others.

    Zu An returned to the ssroom in a gloomy mood. Unsurprisingly, there weren¡¯t many people who dared to look down on him anymore. Even the teachers had begun treating him much better after the events of the dungeon, especially after he¡¯d demonstrated his prowess by almost cleaving Shi Kun in half with his de.

    The ss he returned to was a lecture on the theory of war.

    He actually wanted to learn more about this topic, but he didn¡¯t know anything about this continent¡¯s history. He¡¯d never heard of any of these battles or the ancient countries mentioned, so all of this was gibberish to him.

    He gave up helplessly, and instead began to tally up the Rage points he¡¯d umted.

    This was always the happiest moment for him. He was like a squirrel who stored acorns day in and day out, and was now finally able to enjoy the fruit of hisbor.

    When he saw the total amount of Rage points, he almost jumped in fright. Ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand...

    He thought that there was something wrong with his eyes at first. After checking several times, he realized he¡¯d already hoarded up 321,765 Rage points!

    The two biggest batches of Rage points hade from the Immortal Abode the night before, as well as when he¡¯d used his massive member to assert his dominance in the dungeon.

    A thought suddenly came to his mind. If I¡¯d made a trip around Brightmoon City butt-naked that day, would the system have exploded from the crazy amount of Rage points?

    He quickly dispelled this thought. The sacrifice he would have to make was too much.

    Forget it. This bro still wants to maintain some dignity. My life really would be over if my reputation werepletely trashed as well.

    What he was most worried about were those at the very top of society. No matter their cultivation level, he knew for certain that all men cared deeply about this sort of thing.

    If I end up provoking some freak, he might just cut it off out of jealousy...

    A chill ran between his legs, and they immediately drew together.

    Forget it, I¡¯ll just stick to the old n. I¡¯ll farm the shit out of those simps with a few hot chicks. That¡¯s way safer.

    Having decided on his main source of Rage points going forward, Zu An began drawing the lottery.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    321,765 Rage points meant that he had 3,217 chances.

    The more Rage points I get, the more times I¡¯d have to draw. Won¡¯t my wrist break at this rate?

    Zu An grew momentarily worried about his future, but he still pressed the ¡®Enter¡¯ key to start drawing.

    He¡¯d used toe up with all types of shenanigans, praying to his grandfather and grandmother, doing all types of dumb rituals just to see ¡®Thanks for ying!¡¯ show up on the screen. As such, he already became numb to it.

    He had more than three thousand chances now anyway, so he didn¡¯t bother with any preparations.

    The light marker flickered continuously. Instead ofnding on the ¡®Space¡¯ key, it came to rest on top of the ¡®8¡¯ key.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes wentpletely round. He checked his loot excitedly.

    A small bottle appeared in front of him, containing some sparkling green liquid. Below it was a description:

    Poison Bottle, thrown projectile. Targets caught in the area of effect will be numb and powerless. Ignores the defenses of those at the fifth rank and below.

    Only now did he remember that he¡¯d drawn this item before. He¡¯d been much weaker back then. It was how he had defeated the ckwind Stockade members who attacked Yu Yanluo that time.

    The item¡¯s defense-ignoring properties had been extremely important for his past self.

    However, he didn¡¯t need such items anymore against the opponents that he would be facing.

    This Poison Bottle would be little help against other fifth or sixth rank experts, since it was practically useless against those above the fifth rank.

    As for those of even higher cultivation ranks, he might as well just bend over and let them have at him. Unless they were female, of course.

    No, I don¡¯t even have the Heiress¡¯ Ball of Delights anymore. I can¡¯t do anything even against cultivator beauties. I¡¯ll only have my looks to depend on at that point.

    He put away the useless Poison Bottle and resumed his drawing.

    After a series of ¡®Thanks for ying!¡¯ notifications, he finally managed to draw a Ki Fruit.

    He had three thousand pulls anyway. Zu An pressed the enter key numbly while reminiscing about the button fairy from his previous world.

    Suddenly, his eyes lit up. He noticed that the light marker hade to rest on the ¡®K¡¯ key.

    Congrattions on obtaining the skill ¡®Fragrant Barf¡¯!

    Skill information: When you use this skill, anything thates out of your mouth will sound like the utmost provocation and mockery. Enemy targets who hear your words will be enraged. Enraged enemies will have all their attributes buffed by 10%, and they will do everything they can to kill you. All Rage points produced by this skill will not be collected.

    Friendly warning: Use this skill cautiously. Once used, the effect will never expire. There can only be two results¡ªEither the user kills the enraged target, or the enraged target kills the user.

    Zu An was immediately stupefied when he saw this final warning.

    What kind of stupid-ass skill is this? It buffs the enemy instead?!

    This Keyboard can go to hell before I use this skill!

    This skill might be useful for someone else, but this was a talent he had been naturally born with! He could infuriate everyone with just a few words, and even earn some Rage points along the way¡ªwhy would he give his enemies a buff, let alone start a fight to the death?

    What meaning did this skill have for him?

    No wonder there¡¯s no limit to the usage of this skill. The good stuff like the Heiress¡¯ Ball of Delights and Knock-You-Up Eyes are full of restrictions.

    Only a good-for-nothing ability like Whatcha Lookin¡¯ At has no limitations.

    This Fragrant Barf skill is probably no better.

 Chapter 264: Probing

    <h4>Chapter 264: Probing</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An¡¯s face was as ck as charcoal. The chances of getting a skill were just too rare! Yet now that he¡¯d finally gotten one, he¡¯d ended up with this garbage.

    Seems like it going to be one of those days...

    Sure enough, other than Ki Fruits, there were only ¡®Thanks for ying¡¯ messages.

    He didn¡¯t even get a single bottle of medicine. He really wanted another bottle of Faith in Brother Spring!

    He had no idea when Chen Xuan would pop up again. Knowing that guy, there was no way he was going to up just like that.

    If he had a bottle of Faith in Brother Spring, he could still bounce right back if he was unlucky. Since he didn¡¯t have this to count on, he had to constantly remain on guard.

    This round of drawingted him a total of 320 Ki Fruits.

    Considering the odds, his luck wasn¡¯t actually that bad.

    His mood improved slightly. Making sure no one was paying attention, he tossed these fruits into his mouth one after another.

    His face immediately went rigid when he examined himself.

    What the heck? Why did only a tenth of the formation fill up?

    This was the most Ki Fruits he ate in one sitting!

    He examined himself carefully, and then he noticed where the issuey.

    He was now already at the eighth step of the third rank. Since the number of Ki Fruits needed for each formation increased in ordance with the Fiboni Sequence, he would need 2,584 Ki Fruits to reach the ninth step.

    He¡¯d only eaten 320, so naturally, it would only fill up by slightly more than a tenth.

    In reality, the seventh and eighth formations, which required 987 and 1597 Ki Fruits respectively in order to fillpletely, wasn¡¯t something he could have easily achieved through Rage points alone.

    It had been all thanks to that blood-soaked battle against Mi Li... but of course, that had just been a one-sided butchering.

    Under the effects of the Heiress¡¯ Ball of Delights, his body had suffered countless fatal blows, suffering sh after sh, with blood flying everywhere. Only in such a situation did the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra show its true prowess, allowing him to gain two steps.

    Trying to fill in these formations without such external help seemed like an extremely slow process.

    It was already so hard for him to advance, even when he was only at the third rank. Once he climbed higher, wouldn¡¯t the number of Ki Fruits he needed really reach astronomical quantities? It seemed almost impossible to reach the lofty heights of cultivation.

    He couldn¡¯t find a way to solve this issue no matter how he racked his brains, so he gave up on thinking.

    I¡¯ll just cross that bridge when I get there.

    Without him noticing, the ss came to an end. His desk-mate Wei Suo, unable to hold himself back any longer, immediately scooched over. ¡°Boss, so how did the courtesan queen... taste?¡±

    He¡¯d been dying to ask this as soon as Zu An hade back, but after seeing his knitted brows and gritted teeth, he hadn¡¯t dared ask him anything.

    Since Zu An seemed back to normal, he eagerly seized the chance to ask.

    He was fully aware that Qiu Honglei was far outside his league. However, he could still share this divine experience indirectly through his boss!

    All of the nearby students rushed over when they heard Wei Suo¡¯s question. News of the courtesan queen¡¯s choice had clearly spread like wildfire. All of them looked at him with eager eyes.

    Zu An was embarrassed to admit that nothing had happened, especially in front of all these hopeful eyes. He immediately began to brag. ¡°It was obviously the best! Really a divine experience...¡±

    He blurted out whatever came to mind, throwing them some random plot from an extremely explicit web novel he¡¯d read before.

    Even though Brightmoon Academy had many students from influential families, there were also many from ordinary backgrounds, which was especially true for the Yellow ss.

    All of them were still quite young, so they didn¡¯t have much experience in this area. Their blood began to boil as they listened, their faces and ears flushing red. Their eyes were filled with a jealous hatred.

    You have sessfully trolled the Yellow ss for 66... 66... 66...

    Zu An was miffed. These fes really have no conscience. They¡¯re getting a free audiobook here, yet they still have the nerve to get angry.

    Hmph, whatever. Since you¡¯re already providing me these Rage points, this young master won¡¯t stoop to bicker with the lowly. You¡¯re all forgiven.

    A student ran over to pass on a message. ¡°Ah Zu, someone is looking for you by the door.¡±

    Everyone was already used to his nickname.

    Some students had already beenpletely sucked into his tale. They grew angry at this sudden interruption, wondering who it was that was disturbing them.

    When they turned around, they saw a traditional beauty in a long skirt standing by the doorway, waving at Zu An with a smile.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that the ninth-ranked beauty Zheng Dan?¡±

    ¡°She truly is a fairy-level girl! The fuglies in our ss don¡¯t stand a chance.¡±

    ¡°Her manners are so wonderful. This sort of gentle and sweet-tempered woman is definitely the perfect candidate for a wife!¡±

    ¡°Keep dreaming ,man. She¡¯s already engaged to the Sang n¡¯s young master. Besides, even if she wasn¡¯t, you wouldn¡¯t stand a chance.¡±

    ¡°Then why is she here looking for Ah Zu? This isn¡¯t even the first time.¡±

    ¡°Dammit, now that you mention it, is there some kind of scandal going on here as well?¡±

    ...

    Zheng Dan¡¯s cheeks flushed from all the whispered gossip, and she lowered her head in embarrassment. Her appearance was perfectly bashful and reserved.

    Zu An walked over to the doorway. This shy-looking youngdy dressed in a long skirt really was the textbook example of a Green Tea Bitch from his previous world.[1]

    But she¡¯s just too damn pretty! No wonder it wasn¡¯t really the men who hated this type of green tea...

    ¡°What did Miss Zheng need me for?¡±

    Zhen Dan pursed her lips, hesitating as her eyes darted around. ¡°Can we find another ce to talk? This ce is too embarrassing...¡±

    ¡°Sure, let¡¯s go for a stroll.¡± Zu An thought about bringing her to his staff residence, but he soon abandoned the thought. There wasn¡¯t much time between sses.

    The two of them walked off, shoulder to shoulder like a pair of lovebirds.

    Wei Suo immediately prostrated himself in admiration. ¡°Boss is truly worthy of the title Great Boss! You just yed with a courtesan queenst night, yet Miss Zheng is already throwing herself at you today!¡±

    ¡°Hmph, it¡¯s probably nothing dirty, and not at all like what¡¯s in your head. Miss Zheng is engaged, okay? She probably needs to consult him on some proper business,¡± another student retorted immediately. Learning about the Qiu Honglei affair from the night before had been enough to fill his heart to the brim with jealousy and resentment. Yet now, Zu An was immediately getting together with another beauty right in front of his eyes! The student felt that his small heart was on the brink of shattering.

    ¡°Are the matters between men and women not considered proper?¡± Wei Suo red at him. ¡°So what if she¡¯s engaged? Wouldn¡¯t conquering someone else¡¯s fianc¨¦e bring an even greater feeling of victory?¡±

    Someone else to the side couldn¡¯t help butugh. ¡°Aren¡¯t these some bold wordsing out from your mouth? Are you really imagining yourself in Ah Zu¡¯s ce, since such a thing is impossible for you? Don¡¯t you feel any sense of shame?¡±

    Wei Suo¡¯s face became red. ¡°Nonsense! I am just feeling happy for my boss.¡±

    ...

    When he saw this new stream of Rage points flow in, Zu An grew curious as to what those guys were doing back there. He¡¯d already left, after all. Why were they still angry at him?

    ¡°Ah Zu, I heard that you were attacked by Chen Xuan on the way here. Are you okay?¡±

    The two of them had moved to a more secluded area. Her bashful and reserved appearance had disappearedpletely, and was reced with an extremely concerned expression. She nervously tugged his hand, searching his body for injuries almost frantically.

    ¡°I¡¯m gonna have to charge you if you keep touching me.¡± If he hadn¡¯t already guessed at her intentions, Zu An might really have been bewitched. Her acting skills were far too good. She really did look like a deeply concerned youngdy.

    ¡°Really, what am I going to do with you...¡± Zheng Dan¡¯s face flushed slightly. ¡°Since you can still talk like that, you¡¯re probably fine. I¡¯m so relieved.¡±

    ¡°Many thanks for Miss Zheng¡¯s concern.¡± Zu An reached out smoothly and grabbed her hands. Just what kind of routine does she have to make her hands this soft? Do you soak them in milk every day, or something?

    Zheng Dan pulled back her hands somewhat awkwardly. The image of this man stroking her bare leg shed into her mind again.

    She really didn¡¯t know what hade over her thest time. Things had really gone too far. Zheng Dan warned herself sternly not to repeat that particr disaster again.

    She hadn¡¯t forgotten the reason why she¡¯de looking for him today. ¡°Ah Zu, I heard that Chen Xuan is at the sixth rank! If he¡¯s determined to kill you, you¡¯re surely in great danger!¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°What can I do? Anyway, if pushes to shove, I¡¯ll just hide out in the academy every day. I don¡¯t think he has the guts to enter the academy,¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°You¡¯re actually still quite safe in the Chu Estate. Brightmoon Duke is a mighty eighth rank cultivator, after all, and there are so many other experts in the estate. You even have a master that you can rely on for help.¡± Zheng Dan smiled sweetly, acting as if she was just chatting casually.

    1. The term ¡®Green Tea Bitch¡¯ (ÂÌ²èæ» - l¨¹ cha biao) was poprized some time in 2013. A Green Tea Bitch is a woman who looks pure, sweet and innocent on the outside, but is secretly ambitious inside, willing to sell even her soul for money and sess.

 Chapter 265: Caught in the Act

    <h4>Chapter 265: Caught in the Act</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Master?¡± Zu An was taken aback. ¡°What master are you talking about?¡±

    Zheng Dan said with a smile, ¡°Your lips seem to be sealed pretty tightly. Such a great movement technique like yours doesn¡¯te out of thin air, does it?¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°I¡¯ve always been a genius among geniuses¡ªof course I¡¯m self-taught! Miss Zheng, are you trying to pry some intelligence out of me? It seems your skills in this field are still a littlecking.¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to talk about it then forget it,¡± Zheng Dan said in a huff. ¡°I was genuinely worried about your safety, and yet you¡¯re somehow suspecting my motives!¡±

    Zu An looked her up and down, then said, ¡°If my memory serves me right, I believe Miss Zheng is engaged. How can I not be suspicious when you suddenly seek me out?¡±

    Zheng Dan sighed deeply. ¡°As I expected, this was how everyone would see this... and you, apparently, are no exception.¡±

    She stepped away from him, her eyes bing unfocused as she gazed at the distant horizon. ¡°My marriage into the Sang n was arranged by my father. Even though my n is known as one of Brightmoon City¡¯s four major ns, we are nothing more than a merchant n in the end. We¡¯re nothingpared to an established, top-level n.

    ¡°That¡¯s why all our n elders were ecstatic when they received the Sang n¡¯s proposal, and agreed without a moment¡¯s hesitation.¡±

    ¡°Although the Sang n doesn¡¯t have such a rich history, they are still one of the rising stars in the capital, and Sang Hong is one of his imperial majesty¡¯s favored ministers. Given another year or two, they should rise to be a top-level n. The only reason they proposed an alliance with our n through marriage was because they¡¯re using this time to grow. How could the Zheng n¡¯s elders pass up such an amazing opportunity?

    ¡°It¡¯s just... Why did no one ever bother to ask me for my opinion? Why didn¡¯t they ask me if I like that person, or if I were willing to marry him?¡±

    Her eyes misted over slightly as she spoke.

    Even Zu An couldn¡¯t tell if these were her true feelings, or deliberately feigned. ¡°To be honest, you have no reason to be so discontented either. The Zheng n has provided you with all sorts of advantages since birth, so it¡¯s only natural that you have to bear some responsibility. When youe from an important n, this is just the way things are. Sometimes, you don¡¯t have the freedom to make your own choices.¡±

    Zheng Dan gave him a look of shock. ¡°No one has ever spoken like this to me! Even my closest friends have alwaysforted me, sympathized with me over the unfairness of fate... Your point of view is truly different from everyone else¡¯s.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve always been a fan of saying things as they are. It¡¯s good that you didn¡¯t take it personally,¡± Zu An replied.

    As she stared at him, a conflicted look shed across her eyes. ¡°You really are different.¡±

    Zu An raised his brows smugly. ¡°Is it because I¡¯m incredibly handsome?¡±

    Zheng Dan blushed. ¡°Hmph! Incredibly shameless, you mean,¡± she scoffed.

    The two then chatted idly. Because of what had just happened, neither of them chose to steer the conversation in any real direction. As such, their conversation meandered in a carefree manner, and it became a rxing and enjoyable experience for the both of them.

    The bell rang, signaling the start of the next ss. Just as they were about to go their separate ways, Zheng Dan turned around with a reluctant look. ¡°Ah Zu, you really have to be careful... Don¡¯t let Chen Xuan do anything to you.¡±

    Zu Anughed. ¡°Rx! I still have so much to talk with Miss Zheng about. How could I let someone do me in before then?¡±

    Zheng Dan smiled coyly. ¡°Pah! Can¡¯t you just be decent at least once in a while? You¡¯re still womanizing even though you already have a wife.¡±

    Zu Anughed heartily. ¡°Don¡¯t you have a fianc¨¦ as well? Our situations seem to be matchmade in heaven!¡±

    Zheng Dan couldn¡¯t stand any more of his directness. With an indignant huff, she turned around and left quickly, her face red.

    She hurriedly turned a corner and leaned against the wall. She pressed her hand against her chest, bewildered by the pounding drumbeat of her heart.

    Wasn¡¯t I the one who was supposed to be taking advantage of him? How did our roles end up swapping?

    ...

    The rest of the day¡¯s sses passed by rather quickly. When they were finally dismissed, a wild Chu Huanzhao immediately appeared, snorting angrily at him.

    ¡°Why did that Zheng girl go looking for you?¡±

    Zu An was a little surprised. ¡°News seems to get to you pretty quickly.¡±

    A hint of cockiness appeared on Chu Huanzhao¡¯s face. ¡°But of course! Thisdy has many helpers in this academy...¡±

    She was just about to boast about her glorious achievements when she suddenly noticed something amiss. She huffed angrily. ¡°Stop changing the topic! Why did that slut go looking for you?¡±

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°You¡¯re still just a kid. Stop throwing the word ¡®slut¡¯ around all the time. It¡¯s really not a good look.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s just how I am! Besides, she still goes looking for you even though you have a wife! If she isn¡¯t a slut then what is she?¡± Chu Huanzhao¡¯s eyes wentpletely red, as if she was the one suffering a great injustice. ¡°What, are you already head-over-heels for her?¡±

    When he saw how close to tears this little girl was, Zu An¡¯s heart softened. ¡°Of course not! She wanted to ask me about Chen Xuan¡¯s assassination. She was just a bit worried about my safety,¡± he hurriedly assured her.

    ¡°When did the two of you get so close? Why would she care that much about you?¡± Chu Huanzhao¡¯s eyes flickered dangerously, her hand subconsciously reaching for her Wailing Whip.

    Zu An¡¯s expression grew panicked. He exined in a hurry, ¡°I did save her once before, after all. Besides, isn¡¯t it normal for fellow students to care about each other?¡±

    Chu Huanzhao snorted. ¡°That girl looks all gentle and dainty on the surface, but I¡¯m sure it¡¯s all fake! I just don¡¯t like her.¡±

    Zu An felt his head beginning to throb. ¡°Okay, okay, okay. I¡¯ll just associate with her less in the future, all right?¡±

    Drama really starts easily between girls. This kid¡¯s still so young, but she is already a budding talent in this field.

    Zu An immediately diverted her attention, worried that she might continue pursuing this matter. He pulled out a fine little bottle and said, ¡°Huanzhao, didn¡¯t I promise you a gift? I never figured out what I wanted to give you before, until I recently picked up this interesting thing. Hurry and take a look!¡±

    Chu Huanzhao was taken aback by the sk filled with green liquid. ¡°Is it perfume? I¡¯ve never messed around with those before. But if it¡¯s a gift from brother-inw, I guess I can at least give it a try.¡±

    Dark lines appeared across Zu An¡¯s forehead. ¡°Perfume my ass! Have you ever seen green perfume before?¡±

    ¡°I guess there isn¡¯t any green perfume...¡± Chu Huanzhao chuckled in embarrassment. ¡°What is it, then?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a bottle of paralysis poison.¡± Zu An roughly exined its effects to her, and then he added, ¡°It ignores the defenses of all those at the fifth rank or below. Those caught in its effects will lose all ability to resist.¡±

    ¡°This thing seems pretty good! It¡¯s much more interesting than perfume.¡± A look of excitement appeared on Chu Huanzhao¡¯s face. She immediately fell in love with it.

    Seeing her enthusiasm, Zu An gave an inner sigh of relief.

    The poison bottle was useless to him, so it made the perfect gift for this girl. That was why he was content just to give it away.

    He had been slightly worried that such a gift would be a weird thing to give a girl. Who knew that it would just happen to suit Huanzhao¡¯s naughty nature?

    Chu Huanzhao fiddled with it for a while before carefully putting it away. Then, she looked at Zu An and asked, ¡°Brother-inw, what rank are you now?¡±

    Zu An hesitated. In terms of cultivation, he was currently at the eighth step of the third rank, but his real strength was far greater.

    As he grew in his understanding of the world and gained more knowledge about cultivation from the academy, he¡¯d reached an interesting conclusion.

    Just by filling up his formations one after another using the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, his real strength would be much greater than other cultivators at the same level. This was without taking into ount the Primordial Origin Sutra tempering his body.

    Chu Huanzhao didn¡¯t seem to mind his hesitation. She¡¯d already gotten what she wanted. ¡°You haven¡¯t reached the fifth rank yet, have you?¡±

    ¡°I haven¡¯t.¡± Zu An replied without thinking.

    ¡°Perfect.¡± Chu Huanzhao¡¯s lips spread in a sly smile.

    Zu An immediately sensed something amiss. ¡°What are you getting at? Why are you asking such a thing?¡±

    ¡°Nothing~¡± Chu Huanzhao snickered inwardly, her previously sulky mood vanishing without a trace. She began humming to herself, waving her small hands about and skipping energetically ahead.

    Zu An stared nkly after her.

    Why do I feel like I¡¯ve shot myself in the foot?

    ...

    Aside from Jiao Shanhe and the others, there was another troop of Chu n guards waiting by the entrance to the academy, led by Chu Hongcai.

    ¡°Yo! Brother Hongcai, fancy seeing you here.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    This fe always had a cold and calcting look on the outside. However, after seeing his fanboy side the night before in the Immortal Abode, Zu An suddenly found him much more likeable.

    ¡°When he received news of the assassination, Master dispatched a troop to escort the two of you home after school.¡± Now that he knew that his goddess hadn¡¯t gone to bed with Zu An the night before, Chu Hongcai¡¯s demeanor towards him was also more rxed.

    He had previously held the post of Vice Commander of the estate¡¯s guards, and had been in charge of security around the spiritual creek. Following its contamination, his guilty conscience had led him to resign.

    However, in the eyes of the members of the Chu n, he was still extremely reliable. That was why he had been assigned this task.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to trouble brother Hongcai and the others.¡± Zu An knew that the Madam was most worried about Chu Chuyan¡¯s safety. With her current condition, and the incident with the eighth-ranked intruder, themander Yue Shan had to remain in the estate to protect Chu Chuyan.

    They were already treating this affair quite seriously by sending the previous vicemander.

    Even though their escorts weren¡¯t a match for Chen Xuan individually, they were all elites of the Chu n. It would be difficult for Chen Xuan to deal with all of them if they worked together.

    Of course, this was only if he didn¡¯t bring his own subordinates. But after the events of the night before, the Chu n and the City Lord had already cracked down on all the suspicious people in the city. It was one thing for him to hide out in the city alone, but keeping a huge group in the city was inly courting death.

    ...

    Cheng Shouping was already standing by the entrance when they returned to the Chu Estate. When he saw Zu An, he rushed over excitedly, waving an invitation card in his hands. ¡°Young master, young master! The Immortal Abode¡¯s Qiu...¡±

    Just when he was about to continue, he suddenly caught sight of Chu Huanzhao behind Zu An. The smile on his face instantly froze. His hands disappeared behind him. The feeling of her whip was clearly still fresh in his memory.

    Even though he¡¯d received a bonus from Zu An, the pain from the Wailing Whip wasn¡¯t something even some as greedy as him wanted to experience again.

    ¡°The Immortal Abode what?¡± Chu Huanzhao looked at him suspiciously.

    ¡°Nothing!¡± Cheng Shouping said hurriedly.

    ¡°Is that so? What is that you¡¯re hiding behind you?¡± Chu Huanzhao tried to look behind him.

    Cheng Shouping hurriedly said, ¡°Second miss, your respected self is mistaken! It really is nothing!¡±

    His hands suddenly became empty, as the item he was clutching onto was snatched away. He immediately panicked. He turned around and was just about to demand it back, but he realized he was staring at Madam Qin Wanru. The words caught in his throat, and he forced them back down.

    Qin Wanru didn¡¯t pay him any attention. She opened that invitation card on her own. Her expression immediately turned cold. She stared at Zu An and said, ¡°Heh, so this is an invitation letter from the Immortal Abode¡¯s Qiu Honglei? Amazing... Absolutely incredible!¡±

 Chapter 266: Iâ€™ll Leave If I Have To

    <h4>Chapter 266: I¡¯ll Leave If I Have To</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Many of the men present had jealous expressions when they heard that it was Qiu Honglei¡¯s invitation card.

    Even the Chu n¡¯s guards knew about Qiu Honglei¡¯s reputation.

    This girl was the most popr girl in all of Brightmoon City, and perhaps even in all of the Linchuan Commandery. There wasn¡¯t a single man who didn¡¯t want to get close to her.

    ¡°The young master really has mad skills... he is even on good terms with Lady Qiu!¡±

    ¡°I really couldn¡¯t figure out why our beautiful first miss would end up favoring the young master. It seems like I am still too inexperienced.¡±

    ¡°But Madam has gotten involved... the young master¡¯s in trouble now.¡±

    ...

    Some of them were overjoyed and others were worried, but most of these guards were content to watch the drama unfold from the sidelines. When Chu Hongcai heard that it was Qiu Honglei who had personally sent Zu An an invitation, he almost ripped his eyes out in jealousy.

    He was a die-hard fan of Qiu Honglei, and yet, he had never heard of her taking the initiative to send anyone a personal invitation!

    Normally, for her to ept an invitation and perform a song, or even just make an appearance, was already an incredible honor.

    Even though nothing had happened between the two of them the night before, Lady Qiu was already taking the initiative to contact him! Wasn¡¯t it just a matter of time, then?

    After all, he didn¡¯t really think that anyone could resist Qiu Honglei¡¯s beauty and charm.

    Just thinking about how the goddess of his dreams would soon be ravaged by Zu An was enough to drive him to the brink of tears.

    Gah! They should¡¯ve just gotten it over withst night. Why are you tormenting me like this? Just end my suffering!

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Hongcai for 233 Rage points!

    Zu An nced at him in surprise. There really wasn¡¯t much he could do about this.

    I can¡¯t really me him for breaking the bro code. His goddess is just too hot.

    ¡°I¡¯m talking to you! Why are your eyes wandering off?!¡± Qin Wanru was already in a terrible mood to begin with. Those other drafted son-inws are all nice and submissive, and have a healthy fear of offending their wife¡¯s family. Why doesn¡¯t this fellow have a shred of obedience in him?

    This scoundrel even had the nerve to y around with a brothel girl, and this girl had even chased him all the way back home!

    Once news got out, what dignity would the Chu n have left?

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Wanru for 404 Rage points!

    The notification snapped Zu An out of his daze. Why is this woman always so on edge?

    He was just about to say something when his eyes locked onto her body. Last night¡¯s ¡®little ident¡¯ appeared in his mind, and his expression turned bizarre.

    ¡°We¡¯ll talk about this inside!¡± Qin Wanru¡¯s brow furrowed slightly when she saw him staring at her nkly without responding. She didn¡¯t want to deal with him at the entrance to the estate and turn the n into aughingstock.

    The guards all gave him looks that were both encouraging and pitying at the same time. Cheng Shouping tried to hide at the back of the crowd.

    Zu An red at him. Couldn¡¯t this guy just give it to me in secret? He just had to bber about it right at the entrance and let everyone know.

    Sigh, I really need to swap him out for someone sharper when I get the chance.

    They headed straight for the study, and Qin Wanru took a seat. After everyone else withdrew, she mmed the table hard. ¡°Do you understand what you¡¯ve done wrong?!¡±

    ¡°I have no idea what I did wrong,¡± Zu An replied with a frown. ¡°But since we¡¯re on the topic ofmitting wrongs, isn¡¯t it more inappropriate for you to rip open someone else¡¯s private letter?¡±

    This woman was always trying to start something with him. This shit is getting really annoying.

    Qin Wanru¡¯s eyes went wide with bewilderment.

    She thought she¡¯d heard him wrongly for a moment. How could this guy have the nerve to talk back?

    ¡°You are out of your mind!¡± Qin Wanru¡¯s entire body was shaking. ¡°You are nothing but a drafted son-inw! Your entire existence belongs to the Chu n! There is no such thing as a private letter to you!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Wanru for 530 Rage points!

    Only now did reality strike Zu An. This world was entirely different from his previous one. Drafted son-inws, fugitives, and people of the lower ss were all on the same rung of the social hierarchy. When the country was in danger and it was time to boost the military ranks, they would be the first to be drafted in.

    Even though his status as the Chu n¡¯s young master made him more than an ordinary son-inw, he wasn¡¯t much better off.

    The concept of basic human rights didn¡¯t exist in this world. It seems he had expected too much.

    Even so, as a man, I can¡¯t let someone treat me like this!

    Zu An said coldly, ¡°Since the Madam holds me in such contempt, then forget it! I¡¯ll just leave this Chu n if I have to!¡±

    This woman keeps harassing me again and again! If it wasn¡¯t because of Chu Chuyan and lil¡¯ Huanzhao, I would¡¯ve already left a long time ago.

    He¡¯d helped Chu n keep their share of the weapons market. That alone had saved the Chu n a fortune.

    He¡¯d then given Chu Chuyan the Evanescent Lotus, which had brought her cultivation to the brink of the seventh rank. She was now the greatest cultivation prodigy in this entire world! Having a talent like that in the family would bring them endless glory. Such status could never be bought using gold.

    Right now, he was even toiling hard every night to save her eldest daughter¡¯s life!

    Despite it all, she had never offered him a word of gratitude. Instead, this woman found all types of ways to hound him.

    What had just transpired was truly thest straw. He¡¯d finally had enough.

    Perhaps his mindset had been greatly altered by his life-or-death experiences in the dungeon. He¡¯d already fought against a ninth rank cultivator, and some who were ranked even higher!

    Returning to Brightmoon City, was like returning to a newbie starting town. Even though there were still many experts in this city that could crush him to death instantly, he was much less afraid now.

    After all, he even survived a ce like that dungeon. How could this current situation scare him?

    It would only mean moving out of the Chu Estate. He¡¯d already reached a sufficient level of cultivation to be able to protect himself, and he had money. There was even a residence ready for him in the academy.

    As for Chu Chuyan, he could always sneak back in to administer her treatment.

    This was just the way human hearts worked. Before he had built up enough support to back him up, he had to silently endure whatever came, even if it was injustice wrought upon him by the Chu n. Now that he¡¯d gained sufficient strength, his confidence had also grown.

    His sudden outburst left Qin Wanrupletely speechless.

    Did I hear him wrongly? Has this brat finally gone crazy?

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Wanru for 999 Rage points!

    Chu Huanzhao was already scared out of her mind. She immediately rushed over to her mother¡¯s side. ¡°Mother! That¡¯s not what brother-inw is trying to say! Don¡¯t take his words seriously!¡±

    Qin Wanru finally snapped out of her daze. She pushed away her daughter and focused on Zu An. ¡°You really are letting things get to your head!¡± She said, her voice cold as ice. ¡°So, you want to spread your wings and leave the Chu n? Do you think it¡¯s so easy? If our Chu n doesn¡¯t approve, do you really think you can leave just because you want to?¡±

    Zu An was taken aback. He finally recalled a simr case that had been used as a study in Brightmoon Academy¡¯s criminalw ss. A drafted son-inw couldn¡¯t break his contract just because he wanted to¡ªhe had to obtain the agreement of his spouse¡¯s n first.

    But how could his wife¡¯s n possibly agree? If they made their daughter go through a divorce by kicking out the son-inw, it would be terribly difficult for her to remarry in the future!

    His face darkened at this thought. Was this something he would never be able to get rid of in this lifetime?

    Even though he didn¡¯t mind mooching off his wife, he preferred the sort of mooching where he was still free to do what he wanted. He hated feeling like he¡¯d been kidnapped and trapped.

    Chu Huanzhao grew ever more anxious. She shuttled back and forth between the two of them, trying to calm them down. However, both of them were stubbornly furious, and neither side was willing to back down.

    The two of them were clearly stuck in an impasse, and no one knew what to do. At this instant, Chu Chuyan, who had heard the news, rushed over.

    ¡°Mother, Ah Zu, what are you two doing?¡± she demanded, then broke into a fit of coughing.

    When she heard her daughter¡¯s coughing, Qin Wanru immediately rushed over to support her. ¡°Why did you leave your room? It¡¯s so windy outside! You might catch a cold.¡±

    Chu Chuyan smiled faintly. ¡°Mom, I¡¯m not that weak.¡±

    Qin Wanru was hardly reassured. ¡°Your illness is extremely strange. It was clearly quite serious when Physician Bao examined you previously, yet your condition mysteriously improvedter on. We really don¡¯t know if it¡¯ll worsen again, so you have to be careful!¡±

    Bao Youren had served the Chu n for many years, and everyone recognized his skills in this field. He was not one to make rudimentary mistakes.

    That was why, after their initial panic had passed, Duke Chu and his wife quickly realized that Ji Dengtu had done little to help. Rather, their daughter¡¯s condition had suddenly improved on its own.

    Knowing this only made them more cautious. Since her condition could suddenly improve somehow, then it could conceivably worsen in the same fashion., with no one able to control what happened.

    Chu Huanzhao suddenly said, ¡°It didn¡¯t suddenly make a turn for the better all on its own! It was because of brother-inw¡¯s treatment!¡±

    ¡°Him?¡± Qin Wanru gave Zu An a look. Her voice was full of contempt. Clearly, she was unconvinced that he possessed this sort of skill.

    ¡°It really was brother-inw!¡± Chu Huanzhao became anxious. She was afraid that this would be herst chance to reveal this to her mother. After all, if her mother really did kick her brother-inw out of the Chu n in a fit of rage, what would she do then?

    Unfortunately, her usual behavior and personality didn¡¯t lend her words any natural credibility, and it was difficult for her mother to trust her.

    As such, she turned a pleading gaze at her older sister.

    Chu Chuyan affirmed her. ¡°She is correct. It is indeed Ah Zu who has been treating me. It was because of him that I was pulled back from the brink of death.¡±

    Qin Wanru¡¯s expression was doubtful. Are my daughters saying this just to save him?

    But when she saw the serious expressions on their faces, her doubts slowly faded. ¡°It really was him?¡±

    Chu Chuyan nodded in confirmation.

    ¡°But I¡¯ve always been with you these past few days. Just how did he treat you without me noticing?¡± Qin Wanru¡¯s brows furrowed tightly. She still found this hard to believe.

    ¡°I fed you some drugs...¡± Chu Huanzhao said weakly.

    Qin Wanru was bbergasted. She stared nkly at her second daughter.

    Chu Huanzhao repeated her words again, quietly. Keeping her brother-inw from being kicked out of the n was all that mattered¡ªshe couldn¡¯t be bothered with anything else right now.

    When she registered her daughter¡¯s words, Qin Wanru almost fainted.

    Did I really give birth to her myself?

    Are there truly daughters that do such things to their own mothers?

    No wonder I¡¯ve been feeling so light-headed recently. I don¡¯t even remember much about the evenings. It was all because of this foolish girl!

    The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. She immediately dragged Chu Huanzhao over and began to spank her ferociously. This girl is going to learn today the true meaning of ¡®mother¡¯s benevolence, daughter¡¯s obedience¡¯!

    She was utterly furious, and her beating was ruthless. She smacked Chu Huanzhao until thetter begged for mercy.

    Chu Chuyan said hurriedly, ¡°Mother, little sis only did this to save me. She wasn¡¯t the only one in on it. I also struck your acupointst night to knock you out.¡±

    Her eldest daughter¡¯s words made her freeze uppletely. She blinked her eyes in utter iprehension. She couldn¡¯t immediately process what she¡¯d just heard.

    In order to save her little sister and share the burden of punishment, she exined, ¡°Ah Zu administers my treatment in the evenings, but mother insisted on keeping mepany. He snuck into the roomst night, without knowing that you were there with me. I was worried that you would find out, so I... I struck your acupoint.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    By the time she finished her exnation, her previously pale skin was alreadypletely flushed red. She had always been obedient ever since she was a little child, and had never done something like this before.

    Qin Wanru waspletely dumbfounded.

    Just what kind of sin did Imit in my past life? How did I end up giving birth to these two little fiends?

 Chapter 267: The War Horn Sounds

    <h4>Chapter 267: The War Horn Sounds</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Qin Wanru took a long moment to gather herself. She looked nervously at her daughter. ¡°Even Physician Bao couldn¡¯t do anything. How does he know the correct method of treatment? I¡¯ve never heard of him having any medical skills!¡±

    ¡°He probably learned it from his mysterious master.¡± Chu Chuyan gave Zu An an embarrassed look, and then continued, ¡°He used acupuncture to extract the cold energy bit by bit from my body. I could even sense the changes happening to my body.¡±

    ¡°Acupuncture?¡± Qin Wanru¡¯s expression grew rmed. She said in a hurry, ¡°Physician Bao and Divine Physician Ji have both mentioned that everyone¡¯s bodies are unique. Trying to remove your cold energy this way without having a sound understanding of your body¡¯s condition can easily result in irreparable harm! Stop this treatment immediately! You¡¯re not allowed to do something so risky!¡±

    ¡°He is different... he knows my body well.¡± Chu Chuyan lowered her head in embarrassment, and her ears started to burn.

    Qin Wanru blinked her eyes as she tried toprehend her statement.

    What do you mean, ¡®he knows your body¡¯?

    Chu Chuyan had no choice but to reveal the events that had transpired in the dungeon. She hurriedly added on, ¡°I think it¡¯s because the technique he learned from his master is special. Either way, I can clearly feel my condition improving. Mother, you should be able to tell that my body has be warmer these days too, right?¡±

    ¡°You really do have such skills?¡± Qin Wanru was still skeptical, but a different thought suddenly came to mind. She quickly pulled her daughter to the side and asked quietly, ¡°When he removes the cold energy through acupuncture, do you... have to take off your clothes?¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s face immediately flushed bright red. She lowered her head and mumbled out a confirmation.

    ¡°You took off your clothes?¡± Qin Wanru was absolutely floored. She stared nkly into space for a long moment.

    She knew better than anyone why the Chu n had taken Zu An in. His marriage to Chuyan was a sham, a ruse to deceive outsiders.

    Her daughter had always been extremely proud ever since she was young. She was surrounded by geniuses, yet she had turned down so many other men.

    Qin Wanru really found it hard to understand why her daughter would undress in front of Zu An.

    She was struck by an even more serious issue. ¡°Then the two of you have already... done the deed?¡± she asked in a rush.

    ¡°Mother, what are you saying?!¡± Chu Chuyan blurted out immediately. She was still rather inexperienced when it came to such matters, and her habits as a youngdy weren¡¯t easy to change. How could she shamelessly admit to this in front of her mother and sister? ¡°He only needs to see my back in order to administer the treatment. The rest of... my body is covered.¡±

    Qin Wanru sighed with relief. Even so, it was hard for her to understand why her daughter had agreed to this.

    Yet another matter surfaced in her mind. She lowered her voice and said, ¡°Did he... do anything disrespectful to mest night?¡±

    When she thought about how she had not only been drugged by her younger daughter, but had her upoint struck by the older one, thest of her energy seemed to drain out of her.

    Chu Chuyan recalled how Zu An had hugged her mother all over, thinking that she was her, and her cheeks heated up. She immediately said, ¡°No. I made sure to cover you up properly.¡±

    She knew that her mother was already furious. She might really go mad if she found out what happenedst night.

    Either way, nothing had really happened, so what she¡¯d said couldn¡¯t truly be considered a lie, right?

    It had always been Chu Chuyan¡¯s nature not to tell lies. But after she met Zu An, she noticed herself beginning to blurt out all sorts of white lies.

    At her daughter¡¯s words, the great boulder that had been weighing down on Qin Wanru¡¯s chest finally disappeared.

    ¡°I don¡¯t feel like dealing with this terrible mess anymore. Since the two of you stirred it up, you can also clean it up on your own.¡± With that, she stormed off with a huff.

    Her own daughters had drugged her and struck her upoint, and even dared to go against her to defend another man! This really was too much for her heart to take.

    All of this stemmed from this brat Zu An!

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Wanru for 44... 44... 44...

    Zu An was speechless. He hadn¡¯t expected this woman to still hold so much resentment towards him.

    Chu Huanzhao also felt a little guilty. ¡°Mother, let me apany you...¡± She tried to console her mother, following her as she walked off.

    When they were out of sight, Chu Chuyan turned to Zu An. ¡°You don¡¯t want to stay in the Chu n anymore?¡±

    Zu An felt his resolve wavering as he looked into her enchanting eyes. ¡°It¡¯s mostly because your mother keeps harassing me...¡±

    Chu Chuyan shook her head. ¡°My mother only acts tough on the surface. She had everyone withdraw from the study to help you maintain some dignity. She was going to let you off with some light scolding, but she never expected you to charge at her head-on. This left her in an awkward position.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t just remain her punching bag forever, right?¡± Zu An said with a frown.

    Chu Chuyan said, ¡°Mother isn¡¯t as terrible to you as you think. Her words might have been a little harsh today, but a different n might have ordered you flogged immediately. This is well within thews of the Great Zhou Dynasty, but she didn¡¯t resort to it in the end. Despite her anger, she decided to leave out of consideration for me and Huanzhao, in order to let the mattere to a close. If the situation had be even messier, our Chu n would have been thrown into chaos.¡±

    Zu An shuddered when he heard her mention flogging. The drafted son-inws of this world really don¡¯t have any human rights...

    Of course, if she had taken it that far, there was no way he would have suffered it willingly.

    His status as a drafted son-inw really was a ticking time bomb. Who knew when it would be used against him?

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s voice grew gentle when she noticed his awful expression.

    ¡°Please be understanding. Mother¡¯s mood has been quite terrible recently. First, she was worried about my sudden illness, then Governor Sang Hong began to pressure our n for contributions through a court decree. It¡¯s been very stressful for her. On top of all of this, you just refused to back down, which led to things getting so out of hand...¡±

    She cut off as another bout of coughing came over her. All the talking had clearly agitated her.

    Zu An immediately helped her to sit down. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t get too worked up, especially since you¡¯re not fully recovered yet. You need more rest while your body is still weak.¡±

    Chu Chuyan sat down and drank some water. Herplexion became a lot better.

    ¡°What are these contributions that need to be offered?¡± Zu An asked curiously.

    Chu Chuyan exined it to him. ¡°Whenever the country needs money for disaster relief or anyrge scale projects, they will always call for donations from rich merchants. These are the so-called contributions.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s actually a thing?¡± Zu An blinked in puzzlement. ¡°If it¡¯s something voluntary, can¡¯t we just refuse?¡±

    ¡°How can it be that simple?¡± Chu Chuyan shook her head. ¡°It seems voluntary on the surface, but in actual fact, it isn¡¯t. Those asked to make these contributions are all great and wealthy ns, and the reason why these ns had been able to grow in the first ce was mostly due to the policies of the royal court.

    ¡°If you refuse to contribute, the smaller ns under you would be more than willing to take your ce. They¡¯re eager to obtain this sort of opportunity, because it could influence the court to enact policies that are favorable to them.

    ¡°Our Chu n is involved in the salt and arms trade. We are the most wealthy n in all of Brightmoon City, perhaps even within the nearbymanderies as well. There is no way for us to dodge the payment of these contributions.¡±

    ...

    Zu An gradually picked up on the situation. ¡°ording to what you¡¯re telling me, this contribution is a political contribution. The rich merchants offer up some of their wealth, and the court will treat them favorably, resulting in a win-win situation. Why would this be such a vexing situation for us?¡±

    Chu Chuyan exined, ¡°Let¡¯s exin things using the salt industry as an example. The royal court¡¯s certifying system has helped some salt merchants achieve market dominance and earn tremendous profits, and the royal court expects some form of reciprocation. Those same salt merchants understand that the reason for their current sess ispletely due to the royal court¡¯s policies. That¡¯s why they don¡¯t oppose these contributions at all.

    ¡°But, if the court were to ask for contributions every few days, no n¡ªno matter how rich or powerful¡ªwould be able to tolerate such tant milking.

    ¡°Even more galling is the fact that our Chu n has owned ournd for centuries. Our prosperity today isn¡¯t because of any favor bestowed on us by the royal court. Rather it is built upon the salt and iron mines that we obtained through our own blood and sweat. In fact¡ªand this is heartbreaking¡ªour Chu n has owned thisnd since before the Great Zhou Dynasty had even been founded.

    ¡°Not only have we not received any benefits from the court these past few years, yet we¡¯re now being pressured to make contributions. Of course there¡¯s some unwillingness on our part.¡±

    Zu An was bbergasted. ¡°From your tone, it¡¯s almost as if the Chu n has already decided to rebel,¡± he observed.

    ¡°Don¡¯t spout such nonsense,¡± Chu Chuyan replied, giving him a stern look. ¡°We are merely a little dissatisfied. Things haven¡¯t reached that point yet. Besides, the royal court is currently rich and powerful. Even if we did have such thoughts, acting upon them would be nothing more than courting death.¡±

    ¡°This will definitely make your n a thorn in the side of the royal court, though.¡± Zu An sighed. ¡°If I were the emperor, I would get rid of you first.¡±

    ¡°Actually, there are still quite a few ns like ours who are simrly powerful, and cannot be eliminated just because the emperor wants them gone. If he did so, the whole country could easily rise up in rebellion,¡± Chu Chuyan replied. ¡°That is why the emperor can only act through the system ofws. Sang Hong came here precisely to carry out this task. They have their eyes set on our salt and iron mines, but they can¡¯t tantly steal them from us.

    ¡°Both sides will continue to fight covertly to see who can have thestugh.¡±

    Even though Chu Chuyan¡¯s voice remained calm throughout, her brows slowly knitted together with worry.

    Zu An waspelled to offer his opinion. ¡°As the saying goes, ¡®the branches of a tree will always be at the mercy of the roots¡¯. I can¡¯t help but feel that your Chu n is walking further and further down a path of destruction.¡±

    Chu Chuyan narrowed her eyes at him. ¡°Of course we¡¯re aware of that. But we can¡¯t just let the foundations established by our Chu n ancestors crumble under our watch, right? That¡¯s why, even though we know the odds are stacked against us, we still have to try our hardest. This is the glory and devotion we hold towards our n.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. Her face seemed to glow with a strange radiance as she spoke.

    Rarely did his previous world have families like this, so it was quite hard for him to understand their decisions. This was eye-opening for him.

    If it was a question of morality, then regardless of whether it was the emperor, the royal court, or the Chu n, none of them were wrong. They all had their own motives and objectives. In the end, this was just a sh of interests.

    ¡°By the way, what¡¯s with that Qiu Honglei? Why did she suddenly contact you?¡± Chu Chuyan asked. She stared at him with a strange expression.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what she¡¯s thinking either. Don¡¯t worry, nothing happened between us. I still have to defend my purity for your sake!¡± As Zu An said this, he suddenly recalled what had transpired between him and Snow, and his resolute attitude crumbled.

    Although, now that I think about it, wasn¡¯t Snow offered to me right from the start? Strictly speaking, I didn¡¯t really let Chu Chuyan down.

    His self-righteousness immediately shot back up.

    ¡°Defend your purity?¡± Chu Chuyan sneered. ¡°Was she the one that left you that lipstick markst night?¡±

    Zu An ground his teeth silently.

    Why do you still remember that?

    Chu Chuyan sighed, then said, ¡°Just don¡¯t run around anymore today. Chen Xuan already tried to assassinate you this morning. Don¡¯t give him another chance.¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    As she spoke, she fished out a booklet from her inner pocket and handed it to him. ¡°This is for you. If you spend your idle time cultivating, it might just give you anotheryer of protection against Chen Xuan.¡±

    ¡°What is this?¡± Zu An was stunned. He reached out to take it. The cover bore the words ¡®Snowke Sword¡¯.

 Chapter 268: Lust Leads to Bitter Consequences

    <h4>Chapter 268: Lust Leads to Bitter Consequences</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°This...¡± Zu An was overawed when he saw these words. Isn¡¯t this the n¡¯s most important technique?

    Chu Chuyan blushed. She turned away to avoid his gaze, and said with exaggerated casualness, ¡°I just don¡¯t want that Chen Xuan to kill you. If that happens, I won¡¯t have anyone to treat me anymore.¡±

    Zu Anughed heartily, a huge smile on his face. He put the booklet away. ¡°I¡¯ll definitely treasure such a precious thing properly.¡±

    Chu Chuyan nodded, satisfied at how carefully he stowed it away. ¡°Look it over on your own first. You can ask me about anything you don¡¯t understand. I¡¯ve already studied it before, after all, so I have more experience.¡±

    Zu An patted his chest and said, ¡°Rx! Don¡¯t you know how talented your husband is? There¡¯s no way I wouldn¡¯t understand it! I¡¯ll master it quickly.¡±

    Chu Chuyan stared at him, her mouth falling open.

    Wasn¡¯t this guy¡¯s aptitude at cultivation already extremely clear? He was in the Yellow ss, for goodness¡¯ sake!

    She chose not to say anything, treating it as empty masculine bravado. She¡¯d just find a way to help him out when he needed it.

    ¡°Make sure you take good care of this secret manual. You absolutely must not lose it,¡± Chu Chuyan warned him. After all, she knew how frivolous this fellow normally was.

    Zu An scooted over to her with a smile on his face and nudged her slightly. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Is it because this manual is actually a great Chu n secret? Aren¡¯t you being a little too careless, allowing someone like me to learn it?¡±

    Chu Chuyan shrunk back, avoiding him somewhat ufortably. ¡°Stop thinking nonsense. You¡¯re the young master of the Chu n, so you aren¡¯t an outsider. It isn¡¯t out of the question for you to learn it. As long as you... as long as you don¡¯t go out and teach this to other girls.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyebrows twitched. ¡°Are you jealous?¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t have anything else to say, I¡¯ll take my leave.¡± Chu Chuyan spun on her heels, her face red. She was clearly not used to talking about such things with him.

    ¡°Wait!¡± Zu An hurriedly grabbed her hand. The smile on his face also gradually faded. ¡°The Chu n seems quite troubled by this issue of contributions. How much silver do you need? I still have quite a bit. It should be enough to help the Chu n get through this.¡±

    Chu Chuyan shook her arm subconsciously, but couldn¡¯t shake him off, so she let him have his way. ¡°Keep that money for yourself. The Chu n hasn¡¯t fallen so far as to require our son-inw¡¯s personal fortune to bail us out.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face scrunched up slightly.

    Why do these words sound so strange? It¡¯s almost like what those men from the past would say, like ¡®I won¡¯t ever use my bride¡¯s dowry¡¯, or something.

    Seeing his expression, Chu Chuyan thought that she had somehow hurt his ego. ¡°Don¡¯t think about it too much,¡± she quickly assured him. ¡°Our Chu n is still a huge n. Things have just gotten slightly more difficult now, mostly because our arms business has suffered a huge blow, which is affecting our revenue.

    ¡°On top of that, the illicit salt trade has started to get out of hand recently, so our Chu n is facing difficulties even selling our salt. That¡¯s what¡¯s been causing headaches all around.¡±

    ¡°Illicit salt?¡± Zu An stared nkly. That term had confused him.

    Chu Chuyan exined the situation to him. ¡°ording to the court¡¯s decree, after any salt is extracted through boiling, it must be sold to a government agent, who will purchase all of it. The transportation, buying and selling of salt all has to be done through the royal court. Everyone else is prohibited from circting salt.

    ¡°However, illicit salt is inexpensive, so ordinary people would choose to purchase this illicit salt instead, which fuels the illegal trade. Smuggling illicit salt is also extremely lucrative, so there are always eager criminals willing to take part, no matter how many smugglers get caught.¡±

    In the past, she would have never spoken about these things to anyone else, and would have shouldered the responsibility alone. Yet she had just unexpectedly told Zu An everything. Perhaps, because of what they¡¯d gone through together in the dungeon, she had subconsciously decided that he was trustworthy, and that he could help her share this burden.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but sigh. ¡°The illicit salt is so much cheaper than yours, but their profits are still so high. Can¡¯t you guys just drop the price a bit? That way, there won¡¯t be room for the illegal salt trade to survive, and no one would be willing to take the risk of purchasing illicit salt.¡±

    ¡°If only it were that easy,¡± Chu Chuyan said, sighing deeply. ¡°Do you think we want to keep the price of salt so high? It¡¯s just that the costs of selling salt legally are so much higher than just selling it illegally, and that¡¯s discounting all the other ways the government abuses their authority. Take the salt permits, for example. We need to pay the authorities 1.5 silver taels for each salt permit, and each permit only allows us to sell around 200 jin[1] of salt. Just securing these permits costs a small fortune.

    ¡°Moreover, because there may be a shortage of permits, we would need to purchase some ahead of time. This adds another 2.1 silver taels on top of the base cost of 1.5 silver taels. These are all costs the court has added onto us.

    ¡°Other headaches, like the contributions that the court has requested, also drives up our costs.¡±

    ¡°You can now imagine just how high the costs are just to sell salt legally.¡± Chu Chuyan seemed extremely familiar with all this. ¡°It only costs us ten qian[2] to cook and process the salt. However, after being weighed down by all these extra costs¡ªand taking into ount any seasonal fluctuations in price¡ªwe can only make a profit if we sell our salt at between one hundred to three hundred qian per jin.

    On the other hand, illicit salt doesn¡¯t incur such crazy costs at all. That is why it¡¯s sold at around twenty to thirty qian per jin. Who would ever buy our legal salt?¡±

    Zu An looked at her with a dazed expression. He¡¯d never expected the calm, elegant and otherworldly goddess Chu Chuyan to speak about matters of business in such detail, down to the very finest margins.

    ¡°What are you looking at me for?¡± Chu Chuyan noticed his change in expression as well. Her cheeks started to feel warm.

    Zu An gently took her hands in his. ¡°You¡¯ve had to manage the affairs of such a big n all alone, and for all these years. It must¡¯ve been difficult,¡± he said solemnly.

    Perhaps because of the serious injuries she¡¯d suffered recently, her body, heart and mind all seemed to have softened slightly.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s heart suddenly ached when she heard Zu An¡¯s words. For so many years, she had never spoken about these troubles to anyone else before.

    Although she enjoyed cultivation, much of her attention had to be directed towards managing the Chu n¡¯s businesses.

    If it wasn¡¯t because of this, her cultivation might have already reached another level, especially given her aptitude.

    Not only that, she had always been fond of reading romance novels ever since she was young. She adored anything rted to romance and love, just like any other girl. Yet, in order to make sure others took her seriously, she always put on a cold and haughty exterior. Over time, even she had begun to forget which was her true self.

    ¡°It¡¯s no big deal. I¡¯ve already gotten used to it a long time ago.¡± Chu Chuyan took a deep breath to calm her emotions. Her vision blurred, and she turned away to prevent Zu An from noticing.

    Zu An¡¯s voice was heavy with emotion. ¡°It¡¯ll be different from now on. You have me now. I will help you deal with some of your burdens.¡±

    When she noticed his intense gaze, Chu Chuyan suddenly felt her heart tremble. She pushed him away instinctively. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯ve said a little too much today.¡±

    She didn¡¯t wait for his reply. She fled without even turning back once.

    Zu An waspletely dumbfounded. What¡¯s going on? I¡¯ve already made such a serious vow. Can¡¯t you at least give me a response?!

    As he looked at Chu Chuyan¡¯s diminishing silhouette, Zu An began to stroke his chin, in perfect imitation of a domineering CEO from his previous world. Woman, you have seeded in drawing my interest!

    ...

    When Zu An finally left the study, his stomach suddenly growled. Only then did he realize that no one had called him for dinner.

    Qin Wanru definitely didn¡¯t want to see him after what just happened. There was no way she would call him over to dine together.

    It seemed that no one else wanted to get caught in the mess either, after witnessing Madam¡¯s anger.

    Zu An felt like he¡¯d beenpletely forgotten.

    Since he wouldn¡¯t be able to get anything to eat at home, he figured that he would look around outside instead.

    Didn¡¯t Qiu Honglei invite him to meet her? He¡¯d just mooch dinner off of her, then. Besides, he still had to retrieve Shang Liuyu¡¯s seashell.

    He retrieved the invitation card from Cheng Shouping. When Cheng Shouping heard that he was headed to Immortal Abode, he was taken aback. ¡°Young master, Madam got mad at you not too long ago! Isn¡¯t it a little inappropriate for you to go out now?¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t talk about it and I don¡¯t either, how will Madam know?¡± Zu An snorted. ¡°Besides, Madam¡¯s anger has already been dealt with. You don¡¯t have to worry about it.¡±

    Even though he spoke casually, Cheng Shouping still wasn¡¯t fully convinced.

    Zu An patted Cheng Shouping¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you wanted to tag along the next time I went to the Immortal Abode? Look how well this young master treats you! Just follow me, and you¡¯ll get to broaden your horizons.¡±

    His invitation frightened the living daylights out of Cheng Shouping. ¡°Young master, please spare me! I still want to live a little longer!¡±

    Just the idea of facing Madam¡¯s fury left him beyond terrified, let alone the terrible beating he would suffer if the second miss learned of this. He didn¡¯t dare take his chances.

    The young master might get away with a light scolding on ount of his status, but I¡¯m just a humble servant! I¡¯ll definitely get the shit beaten out of me!

    When he saw that Cheng Shouping wouldn¡¯t go no matter what, Zu An didn¡¯t waste any further effort on him. He decided to head out on his own.

    As he was about to leave, Jiao Shanhe and the other two guards who were assigned to protect him rushed over. When they learned that he was headed to the Immortal Abode, all three of them advised against it.

    ¡°Young master, this really is too dangerous!¡±

    ¡°Indeed! Chen Xuan is still lurking in the shadows and waiting to kill you! The only reason he hasn¡¯t attacked again is because he can¡¯t do anything to you in the academy or in the Chu Estate, and there were guards escorting you on the way back today. We might be able to deal with an ordinary attacker, but Chen Xuan is at the sixth rank! He¡¯s also a slippery character. I fear that we won¡¯t be able to protect the young master if you go out now!¡±

    Zu An ignored his guards¡¯ earnest and well-meaning advice. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. If ites to that, I¡¯ll protect you guys.¡±

    With that, he strutted out.

    Jiao Shanhe, Feng Daniu and Zhou Lujun stared nkly after his departing silhouette.

    The young master has beenpletely bewitched by beauty! He is actually willing to take such huge risks to see that Qiu Honglei!

    Lust really does lead to bitter consequences!

    His Keyboard system came alive with notifications about iing Rage points. Zu An didn¡¯t bother to exin himself.

    He¡¯d given some thought to the issue of Chen Xuan, and had a n in mind to settle things once and for all. After all, he wasn¡¯t willing to spend the rest of his life running scared. What he needed to do now was to bait him out.

    He was heading to the Immortal Abode precisely because he wanted to give Chen Xuan an opportunity to assassinate him.

    1. One ¡®jin¡¯ (½ï) is equal to 500 grams, or slightly over 1 pound.

    2. Ten qian is roughly equal to one silver tael.

 Chapter 269 - Who the Hell Said Mooched Food Doesnâ€™t Taste Good?

    <h4>Chapter 269 - Who the Hell Said Mooched Food Doesn¡¯t Taste Good?</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Jiao Shanhe and the other two guards suggested that Zu An travel in a carriage today. There was no way anyone could recognize him if Zu An was inside an enclosed carriage. This would add anotheryer of protection.

    Zu An rejected this suggestion. If they did this, his line of sight would be blocked, and he wouldn¡¯t be able to notice danger ahead of time.

    This was a matter of life and death! He didn¡¯t want to hand his enemy the initiative.

    Zu An rode proudly along the street as if announcing his presence to the entire world. His three guards were leftpletely speechless. However, since things had already turned out this way, they could only grit their teeth and pray that nothing happened.

    A distance away, a peddler secretly released a pigeon into the sky.

    A short whileter, the same pigeonnded in a hidden courtyard, and a red-haired man removed a small slip of paper from its leg. He frowned when he read the coded message. ¡°He left so quickly, and with just three guards?¡±

    One of his subordinates beside him said excitedly, ¡°This kid really has a death wish! This is a great opportunity! Let¡¯s just get rid of him now and avenge the second boss!¡±

    Chen Xuan immediately roared back at him, ¡°Remember what I¡¯ve taught you! Never underestimate your enemy¡ªonly then can you live a long life! This bastard Zu An took down Plum Blossom Sect and even ended your second boss¡¯ life! Do you really think he¡¯s some idiot?¡±

    That subordinate shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s more like it.¡± Chen Xuan snorted. ¡°In my opinion, this is surely a trap to draw me out.¡±

    ¡°But what if it isn¡¯t? It¡¯ll be such a huge waste to let this chance go...¡± the subordinate muttered.

    Chen Xuan pondered a moment. ¡°I¡¯ll take a look around and make a move if there¡¯s an opportunity. The rest of you, stay here. There are people looking for us everywhere in the city. It¡¯ll only be more dangerous if all of youe along.¡±

    ¡°You have to be careful boss!¡± The others all sped their fists and voiced their acknowledgement.

    Chen Xuan grunted in approval, and slipped out of the residence secretly. Only after noticing that there was no one around did he remove the thin mask on his face.

    With the mask removed, his face began to change slowly, his features bing ordinary, and in enough that he wouldn¡¯t draw any attention in a crowd.

    Even his head of fiery hair turned ck, which was the mostmonly-seen color.

    This was the ckwind Stockade¡¯s Chen Xuan, someone who had run rampant for so many years. He had done so many outrageous things, yet no one could ever catch him. How could someone like him be hot-headed and impulsive?

    His appearance in the Immortal Abode¡ªwith a head of bright red hair and an arrogant and aggressive demeanor¡ªwas an image he had deliberately created. He wanted everyone to associate him with red hair.

    How could someone like Chen Xuan be dumb enoug to show his true appearance to others?

    Not even the members of the ckwind Stockade knew that he always wore a mask.

    He was already well-acquainted with betrayal in all its various forms, having walked the thin line between life and death since his youth. There was no way he would reveal his trump cards to anyone else.

    Chen Xuan took off, heading straight in Zu An¡¯s direction. With his natural speed, he was able to quickly catch up.

    He observed Zu An for a while in secret, but didn¡¯t notice any sort of ambush nearby.

    An evil grin appeared on his face. Just as he was about to make a move, he suddenly noticed Zu An¡¯s excessively carefree expression. The brat looked like he was marching in a parade or something, as if he was scared others wouldn¡¯t notice him.

    He hesitated. What the hell?

    He took a few moments to reconsider. A thought suddenly struck him. He¡¯d figured out what was going on!

    Against someone like him, a normal ambush wouldn¡¯t work. There had to be another top-level expert hiding nearby. It might very well be Chu Zhongtian, or even the academy¡¯s Jiang Luofu.

    With the considerable skills that those two possessed, he obviously had no way of locating them.

    Holy shit! I almost fell for his trap!

    Chen Xuan mopped away the cold sweat pouring from his forehead. He stared fiercely at Zu An, who was still a distance away.

    This little bastard really is treacherous!

    You have sessfully trolled Chen Xuan for 666 Rage points!

    Zu An felt a chill run through him when he saw the Rage pointse in. He put up his guard immediately, and secretly examined his surroundings, trying to find out where Chen Xuan was.

    There was no way for him to know that Chen Xuan¡¯s current appearance wasn¡¯t that of the red-haired man he had in his mind.

    Even though he was discreet with his movements, they didn¡¯t escape the detection of an experienced cultivator like Chen Xuan.

    A wave of shock ran through Chen Xuan¡¯s mind as he immediately picked up on Zu An¡¯s unusual behavior.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    With his cultivation level, there shouldn¡¯t be any way for this kid to have noticed me!

    Did that hidden expert notice him?

    He began to panic. After all, he was appearing as his real self right now! It would certainly spell trouble if he were to be seen.

    However, he was still a veteran in this field. Maintaining a casual air, he continued his act as an ordinary pedestrian and left the street.

    He continued walking for a few more blocks, making sure that no one was following him. Satisfied that he had evaded any pursuit, he finally sighed in relief. ¡°I have to be more careful in the future. That was too close...¡±

    Meanwhile, Zu An scoured his surroundings thoroughly, But couldn¡¯t even find a single trace of Chen Xuan. He didn¡¯t receive any more Rage points from him either.

    He finally came to the conclusion that Chen Xuan had probably slipped away.

    Did I make it too obvious?

    Zu An reviewed his actions. From the intelligence he¡¯d gathered on this fellow, Chen Xuan was craftier than a fox, and more cautious than a mouse. It might not be that easy to bait someone like that into a trap.

    Without being aware of it, they had already arrived at the Immortal Abode. Upon seeing the personal invitation card from Qiu Honglei, a servant girl quickly brought him to Immortal Abode¡¯s rear courtyard.

    After the disturbance thest time, Qiu Honglei didn¡¯t bother with anything as extravagant as a river boat this time. She received him in her room instead.

    Zu An nted himself unceremoniously at the table and began wolfing down the food in front of him. Qiu Honglei was stunned. ¡°Not many men think of food when theye to this sort of establishment. You might be the first.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t help it, I¡¯m starving. My stomach was rumbling the whole way just thinking about all the good food here,¡± Zu An said as he shoveled more food into his mouth.

    Qiu Honglei handed him a cup of tea. She frowned disdainfully at his rather sloppy table manners, but quickly covered it with a slight smile. ¡°Slow down, no one is trying to steal your food.¡±

    Her expression was so alluring, it would have been enough to suck the soul right out of one¡¯s body. It was a pity that Zu An waspletely preupied with his food, and paid scant attention to the beautiful scenery in front of him.

    ¡°By the way, how are those buddies of mine doing?¡± Zu An asked, drinking the tea she gave him.

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s smile broadened. ¡°Aren¡¯t you the loyal one? Don¡¯t worry, they will be suitably entertained, to ensure that their trip wasn¡¯t made in vain.¡±

    Zu An was a little stunned at her ambiguous statement. He just wanted to get those guys a bite to eat as well. Why did he suddenly feel like he¡¯d signed up for some huge package?

    After all, with Qiu Honglei¡¯s status, how could her arrangements be poor?

    Those fes really are getting a good deal here! That idiot Cheng Shouping has no idea what he''s missing out on.

    Hold on... I¡¯d better not be the one footing the bill for their expenses...

    Damn it, I¡¯ve been scammed. I only came here for free food. I didn¡¯t get anything special for myself, while those guys are having the time of their lives. Yet I¡¯m the one who has to pay?

    He began to curse himself for his stupidity. Something seemed to spark Qiu Honglei¡¯s curiosity. ¡°Does the glorious Chu n not even provide you with a meal?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯splicated...¡± Zu An gave her a rough summary of what went on between him and Qin Wanru, leaving out some confidential details.

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s indignance was in to see. ¡°How can the Chu n treat someone with young master¡¯s character andpetence so poorly?! Honglei feels injustice in young master¡¯s ce.¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°Can I interpret this as you secretly inciting disharmony between the Chu n and me?¡±

    Qiu Honglei sniffed in displeasure. ¡°I only said this because I treat young master as a friend! Who would dare speak poorly of Brightmoon Duke¡¯s n otherwise?¡± she whined yfully.

    ¡°All right, it¡¯s my bad for doubting your noble character.¡± Zu An couldn¡¯t help but sigh inwardly. Everyone always says that brothel girls know exactly what to say to make you feel better. It seems like I¡¯ve gotten firsthand experience today.

    Even though it was clear to him that this girl was still putting on a show, it still felt amazing.

    Qiu Honglei smiled. ¡°This humble one doesn¡¯t have a noble character. I am just an ordinary girl. I am already truly thankful that young master doesn¡¯t find my words too short-sighted.¡±

    ¡°Lady Qiu must be joking. How is this considered short-sighted? Then what do we call the countless men from Brightmoon City who prostrate themselves in front of you?¡± Zu An replied with a smile.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter how many other men prostrate themselves before me. If I cannot move the young master¡¯s heart, then all of that ispletely meaningless.¡± Qiu Honglei¡¯srge and beautiful eyes stared into his own, two beautiful, swirling pools filled with an enchanting radiance.

    Zu An inwardly praised her skills. This woman really was a seductive witch, the sort that dragged others down straight to hell.

    Qiu Honglei clearly didn¡¯t want to take things too far. She quickly softened her gaze and said with a gentle voice, ¡°By the way, Is it true that young master was attacked by Chen Xuan in the morning?¡±

    ¡°News really reachesdy Qiu quickly,¡± Zu An said in surprise.

    ¡°I too was almost harmed by Chen Xuanst night, so I paid special attention to any information on him. Young master, please wait a moment.¡± Qiu Honglei suddenly got up and hurried into the inner hall. She came back soon after, and handed him a set of jade strips. ¡°Please ept this. It might be of some help to the young master.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He noticed some words on the glossy surface: ¡®Mirror Mirage¡¯.

    With a flicker of light, the words faded into the jade strips again.

    ¡°What are these?¡± Zu An asked curiously.

    Qiu Honglei replied, ¡°The cultivation method ¡®Mirror Mirage¡¯ is recorded in these strips. This secret art allows one to hide their cultivation, and can also mask your aura. Your enemies won¡¯t be able to sense these things about you.

    ¡°Chen Xuan is currently hiding in the darkness, waiting for an opportunity to assassinate young master. After much thought, Honglei decided that a movement technique would be unhelpful, as it would be too hard to learn quickly. That¡¯s why I found this secret technique. This might grant young master a higher chance of survival against Chen Xuan¡¯s attacks.¡±

    Zu An was awestruck. Shang Liuyu had gifted him a jade pendant, Chu Chuyan had given him ¡®Snowke Sword¡¯, and now he had obtained a secret art of camouge from Qiu Honglei...

    Who the hell ever said mooched food doesn¡¯t taste good?

 Chapter 270: A Beautiful Womanâ€™s Deep Affection

    <h4>Chapter 270: A Beautiful Woman¡¯s Deep Affection</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Who else has reached my level of awesomeness as a man?!

    It¡¯s not that I want to criticize all of the men I¡¯ve met so far, but all of you are trash!

    If Zu An had a tail, it would be pointing straight at the ceiling right about now.

    However, he did find things a little strange. For better or for worse, Shang Liuyu was already a close friend of his. After the interactions that they had, it wouldn¡¯t be a stretch to say that even their souls had grown closer together. There was even less of a need to talk about Chu Chuyan¡ªshe was his wife, after all. The two of them had gone through a life-or-death ordeal together, and had even engaged in the most intimate exchange...

    It wasn¡¯t strange for them to give him such items at all.

    But this Qiu Honglei, on the other hand...

    The two of them had clearly tried to deceive each other right from the very start, both of them scheming endlessly in hopes that the other would fall into their trap first.

    Their interactions seemed full of joy and affection, but Zu An knew just how much of it was merely an empty show.

    Right now, however, he had no idea what in the world thisss was trying to do.

    He didn¡¯t take it in a hurry. Instead, he looked calmly into Qiu Honglei¡¯s beautiful eyes. ¡°This thing is way too precious. Why would thedy give me something like this?¡±

    ¡°Young master¡¯s words truly leave me broken hearted!¡± Qiu Honglei¡¯s expression was full of sorrow. ¡°My heart already belongs to the young master! I don¡¯t want the lover I have chosen to face an early death... I¡¯m still waiting patiently for the day young master takes me away from the Immortal Abode...¡±

    Zu An pressed his lips together tightly.

    His rational mind told him not to believe a single wording out of this woman¡¯s mouth. However, there was no way his heart could be unaffected by a show of such deep affection!

    He took a deep breath, doing his best to settle his chaotic thoughts. He finally said with a chuckle, ¡°Thanks a bunch, then! I¡¯lle to im mydy when I get a chance!¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    What do I have to be scared of? I¡¯m a man, after all! Besides, it¡¯s not like I have anything to lose anyway.

    Even if there is some trick behind this, if worsees to worst, I¡¯ll just offer my body or something aspensation.

    Qiu Honglei smiled. ¡°Young master better not turn your back on me.¡±

    The tenderness in her tone was enough to melt even the most well-tempered steel. Zu An immediately warned himself to stay calm. ¡°Lady Qiu is so beautiful, I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any man in the world who could turn their back on you.¡±

    Qiu Honglei gently shook her head, her expression slightly mncholy.

    ¡°How can asting rtionship be built on looks alone? Honglei has always been seeking someone who is truly caring. I hope the young master doesn¡¯t disappoint me.¡±

    Damn it, damn it I can¡¯t take it anymore! This woman is too bloody good! ¡°Ahem, ahem... since this Mirror Mirage can hide one¡¯s cultivation and aura, I wonder if thedy¡¯s cultivation is extremely high? Was this the skill you used to deceive the eyes of everyone in Brightmoon City?¡±

    Qiu Honglei smiled. ¡°The young master¡¯s imagination is truly rich. All types of guestse to Immortal Abode, and Honglei only has a small reputation. Many of them bring all sorts of precious gifts, hoping to see me smile. How could I refuse them? That¡¯s why I¡¯ve ended up collecting so many secret manuals. If the young master has a need, you can see if there is anything else that catches your eye.¡±

    Zu An felt as if he was being tossed about in a storm. There are always many simps around, regardless of what world you¡¯re in... They have no idea their precious things are being used to curry favor with another man!

    Hm? But why does this make me feel so good?

    Zu An smiled. ¡°Gorgeousdy, your affection for me is too strong, and I really don¡¯t know how to repay you. How about I devote my body entirely to you?¡± With that, he threw himself at her.

    Qiu Honglei tapped her feet lightly. Her dress fluttered about, as she perfectly escaped his grasping hands. ¡°Ah Zu, you¡¯ve already made me a promise! Only after you take me in will I... will I... serve you.¡±

    Her words were punctuated with a natural shyness, truly taking her performance to the next level.

    ¡°Honglei, it seems like I¡¯ve been too rude to you.¡± Zu Anughed heartily, but his mind was incredibly clear. It seems like this woman really is putting on an act.

    His actions had looked willful, but he had actually paid special note to the angle and timing of his approach. There shouldn¡¯t have been any way for thisss to escape, yet she had done so effortlessly. As expected, her cultivation was high.

    It even seems to be much higher than mine.

    Zu An grew depressed at that thought. Why are all the girls I run into so terribly strong?

    Can¡¯t I run into some that are weaker, to boost my confidence a little?

    That brat Huanzhao immediately appeared in his mind. At least there¡¯s lil¡¯ Huanzhao to keep mepany.

    ¡°Ah Zu~¡± Qiu Honglei was ted that Zu An had changed the way he addressed her, and she called out to him intimately in response.

    Zu An was still trying to figure out her objective, but it somehow kept eluding him. He let the matter rest. At least it doesn¡¯t seem like she wanted to harm him.

    In that case, he would try to make use of her as much as he could.

    He thought for a moment, then asked, ¡°Honglei, your Immortal Abode has an excellent informationwork, right?¡±

    ¡°Men from all over the world love to frequent this ce. You know how men are¡ªonce they¡¯ve had a little to drink, they would easily run their mouths in front of women. That is how our Immortal Abode gets to know about many things.¡± Qiu Honglei favored him with a sweet smile. ¡°I wonder what it is that Ah Zu wants to know?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Do you know about the situation surrounding the illicit salt trade in Brightmoon City?¡± Zu An¡¯s mind came to rest on the issue that was troubling Chu Chuyan deeply. He couldn¡¯t help but ask about this.

    ¡°The illicit salt trade?¡± Qiu Honglei¡¯s heart skipped a beat. ¡°Ah Zu is worried about the Chu n¡¯s current situation?¡±

    ¡°Honglei is exceptionally intelligent, as expected,¡± Zu An said with a bitter smile. ¡°The Chu n is slightly troubled by the rampant trade in illicit salt, and is struggling to find a suitable way to deal with this issue.¡±

    He wanted to test the waters using the Chu n¡¯s current situation, in order to see which side Qiu Honglei was on.

    Qiu Honglei frowned. ¡°Brightmoon City¡¯s illicit salt trade has indeed begun to spread unchecked, mostly because the profits from it are too great to ignore. All those who engage in the illicit salt business are known criminals. In order to find the strength to stand against the authorities, they¡¯vee together to form their respective underworld gangs.¡±

    ¡°Gangs?¡± Zu An was stunned.

    ¡°Indeed.¡± Qiu Honglei gathered her thoughts before continuing. ¡°From what I know, thergest gang in the area is the Whale Gang, and they have amassed a fortune precisely through this illicit salt trade. Their leader has always been a mystery. There are many different spections over his true identity, without a single definitive conclusion.¡±

    ¡°The Whale Gang...¡± Zu An wore a pensive expression. ¡°Is there any other information?¡±

    Qiu Honglei shook her head. ¡°You know full well what my current status is. A person like me rarelyes into contact with such people. I¡¯ve never paid special attention to this affair either, so I don¡¯t know too much,¡± she said apologetically. ¡°But, since you want to know so badly, I can help you look into it over the next few days. I might be able to gather some information.¡±

    ¡°You have my thanks, Honglei!¡± Zu An was overjoyed. The Chu n was still considered part of the government, after all, so it would be hard for their investigations to produce anything. However, the Immortal Abode straddled the line between the legal and illegal. It would surely be much quicker for him to discover the information he needed in such a ce. Moreover, Qiu Honglei¡¯s status would help to move things along as well.

    ¡°Why is there a need for thanks between us?¡± Qiu Honglei said with a smile.

    ...

    Zu An chatted with her a while longer. Eventually, the sky grew dark, and he got up to bid her farewell.

    Qiu Honglei didn¡¯t pressure him to stay. She was worried that he might do something that crossed the line if he stayed over. She saw him out.

    When she returned to her room, Gu Yueyi was already waiting by the doorway.

    His eyes were stillpletely bewitched by her appearance, but he was smart enough to show more restraint, especially after what had happened thest time. He immediately lowered his head and asked, ¡°Junior sister, why do you treat that fellow so well? You¡¯ve even passed on your n¡¯s special skill to him!¡±

    Qiu Honglei leisurely sat down on a chair. ¡°I hand-picked him personally, after all. How can I allow him to be killed by Chen Xuan just like that?¡±

    Gu Yueyi raised his head to sneak in a peek. Her dress rustled as she sat down, and he hoped that something would be revealed. Unfortunately, he saw nothing.

    Screw that absolute area!

    Worried that she might notice his actions, he hurriedly asked, ¡°Do you really want to help him deal with the illicit salt traders? Those fes are all ruthless and cold-blooded criminals!¡±

    ¡°Are we any different?¡± Qiu Honglei sneered. She folded her legs in an extremely natural manner. ¡°I was worried about how to get myself involved, but it seems a good opportunity has presented itself. Zu An¡¯s standing in the Chu n is still too low right now, and he won¡¯t be beneficial for our future ns.

    ¡°If we use this chance to help him stamp out this illicit salt trade that is troubling the Chu n, it should allow him to slowly climb up the n¡¯s ranks. I can even use this opportunity to get closer to him. He¡¯lle to realize that he would definitely need our help if he wants to have some say in the Chu n.¡±

    Gu Yueyi stared at her legs and swallowed. ¡°It seems junior sister has thought far ahead after all!¡±

    Qiu Honglei snickered. She reached out her hand and clenched it into a fist. ¡°Even though that fellow is somewhat different from other men, he still won¡¯t escape my grasp.¡±

    ...

    ¡°Achoo!¡±

    On his way back to the Chu Estate, Zu An suddenly sneezed. ¡°I wonder which beauty is thinking of me.¡±

    Jiao Shao and the other two guards exchanged nces. They idly wondered how this fellow had trained himself to develop such thick skin.

    However, the three of them had had a wonderful time in the Immortal Abode, and they knew that it had all been because of Zu An. As such, their eyes carried a little more admiration for him than usual.

    Zu An paid them no attention. He was constantly scanning his surroundings, but failed to find any trace of Chen Xuan.

    I didn¡¯t get any Rage points, either. He¡¯s probably not here.

    With that, Zu An began to flip through the jade strips he¡¯d received from Qiu Honglei.

    He channeled a wave of vital energy into one of the jade strips, and a streak of light flickered across the surface. He sensed a series of words entering his mindscape.

    ¡°The body is the tree of wisdom, within the heart rests a mirror. Wipe it frequently, do not let it grow dusty...¡±

    Upon careful study, he discovered that the principles of this secret art bore a simrity to the Buddhist philosophy of his previous world¡ªthey both pursued a state of ¡®nothingness¡¯.

    If one wanted topletely conceal their cultivation and auras, they had to be ¡®nothing¡¯ first.

    The further heprehended ¡®nothingness¡¯, the greater the effects of concealment. This would enable him to hide his cultivation from even higher level experts.

    He continued to ponder over the principles of this secret art on the journey back. Just as they were about to reach Chu estate, Jiao Shan, Feng Daniu, and Zhou Lujun all turned around suddenly, and let out identical cries of surprise.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°Nothing. It could be that our perception failed us. Young master seemed to have suddenly disappeared just now.¡± Zhou Lujun replied. The other two nodded in agreement.

    Despite what they had sensed, Zu An was clearly still there! Could it be that they had enjoyed themselves a little too much in the Immortal Abode, and their minds had be weak?

    It seems like we really need to show a bit more restraint in the future.

    Shame burned within the hearts of all three guards.

    In contrast, Zu An was delighted. He was a genius with transcendent talent after all! He had already mastered this secret art so quickly!

    When he reached the estate, Zu An returned to his room first, then secretly made his way to Chu Chuyan¡¯s residence.

    It was time for his dear wife¡¯s treatment again.

    Peering into the pitch-ck interior, Zu An suddenly felt a wave of hesitation wash over him. Qin Wanru won¡¯t be inside again tonight, will she?

 Chapter 271: Flirting Approved

    <h4>Chapter 271: Flirting Approved</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Whatever. If she¡¯s there, then she¡¯s there. It¡¯ll be the perfect time for her to witness my insane skills. She can look for me in the future if she has some menstrual pain or something.

    Zu An gave a huff and walked straight in.

    It was much easier to sneak around now with this Mirror Mirage concealment skill. It even saved him from using Grandgale this time.

    Of course, this was mostly because the guards posted around the main area of the Chu Estate were concerned with preventing outside intruders. None of them expected someone inside to be sneaking around.

    He reached Chu Chuyan¡¯s window without incident, and he gently pushed it open. He smiled. It seems like the wife didn¡¯t forget to leave this window open today.

    He quietly tiptoed to the bedside. He could vaguely make out a seductive figure lying on her side. However, the room was too dark to clearly make out her face.

    This time, he didn¡¯t dare throw himself onto her and grope around. He could brush off what happened thest time as an ident, but if he touched Qin Wanru again, even Chu Chuyan might just decide to chop off his hand. He shuddered to think of what Qin Wanru might do.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Wife, is that you?¡± Zu An probed.

    Azy groan sounded. ¡°Who else could it be?¡±

    Zu An let out a sigh of relief. He hurried over to the bedside and sat down. ¡°What about your mom?¡±

    Chu Chuyan immediately moved away from him to avoid being taken advantage of. ¡°She already knows that you have to treat me at night. How would she dare to stay here shamelessly and embarrass everyone?¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°Respected mother-inw really is considerate.¡±

    ¡°Now you¡¯re calling her ¡®respected mother-inw¡¯? It looked like the two of you were itching to get your hands on one another earlier.¡± Chu Chuyan said, slightly annoyed. She hadn¡¯t said anything earlier, out of consideration for his emotions, but there was no way she would be pleased that he was shing with her mother.

    ¡°Whatever the case, nothing happened in the end, right?¡± Zu An¡¯s face became warm. ¡°Okay, okay. At worst, I¡¯ll just ignore her. I won¡¯t retaliate even if she hits me, and I won¡¯t argue back if she criticizes me. Will that do?¡±

    ¡°Really? This isn¡¯t like you at all.¡± Chu Chuyan¡¯s eyes sparkled like gemstones as they stared into his. They seemed filled with suspicion.

    ¡°Of course! But if she scolds me once, then I¡¯ll kiss her daughter once. If she hits me once, then I¡¯ll...¡± Zu An¡¯s gaze roved about her enchanting figure as he spoke.

    ¡°What will you do?¡± Chu Chuyan¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and she subconsciously drew her clothes tightly around her chest. Her cultivation was clearly higher than his, yet, for some reason, she was still subconsciously scared of this fellow.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll spank you! What did you think it was?¡± Zu An grinned from ear to ear at her somewhat flustered expression.

    Chu Chuyan was left speechless.

    That¡¯s definitely not what this guy was thinking!

    But she couldn¡¯t really blurt that out loud. She red at him, simmering with rage.

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Chuyan for 5... 5... 5...

    Zu An¡¯s heart trembled as he noticed that her cheeks had puffed out slightly. This was much cuter than her usual coldness! He couldn¡¯t help but scooch over.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s eyshes twitched. She turned her head bashfully to the side, her small hands clutching the bed sheets. She was struggling inside, not knowing what to do.

    Seeing that she wasn¡¯t resisting him immediately, Zu An was overjoyed. It seems like all that effort spent treating her these days wasn¡¯t for nothing! First objective cleared! We¡¯re now already a lot closer.

    He was just about to kiss her on the cheek when Chu Chuyan¡¯s expression suddenly froze. She reached out a hand to stop him. In an instant, her bashful expression reverted to its usual icy coldness. ¡°You have the smell of another woman on you.¡±

    Zu An almost pped himself on the mouth. He¡¯d already made this mistake once before, and it was turning into a repeat of that particr disaster!

    ¡°You went to that Qiu Honglei¡¯s ce again today?¡± Chu Chuyan asked, expressionless.

    Zu An¡¯s mouth worked silently.

    Chu Chuyan snorted before he could even say anything. ¡°Don¡¯t even try to deny it. The smell this time is exactly the same as before! Hmph! You just fought with my mother over her, and then you immediately went to see her. You really are something!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Chuyan for 213 Rage points!

    Zu An panicked when he saw her rage steadily climbing. I¡¯m really done for if I let this continue...

    He said in a hurry, ¡°I¡¯m being wronged! The reason I went looking for her wasn¡¯t because of what you¡¯re thinking! There just wasn¡¯t anything to eat at home, so I decided to have dinner there...¡±

    His voice grew quiet, and he slowly trailed off into silence.

    ¡°If you had just ordered any random servant to bring you something to eat, they would have done so! On top of that, should you really go asking for a meal from another woman even if there¡¯s no food at home?¡± It might have been better for him if he hadn¡¯t tried to exin himself. Chu Chuyan only grew more incensed at his absurd excuse.

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Chuyan for 476 Rage points!

    Luckily, Zu An¡¯s mind moved quickly. In this short time, he had alreadye up with something else. ¡°Of course I didn¡¯t go there just for the food! You told me earlier how the illicit salt trade had been giving you a massive headache. I only went to the Immortal Abode because I was worried about you!¡±

    ¡°What does the illicit salt trade have to do with your visit to the Immortal Abode?¡± Chu Chuyan said with a frown.

    Zu An swallowed. He hurriedly exined, ¡°Your Chu n is a representative of the government, so there are many channels that aren¡¯t open to you. But the Immortal Abode is different! All sorts of people frequent that ce, and information spreads quickly over there. Qiu Honglei¡¯smands a high standing over there, so I figured she might have some useful information.¡±

    Only then did Chu Chuyan¡¯s expression soften. ¡°What sort of information were you able to retrieve?¡±

    ¡°I found out that the biggest illicit salt dealer in Brightmoon City is the Whale Gang. The gang¡¯s leader is incredibly mysterious, and no one even seems to have seen his real face before...¡± Zu An recounted everything he heard from Qiu Honglei in full detail.

    Chu Chuyan didn¡¯t seem impressed by his report. ¡°Apart from some small differences, most of this was already known to us. Was this all you got out of that trip?¡±

    No way, I even got that Mirror Mirage! Of course, he didn¡¯t dare tell her this. It would only end up making her even more furious.

    ¡°Of course not! Unfortunately, Qiu Honglei hasn¡¯t paid too much attention to the illicit salt trade. She agreed to help me look into this affair, so I believe we¡¯ll have some new information soon.¡±

    ¡°Does that mean that you¡¯ll be visiting her frequently in the future?¡± Chu Chuyan was clearly displeased.

    ¡°This is all for the sake of the Chu n¡¯s business! But if my love gives the word, I won¡¯t go even if she calls for me! I¡¯ll just t out refuse them!¡± Zu An vowed solemnly.

    Chu Chuyan hesitated. She obviously didn¡¯t want him going to that sort of ce. However, with the difficult situation facing the Chu n right now, any useful information that could be gathered from Qiu Honglei would be worth it.

    ¡°Why is that Qiu Honglei treating you so well?¡± She asked instead.

    When he saw that she didn¡¯t immediately refuse him, Zu An snickered inside. This girl definitely puts the interests of the Chu n first.

    ¡°Of course it¡¯s because I¡¯m too handsome!¡± Zu An stuck out his chest. ¡°Even you, the esteemed daughter of a glorious duke, chose me out of an endless sea of candidates! If a simple brothel courtesan like her didn¡¯t fall for me, wouldn¡¯t that reflect poorly on the discerning sight of the young miss from the Chu n?¡±

    Chu Chuyan had no words to say.

    This guy really is too shameless!

    She lost the will to argue any further. ¡°Forget it, I won¡¯t stop you from going there in the future. However, please arrange a ce for one more the next time you n to go.¡±

 Chapter 272: Strip!

    <h4>Chapter 272: Strip!</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An was utterly floored by her statement. ¡°You want to go to a brothel too?¡±

    Chu Chuyan rolled her eyes impatiently. ¡°Of course I¡¯m not the one going. I just want you to arrange a ce for one more person.¡±

    ¡°Who?¡± Zu An was a bit curious.

    ¡°Wang n¡¯s young master, Wang Yuanlong.¡± Chu Chuyan said seriously.

    Zu An looked at her strangely. ¡°There isn¡¯t something going on between you and that Wang n dude, is there? I¡¯ve heard that our ns get along pretty well. Is he your childhood sweetheart or something? Damn it all, why is my fate so cruel...¡±

    Man, if I¡¯d known about this ahead of time, I wouldn¡¯t have saved that Wang kid. I should¡¯ve let Chen Xuan finish him off.

    Chu Chuyan was furious and humiliated. She grabbed his ear tightly. ¡°Stop howling like an idiot already! What could possibly be going on between us? Just what kind of nonsense goes through your head every day?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Chuyan for 123 Rage points!

    Zu An¡¯s high spirits returned. ¡°Then why do you want to arrange a meeting with him, and in a ce like the Immortal Abode?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not the one who is going to meet with him. The two of you are,¡± Chu Chuyan corrected.

    Zu An blinked his eyes rapidly. Clearly, he waspletely lost.

    Chu Chuyan exined matters to him. ¡°Sang Hong summoned my father, as well as the heads of the Zheng, Yuan, Wang, and various other ns for a meeting. He mentioned that the royal court will be sending troops north against the foreign tribes. The country is in dire need of provisions, which is why they have asked all wealthy ns to lend a hand by making more contributions.¡±

    Zu An nodded. Chu Chuyan had mentioned these contributions before.

    ¡°A huge sum had already been requested as a contributionst year. Even the biggest ns would struggle if they were asked to make contributions so often. That is why, this time, there is a reluctance among all of the great ns to contribute.¡±

    Chu Chuyan paused for a moment, then continued. ¡°My father used the rampant illicit salt trade as an excuse to exin why he wouldn¡¯t be able to make any contributions immediately.¡±

    Zu An couldn¡¯t suppress a smile. ¡°Master usually seems so proper and honorable. Who knew he had a crafty side to him?¡±

    ¡°Is that how you praise someone?¡± Chu Chuyan shot him a re. ¡°Unfortunately, that old fox Sang Hong already predicted that we would use this as an excuse. As such, he made it known that he would assign Sang Qian to help, and that my father could use his unit as he saw fit to take out the illicit salt trade.¡±

    Zu An sighed with amazement. ¡°This is probably the exchange of interests you mentioned before. If the Chu n made contributions, the Sang n would offer their assistance in rooting out the illicit salt trade.¡±

    Chu Chuyan nodded. ¡°My father believes this illicit salt trade has greatly affected the Chu n¡¯s business. Sang Qian hasmand over the River Patrol Army. With his assistance, we would have a much easier time taking out those illicit salt gangs. If we can take this opportunity topletely destroy the illicit salt trade, it would make it worthwhile to pay these contributions. That is why we have agreed to donate a hundred thousand taels of silver first. Once the illicit salt trade has beenpletely eradicated and we begin to see revenue from the sale of legal salt, we¡¯ll contribute the remainder.¡±

    Zu An nodded. ¡°That sounds like a good n.¡± Chu Zhongtian wasn¡¯t the head of the n for show. Even though he normally seemed a little too square, he still had his fair share of shrewdness.

    ¡°Everything did sound good,¡± Chu Chuyan said with a sigh, ¡°but the Wang n suffered serious losses recently. Their trade station was plundered by the foreign tribes. They had to use a lot of their liquid funds to make up for this loss, and they are quite strapped for silver. Thus, they requested to be excluded from the contributions this time.¡±

    Zu An recalled her mentioning that salt in the Great Zhou Dynasty could only be transported and sold with salt permits. However, these permits couldn¡¯t just be bought with money alone. Instead, in such dire times of war, the right to purchase these salt permits was reserved only for those who transported provisions to the border.

    Many salt traders didn¡¯t have the means to send provisions to the borders. This was where the Wang n came in.

    The Wang n made a business of sending provisions to the border. This granted them the right to the salt permits, which they would then sell off to other salt merchants.

    However, continuously transporting provisions to the borders from the cities was unsustainable. The journey itself required a huge amount of resources, and the resulting costs were just too high. That was why merchants like these chose to clear out some of the wilderness close to the border, creating farnd instead. The produce from these farnds would then be sent to the border.

    This sort of settlement was called a trade station.

    ¡°Robbed by the foreign tribes?¡± Zu An sighed. ¡°That¡¯s rough.¡±

    ¡°Indeed. The Wang n was really hurt badly this time. They couldn¡¯t even fork out these important contributions.¡± Chu Chuyan sighed. ¡°That Sang Hong didn¡¯t say much, merely offering some words of constion. However, he immediately allocated one of the Wang n¡¯s exchange permits to our Chu n, one that was for a borderingmandery. He said that this was a reward for those who contributed to the nation.¡±

    ¡°Exchange permit?¡± Zu An was confused.

    After listening to Chu Chuyan¡¯s exnation, he managed to form a rough idea of what it was.

    ording to thews of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the transport and sale of salt required salt permits. For the sale or purchase of salt, however, not only were salt permits required, a government-approved exchange permit was also necessary.

    Exchange permits granted the possessor the right to sell something within a specified region. A n could only sell salt in a certain region if they have the exchange permit for that region.

    It would be illegal for an individual to sell salt in a region for which they didn¡¯t possess an exchange permit. Not only would they be investigated as an illicit salt dealer, the n that engaged in this practice would also be punished.

    It was just like how tobo was regted in his previous world. Inter-regional selling wasn¡¯t allowed.

    Having understood all of this, Zu An flew into a rage. ¡°Sang Hong really is ruthless! The Wang n is allied to the Chu n. This move not only deals the Wang n a heavy blow, but it also serves to drive a wedge between the two ns.¡±

    He felt some grudging respect for Sang Hong. He hadn¡¯t had to give up anything of his to achieve this. Instead, he used the Wang n¡¯s own property to destabilize this alliance.

    The most important part was that all of this was done in ordance with thews of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Since the Wang n wasn¡¯t able to offer the necessary contributions, the royal court took back an exchange permit from them and gave it to another n who did. Even if this matter was reported to the capital, no one would be able to criticize this decision.

    The Wang n had no choice but to suffer this blow. All the pent up resentment they couldn¡¯t show the royal court would instead be directed at the Chu n, since they were the ones who had ultimately gained from the affair.

    ¡°All of us are fully aware that he is trying to drive a wedge between us,¡± Chu Chuyan said, her eyes full of worry. ¡°However, just knowing about it is one thing¡ªactually doing something about it is another. It is hard for people to remain absolutely rational. Quite a few members of the Wang n have already spoken out against our Chu n over this. They believe the Chu n deliberately plotted against the Wang n in order to secure their exchange permit.¡±

    ¡°There will always be idiots in a n,¡±mented Zu An, ¡°and I reckon Sang Hong definitely had some people fan the mes. So the reason you want me to meet with Wang Yuanlong is to exin this misunderstanding?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not all,¡± Chu Chuyan replied. ¡°ns like our Chu n, the Wang n, and the Zheng n are allrge, government-approved merchant leaders. When individual sellerse from different ces to purchase salt in bulk, they often need to pay a deposit a year in advance. Meanwhile, once the merchant leaders receive this deposit, the money would be swiftly moved around. After all, this money would be theirs in theing year anyway, so it wasn¡¯t a big deal if they used it ahead of time.

    ¡°However, now that the Wang n¡¯s exchange permit has been given to us, the Wang n would have to return the deposits to these individual sellers.¡± Chu Chuyan¡¯s eyes flickered with deep worry. ¡°In regr times, such a thing wouldn¡¯t be too big of a deal. However, the Wang n is already finding it hard to make ends meet after the plundering of their trade station. If they were forced to return these deposits as well, their flow of funds might truly be cut off. If that happens, the massive Wang n might copse altogether.¡±

    Zu An was rmed. ¡°This Sang Hong really is merciless! His actions might cost lives!¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Indeed. However, our Chu n won¡¯t watch idly while this happens,¡± said Chu Chuyan. ¡°That is why I wanted you to entertain Wang Yuanlong. You can take the opportunity to privately pass the sum needed to pay back the deposits to him, which they can then return to those individual sellers. We can use this chance to ease their sore spot.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes brightened. ¡°Nice! Not only would this get rid of the Wang n¡¯s emergency, it also ingeniously deals with the wedge Sang Hong wanted to drive between us. I wonder which brilliant person came up with this idea!¡±

    ¡°It can¡¯t be considered that brilliant. It¡¯s just a trick I picked up after spending all these years in the business.¡± Even though Chu Chuyan spoke calmly, her face blossomed with pride. Clearly, she was that brilliant person.

    A smile immediately appeared on Zu An¡¯s face. She was normally so cold on the outside. Who knew she had such a youthful side to her?

    ¡°But why do you guys have to make such a detour through me? And even in a ce like Immortal Abode?¡±

    ¡°The main reason is to fool the rest of the yers,¡± Chu Chuyan exined. ¡°After all, we¡¯ve already dered to the government that our finances are weak. How would it look if we immediately helped the Wang n by giving them this sum of money? This doesn¡¯t make the royal court or our Chu n look great, and might even give our political enemies a chance to attack.

    ¡°The second reason is that the Wang n is still a great n in Brightmoon City. If others learned that they couldn¡¯t fork out this sum of money, it could easily tarnish their prestige and lower their dignity. If we aren¡¯t careful, we might not only fail to achieve our objective, but we could even end up with a feud on our hands.¡±

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but sigh in praise. ¡°Honey, you really are meticulous! You¡¯ve even thought about all of this stuff.¡±

    Despite his admiration, he couldn¡¯t help but grumble inside. No wonder you could even pick up the slightest hint of female fragrance on me. It seems like I have to be really, really careful in the future.

    A faint smile spread across Chu Chuyan¡¯s face upon receiving hispliment. ¡°I also know that you helped Wang Yuanlong out in the Immortal Abodest time. Since that¡¯s the case, he has to show you proper respect, and I¡¯m sure he won¡¯t create any unnecessary misunderstandings.

    ¡°Most importantly, though, no one will expect us to pass on such an important task to you.¡±

    Zu An immediately grew upset. ¡°Are you praising me or mocking me?¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s mood gradually lifted, and she revealed a beautiful smile. ¡°Do you really have no concept of how others view your standing within the n?¡±

    Zu An had no reply to that.

    This woman¡¯s mouth seems to have gotten sharper now that she¡¯s hung around me for a while.

    ¡°Are you done with all this serious talk yet? If you are, let¡¯s begin today¡¯s treatment already,¡± said Zu An gloomily.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s face reddened slightly. It took her a while before she quietly voiced her consent.

    The evil expression of a tyrannical CEO bloomed on Zu An¡¯s face. He looked at her coldly and said, ¡°Strip!¡±

 Chapter 273: Arenâ€™t We Buddies Already?

    <h4>Chapter 273: Aren¡¯t We Buddies Already?</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Chu Chuyan was left speechless.

    Why did the words from this guy¡¯s mouth always sound so strange?

    But she couldn¡¯t muster a proper retort, since she really did have to take off her clothes in order for her to be treated.

    She turned around bitterly. Her clothes slowly slid down her silky skin, revealing a stunningly snow-whitendscape that would make any man go crazy.

    Zu An was mildly vexed. This won¡¯t do. I gotta tell her I have to treat her from the front next time.

    He held back this time, not wanting to scare her away by being overly hasty.

    He struggled fiercely to hold back a nosebleed as hepleted the night¡¯s treatment.

    Chu Chuyan thanked him with a reddened face. Then, she firmly chased him out of her room.

    ¡°Who treats their benefactors like this?¡± Zu An snorted in displeasure as he left her residence.

    At the same time, he nced down at his unsatisfied little bro. This cannot continue! I¡¯ll get sick at this rate!

    What was that saying again? Unsatisfied and undeveloped?

    He mumbled to himself in annoyance the whole way back to his own room. A sudden tremor rocked his mindscape. He leaped to the side to dodge the attack aimed at him from behind the door.

    ¡°Oh? Not bad. You¡¯ve improved from yesterday.¡± Flirtatiousughter came from behind the door.

    Zu An tracked the source of the sound and saw Pei Mianman leaning against the door, an ambiguous smile on her face.

    Herughter made great waves ripple across her magnificent chest.

    Pei Mianman snorted. ¡°Eyes up here,¡± shemanded, noticing his expression. With a flick of her wrist, her fine white hand stabbed towards him.

    Zu An jumped back in fright. ¡°Aren¡¯t we buddies already? You don¡¯t have to react like this just because I stared for a little too long, do you?¡±

    The tender expression on Pei Mianman¡¯s beautiful face immediately grew frosty, and her yful eyes glinted coldly with a hint of killing intent.

    rm bells rang in Zu An¡¯s mind. I don¡¯t think she got my joke.

    He didn¡¯t dare let his guard down. His hand immediately moved towards his Tai¡¯e Sword.

    Before his sword had even left the scabbard, Pei Mianman was already upon him, shoving his sword back into the scabbard with one hand.

    With her free hand, she seized the opportunity to attack him.

    If this were any other time, Zu An would have definitely spent some timeplimenting this exquisite hand, perhaps even stroking it a little.

    But the crazy strength disyed by that hand horrified him. There was no trace of charm or gentleness at all!

    He tried backpedaling to evade her, but she doggedly kept on him, not allowing him to put any distance between them.

    Zu An had invested everything into his sword techniques, and his unarmedbat skills wereckluster. Without a sword, he could only fight on instinct.

    Scant seconds had passed, but several blows from her fist had already peppered his body. If not for Zu An¡¯s greatly increased cultivation and the Primordial Origin Sutra¡¯s tempering of his body, he might have suffered serious injury, and blood would have been pouring out of his mouth. He would certainly have lost most of his fighting strength.

    Even so, any sane person would get worked up after being attacked like this.

    His opponent¡¯s sudden and unreasonable attacks had already stoked his ire.

    He immediately executed the modified Sunflower Phantasm, and his body suddenly split into two identical copies.

    Pei Mianman was thrown off. She clearly hadn¡¯t expected this.

    Her hand elerated, stiffened fingersnding a perfect strike on the acupoint on Zu An¡¯s chest. However, she felt no joy at all. The empty sensation that fed back to her from her fingers told her that she missed.

    Sure enough, the ¡®Zu An¡¯ she had struck scattered into countless fragments of light and shadow.

    She was visibly shaken. She was just about to dodge to the side, when she suddenly felt something cold pressed against her neck. A sword was already resting on her shoulder.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? Do you ept defeat?¡±

    Zu An had noticed that even though her blows looked heavy, she wasn¡¯t utilizing all of her strength. Since she was holding back, he wouldn¡¯t go too far either.

    ¡°You¡¯re no fun at all. Fine, I lose~¡±

    As soon as she said the word ¡®lose¡¯, she suddenly twisted her body. Like a beautiful snake, she slipped away from him and sent a blow flying towards him.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes widened with rm. He instinctively stepped backwards, but it was already toote.

    He felt his wrist go numb, and he lost his hold on the Tai¡¯e Sword.

    As the Tai¡¯e Sword ttered to the ground, Pei Mianman dodged around him, instantly grabbing Zu An¡¯s arm and twisting it behind his back.

    The tips of her toes struck him behind his knees. Unable to remain standing, Zu An found himself forced into a kneeling position.

    Pei Mianman twisted his arm further, her knee pressing none too gently against his back. ¡°So? Do you ept your defeat?¡± She whispered, her warm breath tickling his ear.

    ¡°I ept... my ass!¡± Zu An roared. He twisted his body forcefully. His shoulder dislocated with a loud crack, and he was free of her hold.

    Pei Mianman hadn¡¯t expected him to be so tenacious. Her face turned pale, her hands instinctively loosening their grip on him.

    Zu An already prepared his follow-up moves. He pounced like a furious lion, instantly pushing her down.

    Pei Mianman tried to dodge, but her legs were kicked out from under her, and she lost her bnce. She fell unsteadily to the ground.

    Zu An felt no hesitation this time. He pressed down on her with his weight, and employed the techniques of Brazilian jiu jitsu from his previous world to force her into a submission hold.

    Pei Mianman struggled fiercely, but she was unable to exert most of her strength in her current position.

    This again... Pei Mianman curled her lips in a snarl, and decided to give up on her struggle.

    The two of them had yet to be acquainted with each other thest time they had fought. Back then, he had also managed to immobilize her with a simr move.

    Zu An was gasping for breath. He¡¯d expended a tremendous amount of strength in a sudden burst, and he felt more tired than if he had run three kilometers in his previous world.

    ¡°Woman, you admit defeat?¡±

    ¡°I admit defeat, I admit defeat.¡± Pei Mianman shot him a look of annoyance. ¡°Big guy, you have to teach me thister.¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t dare let his guard down after the painful lesson he just learned. He didn¡¯t release her just yet. ¡°What the heck were you trying to do? Why did you suddenly attack me?¡± he asked.

    ¡°It was mainly to train your reaction speed. Aren¡¯t you being targeted by that Chen Xuan right now? As a friend, I feelpelled to help you out with your training,¡± replied Pei Mianman. Her peach-blossom eyes almost seemed to whisper to him, glittering with unspoken mirth. She seemed not to be taking any of this to heart.

    ¡°Is that really the only reason?¡± Zu An was a bit skeptical.

    ¡°You can¡¯t me me for having some selfish motives. I wanted to test you out for myself. I wanted to see just what sort of skills you had that gave you your usual confidence,¡± Pei Mianman said inly.

    Zu An turned her words over in his mind. He was actually already eighty percent convinced. Even though thisss had attacked him quite fiercely, she didn¡¯t seem to really want him dead. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have subconsciously let go of him when he had painfully dislocated his own shoulder.

    Pei Mianman¡¯s annoyance bubbled over when she saw that he was making no move to release her. ¡°Get off me already! Does it feel that good to rub against your wife¡¯s close friend like this?¡±

    It would have been better if she¡¯d left her second sentence unsaid. Zu An was already in an irritable mood after leaving Chu Chuyan¡¯s room.

    These ambiguous words stoked something within him, and his entire body went rigid.

    ¡°What is that prodding at me?¡± Pei Mianman¡¯s brow furrowed. ¡°Who knew a brat like you would fiddle around with secret weapons! So, you really did have some more tricks up your sleeve.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face turned red. What was he supposed to say? He remained quiet.

    Pei Mianman turned around, and her charming face went bright red as well. How could she not figure out what had just happened?

    ¡°Damn brat, get off me right now or I¡¯ll burn you down!¡± Pei Mianman said, biting down on her lip. A small ck me burst into life, flickering just above her finger.

    Zu An had just been about to release her. However, her threatening tone caused his stubborn nature to re up immediately.

    ¡°No way! If you have the skill, then go ahead and burn me up! Even before I die, I¡¯ll drag you down with me. Dying together as lovebirds doesn¡¯t seem so bad!¡± Worried that she might escape, Zu An tightened his hold on her.

    ¡°You... scoundrel!¡± Pei Mianman began to panic at the sudden increase in force.

    She couldn¡¯t just burn him down over some small matter like this, right? Honestly though, I¡¯ll burn him to death if he keeps doing stuff like this, even if he¡¯s Chuyan¡¯s husband!

    Pei Mianman continued to draw these lines in her mind.

    Zu An grew extremely amused by the sight of this usually flirtatious and charming woman bing so flustered.

    He carefully examined the girl beneath him, noticing a faint blush spreading across her beautiful snow-white face. This sort of bashfulness really couldn¡¯t be faked.

    Something stirred within him. He lowered his head and gave her cheek a quick kiss.

    ¡°Ah!!!¡± Pei Mianman was startled. She clearly hadn¡¯t expected him to do such a thing.

    Her entire body trembled. The ck me on her fingertip flickered violently and went out.

    Her breathing became slightly ragged, and her peach-blossom eyes began to tear up slightly.

    Zu An was given a fright. Why was her body this sensitive?

    A strange silence fell across the room, punctuated by the gentle panting of the two upants.

    Itsted a few moments before Pei Mianman finally calmed down. Messy hair was stered on her face, hiding her current expression. ¡°Get off!¡±

    Zu An had begun to regret his impulsive action. Guilt-ridden, he released her and got up in a flustered manner.

    ¡°Just now, I...¡± Zu An was just about to apologize, but he was wailing in anguish inside. What was the use of an apology now?

    Who would¡¯ve expected Pei Mianman to cut him off immediately?

    ¡°I was merely testing you to see what level you are at. Your movement techniques and sword skills aren¡¯t bad, but your hand to handbat skills are poor. I¡¯ll teach you the Entangling Feathersilk Art so that you still have a way to protect yourself against Chen Xuan in situations where you can¡¯t use your sword.¡±

    Zu An blinked. Are we just going to pretend nothing happened?

    Pei Mianman grew annoyed at his nk and unresponsive stare. ¡°Are you listening?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Pei Mianman for 111 Rage points!

    Zu An gulped. ¡°I heard you. But just now...¡±

    ¡°There are no buts. Nothing at all happened just now. The things I am teaching you today... you cannot reveal them to Chu Chuyan either, understand?¡± Pei Mianman stared at him, her eyes full of admonishment.

    ¡°Understood!¡± Zu An¡¯s attitude changed straight away. Since she didn¡¯t want to mention what had happened, then he wouldn¡¯t continue to flog a dead horse. Either way... he wasn¡¯t the one losing out.

    ¡°Watch carefully. I¡¯m only going to show this to you once! If you don¡¯t pay attention then that¡¯s on you!¡± Pei Mianman blushed slightly. She was clearly trying to deceive herself with her earlier words.

 Chapter 274: I Just Happen to be Good with Girls

    <h4>Chapter 274: I Just Happen to be Good with Girls</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Pei Mianman began her demonstration.

    She had been born beautiful. Paired with the gracefulness of this technique, she didn¡¯t look like she was disying a martial art at all. Instead, it looked as if she was dancing.

    This truly was a splendid and wonderful performance; it was as if a goddess had appeared in the world of mortals.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t hold back a sigh. What the heck was I even watching before? Those period-costume dramas have nothing on this! Those court dancers all look so stupid inparison.

    If the dance performances had been anywhere near this level, then everyone¡¯s eyes would have been glued to their screens.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes tracked Pei Mianman¡¯s movements back and forth. He felt as if his own heart was pounding along with her dance.

    Pei Mianman exined the technique while demonstrating. When she was done, she looked over at him and noticed his stupefied expression. Her anger red immediately. ¡°I¡¯m done. How much of it do you remember?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Pei Mianman for 233 Rage points!

    ¡°I remember all of it,¡± replied Zu An subconsciously.

    ¡°All of it?¡± Pei Mianman¡¯s brow immediately furrowed. It had been in a moment of anger that she said that she would only show it to him once. How could anyone have learned it from just a single demonstration? When she first began to learn this, she had only managed to get a rough idea of it after it was demonstrated to her three times.

    ¡°Yup.¡± Zu An wiped the corners of his mouth to check for drool. Thank god I didn¡¯t embarrass myself by drooling.

    As for the Entangling Feathersilk Art, he really wasn¡¯t lying.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    After eating those Marrow Cleansing Pills, his brain felt incredibly sharp. His memory and other mental faculties seemed to be working amazingly well. He only needed to see things once in order to learn them, regardless of what he was studying.

    Sigh, if I¡¯d had this type of ability in my previous life, I could¡¯ve just picked whichever Tsinghua University or Peking University to enroll into![1]

    ¡°Show it back to me, then!¡± Pei Mianman sneered. No wonder so many people hate this guy. No one likes a man who boasts.

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    Recalling her earlier movements, Zu An began to disy the Entangling Feathersilk Art back to her.

    He got through the better part of his demonstration before stopping suddenly with a cry of dismay.

    Pei Mianman had beenpletely shocked when she saw him perform the Entangling Feathersilk Art wlessly. When he stopped abruptly, she finally sighed in relief. I guess this guy still forgot some parts of it in the end.

    However, reaching this point in such a short amount of time was already quite exceptional.

    She was just about to praise him when he suddenly spoke. ¡°I should¡¯ve said that I don¡¯t remember any of it, so that you would teach it to me while holding my hand. That would have been a perfectly legitimate reason for skinship! Is it toote now to say that I don¡¯t remember everything?¡±

    Pei Mianman¡¯s eyes began to narrow slowly.

    Zu An chuckled in embarrassment when he saw her expression turn cold. He didn¡¯t dare go too far after what happened earlier.

    He performed the rest of the technique right away.

    ¡°What do you think? Did I get any section wrong?¡± Zu An asked in a hurry.

    Pei Mianman¡¯s red lips moved slightly, but no words came out.

    After a long while, she finally exhaled. ¡°There were no mistakes.¡±

    Not only were there no mistakes, it had simply been perfect. She couldn¡¯t find a single w no matter how much she tried to nitpick. This fellow was actually this talented!

    Pei Mianman was blown away. No wonder that proud and arrogant Chuyan chose him as her husband! She must have known that he was an unpolished gem from the start.

    As to why the academy ced him in the Yellow ss after their evaluation, that¡¯s probably due to the Chu n¡¯s involvement behind the scenes.

    Chuyan is usually so pure and innocent. Who knew that she was actually this two-faced!

    You got mepletely fooled!

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Zu An asked, curious about her constantly-changing expression.

    ¡°Are you working together with Chuyan to deceive me?!¡± ck mes suddenly rushed out from Pei Mianman¡¯s entire body. A ring of ck mes surrounded the two of them, and she seemed ready to burn him to ashes any second.

    Zu An¡¯s face drained of color when he felt the terrifying heat. His entire body immediately went taut in preparation for a possible attack. ¡°How am I deceiving you?¡± he said, swallowing in fear.

    ¡°The two of you keep pretending to the rest of the world as though the Chu n thoroughly dislikes you, deceiving me to the point where I foolishly formed an alliance with you. Is Chu Chuyanughing behind the scenes?¡± Pei Mianman¡¯s willowy brows shot upwards. The fierceness in her eyes wasn¡¯t feigned¡ªit was true killing intent.

    ¡°You saw for yourself how I am treated in the estate! That Qin Wanru criticized me so much, she almost chased me out! When did I deceive you?¡± Zu An had an innocent look on his face. He didn¡¯t know why she would suddenly get so angry.

    ¡°You told me you wanted my help pursuing Chu Chuyan, and that you¡¯d help me look for her ounting book in return, but your rtionship with her doesn¡¯t seem to be that bad!¡± Pei Mianman couldn¡¯t shake her doubts.

    ¡°The two of us really weren¡¯t that close in the beginning! I am the young master only in name¡ªshe doesn¡¯t treat me like a real husband at all. Our rtionship only started to warm up after our experiences in the dungeon, where Shi Kun and his experts hounded us all over the ce. Even so, we are still far from being considered a real husband and wife!¡±

    ¡°Is that true?¡± Pei Mianman finally rxed a little.

    ¡°Of course it is!¡± Zu An carefully moved her hand away from him. ¡°It seems this best friend of hers hasn¡¯t done much for me though. You said you would help me grow closer to Chuyan, but I haven¡¯t seen you put in any effort! In the end, I figured it¡¯d be faster if I did it myself.¡±

    ¡°How could you have the nerve to say this? What about that ounting book you agreed to locate for me, then? You still haven¡¯t found a thing!¡± Pei Mianman said hatefully.

    Zu An chuckled in embarrassment. ¡°You could¡¯ve at least done something. Anyway, my standing in the Chu n is really too low right now. I don¡¯t have ess to what you¡¯re looking for.¡±

    Pei Mianman huffed angrily. Her gaze was suddenly drawn to something off to the side.

    ¡°Hm? Your sword doesn¡¯t look too bad.¡±

    She was a bit surprised to see that the Tai¡¯e Sword had stuck itself deep into the ground as if it was tofu.

    Just as she was about to examine it, Zu An hurriedly interrupted her. He was worried that she might discover something she wasn¡¯t supposed to know. ¡°Um... aren¡¯t you worried about the sudden elemental fluctuations drawing the attention of the guards in our estate?¡± he remarked.

    The first time they¡¯d met, in Chu Chuyan¡¯s room, Pei Mianman didn¡¯t resort to using her ck mes in that life-or-death struggle precisely because she had been afraid of rming the n¡¯s experts.

    Now, though, Pei Mianman had recklessly escted the situation, and she was sure to have rmed the guards this time.

    Sure enough, Pei Mianman grew flustered. ¡°It¡¯s all your fault!¡±

    After spitting him with a re, she disappeared into the night, her toes tapping lightly against the ground as she made her escape.

    Besides anger, there had been something else mixed into the final look that she had given him. As Zu An pondered it over, and a slight smile slowly spread across his face.

    Why in the world did I suddenly kiss her?

    Stranger than that was how she didn¡¯t even show much of a reaction... no, her reaction was actually pretty big...

    Yue Shan,mander of the Chu n¡¯s guards, finally rushed over with a group of guards. When they arrived, they saw Zu An staring intently into a mirror. ¡°Young master, did an enemy intrude here?¡± themander asked him anxiously.

    ¡°Nope,¡± Zu An said in a carefree manner.

    The guards took their time searching the area, but their efforts proved fruitless¡ªthere was no trace of an intruder. Yue Shan couldn¡¯t hold back his curiosity any further. Just as they were about to leave, he asked, ¡°Young master, why do you keep looking in the mirror?¡±

    The other guards shared his confusion. Why is a man like you staring into a mirror sote into the night? So awkward.

    ¡°I am trying to figure out if I really am too handsome. Otherwise, why would so many girls end up liking me?¡± Zu An replied. His mind seemed far away.

    It had been Shang Liuyu at first, then Chu Chuyan, and then Qiu Honglei and Pei Mianman. All of them hade forward with all sorts of items and skills as soon as they learned that he was being targeted by Chen Xuan.

    How could he not feel cocky about his appearance?

    Yue Shan¡¯s mouth hung open. He turned around without another word. All of the guards followed suit.

    Sorry for disturbing you, we¡¯re out of here.

    Why do I suddenly feel like throwing up?

    Those guards all wore strange expressions as they departed.

    When he noticed the stream of Rage pointsing in, Zu An couldn¡¯t hide his disdain for their pettiness. This was purely jealousy at work.

    ...

    Early the next morning, Zu An was still fast asleep, when he was suddenly awoken by a pounding on the door.

    ¡°Who is it?!¡±

    Zu An was feeling terribly cranky. Which idiot is pounding on my door so early in the morning?

    He turned his body to the other side, ignoring it. The door was suddenly kicked wide open.

    ¡°Lazy-ass brother-inw, the sun¡¯s already shining on your butt. Wake up already!¡± Chu Huanzhao¡¯s uniquely sweet yet unruly voice came through.

    When he spied the broken door bolt, Zu An¡¯s face darkened. ¡°Girl, would it hurt you to be a bit moredy-like? I¡¯m really worried that no one will want to marry you in the future.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s none of your business even if no one wants to marry me!¡± Seeing him still wrapped in his nkets, Chu Huanzhao threatened him, ¡°Hurry and get up already! I¡¯m going to pull off the covers if you still don¡¯t get up!¡±

    Her hands reached for his bedding as she spoke.

    Zu An gave a start, and said in a panic, ¡°I¡¯m not wearing anything! If you want to remove the covers then go for it!¡±

    ¡°Pervert!¡± Chu Huanzhao instantly pulled her hands back, as if she had been shocked by electricity.

    Zu An was left speechless. I¡¯m the one sleeping peacefully here, while you¡¯re the one barging into my room, so how am I the pervert?!

    Chu Huanzhao¡¯s face was tinged with red. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you going to school today?¡± she asked, turning away from him.

    ¡°Who told you?¡± Zu An was a bit shocked.

    ¡°Big sis told me.¡± Chu Huanzhao gave an angry huff. Earlier, her older sister had told her Zu An wasn¡¯t going to school that day, and that she didn¡¯t have to wait for him. She hade running for confirmation right after that.

    ¡°Yeah, I have some important matters to take care of today.¡± Zu An got up and began to put on some clothes. There was no way he could fall asleep again after being disturbed like this.

    ¡°Tsk, what sort of important matters could you possibly be dealing with?¡± When she heard the sounds of him putting on his clothes, Chu Huanzhao¡¯s little face slowly grew redder and redder. Idly, she began to wonder what her brother-inw looked like without his clothes on.

    She was horrified as soon as this thought appeared in her mind. ¡°Pui, pui, pui!¡± she spat.

    ¡°What the heck are you doing?¡± Zu An asked curiously.

    ¡°Nothing! If you¡¯re not going then whatever, I¡¯ll go by myself!¡± Chu Huanzhao immediately fled in a cloud of guilt, as if Zu An might find out what she was thinking if she stayed even a second longer.

    Zu An was baffled. Why had this girl suddenly gotten all flustered? The minds of younger girls were really a mystery to him.

    Soon afterwards, Chu Chuyan informed him that the silver was already being prepared, and that he could start making ns.

    Zu An took some time to think the matter through. ¡°I¡¯ve only met that Wang Yuanlong fellow once. I should drag Chu Yucheng along, to act as a go-between. The two of them already have a good rtionship.¡±

    Chu Chuyan had no objections. The third branch of the Chu n was also in charge of the salt business, after all.

    Zu An got Chu Yucheng to reach out to Wang Yuanlong. By noon, the three of them had already met up at the Immortal Abode.

    Wang Yuanlong couldn¡¯t help but sigh in admiration when he saw the figure of Qiu Honglei behind the beaded curtains. ¡°I really respect Brother Zu... If not for you, I would never have gotten the chance to admire Lady Qiu¡¯s beautiful zither ying up close.¡±

    Zu Anughed heartily. ¡°You¡¯re giving me too much credit. I don¡¯t really have any other skills, I just happen to be good with girls, haha~¡±

    1. These are the two top universities in modern-day China.

 Chapter 275: I Really Donâ€™t Mind Having a Friend Like This

    <h4>Chapter 275: I Really Don¡¯t Mind Having a Friend Like This</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Wang Yuanlong and Chu Yucheng exchanged stony nces. They clearly shared the same thought.

    Why do I always want to smack this guy in the face?

    The two of them simultaneously turned to look at Qiu Honglei, who was ying the zither. They immediately despaired, having no idea how they were even supposed to respond.

    You have sessfully trolled Wang Yuanlong for 666 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Yucheng for 666 Rage points!

    Zu An let out an appreciative sigh as he saw the Rage pointse in. As expected, we really are good friends! You really didn¡¯t have to be this generous, guys...

    Behind the beaded curtains, Qiu Honglei paid close attention to everything that was happening. A smile spread across her face. This Ah Zu really was one-of-a-kind.

    Wang Yuanlong hurriedly changed the topic to prevent his self-confidence from potentially suffering an irrecoverable blow. ¡°Brother Zu, what made you suddenly free up some time to invite me for a drink today? Do those back home know?¡±

    Hmph, everyone in Brightmoon City knows that Chu Chuyan is proud and arrogant! If you keep visiting brothels like this, your wife might just make you sleep outside tonight.

    There was no malicious intent behind his words. They were driven by the natural pride that men felt over such matters, whichpelled them to secretlypare themselves to others.

    ¡°Are you talking about Chuyan? Yup, she knows. She even gave me some extra silver to y around with when I told her I wasing here. She took pains to warn me that a man absolutely cannot be stingy when ying around outside, and that I cannot offend Lady Qiu!¡± Zu An said nonchntly.

    ¡°You¡¯re joking!¡± Wang Yuanlong was dumbfounded. Young miss Chu didn¡¯t seem like the kind of person who would ever agree to share a man!

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Chu Yucheng smiled bitterly. ¡°I fear that he speaks the truth today. Young miss Chu even specially straightened out his clothes for him before we left. She really did tell him these things.¡±

    Wang Yuanlong stared at them, mouth agape.

    What the hell, man? How is my character or my background any worse than this guy¡¯s?

    You have sessfully trolled Wang Yuanlong for 233 Rage points!

    Zu An smiled at this generous donation of Rage points. Guys with too many chicks really can¡¯t avoid offending other guys.

    Forget it, I won¡¯t mess with him anymore. I really don¡¯t wanna mess things up today.

    Zu An moved the conversation on to other random topics. With a veteran party-goer like Chu Yucheng around and a group of girls to keep thempany, a great atmosphere built up naturally.

    Feeling that the timing was right, Zu An had the other girls withdraw. ¡°I have a gift here to give Brother Wang,¡± he said, addressing the main purpose of their meeting.

    ¡°Brother An is too generous!¡± Wang Yuanlong was stunned. He immediately declined.

    Zu An didn¡¯t argue with him. Instead, he dragged out severalrge chests from the rear hall.

    Even though silver was heavy, it wasn¡¯t much trouble for a cultivator like himself.

    He threw open the chests, and the entire room was lit up with flickering silver light, which was reflecting off the contents of the chests.

    ¡°This...¡± Wang Yuanlong was a rtivelypetent individual. Seeing the silver, he immediately had a rough idea of what was going on.

    ¡°There¡¯s two hundred thousand taels of silver here,¡± Zu An said. ¡°Brother Wang should use it to pay the individual salt merchants back their deposits. I must also trouble Brother Wang to speak to your father in my ce. Please tell him that the Sang n is deliberately sowing discord between our two ns. We really do not want the great rtionship that we have built up to crumble just because of this.¡±

    Wang Yuanlong stared at the silver for a long time, seemingly in a daze. Finally, he said, ¡°Brother Zu, you¡¯ve truly earned a whole new level of respect from me!¡±

    He naturally understood that the two hundred thousand taels of silver wasn¡¯t from Zu An, but from the Chu n.

    His shock stemmed from the fact that it was widely assumed Zu An¡¯s title as young master was an empty one. However, he had somehow been entrusted with such an important task! The Chu n clearly ced great trust in him.

    Wang Yuanlong wholeheartedly epted his request. ¡°Brother Zu, please tell Brightmoon Duke and First Miss Chu that our Wang n will not forget this kindness!¡± he said solemnly.

    The Wang n truly was in dire financial straits. This silver would go a long way in bailing them out.

    Now that they were discussing important matters, the revelry in Wang Yuanlong¡¯s eyes disappeared. He had no desire to continue partying in such a ce anymore. He itched to bring the silver back as soon as possible and talk to his father.

    Zu An didn¡¯t stop him. ¡°In that case, I won¡¯t keep Brother Wang. Let¡¯s share another drink when all of this blows over.¡±

    ¡°But of course!¡± With his n¡¯s crisis averted, Wang Yuanlong¡¯s mood had be much lighter.

    ¡°Take care on the way back,¡± said Zu An.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, this amount of silver won¡¯t trouble us. I still have at least this much faith in my guards.¡± Two hundred thousand taels of silver really was an astronomical sum for an ordinary family, but it wasn¡¯t nearly as staggering for a big n. If it wasn¡¯t for the series of misfortunes that had gued them, the Wang n would have easily been able to fork out such a sum.

    They were still in the city, where public security was decent, and any otherrge n that could afford to offend the Wang n would surely not do so over a paltry two hundred thousand taels of silver.

    Zu An¡¯s remark had been made in passing, without much thought. He had Chu Yucheng see Wang Yuanlong off.

    After the two had left, Qiu Honglei slowly emerged from the inner hall. ¡°I¡¯m surprised that the Chu n entrusted Ah Zu with such a serious mission. It seems like Ah Zu¡¯s standing in the Chu n is rising steadily.¡±

    Zu Anughed and said, ¡°This is all thanks to you! I could never have gained the Chu n¡¯s trust so quickly if it wasn¡¯t for the intelligence you gave me thest time.¡±

    As he spoke, his hand moved discreetly to encircle her waist. This woman was clearly scheming against him, so he had to at least get something out of her.

    Qiu Honglei evaded him just as discreetly, her smile still intact. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect my intelligence to prove so useful. I¡¯ve just received a new piece of information regarding the illicit salt trade. I wonder if Ah Zu is interested?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Zu An¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Of course I am! Please enlighten me.¡±

    Qiu Honglei walked over to the entrance of the Abode. She pointed towards the surface of the distantke, which gleamed in the afternoon sun. ¡°I received information from a trustworthy source, indicating that the Whale Gang will be transporting a batch of illicit salt via the pier tonight. I will leave young master to decide whether or not to seize this opportunity.¡±

    Zu Anughed heartily. ¡°Honglei, you really are my lucky charm! You managed to pick up such an important piece of news so quickly! Come, give me a kiss.¡±

    Qiu Honglei stepped backwards gracefully, evading his clutches. She said with a lovableugh, ¡°Ah Zu, you should hurry and make your preparations. Time is of the essence. We don¡¯t know when another opportunity would arise if you miss this chance!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right!¡± Even though Zu An wore a smile, he was cursing inside. This woman was always throwing herself at him, yet he couldn¡¯t eveny a hand on her. He was growing tired of this game of chastity.

    In the end, all this is just ying around. I have to get back to dealing with this matter properly.

    He too left the Immortal Abode in a hurry. However, he didn¡¯t fully trust Qiu Honglei¡¯s information, and secretly took a detour to check out the pier.

    From his discreet observations, the pier did indeed seem busier than usual. Several burly men were constantly looking around while they were transporting goods, their behavior extremely suspicious.

    He rushed back to inform Chu Chuyan at once, who then quickly contacted her mother.

    When Chu Zhongtian learned of the news, he was ted. He immediately prepared to dispatch men to the pier.

    Qin Wanru spoke a word of caution. ¡°Even though Whale Gang doesn¡¯t have many experts, they have the numbers. The Chu n might not have enough men to deal with this situation. Should we call over Sang Qian¡¯s River Patrol Army too? This is supposed to be their job, anyway, and this was part of the deal offered by Sang Hong. We can¡¯t just have them sit idly, especially since we¡¯re contributing so much!¡±

    Even though the Chu n had a private army, dispatching troops into the city without a court order still went against thew.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s condition was still poor, so some of the guards had to remain in the estate to protect her. This meant less men would be avable to catch these crooks.

    Chu Zhongtian agreed with his wife¡¯s reasoning. ¡°Ah Zu, bring some men to enlist the aid of Commander Sang. Have him get involved in this operation.¡±

    He decided to leave the Chu n¡¯s guards in the estate and entrust this entire affair to Sang Qian¡¯s men. If they screwed this matter up, he¡¯d still have something to use against Sang Hong in the future.

    ¡°Okay!¡± Zu An caught the look Chu Chuyan had given him. He knew that this was the chance she fought to obtain for him, so he immediately agreed.

    Worried that Chen Xuan might try to assassinate him along the way, the Chu n sent out a dozen guards to apany him.

    As they made their way to Sang Qian¡¯s residence, a sudden thought popped into Zu An¡¯s mind. I wonder if that Sang Qian would immediately pick a fight with me if he knew I copped a feel of his fiance¡¯s legs.

    In my defense, Zheng Dan was the one who approached me first, so it could be that Sang Qian is somehow secretly involved in it.

    Hm... Don¡¯t tell me Sang Qian actually has some weird fetish?

    I really don¡¯t mind having a friend like this!

 Chapter 276: Stalling and Stalling

    <h4>Chapter 276: Stalling and Stalling</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The River Patrol Army was originally set up as a preventative measure against the river flooding. If the river floods, then they needrge amounts of manpower to repair the dike. There was also a need ofborers to cut out canals for ease of transportation.

    Eventually, as the transportation system developed, the River Patrol Army also assumed the role of ensuring the safety of the trade route along the river. They were in charge of exterminating some wild beasts in the vicinity.

    Brightmoon City¡¯s area prospered because of the salt industry, and because of the potential profits, the illicit drug trade had always been a problem. The River Patrol Army thus took on the job of suppressing smugglers. Over time, everyone eventually called them the River Patrol Police Camp.

    Inside a secret room within River Patrol Camp¡¯s government office, Commander Sang Qian bowed respectfully to an elder. ¡°Father¡¯s move truly is brilliant. You¡¯ve effortlessly divided Wang and Chu ns.¡±

    Sang Hong lightly stroked his beard. There wasn¡¯t much joy in his expression. ¡°How can it be that simple? I really would be looking down on Chu Zhongtian if this was enough to make those two families fall out.¡±

    ¡°Is it possible that Chu Zhongtian can still turn things around?¡± Sang Qian asked with curiosity.

    ¡°He will definitely think up some countermeasures, but it doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Sang Hong released a lightugh. ¡°The exchange permit is just the beginning, there¡¯s still a whole arsenal of tricks waiting for him. We¡¯ll cut off their mostpetent ally first, and then we¡¯ll deal with the isted Chu n.¡±

    ¡°You make Brightmoon Duke sound pretty impressive, but isn¡¯t he still being toyed with under father¡¯s hands?!¡± Sang Qian roared withughter.

    Sang Hong shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s not that Chu Zhongtian is inferior, but instead that I have the emperor and empress behind me. The irresistible trend isn¡¯t something a mere man can go against.¡±

    Sang Qian grumbled to himself that his father always loved to bber about nonsense. He was clearly doing amazing for himself, yet he kept ttering other people. He really was taking modesty too far.

    ¡°Oh, by the way, father needs to take good care of your body too. Brightmoon City¡¯s rich merchants sent over some of Immortal Abode¡¯s ¡®fine goods¡¯ earlier.¡± Sang Qian winked as he spoke, giving his father a knowing expression.

    Sang Hong rolled his eyes at his son. ¡°Are you really still holding a grudge because I didn¡¯t let you go to Immortal Abodest time? You called for their girls as soon as I turned my back?¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare!¡± Sang Qian bowed his head at once in apology. But inside, he had some other thoughts.

    ¡°Father has always been upright and honest. I¡¯ve made a rash decision in calling those escorts today! This might nder your respected self¡¯s name and easily draw political attacks.¡±

    ¡°As long as I can take care of the mission the imperial household has assigned me, an honest reputation is pointless. Your dad will give you a piece of wisdom today,¡± said Sang Hong with a heavy voice, ¡°An honest appearance ispletely useless apart from having a good reputation. If you want to be an honest and upright official, then you have to be even more crafty than those corrupt officials.¡±

    ¡°Only if you receive those ns¡¯ gifts would they treat you as one of their own, only then will cooperation be much easier in the future, eliminating some unnecessary misgivings.¡±

    ¡°The task we were entrusted with this time is to deal with the Chu n, take back all of their salt and iron wealth back to the court where it belongs. Everything else is secondary.¡±

    Sang Hong bowed respectfully. ¡°Father¡¯s instructions are wise.¡±

    He couldn¡¯t help but sign inwardly. To even justify sleeping with women with such proper wording and reasoning... perhaps his father was the only one in this world who would do such a thing.

    ¡°Reporting! Chu n¡¯s young master Zu An has brought men with him and requested a meeting!¡± A soldier passed on this message at the entrance.

    ¡°Why did hee here?¡± Sang Qian¡¯s brows furrowed. He really didn¡¯t like this guy for some reason.

    When he thought about how that second-rate rascal ended up obtaining the goddess like first miss Chu, he really felt like this was a flower falling into shit. No, this was a flower falling into an entire hole of shit.

    He felt even more irritated when he recalled how Zu An won a few hundred thousand silvers from his own family¡¯s casino.

    ¡°You are letting your emotions affect you too greatly! How many times have I already taught you? You just don¡¯t learn!¡± Sang Hong said in dissatisfaction. His son was way too immature, not possessing a shred of his father¡¯sposure. ¡°Go and see what Zu An came for.¡±

    ¡°Yes...¡± Sang Qian replied resentfully. It¡¯s all that Zu An¡¯s fault that his dad scolded him again.

    ...

    Zu An was waiting in the hall. He suddenly saw two chunks of Rage pointse from Sang Qian.

    Zu An was speechless. He was already so upset when the two of them didn¡¯t even meet yet?

    Does he know about what happened between me and his fiance?

    But apart from having a bit of an ambiguous rtionship, groped a few times, nothing really happened either?

    I¡¯m really being wronged here!

    While he let his imagination run wild, Sang Qian finally came. ¡°Young master Zu, what brings you to River Patrol Police Camp today?¡±

    Calling this fe young master made him want to throw up. How could the two words young master possibly fit someone like him?

    But his father always told him not to let his anger get the best of him. If he directly called out this guy¡¯s name, wouldn¡¯t he feel even more enmity?

    He was incredibly conflicted inside. But how could he possibly know that Zu An already knew about his hostility through a different way?

    ¡°We discovered that arge batch of illicit salt is being unloaded from the pier tonight. That is why we need Commander Sang Qian to lead your men andpletely take out those illicit salt traffickers.¡± Zu An didn¡¯t feel like wasting any time with this man either, instead getting straight to the point.

    ¡°Illicit salt?¡± Sang Qian was immediately frightened. ¡°Where did Brother Zu obtain his intelligence? Why did our River Patrol Army not receive any news of this?¡±

    He gave a slight nod to his subordinate while talking. That subordinate nodded slightly as well before silently withdrawing.

    Zu An and the others didn¡¯t notice anything. After all, there were just too many River Patrol Army men here, and none of them were familiar with this ce.

    ¡°I do not believe the key issue right now is where the intelligencees from, but rather that we need to catch those criminals as quickly as possible.¡± Zu An obviously didn¡¯t want to bring up Qiu Honglei.

    He originally wanted to berate this guy and say that even a brothel has better information than the army actually in charge of this type of criminal activity. Weren¡¯t theypletely good for nothing?

    But after some consideration, the Chu n still had to depend on them in the future. He held back on these words for now and cook his asster when things were already decided afterwards.

    ¡°It¡¯s really not that I don¡¯t believe you, but this matter is too important! If we always fail and rm the true illicit salt traffickers, then that¡¯ll only make it even harder to catch them in the future,¡± Sang Hong said with a heavy voice.

    ¡°My information is definitely reliable. Themander just needs to do your part and catch them,¡± said Zu An. This didn¡¯te purely from his trust in Qiu Honglei, he himself already scouted things out. There was definitely no mistake.

    ¡°In that case, does Brother Zu darey down a military order?¡± Sang Qian also got up, his expression bing serious.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes narrowed. He shook his head and said, ¡°I am not a military soldier, why would I bother with any military order?¡±

    Even though he had great confidence, he didn¡¯t want to assume risks for no reason.

    Unexpected things always happened.

    This guy is definitely up to no good by making me give some military order, right?

    Zu An frowned. He thought for a bit, and then he felt like this operation might not go as smoothly as he thought.

    Sang Qianughed and said, ¡°There is no need for Brother Zu to feel rmed, I am merely seeking confirmation. It is just that dispatching troops isn¡¯t that simple of a matter. I need to report to the authorities for approval. If we make a huge fuss but end up with nothing, then everyone from the top brass to the low level soldiers will haveints.¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°You need to request for approval from the higher ups?¡± Zu An was stunned. ¡°Then why are you wasting time here? How long does it take for this process to bepleted?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s brows furrowed tightly. Where was there any time to waste like this? These fes are so inefficient! No wonder the illicit salt trade has gotten so out of hand.

    Sang Qian then came up with all types of subjects to stall for time. Zu An replied indifferently to all of it.

    After a while longer of this, Zu An finally couldn¡¯t take it anymore. He got up and said, ¡°If themander¡¯s side won¡¯t be able to help, then I¡¯ll move my Chu estate¡¯s own men to catch the criminals.¡±

    Things always had a higher chance of going wrong the more time was wasted. Being held up here already left him with a vague ominous feeling.

    ¡°Please do not be impatient Brother Zu, it¡¯ll bepleted soon.¡± Sang Qian changed the topic. ¡°Furthermore, the arrest of the illicit salt trade is our River Patrol Army¡¯s responsibility, so how can we make Brightmoon Duke go through the trouble? If the governor, City Lord, heard about this, then I will be severely punished for negligence.¡±

    ¡°I will wait another ten minutes. If there is still no progress, then I will head over to deal with it myself.¡± Zu An also knew that Chu Zhongtian most likely sent him here out of reservations towards the regtions, to prevent his political enemies from having more things to use against him.

    But he couldn¡¯t wait here limitlessly. If someone really scared those illicit salt traffickers away, then everything would go down the drain.

    ¡°Minutes?¡± Sang Qian didn¡¯t really understand this measurement of time, but he roughly guessed Zu An¡¯s intentions. ¡°We¡¯ll receive news soon. Please be patient, Brother Zu.¡±

    After waiting a few more torturous minutes, Zu An finally couldn¡¯t take it anymore. He got up and began to walk out.

    Unknown if it really was a coincidence or not, a soldier suddenly ran in and said, ¡°We received orders from above!¡±

    Sang Qian said with augh, ¡°Good, we¡¯ll immediately mobilize the troops. Depart!¡±

    The soldiers in River Patrol Army¡¯s drill ground began to gather. When he saw how slow these soldiers were moving, their armor not even on straight, Zu An frowned. Are these soldiers or riffraffs?

    With this type of army in charge, no wonder the illicit salt trade has grown so rampant.

    Sang Qian¡¯s expression also became a bit unpleasant, hurriedly exining, ¡°Yesterday¡¯s drills ran a bitte. I reckon that the men haven¡¯tpletely recovered yet.¡±

    He spoke while roaring at his subordinates, ¡°Hurry up, stop dilly dallying!¡±

    Unfortunately, no matter how he roared, those soldiers only put on a bit of an act. In reality, they didn¡¯t move that fast.

    Just the assembling of the troops took half an hour.

    But thank the heavens they still departed in the end.

    Sang Hong silently watched as the troops departed. He fiddled with a smoking pipe in his hand and quietly took a hit. His slim face flickered behind the rising smoke.

    A wave of confusion rose within him. ¡°How did Zu An manage to pinpoint the illicit salt traffickers¡¯ activity?¡±

    Zu An brought Chu estate¡¯s guards and River Patrol Army¡¯s soldiers towards the pier.

    Out of worry that the illicit salt traffickers already ran, Zu An was extremely anxious. He urged the horse to charge crazily.

    As a result, after only covering half the distance, a pnquin suddenly rushed out from a street.

    Zu An hurriedly reined his horse in. Even though it stopped at the final moment, those porters were clearly rmed.

    The pnquin on the shoulders of the men who fell over also leaned to the side.

    ¡°Aiya~¡± A youngdy¡¯s rmed voice sounded from within.

 Chapter 277: Will You Take Responsibility?

    <h4>Chapter 277: Will You Take Responsibility?</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Hm?

    Despite the obvious rm in the youngdy¡¯s voice, it still sounded extremely pleasant. Moreover, it seemed somewhat familiar.

    Even though he hadn¡¯t bumped into her, it was his actions that had indirectly caused her to fall. As someone who came from a different civilized world, he could just ignore this.

    He hurriedly got off the horse and asked, ¡°Miss, are you all right?¡±

    Even though the weight of the pnquin and its upant was heavy, he had little difficulty supporting it thanks to his cultivation.

    Unfortunately, his good intentions instead made things worse. There was a sound of something heavy bumping against the side of the pnquin. The sudden movement of the pnquin most likely made its upant lose her bnce. The pnquin rocked back and forth.

    ¡°Ah!!!¡±

    Its upant was clearly having a rough time. She instinctively tried to mber out of the pnquin. Unfortunately she wasn¡¯t able to steady herself, and fell out instead.

    ¡°Be careful!¡± Zu An hurriedly reached out a hand to support her.

    Something soft and gentlended onto his hand. Zu An was startled.

    He was confronted by a lovely but displeased face. Her elegant brows and graceful nose made her seem like a nobledy of the court.

    ¡°Miss Zheng, what are you doing here?¡±

    There was no mistaking this woman¡¯s appearance. Who could it be other than Zheng Dan?

    Good thing it¡¯s someone I already know. I¡¯ll be in a lot less trouble this way. I wonder if there are the equivalent of car crash scams in this world.

    ¡°Ah Zu, why are you here?¡±

    Zheng Dan recognized him as well, a look of pleasant surprise on her face.

    ¡°Ahem, ahem~¡± Sang Qian¡¯s dissatisfied cough came from behind them. ¡°How long are you two nning on embracing each other?¡±

    Only then did they realize that they were snuggled against each other. They leaped apart at once as if shocked by electricity.

    Zheng Dan was extremely flustered.

    Zu An grew indignant. Why do I feel like I was just caught red-handed while engaging in an affair?

    Bro, I just saved your wife! You should be thanking me.

    A strange me burned within Sang Qian. Zheng Dan didn¡¯t even let him hold her hand, yet she was being so intimate with another man right in front of him.

    This was thest thing he had expected to witness. Why, then, was there such a strange feeling within him?

    ¡°Ah Zu, where are you headed to in such a rush?¡± Zheng Dan asked. She had finally recovered some of herposure. She fussed at several stray strands of hair which hade loose in the earlier chaos, tucking them behind her ears.

    Why are you asking me this and not your fianc¨¦e?

    Despite his puzzlement, Zu An still replied, ¡°We have things to take care of. We¡¯ll exin things to miss Zheng when we return.¡±

    With that, he mounted his horse.

    Zheng Dan took in the surrounding troops from the police camp. ¡°Are you all cracking down on some salt smugglers?¡± she asked.

    Zu An¡¯s narrowed his eyes. ¡°How did you know?¡¯

    Were they already exposed?!

    Zheng Dan smiled. ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to be nervous. Aren¡¯t the troops at the police camp in charge of capturing those salt smugglers? Arge portion of our Zheng n¡¯s revenuees from the salt trade, so I¡¯m familiar with these things.¡±

    Her reply helped to settle Zu An¡¯s nerves.

    ¡°Take me with you. My Zheng n also hates these smugglers bitterly,¡± said Zheng Dan. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen these smugglers get caught, so this¡¯ll be a good experience.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t cause trouble. We are taking care of official matters. How can we allow our women toe along with us?¡± Sang Qian gruffly refused her request.

    Zheng Dan smiled. ¡°Correct me if I¡¯m wrong, but I haven¡¯t joined the Sang n yet. Strictly speaking, I am not the Sang n¡¯s woman, but rather a daughter of a salt merchant. My request to witness this scene is perfectly reasonable, don¡¯t you think?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes widened as he watched this exchange. Zheng Dan always seemed so warm and reserved before. Why did she suddenly decide to spit in Sang Qian¡¯s face like this?

    Isn¡¯t she screwing herself over if she¡¯s going to marry into his family?

    Maybe she¡¯s just putting on an act because I¡¯m here? Sigh, it really sucks to be too handsome. You end up ruining other people¡¯s households.

    Sang Qian snorted. ¡°So what if that¡¯s the case? We are in a hurry, and your pnquin won¡¯t be able to keep up.¡±

    ¡°I can ride a horse as well!¡± Zheng Dan proudly tilted her chin upwards, her snow white neck stretching like a beautiful swan.

    Sang Qian frowned. ¡°I don¡¯t have any horses that you can ride. These are all army horses, and not for personal use. I¡¯ll be used of misconduct if I let you ride them.¡±

    Zheng Dan pursed her lips. She knew that he was telling the truth. She found herself in a quandary. Just then, a voice came weakly from off to the side. ¡°This horse of mine isn''t an army horse. I can bring you with me.¡±

    Steam almost shot out of Sang Qian¡¯s ears and nose when he heard this. Are you flirting with my fianc¨¦e in front of me?

    Bring her with you? Are you shitting me? Are the two of you going to ride on the same horse?

    How could my subordinates ever respect me again as amander if they see this happen?

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for 666 Rage points!

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An sneered inwardly. Why does this guy get angry so easily?

    Did Zheng Dan really not approach him with ulterior motives this time? Oh baby, that makes things way more interesting.

    Zheng Dan considered Zu An for a moment, then looked at Sang Qian. In the end, she shook her head. ¡°Thank you young master for your good intentions,¡± she said to Zu An, ¡°but there is no need for that.¡±

    If the two of them had been alone, she might have agreed on an impulse. Her honey trap was still in y, after all.

    However, riding with another man in such an intimate manner, and in front of so many other witnesses, would definitely mess up the marriage alliance between the Zheng and Sang ns.

    The Sang n would never allow themselves to beughingstocks.

    Even the Zheng n might start whacking her with broomsticks.

    Zu An was only testing the waters¡ªhe wouldn¡¯t really be that brazen.

    He quickly had one of his guards give up his horse for her. Then, they headed out.

    After a stick of incense¡¯s worth of time, their group finally arrived at the pier. The pier was bustling with activity, with countless boatmen busy unloading their cargo.

    ¡°Immediately cease everything you are doing! Comply, or you will be executed for smuggling without exception!¡± Sang Qian hollered.

    He was already furious to begin with. It felt good to finally have a channel to vent his resentment.

    His voice carried loudly across the pier, and hismand was backed up by his soldiers dispersing across the pier. All other activity ceased in an instant.

    Zu An was a bit rmed. This guy is actually pretty strong.

    ¡°Zu An, ording to your sources, who is the one engaging in the salt smuggling?¡± Sang Qian didn¡¯t bother being polite.

    Zu An frowned. He didn¡¯t know which n it was exactly. Qiu Honglei¡¯s intelligence wasn¡¯t that detailed.

    His mind raced, and he thought up a suitable response. ¡°We¡¯ll investigate the goods first!¡±

    The illicit salt trade could generate staggering returns, but it was also dangerous. If the smugglers shifted too little each time, then they wouldn¡¯t make much profits. If they tried to shift their goods too often, then the risk would increase greatly. That was why they had to find one chance to smuggle in a lot of their product.

    Sang Qian nodded. With a wave of his hand, his subordinates fanned out.

    Their search provided instant results. A group of soldiers brought a middle-aged man up to Zu An and Sang Qian. ¡°Reporting! Most of the goods on the pier belong to his n.¡±

    Zu An looked at this middle-aged man once over. His appearance waspletely ordinary, and wouldn¡¯t have stood out in a crowd.

    The only thing worth noting was his smooth skin and his hands which were not callused. It was obvious that this guy normally lived quite the good life.

    ¡°Uncle Hou, what are you doing here?¡± Zheng Dan suddenly said in surprise.

    Zu An was startled. He turned around to face her. ¡°Do you recognize this person?¡±

    Zheng Dan nodded. ¡°He is our Zheng n¡¯s butler, Hou Yun. Father has put him in charge of many things.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Zu An¡¯s expression grew immediately curious.

    A thought surfaced in his mind. Zheng Dan¡¯s sudden appearance might not actually be a coincidence.

    After all, they had been stalled for almost an hour because of her. Maybe she was trying to buy time.

    Does that mean that Sang Qian has no clue, then?

    Sang Qian questioned the butler. ¡°Hou Yun, what are you doing here?¡±

    ¡°Some goods that our Zheng n imported were scheduled to arrive today, so I came to monitor the situation.¡± Hou Yun replied with an apologetic smile.

    ¡°Since these goods belong to the Zheng n, there shouldn¡¯t be any issues. Examine the other goods.¡± Sang Qian waved his hand, indicating that he was letting this matter go.

    ¡°Hold on!¡± Zu An ordered.

    What the heck is going on here? How can this guy be let off that easily? There was no way Zu An was going to let this matter rest just like that. He stared straight at Hou Yun and asked, ¡°What goods were you expecting today?¡±

    ¡°Just some ordinary goods,¡± Hou Yun replied respectfully.

    ¡°Don¡¯t feign ignorance. What are they?¡± Zu An said fiercely.

    Zheng Dan stepped forward. ¡°Ah Zu, are you suspecting my Zheng n of taking part in the illicit salt trade?¡±

    Zu An snorted in his heart. Is there even a doubt? Could it be any more clear? Who would have expected the Zheng n, one of Brightmoon City¡¯s biggest salt merchants, to be engaged in the illicit salt trade?

    It kind of makes sense, though. The Chu n dominated the market share for salt in Brightmoon City, while the remainder was split between the other three ns. This was certainly not enough to satisfy their appetites.

    There was no way Zu An would voice his suspicions out loud. ¡°Of course not,¡± he said instead. ¡°However, I am worried that some of your subordinates might be a little too daring, and do some foolish things under the Zheng n¡¯s name. If such matters were to be explosively revealedter on, the Zheng n¡¯s reputation will be severely tarnished! That¡¯s why we should still examine this matter carefully.¡±

    Zheng Dan smiled. ¡°Ah Zu has thought things out well.¡±

    She turned to Hou Yun and said, ¡°Uncle Hou, did you hear what he said? Just report things as they are.¡± Her voice remained as calm as the surface of a winterke.

    Zu An sighed secretly in admiration. He really had no idea anymore if this woman was innocent, or if she was just pretending. Her acting skills truly were amazing.

    ¡°We¡¯re expecting some cotton and other raw materials. The Zheng n runs arge clothing business. Transporting these things shouldn¡¯t be illegal, right?¡± Hou Yun bit out. He was in a sour mood after having been doubted, and his reply carried more than its fair share of attitude.

    ¡°What about the gate procedures and the written official approval? Bring them out so we can have a look.¡± Zu An reached out a hand.

    Sang Qian gave him a sideways nce. Didn¡¯t everyone call this guy an ignorant and ipetent fool? Why does he know about all these things?

    This was where he was mistaken. While Brightmoon Academy¡¯s Yellow ss received few lessons on matters rting to cultivation, they were lectured often on practical and business matters.

    Many students found these lectures boring, but Zu An listened to everything he could, in order to gain a better understanding of this world.

    Such arge shipment of goods definitely required corresponding official approvals.

    Hou Yun gave Sang Qian an inquiring look. Sang Qian snorted. ¡°What are you looking at me for? Zu An is here representing Brightmoon Duke. Do as he says.¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes, yes~¡± Hou Yun immediately handed over the official documents.

    Zu An examined them, and noted that they were indeed for cotton and other raw materials.

    Despite the official documentation, he still had his doubts. He walked straight up to the cargo ship. ¡°Open up the cabin! I want to search this ce.¡±

    Hou Yun immediately grew angry. ¡°But the goods have already been properly stowed! If you open up the cabin now and search it, we would have to load everything up again, and we¡¯ll be dyed by at least a day! Our Zheng n has to paypensation if the goods do not reach their destination on time.¡±

    Zu An ignored his protests and repeated coldly, ¡°Open up the cabin!¡±

    With a wave of his hand, the Chu n¡¯s guards spread out to secure key areas of the ship. They were ready to make a move if given the order.

    Hou Yun¡¯s darkened further. He said fiercely, ¡°If you don¡¯t find anything, will you take responsibility for the Zheng n¡¯s losses?¡±

 Chapter 278: Incompetent and Angry

    <h4>Chapter 278: Ipetent and Angry</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An waspletely unaffected by his fierce rebuke. Instead, he turned to Zheng Dan, who was beside him.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t your young miss here? She¡¯s obviously the one who should take charge of such an important matter. If she wants me to take responsibility then I will. If she doesn¡¯t, then I won¡¯t. What does miss Zheng think?¡± Zu An said with a chuckle.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zheng Dan blushed. Was this fellow deliberately trying to take advantage of her? Despite this, she still replied, ¡°Everything the young master is doing is for the sake of the government. How could I make you take responsibility?¡±

    Zu Anughed heartily. ¡°I¡¯m really happy that miss Zheng doesn¡¯t need me to take responsibility. It seems like our rtionship is pretty good.¡±

    From the side, Sang Qian¡¯s brow furrowed. He subconsciously adjusted his helmet. His headgear seemed somewhat ufortable today.

    ¡°The young miss has already given the word.¡± Hou Yun said. ¡°Follow me.¡± He walked to the front and gestured to his subordinates to open up the cabin.

    Sang Qian waved his hand. His soldiers entered in a single file and began to carry out a search.

    Zu An gestured to his men as well, and the Chu n guards followed the others inside. He clearly didn¡¯t trust Sang Hong¡¯s people.

    Still uneasy about the situation, he followed them in personally.

    Sang Qian and Zheng Dan exchanged a look, then went in as well.

    Inside the cabin, sacks were piled up like a mountain. The soldiers were extremely rough with their search, stabbing their des directly into the sacks and allowing their contents to spill out.

    Hou Yun couldn¡¯t bear the sight of all the cotton tumbling out of the ruined sacks. He cried out, ¡°Everyone, please be more careful! Just tell me which bag you wish to inspect, and I¡¯ll open it up for you!¡±

    His pleas fell on deaf ears, so he could only entreat with Zu An. ¡°Chu n¡¯s young master, you¡¯ve already inspected what you want to inspect. Respectfully, you should be most satisfied with what you have uncovered, yes?¡±

    Zu An made noment. He pushed him aside and entered the deepest level of the ship. He saw more densely packed sacks piled up on each other.

    He wanted to examine the sacks at the very bottom, but it seemed unrealistic to be able to, unless someonepletely unloaded all the goods on this ship.

    However, he quickly realized his mistake. He had subconsciously used his previous world¡¯s experiences as a reference. In this world of cultivation, however, the strength of cultivators was many times greater than ordinary people.

    As such, he personally began to move away the sacks, trying to expose the ones right below.

    The Chu n guards also rushed over to help. In no time at all, they had made a hole measuring three square feet.

    ¡°Chu n¡¯s young master, what are you doing?!¡± Hou Yun panicked. He immediately rushed over to stop them, but was stopped by Feng Daniu and the others.

    Zu An¡¯s face had grown extremely dark. He fished out one of the sacks that had been buried the deepest.

    ¡°Why is butler Hou so nervous?¡± Zu An inquired, tossing the sack at his feet.

    ¡°Nervous? I¡¯m not nervous at all, hahaha~¡± Hou Yunughed a few times. However, the sheen of cold sweat on his face was clearly visible.

    Zu An gave Zheng Dan and Sang Qian a look, and snickered inwardly at their grave expressions.

    He fished out a de and stabbed into the sack.

    Everyone around craned their necks to see. What came out wasn¡¯t cotton.

    Zu An was disappointed. There was no white salt flowing out. Instead, a vast quantity of yellow sand leaked out.

    Zu An blinked. ¡°Why did you store yellow sand among the goods?¡± The premonition he¡¯d had earlier was finally bing a reality. He was somehow unsurprised by the oue so far.

    Hou Yun chuckled. ¡°The young master has never had to fend for yourself, so of course you don¡¯t understand our difficulties! These sacks of sand are used to weigh the ship down, to stabilize the ship when faced with great winds and mighty waves.¡±

    Everyone knew that Zu An had merely been an impoverished kid before he became the Chu n¡¯s young master, while Hou Yun seemed to have done quite well for himself all these years. His words sounded terribly mocking to all those present.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes narrowed. This guy wants to y games with me! Sure,e at me!

    He wasn¡¯t interested in trading insults with this man. He quickly examined the other bags too. Most of them contained yellow sand. He sneered. ¡°Is there a need for so much of this just to stabilize the ship?¡±

    Hou Yun began to wipe at the cold sweat covering his forehead. ¡°It¡¯s not illegal to bring extra yellow sand onto the ship, is it?¡±

    Zu An pointed at the goods in this ship. ¡°If I am not mistaken, most of the goods on this ship should be yellow sand. Is this how the Zheng n does business?¡±

    His eyes fell on Zheng Dan as he spoke.

    Zheng Dan frowned slightly. This did seem somewhat suspicious.

    ¡°This... this...¡± That Hou Yun continuously wiped away his sweat. He clearly couldn¡¯t find any excuses to get himself out of this situation.

    ¡°Take him away and interrogate him!¡± Zu An ordered immediately.

    Sang Qian stepped forward. ¡°I fear that this might be unsuitable. The Chu n doesn¡¯t have the authority to enforce thew in this situation. This task ought to be handed over to our police camp personnel.¡±

    Zu An said coldly, ¡°This operation should have gone smoothly. However, after making a trip to the police camp, the salt smugglers somehow received news ahead of time, and managed to swap out the goods. Isn¡¯t it inappropriate to continue to leave this matter in the hands of your police camp personnel?¡±

    Sang Qian¡¯s fury was swift. ¡°Are you saying that I leaked out the information?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for 213 Rage points!

    Zu An replied indifferently, ¡°I didn¡¯t use Commander Sang of leaking out anything. But we all know that those in underground businesses have eyes everywhere. There might be spies on the inside. I have no choice but to act carefully.¡±

    ¡°Nonsense! You are not only ndering me, but also ndering the hardworking soldiers of the River Patrol Army!¡± Sang Qian¡¯s gaze was full of hate.

    The expressions of the other River Patrol Army soldiers became hostile as well. Their hands moved towards their sword hilts.

    You have sessfully trolled River Patrol Army soldier A for 66 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled River Patrol Army soldier B for 66 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled River Patrol Army soldier C for 66 Rage points!

    ...

    The Chu n¡¯s guards rushed over, looking nervously at the soldiers around them.

    Zu An wasn¡¯t worried at all. Sang Hong had taken such pains to scheme against the Chu n in secret, so he was definitely not one to resort to force.

    So many people already know that I came to the pier, and there are even so many Chu n guards present. If something really does go down, then all his ns would be blown up.

    Sensing the escting tension, Zheng Dan took a step forward, interposing herself between the two sides. ¡°Ah Zu,¡± she said, ¡°you seem to be suspecting our Zheng n of participating in illegal trade.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not my intention at all,¡± Zu An replied. ¡°But if those under you are hiding their illegal activities from those higher up, then all of you will be implicated in the end. I¡¯m sure the rest of you want to get to the bottom of this affair too, isn¡¯t that right?¡±

    ¡°Of course we want to get to the bottom of this. However, if others find out that our Zheng n¡¯s butler was arrested, their first thought would be to cast suspicion on the whole or the Zheng n. This will deal irreversible damage to our n,¡± said Zheng Dan.

    Zu An smiled. ¡°Those who are clean will remain clean, and those who are dirty will have their filth exposed. Why does miss Zheng need to worry about these things?¡± He clearly had no intention of backing down.

    There was no way Sang Qian could let him take this person away. He found himself in a tight spot.

    Right at that moment, there came the sound of a group of orderly footsteps, apanied by loudughter. ¡°In that case, why don¡¯t you just hand him over to us?¡±

    Zu An turned around and discovered that this voice belonged to a familiar face. Vice Magistrate Pang Chun was walking over, leading a group of bailiffs.

    Sang Qian said coldly, ¡°This area is under the jurisdiction of the Police Camp! Isn¡¯t the vice magistrate overstepping your bounds?¡±

    Pang Chun was simmering inside. He said with a slight smile, ¡°Commander Sang is a little too excited. Since neither side wishes for the other to have custody of the suspect, wouldn¡¯t it be better for a neutral third party like us to interrogate him?¡±

    Neutral my ass! Sang Qian seethed inside.

    Pang Chun continued without missing a beat. ¡°Commander Sang and the Zheng n are engaged to each other. Since someone from the Zheng n is involved, shouldn¡¯t we handle things in a way that avoids the most suspicion?¡±

    Sang Qian knew he had lost. He understood that there was no way he could take the butler in hand anymore. In that case, giving him to Pang Chun was still better than giving him to the Chu n.

    Zu An didn¡¯t have any objections either. Pang Chun was someone on City Lord Xie¡¯s side. Strictly speaking, City Lord Xie wasn¡¯t on the same side as the Chu n, but neither was he in Sang Hong¡¯s camp. Moreover, the Xie n and the Chu n¡¯s rtionship was still considered close.

    Pang Chun quickly took Hou Yun and his workers into custody, while bringing forward his own people to act as witnesses.

    Zu An and his guards hurriedly returned to the Chu n estate to fill them in on what happened.

    When both sides had left, Sang Qian called Zheng Dan over to a quiet corner. He wore a dissatisfied look. ¡°Why was Hou Yun left behind? And why were all those sacks in the boat filled with yellow sand? Anyone could tell that something was wrong!¡±

    Zheng Dan replied, ¡°By the time we received the news, it was already toote. Even if we tried to stall him longer, it still wouldn¡¯t have been enough. Where would we be able to find that much cotton in such a short time? Using the yellow sand as a substitute was the best we could manage. Thank goodness we had enough of that.

    ¡°As for Hou Yun, we needed to have someonepetent around, to make sure that the tasks werepleted quickly. He was the best candidate.¡±

    Sang Qian knew that she was telling the truth. However, the fact that Hou Yun had been taken into custody left him feeling anxious. ¡°Sure, but Hou Yun was still brought away by Pang Chun¡¯s men in the end! Things will get really tricky if he ends up saying something he shouldn¡¯t say!¡±

    Zheng Dan smiled, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Uncle Hou has already worked for our n for so long. He ispletely trustworthy. Besides, he¡¯s lived through several decades of a turbulent life. Small things won¡¯t be enough to scare him. Furthermore, there wasn¡¯t any concrete proof today.¡±

    Sang Qian sneered. ¡°Many times, proof isn¡¯t needed at all for them to handle a case. You might not know how vicious the methods employed by the Yamen can be. Only a handful of individuals could endure their torture. That Hou Yun seems like he¡¯s been enjoying life recently. If he were in my hands, I guarantee that he would spill everything within three days.¡±

    Zheng Dan sighed. ¡°That is why we must save him as soon as possible to prevent our worries from multiplying.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s already in Pang Chun¡¯s hands. The Chu n is paying close attention to this situation too. How are we going to save him?¡± Sang Qian said in frustration.

    Zheng Dan¡¯s expression was still calm. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve already thought of a way as soon as I was notified. I¡¯ve informed Uncle Hou as well. He should have mentally prepared himself for a potential arrest.¡±

    ¡°What are you nning?¡± Sang Hong asked hurriedly.

    ¡°You¡¯ll find out tomorrow morning.¡± replied Zheng Dan. ¡°Of course, I will need your father¡¯s cooperation at that time.¡±

    Sang Qian wasn¡¯t in the mood to pry further, especially since Zheng Dan was acting all mysterious. He¡¯d just make himself look dumb. Instead, he moved on to a different topic of concern. ¡°By the way, where did all the illegal salt go?¡±

    Zheng Dan sighed with pity. ¡°We were in a rush, so of course we dumped it into the river. Our Zheng n would have been finished, otherwise.¡±

    ¡°That dogshit Zu An made us lose so much silver again!¡± Her words made Sang Qian curse in fury.

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for 999 Rage points!

    Zheng Dan maintained the smile of a wise and virtuousdy, but sighed deeply inside. This fianc¨¦ of hers was usually somewhat charming, but just look at how flustered he got after encountering the merest trouble! He could only get angry at his ipetence. In this respect, he was just too inferior to his father.

    On the contrary, that fellow Zu An normally looked like an idiot, but he was terrifyingly calm and difficult to deal with at crucial times.

    When she recalled what had happened between the two of them earlier on, she suddenly felt her heartbeat quicken. Her fair cheeks grew flushed with a faint tinge of redness.

 Chapter 279 - Robbed and Killed

    <h4>Chapter 279 - Robbed and Killed</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An hurried back to the Chu n to inform them about the most recent developments.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°What? We didn¡¯t end up finding any illicit salt?!¡± Qin Wanru was just about to erupt when she heard his report, but suddenly remembered that there might be something loose in this fellow¡¯s head. Thest time, he¡¯d exploded after some light criticism, and she was worried that this situation might get out of hand again. She reined in her urge to scold him, and merely snorted angrily.

    This is weird, though. Why would I be scared of this brat? There¡¯s nothing he can do!

    The more she thought about it, the gloomier she got, and she almost spoke out in anger anyway. However, now that she had interrupted her instinctive reaction, she found it much harder to say something.

    In the end, she could only stare resentfully at him, plotting her next chance to settle things properly with this brat.

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Wanru for 9... 9... 9...

    Zu An felt a bit strange when he saw these points. This woman really did hold a grudge!

    If you¡¯re going to get mad, you can¡¯t be this stingy. Honestly, if you¡¯re only going to give nine points at a time, why would I even care? It¡¯s just way too little.

    Chu Zhongtian gave his wife a surprised look. Why was she so even-tempered today? This didn¡¯t seem like her!

    He decided to just treat this as the results of his wife¡¯s mental training. It was quite a relief for him.

    Chu Chuyan smiled slightly from where she stood beside the two of them. She alone understood what her mother was thinking¡ªshe was likely worried that things would blow up likest time.

    ¡°We cannot me Ah Zu for this matter. At the very least, we now know that the Zheng n is secretly involved in the illicit salt trade, and so is the River Patrol Army as well. What a filthy way of living,¡± Chu Zhongtian said, his voice heavy.

    Chu Chuyan was full of worry too. ¡°No wonder Brightmoon City¡¯s illicit salt trade has gone out of control. This is why it keeps growing no matter how many prohibitions are put in ce. It turns out they were colluding with other merchants! If they are ying both sides like this, there¡¯s no way we would ever have discovered anything!¡±

    Zu An voiced his concern as well. ¡°Even though we know who is working behind the scenes, we don¡¯t have any proof. That¡¯s the biggest issue right now. I fear that even the Vice Magistrate won¡¯t be of much help either.¡±

    Chu Zhongtian stood up. ¡°I will pay the City Lord Manor a visit and discuss this matter with Lord Xie.¡±

    He knew that, for people like them, actual proof didn¡¯t really matter, nor what could be found through interrogation. It was more important to discuss mutually beneficial arrangements behind the scenes.

    As long as both parties reached an agreement, they could even arrange for the innocent to be found guilty¡ªalthough, this time, the Zheng n was truly guilty.

    However, it wasn¡¯t that easy to make that old fox Xie Yi stand by thempletely.

    A hint of worry appeared on Chu Zhongtian¡¯s suave face. He hoped that the City Lord wouldn¡¯t ask him for too much this time.

    Suddenly, a flustered servant rushed in. ¡°Reporting to Master and Madam! Something happened to young master Yucheng!¡±

    Everyone present was stunned by this report.

    Even Zu An was confused. What could have possibly happened to that damned fatty?

    That guy¡¯s defensive abilities were almost unrivaled! Those who were weaker than him would surely have been steamrolled! Moreover, he was with Wang Yuanlong this time. The Wang n had many elite guards.

    Wait!

    His expression suddenly changed. A terrifying possibility emerged in his mind.

    Soon afterwards, a bloodied Chu Yucheng was brought in on a stretcher.

    Two people would have been enough to carry a normal stretcher. However, this guy was just too fat. Even four was barely enough to move him.

    ¡°My son!¡±[1]

    Chu Tiesheng¡¯s wife, Hu Lijing, had rushed over when she had heard the news. Chu Tiesheng himself maintained some semnce of calm. Hu Lijing threw herself over her son, tears pouring down her face.

    The first time Zu An learned the name of Chu Tiesheng¡¯s wife, he¡¯d suffered a terrible fright. He¡¯d looked over her repeatedly back then.[2]

    Her facial features were still presentable, and she could be considered a ssy middle-aged woman.

    However, even though she was the same age as Qin Wanru, age had clearly left much more of a mark on her.

    In both her appearance and physique, she was far below Qin Wanru¡¯s standard. She really couldn¡¯t be called some sexy vixen.

    Wait, why did I subconsciously use Qin Wanru as aparison?

    Pui, pui, pui! Disgusting!

    A guard had followed the servants in. ¡°Young master Yucheng had staggered back to the estate, covered in blood,¡± he reported. ¡°He said that there was something important to report, but he copsed as soon as he finished speaking! We immediately brought him in.¡±

    Chu Zhongtian hurried to the side of the stretcher. He ced a palm on Chu Yucheng¡¯s chest, sending a wave of ki into his body.

    Chu Yucheng groaned, gradually regaining consciousness.

    ¡°Yucheng, what happened?¡± Chu Zhongtian asked hurriedly.

    ¡°I was escorting Wang Yuanlong back to his estate. We made it about halfway when Chen Xuan attacked us. We fought a bitter battle... Wang n guards all killed... Wang Yuanlong captured. I barely escaped!¡± Even though his words were somewhat disjointed, his meaning was clear.

    ¡°Chen Xuan!¡± Chu Tiesheng erupted with fury. ¡°Spawn of a dog, the two of us cannot live under the same sky!¡±

    Chu Yucheng was ashamed and guilty. ¡°Yucheng couldn¡¯t protect brother Wang... The silver was also lost. I felt too ashamed to return, but I realized that I needed to report to the n as soon as possible, so...¡±

    Chu Zhongtian reached out a hand to forestall him. ¡°Enough, there¡¯s no need to say any more. This isn¡¯t your fault.¡± He turned to the servants. ¡°Bring Yucheng away for proper treatment.¡±

    Chu Tiesheng and Hu Lijing followed in a hurry. This was their only son, after all.

    ¡°What should we do now?¡± Qin Wanru leaned over, her voice extremely grave.

    Chu Zhongtian let out a long sigh. ¡°When it rains it pours... I had originally nned to use this chance to ease the tensions with the Wang n. However, it seems that we have overreached ourselves.¡±

    Chu Chuyan immediately ordered several people to head out to the city to investigate. She wanted to see if they could pick up any information.

    Her beautiful brows remained knitted together. She knew that the chances of them bringing back anything were slim.

    ¡°Why is this Chen Xuan able to move around so easily in the city? With his reputation, he should be keeping a lower profile! Yet he doesn¡¯t seem to be scared at all!¡± Chu Chuyan said in consternation.

    Chu Zhongtian also wore a worry frown. ¡°This guy is as slippery as an eel. We¡¯ve sent out arge force against him several times, yet he¡¯s managed to get away every single time, even when we were extremely confident of our sess. I really don¡¯t know how he is doing this.¡±

    ¡°Could the Shi n be involved? He is brothers with Mei Chaofeng, and both Mei Chaofeng and the Shi n fed him intelligence in the past. Could he be hiding out in the Plum Blossom Sect¡¯s property?¡± Zu An roughly exined the rtionship between Chen Xuan, Mei Chaofeng, and Shi Kun.

    Everyone present was stunned. Qin Wanru felt her anger and impatience rise. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell us earlier?¡±

    ¡°None of you asked.¡± Zu An shrugged. In truth, he had been too busy recently, and forgot to bring it up.

    His offhandment was met with t stares from Qin Wanru, Chu Zhongtian and Chu Chuyan.

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Wanru for 233 Rage points!

    Qin Wanru was just about to give it to him when a guard suddenly appeared. ¡°Reporting! The Wang n¡¯s master hase with his men.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Chu Zhongtian was shocked. He immediately rushed to the gates.

    Chu Chuyan followed in a hurry. However, she still hadn¡¯t made a full recovery, and standing for too long left her slightly weak. As she began to follow her father, she felt lightheaded, and her body swayed unsteadily back and forth.

    Zu An rushed to her side to support her. ¡°Are you all right?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Chu Chuyan shook her head to dismiss his concern. ¡°Help me outside to see the situation.¡±

    ¡°Got it!¡±

    Qin Wanru blinked rapidly at this scene. When did the two of them be so close?

    Her eldest daughter had always been as cold as ice, pushing others far away, and disdained any physical contact with a man.

    Her mind drifted to the treatment that her daughter had mentioned, and how she even had to take off her clothes for it...

    Could her daughter have been taken advantage of by that fellow? That fellow that she just couldn¡¯t bring herself to like? Just thinking about it made Qin Wanru feel a little weary.

    Zu An supported Chu Chuyan as they made their way to the gates. He saw a group of people there. They didn¡¯t have any weapons, but they bore wooden sticks, poles, pots, and other sorts of implements.

    They probably understood that weapons wouldn¡¯t serve them in a conflict with the Chu n¡¯s guards, and this sort of appearance might attract a bit more pity.

    He had seen the man in the front before. It was the Wang n¡¯s master, Wang Fu.

    He was deep in conversation with Chu Zhongtian. However, when he noticed Zu An, anger immediately overcame him, and he charged straight at Zu An.

    ¡°The one surnamed Zu, return my son¡¯s life!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Wang Fu for 999 Rage points!

    1. Note: The author has rified that he made a mistake in this chapter, as Chu Yucheng''s father should be Chu Yuepo.

    2. Hu - surname, Lijing - beautiful crystal. When spelled with different characters and in a slightly different way, Huli Jing (ºüÀê¾«) is a fox-spirit (or nine-tailed fox) which is known to be able to shapeshift, adopting a beautiful woman''s appearance in order to enchant men.

 Chapter 280 - Whale Gang Boss

    <h4>Chapter 280 - Whale Gang Boss</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An was shocked. What the hell is wrong with this dude?

    Chu Zhongtian reacted quickly, rushing to ce himself between the two of them. ¡°Brother Wang, there are many misunderstandings at y here.¡±

    ¡°What misunderstandings? How would this disaster have befallen Wang Yuanlong if he hadn¡¯t invited him to that damned brothel today?!¡± Wang Fu roared in fury.

    You have sessfully trolled Wang Fu for 446 Rage points!

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°It¡¯s not like brother Wang died. Aren¡¯t you jinxing things by saying such a thing now?¡±

    Wang Fu almost exploded on the spot. ¡°Damned brat, what did you say?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Wang Fu for 514 Rage points!

    Qin Wanru felt an inexplicable happiness when she saw this situation. She was usually the one being infuriated by this brat. Now, there was someone who shared her suffering.

    Chu Zhongtian tried his best to cate Wang Fu. ¡°Brother Wang, let¡¯s have a proper talk inside. We¡¯ll end up asughingstocks if we cause a outmotion here,¡± he said with a bitter smile

    ¡°Hmph! You weren¡¯t even scared of bing aughingstock by taking in this sort of person as a drafted son-inw. What is there for me to be scared of?!¡± Wang Fu pushed him away.

    Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru exchanged silent looks.

    Zu An was also struck speechless. Even if you hit someone, you shouldn¡¯t hit them in the face! Haven¡¯t you gone a little too far?

    He was just about to retort, but Chu Chuyan immediately grabbed his arm to prevent him from doing anything rash.

    Only then did she walk up to greet Wang Fu. ¡°I pay my respects to uncle.¡±

    ¡°So Chuyan was here.¡± Even though Wang Fu hadn¡¯t treated Chu Zhongtian with any respect, his tone subconsciously softened when he saw Chu Chuyan.

    Zu An scoffed inwardly. Pah, men!

    ¡°This matter cannot beid at Ah Zu¡¯s feet. The idea to invite Yuanlong to the Immortal Abode was mine,¡± said Chu Chuyan.

    ¡°Your idea?¡± Wang Fu was shocked. He really couldn¡¯t figure out why a cold and aloof girl like Chu Chuyan would be involved in this matter. Was she saying this just to shield her husband?

    ¡°Indeed. We wanted a way to express the Chu n¡¯s goodwill without others finding out. I wanted to dissolve the crisis between us...¡± In a quiet voice, Chu Chuyan exined to him what had transpired.

    Wang Fu¡¯s expression grew gloomy. ¡°Even though your n was good and rather low-profile, why did something happen to Yuanlong as soon as they separated? Was it just a performance put on by all of you?¡±

    ¡°Why does uncle think this way?¡± Chu Chuyan replied. ¡°Even though two hundred thousand taels of silver doesn¡¯t seem like a small amount, it isn¡¯t considered arge sum for either of our ns. Would we really put on such a performance just to get back this bit of money? I¡¯m sure uncle understands our desire to ease the tensions between our allied ns.¡±

    Wang Fu was shocked. ¡°Could it be that Sang...¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Chu Chuyan shook her head. ¡°I do not dare speak rashly. But your esteemed son should still be okay. Since Chen Xuan didn¡¯t kill him outright, but instead went through the efforts of kidnapping him, this tells us he has other schemes in mind. He wouldn¡¯t harm your son¡¯s life if that¡¯s the case.¡±

    ¡°Chen Xuan, that ruthless and cold-blooded Great Bandit!¡± Even though Chu Chuyan¡¯s words were extremely logical, Wang Fu was still filled with endless worry. When he heard Chen Xuan¡¯s name, his limbs immediately went cold.

    He suddenly red at Zu An. ¡°It¡¯s all your fault! I heard that Chen Xuan wanted to kill you. He surely ran into our Yuanlong while following you!¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He really was being wronged!

    Forget it. I won¡¯t argue with you since you¡¯re just concerned about your son.

    Chu Zhongtian replied in his stead. ¡°Brother Wang doesn¡¯t need to worry. Our Chu n will definitely do everything we can to rescue Yuanlong.¡±

    ¡°All right. For brother Chu¡¯s sake, I won¡¯t go too far today. However, pardon me for using such harsh words. If anything ends up happening to Yuanlong, me and your Chu n will have unfinished business!¡± Wang Fu turned around with an angry huff and stormed off, his subordinates trailing behind him.

    Qin Wanru quivered with anger as she watched them leave. ¡°Absolutely preposterous! It seems like any random person dares to strut around our Chu n now, almost as if they are the dukedom in Brightmoon City!¡±

    Chu Zhongtian smiled bitterly. ¡°There is no need to brood over this. You know just how grim our situation is as well. The Wang n is one of our few allies, and we still need their help. Moreover, something happened to their n¡¯s beloved son. Surely we can forgive him some loss of self-control.¡±

    Qin Wanru snorted. ¡°You are always considerate to others, but when has anyone else been considerate to you?¡±

    Chu Zhongtian¡¯s voice grew heavy. ¡°I do not treat others well in hopes that they treat me the same way. I only seek a clear conscience.¡±

    Qin Wanru realized she had gone a little too far. She held his arm and said apologetically, ¡°You really are a good person.¡±

    Zu An rolled his eyes from the side. Can you two oldies get a room? If you keep doing this, Chuyan and I will give you something to watch too.

    When he turned to Chu Chuyan, however, he saw that she was frowning, clearly trying to figure a way out of this situation. ¡°If we cannot sessfully rescue Wang Yuanlong, the alliance between the Chu n and the Wang n is done for.¡± She sighed. ¡°If I had known this was going to happen, I wouldn¡¯t have done all of this. I should have just sent the silver directly to the Wang n.¡±

    Zu An jumped in to console her. ¡°How can you be med for this? No one can ever predict the future.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not in a great condition now, though. I don¡¯t have any ability to investigate Wang Yuanlong¡¯s whereabouts.¡± Chu Chuyan bit her lip. These days, after undergoing Zu An¡¯s treatments, normal activities weren''t a problem for her. However, if she used any ki, her injuries could worsen.

    She had always been strong since she was young, and her current weakness made her feel extremely ufortable.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Zu An said, ¡°just leave it to me. I will definitely rescue Wang Yuanlong.¡±

    ¡°How will you find him?¡± Chu Chuyan said nervously.

    Zu An said, ¡°We¡¯ll start with Plum Blossom Sect¡¯s properties in the city. I¡¯m positive that Chen Xuan should be hiding out in one of them.¡±

    ¡°All right, but be careful. Bring a few more guards along with you,¡± Chu Chuyan said.

    Zu Anughed loudly. ¡°I definitely can¡¯t bear to have anything happen to me with such a pretty wife waiting for me at home!¡±

    Chu Chuyan blushed. ¡°Pah! Not even a single shred of decency.¡±

    Zu An left the Chu n estate, heading straight for the academy to find Jiang Luofu. Since the other party was already making preparations to aid his takeover of the Plum Blossom Sect, she would have looked into the details. With her input, it would make it that much smoother to find Chen Xuan.

    ...

    While Zu An hunted for Chen Xuan¡¯s whereabouts, Chen Xuan found himself on an ind, located in the center of theke that sat on the outskirts of the city.

    He was currently surrounded by arge group of tough men wielding des.

    Chen Xuan stood at the very center,pletely unfazed. ¡°I came to meet with the boss of your gang. Is this how the Whale Gang treats their guests?¡±

    ¡°Disgraceful! Do you think our boss is someone you can meet with just because you want to?!¡±

    ¡°How did you even find out that our Whale Gang was here?¡±

    ¡°There are so many guards patrolling this ce as well. How did you get all the way here?¡±

    ...

    Chen Xuanughed loudly when he heard their questions. ¡°The authorities might not be able to find your Whale Gang, but how could I, Chen Xuan, have any trouble?¡±

    ¡°Chen Xuan?¡±

    ¡°ckwind Stockade¡¯s Great Bandit!¡±

    Chen Xuan was so infamous that his name was used to scare children at night.

    These men, who had acted tough in the beginning, immediately grew uneasy when they learned his identity. All of them backed up a few steps.

    Bracing himself, a daring troop leader spoke up. ¡°Our Whale Gang has never interfered with your ckwind Stockade. What did youe here for?¡±

    Chen Xuan shrugged, his palms open. ¡°Rx, I didn¡¯te here today to kill. I wanted to discuss a potential business opportunity with your Whale Gang boss.¡±

    ¡°Since Stockade Master Chen roams the underground world as well, you ought to know that our boss never receives guests,¡± replied the troop leader.

    Chen Xuan smiled. ¡°I heard that the boss of the Whale Gang is extremely mysterious, and has never been seen in public before. Some say that the leader is a beautiful woman, while some say that it¡¯s a hunchbacked elder, yet others say that he is a tough and domineering man. I really am interested in seeing what your boss looks like.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re nning to get in through brute force?¡± The Whale Gang members¡¯ expressions grew worried, and they tightened their grip around the hilts of their des.

    ¡°If I, Chen Xuan, wish to go somewhere, would you all be able to stop me?¡± Chen Xuan snorted arrogantly. He released a powerful, oppressive aura.

    The Whale Gang members weren¡¯t his match at all. It immediately became hard for them to breathe, and they subconsciously backed away.

    Only a few who still possessed some strength held on bitterly.

    ¡°Let hime in.¡± At this moment, a soft and gentle voice suddenly came from a distance away.

    The voice was clearly altered. It was hard to tell if it was a man or a woman.

    The Whale gang members showed no surprise by this interruption. Instead, they respectfully moved to the side to open up a path.

    Chen Xuan walked straight through with a smile.

    He arrived in front of a house, and the two doors opened on their own.

    Confident in his own strength, Chen Xuan felt no fear. He went in.

    A figure sat behind a screen. ¡°On the topic of maintaining mystery, ckwind Stockade¡¯s Master Chen isn¡¯t inferior to me at all. Why have you suddenly decided to appear around the city?¡± It was the same voice as before.

    ¡°The reason I came to visit the gang boss is naturally to express my sincerity.¡± Chen Xuan smiled and said, ¡°I just never expected the illustrious boss of the Whale Gang to actually be a woman.¡±

    ¡°Oh? What makes you so certain that I am a woman?¡± The one behind the screen said with genuine curiosity.

    ¡°I am someone with a special skill that makes me extremely sensitive to women. Even without looking, just a whiff of the surrounding air is enough for me to know that the gang boss is a woman, and quite the beautiful woman at that.¡± mes filled Chen Xuan¡¯s eyes. His n had been just to conduct some business, but he had never expected this pleasant surprise.

    Lightughter drifted out from behind the screen. The voice lost its deliberate alterations. Sure enough, it was the voice of a woman, delicate like that of an oriole, but also full of warmth, like enjoying a cup of tea on a rainy night.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect Stockade Master Chen to have such a miraculous ability. I won¡¯t treat my exposed identity as a loss.¡± The womanughed gently. ¡°Stockade Master Chen has good luck. I¡¯m not usually on the ind. If not for some special circumstances that happened today, you might not have been able to meet with me.¡±

    Chen Xuanughed loudly. ¡°My luck has always been good.¡±

    ¡°Anyone who can remain free and unfettered while under the constant attentions of Brightmoon Duke and the City Lord obviously has good luck,¡± the woman sighed in admiration.

    ¡°The same could be said about you, mydy. Do we not share the same fate?¡± Chen Xuan was curious about how she looked. Her pleasant-sounding voice truly caressed one¡¯s heart.

    If it was a different time, he would already have ripped the screen apart.

    But the Whale Gang had done quite well for themselves these past few years, and not even he knew how much strength they had backing them. He dared not act too recklessly.

    He pulled a chair over and sat down. He needed to better understand the situation first.

    That woman clearly didn¡¯t have much interest in idle chatter. She immediately brought up the main matter at hand. ¡°Why did the stockade leader insist on meeting with me today?¡±

    Chen Xuan¡¯s tone grew serious. ¡°I came here to offer you a business opportunity.¡±

 Chapter 281 - A Visit from a Beauty

    <h4>Chapter 281 - A Visit from a Beauty</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Oh? What kind of business proposal?¡± The woman behind the screen sounded curious.

    Chen Xuanughed loudly, but didn¡¯t answer her question immediately. ¡°Both sides should express their sincerity before business is discussed,¡± he said instead. ¡°I¡¯ve done my part bying here personally, yet this gang boss still shuns me and refuses to show herself. Don¡¯t you feel that thiscks sincerity?¡±

    A delicateugh came from behind the screen. ¡°This is a custom that I have already gotten used to after so many years. I hope Stockade Master Chen does not take offense.¡±

    A beautiful and enchanting figure slowly emerged from behind the screen as soon as she finished speaking.

    Chen Xuan¡¯s eyes immediately lit up. The girl in front of him was dressed in a fiery red outfit. She wore a cropped top that exposed her tight, well-sculpted abs. Her skin was fair and smooth, supple and soft, yet he could tell from a single look that her waist was extremely flexible. He fantasized about her sitting on him while gyrating her hips. Her movements would definitely be graceful and full of explosive strength.

    Not only did her top fail to cover her stomachpletely, it was tight enough to reveal an ample amount of cleavage. A deep valley sat between her tall peaks, drawing attention and yet revealing none of its secrets.

    Of course, the more was teased, the more it caused the heart to quicken.

    The only regret was that most of her face was concealed under a red veil. He couldn¡¯t make out her facial features clearly.

    But, with thoserge and beautiful eyes, it was clear that the rest of her face below definitely wouldn¡¯t disappoint.

    Of course, with an exceptional figure like that, whether her face was beautiful or not didn¡¯t detract from her attractiveness.

    At the same time, however, he found her appearance a little strange. Those involved in underground smuggling were usually outside every day, eating and sleeping outdoors. Her skin should have been more tanned. Why did it look like she took milk baths everyday? This gang boss looked more like a girl from a wealthy family.

    However, this gang boss had always been mysterious, and never appeared in front of others. That could exin her fairplexion.

    This red-clothed youngdy didn¡¯t seem to mind his hungry gaze. A charming smile appeared at the corners of her lips. ¡°Is this enough to express my sincerity?¡±

    ¡°But of course!¡± Chen Xuan eximed immediately. There¡¯ll be even more sincerity if you stripped a bit more.

    ¡°Then, I wonder just what kind of business Stockade Master Chen wishes to discuss with me?¡± The woman¡¯s voice carried a flirtatious tone. Together with her sexy outfit and toned body, they were more than enough to make any man turn into an animal.

    This chick could even hold her own against that Immortal Abode¡¯s Qiu Honglei! Chen Xuan swallowed. He felt an unbearable urge to rush up and give that amazing body a squeeze.

    However, the Whale Gang¡¯s reputation was fearsome, and it gave him some pause. He didn¡¯t dare act recklessly before he learned more about this group.

    ¡°I came here today to discuss an investment.¡± Chen Xuan¡¯s eyes roamed back and forth between her chest and bottom. I want to invest in both of these assets.

    ¡°I do not know what Stockade Master Chen is referring to.¡± The woman sounded a little confused.

    ¡°I¡¯m clearly talking about the illicit salt trade! Could it be that the Whale Gang is involved in other businesses?¡± Chen Xuan leisurely leaned back into his chair, wantonly admiring the beauty before him.

    Discussing business with such a pretty woman really was a joyful thing.

    The woman¡¯s brow furrowed, and her voice cooled slightly. ¡°The ckwind Stockade has always been an independent operator. What is the Stockade Leader trying to say?¡±

    The illicit salt trade generated tremendous profits, and she obviously didn¡¯t want to split the profits with another.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to worry. I didn¡¯te here to fight for a share of your respected gang¡¯s business. Rather, I propose that we cooperate,¡± Chen Xuan exined.

    The woman was puzzled. ¡°How do you want to cooperate?¡±

    Chen Xuan said, ¡°From a certain perspective, your Whale Gang¡¯s business is even more dangerous than our ckwind Stockade¡¯s activities. Both the royal court and Brightmoon Duke would be much happier without your business, which is a constant thorn in their side. The stuff you sell isn''t even inferior to the official salt at all¡ªperhaps it is even slightly better. The only thing separating your goods from the official ones are the salt permits.¡±

    ¡°Could it be that you can fetch some salt permits?¡± The woman suddenly grew interested.

    Chen Xuan smiled. ¡°Why else would I daree to this ind to disturb you?¡±

    ¡°These salt permits are controlled extremely strictly by the royal court, and only a fixed amount are issued every year. How could you possibly...¡± Something struck her mid-sentence. ¡°I heard that Wang n¡¯s young master was kidnapped. I reckon that this is the stockade master¡¯s work?¡±

    Chen Xuan was slightly surprised. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect the gang boss to have such a great information informationwork on this ind.¡±

    The woman smiled faintly. ¡°Of course we do. In our line of work, a good informationwork is crucial. If not, our gang would have already perished several times over.¡±

    Chen Xuan felt that her words carried a lot of sense. ¡°You are correct,¡± he confirmed. ¡°I have a way of obtaining a batch of official salt permits through the Wang n, which is why I want to invest these salt permits in the illicit salt business.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The woman thought for a moment, then nodded. ¡°I must admit that this deal interests me. I wonder how Stockade Master Chen wishes to split the profits?¡±

    Chen Xuanughed and said, ¡°Since both of us have expressed such sincerity, then it obviously must be fifty-fifty! That way, neither side loses out.¡±

    The womanughed coldly at his proposal. ¡°Neither side loses out? The stockade leader is merely providing us with some salt permits and does not need to do anything else. Moreover, your salt permits cost nothing to you. Isn¡¯t it a bit too much to ask for fifty percent?¡±

    Chen Xuan put away his smile. ¡°This is where the gang boss¡¯ words are incorrect. The salt trade is full of profit to be made. The biggest difference between illicit and official salt are the salt permits. We are now offering you all a means to sell your product legally. How can fifty percent be too much?¡±

    ¡°That is not how the numbers are tallied up,¡± said the woman, her voice growing darker. ¡°The illicit salt we sell and the sales of official salt go down entirely different paths. If we give you half our profits just like that, we might even end up with less than if we had just sold all the salt illegally. Why would we bother going through all this effort, then?¡±

    Chen Xuan shook his head. ¡°Gang boss, please do not try to bully me just because you think I do not understand this trade. Illicit salt sells for twenty to thirty qian a jin, while official salt normally sells for a hundred qian, and up to even a hundred and fifty qian. That is six to seven times the profits! How can you say that you might be losing money through this deal?¡±

    ¡°Stockade master only knows part of the information. Even though the price of government salt is high, the ordinary people cannot afford it, and all of them turn to our illicit salt,¡± exined the woman. ¡°That is why the six- to seven-times profit is only theoretical. In reality, it doesn¡¯t reach this price at all, and actually sells for far below this price.¡±

    ¡°Then how much does the gang boss feel is suitable?¡± Chen Xuan knew about the reality of the situation as well. He was only deliberately pressuring the other party earlier.

    The woman remained silent for a while. Then, a number escaped her red lips. ¡°Ten percent of next year¡¯s profits, at most.¡±

    ¡°Ten percent?¡± Chen Xuan was furious. He suddenly stood up from his chair. ¡°Are you trying to bait a beggar or something? I came in good faith! Isn¡¯t the gang boss crossing the line?¡±

    A wave of pressure surged outwards. The Whale Gang members outside tried to rush in, but they were halted by amand from the woman.

    After ordering her subordinates to stand down, she turned around and said in a steady voice, ¡°Please do not be quick to anger, Stockade Master Chen. Listen to me exin more in detail. Our illicit salt will sell even without salt permitspared to selling salt officially, these two modes are entirely different. Of course, having salt permits can add an extrayer of protection, decreasing our business risk. It is just a pity that Stockade master¡¯s salt permits are only a one time deal. You have no way of providing a steady source of them.

    ¡°In addition, the stockade leader should not think that our position isfortable. In reality, a portion of our ie is used to bribe various parties. How else could we have survived for so many years? Most of the profits go into the hands of those people, and we only have a small share to ourselves. That is why offering the stockade master a tenth of the profits is already a strain.¡±

    A secretive smile appeared on Chen Xuan¡¯s face. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that the Whale Gang has some connections within the government. I wonder¡ªwhich great figure is sharing the limelight with you?¡±

    This woman¡¯s expression grew dark. ¡°The stockade master is going too far with this question.¡±

    Chen Xuan knew that she would remain silent on the matter. Heughed loudly and said, ¡°Twenty percent, then. I can¡¯t go any lower.¡±

    The woman shook her head. ¡°Fifteen percent at most!¡±

    Chen Xuan was silent for a moment. ¡°Fine, we¡¯ve reached a deal!¡±

    Heh, this one is going to take you into a room sooner orter. At that time, you¡¯ll be mine, your money will be mine, and everything you have will be mine. It¡¯s not a big deal to settle for a little less now.

    ¡°I hope for a sessful partnership.¡± The woman wore a faint smile. She raised her teacup in a toast.

    Chen Xuan was experienced in these things as well. He had no fear that she was about to poison him. Raising his cup, he took a sip and said, ¡°I still haven¡¯t heard the gang boss¡¯ name after chatting for so long.¡±

    The woman replied, ¡°My surname is Guan.¡±

    ¡°Guan...¡± Chen Xuan was a bit annoyed. This woman didn¡¯t even want to give him her name. It didn¡¯t matter. He¡¯d find out one day, anyway.

    ...

    While this business deal was being carried out on the ind, Zu An was busy searching for Chen Xuan¡¯s hiding ce, using the documents Jiang Luofu had given him.

    She had constantly racked her brains over how she was going to take over the Plum Blossom Sect¡¯s property ever since Zu An had given her the promissory note for seven-and-a-half million taels of silver. With the academy¡¯s connections, it wasn¡¯t too difficult to find all of Plum Blossom Sect¡¯s assets, whether legal or underground.

    When Zu An came calling, Jiang Luofu had no hesitation in handing him the information she hadpiled. She was going to have him take over the property anyway, so giving him this information ahead of time wasn¡¯t that big of a deal.

    When he saw the information on all the properties packed together, Zu An was inwardly speechless. A casino actually made that much money!

    He didn¡¯t dare dally. He brought Jiao Shan and the other Chu n guards with him. Unfortunately, their search was fruitless, even after searching for most of the evening.

    Did I guess wrongly? Zu An felt dejected. He returned to the Chu Estate empty-handed.

    He still had to provide Chu Chuyan with her treatment, after all.

    When he returned to the Chu n and reported what had happened, Master, Madam, and Chu Chuyan all frowned. This situation was clearly what they were the most worried about.

    If they couldn¡¯t save Wang Yuanlong, then the rtionship between the Wang and Chu ns would be done for. That would trulyplicate matters.

    Just then, Cheng Shouping came bounding over. ¡°Young master, young master! Someone is looking for you outside!¡± he said excitedly.

    ¡°Who is it?¡± Zu An was slightly curious. Who was looking for him sote at night, and could even make this fellow so excited?

    Cheng Shouping opened his mouth. He suddenly noticed Chu Zhongtian and the others standing there with him, and immediately swallowed what he was going to say. ¡°This humble one doesn¡¯t dare say.¡±

    ¡°What is there that you don¡¯t dare say? When did you learn to hem and haw like this?¡± Qin Wanru said impatiently. She had a bad impression of this fellow. Back then, he had offered to find the best concubines for her husband, which had angered her quite a bit.

    Cheng Shouping was well aware that his injuries from the whipping that Second Miss Chu had given him were yet to heal. However, with Master and Madam staring at him, he didn¡¯t dare to remain quiet. ¡°It¡¯s Lady Qiu,¡± he said.

    ¡°Which Lady Qiu?¡± Chu Zhongtian was stunned, his brain not quite working up to speed.

    Cheng Shouping said proudly, ¡°What other Lady Qiu is there in Brightmoon City? It¡¯s obviously the Immortal Abode¡¯s Qiu Honglei!¡±

    Endless men found it difficult even to be granted a meeting with her, and yet, she hade all this way in the middle of the night just to seek out the young master! He immediately felt a measure of second-hand pride.

 Chapter 282: Entering through the Door

    <h4>Chapter 282: Entering through the Door</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Qiu Honglei?¡±

    Qin Wanru¡¯s expression instantly turned frightful. She had never seen any girl act in such a forward manner towards someone else¡¯s son-inw before!

    Chu Chuyan seemed none too pleased as well. After all, which wife would be happy to hear that a prostitute hade looking for their husbandte at night?

    ¡°Who is Qiu Honglei here for?¡± Chu Zhongtian was still confused.

    ¡°The young master!¡± Cheng Shouping blinked his eyes. He recalled that Master had alsoplimented Qiu Honglei on her appearance a few years ago. Is Master jealous?

    But Master really is better than young master in almost every way! The only thing in which hegs behind young master is in the art of picking up girls.

    Chu Zhongtian hadn¡¯t had a concubine all these years, and Cheng Shouping himself had been sent to work in the kitchens over this matter.

    Now check out young master! There are already all sorts of legends about him, not long after he entered the estate!

    Master, oh Master, you really need to learn this skill from him!

    Zu An felt embarrassed being under so many strange gazes. ¡°Maybe she has something proper to discuss with me... I¡¯ll be right back.¡±

    ¡°Proper? What kind of ¡®proper matter¡¯ would make a brothel courtesan run all the way here in the middle of the night?¡± Qin Wanru scoffed. ¡°You know what, this is a great opportunity. I¡¯m going to see for myself just what is going on!¡±

    Chu Zhongtian nodded. ¡°I should take a look as well.¡±

    Qin Wanru shot her husband a look. Was this guy interested in knowing what was going on, or merely interested in Qiu Honglei herself?

    However, she didn¡¯t think it appropriate to act out, especially under so many pairs of eyes.

    She settled for shooting Zu An a hateful look. This entire mess was because of this brat!

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Wanru for 333 Rage points!

    Zu An was numb to the iing Rage points. He decided just to let Qin Wanru throw her tantrum. It¡¯s not like she¡¯ll actually do anything.

    They hurried over to the entrance as a group. Chu Chuyan kept her silence throughout, but her mere action of following them said all that needed to be said.

    When they arrived at the entrance, they discovered that quite a few people had gathered around. All of them were from the Chu n estate, and they were there to check out what was going on.

    After all, Qiu Honglei¡¯s reputation was known throughout Brightmoon City, from those in their eighties all the way to little kids. As long as they were male, they knew of her.

    Despite the strict discipline enforced by the Chu n, none of them could resist their curiosity. They had rushed over to catch a glimpse of this world-renowned beauty.

    After all, with their status and ie, they really didn¡¯t have any chance of seeing the Immortal Abode¡¯s courtesan queen in her usual establishment.

    ¡°What an amazing figure and appearance~¡±

    ¡°If I couldnd myself a wife like this... no, if I had to die in order to have her for a day, it would surely be worth it!¡±

    ¡°She really is too gorgeous! I don¡¯t think she looks too shabbypared to the first miss!¡±

    ¡°Are you tired of living? You actually dare to use the first miss as aparison?! ... but I guess the first miss is a bit cold. Lady Qiu¡¯s smile does tug a bit more at the heartstrings...¡±

    ¡°I heard she was looking for the young master. How could this be possible?¡±

    ¡°Bro, you¡¯re so behind on the news. The young master has some mad skills in this field.¡±

    Of course, not everyone was this excited. Chu Hongcai didn¡¯t believe his ears when he heard of Qiu Honglei¡¯s arrival. His shoes weren¡¯t even worn on the right feet before he ran out the door. Sure enough, he was greeted by the figure he yearned for day and night.

    Every smile and frown from this girl drove him crazy. But such a perfect woman had insteade looking for a different man in the middle of the night.

    Chu Hongcai¡¯s heart was like a vase that had fallen onto solid ground¡ªinstantly smashed to countless pieces.

    Forget it, it¡¯s just like what Yucheng said. It¡¯s better for her to be with Zu An than some other man. Fertilend should not be given to other men to farm.

    Even so, why do I feel like crying?

    ...

    Qiu Honglei seemed indifferent to the whispers of the crowd. She smiled as she stood there, calmly waiting for that person to appear.

    The gates soon opened. The guards stowed away their smiles at once when they saw Chu Zhongtian. All of them raised their heads and puffed out their chests, refraining from any further nonsense.

    Qin Wanru, who had originally been fuming with rage, seemed to lose her fury the instant sheid eyes on the girl waiting there.

    How could there be such a beautiful girl in this world?

    Her oldest daughter was also extremely pretty, but hers was an otherworldly beauty that grew out of her reserved and aloof demeanor.

    This woman before her was the perfect embodiment of worldly beauty. Her entire figure exuded feminine charm. Forget about the men¡ªeven women who saw her might let their imagination run uncontrobly wild.

    She caught herself a secondter. Why am I praising a girl who is trying to steal my daughter¡¯s man?

    Pah! She¡¯s just another seductive vixen!

    She was just about to say something when she noticed her husband¡¯s eyes had gone wide. Boiling with rage inside, she quickly walked over to him and secretly pinched him.

    Chu Zhongtian¡¯s face went red, and he coughed to hide his embarrassment.

    ¡°I pay my respects to Brightmoon Duke, Madam Chu, and First Miss Chu.¡± Qiu Honglei was slightly surprised by their arrival. However, she kept her nerves in check. She greeted each of them with a smile, her every action full of proper bearing,cking a single w.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Chu Zhongtian looked guiltily at his wife, but he was the n master. It was only natural that he would be the one to respond. He cleared his throat and said, ¡°Why has Lady Qiu decided to visit sote in the evening?¡±

    ¡°Honglei came to tell Ah Zu some things. I didn¡¯t expect to disturb the Master and Madam. I truly must apologize.¡± Qiu Honglei bowed deeply. The hearts of all of the surrounding men were about to melt. How could anyone bring out a shred of rebuke against this girl?

    ¡°What do you need Ah Zu for?¡± Qin Wanru said with displeasure. She knew that her daughter¡¯s personality was more reserved, and she might not be able to bring herself to say anything. As a mother, it was her duty to step in to help at such a time.

    Hm? I would¡¯ve been more than happy to see someone take that annoying brat Zu An away before. Why am I now worried about him being taken by someone else?

    Qin Wanru pondered the question in her mind. We¡¯d have to find someone else to take his ce so that we can refuse the offers of marriage from the different powers. Besides, it¡¯ll severely tarnish my daughter¡¯s reputation. That seemed like an eptable excuse.

    Hmph, even if it¡¯s a piece of trash, it¡¯s our n¡¯s trash. How can we let another girl take it away just like that?

    Qiu Honglei gave her surroundings a subconscious look, a hesitant expression appearing on her face. ¡°I wish to talk to Ah Zu about these things in private. Speaking about them here might not be too... appropriate.¡±

    ¡°Oh~¡± Knowing expressions appeared on the faces of the men gathered there. Did they even have to guess what a man and woman did in private in the middle of the night?

    Chu Hongcai had finally picked up the broken pieces of his heart with great difficulty, only for it to be ruthlessly crushed once more by the suppressedughter all around him.

    His mind told him that he would be hurt less if he left earlier, but his heart just couldn¡¯t let go of his emotions. He convinced himself that staring at this beautiful woman for a while longer would still be a good thing.

    Qin Wanru forcefully restrained her rage. ¡°Our Chu n has always believed in conducting our affairs openly and straightforwardly. How could we be involved in something that cannot be spoken out in the open? Just what kind of matter is it?!¡±

    Qiu Honglei blinked a couple of times. ¡°But I am not someone from the Chu n,¡± she said innocently.

    Thoserge, fluttering eyes drew everyone¡¯s pity.

    Qin Wanru¡¯s breathing stopped. This damn vixen... if I was a man, I really wouldn¡¯t be able to rebut her.

    Just as she was about to re up, Qiu Honglei continued, ¡°What I wish to talk about doesn¡¯t need to be hidden from the young miss, though. Could we find a quiet ce to talk?¡±

    Even though she was responding to Qin Wanru¡¯s question, most of her attention was on Chu Chuyan.

    She had previously been discontented that Chu Chuyan was the publicly acknowledged number-one beauty. She merely attributed it to her status as the duke¡¯s precious daughter.

    But now that they¡¯d met, she couldn¡¯t pick out a single w in her, no matter how high she set her standards.

    She was cool and elegant. What made Qiu Honglei even more envious was the distant air that she naturally exuded, as if she had somehow transcended the cares of the world. This was something that she had alwayscked.

    She sighed deeply inside. It was inevitable that some inelegance would have rubbed off on her, having stayed in a ce like the Immortal Abode¡ªa ce constantly filled with men¡ªfor so long.

    While Qiu Honglei was sizing her up, Chu Chuyan was doing the same to her.

    When she first heard that Zu An had a close rtionship with the Immortal Abode¡¯s courtesan queen, she hadn¡¯t cared much at all, despite the displeasure that she showed on the outside.

    Among the peers in her age group, she had absolute confidence in herself, whether it was in her appearance or her poise.

    No matter how much praise the people of Brightmoon City heaped upon Qiu Honglei, she had dismissed it all with augh.

    However, now that she had personally seen this exceptionally beautiful woman before her, she suddenly felt a twinge of regret. Had she made a mistake in letting Zu An get close to this woman?

    Zu An, who was watching from the side in amusement, suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. He scanned his surroundings immediately.

    What the heck? This ce isn¡¯t even windy!

    Qin Wanru looked around. There were indeed too many people gathered here. Even though the Chu n¡¯s guards were usually loyal, it was still possible for spies to have infiltrated this crowd.

    ¡°In that case, let¡¯s head inside!¡± She said coldly, then turned on her heel and left. She pulled her husband¡ªwho was still staring nkly¡ªafter her.

    ¡°Thank you Madam~¡± Qiu Honglei said with a smile. She gestured for her servants to wait outside, and then lifted her dress and followed them inside.

    What are you thanking me for? Qin Wanru was puzzled. The next moment, her expression froze, as something hit her.

    Looking at it a certain way, hadn¡¯t she just let her in through the door?[1]

    This fox demon really was terribly cunning!

    She gave the girl another look, but her expression hadn¡¯t changed a bit. Qin Wanru couldn¡¯t help but wonder if she was overthinking things.

    When their group entered the study, Qin Wanru chased everyone else out. Only then did she look at the courtesan. ¡°Now can you talk?¡± she demanded.

    Qiu Honglei smiled. She looked at Zu An, who was next to her. ¡°Ah Zu, I heard that you were rushing about everywhere today. Were you looking for the young master from the Wang n?¡±

    Zu An nodded. ¡°How did you know? That was indeed what I was doing, but I couldn¡¯t find a single trace of him.¡±

    Qin Wanru frowned, somewhat unhappy that they were leaking such important intelligence to an outsider. If word of this got out to Wang Fu, wouldn¡¯t he immediately appear and start another disturbance?

    However, it was already toote to stop him now. At worst, they could just detain Qiu Honglei here, to prevent the secret from getting out?

    Hmph, the men in this household might be too happy if I did that.

    Qiu Honglei said, ¡°I actually have some news regarding young master Wang on my end. I wanted to let you know since this might be important for you.¡±

    ...

    Meanwhile, in the Whale Gang¡¯s secret hideout, the young female gang boss was asking a simr question. ¡°I really wonder where the stockade master is keeping Wang Yuanlong.¡±

    Chen Xuan¡¯s expression became cold. ¡°What is the gang boss¡¯ intention behind asking this question?¡±

    The youngdy said with a smile, ¡°There is no need for the stockade master to feel so nervous. The entire city is definitely searching for Wang Yuanlong right now. If he is found while the stockade master isn¡¯t in the city to oversee things, wouldn¡¯t our deal be ruined?¡±

    ¡°There is no need for worry. We surely wouldn¡¯t be discovered,¡± Chen Xuan said proudly.

    ¡°That¡¯s good, then.¡± That youngdy suddenly changed the topic. ¡°By the way, I heard that the stockade master wishes to kill someone named Zu An?¡±

    1. Letting someone through the door can also mean joining one¡¯s husband¡¯s household upon marriage.

 Chapter 283: Buying Freedom

    <h4>Chapter 283: Buying Freedom</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Correct!¡± Chen Xuan¡¯s face distorted the instant he heard Zu An¡¯s name. There was no way he could live under the same sky with the one who killed his brother.

    Not only did he not recognize his sworn enemy thest time they crossed paths in the Immortal Abode, that kid had even made him look like a fool. Just the mention of the brat was enough to drive him absolutely furious.

    You have sessfully trolled Chen Xuan for 404 Rage points!

    Chen Xuan gave the woman a suspicious look. ¡°Why would the gang boss suddenly mention this person?¡±

    The woman smiled faintly. ¡°Just curiosity, mainly. I haven¡¯t ever heard Stockade Master Chen openly dere that he wanted to kill someone before. Yet this person is still alive, even though a few days have already passed. Does this Zu An have some kind of outstanding ability?¡±

    Chen Xuan scoffed angrily, ¡°He isn¡¯t too outstanding himself, but he has quite the wife and father-inw. The Chu n¡¯s son-inw isn¡¯t that easy to kill.¡±

    Thest time that little bastard had paraded around town, he could only tail him from the shadows. He¡¯d been certain that there was some kind of ambush waiting. However, he hadn¡¯t noticed anything, which made him even more wary of making a move.

    The reason the ckwind Stockade hadsted this long wasn¡¯t because of his high cultivation, but rather because of his prudence.

    Fortunately, even though he hadn¡¯t yet been able to kill Zu An, he was still able to kidnap Wang Yuanlong along the way.

    ¡°I have heard some things about the Chu n¡¯s new son-inw as well. He is not only under the Chu n¡¯s protection, he also has a position in Brightmoon Academy. If I may ask, how does the stockade master n on killing him?¡± the woman continued to probe curiously.

    ¡°Won¡¯t the gang boss find out after I kill him?¡± Cheng Xuan obviously didn¡¯t want his n exposed. Her questioning made him put up his guard.

    The woman smiled when she saw the change in his expression. ¡°Please don¡¯t be nervous, stockade master. I was merely concerned because this isn''t ckwind Stockade¡¯s domain. Does the stockade master need our Whale Gang¡¯s assistance?¡±

    Chen Xuan shook his head. ¡°There is no need. I don¡¯t need anyone else¡¯s help if I want someone dead,¡± he said coldly.

    ¡°Then I wish the stockade master sess.¡± A hint of a smile appeared in this woman¡¯s eyes. The way she looked would have melted the hearts of any man.

    Chen Xuan stared hungrily at her. He had a sudden impulse to run over and rip off the veil covering her face, but his rational self-restraint prevailed in the end. He got up and bid her farewell. ¡°Since we¡¯ve reached an agreement, I shall take my leave.¡±

    He¡¯d been gone a long time. He was slightly worried that something strange would unexpectedly happen in the city. it was probably better to leave sooner rather thanter.

    As for this woman, she¡¯d be his one day, anyway.

    ¡°Take care on your way home. I won¡¯t see you out. We will surely meet again.¡± The woman bowed.

    Chen Xuanughed loudly. ¡°The gang boss is so beautiful. Of course I hope to meet with you again.¡± With that, he turned and left.

    When his figure hadpletely disappeared, the red clothed woman removed the veil on her face. She sneered. ¡°Just another perverted toad!¡±

    Zu An would surely have been shocked if he¡¯d been there. This was someone he knew! What would have shocked him even more was that her outfit and bearing were entirely different from what he was used to.

    ...

    Back in the Chu Estate, Qiu Honglei¡¯s words had stunned the entire room. ¡°What? Lady Qiu knows where Wang Yuanlong is?¡± Chu Zhongtian cried out.

    Qiu Honglei smiled bashfully. ¡°I do not know for certain, but I received a report that someone who looks simr to young master Wang was led into a certain district by some people.¡±

    Qin Wanru was anxious. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell us earlier if you knew where he was?¡±

    ¡°There were too many people around earlier, so I wasn¡¯t sure if the news would get out if I spoke about it outside. Also, I am worried about Chen Xuan taking revenge on me after this matter...¡± Qiu Honglei seemed genuinely frightened.

    Chu Zhongtian gave his wife a look, then said gently to Qiu Honglei, ¡°Lady Qiu does not need to worry. We will definitely send our people to protect you and ensure your safety. However, could you please tell us where he is so that we can send out a rescue party?¡±

    Qin Wanru¡¯s temper red immediately when she saw her husband give her a look because of another woman. But Wang Yuanlong¡¯s rescue was definitely urgent, so she forced herself to hold back her rage and wait for Qiu Honglei¡¯s reply.

    No one expected that Qiu Honglei would shake her head, her lips still tightly sealed.

    ¡°What is the meaning of this, Lady Qiu?¡± Chu Zhongtian said in confusion.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Qiu Honglei hesitated, then said, ¡°I only want to tell Ah Zu.¡±

    All eyes shifted to Zu An, leaving him momentarily stunned. ¡°What difference does this make? Telling me and telling them is the same thing, right? I¡¯ll tell themter anyway.¡±

    Qiu Honglei shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s different.¡± Her usual charming appearance had been reced by a surprising resoluteness.

    Zu An was dumbfounded. He really couldn¡¯t think of the difference.

    Instead, it was Chu Chuyan who picked up on something. ¡°Just why does Lady Qiu treat Ah Zu so differently?¡±

    Qiu Honglei snuck Zu An a look, and then she said shyly, ¡°It¡¯s because I like him.¡±

    Chu Zhongtian was in the middle of drinking some water. Hearing Qiu Honglei¡¯s deration, he almost sprayed it all out.

    Qin Wanru was shocked. Her first reaction was that she heard wrong.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s eyes also wentpletely round. She clearly didn¡¯t expect to hear such an answer.

    Zu An felt like he was being tossed about in a storm. Just what was this woman trying to do?

    After her initial shock, Qin Wanru¡¯s face immediately became cold. ¡°Lady Qiu, do you know what you are saying right now?¡±

    Qiu Honglei nodded. ¡°I do. My heart was stolen by his talents, resourcefulness, and character from our first meeting. I immediately fell in love with him.¡±

    Chu Zhongtian rubbed his ears. The perfect lover Qiu Honglei spoke of was Zu An?

    Even though he never treated this son-inw too poorly, he had to be honest with himself. Even though he wasn¡¯t the trash everyone called him, he was hardly the perfect lover!

    Qin Wanru¡¯s brows knitted together as she looked at Qiu Honglei. This woman looked pretty and quick-witted out the outside, but there was clearly something wrong with her eyes!

    The one who was least surprised was Chu Chuyan. After all, she knew more about Zu An¡¯s affairs than the other two.

    But why did this woman go this far? Was she able to tell that he was exceptional too?

    Chu Chuyan felt a subconscious difort when she realized that this secret¡ªthat she thought belonged to her alone¡ªwas now known by someone else.

    Qiu Honglei continued into the silence. ¡°Despite that, I also understand my own status well, and I know I have no right topete against the first miss at all. What I seek is only to peacefully remain at Ah Zu¡¯s side. I would dly serve as a concubine, or even his servant girl. I will be more than delighted to serve him.¡±

    The three members of the Chu n were rendered speechless for a long time.

    Qin Wanru found it hard to recover herposure. Were there really any other girls who were this proactive? Just how long has it been since he had entered their household? It was one thing for a woman toe looking for him, but an entirely different thing for that woman to express a desire to be a concubine!

    She would have chased her right out if this was an ordinary girl, but Qiu Honglei¡¯s reputation in Brightmoon City was just too great! She was also ridiculously beautiful, and she couldn¡¯t bring herself to deal with this girl like how she normally would other girls.

    Why would such a beauty¡ªone that even she couldn¡¯t help but admire¡ªfall for this kid Zu An?

    Even Zu An himself was taken aback. The two had shared a pleasant time in the Immortal Abode before, but it never got to a point where they would seriously talk about marriage! Also, hadn¡¯t they just been ying games thest time, with both sides scheming against the other? Why aren¡¯t you ying your cards like a normal person?

    Chu Zhongtian coughed lightly. ¡°Lady Qiu, are you saying that you want to... be Zu An¡¯s concubine?¡±

    He obviously wouldn¡¯t take her suggestion of bing a servant girl seriously. How could anyone dare reduce someone of Qiu Honglei¡¯s status to a mere servant?

    But he really just couldn¡¯t wrap his head around what was going on. Countless high-ranking officials and distinguished individuals had been defeated by her charm. All of them had wanted to take her as their wife, yet all of them had been refused without exception. Everyone wondered privately just what kind of man would actually meet her standards.

    Many of those who stood in the higher reaches of Brightmoon City even suspected that she wanted to be the head of a household. Perhaps she might invest herself in some young and promising talent.

    But in the end, she chose to be the concubine of another family¡¯s son-inw? What the heck was this?

    ¡°Yes.¡± Qiu Honglei raised her head. Her expression was firm, and she seemed extremely proud of what she had dered.

    Qin Wanru couldn¡¯t take this anymore. ¡°Stop joking around already! What kind of person is Lady Qiu? You can find any husband you want! Why would youe all the way here just to be Ah Zu¡¯s concubine?!¡±

    Zu An was floored by her statement. What do you mean by that? Aren¡¯t you making me sound like some piece of trash?

    Qiu Honglei smiled. ¡°Indeed, there are many men I could choose from, but I only care about talent and character. Ah Zu was the only man who could move my heart after all these years. From the first time we met, I already knew that he was the one I was destined for.¡±

    Zu An snorted inside. Like hell I¡¯ll believe you! The first time we met, you were already clearly scheming against me!

    However, the others still couldn¡¯t get over their shock. They were all locals of Brightmoon City, so they obviously knew just how great Qiu Honglei¡¯s reputation was. They couldn¡¯t figure out what was going on no matter how they racked their brains.

    Qiu Honglei continued, ¡°Back then, I also knew that Ah Zu¡¯s status was a sensitive issue. I¡¯ve been slightly more frugal these years, and have saved up some money. If the Master and Madam do not mind, I wish to pay the fee to free myself, in Ah Zu¡¯s ce.¡±

    Zu An almost vomited blood on the spot. Just who is paying for whose freedom?!

 Chapter 284: Iâ€™d Rather Be the Concubine of a Hero than the Wife of Someone Mediocre

    <h4>Chapter 284: I''d Rather Be the Concubine of a Hero than the Wife of Someone Mediocre</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Qin Wanru sneered inside. This woman finally revealed her true intentions! That thing about being a servant or a ve had all been a pretense. With Qiu Honglei¡¯s status, it waspletely out of the question.

    This was her true objective.

    She hade all the way into the Chu Estate to steal another person¡¯s man. Absolutely preposterous!

    Qin Wanru squashed down her anger. She didn¡¯t act out on the spot, instead giving Zu An a big smile. ¡°Our Chu n has always been a reasonable n. We have never relied on our authority to push around themon people. That is why this decision will rest with Ah Zu himself. He should decide if he is willing to have you or not.¡±

    She didn¡¯t want the Chu n¡¯s reputation to be tarnished either. This was a mess he had made, and so he should be the one to clean it up.

    ¡°Sure, I¡¯m willing. Why wouldn¡¯t I be?¡± Zu An blurted out. Why would he refuse such a beautiful courtesan queen taking the initiative to free herself to be his concubine? Just call me the King of Moochers in the future!

    Wait, why does this sound like I¡¯m criticizing myself?

    Even though he didn¡¯t mind mooching off of women, his argument with Qin Wanrust time made him realize that the status of a drafted son-inw really was too low. He waspletely attached to the n, and there were nows to protect him.

    I should get rid of this status as soon as possible.

    Besides, I¡¯m so handsome, I¡¯d still be able to mooch off girls even if I be something other than a drafted son-inw... Ah! Pui, pui, pui! Who is mooching off women?

    I¡¯m so handsome, so suave, girls with money and beauty are naturally drawn to me! Isn¡¯t that right?

    Qin Wanru stared at him, speechless.

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Wanru for 666 Rage points!

    She had expected Zu An to find some excuse to reject her. In her opinion, no man would ever give up the revered and simrly beautiful Chu Chuyan for some brothel girl, even if she was a courtesan queen who had bewitched countless men.

    With that, she could then move in to ease the situation.

    But this guy just refused to behave like a normal person!

    As a duchess, how could she be so shameless as to go back on her word?

    While she struggled with this dilemma, Chu Chuyan suddenly spoke out.

    ¡°I don¡¯t agree!¡±

    Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru were both surprised. Their daughter actually straight-up opposed this!

    Chu Zhongtian¡¯s reaction was one thing, but Qin Wanru actually knew some things about what was going on between her daughter and Zu An. Don¡¯t tell me... my daughter really likes Zu An?

    Her daughter¡ªwho many considered a goddess¡ªand the extremely famous Qiu Honglei were both chasing after the same man! Those who didn¡¯t know the full details might well think that this man was some incredible person.

    What virtue or ability did this Zu An possess?

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Wnaru for 233 Rage points!

    Qiu Honglei gave her a surprised look. ¡°Why is First Miss Chu opposing this? ording to what I¡¯ve heard, the two of you are actually not that close. Ah Zu¡¯s status in your n is also extremely low, so continuing on like this will only torment both parties.¡±

    Zu An sighed inside. This woman is taking the words straight out of my mouth!

    If I didn¡¯t know of this woman¡¯s hidden agenda, I might really be moved to tears!

    ¡°Did Zu An tell you these things?¡± Chu Chuyan¡¯s expression grew dangerous.

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Chuyan for 587 Rage points!

    Zu An could sense that his wife really was angry this time. She didn¡¯t even call him ¡®Ah Zu¡¯.

    Qiu Honglei shook her head. ¡°How could a wonderful man like Ah Zu talk behind others'' backs? These are things that he doesn¡¯t even need to say; things everyone in Brightmoon City are aware of.¡±

    Wonderful man?

    Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru both had strange looks on their faces. Did she not know what those two words meant?

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s felt her mind shudder. She had an inkling that this was the case, but she had subconsciously chosen to avoid thinking about it.

    Only now, when she heard this from the mouth of another, did she realize just how wronged Ah Zu had been all this time, and just how much others looked down on him.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s guilt kept growing as she thought of these things. ¡°Who said we don¡¯t share a good rtionship?¡± She grabbed Zu An andtched onto his arm. ¡°We¡¯ve gone through life-or-death trials and tribtions in the Ursae Dungeon. Our affection for each other is far closer than you could imagine. Isn¡¯t that right, Ah Zu?¡±

    Even though she had a smile on her face, she pinched his waist hard with her free hand, reminding him to watch his mouth.

    Chu Zhongtian waspletely stunned by how close his daughter was with Zu An. He subconsciously looked towards his wife, his eyes full of confusion. Is there something I don¡¯t know about?

    He did not expect Qin Wanru to be just as surprised. This didn¡¯t match her daughter¡¯s nature at all!

    Sensing the hostility around him, Zu An said with a smile, ¡°Indeed, we husband and wife feel incredible affection for each other. I really don¡¯t want to leave my wife! Honglei, I fear that you have no choice but to be a concubine.¡±

    With his personality, how could he give up such a great chance? He reached out a hand to hold Chu Chuyan¡¯s waist as he said this. Oh man, this is what I¡¯ve been missing!

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s entire body went rigid when she noticed his actions. She was so tense, it was as if she would blow up at any moment.

    However, she didn¡¯t say anything in the end. She pursed her lips and slowly rxed her entire body.

    Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru almost spurted blood when they heard Zu An ask Qiu Honglei straight up to be a concubine. This guy¡¯s shamelessness really was in a ss of its own!

    But they quickly noticed what was happening between Zu An and their daughter as well. They stared at the hand which had snaked around their daughter¡¯s waist. When they saw that she didn¡¯t show any signs of resistance, they couldn¡¯t help but exchange nces. Did their daughter and this man already be true husband and wife?

    Chu Zhongtian was usually kind and polite to Zu An, but that was only because of his self-restraint. When he thought about how his precious daughter could have been toyed with by a swine, he was ovee with a gloominess and dejection that all fathers could sympathize with.

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Zhongtian for 211 Rage points!

    Comparatively, Qin Wanru was slightly better off. After all, she had already heard from her daughter about how she received her life-saving treatments while naked, and she was more mentally prepared.

    Qiu Honglei looked at the couple that were glued together, and a faintly discernible smile appeared at the corners of her lips. ¡°Honglei is definitely not the type of shameless and brazen girl who wishes to break up families...¡±

    Qin Wanru scoffed inwardly when she heard these words. Isn¡¯t that exactly who you are?

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s expression also grew cold. Her mood was clearly not that great either.

    Qiu Honglei said, ¡°Since Ah Zu isn¡¯t willing to leave miss Chu and I don¡¯t want to be away from him either, then I guess I¡¯ll be miss Chu¡¯s younger sister. I wonder if First Miss Chu is willing?¡±

    ¡°I already have a younger sister!¡± Chu Chuyan wanted badly to refuse her, but she was well aware of the current predicament the Chu n was in, and her logical mind prevailed. She coldly added, ¡°If I say that I am not willing, will Lady Qiu choose to not tell us about young master Wang¡¯s whereabouts?¡±

    ¡°Big sis Chu¡¯s words really make me feel slightly ashamed. However, people like us who are tormented by fate only wish to seek that one true love in our lives, and we can¡¯t help but use whatever methods are avable. I hope big sis doesn¡¯t mind.¡±

    Chu Chuyan still felt somewhat ufortable. This girl even called her big sis!

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Chuyan for 369 Rage points!

    She took a deep breath, and then said with a darkened tone, ¡°Lady Qiu¡¯s prestige is renowned. There are too many men who are willing to make you their wife outright. Wouldn¡¯t you feel it an injustice if you merely became our Zu An¡¯s concubine?¡±

    She was still slightly baffled. No matter how outstanding Ah Zu was, he was but the lowest drafted son-inw. Just what was she plotting?

    ¡°I won¡¯t feel unjustly treated at all!¡± Qiu Honglei turned around and gave Zu An a sincere look. ¡°I would rather be the concubine of a hero than the wife of someone mediocre! If I can be Ah Zu¡¯s woman, then that would be the greatest blessing of my lifetime! How can I call this an injustice?¡±

    The three members of the Chu n could barely believe their ears. They stared at her, speechless.

    Zu An was the only one struggling to hold back hisughter like an idiot.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s face became gloomy. She was silent for a while before saying, ¡°I have a question I wish to ask Lady Qiu. Just how did you find out about young master Wang¡¯s whereabouts? After all, our Chu n couldn¡¯t find him even after mobilizing all of our men.¡±

    ¡°Is big sis suspecting that I was the one who sent out men to kidnap young master Wang? Where would Honglei get the courage to do such a thing?¡± Qiu Honglei smiled. ¡°Everyone employs their own methods. Our Immortal Abode has all sorts of guests, and information flows more quickly therepared to elsewhere. I just happened to pick up this piece of information as well.¡±

    Chu Chuyan nodded, epting her exnation. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll agree to let you join our household. When the timees, the Chu n will also send people to pay the fee to take you out of the Immortal Abode and formally bring you in. You can tell us where young master Wang is now, right?¡±

 Chapter 285: Fire in the Back Garden

    <h4>Chapter 285: Fire in the Back Garden</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru¡¯s faces turned pale with fright when they heard her words.

    Qn Wanru immediately pulled her daughter to the side. ¡°Chuyan, you cannot make such a rash decision! We will think of a different way!¡±

    Chu Zhongtian, on the other hand, was studying Zu An with an extremelyplicated expression. This son-inw of his really was something else!

    Everyone knew that there was nothing special about him, and even viewed him as a piece of trash. They had already been incredibly jealous when they heard that he had ended up marrying the Chu n¡¯s first miss.

    Yet now, even this absolutely stunning Qiu Honglei had fallen for him. She was even throwing herself at him so aggressively!

    Could this be attributed to luck anymore? Had he truly been a hero in his past life or something?

    Sigh, even with my status as Brightmoon Duke, I probably won¡¯t be able tond a girl like Qiu Honglei unless I use my authority. Why is there a sour taste in my mouth all of a sudden?

    The hero in this situation, Zu An, was currently thinking about the soap operas of his previous world. There were many instances where the heroine would offer up their body to the viins to save a captured protagonist.

    Then, is Qiu Honglei that viin, and I am the heroine?

    This truly doesn¡¯t feel bad at all, though. I¡¯ll take another one, please.

    Chu Chuyan tried to cate the distraught Qin Wanru. ¡°I know what I am doing, mother.¡±

    Many of the n¡¯s matters were already managed by Chu Chuyan. To a certain extent, she was already a vice n master.

    There was nothing much Qin Wanru could say after hearing that she had made her decision. However, she couldn¡¯t shake her difort.

    What n in Brightmoon City¡ªno, in the entire Great Zhou Dynasty!¡ªhas ever had a son-inw this unbridled?!

    Just how long has it been since he joined the n? And he already has a concubine?

    Speaking of, can drafted son-inws even have concubines?

    The wife¡¯s family is even helping him get a concubine!

    Why do I feel like everyone is taking advantage of our Chu n these days? Just who is the dukedom here?!

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Wanru for 66... 66... 66...

    Qiu Honglei rxed when she heard Chu Chuyan¡¯s agreement. Her actions indeed carried quite the risk. If the Chu n hadn¡¯t agreed, things would have taken aplicated turn.

    She also knew to get out while she was ahead. Since the other party agreed, she wouldn¡¯t y any other tricks. She immediately revealed Wang Yuanlong¡¯s whereabouts to quell their anger. ¡°From the information I received, young master Wang seems to be kept in Cleverjade Lane.¡±

    ¡°Cleverjade Lane!¡± Chu Zhongtian eximed. No wonder they couldn¡¯t find him! He was actually being kept in a brothel!

    All of their men were busy searching remote and hidden ces, but their target was actually hiding right in the city!

    ¡°Yue Shan!¡± Chu Zhongtian immediately gave out orders. Now that they knew where Wang Yuanlong was, it would be much easier to carry out a rescue.

    Such matters did not require Chu Zhongtian¡¯s personal attention. With Yue Shanmanding a group of elite troops, they¡¯d even be able to take care of Chen Xuan if he showed up.

    Yue Shan quickly acknowledged his orders and left. When he had departed, Chu Zhongtian brought his focus back to Qiu Honglei.

    After all, his daughter¡¯s happiness was much more important to him than Wang Yuanlong.

    Chu Zhongtian thought over how to phrase his question. ¡°So, Lady Qiu, why did you end up... favoring Zu An? To be honest, I find it a bit hard to believe, even now.¡±

    Qin Wanru and Chu Chuyan nodded in full agreement. They weren¡¯t saying that Zu An was bad, but that this situation was just too strange.

    ¡°Respected Brightmoon Duke, I truly do not know either. Love moves in strange ways. These days, I¡¯ve only had a single thought in my mind, and that was to marry him,¡± Qiu Honglei said with a bashful expression.

    Chu Chuyan gave Zu An a fierce re. What in the world did this guy do to scam this girl?

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Chuyan for 33... 33... 33...

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An burst outughing when he saw the Rage pointse in. His wife¡¯s jealousy was adorable.

    Chu Zhongtian was stupefied by her answer. He was silent for a long while, before he finally sighed and said, ¡°How doesdy Qiu n to leave the Immortal Abode if Wang Yuanlong is sessfully rescued? I can send some people over to pay your release fee.¡±

    Qin Wanru kicked her husband fiercely under the table, leaving Chu Zhongtianpletely dumbfounded. ¡°Dear, what¡¯s wrong?¡± he asked via ki transmission.

    Qin Wanru replied, ¡°Why are you being so proactive on this matter? Are you itching to bring her into our estate or something?¡±

    Panicked, Chu Zhongtian tried to defend himself. ¡°What are you saying? We¡¯ve already promised her! The Chu n has been as good as their word for hundreds of years. We cannot be the cause of our reputation being ruined.¡±

    ¡°Do you care about your daughter at all? It seems like you¡¯re already eager to drag in a vixen topete with her!¡± Qin Wanru kicked with even more force. ¡°Are you really doing this for Ah Zu or for yourself?¡±

    Chu Zhongtian smiled bitterly, ¡°Wife, it¡¯s not like you don¡¯t know about my situation. How could I ever harbor such thoughts?¡±

    Qin Wanru¡¯s face flushed red. She knew that she was being unreasonably jealous here. However, that was in her nature, and she wasn¡¯t willing to just back down. She continued to grumble, ¡°Even if you can¡¯t touch her, just looking at her is probably still enjoyable to you, isn¡¯t it? This is a vixen that even makes my heart rate quicken when I look at her. I can¡¯t imagine what she does to you men!¡±

    Chu Zhongtian had no words left to say.

    He realized that reasoning with his wife wasn¡¯t an intelligent move. The more he said, the more mistakes he made. He decided just to shut his mouth.

    Qiu Honglei gave the two of them a look. As if she guessed what they were discussing, she said with a smile, ¡°There¡¯s no need to trouble Brightmoon Duke. I have put aside some savings during these years, and I¡¯ve already talked things out with mama Hua in the Immortal Abode. There is no issue with me obtaining freedom on my own.¡±

    The three Chu n members looked at each other in dismay. Even Qin Wanru was dumbstruck. She had seen people make stupid choices that lost them money instead of making them money, but this was on a whole different level.

    Allowing their daughter to marry Zu An had already seemed like a loss to the Chu n, butpared to Qiu Honglei¡¯s choice, it was absolutely nothing.

    However, just thinking about how her daughter had to share a man with a brothel girl slowly made her more and more annoyed. She said coldly, ¡°Our Chu n can still pay this bit of money. If news got out that we let Lady Qiu pay her own way to freedom, our Chu n will be a hugeughingstock.¡±

    Qiu Honglei shook her head. ¡°Madam Chu, I wish to make one point clear. I am not marrying into the Chu n. I am not someone who belongs to the Chu n, but rather to Ah Zu. That is why I truly do not dare act so shamelessly as to take Master and Madam¡¯s money.¡±

    For the umpteenth time that night, the three Chu n members were stunned speechless.

    Even Zu An couldn¡¯t help but sigh in admiration. ¡°Honglei, you really treat me too well.¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡±

    Chu Chuyan and Qin Wanru both red daggers at him.

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Chuyan for 250 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Wanru for 250 Rage points!

    Zu An wisely shut his mouth. He was already the winner out of all of this, yet he was still causing trouble. No wonder they got upset at him.

    Qiu Honglei looked like she was given a scare. She gave Zu An a shy look, and then her eyes returned to the three Chu n members, her expression as pitiful as it could be.

    Chu Chuyan felt a wave of annoyance surge within her. I¡¯m not even yelling at you! Who are you putting on this performance for?

    Qin Wanru was extremely irritated as well. This girl was making them look like monsters! However, there really wasn¡¯t much she could say.

    It¡¯s all that brat Zu An¡¯s fault!

    They red at Zu An a second time.

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Chuyan for 444 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Wanru for 444 Rage points!

    A sh of inspiration struck Zu An when he saw these Rage points. He¡¯d discovered another way to make a killing on Rage points.

    It seems like having more close girlfriends doesn¡¯t only make others donate Rage points to me out of jealousy. I can even earn Rage points from my close girlfriends themselves!

    Those guys with harems are always scared of their girls getting angry at each other, but I¡¯m different! The more they fight, the better! The more angry they get, the more Rage points I pocket.

    I¡¯m such a bloody genius!

    Chu Chuyan tamped down her rage and said coldly, ¡°Lady Qiu does not wish to be a part of the Chu n, but Ah Zu is part of the Chu n. Even if we leave aside other matters for now, where does Lady Qiu n on living?¡±

    ¡°Big sis¡¯ is correct to reprimand me. This humble one has taken things for granted.¡± Qiu Honglei smiled. ¡°As for where, I¡¯ll obviously live wherever Ah Zu lives. But, if he is living together with big sis, then pretend I didn¡¯t say anything. It is enough if you arrange a small room for me.¡±

    The clump of anger in her chest grew steadily. This woman clearly knows that I don¡¯t live with Zu An! Did she say this on purpose?!

    Ah Zu definitely spilled everything. How else would she know all of this?! Chu Chuyan shot Zu An another hateful look.

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Chuyan for 666 Rage points!

    Qin Wanru sneered inside. This woman really is worthy of her ce in the Immortal Abode. Her methods are incredibly savage! How can my pure little girl be a match for her? This won¡¯t do. I have to lend my daughter a hand.

    Zu An wanted to ease the tension. Actually, I don¡¯t really care where I stay, haha...

    He didn¡¯t even mind if all three of them stayed together. However, for the sake of keeping his head attached to his shoulders, he wisely chose to keep these words to himself.

    Qin Wanru said, ¡°Lady Qiu, it is alreadyte. Let¡¯s slowly discuss these matters another time.¡±

    This was where her experience kicked in. She would get rid of this girl first, and then discuss things privately at another time.

    No one expected Qiu Honglei to say with a slight blush, ¡°Actually, I don¡¯t have to go back. Either way... either way I am already Ah Zu¡¯s.¡±

    ¡°Zu An!¡± Chu Chuyan suddenly got up. She couldn¡¯t hold herself back anymore. A chilling wave of energy suddenly spread outwards.

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Chuyan for 1024 Rage points!

    Just as she was about to say something, her face flushed with an unnatural redness. She spat out a mouthful of blood, and her entire body crumpled.

    Before the blood evennded on the ground, it had already turned into crystals.

    ¡°Honey!¡± Zu An screamed, rushing to support his unconscious wife. His mischievous expression disappeared without a trace.

    Qiu Honglei wore a pensive expression. There were rumors that Chu Chuyan suffered serious internal injuries, but others said that she was perfectly fine. Now that she had witnessed this firsthand, she knew that her condition was far worse than the rumors stated.

    ¡°Get lost! It was you who caused her such harm! How could you have the nerve to touch her?!¡± Qin Wanru was a bundle of nerves. She reached out a hand to push him aside.

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Wanru for 678 Rage points!

    ¡°I am the only one who can save her right now,¡± Zu An replied coldly. ¡°Do you really want to vent your anger or do you want to help save Chuyan?¡±

    Qin Wanru felt a chill run through her body. Her daughter had indeed said that it was Zu An who had been treating her condition. She couldn¡¯t find any words to rebut him.

    Zu An quickly carried Chu Chuyan back to her room. Qin Wanru followed them in a state of panic.

    Chu Zhongtian saw that his wife hadn¡¯t argued when Zu An said that he would save Chuyan. There was clearly something he didn¡¯t know. However, he trusted his wife¡¯s judgment.

    He stayed behind to deal with the aftermath. ¡°Lady Qiu, it is alreadyte. The city has not been too peaceful recently, so please rest in the estate tonight.¡±

    Qiu Honglei knew that he was worried she might reveal Chu Chuyan¡¯s real condition to outsiders. She bowed slightly. ¡°Thank you Brightmoon Duke. I really must apologize for today¡¯s matters.¡±

    ¡°What happened earlier cannot be put on your shoulders.¡± Chu Zhongtian waved his hand distractedly. ¡°Send someone to bring Lady Qiu to the room to rest.¡±

    He too was worried about Chu Chuyan¡¯s condition, and beat a hasty farewell. He wasn¡¯t in the mood to deal with her.

    ¡°Understood!¡±

    Some servants escorted Qiu Honglei away.

    Qiu Honglei shed a sudden, sweet smile. ¡°Excuse me, which room do you n to bring me to?¡±

    ¡°The guest room, Lady Qiu.¡± The servant could feel his soul about to leave his body, just from her smile alone.

    ¡°How about you bring me to the young master¡¯s room?¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that a little inappropriate?¡±

    ¡°Did the Master and Madam not tell you? That was what they arranged for.¡±

    ¡°Ah, is that so? All right, then.¡±

 Chapter 286: A Goddess in Critical Condition

    <h4>Chapter 286: A Goddess in Critical Condition</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An carried Chuyan back to her room andid her down on the bed. Then, he pushed Qin Wanru to the entrance and said, ¡°Mother-inw, please help me watch the entrance. Do not let anyone in.¡±

    Qin Wanru hadn¡¯t expected him to disy such great strength. She found herself shoved outside before she even realized what had happened. ¡°I¡¯ve already ordered some servants to find physician Bao and Divine Physician Ji. It¡¯s enough as long as you stabilize Chuyan¡¯s condition for now.¡±

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°They won¡¯t make it in time. Besides, those two can¡¯t do anything about Chuyan¡¯s current condition.¡±

    Qin Wanru grew enraged. ¡°The two of them are known for their medical expertise! Are you telling me that you can do something that they can¡¯t?¡±

    This fellow had drawn in this vixen and put her daughter in such a precarious state! Her anger burned fiercely within her.

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Wanru for 787 Rage points!

    Zu An quickly replied, ¡°I am definitely inferior to them regarding the treatment of other illnesses. However, no one understands Chuyan¡¯s condition more clearly than I. Stay by the entrance and do not let anyone disturb me. I must not be distracted at all.¡±

    He didn¡¯t wait for her retort, but shut the door firmly in her face with a loud bang.

    Qin Wanru¡¯s nose was almost ttened. She was just about to erupt, but she suddenly recalled that both of her daughters had mentioned that he was the one who had been treating Chuyan.

    Chuyan¡¯s improvement so far indeed proved his treatment¡¯s effectiveness.

    She also knew that Chuyan¡¯s clothes had to be removed in order to administer this treatment. That was indeed something no outsider could be allowed to see.

    She puffed her cheeks angrily and stood by the entrance. She was going to slowly settle things with him after her daughter was saved!

    Chu Zhongtian finally made it over, together with Chu Huanzhao, who had rushed over after hearing the news as well. The two of them were anxious to go in and check on her, but they were stopped by Qin Wanru.

    ¡°Don¡¯t go inside. Now is not a good time,¡± Qin Wanru said.

    Chu Zhongtian was bewildered.

    What do you mean, ¡®it¡¯s not a good time¡¯? I just want to see my own daughter!

    Something struck Chu Huanzhao. ¡°Is brother-inw treating big sis?¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Qin Wanru grunted in acknowledgment.

    Chu Huanzhao sighed in relief. ¡°Then big sis should be fine.¡±

    Qin Wanru frowned. Why did her second daughter trust Zu An so much? It almost seemed as though she worshipped him a little.

    ¡°Is there something I am not aware of?¡± Chu Zhongtian thought back to the previous conversation that his wife had had with Zu An in front of Qiu Honglei. This conversation between mother and daughter was also quite strange.

    After some hesitation, Qin Wanru told him about the treatment that their daughter was receiving, and how it was Zu An that administered it.

    ¡°So, the improvement of Chuyan¡¯s condition was because of him?¡± Chu Zhongtian was stunned. ¡°Wait, you said that she needs to remove her clothes during the treatment?¡±

    Qin Wanru nodded. ¡°Yes. Because he needs to use acupuncture to remove the cold energy from Chuyan¡¯s body.¡±

    Chu Zhongtian remained in a daze for a long time. The daughter he¡¯d doted on and raised with so much love had truly been ravaged by a swine! There was no way he could remain unaffected. ¡°Their rtionship has already... reached this level of intimacy?¡±

    ¡°It is probably just because of the severity of the situation...¡± Qin Wanru said, her voice tinged with uncertainty. She hadn¡¯t let herself believe that her daughter would actually like Zu An before.

    But her daughter¡¯s jealous reaction earlier hadn¡¯t escaped her notice. Moreover, someone as outstanding as Qiu Honglei hade to offer herself up in such a fashion. The thought of her daughter falling for this man no longer seemedpletely uneptable.

    But why, then? Why can¡¯t I just figure out what¡¯s so outstanding about this Zu An? How does he manage to get so many exceptional girls to like him? Even her own youngest daughter acted all submissive around him!

    Does this kid really have some strong points I don¡¯t know about?

    ...

    Inside, Zu An was busy examining Chu Chuyan¡¯s condition. Her anger had made aplete mess of the cold energy in her body.

    All of the work he¡¯d put in these past few days had gone to waste. Moreover, her condition was in a far worse state than before his treatment.

    It was as if a great snowstorm was ravaging her body from the inside, about to wipe out her life force at any time.

    ¡°Go away. I don¡¯t want to be saved by you.¡± Chu Chuyan reached out a hand to push him away, but she couldn¡¯t muster up the slightest bit of strength. Instead, her body fell limply into his arms.

    Zu An hurriedly supported her. ¡°Don¡¯t act so rashly. Your situation is precarious, and you might die at any time.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s so bad about dying? I should have died a long time ago anyway.¡± Chu Chuyan¡¯s voice was lifeless,cking the slightest trace of youthful energy.

    Zu An eximed in rm, ¡°I only barely managed to save you in the dungeon! How can you give up on yourself like that?!¡±

    When she heard him mention the events in the dungeon, Chu Chuyan¡¯s expression softened. However, the recent events in the study came to mind again, and her brow furrowed once more.

    Zu An was in the midst of taking her pulse, and was examining her condition closely when he sensed another wave of fluctuations in her aura. He immediately said, ¡°Are you angry about what happened just now? It¡¯s really not what you think it is!¡±

    ¡°What is there for me to feel angry about? After I die, you¡¯ll recover your freedom, and it¡¯ll even help you be with that Lady Qiu.¡± Perhaps because of her current weakness, Chu Chuyan discovered that she couldn¡¯t control her emotions like how she usually did.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help butugh. ¡°It turns out that my wife was jealous!¡±

    ¡°Nonsense! Who¡¯s jealous?¡± Chu Chuyan¡¯s face grew red, and she quickly turned her head to the side. She didn¡¯t want to look at him anymore.

    What is going on? Why am I so angry? This isn¡¯t like me at all! Her feelings were all jumbled up.

    Is it really because of him?

    Zu An said, ¡°Honey, I recall asking you this several times, but you¡¯ve always said that you don¡¯t mind if I look for other women, right?¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s face grew cold. ¡°Correct, that''s what I said.¡±

    Why are you bringing this up now? Is this even fair? The two of us were spouses in name only and barely talked, so of course I wouldn¡¯t have selfishly tied you down!

    But now, the two of us are already...

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Chuyan for 233 Rage points!

    ¡°Honey, you were jealous after all.¡± Zu An gently embraced her. Her body was as cold as a block of ice, but it wasn¡¯t hard. Instead, it felt as soft as the finest cotton.

    Chu Chuyan was just about to push him away, but she heard him continue, ¡°There really is nothing between myself and that Qiu Honglei! I don¡¯t know why she would talk like that either! Perhaps I am just too handsome, and she is lusting after my body? But I absolutely haven¡¯t... haven¡¯t done anything with her that would let you down! I can swear an oath right now!¡±

    The night he¡¯d had with Snow popped into his mind, but fortunately, he managed to quickly change what he was about to say.

    ¡°Really?¡± The power of contracts in this world was binding. Even without the oath, Chu Chuyan had a strong confidence that he was telling the truth.

    Then again, why did she want to hit him so badly when he said that Qiu Honglei desired his body?

    ¡°Of course! I have a wife at home who looks like a goddess to me. Why would I care about any other girls?¡± Zu An said with augh.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s face flushed red. ¡°That Lady Qiu is clearly also beautiful.¡±

    ¡°Her motives might not be that pure. I just have yet to figure out what exactly she¡¯s after,¡± Zu An said, his voice growing dark.

    Chu Chuyan gradually pulled herself out of the depths of her anger, her logical mind reasserting control. ¡°Now that you mention it, it does sound a little strange. Why would someone of her caliber end up liking you?¡±

    Zu An ground his teeth silently.

    I¡¯m busting my ass trying tofort you here! How could you turn around and say such hurtful things?

    Chu Chuyan giggled at his reaction. To Zu An, it felt like the first snowmelt in Spring. ¡°All right, I know you¡¯re charming. Maybe she does really like you.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s more like it,¡± Zu An grunted, his wounded pride restored. However, his mood fell immediately after. ¡°Honey, your condition really is not great...¡±

    Chu Chuyan lost her smile as well.

    As a cultivator, she was acutely aware of her condition. She shook her head slightly and said indifferently, ¡°This is why I said I should¡¯ve died back then. I¡¯ve already lived on for so long, and I should be more than satisfied. It is only a pity that the Chu n is in the middle of a huge storm right now, and lil¡¯ Huanzhao hasn¡¯t matured either...¡±

    Zu An immediately cut her off. ¡°How can you still be worrying about others at a time like this?¡±

    ¡°Let me finish speaking. I might not have another chance,¡± Chu Chuyan said, enduring the pain. ¡°Our Chu n is currently caught between the emperor and King Qi¡¯s factions. We¡¯re fighting against the current right now. Unfortunately, our n has a thousand years of tradition and honor that we have sworn to uphold, and we do not wish to be swallowed up by any side. That is why the current situation was inevitable.

    ¡°Before, with me around, we could still try to hold out until the new emperor took the throne. Now, it seems like there is no chance at all. It will be hard for my father to hold out alone...

    ¡°Ah Zu, after I leave, can you help the Chu...¡± She sighed. ¡°Forget it. Your days in the Chu n have been far from joyful. My request is too selfish.

    ¡°Despite all that, I still hope that you can promise me one thing. If something unexpected truly happens to the Chu n, please help me take care of lil¡¯ Huanzhao. I know the two of you are pretty close. Also, I still have another younger si... ahem, ahem... younger brother who is studying in the capital. If it is possible, please help me save him from this sea of suffering as well.¡±

    Her weak voice finally fell silent. Zu An wanted tough, yet he also felt heartbroken. ¡°Why does it seem like you¡¯re saying your final words? Who said that you were going to die?¡±

    Chu Chuyanughed, although it seemed to cause her some distress. ¡°I¡¯ve cultivated for so many years, so I at least have this amount of judgment. My current condition is something not even an immortal can cure. The previous frost-extracting acupuncture won¡¯t be of any use now either.¡±

    Back then, the frost in her body was still at a level that could be controlled. That was why it could still be removed bit by bit through the use of needles.

    However, the frost in her body was nowpletely out of control, ravaging through her like a blizzard. The tiny bit that could be extracted through acupuncture wouldn¡¯t amount to much.

    ¡°An immortal can¡¯t do anything, but I can! You should know that there is still another way.¡± Zu An looked into her beautiful eyes.

    Chu Chuyan stared nkly. It took her a long while to grasp his meaning. Her face, pale with weakness, suddenly flushed red. ¡°No! Absolutely not!¡±

    ¡°You would rather die than agree to it?¡± Zu An was crestfallen.

    ¡°Of course!¡± Chu Chuyan subconsciously blurted. Immediately realizing her mistake, she exined in a hurry, ¡°It¡¯s not because of you... sigh, how can I agree to something like that?¡±

    ¡°We are husband and wife to begin with, after all!¡± Zu An smiled.

    ¡°We are only a fake couple.¡± Chu Chuyan hurriedly corrected.

    ¡°Fake?¡± Zu An couldn¡¯t help himself. ¡°We¡¯re already officially wed, and everyone in Brightmoon City knows that we are husband and wife! Besides, we¡¯ve already done it before...¡±

    Flustered, Chu Chuyan tried to defend herself, but Zu An continued, ¡°Besides, if you really weren¡¯t willing, why did you get so angry when you learned about what had gone on between Qiu Honglei and myself?¡±

    ¡°I...¡± Chu Chuyan was at a loss. Her mind was a huge mess, and she wasn¡¯t sure what to think anymore.

    Seeing her confusion, Zu An seized upon this chance to kiss her. This was the time for a man to be more proactive.

    Often, the rtionship between a man and a woman was sealed off by a finalyer that was thinner than paper. Once it was broken, things would flow smoothly. If they always held back, the two might only grow further and further apart.

    Feeling his lips brush against hers, Chu Chuyan¡¯s eyes widened. Her grip on his clothes tightened.

 Chapter 287: Ridiculous

    <h4>Chapter 287: Ridiculous</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The Chu estate¡¯s physician, Bao Youlu, rushed over in a hurry. He was just about to push open the door when Qin Wanru stopped him.

    ¡°Madam, what is the meaning of this? Isn¡¯t the young miss seriously ill?¡± Bao Youlu asked in puzzlement.

    Qin Wanru¡¯s face became red. ¡°Um... there is someone inside, so it¡¯s not appropriate to enter right now.¡±

    ¡°What? Did Divine Physician Ji arrive?¡± Bao Youlu subconsciously stroked his white beard when he saw Qin Wanru¡¯s sudden embarrassment. The Madam is truly stunning, my heart might have been moved if I was twenty years younger.

    Master Chu is quite blessed. It''s such a pity though...

    Sigh, fate truly toys with people.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s someone else,¡± exined Qin Wanru. ¡°I must trouble physician Bao to wait for a bit.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Bao Youlu looked towards the house with curiosity. ¡°Is there another individual with outstanding medicinal expertise in Brightmoon City? Then this old one will be able to deepen my knowledge.¡±

    Qin Wanrupsed into an awkward silence. She had no idea how in the world she was going to exin thingster!

    Chu Zhongtian paced back and forth nervously. Finally unable to contain his nervousness, he pulled his wife aside and asked, ¡°Dear, is Ah Zu really reliable? Should we have physician Bao take a look first, or send for Divine Physician Ji?¡±

    He lowered his voice as he said the second name, in consideration for Bao Youlu¡¯s pride.

    Qin Wanru wasn¡¯t confident either. ¡°I really don¡¯t know either, but Chuyan seems to trust him a lot. He is probably reliable.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao added vehemently, ¡°I also trust my brother-inw! He will definitely cure big sis!¡±

    Qin Wanru jabbed her daughter¡¯s forehead. ¡°What does a brat like you know?¡± she said with a huff.

    Chu Zhongtian wore a stupefied look. ¡°You let him treat her even though you¡¯re unsure?¡±

    ¡°Enough, enough!¡± Qin Wanru felt a wave of anxiety. ¡°Where did you send that fox demon?¡±

    ¡°Fox Demon?¡± Chu Huanzhao looked at the two of them in confusion.

    Chu Zhontian hurriedly said, ¡°There¡¯s a child here! Please watch yournguage.¡±

    Qin Wanru scoffed disdainfully. ¡°Am I wrong? Would Chuyan have gotten so angry if that woman hadn¡¯te knocking on our door?¡±

    Even though she maintained her fierceness, she still changed her wording.

    ¡°You can¡¯t me her either,¡± Chu Zhongtian couldn¡¯t help but say. ¡°She didn¡¯t know Chuyan was injured. In the end, this was a result of Ah Zu being too lenient on all parties.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Qin Wanru erupted in rage. ¡°She hasn¡¯t even joined his family, yet you¡¯re already speaking up for her? You men really don¡¯t have a single redeeming quality! All of you lose your heads as soon as you see someone pretty!¡±

    ¡°What do you mean...¡± Chu Zhongtian had a forced smile on his face.

    Chu Huanzhao was puzzled. ¡°Dad got a concubine?¡±

    Those uncles in our n all have huge harems, and our dad¡¯s status is the highest of them all!

    She actually felt a slight pity for her dad. He really struggled on this front.

    She had always thought it perfectly normal for those in the noble circles of this world to have multiple wives and concubines. On top of that, her mom had always been the strict one, while his father was more agreeable, so she naturally leaned towards taking her father¡¯s side.

    Of course, if Qin Wanru had known what she was thinking, she would surely have taught her the painful lesson of what motherly love truly was!

    Chu Zhongtian¡¯s face reddened. ¡°Nonsense! It¡¯s nothing like that! It¡¯s your sister¡¯s husband!¡±

    ¡°Brother-inw!?¡± Chu Huanzhao, who had been in high spirits while watching all of this drama unfolding from the sidelines, was stunned when she heard this. What was going on?

    ¡°Brother-inw is taking in a concubine?¡± Chu Huanzhao blinked rapidly. She clearly couldn¡¯t stomach this information yet. This news really was too odd!

    ¡°Hmph, I¡¯ve never heard of such an outrageous son-inw either!¡± Qin Wanru snorted angrily. Her displeasure at this situation was abundantly clear.

    ¡°Who is she?¡± Chu Huanzhao felt her mind gopletely nk. Her original excitement that her dad was finally getting a concubine vanished.

    ¡°Some girl from the Immortal Abode. Is she not afraid of bringing shame to our Chu n?!¡± Qin Wanru red at her husband, clearly warning him not to bring up the identity of this person.

    ¡°Is it that Qiu Honglei?¡± Chu Huanzhao¡¯s voice rose an octave.

    ¡°How did you know?¡± Chu Zhongtian was astounded. How did his daughter know about the Immortal Abode affair?

    ¡°Hmph! How could I not know? Brother-inw stirred up a hugemotion in that ce! He actually has the nerve to bring someone back so quickly!¡± Chu Huanzhao looked angrily at Chu Zhongtian. ¡°Dad, where did you send that woman?¡±

    ¡°Probably the guest room. As for where exactly, I wouldn¡¯t know...¡± Chu Zhongtian replied distractedly.

    Why is my second daughter getting even more angry than my first daughter?

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Without waiting for him to finish, Chu Huanzhao stormed off to the guest rooms in a cloud of anger.

    Unfortunately, they didn¡¯t know that Qiu Honglei wasn¡¯t in the Chu n¡¯s guest room at the moment. Rather, she was at Zu An¡¯s residence.

    ¡°So this is your young master¡¯s living quarters?¡± A faint smile tugged at the corners of Qiu Honglei¡¯s lips when she looked at the small courtyard in front of her.

    ¡°Indeed, the young master lives here. He normally does not stay with the young miss,¡± said that servant in a fawning manner. This woman is just too pretty! Her body smells so good as well.

    ¡°Thank you! What is your name?¡± Qiu Honglei smiled sweetly.

    That servant, immediately overwhelmed by the favor, replied in a flustered manner, ¡°This humble one is Jin Zhu!¡±

    ¡°Jin Zhu?¡± Qiu Honglei giggled. ¡°That¡¯s quite a special name.¡±[1]

    That servant¡¯s entire body went numb. She smiled at me! She smiled at me!

    ¡°Thedy can ask me for anything you need!¡± The servant Jin Zhu continued to simp.

    ¡°Thank you brother Jin.¡± Qiu Honglei dismissed him with a smile. She then examined this small courtyard with great curiosity.

    Qiu Honglei wore an expression of curiosity. I wonder if he hides anything in his normal living quarters. She pushed open the door and entered. She wanted to look around to see if she could find out how Zu An had changed so greatly from his previous, publicly-acknowledged trash self.

    Her expression changed suddenly, and she quickly dodged to the side, just as a fierce gust of wind swept past where she had just been.

    ¡°Hm?¡± Her attacker clearly hadn¡¯t expected her to avoid this deadly blow.

    Qiu Honglei was rmed. Her attacker¡¯s timing was exceptional, and the angle of attack had made the blow difficult to block. Her evasive maneuver had been beyond the limits of her usual ability. She wasn¡¯t confident of avoiding a second attack.

    A woman?

    Her attacker¡¯s surprised voice hadsted only for a moment, but it hadn¡¯t escaped her ears.

    Who is this person?

    Because neither of them had the chance to light amp, the room was dark. Both sides exchanged a flurry of blows.

    Is it the Chu n¡¯s second miss? She dismissed the thought as soon as it appeared in her head.

    It was public knowledge that the Chu First Miss seemed to have inherited all of the Chu n¡¯s blessings. Aside from inheriting her mother¡¯s beauty, her younger sister didn¡¯t have a single good thing about her.

    As for whether or not she was hiding something... hmph, how could this world have so many unexpected things? One Zu An was already enough. How could there just happen to be another one like him?

    Then who is she? Why is she in Zu An¡¯s room? Qiu Honglei was puzzled, but her confusion contained an excited quality to it.

    She decided that she would capture this woman. She felt like she was about to stumble upon a great secret.

    Unfortunately, this woman¡¯s cultivation was ridiculously high. Although Qiu Honglei didn¡¯t hold back at all, the other party easily blocked all of her moves, and had almost turned the tables on her several times.

    Afraid of alerting the members of the Chu n, Qiu Honglei didn¡¯t dare use her elemental ability. The twobatants continued to exchange physical blows.

    However, the longer the fight wore on, the more worried she became.

    Pei Mianman was simrly shocked. She had been waiting in this room for Zu An. To be honest, not even she knew why she kept running over to this ce.

    Perhaps it was because she hadn¡¯t had many friends ever since she was young, and Zu An was different from others. She treasured their period of association greatly.

    Of course, if you asked her, she would say that she was merely doing this to prevent Zu An from being assassinated by Chen Xuan.

    She had arrived slightly earlier than usual. She had been full of expectation, thinking that the person approaching was Zu An, returning from whatever hubbub was going on outside. In the end, it turned out to be a woman instead.

    Even though she couldn¡¯t see clearly, the person¡¯s aura made it clear that it was not Chu Chuyan, Chu Huanzhao, or anyone else from the Chu n.

    From the way she had sneaked in, she assumed this was an assassin sent by Chen Xuan, and immediately went on the offensive.

    She fully expected it to be easy. However, her opponent¡¯s cultivation was actually ridiculously high!

    Every single exchange was dangerous. They traded several dozen blows, but nothing she tried seemed to work.

    Pei Mianman almost used her ck me several times. However, she held herself back, not wanting to let Chu Chuyan know that she was here.

    The two of them continued to fight hand-to-hand, both with their own ulterior motives.

    ...

    Zu An obviously didn¡¯t know that such an intense battle was ying out in the room. He was fully concentrated on treating Chu Chuyan.

    Chu Chuyan had subconsciously rejected him at first. However, she also knew that her resistance was weak.

    A whileter, her entire body suddenly went rigid, her face bingpletely red. ¡°You scoundrel!¡±

    When she said this, she bit down fiercely on his shoulder.

    She was going to return to him all the pain she felt!

    Zu An gasped. It wasn¡¯t because of the pain, but rather because she really was cold.

    Who was it who said that even the coldest woman was warm inside?!

    That had indeed been the casest time.

    But today, it felt as if he had entered into a world of ice and snow.

    It was the tempering effect of the Primordial Origin Sutra that saved him. Any normal man would have immediately shriveled up, and could even have been maimed for life.

    Zu An gently smoothed out the tangles in her hair, saying tenderly, ¡°Your body is already so cold! You¡¯ve always pretended to be strong. It really must have been tough.¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s eyes instantly grew red. His words had shattered her toughest shell, exposing her weakest parts.

    After her initial embarrassment had passed, Chu Chuyan instead felt slightly apologetic. ¡°Are you getting hurt?¡± she asked.

    Zu Anughed loudly. ¡°This is exactly what I¡¯ve been looking forward to! How could I be hurt?¡±

    ¡°You rascal!¡± Chu Chuyan pinched him in anger. However, he really was like a scorching sun, releasing endless warmth through her body.

    ¡°How does it feel?¡± Zu An suddenly asked.

    Chu Chuyan was at a loss for words.

    This guy is actually asking such a shameless question! How am I supposed to respond?

    She turned to the side, biting her lip and not saying a word.

    Zu An knew that she was conflicted when he saw her expression. He exined with a bitter smile, ¡°I am asking if you feel better now. I¡¯m using primordial ki to nurture your body. If any of it feels wrong, you need to tell me immediately. How else would I be able to treat you as quickly as possible?¡±

    1. Jin = Gold, Zhu = Pig.

 Chapter 288: Furious

    <h4>Chapter 288: Furious</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Only then did Chu Chuyan realize that it was her own mind that wasing up with the wrong thoughts. Her pale face tinged with ayer of redness, and her ice-cold body also warmed slightly from her embarrassment.

    Zu An grinned mischievously when he noticed her body¡¯s sensitivity. ¡°Honey, you still haven¡¯t replied to my question! Which part of your body feels the most ufortable? I should treat that part first.¡±

    Chu Chuyan gritted her teeth. This guy just doesn¡¯t know when to stop!

    The two of us are already engaged in this act. What else do you want me to say?

    ¡°If you don¡¯t tell me, I¡¯ll have no choice but to randomly treat you my way, you know?¡± Zu An whispered beside her ear.

    Chu Chuyan frowned when she noticed his movements. She tried to stop him at once. ¡°Wait...!¡±

    Zu An looked confused. Chu Chuyan¡¯s eyes swirled with mist, as if she were on the brink of tears. ¡°Please, stop for a bit. Let me catch my breath.¡±

    Even though this wasn¡¯t the first time the two of them had been so intimate with each other, for some reason, her memories of theirst experience in the dungeon were extremely blurry. She only remembered a mixture of anger, embarrassment, and confusion.

    This was the first time she was still rather clear-headed.

    Are all men this extreme? Chu Chuyan clenched her teeth tightly as she endured it bitterly. This sudden thought made her face flush red. Her strict upbringing immediately stopped her from exploring it any further.

    She clung tightly onto his clothes, breathing heavily as she gradually got used to the feeling of a man.

    When he saw her beautiful brows knit together, Zu An¡¯s heart welled up with sympathy. He couldn¡¯t help but lean down to kiss her red lips.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s entire body trembled. She felt as if an electric current had shot through her entire body.

    Zu An was stunned. He hadn¡¯t expected this ice queen to be so sensitive.

    A naughty smile appeared on his face. ¡°I¡¯m going to start, then.¡±

    Chu Chuyan was so embarrassed she didn¡¯t dare to look him in the eyes. She turned her face to the side, exposing her neck, which had flushed red as well. She quietly voiced her agreement.

    She didn¡¯t know what in the world wasing over her. Her previous self would never have agreed to letting any man do this to her. Even the Chuyan from yesterday definitely wouldn¡¯t have agreed to it.

    But now...

    She didn¡¯t understand why either.

    She didn¡¯t want to understand right now.

    Soon, she didn¡¯t have any room to think about these things. She felt as if her body was like a skiff in the sea, tossed and turned under a violent storm. Sometimes, she was sent towards the clouds, at other times dragged deep into the ocean depths... she didn¡¯t know if she would live, or be drowned in the endless abyss...

    Quite some time had passed, and the Chu n members outside had grown extremely anxious.

    ¡°I wonder what¡¯s going on inside...¡± Qin Wanru paced about the entrance.

    Her daughter had matured at an early age, and had slowly grown more and more reserved. Because of this, she arranged for special rune formations to be ced around the door and windows to iste all sound.

    That was why no one outside had any idea what was happening inside.

    Qin Wanru suddenly thought of Snow. It would have been good to have someone like her to check out the situation inside.

    Ever since Snow left, Chu Chuyan hadn¡¯t found another maid for herself.

    Off to the side, Chu Zhongtian noticed her anxious pacing. ¡°Why don¡¯t you go inside to take a look?¡± His wife had mentioned that the treatment had to be conducted while his daughter was naked, so it was inappropriate for him to enter.

    But that was no issue for his wife at all!

    Qin Wanru saw the sense in his words. Although it wasn¡¯t appropriate for others to go in, there should be nothing wrong for her as a mother.

    Emboldened, she knocked on the door and said, ¡°Ah Zu, how is Chuyan¡¯s condition?¡±

    Silence answered her.

    ¡°I¡¯m going toe in if you don¡¯t say anything!¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    There was still no reply. Worried for her daughter¡¯s safety, she tried to push the door open, but it didn¡¯t budge at all.

    ¡°That brat locked the door!¡± Qin Wanru looked angrily at her husband.

    Chu Zhongtian nodded. Her daughter was still young, but her cultivation was extremely high. The restrictions she put in ce couldn¡¯t be undone by an ordinary person.

    He walked over to the door and gently pressed his hand against the door. Ki left his body, undoing the restrictions on the door. ¡°It¡¯s done.¡±

    ¡°Help me keep watch outside. I¡¯m going to take a look,¡± Qin Wanru said. If a bunch of people identally rushed in and saw their daughter without any clothes on, whatever purity she had left would be in tatters.

    She needed to know that her husband would stand guard.

    Chu Zhongtian gave her a firm nod, which helped to ease her anxiety.

    Satisfied, Qin Wanru pushed open the door and entered, quickly closing it behind her and locking it up again.

    Only then did she head further inside.

    Chu Chuyan was the precious daughter of a dukedom after all, so her room was still quiterge. From where she was, Qin Wanru couldn¡¯t immediately make out the situation inside.

    She didn¡¯t want to announce her presence with a loud voice either, just in case they were at a crucial part of the treatment process. I¡¯ll just sneak a look and leave after making sure my daughter is fine. I won¡¯t disturb their treatment process.

    As she walked further into the room, she suddenly heard some odd noises, almost like a suppressed sobbing and moaning.

    ¡°Hm?¡± Qin Wanru was confused. She was no stranger to such sounds, but how could this be possible?!

    Perhaps Chuyan is groaning because her condition is too serious.

    This thought had just entered her mind when she made it beyond the screen. The scene before her left herpletely stunned.

    She had thought of countless possibilities, and had even prepared herself for her daughter¡¯s condition being incurable. This was the one scene she had never expected to see.

    Zu An and Chu Chuyan hadn¡¯t expected her to enter either. They turned around instinctively at the strange noise. The three of them grew wide-eyed.

    ¡°Zu brat, you bastard!¡± Qin Wanru finally recovered from her initial shock and astonishment, and instantly erupted in rage.

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Wanru for 1024 Rage points!

    Qin Wanru refused to believe that her daughter would allow any man to treat her like this, not even if the man in question was her actual husband.

    There could only be one exnation! Zu An had taken advantage of her like a deranged beast while she was seriously injured and powerless to resist!

    She thought about how everyone was still worried outside,pletely unaware of the misfortune and humiliation that her daughter was suffering inside. It made her want to skin Zu An alive!

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Wanru for 999... 999... 999...

    She could no longer hold herself back, attacking Zu An directly. She waspletely ruthless, striking to kill.

    In a panic, Zu An dodged to one side. But Qin Wanru was a sixth rank cultivator. How could it be that easy to evade her?

    At this moment of crisis, he hurriedly employed Mi Li¡¯s modified Sunflower Phantasm. His figure immediately split into two, both images running in two different directions.

    Qin Wanru focused all of her attention on the figure in front of her. She swung a vicious palm which cleaved straight into the middle of his back.

    Her hand felt as if it had struck empty air, leaving her shocked. The figure in front of her scattered into an expanse of light and shadows.

    A decoy?

    She was still a duchess after all, and had much experience. She knew immediately what had transpired.

    Her eyes locked onto the other Zu An, who had fled to the other side of the room. Just as she was about to attack again, Chu Chuyan¡¯s weak voice called out to her. ¡°Mom...¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, mom is here.¡± Qin Wanru immediately rushed over to support her. At the same time, her heart softened. She thought about how proud and arrogant her daughter had been since birth, and how her purity had been destroyed by such a deplorable fellow.

    It¡¯s all our fault for trusting him too much!

    She moved to renew her attack.

    ¡°Stop...¡± Chu Chuyan grabbed her hand, while using her other hand to wrap the quilt around herself.

    Qin Wanru looked at her, puzzled. Her daughter¡¯s reaction was too strange! Was she too shocked by the situation?

    ¡°He... he was actually... giving me treatment.¡± Chu Chuyan lowered her head, her face alreadypletely red.

    This really was too embarrassing! Her own mother had stumbled in and seen her.

    She was still too embarrassed to say anything, but she was worried that her mother would really kill Zu An, or rm someone else into rushing in. That would be even more humiliating.

    ¡°Treatment? What the heck is being treated here?!¡± Qin Wanru assumed her daughter was too embarrassed to speak the truth. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, your mother will avenge you! This little bastard will not get away with viting you today.¡±

    With that, she charged at Zu An.

    Chu Chuyan panicked when she saw that her mother had not understood. There was only one thing left to say. ¡°Actually... actually... I agreed.¡±

    Qin Wanru came to a screeching halt. She turned around in disbelief. ¡°What did you say?¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s face was clouded over, clearly conflicted. She took some time to steel herself. ¡°Actually... in the dungeon... we... we already became a real... a real husband and wife.¡±

    Qin Wanru was at a loss for words. Her mouth worked furiously, but no sound came out.

    She never would have imagined such a situation, not even in her wildest dreams or her darkest nightmares.

    Zu An was incredibly moved. After all, even though the two of them had engaged in an intimate act, it had only been to save Chu Chuyan. In their hearts, they knew that they were still far from a true husband and wife, and that Chu Chuyan still didn¡¯t truly ept him.

    Who could have expected Chu Chuyan would actually admit to this herself? He felt like he was about to explode with happiness.

    ¡°The two of you have already consummated your marriage in the secret dungeon?¡± Qin Wanru finally managed. She was stillpletely stunned, but a glimmer of understanding came to her. No wonder my daughter was willing to receive treatment from him without her clothes on, despite her cold and reserved nature! I should have foreseen this!

    ¡°Then again, even if the two of you are really husband and wife, to engage in... in this sort of thing at this kind of time... this... this is too much!¡± Qin Wanru was clearly not in the mood to try and figure out the history behind these two. Right now, her daughter was clearly extremely injured, a group of people were nervously waiting outside, and yet, they were...

    Zu An smiled bitterly. ¡°I really am rescuing Chuyan!¡± he cried.

    ¡°Shut your mouth!¡± Qin Wanru gave him a hateful re. As her eyesnded on him, her expression suddenly froze.

    She had been so wrapped up in her anger while chasing after him that she hadn¡¯t noticed anything else.

    Now that she calmed down a little, she suddenly realized that he was stark naked.

    Why is this guy so... so... Qin Wanru¡¯s face grew a bright shade of red. She turned a flustered look upon Chu Chuyan. How could her delicate daughter endure such a thing?!

 Chapter 289: Qin Wanruâ€™s Tortured Heart

    <h4>Chapter 289: Qin Wanru¡¯s Tortured Heart</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Chu Chuyan hadn''t yet noticed that something was off about her mother. She frantically exined, ¡°Mom, he really was treating me... This method might seem crazy, but it really is healing me...¡±

    Her neck grew red as she spoke. After all, she had been an excellent daughter since she was little, and had never given her parents cause to worry.

    Now though, she actually had to exin such an embarrassing scene to her mother. It really was too humiliating...

    ¡°It¡¯s all this guy¡¯s fault!¡± She couldn''t help but give Zu An a hateful look.

    Zu An felt as if he had suffered a great injustice. How is this my fault? No one could have expected your mom to suddenly break in!

    Qin Wanru turned her head rigidly to the side. Then, she looked at her daughter in a deeply concerned manner. ¡°Yan¡¯er, has your condition improved?¡±

    Chu Chuyan bit her lip and said quietly, ¡°I¡¯m not fully healed yet, but I feel much better than before.¡±

    ¡°Such a thing can really produce healing effects?¡± Qin Wanru was dumbstruck. She had her fair share of knowledge and experience, yet this was the first time she ever heard of such a thing.

    ¡°He might be different from other men...¡± Chu Chuyan exined quietly. As a cultivation genius, she was able to keenly sense that the other party¡¯s ki could repair her meridians naturally in her stead, as if it was her own ki.

    But of course, she was aplete newbie when it came to such a thing, so she had no way of confirming if this belief was true.

    ¡°It¡¯s mainly because of my constitution and cultivation method. Other men cannot do the same thing,¡± Zu An anxiously added from the side.

    I absolutely cannot have these two have any more misunderstandings at such a time!

    Qin Wanru wanted to ask him what kind of constitution and technique he was talking about, but her face became rigid as soon as she turned around. She immediately shifted her gaze away. Now really wasn¡¯t the best time to ask about this.

    ¡°Put on some goddamn clothes already!¡± Qin Wanru sat down so that her side profile was presented to him, her head turned to face away. Her ample chest rose and fell, although it was unclear whether it was because her anger had yet to dissipate, or for some other reason.

    ¡°Follow me out when you are dressed, and then exin the situation to Master,¡± Qin Wanru added. She obviously couldn¡¯t allow Zu An to continue tormenting her daughter now that she had interrupted them.

    This ispletely outrageous! Can¡¯t you husband and wife just y around at night behind closed doors? You guys just had to fool around now, with everyone still anxiously waiting outside!

    Chuyan used to be so good. It¡¯s all that Zu An¡¯s fault for leading her astray.

    Her rage immediately boiled over at this thought.

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Wanru for 777 Rage points!

    Zu An picked up his scattered clothes and forced a smile. ¡°I still haven¡¯tpleted Chuyan¡¯s treatment! If we leave now, all the efforts we¡¯ve put in would be ruined...¡±

    Chu Chuyan was left speechless, but her stunned iprehension was no match for Qin Wanru¡¯s.

    What was this fe trying to say? Don¡¯t tell me he wants to continue?

    Qin Wanru was about to lose her mind. ¡°Are you trying to use this chance to take advantage of Chuyan?¡± she said coldly.

    Zu An had a helpless expression on his face. He pointed towards Chu Chuyan. ¡°If you don¡¯t believe me, then ask her.¡±

    Qin Wanru turned to look at her daughter. Her daughter had always been a prodigy at cultivation, so she naturally understood her body¡¯s condition better than anyone.

    ¡°Some of the cold energy in my body has started to rebound again...¡± Chu Chuyan said with some hesitation. Her reserved nature as a young woman made her unwilling to admit this, but after managing many of the Chu n¡¯s affairs all these years, she had trained herself to remain rational at all times.

    If Zu An was chased out now, then all of it would truly have been for naught.

    Earlier on, she had been so sure that she was done for. She had even left behind so manyst words.

    In the end, she couldn¡¯t let go of the Chu n. Now that there was hope that she could live, how could she give it up because of a momentary impulse?

    ¡°Either way, Ah Zu and I are already... like that. A few more times wouldn¡¯t make a difference.¡±

    Even though Chu Chuyan had chosen her words carefully, her meaning was abundantly clear.

    Qin Wanru¡¯s mouth worked soundlessly.

    She knew that her daughter was earnest to a fault. If she said so, then this was most likely the case.

    Even though she felt some mild injustice, her daughter¡¯s health was still the most important thing.

    She had no choice but to rise to her feet. ¡°You two... keep working hard, then. I¡¯ll help watch the door.¡±

    Why do these words sound so weird?!

    Just what kind of situation have I gotten myself into?!

    Qin Wanru wanted to give Zu An one final hateful look, but then she recalled what she¡¯d seen earlier, and her expression instantly became unnatural. She hurried outside.

    When her mother left, Chu Chuyan¡¯s strong front disappeared without a trace. ¡°It¡¯s all your fault, making me so embarrassed.¡± She began to sob on the bed.

    Zu An rushed over to console her. ¡°All right, all right, it¡¯s all my fault. I should¡¯ve sensed hering.¡±

    His expression suddenly went nk as he spoke. The nkets covering Chu Chuyan¡¯s body slid off as she began to sob, exposing her wless body.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°You are still looking? Haven¡¯t you seen enough already?¡± Chu Chuyan pulled the nkets back up in a panic. She made a fuss in order to hide her embarrassment.

    Zu An said with a sigh, ¡°Wife, you really are too beautiful! I wouldn¡¯t get tired of looking at you for the rest of my lifetime.¡±

    No matter how prideful and cold Chu Chuyan was normally, she was still a little girl who had just experienced her first awakening of love. A sweet feeling blossomed in her heart when her husband¡¯spliment reached her ears.

    How could Zu An possibly resist such a beautiful and shy appearance? He dove into the sheets and embraced her.

    ¡°Why are you always so rough?¡± Chu Chuyanined as he pressed her down roughly.

    Zu Anughed. ¡°Isn¡¯t ¡®Dominating Sword Immortal¡¯ a favorite book of yours?¡±

    ¡°Ah! You scoundrel! So you did see it that day!¡± Chu Chuyan was so embarrassed, she wished fervently for a hole in which she could hide.

    He could no longer hold himself back, nting a kiss on her perfect lips...

    ...

    Chu Zhongtian and the others quickly surrounded Qin Wanru as she left the room. Bao Youlu seemed particrly curious.

    ¡°How is Chuyan doing?¡± Chu Zhongtian¡¯s face was full of concern.

    Qin Wanru¡¯s face flushed red as the scene she¡¯d witnessed appeared in her mind. ¡°Ah Zu is currently treating her. She should be past the critical phase.¡±

    Chu Zhongtianughed loudly. ¡°That¡¯s good, that¡¯s good. I have to give this son-inw some credit.¡±

    Qin Wanru was full of hidden resentment. You might have just killed him there and then if you had seen what he was doing to your daughter in that room!

    Bao Youlu was effusive with his praise. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect the young master to have such miraculous skill! He is actually able to treat the young miss! This old one will have to consult him properly when hees out.¡±

    He had been the first one to diagnose Chu Chuyan back then, and formting a cure had been beyond his abilities. Who would have expected that Zu An could save her? How could he not be curious?

    Qin Wanru had a strange expression on her face. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s something you can learn.¡±

    Bao Youlu was miffed. ¡°Madam, are you looking down on this old one? This old one still has some achievements in the field of medicine! Even that Ji Dengtu is only a tad bit better than I! What medical skill could there be in this world that I cannot learn?¡±

    ¡°This... I fear that you really might not be able to learn it. He had a very unique and special technique.¡± Taking in his elderly figure, that young and vigorous thing suddenly appeared in her mind. The powerful contrast made her heart jump. She chased those thoughts out of her head at once.

    Bao Youlu wasn¡¯t willing to let her off the hook, and continuously pelted her with questions. Qin Wanru found a random excuse to appease him. Afraid that he would continue to ask about this, she hastily said to her husband, ¡°Dear, why hasn¡¯t Huanzhao returned after so long? Did something happen to her?¡±

    Chu Zhongtian was puzzled. ¡°What can possibly happen in the estate?¡±

    Qin Wanru replied, ¡°She has always been close to her big sister. What if she gets mad when she hears about Qiu Honglei¡¯s situation and uses the Wailing Whip on her? That would be the end of our Chu n¡¯s reputation!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right! I¡¯ll go and take a look right now!¡± Chu Zhongtian took off in a hurry.

    He¡¯d been too worried about Chu Chuyan to think about these things earlier.

    Now that Chu Chuyan was no longer in danger, his heart grew more rxed.

    However, he began to panic again when the thought of Qiu Honglei¡¯s beautiful figure being struck by the Wailing Whip emerged in his mind.

    Although he harbored no other thoughts towards Qiu Honglei, as a man, he couldn¡¯t bear to see the face of such an exceptional beauty like Qiu Honglei endure the slightest suffering. To him, it was almost an affront to heavenly grace.

    Qin Wanru was filled with relief when she saw her husband leave. The matters between the young couple in this room were trulyplicated, and it wasn¡¯t convenient to tell him about these things yet.

    However, making a father wait outside in ignorance seemed improper as well. That was why she¡¯d found an excuse to send him away.

    Bao Youlu was just about to ask for details on Zu An¡¯s treatment method again, but she had taken this short pause to prepare an excuse to deflect him. She said quickly, ¡°I must ask physician Bao to prepare some body-nurturing medication for Chuyan.¡±

    ¡°No problem.¡± Bao Youlu¡¯s expression flipped instantly, now that he was finally of some use.

    Just as he began to leave, Qin Wanru suddenly called out to him again. ¡°Hold on. Please prepare some vitality-boosting medication as well.¡±

    ¡°Vitality boosting?¡± Bao Youlu was momentarily stunned, but then understanding struck him. With the young miss in her current condition, it would be good to prepare some vitality-boosting medicine, just in case.

    As for those from the second and third branch who came overter, they were all turned away. Besides, Chu Yucheng was still seriously injured and needed proper care.

    Qin Wanru finally sighed in relief when everyone had been sent away. She didn¡¯t have to worry about anyone finding out about what was happening inside anymore.

    A huge scandal was sure to erupt if word of something unexpected got out!

    It¡¯s all that Zu An¡¯s fault. Her heart really was being tortured by this guy¡¯s stuff!

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Wanru for 233 Rage points!

    ...

    Chu Zhongtian was midway to the guest rooms when he ran into Chu Huanzhaoing back. He immediately asked, ¡°Little Huanzhao, what did you do with Lady Qiu?¡±

    ¡°I was just going to ask you about her! I didn¡¯t find that woman at all!¡± Chu Huanzhao said with an angry huff. A strange look suddenly appeared in her eyes. ¡°Dad, you¡¯re being weird, really weird. She¡¯s not your concubine, so why are you so nervous?¡±

    Chu Zhongtian gave his daughter an annoyed look. ¡°Just where did a brat like you learn to fill your head with so many random things?¡± He looked around at the Chu estate, his expression bing a little strange. Did that womane here to steal?

 Chapter 290: Why Canâ€™t I?

    <h4>Chapter 290: Why Can¡¯t I?</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Chu Zhongtian panicked. He rushed to check on the estate¡¯s valuables.

    From the way her father was acting, Chu Huanzhao assumed that something big had happened. She followed him anxiously.

    Chu Zhongtian examined the n¡¯s treasures carefully, but discovered nothing missing. The extremely vital spiritual creek that they possessed had already been contaminated for a long time.

    Did I overthink things? Chu Zhongtian called over the servant named Jin Zhu, and asked him where exactly he had brought Qiu Honglei.

    Jin Zhu was puzzled. ¡°Didn¡¯t the master tell me to bring thedy to the young master¡¯s room?¡±

    Chu Zhongtian had a nk look on his face. ¡°When did I say that?¡±

    ¡°Lady Qiu said you did,¡± Jin Zhu replied in a deadly earnest manner.

    Chu Zhongtian was speechless.

    Why does our estate have so many of these marvels? Cheng Shouping has already given us more than enough headaches, now we have to deal with this Jin Zhu too?

    Chu Huanzhao was quick to pick up on his words. ¡°She went to brother-inw¡¯s room? This woman is so shameless!¡± Chu Huanzhao instantly erupted in anger. She rushed towards Zu An¡¯s residence, fuming with rage.

    Chu Zhongtian¡¯s eyebrows climbed high up his forehead. He noticed that his daughter had indeed brought her Wailing Whip with her.

    He immediately took off after her, fearing that something bad could happen.

    ...

    Qiu Honglei and Pei Mianman traded punches and kicks, their fight surpassing over a hundred blows exchanged. They had progressed from the initial feel-each-other-out sparring to full-blown, no-holds-barredbat.

    After such a brutal slog, both suffered considerable internal injuries.

    ¡°Name yourself, bitch!¡± Pei Mianman demanded fiercely, gasping for air as the twobatants took a small breather.

    She¡¯d been here early, happily waiting for Zu An¡¯s return. Who would have expected this random woman to pop up?! This jarring reality was so different from her expectations, it left her hopping mad.

    Qiu Honglei refused to be outdone. ¡°And which bitch might you be?¡±

    Each of them was wondering who the other woman was. Was she Zu An¡¯s friend or foe?

    Unfortunately, neither was able to make any headway in piercing the other¡¯s identity. There was still so much they didn¡¯t know about each other.

    The two of them harbored ulterior motives, and neither was willing to ask the other about their rtionship with Zu An, out of fear of being exposed.

    The two of them leaped in for another round. Both struck at the other¡¯s chest.

    Huh? Why are these boobs so big?

    This woman isn¡¯t inferior to me! I never knew Ah Zu had someone like this by his side!

    ...

    The fight grew more and more intense. Suddenly, Pei Mianman was startled by the sound of hurried footsteps approaching. ¡°Count yourself lucky this time!¡± she spat coldly.

    She didn¡¯t want the Chu n finding out that she was here, so she couldn¡¯t stay to finish her fight with this woman.

    Hmph! Just a trifling fifth rank! I¡¯ll make sure to make you regret this the next time I see you!

    She leaped away in a sh. Her movement technique granted her extreme speed, and her silhouette disappeared into the darkness of night.

    Qiu Honglei rubbed her chest, a hint of pain shing across her face. That bitch had some really fierce moves. If I hadn¡¯t been afraid of rming the Chu n, I would have already killed you a hundred times over!

    Hmph, just a trifling fifth rank!

    ¡°Qiu Honglei, get out here this instant!¡±

    The angry shout of a youngdy rang out from a distance away.

    Is that the foolish second daughter? She had obviously carried out a thorough investigation of the Chu n before she made her move, and possessed a good understanding of all of the important people here.

    She thought about smoothening her messy clothes, but hesitated a moment before deciding to walk out in her current state.

    ¡°What happened to you?¡± Chu Huanzhao had originallye to denounce her, but when she saw the other party¡¯s obvious distress, she subconsciously swallowed those words.

    Chu Zhongtian was stunned as well. Qiu Honglei¡¯s clothes and hair were a mess, and her face was flushed an enchanting pink. There was a sheen of sweat on her forehead. All of this made her seem even more seductive, even more lovely and endearing.

    ¡°Lady Qiu, what happened?¡± Chu Zhongtian instinctively echoed his daughter¡¯s words.

    ¡°Brightmoon Duke! A woman came out of nowhere and attacked me! If it wasn¡¯t for Brightmoon Duke¡¯s timely arrival, I might have... might have...¡± Qiu Honglei¡¯s face was already dripping with tears as she spoke. After spending so much time in Immortal Abode, she already mastered the art of crying. Her sobs seemed heartbreakingly genuine, and filled the hearts of others with pity.

    ¡°A woman?¡± Chu Zhongtian was taken aback. He subconsciously nced at his daughter.

    Chu Huangzhao grew nervous. ¡°What are you looking at me for? I¡¯ve been with you all this time!¡±

    Chu Zhongtian went inside to take a look.

    Seeing the chairs and tables in a mess, Chu Zhongtian¡¯s expression grew strange. ¡°Lady Qiu is also a cultivator?¡±

    Why don¡¯t I sense any traces of ki from her body?

    ¡°I am not a true cultivator¡ªI¡¯ve only learned a few tricks. After all, I needed some way to protect myself in a ce like the Immortal Abode.¡± Qiu Honglei had an excuse at hand.

    Chu Zhongtian nodded. This exnation made sense. He gave the ce a cursory examination. ¡°It seems like the mysterious intruder couldn¡¯t see things clearly either, because of the darkness.¡±

    Qiu Honglei hurriedly added, ¡°I¡¯m sure that Brightmoon Duke¡¯s quick arrival made the thief run away in a panic!¡±

    Even though Chu Zhongtian wasn¡¯t usually affected by feminine charms, he still felt a surge of pride at being praised by a beauty. ¡°Our Chu n has still been negligent, and it has caused Lady Qiu to suffer a scare. You said that this thief was a woman?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s correct. She¡¯s a woman, and quite a young one at that.¡±

    But her breasts are so big! Naturally, she didn¡¯t say thatst part out loud.

    ¡°A woman...¡± Chu Zhongtian was perplexed. Why are there so many intruders recently? Are all of these a coincidence?

    We really need to strengthen the security around here.

    With that in mind, he said, ¡°Lady Qiu, this area is a bit further out, so the security might be slightly morex. Servants! Bright Lady Qiu to a guest room to rest.¡±

    He obviously wouldn¡¯t let his own son-inw sleep with this woman.

    Qiu Honglei didn¡¯t object at all. ¡°Thank you, Brightmoon Duke.¡±

    She cursed inwardly. It¡¯s all that mysterious woman¡¯s fault. I could¡¯ve further deepened my rtionship with Ah Zu if not for her.

    After sending Qiu Honglei off, Chu Zhongtian called over the butler Hong Zhong and ordered him to further strengthen the estate¡¯s defenses. There had been too many incidentstely.

    Chu Huanzhao was sent to check on the condition of her older sister. Along the way, she realized that she had originally gone to settle things with that vixen. Why had she let her go just like that?

    However, she was reminded of the sorry state that the other woman had been in, and her anger dissipated slightly. She felt a strange affinity to whoever that mysterious woman was. She had really helped vent some of her anger.

    However, her light mood onlysted a short while. Even though she was usually carefree, she was someone who made a clear distinction between pretty and ugly.

    She had always thought that Qiu Honglei¡¯s reputation was unfounded. After all, just how pretty could she be?

    Now that she had seen her with her own eyes, she had to admit that the girl was ridiculously beautiful. Every single motion of hers fully disyed a woman¡¯s graceful bearing.

    She looked at her own unttering chest. ¡°Even hers are so big...¡± she mumbled quietly.

    ¡°What did you say?¡± Qin Wanru was standing guard outside her daughter¡¯s room when she suddenly noticed her youngest mumbling to herself as she walked over.

    ¡°Nothing.¡± Chu Huanzhao¡¯s gaze flickered. When she saw her own mother¡¯s impressive chest, she felt even more depressed.

    Why couldn¡¯t I inherit that from my mom? I wouldn¡¯t have a need to be scared of that Qiu Honglei, otherwise.

    ¡°Is it really nothing?¡± Qin Wanru reached out a hand to stroke Chu Huanzhao¡¯s head, taking note of her daughter¡¯s unnatural expression. Something had happened to her oldest daughter¡ªshe really didn¡¯t want something to happen to her youngest as well.

    Chu Huanzhao¡¯s face turned red. She hurriedly changed the topic, ¡°It¡¯s really nothing! How is big sis?¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    It was Qin Wanru¡¯s turn to blush. ¡°Your brother-inw is... carrying out the treatment.¡±

    A huge smile blossomed on Chu Huanzhao¡¯s face when she heard about this. ¡°Brother-inw is amazing! I¡¯ll have brother-inw treat me if I get sick in the future!¡±

    Qin Wanru immediately turned pale with fright. ¡°No way, absolutely not!¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Chu Huanzhao was bewildered. She couldn¡¯t figure out why her mom would act like this.

    ¡°Don¡¯t ask why. If I say no, then no.¡± Qin Wanru¡¯s face flushed in anger as Zu An¡¯s treatment method came to her mind.

    ¡°Why is it okay for big sis but not for me? Mom, you¡¯re being unfair!¡± Chu Huanzhao was already unhappy because of her thoughts about Qiu Honglei. Her mind drifted to memories of how her mother had always praised her big sister since they were young. Even though she never said anything outright, every single child still wanted to be the one most well-liked by their parents.

    All of her pent up feelings came to the fore, and her tears began to pour out. She turned around and ran off, not looking back no matter how Qin Wanru called out to her.

    ¡°This child!¡± Qin Wanru stamped her foot angrily. Chu Chuyan was in critical condition right now, so she didn¡¯t dare leave the doorstep. Stamping her feet was the most she could do.

    Foolish child, do you even know how your brother-inw is treating your big sister? Would you really be willing to be treated by him?

    It¡¯s all that Zu An¡¯s fault!

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Wanru for 531 Rage points!

    Inside the room, Zu An shivered. What does this woman have against me? Why is she getting angry at me at such a time?

    Chu Chuyan noticed that something was off with him. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± she asked, her voice somewhat distorted.

    She jumped in fright, not daring to believe that this was her own voice. She had never spoken with such an ambiguous voice before. However, all of this seemedpletely natural.

    Zu An smiled. ¡°Nothing.¡±

    Hmph, your mom¡¯s always bullying me. It¡¯s only right that I collect interest from your body.

    ...

    Qin Wanru¡¯s legs were about to give out, having stood for so long. The room door finally opened. Zu An came out, fully dressed.

    She red at him. Are you some kind of animal? How much time do you need?

    But there was no way for her to say such a thing out loud. ¡°How is Chuyan?¡± She asked instead.

    Zu An replied, ¡°She¡¯s out of the danger zone. She should make a full recovery after a few more sessions. That shouldpletely wipe out the illness at its roots.¡±

    Qin Wanru was stunned. ¡°You need... a few more sessions?¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡± Zu An¡¯s face colored slightly. This was actually his own selfish intention. After today, Chu Chuyan¡¯s condition had already improved considerably.

    However, he still had the final say in this matter. Wouldn¡¯t he be an idiot if he let this great opportunity go?

    Qin Wanru¡¯s expression flickered several times. In the end, she refrained from saying anything at all. Instead, she hurriedly entered to check on her daughter¡¯s condition.

    Zu An wondered if it would be too cold of him to leave now. However, now that a mother and daughter were chatting in private, it would be rather awkward for him to linger.

    Just as he was about to leave, a flustered Yue Shan rushed over. ¡°Where is Master and Madam? Something major has happened!¡±

 Chapter 291: Warning

    <h4>Chapter 291: Warning</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    To be honest, even Qin Wanru herself regretted entering that room. The two of them had been doing... those things earlier. Would it even be appropriate for her to go in now?

    Despite her misgivings, she braced herself and went in.

    There still seemed to be a hint of love and tenderness in the air. Qin Wanru¡¯s heartbeat couldn¡¯t help but quicken.

    However, when she saw her daughter lying silently on the bed, she still turned pale with fright. ¡°Chuyan, what¡¯s wrong? Did that rascal say something to make you unhappy?¡±

    Chu Chuyan opened her eyes, her face goingpletely red. ¡°Mom, why did youe in?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about why I¡¯m here. How are you feeling?¡± Qin Wanru began examining her with her hands. She discovered that her body wasn¡¯t as cold as before¡ªinstead, it possessed slightly more ordinary warmth.

    Stranger still, her body seemed to have be much more limp than before, as if all of her bones had melted.

    ¡°Not... not too bad...¡± Chu Chuyan replied, her face still red.

    ¡°Then why are you so weak? You can¡¯t even sit upright,¡± said Qin Wanru in distress.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, I¡¯m just a bit... a bit tired.¡± Chu Chuyan¡¯s voice was extremely soft.

    She was thankful that Zu An had helped her put on her clothes before he left. If not, she would be even more embarrassed right now.

    ¡°Too tired?¡± Qin Wanru was stunned. But she was an experienced person after all, and it didn¡¯t take her long to understand what was going on. She also began to blush.

    Theypsed into a strange silence for a while.

    Hesitantly, Qin Wanru spoke, worried for her daughter¡¯s safety. ¡°Ah Zu said just now that... he needs to treat you a few more times before you are fully recovered. How do you feel about that?¡±

    ¡°Ah?!¡± Chu Chuyan cried out in rm. She felt that her ki flow was already extremely smooth, although her body itself was still a little weak. However, she couldn¡¯t be certain. ¡°May... be.¡±

    Either way, the two of them had already done this more than once. Once more wouldn¡¯t make any difference.

    Besides... besides, the treatment process is still... still pretty enjoyable. She had never felt so good ever since she was little.

    Qin Wanru noticed her daughter¡¯s shy expression. How could she not know what was going through her daughter¡¯s mind?

    She never expected this prideful and cold daughter of hers to be subdued by that type of guy.

    Sigh, even though I could go on all day about his faults, he is at least well qualified in this area...

    ¡°Mom, are you okay?¡± Chu Chuyan noticed her sudden nk expression, and nudged her out of curiosity.

    ¡°Huh? It¡¯s nothing.¡± Qin Wanru snapped out of her daze, clearly still a little flustered. ¡°Enough, enough, you should get some good rest. I¡¯ll make sure the others do not disturb you.¡±

    She hurriedly took her leave.

    Meanwhile, on the other side of the estate, Zu An brought Yue Shan to see Chu Zhongtian.

    Chu Zhongtian took the initiative to ask Zu An about his daughter¡¯s condition. When he learned that she was all right, he exhaled in relief.

    Only when he waspletely at ease did he ask Yue Shan, ¡°Were you able to save young master Wang?¡±

    ¡°We were about to rescue him, but...¡± Yue Shan wanted to say something, but he hesitated.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Chu Zhongtian asked.

    Yue Shan replied, ¡°I learned from young master Wang that his resistance was broken by his captors¡¯ vicious methods. He told them everything about the Wang n¡¯s caravans that transported the salt permits. I was worried that something major was about to happen, so I sent someone ahead to contact the Wang n first. Unfortunately, I do not know how the Wang n transports their salt permits, so I couldn¡¯t make any more specific arrangements. That is why I must ask Master Chu to discuss things with the Wang n and make preparations.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Chu Zhongtian got to his feet. The Wang n delivered provisions to the border in exchange forrge quantities of salt permits, which the Chu n would then purchase off them.

    Even though a portion of them was reserved for the Zheng n, the Yuan n, and other ns, the bulk of it belonged to their Chu n.

    If something happened to these salt permits, they would have no way of selling their salt. That would be a huge disaster!

    He couldn¡¯t sit still any longer. He made haste to the Wang n estate, with Yue Shan following closely behind him.

    ¡°Has young master Wang been injured? Was he crippled?¡±

    ¡°He has not. Despite the abuse that he¡¯s suffered, he should recover after some time.¡±

    ¡°Thank goodness. We didn¡¯t let down brother Wang in the end. By the way, did you all catch Chen Xuan?¡±

    ¡°We didn¡¯t. Chen Xuan was not there. We wouldn¡¯t have been able to carry out this task so smoothly otherwise.¡±

    ...

    Zu An watched those figures leave in silence, wondering why he had been left behind.

    They were all in such a panic that theypletely forgot about him.

    Whatever, I already did what I had to.

    Zu An stretched his bodyzily. That process just now wasn¡¯t pure enjoyment for him. He still had to pay close attention to the changes in her body and guide the primordial ki towards the channels that needed repair.

    Sigh, this really eats away at my life force...

    He was physically tired as well. He just wanted to go back and sleep.

    When he returned to his room, he jumped in fright at the mess. ¡°What the heck? Was there a thief?¡±

    An icy voice came from directly behind him. ¡°Two women were fighting over you here. Did you not know about this?¡±

    ¡°Two women?¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He couldn¡¯t figure out what was going on.

    ¡°Hmph, Pei n¡¯s young miss and that Immortal Abode¡¯s Lady Qiu.¡± Old Mi couldn¡¯t hold back a sigh. ¡°There are indeed outstanding talents in every generation... Those two are still so young, yet they already possess that level of cultivation. The younger generation will truly surpass us in time.¡±

    Zu An cursed silently. A battle between two beauties would have definitely been a stunning sight, yet all you were paying attention to were their cultivation levels? Are you even a man?

    At the same time, he realized that Pei Mianman must¡¯vee looking for him today, and just happened to run into Qiu Honglei.

    Sigh, it seems like having many women isn¡¯t a good thing after all! What a pity that I wasn¡¯t here when it happened... so many Rage points were wasted.

    Old Mi suddenly appeared in front of him. He squinted at Zu An¡¯s face from up close.

    Zu An jumped in fright and hastily took a step back. ¡°Elder, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    I hope this old man doesn¡¯t swing that way man... Why am I getting scared from his look?

    ¡°I was checking to see just what kind of charm you have. Even though you look all right, you¡¯re not at a ridiculously high level. Why do so many girls like you?¡± Old Mi¡¯s wrinkled face was full of confusion. ¡°That young miss from the Pei n and Lady Qiu have both seduced their fair share of men. Why would they care about you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll get upset if elder talks to me this way! Isn¡¯t it because I am too charming?¡± Zu An said angrily.

    ¡°You¡¯re too charming?¡± Old Mi sneered. ¡°Where does this charme from? From the fact that you are a drafted son-inw? Or that your cultivation is ordinary? Or that you aren¡¯t even a man?¡±

    Zu An cursed inwardly. Aren¡¯t you just a lonely old man without any femalepanionship? Don¡¯t be jealous just because you see others having luck with thedies.

    Keeping his thoughts hidden, he smiled apologetically and said, ¡°Elder is wise, after all. That young miss from the Pei n merely wishes to obtain something from the Chu n through me. And even though I don¡¯t know what this Qiu Honglei¡¯s objective is, I believe she is also scheming against the Chu n. They obviously aren¡¯t doing all of this because they like me.¡±

    He had already deduced that this old man was up to no good, so he didn¡¯t dare tell him the truth. He didn¡¯t even dare tell him that he was already a man again.

    Seems like I have to be careful even when I¡¯m around my wife. I absolutely cannot let him know.

    Fortunately, Chuyan was thin-skinned, and Qin Wanru wouldn¡¯t go around yapping about this either. Otherwise, if this old man found out that he and Chuyan had consummated their marriage, he might just explode from anger.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°At least you are aware.¡± Old Mi snorted. ¡°I¡¯ve felt rather ill at ease recently. It feels like some great cmity is looming. You absolutely must take care of yourself.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. Why the heck are you telling me to protect myself when you are expecting some big disaster?

    Could it be that this guy really cherishes me like a nephew?

    Old Mi revealed a terrifying smile, then turned around to leave.

    Originally, he¡¯d felt that having Pei Mianman and Qiu Honglei around would add too many variables. However, if these devastatingly beautiful women really did start some sort of rtionship with Zu An, he would be the one benefitting from it in the future.

    It had already been several hundred years, yet he had never had a taste of women. It seems like the heavens do have pity! Not only am I beingpensated by having Chu Chuyan as my wife, I even have a few exceptional lovers.

    Haha haha~

    ...

    Zu An turned a few things over in his mind, then he fell asleep.

    Something startled him awake in the middle of the night. He discovered that there was a sword pressed against his neck.

    ¡°Why is your reaction so much slower today?¡± That woman in the darkness scoffed in displeasure. In the faint moonlight, he saw herrge chest rise and fall as she snorted.

    ¡°So it¡¯s you, little Mianman~¡± Zu Anughed. This woman was always a delightful sight.

    ¡°Who else did you think it was? Were you thinking of Qiu Honglei?¡± Pei Mianman retracted her sword and frowned. ¡°Don¡¯t call me something that disgusting.¡±

    Yeah, you¡¯re right. I should¡¯ve called you big Mianman.

    ¡°Right. I heard that you got into a fight with someone. Are you injured?¡± Zu An sat up, subconsciously about to examine her.

    Pei Mianman¡¯s face turned red. She backpedaled away from him and sat swiftly. ¡°How could that bitch possibly injure me?¡±

    As she said this, she subconsciously rubbed her chest. Even now, her final blow still hurt.

    ¡°Our heroine¡¯s cultivation is outstanding after all! How can any random thief be your match...¡± Zu An praised her endlessly, a load of garbageing out of his mouth.

    Pei Mianman scoffed. ¡°Hmph, I wonder how hurt that Qiu Honglei will be if she heard you call her a thief.¡±

    Even though she¡¯d left earlier, there was no way she would let the matter lie just like that. She had to at least figure out who that woman was.

    ¡°How can my rtionship with her everpare to my rtionship with you? Of course I¡¯ll stand by your side!¡± Zu An said with an innocent face.

    ¡°There¡¯s no way I¡¯ll believe a man¡¯s lies! The two of you will definitely deceive me like thest time.¡± Despite her words, a hint of a smile returned to her face. ¡°By the way, I came to warn you about another matter. You need to be careful of your estate¡¯s gardener.¡±

 Chapter 292: Even the Heavens Want the Chu Clan Eradicated

    <h4>Chapter 292: Even the Heavens Want the Chu n Eradicated</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An was rmed. ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t put my finger on it either. I just have a feeling.¡± Pei Mianman frowned. ¡°I always seem to sense his gaze in my direction whenever I leave your room.

    ¡°Once or twice might be a coincidence, but I feel like I¡¯m being spied on every single time. That¡¯s why there¡¯s no way that this is a coincidence. There¡¯s definitely something strange about that person.¡±

    The sixth sense of a woman is indeed terrifying. She can even sense such a thing! Old Mi¡¯s cultivation is many times higher than hers.

    He was just about to praise her when a shudder ran through him. He gestured towards her. ¡°Come over here.¡±

    Pei Mianman¡¯s face turned red. Instead of approaching him, she backed away. ¡°What are you trying to do?¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°I have some sincere thoughts I wish to discuss with you,¡± he said.

    Pei Mianman was startled. A million thoughts began to race through her mind. However, her body still ended up drifting closer to him for some reason.

    ¡°You¡¯re not close enough.¡± Zu An said. He reached out to hold her hand, then pulled her into his embrace.

    Pei Mianman was caught off guard. She ended up leaning against him, his lips awfully close to her ears. She felt ashamed and embarrassed. She was just about to react angrily, but stopped as he whispered, ¡°Don¡¯t move. The walls have ears. That is why I can only talk to you like this.¡±

    Pei Mianman was a smart person as well. She immediately calmed down, remembering the elder she just spoke about.

    Zu An said softly, ¡°You have to be careful of him in the future. You are no match for him.¡±

    The warmth of his breath made Pei Mianman¡¯s entire body suddenly anxious. She was just about to straighten her body, but his words had left her momentarily stunned. She was just about to probe further, but Zu An seized her waist, pushing her straight into the bed.

    Zu An moved closer, as if he was going to kiss her on the lips.

    Of course, if one looked closely, there was just an inch separating their lips.

    However, this was close enough for both of them to sense the other''s aura.

    Seeing that Zu An wasn¡¯t actually going to kiss her, the ck me flickering above Pei Mianman¡¯s fingertips faded away. She stared at him in a daze.

    ¡°He is watching outside. Don¡¯t make it obvious.¡± Zu An transmitted via ki, softly and just beside her ear. Old Mi¡¯s cultivation was too high, and he didn¡¯t even dare transmit sound from a distance. He didn¡¯t want to be eavesdropped on by the old man.

    Pei Mianman was rmed. Her gaze flicked towards the window. Sure enough, there was a figure just outside the window. The other party most likely hadn¡¯t noticed the shift in the moonlight, which was why she could see the slightest hint of his figure through the window.

    ¡°So you knew about him.¡± Pei Mianman now understood. She caught on quickly, immediately hooking her arm around his neck as if this was the most natural reaction between lovers.

    Zu An was about to burst inside. I can¡¯t take this much longer! Do you know just how amazing your body is? Just grabbing me like this is enough to suffocate me!

    Of course, he wasn¡¯t stupid enough to say it out loud. ¡°Are you maybe overthinking things? Have you begun to suspect everyone, now that you¡¯re running to the room of your close friend¡¯s husband all the time?¡±

    Pei Mianman also deliberately raised her voice when she noticed what was going on. ¡°Maybe,¡± she replied. ¡°The Chu n¡¯s security has gotten more and more strict recently. I guess I¡¯m subconsciously beginning to suspect anyone I run into.¡±

    ¡°Hahaha, that¡¯s part and parcel of sneaking around!¡± Zu An said.

    Pei Mianman was speechless. Aren¡¯t you getting a bit too into this?

    But a wife¡¯s close friend who keeps visiting her husband... This sounds pretty interesting...

    The two of them continued chatting ambiguously like two sweethearts. Old Mi soon grew disinterested and left.

    He was still extremely confused. This Zu An fellow clearly can¡¯t perform down there, so why do girls still like him so much?

    In terms of cultivation, I am more than strong enough to be his master. But it seems like I¡¯m far below him in this regard.

    He idly wondered if he should consult Zu An about this someday, but immediately felt that it would be too shameless.

    He dismissed the thought in the end. These women were all going to be his anyway, so he¡¯d just enjoy them when the time came. There waspletely no need to learn how to chase after girls.

    With that thought, his mood improved instantly.

    The two in the room chatted for a while, when Pei Mianman noticed that the figure by the window had disappeared. ¡°That should be enough, right?¡± she said.

    ¡°Let¡¯s wait a little longer. His cultivation is too high. It¡¯s hard for us to notice his presence,¡± Zu An replied.

    Pei Mianman had a pensive look on her face. ¡°Is this really what you¡¯re thinking, or do you just want to use this chance to take advantage of me?¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°A bit of both, I guess.¡±

    This honestly feels pretty damn good though.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Pei Mianman stared at him. She hadn¡¯t expected him to admit to it so directly, and she was momentarily at a loss for what to say.

    Zu An also knew that they couldn¡¯t continue like this for the rest of the night, so he pretended as though he had to use the restroom. Along the way, he checked to make sure that Old Mi had really left.

    ¡°He¡¯s finally gone.¡± Zu An exhaled in relief. Being targeted by a ninth-ranked elder really was too much.

    ¡°How high is his cultivation?¡± fear still lingered in Pei Mianman¡¯s heart. If not for Zu An¡¯s warning, she wouldn¡¯t have sensed his presence at all.

    This was the first time she¡¯d felt such a feeling in her life.

    ¡°Very, very high.¡± Zu An¡¯s expression grew serious when he recalled Mi Li¡¯s past evaluation of Old Mi. In truth, he could sense Old Mi not because his cultivation was high enough, but because of his Rage system.

    He¡¯d suddenly received some Rage points from Old Mi, and that was how he had realized that they were being eavesdropped on. That led him to act quickly to deal with the situation.

    Old Mi was too confident in his own cultivation, and didn¡¯t think that he¡¯d actually been discovered. That was why he didn¡¯t suspect their conversation as being insincere.

    ¡°Why would such a person follow you around?¡± Pei Mianman couldn¡¯t help her curiosity.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know the answer to that either. To be honest, all of my skillse from him, but he always exerts a mysterious pressure on me.¡± Zu An found his situation really strange. He and Pei Mianman had a shaky alliance, and they were far from being as intimate as he and Chu Chuyan were, yet he¡¯d ended up telling all this to Pei Mianman instead of Chu Chuyan.

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you telling Brightmoon Duke to have the Chu n look into things for you?¡± Pei Mianman clearly shared his suspicions.

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s useless.¡±

    ¡°His cultivation is even higher than Brightmoon Duke¡¯s?¡± Pei Mianman was horrified. However, she soon realized that the pressure this individual exerted on her really was far greater than Chu Zhongtian.

    Zu An chuckled, refusing toment on this.

    Pei Mianman¡¯s expression had grown dark. With such an expert hidden in the Chu estate, the situation in Brightmoon City suddenly became much moreplicated.

    ¡°Just pretend like you don¡¯t know anything. Don¡¯t tell this to anyone else. After all, I don¡¯t want to lose a friend like you,¡± Zu An said seriously.

    Pei Mianman was moved by the obvious sincerity in his voice. ¡°Okay,¡± she replied just as seriously, nodding at him. ¡°I guess I probably won¡¯te as often anymore.¡± The threat that this gardener posed really was too much.

    Zu An nodded. ¡°That¡¯s a good idea. Who knows if something out of our control might happen?¡± He sounded reluctant. ¡°It¡¯s a pity that I won¡¯t be able to see you every night anymore.¡±

    Pei Mianman¡¯s heart skipped a beat when she heard the sincerity in his statement. It seemed toe from the bottom of his heart. With a snort, she said, ¡°Your wife might just skin you alive if she hears you say this.¡±

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help butugh. ¡°I wonder if she¡¯ll still treat you as a close friend if she finds out you¡¯ve been sneaking in to visit me every night!¡±

    Pei Mianman¡¯s face turned red. The word he¡¯d used¡ªsneaking¡ªreally was quite fitting.

    She rolled her eyes at him. Before leaving, she said, ¡°I¡¯ll look into this gardener in your stead. You have to be careful.¡±

    Zu An frowned. He was just about to say something when Pei Mianman said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t tell anyone else, nor will I invite any trouble.¡±

    Then, she winked at him before disappearing into the night with a smile.

    Zu Any down on his back, still in a daze. The image of her winking really made his heart rush!

    Sigh, I really am acting like a total fuckboy here...

    Nonsense! She came onto me first.

    The two sides of his mind continued to argue against each other as he slowly drifted off into thend of dreams.

    ...

    Even though Zu An slept soundly, others in the city were fated to pull an all-nighter.

    In the Wang n¡¯s study, Chu Zhongtian stared at Wang Fu in shock. ¡°Brother Wang, what do you mean, the salt permits were lost?¡±

    Wang Fu wore a bitter smile. ¡°It¡¯s exactly as it sounds. These salt permits were supposed to enter the city today, but the caravan that was carrying them was robbed by someone before they reached the city. It¡¯s all my unworthy son¡¯s fault for leaking out this information. Our path has always been kept strictly confidential. How could they have been stolen so easily?¡±

    ¡°We cannot me your esteemed son for this matter.¡± Chu Zhongtian knew what had happened to Wang Yuanlong, but he hadn¡¯t expected to still be a step behind. Fate really was tormenting them! The salt permits just happened to be en route today. Could the heavens themselves want my Chu n eradicated?

 Chapter 293: The Chu Clanâ€™s Secret

    <h4>Chapter 293: The Chu n¡¯s Secret</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Chu Zhongtian wasn¡¯t willing to give up just like that. ¡°Brother Wang, is there any way to get some more salt permits?¡± he asked.

    Wang Fu shook his head and forced a smile. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t have been an issue in the past, but brother Chu knows that we¡¯ve already suffered serious losses from the plundering of our trade station by the foreign tribes. We were barely able to scrape together this batch of salt permits with what little grain we still had stored up. It ispletely impossible to purchase another batch of them.¡±

    Chu Zhongtian sank back into his chair. He felt as if he had aged a decade or more. ¡°What can we do to make sure we can sell our salt this year?¡±

    Deep down, he already knew that nothing could be done. He only asked this for the sake of it.

    Wang Fu clenched his teeth and said, ¡°Brother Chu, I might have a way.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Chu Zhongtian asked hastily.

    Wang Fu said, ¡°I¡¯ve already prevented any news pertaining to the theft of the salt permits from leaking out. I won¡¯t ever admit it no matter what, so I¡¯ll just pretend no salt permits were stolen. Let¡¯s use next year¡¯s salt permits first to ride out this storm. That should give us a way out.¡±

    The salt industry was massive. Sometimes, a single year¡¯s salt permits weren¡¯t enough to cover the demand. That was why the officials kept three years¡¯ worth of salt permits in reserve just in case.

    However, using these salt permits didn¡¯te without a price. Just the costs alone were extremely high.

    Normal salt permits cost 1.5 taels of silver each, while future salt permits cost 2.1 taels of silver extra per permit, when used in advance. This was equivalent to the interest on a loan, and the court also used this to control the wider salt economy, preventing the salt merchants from dumping too much salt into the market at once.

    ¡°But the cost of using those salt permits will be much higher,¡± said Chu Zhongtian with a frown. The costs of putting the salt on the market would be three or four times greater. That was way too expensive.

    Wang Fu shook his head. ¡°Brother Chu has misunderstood my intentions. What I propose is to pretend that the future salt permits were the ones that were stolen. This way, once things settle down next year, we can return to business-as-usual. Everything will be kept a secret, and this can help us out of our current desperate situation.¡±

    Chu Zhongtian was mortified. ¡°We absolutely must not! We¡¯ll be gouging out a chunk from the royal court! If things blow up, this will be a huge crime!¡±

    Wang Fu said, ¡°With brother Chu¡¯swork in Brightmoon City and my Wang n¡¯s many years of experience, there is no way that things could spiral out of control so easily. Moreover, using future salt permits is something practiced by all the ns. How many of them have even paid their full due in taxes?¡±

    Chu Zhongtian¡¯s voice became grave. ¡°This was only done for a small amount of saltst year, so everyone turned a blind eye and let it pass. This time, it would be for a whole year¡¯s worth of salt! It¡¯s way too dangerous. I absolutely cannot agree to this.¡±

    Wang Fu sighed. ¡°Brother Chu, please forgive me for being so direct, but what else can we do?

    ¡°As far as I know, the illicit salt trade has gotten more and more out of hand, and your Chu n hasn¡¯t been able to sell a lot of your salt, correct?

    ¡°Your n couldn¡¯t even sell the salt when the price of each permit was 1.5 taels of silver. If the price of each permit rises to almost 4 taels of silver, it will only grow harder for you to sell your salt. Moreover, even if you did manage to sell it, how much would your Chu n make? The Chu n is sorge, and your expenditures are correspondingly vast. Without the revenue from your salt business, you could quickly see yourself in the red. Is that not true?¡±

    Chu Zhongtian had had enough. He stood up suddenly. ¡°Our Chu n has endured for hundreds of years. This loss is still something I can shoulder.¡±

    Even though they¡¯d suffer greatly, at worst, they could still sell off some of their ancestral property.

    Just as his anger was about to bubble over, Wang Fu threw himself at his feet and held onto his legs. ¡°Brother Chu!¡± he cried. ¡°Your Chu n can bear this burden, but our Wang n cannot! After having our trade station plundered, our Wang n was already on the verge of copse! If news that our salt permits were stolen gets out, then our Wang n is finished! Brother Chu, in all our years of friendship, I¡¯ve never begged you for anything. I¡¯m really begging you now!¡±

    ¡°Brother Wang, please stand up! What are you doing?!¡± Chu Zhongtian hurriedly tried to get him to his feet. Out of all the great ns, these two were still the closest. After decades of dealings, Chu Zhongtian hade to treat this person as a friend.

    ¡°The Wang n is about to copse, what is the use in this old one keeping his dignity?¡± Wang Fu sat on the ground, refusing to get up.

    Chu Zhongtian¡¯s face was grave. ¡°Let me think things over. There¡¯s just too much at stake.¡±

    When he heard Chu Zhongtian¡¯s change in tone, Wang Fu immediately grew overjoyed. ¡°Thank you so much, brother Chu! I cannot thank brother Chu enough! Whether or not we seed will depend on the will of heaven!¡±

    Chu Zhongtian returned to his own estate. When he brought this matter up with Qin Wanru, her face darkened immediately. ¡°There¡¯s no way we can do this! Dear, how can you be so confused as to agree to such a thing?¡±

    Chu Zhongtian sighed. ¡°I¡¯m fully aware of the dangers behind such an endeavor. But Wang Fu¡¯s words aren¡¯t entirely without reason. If we really do pay the advance tax for every salt permit, the costs would be too high. At that price, none of themon folk would buy it.¡±

    Qin Wanru cut in at once. ¡°So what if no one buys it? Our Chu n can still shoulder the burden of a single year of lost revenue. The royal court sent Sang Hong to keep an eye on us. If we really tried something and he became aware of it, it would certainly spell trouble for us!¡±

    ¡°The Chu n¡¯s situation isn¡¯t as great as you make it sound,¡± Chu Zhongtian said. ¡°We have suffered losses for several years in a row now, and it¡¯s only recently that things have begun to take a slight turn for the better. Even so, we cannot afford to shoulder such a burden!¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Actually, I¡¯ve always wanted to ask you about this,¡± Qin Wanru said in response. ¡°Even though we aren¡¯t perfect at operating our businesses, the Chu n still hasrge shares in the massive salt and iron industries. Just where did all the money from these businesses go? Why do we keep suffering losses year after year?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t n to hide this from you. I guess it¡¯s because you¡¯ve had so much else on your mind that you¡¯ve never asked about it.¡± Chu Zhongtian paused. ¡°You should know about the Salt Inspection Department, right?¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± Qin Wanru replied.

    Chu Zhongtian proceeded to tell her about the entire affair.

    Because of the indecent profits on offer in the salt industry, the Salt Inspection Department had been created by the court, and was put in charge of inspecting the production, transport, and smuggling of salt.

    The Linchuan Commandery branch of the Salt Inspection Department oversaw their operations in Brightmoon City. The positions of saltmissioner in this department were extremely lucrative positions that countless officials longed for.

    However, because the Chu n had been in charge of the salt trade in Brightmoon City for so many years, all those who wanted these positions had to be vetted and approved by the Chu n.

    To a certain degree, these saltmissioners were either members of the Chu n themselves, or individuals close to the Chu n.

    However, the royal court was rife with politics. Few officials were upright, and most were involved with currying favor or greedily pursuing selfish but mutually beneficial interests with other members of the court.

    Every single saltmissioner, their assistants, and even the lower-level officials under them wanted a slice of the pie.

    The Chu n¡¯s masters could only turn a blind eye as the corruption grew. Firstly, these officials were individuals close to the Chu n to begin with. Secondly, there were many unwritten rules that governed life as an official of the royal court. This was the case for the Salt Inspection Department, as with all other departments.

    Saltmissioners were often promoted to the central authorities or transferred out to serve as great local officials, forming a huge web throughout the royal court. Touching a single issue could cause a ripple effect that drew attention to everything else.

    If the Chu n dared to speak out, they could end up offending an extremely terrifying power.

    As this rampant corruption festered over a long period of time, the amount siphoned off by the Salt Inspection Department reached an astronomical figure.

    In the past, the Chu n could still conceal it through clever ounting. However, when it fell to Chu Zhongtian¡¯s generation to lead, this number had already grown to the point where it could no longer be hidden.

    Qin Wanru¡¯s face grew pale as she heard his ount. ¡°So you¡¯re saying that all of the money the Chu n has made these past few years has been used to fill in the hole made by hundreds of years of greedy saltmissioners?¡±

    Chu Zhongtian wore a bitter smile. ¡°That¡¯s correct.¡±

    ¡°Why?!¡± Qin Wanru was furious. ¡°Why does our Chu n have topensate for the greed of these saltmissioners?¡±

    ¡°How do you think our Chu n has managed to upy Brightmoon City¡¯s lucrative salt and iron businesses for so long?¡± Chu Zhongtian countered gravely. ¡°Could such a thing be possible purely through the fruits of our ancestors¡¯ efforts? Or was it because we¡¯ve relied on the protection offered by all of those officials?

    ¡°There was no need to worry about it before. But now that the emperor seems inclined to make a move against our Chu n, we have to be more careful, and so we tried to fill in some of the debt created by these saltmissioners. We have to at least be able to cover it in our ounting, so that we can survive the royal court¡¯s inspections.¡±

    Chu Zhongtian paused for a moment before continuing. ¡°This is why I was so confident that we could remain neutral despite the pressure from both the emperor and King Qi¡¯s faction. It¡¯s because we have countless backers behind us in the royal court! They surely do not wish for something to happen to the Chu n. If it did, not a single one of them will be able to get away!¡±

    Qin Wanru was suddenly shaken. ¡°You handed Chuyan an ount book in an extremely serious manner before. Back then, you said that it was an ount book that recorded our business partners and dealings. With what you just told me, I gather that it was probably proof of the crimesmitted by those many generations of saltmissioners.¡±

    Chu Zhongtian nodded. ¡°Indeed. As long as this ount book isn¡¯t lost, our Chu n will survive, whether we¡¯re threatened by the emperor or by King Qi!¡±

 Chapter 294: Going for a Stroll Around the Estate

    <h4>Chapter 294: Going for a Stroll Around the Estate</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Qin Wanru couldn¡¯t contain her anxiousness. ¡°This is just dancing on a tightrope! A single mishap and we¡¯ll be done for!¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve no other choice. Unless wepletely give up on our Chu n, we can only steel ourselves and carry on.¡± Chu Zhongtian looked out at the night scene outside the Chu n estate, his voice growing heavy. ¡°Also, over the many generations, history has proven that, as long as we keep resisting, we still hold destiny in our own two hands. If we truly give up ahead of time, not only will we be unable to preserve the foundation of our Chu n, everyone who relies on the Chu n for their livelihood will be finished. That is why we have to persist.¡±

    Qin Wanru patted her husband¡¯s shoulder. Her heart broke when she saw the wisps of white hair around her husband¡¯s temples. Her husband¡¯s cultivation was already extremely high, and he was in his prime. However, toiling away under the huge pressure facing the Chu n was making his hair turn prematurely gray.

    They were truly fortunate to have Chuyan help him out with many matters. Deep in her heart, she hoped that her oldest daughter wouldn¡¯t walk the same path as her father.

    She hoped that Zu An could help Chuyan shoulder some of the burden.

    Unfortunately, as soon as she thought of Zu An, that image immediately appeared in her mind. Her cheeks immediately grew hot.

    She inwardly spat in disgust, throwing those thoughts out of her head. To her husband, she said, ¡°Despite all that, it¡¯s still too risky to help the Wang n this time. Wouldn¡¯t this be gifting Sang Hong a reason to drive us out, a reason he has been longing for all this while?¡±

    Chu Zhongtian wore a worried expression. ¡°We have no choice but to help them... The Wang n has been our Chu n¡¯s ally for many years. Too many things have happened to them this year. If we still don¡¯t help them out, their n might really disappear.

    ¡°In Brightmoon City, the Yuan and Zheng ns do not get along with us, so we¡¯ve always relied on our rtionship with the Wang n. Things will be much more difficult for us in the future if we let them copse right now.

    ¡°On top of that, if we stand quietly by and watch our ally fall, who else would be willing to cooperate with us in the future? Wouldn¡¯t that be that the same as pushing more people to Sang Hong¡¯s side?¡±

    Qin Wanru nodded. ¡°I am aware of these things as well. However, misappropriating future salt permits is too dangerous. If even the slightest rumor got out, it could spell disaster.¡±

    Chu Zhongtian held his wife¡¯s ice-cold hand. He could sense her concern. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Most of the saltmissioners are our own people. There shouldn¡¯t be any issues.¡±

    The saltmissioners always got along well with the Chu n. Wang Fu knew this, which was why he had proposed this scheme.

    ¡°I hope this is the case.¡± Qin Wanru sighed deeply. Even though her husband¡¯s hand was warm, her heart still feltpletely cold.

    ...

    The next morning, Zu An feltpletely refreshed. After taking a shower, he noticed there were quite a few servants running around, which drew his curiosity.

    When he saw that Cheng Shouping was also wrapped up in themotion, he pulled him over. ¡°What are you guys doing?¡±

    ¡°Of course we¡¯re going to see Lady Qiu!¡± Cheng Shouping replied excitedly. ¡°Everyone is talking about how beautiful she looks whilebing her hair by the window!¡±

    It wasn¡¯t only male servants that were streaming across, there were a few maids as well. After all, none of these people would ever have a chance to go to the Immortal Abode in their lifetime. Qiu Honglei¡¯s reputation was just too great, and all of them were dying to see for themselves just how beautiful the courtesan queen from the Immortal Abode could be.

    ¡°Perfect, let¡¯s head over together then.¡± Zu An thought about how this girl came all the way here on her own, providing him with intelligence and affection. Even though he knew that she had other objectives, it would be a bit too heartless if he didn¡¯t show any response.

    ¡°Young master, what are you in such a rush for?¡± Cheng Shouping couldn¡¯t help but mumble. ¡°She¡¯s already yours, anyway. You get to see her every single day.¡±

    Zu An gave him an annoyed look. ¡°What? Are you scared that I¡¯ll go too slowly and hold you back?¡±

    Cheng Shouping¡¯s fawning smile appeared instantly. ¡°How could this humble one dare? Right this way, young master!¡±

    By the time the two of them arrived at Qiu Honglei¡¯s small residence, there was already a ring of people outside. The audible swallowing and whispers of admiration fully reflected their sincere admiration for Qiu Honglei¡¯s charm.

    ¡°God damn, she¡¯s pretty.¡±

    ¡°Is it because she smiles more? I feel like she¡¯s even prettier than the first miss.¡±

    ¡°How could there be such a beautiful woman in this world? Look at how pretty her red lips are! On the other hand, our kid¡¯s mouth exists solely for eating.¡±

    ¡°Sigh, that¡¯s why we can only ever hope to be servant girls...¡±

    ¡°Sister Snow might have been able to give her a run for her money, but she¡¯s not even around anymore.¡±

    ...

    ¡°Young master, this way! This is a good spot.¡± Cheng Shouping had darted into the crowd and back out again like a rabbit. He quickly found the best viewing spot, and beckoned the young master over excitedly.

    ¡°Idiot!¡± Zu An had a look of disdain on his face. He strutted forward, pushing aside everyone in his way.

    Cheng Shouping finally got it. Considering the young master¡¯s rtionship with Lady Qiu, there was clearly no need for him to admire her secretly from a distance.

    Sigh, the young master is so cool!

    But why do I suddenly feel like crying?

    Zu An walked straight through the throng of people, ruffling the feathers of the ones he shoved aside.

    ¡°Who is being so arrogant?!¡±

    ¡°Oops! It¡¯s the young master... Haha...¡±

    ¡°What young master? Who knows if he even gets along that well with our first mis.¡±

    ...

    Zu An wasn¡¯t affected at all by the whispers of the crowd. He¡¯d already established much higher standards for himself. Why would he bother lowering himself to arguing with these fellows?

    ¡°Sigh, the young master really is daring! He¡¯se out in the open to court Lady Qiu¡¯s favor. Doesn¡¯t he know what kind of person Lady Qiu is? Why would she give him the time of day?¡±

    Even though many people knew about Qiu Honglei¡¯s arrival at the Chu estate the night before, none of them were clear on the details of what had happened.

    The consensus in the Chu estate was that she had been invited to give a performance, either by the first miss, or by the Master and Madam. No one believed that it could be anything else.

    As the crowd continued to castigate him, Qiu Honglei finally caught sight of him. She lifted her skirts and ran over to him, a big smile across her face.

    The disdainful whispers immediately came to a screeching halt. This sight was just too shocking!

    The famous Qiu Honglei of Brightmoon City was running towards Zu An like a girlfriend in love!

    What the heck?

    Damn it all!

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    You have sessfully trolled the servants for 66... 66... 66...

    ¡°Ah Zu, you¡¯re here!¡± Qiu Honglei stopped in front of Zu An, her smile radiant and beautiful. Even though she¡¯d fought against Pei Mianman the night before, her face showed no signs of fatigue. Her skin was almost glowing.

    ¡°I should have visited youst night, but it was alreadyte, and I was worried that you wouldn¡¯t have opened your door for me,¡± Zu An said with augh.

    Qiu Honglei¡¯srge eyes were fixed on him. She blinked. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t give any other man any attention if they came to me in the middle of the night, but I will always wee a visit from Ah Zu!¡±

    Zu An stared at her wless face, feeling slightly flustered. He knew full well that her words weren¡¯t reflective of her true feelings, yet her sincere expression still tugged firmly at his heartstrings.

    Thankfully, this absentmindednesssted but a moment. He quickly snapped out of his daze and circled his arm around her waist. ¡°Haha! Since you¡¯vee all the way here, let¡¯s introduce ourselves to everyone.¡±

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s entire body went rigid as she felt his arm slither around her waist. She hesitated for just an instant, then decided not to resist. Instead, she said with a smile, ¡°What if your wife sees us and gets jealous? She seemed so angryst night. Is the first miss okay?¡±

    If something really did happen to Chu Chuyan, that would only be even more beneficial to my ns.

    Of course, I don¡¯t want her to die immediately. One or two years more would be perfect. Once she helped Zu An gain a stable footing in the Chu n, her death would only justify further authority for Zu An.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, she¡¯ll live,¡± Zu An said with a chuckle. It was as if he had read her mind.

    While she was still stunned, he pulled her over in front of the gathered crowd. ¡°Let¡¯s give everyone a bit of an introduction. This is Qiu Honglei of the Immortal Abode. Pretty, isn¡¯t she?¡±

    Hearts shattered one after another as the onlookers saw his arm wrapped tightly around Qiu Honglei¡¯s waist, and her not offering the slightest resistance.

    This guy is doing this on purpose! He ran all the way here just to show off in front of us!

    You have sessfully trolled Chu estate¡¯s servants for 99... 99... 99...

    Qiu Honglei was somewhat surprised by his behavior. She didn¡¯t understand why he was doing this at all. Maybe he¡¯s just venting a little after being mistreated for so long.

    She rxed slightly after reaching this conclusion. She greeted the crowd with a smile. ¡°Hello everyone, I am Qiu Honglei.¡±

    Even though her beguiling smile and charming tone were just for show, they had long been trained to perfection in the Immortal Abode. How could these servants possess any resistance towards her charm?

    One by one, they felt their souls leave their bodies.

    ¡°Ah Zu, shouldn¡¯t we meet with the Master and Madam?¡± Qiu Honglei asked him quietly. She clearly had little interest in these ordinary servants.

    ¡°There¡¯s no rush.¡± Zu An chuckled. He pulled her back in front to face the crowd. How could he pass up such a great chance to farm Rage points? ¡°By the way Honglei, I haven¡¯t yet introduced you to the handsome men and pretty girls in our estate! This is our estate¡¯s... sorry, what was your name again?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled servant A for 666 Rage points!

    The crowd were collectively struck dumb. Even you don¡¯t know who we are! Why the heck are you trying to introduce us to Lady Qiu?!

    Aren¡¯t you just trying to show her off in front of us?

    You have sessfully trolled the servants for 99... 99... 99...

    Zu An beamed with joy. In such a short amount of time, he had already banked up so many Rage points.

    Having a few close female friends around me really is a good way to rake in Rage points! Why am I such a genius?

    Qiu Honglei was stunned as well. She didn¡¯t know why this person was doing such a thing. Wasn¡¯t this something only a petty person would do? A small seed of disdain grew within her.

    Forget it. I¡¯ll endure this for the moment, for the sake of the sect¡¯s great undertaking.

    At this time, a maid hurried over with a message. ¡°Lady Qiu, the first miss invites you to dine with her.¡±

    Qiu Honglei smiled to cover her inner shock. ¡°I was just about to seek an audience with the first miss myself.¡± Chu Chuyan had gotten so angry yesterday that she suffered a serious injury. It even seemed as though her life could be in critical danger. However, she¡¯s somehow already recovered after just a single night?

    Whatever. I¡¯ll use this opportunity to gather more information from her.

    ¡°So, my wife is inviting us for breakfast!¡± Zu An said jovially. ¡°I¡¯ll tag along, then.¡±

    He didn¡¯t know Qiu Honglei¡¯s objective, and Chu Chuyan was still seriously injured. He really didn¡¯t feel at ease leaving the two of them alone.

    The maid grew troubled. ¡°The first miss didn¡¯t say anything about inviting the young master... She only told me to invite Lady Qiu.¡±

    Quite a few of the other servants were ted by his apparent predicament.

    Hmph, act cocky all you want. Did you forget that you¡¯re nothing more than a drafted son-inw?

    Look at you, embarrassing yourself in front of Lady Qiu!

 Chapter 295: I Have Always Been a Fair Person

    <h4>Chapter 295: I Have Always Been a Fair Person</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Those he¡¯d pissed off earlier were overjoyed. They were absolutely ecstatic when they saw him embarrass himself in front of Lady Qiu.

    Who would have expected Zu An not to care at all? ¡°My wife offered an invitation to Lady Qiu, but she didn¡¯t forbid me from joining her, did she?¡± he countered.

    That maid grew ufortable. ¡°She didn¡¯t, but...¡±

    Zu An cut her right off. ¡°It¡¯s all good, then. We¡¯ll head over together. I don¡¯t want her bullying our Honglei.¡±

    The maid and all the other servants were left speechless.

    This damned logic demon! No one could find a suitable way to refute him.

    The maid, still evidently confused, led the two of them off to meet Chu Chuyan. Eager whispers broke out among the ones left behind.

    ¡°Did I hear him wrongly? Did he just say that he was worried that the first miss would bully Lady Qiu? The first miss is such a good person¡ªwhy would she bully Lady Qiu?¡±

    ¡°Haven¡¯t you heard? The young master ns to take Lady Qiu as a concubine.¡±

    ¡°What? Didn¡¯t he just move in with us not too long ago? Can he even take a concubine? And even if he could, how could he secure someone like Lady Qiu? Where the heck did you hear something so ridiculous?¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Just ask his attendant.¡±

    ...

    All eyes turned to Cheng Shouping, who was cheering and screaming for Zu An.

    ¡°Cheng Shouping, is what they are saying true?¡±

    Cheng Shouping stuck out his chest. ¡°Of course! Lady Qiu is even the one paying for her own release from the Immortal Abode!¡± he proimed, as though he was the one who had done something glorious and worthy of praise.

    ¡°No freaking way!¡±

    ¡°That makes no sense at all!¡±

    ¡°Maybe it is true. After all, Lady Qiu previously sent a personal invitation to the young master to meet with her at the Immortal Abode.¡±

    ¡°Is there anything special about him at all, though?¡±

    Cheng Shouping didn¡¯t hold back his adtion. ¡°Our n¡¯s young master is suave and confident, distinguished and elegant! His charm is top-notch! Why do you find it strange that Lady Qiu likes the young master? Forget about Lady Qiu, even Lady Spring and Lady Summer will prostrate themselves before the young master! Don¡¯t use your own shoddy standards to evaluate our young master, none of you can evenpare... wait, why are you all rubbing your fists?¡±[1]

    ¡°You shithead! Just because we don¡¯t dare to beat up the young master doesn¡¯t mean that we won¡¯t dare to beat you up! Why are you acting all cocky?!¡±

    These servants were already fuming because of Zu An, yet Cheng Shouping continued to sing his praises without end, further stoking the fires of their rage. Finally, their patience reached its limits, and they fell on him with a flurry of fists and feet.

    Cheng Shouping wanted to cry, yet no tears came out. The young master is the one who reaps the benefits of all this. Why am I always the one getting beaten up?

    ...

    ¡°Achoo!¡±

    Zu An rubbed his nose vigorously.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Did you catch a cold?¡± Qiu Honglei asked curiously.

    Zu An giggled in reply. ¡°I don¡¯t think so. It¡¯s probably because someone has suddenly thought of my handsome face.¡±

    Qiu Honglei smiled. ¡°Ah Zu is so humorous.¡±

    The two of them chatted casually, which drew the ire of the maid who was leading the way. They¡¯re just a pair of cheaters!

    When they finally arrived at Chu Chuyan¡¯s residence, Qiu Honglei took her time to enter. She looked at the card on this courtyard, reading slowly out loud, ¡°¡®Unvoiced Residence¡¯... The ambience of this ce is so unique, and it also has such a beautiful name. Big sis Chu truly is a poetic and refined individual. My heart feels much more at peace just reading these few words alone.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He had never paid much attention to what this ce was called, even after visiting several times. Every time he saw it, he forgot about it straightaway. He really was the uncultured one here.

    ¡°Lady Qiu has praised me in error. Your Cloud Courtyard is extremely famous as well. It¡¯s a pity that I¡¯ve never had the fortune of visiting it.¡± said a clear, cold voice. Chu Chuyan¡¯s sweet, fair, and graceful figure was already standing at the entrance. Clearly, she had heard them approaching even before they had arrived.

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s expression grew strange. Chu Chuyan doesn¡¯t show any signs of the sickness or weakness from yesterday! Instead, herplexion is rosy, and her skin is even glowing! She doesn¡¯t seem at all as cold as the rumors make her out to be!

    Despite her bewilderment, her lips reacted quickly. ¡°I¡¯ve always wanted to invite big sis as a guest. Unfortunately, the Immortal Abode is a dirty ce. I didn¡¯t want to tarnish big sis¡¯ reputation.¡±

    ¡°Lady Qiu¡¯s words are too somber. I truly admire how thedy could remain unsullied after so many years in such a ce.¡± Chu Chuyan said as she weed her in.

    Zu An was stunned. What the heck is going on? Wasn¡¯t this supposed to degenerate into a hellish battlefield? Why were the two of them already chatting like sisters?

    Qiu Honglei shared his confusioh. Chu Chuyan had clearly been fuming yesterday. Why was she able to chat with her in such aposed manner right now? Just what had happened to her overnight?

    The two girls spend the rest of the time chatting idly about various topics. The only thing they didn¡¯t talk about were things rted to Zu An.

    Even though Qiu Honglei constantly addressed her as ¡®big sis¡¯, Chu Chuyan didn¡¯t show much reaction. She didn¡¯t object to this form of address, but she didn¡¯t explicitly approve of it either. She continued to politely call her opposite number ¡®Lady Qiu¡¯.

    Zu An tried to cut in several times, but neither Chu Chuyan or Qiu Honglei gave him much attention. Each of them werepletely focused on the other¡ªhow could they be bothered with him right now?

    Zu An was unhappy. Something¡¯s seriously wrong here! His ns to rake in a mountain of Rage points had fallen through.

    After a few more moments of small talk, Chu Chuyan finally brought up her main issue. ¡°Does Lady Qiu really intend to wed yourself to Zu An?¡±

    Qiu Honglei had been waiting for this moment. ¡°Of course,¡± she said with a smile.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s expression was unreadable. ¡°You will not refuse, even if you had to be part of the Chu n?¡± she continued.

    Qiu Honglei sighed. ¡°Since Ah Zu doesn¡¯t wish to leave big sis, I can only follow him wherever he chooses to go. To be honest, I feel quite apprehensive as well. That is why I hope that big sis will take pity on me. Big sis has a reputation of being noble and magnanimous, so I do not believe you will make things difficult for me.¡±

    Chu Chuyan shook her head slightly. ¡°Rumors don¡¯t always represent facts. There is a limit to how generous a woman¡¯s heart can be, especially when ites to her own husband.¡±

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s expression grew downcast. However, she snapped out of it quickly. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that the shared affection between big sis and Ah Zu was merely ordinary. It seems like everyone else has been gravely mistaken.¡±

    Zu An pounced on this opportunity. He scooted over to Chu Chuyan¡¯s side and draped an arm around her. ¡°Of course! Our affection for each other is off the charts! Isn¡¯t that right, honey?¡±

    Chu Chuyan immediately grew embarrassed. She instinctively wanted to push him away, but the events of the previous night appeared in her mind, and her entire body went limp.

    Noticing the way Zu An held her, and the hint of shyness in her expression, Qiu Honglei¡¯s confident expression faltered. Her ns were founded solely on the premise that Zu An wasn¡¯t highly regarded in the Chu n. As hey floundering, she would swoop in during his hour of need, and kick off a chain of events that would help him rise up from the mire.

    However, now that she had seen the two of them like this, it was clear that the reality was far removed from her own information.

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s expression grew ugly. Zu An patted his own thigh, inviting her to sit with him. He said nonchntly, ¡°I¡¯ve always been a fair person. I promise to share myself equally between you sisters in the future!¡±

    QIu Honglei was bowled over, and Chu Chuyan recoiled, astounded at what she had just heard.

    Just as the two were about to flip out, someone interrupted them to deliver a message. ¡°First miss, Master wanted me to inform you that there was a huge merchant protest in front of the City Lord¡¯s Estate. It seems to have something to do with that Zheng n butler we captured.¡±

    1. Qiu (Çï) is Honglei¡¯s surname, but it can also refer to the season of Autumn.

 Chapter 296: The â€™Gigoloâ€™ Strategy

    <h4>Chapter 296: The ''Gigolo'' Strategy</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°A merchant protest?¡± Chu Chuyan frowned. A myriad of possibilities filled her mind.

    Qiu Honglei smiled. ¡°It seems like miss Chu is very busy today. I will take my leave for now, so as not to disturb you further.¡±

    Chu Chuyan gave her a strange look. She had keenly sensed the change in the way she addressed her. Why did this girl suddenly stop calling me ¡®big sis¡¯? ¡°That won¡¯t be an issue at all. By the way, I wonder if Lady Qiu has any specific requests for when we take you into the household?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s take our time over this decision. The Immortal Abode has taken care of me for so many years. after all, and I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll be reluctant to let me go immediately. I fear that it may be a while before I¡¯m able to leave.¡± Qiu Honglei¡¯s thoughts moved like lightning. Now that Zu An¡¯s status in the Chu n was already rather high, and his rtionship with Chu Chuyan was more than amicable, she had to reconsider all of her ns.

    Even though Chu Chuyan found her sudden transformation puzzling, she had no desire to bring her into the estate anyway. ¡°We¡¯ll go along with Lady Qiu¡¯s wishes, then.¡±

    Qiu Honglei stood up and bowed. As she reached the doorway, she suddenly turned around. ¡°Oh. By the way, miss Chu, I assume that I¡¯ll be allowed to return to the Immortal Abode now?¡±

    The Chu n had kept her in the estate the night before in order to keep Chu Chuyan¡¯s condition a secret.

    Now that Chu Chuyan waspletely fine again, this was clearly no longer necessary.

    Chu Chuyan clearly understood what her father¡¯s intentions were. ¡°Of course!¡± she said with a smile.

    Qiu Honglei nodded in acknowledgement. Her beautiful silhouette gradually disappeared into the distance.

    Zu An blinked a few times. What just happened?

    Why didn¡¯t she say anything to me before leaving?

    ¡°Honey, are women all this fickle?¡± Zu An said, clearly depressed.

    Chu Chuyan snorted dismissively. ¡°Who knows? Maybe you did something to anger her earlier.¡±

    Despite her words, she was extremely happy inside. Qiu Honglei was too pretty, after all, and she had felt tremendous pressure in the presence of such a powerful woman.

    However, she quickly sorted out her emotions. She had to take care of the main matter at hand. ¡°Ah Zu,e with me.¡±

    ¡°Okay~¡± Zu An followed her, wondering how he had managed to offend Qiu Honglei. Even though he knew that she¡¯d been pretending all along, for her to suddenly give up like this... how could he not feel frustrated?

    Sigh. Women are despicable!

    Chu Chuyan didn¡¯t head straight for the merchant¡¯s protest after leaving the Chu Estate. Instead, she made her way to the Zheng n.

    Having been involved in the business for so many years, she understood that, in order to solve a problem, one had to find the root. This protest was clearly the result of the Zheng n¡¯s tricks.

    The two of them arrived at the Zheng n. Chu Chuyan requested a meeting with n Master Zheng Yutang, but she was informed that he wasn¡¯t present.

    ¡°If they clearly refuse to meet with us, what else can we do?¡± Seeing that the Zheng n had given them the cold shoulder, Zu An grew slightly anxious.

    Chu Chuyan wasn¡¯t surprised at all. ¡°That is why I brought you with me,¡± she said.

    ¡°Me?¡± Zu An was stunned. He didn¡¯t understand what she meant.

    Chu Chuyan looked at Zheng n¡¯s entrance. ¡°Go over and ask to meet with the Zheng n¡¯s young miss,¡± she said, her red lips moving quickly. ¡°You have done her a great favor before, and she¡¯s even sought you out several times. I believe she harbors a fair amount of gratitude towards you, so she should be willing to meet with you if you ask for her.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face immediately became gloomy. ¡°What the heck is this? Are you sending me out like some gigolo?¡±

    Chu Chuyan snorted. ¡°Even I am not scared that I would be losing anything. What is there for you scared of? Just go!¡±

    Zu An was baffled as he walked up to the Zheng n¡¯s gates. He couldn¡¯t understand why Chu Chuyan thought she¡¯d be the one on the losing end.

    The gatekeepers of the Zheng n looked at each other in dismay when they discovered why he hade. However, they knew that this young master never messed around when it came to such things, and ryed the message.

    A whileter, someone came out of the estate and addressed him. ¡°Young master, our young miss wees you.¡±

    Zu An was inwardly pleased with Zheng Dan. At least he hadn¡¯t embarrassed himself bying here.

    He hurriedly turned around to invite Chu Chuyan in with him, but she shook her head.

    He was just about to try to persuade her when Chu Chuyan transmitted through ki, ¡°The Zheng n has no intention of meeting with me. My presence would only cause them worry. You should go in alone. When you meet her, ask her about these things...¡±

    Zu Anmitted her words to memory, then followed the servant inside.

    This was actually the first time he¡¯d visited the Zheng n estate. He looked around. At first nce, the residences seemed just as luxurious as those in the Chu n, if not more so. However, upon closer inspection, he realized that the Chu n estate had a mysterious aura that the Zheng n estatecked.

    This was probably the difference between an upstart n and one that was well-established over many generations.

    He passed through several courtyards, and another maid took over from his guide to lead him the rest of the way.

    As they walked on further, a faint zither music drifted along the wind.

    Zu An sighed with praise. ¡°Who is ying the zither? They¡¯re not bad at all!¡±

    ¡°Of course it¡¯s our n¡¯s young miss! Besides our young miss, who else could have this level of skill?¡± That maid said, her expression proud.

    ¡°Zheng Dan?¡± Her traditionally-beautiful face appeared in his mind. Truly, the zither suited her well.

    The zither music slowly grew louder and more distinct. In a few moments, he was brought into an elegant and refined residence. Learning from his previous lesson, his eyes instinctively darted to the que above.

    Zhuluo Residence![1]

    ¡°Young miss, I¡¯ve brought young master Zu.¡± That maid bowed in the direction of the residence.

    ¡°You may leave us.¡± A voice, gentle as a flowing mountain stream, came from within the residence. Zheng Dan was leisurely ying the zither by the window.

    ¡°Understood!¡± The maid bowed and withdrew quietly.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t contain augh. ¡°You seem to care quite a bit about your privacy. Not even a maid dares to get too close,¡± he said.

    Zheng Dan smiled. ¡°I merely do not like being disturbed when I¡¯m ying the zither. That¡¯s why she was a bit more careful.¡±

    Zu An sighed. ¡°Haven¡¯t Ie at a bad time, then?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re different.¡± Zheng Dan revealed a sweet smile. ¡°Ah Zu, pleasee inside.¡±

    Zu An sighed to himself. Why did all the women he bump into seem to have Oscar worthy acting skills?

    ¡°Commander Sang might not be too happy if he hears you say such a thing,¡± Zu An said casually as he walked in.

    The music of the zither gradually came to a halt. Zheng Dan¡¯s slender fingers rested on the zither, her eyes calmly looking into his. ¡°Are you going to tell him?¡±

    ¡°Of course not.¡± Zu An¡¯s heart skipped a beat. This girl is really trying to seduce me!

    ¡°That¡¯s good, then.¡± Zheng Dan smiled. She stood and gestured for him to take a seat. At the same time, she poured a cup of tea for him.

    Zu An looked at her from up close. She was dressed in a blue and white dress, and every single movement she made was graceful and elegant. Even her action of pouring tea was a sight in itself.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°I am surprised Chu First Miss is willing to send you in,¡± Zheng Dan said suddenly.

    Zu An didn¡¯t deny it. ¡°Miss Zheng is exceptionally intelligent.¡±

    Zheng Dan favored him with a smile. ¡°Isn¡¯t she afraid that I¡¯ll eat you right up?¡±

    Zu Anughed and said, ¡°I have no idea if she is scared, but I will be the first one to give my approval.¡±

    The perfect amount of red colored Zheng Dan¡¯s cheeks. ¡°Since you approve, why don¡¯t you join our Zheng n instead? Our n surely won¡¯t treat you as poorly as the Chu n does.¡±

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare to, unless I was drafted into the Zheng n as a son-inw.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure that can be arranged,¡± Zheng Dan agreed straight away.

    ¡°If I am not mistaken, aren¡¯t you engaged to Commander Sang Hong?¡± If I were any other guy, I might have already beenpletely bewitched by this woman.

    Zheng Dan smiled. ¡°It¡¯s just an engagement. We haven¡¯t officially gotten married yet. There is still time. Besides, even if I really did get married to someone else besides you, I would definitely want my child to be yours.¡±

    1. Zhuluo is the name of a mountain. A legendary beauty from the past used this term synonymously with the word ¡®beauty¡¯.

 Chapter 297: A Tool

    <h4>Chapter 297: A Tool</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Even Zu An¡ªwho knew all about being shameless¡ªwaspletely thrown off. Wasn¡¯t this woman being way too aggressive?

    Zheng Dan suddenly smiled. ¡°I was just joking, of course. Did Ah Zu think I was being serious?¡±

    Zu An sighed. ¡°I really did think you were serious... Look, my heart¡¯s all in tatters now.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t see a trace of heartbrokenness on your face, though.¡± Zheng Dan re-evaluated her understanding of this man. Everyone thought he was some inexperienced virgin. However, from the several interactions she¡¯d had with him so far, that hardly seemed true. He was more like a war-hardened veteran when it came to this!

    ¡°That¡¯s because I¡¯m actually pretty introverted, and I don¡¯t show much emotions on the surface.¡± Zu An pointed to his chest. ¡°If you don¡¯t believe me,e and press your ear against my chest. You¡¯re sure to hear the sounds of my heart shattering.¡±

    Zheng Dan scoffed inwardly. There was no way she would do such a thing! Sensing that Zu An had slowly gained control of the flow of the conversation, she hurriedly changed the topic. ¡°Why has Ah Zue looking for me today?¡±

    Zu An sighed in his heart. Such a pity. ¡°I believe the young miss is well aware of my purpose ining here today,¡± he said.¡±If this merchants¡¯ protest gets out of hand, I believe that the oue won¡¯t be favorable for anyone.¡±

    Zheng Dan smiled and shook her head. ¡°I do not understand what you are saying. I have only heard some rumors regarding these merchants protesting, and I fail to see how it has anything to do with our n. Does the Chu n peddle in false usations?¡±

    Zu An was unfazed. ¡°Dandan, the two of us are already so close. Let¡¯s not treat each other like strangers. How about this, I¡¯ll be straight with you. I¡¯ll have your butler released shortly. In return, do me a favor and help calm those protesting merchants.¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    A satisfied smile teased the corners of Zheng Dan¡¯s lips. ¡°Every citizen of Brightmoon City has a responsibility to ensure the safety of Brightmoon City. As one of the four great ns, our Zheng n naturally takes this responsibility seriously.¡±

    Zu An exhaled in relief. ¡°I¡¯m d to hear that.¡±

    Zheng Dan fluttered her eyshes at him. ¡°I have to make this clear though¡ªI am doing this as a personal favor to you, Ah Zu. You owe me a big favor now.¡±

    Zu An chuckled and sidled up to her. ¡°Debts of gratitude can never be fully repaid. How about I off you my body instead?¡±

    Zheng Dan¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and she hastily took a few steps away from him. ¡°You¡¯re so annoying,¡± she spat, her facepletely red.

    ¡°I¡¯ll return the favor the next time I get a chance to,¡± Zu An said with augh. He waved a hand in farewell and left, grinning ear to ear.

    Zheng Dan gently bit her lips as she watched his departing figure. For some reason, she didn¡¯t feel the slightest disgust at his naughty antics. Instead, she found them refreshing, and they were something that she looked forward to.

    ¡°Sigh, I¡¯ve really gone crazy...¡± Zheng Dan muttered to herself, covering her burning cheeks.

    Zu An suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned around. ¡°Dandan, do you know who is the Whale Gang¡¯s boss?¡± he asked.

    Zheng Dan shuddered. ¡°How would I know? Why would you ask this?¡± she said hastily.

    ¡°Nothing, just checking. I¡¯ve heard that this fellow is exceedingly mysterious, and no one even knows their gender. I thought that Dandan might know something, since you have ess to so much information,¡± Zu An said with an innocent smile on his face.

    Zheng Dan recovered herposure and said gently, ¡°I must disappoint Ah Zu. I really do not know anything about this. I don¡¯t think there are many in Brightmoon City who know either.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m quite curious about that gang boss too. I hope I can meet this boss one day,¡± said Zu An.

    A strange smile suddenly appeared on Zheng Dan¡¯s beautiful face. ¡°I believe the two of you will meet in the future.¡±

    Zu An nodded. ¡°I think so too.¡±

    Zheng Dan¡¯s brows furrowed with suspicion as she watched Zu An disappear into the distance. Does this fellow know something? How could he possibly know, though?

    As Zu An walked out of the main entrance, Chu Chuyan hurried over to him. ¡°So? How did it go?¡±

    Zu An shook his head, a grave expression on his face. ¡°Zheng Dan did not admit to their involvement with the merchants¡¯ protests. She ims her hands are tied as well. Unless...¡±

    ¡°Unless what?¡± Chu Chuyan enquired further.

    ¡°Unless I leave the Chu n and be the Zheng n¡¯s young master.¡± Zu An said in a deadly earnest manner.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s face grew cold. ¡°You agreed?¡±

    ¡°That''s why I came out to ask you for your opinion,¡± Zu An said, chuckling slightly.

    Chu Chuyan narrowed her eyes, a dangerous glint appearing within them. ¡°Do you feel good about yourself? That so many girls like you?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression cleared up immediately ¡°Absolutely not!¡± he protested in a panic. ¡°No matter how many beauties there are out there, I will only choose you alone!¡±

    However, as soon as Chu Chuyan¡¯s expression loosened slightly, she heard him continue on, ¡°You clearly said before that you didn¡¯t mind if I chased after other girls, though.¡±

    Chu Chuyan was left speechless.

    This guy really loves to annoy people!

    ¡°Let¡¯s go. We¡¯ll try to think of another way.¡± Chu Chuyan turned around to leave.

    Zu An sidled up to her. ¡°You know... I don¡¯t really mind sacrificing myself... Haha... It¡¯s all for the sake of the Chu n after all.¡±

    ¡°Hmph! It¡¯s probably just because you think that Zheng Dan is pretty.¡± Chu Chuyan grunted resentfully. ¡°I refuse to believe that there is no other way!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve only just begun to recover! Please don¡¯t get too worked up!¡± Zu An panicked when he saw how angry she was starting to be. ¡°Zheng Dan has already agreed that the Zheng n will contain their subordinates as long as we release butler Hou Yun.¡±

    Chu Chuyan suddenly turned around to look at him.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Are you that surprised?¡± Zu An asked with a smile.

    ¡°You tricked me!¡± She thought about how sulky she had be after hearing what he¡¯d said. Annoyed, she immediately chased him down and began to smack him.

    ¡°Wait! Please, be gentle!¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s face blushed when she heard his screaming. This was exactly how she¡¯d been pleading with himst night. She lost all the will to continue beating him.

    Worried that she might start beating him again at any moment, Zu An hurriedly said, ¡°Honey, I believe that there¡¯s a huge connection between the Zheng n and the illicit salt trade.¡±

    Chu Chuyan rolled her eyes. ¡°Do I need you to tell me this? She showed up to block your path during your investigation, and we even caught the Zheng n¡¯s butler on the pier. Even a blind man can tell that they have a connection to the illicit salt. The only thing missing is proof.¡±

    She was deeply worried. The salt smugglers alone were already a headache to deal with. Having the Zheng n backing them¡ªnot to mention that the Zheng and Sang ns were engaged¡ªmade rooting out the illicit salt business seem an impossible task.

    She was in charge of many of the Chu n¡¯s businesses, and was fully aware of the effects of the illicit salt trade. The Chu n¡¯s revenues were in steep decline. If such a situation continued, the Chu n might not be able to finance their massive debt much longer.

    Zu An interrupted her thoughts. ¡°Zheng Dan should know who the Whale Gang¡¯s boss is!¡±

    ¡°How are you so certain?¡± Chu Chuyan asked curiously.

    ¡°I deliberately tried to test her, and her reaction was a little strange...¡± Zu An recounted what had happened earlier.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s eyes brightened. ¡°It seems like there is still hope in dealing with the illicit salt trade. From today on, try to find a way to get closer to Zheng Dan. I... I won¡¯t mind even if... even if you have to employ some of your masculinity.¡±

 Chapter 298: Are You Okay?

    <h4>Chapter 298: Are You Okay?</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An immediately jumped in shock. ¡°Even if you don¡¯t mind, I do! Do I look like someone who would sell my body like that?¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s face turned slightly red. She also felt like she was going a little too far by asking her husband to do such a thing ¡°Sorry... I¡¯ve been slightly stressed over the Chu n¡¯s matters recently, so I blurted that out without thinking. Please don¡¯t take those words to heart.¡±

    Zu An waved his hand. ¡°If things are that hard for you, then your husband needs to help share the burden! I¡¯ll do whatever I can to get any information from Zheng Dan.¡±

    ¡°Hold on a minute. I don¡¯t think we should proceed with this n.¡± Chu Chuyan suddenly recalled what happened when she had him approach Qiu Honglei thest time. A few days after she had sent him to meet her, this Qiu Honglei had appeared screaming and crying, going on and on about how she absolutely had to be married to Zu An. Was the same thing going to happen a second time?

    Zu An held her hand. ¡°As long as it can help you, what is my own dignity worth?¡± he said seriously.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s heart softened, and her voice also grew extremely warm. ¡°Ah Zu, I¡¯ve let you down.¡±

    Only when Chu Chuyan returned home did she feel like something was amiss. Why did she feel as though something wasn¡¯t quite right?

    By then, Zu An had already been dragged off to the academy by Chu Huanzhao.

    Chu Huanzhao scuttled over to Zu An on their way to the academy and poked him with her whip. ¡°Just what is going on between you and that Qiu Honglei?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes darted to the Wailing Whip. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you after you put away the Wailing Whip.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re no fun.¡± Chu Huanzhao pouted. She put away the whip, then she looked at Zu An.

    Only then did Zu An say, ¡°There is absolutely nothing going on between the two of us.¡±

    ¡°Who do you think you¡¯re trying to fool?!¡± Chu Huanzhao sneered. ¡°That girl has already pursued you all the way to our doorstep! I¡¯ve even heard that she said she wouldn¡¯t marry anyone but you!¡±

    ¡°Really? I guess that makes sense, though. I¡¯m just too charming, after all... Don¡¯t worry, there will be more girls crying and begging to be mine in the future, so you¡¯ll get used to it.¡± Zu An said nonchntly.

    Cheng Shouping¡¯s ears pricked up when he heard this. The young master is so badass!

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    I¡¯ll recognize the young master as my big bro wherever he goes in the future, even if he is no longer the Chu n¡¯s young master!

    When he thought of this, the hurt from his previous beatings suddenly stopped troubling him.

    Chu Huanzhao blushed when she heard this. ¡°Stupid brother-inw, you don¡¯t feel any shame.¡±

    Zu Anughed while Chu Huanzhao threw tantrums along the way. They quickly arrived at the academy.

    After attending several sses, Zu An returned to his staff residence for a quick rest.

    With his current cultivation and knowledge, the lectures he attended in the Yellow ss nowcked much meaning.

    Moreover, because he was also a teacher in the academy, his colleagues turned a blind eye when he skipped sses.

    Should I have a chat with the gorgeous principal and ask her to transfer me to Sky ss? Zu An was hesitant to do so. That would draw too much attention to him, especially since his aptitude was still publicly known to be poor. It wouldn¡¯t be easy to convince everyone else that such a transfer would be justified.

    Even if Jiang Luofu used her authority as the principal, he would probably have to have his aptitude tested again. Wouldn¡¯t his transcendent-level aptitude be exposed then?

    He also understood just what the transcendent-level aptitude meant after his experience treating Chu Chuyan. Many people woulde looking for him once this information was exposed.

    He would be perfectly okay if they were all pretty girls. However, if some ugly men came seeking his services, he¡¯d rather die than offer it to them.

    There was Old Mi, who was always asking him to pay attention to the Wei n¡¯s situation. If he left Wei Suo¡¯s side, Old Mi would definitely grow suspicious.

    Sigh, it seems like this issue of transferring to another ss is hopeless.

    However, staying in the Yellow ss is just a waste of time!

    As this conflict yed out within him, there came a knock from outside.

    ¡°Hm?¡± Zu An looked at the time. Weren¡¯t there sses currently going on? Who could this be?

    Was it Shang Liuyu?

    He jumped up happily and rushed towards the entrance.

    Zu An suddenly remembered something. I forgot to get that seashell back from Qiu Honglei. He always forgot about this whenever he met with that woman.

    He was just wondering how he was going to exin things to the other party when he noticed that a girl with bright eyes and a kind demeanor was standing at his doorstep. She possessed a beauty that was very much on par with Shang Liuyu.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to wee me in?¡± This youngdy said with a smile.

    ¡°Of course you¡¯re wee. Shouldn¡¯t you be in ss right now, though?¡± Zu An was slightly confused. This girl was Zheng Dan, whom he had just met this morning.

    Zheng Dan walked straight in. ¡°Aren¡¯t you supposed to be in ss too?¡±

    ¡°But I¡¯m a teacher...¡± Zu An closed the door behind him, his voice slowly losing its confidence.

    ¡°If teachers can skip ss, why can¡¯t students as well?¡± Zheng Dan blinked at him, her appearance charming and lovely.

    ¡°Of course you can. However, I¡¯ve always thought of you as an extremely obedient person. I didn¡¯t think it was possible for you to do something like skip sses.¡± Zu An heard from many students that Zheng Dan was the epitome of a well-breddy from a prestigious n. Every single movement she made was full of elegance, without a single w.

    ¡°Being a good girl for too long starts to get tedious, and I crave for something stimting once in a while. I believe Ah Zu understands this well.¡± Zheng Dan looked at him questioningly. Her moist, pink lips twitched in a hint of a smile.

    Zu An¡¯s heart skipped a beat. Thest time, Zheng Dan had tried to seduce him in this very room. The two of them had almost set a wildfire aze back then.

    Why did this womane here today? There¡¯s no way she¡¯s here just to fool around.

    ¡°In that case, then let¡¯s do some stimting things together.¡± Zu An smiled and moved closer to her.

    Hmph! You think I¡¯m scared? It¡¯s not as if I¡¯lle out of this the loser!

    I¡¯ve even got my wife¡¯s permission!

    ¡°Sure~¡± Zheng Dan shed a charming smile, as if silently inviting him in.

    Zu An was just about to touch her when Zheng Dan said, ¡°Teacher Zu, this student has been practicing a set of palm techniques, but I¡¯m far from proficient at it. I wanted to ask the teacher to give me some pointers.¡±

    A shiver ran down Zu An¡¯s entire body when he heard her call him ¡®teacher¡¯. There¡¯s no way this woman has watched any student-teacher romance dramas, is there?

    ¡°I¡¯m not even a cultivation teacher. Why don¡¯t you look for Teacher Bai instead?¡±

    Zheng Dan grunted. ¡°I can¡¯t tell if that fellow wants to be a guy or girl. I¡¯ll never want to be taught by someone like him.¡±

    ¡°But the Zheng n should have many teachers, right? Why don¡¯t you seek out one of them?¡± Zu An couldn¡¯t help but ask.

    ¡°They see me as their young miss. How could they possibly dare to hit me for real? Besides, they are all men, so it¡¯s not appropriate for us to engage in any practical training.¡± A bashful look appeared on Zheng Dan¡¯s face.

    Zu An grew depressed. ¡°Am I not a man too?¡±

    Zheng Dan¡¯s red lips parted slightly. There was a slight pause before she said, ¡°You¡¯re different.¡±

    Holy shit... if I wasn¡¯t already used to the different plots of movies and dramas, I would be dancing in the palm of her hand right now.

    Zu An deliberately put on a troubled look. ¡°You know that I am a Yellow ss student. How could I possibly be a match for someone from the Sky ss?¡±

    ¡°Hmph! Who are you trying to fool? You beat Yuan Wenlong in the ns Tournament, and you defeated Shi Kun in the dungeon. How many others can boast of such a level of cultivation?¡± Zheng Dan stamped her foot and pouted yfully. ¡°Is it because you don¡¯t want to teach me?¡±

    Zu An sighed. ¡°I really don¡¯t know what I can teach you...¡±

    Almost all of his own skills had been obtained through cheats. He really didn¡¯t have much that could be taught to others.

    Zheng Dan didn¡¯t seem to mind at all. ¡°It¡¯s okay. You can just spar with me freely.¡±

    ¡°How could I be that shameless? Don¡¯t me me if you want to cry from the painter~¡± Zu An cracked his knuckles and snickered.

    Before he even finished his sentence, the entire world was flipped upside down. He had been thrown into the ground.

    Zheng Dan bent down, an innocent look on her face. ¡°Ah! Sorry, I must have used too much strength just now. Ah Zu, are you okay?¡±

 Chapter 299: Playing With Fire

    <h4>Chapter 299: ying With Fire</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°No! Of course I¡¯m not okay!¡±

    Zu An angrily crawled to his feet. Being flung to the ground so easily by this normally weak and delicate-looking girl was just too shameful.

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t ready just now. Again!¡±

    Zheng Dan reached her hands out to support him. A sweet smile appeared on her face. ¡°Sure!¡±

    Zu An had to admit that this woman deserved her spot in the Top Ten of the Sweetheart Ranking. Her face and figure were both top-notch.

    Of course, everyone else in the top ten were also exceptional beauties.

    Only that brat Huanzhao seems to fall a little short.

    However, she was still rather young. Given a few more years, she¡¯d probably blossom into a great beauty as well, just like her older sister.

    ¡°Ah Zu, are you ready?¡± There was a big smile on Zheng Dan¡¯s face.

    ¡°I¡¯m ready.¡± Zu An didn¡¯t allow himself to act carelessly again. Ki covered his entire body, tensing it like apressed spring.

    Despite this, he was flipped upside down again. His body fell heavily to the ground.

    ¡°Ow... my back...¡±

    What the heck is up with this girl today? Why is she suddenly so fierce?

    The most irritating part of all of this was that her smile was only growing sweeter!

    Zheng Dai helped him up to his feet again. ¡°Sorry, I should have gone a bit easier on you,¡± she said with an apologetic smile.

    Zu An stared at her silently.

    Was this woman doing this on purpose?

    ¡°Again!¡±

    Zu An still wasn¡¯t convinced. He assumed a ready stance again.

    Surprisingly, Zheng Dan refused him. She shook her head and said, ¡°I think we should stop. All of your strength has been invested into your movement and sword techniques, and so youck training in your closebat skills. I forgot about this earlier. I truly am sorry.¡±

    Even though she was apologizing, a triumphant look twinkled in the corners of her eyes. Everything that happened today had been done on purpose!

    The Sang n had ordered her to investigate the mysterious expert backing Zu An. She had almost been exposed thest time she tried to pry into his secrets, so she had no choice but to take a more careful approach.

    She finally thought of a way to do so.

    Her goal today was precisely to humiliate Zu An. She didn¡¯t think any man could ept such shame.

    He¡¯d definitely want a chance to redeem himself.

    She¡¯d seen firsthand his prowess at swordy, and didn¡¯t dare to challenge him to a duel using swordy, in case she slipped up. However, the gap between their skill levels at hand-to-handbat was just too vast!

    In order to be able to beat her, Zu An might ask the hidden expert backing him for advice. As long as that expert passed on a method to him, she could use it to deduce that expert¡¯s background.

    Moreover, even if she couldn¡¯t figure out who that expert was, she would be certain that he at least had someone backing him.

    Zu An was stunned. He seemed to have heard very simr words two days ago.

    Back then, Pei Mianman had given him a method to protect himself if he ever encountered Chen Xuan while unarmed.

    That technique she had taught him back then was none other than the Entangling Feathersilk Art!

    Sigh, too many things have been going on recently. I almost forgot about this.

    Zu An carefully recalled the technique, then calmed his nerves. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It will definitely be different this time.¡±

    Zheng Dan snickered inside. All men are the same! They just can¡¯t let go of their pride.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    She had fully expected Zu An¡¯s words. Zheng Dan smiled and reached out her hand. ¡°All right, let¡¯s go again.¡±

    As soon as she said that, her hand wrapped around his arm like a snake. Having prepared her stance, she nned to throw him again.

    Out of the blue, his hand flowed gracefully like water, and he gently freed himself from her grasp, while turning the tables on her and grabbing her wrist.

    Zheng Dan was rmed. She twisted her wrist, relying on her flexibility to pull her hand away. ¡°What is this...¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t give her a single moment to catch her breath. Before she could even finish her sentence, he seized the opportunity to continue his offensive.

    Zheng Dan realized that his technique was exceptionally exquisite, containing several unexpected moves. She immediately gathered her focus. She couldn¡¯t afford any distractions at all!

    In the blink of an eye, the two of them exchanged over ten moves.

    Zheng Dan waspletely bewildered. Even though she rarely engaged in actual fights, she had yet to meet someone who could match her skill in this area. She had always been able to subdue her opponent in just a few moves.

    However, this Zu An employed a really strange set of techniques that seemed well on par with hers. She almost lost her center of gravity in more than a few instances.

    If Zu An had started with this technique, she wouldn¡¯t have found herself in such a difficult situation. She would have gone all out from the start.

    However, having managed to easily throw Zu An a couple of times, she had been convinced that he had almost no experience in unarmedbat, and let down her guard.

    Unexpectedly, this guy had pulled out such a strange technique. Caught off guard, she lost the initiative.

    Seizing the initiative was extremely important in hand-to-handbat.

    The one who gained the initiative from the start would always have the initiative.

    Now that she had lost the initiative, it became extremely hard to turn things around.

    Wave after wave of his attacks crashed down on her. He didn¡¯t give her a single window of opportunity, and it was all she could do just to counter his moves.

    Zu An¡¯s Entangling Feathersilk Art had started off slightly unpolished. However, the longer the fight went on, the smoother and easier it was to execute.

    After close to a hundred moves, Zu An finally fashioned an opening, and twisted Zheng Dan¡¯s arm behind her back.

    Zheng Dan didn¡¯t have the courage to pop her own arm out of its socket, like Zu An had done in his fight against Pei Mianman. Her face grew horrified, and she kicked out backwards, her footshing out like a tail.

    There was no way Zu An would give her the chance. He grabbed her leg and shoved her forward.

    Zheng Dan finally lost her center of gravity while in mid-air, and she found herself pressed up against the wall in front of her.

    Zu An locked her body firmly in ce with his, not letting her move an inch. He leaned in close to her ear and said triumphantly, ¡°So? Do you admit defeat?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t! You only seized the advantage through a sneak attack!¡± Zheng Dan said angrily while biting her lips.

    If he hadn¡¯t tricked her at the start, she wouldn¡¯t have been captured, no matter how strong his technique was.

    ¡°You were clearly the one who made the first move. How can you me me forunching a sneak attack?¡± Zu An said with a smile.

    ¡°You¡¯re shameless! Why didn¡¯t you use this technique from the beginning? You just had to pretend like you didn¡¯t know anything, which caused me to drop my guard!¡± Zheng Dan struggled, but all of her key joints were restricted. She couldn¡¯t move at all.

    That was, unless she used elemental ki.

    However, using her elemental ki in such a ce would easily draw unwanted attention, and would only make things even more troublesome.

    She decided to give up on her struggling, and use this chance to see if she could learn anything from him now.

    ¡°It¡¯s my fault for having a natural soft spot for girls. I was worried about hurting you, so I didn¡¯t go too hard on you at first. How was I supposed to know that you would go all out from the start?¡± Zu An could still feel his backining. Those throws of hers really had been fierce!

    Zheng Dan bit her lip. ¡°What is this unarmed technique of yours called? It seems pretty formidable. Can you teach it to me?¡±

    If she could obtain the name of this technique, then the Sang n could easily look into it.

    Pei Mianman¡¯s warning was fresh in Zu An¡¯s mind. ¡°Sorry, no can do,¡± he said with a smile.

    ¡°Our rtionship has already grown so close, and yet you still can¡¯t teach it to me? Are you in a tight spot because you need to keep this a secret?¡± Zheng Dan probed tentatively.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes narrowed. This woman really is up to something. She¡¯s still trying to gather intelligence on the experts backing me.

    If he hadn¡¯t been on guard right from the start, he might have just spilled everything out to her.

    ¡°You really are a cunning person. You¡¯re even hiding a sword inside your clothes! Are you secretly plotting against someone?¡± Zheng Dan snickered.

    ¡°Sword?¡± Zu An was stunned. He lowered his head to take a look, and his expression grew bizarre.

    Zheng Dan felt a shudder run through her entire body. She too had realized what was actually going on. Her entire face flushed a bright red.

    Feeling her terrifically supple body, Zu An had to admit that this woman really was top-notch.

    ¡°Get off me!¡± Even Zheng Dan¡¯s ears had gonepletely red.

    Even though she looked like she was angry, Zu An didn¡¯t receive any Rage points.

    This woman is still putting on an act!

    Not only did he not let go, he instead pressed up against her even harder. She felt his warm breath right next to her ear. ¡°But I don¡¯t want to let go,¡± he breathed. ¡°Wasn¡¯t this how I examined your leg thest time?¡±

    As he said this, she felt a hand caress her thigh.

 Chapter 300: Best Friends

    <h4>Chapter 300: Best Friends</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zheng Dan felt a shudder run through her when she sensed the heating from his hand, and her expression went through a myriad of transformations. She opened her mouth several times as if to say something¡ªand yet, for some reason, nothing came out.

    To be honest, Zu An couldn¡¯t understand why she wasn¡¯t resisting him either.

    Even if this is supposed to be a honey trap, aren¡¯t you taking it a little too far?

    Well, I mean... if you insist!

    Zu An decided that he wouldn¡¯t hold back anymore. His hand reached straight into her skirt.

    Tears were about to flow out of Zheng Dan¡¯s eyes as she felt her body being invaded by another man.

    However, she didn¡¯t resist. Not even she knew why. She knew that if she were to fight back, the man behind her wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything.

    And yet, this novel experience was something she seemed to crave from the very depths of her soul.

    She had been brought up in a strict household, and had always performed extremely well. She had been obedient when she was little, and now that she was older, she was the perfect example of a gracefuldy. Her speech and movements were wless.

    Now that she was older, a marriage had also been arranged for her. Her fianc¨¦ was handsome and confident, and he even came from an outstanding n. Surely, many youngdies dreamed of being with him.

    Even though she never voiced any objections to this marriage, she just couldn¡¯t bring herself to feel happy about it.

    Was she dissatisfied with this fianc¨¦?

    It probably wasn¡¯t the case. After all, even though her fianc¨¦ was not the smartest and was slightly hot-headed, he was still outstanding enough in other areas.

    It was a blessing for the Zheng n to be able to find such a qualified fianc¨¦.

    She just didn¡¯t like this situation.

    She didn¡¯t like living a life that waspletely decided by others. She felt like she hadn¡¯t lived even a single day just for herself.

    Only when she met Zu An¡ªall because of the task she was entrusted with¡ªdid she suddenly feel something different.

    The thrilling feeling of dancing on the edge of morality and etiquette made her heart skip.

    This was a feeling she hadn¡¯t felt in more than ten years.

    Even though her gentle smile was ever-present, she felt like she was merely going through the motions every single day.

    She didn¡¯t have anything to look forward to.

    However, after she met Zu An, she would wake up every day filled with expectation and enthusiasm.

    She felt as though she were many years younger. Even though she wasn¡¯t even that old to begin with, living a life where everything had been meticulously nned out for her had made her heart age more quickly.

    Zu An was different. He was different from any man she had ever met before.

    He was a scoundrel, despicable, shameless...

    It was as if every single negative adjective in the world could be used to describe him.

    Everything that she¡¯d been brought up to believe screamed at her that she should loathe this sort of man. However, all of this was turnedpletely on its head when she met Zu An.

    He seemed to her to be more frank and sincere. He was free, at ease. He wasn¡¯t like all those hypocritical men around her.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An¡¯s entire being seemed to exude a mesmerizing vitality.

    She couldn¡¯t even describe the feeling she had. It was almost as if this man had a vigorous me burning within him, and by being close to him, every fiber of her own being somehow came alive.

    That was why she just epted some of his disrespectful actions silently.

    This would have beenpletely unimaginable before. She would never have let any man touch even the corner of her dress; she didn¡¯t even allow her fianc¨¦ to hold her hand!

    And yet, she let this fellow treat her like this every time they met.

    She even began to wonder if she was a masochist. The more he humiliated her, the more she looked forward to their next meeting.

    Seeing that Zu An was truly going to take the next step, she hurriedly reached out a hand to stop him. ¡°You can¡¯t do that. I cannot let my purity be sullied before I get married.¡±

    She wasn¡¯t an ordinary person after all, and her reason won out in the end. She clearly understood that, if the Sang n found out she was no longer pure, the two ns would surely go to war. The consequences of that would be too great. No matter how daring she was, she would never truly dare to go that far.

    Zu An blinked at her, dumbfounded. What the heck is this woman trying to do?

    Everything else is okay, but this final step isn¡¯t?

    I have no idea what is happening anymore.

    A knock came from the front door.

    Zheng Dan seemed to have suddenly snapped out of her daze. She pushed him off and quickly straightened out her clothes. Clutching at her face, she rushed out.

    Her legs gave way as soon as she took her first step, and she almost fell to the ground.

    Her heart was pounding, and her entire body felt weak. If she hadn¡¯t been pressed against the wall all this time, she would have already slid down the wall.

    That was why she stumbled immediately as she tried to run away.

    Zheng Dan turned around and shot Zu An a resentful look. Only then did she open the door and run out.

    ¡°Ah Zu, Ah Zu~¡±

    Shang Liuyu was knocking on the door. When the door opened, she thought that it was Zu An. She never expected a woman to leap out.

    ¡°Hm? Who are you?¡±

    Shang Liuyu was bewildered. That woman didn¡¯t seem to have heard her at all. She didn¡¯t even turn around once before vanishing into the distance.

    Only then did Zu An make his appearance. ¡°Teacher Shang! Pleasee in!¡±

    Shang Liuyu peered in the direction Zheng Dan had disappeared off to, a strange look on her face. ¡°Who was that?¡±

    Zu Anughed and said, ¡°Just a student who hade to ask me for help on some arithmetic problems. Sigh. How can a warmhearted person like me disappoint such earnest and eager students?¡±

    An ambiguous look appeared on Shang Liuyu¡¯s face. ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, that girl was Zheng Dan!¡±

    Zu An stared at her silently for a while.

    His expression became gloomy. ¡°Sis, if you already figured out who she was, why did you even bother asking?¡±

    Shang Liuyu''sugh contained a hint of embarrassment. ¡°I couldn¡¯t recognize her at first, since she was covering her face. But I am quite sensitive to people¡¯s scents. It took me a while to recognize that this scent was Zheng Dan¡¯s.¡±

    If Zheng Dan had known that this person could recognize her from her smell, she wouldn¡¯t have run off in such a sorry state. There would have been no point in covering her face.

    Shang Liuyu grew serious. She hesitated slightly before saying, ¡°Ah Zu, this is probably not something I should bring up, but... as a friend, I feel like it¡¯s my duty to warn you. I believe Zheng Dan is engaged, and so the two of you should be mindful of certain boundaries.¡±

    Zu An was thoroughly embarrassed. ¡°Big sis Shang, the two of us are only friends.¡±

    Not even he was convinced by his own words.

    Shang Liuyu smiled sweetly. ¡°If the two of you really are just normal friends, then that¡¯s fine. I do like to let my mouth run, sometimes.¡±

    Zu An also found this situation slightly awkward. After all, this woman really was looking out for his good. He had no good reply, so he asked instead, ¡°What did big sis need from me today?¡±

    ¡°My goodness, I almost forgot the main matter at hand.¡± Shang Liuyu pped her forehead. Her adorable manner could drive any man crazy. ¡°Principal Jiang sent me over to assist you in the takeover of Plum Blossom Sect¡¯s property. If you aren¡¯t busy right now, we can get going.¡±

    ¡°The gorgeous principal sent you?¡± Zu An was slightly shocked.

    Shang Liuyu snorted. ¡°Why would you ask that? Am I not trustworthy in your eyes?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant,¡± Zu An exined in a panic. ¡°It¡¯s just that, in my mind, big sis Shang has always been the textbook example of bright and pure. I just never expected the principal to send you to handle such a task.¡±

    Shang Liuyu¡¯s bright mood clouded over slightly. ¡°I didn¡¯t want toe either... But I couldn¡¯t refuse after Luofu begged me.¡±

    ¡°Luofu?¡± Zu An was a little slow on the uptake.

    Shang Liuyu exined, ¡°I¡¯m actually really close to Principal Jiang¡ªwe could even be considered best friends. She has such a chilly demeanor and doesn¡¯t have many true friends that she can rely on. I¡¯m one of the only ones she could turn to for help with this affair.¡±

    Best friend... Zu An was momentarily stunned. He couldn¡¯t help but think of Pei Mianman and Chu Chuyan. It took him a while to snap out of his daze. But... but...

    Shang Liuyu was bemused by his silence. ¡°Are you worried that I might be in danger?¡± she said with a smile.

    Zu Anughed awkwardly, but didn¡¯t say anything. Out of all of the academy¡¯s teachers, Shang Liuyu was known for her beauty, and not for her cultivation.

    Shang Liuyu read his unspoken anxiety. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry. Such a small matter will be easy enough to handle.¡±

    Zu Anughed. ¡°Of course! With big sis Shang at my side, who can stand in our way?¡±

    With Mei Chaofeng already dead, he himself was more than enough to deal with those minions. He wouldn¡¯t even need Shang Liuyu¡¯s help during this cleanup.

    Shang Liuyu could roughly tell what he was thinking about from his expression. She merely smiled without correcting him.

    ¡°Let¡¯s head out, then.¡± Being interrupted earlier had left Zu An slightly annoyed. However, his resentment had instantly vanished once he saw that it was Shang Liuyu.

    Shang Liuyu shook her head. ¡°Wait, we need to bring one more person with us.¡±

 Chapter 301 - Great Minds Think Alike

    <h4>Chapter 301 - Great Minds Think Alike</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°We¡¯re waiting for someone?¡± he asked. ¡°Who are we waiting for?¡±

    ¡°Xie Xiu,¡± Shang Liuyu replied.

    ¡°Xie Xiu?¡± Zu An took a while to process this information. ¡°So, the principal even managed to get Xie Xiu to tag along with us! This principal is truly wise! With him around, it would be so much easier to take over Plum Blossom Sect¡¯s holdings.¡±

    Although Xie Xiu¡¯s usually behaved somewhat frivolously, he was still the city lord¡¯s son. His presence would help to smooth most of the official procedures along.

    Shang Liuyu shook her head. ¡°Luofu didn¡¯t arrange for him toe. She wanted you to be the one to invite him.¡±

    ¡°I have to invite him?¡± Zu An was dumbstruck.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Shang Liuyu smiled. ¡°The academy can¡¯t just announce to the world that it has epted your seven-and-a-half million taels of silver, let alone let someone like Xie Xiu find out. We¡¯ll need you to step forward and front this. I¡¯ll just pretend to be helping you.¡±

    Zu An was speechless for a while.

    Are you serious? That gorgeous principal loves wearing ck stockings so much that even her heart has turned ck! She really won¡¯t pass up even the slightest chance to use me!

    ¡°Do you feel troubled?¡± Shang Liuyu asked.

    ¡°Not at all.¡± Zu An shook his head. Honestly speaking, Jiang Luofu already treated him quite well. The promissory note for seven-and-a-half million taels of silver would only have rotted away if left in his hands anyway, so he¡¯d taken the opportunity to exchange it for some assistance, and Jiang Luofu had been most generous with her help.

    Zu An finished weighing up the pros and cons. ¡°Let¡¯s look for Xie Xiu.¡±

    Shang Liuyu had no objections, and followed him as he made his way to the Sky ss. Along the way, she asked him several times about his rtionship with Zheng Dan.

    Zu An offered a series of ambiguous, nonmittal answers.

    Sensing that he didn¡¯t want to talk about the matter, Shang Liuyu smiled gently and didn¡¯t press further.

    The two arrived at the Sky ss. Zu An called for Xie Xiu while taking the opportunity to observe the ss. Clearly, Chu Chuyan rarely came to school.

    Zheng Dan hadn¡¯t returned to ss either.

    ¡°What do these two... teachers need me for?¡± Xie Xiu found it really hard to address Zu An as his teacher. However, there was nothing he could do about it. He had called him out of ss precisely using his authority as a teacher!

    The teacher lecturing the ss was ovee with joy when he saw Shang Liuyu, and had little attention to spare for anything else.

    Shang Liuyu smiled. ¡°It¡¯s not I who need you for something, but rather Zu... Teacher Zu.¡±

    Why do I feel weird calling him ¡®Teacher¡¯ as well?

    Xie Xiu stared at Zu An with a bitter smile. ¡°Tea... teach...¡±

    Zu Anughed and hooked his arm around him. ¡°You don¡¯t have to do that. Just call me Ah Zu when we¡¯re not out in public.¡±

    Xie Xieughed awkwardly. ¡°Ah Zu, what did you need me for?¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°You were there when I won seven-and-a-half million silver taels from the Plum Blossom Sect, right? Back then, Mei Chaofeng wrote out a promissory note for me. Since he has already passed on, there is no way for him to pay me back this debt, so the only thing left for me to do is to try to take over his assets. I came to you because I need some help.¡±

    ¡°Me?¡± Xie Xiu was only interested in skirt-chasing, and he really couldn¡¯t care less about these official procedures, let alone something this big. He was just about to turn Zu An down when his eyes were drawn to Shang Liuyu standing beside him. ¡°What is teacher Shang doing here with you?¡± he asked in confusion.

    Zu An said, ¡°Of course she¡¯s here to help me recover the debt.¡±

    Xie Xiu¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Brother Zu really is incredible! Teacher Shang is known for being a noble and virtuous person who cares little for worldly pursuits. Yet somehow, you were actually able to convince her to help you out!¡±

    Zu Anughed, ¡°You¡¯re ttering me. I¡¯ve always been a popr guy.¡±

    Xie Xiu had no response to that.

    After a short pause, he agreed to go along with them. After all, even if he didn¡¯t mind offending Zu An, he didn¡¯t want to leave Shang Liuyu with a bad impression of him.

    There wasn¡¯t a single man in the academy who didn¡¯t fancy a gentle and pretty female teacher like Shang Liuyu.

    Even though Xie Xiu¡¯s feelings for her weren¡¯t as fervent as some others¡¯, being in thepany of such a great beauty was still a joyous affair.

    Helping Zu An out was just a side issue.

    ¡°Haha, you¡¯re the best!¡± Zu An sped his fist respectfully. He didn¡¯t bother thinking about why this guy epted. All he cared about was getting this job over and done with.

    The three of them left the academy together with a small group of specialists.

    Given her nature, Shang Liuyu was already doing the principal a huge favor just by following along. Asking any more of her would have made her upset.

    Along the way, Xie Xiu went all out, trying to engage Shang Liuyu in a variety of topics.

    Even though his philosophy had always been to never abandon an entire forest for a single tree, Shang Liuyu was just too beautiful! Even his dao of women was being shaken.

    He scrounged up all sorts of reasons to strike up a conversation with her, and even used some of his methods of seduction.

    Unfortunately, Shang Liuyu responded to all of his desperate attempts in a polluted but disinterested manner.

    Sensing her attitude, Xie Xiu admitted defeat for now. He shifted his attention to Zu An. ¡°Brother Zu, my admiration for you has only grown.¡±

    ¡°You, admire me? Why?¡± Zu An replied instinctively, his mind still preupied by his interactions with Zheng Dan.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Just how did you convince teacher Shang toe with you? You¡¯ve even picked up Immortal Abode¡¯s Qiu Honglei! Once might be a coincidence, but when such a thing happens several times, there¡¯s definitely a reason behind it!¡± Xie Xiu looked at him with expectant eyes.

    Zu An waved a hand casually. ¡°You¡¯ve got it all wrong.¡±

    ¡°How so?¡± Xie Xiu asked curiously.

    ¡°You¡¯ve missed out on some other important girls. Chu Chuyan, for example,¡± Zu An said proudly.

    This was aplete, 360-degree capture! Of course he was proud of his aplishment.

    Xie Xiu ground his teeth silently.

    Bro, even if you¡¯re amazing, there¡¯s no need to show off like this in front of me, is there?

    ¡°What can I do?¡± Zu An muttered to himself. ¡°When a man is too outstanding, he naturally ends up having to deal with these sorts of problems.¡±

    Xie Xiu¡¯s teeth creaked, and his jaw began to ache.

    Shang Liuyu, who was listening in on their conversation, resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

    It took Xie Xiu some time to dispel his gloominess. ¡°Right. By the way, Ah Zu, just how did youe up with that ¡®Smiling, Proud Wanderer¡¯ tune thest time?¡±

    Zu An forced out a smile. ¡°Didn¡¯t I say that I wasn¡¯t the one who came up with it?¡±

    ¡°Ah Zu, you¡¯re too humble.¡± Xie Xiu said with a sigh.

    Zu An grew dejected as well. Why do none of you all believe me when I¡¯m telling the truth?

    ¡°Is brother Xie also interested in music?¡± he said instead.

    ¡°Truth be told, I actually don¡¯t have the slightest bit of interest in it.¡± Xie Xiuughed. ¡°I only picked up a bit of it to chase after girls.¡±

    Zu An was shocked then grabbed Xie Xiu¡¯s hand. ¡°Bro, great minds think alike.¡±

    Shang Liuyu took a deep, calming breath and stayed quiet.

    ¡°Since brother Xie isn¡¯t interested in music, why did you ask me about this? If you want to use that song to pick up some girls, please, feel free,¡± Zu An said nonchntly.

    ¡°It¡¯s not for picking up girls,¡± Xie Xiu smiled bitterly. ¡°However, my older sister is quite interested in that song. She has many things she wants to ask you about.¡±

    His expression froze in the middle of saying this. Zu An had just said that he only learned music in order to pick up girls, yet here he was, offering up his sister to him... wasn¡¯t he basically sending her like amb into the tiger¡¯s den?

    Fortunately, Shang Liuyu saved him from his embarrassment by interrupting them. ¡°Ah Zu, I¡¯ve also heard about this ¡®Smiling Proud Wanderer¡¯ matter earlier today. Didn¡¯t you tell me thest time that the song ¡®Scenery of Home¡¯ was the only one you knew?¡±

 Chapter 302 - Impersonation

    <h4>Chapter 302 - Impersonation</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An gave an embarrassedugh. He scratched his head and said, ¡°That¡¯s different... I only know how to y a single song on that instrument.¡±

    Xie Xiu sighed in praise. ¡°You are so humble! This almost doesn¡¯t seem like Ah Zu¡¯s style.¡±

    Zu An figured that what he said made sense. So what if he had giarized someone else¡¯s work? It wasn¡¯t like anyone in this world would know anyway.

    Wait... what the heck am I saying! It should be an honor to introduce this world to the culture and works of art from my previous world! Why the heck am I feeling guilty?

    Shang Liuyu hummed a few notes. The tune was none other than the melody of ¡®The Smiling, Proud Wanderer¡¯. ¡°Ah Zu, I really like this song. It feels so free and unrestrained, and I feel all fired up just listening to it. It sounds like a war song of the beast tribes. It¡¯s quite simr to that B... B... what was it again?¡±

    She was a foreignnguage teacher after all, so she was very experienced. That was why no one doubted her words when shepared it to a war song of the beast tribes.

    ¡°BGM. It means background music,¡± Zu An exined.

    ¡°BGM...¡± Shang Liuyu muttered to herself. She was proficient in manynguages, but she didn¡¯t know what race thisnguage belonged to.

    After being stumped for a while, she gave up trying to figure it out. ¡°I heard that you won over the Immortal Abode¡¯s most popr courtesan queen using this song. Is that true?¡±

    Zu An waved his hand dismissively. ¡°Those are all just exaggerated rumors. You can¡¯t just believe anything you hear nowadays.¡±

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t true?¡± Shang Liuyu was shocked. She gave Xie Xiu a confused look.

    ¡°But it was because of this song that you won Lady Qiu¡¯s favor!¡± Xie Xiu cried in support.

    ¡°Nonsense. It wasn¡¯t this song that won me her affections¡ªit was my attractiveness and talents,¡± Zu An replied in a deadly earnest manner.

    Everyone in their group¡ªXie Xiu, Shang Liuyu, and even those following them¡ªwas stupefied.

    How could such a shameless person exist in this world?!

    Shang Liuyu was the first to recover herposure. ¡°Ah Zu, why don¡¯t you make a song for me some time? Your songs are all quite interesting.¡±

    ¡®Scenery of Home¡¯, ¡®God of Gambling¡¯, and ¡®The Smiling, Proud Wanderer¡¯ were truly refreshing. They werepletely different from the songs of this world, yet still full of musical sense. It was easy to be inspired by these songs.

    ¡°Sure!¡± Zu An agreed straight away.

    Behind them, Xie Xiu felt jealousy ovee him. I would¡¯ve asked my sister to teach me a bit more about music if I had known that it woulde with so many benefits!

    A short whileter, the group arrived at the Silverhook Casino. Zu An held the promissory note from the Plum Blossom Sect in his hands¡ªShang Liuyu had given it to him earlier¡ª and began the takeover.

    Plum Blossom Sect was in turmoil after Mei Chaofeng¡¯s death, and even Plum Blossom Seven, who was in charge of the Silverhook Casino, had been killed by an enraged Shi Kun, which threw matters into further disarray.

    Zu An represented the Chu n to some extent. Moreover, he had Brightmoon Academy¡¯s employees and even the City Lord¡¯s son with him. Together, they represented Brightmoon City¡¯s three greatest powers. How could anyone from the Silverhook Casino dare to resist?

    Even if there were objections to the takeover, neither Zu An or Shang Liuyu had to do anything to address them. The group of professionals dispatched by the academy took care of all of them.

    Xie Xiu didn¡¯t know what kind of deal Zu An reached with the academy. He couldn¡¯t help but feel shocked. Why would the academy help Zu An out so much? This fe really was one-of-a-kind. So many people hated him, yet another group of people loved him.

    The professionals that Jiang Luofu had sent with them were indeed outstanding. In no time at all, they had already taken inventory of almost all of the Silverhook Casino¡¯s assets and negotiable instruments, and froze their ounts. Everyone who used to work under the Plum Blossom Sect was chased out, and seals were stered over the doors.

    In the future, the academy would send logistics personnel to recruit new workers, carry out renovations, and carry out other necessary tasks.

    With the awesome efficiency of the academy, Zu An¡¯s takeover of Plum Blossom Sect¡¯s assets was more or less assured. Xie Xiu figured that it wouldn¡¯t hurt to get on the good side of these two great powers, so he ordered some of the Yamen¡¯s subordinates toe and help out.

    This made matters go much more smoothly. The work they had originally nned toplete over several days was practicallypleted within a day.

    ¡°Ah Zu, you had better invite me out for something nice after all of this today. I¡¯m so exhausted, and my back is killing me!¡± mid-way through, Xie Xiu had begun to grow tired. After all, this yboy was toozy to even help out with his own family¡¯s affairs¡ªwhat the heck was he doing here?

    The only saving grace was Shang Liuyu¡¯s dreamy presence. She was just too beautiful, and the two hardly ever spent any time together. Being this close to such a beauty was a form of enjoyment on its own. This was the only reason why he hadsted this long.

    Zu Anughed. ¡°Xiu¡¯er, are you really suffering from back pains at your age? Perhaps there¡¯s something wrong with your kidney? You really need to get that checked out.¡±

    Xie Xiu was less than amused.

    Everyone around them snickered. Even Shang Liuyu smiled.

    Xie Xiu waspletely speechless. Bro, are you blind? My body is in amazing condition, okay? How would I be able to y around with all those girls otherwise?

    Why don¡¯t we have a little contest if you don¡¯t believe me?

    As soon as he had that thought, the scene that he¡¯d witnessed in the dungeon appeared in his mind, and a terrible feeling instantly ran through his entire body.

    Damn it! Forget it, I won¡¯tpete against you.

    You have sessfully trolled Xie Xiu for 66... 66... 66...

    Under the onught of resentment, Zu An onlyughed. ¡°I was just joking, man. Of course I¡¯ll invite everyone out for some good foodter.¡±

    Everyone cheered, immediately motivated by that statement. Xie Xiu felt a little better as well.

    There was onest ce left to go. As they were sorting through the ce, someone tossed a middle-aged man over to the academy teachers. ¡°Teacher Shang, Teacher Zu, this fe tried to run off with a bunch of deeds and banknotes.¡±

    Someone else recognized the man. ¡°Isn¡¯t this guy Plum Blossom Four, from the Plum Blossom Sect?¡±

    Zu An took back the deeds and banknotes. He snorted. ¡°No wonder I felt like some things were missing while we were cleaning out the rest of Plum Blossom Sect¡¯s holdings. So they were all here with you!¡±

    Bitter resentment filled Plum Blossom Four¡¯s eyes. ¡°I hope you go to hell, Zu An! You won¡¯t be able tough for long!¡±

    The Plum Blossom Sect has done extremely well for themselves in Brightmoon City over these years. As the fourth-ranked brother of the sect, his daily existence had been incrediblyfortable. However, this Zu An fellow hade in and ruined everything.

    Their sect leader was killed, the glorious Plum Blossom Sect had crashed and burned, and he himself became a stray. How could he not seethe with hatred for the one who had caused all of this?

    You have sessfully trolled Plum Blossom Four for 999 Rage points!

    Zu An sighed. ¡°Even your sect leader is dead, bro. Aren¡¯t you just wasting your breath?¡±

    Shang Liuyu wasn¡¯t a fan of these scenes. Her brow furrowed, and she walked off to one side. Xie Xiu eagerly followed after her. Talking to these Plum Blossom Sect fellows would really make him feel like he¡¯d fallen down to their level. He much preferred staying with this beautiful teacher.

    ¡°I heard that ckwind Stockade¡¯s Chen Xuan is already after your life!¡± Plum Blossom Four spat angrily.

    Zu Anughed. ¡°It seems like you know a little. But then, aren¡¯t I still perfectly alive?¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    I suppose, since Chen Xuan and Mei Chaofeng were brothers, everyone in the Plum Blossom Sect knows about this.

    Plum Blossom Four sneered. ¡°Of course it¡¯s not that easy to kill you while you¡¯re under the Chu n¡¯s protection. However, you will soon face the wrath of the Whale Gang. No one in Brightmoon City can expect to survive for long after offending both the ckwind Stockade and the Whale Gang!¡±

    ¡°The Whale Gang?¡± Zu An was shocked. He¡¯d been trying hard to get more intel about this exact gang. ¡°How did I offend the Whale Gang?¡±

    ¡°Hmph! These deeds and banknotes were meant for Whale Gang¡¯s boss. He¡¯ll obviously get mad at you since you¡¯ve stolen his stuff!¡± A flicker of joy shed across Plum Blossom Four¡¯s eyes. Clearly, just thinking about how Zu An was going to be dealt with made him happy.

    ¡°You were nning to give this stuff to Whale Gang¡¯s boss?¡± Zu An was shocked. ¡°You¡¯ve met Whale Gang¡¯s boss before?¡±

    ¡°Of course not. But I made an appointment to meet with him.¡± Plum Blossom Fourughed. The Plum Blossom Sect was a sinking ship, and all the remaining members of the sect were trying their best to flee to safety. Plum Blossom Four had nned to use the few assets under his control to secure him a ce with the Whale Gang.

    After all, he was one of Plum Blossom Sect¡¯s higher-ups, and was willing to offer up such a huge gift. This made the Whale Gang¡¯s boss take him seriously, and he even agreed to meet with him personally.

    But he was just a step toote, and had ended up being captured by this fellow. Otherwise, he would¡¯ve already moved on from this disaster.

    ¡°You can forget about trying to get any intelligence about the Whale Gang from me! I definitely won¡¯t... argh!¡± Before he could finish, Zu An shoved a pill into his mouth. He was horrified. ¡°What did you feed me?!¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°Nothing, just a pill with some parasites sealed inside. If you don¡¯t get the antidote within a day, the parasites will incubate and startying eggs. Your blood will transport its eggs all throughout your body, and then they will swim to your brain on their own to slowly devour your brain matter... Tch, tch, tch, I wonder what kind of sound they make when they start chewing?¡±

    ¡°Stop... please stop...¡± Plum Blossom Four almost wet his pants when he heard the onomatopoeia.

    He wasn¡¯t scared of regr poisons. If he died, he died. However, this sort of suffering would leave him alive while he wished fervently for death instead!

    Zu An¡¯s face grew cold. ¡°If you wish to save yourself, then hurry up and tell me about your meeting with this boss. Leave nothing out. I¡¯ll give you the antidote once I¡¯m satisfied.¡±

    It seemed like this guy was really afraid of these parasites. Zu An had spent a lot of time thinking about what he could best use to scare his enemies. All the horror movies he¡¯d watched before provided great source material, but he still felt like bugs were the most effective. Sure enough, this fe had broken down so quickly.

    ¡°I¡¯ll talk, I¡¯ll talk...¡± Plum Blossom Four was shaking. He quickly spilled everything he knew.

    Zu An fell deep into thought as he processed the information that had been provided. After a short time, he said, ¡°All right. I¡¯ll give you the antidote after I meet with the Whale Gang¡¯s boss.¡±

    Plum Blossom Four immediately waved his hands in panic. ¡°Young master Zu, I¡¯m dead for sure if that boss finds out what I did!¡±

    The Whale Gang was part of the merciless underground world, and they always acted viciously and mercilessly. Sometimes, they didn¡¯t just kill a single person, but targeted their entire family instead. This was what Plum Blossom Four was scared of.

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing to be afraid of. I¡¯ll just pretend to be one of your subordinates. How could the Whale Gang¡¯s boss possibly recognize me? I¡¯ll give you the antidote once everything is over, and I¡¯ll even let you go with some retirement money. The choice is yours.¡± Zu An¡¯s mind was already set on finding out more about this mysterious Whale Gang. This way, he could bring a happy surprise home for his wife.

    Plum Blossom Four¡¯s face became gloomy. Eventually, he nodded. ¡°Fine! I hope you keep your promise!¡±

 Chapter 303: Please Donâ€™t Raise Any Flags

    <h4>Chapter 303: Please Don¡¯t Raise Any gs</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An raised his chin up high. ¡°Look who you¡¯re talking to! I¡¯ve always been an honest husband! I never lie!¡±

    ¡°All right, I¡¯ll trust you for now.¡± Inside, Plum Blossom Four was full of misgivings. Deep down, he felt that this guy waspletely different from how he was describing himself.

    However, he really didn¡¯t have a choice.

    Zu An ran over to Xie Xiu and patted him on the shoulder. He slipped him a banknote. ¡°Bro, I¡¯ll have to trouble you to entertain everyone first. I¡¯ll drop by a littleter.¡±

    He felt like he would be humiliating Shang Liuyu if he gave her money, so he could only entrust this to Xie Xiu.

    Xie Xiu frowned. ¡°How can I take your money? Hurry and take it back.¡±

    Zu Anughed. ¡°I know that young master Xie has money, but I really should be the one treating everyone today.¡±

    ¡°Fine.¡± Only then did Xie Xiu feel at ease. ¡°But Ah Zu, where are you going now?¡±

    ¡°I just have some things to take care of first.¡± Zu An said vaguely. He then walked over to Shang Liuyu to let her know as well.

    Shang Liuyu was somewhat surprised when she heard that Zu An had things to take care of. However, she let him go without pressing him for further details.

    Xie Xiu eagerly sidled over to Shang Liuyu¡¯s side. ¡°Teacher Shang, I know a new restaurant whose dishes are quite outstanding. Right this way!¡± he said in a fawning manner.

    Shang Liuyu only smiled politely in return, and she slowly walked off.

    Xie Xiu followed after her. Even he himself was put off by his actions. When it came to those girls that he yed with, he had alwayse and gone as he wished. Yet now he followed Teacher Shang around like a dog.

    However, Teacher Shang really was too outstanding! She waspletely different from the other girls he got together with, and he couldn¡¯t help but humble himself before her.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ...

    Meanwhile, Zu An had changed into a set of ordinary Plum Blossom Sect attire, and followed Plum Blossom Four to the meeting ce that he and the Whale Gang¡¯s boss had agreed to beforehand. Along the way, Zu An asked in detail about what he had to be careful of.

    He had thought of enlisting the academy¡¯s help. However, Shang Liuyu didn¡¯t excel in cultivation, and he was worried that something bad would happen to her if he brought her along.

    Plum Blossom Four also said that the mysterious boss of the Whale Gang was always careful. If there were too many people in their group, it would easily draw suspicion.

    The meeting was imminent, and there was no time for him to contact the Chu n to send backup. In the end, he decided he might as well take his chances without extra help.

    He had the freedom to choose whether to fight or to run. With his current level of cultivation and experience, he was confident that he could keep himself alive.

    Besides, he wasn¡¯t going there to pick a fight, but to gather information. Why would the gang boss bother with a ¡®lowly person¡¯ like him at all?

    Out of an abundance of caution, this gang boss had reserved a private room in a first ss restaurant.

    A tough looking man stopped them while they were still downstairs. He checked them thoroughly for weapons. Satisfied, he gestured for them to head on upstairs.

    Meanwhile, several other gang members examined the streets outside closely to make sure that they weren¡¯t being followed by anyone. Only then were they allowed to pass.

    Zu An admired their sense of caution. This was exactly like how the crime syndicates in TV dramas operated!

    Wait, but this Whale Gang really is a real-life crime syndicate...

    As they reached the second floor, someone opened the door for them.

    Plum Blossom Four gulped. He was already incredibly nervous. Zu An reached out a hand and gave his back a gentle push, partly in encouragement, and partly as a form of silent threat.

    Plum Blossom Four had no choice but to brace himself and enter. Zu An followed behind him while secretly observing his surroundings.

    There weren¡¯t many people inside at all. Compared to the heavy security outside, the interior of the room seemed almost empty.

    There was only a single person sitting at the table. Shock jolted through Zu An¡¯s mind when he saw this person. The Whale Gang¡¯s boss is female?

    Not only was she female, she was a gorgeous one.

    Even though she wore a mask, her well-proportioned figure and fair skin were terribly seductive.

    For some reason, Zu An sensed something familiar about this person. However, he just couldn¡¯t put his finger on where exactly he¡¯d met her before.

    The eyes of the Whale Gang¡¯s boss fell on him, and he hurriedly lowered his head. He didn¡¯t dare continue staring at her. After all, he was currently acting as Plum Blossom Four¡¯s subordinate, so he had no right to let his eyes roam around freely.

    ¡°I... I pay my respects to the boss of the Whale Gang...¡± Plum Blossom Four hadn¡¯t expected the gang boss to be a beautiful woman either. Even though he was nervous, he still swallowed subconsciously, and stole nces at her long legs which were crossed under the table.

    That woman chuckled. Her voice seemed to swallow up his very soul. ¡°Plum Blossom Four is too polite. We are all one family from now on. Did you bring the goods?¡±

    ¡°The goods... the goods are here.¡±

    Plum Blossom Four immediately broke out in cold sweat. Most of the banknotes had already been seized. Only a few that were left were real, and all of the others were fake.

    ¡°Please allow me to take a look first.¡± The woman reached out her fair and soft hand towards him.

    Plum Blossom Four swallowed. He cursed Zu An endlessly while recalling the words he¡¯d been told to say. Just as he was about to speak, the woman suddenly let out a startled cry.

    ¡°Gang boss, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Plum Blossom Four¡¯s heart began to race when he noticed the other party looking towards the subordinates behind him.

    The Whale Gang¡¯s boss tapped her fingers lightly on the table. ¡°Who are these people?¡± She looked over the group of men with a thoughtful expression.

    ¡°Gang boss, they are all my subordinates. Theyck experience, so I beg the gang boss not to take offense if any of them have acted rashly,¡± said Plum Blossom Four.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I was just asking casually.¡± The youngdyughed and stood up. She walked up to the group of them and paced around them slowly. ¡°It came to my mind that, even though the Plum Blossom Sect is already falling apart, these people are still willing to follow you. They really are loyal and courageous men.¡±

    Plum Blossom Four took out a handkerchief and dabbed at the fine sheen of sweat covering his face. ¡°Indeed, indeed. These men have always remained faithful and true. That is why I wanted to bring them with me when I join up with your gang.¡±

    The youngdy chuckled. ¡°I have always been fond of talented individuals, and these seem like such charming and intelligent youngsters.¡±

    Zu An frowned inwardly. Something was well and truly amiss.

    Someone with the status of the Whale Gang¡¯s boss should be focused on discussing business with Plum Blossom Four. Why would she pay any attention to his subordinates?

    Perhaps someone had seen through his disguise?

    That shouldn¡¯t be the case, though! He considered his disguise to be very passable. Plum Blossom Four hadn¡¯t given anything away either, so there shouldn¡¯t have been any way for the members of the Whale Gang to recognize him.

    He gradually calmed himself with these thoughts. Thest thing he wanted was for her to notice him acting strangely.

    ¡°If the boss is happy then I¡¯m happy,¡± Plum Blossom Four said with an apologetic smile.

    ¡°This one seems to be the most attractive.¡± The youngdy had stopped at Zu An¡¯s side.

    Zu An suddenly smelled a delicate fragrance. His expression grew horrified as realization struck him, but it was already toote. The youngdy moved as fast as lightning, sealing away several of his body¡¯s acupoints.

 Chapter 304: Entering the Tigerâ€™s Den

    <h4>Chapter 304: Entering the Tiger¡¯s Den</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An¡¯s nose filled with the scent of a familiar fragrance. It was at that moment, he knew he¡¯d fucked up.

    If he could recognize her through her smell, there was no way she would fail to recognize him, since he only had on some Plum Blossom Sect attire as a disguise.

    However, he was just a step too slow. His acupoints had already been sealed by the other party, and he couldn¡¯t move a muscle.

    Plum Blossom Four was rmed. He got to his feet in a panic. ¡°What is the gang boss doing?¡± he demanded.

    That youngdy scoffed. With a flick of her finger, her nail guard shot straight through his forehead.

    Plum Blossom Four¡¯s entire body shook, and he fell limply onto the table, a ttering smile frozen on his face.

    Seeing this, the other Plum Blossom Sect members turned and tried to run.

    They had no idea what had just happened, but since the youngdy had suddenly made a move, they knew that something had gone terribly awry.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    If Plum Blossom Four hadn¡¯t been killed, they might have found the courage to put up a fight.

    However, Plum Blossom Four had met his demise in an instant! All of them were quaking in fear, rushing to be the first one out of the room.

    They didn¡¯t believe they could outrun the Whale Gang¡¯s boss. However, as long as they were faster than theirpanions, and the Whale Gang was stalled while dealing with the stragglers, then they would still have a sliver of a chance at survival.

    Unfortunately, the youngdy gestured with a finger. As if controlled by some mysterious force, the water on the table¡ªwhich had been spilled while tea had been made earlier¡ªflowed together to form a dozen or so droplets.

    With a flick of the youngdy¡¯s finger, the droplets flew outward with tremendous force, impacting on the backs of the fleeing Plum Blossom Sect members.

    In the blink of an eye, their backs were torn to bloody shreds. Their screams came to a sudden, shuddering halt.

    ¡°Boss, what happened?¡± rmed by the sudden disturbance, the men from the Whale Gang, who had been stationed outside, rushed in.

    The youngdy was already lounging leisurely in her chair. She took out a new nail guard and put it on. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Clean up the mess.¡±

    Her subordinates made no furtherment. For the Whale Gang, casually killing a few people was an exceedinglymon urrence.

    ¡°Ya Xiao, examine the things he brought.¡± The youngdy pointed at Plum Blossom Four.

    ¡°Understood!¡± Arge man walked over, his beard tied in knots. He ruffled through Plum Blossom Four¡¯s pockets and fished out a stack of paper. ¡°This piece of shit... apart from some genuine banknotes, everything else is fake! I¡¯m going to kill all of these Plum Blossom bastards!¡±

    He walked over to Zu An, cracking his knuckles menacingly.

    ¡°I still have a use for this person. You all may leave,¡± the youngdy said in a disinterested manner.

    Even though her tone was nonchnt, the Whale Gang members remainedpletely serious. They cleaned up the room and left quickly.

    Ya Xiao¡ªwho, just a moment ago was acting tough¡ªleft as well, taking Plum Blossom Four¡¯s with him.

    Zu An sighed deeply when the door closed behind them. ¡°Who would have expected you, who always seem so weak and delicate, to actually have such an awe-inspiring side?¡±

    That young woman removed her veil, revealing a familiar face underneath. Who else could it be but Zheng Dan? ¡°I guess we can only say that you don¡¯t understand women at all. The prettier the woman, the better they are at lying.¡±

    Zu An snorted. ¡°I really don¡¯t understand you. You usually seem as though you wouldn¡¯t even harm a fly, and yet you¡¯ve taken four lives without even batting an eyelid.¡±

    ¡°Were you talking about Plum Blossom Four¡¯s men?¡± Zheng Danughed softly. ¡°These fellows have relied on Plum Blossom Sect for survival over the years, and havemitted every crime imaginable. They ought to have died a long time ago. They should be grateful that I didn¡¯t torture them.¡±

    ¡°Should I be thanking you in their ce?¡± Zu An said mockingly.

    ¡°They don¡¯t need to thank me. If they are to thank someone, then they should be thanking you. If I hadn¡¯t been busy thinking about how to deal with you, they wouldn¡¯t have had the pleasure of such a quick death.¡± Zheng Dan stood up and walked over to his side.

    Zheng Dan¡¯s faint fragrance lingered around him. Zu Anughed. ¡°So, have you figured out how you are going to deal with me?¡±

    ¡°Not really. I honestly didn¡¯t expect to meet you under these circumstances.¡± Zheng Dan rubbed her temples. She could feel a headache forming.

    Zu An sighed. ¡°Everyone is wondering who the boss of the Whale Gang is. To some extent, you are even more mysterious than Chen Xuan. Who would have expected the boss of the legendary criminal organization who carries out such ruthless killings to be the upright and proper young miss of the Zheng n?¡± He stared at the beautiful woman in front of him. ¡°Just which side is your true self?¡±

    ¡°Which side do you like better?¡± Zheng Dan moved to his side. The tip of her fingernail slid gently across his face, eventuallying to rest on his neck.

    Zu An¡¯s throat grew dry. He hadn¡¯t forgotten that Plum Blossom Four had died with just a flick of her nail guard. ¡°Of course I prefer that bashful youngdy that I had pressed up against that wall.¡±

    Zheng Dan¡¯s face reddened, but she quickly covered it up. ¡°Hmph! You better stop that nonsense. I¡¯m not the same me from before. If you make me upset, you might just find yourself missing a tongue.¡±

    Zu Anughed. ¡°Would you be able to bear seeing me lose my tongue?¡±

    Zheng Dan narrowed her eyes. The killing intent that erupted from her made Zu An jump in fright.

    The tip of her nail curled just beneath his chin. A dangerous smile appeared on her face. ¡°Stick out your tongue then. Shall we see if I can bear to see you lose it?¡±

    ¡°Mmmmmm!¡± Zu An shook his head frantically. He dared not stick his tongue out. If he really lost his tongue because of this, It would really be too tragic a tale.

    Having sensed her true killing intent, Zu An didn¡¯t dare provoke her further.

    He really couldn¡¯t associate this dangerous beauty with that refined and gentle daughter of a noble n.

    He began to wonder if this woman was bipr.

    There was a rapid knocking on the door.

    Zheng Dan frowned. ¡°What is it?¡± she said coldly.

    Ya Xiao¡¯s voice came from beyond the door. ¡°Gang boss, news from the ind. There are important matters to be discussed. Please head back.¡±

    Zheng Dan put on her veil again. She opened the door. ¡°What kind of information is it?¡±

    Ya Xiao shook his head. He handed her a sheet of paper. ¡°It doesn¡¯t say, it merely respectfully requests for you to return.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll head back and see what¡¯s going on,¡± Zheng Dan said grimly. She usually had to y the role of the Zheng n¡¯s first miss, so she wouldn¡¯t head to the ind unless there was an important matter.

    However, she wasn¡¯t too worried just yet. Despite the urgency in the coded message, it clearly wasn¡¯t a catastrophic situation yet. She knew that the ind itself wasn¡¯t in any danger.

    It was probably some sort of business-rted or other important decision that needed her to be present. These things happened from time to time.

    Zheng Dan pointed at Zu An. ¡°Bring him along.¡±

    Zu An was extremely gloomy. He¡¯d set out to obtain intelligence about the Whale Gang¡¯s boss and their hideout, and managed to do so, but the way he obtained it... He really couldn¡¯t bring himself to feel at all happy about it.

    Ya Xiao frowned and gestured toward Zu An with his hand. ¡°It won¡¯t be easy for us to move through the city while dragging someone along with us. How about we just find some ce to get rid of this Plum Blossom scoundrel?¡±

    Zheng Dan red at him. ¡°Are you telling me how to do things?¡±

    Ya Xiao broke out into cold sweat at once. ¡°This humble one doesn¡¯t dare!¡± he said in a panic.

    Zu An gave her a mental thumbs-up. This was what a gang boss should be like!

    However, this side of her really was too different from that gentle and reserved girl that he was already used to.

    A ck sack was thrown over Zu An¡¯s head, after which he vaguely felt his body being thrown into a carriage. It felt like he was bundled in and out of four or five different carriages in quick session, before things started to settle down.

    From the gentle rising and falling that he was experiencing, he figured that he had been transferred to a boat.

    At first, he thought that Zheng Dan woulde and free him, but it seemed like she had no intention of doing so. He was thrown into the hold of the cabin as if forgotten.

    What the heck! Are they worried that I¡¯ll remember the way to Whale Gang¡¯s base?

    After that sudden angry thought, Zu An quickly calmed down. The way they were treating him surely meant that they had no intentions of killing him. If they had instead let him observe the way to their secret base, they would really have no choice but to silence him.

    Just then, he remembered that he now knew Zheng Dan¡¯s identity. Would she really let him go just like that? His mind wrestled with the two options.

    In the same boat, Zheng Dan was conflicted as well.

    The cool breeze didn¡¯t dispel her unease. She couldn¡¯t figure out how to deal with Zu An either.

    She hadn¡¯t expected to encounter Zu An in that restaurant either. She could tell from how he¡¯d wrinkled his brow that he¡¯d already recognized her, and she had to make a snap decision.

    It was all that fellow¡¯s fault for messing with her so much, that she had even forgotten to change her fragrance when she changed her outfit. If she¡¯d been clear-headed, she would never have made such a simple mistake.

    She really had no idea how she was going to deal with him. There was no way she could let him go, since he¡¯d already discovered her identity. Once she was exposed, not just herself and the Whale Gang, but the entire Zheng n, would face a disaster.

    However, killing him seemed like a bit of a waste.

    Forget it. I¡¯ll try and see if I can still get those promissory notes off him.

    It wasn¡¯t only Plum Blossom Sect¡¯s seven-and-a-half million taels of silver. The casino that was discreetly supported by the Zheng n also owed him five hundred thousand taels!

    Not only had she failed to obtain any information from the attempts to honey trap him, she¡¯d instead suffered severe losses herself!

    It was time for her to change tactics. If soft methods wouldn¡¯t work, she had to resort to harder methods.

    That fellow could just break under torture...

    While the two of them were wrapped up in their thoughts, the boat arrived at Whale Ind.

    Zu An was brought out. The ck sack over his head was removed and he could finally see light again.

    He examined his surroundings. They were on a small ind. A faint mist covered everything, and there was no othernd in sight. He was impressed by the size of Brightmoon Lake¡ªit was evenrge enough to hide such a ce! It truly was vast and mysterious.

    ¡°Gang boss, should we throw this guy into the prison?¡± Ya Xiao asked.

    After a slight hesitation, Zheng Dan said, ¡°Bring him along with me.¡±

    She was worried that something might happen if she let this fellow out of her sight. The Whale Gang was full of ruffians. A single misstep and this guy might just wind up dead.

    Besides, it wouldn¡¯t take long to settle whatever important matter had brought her here. She could slowly settle things with him once she was done.

    The group thus headed straight into the meeting hall. Just as they were about to reach the hall, a yful voice drifted over to them. ¡°Hm? Just trying to find a way to get rid of him was starting to give me a headache, but it seems like all that effort wasn¡¯t necessary! Isn¡¯t this the Chu n¡¯s young master, Zu An? Didn¡¯t you have many experts protecting you? How did you end up here?¡±

 Chapter 305: An Unreasonable Request

    <h4>Chapter 305: An Unreasonable Request</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An looked towards the source of the voice and jumped in fright.

    A red-haired man was standing there, a domineering expression on his face. He looked at Zu An as if he was looking at livestock waiting to be ughtered.

    ¡°Chen Xuan! Why are you here?¡± Zheng Dan frowned and said in a heavy voice.

    This man was obviously Chen Xuan, master of the ckwind Stockade. He hadn¡¯t expected to see Zu An captured! This really was an unexpected pleasure.

    Chen Xuan sighed. ¡°I had some matters to discuss with the gang boss, but I didn¡¯t know you weren¡¯t on the ind. I must ask for your forgiveness.¡± Chen Xuan sped his fist in apology.

    Zheng Dan frowned. This guy was a big shot as well. Even though his apology wasn¡¯t that sincere, she wasn¡¯t in any position to criticize him further. ¡°May I ask why the Stockade Master wished to see me?¡±

    Chen Xuanughed. ¡°Let me get rid of that bastard before we get to the important matters,¡± he said.

    As the words left his mouth, he leaped forward, hisrge hands reaching towards Zu An.

    Zu An¡¯s entire body was sealed, and there was no way for him to resist. He could only watch as those hands descended towards him like a falcon¡¯s ws.

    Countless thoughts raced through his mind. He tried toe up with a way to get away, but there was just no time.

    I''m dead!

    Just then, he felt a fragrant breeze. Zheng Dan appeared in front of him, hand outstretched to meet this attack.

    In an instant, the two of them exchanged a single blow. Chen Xuan did a backflip, ring at Zheng Dan as hended. ¡°Gang boss, what is the meaning of this?¡±

    He tried to hide his incredible shock. This woman¡¯s cultivation was far higher than he had imagined!

    He wasn¡¯t the only one who was shocked. Zu An was also stunned. He was amazed that Zheng Dan had saved him, and doubly amazed that she was so strong.

    Chen Xuan was a sixth rank cultivator, yet Zheng Dan had stood her ground in this exchange! Was she also at the sixth rank?

    That should have been impossible!

    Zheng Dan looked coldly at Chen Xuan. ¡°I was just about to ask Stockade Master Chen the same thing.¡±

    Chen Xuan pointed at Zu An. ¡°You well know that I hold a great grudge against Zu An. Considering our rtionship, I do not believe it too big of a deal for you to hand over this prisoner of yours to me. Am I wrong?¡±

    Zheng Dan replied, ¡°If it were someone else, I would take no issue at all. However, I still have a use for this person, so I must apologize instead.¡±

    Chen Xuan was momentarily surprised, but soon shed a quick smile. ¡°Whatever. I¡¯ll have many chances to kill him in the future, anyway. I¡¯ll grant the gang boss this favor today.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your understanding.¡± Zheng Dan found his response slightly strange. Chen Xuan was known to be a rude and unreasonable person. Why was he so agreeable today?

    ¡°Now, can the stockade leader talk about what brought you here?¡± Zheng Dan asked.

    ¡°Let¡¯s talk more inside.¡± Chen Xuanughed loudly, gesturing for her to enter the meeting hall.

    A strange feeling troubled Zheng Dan. It was suddenly as if this Whale Gang actually belonged to Chen Xuan. She almost felt as if the master of this ce was receiving her as a guest.

    Despite her difort, she decided not to bicker over such a small issue. She merely walked towards the meeting hall, her face overcast.

    ¡°Gang boss, you¡¯ve returned!¡± A small, skinny man with a long mustache weed her with a smile.

    This was Liu Chan, a man who served as her second-inmand and a military advisor. He was the one in charge of everything when Zheng Dan wasn¡¯t present on the ind.

    ¡°Were you the one who issued that message?¡± Zheng Dan asked quietly.

    Liu Chan replied just as quietly, ¡°Yes. Chen Xuan suddenly paid a visit to the ind and none of us knew what to do, so I had no choice but to seek you out.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡± Zheng Dan walked straight to the boss¡¯ seat. Chen Xuan took the first seat to her left. The other important figures in the Whale Gang took their ces in order.

    Ya Xiao was one of these men. He sat in the fifth seat, behind Liu Chan.

    Zu An was thrown into the furthest corner of the room.

    He watched as some servants brought out tea. It was clear to Zu An that they were about to discuss some important matters. Once they were done with their discussions, they would then deal with him.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    He didn¡¯t believe Chen Xuan would give up so easily. Zheng Dan had protected him once, but she might not do so a second time.

    Let alone the fact that Zheng Dan probably wanted him dead as well.

    He hurriedly called out to Mi Li. ¡°Big sis empress, big sis empress? Both of us are done for if you don¡¯te out now!¡±

    But there was no response no matter how he called out.

    Mi Li¡¯s soul had been poisoned, and she had gone into hibernation in order to eliminate the poison. It seemed hopeless to rely on her aid this time.

    This woman really doesn¡¯t care at all! She¡¯s not at all worried that my life will end soon. Zu An cursed endlessly.

    But cursing wasn¡¯t going to get him anywhere. He could only rely on himself now.

    Unfortunately, no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn¡¯t think of a single way out!

    The rope wrapped around himself was easy enough to deal with. The problem was that Zheng Dan had sealed off all of his acupoints, which prevented his ki from flowing. He couldn¡¯t even move his body.

    I could slowly open up the acupoints if I could move even a single strand of ki. Zu An closed his eyes. He turned his senses inward, trying to see if he could gather any ki inside of him.

    Unfortunately, Zheng Dan was extremely skilled at acupunctural sealing. He couldn¡¯t move even the slightest bit of ki.

    Just as he was about to fall into despair, he suddenly discovered a wisp of icy coldness.

    Huh?

    At first, he thought that he¡¯d been mistaken. However, after further careful testing, he determined that there was indeed a trace of icy coldness within the depths of his dantian.

    This is...

    Zu An was overjoyed. He couldn¡¯t be more familiar with this energy! There was no way to mistake Chu Chuyan¡¯s aura after treating her day after day.

    Why did Chu Chuyan¡¯s frost ki exist in his body?

    He had spent some time practicing the Snowke Sword technique she had given him, but he didn¡¯t seem to have achieved any notable results. He didn¡¯t even manage to cultivate a strand of its aura.

    He had no idea if it was because of the excess of yang energy in his masculine body, or if it was something else.

    This trace of frost energy had clearly not been cultivated by him on his own. As he pondered it over, a thought suddenly emerged.

    Could it be that he¡¯d taken this from her body while the two of them were intimately connected?

    He hurriedly tried to move that strand of cold energy, but it curled up into a ball and refused to move at all.

    A stroke of inspiration hit him, and he tried to summon it using the Snowke Sword¡¯s flow path.

    Sure enough, the strand of cold energy finally moved.

    This strand of extremely pure cold energy swam about his meridians. It seemed like a small wisp, yet it flowed endlessly, continually spreading through his entire body.

    He waspletely focused on this cultivation, and was oblivious to what was happening around him.

    ...

    Zheng Dan sipped her tea and said, ¡°What brings the stockade master to our ind today?¡±

    Che Xuan said with augh, ¡°There are some leftover details regarding the issue of salt permits that have yet to be sorted out.¡±

    Zheng Dan grew unhappy. How dare he call her all the way back here for such a trivial matter?

    However, she knew that the other members of the Whale Gang could do little in the face of a personal appearance by Chen Xuan. There really was no choice but to call her back to mediate.

    As such, she held back her irritation and had some subordinates formalize the details, after which they signed several written agreements.

    It was aplicated affair, and it eventually led to Zheng Dan loosening her cor. Why do I feel slightly warm today? Is it because my mood is all over the ce?

    Chen Xuanughed when he noticed her movements. ¡°Gang boss, there is another matter that I have always been curious about. I hope the gang boss can help me ease my confusion.¡±

    Zheng Dan forced a smile. ¡°Stockade master is now the Whale Gang¡¯s ally, so feel free to speak your mind. I will do what I can, as long as it is something I can you help with.¡±

    ¡°You said it yourself!¡± Chen Xuan¡¯s eyes wandered about her body hungrily. ¡°I have always been curious as to what the gang boss looks like. Could you remove your veil so that I could have a look?¡±

    Zheng Dan¡¯s face immediately grew dark when she heard his request.

 Chapter 306: Eighteen Spring Winds

    <h4>Chapter 306: Eighteen Spring Winds</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Stockade Master Chen, what is the meaning of this?¡± Zheng Dan¡¯s face was as dark as a thunderhead. This request was too disrespectful! She had to know why he would ask such a thing of her.

    Chen Xuanughed. ¡°It¡¯s exactly what I said! I can tell that the gang boss is an extraordinary beauty just from your figure alone, so I¡¯m dying to see that exceptional face behind the veil as well!¡±

    ¡°Stockade Master Chen, I¡¯ve treated you as a guest all along, yet you insist on pushing things too far! From today on, all agreements between the Whale Gang and the ckwind Stockade are invalid.¡± Zheng Dan was nowpletely angered. ¡°Someone see this man out!¡±

    She considered using their home field advantage to kill him outright, but decided otherwise in the end. Chen Xuan¡¯s cultivation level was just too high. Moreover he¡¯d been able to survive being pursued by many powerful experts over the years, so he definitely had some trump cards up his sleeve.

    Since she had no confidence in being able to kill him, the only thing left to her was to chase him off the ind.

    This really was a headache. What was she to do if this fellow grew angry because of this embarrassment, and decided to storm to the ind one day and kick up a fuss?

    However, the strange silence that followed hermand cleared her head immediately. She straightened. ¡°Did you not hear what I said?¡± she said to Liu Chan.

    Liu Chan snickered. ¡°Of course I heard you. However, the rest of us want to see what the gang boss looks like as well.¡±

    Zheng Dan¡¯s eyes narrowed. So this was the source of the strange feeling she¡¯d gotten when she had first arrived on the ind. This man already had an ulterior motive.

    Ya Xiao, who had followed Zheng Dan back, suddenly mmed his palm on the table. ¡°Mister Liu, what is the meaning of this? How dare you disrespect the gang boss?¡±

    ¡°Ya Xiao, please calm down. Everyone knows that you admire the gang boss, but have you ever seen her face, even though you¡¯ve served as her henchman for so many years?¡± Liu Chan sneered coldly.

    ¡°I...¡± Ya Xiao¡¯s breath caught. Indeed he hadn¡¯t! To be honest, this had left him quite sad as well.

    ¡°Bootlicking won¡¯t get you anywhere in the end. You might as well go for broke like the rest of us. Of course, if you join us, we¡¯ll let you have your share of the pie,¡± Liu Chan said,ughing.

    ¡°Shut your mouth!¡± Ya Xiao¡¯s entire body was shaking. He just couldn¡¯t stand his goddess being humiliated.

    Zheng Dan spoke up at this time. ¡°Liu Chan, I don¡¯t believe I¡¯ve treated any of you poorly. Why have you betrayed me?¡±

    ¡°Poorly?¡± Liu Chan sneered. ¡°Objectively speaking, you haven¡¯t treated us poorly. However, you¡¯re still a woman, after all. You rarely appear on this ind, and even when you do, you¡¯re masked. Having a woman be the gang boss is already quite absurd in itself, yet you still have to shroud yourself in mystery. How can any of us not harbor suspicions? We might end up being betrayed without even knowing it.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s all?¡± Zheng Dan frowned. In truth, she was aware that it was easy for the situation to get out of hand if an enemy invaded the ind while she was away. However, she was the first miss of the Zheng n, after all, so there was no way she could always remain on the ind. There was nothing she could do about this situation.

    Despite this, she tried her best to mitigate these feelings of unease. She¡¯d employed both grace and force when necessary, and she felt like she had done quite well. However, reality had now given her a p to the face.

    ¡°Of course not,¡± Liu Chan continued. ¡°Our illicit salt business has only gotten better and better over the years, yet for some strange reason, you¡¯ve deliberately restricted the amount we could sell! There¡¯s money there to be earned, yet we¡¯re not allowed to go after it. What can we say about that, other than that women are too cowardly? It¡¯s fine if you want to be a coward, but you¡¯re deliberately making it hard for all of us brothers, obstructing our path to greater riches! Since that¡¯s the case, we¡¯re left with no choice but to look for a morepetent boss!¡±

    ¡°What do you know about any of this? All this is because... because...¡± Zheng Dan was utterly furious, yet there was no way she could finish her sentence.

    There were some things she just couldn¡¯t say.

    The reason she had created the Whale Gang was to generate extra ie for the Zheng n. However, the Zheng n was involved in the legal salt trade, so she couldn¡¯t take risks that were too great, for fear of personal exposure.

    On top of that, the Sang n was in charge of the River Patrol Army. If the illicit salt smuggling got too out of hand, they would be caught in a bind as to whether or not to crack down.

    It was only because the Sang n wanted to deal with the Chu n that they loosened the restrictions on illicit salt these past two years.

    However, Sang Hong wasn¡¯t a court governor, so there was a limit as to how far he could go. That was why they couldn¡¯t fully abolish all of their restrictions on the sale of illicit salt.

    There were all sorts of reasons for why she had chosen for them to operate the way they did. However, there was no way for her to tell them all these reasons.

    Those Whale Gang leaders all snickered inside. They thought that she had run out of words to rebut them.

    Chen Xuan chose this moment to speak. ¡°Boss Guan, there is no need for you to get angry. It¡¯s quite tiring for a woman to run around all over the ce. Why not choose to be my housewife instead? You¡¯ll still get whatever you want, and all of these men will still be your subordinates. Leaving these people aside, even the ckwind Stockade¡¯s members must respectfully call you elder sister! Your status will be way higher than what you currently have here.¡±

    ¡°You want me to be your housewife? You¡¯re just another toad lusting after a swan!¡± Zheng Dan scoffed. Her tone was full of disdain.

    She came from a rich and influential n, and the patriarch of her fianc¨¦¡¯s n was the governor. She had such an illustrious background¡ªhow could she possibly wish to be the partner of a bandit?

    No matter how great his reputation was, Chen Xuan was still a bandit in the end.

    He¡¯d meet his end sooner orter at the hands of the authorities.

    ¡°A toad lusting after a swan...¡± Chen Xuan¡¯s face turned cold, his tone also changed. ¡°Miss Guan, do you think you¡¯re so special? Being a housewife in our stockade is already a huge blessing for you! Otherwise, once the drugs begin to take effect and I¡¯ve had my fun with you, I¡¯ll toss you over to these subordinates. I''m sure they¡¯ll be ecstatic to have their former boss serve them.¡±

    Liu Chan and his group of conspirators were all looking at her with zing desire in their hungry eyes.

    Their beautiful gang boss stood on such a high and unreachable perch, and always shrouded herself in mystery. Which of these men hadn¡¯t fantasized about ravaging her body at night?

    All this while, they could only rely on their imaginations. Now, however, they had a real chance.

    ¡°Drugs? What drugs?!¡± Zheng Dan¡¯s mind was thrown into a panic.

    Chen Xuan roared withughter. ¡°I¡¯ve always been a careful person. Even though I don¡¯t believe that your cultivation is higher than mine, you are still a gang boss, after all. I was afraid that you might pull out some weird tricks, so I had these guys put some stuff in your tea earlier.¡±

    Zheng Dan hadn¡¯t gotten too flustered even after learning of her subordinates¡¯ betrayal earlier. Now, however, her expression grew dark. She looked at her teacup.

    How could she have predicted that she would be poisoned by her own people?

    She hurriedly tried to force the poison from her body. Off to the side, Chen Xuan shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s useless. This drug is called ¡®Eighteen Spring Winds¡¯. The effects are rather peculiar. Most people are satisfied after one round, but those under the effects of this drug need to do it at least eighteen times before the effects are eliminated. Otherwise, you¡¯ll be set ame with sexual desire and implode.¡±[1]

    He paused for a while, then continued, ¡°Honestly speaking, I¡¯m not even sure if I have the ability to go eighteen rounds. Luckily, I have the help of all yourckeys here with me today. Hahaha!¡±

    ¡°Despicable!¡± Zheng Dan was furious and humiliated. She discovered that she couldn¡¯t force out the poison at all! Moreover, her body was growing hotter and hotter. She made up her mind to attack Chen Xuan before the drugs took full effect. At the very least, she would take him down with her.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    1. The Chinese phrase used here to refer to sexual intercourse (´º·çÒ»¶È) can be literally tranted as ¡®[to experience the] spring winds once¡¯. That¡¯s why the name of the drug is ¡®Eighteen Spring Winds¡¯.

 Chapter 307: The Cooked Duck Has Flown Away

    <h4>Chapter 307: The Cooked Duck Has Flown Away</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Meanwhile, Zu An was circting that strand of cold energy through his body using the ¡®Snowke Sword¡¯ chant.

    He found it all rather strange. There was clearly not much of the cold energy, yet it seemed to swirl about endlessly.

    He didn¡¯t know that this was actually a trace of cold source energy Chu Chuyan¡¯s body had relinquished to him when they had joined as one. This was the fruit of over ten years of cultivation, yet he had gotten it from her so easily.

    Of course, Zu An didn¡¯t practice some sinister technique that stole the energy from others to enhance his own strength. It was due to his special constitution and the specialized treatment method that he employed. Since he had been treating Chu Chuyan by removing the frost from her body while also practicing the Snowke Sword, he had coincidentally drawn in a portion of her cold source.

    Back then, the cold energy within Chu Chuyan had spiked dangerously. In some way, losing a small portion of source energy had lessened her injuries somewhat.

    She would quickly regain what was lost after she recovered and started cultivating again.

    However, the benefits that Zu An derived from this were just too great! The Snowke Sword was a technique that usually required the practitioner to put in years of hard work in order to be proficient. With this trace of cold source energy, he had saved himself ten years of effort.

    Once he hadpletely assimted it, he could attain proficiency in the Snowke Sword technique that would rival Chu Chuyan¡¯s in her early teens.

    Wait, doesn¡¯t that sound kinda sad?

    Of course, Chu Chuyan had always been outstanding. In her early teens, she had already cultivated to a reasonably high level.

    Zu An continued to drive the cold source energy through his body. He gradually broke through the seals Zheng Dan had ced on his body.

    Once hepletely recovered his mobility, Zu An summoned the Poisonous Prick and cut through the ropes holding him in ce.

    The meeting hall had descended into aplete frenzy. Zheng Dan hadunched an all-out attack on Chen Xuan, forgoing any thought of defense.

    Chen Xuan fought in a more reserved manner. The other party was already poisoned, and moving about like this would only speed up the effects of the drugs within her body. There was no need for him to go toe-to-toe with her at all.

    Liu Chan and the others didn¡¯t dare get close to the battle. After all, their gang boss had umted quite a bit of prestige over the years.

    Instead, they all moved aside to watch the battle. Their only job was to cut off her escape.

    Zheng Dan attacked Chen Xuan with over ten different moves, but all her attacks were calmly neutralized by the stockade master.

    Her heart instantly sank, hitting rock bottom. Her attacks were ineffective, and she could feel her own heart rate elerating, her entire body growing hotter by the second. Even her vision was growing blurry. The poison had clearly begun to take effect.

    She knew that only disaster awaited her if she continued to remain here. Her survival instincts forced her to run.

    However, those double-crossing gang members surrounded her, blocking any possible escape. Moreover, with Chen Xuan around, her chances of breaking out were very slim.

    She fell into despair. She thought of ending her own life while she still had the strength to do so, instead of allowing herself to be humiliated at the hands of these despicable people.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    She couldn¡¯t help but nce towards the corner where she¡¯d put Zu An, her heart full of regret. If she had known this would happen, she would never have brought him with her to the ind.

    Considering the grudge that Chen Xuan held against him, there was no way he would make it out alive.

    Bringing him here had clearly been a death sentence.

    Her heart was heavy with feelings of apology. As her gazended in the corner, she did a double take. The person in the corner had somehow disappeared. Zu An was nowhere in sight!

    He probably recovered his ability to move and secretly ran away.

    Zheng Dan¡¯s mind almost went nk.

    She had been feeling all guilty about her role in his expected demise, and yet this fellow had run away without even saying a word when he saw that she had been surrounded.

    Disappointment and frustration welled up inside her.

    The gang members surrounding her were all surprised when they noticed the change in her demeanor. However, they didn¡¯t dare to rush forward, fearing that she had put on an act to bait them in.

    Chen Xuan¡¯s cultivation was high enough that he was willing to take the risk. He made a move towards her.

    Suddenly startled, Zheng Dan¡¯s beautiful figure leapt backwards gracefully, evading his attack.

    However, the power in his strike was so fierce, the air disced by his fist still sted the veil off of her face, sending it flying into the air and revealing her tender and beautiful face.

    There were stunned expressions all around the room. A sudden silence engulfed the entire hall.

    Some were shocked by her beauty, but even more recognized her identity. After all, the members of the Whale Gang frequented Brightmoon City often, and the Zheng n was known to be involved in the trading of legal salt.

    ¡°The Zheng n¡¯s young miss!¡±

    ¡°Zheng Dan!¡±

    Chen Xuan had a look of shock on his face. He really found it hard to associate this flirtatious and sexy Whale Gang boss with a legendarydy from a noble n.

    However, after his initial shock wore off, his heart overflowed with ecstasy. He had truly struck gold this time!

    Perhaps it was true that a fatal attraction existed between those of different social identities. He was someone who constantly reveled in violence and blood, and he had no interest in women who were like himself. He had always had an inexplicable desire for pampered, distinguished youngdies instead.

    Now, aside from Chu Chuyan, Zheng Dan was the most famously esteemed daughter in Brightmoon City.

    He had expected that he would just be having his way with a woman from a criminal gang. Who knew that she would turn out to be ady from a distinguished n?

    A surge of excitement ran through his body as he thought about this.

    This was not even counting the Zheng n that stood behind her, which represented even greater opportunities.

    Now that Chen Xuan knew who she really was, he had no ns to share her with the others.

    There was no way he would be willing to let such a pure and distinguished daughter go! He would personally take care of the effects of the ¡®Eighteen Spring Winds¡¯, even if he needed to take stimnts himself.

    Zheng Dan¡¯s mind had gonepletely nk. In the end, her identity had been exposed.

    The Zheng n was surely done for, even if she ended her own life.

    After all, there was no way those in the room wouldn¡¯t leak this secret out.

    Once the authorities learned that she was the one who had established the Whale Gang, not even the Sang n could protect the Zheng n. The Chu n wouldn¡¯t let them go unpunished, and neither would the other ns. Even the royal court would seek to carve out their own pound of flesh.

    If she had known this would happen, she would have cut up her own face!

    At that moment, a figure rushed over and grabbed her hand. ¡°Why are you standing there and acting all dumb? Start running already.¡±

    Hearing this familiar voice, Zheng Dan, whose mind was mired in despair, suddenly felt a hint of warmth.

    ¡°Who is that?!¡±

    This figure had appeared abruptly, as if out of thin air. Chen Xuan jumped in fright. The group of them were just about to chase after this intruder when he suddenly scattered a huge puff of white powder.

    It turned out that Zu An had snuck away in the chaos. However, as he walked away, the more he reflected on his actions, the more unpleasant they seemed to him.

    Even though this woman had kept him bound all this time, she had still saved his life when Chen Xuan had confronted him.

    Leaving her surrounded by hostile attackers just didn¡¯t sit well with him.

    Of course, there was no way Zu An would¡¯ve bothered if she hadn¡¯t been a pretty girl. He also thoroughly enjoyed the chats they¡¯d had before, which was why he bothered going back for her.

    However, he didn¡¯t just rashly charge in to save her. Instead, he picked up some lime powder as a weapon first before returning to the meeting hall. He used Grandgale to break in, and then used Grandgale again to break out, fleeing as swiftly as his feet could carry him.

    Most of the gang members were blinded by the lime powder, but this obviously didn¡¯t include Chen Xuan.

    He already recognized the rescuer to be Zu An. He roared in shock and anger, and instantly took off after them.

    The few who weren¡¯t blinded by the lime powder also followed.

    Zheng Dan fled together with Zu An, her hand in his. Her heart was still full of astonishment. How did that guy move so quickly just now? He was so fast, even she had not been able to see how he had appeared.

    From their past interactions, she was confident that Zu An¡¯s cultivation was much lower than hers, yet there was no way she could move as quickly as he had.

    As Zu An turned around, their gazes just happened to meet. Panic and annoyance welled up in him in equal measure.

    ¡°Why are you looking at me dumbly? Where should we be running to?¡±

    This was his first time on the Whale Gang¡¯s ind, and his head had been covered in a bag most of the time, which had prevented him from seeing his surroundings.

    Zheng Dan blushed. She quickly pointed out a direction. ¡°Head that way. There should be a small boat there. I prepared it beforehand, in case of an emergency.¡±

    Zu An grunted in acknowledgement. He pulled her along with him in the direction indicated. ¡°Huh? Why is your hand so hot?¡± he asked suddenly.

    Zheng Dan gave him a resentful look. Didn¡¯t this guy already know the answer to this question?

    At that moment, there was the sound of a great disturbance behind them, and Chen Xuan came rushing out, his face as hard as iron. How could he look on as his cooked duck flew away[1]?!

    1. This is a literal trantion of a Chinese idiom (ÖóÊìµÄÑ¼×Ó·ÉÁË), which means allowing a sure thing to slip through one¡¯s fingers.

 Chapter 308: Iâ€™ve Never Done Something so Idiotic before

    <h4>Chapter 308: I''ve Never Done Something so Idiotic before</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An felt discouraged. Chen Xuan¡¯s cultivation was higher than his, so his speed was obviously much greater as well.

    Even though the Sunflower Phantasm movement technique was formidable, it only excelled in maneuvering over short distances.

    Of course, if he could use Grandgale freely, he would have already left Chen Xuan far behind him.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t there anyone you can still use to get us out of here?¡± Zu An asked in panic. Those in the meeting hall were all the higher-ups in the gang, but there was surely no way they could have contacted everyone ahead of time in order to organize this mutiny. Otherwise, news of this betrayal would have leaked out a long time ago.

    However, Zheng Dan shook her head and said, ¡°I am only rarely on the ind. These subordinates are practically all under Liu Chan¡¯s control.¡±

    Zu An waspletely speechless for a while. ¡°Aren¡¯t you just a bit too much of a failure as a gang boss?¡± he finally said.

    Zheng Dan felt embarrassed as well. She was the Zheng n¡¯s young miss, and she was going to be a madam in the future. She had little interest in blood or violence, which was why such a situation had developed.

    Just as Chen Xuan was about to catch up, someone suddenly rushed out to block his path.

    Chen Xuan roared out, ¡°Piss off, asshole!¡±

    He attacked viciously with his first strike, catching the neer full-on and causing him to vomit blood.

    However, his opponent did not give up. He continued to face off against Chen Xuan. ¡°Gang boss, you need to get away!¡±

    ¡°Ya Xiao!¡± Zheng Dan grew emotional when she saw his bloodied body clinging to Chen Xuan¡¯s leg. Her beautiful eyes filled with tears.

    ¡°We need to escape, quickly. Don¡¯t let his actions go to waste.¡± Seeing her begin to have thoughts of turning back, Zu An pulled her after him quickly and continued running.

    Zheng Dan bit down on her lower lip until she drew blood. She was clearly full of anger and hatred.

    ¡°You can only get revenge if you stay alive,¡± Zu An reminded her, worried that she might do something stupid.

    Zheng Dan trembled. She suddenly remembered that she had been poisoned by that filthy drug, and she would meet an extremely bitter end if she stayed behind. She gave up on her thoughts of going back.

    ¡°Ya Xiao didn¡¯t even know what I looked like all these years, nor did he know who I was. I¡¯m truly sorry...¡± she muttered quietly to herself.

    Zu An sighed. ¡°This world will always have youngds willing to risk their lives for those they love...¡±

    I definitely won¡¯t do something that stupid.

    But he then quickly recalled his experiences in the dungeon. Hadn¡¯t he also risked danger this time to save Zheng Dan?

    I guess we¡¯re all idiots. What right do I have to mock him?

    The two of them finally reached the shore. There was a hidden dock within the reeds, and a small boat was tied to it.

    Zu An didn¡¯t have time to undo the rope. He hacked through it with his Poisonous Prick, and then jumped in with Zheng Dan and began rowing frantically.

    Unfortunately, he had never rowed a boat before, so he had no idea how to do it. The more strength he used, the more the small boat spun about in ce.

    Zheng Dan couldn¡¯t help but smile. This was the first time she saw him in such a silly state. ¡°Let me do it,¡± she said quickly.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    She stopped Zu An and proceeded to roll up her sleeves. The water¡¯s surface rippled, and the small boat shot out in a straight line.

    Zu An sighed in admiration. ¡°What the heck? You¡¯ll make a killing if you start a ferry business!¡± Zheng Dan: ¡°......¡±

    Didn¡¯t he know the situation they were in? What was wrong with this guy¡¯s head?

    There came a loud whoosh from behind him. Zu An turned around and saw Chen Xuan running crazily across the water¡¯s surface, his face red as he charged at their boat.

    ¡°Why the heck do you have this kind of superpower too?!¡± Zu An was stunned. Wasn¡¯t this guy only at the sixth rank? Why was he flying now?

    But he quickly surmised that such a feat shouldn¡¯t be too difficult for those of higher cultivation levels. After all, he wasn¡¯t soaring freely in the sky, but skipping across the surface using the strength of his strides.

    Zheng Dan clenched her teeth. She stood up and gestured behind them with a hand. A wave of water surged up behind them.

    It was only a foot tall in the beginning, but the wave grewrger andrger, eventually reaching several tens of feet in height.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes widenedpletely. That sweet-tempered and delicate demeanor he was used to seeing waspletely an act!

    He sighed to himself. Why are all the women at my side so tough?

    Chen Xuan was unfazed when he saw this huge wave. He drew his long de.

    He hadn¡¯t used his de when he fought against Chu Yucheng and Chu Hongcai in the Immortal Abode, but he used it this time.

    There was a sh of cold light. His de ki created a giant phantom sword in midair, which shed downwards.

    It almost felt as if this de could cleave the Brightmoon River in half.

    The tremendous de ki sliced through the huge wave in front of him and continued on forward, towards their small boat. Chen Xuan clearly wanted to destroy their boat so that they wouldn¡¯t have any way to escape.

    Zheng Dan¡¯s arms crossed in front of her. A screen of water formed in front of her and blocked that overbearing sword energy.

    ¡°Pfft!¡±

    Blood spurted out from Zheng Dan¡¯s mouth. She was thrown into the air as though rammed by a speeding carriage, and she seemed destined to fall into the water.

    Zu An reached out and caught her in his arms. The tremendous force had thrown him about as well.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Zu An asked with concern. His eyes were drawn to the blood trickling down the corners of her lips. Her body¡¯s temperature was also incredibly hot.

    Zheng Dan groaned, her voice terrifyingly soft and delicate. ¡°It¡¯s nothing... it¡¯s just that...¡±

    She couldn¡¯t finish her sentence. After all, her situation was just too embarrassing for a youngdy to exin.

    ¡°Why do you look like you¡¯ve taken an aphrodisiac?¡± Zu An mumbled to himself. Her face was blushing crazily and her eyes were misty. He wasn¡¯t unfamiliar with this sight.

    Snow had looked exactly the same back then.

    ¡°You keep asking even though you already know the answer.¡± Zheng Dan gave him a resentful look. This guy is making fun of me on purpose!

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Zu An was stunned. He had beenpletely focused on unsealing his acupoints through the use of the Snowke Sword technique earlier, and was unaware of what had transpired in the hall.

    Chen Xuan¡¯s arrogant and overbearing voice came from behind them. ¡°Hahaha! I thought the gang boss would have some type of exceptional cultivation, but it turns out that this was all you had!¡±

    Zheng Dan wiped away the blood around her lips. She said angrily, ¡°You¡¯re despicable! If it wasn¡¯t for... if it wasn¡¯t for... I won¡¯t have lost to you so easily.¡±

    ¡°If you didn¡¯t suffer from my ¡®Eighteen Spring Winds¡¯? You should just cease your struggles! The effects will only grow stronger the more you resist! Isn¡¯t your entire body burning up now? You really want to embrace a man, don¡¯t you?¡± Chen Xuan roared withughter.

    ¡°Eighteen Spring Winds?¡± Zu An was shocked. He could guess just from the name what kind of effects this drug had. No wonder Zheng Dan was acting like this.

    Just who came up with such an indecent name?

    But he noticed Zheng Dan¡¯s embarrassment, and was ticked off by how arrogantly Chen Xuan was behaving. He drew the beauty in his arms closer to him and said with a raised voice, ¡°Isn¡¯t she embracing me right now? What are you hollering like an idiot over there for?¡±

    Chen Xuan¡¯s breath caught. When he saw Zheng Dan¡¯s body grow limp in Zu An¡¯s embrace, he suddenly felt like all of his efforts had instead gone towards helping another man.

    ¡°You son of a bitch! We haven¡¯t even settled our past debt, yet you¡¯ve provoked me again! Very well, I¡¯ll teach you what it means to rather be dead than alive once I get my hands on you,¡± Chen Xuan said through gritted teeth.

    You have sessfully trolled Chen Xuan for 999 Rage points!

    Zu An sighed. ¡°You¡¯ve already said the same thing so many times. Look at me, I¡¯m still fine and well! It turns out the glorious ckwind Stockade Master Chen Xuan is just another good-for-nothing who is only good at running his mouth!¡±

    Zu An could hear Chen Xuan¡¯s teeth grinding from where he was. This time, Chen Xuan didn¡¯t reply, but dashed toward them instead, his face a dark mask of rage. He vowed to himself that he would only satisfy his anger after he skinned this bastard alive.

    You have sessfully trolled Chen Xuan for 1024 Rage points!

    Just as he began to elerate, he noticed something amiss. The water beneath his feat had suddenly turned into ice, which shattered instantly and gave way under the force of his steps.

    Caught off guard, his entire body sunk into the water.

    Zu An had deliberately angered him, then secretly harnessed the cold energy of the Snowke Sword to form a thinyer of ice over the surface of the water.

    ¡°Go!¡± With a kick, Zu An sent the small boat further downstream.

    Using Grandgale, he teleported himself towards the shore, cradling Zheng Dan in his arms. Then, with a few more leaps, they disappeared into the trees.

    Remaining on the boat would be disadvantageous for them. It would be difficult for them to escape once Chen Xuan resurfaced.

    He had also noticed a Whale Gang ship approaching from a distance.

    Since escaping via water was out of the question, it seemed a better idea to escape into the mountains and rely on theplex terrain. This way, they at least had a chance to throw off their pursuers.

    Unfortunately, his face had been covered the entire way here. He knew nothing about the defenses of this ce, and it was hard to get his bearings. He could only instinctively run in the direction of the mostplex-looking terrain.

    By the time Chen Xuan leapt out of the water, Liu Chan and the others had reached him in their ship.

    Chen Xuan¡¯s face was overcast. ¡°Chase after them!¡± he yelled, pointing at the small boat in the distance.

    The Whale Gang¡¯s ships were fast. They caught up to the rowboat quickly, and discovered that there was no one in it.

    ¡°I think they went ashore over there,¡± deduced Liu Chan and his crew.

    ¡°I swear I¡¯ll catch them today!¡± Chen Xuan was fuming with rage. Even if he couldn¡¯t get revenge on Zu An right away, he couldn¡¯t let Zheng Dan slip through his fingers.

    Otherwise, wouldn¡¯t all of his careful nning only serve to benefit another man?

    I, Chen Xuan, have never done something so idiotic before!

    When Liu Chan and his crew saw that he was about to rush ashore, then hurriedly pulled him back. ¡°Stockade master, you must not go there! We are approaching the borders of Hidden Dragon Mountain! There are wild beasts in the area that can cause serious harm!¡±

    ¡°Wild beasts? Do you think I¡¯m scared of some beast?¡± Chen Xuan sneered. Their ckwind Stockade was based out of this mountain. Practically all the surrounding beasts had been captured and eaten by them.

    If he were venturing into the depths of some other mountain, he wouldn¡¯t dare to act rashly even though he was a sixth rank cultivator. However, he had never heard of any formidable fellows appearing around Brightmoon City.

    Like hell he¡¯d be scared!

    His metal element cultivation gave him a practically-invincible body. Even if he ran into a beast of the same level or one level higher than he, he was still confident that he could protect himself.

    He only had a single goal in his mind: He had to catch the poisoned Zheng Dan as soon as possible. He hadn¡¯t even had the chance to enjoy himself yet!

 Chapter 309: The Secret of the Hidden Dragon Mountain

    <h4>Chapter 309: The Secret of the Hidden Dragon Mountain</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Chen Xuan leapt towards the shore and ran after the fugitives into the mountains.

    Liu Chan exchanged looks with the other Whale Gang higher-ups. They had no choice but to send their subordinates back to the ind, and follow Chen Xuan into the mountains themselves.

    Firstly, they wanted to leave their new boss with a good impression, and secondly, this matter was just too important. There was no way they would feel at ease without personally seeing Zheng Dan captured.

    Thirdly, they couldn¡¯t let go of the fact that their gang boss was an extremely ravishing woman. If the effects of the Eighteen Spring Winds really lived up to its astonishing name, all of them were hoping that they could get in on the action.

    Under other circumstances, none of them would dare to challenge Chen Xuan. However, they were dealing with the Eighteen Spring Winds! She had to go eighteen rounds!

    Which man could manage this feat alone?

    It waspletely impossible, no matter how strong Chen Xuan was!

    Wouldn¡¯t it be their time to shine once he copsed from exhaustion?

    Liu Chan gave hispanions a look. He figured that these fellows were most likely thinking along the same lines as himself.

    His heart began to burn with desire whenever his thoughts turned towards that beautiful and unreachable gang boss. His footsteps quickened.

    ...

    Zu An ran aimlessly with Zheng Dan in tow. He had no idea what his bearings were, and was running entirely on instinct.

    He tried to leave as few traces as possible to confuse his pursuers.

    At first, Zheng Dan managed to keep pace with him. However, soon afterwards, she stumbled and almost fell over.

    Zu An ran to support her in a panic. He noticed that her entire body was incredibly weak. Her chest was rising and falling rapidly, and she was gasping for breath.

    He sighed and smacked his head in regret. ¡°Maybe we should''ve just jumped into the water if I had known this would happen. Perhaps a rinse in cold water will get rid of the drug¡¯s effects.¡±

    Zheng Dan shook her head. ¡°I cannot fall into Chen Xuan¡¯s hands. Quickly take me away from this ce.¡±

    Her entire body was limp, and Zu An had no choice but to carry her. He started running through the trees again, with her in his arms.

    He sensed something amiss. Thest time he ventured out to the outskirts of Brightmoon City to look for goubaos, he¡¯d run into so many vicious creatures. Wasn¡¯t this ce even further away from Brightmoon City? Why hadn¡¯t he run into any vicious beasts yet?

    He quickly dispelled these thoughts for the moment. The highest priority right now was still to evade the pursuit of Chen Xuan and the others.

    After running for some time, Zu An¡¯s eyes suddenly brightened. He pointed at a cave nearby. ¡°There is a cave over there. Let¡¯s get some rest first, and see if we can deal with your poison.¡±

    Zheng Dan¡¯s mind had already started to slip. She could only subconsciously grunt in approval. Her arms instinctively wrapped around his neck.

    Her body subconsciously twisted about in his embrace.

    Zu An swallowed his saliva. Sis, do you know how much you¡¯re tempting me right now?

    Their two bodies were pressed closely against each other. Zheng Dan only wore a thin dress that did little to conceal her svelte figure. He could still clearly feel the heat given off by her body.

    His mouth felt really dry. It was only with great difficulty that he controlled himself. I can¡¯t take advantage of someone like this! I have to at least try and see if there¡¯s another way out, even if it¡¯s only for the sake of my conscience!

    The two of them made it inside the cave. This cave seemed to be muchrger than usual.

    After walking for a period of time, everything before them suddenly brightened. A huge open area came into view.

    The path they had just passed through was already quite wide, but this space was many times bigger.

    But before Zu An could feel happy, his entire body went rigid. He noticed a massive figure not too far away.

    This body was several dozen zhang[1] in length. This giant crimson dragon was circling in midair, flying around a glistening, shiny bead.

    Several times, the dragon flew close to the bead, only to fly away again. It seemed like this bead was of vital importance to this dragon.

    Zu An¡¯s throat went dry. He suddenly remembered that this mountain outside Brightmoon City was called the Hidden Dragon Mountain, but a dragon had never appeared all these years. He just assumed that this was some random name someone had given it. Who knew there would really be a dragon in here?!

    Even though he didn¡¯t know how strong this dragon was, he knew that, no matter which world one was in, or whether it was in movies or books, dragons were always powerful creatures.

    Moreover, he could feel that the pressure this creature gave off was even greater than what he¡¯d felt when facing Zhang Han in the dungeon.

    No wonder there were no beasts along the way! What beast would be dumb enough toe close to this ce, with a dragon living here?

    ¡°What happened? How did you end up provoking such a terrifying enemy?¡± A shocked voice suddenly spoke in his head.

    Zu An was immediately ovee with joy. ¡°Big sis empress, you¡¯re finally awake!¡±

    Mi Li grunted. ¡°I only roused myself quickly to take a look after sensing such a powerful aura, which is greater than anything you¡¯ve faced before. What exactly is going on?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯ll take a while to exin.¡± Zu An didn¡¯t know where to start.

    Mi Li cut him off. ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s get out of here first. That fellow seems to be working on something critical at the moment, so it hasn¡¯t noticed you yet.¡±

    Zu An nodded. This was precisely his thought as well. He withdrew carefully and quietly.

    ¡°Ugh...¡± Right at this moment, Zheng Dan moaned in his arms. She twisted her body about while slowly opening her eyes. ¡°Ah Zu, ah... why is there such a long...¡±

    Zu An knew that he was in trouble as soon as she spoke. He began to run for his life. Unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t use Grandgale anymore.

    The massive dragon¡¯s tail swept towards him.

    Feeling the tremendous force of the wind, Zu An cried in rm, ¡°Be careful!¡±

    He turned around at once, using his back to shield Zheng Dan.

    *Bang!*

    A muffled noise rang out. Zu An felt as if he had been rammed into by a speeding truck. Blood poured out of his mouth as his body flew through the air.

    He could no longer hold onto Zheng Dan, who fell to the ground.

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡± Zheng Dan screamed bitterly when she saw Zu An¡¯s body fly through the air like a ruined sandbag.

    She wanted to help him, but the effects of the drug had already made it impossible for her to even walk. She was powerless.

    ¡°Ignorant human, you dare defile this king¡¯s peace?¡±

    ¡°Hm? A human woman.¡±

    A muffled voice sounded from the cavern depths. This dragon was clearly a high-level life form, capable of human speech.

    Zheng Dan was struggling towards Zu An, trying to see if he was still alive.

    A giant dragon tail wrapped around her waist and instantly pulled her back.

    ¡°Let... me... go!¡± Zheng Dan frantically struggled against the dragon¡¯s tail, trying to free herself, but the tail didn¡¯t move in the slightest.

    She was lifted into midair. A big dragon head moved close to her, its two scarlet eyes giving off endless pressure.

    After looking her over for some time, that giant dragon began to speak. ¡°It is actually a pretty woman. This king likes how your body smells right now.¡±

    Zheng Dan remembered something Shang Liuyu had mentioned in one of her sses in the academy. Something about how it was in their nature for dragons to enjoy lewd things. Don¡¯t tell me this guy is going to...

    Her heart skipped a beat, but she forced herself to remain calm.

    The two of them were so different in size, so how would that be possible? At worst, she¡¯d just die.

    She couldn¡¯t help but turn to look towards the cave¡¯s entrance. When she thought about how Ah Zu had died for her sake, she figured there wasn¡¯t much meaning in remaining alive either.

    The words uttered beside her ear snapped Zheng Dan out of her self-pity. ¡°There is no need to look anymore. Your lover¡¯s cultivation is too low, and he has surely perished from my strike. Follow this king in the future, and you will understand the true happiness of a woman.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    1. One zhang is about 12 feet, or 4 meters.

 Chapter 310: Fragrant Barf

    <h4>Chapter 310: Fragrant Barf</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zheng Dan was speechless.

    Wasn¡¯t this dragon just slightly too disgusting? However, all of her attention was focused on the words ¡®surely perished¡¯. Her heart turned to ashes immediately.

    Not even she could contend against this dragon¡¯s strength, let alone Zu An, who was weaker than her.

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you resisting at all? This king will only feel happier the more you struggle!¡± The crimson dragon was rather unsatisfied. He raised a w, easily slicing through her skirt.

    Her skirt seemed as though it was cut by a de, falling off neatly and exposing her fair, snow-white thighs.

    ¡°Despicable!¡± Learning of Zu An¡¯s death had sobered her up a little. Despite the drug¡¯s effects, Zheng Dan¡¯s entire expression radiated with shame and indignance.

    Unfortunately, faced with this massive dragon, her strength was like that of an ant. She thought about summoning her elemental power, but this dragon was most likely the fire element. This cave was full of ferocious fire elements¡ªwhere would she find any traces of water element that she could use?

    ¡°Haha, things are much more interesting now.¡± That giant dragon roared withughter when it saw Zheng Dan struggling.

    ¡°My beloved beauty, please wait for me. I shall be able to assume human form once Ipletely refine this Brilliant ss Bead. I will then pour my love all over you.¡± The red dragon ced Zheng Dan in a corner of the cave. It released a breath that quickly formed a mist around her which prevented her from moving.

    This was apletely unnecessary precaution. The effects of the drug in Zheng Dan¡¯s body were fully activated. Only the thought of Zu An¡¯s death had helped her regain a moment of rity. There was no way for her to move her body now.

    The crimson dragon nodded in satisfaction when it saw her obediently lying in the corner. It focused all of its attention on refining the bead floating in midair.

    ...

    Meanwhile, outside the cave, Zu An¡¯s bodyy motionless. Suddenly, his finger twitched, and feeling slowly returned to his body as well.

    A wave of pain ravaged his body. Zu An gritted his teeth, his face contorting. He had no idea just how many of his bones had been broken just now.

    ¡°You should be d. If your body hadn¡¯t been forged by the Primordial Origin Sutra, you would have already been turned into a puddle of flesh,¡± Mi Li said. ¡°You just had to show off in front of a woman. Look at you now.¡± She seemed to be taking perverse pleasure in his suffering.

    Zu An took a long breath to suppress the pain. He snorted. ¡°No matter how painful it is, it still doesn¡¯t hurt as much as when you beat the shit out of me.¡±

    Mi Li had no reply.

    She thought back to the scene where she had hacked at him endlessly, yet he crawled back up again and again. Back then, his entire body had been drenched in blood, every inch of him covered in wounds. She couldn¡¯t help but feel slightly regretful.

    Zu An turned back towards the cave. ¡°Big sis empress, can you win against that dragon?¡± he asked, his voice downcast.

    Mi Li¡¯s projection shook her head. ¡°My strength has fallen sharply after I turned into soul form. The effects of the ¡®Red Tears of Lady Xiang¡¯ are also too powerful, affecting even my soul. All of my attention is focused on purifying it right now, so I cannot do anything to that dragon.

    ¡°Even if I did have a way to get rid of that dragon, I still wouldn¡¯t do it. Why would I throw away all of the hard work I¡¯ve put in during this period, perhaps even suffer serious injury to my soul, all for the sake of a woman I have nothing to do with?¡±

    From her tone, Zu An could tell that there might really be a way to deal with that dragon. He was just about to speak, but she spoke ahead of him. ¡°Please do not tell me that you¡¯llmit suicide or something if I don¡¯t save her. I, Mi Li, have always been a resolute and firm-willed woman. I never cower under threats.¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Mi Li sneered. ¡°If I am exploited by you every time, then I¡¯ll never recover. At that point, I might as well just let myself die early.¡±

    Zu An smiled in embarrassment. ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t threaten you.¡±

    Mi Li grunted. ¡°Who would have thought that an ordinary man like you would be such a skirt-chaser! You looked like you would go through life and death for the sake of your wife, and then you slept with that elf not long afterwards! How much time has passed since then? Yet look at you now. How are you already with another girl?¡±

    Zu An sighed. ¡°What can I do? When your luck withdies is too great, you really be powerless sometimes.¡±

    Mi Li had nothing to say to him.

    If she had run into someone like this while she was still empress, she would have immediately ordered his castration.

    Zu An managed to crawl to his feet. The Primordial Origin Sutra boosted his recovery abilities far beyond that of ordinary people. Even though he had been seriously injured, he had already recovered enough to move.

    Mi Li jumped in fright when she saw him walk towards the cave entrance. ¡°What the hell are you doing? Are you really going to throw away your life for that woman?¡±

    There was not a single person who understood his strength better than her. Even though he had many tricks up his sleeve, all of it was meaningless in the face of absolute strength.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I have a n.¡± Zu An said calmly.

    He had to save Zheng Dan. She¡¯ll die if I leave her in her current state.

    He had learned about thescivious nature of dragons from the academy¡¯s records. Even though he didn¡¯t understand what the two of them could even do, given their difference in size, there was no way he could watch Zheng Dan meet such a tragic ending. Not if he considered himself her friend.

    ¡°I won¡¯t save you if you get into trouble!¡± Mi Li stomped her feet in anger. Even though she said this, she still followed along out of worry.

    Zu An activated his Mirror Image technique, which had been given to him by Qiu Honglei. His aura grew more and more faint, until no one else could detect him.

    Mi Li was shocked. When did this guy learn this trick?

    He was clearly right in front of her, yet she couldn¡¯t sense him at all! Even with her cultivation, she had to fully focus her mind and stare at him several times before she could sense his existence.

    Zu An quietly reached the end of the tunnel, but didn¡¯t continue on further.

    After all, even though Mirror Mirage could hide his aura, it couldn¡¯t hide his physical body. If that crimson dragon saw him, he would still be done for.

    He carefully examined his surroundings. The crimson dragon was still continuously flying around the sparkling bead.

    ¡°Oh? That bead seems quite incredible.¡± Mi Li looked at that bead pensively.

    How could Zu An be bothered with a bead right now? All of his attention was on Zheng Dan¡¯s safety.

    He looked high and low, and finally saw the corner Zheng Dan was lying in. She seemed like she was still okay for now.

    ¡°You want to save her?¡± Mi Li couldn¡¯t help but ask. In her opinion, this was the same as courting death.

    Zu An didn¡¯t reply. He withdrew silently.

    When they were finally back outside, Zu An said, ¡°I¡¯ll get some people to help out.¡±

    ¡°We are in the wilderness right now! Where would you find anyone?¡± Mi Li asked in confusion.

    A mischievous smile appeared on Zu An¡¯s face. ¡°There will definitely be people around.¡±

    Chen Xuan and the Whale Gangckeys were right at their disposal!

    Besides, Chen Xuan was out to get him, and Zu An had always wanted to deal with this constant threat. He just never had a chance.

    However, a great opportunity had finally presented itself!

    As for Liu Chan and his conspirators, he was sure that Zheng Dan didn¡¯t want to keep them alive after they learned of her true identity.

    Of course, from his perspective, it would still be best to keep one or two alive, to help the Chu n deal with the illicit salt smuggling.

    However, he couldn¡¯t be bothered with all of that right now. He would let fate decide whether any of these fellows would remain alive.

    He began to head back down the path that they¡¯d taken to reach the cave. He had hoped that he¡¯d thrown their pursuers off before, but now he was praying that they weren¡¯t that stupid.

    Fortunately, after walking for a while, he heard activity ahead. It was Liu Chan¡¯s group, grumbling at each other for losing their targets.

    Chen Xuan was with them, his face sullen. It was with great difficulty that he finally obtained the Eighteen Spring Winds, yet all of his efforts had only helped that Zu An out. He felt like his heart was bleeding!

    You have sessfully trolled Chen Xuan for 666 Rage points!

    Zu An revealed himself at a distance away,ughing heartily. ¡°I¡¯m not trying to target anyone here, but all of you are trash! None of you could catch up to me even though I was carrying someone!¡± he mocked them.

    Chen Xuan looked up, speechless.

    Liu Chan, too, had nothing to say.

    Everyone else from the Whale Gang stared at him, mouths open.

    Did something happen to this guy¡¯s head? Why had he run back, especially after he¡¯d already gotten away?

    Despite this initial reaction, their anger red immediately afterwards, as they finally processed what that lout had said.

    How the hell were they supposed to endure such mockery?

    These Whale Gang members were all quick-tempered to begin with. They spent their days wading through violence and blood. How could they ever swallow such anger?

    They screamed as one, and chased after the one who mocked them.

    Chen Xuan hesitated, sensing something amiss. He had always been a careful person.

    However, his mind kept drifting to Zheng Dan. He knew that the poison had most likely taken effectpletely, and he had to seize her before another man got to reap the benefits.

    As such, he waspelled to follow the Whale Gang members. He figured that, no matter what kind of schemes this Zu An brat had cooked up, his strength was too low in the end. He didn¡¯t pose any threat to him.

    Even so, he was content to let Liu Chan and the others go ahead of him. If there were truly some sort of trap, these guys would be the first ones to fall into it.

    Zu An took to his heels when he saw all of them chasing after him.

    He could hear Mi Li¡¯s sneer in his mind. ¡°These are you so-called helpers? Forgive me for speaking bluntly, but that dragon doesn¡¯t even have to worry about his food getting stuck in his teeth while he¡¯s busy chewing all of you up.¡±

    ¡°I have a n!¡± Zu An hissed in a low voice.

    Because of the rugged terrain and the obstacles in the forest, no matter how much faster Chen Xuan was than Zu An, he still couldn¡¯t catch up to him.

    After keeping pace for a while, he suddenly stopped, a frown on his face.

    Liu Zhan and the others noticed this. ¡°Boss, what¡¯s wrong?¡± they asked.

    ¡°Something isn¡¯t right. I can feel it. This fellow is deliberately drawing us in that direction,¡± Chen Xuan said quietly, clearly troubled.

    Liu Chan was doubtful. ¡°Boss, aren¡¯t you being a bit too careful? Even if that is what he is trying to do, so what? We¡¯ve been chasing after him all this while, and he surely hasn¡¯t had time toy any sort of trap. There are so many of us here, and even you are here as well. Killing him will be all too easy.¡±

    The rest of them voiced their agreement. Their minds were clouded over, burning with desire, thinking about how helpless Zheng Dan was. How could they think about anything else?

    Chen Xuan was the only one with a clear head. ¡°Do none of you sense anything strange? We didn¡¯t even run into a single beast along the way. There can only be two possibilities. One, this ce is too deste, so no beasts roam these parts. The chances of this being true are small. The second possibility is that this is the territory of a powerful beast, so no other beasts dare to approach this ce.¡±

    The others grew rmed when they heard this. He seemed to be making a good bit of sense.

    Zu An noticed that his pursuers had stopped. He knew that they were probably suspicious. After all, Chen Xuan had managed to stay one step ahead of thew after all these years. He was definitely more careful than the average person.

    This was something that he had prepared for. He activated his Fragrant Barf skill. ¡°What a group of trash! I¡¯m not going to y around with you all anymore! I¡¯m going to y with your gang boss instead!¡±

 Chapter 311: Dying with a Grievance

    <h4>Chapter 311: Dying with a Grievance</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Liu Chan and the others exploded in anger.

    Even Chen Xuan felt rage rush to his head.

    When he saw how cocky Zu An was being, and thought about how Zheng Dan, now poisoned, would end up being toyed with by him, Chen Xuan almost imploded from anger.

    All of them cursed Zu An endlessly. This time, it was Chen Xuan who led the charge. He knew that this hatred of his would only go away after he had chopped up this bastard¡¯s corpse into tiny pieces.

    Look at how they¡¯re running at me! This Fragrant Barf is really effective.

    He noticed that Chen Xuan¡¯s speed had increased by about five percent. Most likely, Chen Xuan had still been holding back a bit all this while, and finally couldn¡¯t hold himself back anymore. He pushed the Sunflower Phantasm to its limit and ran at full speed towards the cave.

    When Chen Xuan finally reached the cave entrance, red-faced, rms were ring in his mind. The many years he¡¯d spent in perilous situations had honed his sense of danger.

    His instincts told him that he couldn¡¯t continue chasing after Zu An, and that it would be dangerous to do so.

    However, a different voice tugged at his ear. Just how many times have you allowed him to get away already? Are you going to let him escape again? Aren¡¯t you going to get revenge for your brother? Do you not want Zheng Dan for yourself anymore?

    Zu An noticed that he had stopped at the cave entrance. Fearing that he wouldn¡¯te in, he activated the Fragrant Barf again. ¡°From all your hollering, I thought you might actually have some skill. It turns out you¡¯re just a coward.¡±

    He continued to walk further in as he ridiculed Chen Xuan.

    Chen Xuan was usually immune to such pathetic psychological attacks. But now, it was as if every single word stabbed straight through his heart.

    His thoughts had been warped until they were hardly recognizable as his own. In his mind, Zheng Dan was going to be his wife anyway. But right now, someone else was ying with his wife, and all he could do was stand outside and guard the entrance...

    He had no idea why he was thinking such thoughts, but he already considered Zheng Dan his possession. His cooked duck was flying away! All his rage was leveled at Zu An.

    ¡°I will kill you!¡±

    Chen Xuan couldn¡¯t take it any longer. He charged forward in anger.

    Zu An had long since found himself a good nook to hide in. Because of the dim lightning inside the cave and his Mirror Mirage concealing his aura, the furious Chen Xuan couldn¡¯t find him at all.

    There was only one thing in the bandit leader¡¯s mind as he charged into the cave. He was entering this cave to save his own woman while hacking Zu An¡¯s corpse to endless pieces.

    A ferocious roar greeted him as soon as he charged in.

    Chen Xuan wailed miserably. He was struck so hard that his body shot backwards like an artillery shell.

    The massive crimson dragon followed him out.

    ¡°Despicable humans! You dare disturb this king¡¯s cultivation? All of you are courting death!¡± The crimson dragon circled about in the air. It¡¯s enormous body made all humans seem insignificant inparison, which filled the humans with a natural dread.

    Cold rationality flooded Chen Xuan¡¯s mind. He finally understood what Zu An had been plotting. This guy had deliberately baited him here so that he could use this dragon to deal with him.

    His hatred for Zu An grew exponentially when he realized this. This son of a bitch really was treacherous!

    He definitely had to kill this bastard today, before he brought a huge disaster upon his head.

    He found this thought a little strange. There was a huge dragon in front of him, yet a part of his mind still seemed obsessed with killing Zu An.

    His top priority should¡¯ve been finding a way to stay alive.

    The giant dragon¡¯s glowing eyes examined his glowing golden body. ¡°So, you¡¯re a metal element cultivator. No wonder you¡¯re still unharmed after taking my blow.¡±

    Chen Xuan groaned inwardly. His organs had already been thrown into chaos, and he knew he had suffered severe internal injuries. He said quickly, ¡°Great king, I only stumbled upon this ce while pursuing my personal enemy. I had absolutely no intention of disturbing you! I hope the great king can pardon my actions. I will leave right away.¡±

    At the same time, he cast his gaze about, looking for a ce to hide. He wanted to wait until Zu An came back out.

    He just couldn¡¯t abandon the thought of killing Zu An.

    The giant dragon snorted. ¡°I cannot allow any human to learn of my whereabouts,¡± he said. ¡°That is why you must die.¡±

    It twisted its body right after it said this,shing out with its tail with devastating power.

    rmed, Chen Xuan immediately tried to evade. Unfortunately, even though the dragon¡¯s body was massive, its movements were nimble, and a slight twitch like that was enough to cover a massive swathe of ground.

    Even though Chen Xuan did everything he could to dodge, he was still clipped by the dragon¡¯s massive tail. He was sent flying, his tumbling figure crashing through several trees before stopping. Half of his body went numb.

    This second blow had much more force behind it,pared to the one he¡¯d taken in the cave. This attack had been meant to kill.

    ¡°Boss, what happened... holy shit!¡± Liu Chan and the others were well below Chen Xuan in terms of cultivation, and they had only just caught up to him. From all themotion, they thought that Chen Xuan was beating up Zu An, so they were full of excitement as they rushed over. None of them had expected their boss to be the one being beaten up instead!

    Their bodies went ice cold when they saw that massive crimson dragon. Dragons were mythical creatures, yet somehow, there was one right before their eyes!

    Without the slightest hesitation, they all turned tail and ran. As for their boss... they only hoped that he could dy this dragon just a little longer.

    In fact, it would be even better if Chen Xuan died. The Whale Gang would bepletely under their control, and they could even use the opportunity to take over the ckwind Stockade.

    The crimson dragon turned towards them. It didn¡¯t chase after them, but opened its mouth instead. A torrent of me burst outwards.

    Liu Chan and his men were engulfed in mes. They rolled frantically on the ground, trying desperately to put themselves out. But unfortunately, the mes wouldn¡¯t go out no matter how they tried.

    Howls of pain and anguish came from within the mes. In just a few seconds, their bodies were all turned into charcoal. A gust of wind blew over them, disintegrating them and scattering their ashes about.

    Chen Xuan was absolutely horrified, and started running for his life, all thoughts of fighting abandoned. The metal element was naturally countered by the fire element! His unbreakable metal body, which he perfected with great difficulty, might be able to take a few hits from physical attacks. However, death was the only oue when faced with fire.

    The crimson dragon chased after his fleeing form.

    ...

    Zu An heard the pitiful screams outside. You all brought this upon yourselves.

    He ran over to Zheng Dan¡¯s side. He quickly undid the mist-like binding around her.

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡± Zheng Dan was already burning up, her eyes blurry. She was shocked and ted when she vaguely made out Zu An¡¯s appearance. ¡°Am I dreaming?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not. I¡¯m getting you out of here right now.¡± Zu An didn¡¯t dare waste any time. He picked her up and turned around.

    As he was about to leave, he heard Mi Li¡¯s voice. ¡°Take that bead along with you. It is definitely something extraordinary.¡±

    ¡°Got it!¡± Zu An replied.

    He jumped into the air and seized the bead.

    Warmth immediately flowed through his hand. Without bothering to try to determine what this bead was for, he casually slipped it into his pocket. Carrying Zheng Dan, he ran out.

    Just then, a violent roar shook the heavens. A powerful gale beat down upon him, and he felt an incredible pressure.

    The crimson dragon had made it swiftly back to the cave, and had caught Zu An red-handed.

    ¡°Despicable human! You actually used yourpanions to draw out this king so you would have a chance to steal my Brilliant ss Bead!¡± The crimson dragon roared furiously.

    Chen Xuan screamed inwardly. Who the hell are you calling that bastard¡¯spanion? I was also scammed!

    You have sessfully trolled Chen Xuan for 1024 Rage points!

    Zu An was stunned to receive Chen Xuan¡¯s rage points. Was Chen Xuan still hiding nearby?

    His eyes darted left and right, but he saw no one else. He had no idea where that fellow was hiding.

    Just when he was feeling a twinge of regret, a weak voice suddenly came from midair. ¡°Bastard, I¡¯m right here!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Chen Xuan for 999 Rage points!

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An lifted his gaze, and joy spread across his face. The wild and arrogant Chen Xuan was deathly pale, his entire body gripped within the dragon¡¯s huge ws.

    Pei Mianman had told him that Chen Xuan¡¯s body was incredibly tough.

    However, this nearly-invincible body had been easily prated by the crimson dragon¡¯s ws. One of them had pierced through the bandit leader¡¯s back and came out of his chest.

    Blood flowed down that w. No wonder Chen Xuan¡¯s face was pale! He was leaking all this blood from the wound in his chest!

    Zu An couldn¡¯t hold back hisughter. ¡°Stockade Master Chen, weren¡¯t you acting all high and mighty before? You don¡¯t look so good right now.¡±

    Chen Xuan couldn¡¯t muster up a reply.

    He was already in such a terrible situation, yet this guy was still mocking him!

    He was already close to hisst breath, but rage seemed to take control of his body, giving him onest burst of energy. ¡°You damned mongrel, I won¡¯t stop hunting you even if I¡¯ve turned into a ghost!¡±

    His sudden movements made the dragon¡¯s w dig deeper into him, and he almost fainted from the pain.

    This was all Zu An¡¯s fault!

    You have sessfully trolled Chen Xuan for 999... 999... 999...

    Zu An roared withughter. ¡°From the very first time we met, you¡¯ve only had hateful things to say to me, and you¡¯re still banging on the same drum now that you¡¯re about to die. How pitiful.¡±

    Chen Xuan couldn¡¯t take this anymore.

    You have sessfully trolled Chen Xuan for 1024 Rage points!

    He struggled with everything he had. He wanted to bite off a chunk of this bastard¡¯s flesh, even if he had to die for it!

    Unexpectedly, the crimson dragon grew unhappy at his squirming. It mmed its talon into the ground, and his body popped like a melon.

    Just like that, an ambitious and ruthless character met his end.

    Zheng Dan was so frightened she buried her head in Zu An¡¯s chest. Even though she¡¯d killed her fair share of people as the Whale Gang¡¯s boss, she had never witnessed such a horrible sight.

    The one who died had been an equally-famous underworld leader, and she couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit of sympathy.

    After all, there was a scant chance of victory against such a terrifying dragon. Chen Xuan had merely left this world one step ahead of them.

    The crimson dragon turned itsrge eyes on Zu An. ¡°So it was you. You didn¡¯t die.¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°You¡¯re not dead yet. How can I let myself die before you?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled the red dragon for 1024 Rage points!

    ¡°You¡¯re courting death!¡± The red dragon roared in rage. Scorching hot me shot out towards Zu An.

 Chapter 312: Burning Bridges

    <h4>Chapter 312: Burning Bridges</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An was already ready for this. He pushed off gently with his toes, and his figure shed away.

    Therge boulder he had been standing on was instantly burned to ash by the heat of the mes. Zu An gulped. He would have shared the same fate if he had been caught by those same mes.

    Before he had time to think, the dragon let loose another torrent of me.

    Zu An immediately employed his Sunflower Phantasm to evade. Even though he dodged it, the heat made his hair curl, and there was the stench of something being scorched.

    Fearing that Zheng Dan would be burned, he quickly employed the Snowke Sword to cover his surroundings in ayer of cold energy. The coolness helped to dissipate most of their difort.

    The crimson dragon fired off several more gouts of me, but somehow, his target miraculously evaded every attack. It started to realize that continuing this barrage would be futile, and only tire itself out. It gave up on its long-range fire attacks. With a flicker, its massive body disappeared, arrowing towards Zu An.

    ¡°Ah Zu, get out of here!¡± Zheng Dan said in a panic. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me anymore!¡±

    There might still be a chance for Zu An to escape with his teleportation-like movement skill, while she did her best to stall this massive monster.

    She was already mentally prepared to sacrifice herself. Whether it be her life or her purity, it didn¡¯t matter.

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°Even though I¡¯ve never considered myself a hero, I have never abandoned my friends.¡±

    When she saw his optimistic smile, Zheng Dan¡¯s eyes grew moist. ¡°Ah Zu!¡±

    She steeled her resolve. At worst, the two of them would die together.

    If they couldn¡¯t be together in life, then they¡¯d be together in death.

    This made her feel much more blessed than Chu Chuyan.

    Right at this time, the crimson dragon roared withughter. ¡°I¡¯ve caught you!¡±

    He had already figured out the rhythm of Zu An¡¯s strange movements.

    No matter how miraculous the Sunflower Phantasm was, the difference in strength was still too great.

    Zheng Dan saw a massive w appear in their path, as if the dragon had somehow foreseen their movement. It was so close she could even see the blood staining that w!

    This blood was clearly from Chen Xuan¡¯s body. Not even Chen Xuan¡¯s powerful metal body could withstand a single hit¡ªwhat hope did Zu An have, with his weaker cultivation?

    Zheng Dan wanted to block this attack in his ce, but the arms that held her tightened around her. She herself waspletely powerless as well, and there was no way she could have moved to shield him.

    She decided to bury herself deeper in his chest. This way, when the w tore through his chest, it would kill her as well. The two of them would thus truly be one.

    Mi Li screamed in Zu An¡¯s head. ¡°You¡¯re mad! Why are you purposely standing still?!!!¡±

    Even though the Sunflower Phantasm couldn¡¯t make up for the difference between their cultivation levels, there was still a chance that it hadn¡¯t yet beenpromised.

    With her insight, she could tell that Zu An was refusing to dodge on purpose.

    Zu An didn¡¯t reply her. He turned his back and used it to take the full force of the dragon¡¯s w.

    The crimson dragon saw that his target had no chance of evading his strike. Truly, humans were nothing more than ants.

    However, when it saw him tightly embracing Zheng Dan, it felt a twinge of reluctance. After all, this woman really was pretty.

    Soon, it would be able to take human form, and it had nned to celebrate its sess with this woman.

    Even though the two of them were different species, higher-level dragons could all change into human form. That was why dragons and humans had simr standards of beauty.

    This shared perception of beauty wasn¡¯t limited to just the dragon race. Other races with the potential to cultivate to a high level seemed to share it as well.

    After all, the human form was the most suitable for cultivation. As such, all other high-level cultivators from these races also desired to evolve towards a more human form.

    Of course, there were races who were limited in their cultivation, and had no hopes of ever achieving human form. To them, a human beauty might look no different from a female pig.

    Killing such a beauty really was too much of a waste. As such, the red dragon held back at thest moment. Even so, its strength would still be enough to st open a hole in the man¡¯s body.

    Unexpectedly, as the tip of his w touched the man¡¯s back, it did not prate flesh. Instead, it felt as if it had struck an invisible barrier.

    A blue scale suddenly appeared on the man¡¯s back, blocking this fatal strike.

    ¡°This is the Ocean Race¡¯s...¡± Before it could finish its sentence, Zu An seized this moment of distraction. There was a sh of ck, his dagger cutting through ayer of the dragon¡¯s skin.

    The crimson dragon was shocked. ¡°An ant like you has a weapon that can injure me? Ridiculous! However, such a small weapon is only enough to tickle me!¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°Are you sure?¡±

    The red dragon didn¡¯t rise to this taunt. It raised its w to strike him again. ¡°You can die now, ant.¡±

    Suddenly, its entire body trembled. It let out a cry of terror. ¡°What is going on? This... this is a curse.. Ahhh...¡±

    Its voice was full of fear and reluctance. Its sharp and prating eyes became dim, and then its massive body seemed to lose all strength, and it smashed into the ground. The whole cavern trembled, as if the earth itself was rupturing.

    ¡°It¡¯s really dead!¡± Zu An gasped for breath. To be honest, he wasn¡¯t a hundred percent confident. He wasn¡¯t sure if the Poisonous Prick would be effective against such a massive dragon.

    This was a dragon, after all, and one with a terrifyingly high level of cultivation. It wouldn¡¯t have been all that strange for the Poisonous Prick to fail. After all, the Poisonous Prick hadn¡¯t worked against Zhang Han and the others in the dungeon.

    But Zu An had still decided to stake it all on this. He figured that it probably didn¡¯t work on Zhang Han and the others since they were already dead. No matter how ridiculously powerful this dragon was, it was still very much alive.

    Of course, no matter how extraordinary the Poisonous Prick was, it still had its weaknesses. He might not be strong enough to wound the enemy with it.

    In a normal fight, it would have been hard for him to even stab someone like Chen Xuan, let alone such a massive dragon who was much stronger.

    That was why he decided to stand his ground, and try to kill this crimson dragon by taking its blow full on and surprising him in one hit.

    His body had already experienced several instances of the Primordial Origin Sutra¡¯s refinement, and his ability to recover was also astonishing. He had been willing to gamble that the dragon¡¯s attack wouldn¡¯t kill him.

    He hadn¡¯t expected Shang Liuyu¡¯s jade pendant to activate.

    When he recalled Shang Liuyu¡¯s words regarding this pendant, a lingering fear welled up in him. The jade pendant had deduced that the strike would have been enough to take his life, which was why it had blocked the blow.

    Mi Li¡¯s furious roars echoed in his mind. ¡°Do you know that you almost died just now? If it wasn¡¯t for that treasure you had, my life would have been thrown away too...¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for 444... 444... 444...

    She was well and truly angry.

    ¡°But I¡¯m still okay...¡± Zu An said shakily.

    Mi Li¡¯s soul body appeared. She looked at him, her face clouded over with anger.

    Zu An tried to appease her, his voice tinged with embarrassment. ¡°Come on, big sis empress, don¡¯t be so mad, okay? I went a little too hard this time, but I¡¯ll definitely be more careful next time...¡±

    ¡°As if there¡¯ll be a next time! Do you think lives are meant to be toyed with like this? Do you still have another life saving treasure?¡± Mi Li scoffed.

    ¡°No...¡± Zu An replied weakly.

    Despite it all, the jade pendant that Shang Liuyu had given him really was amazing. It could even block the strike of a massive dragon!

    ¡°Where did you get that thing anyway?¡± Mi Li asked curiously.

    ¡°A friend gave it to me.¡± Zu An roughly exined the situation with Shang Liuyu to her.

    ¡°Next time, ask her for a few more,¡± Mi Li ordered, as if this was somethingpletely normal.

    Zu An was utterly confused.

    ¡°This sort of treasure is incredibly precious! How can I be so shameless as to ask for more?¡±

    Isn¡¯t big sis empress a little too thick-skinned?

    ¡°So, the word ¡®shame¡¯ actually exists in your dictionary?¡± Mi Li grunted. ¡°If you really feel too embarrassed, then make her your woman. Wouldn¡¯t it be easier to get your hands on more of these then? Either way, I can already tell that you¡¯re aplete womanizer.¡±

    Zu An had no words.

    Big sis empress, your words make so much sense that I can¡¯t even argue with you.

    Mi Li continued, ¡°Hurry up and extract that red dragon¡¯s inner core. That core is sure to be something extraordinary.¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An walked up to the dragon. ¡°This world has such a thing as inner cores?¡± he asked curiously.

    In his encounter with those assrip wolves, he had tried searching them for some sort of inner core or magic stone, but he''d found nothing of that sort.

    As if she had read his puzzlement, Mi Li exined, ¡°Low level beasts don¡¯t have any, but a dragon will definitely have one. This dragon should have already reached the master level.¡±

    ¡°Master level?¡± Zu An was stupefied. This is probably the first master-level cultivator I¡¯ve ever met, right? I wonder what level Mi Li was when she was at her peak.

    ¡°It¡¯smon knowledge that a beast is often stronger than a human of the same level,¡± Mi Li said. ¡°That is why you shouldn¡¯t underestimate it. A dragon with master-level strength might be something not even several grandmasters could deal with. I really didn¡¯t expect it to fall under your treachery.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes brightened. ¡°This means I can tell others that I¡¯ve killed a grandmaster level expert before! Ahem, ahem, no¡ªI should say equivalent to a grandmaster. Doesn¡¯t this mean that everyone else just sucks?¡±

    ¡°Can you please not?¡± Mi Li rolled her eyes. ¡°Everyone will just think that you¡¯re crazy, and if they don¡¯t, you will only invite more trouble upon yourself. It will be a disaster.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just happy, okay? Can¡¯t you just let me run my mouth a little...¡± Zu An said resentfully. As he spoke, he followed Mi Li¡¯s instructions and fished out the inner core.

    The dragon was incredibly tough, and even its corpse wasn¡¯t something an ordinary de could cut through. Fortunately, he had this incredible Poisonous Prick.

    The inner core was rose-colored, and even gave off a bit of heat.

    ¡°A master level inner core! This really is a rare and incredible treasure!¡± Mi Li said with a sigh of admiration.

    It could be used to awaken a fire element, smelt weapons, or prepare medicine... This was definitely a top level item.

    Mi Li nced at the dragon¡¯s corpse. ¡°This dragon¡¯s entire body is also a treasure. s, it¡¯s too big, so we can¡¯t bring it with us. It would be great if we had a spatial ring.¡±

    But she shook her head right away. There were no spatial rings that could hold such a massive body.

    They were interrupted by a sweet and seductive moan. Zu An smacked his head. ¡°I almost forgot about her.¡±

    The effects of the drug in Zheng Dan¡¯s body had probably reached a peak. There was little chance that she hold out much longer.

    He rushed over to support her. Zheng Dan¡¯s body was boiling hot. He quickly sent a wave of cold energy into her body.

    Zheng Dan mind cleared slightly. When she saw Zu An, she immediately pushed him away. ¡°Don¡¯t touch me!¡±

    Zu An was left speechless.

    Ma¡¯am, what the hell?

    ¡°Ah Zu is already dead, so I have no desire to live anymore.¡± Zheng Dan said in distress. She reached out her hand and prepared to strike her own head.

    Zu An jumped in rm, and hurriedly stopped her. ¡°Are you all right? I¡¯m right here! Is your fever messing with your head?¡±

    Zheng Dan stared hatefully at him. ¡°Evil dragon, do not think that I will be deceived and obey you just because you assumed Ah Zu¡¯s appearance after killing him!¡±

    Zu An had never been struck so dumb in his life.

 Chapter 313: Shocked

    <h4>Chapter 313: Shocked</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An was momentarily speechless. ¡°Sis, how in the world do you evene up with this stuff?¡±

    ¡°Am I wrong?¡± Zheng Dan sneered. ¡°You said that once you achieved human form, you¡¯ll... you¡¯ll...¡±

    Her face grew entirely red, and she couldn¡¯t finish what she wanted to say. ¡°How could Ah Zu possibly have survived your attack? Poor Ah Zu, for my sake...¡±

    Zu An saw tears leak out from her eyes, and he attributed her behavior to abination of the drug¡¯s effects and the fear she just experienced. That was surely why her mind seemed so muddled.

    Zu An pointed at the giant corpse. ¡°Look over there. That dragon is already dead.¡±

    Zheng Dan was stunned, and turned to look at where he was pointing. Sure enough, there was a crimson dragon corpse there. She was shocked and overjoyed. ¡°It¡¯s really dead?¡±

    ¡°Of course, I killed it!¡± Zu An puffed out his chest. He really needed another guy around to brag about this dragon¡¯s cultivation for him. Exining it himself was just toome.

    He didn¡¯t dare ask Mi Li to help him out. Compared to his ego, his life was more important.

    ¡°Ah Zu, it really is you!¡± Zheng Dan choked with emotion. She threw herself into his arms. ¡°You¡¯re really okay?¡±

    She examined his back while asking this. The sight of the dragon¡¯s w mming against Zu An¡¯s back had clearly cast a dark shadow over her mind.

    Zu An¡¯s heartbeat quickened when he felt the astonishing heating off her supple body. However, fearing that her imagination would run wild again, he quickly put away these thoughts. He lightly patted her back to console her. ¡°I had a defensive treasure that managed to block that strike.¡±

    ¡°So that was it...¡± Zheng Dan pursed her lips. She buried her head into his chest again.

    Zu An drew on his Snowke Sword again, sending strands of cold energy into her body in an attempt to get rid of the drug¡¯s effects. Unfortunately, the cold energy was devoured by endless mes as soon as it entered her body. After a bit of hesitation, he said, ¡°This poison afflicting you is proving to be quite troublesome...¡±

    Zheng Dan grunted in agreement. ¡°Yeah, I know.¡±

    Zu An was dumbfounded. What do you mean, ¡®you know¡¯?

    With Zheng Dan¡¯s higher cultivation level and her ability to run the Whale Gang, he had expected her to have all sorts of knowledge and experiences that could help her deal with this problem. Yet in the end, she didn¡¯t offer any way to help her!

    Zu An called out to Mi Li again. ¡°Big sis empress, do you know any other way to get rid of this poison?¡± If Ji Xiaoxi were here, she¡¯d probably know a way.

    ¡°The poison in her system is unusual. It is tougher than even that giant python in the dungeon. I fear that there might not be any other methods.¡± Mi Li sneered when she said this. ¡°Brat, stop bragging! You¡¯re already reaping all the benefits of this situation. You know that there is only one way to cleanse her, yet you keep asking about this! Disgusting.¡±

    Zu An became dejected. ¡°I was really trying to be a gentleman!¡±

    ¡°Hah!¡± Mi Li scoffed.

    Zu An turned to Zheng Dan sheepishly. ¡°The only way to get rid of the poison in your body... is...¡±

    Zheng Dan bit her lips. Her voice was incredibly soft. ¡°I¡¯ll have to trouble you, then...¡±

    She was a woman of incredible willpower. If it were any other woman, they would surely have lost their rational minds by now, and given into their instincts.

    Of course, the fear of the giant dragon and the cold ki that Zu An had supplied her also helped her to hang on to thest shred of reason.

    Unfortunately, it was because she was still rational that her situation caused her more embarrassment.

    ¡°It¡¯s no trouble, no trouble at all!¡± Zu An said with an awkwardugh. Which man would be troubled over something like this? All those men had pursued the two of them for so long precisely because they didn¡¯t want the two of them to end up doing this.

    Zheng Dan¡¯s head drooped even lower when she heard these words.

    Zu An raised his head to look at the nearby cave. He decided that the inside of the cave was at least decent, so he carried Zheng Dan in.

    That red dragon¡¯s corpse stilly outside. It still gave off a residual pressure, and ensured that no beasts would dare to approach.

    As for human trespassers, they were in the depths of the Hidden Dragon Mountain. No one would dare enter this deep. Even if someone were here, no one could drag off such a massive dragon body.

    ¡°Big sis empress, you aren¡¯t going to peep on us, right?¡± Zu An suddenly asked Mi Li.

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for 513 Rage points!

    ¡°What kind of person do you take this empress for? Why would I want to watch your filthy deeds?!¡± Mi Li hollered furiously. ¡°I¡¯m going back to sleep. Don¡¯t bother me!¡±

    With that, his mindscape grew quiet again.

    Zu An called out to her a few more times. When he didn¡¯t hear any activity, Zu An sighed in relief.

    After bringing Zheng Dan into the cave, Zu An was just about to say something when a pair of soft red lips covered his own.

    The poison in Zheng Dan¡¯s body had taken full effect.

    Her fine, supple body was cradled in Zu An¡¯s embrace. With such a beautiful woman making such moves on him, there was no way he could remain indifferent and still call himself a man.

    Their breathing and movements grew more and more intense.

    Zheng Dan¡¯s dress was thin, and had been slit almost in two by the dragon.

    Whatever remained of it tore and scattered like a flock of butterflies, exposing the perfect body that countless Whale Gang members had dreamed about.

    Zheng Dan had one final moment of clear-headedness. She stopped Zu An, her eyes swirling with watery brilliance. Her voice was equally conflicted and anxious. ¡°No... I can¡¯t... I can¡¯t ruin my purity before I get married...¡± she pleaded.

    Many of the ideas she had been brought up with were already deeply etched within her. Even in such a situation, she still remembered her many years of stubborn resistance.

    Zu An would¡¯ve been fine if she hadn¡¯t said this. However, the more she behaved like this, the more he couldn¡¯t handle it.

    Thest time, he had failed at the very end because of this. How could he make the same mistake this time?

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An kissed her gently. Her vision soon blurred, and the hand that pushed against him no longer did so as firmly.

    Sensing her hesitation, Zu An pressed down on her gently with his body.

    A line of tears trickled down her face. The two of them had finally be one.

    ......

    After a long time passed, a hint of rity returned to Zheng Dan¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°You won¡¯t me me for this, right?¡± Zu An said apologetically.

    Zheng Dan shook her head slightly. Her fine jade-smooth arms gently wrapped around him, answering him with her body.

    A whileter, she suddenly felt a wave of heat surging within her. It was the same sensation as when she¡¯d first been poisoned. She immediately recalled Chen Xuan¡¯s arrogant words.

    Her charming face grew red. However, now that the situation was what it was, there was nothing left to be shy about. She moved her lips next to his ears and whispered quietly, ¡°Ah Zu, the drug I was given is called ¡®Eighteen Spring Winds¡¯...¡±

    ¡°I know that.¡± Zu An was stunned. He didn¡¯t know why she would suddenly tell him this.

    Seeing his iprehension, Zheng Dan¡¯s face only reddened further. She had no choice but to exin, ¡°It¡¯s exactly as the name implies, we need to do it... eighteen times...¡±

    She cursed Chen Xuan to death inside. Where in the world did he get such a despicable drug?

    Zu An¡¯s eyes wentpletely round, then heughed. ¡°I will serve the youngdy!¡±

    ...

    More time passed by. Zheng Dan tightly embraced Zu An. her entire body was trembling.

    It took her a moment to catch her breath. She helped Zu An wipe away his sweat. ¡°Won¡¯t you be too tired to continue?¡±

    Zu Anughed. ¡°There¡¯s no man in this world who¡¯ll get tired, not with such a beautiful woman in front of them!¡±

    Zheng Dan smiled sweetly. His lingering emotions made her appear even more enchanting than usual.

    Her true nature was not one that was rigid and conventional. The ¡®Eighteen Spring Winds¡¯, coupled with their close rtionship,pletely ignited that me she had suppressed within her very depths.

    While the two embraced each other, she gently muttered by his ears, ¡°Ah Zu, don¡¯t you feel like our rtionship is like theke and the moon?¡¯

    ¡°Theke and the moon?¡± Zu An was baffled. Do all noble daughters love this poetry stuff?

    ¡°I am theke, while you are the moon,¡± Zheng Dan said, smiling sweetly. ¡°Theke is beneath the moon, while the moon is above theke. I am under you, while you are...¡±

    She giggled.

    Zu An felt a wave of heat surge through his body, and he thought he was going to explode. This woman really was a vixen among vixens!

    ...

    Yet more time psed, and Zu An¡¯s entire body suddenly went rigid. And yet, he felt a slight hesitation - she was engaged, after all. If he identally got her...

    As if she could sense his misgivings, Zheng Dan looked at him with gentle eyes. ¡°It¡¯s fine. There''s a ce where the sunlight can''te, but you can.¡±

    Zu An gave a guttural roar. How could he possibly hold himself back?

    ...

    In a corner of the cave, Mi Li¡¯s soul body was just vaguely visible. Her face was flushed red. ¡°If this woman ever joined an imperial chamber, she would surely suck away all affection and bring about absolute disaster!¡±

    This woman was able to switch so seamlessly between being properly dignified and charmingly seductive. Few men could resist such temptation.

    She suddenly noticed that Zu An was making anothereback. She was stunned. ¡°It really has been eighteen times... If he was a gigolo he¡¯d surely be the most popr one.¡±

    The word ¡®gigolo¡¯ was also something she had learned from Zu An.

    Her cheeks grew redder and hotter. She finally couldn¡¯t take it anymore.

    She shut off her five senses and hibernated.

    ...

    ¡°Stop sleeping already, get up!¡±

    The next morning, Zu An was woken up by Mi Li¡¯s dissatisfied voice.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, big sis empress?¡± He looked towards the half transparent Mi Li, still drowsy-eyed.

    At the same time, he checked on Zheng Dan. She was still sleeping in his embrace, a sweet and satisfied smile resting on her face.

    Mi Li snorted, ¡°Take out that bead. Let¡¯s see what kind of treasure it is.¡±

    This guy had tossed and turned for an entire night, which meant that she hadn¡¯t managed to get any rest. The scenes she had witnessed had haunted her even after she shut off her five senses.

    Yet somehow this guy had managed to sleep so soundly after all his exertions!

    She was in a terrible mood, so she found a reason early in the morning to holler him awake.

    ¡°Oh...¡± Zu An¡¯s curiosity was also piqued. He searched inside his clothes and found the bead.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go outside first. I don¡¯t want to keep looking at a woman in such unkempt clothes.¡± Mi Li grunted and began to walk off.

    He lowered his head to look at Zheng Dan¡¯s rosy skin. Her clothes are already far beyond unkempt!

    Zu Anughed awkwardly and quickly made to follow her. However, he stumbled after just a single step. It didn¡¯t feel like he was walking on solid ground, but on cotton.

    Mi Li shot him a look. She had clearly deduced what was wrong with him.

    Zu Anughed in a simple and honest manner.

    Mi Li snorted coldly, before giving him instructions. ¡°Imbue the bead with your ki, and then send your consciousness in bit by bit.¡± She slowly taught him how to direct his consciousness.

    Zu An nodded. He did as he was told, and was shocked when he sent his consciousness into the bead.

 Chapter 314: Handsome Men Always Have the Best Luck

    <h4>Chapter 314: Handsome Men Always Have the Best Luck</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An felt as if his consciousness had entered a vast, hazy space. Gray-colored mist surrounded everything, severely limiting his vision.

    He tried to probe further into the depths, but his surroundings remained the same no matter what he did. It was as if he was surrounded by what fantasy stories described as primal chaos, a swirling nothingness which existed before the world was formed.

    His mental strength was close to exhaustion. He couldn¡¯t stay here any longer.

    ¡°This bead seems quite strange.¡± Mi Li¡¯s voice came from beside him.

    Mi Li was, to a certain extent, connected to his soul. She could see everything he saw.

    ¡°Big sis empress, do you recognize this bead?¡± Zu An asked quickly. ¡°I think that dragon called it a Brilliant ss Bead,¡±

    He understood his own limitations. He was still a foreigner to this world, and his knowledge was very limited.

    However, Mi Li was different. Her cultivation was profound, and she used to upy such a high position. Her knowledge and experiences were definitely extraordinary.

    Mi Li shook her head. ¡°Brilliant ss Bead? I¡¯ve never heard of such a thing before. I only know that it seems to carry extremely profound spatial principles. Maybe it suffered too much damage, or had most of its functions sealed. There isn¡¯t much we know about it right now.¡±

    ¡°Sealed?¡± Zu An was momentarily stunned, but his bewilderment soon gave way to joy. ¡°Doesn¡¯t that mean that this might be some sort of divine artifact?¡±

    He¡¯d watched so many movies in his past life. Every single one of the sealed treasures in them had badass effects!

    Mi Li snorted. ¡°Where do you even get your delusions from? Just because it¡¯s sealed doesn¡¯t mean that it¡¯s definitely a formidable treasure. No one can know before the seal is undone.¡±

    Zu An was puzzled. ¡°Would anyone waste their time and energy sealing an ordinary treasure?¡±

    ¡°Nothing is too bizarre in this world,¡± Mi Li said indifferently.

    Even a donkey like you exists¡ªcan anything else even surprise me anymore?

    ¡°How do I unseal this thing, then?¡± Zu An continued with his questioning. He really wanted to know what this bead could do.

    Mi Li shook her head. ¡°I have no idea.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± Zu An grew discouraged. He really hadn¡¯t expected such an answer.

    Mi Li couldn¡¯t stand his disdainful expression. Her face reddened. ¡°Do you think I¡¯m omniscient and omnipotent?¡± she retorted. ¡°What¡¯s there to be surprised about just because I don¡¯t know? As far as I know, these seals are usually undone only by a mixture of opportunities and coincidences. There is usually no set way to unseal them.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°You¡¯re saying that it depends on your face?¡±[1]

    ¡°Your face?¡± After being around this fellow for so long, Mi Li had picked up on the meanings of some of the strange phrases he used. ¡°Indeed, it depends on your luck. Some people are blessed with good fortune and might unwittingly undo the seal, while others struggle their entire lives without finding a way.¡±

    Zu Anughed. ¡°Then there¡¯s no problem at all! My luck has always been pretty good.¡±

    Mi Li was momentarily at a loss for words.

    She was also starting to get used to this fellow¡¯s delusional confidence. She snorted, then continued, ¡°Your luck is indeed pretty good. This bead seems to be in a sealed state, but you can use it to store things. Aim the bead at what you want it to store, and then give it an order with your mind.¡±

    ¡°Spatial storage?¡± Zu An was excited. This was exactly what hecked the most right now! Bringing everything around with him really was inconvenient, especially things like the Tai¡¯e sword.

    Having such a treasure to store things would simplify matters.

    He tried to store arge rock first. Sure enough, thatrge rock was sucked right in.

    With another thought, therge rock was released again.

    This was the first time Zu An had a treasure simr to a spatial ring. He couldn¡¯t contain his excitement, and his eyes darted around the cave, storing and releasing objects again and again.

    ¡°Bumpkin.¡± Mi Li sneered. However, a smile subconsciously tugged at the corners of her lips.

    Zu An suddenly had a thought. ¡°Doesn¡¯t this thing make me invincible, then? I can just suck in any enemy from now on! I don¡¯t even have to fight them.¡±

    This was the same as the gourd from ¡®Journey to the West¡¯! He could even suck people in!

    Mi Li shot down his fantasies straight away. ¡°Dream on! Spatial artifacts can only be used to store non-living objects. These are things set by naturalws, and not something we can go against. You also have no way of taking in things with other people¡¯s spiritual imprints.

    ¡°If you could, then why not just steal your opponent¡¯s weapons, their clothes, and everything else while inbat? What would even be the point of fighting, then?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes brightened when he heard her exnation. If he could straight up steal his opponent¡¯s clothes while they were fighting, then wouldn¡¯t he be invincible against women...?

    Mi Li gave him a strange look. She couldn¡¯t quite figure out what had gone through his mind to make him smile in such a perverted way.

    ¡°There¡¯s onest thing. We don¡¯t know howrge this spatial storage is. Even though it looks prettyrge, since everything was covered in mist,¡± Mi Li muttered to herself. ¡°See if you can take in that dragon¡¯s corpse.¡±

    Zu An was slightly shocked. ¡°It¡¯s probably too big, right?¡± That dragon was several dozen zhang[2] in length, after all. It looked practically like a small mountain when it was all coiled up.

    Even though he didn¡¯t have much confidence, Zu An still gave it a try.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Surprisingly, the entire dragon¡¯s body vanished instantly.

    Zu An rubbed his eyes. He was inplete disbelief.

    He hesitated, then activated the bead again. Sure enough, the massive dragon¡¯s corpse appeared in front of him again.

    ¡°This... this...¡± Zu An was speechless.

    Mi Li gasped in astonishment. ¡°Brat, your luck really is quite good! Normal spatial rings have restricted space, yet the one you have can even store a giant dragon! I could sense that, even with the dragon inside, it could still store more things.¡±

    Zu An roared withughter. ¡°Handsome men always have the best luck!¡±

    Mi Li resisted the urge to p him.

    She couldn¡¯t handle his narcissism anymore.

    ¡°Enough already! I¡¯m going back to sleep since there are no more dangers. I¡¯m being serious this time. Don¡¯t disturb me if it¡¯s not something important.¡±

    She went silent after saying this.

    Zu An¡¯s expression grew strange. Why did she say that she was being serious this time? Was she lying when she said this the night before?

    Then again, he didn¡¯t really mind her seeing his gant and heroic figure. They were already so close anyway.

    Zu An deliberately made this thought crystal clear. When he didn¡¯t see any Rage pointse in, he was reassured that she had truly gone into hibernation.

    He was just about to return to the cave when he noticed a pool of blood with a golden de next to him. Only then did he finally recall that Chen Xuan had been crushed to death in this very spot.

    Sigh, a formidable figure was ground into meat paste just like that.

    Why does that make me feel so... refreshed?

    That Chen Xuan was a monstrous criminal! He should¡¯ve died a long time ago!

    He suddenly noticed a small bottle next to him. When he picked it up, he noticed that it was still half-full with some sort of medicinal liquid.

    He uncorked it, and a sweet, fragrant smell wafted out.

    What is this? Zu An didn¡¯t dare drink it. However, he subconsciously sensed that it was probably something good.

    He stored it away inside the Brilliant ss Bead. He¡¯d have Ji Xiaoxi analyze it for himter. She¡¯s pretty skilled in medicine, so she should be able to figure out what this stuff is.

    He searched around what remained of Chen Xuan, and stumbled upon many thin, skin-like masks.

    Hm?

    From all the shows he had watched previously, he obviously knew what all this was for.

    When he tried them on his face, he discovered that each of them made his face change into a different, unfamiliar look.

    ¡°No wonder no one could catch this Chen Xuan all these years. He could change his appearance!¡± Zu An carefully stowed away these masks.

    They might prove extremely useful in the future. The only regrettable thing was that these masks had a fixed appearance. They couldn¡¯t change him into whatever he wanted to look like.

    He put away Chen Xuan¡¯s de as well. He made a final sweep and saw nothing of value, so he quickly returned to the cave.

    ¡°Where did you run to, Ah Zu?¡± Zheng Dan was already seated upright, looking all around her in a panic. As her eyes settled on him, tears began to flow down her cheeks.

    Zu An rushed over to console her. ¡°I went out for a bit just now. Come on, don¡¯t cry.¡±

    ¡°I thought you left me...¡± Zheng Danughed in embarrassment. She had just offered her everything to him, and she couldn¡¯t help but feel worried.

    Zu An felt his heart skip a beat. Zheng Dan¡¯s clothes were already torn to shreds. When she stood up, almost everything was revealed to him.

    Zheng Dan covered her chest with one hand, and she used the other to tuck away some loose strands of hair behind her ear. ¡°You¡¯ve already had all night to look at me,¡± she murmured shyly. ¡°Haven¡¯t you... haven¡¯t you seen enough?¡±

    Zu An was surprised. She had been so enthusiasticst night, yet now, she was incredibly shy again, as if she had returned to being that sweet-tempered young miss. Why did she seem to have such split personalities?

    Whatever it is, it doesn¡¯t look too serious. Her two personalities aren¡¯tpletely separate, after all. Not like in those movies, where one personality had no idea of the other personality¡¯s existence, or what it did.

    Anyway, it¡¯s not even that big of a deal even if she has split personalities.

    I¡¯ll just enjoy both of them!

    Zu An reached out a hand and lifted her chin slightly. ¡°I¡¯ll never be able to get enough of you,¡± he said, gazing at her perfect face. He sighed in admiration.

    Zheng Dan¡¯s face grew red. ¡°I really don¡¯t think I can right now. It hurts...¡± she said softly.

    Her eyes were full of embarrassment.

    Zu Anughed and took her into his arms. ¡°Rx, I¡¯m not that much of a beast.¡±

    Leaving her aside, even he had run out of stamina after experiencing those eighteen spring winds.

    Zu An noticed a set of sparkling purple clothes in the cave. It seemed to have been made from some type of silk, and its surface was embedded with crystals and gems.

    They were truly clothes befitting a goddess. Even Zheng Dan, who had seen all sorts of clothes before, wasn¡¯t willing to part with it after putting it on.

    Dragons were fond of collecting shiny objects. There was quite a bit of gold, silver and other gemstones piled up here, and that dragon had probably added these clothes to its collection because it was also bright and dazzling.

    ¡°We¡¯ve really struck it rich now! There are so many treasures here!¡± He took in all the piles of gold and silver, and estimated them to be worth two or three million taels of silver, at least. He could barely contain his glee. ¡°Let¡¯s split it in half,¡± he told Zheng Dan.

    Zheng Dan shook her head. ¡°Money and valuables are only worldly possessions, and they mean nothing to me. You can have all of it.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°Why did you secretly establish the Whale Gang if you don¡¯t care about money?¡±

    1. In this context, Zu An is using "face" as ng for "luck". In Chinese, ¿´Á³ (literally "to see one''s face") is used to describe leaving something to one''s luck.

    2. One zhang is approximately equal to 12 feet, or 4 meters.

 Chapter 315: Promise

    <h4>Chapter 315: Promise</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zheng Dan sighed. ¡°I did it for my n, of course. The Chu n has their ancestors¡¯ achievements to help them maintain most of Brightmoon City¡¯s market. The rest of us have been smothered until we can¡¯t even breathe, so we can only look for other methods to survive.

    ¡°I was young and ambitious back then. When I saw how troubled my parents were day after day, I wanted to help them take on a share of their burden. I also felt a little uneasy about our n¡¯s future myself, so I wanted to try a different type of lifestyle. I never expected things to escte so much that I would end up creating something like the Whale Gang.

    ¡°The Whale Gang has earned quite a bit of money for the Zheng n these past few years, and to some degree, it has weakened the Chu n. Father has been smiling more, but I cannot say the same for myself.¡±

    It seemed to Zu An that there really were different perspectives to every situation.

    From the Chu n¡¯s perspective, the illicit salt smugglers were despicable, and so was the Zheng n for using all sorts of contemptible methods.

    But in the eyes of the Zheng n, they were dissatisfied that the Chu n has enjoyed their privileges generation after generation. They didn¡¯t feel inferior to the Chu n in any way.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t say which side was right and which side was wrong. In the end, all that mattered was which side you belonged to.

    ¡°Why couldn¡¯t you feel happiness?¡± Pity welled up within Zu An when he saw the worry etched between her brows. He reached out a hand tofort her.

    ¡°The Whale Gang was engaged in illegal activities after all, so we were definitely targets for the River Patrol Army. This was the main reason for our marriage alliance with the Sang n. Only with the Sang n¡¯s protection did we have a chance of continuing the illicit salt trade. Otherwise, the Whale Gang would¡¯ve been wiped out a long time ago,¡± exined Zheng Dan.

    When they found the Zheng n¡¯s butler involved in the smuggling, the Chu n had already suspected that the Sang n was most likely involved.

    Now, they finally received confirmation.

    This Sang Hong really was vicious! He hadn¡¯t even hesitated to risk colluding with the illicit salt smugglers in order to bring down the Chu n.

    Once exposed, not even the emperor would be able to protect his status as the governor!

    Unfortunately, there was no proof for anything. There was no way he could just drag Zheng Dan over to testify against the Sang n, right?

    He couldn¡¯t bring himself to do something so merciless.

    Zu An pondered a moment, and then he asked, ¡°Do you like Sang Qian?¡±

    Zheng Dan smiled. ¡°Are you jealous?¡±

    Zu An snorted. ¡°Why would I be jealous of him? If anything, he should be jealous of me.¡±

    Zheng Dan obviously knew what he was talking about. She rolled her eyes and said, ¡°Regardless of appearance, background, or ability, Sang Qian is an excellent husband for our Zheng n. Unfortunately, I just don¡¯t feel much of anything when I¡¯m with him. The only reason I agreed to the marriage was because of the benefits it would bring the n. Actually, I didn¡¯t even have a choice in this matter. The n had already made the decision for me a long time ago.¡±

    Sensing the dejection and loneliness in her tone, Zu An said, ¡°Why don¡¯t you just throw away this engagement then? You can follow me instead.¡±

    ¡°Follow you?¡± Zheng Dan said with an ambiguous expression. ¡°Would I follow you into the Chu n?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s breathing stopped. When he thought of the grudges between the two ns, he really didn¡¯t know what to say.

    Zheng Dan sighed. ¡°Even though I¡¯ve always appeared to others as a gentle and quiet person, I¡¯m actually incredibly proud and arrogant. I never wanted to be the wife of another, not even to someone with such an outstanding background like Sang Qian.¡±

    When she saw Zu An¡¯s expression grow rather awful, she said, ¡°But Ah Zu, you¡¯re different. Being your wife... is not impossible.¡±

    When he saw the gentle feelings in her eyes, Zu An reached out to hold her soft hands. He didn¡¯t know what to say.

    ¡°What a pity...¡± Zheng Dan moved the conversation on. ¡°I cannot make decisions for myself alone. I have to think about the good of my n as well. I cannot be that selfish and harm my n.

    ¡°The Sang n came in response to the emperor¡¯s will, so the Chu n is merely fighting valiantly to hold back their inevitable defeat. Our Zheng n has remained the Chu n¡¯s enemy for so many years already. I cannot make such a decision for the Zheng n.¡±

    ¡°But your purity is already... How are you going to marry the Sang n like that?¡± Zu An couldn¡¯t help but mention this.

    ¡°I¡¯ll find a way to solve this in the future. Either way, it¡¯s still a while before our marriage is formalized. I should be able to use some tricks to get by for now.¡± A hint of worry creased Zheng Dan¡¯s brow. The Sang n weren¡¯t idiots. Sang Hong was even sharper than his son, so deceiving them was definitely going to be hard.

    Zu An became a bit gloomy. ¡°Do you really want to marry into the Sang n that badly?¡±

    Zheng Dan¡¯s soft fingers gently caressed his cheeks. ¡°Is my daddy getting angry?¡±

    Her teasing made both of them recall the words of passion they had shared the night before, stirring their hearts.

    ¡°I guess, in the end, we just aren¡¯t strong enough. We cannot make decisions for ourselves alone...¡± Zheng Dan sighed. However, she quickly added, ¡°But Ah Zu, please, there¡¯s nothing to worry about. Even if I marry into the Sang n, I will always be yours. As long as you want me, you can find me at any time...¡±

    There really was a type of mysterious charm when she spoke such captivating words with such a dignified tone.

    Zu An¡¯s heart skipped a beat. ¡°Do you think that¡¯s all I¡¯m after...¡±

    Zheng Dan pressed her finger gently against his lips. ¡°I know you aren¡¯t that type of person, but this is all I can do for you.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve been blessed with a life of luxury from birth, and my parents have treated me extremely well. I was granted resources and an education, so I really can''t just abandon them. I hope Ah Zu doesn¡¯t me me for this choice.¡±

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°The reason you are making this type of choice is because you are a sincere and strong-willed person. You are doing this out of filial piety and out of a sense of responsibility. How could I selfishly me you for that? Speaking of which, when are you and Sang Qian getting married?¡±

    ¡°In about a year,¡± Zheng Dan replied after thinking for a bit.

    ¡°Then there¡¯s still time,¡± Zu An muttered to himself. His voice grew serious. ¡°I¡¯ll definitely steal you back when the timees. You won¡¯t have to worry about your n¡¯s problems then either,¡± he dered.

    A big smile appeared on Zheng Dan¡¯s face. Her beautiful, misty eyes were swimming with deep emotion. ¡°I¡¯ll be waiting for you.¡±

    ¡°But you definitely cannot let that Sang dude take advantage of you before that!¡± Zu An said with a serious expression.

    Zheng Dan smiled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I haven¡¯t even let him hold my hand.¡±

    Zu An was astonished. ¡°Then why did you approach me before...¡±

    She had clearlye to him with such an open mind! That was why he thought that she was like this with her fianc¨¦ too. If he hadn¡¯t confirmed that she was a virgin, he would have assumed much more.

    Zheng Dan gave him a look. ¡°I don¡¯t even know why myself. I always lose my mind when I¡¯m with you. I was supposed to set a honey trap for you, but I ended up suffering a double loss instead!¡±

    Zu Anughed. ¡°Doesn¡¯t this just mean that we are a match made in heaven?¡±

    Zheng Dan smiled sweetly and pressed her cheek against his chest.

    ¡°By the way, why did you approach me in the beginning?¡± Zu An asked, slightly curious.

    ¡°Of course I was after your promissory note from the Silverhook casino! Many ns have been eyeing Plum Blossom Sect¡¯s assets.¡± Zheng Dan smiled in embarrassment as she recalled the incident. She was the one who had intentionally tried to seduce him.

    ¡°It¡¯s not just the ns. Even the academy is eyeing them.¡± Zu An roughly exined his deal with the academy. The two were already so close, and he didn¡¯t want to hide this from her.

    Zheng Dan grew flustered. ¡°On my goodness! You didn¡¯t have the seven-and-a-half million taels of silver from the start?¡± Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. ¡°You never said anything, even after I wasted so much energy!¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°The two of us were enemies back then. Why would I tell you anything? Besides, which man would be stupid enough to turn away a great beauty who is intent on throwing herself at him?¡±

    ¡°Ahhhh!!! I hate you so much! I¡¯m going to bite you to death!¡± Zheng Dan bared her teeth and pounced at him. Zu An quickly dodged with a smile.

    The two of them tacitly remained in the cave for the next few days. Firstly, they needed to recover from their injuries, and secondly, this was the most intimate ce for them. In this ce, they didn¡¯t need to think about their responsibilities, their ns, or any of the other things that troubled them.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    This pair of lovers stayed here alone, and each time their eyes met, the heavens shook and the earth was rent asunder.

    When Zheng Dan recovered from the Eighteen Spring Winds, the two of them shared a period of intense bliss.

    From time to time, sounds that would make even passing birds blush could be heard, as well as the intimate words shared between lovers.

    ¡°Even if something happens and I can¡¯t steal you back in time, I won¡¯t let him touch you even if you marry into the Sang n!¡±

    Zheng Dan giggled. ¡°He is going to be my real husband! Aren¡¯t you being too unreasonable~¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care! I won¡¯t allow it!¡±

    ¡°Then you have to do your best to steal me back! I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be that easy, though.¡±

    ¡°Are you trying to get me angry on purpose?¡±

    ¡°Ah, forgive me daddy~¡±

 Chapter 316: Profit from Disaster

    <h4>Chapter 316: Profit from Disaster</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    From her perch on top of a tree, Zheng Dan looked towards the boats that were gathered along the river¡¯s shore. She sighed. ¡°Seems like we have to go back.¡±

    Zu An nodded. Even though the men were still some distance away, it would only be a matter of time before they found this ce. ¡°Do you know if they are from the Whale Gang, or people from Brightmoon City?¡±

    Zheng Dan shook her head. ¡°They aren¡¯t from the Whale Gang. The Whale Gang don¡¯t wear this sort of attire. They should be...¡±

    She was the Whale Gang¡¯s boss, so she naturally knew about these things.

    Seeing her speak but then break off, Zu An said with a smile, ¡°Is it Sang Qian¡¯s River Patrol Army?¡±

    Zheng Dan nodded with a gloomy expression.

    ¡°This guy seems to care quite a lot about you,¡± Zu An said with a sigh.

    Zheng Dan had aplicated expression on her face. ¡°He has always treated me quite well.¡±

    Zu An wasn¡¯t expecting that.

    ¡°Why do I feel like we are the adulterers here?¡±

    ¡°Pui!¡± Zheng Dan spat out. She blushed at once. ¡°Who talks about themselves like that?¡±

    Zu Anughed. ¡°Okay, okay, let¡¯s pack up and head back.¡±

    He had disappeared for so long. The academy and the Chu n were sure to be worried.

    There wasn¡¯t that much to pack. They had been chased here in the first ce, so they hadn¡¯t brought anything with them.

    The only thing they had to bring with them was the red dragon¡¯s pile of treasure.

    ¡°How do we bring all of this back?¡± Zheng Dan stared at the piles of treasure in front of her with a worried expression.

    Zu An smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡±

    He walked up to the treasure and exerted some metal strength. With a single, concentrated thought, all the sparkling treasures vanished without a trace.

    ¡°A spatial artifact!¡± Zheng Dan was shocked. Her face immediately grew red. ¡°No wonder I couldn¡¯t find that promissory note on you! You had such a thing with you! I wasted so much...¡±

    Zu An wrapped his arms around her willowy waist and gave her a firm kiss on the mouth. ¡°Without all that, we would never have been brought together. This truly was the workings of fate.¡±

    ¡°Fate is truly unkind!¡± Zheng Dan scoffed. She couldn¡¯t stand what he was doing and turned away, her face burning.

    Zu Anughed loudly and followed her out.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, I¡¯ve heard that dragons carry grudges. Won¡¯t ite after you once it finds out that you¡¯ve stolen all of its treasures?¡± Zheng Dan said when they left the cave.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, that dragon won¡¯t be back.¡± Zu An smiled.

    Zheng Dan was surprised. ¡°It seems like you really do have a powerful expert at your side.¡±

    The Sang n had assigned her the task, but she never expected to find out the truth in such a manner. The price she paid for it had been too steep!

    ¡°What if I was the one who killed it?¡± Zu An couldn¡¯t resist saying.

    ¡°You really love to brag,¡± Zheng Dan scoffed. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t tell the Sang n.¡±

    She obviously didn¡¯t believe that Zu An had the strength to kill a giant dragon as terrifying as that one. Besides, the dragon¡¯s corpse had vanished as well, and it was probably the expert backing him that took it away.

    Just how strong was that expert? He could even defeat such a terrifying creature!

    She always had confidence in the Zheng n overtaking the Chu n, especially since the Chu n was desperately trying to hold back the inevitable. However, if they had the help of a top-level expert, then it was hard to say who woulde out ahead.

    She even subconsciously thought about bringing Zu An into the Zheng n. However, there was the issue of her current engagement to Sang Qian. She sighed heavily, and let go of the thought without saying anything.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Zu An held her hand when he sensed the change in her mood.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Zheng Dan forced a smile. She suddenly thought of something and hurriedly asked, ¡°If there is an expert at your side, then these few days... the two of us... didn¡¯t he see all of that?¡±

    She was thoroughly embarrassed by how the two of them hadpletely abandoned all restraint while they were in the cave. She didn¡¯t mind showing Zu An this side of her, but she would be too ashamed if anyone else had seen it too.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, no one saw anything.¡± Zu An reassured her while feeling guilty inside. Big sis empress was a woman, after all, and it was fine if she had seen them.

    That Mi Li really is two-faced! She said she was going to sleep, and yet she still stayed up to peep on them.

    Only after Zu Anforted her repeatedly did Zheng Dan finally calm down.

    The two of them made it a short distance before Zheng Dan cried out, ¡°Wait!¡± She whipped around and ran back to the cave.

    Zu An was puzzled. He didn¡¯t know what she was doing, but followed her anyway. He saw that she was cleaning up the ces where the two of them had slept together.

    The messy straw was sorted neatly, and then she even summoned her water element powers to give it everything a thorough washing.

    Zu An stood staring, his mouth slightly agape.

    Zheng Dan pinched the corners of her dress in embarrassment. ¡°It seems a little shameful if someone else found out about this.¡±

    Zu An really couldn¡¯t associate this bashful youngdy with that fierce and bold figure from a few days ago.

    The two of them headed down the mountain together. When they were still a hundred meters from the search party, Zheng Dan suddenly stopped Zu An. ¡°Ah Zu, don¡¯t follow me.¡±

    ¡°Are you worried about your fianc¨¦ finding out?¡± Zu Anughed.

    Zheng Dan grew flustered, and hurriedly exined, ¡°That¡¯s not it! It¡¯s just that Sang Qian is a bit narrow-minded, and he doesn¡¯t like you at all. We¡¯re in the wilderness right now, and there isn¡¯t anyone else around but his own people. I¡¯m worried that he might suddenly attack you.¡±

    Her words made sense to Zu An. Only Sang Qian¡¯s River Patrol Army soldiers were here, and this area waspletely deste and uninhabited. That fe might really give in to his killing intent.

    ¡°All right then. Take care of yourself.¡± Zu An bid her goodbye reluctantly.

    Zheng Dan suddenly threw herself into his arms. She rose on her tiptoes and gave him a deep, long kiss, before reluctantly parting from him.

    ¡°Dan¡¯er, are you there?¡± Sang Qian¡¯s call came from a distance away.

    Zu An hid behind arge tree so that themander couldn¡¯t see him.

    Zheng Dan¡¯s face was slightly flushed as she pushed him away. She secretly waved goodbye to him, and then walked out into the open. ¡°Commander Sang, I am over here.¡±

    Sang Qian was shocked and overjoyed. He quickly rushed to her side. ¡°Dan¡¯er, it really is you!¡±

    Zheng Dan felt a twinge of remorse when she heard the concern in his voice. ¡°I¡¯ve troubled Commander Sang.¡±

    ¡°Not at all, not at all!¡± Sang Qianughed loudly. He was clearly extremely happy to see his fianc¨¦e fine and well. Suddenly, his eyes froze. ¡°Are your legs injured?¡±

    Zheng Dan was taken aback. ¡°No. Why would you ask that?¡±

    ¡°You seem to be walking differently from how you usually do, although I can¡¯t really tell what¡¯s different about it.¡± Sang Qian scratched his head. He stared at her legs with a perplexed expression.

    Zheng Dan¡¯s face reddened immediately. She thought about how, day after day, she had let Zu An¡¯s preposterous...

    Her heart began to pound, and she quickly changed the topic. ¡°By the way, how did you manage to find this ce?¡±

    Sang Qian also snapped out of his daze. ¡°A spy from the Whale Gang ryed a message, saying that something had happened on the ind. I was concerned, so I brought some men along with me. Hmph, to think that Chen Xuan would be so brazen as to go after the Whale Gang! I would never have sucked up to the Shi n if I knew that things would turn out this way.¡±

    Only then did Zheng Dan feel relief. The Sang n was not the only one with spies on Whale Ind, even the Zheng n had their own. However, she never expected Chen Xuan to incite all of those higher-level figures against her.

    Things had happened so abruptly that she had no chance to react properly.

    However, now that the Sang and Zheng ns had been informed, there was no way either of them would sit idly by.

    ¡°I heard that Chen Xuan and Liu Chan¡¯s band of conspirators were chasing you. They... didn¡¯t do anything to you, did they?¡± Sang Qian asked nervously. As a man, there were some things he was most worried about. Many terrible scenarios appeared in his head.

    Zheng Dan¡¯s face reddened slightly, and she quickly shook her head. ¡°Of course not!¡±

    She felt rather guilty. Even though Chen Xuan¡¯s group had not touched her, Zu An...

    Sang Qian sighed in relief when he heard her reply. ¡°Where are they? Don¡¯t worry, I will make sure anyone who bullies you will have their corpses hacked to pieces!¡±

    Zu An, who was currently hiding on a tree while under the effects of Mirror Mirage, had a strange expression on his face. Could what he had done during this period of time be considered as bullying Zheng Dan?

    She seemed pretty happy through all of it though, so I¡¯m probably in the clear, right? I¡¯m definitely not one of those people Sang Qian is talking about.

    ¡°All of them are dead,¡± Zheng Dan replied.

    ¡°Dead?¡± Sang Qian didn¡¯t dare believe what he was hearing. Liu Chan and the others were one thing, but Chen Xuan had managed to evade the efforts of the Chu n and the city lord to capture him for all these years. Did he really die here?

    ¡°I fled into the depths of Hidden Dragon Mountain. In the end, we identally stumbled into a dragon¡¯s territory. All of them were killed by the furious dragon. I used the chance to get away,¡± Zheng Dan exined, leaving out some parts of what happened.

    She had spent these past few days thinking about how to exin what had happened to anyone who asked, and she replied without any hesitation.

    ¡°A dragon!¡± Not just Sang Qian, but even the surrounding soldiers were shocked. ¡°There really is a dragon in Hidden Dragon Mountain?¡±

    Zheng Dan nodded. ¡°That dragon is extremely formidable. It uses the fire element. It burned Liu Chan and the others to ashes with a single breath.¡±

    These were things Zu An had told her. She retold everything in a vivid manner, and even described the dragon¡¯s appearance in great detail.

    Sang Qian was satisfied. He roared withughter. ¡°Who would¡¯ve thought that we would profit from this disaster? I will bring some troops over to hunt down this dragon. We¡¯ve struck it big this time! This is a legendary dragon we are talking about! Every single part of its body is a treasure!¡±

    Zu An had a very different thought in mind. I feel like your fianc¨¦e¡ªnot the dragon¡ªis the one whose entire body is a treasure.

    If he had spoken this out loud, the reaction it drew would have been second only to ¡®your wife was so wonderful¡¯. He would¡¯ve surely raked in a ton of Rage points.

    However, out of consideration for Zheng Dan¡¯s circumstances, he held his tongue.

 Chapter 317: New Task

    <h4>Chapter 317: New Task</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zheng Dan wasn¡¯t all that worried that Sang Qian seemed so excited. That dragon wasn¡¯t even there anymore. When they carried out their search and found nothing, they would just assume that the dragon moved its nest because it didn¡¯t want to be disturbed.

    At the same time, she praised herself for scouring that cave of any trace of her and Ah Zu. If she hadn¡¯t, and such arge group ventured inside, there was no guarantee that no one would find anything.

    ¡°Let¡¯s return to the Whale Gang¡¯s headquarters first. We need to deal with this mutiny,¡± said Zheng Dan.

    Chen Xuan only colluded with the middle- and upper-level figures in the Whale Gang. Now that those people were all dead, she could bring the entire gang back under her control again.

    ¡°You should just return to Brightmoon City,¡± Sang Qian said with a heavy voice. ¡®There is no need for you to go to Whale Ind.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Zheng Dan was confused.

    ¡°My men have already eliminated everyone in the Whale Gang.¡± Sang Qian sounded as if he were merely talking about the weather.

    ¡°What?!¡± Zheng Dan turned pale with fright.

    Sang Qian continued indifferently, ¡°If they can betray you once, then they might betray you again.

    ¡°Besides, you¡¯re going to marry into our Sang n. If news of you being the Whale Gang¡¯s boss gets out, it will cause huge problems for us. That¡¯s why I took this opportunity topletely pull out this problem from its roots.¡±

    Zheng Dan immediately grew upset. ¡°Your actions have wasted many years of effort!¡±

    ¡°There is a time to let things go. The Whale Gang has already aplished what it was meant to do over these years, and has instead be more of a liability. You should think about preparing yourself to be a good wife. That is what you, first miss of the Zheng n, need to focus on.¡± Sang Qian waved his hand, gesturing for his subordinates to escort Zheng Dan back.

    Zheng Dan felt her soul leave her body when she learned that the Whale Gang had beenpletely destroyed. The soldiers escorted her away, supporting her powerless body.

    Zu An felt a chill run down his back as he watched this group leave. This Sang Qian looked rather suave and handsome from the outside, but his actions were truly vicious.

    There had been at least several hundred people on that ind. Together with their wives and children, the poption of the ind might have surpassed a thousand souls. Everyone had been massacred by him.

    No wonder Zheng Dan stopped him from apanying her. With this guy¡¯s merciless nature, he really might have used this chance to kill him.

    Zu An waited until Sang Qian and the others left, and then he rushed off in the direction of Brightmoon City. He finally returned to the Chu n in the evening.

    ¡°The young master has returned!¡±

    Cheng Shouping was squatting by the gate. He shouted with joy when he saw Zu An.

    A hugemotion broke out in the entire Chu n estate, and in an instant, quite a few people rushed out.

    Surprisingly, Qin Wanru was the first one to appear.

    When she saw that it really was Zu An, she was both surprised and delighted. ¡°Where the heck have you been these past few days?!

    ¡°Thank heavens you came back. Go and contact the Master, Chuyan, and Huanzhao! They don¡¯t have to keep searching for him!¡±

    Zu An was perplexed that he hadn''t seen Chu Chuyan around. He waspletely stunned when he heard what Qin Wanru said. ¡°Chuyan and the others are looking for me?¡±

    ¡°They are!¡± Qin Wanru said with a sigh, ¡°When Miss Shang from the academy told us that something had happened, Chuyan couldn¡¯t sleep for many days. She brought some men with her everyday, and went out looking for you.

    ¡°Even that brat Huanzhao is doing the same. I really don¡¯t know why she is getting all worked up.

    ¡°She still hasn¡¯t fully recovered yet...¡± Zu An was incredibly moved, but his heart was also overwhelmed with grief. Even though he had stayed in the cave to treat his injuries, the main reason he¡¯d dyed his return was so that he could continue to act shamelessly with Zheng Dan.

    Chu Zhongtian and the others quickly returned when they heard the news.

    Even though Chu Chuyan was misty-eyed, she was still naturally more reserved, so she maintained some semnce ofposure. However, Chu Huanzhao definitely couldn¡¯t hold herself back. She threw herself into his arms and began to cry. ¡°Brother-inw, where did you go these past few days? All of us were worried to death...¡±

    Chu Zhongtian exchanged a look with his wife. Qin Wanru¡¯s brow was slightly furrowed, as was his own. However, seeing how emotional their second daughter was, there was little that they could say.

    After a while, though, even Chu Zhongtian couldn¡¯t stand his second daughter sticking so closely to Zu An. He coughed lightly and said, ¡°Ah Zu, where did you go these past few days?¡±

    All eyes turned on Zu An. Their gazes seemed to be burning hot as they stared at him, so Zu An awkwardly pushed Chu Huanzhao away. However, the front of his clothes had already beenpletely soaked by her tears.

    The bodies of girls really were made of water.

    Zu An sighed and replied, ¡°I was out with some people from the academy that day. Later on, I discovered some news about the Whale Gang¡¯s boss, so I decided to look into it. However, the enemy saw right through me and captured me, and brought me straight to Whale Ind.¡±

    Everyone¡¯s faces changed. He said this casually, but they could well imagine how terrifying of an experience this was.

    ¡°Did you find out who the Whale Gang¡¯s boss was?¡± Qin Wanru quickly asked. After all, the Whale Gang has stolen a huge share of the Chu n¡¯s market, and their boss was even more mysterious than Chen Xuan.

    ¡°I do not know. When I was captured, there seemed to be some internal strife going on in the Whale Gang. I used the opportunity to get away,¡± replied Zu An. What he said was still mostly true.

    He felt guilty about all this, but there was no way he could just sell Zheng Dan out like that.

    ¡°How unfortunate! We still don¡¯t know anything about them!¡± Qin Wanru¡¯s annoyance was palpable.

    ¡°It is nowpletely meaningless whether we know their identity or not,¡± Chu Zhongtian said. ¡°We have just received the news that Sang Qian found Whale Ind. His River Patrol Army has already destroyed itpletely.¡±

    ¡°Just what kind of rtionship does Whale Ind have with the Zheng n? Where are the captives from the ind? Tell Xie Yi to interrogate them,¡± Qin Wanru demanded hastily.

    Chu Zhongtian shook his head. ¡°They didn¡¯t spare a single person on that ind!¡±

    Qin Wanru gasped. ¡°That Sang Qian really is a vicious man.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face sunk as well. He had only suspected this to be the case before, but he now had confirmation.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s voice was icy cold. ¡°It seems like the Whale Gang really is connected to the Zheng n. Otherwise, Sang Qian wouldn¡¯t have to go so far as to silence everyone.¡±

    Zu An secretly gave his wife a thumbs-up. His main wife really was a smart one! Dandan, you can¡¯t me me for this one. They reached these conclusions themselves.

    ¡°Oh, right. Ah Zu, why did the Whale Gang suddenly suffer from internal strife?¡± Chu Chuyan looked at him with her beautiful eyes. This was a well-organized group that had brought the Chu n countless headaches over the years. She just couldn¡¯t figure out why they would suddenly turn on each other.

    ¡°Chen Xuan paid a visit to the ind. He incited many people in the Whale Gang to betray the boss. Those members were already dissatisfied with how conservative their boss was, and wanted to widen the scope of their illicit salt business. A fight between the different factions broke out, allowing me to escape.¡± Zu An told them all of this inly, as there was no need to hide anything.

    ¡°Chen Xuan!¡± Even Chu Zhongtian was shocked when he heard this name.

    ¡°What was the result of this battle?¡± Qin Wanru asked hurriedly.

    ¡°They should all be dead,¡± replied Zu An.

    ¡°Dead?¡± All of them were puzzled. They clearly couldn¡¯t get over the fact that someone like Chen Xuan could die so easily.

    Zu An told them the story he and Zheng Dan had agreed on. ¡°As I was running away, I suddenly heard a dragon¡¯s cry. Immediately afterwards, a terrifying pressure spread in all directions. There was a giant dragon flying in the air far away. I believe Chen Xuan and the others caught up to the Whale Gang¡¯s boss, but they ended up identally stumbling upon a dragon¡¯sir.

    ¡°That dragon flew about in the air and breathed fire continuously from its mouth. No matter how strong Chen Xuan¡¯s cultivation is, there¡¯s no way he could defeat a dragon.

    ¡°A whileter, I snuck closer to take a look, and saw a huge pile of burned corpses, as well as a messy pile of trampled flesh. Chen Xuan¡¯s de was right next to it, so that was probably his corpse.¡±

    Chu Zhongtian could barely contain his shock. ¡°Giant dragon! Our ancestors have left us with records stating that Hidden Dragon Mountain did indeed house a dragon in its depths. However, it has been centuries since anyone saw it, so we all thought that there was some error.

    ¡°It seems like I¡¯ll have to bring some old friends with me and make a trip through Hidden Dragon Mountain to search for this dragon¡¯s whereabouts.¡±

    Not even he could resist the temptation of a dragon! At the same time, he knew full well that he had no chance of defeating something on this level by himself.

    Like hell you guys will be able to find it. That dragon is sitting inside my Brilliant ss Bead right now.

    Qin Wanru smiled. ¡°Despite all the dangers involved, we¡¯ve received two important pieces of information. The Whale Gang and Chen Xuan were both major sources of trouble for our Chu n, but both of them have finally been eliminated.¡±

    Chu Zhongtian smiled as well. ¡°Indeed, indeed! Who would have thought that Zu An would be our lucky star!¡±

    Chu Chuyan walked over to Zu An¡¯s side. ¡°Ah Zu, don¡¯t do such dangerous things in the future,¡± she said quietly. ¡°Send us word first if you notice anything. I¡¯ll go with you.¡±

    Zu An felt his heart melt. He couldn¡¯t help but reach out to hold her small, cold hand.

    Embarrassed, Chu Chuyan subconsciously tried to pull back, but Zu An had moved too quickly, and his grip was firm. She couldn¡¯t pull back in time, and could only let him get away with it.

    Chu Zhongtian¡¯s eyes went round when he noticed this. He couldn¡¯t help but give his wife a look.

    Qin Wanru returned his look with a t stare. What the heck are you looking at me for? You might just die from anger if you knew what he had been up to with your daughter in bed.

    With the most pressing questions out of the way, Chu Chuyan ordered some servants to prepare a hot bath, clearly worried that Zu An was too exhausted.

    Chu Huanzhao headed off to the kitchen, announcing loudly that she was going to make something for her brother-inw.

    Zu An had settled into his bathfortably, and was just enjoying himself when his heart suddenly jumped. He turned around in panic.

    A shriveled elder stood next to the bathtub. He chuckled in a terrifying manner. ¡°Your vignce has grown again.¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Elder.¡± Zu An felt extremely ufortable when he saw Old Mi. He subconsciously curled up inside his bathwater to prevent the old man from seeing that his seal had already been broken.

    Fortunately, Old Mi had his own traumas, and instinctively refused to look in that direction. ¡°Brat, you¡¯re growing more and more reckless. You will really end up throwing your life away one day.¡±

    Zu Anughed in embarrassment. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to do anything to do with that either, but heaven¡¯s ns are greater than our own.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m d that you¡¯re back.¡± Old Mi harrumphed. He had been incredibly worried about Zu An these past few days. In fact, he was probably one of the top three people most concerned about Zu An¡¯s safety. After all, there was no time for him to look for another suitable candidate.

    Secretly, he considered whether he should break one of Zu An¡¯s legs first, so that Zu An would stay home instead of running about outside and encountering danger after danger.

    However, there were still things that he needed Zu An to do for him, so he dispelled this tempting thought.

    ¡°I have a new task for you,¡± Old Mi said with a grave voice.

    ¡°New task?¡±

    Old Mi brought out a small, finely-embroidered box. ¡°Find a case identical to this one in the Wei n estate and bring it to me.¡±

 Chapter 318: Strange Big Bird

    <h4>Chapter 318: Strange Big Bird</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°What¡¯s inside this case?¡± This case was rather delicate and exquisite. It was made of first-rate pear wood and the decorative design on its surface was refined as well.

    Old Mi sneered. ¡°You don¡¯t need to know what¡¯s inside the case. Just remember what it looks like and bring me the same exact one that is in the Wei n¡¯s possession.¡±

    Zu An scratched his head. ¡°Elder, I¡¯m confused. With your cultivation, wouldn¡¯t it be easy for you to get whatever you want from the Wei n estate? Why do you have to go through the trouble of sending me?¡±

    After all, Old Mi could move around the Chu n without anyone¡¯s notice. Not even the eighth-ranked Chu Zhongtian noticed anything.

    No matter how tight the security in the Wei n was, it couldn¡¯t be better than the duke¡¯s estate, right?

    Old Mi snorted. ¡°I have my reasons. If I tell you to go, then go. Don¡¯t give me all this nonsense.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°All right.¡± Zu An shrugged his shoulders. Since it wasn¡¯t too difficult a task, he¡¯d just help this old man out.

    Old Mi smiled in satisfaction. He turned around to leave, but stopped suddenly. ¡°You absolutely must not open that case, or else it will endanger your life,¡± he warned Zu An. ¡°Don¡¯t say I didn¡¯t warn you.¡±

    Zu An jumped in fright. ¡°It¡¯s that dangerous?!¡±

    ¡°Just don¡¯t open it,¡± Old Mi instructed.

    By the time he finished speaking, his figure had already vanished.

    Zu An became quiet. What in the world was inside that case?

    The human mind was a curious thing. If Old Mi hadn¡¯t warned him to not open it, he probably wouldn¡¯t have this strong urge to peek inside.

    He remembered the warnings on lightbulb packages from his previous world, which warned against putting them into your mouth. Usually, no one in their right mind would do something so stupid, but how could one not be curious after seeing this warning? Who knew how many warriors there were in the world who were willing to put their bodies on the line to test this out?

    There was a kid from his school who obviously knew the reasoning behind why a light bulb couldn¡¯t be removed after it was inserted into the mouth. However, being one who didn¡¯t believe in myths or urban legends, he just had to give it a try. Of course, the kid wrapped a condom around it just in case. That way, he figured it¡¯d be slippery and easy to remove.

    In the end, reality taught him a harsh lesson. All of the students and teachers in the school saw tears streaming down his face as he ran towards the hospital with a condom-wrapped lightbulb in his mouth. To this day, this sort of social death made him cringe whenever he recalled it.

    I¡¯ll just sneak a peekter. I¡¯m sure it will be fine.

    However, he couldn¡¯t shake the sense of danger lurking in the back of his mind. This Old Mi definitely had an ulterior motive. He couldn¡¯t let him keep controlling him like this.

    He had to find a way to break free.

    He immediately felt discouraged when he recalled Mi Li¡¯s assessment of that old man¡¯s cultivation. Unless he had a poison like the Red Tears of Lady Xiang, not even all of his cheats added together could help him at all.

    And catching Old Mi off guard, like he did with that dragon, would be virtually impossible.

    Increasing my cultivation is my top priority!

    Zu An quickly checked the amount of Rage points he had collected¡ª71,915 points.

    So few!

    Zu An frowned. Seventy thousand seemed like a lot, but it took a hundred points to draw the lottery once, and he would only average one Ki Fruit every ten draws. From this perspective, what he had wasn¡¯t that much at all.

    I¡¯ve becent! I didn¡¯t earn that many Rage points this time.

    He was aware that,pared to when he first started out, this rate of farming was already pretty good. However the higher his base level of cultivation, the more terrifying the amount of ki fruits were needed to increase his cultivation further.

    I really need a new way to farm more efficiently.

    But he just couldn¡¯t think of any amazing method no matter how he racked his brain.

    Feeling helpless, there was nothing to do but start drawing the lottery.

    Since he was in the bathtub already, he washed his face a few times and then pressed the ¡®Enter¡¯ key.

    After a series of ¡®Thanks for ying!¡¯, he ended up with seventy-two ki fruits. He did not manage to draw any skills or items.

    This was to be expected. After all, how could it be so easy to draw the good stuff?

    He popped them into his mouth one after another like choctes. He sensed his internal ki spread throughout his body and gather towards his ninth formation.

    Huh?

    Zu An sat up at once. He discovered that his ninth formation was now fully filled!

    What the...

    Zu An recalled that the ninth formation needed 2584 ki fruits to fill it up. He had only eaten 320 ki fruits before, and just ate another 72. There was no way it should¡¯ve been enough!

    Something dawned on him. He had been injured several times recently, and that strike from the dragon¡¯s tail in Hidden Dragon Mountain had almost killed him.

    At its core, the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra relied on him getting beaten up to cultivate.

    However this still didn¡¯t make sense! When Mi Li had hacked away at him until he was on the brink of death, with only the ¡®Heiress Ball of Delights¡¯ keeping him alive, he had basically died several times! Why were the effects of that single dragon strike so good?

    Did that second attack that was blocked by Shang Liuyu¡¯s pendant count as well?

    He¡¯d previously spent some time trying to figure out the rate at which the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra increased his cultivation, but today¡¯s effects left him confused again. His previous hypotheses were all overturned.

    Sigh, maybe this is something only big-shot mathematicians can figure out.

    Zu An shook his head. He gave up on trying to decipher the pattern behind this system.

    Right now, there was a more pressing issue that concerned him. He had obtained Grandgale when he reached the peak of the second rank. Was there something else waiting for him now?

    He examined himself. He discovered that there were some special lines added to the ninth formation. Again, it seemed to vaguely trace out the outline of a giant bird.

    ¡°Yet anotherrge bird?¡± Zu An had a strange look on his face. Do I have some kind of special affinity with big birds?

    Grandgale¡¯s body was snow white, with red tail feathers. Thisrge bird¡¯s body was an azure blue and looked like a goose. It was different from Grandgale¡¯s imposing appearance, this bird looked much more affable.

    However, its proud and unyielding gaze told him that this definitely wasn¡¯t some harmless pushover.

    There was a stamp like imprint to this big bird¡¯s lower right side. There were two small characters: Blue Mard.

    Blue Mard... it¡¯s another one of the phoenix¡¯s nine chicks after all. Zu An already had this suspicion when he first saw Grandgale. He¡¯d finally gotten confirmation.

    So what can this fellow do?

    Following his prior experience with Grandgale, he poured his ki into the imprint of Blue Mard. When his ki covered the entire diagram, Blue Mard¡¯s eyes shone. Then, a Blue Mard projection appeared in front of him.

    Zu An suddenly felt as though the water in his bathtub felt extremelyfortable. A sudden idea struck him, and he let his entire body sink to the bottom.

    He discovered with shock that he could breath like normal underwater. He even had a feeling that, as long as he had enough ki to maintain Blue Mard, he could remain underwater for however long he wished.

    Zu An was overjoyed. Many of the fights he¡¯d had somehow ended up with him in the water. Even though he knew how to swim, it was still quite inconvenient. With this skill, he could turn the water into his home field!

    Another idea shed into his mind. Since he could project Grandgale forward, what would happen if he did the same with this Blue Mard?

    He used Blue Mard in the same way that he would employ Grandgale, projecting it towards the doorway. In an instant, all of the water in the tub seemed to have been summoned, rushing forth towards the doorway like a tidal wave.

    The door was sted to pieces by the crashing water. Even the walls around it were sted full of holes.

    Before Zu An could feel any excitement at all, stunned horror engulfed him. Chu Huanzhao was standing not far away from the shattered door,pletely drenched by the torrent of water.

    An excited smile was still frozen on her face. She stood shock still, and was probably contemting her life at that very moment.

    Zu An stood up in a hurry. ¡°Little Huanzhao, are you all right?¡± Fortunately, the door and walls had absorbed most of the impact, reducing the danger to her.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine...¡± Chu Huanzhao subconsciously replied. Suddenly, she screamed. She covered her eyes in a panic, her pretty cheeks immediately blushing a bright red. ¡°Brother-inw, you pervert!¡±

 Chapter 319: Chu Chuyanâ€™s Rage

    <h4>Chapter 319: Chu Chuyan¡¯s Rage</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An stared nkly for a moment, then discreetly lowered his gaze. Only then did he notice that almost all of the water in the tub was gone because he had used the Blue Mard technique.

    Even the tub itself was in tatters, shattered by the tremendous force. He had taken his clothes off since he was bathing, and so he waspletely naked.

    Zu An¡¯s face heated up. He quickly grabbed the clothes hanging on the screen to cover himself. This kid is getting more and more out of control.

    You¡¯re shouting at me, but why are the gaps between your fingers so big?

    Feng Daniu and the other guards heard the activity and rushed over at once. ¡°Young master, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. All of you can head back to your posts.¡± Zu An stepped in front of Chu Huanzhao to block her and shooed them away.

    ¡°Okay.¡± The guards withdrew when they received his order. However, they still began to whisper among themselves in private.

    ¡°Did you all see that? Even the door was broken! How could nothing have happened?¡±

    ¡°Exactly! Even the second miss was screaming.¡±

    ¡°Stop gossiping. If the young master says it¡¯s nothing, then it¡¯s nothing. Stop looking for trouble.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you think the two of them were a little too close?¡±

    ¡°Everyone knows that the second young miss and the young master have a good rtionship. The young master really is a real man! He might really take the second young miss as his wife too! He is a role model for all of us.¡±

    ¡°Shush! I don¡¯t think we should be gossiping so much about our Master¡¯s family!¡±

    ...

    Satisfied that the guards had left, Zu An patted Chu Huanzhao and said, ¡°All right, stop screaming already. I¡¯m already the one who¡¯s losing out big time, right?¡±

    Seeing him approaching, Chu Huanzhao covered her eyes firmly again. ¡°Have you put on your clothes yet?¡±

    It¡¯s not like you couldn¡¯t see for yourself! But out of consideration for her shyness, he didn¡¯t expose her. ¡°My clothes are on.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao lowered her hands. Her face waspletely red. Her eyes darted away. How could she meet his gaze after what she had just seen?

    Zu An changed the topic. ¡°Why did youe here?¡±

    Chu Huanzhao finally snapped out of her daze. ¡°Oh, I just wanted to call you over for dinner. I made you something myself today! You¡¯d better eat a lot,¡± she said excitedly.

    ¡°Sounds good to me.¡± Zu An rubbed her head. What a cute and considerate kid.

    Chu Huanzhao tidied her hair, clearly annoyed. ¡°Don¡¯t rub my head like I¡¯m Cheng Shouping... achoo...¡±

    She suddenly sneezed in the middle of her sentence.

    Only then did the two of them remember that she waspletely soaked.

    ¡°Don¡¯t stand outside, you¡¯ll catch a cold from the wind,¡± Zu An said.

    ¡°Oh yeah...¡± Chu Huanzhao subconsciously followed him inside.

    After they had gone inside, Zu An was just about to tell her something when his eyes widened. It was getting dark outside so he hadn¡¯t noticed earlier, but in the light of the room¡¯smps, he could clearly see that Chu Huanzhao¡¯s clothes were stered to her skin.

    They were already partially transparent after being drenched, and the outlines of her petite and attractive body were faintly visible.

    Chu Huanzhao also noticed that something wasn¡¯t right. She lowered her head to examine herself, and then she screamed even louder than before. ¡°Stinky brother-inw!¡±

    How could Chu Huanzhao be shameless enough to continue to stay there? She turned around and ran.

    Zu An was shocked. He quickly chased after her and stopped her.

    ¡°What... are you going to do...¡± Chu Huanzhao jumped in fright, and even her voice carried more than a hint of rm.

    Zu An hadn¡¯t expected the normally carefree Chu Huanzhao to have such a bashful side. He quickly wrapped his own coat around her. ¡°Cover yourself with this first so no one sees you along the way.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao had a strange expression on her face. You don¡¯t want others to see, but it¡¯s perfectly okay for you to have seen it?

    Her neck grew redder than ever before. ¡°It¡¯s all your fault!¡± She kicked Zu An in the shin and ran off with his coat around her.

    Zu An grimaced in pain. He watched this youngdy disappear into the darkness of the night. She really was a cute little pepper.

    Just then, he heard a cold voice. ¡°What happened?¡± Chu Chuyan was standing not far away.

    ¡°Oh, wife, you¡¯re here.¡± Zu An felt rather guilty.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t Huanzhaoe to call you over for dinner? She didn¡¯t return after so long, so I decided to have the food brought over instead.¡± Chu Chuyan ordered the servants to set out the food. However, she was shocked when she noticed the terrible state that the room was in. ¡°What happened here?¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°I suddenly had a breakthrough and identally broke the door,¡± Zu An said in embarrassment.

    Chu Chuyan smiled. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to be such a hard worker.¡±

    Which woman didn¡¯t wish for their husbands to earnestly improve themselves? Her own cultivation hade about not just because of her outstanding aptitude, but because of the hard work she had put in day after day. That was why her mood was naturally lifted when she learned that her husband was thinking about cultivation even when he was in the bath.

    Zu An felt embarrassed by herpliment. What he did had nothing to do with diligence.

    Chu Chuyan looked all around her. ¡°So where did lil¡¯ Huanzhao go?¡±

    ¡°The water sted everywhere and ended up drenching her. I told her to go back and change her clothes so that she wouldn¡¯t catch a cold.¡± Zu An said nonchntly.

    Wait, I¡¯m clearly the victim here. Why do I have such a guilty conscience?

    Chu Chuyan panicked at once. ¡°Was she injured?¡±

    ¡°No, she¡¯s fine. Only her clothes were soaked,¡± Zu An replied.

    Chu Chuyan finally calmed down. ¡°No wonder I saw someone running out on my way here. I called out to her several times but she didn¡¯t reply.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s eat first. Some of it was made by Huanzhao... and by me.¡± A tinge of expectation suddenly shone in Chu Chuyan¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Awesome!¡± Zu An¡¯s heart softened. That brat made food for me herself, and even my wife cares for me. What a good life!

    However, when he saw the charred food on the table, some of it even ckened beyond recognition, his smile instantly vanished.

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you eating?¡± Chu Chuyan was confused.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to eat right now!¡± Zu An raised his chopsticks and put on a brave and heroic expression.

    All of the dishes in front of him seemed to have been horrifically botched. His eyes jumped around, finally settling on the most ordinary-looking dish¡ªeggs fried with tomatoes.[1] This is the easiest thing to make, so it can¡¯t taste that bad no matter how much you suck at cooking, right?

    His fate was sealed the instant he put it into his mouth.

    ¡°How is it? Does it taste bad?¡± Chu Chuyan asked with a nervous expression when she saw his change in expression.

    ¡°How is it just bad? It tastes absolutely disgusting!¡± Zu An said in assessment, ¡°Who the hell puts vinegar in this dish? Don¡¯t let Huanzhao into the kitchen again in the future. She¡¯s just wasting ingredients!¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s expression grew slightly discouraged. However, she still forced a smile and pointed at another dish. ¡°Then what about this one?¡±

    ¡°What the heck is this ck stuff that looks like sludge? Is it some sort of burnt river fish or something?¡± Zu An asked curiously.

    Chu Chuyan stared at him, speechless.

    ¡°It¡¯s stir-fried cabbage.¡±

    Zu An felt his brain short-circuit.

    He really couldn¡¯t associate her words with the dish currently in front of him.

    Zu An spat it back out immediately after putting it in his mouth. ¡°Pui pui pui! Oh my goodness, I¡¯m going to throw up. What sort of vegetable is this? Even pigs wouldn¡¯t eat this if you fed it to them!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t eat it if you don¡¯t like it, then!¡± Chu Chuyan¡¯s face was as cold and harsh as a winter storm. She got up to leave.

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Chuyan for 999 Rage points!

    1. Eggs fried with tomatoes is a staple Chinese dish. It honestly tastes really good when done properly.

 Chapter 320: My Own Wife Loves Me the Most

    <h4>Chapter 320: My Own Wife Loves Me the Most</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An was frightened by just how angry she was. After all, Chu Chuyan was normally so calm and cool. She rarely ever showed any emotions at all.

    Other than the time Qiu Honglei had paid them a visit, this was the first time she had given him so many Rage points.

    Zu An was confused. ¡°It¡¯s not like you were the one made these dishes. Why are you getting so angry?¡±

    ¡°Of course I...¡± Chu Chuyan instinctively began to reply, but she quickly changed what she was about to say. ¡°Of course, I know that Huanzhao went through so much effort to prepare this for you, so you should be grateful even if it doesn¡¯t taste good. You can¡¯t say such mean things to shame... shame her.¡±

    ¡°How am I shaming her? I was just telling the truth! This shit is nasty!¡± Zu An felt rather wronged as well. ¡°Besides, Huanzhao and I are close. She wouldn¡¯t care that much even if I said it to her face.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t say such things no matter how close you are to someone! If someone cooks for you out of such good intentions, yet hears you give such an evaluation, how do you think they would feel?¡± Chu Chuyan said angrily.

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Chuyan for 33... 33... 33...

    Realization struck Zu An when he saw how angry she was. ¡°You¡¯re absolutely right. Since someone worked so hard to prepare this food, I should eat it gratefully.¡±

    He began to shove the food into his mouth like a glutton.

    When she saw how much he was enjoying himself, Chu Chuyan grew confused. Do I really have a talent for cooking?

    Why did he say all those things before, then?

    Confused, she picked up a pair of chopsticks and had a taste.

    Her face twitched as soon as she took a bite. A hint of redness colored her fair cheeks. ¡°It is indeed somewhat unptable. Please don¡¯t eat any more. I¡¯ll have the kitchen prepare some more food for you.¡±

    Zu Anughed. ¡°The food itself doesn¡¯t taste that great, but with my wife¡¯s love, it bes an absolutely gourmet meal!¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°What do you mean love...¡± Chu Chuyan was annoyed, but she quickly realized what he was saying. ¡°You knew... that it was me who...¡±

    Zu An pulled her into his embrace. ¡°I¡¯m not that stupid. There¡¯s no way I wouldn¡¯t have noticed it by now.¡±

    Chu Chuyan was frightened when she was suddenly pulled in. Because of her nature, she wasn¡¯t used to such an intimate gesture.

    However, this fellow¡¯s strength seemed to have grown suddenly. She struggled several times to break free, yet she couldn¡¯t. Worried that she could injure him if she used any more strength, she gave up and let him hold her.

    It¡¯s not like anyone else is watching anyway..

    Right at that moment, Cheng Shouping shouted from outside, ¡°Young master, young master!¡±

    Chu Chuyan jumped like a startled rabbit. She leapt out of embrace and awkwardly sorted out her hair. ¡°Enjoy your meal. I¡¯m heading back first.¡±

    With that, she ran away.

    ¡°Huh? First miss...¡± Cheng Shouping, standing by the entryway, just happened to see her. He was about to pay his respects to her, but she ran away without even turning around.

    Chen Shouping scratched his head and looked at Zu An in confusion. ¡°Young master, what happened to the first miss? Did you do something to upset her?¡±

    Zu An ground his teeth, staring at the young rascal in irritation. ¡°I finally know why you were sent to the kitchens to work...¡±

    Cheng Shouping felt a chill run down his spine. This really wasn¡¯t the right time to be troubling the young master. ¡°I¡¯m going to look for someone to repair the door!¡±

    With that, he scampered off as well.

    Zu An waspletely speechless. Just how had this kid managed to survive for so long?

    After finishing his meal, Zu An headed over to Chu Chuyan¡¯s Unvoiced Residence.

    The Chu n no longer put up the extrayers of security around her residence, since Chu Chuyan¡¯s condition had already improved considerably. It was much easier for him to find his way there.

    ¡°Who''s there?¡±

    The slight sounds of his movement didn¡¯t escape Chu Chuyan¡¯s detection. A chilly breeze blew past him, and she appeared in front of him, sword in hand.

    When she saw that it was Zu An, the frosty expression immediately disappeared from her face, and she flushed red. ¡°What are you doing here?¡±

    Zu An jumped in through the window. ¡°I didn¡¯t even get to finish what I wanted to say just now.¡±

    Chu Chuyan put away her sword. ¡°You sounded like you were done.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll never run out of things to talk about with you,¡± said Zu An with a smile.

    Chu Chuyan pursed her lips. ¡°Let¡¯s talk tomorrow. It¡¯s already dark today.¡±

    ¡°Oh, then let¡¯s talk about more important matters. I came to detoxify the remaining cold in your body,¡± said Zu An, his expression deadly earnest.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s cheeks burned red. ¡°I¡¯m already fine. I don¡¯t need any more of this cold detoxification.¡±

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°It only seems fine on the surface! There is still some frost poison left in your body. If something unexpected were to happen, it could spell another round of trouble for you. You don¡¯t want to experience such suffering again, do you?¡±

    Chu Chuyan grew unsettled by these words. After all, she had felt perfectly fine before this illness had arisen abruptly, striking her down without giving her any time to prepare herself.

    Sensing her slight fear, Zu An smiled and swept her off her feet and into his arms, carrying her straight towards the inner chambers.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s entire body went stiff. Her heart began to pound. She felt like she should be rejecting him, yet she couldn¡¯t seem to muster even the slightest bit of strength from her body.

    While her mind was all over the ce, her body suddenly trembled. It was a while before her beautiful lips finally opened again, allowing her to catch her breath.

    Chu Chuyan gave him a hateful look. This guy is getting more and more out of hand...

    Zu An kissed her earlobe and said with a half-smile, ¡°See, your body is alreadypletely ready.¡±

    Her ears were a very sensitive part of her body. She felt his warm breath caress her ear gently, and her entire body went limp. She subconsciously embraced the man lying atop her. ¡°You really are a rascal...¡±

    Zu An loved seeing the face of this frozen beauty grow red from his teasing, and he adored her bashful appearance the most. The feeling of aplishment that washed over him was simply iparable.

    ...

    After a while, Chu Chuyan said weakly, ¡°Why do I feel like you¡¯ve tricked me?¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°Didn¡¯t you enjoy it?¡±

    Chu Chuyan buried her face in his chest, too embarrassed to reply.

    ...

    Zu An looked outside. The sky had already grown dark. ¡°It¡¯s alreadyte. I should head back first.¡±

    Just as he was about to get up, a pair of soft arms pulled him back.

    Faced with Zu An¡¯s somewhat confused gaze, Chu Chuyan stammered, ¡°Actually... actually, there¡¯s no need for you to go back to your ce.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Zu An was both surprised and overjoyed.

    Chu Chuyan immediately became embarrassed. She quickly pulled the covers over her head and said in a low, muffled voice, ¡°Don¡¯t think too much into this. Your doors and windows were broken... You can go back there to sleep once everything is fixed.¡±

    Zu Anughed out loud, and then he jumped right back into the nkets to embrace that beautifully soft yet supple body. ¡°My own wife is still the one who loves me the most!¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s voice jumped up an octave. ¡°Is there something going on between you and someone else¡¯s wife?¡±

    ¡°No way, no way!¡± Zu An hastily exined. ¡°It¡¯s just a slip of the tongue.¡±

    It¡¯s said that you can¡¯t trust a man¡¯s words, but you can¡¯t trust a woman¡¯s words either!

    Chu Chuyan had clearly agreed that she didn¡¯t mind him looking for other women. Why did she suddenly seem full of jealousy?

    ¡°Really?¡± Chu Chuyan wasn¡¯t fully convinced.

    Zu An was worried that he might only make things worse the more he spoke. He didn¡¯t say anything, but flipped himself over and pressed himself down on her.

    ¡°Again?¡± Chu Chuyan¡¯s face paled. Her voice carried traces of shock and fear, but also a dash of excitement.

    ...

    The next morning, there came a loud knocking on the door of the residence. ¡°Chuyan, open the door. Mother has something to tell you.¡±

 Chapter 321: Blessed Witness

    <h4>Chapter 321: Blessed Witness</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The two of them were roused from their slumber. ¡°What should we do?¡± Zu An asked quietly.

    ¡°What else can we do? Hurry up and leave through the window!¡± Chu Chuyan was so anxious that she was about to cry. She helped him hunt for his clothes while pushing him towards the window, at the same time saying to her mother, ¡°Please wait a while, mom!¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s honestly no need for all of this,¡± Zu An protested. ¡°It¡¯s not as if we aren¡¯t husband and wife. Why do we always have to act as though we¡¯re in an affair?¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Chu Chuyan straight up refused. Their rtionship was developing too quickly. Discreetly allowing him into her residence was already her limit. How could she possibly reveal to the world that they were sleeping together?

    Zu An was speechless. However, he knew just how shy she was regarding this matter, and he didn¡¯t want to make things difficult for her.

    Besides, it suddenly struck him that, once the truth of their rtionship was exposed, Old Mi would surely find out that he had recovered. That old man was sure to be suspicious of him once that happened.

    He didn¡¯t know just what Old Mi¡¯s ultimate objective was. Something really bad might happen if Old Mi learned the truth. Therefore, he agreed to keep the extent of his rtionship with Chu Chuyan a secret for now.

    He quickly put on his clothes and jumped out the window.

    Only then did Chu Chuyan open the door. ¡°Mom, why are you here so early in the morning?¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°I was worried about your condition, and I couldn¡¯t sleep wellst night, so I decided to pay you a visit.¡± Qin Wanru let her gaze linger on her daughter, her heart welling up with feelings of fondness. She was so good and obedient, her cultivation was at a high level, and she had a beautiful appearance... she was truly the perfect daughter.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine...¡± Chu Chuyan said, her face slightly red.

    Qin Wanru followed her inside. Suddenly, she sniffed the air. ¡°Hm? What is that smell...¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing...!¡± Chu Chuyan was distressed. There was indeed a smell lingering in the air after the intimate night she¡¯d shared with Zu An.

    Qin Wanru was startled by the extent of her daughter¡¯s rm. As an experienced woman, how could she be blind to what was going on? ¡°Zu An came to treat your injuries against night?¡±

    ¡°Yeah...¡± Chu Chuyan replied, hanging her head in shame. She didn¡¯t know what to say at all.

    Qin Wanru sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t even know what to say to you. This truly is an ill-fated rtionship!¡± How could an outstanding daughter like hers be defiled by this sort of ruffian? As a mother, she couldn¡¯t help but feel distressed.

    At the same time, however, she found the entire situation strange. Her daughter was usually arrogant and proud. So many outstanding young men had crossed her path over the years, yet she didn¡¯t fancy a single one of them. Why did she end up liking this Zu fellow? Just which aspect of him was outstanding...?

    Her face went rigid. There seemed to be something not quite right about this train of thought. That scene suddenly appeared in her mind.

    Her face twisted in difort, and she quickly changed the topic. ¡°Chuyan, I wanted to discuss the matter of the advance salt permits with you...¡±

    ...

    Zu An returned to his room to get some sleep. He didn¡¯t know how long it had been before he heard Chu Huanzhao¡¯s voice beside his ear.

    ¡°Brother-inw, youzy pig! Get up already! You¡¯re going to bete for school!¡±

    Zu An shivered and woke up with a start when he heard that he was going to bete for school. Just how many years of nightmares had this phrase caused him in his previous life?

    However, he quickly snapped out of his reverie. I¡¯ve already freaking transmigrated! Why would I care about school anymore?

    I¡¯m even a teacher now! Why should I be scared of the school?

    With that, hey back down on his bed.

    Seeing that he was about to fall asleep again, Chu Huanzhao said angrily, ¡°Stinky brother-inw, get up!¡±

    ¡°Ahh! Stop bothering me! Let me sleep a while longer...¡± Zu An waved her off.

    He had been active the whole night, and before that, he and Zheng Dan had enjoyed themselves every day for half a month. Thank goodness he had the Primordial Origin Sutra. He would have long since shriveled up and died otherwise.

    Even so, he waspletely exhausted.

    Sigh, it would be great if I knew some sort of double-cultivation technique. Zu An thought of that Song fellow from one of the novels in his previous life, who grew braver the more he fought, and his heart was filled with jealous hate.

    ¡°Are you really going to keep sleeping? We really are going to bete!¡± Chu Huanzhao was annoyed. She reached out a hand to grab his nkets. ¡°I¡¯m going to pull off your nkets!¡±

    Zu An kept his eyes closed. ¡°Take them off then, I¡¯m not wearing any clothes,¡± he muttered to himself.

    Chu Huanzhao immediately froze, and a hint of redness spread across her small face. ¡°You... you rascal!¡±

    Zu Anughed, ¡°I¡¯m the one sleeping in bed and under the covers, while you¡¯re the one who wants to pull them off. How am I the rascal?¡±

    ¡°I...¡± Chu Huanzhao was at a loss for words. However, she was dumb either and responded quickly, ¡°Nonsense! You clearly had clothes on when you sat up just now!¡±

    Being pestered like this chased away thest of Zu An¡¯s sleepiness. He couldn¡¯t resist poking fun at her when he saw how angry she was. ¡°I am wearing clothes on top, but I don¡¯t have any pants on.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao was left speechless.

    Not only did she recall what had happened the day before, the scene had even appeared in her dreams.

    Smoke seemed to rise from the top of her head when she thought of this.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Zu An was also slightly surprised by her sudden change in behavior.

    ¡°You big pervert!¡± Chu Huanzhao yelled at him, then quickly ran away.

    Zu Anughed when he saw how panic-stricken she was. Messing with this little girl was still pretty fun.

    After this exchange, Zu An unwillingly got out of bed.

    After all, not showing up at the academy was negligence on his part, both as a teacher and as a student. Without a great person like Jiang Luofu backing him, anyone else might have already been kicked out.

    That was why he had to go to the academy. Besides, didn¡¯t that Old Mi want him to steal something from the Wei n? He¡¯d use this chance to talk to Wei Suo to tease out an opportunity.

    Chu Huanzhao didn¡¯t say a single word to him on their way to the academy. Zu An tried to chat with her several times, but she immediately ran away as soon as he approached her.

    Zu An was left stupefied. Did I really piss off thisss?

    When they reached the academy, Chu Huanzhao headed straight for her own ssroom.

    Zu An was a bit dejected. Even he thought of himself as contemptible.

    When others treat you well, you keep provoking them; yet when they start to ignore you, you start to miss them.

    Isn¡¯t this the definition of contemptible?!

    He had no idea that Chu Huanzhao ignored him not because she was angry, but rather, because that scene from the night before was the only thing she could think of. She couldn¡¯t get it out of her head at all! How could she dare to even look at him?

    Zu An headed straight for the principal¡¯s office first, wanting to give Jiang Luofu a full report. She was his backing in the academy, after all.

    He rapped on the door, but there was no response to his knocking. He noticed that the door wasn¡¯tpletely shut.

    He pushed the door open and went in. Just as he was about to call out to Jiang Luofu, the scene confronting him almost made blood shoot out of his nose.

    Jiang Luofu wasn¡¯t the only one in the office. Shang Liuyu was here as well! These two gorgeous beauties had their legs on the table, and they seemed to beparing something.

    One had on extremely thin ck stockings, while another had transparent gray stockings. He felt beyond blessed that he could witness such a sight.

    He heard Jiang Luofu say to Shang Liuyu proudly, ¡°Little Yuyu, didn¡¯t I tell you that these stockings suited your style?¡±

    Shang Liuyuughed, and was just about to reply when she raised her head and saw Zu An. Her smile froze instantly.

 Chapter 322: Canâ€™t Wash Away This Sin

    <h4>Chapter 322: Can¡¯t Wash Away This Sin</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    She took her legs off the table right away and awkwardly sorted out her clothes. Her face, usually graced with a calm and carefree expression, now had a never-before-seen trace of redness.

    It¡¯s all Jiang Luofu¡¯s fault! Why did she have to call me over for no reason to try out some stockings?

    Noticing her strange behavior, Jiang Luofu turned around and red at Zu An. ¡°Don¡¯t you know how to knock?¡±

    She was clearly unfazed by the sudden intrusion. Her beautiful legs were still resting on the table, and she made no move to hide anything at all.

    Zu An wore an expression of wounded innocence. ¡°I knocked, but no one responded! I only walked in because I saw that the door wasn¡¯tpletely closed.¡±

    Jiang Luofu snorted. ¡°Brat, don¡¯t walk into ces you shouldn¡¯t enter in the future. You might just end up losing your life.¡±

    Zu An waspletely speechless. Were you two really up to something that shameless? Why are you making this sound so serious?

    ¡°All right, speak. Where have you been these past few days? Shang Liuyu reported that you told them you¡¯d be right back, yet there was no further news from you at all! She was so worried that she went straight to the Chu n to warn them.¡± Jiang Luofu gave him an ambiguous smile.

    Zu An was stunned. He subconsciously gave Shang Liuyu a look.

    Shang Liuyu¡¯s face became slightly redder. ¡°Don¡¯t listen to her nonsense. Actually, Principal Jiang was quite worried about you as well. She mobilized all of the experts in the academy to look for you, but no one found anything.¡±

    Jiang Luofu twirled the brush in her hands. ¡°Since the agreement between the two of us has already been fulfilled, why would I care if he lives or dies? It does seem strange to me, though. How could so many people go out looking for you but turn up nothing? Just where did you end up going?¡±

    Zu An told her everything he prepared beforehand.

    When she heard that there was a dragon in Hidden Dragon Mountain, Jiang Luofu suddenly stood up. After obtaining the general location of the dragon from Zu An, she vanished without a trace.

    Jiang Luofu¡¯s perfume still lingered in the air. Zu An was stupefied. ¡°What is going on?¡±

    ¡°Principal Jiang has always been fond of cultivation,¡± Shang Liuyu exined. ¡°She is interested in the powerful beings of all different races, and her greatest regret is that she has never seen a true dragon before. How could she sit still after hearing that there is a dragon in hiding?¡±

    Zu An nodded in understanding. A pity that there was no way she would ever find that dragon!

    Shang Liuyu looked at him with her beautiful eyes. ¡°Even though you yed it down, it must have been an extremely dangerous encounter.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°Why would you say that?¡±

    Shang Liuyu chuckled. ¡°The item I gave you has already been broken. It seems like you suffered a blow that would have been strong enough to kill you.¡±

    ¡°I guess I can¡¯t hide it from you...¡± Zu An said with a sigh. ¡°I owe you for saving my life. I really don¡¯t know how to repay this debt.¡±

    ¡°I never expected any repayment from you to begin with. Besides, we¡¯re friends.¡± Shang Liuyu carried a type of special bearing when she spoke. Her words felt like a cool breeze, like a wave gently pattering over a sandy shore.

    ¡°How can I just ept that?¡± Zu An said seriously, ¡°How can I not repay a life saving debt? But I don¡¯t think big sis will like anything ordinary. I guess I can only give you the one thing most precious to me.¡±

    Shang Liuyu blinked at him, uprehending.

    Even though she didn¡¯t really want him to reply, she was still curious as to what exactly his precious item was.

    Zu An ignored her look and continued, ¡°Since we are already so close, could I ask if you have any more of those pendant things? Pass me another ten or so of them, please.¡±

    ¡°Do you think they grow like vegetables?¡± Shang Liuyu finally couldn¡¯t stand him anymore, and disappeared with the wind.

    You have sessfully trolled Shang Liuyu for 22 Rage points!

    I¡¯m really getting bolder and bolder, aren¡¯t I? But then, it¡¯s rare to see Shang Liuyu angry.

    With the two women having departed, he was the only one left in the office.

    He was just about to look around to see what the gorgeous principal looked at in private, what she was interested in and what she yed with.

    However, after her previous warning, he decided not to mess around in this office. She held a high position, and surely had many important things to take care of. If he saw something he shouldn¡¯t have seen, it would spell trouble.

    Most importantly, he didn¡¯t want to damage their friendship. He still had to cling firmly to this gorgeous principal¡¯s thighs, and so he had to think about the bigger picture.

    Just as he was about to leave, his eyes suddenly narrowed. There were some stockings left behind on the couch that the two women had been sitting.

    These were probably the stockings the two women had been trying on.

    Zu An had been thinking of a way to get into the Wei n. Surely this would be something that Wei Suo can only dream ofying his hands on!

    After all, not even Old Mi was willing to sneak into the Wei n estate. He didn¡¯t know why exactly, but he guessed that it was probably because there was someone inside the Wei estate that he felt apprehensive about.

    This meant that he had to give up on the idea of sneaking in himself. If not even Old Mi could do it, he probably shouldn¡¯t overestimate his own abilities.

    The one advantage he had was his rtionship with Wei Suo. He could enter the estate openly, if the right opportunity presented itself.

    Even so, he needed a good reason to visit. If not, he¡¯d easily draw suspicion upon himself.

    Zu An stared at the stockings for a long time, but finally gave up on this thought in the end. He didn¡¯t want to be hounded to death by two women just because of Old Mi¡¯s task.

    Suddenly, Shang Liuyu came running back. Zu An was stunned. ¡°Huh? Why did youe back?¡±

    ¡°I forgot something.¡± Shang Liuyu rushed right past him, her face red. He had never seen her move so quickly before.

    ¡°I¡¯ve found what I was looking for, so I¡¯ll take my leave first. Remember to close the door behind you.¡± Shang Liuyu vanished almost before the words had finished tumbling out of her mouth.

    Zu An only witnessed a blur in front of his eyes. In that moment, the stockings he had been staring at had disappearedpletely.

    That was too close! Zu An rejoiced in his decision. If he¡¯d lost control and picked them up just now, there was no way he would be able to wash his hands clean of his crimes!

    At the same time, a doubt surfaced in his mind. Why did everyone in the city say that Shang Liuyu was poor at cultivation? Everyone said that she was only at the fourth rank. But the speed she revealed earlier on was definitely not of the fourth rank!

    From the office, Zu An headed straight to the Yellow ss ssroom. It has been so long since he returned to ss that his rtionship with Wei Suo seemed to have grown distant.

    However, the admiration in Wei Suo¡¯s eyes immediately told him that he had thought too much.

    The two of them casually chatted for a while, and the slight awkwardness quickly disappeared. They seemed as close as they had been when they just enrolled into the school.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The two of them chatted with their arms around each others¡¯ shoulders. Suddenly, Wang Yuanlong appeared. ¡°Ah Zu, I¡¯ve made a reservation for the top floor of the Four Way Restaurant. I¡¯d firstly like to thank you for saving my life, and secondly, to celebrate your safe return. Please honor me with your presence.¡±

    Zu An seemed slightly troubled. ¡°I just said I would eat with Wei Suo, though.¡±

    Wang Yuanlong smiled. ¡°It¡¯s no trouble at all if brother Weies along too. Miss Xie, Lady Qiu, and others are attending. All of them have only agreed toe because of Ah Zu. We don¡¯t usually have the ability to invite these guests, so brother Wei must not miss out on such a great opportunity.¡±

    Wei Suo immediately agreed. ¡°That sounds awesome! There¡¯s no way I¡¯ll miss out on something like that!¡±

    Zu An obviously had no objections either. Wang Yuanlong finally left, a satisfied smile on his face.

    Wei Suo sighed in admiration. ¡°Boss is the best. You can even get Wang Yuanlong to reserve the top floor of the Four Way Restaurant for you!¡±

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°Is there something special about this?¡±

    Wei Suo was just about to exin when a voice called to him from outside the ssroom. ¡°Ah Zu...¡±

    When he saw the cute and lovely youngdy by the entrance, Zu An ran over at once. ¡°Xiaoxi!¡±

    He was actually looking for her. He needed her to help him take a look at the medicine he¡¯d found next to Chen Xuan.

 Chapter 323: Kill That Dog Zu

    <h4>Chapter 323: Kill That Dog Zu</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Ji Xiaoxi beamed when she saw hime out. ¡°Big brother Zu, I¡¯m happy to see that you are okay.¡±

    Zu An felt his heart soften. ¡°I heard that you came every day to check if I¡¯de back yet. I¡¯ve made you worry.¡±

    ¡°No way...¡± Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s chubby cheeks became a bit rosy. ¡°I didn¡¯te every day...¡±

    Zu Anughed and said, ¡°I will always remember how much Xiaoxi cares about me. Oh, before I forget, I have something for you.¡±

    He brought out a fine handkerchief from his inner pocket. ¡°This is for you. I ruined your handkerchiefst time we found ourselves in the Wolf Valley, and I almost forgot about it afterwards. I finally found a chance to get you one. Take a look and see if you like it. If you don¡¯t, I¡¯ll get you another one.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s okay, this one is pretty.¡± Ji Xiaoxi moved her fingers through the exquisite handkerchief, admiring its quality. ¡°Huh? There are golden threads embroidered in this handkerchief. This surely is extremely expensive!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not expensive at all! This big bro is rich!¡± Zu An thumped his chest. ¡°Only such a handkerchief is worthy of you.¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi blushed. ¡°Thank you big brother!¡± she said sweetly.

    ¡°By the way, can you take a look at this bottle of medicine for me? I have no idea what it is used for.¡± Zu An handed her the bottle that Chen Xuan had carried on him.

    When she heard the word medicine, Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s sweet face suddenly grew slightly more serious. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll look at it.¡±

    She opened the bottle and looked inside. She brought her nose closer to it and gave it a whiff, using her spare hand to fan the fumes towards herself.

    ¡°Why does it smell sweet?¡± Ji Xiaoxi was rather puzzled. ¡°This medicine doesn¡¯t seem to be some sort of poison, but neither is it a medicine used for healing either. Big brother Zu, do you mind if I remove some of it to test?¡±

    ¡°Of course not,¡± Zu An said with a smile. This thing waspletely useless to him if he had no idea what it was used for.

    Ji Xiaoxi ced a drop of the liquid on her hand, and then she licked it with her tongue.

    Zu An jumped in fright. ¡°Be careful! You¡¯ll poison yourself!¡±

    He didn¡¯t mind her testing it, but why did she use her tongue?

    What if something happened?

    Ji Xiaoxi smiled sweetly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry big brother Zu, I know what I am doing. I¡¯ve been around all sorts of poisons ever since I was little, and dad has made me eat a lot of medicines. Even though I¡¯m not immune to every poison, most poisons are ineffective on me.¡±

    Zu An finally let go of the breath he was holding. Even though Ji Dengtu wasn¡¯t all that reliable when it came to certain other things, he really cared a lot about his daughter and had nurtured her since she was little. No poisons that Chen Xuan had carried on him could do much to her.

    ¡°Have you figured out what kind of poison this is?¡± Zu An asked in curiosity.

    Ji Xiaoxi shook her head. There was a puzzled expression on her face. ¡°I don¡¯t think it has any poisonous effects. Instead, it seems like some sort of supplement. However, it seems to be quite different from a regr supplement... How about this? Since ss is about to start, I¡¯ll take this back with me first. I¡¯ll tell you once I figure out what this medicine does. You don¡¯t mind, do you?¡±

    Zu Anughed. ¡°Of course not. Who else would I trust in this world if I didn¡¯t trust Xiaoxi?¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s face became red. Do you trust me more than your wife? However, with most of her mind focused on medicine, she quickly left while immersed in her own thoughts.

    Zu An returned to the ssroom. Wei Suo had a look of adoration on his face. ¡°Boss really is boss! You¡¯ve already bagged that incredibly charming Qiu Honglei, and now even the pure and lovely Ji Xiaoxi is all over you! You¡¯ve totally scored a multi-kill!¡±

    Dark lines appeared on Zu An¡¯s face. ¡°What nonsense are you spouting? We are only friends.¡±

    He knew just how much of a helicopter dad Ji Dengtu was, and he really didn¡¯t want any weird rumors to reach his ears. That guy might skin me alive if he finds out I mistreated Ji Xiaoxi!

    ¡°Boy and girl friends, I get it.¡± Wei Suo gave him a knowing look of a seasoned pervert.

    Zu An refused to continue bickering with him over Ji Xiaoxi. He changed his tone and said, ¡°By the way, what¡¯s so special about that Four Way Restaurant?¡±

    ¡°The Four Way Restaurant is managed by the Wang n, Wei Suo exined. ¡°It¡¯s so named because they wee guests from anywhere and everywhere. It is Brightmoon City¡¯s most luxurious restaurant! That isn¡¯t all, either. The top floor of the Four Way Restaurant isn¡¯t some ce you can go to just because you have money.

    ¡°The Four Way Restaurant only allows the most outstanding figures to dine there. For example, cultivation geniuses, gifted schrs...

    ¡°Only those with the highest qualifications are allowed on the top floor. In all the years since the Four Way Restaurant was opened, fewer than three people have been granted that right. That is why being received as the guest of honor on the top floor is truly a glorious achievement.

    ¡°That is also why someone like me usually has no right to head up there at all. I am merely basking in your glory.¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°Wang n seems to possess pretty good marketing skills. But isn¡¯t this going a little too far just to chase after fame? I refuse to believe that they can stop Brightmoon Duke or the City Lord from heading up to the top floor if they want to.¡±

    Wei Suo replied, ¡°The Wang n isn¡¯t stupid either. They¡¯ve clearly made a way out for themselves. People like Brightmoon Duke and City Lord Xie are all extremely outstanding in the royal court and powerful cultivators in their own right, so they naturally satisfy the conditions.¡±

    ¡°So that¡¯s how it is.¡± Zu An¡¯s curiosity was yet to be sated. ¡°I can understand letting in famous people such as these. However, what if some genuinely talented guests who aren¡¯t that well known try to get in? How would the restaurant judge if they have the qualifications?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a simple matter. Those people can just demonstrate their skills on the spot! Cultivators can disy their cultivation, musicians their music, and schrs can unt their poetry and literature knowledge. I¡¯ve heard that there are some great talents who live in the restaurant. If an individual can match one of these talents, then they¡¯ll obviously have the right to head upstairs...¡±

    Zu An had a strange look on his face. ¡°So it¡¯s just a matching game then? That¡¯s an old routine.¡±

    ¡°Boss, could it be that you¡¯re good at that too?¡± Wei Suo looked at him with eyes of worship.

    Zu An replied indifferently, ¡°If there are eight words, then I understand seven.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Wei Suo shot him a big thumbs-up. ¡°Awesome! Boss already understands seven-eighths! As expected of the boss!¡±

    Zu An was speechless for a moment.

    Hello? I¡¯m basically saying that there¡¯s a single word I don¡¯t get¡ªmeaning I don¡¯t understand a single word! This kid¡¯s head is really only filled with stockings.[1]

    The two of them chatted for a long time. Suddenly, Wei Suo nudged Zu An with a wink.

    Zu An turned around and saw Ji Xiaoxi waving at him, her face extremely red.

    Aren¡¯t sses about to start? Why did she run back over here?

    Zu An noticed that Bai Susu, who was conducting the next lesson, had already walked in. However, Ji Xiaoxi looked extremely anxious, so he decided to rush out to check up on her.

    Zu An patted Bai Susu¡¯s shoulder on the way out. ¡°Old Bai, I have some things to take care of first. Teach them well.¡±

    Bai Susu stared nkly at him, speechless. You¡¯re a student too! Can you not speak to me like a colleague while you¡¯re in ss?

    However, he was naturally even-tempered, and was on good terms with Zu An as well, so he gave Zu An no trouble. He even warned him with a smile, ¡°Don¡¯t bully Xiaoxi now.¡±

    Someone as lovely as Ji Xiaoxi had clearly gained the favor of even these academy teachers.

    Heckles sounded from around the ssroom. Zu An snickered and said, ¡°Xiaoxi is so cute, it¡¯s almost a waste if I don¡¯t tease her a bit.¡±

    Bai Susu¡¯s mouth fell open. So did Wei Suo¡¯s. The rest of the Yellow ss students were also momentarily speechless.

    ¡°I cannot stand him anymore! Get over here so I can beat the crap out of you!¡±

    ¡°Face reality man. That guy even beat Shi Kun. What can you do to him?¡±

    ¡°Dammit all! I¡¯m even more angry now!¡±

    ¡°Kill that dog Zu!¡±

    ...

    Zu An wasn¡¯t upset by the sudden ruckus. Instead, he was overjoyed.

    These students are still just as cute, even after all this time. They really outdid themselves in their quest to give him Rage points.

    Ji Xiaoxi also overheard their discussions, and her face became even redder. She hurriedly indicated for him to step away from the ssroom window, and led him to a more private location.

    ¡°What happened, Xiaoxi?¡± Zu An was curious. Wasn¡¯t her face just a little too red?

    ¡°Hurry up and bring me to your room!¡± Ji Xiaoxi was already on the verge of tears.

    1. This doesn¡¯t really trante that well from Chinese to English, but I¡¯ve tried my best to make it work. For those interested, the original phrase Zu An uses is °ËÇÏÒÑ¾­Í¨ÁËÆßÇÏ (literally, seven of the eight spaces in my mind are clear), amon riddle to which the answer is the Chinese idiom Ò»ÇÏ²»Í¨ (literally: one space is not clear), which means that one knows nothing.

 Chapter 324: A Hellish Battlefield

    <h4>Chapter 324: A Hellish Battlefield</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Ji Xiaoxi grabbed his hand and ran towards his staff residence.

    Zu An was stunned. He would¡¯ve definitely headed in that direction if it was Zheng Dan who hade looking for him.

    But surely Ji Xiaoxi wouldn¡¯t be having such thoughts¡ªthat waspletely against her nature!

    ¡°Xiaoxi, what¡¯s wrong? Why is your hand so hot?¡± Her hand had felt soft and tender to Zu An at first, but he soon realized that something wasn¡¯t right. Her body temperature was way too high.

    ¡°Let¡¯s head to your room first.¡± Ji Xiaoxi pursed her lips and continued forward.

    Suddenly, her entire body convulsed, and she was forced to a stop. Her legs mped together, and she seemed unable or unwilling to move again.

    ¡°I¡¯ll carry you there.¡± Zu An noted her conflicted expression, and surmised that she probably just needed to use the restroom. She was an incredibly introverted person, after all, and there were many things that she didn¡¯t feelfortable saying out loud.

    He looked around to make sure there was no one around him, and then he walked over to pick her up.

    Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s was light enough to be easily carried. She felt incredibly soft in his arms.

    ¡°Don¡¯t touch me...¡± Ji Xiaoxi cried out in rm. Unfortunately, Zu An had lifted her up in his arms before she could finish her sentence.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± He felt the youngdy¡¯s entire body quiver strangely. Zu An really was quite puzzled.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Can you bring me to your room?¡± Ji Xiaoxi buried her face in his chest, hiding her expression from him.

    A sudden thought shed across Zu An¡¯s mind. Her expression and reactions seemed somewhat familiar! Both Snow and Zheng Dan had disyed simr reactions before.

    Could it be... an aphrodisiac? Zu An rejected this thought as soon as it entered his mind. After all, Ji Xiaoxi had grown up under Ji Dengtu¡¯s tutge. Who would possess the skills necessary to poison her?

    They soon arrived at his staff residence. Zu An wondered just how he was going to help her without hurting her ego. After all, with how things were headed, she might...

    Ji Xiaoxi spoke into his thoughts. ¡°Big brother Zu, can you prepare a tub of water for me? I need the water to bepletely cold.¡±

    The academy had many rune masters who did research into how to improve the quality of everyday life. The staff residences were the first to benefit from any breakthroughs. Each residence had their own bathroom, with hot water avable at any time. The amenities were simr to a guest house in his previous world.

    ¡°Bath?¡± Zu An¡¯s expression grew bizarre. He had the urge to google what it meant for a woman to take the initiative to go to a man¡¯s house to take a bath.

    Did she reallye here to seduce me?

    He quickly caught himself. Ji Xiaoxi was definitely not that sort of person, and her requests were a little strange. ¡°Can¡¯t I even use a little bit of hot water?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have time to exin.¡± Ji Xiaoxi struggled free from his embrace and ran towards the bathroom. She proceeded to pour cold water into the bathtub on her own.

    She often yed at her little aunt Luofu¡¯s house, so she was quite familiar with theyout of the staff residences.

    She wouldn¡¯t have run over to him if her little aunt had been around.

    ¡°What exactly happened to you...¡± Zu An tried to ask, but she pushed him out of the bathroom. He heard the sounds of clothing being removed, and the sound of someone entering the water.

    Hearing those sounds, Zu An quickly asked, ¡°Xiaoxi, you didn¡¯t fall down, did you?¡±

    There was no response at first. Zu An had almost reached the limit of his patience when Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s weak voice finally came back. ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Just call me if you need anything!¡± Zu An hollered loudly. She really was acting strange today, which worried him. He didn¡¯t dare stray too far away, so he decided to grab a chair and sit down by the door..

    A whileter, he heard Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s weak voice again. ¡°Big brother Zu, are you still there?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m right here!¡± Zu An replied, but his heart skipped a beat. Her voice suddenly seemed cuter than usual.

    There was a moment of silence. ¡°Big brother Zu, can youe in?¡± he finally heard her say.

    Zu An was thoroughly confused.

    What the heck?

    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s a good idea.¡± He looked all around him in panic, afraid that Ji Dengtu could be hiding in some corner.

    ¡°I have something... I need your help with.¡± He could sense her embarrassment and distress through the wall.

    ¡°I¡¯ming in then! You better not scream, or else someone might just think that I¡¯m up to something,¡± Zu An said as he pushed the door open.

    Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s entire body was immersed in the tub, her back leaning against the edge of the tub. Only her neck and part of her shoulders were exposed. She looked like a lotus flower that just broke through the surface, or a chick that had just pecked its way through its egg. She seemed almost as clear and as fragile as a crystal, as if a single touch would break her.

    ¡°Okay. Big brother Zu, can you stand over there?¡± Ji Xiaoxi said weakly.

    Zu An stared nkly. Only then did he remember that the entire tub was full of cold water. If he got any closer, he would be able to see everything.

    ¡°All right, I won¡¯t move.¡± Zu An raised his hands up. ¡°By the way, what happened to you? Why are you all red?¡±

    He also realized that there was definitely something wrong.

    ¡°Throw me the medicinal herbs in my pouch first.¡± Ji Xiaoxi looked towards the clothes scattered on the ground. She had clearly been in a rush to strip off her clothes.

    Zu An had a strange look on his face. He picked up her clothes, which were still warm. They smelled of medicine, mixed in with the scent of a youngdy.

    Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s face grew even redder when she saw the clothes she had just worn in the hands of a man. She quickly told him where to find the various herbs she had brought.

    Following her instructions, Zu An tossed the medicinal herbs into the tub.

    After a while, Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s expression finally eased a little. ¡°Thank you. I was afflicted by a dirty... aphrodisiac.¡±

    Zu An was furious. ¡°Which bastard poisoned you? I am going to beat the hell out of him!¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi looked at him with a strange expression.

    Zu An blinked at her. It took him a long while to finally get what she meant. ¡°It was me? No way!¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi pursed her lips. ¡°It was that bottle of liquid you just gave me. The effects are really strange... they seem simr to those of the legendary ¡®Eighteen Spring Winds¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Eighteen Spring Winds!¡± An exaggerated expression immediately appeared on Zu An¡¯s face. No wonder Chen Xuan stored it so carefully! If it had been me, I would have guarded it carefully as well!

    Ji Xiaoxi was stunned by his tone. ¡°Huh? Does big brother Zu also know about this medicine?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard of it before.¡± Zu Anughed awkwardly. He had not just heard about it, he had personally experienced its effects!

    As he said this, his expression grew strange. When Zheng Dan had been poisoned, he had given his all to eliminate the poison from her body. However, Ji Xiaoxi was the one who had now been poisoned...

    Damn it! The gorgeous principal and Ji Dengtu will both kill me!

    Screw it, I don¡¯t care about that right now. I can¡¯t just watch someone die, right?

    If I don¡¯t jump into hell, who will?!

    He was just about to walk towards the tub when something struck him. ¡°You only tasted such a small amount of it. Are the effects that potent?¡± he asked.

    Ji Xiaoxi had thought that it could have been poison, so she hadn¡¯t ingested much of it at all. She had a naturally strong resistance to poisons as well, so why was her condition so serious?

    Is she doing this to test me?

    Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s voice colored with embarrassment. ¡°I couldn¡¯t figure out what it was at first, so I tried it a few more times.¡±

    This was the first time Zu An had entrusted her with something, and it was something she specialized in. She would have been ashamed if she couldn¡¯t figure out just what kind of medicine this was. That was why she had gone all out this time.

    Besides, she was confident that no poison could harm her. Who would have expected Zu An to give her an aphrodisiac?

    Her expression became a bit strange. ¡°Big brother Zu, did you give me such a drug on purpose...¡±

    Zu An immediately grew hurt. ¡°Do you really think big brother Zu is someone who is so shameful and despicable?¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi acknowledged his point. ¡°I didn¡¯t think so either.¡±

    If she had, she wouldn¡¯t have taken the initiative to allow him in.

    ¡°So? Did you neutralize the effects?¡± Zu An asked in a hurry.

    Ji Xiaoxi closed her eyes and carefully examined her condition. She shook her head. ¡°Not quite. The temperature of the water isn¡¯t low enough. It would be great if first miss Chu was here. She could help me turn the water into ice.¡±

    ¡°I can help with that too,¡± said Zu An.

    Hearing Zu An dere that he could turn water into ice as well, Ji Xiaoxi hesitated slightly before saying, ¡°Please turn the water in this tub into ice water, then.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    She knew that this wasn¡¯t something appropriate, but she really needed to suppress the medicinal effects right now. If she made a mistake and allowed the medicine to permeate her body, the consequences would be even more unbearable.

    Zu An nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll close my eyes.¡± He walked up to the tub and reached his hand into the water.

    His skill with the Snowke Sword had yet to reach the level where he could create ice from a distance.

    Who would have thought that what he sensed with his palm was not the chill of the water, but something smooth and gentle instead?

    ¡°Big brother Zu, please... please move your hand a little to the side.¡± Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s voice was extremely soft.

    ¡°Sorry, sorry. It was an ident.¡± Zu An was embarrassed. He really wasn¡¯t doing this on purpose! If he really wanted to take advantage of someone, he would have done so openly. Why would he resort to tricks like this?

    Ji Xiaoxi grunted in acknowledgment, but said nothing further.

    Zu An focused his mind and began to channel his ki. The water in the bathtub grew cold.

    As this was happening, Chu Huanzhao was skipping and hopping her way over to the staff residences, fiddling with the key she had taken from Zu An previously. Stinky brother-inw, it¡¯s all your fault that I couldn¡¯t sleep wellst night! I¡¯m going to catch up on some beauty sleep now.

    She had found her current lesson extremely boring, and so she decided to just run off. To her knowledge, Zu An should be in ss right now, so no one would know if she took a nap here.

 Chapter 325: Would You Even Believe Me?

    <h4>Chapter 325: Would You Even Believe Me?</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An waspletely focused on sending his ki into the tub. He paid no attention to what was happening around him.

    Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s small face was as red as an apple. She didn¡¯t know if this was due to the effects of the drug, or her own embarrassment.

    Even though his eyes were shut, she had never been so close to a man before.

    She felt as if the slightest movement of that hand would be enough for it toe into contact with her.

    Ji Xiaoxi brought up something else to hide her embarrassment. ¡°Big brother Zu, is this first miss Chu¡¯s Snowke Sword?¡±

    Zu An grunted in agreement. ¡°Yeah.¡±

    ¡°Wow, first miss Chu has even taught you the skill she uses to guard her own n. The two of you really are close,¡± Ji Xiaoxi said, her expressionplicated.

    ¡°Our rtionship is all right, I guess.¡± Zu Anughed loudly. ¡°But I¡¯m not the best student, or else I would¡¯ve been able to make ice for you from all the way over there.¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi didn¡¯t know what else to say. This room became quiet.

    As the smell of the youngdy spread through the air, even Zu An felt like the atmosphere had grown slightly awkward. ¡°Do you feel better?¡± he asked quickly.

    Ji Xiaoxi nodded. ¡°I¡¯m almost recovered. The effects of the drug will go away soon if the water is kept at this temperature.¡±

    Zu An said in admiration, ¡°Xiaoxi, you really are awesome. I thought that the only way to get rid of the poison¡¯s effects... was to perform the deed eighteen times. But you managed to neutralize its effects so easily.¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s face became red. ¡°It wasn¡¯t that easy. I have a certain level of resistance to different types of poisons because of my special constitution. I didn¡¯t ingest too much of the drug, yet I had to take a Heart-calming Pill, and I had to infuse this cold water with many other medicines and soak in it just to barely neutralize the medicine¡¯s effects... Big brother Zu, why do you have such a drug with you?¡±

    Zu An was slightly embarrassed. ¡°It was something I acquired from a defeated enemy. I would¡¯ve just thrown it away if I¡¯d known what it was.¡±

    He began to despise himself as he spoke these words. Find me a man in this world who wouldn¡¯t want this sort of drug!

    It¡¯s good to hang on to it even if one doesn¡¯t use it.

    Zu An suddenly thought of something. ¡°That¡¯s right, did you throw that bottle away?¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi shook her head. ¡°I didn¡¯t. Even though it¡¯s a vile drug, it is still big brother Zu¡¯s, so I can¡¯t just throw it away... let me take it out for you.¡±

    She was just about to get up when her entire face grew red. She stopped and said, ¡°Big brother Zu, you absolutely must not open your eyes.¡±

    ¡°Understood,¡± Zu An nodded. However, the image of her current appearance couldn¡¯t help but appear in his mind.

    Ji Xiaoxi stretched her hand out of the tub, reaching for the pile of clothes that were nearby.

    However, she was a petite little girl, and she was just unable to reach them.

    She stood on her tiptoes so that she could lean further out.

    If she had just stepped out of the tub, she would¡¯ve easily reached her clothes. However, she was still a shy young girl, and found it too embarrassing to do such a thing in front of a man, even if his eyes were closed.

    At that moment, she suddenly slipped. She lost her center of gravity and fell out of the tub entirely.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Ji Xiaoxi instinctively cried out.

    Zu An jumped in fright. He subconsciously reached out a hand to support her.

    Oh shit... His handnded on something soft and warm. Zu An knew that he was touching parts of her that he definitely shouldn¡¯t be touching. He could already imagine the scene of Ji Dengtu chasing after him murderously.

    Ji Xiaoxi was also stunned. In a daze, her eyes met his, and her mind wentpletely nk.

    From the side came an exaggerated scream. The two of them raised their heads and saw Chu Huanzhao standing by the bathroom entrance. Her entire body was trembling, and she was pointing an angry finger at them. ¡°You two... what are you doing?!¡±

    Zu An swallowed with difficulty. ¡°Would you believe me if I said that I was just trying to support her?¡±

    ¡°What do you think?!¡± Chu Huanzhao¡¯s eyes seemed to be shooting out gouts of me.

    Damned brother-inw! Stinky brother-inw! Is this how you repay the Chu n? After this, how dare you face my big sister, or even me?!

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Huanzhao for 233...233... 233...

    Ji Xiaoxi finally recovered from her daze. However, she didn¡¯t have much experience with such situations, and all she could do was try not to faint from embarrassment.

    Zu An quickly brought a set of clothes and draped them over her. ¡°Xiaoxi, stay here and put on some clothes. We¡¯ll wait for you outside.¡±

    ¡°Thank you...¡± Ji Xiaoxi was extremely grateful for his consideration, but a thought hit her soon after, leaving her stunned. She was clearly the one who had been groped by him. What was she doing, thanking him?

    Zu An gave an embarrassedugh. He hurriedly left the bathroom, pushing Chu Huanzhao out and closing the bathroom door along the way.

    ¡°What are you doing here, Huanzhao?¡± Zu An asked.

    Chu Huanzhao sneered incessantly. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have stumbled upon such an exciting scene if I hadn¡¯te here! This Ji Xiaoxi always seems all prim and proper¡ªI didn¡¯t expect her to be a vixen who seduces men!¡±

    She raised her voice on purpose, as if she wanted the person in the bathroom to hear her.

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Huanzhao for 66... 66... 66...

    Zu An frowned. ¡°Huanzhao, you are being too rude.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao sneered. ¡°She clearly knows that you have a wife, but she still seduced you! If she isn¡¯t scared of being disrespectful, why should I be?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Huanzhao for 99... 99... 99...

    Rage points kept flowing in through his System, yet Zu An felt no joy.

    ¡°Come on, it¡¯s really not what you¡¯re thinking. I asked miss Ji to help me look into some medicine, and she was identally poisoned. She needed to soak in ice water to get rid of the poison¡¯s effects...¡± Zu An quickly exined.

    Chu Huanzhao still didn¡¯t believe him. ¡°What kind of poison needs you to strippletely? An aphrodisiac?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s breath caught. You hit the nail on the head.

    However, knowing Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s good reputation, he was embarrassed to admit this. ¡°It¡¯s really not at all what you¡¯re thinking! Even if you don¡¯t trust miss Ji, you have to trust my character!¡±

    Chu Huanzhao blinked. Her anger subsided a bit.

    You have sessfully trolled Ji Xiaoxi for 22... 22... 22...

    She clearly heard what he said.

    But Chu Huanzhao wasn¡¯t so easily fooled. ¡°Isn¡¯t her little aunt the principal? Why didn¡¯t she go to her then? Why did she have to take a bath with a man like you?¡±

    Zu An forced a bitter smile and continued with his exnation. ¡°Principal Jiang had something she had to take care of...¡±

    By this time, Ji Xiaoxi had already dressed herself. She quickly exited the bathroom and said quietly, ¡°I¡¯m going home first.¡±

    She rushed off without even waiting to hear their reply.

    Zu An sighed. What in the world was this? He didn¡¯t do anything wrong, yet there was such a huge disaster.

    Chu Huanzhao was less than impressed by his sigh. ¡°What, are you upset that I ruined your happy time?¡±

    ¡°I just hate how such a misunderstanding leaves everyone embarrassed. On top of that, she was offended for no reason...¡± Zu An exhausted a great deal of energy, and just barely convinced Chu Huanzhao that Ji Xiaoxi had reallye here to detoxify herself.

    A sh of horror struck Chu Huanzhao. ¡°Oh no... what if Principal Jiang secretly makes things difficult for you because of this? Divine Physician Ji cares a lot about her daughter too. What if hees after you?¡±

    ¡°Miss, isn¡¯t it a bit toote to be worrying about this now?¡± Zu An said dejectedly.

    ¡°How about I go and apologize to her right now?¡± Chu Huanzhao regretted her excessive disy earlier, especially now that she knew Ji Xiaoxi had only ended up like that because she had been helping her brother-inw look into a poison.

    ¡°Forget it. I¡¯ll find another chance to exin things to her.¡± Zu An was worried that something else might go wrong if these two girls met again.

    ¡°I won¡¯t tell big sis about today¡¯s matter then. But if there is a next time...¡± Chu Huanzhao snorted, and then she bared her adorable fangs.

    ¡°There definitely won¡¯t be a next time.¡± Zu An would definitely get the academy to change his locks.

    Chu Huanzhao clearly wasn¡¯t in the mood to sleep after what had just happened. However, she still searched around his residence first.

    Only when she didn¡¯t find any suspicious traces of women living here did she finally leave in satisfaction.

    Zu An mopped away his sweat. Suddenly, letting his harem argue amongst themselves to earn him Rage points didn¡¯t seem like his brightest idea.

    Only when he returned to the ssroom and saw the envious eyes of his fellow students did his mood improve slightly.

    The day¡¯s lessons passed by quickly. When he finally walked out of the main gates of the academy, Wang Yuanlong¡¯s carriage was already waiting there.

    As Zu An and Wei Suo got into the carriage, they suddenly noticed another Wang n carriage waiting beside theirs.

    Zu An was curious. Were they waiting for others from the academy?

    Soon afterwards, two beautiful figures walked out from the academy.

    One of them was refined and elegant, exuding a hint of tenderness and charm. Who else could this be but Zheng Dan?

    Zheng Dan nodded slightly in his direction when she noticed his gaze. ¡°Greetings, fellow student Zu.¡±

    ¡°Hello miss Zheng,¡± Zu An replied in embarrassment.

    This woman, really... it was all ¡®husband¡¯ and ¡®daddy¡¯ before, yet now she¡¯s acting like apletely different person!

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    However, he had to give her credit for how well she yed her part.

    ¡°Are you going to the Four Way Restaurant too?¡± Zu An asked curiously. He noticed that she was walking towards Wang n¡¯s carriage.

    ¡°Of course. I¡¯m not the only one, big sister Xie ising as well.¡± Zheng Dan giggled as she nudged Xie Daoyun, who was next to her.

 Chapter 326: An Unkind Guest

    <h4>Chapter 326: An Unkind Guest</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An had already recognized the woman beside Zheng Dan a while ago. She had an oval face with beautiful brows, and wore a long golden skirt. An air of gracefulness drifted around her, and an elegant smile hung from the corners of her lips. This was an aura that she had cultivated from a very early age.

    Together with those enchanting eyes that seemed to speak to one¡¯s heart, her entire being exuded beauty, elegance and a gentle nobility.

    With the dignified and gorgeous Zheng Dan next to her, this really was a magnificent sight.

    She had been sizing Zu An up curiously. At Zheng Dan¡¯s unexpected nudge, she almost fell into Zu An¡¯s arms.

    She gave Zheng Dan an upset look, then introduced herself to Zu An. ¡°Greetings, fellow student Zu. This is our first meeting. I am Xie Daoyun. I hope you can provide me some guidance in the future.¡±

    Zu An had to give her some credit. She still exuded a sense of confidence even in this sudden and embarrassing situation, lending her a natural air of generosity and poise.

    ¡°Young miss Xie must be joking. This surely isn¡¯t our first meeting.¡± Zu An favored her with a half-smile.

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s heart leapt into her throat. He must¡¯ve found out that she had witnessed him in the Immortal Abode. However, she reined in her panic and quickly said, ¡°Indeed, I was able to witness student Zu¡¯s bravery during the ns Tournament, and we have seen each other in the academy.¡±

    Seeing her quick reaction, Zu An chose not to expose her. ¡°I have heard about miss Xie¡¯s great reputation as well, and I have been enamored for a long time. Now that I¡¯ve met you in person, I realize that your true self is very different from what the rumors say.¡±

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s expression slipped. No matter how much self-restraint she had, being ridiculed like this to her face was hard for her to bear.

    Before she could react furiously, Zu An had already continued. ¡°Those rumors do not go far enough in describing miss Xie¡¯s beauty and temperament. I regret not being able to see your beautiful face sooner.¡±

    Wei Suo¡¯s eyes went round. Boss really is the boss! His skill at courtingdies is too high-level!

    He couldn¡¯t help but fall into self-reflection. I can talk to the boss just fine, yet why do I freeze up like this when it really counts?

    Zheng Dan couldn¡¯t resist giving Zu An a look. This guy really was full of tricks when it came to chasing after women!

    Xie Daoyun blushed. It was not everyday that she met someone who would dare say something like this to her. She appreciated the novelty. ¡°Student Zu is too polite with your praise...¡±

    Zheng Dan reached out to Xie Daoyun¡¯s hand. ¡°Let¡¯s continue our discussion in the Four Way Restaurant. I fear that the young master might have grown anxious while waiting for us,¡± she said.

    Xie Daoyun had no objections. She nodded towards Zu An, then followed Zheng Dan into the carriage.

    Zu An gave instructions to Cheng Shouping and the Chu n guards waiting by the academy¡¯s gates. ¡°Tell the Second Young Miss that I won¡¯t be joining them for dinner. You can escort her back without me.¡±

    He had to find a way to get into the Wei n afterwards, which was difficult enough without having to drag an entourage around with him.

    Cheng Shouping¡¯s expression immediately grew bitter. He had wanted to tag along to broaden his horizons, but not only was he not allowed to apany the young master, he even had to face the little tyrant that was the second miss. My life is truly full of suffering...

    Jiao Shan and the other guards had no objections to this. Chen Xuan was already dead, and the danger to Zu An had been dealt with. Besides, even the City Lord¡¯s precious daughter was apanying him. This group clearly didn¡¯t need their protection at all.

    The two carriages soon arrived at the Four Way Restaurant. Zu An got off the carriage and had a look. The restaurant was a luxurious and elegant building, several stories tall. It almost gave off the same air as the Immortal Abode, although the color palette was more ssical and muted.

    Wang Yuanlong was already waiting by the entrance. When he saw them, he quickly rushed over to greet them. ¡°Brother Zu, brother Wei, miss Xie, miss Zheng...¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    After exchanging greetings, Wang Yuanlong stepped to the side. ¡°Everyone, please enter. Miss Zheng, Commander Sang is already inside.¡±

    Zheng Dan smiled. ¡°Thank you, young master Wang.¡±

    Zu An felt a twinge of difort, but he knew that he was being unreasonable. It was just his masculine desire to dominate acting up.

    Wang Yuanlong offered an exnation to Zu An. ¡°The River Patrol Army aided in my rescue as well, so I invited them over. I hope brother Zu doesn¡¯t mind.¡±

    Zu Anughed. ¡°I¡¯m not that petty.¡±

    Their party headed up the stairs. The number of guests decreased the further up they went. It was clear that the higher up they were, the higher the status of the guests.

    When they reached the top of the stairs, a group of people were already there. These people were obviously individuals who were curious about the top floor, yet were not allowed up there. Loitering about outside was the best they could do.

    ¡°It¡¯s young master Wang!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s truly a group of extraordinary people after all!¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that miss Xie, the City Lord n¡¯s esteemed daughter? She is so beautiful and talented! We really are blessed today.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s miss Zheng next to her! They are both so pretty! Even though I cannot go upstairs today, justying eyes on them has already made this trip worthwhile.¡±

    ...

    The tall and handsome Sang Qian had alreadye down to greet his fianc¨¦e. After exchanging pleasantries with the others, he looked at Zheng Dan with a gentle expression. ¡°Dan¡¯er, you¡¯re here.¡±

    Zheng Dan shot Zu An a secret look, then said coldly, ¡°Commander Sang, even though we are engaged, we are yet to be married. I must ask you not to address me so intimately in public.¡±

    Sang Qian¡¯s face froze. He hadn¡¯t expected her to shame him like this in front of everyone.

    However, he didn¡¯t mind it too much. She was probably still upset over the Whale Ind affair.

    He was also quite fond of the steely side of her, because it made her seem even more like a wise and virtuous woman.

    These thoughtsforted him, and he smiled and said, ¡°Miss Zheng is right.¡±

    Zu An curled his lips. This guy knows how to simp.

    However, this was the man who had massacred every living being on Whale Ind, so he didn¡¯t dare look down on him.

    Just as their party was about to head upstairs, one of the bystanders spoke up loudly. ¡°Do they allow anyone upstairs now?¡±

    Everyone stopped. A man stared at them with sharp eyes full of provocation.

    Wang Yuanlong¡¯s face grew ugly. He was acting as host in his own n¡¯s restaurant, yet such an annoying fellow had dared to show up. ¡°They are guests that I have invited myself. How can you say that they aren¡¯t allowed to enter the top floor?¡±

    The sharp-eyed man replied, ¡°Young master Wang is the young master of the Four Way Restaurant, so of course you have this authority. However, I fear that the reputation of the Four Way Restaurant will surely plummet after this.

    ¡°Everyone knows that the top floor of Four Way Restaurant is a ce that only the most outstanding people can dine in. Miss Xie is a publicly acknowledged genius. Miss Zheng is also a genius in the Sky ss, while Commander Sang has a high cultivation and holds a high official position at such a young age. I do not have the slightestint if any of them went up to the top floor. However, what right does that fellow over there have to dine at the highest floor? Is it merely because he is the drafted son-inw of the Chu n?¡±

    The bystanders roared inughter at thosest words. Clearly, many of them were dissatisfied as well.

    ¡°Even with all our achievements, we aren¡¯t allowed up there. What right does he have?!¡±

    ¡°Exactly! I think your Four Way Restaurant should just drop the pretense and just say straight up that all those with money and authority are allowed upstairs.¡±

    ...

    Wang Yuanlong¡¯s face fell. He was truly in a tight spot. Should he let Zu An go upstairs or not? If he did, he would be ruining the many years of effort that the Four Way Restaurant had put into building up their prestige.

    However, refusing him entry would be turning away a guest he had personally invited. That would utterly humiliate Zu An.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes narrowed. How was this guy able to pick him out of the crowd so easily?

    This guy doesn¡¯t seem like a normal diner at all. Did someone deliberately send him to mock me?

    His eyes swept over the people around him. Sang Qian had a strange smile on his face. He recalled how this man had deliberatelye down to greet them, and he suddenly realized what was going on.

    In his mind, he had believed that Sang Qian hade down to receive Zheng Dan. It turns out that he hade for me!

    But why?

    Does he know what I did to his fianc¨¦e?

    The sharp-eyed man said with a sneer, ¡°So? Do you have nothing to say for yourself?¡±

 Chapter 327: Touch Less

    <h4>Chapter 327: Touch Less</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Everyone¡¯s attention was focused on Zu An as the sharp-eyed person spoke. Clearly, he seemed like a joke in their eyes.

    This guy, despite his ignorance and ipetence, had ended up married to Brightmoon City¡¯s most ravishing beauty, and there were even ambiguous rumors floating around concerning the Immortal Abode¡¯s Qiu Honglei. What the heck were the other men supposed to even do? They couldn¡¯t stand looking at this guy.

    Xie Daoyun gave Zu An a worried look. She knew that these schrs were all extremely proud individuals. Things were definitely going to be tricky for Zu An.

    Despite this, she was curious as to how the man who could write such a stirring song would deal with a situation like this.

    Wang Yuanlong was growing incredibly anxious. If he got involved, then he would surely tarnish the repudiation of the Four Way Restaurant. However, if he didn¡¯t, he would surely offend Zu An, and perhaps even the Chu n which stood behind him.

    Helpless to do anything himself, he gestured to his subordinates to find a way to usher these men out.

    Just as they were about to step forward, Sang Qian took a step forward and blocked them off.

    Zheng Dan spared him a nce, but there was a yful smile on her lips. She had clearly sensed what was going on as well, but she wasn¡¯t worried at all. This guy is blessed with a cunning evil. How could he possibly take this lying down?

    Sure enough, Zu An¡¯s loudughter rang out. ¡°May I ask what this gifted schr¡¯s esteemed name is?¡±

    There was no panic in his voice at all.

    The sharp-eyed man fanned himself gently. ¡°Of course. This one is Starfire City¡¯s Xu Qinsong.¡±

    He had a cocky look on his face as he spoke, as if his name held a certain prestige.

    The rest of the gathered crowd began to mutter amongst themselves once he announced his name.

    Zu An picked at his ears. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of you before. Are you famous?¡±

    Xu Qinsong¡¯s breath caught.

    You have sessfully trolled Xu Qinsong for 233 Rage points!

    Xie Daoyun said quietly to him, ¡°This Xu Qinsong is a gifted schr from the neighboring Starfire City. You need to be careful.¡±

    Xu Qinsong smiled and sped his fist in her direction. ¡°Miss Xie praises me too highly. I¡¯ve heard that Miss Xie is Brightmoon City¡¯s most talented individual, and I am a long-time admirer of you. I¡¯ve always wanted a chance to exchange some poetry with you.¡±

    ¡°Young master Xu is being too serious.¡± Xie Daoyun nodded in his direction. Her etiquette was impable, but there wasn¡¯t a single flicker in her gaze.

    Xu Qinsong¡¯s face went rigid when he saw how disinterested she was. He immediately realized that she was numbered among Zu An¡¯spanions, and therefore she wasn¡¯t willing to pay him much attention. He gave Zu An another re.

    You have sessfully trolled Xu Qinsong for 334 Rage points!

    Bro, why are you getting angry at me if your crush doesn¡¯t like you? ¡°All right, all right. Didn¡¯t you start all of this because you wanted to challenge me? So? What do you want to challenge me to? Do you want topete fairly or unfairly?¡±

    What kind of joke is this? I¡¯ve experienced nine years ofpulsory education, and run the gauntlet of those innumerable online trolls. Do you think I¡¯ll lose to some stupid native from this world?

    Xie Daoyun was surprised that Zu An hadn¡¯t backed down in the slightest. It was already toote to stop this.

    She wondered why this guy was so impetuous. This situation could¡¯ve been avoided if he¡¯d just backed down. Don¡¯t tell me Zu An actually has something up his sleeve?

    Meanwhile, Xu Qinsong was overjoyed. He had made the trip to Brightmoon City precisely to gain recognition. Zu An would be the perfect stepping stone.

    He was worried that this fellow wouldn¡¯t dare to challenge him, but he had jumped into the pit all on his own! He quickly said, ¡°It¡¯s quite simple. I¡¯ll name a few phrases. If you can match them with a phrase of your own to make a couplet, then I¡¯ll deem you worthy of heading upstairs.¡±[1]

    Zu An snorted. ¡°Who do you think you are? Do you think that this restaurant needs your approval? The only reason I agreed to yourpetition is because you seem to be itching to get your face smacked. You seem so desperate, I¡¯m beginning to feel sorry if I don¡¯t help you out.¡±

    Of course, Zu An was doing this mainly because he didn¡¯t want to give up any opportunity to earn Rage points.

    The crowd was stupefied. Wasn¡¯t this guy going a bit too far?

    Even Xie Daoyun frowned. After all, even she had caught wind of Xu Qinsong¡¯s talents, and she wasn¡¯t confident that she could defeat him herself. Where did this guy get his confidence from?

    Despite his formidable musical prowess, it had nothing to do with literary talent!

    You have sessfully trolled Xu Qinsong for 666 Rage points!

    Xu Qinsong had never seen such an arrogant person before. He tamped down on his rage and said, ¡°In that case, then please ept my challenge.

    ¡°The general shoots at a tiger. The bow is strong, but the stone is tougher.¡±

    There were quite a few proud schrs here. All of them began to ponder over these words. Even Xie Daoyun¡¯s brow furrowed.

    Even though this seemed like a simple association test, it touched upon a ssical story.

    There was once a general who saw a tiger in the distance, so he fired at it with his bow in a panic. When the arrownded, he discovered that there was no tiger at all¡ªit was just a rock shaped like a tiger. However, this arrow still prated into the stone, and so the people of the world all praised the strength of his arm.

    Because of this, matching it really was quite difficult.

    Only Zu An turned up his nose in disdain. He had expected the schrs of this world to have some skills. Was this all they could offer?

    As such, he randomly replied, ¡°The courtesan drinks herself drunk. Even though her body lies still, no one touches her hand.¡±

    Xie Daoyun repeated these words silently. She found that the matching really was meticulously done. But the meaning of this phrase was a bit too...

    Zheng Danughed behind pursed lips. This fe really did have some strange talents.

    Xu Qinsong was quivering violently as he pointed at Zu An, his facepletely red. ¡°You... are insultingmon decency!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Xu Qinsong for 145 Rage points!

    Zu Anughed. ¡°Insultingmon decency? These are clearly words of advice. Aren¡¯t you the one with the dirty mind?¡±

    Xu Qinsong snorted angrily, ¡°I¡¯ll count you as matching it well this time. Listen up, here¡¯s the next one. I refuse to believe that you¡¯ll get lucky and match it again.¡±

    ¡°If I match it then I match it. What do you mean, you¡¯ll count it as a match? If you have any more to offer, thene at me. Then again, with your level of skill, I really doubt it¡¯ll be anything special,¡± Zu An said disdainfully.

    Viciousness shed across Xu Qinsong¡¯s eyes. ¡°Here¡¯s the next phrase: Filial piety is the first among virtues; remember to visit home often¡¯!¡±

    The spectators became quiet when they heard this. They looked back and forth between the twopetitors.

    They all knew that Zu An had been orphaned at a young age, and the uncle that had raised him had passed on as well. What family did he have left?

    As for the Chu n, he was but a drafted son-inw. Judging by the values of this world, no one would consider this n his family at all.

    He didn¡¯t even have a family to go back to. Who was he supposed to visit?

    Xie Daoyun frowned. ¡°Young master Xu, you¡¯re crossing the line.¡±

    Xu Qinsong smiled. ¡°I do not understand what miss Xie is saying. Is there anything wrong with my phrase? This is something everyone should acknowledge, right? Perhaps this is already too much for him?¡±

    Xie Daoyun opened her mouth to retort, but closed it again without saying anything. If she spoke up for Zu An right now, she would have fallen for his trap and brought shame to Zu An.

    She gave Zu An a worried look, but she didn¡¯t see anything awful or angry in his expression.

    Zu An looked at Xu Qinsong. ¡°Bro, your eye bags are quiterge.¡±

    ¡°What does that have to do with you?¡± Xu Qinsong snorted. ¡°Schrs like myself who have dedicated ourselves to our studies often do not have time for much rest. It¡¯smon for us to have eye bags.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? Then ording to your words, those who don¡¯t have dark circles around their eyes don¡¯t study hard? Miss Xie here is considered the most talented in Brightmoon City, but she doesn¡¯t have any eye bags.¡± Zu An pointed at Xie Daoyun, who was standing beside him.

    Xie Daoyun blushed. Why are you involving me?

    Everyone looked at Xie Daoyun¡¯s beautifulplexion. All of them sighed with praise. At the same time, they directed angry looks at Xu Qinsong.

    Xu Qinsong waved his hand vigorously. ¡°That¡¯s not what I am trying to say. Our constitutions are probably different, that¡¯s all.¡±

    Zu An had anticipated his answer. He pointed at everyone around him. ¡°Look, how many others here have dark circles? Do none of them work as hard as you?¡±

    Xu Qinsong now knew what it meant to be the target of everyone¡¯s anger. He immediately panicked. ¡°Why are you resorting to malicious attacks? That¡¯s not what I meant at all!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Xu Qinsong for 444 Rage points!

    ¡°Ah, I understand now.¡± Zu Anughed. ¡°It seems like you probably spend too much time indulging in debauchery. That¡¯s why your body is so weak.¡±

    ¡°How dare you nder me!¡± Xu Qinsong was furious. However, he did his best to keep his wits about him. ¡°If you can¡¯t match my phrase, then admit that you can¡¯t match it. Why do you have to ramble on about all this nonsense?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Xu Qinsong for 666 Rage points!

    ¡°Who said that I can¡¯t match it?¡± Zu An smiled mysteriously, ¡°The phrase you gave me is ¡®Filial piety is the first among virtues; remember to visit home often¡¯. Considering your current situation, let me gift you another association: ¡®Excessive lust is the root of all evil; less touching of women is advised¡¯.¡±

    A stunned silence momentarily descended on the room, before the entire room erupted with uncontrolledughter.

    Even Xie Daoyun¡¯s face becamepletely red. This guy was really ingenious, always managing to link whatever he said back to this same topic.

    Xu Qinsong¡¯s face became entirely red. ¡°You, you, you... you are insultingmon decency! Truly insultingmon decency!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Xu Qinsong for 999 Rage points!

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Unfortunately, his anger waspletely smothered by the ruckus that had now engulfed the room.

    Sang Qian cursed when he saw this scene. ¡°Trash!¡±

    Xu Qinsong was in a state ofplete provocation. He said loudly, ¡°I still have more phrases, still have...¡±

    With his talents, it was easy for him toe up with more literary phrases. However, the two previous phrases had been defeated by the word ¡®touch¡¯, which made him begin to doubt his very life. He really didn¡¯t know what phrase he could use to redeem himself.

    Zu Anughed as he saw him stammer and stutter about. ¡°All right, you were the one who posed the questions, and I¡¯ve already responded. It¡¯s now my turn to pose one.¡±

    1. In Chinese culture, matching rhyming couplets is a verymon game to demonstrate intelligence. In ancient China, this practice was just as famous as the game of chess or calligraphy, without the limitations of space or equipment.

 Chapter 328: Strutting Like a Rooster

    <h4>Chapter 328: Strutting Like a Rooster</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Xu Qinsong calmed down when he heard Zu An¡¯s statement. ¡°Go ahead!¡±

    He was already panicking, but figured that he should be all right ying defense. He could still redeem the situation as long as he matched two of them in a row.

    How could a drafted son-inw possibly have any schrly knowledge? I refuse to believe that he has any tricks!

    Zu An gave Sang Qian a look. You were the one who started this, so don¡¯t me me for what¡¯s about to happen.

    He looked straight at Zheng Dan and said, ¡°One day, one dawn[1], one morning, one drought, one sunrise!¡±[2]

    Xu Qinsong sighed in relief. A drafted son-inw can only be a drafted son-inw in the end; one such as you can onlye up with such an easy phrase. ¡®One day, one dawn, one morning...¡¯

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    He was just thinking to himself how he was going to deal with it when he heard Sang Qian erupt in rage. ¡°What are you looking at Miss Zheng for?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for 666 Rage points!

    Xu Qinsong was shocked. If the young miss¡¯ given name was Dan, then wouldn¡¯t this word association of his have other meanings?

    He broke out into cold sweat. He actually felt helpless before this opponent who was supposed to be easy to deal with.

    Zu An only shrugged his shoulders at Sang Qian¡¯s angry roar. ¡°Miss Zheng is so beautiful. Isn¡¯t it normal that I desire to look at her? Commander Sang cannot steal our right to admire a beauty just because the two of you are engaged, can he?¡±

    ¡°The meaning of your phrase is clearly... clearly...¡± Sang Qian was furious, but how could he actually say such a thing out loud?

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for 250 Rage points!

    Even Xie Daoyun gave Zu An a look of rebuke. Wasn¡¯t he going too far, involving Zheng Dan like this?

    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m just posing a phrase to be matched! I¡¯m not targeting anyone! Even Miss Zheng doesn¡¯t mind. What are the rest of you hollering for?¡± Zu An snorted.

    Sang Qian walked over to Zheng Dan¡¯s side. ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid. As long as you give me the word, I¡¯m going to discipline this damn brat even if I have to offend the Chu n today!¡± he said quietly.

    Unexpectedly, Zheng Dan blushed and shook her head. ¡°Student Zu¡¯s literary pairing skills are so exquisite!¡± she sighed. ¡°Even I cannot help but admire his ability.¡±

    She might be the only one here who understood the meaning hidden behind this phrase. Wasn¡¯t he referring to what had gone on between the two of them in that cave for half a month?

    Her entire body heated up when she thought of this, and a wave of weakness flooded her body.

    While everyone else was taking offence at his suggestive words, Zheng Dan not only felt no anger, but instead grew even more stimted.

    Sang Qian waspletely stupefied when he looked at her. In that instant, his fianc¨¦e seemed faintly unfamiliar to him. However, after giving it some thought, he agreed with how she was dealing with this situation. If she acknowledged his insinuations, she would only be jumping straight into his trap. The damage to her reputation would be much greater at that point!

    Having reasoned it out for himself, he allowed himself to rx.

    Zu An noticed the expression in Zheng Dan¡¯s bright and beautiful eyes. His heart skipped a beat. Perhaps he should assign her some missions in the future...

    As the host of the gathering, Wang Yuanlong finally spoke up. ¡°Since young master Xu has failed to match the phrase after so long, we shall be heading upstairs first. Of course, if young master Xu thinks of a matching phrase, you cane straight upstairs. I will take care of all of the costs.¡±

    Zu An felt a great admiration for Wang Yuanlong. He was indeed worthy of being the heir of a great n! His words left no room for questioning, and he had even saved Xu Qinsong a great deal of humiliation.

    From the back of the room, Wei Suo excitedly apuded Zu An. ¡°Boss, you really are incredible! You are a master at everything! I prostrate myself in admiration for you!¡±

    Zu Anughed and said, ¡°You tter me!¡±

    Xu Qinsong¡¯s brows climbed upwards. Every single ttering word felt like a p that struck him in the face. He hurriedly said, ¡°It¡¯s one thing for Zu An to be allowed upstairs, but why is this guy allowed to go as well?¡±

    He had already noticed how close Wei Suo was to Zu An, and surmised that the two of them should be friends.

    Since he couldn¡¯t deal with Zu An, for better or for worse, he had to bring down this friend of his to reim some dignity.

    As he pointed at Wei Suo, everyone¡¯s eyes fell on him.

    Wei Suo¡¯s mind went nk. I¡¯m done for! I don¡¯t have the skills to rival my boss! I¡¯ll really be aughingstock if I get kicked out of the Four Way Restaurant today!

    He really wanted to p his own mouth. Why couldn¡¯t he have kept a lower profile? Why did he have to jump out like that and piss others off?

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s beautiful brows knit together, but she refrained from saying anything. She wasn¡¯t close to Wei Suo. If it wasn¡¯t for Zu An, she might have never even appeared in the same ce as him.

    Wang Yuanlong didn¡¯t say anything either. He hadn¡¯t nned to invite Wei Suo today. He had only been invited at Zu An¡¯s request.

    There wasn¡¯t really a need to stick his neck out for someone like Wei Suo.

    Even though the Wei n had a rtive who served as an official in the capital, he was only an official in the imperial court. He might not evene to Brightmoon City once a year. The Wang n and the Wei n didn¡¯t share much of a rtionship.

    Wei Suo clearly understood this as well. He didn¡¯t want to trouble Zu An, or make a joke of himself. As such, he said to Zu An, ¡°Boss, in that case, I¡¯ll head home first.¡±

    Seeing the forced smile on his friend¡¯s face, Zu An frowned. He pulled him back. ¡°You¡¯re my friend. How can I let you go like this?¡±

    He took a step forward and addressed the crowd. ¡°If I recall correctly, the top talents in any field are wee on the top floor. Am I correct?¡±

    Wang Yuanlong nodded. ¡°This is indeed the case.¡±

    Zu An continued to ask, ¡°Are there specific provisions that set out which fields are allowed?¡±

    Wang Yuanlong said, ¡°No, not at all. Usually, however...¡±

    Before he could even finish his sentence, Zu An roared withughter. ¡°In that case, my friend obviously has the right to head upstairs!¡±

    Everyone was stunned when they heard this. There didn¡¯t seem to be anything special about this pervy-looking fellow at all!

    Even Zheng Dan and Xie Daoyun looked at Wei Suo curiously.

    Wei Suo was stunned. Do I really have some amazing talent even I am not aware of?

    Xu Qinsong snorted. ¡°Your word isn¡¯t enough. What sort of skill does this brother have? Please tell us, so all of us can judge for ourselves.¡±

    ¡°Tell me, what color stockings does Principal Jiang love wearing the most?¡±

    Wei Suo¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Both ck stockings and nude stockings appear most often, at about the same frequency. But I like the ck ones more,¡± he replied instantly without thinking.

    Everyone was stunned. How could such a ridiculous thing count?

    Zu An probed further, ¡°How long are Principal Jiang¡¯s legs?¡±

    All the men present suddenly grew interested. The fact that Principal Jiang liked ck stockings wasn¡¯t a secret, but the length of Principal Jiang¡¯s legs was something unknown to them.

    Wei Suo blurted out, ¡°Three feet and seven inches, I guarantee that the margin of error is less than an inch!¡±[3]

    Everyone was convinced. This guy really was a talent!

    The crowd turned their attention to Xie Daoyun and Zheng Dan. All of them had curious expressions in their eyes.

    Zu An went with the flow and asked, ¡°What about that miss Xie¡¯s chest size...¡±

    Xie Daoyun covered his mouth to stop him from finishing his sentence. ¡°Enough, enough, I can guarantee that he is a genius in this field. He definitely has the qualifications to head upstairs. What do you say, young master Wang?¡±

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s entire face was red. She didn¡¯t want her measurements to be public knowledge! Just what kind of friends did Zu An have at his side?

    Now that the City Lord¡¯s daughter had spoken, Wang Yuanlong naturally took advantage of the situation. ¡°Of course, of course! Everyone, this way!¡±

    No one else tried to stop them.

    Wei Suo strutted forward and ascended the stairs, his head held high and chest puffed out like a proud rooster.

    He had always had an inferiorityplex since birth, and this novel feeling was truly refreshing.

    All this was given to him by his boss! His eyes even became slightly moist when he thought of this.

    ...

    The top floor was decorated in a very extravagant manner, but it wasn¡¯t the least bit tacky, like the homes and properties of the nouveau riche. The Wang n had clearly invested a lot of their time in designing this ce.

    The party took their seats one after another. Soon afterwards, Qiu Honglei arrived as well.

    Given their close rtionship, Zu An tried to speak with her, since it had been a while since they hadst chatted. Unexpectedly, she alienated him, treating him the same way she treated the rest of the other guests.

    Zu An grew crestfallen. What the heck was this girl ying at? Was she deliberately ying hard to get?

    Zheng Dan grew slightly jealous when she saw Zu An approach Qiu Honglei. After all, Qiu Honglei was just too beautiful. As a woman, she sensed a powerful aura of danger surrounding her.

    However, when she saw how his approach was rebuffed, the corners of her lips curled upwards. Serves you right!

    Sang Qian felt a sense of inner relief at Qiu Honglei¡¯s arrival. ¡°Lady Qiu has arrived slightlyter than the rest of us. I fear that you¡¯ve missed brother Zu¡¯s incredible disy of literary talents. He really made a tenacious effort to fight off a great talent from Starfire City!¡±

    Zu An was confused. This guy clearly hates me, so why did he suddenly speak on my behalf? Something is wrong!

    ¡°Oh? Something like that actually happened?¡± Qiu Honglei was somewhat surprised. Could it be that Ah Zu was talented in the literary arts as well? ¡°It truly is a pity that Honglei wasn¡¯t able to witness that.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s easy enough for you to catch a glimpse of his talents. Why don¡¯t we have Zu An disy his skills again? I believe brother Zu won¡¯t disappoint such a gorgeous beauty, isn¡¯t that right?¡± A malicious intent burned in Sang Qian¡¯s eyes as he looked at Zu An.

    1. The character for dawn is ¡®Dan¡¯, which is the same ¡®Dan¡¯ as the one in Zheng Dan¡¯s name.

    2. Probably a morning wood joke. Much of the meaning and interest is lost in the trantion.

    3. Chinese units of measurement are used here. Three feet is about equivalent to a meter.

 Chapter 329: Even a Toad Lusts After the Flesh of a Swan

    <h4>Chapter 329: Even a Toad Lusts After the Flesh of a Swan</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An¡¯s eyes narrowed. So, this guy said all that just to make a fool out of me.

    Then again, who do you think this Ah Zu is? Bring it all on! Do you think I¡¯m scared?

    ¡°I am someone who loves to show off before great beauties. Why would I refuse?¡± Zu An said, smiling and nodding towards Qiu Honglei, Xie Daoyun, and Zheng Dan.

    Wang Yuanlong had a strange expression on his face. What the heck is this guy doing? Others would always be particrly attentive to one particr beauty. Why would he fawn over three girls at once? And yet, this doesn¡¯t seem strange at all! Just how does he aplish this?

    Sang Qian grew even more depressed. He couldn¡¯t help but feel slightly jealous whenever Zu An looked at his fianc¨¦e, even though the rascal wasn¡¯t really going any further.

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for 233 Rage points!

    Only then did Zu An look at him. ¡°How does Commander Sang wish for me to disy my talent? Perhaps the two of us can y the game of matching phrases?¡±

    Sang Qian immediately waved his hand and said, ¡°There is no need for that. If we are talking about literary skills, we have to include poetry. Let¡¯s have brother Zu awe us with a verse or two.¡±

    Are you kidding me? Even Starfire City¡¯s great genius Xu Qinsong lost to you. Why would I be dumb enough to match phrases with you?

    Xu Qinsong had challenged Zu An just to make him look bad, yet he¡¯d ended up inviting trouble upon himself.

    ¡°Poetry?¡± Zu An had a strange expression on his face. ¡°Are you sure you want topete with me in poetry?¡±

    Are you trolling me? I have all the poetry of ancient China to draw upon, and the works of the great poets of countless other generations in reserve. If you really want topete with me in poetry...

    All the other transmigrators in their own stories giarize great literary works to w their way to the top. Who would¡¯ve thought that it would be my turn today!

    Xie Daoyun grew excited when she heard this. ¡°May I ask what the theme is?¡±

    Sang Qian spoke. ¡°Knowing brother Zu¡¯s literary talents, any normal subject matter wouldn¡¯t trouble him in the slightest. It¡¯s better if I choose something more unfamiliar to allow his skills to fully shine. How about we use ¡®toad¡¯ as the theme?¡±

    When he said these words, all the guests on the top floor fell silent. Even though he had spoken in a dignified manner, everyone could see that he was targeting Zu An.

    Not only was he mocking the match between Zu An and first miss Chu as a match between a toad and a swan, he was also mocking Zu An¡¯s eager attentions towards the three beauties present as nothing more than a toad lusting after treasures beyond his reach.

    Qiu Honglei frowned. ¡°Isn¡¯t this topic somewhat inappropriate? What sort of good poetry can be created from such a theme? How about we switch to a different theme?¡±

    Zu An considered Qiu Honglei for a moment. On the surface, this woman seems to be treating me coldly, but it still seems like she cares about me after all. I guess I¡¯ll forgive you for what you did just now.

    Xie Daoyun also replied, ¡°Indeed, I¡¯ve never heard of a theme like this, nor are there any well-known poems about this. I approve of a change in the theme.¡±

    On Zheng Dan smiled without saying anything. Her status made it so that she couldn¡¯t reject her fianc¨¦e to help Zu An. However, she secretly desired to see Zu An mess up in front of the other girls. She didn¡¯t want him ying around with so many other women.

    Wang Yuanlong spoke up to dissuade Sang Qian as well, a feeling of regret beginning to grow in his heart. If he had known about the nature of the rtionship between these two, he would never have invited the both of them together. Wasn¡¯t he just asking for trouble?

    Unexpectedly, Zu An waved his hand casually and said, ¡°It¡¯s fine. Honestly, I feel like ¡®toad¡¯ is a very good theme. A toad who doesn¡¯t lust after a swan is a poor toad.¡±

    Xie Daoyun let out augh, but she immediately covered her mouth. She clearly felt that she was being disrespectful.

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s eyes also glistened with mirth. This man was different from the one she¡¯d met before. He really was interesting.

    Zheng Dan¡¯s head was full of images from her shared history with him. This swan has already been defiled by a toad too many times.

    When he saw the three great beauties tittering withughter at Zu An¡¯s teasing, his expression instantly became awful.

    Zu An then continued, ¡°I already have a verse in mind.¡±

    ¡°You thought of one already?¡±

    All present were startled. How could even a theme like ¡®toad¡¯ be used to create poetry?

    Moreover, the theme had only just been mentioned! Even if it were amon theme, there was no way he could have been so well-prepared.

    Even Xie Daoyun grew curious. She wanted to hear just what sort of poetry could be written from a theme like this.

    Sang Qian jumped in fright. However, he figured that there was no way a poem created that quickly could be of a decent standard. As such, he said with augh, ¡°Brother Zu is indeed formidable. I am all ears.¡±

    Zu An took up a position next to the window and looked out towards the distant lotus pond. ¡°Like a tiger it sits by the pond, under the tree¡¯s shade it gathers its spirit.¡±

    The image of a toad appeared in the minds of all those who heard these words. Even Sang Qian had to admit that this fellow indeed had some talent.

    Only Xie Daoyun frowned slightly. The first line was still okay, but the second seemed much less effective. Coming up with a poem like this in such a hurry was eptable, but having heard the awe-inspiring tune of his at the Immortal Abode, her expectations were sky high.

    Zu An continued on, ¡°If springes and I do not speak, which bug would dare to make a sound?¡±[1]

    A hush fell across the entire room as his voice faded out.

    While rhetoric and literary styles were important in the creation of poems, what was even more important was the boldness of spirit that they contained.

    Although this poem was stylistically very ordinary, the imposing and noble spirit it contained made it truly outstanding.

    Xie Daoyun had originally been a little disappointed, but her eyes lit up when she heard thest two lines of his poem. She let them linger on her lips. The expression she wore now as she looked at Zu An was entirely different from before.

    This man doesn¡¯t seem at all like the sloppy and negligent fellow everyone has imagined him to be!

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s eyes also shone with brilliance. When she first realized that his rtionship with Chu Chuyan was much better than what everyone else had imagined, she had developed reservations about whether or not to continue with her original n. After all, her n rested on the premise that he was being treated unfavorably by the Chu n.

    However, it was clear to her now that she should emte the other party¡¯s boldness. At worst, she would just have to fight with Chu Chuyan over her man. She didn¡¯t believe that she surrendered any advantage in terms of looks, while her skills at seducing men were far greater. The conflicting thoughts that had haunted her all this while finally settled down. She looked at Zu An, her eyes tinged with a hint of warmth and gentleness.

    Only Zheng Dan was upset. Hmph! This guy is showing off in front of other girls again.

    She was immediately frightened by her own thoughts. She didn¡¯t have anything to do with this man anyway. Why was she getting jealous?

    When she thought of her engagement with Sang Qian, her expression grewplicated, and clouded over with sadness.

    ¡°Brother Zu is indeed a great genius!¡± Wang Yuanlong smiled and led the room in a round of apuse. Wei Suo looked like he had just woken up from a dream. He pped until his hands turned red.

    Sang Qian¡¯s face was overcast. When he saw the expressions in those beauties¡¯ eyes, his mood soured even further.

    He¡¯d nned to make this Zu An look bad, yet his actions had only elevated his status.

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for 233 Rage points!

    Zu An looked at him with a smile. ¡°Brother Sang, shall we choose another theme?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need. Everyone has already fully witnessed brother Zu¡¯s literary talents.¡± Sang Qian forced a smile. After everything he¡¯d experienced, he was now convinced that this guy might really have some talent. How could he possibly dare to give him any more chances to show off?

    Realizing that Zu An had spoken to him precisely to elicit such a reaction from him, he grew even more upset.

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for 44... 44... 44...

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    After that, Qiu Honglei performed a song for the guests, and the atmosphere in the hall grew to a climax.

    Following her song, Wang Yuanlong thanked everyone for their help in his rescue, which heralded the start of the party.

    Zu An shared a toast with Wang Yuanlong while persuading Wei Suo to keep drinking.

    Wei Suo had embraced his moment to shine earlier, and he was extremely excited. He didn¡¯t refuse anything.

    Xie Daoyun didn¡¯t touch a drop of alcohol. She whispered to Zheng Dan, and discussed some musical matters with Qiu Honglei while ncing at Zu An now and then.

    The sky was already getting dark. Xie Daoyun got up to bid everyone goodbye. She didn¡¯t wish to return home toote, as that would ruin her reputation as ady from a prestigious house.

    Zheng Dan also got up to take her leave. She noticed that Zu An had drunk quite a bit. She was worried that he might get too drunk and do something reckless to her. That would surely spell disaster.

    Even though she didn¡¯t mind him doing that to her in private, she still had to maintain her image, and she had her status and responsibilities to keep in mind.

    Not long afterwards, Qiu Honglei also bid everyone farewell. She still had many things to tell Zu An, but with so many others present, it wasn¡¯t the right time.

    With all the ravishing beauties gone, Sang Qian naturally lost interest as well. Everything he drank tasted awful because he was drinking with Zu An. He, too, left soon after.

    Zu An and Wei Suo drank another round. Zu An¡¯s body had been reforged through the Primordial Origin Sutra¡ªhow could Wei Suo¡¯s beparable? Wei Suo quickly passed his limit.

    Wang Yuanlong offered to have some men take him home. Zu An refused. Since bringing Wei Suo along had been his idea, he said it was his duty to see him home.

    Wang Yuanlong didn¡¯t pressure him, but still offered several men to escort them.

    Zu An brought Wei Suo back to the Wei n¡¯s entrance. Hearing the news, Wei Hongde came out to receive his younger brother.

    A sudden thought struck Zu An. He pressed a certain acupoint on Wei Suo¡¯s body, and sent a small sliver of ki into him. Wei Suo felt his stomach heave, and vomit poured out of his mouth.

    Zu An, who was standing right next to him, couldn¡¯t avoid the resulting disaster. His clothes were covered in vomit.

    When he saw this, Wei Hongde apologized profusely. Zu An requested for a set of clothes to change into, since he didn¡¯t want to return home with his clothes covered in vomit.

    Wei Hongde hesitated a little, but finally agreed.

    Having sessfully entered the Wei Estate, which was shrouded in shadow, the corners of Zu An¡¯s lips curved upwards slightly.

    1. This is a poem written by Mao Zedong, which describes the ambition that he harbors to dominate the destiny of his country and to uplift the lives of themon people. Hepares himself to a frog (he grew up as a lower-ss citizen) but is not ashamed of it, and believes in the power and responsibility of themon people (frogs) to shape the destiny of the country.

 Chapter 330: Exposed

    <h4>Chapter 330: Exposed</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    However, when he smelled the stench covering his body, his expression grew ugly.

    Damn it, I¡¯m really suffering because of this stupid Old Mi¡¯s task.

    Wei Hongde had a servant escort Wei Suo in first. Then, he said to Zu An, ¡°Thank you brother Zu for bringing my younger brother back. I¡¯ve already had someone prepare a guest room for you with a tub of hot water. Once brother Zu takes a bath and has a change of clothes, you¡¯re most wee to stay the night if you wish.¡±

    Zu An nodded and said, ¡°Thank you, brother Wei. I¡¯ve had a little too much to drink today. If I go back like this, my wife will definitely kill me. I¡¯ll gratefully ept your hospitality.¡±

    Wei Hongde¡¯s breath caught. He had made the offer just to be polite, and hadn¡¯t expected him to actually stay the night.

    However, since the offer had already been made, he couldn¡¯t just change his mind and refuse him. ¡°Brother Zu is too polite. However, it¡¯s quite hard for me to imagine Chu First Miss being that aggressive.¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°She¡¯s only a goddess in front of others. She is the same as other women in private.¡±

    Wei Hongde was incredibly jealous when she heard this. ¡°Brother Zu is truly blessed.¡±

    If I had a wife like Chu First Miss, I would be by her side every moment I can! Why would I ever sleep outside?

    Those who are well-fed truly fail toprehend the sufferings of the starving!

    You have trolled Wei Hongde for 99 Rage points!

    ¡°Haha, you¡¯re ttering me. Honestly, a wife like heres with its own set of troubles,¡± said Zu An with a sigh.

    ¡°What sort of troubles?¡± Even though Wei Hongde didn¡¯t have much of a personal friendship with Zu An, as a man, there was no way he would miss out on a chance to hear the secrets of a goddess.

    Zu An sighed. ¡°My wife is too pretty! I always end up incurring the jealousy of other men! Do you know the extent to which people would go just to curse me over this?¡±

    Wei Hongde was speechless.

    Why do I feel like this guy is indirectly scolding me?!

    You have sessfully trolled Wei Hongde for 66... 66... 66...

    Unknowingly, the two of them found themselves by the guest room. Wei Hongde smiled and said, ¡°All right, we¡¯ve arrived at your room. If you require anything, you can just order any of the servants to bring it to you. I shall take my leave and allow brother Zu to rest undisturbed.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Thank you for your trouble.¡± Zu An sped his fist.

    Wei Hongde turned around to leave. After he had taken a few steps, a sudden thought came to him. He stopped and turned around. ¡°By the way, there is something else I almost forgot to tell brother Zu. If brother Zu wishes to go for a walk, feel free to walk around the estate.¡± He pointed. ¡°However, that area is the ce where one of the n¡¯s elders rests. He enjoys peace and quiet, and he doesn¡¯t like to be disturbed, so...¡±

    Zu An smiled widely. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t go that way,¡± he reassured Wei Hongde.

    He was just wondering how he was going to navigate such arge estate. How considerate of you to tell me exactly where I should go.

    As for the supposed presence of the n elder, he didn¡¯t pay it much attention. This was probably just some pretext to prevent him from going there.

    ¡°Thank you for your understanding.¡± Wei Hongde smiled and took his leave.

    Zu An entered his room. A servant had already brought over clothes and other necessities. Arge tub of hot water was ced at the center.

    ¡°I like taking long baths, so please do not disturb me.¡± Zu An took care to instruct the servants, to prevent them from discovering hister activities.

    ¡°Understood!¡± Those servants put down the things they were carrying and left.

    Zu An curled his lips. Isn¡¯t this Wei n too stingy? They didn¡¯t even send over a single maid! Are they scared that I¡¯ll do something to their girls or something?

    Naturally, these were just jokes. He hadn¡¯t forgotten his true purpose ining today. After locking the door, he went to the tub, stripped down, and brought out the stealthy outfit that he had prepared beforehand.

    Appropriately dressed, he leaped silently out through the window and snuck into the inner section of the Wei Estate.

    For some reason, there weren¡¯t many lights in the Wei Estate. The grounds were much dimmer than the Chu Estate.

    Of course, this made it more convenient for him to execute his task.

    He silently headed in the direction that Wei Hongde had warned him not to go.

    Perhaps because he was already inside the Wei n estate and had gotten past the tightest defensive line, he didn¡¯t encounter many guards along the way.

    He easily made his way past the few guards he encountered.

    Employing the Mirror Mirage skill to mask his aura made it extremely hard for others to detect him unless they were looking right at him. This really was a powerful weapon of concealment!

    When he arrived at that courtyard, Zu An snuck into a room and began to search.

    Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t find a case like the one Old Mi had shown him. How could it be that easy to find a single item in such arge ce?

    Zu An gave up after searching for a while. Brute force wasn¡¯t his style at all.

    It¡¯s a pity that I have no idea what¡¯s inside that case. I don¡¯t even have a single clue, so how the heck do I go about finding it? Zu An felt a headacheing on.

    He got up and walked over to the window. When he looked out, he discovered that there was a single room that was still lit.

    After some hesitation, he decided to head over for a look. Perhaps he could find some clues there.

    Besides, he could still conceal himself with Mirror Mirage. As long as he was careful, there wouldn¡¯t be much danger.

    He made his way cautiously to the room. When he reached it, he could vaguely make out some conversation. rmed, he immediately squatted down by the wall. He had seen too many dramas where an intruder¡¯s shadow was glimpsed through the window. He didn¡¯t want to make such a brainless mistake.

    ¡°Adoptive father, what troubles your respective self to personally make a trip here?¡±

    This voice didn¡¯t belong to either of the Wei brothers. It was a middle-aged voice, most likely the Wei n¡¯s master.

    ¡°We received an important piece of news earlier regarding an old friend who has been missing for a long time. The emperor has sent me to look into this matter.¡±

    This voice was dark and gloomy, and sounded extremely unpleasant to the ear.

    Zu An frowned. Why did this voice bear a passing simrity to Old Mi¡¯s?

    ¡°I see. I wonder what sort of issue can rm even the emperor?¡±

    ¡°Hmph. Don¡¯t ask questions that you shouldn¡¯t ask.¡±

    ¡°Of course, of course. Adoptive father¡¯s criticism is perfectly warranted. This adopted son misspoke. However, I am still quite familiar with Brightmoon City. Is there anything I can help you with?¡±

    ¡°Not right now. If I need your assistance, I will let you know. Heh, that old friend is incredibly cunning. If we end up scaring him away too early, it¡¯ll be quite difficult for us to find him again.¡±

    ¡°As expected, adoptive father is both wise and brilliant... ¡±

    Zu An¡¯s brows were knit together tightly as he eavesdropped on this conversation from outside. This adoptive father seemed like a court eunuch from the imperial pce.

    How could he possibly know that this man was a court eunuch, you may ask? It was clearly because there were just too many examples in television dramas to draw from. The tone and color of that voice was exactly the same as what he was used to.

    Wait, Old Mi¡¯s style of speaking is also quite simr...

    Who is this mysterious court eunuch after? He seems to be acting on an imperial order too.

    He suddenly broke out in cold sweat. The Chu n was standing up to the emperor. However, after giving it more thought, he dismissed the idea that this eunuch hade for Chu Zhongtian. After all, he had called the target an old friend. Chu Zhongtian didn¡¯t seem like the type to have such people as friends.

    Was he here for Old Mi, then?

    This possibility seemed more likely the more he thought about it. There was too much mystery surrounding Old Mi after all, and his cultivation was also extremely high.

    All of a sudden, a cold voice boomed from inside the house. ¡°Who¡¯s there?!¡±

    Zu An turned pale with fright. He¡¯d been exposed! He prepared to use Grandgale to teleport away. If these people were really looking for Old Mi, there was no way he would be able to fight them.

    Right then, he heard a strange sounding from the roof above him. A ck-d individual took off in a different direction with even greater speed than him.

 Chapter 331: Secrets on Both Sides

    <h4>Chapter 331: Secrets on Both Sides</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An exhaled in relief. I guess another unlucky fellow got the short end of the stick. Didn¡¯t I say it earlier? This Mirror Mirage really is quite dependable.

    Then again, why does that figure look slightly familiar?

    The instant that figure started running, a shrill scream rang out. A teacup lid shot out through the roof.

    It was so fast that he almost couldn¡¯t see it.

    Almost instantly, the lid struck the ck-d figure.

    ¡°Ahhh!¡± With a cry, the ck silhouette fell off the roof and into the air.

    Zu An¡¯s gave a start. This person¡¯s voice sounded familiar! So was that impressive chest, which no stealth gear could possibly hide. All of this made it clear that this was a person he was close to.

    The gloomy, raspy voice spoke again. ¡°Dabao, I¡¯ll leave the matter outside to you.¡±

    ¡°Yes, adoptive father should rest. Your son will definitely capture that assassin for father to deal with!¡± This was most likely Wei Dabao, of the Wei n of Brightmoon City.

    Quick footsteps swiftly followed this pronouncement.

    Zu An detached himself from the wall and moved away cautiously.

    That dark and mysterious person surely possessed a terrifying level of cultivation. He could seriously injure someone from so far away with just the lid of a teacup! If he had been a little more serious, that intruder would have been dead for sure.

    Only when he¡¯d left the areapletely did he finally let go of the breath he held. He rushed off in a certain direction.

    A figure was limping towards a rock garden. She had made it through the guards with great difficulty, but she was already at her limit.

    That mysterious strike had almostpletely scattered her vital energy. Although she had survived it, she was still seriously injured. At this rate she probably wouldn¡¯t make it out.

    Just then, someone suddenly grabbed her hand. Horrified, she was just about to retaliate, when she saw a face she never expected to see.

    ¡°Follow me!¡± Zu An said.

    She was masked, but those familiar eyes and massive chest still gave her away.

    Who else could it be besides big Manman?![1]

    He didn¡¯t have time to ask her why she was here, because there were already guards nearby. He ran, pulling her behind him.

    Once Pei Mianman recognized him, she stopped resisting, and fled with him into the dark night.

    Zu An wasn¡¯t familiar with the Wei n estate. He sensed guards everywhere, and the master of the Wei n was personally out searching for the intruder. He had no choice but to bring Pei Mianman back to his room.

    Soon afterwards, the door to the room was mmed open. A group of people charged straight in, weapons drawn.

    The one in the lead was a middle-aged man, who had a strong resemnce to Wei Hongde. He was most likely the Wei n¡¯s master, Wei Dabao.

    ¡°Brother Wei, what is going on...¡± Zu An had already stripped and jumped back into the tub. He looked at Wei Hongde, an ¡®astonished¡¯ expression on his face.

    Wei Hongde said apologetically, ¡°Sorry, brother Zu, but there is an intruder in the estate. We came here because we were worried that this intruder wasing to disturb brother Zu.¡±

    ¡°Who would possibly be so daring as to cause trouble in the Wei Estate?¡± Zu An was sneering inside. They clearly suspected that the assassin was here, or else they wouldn¡¯t have barged straight in.

    ¡°We don¡¯t know exactly, but we are certain that the intruder is a woman,¡± said Wei Hongde. At the same time, he began to make introductions. ¡°This is my father. Father, this is Zu An. He saw my younger brother home tonight.¡±

    Wei Dabao nodded. ¡°The Chu n¡¯s young master is indeed a talent.¡±

    ¡°I greet uncle,¡± Zu An said quickly. ¡°However, I fear that I¡¯m not in a state to carry out a proper greeting. My apologies.¡±

    Wei Hongde hurriedly said, ¡°You don¡¯t need to stand up!¡±

    He really didn¡¯t want to see that scene from the dungeon again.

    Damn it, I¡¯m thinking about it again!

    Wei Dabao walked over to Zu An. ¡°You¡¯re too polite!¡± he said. ¡°Our n¡¯s little Suo has been under your care in the academy. It is we who haven¡¯t properly found a chance to thank you yet.¡±

    As he said this his eyes darted around the room, clearly searching for something. Finally, he arrived in front of the tub and looked inside.

    Thest thing he expected to see was arge amount of petals floating on the surface of the water. He couldn¡¯t see inside at all.

    This didn¡¯t trouble him however. He quietly sent his ki into the tub. When he didn¡¯t detect anyone inside, he nodded inwardly. ¡°All right, you should get some rest. We still need to continue searching for the assassin.¡±

    Zu An waved his hand with a smile, as if he had no idea what was going on. ¡°I won¡¯t see everyone out then.¡±

    The Wei n contingent left, tactfully closing the door on their way out.

    When they had left, Wei Hongde asked, ¡°Father, did you notice anything?¡±

    Wei Dabao shook his head. ¡°There was no one else inside. I was probably just over-thinking.¡±

    ¡°That assassin is indeed female. There¡¯s no way she would have anything to do with him,¡± Wei Hongde echoed in agreement.

    ¡°We¡¯ll continue looking elsewhere. I refuse to believe that a wounded female assassin can run that far.¡± Wei Dabao grunted. He continued with his search, his subordinates trailing behind him.

    When he was sure that they had left, Zu An quickly lifted Pei Mianman out of the bathtub. ¡°Are you all right?¡± he asked.

    Seeing that she was still only half-conscious, he began chestpressions.

    ¡°Cough cough...¡± Pei Mianman coughed out a few mouthfuls of water, and she finally came back to her senses.

    Zu An smiled. ¡°If you still hadn¡¯t woken up, I would¡¯ve had to give you mouth-to-mouth.¡±

    Pei Mianman gave him a weak look. ¡°Why do you always have to be so indecent?¡±

    She leaned against the edge of the tub. ¡°Just how did you fool them just now? With the Wei n master¡¯s level of cultivation, there should have been no way he couldn¡¯t see through the water.¡±

    Zu Anughed loudly. ¡°Who knows? Maybe he saw howrge my chest muscles were and suffered a huge mental blow, and his mind became so rmed that he wasn¡¯t able to carry out a careful observation.¡± He had actually used Blue Mard''s mastery over water to seal off her aura¡ªhowever, such a thing was too hard to exin.

    Pei Mianman turned around and saw his naked body. Her cheeks blushed a rosy pink. ¡°Help me out of here already.¡±

    ¡°Oh, okay.¡± They couldn¡¯t stay in the tub forever.

    Because she had always been soaking in water, Pei Mianman¡¯s entire body was drenched, and her clothes were sticking to her body, showing off her figure.

    Zu An supported her to her feet. The warm, soft feeling of her body made him instantly hard.

    Pei Mianman subconsciously looked downwards. She was given the fright of her life, and her heart pounded frantically. Are men all... all...

    Zu An had the decency to be embarrassed. ¡°Sorry about that, it¡¯s not on purpose.¡±

    Pei Mianman didn¡¯t reply. She crawled out of the tub red-faced. It took her some time to ovee her embarrassment. ¡°By the way, why are you here too?¡±

    ¡°I brought Wei Suo back home, but he vomited all over my clothes. I decided to take a bath and change my clothes here. By then, it was already dark. When I heard that the n was out hunting an assassin, I went over to take a look out of curiosity. I never expected that it would be you.¡± Zu An said, shading the truth slightly.

    ¡°It seems as if our fates are somehow tied together.¡± Pei Mianman sighed. ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for you, I might already have been buried here.¡±

    Zu Anughed. ¡°This is what it means to be brought together by fate!¡±

    Pei Mianman leaned against a pir and gave him an annoyed look. ¡°Does Chuyan know that you are flirting with me like this behind her back?¡±

    Zu Anughed. ¡°You were clearly the one who flirted with me first.¡±

    Pei Mianman snorted. ¡°Then why do I feel as if I was the one who fell into your trap?¡±

    In the beginning, she¡¯d been confident that her charm and skill at seduction would make taking down a drafted son-inw an easy task. She thought she would have him eating out of the palm of her hand with no effort at all.

    Who knew that she would end up being the one who felt like she was being toyed with instead?

    Zu An supported her to a seated position. ¡°So what brought you all the way to the Wei n estate?¡±

    ¡°I was searching for something,¡± said Pei Mianman.

    Zu An was startled. Were the two of them after the same thing?

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°What were you looking for?¡± he asked quickly.

    Pei Mianman¡¯s reply was also direct. ¡°I¡¯m not telling you.¡±

    Zu An grew gloomy. ¡°Didn¡¯t I just save your life? Besides, we¡¯re such good buddies. How can you do this to me?¡±

    Pei Mianman looked at him. Her injuries had made her face extremely pale. Her eyes, which were always hard to read, were no longer smiling. ¡°You haven¡¯t been straight with me either, have you?¡±

    1. This isn¡¯t a typo but a pet name.

 Chapter 332: Impossible Escape

    <h4>Chapter 332: Impossible Escape</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Pei Mianman was sharp-witted, and there was no way she could believe that someone of Zu An¡¯s character would bother to send a drunk friend home, and even be willing to stay the night.

    Zu An¡¯s face went rigid. ¡°I was looking for something too,¡± he admitted.

    Pei Mianman probed further. ¡°What were you looking for?¡±

    Zu An shook his head while putting on his clothes. ¡°I can¡¯t tell you. It involves too many other things.¡±

    Pei Mianman snorted. ¡°I have my own reasons for not telling you as well.¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about such unpleasant things then. Let¡¯s talk about some happier things. For example, why don¡¯t you take off your clothes...¡±

    Pei Mianman was given a fright. She immediately took a few steps back. ¡°What are you trying to do?¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°Don¡¯t misunderstand, that¡¯s not what I mean. Your entire body is soaked, and you¡¯re injured as well. You¡¯ll easily fall sick if you keep those clothes on.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s an easy problem to fix.¡± Pei Mianman was just about to summon her ck me to evaporate the water from her clothes. Thankfully, she recalled that using elemental power here might rm the Wei n¡¯s guards.

    Besides, her injuries were severe, and even drying off her clothes with the ck me was most likely impossible.

    ¡°You suffered a direct hit earlier, and there¡¯s no way for you to escape right now. I think it¡¯s better for you to stay here and recover.¡± Zu An unfolded a side of the nket. ¡°You can jump straight into bed after you take off all of your clothes. I won¡¯t peek at you.¡±

    Pei Mianman grunted. ¡°I don¡¯t think you have the guts to do it anyway. You know I¡¯ll tell Chuyan if you try.¡± Something Zu An said tickled her mind. ¡°How did you know that I was attacked?¡±

    Zu An forced a smile. ¡°I was there too. How else could I have saved you so promptly?¡±

    Pei Mianman was shocked. ¡°You weren¡¯t discovered?!¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°It¡¯s probably because I¡¯m a man with integrity.¡±

    Pei Mianman just couldn¡¯t figure out how she¡¯d been discovered while someone with a much lower level of cultivation could remain hidden. Perhaps she was just unlucky enough to have taken the bullet for him. ¡°The person in that room has a level of cultivation that is just too terrifying. Even such a long-ranged attack almost took my life on the spot.¡±

    She had never suffered injuries so severe ever since she¡¯d begun her journey of cultivation.

    That strike had practically destroyed all of her ki in one go.

    ¡°That¡¯s why you need to heal up quickly! I¡¯ll do what I can to dry out your clothes.¡± Zu An didn¡¯t mention anything about helping her treat her injuries. This world was different from the wuxia novels he¡¯d read before¡ªexternal ki couldn¡¯t be used to treat injuries the way internal qi could. He couldn¡¯t do anything to help even if he wanted to lend a hand.

    Of course, if they made the most intimate of connections through the Primordial Origin Sutra, he could treat her injuries directly. However, there was no way Pei Mianman would take him seriously if he suggested this.

    ¡°How are you going to dry them here? Don¡¯t tell me you have some fire-element abilities?¡± Pei Mianman probed curiously.

    ¡°Who says you need to control fire to dry clothes?¡± Zu An responded in a cocky manner.

    Pei Mianman hesitated a while before saying, ¡°Fine, turn around then.¡±

    She knew that she couldn¡¯t just keep wearing these wet clothes.

    There was no way she would have agreed if another man had suggested this, no matter how wet her clothes were. However, since it was Zu An, she was still willing to tolerate it.

    The two of them had a strange rtionship that fluctuated between friendship and hostility. In a strange way, under certain circumstances, they were more willing to rely on each other than anyone else.

    When Zu An turned around, Pei Mianman slid out of her soaked outfit, revealing her wless and perfect body. ¡°You had better not look!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. If I really wanted to look, then I would do it openly and honorably. Why would I resort to peeping?¡± Zu An said helplessly.

    Pei Mianman¡¯s face turned red. This guy always spoke in such a roguish manner, but he was clearly much more interesting than all the other upright gentlemen she¡¯d met before.

    She wiggled her way into the nkets, then said, ¡°I¡¯m done.¡±

    Zu An now turned around. Seeing how tightly she wrapped the nkets around herself, he couldn¡¯t help butugh. ¡°Are you really that scared of me peeking at you?¡±

    Pei Mianman snorted. ¡°Haven¡¯t you seen enough already?¡±

    Her words made both their hearts tremble slightly.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Pei Mianman¡¯s expression grew somewhat unnatural. She coughed a few times and said, ¡°Hand me the medicine from inside my clothes.¡±

    Zu An fished out a bottle of restorative medicine from her clothes and handed it over to her.

    It was probably a good idea for him to prepare something like this as well. Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t have a single bottle of Faith in Brother Spring on hand.

    The only alternative was to try to get some from Ji Dengtu. However, what he¡¯d done to Ji Xiaoxi was still fresh in his mind. There was no way he was getting any medicine from her dad if he ever found out about it. In fact, getting skinned alive would be getting off lightly.

    Pei Mianman reached out a hand to take the bottle, but quickly pulled her hand back under the covers when she remembered that she wasn¡¯t wearing anything right now.

    ¡°I find myself in a slightly... inconvenient situation. Could... could you take out a pill and fe-... feed it to me?¡± Pei Mianman said in embarrassment.

    Zu An was momentarily stunned, but recovered his wits quickly. ¡°No problem!¡±

    He fished out a pill. Even though he couldn¡¯t recognize what sort of medicine this was, the smell of it alone let him know that this was a high-level restorative medicine.

    He supported Pei Mianman with one hand while feeding her with the other.

    Pei Mianman lowered her head slightly and swallowed the pill.

    When her lips touched his hand and he felt the warmth of her tongue, Zu An¡¯s heart skipped a few beats.

    His eyes couldn¡¯t help but look further down. Pei Mianman¡¯s movements had inadvertently exposed arge amount of soft, white skin.

    ¡°Do you want me to pull it down a little more for you to have a better view?¡±

    Zu An instantly replied, ¡°I would never refuse such an offer, if you¡¯re so willing.¡±

    ¡°Pull it down my ass!¡± Pei Mianman hadn¡¯t expected this guy to really be that thick-skinned. She pulled up her nket at once and kicked him away. ¡°Piss off. Dry my clothes for me! If my clothes aren¡¯t dry, I¡¯m going to leave with your clothes! Hmph!¡±

    ¡°Sure, sure,¡± Zu Anughed. He sat down in a corner to sort out her wet clothes, ncing in her direction from time to time.

    Even though only her head was exposed, he still had to admit that this woman was beautiful.

    He always saw her flirtatious and graceful side. This natural and refreshing side she showed today waspletely different.

    As if she could sense his gaze on her, her cheeks grew even more red. However, she didn¡¯t say anything.

    Just like that, a few hours passed. Pei Mianman sighed and slowly opened her eyes.

    Zu An asked, ¡°So? Have your injuries healed?¡±

    Pei Mianman rolled her eyes. ¡°I wish it were that fast. I was only able to temporarily stabilize my condition and recover some freedom of movement. By the way, how are my clothes doing?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re already done.¡± Zu An brought her a neatly-folded set of clothes.

    ¡°Huh? I saw you cover them in ayer of ice just now. How did you dry them so quickly?¡± Pei Mianman was extremely confused.

    ¡°This is called sublimation! You don¡¯t understand physics, so I can¡¯t really exin it to you either. Right now, what¡¯s most important is getting you out of here,¡± said Zu An.

    It would be even harder for her to get away once the sky brightened.

    Moreover, if she tried to leave then, there wouldn¡¯t be anyone to help her escape.

    It was unfortunate that he hadn¡¯te in a carriage. If he had, he could just bring her out with him.

    ¡°You should put on your clothes first.¡± Zu An said while looking out the window. He noticed the glow of brightly-lit torches dotting the estate grounds. Clearly the Wei n guards were still hunting for the intruder. The security was extremely tight.

 Chapter 333: Bringing it Forward

    <h4>Chapter 333: Bringing it Forward</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Leaving now will be quite difficult.¡± Pei Mianman¡¯s voice came from right beside his ear.

    Zu An jumped in fright. ¡°You got dressed that quickly?¡±

    Pei Mianman¡¯s smile dripped with charm. ¡°I can take them off even more quickly. Do you want to see?¡±

    Zu An was momentarily speechless. ¡°I¡¯m going home to tell my wife that you¡¯re trying to seduce me.¡±

    Pei Mianman rested an elbow on his shoulder. She said with a smile, ¡°Go ahead and rat me out, then. Let¡¯s see who Chuyan believes¡ªme or you.¡±

    Zu An felt slightly miffed at that.

    He still gave his own reputation a solid B grade. However, anyone else would have definitely chosen to believe Pei Mianman.

    ¡°If you want to strip, then please, by all means.¡± Zu An replied, refusing to show any weakness.

    Pei Mianman scoffed and moved her arm away. ¡°I just wanted to test you for Chuyan¡¯s sake. Pah! Just another scumbag!¡±

    Zu An looked at her beautiful and sweet appearance. This really is a troublesome little demon... no, wait, a massive demon.

    The two of them joked around a little more before returning their attention to the main matter at hand.

    A worried expression appeared on Pei Mianman¡¯s face when she saw the endless number of figures moving about outside. ¡°I might be able to get out if I wasn¡¯t injured, but now...¡±

    Even though she didn¡¯t finish her sentence, her meaning was obvious enough. Her chances of making it through were slim to none. If they ended up drawing the attention of the mysterious expert, that would be the end for her.

    Zu An pondered for a moment before saying, ¡°I have a way to help you draw away everyone¡¯s attention. You have to seize that chance to get away.¡±

    Pei Mianman was rmed by his suggestion. She hurriedly shook her head. ¡°No! Chuyan would never forgive me if something were to happen to you.¡±

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I have my own ways. I won¡¯t be in any danger.¡±

    His confident tone dispelled Pei Mianman¡¯s doubts. This guy was full of weird tricks anyway. ¡°Be careful, then,¡± she said.

    Zu An nodded. He left quietly through the window and headed towards a pond he remembered passing by earlier.

    Once he was near enough, he summoned Blue Mard. The water surged powerfully, creating a wave that was several dozen meters in height.

    The huge disturbance immediately rmed everyone in the Wei n estate. All the guards who were carrying out the search nearby rushed in the direction of this new threat.

    Satisfied, Zu An made to leave. However, he hadn¡¯t even taken half a step before his body suddenly froze. A shriveled elder was flying right towards him.

    The terrifying waves of ki pouring out from him instantly identified him as the person who had wounded Pei Mianman.

    Damn it! How could I be that unlucky?

    When the other party noticed him, Zu An immediately broke out in cold sweat.

    The elder frowned. Just as he was about to make a move, Wei Dabao hurried over and quickly said to him, ¡°Father, that is a guest in our estate! He is the Chu n¡¯s young master Zu An...¡±

    When he heard these words, the elder¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°You are that Zu An?¡±

    ¡°Zu An pays his respects to elder!¡± Zu An¡¯s heart was pounding. The other party seemed to have heard of his name before.

    That was probably not good news. Being on the mind of a terrifying expert was enough to make anyone uneasy.

    ¡°Not bad, not bad.¡± That elder gave him a casual once-over, but didn¡¯t say anything else.

    ¡°Young master, why are you here?¡± Wei Dabao asked Zu An.

    Zu An reacted quickly, immediatelying up with an excuse. ¡°I couldn¡¯t fall asleep, so I came out for a walk. Who knew that there would suddenly be such a huge disturbance? I came here to check out what was going on.¡±

    He had clearly juste from the pond, yet his words implied that he was heading towards the pond. However, thanks to his acting skills, no one saw through this small discrepancy.

    Wei Dabao smiled sheepishly. ¡°The estate is in a bit of a mess today. Apologies if we¡¯ve disturbed your rest.¡±

    ¡°Uncle is too polite. What¡¯s going on in the estate?¡± Zu An asked in puzzlement.

    ¡°A small vermin got in. It¡¯s nothing major,¡± said Wei Dabao. ¡°Young master, please return to your room and rest.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll leave you all to it, then.¡± Zu An bowed respectfully and headed back to his room.

    Wei Dabao watched his departing figure. ¡°Adoptive father, do you think he is the one who started that disturbance?¡± he asked.

    The elder shook his head. He looked towards the pond and said, ¡°The disturbance was something only a sixth or even seventh rank water element cultivator could create. He doesn¡¯t have that level of cultivation.¡±

    Wei Dabao exhaled in relief.

    ¡°I heard that he disyed great talent during the ns Tournament between the Chu and Yuan ns. Is that true?¡± the elder suddenly asked.

    Wei Dabao was surprised. He hadn¡¯t expected this adoptive father of his to be so interested in Zu An. However, he still replied, ¡°Indeed. He actually defeated Yuan Wendong, who was at the fifth rank. That result was a shock to everyone.¡±

    The elder¡¯s voice grew quiet. ¡°Fifth rank? But from the fluctuations in his aura, he shouldn¡¯t have reached the fifth rank yet.¡±

    ¡°Correct. It seems to have been his sword technique... or perhaps his movement technique that was rather peculiar,¡± Wei Dabao replied.

    ¡°Movement technique...¡± The elder¡¯s smile took on a strange aspect, as if he already knew about this. ¡°Do you know who his master is?¡±

    Wei Dabao shook his head. ¡°I haven¡¯t heard of him having any masters. I only know that he¡¯s learned some things from Brightmoon Academy.¡±

    ¡°Could it be that in Brightmoon Academy...¡± The elder muttered to himself, turning this information over in his mind.

    ¡°By the way, why does adoptive father have so much interest in him?¡± Wei Dabao probed.

    ¡°Just idle curiosity,¡± The elder said indifferently.

    With that, he turned around and walked off. He had expected the presence of another intruder earlier. However, since the threat had vanished, so did his interest in these worldly affairs.

    Idle curiosity? Wei Dabao obviously didn¡¯t believe him. However, since his adoptive father said it was so, he didn¡¯t dare press the issue.

    When he was far enough away, Zu An finally released the breath he was holding. His back waspletely soaked through¡ªan instinctive reaction when facing such a powerful expert.

    Sigh, I¡¯m still too weak.

    When can I speak and act as I please, and meet whoever I want to meet?

    When he returned to his room, the gorgeous beauty was already nowhere to be seen. However, there was a slip of paper left under the nket. Two words were written on it: ¡®Thank you¡¯.

    There was also a faint imprint of her lips, made with the red lipstick she wore.

    ¡°This fox demon really doesn¡¯t give up a single chance to tease me!¡± Zu An chuckled. He was exhausted from running around all night. Hey down on his bed and quickly entered thend of dreams, surrounded by the light fragrance of a beautiful woman.

    ...

    The next morning, Zu An bid the Wei n farewell. Old Mi was at his doorstep as soon as he returned to his room in the Chu n. ¡°I heard that you went to the Wei nst night.¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Zu An was startled. This fe was always in the estate. How did he have such quick ess to information?

    ¡°Did you find it?¡± A hint of anticipation burned within Old Mi¡¯s eyes.

    Zu An awkwardly took a step back. He was getting gay vibes from this old man. ¡°I looked around, but ran into a terrifying and mysterious expert, so I didn¡¯t dare go any further.¡±

    ¡°An expert? How high was his cultivation?¡± Old Mi asked hastily.

    Zu An gave him a roughparison. ¡°Many, many levels above me.¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Old Mi was silent for a moment.

    He suppressed his anger and asked, ¡°What did he look like?¡± His voice was unnaturally dark.

    ¡°He looked skinny and shriveled...¡± Zu An gave him a rough description of the elder¡¯s appearance.

    Old Mi¡¯s expression grew extremely agitated. He immediately grabbed Zu An¡¯s arm. ¡°Did you show him your movement technique? Yes or no!¡±

    Zu An¡¯s arm ached from the grip of his fingers, which were like metal mps. ¡°I didn¡¯t! I entered the estate using the pretext of seeing Wei Suo home! I didn¡¯t need to use any movement techniques.¡±

    Only then did Old Mi sigh with relief. ¡°All right. That¡¯s good. Remember, you absolutely must not disy this movement technique in front of that man, and you cannot mention anything about me to him. Otherwise, it will be the death of you.¡±

    ¡°Okay...¡± Zu An nodded quickly. It seems most likely that Old Mi is the one this fellow is looking for.

    What exactly was that thing that Old Mi was looking for, then?

    Also, what is the story behind Old Mi? Why was he so scared of that person?

    Old Mi turned away from Zu An, his eyes gleaming with a slight ferocity. I¡¯ll have to bring forward my ns for possessing this fellow. Good thing thest two materials I needed just came in...

 Chapter 334: Before and After

    <h4>Chapter 334: Before and After</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    After Old Mi had left, Zu An wondered to himself how he was going to deal with all of this.

    Suddenly, an elegant fragrance wafted over. He turned around and saw Chu Chuyan was standing there, a cold expression on her face.

    ¡°What are you doing here, dear wife?¡± This was a happy surprise! It was rare for her toe looking for him.

    Chu Chuyan was just too gorgeous. Just looking at her once a day would be enough to keep his bad mood away.

    ¡°I heard that you didn¡¯te homest night.¡± Chu Chuyan swept her eyes over him, her gazending on his clothes. She seemed to be looking for something.

    Zu An nodded. ¡°Wang Yuanlong invited me out yesterday. Wei Suo drank too much during the party and needed someone to send him home. When we got there, he vomited all over me, so I washed up there. By the time I was done, it was already veryte, soo I spent the night there.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± Chu Chuyan said no more, and turned around to leave.

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Chuyan for 233 Rage points!

    Zu An waspletely baffled. Why the heck are you getting angry at me?

    He rarely got any Rage points from her. Even when he did, it would be two digits at most. Her temper seemed to be getting worse recently, for whatever reason.

    A thought suddenly urred to him. Heughed and said, ¡°Wife, did you wait up for me all nightst night?¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s body went rigid. A trace of red spread across her neck. However, she scoffed and replied straight away, ¡°Pui! You wish.¡±

    She quickened her steps and ran off.

    Zu An¡¯s smile grew even bigger, but it was quickly reced by a frown. He¡¯d given up a night with his lovely wife just because of Old Mi¡¯s stupid mission. Oh the sacrifices that had been made!

    After breakfast, Cheng Shouping urged Zu An to go to the academy. This was his responsibility as a studypanion.

    Zu An was in a gloomy mood. Having to attend school everyday really was a bother.

    The amount of stuff he could learn from the academy was limited. After all, he hadn¡¯t learned any of his best techniques at the academy. Whether he went or not didn¡¯t make much of a difference to him in terms of knowledge.

    Unfortunately, he was a teacher at the academy. It didn¡¯t matter if a student skipped sses once in a while, but a teacher was held to a very different standard.

    He¡¯d already stayed away from the academy for many days earlier on. If not for his rtionship with Jiang Luofu, he would¡¯ve long been stripped of his status as a teacher.

    I need to find a chance to ask that gorgeous principal if I can keep the privileges of a teacher without needing to fulfill a teacher¡¯s responsibilities. Zu An¡¯s mind was obsessed over this matter. It seemed like a perfectly reasonable request to him. After all, most of the advancements in society only came about because people werezy.

    Chu Huanzhao was already waiting by the entrance of the estate. She flew into a rage when she saw him. ¡°Stinky brother-inw! You went out and had fun without me again!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Huanzhao for 23... 23... 23...

    Zu Anughed in embarrassment. ¡°I was invited out for drinks. You can¡¯t even drink! Wouldn¡¯t your mom and your sister kill me if I¡¯d brought you with me?¡±

    ¡°But... you can¡¯t just go off without saying anything!¡± Chu Huanzhao was still upset. She¡¯d waited happily for him after ss the day before, but the only one who appeared was Cheng Shouping with his dumb face.

    ¡°Okay, okay, I won¡¯t do it again,¡± Zu An replied immediately.

    Chu Huanzhao looked at him doubtfully. ¡°Did you leave me behind on purpose because I ruined your rtionship with Ji Xiaoxi?¡±

    Zu An put his hand over her mouth at once. He looked all around, and then exhaled in relief when he saw that no one was paying attention. ¡°Lower your voice! You¡¯re a woman, so you need to learn to behave more gracefully! You can¡¯t go around gossiping so loudly...¡±

    Chu Huanzhao snorted. ¡°Yeah, yeah, I¡¯m not as graceful as your Ji Xiaoxi.¡±

    This kid really is cute... The way she puffed her cheeks greatly amused him. He couldn¡¯t help but give them a pinch.

    Chu Huanzhao was just about to say something, but the sudden pinch made all the air leak out of her. Her harsh criticism was reduced to an indecipherable mumbling.

    Chu Huanzhao smacked his hand away and red at him. ¡°Smelly brother-inw!¡±

    Zu An grew depressed. You can get angry all you want, but where are my Rage points?!

    It seems like being too close to her isn¡¯t a good thing either. Should I turn her upside down and spank her to earn Rage points?

    Jiao Shanhe, Feng Daniu, Zhou Lujin and the other guards whispered discreetly among themselves.

    ¡°The young master is always together with the second miss, and they are always touching each other as well. This isn¡¯t good... right?¡±

    ¡°What the heck do you know? Our second young miss didn¡¯t say anything herself, so why are you getting all worked up?¡±

    ¡°Obviously because I don¡¯t want to be punished by the Madam for not stepping in to do something about this!¡±

    A collective chill ran down their spines when Qin Wanru¡¯s fierce and imposing figure appeared in their minds.

    Cheng Shouping nudged his way over too. ¡°Hehe, this is where all of you are wrong. Honestly, I feel like the second miss will belong to the young master sooner orter. If that happens, the Madam wouldn¡¯t be able toy me on us anymore.¡±

    The light of truth suddenly dawned on them.

    ¡°You make so much sense!¡±

    ¡°The young master is truly a model for all men!¡±

    ¡°I really need to find a chance to seek some proper guidance from him... I can¡¯t even handle my woman at home.¡±

    ...

    When they arrived at the academy, Chu Huanzhao suddenly cried out in surprise. She ran over to the uptight discipline master Lu De, who was standing by the entrance. ¡°Huh? What happened to your eyes, Discipline Master?¡± she asked.

    Lu De, who always emphasized the importance of appearance, actually had a ck eye, as if someone had punched him.

    However, his cultivation was at a high level, and he was normally a fierce character. Who would dare hit this man?

    Lu De covered his left eye in embarrassment. ¡°I bumped into the wall by ident when I got up from bedst night.¡±

    ¡°Oh my! Just how tough was that wall for our Discipline Master Lu to end up like this?¡± A mocking voice drifted over. Bai Susu was clearly delighted at Lu De¡¯s misfortune.

    ¡°Is that any of your business? Can¡¯t a man slip up once in a while?¡± Lu De fired back. He never got along with Bai Susu.

    Bai Susuughed mock-flirtatiously. ¡°I¡¯m obviously worried about your body. My dear discipline master, you have to take something to nourish yourself. Not only was your eye hurt, but getting up in the middle of the night might signal some kidney problems!¡±

    He giggled and strutted off after saying this.

    ¡°How can a sissy like you have the nerve to say that someone else has kidney problems? Pui!¡± Lu De spat at his departing figure in disgust.

    He became even more furious when he saw the students huddling around him. ¡°What are all of you staring at? Get inside!¡± He had no idea where the nutjob who attacked him the night before hade from.

    That fellow¡¯s cultivation had clearly been much higher than his, yet he didn¡¯t go for a killing blow, but toyed with him like a cat with a mouse. It was almost as if that person was trying to figure out his martial skill.

    If he wasn¡¯t already familiar with Bai Susu¡¯s character, he would¡¯ve thought that that fellow had sent someone to deliberately embarrass him.

    Chu Huanzhao stuck out her tongue at the fuming discipline master, then quickly dragged Zu An with her into the academy.

    They went to their respective ssrooms when they arrived inside. Wei Suo expressed his thanks to Zu An when he saw him. He had gotten so drunk the night before, and he was grateful that Zu An had taken the trouble to send him home.

    Zu An clearly told him not to worry about it, and took the chance to indirectly ask Wei Suo about the mysterious expert in his n.

    However, even though Wei Suo was an expert gossip, he didn¡¯t seem to know anything about his own family¡¯s affairs.

    Not wanting to make himself too obvious, Zu An stopped probing.

    The next ss was his arithmetic ss. This was a ss not even Sky ss students were that interested in.

    However, Xie Daoyun and Zheng Dan took the initiative to attend his ss, which drew a flock of male students.

    Zu An sought out the two girls after ss and said with a bitter smile, ¡°Youngdies, please do not attend my ss again in the future.¡±

    ¡°Why not?¡± Xie Daoyun asked, puzzled. Zheng Dan¡¯s confused expression mirrored her own.

    Zu An sighed. ¡°I nned to ck off during my sses, but you two brought your army of admirers with you, which left me with no choice but to teach seriously! It¡¯s tiring, you know?¡±

    Xie Daoyun and Zheng Dan were both speechless for a moment, before Xie Daoyun burst outughing. ¡°You really are too different from an ordinary person.¡±

    ¡°But of course! How could any ordinary person be so handsome?¡± Zu An replied.

    Xie Daoyun had a nk look on her face. Clearly, she couldn¡¯t keep up with his pace.

    Zheng Dan grabbed her hand and turned around to leave. ¡°There¡¯s something wrong with that fellow¡¯s head,¡± she said quietly. ¡°We¡¯d better not let him lead us astray.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? I think there¡¯s something special about him, though.¡± Xie Daoyun smiled. First, it was that remarkable song, then came the outstanding literary skills that he had disyed the night before. She couldn¡¯t resist turning to look at him again, but for some reason, he was waving right at her! She jumped in fright and turned around at once. Her heart was pounding ferociously.

    Zheng Dan rolled her eyes and whispered something to her.

    Xie Daoyun nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll leave you to it, then. I¡¯m going back to ss.¡±

    Zheng Dan pretended to go to the bathroom. When Xie Daoyun¡¯s figure disappeared around a corner, she changed directions at once and returned to Zu An.

    Zu An had an awkward expression on his face. ¡°I wonder what this student needs from me?¡± he asked.

    Zheng Dan¡¯s expression was reserved. ¡°Teacher, I have a question about something in ss that I didn¡¯t understand. Could you exin it to me, please?¡±

    The students nearby all sighed in admiration. Miss Zheng really was studious! No wonder she was such an outstanding individual.

    The Zheng n had many business dealings, so it wasn¡¯t all that strange for her to have an interest in arithmetic.

    The two of them chatted as they walked. For all appearances, it looked exactly like a teacher instructing an obedient student.

    When the two of them reached a fork in the road, they surreptitiously turned into a remote corner. Without restraint, Zheng Dan threw herself right into his embrace and began to kiss him frantically.

    Neither of them noticed the old man standing under the shade of a tree a distance away. He had a strange look on his face. ¡°The Chu n¡¯s young master really is...¡±

    He tried his best, but couldn¡¯t find a fitting adjective. He wasn¡¯t all that interested in such things, and even found himself feeling slightly disgusted by it.

    He shook his head and went off in a different direction, further into the academy. ¡°Who should I test out next?¡± he muttered to himself.

 Chapter 335: The Young Master Is Formidable

    <h4>Chapter 335: The Young Master Is Formidable</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    If Zu An had seen him, he would¡¯ve immediately recognized him as the mysterious expert from the Wei n.

    After hearing that Zu An seemed to have learned quite a few things from the academy, he decided to drop by and look around.

    The first to suffer his wrath had naturally been Lu De. However, after sparring with him for almost half a day, he didn¡¯t notice any connection between this man and the one he was looking for.

    Thus, he began hunting for his next target.

    Soon, the effeminate Bai Susu entered his line of sight. For some reason, he¡¯d always loathed freaks like these who appeared half-man, half-woman.

    He quietly headed in Bai Susu¡¯s direction. The academy had many guards both in the open and in hiding, but he moved through all of them as if no one was there.

    Zu An had no idea that he had been targeted. He was engrossed in the game he was ying with Zheng Dan, which chiefly consisted of seeing who could hold their breath longer.

    After ying for a while, this game wasn¡¯t enough to satisfy Zu An any longer. He grabbed her thigh and lifted her entire body, pressing her firmly against the wall.

    Zheng Dan¡¯s face became thoroughly red. ¡°Someone might walk by and see us!¡± she said in panic.

    Even though this area was rather secluded, it was still part of the academy grounds. They couldn¡¯t be certain that no students would walk past.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we gamble, then?¡± Zu An whispered in her ear.

    Zheng Dan¡¯s heart trembled. She bit her lips and said weakly, ¡°You need to be fast...¡±

    ...

    When Zheng Dan returned to the ssroom, Xie Daoyun gave her a strange look. ¡°Why is your face so red? Do you feel ufortable anywhere?¡±

    Zheng Dan shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±

    Not only was she not feeling ufortable, she was feeling the exact opposite.

    There was an extremely bold and daring side to her hiding underneath her reserved and graceful exterior. However, what had just happened was definitely too risky!

    Her heart had been pounding throughout the entire affair. If anyone had passed by and seen them, her reputation would have beenpletely ruined!

    Yet somehow, the more stressed out she felt, the more stimted she became, and the more sensitive her body became.

    She couldn¡¯t maintain a properly studious posture anymore, andy on the desk in an alluring manner. Right now, she felt sozy that she didn¡¯t even want to lift a single finger.

    Arge number of male students noticed that her mannerisms seemed quite different. They constantly snuck looks at her, swallowing audibly.

    That was as far as they went. They knew that her fianc¨¦ was themander of the River Patrol Army and the governor¡¯s son, so none of them dared to treat her with disrespect, for fear of provoking the Sang n.

    Zheng Dan ran into Zu An again in the evening, when sses ended. However, this time, she only shed him a faint smile and nodded in greeting.

    To everyone else, this seemed like a normal exchange. After all, Zheng Dan was polite to everyone.

    Zu An really had to give this woman credit for being an incredible actress. How could someone behave one way in public, and then act so differently when no one else was looking?

    ¡°What are you thinking about, brother-inw? Why is your smile so weird?¡± Chu Huanzhao ran over to him excitedly. When she saw him waiting for her here, she absolutely beamed.

    ¡°Am I smiling?¡± Zu An rubbed his own cheeks.

    ¡°Hmph! You were smiling as though something really good had happened!¡± Chu Huanzhao suddenly gave a slight jolt of surprise. ¡°Why did you change your clothes?¡±

    ¡°Oh, I got them dirty just now, so I had to change into a different set,¡± Zu An replied.

    There was no way he could let himself be careless again! Chu Chuyan would always be able to notice even the slightest bit of perfume on him. How could he continue making the same mistake?

    ¡°Oh...¡± Chu Huanzhao had no reason to doubt him.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An noticed Ji Xiaoxi not too far away. This girl really was ridiculously cute! No wonder that Ji Dengtu doted on her like a maniac.

    I might be no better than him if I had a daughter this cute.

    ¡°Hi Xiaoxi!¡± Zu An waved towards her. It would be good if he could purchase some medicine through her.

    Pei Mianman¡¯s injury the night before had reminded him that he couldn¡¯t count on his Rage lottery for restorative items. He had to keep some restorative medicine on him.

    And of course, in Brightmoon City, no other n¡¯s medicine couldpare to the Ji n¡¯s.

    However, Ji Xiaoxi jumped like a startled rabbit upon hearing his voice. She bolted off in a hurry without even turning around.

    Zu An stared after her, speechless.

    ¡°Huanzhao, do I really look like that much of a scoundrel?¡± He was clearly miffed by this reaction.

    Chu Huanzhao looked him up and down, then proceeded to nod fiercely. ¡°You do! You really do look like the worst sort of person!¡±

    Zu An just stared at her.

    Chu Huanzhao snorted. ¡°It¡¯s your own fault for looking at her when she didn¡¯t have any clothes on. It would be weirder if she didn¡¯t avoid you.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao herself had only believed that it was only a coincidence after a long andborious exnation from him.

    However, she really couldn¡¯t stand the idea of this brother-inw of hers cuddling with Ji Xiaoxi, especially with thetter naked as the day she was born. Her own n had put in all the hard work to secure him. To have someone elsee in and snatch him away just like that¡ªit really was too much!

    ¡°Lower your voice please!¡± Zu An hissed in embarrassment.

    He turned around and spitted his followers with a re. ¡°Did any of you hear anything?¡±

    Feng Daniu and the other guards werepletely shocked. Their young master had actually seen Ji Xiaoxi naked? However, they immediately shook their heads when they saw his threatening expression. ¡°We didn¡¯t hear anything!¡± they said in unison.

    Only Cheng Shouping¡¯s fawning voice carried a different tune. ¡°The young master really is formidable, even Ji...¡±

    Jiao Shan and the others covered his mouth before he could finish speaking. ¡°This fellow misheard you! He¡¯s misheard you!¡±

    One could get attached to even a pair of underwear if one wore it long enough. They couldn¡¯t bear to see this guy get into trouble.

    ¡°Hmph!¡± Chu Huanzhao cooled her murderous gaze as well, and dragged Zu An off with her.

    When they returned to the Chu Estate, Zu An noticed a familiar carriage parked outside.

    A maid came running out of the carriage as they appeared. ¡°Young master Zu, our young miss invites you to meet with her.¡±

    ¡°Who is your young miss?¡± Chu Huanzhao cut in front of Zu An vigntly. Just what the heck is going on? Why are more and more women running to my brother-inw¡¯s side?

    That maid smiled sweetly. ¡°Young master Zu will know when he arrives.¡±

    Sensing Chu Huanzhao¡¯s displeasure, she added, ¡°My young miss is just over there. It won¡¯t take long.¡±

    Zu An patted Chu Huanzhao¡¯s head. ¡°Little Huanzhao, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll head over and take a look.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao snorted angrily. She wanted to tag along too, but the maid stopped her, saying that the invitation was for Zu An alone. She was forced to stay behind, her mouth forming into a pout.

    ¡°I¡¯m not waiting for you!¡± Chu Huanzhao shouted in protest, before she stomped inside. However, just after she passed through the gates, she couldn¡¯t resist the temptation any longer. She hid in the shadows and spied in the direction of the carriage.

    A pair of soft hands opened the door as Zu An arrived at the carriage. ¡°Ah Zu, pleasee in.¡±

    Zu An smiled as heid eyes on the incredibly morous woman inside. ¡°Why isn¡¯t Hongleiing in for some tea?¡±

    Qiu Honglei smiled. ¡°I fear that those inside might not wee me, so I decided not to make things difficult for everyone.¡±

    Zu An smiled awkwardly. He still remembered how the study had been turned into a battlefield thest time she had been invited inside. ¡°Right then, what did you want to talk to me about?¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t Ie without a reason?¡± A hint of bitterness shed across Qiu Honglei¡¯s eyes.

    Zu An sighed. Sometimes, not even he could figure out what was real and what wasn¡¯t.

    Qiu Honglei handed over a set of neatly folded clothes. ¡°Thank you for lending me your clothes thest time. I never had a chance to return them to you.¡±

    ¡°Haha, you¡¯re really too kind. It¡¯s just a set of clothes, though. You didn¡¯t have to make a trip all the way here just for that.¡± Even while Zu An was saying this, he wondered if he should find the opportunity to lend her something else.

    If they continually lent things to each other back and forth, wouldn¡¯t their rtionship grow naturally closer?

    ¡°I found this conch in your clothing as well.¡± Qiu Honglei brought out an exquisite conch from beside her. ¡°This thing seems quite interesting. Can I have it?¡±

    Zu An was embarrassed. ¡°This...¡±

    If it had been anything else, he would¡¯ve straight up given it to her. However, this was something that he¡¯d borrowed from Shang Liuyu. He¡¯d had it for so long without returning it. How could he have the nerve to give it away?

    Qiu Honglei tossed the conch into his hands with a smile. ¡°You got it from another girl, didn¡¯t you? Don¡¯t worry, I was just joking around.¡±

    Zu An put it away in embarrassment. ¡°If I get the opportunity, I¡¯ll surely get you another musical item in the future.¡±

    Qiu Honglei smiled. ¡°I¡¯ll remember those words.¡± Her voice suddenly took on a serious tone. ¡°There¡¯s another important matter I needed to speak with you about.¡±

 Chapter 336: Ambush

    <h4>Chapter 336: Ambush</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An was taken aback by her sudden change of expression. ¡°What is it?¡±

    Qiu Honglei hesitated a little before saying, ¡°Ah Zu, do you really n to spend your entire life in the Chu n?¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°My gut isn¡¯t all that great, so I¡¯ll probably have to eat soft rice my entire life.¡±[1]

    Qiu Honglei sighed. ¡°Young master is such a talented person. Why do you put yourself down like this? Besides, even if you want to mooch, there are more options out there than just the Chu n.¡±

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help butugh. ¡°Then can I mooch off of you?¡±

    A perfect blush spread across Qiu Honglei¡¯s cheeks. ¡°You are wee to, anytime.¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An sighed. ¡°I fear that I am quite the greedy person, though. I want to mooch off everyone if I can.¡±

    Qiu Honglei was stunned for a moment, thenmented, ¡°I really don¡¯t know anyone else who can make such dirty thoughts sound so righteous.¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°I guess I¡¯m just more sincere than those other hypocrites.¡±

    Qiu Honglei smiled. ¡°All right then, let¡¯s talk about the main matter at hand. I¡¯ve recently received news that the Chu n will meet its end soon. As a friend, I wanted to advise you to leave this sinking boat.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s mind filled with rm. ¡°Can you exin in more detail?¡±

    Even though the Chu n¡¯s current situation was challenging, they were still a formidable dukedom! Surely they could hold on through the current crisis. Moreover, they even had quite a sizable private army. He really couldn¡¯t imagine how a n like this could be wiped out.

    Qiu Honglei shook her head. ¡°I apologize, I cannot expose my sources. I only came here to warn you because of our friendship.¡±

    Zu An knew that she had a mysterious background, and he didn¡¯t want to pressure her about it. ¡°Even though I¡¯m full of issues, One of my issues isn¡¯t selling out my friends. How can I leave the Chu n if it is facing disaster?¡±

    Qiu Honglei was confused. ¡°But I¡¯ve heard that the Chu n doesn¡¯t treat you well!¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°Some here don¡¯t treat me well, but there are others who do. I cannot fail to live up to their expectations.¡±

    A warm smile appeared on his face when he thought of Chu Huanzhao and Chu Chuyan.

    Qiu Honglei grew quiet for a long time. Finally, she said, ¡°Fine, I understand. It seems like I cannot change your mind, so I can only wish you well.¡±

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°Does your promise to be my concubine still hold?¡±

    Qiu Honglei was stupefied. This guy¡¯s skin really was so thick! However, she felt no disgust toward him. Instead, she replied cryptically, ¡°If you are still well the next time we meet, then of course it will still hold.¡±

    ¡°Then, will we be friends or enemies the next time we meet?¡± Zu An probed.

    After a slight hesitation, Qiu Honglei said, ¡°Of course we¡¯ll be friends.¡±

    Zu An sighed in relief. ¡°That¡¯s fine, then. You know what they say¡ªgood guys die early, while scoundrels live forever. A terrible person like me will live until I can make you my wife.¡±

    ¡°You...¡± Despite her voice containing a hint of displeasure, she wasn¡¯t truly angry at him. ¡°All right then. I await our next meeting.¡±

    After her carriage had left, Zu An fell into deep thought, pondering over this new piece of information he¡¯d just received.

    ¡°She¡¯s already left, so why are you still staring in that direction?¡± Chu Huanzhao had returned to his side. Her voice was full of dissatisfaction.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go find your big sister,¡± Zu An said in a serious tone.

    Chu Huanzhao didn¡¯t dare to joke around when she saw his grim expression. She quickly followed behind him.

    ...

    Chu Chuyan listened to all he had to say. In the end, she still had doubts about the information. ¡°Danger? But the Chu n is doing quite well right now. The Whale Gang has been eliminated, which has dealt a heavy blow to the illicit salt trade, allowing our Chu n to recover this source of ie. Things should only improve from here on out.¡±

    ¡°We should still be careful.¡± Zu An didn¡¯t want to betray Qiu Honglei either. After all, she went out of her way to warn him, so he couldn¡¯t just ignore her.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll be careful.¡± Chu Chuyan¡¯s smile really was too beautiful.

    Chu Huanzhao couldn¡¯t help but hug her. ¡°Big sis, I think you¡¯re smiling a lot more nowadays.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Chu Chuyan rubbed her own cheeks and subconsciously gave Zu An a look.

    Their eyes met, and she blushed.

    ...

    Old Mi was already waiting for him when he returned to his room.

    Panicking, Zu An quickly said, ¡°I¡¯ll look for that case the next time I go to Wei Estate...¡±

    Old Mi cut him off before he could finish what he wanted to say. ¡°There is no need. For now, you don¡¯t have to go to the Wei Estate.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need?¡± Zu An was stunned. ¡°Has senior already found what you were looking for?¡±

    ¡°No, but I¡¯ve found a way in. From now on, I¡¯ll look for it myself,¡± Old Mi said, all the while looking at Zu An.

    Zu An had a strange look on his face. If you had a way in, why did you bother sending me?

    Also, why is this guy¡¯s expression so weird?

    Old Mi seemed to be looking at him the way a predator looked at its prey, or perhaps the way a chef looked at his ingredients.

    Zu An shivered. Was this guy a cannibal?

    Old Mi got up to leave. ¡°That¡¯s all. I just came to tell you not to go to Wei Estate anymore, and also to make sure that you take care of your own safety.¡±

    ¡°Take care of my own safety?¡± Zu An was momentarily stunned. This fe acted like a fiend one second, and then became kind and caring the next. He waspletely befuddled.

    However, he wasn¡¯t in the mood to think about this right now.

    ...

    When evening descended, he headed to the Unvoiced Residence.

    Now that he had the Mirror Mirage, it was incredibly easy for him to move around.

    He arrived outside the residence and gave the window a gentle push. When he found that it wasn¡¯t locked, he grew even happier.

    Chu Chuyan was staring nervously in that direction. She exhaled in relief when she confirmed his identity. ¡°Why are you here?¡±

    Zu An was taken aback. Don¡¯t you already know the answer? You even left a window open for me! Why keep up this charade?

    However, he knew that Chu Chuyan was shy, so he didn¡¯t call her out. ¡°It¡¯s because I miss you, of course!¡±

    As the words left his mouth, he pulled her into a tight embrace.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s face turned red as his mischievous hands wrapped around her. She took out a key and gave it to him. ¡°Take this key. It will allow you to pass through the restrictions ced around the Unvoiced Residence.¡±

    Zu An was overjoyed. His bashful wife had finally epted him!

    ¡°I feel like entering through the window is more interesting, though,¡± Zu An said quietly beside her ear.

    Chu Chuyan felt ticklish, and pulled her head away. ¡°But I don¡¯t like the feeling it gives me... It feels like we¡¯re doing something wrong. Leaving the window open also leaves me feeling scared and on edge. What if someone elsees in?¡±

    Zu An saw the sense in her argument. ¡°I guess my wife is still more meticulous than I. Come and give your husband a kiss!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re so annoying...¡± Chu Chuyan sounded displeased, but she still wrapped her arm subconsciously around the man embracing her.

    The way Chu Chuyan was acting... Zu An felt like he was going to explode.

    When he was with Zheng Dan, he had sought excitement. But now that he was with Chu Chuyan, he was full of tenderness, and his movements were smoother and gentler.

    No wonder all of the other wives get jealous!

    After they had been going for a while, Zu An suddenly froze. Chu Chuyan looked at him with her misty eyes. She said with a gentle voice, ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡±

    ¡°But you¡¯re busy dealing with the issues facing the Chu n right now! It¡¯ll be bad if you get pregnant!¡± Zu An was definitely not someone who wanted to be tied down by kids.

    Chu Chuyan shook her head. Her entire face was red as she said, ¡°It¡¯s fine. I can use my ki to force it out.¡±

    How could Zu An still hold himself back?

    ...

    The next morning, Zu An and Chu Huanzhao noticed that Bai Susu also had a ck eye. Unlike Lu De, both of his eyes were swollen.

    Lu De roared with happiness. ¡°Oh my goodness! Isn¡¯t this our Mr. Bai? Could you have also bumped into a wall in the middle of the night? Wow, you managed to do both eyes at once!¡±

    ¡°Screw you! Lu De, was it out of bitterness that you nned your revenge on me?!¡± Bai Susu¡¯s entire body was shaking.

    ¡°Please cease such venomous nder! You got into this mess yourself! Why are you implicating me?!¡± Lu De felt incredibly refreshed. All the gloominess from the day before had instantly vanished without a trace! He swaggered into the academy, whistling all the way.

    ...

    After that, a new teacher would turn up injured each day. Everyone in the academy was rmed. Was the academy haunted?

    Jiang Luofu returned to her office in the evening. The light was quickly fading. As she walked along the street, her long and beautiful legs shone with an enchanting luster. It might have been because of her stockings, or perhaps just the natural glow of her skin.

    Suddenly, she stopped and frowned. ¡°I reckon you¡¯re the reason for the strange events in the academy recently?¡±

    1. To eat soft rice means to live off of a woman.

 Chapter 337: Brother-In-Law Looks so Pale

    <h4>Chapter 337: Brother-In-Law Looks so Pale</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°As expected of the principal of Brightmoon Academy. I thought I was already being quite careful, yet I was still discovered.¡± A skinny and shriveled figure slowly emerged from behind a tree.

    He wore ck, and his entire body was bound tightly, all the way to up his head, exposing only his two eyes. It was impossible to observe his physical characteristics so gather any further information about him.

    Jiang Luofu looked at him coldly. ¡°Who are you? Why are you targeting our academy¡¯s teachers?¡±

    The ck-d individual sighed. ¡°I thought the principal was someone formidable, but it seems I was being foolish. You¡¯re fully aware that there¡¯s no way I would answer these questions, yet you still asked them anyway.¡±

    Jiang Luofu nodded. ¡°You¡¯re right. A poor choice of words on my part.¡±

    She undid her hairpin. Her long hair uncoiled, cascading down her back like a waterfall.

    The ck-clothed man was stunned. Even though he had no feelings towards the opposite sex, he had to admit that this woman before him was extremely beautiful. With her long legs and the aura of confidence she possessed, she was clearly a beauty that not even an imperial concubine could hope to match.

    Jiang Luofu seized his moment of distraction to make her move. Her toes tapped lightly against the ground, and she shot forward like a streak of lightning. In an instant, her jade hairpin arrowed towards the eyes of the ck-d individual.

    Many years had passed since she¡¯dst gone all out against an opponent. However, the pressure this individual gave off was too great, so she didn¡¯t dare hold back.

    However, two inches from the man¡¯s face, her jade hairpin stopped.

    Two fingers sped the jade hairpin in ce. Her opponent flicked his fingers.

    An iparable wave of power surged toward her.

    Jiang Luofu almost lost her grip on the jade hairpin. However, her reactions were fast as well. With a flip of her wrist, the jade hairpin spun quickly.

    The force of the spin allowed the hairpin to break free from the ck-d man¡¯s fingers, forcing him to let go.

    Jiang Luofu used this opportunity to do a backflip. Those beautiful legs that Wei Suo constantly drooled over now became the most dangerous of weapons.

    Her long legs rose like powerful dragons, instantly sending several dozen strikes towards this ck-d man¡¯s various vitals.

    The man had to use both his arms and legs to fend off this dazzling series of blows.

    When he finally found an opening to retaliate, Jiang Luofu had already pulled back to create some distance between them. She stared at him vigntly.

    ¡°You¡¯re still so young, yet you already possess such powerful cultivation. It truly leaves one in admiration.¡± For a second, the ck-d man looked like a senior admiring a junior. The next instant, he attacked.

    His movements weren¡¯t fast¡ªat least that¡¯s how it seemed on the surface. He looked just like an ordinary old man. However, a streak of afterimages trailed behind him.

    Jiang Luofu knew that this was the result of the old man being so fast that even the surrounding light and shadows had be distorted. Her jade hairpin floated in midair in front of her. With a swipe of her hand, the jade hairpin split into nine hairpins of various shapes.

    She tapped the backs of each hairpin, and the hairpins shot towards the ck-d man like arrows.

    Each hairpin possessed a different attribute, and they trailed multi-colored streaks of light as they flew through the air with a shrill whistling noise. They stabbed towards the ck-d man like nine flying swords.

    ¡°Interesting.¡± The ck d man continuously deflected these iing hairpins with his fingers.

    Deflecting the hairpins didn¡¯t seem too difficult for him, but it did slow down his advance.

    Jiang Luofu wasn¡¯t happy about this at all. The closer this old man got, the greater the pressure she felt.

    ¡°Let¡¯s end the game here, my long-legged beauty...¡± Halfway through his sentence, the ck d man suddenly broke out in a fit of coughing.

    Hisplexion paled. With a tap of his toes, he shot into the clouds, stepping on thin air to disappear into the darkness.

    Jiang Luofu was just about to take out a little bell, but she put it away again when she saw her opponent flee. She looked in the direction he¡¯d disappeared to. ¡°I wonder if he is ninth rank or master rank...¡± she said gravely.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Both ninth and tenth rank cultivators could walk on air, but the former couldn¡¯t maintain it for a long time.

    That man seemed to have still been holding back, so it was hard for her to judge the exact level of his cultivation.

    The ck-d man swiftly left Brightmoon Academy behind and fled for a remote ce, coughing intensely. He tore off his mask and covered his mouth with a handkerchief. Only then did his coughing stop.

    Looking at the dark-red blood staining the handkerchief, the ck d man muttered, ¡°My life is already nearing its end... where are you hiding...¡±

    ...

    If Zu An had been there, he would¡¯ve definitely recognized him as the mysterious expert from the Wei Estate.

    He would¡¯ve also guessed at the reason behind the ck eyes that the academy¡¯s teachers had been sporting recently. This old man was clearly feeling those teachers out.

    This would have then led him to the conclusion that this old man was after him, which would set off even more rm bells in his head.

    However, he had no inkling of any of this. His days were spent in blissful ignorance.

    In the day, he and Zheng Dan left traces all over the remote areas of the academy. At night, he would pursue the meaning of life with Chu Chuyan in the Unvoiced Residence.

    Chu Chuyan hadpletely lost her initial shyness and reservation, and was now weing him calmly and cooperatively...

    One day after sses, Chu Huanzhao suddenly looked Zu An over intently. She even walked a few circles around him.

    ¡°What are you doing? Is there something on my face?¡± Zu An rubbed his cheeks in confusion.

    Chu Huanzhao couldn¡¯t restrain herself any further. ¡°Brother-inw, you look so pale and sallow.¡±

    Zu An was left speechless.

    Chu Chuyan and Zheng Dan were both exceptional beauties, but not even his body, forged by the Primordial Origin Sutra, could keep up this schedule day after day.

    ¡°Is there too much schoolwork? You are both a student and a teacher at the same time. Maybe you should ask the principal to assign you fewer sses.¡± Chu Huanzhao was clearly worried about him.

    Zu An flushed with embarrassment. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I have everything under control.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s find Ji Xiaoxi and get some medicine for you. I¡¯ll look for her if she is still ignoring you,¡± Chu Huanzhao said.

    ¡°Haha, it¡¯s all right, I¡¯ll head over to Divine Physician Ji¡¯s ce myself. In fact, I¡¯ll go right now! Go home first without me.¡± Zu An had to say this in order to convince Chu Huanzhao to head on home first.

    If she followed him to Ji Dengtu¡¯s ce and learned the real reason why he was so pallid recently, wouldn¡¯t she kill him right there and then?

    However, his main purpose in paying that divine physician a visit wasn¡¯t for that sort of medicine. Instead, he was after some restorative medicine.

    His cultivation technique forced him to suffer a multitude of wounds. Thest few experiences had taught him just how important it was to carry such medicine with him.

    The entrance to the Ji Estate was still as crowded as usual.

    However, Zu An was a long-time customer. He strutted straight into the back courtyard.

    To be honest, he didn¡¯t really want to meet with that old pervert. He had messed with the divine physician by giving him the book about cuckolding, and there was the recent incident with Ji Xiaoxi as well. It was entirely possible that the old pervert would murder him the instant they met.

    However, Ji Xiaoxi had roundly ignored him recently, so he couldn¡¯t buy anything off her. His only remaining option was to look for Ji Dengtu.

    Just as he was about to head inside, he suddenly bumped into Jiang Luofu. The other party was startled. ¡°Why are you here?¡±

    ¡°I wanted to buy some medicine.¡± Zu An didn¡¯t find it all that strange to see her here. She was Ji Dengtu¡¯s rtive, after all.

    If I had known this was going to happen, I would¡¯ve walked a little faster and ¡®identally¡¯ ran into her!

    Jiang Luofu grunted in acknowledgment and continued to walk away in a cool and elegant manner. Suddenly, she turned around and said, ¡°Oh, by the way, you need to be careful when you¡¯re in the academy.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Zu An was taken aback. Why did it sound like she was warning him?

    Had his fun time with Zheng Dan been discovered?

    ¡°A mysterious expert has been visiting the academy in secret recently. We still do not know his objectives, but his intent is surely malicious.¡± A frown crossed Jiang Luofu¡¯s face as she recalled what had happened that night.

    Zu An sighed with relief. Thank goodness his activities with Zheng Dan hadn¡¯t yet been discovered.

    After giving him this warning, Jiang Luofu left, seemingly preupied with her own thoughts.

    Right at that moment, Ji Xiaoxi just happened to walk out, carrying a wicker basket filled with medicinal ingredients. Zu An¡¯s eyes brightened. He immediately rushed over to her.

    Of course, Ji Xiaoxi turned around immediately and fled like a ghost.

    Zu An was just about to chase after her when Ji Dengtu suddenly appeared before him, spitting him with a furious re. ¡°Damned brat, did you bully my Xiaoxi?!¡±

 Chapter 338: Bad News

    <h4>Chapter 338: Bad News</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An jumped in fright when he sensed the old pervert¡¯s killing intent. He hurriedly waved his hands and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t, I really didn¡¯t!¡±

    Fuck me! I¡¯m super dead if he finds out that I saw his daughter naked and evenid a hand on her!

    ¡°Then why did Xiaoxi run away as soon as she saw you?¡± Ji Dengtu sneered.

    Zu An¡¯s mind moved at the speed of light. ¡°Maybe I¡¯m just too charming? It¡¯s normal for girls to behave shyly in front of those that they secretly love, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    A wave of rage surged within Ji Dengtu. ¡°Are you saying that my daughter would actually fall for someone like you?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Ji Dengtu for 444 Rage points!

    Zu An changed his excuse right away. ¡°That¡¯s not what I¡¯m saying! I meant that Xiaoxi is really, really kind and gentle, and she possesses the most delicate nature. It¡¯s normal for her to act a bit awkwardly sometimes!¡±

    Only then did Ji Dengtu¡¯s anger subside somewhat. However, a kernel of doubt remained. ¡°If I remember correctly, the two of you were on good terms before.¡±

    ¡°Elder should know that the thoughts of a youngdy are constantly changing. No one knows what they are thinking sometimes,¡± Zu An said.

    It was true that his daughter had been acting strangely recently. She didn¡¯t talk to him no matter what he asked, and she would even yell at him sometimes. He nodded in understanding. ¡°What you say does make some sense.¡±

    However, something else immediately came to his mind. ¡°Heh, I¡¯ll let you off for now regarding what¡¯s going on with Xiaoxi. I want to know, though¡ªwhat kind of hot garbage did you lend me thest time?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Ji Dengtu for 666 Rage points!

    Zu An smiled awkwardly. ¡°What... what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°Why were all the women close to the male lead...¡± Ji Dengtu began his angry tirade, but trailed off as a thought struck him. He looked behind him guiltily. Thankfully, his daughter wasn¡¯t there, but he still lowered his voice and said to Zu An, ¡°Why were they all humiliated instead?¡±

    He got angry whenever he thought about this. That night, he¡¯d finally been in the mood. He closed all of the doors and windows, and then jumped in bed to enjoy his book.

    It was still all right in the beginning. However, as he continued to read, things started to take a strange turn.

    The female lead was captured by the viin!

    He expected the male lead to valiantly show up to save her at the crucial moment, but he never appeared, even after the female lead had been defiled several times...

    You have sessfully trolled Ji Dengtu for 696 Rage points!

    He felt as if he himself had been cuckolded. He red furiously at Zu An.

    Zu An wore a puzzled expression. This guy is still thinking about that?

    ¡°That¡¯s why you shouldn¡¯t imagine yourself as the male lead...¡± Zu An advised.

    Ji Dengtu was dumbfounded. ¡°Who else would I imagine myself as, if not the male lead?¡±

    ¡°You can imagine yourself as the one who NTR... ahem, I mean, the viin who defiled the female lead. You could even put yourself in the shoes of the female lead.¡± Zu An shared the wisdom he¡¯d gained from the online forums of his past world with Ji Dengtu.

    ¡°Viin? Female lead?¡± Ji Dengtu red at him. ¡°Why would I ever do that?!¡±

    He had been left in a withered state for half a month after reading that book. A shadow still loomed over his mind whenever he recalled this.

    You have sessfully trolled Ji Dengtu for 999 Rage points!

    ¡°How about I give you a different story, then?¡± Zu An asked, seeing the extent of Ji Dengtu¡¯s fury.

    Ji Dengtu t out refused him. ¡°No way! I need to know the ending of this story.¡±

    Zu An was speechless for a moment.

    Bro, are you a masochist? You clearly hate it, so why do you have to finish it?

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Ji Dengtu¡¯s voice took on a threatening tone. ¡°You¡¯d better write the rest of this story properly! Make sure the male lead takes revenge and gets to experience the pure love that he deserves in the end! Don¡¯t let any of this previous cuckolding garbage happen again!¡±

    Zu An waspletely bowled over by this request. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I didn¡¯t write this book. I only transcribed it for you.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care! If I see any of that stuff again, I¡¯m going to beat the crap out of you!¡± Ji Dengtu said angrily.

    You have sessfully trolled Ji Dengtu for 200 Rage points!

    ¡°Um, I¡¯ll try my best.¡± Like hell I¡¯ll go through the efforts of writing a new story just for you. I¡¯m just going to give you the original story! It¡¯s up to you if you want to keep reading.

    I¡¯ll just pick up more medicine today. I won¡¯te back here in the future, so you can keep dreaming about beating me up.

    Ji Dengtu finally nodded in satisfaction. ¡°That¡¯s more like it. What did youe here for anyway?¡±

    Finally, they hade around to the main matter at hand. ¡°I wanted to purchase some medicine from you.¡±

    Ji Dengtu examined him in a cursory manner, then nodded. ¡°Indeed, you do need some supplementation after exhausting yourself so much.¡±

    Zu An stared at him in puzzlement.

    Ji Dengtu stroked his beard, and he lowered his voice as if he were gossiping. ¡°The young miss of the Chu n seems so cold and indifferent on the outside, as if she was disinterested in worldly desires. Who knew she would have such needs?¡±

    Zu An couldn¡¯t contain himself.

    ¡°Stop, stop! I only want to buy some restorative medicine from you.¡±

    What in the world are you talking about? Chu Chuyan will die from embarrassment if she heard what you¡¯d just said! Also, what kind of a reputation would I have left if this sort of thing leaks out?

    ¡°Restorative medicine...¡± Ji Dengtu lost interest at once when he heard this. He randomly pointed to one side. ¡°Help yourself over there. Ten taels of silver a bottle, take your pick.¡±

    Zu An walked over and sampled them. He was unsatisfied. ¡°These are just ordinary goods. I need the best stuff! I want the stuff you gave Xiaoxi. I tried them in the dungeon thest time, and the effects were pretty good.¡±

    ¡°Damn it! No wonder everyone always says that daughters only lose you money,¡± Ji Dengtu cursed. He rummaged through a side cab and fished out a porcin bottle. ¡°These are Soul Return Pills. No matter how serious your injuries are, you can be saved as long as you still have a single breath left in you. Of course, if you run into someone stronger than me, then this medicine might not be effective. One pill costs five thousand taels of silver¡ªno bargaining! I¡¯m only selling this to you at this price because you¡¯ve given me some interesting stories. Anyone else would have to fork over ten thousand taels at least!¡±

    ¡°Five thousand taels of silver?¡± Zu An was shocked. Just how many taels of silver had he shoveled into his mouth in that dungeon?

    ¡°Hmph, if you think it¡¯s too expensive, then don¡¯t buy them.¡± Ji Dengtu reclined in his rocking chair and put on a ¡®take it or leave it¡¯ expression.

    Zu An smiled. ¡°How can life-saving medicine even be considered too expensive? How much more do you have? I¡¯ll buy it all.¡±

    This bottle looked like it had ten pills inside, which didn¡¯t seem enough to him.

    Ji Dengtu snorted. ¡°I almost forgot that you were a walking moneybag. This medicine is hard to prepare, and the ingredients are rare as well. I¡¯m not selling the rest. I need to save them for my Xiaoxi.¡±

    There was no way Zu An could continue pressing him when he heard that they were for Xiaoxi. This old man really is crazy over his own daughter. He¡¯s always thinking about her.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll buy some regr medicine as well.¡± He would definitely suffer injuries frequently, but he probably wouldn¡¯t need to use the most precious medicine every time.

    ¡°Xiaoxi, help Zu An wrap up the medicine.¡± Ji Dengtu hollered. He didn¡¯t feel like doing this stuff himself.

    However, a long time passed with no response. His expression sank. ¡°Xiaoxi?¡±

    After calling out several more times, Ji Xiaoxi finally replied. ¡°I¡¯m noting out! Wrap it yourself!¡±

    ¡°Heh, look at this silly girl. She¡¯s bing more and more rebellious.¡± Ji Dengtu got up, his expression that of a stern lecturer. However, he couldn¡¯t bear to do it in the end. He turned around and red at Zu An. ¡°Are you certain you didn¡¯t bully her?¡±

    ¡°Of course I didn¡¯t! You can call her out and ask her if you don¡¯t believe me!¡± Zu An said confidently. He thoroughly understood Xiaoxi¡¯s nature. There was no way she could possibly be brave enough to speak about what had happened.

    Ji Dengtu finally believed him. He personally wrapped up the medicine for Zu An.

    When he saw just how much medicine Zu An was buying, Ji Dengtu gave him a strange look. ¡°Just how many enemies did you end up provoking? What the heck do you need all this medicine for?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s always better to be more careful.¡± Zu An smiled innocently.

    Ji Dengtu snorted. ¡°You¡¯d better stay further away from Ji Xiaoxi in the future. You¡¯ll surely be a negative influence on her.¡±

    Zu An smiled bitterly. Isn¡¯t Ji Xiaoxi already staying far away from me? She doesn¡¯t even talk to me anymore.

    The total bill was sixty thousand taels of silver. Zu An stored the medicines in the Brilliant ss Bead. He finally rxed a bit.

    With food in the pantry, the mind is at peace!

    I should prepare some food and daily necessities as well.

    Zu An strolled around the market. The storage space in the Brilliant ss Bead was massive anyway, and stuff stored inside it didn¡¯t spoil.

    ...

    When he returned to the Chu Estate, he discovered that a heavy aura hung over the entire ce.

    ¡°Something major has happened!¡± Chu Chuyan said as soon as she saw him. Her voice was gravely serious.

 Chapter 339: Predicament

    <h4>Chapter 339: Predicament</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An was greatly rmed by Chu Chuyan¡¯s serious expression. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°Follow me to the meeting hall. I¡¯ll tell you everything along the way.¡± Chu Chuyan grabbed his hand and walked into the estate.

    ¡°My father has been detained in the Glorious Sun City by Sang Hong.¡± Chu Chuyan said.

    Zu An was shocked. ¡°What?! Father-inw is a formidable duke, and his cultivation is so high. How could Sang Hong dare to detain him? Even if he dared to, there¡¯s no legitimate reason for it!¡±

    ¡°He has a reason,¡± Chu Chuyan exined. ¡°It was all about the salt permits.¡±

    Zu An finally learned the whole story after Chu Chuyan filled him in.

    Under Chen Xuan¡¯s torture, Wang Yuanlong had exposed the route along which the Wang n¡¯s salt permits were being transported, and the timing of the caravan.

    The salt permits just happened to be two days away from Brightmoon City.

    Chen Xuan had immediately sent out men to seize the salt permits.

    The Wang n was already reeling from the looting of their trade station, and they had barely managed to scrape together the funds for thisst batch of salt permits.

    There was no way for them to acquire more salt permits for quite some time.

    The Chu n, however, needed the Wang n¡¯s help to bring their stockpiles of salt to market.

    The Wang n had no choice but to beg Chu Zhongtian for help. Out ofpassion for his friend, and in consideration of the Chu n¡¯s own circumstances, Chu Zhongtian decided to pass off the advance salt permits as the stolen permits.

    When the Wang n finally made it through this trying period, the advance salt permits could be reced. Everything was to be kept top secret.

    However, things took an unexpected turn. A sudden, unannounced investigation had been carried out on the Chu n¡¯s most recent batch of salt permits. When the saltmissioners discovered that these salt permits weren¡¯t the right ones, Sang Hong used it to kick up a huge fuss, and detained Chu Zhongtian.

    Zu An sighed. ¡°It seems like Sang Hong was well prepared. This might even have been a trap that he¡¯d set up himself.¡±

    Chu Chuyan shared his sentiments. ¡°We were careless.¡±

    There was one thing that Zu An couldn¡¯t understand. ¡°Wait, didn¡¯t you say that all of the saltmissioners were on our side? How did Sang Hong suddenly find out about this?¡±

    Chu Chuyan shook her head. ¡°This is the strangest part of it all. Sang Hong probably managed to turn some of those saltmissioners to his side.¡±

    Zu An held her hand, which was slightly cold. ¡°Honey, I will always be by your side. I¡¯ll help the Chu n get through this.¡±

    ¡°Thank you...¡± Chu Chuyan forced a smile. She didn¡¯t think that there was anything he could do, especially with the situation already so dire. However, his words still brought her a hint of warmth.

    ¡°Screw that Chen Xuan! Even in death he still haunts us.¡± Zu An muttered to himself. This whole matter had begun with Chen Xuan stealing those salt permits. Things wouldn¡¯t have gotten so out of hand otherwise.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    By this time, the two of them had already arrived at the discussion hall.

    ¡°I demand an exnation for this, sister-inw!¡± Chu Yuepo¡¯s furious roar reached them as soon as they walked through the door.

    Zu An was surprised. Chu Yuepo had always given him the impression of a chubby, friendly uncle. He had never seen him so angry before.

    ¡°Indeed, I was keptpletely in the dark regarding this as well, and yet it is I who has to clean up this mess! All of you have really gone too far this time!¡± Chu Tiesheng¡¯s voice was icy-cold.

    Qin Wanru was being chewed out by Chu Tiesheng and Chu Yuepo. Her face was ashen, but there was nothing she could say to defend herself. She knew that she was in the wrong.

    Chu Chuyan quickly stepped forward. ¡°Second and third uncles, we shouldn¡¯t be focused on who should be med for this. What we need to do right now is find a way to deal with this issue.¡±

    ¡°Your words sure sound nice! However, you can¡¯t deny that you hid everything from us. Only now, when things have gone south, do you finally remember the rest of us.¡± Chu Tiesheng scoffed.

    Chu Chuyan frowned. ¡°We hid this from everyone else because this was an extremely important and delicate matter. We had to maintain absolute secrecy.¡±

    ¡°And look at just how well you all managed to keep this secret! Didn¡¯t it still leak out in the end?¡± Chu Yuepo said. ¡°If only the few of you knew about this, then who was the one who leaked this information?¡±

    He looked at Chu Chuyan and then at Qin Wanru, his meaning obvious. Clearly, one of the two had leaked the secret out.

    Qin Wanru and Chu Chuyan were both so angry that their faces turned a deathly white. However, neither of them could think of a suitable rebuttal.

    Zu An stepped in front of the both of them. ¡°The two of you really are something! How dare you use this chance to bully a widow and an orphan!¡±

    Qin Wanru and Chu Chuyan stared at his back with a mixture of bewilderment and indignant anger.

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Wanru for 666 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Chuyan for 233 Rage points!

    Zu An was shocked. I¡¯m speaking up for you two right now! Why are you getting angry at me?

    However, he soon realized the issue. He said with an awkwardugh, ¡°My bad, my bad. You aren¡¯t a widow, and you¡¯re not an orphan either.¡±

    If Chu Zhongtian had heard him, he would have surely flipped out no matter how good his temper was.

    Only with this admission did the two women¡¯splexions improve.

    ¡°What makes you think you have the right to speak up in such a ce?!¡± Chu Tiesheng said coldly.

    Zu An maintained hisposure. ¡°I just wanted to speak up for my wife since I couldn¡¯t stand your bullying anymore. Besides, for better or for worse, I am considered part of the main branch of the n. Aren¡¯t you all just members of the side branches? How is it that you guys are allowed to speak, but I¡¯m not?¡±

    ¡°Utterly preposterous!¡± Chu Tiesheng immediately erupted in anger. Even Chu Yuepo glowered at Zu An. Their status as side branch members had always been something that gnawed at their minds.

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Tiesheng for 886 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Yuepo for 668 Rage points!

    ¡°Enough, enough!¡± Qin Wanru finally spoke up. ¡°How much more time are we going to waste arguing?¡±

    Chu Tiesheng snorted. ¡°It¡¯s not that we want to argue, but your main branch always keeps a firm grasp on every single affair. Although it¡¯s said that Third Brother and I control the iron and salt businesses respectively, everyone knows that this is in name only.¡±

    Chu Yuepo parroted, ¡°That¡¯s correct! There would have never been such a huge slip-up if you had just consulted with the rest of us first!¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°It¡¯s easy to talk a big game after the fact. However, didn¡¯t father-inw take the risk because he was thinking about the welfare of the Chu n as a whole? The Chu n has been struggling to even make ends meet, so we obviously need to save as much as possible.¡±

    Even though Chu Chuyan hadn¡¯t told him these things, he could fill in these nks himself.

    Qin Wanru¡¯s expression eased a little. She had never been fond of Zu An¡¯s slick mouth, but now that he was speaking up on their behalf, she suddenly found him much more pleasing to the eye.

    Having a man standing in front of you always helped to settle one¡¯s unease.

    Qin Wanru¡¯s thoughts drifted instinctively to Chu Zhongtian. She didn¡¯t know when he could return safely.

    ¡°Save, save, save¡ªin the end, you all didn¡¯t save anything, but threw the entire Chu n away! Sixteen million taels of silver! Where in the world will the Chu n be able to gather that much money?!¡± Chu Tiesheng said furiously.

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Tiesheng for 358 Rage points!

    ¡°Sixteen million?¡± Zu An gave a start. Why was the number so high?

    He had just been thinking about his own wealth, and how he could use it to help his wife through this crisis. In the end, there was still a missing zero behind his total worth.

    ¡°The royal court sets restrictions on the sale of salt in order to prevent salt merchants from dumping their goods into the market at will. If one wishes to obtain salt permits ahead of time beyond the stipted quota, then besides the 1.5 taels of silver needed per permit, an additional 2.1 taels of silver needs to be paid in advance.¡± Chu Chuyan paused for a moment, her expression bing downcast. ¡°In addition, to prevent salt merchants from engaging in covert activities, it is expressly stipted in writing that those who do not make this advance payment will be fined several times the required amount.¡±

    ¡°More than half of the sixteen million taels of silver demanded of us are in fines.¡± Chu Tiesheng continued where she left off. ¡°The only way such a sum can possibly be paid off is if we sold off the entire Chu n!¡±

 Chapter 340: Bewitching Potion

    <h4>Chapter 340: Bewitching Potion</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°I will think of a way to solve this problem. There is no need for you to continue,¡± Chu Chuyan said coldly.

    ¡°You¡¯re going to think of a solution? What sort of solution could you possiblye up with?¡± Chu Tiesheng said disdainfully. Just as he was about to continue, he suddenly felt the temperature in the room fall by several degrees. Sensing that she was now truly angry, he didn¡¯t dare to continue pressing her on this matter. ¡°Whatever. I¡¯ll just wait and see for myself what your solution is.¡±

    He stormed off in a huff.

    Chu Yuepo took his leave as well, his expression cold. Soon, Qin Wanru, Chu Chuyan, and Zu An were the only ones left.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t contain his indignance. ¡°Aren¡¯t they going too far? They¡¯re all itching to pick a fight as soon as father-inw leaves. If we let things be, won¡¯t they end up nning a rebellion or something?¡±

    ¡°The second and third branches have always coveted our power, and want to rece us,¡± Qin Wanru exined. ¡°There is no way they would pass up such a golden opportunity to make trouble for us.¡±

    Ever since she¡¯d found out Zu An and her daughter had consummated their marriage, she had abandoned her previous unrealistic delusions and begun to ept him. Moreover, he had spoken up in their defense earlier, and so she was willing to share more of the Chu n¡¯s secrets with him.

    Zu An sighed. ¡°The world really is a strange ce sometimes. When bad things happen, strangers might end up being more reliable than those who are close to you. Even if strangers don¡¯t lend a helping hand, they at least won¡¯t hit you while you¡¯re down.¡±

    Qin Wanru¡¯s voice was downcast. ¡°What does saying these things do for us? Figuring out a way to resolve this matter is still our top priority.¡±

    Chu Chuyan said, ¡°I think we should gather together the money to ransom father back first.¡±

    ¡°This is sixteen million taels of silver that we¡¯re talking about! How could we possibly amass such a huge amount of money?¡± Qin Wanru grew pessimistic as she recalled the astronomical figure.

    Chu Chuyan also grew quiet. The Chu n was already deep in the red after suffering years of losses. Together with the many expenses of the n, their cash reserves were very limited.

    After the eradication of the Whale Gang, their salt business had started to pick up. Their ie had just begun to grow when this crisis blew up.

    Now that the truth behind their salt permits had been exposed, their salt business was marked as illegal, and this revenue source had been cut off.

    The only means left to them was to sell everything they owned. However, if they did that, would there be any meaning left in the Chu n¡¯s bitter efforts to protect their ancestral property?

    If even the property inherited from their ancestors was sold off, faith in the Chu n would surely crumble. When that time came, the Chu n would truly be finished.

    Zu An said, ¡°I have around two to three million taels of silver that can be used to bail out father-inw. Unfortunately, the Plum Blossom Sect has already been eradicated, so the seven-and-a-half million taels of silver they owe me cannot be collected. Otherwise, I could at least solve half of this problem.¡±

    Chu Chuyan was given a shock. ¡°Where the heck did you get so much money?¡±

    She knew a little about his transaction with the academy, but she also knew that nothing much of value was left behind by the Plum Blossom Sect. How did he suddenly put together two to three million taels of silver?

    Zu An said proudly, ¡°Your husband is really awesome, don¡¯t you know? I even managed tond a wife like you¡ªwhat¡¯s so hard about making a bit of money?¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s face turned red. ¡°You don¡¯t have a shred of decency,¡± she scoffed.

    At the same time, she looked guiltily at her mother.

    Qin Wanru didn¡¯t get mad this time. Her voice was instead tinged with gratitude. ¡°Ah Zu, thank you for choosing to help the Chu n in our moment of crisis. Chuyan didn¡¯t choose the wrong person to marry after all. However, our Chu n hasn¡¯t yet fallen to the point where we need to rely on our son-inw¡¯s private stash. If that were to happen, we might really be theughingstock of the entire city.¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An waspletely speechless. It sounded just like how the ancient families in China refused to touch a wife¡¯s dowry. Faced with this situation, what was the point in holding on to such useless pride?

    ¡°Ah Zu, you should go back and get some rest,¡± Qin Wanru said. ¡°I still have some matters to discuss with Chuyan.¡±

    Zu An had never nned on getting involved with the Chu n¡¯s matters, nor did he have much interest in the details. He was relieved by her dismissal.

    ...

    He came across Chu Huanzhao soon after leaving. She ran straight into Zu An¡¯s arms when she saw him. ¡°Brother-inw, will dade back?¡±

    Some guards saw how close the two of them were behaving, but they turned around in unison and pretended that nothing had happened.

    These intimate actions seemed to happen too often nowadays. Since both Madam and First Miss hadn¡¯t said anything about it, they knew that servants like themselves were in no ce to say anything either.

    However, they could not ignore the fact that it was the second miss who had taken the initiative to throw herself into the young master¡¯s embrace...

    Just what kind of strange power did the young master have? Even though he was somewhat handsome, he wasn¡¯t stunningly so. Just how had he seized the first miss¡¯ absolute favor and made the second miss so infatuated with him?

    What was even harder to understand was that even Madam seemed to be treating him better recently.

    Sigh... we¡¯re all so envious!

    Zu An noticed the Rage pointsing in. These fes really were quite good at acting. They lookedpletely unfazed on the outside, but they were probably cursing the hell out of him inside.

    Can¡¯t you all find it in yourselves to get a little more angry, though? What is with all these single-digit numbers?

    You don¡¯t even dare to get really angry. No wonder you all can only stand to one side and admire my awesomeness.

    He would¡¯ve definitely gained an explosive amount of Rage points if he¡¯d spoken these words out loud.

    However, his past experiences had taught him to weigh the pros and cons. There were Rage points that were worth farming, and Rage points that would never be able to make up for the losses that he incurred while going after them.

    He gently patted the youngdy who was shaking in his arms. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, your dad will definitely be okay,¡± he consoled her.

    ¡°But I¡¯ve heard that things are extremely serious this time! I¡¯ve heard that it¡¯s really, really bad...¡± Chu Huanzhao rubbed her eyes. She was clearly not convinced.

    ¡°Your dad is so amazing! He¡¯ll definitely be able to ovee this.¡± Zu An wiped away her tears. ¡°Besides, your mom and your big sister will surely think of a way to save him too.¡±

    ¡°But I¡¯ve never seen mom and big sis look so discouraged before! They seem very pessimistic about our chances of saving dad.¡± Chu Huanzhao was still extremely depressed.

    When did this brat suddenly turn into such a gloomy and depressed person?

    Zu An rubbed her head with a smile. ¡°Even if you don¡¯t trust your mom or your big sis, you have to trust me! I will think of a way to save father-inw as well.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Chu Huanzhao immediately became happy again.

    Zu An nodded. ¡°Of course!¡±

    ¡°Brother-inw is the best!¡± Chu Huanzhao¡¯s destion left her immediately. She began to prance about in happiness.

    The guards were all stupefied. She didn¡¯t have confidence in First Miss or Madam, but instead put her faith in the young master?

    Just what kind of bewitching potion did the young master use on the second miss?

    ¡°I¡¯m so useless, I only know how to y around every day... When something serious happens, I can¡¯t even help mom or big sis. I¡¯m not even as good as you.¡± Chu Huanzhao suddenly became dejected.

    Zu An stared at her, speechless.

    What do you mean, you¡¯re not even as good as me?!

    Despite this outrage, Zu An still consoled her. ¡°You¡¯re still young, you¡¯ll be able to help out once you grow older.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Chu Huanzhao blinked, still doubtful. At least she seemed to have some self-awareness regarding her own abilities.

    ¡°Of course!¡± Zu An said firmly. This girl had always beenpared to her big sister since she was little, so there was no way that she would have much confidence in herself. He knew the importance of encouraging her.

    ¡°Brother-inw is the best!¡± Chu Huanzhao grabbed his arm. Her face was beaming with smiles.

    Feeling the soft warmth on his arm, Zu An¡¯s expression became a little strange. Why does it seem like this kid has grown recently...?

    ...

    After all that effort, Zu An finally managed to console her. He returned to his residence, and found Old Mi watering the nts in the courtyard.

    This fe looks like a gardener, but he¡¯s actually a terrifying old fiend. Zu An cursed, but he had a brilliant smile on his face. ¡°Greetings, Elder.¡±

    Old Mi grunted in acknowledgment. He also smiled, but it seemed slightly terrifying on his ugly face.

    Zu An asked, ¡°By the way, Elder, the Chu n is facing some difficulties right now. Since you¡¯re so powerful, is there anything you could do to help us?¡±

    Since this old man had chosen to hide in the Chu n, Zu An figured that he was probably some Chu n ancestor, or perhaps someone who shared a friendship with the Chu n. There was no way he would remain indifferent to their plight. Having someone with his cultivation on their side would surely ease their current situation.

    Old Mi shook his head. ¡°The Chu n¡¯s foundations were slowly built up over a thousand years. How could it be destroyed that easily?¡±

    What kind of reasoning is this? Zu An was puzzled. How could he say that a n built up over a thousand years couldn¡¯t be destroyed?

    He couldn¡¯t find a way out for the Chu n, not when they were on the hook for sixteen million taels of silver. Even the four great ns of Brightmoon City together might not be able to put together that much cash.

    ¡°Stopping fretting over nothing. Why would the glorious Chu n need to be rescued by a drafted son-inw like you?¡± Old Mi scoffed. ¡°Besides, the entire Chu n added together isn¡¯t as important as you. Your only job is to take care of yourself. You absolutely cannot let any danger befall to you.¡±

    With that, Old Mi left. He clearly didn¡¯t want to hear any more requests about saving the Chu n.

    Zu An cringed when he heard those words. Please don¡¯t tell me that the old man was confessing to me.

    Gross, gross...

    Zu An went to the Unvoiced Residence several times in the evening, but Chu Chuyan never returned.

    Zu An snuck into the meeting hall and discovered that it was still brightly lit. From time to time, people came and went, many of them trusted aides of the Chu n.

    Chu Chuyan was probably thinking of a way to save the Chu n.

    Zu An¡¯s heart ached. His wife was beautiful, strong, and most importantly, capable. However, being toopetent came with its own drawbacks. From a young age she had had to bear many responsibilities that she shouldn¡¯t have had to.

    In his previous world, all the youngdies around her age in his past world enjoyed their years of youth to the full. Simps willing to do their bidding crowded around them. Their days were spent in endless enjoyment. Where would anyone find a trace of such hardships in their lives?

    Zu An drifted off to sleep in the Unvoiced Residence. The next morning, he was awoken by Chu Chuyan. ¡°Ah Zu,e with me on a trip.¡±

 Chapter 341: Another Wolf

    <h4>Chapter 341: Another Wolf</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Still drowsy, Zu An subconsciously reached out a hand to hug her. ¡°You¡¯re finally back, honey? Come and get some sleep.¡±

    Did Chu Chuyan change her perfume? She always wore an elegant orchid fragrance¡ªwhy did he smell a sweet rose fragrance?

    ¡°Ahem, ahem...¡± There came the sound of a light, displeased cough.

    Zu An turned around. Qin Wanru and Chu Chuyan were standing beside the bed.

    Both of them had clearly not slept a wink. Their eyes were slightly bloodshot, and they were both slightly paler than usual.

    However, gorgeous women would always be gorgeous women. If anything, their current appearance actually lent them a different sort of appeal.

    One was voluptuous and mature, while the other was reserved yet exquisite. The pair of them formed a beautiful sight that seemed to brighten the entire room.

    Qin Wanru¡¯s brow furrowed when she saw him staring at them.

    Zu An shivered at her unpleasant expression. He sat up at once and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect mother-inw to be here as well!¡±

    He didn¡¯t understand why Qin Wanru woulde to her daughter¡¯s room so early in the morning. He needed to find a way to tactfully tell her not to intrude into their private love nest.

    Sensing his confusion, Chu Chuyan said, ¡°We chatted all night. We didn¡¯t find you in your room when we went looking for you in the morning, so we assumed that you had already gone to the academy. But when we came here to retrieve some things, you were... here.¡±

    Her face slowly turned red as she said this. Even though the two of them were husband and wife, many people believed that their marriage was in name only.

    The two of them had tried their best to hide their real rtionship from everyone else, yet her mom had now seen him fast asleep in her own bed. There was no way they could use the excuse that they were only sleeping together to treat her illness anymore.

    Qin Wanru was also shocked. Even though she knew that the two of them had consummated their marriage as husband and wife, she was still under the impression that the two of them only slept together because of Chu Chuyan¡¯s illness. However, judging from how Zu An now seemed to have free rein over this room, the two of them had definitely bonded many more times.

    Sigh, my daughter has grown up.

    Zu An had the decency to be embarrassed. ¡°What did you need me for?¡±

    Chu Chuyan was just about to speak when her eyes froze and her cheeks burned up. ¡°Just put on your clothes already! We¡¯ll wait for you outside.¡±

    The two of them had spent every night together recently, so she had obviouslye to know her husband¡¯s habits. This guy loved sleeping naked, and she did not want her mother seeing what was underneath the covers.

    Qin Wanru had already spied the huge bulge in the middle of the nket. As an experienced woman, how could she not know what this signified?

    Even Qin Wanru¡¯s heart began to pound when she saw the exaggerated size of it. She turned around stiffly, pretending as though she hadn¡¯t seen anything.

    Suddenly, it seemed clear to her why her aloof and prideful daughter had been done in by this man.

    This thought left a sour taste in her mouth. Her daughter, who was outstanding in every aspect, had been forced into submission by such a simple and crude method. It was truly loathsome,

    However, once her initial anger had passed, she began to ept her daughter¡¯s point of view. After all, her experience had taught her that the rtionship between a man and woman wasn¡¯t actually thatplicated. In the end, physical attraction was still the most important factor.

    Zu An got dressed and walked out soon after. Not a hint of embarrassment showed on his face.

    Qin Wanru sighed. This fellow¡¯s skin really is thick!

    Instead, it was Chu Chuyan who seemed embarrassed. ¡°Ah Zu, please apany me for a while. We need to ask some people for help.¡±

    Qin Wanru spoke as well. ¡°Indeed. There is no way we can gather sixteen million taels of silver on our own, so we need to borrow some money from others. Our Chu n has been kind to others over the years, and we should be able to call in some favors. You and Chuyan have a few ces to visit, while I seek out some of my friends.¡±

    In his heart, Zu An scoffed. He would consider it a win if no one kicked them while they were down. However, he kept this to himself, afraid that his words would provoke her. Instead, all he said was, ¡°Understood!¡¯

    As the two of them set out, Zu An asked, ¡°Where to?¡±

    ¡°The academy!¡± Chu Chuyan looked towards the distant academy building.

    ¡°The academy?¡± Zu An was shocked. How could they still be heading to school in such a situation?

    ¡°We¡¯ve made considerable donations to the academy over the years,¡± Chu Chuyan exined. ¡°The Chu n has always maintained a cordial rtionship with the academy and the Chu n, which makes it the best ce to start.¡±

    Zu An felt enlightened. Just as he was about to say something, a happy voice chimed from beside him. ¡°Sis, are youing along with us to school?¡±

    Chu Huanzhao skipped her way over and grabbed Chu Chuyan¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Yes, we are going to the academy.¡± Chu Chuyan dotingly stroked her younger sister¡¯s head.

    ¡°It¡¯s been so long since I¡¯ve gone to school with sis!¡± Chu Huanzhao said, her voice tinged with nostalgia.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s tone was apologetic. ¡°I¡¯ve been so busy these few years that I haven¡¯t had time to keep youpany.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao shook her head. ¡°You are taking care of important matters! How can I have the nerve to bother you?¡¯

    Chu Chuyan was surprised. She rubbed her head and said, ¡°Our Huanzhao is all grown up now.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao pouted. ¡°Why do you and brother-inw love touching other people¡¯s heads? I spend a lot of time on my hair in the morning you know?¡±

    Chu Chuyan subconsciously nced at Zu An. Did this fe always rub her sister¡¯s head too?

    Zu An felt guilty. ¡°Come on, don¡¯t misunderstand what she¡¯s saying. I only rub her head like this.¡±

    He reached over and ruffled his hand through Chu Huanzhao¡¯s hair thoroughly, making it look like a bird¡¯s nest.

    Chu Huanzhao looked like she was about to explode.

    ¡°Stinky! Brother! In! Law!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Huanzhao for 333 Rage points!

    Chu Huanzhao was really angry this time. She chased after Zu An and kept hitting him.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Chu Chuyan smiled when she saw the two of them ying around. It wasn¡¯t a bad thing for the two of them to be so close. Their n sorely needed more of this kind of warmth.

    However, her heart grew cold when she thought of the attitude of her second and third uncles.

    Chu Huanzhao was still a young girl at heart. After chasing him around for a bit, her anger quickly disappeared. She ran back to grab her big sister¡¯s arm.

    ¡°Stop right there! That¡¯s my wife you¡¯re touching. Don¡¯t try to steal her from me!¡± Zu An shoved his way in between them and put a hand around each of their shoulders.

    ¡°You''re so stingy!¡± Chu Huanzhao grunted disdainfully. However, she still ended up leaning against him.

    Chu Chuyan frowned slightly. ¡°Please put your arm down, and conduct yourself properly in public.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s voice was indignant. ¡°What¡¯s so improper about hugging my own wife in public?¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s face became red, but offered no rebuttal in the end.

    From their recent interactions, she had grown to appreciate this man¡¯s many strengths.

    The eyes of Cheng Shouping, Jiao Shan, and their other followers grew wide. They had fully expected the first miss to erupt into anger when Zu An brazenly hugged both sisters. Who knew she would silently allow it?

    Chen Shouping giggled as he shrugged his shoulders towards the others. He said quietly, ¡°It seems like we don¡¯t have to wait much longer. Pay up, pay up.¡±

    It seemed that some of them had bet privately about whether Zu An would end up marrying the second miss as well. Cheng Shouping was clearly a staunch member of the ¡®two sisters¡¯ faction.

    Even though Jiao Shan and the others saw how close the second miss and the young master were, none of them believed that it would turn out like what Cheng Shouping predicted. After all, Zu An was of a certain background, and the Chu n had its own reputation.

    Both factions were unwilling to back down, and that was how this bet came about.

    Cheng Shouping insisted that the second miss would definitely be the young master¡¯s as well. Jiao Shan and the others were unconvinced, so they all bet against it.

    There was no way Cheng Shouping could keep from acting smug when he saw the scene currently ying out in front of them.

    Jiao Shan and the others still stubbornly refused to acknowledge defeat. ¡°Hmph, they haven¡¯t gotten married yet. How can we call the results right now?¡±

    ¡°Are you trying to back out?¡± Cheng Shouping was upset.

    Jiao Shan defended himself. ¡°Do I, Jiao Shan, look like someone who doesn''t acknowledge his debts? This here only proves that they are on good terms with each other. It doesn¡¯t offer conclusive proof.¡±

    The other members of their escort spoke up one after another. Some were on Cheng Shouping¡¯s side, and they offered their opinions as well.

    Chu Chuyan suddenly turned around. ¡°What are you all talking about?¡±

    ¡°Absolutely nothing at all!¡± All of them jumped in fright and shut their mouths.

    The first miss handled most of the Chu n¡¯s affairs in recent years. She was well-respected and revered within the n.

    Cheng Shouping curled his lips. These people actually dared to underestimate the young master! Once they had lost their bet, their eyes would finally be opened.

    Forgetting about the second miss for a moment, the Chu n had a third miss as well. There was no way she would escape the young master¡¯s clutches either!

    ...

    Meanwhile, Qin Wanru had arrived at the nearby Li n estate.

    Even though the Li n wasn¡¯t considered one of the great ns, they were still arge n in Brightmoon City.

    The Chu n maintained good rtions with the Li n, and Chu Zhongtian had always shown favor to the Li n.

    This was why the Li n was Qin Wanru¡¯s first stop.

    Li Zhenjian, the master of the Li n, received Qin Wanru in his study. He expressed his sympathies towards the Chu n¡¯s situation.

    Sensing the friendly atmosphere, Qin Wanru posed her request.

    Li Zhenjian walked over to Qin Wanru with a smile. ¡°Brother Chu and Madam have both shown great consideration for me all these years. How can I ignore this situation?¡±

    His hand moved sneakily to Qin Wanru¡¯s generous bottom, trying to cop a feel.

 Chapter 342: Doubt

    <h4>Chapter 342: Doubt</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Desire filled Li Zhenjian¡¯s eyes. He had been captivated by this beauty for far too long! However, he clearly understood their difference in status, and he never dared to aim at something so clearly out of his league.

    The only thing he could do was to have a concubine wear the same clothes as Qin Wanru, and do up her hair in a simr way. He had even made her wear a simr fragrance at night.

    With that, he could satisfy whatever desire he had while imagining that she was Qin Wanru.

    Unfortunately, after every such encounter, he would be reminded of the stupidity of it all. After all, these concubines were no match for Qin Wanru herself.

    Perhaps heaven itself had finally felt pity for him, and presented him with such an opportunity!

    The Chu n was mired in a terrible scandal, and even Chu Zhongtian was now locked behind bars. His goddess hade to visit him on her own. What else could this be but a blessing from heaven?

    The unapproachable woman with such magnificent pedigree was now finally within reach.

    Just as his palm was about to cup her well-rounded bottom, pain shot through his arm. His hand had been grabbed by the other party.

    Qin Wanru gave him a cold look. ¡°What is the meaning of this, n Master Li?¡±

    Li Zhenjian smiled in embarrassment. ¡°I¡¯m obviously trying to help the madam.¡±

    ¡°Is this how you offer your help?¡± Qin Wanru said coldly.

    Li Zhenjian lost his smile. ¡°If Madam grants me what I desire, then I will surely grant Madam what you desire.¡±

    ¡°Shameless!¡± Qin Wanru was so angry that her entire body trembled. She had never expected that this man, whom she had respected for so long, would be so small-minded and despicable.

    She pped his face across the face.

    She couldn¡¯t be bothered to waste any more breath on this shameless man, and stormed off in anger.

    Li Zhenjian rubbed his own cheek, then brought his fingers to his nose, and sighed. ¡°It smells so good...¡±

    An advisor walked out from the back room. ¡°Master, the Chu n is still a dukedom after all. It might not be a great idea to offend Madam Chu,¡± he said, his voice tinged with worry.

    Li Zhenjian gave a dismissive snort. ¡°What dukedom? They¡¯re already a relic of the past. The royal court is dead set on dealing with the Chu n, and even Governor Sang is involved. What can the Chu n possibly do?¡±

    The advisor hesitated a little. ¡°But what if they actually manage to...¡± he said haltingly.

    ¡°How many ¡®what if¡¯s¡¯ can there be?¡± Li Zhenjian waved a hand. ¡°Do you really think I¡¯m just some idiotic lecher? How was I supposed to refuse Qin Wanru if I hadn¡¯t resorted to this? Now, we can use this chance to sever ties with the Chu n and announce to everyone that we are no longer allies with the Chu n. Heaven forbid we end up caught up in this disaster of theirs as well!¡±

    ¡°The master is wise and brilliant after all!¡± The advisor was full of praise on the outside, but his heart was full of disdain. Your words sound so dignified¡ªbut do you really think that I didn¡¯t see how you were behaving earlier?

    ...

    Elsewhere, Zu An¡¯s group finally arrived at Brightmoon Academy, and Chu Huanzhao went off to ss.

    Zu An and Chu Chuyan sought out Jiang Luofu.

    Jiang Luofu straightened after hearing what Chu Chuyan had to say.

    After taking a moment to herself, Jiang Luofu said, ¡°First of all, let me express my sincerest condolences for Brightmoon Duke. However, I believe the Chu n has indeed vited thew this time. The academy has never interfered in governmental affairs, so I fear that we cannot render our aid in this situation.¡±

    Chu Chuyan had fully expected something like this to happen. Should Brightmoon Academy offer their assistance, it would be the same as openly defying the imperial household.

    However, she had hoped that the academy would leverage its independence and overlook this issue.

    Coupled with their close rtionship with the Chu n, it was still a possibility that they could render some assistance.

    Unfortunately, the end result was disappointing.

    ¡°In that case, I apologize for disturbing the principal.¡± Chu Chuyan forced a smile. Not even the academy¡ªthat they were on good terms with¡ªwas willing to help. Their other options were most likely going to fall through as well.

    Zu An shook his head. Chu Chuyan was truly remarkable in all aspects, but she had always been too outstanding ever since she¡¯d been a child. This clearly made her care too much about her reputation.

    With the situation that they were in, there was no ce for etiquette.

    He pulled her back and stepped in front of Jiang Luofu. ¡°Gorgeous principal, you¡¯re making a mistake.¡±

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡± Chu Chuyan tugged at his arm. Principal Jiang was strong, and she had tremendous status in Brightmoon City. Even though she wasn¡¯t willing to help them, neither would they act against the Chu n. Things would go terribly wrong if they ended up provoking her.

    Zu An patted her hand to tell her not to worry.

    ¡°And what is this mistake?¡± Jiang Luofu asked indifferently from her chair.

    Zu An took a step forward. Suddenly, his eyes widened. Jiang Luofu was wearing a pair of reflective, nude-colored stockings today, which made her alluring legs give off an intoxicating radiance. Matched with her decorative sses and her well-ironed clothes...

    She really was a fatally seductive beauty!

    He hurriedly calmed his emotions¡ªwhich had been thrown into disarray¡ªand said in a serious voice, ¡°From what I know, Brightmoon Duke has always treated Principal Jiang quite well. Moreover, the Chu n has made great donations to the academy, in terms of both funding and resources. Yet now that the Chu n is now experiencing difficulties, Principal Jiang is content to just watch from the sidelines. How could this be?

    ¡°I haven¡¯t spent much time in Brightmoon Academy, but I know that the academy holds the virtues of repaying kindness and returning favors in high regard. Won¡¯t your actions tarnish the dignity of the academy? How could the academy have the gall to continue preaching such morals to its students in the future?¡±

    ¡°Ah Zu...¡± Chu Chuyan¡¯s heart had climbed all the way up into her throat. She hadn¡¯t expected his words to be so harsh. It was toote to stop Zu An now, even if she wanted to.

    Jiang Luofu narrowed her eyes and stood up. Her tall and dignified figure was more than a match for Zu An¡¯s bluster, and her aura surged powerfully. ¡°Very good! It¡¯s been a long time since anyone has dared to speak to me in such a way!¡±

    She stalked towards him as she spoke. The pressure she exerted was so great, even Chu Chuyan subconsciously took a step back.

    Zu An swallowed with difficulty. He was the one who bore the brunt of the pressure, but he was simply too stubborn to back down. He didn¡¯t want to appear weak in front of a woman.

    He stuck out his chest, standing his ground as if his feet had been nailed to the floor, without budging an inch.

    Even though the pressure Jiang Luofu emitted was great, it still couldn¡¯tpare to Mi Li¡¯s.

    He¡¯d survived Mi Li¡¯s trial¡ªthere was no way he would fall here.

    Jiang Luofu fully expected him to back down, but he somehow managed to hold his ground. Because of this, her final step took her right next to him, and their lips almost touched.

    Her reactions were quick. With the slightest movement, she drew back from him, creating a gap between them.

    For a brief moment, a tinge of red touched her dignified features, although it was unclear whether it was from embarrassment or anger.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Chu Chuyan hurriedly walked up to her. ¡°Principal, Ah Zu didn¡¯t intend to disrespect you! Please do not be offended.¡±

    Jiang Luofu waved her hand. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I¡¯m not that petty. The two of us are closer than you think.¡±

    Chu Chuyan was stunned. Jiang Luofu sounded as if she were talking about an old friend. Just how did Ah Zu establish such a rtionship with someone with such a high status?

    Zu An also smiled. ¡°The gorgeous principal was behaving so coldly, I thought we had somehow be enemies.¡±

    Jiang Luofu red at him. ¡°I¡¯ll settle this with youter.¡±

    She turned to Chu Chuyan. ¡°Chuyan, I was nning to render assistance personally, without involving the name of the academy. However, Ah Zu has reminded me of a usible reason for the academy to get involved.

    ¡°However, the academy isn¡¯t run by me alone, and I don¡¯t have the final say over many matters in the academy. There is a limit as to how much I can help. At most, I can offer you about a million taels of silver.¡±

    Chu Chuyan was both surprised and overjoyed. ¡°Thank you principal!¡±

    This figure was already far beyond her expectations.

    Jiang Luofu smiled. ¡°I will also pay a visit to Glorious Sun City and seek out Governor Sang. Perhaps there is a way for the punishment to be lightened.¡±

    Tears swam in Chu Chuyan¡¯s eyes. ¡°I really don¡¯t know how to thank you, Principal Jiang!¡±

    Jiang Luofu said, ¡°There¡¯s no need to thank me. You should be d that you have a good husband.¡±

    When the two of them had left the office, Chu Chuyan looked at Zu An, her gaze flickering left and right. Her expression grewplicated, and she finally said, ¡°Is there something going on between you and Principal Jiang...?¡±

 Chapter 343: Good For Nothing But Losing

    <h4>Chapter 343: Good For Nothing But Losing</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°Do you really think there is something going on between the two of us?¡± he asked,ughing.

    Chu Chuyan was embarrassed. ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem likely, but the two of you are much closer than I expected.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°I would love to develop that sort of rtionship with her, but I¡¯d die from a single kick of hers,¡± Zu An said regretfully. ¡°I only grew closer to her because of the matters regarding the Plum Blossom Sect. I guess your husband is really just too awesome, though. She recognized my potential from the beginning. With a single look, she could tell that I was destined for greatness... Wait, honey, why are you leaving? Sigh... why does no one believe me when I speak?¡±

    ...

    The two of them left the academy and headed to the Wang n estate.

    After exchanging the usual pleasantries, Wang Fu¡¯s expression grew troubled. ¡°My niece, I know I should be helping brother Zhongtian out, given this situation. However, you know that our Wang n is in dire straits as well. I really have no ability to help you!¡±

    Chu Chuyan was full of understanding, ¡°Uncle, of course I know about the troubles afflicting the Wang n. I¡¯m not looking for that sort of help from you today.¡±

    Wang Fu was surprised. ¡°Oh, then why did youe?¡±

    ¡°I need to know how many people in the Wang n knew about this n to use the advance salt permits,¡± Chu Chuyan said.

    Wang Fu¡¯s expression clouded over. ¡°Is niece worried that one of our n members leaked this secret and caused harm to befall Brightmoon Duke?¡±

    Chu Chuyan replied, ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant. I obviously do not suspect uncle. However, the Sang n has spies everywhere. There is a chance that someone else has unwittingly leaked out this information.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡± Wang Fu said resolutely. ¡°Most of the guards that were escorting the caravan died in the attack. Only I, Yuanlong, the butler, and a few others know about this, and every single one of these others have been with the Wang n for several decades. They are absolutely trustworthy.¡±

    Chu Chuyan smiled when she heard his response. ¡°It seems I¡¯ve made a mistake, then. By the way, does uncle have any advice for the Chu n regarding our current situation? Also, is there anyone else in Brightmoon City who we can talk to help ease our efforts to resolve this matter?¡±

    Wang Fu quickly replied, ¡°Of course I know some people! However, now that this situation has gotten so out of hand, I¡¯m not sure if any of them can be of help...¡±

    ...

    When they left the Wang n, Zu An said, ¡°You guys said that the idea to use advance salt permits ahead of time was proposed by Wang Fu. Isn¡¯t there a chance that he already went to Sang Hong¡¯s side? Maybe they are colluding against us together¡±

    Chu Chuyan shook her head. ¡°The Wang and Chu ns have been allies for a few centuries, and our bond runs deep. I do not believe this to be the case, although it¡¯s not entirely impossible... However, it¡¯s meaningless to continue pursuing this matter. Our top priority is still finding a way to help the Chu n make it through this crisis.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± Zu An agreed. ¡°What¡¯s next on the agenda?¡±

    ¡°We are going to the Xie n!¡± Chu Chuyan said in a serious tone.

    Zu An saw the logic in this as well. There were only so few ns with the strength to help the Chu n out of their current predicament. Both the Yuan and Zheng ns opposed the Chu n, and so did the Wu n, from the neighboringmandery. These ns would be of little help, so they were left with the Xie n.

    The reason Chu Chuyan hadn¡¯t turned to the Xie n first was most likely because she feared that King Qi was backing them.

    However, they were already at the end of their rope, so they had to give this a shot.

    The two of them arrived at the Xie n estate. The servant at the gate went in to announce them, but came running out a momentter, apologizing profusely. ¡°Young miss Chu, Master has gone out to take care of some matter, and has yet to return.¡±

    Chu Chuyan frowned. ¡°Do you know where Master Xie has gone? How long will it take for him to return?¡±

    That servant shook his head. ¡°Please forgive me, miss Chu, this is not something a servant like me would know.¡±

    Chu Chuyan looked disappointed. ¡°Thank you for your trouble.¡± With that, she turned away and walked off.

    That servant sighed inwardly as he admired her departing figure. First miss Chu was even prettier than the rumors imed! She was so polite and modest as well. This servant would brag about this short conversation for the rest of his life.

    ¡°We¡¯re leaving just like that?¡± Zu An couldn¡¯t help but ask.

    ¡°What else can we do?¡± Chu Chuyan sighed. ¡°Whether City Lord Xie has really gone out, or whether he¡¯s just ignoring us, it doesn¡¯t make a difference. It¡¯s clear what his attitude towards us is.¡±

    Zu An hesitated a moment, then said, ¡°It¡¯s actually not that hard to enter the Xie Estate.¡±

    Chu Chuyan was stunned. ¡°You have a way to get in?¡±

    Zu An smiled mysteriously. ¡°Just watch me!¡±

    When that servant saw him walk over, he immediately waved his arms and said, ¡°Our n¡¯s master isn¡¯t here!¡±

    This guy doesn¡¯t seem that much more handsome than I. How did he ever end up marrying miss Chu?

    Zu An tossed him a coin. ¡°I didn¡¯te here to see Master Xie. I came to meet with the first miss of your n.¡±

    From their earlier visit to the academy, he knew that Xie Daoyun hadn¡¯t gone to the academy today.

    Heirs of influential ns like the Xie n only attended sses if they felt like it. If they weren¡¯t in the mood, or if they had some other matters to take care of, they would just skip ss.

    That servant¡¯s eyes brightened as he weighed the heavy silver coin in his palm. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll notify our first miss of your arrival. However, I can¡¯t guarantee that the first miss will meet with you.¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°I only need you to tell her who I am.¡±

    The servant nodded and ran inside. A whileter, he re-emerged. ¡°Our n¡¯s miss wees the young master.¡±

    The servant was inplete disbelief. Their young miss rarely weed guests, yet she had immediately allowed Zu An in when he paid a visit. He had never seen the young miss so excited before!

    Zu An waved his hand towards Chu Chuyan, beckoning for her to enter with him.

    That servant was a bit troubled. ¡°Our n¡¯s young miss didn¡¯t say...¡±

    Zu An cut him off before he could finish. ¡°She didn¡¯t forbid her froming in, did she?¡±

    That servant was stunned. ¡°She didn¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the problem, then? Your n¡¯s first miss and mine share a good rtionship, after all.¡± Zu An grabbed Chu Chuyan and walked straight into the Xie Estate.

    Now that they had made it inside, it became inappropriate for the members of the Xie n to chase them away. They were meeting with the young miss, after all.

    Chu Chuyan grabbed Zu An¡¯s sleeves along the way. ¡°How did you get so close to miss Xie?¡±

    She was well-acquainted with Xie Daoyun¡¯s nature, since they were both from Brightmoon City. Even though young miss Xie often participated in various poetry meetings, she rarely received men into the estate.

    Zu An smiled. ¡°When a man is handsome, women can¡¯t help but treat him better!¡±

    Chu Chuyan red at him, but held her tongue.

    She felt a sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu. The same thing had happened at the Zheng n as well¡ªhe had gained entry through the Zheng n¡¯s young miss.

    Every single beauty in Brightmoon City seemed to have some kind of rtionship with him.

    She grew rmed. ¡°Ah Zu, you are hiding many things from me!¡±

    Zu An shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ve told you guys plenty of things, but none of you ever believed me.¡±

    Chu Chuyan was about to continue pressing him when she saw Xie Daoyun walking over.

    The smile on Xie Daoyun¡¯s face froze when saw Chu Chuyan. However, she quickly recovered. ¡°I was wondering what made young master Zu suddenly pay me a visit. It turns out he was merely serving as an intermediary for this beautifuldy.¡±

    Zu An sped his fist apologetically. ¡°We wanted to meet with your esteemed father, but we were turned down. This was the only way we could enter. I hopedy Xie can help us.¡±

    Xie Daoyun grunted in acknowledgement. She walked up and held Chu Chuyan¡¯s hand. Her voice was gentle and kind. ¡°I have heard about what¡¯s happened to Brightmoon Duke as well. Please don¡¯t worry too much. He is a respected duke, after all. The governor wouldn¡¯t dare go too far.¡±

    Chu Chuyan expressed her gratitude. They were both well-known beauties in Brightmoon City and even fellow students, which meant they were quite familiar with each other. They quickly struck up a conversation.

    Zu An curled his lips in a sneer. This was the perfect example of a beautifully stic rtionship. They weren¡¯t actually close, so why did they have to pretend as though they were?

    After they had carried on for a while, Xie Daoyun said with a smile, ¡°How about this? I¡¯ll bring you two to see my father. I believe he should be back by now.¡±

    She wasn¡¯t a fool. There was no way she would tantly expose her father.

    Chu Chuyan was overjoyed. ¡°Thank you so much!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s no problem at all.¡± Xie Daoyun nodded towards her. At the same time, she used this chance to move beside Zu An. ¡°You owe me a song for this,¡± she said quietly.

    Zu An had known that this was the prerequisite, and he had no choice but to agree. ¡°Sure!¡±

    He began to ponder over what song he would use.

    Even though they had spoken quietly, there was no way they could escape Chu Chuyan¡¯s ears.

    She seemedpletely unfazed on the surface, but it was just a mask concealing the shock she felt inside.

    Ah Zu and Xie Daoyun were actually this close?

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s previous visit had been shocking enough, but the courtesan queen had suddenly gone quiet. It was safe to assume that that girl had ulterior motives for pursuing Zu An, and didn¡¯t actually like him.

    However, from what she¡¯d seen so far, Principal Jiang and Xie Daoyun both seemed quite close to him! She also knew about his rtionship with Ji Xiaoxi, Zheng Dan, and the academy teacher, Miss Shang...

    Just what kind of strange power did this guy have?

    I did say that I didn¡¯t mind it if you looked for other girls... but did you have to grab so many of them?

    Xie Yi was sitting leisurely in his study when he received word that his daughter was bringing the two Chu n members to meet him. His smile froze instantly.

    After a moment, he sighed deeply and said, ¡°Daughters are really good for nothing but incurring losses after all!¡±

    He felt that it wasn¡¯t the right time to make his move, and that the Chu n needed to be squeezed a little further first. Now, Xie Daoyun hadpletely messed up his ns. How could he not be upset?

 Chapter 344: Fighting Back

    <h4>Chapter 344: Fighting Back</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    When he saw Chu Chuyan¡¯s group arrive, Xie Yi¡¯s frown instantly turned into a smile. ¡°Distinguished niece, I have only just returned, and heard that you were looking for me! I was worried that you might have already left.¡±

    Zu An shook his head. These fes were all incredibly crafty. He had clearly been home all this time. He had refused to meet with them earlier, yet he was now pretending as though nothing had happened.

    Chu Chuyan was clearly used to such things. Her smile betrayed no hint of discontent. ¡°Chu Chuyan greets Uncle Xie.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not great being your uncle right now,¡± Xie Yi sighed. This girl hadn¡¯t addressed him in his official capacity as City Lord, but had addressed him as uncle. She clearly wished to speak with him as a friend of the Chu n. ¡°I have a rough idea of why you are here. Your Chu n has really gotten into big trouble this time!

    ¡°You¡¯ve always been a level-headed girl. Chu Zhongtian clearly wasn¡¯t thinking straight. Why did you agree to this as well?¡±

    Chu Chuyan said gloomily, ¡°Many things are easier said than done. The illicit salt business was running rampant. With the state of our expenses, the Chu n was unable to make ends meet. When the salt permits were stolen, we were left with no choice. Other ns have always done this over the years, and it has be an unwritten custom. We never expected Governor Sang would... enforce things so earnestly.¡±

    Many who operated salt businesses had run out of salt permits before. If they had adhered strictly to the rules, the costs of selling salt would have risen much higher, and nobody would have been able to purchase any for consumption.

    That was why the ns involved in the trade had tacitly agreed to overlook the use of some advance salt permits.

    The saltmissioners were all on good terms with the Chu n, and all parties had coexisted harmoniously while Chu Zhongtian was head of the n. Who could have expected Sang Hong to make such a move?

    Xie Yi sighed. ¡°Even though it is an unwritten custom, once you oppose the court, you make yourself a potential target.¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s voice was sullen. ¡°We know that this is a troublesome matter. That is why we need to ask Uncle Xie for your assistance.¡±

    Xie Yi smiled bitterly. ¡°You know that I am but an insignificant City Lord. Governor Sang is my immediate superior, and he is acting on the emperor¡¯s orders. I can¡¯t do much to help, even if I wanted to...¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s face darkened, and she became quiet.

    Xie Yi continued, ¡°Even though I cannot do anything, there is someone who can.¡±

    Chu Chuyan maintained her silence. Xie Yi had a smile on his face. A strange atmosphere began to permeate the room.

    Zu An was confused. What kind of game were these two ying at? ¡°Who?¡±

    Xie Yi didn¡¯t exin himself. ¡°I believe my niece knows.¡±

    Chu Chuyan finally spoke up. ¡°Uncle, you are surely aware of the principles that our Chu n has always held onto.¡±

    Xie Yi gave her a meaningful look. ¡°Sometimes, it really isn¡¯t easy to remain neutral. It oftenes at a huge price.¡±

    Chu Chuyan got up. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for disturbing you today. I hope uncle does not take offense.¡±

    Xie Yi rose to his feet immediately and urged her to stay. ¡°Child, why are you in such a hurry to leave?

    ¡°How about this? Since we share such a close rtionship, I¡¯ll be more direct.¡± Xie Yi paused for a moment to find the right words. ¡°I won¡¯t advise you all to pick a side. However, if your n is willing to hand over a certain item, someone will naturally step forward to help you resolve this matter.¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s face became overcast. The silence stretched out, before she finally said, ¡°I will carefully consider thister.¡±

    Xie Yi¡¯s eyes brightened. It was good that she hadn¡¯t refused him on the spot. ¡°That¡¯s to be expected. It¡¯s not a small matter. You can discuss this with the rest of our n members as well.¡±

    When the two of them left the Xie Estate, Zu An couldn¡¯t hold back his curiosity any longer. ¡°What the heck was City Lord Xie talking about?¡±

    He had deduced from their conversation that Xie Yi was advising them to side with King Qi. After Chu Chuyan had refused, he proposed something else.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t figure out what this second thing was at all.

    Chu Chuyan hesitated for a while, but decided to reveal the truth to him. ¡°Ah Zu, you aren¡¯t an outsider anymore. There are some things that you should know about. What the City Lord was talking about is an ount book...¡±

    She exined the whole story behind the ount book.

    Zu An was furious. ¡°Isn¡¯t this Xie Yi profiting from our misfortune?¡±

    He suddenly remembered that Pei Mianman had asked him to help her search for an ount book as well. Back then, she had told him that it contained the transactions of the Chu n¡¯s weapons and salt businesses. Now, he knew that she hadn¡¯t been telling the truth.

    Sigh, this world really is a scary ce. On the surface, she looks like Chu Chuyan¡¯s confidante, but that thing she¡¯s after could bring down the entire n!

    He felt ufortable when he thought of this. Even though Pei Mianman acted hypocritically towards the Chu n, she had always treated him well.

    He didn¡¯t know what to think anymore.

    Chu Chuyan sighed. ¡°We are already strung out like meat on a chopping block. Even if he wants to take advantage of us, what can we do?¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An snapped out of his daze. ¡°Do you really n to give him the ount book?¡±

    ¡°Of course not. I just didn¡¯t want to show any overt hostility.¡± Chu Chuyan replied.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°I¡¯m actually quite confused. Why aren¡¯t you making use of such a powerful weapon?¡±

    ¡°Make use of it?¡± Chu Chuyan was stunned. ¡°How could we make use of it?¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°This is basically a nuclear weapon! ... Ahem, don¡¯t ask me what a nuclear weapon is. What I¡¯m saying is that the livelihood of so many important officials are within your grasp. You can use this to threaten them!¡±

    Chu Chuyan frowned. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that turn all of thempletely against us?¡±

    ¡°The Chu n is already practically finished! Why do you care so much about that?¡± Zu An said.

    ¡°We¡¯ve always maintained good rtionships with them. Perhaps they would still be willing to help us out, given our history. If we provoke them like this, what¡¯s to stop them from standing idly by when we are in need?¡± Chu Chuyan¡¯s voice was filled with worry.

    ¡°You really worry about all the wrong things!¡± Zu An said. ¡°Let me ask you this, then. The Chu n has been in trouble for so long now, yet how many of these people havee to our aid?¡±

    Chu Chuyan opened her mouth, but no sound came out in the end.

    Zu An sighed. ¡°If I were them, I would be praying that the Chu n would meet its end sooner rather thanter. That way, no one would have any leverage over them anymore. Why would any of these people be willing to help you?¡±

    ¡°No wonder...¡± Chu Chuyan wasn¡¯t stupid. She had just been overwhelmed by the overall situation before. Now that Zu An had pointed it out to her, it seemed clear as day. ¡°Then what should we do?¡±

    ¡°Find those people and threaten them!¡± Zu An said. ¡°If they don¡¯t help us, then we¡¯ll take them down with us! Based on what you said, those fes are already scattered across the imperial court. They are surely a huge force to be reckoned with!

    ¡°The Chu n has been continuously suffering setbacks because Sang Qian has been secretly acting against you.

    ¡°Even if we deal with this current problem regarding the advance salt permits, Sang Hong will find another way to deal with the Chu n. We¡¯ll lose eventually.

    ¡°That is why we need to tear out this issue from its roots. Not only do we have to free the Chu n from its current crisis, we need to dispose of Sang Hong. If what you told me about that ount book is true, these people definitely have the ability to help us eliminate this headache which is Sang Hong. However, this only works if you force them to!¡±

    Chu Chuyan remained quiet for a long time. Her gaze slowly became firm. ¡°Okay, I will pay the capital city a visit. These greedy people have taken so much from us over the years, yet the Chu n has always been cleaning up after them. It is now time for them to do something for the Chu n!¡±

 Chapter 345: Account Book

    <h4>Chapter 345: ount Book</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu Anughed. ¡°Sounds good. I¡¯ll go with you.¡±

    Chu Chuyan shook her head. ¡°No, please stay behind.¡±

    Zu An was confused.

    Why did he feel like he¡¯d shot himself in the foot? He wouldn¡¯t have suggested that if he had known this would be how it would turn out.

    ¡°Ah Zu,¡± Chu Chuyan said, ¡°my dad is currently detained by Sang Hong. If I leave as well, only my mother and Huanzhao will be left at home. You know that Second and Third Uncles have always coveted the position of power that our man branch holds. Not to mention that the Sang, Wu, Zheng, and Yuan ns are all staring at us like tigers waiting to pounce as well. How can I feel at ease, with trouble brewing both inside the n and outside?

    ¡°Huanzhao is still immature, and my mother has a bit of a temper. If I leave, they will definitely cause trouble.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An wore a troubled expression. ¡°Honey, you know how your mom feels about me. There is no way she¡¯ll listen to me! There¡¯s no point in me staying behind at all.¡±

    ¡°My mother doesn¡¯t actually hate you. She was only acting that way before out of concern for me.¡± Chu Chuyan held his hand. ¡°Ah Zu, we¡¯ve really done you wrong all this time.¡±

    Zu An wrapped an arm around her waist. ¡°How could I feel that I¡¯ve been wronged when I have such a beautiful wife keeping mepany every night?¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s cheeks grew red. She couldn¡¯t hold back a snort. ¡°You¡¯re so annoying.¡±

    Zu An pulled her into his arms. ¡°But honey, I don¡¯t feelfortable letting you go to the capital alone!¡±

    Chu Chuyan said with a smile, ¡°I¡¯ve traveled alone before I met you. Besides, my cultivation is still higher than yours! Hmph!¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face darkened. ¡°Do you have to rub salt in that wound?¡±

    This really was a sore spot for him. He had all sorts of cheats, yet the girls around him all had higher levels of cultivation than him.

    Even that brat Chu Huanzhao¡¯s cultivation had been higher than his at first. She even bullied him for a period of time.

    Chu Chuyan leaned against his shoulder. ¡°Ah Zu, I know that you¡¯re different from what the rest of the world believes you to be. You¡¯re actually really amazing, and I believe that you will protect my mom and my little sis while I am gone.¡±

    ¡°Please don¡¯t ce such high expectations on me!¡± Even though he said this, Chu Chuyan¡¯s praise had left him feeling overjoyed. He felt as if he was on cloud nine.

    When they returned to the Chu n estate, Chu Chuyan called a meeting with Qin Wanru and Chu Huanzhao, and told them her ns.

    Qin Wanru was excited. ¡°Perfect! We should have started our counterattack a long time ago. Your father is an excellent person, but he is just too indecisive. We¡¯re already being attacked on all sides¡ªhow can we keep being so concerned about what-ifs?¡±

    Zu An clicked his tongue inwardly when he heard this. This woman really was a hothead, never pulling her punches.

    Chu Huanzhao looked reluctant. ¡°Big sis, how long are you going to be away for?¡±

    Chu Chuyan hugged her little sister and said gently, ¡°If things go smoothly, I should be back in three months. Otherwise, it could take half a year. You have to listen to your mother and brother-inw while I¡¯m gone, and you can¡¯t y around so much anymore.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao gave her acknowledgement. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t cause any trouble!¡±

    The recent events seemed to have helped her grow in maturity.

    Qin Wanru was somewhat shocked. Telling Huanzhao to listen to her was one thing¡ªwhy did she have to listen to her brother-inw as well?

    And yet, Huanzhao hadn¡¯t even thrown a temper. She willingly epted this without a hint of resistance.

    Chu Chuyan passed a booklet to her. ¡°Mother, please take care of this ount book for me. I don¡¯t want to bring this with me to the capital.¡±

    She obviously couldn¡¯t carry her trump card with her, especially if she were going to provoke and threaten these individuals. She couldn¡¯t take the chance that this book would fall into the enemy¡¯s hands, especially if these people decided to abandon all restraint and somehow kidnap her.

    Naturally, Qin Wanru knew what she was thinking. She carefully stored the booklet away. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, mother will safeguard it until I die!¡±

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°Madam, we haven¡¯t reached such a stage yet. Please do not say such ominous things.¡±

    Qin Wanru red at him, but for the first time, she didn¡¯t argue back.

    Chu Huanzhao¡¯s voice was colored with worry. ¡°Big sis, will you be in any danger?¡±

    Chu Chuyan rubbed her head. ¡°Don¡¯t worry Huanzhao, given your sister¡¯s level of cultivation, taking care of myself is no issue.¡±

    ¡°Even though big sis is strong, there are so many old freaks in the capital! What if those old farts throw caution to the wind and target you somehow?¡± Even though Chu Huanzhao often behaved in a carefree manner, it didn¡¯t mean that she was dumb.

    Chu Chuyan smiled. It seemed that even her little sister had begun to make reasoned calctions. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. As long as the ount book exists, none of those people will dare to make a move against me.¡±

    She then turned to the other two with a serious expression. ¡°Mother, Ah Zu, I will send you a letter every so often, just so you know I¡¯m safe. If you don¡¯t receive any news from me for several days, that means that something has happened to me. If that happens, you should go ahead and expose the contents of the ount book. Our entire Chu n was forged on the battlefield, through hard work and determination. We are not scared of taking everyone down with us.¡±

    Qin Wanru tightly gripped her daughter¡¯s hands. Choking back her emotions, she called her daughter¡¯s name. ¡°Chuyan!¡±

    Even though she was strong-willed, she was still a woman. Something bad had happened to her husband, her daughter was headed on a journey into the unknown, and the future of the Chu n was shrouded in mist. It was inevitable that the softer side of her would surface.

    Seeing their mother like this, her two daughters could no longer hold themselves back.

    Zu An subconsciously wanted to separate them, but he knew that it would be terrible for him to say anything at this time. As such, he let them have their moment. Better to release all of it now, instead of letting it fester in their hearts.

    The three women sobbed together for a while, then gradually calmed down.

    Only then did Qin Wanru seem to realize that Zu An was still there. Her face grew red, and she quickly straightened, hastily wiping away the tears staining her cheeks. ¡°By the way, Chuyan, since you¡¯re going to the capital, pay your third... third brother a visit. He¡¯s been alone in the capital for all these years. We¡¯ve really let him down.¡±

    Zu An had known for some time that the Chu n¡¯s youngest son was studying in the capital. It was a pity that they¡¯d never met.

    I wonder if I¡¯ll get along with this brother-inw.

    I guess it doesn¡¯t matter if we get along or not. If ites to it, I¡¯ll just whoop his ass, and then we¡¯ll be best buds.

    Chu Chuyan nodded. ¡°I will.¡±

    ¡°Also, look for your grandfather if you need any help,¡± Qin Wanru advised her.

    A sh of understanding suddenly hit Zu An. The Chu n was a dukedom. For someone like Qin Wanru to marry Chu Zhongtian, and even prevent him from having any concubines after all these years, she had to have some pedigree of her own. It was just that no one in the estate had ever mentioned her side of the family.

    Chu Chuyan seemed unsure. ¡°Mom, isn¡¯t grandfather¡¯s n and our Chu n...¡±

    ¡°Blood is thicker than water. He wouldn¡¯t turn a blind eye, not when things are so dire.¡± Qin Wanru hesitated a little before adding, ¡°If he really is so heartless, then you can seek out your aunt. She will definitely help you.¡±

    A smile appeared on Chu Chuyan¡¯s face when she heard Qin Wanru mention her aunt. ¡°Okay.¡±

    When they returned to the Unvoiced Residence, Zu An asked Chu Chuyan, ¡°Your mom has a younger sister?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Chu Chuyan began to pack her things.

    ¡°Is she a blood rtive?¡±

    ¡°Of course. My aunt has always treated me well, but I haven¡¯t seen her for a long time.¡± A faint smile appeared on Chuyan¡¯s lips as she was reminded of the past.

    ¡°Oh,¡± Zu An replied. A thought struck him. ¡°By the way, you have to remember that you are threatening those people to help and not begging them for help,¡± he reminded her. ¡°Don¡¯t do anything stupid for the sake of the n¡¯s interests.¡±

    Chu Chuyan was stunned. ¡°Stupid?¡±

    Zu An hesitantly exined, ¡°For example, some ns might demand your innocence as one of their conditions in order to help the Chu n. You absolutely cannot agree to such things.¡±

    Those melodramatic TV shows from his previous world were rampant with trashy plots like these. He definitely didn¡¯t want to see it happen to him, and so he was warning her in advance as a precaution.

    Chu Chuyan smiled. ¡°Oh my goodness, are you getting jealous?¡±

    Zu An sniffed. ¡°I¡¯m just warning you.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not that foolish. Besides...¡± Chu Chuyan¡¯s face reddened slightly. ¡°In my heart... no other man canpare to you.¡±

    Zu An was overwhelmed with emotion when he heard this. He picked her up in his arms and walked off towards the bed.

    ¡°Wait...¡± Chu Chuyan panicked. She took out a book. ¡°Keep this properly.¡±

    Zu An gave it a look. It was written inrge words on the cover: ¡®Sweet Pampered Wife: Dominating Sword Immortal¡¯s Ny-Nine Days of Searching For Love¡¯.

 Chapter 346: Another Way

    <h4>Chapter 346: Another Way</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An was stupefied. ¡°What the heck? Why are you giving this to me?¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s face reddened further. ¡°I am going out for official business, so it¡¯s not appropriate for me to be seen reading this book. I need you to keep it safe.¡±

    Zu An was utterly stunned.

    ¡°Surely no one would touch it even if you left it in your room!¡±

    Chu Chuyan said, ¡°No way. I¡¯d die of humiliation if anyone in my family saw it.¡±

    Zu Anughed. ¡°So, it seems our First Miss Chu is also afraid of embarrassment!¡±

    Then again, I guess this book really is embarrassing. My social life would probably be finished as well if I were caught with this book.

    ¡°Whatever! You¡¯re the only one who knows about this now, so this is a secret between spouses. You cannot let anyone else know.¡± Chu Chuyan buried her head in his chest. Clearly, she was already extremely embarrassed.

    ¡°Okay, okay, I¡¯ll hold onto it for you.¡± He rarely saw her act in such a juvenile manner. Zu An breathed in the scent of her hair, feeling incredibly refreshed.

    ¡°You have to promise me that you won¡¯t let anyone else see it, and you can¡¯t lose it. I still want to keep reading it when Ie back!¡± Chu Chuyan¡¯s eyes were hopeful.

    Zu An was surprised. ¡°It¡¯s just one book. You still haven¡¯t finished it?¡±

    Chu Chuyan pouted. ¡°I don¡¯t have much time to read. Besides, can¡¯t I read it slowly if I want to?¡±

    ¡°Of course you can, of course you can.¡± Zu An smiled. ¡°I¡¯ll do this for you, but you¡¯ll have to do something for me as well.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Chu Chuyan asked curiously.

    Zu An smiled maliciously. He moved close to her ear and whispered something quietly.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s face immediately flushed red. ¡°No way!¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯m not doing it either,¡± Zu An huffed.

    ¡°You...¡± Chu Chuyan wanted to bite him.

    Zu An had already carried her to bed. He instantly undid her clothes, and pulled the covers over them.

    Now that it sunk in that the two of them would be apart for a while, Chu Chuyan also grew more proactive. She embraced her man and weed him in her most gentle manner.

    ...

    After a long while, Zu An whispered his request in her ear again.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s entire face was red, but she didn¡¯t reject him this time. She only looked at him with a mixture of charm and bitterness. Then, she turned around.

    This gorgeous view was enough to make any man go crazy. How could Zu An hold back any longer? He pounced on her with the roar of a tiger.

    ...

    Before daybreak the next day, Chu Chuyan was ready to head to the capital.

    She left through a small side entrance, with no grand sending off. They didn¡¯t want anyone else to know about this.

    Qin Wanru and Chu Huanzhao looked on reluctantly.

    ¡°Big sis, why does your skin look so good today?¡± Chu Huanzhao said suddenly, her voice full of curiosity.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s face flushedpletely red when she heard this. ¡°Maybe... maybe I was able to sleep wellst night.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao wanted to probe further, but Qin Wanru stopped her.

    She quietly gave Zu An a look. His expression seemed a little off as well.

    Zu An¡¯s face turned gloomy. Huanzhao¡¯s words had made Chu Chuyan too embarrassed to even bid him farewell.

    As he watched Chu Chuyan¡¯s beautiful silhouette disappear into the distance, Zu An couldn¡¯t help but feel a sense of loss.

    In the morning light, Qin Wanru appeared thin and pallid. The events that had taken ce recently had clearly left her physically and emotionally exhausted. She had spent the whole night worrying over her daughter¡¯s safety, and she had to see her off this morning as well. She had finally reached her limit. ¡°Ah Zu, please bring Huanzhao to the academy,¡± she instructed.

    With the Chu n constantly buffeted by the storm facing it, the academy had be aparatively safer ce.

    After all, the academy held a special status in the Great Zhou Dynasty. Neither faction would choose to cause trouble in the academy.

    The academy¡¯s teachers possessed high levels of cultivation as well. Most other powers didn¡¯t dare provoke them.

    Qin Wanru paused for a moment before continuing. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that you have a residence in the academy.¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡± Zu An nodded. He didn¡¯t know why she asked him this question.

    Qin Wanru said, ¡°Huanzhao should stay there for now. The two of you should stay there for as long as you are able to.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Chu Huanzhao cried out in rm. Her heart began to pound. She snuck a look at Zu An, then quickly flicked her gaze away.

    Zu An frowned. Something was clearly amiss. ¡°Why would you suggest this, Madam?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing serious. For some strange reason, my eyelid has been twitching constantly recently. I just have a bad feeling about this.¡± Qin Wanru rubbed her temples. ¡°The Chu n is facing some troubled times. I¡¯m afraid I won¡¯t be in time to protect you both if something happens, so I want Huanzhao to take shelter in the academy. There, at least, your safety should be guaranteed.¡±

    ¡°But...¡± Qin Wanru changed the topic. Her piercing stare bored into Zu An¡¯s skull. ¡°Ah Zu, you cannot... bully Huanzhao.¡±

    ¡°Do I look like that type of person?¡± Zu An bristled immediately when he sensed that his moral character was being questioned. ¡°But that¡¯s beside the point. I promised Chu Chuyan that I¡¯d protect all of you. How can I hide in the academy?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll protect me?¡± Qin Wanru scoffed. Even though she didn¡¯t say anything more, her implications were obvious.

    Zu An didn¡¯t bother defending himself. He didn¡¯t really feel like bragging about himself, so he decided to let her think what she wanted.

    Chu Huanzhao also snapped out of her daze. ¡°Mom, I don¡¯t want to live in the academy. I want to stay with you at home!¡±

    Even though living with her brother-inw in the staff residence was tempting, her mother was also important to her.

    ¡°Fine, the two of you can choose where you think it best to stay, depending on the situation. I will send some of the n¡¯s guards to apany the two of you to the academy.¡± Qin Wanru gave some instructions, then went inside on her own.

    Zu An and Chu Huanzhao headed to the academy together.

    ¡°Brother-inw, do you think big sis will be sessful this time?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, she¡¯ll definitely seed.¡±

    ¡°Brother-inw, do you think the Chu n will survive?¡±

    ¡°It will.¡±

    ¡°Brother-inw, will you always stay with us?¡±

    ¡°I will.¡±

    ...

    Their conversation drifted over to the guards walking behind them, and they all sighed. The second miss was getting more and more attached to the young master...

    Cheng Shouping cockily brought up their bet again. He urged everyone to pay up. ¡°Madam has already given the second miss permission to live with the young master at the academy in the future! She even instructed us to not kick up a fuss for nothing. Is this still not enough?¡±

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t say anything! Now that Master is in trouble, what¡¯s wrong with having her live in the academy for her own safety?¡± One of the guards, Zhou Lujun, countered.

    ¡°What do you know? The second miss doesn¡¯t have a residence in school, so where else would she live but with the young master?¡± Cheng Shouping giggled. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that the academy¡¯s dormitories are extremely private. Once they lock the door, no one else can enter from the outside. The two of them would be all alone... doesn¡¯t that mean that the Madam has already...¡±

    Feng Daniu was troubled. ¡°You might actually be right.¡±

    Jiao Shanhe smacked him on the back. ¡°Right my ass! Another day it takes for them to get married is another day we won¡¯t admit defeat.¡±

    ¡°How long would I have to wait for that?¡± Cheng Shouping was clearly unhappy.

    Jiao Shanhe said, ¡°An engagement is fine as well.¡±

    Cheng Shouping asked, ¡°What if the rice is already cooked?¡±[1]

    The others all looked at him with strange expressions. This guy was a natural at courting disaster. No wonder he had been driven off to work in the kitchen.

    After seeing Chu Huanzhao to ss, Zu An went looking for Zheng Dan.

    He wasn¡¯t interested in wasting time trying to discuss the Chu n¡¯s current situation with the senior members of the academy.

    He came this time because he had thought up another way to help the Chu n out of their predicament.

    He didn¡¯t want Chu Chuyan to shoulder the burden alone. He wanted to bear some of the weight as well.

    Quite a few students were already present when he finally reached the Sky ss. However, Zu An didn¡¯t let this bother him. He walked towards Zheng Dan and gestured for her toe out for a chat.

    Unexpectedly, Zheng Dan showed no signs of moving. She smiled and said, ¡°Teacher Zu, I am a woman who is already engaged, yet you are always looking for me. I have to turn you down sometimes to avoid suspicion, right?¡±

    Zu An was not amused.

    This girl was still putting on her act?

    Wu Qing, who was sitting close by, jeered at him as well. ¡°Oh my, isn¡¯t it first miss Chu¡¯s husband? Why are you running to someone else¡¯s fianc¨¦e all day? Could it be that first miss Chu doesn¡¯t have a good leash on you, or does the Chu n no longer seem so great to you?¡±

    1. This is a Chinese idiom, which means something has already been done and cannot be changed.

 Chapter 347: Sea of Jealousy

    <h4>Chapter 347: Sea of Jealousy</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An gave her a sidelong look. ¡°I wonder which n¡¯s dog is making so much noise?¡±

    Wu Qing exploded in anger. She mmed her palm on the table and shot to her feet. ¡°Who are you referring to?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Wu Qing for 335 Rage points!

    Pan Long and Fu Feng, who were close by, leapt to her defense.

    ¡°You dare call our young miss Wu a dog? You really have guts!¡±

    ¡°Exactly! Your words are so crude. I guess that¡¯s to be expected from amoner! Even though the Chu n took you in, there¡¯s no way you¡¯d learn to act like a noble so quickly.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Pan Long for 233 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled Fu Feng for 233 Rage points!

    Zu An snorted. ¡°I didn¡¯t say who the dog was, but since both of you jumped in so eagerly... Honestly, how can the two of you associate your young miss with a dog? Do you guys hate her that much? Are you finally unable to hold back your resentment?¡±

    Sure enough, Wu Qing¡¯s attention shifted to them. She looked at her two attendants suspiciously.

    Zu An smiled as he watched this scene y out. As a master troll in the online forums of his past world, he had more than enough tricks under his belt.

    ¡°Of course not! We would never dare to treat the young miss Wu with disrespect!¡± Pan Long and Fu Feng instantly defended themselves in a panic.

    Zu An had no further interest in these two. ¡°Student Zheng, I see that you have a strong talent in arithmetic, and I want to properly nurture that talent. I want to make you a teaching assistant. Pleasee with me to my office.¡±

    Zheng Dan said with a smile, ¡°Thank you, Teacher Zu.¡±

    Now that she had a legitimate reason, she showed no further hesitation. She rose to her feet and walked with him to his office, leaving Wu Qing and the other two to argue amongst themselves.

    The other students in the ssroomunched into a heated discussion.

    ¡°Teaching assistant? This is the first time I¡¯ve ever heard of a student being called to be one.¡±

    ¡°Zheng Dan really is blessed.¡±

    ¡°Tsk, it¡¯s just an arithmetic ss. I wouldn¡¯t be the assistant of something like that even if I was asked.¡±

    ¡°Exactly!¡±

    ¡°Why do I feel like that guy is doing this because he has a crush on Zheng Dan?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. His own wife is already so pretty.¡±

    Suddenly reminded that a pig like Zu An had managed to snare the goddess Chu Chuyan, all of them cursed at the same time. ¡°Damn it all!¡±

    ...

    The flood of Rage points made Zu An feel ecstatic. These students really were cute! They always contributed so many Rage points to him.

    Zheng Dan followed a few feet behind Zu An, maintaining the proper distance between a man and a woman.

    Along the way, the students who saw them were full of praise for her. Young miss Zheng really was a paragon of virtue! Her mannerisms and sense of propriety were wless.

    When they finally reached a ce devoid of bystanders, Zheng Dan promptly lost her proper andposed appearance. She threw herself into Zu An¡¯s embrace and showered him with kisses.

    Zu An pinched her. ¡°Weren¡¯t you making fun of me a second ago?¡±

    Zheng Dan cried out. She looked at him with glistening eyes. ¡°We were right in front of everyone just now! I can¡¯t just show all of them how close we are, can I?¡±

    ¡°Then what are you going to do to soothe my hurt feelings?¡± Zu An said.

    ¡°How do you want to be soothed?¡± Zheng Dan said, licking her red lips. Her expression was enchanting and seductive.

    Zu An felt a me light up within him. He immediately pulled up her dress.

    Zheng Dan quickly pushed his hands away. Zu An looked at her in confusion, and her face turned red. ¡°Today... is a bad day.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s countenance fell. ¡°Why are you still tempting me, then? That¡¯s rather irresponsible of you.¡±

    Zheng Dan pursed her lips. Her eyes moved around, and then to his shock, she slowly got to her knees.

    Zu An swallowed. His breathing became ragged.

    This woman really was a demon! She was self-taught in so many different areas. And yet, she was somehow known as the epitome of etiquette and propriety! This huge contrast was truly astonishing.

    There was the sudden sound of approaching footsteps. The two of them quickly separated in a panic.

    ¡°Huh? Ah Zu, Zheng Dan, what are you two doing here?¡± Discipline Master Lu De looked at the two of them in confusion.

    Zu Anughed. ¡°Haha, nothing at all! We were just discussing some matters regarding arithmetic ss.¡±

    Lu De gave Zheng Dan a suspicious look. ¡°Zheng Dan, did he bully you?¡±

    Zheng Dan hurriedly wiped the corners of her lips, her face red. She shook her head.

    Lu De sighed inwardly. This young miss of the Zheng n was truly ady amongdies. Her mannerisms were perfectly graceful.

    He felt rage boiling within him when he thought about that crude son of his back home. Look how obedient this child is!

    With this good impression of Zheng Dan in mind, Lu Den pulled Zu An to the side and said, ¡°Teacher Zu, I know that there is some conflict brewing between your Chu n and the Zheng n, but you can¡¯t use your status as a teacher to bully their young miss, is that clear?¡±

    ¡°But I didn¡¯t bully her!¡± Zu An felt slightly guilty. Was what he¡¯d done even considered bullying?

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t she kneeling in front of you?¡± Lu De red at him. Anyone would burn with the feeling of injustice when they saw such an obedient girl being bullied.

    You have sessfully trolled Lu De for 138 Rage points!

    Zu Anughed awkwardly. ¡°I was just helping her back up. She tripped identally.¡±

    Lu De wasn¡¯t in a mood to listen to his nonsense. He turned to look at Zheng Dan. ¡°Is this true?¡±

    Zheng Dan nodded in agreement.

    Looking back at Zu An, he said, ¡°This girl is too good-natured. She¡¯s clearly been bullied to the point where she doesn¡¯t even dare speak up for herself! Forget it, you had better shape up. The Zheng n won¡¯t take kindly to provocation, and she is the fianc¨¦e of the son of the Sang n. If they find out about this, it will tarnish the academy¡¯s name.¡±

    ¡°I ept the discipline master¡¯s criticism of me.¡± Zu An replied, secretly winking at Zheng Dan.

    Zheng Dan¡¯s face somehow managed to grow redder.

    The mischievous smile on Zu An¡¯s face only served to inme Lu De¡¯s annoyance. However, he couldn¡¯t go any further, since Zu An was also a teacher, and even seemed to enjoy Principal Jiang¡¯s backing. He gave an angry snort and walked off.

    When he had left, Zheng Dan let out her indignance. ¡°It¡¯s all your fault! We were almost caught!¡±

    ¡°How is this all my fault?¡± Zu An was gloomy. Something tickled his mind, and he looked at her. ¡°You can speak again! That means...¡±

    Zheng Dan¡¯s face was so red it resembled a beet. ¡°Discipline Master Lu kept asking me questions. It would have been more suspicious if I kept quiet all the time! So I could only... could only...¡±

    She seemed about to explode from embarrassment.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but roar withughter. He pulled her straight into his embrace.

    Zheng Dan held him gently. ¡°Ah Zu, why did you want to meet with me?¡±

    ¡°I wanted to ask you about the deal Chen Xuan struck with you all. Where are those salt permits he stole?¡± Zu An said.

    The stolen salt permits were the key reason behind the Chu n¡¯s troubles this time around. If he could recover them, it would greatly ease the situation, and they wouldn¡¯t have to pay such a huge fine either.

    He knew that Chen Xuan had made a deal with the Whale Gang previously, but both sides had fallen out with each other before the salt permits could be delivered.

    Zheng Dan¡¯s expression turned chilly. She pushed him aside. ¡°Hmph! It turns out you only wanted to meet with me because you needed me to help that Chu n woman!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Zheng Dan for 567 Rage points!

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    She turned around immediately and stalked off.

 Chapter 348: Flirting with Disaster

    <h4>Chapter 348: Flirting with Disaster</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    In a panic, Zu An quickly pulled her back. ¡°It¡¯s all my fault! I can¡¯t help that I¡¯m still a part of the Chu n. If they go down, I¡¯ll be screwed as well. I have to try to help them through this difficult situation. It¡¯s not what you think! I¡¯m not just trying to help her...¡±

    Even he himself couldn¡¯t get over how trashy his behavior was. He had just been part of an emotional family farewell, and here he was, jumping straight into the arms of another woman. Not to mention, these two ns even hated each other.

    Zheng Dan snorted. ¡°You can just leave the Chu n, then. Why do you have to stay there?¡±

    Zu An sighed. ¡°If I leave the Chu n, could I just join your Zheng n, then?¡±

    Zheng Dan opened her mouth, but she was reminded of her own situation, and she didn¡¯t know what to say.

    Zu An continued, ¡°I won¡¯t ask you to help me for nothing. I¡¯ll give this back to you if you tell me where those salt permits are.¡±

    He pulled out a promissory note for five hundred thousand taels of silver, which he had won during the ns Tournament. Back then, the gambling den that he¡¯d ced his bet with had paid out five hundred thousand taels, and had given him this note for another five hundred thousand.

    Zheng Dan¡¯s expression grew ufortable. ¡°What does this debt note have to do with me?¡±

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°Miss Zheng, do we still need to keep up this pretense? We¡¯ve already been together for so long. I already know that that gambling den has ties to your Zheng n.¡±

    Zheng Dan snatched the note from him with an angry snort. ¡°So what is this? Fees for a whore?¡±

    Zu An was utterly stunned.

    ¡°Couldn¡¯t you phrase it in a nicer way? We are clearly in love!¡±

    ¡°Love?¡± Zheng Dan sneered. ¡°Do you truly believe that yourself?¡±

    Zu An held her hands and looked into her eyes. ¡°I do!¡±

    Zheng Dan¡¯s face went red. ¡°Look at this guy, always trying to seduce me!¡±

    Zu An sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t want to be enemies with your Zheng n either! Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t do anything to harm the Zheng n¡¯s interests.¡±

    ¡°Hmph! Helping the Chu n is the same thing as harming the Zheng n.¡± Zheng Dan was extremely unhappy. However, she still said, ¡°I don¡¯t know where those salt permits are either. Chen Xuan wasn¡¯t stupid enough to give us the salt permits upfront. You know what happened afterwards.

    ¡°Based on my suspicions, those salt permits should be in the hands of the ckwind Stockade.¡±

    Zu An was taken aback. He thought of the people that had been with Chen Xuan in the Immortal Abode.

    ¡°Do you know anything about them?¡± Zu An asked. Zheng Dan had been a gang boss at one point in time, after all. Even though the Whale Gang had been destroyed, surely she still maintained her own information channels.

    ¡°Nothing at all.¡± Zheng Danughed coldly. ¡°What? Do you feel like you¡¯ve wasted your five hundred thousand taels of silver now?¡±

    ¡°Of course not!¡± Zu An pulled her into his embrace. ¡°Even if I had given it to you for free, it wouldn¡¯t have been a waste. At least now I know that the salt permits are with the ckwind Stockade.¡±

    ¡°Hmph! Just empty words.¡± Despite this, Zheng Dan¡¯s expression softened.

    Zu An showered her in another round of honeyed words. Only then did Zheng Dan smile again.

    ...

    When the school day came to a close, Zu An waited around for Chu Huanzhao to apany her home.

    When she saw him, Chu Huanzhao immediately said, ¡°I heard you went looking for that Zheng Dan today.¡±

    Zu An was shocked. ¡°News gets around to you pretty fast, huh?¡±

    ¡°Of course! Don¡¯t you know what standing I have in ss?¡± Chu Huanzhao had a cocky look on her face. However, her expression quickly copsed. ¡°Why are you looking for her? Everyone in the academy is calling you a Chikan.¡±[1]

    Zu An was speechless for a while.

    How did such a word even exist in this world?

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Chu Huanzhao only grew angrier. ¡°Is big sis not enough for you? Why do you have to fawn all over this woman? Big sis only just left today!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Huanzhao for 33... 33... 33...

    Zu An felt a headacheing on. ¡°I needed to talk to her about something important. It was to help the Chu n through these troubled times.¡±

    ¡°The Zheng n hates our Chu n. Why would she help us?¡± Chu Huanzhao clearly didn¡¯t believe him. ¡°Stinky brother-inw, at least cook up a good excuse if you¡¯re going to use one!¡±

    ¡°Of course, she usually wouldn¡¯t lift a finger to help, but your brother-inw is just too handsome!¡± Zu An scoffed.

    ¡°Shameless!¡± Chu Huanzhao cursed. However, his interruption made her forget the words she was going to use to berate him.

    When they returned to the Chu Estate, Zu An told her to head inside on her own.

    ¡°Where are you going?¡± Chu Huanzhao grew curious when she saw that he wasn¡¯t nning to head back to his own room.

    ¡°I...¡± Zu An was just about to reply when a thought struck him. His expression grew rigid. ¡°Don¡¯t ask me so many questions! If I¡¯m going out, I definitely have some important matters to take care of.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re probably going to drink with girls!" Chu Huanzhao shot back. "Hmph!"

    She stormed into the estate, purposely stomping her feet along the way. Her face was a dark cloud.

    Speechless, Zu An could only stare at her as she departed.

    A woman¡¯s intuition truly was terrifyingly sharp!

    He was really nning to go to the Immortal Abode. However, it wasn¡¯t to drink, but to see if he could get some intelligence from Qiu Honglei.

    After all, she was the one who had first given him the news about Chen Xuan. She might know something about the whereabouts of the salt permits too.

    ...

    He arrived at the Immortal Abode. News of his arrival traveled quickly, and a maid came out to lead Zu An to Qiu Honglei¡¯s room.

    When his gaze fell upon the ravishing woman, Zu An couldn¡¯t contain his surprise. ¡°Honglei seems to have quite a few matters on her mind.¡±

    Qiu Honglei stared nkly for a moment. She said with a smile, ¡°Young master Zu has sharp eyes. I didn¡¯t expect you to be able to see through me.¡±

    Zu An couldn¡¯t hold back a sigh. ¡°Honglei, we¡¯ve drifted apart. You used to call me Ah Zu.¡±

    Qiu Honglei was speechless for a moment.

    Why is this guy always so unpredictable?

    Thankfully, she was already used to his nature. She said with a smile, ¡°Ah Zu, you might not see me again in two days¡¯ time.¡±

    Zu An was surprised. ¡°You¡¯re leaving?¡±

    To be fair, thest time they¡¯d met, her voice had already taken on a strange tone.

    Qiu Honglei nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    ¡°Where are you going?¡± Even though he knew that her affection for him waspletely fake, he still felt a sense of regret when he learned that she was leaving.

    Qiu Honglei shook her head, but said nothing.

    Seeing her unwillingness to tell him anything, Zu An didn¡¯t continue to press her further.

    Silence quickly descended on the room.

    Qiu Honglei was the first one to break it. ¡°So, why did youe here today?¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t Ie looking for you without any particr reason?¡± Zu An couldn¡¯t stop looking at her. She was just as beautiful as before, but now, she would soon slip out of his grasp.

    Sigh, men are all trash. You know that everything she showed you was fake¡ªwhy do you have to feel disappointed?

    Qiu Honglei said with a smile, ¡°I¡¯ve been here for so long, but I don¡¯t think you¡¯ve ever taken the initiative to meet with me.¡±

    Zu An smiled awkwardly. He could only reveal his true reason foring.

    Qiu Honglei couldn¡¯t help but sigh. ¡°You really do share a deep rtionship with first miss Chu. You¡¯re searching for help everywhere for her sake.¡±

    Zu An stared deeply into her eyes. ¡°Is Honglei getting jealous?¡±

    Qiu Honglei met his gaze. ¡°Ah Zu, do you want me to feel jealous?¡±

    Zu Anughed. ¡°Which man in this world wouldn¡¯t want a beauty like Honglei to feel jealous over them?¡±

    Qiu Honglei smiled. ¡°Your lips are always so sweet. No wonder first miss Chu has fallen so hard for you.¡±

    After a pause, she added. ¡°I just happen to know a thing or two about where the salt permits are. However, I cannot tell you.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Zu An was stunned.

    ¡°I have my reasons.¡± After a slight hesitation, she said, ¡°I advise you to stop looking for them. You¡¯ll only bring a huge disaster upon yourself.¡±

    1. A Japanese ng term that means sexual harasser. The literal trantion of the Chinese phrase is ¡®foolish man¡¯, and the phrase is itself a transliteration of the original Japanese phrase.

 Chapter 349: A Helping Hand

    <h4>Chapter 349: A Helping Hand</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Qiu Honglei had grown dead serious. Zu An was confused. ¡°Why? Isn¡¯t Chen Xuan already dead? At this point, what can the ckwind Stockade even do?¡±

    Qiu Honglei shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s not the ckwind Stockade that you should be worried about. There is another organization that you cannot afford to provoke.¡±

    Zu An grew more and more puzzled. Even though the Chu n was in a sticky situation, a starving camel was still bigger than a horse. They still had a private army at their disposal. He himself was the young master of the Chu n, and he had the backing of the academy as well. Why would Qiu Honglei still feel like this power was one that they couldn¡¯t handle? Just what kind of organization were they?

    ¡°Honglei, could you at least give me some hints? Just how strong is this organization?¡± Zu An probed.

    Qiu Honglei sighed. ¡°I cannot tell you anything else. This is already all that I can reveal. The rest is up to you.¡±

    A sudden thought struck Zu An. ¡°Is this the organization that is backing you?¡±

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s background had always been a mystery. There was no way such a beautiful girl could remain untouched for so many years in a ce like the Immortal Abode, unless she had a formidable power backing her.

    She had even been able to provide him with information not even the Chu n could obtain. This had set rm bells ringing quietly in the back of Zu An¡¯s mind before.

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s expression clouded over. ¡°Don¡¯t ask anymore. Knowing more won¡¯t help you at all.¡±

    Zu An nodded. ¡°Forget it then, I won¡¯t make things harder for you by questioning you further. However, this matter regarding the salt permits is serious, so I can¡¯t drop it just like that. I will transfer more men to track them down, and I won¡¯t stop until I find where they are.¡±

    With that, he got up and bid his farewell.

    Qiu Honglei stamped her foot in agitation. ¡°Why won¡¯t you listen?!¡±

    She hesitated some more, before she finally said, ¡°Whatever! I¡¯ll tell you more, before you really do something stupid.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An turned around to look at her. ¡°Honglei, you really are too good to me,¡± he said with a sigh.

    Qiu Honglei smiled. This smile made her entire being seem absolutely enchanting. ¡°Did you only realize this now?¡±

    ¡°To be honest, I¡¯ve always been slightly wary of you since you first approached me,¡± Zu An replied. ¡°I figured that you surely had some ulterior motive in mind. I have to apologize for that.¡±

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s face went red. She was moved by the sincerity in his voice. She sighed. ¡°I indeed had ulterior motives in approaching you. There¡¯s no need for you to apologize.¡±

    Zu An couldn¡¯t hide his disappointment. ¡°Ah... so you didn¡¯t really want to be my concubine...¡±

    Qiu Honglei stared at him, speechless.

    Is this guy actually an idiot?

    But she knew that this was just his nature. Wasn¡¯t this precisely the reason why she felt like he was different from other men?

    The two of them joked around a while longer, then Qiu Honglei¡¯s smile slowly faded. ¡°There will be a ck market auction in three days. During which, the ckwind Stockade will auction off the salt permits to the highest bidder. If you want to take back those salt permits, you¡¯ll have to purchase them with money.¡±

    ¡°ck market? Auction?¡± Zu An suddenly remembered the ki stones he¡¯d received from the academy when he first arrived in this world. His cultivation method was different, so he couldn¡¯t absorb the ki inside them. Wei Suo had mentioned that he could sell them on the ck market.

    However, he¡¯d made a ton of money soon afterwards and forgot about this small change. That was why he never went to the ck market.

    The ck market had existed for so many years in Brightmoon City without any sign of copsing, which meant it had the backing of a formidable power. He hadn¡¯t expected Qiu Honglei to be a part of this same group.

    When she saw the change in his expression, Qiu Honglei quickly said, ¡°You absolutely must not try to steal them. Since those who run the ck market have already agreed to auction these items, they will take responsibility for them. If you try to steal them, you will be shing head-on with them. If that happens, I fear that you...¡±

    She trailed off, but the implication was clear.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t be that reckless.¡± Zu An could sense her meaning. If he tried to steal them, not only would he fail, he might just throw away his life too.

    However, it seemed like a miserable deal to have to spend money to buy back these salt permits, especially since they were the Chu n¡¯s to begin with.

    What kind of joke is this? There¡¯s no way I¡¯ll ever let someone wrong me like this.

    He was well and truly trapped in a dilemma.

    Qiu Honglei warned him again and again to not act recklessly. Only when he agreed not to did she let him go.

    After Zu An left, a man entered from a side door. It was none other than Qiu Honglei¡¯s senior, Gu Yueyi.

    He sneered. ¡°Junior sister, you actually leaked such important intelligence to him?¡±

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s tone was indifferent. ¡°This can¡¯t be considered leaking. I¡¯m merely helping to find suitable clients to attend the auction. Everyone knows that Zu An has made a lot of money recently, so I believe he has the right to take part in this auction.¡±

    ¡°Junior sister really has a slick tongue. I might not be able to win against you in a debate, but the sect master might not be so easily swayed.¡± A small trace of fear shed across his eyes when he brought up the sect master.

    ¡°That¡¯s not something you need to worry about.¡± Qiu Honglei rested her chin on her arm and leaned against the table next to her.

    Gu Yueyi waspletely enchanted by her alluring figure. He couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°Junior sister, why are you willing to take such a risk for a single man? Don¡¯t tell me you actually like him?¡±

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s eyes widened instantly. ¡°That has nothing to do with you!¡± she huffed. Her tone was cold.

    Gu Yueyi felt a sudden sh of anger. ¡°What¡¯s so special about a drafted son-inw like him? He only knows a few shoddy songs and a bit of poetry. His appearance might be all right as well...¡±

    He froze midway through his sentence. Why did it sound like he was praising that guy?

    His anger red further.

    You have sessfully trolled Gu Yueyi for 250 Rage points!

    Taking a moment to calm himself, he continued, ¡°These are nothing more than tricks. In this world, strength in cultivation is what matters in the end! Why in the world would junior sister like a person with such low cultivation? Compared to him, I...¡±

    Before he even finished his sentence, Qiu Honglei cut him off. ¡°So noisy!¡± she cried out in annoyance.

    With a wave of her hand, Gu Yueyi was thrown out of the room.

    Gu Yueyi felt his anger explode.

    ...

    You have sessfully trolled Gu Yueyi for 711 Rage points!

    Zu An was puzzled when he saw the notifications for these Rage points. Where did this Gu Yueyi pop up from?

    I guess it¡¯s natural for a popr guy like me to be the target of others¡¯ jealousy. Zu An dismissed it casually, and instead focused his attention on how he was going to acquire those salt permits.

    A shadow fell across him. He raised his head and saw someone standing in front of him. It was Wei Suo¡¯s older brother, Wei Hongde.

    ¡°Brother Wei, what a coincidence.¡± Zu An was startled. He sped his fist in greeting.

    Wei Hongde smiled. ¡°It¡¯s not a coincidence. I came seeking you.¡±

    ¡°Seeking me?¡± Zu An¡¯s heart skipped a beat. Did they find out what he had done that night in the Wei Estate?

    ¡°Brother Zu, there is no need for rm. You are Wei Suo¡¯s friend, so you are naturally my friend as well.¡± As if sensing Zu An''s sudden change in mood, Wei Hongde cut straight to the chase. ¡°I wanted to meet with you. We have a way to help your Chu n out of your troubles.¡±

 Chapter 350: A Change In Status

    <h4>Chapter 350: A Change In Status</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°What?!¡± Zu An was shocked. He immediately grabbed Wei Hongde¡¯s hand. ¡°Brother Wei knows a way out?¡±

    Wei Hongde smiled. ¡°I¡¯m not the one who knows what to do. My father is the one who came up with it. I don¡¯t know what it is myself.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression grew gloomy. ¡°Are you toying with my feelings?¡±

    ¡°You misunderstand me, brother Zu,¡± Wei Hongde said. ¡°Your friendship with Wei Suo has shown you to be trustworthy. That¡¯s why I sought you out today. There is no one more suitable than you that I could approach. However, juniors like me and you don¡¯t have the authority to make any decisions.¡±

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°Why do I feel like I am being looked down on?¡±

    Clearly, Wei Hongde meant that someone important from the Chu n had to meet with Wei Dabao to discuss this matter.

    Wei Hongde smiled. ¡°I am being frank because of your friendship with Wei Suo. I hope brother Zu can forgive me if I offended you somehow.¡±

    Zu An grunted. ¡°Could you at least tell me a little more? If not, what am I supposed to tell the rest of the Chu n when I go back?¡±

    After a slight hesitation, Wei Hongde finally said, ¡°We¡¯ve heard that the Chu n needs mary support. We can provide you with some help on that front. I really don¡¯t know any further details.¡±

    Zu An shivered. Are these guys trying to be loan sharks?

    The Wei n had always maintained a low profile in Brightmoon City. Everyone knew that their n had its roots in the capital city, and they could even have connections to the imperial pce, but that was it.

    They didn¡¯t participate in the affairs of Brightmoon City. It was almost as if they didn¡¯t even exist. It was merely out of fear of their perceived backing that no one chose to offend them.

    That was why the Wei n was almost invisible. Why did they suddenly n to get so deeply involved?

    After bidding Wei Hongde farewell, Zu An hurriedly returned to the Chu n. He found Qin Wanru and told her about the Wei n¡¯s offer.

    He didn¡¯t bring up the information about the salt permits, since he didn¡¯t know how he was going to use this information yet. Besides, the information hade from Qiu Honglei, and so it wasn¡¯t the most convenient thing for him to share with her.

    Qin Wanru immediately called the Chu n¡¯s trusted aides over for a meeting, and extended the invitation to the members of the second and third branch as well.

    Zu An was confused. ¡°The second and third branch are all vicious wolves. Why do you have to discuss this with them?¡±

    Qin Wanru shook her head. ¡°Even though they all have their own agendas, when all is said and done, they are still members of the Chu n. If the Chu n is dissolved, it will not bode well for them either. They have no choice but to help the n through this crisis.¡±

    Zu An had to disagree with her assessment. There were so many instances throughout the history of his previous world where internal strife had torn families apart.

    However, she was a stubborn woman, and Zu An wasn¡¯t stupid enough to sh with her over this.

    Arge group quickly gathered in the discussion hall. Perhaps because of what Chu Chuyan had said before she left, or because Zu An was the one who had brought this information back, Qin Wanru didn¡¯t chase him out. He was made part of this important meeting.

    The others present were shocked to see Zu An attending the meeting, whether it was Chu Tiesheng, Chu Yuepo, butler Hong Zhong, and even guard leader Yue Shan.

    After all, this meant that he was now officially part of the Chu n¡¯s decision-makers.

    Before this meeting, he had only been a drafted son-inw who no one cared about. After this day, however, no one in the Chu n would dare look down on him again.

    Chu Tiesheng was still skeptical about this, but Chu Yuepo grabbed his hand to forestall any action. He said via ki transmission, ¡°Sister-inw is all alone now, since Master isn¡¯t here. She needs someone around to help her maintain some dignity. Just let her do what she wants.¡±

    Chu Tiesheng acknowledged his advice and decided not to press the issue. However, he still asked, ¡°Sister-inw, why is Chu Chuyan not here?¡±

    Qin Wanru said, ¡°Chu Chuyan has gone on a trip, so she won¡¯t be joining us today.¡±

    She didn¡¯t borate further, and she seemed to have no intention of revealing anything else.

    The others present in the meeting hall exchanged nces. They all began to wonder where Chu Chuyan had gone.

    Qin Wanru cleared her throat to get their attention again. She then outlined the Wei n¡¯s proposal.

    The hall broke out into low whispers when she was finished.

    Chu Tiesheng was the first to speak his mind. ¡°Something feels off about this. The Wei n has maintained a low profile for so many years. Why would they suddenly choose to get involved now? They are definitely plotting something.¡±

    Chu Yuepo had different thoughts. ¡°From what I know, there has always been a secret organization in Brightmoon City that offers loans to ns in need. This organization has always been shrouded in mystery. However, it seems now that it could be the Wei n who is behind this. Since we¡¯re in need of money, I don¡¯t see any issue with borrowing from them.¡±

    Qin Wanru declined toment. Instead, she looked at their butler. ¡°Elder Hong, what do you think?¡±

    The Hong n had been a staunch supporter of the Chu n for generations. Hong Zhong was also a shrewd and noble figure who had served under the previous head of the Chu n. He was held in high regard within the n, and Qin Wanru had the utmost respect for him.

    Hong Zhong¡¯s tone was serious. ¡°There¡¯s something else that concerns me. The Wei n has the imperial pce backing them. I can¡¯t help but wonder if this offer was instigated by the emperor. I wonder if the emperor is using this loan as just another scheme to deal with us.¡±

    A few of the others nodded when they heard his words. Even Zu An couldn¡¯t help but look at him with respect. This elder really is worthy of being the Chu n¡¯s butler! He seems to possess knowledge and experience far exceeding that of ordinary people.

    But then again, how did he end up giving birth to such a dumb son?

    Objectively speaking, Hong Xingying is okaypared to his peers, but he is just too fickle and scatterbrained. He doesn¡¯t have any of his father¡¯s steady demeanor at all!

    Speaking of which, I haven¡¯t seen that kid for a while. Did I scare him off? He seems to be avoiding me in the academy.

    While Zu An was lost in his own thoughts, Chu Yuepo spoke again. ¡°It might not be a conspiracy at all. From what I know, all high officials in the capital are extremely wealthy, but it is considered inappropriate for any of them to act openly. The capital has strict regtions as well, and so many of them rely on intermediaries to facilitate profitable loans and other such financial transactions for them. The Wei n is probably one of these intermediaries. The imperial pce may be backing them, but it might not be the emperor himself. It could easily be some imperial concubines, pce eunuchs, or even some ministers in the capital... Either way, I think the chances of it being the emperor are extremely low.¡±

    ...

    Animated discussion began to break out amongst those present. Both sides had providedpelling arguments.

    Zu An gave Yue Shan a curious look. This man hadn¡¯t said anything all this time.

    His name fitted him like a glove. He was as steady and reliable as a mountain. No wonder he had maintained his position as Chu Zhongtian¡¯s most trustworthy subordinate.

    Qin Wanru allowed the discussions around her to continue for a while longer, then called for order again. ¡°It is hard to say what the Wei n¡¯s motives are right now. However, our Chu n is in need of funds at the moment, so we have to meet with them.¡±

    The thought of Chu Chuyan and herself going around begging for money caused her anger to surge within her. The head of that Li n had even brazenly harassed her!

    She reached out a hand to forestall any further argument. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t go too far. Meeting with them doesn¡¯t mean that I will end up borrowing money from them. We¡¯ll make a decision after I hear what they have to offer.¡±

    That helped to quell any further opposition from the others.

    With the meeting adjourned, Zu An made to leave. However, Qin Wanru stopped him.

    ¡°You areing with me to the Wei Estate!¡±

 Chapter 351: Luring the Tiger From its Den

    <h4>Chapter 351: Luring the Tiger From its Den</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Me?¡± Zu An was surprised. After all, Qin Wanru had never liked him, and yet she wanted him to apany her today.

    Qin Wanru rolled her eyes at him. ¡°You have close ties to the Wei n, and besides, you¡¯re the one who helped to facilitate this. Who else would I bring if not you?¡±

    Chu Huanzhao rushed over when she heard that the two of them were heading out. She proimed loudly that she was going with them.

    Qin Wanru rejected her straightaway. ¡°We are going out on official business. You need to stay at home.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao pointed at Zu An. ¡°Howe even brother-inw gets to go, but not me?¡± she said unhappily.

    Zu An was stunned for a moment.

    What do you mean, even I can go? Do I seem so lowly to you?!

    I haven¡¯t spanked this kid in a while. It seems like she¡¯s itching for a beating.

    Qin Wanru gave her daughter a hard look. ¡°Be obedient!¡±

    Her statement was delivered with all the power she had umted over the years. Chu Huanzhao stuck out her tongue and left unhappily.

    The two of them arrived in the Wei n. When he received news of Qin Wanru¡¯s arrival, the head of the Wei n came out personally to wee them.

    After exchanging greetings, the two of them headed into the study to discuss the details.

    Meanwhile, Wei Hongde showed Zu An around.

    However, Zu An was not in the mood for a tour at all. He imed to be a little tired, and requested for a room where he could get some rest.

    Wei Hongde was rather surprised, but eded to his request in the end. After all, the n master had important matters to discuss, and there was no way he would be done quickly. As such, he arranged a guest room for Zu An. It just happened to be the one he had used thest time.

    Zu Any down on the bed. Once Wei Hongde left, however, his eyes flew open.

    This opportunity was too good to pass up. He might as well go looking for Old Mi¡¯s case again.

    However, he suddenly remembered the terrifying cultivation possessed by the mysterious old expert he had met thest time, and quickly grew discouraged. Stealing something from under that old fart¡¯s nose would surely prove too difficult.

    Just then, a figure jumped in through the window. rmed by this sudden development, Zu An¡¯s whole body tensed. ¡°Show yourself!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s me!¡± A captivating figure slowly walked towards him, staring at him with her ever-smiling peach-blossom eyes. Who else could this be but Pei Mianman?

    ¡°Big Manman!¡± Zu An¡¯s eyes brightened. He spread his arms, weing her into his embrace. ¡°Long time no see! Come and give this big brother a hug!¡±

    Pei Mianman was not amused.

    She easily evaded him. ¡°You¡¯re getting more and more daring! I definitely need to make Chu Chuyan see this side of you someday.¡±

    Zu An seemed unfazed by her threat. ¡°Chu Chuyan doesn¡¯t even care if I do this sort of thing. Who knows, she might even be happy to see the two of us together. That way, the two of you can continue being sisters.¡±

    Pei Mianman finally couldn¡¯t take his teasing anymore. She snorted and said, ¡°Enough already. I wanted to ask you for your help.¡±

    Zu An looked disappointed. ¡°I thought that our meeting today was fate giving us another chance, but it seems you were actually looking for me.¡±

    Pei Mianman looked around and realized that this was the room the two of them had stayed in thest time. Her face heated up when she recalled what had happened that night. ¡°I only sought you out after learning that you were here.¡±

    ¡°Are you still looking for the same thing?¡± Zu An let his smile fade. ¡°That terrifying expert is still in the Wei Estate. Are you looking to throw your life away?¡±

    ¡°I was caught off guard thest time because I didn¡¯t know that such an expert was here,¡± Pei Mianman said. ¡°I came prepared this time, so matters will go much more smoothly. Of course, the odds of sess will be higher if you agree to help me.¡±

    ¡°What sort of help do you need?¡± Zu An asked.

    Pei Mianman walked over to the window and gazed towards the distant silhouettes. ¡°I¡¯m going to head towards that courtyard to draw out that mysterious expert. You¡¯ll use that chance to sneak in and find something for me.¡±

    Zu An frowned. The n was simple¡ªlure the tiger from its den. Simple ns were usually quite effective, but there was a key issue to this one. ¡°The level of that fellow¡¯s cultivation is far above yours. How in the world are you going to get away?¡±

    Pei Mianman said, ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about that. I have my own way of dealing with it. You just need to help me find what I need.¡±

    Zu An knew how mysterious she was. She might actually have some way of dealing with that expert, just as she imed. ¡°What are you looking for?¡±

    A look of hesitation crossed Pei Mianman¡¯s face. However, she knew that there was no way he would be able to find what she needed without knowing what it looked like. ¡°It¡¯s a dark golden tile. It¡¯s this long and this wide...¡±

    She outlined the shape, size, and various other traits of the item.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t hide his curiosity. ¡°What is this tile used for? Why would you go through such great risks to get it?¡±

    Pei Mianman remained silent.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to tell me, you can forget about my help.¡± Zu An¡¯s mood darkened. He felt really annoyed for some reason.

    Pei Mianman bit her lower lip. There was clearly some internal struggle going on within her. In the end, she said, ¡°Whatever. I¡¯ve saved your life before and you¡¯ve saved mine. That makes the two of us close. I¡¯ll let you in on this, then. However, you have to promise me that you won¡¯t tell anyone else what I am about to tell you, including Chuyan. I¡¯m not saying this because I don¡¯t trust you, but because this matter is too important.¡±

    ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll keep this secret for you.¡± Zu An didn¡¯t dare to joke around when he saw how serious she was.

    Pei Mianman lowered her voice and said, ¡°You can enter and exit the imperial pce freely using this tile.¡±

    Zu An leapt in shock. ¡°What the heck are you trying to do, stealing something like that?!¡±

    Pei Mianman shook her head. ¡°That¡¯s not something you need to worry about. I have my reasons.¡±

    Zu An grew serious. After taking a moment to think about it, he nodded. ¡°All right, I¡¯ll help you!¡±

    ¡°Thank you!¡± Seeing that he was still willing to help her after hearing all that, Pei Mianman beamed gratefully.

    Zu An was taken aback by this beautiful sight.

    Pei Mianman blushed. She hurriedly said, ¡°Regardless of whether you find that tile or not, you have to leave within the time it takes to burn a stick of incense. Things will go south if that expert rushes back and finds you.¡±

    ¡°I know.¡± Zu An knew that he was no match for someone that even Old Mi was scared to face. He wouldn¡¯t possibly dare to face that fe head on.

    ¡°By the way, regardless of whether you seed or not, I¡¯ll be waiting for you two hourster by the gazebo outside the academy.¡± Pei Mianman paused, then added, ¡°That gardener in your n estate is also dangerous. We might be exposed if we meet in the Chu n.¡±

    ¡°All right!¡± Zu An was just about to suggest something simr. Old Mi had even seen him with Pei Mianman previously. Now that they had something so important to discuss, they obviously had to avoid him.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be going, then. Get ready.¡± Pei Mianman walked over to the window.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Be careful.¡± Even though she said she had a countermeasure prepared, Zu An was still anxious. After all, that expert was just too formidable.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry!¡± Pei Mianman smiled. Just as she was about to leave, she abruptly turned around. ¡°I suddenly understand why Chuyan likes you.¡±

    With that, her figure disappeared. Only her fragrance lingered in the air.

    Zu An was stunned. It took you so long to figure that out?

    Isn¡¯t it obviously because I¡¯m handsome, rich, talented, and courageous?

    He didn¡¯t have to wait long. There was a loud whoosh, and he vaguely glimpsed two figures rush out.

    Zu An shivered inside. He retracted all of his aura and sneaked towards the courtyard.

 Chapter 352: Conditions

    <h4>Chapter 352: Conditions</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Along the way, he saw that the guards of the Wei Estate had already begun to move, but they were all headed in the direction of the supposed assassin. He used this chance to sneak into the darkened courtyard.

    An eerie feeling enveloped him the second he entered the courtyard. The lightning here was dim. Compared to the other ces in the Wei Estate, this ce seemed much more secluded and concealed.

    There weren¡¯t any servants inside, and no maids or guards either. Not a single person was in sight.

    The interior of the residence felt like a haunted house. It seemed totally devoid of life.

    Zu An kept a firm lid on his thoughts. He knew that time was pressing, and he needed to find what he was looking for as quickly as possible.

    Not only did he have to help Pei Mianman find her tile, he had to find the case that Old Mi was interested in as well.

    Even though Old Mi had told him to give up on the search, he still wanted to know what was inside.

    Of course, he wouldn¡¯t normally have taken such a huge risk and let his curiosity get the better of him. However, he had been presented with a rare opportunity. Pei Mianman had even helped him lure that expert away. It would be a pity if he couldn¡¯t find it.

    The arrangements of rooms in theserge n residences were all somewhat simr. Zu An was already familiar with the arrangement of rooms in the Chu n, so he quickly located the study.

    He gave the study a cursory once-over, paying special attention to the containers on the bookshelf. After all, ording to all those TV dramas he¡¯d watched, these were the most likely ces where hidden mechanisms would be.

    However, he didn¡¯t find any such mechanisms in the study.

    As such, he decided to search the bedroom next. He quickly went into the bedroom behind the study.

    Zu An frowned as soon as he entered. He subconsciously fanned the air in front of his nose. What is that smell?

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    A strange odor permeated the room. He could tell that it was some sort of expensive incense. However, there was no way it should have smelled like this.

    The smell of incense was mingled with a lingering smell of urine. This was what gave the odor its characteristic awfulness.

    It wasn¡¯tpletely fragrant, yet it wasn¡¯tpletely putrid either. It was just indescribably nauseating.

    What the heck is the Wei n doing? Can¡¯t they clean a room properly? Zu An cursed, but he didn¡¯t stop his search.

    He scanned the entire room quickly, then headed straight for the bed.

    He undid the bedding and lightly tapped the boards underneath the bed.

    Sure enough, there was a hollow sound.

    Sigh, these fes really don¡¯t have any creativity when ites to hiding things... Zu An gave an inward shake of his head. This was such an overused clich¨¦! Who would¡¯ve guessed that the people of this world would devise hiding ces like this as well?

    He quickly found a hidden mechanism. He triggered it and opened the hiddenpartment, revealing a case inside. It was clearly the same as the one Old Mi had shown him before, both in terms of the shape and the decorative details. He hurriedly took out the case Old Mi had given him and put it in ce of the stolen box. This way, whoever opened thepartment again wouldn¡¯t immediately realize that the contents had been stolen.

    He was curious to see what was inside. He had a subconscious urge to open it to take a peek, but the design of the case was extremely exquisite. Ayer of light flickered across its surface, which was most likely some type of seal.

    He had no time to perform a careful examination. He stowed it away and began to search for Pei Mianman¡¯s tile.

    Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t find any trace of that tile.

    His time was almost up. The sound of approaching footsteps came from close by.

    He had no choice but to end his search and leave.

    I wonder if big Manman can escape that fellow¡¯s clutches. Zu An was more than a little worried. He decided to make a detour to a smaller room. Once there, he knocked over an oilmp, which quickly sent mes and smoke shooting out.

    Using the ensuing chaos as cover, he quickly returned to his own room.

    ¡°There¡¯s a fire! There¡¯s a fire!¡±

    Soon, shouts of rm filled the Wei Estate. Servants rushed over with buckets of water to put out the fire.

    Zu An pretended to be a bystander. He even pulled over a few servants to ask them what was going on.

    His expressions were so realistic, it was truly an Oscar-worthy performance.

    He let this go on for a while longer before rushing over to Wei n¡¯s study with a worried expression. He just happened to bump into Qin Wanru.

    ¡°Madam, are you all right?¡± Zu An asked out of concern.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Qin Wanru looked around the chaotic Wei Estate in confusion.

    Someone rushed over to give a report to Wei Dabao. His expression grew dark when he heard the report. He sped his fist towards Qin Wanru and said, ¡°I really must apologize to Madam Chu. Something has happened within the n estate. We¡¯ve made a mockery of ourselves today.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for such harsh words, Master Wei,¡± Qin Wanru replied. ¡°Since something has happened in your home, we shall not trouble you any further. Farewell.¡±

    Wei Dabao nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve already said everything I needed to say to Madam. Please consider what we discussed carefully. Our Wei n makes this offer with the utmost sincerity.¡±

    Qin Wanru smiled at him and nodded once, before leaving with Zu An.

    Qin Wanru entered her carriage, while Zu An rode on a horse alongside the carriage.

    In the end, his curiosity got the better of him. He guided his horse over to the carriage and asked, ¡°Madam, how did the talks with the Wei n go?¡±

    Qin Wanru lifted a corner of the curtain. Her expression was unreadable. ¡°Let¡¯s talk inside the carriage.¡±

    The guards escorting them exchanged a few looks. It seemed like Madam was bing more and more fond of the young master! They couldn¡¯t afford to casually offend the young master in the future.

    The guards who had bet against Cheng Shouping all scowled miserably. It seemed like they really were going to lose that bet.

    Zu An was overwhelmed by her invitation. Previously, if she wasn¡¯t already furious at him, she was always building up to it.

    Such an amiable invitation was a rarity.

    A refreshing fragrance greeted him as he entered the carriage. The rich smell waspletely different from what Chu Chuyan gave off. It was clearly Qin Wanru¡¯s own smell.

    Zu An thought back to the odor that had permeated the bedroom in the residence. Despite iting from an expensive incense, he¡¯d found it utterly repulsive. The smell that filled his nose right now was worlds better.

    Qin Wanru frowned when she saw him ring his nostrils. This fellow really had no sense of etiquette.

    However, as a woman, it was hard for her to be mad at a man for appreciating her scent.

    She coughed to get his attention. ¡°Chu Chuyan told me again and again to trust you before she left. Even though I still don¡¯t know why she trusts you so much, I believe Chuyan wouldn¡¯t say such a thing casually.

    ¡°You are an intermediary in this matter concerning the Wei n as well, so there is no need to hide our conversation from you.¡±

    Zu An felt relieved. He didn¡¯t expect his wife to care that much about him. He sped his fist. ¡°Thank you, Madam,¡± he said respectfully.

    Qin Wanru continued, ¡°The Wei n is prepared to offer us a loan at 8.8% interest.¡±

    Zu An focused on the most important part of the deal. ¡°How much are they loaning us?¡±

    ¡°An unlimited amount,¡± Qin Wanru said.

    ¡°Unlimited?¡± Zu An was stunned.

    ¡°Indeed. They will provide us with as much as we want.¡± Qin Wanru¡¯s voice also carried a fair amount of shock. Clearly, she too was taken aback by the Wei n¡¯s apparent wealth.

    ¡°Do they own a gold mine or something?!¡± Zu An was stupefied.

    ¡°They are most likely a front for some other high-ranking officials,¡± Qin Wanru said.

    ¡°If this is true, then this interest rate is a good deal!¡± Zu An said.

    Even by the standards of his previous world, 8.8% interest was considered low. Banks usually offered a starting rate of around 6%, but it was rare for anyone to get a loan at such a rate. Only people with connections were typically offered that rate. Mostpanies would be counting their blessings if they could borrow at 12%, let alone the Chu n, especially considering the amount that they had to borrow.

    From every angle, the Wei n¡¯s conditions were extremely favorable.

    Qin Wanru sighed. ¡°It would be great if it were that simple. However, they have demanded that we put up our Chu n¡¯s salt mines as coteral. I¡¯m worried that this is all a ploy to rob us of our salt beds as well.¡±

 Chapter 353: A Sudden Realization

    <h4>Chapter 353: A Sudden Realization</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°They want our salt beds?¡± Zu An frowned. Objectively speaking, it waspletely normal to require something as coteral. The Chu n¡¯s most valuable assets were their salt beds.

    However, the Wei n had proposed this requirement when the Chu n was in such dire straits, with the backing of the imperial pce as well. It was difficult for anyone not to draw the obvious connection!

    Perhaps the Wei n had realized this problem themselves, which was why they proposed such a low interest rate. The Chu n wouldn¡¯t have even given their proposal any consideration otherwise.

    ¡°What does Madam n to do?¡± Zu An asked.

    Qin Wanru shook her head. ¡°I haven¡¯t thought it through yet. Let¡¯s discuss this with everyone else when we head back.¡±

    She rubbed her aching forehead. It was obvious that she had been working constantly since her husband¡¯s detainment, and hadn¡¯t gotten any proper rest.

    Zu An tactfully decided not to disturb her any further and withdrew from her carriage. He quickly shifted his attention to the case he had acquired from the Wei n estate. He took it out several times along the way, but he couldn¡¯t find a way to undo the seal.

    After escorting Qin Wanru back to the Chu Estate, Zu An was just about to head out to meet Pei Mianman. However, he ended up bumping into Old Mi first.

    Zu An gave a start when he saw the old gardener. ¡°Greetings, Elder.¡±

    Old Mi frowned. He pulled him to the side. ¡°Don¡¯t call me that in the future. I don¡¯t like drawing attention.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind,¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°I heard that you went to the Wei n with the Madam.¡± Old Mi looked at him. His searing gaze seemed as if it could see right through him.

    Fortunately, Zu An was already prepared for this, and wasn¡¯t at all flustered. ¡°Yeah, the Madam went to the Wei n to borrow money. We just came back from their estate.¡±

    ¡°Did you bump into that man you metst time?¡± Old Mi asked nervously.

    ¡°No. The Madam and their n master had things to discuss. I just waited for them to finish.¡± Zu An was really curious as to why Old Mi was so scared of that old expert.

    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Old Mi sighed in relief. ¡°Did you find that case that I wanted you to look for?¡±

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°I didn¡¯t. Didn¡¯t you tell me to not look for it anymore?¡±

    Old Mi frowned.

    Zu An felt a sinister chill sweep through his entire body. Old Mi was definitely using his consciousness to probe his belongings right then.

    Fortunately, he¡¯d stored the case within the Brilliant ss Bead. He would¡¯ve been exposed otherwise¡ªthe seal on the case would definitely have reacted to his consciousness.

    After a brief moment, Old Mi nodded. ¡°Indeed, indeed. It seems like my memory is worsening with age, heh heh...¡±

    He tottered away. No matter how one looked at him, he seemed like an ordinary old gardener.

    Zu An roamed around the estate as if he had business with some other people. Only after he was convinced that he had slipped free of Old Mi¡¯s suspicions did he sneak out of the Chu Estate.

    He purposely made several detours along the way. After he was sure no one was following him, he headed to the gazebo near the academy.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t contain a sigh when he saw that familiar gazebo. This was where he had first met Shang Liuyu. He hadn¡¯t expected that he would be meeting with another woman here today.

    ¡°Did you say something?¡± A sweet and pleasant voice drifted over. Pei Mianman had emerged from the darkness and was walking towards him.

    Zu An sighed. ¡°I¡¯m just d that you¡¯re fine. I was worried that you wouldn¡¯t be able to get away from that guy.¡±

    Pei Mianman smiled. ¡°I need to thank you for lighting that fire. If you hadn¡¯t, I might have been caught by him despite all of my preparations.¡±

    Just the thought of that man was enough to trigger some lingering fear within her.

    ¡°I did that on a whim. The fact that you were able to get away was all because of your own skill.¡± Zu Anughed.

    A sudden notification popped up.

    You have sessfully trolled Wei Dan for 358 Rage points!

    Wei Dan? This was probably the name of that mysterious expert from the Wei n.

    These Rage points probably came from his discovery that his courtyard had been set on fire. Thanks to the efforts of the Wei n servants, the damage had been minimal, as the fire had been put out quickly.

    He probably hadn¡¯t yet realized that the cases had been swapped, either. If he had, his anger would have been much more intense.

    ¡°Did you find what I was looking for?¡± Pei Mianman asked anxiously.

    Zu An took out a case. ¡°I only found this thing.¡±

    He was curious as to what was inside the case, but he couldn¡¯t find a way to open it. However, with her experience, he expected that Pei Mianman might recognize it, and might even have a way to open it.

    ¡°Hm?¡± Pei Mianman took the case from him and examined it.

    Zu An said, ¡°Be careful, there¡¯s a seal.¡±

    Pei Mianman smiled. ¡°That¡¯s nothing.¡±

    A small ck me appeared above her fingertip. Then, with a tap, the me spread out across the case in ayer. The film of light covering the case was quickly burned away.

    ¡°It¡¯s done!¡± The corners of Pei Mianman¡¯s lips curved upwards. She reached out a hand to open the case.

    ¡°Be careful!¡± Zu An quickly stopped her. This was something that Old Mi had been desperately searching for. He was worried that it might contain some hidden mechanism.

    Pei Mianman nodded. She ced the case on the ground, and the two of them stepped back a few meters. Pei Mianman sent a wave of gentle energy towards the case with a wave of her hand. The case was thrown open, as if by an invisible hand.

    The two of them waited for a while. When they saw that no hidden mechanisms had been triggered, they quickly rushed over to the case.

    The case was padded with ayer of soft material. In the center of the casey an object, wrapped in expensive brocade and tied with red string.

    Pei Mianman¡¯s heart sank. From the size of the package, there was no way it could be the tile she was looking for.

    Zu An undid the red string out of curiosity, and slowly unraveled the brocade. He was stunned. ¡°What is this thing?¡±

    Undoing the brocade had revealed a dark object, which resembled a sun-dried earthworm.

    When he recalled how serious Old Mi had been about acquiring this item, Zu An brought the case up to his nose and took a whiff. ¡°Is this some kind of miraculous medicine?¡±

    There was a hint of a medicinal odor, but it was extremely strange. It wasn¡¯t the same medicinal odor that he was familiar with from Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s ce.

    At thisment, Pei Mianman suddenly grew interested. She moved closer to him to examine it. ¡°I don¡¯t think it is. I don¡¯t sense the slightest ki fluctuation. It doesn¡¯t seem like a treasure at all.¡±

    ¡°This thing is definitely extremely important,¡± Zu An said decisively. If it weren¡¯t, Old Mi wouldn¡¯t have been constantly obsessed over it.

    ¡°Where did you find it?¡± Pei Mianman asked out of curiosity.

    ¡°There was a hiddenpartment underneath his bed. It was quite well-hidden, so it must be pretty important,¡± said Zu An.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Hidden underneath his bed...¡± Pei Mianman¡¯s brows drew together in a confused frown. A sudden thought struck her, and her face turnedpletely red. She threw the case away as if it were boiling hot.

    ¡°Hey, hey, hey! Be careful!¡± Panicked, Zu An rushed to catch it. He couldn¡¯t help but ask her, ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    Pei Mianman turned around and snorted. Her face was still red. ¡°That thing is what you men consider your treasure.¡±

    He rarely saw her this embarrassed, which only stoked his curiosity further. ¡°Do you know what it is?¡±

    He brought it closer to his eyes while saying this.

    Pei Mianman was mortified as she saw him bring it all the way up to his nose again. She couldn¡¯t hold herself back any longer and said, ¡°Wait, stop! That¡¯s... that¡¯s a eunuch¡¯s... the source of a eunuch¡¯s distress...¡±

    ¡°Source of distress?¡± Zu An didn¡¯t seem to understand her at first. He was just about to probe further, but realization struck him. He too tossed the case away as if it were burning his fingers. ¡°God damn it!¡±

    He felt his stomach churn as he recalled how he had been turning it over and over in amusement, and how he¡¯d even taken a strong sniff of it. He ran over to the bushes and threw up.

    His behavior improved Pei Mianman¡¯s mood dramatically. She even patted his back gently.

    Zu An was almost lost for words. ¡°Sis, couldn¡¯t you have told me that a little sooner?!¡±

    ¡°I only just realized it as well!¡± Pei Mianman¡¯s face turned red. ¡°Besides, you¡¯re the man here. Why didn¡¯t you recognize it first?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face darkened further. ¡°I¡¯m used to seeing soaring eagles! Why would I recognize this dried-up earthworm?¡±

    He felt more and more grossed out.

    Pei Mianman roared withughter. ¡°It¡¯s probably because some court eunuchs are castrated at a young age. They preserve their members with all sorts of medicines to prevent it from decaying. After drying it out, I believe that only... that much of it is left over.¡±

    Zu An was speechless for a moment.

    Even though he knew that eunuchs existed, it was still a rather distant concept to him. How could he have known?

    Pei Mianman suddenly grew anxious. ¡°Eunuchs always care a lot... about these treasures. When they are buried, these things need to be buried together with them, to symbolize that their bodies are whole. Only then can they beplete in the next life. These things are usually preserved carefully within the pce, and can¡¯t be removed by anyone. Eunuch Wei must hold special status in the pce. The emperor likely showed him favor and allowed him to keep this himself.

    ¡°This means that you¡¯ve stolen his treasure. Once he finds out, he won''t let this rest until you are dead. Should we find a chance to return it?¡±

    This thing waspletely useless to anyone else, but it was a sore spot for all eunuchs. It was enough to drive thempletely mad! The risks of keeping it werepletely disproportionate to the benefits.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I did something to make sure that the theft isn¡¯t immediately discovered.¡± Zu An had a strange expression on his face. After putting these clues together, a sudden revtion came to him. Many things that were beyond his understanding before seemed to make much more sense now.

 Chapter 354: Two-Person Operation

    <h4>Chapter 354: Two-Person Operation</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    If this thing wasn¡¯t Wei Dan¡¯s, it probably belonged to Old Mi!

    No wonder Old Mi always had a strange smell on him as well, although it was a little more faint. He hadn¡¯t thought about it too much before, since older people always had a bit of a scent about them.

    Now that he thought about it, the smell was extremely simr to the smell in Wei Dan¡¯s room!

    Old Mi had probably asked Zu An to approach the Wei n because he wanted him to gather information on Wei Dan¡¯s movements.

    Wei Dan was probably a recent arrival in Brightmoon City, and Old Mi was probably his target.

    Zu An presumed that Old Mi had fled the Imperial Pce because of something that happened in the past. He¡¯d been living incognito as a gardener in the Chu n to throw off his pursuers.

    However, despite hiding out for so many years, the Imperial Pce had still managed to pick up some clues as to his whereabouts. That was why Wei Dan hade to Brightmoon City.

    However, Wei Dan didn¡¯t know exactly where Old Mi was, or he would havee after him already.

    Zu An suddenly realized why Wei Dan¡¯s expression had been slightly strange when they¡¯d met previously. He had used the Sunflower Phantasm in front of everyone during the ns Tournament. Someone had probably recognized it and informed Wei Dan.

    The ck eyes sported by the academy teachers recently were probably a result of Wei Dan¡¯s investigation.

    Now that his investigation into the academy was more or less wrapped up, the Chu n was likely to be his next target.

    He felt regret that he was the one responsible for exposing Old Mi, after he had hidden out here for so much of his life.

    His first reaction was to find Old Mi and warn him to be more careful. However, he had lingering doubts as to whether that old man was friend or foe, which gave him pause.

    Forget it, I¡¯ll wait for the situation to y out, then act ordingly.

    ¡°What¡¯s up with you?¡± Pei Mianman was a bit worried by the series of changes in Zu An¡¯s expression.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Zu An forced a smile. ¡°It¡¯s unfortunate that we didn¡¯t find your tile.¡±

    Pei Mianman sighed. ¡°That was to be expected. He probably carries it on him.¡±

    Zu An felt a shock run through him. ¡°Don¡¯t be reckless. There¡¯s no way for you to get it if he keeps it with him.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Pei Mianman smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Do I look that stupid? Of course I won¡¯t do something that dangerous.¡±

    Her tone of voice clearly indicated that she wouldn¡¯t be giving up on her search for the tile. Zu An wanted to say something else, but hesitated. Forget it, I won¡¯t be able to convince her otherwise. She knows what she is doing, and she won¡¯t throw her life away.

    Pei Mianman was just about to say something when she suddenly noticed that Zu An picked up the dried, shriveled-up thing. She was rmed. ¡°What do you need that for?¡±

    ¡°Who knows, it mighte in useful one day.¡± Zu An smiled. He stowed it back in the case, and then put the case away.

    ¡°Gross!¡± Pei Mianman said in disgust. She couldn¡¯t take any more of this. With a light tap of her toes, her figure disappeared into the night.

    Zu An smiled. There were many things he couldn¡¯t exin to her. This thing might juste in handy at a crucial moment. How could he just throw it away?

    ...

    It was alreadyte into the night by the time he returned to the Chu n estate. Zu An went to the Unvoiced Residence, but unfortunately, the beauty who called this ce home was already gone. A cold emptiness seemed to fill therge space.

    Zu An released a long sigh. He missed the feeling of sleeping next to his lovely wife.

    Chu Chuyan wouldn¡¯t be back for a long time. It seemed like he was going to have to live like a monk for a while.

    ...

    Two peaceful days passed. On the third day, Zu An didn¡¯t go to the academy, but sought out Qin Wanru privately instead. ¡°Madam, there is something I need your help with.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Qin Wanru was surprised. Why was this guy being so mysterious?

    Zu An said ¡°I¡¯ve discovered the whereabouts of the stolen salt permits.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Qin Wanru stood suddenly. The reason the Chu n was in such dire straits was because of those salt permits. How could she remain calm? ¡°Where are those salt permits? I will send men over and seize them back at once!¡±

    Zu An was floored by her sudden outburst.

    It took him a while to find his voice again. ¡°I didn¡¯t tell Madam this before because I was worried that Madam would get too worked up. If we send in our troops, we will scare off our quarry before we even get there. How could we possibly get back our salt permits then?¡±

    Qin Wanru frowned. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°I have reliable information on where the salt permits will be tonight, but we might scare them away if we send our guards in.¡±

    Qin Wanru furrowed her brow. Zu An¡¯s words made a lot of sense. ¡°What do you have in mind, then?¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°The two of us should go undercover and find a chance to seize those salt permits back. We¡¯ll keep this matter top secret.¡±

    ¡°The two of us?¡± Qin Wanru was shocked.

    Zu An nodded. ¡°I could do this alone, but my level of cultivation is still quite low. It would be much safer to have an expert at my side. Considering my options, the most trustworthy person in all of the Chu Estate is still your respected self.¡±

    Qin Wanru snorted. ¡°You probably wouldn¡¯t have told me about the salt permits if you didn¡¯t need me along as backup.¡±

    Zu Anughed awkwardly. ¡°I just don¡¯t want to alert the enemy by ident.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure that the two of us can take on this matter by ourselves?¡± Qin Wanru asked.

    She knew that whoever had gotten their hands on these salt permits was definitely no ordinary organization. Even though her cultivation was quite high, she was hardly the strongest one in Brightmoon City.

    Zu An smiled ambiguously. ¡°Is Madam afraid?¡±

    Qin Wanru¡¯s temper red. ¡°What kind of joke is this? Why would I be scared?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Wanru for 111 Rage points.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help butugh. This woman really was easily irritated. She had taken his bait so easily. ¡°There is no need for Madam to worry. We¡¯ll scare them away if our party is toorge. Two people is perfect. I have other arrangements as well.¡±

    ¡°Other arrangements?¡± Qin Wanru was stunned.

    ¡°I¡¯ll exin along the way. Let¡¯s make a move first.¡± Zu An said.

    ¡°Fine!¡± Qin Wanru got up to leave.

    However, Zu An stopped her. ¡°Madam, I fear that your current outfit isn¡¯t suitable.¡±

    Qin Wanru was currently dressed in the splendid clothes of a duchess, an outfit that dripped with extravagance and grandeur. She would be the focal point of everyone¡¯s attention no matter where she went. How could she be part of this operation in such a getup?

    ¡°Give me a moment.¡± Qin Wanru left the room quickly.

    Just as Zu An was beginning to feel bored, Qin Wanru¡¯s voice came from behind him. ¡°I¡¯m ready.¡±

    Zu An turned around, and was stunned by what he saw. Qin Wanru¡¯s figure-hugging outfit was simple, without any embroidery. Even the phoenix headdress she usually wore was gone.

    Her meticulously-coiled hair was casually bound up.

    Compared to her usual grace and elegance, there was the air of youthful beauty about her.

    Her wonderful figure was vividly on disy, entuated by the cut of her clothing.

    Qin Wanru frowned. ¡°What are you looking at?!¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°This is the first time I¡¯ve seen this side of Madam. If I didn¡¯t know better, I would¡¯ve thought that you were Chuyan and Huanzhao¡¯s big sister.¡±

    ¡°What a slick tongue! No wonder Chuyan was deceived by you.¡± Qin Wanru scoffed. However, a slight smile lingered in her eyes. Which woman didn¡¯t enjoy being praised by others for looking young and pretty? His tone had even sounded quite sincere just now.

    The two of them didn¡¯t leave through the main entrance to avoid drawing attention, but jumped over a remote courtyard wall instead.

    Qin Wanru checked her surroundings. Satisfied that no one was about, she turned to Zu An and asked, ¡°Where are we going now?¡±

    ¡°The River Patrol barracks!¡± Zu An said quietly.

    ¡°The River Patrol barracks?¡± Qin Wanru¡¯s face darkened. ¡°That¡¯s where the salt permits are?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not it.¡± Zu An shook his head. ¡°Wasn¡¯t the Madam worried that the two of us might not be enough? We¡¯ll need their strength as backup.¡±

    Qin Wanru frowned. ¡°You didn¡¯t want me to bring the Red Cloak Army, but you¡¯re seeking out the River Patrol Army. Won¡¯t they be scared away all the same? Those River Patrol Army soldiers are all good-for-nothing. How can theypare to our Chu n¡¯s Red Cloak Army?¡±

 Chapter 355: What the Hell

    <h4>Chapter 355: What the Hell</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Does Madam really think that Sang Qian will order his troops toe along with us?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°Of course he...¡± Qin Wanru suddenly understood what he was implying. The salt permits belonged to the Chu n and Wang n. If Sang Qian led his troops in a sessful operation to recover them, then the salt permits would, by all ounts, have to be returned to their rightful owners.

    That would mean that the Chu n would make it through the current crisis effortlessly. How could the Sang n possibly tolerate such an oue?

    However, if the Sang n didn¡¯t do anything about this, they would have to worry about these salt permits somehow ending up back in the hands of the Chu n. They wouldn¡¯t want to see that happen either.

    There was only one possibility left¡ªthe safest thing to do would be to get the salt permits into their own hands. Since they couldn¡¯t openly use the River Patrol troops to do so, they would most likely dispatch a few trusted aides to handle the matter.

    Qin Wanru couldn¡¯t help but give Zu An another look. This fellow didn¡¯t seem at all like that good-for-nothing she always thought he was!

    ¡°Why is Madam looking at me? Even though I¡¯m married, I still get embarrassed if you look at me like that.¡± Zu An touched his face as though he was feeling shy about the whole thing.

    Qin Wanru gritted her teeth.

    This guy was still as annoying as before!

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Wanru for 123 Rage points!

    Zu An was afraid that her temper would get the better of her. He said in a panic, ¡°Madam, I need you to leave Sang Qian a letter, so that Sang Qian won¡¯t be in the dark about these salt permits. My level of cultivation is too low, and I might be discovered if I go inside.¡±

    Qin Wanru¡¯splexion eased considerably at his indirect praise. She grabbed the letter with a snort and said cockily, ¡°Watch me take care of this!¡±

    Choosing a remote section, she snuck into the River Patrol barracks.

    Her heart was pounding. She had done such risky things often when she had been young, but her life as a duchess had been too pampered. There was always another person around to take care of things. Because of this, she had even neglected her cultivation a bit.

    She was worried that she might be discovered, but this excitement made her feel as if she was young again...

    Zu An remained waiting outside. A whileter, Qin Wanru finally came back out.

    He went up to her immediately. ¡°So? Did you sessfully notify him?¡±

    Qin Wanru snorted. ¡°It¡¯s such a simple matter. Why wouldn¡¯t I be able to take care of it?¡± She looked rxed on the outside, but her heart was pounding crazily. She had almost been discovered several times, but thankfully, those soldiers were nowhere near elite. If they had beenpetent enough, she might not have made it back out.

    Zu An gave her a thumbs-up. ¡°Madam is formidable after all!¡±

    Qin Wanru felt her face burning at Zu An¡¯s constant stream of praise. ¡°Enough already! Where to next?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re attending an auction.¡± Zu An fished out an invitation letter. He¡¯d received this letter from Qiu Honglei.

    Qin Wanru took it and looked it over a few times. She couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Where did you get this thing from?¡±

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°I have my ways. I promised that person that I wouldn¡¯t leak out their identity.¡±

    Qin Wanru didn¡¯t probe further. Instead, she said with a snort, ¡°It seems like you know quite a number of people.¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°What can I say? I¡¯m just too friendly and approachable. I¡¯ve ended up with a bunch of friends without even realizing it.¡±

    Qin Wanru stared at him, speechless.

    Why does this fellow always seem like he needs a beating?

    The auction was located within a remote residence to the north of the city. However, the ce wasn¡¯t all cold and cheerless. Bright lights were visible even from far away, illuminating human-sized silhouettes which moved about within.

    Qin Wanru was just about to head in when Zu An grabbed her hand.

    ¡°What is it now?¡± Qin Wanru looked at his hand in displeasure.

    ¡°Is Madam going to enter just like that?¡± Zu An said with a bitter smile.

    ¡°Is there a problem?¡± Qin Wanru was confused.

    Zu An considered his words carefully. ¡°Even though you¡¯ve changed your clothes, your face is still the same! Don¡¯t you know how famous the duchess of Brightmoon City is? Not to mention that you¡¯re gorgeous as well. You''ll definitely be the target of everyone¡¯s attention even in these ordinary clothes. Wouldn¡¯t our ns bepletely ruined if someone recognized you?¡±

    His constant ttery was most pleasing to Qin Wanru. Of course, she also cared about the sess or failure of this mission, so she hurriedly asked, ¡°What can we do, then?¡±

    Zu An thought for a moment, then passed her a mask. ¡°Wear this mask. It¡¯ll make you look like an ordinary person.¡±

    This was something he had gotten from Chen Xuan¡¯s corpse. These masks had allowed the bandit chief to evade the attentions of both the Chu n and the Brightmoon City authorities.

    Qin Wanru took the thin mask from him. She let out a faint exmation. ¡°Only the best runemasters can make such masks! Where did you get something like this?¡±

    Zu An waved his hand. ¡°Haven¡¯t I already told you that I have a lot of friends?¡±

    Qin Wanru said nothing this time. She waspletely baffled. Where did this guy get all these connections?

    Not even Chu Zhongtian or herself could get an invitation letter to such an auction. And now, he even had such a mask in his possession!

    When she put on the mask, a cold sensation spread across her face. The runes on its surface glowed blue for a moment, and then the mask began to change appearance based on her facial structure, finally adhering closely to her face.

    Qin Wanru took out a mirror. An unfamiliar face stared back at her. She was shocked and amazed.

    Zu An sneered inwardly. Why did women always carry mirrors on them? ¡°Madam, I must apologize about how ordinary this mask makes your face seem. However, this is better for us. We need to maintain a low profile during this operation.¡±

    Even he was amazed at Chen Xuan¡¯s masks. It made the wearer neither too attractive nor too ugly. After all, being too ugly would draw attention as well.

    The mask gave its wearer a perfectly in face¡ªone that would draw no attention in a crowd.

    Qin Wanru seemed perfectly indifferent. ¡°Why would I care about something like that?¡±

    With that, she strode off towards the entrance to the auction house.

    Zu An quickly put on a mask of his own and followed her.

    Qin Wanru gave him a few good looks, just so that she could remember his new face. She didn¡¯t want to end up losing him inside.

    The two of them arrived outside the residence, and were promptly stopped by some guards.

    Zu An took out the invitation letter. After it was carefully examined, they were let inside.

    ¡°The people behind this auction are definitely bigshots! Even the weakest of those guards was at the fourth rank,¡± Qin Wanru said quietly.

    Zu An nodded, a serious expression on his face. ¡°Exactly. That¡¯s why we have to be careful. It¡¯ll be really bad if we were discovered.¡±

    Qin Wanru acknowledged this, her eyes vigntly scanning their surroundings.

    Zu An gave her a warning look. ¡°Madam, act more natural. If you keep doing that, everyone will know that you¡¯re here to pick a fight.¡±

    Qin Wanru blushed. Fortunately, it was blocked by the mask.

    ¡°By the way, Madam has lived in Brightmoon City for so long. Do you know who controls the city¡¯s ck market?¡± Zu An asked. He¡¯d been wanting to know what organization was behind Qiu Honglei for a long time now. Unfortunately, with his limited knowledge of this world, he couldn¡¯t even begin to guess.

    Qin Wanru shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I thought that the Plum Blossom Sect was the one operating it, but it now seems like that wasn¡¯t the case.¡±

    In the eyes of nobles like her, the ck market was part of the underground. Since these denizens never went too far or caused any huge ruckus, everyone turned a blind eye to them. She herself had never paid much attention to such affairs.

    A provocative whistle suddenly came from behind them, followed by pervertedughter.

    ¡°Check her out! Damn!¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think I''d bump into a babe like this here!¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go take a look.¡±

    ...

    Several salivating hooligans walked around them and stopped in front of them.

    ¡°What the hell man, how can you be that ugly with a body like that?¡±

    Qin Wanru¡¯s eyes grew wide.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

 Chapter 356: Do You Know Who I Am?

    <h4>Chapter 356: Do You Know Who I Am?</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    In truth, the mask did not make Qin Wanru look ugly¡ªher face was just in. However, her impressive curves had made their minds go wild, and the contrast between expectation and reality had left them hugely disappointed. That was why they subconsciously felt that she was ugly.

    As a duchess, everyone took extra care to be respectful around her, fearful of offending her.

    No ordinary man would be able to get close to her. The few who could wouldn¡¯t even dare to stare at her for too long. When had she ever been criticized by a group of men like this?

    Not only that, they had even dared to call her ugly! Even though she knew it was because of the mask she was wearing, she found it difficult to endure such humiliation.

    Just then, someone else spoke up.

    ¡°I think she looks all right¡ªat least, she¡¯s not as bad as you say. I can sense a certain noble temperament from her as well. I appreciate that in a woman..¡±

    ¡°How could you even call this type of shit ¡®noble¡¯? Are you blind?¡±

    ¡°You may be right... She does seem to carry herself slightly differently from other women.¡±

    ¡°Screw it man! With that body, who gives a crap about her face? I¡¯ll definitely hit it!¡±

    ...

    Zu An could see that Qin Wanru was so angry, her entire body was shaking. He was surprised that she hadn¡¯t blown up yet, given her personality. She was probably controlling herself so that they wouldn¡¯t end up scaring their targets away.

    However, these dudes were surely taking things a little too far. Zu An coughed and stood in front of her. ¡°Fes, did you eat shit today beforeing here? Why are your mouths so disgusting?¡±

    When had those people ever heard such destructive words before? All of them erupted simultaneously.

    You have sessfully trolled Ji Wuli for 765 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled Chen Bo for 765 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled Jin Zhu for 765 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled Long Zi for 765 Rage points!

    Qin Wanru was so angry that smoke seemed to being out of her nose and ears, but she smiled when she heard this. She¡¯d always felt like Zu An ran his mouth too often, but it seemed quite adorable today.

    ¡°Screw you, brat! Do you know who we are?!¡± The four furious hooligans leaned towards the two of them hatefully.

    ¡°Please enlighten us,¡± Qin Wanru said coldly. These four definitely seemed easy enough to provoke.

    ¡°We are East Cheapo, West Lewd, South Pervert, and North Wastrel!¡± Each of them assumed a pose after introducing themselves. They had definitely spent a lot of time practicing this.

    Qin Wanru was stunned speechless.

    Even Zu An stared at them in a daze.

    He hadn¡¯t expected this world to have such silly but amusing characters.

    ¡°I can tell that these names really do suit the four of you.¡± Zu An¡¯s sigh was full of admiration.

    ¡°Now that you know who we are, just leave the woman and walk away quietly! Even though she is a little ugly, she¡¯s got a perfect body. We brothers will reluctantly ept it,¡± Ji Wuli said.

    Qin Wanru was about to explode. She really wanted to chop these people up and feed them to the dogs.

    Zu An turned their question back on them. ¡°Do you four know who I am?¡± he asked coldly.

    They were taken aback by his sudden domineering tone. ¡°We do not. Your distinguished one is?¡±

    ¡°I guess there¡¯s no need to worry then, since you all don¡¯t know me.¡± Zu An moved before he even finished his sentence. His figure split into several afterimages. All four of them were smacked in the face.

    After Mi Li¡¯s modification, his Sunflower Phantasm had be even more formidable. He could now move even faster.

    How could an ordinary person possibly react in time? The most that any of them saw was a blur, and then their mouths suddenly hurt. All four flew through the air and fell to the ground.

    Qin Wanru¡¯s eyes grew as wide as saucers. Not even she could see how Zu An had aplished this in that split second.

    She hadn¡¯t expected him to make a move so quickly as either. Didn¡¯t they just agree to maintain a low profile, to avoid attracting any attention?

    The four louts were all stunned, their heads ringing. They worked their jaws individually, and each of them spat out a few teeth.

    ¡°You... you... actually dare to provoke the four of us brothers? Aren¡¯t you afraid we will retaliate?!¡± All four of them pointed at Zu An and showered him with curses. They tried to climb to their feet, but they were still slightly dizzy from getting smacked.

    Zu Anughed loudly. ¡°You don¡¯t even know who I am! How are you going to retaliate?¡± With that, he grabbed Qin Wanru and ran inside.

    The four of them were left lying on the ground, questioning the meaning of life. This guy made so much sense! There was nothing they could say to rebut him.

    This only fueled their anger further.

    You have sessfully trolled Ji Wuli for 888 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled Chen Bo for 888 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled Jin Zhu for 888 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled Long Zi for 888 Rage points!

    Qin Wanru followed Zu An inside. They quickly found a ce within the crowd to sit. She couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that we should keep a low profile, and not cause any sort of trouble?¡±

    Zu An sighed. ¡°I couldn¡¯t just stand by and let them bully you like that, could I?¡±

    Qin Wanru was stunned. She found herself lost in her own thoughts. She remembered times gone by, when Chu Zhongtian had protected her like this as well, in their younger days.

    After she had be a duchess, there had been no need for her to take any risks. She hadn¡¯t experienced being protected like this for many years.

    She quickly cleared her mind, and pulled her hand out of his without batting an eyelid. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t this draw attention to us?¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. There weren¡¯t many others present, and we managed to leave quickly. I don¡¯t think we drew too much attention.¡±

    Qin Wanru exhaled in relief.

    More guests began to enter the auction hall, and the four louts who had osted them came in as well, searching all over for them.

    However, this was a special auction, and so every guest was granted their own independent space. The actions of those four quickly drew the attention of the staff, who were clearly displeased. Some guards stepped forward to restrain the four of them and led them away. They were either brought to a different section of the hall, or escorted out of the residencepletely.

    Soon afterwards, a slender and pretty young woman walked on stage to dere the start of the auction. Quite a few people whistled when they saw her.

    Zu An hardly batted an eyelid. After all, there were always beauties at his side. Even though this woman wasn¡¯t bad at all, she still paled inparison to the gorgeous women that he was used to.

    Even her figure couldn¡¯t match up to Qin Wanru¡¯s.

    Huh? Something feels strange...

    The auction began, and arge variety of goods were brought out. The crowd grew heated as they bid against each other. Even Zu An felt tempted to bid on some of the items. However, he forced himself to focus on the reason why they hade in the first ce.

    The item they were waiting for finally appeared. When the crowd learned that it was a huge batch of salt permits, gasps were heard from all directions.

    The crowd was clearly aware of the difficulties that were facing the Chu n. To secure these permits would be to offend the Chu n.

    However, those who had been invited to participate in the auction all had considerable powers backing them. Some had even been notified in advance that these permits would be up for auction.

    Within moments, someone called out a price. A second soon followed, and soon, the bidding had kicked into full swing.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    In this age, salt represented money. With these salt permits, anyone who controlled them could legally sell illicit salt. They could make a killing without incurring much cost!

    The price slowly climbed higher and higher.

    Even Qin Wanru couldn¡¯t resist the urge to throw out a bid. After all, buying back the salt permits would definitely be cheaper than paying out the sixteen million taels of silver that they owed. The costs would still be justified.

    Zu An stopped her. ¡°These are ours to begin with¡ªwhy do we have to spend money to acquire them? Don¡¯t worry, someone will give them to us soon.¡±

    As soon as the words left his mouth, a group ofrge men stormed in from outside, led by none other than Sang Qian. He looked around him and spoke with a clear, ringing voice. ¡°I¡¯ve received a report that an illegal transaction is being carried out here. I¡¯vee here to seize these illegal goods. Those uninvolved, please step aside immediately.¡±

 Chapter 357: Rob and Kill

    <h4>Chapter 357: Rob and Kill</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    A hugemotion broke out. No one in the crowd had ever thought they would run into something like this!

    Those who were more cowardly fled straight away. Those with more notable backgrounds or higher levels of cultivation decided to stay and watch how things would pan out.

    Those working for the ck market dealer were all shocked. Many guards secretly surrounded the auction hall.

    The young woman in charge of the auction shook her head in their direction. Then, she forced a smile and walked towards Sang Qian. ¡°My lord, surely there has been some misunderstanding here. All of our activities have been cleared with the authorities.¡±

    She slipped him a stack of banknotes as she said this.

    The ck market in Brightmoon City had flourished for so many years. To do so, it had to build up significant connections with government officials. Bribes had been paid out beforehand, and more bribe money had been prepared for tonight¡¯s auction, just in case.

    Sang Qian pushed her away. ¡°Don¡¯t bother trying such tricks on me. Search this ce!¡±

    ¡°Yes sir!¡± Those subordinates instantly leapt on stage. Everything else in the auction had already been sold. The salt permits were the only item left.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Qin Wanru was shocked. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that he wouldn¡¯t bring all his men with him? What¡¯s going on here?¡± she asked quietly.

    Zu An pointed out their clothing. ¡°Take a look. None of them are wearing official uniforms. All of them are in casual wear. Also, the first thing Sang Qian said was that he had been notified of the presence of illegal goods¡ªhe didn¡¯t mention salt permits at all. It¡¯s obvious that they want to deal with this matter quietly.¡±

    The female host¡¯s expression grew ugly. ¡°Commander Sang, this is not in ordance with regtions!¡±

    It was crucial for all those in her field to be familiar with all the important individuals within the city. Sang Qian¡¯s own status¡ªnot to mention his father¡¯s¡ªwas enough to make him a well known figure in the city. It wasn¡¯t a surprise that she recognized him.

    ¡°How is this against regtions? I am responsible for arresting thieves. If all you have done is in ordance with thew, then you have nothing to worry about. We have no intention of wronging anyone, but we will not let criminals run free.¡± Sang Qian spoke with a bold and righteous attitude.

    Those working for the ck market were clearly agitated by this. Many of them were so angry that they wanted to dash up and confront Sang Qian, but they were stopped by theirpanions.

    Seeing that Sang Qian wasn¡¯t messing about, the ck market dealers seemed to ept their fate. The guests who had stayed behind couldn¡¯t do so any longer, and they quickly left, one after another.

    Zu An grabbed Qin Wanru. ¡°We¡¯re leaving!¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re leaving just like that?¡± Qin Wanru was stunned. She wasn¡¯t even in the mood to berate Zu An for grabbing her so disrespectfully.

    ¡°No one will notice if we leave now, but we¡¯ll draw attention if we stay behind,¡± Zu An exined. ¡°Besides, this is not the ce where these two parties will fight it out.¡±

    Qin Wanru couldn¡¯t believe her ears. ¡°Do you really think that these ck marketeers will move against Sang Qian?¡±

    ¡°Not openly, they won¡¯t, but no one knows what they will do in secret.¡± Qiu Honglei had warned him earnestly against making a move against them. Clearly, the organization she worked for was not one to take such provocation lying down.

    These salt permits were worth a few million taels of silver, after all. More importantly, Sang Qian had crossed the line.

    If they did nothing, the ck market¡¯s reputation would bepletely ruined.

    This reputation was perhaps even more important than the several million taels of silver.

    Unfortunately, Sang Qian didn¡¯t know any of this. Clearly, as Qin Wanru had said earlier, the nobles of Brightmoon City didn¡¯t think much of the ck marketeers.

    None of them knew that there was such a formidable power backing them.

    Sigh, this is what happens when your information isn¡¯t urate.

    Zu An and Qin Wanru departed the residence. However, they didn¡¯t go far. They found a hiding spot close by, in the branches of arge tree.

    Even though Qin Wanru wasn¡¯t fully convinced, Zu An sounded so confident that she was willing to go along with him.

    They hid within the tree and waited. Qin wanru¡¯s eyes suddenly narrowed¡ªthe four who had mistreated her earlier hade into view.

    ¡°Damn it, I didn¡¯t expect officials to show up. I wanted to find that ugly chick.¡±

    ¡°Yo, I thought she was kind of ugly before as well, but the more I think about her, the more I seem to want her. Isn¡¯t that strange?¡±

    ¡°Heh, with that kind of ass and chest, who cares about the face?¡±

    ¡°That woman is a ripe honey peach, nice and juicy. I bet ying with her will feel amazing! I¡¯m getting jealous of that man next to her. He must be living in heaven every day!¡±

    Zu An was slightly embarrassed. These fes¡¯ mouths were absolutely filthy, but he didn¡¯t have any long range moves that he could employ against them to shut them up.

    Qin Wanru¡¯s anger was so great that her face turned a deathly white. Ripping a few leaves off the tree, she flicked them forward with her fingers. Trailing streaks of green light, they shot through the darkness.

    Zu An was left in awe. As expected of a sixth rank expert! There was no way he could pull off something like that.

    ¡°Ah! My butt!¡±

    ¡°Who hit me?!¡±

    ¡°My waist!¡±

    ¡°Damn it! Who hit me in the face! I¡¯ve lost more teeth...¡±

    The four louts screamed in rage, looking around frantically to no avail.

    ¡°Ghosts don¡¯t exist... do they?¡±

    ¡°Bro, I felt a chill run down my spine just now.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here!¡±

    ...

    Zu An was a bit surprised to see them get away. ¡°Madam, why didn¡¯t you kill them?¡±

    ¡°Do I look like such a ferocious woman to you?¡± Qin Wanru scoffed in annoyance. ¡°Even though they are despicable, they don¡¯t deserve death. It¡¯s enough to teach them a lesson.¡±

    Zu Anughed. ¡°You have such a sharp mouth, Madam. I never expected you to have a heart as soft as tofu!¡±

    Qin Wanru¡¯s face grew red. ¡°Shut up, someone¡¯sing.¡±

    Zu An peered through the gaps in the leaves. Sure enough, Sang Qian¡¯s group walked into view, escorting a cart with severalrge chests inside. These were most likely the salt permits.

    ¡°Strange... they didn¡¯t arrest a single person.¡± Qin Wanru¡¯s cultivation was higher than his, so her eyesight was naturally sharper. She swept her gaze across the entire group of them.

    Zu An took a moment to analyze the situation. ¡°Sang Qian probably doesn¡¯t want to escte this matter any further. He¡¯s letting the ck marketeers know that he won¡¯t touch their men, but he wants those goods. He wants them to admit defeat.¡±

    Qin Wanru gave him a look. His analysis was incredibly sharp. He was nothing like that muddle-headed idiot she thought he was!

    Hmph! He was probably just putting on an act before! I can¡¯t believe he actually deceived me!

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Wanru for 379 Rage points!

    Zu An was stunned. Why did she get angry at him out of nowhere?

    ¡°We¡¯re following them!¡± Qin Wanru was still annoyed at being constantly dragged around by Zu An, so she decided to take the initiative this time. She grabbed his cor and followed Sang Qian¡¯s men quietly.

    They were still within the city limits. Even though this neighborhood was more remote, there were still homes along the streets that they could use as cover. Although she was dragging someone with her, they didn¡¯t give away their presence.

    Zu An was crying inside. He had been hoisted by the cor, and was being carried around like a little chick!

    Qin Wanru was weighing her options. Sang Qian was only at the fifth rank. Even with a group of subordinates, she still had an even chance to seize the salt permits.

    Not to mention, she had Zu An to help her.

    The size of the chests was the biggest issue. It would be difficult for them to haul them back to the estate.

    Zu An noticed how eager she was to jump in, and he was quick to caution her. ¡°Don¡¯t be anxious, someone wille.¡±

    Suddenly, as if his words were some sort of confirmation, a volley of arrows flew towards Sang Qian¡¯s group.

    Sang Qian drew his de in an instant to deflect the oing arrows, but he couldn¡¯t block all of them. A number of subordinates behind him were struck down.

    A group of ck-clothed men leapt out from behind the houses around them, their des glinting in the moonlight. They charged straight in.

    Sang Qian¡¯s voice was strained with anger, and shot through with more than a hint of rm. ¡°Name yourselves! Attacking a court official is an offence that can lead to the eradication of your n!¡±

    The ck-d individuals remained silent. They werepletely focused on cutting down the people in front of them. Every single strike from one of these attackers hit a vital point of their opponents¡¯.

    Almost all of Sang Qian¡¯s men were wounded in this first exchange, and several lost their lives immediately.

    Qin Wanru was shocked. ¡°Where did these ck-d mene from? Their individual cultivations are even higher than that of the soldiers in the Red Cloak Army!¡±

 Chapter 358: A Good Deed

    <h4>Chapter 358: A Good Deed</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An was surprised to learn that nearly every single one of these ck-d men were at the fourth rank. As cultivators at the fourth rank, all of them were strong enough to be considered for positions of authority in a small county!

    In other words, the strength of these ck-d men were about the same as his own, perhaps even higher. After all, he had just broken through to the fourth rank.

    Sang Qian had brought his trusted aides with him this time, and not those River Patrol Army idiots. If they¡¯d been here, they would probably have been wiped out in that first exchange.

    Even so, Sang Qian¡¯s group seemed no match for these ck-d men. Their levels of cultivation were high, and their attacks were vicious.

    Sang Qian roared in anger as his subordinates fell one after another. ¡°Go to hell, you thieves!¡±

    He swung the long de of his sword at them. mes raged across the de¡¯s surface, extending forward to form a forty-meter long saber. It swept ferociously through the ck-d attackers.

    The attackers scattered, frantically trying to evade this deadly blow. A few of them were unable to dodge in time, and were cleaved in two by the de. Those men who were still conscious after suffering such deep wounds screamed miserably as the merciless mes continued to burn their flesh.

    Zu An was stupefied. He couldn¡¯t wrap his head around just how long this de was. If Sang Qian knew what I¡¯ve been doing to Zheng Dan, I might be the one attacked by this forty-meter de. Would I even be able to dodge something like this?

    Those two are really ipatible, though. Zheng Dan wields the water element, while he wields the fire element.

    ¡°Even though these ck-d attackers have a decent level of cultivation, Sang Qian is clearly much stronger,¡± Qin Wanru observed. ¡°The gap in strength between fourth and fifth rank isn¡¯t something that can be bridged through sheer numbers. Not to mention, Sang Qian is considered a powerhouse even among fifth ranked cultivators.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m sure there¡¯s more to these attackers than just these men.¡± Zu An knew how mysterious Qiu Honglei¡¯s background was, and he was confident in this statement.

    As soon as he said this, antern was lit nearby. It was a smallntern, and emitted a weak yellow light.

    However, as soon as it appeared, a strange and suffocating pressure suddenly seemed to weigh down on Sang Qian.

    Sang Qian instantly felt as if he had been mired in a swamp. Even the air around him seemed to have be sticky. The easiest of movements now seemed to require several times the strength just to execute.

    His ferocious de of me slowed as well, as if it was moving in slow motion.

    As expected of a duchess, Qin Wanru was quick to realize what sort of artifact thentern was. ¡°Thatntern should be a magic weapon with movement-restricting effects. I wonder who this amazing weapon belongs to!¡±

    Zu An was rmed. ¡°Movement restriction? Isn¡¯t that overpowered? You could use it to freeze your enemy and kill him!¡±

    Qin Wanru shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s not that easy. The strength of its effects depends on the difference in cultivation between the two parties. If it was used on a weaker cultivator like you, it¡¯s possible you might not be able to move even a single finger.¡±

    Zu An sulked. Thank you so much for exining this to me. But did you have to roast me as well?

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°As for those with higher cultivations, it will only cause their movements to slow down,¡± Qin Wanru added. ¡°Of course, if we consider those with even higher levels of cultivation, thisntern might not do much to them at all.¡±

    ¡°What if it were used on you?¡± Zu An asked curiously.

    Qin Wanru¡¯s face went red. She stared at him for a moment, open-mouthed.

    Why can¡¯t you hold a conversation like a regr person?

    ¡°It¡¯ll probably have some effect on me,¡± Qin Wanru finally said with a huff.

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Wanru for 233 Rage points!

    Zu An sneered. Women are all so petty.

    He quickly shifted his gaze back to thatntern. Why did it look so familiar?

    Another man wearing ck jumped out, and threw a fist towards the de of me, which had slowed significantly.

    The limestone that paved the street ruptured. Endless amounts of earth surged forward, forming a massive earthen fist that smashed through the de of me. Sparks flew in all directions. The de of me had been sted apart!

    Qin Wanru was startled. ¡°It¡¯s an earth element cultivator, fifth rank!¡±

    ¡°Is this person stronger than Sang Qian?¡± Zu An asked.

    Qin Wanru shook her head. ¡°That¡¯s hard to say. However, Sang Qian¡¯s movements have been slowed by thatntern. Most of his efforts are focused on counteracting its effects.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s attention was drawn by the appearance of another figure. This beautiful silhouette walked slowly out from the shadows lining the street. Even though she waspletely clothed in ck, her outfit couldn¡¯t hide her beautiful physique.

    ¡°Those boobs look familiar...¡± Zu An mumbled to himself. He wasn¡¯t sure, though. He could recognize Pei Mianman¡¯s boobs from a mile away, but it was harder to pinpoint who exactly this set belonged to.

    Sang Qian knew that both of these individuals were trouble, especially the femalentern user. His face paled. ¡°Hurry, take the salt permits away!¡± he ordered his subordinates.

    Zu An had to give this Sang Qian some credit. ¡°I guess Sang Qian isn¡¯t aplete coward. He didn¡¯t leave his subordinates behind and run away.¡±

    Qin Wanru snorted. ¡°How could any cultivator who has managed to reach= his level at such a young age be that ipetent?¡±

    His subordinates fled, taking the cart with them. ¡°Do you think it¡¯ll be that easy?!¡± the earth-element cultivator roared.

    He pressed his hand against the ground, and the ground surged towards their group like an ocean wave.

    Sang Qian leapt in front of this wave, stabbing his sword into the ground. There was a loud boom, and dirt flew everywhere. The ground stopped its rippling, and became calm again.

    Without pausing, he charged at the earth-element cultivator. The two of them began to fight.

    Another group of ck-d men chased after the salt permits.

    upied as he was, there was no way Sang Qian could deal with them. He could only wish his subordinates the best.

    All of his attention was focused on the earth-element cultivator. There was another mysterious expert around as well, so he had to dispatch this earth-element cultivator quickly if he wanted a chance to deal with her too.

    His cultivation was clearly higher than his opponent¡¯s. The earth-element cultivator soon found himself in a difficult situation.

    ¡°Junior sister, what are you waiting for?!¡± That earth element cultivator cried out in a mixture of fear and anger.

    Thentern-wielding woman smiled. ¡°Senior brother, please hold on for a while longer. I have two little rats to deal with first.¡±

    She tapped her toes gently against the ground, and flew towards where Zu An and Qin Wanru were hiding.

    Qin Wanru was rmed. ¡°Go after the salt permits!¡± she said. She pushed Zu An¡¯s shoulder, propelling him in the direction the cart had taken with a gentle wave of force.

    ¡°Take care of yourself!¡± Zu An warned, his eyes on the figure holding thentern.

    Even though that woman had altered her voice, he had already deduced her identity. Who else could it be but the Immortal Abode¡¯s Qiu Honglei?

    The woman had always been shrouded in mystery, and he didn¡¯t know that her cultivation was so high.

    In a sh, Qin Wanru engaged the woman inbat.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Qiu Honglei clearly hadn¡¯t expected a sixth-ranked expert to be hiding there. She almost paid a big price for that.

    Fortunately, herntern was a magic weapon with extraordinary power. It was able to restrict Qin Wanru¡¯s movements enough to help her avert disaster.

    Zu An exhaled in relief when he saw that Qin Wanru still held the advantage. She was at the sixth rank after all¡ªwhy was he getting all worried?

    He ran off in the direction of the stolen salt permits.

    From a distance away came the vague sound of fighting. In a few moments, he stumbled upon Sang Qian¡¯s subordinates, who were engaged in a pitched battle against their ck-d pursuers.

    The cart, with its chests full of salt permits, had been pushed to the side.

    It was obvious that whichever side won this battle would obtain the salt permits, so it was aplete waste to guard the cart. Now that battle had been fully joined, neither side wanted to waste any strength unnecessarily.

    Zu An gasped. The fighting was intense! Blood sttered, and bits of flesh were flying everywhere. Whose arm was that that was just sent flying?

    He used Grandgale right away, appearing next to the cart almost instantly.

    However, he was in no rush to leave. Instead, he coughed lightly and called out, ¡°Thank you all for your efforts!¡±

    The fighting stopped momentarily. Combatants on both sides looked towards the person that had appeared beside the cart. They had no idea where he hade from.

    ¡°Y¡¯all seem to be awfully busy, fighting over whatever is in this cart. I¡¯ve always been a softhearted man who hates violence, so I¡¯ll do a good deed today and take this with me. That way, you guys don¡¯t have to kill each other anymore!¡± Zu An smiled. He leapt onto the cart. With a flick of the reins, he urged the horses leading the cart into motion and drove the cart away.

    The officers from the River Patrol Army and their mysterious ck-d opponents stared after him, stupefied.

    You have sessfully trolled the River Patrol Army for 66... 66... 66...

    You have sessfully trolled the mysterious ck-d men for 99... 99... 99...

 Chapter 359: Out of a Tigerâ€™s Cave and into a Wolfâ€™s Den

    <h4>Chapter 359: Out of a Tiger¡¯s Cave and into a Wolf¡¯s Den</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Who the hell is this guy? Where did hee from?

    This guy is such a piece of shit!

    They might not even have noticed if he had quietly taken the salt permits away. However, he deliberately announced it to all of them! Did he really do this just for the sake of angering them?

    Why would he take such a big risk, though? Is there a screw loose in his head?!

    Their minds were upied with these thoughts, but that didn¡¯t stop them from taking action. With a roar, they all chased after him with des in hand.

    The two sides even stopped fighting against each other. They tacitly agreed to deal with Zu An first.

    Zu An frantically drove the carriage forward. He turned a corner, and for a brief moment, he was out of sight of his pursuers. He took out the Brilliant ss Bead and stored all of the chests inside.

    He jumped up into a nearby tree and hid. The horses continued to speed off into the distance.

    His pursuers had no idea what had just happened. They continued to scream and shout as they chased after the carriage.

    A huge smile spread across Zu An¡¯s face as Rage points continued to flood in. He could have stored those chests into the bead when he first reached the carriage, but he didn¡¯t do so precisely because he wanted to farm some Rage points.

    How could he waste an opportunity to piss off so many people at the same time?

    Worried about how Qin Wanru was faring, he rushed back the way he came.

    Along the way, he received another batch of Rage points. Clearly, those men had finally caught up to the carriage and realized that all the chests were gone.

    ¡°Sigh, I wonder if they¡¯ll start fighting again.¡± Zu An said. He almost sounded as if he wanted the whole world to fall into chaos.

    He returned to the ce where he had left Qin Wanru earlier, to find that only a small handful of men from the River Patrol Army remained. If Sang Qian hadn¡¯t ounted for close to half of the enemies by himself, this small remnant would have already been wiped out a long time ago.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Meanwhile, Qin Wanru and Qiu Honglei were still tangling with each other.

    Even though Qin Wanru¡¯s cultivation was high, she had lived like a princess for many years, and didn¡¯t have muchbat experience.

    On the other hand, Qiu Honglei clearly had much more experience fighting. Utilizing the slowing effects of her strangentern, she gradually seized the advantage.

    Qin Wanru was frustrated at her inability to deal with someone with a lower cultivation than hers. She screamed, and an icy gale suddenly started to blow about. Countless icicles flew out from behind her.

    This was the first time Zu An had seen her use elemental power! He hadn¡¯t expected her to wield the ice element, like Chu Chuyan did.

    Her nature didn¡¯t seem to match the ice element at all.

    Since she had such a fiery temper, Zu An had naturally assumed that she wielded the fire element.

    ¡°What?¡± Qiu Honglei seemed to have realized something as well. She swept her fingers forward quickly, and the weak yellow light inside thentern flowed outward. The icicles slowed as they made contact with the yellow light.

    Losing all their momentum, the heavy icicles fell to the floor one after another, exploding into fragments of ice.

    However, Qin Wanru seemed to have already predicted this. Her expression remainedpletelyposed. She pressed her hand to the ground.

    A dark blue halo suddenly appeared beneath Qiu Honglei. In the blink of an eye, the fragmented ice suddenly seemed toe alive. They flowed together, wrapping around her legs and locking her firmly in ce.

    Qin Wanru¡¯s figure flickered. A palm flew towards Qiu Honglei¡¯s chest.

    Zu An was horrified. ¡°Please have mercy! he blurted out.

    Qin Wanru didn¡¯t know who her opponent was, but Zu An knew that she was Qiu Honglei.

    Qiu Honglei had treated him extremely well, and the two of them could be considered friends. He had no desire to see her die.

    However, Qin Wanru was still a sixth rank cultivator. Although he had already activated Grandgale to close the distance, he was still a step toote.

    Qin Wanru¡¯s palm had already made contact with Qiu Honglei¡¯s chest.

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s legs were frozen in ce, so she couldn¡¯t move at all. She turned to look towards Zu An at thest second, confusion clearly visible in her eyes.

    It was unclear whether she was confused as to why an enemy was concerned about her, or if it was because she recognized him.

    Qin Wanru¡¯s hand passed through her chest. Qiu Honglei¡¯s entire body shattered.

    Yes¡ªit shattered. Her body shattered like ss.

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°Lightshadow Doppelganger!¡± Qin Wanru cried out in rm.

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s figure had already appeared behind her. Her slender white hand shot towards the middle of Qin Wanru¡¯s back like a knife.

    Qin Wanru was already much slower than usual, due to thentern¡¯s effects. There was no way she could dodge this attack in time.

    ¡°Madam!¡± Zu An had moved in to save Qiu Honglei, but he hadn¡¯t expected the tide of battle to turn so quickly. Now, the one who was in danger was Qin Wanru.

    How could he ever face Chuyan and Huanzhao if he let something happen to Qin Wanru?

    He used Grandgale to get closer. Nothing else mattered at this moment. He grabbed Qin Wanru and tried to flee.

    However, his movements were instantly slowed when he made contact with the faint yellow radiance. His body felt as if it weighed ten times more than usual.

    Thentern¡¯s pale yellow light looked warm and cozy; however, it was only now, when he was within its area of effect, that he realized that this color could actually feel so ice-cold.

    Qiu Honglei froze momentarily when he suddenly appeared in front of her. She was clearly hesitant.

    In this moment of hesitation, Zu An just happened to see a well nearby. He summoned Blue Mard. The water in the well surged upward like a dragon, threatening to swallow up thatntern floating in midair.

    Qiu Honglei was shocked. She immediately pulled thentern back in panic.

    Zu An used this chance to summon Grandgale. He grabbed Qin Wanru¡¯s hand and blinked away.

    Qiu Honglei watched the two retreating figures, a pensive look on her face.

    Zu An and Qin Wanru stopped several li away. Zu An gasped for air. Everything had happened way too quickly just now. A single mishap and their lives would¡¯ve been ended!

    Then again, didn¡¯t Qiu Honglei show them mercy in the end?

    Did she recognize me?

    I guess that¡¯s not too surprising. A mask isn¡¯t enough to hide the awesomeness of a popr guy like me.

    Qin Wanru finally came to her senses. ¡°Why did we run?!¡± She cried, pulling her hand away. ¡°That was just an ident! I could¡¯ve defeated her...¡±

    She grew more and more ashamed as she spoke. If Zu An hadn¡¯t stepped in just now, she could have been seriously injured. A sixth rank cultivator losing to a fifth rank was almost too shameful to bear.

    However, that woman¡¯s strength wasn¡¯t like that of a fifth rank expert at all!

    Zu Anughed inside. Qin Wanru was acting like a little girl, unwilling to admit defeat.Of course, this was well in line with her usual temperament. ¡°Madam, have you forgotten what we came here for? We didn¡¯te for a fight.¡±

    ¡°The salt permits!¡± Qin Wanru seemed as though she had just woken up from a daze. ¡°Did we lose the salt permits in the end?¡±

    She couldn¡¯t help her disappointment when she saw that he was empty-handed. It was to be expected, of course, since the enemy had such overwhelming numbers.

    However, he had just saved her life, so she couldn¡¯t bring herself to criticize him.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I got the salt permits!¡± Zu An said nonchntly.

    ¡°What?!¡± Qin Wanru was ecstatic. She looked around anxiously. ¡°Where are they?¡±

    Her smile suddenly froze. ¡°Be careful, someone ising from over there.

    ¡°Their cultivation is extremely high. They could be at the seventh rank!

    ¡°It¡¯s probably someone allied with those ck-d men!¡±

    Qin Wanru analyzed the situation in the blink of an eye.

    The two of them grew instantly nervous.

 Chapter 360: On the Verge of Being Exposed

    <h4>Chapter 360: On the Verge of Being Exposed</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An saw a group of peoplee out of another alley. The one in the lead was an elderly man with silver hair. Despite this, he was bursting with health and vigor, betraying no sense of frailty. His eyes seemed as though they could peer through a person¡¯s soul, and his gaze was sharp, like a wolf seeking its prey.

    Just meeting him eye-to-eye was extremely ufortable. This was probably the seventh-ranked expert Qin Wanru had spoken of.

    ¡°How do you know they are on the same side as those ck-d men?¡± Zu An was puzzled. They were all dressed in ordinary clothing, instead of all ck, like what the others had worn.

    How could she tell that they were a part of the same group?

    Qin Wanru moved closer and said quietly, ¡°Look at the decorative designs on their sleeves. They¡¯re the same as those worn by the ck-d men.¡±

    Zu An looked more closely. Sure enough, there were strange cloud-like symbols on their sleeves.

    He vaguely remembered those ck-d individuals wearing simr symbols.

    He wouldn¡¯t have noticed this at all if Qin Wanru hadn¡¯t pointed it out to him.

    He felt a slight admiration. Even though she seemed so irritable and headstrong all the time, she actually possessed a meticulous side to her as well.

    A sudden thought urred to him, leaving him slightly stunned. If you mixed Chuyan and Huanzhao together, wouldn¡¯t you get Qin Wanru?

    Poor Huanzhao really got the short end of the stick though. She only ended up inheriting her bad qualities. Sigh... I need to treat her better in the future...

    Zu An brought his mind back to the present. Dealing with the situation at hand was still the top priority. ¡°Can you defeat him?¡±

    Qin Wanru blushed. She shook her head slightly and said quietly, ¡°I can¡¯t.¡±

    Zu An said with a sigh, ¡°That Qiu... ahem, ahem, that woman from before managed to beat you despite being one rank below you. Aren¡¯t you only one rank beneath that old man too?¡±

    Qin Wanru resisted the urge to p him.

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Wanru for 250 Rage points!

    Can¡¯t you say something nice for once?!

    However, that woman had indeed gotten the better of her despite being a full rank below her. She couldn¡¯t argue against this fact.

    That made her even more angry.

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Wanru for 337 Rage points!

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but give her a look. If you can¡¯t beat that old man then you can¡¯t. Why are you getting so mad at me?

    By this time, the elderly man had reached them, along with his dozen or so followers. ¡°Halt!¡±

    Qin Wanru froze. She was just about to attack when Zu An stopped her. They were clearly outmatched, so fighting wasn¡¯t the smartest choice.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Zu An had an impatient look on his face.

    ¡°What are the two of you doing out here in the middle of the night?¡± That elder demanded.

    An idea came to Zu An. ¡°I¡¯m on a stroll with my wife. Is something wrong?¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Qin Wanru was furious. How dare this rascal take advantage of her?

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Wanru for 777 Rage points!

    Zu An merely tapped her hand gently, asking her to remain calm.

    Qin Wanru hesitated. They knew next to nothing about these people, and they had formidable levels of cultivation. It wouldn¡¯t end well for them if they ended up fighting.

    These people had even dared to rob the River Patrol Army in the middle of the street. She probably wouldn¡¯t be able to get away even if she revealed her true identity.

    On top of that, she was also a woman, and a pretty one at that. It was entirely likely that she would suffer a different type of humiliation. Rather than risking such a fate, she might as well see if Zu An had any other ideas to get them out of this predicament first.

    ¡°Going for a walk?¡± That elder was skeptical. ¡°A walk in pitch darkness?¡±

    ¡°Sir, you¡¯re clearly inexperienced at this. This is called setting the mood,¡± Zu An said with a chuckle.

    Qin Wanru tried her best not to roll her eyes.

    The elder looked around them, then asked in a seemingly casual manner, ¡°Since you two are out on a stroll, did you two see or hear anything strange?¡±

    Zu An suddenly turned into a warmhearted neighbor, eager to help. ¡°Now that you mention it, I think someone¡¯s fighting over there. It sounded really bad! We ran away as soon as we noticed that something was off, and were just about to head on home. Sir, you must be careful, and stay away from that area. You might just run into some bad people if you went there.¡±

    Qin Wanru was impressed. Even though this kid was really, really annoying, he had some decent acting chops. He hadpletely assumed the role of an enthusiastic youngster.

    ¡°Bad people, you say? Do you perhaps know who these bad people are?¡± The elder removed his hands from his pockets as he said this. His long fingernails looked incredibly sharp, as if they could easily pierce through flesh.

    Zu An pretended not to notice his killing intent. ¡°I have no idea,¡± he replied. ¡°It¡¯s pitch ck out there. How could I possibly be brave enough to check out what was going on? You all really should leave as soon as you can. It would be trouble if you ran into those bad people.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll have to beg your assistance to report this to the authorities, then. They should move quickly to investigate these bad people,¡± The elder said with a chuckle.

    Qin Wanru immediately tensed up when she sensed his killing intent. If a seventh rank expert decided to attack at such close range, she had no idea if she could even protect herself, let alone protect Zu An.

    The elderly man looked at her suspiciously, as if sensing her nervousness.

    Zu An stood in front of her and said with an embarrassedugh, ¡°Sir, this woman of mine is somewhat afraid of strangers. She¡¯s a little scared of all of you.¡±

    The elderughed. ¡°Young man, your wife had a good figure. But the two of you don¡¯t seem like husband and wife at all. In fact, you seem quite unfamiliar with each other.¡±

    Zu An immediately wrapped an arm round Qin Wanru¡¯s waist. Her waist felt slightly softer and more well-rounded than that of a youngdy¡¯s. ¡°Haha, my wife is quite shy. Sir, I really can¡¯t chat with you anymore. We¡¯ll all be finished if those bad people find us!¡±

    Qin Wanru couldn¡¯t contain her shock or her anger as she felt his arm wrap around her waist. Her face immediately grew entirely red. This only made her look even more like a bashful young wife in the eyes of others.

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Wanru for 813 Rage points!

    ¡°Madam, please calm down! Please calm down! This is all for the sake of the Chu n! We are trying to save father-inw here!¡± Zu An frantically said via ki transmission. He hid his mouth behind Qin Wanru¡¯s body, afraid that the old man would notice.

    Qin Wanru¡¯s chest heaved. However, after taking a few deep breaths, she remained mercifully silent.

    ¡°Young man, you are quite blessed.¡± The old man looked over Qin Wanru¡¯s voluptuous curves. Even though this woman¡¯s face was ordinary, her figure was exceptional. Together with her radiant eyes, it lent her a graceful charm.

    If he were ten years younger, he would have surely spent a good three days and nights with this woman, even if he did have pressing matters to take care of. It would have been even better if her husband were tied up and forced to watch from the side.

    It was a pity that he was already an old man. He had the will, but not the way.

    ¡°Haha, thank you so much for your praise, kind sir. I also think my luck is pretty good,¡± Zu An said as he led Qin Wanru away to a side alley.

    Just as they were about to turn the corner, a female voice rang out. ¡°Elder!¡±

    Qin Wanru¡¯s entire body went rigid. She recognized this voice. It belonged to the woman she had fought with earlier on!

 Chapter 361: What Do You Want?

    <h4>Chapter 361: What Do You Want?</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    She had caught up to them. They were definitely going to be exposed.

    Qin Wanru panicked. She prepared to grab Zu An and run. Even though she knew that she couldn¡¯t escape from a seventh rank expert, they had to at least give it a try.

    Sensing her reaction, Zu An immediately stopped her. ¡°Madam, don¡¯t do anything rash!¡±

    Qin Wanru was confused. They practically had des against their necks! They still had a sliver of hope if they tried to run now, but there would be no chance at all once that woman exposed them.

    ¡°Trust me. I believe everything will turn out fine.¡± Inside, Zu An was actually extremely nervous. After all, he was gambling as well.

    ¡°Hm? Why did youe back here?¡± The old man asked when he saw the ck-clothed Qiu Honglei. At the same time, he gave the slowly-departing duo a look. His killing intent only dropped fractionally when he saw that they didn¡¯t turn around.

    ¡°I was chasing after someone. One of our opponents fled the scene,¡± replied Qiu Honglei.

    Hearing this, Qin Wanru felt a shudder run through her entire body. She gave Zu An a fierce pinch. This kid had advised against running away. Now, it was already toote.

    Zu An hissed in pain. Why did women love to pinch people so much?

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°You were chasing after someone?¡± That elder voiced his surprise. He pointed at Zu An and Qin Wanru. ¡°Was it them?¡±

    Qiu Honglei studied the two of them, a pensive look on her face. The corners of her lips curved upwards when she saw Zu An¡¯s hand around that woman¡¯s hips.

    Qin Wanru¡¯s body suddenly straightened, almost as if she had felt her gaze.

    Even Zu An¡¯s nervousness grew. Even though he had already cast his bet, this woman¡¯s thoughts were truly unfathomable. He had no clue what choice she would make in the end.

    After a brief moment, Qiu Honglei shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s not them. I was chasing after a single person.¡±

    Qin Wanru was bowled over by this statement. She gave Zu An a confused look. Even though she didn¡¯t say anything, her meaning was clear: Why would that woman lie?

    Zu An sighed in relief. He smiled, but didn¡¯t exin further. He wanted to take Qin Wanru away from this ce first.

    ¡°Does that person have a high level of cultivation? How did he manage to escape, even from you?¡± That elder didn¡¯t doubt her words. After all, he didn¡¯t see any reason for Qiu Honglei to lie.

    Qiu Honglei shook her head. ¡°His cultivation is slightly higher than mine, but he¡¯s extremely crafty. However, I managed to strike him with my palm, so he¡¯s already guaranteed to die.¡±

    Qin Wanru had been listening in carefully. This woman had clearly misled her ownpanions, and even helped to forestall any future attempts against them.

    The old man nodded. ¡°Anyone who suffers a strike from you in a vital area doesn¡¯t have much of a chance at survival. However, you cannot lower your guard. Men, send someone to search the surroundings for any suspicious and wounded individuals.¡±

    A group of subordinates detached themselves from the main group to carry out this order. The old man carried on, ¡°Right, where¡¯s Gu Yueyi?¡±

    ¡°Senior brother is back there. He¡¯s currently facing off against Sang Qian,¡± Qiu Honglei replied.

    The elder snorted. ¡°Gu Yueyi probably cannot match Sang Qian. Let¡¯s move! We¡¯re heading over to help him!¡±

    As he said this, he dashed in the general direction of the fight, as fast as arge bird.

    Qiu Honglei turned around to nce in the direction that Zu An and Qin Wanru had disappeared off to. ¡°You owe me one,¡± she muttered.

    Turning back around, she followed the old man.

    After establishing that the group of them had left, Qin Wanru finally rxed as they turned the next corner. However, she was still confused. ¡°Why did that woman let us go?¡±

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know either. Perhaps there¡¯s some infighting among the ranks, and she didn¡¯t want us to fall into the old man¡¯s hands.¡±

    Qiu Honglei had just saved him, after all. There was no way he would sell her out right after that.

    Qin Wanru was a duchess, after all, and had a vast amount of resources at her disposal. After experiencing such a humiliating loss, she would surely send soldiers to the Immortal Abode to investigate the organization behind those ck-d men. What would Qiu Honglei do then?

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Qin Wanru was doubtful. ¡°I get the sense that the two of you know each other, though. Why else would you have dared to stay?¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Zu An feigned ignorance. ¡°I felt it would be too obvious if we ran. It was a gamble. Thank goodness luck was on my side. It seems like my gambling luck is always reliable.¡±

    ¡°The Chu n forbids gambling!¡± Qin Wanru scoffed. However, she knew full well that this fellow had won seven-and-a-half million taels of silver from Silverhook Casino, and another million from the ns Tournament. He even bet correctly in such a perilous situation! She really couldn¡¯t find it within her to lecture him.

    She suddenly sensed something amiss. She scowled at him. ¡°How much longer are you going to hold on to me?!¡±

    Only now did Zu An realize that he was still holding her. Cold sweat poured down his face. He jumped away at once. ¡°Madam, please don¡¯t take offense! The situation was dire, and that was the only thing I could do!¡±

    Qin Wanru wore a sullen expression as she listened to his endless excuses. She remained silent throughout.

    Zu An really was a little scared. He might have offended her badly this time.

    The customs governing male and female interactions in this world weren¡¯t as strict as those in ancient China, but they were hardly rxed enough to allow a son-inw to casually wrap his arm around his mother-inw.

    However, he really had no choice back then. Besides, he¡¯d transmigrated from the modern world, andcked the sensitivity towards such matters. That was why he had instinctively done such an outrageous thing.

    Qin Wanru was silent for a long time. Finally, she said, ¡°The salt permits. Where are they?¡±

    ¡°The situation was pretty tense. I had to hide them away. I¡¯ll bring them to you tomorrow,¡± replied Zu An.

    The Brilliant ss Bead was too great of a secret. Mi Li had told him before that she had never even seen such huge spatial storage before, and that he absolutely could not tell anyone else about it. To do so would be to invite a huge disaster upon himself.

    Qin Wanru¡¯s expression finally eased. ¡°I¡¯ll disregard your disrespectful actions today, out of respect for your contributions to the Chu n. However, this is thest time!¡±

    ¡°Of course, of course! It won¡¯t happen again.¡± Zu An snorted inwardly. Do you really think I¡¯m tired of living? Like hell I¡¯d do it again. ¡°Oh, right. Madam, since I did so much for the n today, is there a reward for me?¡±

    ¡°You dare ask me for a reward?!¡± Qin Wanru¡¯s eyes widened. This fellow is outrageously shameless! I just let you get away with your disrespectful actions, and yet you have the gall to ask for a reward immediately after that?

    Apart from her husband Chu Zhongtian, no other man had ever been allowed to touch her. If any man dared do such a thing, she had the authority to throw him straight into prison. If the offence was serious enough, even ordering an execution was in ordance with the court¡¯sws.

    However, Zu An didn¡¯t know any of this. He sulked and said, ¡°Of course I want a reward! The Chu n is in charge of so many people. Isn¡¯t the proper dispensation of reward and punishment a basic part of governance? I was the one who brought the salt permits back. That¡¯s a huge achievement, no matter what you say. If I don¡¯t even get a reward for this, who would ever want to do anything for the Chu n anymore? Should we find someone else to judge who is right or wrong? I¡¯ve made such huge contributions to the Chu n. I¡¯ve bled for the Chu n...¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Qin Wanru looked around her guiltily. Fortunately, no one else was around to hear his rambling. ¡°What kind of reward do you want?¡±

    ¡°I want...¡± Zu An was stunned before he had barely begun his sentence. Wait, what do I want?

    Money?

    The Chu n might be even poorer than he was right now.

    Besides, past a certain point, money was only a number.

    Authority?

    He wasn''t interested.

    Sex?

    Hmm.... That seems pretty good. But I should probably forget about this one. Bringing this up in front of her is just begging to get my ass beaten.

    ¡°Rewards are for outsiders. You¡¯re already one of us, so what reward is there to speak of? Besides, you already have Chuyan. Do you really still want something else?¡± Qin Wanru snorted. She turned around to leave. Further discussion was beneath her.

    Zu An could onlyugh helplessly and follow in her wake.

    He never expected Qin Wanru to stop suddenly. Zu An was caught off-guard, and almost bumped into her.

    Seeing his sorry appearance, Qin Wanru said coldly, ¡°By the way, you cannot tell anyone what happened today. Not even Chuyan.¡±

    Zu An grunted in acknowledgment. ¡°Can I tell father-inw about it, then?¡± He suddenly asked.

 Chapter 362: A Huge Surprise

    <h4>Chapter 362: A Huge Surprise</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Qin Wanru just stared at him.

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Wanru for 666 Rage points!

    How can someone so irritating exist in this world?!

    She really wanted to grind his head against the ground and then stomp on it a few times.

    She turned and walked off with a loud snort. She doubted she would be able to hold herself back if he said another word.

    She deliberately set a quick pace to lose that annoying fellow, but each time she turned around, she saw him following behind her in a carefree manner.

    Even though this kid¡¯s cultivation isn¡¯t anything special, he really moves fast. Qin Wanru was slightly surprised, but then she suddenly remembered what Chu Chuyan had told her before she left. Qin Wanru had to admit that her daughter seemed to be better at judging people than she was.

    The two of them quickly returned to the Chu Estate.

    Zu An wanted to give her the salt permits right away, but felt it would seem a little strange if he suddenly pulled them out of thin air.

    As such, he returned to his own residence to get some rest first. He wanted to sleep in the Unvoiced Residence, since Chu Chuyan¡¯s fragrant sheets were a billion times better than the ones in his own doghouse. However, he quickly dismissed this idea. He didn¡¯t want to give Old Mi any chance to realize the truth about him.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    He already had a good idea of the old gardener¡¯s identity. Old Mi was most likely a court eunuch. This old man was always so attached to him, and acted so weirdly. He might even have some mental perversion.

    Zu An had yet to tell him about his recovery.

    His mind turned to the night¡¯s events. Qiu Honglei had actually let him go this time. Seems like this girl still has some loyalty to me. I should find an opportunity to pay her a visit and thank her...

    Exhausted by the day¡¯s exertions and these random thoughts, he quickly entered dreand.

    ...

    The next morning, Zu An went looking for Qin Wanru.

    He had no desire to wake up this early, but he was sure that Qin Wanru was worried about the salt permits.

    She had been too angry to ask him for them the day before, but what would he do if she asked him for them early in the morning? Would he make them appear out of thin air for her?

    He ran to the Unvoiced Residence first and removed therge chests from the Brilliant ss Bead. Then, he went to find Qin Wanru.

    He saw her hurry out of her own residence as soon as he arrived. There weren¡¯t even any maids following her.

    She hadn¡¯t put on much makeup. Compared to her usual extravagance, her appearance held an elegant simplicity.

    Unfortunately, her countenance was still slightly sallow. She probably hadn¡¯t slept well the night before.

    She was surprised to see Zu An. ¡°I was just about to go looking for you. I¡¯ve been fretting over the salt permits the whole night. Where did you put them?¡±

    Zu An thanked the heavens that he¡¯de early. ¡°I was just about to give you a report,¡± he said quickly.

    He brought her over to the Unvoiced Residence and pointed at the chests. ¡°They¡¯re all here.¡±

    Qin Wanru rushed over to check the contents. When she saw the orderly stacks of salt permits, the tension finally drained out of her. ¡°These are the exact salt permits that had been stolen. The Chu n is saved. Zhongtian is saved...¡±

    She turned to Zu An. ¡°Ah Zu, thank you,¡± she said sincerely.

    Zu An smiled. ¡°It was my duty, after all.¡±

    Qin Wanru opened her mouth. She recalled their conversation the night before, and was just wondering what to give him as a reward. However, she couldn¡¯t actually think of anything to reward him with. He didn¡¯tck money, and he even had her precious daughter. There was no way she was going to give Huanzhao to him as well!

    ¡°Oh, right, I forgot to return this mask to you.¡± She quickly changed topics to cover her awkwardness. ¡°This is a rare treasure. You need to take good care of it.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your reminder, Madam.¡± Zu An put away the thin mask. ¡°By the way, since we have the salt permits back, can¡¯t we just ask Chuyan toe back?¡±

    Qin Wanru shook her head. ¡°The Sang n is already dead set on dealing with us. There¡¯s no point in remaining on the defensive. We should use this chance to deal with any future problems once and for all. However, we can still let Chuyan know. That would help to ease her mind.¡±

    ¡°How do we contact her? Carrier pigeons?¡± Zu An stared nkly at her.

    Qin Wanru rolled her eyes. She produced a mirror from within her sleeves, then poured some soul ki into it. Soon afterwards, the surface of the mirror rippled, and ayer of mist appeared.

    Zu An eyes widened. The face in the mirror was Chu Chuyan¡¯s!

    ¡°Mom, what¡¯s happened at home? Why did you use this mirror to contact me?¡± Chu Chuyan¡¯s voice was clouded with worry.

    Qin Wanru said quickly, ¡°Chuyan, there¡¯s no need to feel anxious. I actually wanted to share some good news with you. We¡¯ve found the salt permits that Chen Xuan stole from us.¡±

    As she spoke, she turned the mirror to face the chests of salt permits.

    Zu An waspletely stupefied. Wasn¡¯t this equivalent to a video call from his previous world?

    After arriving in this world, he¡¯d discovered that many of the things that were done using technology in his previous world could be done through cultivation and the use of runes in this world.

    ¡°Really? How did you find them?!¡± Chu Chuyan¡¯s voice was full of surprise.

    ¡°It was obviously all because of your talented, brave, awesome, and suave husband!¡± Zu An moved over and smiled towards the mirror.

    Chu Chuyan blushed immediately. ¡°Can you show some restraint, please? Mother is still here.¡±

    Qin Wanru smiled. ¡°Ah Zu is right. He was the one who found them. You were right about him.¡±

    Zu An gave her a look of surprise. Did the sun rise in the west today? Did I just hear words of praise from her?

    ¡°Oh man, that feels so good. Madam, can you pleasepliment me a few more times?¡± Zu An said,ughing.

    Qin Wanru sighed and narrowed her eyes at him.

    Chu Chuyan buried her face in her palm as well. She clearly couldn¡¯t handle his shamelessness either.

    Qin Wanru couldn¡¯t be bothered with him anymore. She addressed her daughter instead. ¡°Chuyan, let¡¯s proceed as nned. We only wanted to tell you this to help ease your worry, and to let you know that you don¡¯t have to take too many risks.¡±

    Chu Chuyan nodded. ¡°Understood! Thank Ah Zu for me.¡±

    Qin Wanru gave her acknowledgement. Chu Chuyan¡¯s image rippled a few times, and the surface of the mirror reverted to its original appearance.

    Zu An was startled. ¡°I still had things to say to Chuyan! Why did you cut the connection?¡±

    Qin Wanru was clearly annoyed. ¡°Each use of this mirror consumes arge amount of ki stones. We need to wait a full month before it can be used again, and the duration of each use is limited. We only use this for the most urgent matters. How can I let you use it for idle chatter?¡±

    Zu An was full of disappointment. ¡°Tsk. I¡¯ve overestimated you guys. This world stillgs far behind.¡±

    His tone irked her further. ¡°I won¡¯t me you for saying that, since it¡¯s the first time you¡¯ve seen something as precious as this. Perhaps you¡¯ll understand how precious it is in the future. This might be the only one in all of Brightmoon City! It was something that the ancestors of the Chu n obtained through a fortuitous opportunity.¡±

    ¡°Only you guys would treat that dumb toy like a treasure.¡± Zu An curled his lips in a sneer. ¡°In my hometown, everyone had one, and we could all chat for as long as we wanted.¡±

    ¡°Hah! You really know nothing.¡±

    Zu An pressed his lips together.

    Sigh, life is lonely and deste, like a barren field of snow. No one ever believes me.

    Qin Wanru instructed him to keep the salt permits a secret for now. She had yet toe up with a way to use them to their greatest effect.

    ...

    Zu An was overjoyed and at peace, now that such a huge matter had been settled. His mind and spirit werepletely rxed.

    He headed to the academy as usual. He teased Huanzhao a little, and yed around with the female teachers. His days were peaceful andfortable.

    There was only one regret. He¡¯d gone to the Immortal Abode to thank Qiu Honglei, but when he got there, the staff informed him that she had already left.

    As for where she had gone, no one knew.

    He hadn¡¯t expected that night to be their final meeting. He didn¡¯t know if they would ever meet again. He thought about the time they spent together, and he couldn¡¯t help his feelings of disappointment and frustration.

    However, soon afterwards, Zu An found out the reason why she had left. One day, Qin Wanru sought out Zu An privately. She had a grave expression on her face. ¡°Those ck-d men were both mysterious and ruthless. They didn¡¯t even hold back when dealing with Sang Qian,¡± she said.

    ¡°He¡¯s dead?¡± Zu An was shocked by her statement.

    ¡°They didn¡¯t go that far,¡± Qin Wanru said, ¡°but his injuries are extremely grave. Sang Hong even invited Ji Dengtu to examine his injuries. The divine physician could only keep him alive for now. Whether or not he will remain in critical condition or recover, it¡¯s an even chance either way.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll be fine, especially since Divine Physician Ji visited him personally.¡± Zu An was still in a daze. What in the world was Qiu Honglei¡¯s organization up to? How could they even dare to do such a thing?

    Did they take their anger out on Sang Qian because they lost the salt permits?

    ¡°There¡¯s no guarantee. The Sang n ns to bring forward his marriage to Zheng Dan, to ward away bad luck. This means that they aren¡¯t optimistic about his situation at all,¡± Qin Wanru said.

    Zu An suddenly shot up. ¡°What?!¡±

 Chapter 363: A Gift

    <h4>Chapter 363: A Gift</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Why are you getting all worked up over someone else¡¯s marriage?¡± Qin Wanru said in annoyance. She was clearly taken aback by his reaction.

    Zu An also realized that his actions seemed very out of ce. He smiled in embarrassment and said, ¡°I just didn¡¯t expect the glorious Sang n to be so superstitious.¡±

    ¡°Chasing away bad luck with a marriage is indeed a little detached from reality, but it¡¯s always better to have a good omen. Either way, they¡¯re already engaged. It¡¯s all the same if they get married earlier orter,¡± Qin Wanru said.

    ¡°How could this be happening?¡± Zu An grew nervous. Zheng Dan had told him before that the engagement period wouldst about a year. He should have still had a year to grow stronger! By then, he would have already gained the confidence to snatch her back.

    But if they got married now... he understood his own limits. There was no way he could go against the Sang n with his current strength.

    Qin Wanru gave him a strange look. His actions were totally unexpected. She couldn¡¯t understand why he was so concerned with this matter at all. After all, there was no way she could imagine what his rtionship with Zheng Dan was like, no matter how rich her imagination was.

    ¡°Let¡¯s leave aside this matter for now. There¡¯s something else more worrying.¡± Qin Wanru¡¯s anxiety was clearly visible. ¡°That night, Sang Qian was attacked by those ck-d men because of the salt permits he was escorting. Now, the salt permits are back in our hands. Won¡¯t Sang Honge to the mistaken conclusion that we were the ones who attacked his son? When that happens, our ns would surely end up at each other''s throats.¡±

    Zu An now understood why there had been no news of Chu Zhongtian¡¯s release, even after so many days. This was where the issuey. ¡°Haven¡¯t we figured out who those ck-d men were yet? Didn¡¯t we investigate these ck marketeers?¡±

    ¡°Of course we did!¡± Qin Wanru eximed. ¡°But none of the guests at the ck market auction stopped Sang Qian from bringing the goods away. They didn¡¯t resist at all. They also dered that they knew absolutely nothing about the matter. Even though Sang Hong captured some individuals, none of them knew anything important. Clearly, these ck market dealers were well prepared.¡±

    Zu An was reminded of Qiu Honglei¡¯s disappearance as well. Clearly, the most important figures had all withdrawn into the shadows. There was no way Sang Hong would be able to find anything.

    ¡°What does Madam n to do now?¡± Zu An asked.

    Qin Wanru replied, ¡°We were slightly hesitant at first, but we¡¯ve already notified Sang Hong about the salt permits through our channels. This erases Zhongtian¡¯s crimes, and he should be allowed to walk free. As for Sang Hong¡¯s suspicions, I don¡¯t think he wille to the conclusion that our Chu n is somehow connected to the ck market.¡±

    ¡°I doubt things will go that smoothly...¡± Zu An still had his concerns. However, he understood that Qin Wanru wanted to save Chu Zhongtian as soon as possible. She couldn¡¯t bear to see him suffer imprisonment any longer.

    Having already decided on the course of action, Qin Wanru gathered her trusted aides to discuss the exact details of Chu Zhongtian¡¯s release.

    ...

    Zu An was worried about Zheng Dan, but it would be inappropriate for him to head over to the Zheng n just to meet her. His only option was to go to the academy, and pray that she was also there.

    When he reached the academy, there was a crowd gathered around Zheng Dan. From the looks of it, they were most likely congratting her.

    The two maids behind her already bore an armload of gifts each.

    ¡°Thank you fellow students. I didn¡¯t expect to receive so many gifts.¡± Zheng Dan had a beautiful smile on her face, without the slightest touch of gloom.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but call out to her. ¡°Student Zheng.¡±

    Zheng Dan turned around to look at him. She smiled and said, ¡°Student Zu, this is most likely going to be thest day I will be attending the academy before my marriage. I hope you do not mind if I do not address you as a teacher.¡±

    Zu An couldn¡¯t hold himself back. ¡°You seem pretty happy.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m about to get married. Why wouldn¡¯t I be happy?¡± Zheng Dan said with a strange expression.

    Zu An was speechless for a moment.

    However, he couldn¡¯t break character, not with so many people watching. ¡°Then I¡¯ll offer my congrattions to miss Zheng.¡±

    Zheng Dan presented her fine white palm to him. ¡°I don¡¯t sense any sincerity from you. Have you prepared a gift?¡±

    Zu An was stunned for a moment.

    ¡°I was in too much of a hurry to get here, so I didn¡¯t have time to prepare anything.¡±

    Zheng Dan smiled. ¡°That¡¯s okay. I was the one who was being rude.¡±

    Everyone praised her for her etiquette and grace. At the same time, they looked down on Zu An¡¯s stinginess.

    Zu An grew sulky. However, he couldn¡¯t really say anything in front of all of these people, so he could only pretend to leave.

    Zheng Dan continued to bid her farewells to the other students, and then she walked out of the academy with arge pile of gifts.

    She told the two maids to help her sort out the gifts near the entrance. ¡°There¡¯s something else that I¡¯ve forgotten to deal with. Wait for me outside.¡±

    ¡°Understood, miss Zheng.¡± The two maids acknowledged respectfully. They left quickly, carrying the gifts with them.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zheng Dan turned around and walked towards a side path, well shaded by trees. Following the path, she soon arrived at a remote ce.

    ¡°Hm? How did you know that I was waiting for you here?¡± Zu An said as he appeared from behind a tree.

    Zheng Dan snorted. ¡°For better or for worse, I still have five ranks of cultivation! Besides, weren¡¯t you constantly dropping hints earlier?¡±

    ¡°I thought that you might not meet with me,¡± Zu An couldn¡¯t help but say.

    ¡°There were so many people out there. What could I do?¡± Zheng Dan sighed.

    ¡°Are you really happy about your marriage?¡± Zu An asked her.

    ¡°What, are you jealous?¡± Zheng Dan grinned.

    Zu An felt a me ignite within him. He pulled her over and pressed his knee against her.

    ¡°Ah...¡± A sweet sound escaped her throat. Her eyes immediately became watery. ¡°Not here, it will be trouble if we¡¯re seen! Let¡¯s go to your staff residence...¡±

    Zu An¡¯s heart pounded like a drum. This girl really was a natural temptress!

    However, he still remembered his reason for meeting her. He walked by her side, his expression growing serious. ¡°How are Sang Qian¡¯s injuries? Are they really so bad that he needs this marriage to drive off bad luck?¡±

    Worry creased Zheng Dan¡¯s brow. ¡°It doesn¡¯t look good. I might be a widow soon after marriage.¡±

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t this mean that the Sang n has decided to throw you under the carriage as well?¡± Zu An grew anxious. ¡°Is the Zheng n only going to watch from the sidelines?¡±

    ¡°The Zheng n?¡± Zheng Dan¡¯sugh was full of self-pity. ¡°I¡¯m nothing more than a chess piece used to join the two ns through marriage. They only need me to tie them to the Sang n. They couldn¡¯t care less if my husband was tall or short, fat or skinny, alive or dead. They are far more afraid of Sang Qian dying before he has ratified our marriage.

    ¡°Those students who gave me gifts spoke pleasant words, but they could very well have beenughing and mocking me inside.¡±

    Her sorrowful expression was like a dagger through his heart. ¡°What if you just don¡¯t marry him?¡± he blurted out. ¡°What if I imed you instead?¡±

    Zheng Dan looked at him in shock. Her expression grew more tender. ¡°What is this? Are you going to bring emotions into our rtionship?¡±

    Zu An frowned. ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to deceive yourself like that. I refuse to believe that you don¡¯t feel anything.¡±

    Zheng Dan blushed. ¡°Whatever the case, knowing that your heart feels this way makes all that I¡¯ve given to you during this period worth it... Nheless, I was raised in the Zheng n. I¡¯ve enjoyed afortable life, and have been provided with abundant cultivation resources. Now that it¡¯s my turn to give something back to them, I cannot possibly run away.¡±

    Zu An wanted to say something, but he stopped himself. They¡¯d already talked about this many times, so he knew that it was meaningless to try to change her mind.

    Zheng Dan grabbed his hand and shed him a big smile. ¡°I¡¯m about to get married. Can you give me a present to serve as a memento?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression grew mncholy. ¡°Like hell I¡¯d be willing to give you something! Not when you¡¯re getting married to another man.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure this is a present you¡¯ll definitely be willing to give me.¡± Zheng Dan noticed that the two of them were already approaching the staff residences. She got up on her toes and whispered in his ear, ¡°Give me a child.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s heart pounded. How could he possibly hold back any longer? He dragged her into his room.

    Perhaps because they believed this would be thest time, or that there was no future for them, the two of them immersed themselves even more deeply. In the privacy of the room, they twined around each other ever more tightly.

    ...

    Meanwhile, in the Sang n estate, Sang Hong was currently entertaining a guest dressed all in green. That man sped his fist respectfully and asked, ¡°How is the young master doing?¡±

    ¡°Whether or not he¡¯ll be able to make it through this difficulty depends solely on him.¡± Sang Hong seemed to have aged considerably during this period.

    The green-clothed man said, ¡°The heavens help the worthy. The young master will surely make it through safely.¡±

    Clearly, Sang Hong was already numb to these words. He waved his hand impatiently. ¡°I called you over this time to discuss the Chu n. Qin Wanru managed to get her hands on a bunch of official salt permits somehow. I could only detain Chu Zhongtian temporarily, but I won¡¯t be able to hold him here for much longer. That is why you have to seize control of the Chu n before that happens.¡±

    The green-clothed man¡¯s face darkened. ¡°That won¡¯t be easy.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s something for you to worry about,¡± Sang Hong sneered. ¡°I refuse to believe that you have nothing up your sleeves after scheming for so many years. However, do not worry. I¡¯ll offer you any help you need. This is truly the final chance. If we miss this one, we won¡¯t have another.¡±

    A few different expressions crossed the green-clothed man¡¯s face. Finally, he steeled himself and said resolutely, ¡°Fine!¡±

 Chapter 364: Something Bad Has Happened

    <h4>Chapter 364: Something Bad Has Happened</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Then again...¡± The green-clothed man grew hesitant. ¡°Even if I can find a way to bring the Chu n under my control, there¡¯s no way I can deal with Chu Zhongtian once he returns.¡±

    Chu Zhongtian was a powerful eighth-ranked expert! Schemes and trickery were useless in the face of absolute strength.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about that,¡± Sang Hong said seriously. ¡°As long as you can seize full control over the Chu n, there wouldn¡¯t be a need to return Chu Zhongtian.¡±

    The green-d man was shocked. ¡°Esteemed governor actually ns to...¡±

    Sang Hong stopped him from saying any more. ¡°I¡¯ve already presented you with this chance. Whether or not you can seize it will be up to you.¡±

    A flicker of joy shed across the eyes of the green-clothed man. ¡°Fine, let¡¯s do it!¡±

    Sang Hong walked over to the window and looked in the direction of the Chu Estate. ¡°Are you certain that the Chu n has nothing to do with the ck market?¡± he asked in a serious tone.

    The green clothed man shook his head. ¡°Even after so many years, I¡¯ve never heard of any connection between the two. You know full well that Chu Zhongtian is a noble and virtuous person. He wouldn¡¯t go near these dishonest businesses. Of course, there¡¯s a chance that all of this is fake and that he¡¯s had some private dealings with them. However, the odds of that are pretty low.¡±

    ¡°Then how did Qin Wanru get her hands on those salt permits?¡± A vicious look shed across Sang Hong¡¯s eyes. The thought made him even more furious. The salt permits she¡¯d obtained were the same salt permits that those ck-d individuals had wrestled out of his son¡¯s hands. It was difficult for him to believe that the two groups had absolutely no rtionship with each other.

    Therefore, he had to deal with the Chu n, whether publicly or privately. His only sony in critical condition, which served only to fuel his anger further. Now was the time to employ his most extreme methods.

    ¡°I... do not know either.¡± The green-clothed man scratched his head. ¡°The rest of the Chu n members are also baffled over this matter. When they asked Qin Wanru about it, she insisted that this important matter be kept private.¡±

    ¡°Heh, she¡¯ll croak sooner orter.¡± Sang Hong snorted coldly. ¡°I¡¯ll lend you a helping hand today. After this, you should...¡±

    The green clothed man moved closer. He nodded repeatedly when he heard what Sang Hong said. Joy filled his eyes. ¡°Esteemed governor truly has great vision!¡±

    ...

    Meanwhile, back in his staff residence, Zu An was busy with Zheng Dan. Suddenly, an urgent knocking came from the entrance, followed by Chu Huanzhao¡¯s voice. ¡°Huh? Why isn¡¯t the key working? Brother-inw, brother-inw, open the door for me already!¡±

    The sudden voice scared Zheng Dan out of her wits. Shetched tightly onto Zu An, her body shaking uncontrobly.

    The sudden stimtion was just too much for Zu An...

    ¡°Brother-inw, brother-inw, what the heck are you doing? Come out here at once! Something bad has happened!¡± The pounding grew more frantic. Chu Huanzhao¡¯s voice was full of panic.

    A whileter, Zu An cracked open the door halfway, standing in front of the entrance to block it. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? What are you hollering for?¡± he said.

    ¡°Why can¡¯t I open the door with my key anymore?¡± Chu Huanzhao pouted in anger.

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Huanzhao for 233 Rage points!

    Zu Anughed awkwardly. ¡°Something happened to the defensive formations around this residence a while back. The academy changed the locks for me.¡±

    ¡°Really? Why is your face so red? Is that sweat I see on your forehead?¡± Chu Huanzhao stood on her tiptoes and peered inside skeptically. ¡°Are you doing something bad inside?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s heart pounded in nervousness, but there wasn¡¯t a hint of it visible on his face. ¡°I was just working out. Wow, I worked up quite a bit of a sweat!¡± Zheng Dan, who was hiding behind the door, snorted. What do you mean, ¡®working out¡¯? You were clearly working away at my body just now...

    Zu An was afraid that Chu Huanzhao wouldn¡¯t drop the issue, so he asked a question of his own instead. ¡°Huanzhao, why did youe looking for me in such a panic? You were saying that something bad happened?¡±

    Chu Huanzhao finally remembered that she had something important to tell Zu An. ¡°Yes! Something bad has happened at home. Follow me home.¡±

    She grabbed his hand and began to run.

    ¡°Wait, tell me what happened first!¡± Zu An said as he tossed Zheng Dan the keys. Clearly, he was telling her to get some proper rest.

    Zheng Dan¡¯s face went red. I still have maids waiting for me by the gate. How can I possibly stay here?

    She quickly straightened out her clothes. She had only taken a single step when her eyebrows suddenly came together in a frown. She sped her legs together and leaned against the door. It took her a long while to catch her breath again.

    Why does he always leave me like this...

    ...

    Zu An listened to Chu Huanzhao¡¯s exnation along the way.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Arge group of soldiers had marched over to search the Chu Estate. The people in the estate had quickly sent men to the academy to contact the second miss and young master.

    They located the second miss easily, but they couldn¡¯t find the young master at all.

    Chu Huanzhao suspected that he might have been in his dorm, so she volunteered to go look for him. As a result, she almost discovered his affair with Zheng Dan.

    Zu An counted his blessings. He was so d that he¡¯d made the smart decision to change the locks after learning from his previous lesson.

    ¡°Why would anyone dare to search the estate of a respected duke?¡± Zu An was shocked. Even though Chu Zhongtian had been detained over the issue of the salt permits, that hardly exined why soldiers would be allowed to search the estate as well.

    ¡°I heard that Sang Hong led the men over personally,¡± Chu Huanzhao said, her voice clouded with worry.

    ¡°Sang Hong?¡± Zu An was stunned. Were they going to be openly hostile from now on? ¡°What pretext did they use?¡±

    ¡°I think they said that they were hunting down a fugitive,¡± replied Chu Huanzhao.

    ¡°A fugitive?¡± Zu An was stunned.

    By this time, they had already arrived at the gates to the academy. Overhearing his questions, a Chu n guard answered him, ¡°Sang Hong came carrying an imperial order, and he was apanied by military officials of the River Patrol Army. Their soldiers were attacked in the middle of the street, and even Commander Sang almost lost his life. This is definitely a huge case, and every lead needs to be investigated. The governor has used this as a reason to search every n. Our Chu n was only one of them.¡±

    Another guard agreed with his exnation. ¡°I heard that the City Lord took the initiative, and let the governor examine his own estate first. Besides him, the Zheng n and Yuan n have also cooperated with their inspection.¡±

    Zu An snorted. ¡°Sang Hong might look like he¡¯s treating everyone equally on the surface, but he¡¯s actually targeting the Chu n specifically.¡±

    The Zheng n and Yuan n were on good terms with the Sang n to begin with. There was no doubt that they would cooperate with his request.

    As for the Xie n, Xie Yi was a cunning man. He probably wanted to use Sang Hong to drive the Chu n further into a corner. That way, they would have no choice but to stand with King Qi.

    When their group returned to the Chu n, they discovered that Sang Hong had already begun a search of the Chu Estate. When Zu An saw how they had overturned and made a mess of everything in their search, he secretly thanked the heavens. It was a blessing that he¡¯d already stored most of his stuff into the Brilliant ss Bead. It would have been hard to exin himself if they had been discovered.

    ¡°Mom!¡± Chu Huanzhao caught sight of Qin Wanru, and ran into her embrace.

    ¡°Good girl, Huanzhao...¡± Qin Wanru gently patted her daughter¡¯s back. Then, she gave Sang Hong a cold look. ¡°Lord Sang, have youpleted your search?¡±

    ¡°The Chu Estate isparativelyrge, so it will take a little longer. I hope Madam doesn¡¯t mind,¡± Sang Hong said with an apologetic expression.

    Qin Wanru¡¯s face grew colder. ¡°Lord Sang, I hope you¡¯re not bullying this woman while her husband isn¡¯t home.¡±

    ¡°How can Madam say such a thing? We are tracking down a great criminal, so we have to search every n. Your n isn¡¯t the only one,¡± Sang Hong replied in a natural manner.

    However, the more he behaved this way, the more angry Qin Wanru became. ¡°Fine! I¡¯ll remember this transgression.¡±

    Sang Hong smiled, but offered no further defense. To him, he was clearly severing any rtionship to the Chu n. There was no need for such superficial padding anymore.

    Just then, a mor came from the rear courtyard. ¡°What happened? Did you guys find something?¡± Sang Hong asked in a serious tone.

    A subordinate came to offer a report. ¡°Sir! We¡¯ve searched all of the other areas, but we aren¡¯t being allowed to search three areas.¡±

    The guards of the Chu n spoke up immediately. ¡°These are the rooms of Master and Madam, and the chambers of the First and Second Miss. How can we allow these men to enter?¡±

    Qin Wanru was furious. ¡°Lord Sang, aren¡¯t you going a little too far?¡±

    Sang Hong smiled. ¡°This is merely a formality, and it is for your own safety as well. If a criminal just happens to be hiding among you, wouldn¡¯t that bring harm to you all? Besides, we¡¯ve already conducted a thorough examination of the other n estates. If we don¡¯t conduct a full investigation, wouldn¡¯t I be bending thew for you?¡±

    Qin Wanru was both furious and anxious. However, if this man persisted with using his official duty as an excuse, there wasn¡¯t much else she could say in rebuttal.

    Zu An stepped forward and asked, ¡°Sir Sang, if I may ask, are you looking for a person, or an object?¡±

    Sang Hong frowned. ¡°A person, of course.¡±

    ¡°In that case... I saw many rooms which have beenpletely trashed in your search. Nothing has been spared, not even the ces where it¡¯s obvious no one can hide in.¡± Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°Those who don¡¯t know better might think that Lord Sang is using this search for criminals as an excuse to look for something else. For example... an ount book?¡±

    Sang Hong¡¯s expression twitched slightly. Everyone in the Chu Estate looked at him with even more suspicion.

    Sensing the tension mounting, Sang Hongughed and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to cause such a misunderstanding today. Forget it, then. I reckon the Chu Estate¡¯s security has always been tight, so these criminals wouldn¡¯t have been able to enter anyway. There¡¯s no need to search the remaining ces. Call our men back.¡±

    He could only carry out a search in the duke¡¯s estate because he had a righteous reason to do so. The smallest w in this reasoning would give the Chu n an excuse to retaliate. He certainly didn¡¯t want to take that risk. Either way, he had more or less achieved his objective for the day. The ount book could only be hidden in those three ces.

    He would leave the rest of it up to that individual.

 Chapter 365: Exposed

    <h4>Chapter 365: Exposed</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Qin Wanru was furious. These two-faced officials really were so shameless that they could twist words in any way to benefit themselves.

    His reason for searching their estate had sounded so morally upright, and he was now using a different yet equally lofty reason to justify stopping the search. Utterly disgusting!

    Even though she alwaysined that Chu Zhongtian was too square andcked the slyness of his more worldly counterparts, she would be the first one to implode if he transformed into one of these wily old foxes himself.

    However, given how matters stood right now, she could only endure this current situation. ¡°You have my thanks, Lord Sang,¡± she said coldly.

    Sang Hong waspletely unfazed by the sarcasm evident in her voice. Instead, he looked at Zu An and said, ¡°Madam has found a good son-inw.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He didn¡¯t know why in the world this man would suddenly praise him, but there was no way his intentions were good. As such, he replied, ¡°Lord Sang has also found a good daughter-inw.¡±

    Sang Hong was bbergasted. He felt rage boiling within him. The other party was clearly mocking his son for still wishing to get married despite being at death¡¯s door!

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Hong for 399 Rage points!

    ¡°Youngsters shouldn¡¯t be too arrogant,¡± Sang Hong shot back. He stormed off in a huff. This kid won¡¯t be able to act smug for much longer anyway. I¡¯ll slowly settle things with him in the future!

    Zu An noticed the Rage pointsing in. I was congratting him on finding a good daughter-inw, and he still got angry with me! What a petty man.

    To be honest though, Zheng Dan really is a fine woman. I¡¯ve even given her a try myself. I¡¯m not some blind critic¡ªevery aspect of her really is spectacr.

    Chu Huanzhao ran over and grabbed Zu An¡¯s arm as Sang Hong and his men took their leave. ¡°You were so cool today, brother-inw! You even chased away the governor!¡±

    Qin Wanru also sighed in gratitude. It really was nice to have a man around the house. Just as she was about to praise Zu An, she noticed the intimate way in which her second daughter hadtched onto him, and her brow furrowed instinctively. However, this fellow had done them a great favor today, so she couldn¡¯t bring herself to scold him. Her only option was to pretend that she hadn¡¯t seen anything.

    Of course, others saw this scene quite differently. Cheng Shouping gave Jiao Shanhe and the others a smug look. I told you so!

    Jiao Shanhe and the others weren¡¯t too depressed, as they had pretty much resigned themselves to their fate. Instead, they only felt sincere happiness for their young master.

    Zu An smiled at this time. ¡°How could someone like me possibly scare off the governor? Surely they only left out of fear of the Chu n and Madam. I¡¯m just a lowly fox, relying on the power of these tigers behind me to chase him away.¡±

    ¡°Look at how humble you are all of a sudden! I can¡¯t get used to this side of you at all!¡± Qin Wanru couldn¡¯t help but exim.

    ¡°When have I ever not been humble? I¡¯m just always misunderstood by everyone else,¡± Zu An said with a straight face.

    ¡°Enough, enough. I already know what kind of person you are,¡± Qin Wanru said snidely. ¡°By the way, were you implying that I¡¯m a tigress?¡±

    Zu An stared nkly. He really hadn¡¯t intended that at all! However, he didn¡¯t see any Rage points from her, which implied that she wasn¡¯t actually angry. That emboldened him to say, ¡°How can that be? I¡¯ve never seen such a pretty tigress before.¡±

    Qin Wanru¡¯s face went red. She gave him an annoyed look. ¡°Impudent!¡± With that, she turned around and left.

    The guards were all stupefied. Clearly, they had still underestimated the young master! He even dared to tease their Madam!

    Even more shocking, Madam¡ªwho was usually so fierce and strict¡ªhadn¡¯t gotten mad at him!

    It seems like the young master has already fully established himself in the Chu n.

    After the events of the day, the Chu n quickly returned to a more peaceful state. The estate¡¯s servants went about tidying up all the areas that had been messed up during the search. Soon, night fell.

    Qn Wanru convened a meeting with butler Hong Zhong and the other trusted Chu n aides to deal with all the important matters that had piled up, and also to discuss their ns going forward. She even called Zu An to attend the meeting as well.

    After having him around for a while, she discovered that Zu An wasn¡¯t as useless as she had first thought him to be. On the contrary, he was quite the talent.

    She decided to use this opportunity to take him under her wing. This way, he could shoulder some of Chuyan¡¯s burdens, and help the Chu n as well.

    Unfortunately, when theyunched into a discussion of the Chu n¡¯splicated business matters, he began to yawn at once. Soon afterwards, he fell asleep on the table.

    Qin Wanru frowned. She was disappointed, but she couldn¡¯t scold him in front of everyone. She had no choice but to let him be.

    While they were inside the meeting hall, a man dressed in ck sneaked into Qin Wanru and Chu Zhongtian¡¯s room.

    He seemed extremely familiar with how the security had beenid out, and navigated through it with ease.

    Once he had broken in, he rummaged through all the possible locations where something could be kept.

    Sang Hong¡¯s men had already searched most of the estate during the day. The only ces he hadn¡¯t been able to search were this room and the rooms of the two daughters.

    Everyone knew what kind of personality Chu Huanzhao had. There was no way the ount book would be hidden in her room.

    The Unvoiced Residence was a possibility, but Chu Chuyan still hadn¡¯t returned. With the residence vacant, the Chu n probably wouldn¡¯t keep something so important there.

    That left the n master¡¯s residence. This was the most logical deduction!

    He had already thought about the possible ces within the residence that this ount book could be stored. However, his long and arduous search remained unsessful.

    He began to panic. This ount book was too important! Sang Hong¡¯s support hinged on this, and it was also the foundation that would enable him to control the Chu n in the future. Without this ount book, things would be much, much more difficult.

    He went through the rooms again, looking through every single nook and cranny. However, he still turned up empty-handed.

    Why, why?!

    He roared internally. Had he schemed for so many years, just to be defeated like this?

    However, he couldn¡¯t change reality no matter how he vented his frustrations.

    It was time to leave!

    He realized that time was almost up. However, leaving now without finding what he¡¯de for was just too disappointing!

    He turned around and looked at the bed. Suddenly, a thought shed into his mind. He hopped over to the bed andy down.

    Qin Wanru probably sleeps here just like this.

    That Chu Zhongtian sure is a lucky bastard. He gets to sleep with such a ravishing woman every night! If I were him, I wouldn¡¯t even want to get out of bed in the morning!

    He sniffed the sheets. Qin Wanru¡¯s unique scent lingered on them. He waspletely entranced.

    He greedily took in the smell of the bedcovers. It was as if the goddess of his dreams was right on top of him.

    He would never again have a chance to smell her scent from so up close. He hugged her pillow to his face as though his life depended on it.

    As he sniffed the pillow, something urred to him. He quickly got up and fumbled about the pillow. Eventually, he found a hiddenpartment, and drew out a small booklet. When he saw the words ¡®ount book¡¯, he flipped through it rapidly and saw the lines of records inside. Wasn¡¯t this precisely what he¡¯d been looking for?!

    ¡°Ha ha ha! I¡¯ve finally found it! My time hase atst!¡± The manughed crazily. He felt as if even the heavens were on his side.

    ¡°Name yourself!¡± A shout suddenly interrupted him.

    His heart gave a sudden start. He raised his head and saw Qin Wanru staring at him from close by.

    Damn it! I wasted too much time lying on the bed!

    Qin Wanru glimpsed what was in his hand. Herplexion paled. ¡°Thief! How dare you!¡±

    There was no time to say anything else. She rushed towards the man.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The ck-clothed man moved as well. He took a frantic leap towards the window.

    However, he was just a step toote. He was blocked by Qin Wanru just as he reached the window.

    Qin Wanru was still at the sixth rank, after all. With the ount book in jeopardy, there was no way she would show the slightest hesitation.

    In a sh, the two of them exchanged a dozen blows.

    With one hand holding the ount book, the ck-clothed individual was at a clear disadvantage. Eventually, a blow slipped through his defenses. Qin Wanru tore off his mask.

    She was stunned when she saw his face. ¡°You?¡±

 Chapter 366: Multiple Choice Question

    <h4>Chapter 366: Multiple Choice Question</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Qin Wanru was astounded. She had never expected it to be this person.

    The other party seized this chance to whip out a bamboo pipe. He blew out a st of pink mist into her face.

    Even though Qin Wanru instantly held her breath, it was still toote. She smelled a sweet scent, and instantly became dizzy. She backed away from him in a few quick steps. ¡°What sort of drug did you use?!¡±

    That person wasn¡¯t in a hurry to leave either. Instead, he slowly walked over to her from the window, his face lit by the moonlight and the soft glow of the candles.

    The two dark circles ringing his eyes were especially clear. He was the head of the Chu n¡¯s second branch, Chu Tiesheng!

    ¡°The name of the drug is Bull¡¯s Cream. It gets its name from the fact that only the milk of a bull can neutralize its effects.¡± Chu Tiesheng¡¯s breathing grew ragged. He hadn¡¯t expected to reveal all of his cards at once, and he couldn¡¯t contain his anxiety as well.

    ¡°What rubbish is that? How can you obtain milk from a bull?!¡± Qin Wanru deliberately raised her voice. She began to wonder why no guards had appeared, despite all the noise.

    Chu Tieshengughed. ¡°Indeed, bulls cannot be milked. As such, there is no antidote for this drug. Only the joining of a man and woman can eliminate its effects.¡±

    ¡°An aphrodisiac!¡± Qin Wanru¡¯s face immediately paled. ¡°Chu Tiesheng, I never knew you harbored such shameless thoughts towards me!¡±

    ¡°Shameless?¡± Chu Tiesheng¡¯s expression became cold. ¡°How can this be shameless? A beautiful woman belongs to a noble man, after all. I refuse to believe that you¡¯ve never sensed my intentions after all these years!¡±

    Qin Wanru roared in fury. ¡°Absolutely disgraceful! I am your sister-inw! It¡¯s normal for feelings to develop between men and women, but you should know when to show restraint!¡±

    ¡°Sister-inw?¡± Chu Tiesheng sneered. ¡°There¡¯s amon saying¡ªnothing is tastier than dumplings, and nothing is more fun than a sister-inw.¡±

    Qin Wanru stared at him in horror.

    ¡°Have you gone mad? The Chu n is currently facing an unprecedented crisis. We cannot afford an internal conflict right now! I can pretend that nothing happened if you apologize and admit your wrongdoing immediately!¡± Qin Wanru was so angry that her entire body was shaking. However, her rational mind told her that it would be unwise for her to make a move right then.

    Chu Tieshengughed. ¡°Isn¡¯t the Chu n in its current predicament precisely because of Chu Zhongtian¡¯s stubbornness? If the Chu n continues under his leadership, it¡¯ll only be a matter of time before the Chu n meets its end! Everything I am doing is for the sake of rescuing the Chu n!¡±

    Qin Wanru¡¯s heart sank. It dawned on her that things were definitely not as simple as she thought. ¡°Are you nning to rebel?¡±

    ¡°The seat of n master of the Chu n should obviously belong to the mostpetent person. Since Chu Zhongtian is leading the n towards a copse, why shouldn¡¯t I take his ce?¡± Chu Tiesheng was in no rush. The longer he stalled, the more the poison would spread through her body.

    Qin Wanru was at the sixth rank, after all. If they fought on even terms, he might not be able to win.

    ¡°Just how many people are in on this? Did you incite the third branch to rebel as well?¡± Qin Wanru demanded. She wanted to find out just how bad this rebellion was right now. She wanted to know if this was a rebellion by a single party, or if the second and third branches were conspiring together.

    Chu Tiesheng snickered. ¡°At least you have some self-awareness. You know that you¡¯ve let down the other branches, which is why you have such a guilty conscience.¡±

    Qin Wanru felt her body heating up. She couldn¡¯t help but loosen her cor. She knew that remaining here wasn¡¯t a sensible choice, but she needed to know more. ¡°Hmph! The two of you have always harbored uncontroble ambitions. Anyone could see that!¡±

    ¡°How can a human being not have ambition?¡± Chu Tiesheng walked towards her slowly, one step at a time. ¡°Wanru, could it be that you still want to save Chu Zhongtian? There is no harm in telling you this. He won¡¯t being back.¡±

    Qin Wanru was stunned. She wasn¡¯t stupid¡ªshe picked up on his meaning immediately. ¡°You colluded with Sang Hong?¡±

    Chu Tiesheng brought his palms together. ¡°Lord Sang is working for the emperor. I am merely going along with the flow by cooperating with him. How can this be called collusion?¡±

    ¡°Not even the slickest tongue can hide your despicable nature.¡± Qin Wanru rubbed her forehead. Her temperature was climbing, and she was starting to feel dizzy. She didn¡¯t know how much longer she could hold out for.

    ¡°The winner is the one who is right. I won¡¯t argue pointlessly with you anymore.¡± Chu Tiesheng fished out a bottle from an inner pocket. His expression grew more and more malicious. ¡°Sister-inw, do you know how much I¡¯ve thought about you, every day and night? Yet, I could never obtain you. I had no choice but to seek out other methods.

    ¡°This is something I found a while back. It¡¯s called ¡®Worries-Be-Gone¡¯. Take this, and you¡¯ll forget everything that has happened within several hours. When I first got this, I nned to find a chance to overpower you, knowing that everything would be back to normal the day after. You wouldn¡¯t remember a thing... The next time I wanted you, I¡¯d make you use it again. This way, you¡¯ll be all mine, and we¡¯d even be able to keep it quiet.¡±

    Qin Wanru¡¯s countenance changed drastically when she heard his deranged murmurings. How could such a vile drug exist in this world? There was no way she would be able to die in peace if she was given such a drug.

    ¡°In the end, I couldn¡¯t bring myself to do it. It wouldn¡¯t have been any fun if I was the only one who remembered what happened. I didn¡¯t want you to continue being so proud and arrogant, looking at me with those eyes filled with scorn. I want you to remember every single detail about what happens between us!¡± Chu Tiesheng¡¯s eyes grew slightly bloodshot. His breathing hastened. ¡°That¡¯s why I continued searching, and I eventually found this ¡®Bull¡¯s Cream¡¯. This is a miraculous drug, on par with the ¡®Eighteen Spring Winds¡¯! It can turn even a virgin into an absolute slut, and only the milk of a bull can neutralize its effects. But where would you get milk from a bull? You know what other white substance is needed.¡±

    ¡°Shameless!¡± Qin Wanru didn¡¯t dare remain any longer. His words were bing more and more despicable, and her condition was deteriorat. She yelled out a curse and charged towards the exit. However, Chu Tiesheng was already prepared for this. He moved to block her path.

    Qin Wanru seemed to have be weaker after being exposed to the drug. Her speed had decreased dramatically, and she couldn¡¯t get past him at all.

    Her only option was to retreat further into the room. She was worried that he would force her to the ground.

    ¡°You were the one who was trying to prevent my escape just now. Who would¡¯ve thought that the tides would turn so quickly?¡± Chu Tiesheng had a smug smile on his face. ¡°What¡¯s the rush? I still have so many good things to show you.¡±

    He began to remove his clothes.

    Qin Wanru was appalled. What disgusting thing was he taking out this time?

    She felt a strong urge to turn her face away and shield her eyes. However, she was also worried that, if she did so, he would seize the chance to restrain her. She was at a loss as to what to do.

    Chu Tiesheng finally removed an item from inside his pants. It was ck and round. ¡°This is a recording stone that I obtained with great difficulty. It will be able to record everything that happens here. I can rey the recording at any time in the future.

    ¡°Say, if Chu Zhongtian saw me toying with his wife in his own room, in his own bed, do you think he might drop dead from anger right then?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re disgusting!¡± Qin Wanru¡¯s entire body was trembling. Rage was building up inside her, and she was about to explode.

    She lost her patience. She charged at him, hoping to kill the disgusting brute in front of her before the drug could spread through her body fully.

    Chu Tiesheng was hoping that her anger would ovee her. It merely served to speed up the effects of the drug. He easily dodged her attacks. ¡°Sister-inw, don¡¯t be in such a rush! There are actually two paths you can choose from. The first is exactly what I described. If you oppose me, I¡¯ll use force to acquire you. Then, I¡¯ll show Chu Zhongtian everything.

    ¡°The second path is this: serve me and apany me, and I won¡¯t tell anyone what happened. I will even agree to help you safeguard Chu Zhongtian¡¯s life. You can continue to be a duchess, but only on the condition that you apany me wherever I go. This is quite a favorable deal for you, don¡¯t you think?

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to be in such a hurry to reject me either. Outsiders might not know about the issues within the Chu n, but how could I not know? The two of you have always desperately wanted a son, and yet you¡¯ve only managed to give birth to daughters after all these years. In thest ten years, the two of you haven¡¯t even been able to give birth to another daughter. I¡¯ve struggled so hard to understand why this would be. A beautiful wife like you shouldn¡¯t be cast aside until you¡¯ve had a whole litter of children!

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°After many years of observation, I now know that Chu Zhongtian¡¯s body has long since lost its virility. You¡¯re in the prime of your life, yet you¡¯ve been neglected for so many years. Surely you have your own needs and desires as well?¡±

 Chapter 367: An Unforeseen Event

    <h4>Chapter 367: An Unforeseen Event</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Qin Wanru was lost in a daze. Chu Tiesheng¡¯s words were like knives that cut deeply into her heart again and again.

    When she was younger, she had fallen in love with Chu Zhongtian the first time sheid eyes on him. The two of them developed feelings for each other, and their wedding was one filled with happiness and bliss. This continued until he suffered a serious injury more than ten years ago...

    She loved her husband deeply. Compared to her love for him, such an issue wasn¡¯t a big deal at all.

    It had still been bearable at first. However, she was a woman, and a mature woman at that.

    From time to time, she would lie awake in the dead of night. However, she was afraid of expressing herself, as she did not want to hurt her husband¡¯s feelings.

    Such extreme and opposing feelings caused her temper to grow much hotter over the years. There were many instances in which she knew she could not act out, yet sometimes, she just couldn¡¯t control her emotions.

    If there really was a chance that she could somehow, secretly... And if it was never found out, perhaps it wouldn¡¯t bepletely uneptable...

    Qin Wanru was horrified as soon as this thought appeared in her head, and she strangled it immediately. She knew that the drug in her body had begun to take serious effect, and that it was even starting to affect her thoughts and judgment.

    However, she knew that there was no way she could overpower Chu Tiesheng in her current state. She could only pretend to y along.

    She brushed the strands of hair away from her cheeks and tucked them behind her ear. This simple movement was enough to make Chu Tiesheng¡¯s eyes widen, his mouth feel dry, and his heartbeat elerate. If he hadn¡¯t been afraid that she would retaliate, he might have already pounced on her.

    The desire in his eyes filled Qin Wanru with disgust. However, she maintained herposure and said, ¡°How can I be sure that you won¡¯t tell anyone in the future?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Chu Tiesheng was stunned, momentarily unable to react. He thought that he¡¯d somehow heard her wrongly.

    Qin Wanru endured the terrible feeling surging within her. She deliberately made her tone sweeter as she said, ¡°I¡¯m asking you this: if I do obey you, how would I know that you won¡¯t just go against our agreement and secretly let others know? Wouldn¡¯t thatpletely destroy me?¡±

    ¡°So that was what you were worried about.¡± Chu Tiesheng finally understood. The goddess that he¡¯d been yearning for day and night was finally loosening up. Ecstasy surged within him. ¡°Don¡¯t worry! I will never tell anyone about this!¡±

    Qin Wanru scoffed. ¡°The mouths of men are the most unreliable. Why would I trust your empty promises? That¡¯s why... that¡¯s why you cannot use the recording stone to record... record our deeds.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Chu Tiesheng¡¯s little brother saluted immediately when he heard this. Her tone clearly implied that she was agreeing to his request!

    He quickly eded to this. ¡°Sure, sure, sure! I won¡¯t use the recording stone!¡±

    If Qin Wanru really agreed to be by his side, then recording the deed wouldn¡¯t matter anymore.

    The whole point of the recording stone was to be able to relive the experience of this one night, after all.

    However, if Qin Wanru agreed to his conditions, he could just seek her out whenever he wanted her in the future.

    Besides, once they¡¯d done the deed a few times and becamepletely familiar with each other, she might not even refuse his advances anymore. After all, she had much to worry about right now.

    ¡°Then... you have to be a man of your word.¡± Qin Wanru said sweetly.

    ¡°Of course! Let the heavens strike me down with lightning if I go back on my word!¡± Chu Tiesheng said. ¡°Sister-inw, the only thing I¡¯ve ever wanted is you... Since you¡¯ve already agreed to my request, why would I still take such risks? Chu Zhongtian is practically finished, so I don¡¯t mind taking you as my nominal wife. This will surely make things even more exciting for the two of us in the future.¡±

    He couldn¡¯t hold himself back anymore. He threw himself at her. ¡°Sister-inw, you don¡¯t know how many years I yearned for this day...¡±

    A small part of him still suspected her, since Qin Wanru seemed to be acting far too differently all of a sudden. However, lust had already overtaken him. Besides, she had already been afflicted with the ¡®Bull¡¯s Cream¡¯. He let go of his lingering doubts and decided to believe her.

    Seeing her lovely face and thinking about how this stunning, well-endowed body would soon be in his embrace made Chu Tiesheng so excited, he felt like he was about to explode. Clearly, he¡¯d made the right choice this time.

    While Qin Wanru may have looked coy on the outside, she was still ice-cold inside.

    Just as Chu Tiesheng was about to embrace her, she sent her palm out, striking him in the middle of his chest. All of her pent-up rage waspletely focused into this one strike.

    ¡°Ah...¡± Chu Tiesheng squealed miserably as he fell backwards. He hadn''t expected this beautiful flower, which seemed all ready to be plucked, to suddenly turn into a man-eating nt.

    Qin Wanru¡¯s heart was full of regret. If she¡¯d been in peak condition, her strike would have surely crippled him, if it hadn¡¯t killed him outright.

    However, her strength and speed had been reduced by the effects of the drug. That was why her palm strike only dealt a moderate amount of damage.

    She was just about to seize this opportunity to end his life, but a wave of heat surged through her as soon as she took a single step, and her entire body grew limp.

    ¡°Damn it!¡± She steadied herself by leaning on the pir next to her. If she had waited any longer, she might have actually been defiled by that disgusting man.

    She¡¯d lost her window of opportunity to kill her opponent, so she didn¡¯t dare linger any longer. She quickly smashed a window and jumped through.

    She looked around in confusion as shended on the ground outside her room. There had been such a huge disturbance in the room¡ªthe guards should have rushed over immediately!

    However, not a single guard was in sight. There wasn''t even a single servant.

    She was shocked. It seemed Chu Tiesheng¡¯s scheme ran deep. How many people in Chu Estate had he bribed?

    She didn¡¯t dare waste any more time. She ran straight towards Hong Zhong¡¯s residence.

    There were two people Qin Wanru and her husband trusted the most in the Chu Estate: the butler Hong Zhong, and Commander Yue Shan. Yue Shan had been transferred away to investigate some matters recently.

    Now that she thought about it, this distraction was likely a part of Chu Tiesheng¡¯s scheme. He might have stirred things up precisely to draw Yue Shan away.

    Thank goodness she still had Hong Zhong!

    Without Yue Shan, the only one left in whom she had absolute trust was Hong Zhong.

    While others might betray her husband or her, Hong Zhong definitely would not.

    It wasn¡¯t just because he had already served the Chu n for many generations. She also had a clear understanding of his nature after so many years of interacting with him.

    He was old, wise, and extremely meticulous. His character was upright and unwavering.

    She sprinted frantically in the direction of his residence, stumbling several times along the way.

    Strange feelings¡ªfamiliar, yet unfamiliar¡ªsurged continuously within her, making her feel both ashamed and furious. The only thing on her mind right now was finding Hong Zhong and asking for his help. The Chu n was facing a severe tribtion.

    She ran straight into the courtyard and pounded on the door. ¡°Elder Hong, Elder Hong!¡±

    The door opened quickly. Hong Zhong walked out, a confused look on his face. ¡°Madam, why are you here?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have time to exin. Chu Tiesheng has rebelled. I don¡¯t know how many people have colluded with him. You need to quickly gather some men to arrest him...¡± Her eyes widened in shock, and she trailed off before she could finish. Hong Zhong''s hand shed out swiftly, striking her acupoints with deadly uracy. She could no longer move.

 Chapter 368: The Path of No Return

    <h4>Chapter 368: The Path of No Return</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Why?¡± Qin Wanru was in a state ofplete shock as she stared at the old man with his meticulouslybed hair. He looked the same as he always did, yet he suddenly seemed so unfamiliar.

    Hong Zhong sighed. ¡°I truly must apologize. Madam, the one thing you should never have done was to run to me.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Why?¡± Qin Wanru stared at him. Her eyes were filled with anger. Countless possibilities had crossed her mind, but she had never expected that Hong Zhong would betray her.

    She waspletely baffled. Why would Hong Zhong do such a thing?

    She had been drugged by Chu Tiesheng, and her acupoints had now been sealed as well. It was all over. The only thing on her mind right now was a desire to know why.

    ¡°I had no choice either...¡± Hong Zhong shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s meaningless to talk about these things now.¡±

    ¡°But I want to know!¡± Qin Wanru said coldly. ¡°The Chu n has always treated you well. My husband and I have always considered you our friend. What could you possibly gain from siding with Chu Tiesheng? Was what he offered you more than everything we¡¯ve ever given to you?¡±

    ¡°Chu Tiesheng...¡± A mocking smile graced the corners of Hong Zhong¡¯s lips. ¡°That fellow is quite unreliable. If I hadn¡¯t transferred the guards away from your residence, the whole estate would¡¯ve already learned about what he did to you in your room.¡±

    ¡°So it was you!¡± The truth struck Qin Wanru like a hammer. No wonder no one had rushed to her aid, even though such a hugemotion had broken out. ¡°If it wasn¡¯t Chu Tiesheng, then was it Sang Hong who bribed you? I still don¡¯t understand! We can match anything that Sang Hong could possibly offer you. From what I know about you, I can¡¯t possibly imagine anything that could tempt you!¡±

    As she continued to speak, her eyes suddenly lit up. A name came to her mind. ¡°Hong Xingying!¡±

    A trace of bitterness appeared between Hong Zhong¡¯s brows. ¡°Madam, you know that I am already in myter years. There aren¡¯t many things in this life that I am fond of either. The only thing I cannot let go of is that disappointing son of mine.¡±

    Qin Wanru couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°Hong Xingying is quite an excellent child! He has done much for the Chu n over these years, and the Chu n has always treated him well. What could possibly make you give up a lifetime of honorable service?¡±

    Hong Zhong sighed. ¡°Could it be that the Madam is trulypletely unaware? Why did Hong Xingying do so much for the Chu n all these years? I believe Madam should have a good idea why.¡±

    Qin Wanru bit her lower lip. ¡°I know that he¡¯s been attracted to Chuyan ever since he was little. I was quite fond of that child as well, and even nned to take him in as a son-inw. But Chuyan herself chose Zu An. What could I have done?¡±

    She paused for a moment. Then, she said, ¡°It seems like Chuyan¡¯s eyes had been far clearer than mine back then.¡±

    ¡°You are a great beauty yourself, and the first miss is no exception.¡± Hong Zhong seemed to be reliving certain painful memories. ¡°Xingying likes the first miss, but he could only watch as his beloved girl married another man.

    ¡°It would have been one thing if she¡¯d ended up marrying someone more outstanding than him. However, she ended up marrying someone who was inferior to him in every way, which mentally unsettled him. At that point, all it took was a single taunt to drive him tomit an unworthy act. Many times, a single wrong step is all it takes to lead one down a path of no return.¡±

    ¡°What was this wrong step that prevented him from turning back?¡± Qin Wanru was shocked. ¡°Was he the one who defiled the spiritual creek?¡±

    Too many things had happened since that night. First, the spiritual creek was destroyed, and then Zu An had been discovered in Chu Huanzhao¡¯s bed on the night of his wedding. A thief had even broken into Chu Estate shortly after. It had been aplete disaster.

    The chaos caused by the defilement of the spiritual creek was the source of all of this.

    Hong Zhong¡¯s voice was grave. ¡°There was no way he would allow the first miss to truly consummate her marriage with Zu An. To prevent that, he sought a way to destroy everything. Of course, he wasn¡¯t the only one who came up with the idea to defile the spiritual creek. He just happened to be at the right ce at the right time.¡±

    Qin Wanru wanted to ask him who it was that masterminded the defilement of the spiritual creek. However, given her current situation, she knew that this was already no longer important. ¡°Even if we found out he had destroyed the spiritual creek, we would still have been lenient with him, out of respect for all of your contributions to the n. Was this the only thing that made it impossible for him to turn back?¡±

    Hong Zhong shook his head. ¡°Many times, once something urs, it tends to happen again. Does Madam remember the time one of our caravans was suddenly attacked?¡±

    Qin Wanru was shocked. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that was also Hong Xingying¡¯s doing...¡±

    Hong Zhong¡¯s expression grew pained. ¡°Indeed. Someone incited him to cause that disturbance, suggesting that it could help him bait out the first miss, and give him a chance to interact with the first miss alone... How could that silly child possibly have known that he¡¯d waltzed right into their trap? Once the guards of the caravan had been wiped out, he crossed the point of no return.¡±

    Qin Wanru was speechless. Chu Zhongtian has always been a kindhearted and forgiving person, but there were a few family rules that he strictly enforced. One of them was that selling out the lives of others in the n was punishable by death.

    Even though the defilement of the spiritual creek was a serious matter, they would have been willing to drop it, considering the Hong n¡¯s contributions. However, with the deaths of so many n members during the attack on the caravan, all the Hong n¡¯s contributions would have counted for nought.

    Hong Zhong looked at her, his eyes burning with emotion. ¡°I¡¯m already so old, and it¡¯s only at thiste stage of my life that I¡¯ve managed to produce a son. His mother died in a difficult birth. How could I stand aside and watch him destroy himself like that? Can Madam understand my sorrows?¡±

    Qin Wanru resisted the strange feelings within her body. With thest burst of mental rity, she said, ¡°It¡¯s meaningless to tell me all of this now. All I know is that my husband and I have ced our trust in the wrong person.¡±

    At this time, Hong Zhong noticed that something was wrong with her body. His voice grew somber. ¡°Madam has been afflicted with ¡®Bull¡¯s Cream¡¯. This drug is extremely sinister. In light of all Master and Madam have done for me, I¡¯ll see Madam off myself. I will not let you be defiled by someone like Chu Tiesheng.¡±

    A small, relieved smile spread across Qin Wanru¡¯s reddened face. ¡°Thank you!¡±

    She knew that she had already lostpletely. Dying with dignity would be the best she could hope for.

    ...

    While all of this was happening, Zu An was busy cultivating in his own room. Suddenly, a figure appeared in the room.

    He didn¡¯t know how this person hade in, but had long grown ustomed to his sudden appearances. He immediately sped his fist and said, ¡°Elder!¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect a slippery brat like you to actually be so hardworking in private.¡± Old Mi nodded in satisfaction. ¡°What rank have you cultivated the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra up to?¡±

    ¡°Around the third rank, I believe.¡± Zu An felt his heart leap into his throat. He knew that it was nearly impossible to hide anything from him, considering the huge gap in cultivation between them.

    However, another voice inside him whispered that he couldn¡¯t reveal his true level of cultivation to the other party. It would be too dangerous.

    He couldn¡¯t exin where this thought hade from¡ªit was just intuition. He had always been a cautious person, and it was always better to be safe than sorry.

    Fortunately, he was able to hide his aura with the Mirror Mirage technique that Qiu Honglei had taught him, and it was worth a gamble.

    Old Mi sighed in amazement. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect a brat like you to be a cultivation genius! You¡¯ve managed to cultivate to this level in such a short amount of time! It seems like it¡¯s almost time.¡±

    ¡°Almost time for what?¡± Zu An was stunned.

    ¡°Nothing.¡± Old Mi smiled. ¡°Leaving your cultivation aside, I¡¯m much happier about the fact that you haven¡¯t deceived me.¡±

    Zu An shivered inside. He immediately smiled and said, ¡°Elder has shown me such kindness. How could I dare to hide anything from you?¡±

    Thank heavens this Mirror Mirage is so reliable! I really have to shower Qiu Honglei with kisses the next time I see her as thanks!

    ¡°Good, very good.¡± Old Mi nodded in satisfaction. ¡°I¡¯ll give you another chance to do a good deed.¡±

    ¡°What chance are we talking about?¡± Zu An said curiously.

    Old Mi looked off towards a certain direction within the Chu Estate. ¡°Something has happened to Qin Wanru. You should rush over to help her right now.¡±

    He nned to seize Zu An¡¯s body and take over his existence. If Chu Tiesheng sessfully seized power, what status would Zu An have left?

    He would be chased out of the n immediately.

    If that happened, then all his ns to be the Chu n¡¯s young master, enjoy a beautiful wife, and obtain endless glory and splendor would all go up in smoke.

    He obviously couldn¡¯t allow something like that to happen!

    However, Wei Dan was in Brightmoon City right now, so there was no way he could reveal himself. His only option was to send Zu An.

    Once he dealt with this uprising, Zu An¡¯s position in the n would strengthen tremendously.

    Zu An¡¯s glory was his glory, and Zu An¡¯s wife was his wife. Everything of Zu An¡¯s would be his!

    Zu An had no clue about all of this. To him, Old Mi was just staring at him weirdly.

    However, once he heard that something had happened to Qin Wanru, he knew that there wasn¡¯t a second to waste. He rushed off at once.

 Chapter 369: The Cooked Duck has Flown Away

    <h4>Chapter 369: The Cooked Duck has Flown Away</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Qin Wanru had already resigned herself to her fate. She even felt a dash of gratitude that she wouldn¡¯t have to be humiliated by Chu Tiesheng.

    A scream echoed from close by. ¡°Traitor! You dare?!¡±

    This voice seemed slightly familiar to Qin Wanru. However, the drug had already spread through her entire body, and she had begun to lose her grip on her consciousness. She couldn¡¯t identify the owner of this voice at all.

    Hong Zhong was startled. He quickly turned towards the source of the scream, but saw arge rock flying towards him instead.

    He smashed the rock to pieces with a single punch, then turned quickly back towards Qin Wanru. A man was now standing at her side.

    Zu An noticed the seal on her body, and quickly unraveled it. Fortunately, Hong Zhong hadn¡¯t employed any special technique, so it wasn¡¯t too difficult.

    Qin Wanru hadpletely sumbed to the effects of the ¡®Bull¡¯s Cream¡¯. Once her acupoints were unsealed, her legs immediately gave out.

    ¡°Madam, be careful!¡± Zu An immediately reached out to support her.

    The masculine aura of a man¡¯s embrace threw her mind into absolute chaos. She wanted to struggle free, yet she found that she couldn¡¯t move at all. However, she immediately rxed when she saw who it was. ¡°Ah Zu, it¡¯s you...¡±

    After all the deceit and betrayal she had experienced today, she had trulye to believe that there was no one left that she could trust.

    However, as shey in Zu An¡¯s embrace, she felt a mysterious and unexinable sense of ease.

    Perhaps it was what her daughter had said before she left, or perhaps it was the camaraderie they had shared on their adventure that night.

    Her heart was full of regret. If, instead of seeking out Hong Zhong, she¡¯d sought out Zu An first, things might not have turned out this way.

    Zu An could spare no time to talk to her. Even though he was usuallyckadaisical in nature, he was still an intelligent person.

    Hong Zhong was the Chu n¡¯s butler, which meant that he was at least at the pinnacle of sixth rank. There was even a chance that he was at the seventh rank.

    Hong Zhong was also a traitor, so there was no way he would hold back in a fight. It would be a death sentence if Zu An challenged him head on.

    Instead, he instantly used Grandgale to carry Qin Wanru away.

    ¡°Huh? Why is your body so hot?¡± Qin Wanru¡¯s body felt extremely strange. Not only was she soft like cotton, her body was heating up and giving off a rich fragrance. Zu An was puzzled, but this wasn¡¯t the time to be worrying about something like this.

    Hong Zhong was thrown off by the sudden rescue. ¡°Where do you think you are going?!¡± He immediately gave chase. If Zu An sessfully rescued Qin Wanru, it would mess up the entire scheme.

    Even though Zu An¡¯s instantaneous movement was fast, the distance he could cover with each use was limited, and there was a limit to the number of times he could activate it. Not only that, but he was carrying someone as well. Slowly but surely, Hong Zhong was closing the gap.

    Soon Zu An¡¯s back came into range of his attack. A sh of hesitation crossed Hong Zhong¡¯s face.

    He wasn¡¯t malicious by nature, so killing an innocent person still pained him. Not only that, these two were individuals that he had served diligently as well.

    Just then, a fierce shout came from off to the side. ¡°Hong Zhong, what are you standing around for?!¡±

    Apparently, Chu Tiesheng had already rushed over as well. He had been so horny earlier that he¡¯d let his guard down, and Qin Wanru had almost taken his life.

    His injuries weren¡¯t slight, and it had taken him a while to catch his breath. He had rushed over just in time to see this scene y out in front of him.

    His voice shook Hong Zhong out of his daze. Zu An was the reason why his son had begun walking this path to hell.

    Allowing Qin Wanru to escape would also mean more trouble for them.

    A vicious glint shed across his eyes, and he directed a punch towards Zu An¡¯s back.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    As his arm moved, a projection of a fist materialized in the air ahead of him, flying towards Zu An¡¯s back.

    Zu An had seen that there was still some distance between them, and he waspletely focused on running. He had yet to realize that he was already in danger.

    However, Qin Wanru saw all of this. ¡°Be careful!¡± she cried out in rm.

    She didn¡¯t know where she found the strength to do so, but she managed to move around behind Zu An with great difficulty. She blocked the strike with her own back.

    She didn¡¯t know why she did this either. Perhaps it was because of how dismally everything had turned out for her so far¡ªsubconsciously, she believed that it was probably better to exchange her own life for Zu An¡¯s safety.

    That way, someone else would still know the truth about what had happened.

    If Zu An died from this punch, then her helpless, drugged-up self would be subjected to an even worse fate.

    Even if Zu An somehow managed to save her, she had already been poisoned by such a vile drug. It was already hard for her to control her own impulses, and her mental faculties were in tatters. If something really happened with him afterwards, she would take bitter regret with her to her grave and beyond.

    ¡°Pfft!¡± Qin Wanru felt a huge impact batter her body. Blood sprayed out of her mouth, robbing her of the rest of her strength. Her body was powerless, like a leaf swirling in the air, buffeted by a gust of wind.

    ¡°Madam!¡± Blood sttered over Zu An¡¯s cheeks. He couldn¡¯t be bothered to wipe it off right now. Even his heart was shaking.

    Hong Zhong and Chu Tiesheng were about to catch up. Suddenly, a massive tree fell, blocking their path.

    Instinctively, they dodged the falling tree. By the time they recovered, Zu An was already nowhere to be seen.

    ¡°We need to catch him!¡± Chu Tiesheng said in a panic. He wanted to keep running.

    Hong Zhong held him back. ¡°Stop chasing them!¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Chu Tiesheng was confused. Even his eyes had begun to turn red. The only thing on his mind right then was that Qin Wanru needed his treatment.

    If he didn¡¯t catch them, wouldn¡¯t he have only ended up helping Zu An?

    ¡°Are you deaf? The estate is in an uproar right now!¡± Hong Zhong snarled. ¡°The guards of the Chu Estate guards have been mobilized thanks to the sudden activity. We have to think about how to deal with this situation! Where do we have the time to satisfy that thing in your pants?!¡±

    Chu Tiesheng turned around. Sure enough, he saw a smattering of lights bobbing about. A considerable number of people were hurrying in their direction.

    His face grew dark. However, he knew that he had to deal with the current situation in the Chu Estate, and he was under pressure from Sang Hong as well. He had to give up the chase. ¡°If we let Qin Wanru go now, wouldn¡¯t whatever we say count for nothing when she returns?¡±

    Hong Zhong shook his head. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Madam cannot possibly survive my blow.¡±

    A flicker of sadness shed across his eyes. He had wanted to avoid this if he could, but it had been the only choice left.

    Chu Tiesheng¡¯s expression changed immediately. As a member of the Chu n, how could he not know about the formidable power behind Hong Zhong¡¯s Heart-smashing Fist?

    If she had been in her usual state, Qin Wanru might still have had a chance of surviving the strike.

    However, in her weakened state, there was practically no chance of survival if his blow hadnded on a vital area.

    ¡°Sigh, what a pity.¡± Chu Tiesheng looked miserable. Why had he been so obsessed earlier? He¡¯d ended up allowing this cooked duck to fly away...

    Hong Zhong snorted. ¡°How do you still have the nerve to say that? If it hadn¡¯t been for your muddle-headedness, there wouldn¡¯t have been so many mishaps!¡±

    Chu Tiesheng felt a sh of resentment. This guy had no qualms about embarrassing him in the open!

    He made a mental note to himself. Hong Zhong simply held too much prestige in the Chu n. He had to find a way to get rid of him once he rose to the position of n master. He wouldn¡¯t be truly inmand until that happened.

    Neither of them noticed the old man hiding in the shadows, silently watching everything y out. Satisfied that they were not giving chase, the old men turned and left.

    Old Mi frowned in Zu An¡¯s direction. If he had known things would turn out like this, he would have interfered earlier.

    The fallen tree had been his work.

    A weak voice came from behind Zu An. ¡°Don¡¯t bother with me anymore. Let me down. You should try to escape by yourself.¡±

    Zu An said gravely, ¡°You are Chuyan and Huanzhao¡¯s mother. How can I give up on Madam¡¯s life?! You even sacrificed yourself to save me. Wouldn¡¯t I be considered less than a beast if I abandoned you now?¡±

    Qin Wanru shook her head weakly. ¡°You don¡¯t understand... I¡¯ve been drugged... death is already the best form of release.¡±

    ¡°Drugged?¡± Zu An was stunned. He stopped to take a look at her.

    Qin Wanru¡¯s face was flushed with an unnatural redness. ¡°Chu Tiesheng, that despicable man, used ¡®Bull¡¯s Cream¡¯ on me. It¡¯s a powerful... aphrodisiac. No medicine can eliminate its effects¡ªthe only way to neutralize it is by joining with a man. That is why I would rather die.¡±

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t that mean that we just need to find father-inw? What¡¯s so hard about that?¡± Zu An replied. At the same time, he cursed that shameless Chu Tiesheng. He remembered the looks of desire that the man had directed towards Qin Wanru in secret, but he never expected him to be so daring to do such a thing to her.

    Qin Wanru was furious. ¡°You know nothing!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Wanru for 233 Rage points!

    Zu An was stunned. Why did she suddenly get mad at him?

    ¡°You won¡¯t be able to get far if you carry me with you. I¡¯m already doomed. Instead of dying together, it would be better if you escaped first. You can still expose their plot! With that, I wouldn¡¯t have died for nothing,¡± Qin Wanru said anxiously.

    Zu An refused. ¡°I have no status at all. How could I hope to ovee the prestige that Hong Zhong and Chu Tiesheng hold? No one would believe me even if I told them.¡±

    Qin Wanru was stunned. She realized that what he¡¯d said was the truth. ¡°You can at least tell Chuyan. She will definitely believe you.¡±

    Zu An picked her up again. ¡°The best oue would be for you to personally expose their schemes. Don¡¯t worry, I know someone who can definitely get rid of your poison.¡±

    After saying this, he sped off in another direction.

 Chapter 370: Slander

    <h4>Chapter 370: nder</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Qin Wanru panicked when she heard what he said. ¡°No! I don¡¯t want to get rid of the poison, I don¡¯t want...¡±

    ¡°Rx, I¡¯m not going to use the method you¡¯re thinking of,¡± Zu An exined.

    Soon, however, even his own expression grew strange. Qin Wanru kept squirming around in his arms, which made him start to burn up as well.

    Zu An shivered. He put her firmly out of his mind and stopped looking at her anymore. He focused all of his attention on heading to his destination.

    ...

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The Chu Estate was inplete chaos. All of the important members of the Chu n had gathered together.

    Chu Hongcai led a detachment of guards to secure the area. Chu Yuepo was still the same chubby, harmless-looking man. However, hecked his characteristic smile, which had been reced by a slightly serious expression.

    He tried to talk to Chu Tiesheng several times, but thetter merely shook his head and stopped him.

    ¡°Brother-inw isn¡¯t here either!¡± Chu Huanzhao ran over in panic. She had been resting in her room when the chaos in the estate had awakened her. Frightened, she had gone looking for her mother. When she couldn¡¯t find her mother, she looked for Zu An instead, but he wasn¡¯t in his room either. She even saw a bunch of guards searching his room thoroughly, making a mess.

    She ran to Hong Zhong and Chu Tiesheng and demanded, ¡°What happened? Where did my mom go? Why are you all searching brother-inw¡¯s room?¡±

    Chu Tiesheng¡¯s expression was ashen. ¡°I am about to tell everyone a great secret that you absolutely cannot reveal to anyone outside the n. Otherwise, our Chu n will be embroiled in a huge scandal.¡±

    Even Chu Yuepo gave him a curious look when he heard how serious he was. He tried to guess what the matter was.

    From nowhere, an ominous feeling began to grow within Chu Huanzhao.

    When he saw everyone quiet down, Chu Tiesheng continued with a grave expression, ¡°Zu An, that brute, was actually despicable enough to use that sort of drug on sister-inw. He wanted to defile sister-inw!¡±

    A great uproar broke out when everyone gathered there heard these words.

    Chu Yucheng and his father Chu Yuepo exchanged looks of doubt and astonishment. Chu Yucheng was about to ask his father about it, when he caught a glimpse of something deep within the other¡¯s eyes. He swallowed the words he had been about to say.

    Chu Hongcai¡¯s head whipped around. His many interactions with Zu An had led him to believe that the man was all sorts of strange, but he never expected that he would ever do something as brazen as this.

    Before he could say anything, Chu Huanzhao cried out, ¡°Nonsense! That¡¯s impossible!¡±

    There was no way she would believe that her beloved mother and brother-inw would ever engage in something like that. There was absolutely no way.

    ¡°Huanzhao, I know you are close to Zu An, so it¡¯s hard for you to ept this. However, this is the truth,¡± Chu Tiesheng said, his voice full of sorrow. ¡°There are maids here who have personally witnessed it. When Zu An realized that he had been exposed, he grabbed sister-inw and ran. Unfortunately, none of the maids are cultivators, so they couldn¡¯t stop that brute. Several of them were even ruthlessly dispatched by him. You can ask her if you don¡¯t believe me.¡±

    ¡°Qiu Ju, is what he says true?¡± Chu Huanzhao immediately directed her gaze at a servant girl nearby, who was visibly shaking. Everyone knew that this girl served in her mother¡¯s residence.

    ¡°True... it¡¯s true...¡± That servant girl¡ªQiu Ju¡ªtrembled violently. Chu Tiesheng had rounded up all the maids in the residence and ordered them to say this. The others were unwilling to do this, so he killed them all. She was the only one who buckled under the pressure and agreed.

    Chu Huanzhao¡¯s face paled instantly. She tottered backwards weakly, and her entire body fell limply into a chair. ¡°How is this possible...¡± she muttered to herself.

    At that moment, Feng Daniu and the other guards came to Zu An¡¯s defense. ¡°That¡¯s impossible! The young master would never do such a thing!¡±

    They had followed Zu An around for so long. Aside from Chu Huanzhao, they were probably the ones who were in the most disbelief over this matter.

    Chu Tiesheng was furious. ¡°Are you all using me of lying? Even Qiu Ju has provided her testimony!¡±

    Feng Daniu and the others look at each other in dismay. They didn¡¯t know what to say.

    Hong Zhong coughed softly and stepped forward. ¡°Actually, quite a few people saw Zu An heading westward with Madam.¡±

    ¡°Indeed, we saw Zu An carrying... carrying Madam fleeing in that direction in a panic,¡± several guards offered hesitantly.

    Feng Daniu and the others knew that these brothers guarded the western gate of the Chu Estate. They had served together as guards in the Chu Estate for so many years, and they were all familiar with each others¡¯ personalities. These brothers would never lie. Zu An¡¯s supporters grew conflicted.

    Hong Zhong twitched his eye, and a servant girl said weakly, ¡°Actually, I saw the young master seek out Madam a few days ago, early in the morning. Madam had woken up earlier than usual that day.¡±

    Another servant girl said, ¡°I remember seeing Madam leaving the estate with Zu An a few days ago too...¡±

    Before she could finish, Hong Zhong cut her off. ¡°What nonsense are you all spouting? Zu An clearly tried to force himself on Madam today, and then kidnapped her. The top priority right now should be catching this despicable scum. Do not discuss anything else. Do you understand me?!¡±

    ¡°We understand!¡± Everyone shivered when they saw the threatening look in his eyes. They agreed at once.

    However, there was still a strange disquiet in each of their hearts. Based on what that servant girl had said, it seemed as though Madam and the young master were having an affair.

    The young master was quite handsome¡ªthe first miss wouldn¡¯t have fallen for him otherwise. Now that both Master and First Miss were away, it wasn¡¯t entirely impossible that the two of them had started something out of loneliness.

    No wonder the Madam had begun to treat the young master better recently! This was clearly the reason why.

    Man¡¯s imagination was boundless, and so was his desire for gossip. Hong Zhong looked as though he was trying to hide the truth as well, which only gave more credibility to their thoughts.

    Feng Daniu and the others panicked. However, at that moment, Cheng Shouping tugged their sleeves and gave them each a warning nce.

    Hong Zhong and Chu Tiesheng began sending men out to capture Zu An. They even gave the order to kill him on the spot if he tried to resist.

    When those tasked with this order had left, Feng Daniu and the others rounded on Cheng Shouping with cold looks. ¡°Cheng brat, I believe the young master has always treated you quite well. Now that things have gone south for him, not only did you not help him, you even stopped us from speaking up for him! What is the meaning of this?!

    ¡°You too, Jiao Shanhe! You¡¯re always bbering about something¡ªwhy are you freezing up when it matters? You¡¯re gutless!¡±

    Cheng Shouping replied, ¡°Didn¡¯t you guys notice? Hong Zhong was acting all buddy-buddy with Second Master. If you had continued arguing, it would have cost you your life!¡±

    Feng Daniu and Zhou Lujun both sneered. ¡°You might be scared of death, but we¡¯re not!¡±

    Cheng Shouping panicked. ¡°It¡¯s not a matter of fear. We need to bear in mind that the young master escaped in a panic! He definitely needs help, now that so many people are after him. He only has enemies around him right now. Who will be around to help him if we die as well?¡±

    Only then did the expressions of Feng Daniu and the others ease up. What he¡¯d said made sense to them.

    Jiao Shanhe sounded surprised. ¡°Not bad, little Ping! You¡¯ve shown us a whole new side of you today! That was exactly what I wanted to say.¡±

    ¡°But of course! Do you think I¡¯m dumb?¡± Cheng Shouping rubbed his own chin, a smug look on his face. ¡°Wait, are you making fun of me?¡±

    Jiao Shanheughed. ¡°Of course not! First, we need to locate young master. We don¡¯t even know where he is right now.¡±

    ...

    Zu An hurried into a courtyard, Qin Wanru in his arms. Someone had juste out from inside, and they ended up bumping into each other.

    ¡°Ah!¡± A clear and delicate cry rang out.

 Chapter 371: Kids Do Some Stupid Shit

    <h4>Chapter 371: Kids Do Some Stupid Shit</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    He saw a petite figure fall backwards. Reacting quickly, Zu An reached out and grabbed hold of her. His fingers wrapped around a hand that was cool to the touch, and felt extremelyfortable to hold.

    Perhaps because he had run all the way here, he had begun to feel really warm.

    That was why this hand felt extremely good. He didn¡¯t ever want to let go.

    He noticed who he was holding on to, and immediately became excited. ¡°Xiaoxi, thank goodness I ran into you. I need...¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s face went red before he had even finished his sentence. She struggled free of his hand and took to her heels.

    Zu An finally remembered that she had been angry over the incident with the ¡®Eighteen Spring Winds¡¯, but he hadn¡¯t expected her to hold a grudge for this long.

    ¡°Xiaoxi, I really have something I need your help with!¡± Zu An said anxiously. Qin Wanru had almost lost consciousness. She waspletely limp in his arms.

    ¡°I¡¯m not helping you!¡± Ji Xiaoxi nced at the woman in his arms. She couldn¡¯t see who it was, since Qin Wanru¡¯s face was buried in his chest.

    This guy actually ran over to me while holding another woman in his arms!

    You have sessfully trolled Ji Xiaoxi for 33... 33... 33...

    Zu An was stupefied when he saw the Rage points. This girl was usually pretty good-natured. He hadn¡¯t expected her to behave in this manner at all!

    ¡°Xiaoxi, the incident with the ¡®Eighteen Spring Winds¡¯ really was my fault. You can curse and beat me up all you wantter, but I really need you to help me save someone today!¡± Zu An was really panicking now.

    Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s face went red. If it had just been about her identally testing the ¡®Eighteen Spring Winds¡¯, she wouldn¡¯t have been so angry. The main thing eating away at her was the fact that she¡¯d had to strip and soak in a tub, after which Zu An had seen her, and even touched her! The misunderstanding with Chu Huanzhao afterwards onlypounded matters further.

    She had always been incredibly pure. When had she ever experienced something like that before? That was why she had harbored this grudge all the while, and her feelings were alwaysplicated whenever she saw Zu An.

    She wanted to refuse him, but the kind, gentle side of her noticed that something was wrong with the woman in his arms. She was just about to say something when a furious bellow echoed around the courtyard. ¡°¡®Eighteen Spring Winds¡¯? How dare you bully my daughter?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Ji Dengtu for 678 Rage points!

    Ji Dengtu came roaring out. He looked like he was about to tear Zu An to shreds.

    Zu An jumped back in fright. Before he had a chance to exin himself, Ji Xiaoxi panicked and said, ¡°Dad, it¡¯s not what you think!¡±

    ¡°How could it not be what I¡¯m thinking? I just heard you guys say ¡®Eighteen Spring Winds¡¯. How dare this brat use such a vicious drug on you!? I am going to skin him alive!¡± Ji Dengtu was clearly an overprotective father who doted endlessly on his daughter.

    Yet, despite all his efforts, this pearl that he had carefully nurtured all these years had been fed to a pig! This drug needed eighteen rounds in order to dispel its effects! He was about to explode from anger.

    You have sessfully trolled Ji Dengtu for 999... 999... 999...

    Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s small face was entirely red. She wanted to exin matters, yet she had no clue where or how to start.

    Sensing Ji Dengtu¡¯s anger skyrocketing, Zu An knew that he was about to be ripped apart if he didn¡¯t fix the situation right away. He blurted out, ¡°Divine Physician Ji, you¡¯ve misunderstood! We weren¡¯t talking about Xiaoxi! It¡¯s Madam Chu who has been afflicted with the ¡®Eighteen Spring Winds¡¯!¡±

    He turned Qin Wanru over while saying this. She was currently unconscious, and her skin had gonepletely red. Her temperature was rmingly high, and he could even feel the heat through her clothes.

    He didn¡¯t know if it was because of the medicine¡¯s effects, but her entire body was giving off a rich fragrance. It smelled simr to a rose, but there was something different to it.

    ¡°Wanru?¡± When he saw the stunning woman in Zu An¡¯s arms, Ji Dengtu¡¯s eyes instantly lit up. ¡°No problem, I will cure her!¡±

    He immediately reached out his hands to take Qin Wanru.

    Zu An hurriedly took a step back. He looked at Ji Dengtu defensively. ¡°I fear that I cannot trouble Divine Physician Ji with this matter. After all, men and women are slightly different. I¡¯ll need Xiaoxi¡¯s help for this.¡±

    Are you kidding me? Do you think I don¡¯t know what sort of person you are?

    This dude asked me for Qin Wanru¡¯s undergarments! Why would I ever hand Qin Wanru to such a vulgar person? That¡¯s like sending a sheep straight into a wolf¡¯s den!

    Ji Dengtu was all smiles. ¡°That won¡¯t do, that won¡¯t do. Xiaoxi doesn¡¯t know how to cure something like that. I have to be the one to do it.¡±

    Zu An sneered. Nonsense! Even I can perform the method you¡¯re thinking of. Why would I bothering all the way here if that were the case?

    The two of them glowered at each other, neither side willing to back down.

    Ji Xiaoxi couldn¡¯t keep watching this. She walked over and said, ¡°I¡¯ll give it a try.¡±

    She was naturally kindhearted. When she learned what kind of poison Qin Wanru had been afflicted with, she immediately sympathized with her, since she¡¯d also experienced the same thing herself.

    Zu An finally rxed when he learned that she was the one who would be administering the treatment. He was about to hand Qin Wanru over when he was reminded of her delicate figure. He decided to help her bring Qin Wanru inside, afraid that she wouldn¡¯t be able to bear her weight.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    As he walked, Zu An said, ¡°She¡¯s been seriously injured as well. She might lose her life at any time.¡±

    Ji Dengtu had lost his frivolous smile. He walked over with a frown. After taking a look at the wound on her back, he said, ¡°Heart-smashing Fist? Hong Zhong rebelled? This is truly unexpected.¡±

    Zu An was surprised. This fellow seems to know the Chu n pretty well!

    Ji Dengtu took out a pill and fed it to Qin Wanru. ¡°This medicine can temporarily protect the arteries around her heart. We¡¯ll detoxify her first and then treat her injuries. Administering any other medicines will only worsen her condition. We need to move quickly.¡±

    Zu An was given a shock when he saw just how serious his expression was. ¡°Is it really that bad?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s worse than you¡¯ve imagined.¡± Ji Dengtu¡¯s face waspletely overcast. He said to Ji Xiaoxi, ¡°Xiaoxi, the poison she suffers from isn¡¯t ¡®Eighteen Spring Winds¡¯, but rather ¡®Bull¡¯s Cream¡¯. Use the detoxifying method I¡¯ve taught you before. Use a Heart-calming Pill with Imperial Bamboo Herb, Rootless Water...¡±

    ¡°Okay, okay. You men need to get lost!¡± Ji Xiaoxi ced a hand on their backs and gave them each a shove, chasing them out before mming the door shut.

    Ji Dengtu had turned around and was just about to say something. The door almost smashed into his nose. He immediately became upset. ¡°Why are you being so defensive? Isn¡¯t there a saying that a maiden will always act like a princess that clings to her father? My daughter isn¡¯t like this at all!¡±

    Zu An gave him a strange look. Does this guy really have no self-awareness?

    Despite this, he couldn¡¯t help but feel a sense of admiration. He had wanted to warn Ji Xiaoxi that Qin Wanru hadn¡¯t been afflicted with the ¡®Eighteen Spring Winds¡¯, but Ji Dengtu had seen through it right away. He truly deserved his reputation as a divine physician after all.

    ¡°Tell me what happened in the Chu n.¡± Ji Dengtu pulled him to the side and sat down along the stairs outside.

    Zu An told him about everything that had happened.

    ¡°Chu Zhongtian, you spineless good-for-nothing!¡± Ji Dengtu said angrily. ¡°You can¡¯t take care of your businesses outside, and you can¡¯t even protect your wife inside. Wanru really was blind for choosing you back then.¡±

    ¡°You had some kind of rtionship with Madam back then?¡± Zu An probed.

    Ji Dengtu said smugly, ¡°The two of us were obviously an ideal match! But that Chu Zhongtian used his status as a duke to rob me. The Qin n also had their own interests in mind. That¡¯s why we lovebirds were ripped apart, with no say in the matter at all.¡±

    Zu An stared nkly at him.

    Bro, are you listening to yourself right now? You¡¯re crazy.

    Qin Wanru always had a look of disdain on her face whenever she mentioned him. He never saw a trace of affection from her when she met Ji Dengtu!

    This dude was probably just a resentful simp whose goddess had been stolen by Chu Zhongtian.

    ¡°Speaking of which, that Chu Tiesheng looks so stupid and cowardly. I didn¡¯t expect him to have such skills.¡± Ji Dengtu sounded impressed.

    Zu An was curious. ¡°Skills? Are you talking about his takeover of Chu Estate?¡±

    ¡°You call that a skill?¡± Ji Dengtu looked at him as though he were some sort of idiot. ¡°I¡¯m obviously talking about the fact that he got his hands on ¡®Bull¡¯s Cream¡¯! All the years I¡¯ve spent on this earth, and I only stumbled upon a tiny amount of it when I was a kid. I ended up using it for research! Sigh... Kids really do some stupid shit... Later on, I couldn¡¯t find any more no matter how hard I tried! Heh, I didn¡¯t expect Chu¡¯s Second Master to have some. I¡¯ll have to steal the rest of it from him when I get a chance.¡±

 Chapter 372: Too Late

    <h4>Chapter 372: Too Late</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An was speechless. This was a glorious divine physician, and yet he was vulgar to the point where, if he wasn¡¯t looking for adult-themed books, he was hunting for aphrodisiacs instead. Even he felt embarrassed for him!

    ¡°Damned brat! What kind of expression is that?¡± Ji Dengtu gave him a threatening look when he noticed his expression.

    However, a wise man chooses his battles. Zu An immediately smiled and said, ¡°My respect for Elder Ji gushes forth like the relentless tides of the river! It is as vast as the Brightmoon River itself, inexhaustible and unending...¡±

    Ji Dengtu stroked his chin in satisfaction. ¡°Not bad, kid, not bad. You have prospects. You are worthy of my good opinion of you.¡±

    Zu An sneered inside, but he still asked, ¡°By the way, since you are friends with Madam, could you help her get rid of those traitors Hong Zhong and Chu Tiesheng? You can even grab the rest of Chu Tiesheng¡¯s ¡®Bull¡¯s Cream¡¯ along the way.¡±

    ¡°You fool!¡± Ji Dengtu cried with disdain. ¡°How dumb do you think I am? It¡¯s my fervent hope that these two guys mess up the Chu n! It would be better if even Chu Zhongtian were finished as well. Wanru would have no one else to rely on, and it would be easier to take advantage... Ahem, ahem! It would be easier for me to take care of her.¡±

    Zu An had nothing to say to that.

    Bro, you are making so much sense, even I can¡¯t argue with your logic.

    Ji Dengtu smacked his forehead. ¡°What was I just talking about? Right, ¡®Bull¡¯s Cream¡¯! It¡¯s hard to get your hands on that, but what¡¯s harder to obtain is the ¡®Eighteen Spring Winds¡¯. Now that¡¯s some mysterious and precious stuff. There¡¯s still an antidote for ¡®Bulls Cream¡¯, but once you are poisoned by the ¡®Eighteen Spring Winds¡¯, there¡¯s really no other way to get rid of it unless a man and a woman go at it eighteen times.

    ¡°There¡¯s still a way to cleanse yourself if you¡¯ve only ingested a small amount. I¡¯ve taught Xiaoxi how to deal with it, but I hope she never encounters it. There¡¯s no easy way out if you¡¯ve been poisoned by the ¡®Eighteen Spring Winds¡¯.¡± Ji Dengtu looked worried.

    Zu An had a strange look on his face. No wonder Ji Xiaoxi had managed to detoxify herself! It turns out her father had already taught her how.

    Ji Dengtu really was amazing. He was even able to cleanse such a poison! However, his perverted look still remained in Zu An¡¯s mind... He clearly was the prime example of talent unrestrained by morality.

    ¡°If you ever hear anything about this drug, let me know. I¡¯m willing to spend a lot of money to purchase it,¡± said Ji Dengtu, even though he didn¡¯t really have much hope that Zu An would have something like this. He wasn¡¯t really counting on Zu An to ever get his hands on it. It was merely an offhandment.

    Zu An had a strange expression on his face. He did indeed have that stuff on him. However, for the sake of world peace and the chastity of all the women in Brightmoon City, he absolutely could not let it fall into that man¡¯s hands.

    He was also quite surprised that Ji Xiaoxi hadn¡¯t mentioned the incident involving the ¡®Eighteen Spring Winds¡¯ to her father. I guess that girl is just too shy to talk about such a thing with her father.

    He immediately felt his body stiffen when he recalled Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s delicate and lovely appearance.

    He shook his head. Why was he like this today? He immediately collected his thoughts and continued chatting with Ji Dengtu. Time passed by without them noticing.

    There came a sudden creaking. The door opened, and Ji Xiaoxi walked out.

    Zu An immediately stood up and grabbed Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s hand. ¡°Xiaoxi, how is she?¡±

    ¡°Damn brat, how dare you touch my daughter in front of me?!¡± Ji Dengtu was furious. He snatched Zu An¡¯s arm and twisted it.

    Just as he was about to exert some more force, he heard Ji Xiaoxi cry out in rm. ¡°Wait!¡±

    Ji Dengtu¡¯s face went rigid. His daughter had actually stopped him!

    Did this brat secretly get close to Xiaoxi behind my back?!

    You have sessfully trolled Ji Dengtu for 1024 Rage points!

    Zu An found it strange that Ji Dengtu had gotten so angry. However Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s small hand really wasfortable. He really wanted to pull her into his embrace and ravage her...

    Huh? Why would I think something like that?

    My thoughts had been all over the ce when I was carrying Qin Wanru as well! I¡¯m not usually like this...

    Ji Xiaoxi spoke into his thoughts. ¡°You¡¯ve been poisoned as well.¡±

    ¡°By what?¡± Zu An was stunned. He didn¡¯t immediately realize what had happened.

    Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s face was a bit red. ¡°Of course it¡¯s... it¡¯s the same poison that Madam Chu was afflicted with.¡±

    Zu An waspletely bewildered.

    Ji Dengtu gave Zu An a strange look as well. ¡°What the heck happened between the two of you? Why would you be affected by the same drug?¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°There¡¯s no way, right? How could that be possible?¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi shook her head. ¡°There¡¯s no mistaking it. I helped to detoxify Madam Chu, so I am familiar with the characteristics of this drug.¡±

    Ji Dengtu pulled his wrist over to feel his pulse. His expression also grew strange. ¡°It¡¯s true. You¡¯re affected by this ¡®Bull¡¯s Cream¡¯ too. There¡¯s some dried blood on your face. Qin Wanru¡¯s blood probably sttered out and seeped in through your skin and the corners of your mouth. That¡¯s how you became poisoned as well.¡±

    Ji Dengtu deserved his title as a divine physician after all. He had quickly identified the source of the problem.

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°What can a man do if he is poisoned, then?¡±

    ¡°Tough luck.¡± Ji Dengtuughed, rather amused at Zu An¡¯s predicament.

    Zu An stared at him, speechless.

    Since the divine physician was of no help, he grabbed Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s hand instead. ¡°Xiaoxi, can you help to detoxify me?¡±

    I¡¯ll use your daughter to help me get rid of it then.

    ¡°What?!¡± Ji Xiaoxi was stunned. Her mind went nk, and she was momentarily unable to react.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t tear his gaze away from her lovable appearance. He began to find her more and more cute.

    ¡°Damned brat!¡± Ji Dengtu roared. He immediately separated the two of them, and shoved a pill into Zu An¡¯s mouth.

    You have sessfully trolled Ji Dengtu for 666 Rage points!

    Zu An coughed violently and clutched his throat. ¡°What did you make me eat?¡±

    Ji Dengtu snorted. ¡°I gave you a Heart-calming Pill. You were only indirectly poisoned, after all, so you don¡¯t have too much of the drug in your system. You¡¯ll be fine after taking that pill.¡±

    Sure enough, a cool and refreshing feeling began to spread within him. The restlessness that he felt gradually subsided.

    ¡°What a convenient pill. I¡¯ll need some more of them.¡± Zu An didn¡¯t know why either, but this sort of thing always seemed to happen around him. If he had some of these pills, he wouldn¡¯t need to run all the way to the Ji Estate every time.

    Ji Dengtu refused him straightaway. ¡°I¡¯m not giving you any!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll pay you for them.¡± Zu An¡¯s face darkened. This dude is not only vulgar, but he¡¯s greedy as hell too. Hm? Why do I feel like our personalities are simr?

    ¡°This stuff is not for sale! They¡¯re for my Xiaoxi to protect herself.¡± Ji Dengtu said with an angry huff.

    This guy is really a ve to his daughter! But I guess that would count as one of his few good points.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Ji Xiaoxi grew anxious. ¡°Stop arguing already, you two! The most important thing to do is to save Madam Chu right now. Even though we¡¯ve cleansed her body of the poison, her life force is incredibly weak. She might die at any time!¡±

    Zu An panicked. However, Ji Dengtu was quicker. He rushed into the room and measured Qin Wanru¡¯s pulse. Then, he reached his hand towards Zu An. ¡°Soul Return Pill! I won¡¯t make it in time if I start concocting one now!¡±

    Zu An remembered that he¡¯d bought a bunch of medicines from this ce before. The most precious of them all was the Soul Return Pill. It was said that this pill could drag whoever ingested it back from the brink of death, as long as a single breath still remained within them.

    He didn¡¯t dare hesitate. He took one out and fed it to Qin Wanru. ¡°If one isn¡¯t enough, should I give her another one?¡±

    Ji Dengtu stopped him. ¡°One is enough. The medicinal effects are extremely strong. Giving her more would backfire and have the opposite effect.¡± After saying this, he gathered his concentration and began to treat her using acupuncture.

    Zu An didn¡¯t dare disturb the treatment process. He watched nervously from the side.

    Ji Xiaoxi stepped in to assist her father.

    Visible drops of sweat formed on Ji Dengtu¡¯s forehead. This treatment was clearly extremely taxing.

    The treatment progressed in the time it took for a stick of incense to burn away. Suddenly, Ji Dengtu¡¯splexion changed drastically. ¡°This is bad. If she had only suffered the blow from the Heart-smashing Fist, I could surely bring her back. However, her blood flow was elerated by the ¡®Bull¡¯s Cream¡¯, which amplified the extent of her injuries. It might already be toote.¡±

    Zu An felt blood rush to his head. ¡°Aren¡¯t you a bloody divine physician? Why can¡¯t you save her? You were just bragging about how that return-soul-whatever pill could bring someone back from the brink of death, as long as they had a single breath left in them! Madam Chu still has so many breaths left in her! Are you toying with me?!¡±

 Chapter 373: Pursuit

    <h4>Chapter 373: Pursuit</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Ji Dengtu''s expression grew awkward. This turn of events had clearly made him feel ashamed as well. ¡°I told you before that the Soul Return Pill is useful in most situations. However, there are some situations where it¡¯s useless. This is clearly one of those few situations where it doesn¡¯t work.¡±

    Zu An couldn¡¯t believe what he was hearing.

    Damn you! Give me back my money!

    He was well and truly pissed off. ¡°Return me my money then! You scammed me out of so much money over such an unreliable item!¡±

    Ji Dengtu jumped backwards. He said defensively, ¡°I will never refund you the money! Absolutely not!¡±

    Zu An grabbed his cor and roared, ¡°Then save Madam Chu¡¯s goddamned life!¡±

    ¡°Do you think I don¡¯t want to?!¡± Ji Dengtu pushed him away. He walked over to the side and sat down, lighting a cigarette. The smoke drifted upward, obscuring his face.

    Zu An wanted to say something else, but Ji Xiaoxi grabbed him. ¡°Ah Zu, don¡¯t disturb my father anymore. He is ming himself for this too. He¡¯s definitely trying to think of a way to save her right now.¡±

    ¡°Xiaoxi, do you think your father will be able to think of something?¡± Zu An asked impatiently.

    Ji Xiaoxi shook her head and said quietly, ¡°It¡¯ll be hard. Considering how poorly Madam Chu is faring right now, the fact that she is still alive is already a miracle.¡±

    Zu An despaired when he heard this.

    He walked inside. Qin Wanru was lying peacefully on the bed.

    Her eyes were closed. And her cheeks still held a tinge of redness, left over from the drug¡¯s effects. Her figure was still as stunning as before, but herplexion was still pale because of her injuries.

    Zu An was distraught. If something happened to Qin Wanru, what was he supposed to tell Chuyan? What was he supposed to tell Huanzhao?

    Even if it hadn¡¯t been for the sake of those two, his opinion of Qin Wanru had changed after being around her these past few days. He hade to realize that she wasn¡¯t at all what he¡¯d thought her to be.

    After fighting side-by-side these few times, camaraderie had already been established between them. That was why he wasn¡¯t willing to see her die, no matter what.

    Ji Dengtu suddenly got up. ¡°I¡¯m going for a walk,¡± he said, his voice heavy.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    He walked straight out without waiting for their reply. He didn¡¯t even bother to look back.

    Zu An was upset. ¡°How can your dad still be in the mood to go for a walk at this time?¡±

    ¡°My father only goes out for a walk when he is extremely distressed,¡± Ji Xiaoxi exined. ¡°He likes to walk around Hidden Dragon Mountain, outside the city. It¡¯s more peaceful there, and the air is cleaner. Going for a walk often helps calm him down.¡±

    Zu An recalled that Hidden Dragon Mountain was home to all manner of vicious beasts. It was a ce that most people would never dream of going into. However, this guy treated the ce like some sort of garden!

    Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s eyes suddenly reddened. ¡°Before today, he would only go for a walk on the anniversary of my mother¡¯s death.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°Your mother has already passed on? I¡¯ve never heard you mention that before.¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi said, ¡°My mother had a difficult time giving birth to me, and then she...¡±

    ¡°Sorry. I shouldn¡¯t have brought this up.¡± Zu An was surprised. Wasn¡¯t Ji Dengtu a divine physician? Why would his wife pass away from a difficult birth? However, he didn¡¯t want to pry further, since this was clearly a distressing topic for Ji Xiaoxi.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯m used to it.¡± Even though Ji Xiaoxi said this, her expression was still extremely bleak.

    Zu An spread his arms. ¡°Your mom is already gone, and now my wife¡¯s mom is going to pass away soon. We are truly bound together by amon suffering. Why don¡¯t we hug tofort each other?¡±

    Ji Xiaoxiughed. ¡°You¡¯re really something, you know that? You still behave so indecently, even in this sort of situation.¡±

    Zu Anughed. ¡°You clearly have a misunderstanding about me! When have I ever been indecent?¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi wasn¡¯t upset at all, but giggled instead. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    ¡°What are you thanking me for?¡± Zu An said.

    Ji Xiaoxi said with a gentle voice, ¡°I know you said that to make me feel better. I know that you¡¯re feeling broken-hearted right now as well, yet you¡¯reforting me instead.¡±

    Zu An sighed. ¡°Xiaoxi, not only are you cute and lovely, you¡¯re also truly kind and considerate. Your future husband is truly blessed.¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi blushed instantly. ¡°I¡¯m not marrying anyone!¡±

    She ran over to Qin Wanru¡¯s side to tend to her after she said this. Even though there was nothing she could do to treat her, she could help to ease some of her current pain, and monitor her condition. If her condition worsened suddenly, she could promptly administer some medicine to keep her alive until her father returned.

    Zu An didn¡¯t dare ce his hopes in Ji Dengtu. After all, Ji Xiaoxi had already said that there wasn¡¯t much hope. He needed to find another way to save her on his own.

    However, even the glorious Divine Physician Ji couldn¡¯t do anything. What could he possibly do?

    Right at this time, a loud knocking came from outside.

    *Thud thud thud!*

    *Thud thud thud thud!*

    Knocking wasn¡¯t the right word¡ªit was more like a heavy pounding on the door.

    ¡°Open up!¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi jumped in fright. She ran out and asked, ¡°Who is it? It¡¯s already sote. Please wait until morning if you need treatment.¡±

    ¡°No one is looking for treatment! We¡¯re looking for someone!¡± A rude voice came from outside.

    Ji Xiaoxi looked through a small gap between the doors, and her small face turned pale. She ran back to inform Zu An. ¡°Ah Zu, there are people outside. I think they¡¯re from the Chu n, and they¡¯re here to capture you!¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression grew worried. He ran up to the door to sneak a peek as well.

    Rows of guardsmen stood outside, and the one in the lead was none other than Chu Tiesheng. The dark circles around his eyes had be even darker, and his expression was truly ugly. Seeing his prey slip through his fingers had clearly infuriated him. He¡¯d yearned for this goddess day and night, and yet he¡¯d lost his opportunity forever! His mood was absolutely terrible.

    Hong Zhong wasn¡¯t far away. His hair was neatlybed, as usual. However, if one looked carefully, it wouldn¡¯t be hard to notice that his hand was shaking a little. This was not out of fear, but rather a sign of nervousness and guilt.

    How had they managed to track them to this ce so quickly?!

    It didn¡¯t take long for Zu An to arrive at the answer.

    Qin Wanru had been drugged and injured, so she definitely needed treatment. His close rtionship with Xiaoxi was no secret, so it wasn¡¯t too far-fetched for them to suspect him ofing here for help. This was clearly why they had immediately led their men here.

    Hong Zhong had probablye personally because of his misgivings towards Ji Dengtu.

    Hong Zhong was the number two expert after Chu Zhongtian in the Chu Estate. Of course, now that Chu Chuyan¡¯s cultivation had soared, she might be able to challenge him for this position.

    ¡°You should expose the schemes of those two in front of everyone,¡± Ji Xiaoxi suggested. ¡°There are so many guards outside. There¡¯s no way all of them can be their aplices, right?¡±

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°Xiaoxi, you are too innocent. You don¡¯t know how evil these people are. If they dare to bring these people to hunt me down, they surely haveplete confidence that they can control these men. Besides, Madam Chu is unconscious right now. Without her testimony, I fear that these two won¡¯t admit to anything, no matter what I say.¡±

    ¡°Then what do we do? You should take Madam Chu with you and find a ce to hide!¡± Ji Xiaoxi said urgently.

    Zu An nodded. He ran over and picked Qin Wanru up. However, he immediately ran into a problem. ¡°Where do I even hide?¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi was at a loss as well. However, the pounding outside was getting louder and louder, and it sounded like the people outside might just barge in at any time. She didn¡¯t have much time to think. She pointed and said, ¡°Hide in my bed!¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He didn¡¯t know why she would suggest this, but the situation was clearly dire. His feet subconsciously took him in that direction.

    He carried Qin Wanru into the room. With a loud crash, the door outside the courtyard was smashed in.

    ¡°What are all of you doing? Why has no onee to the door even after we knocked for so long?!¡± One of the guards gave Ji Xiaoxi a ferocious re.

    Ji Xiaoxi subconsciously took a step back in fear. However, Zu An and Madam Chu needed her protection right now. She stepped forward again and stuck out her chest. ¡°How can you call that knocking? I thought you all were bandits trying to rob us in the middle of the night!¡±

    Even though she tried to sound as fierce as possible, her lovely appearance and delicate voicecked even a hint of intimidation.

    Just then, Chu Tiesheng stepped forward. ¡°Miss Ji, please excuse our behavior. We are currently searching for a traitorous brute from our Chu n.¡±

 Chapter 374: A Potential Cure

    <h4>Chapter 374: A Potential Cure</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Ji Xiaoxi was angered by the way they described Zu An. However, this wasn¡¯t the time to let her emotions affect her decisions. She didn¡¯t berate them, but said instead, ¡°If you¡¯re looking for a traitor from your Chu n, what are you doing here in our Ji Estate?¡±

    Chu Tiesheng felt his breath catch in his throat. He was momentarily at a loss for words.

    This little girl made perfect sense! There was no way for him to argue against this logic at all!

    However, he managed a massive business, and was used to dealing with all sorts of old foxes. He quickly adapted to the situation. ¡°There is something you might not be aware of. The traitor from our n is Zu An. He was so despicable that he even drugged Madam Chu. Thankfully, someone noticed his actions. He fled in panic, but he suffered terrible injuries in the process.

    ¡°We suspect that he might havee here looking for you, since the two of you are fellow students.¡±

    Zu An waspletely stupefied. He was quite curious as to what reason these people were going to use to arrest him, but thest thing he expected was such venomous nder.

    After all, news of sex scandals spread quickly. The entire city will soon be aware of this matter. As news traveled and the truth grew increasingly distorted, things might begin to sound even worse.

    Once that happened, even if Qin Wanru recovered and told everyone the truth, some might still suspect her for shielding her ¡®adulterer¡¯. They would have sessfully killed two birds with one stone! This truly was a vicious ploy!

    Ji Xiaoxi was amazed at how Chu Tiesheng had distorted the truth. They were clearly the ones who had done that to Qin Wanru, yet they somehow managed to shift all of the me onto Zu An. ¡°He didn¡¯te here. You guys can search elsewhere.¡±

    After she said this, she moved to close the door.

    Chu Tiesheng grabbed the door. Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s expression grew cold. ¡°What are you trying to do?¡±

    Chu Tiesheng hesitated a little. He suspected that Zu An was inside, but he didn¡¯t want to offend Ji Xiaoxi too badly either.

    Everyone in Brightmoon City knew that Ji Xiaoxi was Ji Dengtu¡¯s precious daughter. No one in this world of fighting and violence wanted to offend this great doctor. After all, no one knew if they might need his services one day.

    Moreover, rumor had it that Divine Physician Ji possessed a profound level of cultivation himself.

    As he was weighing his options, Hong Zhong spoke up. ¡°Miss Ji, why hasn¡¯t your fathere out yet?¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi replied, ¡°My father¡¯s gone for a walk outside the city, but he¡¯ll be back soon.¡±

    Zu An was hiding in Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s room. He had focused his sense of hearing, and was listening to everything that was happening outside. When he heard Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s admission, he didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry. Could this girl please not be so honest all the time? You could have said that your dad is refining a pill, or drinking, or even reading some porno... why did you have to tell them the truth?

    Sure enough, Hong Zhong and Chu Tiesheng both sighed with relief when they heard that Ji Dengtu wasn¡¯t in the city.

    Everyone knew that Ji Dengtu would go on trips to pick herbs from time to time. These trips would oftenst a week to a month.

    Chu Tieshengughed and said, ¡°Miss Ji, I know that you are kindhearted, and that you usually get along with Zu An. However, you absolutely must not let him deceive you. You have no idea how vile he can be.¡±

    ¡°Enough!¡± All color drained from Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s face. ¡°I can decide for myself how to feel about those around me. I don¡¯t need others to instruct me.¡±

    Hearing this, Chu Tiesheng grew more and more certain that Zu An was hiding inside. He looked at the guards around him.

    Those men returned his look, then began to march inside.

    Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s figure was small and delicate¡ªhow could she stop these fearsome guards? She was quickly overwhelmed.

    Ji Xiaoxi was anxious, and more than a little furious. ¡°What are you doing?! You guys woke me up when I was sleeping, and now you¡¯re barging into someone else¡¯s property! When did Brightmoon City be such awless ce? My father won¡¯t let any of you go!¡±

    When they heard her whip out her father¡¯s name to threaten them, they grew apprehensive. After all, not only was Ji Dengtu good at treating illnesses, he was well-versed in the use of poisons as well.

    Even Chu Tiesheng grew wary.

    Hong Zhong snorted. Chu Tiesheng was always overly cautious, and didn¡¯t have the guts to take care of anything important. He decided to take the lead. ¡°Miss Ji is still na?ve, and easily fooled by others. Not only did Zu An assault Madam Chu, he killed many of our servants as well! His actions were truly vicious and treacherous. Miss Ji is all alone right now. If that fellow is lurking around here, you might be in terrible danger. There¡¯s no guarantee that he won¡¯t suddenly attack you as well.

    ¡°I believe that Divine Physician Ji will surely approve of our search, in order to ensure your safety.¡±

    Chu Tiesheng was impressed. This old fox really was cunning. Now, even if Ji Dengtu found out about this, he could have noints. He might even thank them!

    Ji Xiaoxi panicked. ¡°I was lying in my bed just now, and no one came to harm me. Instead, it was you guys who came to cause trouble!¡±

    Hong Zhong smiled. ¡°It seems like lying is not one of your strengths, miss Ji. Your clothes are all neat and tidy, and your hair isn¡¯t messy at all. You don¡¯t look like someone who has just gotten out of bed. However, your words have made me think of something. Perhaps someone is hiding right inside your room. It¡¯s only natural for us to look out for the safety of Divine Physician Ji''s esteemed daughter.¡±

    After saying this, he flicked his gaze in the direction of her room. The guards who were apanying him ran towards her room.

    These were guards of arge n, so they were familiar with themonyout of a residence. They immediately recognized which rooms belonged to the master of the house, and which belonged to the youngdy.

    Ji Xiaoxi leapt towards the entrance. She spread her arms like a protective hen. ¡°This is my room! You can enter over my dead body!¡±

    She secretly checked her stock of poisons while saying this, and began to devise a n to use them to deal with all of these people.

    As she was doing this, Hong Zhong flicked his finger. A strand of air struck her body. Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s body trembled, and she realized that she couldn¡¯t move anymore.

    After he had done this, Hong Zhong spoke. ¡°Lady Ji¡¯s reactions are unnatural. I believe that you have been threatened by this fugitive, and cannot speak the truth. This gives us even more reason to help you out.¡±

    The others with him were fully convinced by this. They walked forward to push open the door.

    Tears were about toe out of Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s eyes. However, there was nothing else she could do right now.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Inside the room, Zu An was like a leopard, ready to pounce.

    He was prepared to jump out and fight them all to the death.

    Suddenly, miserable screams came from outside. One after another, vague figures flew into the air.

    A tall and slender figure appeared before the entrance, her hair casually fastened with a hairpin. Her neck was long and fair, which lent her a noble and elegant air.

    However, her most eye-catching feature were her bewitchingly long legs, d in ck stockings, beautiful and well-proportioned. The stockings shone with an enchanting luster.

    However, no one dared to ogle them right now. Even though they were beautiful, they were also extremely deadly.

    Those guards behind her had been easily sent into the air by these legs.

    The guardsmen of the Chu n were all elite soldiers, and the ones who had been called up for this operation were the best of the best. However, none of them could contend with the ferocity of this pair of legs.

    ¡°Little Aunt!¡± Ji Xiaoxi was immediately overjoyed when she saw her.

    Chu Tiesheng and Hong Zhong felt the blood drain from their faces. ¡°Principal... Principal Jiang.¡±

    Jiang Luofu instantly undid the seals on Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s acupoints. She coldly swept her eyes over the trespassers. ¡°What gave all of you the courage to bully my Xiaoxi?!¡±

    Chu Tiesheng franticallyunched into an exnation. ¡°We were chasing after Zu An...¡±

    He gave a rough retelling of what Hong Zhong had said earlier.

    Jiang Luofu cut him off impatiently. ¡°When did the Ji n ever ask you to interfere in its affairs? I don¡¯t care about what¡¯s going on inside your Chu n, but I won¡¯t tolerate your outrageous behavior inside the Ji Estate! Get lost!¡±

    A powerful aura rippled out from her as soon as she finished speaking.

    All of those from the Chu n beat a hasty retreat. Even Hong Zhong and Chu Tiesheng couldn¡¯t withstand the pressure, and backed out of the courtyard in rm.

    Jiang Luofu snorted. With a wave of her sleeve, the main entrance mmed shut.

    She pushed open the inner door and walked inside without a second nce outside.

    Zu An sped his fist. ¡°Thank you, principal.¡±

    Jiang Luofu frowned. ¡°Why are you in Xiaoxi¡¯s bed? Are you trying to start a scandal? Get off of it right this instant!¡±

    Zu Anughed awkwardly. He jumped down in a hurry. Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s face was as red as an apple.

    Jiang Luofu took a seat and examined Qin Wanru¡¯s condition. Zu An quickly repeated Ji Dengtu¡¯s diagnosis.

    After a tiny hesitation, Jiang Luofu said, ¡°I actually know of another way.¡±

 Chapter 375: A Win-Win Situation

    <h4>Chapter 375: A Win-Win Situation</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An was overjoyed. He grabbed her arm and asked, ¡°What is it?¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi was also curious. After all, her aunt didn¡¯t possess much medical knowledge, and neither she nor her father could do anything about Qin Wanru¡¯s condition. What kind of method would she propose?

    Jiang Luofu gave Zu An¡¯s hand a cold look.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An let go of her guiltily. ¡°Sorry, sorry. I was just anxious.¡±

    Jiang Luofu continued, ¡°Unfortunately, it¡¯s no use even if I describe this method to you.¡±

    ¡°How could it be of no use? Please, tell us. Perhaps we can think of a solution if we work together!¡± Ji Xiaoxi cried in panic. She had always been extremely interested in medicine, so she was eager to learn any new treatment methods. She was also naturally kindhearted, and was desperately hoping for Qin Wanru''s recovery.

    Jiang Luofu hesitated, but in the end she still said, ¡°I read an ancient record that stated that those with transcendent aptitude who have also cultivated the ¡®Primordial Origin Sutra¡¯ have the ability to revive others.¡±

    ¡°Transcendent aptitude?¡± Ji Xiaoxi was stunned. There had never been anyone with transcendent aptitude in hundreds of years. It was so rare that everyone had begun to believe that transcendent aptitude was just a legend.

    This ¡®Primordial Origin Sutra¡¯ was even more unheard of. No wonder her aunt felt that it would be pointless for her to say anything.

    Jiang Luofu gave Zu An a long look. She knew that Zu An possessed transcendent aptitude, but she had never even heard of this ¡®Primordial Origin Sutra¡¯ before. That was why this information was useless.

    Only Zu An wore a strange expression. He had transcendent blood essence, and he had cultivated in the Primordial Origin Sutra as well. He even knew the treatment method.

    But how would he be able to save her?!

    The method he¡¯d used to save Chu Chuyan... How could he use it on Qin Wanru as well?!

    Even though this world was more liberal than the ancient China of his previous world, there was still a limit as to what would be epted.

    They were treading the line of morality right now. Regardless of whichever world and whichever Age it was, such actions were a huge taboo.

    He might regret this for the rest of his life.

    Zu An was overwhelmed by internal conflict. He would be a monster if he didn¡¯t save someone even though he had the means to do so! However, if he did save her, he would be worse than a monster!

    If Qin Wanru had been any other woman, Zu An would¡¯ve charged straight in, duty-bound. Qin Wanru was the only one he couldn¡¯t do this with.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for all of you to worry about me anymore. I already know that I am doomed.¡± Qin Wanru¡¯s weak voice pierced the silence. She struggled to a seated position. Zu An quickly moved over to support her.

    Qin Wanru gave him a grateful look. Gathering her strength, she said, ¡°I don¡¯t have many regrets, but I am worried about Huanzhao, since she is still in Chu Estate, and my Zhongtian is also locked up. Ah Zu, can you promise me...¡±

    An incredible pain pierced Zu An¡¯s heart. He immediately cut her off. ¡°It¡¯s not time forst words yet.¡±

    He immediately turned around and said to Jiang Luofu and Ji Xiaoxi, ¡°I have some things I need to say to her privately. Can you guys give us a bit of time alone?¡± The two women would obviously never refuse him in this sort of situation. They nodded and left the room.

    Zu An suddenly called out to Jiang Luofu. ¡°Principal, please don¡¯t listen in on our conversation.¡±

    Her cultivation was just too high-level. She could easily listen in on what they were going to discuss inside the room.

    Jiang Luofu pressed her lips together briefly.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I have no interest in your conversation.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Jiang Luofu for 111 Rage points!

    Qin Wanru looked at Zu An in confusion. ¡°What did you want to say to me?¡±

    Zu An quickly closed the door, then moved closer to Qin Wanru¡¯s ear.

    Diforted by his proximity to her, Qin Wanru subconsciously moved away.

    Zu An quickly said, ¡°I¡¯m going to tell you something extremely important. No one else can know about this.¡±

    Qin Wanru stopped moving when she heard this. However, her eyes still shone with bewilderment.

    After a slight hesitation, he said, ¡°Did you hear Principal Jiang exining the possible treatment method?¡±

    Qin Wanru nodded. ¡°Doesn¡¯t it require someone with transcendent aptitude and the ¡®Primordial Origin Sutra¡¯, though? These are both things only found in legends, so there¡¯s no need to waste time thinking about them.¡±

    ¡°Actually...¡± Zu An paused for a moment. ¡°I possess both these things.¡±

    ¡°What!?¡± Qin Wanru couldn''t have been more shocked. She didn¡¯t even know what the ¡®Primordial Origin Sutra¡¯ was, so she wasn¡¯t too surprised by that. However, her knowledge about transcendent aptitude couldn¡¯t be any clearer!

    That was something straight out of legend! Chu Chuyan¡¯s aptitude had already gotten her publicly acknowledged as a genius. With her aptitude, she had been able to reach such great heights of cultivation at such a young age, which earned endless praise from all who saw her.

    She couldn¡¯t fathom the possibility of someone with an ever higher level of aptitude.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about anything else right now,¡± Zu An said hurriedly. ¡°Even though I have a way to save you, the method is extremely shameful. You have to be the one to choose whether or not you wish to be treated.¡±

    Qin Wanru was confused. ¡°Of course I want you to save me! Why wouldn¡¯t I want that?¡±

    The betrayals of both Chu Tiesheng and Hong Zhong had ignited a huge me inside of her. Once she recovered, it would be time to get her revenge.

    If she died, it would only make it easier for the seat of power in the Chu n to shift. Huanzhao would most likely meet a miserable end, and her own husband would definitely be beyond saving.

    Before now, she had thought that she was dead for sure. She¡¯d even begun to utter herst words earlier on. How could she give up now, when there was hope?

    Seeing his uncertain expression, Qin Wanru said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll cooperate with you no matter how harsh or painful it might be. I¡¯ll be satisfied even if you could only keep me alive long enough to see the Chu n stabilize again.¡±

    The conflict within Zu An was clearly evident. ¡°Madam, I urge you not to agree too quickly. Please let me exin what the treatment requires first.¡±

    He gave a quick exnation of how the Primordial Origin Sutra and transcendent blood essence was used in treatment. He even told her about his experience with Chu Chuyan in the dungeon.

    Qin Wanru was confused at first, which slowly gave way to shock. By the end of his exnation, her face had gonepletely red. ¡°Enough. You don¡¯t need to say any more. I absolutely will not agree to this method.¡±

    When she thought of her and Zu An...

    She shivered. Being saved in that way would be a fate worse than death!

    Zu An smiled bitterly. ¡°I told you it would turn out like this. This method is just too shameful, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    Her reaction had beenpletely expected.

    He sighed. It seems like we can only ept fate.

    Qin Wanru finally understood why his expression had been so conflicted all this time. She didn¡¯t think that he was deliberately deceiving her, because her daughter also told her a little bit about what had happened in the dungeon.

    However, there was no way she could agree to such a means of treatment. How would the two of them even be able to look at each other afterwards? How could she face Chuyan? How could she face Chu Zhongtian? How could she face the whole world?

    Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind. She remembered the drug Chu Tiesheng had mentioned while he was threatening to humiliate her. That drug could make her forget everything within a few hours. If the two of them found an empty room, and both of them took this drug, neither of them would remember it afterwards. Wouldn¡¯t that be a win-win situation...?

    Her heart began to pound as soon as this thought entered her mind. She immediately strangled the thought. Had she gone mad? How could she have actually considered such a thing?!

    She quickly gathered her thoughts and said to Zu An, ¡°Ah Zu, I didn¡¯t expect you to actually have transcendent aptitude, let alone such a miraculous technique! It seems like I¡¯ve really underestimated you. You aren¡¯t a useless person at all. That is why, after I die, you have to promise me that you will protect Huanzhao, and save your father-inw. Zhongtian has always treated you well, so you cannot let him down.¡±

    When he heard her stress the words ¡®father-inw¡¯, he knew that she was secretly warning him. He sighed and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Madam. I would¡¯ve done all of those things, even if you hadn¡¯t told me to.¡±

    A calm smile finally appeared on Qin Wanru¡¯s face. ¡°It seems I don¡¯t have anything else to worry about, then...¡±

    Her voice became softer and softer. And her hand also gradually slid away. Zu An immediately panicked. ¡°Xiaoxi, Xiaoxi! Come quickly! Help!¡±

    Jiang Luofu and Ji Xiaoxi rushed in when they heard the panic in his voice. Seeing Qin Wanru¡¯s condition, Ji Xiaoxi quickly gave her a pill, and began to treat her with acupuncture.

    Jiang Luofu couldn¡¯t stop herself from giving Zu An a look. ¡°Did you say something to provoke her? There¡¯s no reason for her condition to suddenly deteriorate so quickly.¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t argue with her. He only sat down by the side of the bed, and began racking his brains for any other ways to save Qin Wanru.

    He rejected one idea after another. He suddenly remembered something. Since none of the methods in this world would work, he would use his Keyboard instead!

    If I can pick up something good...

    Wait! I don¡¯t even need anything new! That item would be more than enough!

 Chapter 376: An Embarrassing Misunderstanding

    <h4>Chapter 376: An Embarrassing Misunderstanding</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An jumped up suddenly and ran outside.

    Jiang Luofu was stunned. ¡°What in the world are you doing?¡±

    Zu An waved a hand to stop her from following. ¡°Don¡¯te over here! I need to be alone right now!¡±

    Zu An almost seemed to have gone crazy. Jiang Luofu wondered if she¡¯d perhaps spoken a little too harshly earlier.

    A twinge of remorse tugged at her heart.

    Zu An ran into the courtyard and scooped out a bucket of water. He found a washbowl and washed his face ten times.

    He offered up fervent and unceasing prayers to all the gods he knew. Finally, It was time to pull the lottery.

    He had a total of 51,915 Rage points right now. That gave him 519 chances.

    Suddenly, there was a sh of golden light from the Keyboard System:

    The total number of Rage points umted has reached the required threshold. Award system upgraded! 100 draws of the lottery can now bebined together in one multi-draw. If you have over 100 chances, each draw will be a multi-draw, and you will receive all prizes instantly. If you have less than 100 chances, then each draw will still be a single draw.

    Please note: The type of draw does not affect the overall drop rate.

    ...

    Zu An read the notice carefully and managed to get a rough idea of what was going on. This upgrade only helped him save a little time. ying the lottery one draw at a time was quite the hassle, especially when he had umted arge number of Rage points. The more points he collected, the more times he would have to draw. At some point, it might take forever!

    This multi-draw function was a good thing as long as it didn¡¯t affect the drop rate!

    Nervously, he began to draw the lottery. With the first attempt, he discovered that his Rage points bnce immediately dropped by 10,000 points.

    Arge chunk of information started scrolling up the screen. His eyelids twitched. There were way too many ¡®Thanks for ying!¡¯ messages for his liking.

    He drew a total of nine Ki Fruits from this multi-draw. It seemed his luck wasn¡¯t anything special this time around.

    He pressed the key to draw again. Light flickered across the keyboard, and he was faced with another wall of scrolling text. This time, his haul was sixteen Ki Fruits. This was a much better rate than the first time.

    However, he didn¡¯t feel all that happy. These weren¡¯t what he needed right now.

    He pressed the key to draw again. Another 10,000 points vanished. He gained another twelve Ki Fruits.

    Zu An began to panic. At his current level, every single formation of his needed a crazy amount of Ki Fruits to fill. A dozen more or a dozen fewer Ki Fruits made no difference.

    He was trying to save someone! He needed to get that item!

    He was just about to do his fourth multi-draw when a thought struck him. He ran off to wash his face again, and then concentrated on the draw.

    This time, he got eleven Ki Fruits and a red bottle!

    Hell yes!

    Zu An screamed in excitement. Washing your face bloody works! I actually got it!

    This red bottle was obviously ¡®Faith in Brother Spring¡¯!

    This was the same as a recovery potion in a video game! No matter how bad your condition was, all you had to do was take one potion and you were good to go again!

    He wasn¡¯t in the mood to continue drawing. He ran straight back inside.

    Ji Xiaoxi was currently examining Qin Wanru¡¯s injuries. When she saw Zu An suddenly barge in, she hurriedly covered up Qin Wanru¡¯s body with her clothes again. ¡°Big brother Zu, why didn¡¯t you announce that you wereing in first?¡± sheined.

    He noticed that she¡¯d addressed him in her usual manner. Clearly, she¡¯d gotten over her grudge against him, and had forgiven him. He became even happier. ¡°Hahaha! I¡¯ve found a way to cure Madam Chu!¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Ji Xiaoxi had only just managed to bring Qin Wanru back from the gates of hell, and it had been a supremely difficult feat. Strictly speaking, she hadn¡¯t brought her all the way back. Qin Wanru was still lingering at the border to the afterlife.

    How could Ji Xiaoxi not be shocked by Zu An¡¯s sudden deration that he had a way to save Qin Wanru?

    Jiang Luofu was also mystified. She had been watching as Zu An ran around the courtyard, washing his face furiously. It seemed as though he had gone crazy. She never expected that he would suddenly run back in and dere that he¡¯d found a solution.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t be bothered to exin. He ran over and supported Qin Wanru to a more upright position. Strangely, as he ced his hand on her back, it came into contact with something soft and warm. He was surprised. Apparently, Ji Xiaoxi hadn¡¯t had time to dress her again properly after treating her.

    ¡°You...!¡± Ji Xiaoxi stomped her feet in anger. She was clearly annoyed.

    Jiang Luofu also stared at him strangely. ¡°Damned brat, are you doing this on purpose? Go outside and wait until we can dress her properly.¡±

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°No! There isn¡¯t a second to waste.¡±

    Qin Wanru¡¯s life was hanging by a thread. If they failed to save her because they were just a little toote, the regret he would feel might be enough to kill him.

    He took out the bottle of ¡®Faith in Brother Spring¡¯ and administered it to Qin Wanru.

    Herplexion improved visibly as the liquid entered her body.

    A whileter, Qin Wanru slowly opened her eyes. Her heart was free of the piercing pain that she¡¯d been feeling all this while. She was taken aback. ¡°Am I dead?¡±

    Zu Anughed out loud. ¡°Of course not! I saved you!¡±

    ¡°You saved me?¡± Qin Wanru was momentarily stunned. Then, she remembered the treatment that he had described to her earlier. When she saw that her clothes were half-undone, rage and humiliation red up within her. ¡°You bastard!¡±

    With a swing of her hand, she pped him in the face.

    *Pah!*

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Wanru for 1024 Rage points!

    Zu An had beenpletely immersed in the joy of saving her. Thest thing he¡¯d expected was for her to suddenly strike him in the face! This sudden p left him in a daze.

    Ji Xiaoxi and Jiang Luofu were simrly stunned.

    They had no idea why Qin Wanru would hit Zu An. Shouldn¡¯t she be happy that she¡¯d been saved?

    Qin Wanru¡¯s entire body was shaking. She pushed Zu An aside. ¡°Your actions have let down Chuyan and Huanzhao. You¡¯ve let down Zhong...¡±

    Midway through her sentence, she suddenly noticed Jiang Luofu and Ji Xiaoxi beside her, stupefied expressions on their faces. She stopped talking at once.

    Since the scandal had already happened, the first priority was to prevent news of it from spreading to others. That would help the Chu n avoid any further shame.

    Zu An was just about to exin himself when Jiang Luofu spoke up. ¡°Madam Chu might still be a little muddle-headed from her injuries, considering how severe they were. She seems a little too agitated right now. It might be better if you waited outside.¡±

    In a daze, Zu An allowed himself to be ushered outside. The cold wind blowing across the barren courtyard helped to bring him back to his senses.

    What in the world did I do to deserve this?

    He had done everything he could, and yet this was how he was repaid.

    Ji Xiaoxi found a fresh set of clothes for Qin Wanru to change into. Jiang Luofu couldn¡¯t contain her curiosity any further. ¡°Madam Chu, Zu An saved your life just now. Why did you hit him?¡±

    ¡°I...¡± Qin Wanru¡¯s face turned red. Her thoughts were all over the ce. He did... that... to me! How can I just ept it meekly?

    Her first instinct had been to kill him, but he had saved her, after all.

    A deluge of thoughts flooded her mind, but none of them were coherent.

    She had no idea how she was going to face Zu An again. Or Chuyan, or her husband...

    Jiang Luofu and Ji Xiaoxi were right next to her, so they probably knew about what had happened as well.

    Just end me already...

    As her mind continued to roil with unease, Ji Xiaoxi suddenly said, ¡°I wonder where big brother Zu found that miraculous bottle of medicine. It really can bring someone back from the dead.¡±

    Qin Wanru stiffened. She turned and saw Ji Xiaoxi pick up a translucent crystalline bottle. Even Jiang Luofu moved closer to her to examine it.

    Qin Wanru was inplete disbelief. ¡°He... he used that to treat me?¡±

    ¡°How else could he have treated you?¡± Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s eyes sparkled as she looked at her. She didn¡¯t know why she would ask such an obvious question.

    Qin Wanru stared back at her, speechless.

    Ahhh! What an embarrassment!

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    More than an hour passed, and still Qin Wanru didn¡¯t dare to raise her head to look at Zu An. What a terrible embarrassment! She¡¯d actually suffered such a horrible misunderstanding!

    Zu An also understood what had happened. This woman had probably made a wrong assumption earlier. He thanked his lucky stars. At least she didn¡¯t kill me outright.

    However, he was still surprised that Qin Wanru hadn¡¯tpletely recovered. He suspected that it was because her cultivation was at the sixth rank. That ¡®Faith in Brother Spring¡¯ had an ¡®S¡¯ tagged to it, which probably meant it was a small bottle. It seemed like this medicine couldn¡¯tpletely heal anyone above the fifth rank.

    Even so, that bottle had been enough to bring Qin Wanru out of the danger zone. Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s had enough medical skill toplete the remaining treatment.

    Ji Xiaoxi gave her a final checkup and said, ¡°I¡¯ll prescribe you some medicine, Madam Chu. Please, get some rest. You should be able to make a full recovery in half a month.¡±

    Qin Wanru shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t have that much time. I need to return to the Chu Estate and suppress this rebellion."

    In half a month, the dust would have already settled. By then, it would be toote.

 Chapter 377: Specterâ€™s Hand

    <h4>Chapter 377: Specter''s Hand</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°I cannot allow that. There¡¯s now way Madam can fight in your current condition.¡± Ji Xiaoxi showed a rare serious expression. ¡°Big brother Zu fought so hard to bring you back from the brink. You¡¯ll be wasting all of his efforts if you act recklessly and worsen your own injuries.¡±

    ¡°Ah Zu...¡± Qin Wanru¡¯s face turned red. She still couldn¡¯t shake the fact that she¡¯d misunderstood so badly. Even worse, despite her misunderstanding, she somehow didn¡¯t get as angry as she¡¯d thought she would. Just thinking about it made her heart pound fiercely.

    Before, she would scream her head off at him even if he hadn¡¯t done anything. Yet now, she didn¡¯t even dare to look at him.

    At this moment, Ji Dengtu finally returned, his figure swaying left and right. He held a bunch of herbs in his hand. He looked absolutely miserable, and he was muttering constantly. ¡°Should I add this herb or the other one? But then again, I don¡¯t have confidence in either of these working...¡±

    He suddenly noticed that Qin Wanru was sitting up in her bed. Herplexion was rosy, and she looked nothing like how she had looked when he first left. He stared at her stupidly. ¡°You... why are you...¡±

    Before Qin Wanru could reply, Ji Xiaoxi waved the bottle in her hands. She held it up as if she was presenting a treasure, showering Zu An with praise. ¡°Dad, big brother Zu saved her! Madam¡¯s life was hanging by a thread just now, but big brother Zu brought back this miraculous medicine! He pulled Madam out of her critical condition!¡±

    Ji Dengtu was speechless for a long time. He rushed over to check Qin Wanru¡¯s pulse, and then a look of disbelief appeared on his face. ¡°She really is out of danger.¡±

    Even though Qin Wanru was still heavily injured, in her current state, even Xiaoxi could nurse her back to full health.

    He turned around to look at Zu An. ¡°Brat, where did you get this stuff from?¡±

    Zu An blinked. ¡°I found it in the secret dungeon.¡±

    He didn¡¯t know how else to exin ¡®Faith in Brother Spring¡¯. This was the most usible excuse.

    ¡°Something this miraculous was found in the dungeon? It almost makes me want to go in and have a look around myself.¡± Ji Dengtu sounded incredibly envious.

    Jiang Luofu spoke up. ¡°You cannot enter our secret dungeon. You¡¯re not a member of the academy.¡±

    Ji Dengtu snorted. ¡°Who wants to go into your stinky dungeon? I¡¯ll just find another one!¡±

    With a huff, both of them turned their heads in opposite directions.

    Zu An had a strange look on his face. He remembered Ji Xiaoxi mentioning that there was some friction between Jiang Luofu and Ji Dengtu, and it all stemmed from her older sister. Clearly, this seemed to be the case.

    Qin Wanru spoke into the silence. ¡°I cannot remain here. I cannot let the Chu n be taken over by scoundrels. Even if I cannot use my cultivation, I can at least reveal the truth to everyone.

    ¡°Ah Zu, bring me back at once!¡±

    Her firm attitude clearly brooked no argument. Zu An said gravely, ¡°Even if there is a need to return, we aren¡¯t so pressed for time. Let¡¯s have Divine Physician Ji and Xiaoxi stabilize you first. We can head back after that.¡±

    Qin Wanru nodded. ¡°All right.¡±

    The moment her agreement left her mouth, she was stunned. Wasn¡¯t he supposed to be the one listening to her? When did they swap roles?

    Together, Ji Dengtu and Ji Xiaoxi examined her again. They treated her further with a mixture of herbs and acupuncture. Ji Dengtu even infused some ki into her to help her recover.

    Zu An dragged Jiang Luofu out to the courtyard. ¡°Gorgeous principal, can I ask you for a favor?¡±

    ¡°Nope.¡± Jiang Luofu shook her head right away.

    Zu An was stupefied. ¡°But I didn¡¯t even say anything yet...¡±

    Jiang Luofu walked to the gates and looked off into the distance. Her long legs, paired with her high heels, gave her figure an incredible grace. ¡°I know that you want me to help you suppress the rebellion in the Chu n. However, even though it looks like a rebellion by Chu Tiesheng and Hong Zhong on the surface, it¡¯s actually a struggle between various stronger powers. If my suspicions are correct, Sang Hong is backing them, and backing Sang Hong is the emperor himself.

    ¡°The academy has always maintained a neutral stance. We do not participate in the political struggles of any great power. I cannot allow this rule to be broken, not while the academy is under my management.¡±

    Zu An opened his mouth. He had so many things he wanted to say, but he realized that none of it would make much of a difference. He dismissed the idea of trying to persuade her further. ¡°Forget it, then. I won¡¯t force your hand.¡±

    Jiang Luofu hesitated a little, but still said, ¡°The Chu n is destined to fall. I advise you not to get too deeply involved. If things go really badly, you still have a ce in the academy. Sang Hong won¡¯t be able to harm you there, even if he decides to go all out.¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°Thank you for your kindness, gorgeous principal. Unfortunately, I¡¯m already too deeply involved.¡±

    When he thought about Chu Chuyan, Chu Huanzhao, and even Qin Wanru... From a certain perspective, he was already tied to the Chu n.

    Seeing that he¡¯d already made up his mind, Jiang Luofu didn¡¯t try to persuade him further. She returned inside to help Ji Dengtu treat Qin Wanru. Even though she didn¡¯t have much medical knowledge, she had a lot of ki that she could offer.

    Zu An used this chance to use up the rest of his chances on the lottery.

    Surprisingly, the fifth multi-draw gave him ten Ki Fruits and another bottle of ¡®Faith in Brother Spring¡¯.

    His luck was pretty damn good today.

    The final neen single draws got him another bottle of ¡®Faith in Brother Spring.¡±

    His good luck left him baffled.

    Who said that washing my face first doesn¡¯t work?!

    In the end, he had drawn 47 Ki Fruits and 3 bottles of ¡®Faith in Brother Spring¡¯. His luck was absolutely phenomenal!

    Ki Fruits weren¡¯t that fantastic, but 3 bottles of ¡®Faith in Brother Spring¡¯ was exceptional! He¡¯d used one bottle to revive Qin Wanru, and these other two bottles represented two extra lives!

    He swallowed the 47 Ki Fruits, but they really didn¡¯t do much for his first formation. He remembered that filling this first formation would require 4181 Ki Fruits. There weren¡¯t enough zeros behind the number 47 to even make a dent in this.

    Zu An began questioning life itself. It was a ridiculous amount of effort just to clear one step of the fourth rank! He¡¯d need even crazier amounts in the future. How in the world was he going to make any progress then?

    By the time he reined in his despairing thoughts, Qin Wanru¡¯s treatment had beenpleted. From Ji Dengtu¡¯s final assessment of her, her condition wouldn¡¯t worsen as long as she didn¡¯t do any fighting.

    ¡°Ah Zu, bring me back to the estate,¡± Qin Wanru ordered again.

    Zu An acknowledged her request. He walked over to pick her up, and then he bid everyone else goodbye.

    The two of them rushed towards the Chu Estate. Perhaps because of the previous misunderstanding, Qin Wanru¡¯s heart was pounding. She clearly had to get this off her chest. ¡°Sorry about the misunderstanding earlier.¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°It¡¯s no big deal. Madam was extremely lenient. You didn¡¯t use much strength at all.¡±

    Qin Wanru panicked. ¡°Don¡¯t misunderstand, I really was angry back then! I wasn¡¯t trying to be lenient, I was just too weak.¡±

    ¡°I know, I know.¡± Zu An said.

    Qin Wanru turned her head away. ¡°By the way, where did you get that medicine from?¡±

    Zu An sensed an opportunity to be mischievous. He smiled and said, ¡°What medicine? That was just an excuse I gave Ji Xiaoxi and Jiang Luofu.¡±

    Qin Wanru was stunned speechless.

    Her fragile heart began to beat crazily. Even her voice began to tremble. ¡°Then... How did you save me?¡±

    ¡°What do you think?¡± Zu Anughed, but didn¡¯t borate.

    Qin Wanru felt her brain explode. She waspletely dumbstruck.

    Zu An could feel her body getting warmer. She began to struggle. ¡°Put me down! Put me down right now!¡±

    She suddenly stopped talking. They had run into some Chu Estate guards.

    Zu An tensed. He was just about to make his move when he heard an excited voice cry out. ¡°Young master, Madam!¡±

    ¡°Huh? It¡¯s you guys?¡± Zu An already recognized Jiao Shanhe, Feng Daniu, and Zhou Lujun. ¡°Are you guys here to capture me?¡±

    They waved their hands. ¡°No way! We came looking for the young master and Madam. We wanted to offer our help.¡±

    ¡°Chu Tiesheng has rebelled. Unfortunately, there were too few of us, and we couldn¡¯t do much at all.¡±

    ¡°Not forgetting Hong Zhong as well! They told everyone that the young master forced himself onto Madam, and they even hinted that Madam and the young master had already...¡±

    The three guards trailed off, stunned. The two of them seemed so close to each other, and Madam¡¯s face was entirely red. Were the rumors true?

    Zu An coughed and quickly exined, ¡°Madam was injured by those two bastards. She cannot move freely right now, and we needed to return to the Chu Estate as quickly as possible. That¡¯s why I¡¯m carrying her like this.¡±

    The three of them nodded their heads fiercely, as though they understoodpletely.

    Jiao Shanhe seemed to suddenly remember something. ¡°Madam,¡± he said hurriedly, ¡°I advise you not to return right away. Hong Zhong and Chu Tiesheng¡¯s trusted aides are spread out all over the Chu Estate. They were given orders to kill on sight. The two of you won¡¯t even get the chance to return and expose the truth.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. What were they to do?

    Qin Wanru was quick to give orders. ¡°Jiao Shanhe, you¡¯ve always been fleet-footed as a scout. Make haste to the nearbymandery and call Yue Shan back.

    ¡°Feng Daniu, Zhou Lujun, the two of you are to head back to the Chu Estate and contact those who are still loyal to me. Persuade those who are on the fence to join us. Then, wait for an opportunity.¡±

    ¡°Madam, Butler Hong has the Chu Estate under a strict lockdown,¡± Zhou Lujun replied. ¡°We cannot go back at all.¡±

    Zu An offered a change of n. ¡°How about this? The two of you stay here and take care of Madam. I¡¯ll go back to contact those people.¡±

    Qin Wanru was aware of his cultivation, and she was confident in his ability to sneak in. As such, she also agreed with this proposal.

    She led everyone to one of Chu Estate¡¯s secret safehouses, then said to Zu An, ¡°Ah Zu, I have something to say to you.¡±

    Feng Daniu and Zhou Lujun tactfully went outside.

    ¡°What is it, Madam?¡± Zu An asked.

    Qin Wanru¡¯s expression flickered a few times. A long moment passed before she said with a sigh, ¡°Since it¡¯s already been done, it¡¯s pointless for me to say anything else. You absolutely cannot tell anyone else about what happened. If not, the two of us, as well as the entire Chu n, will be finished.

    ¡°Also, you shouldpletely forget about what happened as well. You are not allowed to mention it to anyone. Nothing has changed between the two of us! Do you understand?¡±

    Her voice became strangely stern towards the end.

    Zu An was stunned. He hadn¡¯t expected his joke to be taken so seriously.

    Qin Wanru waved her hand just as he was about to exin himself. ¡°Just go. I don¡¯t want to talk right now.¡±

    She then closed her eyes as if she were going to sleep.

    Whatever. Zu An smiled bitterly. Making contact with the people within the Chu Estate was the most important thing right now. He¡¯d find a way to exin things properly once everything was settled.

    ¡°Rest well, Madam!¡±

    Zu An disappeared into the darkness. The defenses around the Chu Estate were indeed tight, but Grandgale granted him instantaneous movement. Together with the Mirror Mirage, sneaking around wasn¡¯t an issue at all.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    He decided to pay Chu Huanzhao a visit first. That little girl was probably frightened out of her mind.

    Just then, a weightnded on his shoulder, unbncing him. It was a hand that was weighing it down. He was absolutely horrified.

 Chapter 378: One Finger to Seal the Universe

    <h4>Chapter 378: One Finger to Seal the Universe</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An attacked instinctively, but a strange force was transmitted through his shoulder, and most of his body instantly went numb. He couldn¡¯t muster any strength.

    He was horrified. This person had managed to sneak up behind him silently and restrain him immediately. This level of cultivation was far above his.

    ¡°You¡¯re finally back, Ah Zu.¡± Old Mi¡¯s gloomy voice came from behind him.

    Zu An sighed in relief. ¡°So it was you, Elder. You scared the crap out of me.¡±

    Old Mi let go of his shoulder. He coughed twice before asking, ¡°Why is it just you? Where is Madam Chu? How are her injuries?¡±

    Zu An immediately fawned over him. ¡°Senior is truly an all-knowing seer! You even know that Madam Chu was seriously injured.¡±

    Old Mi snorted. ¡°I was there. How else could the two of you get away?¡±

    Zu An remembered therge tree that had fallen to cover their escape. ¡°Thank you, Elder,¡± he said gratefully.

    ¡°You still haven¡¯t answered my question.¡± Old Mi¡¯s eyes glimmered. He was clearly thinking about something.

    Zu An was reluctant to answer. However, after some thought, he figured that Old Mi probably didn¡¯t want anything to happen to Qin Wanru either, especially since he¡¯d saved both of them. As such, he replied, ¡°It was scary, but there was no real danger. Madam Chu¡¯s life is not threatened, but she still hasn¡¯t made a full recovery. That is why we didn¡¯te back together.¡±

    Old Mi nodded. ¡°Not bad, not bad. It looks like Ji Dengtu has some skills.¡±

    Zu An smiled but didn¡¯t exin. He didn¡¯t want to reveal too much to Old Mi.

    ¡°What do you all n to do now?¡± Old Mi asked.

    ¡°We n to contact those who are still loyal to Qin Wanru inside the Chu Estate, and recall Yue Shan...¡± Zu An gave a rough outline of Qin Wanru¡¯s ns.

    ¡°That¡¯ll take too long.¡± Old Mi shook his head. ¡°Yue Shan is too far away. It¡¯ll take way too long for him toe back. He has always been rather uptight as well. I doubt he will be able to defeat Hong Zhong.¡±

    Zu An found it strange that this old man was discussing these things with him. ¡°Then what do you suggest, Elder?¡±

    Old Mi seemed reluctant to share his thoughts, but in the end, he said, ¡°There¡¯s no need for such hassle. I¡¯ll help you deal with Hong Zhong and Chu Tiesheng. If you want to defeat an army, take down their leader. If we get rid of the two of them, everything else can be resolved easily.¡±

    Zu An was shocked and overjoyed. ¡°If Elder is willing to help us, that¡¯s even better!¡±

    He didn¡¯t dare suggest this course of action because Old Mi had always remained low-profile. He never involved himself openly. Zu An hadn¡¯t expected him to be the one to suggest this.

    He said as much to Old Mi.

    Old Mi chuckled. ¡°That was before. But soon, I won¡¯t have to worry about that anymore.

    ¡°Of course, you are not to expose my existence to anyone. Just pretend that you did all of this yourself.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°Elder, If I do that, I¡¯ll be stealing your thunder! That would be... ¡°

    Old Mi gave him a meaningful look. ¡°We don¡¯t need to make a distinction between what¡¯s yours and what¡¯s mine. It¡¯s all the same.¡±

    Zu An shed him a smile, but his mind remained full of doubt. This guy keeps talking like this. What the heck does that even mean?

    Old Mi led the two of them towards the study. Previously, Chu Zhongtian had been the only one allowed to use this study.

    Now that Chu Tiesheng had taken over, he was itching to get his hands on everything Chu Zhongtian had. His many years of suppressed resentment were instantly swept away.

    Sitting in the seat previously reserved for Chu Zhongtian alone, Chu Tiesheng felt more refreshed than he had ever felt in his entire life.

    However, his one regret was that he still didn''t have Chu Zhongtian¡¯s woman.

    Hong Zhong spared a look for this petty man, his brow furrowing in disdain.

    As if sensing his contempt, Chu Tiesheng forced himself to focus on more important matters. He straightened and said, ¡°Based on what we know, Zu An and Qin Wanru are most likely hiding in the Ji n residence. However, there is no way for us to seize them while they remain under Jiang Luofu¡¯s protection. What do we do?¡±

    Hong Zhong sat down and picked up a teacup. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Qin Wanru was afflicted by ¡®Bull¡¯s Cream¡¯, and even suffered a blow from my Heart-smashing Fist. She is already beyond saving. If Divine Physician Ji had been around, his skills might have been enough to make me doubt her demise, but we¡¯ve already confirmed that he wasn¡¯t in. How could that kid Ji Xiaoxi save her all by herself?¡±

    Chu Tiesheng was annoyed. When Chu Zhongtian had sat in this same seat, Hong Zhong had always stood respectfully to one side, receiving orders silently. Why wasn¡¯t this butler treating him as the new n master at all?

    ¡°What if Zu An starts spreading the news about what happened today and stirs up suspicion?¡± Chu Tiesheng sighed in pity. It really was such a huge waste for Qin Wanru to die just like that! It was all because his lust for her had muddled his thinking, and she had managed to escape.

    Hong Zhong gave a dismissive sniff. ¡°That¡¯s of no concern. We¡¯ve already begun to circte nderous rumors about him, so even if he tries to say anything against us, everyone will only believe that he¡¯s trying to get revenge. Besides, even if someone harbored suspicions, that¡¯s all they will have. There¡¯s no way they can obtain concrete proof. If you hold onto your position as n master, and with my support, everyone will choose to trust you.¡±

    *Pah! Pah! Pah!*

    Slow pping came from outside before Chu Tiesheng had a chance to reply. He saw Zu An walking over, giving them a round of apuse.

    ¡°What a great n! It turns out our butler Hong, who everyone praises for being upstanding and honest, is capable of such vicious scheming!¡±

    ¡°Zu An!¡±

    The two of them were shocked when they saw him walk in. They shot to their feet immediately.

    ¡°How did you get in here?!¡± Chu Tiesheng looked outside. The ones guarding the study were all trusted aides. How did this kid manage to sneak in here?

    Hong Zhong cursed his men for being idiots. If Zu An was inside, that meant that the guards outside had already been dealt with.

    Then again, even though he¡¯d witnessed Zu An¡¯s skills not long ago, he¡¯d only gotten the impression that the kid was fast. That alone wouldn¡¯t have been enough to deal with all of those guards outside without making any noise.

    ¡°I walked in, obviously. I¡¯m the young master of the Chu n. Do I need your permission toe home?¡± Zu An said calmly.

    ¡°Young master? Hah! A sparrow flies up a single branch, and he suddenly thinks he¡¯s a phoenix? You¡¯re nothing without Chu Chuyan! Who actually thinks of you as the young master of the Chu n?¡± Chu Tiesheng sneered.

    Hong Zhong frowned and said, ¡°Stop wasting time. Capture him first.¡±

    Chu Tiesheng¡¯s breath caught. How dare you order me around?! Who is the n master here?!

    However, Hong Zhong seemed to have no intention of stepping forward. In the end, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and do as the man said. Damn it, why does his cultivation have to be higher than mine?

    Zu An didn¡¯t move at all as Chu Tiesheng rushed at him. He only looked at him with a sneer.

    Seeing Zu An standing there calmly with his strange grin, Chu Tiesheng felt the hairs on the back of his neck begin to rise. However, he possessed six levels of cultivation, and Hong Zhong was close by to lend a hand as well. How much could this kid do?

    Just as his palm was about to strike Zu An, a finger suddenly appeared behind him.

    That finger was old and shriveled, looking for all the world like a rotten tree branch. It seemed as if it would snap from a single touch.

    ¡°Pull back!¡± Hong Zhong cried out in rm.

    Chu Tiesheng felt his fine hairs stand on end. Unfortunately, there was no time for him to react. The finger had already struck him squarely between his brows.

    His entire body went rigid. His face still retained its previous expression, but his eyes had gonepletely vacant. His body fell heavily to the ground.

    Hong Zhong was about to rush over and help him, but he froze at once when he saw that Chu Tiesheng had been killed instantly.

    His cultivation was higher than Chu Tiesheng¡¯s, but it was not high enough that he could instantly kill him. This old man¡¯s cultivation was clearly far higher than his.

    Not only that, he also couldn¡¯t understand how that single finger had been able to strike Chu Tiesheng down. It seemed an iparably profound skill. If he¡¯d been in Chu Tiesheng¡¯s ce, he would probably have been unable to dodge either.

    ¡°Old... Old Mi?¡± Hong Zhong had already recognized who the attacker was. As butler, he was naturally familiar with everyone in the estate, no matter their station. This old man, who always seemed like he would be blown over by a gust of wind... wasn¡¯t he just the gardener?n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

 Chapter 379: The Dust Settles

    <h4>Chapter 379: The Dust Settles</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Old Mi smiled. However, his face was horribly wrinkled, like the dried skin of an orange, and this smile only made him look extremely terrifying. ¡°Butler Hong¡¯s memory is quite excellent. You even remember an insignificant nobody like me.¡±

    Zu An looked at Chu Tiesheng¡ªlying dead on the floor¡ªand swallowed. He had witnessed Chu Tiesheng¡¯s cultivation before, and knew that he himself was no match for him.

    Yet a sixth-ranked expert like him had been killed by a single thrust of a finger.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    If he ever got Old Mi¡¯s bad side, would he die from just a single nce?

    Hong Zhong¡¯s entire body grew tense as he stared at the elder in front of him. ¡°It seems that even the Brightmoon Duke has overlooked you. To think that such a terrifying expert was hidden in the estate...¡±

    Midway through his sentence, he moved.

    He was clearly trying to distract Old Mi by talking to him, thenunch a surprise attack when the old man least expected it.

    After all, an older man like Hong Zhong would surely be more cunning than others.

    ¡°Be careful!¡± Zu An gave a panicked shout, but Old Mi stood his ground without moving.

    That shriveled body suddenly grew in stature.

    That¡¯s so freaking badass!

    When can I be like that?

    Hong Zhong hesitated when he saw that Old Mi wasn¡¯t moving. However, after some consideration, he decided to forge ahead. This old man was going to pay miserably for his overconfidence, no matter how much higher his cultivation was.

    As someone who has reached the seventh rank, he used to be considered a genius himself. He didn¡¯tck in cultivation or aptitude. He made a snap decision to risk it all here and try to seriously injure his opponent.

    ¡°Heart-smashing Fist!¡±

    With a roar, ayer of light covered his fist. Instead of the projection that he¡¯d sent against Qin Wanru, his fist increased in size this time. All of his cultivation, all of his strength, was concentrated in this one punch. He didn¡¯t hold back at all.

    Zu An instinctively took a few steps back. The aura surging within that fist was too much for him to handle, even though he was standing off to the side. His legs seemed to be made of jelly, and even breathing was difficult. He didn¡¯t know how Old Mi could withstand something like this.

    Hong Zhong¡¯s fist surged forward with overwhelming momentum, threatening to crash down on Old Mi¡¯s hunched-over figure. It looked as though he was going to be smashed to pieces in a moment.

    However, the howling wind that had been whipped up by this attack died down suddenly.

    Old Mi casually raised his left hand and grabbed hold of Hong Zhong¡¯s fist.

    Hong Zhong¡¯s fist, which had grown to the size of arge boulder, instantly returned to its normal size. He tried to pull his fist back, but his arm didn¡¯t move at all.

    His face was almost entirely red, and his meticulouslybed hair had also be a little messy; he was in quite a sorry state.

    ¡°Your cultivation is already quite excellent,pared to the rest of Brightmoon City. A pity it¡¯s not even worth mentioning whenpared to the rest of the world.¡± Old Mi¡¯s hand snapped upwards as soon as he finished speaking.

    A crisp crack rang out, and Hong Zhong¡¯s wrist snapped. His fist was twisted at an odd angle.

    Zu An gasped. That looks like it hurts a lot...

    Hong Zhong screamed miserably. Old Mi frowned. He reached out a finger and tapped his forehead. Hong Zhong¡¯s screaming came to an abrupt halt. The light in his eyes faded, and then he fell powerlessly to the ground.

    Old Mi wiped his hands and gave Zu An a nonchnt look. ¡°It¡¯s done. The rest is up to you.¡±

    Zu An felt as if he was dreaming. After all, both he and Qin Wanru had been so helpless previously. They hadn¡¯t been able to figure out a way to deal with this situation, no matter how they racked their brains.

    And yet, Old Mi had just paid these two conspirators a casual visit and poked them to death with his fingers.

    Something that had seemed so difficult to them had thus been dealt with so easily.

    He was always aware that this was a world of cultivation, where strength reigned supreme, but he had stille from a civilized world. The true nature of this world hadn¡¯t quite sunk in yet.

    Only now, to his immense shock, did he truly understand that this really was a world where strength signified everything.

    Old Mi quickly assumed his usual totter, and disappeared into the darkness of night.

    Zu An finally snapped out of his daze. The estate¡¯s guards had been alerted to themotion, and were on their way.

    Zu An decided to bring the corpses of Hong Zhong and Chu Tiesheng along with him. When he was confronted by the des of the guardsmen, he said in a serious voice, ¡°Chu Tiesheng colluded with Hong Zhong and started a rebellion. They harbored despicable intentions towards Madam and treated her poorly. Thus, they have been executed for their crimes. I¡¯m willing to believe that the rest of you were all deceived and coerced by these two perpetrators. I am now acting under Madam¡¯s orders. Lower your weapons at once, and we¡¯ll pretend that nothing happened.¡±

    ¡°Brother-inw! Brother-inw!¡± A petite young woman wept as she ran over to him, straight into his arms.

    Chu Huanzhao had originally been confined to her room. However, themotion in the study had attracted most of the guards, including those who had been guarding her room. After all, their futures depended on the continued safety of Chu Tiesheng and Hong Zhong.

    Upon seeing this, Chu Huanzhao wanted to use the opportunity to slip away, but she heard Zu An¡¯s voice just as she was about to leave. After everything that happened tonight, she was absolutely terrified, yet she had continued to pretend that she was strong. However, now that she saw Zu An, she could hold herself back no longer.

    The surrounding guards all looked at each other in dismay. Most of them were still loyal to the main branch, but they had only been following orders, since no one from the main branch was around. Now, Zu An had appeared, and the second miss was here as well. The closeness with which she treated Zu An clearly showed them that the recent rumors surrounding him were false. Therefore, they subconsciously trusted Zu An¡¯s words.

    The other guards who were trusted aides Chu Tiesheng and Hong Zhong had been bribed by them for many years. Even though they had willingly rebelled, they immediately lost their confidence when they saw that Chu Tiesheng and Hong Zhong were dead.

    The strength of Chu Tiesheng and Hong Zhong¡ªespecially Hong Zhong¡ªwas widely known. If Zu An had managed to defeat these two, what could any of them do against him?

    Besides, Zu An had already said that he wouldn¡¯t pursue any further action, now that the ringleaders were dead.

    Thus, all the guards began to throw down their weapons one after another.

    All it took was for one person to start, and the rest followed suit.

    In the end, even the loyal aides of Chu Tiesheng and Hong Zhong acknowledged their fate and threw their weapons down in surrender.

    Zu An exhaled in relief when he saw this. It would have been tricky if these individuals had resisted to the end.

    After all, he wasn¡¯t the one who killed Hong Zhong and Chu Tiesheng. He didn¡¯t have the strength to defeat all of them.

    He ordered these guards to return to their previous posts.

    He remembered that during the Three Kingdoms period, Wang Yun had set a honey trap for Dong Zhuo, killed him, and defeated the Western Liang Army. Left in a tight spot, the Western Liang Army rebelled, and caused the copse of the Eastern Han Dynasty.

    Therefore, he didn¡¯t single out those who had willingly worked for Chu Tiesheng or Hong Zhong.

    However, he still had to do what he had to do. The members of Hong Zhong and Chu Tiesheng¡¯s family had to be rounded up for Qin Wanru to deal withter.

    He was worried that he wouldn¡¯t have enough manpower to do so. Letting these guards go with their crimes unpunished gave him many willing hands.

    After all, they were all in a hurry to erase their crimes and prove their loyalty. In a matter of moments, the members of the second branch had all been captured.

    Surprisingly, Chu Hongcai had already been locked up by Chu Tiesheng¡¯s men prior to this. Zu An learned from others that he had always been opposed to Chu Tiesheng¡¯s rebellion, which was why he had been locked up, following a quarrel between father and son.

    In the end, however, Chu Tiesheng was still his father. After finding out that Zu An had killed him, he still charged at Zu An, red-eyed and screaming for revenge.

    Despite the stacks of 999 Rage points pouring in, Zu An couldn¡¯t find it within him to feel happy.

    There was no way Chu Hongcai could live under the same sky as his father¡¯s killer. His reaction waspletely expected.

    Killing Chu Hongcai to eliminate any future worries was the most sensible choice, but they had shared a decent rtionship in the past, and could even have been considered friends. Furthermore, Chu Hongcai¡¯s integrity was admirable, given that he¡¯d publicly opposed Chu Tiesheng¡¯s rebellion. Zu An just couldn¡¯t find it within him to make the call. In the end, he merely ordered some men to watch over him.

    There was no one else on Hong Zhong¡¯s side apart from his son, Hong Xingying. However, Hong Xingying seemed to have received news ahead of time. By the time Zu An¡¯s men reached his residence, he was already nowhere to be seen.

 Chapter 380: Extreme Joy Turns to Sorrow

    <h4>Chapter 380: Extreme Joy Turns to Sorrow</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An didn¡¯t bother trying to track down Hong Xingying. Instead, he dispatched some men to escort Qin Wanru back to the estate.

    While waiting for her arrival, Zu An was reminded of something. He searched Chu Tiesheng¡¯s body and found two bottles. There was a white bottle with the words ¡®Bull¡¯s Cream¡¯ on a redbel. That should be the drug that Qin Wanru had been poisoned with, the drug that even Ji Dengtu longed for.

    Hmph, I¡¯m confiscating this! I can¡¯t let that Ji Dengtu get his hands on it. Who knows how many innocent maidens will be harmed if he did?

    The second was a green bottle with the words ¡®Worries-Be-Gone¡¯ on thebel.

    ¡°Worries-Be-Gone?¡± Zu An was stunned. What¡¯s this? The name seems rather poetic, but I don¡¯t know what kind of effects it has.

    I should find a chance to test this outter.

    Ji Dengtu¡¯s ferocious appearance appeared in his head. If Ji Dengtu ever found out just how much he¡¯d tormented his precious daughter, he would be a dead man.

    He shivered and quickly rid himself of this thought. He put it inside the Brilliant ss Bead for future research.

    ...

    Meanwhile, in the safehouse, Qin Wanru¡¯s first reaction upon seeing the Chu Estate¡¯s guards was to hide. After all, she was still worried about Zu An, since he¡¯d been gone for so long.

    The messenger pledged his loyalty again and again. She also remembered that this man had always been trustworthy, which was why she skeptically returned to the Chu Estate in the end.

    When the people in the Chu Estate saw Qin Wanru, the final boulder was lifted off their shoulders.

    After all, Zu An¡¯s words were only one side of the story. Even though he was the young master of the Chu n, the ones who were truly in charge were Master, Madam, and First Miss.

    Qin Wanru immediately got to work sorting out various matters. When she finally had some free time, she pulled Zu An to the side and gave him a puzzled look. ¡°Just how did you do it?¡±

    ¡°Do what?¡± Zu An said with a smile.

    ¡°I¡¯m obviously talking about Hong Zhong and Chu Tiesheng!¡± Qin Wanru waspletely bewildered. ¡°One was at the seventh rank, and the other at the sixth rank. You should not have been able to defeat them! Not only that, they were surrounded by guards as well. How did you kill them?¡±

    ¡°Actually... I¡¯m a powerful expert!¡± Zu An dered proudly.

    Like hell Qin Wanru would believe that! She¡¯d seen Zu An fight before. Even though his cultivation was indeed quite excellent, it was far from the level required.

    However, with Hong Zhong and Chu Tiesheng¡¯s corpses before her, she had no choice but to believe it.

    She recalled again how Chu Chuyan had emphasized to her to trust Zu An, and she sighed inwardly. Clearly, Chuyan¡¯s insight far outstripped her own.

    Something else immediately came to mind, and her expression grew exceedingly strange.

    How was she supposed to face her daughter now?

    Just then, Chu Yuepo ran over with a smile, his attitude one of deep concern. ¡°I¡¯m so d you¡¯re okay, sister-inw! I was so worried about you!¡±

    Qin Wanru collected her messy thoughts. ¡°Hmph! You must be quite disappointed to see me return! I don¡¯t recall you doing anything during the chaos.¡±

    The third branch hadn¡¯t done a thing during Chu Tiesheng¡¯s rebellion. They merely pretended not to notice anything amiss.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Chu Yuepo smiled bitterly. ¡°Sister-inw, everything happened so quickly, there was no time for us to react! You were already gone by the time we tried to look for you. Chu Tiesheng and Hong Zhong were also too powerful to contend with. My entire family would¡¯ve been ughtered if I¡¯d spoken a single word in protest!

    ¡°There really wasn¡¯t much I could do in that situation! I could only pretend to go along with them, while keeping some forces in reserve. I was going to wee big brother and sister-inw back at a suitable time.¡±

    Qin Wanru knew that he was putting on an act. ¡°And when was this suitable time going to be?¡± she sneered.

    Chu Yuepo smiled apologetically. ¡°As an example, I sent my men to assist Ah Zu. If not for that, he wouldn¡¯t have dealt with Hong Zhong and Chu Tiesheng¡¯s remaining forces so quickly.¡±

    Qin Wanru knew that he was the type who would adapt to any given situation. At the very least, he hadn¡¯t conspired with Chu Tiesheng straight up. That was why she decided not to be too hard on him. She let him go with some light criticism.

    After dealing with this, she went looking for Chu Huanzhao. These past few days would surely have been frightening for her.

    When she found Chu Huanzhao, the girl was cuddled up in Zu An¡¯s embrace, fast asleep. Tears were still hanging off the corners of her eyes.

    ¡°Shh...¡± Zu An immediately gestured for her to keep quiet when he saw Qin Wanrue in. Clearly, he didn¡¯t want her to wake Huanzhao.

    Qin Wanru frowned, then caught sight of Huanzhao¡¯s arms wrapped around Zu An¡¯s neck. She could only sigh. You¡¯re a fiend!

    A whileter, Zu An carried Chu Huanzhao to her bed. After tucking her in, he said, ¡°Madam, Huanzhao has been constantly worried about us these past few days, and hasn¡¯t gotten much sleep. It was only a while ago that I managed to calm her down.¡±

    Qin Wanru smiled faintly. ¡°This child is normally so wild and mischievous. Who knew she still cared so much about her parents? It seems the love and affection we¡¯ve shown her hasn¡¯t been for naught.¡±

    Her expression suddenly stiffened. ¡°What kind of thoughts do you have towards Huanzhao?¡±

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°Thoughts? I don¡¯t have any. I just treat her as an adorable little sister and a good friend.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good, then.¡± Qin Wanru¡¯s expression eased up. ¡°However, you had better watch yourself around her. Even though she¡¯s still young, she will reach a marriageable age soon. If she¡¯s always seen clinging to you, her reputation will suffer. If that happens, there might not be any ns willing to take her in.¡±

    Zu Anughed out loud. ¡°Who wouldn¡¯t want someone as cute as Huanzhao? If no one will take her, then I will!¡±

    Qin Wanru¡¯s face immediately turned red. She grabbed a backscratcher and began to hit him.

    ¡°You scoundrel! You did have bad thoughts after all!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Wanru for 233... 233... 233...

    Zu An dodged her blows and pleaded, ¡°Madam, spare me! It was just a joke, just a joke...¡±

    Old Mi was hiding in the shadows. He smiled thoughtfully when he saw this scene.

    Not bad. This kid has more skills than I thought.

    He had nned to slowly establish himself in the n once he¡¯d possessed Zu An. He never expected Zu An to gain the acknowledgement of the Chu n all on his own. He had even made such significant contributions to the n this time around. His status in the Chu n would only keep rising.

    Even more surprisingly, Zu An had not only obtained the favor of the first miss, he was extremely close to the second miss as well. Once he¡¯d taken over Zu An¡¯s body, he only needed to use a few tricks, and the second miss would be in the bag as well.

    Even Madam Chu seemed to be acting rather strangely around him ofte.

    He¡¯d lived for so many years. Even though his body was deficient, his knowledge was vast. His theoretical knowledge far surpassed anyone else.

    With the right tricks and the right opportunity, taking Madam Chu to bed would still be possible.

    At worst, he¡¯d just use the ¡®Worries-Be-Gone¡¯. He knew perfectly well what that bottle of medicine in Zu An¡¯s possession did.

    Perhaps because he had beencking for so long, Old Mi¡¯s desire for such things was much greater than anyone else¡¯s.

    When someone had lived for as long as him, a mature woman like Qin Wanru was much more appealing.

    Zu An is just too young, after all. This kid is still trying to choose between them!A real man would obviously take them all!

    He had already gathered everything he needed. He was going to carry out the possession ceremony in a few days. He was going to be reborn!

    When he thought about how all of the Chu n¡¯s wealth and all of these ravishing beauties were going to be his, a burning desire shed in Old Mi¡¯s eyes.

    He sneered. This kid is still deliberately hiding it from me, but I¡¯ve already sensed the aura of my own treasures!

    He''d been afraid that his body wouldn¡¯t be whole after he possessed Zu An¡¯s, but now, this final worry had been put to rest as well.

    This rotten kid dares to try to deceive me! You deserve to have your body possessed.

    ¡°Hahaha!¡± Old Mi couldn¡¯t hide his joy when he returned to his room. He looked up to the heavens andughed heartily.

    A cough came from outside his window. ¡°What made you so happy all of a sudden?¡±

 Chapter 381: A Secret Escape

    <h4>Chapter 381: A Secret Escape</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Old Mi¡¯s entire body shook when he heard this voice. His smile remained frozen on his face. He turned to look outside the window.

    An old man was already standing by the side of his bed. He coughed into his handkerchief, and then smiled at Old Mi.

    If Zu An or Pei Mianman had been there, they would surely have recognized the Wei n¡¯s mysterious expert, Wei Dan.

    Old Mi¡¯s expression slipped the moment his gazended on this man. He sighed deeply. ¡°I''ve always dreaded this day. Yet, now that it¡¯se, I find that I¡¯m not as anxious as I imagined I would be.¡±

    Wei Dan smiled. ¡°That¡¯s how the world works. The most painful part isn''t the actual event. It¡¯s the endless waiting.¡±

    Old Mi chuckled. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to still be so fond of preaching after so many years.¡±

    Wei Dan didn¡¯t seem to mind. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you in so many years. We¡¯ve all grown so old. You¡¯ve led me on a wild goose chase all this while. The royal pce has spent countless resources and invested so much manpower to track you down, and yet they never picked up any trace of you. It was only recently that we discovered a clue.¡±

    ¡°How did you all find me?¡± Old Mi asked curiously.

    ¡°During the recent ns Tournament in Brightmoon City, we received a report that Zu An had employed a movement technique extremely simr to your Sunflower Phantasm. That made us suspect that you were most likely here,¡± Wei Dan replied.

    Old Mi scoffed. ¡°So, that good-for-nothing leaked my identity after all. I warned him again and again never to show it to anyone, but he just refused to listen. I wouldn¡¯t have passed on that technique to him if I had known things would turn out this way!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Old Mi for 760 Rage points!

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An was stunned when he saw these Rage points. What was going on?

    He decided to check in on Old Mi. He could never figure out what that old man wanted. He¡¯d sensed a growing danger recently, and he resolved himself to get to the bottom of it as soon as possible.

    Of course, he wasn¡¯t going to run straight in. He would scout out the situation first.

    He used Mirror Mirage to hide his aura, as a precaution against the old man¡¯s cultivation.

    As he arrived, he noticed that there was another person in the residence. It was none other than Wei Dan! Zu An was shocked, and didn¡¯t dare go nearer. He hid in the shadows and secretly observed what was happening.

    Inside Old Mi¡¯s residence, Wei Dan continued his interrogation. ¡°To be honest, there is something that even I find strange,¡± he said with a puzzled expression. Why would you teach your secret art to a wastrel who has absolutely nothing to do with you? This isn¡¯t like you at all!¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no reason. He seemed like a good kid, so I taught it to him on a whim. I guess I was just too careless.¡± Old Mi obviously didn¡¯t want to reveal that Zu An was his future vessel, and that he was going to possess him.

    ¡°So that¡¯s the reason.¡± Wei Dan smiled. ¡°Thank goodness for that. It would¡¯ve really been hard for me to find you otherwise.¡±

    Zu An felt a sh of embarrassment. It had been because of him that Old Mi was discovered by his enemy! No wonder he was so angry just now.

    ¡°You were able to find me so quickly with just this piece of information alone. That in itself is quite admirable,¡± Old Mi said with a sigh.

    The two of them chatted as though they were old friends. However, neither of them had lost sight of the reality of the situation. The air was filled with a hidden killing intent.

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t all that quick,¡± replied Wei Dan. ¡°I didn¡¯t dare ask Zu An directly since I was afraid of scaring you away. I¡¯ve had to resort to a secret investigation. I started with those in the academy who were in contact with him, but I didn¡¯t find any sign of you there.¡±

    Zu An remembered how the academy¡¯s teachers had been beaten up one by one. Apparently, it was the work of this person.

    I have to thank my lucky stars that I wasn¡¯t caught by this fellow. I surely wouldn¡¯t have been able to escape.

    Old Mi couldn¡¯t hide his admiration. ¡°There are so many experts in the academy, and yet you yed them all so easily. It seems like Eunuch Wei¡¯s cultivation has improved considerably over the years.¡±

    ¡°Other than Jiang Luofu, none of the others are worth mentioning,¡± Wei Dan dered with a snort. The woman¡ªand her stunning legs¡ªcame straight to his mind. If he wasn¡¯t a eunuch, he might just have fancied her.

    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Old Mi nodded, clearly agreeing with his assessment. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you start your investigation in the Chu n?¡±

    Wei Dan casually answered his question. ¡°I thought that Zu An had been able to marry into the n and be a son-inw because of your teachings. That made me believe subconsciously that you were hiding outside the Chu n. The academy seemed like the best ce to start.¡±

    Zu An grew upset. Why would someone as handsome as me need any other skills to be the Chu n¡¯s son-inw?

    This dude¡¯s so ugly, there¡¯s no way he can understand how girls will willingly throw themselves at someone as handsome as me!

    ¡°So that¡¯s why.¡± Old Mi nodded in understanding. He continued, ¡°So, has the emperor been well in recent years?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes widened. This Old Mi was affiliated with the emperor after all! After all the time he¡¯d spent in this world, he already knew that, even though there were innumerable experts in the world, the undisputed number one expert was the emperor.

    Old Mi himself worked directly for the emperor! No wonder his cultivation was so high.

    ¡°Little Ying, I¡¯m surprised you¡¯re still thinking about the emperor.¡± Wei Dan sneered. ¡°Thanks to you, his majesty¡¯s condition is extremely poor.¡±

    Old Mi was stunned. ¡°How could that be? His majesty¡¯s cultivation is so great! Why would he be in poor health?¡±

    Wei Dan snorted. ¡°Why ask a question you already know the answer to? No matter how powerful his cultivation is, he cannot escape the fate of old age. That was why the emperor sent you out in search of that ¡®Phoenix Nirvana Sutra¡¯, which can grant eternal life. Who would¡¯ve expected all of you to vanish without a trace?¡±

    Zu An was shocked. You can obtain eternal life by cultivating the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra?

    Another thing he¡¯d learned from his time in this world was that, the higher one¡¯s cultivation, the more they feared the merciless guillotine of time. Even the most stunning geniuses would have to return to the earth. No one had yet attained immortality.

    Does this Phoenix Nirvana Sutra truly have such power?

    No wonder cultivating it is so difficult! Reaching every single step requires so many Ki Fruits!

    ¡°The emperor thought that all of you had died without obtaining the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra. For a long time, the whole court grieved for your passing.¡± Wei Dan¡¯s tone changed. ¡°Later on, however, those tasked with investigating this matter discovered something fishy.

    ¡°Your n was truly meticulous. You made sure that every single corpse was missing a part, to make it look as if you all were attacked by a vicious beast, and then you used these pieces to create a corpse to take your ce.¡± Wei Dan had a look of admiration on his face. ¡°However, your corpsecked a head, which was sure to arouse suspicion. Our investigation went nowhere, until we learned from one of your attendants that you had a hidden mark on your back. WIth that final piece, we could determine that the corpse wasn¡¯t yours.¡±

    Old Mi sighed. ¡°So that was what happened. I thought I had taken every precaution, but even I cannot see clearly what¡¯s on my back. That¡¯s why I overlooked this little detail.¡±

    ¡°Heaven is fair; the guilty will not escape.¡± Wei Dan smiled. All the years he¡¯d spent investigating this, and it had finally borne fruit.

    Zu An finally grasped the entire situation. Old Mi had probably led a party in search of the legendary ¡®Phoenix Nirvana Sutra¡¯, but greed had possessed him in the end. He¡¯d killed everyone else and made it look as if the whole party had been annihted. However, he was still discovered in the end.

    He couldn¡¯t help but feel some level of admiration. This Old Mi really had some balls¡ªmetaphorically speaking. He had dared to covet the thing which the emperor desired most!

    Old Mi sighed. ¡°I only did that because our search for the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra was fruitless. I was afraid that the imperial court would chastise me for my failure. I was also already fed up with the two-faced nature of the pce, and I needed a secret means to escape it. Eunuch Wei, there was no need for you to go to such lengths.¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t find the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra?¡± Wei Dan sneered. ¡°Do you take me for a child? Hand it over, and I might still be able to convince the emperor to spare your life.¡±

 Chapter 382: Sunflower Finger versus Stellar Palm

    <h4>Chapter 382: Sunflower Finger versus Ster Palm</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Old Mi knew that there was no way he could bluff his way through this. He sighed. ¡°Even if I had it over to you, there¡¯s no way I¡¯ll be spared. Aren¡¯t you the one treating me like a child now?¡±

    Wei Dan¡¯s eyes narrowed. He walked forward. ¡°Little Ying, it seems like you are begging for a fight.¡±

    Old Mi scoffed. ¡°Are you sure that you can win?¡±

    He straightened up from his usual hunched-over posture, and his shriveled body suddenly seemed rather tall and imposing.

    Zu An¡¯s heart began to pound. He knew that the two of them were about to fight. Old Mi had always been a mystery in his eyes, and Wei Dan¡¯s cultivation was terrifying as well. If he hadn¡¯t set the room on fire thest time, Pei Mianman would have surely been caught by him, despite her meticulous preparations.

    He didn¡¯t know which one of these men would win if they fought.

    Wei Danughed at Old Mi¡¯s attempt at intimidation. ¡°Little Ying, back when we were both serving as court eunuchs in the imperial pce, my cultivation was always the strongest, while yours was ranked second. I never expected your confidence to grow so much after all these years!¡±

    Old Mi replied with a smile, ¡°Cultivators strive to be fearless, and to always face challenges head on. How can we decide who will be the victor and who will bow in defeat without truly fighting?¡±

    Wei Dan nodded. ¡°Indeed. Your temperament seems to have changed considerably from before. No wonder you were able to deal with the rebels of the Chu n so easily! One was at the seventh rank and one was at the sixth rank¡ªneither of their cultivations could have been considered low.¡±

    Old Mi¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°So, you even caught that.¡±

    Wei Dan smiled. ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you earlier that I¡¯ve been investigating all those around Zu An? Once I hadpleted my investigation into the academy, the Chu n was the next logical step. There were so many people in the Chu n to look into, but you were kind enough to make a move yourself. If I still couldn¡¯t find you after that, wouldn¡¯t my whole life have been a waste?¡±

    He paused for a moment, then said in a puzzled tone, ¡°I¡¯m honestly quite curious. Why would you take the risk of personally interfering in the affairs of the Chu n? Is that kid Zu An that important to you? Why would you risk your own safety for him?¡±

    Zu An had a strange look on his face. He was most confused about that as well. If someone were to ask him if Old Mi treated him well, then he would have to agree. The old man had given him a secret manual, and taught him a strong movement technique. However, his gaze had always given him the creeps, and there were other signs as well that made him feel as if the old man had ulterior motives.

    But what was this objective?

    His cultivation was low, and his background and social standing were insignificant. There was absolutely no reason for Old Mi to be plotting against him. As for the ¡®Primordial Origin Sutra¡¯, he had obtained it only after Old Mi had chosen to help him, so it couldn¡¯t be the reason why.

    There was no way Old Mi knew about the Keyboard. Does this old man like me...?

    Zu An¡¯s sphincter tightened as the thought popped into his mind.

    ¡°When one grows old, one naturally thinks about leaving a legacy behind,¡± Old Mi replied. ¡°You know that people like you and me are doomed never to have heirs. You still have an adopted son, but I have nothing.¡±

    ¡°Ah, so you want him to carry on your legacy.¡± Wei Dan seemed satisfied with that answer. Eunuchs like themselves were all fond of adopting children of their own. He himself had taken in quite a few, but Old Mi didn¡¯t have any. Such thoughts weremonce. ¡°What a pity. We used to be drinking buddies. Who knew that we would end up as mortal enemies?¡±

    Old Mi sighed regretfully. ¡°Indeed. Out of all those who entered the pce together with us, the two of us were still the closest. Now, we¡¯re the only two left...¡±

    He suddenly moved midway through his sentence. He appeared at Wei Dan¡¯s side like a ghost, and thrust a finger towards his ribs. An exquisite sunflower appeared at his fingertip.

    Zu An¡¯s heart was pounding crazily. He recognized that movement technique¡ªit was the Sunflower Phantasm! He thought he was moving quickly when he used the Sunflower Phantasm himself. However,pared to what he had just witnessed, he was a mere tractor going up against a Ferrari.

    Hong Zhong and Chu Tiesheng had both died to this single finger. Back then, Old Mi had stood still, but he was clearly going all out this time. It was almost impossible to understand just how much more powerful this finger was right now, and just how powerful was the opponent he was facing.

    However, despite Old Mi¡¯s lightning-quick speed, Wei Dan seemed to have anticipated this attack. His left hand moved in a profoundly mysterious arc to meet the deadly finger.

    *BOOM!*

    A wave of heat spread out from the point of contact. All the trees within several zhang were instantly shattered, and the boulders, which had seemed firmly fixed to the ground, wereunched far into the sky.

    A boulder almostnded on Zu An¡¯s feet. He stared at it,pletely dumbfounded. The scale of this battle was just too great! It waspletely beyond the imagination of regr cultivators!

    He¡¯d heard that higher-level cultivators could draw upon power strong enough to move heaven and earth. From what he¡¯d just witnessed, it seemed like this was indeed the case.

    The smoke dissipated, revealing the twobatants facing each other, several zhang apart. Old Mi frowned, and didn¡¯t continue his attack. Clearly, his opponent¡¯s reaction had been outside his expectations.

    Wei Dan took out his handkerchief and coughed into it a few times, thenughed in a cruel manner. ¡°Little Ying, Little Ying... It¡¯s been so long. I didn¡¯t expect you to still be so cunning. I almost fell for your tricks.¡±

    Old Mi snorted. ¡°Who canpare with you when ites to cunning? You clearly anticipated my attack. Why are you still putting on such a careless demeanor to bait me in? If I hadn¡¯t retreated in time, I might have fallen right into your trap.¡±

    Zu An blinked. From the sound of it, they seemed to have exchanged a flurry of blows already.

    But all I saw was him deflecting Old Mi¡¯s finger with his fist!

    Wei Dan smiled. ¡°There was an official who said it best. If you want to be an honest official, you have to be even more cunning than a corrupt official. Against a treacherous man like you, I obviously need to keep a few tricks up my sleeves.¡±

    Old Mi sighed. ¡°It seems like you¡¯ve already perfected your Ster Palm. I¡¯m truly envious of you.¡±

    Wei Dan snorted. ¡°Isn¡¯t that the same with your Sunflower Finger? You came this close to poking a hole in me just now.¡±

    After exchanging this single line of praise, the two of them fell silent. They were clearly assessing each other, intent on finding openings.

    A moment passed, and Wei Dan suddenly began to cough.

    Old Mi made his move at once, and the flowers in the distant garden seemed to move with him.

    Countless petals fluttered around Old Mi, vaguely forming the shape of a sunflower. Zu An¡¯s expression grew odd.

    If a beautiful woman had disyed such a graceful move, it would have surely been considered stunning. However, seeing Old Mi perform this same move was enough to make anyone who saw it wish they were blind.

    Wei Dan¡¯s eyes narrowed as he saw the multitude of flower petals flying towards him. He threw his handkerchief forward to meet them.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The handkerchief¡ªwhich was only a few inches across¡ªsuddenly grew in size. It quickly grew to several dozen zhang across,rge enough to cover the entire courtyard.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes went round. He¡¯d thought that this was just a handkerchief covered in spit and germs, but it was actually a magic weapon!

    From the power it disyed, it was clearly not an ordinary item.

    Something gnawed at him, however. If this handkerchief grew so muchrger, then what about the spit and germs on that handkerchief? Would they erge as well?

    If you were caught by that handkerchief, you¡¯d die from disgust before it could strangle you to death.

    The handkerchief suddenly red open. Its surface was covered in specks of starlight, resembling a sea of stars.

    The handkerchief began to spin quickly. The petals that Old Mi hadunched were continuously sucked into the vortex of stars formed by the handkerchief.

    In a sh, the handkerchief rolled up like a cocoon, wrapping Old Mi inside.

    However, Old Mi was definitely not one to be trifled with. Soon, some sharp protrusions could be seen on the handkerchief¡¯s surface. Old Mi was clearly using his Sunflower Finger to stab at the handkerchief, trying to break out.

    Wei Dan didn¡¯t dare act carelessly. He swung his hands about, shouting violently, ¡°Ster Palm!¡±

    His hands glowed with specks of starlight. It seemed as though he were striking an invisible ball in front of him.

    Spectral hands flickering with blue light appeared high up in midair, continuously striking Old Mi, who was still wrapped in the massive handkerchief.

 Chapter 383: Steps of the Rising Lotus

    <h4>Chapter 383: Steps of the Rising Lotus</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The blue spectral hands left huge impressions in the handkerchief wherever they struck.

    Even Zu An began to wonder if Old Mi would be crushed into ground meat inside.

    Though he was suspicious of Old Mi¡¯s true objective, the two of them had spent quite some time together, after all. He still hoped to see Old Mi win.

    Of course, the best oue would be for both of them to wear each other out.

    Thankfully, Old Mi wasn¡¯t so easily dealt with. The handkerchief bulged as Old Mi aimed a fist at Wei Dan from inside.

    Wei Dan frowned. The frequency of his strikes increased, raining blows on the handkerchief with greater urgency.

    Numerous hand-shaped imprints appeared on the giant handkerchief.

    At the same time, numerous fist-shaped bulges pushed outward from within the handkerchief in quick session.

    The two of them were clearly exchanging blows, despite the distance between them.

    Suddenly, a long fingernail pierced through the handkerchief. It slid downwards like a sharp de, cutting open arge hole.

    A purple lotus flower blossomed within. That giant handkerchief couldn¡¯t contain it, and unraveled suddenly, exploding into pieces with a loud bang.

    Old Mi emerged from within. He leapt onto the roof of a hut nearby. ¡°Sorry. It seems I¡¯ve identally destroyed your Ster Handkerchief,¡± he said casually.

    Wei Dan shook his head. ¡°It was your own skill that allowed you to escape. There¡¯s nothing to apologize for. I¡¯m astounded by just how much your cultivation has improved since ourst meeting.¡±

    Old Mi chuckled. ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you earlier? We won¡¯t know who will emerge the victor unless we actually fight.¡±

    Wei Dan snorted coldly. ¡°Is that so? I¡¯ll guess I have to see for myself just how far you¡¯vee, then.¡± With a sudden tap of his foot, he rushed towards Old Mi like a zombie.

    Zu An noticed that his arms were extended out in front of him rigidly, like the zombies in period dramas and movies. How could such a clumsy appearance be terrifying?

    Despite this, Old Mi seemed extra wary, as if faced with a deadly enemy. He immediately used his Sunflower Phantasm to dodge to the side. The straw hut that he¡¯d been standing on a moment ago was ripped to pieces by cutting winds even before Wei Dan¡¯s hands reached it.

    Zu An¡¯ eyes widened. These two are both freaking superhumans!

    Wei Dan pushed off against a pir with his feet, andunched himself straight at Old Mi.

    Old Mi dodged with his Sunflower Phantasm, waiting for his opportunity to counterattack.

    Zu An expected that the Sunflower Phantasm would grant Old Mi a natural advantage in a frontal sh like this, yet Wei Dan always chose the shortest route, and his attacks were lightning fast. Far from being on the losing end, he managed to seize the advantage.

    After all, dancing around left and right drained Old Mi¡¯s strength more quickly.

    Sure enough, as the battle dragged on, Old Mi¡¯s movements began to slow. Even though it was almost imperceptible, Zu An could still sense it clearly, since he was familiar with the Sunflower Phantasm.

    Zu An knew that Wei Dan¡¯s sight and cultivation level were slightly superior to his opponents, because he seized his opportunities and chose his angles of attack perfectly. This was impossible to do without a superior level of cultivation.

    However, something still gnawed at him. Why didn¡¯t Old Mi use Grandgale or the other skills granted by the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra? Grandgale¡¯s instantaneous movement would clearly beat out Wei Dan¡¯s direct lunges. If he used it in tandem with the Sunflower Phantasm, Wei Dan would be the one at a disadvantage instead.

    Was he trying to feign weakness, waiting for the critical moment to reveal his trump cards?

    Right at that moment, the battle took a sudden turn. He heard Wei Danugh loudly. ¡°I¡¯ve caught you!¡±

    ¡°Inescapable Net!¡±

    He made a circle with his palms, and Old Mi was suddenly encircled in a light blue ball of light several zhang in diameter. He pressed his palms towards each other, and the blue light ball began to shrink at a visible rate.

    Old Mi was clearly stunned by this as well. He immediately shouted, ¡°Sunflower Finger!¡±

    He extended all ten fingers, and thrust his hands about him. Ripples appeared across the surface of the blue sphere of light wherever he made contact with it.

    However, this finger thrust¡ªwhich could kill a seventh-ranked expert¡ªcouldn¡¯t pierce through this weak-looking ball of light which seemed like a giant soap bubble.

    Wei Dan smiled. ¡°It¡¯s useless. This power is the result of the spatialws that I¡¯ve only recently gained insight into. It cannot be defeated by any worldly power.¡±

    Spatialws? Zu An couldn¡¯t hide his shock. Just what level of cultivation did this old man possess?

    No wonder that zombie-like movement was so powerful! He used spatialws to augment it! As I was saying, there was no way the Sunflower Phantasm couldn¡¯t keep up with regr movements.

    Old Mi stopped trying to break out using his Sunflower Finger. He suddenly turned to look at Wei Dan. ¡°No wonder you¡¯re still unfazed even after your Ster Handkerchief was destroyed. You had another trump card up your sleeve.¡±

    ¡°But of course.¡± Wei Dan sped his fist. ¡°Serving at the emperor¡¯s side means that I asionally receive pointers from him. These pointers can easily save us a decade of arduous cultivation. How could I have dared to pursue you if I hadn¡¯t made any progress at all?¡±

    As he spoke, the light blue sphere continued to shrink. A strange ckness appeared in the center of the sphere. Old Mi lost control of his own movements, and his body was slowly sucked towards that inky dark spot.

    A ck hole? Zu An was stupefied. It suddenly dawned on him that many things in this world were already beyond his understanding of science.

    Old Mi tried to employ the Sunflower Phantasm several times. Unfortunately, not only could he not move his body, he was slowly being sucked towards the center.

    Wei Dan¡¯s voice grew grim. ¡°Little Ying, out of respect for our friendship, I¡¯ll let you go free if you break your own arms. Not even his majesty would be able to save you once you enter that darkness.¡±

    ¡°Break my own arms?¡± Old Mi sneered. ¡°I would rather die than surrender.¡±

    ¡°Why must it be so?¡± Wei Dan frowned. ¡°As long as you hand over the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, there is no need for you to die. Why are you so stubborn?¡±

    Old Miughed. ¡°It is precisely because I know that you still need my Phoenix Nirvana Sutra that I have the confidence to keep fighting! I refuse to believe that you will really kill me.¡±

    Wei Dan snorted, but the blue sphere of light ceased its shrinking. He knew that the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra would also be lost if he destroyed Old Mi with that inky darkness. How would he exin things to the emperor then?

    However, his opponent''s cultivation was just too high. If he let him go now, Old Mi would surely be on the lookout for him, and be even harder to catch in the future.

    In that moment of hesitation, as the space around him stabilized, Old Mi made his move.

    ¡°Steps of the Rising Lotus!¡±

    He stepped upwards into empty air as though walking up a flight of stairs, and every step he took left behind a footprint. A lotus gradually blossomed from each footprint.

    Zu An waspletely dumbstruck. This Old Mi was already an old man, yet he still cared so much about aesthetics. Every single technique he disyed possessed a stunning beauty.

    If a pretty young woman used these techniques, she would easily harvest the hearts of countless young men.

    Leaving Zu An aside, even Wei Dan was shocked. ¡°You¡¯ve also reached the gateway to understanding spatialws?¡±

    Old Mi began to smile, but suddenly vomited a mouthful of blood. The move he just used had clearly pushed him beyond his limits, and he was suffering its recoil.

    How could Wei Dan give up this opportunity? He immediately used his zombie leap to close the distance.

    His two palmsshed out, sending a flurry of blows at Old Mi. Even though Old Mi did everything he could to defend himself, he was still hit by three palm strikes.

    ¡°Pfft!¡±

    Blood spewed from Old Mi¡¯s mouth, and even the snowy-white beard around his mouth was dyed red.

    ¡°Tsk, tsk, tsk. It looks like you¡¯re still clinging tightly to your identity as a eunuch! Even at your age, you¡¯re still sticking all this fake beard around your mouth.¡± Wei Dan didn¡¯t close the distance. He was clearly worried that Old Mi might feel like a cornered beast and risk it all. Old Mi was already seriously injured. The longer Wei Dan stalled, the more blood Old Mi would lose. The more blood he lost, the weaker he would be.

    ¡°Are you saying you don¡¯t care? You have quite a bit of fake beard stered around your mouth too!¡± Old Mi wiped away the blood staining the corners of his lips, identally rubbing off the rest of his fake beard. A pained expression appeared on his face.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

 Chapter 384: Iâ€™m Just a Bystander!

    <h4>Chapter 384: I¡¯m Just a Bystander!</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Wei Dan flew into a rage. His voice rose an octave. ¡°Little Ying, are you testing my patience? Are you courting death?¡±

    ¡°Courting death?¡± Old Mi smiled mournfully. ¡°Who would choose to die if they could live?¡±

    Zu An grew sad. Even though he was always worried that Old Mi might have some ulterior objective for helping him, they had known each other for so long. It was difficult to see him like this.

    A sudden noise came from a distance away. The pitched battle had clearly rmed the people within the Chu Estate, prompting a party of guards to investigate.

    Zu An was contemting whether he should ask the Chu n members for help. In the end, however, he decided not to.

    Even the most powerful experts in the Chu Estate had been killed by Old Mi, and this Wei Dan seemed to be even stronger.

    Qin Wanru was only at the sixth rank, and she was in no condition to help out. Even though the guards of the Chu n were elites, they were no match for a real monster like Wei Dan.

    If Chu Zhongtian had been in the estate, he might have still been of some use. However, he only had eight ranks of cultivation, which was probably still not enough.

    The only way they would even have had a chance was if the Chu n¡¯s Red Cloak Army was in the estate.

    When Zu An first arrived in this world, there was one thing he couldn¡¯t understand. If individual cultivators were so powerful, why did things like countries and armies still exist?

    Onlyter, when he attended the academy, did he find out why. Even though the individual cultivation of the soldiers in these armies couldn¡¯t match that of high level cultivators,rge armies could employ certain special tactics to absorb the power of expert cultivators and spread it out amongst the individual soldiers, lessening its impact. At the same time, these soldiers could all concentrate their attacking force on a single enemy.

    An individual cultivator would always lose when faced with an organized army.

    This allowed a country¡¯s organizational structure and the strength of its more powerful individuals to be bnced out.

    While Zu An was feeling regretful, Wei Dan spoke up. ¡°Hmph, I don¡¯t feel like bickering with you over these matters anymore. The Chu n¡¯s men are alreadying. I¡¯ll capture you first, then decide what to do with you.¡±

    Old Miughed. ¡°You think I¡¯ll let you?¡±

    His figure rushed straight towards where Zu An was hiding. He grabbed Zu An, and then he rushed into the darkness while his quarry stared at him in shock.

    Clearly, he had known all along that Zu An had been hiding nearby.

    Zu An wanted to resist, but the gap in their strength was too great. Just one tap on the shoulder from Old Mi, and he had instantly lost all of his strength.

    Zu An was dumbfounded. ¡°I¡¯m just a bystander!¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Old Mi snorted coldly as he carried Zu An off into the distance.

    Wei Dan eximed in surprise. There had actually been someone hiding over there! Why hadn¡¯t he noticed him before?

    Whatever the case, he didn¡¯t have time to dwell on this. He chased after them right away. ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going?!¡±

    The guards of the Chu n arrived just in time to witness Zu An¡¯s capture, and erupted in startled cries.

    ¡°Huh? Isn¡¯t that our estate gardener?¡±

    ¡°Who is that other old man?¡±

    ¡°Even though I don¡¯t know who that is, I think I saw them kidnap the young master!¡±

    An uproar broke out, with everyone standing around yelling that they had to save Zu An.

    Cheng Shouping jumped out and said, ¡°Nonsense! Our young master has miraculous talent and skills! How could he be so easily captured by those two old men? He¡¯s obviously steps ahead of them, and is only pretending to be captured!¡±

    ¡°What brother Cheng says makes sense.¡± All those who had gathered nodded their heads. After all, their young master had killed Hong Zhong and Chu Tiesheng. In their hearts, he was immeasurably powerful. There was very little chance of him being kidnapped by two old men.

    Cheng Shouping immediately grew smug when he heard the crowd address him as ¡®brother Cheng¡¯. In all his years in the estate, this was the first time he had ever been shown any respect.

    This was all because of the young master. That was why he had to continue to cling tightly to this young master.

    How dare anyone besmirch the reputation of the young master by suggesting that he had been kidnapped?! He had to nip these bad rumors in the bud right away. His own reputation was on the line!

    Zhou Lujun pulled Cheng Shouping to the side, his expression dark. ¡°Are you sure that the young master nned this? Those two elders are at least at the ninth rank.¡±

    ¡°Ninth rank?¡± Cheng Shouping was shocked. ¡°Is that higher than the young master¡¯s cultivation?¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡± Feng Daniu said with a strange voice. ¡°Everyone knows that ninth-ranked cultivators can soar into the heavens. Those two elders clearly flew away with the young master in tow. How can youck suchmon knowledge?¡±

    ¡°Of course I know that!¡± Cheng Shouping said stubbornly, but he was full of guilt inside. He immediately began to pray fervently to the heavens for his young master¡¯s safety. If something were to happen, his own prospects for advancement in the Chu n would go up in smoke!

    Zu An found himself carried into the air by Old Mi. The houses below grew smaller and smaller. He swallowed and said, ¡°You guys can keep fighting if you want. Why did you have to get me involved?!¡±

    Wind rushed into his mouth as soon as he opened it, and his words came out a jumbled mess.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Old Mi snorted. ¡°You¡¯re involved in this matter too. You obviously can¡¯t remain a bystander.¡±

    ¡°What does this have to do with me?!¡± Zu An suddenly realized that, since he knew the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra as well. Perhaps this matter did have something to do with him after all. ¡°Please hold me tightly, then. I don¡¯t want to be dropped.¡±

    Old Mi smiled insincerely. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. If you fall, you¡¯ll only be crippled at worst. You won¡¯t die. Heck, it might even improve your cultivation.¡±

    Zu An was not amused.

    He knew that the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra required him to be beaten up in order to cultivate, but he didn¡¯t want to resort to this to increase his cultivation!

    Wei Dan¡¯s voice came from behind them. ¡°Little Ying, I¡¯m surprised you noticed this brat just now. I didn¡¯t even know he was there.¡±

    Old Mi chuckled. ¡°I have my ways.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He thought that the difference in cultivation had made Mirror Mirage ineffective, but Wei Dan¡¯s words just proved his theory wrong.

    How did Old Mi notice me, then?

    ¡°I guessed as much. You probably left a spiritual imprint on him.¡± Wei Dan sighed. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to care so much about this kid. Did you pass on the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra to him as well?¡±

    Old Mi didn¡¯t reply. Zu An¡¯s heart began to pound.

    Who would have thought that even the sudden quickening of his heartbeat would be picked up by Wei Dan?

    ¡°As expected. I wouldn¡¯t have gone through such trouble if I¡¯d known that this was the case. I could have just interrogated him.¡±

    Old Mi snorted. ¡°It¡¯s toote for regrets now.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not toote. I¡¯ll just capture both of you for interrogation.¡± Wei Dan smiled. ¡°I was worried that your mouth would be tightly shut, but this kid might not be as tough to deal with.¡±

    Zu An really didn¡¯t like being treated as though he were invisible. ¡°Can¡¯t the two of you talk after yound? Do you guys like it up here or something?¡±

    His cultivation was far beneath the two of them. Little Zu An began to shrivel up from the cold.

    ¡°So, this youngster is scared,¡± Wei Dan teased. ¡°I guess it can¡¯t be helped. It¡¯s only natural for ordinary people to feel afraid the first time they fly this high. You don¡¯t need to feel embarrassed.¡±

    Zu An wasn¡¯t at all impressed.

    ¡°You think this bit of altitude scares me? I¡¯ve flown ten thousand meters into the air without having to lift a finger! Do you see me bragging about that?¡± Zu An said with a sulk.

    ¡°Ten thousand meters?!¡±

    Both Wei Dan and Old Mi were bbergasted when they heard this number.

    However, they quickly shook off their shock. Old Mi was so angry that he almost let go of Zu An. ¡°Damned brat, aren¡¯t you going a bit too far with your lies?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Lianying for 666 Rage points!

    Wei Dan shared his feelings. ¡°Little Ying, why did you choose such an unreliable kid to be your sessor?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Wei Dan for 666 Rage points!

    What kind of joke was this? The higher you flew, the stronger the winds would be. Not even his majesty, the number one expert in this world, could fly that high, let alone a brat like this.

    Zu An twisted his lips. ¡°There¡¯s nothing I can do if youck experience. Summer bugs don¡¯t know anything about winter.¡±

    He really wasn¡¯t lying. All the aircraft in his previous world flew at that altitude.

    Wei Dan wasted no more attention on him. He let Zu An persist with his nonsense, and brought his attention back to Old Mi. ¡°Little Ying, I¡¯m curious about something. Why haven¡¯t you used the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra yet?¡±

 Chapter 385: A Fickle World

    <h4>Chapter 385: A Fickle World</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    This was something that was bugging Zu An as well. He too was wondering why Old Mi hadn¡¯t used Grandgale, Blue Mard, or any other skills. No matter how slowly Old Mi cultivated that secret manual, there was no way he could be worse than me, right?

    He wanted to use this opportunity to see for himself what the higher levels of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra looked like. He wanted to see what new skills he would obtain.

    Old Mi remained silent. He clearly had no intention of answering this question.

    Wei Dan didn¡¯t seem to mind. He began talking to himself. ¡°It¡¯s been so many years since west crossed paths. Your cultivation has risen considerably since then, probably because of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra. As expected of the legendary Phoenix Nirvana Sutra! It was actually able to close the gap between the two of us. However, I really don¡¯t think that¡¯s all there is to the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra.¡±

    Old Mi finally spoke. ¡°The Phoenix Nirvana Sutra seeks oneness with heaven and earth. This is not easy for imperfect bodies like the ones you and I possess. Cultivating it doesn¡¯t yield much results, and we will never reach its pinnacle.¡±

    Wei Dan frowned when he heard this. This issue that Old Mi touched on definitely existed. Their imperfect bodies always had negative effects on their cultivation. He wasn¡¯t at all surprised to hear that the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra shared this quirk.

    A sudden realization came to him. He looked at Zu An, who was being carried by Old Mi. ¡°No wonder you care so much about him. ording to the rumors, he wasplete trash not long ago, yet he¡¯s grown into a young expert in such a short amount of time. This must be the work of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra!¡±

    Zu An was furious. Who are you calling trash?!

    You can¡¯t even be called a man yourself! What gives you the right to brazenly call me that?!

    The two elders naturally cared little for Zu An¡¯s feelings. Old Mi snickered and said, ¡°Indeed, I really wanted to see just how far he would go. He might even achieve immortality! I have no hope for myself, so I can only live vicariously through him.¡±

    Zu An was touched by these words. He hadn¡¯t expected Old Mi to have such a noble character! He really shouldn¡¯t have suspected this elder.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    However, there was something not quite right about this either. Old Mi had said that those who were crippled below the belt would experience poor results while cultivating the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, but there was no way this old man could know about his recovery! Wasn¡¯t this a contradiction?

    Clearly, that meant that Old Mi was trying to fool Wei Dan. Zu An wasn¡¯t sure whether it was because Old Mi wanted to shift all of the focus onto Zu An, or if he didn¡¯t want Wei Dan to take Zu An¡¯s life.

    Sure enough, Wei Dan¡¯s expression turned to shock, and he couldn¡¯t hold back a sigh. ¡°There''s been one nice surprise after another today! There are actually two individuals who have cultivated the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra! The emperor will surely be pleased if I bring him back.¡±

    Zu An pressed his lips together in annoyance.

    He definitely didn¡¯t want some old man to be interested in him! Unfortunately, he wasn¡¯t in any position to make any choices. He had no say with two ridiculously powerful cultivators present.

    Old Mi was already injured, and he was carrying Zu An as well. Even though his movement speed was excellent, he was sure to slow down eventually.

    Wei Dan used this chance to leap in front of the two of them. ¡°Little Ying, this game of cat and mouse has gone on for too long. It¡¯s about time to end things.¡±

    Old Mi¡¯s expression turned grim. He tossed Zu An into a nearby tree, and prepared his body for battle.

    Wei Dan wasn¡¯t all that interested in Zu An right now. He knew that, once he took down Old Mi, Zu An would be his for the taking as well.

    Zu An quickly examined his surroundings. They had flown beyond the walls of Brightmoon City, so this was probably deep within Hidden Dragon Mountain.

    Even though Hidden Dragon Mountain was considered dangerous, that was only true for ordinary folk.

    For super cultivators like Old Mi and Wei Dan, the vicious beasts that lurked here were nothing to worry about.

    He felt a twinge of regret. If that red dragon were still alive, he could¡¯ve finished off these two elders in one go. He¡¯d only gotten rid of a single Chen Xuan thest time. Sigh, what a waste!

    While Zu An was still living in his alternate reality, Wei Dan had already made his move. Old Mi had been injured all this while, and he¡¯d fled while carrying Zu An a considerable distance. His strength had begun to wane.

    The fight went as he had expected. In the previous exchange, the two of them had spent an equal amount of time on the offensive. Now, however, Old Mi spent less than a third of the time on the offensive, and only managed to hold on by relying on the miraculous movement speed of the Sunflower Phantasm.

    After fighting for another hour, he couldn¡¯t even maintain this level of offense. He waspletely focused on defense, yet new wounds continued to open up all over his body.

    Wei Dan wiped off the blood staining his fingertips as he casually threw out strike after strike. ¡°Little Ying, why must you be so stubborn? You can¡¯t win. Is there a need for us to waste so much time?¡±

    Old Mi responded through gritted teeth, ¡°Who can know the final oue unless we fight to the final bitter second?¡±

    ¡°If you insist. You leave me with no choice. I¡¯ll just have to beat you down until you admit defeat.¡± Wei Dan¡¯s voice became cold. His movements grew even more swift.

    There was no way for Old Mi to dodge anymore. He could only clench his teeth and raise his palms to ward off this attack.

    ¡°Ster Palm!¡± A nasty smirk appeared on Wei Dan¡¯s face. He was going to use this chance topletely cripple his opponent. The long battle had worn his patience all the way down to the bone.

    A wave of air sted out in all directions. Zu An was blown off of the tree he was on.

    He fell onto the ground with a loud crunch. If his body hadn¡¯t been reforged twice by the Primordial Origin Sutra, he would surely have suffered a few broken bones at the very least. He¡¯d fallen from such a great height, and his movement had beenpletely sealed by Old Mi earlier.

    Instead, Zu An was overjoyed. He quickly began to circte the ki within his body to break the seal. Recovering his ability to move was the top priority right now. While the two of them were busy fighting, he would seize his opportunity to slip away.

    Meanwhile, on the battlefield, something unexpected happened the instant the two palms met. Old Mi¡¯s panicked expression vanished, reced with the cold smile of someone who¡¯d seen a schemee to fruition.

    In a sh, his outstretched palm morphed into a finger, and then he disyed his trademark skill: Sunflower Finger!

    Wei Dan instinctively sensed that something was off. However, he just couldn¡¯t figure out what.

    Old Mi¡¯s cultivation wasn¡¯t a match for his own. That was the case even when the former was at his peak, let alone now, when he was heavily injured.

    With this in mind, Wei Dan threw aside his worries and pressed his palm forward. He was confident that once his palm made contact, that finger would crumble inch by inch, and Old Mi wouldpletely lose the ability to retaliate.

    Palm and finger met in a burst of blood, and someone screamed miserably.

    Zu An was busy trying to undo his seal. He suddenly raised his head in horror, because the one who had screamed wasn¡¯t Old Mi. Instead, it was the one who looked certain to win¡ªWei Dan!

    Old Mi¡¯s shining purple finger thrust straight through Wei Dan¡¯s palm. The blue glow of Wei Dan¡¯s Ster Palm vanished without a trace, and only a bright, blood-red color could be seen.

    Old Mi didn¡¯t hesitate at all. He thrust out his other hand, aiming straight for several major acupoints on Wei Dan¡¯s body.

    Wei Dan copsed to the side like a leaky sandbag. However, he seemed unconcerned about his own condition. Instead, he looked at the old man in front of him in horror. ¡°How?!¡±

    Old Mi¡¯s strength seemed to have instantly increased several fold. Previously, even though Old Mi¡¯s cultivation had been slightly beneath his, there wasn¡¯t much to choose between them. However, in that instant, Old Mi hadpletely overwhelmed him!

    Why did Old Mi have to resort to such trickery if he¡¯d possessed this level of cultivation from the very start?

    Then again, if he didn¡¯t truly possess that level of cultivation, there was no way he could have defeated him so easily in that one instant!

    He could not wrap his head around what had just happened.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes were about to pop out as well. After all, he had been secretly rooting for Old Mi all along. He had been merely hoping that the old man could hold out just a little longer. However, in a sudden turn of events, Wei Dan¡ªwho looked odds on to win¡ªhad been defeated in a sh!

    He hadn¡¯t managed to undo the seal on himself yet. That was why he was now praying for Wei Dan to hold on for just a few more moments.

    The world was just that fickle. Surely this change had happened way too quickly.

 Chapter 386: Old and Treacherous

    <h4>Chapter 386: Old and Treacherous</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Old Mi didn¡¯t answer his question immediately, but took a moment to catch his breath. That burst of strength had clearly dealt considerable damage to himself as well.

    In time, some color returned to his deathly pale face. He opened his eyes and looked at the dying Wei Dan with a measure of ridicule. ¡°Weren¡¯t you wondering all this time why I didn¡¯t use the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra? Well, your desire has been fulfilled. I¡¯ve let you have a taste of it. So, what do you think? Do you regret saying that now?¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°That was the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra?¡± Wei Dan seemed to grasp what Old Mi was saying, but it left him with even more questions. ¡°Is the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra a technique that greatly strengthens an individual?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re half right.¡± The knots in Old Mi¡¯s brow finally loosened. The enemy that he¡¯d worried about for so many years was finally dealt with. He knew that he shouldn¡¯t be speaking so much, and should instead end Wei Dan¡¯s life as quickly as possible. However, this was just human nature. Although humans possessed logic and reasoning, whether their emotions allowed them to choose that option was another matter entirely.

    The ancient saying embodied this best: If riches weren¡¯t brought back home, it was the same as wearing extravagant clothes on a night stroll¡ªno one would notice your new-found wealth at all.

    The situation was pretty much settled. Wei Dan had always been above him, in his official position or in cultivation. Even though Wei Dan tried to hide it in his speech, the feeling of contempt was already ingrained in his bones.

    He had to properly cherish this moment as the victor. He needed to properly release all these years of pent up resentment that had built up by being inferior to Wei Dan.

    ¡°The Phoenix Nirvana Sutra can indeed boost a cultivator¡¯s strength, but a certain condition must be satisfied first: it will only activate when the user is seriously injured. The greater the injury, the greater the boost in strength,¡± Old Mi continued.

    Zu An finally understood what had happened. He¡¯d beenpletely focused on Grandgale and Blue Mard, the two special abilities that the technique granted him. He had forgotten this fundamental feature of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra!

    Wei Dan finally understood. ¡°No wonder it was so easy to injure you earlier... you deliberately let me injure you. Everything was an act! You baited me step by step into your trap.¡±

    ¡°Both intellect and strength are equally important for cultivators. I believe this was something you taught me.¡± Old Mi felt rather smug when he said this. After all, Wei Dan had been extremely condescending when he said this to him in the past. However, he had emerged the final victor.

    Wei Dan¡¯s eyes lost some of their sparkle. He had now fully experienced what was meant by winner-takes-all. It was now all over for him. He muttered, ¡°A phoenix undergoes rebirth after reaching nirvana... why did I never expect this...¡±

    Old Mi clearly didn¡¯t want to talk about this matter any longer. He was more interested in learning something meaningful. ¡°How many others know that I am here, apart from you?¡±

    A smile finally appeared on Wei Dan¡¯s face. ¡°Do you think that all of this will be over once you kill me? Dream on! I¡¯ve already informed the emperor about everything. As long as the Great Zhou Dynasty survives, there will always be someoneing after your life. It¡¯s all your fault for coveting what the emperor desired the most.¡±

    ¡°I thought as much...¡± Old Mi frowned, but he wasn¡¯t all that worried. He looked at Zu An, who was a distance away. He already had a way out of all of this. ¡°By the way, what level has the emperor cultivated up to?¡±

    ¡°Hahaha, I do admit that the strength you showed in the end was shocking. Even I am far from being your match. But do you really think that you can rely on this to prevail against his majesty?!¡± Wei Danughed and coughed out some blood. ¡°You are overestimating yourself!¡±

    ¡°Of course I¡¯m not delusional enough topete against his majesty. However, as a cultivator, how can I not pursue further growth? It¡¯spletely normal for me to be fascinated by someone with a higher cultivation level,¡± replied Old Mi.

    ¡°You are correct.¡± Wei Dan didn¡¯t retort this time, but said, ¡°I advise you not to ce too high a hope in this field. The two of us are naturally deficient, and we are doomed to never truly reach the peak of the heavenly dao. To try to force your way forward is to seek the path to your own doom.¡±

    ¡°That might not be true,¡± Old Mi sneered. He¡¯d already found a perfect technique for rebirth. A cripple like Wei Dan couldn¡¯tpare to him at all.

    Wei Dan looked at him, his expression somewhat surprised. He had no idea where Old Mi¡¯s confidence wasing from.

    Old Mi then asked, ¡°How fares the empress?¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have answered you if you¡¯d asked about anything else. But since you¡¯re asking about the empress, I guess you still have a bit of a conscience. You still remember the favor she showed you after all these years...¡± Wei Dan sighed. ¡°When our batch of eunuchs first entered the pce, we were badly bullied until we received the empress¡¯ grace. She truly is a benevolent person. What a pity that she gave birth to a...¡±

    He realized midway through his sentence that he was about to blurt out a secret, and stopped himself.

    Old Mi had no such qualms. He said, ¡°So many years have passed. The crown prince¡¯s... intelligence still hasn¡¯t developed?¡±

    Zu An was baffled. Intelligence? Why would you word it in this manner? Did she give birth to an ape or something?

    Wei Dan shook his head. ¡°The emperor and empress have sought out various doctors, and collected all sorts of treasures to try to nurture the crown prince. Even though he can¡¯t be considered a genius, he can just about be consideredparable to most ordinary folk.¡±

    Old Mi snorted. ¡°In a royal family, being ordinary is the greatest disaster. His father is the most powerful cultivator in the world, while his uncle and cousins are great geniuses as well. It is truly unfortunate.¡±

    Wei Dan smiled bitterly. ¡°Perhaps all of the luck in the family has already been used up.¡±

    Zu An had a strange expression on his face. Chu Chuyan had mentioned before that the current dilemma facing the court was precisely whether to hand the throne down to the crown prince, or to King Qi.

    The crown prince was said to possess only an ordinary aptitude towards cultivation, which led many to support King Qi. However, from what he was hearing right now, his aptitude was far from even being ordinary¡ªhe wasplete trash!

    Wei Dan continued, ¡°The empress has been worried sick over the crown prince all this while. She found a beautiful and capable concubine for the crown prince a few years ago. With her assistance, she should be able to make up for some of the crown prince¡¯s deficiencies.¡±

    ¡°The crown prince has a concubine?¡± Old Mi was surprised. He sighed. ¡°Time truly passes quickly. The crown prince was so young back then... Now, has already reached a marriageable age.¡±

    Wei Dan felt his heart stir as well. ¡°Indeed... Back then, we could still drink and chat merrily... Now, we must fight each other to the death.¡±

    ¡°All right, that¡¯s enough reminiscing for now. It¡¯s time for me to see you off.¡± Old Mi walked up to Wei Dan and thrust out a finger, preparing to strike him between his brows.

    In that instant, Wei Dan suddenlyshed out with his uninjured hand. His palm smashed into Old Mi¡¯s lower abdomen.

    He¡¯d clearly been stalling on purpose. All the time he¡¯d been speaking, he had been preparing for this final strike.

    Old Mi threw up a huge mouthful of blood. However, his finger stillnded on Wei Dan¡¯s forehead.

    The light in Wei Dan¡¯s eyes faded. His eyes grewpletely gray, and his aura dimmed and disappeared.

    Old Mi staggered backwards a few steps. He clutched at his abdomen, blood pouring out from his mouth.

    Seeing this final exchange, Zu An¡¯s heart grew numb. The two of them were both incredibly treacherous! As expected of these two old friends from the imperial pce.

    He had already undone the seal on his body, but he refrained from making any suspicious movements, pretending instead to still be sealed. ¡°Elder, are you okay?¡± he asked.

    Old Mi shot him an annoyed look. ¡°Can¡¯t you see all the blood I¡¯m vomiting out? How could I be okay?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Old Mi for 233 Rage points!

    Zu Anughed awkwardly. ¡°Keep vomiting and you¡¯ll get used to it... Besides, Elder is truly powerful. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll recover quickly.¡±

    Old Mi had nothing to say to that.

    It took him a while to catch his breath. ¡°How could it be that easy? Wei Dan¡¯sst strike was truly powerful. I was careless at thest second. It seems he¡¯s managed to take me down with him in the end.¡±

    Zu An couldn¡¯t believe his ears. ¡°Is it really... that serious?¡±

    Old Mi suddenly turned to look at him. ¡°Ah Zu, ask yourself¡ªhas this old one treated you well?¡±

 Chapter 387: Hidden Intentions Exposed

    <h4>Chapter 387: Hidden Intentions Exposed</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An¡¯s heart skipped a beat. He immediately said, ¡°Elder has obviously treated me well! What you have shown me can be considered life-changing grace!¡±

    After all, if not for the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, he wouldn¡¯t have had any foundation for cultivation, let alone any way to activate the Keyboard system.

    ¡°It seems like a kid like you still has some gratitude. My efforts weren¡¯t wasted after all.¡± Old Mi nodded in satisfaction.

    Zu An was curious. Why was he talking about this now?

    The old man continued, ¡°I¡¯m sure you heard our conversation as well. I haven¡¯t had any adopted children in this life of mine, nor do I have any sessors. To a certain degree, you are my adopted son, my sessor.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s heart softened when heard the weakness in his voice. He was surely about to pass away. ¡°I will never forget the kindness Elder has shown me! If Elder doesn¡¯t mind, I can look after you and make arrangements after you pass on.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m surprised at your filial piety.¡± Old Miughed. ¡°Unfortunately, I am not blessed enough to be able to enjoy that.¡±

    ¡°Is Elder¡¯s injury really that serious? I¡¯m sure that, considering the cultivation you possess, you should be able to recover after a period of recuperation!¡± Zu An even considered using some of his own medicine on him. He had the red bottles that granted instant restoration, as well as Ji Dengtu¡¯s Soul Return Pills. He should be able to treat this old man¡¯s injuries.

    However, the final treacherous sh between Old Mi and Wei Dan was still fresh in his mind, and there was no way he could forget all the suspicions that he¡¯d had all this while. He decided to wait a little longer. After all, he could bring the old man back as long as he still had onest breath in him.

    ¡°It¡¯s hopeless. I clearly understand my own injuries best.¡± Old Mi continued on, ¡°Let¡¯s not waste any more time. I want to use thisst bit of time to pass on to you everything I know. That way, some part of my existence will live on even after I pass on.¡±

    Zu An frowned. ¡°Elder, you should treat your injuries first! Let¡¯s talk about the rest afterwards.¡±

    ¡°Not bad, you do have a conscience. I didn¡¯t choose the wrong person.¡± Old Mi¡¯s smile suddenly altered. ¡°But now is not the time for this. If you refuse to ept a gift bestowed upon you by the heavens, then you are the only one to me.¡±

    There was nothing else Zu An could say. ¡°Thank you, Elder!¡±

    ¡°All right, listen well.¡± Old Mi sat down and said, struggling for breath. ¡°I¡¯ve already passed on to you my Sunflower Phantasm. The other move is the Sunflower Finger. Remember the way to summon it:

    ¡°Calm the heart as the sun rises, abandon all distracting thoughts. Imagine the descent of a goddess¡¯ fragrance, the birth of ki from an ocean of ki...¡±

    Zu An immediately cleared his mind when he saw that this old man was really passing on his technique. At the same time, he began to wonder what this all meant. After all, this was a deep and profound technique!

    When Old Mi was finished, he said, ¡°That¡¯s all you need to summon this technique. How much of it do you remember?¡±

    ¡°All of it,¡± Zu An subconsciously replied.

    ¡°All of it?¡± Old Mi frowned. ¡°How could that be? Kid, you shouldn¡¯t lie. You have to rify any doubts you have while I¡¯m still alive.¡±

    Zu An was startled. His transcendent aptitude allowed him to pick up anything quickly, but Old Mi didn¡¯t know about that.

    He remembered Jiang Luofu¡¯s warning, so he kept this secret to himself. He hurriedly said, ¡°I only remember about half of it.¡±

    ¡°Only half?¡± Old Mi snorted. ¡°You¡¯ve forgotten so much, yet you dare to boast like that?¡±

    However, he realized that he was being too harsh, and mellowed his words. "Fifty percent is not bad, considering your aptitude. Pay close attention! I¡¯ll repeat it a few more times. You have to remember itpletely.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Zu An smiled sheepishly to mask his confusion. This old man had said that he was about to die. Did he really have the time to exin this over and over?

    Old Mi not only repeated the summoning technique for the Sunflower Finger several times, he even exined several of the more difficult areas.

    Zu An was already extremely familiar with it after listening to it so many times. He even felt as though he could use this technique right now. Even if it wasn¡¯t as powerful as Old Mi¡¯s, it would still be the Sunflower Finger.

    His eyes darted around suddenly, and he said with an apologetic smile, ¡°Elder, the move that you used to escape from the Inescapable Net was really awesome! You were actually able to produce a lotus with every step!¡±

    Old Mi couldn¡¯t keep the annoyance out of his voice. ¡°Brat, are you hinting to me to teach you that method? Hmph, it¡¯s not that I can¡¯t pass it on to you. It¡¯s just that your cultivation is too low, and this skill is way beyond your capabilities. You won¡¯t be able to learn it even if I teach it to you.¡±

    ¡°How would we know for sure unless you teach it to me? I guess I don¡¯t need it, but having another skill never hurts!¡±

    Old Mi was clearly still hesitant. Zu An kept on pressing him. ¡°Elder, didn''t you say that you were going to pass everything on to me? How can you withhold this most formidable Steps of the Rising Lotus?¡±

    ¡°What you say makes sense.¡± Old Mi sighed. ¡°All right, I¡¯ll pass on the Steps of the Rising Lotus to you as well.

    ¡°However, this skill isn¡¯t something you canprehend right now. How about this? I¡¯ll engrave this skill onto a spiritual sense seed and nt it inside you. This way, the skill will appear in your mind automatically once you reach a certain level of cultivation.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. Was there a need to make things that difficult?

    Just thinking about letting the other party¡¯s spiritual sense enter his body sounded like a terrible idea that should be immediately rejected. However, the temptation of the Steps of Rising Lotus was difficult to resist.

    Old Mi had gotten back up to his feet slowly, and was walking towards him with unsteady steps. A streak of purple radiance appeared on his fingertip, which appeared to be a small seed. A small sunflower was vaguely visible within that seed.

    Even though this sunflower was much smaller than all of the previous ones, it was sparkling and translucent, shimmering with brilliant colors. It seemed more powerful than any of the other sunflowers he disyed before.

    ¡°Rx yourself both physically and mentally. Do not reject it, or else the transfer will fail. I do not have the strength left to condense a second seed,¡± Old Mi said in a serious tone.

    Zu An grunted in acknowledgement, but couldn¡¯t shake the sense of unease within him, although he didn¡¯t know what exactly was wrong.

    Old Mi¡¯s finger slowly moved towards Zu An¡¯s brow. As the distance grew smaller, a smile gradually appeared on the old man¡¯s lips.

    He¡¯d pretended to be a dying elder who wanted to pass on everything he knew before he died. He hadn¡¯t even hesitated to pass on the Sunflower Finger. This was precisely engineered to lower Zu An¡¯s guard step by step.

    From their interactions, he knew that even though Zu An¡¯s wasn''t particrly strong, he was a crafty and cunning fellow. That was why he was taking such a cautious approach.

    Possession techniques were always extremely dangerous. There was always a chance of failure.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The stronger the will of the target, the higher the chance of failure.

    On the contrary, if the target didn¡¯t put up any resistance, then the probability of sess would be close to a hundred percent.

    That was why he¡¯d willingly gone through so much trouble to set this up.

    The feeling of unease within Zu An grew intensified as he saw the smile on Old Mi¡¯s lips. When that sunflower closed to within an inch from his head, his fine hairs all began to stand on end.

    It was as if every single cell in his body was warning him that he was in extreme danger.

    Without a conscious thought, his body instinctively employed the Sunflower Phantasm, instantly sending him more than a dozen zhang away.

    Old Mi¡¯s entire body trembled. He hadn¡¯t expected this to happen. He jerked his head towards Zu An. ¡°You¡¯ve already managed to undo the seal?¡±

    Zu Anughed awkwardly. ¡°Falling from the branch earlier somehow loosened the restrictions binding me, and I managed to recover somehow. I instinctively tested it out just now, and I somehow ended up here.¡±

    Old Mi¡¯s expression grew dark. ¡°Come back here right now. It¡¯s not easy for me to maintain this seed in its condensed form. Soon, it will scatter, and you won¡¯t be able to learn the Steps of Rising Lotus.¡±

    Zu An waved his hand and said, ¡°Umm... Elder, I suddenly don¡¯t want to learn it anymore. You should find someone with better aptitude to pass this technique to.¡±

    Old Mi snorted. ¡°How am I supposed to find anyone else in this state? Come back here right now!¡±

    The panic in his voice and the threatening tone he used made Zu An wary of actually learning this technique. He chuckled and said, ¡°Really, there¡¯s no need.¡±

    Old Mi¡¯s expression turned frosty. ¡°That¡¯s not for you to decide!¡±

    His figure flickered, and his hand stretched out towards Zu An.

 Chapter 388: Twisted

    <h4>Chapter 388: Twisted</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An frantically evaded with Sunflower Phantasm when he saw Old Mi¡¯s sinister expression.

    He was captured before he could react back in Chu Estate, but that was mainly because he was caught off guard. There was no way he would let the same thing happen again now that he waspletely vignt.

    Old Mi sneered. I was the one who taught you the Sunflower Phantasm! Aren¡¯t you showing off before a real expert here?!

    As such, he confidently grabbed out, predicting where Zu An was moving towards next.

    He could only seize Zu An and knock him out before using the possession technique now. The sess rate will obviously be lower, but the odds were still in his favor. It was still worth the risk.

    ¡°I¡¯ve caught you!¡± Old Mi grabbed at Zu An. However, his smile instantly froze.

    That figure immediately shattered. He realized that he grabbed a fake clone.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°How is this possible?!¡± Old Mi suddenly turned around to look at the other Zu An.

    He was the one who passed on this Sunflower Phantasm! He understood this technique far better than this brat, so why did things end up like this?

    This youngster actually split up into two figures! Moreover, it waspletely impossible to differentiate the difference between the clone and the real person before making contact! Their auras, ki flows, everything waspletely the same.

    ¡°How did you manage to get to this level?¡± Old Mi stared at Zu An. He merely attributed this to something Zu An identally stumbled upon while practicing the Sunflower Phantasm.

    This type of stuff has happened before. There were so many miraculous techniques in the world, and many of them were created from idents and coincidences.

    ¡°Making a new technique isn¡¯t anything too hard for an awesome genius like me!¡± Zu An replied. But inside, he was thanking the heavens. Thank god big sis empress modified his Sunflower Phantasm! Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to do anything against Old Mi!

    Old Mi was annoyed when he saw Zu An¡¯s smug appearance. How could the technique he was so proud of be modified on a whim? This kid really overestimated his own abilities!

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Lianying for +666 Rage!

    Zu An immediately said when he saw the rage points, ¡°Senior, is there some kind of misunderstanding between us? I just don¡¯t want to learn this ¡®Steps of Rising Lotus¡¯, so why are you so upset?¡±

    Old Mi harrumphed. ¡°As matters stand, there is no harm in telling you. This old one likes your body.¡±

    ¡°Fuck!¡± Zu An immediately ran for his life. He covered his but while pulling open as much distance between them as he could. ¡°Senior, I¡¯m straight! I have no interest in other men!¡±

    But he soon realized something. This old man is a eunuch, so he can¡¯t do anything even if he has such thoughts. What am I so scared of?

    He dropped his hands from his butt when he thought of this.

    But Old Mi doesn¡¯t have the ability to be on top. Is he a bottom?

    He felt his stomach churn.

    Old Mi also realized what he was thinking when he saw Zu An¡¯s expression. He erupted in fury. ¡°Damn brat, what kind of nonsense are you thinking?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Lianying for +781 Rage!

    He decided to just say things clearly to prevent Zu An¡¯s imaginations from running wild. ¡°I might as well just tell you. You¡¯ve heard from Wei Dan that even though he has died, there will be endless people pursuing me because I took the emperor¡¯s possession for myself. For the sake of ending all of my troubles, I thought of a perfect solution.¡±

    ¡°What kind of solution?¡± You¡¯re the wanted man here, why are you involving me?

    Old Mi sized him up and down. He revealed a sinister smile. ¡°It¡¯s obviously Possession-Rebirth!¡±

    ¡°This body of mine is already old, and it is wed to begin with. That is why I don¡¯t have much reluctance in leaving it behind. However, you are different, and you even have the number one beauty in Brightmoon City as your wife! The Chu n¡¯s authority can provide me with status and wealth. Once I be you, not only would I have gotten rid of all of my worries, I would have a bright and beautiful future.¡±

    ¡°Possession?¡± Zu An was horrified. He immediately understood everything. This old man actually had this type of n! No wonder he always felt like he was being looked at like prey.

    This old man passed on all types of techniques to him so he felt a bit guilty for thinking such thoughts. But now that he knew about the real objective, he knew that all of this was for the sake of protecting his perfect vessel!

    Old Mi smiled when he saw his stupefied appearance. ¡°There is no need for you to feel so scared either. You don¡¯t have much prospects with your bit of cultivation. You will forever be a useless drafted son-inw. But I am different! With my cultivation and experiences, the Chu n will soon be under my control. All of the Chu n¡¯s beauties will be mine to enjoy, and after a few years, your reputation will be widespread and glorious.¡±

    ¡°You will be a big winner in the eyes of this world¡¯s people, a hero! Your name will echo for thousands of years and remain in the records of history! So? Isn¡¯t this deal quite good for you?¡±

    Zu An: ¡°......¡±

    ¡°Are you actually being serious?¡±

    Old Mi frowned. ¡°Did I not make myself clear enough?¡±

    ¡°Screw you, you damn eunuch! You are lusting after my wife and other women! Something has to be fucking wrong with my head to agree to something like that...¡± Zu An couldn¡¯t hold himself back anymore and began to curse Old Mi out.

    Old Mi¡¯s face twitched. He was furious.

    You have sessfully trolled Old Mi for +444 +444 +444...

    ¡°You ungrateful brat!¡±

    He didn¡¯t feel like saying anything else to Zu An. He charged straight at him.

    Zu An used the modified Sunflower Phantasm at once. He turned into two different figures and ran in two different directions.

    He already made his decision. He was going to run to the gorgeous principal for help as soon as he returned to Brightmoon City. At the same time, he would fetch Ji Dengtu and the others too. He¡¯ll even contact Governor Sang Hong and City Lord Xie Yi. The one this old fart offended was the emperor, so there was no way these officials would turn a blind eye.

    No matter how strong Old Mi was, there was no way he was a match for all of these experts!

    But even though his n was wonderful, reality was harsh. He suddenly felt his shoulder sink. Turns out Old Mi already caught up!

    ¡°How?!¡± It was now Zu An¡¯s turn to feel shock.

    Just how did this old man know where he was? Was his luck that bad?

    Old Mi snorted. ¡°You are only splitting into two identical figures. Why would I need to guess between the two? I¡¯ll just capture both!¡±

    The difference in cultivation between the two of them was too great, so Old Mi was obviously faster as well. When Old Mi knew that one of them was fake, then he would just attack both at the same time. This wasn¡¯t too difficult with his speed.

    He was just about to seal Zu An with his ki, but Zu An¡¯s shoulder twisted. His arm twisted at a strange angle, and then his body slipped away like a loach. He instantly fled several zhang out.

    ¡°Oh? Pei n¡¯s Feathersilk Entangling Art?¡± Old Mi was shocked. He spent quite a bit of time back in the capital as well, so he was familiar with those major ns¡¯ techniques. He immediately recognized this technique.

    Zu An gasped for breath. He would¡¯ve been captured if he was even a second toote. He didn¡¯t have Wei Dan to distract Old Mi this time, so it would be much harder to break out of the seal.

    ¡°Looks like that Pei n girl treats you quite well.¡± Old Mi snickered. ¡°Brat, you seem ordinary, but you do have some skills in chasing girls. Don¡¯t worry, this old one will take care of those girls well for you. That Pei n girl actually knows this Feathersilk Entangling Art... her body is definitely supple and strong! She is surely top-notch.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face darkened. ¡°Are you eunuchs all this nasty?¡±

    ¡°Haha, you can¡¯t even begin to fathom how excited I am knowing I will be aplete man again!¡± Old Miughed. He didn¡¯t feel embarrassed at all. Zu An was already a dead man in his eyes.

    As for Zu An¡¯s seal down there, he would just undo it after he possessed him. That wasn¡¯t a problem at all.

 Chapter 389: A Missing Little Chick

    <h4>Chapter 389: A Missing Little Chick</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An¡¯s mind moved at full speed, desperately searching for a way to survive. However, his cultivation was just too far beneath Old Mi¡¯s. Old Mi was still being buffed by the effects of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra as well, which only made the difference even bigger.

    He didn¡¯t see any chance of his own survival!

    Zu An felt a chill run through him when he thought about how he was about to be possessed.

    ¡°Big sis empress, big sis empress! Please save me! We¡¯re both dead if you don¡¯te out now!¡± Zu An screamed in his mind.

    Unfortunately, there was no reply. It was as if no one was even there.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Of course, Mi Li had told him before that she needed a long period of hibernation in order to undo the effects of the ¡®Red Tears of Lady Xiang¡¯. He didn¡¯t know if she was really sleeping, or if she had reached a crucial point of the detoxification.

    Screw it, I have to risk it all! I can¡¯t just meekly ept my fate, can I?

    Old Mi¡¯s voice came from behind him. ¡°I have to admit that you are remarkably strong-willed. You still haven¡¯t given up, even when faced with such a situation.¡±

    ¡°Old neutered dog, I wouldn¡¯t let you take advantage of me even if I have to die. Why the hell would I give up?¡± Zu An cursed.

    ¡°Old neutered dog?¡± Old Mi felt his face throbbing with rage. To even bring up this issue with him was taboo! The other party had clearly smacked him in his sore spot.

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Lianying for 999 Rage points!

    ¡°Damned brat, are you tired of living?!¡± Old Mi stared at him with gritted teeth.

    Zu An braced himself and said, ¡°What¡¯re you staring at? Are you going to let me go if I speak nicely? I¡¯m dead anyway. I might as well go all out before that happens! You old, nasty cuckold. You don¡¯t have a dick so you want someone else¡¯s! Your dad should¡¯ve pulled out and squirted onto the wall instead of giving life to you...¡±

    Every single word stabbed deep into Old Mi¡¯s soul. Old Mi¡¯s anger spiraled more and more out of control.

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Lianying for 666... 666... 666...

    ¡°You¡¯re courting death!¡± He couldn¡¯t take any more of this. He charged murderously at Zu An.

    Zu An felt a powerful wind wash over him even before Old Mi had gotten close to him. At the same time, a mysterious pressure seemed to descend from all sides, pressing down against him and robbing him of the ability to control his body.

    Zu An was horrified. He immediately used Grandgale to move several zhang away.

    Old Mi struck empty air. He was shocked. ¡°Hm? What kind of movement technique is this?¡±

    He had never even seen something like this. There was no way anyone in the Chu n could have taught this to him either. This skill seemed more profound than even Wei Dan¡¯s zombie leap, which had touched upon the spatialws.

    Zu An was also shocked. He had been confused at first as to why Old Mi hadn¡¯t used these skills in his battle against Wei Dan. He had assumed that Old Mi was feigning weakness in order to catch Wei Dan off-guard.

    However, Old Mi¡¯s surprised expression seemed genuine! That meant that he really didn¡¯t know about this skill.

    How could that be? They both practiced the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra! Surely his cultivation was much higher than his own as well. Why didn¡¯t he have ess to Grandgale or Blue Mard?

    Am I just too much of a genius?

    He quickly rejected the thought. Old Mi was surely a genius at cultivation as well, considering how he had reached his level with an imperfect body. There was no way he would have fewer insights than Zu An.

    Did the keyboard system unlock some of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra¡¯s secret functions?

    Or is it because Old Mi¡¯s body is wed?

    A rted thought came to him, and his expression suddenly grew strange. Grandgale, Blue Mard, or even the remaining phoenix chicks... They were all birds.

    However, Old Mi was a eunuch. He didn¡¯t have a little bird down there.

    Is that why...

    A smile appeared on his face. The despair he¡¯d felt immediately disappeared. ¡°If you kneel, kowtow to me three times, and call me Master, I might be in the mood to tell you.¡±

    Old Mi¡¯s face darkened. ¡°I don¡¯t know why you insist on provoking me again and again. Rest assured, though, you¡¯ve sessfully angered me.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Old Mi for 999 Rage points!

    Zu An knew that there was no way to escape. Strengthened by the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, Old Mi¡¯s cultivation and speed were far greater than normal.

    The only thing Zu An had going for him was that Old Mi was seriously injured. Right now, he was like those ss cannon bosses from the games he yed. If he managed to sneak in a few good hits, he might just be able to beat him.

    He thus gave up all thoughts of running away. Instead, he straightened and said, ¡°Do you think I am some worthless soyboy? Come, my sword!¡±

    Zu An gestured towards the empty air, and a sword suddenly appeared in his hand. This was none other than the Tai¡¯e Sword that he¡¯d obtained from the dungeon.

    Standing tall, with a sword in hand and cold winds blowing around him, there was even a slight majesty to his appearance.

    Old Mi was stunned. He looked carefully at the sword.

    Zu An snorted. ¡°Did you see my sword-summoning technique? Are you scared now? I¡¯ve maintained a low profile all this time, but I won¡¯t hold back my trump cards any longer! I am actually also a great master whomands the spatialws!¡±

    Old Mi snorted disdainfully. ¡°Isn¡¯t that just a spatial ring trick? I didn¡¯t expect a brat like you to have something like that. It seems like you managed to obtain quite a few things from that dungeon.¡±

    He didn¡¯t know about the crimson dragon, so he subconsciously attributed this as part of Zu An¡¯s spoils from the dungeon.

    Zu An sneered. ¡°I have far more things in my possession. You¡¯ll soon regret scheming against me!¡±

    Not only do I have spatial storage, I have a strong and beautiful big sis empress by my side! If she were here, she would crush you like an ant!

    He called out to Mi Li again and again. Unfortunately, there was still no response.

    Old Mi roared withughter. ¡°The more things you have, the happier I am! Soon, everything you have will be mine! Hahaha!¡±

    He moved as soon as he finished speaking, charging straight at Zu An.

    Zu An didn¡¯t try to dodge, but rushed towards his opponent as well.

    His Sunflower Phantasm had been taught to him by Old Mi, so even if he tried to run, he wouldn¡¯t be sessful for long.

    Instead, he would use offense as a form of defense. Old Mi was already seriously injured. If he could get a few solid hits in, he might just turn things around.

    He had cultivated the Primordial Origin Sutra, which had boosted his constitution and his ability to recover quickly. HIs body was extremely suited to trading blows.

    Besides, Old Mi wanted to possess his body, so there was little danger of him inflicting any life-threatening damage.

    These two points gave him confidence in facing Old Mi.

    Zu An adopted an imposing stance and thrust out his sword. Fine snow fluttered about him.

    Sure enough, in the face of his decisiveness, Old Mi grew uncertain. He gave up on his attack, reaching out his hand instead to block the oing sword.

    ¡°Oh? Chu First Miss actually passed her Snowke Sword on to you?¡± Old Mi was astonished. ¡°Kid, you really are quite the yboy, huh?¡±

    ¡°Hmph! That¡¯s because I am heroic, suave, and talented! Obviously, an ugly eunuch will never experience the perks of a handsome man!¡± Zu An said. His hand remained steady, and thrust out three more vicious strikes.

    He didn¡¯t use the Bixie Swordy that he had created on his own. Bixie Swordy was abination of the Sunflower Phantasm with the Thirteen Forms of Elementary Swordy. It was great for crushing noobs.

    However, it waspletely useless against a high level cultivator, let alone someone who employed the Sunflower Phantasm himself.

    Old Mi had to be careful not to injure Zu An too badly. Caught off-guard by Zu An¡¯s reckless attack, he found himself in a slight quandary.

    He backed away quickly, opening up some distance between the two of them. A line of red was drawn across his fingertip. He had clearly suffered a nick from the other party¡¯s sword qi. However, his expression was one of unexpected joy. ¡°A heaven-grade weapon? No, this is more like an immortal-grade weapon! You really are full of nice surprises!¡±

    Zu An said nothing, but continued to attack.

    ¡°I was lenient because I was scared of hurting you.¡± Old Mi sneered. ¡°Do you really think that I cannot deal with you?!¡±

    He vanished instantly as soon as he said this, leaving only a faint trail of afterimages left behind.

 Chapter 390: A Tiny Mishap

    <h4>Chapter 390: A Tiny Mishap</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An was stunned. How could you fight an opponent who was so fast that you couldn¡¯t see him clearly?

    His only option was to retreat as fast as he could. He employed his modified Sunflower Phantasm, and then mixed in Grandgale as well, worried that Old Mi would see through his movements. He even swung the Tai¡¯e Sword about him, trying to intimidate his opponent.

    Even though he knew that he wouldn¡¯t hit anything, he had no other choice. He could only resign himself to fate and continue swinging it about.

    A crisp, clear note rang out as Old Mi¡¯s finger struck the Tai¡¯e Sword.

    Zu An felt an enormous force pass through the Tai¡¯e Sword. He lost his grip on the Tai¡¯e Sword. His body flew backwards, his feet leftrge gouges in the ground as he tried desperately to neutralize the tremendous force.

    He looked at his hand. Blood poured from the webbing between his thumb and forefinger. That single strike had severely injured his hand.

    Sigh, the gap between us is just too big.

    Old Mi upied the ce where he¡¯d been standing just a moment earlier, the Tai¡¯e Sword in his hand. He gently flicked the de with his finger, and the Tai¡¯e Sword emitted a clear, ringing note. He sighed with praise. ¡°An excellent sword! As expected, a fine sword indeed!¡±

    He wasn¡¯t in a hurry to attack. He wanted to draw out the rest of Zu An¡¯s trump cards.

    After all, Zu An had already brought out way too many pleasant surprises for him today. He wanted Zu An to empty out his bag of tricks. That way, it would be much easier for him to possess him afterwards.

    ¡°You use me of being vulgar? You¡¯re the one who¡¯s vulgar! Your entire family is vulgar!¡± Zu An snorted.[1] He immediately activated the Tai¡¯e Sword¡¯s domain.

    The Tai¡¯e Sword is a Sword of Kingship. Even though it was sealed, its innate power still existed.

    Zu An had never used it before. He still had other trump cards, and he usually used other methods to achieve his objective.

    However, his life truly hung in the bnce right now, and this was no time to be saving any of his trump cards. He whipped them all out at once.

    The Tai¡¯e Sword had already acknowledged its owner, and established a soul connection with him. It didn¡¯t matter if it was in Old Mi¡¯s hands right now.

    A sudden cry burst forth from the Tai¡¯e Sword, and it trembled violently, sending out a terrible pressure that spread out in all directions.

    Some vicious beasts began to whimper in the distance. They were clearly frightened by this terrifying power. They fell to the ground and began to shudder.

    Old Mi bore the brunt of this pressure, and he naturally felt its effects more keenly.

    His whole body shook uncontrobly, and his mind was filled with fear. His vision slowly darkened.

    He saw the emperor standing before him, berating him for coveting his Phoenix Nirvana Sutra. Vengeful spirits flew around him, bearing the faces of his pastpanions, tearing at his body and demanding his life.

    Zu An concentrated his attention on bringing the Tai¡¯e Sword towards Old Mi¡¯s neck.

    He knew that the difference between their cultivations was too great. This pressure could only tie Old Mi down momentarily. It would notst long.

    Just as the tip of the sword tip was about to sever his neck, Old Mi¡¯s eyes snapped open, and he shook himself out of his daze instantly. He quickly dodged to the side.

    Unfortunately, he was still within the Tai¡¯e Sword¡¯s domain, and was suffering the physical effects of the pressure. His movements had be much more sluggish. Even though he managed to prevent his head from being lopped off, blood still sttered everywhere. The blow severed his right hand from the elbow down.

    ¡°AHH!!¡± He let out a wretched scream. The intense pain, coupled with his instinctive desire to live, finally wrestled him free of the Tai¡¯e Sword¡¯s control.

    He leapt back several dozen zhang. He looked at the Tai¡¯e Sword, his expression ovee with fear. The sword had clearly left a significant shadow over his heart.

    Zu An felt a burst of regret. Old Mi would¡¯ve been finished if he¡¯d taken just a second longer to recover his wits!

    There was no time to waste. Now that his opponent had willingly backed away from him, he seized the opportunity to run.

    ¡°You damned bastard, I will definitely make you wish you were dead!¡± Seeing Zu An running away, Old Mi realized straight away that the sword¡¯s power couldn¡¯t be used continuously. Thest of his misgivings went away.

    He¡¯d somehow almost lost his head to this brat whom he had always looked down upon! Old Mi was absolutely furious. He wanted nothing more than to hack Zu An¡¯s corpse into a thousand pieces.

    Then again, there was no way for him to harm Zu An¡¯s body, not if he wanted to possess it himself. This made him even angrier.

    You have sessfully trolled Old Mi for 1024 Rage points!

    Zu An was rapidly disappearing into the distance, which threw him into a panic. He quickly employed the Steps of the Rising Lotus.

    Lotuses appeared with each step he took. He closed the gap in an instant, and moved in front of Zu An to block him.

    Zu An frowned. He raised the Tai¡¯e Sword and prepared his Snowke Sword technique.

    Old Mi didn¡¯t dare let down his guard. He was focused a hundred and twenty percent.

    He treated Zu An as a real opponent this time. In just a few moves, heshed out with a foot, and the Tai¡¯e Sword was sent flying.

    He¡¯d learned from his previous mistake. Instead of picking up the Tai¡¯e Sword, he kicked it far into the forest. Only then did he focus his attention back to Zu An.

    Zu An acted decisively as well. He immediately raised a pitch-ck dagger to his own neck.

    Old Mi was rmed. He needed Zu An¡¯s body, so he couldn¡¯t let him die.

    He pushed off frantically with his toes, rushing forward to stop him.

    Zu An took advantage of this to suddenly point the dagger towards Old Mi. This was hisst hope. He prayed that the Poisonous Prick could nick even the slightest bit of skin, and that its effects would be enough to take out Old Mi.

    Old Mi wasn¡¯t expecting him to resist this stubbornly even at such a juncture. Thispletely threw him off.

    Unfortunately, in the face of absolute strength, all schemes and plots were useless.

    There was a flurry of exchanges, and Zu An¡¯s wrist grew numb. He lost his grip on the Poisonous Prick.

    Old Mi used this chance to seal up all of his acupoints. Then, he brought that pitch-ck dagger up to his eyes. ¡°Brat, you¡¯ve truly brought me countless surprises. The material of this dagger is extraordinary! It even rivals that sword of yours.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes widened when he saw Old Mi gently brush the edge of the dagger. He prayed and prayed. ¡°Why don¡¯t you test it out on yourself? Better yet, give it a lick!¡±

    ¡°Are you hoping that this dagger will cut through my skin?¡± Old Mi sneered.

    A chill ran through Zu An¡¯s body. However, he still forced augh and said, ¡°I¡¯m not that dumb. Your cultivation is so high. What can a shallow cut like that do to you?¡±

    Old Mi snorted. ¡°A little demon like you is full of tricks. Do you take me for a fool? This dagger is pitch ck, and is radiating a bone-piercing chill. It¡¯s probably coated in some heavy poison. Even though I don¡¯t think someone with your level of cultivation can poison me, I don¡¯t want any more mishaps, not after what just happened. It¡¯s better to be safe.¡±

    All of Zu An¡¯s hope seemed to have turned to dust. He didn¡¯t expect his final trump card to bepletely useless as well.

    He called out to Mi Li again, but there was still no reply.

    ¡°This game is over.¡± Old Mi let out a sinisterugh.

    Zu An¡¯s vision went ck, and he lost all perception.

    A final thought shed across his mind. I¡¯m finished. I¡¯m really going to be possessed by this old eunuch...

    He really wanted to kill himself rather than let Old Mi possess him. Unfortunately, he no longer had the opportunity to do so.

    Old Mi snorted when he saw Zu An faint. ¡°I was almost done in by this brat¡¯s tricks. But this brat really has so many treasures on him! It¡¯ll be that much easier for me to rise to the top once I take over!¡±

    He was about to have a brand new life. And one as aplete man, at that. He wouldn¡¯t ever have to worry about being pursued by the imperial pce either! He was so excited, his heart so joyful, that he almost burst outughing.

    He didn¡¯t want to waste another second. He raised his remaining hand, and a resplendent sunflower condensed on his fingertip again.

    He pressed the sunflower imprint against Zu An¡¯s forehead, and a wave of purple energy spread out from the space between his brows.

    His consciousness quickly upied the other party, and he poured all of his cultivation into Zu An.

    An hourter, Old Mi¡¯s body had shriveled up like a mummy¡¯s. It fell limply to the ground.

    Zu An suddenly opened his eyes. A purple sunflower glowed within the depths of each of his eyes.

    ¡°Hahaha! I¡¯ve seeded! I¡¯ve seeded!¡± ¡®Zu An¡¯ stood up. His unrestrainedughter boomed out towards the heavens. In the distant forest, countless startled birds took wing, and many vicious beasts fled in rm.

    The exceptional appearance of the Chu n¡¯s first miss appeared in his mind, as well as the cute and innocent second miss. Then there was the voluptuous and mature Madam Chu... All of them were his!

    Awash in a sea of excitement, ¡®Zu An¡¯ suddenly felt that something was wrong. He lowered his head and looked at his crotch, where a bulging tent had formed. His eyes narrowed. ¡°No! Impossible!¡±

    A powerful yang force spread outward from his navel and burned up his fragile soul, which had just taken possession of this body. He screamed and howled in agony.

    1. This is a y on words. The character for ¡®sword¡¯ (½£) is pronounced the same as the character for ¡®vulgar¡¯ or ¡®cheap¡¯ (¼ú). Old Mi was praising the sword (ºÃ½£) but Zu An is using him of offending him by calling him vulgar (ºÃ¼ú).n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

 Chapter 391: No Hesitation

    <h4>Chapter 391: No Hesitation</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    After what seemed like an eternity, Zu An was awoken by distant sounds of birds chirping.

    The des of grass around him, the flowers, the trees... he began to notice them all, one after another. The grass was still the same grass, and the trees were still the same trees, yet everything somehow seemed a little different.

    He didn¡¯t know exactly how they were different, but it seemed as if he could sense the life force and ki within them. He¡¯d had the same reaction when he first became a cultivator as well.

    He slowly looked around him. His gaze fell upon an old, sinister and creepy-looking corpse. It was Old Mi!

    Zu An shivered in fear. He immediately leapt off the ground. He had jumped instinctively, yet he instantly soared more than a dozen feet into the air. It took him a while before he finallynded again.

    He was stupefied, and looked at his own hands in disbelief. He quickly gathered his racing thoughts.

    His final memory was the one in which he had used up all of his trump cards, yet was still no match for Old Mi. He¡¯d been captured, the shining purple sunflower finger was pressed against his forehead, and then he cked out.

    Zu An grew rmed. I¡¯m done for! Did Old Mi seed in possess me already?

    Even though he still had his own consciousness, he was surely about to vanish soon.

    He couldn¡¯t help but think of that movie from his previous world, ¡®Alien¡¯. The aliens in that movieid their parasites within a human body, but the infected humans would still look perfectly fine on the outside. Only when the parasites matured would they suddenly burst out from within the body of their hosts.

    He felt just like a human incubator.

    ¡°You¡¯ve finally woken up,¡± azy voice said by his ear.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An was immediately overjoyed. ¡°Big sis empress! Shouldn¡¯t I be the one saying that? You finally woke up!¡±

    Mi Li¡¯s projection gradually appeared by his side. Her fiery red lips, paired with her red phoenix eyes, made her look just as ssy and stunning as before.

    Mi Li snorted. ¡°I was already awake a long time ago. You were the one who was sleeping like a pig.¡±

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you help me if you¡¯d already woken up? I was screaming my head off calling for you!¡± Zu An felt resentment rise within him immediately as he recalled his previous despair.

    ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s not talk about this right now. I really need your help! I was possessed by a damned pervert, and his consciousness is probably still hiding inside me. He might take over any second now,¡± Zu An said in a panic. Afraid that she wouldn¡¯t treat this as a big deal, he hurriedly added, ¡°You and I signed a life-and-death pact! If I really get possessed and die, you¡¯ll be a goner as well!¡±

    Mi Li rolled her eyes. ¡°Rx. That Old Mi or whatever failed in his attempt at possession.¡±

    ¡°Failed?¡± Zu An wasn¡¯t even close to being done with what he wanted to say, but he immediately stiffened when he heard her words. It took him a long while to gather his wits again. ¡°What do you mean, ¡®failed¡¯?¡±

    ¡°Are you dumb? Failure is failure¡ªwhat else can it mean?¡± Mi Li said in annoyance.

    Zu An was in disbelief. ¡°Then where is Old Mi¡¯s soul?¡±

    ¡°Extinguished, obviously,¡± said Mi Li. ¡°Strictly speaking, however, you actually absorbed arge portion of his soul, just not his consciousness.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°Did big sis empress help me get rid of him?¡±

    This was the only usible exnation.

    ¡°Nope.¡± Mi Li shook her head. ¡°That Mi guy is a eunuch who was probably castrated at a young age. As such, he never experienced much of what it¡¯s like to be a man at all. After upying your body, his soul suffered a powerful bacsh from your yang energy, and it eventually burned away to nothing.¡±

    Zu An was bewildered.

    ¡°It was that simple?¡±

    Mi Li snorted. ¡°You¡¯re the only one who would think that it''s simple. Possession techniques have always been dangerous. They only work when you find a vessel that is suitable in every way. If my suspicions are correct, he chose you as his vessel firstly because of your status as the Chu n¡¯s young master, and secondly, because of your previous seal down there. That way, your body would be rather simr to his own castrated self. There was hope in removing your seal as well, so he could have truly be aplete man further down the line after he unsealed himself.

    ¡°You were, by all ounts, the perfect vessel. Unfortunately, there was no way he could have deduced that you would undo the seal on your own ahead of time. That was why his cold yin soul was set aze by your fiery yang body. The possession failed, resulting in his death.¡±

    Her exnation helped Zu An finally understand the entire sequence of events. He was shocked and overjoyed. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that being a real man would have such a benefit! Haha! Thank you big sis empress! Not only did you grant me the chance to be a man again, you¡¯ve even indirectly saved my life...¡±

    Mi Li blushed from his bbering. Scenes from her possession of Chu Chuyan, and everything that happened afterwards, continuously flooded her mind.

    Zu An came to a sudden realization. ¡°Big sis empress, you should¡¯ve told me this earlier. You don¡¯t know just how much fear and despair I was in!¡±

    ¡°Why did I have to tell you about this?¡± Mi Li scoffed. ¡°I already knew that Old Mi¡¯s possession wouldn¡¯t work. I just didn¡¯t feel like helping out.

    ¡°I¡¯ve warned you before not to depend on me too much. It won¡¯t be beneficial for your own growth,¡± Mi Li said with a serious expression. ¡°This was a rare opportunity for you to temper yourself. Only then can you grow stronger in the future.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He was just about to grumble andin about herck of help, but he now understood that she had done this for his sake. He was incredibly moved. ¡°Thank you big sis empress. You¡¯re so good to me!¡±

    Mi Li turned her head away when she heard the sincerity in his voice. ¡°You don''t have to thank me. I didn¡¯t do it for you. I just don¡¯t want to be dragged down with you.¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°Regardless, I¡¯m still going to thank you. By the way, I discovered something strange when I woke up. The ki inside of me is so powerful! I managed to jump to such a height with a random hop. There¡¯s a strange feeling inside me, almost as though I¡¯m far stronger than I was before. What the heck is going on?¡±

    Mi Li said, ¡°In order to possess you, Old Mi poured all of his cultivation into you. Of course you¡¯d feel the way you do.¡±

    ¡°Something like that could actually happen?¡± Zu An¡¯s eyes went round. What cultivation did Old Mi have? He was a ninth-ranked big shot at the very least, wasn¡¯t he?!

    Didn¡¯t this mean that he¡¯d already reached the very peak of his life? Couldn¡¯t he do whatever he wished and go wherever he wanted now?

    ¡°Don¡¯t get so worked up. It¡¯s not as easy as you think.¡± Mi Li dumped cold water on his excitement. ¡°You have two paths in front of you. The first is topletely inherit Old Mi¡¯s cultivation and be a master level expert. However, walking this path will leave youpletely reliant on Old Mi¡¯s dao. There is too great of a cultivation gap between the two of you, so jumping straight to master rank will destroy your own fundamental dao. Your cultivation will be frozen at his level forever, and you won¡¯t be able to make any further progress.

    ¡°The other path requires me to temporarily seal his cultivation away. This way, you¡¯ll climb the ranks yourself. Each time you level up, you will slowly dissolve a portion of his cultivation. Even though this process isparatively slower, you will be able to stabilize your foundation. Your future aplishments will definitely be higher than Old Mi¡¯s.¡±

    After saying all this, Mi Li gave him a curious look. ¡°So, which path shall you choose?¡±

    Zu An showed no hesitation. ¡°Of course I¡¯ll take the first one! Hello? I¡¯ll be at the master rank right away! That¡¯s instant sess!¡±

    When did such a young cultivator ever manage to reach master rank? Did such a person ever exist in history?

    He was on track to be a huge winner in life!

    As for that capped potential or whatever, he¡¯d worry about thatter.

    From what he¡¯d learned in the academy, few cultivators could even reach master level. Moreover, almost all of them were old men, with one foot already in the grave. Only a small handful could reach that level while they were still in their middle age.

    Bluntly speaking, by the time he reached that age, there would be no point in bragging about his cultivation anymore.

    Just ask those shut-ins from his previous world! Would they choose to start from scratch, work hard, and enjoy their wealth when they were in their fifties or sixties, or would they rather be wealthy second-generation kids from birth, and enjoy their youth surrounded by young beauties and endless luxury?

 Chapter 392: What Element Are You?

    <h4>Chapter 392: What Element Are You?</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Mi Li couldn¡¯t believe her ears. Dark lines appeared on her face when she heard the conviction in Zu An¡¯s voice.

    Mi Li couldn¡¯t listen to any more of his nonsense. She cut him off and said, ¡°Cultivators of my generation always pursued the pinnacle of dao. We sought eternal life! Never have I ever met someone like you who would willingly limit your own potential!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for 999 Rage points!

    She was well and truly pissed off.

    Zu An didn¡¯t really care. ¡°The path of dao is vague and vast,¡± he replied. ¡°The cultivators of history are like carp crossing a river¡ªinnumerable. How many of them can really obtain the pinnacle of dao? Most of them can''t even reach master rank.¡±

    He had to give Old Mi some credit for reaching master rank. Zu An had thought that he was only at the ninth rank at first.

    Mi Li said angrily, ¡°That¡¯s only true for the masses. But what about you? You have the legendary transcendent aptitude, and already possess two great techniques for cultivation at such a young age! You¡¯ve had all sorts of encounters and obtained many different skills. With me as your personal guide, how could you possibly be considered ordinary?

    ¡°You¡¯re satisfied with just a measly master rank? In my opinion, someone like you being stuck at the master rank would be history''s greatest tragedy!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for 66... 66... 66...

    Zu An could sense how angry she was just by the inflow of Rage points. ¡°It¡¯s not that serious, is it? Isn¡¯t a master already pretty badass? Why are you making it sound like some useless pleb level?¡±

    He thought about the insane amount of ki fruits needed to fill even a single formation of his Phoenix Nirvana Sutra right now. Forget about master rank for a moment, reaching the ninth rank might even be a near impossible task!

    Mi Li gave a dismissive sniff. ¡°That¡¯s only because you haven¡¯t experienced the broader world yet. If you were in my position, you would realize just how pitiful a level of cultivation the master rank is!¡±

    ¡°Big sis empress, what rank are you?¡± Zu An asked curiously. This woman sure talked a big game, but what rank was she, actually? Grandmaster? Don¡¯t tell me she¡¯s an earth immortal!

    Mi Li snorted. ¡°Knowing too much won¡¯t help you at all.¡±

    Zu An curled his lips and mumbled, ¡°Anyone can talk a big game. I remember you saying that you couldn¡¯t even prevail against Old Mi.¡±

    Mi Li¡¯s eyebrows stood up almost vertically. ¡°What did you say?¡±

    Zu An immediately put on an apologetic smile. ¡°Nothing, nothing! All I am saying is that I¡¯m just a petty nobody who doesn¡¯t aspire for anything great. How about I just spend some time as a master first, and we explore thister?¡±

    ¡°No way! Choose the second option!¡± Perhaps because of her past status as a glorious empress, Mi Li¡¯s tone brooked no argument at all.

    Zu An felt deted. ¡°Since you¡¯ve already made the decision, why did you even bother asking?¡±

    Mi Li snorted. ¡°I was testing out your inner qualities.¡±

    ¡°So, what do you think? Don¡¯t you feel that I¡¯m really an optimistic person?¡± Zu An said with a chuckle.

    Mi Li red daggers at him. ¡°You really can¡¯t carve anything out of rotten wood!¡±

    Hisckadaisical expression irritated Mi Li to no end. ¡°Focus! I¡¯m going to seal Old Mi¡¯s cultivation away now.¡±

    ¡°Can you please, please, please not seal it?¡± Zu An was still reluctant, and implored her onest time.

    Mi Li sneered. ¡°What do you think?¡±

    She was in no mood to banter with him any further. Her slender fingers shot out and struck his acupoints.

    A wave of cool energy entered his body. It wasfortable and refreshing, very different from the icy coldness of Old Mi.

    Zu An subconsciously rxed.

    ¡°It¡¯s done!¡±

    Mi Li finally announced in a cold voice. Her voice carried more than a hint of fatigue.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Big sis empress, are you all right?¡±

    Mi Li snorted. ¡°I¡¯ll live.¡±

    Zu An narrowed his eyes.

    ¡°Take some time to examine your own condition,¡± Mi Li ordered immediately.

    Zu An nodded, and did as she said. He didn¡¯t feel odd at all. On the contrary, he felt even better than before.

    He moved his focus to his internal formations, and was immediately stunned. Filling even a single one of the nine formations that made up his fourth rank seemed almost impossible before, yet now, all nine of the formations werepletely filled!

    He noticed that nine new formations had materialized across his body, and even the fourth of those formations was already glowing!

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°I¡¯ve reached the fourth step of the fifth rank already?¡± Zu An muttered to himself.

    Mi Li snorted. ¡°Old Mi¡¯s cultivation was master rank, after all. Even though most of his cultivation has been sealed away, it¡¯s not too surprising for the rest of it to raise you up a level.¡±

    Zu Anughed in embarrassment. ¡°I thought that it would take way longer for me to begin reaping the benefits.¡±

    Mi Li rolled her eyes. ¡°Since you¡¯re already at the fifth rank, let¡¯s see what kind of elemental skill you¡¯ve awakened.¡±

    ¡°Which elemental ability is the strongest?¡± Zu An asked curiously.

    Mi Li said indifferently, ¡°Each element is countered by something else. There isn¡¯t any element that is strictly better than every other one.

    ¡°Of course, it is widely epted that the lightning and fire elements have more explosive power, and the ice element is excellent for control. The water and wood elements have advantages in healing. The wind element makes you faster, while the earth and metal element excel in defense. However, none of these characteristics are absolute. Every single element has outstanding offensive tools as well as defensive and restorative abilities. It all boils down to the cultivator¡¯s own skill in the end.¡±

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Are these the only elemental types?¡±

    Mi Li shook her head. ¡°No, but these are the mostmon. There are other rare elements like the spirit element, light element, and dark element. It is rumored that there are even space and time elements. However, these are all rumors that have never been proven.¡±

    Zu An was taken aback. ¡°The ones you just mentioned sound pretty overpowered.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not always the case. It still depends on the individual in the end. Of course, these elements do have their own inherent advantages.¡± Mi Li began to grow impatient. ¡°Stop asking so many questions and tell me what element you are already.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°I have no idea. How do I find out?¡±

    Mi Li frowned. ¡°Concentrate on your breathing. Which element around you do you feel the greatest affinity with?¡±

    The academy had taught him a little about the methodology for sensing elements. Zu An closed his eyes and gave it a try. After a while, he opened his eyes in puzzlement. ¡°I don¡¯t feel close to any element though. They all seem about the same to me.¡±

    Mi Li frowned. ¡°You have no elemental power? How is that possible?!¡±

    Zu An tried again. Sure enough, None of the elements stood out to him.

    He was about to give up when he suddenly remembered that a weird bird would show up whenever advanced a rank, which would grant him a new skill.

    He immediately examined the formations that made up the fourth rank. Sure enough, they were linked together with lines, which formed the imprint of another new bird.

    The weird bird resembled a titmouse[1], but was the size of a peacock, and had a dazzling scarlet coloration.

    The characters next to it proimed it to be the ¡®Hundredwarble¡¯.

    What did this Hundredwarble do?

    Zu An was rather curious. He activated it subconsciously. A dazzling bird flew out, and released a pleasant-sounding call.

    It¡¯s song was more enchanting than even the most beautiful voice. It truly rxed the mind.

    But what did this bird do?

    Was it only good for putting on a show?

    If that¡¯s the case, I can just bring a recorder around with me!

    He immediately turned to Mi Li. ¡°Big sis empress, do you hear anything?¡±

    Mi Li didn¡¯t reply. He was just about to repeat his question when he noticed the ck expression in her eyes.

    What was going on?

    He waved his hands in front of her.

    Mi Li¡¯s eyes returned to normal. She looked at him with aplicated expression. ¡°You actually awakened the power of the spirit element.¡±

    ¡°Spirit element?¡± Zu An was stunned. It took him a moment to realize that she was talking about his elemental power, which awakened at the fifth rank.

    The spirit element was one of the rarer elements.

    Mi Li sighed deeply. ¡°I sensed a wave of spiritual force invading my mind. If it wasn¡¯t for my higher level of cultivation, my mind might have fallen under your control.¡±

    Zu An was overjoyed. ¡°Is this skill that awesome?¡±

    What level was Mi Li at? The Hundredwarble¡¯s song had even managed to control someone like her! Even though it had only been for an instant, that instant was long enough for him to do many things!

    Mi Li snorted, ¡°It¡¯s too early for you to feel smug. I still haven¡¯t fully recovered, and even my soul is exposed right now. I wasn¡¯t prepared to go up against such an attack at all. If you were fighting against someone with strength simr to my own, your spiritual attack might not do anything.¡±

    1. The titmouse is a small songbird.

 Chapter 393: Special Training

    <h4>Chapter 393: Special Training</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu Anughed. ¡°That¡¯s more than enough for now. This skill will probably grow together with my cultivation.¡±

    In the beginning, just using Grandgale once would have exhausted practically all his ki.

    Yet now, he could use it many times in session, and the distances he could blink across had be greater and greater as well.

    The mind-control ability of Hundredwarble would only grow stronger as well.

    Mi Li¡¯s expression grew serious. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t dismiss this so casually. The spirit element is rarer than other elemental abilities. Ites with its perks, but it¡¯s also a double-edged sword. If you use your skill on someone who is way stronger, or someone who is mentally tougher, you could easily suffer a bacsh, and suffer a severe injury instead. In the worst case, even your very soul might be eradicated! You¡¯ll turn into a human vegetable without any intelligence.¡±

    ¡°Rx, I¡¯m not that dumb. I won¡¯t use it against anyone whose cultivation is much higher than mine.¡± Zu An knew that what she had described wasn¡¯t something that would affect him, as this skill wasn¡¯t tied to his own consciousness. He couldn¡¯t quite exin why this was the case, though, so he told Mi Li what she wanted to hear to cate her.

    Mi Li finally nodded in satisfaction. ¡°All right, let¡¯s see you throw a punch.¡±

    Zu An gave her a bewildered look.

    ¡°Use all your strength. I want to test something out,¡± Mi Li said.

    Zu An was slightly worried. ¡°What if... what if I hurt you?¡±

    He felt as if he was full of explosive strength right now.

    He wouldn¡¯t be worried at all if she had been in peak form. He would not have been able to injure her then, even if he possessed ten times his current strength.

    However, she only had a soul body right now, so she was far weaker. Of course he was concerned.

    Mi Li smiled confidently. ¡°Don¡¯t worry! You can¡¯t injure me. Hurry up!¡±

    Zu An could only sigh when he heard her say this. ¡°Fine then. No one has ever asked me for something like this in my life. I¡¯m great at following orders, so here I go!¡±

    He swung at her fiercely as soon as he finished his sentence. All of his ki was transferred into his fist, whipping up a tremendous gale.

    Mi Li¡¯s face turned red. She dodged to the side and said, ¡°You damned brat, you could¡¯ve punched me anywhere else! Why did you aim for my chest?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for 33 Rage points!

    Unfortunately, she had misunderstood Zu An¡¯s intentions. He had targeted that area because it wasn¡¯t a vital spot, and she even hadyers of fat there to protect her. If something really went wrong, he would not have ended up injuring her significantly.

    Zu An was surprised to see the Rage points flow in. Why are you getting angry when you are the one who told me to hit you?

    Mi Li took a couple of steps back, then she extended a fine white hand to catch his fist.

    Zu An felt as if his fist had sunk into a ball of cotton. All his strength dispersed into nothingness.

    What shocked him even more was that Mi Li was clearly a soul body, and yet the sensation at contact wasn¡¯t very different from what he would have felt if he¡¯d hit an ordinary person. The physical feedback was the same, and her palm even held a bit of warmth.

    Mi Li released his fist and sighed contentedly. ¡°I see.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Zu An was curious.

    Mi Li said, ¡°I felt something strange when we fought in the dungeon. Your strength was somehow far greater than your level of cultivation. I thought that it might have been just the boost that the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra afforded you, but this does not seem to be the case at all.

    ¡°You aren¡¯t currently injured, so this should be your baseline strength. However, when you strengthen yourself with ki, your power and speed are both higher than what a cultivator at the fourth step of the fifth rank should possess¡ªmuch, much higher.

    ¡°From that test just now, your ki density can match that of an early sixth rank cultivator.¡±

    ¡°Early sixth rank cultivator?¡± Even Zu An was shocked. Even though he¡¯d always felt like it wasn¡¯t too difficult to beat someone who was at a higher rank, he never had a good gauge as to how strong he really was.

    ¡°It¡¯s probably due to your Phoenix Nirvana Sutra. This really is a miraculous technique.¡± Mi Li continued, ¡°However, with these advantagese disadvantages. From what I¡¯ve seen, your cultivation advances much more slowly than an ordinary person¡¯s. You have transcendent level aptitude, so this shouldn¡¯t be the case.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯ve been saying!¡± Zu An shouted. For every rank, the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra would create nine formations, and each formation required many more Ki Fruits in order to fill. The first three ranks had been manageable, but the requirements for subsequent ranks only became more and more ridiculous.

    For example, the fifth formation of the fifth rank would require 2,178,309 Ki fruits, and each Ki Fruit could be obtained with, on average, 1000 Rage points. This meant that he would need 217 million Rage points!

    Even in his best moments, he could only farm around 20,000 Rage points. He had no idea how many years it would take to gather such a crazy amount of Rage points.

    He felt an immediate sense of relief when he heard Mi Li¡¯s exnation.

    Mi Li found his mental state admirable. ¡°You¡¯re not discouraged by this at all?¡±

    ¡°Why would I feel discouraged? Isn¡¯t this the mark of a protagonist?¡± Zu Anughed loudly.

    Wasn¡¯t this the hallmark of all the main characters in the web novels of his previous world? The main characters always level up at a slower rate than others because of various reasons, but every single level they gained would grant them better powers than anyone else. Finally, they would always prevail against those ranked higher than themselves.

    ¡°Protagonist?¡± Mi Li frowned. She didn¡¯t really understand what he meant, but she was already used to Zu An spouting nonsensical words.

    ¡°By the way, I was observing your battle against Old Mi. I noticed that the reason you were caught, apart from your gap in cultivation, was because of the movement technique he taught you. You could only split into two copies, so he could just catch both. If you could split into three or more images, it would be much harder for someone like Old Mi to catch you again.¡±

    Zu An smiled bitterly. ¡°Two is the best I could do, even after practicing like crazy.¡±

    ¡°That was because your cultivation was too low,¡± Mi Li replied. ¡°Now that you¡¯re at the fifth rank, you should be able to make three. Watch closely!¡±

    As she spoke, she fetched a stick of bamboo from goodness knows where and struck him with it.

    ¡°Ow, ow, ow!¡±

    Zu An immediately felt a scorching line of pain when the bamboo stick had thwacked him, and he screamed in pain.

    Even if a normal person hacked at him with a de, he wouldn¡¯t feel any pain, thanks to the Primordial Origin Sutra. Who knew that a random stick of bamboo in Mi Li¡¯s hands would be so deadly?

    ¡°You are not allowed to strike back. You can only use your movement technique to dodge.¡± Mi Li paused, then added, ¡°Of course, it won¡¯t make a difference even if you try to retaliate.¡±

    Zu An cursed inside. Is she using this chance to get back at me?

    However, the bamboo stick shed at him again, and he couldn¡¯t afford any more distractions. He quickly used his modified Sunflower Phantasm to split into two copies.

    Unfortunately, he was forced to let out another pitiful scream. Mi Li¡¯s bamboo stick thwacked him with absolute precision on his backside.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to y anymore! You¡¯re cheating! I learned this movement technique from you, so you can easily guess where I would dodge!¡±

    At least Old Mi hadn¡¯t known about his modified movement technique. Mi Li could read him like a book!

    Zu An rubbed his butt cheek while he stared at her. Did this woman have some weird fetish? Her looks, paired with that bamboo stick in her hand, made her look just like a dominatrix!

    ¡°I won¡¯t be able to hit you if you manage to split yourself into three.¡± Mi Li¡¯s lips curved upwards. Why did whacking this kid bring her so much... joy?

    Her bamboo stick flicked out again as she said this. Zu An yelled immediately and dodged to the side when he saw that she was being serious.

    Miserable howls echoed again and again in the wilderness.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Ah!!¡±

    ¡°Ah, ah!!¡±

    ¡°Huh? AH!!!¡±

 Chapter 394: Three Treasures

    <h4>Chapter 394: Three Treasures</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    It was a long time before the miserable screaming in the forest finally stopped.

    Within it, three figures darted back and forth, avoiding the strikes from a bamboo stick again and again.

    Continuing this further was meaningless. Mi Li tossed the bamboo stick aside with a satisfied expression. ¡°Not bad, kid! You managed to split into three copies quite quickly. I expected it to take you at least a few weeks.¡±

    Zu An gave her a disbelieving look.

    Excuse me?!

    Did you n on beating my ass for that long?

    Mi Li realized she¡¯d slipped up when she saw his furious expression. She said guiltily, ¡°How else could you learn how to split into three copies that quickly?¡±

    Zu An mulled over her words. They did make some sense. The result of it was good at least, although he was still aching all over.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t your Phoenix Nirvana Sutra require you to get beaten up in order to activate? I¡¯m helping you with that as well,¡± Mi Li added helpfully.

    ¡°Thank you so, so much!¡± Zu An said resentfully.

    One day, I¡¯ll get my revenge and give you a good beating...

    Mi Li coughed. ¡°By the way, there¡¯s something else I need to talk to you about. You can¡¯t just rely on getting beaten up to cultivate either. You should find some ki stones to aid your cultivation.¡±

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°I can¡¯t. I¡¯ve tried it before. I can¡¯t absorb ki from ki stones.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t absorb ki?¡± Mi Li frowned. ¡°That¡¯s probably a special characteristic of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra. I¡¯d advise you to find some treasures to ingest, then. There are several pill masters who can make ki pills. I¡¯ve heard of some cultivation techniques that prevent direct absorption of ki from ki stones as well, but I¡¯ve never heard of any that negate the use of ki pills or treasures.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes lit up. That¡¯s right! Aren¡¯t the Ki Fruits I get from the lottery simr to ki pills? Why didn¡¯t I think of this before?

    I¡¯ll have to ask Ji Dengtu about thister. He is a divine physician after all, so he should have some of these pills.

    Mi Li spoke again. ¡°I¡¯ve helped you seal away Old Mi¡¯s cultivation, but at the expense of all of the effort I spent detoxifying my poison. I¡¯ll have to start all over again from the beginning... Hmph, I really wonder if I owed you something in my past life! I¡¯m going to sleep again. Be careful.¡±

    Even though he knew that she helped him because their fates were closely intertwined, Zu An was still moved by this. ¡°Big sis empress, you¡¯ve always been the one helping me. Is there something I can help you out with?¡±

    ¡°Help me?¡± Mi Li sniffed. ¡°I don¡¯t need it.¡±

    Her soul body began to dissipate. However, just as she was about to disappearpletely, her figure condensed again. ¡°Even though I don¡¯t think you can do anything for me right now, your luck is honestly kind of ridiculous. Who knows, you might just be able to help me out somehow in the future.

    ¡°If you have a chance, help me look for some One Life Water, an Agate of Enlightenment, and a Five-Colored Springflower. These are all essential ingredients I require to reconstruct a body after I fully detoxify the ¡®Red Tears of Lady Xiang¡¯.¡±

    Zu An immediately brightened up. ¡°You can reforge your body with just these three items?¡±

    Mi Li snorted. ¡°¡®Just three items¡¯? Do you know how rare these items are?!

    ¡°For example, to find a Five-Colored Springflower, we first have to find an extremely rare Five-Colored Springtree with lotus-like leaves. ¡®Spring begins and jade flowers bloom, spring ends and flowers fall; summer begins and red flowers emerge, summer ends and flowers wither; autumn begins and white flowers appear, autumn ends and flowers decline; winter begins and purple flowers sprout, but all things end with the descent of snow.¡¯¡±

    Zu An was puzzled. ¡°Aren¡¯t there only four colors mentioned? Why is it called a five-colored flower?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know either.¡± Mi Li said dejectedly.

    ¡°You don¡¯t even know?¡± Zu An was blown away. Are you kidding me? This is vital information!

    Mi Li grew defensive. ¡°It¡¯s because I¡¯ve never seen this divine tree either. I¡¯ve only read about it from ancient texts.¡±

    Zu An stared at her, speechless.

    Mi Li used to be the empress of the Qin Dynasty! The entire world had practically been hers! If even someone like her had neverid eyes on this before, did it even exist? How was he supposed to find something like that?

    ¡°How do you know that it can reforge your body if you¡¯ve never even seen it before?¡± Zu An asked curiously.

    Mi Li snorted. ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about that. I just know.¡±

    Zu An clicked his tongue. Women always loved pretending to be mysterious.

    Mi Li sighed deeply. ¡°One Life Water and the Agate of Enlightenment are also legendary items. Not only do you need to possess a significant level of strength in order to obtain them, you need tremendous luck as well. Aside from these three things, there is another legendary item that is even harder to find.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s something else? What is it?¡± Zu An asked.

    Mi Li shook her head. ¡°Considering your current strength, it would be useless even if I told you.¡±

    Zu An had nothing to say in reply.

    When he sensed the discouragement in her voice, he couldn¡¯t help trying to console her. ¡°Big sis empress, don¡¯t worry! Others might have a hard time finding these items, but have you forgotten who I am? It¡¯s no problem at all! I¡¯ll find them for you.¡±

    Mi Li was surprised by the confidence in his voice. ¡°Have you heard about these items before? Or maybe you even know where to find them?¡±

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard about any of them before.¡±

    Mi Li was so irritated that sheughed instead. ¡°Then where the heck is all this confidenceing from?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for 250 Rage points!

    Zu An patted his chest. ¡°Didn¡¯t I say I was the protagonist? I¡¯m the freaking king of plot armor!¡±

    Which protagonist in his previous world didn¡¯t have the craziest luck? How could his luck be any worse than theirs?

    Mi Li was speechless. She didn¡¯t feel like talking to him anymore, and went into hibernation. She didn¡¯t want to lose any more brain cells.

    After she had gone back to sleep, Zu An went into the forest in search of his Tai¡¯e Sword, and hid the Poisonous Prick in his shoe.

    He walked over to Old Mi¡¯s corpse. Staring at the mummified corpse, he said with a sigh, ¡°Whatever. Even though it was all a scheme, you did help me after all. I¡¯ll let you rest in peace.¡±

    He dug a grave and buried Old Mi inside. Then, he found Wei Dan¡¯s corpse and threw it into the pit as well. ¡°The two of you fought bitterly over an entire lifetime. Now that it¡¯s all over, you two can keep each otherpany.¡±

    A thought urred to him. He took out a case and ced it next to Old Mi¡¯s corpse. ¡°Old Mi, I¡¯ve brought back your treasures. You¡¯replete now. Live out your next life properly, all right?¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    As for Wei Dan¡¯s treasures, there was nothing he could do about them.

    Perhaps because the corpse was too dried up, or perhaps as a final act of kindness, an embroidered pouch fell out from within Old Mi¡¯s clothes.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Zu An immediately recognized it as a storage pouch. His mood brightened immediately. ¡°Old Mi, Old Mi! I didn¡¯t expect you to be such a grateful person! I¡¯ll take that, if you don¡¯t mind.¡±

    Even though Old Mi didn¡¯t seem like the super rich type, for better or for worse, he was still a master rank cultivator. His storage pouch should contain some good stuff.

    Unfortunately, he discovered that he couldn¡¯t open it at all!

    He groped around Wei Dan¡¯s body and found another storage pouch. It looked more extravagant than Old Mi¡¯s, and probably had better loot as well.

    It was a pity that Zu An couldn¡¯t open this one either.

    Mi Li¡¯s voice rang out beside his ear. ¡°Stop wasting your time. There are master rank soul imprints on them. You can¡¯t open them unless you¡¯re the owner. They¡¯re already dead, so you won¡¯t be able to take anything out, even if there are items inside.¡±

    Zu An was given a sudden fright. ¡°Weren¡¯t you sleeping?¡±

    ¡°I haven¡¯t fallen asleep yet. Do you have a problem with that?¡± Mi Li shot back.

    Sis, I have absolutely no problem with that. Please, do what you need to do.

    ¡°Sigh, I need to sleep, but I sense someone approaching. Be careful.¡± Mi Li let out what seemed like a yawn, and her presence vanished.

 Chapter 395: Golden Finger

    <h4>Chapter 395: Golden Finger</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Someone¡¯sing?¡± Zu An jumped in fright. ¡°Hey,e back! Is it a person or a wild beast?!¡±

    But Mi Li was already gone, and didn¡¯t respond to him no matter how hard he tried.

    ¡°You fall asleep as soon as you say you will... Are you a pig?!¡± Zu An snorted angrily. She¡¯d only said that someone wasing, but she hadn¡¯t said anything else. I''m in the depths of Hidden Dragon Mountain right now! What if some crazy beast came after my ass?

    He gripped the Tai¡¯e Sword tightly, his entire body going taut.

    Soon, a figure emerged from not far away. It was a person!

    Zu An grumbled inside. Those other protagonists always ran into some random goddess or beauty in the wilderness. Why did he have to run into some dude? This dude was old and ugly too.

    His clothes were tattered like a beggar¡¯s, but his eyes were still pretty bright. He was definitely a cultivator, and a strong one at that.

    His shoddy appearance was most likely because he¡¯d spent too much time in the mountains, and did not have a spare set of clothing. The man himself didn¡¯t seem to care too much about his appearance.

    ¡°Brother, are you out for a stroll in the mountains as well?¡± After considering his options, he decided to greet this man first. After all, he wasn¡¯t one to judge.

    The middle-aged man was stunned when he saw Zu An. Then, heughed loudly and said, ¡°Look who decided to suddenly show up! Brat, count yourself unlucky for running into me here!¡±

    Zu An frowned. ¡°Do I know you? I think there¡¯s something wrong with your mind.¡±

    The middle-aged man flew into a rage. ¡°Do you know what I had to go through because of you? And yet you don¡¯t even recognize me?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Wu Di for 666 Rage points!

    Seeing the name appear in his notifications brought the events of the ns Tournament to Zu An¡¯s mind. He blurted out, ¡°Weren¡¯t you the one whose mom was calling him home for dinner?¡±

    Wu Di gritted his teeth and stared daggers at him.

    You have sessfully trolled Wu Di for 999 Rage points!

    Wu Di spoke, his voice a dark cloud. ¡°I lost to that brat Chu Chuyan because of what you said during the ns Tournament. A glorious sixth rank cultivator like myself lost to someone at the fifth rank! Not only did I be theughingstock of everyone around me, I was sent to the mountains to pick herbs! Battered by the winds day after day, my prospects are in ruins...¡±

    His anger intensified when he thought about what his life had been reduced to.

    You have sessfully trolled Wu Di for 1024 Rage points!

    Zu An blinked. He replied subconsciously, ¡°I¡¯m not gonna lie, but losing to a fifth rank junior as a sixth rank senior is honestly kinda embarrassing.¡±

    Wu Di stared at him, speechless.

    He expected Zu An to be frightened by his words, or at least feel some remorse or subconscious embarrassment.

    Yet this kid wasughing in his face!

    He felt as if his lungs were going to explode.

    You have sessfully trolled Wu Di for 444... 444... 444...

    ¡°Damned brat, there were eyes everywhere during the ns Tournament, and the Chu n was protecting you as well, so I couldn¡¯t do anything to you. But the heavens have shown pity for me! They have granted me a chance encounter with you in the wilderness! Hahahahaha...¡± Wu Di¡¯sughter grew more and more chilly.

    He suddenly focused his gaze. He noticed the corpses of Old Mi and Wei Dan next to Zu An, as well as the storage pouches in his hands. A greedy glint appeared in his eyes, and his breathing immediately sped up. ¡°Damned brat, hand over those storage pouches! Who knows, if my mood is good, I might even leave you with your life.¡±

    Zu An nodded and said, ¡°Sure!¡±

    With that, he tossed the two storage pouches over to him.

    Wu Di was stunned. He fully expected Zu An to refuse, or at least negotiate with him. How could he have predicted that he would just throw them over?

    This kid really didn¡¯t act normally at all!

    He was afraid that the two pouches might explode, or contain some other nasty surprise, and he put up his guard immediately. He wrapped himself in ki before catching the pouches. However, when he examined them, he didn¡¯t detect any hidden tricks.

    Excitement flooded through his veins. ¡°This aura... these are master rank storage pouches!¡±

    He tried to open the pouches using all kinds of different methods. He even tried using elemental fire, but nothing worked.

    He put the two pouches away and looked at Zu An. ¡°Brat, I didn¡¯t expect you to be this cowardly! You surrendered them without even putting up a fight!¡±

    Zu An frowned. ¡°What, are you going back on your word now?¡±

    He actually felt a twinge of regret. He had tossed them over in the hope that this dude might actually have a way of opening them. He was much older, after all, and he was also at the sixth rank. In the end, however, he turned out to bepletely useless! He wouldn¡¯t have bothered if he¡¯d known that things would turn out this way.

    ¡°So what if I go back on my word?¡± Wu Di¡¯s lips spread in a sinister smile as he closed in on Zu An. ¡°I¡¯m going to teach you an important lesson today! You shouldn¡¯t be so na?ve when you¡¯re in the outside world.¡±

    Zu An sighed. ¡°Can¡¯t you tell that I¡¯m not scared of you at all? At least take a moment to think about why I¡¯m acting like this. Who is the na?ve one?¡±

    Wu Di was shocked. He stopped in his tracks and looked all around him. Could it be that the Chu n had set up an ambush?

    He looked around but didn¡¯t see a single person. He snorted and said, ¡°You had me scared for a moment there. I received a report not long ago that something major had happened in the Chu n. How could they afford to send men into the wilderness like that?¡±

    However, he couldn¡¯t shake Zu An¡¯s cold and disdainful gaze. He seemed as though he was looking at a dead person. Wu Di¡¯s mood grew darker and darker. ¡°Damn you, kid! You will learn today that you are absolutely nothing without the Chu n¡¯s protection!¡±

    He thrust out a hand as he spoke. He had witnessed Zu An¡¯s style of fighting during the ns Tournament. This kid was only at the beginning of the third rank. Only an idiot like Yuan Wendong could be done in by this little bastard.

    He had six ranks of cultivation! He could crush this brat like an ant!

    Seeing the careless way in which Wu Di was reaching towards him, Zu An had confidence that he could behead him in one move.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    However, he had just risen a rank, and he wanted to test out his strength. Wu Di¡¯s cultivation would make him the perfect punching bag.

    As such, he put away the Tai¡¯e Sword and threw out a fist as well.

    This kid is courting death! A mocking look shed across Wu Di¡¯s face when he saw that Zu An had no intention of dodging. The difference between sixth rank and third rank was much too vast! His arm might just explode as soon as they made contact!

    Why did the Chu n choose such trash to be their son-inw? I¡¯m clearly much better.

    The two fists made contact. He subconsciously exerted just enough force to break Zu An¡¯s fingers. He didn¡¯t want this victory to be decided too quickly. Instead, he wanted to slowly torture Zu An. Only then could he vent all his resentment!

    *Crack!*

    There was the sharp sound of bones breaking, and a miserable scream echoed throughout the forest.

    Wu Di looked at his fingers, which had bent ny degrees. His expression was one of sheer horror.

    How... how is this possible?!

    ¡°You¡¯ve been going on and on from the start. Do you really think you¡¯re anything special? Are you really at the sixth rank?¡± Zu An didn¡¯t seize the initiative, instead remaining exactly where he was. He looked at Wu Di in puzzlement.

    The scorn and contempt in his voice almost made Wu Di puke blood.

    You have sessfully trolled Wu Di for 458 Rage points!

    He had a simr question of his own. Was this kid really at the third rank?

    Am I dreaming or something?

    He didn¡¯t dare show any more carelessness, and immediately drew his de. Red mes covered its surface.

    With a roar, heunched a cleaving strike at Zu An. He was ambidextrous, so using his off-hand did little to hamper his fighting ability.

    Zu An suddenly recalled the Sunflower Finger that Old Mi had passed on to him. He hadn¡¯t had a chance to test it out yet. This was the perfect chance to practice.

    When he saw Zu An raise a finger to ward off his de, Wu Di¡¯s lips spread in a malicious smile. I am going to chop off your fingers one by one! If not, I will disown my own name!

    Zu An could feel the heat of the mes before the de even made contact.

    He shivered inwardly. He was facing an opponent at the sixth rank, after all. Even though he was strong enough to go toe to toe with an opponent at the sixth rank, Wu Di¡¯s elemental power was still a force to be reckoned with.

    A light bulb went off in his head. He summoned Blue Mard, gathering all of the nearby water elements towards him.

    There were many trees in the forest, so water was naturally plentiful. He quickly collected arge amount of elemental water. The sensation of scorching heat immediately reduced considerably.

    As he watched, the me de moved ever closer to him. Zu An¡¯s finger moved. He thrust it forward, directly towards the approaching de.

    Wu Di felt as though a strange energy vortex had run along the length of his de, and he almost lost his grip on it. The raging mes were scattered instantly. Fortunately, he immediately regained his focus, and the de was again wreathed in gouts of me.

    He was horrified. ¡°What kind of skill is this?¡±

    Zu An raised his finger to the edge of his lips and blew off the smoke rising from its tip. ¡°This is the result of a thousand years of... Ahem, ahem, a skill I created on my own. I call it the Golden Finger. Are you impressed?¡±

 Chapter 396: No Honor

    <h4>Chapter 396: No Honor</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Golden Finger?¡± Wu Di¡¯s breathing sped up. This name sounded quite extraordinary! He had to learn the intricacies of this technique after he captured this kid.

    Movement skills were hard to obtain, andbat skills were simrly rare.

    After his long years of service to the Wu n, besides some ki stones and medicinal ingredients, he had only obtained a few low-levelbat skills. Now that he was at the sixth rank these skills were already obsolete.

    That was why he was still using the me de to this day, even though it was a skill that he had stumbled upon during his youth.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Now that he was older, his cultivation had alsoe to a standstill. He could only improve hisbat skills if he wanted to increase his strength. This was something that was constantly on his mind, and now Zu An was presenting him with one right before his eyes!

    The heavens are showering me with blessings, sending me exactly what I need! Not only did they send me my enemy, they¡¯ve also bestowed on me a high level fighting skill and two master rank storage pouches!

    He felt as though all of the luck in his life added together couldn¡¯t evenpare to his luck this day.

    A feverish desire began to overtake his mind. He charged at Zu An again. The de in his hand swung about relentlessly, leaving behind streaks of afterimages. He was extremely satisfied with his condition today. He was somehow fighting at 120% of his usual strength!

    He felt unstoppable. Apart from Brightmoon City¡¯s City Lord and the Masters of the various major ns, no one else in the city was a match for his current self.

    Zu An didn¡¯t dare let down his guard. He quickly used his Sunflower Phantasm to dodge the attacks, while looking for a chance to counterattack.

    Just like that, the two of them exchanged close to a hundred blows.

    This sequence not only allowed Zu An to adjust to his current speed and strength, he also grew ustomed to using the Sunflower Finger.

    Wu Di was the one who grew more and more anxious as the fight wore on. He had seized a clear advantage in the beginning, yet this kid was a bloody cockroach. He just wouldn¡¯t die!

    Eventually, Zu An grew more proficient in his finger thrusting technique. He slowly wrestled back the advantage, and it was Wu Di who soon found himself in a tough situation.

    rm bells began to ring in his mind. He finally realized that Zu An was actually using him as a practice partner!

    You have sessfully trolled Wu Di for 513 Rage points!

    He knew that he couldn¡¯t let this continue if he wanted to avoid defeat.

    He changed his strategy, opting to attempt to create an opening through brute force.

    He thrust his de into the ground. A ring of surging heat spread out in all directions around him.

    mes rushed out like vipers, devouring everything in their path.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you love dodging like a coward? Let¡¯s see you dodge this huge attack!¡± Wu Di said with a snort.

    Something changed in Zu An¡¯s expression. He saw that he couldn¡¯t evade this attack, and quickly summoned the Tai¡¯e Sword, bringing forth his Snowke Sword technique.

    Even though he didn¡¯t have Chu Chuyan¡¯s ability to freeze everything around him, snowkes still appeared around him. The temperature cooled enough to resist the iing mes.

    ¡°Snowke Sword!¡± Wu Di¡¯s pupils contracted. This technique was still fresh in his memory. After all, this was the technique Chu Chuyan had used to defeat him!

    Hmph! I refuse to believe that you possess Chu Chuyan¡¯s strength!

    In fact, I won¡¯t lose to Chu Chuyan again even if she were here!

    Wu Di was furious. mes surged across the surface of his long de. ¡°Absolute annihtion!¡± he roared.

    He raised the de above his head. The mes extended several dozen meters high, and he brought it down towards Zu An with tremendous force.

    Using his Sunflower Phantasm, Zu An instantly split into two.

    Wu Di sneered. How could his attack be avoided that easily?

    He channeled the ki within his body, and his de of me instantly split into a dozen or so different des arrayed in an arc, all slicing downwards.

    If the first de was a straight line, these dozen or so des formed a fan shape. There was no way for Zu An to avoid it, no matter how formidable his movement technique was.

    There was a huge explosion as the blownded.

    Within the area of effect of the attack, the ground was turned to scorched earth. The grass that had previously covered the area was instantly vaporized, exposing the bare soil underneath. Chunks of rubble flew everywhere, and the air filled with a burning smell.

    Could it be that even his corpse was burned to nothing? Wu Di sneered. He got off too easily.

    He felt a twinge of regret that he hadn¡¯t been able to obtain the secrets of that Golden Finger technique. However, he hadn¡¯t dared hold back, not after seeing the shocking strength Zu An possessed.

    ¡°Hey! What happened to honor and respect in a battle? You shouted Absolute Annihtion, but the technique you used was clearly Mountain Splitter!¡±[1]

    The voiceing from behind him clearly sounded annoyed.

    Wu Di was shocked. He immediately turned around and hacked his de towards the source of the sound. Midway through his swing, he felt a finger touch his back. Then, his body went limp, and his vision darkened.

    How did this guy get behind me?That was his final thought.

    Zu An was gasping for air. A sixth rank cultivator was a formidable opponent after all. If it hadn¡¯t been for big sis empress bullying him into learning how to split into three figures, he might have met his end right then.

    That was why he didn¡¯t dare to hold back any further. He seized the opportunity and delivered a fatal blow with his Sunflower Finger. However, he didn¡¯t expect this opponent to die so easily, from just a single jab.

    If he knew that that would happen, he would have used a little less strength. He could have slowly tormented him for a few more Rage points.

    However, Wu Di had already served his purpose as a practice partner, and had outlived his usefulness. This thought made Zu An feel much better.

    Zu An brought his breathing under control again, and began to reflect over the details of the battle.

    He¡¯d fought against tough opponents before, but he had always relied on the Keyboard System¡¯s tricks to catch his opponent off guard. This was the first battle in which he¡¯d relied purely on proper cultivation and skills.

    When he finally recovered, Zu An walked over to Wu Di and reimed the two master rank storage pouches.

    His hand suddenly felt something hard. When he took it out, he saw that it was a package containing some bottles.

    Wu Di didn¡¯t have any spatial storage devices on him. Spatial storage devices were still quite rare in this world. Even though Wu Di was at the sixth rank, he wasn¡¯t deemed qualified enough to have one.

    Zu An opened up the package and recognized that the contents were bottles of medicine. However, he could tell immediately that they weremon-grade items. Now that he¡¯d seen Ji Dengtu¡¯s exquisite concoctions, he couldn¡¯t care less about these inferior items.

    Zu An continued to search the body. As he searched, he muttered, ¡°Brother, you don¡¯t want to sleep out in the open like this, do you? I¡¯ll take whatever banknotes you have left on you. If you have a few hundred taels of silver, I can even let you sleep next to those two master rank elders. How great of an opportunity would that be? You can even consult those two elders about cultivation once you¡¯re down there.¡±

    ¡°Huh? Nothing? Not even a single note? What the heck? You¡¯re freaking broke!¡±

    ¡°Wait, what¡¯s this?¡±

    Zu An had grown rather furious. In the end, however, he finally found two books that were tightly bound.

    One of them had the two words, ¡®me de¡¯, on the cover.

    What the heck? Do you have something to do with Jiumozhi?[2]

    He had to admit that even though this Wu Di wasn¡¯t particrly special, this skill of his was pretty badass. It would be sick if he could also reach a point in his cultivation where he could control a de of mes.

    The power of the skill doesn¡¯t matter. It¡¯s all about how cool it looks!

    He quickly flipped through it, and his heart sank. An individual needed to wield the fire element to cultivate this skill!

    Zu An didn¡¯t have the power of mes. There was no way he would be able to learn this skill.

    A note in the manual caught his eye. It said that this was a growth-type skill that grew in power together with the strength of the wielder¡¯s fire element. The more powerful one¡¯s fire element became, and the rarer the type, the stronger each move would be.

    This was surely why Wu Di kept losing. His fire was the most basic type of fire! If Pei Mianman¡ªwith her special ck me¡ªused this skill, its power would surely be many times greater.

    ¡°Whatever. I¡¯ll just hang on to this. I can give it to big Manman even if I can¡¯t use it myself.¡± Zu An stored this me de manual into his Brilliant ss Bead.

    The second book had the words ¡®Ki Gathering Scroll¡¯ on the cover.

    Hm?

    Zu An flipped through it. The book seemed to exin how to concoct pills.

    However, this book wasn¡¯tplete. Arge portion of it was missing!

    Thankfully, the first section of the book gave an introduction to pill concocting, as well as the prescription for a pill called the Ki Gathering Pill. This pill could increase a cultivator¡¯s ki and elerate their growth.

    Mi Li had just told him to be on the lookout for some treasures or pills to aid in his cultivation. He hadn¡¯t expected to obtain a lead so quickly!

    Relying solely on Ki Fruits, which he obtained through trading Rage points, was way too slow. If these Ki Gathering Pills could also raise his cultivation, wouldn¡¯t it make leveling up ridiculously easy?

    Unfortunately, the more he read, the more discouraged he became. The preliminary condition for concocting pills was that the alchemist needed to wield the fire element. Moreover, the more precious the me, the better the results of the pill, and the greater the benefits towards their cultivation.

    Not learning the me de skill was still eptable, but this Ki Gathering Scroll made him realize that he definitely had to find a way to awaken the fire element within him.

    He needed a ton of resources in order to gain cultivation ranks, and he could only rely on his own efforts.

    However, elemental fire couldn¡¯t be awakened through desire alone.

    He was already at the fifth rank, yet he hadn¡¯t seemed to have awoken any elemental power.

    1. I am guessing that these are Chinese video game skill names.

    2. Jiumozhi is a character from Jin Yong¡¯s Demigods and Semi-Devils.

 Chapter 397: The Other Side

    <h4>Chapter 397: The Other Side</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An collected his thoughts and put everything away, then proceeded to properly bury Old Mi and Wei Dan. He even dug the grave a little deeper, so the wild beasts wouldn¡¯t be able to get to them, and then covered them up with dirt.

    He¡¯d been reluctant to give Wu Di the same respect, but out of gratitude for the two secret manuals, he still buried him.

    Of course, there was no way he would bury him next to those elders since he was broke.

    Only afterpleting all this did Zu An head back to Brightmoon City.

    It hadn¡¯t taken Old Mi long to fly to the middle of nowhere, but Zu AN only had his two poor legs to rely on to make the return journey.

    Leaving aside the vicious beasts that roamed the depths of this mountain, just the density of the trees alone made navigation difficult.

    Fortunately, his cultivation had increased, and he had all types of cheats at hand. The dangerous crimson dragon in Hidden Dragon Mountain was dead as well, so he didn¡¯t have much to worry about as long as he was careful.

    Zu An finally returned to the Chu Estate a dayter.

    ¡°Huh? Howe there''s so few people here?¡± Zu An was surprised.

    The gates of the estate had been left open as well.

    Did something happen?

    He ran inside in shock, and ended up running into someone. It was actually Cheng Shouping.

    ¡°Young... young... young master?¡± Cheng Shouping rubbed his eyes. He cried out inplete disbelief.

    ¡°What? Have you already forgotten who I am that quickly?¡± Zu An¡¯s mood improved significantly at the sight of a familiar face.

    ¡°You... weren¡¯t you captured by those two masters?!¡± Cheng Shouping asked with a dumbfounded expression.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Zu An was taken aback. ¡°You could tell that they were master rank?¡±

    Chegn Shouping replied, ¡°I heard Feng Daniu and the others say this. Everyone was worried about you. Those are master rank cultivators we are talking about here!¡±

    Zu An snorted. ¡°What¡¯s so special about master rank? Did you somehow think that they could stop me?¡±

    Cheng Shouping¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°I knew that young master was unfathomably awesome! This humble one¡¯s respect for young master gushes forth like the relentless tides of the river!¡±

    He held back his torrent of praise for Zu An long enough to yell, ¡°The young master has returned! The young master has returned! The young master beat up two master rank cultivators and returnedpletely unharmed!¡±

    Even Zu An felt a little embarrassed at his disy. This young man was squealing like a pig! However, being showered with praise did feel pretty good. He finally understood why so many people loved having their boots licked.

    The sleepy Chu Estate came alive as Cheng Shouping¡¯s hollering echoed around. People rushed out one after another.

    In a moment, a petite figure charged straight into his arms. ¡°Brother-inw! I thought that you were... that you were...¡±

    Chu Huanzhao was shaking all over. She was so emotional that she didn¡¯t even know what to say.

    Zu An¡¯s heart softened. He patted her head. ¡°How could I afford to let myself be captured when I have such a cute little Huanzhao waiting for me back home?¡±

    ¡°Brother-inw is so awesome!¡± Tears still glistened in Chu Huanzhao¡¯s eyes. She had been extremely worried all this time, and it was precisely because of this that her current smile was so beautiful.

    ¡°Ahem, ahem...¡± A light cough interrupted them. Qin Wanru looked at the two of them awkwardly. She looked as though she wanted to say something, yet didn¡¯t know what to say. However, there was no way she could observe the two of them acting so intimately without doing anything about it.

    Zu An turned to greet her. ¡°I pay my respects to Madam.¡±

    Qin Wanru¡¯s face grew red. She quickly said, ¡°Are you injured?¡±

    ¡°Thank you Madam for your concern. I am not injured,¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°What about Old Mi and that mysterious expert?¡± Qin Wanru asked anxiously. This was the question on everyone else¡¯s lips as well. They really couldn¡¯t figure out how he¡¯d escaped from their clutches.

    ¡°They¡¯re dead,¡± replied Zu An.

    ¡°Dead?¡± Qin Wanru was shocked. Master rank cultivators were individuals who instilled fear wherever they went. The death of any one of them was a big deal. ¡°How did they die?¡±

    ¡°They obviously died at the young master¡¯s hands!¡± Cheng Shouping couldn¡¯t resist blurting this out, desperately trying to steal a piece of the limelight for himself.

    Qin Wanru shot him a look. ¡°Nonsense. How could a master rank...¡±

    Zu An spoke as well. ¡°Old Mi did perish at my hands.¡±

    Qin Wanru trailed off, her objection left unsaid.

    Everyone else in the estate stared at him, utterly speechless.

    This was truly inconceivable to all of them. However, Zu An had returned perfectly unharmed, so they had no reason to disbelieve him.

    If there had been a ¡®Like¡¯ button around, all of them would have been smashing it right then.

    A figure reached out and grabbed him. ¡°Brat, you managed to kill a master? How?!¡±

    Zu An turned around and saw that this was Ji Dengtu. A shy and obedient youngdy stood nearby. Who else could this be but Ji Xiaoxi?

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°Why are you guys here?¡± He just couldn¡¯t rx while a pervert like Ji Dengtu was lurking around the Chu Estate.

    Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s gentle voice came in reply. ¡°Brother Zu, we rushed over to help out when we heard that you were captured. In the meantime, we also gave Madam Chu some treatment.¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°You really are a good little sister. You rushed over as soon as you heard something happened to me.¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi lowered her head in embarrassment, her hands clutching the hem of her skirt. Her face waspletely red.

    Chu Huanzhao snorted loudly. That girl looks so obedient on the outside, but she¡¯s also a cunning fox demon! However, this girl had treated her mother¡¯s injuries, so she couldn¡¯t bring herself to curse her. Chu Huanzhao was in quite the dilemma.

    Ji Dengtu jumped between the two of them. ¡°Brat, what do you mean, speaking as though you two are brother and sister? Are the two of you even that close?¡±

    Zu An knew that it was time to shut up, now that this demon of a helicopter dad had intervened.

    ¡°You still haven¡¯t answered my question. How did you kill a master rank cultivator?¡± Ji Dengtu asked again.

    ¡°I...¡± As soon as he began to speak, Qin Wanru interrupted him.

    ¡°Let¡¯s talk in the study. Everyone else, return to your posts. Recall everyone who has gone out looking for Zu An.¡± There were too many people around, and she was worried that some sensitive information might leak out.

    Zu An finally knew why the Chu Estate seemed so deste. Apparently, many of the guards and n members had been dispatched to look for him!

    It looks like Madam really does treat me pretty well.

    Ji Dengtu rushed over to Qin Wanru¡¯s side and said with a smile, ¡°Indeed, indeed. Madam is most wise.¡±

    Zu An waspletely speechless by the behavior of this disgusting simp. Ji Dengtu was clearly a powerful cultivator, yet he was acting like aplete bootlicker!

    Qin Wanru frowned but said nothing. She lead the small group of them towards the study.

    Zu An followed her into the study, where he roughly exined the events that had transpired in the mountain. Of course, he didn¡¯t mention the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra at all, since his life hung in the bnce when it came to that.

    Despite this omission, his story was already incredibly shocking to all who were present. His incredible tale was met by a constant stream of excited gasps.

    ¡°So, of the two masters, one ended up dead, and the other injured, and you nipped in to take advantage of the situation,¡± Ji Dengtu said with a hint of disdain when he finally understood what had happened.

    Chu Huanzhao was clearly unhappy with his tone. ¡°An injured master rank cultivator is still a master rank cultivator! Brother-inw really did kill a master rank cultivator! Can you boast about having such skill?¡±

    ¡°I...¡± Ji Dengtu felt his breath catch in his throat. There was no refuting that logic!

    You have sessfully trolled Ji Dengtu for 228 Rage points!

    He couldn¡¯t take his anger out on a little girl, so the best he could do was to redirect it at Zu An.

    Zu An didn¡¯t really mind. To be honest, the more Rage points, the better.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Qin Wanru clearly med herself for her oversight. ¡°I always thought Old Mi was just a normal gardener. Who knew he was a master rank cultivator! I can¡¯t believe I didn¡¯t notice this, even after so many years.¡±

    Ji Dengtu consoled her. ¡°It¡¯s not your fault. It¡¯s extremely difficult for others to notice a master rank cultivator if they wish to go into hiding.¡±

    Qin Wanru frowned. ¡°But then, why was he hiding out in the Chu Estate? Also, who is that other elder, who was also at master rank? Why would the two of them fight to the death?¡±

    Ji Dengtu offered his analysis. ¡°In my opinion, Old Mi might not have been scheming against the Chu n when he was hiding in the Chu Estate. He was probably just hiding from an enemy. It¡¯s highly likely that the other mysterious expert was that enemy.¡±

    ...

    Zu An exhaled softly as he listened to the debate surrounding this possible new conspiracy. This matter involved the emperor¡¯s secrets, and he felt it was best if he didn¡¯t mention anything further. He didn¡¯t want to invite disaster upon himself.

    Qin Wanru had yet to recover from her injuries. Now that Zu An hade back safely, she couldn¡¯t suppress her fatigue any longer. With Chu Huanzhao supporting her, she headed back to her own chambers for some much-needed rest.

    Ji Dengtu and his daughter were satisfied that her condition was stable, and that Zu An was safe. They took their leave as well.

    Zu An quickly chased after them. ¡°Elder, do you have any Ki Gathering Pills that can increase cultivation? I¡¯ll buy your entire stock!¡±

    Ji Dengtu¡¯s face darkened. ¡°I don¡¯t have any!¡±

    With that, he stormed off in a huff.

    Zu An was stunned. What did I do to tick you off so badly?

    Ji Xiaoxi exined, ¡°Big brother Zu, please don¡¯t mind him. Something happened to my father before, and that experience made him vow never to concoct such pills again, because doing so would only help cultivators take more lives. That is why he has vowed only to make life-saving medicines.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He didn¡¯t expect that pervert Ji Dengtu to have such a noble side.

    ¡°Then, do you know how to concoct those pills?¡± Zu An wasn¡¯t willing to give up just yet.

    Ji Xiaoxi shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t. My father never taught me how.¡±

    Zu An felt his spirits slump. He¡¯d been banking on being able to grab a batch of these pills from Ji Dengtu, yet now, it seemed as though he could only rely on himself. He could only ce all of his hopes on that Ki Gathering Scroll.

 Chapter 398: Count Me In

    <h4>Chapter 398: Count Me In</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Xiaoxi, we¡¯re leaving!¡± Ji Dengtu¡¯s dissatisfied voice floated over. He clearly didn¡¯t want his daughter to keep talking to Zu An.

    Ji Xiaoxi stuck out her tongue at her dad, and then gave Zu An an apologetic smile, before running after her father.

    Zu An gave Ji Dengtu a resentful look. Hmph! I¡¯m going to keep feeding you NTR and leave you with a huge mental shadow.

    Sigh, Xiaoxi is super cute though. I wonder if she¡¯ll continue to be like that forever.

    Her mom¡¯s genes must be awfully strong. There¡¯s no other way that wretched Ji Dengtu could have produced such a beautiful daughter.

    Zu An yawned a few times. He¡¯d been running around all over the ce these past few days, and hadn¡¯t gotten much rest at all. He returned to his room to get some sleep.

    ...

    The night passed peacefully. During breakfast the next morning, Qin Wanru looked at Zu An and said with a gentle voice, ¡°Ah Zu, you should head to the academy and thank Principal Jiang. She went looking all over for you when she found out that you¡¯d been captured.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao was confused. ¡°Mom, why is your tone suddenly so pleasant?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean, ¡®suddenly¡¯? I¡¯ve always been nice, okay?!¡± Qin Wanru frowned.

    A shocked expression swiftly appeared on Chu Huanzhao¡¯s face. ¡°Mom, why is your face red?¡±

    Qin Wanru was given a fright. She rubbed her own cheeks. They were indeed a little warm. She grew embarrassed and annoyed. ¡°Brat, is your skin itching for a spanking?¡±

    She stood up to grab Chu Huanzhao. Frightened, Chu Huanzhao jumped behind Zu An. ¡°Brother-inw, brother-inw! Save me!¡±

    Qin Wanru caught up to her, but her heart leapt into her throat when she caught sight of Zu An and his smile. She quickly took a step back and said, ¡°You two, take your time to finish your breakfast. I¡¯m going back to rest.¡±

    With that, she left quickly, harboring a guilty conscience.

    Chu Huanzhao walked out from behind Zu An. She couldn¡¯t help but wink and say, ¡°Brother-inw, don¡¯t you feel like mom is acting a little strange?¡±

    Zu An smiled in embarrassment. ¡°Not really.¡±

    ¡°No way. The both of you are acting weirdly.¡± Chu Huanzhao looked Zu An up and down.

    Zu An jumped backwards in fright. He was just about to defend himself when Chu Huanzhao suddenly asked, ¡°Brother-inw, do you think a bad person is impersonating mom?¡±

    Too much had happened in the Chu Estate recently, and she was beginning to grow paranoid.

    Zu An stared at her stupidly.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°What in the world are you thinking? Don¡¯t you even recognize your own mother?¡±

    ¡°I guess you¡¯re right.¡± Chu Huanzhaoughed awkwardly. ¡°She should still be the same old mom. Her boobs are still so big...¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face darkened. Is that really the metric you should be using?

    A group of men suddenly approached them, giving Zu An a fright. He was about to prepare himself for a fight when he saw them kneel and offer their greetings.

    ¡°Commander Yue, what are you doing? Please get up!¡± Zu An recognized this person. It was none other than themander of the Chu n¡¯s guards, Yue Shan.

    Yue Shan shook his head. ¡°I was lured away from my post due to my carelessness. If not for young master¡¯s actions, Chu Estate would have fallen into the hands of treacherous viins. Young master deserves my respect.¡±

    He bowed towards Zu An earnestly again.

    Zu An noted his travel-worn face. The heavy bags under his eyes showed that he hadn¡¯t gotten much rest on his way back home. He immediately felt great respect for this man. ¡°Commander Yue surely had a rough journey back. Please rise.¡±

    Yue Shan sighed. ¡°My journey back was nothingpared to the blood, sweat, and tears that young master shed in defense of the Chu n. You calmed the rebellion led by Chu Tiesheng and Hong Zhong all on your own.¡±

    His heart was filled with incredible admiration. When Zu An had first joined the Chu n, he¡¯d been more than a little displeased. After all, how could a goddess like Chu First Miss be married to a wastrel like that? However, as time passed, Zu An had gradually revealed his brilliance. This time, he had even pulled them out of such a desperate crisis!

    As expected, the first miss really was amazing. Her judgment was truly clearer than anyone else¡¯s.

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°Commander Yue is too kind. I was just lucky.¡±

    Yue Shan¡¯s tone remained serious. ¡°Young master has made such great contributions to the n, yet you still remain so humble. You truly possess an upright and noble character, and you prove yourself a worthy example for us all...¡±

    Even Zu An¡¯s face began to turn red from all this praise. He never knew that this honest fellow was actually such a great tterer! This man was usually earnest, and all his words sounded so sincere.

    Chu Huanzhao snorted. ¡°I told you guys a long time ago that my brother-inw was awesome, and all of you thought that I was an idiot for saying so. I¡¯m sure you guys believe me now!¡±

    Yue Shan forced a smile. ¡°Second miss, your eyes burn bright like torches! This subordinate is fully convinced!¡±

    Chu Huanzhao immediately beamed with joy at receiving praise from the habitually serious Yue Shan.

    Seeing how smug she was getting, Zu An coughed and cut in immediately. ¡°The Chu n is currently facing turbulent times. We¡¯ll need to rely heavily on Commander Yue in the days toe.¡±

    Yue Shan cupped his hands. ¡°That is my duty. I will pay my respects to Madam first, and take my orders from her.¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°I will not hold you back any further, Commander Yue. However, you should really get some rest after you meet with Madam. This journey has really worn all of you out.¡±

    Yue Shan felt a warmth spread outwards from his heart. ¡°Thank you, young master.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao chattered non-stop on their way to the academy.

    ¡°Brother-inw, I was able to borrow some of your limelight today! That Yue Shan doesn¡¯t usually care about anyone other than mom, dad, and big sis. He always has that smug and condescending attitude.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect Yue Shan, with his big eyes and thick brows, to be so good at ttering people!¡±

    ¡°Brother-inw, brother-inw, tell me more about your battle against Old Mi!¡±

    ¡°Brother-inw, are you listening?¡±

    ...

    When they arrived at the academy, Chu Huanzhao went off to ss, and Zu An went to the principal¡¯s office.

    Shang Liuyu was just leaving the office when he arrived. Her long hair billowed behind her, along with her dress, giving her a graceful and elegant air.

    Her beauty never failed to stun him whenever he saw her. It was no wonder countless other teachers in the academy considered her to be their goddess.

    But then, why did he always see her with Jiang Luofu? Were these two somehow involved with each other?

    Zu An couldn¡¯t keep his thoughts leashed. Please, don¡¯t let it be so! That would be such a waste!

    How many men¡¯s hearts would be broken if that was the case?

    Shang Liuyu seemed just as surprised to see him. ¡°I heard that you were captured by a master rank cultivator.¡±

    ¡°Yup. I only just got back,¡± Zu An said with a smile.

    ¡°How in the world did you manage to get out of that?¡± Even the gentle and refined Shang Liuyu was curious. Her beautiful eyes swirled with light.

    ¡°I was about to die, but I remembered that the beautiful Teacher Shang was waiting for me back at the academy. How could I afford to resign myself to death? That¡¯s when I went berserk and killed him,¡± Zu An said.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have a shred of decency,¡± Shang Liuyu scoffed. She left quickly, her face red.

    She had always been a gentle and refined person, and there were many things that she had no interest in. She was d that Zu An had returned safely, and she didn¡¯t really care to know about how he¡¯d made it back.

    Zu Anmented Shang Liuyu''s departure. She was so pretty even when she was angry! No wonder so many men had fallen for her.

    Hm? Why aren¡¯t there any Rage points, though?

    Jiang Luofu¡¯s voice came from inside the office. ¡°Are you done staring? If you are, then get inside already.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. Can this woman see through walls?

    He pushed open the door and went inside. His eyes immediately widened. Jiang Luofu was draped across her couch in a rather udylike manner, her stockinged legs casually propped up on the office table.

    Zu An was a little displeased by this. I¡¯ve never seen you act like this in front of other people. Why are you only like this in front of me?

    What is the meaning of this?

    Are you treating me as though I¡¯m not a man?!

    Jiang Luofu twirled her brush idly. Her fingers were beautifully fair and slender.

    ¡°Brat, did you tease my little Yu again?¡±

    ¡°Little Yu?¡± It took a moment for Zu An to realize that she was talking about Shang Liuyu, and he immediately replied in a gloomy voice, ¡°When did Teacher Shang be yours?¡±

    Jiang Luofu snorted. ¡°She is my wife, so of course she¡¯s mine.¡±

    Zu An felt his jaw hit the floor.

    ¡°Gorgeous principal, is there room for me as well?¡±

 Chapter 399: Transaction

    <h4>Chapter 399: Transaction</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Look at my lips,¡± Jiang Luofu said. ¡°Fu-ck-off.¡±

    Zu An looked at her disapprovingly.

    ¡°Principal, such vulgar speech isn¡¯t befitting of your status at all.¡±

    Jiang Luofu stretched, which was, in itself, a gorgeous sight to behold. ¡°Did anyone hear anything? I sure didn¡¯t.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He hadn¡¯t expected this woman to be such a rascal! However, he soon figured out that she had only called Shang Liuyu her wife as a joke between best friends.

    Female students in his previous world often did this as well.

    He just couldn¡¯t understand why they would do that. If two close male friends called each other husbands, uh...

    Jiang Luofu tapped her brush on the table. ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell me how you got away from a master rank opponent? Please save me from that ¡®going berserk¡¯ or whatever garbage.¡±

    Zu An felt his face redden. So the principal had heard all his attempts at flirting while he¡¯d been outside her door! He roughly told her what had happened, giving her the same story he had given the Chu n.

    Jiang Luofu was silent for a moment. It was a while before her red lips opened again. ¡°I believe I fought against that other master rank cultivator that you mentioned. Back then, I couldn¡¯t figure out why he would start trouble in the academy, but it now seems as though he was investigating the people around you.¡±

    Zu An immediatelyunched into endless ttery. ¡°Principal Jiang managed to hold her own against a master rank opponent! My respect to you gushes for like the relentless tides of the river, like the ripples of Brightmoon River...¡±

    ¡°Enough, enough.¡± Jiang Luofu¡¯s face turned red, and she cut him off immediately. ¡°He clearly held back. That was the only reason I was able to defeat him.¡±

    Zu An changed what he was saying. ¡°Gorgeous principal is honest and upright, you refuse to ept credit for outstanding deeds that do not belong to you! You are simply the noblest among women, a paragon of virtue...¡±

    He continued in this vein for a long time, but still she didn¡¯t cut him off. Instead, she looked at him with great amusement.

    He continued to heap praise on her, but inevitably began to run out of gas. He quickly found an excuse. ¡°Sorry, my throat is a little dry from all this talking. I¡¯m going to get a sip of water.¡±

    He grabbed the teacup next to him and drank arge gulp.

    Jiang Luofu couldn¡¯t stop him in time. She smiled a strange little smile. ¡°Little Yu just drank from that cup. Isn''t what you did considered an indirect kiss? Countless men would love to have such an experience, and yet you¡¯ve obtained it so cheaply.¡±

    ¡°Ahem...¡± Zu An was stunned. Only then did he see the faint lipstick mark on the edge of the cup. Even more shocking was that there was another, much clearer mark as well, and the color of this one was quite simr to the lipstick Jiang Luofu was wearing.

    ¡°Gorgeous principal, I¡¯m really starting to doubt your rtionship with big sister Shang...¡±

    Jiang Luofu snorted. She snatched the teacup from him. ¡°What an unromantic man. This is your reaction after indirectly kissing your principal?¡±

    Zu An had nothing to say to her.

    Sigh. I always have a great time teasing Ji Xiaoxi, Chu Huanzhao, and all these young maidens. They flush with anger as soon as I y around with them a little.

    However, with this woman, I¡¯m somehow the one who gets yed instead!

    ¡°Hm? You¡¯ve already risen to the fifth rank?¡± Jiang Luofu gave him a surprised look. She now sensed the changes in Zu An¡¯s aura. ¡°The cultivation speed of individuals with transcendent aptitude is truly enviable.¡±

    When they had first met, he had just begun on the path of cultivation. Not much time had passed at all, and yet he was already the fifth rank!

    There were many publicly acknowledged talents in the academy who had been meticulously nurtured since they were young. However, only a few of them were able to reach the fifth rank!

    ¡°Unfortunately, I didn¡¯t awaken any elemental abilities,¡± Zu An said with a bitterugh. Mi Li thought that he controlled the spirit element, but that was merely the Hundredwarble skill.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have any elemental ability? How can that be?¡± Jiang Luofu put away her teasing smile and straightened.

    ¡°I¡¯m not joking. I don¡¯t sense a special connection with any element around me.¡± Zu An exined what he sensed to her.

    Jiang Luofu remained silent for a long time. In the end, she said, ¡°Usually, all who break into the fifth rank will instantly recognize their elemental ability. I have never heard of anyone in your situation. Maybe it¡¯s different for you because you have transcendent aptitude. Normal people can sense it at the fifth rank, but transcendent aptitude cultivators might need more time. They might need to be at the sixth rank before this happens.¡±

    ¡°What can we do, then?¡± Zu An was befuddled. Wasn¡¯t his transcendent aptitude supposed to be a means to quickly reach the peak of human existence? Why were there negative effects to it instead?

    ¡°Just keep doing what you¡¯re doing,¡± said Jiang Luofu. ¡°You might just suddenly awaken your elemental power one day. You¡¯ll find a way as long as you don¡¯t despair. Since you have transcendent aptitude, you will definitely awaken to an element.¡±

    ¡°Gorgeous principal is probably the only one who can say such things to me.¡± Zu An couldn¡¯t help butin.

    Jiang Luofu¡¯s face reddened. ¡°What can we do? There are practically no cultivators in the whole of history who possess transcendent level aptitude, so we don¡¯t have any past experience to use as reference.¡±

    ¡°I guess so.¡± There was no way Zu An could do anything about it, if even the principal had no idea what to do. He suddenly thought about the two fire element manuals he had obtained. ¡°By the way, is there anything I can do if I want to awaken the fire element?¡±

    ¡°Fire element?¡± Jiang Luofu was surprised. Chu Chuyan possessed the ice element. If he awakened the fire element, wouldn¡¯t they sh? ¡°The elemental affinity usually appears on its own as soon as you reach the fifth rank, and isn¡¯t something that can be chosen. Of course, there have been exceptions. For example, some with exceptional luck might inherit or encounter certain ability scrolls that can help to awaken a certain element directly.

    ¡°However, such circumstances are extremely rare. Only those with exceptional luck have a chance at this.¡±

    She never expected Zu An to sigh in relief. ¡°Thank goodness there¡¯s a way. If it''s just luck, well, I¡¯m hardlycking in that department.¡±

    Jiang Luofu was speechless. She had no idea where his confidence wasing from.

    ¡°By the way, you shouldn¡¯t publicly announce what happened between you and those master-ranked cultivators. Every single master rank cultivator is connected to endless other parties, and you cannot contend against them right now. I will find a way to contact the Chu n and help them hide this information for you. I hope that nothing bades about because of this.¡± Her expression was tinged with worry. She had a feeling that this matter wasn¡¯t going to end here.

    Zu An looked at her. ¡°Gorgeous principal, you really are too nice to me! I don¡¯t even know how to repay you! Honestly, I don¡¯t have any valuable possessions, so I can only give you my body.¡±

    ¡°Get lost!¡±

    ¡°Okay~¡±

    Zu An left the office in a much better mood. Even though he still didn¡¯t know how he was going to awaken the fire element, he now knew that it was possible. It would all work out eventually.

    He walked along the campus boulevard, clearly in no mood to join any lectures. He¡¯d already fought against master rank cultivators, so these sses didn¡¯t seem to mean much to him anymore.

    With that in mind, he decided to get some shut eye back in his staff residence. However, he ended up running into a ravishing beauty along the way.

    ¡°Zheng Dan?¡± He caught sight of the beautiful girl in front of him, and nodded towards her. She seemed to have grown slightly more plump. She perfectly encapsted the bashfulness of a younger girl, and the charm of a young woman.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    No wonder the fellow students who passed her by couldn¡¯t resist casting nces in her direction.

    Hmph! All of you are just perverts without any real guts!

    If you like her, why don¡¯t you walk up to her and let her know? I guess you guys aren¡¯t as handsome as me, so you won¡¯t get much from her. But, whatever the oue, you¡¯ll at least be able to talk to your goddess.

    ¡°Greetings, Teacher Zu.¡± A hint of redness colored Zheng Dan¡¯s face.

    ¡°I see that student Zheng is still as polite as ever. This teacher is pleased.¡± Zu An also enjoyed this act that they put up in front of everyone else.

    ¡°I heard that something happened to Teacher. Now that I¡¯ve seen that Teacher has returned safely, this student can feel at ease.¡± Her words were well-practiced and totally appropriate.

    ¡°Was student Zheng worried about me?¡± Zu An asked with a smile.

    ¡°Of... course.¡± Zheng Dan¡¯s face grew redder. She looked around her guiltily. ¡°By the way, I have some questions regarding arithmetic that I could use Teacher¡¯s help with.¡±

    Zu An knew that she wanted to talk to him in private. He nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s talk as we walk.¡±

    The two of them walked along a secluded path in the academy. To anyone else, Zheng Dan looked like an earnest student, asking questions with a book in hand.

    All who saw her admired her. Miss Zheng really was hardworking! She actually studied arithmetic so earnestly, without her cultivation falling behind.

    Of course, some scions of other major ns felt that first miss Zheng had been unduly burdened by the Zheng n. There were many business matters that had to be taken care of within the Zheng n, and Zheng Dan had no choice but to spend some more time working on her arithmetic. If this weren¡¯t so, her cultivation would surely have been higher than what it was right now.

    None of these bystanders had any idea that the two of them had secretly linked hands while walking. What arithmetic questions? They were using her book to hide their passion!

    ¡°Ah Zu, I¡¯m actually here as a representative of my future father-inw to conduct a business transaction with you.¡± Although Zheng Dan¡¯s face had turned red from his earlier teasing, she hadn¡¯t forgotten her reason for seeking him out.

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°What transaction?¡±

    Zheng Dan looked at him with herrge eyes. ¡°He wants the medicine that you have.¡±

 Chapter 400: Righteous Revenge

    <h4>Chapter 400: Righteous Revenge</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°What medicine? Shouldn¡¯t you look for Divine Physician Ji if you need something like that? Even Ji Xiaoxi would be a better choice than me.¡±

    Zheng Dan sighed. ¡°Of course we sought out Divine Physician Ji, but there was nothing that Divine Physician Ji could do.

    ¡°You know that Sang Qian was seriously injured, and his life is hanging by a thread right now. Even Divine Physician Ji was only just able to keep him from death¡¯s door. His health has only declined since then, and there has been nothing that Divine Physician Ji could do to stop this.

    ¡°Even though Sang Hong has two children, he only has one son. If Sang Qian dies, then he won¡¯t have any heirs.¡±

    Zu An snorted. ¡°What¡¯s so strange about bad people having bad things happen to them?¡±

    Sang Hong¡¯s scheming in the dark was the whole reason behind the mess that the Chu n was currently in.

    Zheng Dan bit her lip. ¡°That may be true, but a father will surely be driven to further madness once his only son passes away. When that happens, he will show the Chu n even less favor.¡±

    ¡°Are you threatening me?¡± Zu An was slightly unhappy. He subconsciously squeezed her hand more tightly.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Zheng Dan cried out in pain, but didn¡¯t dare show it, out of fear that the other students would notice. ¡°I¡¯m not threatening you. I¡¯m just helping you weigh the pros and cons! I¡¯ve already given you everything¡ªare you still going to question my sincerity?¡±

    Zu An snorted. ¡°But you¡¯re speaking on my enemy¡¯s behalf.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°I¡¯m only passing on his words!¡± Zheng Dan sighed. ¡°Since we¡¯re so close, I¡¯ll speak inly. You surely are well aware that the Chu n¡¯s recent troubles were provoked by him. Madam Chu suffered a mortal wound a few days ago, and even Ji Dengtu was powerless to save her. However, you used a bottle of medicine to save her life.

    ¡°Sang Hong was extremely shocked when he heard this, so he wishes to make an agreement with you. He will release Brightmoon Duke and stop any further plotting against the Chu n. At the same time, the Sang n will pledge their friendship to you. In return, he only requests for that bottle of medicine.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t keep his annoyance from his voice. ¡°The Chu n¡¯s salt permits are already back in our hands. What right does he have to keep detaining Brightmoon Duke? Furthermore, his schemes against the Chu n have already failed. What difference does it make whether he gives up now or not?¡±

    Zheng Dan shook her head. ¡°Things are not that simple. Let¡¯s take Brightmoon Duke, for example. Qin Wanru already had the salt permits, so Brightmoon Duke should have already been released. However, Sang Hong still managed to make up all types of excuses to keep him detained. Following this line of reasoning, if he knows that his excuses won¡¯t work any longer, and he is truly intent on dealing with the Chu n, then killing Brightmoon Duke wouldn¡¯t be too difficult for him.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed immediately. ¡°Sang Hong dares to assassinate a duke?¡±

    Zheng Dan exined, ¡°He obviously wouldn¡¯t dare to do such a thing to a normal duke. However, you already know that Sang Hong is merely carrying out the emperor¡¯s will. The emperor was the one who wanted to get rid of Brightmoon Duke in the first ce. If something happens to him, the emperor will only criticize him lightly, but he wouldn¡¯t really punish Sang Hong.

    ¡°Sang Hong¡¯s ns to take down the Chu n have failed again and again, and he has already been pushed to his limit as well. There is no way he would let Brightmoon Duke return.

    ¡°However, if you can save his son¡¯s life, then he will willingly abandon this mission, and dly suffer the emperor¡¯s criticism.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression flickered. He really didn¡¯t want to save Sang Qian, but if Chu Zhongtian came to harm because of this, he would be letting down Chu Chuyan and Chu Huanzhao. He would never be able to forgive himself for that.

    Moreover, knowing Sang Hong¡¯s sinister nature, he would make sure to tell everyone about how he hadn¡¯t saved Chu Zhongtian, despite being given the chance to. There was no way to stop such news from spreading at all.

    ¡°Does Sang Hong know about the two of us?¡± Zu An asked suddenly.

    Zheng Dan¡¯s face turned red. ¡°Of course not. If he does, he would kill me on the spot. Why would he send me here to negotiate with you?¡±

    Zu An wasn¡¯t happy. ¡°You haven¡¯t even formally married his son yet. He doesn¡¯t have the authority to do that.¡±

    Zheng Dan rolled her eyes. She didn¡¯t bother to reply.

    Zu An was aware that the weddings of this world were different from those of his modern era. As such, he asked her further, ¡°What are your thoughts on this matter?¡±

    There was a slight hesitation, but Zheng Dan still said, ¡°Since the two of us are already so close, I won¡¯t hide anything from you. Regardless of whether Sang Qian and I get married, I still feel a sense of guilt for what has developed between us, and I want to make it up to him. At the same time, if this agreement goes ahead, the Zheng n will benefit immeasurably as well. That is why I really hope that you can help me save him.¡±

    After a pause, she smiled and said to him, ¡°Of course, if you can make the Sang n and the Zheng n agree to me marrying you instead, then I wouldn¡¯t have to feel so conflicted over Sang Qian.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. ¡°You know that that¡¯s impossible. I have no problems with taking you in as my wife, but are you willing to elope with me?¡±

    Zheng Dan sighed. ¡°You know that I bear the hopes of my n on my shoulders. How can I turn my back on them?¡±

    Zu An gave this matter some thought, and finally said, ¡°It¡¯s not impossible to save him, but when I think about how he will marry you as soon as he recovers... Wouldn¡¯t I be the one who gets cuckolded? No way!¡±

    Zheng Dan¡¯s face turned red. ¡°You are clearly the one who made him a cuckold...¡±

    Zu An sniffed dismissively. ¡°Whatever. I won¡¯t agree to this.¡±

    Zheng Dan hesitated for a moment, then said quietly, ¡°Actually, there might be a way out. He was injured so badly, after all. If something happens to him and he can¡¯t... It would bepletely normal...¡±

    Zu An gasped. ¡°You¡¯re terribly ruthless!¡±

    Zheng Dan¡¯s eyes reddened. ¡°I was thinking for your sake, all right? Why am I the ruthless one here? Do you think that I don¡¯t want a normal husband? If there is no way for me to marry you...¡±

    She began to sob towards the end. Zu An immediately helped her to wipe away her tears. ¡°I misspoke. That really does solve my dilemma. I can¡¯t be a prostitute and still demand a virgin spouse.¡±

    Fortunately, the two of them were already close to the staff residences, so there weren¡¯t any students around them. Otherwise, rumors would have already begun to spread like wildfire.

    Zheng Dan giggled when she heard what he said. Her face reddened as she said, ¡°Pah! If you¡¯re a prostitute, then what am I?¡±

    ¡°You are my...¡± Zu An whispered a word in her ear.

    Zheng Dan¡¯s neck instantly flushed red, and her body went limp.

    Zu An used this chance to pick her up and walk into his residence. They were soon wrapped around each other.

    ¡°So, do you agree?¡± Zheng Dan pressed against his chest and said while biting her lip.

    Zu An¡¯s expression grew gloomy. ¡°Can we not talk about this now? You¡¯re making me look like a viin! It¡¯s almost as if you are consenting to what we¡¯re doing only because you want to save your lover.¡±

    Zheng Dan rolled her eyes. ¡°Didn¡¯t you love ying these types of games with me before?¡±

    Zu An felt blood rush to his head. He immediately got into character. ¡°Heh, heh, heh, whether or not I¡¯ll agree to your demands will depend on your performance!¡±

    Zheng Dan immediately put on a delicate and pitiful appearance. ¡°Please! Please spare him! I¡¯ll agree to anything you say!¡±

    Zu An whistled in admiration. This woman was a born actress! How could he possibly hold himself back anymore? He immediately began to ¡®tackle¡¯ this question of whether he was going to save Sang Qian or not.

    Either way, Sang Hong was ckmailing them with Chu Zhongtian¡¯s life, so this was righteous revenge.

 Chapter 401: I Saw Something In You

    <h4>Chapter 401: I Saw Something In You</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Too many things had happened recently. The Chu n had suffered all manner of misfortune, and Zu An had been dragged into a huge conspiracy. He¡¯d almost lost his life.

    He was constantly under pressure, and his mind had no time to rx.

    Evenst night, when things finally calmed down and he tried to get some sleep, he was still woken up in the middle of the night. He was still being hounded, even in his dreams.

    Only now, thanks to Zheng Dan showering him with gentleness and affection, were these negative emotions finallyid to rest.

    Zheng Dan herself looked like a sunflower that had just been devastated by a storm. ¡°Sorry, I was too rough,¡± Zu An said apologetically.

    Zheng Dan gave him a look ofint. ¡°You¡¯ve only just realized that?¡± She put on her clothes and got off the bed. However, her legs buckled as soon as she stood up.

    Zu An smiled as he offered an arm to help support her. ¡°Don¡¯t leave! There¡¯s still so much time before the school day ends.¡±

    Zheng Dan tidied up her messy hair while she said, ¡°So many people saw me go looking for you earlier. Wouldn¡¯t rumors spread if I stayed too long?¡±

    After being around her for so long, Zu An was well-acquainted with her nature. They could go as crazy as they wanted to in private, but she cared about her public image, and the honor of her own n. She would never allow the slightest stain to dirty either of these. Knowing this, he didn¡¯t pressure her further.

    ¡°I¡¯ll give you the medicine that Sang Hong wants another day,¡± Zu An said. He didn¡¯t want Sang Qian to recover that quickly.

    Zheng Dan smiled sweetly. ¡°Sure. I¡¯m really leaving now.¡±

    She pulled his face towards her own and kissed him. Then, she left in high spirits.

    The instant she walked through the main entrance, however, her happiness instantly vanished, reced by her usual graceful demeanor. There was no way anyone could tell that she¡¯d just experienced something so wild.

    Zu An slept for a bit, and then paid Ji Dengtu a visit after sses were over.

    It would¡¯ve been more convenient to look for Ji Xiaoxi, but it didn¡¯t seem appropriate to ask a girl about this matter.

    Ji Dengtu¡¯s eyes widened when he heard his request. ¡°I¡¯ve heard about performance-enhancing pills, but I¡¯ve never heard of impotence pills. What kind of weird fetish do you have?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face darkened. ¡°Stop wasting my time. Do you have them or not?¡±

    Ji Dengtu leaned into his recliner and slowly rocked back and forth. He waved his hand nonchntly. ¡°Nope. I only save people. Why would I make something stupid like that?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s heart sank. ¡°I¡¯ll pay extra!¡±

    Ji Dengtu¡¯s eyes lit up, and he subconsciously straightened his body. However, after a small hesitation, he leaned back into the chair again. ¡°Stop trying to tempt me. Considering the way I was brought up, I would never ever do something like this. You¡¯re looking at the wrong person.¡±

    Zu An silently took out a book. ¡°Part two of the previous story.¡±

    Ji Dengtu¡¯s pupils contracted, and his expression became serious.

    Zu An thought that he was about to get angry, but a big smile blossomed across his face instead. He grabbed the book and said, ¡°I knew I saw something in you!¡±

    Zu An stared at him, speechless.

    Ji Dengtu flipped through the book, tossing a small green bottle over to him. ¡°Three drops, and it¡¯ll do exactly what you want it to.¡±

    Zu An was quite fond of this straightforwardness. ¡°Is the effect permanent? Don¡¯t tell me that the victim will recover after a while.¡±

    Ji Dengtu was clearly displeased by his question. ¡°Are you doubting my skills? How could Ji Dengtu¡¯s medicine lose its effects? Of course it¡¯s permanent! My skills are unparalleled!¡±

    Zu An gave him a look of suspicion. ¡°What were you nning to do with such a drug?¡±

    Ji Dengtu¡¯s face became red. He said angrily, ¡°Of course it was for research! Do you think I¡¯ll take it myself?¡±

    Zu An had a strange look on his face. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you made it for my father-inw.¡±

    Clearly, this man¡¯s obsession with Qin Wanru gave him adequate grounds for suspicion.

    ¡°Do I seem like that type of person?¡± Ji Dengtu¡¯s conscience was clearly guilty. ¡°Leave, get out! Stop bothering me. I want to read this book.¡±

    ¡°Huh? Why do you need tissues if you¡¯re just reading a book?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re the one who wrote these books! Don¡¯t you possess any self-awareness at all?¡±

    ...

    Zu An headed straight back to Chu Estate after leaving the Ji Estate. He reported Sang Hong¡¯s offer to Qin Wanru.

    Qin Wanru had been at a loss as to what to do when she first saw him, but she immediately grew agitated when she heard what he said. ¡°Sang Hong, you despicable person! You actually plotted against Zhongtian even while he was imprisoned!¡±

    Zu An¡¯s tone was grave. ¡°Indeed. We reported the recovery of the missing salt permits a while ago, so they should¡¯ve released father-inw a long time ago. Sang Hong has definitely involved himself behind the scenes. That¡¯s why I had no choice but to agree. We can only discuss things with father-inw after we save him.¡±

    ¡°Ah Zu, thank you for everything you¡¯ve done for the Chu n. I... I don¡¯t even know how to thank you.¡± Qin Wanru¡¯s expression was terribly conflicted.

    ¡°I was only doing my duty.¡± Zu An chuckled. ¡°Of course, if Madam wants to thank me, then just give Huanzhao to me as well. I think she¡¯s pretty cute.¡±

    Qin Wanru was momentarily dazed, after which her face became entirely red. She picked up a nearby feather duster and began to whack Zu An. ¡°Damned brat! How dare you actually think of such a thing!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Wanru for 66... 66... 66...

    Zu An dodged her blows, pleading with her all the way. ¡°Ow, ow! I was joking! Madam, how can you take it seriously?!¡±

    The two of them ran around in circles in the room. The guards outside looked at each other in dismay.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    ¡°Why is Madam hitting young master?¡±

    ¡°You just don¡¯t get it do you? Their behaviorr is so unrestrained because they¡¯ve already grown close!¡±

    ¡°That exins it! You guys have really seen through everything!¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ...

    After a while, the two of them finally stopped their little chase. Qin Wanru was gasping for air, her chest rising and falling heavily. She was still recovering from a serious injury, and all this activity had clearly tired her out.

    Zu An said with concern, ¡°Madam, you were just injured not too long ago. Please don¡¯t exhaust yourself like this.¡±

    Qin Wanru¡¯s face became slightly red for some reason. She snorted. This kid¡¯s movement really is fast. Even though I¡¯m weak right now, I¡¯m still at the sixth rank, and yet I couldn¡¯t even catch up to him in this cramped room! No wonder he managed to escape from a master rank cultivator.

    Zu An was worried that she might continue scolding him, so he quickly changed the topic. ¡°What worries me the most right now is that he might still harm father-inw even if we agree to his offer. What do we do then?¡±

    Qin Wanru said, ¡°I¡¯ll arrange meetings with a few people. There are still some people out there that our Chu n can count on. I¡¯ll also dispatch Yue Shan to personally oversee things. He¡¯ll keep an eye out from the shadows.¡±

    Zu An exhaled in relief. ¡°That makes me feel much better.¡±

    Qin Wanru seemed a little hesitant. ¡°Your medicine is probably really precious, isn¡¯t it? It can heal even the most severe injuries.¡±

    Initially, she had thought wrongly that Zu An had used his other method to save her. However, when she finally calmed down, she realized what had actually happened. She was experienced, after all, so she could tell if she¡¯d slept with a man.

    With all that he had said earlier, she was now even more certain that it was this medicine that had saved her that day.

    This brat really is cheeky! He had the nerve to make that sort of joke! I was worried about it for such a long time...

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Wanru for 3... 3... 3...

    Zu An was stunned. Didn¡¯t you just thank me? Why are you getting angry now? Also, can¡¯t you get a little more angry if you¡¯re going to get angry at all? This amount ispletely useless!

    Didn¡¯t you contribute hundreds of points to me for no reason back then?

    Of course, these were just jokes. ¡°Everything is worth it if we can save father-inw,¡± Zu An replied.

    Qin Wanru opened her mouth, but she didn¡¯t know what to say. In the end, she could only say, ¡®Thank you.¡¯

    ...

    A few days passed. When Qin Wanru had made the necessary arrangements with the prison, Zu An contacted Zheng Dan.

    Zheng Dan personally came to invite Zu An over.

    Zu An saw the carriage, and went right in. ¡°You didn¡¯t ride a pnquin today. Is it because it¡¯s easier for me to get into a carriage?¡±

    Zheng Dan blushed. She lowered the curtains and quickly said, ¡°We¡¯re going straight to the Sang Estate. You¡¯d better not mess around.¡±

 Chapter 402: You Should Be Calling Me Uncle

    <h4>Chapter 402: You Should Be Calling Me Uncle</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°I know of a way that won¡¯t mess up your clothes and hair.¡±

    Zheng Dan felt her heart sway. She shot him a look, but still moved over to him.

    ...

    When they arrived at Sang Estate, Sang Hong was already waiting by the gates to wee them.

    The life and death of his son was tied to this, so he couldn¡¯t be bothered with maintaining the propriety that his status required. He had to show the other party some respect.

    ¡°I don¡¯t deserve to have Lord Governor wee me personally like this,¡± Zu An said as he faced the bearded middle-aged man in front of him. Even though this man looked gentle and refined, he reminded himself that he was actually a vicious viper.

    ¡°I¡¯m not acting in my official capacity today. Just treat this like a normal meeting between two ns.¡± Sang Hongughed heartily and said, ¡°You are an outstanding youngster after all! Brightmoon Duke has found himself an excellent son-inw.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Hong for 444 Rage points!

    His various schemes to take down the Chu n had been so meticulously nned. He had taken into ount so many different factors, and had been full of confidence in his sess. Yet, in the end, this little devil had popped out of nowhere and ruined all of his ns.

    Zu An noticed the Rage points flowing in, saw the smile on this middle-aged man¡¯s face, and immediately cursed inside. He really was a hypocritical old fox.

    Heughed in reply and said, ¡°Sir Sang also found a good daughter-inw! Miss Zheng really is great.¡±

    Sang Hong was stunned. He didn¡¯t know why Zu An would describe Zheng Dan in such a strange manner.

    Zheng Dan¡¯s face reddened. She wanted to scream at Zu An right now! She knew that this future father-inw of hers was a meticulous person. She immediately greeted him, worried that he might suspect something. ¡°I pay my respects to Uncle Sang.¡±

    Sang Hong gestured for her to stand back up. ¡°Dan¡¯er, yourplexion seems quite good today.¡±

    Zheng Dan¡¯splexion was much rosier and brighter than usual. Sang Hong figured she was just overjoyed that there was a chance his son would be saved.

    Zheng Dan bit her lip. She didn¡¯t dare say anything else, in case she blew her act.

    Zu An wasn¡¯t used to putting on all this pretense in front of a wily old fox, and said directly, ¡°Lord Sang, there is no need for us to waste time. When does Lord Governor n to release my father-inw?¡±

    Sang Hong smiled. ¡°This young brother is rather straightforward. Let¡¯s get straight to the point. Actually, we¡¯ve already released Brightmoon Duke the moment you walked through the Sang Estate¡¯s main gates.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes brightened. ¡°Lord Sang knows what he is doing after all. Since my father-inw has already been released, I will bid you farewell. I must go to see him.¡± He turned around to leave.

    Sang Hong red at his back, his mouth agape.

    This kid just refused to behave as others expect him to!

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Hong for 512 Rage points!

    He said coldly, ¡°I fear that the journey from the prison to Brightmoon City is long, and the roads are treacherous.¡±

    Zu An turned around at once. ¡°I was just joking with Lord Sang to liven up the atmosphere! Since I¡¯m already here, how can I not pay Brother Sang a visit?¡±

    Off to the side, Zheng Dan pursed her lips and kept in augh. This guy really was a rascal!

    The way she was brought up had made her dislike such rascals. However, watching Zu An behave in such a fashion again and again, she had slowly developed an attraction to it.

    Sang Hong forced a smile. ¡°Thank you for taking the trouble.¡±

    Zu An quickly followed him into a bedroom. As soon as he entered, he was ovee by a strong medicinal smell.

    Sang Qian was lying on the bed,cking his usual high-spirited appearance. He was haggard and weak, and the medicine applied to him made him look even more wan and sallow. He seemed to have aged considerably since theirst meeting.

    Sang Hong sighed. ¡°I¡¯ve already tried everything I could, but I¡¯m only just barely keeping him alive. If you can save him, aside from releasing Brightmoon Duke, I promise that I will never act against the Chu n again. At the same time, you will be considered a friend of the Sang n. You can request anything you wish of us.¡±

    Would you give me your future daughter-inw then? The thought instantly popped into his brain.

    He resisted the urge with great difficulty. Instead, he coughed lightly and said, ¡°I haven¡¯t thought of anything yet.¡±

    Sang Hong smiled. ¡°That¡¯s fine. This favor will never expire. As long as it is within my ability, I will surely not turn you away.¡±

    Zu An had an ambiguous smile on his face. ¡°To be honest, I am worried that Lord Sang might go back on your words.¡±

    ¡°This is but a trifling issue.¡± Sang Hong had already predicted his doubts. ¡°I can make a solemn vow. I¡¯m sure you know that vows are quite powerful in this world.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He hadn¡¯t expected that this middle-aged man would dare make an oath.

    Seeing no opposition from Zu An, Sang Hong made a serious vow over the conditions he had justid out.

    Zu An was finally convinced. ¡°There was no need for Lord Sang to go so far! How could I possibly have doubted your honored self? Hahaha....¡±

    Sang Hong cursed him in his heart. Why didn¡¯t you stop me before I made that vow then?

    This kid really is a cunning little fox!

    He snorted inwardly, but remained unfazed on the surface. ¡°If you would, young brother.¡±

    Zu An wasn¡¯t in the mood to walk over to him. He tossed a red bottle to him instead. ¡°Give this to him, and he should be able to regain his life.¡±

    Sang Hong¡¯s breathing became rushed as he epted this bottle of red liquid. His son¡¯s life was tied to this, after all!

    He looked at the physician beside him, then handed the bottle to him.

    The physician was just about to remove a drop to test the medicine¡¯s effects, but Zu An stopped him immediately. ¡°Don¡¯t say I didn¡¯t warn you! This medicine is incredibly precious. The patient has to ingest all of it. If it fails to save him just because you wasted a drop, heh...¡±

    The physician¡¯s hand trembled. How could he dare to proceed with testing the medicine? If the young master ended up passing away because of what he did, all the me would fall on his shoulders! He would be done for!

    Sang Hong¡¯s brow furrowed. He was clearly weighing his options.

    He was clearly uncertain, but asked anyway. ¡°I made a vow just now to make you feel at ease. Would you be willing to make a vow as well?¡±

    Zu An sneered. ¡°There was no way for us to immediately verify those conditions of yours, so of course we needed you to take an oath! However, we¡¯ll see the results of my end of the bargain soon enough. Why do we need to go through all of that? If the medicine doesn¡¯t work, you can immediately take your revenge.¡±

    Sang Hong was in full agreement. If the medicine didn¡¯t work, he would just rip this kid to shreds on the spot.

    With that out of the way, he personally supported his son and poured the medicine drop by drop into his mouth. Using careful control of his ki, not a single drop was wasted.

    He noticed that a trace of green was mixed in together with the red liquid, all of which entered his son¡¯s body.

    He watched his son nervously after administering the medicine. Zheng Dan also got up on her toes and looked over.

    She felt extremely conflicted. She was worried that Sang Qian wouldn¡¯t be able to recover, and that Sang Hong would kill Zu An. However, if Sang Qian did recover, then what would the two of them do after she got married?

    In a few moments, a hint of red returned to Sang Qian¡¯s cheeks, and hisplexion visibly improved.

    ¡°Divine medicine! This is simply divine medicine!¡± The physician beside him was stupefied.

    Sang Hong was also full of excitement and anticipation. His arms were even shaking in his sleeves. ¡°Qian¡¯er, Qian¡¯er?¡±

    A whileter, Sang Qian opened his eyes. ¡°Dad!¡±

    He¡¯d clearly hung on to a strand of consciousness after he¡¯d been seriously injured. However, it hadn¡¯t been enough for him to bepletely aware.

    Now, when he called out to his dad, he suddenly felt as though could move. He subconsciously crawled out of bed. The physician was so shocked, his eyes were about to pop out of their sockets.

    He was the one who understood most clearly how close Sang Qian was to death! Yet now, a little weakness aside, Sang Qian looked no different from a normal person.

    ¡°Physician, how is Qian¡¯er¡¯s condition?¡± Sang Hong demanded immediately.

    The physician took a moment to check Sang Qian¡¯s pulse, then said with a smile, ¡°Congrattions, Lord Governor! The young master is doing well. He should make aplete recovery after a few days of rest.¡±

    ¡°Excellent, excellent!¡± Sang Hong was incredibly excited, and hurriedly said to Zu An, ¡°Thank you, young brother!¡±

    ¡°You?¡± Sang Qian¡¯s eyes fell on Zu An, and a wave of annoyance washed over him.

    ¡°Your dad is addressing me as ¡®young brother¡¯. You should be calling me uncle,¡± Zu An said in a dissatisfied tone, picking idly at his ears.

    Sang Qian stared at him, utterly speechless.

    Even Sang Hong and Zheng Dan, standing by his bed, were stupefied.

    The Rage points streaming in almost made Zu An burst out in joyousughter.

    ¡°You damn brat, what did you say?!¡± Sang Qian had never gotten along with Zu An to begin with. His taunting only made him immediately erupt with anger.

    Zu An sighed. ¡°Is this how you speak to the one who saved your life?¡±

    Sang Hong immediately cut in. ¡°Qian¡¯er, don¡¯t be rude. Quickly, thank young master Zu. He saved your life.¡±

    He was still worried that Sang Qian¡¯s condition had yet to stabilizepletely, so he didn¡¯t dare to offend Zu An at that moment.

    Sang Qian clearly resented the idea. ¡°Dad!¡±

    Sang Hong red at him. ¡°Do what I say!¡±

    Only then did Sang Qian unwillingly sp his fist towards Zu An. ¡°Thanks.¡±

    Zu An purposely leaned his ear in closer. ¡°What are you thanking me for?¡±

    Sang Qian forced himself to remain silent.

    Why was this kid so petty?

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for 444 Rage points!

    Sang Hong also grew annoyed. ¡°Young master Zu, Qian¡¯er has just recovered and needs rest. Please, do not get him too worked up.¡±

    Worried that father and son might really go after him if he pushed further, Zu An rose and bid them farewell. ¡°Since things are pretty much settled, I¡¯ll take my leave.¡±

    Sang Hong nodded. ¡°Dan¡¯er, please see young master Zu out.¡±

    He didn¡¯t dare call Zu An young brother again, afraid that it would somehowe back to haunt him.

    Zheng Dan got up and bowed towards him with a smile. ¡°Understood.¡±

    ¡°Miss Zheng is so pretty. It¡¯s such a delight to have such a beauty apany me.¡± Zu An¡¯s eyes roamed all over her body, and he gave Sang Qian a smug look.

    Sang Qian frowned at him.

    This brat¡¯s gaze... Why does it give me such a bad feeling?Something is definitely amiss.

    Zheng Dan was desperately rmed by his roving gaze. She was afraid that father and son would realize the truth.

    Only Zu An could read their real thoughts. The more he acted like this, the less chance there was of them growing suspicious. Besides, it earned him a good chunk of Rage points.

    As Sang Qian watched the two of them leave, he was reminded of Zheng Dan¡¯s endless charm, and his breathing grew rushed. His own fianc¨¦e seemed so much more seductive than before.

    He swallowed, then said unhappily, ¡°Dad, why did you have to make Dandan apany that guy?¡±

    The thought of his own fianc¨¦e apanying another man made him feel extremely ufortable.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°I just want to make sure Dan¡¯er keeps an eye on him when he leaves. I wouldn¡¯t feel at ease if it were anyone else,¡± said Sang Hong. ¡°There are some things I need to talk to you about.¡±

 Chapter 403: I Have Money

    <h4>Chapter 403: I Have Money</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Sang Hong gestured for the physician and the other attendants to leave. Then, he asked, ¡°Qian¡¯er, how do you feel? Is there anything wrong with your body?¡±

    Sang Qian shook his head. ¡°No, I feel pretty good. I feel as strong as a bull.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good. That brat¡¯s medicine really is miraculous.¡± Sang Hong was amazed.

    Sang Qian¡¯s voice grew downcast. ¡°Dad, are you really going to let that brat and the Chu n go?¡±

    He¡¯d clearly heard the agreement between the two of them.

    Sang Hong smiled but didn¡¯t say anything. Sang Qian panicked. ¡°Dad, if those salt permits are back in the Chu n¡¯s hands, that means those mysterious experts were most likely sent by the Chu n! I was injured so severely because of them. Zu An himself might even have participated in that attack!¡±

    ...

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for 444 Rage points!

    Zu An noticed these Rage points flood in as soon as he left the Sang n. It seemed he had saved an ungrateful wretch. Annoyed, he took the chance to squeeze Zheng Dan a few times as revenge, which made him feel better.

    ...

    Meanwhile, in Sang Qian¡¯s bedroom, Sang Hong shook his head and said, ¡°I already carefully investigated the incident that took ce that night. Those mysterious people weren¡¯t from the Chu n. They might be from a devil sect instead.¡±

    ¡°Devil sect?!¡± Sang Qian was shocked. He clearly understood the meaning behind these two words. He remained silent for a long time, then finally said, ¡°Even if the Chu n wasn¡¯t directly behind this, the fact that the salt permits ended up in the Chu n¡¯s hands means that it has to be connected to them somehow. The two parties have probably been colluding with each other for a long time.¡±

    He began to grow agitated. ¡°Dad, did you try to convict them of the crime of colluding with a devil sect?¡±

    ¡°Any ims involving a devil sect is a huge matter. Without any proof, it¡¯s best not to inadvertently rm the enemy.¡± This was how Sang Hong was. He would rather refuse to make a move if it¡¯s results weren¡¯t guaranteed, but when he did strike, it was certain to be fatal.

    He¡¯d believed that his ns to deal with the Chu n were more than adequate, yet that brat Zu An managed to foil everything.

    ¡°Are we really going to just let them go like that?¡± Sang Qian really found it hard to ept such an oue. Seeing how close his father was to giving in, he thought of a usible reason. ¡°Dad, don¡¯t forget that you are here on the emperor¡¯s orders! You¡¯ll be punished for sure if you don¡¯tplete this mission!¡±

    Seeing how worked up his son had be, Sang Hong¡¯s head started to ache. His son was excellent in every way, but he was just too impulsive. If he had his younger sister¡¯s cool-headedness and wit, Sang Hong would have much less cause to worry.

    He was worried that all this excitement would be detrimental to his son¡¯s injuries. He quickly said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve already made some arrangements. Chu Zhongtian will have quite a show waiting for him once he gets back.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Sang Qian grew curious when he heard what was being implied.

    Sang Hong smiled. ¡°I made arrangements for those jailers to ¡®identally¡¯ leak out scandalous rumors between Zu An and Qin Wanru. Chu Zhongtian will surely be furious once he hears them. No matter how magnanimous he is, he will most likely grow hostile towards Zu An.¡±

    Sang Qian¡¯s eyes lit up, and he gave his father a thumbs-up. ¡°Brilliant! Ginger really is spicier the older it is!¡±

    Sang Hong stroked his beard. ¡°Besides that, I also prepared a huge gift for them...¡±

    Sang Qian was inplete admiration of his father. He always thought that his father was too careful, and seemed to be scared of every little thing. Now, however, he understood just how perfect his father¡¯s grasp of timing was, and how vicious he could really be.

    There was still one matter that worried him. ¡°Father, didn¡¯t you make a vow that you wouldn¡¯t trouble the Chu n or Zu An anymore? Wouldn¡¯t this incur the wrath of heaven?¡±

    A deep and profound expression appeared on Sang Hong¡¯s face. ¡°There¡¯s plenty of wiggle room when ites to oaths like that.¡±

    His son had a dumbfounded look on his face. Sang Hong sighed. If his daughter was here, she would¡¯ve immediately understood what he said. His son was still sorelycking in this area.

    However, this was his only son after all, so he took the time to exin patiently. ¡°The oath I made stated that I wouldn¡¯t go against the Chu n anymore from then on. However, I did all those things before I made the vow, so it doesn¡¯t vite it at all.

    ¡°Besides, I¡¯m convinced that the Chu n will definitely be finished this time. So there¡¯s nothing for me to do anymore.¡±

    Sang Qian burst out inughter. ¡°I admit defeat! Dad, you are truly awesome!¡±

    Sang Hong suddenly said, ¡°I thought at first that dealing with the Chu n was but a simple matter. However, there were so many disruptions to my ns, and all of them tied to Zu An¡¯s appearance. That kid is quite talented. Once the Chu n falls, I am actually interested in taking him in. If Qian¡¯er can ept it, I would even make him my son-inw.¡±

    Sang Qian¡¯s smile froze instantly. He objected right away. ¡°Dad, how can you make such a joke? How can some dirty mutt from the streets be worthy of being my brother-inw? My little sister is such a great beauty as well! Why would she ever fall for someone like him?!¡±

    Sang Hong frowned. ¡°You cannot let yourself be blinded by hate. You should learn to see the strengths of your enemies as well.¡±

    Sang Qian snorted. ¡°Whatever, I don¡¯t care. I will never acknowledge a brother-inw like him. Little sister has so many admirers in the capital. Why would she need someone like him? Besides, he¡¯s already the Chu n¡¯s drafted son-inw.¡±

    Sang Hongughed. ¡°You do make some sense. We¡¯ll talk more about thister. If my suspicions are correct, he probably won¡¯t agree to this either.

    ¡°By the way, let¡¯s settle your marriage with Miss Zheng over the next few days. Almost everything has already been prepared. We wanted this to be an omen to chase away bad luck, since your condition was still extremely unstable. However, now that you¡¯re better, we can turn this wedding into a celebration instead.¡± In Sang Hong¡¯s mind, Zheng Dan really was the Sang n¡¯s lucky star. This hade about merely as a superstition to ward away bad luck, but they had really ended up making it through this ordeal. His son had recovered!

    He wanted toplete this marriage as quickly as possible, to make sure this luck held.

    Sang Qian¡¯s eyes lit up. "Okay!¡±

    Zheng Dan was beautiful and graceful. Her reserved and conservative temperament had always left him enchanted.

    He¡¯d wanted to devour her a long time ago, but she had never let him even touch her. This left him with an itch that went unscratched.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Wouldn¡¯t he be able to do whatever he wanted with her once they got married?

    He felt a mysterious sense of excitement when he imagined himself pressing down on that graceful and reserved woman.

    Zu An made his way back to the Chu Estate to report on the results of his negotiations with Sang Hong. Qin Wanru said excitedly, ¡°ording to the news we received from Yue Shan, Zhongtian has already been released! He should be home in a few days.¡±

    ¡°I offer my congrattions to Madam ahead of time,¡± Zu An said with a smile. ¡°Madam hasn¡¯t gotten much sleep these past few days. You can finally rest easy.¡±

    Qin Wanru gave him aplicated look. ¡°All of this was thanks to you. Chuyan didn¡¯t choose the wrong person after all.¡±

    At the same time, she was rather surprised. It wasn¡¯t that unexpected for Chuyan to have excellent judgment, but why was little Huanzhao always bragging about how great he was as well? That seemed really strange.

    ¡°By the way, when is Chuyaning back?¡± Zu An couldn¡¯t help but ask. They were newlyweds, so they shouldn¡¯t be spending so much time apart.

    ¡°She¡¯s wrapping up things on her side as well,¡± Qin Wanru replied. ¡°She should be able to return in a month or so.¡±

    ¡°A month?¡± Zu An¡¯s heart sank. He had to sleep all alone for another month...

    Zu An headed straight for the Unvoiced Residence after leaving the study. He had already moved all of his things over.

    Old Mi was already dead, so he didn¡¯t have to put on an act anymore. He would just sleep in Chu Chuyan¡¯s fragrant bed!

    No one else in the estate found this shocking. Zu An had done so much for the Chu n this time around, and he had proven his strength as well. No one doubted his status as the young master anymore.

    Hey on Chu Chuyan¡¯s bed and held up the recording mirror that he¡¯d borrowed from Qin Wanru. He ced a call to Chu Chuyan.

    The mirror was soon connected to its counterpart. The image of an icy beauty appeared on the surface. Who else could this be but Chu Chuyan?

    Chu Chuyan gave a start the moment she saw that it was Zu An. ¡°Ah Zu, did something happen in the n? Where¡¯s my mother?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong at all, everything has been resolved. I borrowed this mirror from your mom. I miss you, my wife.¡± Zu An moved closer to the mirror and gave it a smooch.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s face turned red. ¡°I¡¯ll be able to return soon. You were all that the n had to rely on this time! Thank you!¡±

    Clearly, Qin Wanru had already informed her about everything.

    ¡°Oh my, aren¡¯t you treating me like an outsider? But...¡± Zu An changed the topic and said, ¡°If you really want to thank me, then call me a good husband. Call me your dear husband. Please?¡±

    ¡°No~¡± Chu Chuyan was extremely shy¡ªhow could she bring herself to say something like that? Her eyes immediately grew focused. ¡°Hm? Where are you right now?¡±

    ¡°Your room of course.¡± Zu An shone the mirror around proudly. ¡°See, I¡¯ve already moved all my stuff over.¡±

    ¡°Ah!!¡± Chu Chuyan¡¯s face grew entirely red. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t everyone in the estate know about us, then?¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡± Zu An said proudly. ¡°I¡¯ve done so much for the Chu n, and even bled for the Chu n. Everyone in the Chu Estate has already acknowledged me! They can see that we are a proper couple now!¡±

    ¡°Hmph, what are you saying? We were always a proper couple,¡± Chu Chuyan said in embarrassment.

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°Who was it that was too embarrassed to let others know before?¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s ice-cold face grew as red as an apple. ¡°All right, all right. The recording mirror uses up a lot of ki stones. Hang up already.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not hanging up, I have money!¡±

    Chu Chuyan buried her face in her palm.

 Chapter 404: An Imperial Envoy

    <h4>Chapter 404: An Imperial Envoy</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An refused to end the call, and stayed on this ¡®video call¡¯. Chu Chuyan finally couldn¡¯t take it anymore and said, ¡°You might have money, but I don¡¯t have enough ki stones with me!¡±

    It was one thing if he actually had something important to say, but he was just chatting about daily life with her! She had to be careful even though the Chu n was wealthy!

    Seeing that Chu Chuyan was beginning to grow anxious, Zu An said with a smile, ¡°I¡¯ll hang up once you call me the best husband.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not saying that. I can hang up on my end.¡±

    ¡°Are you really going to refuse your dear husband¡¯s love?¡±

    Chu Chuyan gritted her teeth but remained silent.

    In the end, however, she still broke down under his constant pestering. ¡°You¡¯re... you¡¯re the best husband,¡± She said quietly.

    Zu An beamed. He moved his ear closer to the mirror. ¡°What did you say? I couldn¡¯t hear because it was too soft. Could you say it louder?¡±

    ¡°Drop dead!¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s face was entirely red. She could bear it no more, and cut the connection.

    Zu An was speechless. A video chat in this world was actually such a luxurious thing! His previous world was so much more convenient.

    However, the individual strength of the people in this world had the potential to be so great. I guess there are always pros and cons to everything.

    Zu Any down on the bed and thought about his next steps.

    He knew that, although those outside the n might not know about what had happened these past few days, there was no way the Wei n wouldn¡¯t know.

    Despite that, not much had happened these past few days. This was probably the calm before the storm.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    He actually felt a bit apologetic. After all, Wei Dan was Wei Suo¡¯s adoptive grandfather.

    Even though Wei Dan hadn¡¯t died at his hands, he had still been involved in the events surrounding his death.

    However, what surprised him was that Wei Suo didn¡¯t seem at all sad. In the times that he had met him in the academy, nothing seemed to have changed for him.

    Maybe Wei Dan¡¯s identity was so secret that not many people in the Wei n even knew much about him.

    There was also Sang Hong to consider. Even though he¡¯d made a vow, Zu An knew there was no way that old fox would let matters drop just like that.

    Increasing his own strength was still the most important thing. Unfortunately, he hadn¡¯t developed an elemental ability after reaching the fifth rank. If he could awaken a fire element ability, then his cultivation speed would increase drastically.

    Relying on Rage points alone was way too slow.

    He also had Qiu Honglei to think about. He¡¯d paid the Immortal Abode another visit, but there was still no sign of her. It was as if she vanished into thin air.

    He was suddenly hit with a wave of guilt. He looked all around him, and then he muttered, ¡°My beautiful wife, it¡¯s not that I am looking for other girls. Your bed just smells so good, and I can¡¯t control my own imagination!¡±

    ...

    Two dayster, Chu Zhongtian finally returned.

    The entire Chu Estate was decked out in festive decorations to wee his return. The entire n was brimming with joy and liveliness.

    Chu Zhongtian looked much thinner than before. Because of his status, it was unlikely that he was subjected to any physical punishment before he had been sentenced for his crimes, but it seemed as though he had certainly suffered a great deal of mental anguish.

    After all, he had almost brought down the entire Chu n with him, and this had gued his mind constantly.

    Fortunately, Zu An and his wife had resolved all of the n¡¯s worries.

    Chu Zhongtian¡¯s eyelids throbbed when he thought of Zu An. He recalled the discussions the jailers had while he was in prison. Even though they had been pretty far away, how could their conversation escape the ears of an eight rank cultivator?

    ¡°Did you all know that there¡¯s some internal upheaval going on within the Chu n?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard that young master named Zu An or whatever actually messed around with Qin Wanru. They were caught by Chu Second Master.¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t they say that he¡¯d forced himself onto Madam Chu?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re too na?ve! That¡¯s surely the story that the Chu n would tell outsiders. However, a servant girl said that the two of them were close even before that. If Madam Chu hadn¡¯t given him the go ahead, would the young master really lose his mind and try something on his own?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not surprising that such dirty things happen within these big ns.¡±

    ¡°Honestly, I¡¯m quite envious of that Zu An fe. I heard that Chu First Miss was an exceptional beauty, but he even managed to get his hands on the beautiful Madam Chu as well. He got a taste of both the mother and daughter! His luck with women really is quite something.¡±

    ...

    If someone had said this straight to Chu Zhongtian¡¯s face, he wouldn¡¯t have believed a word.

    However, these fellows had mentioned all of this while drinking and boasting. They were so far away as well, and they couldn¡¯t have known that he was eavesdropping. People often gave more credibility to the information that they ¡®sought out¡¯ on their own.

    He couldn¡¯t help but be shaken by this news, especially when it was coupled with the injuries he¡¯d sustained in the past that prevented him from sleeping with Qin Wanru. That had always pained him.

    Before, he would have absolutely trusted his wife not to engage in such affairs. However, his wife was a mature woman, and this side of her had been neglected for so many years. Surely, she couldn¡¯t help but harbor some inner bitterness...

    Qin Wanru¡¯s radiant greeting cut into his thoughts. ¡°Husband, you¡¯re back!¡±

    Chu Zhongtian felt a surge of warmth at his wife¡¯s enthusiastic greeting, and he also smiled.

    However, upon seeing her smiling face and rosy expression, a loud thud also sounded within his heart.

    Qin Wanru had no idea what he was thinking about right now. She had specially arranged for a brazier to be set up by the entrance. She pulled him over and said, ¡°Husband, cross this brazier, so that we can rid ourselves of all this bad luck.¡±

    Chu Zhongtian sniffed. ¡°What¡¯s the point of such superstition?¡±

    He didn¡¯t go near the brazier at all, but walked straight past it with a gloomy face.

    Zu An took this chance to walk over to him. ¡°Greetings, esteemed father-inw.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± Chu Zhongtian replied indifferently, and headed straight inside.

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Zhongtian for 711 Rage points!

    Zu An was stunned when he saw this notification. What the hell?

    Chu Zhongtian always tried his best not to offend anyone! He was the only one who had treated him well when everyone else in the Chu n was mocking him. He had never gotten angry at Zu An, let alone fed him so many Rage points.

    ¡°Dad, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Chu Huanzhao hadn¡¯t gone to the academy either, so that she could wee her father home.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Huanzhao is still the most obedient.¡± Chu Zhongtian smiled a knowing smile when he saw his daughter. Unfortunately, his daughter had already grown up, so he couldn¡¯t lift her up and carry her like before.

    Qin Wanru walked over to Zu An¡¯s side and said quietly, ¡°Ah Zu, don¡¯t you think your father-inw is acting a little strangely?¡±

    ¡°Definitely,¡± Zu An replied.

    Their conversation didn¡¯t escape Chu Zhongtian¡¯s ears. He knew how much his wife had disliked Zu An before he¡¯d been imprisoned, yet the two of them suddenly seemed so close. Could it be that the two of them had truly engaged in something shameful?

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Zhongtian for 110... 110... 110...

    He might have been able to brush off the previous Rage points, but Zu An didn¡¯t dare dare ignore these points. There was definitely something amiss.

    His mind moved quickly, and it hit him that this deluge of Rage points had only begun when Qin Wanru had moved close to him. He immediately realized what was going on, and quickly sent Qin Wanru a message via ki transmission.

    Qin Wanru¡¯s face immediately grew red when she heard his words. So that was what her husband was worried about! No wonder he was acting so strangely.

    She quickly called the wee ceremony to a halt and dragged Chu Zhongtian into the study for a talk.

    ¡°Hmph, it looks like your opinion of Zu An has changed quite quickly,¡± Chu Zhongtian said sourly.

    Qin Wanru snorted. ¡°What am I going to do with you? What the heck are you filling your head with? I brought you in here just to tell you that it¡¯s not what you are thinking!¡±

    She immediately told him everything that had transpired that night in great detail. Chu Zhongtian was a kind and righteous person by nature. This, together with the deep affection he had shared with his wife for so many years, helped to dispel thest of his doubts.

    When the two came out of the study again, he had already buried the hatchet. Chu Zhongtian immediately apologized to Zu An. ¡°Ah Zu, we have much to thank you for over these past few days.¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m happy as long as my father-inw doesn¡¯t hate me.¡±

    Chu Zhongtian¡¯s face went red. ¡°It¡¯s my fault for being so muddle-headed. Thinking back, it¡¯s probably just another one of Sang Hong¡¯s schemes. That person is truly cunning and vicious! You fall into his traps before you even know it.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao was confused. ¡°What are you talking about?¡±

    ¡°Nothing!¡± Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru said in unison.

    ¡°You guys are so weird.¡± Chu Huanzhao muttered. Her attention quickly shifted elsewhere. ¡°Dad! We¡¯ve prepared this huge celebration for you! Come over here!¡±

    The entire Chu n was awash with joy and happiness for the next few days.

    Unfortunately, this happiness was short-lived. One morning, a cavalry troop armored in bright yellow charged straight into the Chu Estate.

    ¡°The imperial envoy has arrived!¡±

 Chapter 405: Revenge for My Father, and Revenge for My Stolen Wife

    <h4>Chapter 405: Revenge for My Father, and Revenge for My Stolen Wife</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Everyone in the city was deep in discussion regarding what was going on. After all, the appearance of so many yellow-armored cavalry troops was just too shocking.

    In this world, the color yellow was used almost exclusively by the emperor.

    That was why even though almost no one in Brightmoon City had ever seen an armed escort like this before, they still knew right away that this group of soldiers was surely acting under the emperor¡¯s orders!

    ¡°What is going on? Why would soldiers from the imperial city appear in Brightmoon City?¡±

    ¡°Has something major happened?¡±

    ¡°They seem to be heading towards the Chu Estate.¡±

    ¡°Brightmoon Duke has really been gued with endless misfortune recently...¡±

    While the people in the streets were discussing this matter seriously, Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru were even more anxious. The arrival of the imperial envoy had left thempletely shell-shocked.

    However, they didn¡¯t dare to show any negligence, and quickly came out to greet them.

    Two rows of soldiers in bright yellow armor stood neatly inside the Chu n¡¯s courtyard. A middle-aged man stood calmly in the center. The servants in the Chu Estate had already prepared chairs, tables, and fruits for the new arrivals to enjoy.

    The envoy sat leisurely, chewing on some grapes. Those from the Chu Estate were theplete opposite, all of them so nervous that they didn¡¯t dare make a sound.

    After all, the appearance of this armed escort was just too frightening.

    Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru hurried over when news of this arrival reached them. They too were stunned by the scene before them. Husband and wife exchanged a look; they knew that these men were up to no good.

    Chu Zhongtian cleared his throat and greeted them respectfully. ¡°Greetings, General Liu. May I ask what brings you here today?¡±

    The middle-aged man before him was Liu Yao, the general of the Imperial Guard. He was in charge of the imperial guards stationed in the capital, and also a cultivator at the pinnacle of the ninth rank.

    He was well-respected for another reason as well¡ªhe was the uncle of the current empress!

    Even though he looked middle-aged, he was actually much, much older.

    Liu Yao slowly swallowed the grape he was working on when he heard Chu Zhongtian¡¯s greeting. He continued to remain silent, then spat out the grape skin at Chu Zhongtian¡¯s feet.

    Qin Wanru was furious. This man was going too far!

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Chu Zhongtian quickly grabbed her hand, warning her not to act impulsively.

    Liu Yao spoke. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect Brightmoon Duke to still remember me, despite only meeting me once in the capital city.¡±

    Chu Zhongtian smiled. ¡°General Liu is so heroic, anyone would remember you from just a single look.¡±

    Liu Yao roared withughter. ¡°Rumor has it that Brightmoon Duke is honest and considerate, but I find you quite the crafty man.¡±

    He scanned Qin Wanru¡¯s body. The rumors were indeed true. Brightmoon Duke¡¯s wife really was something. She was curvy and graceful, beautiful and wless.

    Qin Wanru frowned when she sensed his rude gaze. She was unhappy, but the imperial guards standing off to the side, coupled with this man¡¯s identity, gave her pause. She could only endure it and say, ¡°Why has Lord Liue to Chu Estate with so many soldiers today?¡±

    ¡°Thank you so much for the reminder! I would¡¯ve forgotten if you hadn¡¯t brought it up!¡± Liu Yao pped his forehead, and then quickly lost his smile. ¡°Someone reported to the court that the saltmissioners of Linchuan Commandery have racked up a huge debt over the years. Your Chu n has been used of bribing many officials in all sorts of different stations.¡±

    Both Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru were shocked, and their bodies immediately went cold. The secret that they¡¯d been concealing for so many years had finally been exposed.

    Of course, this usation alone wasn''t enough to make them plead guilty. Besides, the Chu n had never coveted this money either.

    Chu Zhongtian said, ¡°Our Chu n has always operated in an honest and upright manner. We would never do something like that. Where has Lord Liu heard this from?¡±

    Liu Yaoughed. ¡°Brightmoon Duke, the emperor would never have sent me here without sufficient proof. This isn¡¯t something you can blow off with just a few words.¡±

    Qin Wanru spoke up as well. ¡°If I may ask, Lord Liu, you said that someone made a report to the court. Who was it? Could it perhaps be false information?¡±

    ¡°Perhaps Madam Chu thinks that you are being wronged? Or that the emperor is deliberately framing you?¡± Liu Yao sneered.

    Qin Wanru said in a low voice, ¡°Of course that¡¯s not what I meant. However, the Chu n has established itself in Brightmoon City for hundreds of years, so we might have unknowingly offended some people. It could be those people who are trying to nder us.¡±

    ¡°I guess there¡¯s no harm in telling you.¡± Liu Yao wouldn¡¯t have bothered if Chu Zhongtian had spoken to him, but since it was this mature beauty who had asked him this, he indulged himself in speaking with her further.

    As such, he gestured towards someone outside. ¡°Come in.¡±

    Soon, a cowering figure came shuffling in. His originally handsome face had changedpletely, and his eyes darted about constantly. He was clearly full of guilt.

    ¡°Hong Xingying!¡± Those of the Chu Estate recognized him instantly. How could they remain clueless as to what was going on? All of them cursed him endlessly.

    They had tried to find him after Chu Tiesheng and Hong Zhong¡¯s betrayal, but the brat had already snuck away. They never expected that he would surface again so quickly.

    Hong Xingying grew angry at the barrage of curses. ¡°Are you guys done? All of you had better shut your goddamn mouths! Who knows if you¡¯ll even live to see tomorrow!¡±

    This only served to further shock and incense the members of the Chu n. However, they were cowed by the fully armed soldiers under Liu Yao¡¯smand.

    Qin Wanru glowered at Hong Xingying. ¡°Our Chu n has always been good to you. Why have you and your father repeatedly betrayed us?¡±

    ¡°Good to me?¡± Hate burned in Hong Xingying¡¯s eyes. ¡°I¡¯ve worked earnestly for the Chu n all these years. How many times have I risked everything for you all? It was all because you hinted to me that I would marry the first miss. In the end, you took in some random mutt off the streets and made him her husband. What does that make me?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Hong Xingying for 714 Rage points!

    ¡°All my years of hard work and efforts were just a joke to you! I even became theughingstock of the entire Chu n!

    ¡°I won¡¯t ept this! What¡¯s wrong with trying to reim everything that should have been mine?!¡±

    ...

    Hearing his repeated usations, Qin Wanru grew so angry that her entire body began to quiver. ¡°Absolutely disgraceful! I did hint that there was a high chance, but I never promised that Chuyan would definitely marry you! Even though I favored you, the final decision still rested with Chuyan herself! She didn¡¯t choose you, but chose Ah Zu instead. What could I possibly have done?

    ¡°I also thought that she¡¯d made a poor choice in the beginning, but now, I¡¯m so d that Chuyan didn¡¯t choose a disgusting wolf like you! It would have been a huge disaster for our Chu n!¡±

    Hong Xingying roared withughter. ¡°What¡¯s the point in saying all of this now? I will surely seize back all that I¡¯ve lost with my own hands!¡±

    Chu Chuyan will still be mine in the end! My only regret is that the bastard Zu An had beaten me to it first...

    You have sessfully trolled Hong Xingying for 999 Rage points!

    Whatever, there¡¯s still the second miss. I¡¯ll make sure to take everything that I couldn¡¯t get from the first miss from her little sister!

    Annoyed by this disy, Liu Yao shoved him off to the side. ¡°Are you done bbering? Who wants to hear all that annoying nonsense? Are you in charge or am I?¡±

    Anger shed across Hong Xingying¡¯s eyes, but it was clear that this was definitely not someone he could offend. He apologized immediately. ¡°General, please forgive me. I failed to control my emotions on my return.¡±

    ¡°Just go and stand over there.¡± Liu Yao sniffed dismissively. He turned to look at the husband and wife pair that headed the Chu n. ¡°Are the two of you convinced now?¡±

    Chu Zhongtian said with a heavy voice, ¡°We are not. Everyone knows that Hong Xingying harbors a deep hatred for our Chu n. His father even fomented a rebellion not long ago, and was executed for it. How can his words be credible under these circumstances?¡±

    Liu Yao chucked. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the emperor has ordered me here to fully investigate this matter. After all, this matter doesn¡¯t concern the Chu n alone, but also has implications for many important subjects in the court!¡±

    His smile faded, and he gave the order to his troops. ¡°Capture everyone in this estate! We are going to register every single person. Do not let a single one go!¡±

    Hong Xingying¡¯s eyes lit up. He volunteered and said, ¡°I¡¯ll lead the way. I am familiar with the Chu n and I know everyone.¡±

    The first thing he wanted to do was capture that Zu An. Not only did he hate him for stealing his crush, he had to get revenge for his father¡¯s death.

    ...

    Zu An¡¯s eyes narrowed when he saw the rows of notifications informing him about earned Rage points. Hong Xingying!

    Suddenly, the door to the ssroom mmed open.

 Chapter 406: The Truth Exposed

    <h4>Chapter 406: The Truth Exposed</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An gave a frightened start. He was just about to scold the one who dared to act so brazenly, but he was confronted with an icy-cold face instead.

    ¡°Principal... Jiang?¡±

    All of the students in the ssroom recognized her, and began chatting among themselves. Some male students even whistled excitedly.

    ¡°Wow! I¡¯ve only seen the principal a few times on campus! I didn¡¯t expect to be able to get this close to her today!¡±

    ¡°Those legs are really too much! I can die a happy man if I could be squeezed between those legs just once!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s way too much information, bro. I really didn¡¯t need to hear about your weird fetishes. For me, I just want a pair of used stockings.¡±

    ¡°Huh?!! You¡¯re the damn pervert here!¡±

    ...

    Zu An¡¯s face darkened from all this chattering. Aren¡¯t these fellows getting a little too cocky? They thought that they were being quiet, but he could hear everything! If even he could hear them, how could they escape Jiang Luofu¡¯s ears?

    Unexpectedly, the principal paid no attention to them at all. She only said, ¡°This ss is changed to self-study. Teacher Zu, follow me.¡±

    With no further exnation, she immediately dragged Zu An out of the ssroom.

    The ssroom broke into an uproar immediately.

    ¡°Holy shit! Teacher Zu even got his hands on Principal Jiang? He is a bloody legend!¡±

    ¡°How long has it even been since he first came here? Why does every single girl on the list of top beauties seem to have something to do with him? What¡¯s so special about him, anyway? I don¡¯t feel like he¡¯s better than me at all!¡±

    ¡°Heh, keep dreaming. From what I¡¯ve heard from the participants who went into the dungeon, Teacher Zu has a length of...¡±

    The female students in the ss had been looking at the male students in disdain, but this bit of information made them all perk up their ears.

    ¡°Are you serious?¡± They all covered their mouths in shock when they heard this, and their faces becamepletely red.

    Meanwhile, Zu An, who had been dragged out of the ssroom by Jiang Luofu, was enjoying the feeling of her soft hand around his. He couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°Principal Jiang, there¡¯s no need for you to be in such a hurry! You could have just said the word and I would havee rushing over. Barging in like that in full view of all the other students will surely stir up some unttering rumors. I am a married man after all...¡±

    Jiang Luofu had no patience for his bullshit.

    ¡°Can you do something about that rubbish mouth of yours already? Something major happened to the Chu n, and you¡¯re still here fooling around.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression froze immediately. ¡°Something happened to the Chu n? What happened?¡±

    Didn¡¯t they just manage to settle that huge fiasco not too long ago? Even Chu Zhongtian has returned. What else could go wrong?

    Jiang Luofu had a grave expression. ¡°Earlier this morning, the general of the Imperial Guard led a contingent of cavalry into the city and headed straight for the Chu n. They seem to be investigating the umted losses incurred by the saltmissioners and the Chu n¡¯s bribes.¡±

    She gave him a rough exnation of Liu Yao¡¯s status and strength, as well as the significance of the yellow-armored cavalry.

    Zu An¡¯s expression flickered as he listened. He finally understood what had happened. This was surely another of Sang Hong¡¯s schemes!

    Jiang Luofu continued, ¡°They are going after people from the Chu n one after another and arresting them right now, so they¡¯ll probably be here soon. I advise you to go into hiding first. Bring Chu Second Miss with you as well.¡±

    ¡°Okay. Thank your principal!¡± Zu An said seriously.

    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. We are pretty much friends now. Moreover, the Chu n has always had a good rtionship with the academy. Even though there is only so much I can do, I will still do whatever I can.¡± Jiang Luofu paused. ¡°Right, do you have a ce to hide in?¡±

    Zu An hesitated. ¡°The only ce is probably Hidden Dragon Mountain.¡±

    The Whale Gang¡¯s old hideout wasn¡¯t bad, as it was pretty well-hidden. The crimson dragon¡¯s cave was a decent choice as well. If they went there, however, he wouldn¡¯t have much ess to news in the city...

    Jiang Luofu said, ¡°The mountain isn¡¯t a good choice, for various reasons. You might as well continue to stay in the staff residences.¡±

    Zu An was hesitant. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that bring the academy more trouble?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the academy has always enjoyed a respected status. Not even the general Liu Yao would dare to barge in unprovoked,¡± said Jiang Luofu. ¡°Of course, you and Huanzhao cannot go out and wander about. It¡¯ll be hard for me to keep the two of you hidden if that happens.¡±

    ¡°Thank you so much, gorgeous principal.¡± Zu An didn¡¯t refuse this offer. He did indeed require a safe hiding spot right now. He would have taken a chance if it had been just him alone, but there was also Chu Huanzhao to think of.

    He quickly went to the ck ss to fetch Huanzhao. She was horrified when she heard about what was going on in the Chu Estate, and insisted on going back.

    ¡°Huanzhao, please calm down. Everyone in the estate is being captured right now. If you go back now, you¡¯ll just be surrendering yourself pointlessly. That¡¯spletely meaningless,¡± Zu An said in a low voice.

    Chu Huanzhao raised her head and said, ¡°But we can¡¯t just sneak off and continue living as though nothing happened! I would rather stand together with mom and dad during this crisis!¡±

    Zu An was stunned. This kid was always causing trouble, but she was quite steadfast and strong-willed. ¡°Don¡¯t be in such a rush. I¡¯ll go out and take a look first. We¡¯ll gather information and think of a n.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao¡¯s mood instantly improved. She hooked her arms around his neck and said, ¡°Brother-inw is the best! If you¡¯re going to do something about it, I¡¯m sure everything will turn out okay!¡±

    Zu An smiled bitterly. He didn¡¯t know why Huanzhao had so much confidence in him. He didn¡¯t even have much confidence in himself this time.

    After settling her down in his staff residence and instructing her to pay attention to certain things, Zu An headed to the Sky ss to find Zheng Dan. This was definitely the work of Sang Hong. He wanted to confirm whether she knew anything about this or not.

    However, Zheng Dan was nowhere to be seen. Instead, he was greeted with hisses of displeasure.

    Wu Qing¡¯s voice was the harshest of them all. ¡°Teacher Zu, I know you think Miss Zheng is pretty, but that doesn¡¯t mean you can alwayse looking for her! Don¡¯t you care about her reputation at all?¡±

    Pan Long immediately spoke up in agreement. ¡°Indeed! You¡¯re already married! You should learn how to act like a proper married man.¡±

    ¡°What the heck are you trying to do here? Miss Zheng is going to get married tomorrow!¡±

    Only now did Zu An remember that Zheng Dan had already stoppeding to the academy a while back. He left quickly. He had no time to bicker with these people.

    He deliberately presented himself at the gates of the academy, making it seem as though he had left. This would make it easier for Jiang Luofu to cover for him.

    He headed straight to the Zheng Estate. The entire n was decorated withnterns and banners. The congrattory messages, which were hung everywhere, were especially piercing to him.

    With a cold snort, he walked straight up to the main entrance.

    The gatekeeper stopped him when they saw his arrival. ¡°The first miss is getting married tomorrow. She won¡¯t meet with another man at this time.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face darkened. ¡°I¡¯m sure you remember thest time I was here. Tell her that I am looking for her, and she will agree to see me.¡±

    ¡°This...¡± This gatekeeper really did remember the previous incident. This person seemed rather important to their first miss.

    Zu An tossed over a silver ingot. That gatekeeper was immediately overjoyed. ¡°Please wait here, young master. This humble one will send a message.¡±

    Soon afterwards, someone invited him inside. Zu An was slightly entranced when heid eyes on the familiar Zhuluo Residence.

    ¡°Ah Zu, why did youe here?¡± Zheng Dan dismissed her servants and looked at him with pleasant surprise.

    Zheng Dan was already dressed in luxurious red wedding clothes, clearly in preparation for the next day¡¯s wedding.

    She looked absolutely enchanting in her dress. However, her eyes were slightly red. It was obvious that she had been crying not long ago.

    ¡°You look really beautiful today.¡± Even though he¡¯de carrying anger within his heart, her appearance was truly breathtaking.

    Zheng Dan pursed her lips. Her eyes suddenly became red. ¡°I¡¯m starting to regret all this. Perhaps you should just take me away with you now.¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An sighed. ¡°I fear that¡¯s not possible.¡±

    ¡°What happened?¡± Zheng Dan asked at once. Something was clearly wrong with his expression.

    Zu An exined the events that had taken ce in the Chu Estate. He looked at her intently. ¡°Sang Hong lied to me. Were you involved as well?¡±

    Zheng Dan was biting her lip so hard, it seemed as though she was about to draw blood. ¡°If you don¡¯t believe me, I¡¯ll go with you right now to stand against the Sang n!¡±

    She grabbed his hand and began to walk out.

    The n master of the Zheng n, Zheng Yutang, happened to be standing at the entrance. ¡°Dan¡¯er, what are you trying to do?¡±

    He frowned when he saw their tightly-locked hands.

    ¡°Father, I need to pay the Sang n a visit.¡± Zheng Dan said in a low voice.

    ¡°You¡¯re going to cause trouble!¡± Zheng Yutang immediately got angry. ¡°You¡¯re marrying Sang Qian tomorrow! Who goes to their fianc¨¦''s house at such an hour? That¡¯s bad luck!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care! I must pay the Sang n a visit!¡± Zheng Dan said through clenched teeth.

    ¡°No. You are not allowed to go anywhere today! Dan¡¯er, you have always been obedient since you were little. What happened to you today?¡± Zheng Yutang looked at Zu An. ¡°Did this guy bewitch you?¡±

    He was aware that his daughter had previously approached him to steal the promissory note from the Silverhook Casino. Why did it seem like her act had somehow turned into the real deal?

    Damn this Zu An! Does he specialize in stealing the hearts of girls from major ns or something?

    You have sessfully trolled Zheng Yutang for 432 Rage points!

    ¡°I have nothing to do with him...¡± Zheng Dan quickly exined.

    Zu An cut her off. ¡°Enough, I trust Miss Zheng¡¯s words. I still have other matters to take care of. I won¡¯t disturb you any further.¡±

    With that, he took off in a hurry.

    Zheng Dan chased after him, but her father stopped her. His expression grew dark. ¡°Dan¡¯er, shouldn¡¯t you tell me what is really going on here?¡±

    ...

    After he left the Zheng n, Zu An took the time topose himself. Confronting Sang Hong right now waspletely meaningless. He might even be walking straight into a trap. His top priority was to find a way to get the Chu n out of this mess.

    An idea came to him, and he took out the recording mirror to call Chu Chuyan.

 Chapter 407: Planting a Bad Flag

    <h4>Chapter 407: nting a Bad g</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The call connected quickly, and Chu Chuyan appeared in the mirror. Her appearance was just as beautiful as before, but she seemed a bit impatient this time. ¡°Ah Zu, I really don¡¯t have enough ki stones to chat idly with you! How about this? I¡¯ll let you punish me however you want when Ie back!¡±

    Zu An¡¯s heart stirred when he saw her embarrassment. However, there was something far more important right now. He quickly said, ¡°There really is something urgent this time. Something happened to the Chu n...¡±

    He quickly told her about everything that had happened in the Chu Estate.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s expression changed several times. ¡°The General of the Imperial Guards, Liu Yao... He is a part of the empress¡¯ core force. It seems as though the empress ns to reel in the.¡±

    ¡°What should we do now? The Chu Estate has beenpletely locked down. I got Huanzhao to hide in the academy for now, but I really don¡¯t have any ideas.¡± Zu An felt a huge headacheing on. He¡¯d only been able to get rid of Old Mi and Wei Dan because of a lucky break.

    Strictly speaking, he hadn¡¯t been the one to get rid of those two. Wei Dan had been killed by Old Mi, and he had still been defeated by a dying Old Mi. If the possession hadn¡¯t failed, he would¡¯ve already left this world.

    He wasn¡¯t a god, and there was nothing he could do when faced with an expert at the pinnacle of ninth rank and an army of wolves. What could he possibly do?

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. The Chu n has remained standing for hundreds of years. It¡¯s not that easy to bring us down,¡± said Chu Chuyan.

    Zu An was not in the mood for such trite reassurances.

    Chu Chuyan suddenly said, ¡°How many men did Liu Yao bring with him?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know the exact number, but I suspect there¡¯s a few hundred,¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Chu Chuyan exhaled with relief.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t understand her reaction.

    A general at the peak of the ninth rank, as well as a few hundred imperial guards. Why wasn¡¯t she fazed by such a force?

    ¡°By the way, where¡¯s Yue Shan?¡± Chu Chuyan asked.

    ¡°I heard that Yue Shan was also captured.¡± Zu An replied. He cursed inwardly. Yue Shan was only at the fifth rank. There was nothing he could do even if he hadn¡¯t been captured.

    Chu Chuyan said, ¡°I need you to pay the Chu n a visit and secretly contact my mother. Ask her for the military seal, and recall the Red Cloak Army from outside the city.¡±

    Chu Zhongtian had passed the military seal to Qin Wanru before his capture.

    Zu An knew that a military seal was needed to move any troops, if not all hell would easily break loose. His anxiety stemmed from a different matter entirely. ¡°What are you trying to do, my wife? Are you going to openly start a rebellion?¡±

    As someone from the modern world, he had many historical examples to use as reference. Starting a rebellion in the early stages of a mature, unified great dynasty was practically asking for death.

    Add to that the fact that this was a world where the most powerful individual was the emperor of the Zhou Dynasty, and officials were also ced in their positions depending on the strength of their cultivation. The highest ranking cultivator in the Chu n was only at the eight rank! Like hell they were going to be able to fight with such odds.

    Chu Chuyan smiled. ¡°Our Chu n existed even before the Zhou Dynasty, and we are in control of the crucial salt and iron resources. We were able to stand tall for a thousand years! Do you think this was possible because of individual strength?¡±

    ¡°How else?¡± Zu An blinked. He really was quite curious. Ever since he¡¯d entered the Chu n, he¡¯d felt as though the Chu n was just like a lump of dough. It seemed as though any other power coulde in on a whim and give them a good kneading.

    ¡°It¡¯s obviously because of our Red Cloak Army, which has been passed down from generation to generation!¡± A trace of fanaticism appeared on Chu Chuyan¡¯s face. ¡°As long as the Red Cloak Army still exists, our Chu n will continue to exist! It seems our Chu n has hidden our strength for so long that everyone really thinks of us as pushovers!¡±

    ¡°No matter how strong the Red Cloak Army is, their numbers are still limited,¡± Zu An couldn¡¯t help but say. ¡°Not only that, we will be openly rebelling if they start a fight with the imperial guard, and the emperor himself wields great power. I still can¡¯t see a future for the Chu n.¡±

    Chu Chuyan couldn¡¯t resist teasing him. ¡°Who knew there woulde a time when even you will feel weak?¡±

    Zu An snorted. ¡°If you really do want to rebel, then I¡¯ll join you! Others have sessfully taken down emperors with a shittier start. I refuse to believe that we can¡¯t do the same, if we have such strength to begin with! In the future, I¡¯ll be the emperor and you¡¯ll be the empress!¡±

    Chu Chuyan gave a frightened start. ¡°You must not randomly speak about such things! There would be big trouble if any officials heard you! I''m not asking you to gather the Red Cloak Army to kill the imperial guards. We¡¯ll just use them to scare Liu Yao enough that he won''t go too far.¡±

    ¡°Intimidation?¡± Zu An was confused.

    ¡°Indeed.¡± Chu Chuyan exined. ¡°The emperor must have a justifiable reason no matter what he does. He cannot do things on a whim. Otherwise, he could¡¯ve easily taken down our Chu n, considering how powerful he is. However, doing such a thing would shake the very foundations of his right to rule. After all, if he did such a thing to us, others might start to worry about their own safety. His seat as the emperor would be unstable.¡±

    Zu An suddenly understood what was going on. No wonder he had to dispatch Sang Hong, who then used the Yuan n topete for the rights to the weapons market, and the Zheng n to put pressure on their salt business. He used the issue of the salt permits to detain Chu Zhongtian, and then incited Hong Zhong and Chu Tiesheng into starting a rebellion. Not a single one of these schemes could beid directly at the emperor¡¯s feet, and yet they had all ended in failure.

    He even sympathized a little with the emperor. He was clearly the strongest in the world, yet he still couldn¡¯t do as he pleased.

    ¡°That is why recalling the Red Cloak Army serves as a warning for them to y by the rules, and to stop him from going too far, such as using torture to obtain confessions. At the same time, it will prevent him from treating my parents disrespectfully.¡±

    Zu An was stunned when he heard all of this. ¡°I suddenly feel as though it was a mistake to take you as my wife.¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s face paled. ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°My wife is too smart!¡± Zu An replied. ¡°It won¡¯t be easy to y around in the future!¡±

    Chu Chuyan red daggers at him.

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Chuyan for 233 Rage points!

    ¡°I was joking!¡± Guiltily, Zu An changed the topic right away. ¡°There¡¯s still something that I don¡¯t understand. Even if the Red Cloak Army intimidates them, Liu Yao will still be able to discover some information through his investigation as long as he remains persistent. After all, the shortfall in revenue resulting from the saltmissioners¡¯ actions still exists.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fine. We just need to stall for time,¡± replied Chu Chuyan.

    ¡°Stall for time?¡± Zu An was stunned.

    Chu Chuyan smiled mysteriously. ¡°You¡¯ll understand soon enough.¡±

    Zu An was still extremely puzzled after he hung up the call. But he knew that Chu Chuyan would never do anything without careful thought. As such, he cast aside his doubts and headed off to find Madam Chu.

    When he returned to the Chu Estate, he discovered that the surrounding area had already been locked down. Of course, this didn¡¯t hinder him at all.

    He was already very familiar with the Chu Estate. Moreover, he was at the fifth rank, and even had the Mirror Mirage skill. Breaking through the cordon of these ordinary Imperial Guard troops posed no difficulty at all.

    It was all fine, as long as he wasn¡¯t unlucky enough to run into that ninth-ranked general.

    He snuck into the courtyard and stopped near the gazebo in the rear garden. This was where he had been pushed into the water by Snow, and where he¡¯d dragged her in after him.

    Distracted by the sudden memory of Qiao Xueying, it took him a while to notice that there were two people talking in the gazebo.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    One of them just happened to raise his head. He saw Zu An from a distance away.

    Both of them were momentarily stunned. Then, one of them shouted out, ¡°Zu An! That¡¯s Zu An!¡±

    ¡°Damn you Hong Xingying!¡± Zu An cursed. He took off immediately.

    A figure instantly rushed out of the gazebo, his speed many times faster.

    The only one with such speed in the Chu Estate was that ninth-ranked general.

    Zu An wanted to p himself in the face. He¡¯d watched so many movies in his past world¡ªhow could he possibly not know the price of nting such a bad g?

    He wished he had two more legs to aid him in running, but it was already toote. The other party was way too fast, and had closed the distance in the blink of an eye.

    Liu Yao had been bemoaning the fact that he¡¯d been unable to capture Zu An or Chu Second Miss earlier, and there was no way he would let Zu An slip through his fingers this time. He reached out his hand towards Zu An and closed his fist. The projection of arge hand appeared, and began to close in around his prey.

 Chapter 408: A Small World

    <h4>Chapter 408: A Small World</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    As the translucent palm materialized around him, Zu An found it hard to breathe. Even the air around him was being crushed.

    ¡°The hell? Are you the bloody buddha or something?!¡± He cursed. He didn¡¯t want to suffer the same fate as the Monkey King.

    He didn¡¯t dare hold back. He immediately used Grandgale to teleport into the air.

    There were no other openings. That was the only ce he could slip out.

    Just as he was about to fall, he used Grandgale again, pushing himself several zhang higher.

    Liu Yao¡¯s eyes widened. ording to his intelligence, Zu An was supposed to be around the fourth rank. To be honest, he couldn¡¯t care less if this kid was at the third, fourth, or fifth rank. After all, none of that mattered much for someone like him.

    How could he have predicted that this kid could fly into the sky?

    Was he somehow at the ninth rank?

    Even though this was utterly absurd, this was what he was seeing! Keeping his guard up, he immediately rushed into the air to chase after Zu An.

    After a while, Zu An had no choice but tond. He couldn¡¯t use Grandgale limitlessly.

    Liu Yao sighed in relief when he saw Zu Annd. So he isn¡¯t at the ninth rank after all.

    At the same time, heughed at himself. He¡¯d made a big fuss out of nothing. There was no such thing as a young ninth rank cultivator in this world.

    He was done ying hide-and-seek with this brat. He seized an opening and struck with his palm, intending to cripple him first before slowly interrogating him. Either way, he was just a drafted son-inw, and not a core figure in the Chu n. Wounding him or crippling him wouldn¡¯t make a difference.

    The instant Zu An stopped, he heard a sharp whistleing from behind him. He immediately dodged to the side in rm, but he still couldn''t avoid what wasing.

    He felt as though he had been rammed by a speeding car. Blood gushed out of his mouth. He felt as if all of his internal organs had been knocked out of ce, and that he was going to break apart.

    His vision darkened. However, he knew that there was no way he could faint right now, and quickly bit his tongue to stay awake. Using the Sunflower Phantasm, he fled in three different directions.

    Yet again, Liu Yao was stupefied. That strike was strong enough to knock out even a sixth rank expert! Why could this kid still keep running?

    Just what kind of a freak was he?

    The other party had even split into three identical copies at once, so he had no idea which one to pursue. Zu An quickly disappeared from view.

    Liu Yao¡¯s expression grew ugly. He immediately gave out orders. ¡°Search the vicinity for a seriously injured young man wearing white! He won¡¯t be able to get far! That way, that way, and that way! Search in all three directions!¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Meanwhile, Zu An didn¡¯t flee any further, but doubled back to Chu Estate instead. The most dangerous ce had now be the safest ce. All the soldiers had gone outside to search for him, so it was safer just to stay in the estate.

    He¡¯d heard what Liu Yao said as well, so he quickly took off his clothes and changed into a green outfit.

    Worried that someone would still recognize him, he took out a mask and put it on. Not only did it change his appearance, the bloodstains on his face and the paleness of hisplexion also disappeared.

    Only after doing all this did he check his own condition. He had quite a few broken bones, and suffered some damage to his internal organs as well. If not for the Primordial Origin Sutra reforging his body twice and making his body far sturdier than an ordinary person''s, he might¡¯ve already been crippled.

    ¡°That old man is awfully vicious!¡± Zu An immediately used the Primordial Origin Sutra to treat his injuries. At the same time, he swallowed a Soul Return Pill that he¡¯d gotten from Divine Physician Ji.

    He didn¡¯t want to drink ¡®Faith in Brother Spring¡¯. He wasn¡¯t facing anything life-threatening at the moment.

    The Soul Return Pill deserved its reputation as well. He could feel a wave of medicinal force spreading outward from his dantian to nourish his entire body. Coupled with the natural properties of the Primordial Origin Sutra, the speed of healing became much more rapid.

    He finally found the room where Qin Wanru was locked up. To his surprise, she wasn¡¯t tied up, but sat by her bed with a worried frown.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± When she saw that there was someone outside, Qin Wanru jumped in fright, and subconsciously took a step backwards.

    ¡°Madam, it¡¯s me.¡± Zu An removed his mask.

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡± Qin Wanru was surprised and happy to see him.

    ¡°Madam, you¡¯ve gone through a lot! I''m going to free you right now!¡± Zu An rushed in to pull her out. Suddenly, he coughed and spat out a mouthful of blood.

    ¡°You¡¯re injured?¡± Qin Wanru cried out in rm.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s just a small injury,¡± Zu An said with a smile, wiping the corners of his mouth.

    Qin Wanru''s tone grew serious. ¡°The only one who can hurt you now is probably Liu Yao. He is at the pinnacle of the ninth rank! How could your injuries be light if you managed to escape from him? I also heard him dispatching troops just now. So you were the one he was chasing after!¡±

    Zu An waved his hand and said, ¡°I¡¯m all right, really. I¡¯m tough and thick-skinned, remember? I¡¯ve already pretty much recovered. I¡¯ll tell you the rest of it once we¡¯re out.¡±

    Qin Wanru shook her head. ¡°I can''t leave. They¡¯ve sealed away my ki, so I¡¯ll only be a burden if I go with you. Besides, your father-inw is still here. How can I leave on my own?¡±

    Zu An found himself in a predicament. If she was sealed, then it was likely that Chu Zhongtian was as well. There was no way he could extract the both of them with his current cultivation.

    ¡°By the way, how is Huanzhao?¡± Qin Wanru asked, her voice full of worry.

    ¡°Madam, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve already put her in a safe ce,¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°That¡¯s good, that¡¯s good.¡± Qin Wanru exhaled in relief. Something urred to her, and reached into her cor. Her face suddenly turned red. ¡°Could you turn around?¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± Zu An was puzzled, but subconsciously turned around.

    ¡°This is for you.¡± Qin Wanru said quickly.

    Zu An felt her ce a square seal into his hand. He examined it, and was shocked to see that this was a military seal!

    What threw him off was that the metal seal wasn¡¯t cold, but held an incredible amount of warmth. There was even a lingering fragrance on the seal.

    Qin Wanru¡¯s face grew red. She said softly, ¡°This thing is really important, so I¡¯ve always carried it on me. I am the duchess after all. Liu Yao would never search my body even if he searched the entire estate. That¡¯s why he didn¡¯t find this.¡±

    Zu An recalled how she had reached into her cor, so he could guess where it had been hidden. He couldn¡¯t help but give her another look. There''s that much room in there?!

    His ogling made Qin Wanru extremely ufortable. She coughed lightly and said, ¡°Take this seal and recall the Red Cloak Army stationed in the barracks on the outskirts of the city. Liu Yao has gone too far! Do they think our Chu n is that easy to bully?!¡±

    Zu An was stupefied. These two really were mother and daughter! They hade to exactly the same decision this time.

    ¡°What are you staring at me for?¡± Qin Wanru gave a frightened start. She subconsciously checked her own clothes, afraid that she had perhaps forgotten to button her cor back up after taking out the seal.

    ¡°That was exactly what Chuyan was thinking.¡± Zu An repeated Chu Chuyan¡¯s n to her.

    ¡°That¡¯s my daughter.¡± Qin Wanru also smiled, but sighed immediately after. ¡°But I fear that things won¡¯t go as smoothly as she expects. Hong Xingying is the one who sold us out, and he even has the ount book that she¡¯d left with me. It¡¯s all my fault for being so useless. Chu Tiesheng stole the book during his earlier rebellion.¡±

    ¡°Hong Xingying!¡± Zu An gritted his teeth in anger. It was that bastard¡¯s fault for pointing him out earlier as well. He¡¯d almost lost his life to Liu Yao because of that.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will tell Chuyan these things. We¡¯ll discuss what to doter. At worst, I¡¯ll just ughter my way in with the Red Cloak Army and unleash hell on them,¡± Zu An dered.

    Qin Wanru was startled. ¡°Please don¡¯t say such ridiculous things! We can endure living like refugees, but there is no way we¡¯ll survive if we rebel!¡±

    The people of this world clearly felt an innate sense of fear towards their ruler. Of course, the emperor of the Zhou Dynasty was the most powerful man in this entire world, so she had even less confidence that any rebellion would be sessful.

    There came the sound of footsteps approaching, along with a voice dripping with smugness. ¡°Madam, are you sleeping? Xingying has something to talk to you about!¡±

 Chapter 409: Shining Finger

    <h4>Chapter 409: Shining Finger</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The two of them jumped in fright when they heard this. Qin Wanru pushed Zu An behind her. ¡°Hide! It¡¯ll all be over if he alerts the Imperial Guard.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s battle with Liu Yao was still fresh in his memory. He really didn¡¯t want to repeat that experience.

    As such, he decided to hide behind a screen and assess the situation.

    The door opened just as Zu An slipped into hiding, and Hong Xingying strutted in.

    Qin Wanru adjusted her hair to hide her rm. ¡°Why are you here?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time! I obviously came to give Madam my greetings.¡± Hong Xingying was clearly in high spirits.

    Qin Wanru sneered. ¡°What? Are you here just to rub it in?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect Madam to see through me so quickly!¡± Hong Xingying made no attempt at denial. ¡°As our ancestors said, ¡®If riches and glory are not brought home, it¡¯s the same as taking a stroll at night in expensive clothes¡¯. Your Chu n doesn¡¯t know how to treat your own people properly. I obviously had to seize this chance to take a good look at the regret on your face.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right. We do feel a lot of regret.¡± Qin Wanru snorted. ¡°I most regret not realizing what kind of person you really were, and not realizing earlier just how much better Zu An was!¡±

    Zu An, who was hiding behind the screen, grew ted when he heard this. Is Madamplimenting me on purpose for me to hear?

    Hong Xingying was infuriated when he heard Zu An¡¯s name. ¡°Zu An? He is just a lucky bastard who is good for nothing! How can any part of himpare to me?!¡±

    His previously handsome face had bepletely twisted with anger and hate. He, who always thought quite highly of himself, had been beaten down again and again by this Zu An. Zu An had already be a nightmare that he could never rid himself of.

    Qin Wanru sighed. ¡°The fact that you still cannot see all the ways he is superior to you only serves as further proof of your stupidity."

    In her opinion, Zu An was more outstanding than Hong Xingying in every respect.

    Hong Xingying was well and truly provoked. He suddenly began to stalk towards her. ¡°Didn¡¯t Madam always loathe Zu An? Why are you suddenly protecting him? There are rumors floating around that there was something going on between the two of you. It seems like they are true!¡±

    ¡°You are absolutely despicable!¡± Qin Wanru was furious. She never expected a servant who used to be so respectful to her to speak in such a manner.

    Hong Xingying snorted. ¡°Who are you trying to scare? Do you think you are still a glorious and untouchable duchess? Soon, your Chu n will cease to exist.¡±

    ¡°That may not be so.¡± Qin Wanru was in no mood to entertain her any further. ¡°Get lost. You are not wee here anymore.¡±

    ¡°Heh, I fear that you are not the one in charge of this estate anymore.¡± Not only did Hong Xingying make no move to leave, he instead closed in on Qin Wanru, one step at a time.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Qin Wanru¡¯s expression changed at once when she saw him getting closer and closer. She backed away in panic.

    ¡°What do you think I¡¯m doing?¡± A crazy expression appeared in Hong Xingying¡¯s eyes. ¡°If that Zu An could do it, why can¡¯t I?¡±

    He wouldn¡¯t have dared to harbor such thoughts before, but the Chu n¡¯s destruction was already inevitable. Qin Wanru¡¯s six ranks of cultivation had even been sealed off, while Liu Yao¡¯s men were all out searching for Zu An.

    Qin Wanru looked exactly like a harmless rabbit in his eyes, and she had even provoked him by bringing up Zu An. Some of the evil thoughts that he had suppressed within his heart began to surface.

    ¡°You¡¯d better not!¡± Qin Wanru was horrified. She tried to dodge him, but her cultivation had been sealed away. In her current state, she was no different from an ordinary person. How could she escape?

    Hong Xingying caught up to her with a single step. His hand reached out towards her well-rounded chest.

    In his eyes, Qin Wanru had always been untouchable. Even though she was exceptionally stunning, he never dared to entertain any such thoughts about her. Now, however, the situation was different. Once these thoughts had been unleashed, he could no longer control himself.

    A feverish excitement began to burn in his eyes when he thought about how he was going to enjoy this glorious duchess all by himself. He grew even more stimted when he thought about how she was rted to the first miss.

    However, his outstretched hand was not greeted by the soft sensation that he had imagined. Instead, there was an intense pain. A man was standing between them, squeezing his hand and staring at him coldly.

    ¡°Zu An!¡± Hong Xingying was both rmed and furious to see him in Qin Wanru¡¯s room. ¡°The two of you really are having an affair!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Hong Xingying for 666 Rage points!

    ¡°Shut the hell up.¡± Zu An smacked him in the face.

    A loud, crisp crack rang out. Hong Xingying was hit so hard that he stumbled. A huge red imprint of a hand covered half his face.

    Zu An supported Qin Wanru up at once. ¡°Madam, are you all right?¡±

    Qin Wanru nodded and said in a hushed tone, ¡°Don¡¯t let him get away.¡±

    Zu An looked at Hong Xingying. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that I¡¯m worse than you in every way? Here¡¯s your chance. Fight me one-on-one! If you win, then Madam is yours today.¡±

    Qin Wanru¡¯s mouth fell open.

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Wanru for 213 Rage points!

    Hong Xingying was just about to call the guards, but he swallowed his words when he heard what Zu An said. ¡°Really?¡±

    Zu Anughed. ¡°I mean, if you take me out, who will be around to stop you from doing bad things?¡±

    Even though Qin Wanru more or less understood that Zu An was deliberately stalling Hong Xingying, being used as a gambling chip still left her feeling ashamed and angry.

    Hong Xingying¡¯s expression flickered several times. He always believed that his strength was greater than Zu An''s, and he had improved considerably since joining the academy. He had even broken through to the fifth rank not too long ago!

    However, the movement technique that Zu An had disyed during the ns Tournament made him slightly nervous.

    Then again, he knew that Zu An was seriously injured from Liu Yao''s earlier attack, and he¡¯d had to evade a number of guards afterwards as well. Zu An had to be close to giving out. If he couldn¡¯t even defeat a seriously injured Zu An, he might as well just hang himself.

    ¡°Fine!¡± Hong Xingying drew his sword. He continued with a sinister smile, ¡°Today, I am going to return the humiliation you made me experience a hundredfold!¡±

    His sword thrust out like a viper as soon as he finished speaking.

    Even though he didn¡¯t believe that Zu An had much fighting strength left, a lion would still chase down a rabbit with all of its strength.

    Seeing the object of his bitter hatred had driven himpletely mad. His sword strike flew towards Zu An with a hundred and twenty percent of its usual strength.

    An exceptionally powerful streak of sword ki surged across the room. Even Qin Wanru could feel the stinging pain from its sharp winds.

    Even though her cultivation was sealed, her vision remained.

    This sword thrust was as fast as lightning, and the technique was utterly wless.

    The sword even seemed to flicker with a ring of blue lightning! Clearly, he had awakened the lighting attribute when he reached the fifth rank, an element that excelled in speed and power!

    Hong Xingying¡¯s aptitude was exceptional after all! His progress had been dyed while he was still serving the Chu n, but it had advanced greatly after joining the academy.

    It really was a pity that someone so outstanding had ended up straying from the righteous path.

    She immediately grew worried for Zu An. She had seen his cultivation before, but he was seriously injured right now. His opponent also wielded the lighting element, which boosted his speed and power, and would make his own movement technique less effective...

    Her mind suddenly froze, her train of thought left unfinished. All the chaotic sword ki had calmed instantly. The twobatants stood facing each other just a few feet apart, still as statues.

    She rubbed her eyes to make sure they weren''t deceiving her. The tip of the speeding sword was sped between Zu An¡¯s two fingers! Hong Xingying¡¯s face was entirely red, yet the sword wouldn''t move forward at all.

    ¡°What sorcery is this?!¡± Hong Xingying was equal parts frightened and rmed.

    Zu An didn¡¯t reply. He squeezed his fingers against the de.

    A clean, crisp note rang out, and the sword snapped. He didn¡¯t stop there. He rushed past Hong Xingying, the tip of the sword still held between his fingers.

    ¡°You... you...¡± Hong Xingying clutched at his throat, looking at Zu An in disbelief. That finger-based martial skill he had disyed was incredibly profound, and both Zu An''s speed and strength exceeded his many times over! This was an utterly one-sided demolition!

    How is this possible? Did I get off on the wrong side of the bed today...?

    He went to his death without everprehending. Wait, I didn¡¯t even use my bloody elemental skill...

    What a pity!

    You have sessfully trolled Hong Xingying for 1024 Rage points!

    ...

    Zu An waspletely unfazed as he watched Hong Xingying die. He was stronger than Hong Xingying to begin with, and together with the buff that the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra gave him, getting rid of him was just too easy.

    ¡°What sort of martial skill was that?¡± Qin Wanru felt as if she was still dreaming. However, she knew that that finger sp wasn''t as easy as it looked. It was definitely an extremely profound finger technique.

    "It¡¯s the culmination of a thousand years of... Ahem, ahem, it¡¯s called Shining Finger.¡± Zu An really didn¡¯t like the word sunflower anymore, so he changed the name.

    ¡°Shining Finger?¡± Qin Wanru was stunned. ¡°That¡¯s a pretty good name,¡± she praised.

    ¡°Of course it is!¡± Zu An felt a little proud of himself.

    ¡°You should leave. The guards will surely have sensed the elemental fluctuations, ande here to investigate.¡± The sound of hurrying footsteps came from outside as soon as Qin Wanru finished speaking.

    ¡°Madam, please be careful!¡± Zu An wasted no time either and left quickly. On the way out, he collected Hong Xingying¡¯s corpse using the Brilliant ss Bead, to avoid drawing Liu Yao¡¯s suspicion.

    He headed straight towards the outskirts of the city, where the barracks housing the Red Cloak Army was located. He flung Hong Xingying¡¯s corpse into the forest along the way. The vicious beasts of the forest would deal with his corpse in less than half a day.

    After taking care of it, he took out the mirror and called Chu Chuyan.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s beautiful face appeared on the surface of the mirror soon afterwards. ¡°Ah Zu, you¡¯re injured?¡±

    She could immediately tell that something was off.

    Zu An felt a surge of warmth. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, these minor injuries won¡¯t bother me too much.¡±

    He then repeated everything he¡¯d seen and heard in the Chu Estate to her. At the same time, he told her about his own worries. ¡°That ount book is in the court¡¯s hands right now, so we might really end up as refugees soon. Do you know where the ckwind Stockade is? Why don¡¯t we head over there and be kings of the mountain? We can wander the wilderness as a couple.¡±

    ¡°Who wants to be the king of the mountain?¡± Chu Chuyan scoffed. She quickly followed up with a question. ¡°The book I gave youst time... that ¡®Sweet Pampered Wife: Dominating Sword Immortal¡¯s Ny-Nine Days of Searching For Love¡¯... do you still have it?¡±

    Bringing up this book clearly left her embarrassed as well. Just saying the title out loud made her want to throw up.

    Zu An¡¯s face darkened. ¡°Can¡¯t you tell what kind of situation we¡¯re in? Why are you bringing up something like this now?¡±

    ¡°Just answer me. Do you still have it?¡± Chu Chuyan¡¯s tone was urgent.

    ¡°Of course! Who else would read something like that apart from you?¡± Zu An sniffed.

    A smile immediately broke across Chu Chuyan¡¯s face. ¡°Then all is well. That is the real ount book.¡±

 Chapter 410: Justice is Accompanied by Life and Death

    <h4>Chapter 410: Justice is Apanied by Life and Death</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An was dumbfounded. There were question marks all over his face.

    He quickly took out that dominating sword immortal book, but it seemed like apletely normal romance novel! Even though some sentences contained a few strange word choices, they didn¡¯t add up to much.

    As if sensing his confusion, Chu Chuyan said, ¡°The ount book has always been the Chu n¡¯s main defensive weapon, but it could also bring a huge disaster upon the Chu n as well. Countless powers have longed for this book, which made me constantly think about how best to keep it as safe as possible.

    ¡°However, it was impossible to guard against every possible means. Even if I hid the book in the most secret of locations, it could still be found. That was why one day, I decided to make two copies, one real and one fake. The real ount book was hidden in code within Dominating Sword Immortal. After all, no one would suspect that something meant for a young girl¡¯s amusement would contain such important information.¡±

    Zu An was confused. ¡°If I remember correctly, Snow liked to read that book with you, and she was sent by the Shi n. Weren¡¯t you afraid that she would realize something?¡±

    Chu Chuyan smiled proudly. ¡°Could you be unaware that there are many volumes to the Dominating Sword Immortal?¡±

    Zu An gave a start, and noticed a number in the corner of the book¡¯s cover that proimed it as the ninth volume in the series. ¡°Oh my god, why does such an embarrassing book have so many volumes? This author really is something special.¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s face gained a tinge of red. ¡°This book isn¡¯t as bad as you make it sound, okay? The sadomasochism shared by the male and female lead is pretty moving.¡±

    Zu An had no words for that.

    He put away the ount book with a sigh. ¡°I used to think you were as pure as a white flower. Who knew that you could actually be so sneaky? Not only did you deceive me, you even lied to your own parents!¡±

    He could tell from the way Qin Wanru med herself that she had no idea the book she had lost was the fake ount book.

    Chu Chuyan was somewhat embarrassed. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to deceive you either, but there are just too many people after this ount book! It would have been even more troublesome if one of you identally leaked this information. Instead of relying on your acting skills, wasn¡¯t it better to just hide it from the start?¡±

    Zu An couldn¡¯t resist a dig at her. ¡°Other people lie to their dads, but you lie to your dad, your mom, your spouse, and your younger sister at the same time!¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s mouth fell open wordlessly.

    ¡°But it all turned out well in the end,¡± Zu Anughed. ¡°It looks like we don¡¯t have to live as refugees after all.¡±

    Chu Chuyan said with a smile, ¡°I¡¯vepleted my own preparations over here. If I¡¯m not mistaken, then news should reach Brightmoon City within the next few days.¡±

    Zu An exhaled in relief. ¡°That¡¯s good. I can strut around with the Red Cloak Army until then. Damn those guys, these bastards think they can juste and go as they please! Do they think the Chu Estate is a public restroom?!¡±

    Chu Chuyan snorted. ¡°What public restroom? Can you pick a better analogy, please?¡±

    ...

    When the two of them finished their call, Zu An headed straight to the Red Cloak Army¡¯s barracks. His previous worry and discouragement had beenpletely swept away. He now felt amazing.

    ¡°Are you all braindead? The Chu n is already on the verge of extinction, and you still refuse to go in to save it?!¡±

    ¡°Sorry, the Red Cloak Army has always followed these irond rules. Unless the Master himselfes, or someone elsees bearing the military seal, we absolutely will not make a move.¡±

    ¡°The Master and Madam have both been detained! How could they possiblye here?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you even trust us? Would I, the Chu n¡¯s young master, possibly wish harm upon the Chu n?!¡±

    ...

    He heard a group of people arguing noisily outside when he arrived at the barracks. The one who seemed most worked up was a fatty, as round as a ball. Who else could this be but Chu Yucheng of the third branch?

    The presence of a second youngster surprised him. Compared to Chu Yucheng, this one looked incredibly heroic and valiant.

    ¡°Chu Hongcai?¡± Zu An frowned. Wasn¡¯t he being detained?

    Even though the evidence pointed to the fact that Chu Hongcai had not participated in Chu Tiesheng¡¯s rebellion, he was still Chu Tiesheng¡¯s son. His father had been killed in the rebellion, and there was no question that he felt extremely resentful.

    Several officers wearing red armor were standing in front of them with firm and resolute expressions. They refused to budge, no matter what the two youngsters said.

    ¡°Ah Zu?¡± By this time, Chu Yucheng had already noticed Zu An. He waved at him right away. ¡°Hurry! Help me convince them!¡±

    ¡°Zu An!¡± Chu Hongcai was alerted to Zu An¡¯s presence by Chu Yucheng¡¯s words. ¡°Hand over your life, you bastard!¡± He yelled immediately.

    He drew his sword and thrust it at Zu An.

    Zu An immediately deflected it with his Shining Finger. Chu Hongcai felt a strange and powerful force travel up his sword and into his hand, and he almost lost his grip.

    His reactions were lightning-quick, however, and he used this momentum tounch his next attack. HIs sword darted about, swift and nimble.

    ¡°Guys, stop! We can¡¯t fight amongst ourselves!¡± Chu Yucheng immediately interposed himself between the two of them.

    Zu An frowned. He stopped immediately, worried that he might hurt him.

    Chu Hongcai also moved his sword aside, his face a mask of rage. ¡°You damned fatty, get out of the way!¡± He hollered. ¡°I cannot live under the same sky as the man who killed my father!¡±

    Chu Yucheng cursed. ¡°Are you that stupid? What level of cultivation did your dad and Hong Zhong possess? How could Zu An have possibly killed them? Old Mi was the only one in the Chu Estate at the time who possessed that much strength. Do you really believe every random boast that Zu An makes? Besides, when I got you out, you promised me that you would throw aside your own grudges for the sake of the current crisis!¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face darkened. This fatty really needed to lose some weight, but he was extremely sharp. He¡¯d actually seen right through his boasting.

    Chu Hongcai stared nkly for a moment. In truth, he had known this all along. But this matter had been weighing down on him constantly, and he desperately needed a target for his hatred, in order to find the motivation to keep on living. That was why he had subconsciously chosen Zu An as his enemy.

    Seeing that he had calmed down, Chu Yucheng turned to Zu An and said, ¡°Ah Zu, you came at the perfect time. I want to lead some men to save Master and Madam, but these guys aren¡¯t listening at all. Help me persuade them!¡±

    He turned back to face those officers. ¡°Perhaps you guys think you don¡¯t have to listen to us since we¡¯re from the branch families, but Ah Zu is here as well! He is the husband of the first miss, so he is part of the main branch. You¡¯ll believe him, right?¡±

    Those officials still shook their heads. ¡°Without the military seal, we cannotply no matter who it is.¡±

    ¡°Are you guys talking about this?¡± Zu An fished out the military seal.

    The officers all knelt respectfully when they saw it. ¡°Justice can be found everywhere, apanied by life and death. The heavens are a mirror, our red cloaks serve as proof!¡±

    Chu Yucheng and Chu Hongcai were stunned. They had spent so much energy trying to convince these officers that even their throats had gone dry, yet these fes didn¡¯t budge an inch. But they knelt down as soon as they saw Zu An?

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Could you at least not look so snobbish?

    Zu An said in a serious tone, ¡°Follow me. We¡¯re going back to rescue the Chu n.¡±

    He had initially thought that he would need to say some things to motivate these guys a little, especially since they were facing the imperial guard. To be human was to hesitate, right? Yet, in the end, these officers required no persuasion at all. They quickly summoned all the soldiers andpleted their preparations in no time at all.

    Seeing how stupefied Zu An was, Chu Yucheng helped to dispel his confusion. ¡°The Red Cloak Army has remained loyal and devoted to our Chu n ever since the time of our ancestors. They''ve fought side by side through countless battles. The duties of a soldier are passed on from father to son, and the wives that they married are all maids from the Chu n. In this way, every single generation of the Red Cloak Army are descendants of the Chu n, so our fates and theirs are closely intertwined.¡±

    His tone was full of pride. This army was clearly a great source of pride for the Chu n.

    ¡°Of course, for the sake of preventing anyone within the n from using this army to start a rebellion, an irond rule was established. Only if the n master personally arrived, or if the military seal was present, could these troops be mobilized.¡± Chu Yucheng gave him an envious look. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that Uncle would even be willing to give you the military seal! It looks like he really trusts you.¡±

    Chu Hongcai couldn¡¯t resist a snort when he heard this. He was clearly unsatisfied with this result. ¡°I want to make this clear. I am not doing this for you but for the Chu n! I want to protect my mother too, because she didn¡¯t participate in the rebellion either.¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°Brother Chu really is a man of honor. I have always admired your integrity. If the Chu n makes it safely through this crisis, I believe Master and Madam will surely pardon your mother.¡±

    It really was quite strange, now that he thought about it. Chu Tiesheng was such a treacherous and despicable character, yet his son, apart from being a bit of a disgusting simp for Qiu Honglei, was upstanding and honest. They were twopletely different extremes!

    Chu Hongcai¡¯s expression finally eased considerably when he heard these words. ¡°Thank you,¡± he said quietly.

    He obviously understood Zu An¡¯s status within the n now. With his guarantee, his mother¡¯s safety shouldn¡¯t be an issue anymore.

    The three of them marched into Brightmoon City, apanied by the three thousand members of the Red Cloak Army.

    The city gates had long been locked up when they arrived, and many soldiers stood guard along the gate towers. However, when they saw this red-d army, all of them were stunned. They gripped their weapons more tightly, and their hands began to sweat.

    All of them were aware of the Red Cloak Army¡¯s reputation. If they really ended up fighting, they would be absolutely crushed.

    A high ranking official challenged them from the city gate. ¡°Mobilizing without an order from your superiors? Is your Chu n trying to start a rebellion?¡± he roared angrily.

    Zu An recognized this man as Vice Magistrate Pang Chun. As such, he urged his horse forward and held up the military seal. ¡°Who said that no order has been given? I am acting under Brightmoon Duke¡¯s orders to bring these men back to defend the Chu n.¡±

    ¡°The respected imperial envoy is currently investigating the Chu n. What else could you all be doing if you aren¡¯t starting a rebellion?¡± Pang Chun replied.

    Zu An chuckled coldly. ¡°It seems like any random n cane in and bully our Chu n recently! We are worried that the respected imperial envoy might have been deceived. All we want is to head over and have a chat with him. The Chu n is already in critical danger. If Vice Magistrate insists on standing in our way, I will have no choice but to disregard our past friendship.¡±

    As he finished speaking, the Red Cloak Army gave a uniform battle cry. To a man, they drew their des and bows in preparation forbat.

    For a long time, Zu An had been confused as to the existence of armies in this world, especially when individual cultivators were so strong.

    In that instant, however, he finally understood. Even though the individual cultivation of each soldier within the Red Cloak Army wasn¡¯t anything special, he could see a light blue glow flowing through their bodies, linking them together. This was surely the result of a formation which seemed to gather up all of their strength.

    Suddenly, he felt a great pressure being exerted outward from this army. It was far greater than that of what he¡¯d felt from Liu Yao!

    The soldiers guarding the city gates were in even worse shape. The overwhelming pressure made all of them instantly turn pale, and their limbs began to feel ice-cold. They all turned to Pang Chun, urging him to make a decision quickly.

    Pang Chun was anxious as well. He understood that these regional troops had not been inbat for a long time, and were no match for these Red Cloak Army elites. However, he still had his duty to carry out! How could he let them inside the city?

    I guess dying for my country is the only choice.

    At this moment, a carriage slowly made its way over from the outskirts of the city. Noticing the situation, it stopped near the city gates.

    The curtains lifted, and a woman in a graceful skirt slowly walked out. ¡°Lord Pang, why are the gates closed in broad daylight? Please open them so that I can enter.¡±

    Pang Chun didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry. ¡°Young miss, could you somehow have missed what is happening here right now?¡±

    The one who had emerged from the carriage was none other than the City Lord¡¯s daughter, Xie Daoyun. She turned around as if struck by a sudden realization. ¡°Oh! Young master Zu is also here?¡±

    Pang Chun¡¯s face twitched. Young miss, can you at least put a little more effort into your act?

 Chapter 411: Sarcastic Old Fart

    <h4>Chapter 411: Sarcastic Old Fart</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An hadn¡¯t expected to run into Xie Daoyun here. ¡°Where did Miss Xie just return from?¡± he enquired hurriedly.

    Xie Daoyun slowly walked over to him and said with a smile, ¡°There was a poetry exchange in the neighboringmandery. I¡¯ve just returned from there.¡±

    The poetry exchange hadn¡¯t actually ended yet. However, she hurried back once she heard that something major had happened to the Chu n.

    This young woman really had to be praised for pursuing the arts so whole-heartedly. He would have teased her a little under different circumstances, but he wasn¡¯t in the mood right now.

    ¡°Miss Xie, please step aside. des have no eyes, and I fear that you might identally be injured,¡± warned Zu An. The Red Cloak Army and the city defense were already on the verge of battle. If they really engaged each other, a delicate girl like Xie Daoyun might well be ripped apart.

    Xie Daoyun instead suppressed her voice and said, ¡°Are you stupid? Why aren¡¯t you capturing me to force them to open the gates?¡±

    She staggered, throwing her straight into his arms. Then, she let out an absolutely terrified scream. ¡°Oh my! What are you trying to do? I¡¯m so scared!¡±

    Zu An stared nkly at the young woman who had flopped in his arms.

    Chu Yucheng and Chu Hongcai were left in a daze, as were the three thousand members of the Red Cloak Army

    Even Pang Chun and the defenders of the city gates couldn¡¯t believe what they had just witnessed.

    Miss Xie, do you think we¡¯re blind?

    Zu An was incredibly amused. If she had been part of the entertainment industry in his previous world, everyone would have been cursing her for being just another pretty face! She was sure to win the Worst Actress Award.

    However, he quickly went along with her. In a sh, he brought a de up to her neck and shouted loudly towards the city gates, ¡°I am holding Miss Xie hostage! Open the gates if you don¡¯t want anything bad to happen to her!¡±

    At the same time, he leaned closer to Xie Daoyun and whispered into her ear, ¡°Thanks.¡±

    Xie Daoyun had never been carried in a man¡¯s arms before. She had been in such a hurry to help out earlier, and had given it little thought. However, just by being carried like this, and feeling the warm air from his lips caressing her ear, she felt all the strength drain from her. Her face reddened, and she said quietly, ¡°You owe me two favors now.¡±

    This man had promised her a song thest time she helped him, yet she had never received anything after all this time.

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°I¡¯ll never be able to repay my debt of gratitude. How about Ipensate with my body?¡±

    Xie Daoyun had no reply.

    Why is this man so shameless? Does Chuyan know about this?

    Pang Chun yelled, ¡°Zu An, you and Miss Xie can be considered friends, yet you dare use her as a hostage? Isn¡¯t this going too far?¡±

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°I will definitely pay City Lord Xie and Miss Xie a visit in the future to apologize. Vice Magistrate, I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll have to ask you to make apromise today.¡±

    He chose his words carefully, tacitly choosing to not expose the situation.

    Pang Chun¡¯s expression darkened. In the end, he gestured for his men to open the gates. He knew that he wouldn¡¯t be able to stop Zu An and his men if they fought. Now that he had been offered an excuse to back down, there was no point in stubbornly persisting with it. He was sure that the Xie n would back him up if he was somehow made ountable for his actions.

    The other soldiers had long since pissed their pants in fear. They heaved a collective sigh of relief when they heard this, and quickly opened the gates.

    In his mind, Pang Chun berated these soldiers for being so cowardly, but he continued to act tough on the surface. ¡°Zu An, you will definitely regret what you''ve done today.¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t seem to mind at all. ¡°I¡¯m someone who only cares about the now. I won¡¯t ask too much of the future.¡±

    As the gates slowly swung open, Zu An said in a clear voice, ¡°Our objective is to protect the Chu n. Do not harm any civilians. You are not permitted to act against any of the city¡¯s soldiers without my order.¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± his troops responded in unison. There was no unnecessary noise or chatter. They all had extremely serious expressions, as if they were all machines built for war.

    Pang Chun envied them intensely. These are real elites! My subordinates are all useless idiots!

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s fragile heart was shaken. No wonder her father had always harbored reservations towards the Chu n! No matter where, this army of theirs was a power that couldn¡¯t be overlooked.

    ¡°Enter the city!¡± Zu Anmanded. The Red Cloak Army entered through the city gates in formation. A few soldiers formed a rear guard, their bows at the ready, prepared to defend the advancing column from an ambush.

    Zu An felt an intense admiration. Just how much time and resources did the Chu n invest to raise such an army? No wonder the Chu n was still in the red despite their massive salt business.

    This kind of army of elites could even make an inexperienced bum like him seem like a famous general!

    Chu Yucheng nudged his horse over with a grin on his face, his expression full of admiration. ¡°Ah Zu, since you still need tomand the troops, how about we put Miss Xie on my horse instead? I¡¯ll take care of her, and I guarantee that I won¡¯t let her escape!¡±

    Xie Daoyun darted behind Zu An immediately and rejected his proposal right away. ¡°I don¡¯t want to!¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Chu Yucheng stared nkly at her.

    Miss Xie, he¡¯s your kidnapper... What the heck are you doing, hiding in his arms? Can¡¯t you show even a little professionalism?

    Chu Hongcaiughed in delight. ¡°Fatass, you¡¯re about to crush your horse to death all on your own. How do you still have the nerve to approach Miss Xie?¡±

    ¡°Piss off! I don¡¯t wanna hear that from your monkey-lookin¡¯ ass. This is called being ¡®thick¡¯, okay?¡± Chu Yucheng was pissed.

    As the two of them argued noisily off to the side, Zu An said to Xie Daoyun, ¡°I¡¯ve really wronged Miss Xie this time.¡±

    Xie Daoyun kept her head lowered but grunted in acknowledgement. Her face was slightly red.

    Zu An jumped off and carried Xie Daoyun onto his horse. With a flick of the reins, he urged the horse forward.

    Pang Chun found a chance to approach Xie Daoyun as they entered the city. ¡°Miss Xie, what are you trying to do? Does the City Lord know what you¡¯re doing?¡± he asked via ki transmission.

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s lips remained still as she replied. ¡°Were you really going to battle the Red Cloak Army if I hadn¡¯t given you an excuse to step down? For starters, this is a battle between the Chu n and the empress. Why are you getting involved?¡±

    Pang Chun was stunned by her revtion. Only now did it all make sense to him. Oh yeah, I¡¯m on King Qi¡¯s side. Why am I getting all excited?

    Of course, he would never say that out loud. He was still an official of the court after all, and his duty to his station had made the earlier situation almost impossible to sort out.

    ¡°Thank you Miss Xie!¡± Pang Chun chuckled. Miss Xie had a truly sharp mind. Not only had she defused the crisis, she¡¯d taken personal responsibility for it.

    ¡°Contact my dad for me. Maybe this matter will finally make that old farte to a decision,¡± Xie Daoyun sent. Zu An set a quick pace, rapidly leaving the city gates far behind, and she was only able to get this final message in.

    After being in his arms for a while, Xie Daoyun suddenly frowned. ¡°Can you shift your sword behind you? It¡¯s poking me.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face reddened. He adjusted the thing in hisp a little. ¡°Okay.¡±

    This really wasn¡¯t his fault! Xie Daoyun¡¯s body was so soft, and she was giving off a nice fragrance. The two of them were riding so close to one another. It would have been weirder if he¡¯d had no reaction at all.

    After a while, a tinge of redness appeared on Xie Daoyun¡¯s neck as well. She had clearly realized what that thing had been.

    However, neither of them opened their mouths to broach this topic.

    Just like that, the two of them quickly followed the Red Cloak Army to the Chu Estate.

    Liu Yao had received the news a while ago. He led his contingent of imperial guardsmen out to face them. ¡°What are you all trying to do? Are you thinking of rebelling?¡±

    Zu An said coldly, ¡°General Liu must have misunderstood. A lot has happened in Brightmoon City recently, and we were worried that some hoodlums might start some trouble while you guys are carrying out your investigation. I¡¯ve brought these men with me to ensure the safety of all of our esteemed guests from the capital.¡±

    After saying this, he gave an order to the Red Cloak Army. ¡°Surround the Chu Estate. Do not allow anyone to disturb General Liu¡¯s investigation of this case!¡±

    Meanwhile, still seated in hisp, Xie Daoyun blinked. Everyone said that this kid was from the streets. Then why did his methods seem like something a wily old fox would cook up? Who in the world had taught him these things?

    He and the general were clearly enemies, and yet he¡¯d found a just and honorable reason that the other party couldn¡¯t argue against!

    This guy was a veteran in this arena!

    ¡°You little bastard, do you think that I, or these imperial guardsmen with me, need your protection?¡± Liu Yao was furious. ¡°Get the hell out of my sight!¡±

    As soon as he finished his sentence, a translucent projection of arge palm materialized in the air, reaching towards Zu An. This fe had managed to get away once, and because of that, he had managed to whip up this mess. He had to capture this brat!

    He wasn¡¯t about to underestimate the three-thousand strong Red Cloak Army. While they were yet to find a stable footing, he would take the opportunity to capture their leader. With him gone, the leaderless army wouldn¡¯t be a problem at all.

    As for this bloody Zu An, he would show him what proper torment looked like. How dare an ant like you dance in front of me?

 Chapter 412: Persuasion through Virtue

    <h4>Chapter 412: Persuasion through Virtue</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An¡¯s face grew pale when he saw the hand descending. Just as he was about to evade, a troop of archers rushed out from the Red Cloak Army behind him, and fired a volley at the translucent projection.

    The arrows these men fired were wrapped in ayer of red light. The flight of orderly arrows resembled a meteor shower.

    Zu An was amazed. This was just like the arrow enchantments in the movies!

    The red meteor shower crashed against the translucent hand. The projection was instantly scattered, and the arrows continued to travel forward.

    However, they had already exhausted a lot of their power, and were quickly cut down by the imperial guards.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes widened. He would never have expected an army to possess such power.

    Liu Yao¡¯s expression had grown terribly ugly. His attack had failed spectacrly in front of so many people! He roared in rage and drew his de. A hundred-meter long streak of de ki hacked downwards towards the Red Cloak Army. He wanted topletely disrupt this army¡¯s formation!

    ¡°Assemble!¡±

    Orders sounded one after another. At once, the men of the Red Cloak Army raised their shields forty-five degrees over their heads. Their small shields swirled with blue radiance, and a giant shield materialized in the sky above them.

    Liu Yao¡¯s hundred meter de of ki had looked incredibly powerful in the beginning, but it immediately paled inparison to this massive shield.

    There was a tremendous boom. The de of ki shattered into severalrge chunks, and those chunks broke apart further into smaller pieces.

    A circr wave rippled out across the surface of the giant shield, but it remained intact.

    Zu An observed this entire process intently. He noticed that this ripple was eventually distributed across each individual soldier¡¯s shield.

    Even the greatest power would no longer seem as terrifying once it had been divided several thousand times.

    How could Zu An pass up such an excellent opportunity? He nced at Liu Yao and snickered. ¡°Does General Liu have something else to show us?¡±

    This provocation was just too much. Liu Yao felt as though he was about to implode from anger.

    You have sessfully trolled Liu Yao for 999 Rage points!

    ¡°If you have any skill at all, stop hiding behind your army! Come out and face me!¡± Liu Yao roared. He could crush this puny shrimp with a single finger, yet he couldn¡¯t do anything if he hid behind an army.

    Zu An sighed. ¡°Is it just me or are you really stupid? An expert at the pinnacle of ninth rank wants a young junior to challenge him alone? Is there something wrong with my ears?¡±

    This man had already made it clear that he wanted to bring down the Chu n, and there was no way he would change his mind even if Zu An was a little nicer. Since that was the case, what was the point in holding back? He would just say whatever it was he wanted to say. That way, he''d be able to vent his frustration, and even earn some Rage points along the way.

    ¡°You...¡± Liu Yao almost choked on his breath. He knew that his demand had been unreasonable, but he¡¯d thrown it out mainly because this kid¡¯s smug attitude had driven his rage to the edge of madness.

    You have sessfully trolled Liu Yao for 991 Rage points!

    Xie Daoyun spoke up at this time. ¡°General Liu, young master Zu hase here mainly out of worry for the safety of Brightmoon Duke and the others. I ask the general to recognize his filial piety and permit his troops to guard the surrounding area.¡±

    Liu Yao gave Xie Daoyun a look. He knew that she was giving him a reason to back down, so his expression eased a little. ¡°You must be Xie Yi¡¯s daughter? I¡¯ve heard about your talent, even when I was in the capital city. You were one of the candidates considered to be the crown princess. We were close to bing rtives.¡±

    Zu An gave Xie Daoyun a surprised look. He hadn¡¯t expected her to be one of the crown prince¡¯s choices. Didn¡¯t that mean that he¡¯d almost embraced the crown prince¡¯s woman?

    Xie Daoyun blushed. ¡°General Liu is joking. This humble one has only shallow learning and ordinary looks. I am not worthy of the crown prince¡¯s kindness.¡±

    She had heard about this before, but everyone in the Xie n knew that there were too many variables to be looked at when choosing the crown princess. The Xie n¡¯s background wasn¡¯t illustrious enough to be connected to the crown prince in marriage, so it wasn¡¯t a big deal to them.

    Furthermore, with what they knew about the crown prince, she had no desire to be with him even if she were chosen.

    Liu Yao continued, ¡°Why is Miss Xie here? I heard that they took a hostage to get into the city. Were you the hostage? Hmph! These people are absolutely out of control! They dare to publicly seize the City Lord¡¯s daughter, and use her as leverage to barge into the city! Speak up if you have any grievances! I and all of these imperial guards will bring you justice!¡±

    He had already made his decision. As long as she gave the word, his subordinates would kill Zu An. If the Red Cloak Army dared to resist, that would be perfect.

    Even though the number of imperial guardsmen was small, their strength was not. This also gave them an avenue to involve the City Lord¡¯s own troops.

    Even if they ultimately lost, it would still be easy enough for him to escape afterwards. The Red Cloak Army could absorb his attacks by relying on their formations, but they couldn¡¯t prevent his escape.

    Meanwhile, fighting against the Imperial Guard and the City Defense Army would be an offence serious enough to warrant the eradication of a n. There would be nothing left for him to be worried about, and he would havepleted the task he¡¯d been given.

    No one could have predicted that Xie Daoyun would smile at him and say, ¡°Thank you General Liu for your good intentions. Ah Zu and I are friends. He didn¡¯t actually kidnap me.¡±

    When he heard this, Chu Yucheng nudged Chu Hongcai and whispered, ¡°Bro, why the heck do so many girls like him? He¡¯s surely not as attractive as me, and my body is so much better than his.¡±

    Chu Hongcai gave his bucket-like build a look and sneered. ¡°Do you have no self-awareness at all?¡±

    However, the scene from the Immortal Abode appeared in his mind again. Back then, Qiu Honglei had seemed so full of affection for Zu An. He immediately felt heartbroken.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The other Red Cloak Army soldiers looked at each other in dismay as well. After all, Chu First Miss was already the equivalent of a fairy in their eyes, yet she had ended up marrying someone they had never even heard of.

    Quite a few of them had looked into this mysterious young master, and had obviously heard of his various affairs. They weren¡¯t expecting the City Lord¡¯s esteemed daughter to give up so much for him! Just what was so good about this fellow?

    In contrast to their curious and interested expressions, Liu Yao¡¯s expression had gonepletely dark. ¡°Miss Xie, do you know what you are saying?¡±

    Xie Daoyun smiled and said in a refined and courteous manner, ¡°This junior is fully aware of her actions.¡±

    Liu Yao was appalled at how stubborn she was. Is the Chu n already on King Qi¡¯s side? I have to report this back to the empress as soon as possible.

    Seeing hisck of a reply, Zu An said, ¡°We want to meet Master and Madam. I hope General Liu will grant us this favor.¡±

    Liu Yao felt like his eye sockets were splitting. This brat was going too far!

    You have sessfully trolled Liu Yao for 666 Rage points!

    At that moment, a bright and clearugh rang out. ¡°Brightmoon Duke hasn¡¯t been convicted of anything yet, so I believe he is not a criminal. It¡¯s perfectly reasonable and fair for family members to wish to see each other.¡±

    A group of riders were headed in this direction. The one in the front was none other than the City Lord of Brightmoon City, Xie Yi. At his side was a man who was even prettier than a woman; none other than Xie Xiu.

    ¡°Dad!¡± Xie Daoyun called out with joy at their arrival.

    Xie Yi gave her a look. ¡°Get over here already. Hugging another man like that... are you trying to start a scandal?¡±

    ¡°Oh...¡± Xie Daoyun lowered her head in guilt and stuck out her tongue. Then, she said quietly to Zu An, ¡°Ah Zu, I¡¯ll take my leave.¡±

    ¡°Okay. Thank you for today,¡± Zu An replied with a smile.

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s face went red. She quickly walked over to Xie Yi¡¯s side.

    Seeing how his sister was acting, Xie Xiu couldn¡¯t help but give Zu An a look. I wanted to be your friend, but it seems you want to be my brother-inw?

    Then again, when did my sister start getting along with him?

    Liu Yao spoke as well. ¡°So, it¡¯s City Lord Xie! Why have youe?¡±

    Xie Yi smiled. ¡°I heard that some misunderstanding had taken ce, so I came here to have a look.¡±

    ¡°What sort of misunderstanding could there be? Since Zu An is considerate enough to offer to secure the surrounding area, I¡¯ll leave it to him.¡± Liu Yao suddenly smiled. Now that Xie Yi was clearly standing with the Chu n, he knew that, if he insisted on a fight, he would be the one that would be losing out. There was no need to persist with this any longer. Either way, once there was concrete proof, they could slowly settle the debts owed by the Chu n and Xie n at their leisure.

    Zu An was stunned at his instantaneous transformation. He thought that he was already shameless enough, yetpared to these old foxes, he was clearly stillcking! There was no way he would be able to change appearances that quickly.

    However, since the other party had backed down, there was no reason for him not to abuse this fact. ¡°General Liu, why couldn¡¯t you have said that earlier? If you had, I wouldn¡¯t have had to use my virtue to convince you.¡±

    Liu Yao flew into a rage. ¡°What did you say?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Liu Yao for 666 Rage points!

 Chapter 413: An Ingenious Gift

    <h4>Chapter 413: An Ingenious Gift</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An shrugged. ¡°Strength is everything in this world. Since strength is a virtue, I¡¯ve clearly used my virtue to convince you.¡±

    Liu Yao was about to explode from anger. How could there be such a shameless person in this world?

    This was indeed a world where the strong reigned. If he¡¯d lost to someone stronger, then so be it.

    But how many men did Zu An have on his side? Had he relied on his own strength at all? He was relying on this Red Cloak Army, which numbered three thousand!

    Fucking dogshit!

    You have sessfully trolled Liu Yao for 999 Rage points!

    Zu An had a taunting look on his face. Come at me, bitch. He now realized how moderately Chu Zhongtian had acted all this time. He had such a huge force behind him, yet he tried his best not to offend anyone. That was why everyone tried to step all over him, and treated the Chu n like a bloody doormat.

    Since that was the case, he would instead take apletely opposite approach! He needed to make an example out of someone, and this Liu Yao was the best candidate.

    Sometimes, you just had to kick someone¡¯s ass to scare the others off!

    Xie Yi was worried that these two sides might really get into a fight. It seemed wrong to mediate, yet not stepping in also seemed wrong. He quickly walked over to appease Liu Yao, ¡°General Liu, please do not get angry. This humble official has some things to consult with you about. This way please...¡±

    He led Liu Yao over to one side as he spoke. Xie Daoyun also hurried over. She was beautiful and graceful, and shared a slim connection to the crown prince, which made her a perfect choice to help ease the tension.

    Liu Yao gave Zu An a resentful re, but decided against any further action in the end. He followed Xie Yi to the side for a chat.

    Xie Xiu arrived at Zu An¡¯s side. He sighed and said, ¡°Brother Zu¡¯s performance today haspletely changed my opinion of you! You actually dared to go against a cultivator at the pinnacle of ninth rank!¡±

    Zu An scoffed loudly. ¡°What¡¯s so special about the pinnacle of ninth rank? I¡¯ve already yed around with master and grandmaster rank cultivators before.¡±

    He really wasn¡¯t lying. Forgetting Old Mi and Wei Dan for a moment, none of those individuals in the secret dungeon had been weaker than Liu Yao.

    Xie Xiu stared at him without speaking.

    Since he didn¡¯t know about these things, he treated Zu An¡¯s words as simple boasting. He didn¡¯t really care about it anyway, since there was something else he was concerned about. ¡°By the way, what is going on between you and my sister? I¡¯ve never seen my sister take the initiative to help someone else like this before!¡±

    ¡°Oh, just a little bit of this and a little bit of that,¡± Zu An said with a smile.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Xie Xiu began to panic.

    ¡°Just go ask your sister.¡± Zu An smiled mysteriously. Then, he called for some people to follow him into Chu Estate.

    The imperial guardsmen moved to stop them, but when they recalled how even Liu Yao had been defeated, they were at a loss as to what to do.

    Fortunately, Zu An didn¡¯t bring everyone in, but only selected a few dozen to apany him. The rest of the men were left outside the gates.

    Xie Yi, who had been keeping an eye on him, finally exhaled in relief. He was d that Zu An had the good sense to know when to stop, and hadn¡¯t be openly hostile towards the Imperial Guard.

    Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru were shocked and overjoyed when they saw him enter with his Red Cloak Army escorts. Chu Yucheng and Chu Hongcai hurried off to visit their own family members after they paid their respects.

    Qin Wanru was the more excited of the two. ¡°Ah Zu, you didn¡¯t disappoint me after all!¡±

    ¡°Master, Madam, it¡¯s all right now. With the Red Cloak Army outside, none of these people would dare to start any trouble in Chu Estate!¡± Zu An smiled.

    Chu Zhongtian was still worried. ¡°But the debts that the saltmissioners have left behind are still there. Even if they don¡¯t torture us to extract our confessions, the Chu n is still done for if they continue with the investigation!¡±

    Qin Wanru snorted. ¡°What¡¯s there to be scared about? We¡¯ll just live as refugees in the wilderness if ites to it. The ckwind Stockade and the Whale Gang were doing just fine before. Is our Chu n inferior to them?¡±

    This woman really is irritable! Thank goodness Chuyan isn¡¯t anything like her.

    Zu An wiped the sweat off his brow and said, ¡°Rx, it¡¯s not that bad. It¡¯s not as serious as Madam thinks. The ount book that was stolen isn¡¯t the real one.¡±

    Qin Wanru and Chu Zhongtian looked at him, bewildered.

    Zu An thus exined what Chu Chuyan had done with the ount book to them.

    Chu Zhongtian roared withughter. ¡°My Chuyan really is smart! Hahaha!¡±

    Qin Wanru also smiled. The huge weight bearing down on her had finally lifted. However, another thought struck her immediately afterwards. ¡°That brat! How dare she deceive me? I¡¯m going to discipline her properly once she gets back!¡±

    ...

    Zu An ordered the Red Cloak Army to set up camp nearby as he left the interior of the Chu Estate. It was clear that they wouldn¡¯t leave until the investigation of the Chu n was over.

    Xie Yi was worried that hostilities would identally spark between the Red Cloak Army and Imperial Guard, so he had Xie Xiu and Pang Chun order the City Defense Army over, in case anything happened.

    Liu Yao felt extremely irritated, but the Red Cloak Army was just too strong. Xie Yi had also clearly expressed his intentions to shield them. His hands were well and truly tied.

    However, he was in no rush himself. Time was on his side. All he needed was to examine the ount book. Once he had concrete proof, it would be easy enough to convict the lot of them.

    Once they were convicted, no one would be able to help the Chu n, unless Xie Yi openly rebelled.

    Even if Xie Yi did step in to help the Chu n, it wouldn¡¯t matter either. He would just ask the emperor to issue an imperial edict, and then they would proceed to suppress all those who dared to step in.

    Hmph, Zu An, just you wait! You can keep up your smugness for a few more days. Soon, I will make you understand just how cruel this world is!

    Zu An felt his lips curl when he saw the Rage points flowing in. Coward. Come at me now if you have the guts!

    He chose to ignore Liu Yao, and went to find Xie Daoyun instead.

    She¡¯d been a great help earlier, after all, and he had to thank her properly.

    Zu An was surprised to see that her carriage was about to leave. ¡°Where is Miss Xie going?¡±

    The carriage curtains were drawn, revealing Xie Daoyun¡¯s graceful figure. ¡°Miss Zheng is getting married today. Since we share a good rtionship, I am going to offer her my congrattions.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Zu An was shocked. He had been so preupied with everything that was going on, it hadpletely slipped his mind that it was already the following day.

    ¡°Teacher Zu, do you want me to bring a congrattory gift in your stead?¡± Xie Daoyun winked mischievously.

    She didn¡¯t know about the secret that Zu An and Zheng Dan shared, but the two of them shared a teacher-student rtionship in the academy. It was still expected of Zu An to congratte her on her marriage.

    ¡°No need, I¡¯ll congratte her myself.¡± Zu An said in a downcast voice.

    Xie Daoyun was shocked to see how sullen Zu An¡¯s expression had be. However, she didn¡¯t think too much of it. ¡°Ah Zu, do you want to go together?¡±

    She was worried that Zu An might get into further conflict with Liu Yao. The Xie n might not be able to stop them if that happened, so she wanted to separate them first, if possible.

    ¡°Sure, give me a moment.¡± Zu An smiled. He ran back to exin a few matters, and then he entered Xie Daoyun¡¯s carriage. ¡°I¡¯m ready.¡±

    Xie Daoyun blushed. I did say we could go together, but I didn¡¯t tell you to get in my carriage!

    She opened her mouth to object, but the two of them had just ridden on the same horse, so it felt a little unnatural to refuse him now. She left her objections unvoiced.

    However, she still felt a little ufortable sitting with another man in such a private carriage. She immediately looked for a topic to alleviate her awkwardness. ¡°Ah Zu, what do you n to do now?¡±

    ¡°Obviously, I will act ording to how the situation unfolds,¡± Zu An replied.

    Xie Daoyun hesitated, but decided to carry on with her reply. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t really be saying these things, but as a friend, I can¡¯t watch you continue to sink into the abyss.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°What is Miss Xie saying?¡±

    Xie Daoyun pursed her thin lips. ¡°I know that Brightmoon Duke has chosen a neutral stance. However, even though maintaining neutrality may seem as though you are refraining from offending either side, the reality is that you will end up upsetting both sides. All the disasters that have fallen upon the Chu n have been precisely because of this. The Chu n is already on the verge of copse! Are you all really still going to maintain your neutrality?¡±

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°Is Miss Xie trying to recruit me in King Qi¡¯s stead?¡±

    Xie Daoyun sighed. ¡°I won¡¯t deny that I am trying to rope you in. However, these are also the sincere words of a friend. Even though your Chu n has the three-thousand strong Red Cloak Army, what can you all do against the powerful imperial court with just a mere three thousand men?

    ¡°Moreover, once you lose your Chu n¡¯snd, the salt mines and the iron in the mountains, what can your Chu n rely on even to sustain this force?

    ¡°Everyone knows what Brightmoon Duke is like. I refuse to believe that he will allow the Red Cloak Army to attack caravans like how the ckwind Stockade does. Without any ie, the Red Cloak Army will soon crumble. When that happens, it would be toote for regrets.¡±

    ¡°What you say makes a lot of sense,¡± Zu An said. ¡°We will carefully consider your offer.¡±

    Xie Daoyun looked carefully into his eyes for a long time, before she finally said, ¡°I don¡¯t know why, but I feel like your words aren¡¯t sincere. I don¡¯t sense the slightest bit of nervousness from you. Instead, it looks like everything is going ording to your n. However, I really do not understand how the Chu n can possiblye back from this!¡±

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°Let¡¯s talk about something casual, like romance. I don¡¯t want to discuss this any further.¡±

    The image of the two of them riding on a single horse suddenly appeared in her head, and her cheeks grew red. ¡°Who wants to talk about romance with you?¡± she said with a snort.

    She looked out the windows with a guilty expression. She suddenly noticed that there were soldiers following behind the carriage, which startled her. ¡°Why did you bring the Red Cloak Army with you? What are you trying to do?¡±

    Zu An looked out the window in the direction of the Sang n¡¯s estate. ¡°I¡¯m going to congratte them on their wedding.¡±

    He¡¯d left most of the Red Cloak Army behind to protect the Chu n, but brought a few hundred men along with him to the Sang Estate.

    Xie Daoyun obviously didn¡¯t believe him. She said in panic, ¡°I know that you and the Sang n share many grudges, but this is Zheng Dan¡¯s important day! Please don¡¯t do anything reckless!¡±

    She began to feel regretful. What in the world had she been thinking when she¡¯d invited him toe with her? This guy loved to start trouble! Disturbances sprang up around him no matter where he went.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t.¡± Zu An smiled. His eyes were hard to read.

    Xie Daoyu didn¡¯t know what to make of his response. Not knowing what to say, she couldn¡¯t help but worry inside. The first thing she was going to do after reaching the Sang n was to send someone to contact her father.

    Zu An looked out the window. Unlike the heavy atmosphere that had hung around the Sang Estate during hisst visit, it was now decorated withrge rednterns and symbols of luck.

    A lively atmosphere had already sprung up around the estate. The marriage of a governor¡¯s young master and the Zheng n¡¯s first miss was a huge deal. All the important figures in the city were present.

    If Zu An hadn¡¯t suddenly brought the Red Cloak Army into the city, Xie Yi and Liu Yao might have been here as well.

    The servant at the gate announced the guests and their gifts.

    ¡°First miss Xie has arrived with twenty-eight of the highest quality eastern pearls as a congrattory gift.¡±

    ¡°The Chu n... huh? The Chu n¡¯s young master has arrived with... with a green hat as a congrattory gift.¡±[1]

    The festive and lively Sang Estate suddenly grew quiet at these words.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    All of the people here were respectable figures. Most of them knew about the grudge between the Chu and Sang ns.

    They had just been discussing the confrontation between the Red Cloak Army Zu An brought back and Liu Yao. Why was one of the main figures involved suddenly showing up here?

    Also, what in the world was up with that hat?

    1. Wearing a green hat is ng for being cuckolded.

 Chapter 414: Your Green Hat is Crooked

    <h4>Chapter 414: Your Green Hat is Crooked</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    News of this quickly reached Sang Hong and Sang Qian. They led a group of men over to wee them.

    Sang Qian was dressed in festive wedding finery, his face radiant and full of confidence.

    Everyone around him had nothing but praise in their hearts for him. Sang Qian had been born handsome, and now that he was all dressed up, he looked even more suave and outstanding.

    The guests from all over Brightmoon City whispered among themselves.

    ¡°Young master Sang looks quite happy today!¡±

    ¡°Of course he does! You¡¯ll be excited too if you could marry a beauty like Miss Zheng and bring her into the bridal room.¡±

    ¡°But the arrival of the Chu n is rather inauspicious... I wonder how they will deal with that.¡±

    ¡°Tsk, the age of the Chu n is already over. Even the emperor himself favors the Sang n. What can the Chu n even do?¡±

    ...

    The endless discussion washed over him, but Zu An waspletely unaffected. With an amused expression, he watched the father and son duo arrive.

    ¡°So it was my dear niece Xie who came! We¡¯ve cost you quite a lot this time, haven¡¯t we? Haha. Your father already brought over a generous gift earlier on.¡± Sang Hong deliberately avoided looking at Zu An, and only greeted Xie Daoyun.

    Xie Daoyun smiled and said, ¡°Uncle is too polite. That was my father¡¯s own kindness, while this is my own. I am good friends with Miss Zheng, so it is only proper that I bring a gift myself.¡±

    Sang Hong said with a sigh, ¡°Niece is both beautiful and considerate! I really wonder who will be so blessed as to marry you in the future!¡±

    Xie Daoyun blushed, and she lowered her head in embarrassment.

    Zu An was clearly unhappy. ¡°Lord Sang, aren¡¯t you being too discriminating? Both of us arrived at the same time, but you¡¯re only praising Miss Xie? What about me?¡±

    Sang Hong felt his mood sour immediately.

    Sang Qian, too, was at a loss for words.

    Everyone around them looked in his direction. Do you really have no idea why those two only praised Miss Xie?

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Hong for 250 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for 357 Rage points!

    Sang Hong pretended to be surprised. ¡°If it isn¡¯t young master Zu! All of you are guests. Naturally, our Sang n wees all those whoe to offer their sincere congrattions to us.¡±

    Sang Qian wasn¡¯t asposed as his father. ¡°What kind of gift is this?¡± he demanded angrily.

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for 666 Rage points!

    He noticed that Zu An¡¯s gift was a hat, and a green one at that.

    The green hat bore no significance in this world, but he instinctively knew that this wasn¡¯t a good gift.

    Zu An smiled. He handed the hat over to him. ¡°I liked the hat¡¯s color, and thought that it suited Brother Sang¡¯s style. Here, I¡¯ll put it on for you.¡±

    He moved to put it on his head right after he said this.

    Sang Qian was afraid that there might have been something hidden inside. He took a step back in rm. ¡°Who gives hats as a wedding gift? Are you only here to cause trouble?!¡±

    Zu An sighed. ¡°I came here with a sincere gift! Because of some people, our n has be so poor that I couldn¡¯t bring over a gift as precious as Miss Xie¡¯s pearls. However, my intentions are equal! Could it be that the powerful Sang n only receives expensive gifts, and refuses all gifts that aren¡¯t worth as much?¡±

    Even though they knew that he was deliberately starting some drama, the guests around them still began to whisper among themselves. Indeed, it¡¯s the thought behind the gift that counts, even if it¡¯s not valuable.

    Moreover, Brightmoon Duke was well known for the strength of his character, and many people in Brightmoon City had received his favor. To see that the Chu n couldn¡¯t even afford to bring a proper congrattory gift was unfortunate, and they couldn¡¯t help but feel sympathy.

    Sang Qian was clearly angered by the whispers around him. ¡°You bastard, you came here to cause trouble!¡± he yelled.

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for 777 Rage points!

    ¡°Qian¡¯er!¡± Sang Hong shouted at him. ¡°Everyone whoes today is a guest! Today is your day of celebration, so you must ept all gifts.¡±

    ¡°But...¡± Sang Qian felt like something was amiss, yet he couldn¡¯t really put his finger on what it was.

    Zu An smiled. ¡°Lord Sang is most wise. Come, Brother Sang, let me put this on for you myself.¡±

    After saying this, he put the hat straight onto Sang Qian¡¯s head.

    Sang Qian wanted to move out of the way, but his dad shot him a look, and he forced himself to stand rigidly in ce.

    Of course, if they had known the meaning behind the wearing of a green hat, they would never have agreed to it.

    ¡°Sigh, don¡¯t move, Brother Sang! It¡¯s getting all crooked.¡± Zu An adjusted his hat for him again, and only then did he nod his head in satisfaction. ¡°Not bad, not bad. This hat really suits Brother Sang.¡±

    He had a feeling that, many yearster, the phrase ¡°wearing a green hat¡± would circte throughout this world, and it would all be because of his moment...

    Sang Hong said in a low voice, ¡°Young master Zu, are you satisfied now? If there is nothing else, then please head on home. Of course, if you wish to attend the ceremony and have a drink, we wee you as well.¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An put away his smile and said in a serious tone, ¡°No way! Of course I¡¯m not done yet. I came here today precisely because I have some debts to settle with Lord Sang.¡±

    ¡°You have some debts to settle with my father? Like hell you¡¯re settling anything today!¡± Sang Hong roared angrily.

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for 358 Rage points!

    He came from a distinguished background, so he always looked down on a nobody like Zu An. However, it was precisely this nobody who had ended up acquiring Brightmoon City¡¯s number one beauty. She was a goddess that countless young masters couldn¡¯t even imagine themselves with, and yet she had ended up in the hands of a toad like Zu An.

    That was why he was always irritated the moment he saw Zu An.

    Sang Hong sneered as well. ¡°Brightmoon Duke might have the right to speak such words in front of me. What right do you have? You¡¯re still far off.¡±

    His tone was full of disdain. Many of the guests also roared withughter when they heard this. In their eyes, Zu An was clearly overestimating his capabilities.

    Leaving aside the Sang n¡¯s status for a moment, Sang Hong is still an eighth rank cultivator. How can a young brat like you even have the nerve to say something like that?

    ¡°Does this give me the right, then?¡± Zu An said with a snort. He issued the pre-arranged signal, and a group of Red Cloak Army soldiers barged in ruthlessly, surrounding all of them.

    Sang Qian¡¯s face grew dark. This was his wedding celebration, so he¡¯d obviously left the majority of the River Patrol Army in their barracks, and had only brought a few higher-level officers with him. Only a few n servants protected the courtyard of the estate right now. They were no match at all for these Red Cloak Army soldiers.

    Sang Hong was actually quite shocked. He already knew that Zu An had brought the Red Cloak Army into the city to face Liu Yao¡¯s Imperial Guard, but he hadn¡¯t expected him to bring them here as well.

    Of course, having been in politics for so long, he was already used to swapping appearances quickly. ¡°What is young master Zu trying to do? Surely we can just talk things out?¡±

    Zu An sighed in his heart. Without the Red Cloak Army, who would ever treat a fifth rank cultivator like him seriously?

    Strength was still the most important thing in the end.

    Since the other party was clearly concerned by the Red Cloak Army, there was no need for him to hold back. ¡°You put on that high and mighty act just now, but now you¡¯re happily willing to talk things out? Don¡¯t you feel the least bit embarrassed?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯d better not go too far!¡± Sang Qian roared in fury.

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for 888 Rage points!

    Not even someone as shrewd as Sang Hong could endure such constant harassment from a child. ¡°I just didn¡¯t want a noisy dog to disturb the wedding. Don¡¯t think for a moment that I am actually scared of you.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Hong for 996 Rage points!

    He took a step forward, and a great wave of pressure surged outward, fueled by his eight ranks of cultivation. Many of the guests around him were rmed by this sudden development. Unable to withstand the pressure, they backed away one by one.

    Many members of the Red Cloak Army stepped forward to help block the pressure that Sang Hong was releasing.

    Zu An stood perfectly still, as if nothing was wrong. He said with a smile, ¡°General Liu looked down on our Chu n¡¯s Red Cloak Army, and insisted on fighting. Unfortunately, he lost, and lost badly. Does Lord Sang wish to try your luck as well?¡±

    Sang Hong¡¯s expression flickered several times. He reacted immediately, quickly retracting his aura. ¡°Young master Zu must be joking. The Chu n¡¯s Red Cloak Army is famous throughout thends. How could this humble one not know about that? However, as inhabitants of this world, we should all seek to be reasonable. A wedding is a major event. Barging in with an army on someone''s wedding day to bully them is hard to excuse no matter where it happens, am I correct?¡±

    ¡°Bully?¡± Zu An almost burst intoughter. Sang Hong was thest person he had expected to use this word against him.

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡± Xie Daoyun also tugged at his sleeves. She sent him an urgent transmission via ki. ¡°You''ll cause a public outrage by doing this! The troops serving under Sang Hong will hear of this soon. If a huge battle breaks out, the Red Cloak Army won¡¯t be able to fend off both the City Defense and Imperial Guard, no matter how strong it is!¡±

    Of course, as a member of the Xie n, she didn¡¯t want to see the situation get out of hand. If it did, they would surely be dragged into it as well.

    ¡°Fine. Out of respect for Miss Xie, I¡¯ll reason with you all.¡± Zu An¡¯s words immediately made Xie Daoyun blush.

 Chapter 415: The Wedding

    <h4>Chapter 415: The Wedding</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°What a slick talker!¡± Sang Qian sneered. This guy really never gives up a chance to tease a girl!

    But Miss Xie is from a distinguished n, and she would clearly despise such crass... methods.

    Somehow, Xie Daoyun looked extremely shy right now! Sang Qian grew more and more annoyed. What the hell is wrong with these girls? Do all girls like this type of shit?

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian 412 Rage points!

    Zu An was a little surprised. What¡¯s up with these sudden Rage points? Are you jealous that I¡¯m more popr than you?

    Of course, he didn¡¯t mind them at all. In fact, the more points the better!

    ¡°So, what does young master Zu have to say to us?¡± Sang Hong looked at the Red Cloak Army soldiers behind Zu An and roughly assessed their numbers.

    ¡°I believe Sang Qian was lying on his bed like a dead dog not too long ago.¡± Zu An deliberately nced over at Sang Qian while saying this.

    ¡°Dead dog?¡± Sang Qian was so angry he wanted to draw his de, but he couldn¡¯t find the hilt of his sword despite reaching for it several times. He btedly remembered that it was his wedding day, and he obviously wasn¡¯t carrying a weapon with him.

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for 666 Rage points!

    Sang Hong held him back to prevent him from acting recklessly. He was worried that his son might ruin everything.

    Zu An continued, ¡°It was you who begged me to save him, and you even agreed to many conditions. Among them, you agreed that the Chu n would not be your enemy anymore, and that you would take no further action against the Chu n. Is that correct?¡±

    Sang Hong smiled. ¡°I believe there must be some sort of misunderstanding. I have always admired Brightmoon Duke¡¯s character, and our rtionship with the Chu n has always been good. Why would I act against the Chu n?¡±

    The expressions of everyone around them became very strange. This was the perfect example of lying through your teeth!

    Seeing Sang Hong¡¯s apparently friendly smile, Zu An cursed him in his heart for being a wily old fox. ¡°Lord Sang cannot cannot alter a promise no matter how slick your tongue is. After all, you made a vow. Are you not afraid that you would suffer heavenly wrath by going back on that vow?¡±

    Sang Hong put away his smile. ¡°Indeed, I did make such promises. I have also kept my promises, and have not gone back on my word.¡±

    ¡°You haven¡¯t gone back on your word?¡± Zu An became furious. ¡°Then why are Liu Yao and the Imperial Guard here conducting an investigation? I know that you were the one who bribed Chu Tiesheng back then, and you obtained the Chu n¡¯s ount book from him. This was what you used to entrap the Chu n!¡±

    Personally, he was quite curious. Sang Hong had vited his oath, after all. Why hadn¡¯t he suffered the wrath of heaven?

    After all, more than one person had told him about the severity of viting an oath.

    This was something held dear by everyone in this world. All of them feared the so-called wrath of heaven.

    Why hadn¡¯t Sang Hong suffered this heavenly wrath?

    He himself had no idea what this heavenly wrath was. He wondered if he had to expose this to the world before the heavens would do anything.

    That was why he¡¯de all the way here and started thismotion.

    The crowd erupted into a mor when they heard what he said. Even though the upper sses of Brightmoon City knew all about the Sang n¡¯s intentions, most of the lower-level ns weren¡¯t aware of the details. Now that they had heard this, all of them were equally shocked and excited. They were all curious to see how the Sang n would respond.

    This marriage ceremony really was worthing to, and they counted themselves fortunate to be able to witness such a huge drama unfold.

    Sang Hong wasn¡¯t as flustered or angry as Zu An imagined he would be. He replied calmly, ¡°Please consider the amount of time between Chu Tiesheng taking your ount book and you healing Qian¡¯er. Back then, I vowed that I wouldn¡¯t act against the Chu n anymore, and I¡¯ve abided by that vow these past few days. I¡¯ve only been focused on preparing for my son¡¯s wedding. As for the investigation by the Imperial Guard, even if I were somehow involved, it was surely something I put into motion beforehand. It doesn¡¯t sh with my oath.¡±

    A smug smile spread across Sang Hong¡¯s face after he said this. Clearly, he looked down on Zu An, and thought very little of his attempt.

    Zu An was stunned. What the hell? Even such a thing was considered okay?

    Sang Hong looked at Zu An, and his smile became ambiguous. ¡°Is young master Zu satisfied with this reply?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression flickered several times. In the end, he sighed and said, ¡°Lord Sang really is good at scheming and plotting. I¡¯m honestly impressed.¡±

    ¡°Young master Zu is too kind with your praise. You are still young, but with your wit, I believe you have excellent prospects as well,¡± said Sang Hong.

    Xie Daoyun was surprised. She sensed great appreciation in Sang Hong¡¯s voice. Why did it sound as if he was trying to win him over?

    Far from seeing it that way, Zu An only felt even more disgust when he heard this. Wasn¡¯t he just mocking him for being inexperienced?

    He had always been extremely proud of his trolling skills. He was always the one pissing people off and embarrassing them, yet he had ended up falling for this old man¡¯s tricks.

    Putting aside their enmity, he really did have to give Sang Hong some respect. This old man had terrifying foresight and a brilliant, scheming mind, and he acted boldly and decisively. His plotting had even brought the massive Chu n to the brink of annihtion.

    At that moment, a different voice spoke. ¡°Since this misunderstanding has already been cleared up, I would like to ask young master Zu to please leave. Do not disrupt my little girl¡¯s important day any further.¡±

    The one who spoke was the Master of the Zheng n, Zheng Yutang. He looked at Zu An with an unkind expression. After seeing how his daughter had behaved around Zu An thest time, he could tell that something was not right, even though his daughter hadn¡¯t said anything.

    Everyone else thought that Zu An hade because of the issues revolving around the Chu n, but he was worried that it might have something to do with his daughter. That was why he wanted to chase this little fiend away before he caused any further problems.

    Of course, he couldn¡¯t be med for this. Between the son of a governor and a drafted son-inw of the Chu n, anyone would choose the son of a governor.

    Furthermore, the Zheng n was already bound to the Sang n in many ways. There was no way they could change Zheng Dan¡¯s proposed partner now.

    However, Sang Hong smiled and said instead, ¡°Actually, if young master Zu wishes to join the wedding feast, we will still wee you.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zheng Yutang wanted to say no, but it seemed inconvenient to say so, since his own daughter was the reason for it. He could only swallow his words and go along.

    Zu An said with augh, ¡°Lord Sang is too kind. I won¡¯t refuse the offer.¡±

    Sang Qian¡¯s expression became ugly. He obviously didn¡¯t want to see this guy at his wedding! However, since his father already gave the offer, he couldn¡¯t refuse Zu An now. The best he could do was to turn around with a snort, and head back inside.

    His reaction did not go unnoticed by Zu An. Oh? He seems pretty unhappy.

    As such, he said, ¡°Miss Zheng is my student after all, and young master Sang is getting married to Miss Zheng. Shouldn¡¯t you greet me respectfully the next time you see me?¡±

    Sang Qian ground his teeth and kept walking.

    Sang Hong shared his son¡¯s feelings, and even Xie Daoyun was left speechless.

    Sang Qian pretended not to hear anything. He hastened his steps, his face as dark as a thunderhead.

    Sang Hong was also worried that something else might happen if he stayed out there any longer, so he quickly headed back inside as well. His heart was filled with incalcble regret. Just why did I have to say that he could stay?

    Zu An let out a deep sigh. ¡°I fear that Miss Zheng won¡¯t be at all happy once she gets married...¡±

    Everyone whipped their heads around to look at him. Who said this sort of thing at someone else¡¯s wedding? Then again, considering his grudge with the Sang n, it wasn¡¯t all that surprising.

    ¡°Why?¡± Xie Daoyun couldn¡¯t help but ask.

    Zu An exined, ¡°I spoke so loudly, yet young master Sang didn¡¯t hear me. Doesn¡¯t that mean that there¡¯s something wrong with his ears? Divine Physician Ji told me that the cause of such an issue, especially when one is so young, is most likely a weak kidney.¡±[1]

    ¡°A weak kidney?¡± Xie Daoyun¡¯s face went red. As someone who was well read and knowledgeable, she naturally knew what this signified.

    Sang Qian staggered and almost fell. He was so angry that he turned around and made ready to assault Zu An.

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for 811 Rage points!

    Sang Hong pulled him back. ¡°Calm down! He¡¯s taunting you on purpose. Today is an important day for you. Don¡¯tplicate matters any further.¡±

    ¡°But that bastard keeps strutting around with that smug look! I¡¯m about to go crazy!¡± Sang Qian¡¯s face was entirely red.

    Sang Hong consoled him. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the Chu n will be finished soon. He won¡¯t be able to act this cocky for long.¡±

    Sang Qian gritted his teeth. ¡°I will skin him alive and make him regret being born into this world!¡±

    Sang Hong frowned. He actually admired Zu An¡¯s talent and wanted to take him under his wing. However, if his son harbored such a severe grudge against Zu An, there would be no point in forcefully trying to win him over. I¡¯ll think about thister.

    After the earlier turmoil, the wedding program began to move more quickly.

    Eventually, someone shouted, ¡°The bride has arrived! The bride has arrived!¡±

    Everyone turned their heads to look. A woman dressed in the bright-colored clothes of a new bride slowly walked over, escorted by a maid.

    Even though there was a veil over her face, it was still obvious from her gorgeous figure that she was an incredible beauty.

    Zu An recognized Zheng Dan from a single look. After all, he was familiar with every part of her. She seemed a little more voluptuous than before, more mature, and arge part of that was because of him.

    A smile subconsciously spread across Sang Qian¡¯s face when he saw Zheng Dan. Hmph! Zu An, all you can do is make empty boasts! Soon, I¡¯ll be the one with a beauty in my arms, while you can only watch jealously from the side.

    He quickly walked forward and held onto the end of a red silk ribbon. Zheng Dan held the other end. Just like that, he led the bride inside.

    Zu An felt a slight impatience when he saw that the two of them were about to conduct the wedding rites. Why wasn¡¯t the thing that he¡¯d prepared here yet?

    1. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, having a weak kidney refers to someone being too sexually active, and being impotent as a result.

 Chapter 416: On the Verge of Erupting

    <h4>Chapter 416: On the Verge of Erupting</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An panicked. Even though he was certain that what he was waiting for would surelye, he wasn¡¯t certain if it would be arriving today.

    If it came today, everything would be perfect. If it didn¡¯t, however, was he supposed to just watch as Zheng Dan and Sang Qian cemented their union as husband and wife?

    Even though they had both known that this was going to happen, and he¡¯d even gone as far as to poison Sang Qian with Ji Dengtu¡¯s drug to make him impotent, he couldn¡¯t prevent a strange mix of emotions from welling up in him as he watched the two of them proceeding with the wedding rites.

    Sigh, it was just a casual fling! What am I doing, getting my emotions mixed up in this? Aren¡¯t I just shooting myself in the foot?

    A gentle voice spoke into his ear. ¡°Ah Zu, I heard you gave Sang Qian a green hat?¡±

    Zu An raised his head. Zheng Dan was walking while holding that red ribbon. Everyone was praising her for her gracefulness, yet none of them knew that she was actually talking to Zu An through ki transmission.

    ¡°What else can I give him?¡± Zu An replied in a huff.

    ¡°You¡¯re too evil.¡± Zheng Dan¡¯s voice sounded different, and her expression under the veil was surely more amazing. ¡°Sang Qian might kill you if he knew what a green hat really meant.¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu Anughed. ¡°You are the only other person who knows what it symbolizes. He won¡¯t find out if you don¡¯t tell him.¡±

    Zheng Dan sighed. ¡°Ah Zu, you¡¯ve already had your fun with him. It¡¯s already toote to stop this marriage between our two ns. Please don¡¯t do anything that would put you in danger.¡±

    ¡°Toote? Maybe not,¡± Zu An said with a coldugh.

    Zheng Dan bit her lip. ¡°I would just drop everything and leave with you if I only had to worry about myself, but this marriage goes beyond just Sang Qian and myself. It represents the joining of the Zheng and Sang ns, an arrangement that will bring mutual benefits to countless people. I really cannot back out of it.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure you also know that I am only marrying him in name. I won¡¯t let him touch me. Besides, after what you did, he can¡¯t do anything to me even if he wanted to.¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t make trouble for you through my actions.¡±

    Zheng Dan sighed deeply. ¡°I hope so.¡±

    A host of ceremonial procedures followed. Sang Hong nced in Zu An¡¯s direction several times, and sighed in relief when he saw that he was only drinking alone.

    The situation would quickly growplicated if Zu An really decided to start something during this wedding.

    Xie Daoyun gave Zu An a strange look. ¡°Ah Zu, is there something going on between you and Miss Zheng?¡±

    ¡°Why would you think that?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know either, but I feel like your rtionship with her is quite strange,¡± Xie Daoyun said. ¡°Zheng Dan would always consult you about arithmetic in the academy, but that¡¯s probably unavoidable if she wishes to help out with her family¡¯s business. However, you¡¯re acting weird today as well! You look like a frustrated lover, full of unrequited love, drowning your feelings in alcohol.¡±

    Zu An was stupefied. Women really possessed a ridiculous sixth sense! She¡¯d managed to get this close to the truth from just these clues?

    ¡°Miss Xie¡¯s imagination really is rich. You must have read quite a few romance novels in your spare time.¡± He naturally wouldn¡¯t admit to it. Even if he didn¡¯t care, he still had to show consideration for Zheng Dan¡¯s reputation.

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s face heated up. ¡°I read all kinds of books in my spare time,¡± she said, her voice tinged with embarrassment.

    Zu Anughed and said, ¡°Have you read ¡®Sweet Pampered Wife: Dominating Sword Immortal¡¯s Ny-Nine Days of Searching For Love¡¯?¡±

    Xie Daoyun looked at him in shock. ¡°You like that book too?¡±

    Zu An felt his jaw drop open.

    You¡¯ve really read it?

    Was this book some kind of drug? Why else would both the normally cold and arrogant Chu Chuyan and the publicly acknowledged genius Xie Daoyun actually appreciate this kind of stuff?

    Xie Daoyun immediately grew excited when he mentioned this book, andunched into an enthusiastic and highly-detailed discussion with him.

    Why in the world would Zu An have read this book, though? He tried his best to reply to her absent-mindedly. He had already seen his fair share of such dramas with female leads in his previous world, so he could more or less guess at the plot.

    Eventually, the loud voice of the master of ceremonies sounded. ¡°It is time for the bride and groom to pay their respects!¡±[1]

    Zu An frowned. All of the other rites had been observed, and the ceremony had moved into the most important phase.

    Sang Qian and Zheng Dan walked forward together, with the red ribbon between them, stopping at a table covered in red cloth in the center of the hall. Incense and red candles were arranged on top. This was known as the ¡®heaven and earth table¡¯.

    The master of ceremonies shouted: ¡°First, pay your respects to heaven and earth!¡±

    The two of them slowly knelt down, and bowed three times towards this table.

    ¡°Second, pay your respects to your esteemed parents!¡±

    Sang Hong and Zheng Yutang sat on an elevated tform, stroking their beards as they observed the two people below them with smiles. This scene clearly brought them great happiness.

    ¡°Lastly, pay respects to each other!¡±

    This was the final step. The two of them were about to pay their respects to each other as official spouses.

    A sudden, sharp crash interrupted the proceedings, and everyone immediately looked towards the source of the sound.

    ¡°Sorry, sorry, my hand slipped. My wine cup fell identally and broke,¡± Zu An said in embarrassment.

    Both Sang Hong and Sang Qian were less than amused by this.

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Hong for 444 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for 444 Rage points!

    This is such a vital moment! Just how much of a fool did you have to be to identally drop a wine cup at this moment? Aren¡¯t you basically telling everyone that you don¡¯t approve of the marriage?

    The expressions of the guests began to change, one after another. They were about to be treated to yet another mouth-watering drama.

    Sang Hong coughed. ¡°Young master Zu, please be more careful.¡±

    With that, he waved his hand towards the others. ¡°Please continue.¡±

    The master of ceremonies shouted, ¡°Pay respects to each other!¡±

    Another crash, and a second cup fell to the ground.

    All eyes darted towards the shattered cup by Xie Daoyun¡¯s feet, whose face flushed red. She hurriedly waved her hands. ¡°It wasn¡¯t me, it wasn¡¯t me...¡±

    Sang Hong obviously knew that it wasn¡¯t her. His gaze shot at Zu An. ¡°Young master Zu, do not go too far!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Hong for 666 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for 666 Rage points!

    Zu An shrugged innocently and said, ¡°That wasn¡¯t my fault. She was the one who dropped it.¡±

    Xie Daoyun was extremely annoyed. This guy was too shameless!

    Sang Hong took a deep breath, and then he said to everyone. ¡°It¡¯s just a misunderstanding. It¡¯s all just a misunderstanding. Please continue.¡±

    The master of ceremonies gulped. His throat was about to go hoarse from all this hollering. He really hoped that nothing else would go wrong. ¡°Husband and wife, pay your respects to each other!¡±

    Zu An was holding a te in his hand, about to throw it to the ground, when he suddenly froze. A figure was already standing in front of him, grabbing on tightly to his wrist. ¡°Young master Zu, you aren¡¯t going to say that this is also an ident, are you?¡±

    Zu An was shocked to realize that his wrist had been grabbed. With a twist of his wrist, he struggled free at an inconceivable angle. He quickly backed up several zhang and looked at Sang Hong vigntly.

    An eight rank expert was no joke after all!

    Sang Hong was stunned. He hadn¡¯t expected that Zu An would be able to struggle free from his grip.

    The technique he¡¯d used seemed to be the Pei n¡¯s Entangling Feathersilk Art. Did he have the Pei n behind him?

    ¡°The one called Zu, Are you trying to start trouble? Guards, capture this despicable bastard!¡± The constant interruptions had left Sang Qian utterly furious.

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for 999 Rage points!

    By now, his River Patrol Army brothers had already arrived. Together with his father¡¯s eight ranks of cultivation, there was no need to fear the Chu n¡¯s Red Cloak Army anymore.

    His soldiers had already been given prior instructions. They rushed out one after another, at the same time that the Red Cloak Army burst in to surround and protect Zu An. A battle was on the verge of breaking out at any second.

    The surrounding guests quickly fled to the sides. Even though such drama was always worth watching, it wasn¡¯t worth getting swept up in, especially if they were too close!

    Sang Hong¡¯s patience was running thin as well. ¡°Zu An, I have always treated you with all due respect, yet you¡¯ve disturbed my son¡¯s wedding again and again. State your intentions!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Hong for 567 Rage points!

    ¡°What do you mean? Your n is clearly to me for providing cups and tes that are so easily knocked over! Why are you ming me for that?¡± Zu An cried out as though severely wronged. Since this old man wants to y the fool regarding the Chu n¡¯s problems, then he should have no problem with me learning a trick or two.

    ¡°Dad, don¡¯t waste your time talking to him! Just get rid of him!¡± Sang Qian grabbed a de out of his servant¡¯s hand.

    Zheng Dan raised her veil slightly, looking at Zu An with a face full of worry. She had no idea how he was going to wriggle out of this situation.

    He wasn¡¯t usually such a reckless person! What was going on? Could it be because of me...?

    Her expression oscited between joy and worry.

    Sang Hong snorted and said, ¡°If I don¡¯t teach you a lesson today, you mighte away with the impression that my Sang n is easily bullied!¡±

    With a wave of his hand, archers appeared on the rooftops all around them. All of them had drawn bows, aimed towards Zu An and the Red Cloak Army.

    After being humiliated by the Red Cloak Army earlier, how could he not take any preventative measures?

    When Sang Qian had contacted the River Patrol Army, he had also secretly assembled some men to lie in wait nearby.

    Seeing the situation Zu An was in, Zheng Dan could no longer hold herself back. ¡°Father-inw, today is Dan¡¯er¡¯s important day. It would be really inauspicious if blood was spilled today!¡±

    Xie Daoyun was rmed. Zheng Dan¡¯s words seemed reasonable and fair on the surface, but she felt as though Zheng Dan was definitely speaking up for Zu An!

    Sang Hong frowned. His would-be daughter-inw¡¯s words had clearly given him pause.

    Just as he was hesitating, the main gate opened, and a shrill voice called out, ¡°An imperial edict has arrived!¡±

    1. In old-fashioned wedding ceremonies, this is the part where both the bride and groom would kneel and acknowledge various people.

 Chapter 417: A Sea Change

    <h4>Chapter 417: A Sea Change</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    All eyes turned towards the main gate at the announcement that an imperial edict had arrived. A wave of frenzied discussion followed.

    ¡°Why would an imperial edict arrive at this time?¡±

    ¡°Are you dumb? Lord Sang is the trusted aide of the emperor and empress, so it¡¯s only natural that they would offer their congrattions! Who knows, Miss Zheng might even be fortunate enough to receive a title!¡±

    ¡°Tsk, even though the Zheng n has always been a great n in Brightmoon City, they are still a merchant n without much status. This changes everything!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the point of getting jealous? Why don¡¯t you produce a great beauty like Miss Zheng as well, if you have the skill? Maybe then you¡¯ll have a chance to change your social ss too.¡±

    ...

    Sang Qian was extremely pleased when he heard these discussions. ¡°Dad, the emperor actually sent his congrattions! This is an amazing surprise!¡±

    Sang Hong didn¡¯t reply. Instead, his expression became grave. From what he knew of the emperor, his son¡¯s marriage wasn¡¯t worth His Majesty¡¯s attention.

    It really was hard to say whether the imperial edict was good or bad, considering that it hade at such a time.

    Soon, a group of soldiers entered in a single file. These warriors were extremely proud. It was clear that being stationed in the capital had given them a natural sense of superiority towards those in Brightmoon City.

    These soldiers split into two rows in an orderly manner. Then, an elderly man dressed in official robes slowly walked in, holding up a bright yellow scroll.

    This man had a full head of white hair, yet he didn¡¯t give off a feeling of great age. Rather, he seemed to glow with life.

    His sharp gaze swept across the surroundings. Zu An was startled. The presence that this person gave off was even greater than Liu Yao¡¯s!

    Next to him, Xie Daoyun gave a startled cry. ¡°A king hase personally!¡± she said in a hushed voice. She recognized his identity from his official robes.

    ¡°King?¡± Zu An¡¯s eyes narrowed. After all, in this world, a king wasn¡¯t determined purely by bloodline. That was only one of the prerequisites. The second was that the individual had to have reached the master rank!

    This was actually a master rank cultivator!

    He wondered who was the strongest¡ªthis guy, Old Mi, or Wei Dan.

    In truth, these three were all way stronger than him. Any one of them could easily kill him, so it didn¡¯t really matter who was stronger.

    ¡°King Liang!¡± Sang Hong immediately rushed over to greet him. As fellow officials in the capital city, he obviously recognized this individual.

    King Liang Zhaoyi was an uncle of the current emperor. He was the oldest member of the imperial n, as well as a man of virtue and prestige.

    Sang Hong felt his unease grow. He had good self-awareness, and knew that not even his own wedding would be worthy of a personal visit from King Liang, let alone the marriage of his son.

    King Liang nodded in his direction, and then said with a loud voice, ¡°Linchuan Commandery Governor Sang Hong and Brightmoon City River Patrol Army Commander Sang Qian,e forward to receive the imperial edict!¡±

    ¡°Long live the emperor!¡± Sang Hong and Sang Qian were both shocked. They quickly knelt down to receive the imperial edict.

    King Liang unfolded the imperial edict with a cold expression and began to read the contents. ¡°The righteous emperor¡¯s imperial order states... The father and son of the Sang n have been granted this emperor¡¯s favor, yet they forged evidence to nder the local officials and court ministers, causing great disorder within the court. Their official positions will be stripped henceforth, and they are to be escorted back to the capital immediately!¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t understand some of the strange words used in the imperial edict, but he understood the most important line. A smile appeared on his face. His wife really was dependable! A new imperial edict had been dispatched so quickly! He was worried that it would take a few more days. By then, Zheng Dan and Sang Qian would¡¯ve already been married, and it would have been toote!

    An uproar broke out once all those gathered around understood the contents of the imperial edict.

    What was going on?!

    Wasn¡¯t Sang Hong the emperor¡¯s trusted aide? His prospects had seemed boundless just a second ago. Why had they suddenly been stripped of their positions and treated like criminals?

    The one most shocked by the news was undoubtedly Sang Qian. He¡¯d been waiting for the emperor¡¯s blessings with a big smile on his face, imagining just how he was going to brag to everyone in his circle. Who would¡¯ve expected that he would end up trapped in this type of nightmare?!

    The huge gulf between his expectations and the harsh reality left himpletely stupefied. ¡°No! That¡¯s impossible! It¡¯s definitely fake! It¡¯s fake!¡±

    He couldn¡¯t control his emotions any further, and began to yell.

    King Liang frowned. He said coldly, ¡°Oh? Are you iming that this imperial edict I am personally reading off of is fake?¡±

    ¡°No! That¡¯s not what I¡¯m saying! But...¡± Sang Qian¡¯s thoughts were already aplete mess. ¡°We¡¯ve worked so hard for the emperor all this time! Why are we being punished instead? There must be some kind of misunderstanding! Yes, there¡¯s definitely a misunderstanding!¡±

    King Liang¡¯s voice took on an icy edge. ¡°Are you questioning His Majesty¡¯s judgment?¡±

    Sang Qian wanted to say more, but his father stopped him. Sang Hong asked, ¡°I had a bad feeling from the start, but I never expected that it would really end this way. However, I am still quite confused. How did I lose? What went wrong?¡±

    King Liang chuckled. ¡°Lord Sang will understand once you return to the capital city.¡±

    Sang Hong felt his heart well up with resentment. As fellow subjects of the court, he would have expected at least that much from the other. Why was King Liang kicking them while they were down?!

    He suddenly remembered a case back in the capital that he¡¯d presided over, involving a servant under King Liang. He¡¯d judged that case impartially, and showed no preference towards King Liang. That was probably when he had taken offence. Was he using this as a chance to get revenge?

    The emperor knows about this grudge, yet he deliberately sent him! Could it be that I, Sang Hong, have already been thrown awaypletely?

    King Liang sneered when he saw his flickering expression. With a wave of his hand, he ordered, ¡°Arrest everyone involved!¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    His group of ruthless soldiers charged towards the members of the Sang n as soon as he finished speaking.

    The sudden flurry of activity finally snapped Sang Hong out of his daze. With a bitterugh, he said, ¡°Today is my son¡¯s wedding day. Could you at least allow them toplete the final portion of their marriage ceremony?¡±

    ¡°Young master Sang is getting married?¡± King Liang looked at Zheng Dan, who stood nearby. She was dressed in beautiful wedding clothes, which instantly named her the bride. She had a very good figure¡ªSang Hong knew how to pick his daughter-inw. ¡°Since you¡¯re already married, then you¡¯re a member of the Sang n. You¡¯re to be taken away as well, in ordance with the emperor¡¯s will.¡±

    Sang Hong felt as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped on his head. If they were going to the extent of capturing a new bride, didn¡¯t that mean that the emperor wanted to execute the whole n, down to the third generation?

    He knew that the emperor had always been a harsh and merciless man. He had even considered himself one of the emperor¡¯s des these past few years, one that specialized in getting rid of troublesome individuals.

    Even though he was all alone now, he believed that he had always remained loyal and devoted to the emperor all these years. He¡¯d even gotten rid of many thorny problems for the emperor! He¡¯d been sure that he would have at least had a few decades of retirement to enjoy. As for his skills going to waste, that would be something he would think aboutter.

    He never thought that this day would arrive so quickly.

    While Sang Hong felt like he had been thrown into an ice bath, The members of the Zheng n were even more rmed. They thought that they found a great patron totch onto, and that they were finally going to climb up into the upper echelons of society. However, they were now faced with a cmity that was about to lead to the eradication of their entire n!

    Zheng Yutang rushed out and said, ¡°Long live King Liang! We are being wronged! We never participated in the Sang n¡¯s conspiracy! We had no idea what was even going on! Even this marriage has been forced on us by the Sang n, using their authority! We are also victims!¡±

    Sang Hong was in such a daze that he heard none of this, but Sang Qian exploded with anger. ¡°You shameless bastard! Who was it that begged us to ept this marriage? How dare you speak such words now?!¡±

    Zheng Yutang immediately said, ¡°Everyone, look! I am supposed to be his elder, yet he speaks to me without a trace of respect! You can easily imagine how unfair our n has been treated! What can our Zheng n do if the Sang n wields their authority to force this marriage upon us? Please judge this situation fairly, King Liang!¡±

    All the other guests had strange looks on their faces. The Zheng n had not stopped bragging about their uing marriage with the Sang n recently. Every single member of the n, from the n master down to their servants, had been brimming with joy.

    Of course, it was mockery for the sake of mockery. They clearly understood that, with the Sang n¡¯s sudden copse, no one wanted anything to do with them.

    ¡°Enough!¡± King Liang said in a huff. He obviously cared little for the details. ¡°Regardless, you are considered a part of the Sang n if you¡¯ve alreadypleted the marriage ceremony. You will be escorted back to the capital city. As for your punishment, themandant of justice and the imperial censors will be the ones to decide that.¡±

    Everyone in the Zheng n turned pale. It was one thing if it were just Zheng Dan alone. However, they feared that the Sang n had badly offended the emperor. The consequences of that would reach beyond Zheng Dan, and could lead to the execution of the entire n.

    However, against a glorious king who was a master rank expert, a meager Zheng n had no right to resist.

    Several soldiers walked over to Zheng Dan with chains, about to detain her.

 Chapter 418: When the Popcorn Eats You

    <h4>Chapter 418: When the Popcorn Eats You</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zheng Dan¡¯s body trembled. Her mind had already gone nk a long time ago.

    She had chosen to sacrifice her own happiness and agree to the marriage, all because of the Zheng n.

    But now, not only had this marriage failed to benefit the Zheng n in any way, it had instead ced the Zheng n in great danger.

    Her father¡¯s words had caused her even greater embarrassment. Even though she knew that he was doing this for the Zheng n''s sake, their reputation would be left in tatters even if they made it safely through this ordeal.

    She frowned when she saw those guardsing to arrest her. She used to be one of the giants of the Linchuan Commandery¡¯s underworld, so she subconsciously wanted to resist. However, she quickly realized that even if she managed to escape, the Zheng n members here wouldn¡¯t.

    Furthermore, King Liang was an incredibly powerful master rank cultivator himself. There was no way he would let her get away.

    Just then, a figure stepped in front of her to block the path of the oing soldiers. ¡°Wait a moment.¡±

    Even though she was only looking at his back, she still recognized this person. After all, she was exceedingly familiar with her own man¡¯s body.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± King Liang gave him a look, a contemptuous expression flickering in his eyes. Just a puny fifth rank cultivator. The gulf between us is as wide as the distance between the clouds and the dirt.

    ¡°Who I am is not important. My reason is,¡± Zu An replied.

    In her heart, Xie Daoyun scoffed. And you still insist that there¡¯s nothing going on between the two of you!

    It might have just been a random guess before, but she was actually suspicious now.

    After all, the Zheng n and the Chu n were enemies, and Zu An and the Sang n hated each other as well. There was no reason for him to speak up for Zheng Dan now.

    Was this really all because of the teacher-student rtionship they shared in the academy?

    Who would believe that?!

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Despite this, Xie Daoyun still respected him for being able to speak frankly, even in the face of a master rank cultivator¡¯s pressure. If she¡¯d been in his ce, she wouldn¡¯t have been able to utter even a single word.

    How could she possibly know that Zu An had already crossed paths with many master rank big shots?

    King Liang sneered. ¡°Reason? What is this reason that you speak of?¡±

    Even the father and son duo from the Sang n were looking at him. They didn¡¯t know why he would speak up for them at such a time.

    Zu An said, ¡°Respected sir, you said earlier that the young miss is part of the Sang n. Forgive me, but I beg to differ. There are several hundred guests here, and everyone witnessed that Miss Zheng and Sang Qian only paid their respects to heaven and earth, and to their parents. The two of them have yet to pay their respects to each other. Strictly speaking, they are not married yet. That is why Miss Zheng cannot be considered a part of the Sang n. The Zheng n clearly has thoughts of abandoning this marriage as well. Zheng n Master, am I wrong?¡±

    Zheng Yutang nodded right away and said, ¡°You are absolutely correct! My daughter is not marrying him anymore! She won¡¯t!¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Sang Qian erupted into fury. The Sang n had already experienced an absolute tragedy, yet the Zheng n kept kicking them while they were down!

    He couldn¡¯t help but seethe with hatred for the Zheng n. Zu An was also caught up in his anger.

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for 999 Rage points!

    King Liang said coldly, ¡°Whether or not she is a part of the Sang n is not something for you to decide. This entire wedding had already been arranged, and only the final step is missing. Isn¡¯t that the same as being a part of the Sang n? If we endorse such behavior as you suggest, wouldn¡¯t others follow suit? Weddings would be aplete joke! Wouldn¡¯t my Zhou Dynasty fall into chaos then?!¡±

    Zu An frowned. This guy clearly had no intentions of letting Zheng Dan go! Given the Zheng n¡¯s status, there was no way they could afford to offend a king. This made the situation much easier to understand. King Liang bore a grudge against the Sang n! He nned to destroy the entire Sang n!

    He couldn¡¯t help but shoot a nce at Sang Hong and his son. He thought that only the Chu n hated them, but it turned out there were actually so many other people who hated them as well! Just what did you all do to get yourself into such a situation?

    The situation had just be much tougher to deal with. How was he going to save Zheng Dan now?

    Should I just tell everyone that she¡¯s my woman?

    But that¡¯s too risky! I might be able to farm some more points from that idiot Sang Qian, but I still won¡¯t be able to save Zheng Dan. Both of our reputations might be done for as well...

    Zheng Dan¡¯s urgent voice sounded in his ear via ki transmission. ¡°Ah Zu, you cannot let them know about our rtionship! There¡¯s no way I could continue living if you do that! Even if I am captured right now, I might still be okay. Dying would still be better than embarrassing my n. Please!¡±

    Zu An was stunned.

    Woman, did you nt a bloody parasite in my mind or something? How could you have known what I was thinking?

    Sang Qian couldn¡¯t take it anymore. ¡°Zu An, why do you keep flirting with my wife? What kind of rtionship do the two of you have?!¡±

    Zu An looked at him. I could tell you, but I don¡¯t know if you want to hear it. It¡¯s way beyond flirting, man...

    However, he still chose to respect Zheng Dan¡¯s decision. ¡°What kind of nonsense is filling that head of yours? Miss Zheng is my student, so I don¡¯t want to see her get involved. Am I not allowed to speak some just words? Aren¡¯t you ashamed to be her fianc¨¦? It¡¯s almost as if you¡¯re afraid that they won¡¯t capture her. You¡¯re disgusting!¡±

    The surrounding guests began to whisper among themselves. They looked at Sang Qian with strange expressions.

    Zu An spoke up for the Zheng n even though they usually harbor hostility towards one another, but you seem to want to drag the Zheng n down with you! Their characters couldn¡¯t be more different.

    Faced with a sea of scornful looks, Sang Qian felt as though his lungs were about to explode. What the hell is the problem with wanting to be with my wife? Why are you guys treating that bastard Zu An as some kind of hero just because he said a few words?!

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for 1024 Rage points!

    King Liang¡¯s voice suddenly cut in. ¡°Zu An? You are the Chu n¡¯s young master?¡±

    Zu An quickly gave him a respectful greeting when he sensed King Liang¡¯s gaze shift to him. ¡°Yes, I am. I pay my respects to King Liang.¡±

    Since this King Liang really wanted to get rid of the Sang n, Zu An surmised that he could be one of the important officials recorded in the Chu n¡¯s ount book.

    Chu Chuyan had gone to the capital to threaten those officials, so King Liang might be here because of her actions. That was why being a little more polite wasn¡¯t a bad thing.

    ¡°Good, good.¡± King Liang smiled while stroking his beard. ¡°I was looking all around for you, yet you ended up appearing right in front of me. Capture him too!¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression froze immediately. What the hell?

    Everyone else was stunned. The two of them had been chatting pleasantly just a second ago. How did they suddenly be hostile towards each other?

    Zheng Dan couldn¡¯t hold herself back any further, and ripped off the veil covering her face. ¡°Is there some misunderstanding? He only spoke a few words for my sake! Why is he being punished too?¡± she said in a panic.

    Xie Daoyun was just about to speak, but she immediately shut her mouth when she heard this. Zheng Dan already said everything that she¡¯d wanted to say.

    These two really are interesting...

    The two of them were close, but she had never caught wind of anything.

    ¡°The bride sure is beautiful!¡±

    ¡°Miss Zheng is worthy of her reputation as one of Brightmoon City¡¯s great beauties. She is even more stunning in her wedding gown.¡±

    ¡°What a pity that she¡¯s be the wife of a corrupt official. I wonder if she¡¯ll be sent to a government whorehouse in the future.¡±

    ¡°Keep dreaming! Even if a woman like her ends up in a government whorehouse, only those at the very top will get to y with her. Folks like me and you can forget about it.¡±

    Even though they were all whispering quietly, their words could not escape the ears of trained cultivators. Sang Qian¡¯s eyes began to twitch rapidly. These bastards usually treated him with great respect, but now, they even dared to fantasize about his wife?

    However, something else was fueling his rage even more. Zheng Dan hadn¡¯t said a thing when the Sang n was unceremoniously destroyed. And yet, she chose to speak up when something was happening to Zu An?

    And she even took off her veil?

    ording to custom, the bridal veil could only be undone in the bridal room. It was extremely inauspicious otherwise!

    He looked at Zu An, and then back at Zheng Dan. The suspicion inside of him only grew. Unfortunately, there was no way to confirm his doubts right now.

    He suddenly remembered the green hat that Zu An had given him. He was so angry he took it off and threw it to the ground, stomping it beneath his feet.

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for 357 Rage points!

    Everyone noticed his strange behavior, and they began to question one another curiously.

    ¡°Why is he so angry?¡±

    ¡°Does a green hat have some kind of implied meaning?¡±

    ...

    Zu An couldn¡¯t be bothered with all that right now. He stared at King Liang and waited for his reply.

    King Liang chuckled. ¡°He clearly isn¡¯t being punished for speaking up for you. His crime is much more severe. He has stolen that which belongs to the emperor!¡±

 Chapter 419: The Embroidered Envoy

    <h4>Chapter 419: The Embroidered Envoy</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An was initially confused by what he¡¯d heard. His first reaction was that this old man was trying to start something out of nothing.

    I¡¯ve never even been to the capital city before, let alone stolen something that belonged to the emperor!

    However, his eyes suddenly widened as he remembered the conversation between Wei Dan and Old Mi. Old Mi apparently led a group of men in search of the ¡®Phoenix Nirvana Sutra¡¯, but he grew greedy, and killed the others. In the end, he made it seem that the whole group of them had been wiped out, and then he went into hiding.

    Unfortunately, there were no absolute secrets in this world. The pce had still caught wind of it, and sent Wei Dan to investigate.

    However, Wei Dan was already dead, and he never learned that Zu An possessed the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra before his death. Did he somehow manage to contact the imperial pce before he died?

    Or was it because of something else?

    He couldn¡¯t be sure either. Lost in his thoughts, he only reacted as the soldiers approached him.

    Sang Hong already had too many things to worry about, and did not resist. However, Zu An was a transmigrator, and the concept of imperial power had not been engraved into his mind. There was no way he would just let this happen.

    When the soldiers appeared in front of him with shackles, he disappeared in a sh.

    King Liang¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°You are quite daring! You dare to go against the imperial edict? The Chu n is truly reckless nowadays!¡±

    Zu An was afraid that the Chu n would be implicated in his actions, so he said with a sullen voice, ¡°I am myself, and the Chu n is the Chu n. Don¡¯t throw your sewage water at the Chu n too.¡±

    King Liang sneered. ¡°You seem to have a backbone. Unfortunately, all those who go against the imperial edict are traitors!¡±

    Xie Daoyun quickly rushed forward just as he was about to issue anothermand. ¡°Respected king, is there some type of misunderstanding here? From what I know, Zu An has never left Brightmoon City in his entire life, let alone gone to the capital city. How could he have anything to do with His Majesty, let alone steal one of his possessions?¡±

    Everyone else present shared the same confusion. Zu An was merely a drafted son-inw, and only began to show some promise recently. He was just a kid from the streets. How could he possibly have stolen something from the emperor?

    Even Sang Hong was baffled. He had a clear understanding of just how terrifying the emperor¡¯s cultivation was. Forget about Zu An, not even he could steal a single thing from the emperor. He really had no clue why a random person like Zu An would be used of such an act.

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s appearance was exceptional. Her words were natural and unrestrained as well, and her bearing was extraordinary, which helped to draw King Liang¡¯s attention. ¡°You are...?¡±

    ¡°This humble one is Xie Daoyun. My father is Brightmoon City Lord Xie Yi.¡± Xie Daoyun greeted him in a graceful and dignified manner. Those around her were in awe. She truly had the bearing of a daughter from a distinguished n.

    ¡°So, you are Miss Xie.¡± King Liang¡¯s expression eased a little. He was clearly familiar with the matter of choosing the crown prince¡¯s wife as well. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Does City Lord Xie also wish to get involved with this criminal?¡±

    Xie Daoyun hurriedly said, ¡°Of course not! I am merely asking this in order to ease everyone¡¯s doubts. After all, iming that Zu An has stolen something belonging to the emperor is truly inconceivable. I fear that themon people will not be convinced with just that. I hope King Liang can tell us what he has stolen.¡±

    Zu An sighed. Miss Xie really was too kind. They had only met a few times, yet she willingly spoke up for him in this moment of crisis.

    Zheng Dan also gave Xie Daoyun a curious look. Even though her close friend always treated everyone with kindness and grace, she knew that Xie Daoyun was actually a sharp and intelligent girl. She really couldn¡¯t understand why she would take such a risk for a man.

    However, that was a thought best explored another day. The more people who helped out Zu An right now, the better.

    King Liang puffed out his cheeks. ¡°I apologize. The matter is confidential, and I cannot speak about it. I must ask Miss Xie to move aside, or else you will be treated as a criminal as well.¡±

    ¡°Confidential?¡± Sang Hong¡¯s eyes narrowed, a pensive look appearing in his eyes.

    Xie Daoyun gave Zu An an apologetic look. ¡°Ah Zu, I¡¯ve already done what I can. I cannot cause trouble for the Xie n.¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°What do you mean, Miss Xie? I am already extremely grateful that you spoke up for me.¡±

    He already knew from associating with Zheng Dan that the daughters of great ns had many things to worry about. Every action they made would invariably involve their ns. That was why there was no way for them to act willfully on their own.

    Xie Daoyun was stunned by his smile. She was always surrounded by cocky and arrogant men, but all of them revealed their true selves the moment they ran into trouble. Meanwhile, Zu An had offended the emperor himself, yet he was somehow still so optimistic! She really admired such boldness.

    King Liang waved a hand. ¡°Arrest him!¡±

    With his status, there was no way he would arrest such a junior himself.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    After what had just happened, the soldiers didn¡¯t dare to be careless. More than a dozen soldiers surrounded him, activating formations and techniques together. This was already more than enough to capture a normal cultivator.

    ¡°Who dares harm our young master?!¡± A troop of red-cloaked soldiers charged in and surrounded Zu An, confronting King Liang¡¯s troops.

    ¡°The Red Cloak Army?¡± King Liang instantly recognized who these men were. He sneered and said, ¡°I¡¯ve heard about the reputation of the Chu n¡¯s Red Cloak Army. Now that I¡¯ve seen it for myself, this army truly is quite something. You all actually dare to openly defy the royal court!¡±

    A red-robed officer walked up to Zu An and asked quietly, ¡°Young master, what is going on?¡±

    This was a king, and he had evene bearing an imperial edict. The pressure that he gave off was way beyond Liu Yao¡¯s. Furthermore, only a small detachment of the Red Cloak Army was present. Things would not go well if they really shed with each other.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know either.¡± Zu An smiled helplessly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me. I don¡¯t want to drag the Chu n into this mess.¡±

    The officer said, ¡°The young master does not need to worry. We are all good men. None of us fear death!¡±

    How could their conversation escape the ears of King Liang? He sneered and said, ¡°You all really are something! I wouldn¡¯t have believed it if someone else told me that the Chu n intended to rebel, but it seems clear to me that the Red Cloak Army really does n on defying His Majesty!¡±

    Zu An said quickly, ¡°You all are not to get involved in this matter! Quickly, return to the Chu Estate to protect Master and Madam! That¡¯s an order!¡±

    The two young women, Zheng Dan and Xie Daoyun, had been unwilling to involve their ns in their own troubles. As a man, how could he do something like that?

    He didn¡¯t even wait for a response. With a light tap of his toes, he rushed off.

    Even though he didn¡¯t want to involve the Chu n, there was no way he was going to let himself get captured so easily!

    Two pitch-ck chains appeared in front of his eyes as soon as he began to move. They moved at a shocking speed, yet made no sound. It was as if night was descending upon this world, and the darkness seemed to contain a demonic aura.

    He trembled. He tapped his toes against the ground again, forcefully changing his path and dodging to the side.

    Before he could catch his breath, two more chains shed over, shooting towards his feet.

    He tumbled awkwardly, evading the chains. He already felt taxed to his limit.

    Another six iron chains flew at him from all directions, aiming at his limbs, waist, and neck, and sealing off every possible direction of escape.

    Seeing that there was no way he could avoid them, Zu An took out his Tai¡¯e Sword in a panic and hacked at the chains.

    *nk nk nk!*

    Sword and chain collided continuously. Sparks flew in all directions. Not even the razor-sharp edge of the Tai¡¯e Sword could cut through these chains! Only sparks flickered in the darkness.

    He felt his hands go numb. The ki within his body was surging wildly.

    He finally caught a glimpse of his attackers. These were the ten warriors who had escorted King Liang. Their clothes were clearly different from an ordinary soldier¡¯s garb, and every single one of them had what looked like a unicorn embroidered on their cor. He¡¯d learned from one of Shang Liuyu¡¯s sses that these creatures were xiezhi, creatures that were rumoured to be able to distinguish between good and evil.

    These soldiers held pitch-ck chains in their hands. These chains were still moving, and it looked as though they might attack again at any time.

    King Liang was shocked. ¡°You actually managed to escape from the Embroidered Envoy¡¯s Demon-capturing Prison! I am quite surprised.¡±

    ¡°The Embroidered Envoy?¡± Sang Qian was incredibly shocked. He nced towards his father.

    Sang Hong said in a low voice, ¡°The Embroidered Envoy is a special force that serves at His Majesty¡¯s side. All of them are extremely skilled, and act on behalf of the Son of Heaven. Even though they act as bailiffs who are responsible for capturing criminals, they do not actually report to the court¡¯s Commandant of Justice. I thought that the emperor assigned them to King Liang to deal with us, but it seems like that isn¡¯t the case at all.¡±

 Chapter 420: Where Did Dad Go?

    <h4>Chapter 420: Where Did Dad Go?</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Sang Hong replied his son absent-mindedly, his full attention on the warriors of the Embroidered Envoy. What in the world did you steal from the emperor?

    ¡°The Embroidered Envoy was sent to deal with Zu An?¡± Sang Qian¡¯s eyes widened. He never expected a kid from the streets, one that he looked down on, to actually be this crazy! Zu An had actually provoked the emperor!

    However, something stood out to him. ¡°The cultivation of these Imperial Envoy members don¡¯t seem to be that high, though. They aren¡¯t as strong as you make them out to be, dad.¡±

    Sang Hong shook his head. ¡°Don¡¯t be deceived by outward appearances. Most of the Imperial Envoy members are around the fifth to sixth rank, but they excel in cooperative techniques. The Demon-capturing Prison King Liang just mentioned is a formation technique personally created by the emperor. It excels in capturing cultivators who are much higher level than themselves.

    ¡°The Soul-reaping Chains in their hands are specially made. Once they strike a cultivator¡¯s body, the ki of those with lower cultivations will be scattered instantly! Those whose cultivation levels are higher will also be affected, and arge chunk of their real strength would be instantly shredded.¡±

    Sang Qian was disbelieving. ¡°There has to be a limit to their strength, right? They¡¯re only around the fifth rank. I refuse to believe they could detain you, dad!¡±

    Sang Hong revealed a bitter smile. ¡°I won¡¯t be able to stop them if they really wanted to hold me down.¡±

    Sang Qian was stupefied. ¡°They¡¯re that powerful?¡±

    Zu An advanced by leaps and bounds surely because of whatever he stole from the emperor! Yes, that has to be it! What a pity, you still have to pay the price for your actions!

    Sang Hong sighed deeply. ¡°The most terrifying part of the Embroidered Envoy isn¡¯t their Demon-capturing Prison. It¡¯s the fact that they act at the behest of the emperor!¡±

    Sang Qian was just about to ask what sort of things they did at the emperor¡¯s orders, but a new development on the battlefield drew his attention.

    Two Embroidered Envoy members suddenly moved. Their chains became perfectly straight and rigid. They stabbed these towards Zu An¡¯s chest like two spears.

    Meanwhile, the chains wielded by two other embroidered envoys did the exact opposite. Their chains became soft as silk, and wrapped around him.

    Zu An deflected the iing iron chains with his sword. He shuddered fiercely from the impact.

    His ki density was already equivalent to a sixth rank cultivator, while these Imperial Envoy were all at the fifth rank. None of them would be his match if he¡¯d fought them one on one. Why was this battle taking so much out of him?

    He suddenly noticed that there was a faintyer of blue light surrounding one of his opponent¡¯s bodies, which continuously streamed towards hispanions. Blue light surrounded hispanions¡¯ bodies as well, which flowed back towards him.

    Zu An was shocked. It was a formation! He¡¯d witnessed the power of the Red Cloak Army with his own eyes before. Even a ninth rank expert had been defeated so easily back then! He hadn¡¯t expected things to change so quickly. It was now his turn to have a taste of the gang bang...

    Despite all the thoughts racing through his mind, he didn¡¯t stop moving. Now that he realized that shing with them head on was a bad idea, he changed his strategy. He flicked one of the iron chains in front of him upwards with the Tai¡¯e Sword, and used it to block the chain aimed at his back.

    Zheng Dan had been watching nervously the entire time. Her fists tightened on the edges of her sleeves when she heard Sang Hong¡¯s exnation.

    She immediately cheered inside when she saw this move. She never expected Zu An¡¯s sword skills to be so exquisite! It seemed to carry the traits of the academy¡¯s Thirteen Forms of Elementary Swordy, but also glimmers of Chu Chuyan¡¯s Snowke Sword.

    If she was in his ce, she probably wouldn¡¯t be able to do what he was doing. Other than being a crazy pervert, his talent for cultivation was truly frightening!

    Her joy was short-lived, and her heart immediately began to pound again. Another iron chain was headed in his direction!

    Zu An had just used his sword to deflect the previous chain. His sword wouldn¡¯t make the block in time!

    ¡°Be careful!¡± She couldn¡¯t help but cry out.

    Sang Qian suddenly turned to look at her. The sight of his wife looking on nervously at another man immediately lit a bonfire of rage within him.

    Zu An, you fucking bastard! I cannot live under the same sky as you!

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for 740 Rage points!

    At this time, the other six embroidered envoys, who had been waiting for their moment, now made their move. They could tell that Zu An wouldn¡¯t be able to avoid that final iron chain as well.

    The moment he was locked down, they would send out the other six iron chains and restrain himpletely. He would have no chance of escaping then.

    Seeing that he was on the verge of being tangled by that iron chain, Zu An suddenly extended two fingers.

    His fingers were slender, and sparkled in the sun. Many of the women watching suddenly felt a sense of inferiority.

    Both Xie Daoyun and Zheng Dan bit their lips at the sight of these two slender fingers facing the crude, ck iron chains.

    A malicious smile emerged on Sang Qian¡¯s face. This fellow was going to get his hand crippled! An iron chain imbued with the power of ten embroidered envoys wasn¡¯t something he could deal with if he used both of his arms, yet he wanted to face it with two miserable fingers? They would be instantly shattered!

    However, his smile quickly froze. Those two fingers he¡¯d thought would be instantly shattered actually mped down on that terrifyingly powerful chain!

    Huh? This technique... King Liang felt as though he¡¯d seen such a finger technique somewhere before, but he just couldn¡¯t pinpoint where.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Sang Hong gave an astonished cry. His judgment had been right after all! This kid was definitely a genius! If only he¡¯d taken him under his wing earlier!

    He couldn¡¯t help but nce over at his son, who was watching this battle with delight. If he¡¯d known this was going to be the case, he would¡¯ve brought his daughter along with him instead. Of course, back then, he could never have predicted that this Zu An would be way more useful than the Zheng n.

    Zu An¡¯s Shining Finger mped down on the chain, but he immediately felt the strength bursting within that chain. He gave his wrist a quick flick, sending a wave of power surging along these chains to the other end.

    This chain flew towards the six iing embroidered envoys, thrashing like a frenzied snake, sending them flying backwards.

    None of them had expected this sudden development. They were caughtpletely off-guard. The chains they had flung out tangled together, and there was a loud explosion. The bodies of the six embroidered envoys trembled violently, and they groaned in pain. They had all suffered severe damage.

    Zu An¡¯s own power was obviously not enough to defeat ten embroidered envoys. He had used his own ki to set off the enemy¡¯s ki, which had been held inside of those chains. In that instant, the six of them, wrapped in their own iron chains, had suffered an attack that was equal in force to ten of their own.

    It hadn¡¯t been that difficult for Zu An to evade those four previous attacks. What he was afraid of were the six embroidered envoys who had been biding their time, waiting for an opportunity to capture him.

    There was nock of powerful cultivators present. When they analyzed everything that happened, they too understood what had been going through his mind. They were thoroughly impressed by this fellow¡¯s outstanding battle instincts. Was he really a piece of trash, like everyone constantly imed he was?

    Zu An used this chance to use Grandgale, blinking several hundred meters away. Since he was up against a master rank cultivator, he immediately used Grandgale again. He didn¡¯t care about exhausting his remaining uses. His only thought was that he had to get as far away as possible.

    ¡°What kind of movement technique is this?!¡±

    Cries of rm rang out amongst the crowd. Zheng Dan was aware of this skill, but Xie Daoyun rubbed her eyes in disbelief. As for the others, they were even more shocked.

    Sang Qian¡¯s face turned deathly pale. How was this possible? How could that guy be such a monster?!

    He turned around and asked, ¡°Dad, what is he... huh? Dad, where did you go?¡±

    Surprise shed across King Liang¡¯s eyes when he saw Zu An¡¯s speed. However, he sneered and said, ¡°You think you can escape me?¡±

    A master rank cultivator could fly through the air! No matter how fast you are on the ground, it is nothing but a useless trick when faced with a master rank cultivator!

    He rushed into the sky, but suddenly noticed another person in front of him.

    His face darkened, and immediately thrust out a palm.

    Sang Hong¡¯s expression grew serious as well, and he faced this oing attack with two palms.

    A huge explosion erupted, releasing an incredibly powerful shockwave which knocked all of the guests off their feet. The candles on the heaven-and-earth table, as well as thenterns and all the decorations in the Sang Estate, were sent flying.

    King Liangnded back where he¡¯d been standing before, his arms behind his back. Meanwhile, Sang Hong mmed into the ground like a sack of sand, smashing a massive hole into the Sang Estate¡¯s carefully-curated marble flooring.

    King Liang gave him a cold look. ¡°Sang Hong, do you know what you are doing? You dare help a criminal escape?!¡±

 Chapter 421: Flipping Tables

    <h4>Chapter 421: Flipping Tables</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zheng Dan and Xie Daoyun couldn¡¯t help but stare at Sang Hong. They were just as confused as King Liang. Why would Sang Hong do something like that?

    Sang Hong struggled to his feet and spat out a mouthful of blood. However, he showed no sign of panic, but shed a faint smile instead. ¡°Respectfully, I have no idea what you are talking about. Everyone here knows that our Sang n has a grudge against that kid. He even had the nerve to interfere with my son¡¯s wedding. Why would I ever help him escape?¡±

    All the guests present nodded along. They clearly agreed with his words. None of them believed that Sang Hong would step in to save Zu An.

    King Liang¡¯s expression darkened. ¡°Then why did you stand in my way if you didn¡¯t intend to aid his escape?¡±

    Sang Hong replied nonchntly, ¡°Ah, about that... I gained some sudden insights from watching the fight, and before I knew it, I had rushed out. I didn¡¯t expect King Liang to take flight as well, and I just happened to find myself in your way. I really must apologize for that.¡±

    Sudden insights were extremely rare and precious for cultivators, and they were often apanied by a loss of control. This was a usible exnation for his sudden move.

    Of course, King Liang knew that he was merely spouting nonsense. Unfortunately, his exnation was somewhat passable, and would not cause much of a stir even if he reported it to the emperor.

    ¡°You really are a wily old fox!¡± King Liang cursed. He finally got a taste of what both Zu An and Sang Hong had inflicted on each other earlier.

    Sang Qian sent his father a voice transmission via ki. ¡°Dad, why did you save that brat Zu An?!¡±

    Sang Hong¡¯s words might have been enough to cate the crowd, but he was still left unsatisfied. He absolutely hated Zu An, so there was no way he would ept such an answer.

    Sang Hong sighed and replied, ¡°Qian¡¯er, our Sang n is truly in trouble this time. If my suspicions are correct, we¡¯ve already been abandoned by the emperor. We will most likely be executed after we are brought back to the capital city.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Sang Qian couldn¡¯t believe his ears. Even though they were being detained right now, it was considered usual for members of the court to rise and fall in status. Since his father had always found favor with the emperor, he believed that they were only being brought back to the capital as a public form of humiliation. How did it get to the point where they would be facing execution?

    Sang Hong continued, ¡°It¡¯s hard to say what will happen, but I still have hope that things do not reach that point.¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°What does any of that have to do with you saving Zu An?¡± Sang Qian was still brooding over this matter.

    Sang Hong looked in the direction Zu An had fled. ¡°Because he is a variable, and one that might very well save our lives.¡±

    Sang Qian could not believe what he was hearing.

    He waspletely stupefied. He just couldn¡¯t keep up with his father¡¯s train of thought.

    Sang Hong didn¡¯t offer any further exnation, but looked at Zheng Dan instead. How did he fail to pick up on the fact that something was going on between the two of them? What was supposed to be a honey trap had probably resulted in real feelings developing.

    He didn¡¯t tell his son these things. His son would most likely fly into a rage, which wouldn¡¯t help their current situation at all, but make things worse instead.

    A variable, a variable... I need a variable right now. We¡¯re surely dead otherwise...

    King Liang waved his hand. Several embroidered envoys walked over to them and restrained them with Soul-reaping Chains.

    The two of them felt as if all of their ki had been sealed up. They became no different from ordinary people.

    ¡°Capture the bride as well.¡± King Liang nced at Zheng Dan. Leaving aside the fact that she was Sang Hong¡¯s daughter-inw for a moment, her astonishing beauty alone guaranteed that there would be great uses for her back at the capital.

    Zheng Dan bit her lip when she saw the embroidered envoys walking towards her. However, with all the Zheng n members around her, she had no choice but to ept her fate.

    King Liang returned to his horse. ¡°Keep them in prison for now. The rest of you, follow me to the Chu n!¡±

    He hade with two important missions from the emperor. The first was to bring the father and son of the Sang n back to the capital city, while the second was to capture Zu An.

    Comparatively speaking, the emperor seemed to care much more about the capture of Zu An, even sending the Embroidered Envoy to help with this mission. However, he had actually let his target escape from him, despite being a powerful master rank cultivator! If he didn¡¯t capture Zu An, not only would his reputation be terribly tarnished, the emperor might punish him severely as well.

    ...

    Meanwhile, Zu An was running for his life. He had also witnessed Sang Hong stepping in to stop King Liang, which made absolutely no sense to him.

    However, he couldn¡¯t be bothered to think about this right now. He had to quickly figure out what the hell he was going to do about his current situation.

    He was ny-nine percent sure that the emperor already knew about the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra. A technique that had a chance of granting eternal life was just far too tempting.

    The thought depressed him greatly. He might have yet been able to do something if he¡¯d offended someone else, but it was the emperor himself who was gunning for his life! This was an emperor who had unified an empire and grasped firmly onto the reins of power of an entire dynasty! He was even the publicly-acknowledged number one expert!

    He wasn¡¯t so na?ve as to believe that the emperor would let him go if he handed over the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra manual. This was the most powerful man in this world! Would someone like that be willing to share eternal life with someone else?

    His first reaction was to throw in his lot with King Qi. After all, the two factions were at odds, and he had big Manman to serve as an intermediary. However, he quickly rejected these thoughts.

    With the strength King Qi possessed, he would quickly find out what the emperor was searching for.

    King Qi will surely want to obtain eternal life as well.

    There were way too many stories where the protagonist got into trouble after they stumbled upon something too precious. The Phoenix Nirvana Sutra was something that every cultivator desired.

    Where else could he turn to?

    Zu An felt more than a little lost. Even though this world was sorge, it seemed there was nowhere for him to go.

    His hand reached for a mirror. He wanted to call Chu Chuyan. Just hearing her voice would be nice right now. However, when he picked it up, he saw that it was cracked.

    It had probably been broken by the Soul-reaping Chains of the Embroidered Envoy in the earlier fight.

    It was already toote for regret. If he¡¯d known that this was going to happen, he would have stored it inside his Brilliant ss Bead.

    He tried to call out to Chu Chuyan, but the broken mirror did not respond at all. Clearly, it was alreadypletely broken.

    Was this to be his fate?

    ...

    Elsewhere, King Liang arrived at the Chu Estate with his men, having rushed all the way.

    Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru came out to greet him when they received news of his arrival. ¡°Why has the respected king returned so quickly?¡±

    King Liang had paid a visit to the Chu n earlier to grant them their freedom, before heading to the Sang Estate.

    Following that, Chu Zhongtian and his wife had moved on to settle the final formalities with the Imperial Guard and Liu Yao, as well asforting the startled members of their n.

    King Liang sneered. ¡°Why do the two of you still bother to ask a question that you already know the answer to? Your Red Cloak Army soldiers considered defying the imperial edict and attacking us! They should have returned already, and informed you of what had happened.¡±

    Chu Zhongtian¡¯s expression grew troubled. He said with a serious voice, ¡°We have indeed heard a little about what happened, but it is still hard for us to believe it. Could there have been some sort of misunderstanding? How could Zu An have had any interactions with the emperor, let alone have stolen something from him?¡±

    King Liang snorted. He pointed at the embroidered envoys and said, ¡°Brightmoon Duke, don¡¯t tell me you do not know who they are! His majesty has even dispatched the Embroidered Envoy. How could there be a mistake? As for exactly what he stole, that is a secret of the imperial family. Forgive me for not being able to reveal what it is.¡±

    Chu Zhongtian¡¯s expression flickered several times. He was clearly still wondering just how Zu An ended up provoking the emperor.

    However, Qin Wanru, standing at his side, had had enough. ¡°This is absolutely absurd! All sorts of despicable methods have been employed against our Chu n, and now that all of them have failed, you resort to such aughable reason to attack the son-inw of our Chu n? Do you think our Chu n is a doormat?!¡±

    King Liang¡¯s face grew dark. ¡°What are you trying to say? Is Madam Chu nning to rebel?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t try to threaten me with this talk of rebellion. Didn¡¯t the emperor seize control over this world through a rebellion?¡± Qin Wanru began to gesticte with her hands, a clear sign of her anger. ¡°Everything has to be done in ordance with reason! Since you refuse to be reasonable, you can¡¯t me us for flipping tables! Let¡¯s see how you exin things to the rest of the world then! Where is the Red Cloak Army?¡±

    ¡°Here, Madam!¡± Countless Red Cloak Army soldiers rushed out from their hidden locations and surrounded King Qi¡¯s men.

 Chapter 422: The Power of a Master Rank

    <h4>Chapter 422: The Power of a Master Rank</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Even though there were countless Red Cloak Army soldiers streaming out, only the sound of orderly footsteps could be heard. There was no unnecessary noise. All of the soldiers stared at King Liang and his men with cold and unwavering eyes.

    King Liang¡¯s expression flickered slightly. With his sharp eyes, he could tell that this was a powerful army that had experienced many battles. The Zhou Dynasty had enjoyed many years of peace, so he had no idea how Brightmoon Duke still managed to maintain such a well-trained force.

    He did not let his admiration cloud his mind. He reacted quickly as well, and said with a cold voice, ¡°What¡¯s this? Do you all want to rebel as well? Are you going to murder the members of the Embroidered Envoy?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t try to scare us with these threats!¡± Qin Wanru said angrily. ¡°When our Chu n was established a thousand years ago, we embraced the principle of never giving up. Ah Zu is the son-inw of our Chu n. How can we let you take him away for such aughable reason?¡±

    King Liang looked at Chu Zhongtian, who had remained silent. ¡°Brightmoon Duke, do you share these intentions?¡±

    Chu Zhongtian replied with a smile. ¡°Indeed. Our Chu n does not like to provoke trouble, but we will not tolerate others bullying us.¡±

    Qin Wanru nced at her husband. He was usually kind and gentle, and she had been a little worried that he would back down. To her pleasant surprise, he had chosen to stand resolutely by her side as well!

    Chu Zhongtian¡¯s face had bepletely overcast. Clearly, this reason seemed utterly absurd to him as well. This, together with the mistreatment and humiliation he¡¯d experienced while being locked up, was enough to make anyone furious, let alone a proud duke like himself.

    If he didn¡¯t take this chance to properly demonstrate the Chu n¡¯s power, wouldn¡¯t these moths continue to fly at them one after another?

    ¡°Excellent! You all are really quite something!¡± King Liangughed out loud, but his expression instantly grew frosty. ¡°If this had been a decade or so ago, I might still have felt some apprehension. But now, you are seriously injured, and your cultivation has suffered drastically. You are only at the eighth rank now! You don¡¯t have any right to speak like that in front of me!¡±

    Chu Zhongtian said with a coldugh, ¡°The Chu n has never stressed individual strength, but rather the unity of will. Whether or not I have the right to speak is something that you can put to the test yourself.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t even believe in your own lies! What an absolute joke!¡± King Liang sneered.

    The Imperial Guard General Liu Yao made his way quickly to King Liang¡¯s side. ¡°Respected king, please be careful. This Red Cloak Army is quite difficult to deal with.¡±

    His own experience earlier had clearly left him with a lingering sense of fear.

    ¡°It seems I really do have to test you all out personally!¡± Despite King Liang¡¯s brash words, he still charged straight at Chu Zhongtian. It was clear that he wasn¡¯t willing to pit his own Imperial Guard against the Red Cloak Army.

    There were two reasons for this. Firstly, he hadn¡¯t brought many men with him, so they would still be far outnumbered by the Red Cloak Army, even if he added Liu Yao¡¯s contingent of imperial guards.

    Secondly, things could easily get out of hand if the two armies shed. If that happened, it would be impossible for him to deny that arge-scale battle had urred, no matter what story he ran with.

    Even though the Chu n was already doomed, the major powers in other regions would surely have much toin about. He would bepletely helpless when faced with the punishment meted out by the imperial censors.

    That was why he had no choice but to act on his own. That way, he could choose when to fight and when to stop whenever he wanted to. It would be up to him to decide what he wanted to do.

    Of course, the best result would be for him to take down their leader immediately. Taking down Chu Zhongtian would solve all of his problems.

    He sneered when he saw Chu Zhongtian strike out with a palm. This man¡¯s cultivation was roughly the same as Sang Hong¡¯s, and Sang Hong had been severely injured so easily. Now, it was Chu Zhongtian¡¯s turn to suffer the same fate.

    Their palms met, and he was instantly surprised. His opponent had used much less force than he¡¯d expected, as if he wasn¡¯t trying to meet him head on.

    Meanwhile, Chu Zhongtian used the recoil from this palm strike to help him withdraw quickly. In an instant, he had retreated into the protective umbre of the Red Cloak Army.

    His many years of battle experience had made him vignt against sudden attacks. He had clearly made preparations beforehand.

    King Liang was annoyed by the ease at which his n had been thwarted. He chased after Chu Zhongtian, hoping to seize him before he established a safe footing within the Red Cloak Army¡¯s formation.

    But the soldiers of the Red Cloak Army were all well trained. They were ready for his charge. Countless arrows were fired in his direction, each trailing a faint blue light.

    Sensing the terrifying force behind those roaring arrows, he quickly lost confidence in his headlong attack. His hands moved slowly in a circr manner in front of him, and a translucent sphere surrounded him.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Waves rippled along the surface of this translucent sphere wherever an arrow struck, but none of the arrows could pierce through that thin sphere.

    More and more arrows stuck to the surface of that sphere. King Liang roared, sending the arrows flying back towards the Red Cloak Army.

    Chu Zhongtian was standing within the Red Cloak Army¡¯s formation. His expression flickered, and he immediately called out an order. ¡°Raise your shields!¡±

    The soldiers of the Red Cloak Army raised their shields one after another. Blue-colored projections of shields began to appear above them one after another,bining to form a singlerge barrier.

    The arrows that had been fired back at them were all blocked.

    Liu Yao sneered. This was exactly how he had been defeated before! No matter how strong you are, they¡¯ll disperse your strength and soak it right up.

    The human mind really was a curious thing. If he hadn¡¯t lost earlier, he would have undoubtedly wished for King Liang to obtain an overwhelming victory. However, since he¡¯d suffered defeat not that long ago, he found himself hoping that King Liang would lose as well. The worse his defeat, the better.

    There was no love lost between King Liang and the Liu n, and Liu Yao did not mind seeing King Liang suffer a little.

    Despite this, King Liang appeared unfazed. He floated into midair, his arms extended out. His palms rose slowly, as if they were each supporting something heavy.

    A translucent, rotating sphere appeared in each of his palms. They spun extremely slowly when they first appeared, but quickly elerated, growing to about the same size as a shot put ball.

    Then, he flung these two balls at the Red Cloak Army¡¯s formation.

    The translucent spheres smashed into the light blue barrier. There was a tremendous explosion, and a st wave rippled outwards. The barrier trembled, the blue radiance flickering. Many of the soldiers coughed out blood, having suffered internal injuries from this attack.

    Liu Yao felt the sneer wiped from his face. The Red Cloak Army had absorbed his full-powered attack like it was nothing earlier. Was the difference between King Liang and himself that great?

    Fresh soldiers quickly took the ces of the injured shield-bearers, giving them time to recuperate. The blue barrier in the sky stabilized again.

    Surprise shed across King Liang¡¯s eyes. Two more translucent spheres were flung downwards.

    A huge noise echoed across the surroundings. The blue barrier trembled again, but remained intact.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see how much more you can take!¡± King Liang was also starting to get annoyed. He condensed the translucent spheres again.

    He was truly worthy of being a master rank expert. He no longer flung out his attacks recklessly, but flew around as heunched them, probing for any openings that he could exploit.

    Even though armies were strong, they had their weaknesses as well. After all, a formation wasn¡¯t as flexible as an individual. In addition, the greater the number of soldiers, the harder it was for them to maintain a tight cooperation, and the easier it was to find exploitable openings.

    A disciplined army like the Red Cloak Army was already considered a first rate army, by the standards of this world. However, even they would begin to falter when continuously hit from different angles.

    He didn¡¯t need to fashion many chances. A single opening was enough for a true expert.

    He flitted about in the air, bombarding the Red Cloak Army from different angles, trying to work an opening for himself.

    His movements were so swift that he left afterimages everywhere. It looked as though he was everywhere at the same time, simultaneously attacking the Red Cloak Army from all different angles.

    The Red Cloak Army defended frantically. Right now, they were like a skiff cast adrift in a roaring sea. Even though they had somehow managed to survive the continuous bombardments so far, every single one of them knew that this sea would devour them sooner orter.

    ¡°So this is the power of a master rank cultivator?¡± The disturbance at the Chu Estate had drawn a substantial crowd. Their faces all paled as they witnessed this scene.

    At that precise moment, Chu Zhongtian¡¯s voice drifted upwards. ¡°Bring out the war banner! Start the war drums!¡±

 Chapter 423: The Chu Clanâ€™s Might

    <h4>Chapter 423: The Chu n¡¯s Might</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The Red Cloak Army quickly cleared a space within their formation, and a group of soldiers pushed out a cart. Arge drum had been erected on the back of the cart.

    With a tap of her toes, Qin Wanru appeared on top of the cart. She picked up the thick mallets and pounded on the drum.

    *Boom! Boom! Boom!*

    Drumbeats rang out one after another, and each reverberation seemed to reach right into the depths of the soul. It made each soldier feel as if his blood was boiling.

    Liu Yao and the others observers could see ripples visibly spreading out from the drum, traveling outwards across the surrounding soldiers of the Red Cloak Army. Those same soldiers let out a ferocious roar. Their auras seemed to have doubled in strength!

    Liu Yao was dumbstruck. Even though his position as general of the Imperial Guard had been offered to him because of his status as the empress¡¯ uncle, he had still gained a lot of experience from his time serving in this position.

    During the war between humans and the beast races, the beastmen¡¯s war songs had made a deep impression on the humans. This led to an explosion of research into war drums and other war instruments that could be used by humans to boost morale and fighting strength.

    However, these war instruments could only be made by runemasters, using specialized techniques.

    Only the most elite troops in the entire empire would possess something like this. How could an ordinary n possibly hope to obtain such a war instrument?

    The true might of the Chu n¡¯s thousand years of history was now on full disy. It was no wonder why so many factions were fighting to win them over to their side.

    At that moment, another change took ce within the formation. Chu Zhongtian moved his arms in front of him, and a ring of triangr banners floated into midair.

    He pointed straight ahead and said, ¡°Go!¡±

    These gs flew out and inserted themselves in various locations within the formation, and the Red Cloak Army moved in tandem to rearrange itself. A shimmering blue light spread out to cover the bodies of the soldiers clustered around these gs.

    The barrier that had grown weak under the constant barrage of attacks brightened immediately, and waves of blue light continuously flowed along the mysterious patterns on its surface.

    Meanwhile, several projections of gs appeared in midair as well. King Liang¡¯s expression flickered. He tried to jump away from these gs, but no matter how fast he was, there was always another g blocking his path.

    ¡°What is this...?¡± All the spectators were horrified at King Liang¡¯s inability to escape. He was trapped within the formation of gs, roaring furiously.

    They had sessfully trapped a master rank cultivator! How did the Chu n possess this much power?

    The various powers in Brightmoon City were suddenly reminded of the terrifying legends surrounding the Chu n from hundreds of years ago. The Chu n had hidden their strength and lived in harmony for all these years, which had made them all forget how formidable they had been in the past.

    Liu Yao was delighted by this scene. Thank heavens I was defeated quickly! If not, I might have been screwed over by these strange gs!

    A low rumble began to echo around the battlefield. The formation split into two, creating a space in the middle. Several dozen Red Cloak Army soldiers slowly pushed out a massive siege crossbow.

    From the looks of this crossbow, it seemed more urate to call it a cannon. The power of this massive crossbow was surely enough to st through a city wall.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    This siege crossbow slowly tilted upwards. The tip of the bolt flickered with a deep, cold radiance, while the shaft was decorated with swirling runes. This was definitely the work of an excellent runemaster.

    King Liang immediately felt his goosebumps rise when he saw the crossbow taking aim at him. A sudden wave of danger came over him, one which he had never experienced before. He knew for certain that he would suffer grievous injury if he was struck by it, and might even lose his life.

    He desperately wanted to break out, but the strange gs stopped him at every attempt. There really was nowhere for him to run.

    Left with no other option, he raised his arms and brought them in front of his chest. A massive translucent sphere began to condense in front of him. He intended to meet the attack head on.

    At that moment, a voice cried out, ¡°Gentlemen, stand down!¡±

    A group of riders were galloping towards them. The one in the lead was City Lord Xie Yi.

    Next to him was Xie Daoyun. Anxiety was written all across her usually gentle and refined face. She seemed to be looking for someone, but she didn¡¯t find who she was looking for.

    She had immediately sought out her father after leaving the Sang Estate, but never expected that she would bump into her father halfway. He had already been rushing towards the Chu Estate.

    Regardless of whether it was out of concern for the safety of Brightmoon City or because he was part of King Qi¡¯s faction, Xie Yi didn¡¯t wish to see anything happen to the Chu n.

    Unfortunately, both sides were already on the verge of tearing each other apart. Why would they listen to his words?

    rmed, Xie Yi implored Liu Yao, ¡°General Liu, please stop them! This is getting out of hand!¡±

    Liu Yao smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, King Liang is a master rank expert. Surely he has full control over this situation. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s right for us to interfere.¡±

    Xie Yi stared at him in disbelief.

    I¡¯m not only worried about King Liang, there¡¯s the Chu n to think about as well!

    King Liang cursed when he heard what Liu Yao said. Control over the situation? Do you want to give this a try yourself? I guarantee that there won¡¯t even be a speck of you left over.

    He truly regretted his choice. He had been overconfident, having lived in luxury and extravagance for too long. He had little battle experience, apart from showing up on battlefields where the day had already been won. He had really underestimated the Chu n¡¯s strength.

    Of course, it wasn¡¯t really all his fault. If he had been facing a different three-thousand strong army, his strength would surely be enough to defeat them.

    He knew that neither he nor Chu Zhongtian were willing to back away at this point. If one of them chose to back down, but the other did not, the one who backed down would surely perish.

    A different, cold voice cut through the tension. ¡°Are you trying to massacre all of Brightmoon City¡¯s citizens?!¡±

    ¡°Principal Jiang has arrived!¡±

    All eyes turned towards the source of that voice. A tall, slender figure stood at the very top of arge tree. The branches at the top of the tree were terribly thin, yet she seemed perfectly bnced. Her figure swayed in rhythm with the tree.

    This sight drew countless gasps of admiration. Even Liu Yao felt a little ashamed. He could fly for a short time, but standing gracefully on such a thin branch required precise control over one¡¯s own strength.

    Even at such a young age, this woman was already so outstanding. Her prospects were limitless!

    He couldn¡¯t help but stare at this woman. He had been drawn by her cultivation at first, but his eyes soon widened even further. Her ck stockings had captured all of his attention.

    He wasn¡¯t the only one struck dumb. Even Xie Yi rubbed his nose in embarrassment, afraid that a sudden nosebleed would ruin all his many years of umted prestige.

    Xie Daoyun shoved her dad roughly when she saw it. ¡°Dad!¡± she said in annoyance.

    Xie Yi finally snapped out of his daze and smiled awkwardly.

    Jiang Luofu didn¡¯t seem to mind at all. She examined the current situation with a frown on her face.

    She quickly realized how tense the current situation was. There was no way a few words from a casual bystander could defuse this.

    As such, she removed a jade hairpin from her hair, and she flicked her finger towards the formation of gs.

    A huge rift appeared in the air the instant that the jade hairpin made contact with the formation, creating an opening.

    Jiang Luofu rushed forward. As soon as she passed through it, that rift disappeared with a sh. A corner of her clothing did not pass though in time, and was sliced off neatly, as if by an invisible de..

    She nced behind her briefly, then rushed to the center of the battlefield. ¡°I am Jiang Luofu, Principal of Brightmoon Academy. Please cease this battle immediately! Regardless of who wins this battle, it would be the civilians who will ultimately suffer.¡±

    The Chu n had always maintained a good rtionship with Brightmoon Academy. Chu Zhongtian frowned at her interference, but he still pulled back the gs and ordered the siege crossbow to stand down.

    King Liang sighed in relief when he saw this. That sphere in his hands slowly shrunk as well.

    The academy was under the Ministry of Ceremonies, and their people were everywhere. No one would choose to idly offend the academy.

    King Liang slowly fell into deep thought. From what he knew, the principal of Brightmoon Academy was only around the eighth rank. And yet, she had revealed an astonishing level of strength.

    She had even broken into the formation! Even he had been powerless against those gs earlier. Is that hairpin of hers some astonishing treasure?

 Chapter 424: Act In the Emperorâ€™s Stead

    <h4>Chapter 424: Act In the Emperor¡¯s Stead</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    King Liang stared at the jade hairpin, wondering just what kind of history it had. His gaze slowly shifted to her body, and his eyes grew wide. What long legs!

    Unfortunately, he was already of advanced age. If he had run into her when he was younger, he would surely have had his fun with her, even if he had to abuse his authority and cultivation to do so.

    The tension finally drained out of Jiang Luofu when she saw that both sides had stood down. There was a master rank cultivator on one side, while on the other, there was the three thousand-strong Red Cloak Armymanded by Brightmoon Duke. Neither side was a power she could face.

    Jiang Luofu greeted Chu Zhongtian. ¡°Brightmoon Duke, why did you suddenly mobilize such arge army?¡±

    Chu Zhongtian snorted. ¡°Principal Jiang can ask him for the answer.¡±

    King Liang descended from midair. When he heard this, he said with a cold smile, ¡°The Chu n is harboring a criminal, and even tried to kill me. Brightmoon Duke truly is daring.¡±

    Qin Wanru mmed the war drum heavily in anger. ¡°We should¡¯ve killed you after all! Even being forced to live with a bad reputation would¡¯ve been worth it!¡±

    King Liang¡¯s expression flickered, and he stepped backwards quickly.

    Jiang Luofu said hurriedly, ¡°I¡¯ve heard a few things about the reason for King Liang¡¯s visit as well. I cannot me the Chu n for finding your demands hard to ept. Even I find them difficult to ept. Zu An has lived his entire life in Brightmoon City. How could he have possibly stolen something belonging to the emperor?¡±

    Xie Yi also chimed in. ¡°Indeed, I believe that this has to be a misunderstanding as well.¡±

    King Liang¡¯s eyelids twitched. Even Xie Yi had chosen to speak. The Chu n, the academy, and the City Lord; these were Brightmoon City¡¯s three greatest powers! The three of them standing together on the same side made the situation difficult to navigate.

    He could only say, ¡°To be honest, even I don''t know what Zu An has stolen from the emperor.¡±

    Both the Master and Madam of the Chu n stared at him, speechless, as did Jiang Luofu and Xie Yi.

    Even Liu Yao couldn¡¯t believe what he¡¯d heard.

    What the hell were you boasting about then? Was it all just a bluff?

    Sensing their rage, King Liang quickly said, ¡°Even though I don¡¯t know what exactly it is that he has stolen from the emperor, this matter is truly genuine. After all, the emperor personally entrusted me with this task.¡±

    The rest of them frowned when they heard him say this. There was no reason for King Liang to lie about this matter, but there was no way they could let this matter go either!

    At that moment, King Liang seemed to recall something. He pointed at the ten embroidered envoys and said, ¡°You can ask them if you want the details. They were sent by the emperor to capture Zu An.¡±

    The Chu n thus turned to the ten embroidered envoys who were standing like statues.

    ¡°The Embroidered Envoy...¡± Chu Zhongtian and the others clearly recognized them as well, and their expressions twisted in displeasure.

    Sensing everyone¡¯s attention focused on them, the embroidered envoy at the front said coldly, ¡°The item Zu An has stolen is strictly confidential. The Chu n must hand him over. If you do not, you will be provoking His Majesty.¡±

    ¡°Provoking His Majesty?¡± Chu Zhongtianughed bleakly. ¡°The emperor clearly wants the Chu n gone. What is the point of maintaining such pretenses?¡±

    Panicking, Xie Yi immediately warned him, ¡°Brother Chu, please speak cautiously!¡±

    Chu Zhongtian snorted. ¡°We¡¯ve already been pushed this far. Why should I still bother to tread lightly?!¡±

    He obviously didn¡¯t believe that Zu An had stolen anything belonging to the emperor. He assumed that this was just another excuse that the emperor had cooked up to deal with the Chu n.

    The embroidered envoy¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Is Brightmoon Duke really going to defy the imperial edict?¡±

    ¡°Defy the imperial edict?¡± Chu Zhongtianughed. ¡°Our Chu n has never said we will do that. Feel free to search for Zu An yourselves.¡±

    Even though he was angry, he wasn¡¯t stupid. At the very least, he wouldn¡¯t say anything that would lead to the immediate destruction of the Chu n.

    That embroidered envoy waved his hands when he heard this. He walked towards the Chu Estate with the other envoys.

    The Red Cloak Army remained in ce, showing no intention of moving.

    Xie Xi gave an inward sigh. Chu Zhongtian always behaved like an upright and rule-abiding person, but he was actually quite cunning. He¡¯d clearly said that he wouldply, yet his actions were hardly in line with his statement.

    The embroidered envoys halted. ¡°Do you think that this is enough to stop us?¡±

    Chu Zhongtian said with a smile, ¡°I¡¯ve heard of the Embroidered Envoy¡¯s reputation. How could our Chu n dare to have such thoughts?¡±

    Even though this was what he said, he still showed no intention of moving aside.

    His meaning was obvious. Not even a master rank cultivator can enter. What can the few of you do? I advise you to back down.

    To be honest, he was a little confused himself. Everyone in this world seemed to worship the Embroidered Envoy, yet these envoys before him were all around the fifth or sixth rank. They didn¡¯t match up to his expectations at all.

    Then again, he¡¯d never heard of anyone being able to escape when pursued by the Embroidered Envoy. What was up with that?

    Could it be that the imperial court was so powerful that no one dared to resist?

    The Master and Madam of the Chu n were not the only ones wondering about this. Almost everyone else shared their doubts. All eyes were on the ten embroidered envoys, all waiting to see what they were going to do.

    The ten members of the Embroidered Envoy suddenly knelt towards the east. The one in the lead respectfully reached out in front of him. ¡°Your subjects have enemies that stand in our path. Your majesty, please send us an imperial edict to subdue them!¡±

    Everyone present was shocked. The emperor was in the capital city, and they were so far away. How could the emperor possibly hear what he was saying? Were they using something like sound transmission stones?

    Even if they managed to contact his majesty, what was the use? A distant river would never be the solution to a current drought!

    However, the expressions of a few of the more powerful figures present began to flicker. They began to have suspicions about what was going on.

    Chu Zhongtian gave an involuntary shudder as he looked towards the horizon. The clouds, which had been drifting aimlessly just a moment ago, were now gathering together. A boundless power slowly began to saturate the area. All of Brightmoon City¡¯s citizens trembled in fear.

    In Divine Physician Ji¡¯s shop, within a roompletely covered by curtains, Ji Dengtu was currently under his covers. One hand was holding a book, while the other hand was doing who knew what. Suddenly, he felt a terrifying pressure. His entire body trembled, and he immediately wentid. He tossed the book aside and cursed violently. ¡°Damn it all! I was almost there already, but you just had to go and scare this old man! Screw you! I probably won¡¯t be able to get it up for another three months... Fucking dogshit emperor, if not for the fact that I could never beat you in a fight, I would pay you a visit right this instant!¡±

    After cursing for a while, he fell into deep thought. That brat has really gotten himself into quite the mess this time.

    Shang Liuyu was fiddling with her harp in Brightmoon Academy. She looked in the direction of the Chu n, a pensive expression on her face.

    Zu An was currently hiding in one of the Plum Blossom Sect¡¯s properties. He too looked out the window with a look of horror. This pressure made him instinctively shake in fear. Forget about facing it head on¡ªit would be impressive if he could even stand up straight. He felt a powerful urge to kneel. Just as he was on the verge of copse, he suddenly heard a startled voice.

    ¡°What terrifying pressure! Brat, did you provoke someone you shouldn¡¯t have provoked?¡±

    Zu An was almost moved to tears when he heard this voice. ¡°Big sis empress! Please embrace andfort me!¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Mi Li reached out a hand to stop him from hugging her. ¡°Are you trying to take advantage of me as soon as we meet?¡±

    Despite saying this, all her attention was focused outside the window. Even Zu An was looking in that direction.

    The clouds above the Chu Estate slowly took the form of an indistinct figure, that of a middle-aged man with a crown on his head.

    This figure, formed from the clouds, slowly opened his mouth. An indistinct yet oppressive voice resounded throughout all of Brightmoon City. ¡°Granted!¡±

    A massive, bright-yellow imperial edict seemingly appeared out of thin air. It slowly unfolded, taking up almost half the sky. However, it waspletely nk.

    An embroidered envoy rose and intoned, ¡°His majesty, who has epted the mandate of heaven, has given the imperial order: The Chu n has three days to hand over their son-inw Zu An, or else they will be treated as traitors. All members of the n and their rtives will be executed!¡±

    Whenever a word was spoken, a trace of golden light would flicker across the imperial edict, and the word that was spoken would appear. When the envoy had finished his recitation, the words he had spoken had been reproduced exactly on the floating imperial edict.

    Finally, the imperial edict covered the sky in golden light, which scattered and fell upon the barrier formed by the Red Cloak Army. The instant it made contact with this barrier that not even Liu Yao or King Liang had been able to breach, the barrier melted like snow before a zing sun, and vanished without a trace.

    The three thousand men of the Red Cloak Army all coughed out blood, kneeling under the powerful pressure.

    Chu Zhongtian also vomited a mouthful of blood, and his entire figure seemed to wilt.

    King Liang, Liu Yao, and all of the others knelt down and said in praise, ¡°Long live his majesty!¡±

    The Imperial Guard also cried out in worship. Eventually, everyone in Brightmoon City was kneeling down in fear and shouting, their voices full of emotion.

    ¡°Long live his majesty!¡±

    The emperor was the world¡¯s number one expert. In the hearts ofmon people, he was seen as an unparalleled existence. Almost all of them were crying out sincerely.

    Meanwhile, in a prison carriage, Sang Hong said to his son, ¡°Qian¡¯er, didn¡¯t you ask me what it meant to act in the emperor¡¯s stead? This is precisely it!¡±

    At the same time, he couldn¡¯t shake his confusion. Just what was it that made His Majesty disregard the court¡¯s regtions and choose to use brute force to subdue the Chu n?

 Chapter 425: The Hat of Forgiveness

    <h4>Chapter 425: The Hat of Forgiveness</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    An emperor wasn¡¯t an ordinary person, after all. In many instances, he could not act on his own interests.

    With his strength, he was considered the number one cultivator in the world. This, paired with the authority that he wielded as emperor, should have made it easy for him to eliminate the Chu n and im their salt and iron resources for himself. However, he still chose to dispatch Sang Hong, who tried to employ all sorts of schemes to cause the Chu n to copse from the inside. The emperor needed the other ns to antagonize the Chu n precisely because he required a justifiable reason.

    Such a reason would be enough to convince the masses of his cause, even though the intelligent people within the court would still realize what was going on. These were the conventional rules of the court.

    Without this, everyone would begin to question his actions. Once that happened, then the very foundation of his dynasty would be shaken.

    Even if you¡¯re strong enough to overwhelm anyone, what would happen to your posterity? What about the future of the nation?

    That was why Sang Hong was extremely confused. From what he knew about the emperor, he didn¡¯t think that His Majesty would be so rash as to do something so unwise, and incur the criticism of the people. He would never have bothered to send him here otherwise.

    He could only think of one reason for this, which was that Zu An was extremely important to the emperor. His importance not only exceeded the Chu n¡¯s, it even exceeded anything else he could possibly imagine. That alone could make His Majesty lose hisposure like this.

    ¡°Just what did that kid steal from the emperor?¡± He had treated King Liang¡¯s usation with disdain at first, but he was starting to be more and more convinced that this was the truth.

    Sang Qian waspletely stunned. He finally understood why his father was so scared of the Embroidered Envoy even though they were only at the fifth or sixth rank.

    However, he quickly realized what this meant. He said excitedly, ¡°Isn¡¯t this a good thing for us? Now that the emperor is focused on Zu An, he might not punish us as severely, right?¡±

    Sang Hong said with a bitter smile, ¡°If only it were that simple... After all, the one who wants us dead isn¡¯t the emperor...¡±

    Sang Qian was dumbfounded. He immediately asked his father what he meant, but Sang Hong didn¡¯t reply. His face was a mask of worry, his mind deep in thought. Not only would it be pointless to tell his son, it might even cause his mind to break down.

    In a different prison carriage, Zheng Dan overheard their conversation. Her ten fingers gripped the bars tightly, her face riddled with worry. ¡°Ah Zu...¡±

    ...

    Zu An¡¯s face had drained of all color. The contents of that imperial edict had been seen by everyone in the entire city, and he was no exception.

    He feltpletely powerless before the might that the emperor had disyed. Even the most borate of schemes were practically useless in the face of such a massive difference in strength. He didn¡¯t see any way out of this situation at all.

    Mi Li couldn¡¯t help but say with a sigh, ¡°I really don¡¯t know what to say. Why are you so good at bringing disaster on yourself? You¡¯ve managed to get on the bad side of so many powerful individuals.¡±

    She thought about her soul contract with him. Just how many times had they wound up in such a situation?

    This kid¡¯s strength was clearly not that high, yet he somehow always ended up facing enemies that were so much stronger than him.

    ¡°Big sis empress, can you defeat the emperor?¡± Zu An asked, praying for a miracle.

    Mi Li rolled her eyes. ¡°Why are you asking if I can beat an enemy that you yourself provoked?¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°Aren¡¯t we in the same boat here? If I die, you¡¯ll be screwed as well!¡±

    ¡°I might have had a chance if I was at my peak. But now? Forget it. Tough luck! Just ept your death peacefully,¡± Mi Li replied in a huff.

    Zu An stared at her, speechless.

    Sis, can you please not be so direct...?

    Mi Li was curious about something else. ¡°You weren¡¯t even this scared when you faced me back then. Was it because I was too pretty, and so you didn¡¯t find me scary enough?¡±

    ¡°Big sis empress, it looks like your skin has grown much thicker after hanging around me so much.¡± Zu An couldn¡¯t resist mocking her. How could this be considered a simr situation? He had the Heiress¡¯ Ball of Delights back then, and he couldn¡¯t have cared less about how high her cultivation was. What the heck was he supposed to do against the emperor of the Zhou Dynasty?!

    Mi Li wasn¡¯t interested in finding out his answer anyway. ¡°To be honest, there¡¯s no reason for you to be so worried. Just pick a mountain to hide in. The world is so big, and they might not even be able to find you. Once you finish cultivating your Phoenix Nirvana Sutra and Primordial Origin Sutra, there wille a day when you wouldn¡¯t need to be afraid of the emperor anymore.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°How long will that take?¡±

    Mi Li looked at him. ¡°With your aptitude and my guidance, you¡¯ll be done within eight hundred years. Hell, if you are fast, even five hundred years would probably be enough.¡±

    Zu An was less thanforted by this.

    Putting aside the question of whether or not he could even live for that long, what sort of meaningless life would he lead if he hid in a damned mountain for a few centuries?

    Mi Li yawned and stretched her bodyzily. ¡°I¡¯m tired, so I''m going to sleep. Take care!¡±

    With that, she vanished.

    Zu An had to admit that everything this woman did was beautiful. However, why was this big sis so irresponsible? Was she really going to leave just like that?

    Couldn¡¯t you at least console my terrified heart?

    Even if you can¡¯t beat the emperor, I¡¯ll dly take an affectionate hug...

    He put aside his jokes. He had to figure something out on his own.

    A thought popped into his mind. He took out the Keyboard system and saw that he was sitting on a total of 77,589 Rage points.

    Fuck it, I¡¯ll just bet it all!

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An found a wash basin to wash his face. From within his Brilliant ss Bead, he fished out some candles and incense, then took out offerings of a cow¡¯s head, amb¡¯s head, a pig¡¯s head... He always felt as though his prayers alone weren¡¯t solemn enough, so he¡¯d hoarded a bunch of stuff when he got the chance to. The Brilliant ss Bead had so much space anyway, and there was no need to worry about anything inside it going bad.

    After bustling about for a while, his offering table was finally ready.

    Zu An prayed, and then began to draw the lottery.

    Thanks for ying... Thanks for ying... Ki Fruit... Thanks for ying... Ki Fruit...

    Zu An clenched his fists when he saw these messages.

    At his current level, Ki Fruits were pretty much the same as those useless constory ¡®Thanks for ying¡¯ messages. He needed way too many of them to move up each level.

    His eyes suddenly brightened. The flickering light meter hade to a stop above the ¡®M¡¯ key.

    A hat appeared on the screen. This hat didn¡¯t look all that special. It was not that different from an ordinary one. The only thing strange about it was its color.

    It was entirely green!

    It was even a shimmering green, as if it was somehow scared that others wouldn¡¯t notice it. Green light swirled across its surface, slowly converging on a single, sparkling point.

    Zu An was stunned. What was this thing? Why did he feel like it was the same as the one he¡¯d given Sang Qian earlier?

    Then again, he knew that rewards granted by the Keyboard were all special in their own way.

    He quickly read the description.

    Congrattions on winning the ¡®Hat of Forgiveness¡¯!

    Hat of Forgiveness

    Introduction: Spring has arrived, and all things areing alive! What should be green has finally started to turn green! If you want to get by, then you need a bit of green on your head. What will you do when you find out the cruel truth? You obviously have to forgive him/her!¡±

    Description for use: Single use. If you make the target wear this hat, then they will forgive you, no matter what kind of mistake you have made.¡±

    Zu An just stared at the screen.

    He almost sprayed saliva everywhere. How could something as nonsensical as this appear? He began to wonder what sort of weird taste the Keyboard¡¯s creator had.

    His head was beginning to ache. If he ever made someone wear such a hat, he couldn¡¯t care less if they forgave him or not. Wasn¡¯t this thing kind of useless?

    Wait, what if I...

    While he was deep in thought, a quiet voice suddenly spoke into his ear. ¡°So this is your trump card...¡±

    Zu An jumped up in fright. He turned around and saw Mi Li sitting on his offering table, her legs casually swinging in the air.

    ¡°Big sis empress, didn¡¯t you say you were going to sleep?¡± Zu An asked immediately.

    A mysterious smile spread across Mi Li¡¯s face. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t trust a woman so easily, especially one as pretty as me.¡±

 Chapter 426: Show Me Your Sincerity

    <h4>Chapter 426: Show Me Your Sincerity</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An smiled in embarrassment. ¡°What are you saying, big sis empress? I don¡¯t understand at all.¡±

    Mi Li gave him a hard look. ¡°When we were in the dungeon, I knew that something wasn¡¯t quite right. With your crappy cultivation, I should have been able to kill you with a sneeze. However, I just couldn¡¯t kill you no matter what I did.

    ¡°Even though the willpower you disyed back then astounded me, it would be way too easy if you could survive in this world on willpower alone.

    ¡°That was why I was always curious as to what you relied on. It seems as though this is the ¡®system¡¯ you speak of. The Hat of Forgiveness? This thing is definitely strange.¡±

    Zu An was shocked. ¡°You can see all this?¡±

    Mi Li smiled ambiguously. ¡°When did I say that I couldn¡¯t?¡±

    ¡°Previously, you...¡± Zu An subconsciously began to speak, but he quickly caught himself.

    ¡°I just told you, the prettier the girl, the better they are at lying,¡± Mi Li said with a smile. ¡°That medicine you used to save Madam Chu was quite amazing. She was in critical condition, but it brought her back immediately. Not even the court necromancers of the past could have concocted such medicine. Now, this Hat of Forgiveness thing, it really seems like quite an amazing magic artifact, if the description doesn¡¯t lie.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression flickered several times. Countless thoughts shed past his mind. It seems this woman had harbored suspicions about me for quite some time. She¡¯d already seen all the nonsense that I go through while drawing the lottery, but she¡¯s kept quiet about it all this time because she had yet to fully understand it. Now that she has a better idea, she¡¯s decided toy her cards on the table.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Come on, you don¡¯t have to be that nervous, okay? Our lives are already tied together. Why would I harm you?¡± Mi Li noticed how distraught he had be, and rushed to console him.

    ¡°You just told me that pretty women love to lie. How do I know if the life-and-death pact that we made was real or fake? What if you have a way to undo the restrictions? I¡¯ll find myself being screwed over before I even know it!¡± Zu An snorted angrily.

    ¡°You learn pretty fast, kid.¡± Mi Li favored him with a proud smile. ¡°But big sis didn¡¯t lie to you about that.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe you.¡± Zu An¡¯s eyes shifted to her dress. ¡°You¡¯ve already caught me with my pants down. How about you take off your clothes to show your sincerity?¡±

    You¡¯re already a soul, why do you bother wearing clothes? It¡¯s just like taking off your pants just to fart...

    Mi Li¡¯s eyes almost popped out of her face.

    In a sh, the squeals of a pig being ughtered filled the room. ¡°Big sis empress! Please, I can exin! Let¡¯s talk it out! I was just kidding!

    ¡°Ahhh!! Please, you can hit me anywhere, but don¡¯t hit my face! I depend on this face of mine to survive!¡±

    ...

    It took a long time for the room to be quiet again. Mi Li wiped off the blood from her fingertips, a dangerous smile ying across her lips. ¡°Let this big sis teach you an important principle today! Don¡¯t y dead when you shouldn¡¯t.¡±

    Zu An was lying paralyzed on the ground, his facepletely swollen and his nose leaking blood. ¡°I couldn¡¯t figure out how to make you prove what you said was true, so I cracked a joke instead. Why do you have to be so violent?¡±

    Mi Li snorted. ¡°I was already extremely lenient. If someone had dared to say something like that in front of me back when I was empress, I would¡¯ve executed their family down to the third generation!¡±

    Zu An¡¯s throat went dry. Why are all these women around me so bloody fierce?

    Mi Liughed and said, ¡°Besides, I¡¯m not just beating you up, okay? I¡¯m helping you cultivate! Who asked you to pick up this Phoenix Nirvana Sutra that requires you to get beaten up?¡±

    Zu An chuckled.

    ¡°Alright, enough of that. Let¡¯s talk business.¡± Mi Li put away her smile. ¡°Even the strongest of oaths can be unreliable. In the end, it all boils down to the interests of both parties, as well as the strength of both sides.

    ¡°Even though you¡¯re weak, you do have transcendent level aptitude, and possess multiple secret techniques. You have this system as your trump card as well, so there is great hope for you to achieve immortality. You know, the stronger the man, and the more trump cards he has, the more attractive he is. I find that I¡¯m beginning to like you more and more.¡± Mi Li smiled. ¡°That is why you don¡¯t have to worry about me harming you.¡±

    Zu An was full of bitterness. ¡°I thought that we¡¯d gotten this close because we¡¯ve hung around each other so much. It turns out you only like me because of these things! It was all strictly business for you!¡±

    Mi Li scoffed. ¡°Tsk, what else did you think it was? Do you really think an empress like me would give an immature brat like you the time of day?¡±

    Zu An was clearly unhappy. ¡°Are you sure that I¡¯m not mature enough?¡±

    Mi Li suddenly remembered the scene in the dungeon, where she had taken over Chu Chuyan¡¯s body. Her face flushed red, and she quickly changed the topic. ¡°Ahem ahem... let¡¯s talk more about this trump card of yours. You called it a ¡®system¡¯, right? Why do you call it something so strange?¡±

    ¡°What else would I call it?¡± Zu An sniffed in annoyance. Having his trump cards exposed this way made him feel extremely ufortable.

    Mi Li¡¯s expression remained serious. ¡°Based on my observations, this... system should be an extremely powerful magic weapon. Even though its power is inferior to some treasures I know of, its creativity is absolutely superior. You need to understand that destruction will always be much simpler than creation, so from a certain perspective, your magic weapon is even more precious.¡±

    ¡°Magic weapon?¡± Zu An was stunned. He¡¯d spent way too much time reading web novels in his past life. It was always difficult for the protagonists to exin their cheats, so he didn¡¯t think too much about his Keyboard system, and hadn¡¯t tried to pry into its origins at all.

    ¡°Of course it¡¯s a magic weapon!¡± Mi Li said. ¡°It might have even been forged by history¡¯s most powerful and talented rune master. His understanding of spatialws and energy conversion, as well as his natural creativity, far surpasses any other exceptional expert that I¡¯ve ever encountered.¡±

    ¡°Energy conversion?¡± Zu An was still mired in confusion. Why was this beginning to sound like the study of physics from his past world?

    ¡°Indeed.¡± Mi Li grew ever more excited, her voice full of admiration. ¡°Regr magic weapons need ki stones to provide energy, while magic weapons that are more rare can absorb the natural ki around them to operate on their own. However, magic treasures aren¡¯t people, so the rate at which they can absorb natural ki is limited. However, your system is different. Not only can it replenish itself through natural ki, it can even absorb soul force as an energy source.¡±

    ¡°Soul force?¡± Zu An was about to lose his mind. What the heck was this now?

    ¡°As the name implies, it¡¯s the power of the soul,¡± Mi Li exined. ¡°Normal souls will release soul force when they be agitated. When you constantly provoke others and turn their agitation into Rage points, it is actually a collection of soul power.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes had begun to ze over. However, after listening to her exnation, many of the questions and doubts in his mind began to dissolve. He couldn¡¯t help but stare at her. ¡°Big sis empress, are you a reincarnated physics professor or something?¡±

    ¡°What the heck is that?¡± Mi Li frowned. ¡°I used to be an empress who unified the world, and I¡¯ve read all sorts of ancient texts! How can my knowledge and experiencepare to someone like you, a frog trapped at the bottom of a well?¡±

    Zu An cursed her in his heart. You think you¡¯re that great? Do you know how many Hollywood movies I¡¯ve watched in my previous world, and how many Japanese works of art¡ªall full of limitless passion¡ªI¡¯ve enjoyed? Do you see me bragging all day to you about them?

    However, the expression on his face remained sincere. ¡°This ¡®soul force¡¯ can be harnessed?¡±

    ¡°Of course it can,¡± said Mi Li. ¡°The universe is so vast and great. There are many more paths of cultivation besides just relying on natural ki. There are many energies in this world that can be used for cultivation. For example, your Primordial Origin Sutra uses primordial ki.

    ¡°In addition, ording to my years of research, natural ki is most likely not made up of a single form of energy. It should be considered a collective term that epasses many types of energies. I know many races who harness the same natural ki, but their cultivation methods, as well as the results of their cultivation, are entirely different from those of the human race. Even the human race has many different schools of thought with regards to cultivation... Unfortunately, I was unable to distinguish the different types of energy that natural ki consists of.¡±

    Zu An suddenly realized what she was talking about. The study of physics in his past world had resulted in the discovery of the four fundamental forces in the universe: the strong nuclear force, the weak nuclear force, the electromaic force, and the gravitational force. Different forces led to different results.

    However, the universe was iprehensibly vast. These might not be the only types of force. For example, the natural ki and primordial ki in this world, as well as the soul force that was just mentioned, should exist as well. It was just that the humans on Earth had yet to be able to sense them.

 Chapter 427: No Way Out

    <h4>Chapter 427: No Way Out</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Mi Li mistook his silence for discouragement. Her tone softened, and she said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. With your magic weapon, the secret manuals that others could only ever yearn for, and your transcendent aptitude, you don¡¯t need to feel too bothered about this current situation.¡±

    Zu An gave her a look of surprise. ¡°Big sis empress, I didn¡¯t expect your voice to sound so pleasant when you¡¯re being nice. I almost thought you were a different person.¡±

    Mi Li just couldn¡¯t understand what was up with him.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Do you actually want me to always be strict on you? What¡¯s wrong with you?¡±

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°Not at all, not at all. Of course I prefer it when you¡¯re being nice. But you can¡¯t be too nice, or else you¡¯ll lose the sex appeal thates from being a powerful empress.¡±

    ¡°Piss off!¡± Mi Li was momentarily speechless. She had no idea how to reply to that, so she quickly disappeared and went back to sleep.

    ¡°I really have no idea if she¡¯s actually sleeping or not...¡± Zu An muttered as he looked out the window in the direction of the Chu Estate, a pensive expression on his face.

    ...

    Liu Yao was busy searching the estate with his Imperial Guard.

    The Chu n¡¯s Master, Madam, and the Red Cloak Army had been suppressed by the imperial edict, so they could no longer stop the search.

    Jiang Luofu frowned. She hade to act as a mediator, but the emperor¡¯s personal interference made any further persuasion meaningless. The only thing she could do now was to see if she could do anything to save them from extinction.

    As for Zu An, she could only wish him the best.

    She had no idea how in the world this kid had offended the emperor. He actually managed to instigate such a huge disaster!

    I wonder if His Majesty will pardon his crimes if his transcendent aptitude is reported. After all, such legendary aptitude is just too rare.

    Then again, envy was an inextricable part of human nature. If the emperor found out how great his potential was, it might only further strengthen his resolve to get rid of him.

    She found herself in a dilemma. She had always been a decisive person, so this was a rare feeling.

    King Liang stepped forward. ¡°So, everyone believes me now, right? Principal Jiang, City Lord Xie, do you two have any more opinions to share?¡±

    Jiang Luofu frowned, but didn¡¯t say anything.

    Xie Yi immediately smiled apologetically. ¡°None at all! We will let King Liang take charge of everything.¡±

    Are you kidding me? An imperial edict had appeared, and the fear they¡¯d felt from that immensely powerful pressure that had apanied it still lingered. Even now, he was questioning his decision to side with King Qi.

    However, with things already the way they were, there was no way for him to switch patrons at this point. Fortunately, the emperor¡¯s days were already numbered. His only job at this point was to send a report to King Qi as quickly as possible, so he could make ns ahead of time.

    Xie Daoyun bit her lip. She knew her father had no choice but to act the way he did. This truly wasn¡¯t something that could be decided by their Xie n.

    She could only hope that Zu An would be able to get away safely.

    By this time, Liu Yao hade out, having finished the search of the Chu Estate. He shook his head. ¡°He¡¯s not here.¡±

    King Liang looked at the Master and Madam of the Chu n. ¡°I believe Brightmoon Duke has heard the imperial edict as well. If you do not hand Zu An over, the entire Chu n will follow that kid into the grave.¡±

    He felt incredibly happy to see the people who had ced him in such a sorry state earlier end up looking so distraught.

    Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru exchanged nces. Their faces were extremely pale.

    Qin Wanru couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°You all saw for yourselves that Ah Zu isn¡¯t here. How are we supposed to hand over someone that we aren¡¯t even sheltering?¡±

    King Liang said coldly, ¡°That¡¯s for you to worry about. It''s none of my business. Who was the one who decided to take in Zu An as their son-inw?¡±

    He stationed the Imperial Guard around the Chu Estate and decided to get some rest. It was much better to lie down in a warm ce, away from this frigid atmosphere.

    That¡¯s right, Isn¡¯t the Immortal Abode in Brightmoon City? I¡¯ve heard that it was quite excellent. Qiu Honglei is there, and she has quite the reputation. I should take a look and experience her for myself.

    However, it felt odd to suggest this on his own initiative. Why are these Brightmoon Officials so slow? Shouldn¡¯t they be the ones taking the initiative to make me feel wee?

    As if sensing his dissatisfaction, Xie Yi rushed over with a smile and said, ¡°King Liang, General, the two of you havee all the way to Brightmoon City. Please, let this humble one help you experience the local vors of Brightmoon City.¡±

    King Liang immediately felt pleased, but he feigned a troubled look. He stroked his beard and said, ¡°Surely that¡¯s too much to ask. I wouldn¡¯t dream of troubling Lord Xie.¡±

    ¡°Not at all, not at all. Respectfully, this humble one also wishes to hear more about the capital city from both you and General Liu!¡± Xie Yi said with a smile.

    Liu Yaoughed heartily. ¡°I will guide Lord Xie around the capital in the future if there is a chance! Haha.¡±

    Xie Daoyun was slightly disappointed by her father¡¯s fawning attitude. She preferred to distance herself from such behavior, but she didn¡¯t feel any real contempt for her father.

    As the child of an official, she knew that entertaining guests was an important part of his duties. She was busy burying herself in poetry and the arts, while her younger brother ran around chasing girls, so her father was the one who had to shoulder everything alone.

    When everyone had left, Xie Daoyun walked over to console the husband and wife duo of the Chu n. ¡°Brightmoon Duke, Madam Chu, are you two all right? Should I call Divine Physician Ji?¡±

    Chu Zhongtian shook his head. ¡°These are just minor injuries.¡± He thought about the bleak future facing the Chu n, and sighed deeply.

    ¡°Uncle, please do not feel too worried,¡± Xie Daoyun said. ¡°Surely there¡¯s a way to solve this problem.¡±

    Despite her own words, she herself could see no way out for them.

    Qin Wanru said, ¡°Thank you Miss Xie, for your help earlier.¡±

    She obviously realized that it had been Xie Daoyun who had brought her father here, and she also heard about how she had helped Ah Zu enter the city. However, even though she was grateful, she couldn¡¯t help but find this a little odd. When did the two of them develop such a cordial rtionship?

    Their Ah Zu didn¡¯t have many other skills, but his way with women was truly top notch. She might have been worried if they weren¡¯t currently in a crisis, but right now, the more of these female friends he had, the better. They could aid him, at least, and if there was some princess or someone like that among them, then that would be even better. Maybe that would help hime out of this conflict with the emperor unscathed.

    Huh? Wait a second. The emperor keeps saying that Ah Zu stole something of his. Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s his daughter...

    ¡°Madam is too kind.¡± Xie Daoyun was worried about Zu An¡¯s next steps. She clearly wasn¡¯t in the mood to chat, so she bade her farewells and left with a heavy heart.

    Jiang Luofu also walked over to them and said quietly, ¡°Ah Zu left your second daughter in the academy¡¯s staff residences. Given the current situation, I will keep her there for now. The two of you need not worry. Even if something does happen, I will ensure her safety.¡±

    Her unspoken words were clear. If the Chu n really was eradicated, she would continue to protect Chu Huanzhao.

    Gratitude shone in the eyes of both Chu Zhongtian and his wife. ¡°Thank you, principal!¡±

    Even the emperor had gotten involved. With matters the way they were, there was not much room for hope. The fact that she was willing to preserve some of their bloodline was already a huge favor.

    Qin Wanru asked, ¡°By the way, is Ah Zu in the academy?¡±

    Jiang Luofu shook her head. ¡°No one knows where he is right now.¡±

    Qin Wanru sighed. ¡°That¡¯s good. If Principal Jiang runs into him, please help me pass on a message. He absolutely must note back! They¡¯ve already set up an inescapable.¡±

    Even though King Liang and Liu Ya had left, those ten embroidered envoys remained, and the Imperial Guard was still present. The Chu n had lost all power to resist them.

    ¡°Also, tell him to look for Chuyan, and rescue her... her younger brother. They should find a ce toy low and live incognito. Do not let Chuyan seek revenge.¡±

    From her tone, it sounded as if she were already passing on herst words. Jiang Luofu frowned, but in the end she still nodded in acknowledgment. ¡°I will.¡±

    During the next three days, the Chu n held meetings around the clock, trying to find a way out. However, every option was rejected. This situation was just too grim.

    Suddenly, an elder with a walking stick cursed, ¡°It¡¯s all Zu An¡¯s fault! He is the source of this whole catastrophe!¡±

    With him taking the lead, more and more people began to curse Zu An.

 Chapter 428: A Loophole

    <h4>Chapter 428: A Loophole</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The ones speaking were all elders of the Chu n. Even though they weren¡¯t very skilled themselves, they upied stations of great seniority without having any duties towards the Chu n.

    ¡°I concur! The n has not experienced a moment of peace ever since Zu An joined!¡±

    ¡°The n master¡¯s decision to bring him into the n was too negligent.¡±

    Qin Wanru frowned, clearly unhappy with the way everyone was criticizing Zu An. She got up and shouted, ¡°Our Chu n would have already been destroyed if it hadn¡¯t been for Zu An. You all have no right toin!¡±

    Someone grumbled, ¡°Aren¡¯t we still going to be destroyed all the same? We should have just let Chu Second Master seed in his takeover. He is also a part of the Chu n, after all.¡±

    Qin Wanru was furious. ¡°What did you say?!¡±

    Chu Yuepo, of the third branch, rushed out at this time to serve as a mediator. ¡°We are all here for the Chu n¡¯s sake! We should be thinking about how to deal with the current predicament, and not stoke any further internal friction!¡±

    Qin Wanru sat down with an angry huff. Unfortunately, no one coulde up with any good ideas, even after a lengthy discussion.

    While they were all in despair, Chu Yuepo stood up and said, ¡°I¡¯ve actually thought of a way out. I just don¡¯t know if I should share it with everyone.¡±

    ¡°Why are you still ying around with suspense?¡± Chu Zhongtian said impatiently. ¡°Hurry up and say it.¡±

    ¡°I am worried that I will anger Master and Madam,¡± Chu Yuepo said hesitantly.

    The others immediately became impatient as well. ¡°Third Master, when did you be so wishy-washy?¡±

    Qin Wanru snorted as well. ¡°Why would we get angry if it will really help our Chu n?¡±

    Thus encouraged, Chu Yuepo finally said, ¡°I noticed a loophole within the imperial edict. We can...¡±

    Qin Wanru shot to her feet immediately. ¡°No way! I will not agree to that!¡±

    Chu Zhongtian chimed in as well. ¡°Indeed. Ah Zu has contributed greatly to our Chu n. How can we treat him like this?¡±

    Chu Yuepo sighed. ¡°I know that this seems slightly unreasonable, but our Chu n is on the verge of copse! Master and Madam, as the leaders of this n, you must not act so emotionally!¡±

    The others began to voice their agreement as well. Chu Zhongtian¡¯s expression flickered several times. In the end, he raised his hand to stop the discussions. ¡°I will not allow it. The founding principle of our Chu n¡¯s Red Cloak Army clearly states that we will not abandon anyone. If we do something like this, then even our men will turn their backs on us. This will tarnish the centuries of prestige that our Chu n has umted. In such a state, the Chu n will not survive for long.¡±

    ¡°Dear...¡± Qin Wanru was extremely moved. Back then, she had fallen in love with him precisely because of how upright he was. She hadn¡¯t expected him to still be the same person, even after so many years.

    The rest of the members looked at each other in dismay. Seeing the seriousness of his tone, they were at a loss as to how to persuade him.

    Chu Yuepo was once again the one who reacted quickest. He immediately said, ¡°Master and Madam, you¡¯ve misunderstood me! Although it seems as though we are abandoning Zu An on the surface, we are actually saving him!¡±

    Chu Zhongtian frowned. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    Chu Yuepo exined, ¡°Master, please think about it. Why did they insist on this three-day deadline even though they didn¡¯t find Zu An in the estate?¡±

    ¡°This...¡± Chu Zhongtian trailed off into silence. Qin Wanru began to ponder this as well.

    Chu Yuepo continued, ¡°Clearly, even though it seems as if they are forcing us to hand over Zu An, they are actually trying to force Zu An toe out of hiding. They are using us to threaten him into making a move!¡±

    Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru were stunned. They weren¡¯t durds, but they had just been too preupied with all the chaos swirling around them. Now that it has been brought up, they quickly realized that this was indeed the case.

    The two of them entered a quick discussion, and Qin Wanru was the first one to address the rest of them. ¡°Fine, we will do as you have suggested!¡±

    ...

    Three days passed quickly. The various powers of Brightmoon City all gathered near the Chu Estate to see how the situation would y out.

    Even themon people rushed over, drawn by themotion. Even though the Chu n enjoyed a good reputation, most ordinary folk were quick to rejoice when cmity fell upon those richer and more powerful than them. None bothered to look into the reasons behind it all, although, given their abilities, there was little chance that they would be able to figure out the truth.

    Zu An put on one of the masks he¡¯d taken from Chen Xuan and blended into the crowd.

    Not long after, King Liang and Liu Yao led a group of intimidating subordinates into the Chu Estate. Behind them came several men carrying a table with an incense holder.

    King Liang cleared his throat, and then he said, ¡°This stick of incense has almost finished burning. The three-day deadline is almost up, yet you all still haven¡¯t handed Zu An over! Are you asking for your n to be eradicated?¡±

    Even though he didn¡¯t deliberately raise his voice, his master rank cultivation ensured that every single person could still hear what he said.

    He had been in a bad mood the past few days. He¡¯d gone to visit the Immortal Abode with lofty expectations for their courtesan queen, Qiu Honglei, only to find that the beauty had already left.

    The other girls were still high-quality, but not being able to meet this long-admired beauty still left him feeling frustrated and annoyed.

    Even though he was of advanced age, he still had hands and a mouth. It wouldn¡¯t prevent him from having some fun.

    Chu Zhongtian paid him no attention. He stood on a high tform and dered loudly, ¡°The drafted son-inw of the Chu n did not cherish our daughter after marrying her. Instead, he constantly yed around with women outside. He even had close rtions with women from brothels, and wanted to take in a courtesan queen from the Immortal Abode as a concubine! This triggered a huge uproar in the estate. He haspletely neglected his duties as a husband! Furthermore, his morality and conduct is questionable. That is why, after discussing it as a n, we have written out the articles of annulment of his marriage to our daughter. Henceforth, he is no longer a member of the Chu n. From now on, he shares no rtionship with our Chu n!¡±

    A hugemotion broke out right after his announcement. Themon people were much more interested in Zu An¡¯s affair with the Immortal Abode¡¯s courtesan queen.

    Quite a few people already knew about what had gone on between Qiu Honglei and Zu An in the Immortal Abode. They never expected it to go so far that even a marriage had been considered, and it was even more surprising that Qiu Honglei had been the one to take the initiative to visit the Chu Estate.

    Tsk tsk tsk, this fe really was too greedy! Even though he already had the goddess of the Chu n, he still wasn¡¯t satisfied! He¡¯d actually gone after Qiu Honglei as well!

    They had all been upset before, but as time had gone on and simr stories kept emerging, they had begun to grow numb. They began to wonder what special attributes he possessed that made so many outstanding women fall for him.

    King Liang¡¯s eyelids twitched. Thest thing he¡¯d expected was for the girl that he¡¯d been yearning for to have already thrown herself at Zu An!

    A random bumpkin dares to steal her from me, a king? Absolutely preposterous!

    You have sessfully trolled King Liang for 999 Rage points!

    Zu An frowned when he saw the iing Rage points. How did he end up provoking this man?

    He pushed the matter aside for the moment, and stared at Chu Zhongtian in a daze.

    He never expected to hear this, especially after taking the huge risk ofing here. If they¡¯d been in a different situation, he might have joked around and whined about how much he¡¯d done for the Chu n, and how much he¡¯d bled for the Chu n, but he just couldn¡¯t bring himself to get into the mood at all.

    From the moment he¡¯d crossed over to this world, he had always stayed in the Chu Estate. Even though many people there had treated him quite badly, there was still Chuyan and Huanzhao. Chu Zhongtian and Madam Chu treated him quite well as well. He¡¯d begun to gradually treat the Chu n as his real home.

    He¡¯de back this time precisely for the sake of the Chu n. How could he have predicted this result?

    Right at this time, a gentle voice sounded next to his ear. ¡°Ah Zu, don¡¯t show yourself. They are trying to bait you intoing out.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He tried to trace the source of the sound, and noticed Qin Wanru looking in his direction.

    He was stunned, but quickly realized what was going on. This mask was the same one that he¡¯d worn thest time the two of them had gone out on their adventure. No wonder she recognized him!

    He felt a surge of warmth. So this was the reason behind the annulment.

    King Liang was furious. ¡°What a joke! Is this the game you guys are going to y? Do you think we¡¯re all stupid?¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Chu Zhongtian said in aposed and unhurried manner, ¡°If I may speak, respected king. If I am not mistaken, the emperor¡¯s imperial edict stated that we needed to hand over our son-inw, Zu An. It did not say to hand over the individual called Zu An. Since Zu An is no longer our son-inw, we should not be bound by the imperial edict anymore.¡±

    Everyone was stunned by thisst statement. Even Xie Yi couldn¡¯t help but stare at him. Was this still the same rigid and honest person that he¡¯d known all this while?

    Chu Zhongtian continued, ¡°Respectfully, I must trouble you to help us find that man. He has been quite the annoyance to our Chu n as well! We¡¯ve done nothing but treat him well, yet not only did he deceive our first daughter, he even tried to go after our second daughter. Huanzhao is still so young! He is truly a scoundrel.¡±

    Zu An felt the urge to bury his face in his palm.

 Chapter 429: Saved From Absolute Death

    <h4>Chapter 429: Saved From Absolute Death</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An was absolutely devastated. He knew that Chu Zhongtian was saying this to give weight to his argument, but this sounded so wrong!

    He was really close to Huanzhao, and he was sure that his father-inw had noticed too. He just didn¡¯t talk about it.

    The crowd erupted in a massivemotion. Zu An¡¯s ¡®romantic adventures¡¯ were already widely known throughout the city, but after the initial shock, everyone had slowly grown numb to the news. However, this new drama involving both sisters suddenly had them all worked up again. He¡¯d actually achieved this fantasy that countless men could only dream of!

    ¡°Have you seen Chu Second Miss before? I have! She¡¯s already quite lovely. Who knows, she might grow up to be even prettier than her older sister!¡±

    ¡°That brat Zu An got his hands on both of the Chu sisters at once! His luck with women is crazy!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not even all of it. I heard that he even has something going on with Madam Chu... This might be the real reason why Brightmoon Duke is kicking him out...¡±

    The buzz of gossip instantly set the crowd afire, and the ce became extremely lively.

    Chu Zhongtian¡¯s eyelids twitched. Given his cultivation, how could he not hear what they were saying? He never expected his acting to result in this sort of misunderstanding!

    However, there was no way he could exin the truth to them either. Was he supposed to insist that Zu An had done nothing of that sort with his wife? Who the hell would believe that? They would instead take it as an indirect confession, which would make things even worse!

    He felt incredibly wronged.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Qin Wanru¡¯s face waspletely red as well. She hadn¡¯t expected such a reaction from the crowd either. She shot Zu An an unhappy look.

    Meanwhile, Zu An was beaming with joy from all the Rage points he was getting, all of them kindly donated by the jealous and envious crowd.

    Please keep the good stuffing!

    King Liang and Liu Yao quickly had the Embroidered Envoy bring out the imperial edict. They found that it was exactly as the Chu n imed, containing the wording ¡®son-inw, Zu An¡¯. They both looked at the leader of the Embroidered Envoy in annoyance.

    The leader felt utterly ashamed. After all, he had been the one who had dictated the imperial edict. How could he have expected this sort of loophole?

    In the end, it was King Liang, the old fox of the court, who reacted quickly. He immediately criticized Chu Zhongtian viciously. ¡°You dare y your word games with the imperial edict? You are making a fool out of your sovereign! Your vile heart must be punished!¡±

    ¡°King Liang, I do not dare to receive such a great title,¡± Chu Zhongtian replied sarcastically. ¡°We have responded most loyally to His Majesty¡¯s imperial edict. How can this be considered making a fool out of him?¡±

    Jiang Luofu, who had remained silent all this while, also spoke up. ¡°I agree with what Brightmoon Duke says. Many people have heard what he said as well. Since Zu An is no longer the son-inw of the Chu n, I find it rather uneptable for you to trouble the Chu n any further.¡±

    Seeing Principal Jiang take the lead, Xie Yi didn¡¯t want to let slip this chance to express his goodwill to the Chu n either. ¡°This humble official also thinks that interrogating the Chu n further would be a bit much. How about I have my bailiffs cooperate with the search for Zu An instead?¡±

    ¡°Lord Xie needs not do that.¡± How could King Liang be blind to his true thoughts? Send bailiffs to arrest Zu An? Who knew where Zu An had run off to by now! How the heck were they supposed to catch him? Besides, not even the Embroidered Envoy could apprehend him before. What the heck were his bailiffs going to do? Catch him my ass!

    He roundly ignored Xie Yi, and began to discuss their next n of action with Liu Yao and the leader of the Embroidered Envoy, Huang Huihong.

    Liu Yao chuckled. ¡°Since the emperor sent the distinguished King Liang to deal with this matter, it¡¯s only natural that I pledge to fully obey whatever it is you order of me.¡±

    King Liang cursed him in his heart. This old fox¡¯s words sounded nice, but all he was doing was to push all responsibility of this matter onto him. This dogshit bastard doesn¡¯t even have a shred of a conscience after all the whoring... ahem ahem, after the camaraderie we shared in the Immortal Abode.

    King Liang had no choice but to look to Huang Huihong. ¡°What does Commander Huang think?¡±

    Huang Huihong said in a serious tone, ¡°The only thing I care about is capturing Zu An and bringing him back. This was the absolute goal that the emperor entrusted to me. Respectfully, if we do not do so, not only our Embroidered Envoy, but even you will not be able to escape punishment.¡±

    King Liang¡¯s face was as dark as a storm cloud. His innerndscape was in utter turmoil.

    A whileter, he finally made a decision. He walked up to the Chu Estate again and dered in a loud voice, ¡°Since Zu An is no longer the son-inw of the Chu n, I cannot execute the entire n ording to the imperial edict. However, based on the Chu n¡¯s actions, I suspect them of trying to deceive the emperor and shelter Zu An. The emperor will be the one to make the final decision on how to deal with them.

    ¡°Men, arrest everyone in the Chu n! We will escort all of them back to the capital!¡±

    As someone within the emperor¡¯s faction, he clearly understood that the emperor wanted to use this chance to seize the Chu n¡¯s assets. Arresting the entire Chu n would pave the way for this nicely.

    This way, even if he wasn¡¯t able to capture Zu An, he could still lessen his punishment through other merits.

    ¡°What?!¡± Everyone in the Chu n panicked when they heard this. Many of them even secretly gripped their weapons.

    Xie Yi coughed and said, ¡°Respected king, isn¡¯t this a little inappropriate? Forcibly detaining a duke¡¯s n in the capital city will cause huge upheaval both inside and outside Brightmoon City!¡±

    King Liang said coldly, ¡°I will take all responsibility for the consequences!¡±

    He then looked at the members of the Chu n. ¡°What? Are you nning to resist? Do you want the Embroidered Envoy to bring out another imperial edict? I fear that, in your current condition, we might not even need an imperial edict. General Liu and I can handle all of you on our own!¡±

    He intentionally looked at Xie Yi and Jiang Luofu as he said this. These words were clearly meant for the two of them as well.

    Sure enough, Xie Yi and Jiang Luofu both frowned, but kept their silence.

    It was one thing if it was just King Liang and Liu Yao, but the Embroidered Envoy could act in ce of the Son of Heaven. If they summoned another imperial edict, no one would be able to offer the slightest resistance.

    With the order given, the Imperial Guard moved in to arrest the members of the Chu n. Wails and howls sounded within the Chu Estate. Wives cried for their husbands, children cried for their parents, and parents cried for their children...

    ¡°n Master?¡± The others looked towards Chu Zhongtian. Clearly, they needed him to make an immediate decision for the n.

    Chu Zhongtian¡¯s expression flickered several times. He looked at his wife and saw the encouragement and trust in her eyes. He took a deep breath, then slowly said, ¡°The ancestors of the Chu n established this n through martial glory. The Chu n¡¯s disciples have always died in battle! Never have there ever been any sessors who surrendered and allowed themselves to be ughtered. Instead of being treated as prisoners in the capital city, suffering humiliation and nder, we would rather fight an honorable battle to the death! Men of the Chu n, raise your des if you are willing to stand and fight with me!¡±

    ¡°Fight! Fight! Fight!¡± Everyone in the Chu n drew their weapons. It was obvious that none of them wanted to be brought back to the capital as criminals.

    King Liang was furious. ¡°Are you all trying to resist?!¡±

    As soon as the words left his mouth, all the spears and des of the Imperial Guard were pointed towards the Chu n.

    ¡°Ah!!!¡± The surroundingmon people all panicked when they saw that a battle was about to break out. They hade with their melon seeds to watch a good show, not to lose their lives.

    Xie Yi¡¯s entire head was drenched in sweat. He wiped his forehead while advising both sides, ¡°Everyone, please calm down! Brightmoon Duke, King Liang, please do not be so hasty! Principal Jiang, say something, please!¡±

    Jiang Luofu opened her mouth, but she didn¡¯t say anything in the end. She knew what fate awaited the Chu n once they were escorted to the capital. She really couldn¡¯t bring herself to dissuade them from doing what they wanted to do.

    However, those on the side of the Chu n were already severely wounded. If battle ensued, they would have practically no chance of victory.

    Just as the tension was about to erupt into open conflict, a voice suddenly cried out. ¡°Wait!¡±

    Leaving aside King Liang and his men for the moment, Jiang Luofu and the whole Chu n all trembled as they turned towards the source of the sound.

    Zu An had already removed his mask a long time ago. He slowly walked out of the crowd. ¡°I¡¯m the one you all want to capture. Why are you bothering these others?!¡±

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡± Qin Wanru was equal parts furious and anxious when she saw him step out. What was the point in him stepping out right now?

    He should have just gone to find Chu Chuyan and rescue Huanzhao, and taken them into hiding with him.

    Zu An shed the Master and Madam of the Chu n an apologetic smile. ¡°Since you guys have already kicked me out of the Chu n, you can¡¯t me me for not treating you with respect.¡±

    He didn¡¯t want to burden the Chu n either. That was why it was best to cut all ties now.

    He then looked towards King Liang and the others. ¡°I¡¯m the one you all want, right? Come at me, then.¡±

    King Liang chuckled. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to have a backbone, brat! Not bad, not bad!¡±

    The reason he had treated the Chu n like this was mainly to force Zu An into showing himself. Since he¡¯d already achieved his objective, there was no need to trouble the Chu n any further.

    After all, shing with the Chu n head on would surely lead to severe bloodshed. It was hard to predict the consequences of something like that.

    ¡°Ah Zu, rather than throwing away your life, why don¡¯t you just fight with us?¡± Chu Zhongtian knew that Zu An could''ve easily escaped before. The only reason he had shown up was because of the Chu n. How could someone like him be willing to let Zu An sacrifice his life for them?

    Zu An smiled. ¡°I have nothing to do with the Chu n anymore, so there is no need for Brightmoon Duke to go through the trouble. Besides, I¡¯m not nning on going to my death. The Phoenix Nirvana Sutra is still with me. There is no way the emperor will kill me before he gets his hands on it.¡±

 Chapter 430: Iâ€™ll Ride With Her

    <h4>Chapter 430: I¡¯ll Ride With Her</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Phoenix Nirvana Sutra!¡± There was a huge uproar from the crowd. Those who were running away stopped in their tracks.

    ¡°What is the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra?¡± Many hadn¡¯t heard about this technique before, and asked theirpanions in puzzlement.

    ¡°It¡¯s a miraculous secret manual that supposedly only exists in legend! It is rumored to be able to grant eternal life! Far too many have sought out this manual in hopes of obtaining eternal life, but no one has ever found it. Who knew Zu An would have it!¡± There was nock of individuals from major ns in Brightmoon City, which was why news about the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra had spread quickly.

    One thing held true since ancient times. No matter how great one¡¯s cultivation was, and no matter how much longer one¡¯s cultivation extended one¡¯s lifespan, it was still impossible to escape the cold and deathly grasp of time.

    How powerful was the current emperor? He was absolutely unrivaled. However, everyone knew that he was already approaching his limit, and might pass away at any time.

    A sudden sparkle shone in Xie Yi¡¯s eyes, and he lowered his head to hide his expression. No wonder the emperor made such a huge fuss over this... He was even willing to wipe out the Chu n to capture Zu An! This exins it all. I must report this to King Qi as soon as possible.

    King Qi had been able to contend with the emperor all these years because the emperor was approaching his limit. That was the reason for King Qi''s patience. Time was on their side!

    However, if the emperor gained eternal life, what hopes would their faction have left?

    Who would be stupid enough to go against an unrivaled expert who didn¡¯t age?

    Xie Yi¡¯s expression grew uglier by the second, as he pondered the severe consequences. A single mistake, and King Qi¡¯s entire faction would crumble into nothing.

    Jiang Luofu looked at Zu An in shock. This brat still has so many secrets on him?

    Transcendent aptitude was already shocking enough. Yet, he somehow also possessed the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra?

    Even she was beginning to feel muddle-headed from the temptation. If the two of them weren¡¯t so close, she might have tried to steal it.

    Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru exchanged nces. The same shock and rm was mirrored in the other¡¯s eyes. They hadn¡¯t fully understood why the emperor would keep acting against them, regardless of the rules. They thought that capturing Zu An was just an excuse. They now knew that,pared to Zu An¡¯s value, the Chu n was actually of lesser importance.

    Given the Chu n¡¯s history, they had also heard about the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra before. They never expected that Zu An would be the one carrying it.

    Everyone thought that Zu An had gotten lucky and rose in status by joining the Chu n. Now, it was hard to say which of them was more significant.

    Leaving the two of them aside, even King Liang and Liu Yao were incredibly shocked. Even though they were in charge of capturing Zu An, they weren¡¯t privy to the exact situation. Being left in the dark with regards to the emperor¡¯s motivations had rankled them a little, but it was clear as day as to what was happening now.

    Themander of the Embroidered Envoy immediately erupted in fury. ¡°Absolutely shameful! Why are you deluding the people with your lies? There is no Phoenix Nirvana Sutra in this world!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Huang Huihong for 444 Rage points!

    It might¡¯ve been better if he had kept his mouth shut. Speaking in such an agitated manner only made everyone believe that he had a guilty conscience. They all looked at Zu An with hungry expressions. All of them wanted to seize him for themselves.

    Chu Zhongtian, that man of impable integrity, was actually so crafty! Everyone believed that the Chu n had married their goddess of a daughter off to a good-for-nothing kid from the streets, but their true goal was to obtain the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra!

    I would marry my daughter off for that too if I could!

    Zu An gulped when he saw the sea of greedy expressions. He wouldn¡¯t have minded at all if it had been a group of cute girls, but being stared at by a bunch of grandpas in such a creepy manner was rather horrifying.

    He cleared his throat and said to the Embroidered Envoy, ¡°Sure, sure, sure. If you guys say I don¡¯t have it, then I don¡¯t have it. Since I don¡¯t, can I leave?¡±

    Huang Huihong¡¯s breath caught. ¡°Of course not! We need to bring you back for interrogation!¡±

    Zu An shrugged his shoulders. He didn¡¯t say anything else, but the surrounding crowd hissed in displeasure. They were clearly mocking themander of the Embroidered Envoy for being two-faced.

    Huang Huihong was furious. He immediately gestured for hispanions to surround Zu An. ¡°Capture him! We let you get awayst time because we were careless, but we definitely won¡¯t make the same mistake again.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Huang Huihong for 583 Rage points!

    In all his years of service, his targets would always greet the Embroidered Envoy with bowed heads, and show absolute respect when they were captured. asionally, one or two would resist, but they would quickly be detained, and their eyes would be filled with fear the entire time.

    However, not only did this Zu An not fear them, it was they who were afraid that he might pull some trick.

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t run this time. I¡¯ll go along with you guys to see the emperor.¡±

    Everyone was shocked when they heard this.

    Huang Huihong¡¯s face darkened. ¡°What game are you ying?¡±

    He might have believed him if he were someone else, but this kid didn¡¯t seem like the sort of person who would do this!

    Zu An smiled. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? I¡¯m standing right here. Could it be that the glorious Embroidered Envoy doesn¡¯t even dare to capture me?¡±

    Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru both sent him urgent ki transmissions. ¡°Ah Zu, what are you doing? Use this chance to get away! We¡¯ll help you distract them!¡±

    But Zu An shook his head. ¡°There¡¯s no need. I don¡¯t want to trouble you all. Besides, I have my own ns. You two don¡¯t need to worry about me.¡±

    Jiang Luofu also sent him a ki transmission. ¡°You damned brat, I have no idea what the heck you¡¯re nning, but there is absolutely no escape if you are brought back to the capital! The emperor will not tolerate another man achieving eternal life!¡±

    Zu An replied with a smile, ¡°Thank you gorgeous principal for worrying about me. But take a good look at me! Do I look like an idiot who is about to throw my life away?¡±

    Jiang Luofu snorted. ¡°I¡¯ll admit that you¡¯re not dumb, but that doesn¡¯t mean they are. I don¡¯t know what kind of n you¡¯ve cooked up, but even the best ns are meaningless in the face of absolute strength. All schemes are futile before the emperor¡¯s cultivation.¡±

    ¡°That might not be the case.¡± Zu An thought about his n, and a strange expression spread across his face. How the heck am I gonna get the emperor to wear this green hat, though?

    Jiang Luofu was stunned by his confident demeanor. She had met her share of confident men in her life, but their confidence was built on their cultivation and backgrounds, which hardly made it praiseworthy. An absolute weakling like Zu An remaining so calm and confident in such a situation was definitely far more rare.

    The Embroidered Envoy surrounded him and cast their Soul-reaping Chains around Zu An. They showed visible relief when he did not resist.

    Even if he wanted to resist, it was toote now. Those who were bound by the Soul-reaping Chains would find all of their ki restrained. No matter how powerful one¡¯s cultivation was, they would be rendered no different from ordinary people.

    Zu An frowned. He too could sense that his ki flow had been instantly cut. When he lowered his head, he noticed that the surfaces of the chains were covered in runes. These runes were exquisite, and faint blue light flowed across them from time to time. They formed a sealing formation that restricted all of the ki within his body.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Fortunately, he could still use Grandgale, Blue Mard, and Hunderdwarble. That immediately gave him a little more confidence.

    Xie Yi walked over at this time. ¡°My lords, since you have alreadypleted your mission, why not stay in Brightmoon City for a few more days? This humble official wishes to share more of our city¡¯s hospitality.¡±

    King Liang said immediately, ¡°Thank you City Lord Xie for your good intentions, but we still have official business to take care of that cannot be dyed. We need to set out immediately.¡±

    What kind of joke was this? Zu An just exposed to the world that he carried the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra with him! Who knew how many sharks would be drawn to him after smelling blood. How could they afford to waste any time at all?

    Moreover, this Xie Yi was part of King Qi¡¯s faction as well. What he was nning was beyond obvious. There was no way King Liang would let him have his way.

    He issued an order immediately, without waiting for a response. ¡°Bring the Sang n with us. We are returning to the capital immediately!¡±

    The prison carriages of the father and son duo of the Sang n, as well as Zheng Dan¡¯s, were brought up. Zheng Dan was still dressed in her wedding clothes, still as stunning as before, although a listless, sorrowful expression covered her face. To her, the future was grim and bleak.

    Zu An, bound entirely in chains, wandered across her vision, and she was so shocked that she sat up at once. She wrapped her fingers around the bars of the prison carriage. Her eyes seemed full of questions, almost as though they were asking why he was here.

    Zu An gave her a smile. Unfortunately, his ki was sealed up, so the two of them couldn¡¯t send each other voice transmissions.

    King Liang gave another order. ¡°Find another prison carriage! I want a special one, one that the criminal absolutely cannot escape from.¡±

    His subordinates were rather troubled. ¡°There¡¯s no time. We are trying to leave as soon as possible. Brightmoon City¡¯s prison carriages aren¡¯t sturdy enough, and we don¡¯t have time to make new ones.¡±

    King Liang was furious. ¡°You all couldn¡¯t even take care of something that simple? What do I keep you fools around for?¡±

    Those individuals clearly felt the sting of injustice. You aren¡¯t even giving us enough time to prepare! Do you expect us to summon one out of thin air for you?

    Zu Anughed and said, ¡°There¡¯s really no need for all the trouble. This prison carriage seems pretty spacious. I¡¯ll just ride with her.¡±

    He pointed at Zheng Dan.

 Chapter 431: My Wife Is as Clear and Pure as Ice

    <h4>Chapter 431: My Wife Is as Clear and Pure as Ice</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zheng Dan¡¯s face immediately turned red. There are so many people watching, why does this guy have to...?

    She was willing to try anything with him in private, but she had nurtured the ssy, elegant and refined image of the Zheng First Miss for over ten years. She desperately wished for a hole to squirm into and hide in.

    Sang Qian¡¯s face immediately went red as well, but it was from anger. He roared at Zu An, ¡°You bastard! You¡¯re going too far!¡±

    If not for the bars of the prison carriage obstructing his way, he would have already leapt out to take Zu An¡¯s life.

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for 999 Rage points!

    Zu An had an innocent look on his face. ¡°I was just offering a suggestion to help everyone out and save us some time. What¡¯s wrong, is young master Sang scared of going to the capital? I feel no fear even though I¡¯ve offended the emperor, so why is young master Sang so scared? As a man, you really shouldn¡¯t be so cowardly all the time.¡±

    ¡°No way! I¡¯m not! I¡¯m...¡± Sang Qian was about to faint from anger. Was this what he was getting upset about? It was clearly because this bastard had teased his wife in front of his face!

    But he was too worked up right now, and his thoughts were all over the ce. It was hard for him to even formte what he wanted to say.

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for 666 Rage points!

    ¡°Enough, enough! Qian¡¯er, you¡¯re no match for him. Stop quarreling with him already.¡± Seeing his son being toyed with like this had given Sang Hong a huge headache. He immediately stopped his son from arguing further.

    King Liang snorted. ¡°Switch the criminal¡¯s wife with Sang Hong. We¡¯ll keep him and Zu An in here.¡±

    There was no way he would let Zu An and Zheng Dan stay together.

    Sang Qian¡¯s eyes immediately lit up when he saw that Zheng Dan was going to be in the same carriage as him. His anger immediately turned to joy. ¡°Let¡¯s do that!¡±

    Sang Hong¡¯s face darkened. Is this how badly you want to leave your father?

    Zheng Dan¡¯s face paled when she heard these arrangements. She buried her head in her arms.

    Zu An obviously didn¡¯t want to see this happen. ¡°Respected king, I really cannot understand your choice. Are you really going to ce a newly wed bride and groom together in the same carriage? Do you want to give them a chance to consummate their marriage? They¡¯re both so young and vigorous, what if sparks suddenly fly? Are you doing this for the Imperial Guard to enjoy?¡±

    King Liang was stunned. He seemed to realize that this was slightly inappropriate as well. ¡°Then...¡±

    As soon as his eyes shifted to Sang Hong, Zu An said, ¡°It¡¯s even more improper to put Miss Zheng with Sir Sang. Who leaves a father-inw and new bride in a room together? If some gossip gets out, it won¡¯t be good for your reputation, respected king!¡±

    King Liang was so angry that he felt likeughing instead. ¡°Does that mean I should be putting you and Miss Zheng in the same carriage?¡±

    Zu An nodded. ¡°Of course! I am an outsider to begin with, so no one has to worry about anything weird happening. Moreover, I am Miss Zheng¡¯s teacher at the academy, and we have shared a ssroom in the past. No one will find this strange. Miss Zheng is also known for herposure and grace, so there¡¯s no way she would allow me to disrespect her in any way. Lastly, we¡¯re all sealed up, and there are so many eyes everywhere. What can go wrong?¡±

    ¡°This...¡± King Liang slowly fell silent. What this fellow said wasn¡¯tpletely unreasonable.

    Sang Qian immediately panicked. ¡°No way! Definitely not...¡±

    Zu An cut him off before he even finished his sentence. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Do you not trust Miss Zheng¡¯s character? Perhaps you believe that she will do something with another man in front of everyone else¡¯s eyes?¡±

    Sang Qian was hard-pressed. ¡°My wife is as clear and pure as ice, and as wless as the finest white jade! Of course I trust her! But...¡±

    Again, Zu An cut him off. ¡°Are you questioning King Liang¡¯s integrity, then? Do you think he¡¯ll shield me if I do something bad as a way to spite the father and son of the Sang n?¡±

    Sang Qian immediately waved his hands frantically when he saw King Liang¡¯s unkind gaze shift to him. ¡°Not at all! How would I dare to doubt the respected king? It¡¯s just that...¡±

    Zu An promptly cut him off a third time. ¡°Respected king, since young master Sang agrees to my suggestion, how about we just do things this way?¡±

    Sang Qian was about to blow his top and say something else, but his father pulled him down. ¡°Sit.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°But...¡± Sang Qian was really panicking now.

    Sang Hong said coldly, ¡°Do you think King Liang is stupid? He won¡¯t make that kind of arrangement. Zu An is just messing with you! Please don''t turn yourself into aughingstock. You¡¯re embarrassing our Sang n!¡±

    King Liang was still hesitant. Even though putting Zheng Dan together with either Sang Qian or Sang Hong was somewhat inappropriate, putting her together with Zu An was equally inappropriate!

    Zu An said in a hushed tone, ¡°Respected king, do you think I would do something as dangerous as keeping the original copy of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra on me?¡±

    ¡°Of course not,¡± King Liang replied subconsciously. The Embroidered Envoy had already searched his body, after all, and found nothing.

    ¡°No one would keep something so precious on them, right? For the sake of my own safety, I¡¯ve memorized all of it in my head, and then destroyed the original,¡± Zu An said with a chuckle.

    King Liang grunted. ¡°Why are you telling me all of this?¡±

    He understood his own position well enough. The Phoenix Nirvana Sutra wasn¡¯t something he should have any thoughts about. Once he handed this fellow over to the emperor, his job would be done.

    As for how the emperor was going to get this secret manual out of his mouth, that was none of his business.

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°I just wanted to remind you that sometimes, if someone bes agitated, unhappy, or experiences other such negative emotions, it might affect their mood. If their mood is affected, it might cause them to misremember things, or even forget them altogether. Once this reaches the emperor...¡±

    King Liang¡¯s expression changed instantly. He knew what Zu An was trying to say. He snorted and said, ¡°Lock Zu An up in this prison carriage. We¡¯ve already wasted enough time. We are setting out immediately!¡±

    Sang Qian was incredulous. He couldn¡¯t believe his ears!

    Sang Hong¡¯s jaw fell open as well.

    Sang Qian couldn¡¯t help but look at his father, ¡°Dad, didn¡¯t you say that it wouldn¡¯t end up like this?¡±

    Sang Hong¡¯s face went red. ¡°I have no idea why this is happening either! What the hell is King Liang nning?¡±

    Sang Qian was about to say something else, but King Liang¡¯s subordinates had already received their instructions. They sealed up the vocal acupoints of both father and son so that they could no longer speak.

    Sang Hong frowned. He stared at King Liang with eyes full of resentment.

    Zu An smiled at Zheng Dan when he entered the carriage. Zheng Dan¡¯s heart skipped a beat. She immediately picked up her dress and moved over to the other side of the carriage, staying as far away from him as possible.

    Her actions drew praise from everyone else present. ¡°Miss Zheng really is the role-model for all distinguished daughters. She still maintains her distance from other men even in this sort of situation.¡±

    When he heard this, Sang Qian¡¯s expression finally eased a little.

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡± Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru rushed over. They clearly found it hard to ept this reality.

    Zu An waved his hand. ¡°Master, Madam, please do not feel bad. Who knows, I might even reunite with you all soon.¡±

    Qin Wanru couldn¡¯t hold back a snort. ¡°Are you cursing us to die?¡±

    After all, in most people¡¯s eyes, Zu An seemed doomed.

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°Of course not! Right, there¡¯s still one more thing. Once Chuyanes back, tell her not to remarry so quickly! I still n oning back and marrying her again!¡±

    The husband and wife pair of the Chu n knew that Zu An had already made a clean escape, yet he had revealed himself because he wanted to save the Chu n. Tears welled up in their eyes. Qin Wanru said, ¡°If you manage to return, then we will definitely marry Chuyan off to you again.¡±

    Zu An then said, ¡°Oh yeah, don¡¯t marry Huanzhao off too early either. Once I get back...¡±

    When he saw Qin Wanru¡¯s brows stand up vertically, he hurriedly said, ¡°When Ie back, I¡¯ll need to vet her suitors to make sure she has a decent one! Haha... ha...¡±

    Qin Wanru¡¯s tears turned toughter. ¡°Brat, you¡¯re always so indecent.¡±

    However, she knew that there was no chance of him returning. He was saying this just to console them.

    She felt horrible inside. She continuously wiped away her tears.

    Chu Zhongtian sighed again and again. His face was clouded with worry.

    ¡°Master, Madam, are we really going to let the young master be brought away like this?¡± Yue Shan had silently arrived by their side. With him were others who were also furious at this injustice, including Cheng Shouping, Jiao Shan, and others.

    Chu Zhongtian sighed. ¡°We cannot risk the lives of everyone else in the n. Ah Zu has sacrificed himself for us, so we should all treasure our lives.¡±

    Everyone in the Chu n was saddened when they heard this. Even Chu Hongcai, who was still resentful over his father¡¯s death, let his grudge gopletely. He didn''t think he could have been as courageous, if he were in Zu An¡¯s shoes.

    Qin Wanru said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we will try to save Ah Zu. The Chu n has a little influence in the capital as well.¡±

    Even though this was what she said, she knew that hope was already beyond fleeting.

 Chapter 432: Malding

    <h4>Chapter 432: Malding</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    A sudden thought urred to Chu Zhongtian as he heard this. ¡°By the way, isn¡¯t Chuyan in the capital? Have her make some preparations and see if she can do something about this.¡±

    Qin Wanru shook her head. ¡°She should already be on her way back to Brightmoon City. I lent the recording mirror to Zu An, so we have no way of contacting her.¡±

    Chu Zhongtian stared nkly for a moment, then sighed. ¡°Is this fate?¡±

    ...

    While the Chu n was in despair, the others around them bustled with energy.

    Xie Yi took his leave after saying a few things to Chu Zhongtian. He was in a rush to report the matter of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra to King Qi.

    Quite a few people here had simr ideas, although they all had different powers behind them.

    Jiang Luofu gazed in the direction the carriage had taken. Her beautiful brows were knit together in a frown. This was an extremely difficult problem.

    ¡°This kid keeps making others worry for him!¡± She said with a huff. With a flicker, she disappeared.

    Within another building, a beautiful figure stood behind a window. Even though her face was hidden by the window, her voluptuous figure still gave away her identity.

    Pei Mianman continuously twirled her hair between her fingers. She muttered to herself, ¡°This guy never fails to surprise me! Sigh... if I had known this was how things were going to turn out, I would have brought you over to my side earlier! But this is fine as well. At least I don¡¯t have to fight Chuyan for you anymore.¡±

    Her smile quickly disappeared. Fighting against the emperor was much more difficult.

    ¡°It looks like I need to go back and beg my n for help. I¡¯m pretty sure they¡¯ll be interested, though.¡± With that, she turned and left, leaving nothing but a faint fragrance lingering in the air.

    At the same time, within the academy, a youngdy was resting her chin on her hand. ¡°Stinky brother-inw, it¡¯s been so long already! Why aren¡¯t you back yet?¡±

    ...

    ¡°Achoo! Achoo! Achoo...¡±

    Zu An sneezed again and again in his prison carriage. He sighed. ¡°There are definitely beauties thinking about me, and more than one at that.¡±

    Zheng Dan rolled her eyes at him. ¡°Teacher Zu truly is as narcissistic as ever.¡±

    There were so many eyes around them, and Sang Qian¡¯s ears were sure to be constantly perked up, so she didn¡¯t dare to say anything out of the ordinary. She could only interact with Zu An through her persona of Zheng First Miss.

    Zu Anughed. ¡°What can I say? It can¡¯t be helped that I¡¯m so wee wherever I go.¡±

    Zheng Dan couldn¡¯t hold back a sigh. ¡°I don¡¯t know if I should praise Teacher Zu for your optimism, orugh at your stupidity. Do you know that your fate is already sealed, now that you are being brought to the capital?¡±

    She used her mocking words to mask her inner concern for him. She just couldn¡¯t understand why this fe would show himself like that.

    You have sessfully trolled Zheng Dan for 233 Rage points!

    Zu An was stunned by the sudden inflow of Rage points. However, he quickly caught onto what was going on. ¡°Could Miss Zheng somehow be jealous?¡±

    Zheng Dan flicked her head to the side. ¡°Please conduct yourself with dignity!¡± she said with a huff.

    That¡¯s what I¡¯m talking about! In the other prison carriage, Sang Qian¡¯s face immediately lit up when he heard his wife¡¯s words. If not for his restrictions, he would have cheered and given her a round of apuse.

    Zu An scooted over towards Zheng Dan just a little, and shot Sang Qian a taunting look. ¡°What are you looking at? Come at me if you have the guts!¡±

    Sang Qian worked his jaw visibly.

    I¡¯m going to fucking kill you!

    He was on the verge of exploding when he saw Zu An inching closer and closer to his wife, yet he couldn¡¯t do anything about it. He was making a bunch of sounds, but he couldn¡¯t speak any words because the acupoint in his throat was sealed.

    This only made him even more angry.

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for 999 Rage points!

    He could only continuously smack the bars of the prison carriage while screaming towards the soldiers.

    ¡°What is it?¡± The soldier that was looking after the prison carriage turned around impatiently.

    Sang Qian pointed at Zu An and gestured to describe his anger.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    That soldier said impatiently, ¡°They¡¯re not even close to each other. What are you getting so anxious about?¡±

    Sang Qian became even more distressed. Wouldn¡¯t it be toote once the two of them were next to each other?

    Another soldier berated him as well. ¡°What can he do, with so many people watching? Please get your mind out of the gutter! We¡¯ll have no choice but to treat you poorly if you don¡¯t quiet down!¡±

    If it had been any other time, they might have treated Sang Qian and his father a little better. After all, Sang Hong was at the eighth rank, and there was still a chance for them to make aeback.

    However, King Liang¡¯s instructions had made it clear to them that the father and son of the Sang n were both finished.

    King Liang had ess to more information than them. If even he didn¡¯t care to treat these two with any respect, it surely meant that there were too many problems facing these two. As subordinates, they might not be skilled at other things, but they were masters of reading the situation.

    It was obvious to them that they didn¡¯t have to treat Sang Qian with much respect. Furthermore, given how much King Liang cared about Zu An, they knew which of them was the real young master.

    Forget about Zu An sitting a little closer, they wouldn¡¯t even have stopped him if he really threw himself at Zheng Dan. Either way, they would be treated to quite a scene¡ªwhy would they be against that?

    Of course, Sang Qian was still an official, and he clearly understood what was happening. He waspletely furious. You bootlicking dogs, just wait until I get out! I¡¯m going to kill that Zu An first, and then I¡¯ll ughter the two of you!

    Sang Qian¡¯s manic activity did not escape Zheng Dan¡¯s notice. She couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°Why do you have to provoke him?¡±

    Zu Anughed and said, ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. We just don¡¯t get along! He gets irritated when he sees me, and I get angry when I see him as well.¡±

    Zheng Dan gave him an annoyed look. ¡°Haven¡¯t you bullied him enough already?¡±

    Zu Anughed. This was a secret only the two of them shared.

    The beauty in front of him was dressed in a magnificent wedding dress that had been carefully prepared for her. It was decorated with ny-nine gemstones, which had been the Sang n¡¯s betrothal gift. They made her seem even more gorgeous and morous.

    He didn¡¯t have the time to admire it before. Now that he could see her up close, Zu An was stunned. He sighed and said, ¡°You really are stunning. You look so beautiful even when you¡¯re angry.¡±

    ¡°Mmmm mm mm!¡± Sang Qian mmed his hands against the side of his carriage again. This bastard is taking advantage of my wife!

    The sight of his own delicate and beautiful wife being teased by this scoundrel was enough to send blood shooting into his eyes.

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for 1024 Rage points!

    Zu An turned around. ¡°Hey man, what the heck is wrong with you? Just ask anyone here! They¡¯ll all agree with me that Miss Zheng is pretty! Should I curse her for being an ugly hag? Would that make you happy? You¡¯re so fucking weird.¡±

    ¡°Exactly!¡± The soldiers all directed scornful looks at Sang Qian. What¡¯s wrong with praising your wife for being pretty? Aren¡¯t you a little too sensitive?

    Sang Qian couldn¡¯t contain himself anymore.

    I¡¯m going to fucking... The other party clearly has ill intentions. Why is this somehow my fault?

    He almost fainted on the spot!

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for 999... 999... 999...

    Sang Hong reached out a hand and pushed him back down. He wrote on the ground with his finger, ¡°Eyes closed, mind at peace.¡±

    Sang Qian was so angry that he was about to vomit blood. His thoughts were obvious from his expression. ¡°Am I supposed to just let him bully my new wife?¡±

    Sang Hong continued to write, ¡°Has he done anything yet? And even if he has, have you already forgotten what I told you before?¡±

    Sang Qian stared nkly for a moment. Then, he remembered the advice his father had given him when he first used his wife as a honey trap to investigate the mysterious expert supporting Zu An. Back then, his father had said that, even if his wife really did do something, he should never act out on the spot, but find the proper way to maximize his own benefit instead.

    However, understanding this logically was one thing. Whether or not he could aplish this was something else. Seeing the bastard cheekily eyeing his new bride was enough to set a malicious me burning within him.

    Zu An was even a bit worried when he saw how many Rage points wereing in. This guy really is malding... I hope he doesn¡¯t gopletely bald.

 Chapter 433: An Unexpected Scene

    <h4>Chapter 433: An Unexpected Scene</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Just like that, he chatted with Zheng Dan while harvesting Sang Qian¡¯s endless stream of Rage points. If not for the ice cold prison carriage that constantly reminded him of his current situation, Zu An might have even felt as though he was on a holiday trip.

    The carriage left through the city gates. Zu An¡¯s mind grew distracted as he watched the majestic city walls slowly grow further and further away.

    When he first arrived in this world, he had slowly entered Brightmoon City through this very gate in Chu Chuyan¡¯s carriage.

    But now, he was leaving, and he was leaving in a prison carriage.

    ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± Zheng Dan found his sudden silence a little strange.

    ¡°I wonder if I¡¯ll ever have the chance toe back,¡± Zu An sighed. Even though he had some ns, he had no idea how it would really turn out in the end.

    Based on what he¡¯d learned in the academy, this world was muchrger than Earth, yet itcked airnes, high-speed rails, and other modes of transportation. Distance alone became a huge barrier between family and friends.

    Zheng Dan sighed. ¡°That doesn¡¯t seem too likely.¡±

    Leaving Zu An aside for the moment, even her own future looked grim. She had no idea what fate awaited her.

    Suddenly, a voice sounded from not far off. ¡°Wait!¡±

    The carriage slowed down. The discordant sounds of several people arguing could be heard from up ahead.

    Zu An was stunned. He had released the information about the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra precisely because he foresaw that it would draw the attention of various factions. But he never expected any of them to arrive this quickly. They hadn¡¯t even left Brightmoon City yet!

    He leaned over to the side to take a look. A sloppy middle-aged man and a petite youngdy had been stopped by the Imperial Guard.

    Zheng Dan cried out, ¡°Teacher Zu really is extraordinary! You have beautiful female friends sending you off even in this sort of situation!¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°Dan¡¯er, please don¡¯t get jealous. This only means that you know how to pick your man.¡±

    Zheng Dan panicked. She gave Sang Qian¡¯s carriage a guilty look, but she saw that his eyes were closed restfully. He had probably done this because listening to them any more might actually have caused him to die from anger.

    ¡°Zu An is a criminal! No visitors are allowed!¡± The Imperial Guard tried to chase them off. If not for Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s extremely delicate and lovely appearance, they might¡¯ve already used their weapons.

    ¡°I only want to say one sentence to him!¡± Ji Xiaoxi begged. She blinked herrge, misty eyes at them.

    Even the hearts of these crude, fierce men melted when they saw herrge and beautiful eyes. How could they bear to treat her roughly? However, they didn¡¯t dare agree to her request.

    ¡°What is going on? Why haven¡¯t you dealt with it yet?¡± King Liang demanded impatiently, having arrived with a group of men.

    When he saw Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s cute and lovely appearance, his eyes couldn¡¯t help but light up.

    Unlike those youngsters who liked women who were more mature, those of his age were more fond of cute and lovely little girls.

    ¡°I want her captured... ahem ahem. Since she is seeking out a criminal, she is probably an aplice. Capture her too.¡± King Liang was more than proficient in utilizing such methods, and he swiftly gave his order.

    Besides, after they had captured her, it would all be up to him how she was handled!

    ¡°Ahem, ahem!¡± A burst of dissatisfied coughs sounded from nearby. King Liang reluctantly pulled his gaze away from Ji Xiaoxi, wondering who it was that had dared to disrupt his good mood.

    He was just about to erupt in fury when he caught sight of the offending party. He was immediately startled. ¡°Ji... Divine Physician Ji?¡±

    Ji Dengtu offered him a sneer. ¡°It seems the respected king still hasn¡¯t forgotten about my humble self.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    King Liang¡¯s expression immediately turned resentful. How could he possibly have forgotten? This fellow had brought disaster upon all the livestock and pets of every n!

    He had made it sound great, calling it an experimental drug, but after his medicine had been fed to them, all of them had gone on a crazy mating spree!

    Ji Dengtu smiled, revealing teeth that were yellowed from smoking. ¡°That¡¯s my daughter. The two of them spent some time together in the academy, and she has something that she wants to tell him. Respected king, please be amodating.¡±

    ¡°So that¡¯s who she is! Of course that¡¯s okay with me.¡± King Liang smiled. He remembered how close-minded this doctor was. Even though he only possessed an ordinary strength, it was almost impossible to defend oneself against poison.

    Moreover, his poisons were all extremely sinister. In days gone by, the Qin n¡¯s finest steeds, after being poisoned by this guy, had ravaged eighteen female horses each before finally dying on the spot.

    King Liang thought about his little one, which had long since gone limp andid. If he were afflicted by such a poison, wouldn¡¯t he just die?

    ¡°Thank you, respected king!¡± Ji Xiaoxi said happily. She quickly ran over to Zu An.

    ¡°Wait!¡± King Liang held her back. ¡°Leave your bag here. You can¡¯t bring anything with you.¡±

    Even though he was scared of Ji Dengtu, Zu An was a criminal, so he couldn¡¯t afford to be sloppy. He would have strictly prohibited others from approaching him, let alone pass him anything. Regardless of whether it was giving him something or taking something from him, he would leave no room for that to happen.

    Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s face reddened. She removed all of the things she was carrying. ¡°Is this good enough?¡±

    King Liang frowned. Even though it all looked fine on the surface, who knew if she was still hiding something on her body? However, it wasn¡¯t appropriate to search for her right now. If he¡¯d known something like that was going to happen, he would¡¯ve brought a few female servants with them from Brightmoon City.

    ¡°Of course you can.¡± As he said this, he sent Liu Yao a voice transmission. ¡°General Liu, I have to trouble you to monitor the situation. Do not let anything happen.¡±

    Liu Yao snorted loudly. This old fox is pushing the responsibility onto me! But there was nothing he could do but follow Ji Xiaoxi to the prison carriage.

    Zu An sighed when he saw the youngdy who had walked over. ¡°Xiaoxi, thank you for seeing me.¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi bit her lip. ¡°Sorry, I can¡¯t do anything for you.¡±

    Zu Anughed. ¡°What is there to be sorry about? I¡¯m already extremely happy that you came to see me.¡±

    ¡°If I¡¯d known things would turn out like this, I wouldn¡¯t have been angry at you for so long...¡± Ji Xiaoxi blushed like an apple.

    Zu An knew that she was talking about the time she had been identally poisoned by the ¡®Eighteen Spring Winds¡¯. Heughed and said, ¡°I¡¯m the one who was in the wrong. It waspletely normal for you to get angry.¡±

    Liu Yao and the surrounding imperial guards were speechless. They thought that she had stood in the way of all these fully armed soldiers because she had something important to say. In the end, all she wanted to do was exchange some words of endearment?

    Despite this, they couldn¡¯t help but feel a little impressed. Zu An looked rather ordinary from the outside, yet not only was the number one beauty his wife, the City Lord¡¯s daughter had even taken such risks for his sake, and now this pure and lovely youngdy was dead set on talking to him before he left.

    Sang Qian ground his teeth in anger. Are these girls blind or what? Why are you all throwing yourselves at him?!

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for 555 Rage points!

    Liu Yao coughed. ¡°Lady Ji, time is almost up. We need to be on our way.¡±

    He clearly didn¡¯t feel great watching this y out from the sidelines.

    ¡°I¡¯m almost done.¡± Ji Xiaoxi shed him an apologetic smile. She walked over to the prison carriage and waved towards Zu An. ¡°Zu An, there¡¯s something I need to tell only you.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He moved closer. ¡°What is it?¡±

    Zheng Dan pricked up her ears too. Her woman¡¯s intuition had sensed a sudden hint of danger.

    Liu Yao, and even King Liang and Ji Dengtu who were further away, stared in her direction. They were all curious as to what she was about to say.

    ¡°Bend down a little more,¡± Ji Xiaoxi said quietly.

    Zu An grew more and more confused. What did this little girl want to say? Did she not know how many experts there were here? Even if she spoke right into his ear, she still wouldn¡¯t escape their detection!

    Despite this, he still subconsciously bent closer to her. He was just about to say something when a pair of soft lips pressed against his. His nose was filled with a pure and sweet fragrance.

    Everyone around them was stunned. They had all been curious as to what this lovely little girl wanted to say, but they were tricked into watching this revolting public disy of affection!

    A French kiss? Are you kidding me?

    You¡¯re a monster! How can you do this to such a pure and innocent young girl?

    You have sessfully trolled the Imperial Guard for 666... 666... 666...

    Zu An had a look of injustice on his face. He wasn¡¯t the one who initiated this! It was her tongue that first reached into his mouth!

    However, his expression quickly changed. He noticed that her tongue had pushed something against the side of his teeth.

 Chapter 434: Madam Wu

    <h4>Chapter 434: Madam Wu</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°What the hell?¡± Ji Dengtu had just been talking to King Liang and reminiscing about his past glories. It felt as if he¡¯d regained his youth! However, when he turned around and nced in his daughter¡¯s direction, he was met with this outrageous scene!

    He had been over the moon just a second ago, yet just a secondter, it was as if his entire n had been robbed. He was about to explode on the spot!

    You have sessfully trolled Ji Dengtu for 1024 Rage points!

    He immediately went mad and charged towards them, but he was stopped by the imperial guards. They might have allowed a delicate and harmless youngdy to get close to the criminal, but there was no way they would let such a powerful man do the same.

    These soldiers of the Imperial Guard were all respectable warriors, and the Embroidered Envoy was present as well. Not even someone with Ji Dengtu¡¯s cultivation could get past them.

    This only made him even more angry.

    You have sessfully trolled Ji Dengtu for 999... 999... 999...

    The pearl that he¡¯d carefully cultivated all these years had been ravaged by a pig! He felt as though he could write ten books about what he was currently feeling.

    King Liang quickly stopped him as well. He said with an embarrassed smile, ¡°My friend Ji, please do not let yourself be too bothered about matters between youngsters.

    ¡°Of course, as an old friend, I must respectfully offer my advice. If you don¡¯t want your esteemed daughter to live as a widow, you should find her a son-inw as quickly as possible. I fear that this one won¡¯t survive much longer.¡±

    Ji Dengtu¡¯s eyes burned with righteous fire.

    What do you mean, son-inw? Why the hell would I ept someone not even that bastard Chu Zhongtian wants as a son-inw?

    Hold on, my daughter is so cute and adorable. I don¡¯t even want her to be defiled by a son-inw. I hate that term!

    Ji Xiaoxi finally separated from Zu An. She hid her face in her hands and ran.

    Ji Dengtu gave Zu An a hateful re. ¡°Brat, how dare you bully my Xiaoxi?! If you don¡¯t bring me ten novels the next time I see you, I will kill you even if the emperor doesn¡¯t!¡±

    With that, he immediately took off after his daughter, crying out ¡®Xiaoxi¡¯ in a loving manner the entire time.

    Something had truly been wrong with him earlier when he agreed to bring his daughter to meet with Zu An. If he knew things would turn out like this, he would never have read this kid¡¯s books.

    But I really want to know what happens next... damn it...

    King Liang was momentarily speechless. Just how had this Zu An managed to gain the favor of so many girls?

    No wonder Sang Qian got so mad when he saw Zu An ced in the same carriage as his wife. They were both from Brightmoon City, so he probably already knew just how much of ady-killer Zu An was. That exined why he was so worried.

    If Sang Qian were able to read his mind, he might just faint from anger. King Liang could already visualize the man screaming away.

    Why would I be scared of Zu An¡¯s charm?!

    Who would be happy seeing their wife alone with another young man?!

    ¡°Stop standing around already. We¡¯re moving out immediately!¡± King Liang and Liu Yao waved their hands, and their group continued on.

    Zu An licked his lips. He looked as though he still hadn¡¯t snapped back to reality.

    Zheng Dan said in a slightly sour voice, ¡°I know Miss Ji¡¯s lips are sweet, but do you have to savor the taste of them like that?¡±

    Zu An chuckled but didn¡¯t say anything. There were too many people watching, so he had to choose his words carefully.

    The secret message that Ji Xiaoxi had passed on to him appeared in his mind. ¡°If you find yourself in a situation where death seems inevitable, break this pill. This is a y Dead Pill that I made. Once you ingest it, your body will be just like a corpse for twelve hours, and no one will be able to tell the difference. Whether or not this can help you get away will depend on your own luck.¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi had used the pretense of kissing him to press this pill against the side of his teeth. It suddenly felt as though he had an extra tooth. He felt around it, but it felt just like any other tooth to him. He had no idea how she¡¯d managed to ce the pill there so quickly.

    This girl¡¯s tongue is so nimble and agile, if this skill was used somewhere else...

    Zu An¡¯s face heated up. He immediately began to repent for having these thoughts.

    Even the usually timid Xiaoxi gathered the courage to see me. Where the heck are big Manman and big sis Shang? Given their friendship, he¡¯d expected that the two of them would at least send him off.

    Hmph, women are heartless after all. I¡¯m going to give you all a good spanking once I''m back!

    Wait. If it''s big Manman, I¡¯ll have to hit her somewhere else...

    To alleviate the boredom, Zu An let his imagination run wild. Just like that, their group proceeded along the government road.

    He suddenly noticed that Zheng Dan seemed rather ufortable. Only then did he realize that there wasn¡¯t anything blocking the sunlight from shining down into the prison carriage.

    Girls always took great care of their looks. A distinguished daughter like Zheng Dan would have made sure that she was protected from the sun whenever she went out. When did she ever have to go through something like this?

    As such, he began to kick up a fuss. King Liang and Liu Yao rushed over when they heard the news. They gave him an impatient look. ¡°What is it now?¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°I want to change carriages.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± The two of them looked at Zheng Dan. It can¡¯t be that you¡¯re unhappy being together with a beauty like this, can it?

    Zu An said, ¡°This carriage ispletely open, and there are always people looking at us. I feel like a monkey in a zoo! Not to mention, I was sexually harassed by a girl earlier because this carriage wasn¡¯t covered up!¡±

    Those around him cursed him immediately when they heard this.

    You call that shit ¡®sexual harassment¡¯?

    You clearly reached your tongue out happily!

    We¡¯ll dly ept this sort of sexual harassment!

    You have sessfully trolled the Imperial Guard for 666... 666... 666...

    King Liang also gritted his teeth in anger. If you give this kid an inch, he takes a mile! However, his previous threat was still fresh in his mind, so he said with a snort, ¡°Send someone to fetch a cover! Cover up this carriage.¡±

    Zu An immediately shook his head. ¡°I won¡¯t sit in a prison carriage, I want to sit in a carriage like yours!¡± He pointed at the spacious and luxurious carriages that the two imperial leaders upied.

    ¡°An actual carriage?¡± Liu Yao burst outughing. ¡°Who do you think you are? You want to sit in such a carriage even though you¡¯re a criminal?¡±

    In the other prison carriage, Sang Qian cursed Zu An for being an idiot. He¡¯d actually brought up this sort of impossible request!

    However, Zu An¡¯s face remainedpletely straight. ¡°I know that I¡¯m a criminal, but I¡¯m not an ordinary criminal. The emperor surely wants my Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, and it¡¯s stored in my head. If you guys treat me well on the way there, who knows, I might just happily recite the sutra for him! But if you guys treat me poorly, I will tell the emperor that I don¡¯t want to recite it anymore because of you guys.¡±

    ¡°Whether you recite it or not is not up to you,¡± Liu Yao sneered. ¡°Besides, the emperor is a mighty and heroic figure. Do you think he will be deceived by these small tricks of yours?¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An smiled. ¡°Feel free to give it a try! I don¡¯t think it¡¯s that hard for you guys to transfer me into a different carriage. You guys have barely anything to lose. However, if you offend me, you may be taking a huge risk yourselves. For example, I might tell the emperor in private that you guys tried to force the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra out of me.¡±

    ¡°Absolute nonsense!¡± King Liang and Liu Yao¡¯s expressions flickered. They did not think that the emperor would care much if Zu An brought up his poor treatment on the way to the capital, but it would definitely be a huge issue if Zu An falsely used them of forcing the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra out of him.

    This was a technique that granted eternal life! This was something the emperor desired most of all! How could mere subjects like them even think of acquiring it for themselves?

    Even though they could defend themselves, the risk was just too high.

    Zu An continued, ¡°Oh yeah, there¡¯s something else I need to remind you guys about. News of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra has probably already spread, and people along our route will surely find out about it soon enough. Since this carriage isn¡¯t covered, anyone can tell that it¡¯s me from a distance, and might start crafting up all sort of ns. Who knows, maybe an arrow wille whistling over, and I¡¯ll breathe myst. How will you exin that to the emperor?¡±

    Themander of the Embroidered Envoy, Huang Huihong, became upset. ¡°With us present, no arrows will reach you.¡±

    ¡°You might be able to stop the arrow of an ordinary archer, but what about a high level cultivator? For example, a ninth rank, master rank, or even a grandmaster rank?¡± Zu An asked.

    King Liang and Liu Yao¡¯s expressions grew more uncertain. This possibility really did exist.

    After all, there were too many people who did not wish to see the emperor gain eternal life. It wasn¡¯t impossible for a grandmaster to get involved in this matter.

    Even though they didn¡¯t fear a grandmaster in a straight fight, they really couldn''t do anything about an arrow fired from far away.

    King Liang issued his orders. ¡°Make some room in General Liu¡¯s carriage and move him there! General Liu will stay in my carriage.¡±

    Liu Yao¡¯s face darkened immediately, but it quickly eased a little when he heard thetter half of his order.

    Zu An pointed at Zheng Dan. ¡°She¡¯sing with me, because...¡±

    Before he had even finished, King Liang waved his hand tiredly. ¡°Enough already. Put Miss Zheng with him.¡±

    He¡¯d already had his fair share of this kid¡¯s mouth. If he allowed him to keep speaking, he might just blurt out another pile of hot garbage. For the sake of his own mental health it was better to stop listening to him altogether.

    Sang Qian immediately began to grunt again. He wasn¡¯t expecting them to really permit Zu An to sit in a carriage, let alone having Zheng Dan apany him!

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for 1024 Rage points!

    He had still been able to see everything that was going on before, since the prison carriages were only made out of some bars. However, they were now being moved into a different carriage, and these carriages that were prepared for important figures were all tightly covered! He wouldn¡¯t be able to see what was happening inside at all!

    King Liang snorted. ¡°With so many people standing guard, we¡¯ll know about everything that happens inside. You don¡¯t need to worry about those trivial things.¡±

    He couldn¡¯t be bothered with Sang Qian any further. Exining this to him was already showing him quite a bit of respect.

    Both he and Liu Yao returned to their carriage. The two of them didn¡¯t really get along to begin with, so it felt rather odd for them to share a carriage.

    They were both pissed when they thought about how all of this was because of Zu An.

    You have sessfully trolled King Liang for 233 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled Liu Yao for 846 Rage points!

    Liu Yao was much more upset, because he had to give up his personal carriage.

    The two of them sat in silence within the carriage. The mood was terribly awkward. In the end, it was Liu Yao who broke the silence. ¡°We¡¯ll be passing King Wu¡¯s territory once we leave Linchuan Commandery. Do you think that he will...¡±

    King Liang shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t think so. King Wu is a prince born from his majesty¡¯s concubine, and he usually maintains a low profile. I don¡¯t think he will entertain any thoughts that he knows he shouldn¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good then.¡± Liu Yao sighed. Then, he smiled and said, ¡°This King Wu is also a little too low-profile. Others in his situation would marry into arge n, yet he ended up taking the girl of a third-rate n as his wife.¡±

    King Liang said with augh, ¡°Even though Madam Wu¡¯s doesn¡¯t have the most illustrious background, I¡¯ve heard that she is quite the beauty. Everyone ims that King Wu cherishes beauties over worldly glory.¡±

    Liu Yao snorted. ¡°Worldly glory wouldn¡¯t want to have anything to do with him even if he¡¯d married a woman from a great n.¡±

 Chapter 435: Such a Pity

    <h4>Chapter 435: Such a Pity</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    King Liang smiled but said nothing. Liu Yao was the empress¡¯ uncle, so he represented the crown prince¡¯s interests, while King Wu wasn¡¯t the empress¡¯ son. The two of them naturally didn¡¯t get along, so it was expected that he would subconsciously be suspicious of him.

    Unlike the Liu n, King Liang didn¡¯t really care at all which of the sons became the next emperor. It wouldn¡¯t really affect his status either way.

    Heughed again and shifted his focus. ¡°Rather than worrying about King Wu, I think there are other parties that we should be more concerned about. That brat Zu An might be annoying, but what he said was reasonable. Many parties will surelye after our convoy after hearing the news.¡±

    Liu Yao¡¯s voice was full of venom. ¡°That kid really is hateful! He told everyone about the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra on purpose! If I¡¯d known that this was going to happen, I would have locked down the entire Brightmoon City so no information could get out.¡±

    King Liang smiled bitterly. ¡°How could we possiblypletely keep such information from spreading? Those powers all have their own special information channels. They canmunicate even without peopleing and going from the city. Even City Lord Xie Yi is part of King Qi¡¯s faction. Do you think he would have allowed you to lock down the city?¡±

    Liu Yao snorted. ¡°These fellows continue to pay us lip service, but they¡¯re all opposing us in private! Once the crown prince takes the throne, we will deal with them one by one!¡±

    King Liang coughed lightly and said, ¡°Brother Liu, please speak cautiously.¡±

    Liu Yao was shocked. He suddenly realized that he had gone too far. When would the crown prince rise to the throne? Obviously only after the current emperor passed away!

    Hadn¡¯t he just wished death upon the emperor?

    This was what the emperor had obsessed over the most in recent years. There had been a chef who mentioned the word ¡®death¡¯ while ughtering a chicken, which just happened to reach the ear of the emperor as he was passing by. That chef ended up being executed.

    ¡°Thank you, respected king, for your reminder.¡± Liu Yao had a grateful expression on his face.

    King Liang said with a smile, ¡°There is no need for that. Our journey will definitely be a rough one, so we need to take care of each other.¡±

    To be honest, if it wasn¡¯t because he still needed Liu Yao and his Imperial Guard, he couldn¡¯t have cared less if this man courted disaster on his own.

    Liu Yao disapproved of his statement. ¡°He is someone the emperor himself has deemed a criminal. We are personally escorting him, and we even have the Imperial Guard and Embroidered Envoy with us. Do you really think anyone would be brazen enough to try and seize him from us?¡±

    King Liang sighed deeply. ¡°The allure of eternal life is too fatal for too many people, let alone the fact that there are also many who do not wish to see his majesty gain eternal life.¡±

    Liu Yao fell silent. Leaving others aside for the moment, even... wouldn¡¯t wish to see the emperor gain eternal life.

    ...

    Compared to the tense atmosphere of this carriage, the mood in the carriage behind it was much more cheerful.

    Zheng Dan was huddled in the corner, a strong blush burning in her cheeks. ¡°You! Why did you have to drag me into this carriage?¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Now you won¡¯t have to worry about the wind and sun anymore. You can enjoy yourself in thisfortable carriage.¡±

    His eyes wandered about the interior of the carriage. This Liu Yao was filthy rich! This carriage was decked out like a freaking Rolls-Royce!

    Zheng Dan realized that Zu An had noticed her using her hand to shield herself from the sun earlier, which was why he¡¯d stopped everyone to demand a change of carriages. Everyone thought that he was just being annoying, but she knew that he¡¯d done this for her. This thought softened her heart a little.

    However, being in a dark and enclosed space with him while so many others looked on made her extremely ufortable. How was she going to live this down?

    ¡°Come over here and massage my legs for me. Staying in a carriage for so long made my legs go numb.¡± Zu An propped his legs up on herp.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zheng Dan gave a startled jerk, and immediately pointed outside.

    Zu An wasn¡¯t worried at all. ¡°There''s nothing to fear. The prison carriage is far away from this carriage. They can¡¯t hear anything.¡±

    Zheng was embarrassed and annoyed. She pointed next to the carriage. She wasn¡¯t only worried about Sang Qian! The Embroidered Envoy was nearby as well, watching them.

    Zu An realized what was going on. ¡°Come on, I took you out of that prison carriage and into thisfortable one, but you won¡¯t even massage my legs? Commander Huang, don¡¯t you think that that¡¯s a little unreasonable?¡± He directed thetter half of hisint outside.

    Huang Huihong snorted. ¡°You¡¯d better watch yourself. Her husband is still watching from behind us.¡±

    ¡°I understand! Commander Huang is saying that ying around is fine, as long as I don¡¯t go too far.¡± Zu An chuckled. ¡°As for Sang Qian, he can watch if he wants. Too bad he can¡¯t see anything though.¡±

    Huang Huihong almost choked.

    Like hell that¡¯s what I meant!

    However, he didn¡¯t feel like correcting Zu An at the moment. This kid really was hard to deal with. His task was to escort him safely to the capital city, and that was it. He couldn¡¯t be bothered about anything else. It wasn¡¯t his wife that was being taken advantage of.

    Zu Anughed and said to Zheng Dan, ¡°See? He doesn¡¯t even care.¡±

    Zheng Dan bit down on her red-painted lip. There wasn¡¯t much she could do about it. She red at him resentfully, then began rubbing his legs gently.

    The two of them actually did quite a bit of this in private, but it was hard for her to let go of her public image in front of so many other people.

    ¡°Sigh... Miss Zheng¡¯s hands really do feel asfortable as usual.¡± Zu An looked at her with a smile. Zheng Dan was stunning to begin with, but she was even more enchanting in her wedding dress.

    Zheng Dan¡¯s heart began to pound. Fortunately, there was no response from outside. No one had picked up anything from what he¡¯d said.

    Zu An patted his ownp, clearly inviting her to sit.

    Zheng Dan was given a fright. She frantically shook her head. Are you kidding me? There were so many people paying attention to what was happening inside! What was she supposed to do if someone else found out?

    Zu An mouthed silently, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t do anything. I just want to hold you in my arms. I don¡¯t think there¡¯ll be many chances for us to be like this anymore.¡±

    Zheng Dan grew sad. Indeed... even if she and the Sang n still had a sliver of a chance at survival, Zu An was definitely a dead man. He¡¯d offended the emperor, after all.

    She put aside her rational thought and slowly melted into his embrace. The two of them snuggled against each other for warmth.

    He sensed her trembling slightly, and he knew that she wasn¡¯t as strong as she looked on the outside. Zu An gently patted her shoulders.

    He still had things that he could depend on, but how could a young woman like her handle so much?

    ¡°Thank you...¡± Zheng Dan felt a surge of warmth well up within her heart.

    ¡°Is there still a need for that between us?¡± Zu An looked down at the beautiful woman in his arms. She was wearing her wedding dress as well, which made her look even more stunning. Passion erupted within him.

    A pair of soft red lips moved to cover his. It was as though heavenly lighting had struck the ground and rent it asunder, leaving boiling magma pouring forth. He immediately tightened his embrace around the beauty in his arms.

    Zheng Dan seemed to have poured all of the fear, terror, despair, and all the other negative feelings that had umted within her into this moment.

    Zu An¡¯s hands wandered across her curvaceous body, but something suddenly left him stumped. This wedding dress was incredibly pretty, but it was way too extravagant! He had no idea how to undo these clothes!

    Zheng Dan pressed down on his hand. She shook her head while biting her lip. Herrge and intelligent eyes seemed to speak, warning him that there were still many people outside. Sneaking kisses was okay, but she didn¡¯t dare go any further.

    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be okay if we don¡¯t make any sound?¡± Zu An wrote on her body.

    Zheng Dan¡¯s heart was pounding fiercely. She began to hesitate.

    Seeing the chink in her defenses, Zu An continued on his offensive.

    Zheng Dan¡¯s own passion was quickly ignited as well. Her arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer.

    Zheng Dan suddenly smiled in embarrassment. She reached to undo her own cor.

    Zu An grabbed her hands and mouthed silently, ¡°Don¡¯t take it off. It¡¯s more interesting if you keep it on.¡±

    Zheng Dan red at him in annoyance. The two of them were already beyond familiar with each other. How could she not know what he meant?

    Zu An slowly wrote on her palm, ¡°It¡¯s such a pity that your weddingcked a wedding night. I guess I have no choice but to make up for your loss myself!¡±

    Zheng Dan was embarrassed and ashamed. She bit down viciously on him. Was a wedding night with her husband something that another man couldpensate for?!

 Chapter 436: Seeking Your Own Doom

    <h4>Chapter 436: Seeking Your Own Doom</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An chuckled and said no more. He wrapped his arms around her, and slowly moved her on top of him.

    Zheng Dan¡¯s entire body shook. How could she possibly have the energy to resist? She bit her lip tightly, afraid that she would unwittingly make a sound.

    Huang Huihong¡¯s voice cut in suddenly. ¡°Miss Zheng, are you okay?¡±

    Zheng Dan¡¯s mind trembled. She quickly controlled her voice to stop it from shaking. She pretended to be calm as she replied, ¡°I¡¯m... I¡¯m fine. Why would you ask that?¡±

    ¡°Ah... I didn¡¯t hear anything at all for a while, so I thought that something might have happened. I¡¯m just asking out of concern for you,¡± Huang Huihong said with a smile. He was the one supervising them after all, and Zheng Dan was the wife of an official. It wouldn¡¯t be good for his reputation if he let something happen to her.

    Zu An immediately became upset. ¡°Commander Huang, what the heck are you saying? Do you think I¡¯m that sort of person?¡±

    Zheng Dan hit his chest with her fist. It would be stranger if you weren¡¯t that sort of person!

    She really didn¡¯t know where he got the audacity to say such nonsense. What if this rascal ended up pushing thatmander to check on what was happening inside?

    This thought made her extremely nervous, and her body shook uncontrobly.

    Zu An had a strange look on his face. He sucked in a deep breath.

    Huang Huihong snorted and said, ¡°Miss Zheng, if anything at all happens, just yell for us.¡±

    He clearly didn¡¯t want to acknowledge Zu An, but he didn¡¯t want to provoke him either. This fellow was just too hard to deal with, with all those weird tricks up his sleeves. He definitely didn¡¯t want to bring any trouble upon himself.

    ¡°I understand. Thank you, Commander Huang,¡± Zheng Dan replied in a refined and courteous manner. At the same time, she hit Zu An a few more times. This guy really was annoying!

    Sang Qian craned his neck to look in their direction. Unfortunately, besides the carriage rocking a little, he didn¡¯t see anything else.

    ¡°Stop looking. It¡¯s meaningless.¡± Sang Hong couldn¡¯t resist offering him a reminder. Their throat acupoints had already been undone.

    Sang Qian gritted his teeth. ¡°Are we going to just let Zu An bully Dan¡¯er?¡±

    Sang Hong red at him. ¡°Can¡¯t you see what situation we¡¯re in right now? How can you still be concerned about rtionship matters?! We should be looking for a way out of our current crisis! Given your father¡¯s own skills, we¡¯ll bounce back from this sooner orter. If worsees to worst, won¡¯t it be enough if I get you ten such distinguished daughters?¡±

    ¡°But I still feel like Dan¡¯er suits me the best,¡±Sang Qian mumbled to himself. ¡°Besides, I don¡¯t want to see that bastard Zu An get his way.¡±

    Sang Hong could only shake his head in despair.

    This child was hopeless. The two of them were facing death, yet he was still so concerned about such petty things.

    Hepletely abandoned all hope for his son. He just hoped that his daughter would be a little more decisive and not as stupid as her older brother.

    A glimmer flickered within Sang Hong¡¯s eyes as he looked towards the direction of the capital, his thoughts moving rapidly.

    ...

    Their convoy soon entered a valley. Suddenly, countless boulders tumbled down like andslide.

    ¡°Be careful!¡± Huang Huihong yelled out in warning. He flung a Soul-reaping Chain towards the boulders in the sky.

    The force of his chain smashed the falling boulders to pieces.

    The other Imperial Guards also unsheathed their weapons and thrust out. Most of them were able to destroy the boulders falling towards them, but some unlucky individuals were struck by these rocks.

    The entire convoy was thrown into chaos. Suddenly, a massive rock fell from the mountaintop, threatening to crush the carriage that Zu An was in.

    Given the weight and size of the boulder, Liu Yao¡¯s carriage would be squashed t as a pancake no matter how tough it was.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    rm bells rang in Huang Huihong¡¯s mind. They were still dealing with the other rocks, and there was no way they could deal with this boulder in time.

    Suddenly, a greenish de appeared in midair, slicing through the giant boulder.

    ¡°It¡¯s the Guard General¡¯s de ki!¡± Most of them recognized this de ki, and excited cries filled the air.

    Even though this boulder was massive, there was no way it could endure the full power of a ninth rank cultivator!

    It was cleaved in half by this formless de ki. The two halves tumbled to the side and exploded with a huge crash.

    Liu Yao rushed into the sky. His feet tapped lightly against the mountain cliffs, quickly bringing him to the very top of the slopes.

    There came the brief sound of weapons shing, which quickly morphed into miserable screams. Then, everything became quiet.

    King Liang had brought a bunch of men to check on the carriage that Zu An was in. He flung open the carriage door, and Zu An and Zheng Dan both sat up.

    He sighed in relief when he saw that Zu An was unharmed. The emperor would never forgive him if something happened to Zu An.

    His gaze fell on Zheng Dan, who was beside him. The Sang n really had found a good daughter-inw. She was indeed quite the beauty.

    Why was her face so red, though?

    He was about to ask her about this when Liu Yao flew down, dragging a few captives behind him. These captives all had horrified expressions on their faces.

    ¡°Who are you? Who sent you?¡± King Liang demanded.

    Faced with the pressure of a master rank cultivator, the individuals eagerly bbered, ¡°We are from the ckwind Stockade! We heard that Zu An killed our master Chen Xuan, and that he is to me for our miserable lives. We heard that he was passing by, so we brothers came here to get revenge. We set up this trap, but we never expected that his escort would be... would be so strong...¡±

    ¡°ckwind Stockade?¡± King Liang was puzzled. Someone immediately rushed over to inform him about the ckwind Stockade.

    ¡°You all dare attack the Imperial Guard with your measly cultivations?¡± Liu Yao was so baffled that heughed. He hadn¡¯t even seen many fourth rank cultivators in the battle earlier.

    ¡°We¡¯ve fought against officials before, but none of them were as strong!¡± Those people quickly replied. Back then, with their boss to lead them, they were always the ones putting the hurt on Brightmoon City¡¯s officials. None of them expected they would suffer so disastrously without their boss here.

    It was all that bastard Zu An¡¯s fault for killing their boss!

    You have sessfully trolled the ckwind Stockade for 233... 233... 233...

    Zu An was speechless as well. Even after all this time, no one had been able to find the ckwind Stockade¡¯s nest. What¡¯s wrong with keeping a low profile? Why did you have to run all the way over here and lead your group to destruction?

    Your boss Chen Xuan was only at the sixth rank, but you guys decided to fight an armed troop led by a master and a ninth rank cultivator. What the heck were you guys thinking?

    When he saw that he wouldn¡¯t be getting any more information out of them, Liu Yao snapped their necks and tossed them aside. ¡°We¡¯re continuing with the journey!¡±

    This small incident wasn¡¯t worth any further attention.

    As their convoy started to move again, Sang Hong said from inside his prison carriage, ¡°Qian¡¯er, what have you noticed from this matter?¡±

    ¡°That the ckwind Stockade overestimated themselves?¡± Sang Qian replied. This was a group that even he had faced before. Unfortunately, after Chen Xuan¡¯s death, these fellows had dissolved into a disorderly mob, and their strength was greatly decreased.

    Sang Hong shook his head and said quietly, ¡°It¡¯s not just you. King Liang and Liu Yao have likely overlooked something important as well. Earlier, the men of the ckwind Stockade said that they¡¯d heard Zu An was passing by. They didn¡¯t mention who it was that told them, nor did they say why they trusted the one who told them.¡±

    It was still pretty noisy after the chaos of the attack, so he wasn¡¯t too worried about others overhearing what he was saying.

    Sang Qian was shocked. ¡°Dad, are you saying that there is someone else behind them?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± Sang Hong sniffed. ¡°That person probably wanted to use the ckwind Stockade as cannon fodder to test the waters. This would have provided them with a wealth of information that they can then use to make their own ns.¡±

    Even though their cultivations were high, it seemed that neither King Liang nor Liu Yao understood the art of war, and they were poor at strategy as well. They had only sent out several scouts to conduct a rough and careless survey before entering such a dangerous valley. This was, in his opinion, an extremely rudimentary mistake.

    They had also missed out on the clue that the men of the ckwind Stockade had let on...

    It looks like we¡¯ll have quite a few surprises waiting for us during this journey.

    The smile on his father¡¯s face confused Sang Qian. ¡°Dad, why are you so happy? If they aren¡¯t as wary as they should be, wouldn¡¯t that be bad for us? We¡¯ve offended quite a few ns ourselves. If one of them takes advantage of the situation to attack us, won¡¯t we be done for?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t understand anything,¡± Sang Hong snorted. ¡°If they were too smart, we wouldn¡¯t even stand a chance.¡±

 Chapter 437: Killing Intent

    <h4>Chapter 437: Killing Intent</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Back inside the carriage, Zu An smiled at Zheng Dan. ¡°Shall we continue?¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Zheng Dan frantically shook her head. The sudden developments just now had scared the living daylights out of her. If she had moved just a secondter, they would have been exposed, and she would surely have died from embarrassment.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. What are the chances that something unexpected will happen again?¡± Zu An continued to pester her.

    However, Zheng Dan kept shaking her head, no matter how he tried to cajole her.

    Meanwhile, outside the carriage, Huang Huihong frowned. Did this Zu An have some sort of fetish for having his legs massaged?

    Only a scoundrel like him would make a distinguished daughter and the wife of an official do such a thing.

    Huang Huihong shook his head. He couldn¡¯t be bothered about this right now.

    That ambush had set off some rms within him. A bunch of nobodies had almost sessfully killed Zu An. He didn¡¯t dare show any more carelessness.

    It wasn¡¯t just him, either. The entire Imperial Guard seemed to share his nervousness.

    However, the next few days passed peacefully. The second ambush that they¡¯d anticipated never materialized.

    Despite this, be it Zu An or Sang Hong, both understood that this was merely the calm before the storm. On the other hand, King Liang and Liu Yao only maintained their vignce for the first few days, after which they both gradually eased up, seeing that nothing was happening.

    Within half a month, their convoy had left Linchuan Commandery and entered King Wu¡¯s territory.

    In the distance, they noticed a cavalry unit charging in their direction, and a nervous energy immediately enveloped the convoy again.

    King Liang and Liu Yao exited their carriage, their expressions serious and vignt.

    After observing for a while, they noted that the cavalry unit did not assume an offensive posture, and their expressions thus eased a little.

    Soon, the cavalry unit reined in their horses, and three of the horsemen walked forward and stood in front of King Liang, led by a middle-aged schr. He said, ¡°This humble officer, Sun Buqi, pays my respects to King Liang and General Wei.¡±

    ¡°Sun Buqi? This name sounds familiar.¡± King Liang stroked his beard.

    Beside him, Liu Yao said, ¡°I heard that you and Cheng Hong serve as King Wu¡¯s right and left arms, one as a civil official, the other as a military officer. It is because of the two of you that King Wu¡¯s manor is well-managed.¡±

    The Liu n paid close attention to any powers that stood a chance of threatening the crown prince¡¯s position. As a prince himself, King Wu was naturally the subject of careful investigation.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°General Liu is too kind with your praise.¡± The middle-aged schrughed. ¡°I merely help out with some misceneous affairs in the manor. I do not deserve suchpliments. I came here today to receive your distinguished selves on behalf of King Wu. My king wanted to personally wee you, but he was busy preparing a worthy reception, so he sent me in his stead. I hope your distinguished selves do not mind.¡±

    King Liang smiled. ¡°There is no need to speak so seriously. We aren¡¯t such petty people. However, we are escorting some criminals, so I fear we won¡¯t be staying for too long. We can only thank King Wu for his kindness.¡±

    Sun Buqi sped his fist and said, ¡°King Wu has specially instructed me to show proper hospitality to our two distinguished guests. You have endured a long and strenuous journey so far while escorting these criminals, and King Wu wishes to do his part for the court as well. Moreover, the two of you are King Qi¡¯s seniors as well, and since King Wu does not live in the capital, there aren¡¯t many chances for him to meet you. Today is a great opportunity, so he naturally needs to assume the role of a weing host...¡±

    King Liang was the current emperor¡¯s uncle, while Liu Yao was the empress¡¯ uncle. As such, strictly speaking, these two were both King Wu¡¯s elders. Sun Buqi made full use of this rtionship to implore them. In addition, King Liang and Liu Yao normally livedvish and luxurious lives, and this journey had been quite the ordeal for them so far. They had already nned to get some rest in a decent ce.

    This was especially true for Liu Yao. With his carriage currently upied by Zu An, he had to spend all day in the same carriage as King Liang, and the two of them both felt awkward around each other. This was a good chance to request for a carriage from King Wu, to avoid any future annoyances.

    King Liang suddenly realized an issue. ¡°We have so many people with us. Would entering the city be inconvenient?¡±

    Sun Buqi quickly replied, ¡°King Liang need not worry. Our n Master has been busy making arrangements these past few days, and many residences have been prepared beforehand near the king¡¯s manor. There is also a military drill ground nearby that isrge enough for the apanying Imperial Guard to settle in temporarily.¡±

    King Liang nodded. If King Wu had suggested that the Imperial Guard set up camp outside the city while inviting only the two of them into the manor, they would have suspected something was wrong.

    After all, the matter they were handling was just too important. Even though King Wu had always maintained a low profile, King Liang didn¡¯t dare make any guarantees that he wouldn¡¯t suddenly make a move.

    ¡°Would we be disturbing the people if we do this?¡± Liu Yao said with an insincere smile.

    Sun Buqi¡¯s breath caught momentarily, but he reacted quickly as well. ¡°The general need not worry. We were informed that the Embroidered Envoy wasing, so many families voluntarily offered up their homes. Our master has given all of them appropriatepensation as well, so these arrangements would cause no disturbance to the people.¡±

    King Liang sneered. This guy is acting as though he¡¯s someone who works for themon people. Do you really think we have no idea what kind of circles you hang around with?

    Despite these small disturbances, their final decision was unaffected.

    The order went out quickly, and the soldiers of the Imperial Guard all cheered when they heard that they could enter the city to take a rest.

    Inside the prison carriage, Sang Hong frowned. He said with a sigh, ¡°Our country has enjoyed too many years of peace. Look what state the Imperial Guard is in now.¡±

    Sang Qian said, ¡°It¡¯s to be expected if they live like princes in the imperial city day in and day out.¡±

    Forgetting about the Imperial Guard for a moment, even Brightmoon City¡¯s River Patrol Army was full of useless wimps. Comparatively speaking, this Imperial Guard was already pretty decent.

    A hint of worry shed across Sang Hong¡¯s eyes. ¡°Everyone in the Zhou Dynasty worships the emperor as the world¡¯s most powerful being. They all believe that none of the foreign tribes would dare make a move. However, the emperor cannot protect the Zhou Dynasty by himself forever...¡±

    Zu An heard the excited cheers of the Imperial Guard outside. He said out of curiosity, ¡°King Wu?¡±

    After being around him all this time, Zheng Dan knew that hecked a lot of general knowledge regarding this world. She exined, ¡°King Wu is the current emperor¡¯s fifth son. However, his biological mother is one of the emperor¡¯s concubines and not the empress herself, so this Wu Commandery was arranged for him quite early on.¡±

    Zu An nodded. He vaguely remembered hearing Chu Chuyan talk about this before. Wu Commandery was adjacent to Linchuan Commandery. The governing buildings were located in North Order City, so named because it was located north of the Order Mountain Range that ran through the territory.

    ¡°By the way, what is King Wu¡¯s reputation like? What kind of personality does he have?¡± he asked.

    It was always good to gather intelligence while in someone else¡¯s territory. That way, it would be much easier to deal with any matters that might arise.

    Zheng Dan shook her head. ¡°King Wu usually keeps to himself. He doesn¡¯t have a bad reputation, but no one praises him for being wise and capable either. I don¡¯t know much about him myself.¡±

    Huang Huihong had a surprised expression on his face. Zu An had humiliated Miss Zheng, yet Miss Zheng had still replied to his question with such patience. This woman¡¯s personality really was amazing!

    Inside the carriage, Zu An wore a pensive expression. So he¡¯s just a prince with shitty leftovers! This dude either didn¡¯t want to get involved in the affairs of this world, or he¡¯s cooking up something huge. Hard to say...

    ¡°Now that you mention it, there is one matter that King Wu is most famous for. He took in the daughter of a small n as his wife.¡± Zheng Dan recalled some of what she¡¯d heard before. ¡°He is still a glorious king after all, and others in his position would consolidate their position by securing a marriage with a great n. This is what made his decision rather surprising.

    ¡°It was only when peopleid eyes on the woman King Wu had chosen as his wife that the mystery was solved, because his wife was absolutely stunning. This made King Wu¡¯s choice much more understandable.¡± Zheng Dan couldn¡¯t help but give a disdainful sniff. ¡°You men only care about appearances.¡±

    Zu Anughed to hide his annoyance. ¡°Don¡¯t you girls all like hot guys too? Those girls from my hometown go even crazier over male stars than boys do over female stars!¡±

    Zheng Dan found this truly shocking. ¡°Your hometown really is... really is quite something.¡±

    Her upbringing in a distinguished n made it hard to imagine something like this, although she had to admit that she was a little envious as well. Those girls he¡¯d described didn¡¯t seem to be bound by so many rules.

    With Sun Buqi in the lead, their convoy slowly entered North Order City. Zu An quietly lifted the curtains to take a look. ¡°This ce doesn¡¯t seem as prosperous as Brightmoon City.¡±

    ¡°But of course! Brightmoon City has its salt and iron industries, and has gathered the richest merchants from all differentnds to itself. It¡¯ll naturally be more prosperous than most other ces.¡± Zheng Dan¡¯s voice carried more than a hint of pride. Everyone had a bit of this when it came to their own hometowns.

    Themon people of North Order City filled the streets. They were all curious what the imperial city¡¯s Imperial Guard were like. More and more came streaming out, contributing to the liveliness of the ce.

    With a sudden start, Zu An spied a familiar figure in the crowd. This person was currently disguised and mingling together with the rest of the onlookers.

    A streak of ck light suddenly flew towards him from within the crowd.

 Chapter 438: The Dark Elf

    <h4>Chapter 438: The Dark Elf</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An sighed when heid his eyes on that figure. There¡¯s no way he wouldn¡¯t recognize this person! Even if she was wearing scraps, she still wouldn¡¯t look anything like amoner!

    From those charming facial features to those voluptuous curves, they all betray your identity!

    Quite a few men were sneaking subconscious looks in her direction, and even a few, harboring unkind intentions, pretended as though they were being squeezed towards her by the crowd.

    Whenever someone was about to make contact with her, though, an invisible wall pushed them away, preventing them from getting close to her.

    Zu An knew that Pei Mianman was holding back in order not to draw too much attention to herself. Otherwise, there would have been no way that these men would be able to get within even a zhang of her.

    If they¡¯d been out in the wilderness and she was in a bad mood, her ck me would have burned them up instantly, with no traces left over.

    Pei Mianman smiled sweetly in Zu An¡¯s direction when she noticed that she¡¯d been found out. ¡°I thought that you would¡¯ve been mistreated after being arrested, but look at you now! They gave you such a luxurious carriage, and even a beauty to keep youpany. How enviable!¡±

    Zu An knew that she was speaking to him through voice transmission, but his ki was sealed up, so he couldn¡¯t reply in the same way. He decided to speak out loud instead. ¡°It would be even better if I had big Manman to keep mepany.¡±

    She should be able to hear him, given her cultivation.

    Sure enough, Pei Mianman¡¯s face turned red. ¡°You just love to give others ridiculous nicknames! I really should get Chuyan to discipline you properly. Oh, I almost forgot, the two of you are no longer husband and wife.¡±

    Zu An gritted his teeth.

    Does this woman really have to sound so happy about my misfortune? Aren¡¯t you supposed to be Chuyan¡¯s close friend?

    ¡°Big manman? What is a ¡®big manman¡¯?¡± Huang Huihong turned around and asked. Zu An¡¯sment clearly hadn¡¯t escaped his ears.

    Zu An was just about to tell him that it was none of his damned business, but Pei Mianman sent him a sudden, rmed warning. ¡°Be careful!¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Just as she said this, Zu An saw a streak of ck light fly towards him from within the crowd.

    This streak of ck was traveling extremely fast. An instant after it first appeared, it seemed to already be in front of Zu An.

    In that split second, it seemed as though he could even smell the metallic aura and killing intent emanating that streak of darkness. He had no way to describe the sensation of this killing intent. It made chills run through his entire body, and all of the hair on his body stood on end. He felt as though he was facing an imminent death.

    There was no time to think. He immediately used Grandgale, grabbing Zheng Dan and blinking a foot away.

    The instant he moved, that trace of ck light struck his afterimage. It practically brushed right past the tip of his nose.

    Zu An¡¯s heart was pounding. Even though he¡¯d already faced the threat of death many times over, this was the first time he was experiencing danger like this while unprepared.

    Only then did he discover what that streak of ckness was. This was a special arrow! It had stuck itself in the carriage wall, managing to burrow a hole even into the walls of this sturdy carriage. Its tail feathers were still shaking. He could well imagine what it would have been if this arrow had reallynded. Half his body might have exploded on the spot!

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡± Zheng Dan finally reacted to what happened. Her face was deathly white. She immediately reached out her hands to check his body for injuries.

    Another ck streak flew towards them. The assassin wasn¡¯t nning to give him any time to breathe.

    Huang Huihong had reacted by this time. He¡¯d been momentarily distracted earlier when he asked Zu An a question, and the hidden archer had seized this opening to strike. How could he possibly let this assassin get his way?

    With a roar of anger, his Soul-reaping Chains whipped forward to meet that streak of ck.

    With what sounded like a loud p, the ck streak was smashed to pieces. Huang Huihong¡¯s entire body trembled. Even he had found it difficult to handle the tremendous power within that arrow.

    The Embroidered Envoy and Imperial Guard reacted instantly, rushing towards the direction from which the ck arrow had been fired.

    ¡°Ah!!!¡± Wild, panicked screams erupted among themon people in response to this unexpected assassination attempt. They had onlye here to enjoy the atmosphere. Absolute chaos broke out, with the onlookers all running in different directions.

    Pei Mianman smiled in his direction when she saw that he was fine, then left together with the crowd. She wanted to avoid the inevitableplications that would arise when the Imperial Guard began their investigations and interrogations.

    ¡°We¡¯ll meet again soon,¡± Pei Mianman transmitted to him before leaving, her tone full of ambiguity.

    Although it was apletely normal phrase, the way she spoke always made the imagination run wild.

    Zu An¡¯s expression was rather strange. He had a sudden feeling of d¨¦j¨¤ vu... This was exactly what Snow had said to him after she¡¯d been exposed and had to leave the Chu n. He wondered how she was faring in the capital now.

    ¡°What happened?¡± King Liang and Liu Yao rushed over when they heard the news, apanied by Sun Buqi and several others from King Qi¡¯s manor.

    ¡°A scoundrel within the crowd tried to assassinate Zu An...¡± Huang Huihong gave a rough exnation of what happened. Fear still lingered in his mind. The enemy had seized upon the one instant he¡¯d been distracted! If Zu An really was killed while under his watch, there was no way he could escape me.

    ¡°Where is the assassin?¡± King Liang¡¯s face was overcast. He¡¯d been in a good mood just now, thinking about how he was going to find a hot spring and have some lovely young maids dance for him. However, all of this had ended up happening. Didn¡¯t all this spell the end of his dreams?

    ¡°My subordinates have already gone after him, but the current situation is rather chaotic, so I fear...¡± Huang Huihong¡¯s voice was hedged with hesitation.

    The embroidered envoys that had taken off earlier quickly returned. ¡°The assassin possessed a very quick movement technique, and he blended into the crowd as well. We lost him.¡±

    Sun Buqi was quick to speak. ¡°Pass down my order immediately! Seal up the city gates! We must find that damned assassin!¡±

    Liu Yao said coldly, ¡°How could your measly city gates stop an assassin who eluded the pursuit of both the Embroidered Envoy and Imperial Guard?¡±

    King Liang nodded. ¡°Indeed. There is no need to disturb the people. It¡¯ll only lead to further chaos.¡±

    ¡°I understand. Thank you, respected king, for your advice.¡± Sun Buqi had no choice but to call back his men.

    Liu Yao snorted. ¡°This happened in your North Order City, so you all owe us an exnation. I can¡¯t help but feel like we were set up. You were sent to hold us up, while an assassin waited for a chance to strike.¡±

    This usation greatly rmed Sun Buqi, who replied in a panic, ¡°What is General Liu saying?! My king has always remained faithful and true to His Majesty! He would never dare tomit such a disgraceful act! Ignoring all that has happened today, it has always been understood that King Qi would suffer punishment if something happened to a criminal in our territory. How could we dare make such a foolish decision? This is our territory, and the assassin acted in broad daylight! I believe that someone is framing us on purpose, to drive a wedge between King Wu and His Majesty.¡±

    Liu Yao said with a sigh of admiration, ¡°It ismon knowledge how capable King Wu¡¯s subordinate by the name of Sun is. It seems you really are capable of eloquent speech as well.¡±

    Sun Buqi smiled bitterly. ¡°I¡¯m not just trying to talk my way out of this. This is the truth of the matter. I hope King Liang upholds justice today!¡±

    King Liang gave no reply. To be honest, he believed what Sun Buqi said was true. Just how stupid would King Wu have to be to do something like this?

    Even Liu Yao probably understood this as well. He¡¯d only said what he said to scare the other party a little.

    However, now that this event had urred, there had to be an exnation for it.

    Huang Huihong¡¯s voice cut in at this time. ¡°The assassin is a dark elf.¡±

    He held a special arrow in his hand, an arrow with ck feathers. This was none other than the arrow that had pierced the inside of the carriage.

    ¡°This arrow belongs to a dark elf! No wonder it was so hard to detect.¡± King Liang took it from him. ¡°Those damn foreign tribes!¡± he cursed. ¡°They are all evil and vicious.¡±

    ¡°Dark elf?¡± Zu An muttered to himself. One of Shang Liuyu¡¯s sses had mentioned the dark elves. Unlike other elves who were peaceful and loved nature, dark elves lusted after battle. They enjoyed the sight of blood and ughter, and were one of the races that excelled in assassination.

    Countless important figures had been assassinated by them, be it from the foreign tribes or from the human race. He hadn¡¯t expected to be granted the honor of personally experiencing it for himself.

    King Liang¡¯s voice suddenly rang out. ¡°A dark elf wouldn¡¯t make a move unless they are sure they will draw blood. How did Zu An avoid this arrow?¡±

 Chapter 439: A Match Made in Heaven

    <h4>Chapter 439: A Match Made in Heaven</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Everyone turned towards Zu An, their expressions clouded with suspicion.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Even Zheng Dan gave him a surprised look. After all, both of their cultivations were sealed, so there should have been no way for them to evade that arrow. Still, Zu An had moved far too quickly just now, even faster than she could when unsealed.

    Had he managed to recover his cultivation?

    After this momentary, distracting thought, she immediately began to worry for him. After all, they were facing so many experts. It was going to be hard for him to lie his way through this.

    Zu An¡¯s heart also began to race. However, he reacted quickly as well, and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know what is going on either. I dodged to the side, and this arrow seemed to deviate somehow. Look, there¡¯s still a red mark on my nose.¡±

    As he spoke, he nudged his nose towards them.

    Liu Yao snorted. ¡°Who are you trying to fool? Dark elves pride themselves on achieving sess with a single strike. Even a vignt expert will find this arrow difficult to avoid. How could you possibly avoid it when your cultivation was sealed?¡±

    Zu An shrugged his shoulders. ¡°How am I supposed to know? Maybe the assassin got food poisoning, or suffered from heat stroke? Maybe something happened to his arm as he was firing?¡±

    King Liang frowned. He stepped towards Zu An and examined his pulse. A momentter, his frown deepened. ¡°His ki flow has beenpletely sealed. The seal hasn¡¯t been undone.¡±

    Zu An grew even more worked up when he heard this. ¡°Hello? I¡¯m the victim here! Why are you all interrogating me? Oh, I understand. I guess you guys are feeling kind of frustrated since you couldn¡¯t catch that assassin, so you wanted to take it all out on a victim like me.¡±

    Liu Yao exploded straight away. ¡°What are you saying, brat?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Liu Yao for 345 Rage points!

    He swiftly collected a series of Rage point donations from King Liang and the others. They obviously had no idea how to deal with someone like him.

    Fortunately, Huang Huihong gave him a way out. ¡°There was a woman in the crowd who did something. She might have been the one who affected the assassin¡¯s precision.¡±

    ¡°Woman?¡± King Liang was shocked. He quickly asked, ¡°Where is that woman?¡±

    Huang Huihong shook his head. ¡°Everyone was chasing after the assassin, and that woman disappeared quickly as well. The situation was too chaotic for us to find either one of them.¡±

    King Liang frowned, but the other party¡¯s special status made it hard for him to reprimand him much further. He could only say, ¡°I wonder who that woman was. Just what sort of rtionship does she have with that assassin...?¡±

    They discussed this among themselves for a bit, and came up with all sorts of suspicions.

    Zu An snorted. Why aren''t you guys even considering the possibility that she came to save me?

    He¡¯d been saddened that Pei Mianman hadn¡¯te to send him off when they first left Brightmoon City. Now, though, it seemed as though he could still depend on his charisma after all.

    The sound of horses¡¯ hooves came from up ahead, and a group of soldiers approached swiftly from a distance.

    The one in the lead looked to be around twenty years of age. He was dressed in official robes, and rode a handsome white horse. There was no need for any introductions; this was definitely King Wu.

    ¡°Zhao Yan greets King Liang and the General.¡± King Wu got off his horse and walked over and offered his greeting, a humble smile never leaving his face.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for King Wu to show such deference.¡± King Liang and Liu Yao both reached out their hands to help him up. It was one thing for him to show such respect to King Liang, but Liu Yao¡¯s own status wasn¡¯t even as high as King Wu¡¯s, so he was understandably ufortable with this level of courtesy.

    ¡°The two of you are Little Yan¡¯s seniors, so this amount of respect is to be expected.¡± King Wu had exceptional facial features and a handsome appearance, but his figure was slightly too thin, which prevented him from possessing the typical masculinitymon to most men. It made him look a little weak.

    Both King Liang and Liu Yao were deeply satisfied by his humility.

    Liu Yao quickly said, ¡°Little Yan, the days have grown colder recently. Your body has always been rather weak, so you need to take good care of yourself.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡± King Wu replied with a smile, before breaking out into a sudden fit of coughing.

    Zu An nudged Zheng Dan. ¡°This king¡¯s constitution looks quite poor...¡± This man seemed to be wearing much more clothing than an ordinary person.

    This really was quite strange. Cultivators possessed bodies that were clearly superior to those of ordinary people. Since this man had been granted the title of king, his cultivation should at least be at the master rank. Regardless of whether this was because of the imperial family¡¯s resources or not, he was still a master. There was no way his body should have been this weak.

    Was he born with congenital deficiencies, or did his process of cultivation somehow leave him with irreversible injuries?

    Of course, there was another possible reason. Even though the bodies of cultivators were superior to that of ordinary people, this didn¡¯t mean that they lived longer. Otherwise, the current emperor wouldn¡¯t be so much closer to the grave than either Liu Yao or King Liang.

    Whether or not a superior body would lead to a longer life was probably an entirely different subject that was worth looking into.

    ¡°I think he¡¯s quite handsome. A beautiful and gentle prince like him is far better than those boorish musclemen. Girls like this type of guy,¡± Zheng Dan said with a smile. The reason she liked being with Zu An was precisely because she felt free and unrestrained while she was around him. She always had to hold herself back by all types of etiquette and rules in other settings, but she didn¡¯t have to worry so much when she was with him.

    Zu An found herment puzzling.

    The minds of women really were difficult to fathom. They didn¡¯t like tough men, but liked these sickly-looking ones instead?

    He remembered how obsessed the fangirls of his previous world were over their pretty-looking idols, and immediately felt a little dejected.

    ¡°Husband, please take your medicine,¡± said a gentle voice, and a beautiful woman quickly ran over to him.

    The noise around them quietened immediately. King Liang, Liu Yao, many of the Imperial Guard soldiers, and the other ordinary folk who were still lingering in the area focused their attention in their direction.

    Even Huang Huihong and the Embroidered Envoy, who should have been trained to the point where they were like machines, couldn¡¯t keep themselves from looking in that direction.

    Perhaps because this side of the Order Mountain Range was too cold, the woman wore a snow white fur coat around her, as well as anotheryer of white outside of that. She looked like a snowy mountain goddess, beautiful and pure, as if she didn¡¯t belong to this world of mortals.

    The brief exertion caused a blush to appear on her fair and beautiful cheeks. This finally seemed to have added a bit of worldly charm to her loveliness.

    She brought out a porcin bottle, and the red pill that she removed from it contrasted with the fairness of her skin. She gave the pill to King Wu urgently. It was as if King Wu was the only thing in her world at that moment. She didn''t even give the Imperial Guard soldiers, the father and son of the Sang n, or Zu An and Zheng Dan a single look.

    ¡°With a wife like this, what else can you ask for?¡± Sang Qian felt as if his entire body had been struck by lightning. He waspletely beside himself, sighing in admiration.

    Her beauty was truly otherworldly! In that instant, his heart was instantly captured.

    Not only that, he was captivated and incredibly touched by the concern she was showing for her husband.

    Zheng Dan had originally been a perfect wife in his eyes as well, with her grace and elegance. Every single action of hers was perfect, and exactly how a distinguished daughter should be. Recently, however, she hadpletely submitted herself to all sorts of unreasonable humiliations at the hands of Zu An, which left him absolutely furious.

    Even though I don¡¯t have the ability to protect you, you can¡¯t just let Zu An do whatever he wants to you, right? I heard that you even massaged his legs!?

    Look at King Wu¡¯s wife! Her husband is the only man in her eyes!

    Zheng Dan also sighed when she looked at these two. ¡°They truly are a pair of perfect lovers.¡±

    The man was gentle, like an elegant and graceful prince, while the woman was exceptionally beautiful. When they stood together, they truly looked like an ideal couple.

    Most important of all was the deep love that existed in the way they looked at each other. It made it seem as though they were radiating a brilliant, precious light, and in that moment, they had be the center of the entire world.

 Chapter 440: Yun Yuqing

    <h4>Chapter 440: Yun Yuqing</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    No wonder King Wu hadn¡¯t chosen any other daughters with distinguished backgrounds, but insisted on marrying the daughter of a third-rate n.

    ¡°Who cares how pretty she is? It¡¯s not as though she¡¯ll ever be mine, anyway.¡± Compared to the others, Zu An was rather calm.

    King Wu turned around and looked in his direction. His slender brows came together slightly in a frown, although it was unclear if it was because of what Zu An had said.

    The surrounding imperial guards also turned angry looks upon him, but they did not know what to retort with. After all, it was true that their fates would never intersect with hers in this lifetime.

    Would King Wu¡¯s wife ever care about a nobody like you, though?

    You have sessfully trolled the Imperial Guard for 66... 66... 66...

    ¡°Stupid skirt-chaser! You¡¯re being rude to this beauty.¡± Zheng Dan snorted angrily, without bothering to be polite. Everyone had seen how she¡¯d been bullied the whole way here, and her anger was understandable.

    Zu An had a helpless look on his face. ¡°Am I wrong, though?¡±

    ¡°Thank goodness King Wu is magnanimous, and holds no grudge against you. If you really managed to offend King Wu, you¡¯d die without even knowing how.¡± It looked as though Zheng Dan was scolding him, but she was actually warning him off, and advising him to curry favor while he was in someone else¡¯s territory.

    Zu An showed no intention of giving a damn. ¡°Who cares? I¡¯ve even offended the emperor himself. Do you think I¡¯ll care about someone small like King Wu?¡±

    Zheng Dan had no words for him.

    This guy really didn¡¯t seem to care anymore.

    However, what he said did make some sense. Since he¡¯d already offended the emperor, offending King Wu didn¡¯t really make a difference.

    King Wu was full of apologies. He said to King Liang and the others, ¡°I am truly sorry. My condition is quite poor, and I¡¯ve ended up making a fool of myself.¡±

    He didn¡¯t even give a single look in Zu An¡¯s direction. It was as if he hadn¡¯t even heard what he¡¯d said.

    Zheng Dan couldn¡¯t help but nudge Zu An. ¡°Look at how open-minded he is.¡±

    ¡°Open-minded?¡± Zu An had a pondering expression on his face, because he¡¯d received a system notification.

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Yan for 458 Rage points!

    This fellow really is good at putting on an act! He¡¯s nothing like me. Look how frank and honest I am!

    King Liang said, ¡°Since Little Yan is not doing so well, please, head back in and get some rest. We can take care of the matters here.¡±

    King Wu shook his head. ¡°An assassination has taken ce here. It was this humble king¡¯s shorings that allowed something like this to happen. How can I wash my hands of this?¡±

    Seeing that he was taking the initiative to bear the responsibility, King Liang and Liu Yao didn¡¯t feelfortable heaping further me on him. They both said, ¡°What are you saying? We¡¯ve already found out that the assassin is a Dark Elf. It¡¯s extremely difficult to detect one if they decide to infiltrate, no matter how tight security is.¡±

    Zu An could barely hide his disdain. These guys were clearly pointing fingers not too long ago and criticizing his subordinate. Now that the master himself hase, they instead act as though they¡¯re all one happy family? Just how two-faced can you get?

    After some more small talk, King Liang finally said, ¡°Since your condition is poor, let¡¯s not remain outside like this. We¡¯ll follow you back to your manor first.¡±

    ¡°Indeed, indeed. It was I who was negligent.¡± King Wuughed. ¡°This way. Oh, right! Yu Qing,e here and greet your great uncles.¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Madam Wu walked over in a stately manner, a gentle smile painting her lips. ¡°Yu Qing greets my great uncles.¡±

    Her gracefulness left both the boorish members of the Imperial Guard, as well as the two old men, King Liang and Liu Yao, in a daze.

    King Liang was the first to snap out of it. He coughed to hide his awkwardness. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that my great nephew''s wife was outstanding, but those rumors are nothingpared to the person herself! Little Yan is really lucky to have a wise and gentle wife like you.¡±

    Madam Wu smiled sweetly. ¡°Great uncle is too kind with your praise.¡±

    While they were talking among themselves, Zu An asked Zheng Dan out of curiosity, ¡°By the way, what n did this Madam Wue from again?¡±

    ¡°I believe she¡¯s from Nortnd Commandery¡¯s Yun n. The Yun n cannot be considered a great n even locally, let alone the rest of the world.¡± Zheng Dan¡¯s expression took on a gloomy hue. In terms of family background, the Yun n might even be inferior to Brightmoon City¡¯s Zheng n.[1]

    Brightmoon City was much more prosperous than Nortnd Commandery, after all. However, since the Yun n had married well, their prospects for the future were endless, while the Zheng n was already in an imminent crisis. Sigh. All matters lie at the mercy of the whims of fate.

    Zu An remembered Shang Liuyu mentioning the Nortnd Commandery in one of her extracurricr sses on the geography of the world. This was the northernmost region of the Zhou Dynasty. It was in a state of constant warfare, and could be considered to be the front line of the war against the foreign tribes. They were rough and tough folk, and it was unexpected that such a ce could produce a gentle and refined girl like that.

    Wait, her family name is Yun?

    Didn¡¯t that mean that her name was Yun Yuqing? He wondered if there was anyone named Jia Baoyu in this world.

    After exchanging a few more words, their party quickly made their way towards King Wu¡¯s manor.

    King Wu exined the local customs and traditions of North Order Commandery to Liu Yao and King Liang along the way, sparing an asional nod for Huang Huihong.

    The Embroidered Envoy enjoyed a special status, after all. They were the emperor¡¯s personal force! If a king like him was seen interacting with them too closely, he might be used of scheming against the imperial pce. That would be a huge offence!

    Madam Wu walked by his side, smiling gently all the way. Her eyes were always on King Wu, her expression full of love. This was something that everyone could sense.

    The imperial guards were all envious of King Wu. He had actually managed to find such a perfect wife!

    Some of them even tried to picture themselves in King Wu¡¯s ce.

    However, they quickly abandoned these fantasies. King Wu was a glorious descendant of the emperor, while they were just mere soldiers. There was noparison at all!

    ¡°Madam Wu really loves King Wu,¡± Zheng Dan said with a sigh. There was a mncholy expression on her face, and it was hard to tell what she was thinking.

    Zu An was not inclined to agree. ¡°How can you be so sure?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no way that loving gaze of hers is fake!¡± Zheng Dan replied.

    ¡°Not necessarily. This seems like the sort of look that women can easily pull off.¡± Zu An thought back to those female stars of the variety shows in his previous world. They might not have been that great at acting, but if they wanted to flirt with a man, their expressions truly were convincing enough to make one¡¯s entire body go limp.

    That was why he refused to believe that the way in which a girl looked at you could represent true love.

    ¡°Hmph! You just refuse to believe that they can be happy together!¡± Zheng Dan said angrily.

    It wasn¡¯t only her. Even his Embroidered Envoy escorts nced over at him with unhappy expressions.

    ¡°What are you all looking at? You¡¯re not part of the married couple in question. Did you guys let your fantasies run too far?¡± Zu An snorted. He pulled the curtains down roughly.

    You have sessfully trolled Huang Huihong for 220 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled the Embroidered Envoy for 111... 111... 111...

    If this kid wasn¡¯t so important, we would have already kicked his ass today!

    After they arrived at the Wu Manor, the Imperial Guard settled into a nearby military drill ground, which was already equipped with barracks and other required rooms.

    King Wu himself invited King Liang and the others into the manor for a banquet. They invited Huang Huihong as well, but he refused. The Embroidered Envoy needed to guard Zu An. There were to be no more slip-ups.

    ¡°It is still a long way to the capital. There¡¯s no way you can remain so tense all the way. Could it be that Commander Huang does not trust our Wu Manor¡¯s defenses?¡± King Wu said with augh.

    Madam Wu smiled at King Liang and said, ¡°Great Uncle, help us convince him as well! If they remain outside the manor and guard the criminal on their own, we might not be able to provide them with timely aid in case of a sneak attack!¡±

    King Liang grunted and said, ¡°Indeed. Let¡¯s all go inside the manor then. That gives us all a chance to promptly deal with any matters that may arise.¡±

    The arguments made sense to Huang Huihong as well. Besides, he couldn¡¯t bear to refuse someone as stunning as Madam Wu. ¡°All right, then. However, we will not drink wine. It will be enough for us to trouble King and Madam Wu to bring us some food.¡±

    ¡°But of course!¡± Madam Wu smiled. She and King Wu exchanged a look, full of strange and mysterious intent.

    1. Take note that Nortnd Commandery is not the same region as North Order Commandery.

 Chapter 441: Madamâ€™s Mission

    <h4>Chapter 441: Madam¡¯s Mission</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    A group of people entered the manor, led by King Wu and his wife. The first order of business was to examine the prison facilities that King Wu offered. Zu An was just too important, after all. Even though King Liang and Liu Yao wanted to get drunk and enjoy themselves that night, this was the one thing they could not screw up.

    There was an isted courtyard in King Wu¡¯s manor which had a clear view all around it. It would be difficult for an enemy to approach it without being seen.

    Several rooms were spread out inside, which made it easy for them to set up a defensive perimeter.

    Most importantly, it wasn¡¯t far from the banquet hall. If something happened, King Liang and Liu Yao could rush over immediately.

    Huang Huihong nodded continuously as he examined this ce. He was quite satisfied with this temporary prison.

    King Liang stroked his beard and said, ¡°King Wu has really put in the effort to prepare such a suitable location for us in advance.¡±

    King Wu smiled in return. ¡°It wasn¡¯t too inconvenient¡ªwe merely renovated one of the guest courtyards in the manor. I am d that this suits your needs.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s excellent. Commander Huang, we¡¯ll have to trouble you to settle the rest of it,¡± King Liang said to Huang Huihong.

    Huang Huihong sped his fist respectfully. ¡°It¡¯s no trouble at all. It is my duty, after all.¡±

    King Wu smiled. ¡°The manor¡¯s guards will keep watch outside. Please feel free to let them know about any needs themander may have.¡±

    Huang Huihong said, ¡°Thank you, respected king. However, please do not let them get too close to this courtyard. We want to prevent any unnecessary misunderstandings.¡±

    King Wu replied, ¡°Of course. Unless Commander Huang issues the order, none of them will approach this courtyard.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, respected king.¡± Huang Huihong said in gratitude. What worried him most was that a spy could have infiltrated the manor¡¯s guards. Now that he¡¯d secured the other party¡¯s guarantee, he was free to cut down anyone who approached. The Embroidered Envoy acted with the emperor¡¯s authority anyway, so they were free to kill anyone who crossed them, whether they were servants of the manor, or even officials.

    King Wu nodded, the warm smile on his face making him seem like a most agreeable person. He turned his attention to someone else. ¡°King Liang, General Liu, this way! This humble king has prepared some of North Order City¡¯s most special food, drink and entertainment for all of you to enjoy.¡±

    Liu Yaoughed heartily. ¡°Excellent. We will enjoy what your North Order City has to offer!¡±

    King Liang also stroked his beard with a smile. The entertainment¡ªespecially the singing and dancing¡ªwas what he was most interested in to begin with. He wondered what the girls of North Order City were like.

    Suddenly, he noticed Madam Wu out of the corners of his eye, a smile resting on her immacte face. It was already evening. The faint moonlight seemed to add ayer of sparkling radiance to her fairplexion, lending a holy and divine aspect to her beauty.

    King Liang immediately put on a serious and reserved expression, afraid that his frivolous smile would ruin this sacred feeling.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    What the hell is this? I¡¯m a king who has always had my way with women over the years. Why am I acting in such a reserved manner in front of someone a generation younger than me?

    As soon as these thoughts appeared, King Wu asked him a series of questions about the capital. He replied to them one by one, and the strange thoughts from earlier slowly faded.

    ¡°Sigh, it¡¯s been almost a decade since I left the capital. The memories of my past have already grown blurry.¡± King Wuughed at himself. ¡°By the way, has my father been well?¡±

    ¡°His majesty¡¯s cultivation is unmatched, and his constitution is naturally excellent as well! However, he is only growing older, and the battles against the foreign tribes have left behind some old scars. He cannot bepared to his younger self,¡± replied King Liang.

    It wasmon knowledge that the emperor already had one foot in the grave, and that he probably only had a few years left to live. However, how could anyone dare say this out loud? He had to rack his brain to find out a more suitable way of putting things.

    King Wu immediately looked distressed. ¡°It truly is a pity that I cannot serve at father¡¯s side. This is one of my greatest regrets in life.¡±

    King Liang hurriedly said, ¡°I will definitely pass on your innermost feelings to His Majesty when I return to the capital. I am sure the emperor will be happy to learn of King Wu¡¯s filial piety.¡±

    The Great Zhou Dynasty was governed by filial piety. Everyone, from the high officials down to themoners, would use various methods to express their filial piety towards their parents, and it was truly hard to distinguish whether they really meant what they said.

    Regardless of their true intentions, however, no one would ever try to expose another, but would show their support instead, to avoid bing targets of public criticism themselves.

    Liu Yao was less than pleased by thisment. ¡°The Zhou Dynasty has its ownws. Kings are to leave the capital and hold positions in vassal states. The crown prince is in the capital supporting the emperor. There is no need for King Wu to feel troubled.¡±

    What if the emperor really did recall him to the capital in a moment of weakness? King Qi was already enough of a headache! The situation facing the crown prince would be even more difficult if another king¡ªKing Wu¡ªjoined the fray!

    King Wu apologized at once. ¡°This humble one has misspoke. My affection for my father and mother has made me momentarily forget the rules of the court. I hope the general does not take offense.¡±

    King Liang quickly stepped in to resolve the dispute. ¡°We were just discussing family. Why the need to get so serious all of a sudden? We¡¯re here to have a good time! Let¡¯s not discuss other matters.¡±

    King Wu¡¯s humility led Liu Yao to feel somewhat embarrassed. King Wu was the host after all. He took the opportunity to say, ¡°What King Liang says is correct. I was the one who was too inflexible.¡±

    Yun Yuqing gave her husband a worried look. She was the only one who had seen the sh of resentment in his eyes.

    ...

    Meanwhile, in the guest courtyard, Huang Huihong was conducting a personal examination of the courtyard with his subordinates. He¡¯d refrained from doing it earlier out of consideration for King Wu, but he had to inspect it now. It would spell trouble if there were any secret mechanisms or hidden pathways lying around unnoticed.

    Zu An and Zheng Dan were removed from their carriage and ced inside the courtyard, together with Sang Hong and Sang Qian. They all sat together, eyeing each other awkwardly.

    ¡°Hey, Zu brat, did you do anything to Dan¡¯er?¡± Sang Qian¡¯s eyes were about to pop out.

    ¡°That¡¯s something you should ask Miss Zheng.¡± Zu An smiled. ¡°If you ask me, I will only say that I did everything that should and shouldn¡¯t have been done. I really don¡¯t mind going into the details if you want to listen.¡±

    ¡°Fuck you!¡± Sang Qian was furious. He was about to pounce on Zu An when an embroidered envoy pressed him back into a seat.

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for 999 Rage points!

    Zheng Dan looked at Zu An in annoyance. ¡°Can you not say such irresponsible things?!¡±

    She knew that Zu An wouldn¡¯t really tell Sang Qian, and was just using this chance to anger him. However, this really left her in quite a tight spot!

    Zu An shrugged.

    Sang Hong coughed and said, ¡°Zu An, I¡¯m impressed that you informed the world about the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra. Even though it seems as though you brought more danger upon yourself, you actually managed to turn the inevitable death facing you into a situation of potential survival.¡±

    He changed the topic on purpose to prevent his son from being led by the nose.

    ¡°Mister Sang is too kind with your praise. I didn¡¯t think about it that much, I just did what I felt like. That¡¯s just the sort of person I am! If someone makes me feel bad, I¡¯ll make sure they don¡¯t have it easy either.¡± Zu An sped his fist towards him. ¡°Speaking of which, I haven¡¯t yet thanked you for your help previously.¡±

    He had only made it out of the Sang n that time because Sang Hong had stepped in to hold off King Liang.

    Sang Hong gave the embroidered envoy guarding them a look, then said with a smile, ¡°That¡¯s definitely not something I will dare im to have done. My offenses are already severe enough. I do not want to add more sins to my name.¡±

    Zu An smiled as well. ¡°I fully understand, but I¡¯ll still keep this favor in mind. I will return it if there is a chance.¡±

    ¡°If I had known that you were so capable, I would never have made an enemy of the Chu n,¡± Sang Hong said with a sigh.

    Zu An¡¯s face darkened. ¡°You might have decided to eliminate me as quickly as possible instead.¡±

    Sang Hongughed. ¡°Indeed, indeed! This little brother really understands how I think.¡±

    Sang Qian gave a derisive snort. He didn¡¯t like seeing his father get along with Zu An at all.

    ¡°There¡¯s one thing I am quite confused about, however. From what I understand about you, you would never do anything to endanger yourself. What do you n to do now?¡± Sang Hong couldn¡¯t help but ask.

    Zu An yawned and said, ¡°Mister Sang makes me sound like some slick old fox. My mind isn¡¯t soplicated.¡±

    Sang Hong wasn¡¯t surprised by his unwillingness to reply. ¡°In that case, this old one can only wait and see what kind of shocking ns this little brother has.¡±

    ¡°Stop chatting! Throw them into the rooms.¡± Huang Huihong hadpleted his inspection by this time. He noticed how the prisoners were chatting pleasantly amongst themselves, and he was worried that they might end up hatching some sort of scheme.

    Fortunately, there were many rooms avable, so they were each escorted into their own room.

    ...

    Meanwhile, King Wu continued to propose toasts with King Liang and Liu Yao, while he sent a voice transmission to his wife. ¡°From here on out, everything will depend on you. You mustplete the mission I¡¯ve entrusted you with.¡±

 Chapter 442: The Demon Race

    <h4>Chapter 442: The Demon Race</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Yun Yuqing felt her mind drift, and the scene of the conversation she¡¯d had with her husband in their room appeared in her mind:

    ¡°The contingent escorting the criminal will definitely pass by our North Order City. We cannot miss such a good chance.¡± King Wu¡¯s face bore no trace of its usual friendliness. Instead, his expression was one of extreme excitement.

    Yun Yuqing was confused. ¡°Isn¡¯t our current life considered quite good? Why must we take such a big risk?¡±

    King Wu snorted coldly. ¡°Do you think I like living in this shitty North Order City, in the middle of nowhere? Isn¡¯t this all because I was born of a concubine?! My mother isn¡¯t the empress, so I could never be the crown prince. Instead, I was thrown out of the capital and made to serve here. I was originally willing to ept my fate, but I never anticipated such a great opportunity!

    ¡°It seems like the heavens have noticed my sincerity, and granted me this blessing! There really is a time and ce for everything! I¡¯veid low all this time precisely for this day!

    ¡°With a legendary technique like the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra that grants eternal life, I can close the distance between myself and the crown prince! This is a world where the strongest rule, after all!¡±

    ...

    Noticing the sudden excitement in her usually quiet husband, Yun Yuqing couldn¡¯t help but remind him, ¡°The Phoenix Nirvana Sutra is but a legend¡ªsomething that has never been sessfully cultivated for thousands of years. It might not be that incredible after all. Look, even this Zu An was captured, despite having such an amazing technique! This only proves that this technique isn¡¯t as great as the rumors make it out to be.¡±

    King Wu roared withughter. ¡°From our sources, Zu An was just a good-for-nothing, living on the streets, yet he seemed to have be apletely different person in just a few months. Isn¡¯t this concrete proof of the wonders of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra? Even a piece of trash could be transformed into a genius! With my aptitude and cultivation, I¡¯ll surely be even more formidable.

    ¡°There is another matter that you might not know of as well. A few decades ago, my father, the emperor, secretly sent out powerful experts led by his trusted eunuchs on an exploration into unknownnds. The goal of this expedition was to locate the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra! Back then, everyone thought that the entire group had been wiped out, and that the legendary secret manual didn¡¯t exist. However, from more recent intelligence, it appears that those men seeded in finding the manual, but the eunuch in charge let greed take over, and killed all of hispanions. He then hid within the Chu n in Brightmoon City, and ended up helping Zu An.¡±

    Yun Yuqing¡¯s beautiful brows drew together slightly. ¡°Doesn¡¯t this mean that the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra is something the emperor absolutely must have? Aren¡¯t you provoking him by interfering?¡±

    ¡°Seizing it for ourselves directly is just begging for our own doom.¡± King Wu gave his wife a meaningful look. ¡°That¡¯s why I need your help.¡±

    ¡°Me?¡± Yun Yuqing was confused.

    King Wu snorted. ¡°Have you already forgotten that you are part of the demon race, after living in the human world for so long?¡±

    ¡°The demon race...¡± Hearing those words made Yun Yuqing¡¯s beautiful face turn pale.

    King Wu walked over to the side of the bed with his hands behind his back. ¡°Even though our human race prevailed after centuries of war, I have to acknowledge the strengths of the various other races.

    ¡°For example, the dark elves naturally excel in assassination, while your demon race possesses extreme physical beauty, and the ability to charm others.

    ¡°With your abilities, not only will you be able to snare the inexperienced Zu An, even the resolve of father¡¯s Embroidered Envoy would falter if they are caught off-guard. That is why you are the one who is most suitable for this task.¡±

    Yun Yuqing was clearly distressed. ¡°If it hadn¡¯t been because of the war, no one of the demon race would have willingly used our appearances to charm others.¡±

    King Wu¡¯s tone also softened when he saw her sorrowful appearance. ¡°Madam, I have no choice either! I am but an abandoned king. Many officials show me little to no respect, even in North Order City. That is why I am helpless even if I want to do something about it. However, if I can rise to the throne, everything will be different! The world¡¯s resources will be at my disposal! It¡¯ll be much easier for me to help your nsmen out of their distress, and free them from very, which is controlled by the nobles.¡±

    Yun Yuqing bit her lip, her expression flickering several times. ¡°Okay, I can try. But I know how much humans care about chastity. If I try to seduce him, even if nothing happens, there is no way for me to prove that I remain pure. Will you turn your back on me because of this?¡±

    King Wuughed and said, ¡°Of course not! I will never do that, even if something does happen. I¡¯ll instead be extremely happy.¡±

    ¡°Happy?¡± Yun Yuqing was momentarily stunned.

    King Wu had unintentionally exposed one of his peculiar interests, so he immediately corrected himself. ¡°What I am trying to say is that I trust you a hundred percent. Moreover, given the emotions we share, no matter what happens, I will stand by you unconditionally. I will love you, dote on you, and trust you. Do you have such little trust in our affection for each other?¡±

    ¡°You beautiful man, I love you so much!¡± Yun Yuqing¡¯s gloominess was dispelled immediately, reced by a beaming smile. She nestled gently against him.

    There was a darkness hidden behind King Wu¡¯s smile. He had a weird fetish that no one else in the world would be able to understand.

    However, he always felt a mysterious sense of stimtion and expectation whenever he thought of it.

    Of course, his fetish didn¡¯t cloud his rationality. His wife was so beautiful and loved him so much. That was why he would always feel a powerful sense of guilt whenever this thought emerged.

    Unfortunately, Yun Yuqing didn¡¯t know about this side of her husband. She only wanted toplete her task properly, and help share some of her husband¡¯s worries. Completing this mission might even help her nsmen out of their distress, which motivated her even further.

    She excused herself from King Liang and the others. ¡°Great uncles, please enjoy yourselves. This humble one isn¡¯t feeling too well, so I will have to take my leave for now.¡±

    ¡°Madam, please go ahead and get some rest.¡± King Liang and Liu Yao had been constantly sneaking looks at this devastatingly beautiful woman. They both seemed more than a little disappointed when they heard that she was leaving.

    But they also knew that it was unreasonable to make her keep thempany while they were drinking, and so they didn¡¯t urge her to stay.

    After leaving the banquet hall, Yun Yuqing didn¡¯t return to her residence, but called over some maids instead. They brought with them some food that had been prepared beforehand, and went to the courtyard where the prisoners were kept.

    ¡°Halt!¡± They made no attempt to conceal themselves, so Huang Huihong¡¯s subordinates quickly noticed them.

    Yun Yuqing smiled. ¡°You all have worked hard. We have prepared this food for everyone. I¡¯ve brought it over for all of you.¡±

    These guards were immediately captivated by her smile. Their tone also softened considerably. ¡°I... I¡¯ll let Commander Huang know immediately.¡±

    Huang Huihong rushed over when he received the news. He was shocked when he saw her, but he quickly greeted her. ¡°Why did Madam personally deliver the food?¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Yun Yuqing¡¯s smile was dazzling. ¡°I was worried that something might happen along the way, especially given the dark elf¡¯s assassination attempt earlier. If anything happened, the me would fall on our manor! That is why I decided to deliver this personally.¡±

    ¡°Madam is too kind.¡± Even Huang Huihong felt his heart beating more quickly as he took in her enchanting appearance. He subconsciously lowered his head, not daring to look at her face-to-face.

    Ever since he¡¯d been chosen to serve in the Embroidered Envoy, he¡¯d let heart turn as hard as a rock. Right now, however, for some strange reason, he felt like a youth who was experiencing the first awakening of love.

    ¡°Why are all of you standing around? Quickly, help them bring the food in!¡± He immediately berated his subordinates to hide his own embarrassment.

    Yun Yuqing smiled. ¡°There¡¯s no need. I¡¯ll just have my maids bring it in, so that none of you have to leave your posts.¡±

    ¡°This...¡± Huang Huihong hesitated. This went against the rules. Right now, besides themselves, only King Liang and Liu Yao were allowed inside.

    However, as he gazed upon Yun Yuqing¡¯s beautiful smile, he found it hard to refuse. What she said made some sense as well. With that, he let them inside.

    Besides, it¡¯s just the pretty and gentle Madam Wu, along with several delicate maids. It should be fine, right?

 Chapter 443: A Demonic Eye

    <h4>Chapter 443: A Demonic Eye</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Distribute the food among the soldiers,¡± Yun Yuqing ordered the maids after they entered the courtyard.

    In a nearby room, Sang Qian sighed. Even her voice was so beautiful... His body was about to go weak just from hearing her voice! Sigh, how lucky her husband must be, to be able to touch her soft body whenever he wants to, and hear her warm words of love.

    Meanwhile, in the next room over, Sang Hong was much calmer than his son, who was panting heavily. Madam Wu was indeed beautiful, but she wasn¡¯t as tempting to someone of his age and mental fortitude.

    Instead, something else piqued his curiosity. The Wu Manor seemed a little too enthusiastic about all of this. It would have been enough for some servants to bring over the food. Why did Madam Qi have toe personally? It¡¯s all a little strange...

    The most chilled out person was none other than Zu An. He was reclining on his bed, watching Madam Wu give her maids instructions. He clicked his tongue. The woman¡¯s waist really was slim!

    Even though she dressed rather conservatively, it did nothing to hide her enchanting curves. Together with that devastatingly beautiful face and her pure and sacred aura, it was no wonder all those guards werepletely captivated.

    Something urred to Madam Wu, and she said to Huang Huihong, ¡°Should those prisoners eat something too? Their fates are already miserable enough; we shouldn¡¯t let them starve as well. I¡¯ve had my servants prepare some things for them too.¡±

    Huang Huihong sighed. ¡°Madam really is beautiful and kind.¡±

    He gestured with his eyes, and then his subordinates took the food that had been brought by the maids. It was still best if the criminals didn¡¯t interact with outsiders.

    His subordinates brought out a silver needle to test the food. When they detected no poison, they rxed a little more.

    Madam Wu pretended not to have noticed at all. She only asked with a smile, ¡°Hm? Why are some of the soldiers not eating? Is the food not to their liking? Should I have the kitchen prepare something else?¡±

    ¡°There is no need,¡± Huang Huihong said, immediately offering an exnation. ¡°It¡¯s a rule that we follow. We won¡¯t all eat the same food at the same time as a precaution, so that we won¡¯t all be affected if there is some trick involved.¡±

    He couldn¡¯t help but add awkwardly, ¡°Please forgive us, madam. It isn¡¯t that we suspect you¡ªrather, it¡¯s just one of our irond rules.¡±

    ¡°I understand. I was the one who was being rude.¡± Madam Wu smiled. ¡°No wonder the Embroidered Envoy has always been held up as the elite of the elites.¡±

    ¡°Madam is too kind with your praise.¡± Even though Huang Huihong and the others were wearing masks, their voices still betrayed how ecstatic they were.

    As the old saying goes, a beautiful view can make one forget about their hunger. The soldiers couldn¡¯t help but feast their eyes on the stunning beauty in their presence.

    At the same time, they were incredibly envious of Huang Huihong. Theirmander was able to interact with her so closely!

    Huang Huihong¡¯s heart was pounding. The elegant fragrance that she gave off was really making him go crazy.

    ¡°Hm?¡±

    Huang Huihong finally realized something was amiss. Every single embroidered envoy went through strict training, and extremely pretty girls were used to forge their immunity towards the temptations of the opposite sex. From time to time, girls were used as honey traps to seduce them. If any of them fell prey, they would immediately be stripped of their position.

    Every one of the Embroidered Envoy was a hardened veteran. He was even amander himself, so his willpower should have been much higher than an ordinary soldier of the Embroidered Envoy.

    Madam Wu was extremely pretty, almost like a goddess, but there was no reason for him to feel this way.

    At that moment, there came the sound of heavy, muffled thuds, and several soldiers fell to the ground.

    ¡°Enemy attack!¡± A chill ran through Huang Huihong¡¯s body. He quickly took out his Soul-reaping Chains. At the same time, he raised his other hand, preparing to sound the rm and contact King Liang and the others.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Without warning, a pair of purple eyes suddenly swam into view.

    He had never seen such beautiful eyes before. They vaguely resembled Madam Wu¡¯s, but instead of Madam Wu¡¯s pure and sacred aura, these eyes seemed to possess an aura of indescribable seduction.

    It wasn¡¯t just him. Everyone else could see these beautiful eyes as well.

    Madam Wu and her maids seemed to havepletely vanished from their view. The only thing remaining were those purple eyes, both stunning and dangerous.

    Whirlpools seemed to form within the depths of those eyes. All of those affected suddenly lost their reason, and couldn¡¯t help but be sucked in.

    ¡°A member of the demon race!¡± Huang Huihong was more experienced than the rest of the soldiers here. He realized what was going on right away, but it was already toote. His body had stopped obeying himpletely. His strugglested a moment longer than the others, and then his vision faded into darkness.

    Zu An also felt his mind shudder. He¡¯d just been admiring Madam Wu¡¯s figure a second ago.

    He never expected that the beauty before him would suddenly disappear, to be reced by those piercing eyes.

    He also felt as though he was about to sink into darkness. Suddenly, the Hundredwarble imprint within his body lit up, and a strange bird took form beside his ear.

    An invisible sound wave rippled outwards. Zu An trembled, and then thoserge purple eyes disappeared, and everything returned to normal.

    No¡ªeverything hadn¡¯t, in fact, returned to normal. Huang Huihong and the rest of his Embroidered Envoy were still staring nkly ahead, as if they couldn¡¯t see anyone around them.

    Madam Wu strolled over. Her gorgeous figure and face made her seem like a goddess that had descended from above, untainted by everything around her.

    A faint smile yed across her red lips. She had lost her pure and sacred aura, however. Instead, a powerful feeling of sensual seduction radiated from her entire being.

    ¡°Holy shit, this is surely a perfect union of angel and devil.¡± Zu An ridiculed her inwardly. This woman¡¯s style changed way too quickly!

    He also noticed that her eyes had turned purple. Those purple eyes he¡¯d seen a moment ago were probably hers.

    ¡°I¡¯m done for, I¡¯m done for...¡± Zu An gulped. This woman was clearly after the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra! The reason he¡¯d informed the world about the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra was to bnce out the pressure that the emperor had been putting on him.

    Who would''ve thought that Huang Huihong¡¯s men would be so unreliable! They had been done in too quickly!

    This woman seemed to have used some kind of witchcraft to deal with all of the guards. Forget about his ki being sealed¡ªhe couldn¡¯t beat her even if he was at his peak! What was he supposed to do?

    Madam Wu was still walking in his direction. She suddenly cried out in surprise. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that Lord Sang is quite a resourceful person, and it has been proven to be true. Despite your cultivation being sealed, you still managed to evade my Demonic Eye.¡±

    Sang Hong sighed, his eyes still closed. ¡°Who could have expected that I would still be unable to escape your detection? The pure and holy Madam Wu is actually a member of the demon race! The fact that I managed to unravel this secret before I passed on is already worth it.¡±

    Madam Wu smiled sweetly. ¡°Does Lord Sang believe that I will silence you?¡±

    Sang Hong¡¯s voice was cold. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re not going to? Or are you saying that you¡¯re going to leave me alive and risk having your identity as a demon exposed?¡±

    There was something else that he wasn¡¯t saying. Those maids of hers were likely part of the demon race as well. There was no way King Wu would be blind to the fact that there were so many of the demon race within his manor.

    The revtion of this wouldpletely blow apart his low profile. Colluding with the demon race was just too big of a matter!

    Madam Wu smiled. ¡°Indeed, there is no way I would let you go unharmed. However, you are a criminal that has severely offended the court, and it would be quite troublesome if something happened to you here. That¡¯s why I know a better way of dealing with you.¡±

    She had already entered Sang Hong¡¯s room. Her fine fingers rested against his forehead, then her beautiful eyes erupted with a purple brilliance. Sang Hong grunted, then fainted.

    ¡°Sleep well. When you wake up, you will have forgotten everything that has just happened.¡± Madam Wu said this as she headed towards Zu An¡¯s room. ¡°Next, it¡¯s our little cutie¡¯s turn.¡±

 Chapter 444: Exposed

    <h4>Chapter 444: Exposed</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Seeing Yun Yuqing walking ever closer with a smile on her face, Zu An¡¯s panic grew exponentially. How was he supposed to deal with this situation?

    His mind moved at warp speed. Unfortunately, the door was pushed open before he could think of a solution.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    He waspletely helpless. He could only do his best to remain expressionless, just like Huang Huihong and the others outside.

    Those fellows attacked by bears in the wild had managed to somehow get out alive by ying dead. His best option was to pretend to be under the Demonic Eye¡¯s control.

    Yun Yuqing closed the door behind her. She then sized up the man in front of her with great interest.

    This guy had been a good-for-nothing living on the streets just a few months ago, and yet he¡¯d ended up taking the number one beauty of Brightmoon City as his wife. He even managed to make quite a name for himself.

    Many highly-rated experts failed to even make a name for themselves in this world, yet this fellow, despite being at the fourth or fifth rank, had already aplished it.

    She walked up to Zu An, then slowly circled around him, examining him curiously.

    ¡°You don¡¯t look half-bad. No wonder you caught the attention of Chu First Miss. However, you really are quite daring. You are already a criminal, yet you still dare to make fun of me in King Wu¡¯s territory.¡± Yun Yuqing let out a snort. His earlier statement clearly hadn¡¯t escaped her ears.

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Yuqing for 233 Rage points!

    Zu An groaned when he heard her words. This woman really knew how to bear a grudge! So much time has already passed! Why do you still remember that?

    However, he still had to give her credit for her stunning beauty. Now that she was up close, he could admire her in even greater detail. He couldn''t pick out a single w in her. Her fine, supple skin could steal the heart of any man.

    The most fatal part of her was that sweet fragrance that seemed to linger around her body. It wasn¡¯t something that could be bought, and it made men go absolutely wild.

    He remembered Sang Hong saying that this woman was a member of the demon race. Are all demon race women this pretty? It¡¯s quite different from what I¡¯m used to.

    ¡°Oh my, I almost forgot what I actually came here for.¡± Yun Yuqing pped her own forehead in a cutesy manner, acting as though she had suddenly remembered something. Of course, after seeing how she had toyed with so many experts, Zu An couldn¡¯t associate her with the word ¡®cute¡¯ at all.

    Yun Yuqing sat down casually in front of him. Her fine fingers gently fiddled with the teacup in her hand. ¡°Do you really have the ¡®Phoenix Nirvana Sutra¡¯?¡±

    This was a technique that only existed in legend. She had never heard of anyone sessfully cultivating it before. She was worried that this was just a ploy of the emperor¡¯s, so she had to confirm it.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Zu An said in a dull voice.

    Yun Yuqing¡¯s eyes lit up. However, she still had more doubts. She continued, ¡°How did an ordinary person like you obtain such a miraculous technique?¡±

    ¡°The gardener in the Chu Estate, Old Mi, was a eunuch who had escaped from his service in the imperial pce. He was the one in charge of finding the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra,¡± Zu An replied. Since the emperor already knew that he had the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, it would not be long before the events surrounding it leaked out as well. There was no point in concealing all this.

    Yun Yuqing nodded. It seemed as though the conclusion she and King Wu had reached was more or less correct. ¡°Old Mi is unrted to you in every way. Why would he pass on something so precious to an outsider?¡±

    This was what confused her the most.

    ¡°He was an eunuch, and wanted to find a vessel to possess. Since I was handsome and suitable, he chose me,¡± replied Zu An.

    ¡°He thought you were handsome?¡± Yun Yuqing was stunned for a moment, then she burst outughing. Herughter was even more pleasant than the song of an oriole. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that you were quite the narcissist, but I never expected that you could still say such things when in this state!¡±

    Zu An resisted his urge to react.

    ¡°All right, all right.¡± Yun Yuqing quickly stoppedughing. ¡°Then why don¡¯t you tell me more about this Phoenix Nirvana Sutra?¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡± Zu An began to recite a passage of scripture in a slow and wooden manner. ¡°Jade shatters under the cries of the phoenix, flowers that were wilting are now full of cheer. Everything before the twelve gates thaw, twenty-three wisps leave the emperor in awe...¡±

    He had already prepared for such a situation. In years gone by, Huang Rong had deceived Ouyang Feng using a ¡®Nine Yin Sutra¡¯ that was seventy percent truth. He only needed to do the same thing here.[1]

    Only by telling most of the truth would you be able to deceive a true expert. Moreover, if one modified the key areas, not only would these experts not be able to sessfully cultivate the technique, they might even slip into madness.

    Yun Yuqing nodded as she listened to him. When he finished, a pensive expression appeared on her face. ¡°These chants are indeed profound and mysterious. You might have been able to deceive someone else. Unfortunately, you encountered me.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    Despite his sudden shock, he quickly calmed himself. He was worried that she was deliberately provoking him, so he continued to show no response, maintaining his stupefied act.

    Yun Yuqing chuckled at his appearance. ¡°Your ability to stay calm is admirable. Unfortunately, you aren¡¯t familiar with the characteristics of the Demonic Eye.¡±

    Yun Yuqing slowly stood up. She smoothed out her dress, as though she was always mindful of her appearance no matter where she went. ¡°The Demonic Eye can influence one¡¯s mind, but it cannotpletely control it. I need to jump through some hoops in order to reach my objective.

    ¡°For example, if I were to order someone to kill themselves using my Demonic Eye, this would go against human instinct, and so they would definitely resist. However, I can instruct them to walk to the edge of a cliff, and then tell them to jump forward. Jumping forward is an extremely simple task, so that person wouldn¡¯t resist. He would respect this order, and I would get what I want.

    ¡°For you, the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra is the most important thing to you, and it isn¡¯t too much of an exaggeration to consider it to be your very life. How could you possibly show no resistance when revealing it?¡±

    She looked at him with herrge, beautiful eyes, and Zu An knew that he had been exposed. He sighed. ¡°Madam really is sharp. I am truly impressed.¡±

    ¡°To be honest, I admire you more. All of those experts outside have been controlled by my Demonic Eye. Your cultivation was clearly sealed, yet you could still withstand my Demonic Eye. How did you achieve this?¡± Yun Yuqing¡¯s mouth was slightly open, betraying her stunned surprise.

    Zu An smiled. ¡°Of course it¡¯s because of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra.¡±

    He could only rely on this as his bargaining chip. The more he touted the strength of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, the better.

    ¡°That was what I suspected as well.¡± Yun Yuqing smiled. The gentle and soft expression tugging at the corners of her lips was enough to make even the toughest hearts melt. ¡°Let¡¯s talk about the most important thing, then. What will it take for you to hand over the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra willingly?¡±

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s a question I should be asking you. Just what can you even offer that would be worth the exchange for me?¡±

    Yun Yuqing¡¯s expression turned cold. ¡°It seems you still do not understand your current situation. You are but a prisoner right now, and your cultivation is sealed as well. Even if you were at your peak, it would still be too easy for me to kill you. What right do you have to demand anything of me?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression remained calm. ¡°Madam, please don''t kid yourself. How could you possibly dare to kill me? Everyone knows that I am in the Wu Manor right now. If I¡¯m killed here, then both you and King Wu are done for. The emperor will be utterly furious. Given his cultivation, how easy would it be for him to kill the two of you?¡±

    He nced towards Huang Huihong and the others as he spoke. ¡°Didn¡¯t you leave all of them alive because you wanted a way around this?¡±

    He¡¯d only just figured out all of this too. His panicking heart gradually calmed down.

    Yun Yuqing gave him a look of surprise. ¡°I really have a new level of respect for you. Not only were you able to continue your act through all of that, you were able to think so meticulously. No wonder those who have obtained the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra be the targets of everyone¡¯s envy!¡±

    ¡°Being praised by a great beauty like Madam makes me feel strangely good.¡± Zu An looked quite pleased. ¡°Do you have anything flowery left to say? Please, don¡¯t stop.¡±

    Yun Yuqing narrowed her eyes.

    However, she quickly smiled again and said, ¡°So? What do you think about me? Am I pretty?¡±

    1. Huang Rong and Ouyang Feng are characters in The Legend of the Condor Heroes.

 Chapter 445: An Impossible Condition

    <h4>Chapter 445: An Impossible Condition</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An¡¯s eyebrows slowly lifted as he examined the beauty in front of him without restraint. ¡°Those who ask this sort of question usually resort to seduction immediately afterwards. I really hope you don¡¯t disappoint me.¡±

    Yun Yuqing was taken aback. ¡°You really are quite special. You¡¯re different from most men.¡±

    Zu Anughed. ¡°There are many ways in which I am different from most men. Please feel free to try me!¡±

    From the aggressiveness in his eye, Yun Yuqing knew that he was trying to provoke her. However, she did not grow enraged, but smiled sweetly instead. ¡°You still haven¡¯t replied to my question,¡± she said?

    ¡°Are you pretty?¡± Zu Anughed when he recalled her question. ¡°Why does Madam ask a question you already know the answer to? If Madam isn¡¯t beautiful, then I fear that there are no beautiful people in this entire world.¡±

    ¡°I wonder, then, where do I rank in your mind?¡± A flicker of radiance rippled across Yun Yuqing¡¯s eyes.

    Zu An secretly put up his guard. Surely she was chatting with him like this to get him to rx, and then seize that opportunity to control him, right?

    With that in mind, he said nonchntly, ¡°If I had to guess, I¡¯d put you somewhere in the top ten.¡±

    ¡°Top ten?¡± Even though she knew that he was saying this on purpose, his reply still rubbed her the wrong way. ¡°It seems that you¡¯ve encountered your fair share of beauties despite your young age. I wonder who the young master thinks is prettier than me?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Yuqing for 444 Rage points!

    Zu An sneered inwardly. Hah! Women!

    Most of the girls he¡¯d interacted with were extremely petty about this.

    He coughed lightly and said, ¡°The first is obviously my wife.¡±

    Yun Yuqing nodded. ¡°First miss Chu is known as Brightmoon City¡¯s number one beauty. She is also your wife. Taken together, it¡¯s understandable that she would be number one. Then what about the others?¡±

    ¡°Number two is the previous number one beauty from the capital, Yu Yanluo. You¡¯re still a little inferiorpared to her,¡± said Zu An.

    ¡°You know Yu Yanluo?¡± Yun Yuqing was incredulous.

    ¡°Know her? It goes way beyond that¡ªI even saved her life once. She said she was going to pay me back, but she vanished. I¡¯m honestly a bit pissed off about that,¡± Zu An said angrily. Yu Yanluo had given him a nk check back then, but he hadn¡¯t seen any sign of her after all these months.

    ¡°Maybe she had something else to attend to.¡± Yun Yuqing¡¯s eyes flickered with radiance. She said with a giggle, ¡°Miss Yu was incredibly popr back in the capital, so I can ept her being ranked in front of me. Anyone else?¡±

    ¡°Naturally, the third most beautiful is Pei Mianman.¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°The Pei n¡¯s first miss? I¡¯ve heard a bit about her, but I didn¡¯t expect her to be that pretty. I need to find a chance to meet with her in the future.¡± Even though this was what Yun Yuqing said, she was still unconvinced.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, there¡¯s no way you canpare to her.¡± Zu An¡¯s eyesnded on her chest. ¡°Your figure isn¡¯t bad, but it¡¯s still quiteckingpared to hers.¡±

    Yun Yuqing gritted her teeth silently.

    She obviously knew what he was implying! This guy really was a scoundrel!

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Yuqing for 514 Rage points!

    Seeing that this was working, Zu An continued, ¡°The fourth is my Brightmoon Academy¡¯s Principal Jiang. She gives off such a mature aura, and her long legs, d in those stockings she always wears, is not something Madam canpare to. Of course, if Madam wants to prove me wrong, you can show me your legs, and I will render an impartial judgment.¡±

    Yun Yuqing was shell-shocked.

    The way he was going on and on so freely was truly driving her crazy.

    Just what kind of lunatic was he? Was he so unaware of the situation he was in? Was he really going to list off these beauties one by one?

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Yuqing for 666 Rage points!

    ¡°It seems as though Madam isn¡¯t confident inparing herself to these others anymore, so I¡¯ll just continue on to the next one. The fifth is of course everyone¡¯s idol in the academy, Teacher Shang Liuyu. She is beautiful, kind, and she is proficient in music. She truly gives off an otherworldly charm, as though she really doesn¡¯t care about the things of the material world. It¡¯s very different from the way Madam pretends to behave. She is truly like a goddess trapped in the vile world of men. Sigh, I thought we shared a close rtionship, but I haven¡¯t seen a single sign of her ever since this disaster befell me. Don¡¯t you think she¡¯s being cold?¡± Zu An got quite worked up as he spoke.

    Yun Yuqing was about to blow her top.

    ¡°As for the sixth one, that¡¯s of course¡ª¡± Zu An was cut off before he could finish.

    ¡°Enough!¡± Yun Yuqing¡¯s face darkened. She had only nned to tease him a little¡ªshe never expected him to truly go on and on about all the girls he thought were more beautiful than her! The more she listened, the angrier she had be.

    Zu An curled his lips. Is that all? I didn¡¯t even bring out my trump card big sis empress yet. Compared to her, you all are nothing.

    He did his best to tter her, but Mi Li didn¡¯t respond at all. It looks like this woman really did go to sleep.

    ¡°I almost fell for your schemes. You wanted to drag things out to buy some time for King Liang and the others toe back, didn¡¯t you?¡± Yun Yuqing snorted. ¡°I advise you to give up on that thought. King Wu is holding them up on his side. There is no way they wille here any time soon.¡±

    Zu An sighed in his heart. This woman really was careful! However, his smile remained stered on his face. ¡°What is Madam saying? Why would I rather be with those disgusting old men than with your gorgeous self?¡±

    ¡°Disgusting old men?¡± Yu Yuqing was initially stunned by this, but she quickly burst outughing. ¡°Indeed, they are indeed two disgusting old men.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Did they really believe that she hadn¡¯t noticed all the sneaky looks that they had directed towards her? Hmph, those two really are disgusting.

    She was more annoyed with Liu Yao than the other, because he had opposed King Wu at every turn. She quickly collected herself and looked at Zu An. ¡°Young master, you¡¯re putting me in a difficult spot. I can¡¯t kill you, and I can¡¯t bear to hurt you. What do you think we should do, then?¡±

    ¡°Madam can try to seduce me. I¡¯m impervious to everything else, but I¡¯m really weak to honey traps!¡± Zu An said with a serious voice.

    Yun Yuqing stared at him nkly for a second.

    ¡°I have eighteen maids with me, and all of them are the most beautifuldies from the demon race.¡± She pointed outside the window. ¡°If you give me what I want, then you can choose whoever you want outside. Of course, if you have the ability, you can do what you want with all of them.¡±

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t want to. All of them added together cannotpare to one of Madam¡¯s fingers.¡±

    ¡°You want me?¡± Yun Yuqing had an ambiguous smile on her face, but a dangerous glint shed across her eyes. ¡°Didn¡¯t you just say that I was inferior to all those other girls you know?¡±

    ¡°I always rate the ones I am closer to more highly. Feel free to change my mind, Madam.¡± Zu An went all out as well. He wasn¡¯t going to be killed, since the emperor wanted him alive, and they couldn¡¯t hurt him, since that might damage his intelligence. What did he have to be scared of?

    ¡°You really are quite daring. If I ever encountered anyone who dared to offend me like this, King Wu would have immediately had them chopped up and fed to the dogs,¡± Yun Yuqing said coldly.

    Zu Anughed. ¡°Aren¡¯t you here at King Wu¡¯s prodding, though? I wonder if he told you to seduce me as well.¡±

    Yun Yuqing¡¯s beautiful brows drew together in a frown. It seemed like he¡¯d hit the nail on the head.

    Zu An continued, ¡°I believe Madam is also aware that I am already a dead man once I reach the capital. In that case, I might as well make the most of my current situation.¡±

    Yun Yuqing¡¯s expression eased a little. ¡°I¡¯m d the young master is willing to talk. That makes things easier. We actuallye with great sincerity. If the young master wants gems, gold, weapons, or secret manuals, as long as we are able, we will satisfy your desire.¡±

    Compared to the legendary Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, it would be worth it even if King Wu emptied the entire manor.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I already state what I wanted?¡± Zu An looked straight at her. ¡°I¡¯m going to die anyway, so what good would material possessions be? If I can feel Madam¡¯s warmth, I would be willing to leave this world with no regrets.¡±

    He wasn¡¯t actually nning to recite the manual for them, so he proposed a condition that neither King Wu or Madam Wu would be willing to ept.

    Unexpectedly, Yun Yuqing¡¯s expression flickered several times, and then she nodded her head. Her voice grew warm. ¡°Very well!¡±

 Chapter 446: Guest Becomes the Host

    <h4>Chapter 446: Guest Bes the Host</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Shock was written all over Zu An¡¯s face.

    Madam, I don¡¯t even know what to say...

    He merely wanted to throw out something that would be impossible for her to ept, and then stall for more time while they argued back and forth. Who would¡¯ve thought that she would straight up agree to it?

    Just as he was about to speak, purple light erupted from the other party¡¯s eyes.

    It was as if he had sunk into a purple world. Nothing else existed for him anymore, apart from this sinister purple.

    Soon, he found that his body was no longer under his control. Then, even his consciousness became blurry.

    The instant before hepletely lost consciousness, the Hundredwarble imprint within him suddenly shone again.

    A bright red bird emerged, flying around the purple world as if angry at being disturbed. Wherever its red figure flew to, the purple haze there would gradually scatter.

    Soon, the purple world waspletely split in two by Hundredwarble, and Zu An slowly began to regain his consciousness.

    A groan came from beside him. Yun Yuqing¡¯s face was pale, and a streak of blood flowed out from the corner of her lips. She had clearly been injured by this interaction.

    The purple color in her eyes swam chaotically, and quickly dispersed. Unfortunately, she didn¡¯t notice that a faint trace of red had been mixed in with it as well.

    ¡°What was that strange red bird?¡± Yun Yuqing couldn¡¯tprehend what had happened. Even though Hundredwarble did not exist in the material world, she was still able to sense it because it shed with her spiritual world.

    Fear still lingered within Zu An¡¯s mind. Thank heavens he had been brought back to consciousness by Hundredwarble! Otherwise, he would¡¯ve been done in by this woman without even realizing it!

    ¡°That¡¯s a secret.¡± Zu An smiled. ¡°Secrets make men seem more charming.¡±

    Yun Yuqing wanted to beat her head against a wall.

    Why is this guy so freaking annoying?!

    Zu An said, ¡°Say, Madam, wasn¡¯t that a little dishonest of you? The two of us were clearly having a business discussion, but you suddenly attacked me. What¡¯s up with that?¡±

    Yun Yuqing smiled sweetly. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t know how incredibly fickle women can be! That¡¯s why you should never trust a woman so easily!¡±

    Zu An snorted. ¡°Hmph, that¡¯s none of my business. I was being utterly sincere, and yet you¡¯ve insulted me. How do you n topensate me for my mental anguish?¡±

    ¡°How about I apologize to you?¡± Yun Yuqing said, bowing gracefully. Her stance was graceful and perfect.

    Even though Zu An knew that she was making use of her beauty, he couldn¡¯t bring himself to stay angry. ¡°Forget it. I guess I can just barely bring myself to forgive you. Let¡¯s return to our discussion from before. If I am not mistaken, Madam seems to have agreed to my request?¡±

    Yun Yuqing¡¯s face went red. I only said that because I wanted to catch you off guard! Did you really think I was serious?

    ¡°Something as important as that should be discussed with my husband.¡±

    She knew that her Demonic Eye waspletely useless against him, and she might not be able to obtain what she needed from him. That was why she needed to go back and exin everything to her husband first.

    Zu An was taken aback. ¡°I don¡¯t think this is the sort of thing you talk to your husband about, is it?¡±

    Yun Yuqing had no words for him.

    What the heck even goes on inside this brat¡¯s head?!

    I was going to talk to my husband about how we should deal with you! Do you really think that this was what I wanted to discuss with him?

    ¡°Young master does not need to worry about that. My husband and I will definitely reach a conclusion.¡± Yun Yuqing got up to leave. As she reached the doorway, she suddenly turned around. ¡°Young master is a smart person. I believe you know what you should and shouldn¡¯t say, right?¡±

    Since her Demonic Eye was useless against him, there was no way for her to erase his memory. It would be troublesome if he mentioned these matters to King Liang and the others.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m really dumb. Can Madam remind me again about what I shouldn¡¯t say?¡± Zu An said with a smile.

    Yun Yuqing felt a wave of helplessness. Are you the criminal, or am I the criminal? Why do I feel like our roles have swapped?

    In the end, she still exined, ¡°You are already doomed to die once you reach the capital, but you might still be able to live if you work with us. Before our negotiations areplete, I believe that the young master wouldn¡¯t be so rash as to go about spewing nonsense.¡±

    Zu Anughed. ¡°Who is Madam trying to fool? The emperor is the world¡¯s number one expert! If he wants me dead, how can Madam possibly save me?¡±

    Yun Yuqing fell silent. What Zu An said was true. This fe really was too sharp! It was almost impossible to fool him with insincere words.

    Zu An continued, ¡°King Liang and the others will return soon, and I will definitely tell them what happened here. If you guys start fighting, who knows, I might even be able to find a chance to escape!¡±

    Yun Yuqing¡¯s face grew cold. ¡°Are you forcing me to kill you?¡±

    The temperature of the room seemed to drop a few degrees. Her killing intent was clear to Zu An. He said indifferently, ¡°If you really dare to kill me, then there wouldn¡¯t be a need for you to waste so much time talking to me.¡±

    The air in the room became heavy. Yun Yuqing¡¯s expression flickered several times.

    He continued with a smile, ¡°Of course, if Madam gives me a kiss, I might just decide not to say anything.¡±

    Yun Yuqing was speechless, unsure of what to do.

    A light knocking came from outside. One of her maids offered a quick reminder. ¡°Madam, we need to move quickly. King Liang and the others are about to return.¡±

    Zu An smiled. I should give this maid a sticker when I get the chance to. Her timing was just too good! ¡°Madam, we don¡¯t have much time left. You should think things through. Do you want to bring disaster onto the entire King Wu manor, or just give me a kiss? It¡¯s really not that hard of a choice if you ask me. It¡¯s just a kiss. What do you even have to lose?¡±

    Yun Yuqing¡¯splexion flickered between red and white. She subconsciously nced out the window and saw the signal that she had agreed on with her husband, which indicated that King Liang was about to return.

    Even though she was more or less certain that Zu An wouldn¡¯t actually tell King Liang and the others about this, the entire manor, as well as the future of the demon race, rested on this. She didn¡¯t want to take any risks.

    ¡°Close your eyes!¡± Yun Yuqing looked at him, her face red. She never imagined that she, the glorious wife of a king, would fall so low as to be toyed with by a prisoner like this.

    ¡°No way! What if you made someone else do it for you?¡± Zu An said with a smile.

    ¡°You!¡± Yun Yuqing bit her red lip. She was clearly extremely conflicted. However, time waits for no one, and she couldn¡¯t think of any better ideas. Left with no choice, she walked over to his side, got on her tiptoes, and moved her lips towards his cheek.

    A little peck like this wouldn¡¯t matter much, right? She would just keep it a secret from her husband.

    How could she have known that Zu An had already predicted this? In that instant, he suddenly turned his head so that his mouth was facing hers, instead of his cheek.

    ¡°Ah!!!¡± Yun Yuqing cried out in rm and backed away in a sh. She stared at him, covering her mouth.

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Yuqing for 999... 999... 999....

    Zu An was amused by the Rage points flowing in. Isn¡¯t it just a kiss? Do you really have to get that mad?

    Killing intent shed across Yun Yuqing¡¯s eyes. She was just about to attack, but a maid¡¯s urgent voice sounded. ¡°Madam, we have no more time! Hurry!¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    She could only give Zu An a hateful re, before disappearing through the window. There was the sound of a snap, and the guards all gradually recovered their awareness.

    ¡°Hm? What happened?¡± Huang Huihong instinctively felt that something was not right, but when he searched his memories, he only remembered that Madam Wu had brought over some food, and had left shortly afterwards with her maids. Nothing else seemed to have happened.

    The Demonic Eye had clearly altered his memories, and reced them with rational untruths.

    Despite this, Huang Huihong still felt uneasy. He quickly went to Zu An¡¯s room to take a look, and sighed in relief when he saw that he was still there. ¡°Hurry up and go to sleep already! Why are you smiling so stupidly?¡±

    Zu An shook his head. What do you know? You were simping so hard for Yun Yuqing earlier, but your goddess agreed to kiss me of her own volition!

    Zu An slowly savored the memory of that feeling amidst the lingering fragrance, so sweet and soft. It wasn¡¯t a bad feeling at all.

    In the manor, King Wu was already waiting anxiously in a secret room. He saw his wife return, and immediately rushed up to her and asked, ¡°How did it go?¡±

 Chapter 447: By Any Means Necessary

    <h4>Chapter 447: By Any Means Necessary</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Yun Yuqing shook her head. ¡°That guy is too cunning. I wasn¡¯t able to seed.¡±

    King Wu was furious. ¡°How is that possible?! How could Zu An possibly escape your grasp, given his cultivation? Do you know how much I¡¯ve invested in this mission?!"

    Yun Yuqing was dazed when she saw her usually gentle and refined husband yelling at her. She had never seen her husband lose control like this before. In all their years of marriage he had never ever shown her such aggression.

    King Wu was anxious and agitated. He paced back and forth across the room. ¡°Do you know what I had to do to get King Liang and Liu Yao to enter the manor? I had to put so much effort into just stalling them! Now you¡¯re telling me that you¡¯vee back empty-handed? That everything was for naught?!¡±

    Yun Yuqing remained silent, her face going pale.

    King Wu was about tounch into another tirade when he noticed the blood on his wife¡¯s lips. He was shocked. ¡°You¡¯re hurt?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not a big deal,¡± Yun Yuqing said indifferently. ¡°It''s just a small injury.¡±

    King Wu sensed his wife¡¯s bitterness, and immediately exined himself. ¡°I lost myposure just now. I didn¡¯t want to me you. You know how many years I¡¯veid low, preparing for just such an opportunity.¡±

    Yun Yuqing nodded. ¡°I know.¡±

    King Wu knew that she was probably still hurt, but he couldn¡¯t be bothered with that right now. He would let time slowly do its thing. ¡°How were you injured? Did an expert interfere?¡±

    Yun Yuqing shook her head. ¡°No. Everything went smoothly, but I was injured by Zu An.¡±

    ¡°How is that possible?¡± King Wu was confused. ¡°Given what we know, Zu An only has four or five ranks of cultivation! How could he possibly injure you? I even took a look at him myself earlier on. His cultivation was sealed up by the Embroidered Envoy, so there should have been no chance for him to retaliate!¡±

    ¡°Even though his cultivation was restrained, his mind wasn¡¯t. I tried to use Demonic Eye to control him, but I was the one injured by his counterattack instead.¡± Yun Yuqing produced a white handkerchief and began to wipe away the traces of blood around her mouth. She still felt a twinge of fear when she recalled that strange red bird.

    ¡°Does Zu An really have some type of magical treasure or trump card?¡± King Wu could not believe it. ¡°Your Demonic Eye was ineffective, and he even managed to injure you somehow! This is absolutely outrageous.¡±

    "I believe it is a feature of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra,¡± said Yun Yuqing. She didn¡¯tpletely trust Zu An, but that red bird shared some simrities with a phoenix, which led her to this conclusion.

    King Wu grew cautiously excited. ¡°The Phoenix Nirvana Sutra is extraordinary after all! In just a few months, Zu An managed to be strong enough to injure you. I must obtain it!¡±

    However, his expression quickly fell. ¡°It''s such a pity that we failed this time... King Liang and the others are heading out tomorrow. There won¡¯t be another chance.¡±

    Yun Yuqing hesitated, then said, ¡°I think we still have a shot. If we can keep them here for another day, I should be able to negotiate with Zu An.¡±

    King Wu frowned. ¡°Those embroidered envoys might suspect something if you keep visiting repeatedly.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Yun Wuqing smiled. ¡°Huang Huihong and the others have been afflicted with my Demonic Eye¡¯s spiritual imprint. As long as I trigger it, then they will obey me. We don¡¯t need to worry about them at all.¡±

    ¡°Will the emperor discover anything, though? Given his cultivation, we might not be able to hide the truth from him.¡± Just thinking about how terrifying his father was was enough to make King Wu¡¯s face pale.

    Yun Yuqing shook her head. ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about that. The imprint will disappear on its own after three days without a trace. I refuse to believe that they can make it back to the capital within three days.¡±

    King Wuughed loudly. ¡°Madam, you really are a good wife! You¡¯ve solved all of my worries so easily! Let''s do that, then. I¡¯ll do something about King Liang and Liu Yao. We¡¯ll keep them for one more day. You must deal with Zu An tomorrow!¡±

    Yun Yuqing¡¯s beautiful brows came together in a frown. ¡°There¡¯s an issue with that. My Demonic Eye cannot control Zu An, so we can only rely on ordinary methods. However, he is wanted by the emperor, so we cannot kill or hurt him. He knows this too, which is why he has made all sorts of crazy demands.¡±

    ¡°Crazy demands?¡± King Wu said, ¡°I¡¯m not scared of the price he will set, I¡¯m scared that he wouldn¡¯t even want to negotiate! As long as I, King Wu, am able to obtain it, I will willingly give it to him. Once I obtain the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, I have confidence that the imperial throne will be mine in the future. When that happens, the entire world would be mine! What wouldn¡¯t I be willing to give up?¡±

    Yun Yuqing¡¯s face instantly became red. ¡°But he wants something special.¡±

    ¡°I am willing to give it up no matter how special it is!¡± King Wu roared withughter. He was already starting to fantasize about obtaining the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra.

    ¡°Listen to what I have to say first!¡± Yun Yuqing was both ashamed and furious. ¡°He wants me!¡±

    It took King Wu a moment to understand her words.

    ¡°He wants you?¡± King Wu was so stunned that he was unable to react. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s exactly what you are thinking.¡± Yun Yuqing turned her head away. Even her neck was a little red. ¡°That''s why I came back to discuss this with you first, to see if you cane up with anything else that might stir his heart.¡±

    ¡°This bastard is going too far!¡± King Wu yelled furiously. ¡°He is just a rat from the streets! He should be thanking the heavens that he managed tond first miss Chu, yet he now wants my wife?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Yan for 666 Rage points!

    He suddenly broke into an intense fit of coughing.

    Yun Yuqing¡¯s heart softened when she saw how angry her husband was getting. She quickly rushed over to pat his back. ¡°Dear, please don''t harm yourself out of anger! That fellow is nothing more than a ruffian, he doesn¡¯t understand respect. These are merely the words of a random scoundrel. Let¡¯s think about what we can offer to make him change his mind.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± King Wu nodded. A strange brilliance flickered in his eyes. No one else knew what he was thinking.

    The two of them began to discuss what they could use to convince Zu An. They proposed many different ideas, but each was shot down one after the other.

    In the end, only two or three ns that could possibly seed were left over.

    King Wu was still unsure. ¡°Do you think Zu An will ept these conditions?¡±

    Yun Yuqing shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know either. Our interaction taught me that he is incredibly vicious. I cannot figure out how he thinks.¡±

    King Wu¡¯s voice grew angry. ¡°Hmph! If not for all this uncertainty, I would have just thrown him into prison and beaten it out of him through torture! Instead, we are now the ones being led around by the nose...¡±

    Yun Yuqing¡¯s brow furrowed tightly. Clearly, she shared her husband¡¯s thoughts.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    King Wu hesitated, then suddenly said, ¡°Yuqing, what if he doesn¡¯t agree to any of these proposals?¡±

    Yun Yuqing fell silent for a moment. ¡°Then we¡¯ll keep King Liang and the others for another day. As long as I can chat with him a few more times, I believe we¡¯ll find a way.¡±

    King Wu shook his head. ¡°King Liang and the others have their duty toplete. Keeping them here for another day is already the limit. There is absolutely no chance of them staying for a third day.¡±

    Yun Yuqing sighed deeply. ¡°In that case, we might have to just give up. After all, coveting the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra is already an act of defiance against the emperor. Giving up might not necessarily be a bad choice.¡±

    ¡°No!¡± King Wu firmly refused this. ¡°Absolutely not! I was banished to this remotend, all because I wasn¡¯t a child of the empress! Meanwhile, that brother of mine is clearly a loser, but he holds the position of crown prince just because his mother is the empress? Why?! All these years I¡¯ve been nning in secret, just so I can seize back what I deserve!

    ¡°However, I have a limited amount of resources at my disposal, and there was no hope at all. This Phoenix Nirvana Sutra is a chance bestowed upon me by the heavens themselves! I cannot let it go!¡±

    Yun Yuqing tried her best to console him. ¡°We¡¯ve already done everything we could. Sometimes, you cannot force things to happen.¡±

    ¡°No, we haven''t exhausted every option yet.¡± King Wu stared at his wife. ¡°If¡ªand I am saying if¡ªall of those ns fail, you should agree.¡±

 Chapter 448: Those Who Achieve Great Things do not Bother with Trivialities

    <h4>Chapter 448: Those Who Achieve Great Things do not Bother with Trivialities</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Agree to what?¡± Yun Yuqing took a while to recover from her shock.

    King Wu hesitated a little, but he still said it in the end. ¡°Agree to his condition, of course.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Yun Yuqing¡¯splexion instantly lost all of its color. She stared at her husband with a nk expression.

    Zu An had already taken advantage of her earlier. That already made her feel like she had let her husband down, and was causing her to suffer endless guilt. Who would have thought that her husband would actually make her apany another man?

    Since he¡¯d already said it out loud, there was no point for King Wu to mince his words any further. ¡°Yuqing, you know what this opportunity signifies for me. You also know what it means for your demon race if I¡¯m able to take the throne.¡±

    Yun Yuqing bit her lip and didn¡¯t utter a single word. Even though she understood his reasoning, she couldn¡¯t help but feel hurt. Her husband was pushing her onto another man for the sake of all this... she felt her entire body go weak.

    King Wu was equally pained by his wife¡¯s reaction. However, he quickly collected himself. Those who achieve greatness didn¡¯t bother with trivialities. Compared to obtaining the imperial throne, this amount of sacrifice was nothing.

    He continued, ¡°There¡¯s something else I¡¯m worried about. From our previous information as well as your most recent experience, it seems like Zu An is quite cunning. Even if he really does reveal to us the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, we have no way of verifying if it is the real deal.¡±

    ¡°That guy is indeed cunning.¡± Yun Yuqing agreed. She still remembered how he had pretended to be under her control, and then gave her the fake chants.

    ¡°That is why I need you to verify it.¡± King Wu looked at his wife. ¡°From what I know, your demon race has a technique that allows you to sense another party¡¯s ki flow while the two of you are joined together. This way, even if he gives you a fake chant, you can obtain the real one.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Yun Yuqing¡¯s face paled. The imperial household of the demon race did indeed possess such a technique. She just never thought that the day woulde when she would have to use this skill herself.

    King Wu¡¯s own feelings were extremelyplicated as well. On one hand, he felt great pain that his beautiful wife was going to be the ything of another man. On the other hand, however, he felt a strange sense of excitement at the prospect of obtaining the chance to fight back against the injustice he had suffered..

    However, even he himself wasn¡¯t sure if this was the only thing that he was excited about.

    When he saw that his wife still wouldn¡¯t say anything, King Wu changed his strategy. ¡°Yuqing, we¡¯ve already been married for many years.¡±

    Yun Yuqing grunted in agreement. She didn¡¯t know what he was getting at.

    King Wu continued, ¡°I know that you¡¯ve always wanted a child, but there¡¯s something I¡¯ve never revealed to you. In my earlier years, I tried all sorts of cultivation methods in an attempt to prove to my father that I deserve the throne more than my brother. In the end, my cultivation deviated. Even though I was able to survive, my body suffered irrecoverable damage.¡±

    ¡°I know that. Your condition has always been poor, and you start coughing if the weather bes even slightly cold.¡± Yun Yuqing felt a wave of pain overtake her when she thought about her husband¡¯s illness. She had looked for doctors everywhere, and even employed some secret methods of the demon race, but nothing was effective in treating him.

    ¡°It¡¯s not just this cough.¡± King Wu looked embarrassed, but in the end, he still chose to tell her. ¡°I¡¯ve already lost my ability to reproduce. I cannot have a child in this lifetime.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Yun Yuqing was horrified. She stared at her husband in shock.

    ¡°This matter is too important to me. The royal family will never choose an infertile prince to be the new emperor, so I silenced everyone who knew about this matter. You are the only one who knows about this. You are my wife, which is why I trust you with this secret.¡± King Wu gazed quietly at his wife¡¯s stunning face.

    Tears were already streaming down Yun Yuqing¡¯s face. She held her husband¡¯s hand. ¡°Dear, I don¡¯t care about any of that! We can still adopt a child.¡±

    She couldn¡¯t remain angry at him, knowing that her husband had been shouldering such a heavy secret all this time. She was filled with pity andpassion.

    King Wu shook his head. ¡°That won¡¯t work. It would only expose my inability to have a child, and I will lose my right of sessionpletely. I cannot ept that! That is why, if I want a child, you must give birth to one. Only then will no one suspect anything.¡±

    Yun Yuqing remained silent.

    ¡°I wanted to find a chance to talk to you about this matter, but we can kill two birds with one stone this time.¡± King Wu felt much more rxed. Speaking about this seemed to have massively unburdened him. ¡°Not only are you helping me obtain the imperial throne and change the fate of the demon race, you can also obtain his seed. We can kill three birds with one stone.¡±

    Yun Yuqing felt extremely conflicted. She was both embarrassed and angry. ¡°How can you describe this in such a manner?!¡±

    King Wu sighed. ¡°I know that I am letting you down, but we really don¡¯t have any other choice! Yuqing, I cannot think of any other way. You have to help me!¡±

    Yun Yuqing stood up and flung his hand away. Her face was entirely red. ¡°How am I supposed to help you with something like that?!¡±

    King Wu was confused. ¡°From what I know, members of your demon race are more open-minded than us humans! Why is this so hard to ept?¡±

    ¡°Not all members of the demon race are like that!¡± Yun Yuqing stamped her foot and stormed off.

    ¡°Ahem, ahem...¡± A burst of intense coughing came from behind her. When she turned around, she saw that King Wu¡¯s face was red. He spat out a mouthful of blood.

    ¡°Dear!¡± Nothing else mattered to Yun Yuqing. She rushed over to examine his condition.

    It took King Wu some time to catch his breath. ¡°I¡¯m fine. I know that this matter is very troubling to you. Forget it, then. I¡¯ll just ept my fate and serve as a king. I will try to protect as many of your nsmen as I can. Later on, I¡¯ll find a chance to adopt a child. I won¡¯t need to fight over the imperial throne anyway, so if everyone wants tough at me, then let themugh.¡±

    Yun Yuqing bit her lip when she heard how discouraged he was. They had lived together for so many years. How could she not understand what the imperial throne meant to her husband? All of his preparations these years had been for the sake of gaining the imperial throne, and even his illness was a result of his desire to seed the throne. Giving up on this now was the same as severing whatever hope he had left in his life.

    Her husband always cared about appearances and honor. If he took in an adopted child and exposed the fact that he was infertile, then living on might be even worse than death.

    She definitely couldn¡¯t bear to see him suffer like that. She would still end up finding another man to give him a childter on anyway, so she might as well make use of this opportunity. She could obtain the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, and at the same time sacrifice herself for the sake of the demon race...

    ¡°Dear, please don¡¯t be discouraged! I¡¯ll do it!¡± Yun Yuqing¡¯s eyes were misty, as though tears might fall out of them at any time.

    ¡°Really?!¡± King Wu was overjoyed. ¡°Thank you, Yuqing!¡±

    Yun Yuqing took a step back, refusing his hug. In that instant, she felt as if her husband seemed somewhat unfamiliar.

    It took her a while to finally calm down, after which they began to discuss the details of the n. ¡°There¡¯s still a problem. In such a short time, I might not be able to... be able to get pregnant.¡±

    Just thinking about how she would need to find another man if this n failed was enough to drive her crazy.

    ¡°It¡¯s all right. I already have a n,¡± said King Wu. ¡°I will find a way to stall King Liang and Liu Yao for an entire night. You and Zu An can feel free to... ahem, ahem. In any case, the Phoenix Nirvana is incredibly powerful. You might need some time to take it all in.¡±

    Although he felt both furious and aggrieved as he pictured the various scenes in his head, his entire body somehow still felt like it was about to burst from excitement. He had no idea why.

    Yun Yuqing stared at him quietly.

    She hadn¡¯t expected her husband to have thought things out that thoroughly. Her heart immediately grew ice cold.

 Chapter 449: A Walk in the Park

    <h4>Chapter 449: A Walk in the Park</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Meanwhile, in the guest courtyard, Sang Hong awoke with a strange expression. He sat down by the window and stared pensively into the night sky. For some reason, he felt as though he had forgotten something important.

    Zheng Dan¡¯s first instinct after she came to was to examine her clothes. When she saw that she was still dressed properly, she sighed in relief. Why had she suddenly fallen asleep?

    She moved over to the wall and carefully tapped it. Her cell was next to Zu An¡¯s.

    Zu An¡¯s teasing voice soon came from the other side. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Could it be that Miss Zheng can¡¯t sleep because she misses me?¡±

    Zheng Dan sighed with relief when she heard his familiar voice. She knew that he was talking to her in this manner to deceive the others outside. As such, she replied in annoyance, ¡°Like hell I¡¯d be missing you. I¡¯m just surprised you haven¡¯t died yet.¡±

    Huang Huihong had a strange smile on his face. Even a rabbit would bite when pushed into a corner. It was easy to imagine just how much Zu An had harassed the usually gentle and graceful Miss Zheng for her to turn on him like this.

    King Liang and Liu Yao returned after a night of drinking. Satisfied that all of the prisoners were safe and sound, they returned to their own chambers to get some rest.

    The next morning, just as they were about to bid King Wu farewell, King Wu invited them to stay for another day. ¡°We were in too much of a rush yesterday, and were unable to prepare many of North Order City¡¯s specialties in time. For example, North Order City¡¯s most famous courtesan queen...¡±

    King Wu had already prepared many enticing options, and his attitude was extremely sincere.

    His subordinate Sun Buqi was simrly eloquent. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that you faced all sorts of ambushes along the way here, so heading on rashly might not be the best idea. How about we send some men ahead to scout out the situation first? It would make your departure much safer...¡±

    The two of them were finally convinced. King Liang stroked his beard. ¡°Out of respect for Little Yan¡¯s consideration, we¡¯ll stay for another day. However, we really can only stay for one more day. We cannot stay on tomorrow.¡±

    King Wu smiled. ¡°Of course, of course. Little Yan wouldn¡¯t dare to interfere with the official business of the imperial court.¡±

    Yun Yuqing forced herself to smile. She was hoping that King Liang¡¯s group would insist on leaving, so that she wouldn¡¯t have to carry out her task. Unfortunately, it looks like I still have to go through with it...

    Soon, it was evening. King Wu held a banquet that was even more splendid than the previous night¡¯s. Even King Liang and Liu Yao, who tasted all manner of luxury in the capital, found it refreshing.

    Yun Yuqing apanied them for a while, then got up to bid them farewell. King Liang and Liu Yao naturally didn¡¯t insist on her staying.

    Even though their grandnephew¡¯s wife was pretty, she wasn¡¯t someone they could touch. They were much more interested in the dancing girls.

    If she stayed, they might instead be the ones who would have to hold back.

    King Wu nodded towards his wife and sent her a voice transmission. ¡°Yuqing, please, you must obtain the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra.¡±

    Yun Yuqing didn¡¯t reply. Her fair facecked the slightest trace of emotion. She walked straight out of the hall, her beautiful figure slowly disappearing into the distance.

    King Wu was also overwhelmed with emotions. He knew that this was also thest chance for him to stop her. Once his wife left, it would be toote for him to stop what happened next.

    He raised his hand several times, but in the end, he didn¡¯t call his wife back.

    He didn¡¯t know whether his decision was right or wrong. His heart was pained, yet he also felt excited. The conflicting emotions within him were so strong that even his body began to shudder subconsciously.

    He raised his wine cup and drained it in one gulp, using the alcohol to hide his expression.

    For the sake of the imperial throne, everything was worth it!

    He continuously told himself this, but at the same time, several thoughts began to emerge from the darkest corners of his heart, throwing his spirit into disarray.

    He drank another cup to suppress his emotions.

    King Liang smiled when he saw this. ¡°It seems Little Yan is in high spirits today!¡±

    King Wu smiled apologetically. ¡°It is a rare chance for me to be able to share a drink with my great uncles, and I couldn¡¯t help but get a little excited.¡±

    King Liang said with augh, ¡°Little Yan is truly filial, and you are an excellent husband as well. You¡¯ve grown up well. I will make sure to let everyone know about this once I return to the capital.¡±

    When he heard the words ¡®good husband¡¯, King Wu flinched a bit. His smile couldn¡¯t help but be a bit forced. He didn¡¯t know how far Yuqing was now.

    ...

    Meanwhile, Yun Yuqing called over her demon race maids and headed to the courtyard where the criminals were being housed.

    She¡¯d already done this once yesterday. This second trip was a walk in the park.

    Those guards had the Demonic Eye imprints on their souls, so they were quickly subdued again.

    Once she made sure that all of them were controlled, Yun Yuqing had all of the maids stand guard outside. She went in to talk to Zu An alone.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t hold back an admiring sigh as he watched Yun Yuqing walk over slowly under the moonlight. Her entire body seemed to be giving off a divine radiance. ¡°Madam, are you sure you¡¯re from the demon race and not a goddess from heaven?¡±

    Yun Yuqing was feeling rather gloomy and indifferent. Only when she heard this did she offer a faint smile. ¡°Our demon race is very different from how we are portrayed in the folk tales of the human world. Who said that members of the demon race had to be evil and sinister?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why it¡¯s always better to see for yourself.¡± Zu An carefully examined her wless face. ¡°Oh? Madam seems to have put a lot of care into your appearance today.¡±

    Yun Yuqing sighed inside her heart. It hadn¡¯t been her choice. Rather, her husband had sent some maids to do this for her. Her heart slowly grew colder.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Young master must be joking. This is how I look every day.¡± She wasn¡¯t willing to admit to this and let him take advantage of her.

    Zu An didn¡¯t really care either way. ¡°Beautiful people always speak more confidently. So, since you¡¯ve chosen toe here today, what did you and your husband decide?¡±

    Yun Yuqing took a deep breath to calm herself down. Then, she said, ¡°We can promise you that the Chu n will not be attacked, and we can also ensure their continued prosperity.¡±

    ¡°This is the condition you guys came up with after discussing it all day?¡± Zu An snorted. ¡°Everyone knows that I¡¯m not a part of the Chu n anymore. In any case, even if I were still a part of the Chu n, why would I give a crap about them when I myself am in this sort of situation?¡±

    ¡°There is no need for you to pretend that you do not care. If you really did not care, then why did you sacrifice yourself back then to save the Chu n? You knew that you could have escaped back then,¡± said Yun Yuqing. She¡¯d clearly gone over their intelligence on Zu An several times.

    ¡°So what if I did? Either way, I¡¯ve already helped the Chu n out once. I can¡¯t continue to babysit them forever, right? It¡¯s not like I¡¯m their holy mother,¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°Of course, if the young master doesn¡¯t cooperate with us, we can immediately cause the downfall of the Chu n. Your wife, your sister-inw whom you have a good rtionship with, and even your mother-inw might be thrown into the government brothels. I¡¯m sure that¡¯s not the sort of tragic fate you would want to witness.¡± Yun Yuqing¡¯s tone was full of foreboding. She finally seemed a little more like a demon.

    ¡°Are you threatening me?¡± Zu An was furious. He stared at her coldly.

    ¡°It¡¯s not necessarily a threat. I just want to make things clear to you, young master.¡± Yun Yuqing was incredibly calm.

    Zu An snorted again. ¡°I already said that I helped them out once, that¡¯s all. There¡¯s no way I can keep looking out for the Chu n. Good on them if they prosper, but if they copse, then that¡¯s that. None of it has anything to do with me anymore.

    ¡°Anyway, there¡¯s a reason that the Chu n has existed for a thousand years, and why not even the emperor could do anything about them. I refuse to believe that a mere King Wu can defeat the Chu n.¡±

    Yun Yuqing bit her lip, but did not retort. It was a while before she spoke again. ¡°Fine. We won¡¯t talk about anyone else, then. Let¡¯s just talk about ourselves. I can try to give you a chance to run, and I can also let you have your pick of all sorts of secret manuals and beauties. You¡¯ll be free to roam the world at your leisure.¡±

    ¡°Run? Why would I run?¡± Zu An shook his head. ¡°The entire world belongs to the emperor. Where would I be able to run to?¡±

    Yun Yuqing seemed a little uncertain. ¡°Young master, are you not aware that you will surely die if you go to the capital? If you run, you would at least have a chance at survival.¡±

 Chapter 450: Out of Thin Air

    <h4>Chapter 450: Out of Thin Air</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°I¡¯m still dead even if I run,¡± Zu An said nonchntly. ¡°Who knows how many other people want to get their hands on me, besides the emperor? At least I have the Imperial Guard to protect me right now, and can live a few days in peace.¡±

    ¡°If the young master is worried about that, we of the demon race can offer you protection,¡± Yun Yuqing said in panic.

    ¡°Do you think I¡¯m stupid?¡± Zu An refused her immediately. ¡°Isn¡¯t that the same as leaving a tiger¡¯s cave and going straight into a den of wolves? I¡¯ll be more surprised if the members of your demon race didn¡¯t hang me up and torture me for information.¡±

    ¡°Our offer is sincere.¡± Yun Yuqing felt her head begin to ache. This brat was just too sharp! There was no way she could deceive him.

    ¡°Sincerity?¡± Zu Anughed. Even though he looked happy and willing to negotiate, he was fully aware that without the protection of King Liang and his Imperial Guards, she might have already thrown him into the torture chambers.

    Yun Yuqing had no choice but to offer him the proposals she had discussed with her husband. Unfortunately, Zu An showed no interest in any of them.

    She fell silent. Could it be that she really had to go that far?

    Zu An¡¯s own mind began to work. What exactly could he try to obtain from the Wu Manor that would help him with his n in the capital? Unfortunately, he knew far too little about the capital, so it was hard to make a decent decision. He was looking to get some ideas from her here, but everything she proposed was useless.

    He was just about to prompt her again when Yun Yuqing suddenly said, ¡°Fine. I agree.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face scrunched up in a puzzled frown.

    I haven¡¯t even said anything yet. What are you agreeing to?

    He was just about to ask, but Yun Yuqing had already begun to slowly remove her white coat. She removed her outer garments, revealing the skintight clothes inside. Her figure looked even more seductive and enchanting.

    ¡°Um...¡± Zu An was stunned. Why are you stripping for no reason? Is this another demon race trick?

    Yun Yuqing slowly walked up to him. Her face was gorgeous enough to draw the breath out of his lungs, but her expression was cold and indifferent. ¡°Are you going to be a man of your word?¡±

    Zu An swallowed. He suddenly remembered his joke from yesterday. ¡°You discussed something that important with your husband?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t mention him here.¡± Yun Yuqing¡¯s voice was icy. ¡°Just answer me. Are you going to keep your word?¡±

    They were so close to each other. Zu An was swallowed up within her enchanting fragrance, and he began to feel a little dizzy. ¡°Of course I am, but don¡¯t tell me you really are¡ª¡±

    His words came to a screeching halt as she answered him with her actions.

    Yun Yuqing slowly undid the sash around her waist. Her pure white dress slowly slid down her body, enhancing the smooth, soft texture of her skin.

    Zu An¡¯s breathing instantly sped up as he took in the stunning figure in front of him. No man could remain calm in such a situation, and he was clearly no exception.

    ¡°Can you tell me the chants for the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra now?¡± Yun Yuqing felt her goosebumps rising, now that her entire body was exposed to the frosty night air. However, the chill of the air around her was not as intense as the ice that she felt within her heart.

    With some difficulty, Zu An managed to force out some words. ¡°Madam, you are...¡±

    Yun Yuqing took it that Zu An wasn¡¯t about to act without more of an incentive. With a sigh, she slowly walked over to him, and then lowered herself into hisp.

    ¡°I am yours tonight. If you are going to do anything, then please hurry.¡± She turned her face to the side. Her eyelids continued to tremble. A flood of emotions was roiling within her.

    Even though there was a soft, warm body in hisp, Zu An instead found himself at his wits¡¯ end. After all, she looked for all the world like a youngdy at the mercy of a viin, which made him feel slightly apologetic. ¡°Um, even though it might sound a bit dumb to say this now, but I¡¯m really not that...¡±

    ¡°Do you want me to take the lead?¡± Yun Yuqing misunderstood his intentions. She sighed in her heart. Since they were already at this point, it wouldn¡¯t matter much to take it another step further. Let¡¯s just get this done as quickly as possible.

    Zu An reached his hands out and was just about to help her up, but Yun Yuqing moved closer to him instead, and kissed his neck gently. At the same time, her fine, jade-like hands slowly undid his clothes for him.

    Zu An¡¯s hands, still hovering in midair, clenched immediately. How could he remain unmoved?

    Silent tears trickled down Yun Yuqing¡¯s face as she sensed his body¡¯s reaction.

    She actually didn¡¯t me Zu An at all. Everyone had their needs, after all. There was nothing to criticize.

    He wasn¡¯t even forcing her to do this¡ªshe was the one who was in full control.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    She only felt resentment towards her husband, while alsoughing at the bitterness of fate.

    However, she did not lose sight of the goal of this mission, or the future of the demon race. She secretly wiped away her tears and resolved toplete this mission as quickly as possible.

    She sensed something strange. She lowered her head to look, and was given a fright. ¡°You... are you a beastman?¡±

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°Beastman? No?¡±

    ¡°Then are you a mixed-blood?¡± Yun Yuqing asked.

    ¡°You are the one who is mixed. I¡¯m one hundred percent human.¡± Zu An immediately got mad. ¡°Why would you ask that?¡±

    ¡°No... it¡¯s nothing.¡± Yun Yuqing felt a blush spread across her face, and her expression became unnatural. She waspletely overwhelmed.

    She nced out the window, vaguely making out the lively, joyful atmosphere in the distance. She knew that holding up King Liang and the others wasn¡¯t easy, and she wondered if her husband felt as terrible as she did.

    She sighed and bit her lip. Her legs could no longer support her, and she let herself sinkpletely into the abyss.

    In this instant, a hint of pain creased her beautiful brow. It was obvious that she wasn¡¯t used to this feeling...

    ...

    Meanwhile, in the banquet hall, Liu Yao couldn¡¯t help but joke around. ¡°Little Yan seems a little weak today. It¡¯s not even thatte yet! Why is your face already so red?¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± King Wu rubbed his cheeks, and sure enough, they felt rather hot. He said with a smile, ¡°There¡¯s no way I canpete with you when ites to drinking, great uncles.¡±

    Liu Yao said with augh, ¡°Rx and drink up! Either way, your wife will surely prepare some wonderful recovery soup for you tomorrow. You¡¯re not like we old men, who have no one to care for us.¡±

    At the mention of Yun Yuqin, King Wu¡¯s hand, which was holding his wine cup, trembled slightly. However, he reacted quickly. ¡°There¡¯s no need to worry at all, great uncles. If my lords find any of these entertainers and maids to your liking, take your pick. I promise that they will serve you well.¡±

    ¡°Hahaha, even though Little Yan looks a little delicate, you sure are quite direct and straightforward! Come, cheers!¡± King Liang was also in high spirits.

    King Wu smiled and drank from his cup, his mind drifting elsewhere. Who cares about some dancers and maids? I even...

    I wonder what Yuqing is doing right now.

    He was clearly in great pain, yet, as several different scenes yed out in his mind, he felt a strange feeling of satisfaction. His heart was pounding like a drum. He could only keep drinking to hide his strangeness.

    ...

    Elsewhere, Zu An and Yun Yuqing¡¯s fingers were intertwined together in the throes of passion. Spurred on by this, he moved to kiss her.

    Unfortunately, Yun Yuqing turned her head to the other side and refused to kiss him.

    Zu Anughed. He didn¡¯t mind.

    He had to admit that this girl was an unrivaled enchantress. Her entire body was truly blessed by the heavens themselves, and shepletelybined the purity of an angel and the allure of a subus. Is there something wrong with King Wu? Why would he make such a perfect wife do something like this?

    Or was it Yun Yuqing¡¯s own decision?

    Is she doing this for the sake of the demon race?

    He soon lost the will to think about these matters. It would be too much of a waste to spend this time dwelling on such thoughts.

    The knot between Yun Yuqing¡¯s brows had eased, but she was still full of confusion. Why can¡¯t I sense any ki flow within him? Is he not yet stimted enough?

    She bit her lip. She had already sacrificed so much, and there was no option for her to stop halfway. She would be letting too much go to waste if she didn¡¯t obtain anything right now!

    As such, she endured the humiliation. She let her waist grow even softer, and allowed herself to be tossed and turned by this storm...

    Right at that moment, a ripple that resembled a ck hole appeared several meters behind her, and a ck figure rushed out from within. A thin, pitch-ck longsword stabbed towards the center of her back.

 Chapter 451: Return of the Divine Skill

    <h4>Chapter 451: Return of the Divine Skill</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The assassin¡¯s grasp of timing was extremely precise. Yun Yuqing was in a critical stage, where her mind and body were bothpletely joined with Zu An. Her head went nk in that instant. Even though she could sense the approaching danger, her entire body was trembling in that instant, and she was effectively unable to respond.

    The assassin was also aware that she was the biggest threat, which was why he had targeted her back. The power behind his sword thrust was enough to skewer both of them.

    With her back to the assassin, Yun Yuqing waspletely powerless. Zu An, however, saw everything with perfect rity.

    He immediately switched positions with her, using his back to block the assassin¡¯s sword.

    *Splurt!*

    The de pierced straight through his body, and even the tip of the de emerged through his chest to stab Yun Yuqing.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Her snow white face was instantly sttered with blood, although it was unclear if it belonged to Zu An or her.

    The assassin was shocked. Zu An¡¯s constitution far exceeded his expectations! He had nned to skewer them both, yet his thrust had only been enough to prate Zu An¡¯s body.

    Yun Yuqing finally managed to react to what was happening, and she thrust a palm ferociously towards the attacker¡¯s body.

    Her level of cultivation seemed to take the assassin by surprise. He quickly leapt backwards to evade this lethal strike.

    Yun Yuqing reached out her hand, and her clothes, which had been lying beside her, draped themselves around her again. The brief exchange was already enough to make her shake uncontrobly. She could only cling on to Zu An tightly, gritting her teeth and praying that she wouldn¡¯t unwittingly let out any embarrassing sounds.

    The assassin didn¡¯t follow up his attack. He understood how strong Madam Wu was from that previous exchange, and he didn¡¯t dare act carelessly.

    He took in her snowy legs and slender arms, which remained exposed because of the hurried manner in which she¡¯d re-dressed herself. The beautiful scene that he¡¯d witnessed a moment ago reappeared in his head. Even though the assassin had only been able to see the back of her, since the two had been wrapped around each other, the image was enough to get his blood pumping.

    ¡°A dark elf! Who sent you?¡± Yun Yuqing had noted the assassin¡¯s features and recognized what race he was. She was staring coldly at him, but because she was clinging tightly to Zu An and hadn¡¯t yet recovered from whatever they were doing beforehand, her voice came out a little weird.

    The assassin ignored her question. Instead, his voice became mocking. ¡°The entire world praises Madam Wu for being as beautiful as a goddess, and for being pure and noble. It seems as though you truly are beautiful as a goddess, but as for pure and noble...¡±

    He paused deliberately, his eyes sweeping across the two of them. He clicked his tongue. ¡°Tsk, tsk, tsk, you truly are noble in public, but a slut in private. Then again, I can¡¯t really me you. That fellow¡¯s body is quite hard, and even my sword almost failed to pierce through him. This probably holds true for the other parts of him as well. No wonder Madam was in such a trance!¡±

    ¡°Shameless!¡± Yun Yuqing erupted in fury. She instinctively got up to attack him, but her body trembled as soon as she moved. Her brows locked tightly together, and she sat back down.

    The assassin seized this opening at once. He left an afterimage where he was standing, and his body quickly faded away. They could no longer see him. However, his unscrupulousughter echoed through the room. ¡°Hahaha, doing this sort of thing behind your husband¡¯s back... Am I the shameless one, or are you?!¡±

    He was clearly provoking her with these words, trying to make and opening for himself.

    Unfortunately, Yun Yuqing wasn''t the slightest bit affected. After all, she wasn¡¯t going behind her husband¡¯s back¡ªit was he who had forced her to do it. That was why she didn¡¯t feel the least bit apologetic.

    The room suddenly erupted in a purple haze, and a giant pair of beautiful eyes appeared in midair. Although he had turned invisible a second ago, the dark elf now had nowhere to escape to when confronted with this world of purple. He cried out in horror. ¡°Demonic Eye!¡±

    He reacted as quickly as he could. He immediately closed his eyes, but he was still toote. He was caught by the Demonic Eye¡¯s effects, and he froze.

    A streak of purple light flew straight at him. All of his fine hairs stood on end as he sensed the threat of death.

    There was no point in holding back any further. A mass of ck shadows spread outward from his body, and he managed to rid himself of the Demonic Eye¡¯s control at thest possible second. He dodged away immediately to avoid being struck in any vital areas.

    However, he still wasn¡¯t able topletely avoid the attack. His body was struck by that streak of purple light, which sted open a bloody hole where it hit him.

    He was horrified. Although Madam Wu seemed delicate and weak, she was far stronger than he had imagined. He didn¡¯t dare stay here any longer. He summoned a ck, mirror-like path next to him and jumped in.

    Even though his assassination had failed, he knew about Madam Wu¡¯s huge scandal, as well as the fact that she was of the demon race. These were both explosive pieces of information that would bring countless benefits to those backing him.

    Yun Yuqing knew this as well. There was no way she could allow this to happen, which was why she had gone straight for the kill.

    However, she never expected him to evade her sure-kill strike. That dark elf already escaped into the darkness. The reason why dark elves were so good at assassination wasrgely because of this secret technique. They coulde and go without leaving any traces.

    Most of his body had already entered the portal. There was no way to stop him now.

    Her face went deathly pale when she thought about how this dark elf was going to spread the word regarding everything that he¡¯d seen today. That would most likely seal her doom.

    That dark elf turned to look at her. Yun Yuqing¡¯s appearance had clearly left too deep of an impression on him. Just thinking about her half-nude figure was enough to make his heart pound again. He wanted to sneak in a final look, knowing that he might never get the chance to ever again.

    Suddenly, he heard a dissatisfied voice. ¡°Whatcha lookin¡¯ at?!¡±

    He knew that he shouldn¡¯t stop, that he shouldn¡¯t be wasting even a single second, but an irresistible urge welled up within him. He felt as though he absolutely had to reply, or else his entire existence would copse.

    As such, he turned around and said, ¡°I¡¯m looking at you, shithead!¡±

    Yun Yuqing never expected him to be distracted in this instant. She didn¡¯t give him a second chance. With a flick of her fingers, she shot a streak of purple light straight towards his forehead.

    The light left the dark elf¡¯s eyes instantly. He was already a corpse by the time his body hit the ground. The dark path that he¡¯d summoned to travel through also gradually dissipated.

    Yun Yuqing finally let go of the breath she was holding. ¡°Madam, what happened?¡± The voice of a maid came quietly from outside.

    The disturbance in the room had clearly startled them.

    Even though a slew of things had happened, all of it had taken ce rather quickly, which was why those maids were only reacting now.

    ¡°Everything is fine. Do note in.¡± Yun Yuqing realized that she was still in Zu An¡¯s embrace. Her face went red, and then she asked, ¡°Has the situation changed in the banquet hall?¡±

    ¡°No. We set up a formation that cut off the ki fluctuations here. They shouldn¡¯t be able to notice anything,¡± the maid replied.

    ¡°Good. Continue standing guard outside. Do not let anyone in.¡± Yun Yuqing ordered.

    ¡°Understood!¡± The maid¡¯s quick footsteps slowly faded away.

    Yun Yuqing finally looked at Zu An. She lowered her head to look at his chest, which was continuously dripping blood. She had aplicated expression on her face. ¡°Why did you save me?¡±

    Zu An looked at her with a smile. ¡°I couldn¡¯t just watch while a woman in my embrace died in front of me, could I?¡±

    But you didn¡¯t have to stop that sword with your own body...

    She didn¡¯t say these words out loud, but gently moved her fingers across the wound on his chest. ¡°Does it hurt?¡±

    ¡°It didn¡¯t hurt that much, to be honest. But now that you¡¯re asking, I think it¡¯s starting to hurt a little,¡± Zu An said with augh.

    ¡°You¡¯re so annoying!¡± Yun Yuqing¡¯s voice was no longer as cold as before. Instead, there was a hint of yfulness in it.

 Chapter 452: A Twist

    <h4>Chapter 452: A Twist</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    She frowned, and a faint purple light appeared on the tip of her finger. The wound on Zu An¡¯s chest began to heal at a visible rate.

    Zu An was shocked. ¡°What sorcery is this?!¡±

    Yun Yuqing smiled. ¡°You already know that I¡¯m a member of the demon race. What is there to be so surprised about?¡±

    Zu An let out a helplessugh. ¡°That was quite a refreshing exnation. Then again, if your demon race possesses the Demonic Eye skill and even these treatment techniques, how in the world did you guys end up losing to the humans?¡±

    Yun Yuqing sighed. ¡°Even though our different races all had various incredible abilities, you humans possess an incredible potential for learning. Moreover, your reproductive prowess is also astonishing. As the war of attrition raged on, your human race grew stronger and stronger, and we found ourselves unable to achieve victory... can we not discuss this right now?¡±

    Zu An saw the grief in her eyes, and sensed as well that talking about these things had really spoiled the mood.

    ¡°What¡¯s with your body?¡± Yun Yuqing asked curiously. ¡°You seem as hard as someone of the dragon race.¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°Huh? I¡¯m surprised you even know such things about the dragon race!¡±

    Yun Yuqing was momentarily stunned, then her face becamepletely red. ¡°That¡¯s not what I¡¯m talking about! That dark elf was trying to kill both of us, yet he only just managed to stab his sword through your body. Even as I¡¯m healing you, I can feel the incredible toughness of your body. There¡¯s no way an ordinary person couldpare to you!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know either. Maybe I¡¯m just super talented? Hahaha...¡± Zu Anughed it off. He obviously wasn¡¯t about to tell her about the Primordial Origin Sutra. The Phoenix Nirvana Sutra alone had already drawn the interest of so many people. Who knew how crazy it would get if they knew that he possessed the Primordial Origin Sutra as well.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious that it¡¯s because of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra? Why bother hiding it?¡± She rolled her eyes at him and tried to get up. Unexpectedly, hisrge hand pressed her back down.

    Her entire body trembled. ¡°What... what are you doing?¡±

    ¡°I should be the one asking you that question. Why are you suddenly getting up?¡± Zu An asked in confusion.

    Yun Yuqing bit her lip. ¡°I need to deal with that corpse first, obviously! I don¡¯t feelfortable with him being there.¡±

    That wasn¡¯t all. If she didn¡¯t clean up this ce properly, the Embroidered Envoy, King Liang, and the rest of them would surely notice something amiss.

    ¡°So that¡¯s it. I thought you were going to leave, and felt a little reluctant to let you.¡± Zu Anughed in embarrassment.

    Yun Yuqing¡¯s heart skipped a beat. She walked over to the dark elf without replying. She reached out with a wave of her hand. Purple light scattered across his body, and then his corpse disappeared. She frowned when she saw the blood. Taking out a porcin bottle, she poured its contents onto the floor, and the blood stains were cleaned up as well.

    Zu An sighed in amazement. This woman really was beautiful! She even managed to clean up the mess in such a graceful manner. The scene was made even more captivating because she wasn¡¯t even properly dressed. The sight of her loose skirt and sleeves billowing in the night wind was breathtaking.

    ¡°What are you looking at?¡± Yun Yuqing turned around. She noticed that he was staring at her, and immediately became ufortable.

    This person was a mere prisoner, while she was the glorious wife of a king, whose cultivation was far above his as well. However, when the two of them were together, she always felt as though he had the upper hand.

    Zu An stood up and walked towards her. ¡°You really are stunning.¡±

    The corners of Yun Yuqing¡¯s lips curved upwards when she sensed his sincere praise, and her heart fluttered with joy. As he walked closer, however, she began to feel an intimidating pressure that made her subconsciously back away.

    Before she could, she was pulled towards him by a pair ofrge hands.

    ¡°We¡¯ve taken care of everything else. Let¡¯s continue where we left off,¡± Zu An whispered into her ear.

    His tone was firm, leaving no room for her opinion. Just like that, she was whisked away again.

    Chaos swirled within Yun Yuqing¡¯s mind. This man waspletely different from King Wu! King Wu was normally gentle and reserved, yet this man was direct and forceful!

    For some reason, the masculine scent filling her nostrils was not the least bit offensive to her. On the contrary, she felt a giddy anticipation.

    However, she was still a shy and reserveddy at heart, which prompted her to resist him instinctively. ¡°I... I have to treat your wound first.¡±

    ¡°You can just do what you were doing earlier. It won¡¯t interfere at all.¡± Zu An carried her back without letting her exin any further.

    Yun Yuqing¡¯s mouth fell open slightly, her heart pounding out a steady beat. She could only continuously console herself that all of this was for the sake ofpleting her mission.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ...

    After a while, Zu An noticed that his wound had already healedpletely. He reached out a hand to hold onto hers. ¡°Thank you Madam for the treatment.¡±

    ¡°I should be the one thanking you for saving my life.¡± Aplicated set of emotions were running through Yun Yuqing¡¯s heart. This was the first time she had seen a man risk his life for her.

    After all, given Zu An¡¯s cultivation, that dark elf¡¯s sword should have caused half of his body to explode, yet he still took the blow for her without any hesitation.

    She didn¡¯t know how to face the man in front of her. Before, given her infatuation with her husband, she would have trusted in him to protect her as well. After the events of the past few days, however, she knew that the most important thing to her husband was still himself. He most likely wouldn¡¯t have stepped in front of the sword for her.

    Zu An carefully examined the beauty, who was just inches away from him. Her soft, red lips seemed to draw him in. He could no longer hold himself back, and pressed his lips towards hers.

    Yun Yuqing instinctively backed away when she sensed his movements.

    However, Zu An didn¡¯t give up this time. He continued to move towards her. He could already sense that she was no longer rejecting him as forcefully as before.

    In the end, their lips made contact.

    Yun Yuqing really was well and truly frightened. She struggled frantically, trying desperately to push away the man in front of her with her hands.

    Unfortunately, he seemed indifferent to her efforts.

    After a while, her arms seemed to grow weaker and weaker. Eventually, her fingers inteced with his, and she began to return his affection.

    ...

    A long whileter, Zu An kept his arms wrapped around this particr beauty as she trembled uncontrobly. ¡°Does Madam want to cultivate the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra for herself?¡±

    ¡°No...¡± Yun Yuqing replied instinctively.

    ¡°That¡¯s good then.¡± Zu Anughed. ¡°Let me give you the chant, then.¡±

    Yun Yuqing sat up straight. Her pitch-ck hair cascaded down her back like a waterfall, enhancing the radiance of her fair skin even more. ¡°This is your life-saving skill. Are you really going to give it to me this easily?¡±

    She finally realized that she had forgotten to sense the other party¡¯s ki flow during the entire experience earlier.

    However, she could tell that, even if she had tried to sense it, there was no way she would be able to figure it all out. The Phoenix Nirvana Sutra was truly miraculous, and entirely different from other ordinary techniques.

    ¡°I¡¯m already about to die anyway. Since Madam has been kind enough to share her warmth with me, how can I not hold up my end of the bargain?¡± Zu Anughed. He proceeded to give her the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra¡¯s chant.

    Of course, he hadn¡¯t lost his head over sex, and had obviously modified the chant. She was clearly doing this for King Wu¡¯s sake¡ªhow could he let that ambitious fellow get his way?

    After reciting it for her, he left her with a stark warning. ¡°Madam, don¡¯t bother learning this technique yourself. It isn¡¯t suitable for women.¡±

 Chapter 453: Iâ€™ll Do it for You

    <h4>Chapter 453: I''ll Do it for You</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Not suitable for women?¡± Yun Yuqing was stunned when she heard this. ¡°How could such a technique exist?¡±

    The world was vast, and she did indeed know of several techniques that weren¡¯t suitable for women. Simrly, there were some techniques that weren¡¯t suitable for men to cultivate. However, the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra was famous! It was just too strange for a technique that could grant eternal life to have such a prerequisite.

    ¡°I¡¯m really saying this for your own good. You should give up on cultivating this technique. I wouldn¡¯t have bothered to tell you this if we weren¡¯t so close.¡± Zu An wrapped his arm around her soft waist. There was a gentle smile on his face.

    Yun Yuqing bit her lip. ¡°Are you giving me a fake chant again?¡± she said in annoyance. She wasn¡¯t stupid, and reacted quickly.

    ¡°Of course not. I promise that every single word is real,¡± Zu An said, a serious expression on his face.

    Even though every word he¡¯d uttered was real, the most important parts of the chant were missing, and the order of the lines had been rearranged. This altered chant would bring about entirely different effects.

    Big sis empress had personally helped him modify it this way. After all, her fate was tied to his now, so there was no way she would wash her hands of his current predicament.

    Zu An had gone over his n with her, and Mi Li worked out this altered version of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra chant. After all, if his goal was to blindside an earth immortal rank like the emperor, a random set of chants wouldn¡¯t cut it.

    Yun Yuqing was about eighty percent convinced, especially since he had given such a confident vow. She could tell that the chant she had just obtained was indeed incredibly profound, and that it was on an entirely different levelpared to the first one. There was no way Zu An coulde up with something like this on his own, given his current level of cultivation.

    Her heart softened, and she looked at Zu An with aplicated expression. ¡°I thought you were extremely shrewd, but I never expected you to hand over the chants to your most important technique so easily. Don¡¯t you understand that I could kill you right now with just a single thought?¡±

    Her hands were wrapped firmly around this man¡¯s muscr back, and a faint gleam of cold light had formed on her slender fingers. Just a quick jab from her would be enough to kill this man who had taken her chastity. No one would ever know what she had done, and everything would return to how it was before. She would continue to remain the noble and pure Madam of North Order City.

    Zu An didn¡¯t seem to care one bit. ¡°Madam, if you really were someone who routinely used her beauty to extract intelligence from men, I would never have told you the truth. However, given how terrible your acting was, I know that you¡¯ve never done this sort of thing before. Since I am going to die anyway, dying at the hands of such a beauty isn¡¯t such a terrible fate. However, can Madam promise me one thing before I pass on?¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Yun Yuqing was extremely curious. She wondered what he would request for at such a time.

    Zu An looked calmly into her eyes. ¡°Promise me that you won¡¯t do something so stupid in the future. No matter who tries to force you into it, you should never agree. A goddess like yourself should never let herself be defiled in such a manner for the benefit of such pigs.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Yun Yuqing looked at him, startled. In that instant, she felt as if her heartstrings had been firmly tugged. This mission had filled her with grief and indignation, and she had even felt a little suicidalter on. Now that she¡¯d heard what he¡¯d said, it was as if a ray of sunlight had shone down into the darkness of her heart, and she resolved not to abandon herself to despair.

    Zu An smiled when he saw her looking at him. ¡°What are you looking at me for? You won¡¯t be able to help falling in love with me if you keep looking at my handsome face.¡±

    ¡°Pah! Shameless!¡± Yun Yuqing scoffed as she blushed profusely. Despite her words, her heart was pounding fiercely.

    A moment passed, and she said quietly, ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Zu An sighed. The women of this world really were simple and honest! The one who enjoyed it the most was clearly me¡ªwhy is she thanking me instead?

    Yun Yuqing hesitated, and then she said, ¡°How about I try to help you escape?¡±

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. I¡¯ll just end up dragging you down with me instead, as well as your nsmen.¡±

    His n was still to face the emperor himself and settle this issue. If he ran now, he would find his hands full just trying to evade all the different powers that were sure to be after him. Take the dark elf assassin, for example¡ªhe could never have escaped from him if he had encountered him in the wilderness.

    Yun Yuqing understood this as well. And she quickly grew quiet.

    A whileter, her beautiful red lips parted again. ¡°I know that there¡¯s no way to save you from your current situation, but there is something that I could do for you.¡±

    Zu An froze. ¡°What is it?¡±

    Yun Yuqing¡¯s face turned red, and a hint of shyness flickered between her brows. She circled her arms around his neck and said into his ear with a gentle voice, ¡°I can... I can give you a child.¡±

    Zu An was left utterly speechless.

    He was absolutely stunned. He never expected that she would suddenly say this! After all, she was the wife of a glorious king! In terms of status, they were worlds apart!

    Her previous disy of affection could be exined by her need to acquire Phoenix Nirvana Sutra. Now, though, this woman was actually willing to give birth to his child? That waspletely different! Had she really fallen for him?

    It really was hard to imagine that a woman from the demon race, especially one whomanded such a high status in the human world, and who had such vast experience and knowledge, would fall for him so quickly.

    ¡°Is there something wrong with my ears?¡± Zu An said in disbelief.

    Yun Yuqing said nothing, and gently embraced him instead. She answered him with her passion and warmth.

    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t King Wu go crazy if he learned of this?¡± Zu An¡¯s mouth had be terribly dry all of a sudden.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about him,¡± Yun Yuqing scoffed. It would be urate to say that she had been forced to ept this task in the beginning, when she thought that she was giving birth to this child for King Wu¡¯s sake. Now, however, she had alreadypletely epted it. She wasn¡¯t doing this for King Wu, though. Rather she was willing to do this for the man who had been willing to die for her, and who truly cared for her.

    ...

    A whileter, she felt his body begin to twitch. Yun Yuqing looked at him with misty, unfocused eyes full of incredible warmth. ¡°You don¡¯t need to hold back...¡± she whispered.

    With a roar, Zu An let go of thest of his restraint. He pulled her to him tightly, as though trying to squeeze her into his own body.

    ...

    After what seemed like eternity, Zu An brought his gaze towards the blushing beauty in front of him. He couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°I am a human, while you are a demon. Do you think our child will be a human or a demon?¡±

    Yun Yuqing scoffed. ¡°Pah! Can you choose a better description? Demons and humans aren¡¯t so different in terms of appearance. Is there even a need to differentiate between them?¡±

    Zu Anughed. ¡°You¡¯re right. It doesn¡¯t matter if the child looks more like me or like you, because that child will be attractive either way.¡±

    Yun Yuqingughed along helplessly. This guy! He always has so much confidence, regardless of the situation.

    ...

    Some more time passed, and a maid knocked on the door. ¡°Madam, it¡¯s almost daybreak.¡±

    This was their code, informing her that King Liang and the others were about to return.

    Yun Yuqing drew herself up off the bedzily, revealing her beautiful curves. She put on her clothes, then gave him a reluctant look. She sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t know if we will ever meet again.¡±

    Even though this was what she said, she knew that there was no way the emperor would allow Zu An to live after he reached the capital.

    Zu An¡¯s reply was wholly unexpected. ¡°How can I afford to die, knowing a beauty like Yuqing is worrying about me? Have no fear, we will definitely meet again.¡±

    A smile spread across Yun Yuqing¡¯s heartbroken face. ¡°I really hope that is true.¡±

    She put that snow white fox coat around her again. When she walked out of the room, she was once again the noble and pure Madam.

    Soon after she had left with her maids, a sharp sound rang out. The Imperial Guards in the courtyard returned to normal, as if nothing had happened.

    After King Wu had seen King Liang and Liu Yao off, he rushed to the study. As he made his way there, his emotions were difficult to fathom, pain and excitement mixed in with an urgent expectation for the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra.

    When he returned to the study, he saw his wife sitting upright in front of the table as she usually did, beautiful andposed. Her face was slightly redder than usual, but other than that, there wasn¡¯t really anything different about her.

    He swallowed with difficulty, then asked inquisitively, ¡°Yuqing, did you seed?¡±

 Chapter 454: A Good Lesson

    <h4>Chapter 454: A Good Lesson</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Yun Yuqing tossed him a booklet. ¡°This is what you wanted,¡± she said coldly.

    King Wu took it and immediately began to examine it. He could tell that it was incredibly profound and mysterious after reading just a few lines. However, he couldn¡¯t shake all of his worries. ¡°That fellow gave it to you that easily? Did he agree to our proposals?¡±

    ¡°What do you think?¡± Yun Yuqing said nonchntly.

    King Wu felt his heart skip a beat. ¡°Could it be that you really...¡±

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t that what you were hoping for?¡± Tears glistened within Yun Yuqing¡¯s gem-like eyes as she reminisced about the past affection they¡¯d shared. Everyone had called them a perfect couple, and many times, even she herself had felt that it was true. However, the things that had happened over the past two days made all of it seem like a mirage.

    King Wu¡¯s heart was broken by wife¡¯s expression. His wife had really done it with another man... and he was the one who had incited it. His mind was overwhelmed by emotions. He reached out an arm to hold his wife. ¡°Yuqing, I¡¯ve wronged you.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t touch me!¡± Yun Yuqing backed away. She looked at him as though she was looking at a stranger.

    King Wu was at a loss as to how to console her. A heavy silence fell across the room.

    Despite this, he still remembered the most important part. ¡°Is this Phoenix Nirvana Sutra real or fake? Did you verify it?¡±

    ¡°Of course I did.¡± Yun Yuqing recalled the strangeness within Zu An¡¯s body, and how she couldn¡¯t sense any ki flow within him. However, she didn¡¯t n on telling her husband about that.

    King Wu immediately felt as if his heart had been cut out of his chest. There was only one way his wife could have confirmed this. At the same time, he felt a mysterious sense of relief. ¡°This secret manual is surely veryplicated. Did you confirm every part of it?¡±

    This matter was too important, and he had to take any and all precautions. It would be a real joke if he ended up cultivating a fake version.

    ¡°Of course. I had all night to confirm it.¡± Yun Yuqing¡¯s face flushed red as she recalled everything that had happened. She looked at her husband, resentment burning in her eyes. ¡°What? Do you want me to tell you all the details bit by bit? Should I exin to you just how another man toyed with your wife?¡±

    ¡°All night!?¡± King Wu almost fell over. He initially believed that the two of them had spent most of that time negotiating. However, from his wife¡¯s tone, it seemed the truth waspletely different.

    Was that Zu An still human?

    He felt his throat go dry when he thought about how his wife had been tormented for an entire night. To be honest, he really did want to hear the details, but there was no way he could say it out loud. He had enjoyed his lofty status for many years, and he was way too proud to be able to admit to something so shameful. He could only say with a bitterugh, ¡°No... no need. That should be enough to get you pregnant, at least, which will take care of that other issue.¡±

    Yun Yuqing rubbed her belly subconsciously, a gentle expression shing across her face.

    Her expression did not escape King Wu¡¯s notice. His voice couldn¡¯t help but grow cold. ¡°You didn¡¯t fall in love with that guy or anything, did you?¡±

    ¡°Fall in love with him?¡± Yun Yuqing was at a loss for words. Could she really fall in love with someone else so quickly? Then again, that fellow really did have a peculiar sort of charm...

    She shook her head, tossing all of these thoughts out of her head. ¡°I do not know if I ended up falling for him, but he is surely more of a man than you.¡±

    She meant to say that he, an outsider, had shown enough pity to tell her not to do such stupid things in the future, yet her husband was the one who had forced her to sleep with another man in the first ce.

    She turned around to leave after saying this. She was physically and emotionally exhausted. All she wanted was to get some well-deserved rest.

    However, those words meant something else entirely to King Wu¡¯s ears. He thought that she was mocking him for not being able to get it up.

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Yan for 999... 999... 999...

    As he watched his wife¡¯s silhouette disappear, hatred appeared in King Wu¡¯s eyes.

    When Yun Yuqing had left, he immediately called over his trusted aides, Sun Buqi and Cheng Hong. ¡°Help me make the arrangements to kill Zu An.¡±

    He already had the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, so there was no need to keep him alive anymore. It was enough for him to be the only one with eternal life; there was no need for there to be another, and he definitely didn¡¯t want his all-powerful father to live forever either.

    Something else was driving him to order the kill. Even though Yun Yuqing had tried her best to hide it, he could vaguely make out the hickeys that were all over her slender neck, just beneath the fox coat. It was obvious just how intense that session had been.

    There was even a trace of gentleness in his wife¡¯s tone, as though she had already developed some level of affection for that guy. That made him incredibly jealous. He could tolerate another man entering Yun Yuqing¡¯s body, but he could not tolerate the same man entering her heart.

    Sun Buqi and Cheng Hong were both shocked. They immediately offered their counsel. ¡°My king, please think it over! Killing Zu An is the same as incurring his majesty¡¯s wrath! We would never survive something like that!¡±

    King Wu snorted. ¡°Of course I¡¯m not foolish enough to do it myself. Find a way to contact the Lu Sanyuan Rebel Army in Gan Mountain. Tell them about the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, and give them the Imperial Guard¡¯s itinerary and whatever other intelligence they might need. They will surely attempt to attack their convoy.¡±

    ¡°The Lu Sanyuan Rebel Army?¡± Cheng Hong¡¯s expression paled slightly. ¡°They have always been a huge problem for the imperial court. Wouldn¡¯t contacting them be a huge risk?¡±

    Once the Zhou Dynasty had unified the world under its rule and defeated the foreign races, an age of peace had been introduced. However, the empire itself wasn¡¯t without its own internal battles. Rebellions sprung up from time to time due to oppression and other such injustices. Among them, the Lu Sanyuan Rebel Army of Lushui Commandery was thergest rebel army. The armies sent out by the imperial court to suppress them had already suffered several crushing defeats. This army was a threat to all levels of society.

    Sun Buqi offered his advice in much the same way. ¡°Indeed, my king! This is just too great of a risk for us to take! If we are found out, the consequences will be too great!¡±

    King Wu¡¯s expression was grim. ¡°No one else can handle King Liang¡¯s Imperial Guard, apart from the Lu Sanyuan Rebel Army.¡±

    He had nned to get rid of Zu An from the very start. The way his wife was acting only further hardened his resolve.

    ¡°As for the issue the two of you are worried about, it¡¯s not that big of a problem. The two of you can just pretend to be from King Qi¡¯s faction when you contact them. Everyone knows that my uncle is the one who most fervently wishes that my father, the emperor, would not obtain eternal life.¡±

    King Wu¡¯s smile carried a slight chill. He had two main rivals blocking his ascent to the imperial throne. The first was King Qi, and the second was the crown prince. The crown prince was so weak that he hardly deserved consideration. The one he feared the most was still his revered uncle.

    Sun Buqi¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°As expected, my king is wise and brilliant! I will try to find a way.¡±

    After the two of them had taken their leave, King Wu went looking for his wife in fiery rage. Unexpectedly, she wouldn¡¯t even let him into her room. ¡°I¡¯m tired. Please go back on your own.¡±

    King Wu¡¯s expression flickered darkly. However, he really had let her down today, and he didn¡¯t dare to offend her any further. He could only return to his room, grabbing a random maid along the way.

    His head was swimming with various imaginary scenes, and he felt as though his body was in a much better state today.

    Several minutester, the maid smoothed out her clothes and left.

    Then, he opened up the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra and began to cultivate. He had paid such a huge price for this, so he definitely had to cultivate this technique properly.

    Soon afterwards, the sky brightened. King Liang and Liu Yao had enjoyed themselves for an entire night, so they slept all the way until noon.

    Once preparations had been made, they bade King Wu farewell. King Wu didn¡¯t keep them this time, and escorted them out of the manor.

    Along the way, King Liang let out a sigh. ¡° Madam¡¯splexion seemed a little pale two days ago, but she seems much better today. It¡¯s important to take care of yourself.¡±

    He had no idea that his words had entirely different meanings to those who were listening. King Wu turned around and red at Zu An, who was nearby. He clenched his fists within his sleeves so tightly that even his fingernails were about to dig into his skin.

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Yan for 666... 666.. 666...

    Zu An was given a huge fright when he saw the string of Rage pointsing in. However, he reacted quickly. He probably knew that Yun Yuqing had paid him a visit the night before. Maybe he had even told her to.

    Sigh, there are some real bastards in this world...

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Actually, I wouldn¡¯t mind meeting more of them. I¡¯ll teach them all a good lesson!

 Chapter 455: Joining Forces

    <h4>Chapter 455: Joining Forces</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but nce over at Yun Yuqing. When he saw that she was also secretly looking at him, he smiled and winked at her.

    Yun Yuqing blushed and turned her head away.

    Her body and mind were both exhausted. To be honest, she hadn¡¯t wanted toe out at all, but when she thought about how this might be thest time she would be able to see Zu An, she still ended uping out for some strange reason.

    Their exchange didn¡¯t escape King Wu¡¯s notice, and his rage only continued to grow.

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Yan for 1024 Rage points!

    However, there was no way for him to make a move with everyone else around him. He could only pretend that nothing had happened, and continued to chat with King Liang, Liu Yao, and the others.

    The two finally parted ways after they left the city.

    As Zu An¡¯s carriage passed by her, Yun Yuqing sent him voice transmission. ¡°Take care of yourself.¡±

    Zu Anughed when he sensed the grief of separation coloring her voice. ¡°North Order City is a good ce. Not only is the scenery beautiful, so are the people. I will definitelye back in the future! Haha.¡±

    Yun Yuqing¡¯s face turned red. She knew that he¡¯d said this for her to hear, as a reminder to her of their agreement. However, she didn¡¯t believe there was any chance that Zu An would survive this journey.

    Everyone around them found this really strange. You¡¯re only passing through as a prisoner¡ªwhat fond memories could you have possibly made in this ce?

    Only King Wu understood the meaning behind what he¡¯d said. His handsome face immediately grew twisted. The killing intent within him grew stronger and stronger.

    You have sessfully trolled King Wu for 444 Rage points!

    Huang Huihong closed the door to Zu An¡¯s carriage in annoyance. ¡°Shut your mouth. You¡¯re already a prisoner. How could you possibly return?¡±

    The people around them roared withughter, mocking Zu An for overestimating himself.

    Zu An didn¡¯t really mind. You goons have no idea how much I enjoyed myself here!

    ¡°Is there something going on between you and the Madam?¡± Zheng Dan¡¯s fingers wrote on the table. She was right beside Zu An, and had noticed their exchange.

    Zu An smiled. He also began writing on the table. ¡°Of course. She was no match for my handsome face, andpletely fell for my charm.¡±

    Zheng Dan rolled her eyes.

    Like hell I¡¯ll believe you! Madam Wumands such a high status that she¡¯s basically an immortal goddess. Why would she care about you?

    She might have had some doubts if they¡¯d stayed longer, but their stay in the manor had onlysted for two days. They were locked in that courtyard the entire time as well, and didn¡¯t even see Madam Wu¡¯s face. How could there possibly be anything going on between them?

    She slowly exhaled when she thought of this. She was clearly overthinking things.

    Sang Hong was also incredibly puzzled. He felt as though he had forgotten something, yet he just couldn¡¯t figure out what it was.

    Sang Qian was the only one who stared at the distant woman in the white fox coat as they departed. He sighed. How could there be such a perfect woman in this world? He was incredibly envious of King Wu.

    ...

    With each person having their own thoughts, the party headed north, and arrived at a small town. The sky was already darkening, so King Liang gave the order to stop at this town.

    This town was quite small, with only a single inn. King Liang''s subordinates quickly reserved the entire inn. Of course, most of the Imperial Guards had to be stationed outside the town.

    Because of the scarcity of rooms, Zu An obviously couldn¡¯t have his own room. He had to share a room with Sang Hong and Sang Qian.

    Inside the room, Sang Qian was pissed. Just looking at Zu An made his face go red with anger.

    Zu An noticed that Sang Qian seemed about to throw himself at him, and said rather unhappily, ¡°Aren¡¯t you being rather ungrateful?¡±

    ¡°Me, ungrateful?¡± Sang Qian was so angry that he burst outughing. He had no idea where this fellow found the nerve to say something like this. What in the world did he have to be grateful for?

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for 666 Rage points!

    ¡°Putting aside how I saved you before, let¡¯s talk about right now. If it wasn¡¯t for me, you two would still be stuck in that prison carriage. Would you have even had a chance to stay in a room in the inn, especially when the space is so limited?¡± Zu An punctuated his statement with a snort.

    Sang Qian¡¯s breath caught. This fellow wasn¡¯t wrong.

    By rights, all of them should have been left inside their prison carriages. However, Zu An alwaysined that he might forget some parts of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra if he was ufortable. He pushed all of this responsibility onto the rest of the party, iming that they would let such a thing happen only because they didn¡¯t want the emperor to obtain eternal life.

    King Liang and these other old foxes didn¡¯t dare to take that sort of risk. Besides, giving up a room wasn¡¯t that big of a deal.

    That was why they had given him a room to stay in whenever they could. Of course, they also figured that it wouldn¡¯t look good for them if news got around that these powerful masters were being manipted by a scoundrel, so King Liang decided that he might as well put the other criminals in rooms as well. After all, Sang Hong and the others had previously been officials of the court, and they did not want to give those imperial censors anything to criticize.

    In other ces, there had been enough rooms to go around, but this inn was small, so the three of them were crammed into the same room.

    ¡°That¡¯s more like it. As people, we should learn when to be grateful, and when to take our revenge. Otherwise, I might just be so annoyed that I have no choice but to move in next door with Miss Zheng. I wonder what you''ll do then?¡± Zu An snorted again.

    Zheng Dan was a woman, so there was no way she would be thrown together with the other men.

    Because Sang Hong still hadn¡¯t been officially convicted, King Liang, Liu Yao, and the others were still worried about how some things might look.

    ¡°You are going too far!¡± Sang Qian was about to go mad. He roared and charged straight at him.

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for 999 Rage points!

    Since his ki was sealed, his movements were roughly as quick as an ordinary person¡¯s, and Zu An easily avoided him.

    As he dodged about, he began to yell, ¡°Help! Save me! I want to change rooms!¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°What are you making a racket for?!¡± Huang Huihong came in and gave them all a furious re. ¡°If you keep making noise, I¡¯ll throw all of you outside.¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m not the one who is trying to kick up a fuss. This guy, however, thinks of me as his enemy! He wants to kill me whenever he sees me, so I don¡¯t feel safe here! Please put me in young miss Zheng¡¯s room instead! The two of us are close, so I don¡¯t think she¡¯ll mind.¡±

    ¡°What the hell?¡± Sang Qian suddenly realized that he had unwittingly fallen for another of Zu An¡¯s tricks.

    Just as he was about to panic, Huang Huihong red at Zu An. ¡°You want me to put you in with her? Keep dreaming!¡±

    Zu An was less than impressed by his response.

    Does this guy have something against me too? All I did was look at your goddess a few extra times. Is there a need for you to make things so difficult for me?

    Just then, a soldier rushed over. ¡°Commander Huang, the respected king has something he wishes to discuss with you.¡±

    Huang Huihong nodded. He issued the two of them another warning. ¡°If you two start some more trouble, I¡¯ll have no choice but to be discourteous. Lord Sang, please say something as well. It¡¯ll look bad for everyone here if I have to make you sleep outside.¡±

    Sang Hong nodded. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will hold Qian¡¯er back.¡±

    Huang Huihong gave Zu An a final look. ¡°The same goes for you.¡±

    Zu An shrugged his shoulders indifferently.

    Huang Huihong left quickly. Zu An began to devise how he was going to farm more Rage points from Sang Qian.

    However, Sang Hong spoke up. ¡°My little friend Zu, we aren¡¯t enemies. We might even end up fighting on the same side in the future. Why is there a need for all this internal strife?¡±

    ¡°Fight on the same side?¡± Zu An was rather confused.

    Sang Hong looked into the night sky. He said quietly, ¡°There are many people who want you dead, and there are quite a few who want us dead as well. Once the situation gets messy, we might have to join forces.¡±

    Zu An curled his lips in a sneer. ¡°And here I thought you had something else to say. I thought I heard you say that there were quite a few people out to get you, but everyone who has shown up so far has been after me! Please stop trying to raise your value.¡±

    Sang Hong didn¡¯t seem to mind him at all. ¡°It¡¯s not like that¡¯s a good thing, so I don¡¯t see it as raising my value. As for those who want to kill us, given the timing, they should be here tonight.¡±

    Sang Qian was still furious, but he couldn¡¯t help but feel shocked when he heard what his father said. He couldn¡¯t be bothered to pursue any further argument with Zu An.

    Zu An frowned. From the looks of things, it seemed as though Sang Hong had detected something.

    At that moment, the door opened, and a member of the service staff brought in a wooden case. ¡°Dinner for your distinguished selves.¡±

    As he spoke, he ced a te of food in front of each of the three individuals. Even though the food wasn¡¯t anything to write home about, it seemed decent.

    Sang Qian¡¯s stomach had begun rumbling with hunger a long while ago. However, just as he was about to eat, Sang Hong stopped him. He looked at his father in confusion.

    Sang Hongughed. ¡°Look, Zu An isn¡¯t in any hurry to eat yet. Why are you in such a rush?¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°Respect for our elders is a traditional virtue of our Zhou Dynasty. Elders should obviously eat first.¡±

 Chapter 456: Little Sis

    <h4>Chapter 456: Little Sis</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Sang Qian waspletely confused. What the heck were these two talking about? ¡°If you don¡¯t want to eat, then don¡¯t eat. I¡¯m bloody starving.¡±

    Sang Hong gave his son a furious look. ¡°Even Zu An can tell, why can¡¯t you? Are you inferior to him in this area as well?¡±

    Sang Qian was stunned, and at the same time, extremely unhappy. His father had kept on praising Zu An all this while, almost as if he was his son instead. He was totally fed up with this. ¡°Dad, if you like him so much, he can be your son!¡±

    Sang Hong took a deep breath to steady himself.

    He really was about to lose it because of his son. He had no choice but to exin, ¡°Use that damned brain of yours for once! How could a small-time chef from a tiny, remote town like this possibly cook such decent food? Not only that, the Embroidered Envoy always inspects our food before it is given to us. Why would a member of the staff be allowed to approach us?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Sang Qian gave a sudden start. He tossed away the bowl in his hands immediately.

    The food on the te fell onto the floor without incident, but when the bowl of soup scattered across the ground, waves of bubbles appeared across the surface of the spilled liquid. There was clearly poison inside.

    ¡°What the hell is this carbonated shit...?¡± Zu An cursed. He also poured his soup on the floor. Sure enough, bubbles emerged as well. He frowned. These attackers had no sense of honor! They nned to kill everyone! Were they here for him, or for Sang Hong and Sang Qian?

    His question soon received an answer. The service staff sneered. ¡°Since you don¡¯t wish to die with dignity, then let me help you out!¡±

    He produced a dagger from the food case and rushed straight at Sang Hong and Sang Qian.

    This thrust was exceedingly swift. In an instant, a strong killing intent filled the room, locking onto the father and son of the Sang n.

    Sang Qian¡¯s face drained of all color, and he began to panic. If his cultivation wasn¡¯t sealed, he would never have been scared of this person. Right now, however, he was even weaker than an ordinary person. It was too easy for his attacker to kill him.

    In contrast, Sang Hong remained icy calm. After all, he was a powerful eighth rank cultivator. Even though he couldn¡¯t use his cultivation, his extraordinary sight still remained.

    He threw the tray of poisoned food towards the service staff. With the staff member¡¯s line of sight blocked by the flying food, he picked up the chopsticks and stabbed them towards the staff member¡¯s neck.

    The staff member clutched at his neck, but his carotid artery had already been punctured. Blood gushed out continuously. He was inplete disbelief. He didn¡¯t expect this old man to kill him instead! After all, Sang Hong¡¯s cultivation was currently sealed, so he should have been no different from an ordinary old man.

    Zu An gulped. A tiger without teeth was still a tiger! His grasp of timing was just too precise, and he¡¯d killed his enemy as if it had been no big deal. Considering how much he had provoked Sang Qian along the way, if Sang Hong decided toe after him, he might not be able to do a thing.

    Sang Hong was also gasping for breath. With his cultivation sealed, that attack had clearly used up all of his strength.

    At that instant, the window was broken open, and several people barged in, all of them dressed as inn workers. However, the des in their hands were all pointed at Sang Hong and Sang Qian.

    Sang Qian was a powerful cultivator in his own right. Once the initial shock had faded, he reacted quickly. Even though his cultivation was sealed and he wasn¡¯t able to defeat these opponents, he could still use the various things inside the room to survive, even if it was a desperate struggle.

    He had no attention left to spare for his father.

    Sang Hong¡¯s previous attack had drained him of most of his strength. He rolled across the ground as his attacker¡¯s de thrust towards him, just barely managing to escape. However, a second de was already descending.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    His strength was spent, and he couldn¡¯t gather any more in time. There was no way to evade this fatal de. All he could do was to sigh inwardly. To think that someone like him, who had lived such a domineering life, was actually going to die like this...

    A sharp crack rang out. The assassin froze momentarily, and his de deviated just a hair. He instinctively covered his head and looked behind him.

    Zu An raised both of his hands. ¡°Would you believe me if I said that I didn¡¯t do it on purpose?¡±

    That attacker was furious. He was just about to swing his de at Zu An, but Sang Hong had already recovered. He picked up a fragment of the shattered bowl from the ground and brought it across the attacker¡¯s neck in a clean motion.

    The attacker clutched at his neck and stumbled backwards. He copsed.

    ¡°Thanks!¡± Sang Hong gasped for breath as he nodded towards Zu An in gratitude.

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t a big deal.¡± Zu An was stunned. Although this guy looked like an old man, his attacks were so swift and precise! He didn¡¯t give his opponent any room to react. It was no wonder that even the Chu n, a n that had prospered for a thousand years, had almost been brought down by him.

    He had interfered for two reasons. Firstly, Sang Hong had given him a chance to escape before by stopping King Liang. This could be considered repayment for that favor. The second reason was precisely because of what Sang Hong had said earlier about cooperation. It suddenly struck him that he was headed to the capital, a ce that he knew nothing about. There wasn¡¯t a single person there he could rely on, and he didn¡¯t have even the most basic intelligence about what he would face. This made nning anything extremely difficult.

    If he could secure Sang Hong¡¯s help, that would solve many of his problems. Getting on this old man¡¯s good side wasn¡¯t a terrible idea.

    However, he had no time to think about this right now. The attackers had been mortified by the scene. The leader shouted, ¡°Finish them quickly!¡¯

    They began to move more quickly, their attacks growing more vicious than before. One of them even rushed at Zu An, although whether it was because they wanted to kill him or just to stop him from causing any more trouble was unclear.

    Zu An wasn¡¯t about to gamble with his life. He ran immediately. Even though he didn¡¯t have Sang Hong¡¯s brilliant sight, he still had his Sunflower Phantasm. He couldn¡¯t use his ki to augment it, but it was better than nothing.

    Sang Qian was finally struck by a de. He had been evading all this time, and although it had been a series of close calls, he hadn¡¯t been wounded until now.

    ¡°What happened to the guards outside?¡± Zu An was horrified. Even though not much time had passed, there was so much noise in the room, and there was no way those outside wouldn¡¯t be able to hear anything. What the heck was going on?

    At the same time, something else seemed off. Even though these attackers were fierce, and every blow of theirs was potentially lethal, they did not have high levels of cultivation. This was the only reason why Zu An and the rest were still alive even though their own cultivations were sealed.

    None of this added up!

    He noticed that Sang Hong¡¯s situation had deteriorated significantly. He had suffered multiple cuts on his body, and it seemed as though he was on the brink of death.

    A flicker of light caught Zu An¡¯s eyes. When he was still hesitating, a slim figure suddenly rushed in. There came the clear sound of a de being drawn. A flexible sword thrust out like a silver dragon, and the entire room was illuminated by a streak of silver light. It was so blinding that almost everyone couldn¡¯t open their eyes.

    Zu An squinted, and could vaguely make out a figure moving through the room, as fast as lightning, the flexible sword in their hand slicing across the necks of their attackers. The silver light quickly faded, and the attackers copsed one after another.

    He finally made out this individual¡¯s appearance. This person was dressed as a servant, and wore a worn leather cap. However, the rough clothing couldn¡¯t conceal her graceful figure. Together with her curved brows, small mouth, and fair skin, this was clearly a woman dressed as a man.

    He had seen too many examples of this in the dramas of his previous world. He didn¡¯t expect the cross-dressing women of this world to be so careless as well.

    With all that figured out, he walked over to her. ¡°Thank you, great hero, for saving our lives. Unfortunately, I don¡¯t have anything precious on me. How about I give you a hug to express my gratitude?¡±

    As he spoke, Zu An reached his arm towards her shoulder. However, his hand froze in midair, because her sword was already pressing against his body. ¡°Why are you such a rascal?¡± She asked with a frown.

    Her voice was clear and sharp. It sounded pleasant, even when it was angry.

    Sang Qian was immediately overjoyed when he saw her. He cried out, ¡°Little sis, kill that guy!¡±

    Zu An felt his mind short-circuit momentarily. Little sis?

    The youngdy turned towards Sang Qian. ¡°What did he do?¡±

    ¡°This fellow bullied your sister-inw!¡± Even though Sang Qian hadn¡¯t seen anything, he was still driven mad from the simple fact that they had shared a carriage.

    ¡°Then he does deserve death!¡± The youngdy¡¯s face turned cold, and she thrust her sword out.

 Chapter 457: A Private Discussion

    <h4>Chapter 457: A Private Discussion</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Frightened, Zu An quickly dodged backwards. ¡°Don¡¯t listen to your brother¡¯s nonsense! I am his benefactor! Other girls show sincere devotion towards their benefactors; why are you trying to stab me with your sword?¡±

    ¡°You are a pervert after all!¡± The youngdy¡¯s pretty face wentpletely red. She tugged at her belt with her free hand, drawing a cold and vicious flexible sword out of its scabbard, which she thrust straight at him.

    Zu An had a mocking look on his face. Your waist is tiny! If you keep a flexible sword there, aren¡¯t you scared that you¡¯ll identally cut yourself in half?

    Jokes aside, the sight of her gleaming sword shing through a group of assassins in mere seconds was still fresh in his memory, and he didn¡¯t dare act carelessly. In a panic, he used his Sunflower Phantasm to dodge to one side as he yelled, ¡°Old man Sang! I¡¯m going to start cursing if you don¡¯t keep a leash on your kids!¡±

    Sang Hong had a strange expression on his face. He had deliberately done nothing just now, amused to find out how this was going to y out. This fellow had kept bullying Qian¡¯er all this while, so it wasn¡¯t that bad to see him suffer a little.

    However, when he saw that Zu An¡¯s life really might be in danger, he released a light cough. ¡°Qien¡¯er, stop!¡±[1]

    The youngdy immediately sheathed her flexible sword when she heard him, and returned to his side.

    Sang Hong nodded. His daughter really was much more obedient than his son.

    Zu An crawled to his feet again and brushed the dirt off his body. ¡°Qien¡¯er! The young miss had a wonderful name. It sounds way better than your brother¡¯s.¡±

    Sang Qien rolled her eyes. This fellow really was shameless! Only my family calls me Qien¡¯er. Why are you calling me that...?

    Sang Qian was furious. Their names were phically simr, just that one of them was male, and the other was female. What do you mean, one sounds bad and one sounds good?

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for 666 Rage points!

    Sang Hong was somewhat at a loss as to what to say as well. But he still introduced Zu An to his daughter. ¡°This is Zu An. he saved your father and your older brother¡¯s lives. You should know about the rest.¡±

    Sang Qien nodded. She had looked into the details before making her way here, so she obviously knew about Zu An. What was going on between him and her sister-inw, though?

    Of course, she was always a careful person, and she wasn¡¯t going to do something so stupid as to ask that question now. She greeted Zu An instead. ¡°Thank you, young master. Please forgive me for offending you just now.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s no big deal.¡± Zu Anughed, then gave Sang Qian a look. ¡°You should learn a little from her. Your little sister is far more polite than you.¡±

    Sang Qian was furious. ¡°You little bastard, are you trying to start a fight?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for 798 Rage points!

    Sang Hong quickly interrupted the two of them to prevent another quarrel. ¡°By the way, Qien¡¯er, why are you here?¡±

    Sang Qien gave Zu An a look. She pulled her father and older brother to the side, and then she said in a hushed voice, ¡°Those influential figures in the capital were quite worked up when they discovered that the ount book was fake. Father, you¡¯ve offended too many people in the past, so many people in the capital do not wish to see you return alive. That¡¯s why I brought some men with me to protect the two of you.¡±

    Sang Qian¡¯s mouth fell open, his eyes wide with shock. He had to admire his father¡¯s foresight. He had predicted this situation right from the start!

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Sang Hong¡¯s voice was heavy. ¡°What are His Majesty¡¯s intentions?¡±

    Sang Qien shook her head. ¡°His Majesty didn¡¯t give a definitive response regarding this matter, which is likely a form of tacit agreement. That is why those ns are acting so brazenly. It truly is a pity. Father, you have always remained loyal and devoted to His Majesty, and you¡¯ve willingly fought alone all this time. Yet in the end, despite offending so many influential figures for his sake he has cast you aside and abandoned you. This emperor has wronged you.¡±

    ¡°Speak cautiously!¡± Sang Hong¡¯s expression remained nonchnt. ¡°As an emperor, this is what he must do. Your father already knew what he was getting himself into when he made this choice all those years ago, so there¡¯s no point in pointing fingers. Moreover, His Majesty is only doing this as a way of appeasing those furious influential figures. As long as we can reach the capital city safely, I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll survive this ordeal.¡±

    Sang Qien said, ¡°How could it be that easy? As far as I know, many ns wish for your deaths. Take this attack in the inn, for example. If I hadn¡¯t infiltrated this inn, you all might have...¡±

    ¡°Why did they only send these weaklings after us?¡± Sang Qian asked, puzzled.

    Even though their attacks seemed fierce, they weren¡¯t really all that strong.

    Sang Qien said, ¡°It was most likely to escape the Embroidered Envoy¡¯s detection. They cannot bribe everyone, after all. If the workers in an ordinary small town inn had strong ki fluctuations, it would definitely draw suspicion.¡±

    Sang Hong rebuked him gently as well. ¡°Qian¡¯er, you shouldn¡¯t talk such a big game without being able to back it up. Even though they didn¡¯t have high levels of cultivation, we would be corpses right now without Zu An¡¯s help and your sister¡¯s timely appearance.¡±

    Sang Qian grunted in acknowledgement even though he didn¡¯t agree. He hated being seen as inferior to his younger sister, and his father even seemed to think of him as inferior to Zu An.

    Zu An felt as though he had to say something. ¡°You guys are having such a sweet family reunion over there. But what about my feelings?¡±

    Sang Hong smiled and said, ¡°My apologies.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to be that polite to me,¡± Zu An replied. ¡°There is something I¡¯m curious about, though. Why is it that the guards outside haven¡¯t done anything even though there was so much noise in here?¡±

    Sang Hong replied, ¡°I believe those who wish to kill us have some sort of rtionship with King Liang or Liu Yao, and are leveraging this rtionship to create this opportunity for assassination. Bribing the members of the Embroidered Envoy is impossible, so they were likely transferred away. If I am not mistaken, then they should be back soon. Qien¡¯er, you should hurry up and leave, or else you won¡¯t be able to get awayter.¡±

    Sang Qien nodded. Her lips moved slightly, clearly talking through voice transmission. Then, she said, ¡°Father, take care of yourself. I will watch your surroundings for you along the way.¡± She smashed open a window and disappeared into the darkness.

    Huang Huihong came back with some men soon after she left. When he saw the mess, and the corpses littering the ground, his expression darkened considerably.

    King Liang and Liu Yao rushed over as well, once they received the news. They had equally shocked expressions. ¡°How could something like this happen? What about the guards outside?¡±

    Very quickly, someone came back with the answer. ¡°They¡¯re not breathing. They were probably poisoned by blow darts.¡±

    Huang Huihong¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he gave King Liang a cold look. ¡°Respected king, can you tell me what is going on?¡±

    Two of his own Embroidered Envoy were among the casualties. He and his subordinates had been transferred away, but he had deliberately left behind two of his men. He hadn¡¯t expected there to be a problem, given the presence of so many Imperial Guard soldiers keeping watch. Yet, he had returned only to be confronted by this gruesome sight.

    King Liang was confused. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°It was your subordinate who called us over to discuss our itinerary going forward,¡± Huang Huihong said, his voice full of unspoken meaning.

    King Liang sniffed. ¡°Commander Huang, please be considerate when you speak. When did I send anyone to summon you? I have been patrolling the surroundings all this time, and that is something many people can testify to. Something has happened in your own absence¡ªhow can you cast the me on me?¡±

    Liu Yao acted as a mediator. ¡°Come on, we are all on the same side here. This is something none of us want to see! Right now, our top priority should be making sure that we haven¡¯t overlooked anything else, instead of being in such a hurry to point fingers at each other.¡±

    Huang Huihong¡¯s sharp eyes scanned the whole area, but he didn¡¯t find the one who had passed on the message to him. He didn¡¯t think he would see them again in the future either.

    Even though he knew that it was one of King Liang¡¯s subordinates that had called him over, but without any proof, he could only swallow this in silence.

    Sang Hong watched everything y out, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

    Huang Huihong personally interrogated the three of them to find out the details of what just happened.

    They hid nothing, apart from Sang Qien¡¯s appearance.

    When all of them had left, Sang Hong nodded gratefully towards Zu An. ¡°Thanks.¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°I have been born with a great deal of goodwill towards women. Naturally, I wouldn¡¯t want her to be hunted down.¡±

    Sang Qian snorted angrily. ¡°You aren¡¯t allowed to go after my sister! Whatever is in your mind, I¡¯m sure it¡¯s just wishful thinking anyway. My younger sister is beautiful and smart. She has turned down many suitors in the capital who were far better than you.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression was a little strange. ¡°I didn¡¯t really have any thoughts about her earlier, but after hearing you say all of this, I¡¯m bing more and more interested. Wouldn¡¯t I gain a huge sense of achievement if I obtained your sister?¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Sang Qian roared in fury.

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for 515 Rage points!

    Sang Hong couldn''t help but shake his head. These two really were naturally ipatible.

    However, this wasn¡¯t his focus right now. He had just noticed Huang Huihong walk in, and he took this chance to say, ¡°Commander Huang, I have something I wish to discuss with you in private.¡±

    1. The phic pronunciation of the names of the two children are very simr, differing only in intonation. Both are written as ¡®Qian¡¯ in pinyin. As such, I am going to use Qien instead for the daughter to make it easier for everyone to distinguish between the two.

 Chapter 458: Swapping Identities

    <h4>Chapter 458: Swapping Identities</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Huang Huihong frowned, but he still brought Sang Hong to a private room. ¡°What did Lord Sang wish to talk to me about?¡±

    His tone wasn¡¯t all that great. Losing two of his subordinates had clearly put him in a foul mood.

    Sang Hong didn¡¯t mind this. He said calmly, ¡°Someone within our escorting troop colluded with those attackers.¡±

    Huang Huihong sneered. ¡°That¡¯s obvious. Does Lord Sang have any proof to offer?¡±

    Sang Hong shook his head. ¡°They are all old foxes from the political circles. Why would they leave behind anything that could be used against them?¡±

    Huang Huihong seemed a little upset. ¡°Then what¡¯s the point of telling me this now?¡±

    Sang Hong said, ¡°Even though I am currently a prisoner, this humble one has always remained loyal and devoted to His Majesty. I believe that, right now, the only one who is purely loyal to His Majesty in this contingent is Commander Huang.¡±

    Huang Huihong frowned. ¡°Lord Sang, what are you really trying to say?¡±

    Sang Hong said, ¡°Zu An is extremely important to His Majesty, but there are spies within this contingent of troops. I do not believe that Commander Huang can safely escort him to the capital.¡±

    Huang Huihong became quiet. To be honest, he was beginning to have these doubts as well. Their Embroidered Envoy wouldn¡¯t have any trouble fending off head on attacks using the imperial edict. However, their enemies had been ying dirty, and there were individuals within therger contingent who were colluding with the enemy. He felt an immense sense of powerlessness in the face of all this.

    ¡°Does Lord Sang have any suggestions, then?¡± Huang Huihong suddenly recalled that Sang Hong was always full of stratagems. He thus humbly asked him for advice.

    Sang Hong said, ¡°Let¡¯s employ some misdirection. My son is simr in age to Zu An. Have them change clothes and swap identities. This way, if the enemyes for Zu An and somehow seeds, they will only end up capturing my son.¡±

    Huang Huihong was stunned. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that put your son in danger?¡±

    Sang Hong replied, ¡°I have always remained absolutely loyal to His Majesty. Since I know how much he cares about Zu An now, I will willingly share in his worries. Of course, I wish to use this as a way to personally atone for my crimes, by offering some contributions of my own. Once we arrive in the capital and the emperor learns of what I did, he might treat me more leniently.¡±

    Huang Huihong had doubted him initially, but the second half of his exnation was enough to satisfy him fully. ¡°Lord Sang is faithful to our nation after all. Please do not worry. I will surely report your contributions to His Majesty when we reach the capital.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s safety was the one thing that worried him the most. He couldn¡¯t care less if Sang Qian lived or died. Of course, if they were to reach the capital safely, lending the Sang n a helping hand was definitely a possibility.

    ¡°Thank you, Commander Huang.¡± Sang Hong smiled. Clearly, he wasn¡¯t offering this strategy in the hopes of obtaining the emperor¡¯s consideration, or anything like that. He understood just how cold the emperor was. He had already been cast aside, and nothing else would change the emperor¡¯s mind.

    The most important thing was to reach the capital safely. Sang Hong was less concerned about his own safety, and more concerned about the safety of his own son. After all, he only had a single son. Given his current age, he wouldn¡¯t be able to produce another heir if Sang Qian died.

    His bright daughter had been able to guess his intentions, which was why she had given him this suggestion before leaving.

    Both father and daughter knew that there were too many in the capital who wanted to kill them. Even though Sang Qien was going to protect them from the shadows, she wasn¡¯t confident that she could guarantee their absolute safety on this long journey.

    Simrly, many people were after Zu An, but they all coveted his Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, which meant that they wouldn¡¯t kill him on sight. This would guarantee that Sang Qian would live if he were captured while posing as Zu An, and would also buy Sang Qien enough time to provide aid.

    The next morning, when Zu An learned that he was going to swap identities with Sang Qian, he tly refused.

    Instead of bending, Huang Huihong said with a snort, ¡°That¡¯s not up to you. Make them exchange their clothes.¡±

    When he heard that they were going to swap clothes, Zu An rolled his eyes, but did not argue further.

    Sang Qian had already received his father¡¯s instructions, and he naturally had no objections.

    When he saw Zu An admiring his groom''s clothes, he sneered. Keep acting smug. You¡¯ll end up dying without even knowing what happened!

    The assassination attempt from the day before still weighed heavily on his nerves. His sister had mentioned that there were many assassins after him and his father, so he was obviously overjoyed to take Zu An¡¯s ce. That way, not only would he have the Imperial Guard¡¯s protection, he could even be with Zheng Dan. Wasn¡¯t this a win-win situation?

    ...

    Their convoy made the final preparations to set out. Zheng Dan was shocked when she saw Zu An in groom¡¯s clothes. ¡°You... why are you...¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°My wife, how can you not recognize your husband?¡±

    He immediately moved forward to hug her. Zheng Dan¡¯s face turned red. They were in public right now! She didn¡¯t know what was going on, so she subconsciously took a step back.

    Beside him, Sang Qian panicked. He immediately rushed forward to stop him. ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    Zu An pointed at his clothes. ¡°Are you blind? These are the groom¡¯s clothes. Isn¡¯t it a perfect match for the bride¡¯s clothes? Since we¡¯ve already exchanged identities, we have to y the part.¡±

    Sang Qian was extremely flustered. ¡°Then why didn¡¯t you let Zheng Dan apany me before this?¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An had a helpless look on his face. ¡°It¡¯s your fault for being so useless.¡±

    He turned to Huang Huihong. ¡°I roughly know the reason why we are swapping identities. However, our attackers aren¡¯t stupid either. It¡¯s hard to imagine why a groom wouldn¡¯t be with his bride. They would immediately see through it.¡±

    Huang Huihong secretly agreed with him. What this fellow said made some sense. After all, not all the interested powers knew that Zu An had been the one apanying Zheng Dan so far. The attackers they sent might subconsciously assume that the one closer to the bride was the groom, Sang Qian. Things would be troublesome if that happened.

    Zu An¡¯s safety was the most important thing to him. That was why he didn¡¯t dare to take any risks. With that in mind, he said to Zheng Dan, ¡°You and Zu An will move into Sang Hong¡¯s prison carriage. Sang Qian, you are going inside that carriage in front.¡±

    Sang Qian was dumbstruck. Even after all of this, he still couldn¡¯t be with Zheng Dan?

    However, he remembered that his father would be there to stop Zu An from doing anything improper, and he let go of the breath he had been holding. He could just about ept such an arrangement.

    These new arrangements were hidden from King Liang and Liu Yao. Ever since the incident from the previous day, Huang Huihong had taken charge of escorting Zu An and the Sang n members, and he did not allow any imperial guards to approach.

    Sang Qian went inside the carriage, disappearing from view. Meanwhile, some makeup was applied to Zu An. Together with the bloodstains, it was hard to tell them apart without looking carefully.

    It was announced to the others that Sang Qian had been seriously injured in the attack the night before, and was being taken care of by Zheng Dan.

    Once all these preparations wereplete, the carriages moved off.

    After what had happenedst night, King Liang and Liu Yao both deliberately stayed a little further away from the two carriages. As such, they didn¡¯t notice that the people within the carriages had been swapped.

    King Liang even said jokingly to Liu Yao, ¡°Zu An seems quieter than usual today.¡±

    Liu Yaoughed. ¡°I reckon he was scared by the attackst night. Him being well-behaved makes this trip much more enjoyable.¡±

    ¡°Indeed, indeed.¡± King Liangughed. ¡°If I had known that this was going to be the case, I would¡¯ve sent some people to give him a good scare much earlier on. Bastards like him just don¡¯t listen when you¡¯re being nice.¡±

    Meanwhile, in the prison carriage, Zu An took the opportunity to secretly hold Zheng Dan¡¯s hand as she nestled against him to ¡®apply medicine¡¯. As he did so, he looked at Sang Hong. ¡°Lord Sang, that was hardly an honest move.¡±

    Sang Hong knew that this scheme wouldn¡¯t get past him, but he offered no excuses. ¡°Even though the chance of you losing your life is higher, the chances of being kidnapped is also substantially reduced. This situation is not entirely without its benefits.¡±

    Zu An snorted. ¡°You consider this beneficial for me?¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you agree to it as well?¡± Sang Hongughed. ¡°I was wondering why a smart kid like you would choose the route of guaranteed death, but I am now certain that you have your own ns, which hinges on you arriving at the capital safely.¡±

    Zu An put his guard up immediately. He couldn¡¯t underestimate this old man! He had gotten so close to the truth with such a small amount of information! Of course, there was no way he would admit to it. ¡°Please don¡¯t treat me like a little fox just because you¡¯re an old fox. I don¡¯t think that much. I¡¯m just happy for each day that I continue to live.¡±

    Sang Hong only chuckled at what Zu An said.

    Their convoy continued on peacefully. All was calm until suddenly, one day, the earth beneath them began to tremble, and giant ck billows appeared in the distance, swiftly closing in on them.

 Chapter 459: Underground Ambush

    <h4>Chapter 459: Underground Ambush</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    King Liang and Liu Yao were swiftly informed of this, and they quickly went forward to take a look. As they squinted suspiciously in the direction of the billowing ck waves, their expressions flickered. ¡°It¡¯s the rebel army! Prepare for battle!¡±

    They had no idea why they would run into the rebel army here. This ce wasn''t that far away from Lushui Commandery, but it definitely couldn¡¯t be considered close either, with several othermanderies in between. Why did this rebel army suddenly appear here?

    Were the guards of all the othermanderies blind?!

    Liu Yao¡¯s first instinct was to retreat, but themanders under him disagreed strongly. ¡°General, you cannot withdraw now! The rebel army is closing in on us, and they have arge contingent of cavalry. We won¡¯t be able to escape even if we try to run now. Instead, our formation will copse, and we¡¯ll be easily hunted down and killed!¡±

    ¡°Indeed, we might as well face them head on! Even though this rebel army isrge, their individual strength cannotpare to those of our elite imperial guards. We just need to hold out until news of this reaches the nearbymanderies and they send in reinforcements. We might even be able to earn substantial merit from this!¡±

    The Imperial Guard was made up of the empire¡¯s strongest elites. There was nock of experienced soldiers, and they immediately worked to dissuade Liu Yao.

    Liu Yao was at his wits end as well. He quickly solicited the advice of King Liang, who was next to him. ¡°Respected king, what do you think we should do?¡±

    King Liang was a master level cultivator, after all, so he was moreposed. ¡°Get into formation and face the enemy!¡±

    ¡°Get into formation! Get into formation!¡± Liu Yao finally snapped out of his daze and began to holler out orders.

    The Imperial Guard rushed out in front of the carriages and covered wagons. Raising their shields, they pointed their spears towards the iing rebel army.

    King Liang flew into midair. Two spheres of light quickly coalesced in front of him, and he hurled them straight down into the rebel army.

    *Boom!*

    Two loud explosions erupted. Men and horses were thrown up into the air. However, the rebel army was legion, and this small setback did little to disrupt their forward momentum.

    King Liang quickly condensed two more spheres of light and hurled them downwards again. He kept up his barrage, throwing sphere after sphere.

    The rebel army finally began to dissolve into chaos, not just because of the formidable power of those spheres of light, but also because the continuous explosions had begun to disrupt their formations. The soldiers in the back ranks were so focused on their forward charge that they could not avoid running into the men and horses that had been thrown to the ground ahead of them. Rank after rank of the rebel army crumbled.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An waspletely stupefied. King Liang was like a bomber aircraft all on his own! An air force could do whatever they wanted against mere ground troops.

    A thin transparent barrier appeared above the rebel army. They had their own formation technique as well! Even though it wasn¡¯t as sturdy as the Red Cloak Army¡¯s barrier, they had their advantage of numbers, and they barely managed to handle King Liang¡¯s bombardment.

    Liu Yao snorted when he saw this. He drew his own de and rushed forward to help. A forty meter long de of ki crashed down onto the rebel army¡¯s barrier. Together with the force of King Liang¡¯s bombardment, the rebel army¡¯s barrier immediately grew unstable.

    At that moment, someone burst forth from the rebel army and flew into the sky.

    He smashed apart King Liang¡¯s ki de with his fist, and intercepted King Liang¡¯s attacks at the same time.

    The two sides exchanged blows, then backed away.

    ¡°Renegade Lu Sanyuan, I didn¡¯t expect you toe personally!¡± King Liang¡¯s expression was rather ugly. Even though both of them had backed up quite a bit and they seemed evenly matched, his opponent had neutralized Liu Yao''s attack before fending off King Liang¡¯s own fist. His opponent¡¯s strength was clearly above his own.

    ¡°Lu Sanyuan?¡± Zu An froze when he heard this unfamiliar name, clearly confused.

    Sang Hong offered an exnation. ¡°He is the leader of the rebel army in Lushui Commandery. The imperial court sent out armies several times to take him down, but every attempt has ended in defeat. Now that I am seeing him with my own eyes, I can tell that his cultivation truly is tremendous. No wonder the imperial court¡¯s efforts all came to naught.¡±

    Zu An vaguely recalled hearing about this person before in Brightmoon City. They had portrayed him as a flesh-eating demon king in human form, yet the one flying in midair was a middle-aged man with refined features. Together with his graceful long hair, he looked more like a reclusive expert who paid no heed to worldly affairs, instead of some rebel army leader.

    ¡°So, it seems that there¡¯s nothing special about the renowned King Liang. I will spare your life if you agree to bow down and serve me. Otherwise, this day next year will be the anniversary of your death.¡± Lu Sanyuan stood in midair with his hands behind him, his entire being exuding a feeling of contempt.

    King Liang could not afford to lose any prestige in front of everyone. He braced himself and roared, ¡°Hmph! In my opinion, today is the day you will be beheaded!¡±

    ¡°Preposterous!¡± Lu Sanyuan¡¯s expression turned cold. He flew towards King Liang like a roc spreading its wings. The clouds behind him seemed to change color, and a ck fog began to roil behind him, taking the form of a giant, devilish face.

    King Liang¡¯s expression flickered. His hands spread outwards, and a translucent barrier surrounded him like an eggshell.

    The two of them crashed into each other, and King Liang was quickly swallowed up by the ck fog.

    Liu Yao tried his best to get away, but was swallowed up by the roiling ckness as well. Lu Sanyuan clearly didn¡¯t want him to assist his troops in the battle against the rebel army below.

    The three of them tangled in the air in a fierce back-and-forth. Even though King Liang and Liu Yao were working together, Lu Sanyuan didn¡¯t seem to be at a disadvantage at all. On the contrary, he was the one on the offensive.

    ck fog shrouded the sky, the figures of King Liang and Liu Yao only peeking out from time to time. They seemed like two small boats caught in a surging, stormy sea, tiny craft that might capsize at any time.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but ask Huang Huihong, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you guys helping them? That imperial edict thing you brought outst time seemed pretty kickass. Summon that again and beat up this Lu Sanyuan!¡±

    Huang Huihong didn¡¯t move a muscle. ¡°King Liang and the Guard General are enough to hold him off.¡±

    Zu An sighed. ¡°Are you betraying your teammates?¡± he said.

    Huang Huihong chose not to reply.

    Instead, he gave a dismissive sniff and pointedly ignored Zu An.

    The rebel army had already reached them. The Imperial Guard¡¯s defensive formation took a huge toll on the rebel army¡¯s vanguard. Large numbers of corpses hung from their spears.

    However, the numbers of the rebel army seemed limitless, and each of them looked as though they had been injected with some sort of stimnts. Their eyes werepletely bloodshot, and they yelled and screamed as they trampled over the corpses of theirrades.

    It didn¡¯t take long for both sides to be thoroughly enmeshed together. The Imperial Guard tried to maintain their formations in small groups, but they were unable to hold back the endless torrent of rebel army soldiers. With Liu Yao upied, the battle quickly descended into a disorganized mass of one-on-one battles without any unifiedmand.

    Huang Huihong thrashed at the nearby rebel army soldiers with his Soul-reaping Chains. He and the other Embroidered Guard served as thest defensive line, surrounding Zu An and the other prisoners.

    Not many rebel army soldiers were able to get near them, however, because they were at the very center of the formation.

    Even so, Huang Huihong had a rather ugly expression on his face. He could sense that the rebel army was about to mount arge-scale charge sooner orter.

    ¡°Commander, what should we do?¡± One of his Embroidered Envoy soldiers asked in panic.

    Huang Huihong scanned the battlefield, then said in a low voice, ¡°Let¡¯s withdraw to a safer ce first.¡±

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but blurt out, ¡°Doesn¡¯t this count as deserting?¡±

    ¡°Shut your mouth!¡± Huang Huihong said with an angry huff. ¡°My first priority is to escort all of you safely to the capital. That¡¯s all.¡±

    Sang Hong spoke up as well. ¡°Commander Huang, why don¡¯t you undo our seals? I am a court official, and I can offer some little assistance against the rebel army. I have family members in the capital, so you don¡¯t need to worry that I would use this chance to escape.¡±

    ¡°Indeed, Lord Sang is an eighth ranked cultivator, after all. He will surely be able to affect the tide of battle,¡± a different embroidered envoy said to Huang Huihong. Clearly, the current situation had left them all a little jittery.

    ¡°Absolutely not!¡± Huang Huihong rejected this proposal immediately. He wasn¡¯t about to take any unnecessary risks. ¡°We¡¯re leaving!¡±

    With that, he led the two carriages off in a different direction. They would be safe as long as they could reach the closestmandery. Troops would be transferred to assist them as well.

    A detachment from the rebel army broke off and immediately gave chase. However, some of the Imperial Guard cut them off. The Imperial Guard clearly understood their mission as well. If something happened to Zu An and the others, there was no way for them to escape death even if they somehow managed to make it through this battle safely.

    Huang Huihong¡¯s group used this chance to flee into the nearby forest.

    Seeing that they had left the battlefield behind, all of them released a sigh of relief. Right at that moment, however, several sharp swords suddenly thrust out from the ground, hacking at the lower half of the embroidered envoys¡¯ bodies with incredible precision.

 Chapter 460: Dragon Soulspeak

    <h4>Chapter 460: Dragon Soulspeak</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Their party quickly withdrew from the battlefield. As they entered the nearby forest, all of their pursuers disappeared.

    There was a collective sigh of relief. Zu An was still confused, and questioned Sang Hong. ¡°Can¡¯t the Imperial Envoy act in the emperor¡¯s stead? Why don¡¯t they summon the imperial edict? Why go through all this nonsense, and end up fleeing for their lives like this?¡±

    The sight of the imperial edict hovering over Brightmoon City was still fresh in his memory. There were three thousand Red Cloak Army elites there! In terms ofbat strength, they weren¡¯t much weaker than the rebel army.

    Sang Hong replied, ¡°The Embroidered Envoy rarely takes matters into their own hands, let alone repeatedly. I¡¯m guessing that using the imperial edict is not that convenient. A huge price surely has to be paid each time they do so.

    ¡°Besides, the Embroidered Envoy exists to help the emperor. If the emperor needs to interfere personally every time, wouldn¡¯t there be little point in their existence? That¡¯s probably why they won¡¯t casually use the imperial edict unless they have to.¡±

    His analysis was enough for Zu An to form a rough understanding. The imperial edict was like a nuclear weapon. It was used more for intimidation, and couldn¡¯t be used repeatedly.

    Huang Huihong said with a snort, ¡°Lord Sang, I advise you not to make random guesses¡ª¡±

    Several longswords suddenly thrust out from below. They pierced through the bellies of horses and prated even further upwards, threatening the embroidered envoys that rode them.

    These attackers had impable timing. They had waited for the embroidered envoys to be distracted by Sang Hong¡¯s words, andunched their attack at the perfect time.

    Despite being unprepared, the embroidered envoys were well trained, and they all leapt off their horses to evade the attack. Even so, two of the embroidered envoys moved toote, and were impaled together with their horses.

    Zu An gasped when he saw this, and subconsciously covered his rear. That¡¯s gotta sting...

    However, those embroidered envoys who had leapt clear of their horses were not spared either. Several glimmering ck streaks flew through the air towards them.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes narrowed. He couldn¡¯t be more familiar with these glimmering ck streaks! He had almost been killed by one of these things in North Order City.

    Was it the rebel army who wanted me dead?

    The embroidered envoys began to brandish their Soul-reaping Chains in midair to deflect the iing arrows. Unfortunately, dark elves only made their move when they knew their attacks were guaranteed to seed.

    They had drawn their bows in preparation and waited patiently, seizing the opportunity to strike just as the embroidered envoys leapt into the air to avoid the underground ambush.

    In that one moment, most of the Embroidered Envoy was helpless and unable to dodge.

    Wretched screams echoed through the air. The chests of two more embroidered envoys erupted in fountains of blood, and they instantly lost their lives to these ck arrows.

    The rest somehow managed to avoid killing blows, but all of them were injured.

    Huang Huihong quickly gathered hisrades around him and surrounded the carriages. His expression was extremely awful.

    Only ten Embroidered Envoy members had set out on this mission. Two of them had died mysteriously during the attack at the inn, and four more had lost their lives in this ambush. Including himself, there were only four Embroidered Envoy members left.

    The enemy slowly revealed themselves. Several Dark Elves leapt out from underground, while a few hopped down from some distant trees, all closing in on the prison carriage.

    Zu An gave them a rough count. There were eight dark elves, five men and three women. They were all dressed entirely in ck, and their faces were veiled. Their eyes were different from those of humans, being entirely red in color.

    With a sigh, Sang Hong said, ¡°It seems that the legends are true¡ªdark elves truly excel in the art of assassination. They wiped out close to half of the Embroidered Envoy in a single ambush. We¡¯re in quite a bit of trouble today.¡±

    Even though Huang Huihong¡¯s expression was overcast, he did not seem worried. He looked coldly at the iing dark elves. ¡°Who incited all of you to do this? Are all of you unaware that targeting captured criminals is an offense punishable by execution up to the ninth generation?¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°The ninth generation?¡± One of the dark elves snorted coldly. ¡°Even our homnd was destroyed by you humans. How could we still have nine generations?¡±

    Judging by the hatred burning in the other party¡¯s eyes, Huang Huihong knew that there was no way to avoid conflict. He quietly weighed their fighting strength. The enemy had the advantage, in terms of both absolute numbers and average cultivation level.

    He spoke again, his voice dark and threatening. ¡°All of you should understand that we act in His Majesty¡¯s stead. Once we summon the imperial edict, all of you will perish.¡±

    He didn¡¯t want to use the imperial edict unless absolutely necessary. Sang Hong¡¯s analysis had been more or less urate.

    ¡°Imperial edict?¡± The dark elvesughed in contempt. They didn¡¯t seem to treat this as a big deal at all.

    Huang Huihong was startled. He couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that something was amiss. Without any further hesitation, he knelt towards the east in prayer, his hands spread respectfully in front of him. ¡°Enemies stand before this humble subject¡¯s path. Your majesty, please bestow upon us...¡±

    Zu An felt his excitement grow. He could finally witness the imperial edict''s overwhelming power again. He really wanted to see this destructive weapon used on someone other than those he cared about.

    Unexpectedly, an aged voice suddenly rang out.

    ¡°Rise!¡±

    Huang Huihong, who was kneeling on the ground, stood up involuntarily when he heard this voice, interrupting the summoning ceremony of the imperial edict.

    The other Embroidered Envoy members stared at him in confusion. They couldn¡¯t understand why he would get up so suddenly.

    Huang Huihong was confused as well. He turned his head to look.

    An elder slowly walked out of the deep forest, a walking stick in his hand. He was so unsteady that it looked like he might fall over at any time.

    However, after seeing Old Mi and Wei Dan in action, Zu An didn¡¯t dare underestimate these frail-looking elders. They were all incredibly vicious. They probably faked their appearance to lower their enemies¡¯ guard.

    A pair of horns seemed to grow on the sides of the elder¡¯s head, just above his ears. They bore little resemnce to the horns of any herbivores he knew, but they weren¡¯trge. They looked just like ornaments, yet they possessed a form of mysterious power.

    Huang Huihong¡¯s expression grew worried. He knelt down on the ground to start the ceremony again. This time, however, he moved and spoke much more quickly.

    There may have been some pretentiousness in his manner before, but his eyes were now filled with imminent panic.

    The elder pointed the dragon-head staff in his hands at Huang Huihong. ¡°Silence!¡±

    Huang Huihong¡¯s voice cut off immediately. His mouth was still open, but he couldn¡¯t utter a sound no matter how he tried.

    ¡°Holy shit. What the heck is going on?¡± Zu An could not believe what he was seeing.

    ¡°That old man is probably a member of the elder dragon race,¡± Sang Hong exined.

    ¡°Dragon race?¡± Zu An looked again at that old man¡¯s frail body. He doesn¡¯t look like one at all! Do you think I don¡¯t know what dragons look like?

    The crimson dragon in Hidden Dragon Mountain was still very much in his mind.

    As if sensing his doubt, Sang Hong replied, ¡°A regr dragon needs to cultivate to an extremely high level before they can take human form. On top of that, they face a tremendous risk in doing so. However, that isn¡¯t the case for members of the elder dragon race. Almost all of them can transform into human form.¡±

    Zu An finally understood. Now he knew why those horns on that elder¡¯s head looked so familiar.

    Zheng Dan had a question of her own. ¡°Why did Commander Huang fall silent, then?¡±

    Sang Hong gave the old elder dragon a look. ¡°That is one of the innate abilities of the elder dragon race¡ªSoulspeak.¡±

    ¡°Soulspeak?¡± Zu An seemed to recall Shang Liuyu mentioning this during one of her sses in the academy. This secret technique of the dragon race¡ªSoulspeak¡ªwas something envied by all of the other races.

    With just simple words, they could turn what they spoke into reality. In a sense, when they spoke, magic would follow.

    Zu An was also incredibly envious. Shouldn¡¯t this ability to speak magic into existence belong to all keyboard warriors? Why don¡¯t I have this ability?

    Sang Hong gave Zu An aplicated look. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect the dragon race to be involved as well. It seems like you¡¯re pretty popr.¡±

    Zu An felt quite afraid as well. Didn¡¯t everyone say that the emperor was the most powerful cultivator? Why were his subordinates getting beaten up one after the other?!

 Chapter 461: No Way Out

    <h4>Chapter 461: No Way Out</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    It was clear to the remaining embroidered envoys just how grave the situation was. They exchanged nces, and each of them saw the same unwavering determination in theirpanions¡¯ eyes. They quickly said to Huang Huihong, ¡°Commander Huang, take the criminals with you and run! We¡¯ll bring up the rear!¡±

    Huang Huihong frowned, but offered no other objection. He nodded his head with a grave expression. He couldn¡¯t say anything right now, and could only gesture with his eyes. Brothers, take care!

    Every single embroidered envoy had undergone cruel training. They no longer cared about their own individual lives. They valued the fulfilment of the emperor¡¯s mission above all else.

    That was why none of the remaining members of the Embroidered Envoy showed the slightest bit of hesitation, and neither did Huang Huihong. He leapt into action to carry out the n immediately.

    He tossed all of the captives into the covered carriage. Taking the reins, he drove away at a reckless speed.

    The dark elves immediately tried to give chase, but they were blocked off by the three embroidered envoys who had stayed behind.

    Even though the dark elves had the greater fighting strength, every member of the Embroidered Envoy was an expert who had undergone strict training. They had already resolved to make this patch of ground their final resting ce. Without the fear of death to hold them back, it was difficult for the dark elves to break through their defenses right away.

    The dark elf leader looked at the dragon race elder in anger. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you stop them?!¡±

    The old elder dragon said indifferently, ¡°I am only in charge of dealing with the Embroidered Envoy¡¯s imperial edict. I¡¯ve alreadypleted this task¡ªthe rest is up to you.¡±

    With that, he turned and left. Even though his gait was slow, it only took a few steps for his figure to vanish into the depths of the forest.

    The dark elf leader had an awful expression on his face, but he didn¡¯t dare provoke that elder. He tamped down on his rage and charged at the three embroidered envoys.

    The three embroidered envoys were heavily outnumbered. The fact that they hadsted until now was a miracle in itself. Their bodies were already drenched in blood.

    The dark elf leader released a cold snort. He dashed forward, leaving an afterimage behind while his real body became transparent. Bright shes shed all around him. When he reappeared, the three embroidered envoys were covered in mortal wounds, blood gushing out of their bodies. Their corpses crashed heavily to the ground.

    ¡°After them!¡± The dark elf Leader didn¡¯t bother to give the corpses a second look. He led his subordinates in the direction that Huang Huihong had disappeared, beginning a relentless pursuit.

    ...

    Meanwhile, inside of that speeding carriage, Zu An couldn¡¯t resist opening the carriage door to offer up a snide remark. ¡°You guys really need to do something about how slow your imperial edict ceremony is. Why do you need so many fancy rituals and flowery words? Aren¡¯t you suffering the consequences of that now?¡±

    Huang Huihong gritted his teeth, but could not reply.

    You have sessfully trolled Huang Huihong for 444 Rage points!

    He was already furious that he wasn¡¯t able to use his ultimate attack against an opponent that he should have been able to defeat. Zu An¡¯s words only fueled his anger further.

    Sang Hong stepped in. ¡°You can¡¯t me Commander Huang for this. His Majesty was probably the one who devised this ceremony.¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°Oh, that makes sense. The emperor must really love to show off. I would order my subordinates to do all that nonsense as well, if I cared that much about looking good. I guess he didn¡¯t consider that it would end up bing a burden for his men.¡±

    Huang Huihong felt himself growing more irate by the second.

    Sang Hong frowned. ¡°Please speak cautiously. Talking about His Majesty behind his back is disrespectful, and a major crime.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no way the emperor can hear me anyway.¡± Zu An didn¡¯t seem to mind. ¡°He might be the world¡¯s number one expert or whatever, but he¡¯s still far from being omniscient and omnipotent. Otherwise, he could¡¯ve just interfered personally and killed those dark elves. Those Embroidered Envoy members wouldn¡¯t have had to die.¡±

    Huang Huihong did not take kindly to the mention of his subordinates¡¯ death, but again, he could not reply.

    Sang Qiang snorted. ¡°You know nothing about respect. His Majesty obviously has his own considerations when he makes his decisions. Someone of your level cannot even begin to fathom the depth of his thoughts.¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°From young master Sang¡¯s tone, it seems like you know exactly what His Majesty was thinking. Please enlighten us!¡±

    Sang Qian¡¯s face turned red. ¡°I already said that His Majesty¡¯s considerations are his own. How could I dare to guess his sacred thoughts?¡±

    ¡°Tsk.¡± Zu An¡¯s face was full of contempt. ¡°You pretend like you know everything, yet you can¡¯t say a single useful thing when it matters. People like that absolutely disgust me. You guys mindlessly worship the rich and powerful, and think that every farting out of their ass is a deliberate action taken after deep reflection.¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Being criticized like this in front of his own wife made Sang Qian furious. He stood up in rage, about to fight Zu An to the death.

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for 999 Rage points!

    Unfortunately¡ªor perhaps otherwise¡ªhe was stopped by his father. ¡°Enough. Think about the situation we are in! Stop causing trouble. Commander Huang, we are in a moment of crisis. Do you still have no intention of undoing our seals so that we can lend you a helping hand?¡±

    Huang Huihong¡¯s face was red, and his expression flickered rapidly. He was clearly experiencing an intense internal conflict.

    He was obviously aware that Sang Hong would be of great help, given his cultivation level. However, once he unsealed them, the heavens only knew whether they would really help out, or if they would just make a run for it! He wouldn¡¯t be able to control anything at that point.

    It was one thing if the Sang n members took off on their own, but he wouldn¡¯t be able to stop them if they took Zu An with them.

    Considering the enmity between Zu An and Sang Qian, which had only built up along the way, they might even kill Zu An as soon as he undid their seals. That would truly be the worst oue.

    Just then, a glimmering streak of cknced towards them, and Huang Huihong quickly dodged to the side. Even though he avoided being struck in a vital area, blood still gushed out from his shoulder.

    A trace of ck energy seeped outward from his wound¡ªthat arrow was poisoned.

    Huang Huihong quickly fished out a bottle of medicine to suppress the effects of the poison. He hade from the capital, after all, so he wasn¡¯tcking in supplies.

    Eight dark elves swiftly surrounded them. They had clearly learned their lesson from thest encounter. Each upied a different position, cutting off all chances of escape.

    The Dark Elf leader snorted coldly. ¡°Run, why don¡¯t you? Let¡¯s see where you can run to now.¡±

    Huang Huihong¡¯s eyes smoldered with anger. The appearance of these dark elves meant that his threepatriots were already dead.

    Zu An looked around him, puzzled. ¡°Hm? Where did that dragon elder go?¡±

    Sang Hong replied, ¡°Members of the dragon race are usually uninterested in the affairs of the world. I believe they do not wish to be too deeply involved.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Ah, so they¡¯re just hypocrites,¡± Zu An concluded. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, can¡¯t Huang Huihong use the imperial edict as much as he wants, since he¡¯s not here?¡±

    Sang Hong smiled bitterly and said, ¡°It¡¯s not so easy. He is still afflicted by that elder dragon¡¯s silencing Soulspeak. It¡¯ll be at least another two hours before the effects wear off. That¡¯s enough time for us to die eight hundred times over.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± Zu An said. He had a pensive look on his face. So, the Soulspeak skill can be used in this way. Doesn¡¯t that mean I don¡¯t have to fear Soulspeak or the Embroidered Envoy¡¯s imperial edict anymore...?

    Sang Hong examined Zu An curiously. ¡°Why don¡¯t you seem flustered at all?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Zu An was momentarily confused.

    Sang Hong continued, ¡°I¡¯ve been watching you carefully all this time, yet I haven¡¯t seen any trace of fear in your expression. Putting Huang Huihong aside for a moment, even I, an old man who has lived out most of my life and has absolute confidence in my own willpower, feel rmed. However, I don¡¯t sense even a speck of nervousness from you.¡±

    Zheng Dan, Sang Qian, and even Huang Huihong studied him curiously when they heard this.

    Zu Anughed. ¡°This is known as having the temperament of a protagonist, okay? Even mountains can crumble, yet I will always remain unfazed! Sorry, but this isn¡¯t something you guys can learn.¡±

    Sang Hong and the rest of them stared at him, mouths slightly ajar.

    The dark elves clearly didn¡¯t want to waste any more time. Their leader ordered in a low voice, ¡°Kill everyone apart from Zu An... Oh. Keep that woman alive as well.¡±

    Zheng Dan was beautiful, especially in her stunning bridal dress. Even these dark elves were tempted.

    A beautiful girl like that would surely be fun to y with. Once they¡¯d had enough of her, they could sell her off for a tidy sum.

    Even though Zheng Dan didn¡¯t know what they were thinking, their gazes made her feel incredibly ufortable, and she leaned against Zu An subconsciously. Being at his side made her feel slightly more at ease.

    Even though her movements were slight, they didn¡¯t escape Sang Hong¡¯s attention. His brows drew together in a frown.

    Sang Qian remained silent. I¡¯m masquerading as Zu An right now, so I shouldn¡¯t be in danger of dying. It seems like Zheng Dan will survive as well. All I need to do is wait for little sis to save us. Then again, is little sis strong enough to beat these dark elves...?

    Huang Huihong knew that they were in critical danger, and was just about to undo Sang Hong¡¯s seal, when suddenly, a sweet and flirtatious and female voice came from above. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect it to be so lively over here.¡±

 Chapter 462: The Solitary Eight

    <h4>Chapter 462: The Solitary Eight</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Huang Huihong froze when he heard the voice. He decided to see how this situation would y out first.

    Zu An¡¯s heart skipped a beat. The voice was extremely familiar. Is this really who I think it is?

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Sang Qian was already so excited that he had rushed to the window. He gazed at the slowly descending figure above. ¡°Lady Qiu! It really is the morous Lady Qiu!¡±

    Her eyshes were simple and elegant, framing misty and beautiful eyes. Her soft and moist lips seemed as though they had been kissed by sparkling dewdrops, drawing in all whoid eyes on them.

    A faint smile rested on her lips. When her expression changed ever so slightly, men around her began to breathe more quickly. Who else could this be but Qiu Honglei?

    When Brightmoon City¡¯s Immortal Abode lost her, their reputation had plummeted. Back then, Sang Qian had been incredibly pissed off. He thought that he would never be able to meet her again. Unexpectedly, they had crossed paths today!

    The heavens are truly kind to me!

    The eyes of the dark elves also grew wide, gleaming with awe. All of them were staring at her. How could there be such a beautiful woman in this world? Their first thoughts were that they had to take her to bed.

    Dark Elves were very much different from their peace-loving elven counterparts. They reveled in ughter and they didn¡¯t hide their desires.

    The eyes of the few female dark elves sparkled jealously. This woman exuded a natural aura of seduction. She had definitely toyed with her fair share of men.

    ¡°Get out of here, Lady Qiu! It¡¯s dangerous!¡± Sang Qian snapped out of his daze. This ce was so dangerous! A beautiful girl like Qiu Honglei showing up here was the same as amb stumbling into a tiger¡¯s den!

    Zu An rolled his eyes. How stupid are you? Even if you don¡¯t know Qiu Honglei¡¯s real identity, you should¡¯ve seen her fly down from the sky, right? How can she possibly be an ordinary person?

    Sang Hong also snorted, a frown appearing on his face. His son¡¯s disy really was too disappointing.

    Qiu Honglei replied with a smile. ¡°Thank you for your concern, young master Sang.¡±

    At the same time, she noticed Zu An in his groom''s outfit, next to Zheng Dan in her bridal dress, looking for all the world like newlyweds. She was slightly startled, clearly unsure of what was going on.

    Wasn¡¯t Zheng Dan the Sang n¡¯s daughter-inw? Why did Sang Hong and Sang Qian lookpletely okay with this? Did their n have some weird fetish?

    The dark elves came to a sudden realization. ¡°So, they swapped their identities, and we almost fell for it! Everyone, be careful! Capture the one in the groom¡¯s outfit alive! He is the real Zu An.¡±

    Someone said, ¡°What if that woman is colluding with them to purposely mislead us?¡±

    The dark elf leader was stunned. This was quite a real possibility! He thus said, ¡°Capture both of them, then. Kill that embroidered envoy and the old man.¡±

    Qiu Honglei sighed. ¡°Should you really be counting your chickens before they hatch? Aren¡¯t you all being a little too arrogant?¡±

    The dark elf leader greedily scanned her body with his roving eyes. ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to panic, woman. Once we finish what we need to do, we¡¯ll definitely take good care of you.¡±

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s cultivation seemed impressive, but they didn¡¯t seem bothered at all.

    Qiu Honglei shook her head. ¡°Wasn¡¯t it General Lu¡¯s army that forced these people away from their group? Aren¡¯t you all trying to reap the fruits of others¡¯bors?¡±

    The dark elves were all shocked. ¡°You¡¯re Lu Sanyuan¡¯s subordinate!¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Sang Qian felt as if his soul had left his body. He never would have expected this beautiful woman to be a part of the renegade faction!

    In contrast, Zheng Dan felt a certain admiration for Qiu Honglei. After all, she used to be one of Brightmoon City¡¯s two biggest gang bosses herself, so she felt a connection to Qiu Honglei. If Qiu Honglei had been just a courtesan queen, Zheng Dan might have felt contempt for her instead.

    ¡°Unfortunately, the heroic Lu Sanyuan has made a critical miscalction today by only sending a weak little girl like you! All he has done is present us with another bed-warmer.¡± The dark elves all roared withughter.

    ¡°Who said I was alone?¡± Qiu Honglei smiled. She pped her hands lightly, and eight figures slowly walked out from different directions.

    They were a mixed group, each one either tall, short, slim, orrge. There were even some women among them.

    When the dark elf leader noticed their distinctive traits and their dressing, he grew frightened. ¡°The Devil Sect¡¯s Solitary Eight!¡±

    One of them¡ªa fatty¡ªchuckled. ¡°How surprising! Even you assassins who hide in the dark know of us.¡±

    The dark elf¡¯s expression immediately grew awful.

    ¡°What the heck is this Solitary Eight?¡± Zu An asked Sang Hong.

    ¡°They are the high-ranking members of the Devil Sect, representing the eight elemental powers¡ªmetal, wood, water, fire, earth, wind, lightning, and ice,¡± Sang Hong replied, his voice grave. ¡°I didn¡¯t count on the Devil Sect cooperating with the rebel army so early on... No, from the current situation, the two groups might have already been allied with each other for some time.¡±

    Qiu Honglei turned around and gave him a smile. ¡°An intelligent person like Lord Sang should understand that smart people don¡¯t always live long.¡±

    Sang Hong didn¡¯t seem to mind. ¡°Given how things look right now, I don¡¯t think I have long to live anyway.¡±

    The dark elves chose this moment to make their move. They drew their bows and fired at the Solitary Eight. The entire process of nocking the arrow, drawing the bow, and loosing it was performed in one fluid and almost-instantaneous motion.

    Every single bow erupted with blue light. There was clearly a series of formations at work here. No wonder they were able to fire arrows with such devastating power!

    These dark elves seemed to maintain some sort of subconscious connection to each other. Almost none of them uttered any sounds, yet they had all attacked at the same time. The arrows seemed to cross the distance between them and their targets in a sh, each arrow homing in on a vital spot.

    Zu An was stupefied. These dark elves really were top-notch assassins! He might not be able to react in time if he was the one being shot at.

    The members of the Solitary Eight didn¡¯t expect the attacks to be so swift and disciplined either. The arrows had reached their bodies even before they could think of dodging.

    ¡°So, it seems like there¡¯s nothing special to the Solitary Eight of the Devil Sect after all!¡± The dark elf leader sneered. Just as he was about to say something else, however, his face froze. Their arrows hadn¡¯t impaled the bodies of their targets, but had struck a transparentyer around them and stuck fast.

    The bodies of the Solitary Eight each flowed with a different-colored light, every single one producing transparent shields of their respective element. The gleaming ck arrows fired by the Dark Elves had been stopped by these protectiveyers.

    Light pulsed across the shields, and the arrows fell to the ground one after another.

    Zu An was watching all of this closely. The red ball of light should be the defensive shield of the fire element. The transparent one belongs to the water element, the purple one to the lighting element, and the gold one to the metal element... Hmm, that one probably belongs to the wood element... It¡¯s actually a pretty nice shade of green...

    Shocked by this development, the dark elves drew their thin swords and stormed forward.

    Every one of them left behind an afterimage in their original location. Their bodies grew transparent, and they attacked the Solitary Eight continuously, from all directions.

    They were incredibly fast, and transparent as well, their true forms only appearing in the instant they shed with the defensive barriers. Their attacks came from all directions, and the battle was a truly dazzling sight to behold.

    They weren¡¯t focused on a single target each, but switched targets depending on which attacks seemed most effective. They clearly were first-rate assassins, with their own strategies and well-drilled tactics.

    Even from all the way inside the carriage, Zu An could feel the vicious killing intent swirling around the battlefield. Several leaves fluttered into the vicinity of the battlefield, only to be instantly cut to pieces by the killing intent alone.

    He wondered what would happen if he himself was caught up in the whirlwind of attacks these dark elves had unleashed.

    No matter how hard he racked his brain, it seemed death was inevitable. He would only have a chance of survival if he fled ahead of time to avoid being encircled.

    However, the Solitary Eight of the Devil Sect seemed surprisingly calm and collected. They stood still without dodging, facing the attacks head on.

    The defensive barriers around them flickered but didn¡¯t break, no matter how ferociously those dark elves attacked.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes grew wide. ¡°Aren¡¯t they basically invincible with those barriers?¡±

 Chapter 463: Counters and Synergies

    <h4>Chapter 463: Counters and Synergies</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An watched as the battle continued. It didn¡¯t matter how stunning and intricate the dark elves¡¯ attacks were¡ªthe Solitary Eight remainedpletely unfazed under their protectiveyers,pletely unaffected by the onught.

    Those dark elves continued their vicious attacks, yet their defenses seemed to take no damage. On the contrary, the Solitary Eight were free to employ their respective elements to counterattack at will. Soon, the dark elves¡¯ formation fell apart.

    Sang Hong said in a serious tone, ¡°Everything has a natural counter¡ªnothing is invincible. For example, if the elemental shields of the Solitary Eight were subject to an attack from an opposing element that countered it, that attack would be much more effective.¡±

    Zu An recalled several lectures on this theory back at the academy. Water counters fire, fire counters metal, metal counters wood, wood counters earth, earth counters water. Apart from this, wood also counters wind, while earth counters lightning, fire counters ice...

    These elements didn¡¯t only have opposing interactions. There were many with synergistic properties. When used together, they could produce a much greater power than a single element alone could.

    It was almost as if Sang Hong¡¯s words had sparked something in the dark elves. They changed their strategy, and began to attack the targets they were stronger against.

    In a few moments, the Solitary Eight also began to falter. The elemental armor of the wood element cultivator was the first to be prated, and soon, several others had their defenses fail as well. Even Qiu Honglei had to step in to help them out.

    Despite this sudden chaos, the Devil Sect slowly regained the upper hand. They were all experts in their respective fields, after all. Even without their protective shields, they still possessed immense strength.

    However, their aura of invincibility had been shattered.

    Zu An suddenly understood why the academy stressed that cultivators of the sixth rank and higher easily plowed through those of lower rank.

    Sixth rank cultivators would have awakened their respective elemental armors. In most cases, this elemental armor could only be broken by an element that countered it. A lower-ranked cultivator could never go up against someone like that if his attacks could not pierce his opponent¡¯s defenses no matter how hard he tried.

    Even if one was lucky enough to wield an element that countered that sixth rank cultivator¡¯s, one would only be able to break through their elemental armor. Their ki density and cultivation rank would still be higher than one¡¯s own, resulting in a loss still.

    Only at the sixth rank could one slowly whittle down their opponent¡¯s elemental armor, given the simr levels of cultivation and ki density. Then, it would be a contest of cultivation difference and practical strength.

    Another thought urred to Zu An. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you be able to counter many cultivators if you could simultaneously awaken multiple elements?¡±

    The protagonists of those web novels he¡¯d read were all skilled in every element. Wielding two elements wasn¡¯t considered special at all.

    Sang Qian¡¯s mocking voice sounded before Sang Hong could reply. ¡°I guess you can¡¯t expect a nobody from the slums to possess even the most basic knowledge. You only know how to let your fantasies run wild! Different elements can have intense reactions when in contact with each other. If you aren¡¯t careful, they will sh. How can anyone awaken multiple elements at the same time?¡±

    Zu An couldn¡¯t be bothered with him. He put his arm around Zheng Dan¡¯s soft waist. ¡°Honey,e here and give me a hug.¡±

    They were in front of so many people right now! Zheng Dan¡¯s face turned entirely red. She pushed him away, and even hit him a few times with her fist.

    Sang Qian was furious. This was preposterous! You dare tease my wife in front of my face?

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for 1024 Rage points!

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    He was just about to lose it when Zu An pointed out his and Zheng Dan¡¯s outfits. ¡°You have to be careful of our identities right now! What¡¯s wrong with me hugging my own wife?¡±

    Sang Qian felt his breath catch as he remembered their prior arrangement. To everyone who was looking, he was Zu An.

    These two groups of monsters had clearlye for Zu An. Everyone unrted would definitely be killed. It was probably better to remain as Zu An for a while longer.

    Survival was the most important thing, after all! He could endure anything else for now. Let¡¯s see whoughsst...

    The one thing that worried him was that Qiu Honglei had recognized him. He didn¡¯t know if any of the dark elves had also recognized his real identity.

    Despite this, the rage within him began to boil with greater ferocity as he watched Zu Anzily bring Zheng Dan into his embrace.

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for 516... 516... 516...

    Sang Hong said with a cough, ¡°The world is vast. It is notpletely impossible for someone who wields two elements to exist. This humble one, however, still has much to experience. I have not met anyone like this yet.¡±

    If even the old man was saying this, then it seemed to Zu An that the chances of awakening two elements didn¡¯t seem too likely. Sang Hong was already an eighth rank cultivator, after all, and even held an important position in the capital, which meant that he had surely seen a lot of things in his time.

    If he could be a master of all elements like those protagonists in the other web novels, he could kill any enemy he ran into in this world.

    However, Zu An felt his heart sink as soon as this thought appeared in his head. Forget about being proficient in multiple elements. I didn¡¯t even awaken a single element after reaching the fifth rank...

    The situation on the battlefield took a sudden turn. With a cuteugh, Qiu Honglei produced antern that glowed with yellow light and tossed it into the sky. Thatntern rose on its own. Although it seemed as though it might be extinguished by the wind, the entire battlefield was bathed in its radiance instead.

    The weak yellow light looked warm, yet all of the dark elves immediately felt chills run through their bodies.

    A jolt of shock ran through their minds. They were suddenly unable to conceal themselves thoroughly once surrounded by this yellow light! In the yellow light, several blurry figures could just be seen. Even though they weren¡¯tpletely clear, this was more than enough for a powerful cultivator.

    Even more appalling to the dark elves was that thentern seemed to be able to restrict their movements! Their strongest attribute was their speed, yet when exposed to this yellow light, they felt as if they were moving through a swamp. Their movement speed was greatly reduced.

    The Solitary Eight used this chance tounch a fierce, concerted attack. In the blink of an eye, a dark elf was sted into smithereens by lightning, while another was frozen into an ice sculpture and smashed to pieces by a powerful fist, all without staining the battlefield with a single drop of blood. A third victim let out a pathetic cry as he was burned alive. Everyone in the carriage shuddered when they heard that blood-curdling scream.

    ¡°Thisntern...¡± Sang Hong stared at thentern in the sky, a pensive look on his face.

    Zheng Dan wore aplicated expression. She had been paying close attention to Qiu Honglei the entire time, and had deduced that the courtesan¡¯s cultivation was about on par with her own. With thatntern, there was almost no way for her to win.

    Sang Qian was shocked. He just couldn¡¯t picture how a beautiful and delicate courtesan queen was able to possess such power. She was able to restrict so many dark elves all by herself! These dark elves were all at least at the sixth rank¡ªany one of them was strong enough to kill him!

    The dark elf leader suddenly took out a bow. The bow looked rather strange, and was entirely dark green in color. An arrow flew straight at thatntern.

    The arrows they had fired before were all pitch-ck in color, but this arrow glimmered with ayer of blue-green light. It moved through the air even more quickly than the previous arrows! The instant after it had been fired, the arrow had already reached thentern, which was still floating in midair.

    Thentern shuddered. A burst of sparks erupted from it, followed by an ear-splitting grinding noise, almost as if thentern was groaning.

    The light from thentern grew dim. It could no longer float in midair, and dropped out of the sky.

    Qiu Honglei coughed out a mouthful of blood. Thentern was clearly linked to her own life force, and the attack had dealt her a serious blow as well.

    One after the other , the dark elves recovered their strength, breaking free from thentern¡¯s control.

    The dark elf leader took aim and fired at the heavily wounded Qiu Honglei. Hispanions had died because of her just now, so he felt no mercy at all.

 Chapter 464: What Did You Eat to Get so Big?

    <h4>Chapter 464: What Did You Eat to Get so Big?</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Qiu Honglei was already seriously wounded after that arrow had struck herntern. How could she possibly stop this arrow?

    Zu An felt his heart stop beating, and his body subconsciously straightened. In that instant, the earth element cultivator from the Solitary Eight appeared in front of her, reaching down towards the ground with his hand and making a digging motion. Arge chunk of the earth was lifted upwards to form a massive earthen wall.

    However, even though that earthen wall was thick, the arrow still flew right through it.

    Faced with the power of this arrow, the earthen might as well have been made out of papier-mach¨¦.

    The earth element cultivator had already predicted that this would happen, and immediately summoned an earthen elemental armor which glowed yellowish-brown.

    The arrow crashed against the translucent armor, and began to spin rapidly, releasing a shrill grinding sound as it began to bore into the armor.

    In moments, the armor had crumbled, breaking apart into several pieces.

    However, the arrow¡¯s force was spent as well. The earth element cultivator managed to catch it between his palms.

    Even so, the arrow still forced his hands backwards, only stopping an inch from his chest. It was easy to imagine just how terrifying this arrow was.

    Sang Hong sighed. ¡°It looks like Qiu Honglei isn¡¯t a lowly member of the Devil Sect. Even one of the Solitary Eight willingly stepped in to block that arrow for her.¡±

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°I think it¡¯s also because Lady Qiu is so pretty that the men can¡¯t help but want to protect her. After all, it wasn¡¯t a female member of the Eight who blocked it.¡±

    Sang Hong gave him a strange look.

    This kid always has a weird way of looking at things that is different from everyone else... but I guess he¡¯s not entirely wrong.

    Sang Qian snorted coldly. ¡°Only someone like you would make such a basement. Your head is filled with this stuff about guys and girls all day long.¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An rolled his eyes. ¡°You¡¯re speaking as if you¡¯re not the same. Who was the first one to rush out and greet Qiu Honglei earlier?¡±

    Sang Qian¡¯s face heated up. He felt a little guilty. He probably would¡¯ve saved Qiu Honglei too, if he¡¯d had the chance.

    The Solitary Eight here were worried that the dark elf leader would fire another arrow, and they all rushed to attack him. However, some dark elves had already moved to stop them.

    The dark elf leader drew another arrow and prepared to attack again. The members of the Devil Sect grew nervous, and crowded around Qiu Honglei.

    She was considered the saint of the sect, and in terms of status, she was second only to the sect master! They would all meet a horrible end if something were to happen to her.

    Unexpectedly, the dark elf leader chose not to aim at Qiu Honglei, but changed targets instead, firing the arrow straight at the carriage.

    The cultivations of everyone inside the carriage had been sealed, making them no different from ordinary people. Given the power that this arrow had disyed earlier, there was absolutely no chance of survival.

    They had been given two tasks: they would capture Zu An alive if they could, but if not, they were not to let him fall into anyone else¡¯s hands.

    When they held the advantage earlier, it would have been easy enough to extract the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra from Zu An. Unfortunately, now that a few of theirpatriots had died, and the advantage had swung in the Devil Sect¡¯s favor, it seemed unlikely that they would be able to seize Zu An from them even if they continued fighting. Since they couldn¡¯t capture him, they would erase him from the face of the earth.

    Qiu Honglei turned pale when she saw that arrow streak towards the carriage. She wanted to save Zu An, but she was too far away, and her serious injuries had rendered herpletely powerless anyway.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes narrowed as well. He grabbed Zheng Dan. He couldn¡¯t care less if their rtionship was exposed right now.

    Huang Huihong suddenly erupted with power. His Soul-reaping Chains flew outwards to intercept the arrow, wrapping around it almost instantly.

    The fact that his sight was good enough to allow him to entangle that fast-moving arrow with such uracy was truly impressive.

    However, the arrow¡¯s power would not be so easily contained. With a shrill grinding noise, the Soul-reaping Chains were blown to pieces.

    The fragments of the chains shot into Huang Huihong¡¯s body. It was as if a car had rammed straight into him. Blood gushed out from his mouth. He fell to the ground, watching helplessly as the arrow continued on towards the carriage.

    Suddenly, ck mes surged all around, forming a wall of mes in front of the carriage and blocking the swiftly-moving arrow.

    The arrow still carried ferocious power, spinning at an impossibly high rate in an effort to drill through the wall of mes. However, these ck mes were clearly special. Strands of mes wrapped around the arrow, encasing ityer uponyer, clearly causing the arrow to melt.

    ¡°What kind of mes are these? They¡¯re so powerful!¡± The eyes of everyone on the battlefield widened in shock, especially the me cultivator from the Devil Sect. He knew that the fire that he wielded had no chance of melting that arrow. The level of this me was definitely far above his own!

    A beautiful figurended in front of the carriage. Her skintight outfit only served to further emphasize her enchanting figure.

    All eyes couldn¡¯t help but wander towards her chest.

    Zu An had a strange expression on his face. Big Manman, your body is a unique work of art, and easily recognizable. Is there even any point in hiding your face?

    Is this girl always at the gym or something? Even if you hate dresses, wear some loose fitting ck clothes... why do you always have to wear this skintight stuff?

    Pei Mianman turned around. She grabbed Zu An subconsciously, wanting to take him away with her, but she suddenly realized that the one she had grabbed was Sang Qian. Stunned, she looked off to the side and saw the real Zu An in a groom¡¯s outfit and Zheng Dan in her bridal dress, their arms wrapped around each other. Her face sunk, and she sniffed lightly. ¡°I thought that you were having a hard time, but it seems like you¡¯re enjoying yourself.¡±

    ¡°So it¡¯s her,¡± Qiu Honglei muttered to herself. She had fought against this woman back in Brightmoon City. Aside from Zu An, she was probably the one person here who knew her best.

    Her mind started to wander back to their earlier fight, but her eyes subconsciously drifted over to the woman¡¯s chest. She bit her lip. What the heck did this girl eat to get that big?

    She was actually quite proud of her figure. Compared to Pei Mianman, however, she was clearlycking in the chest department.

    ¡°Kill Zu An!¡± The dark elf leader ordered, his face pale. He put away the bow. Firing those arrows had taken quite a toll on his body, and he wouldn¡¯t be able to loose another arrow for some time.

    At his order, the other dark elves moved as one, charging murderously towards the carriage.

    Sang Qian gave a frightened start. He had dressed himself up as Zu An because he wanted to hang onto his life, not lose it! He pointed at Zu An and screamed at the top of his lungs, ¡°I¡¯m not Zu An, he is! Please don¡¯t mistake me for him!¡±

    Zu An stared at him for a moment. In the end, he shook his head and said, ¡°Young master Sang, you¡¯re throwing away whatever is left of your miserable reputation.¡±

    Sang Qian saw the contempt in Zheng Dan¡¯s eyes, as well as his father¡¯s frown. He knew that his cowardly act was rather shameful, but none of this bothered him right now. Survival was more important than anything else!

 Chapter 465: Cash Warrior

    <h4>Chapter 465: Cash Warrior</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The dark elf leader frowned. Even he was beginning to feel confused. Even though the various clues pointed towards the fact that the one in the groom¡¯s outfit was Zu An, he was still worried that the enemy might be misleading him.

    Furthermore, the one distinguishing feature of Zu An was that he was despicable.

    Of course, the one who had just hollered and sold out arade seemed to embody this trait perfectly...

    He immediately gave the order. ¡°Kill all of them!¡±

    He would rather kill an innocent than let Zu An get away.

    Sang Qian, who was still screaming, cut off suddenly with a bewildered frown.

    Why aren¡¯t these guys acting ording to my expectations?

    The dark elf assassins had already surrounded the carriage, brandishing their swords.

    Pei Mianman sent her ck mes flying left and right. She knew that not a single one of these dark elves were ranked below her in terms of cultivation, so she didn¡¯t have high hopes of defeating them. She only prayed that she could buy a little more time. She didn¡¯t expect that woman to just watch from the side without interfering.

    Sure enough, Qiu Honglei quickly called out to herpanions as the situation grew more desperate. ¡°Save them!¡±

    The Solitary Eight understood the objective of their mission. The sect master had clearly said that he had to obtain Zu An no matter what. How could they just let the enemy kill him?

    The earth element cultivator¡ªwho possessed the strongest defense¡ªstayed behind to protect Qiu Honglei, while the others all rushed towards the carriage.

    The dark elf leader was exhausted, but he had no choice but to draw his weapons and rejoin the fray.

    After all, both sides wanted to achieve their objective as quickly as possible. That was why no one held back. Skills were unleashed one after the other, thebatants fighting recklessly, trading wound after wound.

    Zu An observed the battlefield carefully. He was worried for Pei Mianman¡¯s safety, because her level of cultivation was, in theory, the lowest of all the fighters. Only her extraordinary ck mes allowed her to hold her own against these experts for so long.

    Sang Hong sighed. ¡°The youngsters nowadays really are getting stronger and stronger! She is so young, and a woman as well, yet she has already reached the sixth rank! This level of talent truly is rare.¡±

    ¡°Sixth rank?¡± Zu An could tell that he was talking about Pei Mianman. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that there was indeed ayer of elemental armor made of ck me encasing her body, the mark of a sixth rank expert. No wonder she was able tost so long against so many powerful opponents.

    It looks like she has been hiding her real strength all this time!

    Zu An clicked his tongue. What the heck is with this world? Why are there so many pool sharks? I should probably tone down my bragging a little in the future, or I might end up screwing myself over...

    As he was sighing over this, the carriage suddenly jerked. Everyone in the carriage lost their footing and fell, and Zu An dropped straight into Zheng Dan¡¯s embrace.

    So wonderfully soft!

    Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t have the time to fully appreciate this right now. He turned around and saw that the seriously-injured Huang Huihong had taken this chance to leap to the front of the carriage, and was driving it deeper into the mountains.

    Both the dark elves and the Devil Sect fighters noticed this sudden development. They all wanted to chase after the carriage, but they were tangling with each other and couldn¡¯t break free immediately. Pei Mianman wanted to chase after them too, but both sides were stopping her from wriggling away. It was clear that neither side wanted to give her a chance to get her hands on Zu An.

    Zu An and the others were inside the carriage that used to belong to Liu Yao. This carriage had been specially remodeled, drawn by fine steeds with extraordinary stamina. The wheels of the carriage had all been engraved with wind element formations, which not only made them light, but increased their speed significantly.

    Huang Huihong had relied on these traits to sessfully flee the battlefield, and they quickly vanished into the forest.

    After going at breakneck speed for a good amount of time, Huang Huihong turned around, and sighed in relief when he saw that no one was chasing them. However, as soon as he rxed, thest bit of energy that had kept him going leaked out of him. Unable to hold on any further, he fell off the carriage.

    Zu An grabbed the reins to stop the carriage. He looked at Huang Huihong, who was lying on the ground nearby, and said, ¡°I honestly can¡¯t understand the way you think. Can¡¯t you just let those people from the Devil Sect capture me? You can just gather some expertster on and rescue me. That would be so much better,pared to the pitiful state you¡¯re in right now.¡±

    To be honest, letting either Qiu Honglei or big Manman squirrel him away weren¡¯t bad choices. It was better than trying to survive in the wilderness with this dude forpany. He knew that dangerous and vicious beasts were lurking around every corner of this wilderness. The bunch of them had their cultivations sealed, and their only cultivator was seriously injured. It would be far too tragic if they ended up as dinner for some vicious beasts.

    Huang Huihong stared at him without speaking.

    ¡°You¡¯re still mute?¡± Zu An ridiculed him when he saw his expression. ¡°You embroidered envoys always strut about like you¡¯re hot stuff, acting as though you represent the son of heaven himself and all that nonsense. But look at you now! You were sealed so easily, and your entire group has been practically wiped out. If I were you, I would feel kinda embarrassed.¡±

    Huang Huihong¡¯s eyes grew wider.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    You have sessfully trolled Huang Huihong for 611 Rage points!

    Zu An¡¯s voice grew curious. ¡°By the way, something¡¯s been bothering me. Since the emperor cares about my Phoenix Nirvana Sutra so much, why didn¡¯t he send any real experts? Of the Embroidered Envoy, only you alone are at the sixth rank, while the others were only around the fifth rank. There was that formation thing as well, but who the heck would fight you guys fairly? Weren¡¯t you all so easily wiped out by a simple ambush? Seriously, man.¡±

    Huang Huihong jerked his face to the side. Zu An¡¯s words had clearly gotten to him, and he wasn¡¯t about to pay him any further attention.

    A furious voice echoed in the silence. ¡°Zu brat, before you go on and on with your questions, can you get the fuck away from my wife!?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for 666 Rage points!

    Sang Qian red at Zu An. This bastard hadn¡¯t left Zheng Dan¡¯s embrace the entire time, and his head was pressed right up against her chest! He was even rubbing himself against her from time to time... how the hell was he supposed to endure this?

    Zu An snorted. ¡°Who are you calling your wife? Miss Zheng neverpleted thest step of the wedding ceremony with you. Strictly speaking, she is not your wife. Furthermore, I¡¯m the one dressed in the groom¡¯s clothes. I think everyone will agree that we look more like a couple.¡±

    ¡°You...¡± All this nonsense left Sang Qian on the brink of fainting. He was momentarily at a loss as to how to reply.

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for 888 Rage points!

    Zheng Dan¡¯s skin wasn¡¯t as thick as Zu An¡¯s. She couldn¡¯t bring herself to continue being so intimate with him while so many were watching. She pushed him away, her face red. Zu An didn¡¯t want to keep her in an awkward spot, and used this chance to sit up as well.

    Sang Hong coughed. He didn¡¯t really want to keep seeing his son being bullied either. He replied to Zu An¡¯stest question to change the topic. ¡°Based on my own suspicions, the emperor was most likely a little too careless this time. We had a master and a ninth rank expert apanying us, as well as the Imperial Guard and Embroidered Envoy equipped with his imperial edict. In theory, this should have been more than enough to deal with most situations. However, he did not expect the temptation of your Phoenix Nirvana Sutra would be so great.¡±

    There was one thing that he left out. The various powers might not have made their moves for the sake of obtaining the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra¡ªthey probably just didn¡¯t want the emperor to obtain it.

    Zu An rolled his eyes. ¡°You make it sound as though all of them came after me. Weren¡¯t there quite a few assassins who came after you guys as well? Look, I¡¯m willing to bet that this dudeing from over there is here for you.¡±

    Sang Hong froze, and quickly followed his gaze. A figure slowly emerged from the depths of the forest. He was a slovenly-dressed man with a thin sword resting across his shoulders, both his hands casually resting on either side of the de. The way he walked made him seem wanton and unrestrained.

    ¡°Cash Warrior Ding Run? Why are you here?¡± Sang Hong became serious when he saw this person¡¯s face.[1]

    ¡°Cash Warrior?¡± Zu An was stunned. Why did this name sound familiar?

    Sang Hong said gravely, ¡°He is an extremely famous hitman from the underground world, who will ept any hit for money. He will even kill his own friends and family, as long as you have enough money. Everyone calls him Cash Warrior because he charges more than the rest of his peers, and he can raise his fee at any time. However, he possesses an extremely high level of cultivation, and he will alwaysplete his mission, regardless of how difficult it is. Hence, everyone is willing to fork over his higher fee.¡±

    The man stabbed his sword into the ground and ppedzily. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect Lord Sang to know this humble one so well! I¡¯m beginning to suspect that you never worked for the Ministry of Agriculture at all, but served in the Ministry of Justice instead.¡±

    Sang Qian had heard of this man as well. He had been seething with anger just a second ago, but now, he couldn¡¯t help but shrink back. He was even trembling slightly.

    Zu An frowned when he noticed how strangely he was acting. If the usually proud and arrogant Sang Qian was reduced to this, this fellow was most likely going to be a problem.

    Sang Hong asked, ¡°Respectfully, I wonder who it is you¡¯vee to kill? Is it Zu An, or are you here for my son and I?¡±

    The slovenly man¡¯s lips cracked open in a grin, revealing a mouthful of snow-white teeth that didn¡¯t match his outward appearance at all. ¡°Someone forked over a sum for the lives of you and your son, but...¡±

    He paused and looked at Zu An. ¡°I¡¯m quite interested in that fellow as well. I¡¯ll have a proper talk with him after finishing off the two of you. This way, I don¡¯t even have to ask for any extra cash.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face darkened. A proper talk? Please don¡¯t tell me this dude swings that way...

    1. This is a reference to the character Ding Xiu in the 2014 film Brotherhood of des. When the viin in the film offered him money to kill his younger martial brother, he insisted that the viin increase his offer, since he was being asked to kill someone close to him. Netizens began to jokingly refer to him as ¡°the warrior who asks for extra cash¡±. That nickname has been shortened to ¡°Cash Warrior¡± in this trantion.

 Chapter 466: Youâ€™re Putting Me in a Tight Spot

    <h4>Chapter 466: You''re Putting Me in a Tight Spot</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Sang Hong seemed to have already foreseen all of this. ¡°Who wants us dead?¡± He asked, his expression still calm.

    Ding Run shook his head. ¡°I was praising Lord Sang for knowing the ropes a second ago. Why are you asking such a childish question now? You know the rules in my line of work. How could I possibly leak out any information about my employer?¡±

    Sang Hong said indifferently, ¡°I¡¯ll give you some extra cash.¡±

    Ding Run stared silently at him.

    Zu An almost burst outughing. He didn¡¯t expect the usually serious Sang Hong to be so good at cracking such dry jokes.

    ¡°You¡¯re really putting me in a tight spot.¡± Ding Run walked around in a circle, scratching his head. He was clearly working through some internal conflicts.

    A whileter, he asked, ¡°How much extra are we talking about?¡±

    Off to the side, Zheng Dan smiled. This fellow really was worthy of his reputation as a Cash Warrior.

    Sang Hong replied, ¡°Ten thousand taels, just for a name.¡±

    Ding Run seemed rather unimpressed.

    He snorted and said, ¡°You made me think long and hard just for this? Screw your ten thousand taels. Lord Sang really is an honest official. You¡¯ve worked yourself all the way up to the post of governor, yet you can only offer ten thousand taels when your life is on the line!"

    Sang Hong fell silent. He truly was a novice when it came to the art of bribery. Ten thousand taels was his limit.

    Sang Qian hurriedly chimed in, ¡°I have money! How about a hundred thousand?¡±

    ¡°A hundred thousand...¡± Ding Run nodded. ¡°Even though it¡¯s a little low, I guess it will be barely enough for a name. The two of you are quite interesting, though. One is upright and honest, and the other seems rather corrupt. Are the two of you starting up aedy duo?¡±

    Sang Hong¡¯s expression fell. He had nothing to say in response.

    Sang Qian hurriedly said, ¡°Respectfully, please tell us who is the one that wants us dead.¡±

    ¡°Where¡¯s the money?¡± Ding Run picked up his sword and gave him a sidelong nce.

    Sang Qian immediately fished out a stack of silver banknotes. ¡°Here, it¡¯s right here!¡±

    It has to be mentioned that the Embroidered Envoy did things differently from otherw enforcement officials. If it had been any other bailiffs conducting the arrests, they would surely have stripped their prisoners of all their possessions. They wouldn¡¯t have even left them with a single copper coin.

    The Embroidered Envoy, however, would only check their prisoners for any hidden weapons or dangerous objects. They didn¡¯t touch money at all.

    Ding Run¡¯s eyes lit up when he saw the cash. He reached out his hand, and the stack of bank notes floated over to him as if moved by an invisible hand.

    He brought the notes up to his nose and gave it a sniff, and an intoxicated expression appeared on Ding Run¡¯s face. ¡°Ah... the smell of silver banknotes. Its fragrance will never fail to move me.¡±

    Zu An could only stare at him.

    This dude¡¯s greed is on a whole new level...

    After taking a few more moments to take in their smell, Ding Run put away the cash. ¡°All right, it¡¯s time to send you all to the afterlife.¡±

    Sang Qian immediately flew into a panic. ¡°You took my money, but you didn¡¯t tell us who it was that put that hit on us!¡±

    Ding Run grinned. ¡°I will tell you his name just as you are taking yourst breath. That way, I won¡¯t be going back on my promise, and nothing unexpected will happen.¡±

    Sang Qian and Sang Hong were both speechless.

    Zu An was intrigued. Even though this fellow looked boorish, he was a pretty shrewd thinker. Escaping from this man was going to prove difficult.

    In Sang Qian¡¯s eyes, Ding Run¡¯s snow white teeth looked just like the mark of the devil. He cowered in fear.

    Sang Hong¡¯s voice grew dark. ¡°Do you know the consequences of taking our lives? We are court officials, and criminals as well. Zu An over here is even wanted alive by the emperor himself. If someone finds out that you were the one who killed us, you won¡¯t have a chance to spend all that money, no matter how much you make.¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Ding Run nodded. ¡°You have indeed pointed out something important. Of course, no one will know that I was the perpetrator if I kill everyone who knows about it.¡±

    Just as the words had left his mouth, the de in his hands shed with a cold glint. Huang Huihong clutched his neck, his face covered in disbelief. He turned around to look at the carriage, his hand reaching out as if he wanted to grab on to something. However, his life leaked out of him, and his body crashed heavily into the ground.

    His de is incredibly fast!

    This was everyone¡¯s first reaction. After all, none of them even saw his de move. There had only been a sh of vicious light, and by the time they looked, his de was already back in its scabbard, as if it never left in the first ce.

    Zu An fell silent as he looked at Huang Huihong¡¯s corpse. Even though this man had captured him, Zu An still thought of him as someone worthy of respect. He was responsible and diligent, and he didn¡¯t have any questionable morals. Up to his final moments, he had still been dedicated to thepletion of his mission.

    Who would have thought that a man like him would die silently in the wilderness?

    Zheng Dan¡¯s hand secretly found his. Without a doubt, this hitman was a vicious and merciless killer. There was no chance that he would leave anyone alive.

    She was still a youngdy, after all. Even though she had experienced many things as the boss of the Whale Gang, staring death in the face was still a frightening experience..

    The one constion she had was that Zu An was by her side. If this really was the end, then at least the journey across the yellow springs of the underworld wouldn¡¯t be a lonely one.

    Zu An had no intention of epting this fate. He looked at the approaching Ding Run and said, ¡°I¡¯ll give you double whatever the other guy has paid you to buy our freedom.¡±

    Compared to Sang Hong¡¯s ¡®honest poverty¡¯, he was definitely considered a rich bastard. He still had a few million silver taels on him.

    Ding Run chuckled. ¡°Oh? I didn¡¯t expect a kid like you to have so much money on you.¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°I¡¯m really not as noble as Lord Sang over there. I have quite a few methods of making money.¡±

    ¡°There have always been rumors floating around regarding the Chu n¡¯s wealth. Now, I finally believe them. You¡¯ve only spent a few months in the Chu n, yet you¡¯ve already umted so much. I¡¯ll have to go for a stroll around the Chu n when I have the chance.¡± Ding Run seemed rather moved, but he quickly changed the topic. ¡°I¡¯m honestly quite tempted, but I cannot take your money.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Zu An said in surprise. ¡°Aren¡¯t you called the Cash Warrior? I¡¯m already doubling their offer. Why wouldn¡¯t you ept it? Aren¡¯t you advertising one thing but selling something else?¡±

    Ding Run replied, ¡°I have to think long term. Even though earning double the amount of silver from you right now seems like a good deal, if I take a job but don¡¯tplete it, who will hire me in the future? I¡¯ll be losing big! That¡¯s why I cannot take your cash.¡±

    Zu An sighed. ¡°It¡¯s surprising to find a hitman who is so principled in our society,¡± he said.

    ¡°Thank you for your praise. Since I find you quite agreeable, I¡¯ll give you a swift and painless deathter,¡± Ding Run replied.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°You hinted that you would interrogate me for the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra earlier. From what you¡¯re saying, it seems like there are others who want me dead as well.¡±

    ¡°I was just casually throwing it out there. I refuse to believe that there is a technique in this world that can grant eternal life. Cash is more practical. Given our limited lifespan, the best thing one can do is to live the most morous life possible.¡± Ding Run chuckled. ¡°Since the two of us seem to be hitting it off, let me tell you something. Someone does want you dead, and that person doesn¡¯t want me to reveal their identity either. I don¡¯t know why they are so concerned, though.¡±

    The expressions of Sang Hong, Sang Qian, and Zheng Dan all flickered when they heard that someone had put out a hit on Zu An as well.

    Oddly enough, Zu An himself didn¡¯t seem the least bit affected. ¡°Since you¡¯re a hit man, can I entrust you with a job?¡±

    ¡°Entrust me with a job?¡± Ding Run was stunned. ¡°My targets are always either begging for their lives or sobbing bitterly. To meet someone like you who wants to help me in my business is quite the rare sight. Indeed, I am a hit man. If you can afford my rates, then of course you can entrust me with a job.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good to know,¡± Zu An said. ¡°How much do you charge for a hit?¡±

    Ding Run chuckled. ¡°That¡¯s hard to say! Different targets have different levels of cultivation and social standing, and the price will obviously be different, ording to each individual. Of course, I won¡¯t do it for cheap, no matter how shoddy the target is. After all, anyone who is worthy of being my target wouldn¡¯t be an easy job.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll trouble you to kill the one who put the hit on me, then,¡± Zu An said.

    Ding Run¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°So that¡¯s what you had in mind, kid. I fear that I...¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll give you extra,¡± Zu An continued in aposed manner. ¡°I¡¯ll pay you double whatever that person paid to send you after me.¡±

    Ding Run hesitated. ¡°You really are putting me in quite the spot here...¡±

    ¡°Triple!¡± Zu An continued without flinching.

    Ding Run¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Fine! Deal!¡±

    Sang Qian waspletely stunned. This kind of bullshit was okay?

    As expected, this brat¡¯s brain worked quickly! Maybe it¡¯s better if I don¡¯t antagonize him in the future.

    Sigh, I might not even make it beyond today. What¡¯s the point in thinking about this now?

 Chapter 467: Song of the Struck Blade

    <h4>Chapter 467: Song of the Struck de</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Ding Run suddenly fixed Zu An with a stare. ¡°How can I be sure that you have that much money, though? You¡¯re about to die too, so I only want whatever money you can cough up right now. Don¡¯t tell me to run around looking for your secret stash. I don¡¯t want to end up stumbling into any traps.¡±

    It was obvious that he¡¯d experienced something like that in the past, which made him much more cautious.

    ¡°I have the money, but I will only give it to youter. That way, I can at least live a little longer,¡± Zu An said with a chuckle.

    Ding Run shook his head. ¡°Trust me. Sometimes, living for too long might not necessarily be better than passing on immediately.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll still rather remain alive,¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°As you will. I¡¯ll kill them first and leave you for thest.¡± Ding Run turned towards Sang Hong and the others. ¡°Apologies, Lord Sang.¡±

    Then, with a flicker of radiance, a wave of de energy cleaved towards the father and son.

    Sang Hong suddenly sprung into action. He picked up the iron chain in his hands and moved forward to meet this attack. The chain ground against the other party¡¯s de, producing a string of sparks.

    Despite this, the de energy still scattered in all directions, hacking the carriage to pieces. The people inside tumbled out.

    ¡°You managed to undo your seal?¡± Ding Run¡¯s hand rested on his sword, as if the de had never left its scabbard.

    Sang Hong looked at the fallen Huang Huihong, and then he said with a sigh, ¡°I have to thank Commander Huang for undoing my seal before his death.¡±

    Ding Run recalled that Huang Huihong had stretched out his hand towards the carriage before his death. Back then, he thought that the dying man was trying to grab something, but he now knew that he was undoing Sang Hong¡¯s seal.

    ¡°So all of that bbering earlier was also to buy time for his recovery?¡± He gave Zu An an irritated look. He didn¡¯t expect to be yed like this today.

    Sang Hong also favored Zu An with a look of approval. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to have realized this. The speed of your reactions leaves even myself in awe.¡±

    After all, Huang Huihong had only had enough time to undo his restrictions alone. That was why no one else should have known what was happening.

    ¡°It was just a shot in the dark. Blind luck.¡± Zu An smiled. He then turned to look at Ding Run. ¡°Whatever the case, our agreement is still in effect. If we really do end up dying, you¡¯ll still help me kill your employer.¡±

    Ding Run sneered. ¡°Quite clever aren¡¯t you? Covering all your bases.¡±

    Joy blossomed across Sang Qian¡¯s face, and he immediately cried out, ¡°Dad, help me undo my seal!¡±

    Surprisingly, however, Sang Hong made no reply. He only continued to stare at Ding Run.

    Zu An snorted. ¡°Are you dumb? You¡¯d die if someone on their level even touched you! All of your dad¡¯s attention is on his opponent right now, and he can¡¯t afford to get distracted, yet you¡¯re barking like a stupid dog.¡±

    Sang Qian stared nkly for a moment before he realized what was going on. However, Zu An¡¯s words still angered him. Hmph, just wait until after my dad gets rid of Ding Run. I won¡¯t be done with you until I skin you alive!

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for 792 Rage points!

    Zu An couldn¡¯t care less about him. His attention waspletely on the battle.

    His initial rage aside, Ding Run remained ratherposed. ¡°I heard that Lord Sang was an eighth rank cultivator. Please, teach me a thing or two.¡±

    Sang Hong¡¯s voice had taken on a serious tone. ¡°You are quite famous in your field of work as well. I¡¯ve heard of eighth-ranked cultivators who died at your hand. Another eighth rank cultivator shouldn¡¯t be too much trouble for you to deal with.¡±

    ¡°Whatever the case, you still have eight ranks, which makes you a much tougher target than most. I¡¯ll have to demand a bonus from my employer once I get back.¡± Ding Run¡¯s sword flew out of its scabbard almost before thest word had left his lips.

    He moved so quickly that no one else could see the de¡¯s trajectory. They could just barely sense a trace of cold light flickering past.

    Sang Hong was already fully prepared for the fight. He brandished the broken chains in his hands and moved to meet the attack. The chains and shackles that the Embroidered Envoy used to restrain their prisoners were all made from ck steel, which made them quite a decent substitute for a proper weapon.

    The two shed and swapped ces. This time, Ding Run didn¡¯t sheath his sword, allowing Zu An and the others to see it clearly.

    This sword was much longer and narrower than a normal de. It was simr to a Japanese katana in his previous world, but was even longer.

    It seemed to have a silvery-white finish, but there was a faint tinge of dark red to it as well.

    There was no way this dark red color was on the surface. As a swordsman, Ding Run surely maintained his weapon properly.

    The dark red color had to have seeped into the de itself, bing one with the sword.

    Given his upation, it went without saying what this dark red color signified.

    Even though they were a fair distance away from him, the killing intent radiating from the de made chills run through their bodies, and even their skin seemed to be covered in a fine, prickling feeling.

    Zu An¡¯s expression was solemn. This fellow had already turned his killing intent into a tangible substance. Just how many people had he killed to do this?

    Sang Qian wore an awful expression as well. He could be considered a powerful cultivator himself, and he had already noticed the two-inch cut across his father¡¯s chest. Even though his father wasn¡¯t truly injured, his father seemed to have been on the losing end of that exchange.

    ¡°Your de truly is fast, your eminence.¡± Sang Hong stared at Ding Run, a hint of shocked surprise shing across his eyes. He knew what had happened, even without looking down at his own chest.

    Ding Run¡¯s mouth spread open a grin. ¡°This is my bread and butter¡ªhow can my de not be fast? I fear that cultivators like Lord Sang, who live like princes all day, don¡¯t have much actual experience in fighting. You are not a match for me.¡±

    ¡°That might not necessarily be so.¡± Sang Hong said with an angry huff. This was now a matter of life and death, and he wasn¡¯t about to back down. He grabbed a chain in each hand, and mes surged along the length of them, quickly making them glow red.

    The ¡®me whips¡¯ danced in his hands,shing out at his opponent. His hair and beard flew about wildly as he attacked, lending him an aura of inexplicable power.

    Sang Qian clenched his fists tightly, silently cheering his father on.

    This was the first time that Zu An was seeing Sang Hong go all out. When he was the governor of Linchuan Commandery, he rarely had to personally make a move. All he had to do was make some small arrangements, and an army of pawns would go forth to do his will.

    Only now, when his life and death hung in the bnce, did everyone remember that he was also an eighth-ranked expert.

    So, he¡¯s a me element cultivator. Zu An was puzzled. This didn¡¯t match Sang Hong¡¯s personality at all. The man was alwaysposed and collected, only making a move after he was certain of victory. He seemed entirely different from most of the other fire element cultivators, who had explosive personalities.

    But then, he realized that Sang Qian also wielded the fire element. It only made sense that father and son would awaken the same element and cultivate simr techniques.

    The only thing that he couldn¡¯t figure out was why they had taken Zheng Dan in as a daughter-inw. She possessed the water element, while they were masters of the fire element. Weren¡¯t they naturally ipatible?

    Sang Hong¡¯s fiery red whips thrashed about the battlefield, leaving glowing traces everywhere. They came dangerously close to Ding Run several times, and each time, he just barely avoided them.

    Finally, there was one strike that he couldn¡¯t avoid. He raised his sword to block the iing strike. With a loud bang, his entire body was thrown way back.

    Sang Hong didn¡¯t continue his assault, as his barrage of attacks hadn¡¯t done much at all. Continuing that sort of offensive would only needlessly drain his energy.

    ¡°Are you done? I guess it¡¯s my turn now.¡± Ding Runughed. He raised that sword in front of him, and flicked the de lightly with his finger.

    A clear note rang out. It was definitely a good sword.

    No one knew why he had flicked his sword. Was he trying to show it off?

    Only Sang Hong¡¯s expression flickered. He quickly dodged to the side, but he was still a little toote. A spray of blood erupted from the long, bloody wound that had been carved on his arm.

    If he hadn¡¯t evaded so quickly, his entire arm might have been lopped off.

    Invisible sword energy!

    None of them were idiots. They realized what this was right away.

    Sang Hong''s tone was dark. ¡°There were rumors floating around that the young Cash Warrior used to create music by striking his de[1], but everyone thought that this was only something you did to amuse yourself. I never expected that this would be one of your killing techniques!¡±

    Ding Run smiled. ¡°It is difficult to find a kindred spirit who understands me. I never expected Lord Sang to know me so well! In that case, I¡¯ll ask Lord Sang to properly critique this song of mine, called ¡®Song of the Struck de¡¯.¡±

    1. The author references a line from a poem by the Tang Dynasty poet, Li Bai, titled The Road is Difficult II (ÐÐÂ·ÄÑÆä¶þ)

 Chapter 468: A Lethal Blade

    <h4>Chapter 468: A Lethal de</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Ding Run struck his de again, sending out a crisp note that resonated all around. Sang Hong immediately took to the air.

    The moment he leapt up, a groove several meters long was carved out of the ground where he had been standing.

    Ding Run struck his de again. Sang Hong couldn¡¯t evade while in midair, so he picked up a nearby tree and pulled it in front of himself. The massive tree was cut apart as though it was made of paper, and was instantly cleaved into two by the invisible de ki.

    The de ki didn¡¯t stop after slicing through the tree, but continued onwards, cleaving towards his body.

    However, the streak of invisible de ki left traces of its movement in the debris left over by the shattered tree.

    Sang Hong thrust out the chains in his hands. With a loud crash, the de ki was forcefully scattered.

    Ding Run was unfazed, continuing to strike his sword.

    He struck a different part of his sword each time, and each time, a different note rang out, almost as if it were a real musical instrument. The notes flowed together, just like a song.

    Compared to the music of other instruments, though, this one was full of killing intent.

    Sang Hong had learned his lesson from that first exchange. He swept up the surrounding leaves, grass, branches, and other loose objects with his chains, even sweeping up the surrounding earth. The air around him was littered with debris. The invisible sword ki could now be traced, which made it much easier to deal with.

    Only now could Zu An and the others see the trajectory of the sword ki. More often than not, they didn¡¯t fly straight out towards Sang Hong, but instead came from behind, from the side, from diagonally below him, and many other unexpected angles.

    They had no idea how Ding Run was able tounch such attacks against Sang Hong even though he was clearly standing far away.

    The furrows on Sang Hong¡¯s brow grew deeper and deeper. Even though he had all manner of methods to evade his opponent¡¯s de ki, he would never seize the advantage this way.

    The main issue was that the de ki came towards him at incredibly tricky angles. A single moment of carelessness, and he would be hit.

    If this continued, Sang Hong was worried that he might just be defeated. He tried to close the gap several times to engage his opponent at close quarters and make it difficult for him tounch these de ki attacks.

    Unfortunately, Ding Run continued to back up. In addition, his control over his sword ki was immacte, and he managed to maintain the distance between the two of them.

    Two loud bangs sounded in quick session. The chains around Sang Hong exploded. They had finally given out after being heated by his mes and suffering repeated blows from the incredibly sharp de ki.

    There was no way Ding Run would give up such a good chance. Five fingers struck the de in quick session. Several streaks of sword kinced towards Sang Hong¡¯s vital areas one after another from different directions.

    Without a weapon in hand, Sang Hong could only use his own flesh to protect himself. His situation looked grim.

    Sang Hong roared in anger. Suddenly, four zing wheels appeared around him, spinning and whirling all around him. The five streaks of sword ki that were about to strike him were all blocked by the protective formed by the spinning me wheels.

    ¡°Windfire Wheels! My dad has activated our n¡¯s best skill!¡± Sang Qian cried out excitedly.

    ¡°Windfire Wheels?¡± Zu An had an odd expression on his face. Your dad doesn¡¯t seem to have any of Nezha¡¯s charm...[1]

    Sang Hong was already on the move, using the protection offered by his Windfire Wheels to charge straight at Ding Run.

    Ding Run sent out several sts of sword ki in an attempt to stop Sang Hong, but he couldn¡¯t break through his opponent¡¯s defenses.

    Sang Hong closed the distance quickly. He thrust out a hand, and the Windfire Wheels around him came together to form an evenrger wheel, which crashed down onto Ding Run.

    Ding Run hurriedly raised his long de to block it, his body shuddering considerably. This blow had clearly dealt a substantial amount of damage.

    Sang Hong wasn¡¯t about to throw away his advantage, and continued to unleash a flurry of attacks.

    Ding Run tried to retaliate, but all his efforts were deflected by that massive wheel.

    The sky was covered in mes, and Ding Run¡¯s body was only faintly discernible within the vicious barrage of attacks. Sang Qian wore a look of excitement. ¡°Wonderful! Dad is really amazing!¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t share his optimism. Right from the first exchange, it was clear that Sang Hong¡¯s cultivation was lower than Ding Run¡¯s. Sang Hong already brought out his ultimate move¡ªhow could Ding Run possibly not have one himself?

    Sure enough, a sudden roar pierced the air. Even from a distance, they could feel an immensely powerful pressure.

    ¡°What... what is this...¡± Sang Qian¡¯s eyes widened, and he felt his chest grow tight.

    On the battlefield, a fierce purple tiger suddenly took form. This tiger wasn¡¯t a real creature, but rather, a phantom made from lightning.

    Although it was a phantom, sparks shot out in all directions wherever this purple tiger¡¯s ws shed with Sang Hong¡¯s Windfire Wheels. It seemed to exist in the space between the material and the immaterial world.

    Zu An looked more closely, and noticed that this tiger floated behind Ding Run. This was surely something that he had conjured up.

    Is he a wielder of the lightning element?

    No wonder his sword was so quick.

    Zu An sighed, then realized that his conclusion was wrong. Compared to before, Ding Run¡¯s speed seemed to have almost doubled.

    He seemed to havepletely disappeared from the battlefield. Only a vicious purple tiger remained, roaring and pouncing at Sang Hong. Each time it attacked, sparks and lighting flew, apanied by thunderous booms. His power was clearly much greater than before as well.

    As the battle raged, the vegetation around them was razed to the ground, exposing the earth underneath. Zu An and the others quickly backpedaled to avoid being caught up in the st waves.

    They didn¡¯t use this chance to escape, mainly because their cultivations were sealed. They wouldn¡¯t get far even if they ran. If Ding Run emerged victorious, it would only be a matter of minutes before he caught up to them.

    If Sang Hong won, there wouldn¡¯t even be a need to flee.

    The best choice was to wait for the result of this battle.

    At the moment, however, the scales were tipped in Ding Run¡¯s favor. Red mes were rushing into the heavens just a moment ago, but once Ding Run unleashed his power, purple lightning dominated the battlefield.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    A huge boom echoed across the area. The purple tiger pounced on Sang Hong¡¯s massive wheel of fire, crushing it and breaking it into four separate pieces.

    Then, the tiger brandished its ws, swatting the smaller wheels into the distant forest.

    The purple tiger pounced on the defenseless Sang Hong.

    Sang Hong let out a horrible scream. His body hit the ground like a leaky sandbag. He tried to struggle back to his feet, but his knees buckled, sending him back down. He could just barely support himself off the ground with his arms.

    Blood gushed out of his mouth. His chest was visibly caved in, the indentation shaped vaguely like the paw of that purple tiger. There was a deep de wound on his chest, which barely stopped an inch from his heart.

    ¡°I¡¯m impressed by your reactions, Lord Sang. You were actually able to evade my lethal strike at thest second.¡± The giant phantom purple tiger behind Ding Run gradually dissipated as his de returned to its sheath.

    The oue of the battle was already decided. Even though Sang Hong had dodged thest lethal strike, he no longer had the strength to continue fighting.

    Seeing how Sang Hong could barely even move, Ding Run shifted his attention to Zu An and the others. ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s better if I deal with you all first. I don¡¯t want to see another one of you jump out and tell me that your seal has been undone.¡±

    Even though their level of cultivation was not enough to threaten him, the first rule of being a hit man was to limit the number of variables.

    He drew his de, but in that instant, for the first time in his life, he hesitated. He wanted to take care of Sang Qian first, but he suddenly recalled the cleverness Zu An had disyed earlier. This kid had also been way too calm throughout this entire process, which set Ding Run¡¯s danger sense tingling.

    As such, he changed targets midway, thrusting his sword towards Zu An¡¯s throat.

    1. Nezha is a character from Chinese mythology. He flies through the air by standing on wheels of fire.

 Chapter 469: Cunning Sister-in-law

    <h4>Chapter 469: Cunning Sister-inw</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An felt a jolt of shock run through his body as he saw the de of the sword thrust in his direction. Fortunately, he was always on guard. Seeing the speed at which his opponent was closing the distance, he didn¡¯t dare hesitate, immediately summoning Grandgale to teleport several zhang away.

    Ding Run couldn¡¯tprehend what had just happened.

    Never in his darkest nightmares did he imagine that he, a top-notch cultivator, would fail tond a blow on someone who should have been, right now, nothing more than an ordinary human.

    ¡°Was your seal undone as well?¡± He was extremely confused. This didn¡¯t make sense either! Even if his seal was undone, the intelligence he had stated that he was only around the fourth or fifth rank. Killing cultivators like him should be as easy as ughtering a chicken¡ªhow did this fellow manage to dodge his blow?

    The rest of the group shared the same uncertainty. They just couldn¡¯t figure out why he could move freely like this, let alone so quickly.

    Sang Qian grew even more depressed. He was fully aware that, if the blow had been aimed at him, there was no chance at all that he could have avoided it even if he were at his peak, let alone right now, when his cultivation was sealed.

    He never expected Zu An, who he had always looked down on, to aplish this. A million different feelings warred within his heart.

    ¡°What do you think?¡± Zu An swallowed, seeing the devastation that the sword ki had wrought in the spot that he had just vacated a moment ago. A small tree there had been instantly torn apart. He would have been the one to suffer that fate if he had been even a moment toote.

    Fortunately, Grandgale wasn¡¯t affected by his seal. Ding Run, who had no clue about this, said with a cold snort, ¡°There¡¯s no need to guess. I just have to kill you.¡±

    His image flickered, and he sent his de flying towards Zu An again. Having learned his lesson, he immediately cut off Zu An¡¯s retreat as well. That way, even if Zu An dodged like he did before, this sword ki he hadunched in advance would be enough to cleave him in half.

    Unexpectedly, Zu An seemed to have read his thoughts! This time, he didn¡¯t use Grandgale to flee backwards, instead blinking a dozen zhang sideways.

    Ding Run¡¯s de struck empty air again. He stood motionless, and began to question life itself.

    Zu An wasn¡¯t feeling too great at the moment either. Even though he could use Grandgale consecutively more times than before, there was still a limit. He wouldn¡¯t be able to hold on if this man continued to press the attack.

    Ding Run turned around and looked at him. He remarked in a low voice, ¡°To be honest, I¡¯m really impressed. Any youngster who can avoid two strikes from me can definitely be considered a genius. Given enough time, your future aplishments might even exceed mine. Unfortunately, the heavens are not so kind.¡±

    He did not rush at Zu An again. Instead, he raised his de and tapped it.

    Zu An had just watched this Song of the Struck de destroy Sang Hong! Without hesitation, he darted to the side.

    However, Ding Run didn¡¯t stop. His finger struck the de again and again.

    This time, Zu An didn¡¯t summon Grandgale. He had already used it three times in session, and he wanted to save whatever precious uses he had left for crucial moments.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    He fell back to using his Sunflower Phantasm instead. Even though he couldn¡¯t use ki to split himself into three, the technique still granted him great evasive abilities.

    ¡°Hm?¡± Ding Run grew more and more bewildered. Zheng Dan, who had seen this before, wasn¡¯t as surprised, but both Sang Hong and Sang Qian were staring wide-eyed.

    ¡°This fellow really is a genius!¡± Sang Hong sighed in amazement. It truly was a pity. If the rtionship between Zu An and his son wasn¡¯t so awful, he would have gone all out to rope this kid in.

    Sang Qian¡¯s heart was dripping with envy. It was truly horrible, seeing someone he used to look down on surpass him by such a wide margin.

    Ding Run made an agitated sound. His finger struck his de at an ever-increasing speed. de ki sliced out with even greater frequency, flying towards Zu An from angles that were harder and harder to predict.

    Despite all this, there was still a huge gap in cultivation between the two parties, and Zu An¡¯s cultivation was also sealed. Therefore, even though Zu An was already a master of his movement technique, there was no way he could evade every single blow.

    His movement was just a split second too slow. An invisible streak of sword ki sliced open a gash on his thigh.

    This sudden injury caused his subsequent movements to grow momentarily sluggish. Sword ki drew a deep gash across his chest, and a bloody mist burst from his body as another stroke shed across his lower back.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Zheng Dan cried out in rm, her face goingpletely pale. However, with her cultivation sealed, she was helpless to intervene.

    Seeing his fianc¨¦e show so much concern for another man made Sang Qian bubble with fury.

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for 999 Rage points!

    However, he quickly realized that, once Zu An was dead, he would be next. That was why he couldn¡¯t afford to be angry right now.

    ¡°Huh?¡± a strange sense of unease wormed its way into Ding Run¡¯s mind. His invisible des should¡¯ve sliced through a fourth or fifth rank cultivator with ease. This Zu An kid was supposed to be in pieces right now. How did he only suffer a few deep gashes?

    ¡°I thought about ying dead, but I don¡¯t think someone like you would let me get away with that.¡± Noticing his opponent¡¯s grave expression, Zu An slowly drew himself up from the puddle of blood. What a pity! This hit man is just too careful... I wanted to ambush him with my Poisonous Prick.

    Zheng Dan immediately covered her mouth when she saw him rise back to his feet. Her misty eyes were filled with joy and disbelief.

    Even Sang Qian had to give this guy some credit. Was he still human? His injuries looked terrible, but he hadn¡¯t died yet. His body was exceptionally hardy.

    Ding Run looked at Zu An, and a faint hint of praise seeped into his voice. ¡°Your body¡¯s sturdiness far exceeds my expectations. Even many high level cultivators can be considered to be far inferior to you.¡±

    As a killer, he understood the physical limits of each different cultivation level. Such an understanding was vital to knowing how much force he needed to use to end any individual¡¯s life.

    Zu An sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t know whether I should feel happy or sad after hearing your praise.¡±

    Ding Run¡¯s mouth cracked open in a grin, revealing his intimidating white teeth again. ¡°You should feel terrible, of course, because I won¡¯t be going on easy on you anymore...¡±

    He struck his de at once, and countless invisible des swept towards Zu An, each one containing much greater power.

    Zu An¡¯s expression grew focused. He continuously used the Sunflower Phantasm to evade, randomly sprinkling in one or two uses of Grandgale. Ding Run fired off more than ten shots, yet none of them ended up hitting Zu An.

    How is this possible?! The same thought was shared by all. Zu An was clearly seriously injured, so why did he show no signs of weakening? Instead, he seemed to be growing ever stronger!

    His speed had clearly increased severalfold as well.

    Ding Run could no longer maintain hisposure, having failed over and over again to deal with this brat.

    He increased the rate of his attacks. The danger surrounding Zu An intensified. Many times, the attacks were so close that they sliced off the edges of his clothes.

    A shadow dashed out from a nearby cluster of trees, halting at Sang Qian¡¯s side, giving him a bottle of medicine, and also undoing his and Zheng Dan¡¯s seals. ¡°Big brother, please carry father. Sister-inw, we should use this chance to get away.¡±

    This was Sang Qien. Her choice of timing was excellent. Right then, all of Ding Run¡¯s focus was on Zu An.

    Zu An cried out when he saw what was happening. ¡°What the heck? Is this how you treat someone who saved your dad and your brother¡¯s lives?¡±

    Sang Qien replied with augh, ¡°Young master Zu, I¡¯ll have to trouble you to help buy us a little more time. Please save them again!¡±

    With that, she took her father, brother, and sister-inw away.

    All of them were powerful cultivators. Given theplexity of the terrain around them, their chances of escape were decent.

    Even if Ding Run tried to track them down again, it would take him some time. Their father would have recovered somewhat from his injuries by then, and they might even be able to take him down if all of them worked together.

    Of course, all of this hinged on sacrificing Zu An. The lives of her family were most important. Zu An was but a stranger. She felt no remorse in abandoning him.

    Sang Qian was overjoyed. Why would he have any objections to this n? He picked up his father and took off, giving his father the medicine his sister had given him along the way.

    Unexpectedly, Zheng Dan pushed Sang Qien¡¯s hand away and charged at Ding Run. Gathering the surrounding elemental water within the nts around them, she condensed it into an arrow of water and shot it at him.

    Sang Qien was stunned. She looked at her bridal dress, then looked at Zu An in his groom¡¯s clothes, and then turned back to face her older brother. ¡°Brother, what is going on between you and sister-inw?¡±

 Chapter 470: Strangely Embarrassed

    <h4>Chapter 470: Strangely Embarrassed</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Sang Qian stared back at his sister, speechless.

    He waspletely dumbfounded as well. He had thought that Zu An was the one bullying Zheng Dan all this while, and that she was being forced to do his bidding.

    What the hell is going on here? This bastard Zu An has surely resorted to some devilish trick to manipte her!

    Yeah, that¡¯s definitely it!

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for 734 Rage points!

    Only Sang Hong shook his head with a sigh. He was well experienced with the ways of the world, and knew exactly what was going on.

    Zheng Dan¡¯s face turned red. She knew that her actions hadpletely blown her cover, but giving up the disciplined image that she had groomed over so many years still left her slightly embarrassed, and she tried to justify herself. ¡°He¡¯s saved my life before, so I can¡¯t just watch him die.¡±

    She knew that this reason was rather far-fetched, but she still steeled herself and ran with it anyway. At the very least, it would serve as some sort of exnation to satisfy her fianc¨¦¡¯s family.

    In the time she took to make her statement, her water arrow had already reached Ding Run. Ding Run snorted, raised his hand, and crushed that arrow between his fingers. The ferocious arrow of water exploded into a spray of harmless water droplets.

    Given the huge gap in their cultivations, Zheng Dan¡¯s attack was insufficient to break through his defenses.

    With a flick of his hand, Ding Run sent the water droplets flying back where they came from. They pelted Zheng Dan¡¯s body mercilessly.

    She did her best to evade and protect herself, but she was still hit. She threw up a mouthful of blood and copsed onto the ground.

    Ding Run waved his hands in a carefree manner. The leaves fluttering about in the air coalesced into a green arrow, and he fired it straight at Zheng Dan. It flew at her at an incredible speed, and there was no way Zheng Dan would be able to evade it in her wounded state.

    The piercing sound of the deadly arrow whistling through the air echoed far into the distance, and it was easy to imagine just how much terrifying power was harnessed by this attack. If the strikended, Zheng Dan was dead for sure.

    Ding Run clearly realized that he had wasted too much time. He had finally lost patience, and decided to end things as quickly as possible.

    Sang Qian had a hesitant look on his face. This fianc¨¦e of his truly abounded with grace and beauty, especially in her appearance, which was both elegant and reserved. He hadn¡¯t yet gotten a taste of her, and so he was clearly reluctant to let anything happen to his gorgeous wife.

    If they had been facing any other situation, he would¡¯ve leapt in like a knight in shining armor. Unfortunately, Ding Run was way too strong, and the difference between their power was way too great. He was clearly no match for him.

    The key to being a white knight was to look badass, and not to actually throw away one¡¯s own life!

    Survival was everything! As long as he survived, he would be able to y with all the pretty women he could ever want to in the future.

    That was why, after a moment of hesitation, he shouldered Sang Hong and kept on running.

    Zheng Dan didn¡¯t seem too upset by her fianc¨¦¡¯s reaction. Instead of whining about it, she sighed in relief. She knew that she had let the Sang n down, but Sang Qian¡¯s choice also helped her let this matter go.

    Her vision suddenly blurred. A figure appeared in front of her and wrapped her in his arms, blocking the deadly attack with his own broad back.

    Zheng Dan¡¯s expression immediately turned to horror when she sensed this familiar and gentle embrace. She wrapped her arms around him and screamed, ¡°Ah Zu!¡±

    Blood gushed out of Zu An¡¯s mouth, and his body instantly grew limp. This blow had clearly left him with a grievous injury.

    If it wasn¡¯t for the two-fold tempering of the Primordial Origin Sutra, which had increased his body¡¯s hardiness immensely, he would¡¯ve already died many times over.

    Even so, he was at his limit. He forced out a smile. ¡°Look at how cute we look together in our clothes. Even if we go, we¡¯ll go together.¡±

    Ding Run turned his gaze on the fleeing trio from the Sang n. He snorted. ¡°Do you think you can escape? Keep dreaming!¡±

    Both Zu An and Zheng Dan were already sure to fall, so he decided to settle matters with these others first, to prevent them from getting away. He didn¡¯t want to spend the next few days searching for them.

    He wielded the lightning element, so speed was his forte. With a flicker, he appeared in front of Sang Qian.

    Sang Qian was horrified. He raised the de his sister had given him and brought it down.

    For all of his faults, he was still a respected cultivator in Brightmoon City. There was no way he was just going to ept this fate.

    His de erupted in golden mes. Now that he was face to face with death, there was nothing to hold back, and this attack packed one hundred and twenty percent of its usual strength.

    Ding Run sneered. ¡°You dare show off your skills with a de before me?¡±

    With a sh of cold light, Sang Qian¡¯s sword was hacked into two pieces from the side, and the raging mes were instantly extinguished.

    Ding Run¡¯s de didn¡¯t stop there, but continued moving towards his neck in a single fluid motion. Sang Qian¡¯s full-powered attack had beenpletely broken, and the recoil had sent his ki into a chaotic frenzy. There was no way for him to react in time.

    Ding Run had done this countless times. This was just another number to add to his body count.

    His expression was devoid of all emotion, and the surge of focused killing intent made it hard for Sang Qian to even breathe. A chill ran through his entire body. Only one thought remained in his mind.

    I¡¯m done for!

    At this critical juncture, the half-unconscious Sang Hong, who was still clinging to his back, suddenly opened his eyes and sent a fist flying towards his son¡¯s attacker. The speed and power behind this strike was equal to the best that he could throw when he was at his peak. He had clearly been acting the entire time, waiting for just this opportunity.

    Ding Run grinned. ¡°Predictable!¡±

    He had seen Sang Qian administer the recovery pill to his father earlier. As a first-rate killer who was famous in the underground world, he relied not only on his terrifying cultivation, but also his incredible prudence.

    Caution was absolutely essential in his field. No matter how high one¡¯s cultivation was, failing to act with proper caution was sure to get one killed someday.

    He had immediately sensed that something was amiss when he saw Sang Hong¡¯s condition worsen despite ingesting the medicine. He thus decided to change his strategy, to bait the other party into a trap.

    Sang Hong was an eighth rank expert, and the situation would grow difficult to handle if he was allowed to recover his strength. However, if Ding Run timed his attack just so, he could instantly turn the hunter into the hunted, and eliminate his target in the blink of an eye.

    Sang Hong¡¯s heart sank. In an instant, he recognized that his opponent had seen through his ploy. Unfortunately, however, all his power was concentrated in this one attack. Given his current condition, there was no way for him tounch another blow like this.

    He had no choice but tomit to it fully, even though he knew that he had already fallen for his opponent¡¯s trap. The only thing that mattered right now was to somehow wound his opponent before he died, to give his children a higher chance of escaping.

    Unfortunately, even this final hope was quickly dashed. He could tell from Ding Run¡¯s eyes that, by the time Ding Run¡¯s de reached his neck, his fist would still be three inches fromnding.

    Given his cultivation, even three feet wasn¡¯t usually a big deal, let alone three inches. Yet right now, three inches seemed as vast as the distance between heaven and hell.

    A sinister smile spread across Ding Run¡¯s face. He had already seen the horror and despair in Sang Hong¡¯s eyes. As a killer, this was the moment he enjoyed the most, especially when his opponent was a powerful cultivator on the same level as him.

    The feeling of ecstasy that overwhelmed him in such a moment was even better than the pleasures of ying around with the best girls in any brothel.

    Just as his blow was about tond, a despicable voice suddenly came from beside him. ¡°Whatcha lookin¡¯ at?¡±

    Ding Run immediately sensed an irresistible urge rise up within him. He instinctively turned around to re at that person. ¡°I¡¯m staring at you, shithead!¡±

    It was at this moment, he knew he¡¯d fucked up.

    In a battle between powerful cultivators, the line between victory and defeat was infinitesimally thin.

    This moment of distraction caused his de to slow down just a fraction.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Sang Hong¡¯s fist, however, did not slow at all, and mmed right into his opponent¡¯s chest.

    Ding Run¡¯s body was blown backwards. ¡°Pffft!¡± Blood spurted out from his mouth. This was the first time he had been wounded today, and it was definitely a brutal blow.

    The full-powered strike of an eighth-ranked cultivator was a terrifying phenomenon. If Ding Run wasn¡¯t so powerful, this blow would have sent him straight to hell.

    Sang Hong didn¡¯t fare much better himself. Even though the momentary distraction to his opponent prevented the de from slicing right through his throat, it had still opened a wide, deep gash across his shoulder. If it had prated just a little deeper, he might have been crippled for life.

    The two of them looked at Zu An at the same time.

    Zu An had a shy smile on his face. He nestled closer to Zheng Dan and said, ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that. I feel strangely embarrassed...¡±

 Chapter 471: Only One Good Thing about Me

    <h4>Chapter 471: Only One Good Thing about Me</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Are you from the dragon race?!¡± Ding Run fixed Zu An with an unwavering stare.

    ¡°Why would you think that?¡± Zu An asked curiously.

    ¡°Because you used Soulspeak.¡± Sang Hong said, gasping for air. He looked at Zu An in shock.

    This wasn¡¯t the first time he saw Zu An use this skill. In the ns Tournament, Yuan Wendong¡¯s cultivation was clearly superior, yet he¡¯d lost his concentration at a critical moment, and ended up losing to Zu An.

    At the time, no one had thought about this possibility. Only now, when Ding Run blurted this out, did he realize that it might be usible.

    After all, Ding Run was one of the world¡¯s best hitmen, and Sang Hong could tell that he was a thoughtful and extremely strong-willed individual. There was no way he would be as easily distracted as Yuan Wendong.

    Zu An knew that they had misunderstood what was going on, but he didn¡¯t bother to exin. This was perfectly eptable to him, since it freed him of the burden of having to further exin the principles behind his ¡®Whatcha lookin¡¯ at¡¯ skill.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Not only am I of the dragon race, I¡¯m the reincarnation of an ancient ancestral dragon! Even the dragon god has to bow before me! By offending me, you¡¯ve offended the entire dragon race! Are you scared yet?¡± Zu An was in his element when it came to spewing bullshit. If he really did scare his opponent, that would be great. If not, at least he got to feel awesome while doing so.

    Sang Hong and Ding Run stared at him, unsure of how to respond.

    Sang Qian was speechless as well, although something else caught his attention as well.

    Wait... where the hell are you putting those hands of yours?

    Sang Qien looked at him with great curiosity. This man truly held many secrets.

    Zheng Dan was the only one who was smiling. This guy... really... Your lies are always so outrageous...

    ¡°I don¡¯t give a shit if you¡¯re of the dragon race or not. You¡¯re going to die today!¡± Ding Run¡¯s face was as dark as a storm cloud. He brandished his de and shed it towards Zu An.

    de ki rushed ferociously at Zu An, ripping apart the ground as it travelled.

    However, it was obvious that Ding Run¡¯s injuries were severe. His sword ki had previously been invisible and practically impossible to defend against. Now, however, although it seemed to be as powerful as before, it was leaving noticeable tracks behind.

    Zu An still held Zheng Dan in his arms. He was just about to evade when a figure stepped in front of him, and a surge of ck me deflected the iing sword ki. Her figure wobbled slightly. Clearly, blocking this attack was not as easy as it looked.

    ¡°Big Manman!¡± Zu An instantly recognized who this was from her figure alone.

    The eyes of Ding Run and the others in the area widened, not just because this girl had been able to block this de despite her tender age¡ªtheir eyes were clearly focused on her wobbling figure. As they looked on, they felt their hearts tremble as well.

    Sang Qien couldn¡¯t help looking down at herself, and her face immediately turned pink. What in the world does this woman eat all day? Why are the heavens so unfair?!

    Pei Mianman turned to give Zu An a look. She took in the extent of his injuries, and noticed that his hands were tightly wrapped around Zheng Dan. ¡°So you¡¯re the sort that ends up throwing your life away while chasing girls,¡± she said with a snort.

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°I¡¯d do the same for you if you were in danger.¡±

    Pei Mianman scoffed. ¡°Hmph, you sure are a slick talker. Could you perhaps offer some more optimistic words?¡±

    Meanwhile, a distance away, it looked as though mes were about to shoot out of Sang Qian¡¯s eyes. Zu An and his wife had been an item all this time! Not only did Zu An have the first miss of the Chu n, he had all these other outstanding girlspeting to save him as well! This thought only served to further fuel Sang Qian¡¯s rage.

    Even though Pei Mianman was masked, that impressive chest, the incredible curves of her body and those beautiful eyes all marked her as an exceptional beauty.

    Jealousy and anger swirled within Sang Qian¡¯s heart, threatening to explode.

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for 999... 999... 999...

    Sang Qien, meanwhile, had a thoughtful look on her face. This Zu An looks rather handsome, and he knows how to sweet talk a woman. Most importantly, he is willing to risk his own life to protect yours... How many girls could resist such charm?

    ¡°Are you all treating me like I¡¯m not here?¡± Ding Run brandished his de and charged.

    His injuries were pretty significant, and the Song of the Struck de took too much out of him. Besides, the path of his de ki could now be traced, which limited their effectiveness. That was why he made the decision to engage them in close quarters.

    Pei Mianman¡¯s expression grew serious. Ding Run¡¯s cultivation was incredibly high, and she could afford no distractions. ck mes surged around her entire body as she flew forward to meet him.

    The two of them exchanged several blows, and Pei Mianman suddenly cried out, clearly having suffered an injury.

    If Ding Run hadn¡¯t been carrying a serious injury of his own, the oue would have been much worse for Pei Mianman.

    Biting her lip in anguish, Zheng Dan dashed forward to lend Pei Mianman a hand. Thebination of water and fire elements was strangely effective.

    As they attacked, their water and fire elements ovepped, producingrge amounts of steam. The air around Ding Run was constantly boiling hot, and his vision was affected as well.

    When they were on the defensive, Zheng Dan condensed water shields around Pei Mianman from time to time, preventing their opponent from attacking freely.

    ¡°Let¡¯s leave!¡± Sang Qian quickly picked up his father, who had been wounded by Ding Run¡¯s sword ki earlier. He only had one thing on his mind, which was to get away from this dangerous ce as quickly as possible.

    Thest thing he expected was for Sang Qien to say no.

    ¡°We fled earlier because there was no hope of victory even if we stayed. Now that Ding Run is seriously injured, and there are so many people on our side, we have a chance to win this. If we run now, he might sessfully deal with Zu An¡¯s group, and still have a chance to recover afterwards. If that happens, we¡¯ll never be able to get away.¡±

    Sang Hong nodded in agreement. ¡°Qien¡¯er has analyzed this correctly. Instead of facing a sure death a few dayster, we might as well risk it all here.¡±

    Sang Qien had already made her move. However, she didn¡¯t charge straight into the battlefield. Instead, she went to Zu An first and undid his seal.

    Zu An was so moved he was about to cry. ¡°Someone finally remembered to undo this damned seal! You¡¯re incredible, young miss Sang.¡±

    He didn¡¯t really me Zheng Dan and the others. Since they werepletely focused on dealing with Ding Run, they didn¡¯t have the chance to undo his seal.

    Sang Qien pushed him away, her face red. ¡°I appreciate the gratitude, but why are you touching my hand?¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°In my hometown, shaking hands is a way to express gratitude... haha.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Sang Qien rolled her eyes. Then, she drew her sword and joined the fray.

    Pei Mianman and Zheng Dan were rather surprised to see her join the battle, but they couldn¡¯t deny that the pressure on them decreased considerably.

    Ding Run was appalled. He never expected that he would be put under such pressure by a few girls, moreover such youngdies. He¡¯d be a hugeughingstock if news of this got out!

    Unfortunately, there really wasn¡¯t much he could do in his current condition. The ck mes wielded by that masked woman were extremely unnatural, and he dared not let it touch him.

    Zheng Dan was providing excellent support from behind, while Sang Qien was as cunning as a fox on the battlefield. Sheunched attacks from all manner of tricky angles, and assisted Zheng Dan from time to time as well. He was truly at his wit¡¯s end.

    He couldn¡¯t let this drag on. Time was of the essence. He let out an ear-splitting roar, and the image of a massive purple tiger emerged. He charged straight at the three girls.

    ¡°Be careful!¡±

    The three women were immediately put under the same pressure that Sang Hong had gone up against earlier. Ding Run¡¯s speed and power increased drastically, and the ghostly purple tiger enhanced each of his attacks. His fighting strength had now gone up, almost equal to what it was when he was in prime condition. There was no way Pei Mianman and the other two girls could continue to keep up with him.

    It didn¡¯t take long for the three of them to fall to the ground in quick session, injured and groaning.

    Ding Run was just about to finish them off when a figure shed across his field of vision at blinding speed, carrying the three of them away.

    His expression grew cold, and he nced at that figure. ¡°How did you recover so quickly?¡±

    Zu An had suffered multiple deep gashes, and had even taken the full-powered attack meant for Zheng Dan. Even if he hadn¡¯t died, he should have been pretty close to it. However, he didn¡¯t show any sign that he was about to expire.

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°What can I say? I might not be good in other areas, but my body is really hard.¡±

    The Primordial Origin Sutra had not only made his body tougher, it also granted him amazing regenerative abilities. His condition was already considerably improved after this short period of natural recovery.

    Zheng Dan¡¯s face turned red. Her heart was pounding like a drum. This was something she understood best...

    ¡°Miss Sang, let me borrow your sword.¡± Zu An had carried Sang Qien backst. He used this chance to take her sword.

    ¡°Okay...¡± Sang Qien¡¯s face was red. She was already so old, yet no man had ever carried her in such a manner before. She was at a loss as to how to react.

 Chapter 472: Dragonslaying Eighteen Palms

    <h4>Chapter 472: Dragonying Eighteen Palms</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    He looks good when he smiles... Wait what is happening to me?

    Sang Qien rubbed her cheeks. Why did they feel much warmer than usual?

    Sang Qian didn¡¯t miss his little sister¡¯s reaction. Rage flooded his mind. Zu An, you bastard! Not only did you fool around with my fianc¨¦e, you¡¯re after my sister as well?!

    Absolutely preposterous!

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for 666... 666... 666...

    Ding Run snorted. ¡°Let¡¯s see which is harder, then¡ªyour body or my de!¡±

    His de shed out at once. Even though he was injured, his ultimate move was still active, and his speed was more or less what it had been when he was uninjured.

    This sudden assault was almost impossible for the naked eye to follow. Ding Run had learned from his past experiences andpletely blocked off all of Zu An¡¯s possible escape routes. He was confident that he could finish him with this blow.

    He had already wasted way too much time here. In his entire career, he had never encountered such a situation. He felt an incredible sense of unease.

    ¡°Be careful!¡± Pei Mianman and Zheng Dan cried out at the same time. They clearly saw how dangerous this attack was. Neither of them believed that they would survive this blow if they were the ones facing it.

    Unfortunately, both of them were in terrible condition, and the speed of Ding Run¡¯s attack was just too fast. There was no way for them to render aid even if they wanted to.

    Even Sang Qien looked on nervously. For some reason, she was starting to worry for that man. Was it because of that warm smile?

    Only Sang Qian was secretly delighted. He obviously couldn¡¯t be happier if Zu An were to be diced up! However, he suddenly remembered that, after Zu An met his end, they would be next. This left him feeling quite conflicted.

    Ding Run¡¯s eyes suddenly widened. His guaranteed strike had missed.

    No, he hadn¡¯t missed¡ªhe had clearly struck his opponent!

    However, his de had cut into a mirror image. Looking more closely, he noticed that there were two Zu Ans in front of him.

    ¡°Body-cloning technique?¡± The experienced Ding Run frowned.

    Zu An sighed in relief. Once again, he felt indebted to big sis empress for her modified Sunflower Phantasm. It was a truly reliable technique. Her hellish training had also forced him to learn how to split into three, without which, he might not have been able to evade that lethal strike.

    Ding Run remained silent, continuing to hack away at Zu An with his de.

    Zu An evaded with his Sunflower Phantasm while looking for a chance to counterattack. Usually, there would have been no way for him to dodge these attacks, given the huge gap in cultivation between them. However, his injuries were severe enough that the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra was giving him a substantial buff. His speed and ki strength had both been markedly increased.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Of course, Ding Run was seriously injured as well. If not, there would have been no way for Zu An to keep up with him once he unleashed his purple tiger. This was now a war of attrition. The difference between their rtive strengths was actually no longer that great.

    Ding Run felt his astonishment growing as the battle wore on. What kind of monster was this? His movement technique was unbelievably strange! With it, Zu An was able to cause most of his attacks to miss, and it even gave Zu An opportunities to counterattack now and then.

    His opponent¡¯s sword techniques seemed extremely simple, at times even appearing to be rather wed. However, when paired with that strange movement technique, the ws were no longer ws, and it became difficult to ward off these attacks.

    Everyone else on the battlefield was stupefied. Even though they knew that Zu An was talented, fighting toe-to-toe with one of the world¡¯s best killers was surely a stretch too far.

    Zheng Dan¡¯s eyes were fixed on him, her eyes burning with love. The man I¡¯ve chosen really is awesome.

    In that instant, she even began to regret getting married to Sang Qian out of consideration for the Zheng n¡¯s reputation. Eloping with Ah Zu was beginning to seem like a great idea.

    Pei Mianman was already blown away. Out of all of them, she was probably the one who understood Zu An¡¯s strength best. Not much time had passed since theyst saw each other¡ªwasn¡¯t this sudden leap in strength just a little too crazy?

    No, his strength has always shown an unbelievable improvement each time we met. She was a cultivation genius herself, yet she was nothingpared to Zu An.

    How did that girl Chu Chuyan discover such an incredible talent? She¡¯s always a step ahead of me... Wait a minute, they aren¡¯t husband and wife anymore...

    Sang Qien found herself constantly bbergasted. If she hadn¡¯t just fought against Ding Run, she would have suspected that he was way past his limits, and that his strength had somehow dropped significantly. However, the truth was that he had easily defeated the three of them together just moments ago.

    She thought of herself as one of the best among her peers, yet this man wasn¡¯t much older than her! How is he doing this?

    Sang Qian¡¯s astonishment grew by the second. He quickly turned to look at the three women. He caught sight of his fianc¨¦e¡¯s bewitched expression, and he suddenly felt as though his lungs were about to explode.

    The other stunning beauty was also looking at Zu An fondly, and even his little sister was looking on in adoration. Just what sin did hemit in his past life, for him to run into someone like this?

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for 555... 555... 555...

    Ding Run was also furious. The battle had dragged on for so long, and yet he couldn¡¯t take down this miserable kid! He already felt himself weakening from his injuries, and there was no way he could maintain his ultimate technique forever. Things would start to get ugly if this continued.

    He flew into midair. The de in his hand was no longer as fast as before, but instead slowed down.

    Zu An had no intention of growing careless. As the de slowed, the air surrounding it seemed to fold in on itself.

    Ding Run¡¯s de became extremely slow. For every inch it moved, it left behind a silhouette of a de. Ding Run continued to dance about in the air, and he was soon surrounded by dark red de silhouettes.

    ¡°Rain of Carnage!¡±

    He roared out. des poured out of the sky, as if it was raining blood.

    Since you¡¯re so good at dodging, I¡¯ll fill this entire ce with de ki! Let¡¯s see where you can hide then!

    He made sure that the three women were well within the radius of the attack, to prevent Zu An from using his strange instantaneous-movement technique.

    You can run, but these women will die for sure.

    He had seen Zu An shield Zheng Dan earlier, so he knew that, despite his frivolous appearance, he was a man who treasured deep emotional connections. Such people were not willing to just save themselves.

    All of you can die together, then!

    The three women stared at the ¡®blood rain¡¯ formed by the innumerable dark red swords that shrouded the sky, the cruel crimson luster mirrored in their eyes.

    All of their faces turned pale. How in the world were they supposed to avoid this?

    The only thing they could do was to gather their remaining ki and produce as strong of a defense as they could.

    Suddenly, a figure appeared in front of them. Zheng Dan panicked. ¡°Ah Zu, run away! You don¡¯t have to worry about me...¡±

    Pei Mianman¡¯s expression also softened. ¡°She¡¯s right! I¡¯m already satisfied to see you here. Please don¡¯t sacrifice your own life! If you do, Chuyan will really kill me...¡±

    Sang Qien opened her mouth, but no words came out. The other two women were close to him, and it didn¡¯t seem appropriate for her to say anything.

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°What¡¯s up with all the gloomy looks? I still have trump cards to y.¡±

    Up in the sky, Ding Run sneered. He was just a pathetic kid at the fifth rank! The fact that he hadsted this long was already a miracle. What trump cards could he possibly have left?

    The three girls were stunned. They didn¡¯t believe that he had anything else to y, but his confidence was strangely infectious, and they instinctively chose to trust him.

    Zu An put away his smile. He stabbed his sword into the ground and faced the iing sword rain. His arms moved in a strange manner, and then he said with a grave voice, ¡°Dragon... ying... Eighteen... Palms! Dragon¡¯s descent!¡±

    The terrifying cry of a dragon split the sky, and a massive red dragon appeared in midair, its body stretching for several zhang, giving off a tremendous pressure.

    The blood rain seemed punypared to the massive bulk of the dragon, which blocked almost all of it.

    The blood rain¡ªformed by the sharp de ki¡ªscattered harmlessly as it made contact with the red dragon¡¯s scales.

    When all the des were blocked, Zu An immediately returned the red dragon corpse back to his Brilliant ss Bead. He coughed lightly and said, ¡°I will now show you the second movement of the Dragonying Eighteen Palms¡ªDragon¡¯s ascent!¡±

 Chapter 473: Boasting Punished by Heavenly Judgement

    <h4>Chapter 473: Boasting Punished by Heavenly Judgement</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Ding Run heard the seriousness in Zu An¡¯s tone, and there seemed to be some sort of ancient and profound meaning hidden within the motion of his palms as well. Although the dragon had disappeared in a sh, he was certain that it was a real dragon!

    From the name of the skill alone, he was able to tell that this ¡®Dragonying Eighteen Palms¡¯ technique could cause even a dragon to yield. This kid was an absolute monster!

    He hadn¡¯t been able to defeat Zu An even with his full strength, which had left him doubting himself. Now that he had pulled out this Dragonying Eighteen Palms technique, he was properly scared out of his wits.

    He was already carrying a serious injury, and did not dare to continue fighting. He picked up his de and ran for his life.

    As a professional killer, his top priority was staying alive. No amount of caution was considered excessive. That was why he ran for his life. He would wait until he had fully recovered, then seek this fellow out to settle matters once and for all.

    With a fewrge leaps, his retreating figure quickly vanished into the distance.

    All those who remained stared nkly after him. What in the world was going on? The most famous hitman in the world, a top-notch expert, had been chased away by Zu An?

    Zu An sighed in relief. Clearly, he had only been bluffing. That Dragonying Eighteen Palms or whatever was just some bullshit he¡¯de up with. He knew that, if he¡¯d summoned the red dragon again, Ding Run might realize that it was just a corpse.

    ¡°Ah Zu, you¡¯re incredible!¡± Zheng Dan¡¯s red lips were parted wide with shock. She was the only one here who knew the truth behind this red dragon. She never expected that he could make use of the corpse so effectively!

    ¡°Haha, you¡¯re too kind. I have even more powerful skills in reserve.¡± There wasn¡¯t the least bit of humility in Zu An¡¯s tone.

    Pei Mianman sighed in admiration. ¡°Ah Zu, you¡¯re always so full of surprises. Compared to you, all those so-called talented geniuses arepletely overshadowed.¡±

    Zu An was on cloud nine. ¡°Oh my god, yes, right there. That¡¯s what I like to hear. Keep iting!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re so annoying!¡± Pei Mianman¡¯s body was shaking from his teasing, and everyone else¡¯s eyes couldn¡¯t help but track her every motion.

    A blush colored Sang Qien¡¯s charming face. She cursed that woman in her heart for being a vixen, and then she looked at Zu An curiously. ¡°How did you do it?¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°Do you really want to know? Call me big brother, and I¡¯ll tell you.¡±

    ¡°Hmph!¡± Sang Qien¡¯s face turned red. To be honest, if there weren¡¯t so many people around, she wouldn¡¯t have minded calling him big brother. But her real big brother was nearby, and the two of them hated each other¡¯s guts. How could she possibly give in to his request in such a situation?

    Sang Qian erupted in anger. ¡°You! Stop teasing my little sister!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for 601 Rage points!

    Zu An immediately became unhappy. ¡°Yo, are you blind? She was the one who asked me a question first. If you keep shouting like an idiot, I¡¯m gonna smack you to death.¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Sang Qian was so angry that he almost leapt out to challenge him. However, he remembered how Zu An had just scared off Ding Run, and recalled the appearance of that terrifying dragon as well. Both of these things made him wary of Zu An¡¯s p, and he held his tongue. However, the resentment he felt didn¡¯t decrease in the slightest.

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for 444... 444... 444...

    Zu An was overjoyed. This fellow had given him a really decent amount of Rage points over these past few days, which made him seem quite cute.

    He helped Pei Mianman and Zheng Dan to their feet. ¡°Are you two all right?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re fine.¡± The two women replied, and exchanged nces.

    The two of them weren''tplete strangers. They were both quite well known in Brightmoon City, and they were fellow students at the academy.

    However, they only nodded towards each other. They shared no deeper friendship to speak of.

    As if sensing the awkwardness, Zu An said, ¡°What do you mean, you¡¯re fine? Look at yourselves! Big Manman, you have some blood on your chest. Let me help you with that...¡±

    ¡°Get lost!¡± Pei Mianman pushed the pervert away. This fellow is always so despicable.

    Zu An chuckled. He took out two pills and gave one to each of them. ¡°Take it easy. These are Divine Physician Ji¡¯s Soul Return Pills. They¡¯re pretty good.¡±

    ¡°Thank you!¡± The two women had heard about Divine Physician Ji¡¯s extraordinary medicine. Neither refused him, and both took the pills he offered.

    Sang Qien blinked. She was rather stunned that neither one of the girls had hesitated before swallowing the medicine.

    They were women, and extremely beautiful women at that! Yet, they ingested any random thing that they received from this man! That could only mean that they really trusted him.

    The girl with the huge breasts is one thing, but Zheng Dan is my sister-inw...

    She turned around to give Sang Qian a look. Oh, my poor big brother!

    Zu An¡¯s teasing voice interrupted her thoughts. ¡°Miss Sang, do you want one too?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t!¡± Sang Qien gave an angry huff and turned her head away. This fellow was clearly trying to tease her! How could she shamelessly ept it?

    ¡°Now¡¯s not the time for that. We¡¯re not out of the woods yet. It¡¯s important to recover our fighting strength as quickly as possible.¡± Zu An grabbed her hand and ced a pill in her palm.

    This girl had helped him undo his seal and fought alongside the other two girls. There was no way he wouldn¡¯t repay this favor.

    Her hand does feel pretty nice though...

    Sang Qien was stunned. She too recognized that this was indeed what was most important at the moment. Even though she had her own medicine, it wasn¡¯t as good as Divine Physician Ji¡¯s pills.

    As such, she stretched out her hand. ¡°Give me two more!¡±

    Zu An inhaled sharply. This woman really was blunt. He thought for a bit, then said, ¡°I can only give you one more.¡±

    There was no way he would give Sang Qian something so precious.

    Sang Qien frowned, clearly catching his meaning. She didn¡¯t say anything in reply, but took the medicine and hurried over to her family members. She offered up both of the pills and said quietly, ¡°Father, big brother, take this medicine, quickly.¡±

    Sang Qian took the pill and swallowed it at once. Sang Hong frowned and said, ¡°What about you?¡±

    Sang Qien looked at Zu An, who was a distance away. ¡°I have my own ways.¡±

    Sang Hong knew that his daughter possessed sharp wits, so he didn¡¯t worry too much about her. He took the Soul Return Pill as well and began to regte his breathing.

    Unfortunately, he had overly taxed his body even after suffering serious injuries, and it wasn¡¯t easy for him to recover, even with such incredible medicine.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Sang Qien walked back to Zu An, her hands behind her back. She didn¡¯t say anything, but sat down and began to regte her own breathing.

    Zu An frowned. ¡°You gave that pill to your brother?¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡± Sang Qien nodded, but gave no other reaction.

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you asking me for another one?¡± Zu An asked curiously.

    Sang Qien opened her eyes and said slowly, ¡°I¡¯m already grateful that you gave me two pills. You also made it clear that you didn¡¯t want to give my big brother one, so I took on the responsibility by choosing to give mine to him. There¡¯s no way I would be so shameless as to ask you for another one.¡±

    Zu An was astonished. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect the young miss to have such integrity. Your character is far superior to your brother¡¯s. Whatever. I¡¯ve always been more partial to the fairer sex. I¡¯ll give you another one.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s... I couldn¡¯t let you do something like that.¡± Sang Qien looked troubled, but her heart was secretly overjoyed. Sure enough, this fellow¡¯s weakness was pretty girls.

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s no big deal. We¡¯re all grasshoppers stranded on the same boat right now, so we should be helping each other out.¡±

    He gave her another Soul Return Pill.

    Sang Qien didn¡¯t refuse him, but reached out her hand instead. ¡°Thank you, big brother Zu.¡±

    Zu Anughed heartily. ¡°You¡¯re wee!¡±

    The truth finally hit Zu An when he saw Sang Qien return to Sang Hong¡¯s side. He had fallen for this young woman¡¯s trap! Why would she have walked all the way over and taken a seat near him if she really wasn¡¯t interested in his medicine?

    Instead of getting angry, he found himself growing more interested in her. Her big brother was rather rude and impetuous, but this younger sister was quite clever.

    He shook his head. There¡¯s no point in thinking about all this right now. He sat down to regte his breathing and focus on recovery. He didn¡¯t take any medicine himself. His Primordial Origin Sutra was constantly repairing his body, so he wasn¡¯t in any urgent need of treatment. Moreover, staying in his current condition would grant him a buff from the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra. Since the danger had yet to truly pass, it was best to be a little more cautious.

    He noticed with pleasant surprise that the fifth step of his fifth formation was about twenty percent filled. This was probably the result of the previous beatings he¡¯d suffered, as well as the most recent fight.

    This fifth step required a whopping 2,178,309 Ki Fruits to fill up! Twenty percent of that was equivalent to more than forty thousand Ki Fruits. If this were converted into Rage Points, it would be an even more ridiculous number.

    I guess being beaten up really is much more effective than just eating Ki Fruits.

    However, what surprised him the most was that the increase in his level of cultivation wasn¡¯t quite the same each time he was seriously injured. After all, he had been left in a far worse state when he¡¯d faced Mi Li in the dungeon. Yet, if he converted the progress he¡¯d made back then into Rage points, it would be considerably less than this most recent round.

    Does it increase by a percentage of my current cultivation?

    Zu An couldn¡¯t figure out how this system worked at all.

    Despite all this, he still rejoiced. Even though getting beaten up to increase his cultivation wasn¡¯t the most morous, he could kill two birds with one stone and get on the good side of young women. Just look at how moved Zheng Dan had been when he used his own body to shield her!

    It wasn¡¯t just her, either. Even Sang Qien¡¯s opinion of him had changed.

    He was giggling to himself when an old man¡¯s voice suddenly cut through the air. ¡°Who was it that killed my nsman?!¡±

 Chapter 474: Nemesis

    <h4>Chapter 474: Nemesis</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    All of them were stunned. Turning their heads to take a look, they noticed a figure slowly walking out from among the trees.

    The figure wasn¡¯t all thatrge or tall. It was an old man with gray hair, who ambled forward with the aid of a walking stick. This elder looked just like any ordinary old man. However, for him to appear so deep within the mountains, there was no way anyone would mistake him for an ordinary person.

    The two horns peeking out from beneath the hair on his temples brought shocked recognition to their faces. In an instant, they remembered who he was.

    This was the one who had neutralized the Embroidered Envoy¡¯s most powerful weapon with just a single word. He was the reason why the Embroidered Envoy had then been taken out one after another, before eventually being exterminated.

    It¡¯s that dragon race elder! Zu An was horrified. What the hell is going on? Didn¡¯t they say that the dragon race didn¡¯t like getting too involved in the affairs of the world? He was supposed to leave after using his Soulspeak! Why is he still here?

    This old man had probably seen the red dragon that he¡¯d whipped out, and came here to investigate.

    Why is all of this shit happening today?!

    His mind was racing, but he still had a smile on his face. ¡°You must be joking, elder! How could one of your nsmen be here?¡±

    The dragon elder gave him a look, then swept his gaze over the others. His eyes shed with surprise. ¡°It¡¯s you guys.¡±

    His eyes continued to rove around, clearly looking for those dark elves. However, he didn¡¯t see any sign of them.

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°What a coincidence! I didn¡¯t expect us to meet again. Respectfully, how should I address you?¡±

    The dragon elder said, ¡°This old one is Ao Quan.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. This elder actually had the surname ¡®Ao¡¯! It was quite simr to the surnames of the dragons in the fantasy novels of his previous world. Was it really just a coincidence?

    He calmed his thoughts quickly, sping his fist, he said, ¡°Greetings, Elder Ao. Didn¡¯t you leave earlier?¡±

    Ao Quanughed and said, ¡°This old one sensed an abundance of natural ki in this ce, and decided to take a stroll around the mountains to further my cultivation. I didn¡¯t expect to suddenly sense my nsman¡¯s aura, let alone an aura of death.¡±

    Like hell I¡¯d believe you! You can cultivate anywhere you want¡ªwhy would you choose to cultivate in these mountains? That stuff about remaining indifferent towards worldly affairs is probably all fake. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if they are just biding their time on the sidelines, waiting for the opportunity to snatch up everything in the end!

    Pei Mianman walked over to Zu An¡¯s side. ¡°Elder Ao, if my suspicions are correct, you should be a member of the dragon race, right? Why would any of your nsmen be here?¡±

    Zheng Dan stood on the other side of him, clearly watchful for any sudden attacks.

    ¡°Is that so? Perhaps I really was mistaken, then.¡± Even though Ao Quan said this, he made no move to leave. His eyes continued to wander about their bodies.

    A disgruntled voice suddenly rang you. ¡°Is this nsman you¡¯re talking about a giant red dragon?¡±

    Everyone turned to face Sang Qian. A dangerous glint flickered in Pei Mianman¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Indeed. Young junior, do you know anything about that?¡± Ao Quan asked, favoring him with an amicable expression.

    Sang Hong frowned. He sent his son a warning via ki transmission. ¡°Qian¡¯er, be careful what you say.¡±

    Sang Qian pretended not to have heard a thing. He pointed straight at Zu An. ¡°He has it. He activated some Dragonying Eighteen Palms skill, and that massive red dragon appeared instantly.¡±

    The sight of Pei Mianman and Zheng Dan both nking Zu An was enough to drive him mad with jealousy.

    He had always looked down on this rat from the streets, and always felt that this brat was far inferior to himself in every way. However, the battle against Ding Run had clearly demonstrated that Zu An had already overtaken him a long time ago.

    He absolutely could not stand the idea that there was such a huge difference between them. What made it even harder to ept was the knowledge that this gap would only grow wider and wider in the future.

    The situation with Zheng Dan had already made it so that the two of them could not live under the same sky. The only thing in his mind right now was to get rid of Zu An!

    This was the perfect chance. He would borrow the dragon elder¡¯s strength to fulfill his goal.

    A frown carved deep furrows along Sang Hong¡¯s brow. He had still hoped that his son could somehow get along with Zu An. However, the intimate way that Zheng Dan was behaving around Zu An had dashed any possibility of that happening.

    Even if that were the case, though, his son wasn¡¯t making the smartest of decisions right now. Even if you want to turn hostile towards him, you should at least wait until I recover! We don¡¯t even know if this dragon elder is friend or foe. What if hees after us after he takes out Zu An?

    Sang Qien bit her lip as well. To be honest, she didn¡¯t approve of her brother¡¯s decision. They had all fought together, and Zu An had even given them three precious pills. Stabbing him in the back right away like this was a truly despicable act.

    However, he was still her big brother, so she couldn¡¯t really go against him.

    Zu An narrowed his eyes and gave Sang Qian a look. How could he not decipher this man¡¯s true intentions? Looks like I really can¡¯t be lenient with him anymore.

    ¡°Dragonying Eighteen Palms?¡± Ao Quan¡¯s expression grew cold when he heard this. He turned to look at Zu An. ¡°Aren¡¯t you an arrogant fellow!¡±

    Zu An quickly sped his fist and said, ¡°That was just something I made up to intimidate an opponent. It¡¯s not real. I didn¡¯t expect to have offended the dragon race. I sincerely apologize.¡±

    Ao Quan sneered. ¡°So, you made that up? Then tell me, was that red dragon also something you randomly made up?¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Red dragon? What red dragon? How big was it?¡± Zu An feigned ignorance.

    Ao Quan said indifferently, ¡°Even though it was just a lower-ss dragon who hadn¡¯t cultivated for many years, he was still pretty strong. He would probably have been about a hundred zhang in length.¡±

    ¡°A hundred zhang?¡± Zu Anughed and said, ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll agree with me on this. Forget about a giant dragon a hundred zhang in length for a moment¡ªwe wouldn¡¯t even be able to hide a snake a single zhang in length.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps you¡¯ve hidden it within some spatial artifact.¡± Au Quan said with a snort.

    ¡°Spatial artifact?¡± Zu An smiled. ¡°What sort of spatial artifact can possibly store a massive dragon like that?¡±

    The others agreed that this made a lot of sense. A spatial artifact that had a few rooms of storage would already be quiterge. How could there be one that could possibly hide such a massive dragon?

    Despite this, they couldn¡¯t deny what they had seen with their own eyes. What was really going on?

    Ao Quan frowned. He clearly didn¡¯t believe that there was a spatial artifact capable of that either.

    ¡°Don¡¯t listen to that fellow¡¯s nonsense. I used an illusion just now. His eyes were ying tricks on him,¡± said Zu An.

    Sang Qian began to panic. ¡°How could I possibly...¡±

    Ao Quan cut him off. ¡°I don¡¯t know if his eyes were deceived or not, but I wouldn¡¯t make that sort of mistake. Besides, there¡¯s no way I wouldn¡¯t recognize the aura of a fellow dragon.¡±

    Zu An let his smile fade. ¡°Since you don¡¯t believe me even after all these exnations, what do you want to do?¡±

    Ao Quan said indifferently, ¡°Hand over my nsman¡¯s corpse, and return with me to meet with the rest of the dragon n. The n leader will judge this matter himself.¡±

    Zu Anughed and said, ¡°After all that talk, it seems like you¡¯re just coveting my spatial artifact and the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra! You guys really have some nerve, acting as though you don¡¯t care a whit about the affairs of the world, then pulling a stunt like that. Hypocrites! Piss off!¡±

    Ao Quan roared in anger, ¡°Brat, you dare humiliate the dragon race?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Ao Quan for 999 Rage points!

    Zu An sneered. ¡°Drop the act already. I¡¯m clearly humiliating you, and you only! You alone do not represent the entire dragon race.¡±

    Ao Quan was so angry that he burst outughing. ¡°Excellent! It¡¯s been quite a while since someone dared to talk to me like this, let alone a human with such pitiful cultivation!¡±

    Sang Qian was so happy that he almost cheered. Kick his ass! This Zu An really did crawl out of the trash. A dog like you dares to raise your tail sky high just because you got lucky and found a way to raise your cultivation a little? Remember who you are!

    Zu An snorted. ¡°Wasn¡¯t the dragon race beaten back to the northern wastnds by us humans? What do you have to brag about? If you really have the guts, go say hi to our emperor in the imperial pce.¡±

    Ao Quan¡¯s breath caught. Clearly, he knew of the emperor¡¯s strength. Leaving himself aside, not even the leader of the dragon race stood a chance against that man. There was no way he would dare to start trouble in the imperial pce.

    He snorted. ¡°Brat, I will make sure you regret your arrogance.¡±

    Pei Mianman immediately cried out in warning. ¡°Be careful!¡±

    She knew that this elder was about to make his move, and she struck first to seize the advantage. Ferocious ck mes surged outwards.

    Ao Quan didn¡¯t move at all. He gazed dispassionately at the ck mes racing towards him, and said slowly, ¡°Dragon Soulspeak¡ªextinguish!¡±

    Just as the words left his mouth, the onrushing mes vanished.

    Shock was written all across Pei Mianman¡¯s face. She raised her hand several times, yet there were only sparks. She could not summon her mes at all.

    Ao Quan turned his gaze on Zu An. ¡°Youngster, I am most displeased with how foul your mouth is. I¡¯ll make you strike your own mouth a hundred times. I don¡¯t feel like doing it myself. Dragon Soulspeak¡ªStrike...¡±

    Before he could finish, he heard a taunting voice. ¡°Whatcha lookin¡¯ at?¡±

 Chapter 475: Use Your Mouth

    <h4>Chapter 475: Use Your Mouth</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Ao Quan felt an uncontroble urge well up within him. ¡°I¡¯m looking at you, shithead!¡± he blurted out instinctively.

    Naturally, his Soulspeak ability was interrupted.

    What the hell was that?

    Ao Quan waspletely stunned. He had no idea why he would suddenly say such a thing.

    Then again, it seemed like a perfectly legitimate thing to say, given the context, so he didn¡¯t give it any further thought. He continued on with what he had tried to say earlier on. ¡°Dragon Soulspeak...¡±

    Again, he was interrupted before he could finish. ¡°Whatcha lookin¡¯ at?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m looking at you, shithead!¡± Ao Quan instinctively replied.

    Ao Quan covered his mouth in disbelief, his eyes going wide. The first time could have been chalked off as an anomaly. However, there was no way he wouldn¡¯t realize something was off after it happened twice in a row.

    ¡°Are you also a member of the dragon race? Are you capable of Dragon Soulspeak?¡± In a state of shock, he quickly studied Zu An, but saw no traces in his appearance that marked him as a member of the dragon race. He didn¡¯t sense the slightest bit of dragon aura from him either.

    Sang Qian cried out before Zu An could reply. ¡°That¡¯s right! He said that he was the reincarnation of some ancient ancestral dragon, and that even your dragon god had to bow in his presence!¡±

    Heh, you¡¯re screwed now!

    ¡°Brother!¡± Sang Qien couldn¡¯t help but cry out in indignation. It was difficult to watch her brother kicking Zu An while he was already down.

    Sang Qian sniffed. Women are all like this in the end. His sister hadn¡¯t crossed paths with Zu An that many times, yet she was already speaking up for him!

    Pei Mianman and Zheng Dan wore identically frosty expressions. However, this only served to further strengthen Sang Qian¡¯s resolve to get rid of Zu An. The two of them could not coexist in this world, and he couldn¡¯t be bothered with appearances anymore.

    ¡°A reincarnated dragon? Even the dragon god has to bow in your presence?¡± Ao Quan¡¯s face seemed carved from ice. ¡°How bold!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Ao Quan for 567 Rage points!

    Since things had gotten to this point, there was little point in maintaining any further pretense. As such, Zu An gave up on his previous modesty, and returned to his usual cocky expression. ¡°How do you know I¡¯m not?¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Of course I would know. If you were a dragon, I would be able to sense it.¡± Ao Quan punctuated hisment with a snort.

    ¡°Then how do you exin my Soulspeak ability?¡± Zu An said with augh.

    ¡°I do not know what kind of strange technique you possess, but it might not be our dragon race¡¯s Soulspeak.¡± Ao Quan¡¯s expression grew serious. ¡°I was careless, and got taken advantage of. You won¡¯t have another chance now.¡±

    Zu An shrugged. ¡°I guess you really were here to cultivate your Soulspeak. You only know how to bber.¡±

    Dark clouds raged across Ao Quan¡¯s face. ¡°Brat, you¡¯ve sessfully infuriated me! When the timees, I... Dragon Soulspeak¡ªSink...¡±

    He wasn¡¯t sure what kind of sorcery Zu An employed, so he said all those things to deliberately make him drop his guard, before suddenly whipping out his Soulspeak.

    Unfortunately for him, Zu An waspletely prepared. ¡°Whatcha lookin¡¯ at?¡±

    He wiped some sweat off his brow. He almost let this old man use his ability! This old man had no sense of honor. They were right in the middle of a nice chat when he had suddenlyunched an attack!

    ¡°I¡¯m looking at you, shithead!¡± Ao Quan blurted out. His expression immediately turned awful.

    He had already done his best to stop himself from being distracted, yet he still couldn¡¯t prevent himself from saying this and interrupting his own Soulspeak.

    He stared at Zu An. ¡°Damned brat, just how...¡±

    ¡°Whatcha lookin¡¯ at?¡±

    Having learned his lesson, Zu An was worried that he mightunch another surprise attack. He wasn¡¯t interested in chatting anymore, but immediately cut off any chance of Soulspeak being used.

    ¡°I¡¯m looking at you, shithead!¡±

    Ao Quan ground his teeth in fury.

    You have sessfully trolled Ao Quan for 999 Rage points!

    He had never felt such injustice in his entire life! He had such an incredible ability, yet he couldn¡¯t use said ability thanks to a stupid brat with low cultivation.

    If Huang Huihong were still alive, he would have surely been pping his hands in jubtion. He could fully sympathize with this old man¡¯s torment! His powerful imperial edict had been sealed by that silencing Soulspeak, which ultimately led to his humiliating death!

    ¡°What are you...¡±

    ¡°Whatcha lookin¡¯ at?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m looking at you, shithead!¡±

    ...

    Ao Quan was on the verge of crying. Not only could he not use his Soulspeak, he couldn¡¯t evenplete a simple sentence.

    ¡°Wait, let me...¡±

    ¡°Whatcha lookin¡¯ at?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m looking at you, shithead!¡±

    He wanted to bang his head against a tree.

    You have sessfully trolled Ao Quan for 666... 666... 666...

    Sang Qian waspletely stupefied. What the hell is this?

    Isn¡¯t this dragon elder supposed to be extremely powerful? He stopped Huang Huihong earlier with just a single word. How is he the one who can¡¯t do anything now?

    I ced all my hopes and dreams on you! You¡¯re a bloody disappointment!

    Pei Mianman and the other girls werepletely stupefied as they watched the two of them going back and forth, one yelling ¡°Whatcha lookin¡¯ at¡± and the other replying ¡°I¡¯m looking at you, shithead¡±. They couldn¡¯t help but burst outughing. This didn¡¯t seem like a battle between powerful cultivators¡ªrather they looked like two idiots cursing each other on the streets.

    A tinge of red blossomed on Sang Qien¡¯s face as well. As expected, this Zu An was just as shameless as her intelligence had stated. He dragged his opponent down to his level, and then used his wealth of expertise to destroy them.

    A few more moments passed before Ao Quan quickly stretched out his hands. ¡°Stop!¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t continue shouting. His throat was starting to get dry from all the talking.

    Seeing that he didn¡¯t say those three demonic words again, Ao Quan sighed in relief. ¡°Don¡¯t you know how to use your fucking mouth?!¡±

    He was already quite old, so he was already quite used to exercising self-restraint. He was always treated with respect, and had no problem acting aloof and proud. It had been many, many years since hest cursed like this, but he really couldn¡¯t hold himself back.

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°I only need to say three words, but you always need to say more. Since we¡¯re really going there, I¡¯m sure your mouth is capable of much more.¡±

    Ao Quan was at a loss for words.

    You make so much bloody sense, I don¡¯t even have a good retort.

    You have sessfully trolled Ao Quan for 703 Rage points!

    Ao Quan¡¯s face grew ashen. He had already given up on using Soulspeak, because those three goddamned words would always stop him, no matter how hard he tried. There was no way he would put himself through that again.

    ¡°Do you think this old man is that helpless?!¡± Ao Quan said with a cold snort, and swung his dragon-head walking stick.

    Even though he mainly trained his Soulspeak, his close-quartersbat strength could only be considered weak whenpared to others of his race. He had more than enough strength to deal with a simple fifth rank human.

    Zu An didn¡¯t dare face the oing walking stick head on. He quickly used his Sunflower Phantasm to dodge the blow. However, Ao Quan¡¯s cultivation was far above his own, and he wasn¡¯t seriously injured like Ding Run was. It was easy enough for him to keep up with Zu An¡¯s speed.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t shake him off, but Au Quan couldn¡¯tnd a hit either. The two of them moved faster and faster, quickly entering a stalemate.

    Pei Mianman and Zheng Dan both grew worried. They wanted to help, but the two were moving way too fast. They couldn¡¯t distinguish who was who, which left them both at a loss as to what to do.

    Sang Hong sighed, seemingly impressed. ¡°The dragon race is indeed a race blessed by the heavens. Their physical strength is naturally superior to the other races! This Ao Quan primarily cultivates Dragon Soulspeak, so his actual physical strength should be poor, yet he still seems to possess the strength of an eighth rank human cultivator. That truly is quite frightening.¡±

    ¡°What? Even this is equivalent to eight ranks?¡± Sang Qien cried out in rm. ¡°Isn¡¯t his real strength much greater, then?¡±

    ¡°Indeed.¡± Sang Hong nodded. ¡°If he can use Soulspeak, then his strength would beparable to a master. From a certain perspective, he would be even stronger than a master. Luckily, Zu An was able to cripple his most powerful ability. If not, none of us stand a chance against him.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect so many powerful experts to be lurking in this world! It seems like the various powers are finally beginning to stir restlessly after decades of peace.¡±

    Meanwhile, off to the side, Sang Qian couldn¡¯t help but grumble, ¡°The emperor should have sent more experts! We¡¯re constantly being pursued by so many different enemies!¡±

    Sang Qien offered her take on the situation. ¡°His majesty probably didn¡¯t expect Zu An to publicly reveal his Phoenix Nirvana Sutra to the world. The force that he dispatched would have been sufficient for an insignificant drafted son-inw.¡±

    Sang Hong¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Qien¡¯er, your analysis is quite good. I was the one who was muddle-headed! This is clearly the underlying reason. To be honest, I really do have a good amount of admiration for Zu An. Even in the face of absolute death, he has managed to fashion a chance for survival.¡±

    ¡°He has nothing but blind luck! He is garbage that crawled up from the lowest rungs of society, and will undoubtedly throw a tantrum as soon as things don¡¯t go his way. There¡¯s no way he¡¯s thought that far ahead.¡± His father¡¯s constant praise for Zu An only made Sang Qian feel more awful inside.

    Sang Qien didn¡¯t share his opinion. ¡°That¡¯s what I thought at first, but after interacting with him these past few days, I think there¡¯s more to him than meets the eye.¡±

    Sang Qian snorted. ¡°That fellow is good at nothing but deceiving women! You are to stay far away from him!¡±

    Sang Qien struggled to maintain her cool.

    A loud draconic cry echoed through the sky. After so many missed attacks, Ao Quan finally lost his patience. He revealed his true form, transforming into a massive green dragon a hundred zhang in length.

    ¡°Despicable human, you have truly incurred my wrath!¡± Ao Quan turned his massive head towards Zu An. His eyes burned with fury, glowing likenterns.

    You have sessfully trolled Ao Quan for 1024 Rage points!

    Zu An cursed inwardly. None of these fellows know how to take a joke. If you¡¯re going to fight, then just fight. Why the need to change forms? So annoying.

    ¡°Can you just shut up already? Whatcha lookin¡¯ at?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m looking at you, shithead!¡±

    Ao Quan didn¡¯t know whether to scream or cry.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to kill you!¡± Thoroughly provoked, Ao Quan let out a roar and swooped forward. The very foundations of the earth seemed to shake, and even the surrounding air seemed to have been sucked away.

 Chapter 476: Fragrance

    <h4>Chapter 476: Fragrance</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Pei Mianman and the other girls found it difficult even to remain standing¡ªthere was no way they would be able to help Zu An out. The massive pressure blew them all backwards, and they could only look on with worry.

    Sang Qien retreated with her family to a safe distance as well, before turning back around to observe the battlefield. Will that man be able to conjure up another miracle?

    Zu An wasn¡¯t faring much better. He was up against a massive dragon, and was bearing the brunt of its tremendous force.

    Any other fifth rank cultivator¡ªno, even any other sixth rank cultivator would have beenpletely overwhelmed by the power, and they wouldn¡¯t have even been able to move.

    Zu An¡¯s body had been tempered twice by the Primordial Origin Sutra. Furthermore, he had faced many powerful opponents previously, strengthening his willpower immensely. Even he was just barely able to hold on.

    He used the Sunflower Phantasm to split into three copies, all of them darting away with intricate and unpredictable movements. Even though he managed to avoid the dragon¡¯s powerful swoop, the two copies were ripped apart by giant ws, and his real body was almost caught in it as well, the sharp ws missing just a few inches wide.

    Zu An¡¯s expression immediately grew awful. Even though his Sunflower Phantasm was a miraculous technique, this dragon was just toorge. It only required a small movement to cover arge area, which rendered his dodging meaningless.

    He had believed that his opponent¡¯s massive size would hinder its agility and flexibility. He was hoping to dodge to the side or around it somehow, and then find an opening to use his Poisonous Prick to inflict the same fate upon this dragon as he did its kin.

    However, he soon discovered that his analysis waspletely wed. The dragon¡¯s massive bulk did seem to hinder its agility slightly, but this would only have mattered to experts with cultivations of the same rank as its own!

    The gap between their cultivation ranks was just too great for Zu An to take advantage of any of this. To him, his opponent was as slippery as a loach, and there were absolutely no openings for him to exploit.

    Finally, there was an instant where Zu An was unable to evade in time, and he was struck by the massive dragon¡¯s tail sweep. He felt as if he had been rammed into by a fire truck! Pain radiated along his entire body as it flew through the air. Blood poured out of him, drawing a red arc across the sky.

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡±

    Judging by the terrifying speed at which he was falling, most of his bones would break upon impact with the ground. Heedless of whatever danger they might be in, Pei Mianman and Zheng Dan rushed forward to catch him.

    The tremendous force on impact dealt serious injuries to the two girls. Blood gushed out of their mouths.

    It seemed that even dealing with the aftermath of a master rank cultivator¡¯s attacks was beyond them.

    Ao Quanughed maliciously. ¡°Who would have expected a despicable fellow like you to have such close female friends who care so much for you? Since that¡¯s the case, all of you can die together!¡±

    He swiped a massive w at them, threatening to smash them to pieces.

    ¡°Be careful!¡± Sang Qien cried out in rm. She didn¡¯t know why either, but she didn¡¯t want to see Zu An meet his end in this ce. Perhaps it was because they had fought side by side earlier, or perhaps it was the warm smile he had disyed when he held her...

    Sang Qian snorted, unimpressed by how worried his sister was for that man. He was clearly displeased by her show of concern.

    Sang Hong gave his daughter a surprised look. If he¡¯d known that things were going to turn out this way, he would have brought his daughter along with him to Brightmoon City instead! Unfortunately, there was no way to go back in time. What a pity...

    That massive dragon w descended, asrge as a mountain. Zu An quickly shoved the two girls out several tens of feet away. With the help of the reaction force, he activated Grandgale and teleported in the opposite direction.

    *Boom!*

    A tremendous noise sounded. Everything surrounding the ce they had just been standing on was utterly destroyed, and only a deep and terrifying w mark remained.

    Noticing that his strike had missed, Ao Quan didn¡¯t take off pursuit of Zu An. He sneered and said, ¡°Do you think I¡¯ll run after you? I can tell that those two women matter a lot to you. You even risked your life to save them! In that case, you can just look on helplessly as I kill them! Their blood will be on your hands!¡±

    With that, he swooped down at the two girls.

    Horror filled Pei Mianman. She quickly grabbed Zheng Dan and ran for their lives. Even Zu An, with his Sunflower Phantasm and Grandgale, could only just barely avoid this massive dragon¡¯s attacks. How would either of them be able to? Even now, they could already clearly see their pursuer¡¯s horrifying teeth and smell its foul breath.

    ¡°What a pity! If I were younger, I would definitely have taken the time to y around with the two of you properly. However, this old one no longer has that sort of inclination. The both of you can just die!¡±

    His mouth open wide, he flew towards the two girls and closed his massive jaws around them. The flesh of these two youngdies will surely taste exceptionally good.

    ¡°Ah!¡±

    Sang Qien cried out in horror. She had already turned her head away, unwilling to watch what was about to happen.

    Sang Qian¡¯s heart was full of regret as well. He hadn¡¯t expected his fianc¨¦e to be the first one to die! That girl with the incredible body was also caught up in this. It¡¯s all that bastard Zu An¡¯s fault!

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for 452 Rage points!

    Zu An¡¯s eyes were open so wide, it felt as though his eyelids were splitting. Unfortunately, the difference between his cultivation and their opponent¡¯s was way too great. There was no way he could save them in time.

    Did he really have no choice but to watch them die?

    No, absolutely not!

    His mind began to operate at lightspeed. He ran through all of the skills he had, to see if there was a way to save them.

    His eyes suddenly lit up. He roared out, ¡°You old loach, you could¡¯ve just told us that you couldn¡¯t get it up! Why did you have to try so hard to make it sound so refined?¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Even though he knew that Zu An was taunting him, Ao Quan felt his blood rushing straight to his head. The one overriding thought in his head was that he had to get rid of that annoying little shit first.

    He gave up on killing Pei Mianman and Zheng Dan, andshed out towards Zu An with his tail.

    Zu An was afraid that Pei Mianman and the other girls would get caught up in this attack again, so he immediately used Grandgale to teleport himself further into the forest. As he ran, he continuously yelled out more taunts. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Are you feeling insecure because what I said was true? You deserve it, you disgusting old prick.¡±

    Indeed, for the sake of saving those two women, he had used his Fragrant Barf skill, pulling all of Ao Quan¡¯s hatred upon himself. They were locked in now; this battle would not end until one of them was dead.

    He really wouldn¡¯t have used this ability if he¡¯d had any other choice. However, he couldn¡¯t just watch the two of them die. That was why he had to risk it all.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°I¡¯m going to kill you!¡± Ao Quan¡¯s eyes turned red. The only thing on his mind was to rip this fellow apart and slowly torture him to death. He didn¡¯t even care about his Phoenix Nirvana Sutra anymore.

    Now that his taunt was sessful, Zu An showed no hesitation whatsoever. He used Grandgale to flee for his life. However, no matter how far he traveled, that dragon could easily catch up to him with simple, small movements, thanks to its massive body.

    ¡°Big sis empress! Big sis empress!¡± Zu An hollered for Mi Li, but there was no response.

    This woman is so unreliable!

    Zu An cursed. She never showed herself when he was in any real danger.

    Then again, he knew that always calling on her like this was not eptable. She had warned him before that he might be too reliant on her whenever he found himself in a hairy situation.

    After several tries without sess, Zu An finally gave up. He gave up on running away as well, because he had reached the limit of his Grandgale usage. It was time to do or die.

    ¡°Why did you stop running? Are you tired?¡± Ao Quan smiled malevolently as he pounced at Zu An.

    Zu An dodged, raising his Tai¡¯e Sword to stab this dragon. The two exchanged ten or so blows. On their final exchange, Zu An¡¯s movement was just a little too slow, and he was struck by a dragon w. Pain tore through his arm, and he lost his grip on the Tai¡¯e Sword. It flew out of his hand, plunging de-first deep into a nearby tree.

    ¡°That¡¯s a fine sword! It¡¯ll be mine once I finish you off.¡± Ao Quan¡¯s w descended towards Zu An''s chest, intending to crush him t.

    The difference in our strength is just too great. In the face of absolute strength, any and all schemes really are useless. With an uncertain expression, Zu An quickly began to consider his remaining options.

    Suddenly, there was a streak of purple. The instant before the dragon¡¯s wnded, A beautiful figure seized Zu An and dodged to the side.

    Zu An¡¯s heart erupted with joy and surprise as he smelled the familiar, sweet fragrance of this dazzling beauty. ¡°What are you doing here?¡±

 Chapter 477: Arenâ€™t You Forgetting Something?

    <h4>Chapter 477: Aren¡¯t You Forgetting Something?</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The woman wore a stunning white dress. Even though her face was covered under a veil, he could still vaguely make out her exceptional features.

    Her body gave off a simple yet delicate fragrance. Who else could this be but Yun Yuqing?

    Yun Yuqing¡¯s gazed at Zu An with herrge and beautiful eyes as she gently ran her slender fingers across his various wounds. ¡°Why are your injuries so serious? Does it hurt?¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°It was hurting pretty badly earlier, but now that you¡¯re here, it doesn¡¯t hurt anymore.¡±

    Yun Yuqing blushed. She snorted softly and said, ¡°You¡¯re still as slick-tongued as ever.¡±

    Zu An held her hands. They were cool and soft to the touch. ¡°Why are you here?¡±

    Yun Yuqing was just about to reply when a furious roar erupted. ¡°The two of you are flirting right in front of my face! Are you ignoring me?¡±

    The two of them turned around to see Ao Quan¡¯s massive dragon¡¯s head staring right at them furiously.

    ¡°How did you end up provoking a dragon?¡± Yun Yuqing frowned. Clearly, even she felt troubled when faced with such an opponent.

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t the one who provoked him. That dude came at me on his own!¡± Zu An felt rotten inside. He had just chased away one top-level expert, only for another one to show up out of nowhere! His luck was beyond horrid. Should I visit a temple and burn some incense?

    ¡°Yet another beauty? How does an annoying brat like you have such crazy luck with women? Ugh, the more I think about it, the more irritating it bes!¡± With a roar, Ao Quan opened his jaws, intent on biting the two of them in half.

    With a frightened start, Zu An shouted a warning to Yun Yuqing. ¡°Be careful!¡±

    Who could have expected Yun Yuqing to be even faster? She pushed him gently to the side, then rushed forward to meet this dragon.

    Even though her body was pitifully smallpared to the massive dragon, she seemed more than a match for him.

    Her fine, white hands formed a seal, her stance extremely graceful. Arge expanse of purple runes appeared in front of her, blocking the iing giant dragon.

    With a bang, Ao Quan seemed to m into a transparent wall. His ears were ringing, and the sudden collision left him slightly dizzy.

    ¡°You¡¯re from the demon race!¡±

    This dragon elder was vastly experienced, and immediately recognized his opponent¡¯s identity.

    Yun Yuqing remained silent. There was no need for her to speak to him. She didn¡¯t want to reveal anything about herself.

    Ao Quan snorted. ¡°I don¡¯t care if you are human or demon. Anyone rted to Zu An must die!¡±

    The effects of ¡®Fragrant Barf¡¯ had ingrained his hatred for Zu An deep inside his bones.

    With a roar, he shed his ws at Yun Yuqing. The tremendous power instantly shattered the transparent rune shield.

    With a snort, Yun Yuqing retreated, forming another seal with her hands. A dozen runes suddenly appeared behind her, spinning around like a halo.

    Brilliant light flowed along those runes, and they shot out streaks of purple light.

    These rays of light were likeser beams, and even the tough hide of the dragon could not fully deflect their power. Smoke poured out from the ces where the light made contact, and a faint burning smell spread through the air.

    Ao Quan let out a pathetic wail, twisting his body frantically to avoid those purple rays.

    Zu An was transfixed by the dazzling beauty in front of him. She was the perfect image of a goddess of war. He gulped. Was this the same feminine woman who had continually begged for forgiveness while wrapped in his arms that night?

    ¡°Damned woman, you¡¯ve really made me mad!¡± Ao Quan roared in anger. ¡°Dragon Soulspeak¡ªSeal...¡±

    Before he could finish, however, the voice from his nightmares returned. ¡°Whatcha lookin¡¯ at?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m looking at you, shithead!¡±

    Ao Quan felt like dying inside.

    He was truly on the brink of insanity. He vowed that, once he killed Zu An, he was going to figure out how to simplify his Dragon Soulspeak. At the very least, he had to reduce the number of sybles in the incantation! He never wanted to go through the same painful experience ever again.

    Yun Yuqing gave Zu An a shocked look. She clearly knew just how powerful Dragon Soulspeak was, but she never expected that it could be defeated that easily!

    She remembered the dark elf back at the Wu Manor. He clearly could have escaped back then, but he had been distracted by this exact same line.

    It seems that this line of Zu An¡¯s¡ª¡±Whatcha lookin¡¯ at?¡±¡ªwas even more incredible than Dragon Soulspeak.

    Recalling the events in Wu Manor also brought to mind the night she¡¯d spent, wrapped up in Zu An¡¯s embrace. Her fair cheeks flushed with a trace of pink.

    ¡°Do you think I¡¯m powerless without my Dragon Soulspeak?¡± Ao Quan cried out in anger. He raised his head towards the sky and brought it down again, spewing out a long stream of dragon¡¯s breath as it descended.

    The two of them could tell with a single nce that this gray-colored dragon¡¯s breath carried devastating power.

    ¡°Bloody hell, your breath stinks!¡± Even from so far away, Zu An could smell a foul stench. He felt as though he were in a chemistryb filled with different types of acids. Zu An cast a worried look at Yun Yuqing. If a single drop sttered her, she would dissolve right away.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Yun Yuqing didn¡¯t allow herself to lose focus. The rune formation behind her surged with radiance. Streaks of purple light shot out to intercept the iing attack, intercepting the iing dragon¡¯s breath. The stream of purple met the stream of dark gray in between the twobatants. In that instant, it was difficult to tell which woulde out on top.

    ¡°Be careful!¡± Zu An immediately shouted a warning. However, it was toote.

    A massive dragon tail swept towards her. Yun Yuqing couldn¡¯t dodge in time. She hurriedly raised a hand, and was just barely able to form a rune shield.

    Unfortunately, this hastily-constructed rune shield was insufficient to block a proper attack, and it was smashed to bits with a loud crash. Yun Yuqing groaned, and her body flew backwards.

    The rune formations behind her dissipated. Without her purple rays to defend her, the gray dragon¡¯s breath streamed towards her uncontested. Ao Quan was clearly wary of this woman, and wanted to use this opportunity to get rid of her once and for all.

    Yun Yuqing¡¯s ki was in aplete mess. The dragon¡¯s tail strike had almostpletely scattered her inner ki flow. Of course, given her cultivation, she would recover after a few breaths, but there was no way her opponent would give her the chance.

    A hint of despair shed across her eyes as she watched the dragon¡¯s breath get closer and closer.

    Suddenly, she felt something warm wrap itself around her. When she snapped out of her daze, she was already tens of feet away. She discovered herself in Zu An¡¯s embrace.

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡± Even though the two of them had shared the most intimate act, objectively speaking, they weren¡¯t all that familiar with each other, and being carried like this still left her feeling rather embarrassed.

    Zu An was gasping for air. Fortunately, his reactions had been quick enough. Otherwise, this beauty would really have died right before his eyes.

    ¡°You again!¡± Ao Quan bristled in fury. With a blood-curdling scream, he charged straight at Zu An.

    Zu An had just used Grandgale twice in session. It had taken him a great deal of rest just to recover those two uses, and there was no way he could use it a third time.

    Given the gap in their levels of cultivation, running for it was meaningless without this movement skill.

    Yun Yuqing quickly leapt out of his embrace, shoving him behind her to protect him. She locked eyes with the iing dragon, and then her beautiful eyes widened. The surroundings were suddenly suffused with a tinge of purple.

    ¡°Demonic Eye!¡±

    Ao Quan had lived a long life, and instantly recognized the formidable skill which belonged to the demon race.

    His dragon¡¯s body came to an immediate halt. He had been bewitched by the Demonic Eye.

    He immediately used Dragon Soulspeak to dispel the Demonic Eye¡¯s effects. ¡°Dragon Soulspeak¡ªClose...¡±

    How could Zu An allow him this chance? ¡°Whatcha lookin¡¯ at?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m looking at you, shithead!¡±

    Ao Quan didn¡¯t even have the strength to curse. He¡¯d said this phrase so many times that he wanted to throw up. This was a living nightmare! He didn¡¯t want to go through this ever again.

    ¡°Even if I don¡¯t use my Dragon Soulspeak, your Demonic Eye can only control me for a few minutes. You will meet your demise once I break free!¡± Ao Quan felt incredibly wronged. Under any other circumstances, he would never have been trapped by this Demonic Eye technique. All of this was that bastard Zu An¡¯s fault.

    Yun Yuqing said nothing. Her focus was solely on restraining him. She had no trouble controlling a few dozen or even a hundred ordinary people, but a massive dragon a hundred zhang in length was an entirely different story.

    Her body began to tremble, and sweat began to coat her forehead. Seeing this, Zu An looked at Ao Quan and said, ¡°Aren¡¯t you forgetting something?¡±

 Chapter 478: The Most Intimate of Strangers

    <h4>Chapter 478: The Most Intimate of Strangers</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Ao Quan froze. ¡°What did I forget?¡±

    ¡°You forgot that I¡¯m still here.¡± Zu An sighed.

    Ao Quan roared withughter. ¡°It¡¯s precisely because you¡¯re around that this woman can¡¯t defeat me! Given her cultivation, she can choose to fight or leave at will. Unfortunately, it seems she is going to give up her life for the sake of protecting your sorry ass.¡±

    ¡°Please stop trying to ruin our rtionship. We love each other in sickness and in health. How could an old and impotent dragon who can¡¯t get it up ever understand such a thing?¡± Zu An said with a snort.

    Yun Yuqing¡¯s face became hot. This guy really let his mouth run wherever it wanted to go! Can this thing we share even be considered love? I¡¯m someone else¡¯s wife!

    Then again, she didn¡¯t really know what she was really feeling either. She only knew that she had rushed over the moment she heard that he was in danger.

    ¡°Can¡¯t get it up?!¡± Ao Quan¡¯s eyes went red when he heard this. He howled in anger, ¡°I won¡¯t kill you immediately when I get my hands on you. Instead, I will tear your manhood apart piece by piece while you¡¯re still alive! We¡¯ll see how long you can maintain your cockiness!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Ao Quan for 1024 Rage points!

    These Rage points weren¡¯t a result of the Fragrant Barf skill. Rather, Ao Quan himself was legitimately furious with Zu An.

    ¡°I¡¯m actually worried for you. Your mind might be permanently scarred if you catch a glimpse of mine.¡± Zu An said as he searched for a weakness in his opponent. Even though Ao Quan¡¯s body had been constrained by the Demonic Eye, he wasn¡¯tpletely immobilized. It was just that his movements had be extremely sluggish.

    Yun Yuqing¡¯s heart was pounding. She clearly knew where this man got his confidence from¡ªshe had experienced it personally! The shock she had felt back then was still fresh in her memory.

    But this is a real dragon! He is a hundred zhang in length. Why would he be scared of you?

    For some strange reason, however, Ao Quan seemedpletely infuriated! His body twitched and wriggled, trying to break free from the Demonic Eye¡¯s influence. ¡°I want to kill you! I want to kill you!¡± he cried out continuously.

    You have sessfully trolled Ao Quan for 999... 999... 999...

    Yun Yuqing felt the pressure mounting, and was afraid that she might lose control at any second. She quickly said, ¡°Stop provoking him! I¡¯m...¡±

    Before she could finish, Zu An¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Now!¡±

    As soon as he said this, he leapt forward, leaving behind a streak of afterimages as he attacked his opponent¡¯s w.

    Ao Quan immediately realized what he was trying to do. He roared withughter. ¡°What are you trying to do? Are you trying to injure me with your pitiful, ant-like cultivation?

    ¡°No, someone your size will only reach my knees no matter how high you jump! What can you do to harm me?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s trash talk had hurt his ego. He wanted a chance to fire back, and he had finally been granted one.

    Letting it all out felt awfully good!

    Zu An snorted coldly, and a pitch-ck dagger suddenly appeared in his hands.

    Ao Quan burst outughing when he saw this. A dagger that small was like a toothpickpared to its massive body. It wouldn¡¯t do anything, no matter how much it prodded him.

    This overconfidence was precisely what Zu An was counting on. Seeing that the dragon was making no move to avoid it, he thrust it straight into his w.

    He had learned from his previous encounter, and didn¡¯t try to stab it through the dragon¡¯s thick scales. Instead, he carefully aimed for a joint between two scales, and thrust the dagger into the flesh beneath.

    Ao Quan felt a slight stinging sensation spread outwards from his toe. He was surprised by the sharpness of the dagger. After all, dragons did not only possess famously tough scales¡ªeven their hide was too thick for an ordinary weapon to prate.

    He dismissed the matter. Instead, he let out a heartyugh and said, ¡°Is that all? That¡¯s it? Huh...?¡±

    His smile froze, and he was ovee by a feeling of extreme fear. His body was covered in cryptic and profound-looking ck runes. Not even he, with all of his knowledge and experience, could decipher them.

    ¡°How is this possible?!¡±

    That was hisst thought, before his mind was overwhelmed by darkness. His massive body fell out of the sky, crashing into the ground in a cloud of dust.

    ¡°Keep showing off!¡± Zu An put away the Poisonous Prick then spat on the old dragon¡¯s corpse.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    He hadn¡¯t expected to obtain two dragon corpses in quick session! Even a single dragon¡¯s body was a treasure in itself. I¡¯ll have to study them properlyter...

    He let his imagination run wild as he ced the massive dragon corpse into the Brilliant ss Bead.

    One moment, Yun Yuqing had been struggling to control that massive dragon, and yet, in the next instant, it had unexpectedly breathed itsst. This sudden twist left herpletely stunned.

    Zu An ran over to her side and waved his hand in front of her eyes. ¡°So, what do you think? Your man is formidable, isn¡¯t he?¡±

    ¡°Yeah...¡± Yun Yuqing nodded instinctively, but quickly realized what had happened. ¡°You¡¯re not my man.¡±

    Zu Anughed. This woman was willing to sleep with him and bear his child, yet she still quibbled over these small details.

    ¡°Right, how are your injuries? I have some medicine on me.¡± Zu An¡¯s voice was full of concern. After all, she had suffered the full brunt of Ao Quan¡¯s tail strike earlier.

    ¡°It¡¯s no big deal.¡± Yun Yuqing shook her head. Given her level of cultivation, she would be fine after some rest. Something else was on her mind. ¡°How did you do that?¡±

    That dragon¡¯s strength was far above her own. If he had been able to use Dragon Soulspeak, not even a master rank cultivator would have been able to do anything. However, he had been dealt with so easily by Zu An.

    ¡°My weapon is a little peculiar. It can kill as long as it draws blood,¡± exined Zu An. She had already seen what had happened, so there was no way he could hide it from her. It seemed better just to tell her the truth.

    ¡°Such a miraculous weapon actually exists?¡± Yun Yuqing was taken aback. That was a giant dragon, but it died with just a little poke from that weapon. Is it coated in some poison? But what kind of poison could be that strong? ¡°Right, do you have a spatial artifact on you?¡±

    Zu An nodded. ¡°Yup. I put that massive dragon¡¯s corpse inside it.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s actually a spatial artifact with that much storage space in this world?¡± Yun Yuqing shook, and she grew unsteady. Her brain was just about to give up on her. Too many inconceivable things had happened this day, and every single one of them seemed impossible to process.

    Zu An chuckled. He reached out an arm and wrapped it around her supple waist. ¡°So, what do you think? Now you know how amazing I am, right?¡±

    Yun Yuqing blushed, although it was unclear whether he had read her mind or not. She snorted and said, ¡°Don¡¯t you know that wealth should be hidden away? You have so many amazing items on you. Aren¡¯t you scared that I¡¯d kill you and steal everything?¡±

    Zu An put on a scared expression. ¡°Are you trying to steal my money or my body? I don¡¯t care if you steal my wealth, but if you want my body, please at least let me take the lead...¡±

    ¡°Hmph!¡± Yun Yuqing¡¯s heart began to pound like crazy. ¡°You¡¯re always like this, not a shred of decency at all,¡± she spat.

    Zu Anughed and wrapped his arms around her again. This woman¡¯s body was fragrant and supple. She felt reallyfortable in his arms. ¡°Right, why are you here? I thought that I wouldn¡¯t be able to see you again for a long time.¡±

    Yun Yuqing released a long sigh. ¡°I inadvertently learned that King Wu had arranged for some men to kill you... This all came about because of me, so I couldn¡¯t bear to see something happen to you. That¡¯s why I came to take a look.¡±

    Zu An stared at her nkly. He wasn¡¯t surprised at all to find out that King Wu wanted him dead because of what had happened that night. Whether it was King Wu¡¯s way of venting his frustrations, or an attempt to silence him, there was no way he would allow him to survive.

    But Yun Yuqing had rushed all the way here just to prevent that from happening! That waspletely unexpected.

    After all, the two of them could only be described as the most intimate of strangers.

    They hadn¡¯t spent that much time together, and they held very different levels of status in society. Ordinarily speaking, there should have been no way for them to cross paths.

    ¡°Why are you looking at me like that?¡± Yun Yuqing shifted her gaze away bashfully. ¡°Don¡¯t think too much into it. I didn¡¯t... I didn¡¯te for your sake. I just didn¡¯t want to see you get into trouble because of me.¡±

    Zu An smiled and remained silent. He gently undid the veil on her face, and lifted her chin to kiss her.

 Chapter 479: What Luck!

    <h4>Chapter 479: What Luck!</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    A shiver ran through Yun Yuqing¡¯s entire body. She instinctively backpedaled, cing her hands against his chest and trying to push him away.

    The two of them were still rather unfamiliar with each other, after all. Unless she was feeling exceptionally emotional or passionate, her first instinct was to refuse his kiss.

    But Zu An didn¡¯t give up. He wrapped his other hand around her small waist and pulled her right back.

    While she hesitated, her mind racing with uncertain thoughts, Zu An had already pressed his lips against hers.

    Yun Yuqing¡¯s eyes immediately went wide. She beat her fist against his chest, demanding that he let go.

    Of course, there was no way Zu An would do that! After a short, fruitless struggle, Yun Yuqing finally gave in.

    ¡°You really are a dominating person...¡±

    Given her cultivation, she could have pushed this man away from her with a fraction of her full strength. Although she reached out her hand several times to do so, she did not follow through in the end. She tapped her fist weakly against his chest, but her eyes were already slowly closing.

    ...

    A whileter, the voices of two girls drifted over from a distance away. ¡°Ah Zu! Au Zu...¡±

    These two were Pei Mianman and Zheng Dan. Worried for his safety, they had hurried over in search of him.

    Yun Yuqing jumped in fright. She quickly pushed him away and looked guiltily in the direction that the voices hade from. She sighed in relief. The two of them were still quite far away and hadn¡¯t noticed what was going on.

    ¡°It¡¯s all your fault! My reputation was almostpletely ruined.¡± Yun Yuqing bit her lip gently as she sorted out her messy clothes. She shot the man next to her a look of rebuke. Tears threatened to flow out from her lovely eyes at any moment.

    Zu An only chuckled, admiring the beautiful scene in front of him. He initially felt that this whole ordeal had been terrible, but meeting such a stunning woman at the end of it all improved his view of it tremendously.

    ¡°I can¡¯t stay out for too long, or someone will notice. I have to head back.¡± Yun Yuqing said in a rush.

    Zu An froze. ¡°You¡¯re that scared of King Wu?¡±

    Yun Yuqing shook her head. ¡°It¡¯splicated. Mostly, it¡¯s because my demon race has forged a rtively strong alliance with him, and we have to maintain some appearances for now... There¡¯s no time. I¡¯ll tell you the rest of it if we ever have the chance to meet again.¡±

    Just as she was about to leave, she suddenly turned around. Bncing on the tips of her toes, she gave him a quick peck before running off, her face burning red.

    Zu An rubbed his cheek. A hint of her fragrance lingered on his fingertip. This woman was as adorably shy as a young woman, and she had behaved like a maiden when they¡¯d spent the night together as well. She didn¡¯t seem like a married woman at all, but more like an innocent youngdy.

    Pei Mianman and Zheng Dan hade close enough to notice him. They were both overjoyed, and waved happily in his direction. ¡°Ah Zu!¡±

    Zu An felt a twinge of regret when he saw the anxious expressions on the two women¡¯s faces. They had been so worried about him, while he was flirting and having fun over here.

    He waved back and made his way to them. ¡°I¡¯m over here!¡±

    Both youngdies sighed in relief when they saw that he was fine. ¡°What about that old dragon?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s dead,¡± Zu An said with augh.

    ¡°Dead?¡± The two girls both cried out in rm. Pei Mianman hurriedly asked, ¡°How did he die?¡±

    Zu An stuck out his chest. ¡°I killed him, obviously.¡±

    ¡°You?¡± Pei Mianman had a weird look on her face. Who was it that was beaten up like a dog earlier?

    Zheng Dan had a thoughtful look on her face, but she didn¡¯t doubt him. After all, she had personally seen him kill a red dragon before.

    ¡°What, you don¡¯t believe me?¡± Zu An sniffed disdainfully. ¡°Don¡¯t you know that I am full of secrets? I¡¯ve even killed master rank cultivators before, not just this stupid old dragon.¡±

    Pei Mianman recalled the first time she had seen him in the Chu n¡¯s ancestral hall. The speed of his development was truly shocking, and way beyond what she could imagine. Each time they met again, his strength would have grown by leaps and bounds. No matter how talented he could be, this just seemed to defy reality.

    This man might truly possess a wealth of secrets. This line of thinking seemed to convince her of his statement. ¡°Who cares about that old dragon¡¯s death? I¡¯m more interested in that fragrance on your body.¡±

    Pei Mianman moved closer to him and sniffed his chest. An ambiguous smile spread across her face. ¡°This is quite an elegant fragrance. It must belong to a beautiful woman.¡±

    Upon hearing this, Zheng Dan gave him a strange look as well. Wasn¡¯t he being pursued by a giant dragon? How did he suddenly end up meeting a woman?

    Zu An¡¯s heart began to pound. These women¡¯s noses were all sharper than a dog¡¯s! ¡°Absolute nonsense!¡± He said quickly, the words tumbling out of his mouth. ¡°This is the smell of the medicinal powder that young miss Ji gave me some time ago. I used it to poison that giant dragon.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Pei Mianman was skeptical. ¡°What sort of poison is strong enough to knock out such a giant dragon?¡±

    ¡°That I do not know. Miss Ji¡¯s family has their secrets...¡± Zu An chuckled and quickly changed the topic. ¡°By the way, how are your injuries?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re all right.¡± The two girls shook their heads. ¡°The Soul Return Pills you gave us were extremely effective. The medicine has already begun to take effect.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Zu An sighed in relief when he saw that they weren¡¯t going to continue pressing the issue.

    Pei Mianman blinked. ¡°What are you nning to do now?¡± she asked him curiously.

    Zu An was still a criminal, after all, and the whole world was after his Phoenix Nirvana Sutra. He was in a rather sticky situation.

    ¡°I¡¯ve decided to head to the capital with those members of the Sang n,¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°You¡¯re going with the Sang n?¡± Pei Mianman had a strange look on her face. ¡°Did you end up falling for young miss Sang?¡±

    Zu An looked as though she had just done him a great injustice. ¡°Do I look like that sort of person?¡±

    ¡°Yup,¡± Pei Mianman and Zheng Dan replied at the same time. They both froze for a moment, then burst outughing together.

    Zu An red at them silently.

    ¡°I can¡¯t live as a criminal forever,¡± he said in a heavy voice. ¡°I have to head to the capital and deal with this matter once and for all.¡±

    Zheng Dan could not conceal her worry. ¡°You¡¯ll be up against the all-powerful emperor! How will you deal with him?¡±

    Pei Mianman nodded in agreement. ¡°Precisely. In my opinion, you should go into hiding for a period of time. The emperor doesn¡¯t have long to live, after all. It would be much better if youid low until he died.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯ll be toote then.¡± Zu An shook her head, then smiled when he saw their worried expressions. ¡°Do I look like an idiot?¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯re an idiot, then there aren¡¯t many smart people in this world.¡± Pei Mianman snorted. She couldn¡¯t help but nce at Zheng Dan. Forget about making Chuyan your wife, you¡¯ve even tamed the cute fianc¨¦e of the Sang n! If such a man is considered a fool, then what does that make Sang Qian?

    ¡°That¡¯s settled, then. I have my own ns. I can¡¯t go into detail now, but don¡¯t worry. I have some confidence in myself,¡± Zu An offered as a way of exnation.

    This seemed to ease thest of their worries.

    With that out of the way, they headed back. The three Sang n members seemed shocked to see them. ¡°Where is that dragon?¡±

    Zu An snorted. ¡°I killed him, of course.¡±

    ¡°How is that possible?!¡± Sang Qian eximed. He was the one who had incited that dragon to get rid of Zu An. He had only expected to see two grieving beauties return, but here was Zu An, alive and kicking!

    ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you think that the dragon would just let me go?¡± Zu An rolled his eyes. ¡°Were you wishing for my death, young master Sang?¡±

    ¡°No, not at all! You¡¯ve got it all wrong!¡± Sang Qian¡¯s expression changed immediately. With an embarrassed smile, he tried to exin himself.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Oh? Then who was it that was telling that dragon all sorts of bad things about me?¡± Zu An snorted, and a hint of killing intent flickered in his eyes.

    Sang Qian was speechless. Usually, he would never have bothered exining himself at all. But then, he had just seen Zu An chase away Ding Run, and then heroically face off against a massive dragon. Now, even that dragon had been killed. Zu An might still have other powerful trump cards up his sleeve¡ªhow could he dare offend him? Unfortunately, no matter how hard he racked his brains, he couldn¡¯t find a suitable excuse.

    In the end, his sister was the first to reply. ¡°Big brother Zu,¡± Sang Qien said, ¡°please forgive him. My brother has always been a rude and impetuous person, and never minces his words. He wasn¡¯t able to foresee the severe consequences of his actions. He only replied to that elder¡¯s questions subconsciously¡ªhe didn¡¯t know that elder was here to avenge his kin.¡±

    Zu An broke out intoughter. ¡°Young miss Sang, your ability to lie through your teeth is impressive!¡±

    Sang Qien¡¯s face reddened. She had obviously known that this excuse wouldn¡¯t be enough to convince Zu An. However, the fact that Zu An hadn¡¯t immediately made a move against them meant that he wasn¡¯t intending to turn hostile right away. It seemed that a superficial exnation would suffice for now.

    Sang Hong also spoke up. ¡°My son¡¯s actions earlier were indeed rather inappropriate. This old one apologizes in his ce. I hope young master Zu can look past this, out of consideration for the camaraderie we have built up over the recent battles.¡±

    Zu An fell deep into thought. He was currently weighing the pros and cons of the situation. Sang Qien and her brother were both at the fifth rank, while Sang Hong had recovered some of his strength as well. It wouldn¡¯t be easy to defeat them if they really ended up fighting right now.

    Besides, he still needed Sang Hong¡¯s help once they reached the capital. After taking a moment to consider his options, he smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s all right. For the sake of Lord Sang and the beautiful Miss Sang, I will let this matter slide. However, there will be no next time.¡±

    He nned to find another chance to deal with Sang Qian. Now wasn¡¯t the time.

    ¡°Thank you, young master.¡± Sang Hong sped his fist.

    Sang Qien blushed. If this guy was going to call her Miss Sang, then Miss Sang would have been fine! Why did he have to add the word ¡®beautiful¡¯ in front of it? No wonder sister-inw¡¯s heart was stolen by this guy. He really is better at talking to girls than my own brother.

    At that instant, a peal ofughter drifted over from close by. ¡°What luck! I thought I would have to fight a great battle against that old dragon, but it seems he¡¯s actually already gone.¡±

 Chapter 480: Canâ€™t Move

    <h4>Chapter 480: Can¡¯t Move</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Who is it? The voice caught everyone by surprise, and they quickly looked in the direction from which it hade from. A group of people had made their appearance, ranging from tall to short, fat to skinny. It was none other than the Solitary Eight of the Devil Sect that they had encountered earlier.

    Zu An was none too pleased.

    Is this a public restroom? They never stoping!

    If you guys were going toe by anyway, you should havee earlier! You guys could have tangled with that old dragon and that Cash Warrior, and left me to reap the harvest at the end!

    Instead, he had been the one who had to deal with those two on his own, and now this group showed up to pige the rewards. This left him extremely annoyed.

    The rest of his group had simr expressions on their faces, clearly thinking along the same lines.

    ¡°It seems they¡¯ve managed to deal with those dark elves. When I snuck away earlier, those dark elves were still holding on,¡± Pei Mianman said quietly. She was quite annoyed with herself. If she had known this would happen, she would have stopped Zu An from returning. They wouldn¡¯t have bumped into those people then.

    A seductive figure slowly walked out. Her eyes flickered with a glint of happiness when she saw Zu An safe and sound. However, her expression changed again when she noticed the beauties standing at his side. ¡°Young master Zu really is the envy of all other mortals. You¡¯re always surrounded by beauties wherever you go.¡±

    Pei Mianman said with augh, ¡°Is Lady Qiu jealous of our positions at Zu An¡¯s side? I can give you my spot if you want.¡±

    ¡°How dare you shame the holy saint of our sect?!¡± One of the women berated her loudly.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but give her a look. It wasn¡¯t because she was beautiful¡ªrather, it was the exact opposite. She was fierce and imposing, and she had few feminine traits, if any. She was even taller than an average man, and her arms bulged with muscles, thicker than the thighs of many men. She wielded a massive sledgehammer in her hand.

    He recognized her as the lightning cultivator from the earlier battle.

    What¡¯s up with all these damned lightning-wielding cultivators and their bloody hammers? In his past world, the Duke of Thunder from Eastern mythology wielded a hammer, and Thor¡¯s Mjolnir was yet another hammer. Now, a lightning cultivator of this world had also appeared with a hammer.

    However, the shaft of her hammer was much longer than Thor¡¯s, which made her weapon seem more like a polearm.

    Pei Mianman didn¡¯t seem to mind her angry words. She smiled and said, ¡°Miss lighting cultivator, I fear that you do not understand the hearts of women well. This female saint of yours might actually be secretly delighted to hear my words.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re courting death!¡± This lightning cultivator was often quick to anger. Furthermore, because of her own nature, she saved most of her contempt for such flirtatious women. Qiu Honglei was the holy saint of her sect and the sect master¡¯s disciple, so she was an exception, but there was no way she would tolerate this woman¡¯s continued provocation.

    Rage surged within her whenever two ridiculous melons on her chest caught her eye. Added to that, every single movement this woman made was flirtatious and seductive, constantly drawing the eyes of men all around her.

    She had despised Pei Mianman ever since the first time sheid eyes on her. Now that she had an excuse, she sent her hammer flying straight at her.

    ¡°Be careful!¡± Zu An¡¯s group immediately dispersed when they saw this. That hammer sent smoke and dust flying everywhere as it impacted the ground, smashing a massive crater into it. Lightning crackled in all directions.

    Zu An and the others just managed to avoid the shockwaves by retreating a significant distance. That lightning cultivator didn¡¯t stop, paying Zu An no attention whatsoever as she continued to pursue Pei Mianman.

    Pei Mianman was both angry and speechless. ck mes surged all around her.

    Since the lightning cultivator had made her move, the other solitary eight members rushed forward as well, charging at Zu An¡¯s group.

    The wood element cultivator wasparatively weaker than hispanions in terms of fighting strength. He threw himself at Zheng Dan, preventing her water element from affecting hispanion who wielded the fire element.

    The wood cultivator was a man, and even his hair was green. nts flourished on the ground as he passed by, and Zheng Dan suddenly found herself surrounded by snake-like vines, which were covered with thorns and were as thick as pythons.

    Zheng Dan danced away from them, preemptively evading them and making sure that she wasn¡¯t caught within the cage of powerful vines and immobilized.

    That wood cultivator froze momentarily, but continued his attacks. The two soon found themselves in a messy tangle. Given the gap in their respective cultivations, Zheng Dan had no chance of breaking through his ki armor, but the wood cultivator couldn¡¯t quickly take down Zheng Dan either.

    Off to the side, Sang Qien was amazed. ¡°Sister-inw¡¯sbat sense is extraordinary! She¡¯s amazing!¡±

    ¡°But of course!¡± Sang Qian was quite proud. Zheng Dan had been the boss of the Whale Gang, after all, a big shot in Brightmoon City¡¯s underground world. How could she be just another fifth rank cultivator?

    However, right in the middle of his gloating, he suddenly remembered that she seemed to be more partial towards Zu An than himself, and the smile of his face quickly froze.

    Thankfully, he didn¡¯t have much time to feel jealous. Several people were charging right towards them.

    The ones who squared up with them were the water-, fire- and earth-wielding members of the Solitary Eight.

    Two of them by themselves should have been enough to deal with these wounded opponents, but they had to be extra careful of Sang Hong. He was at the eighth rank after all, so they didn¡¯t dare lower their guard no matter how wounded he was.

    The water element cultivator was an elder who wielded a staff. As he waved his weapon about, a light, misty rain sprang up, drenching their clothes.

    The three of them from the Sang n were all fire element cultivators. The effects of their elemental skills would be greatly reduced after being doused in water.

    The earth element cultivator was arge and fierce-looking man. His hands struck the ground, and the ground rippled like an earthquake.

    The three Sang family members were unable to keep their bnce, and began to lean unsteadily from one side to the other.

    The fire element user produced an exquisite bow and fired it at the three opponents reeling in front of him.

    His arrows were different from ordinary arrows. They were surrounded by bright mes that greatly augmented their power.

    Sang Hong roared. A ring of mes erupted around him, stabilizing a small area of the ground around himself and stopping it from shaking.

    Thus bnced, he sent a fist flying out towards the ming arrow. He was an eighth rank cultivator after all, and even though he was seriously injured, his powerful sight remained. His sense of timing was still excellent.

    However, after deflecting the arrow sessfully, he still spat out a mouthful of blood as his previous injuries red up again.

    The enemies attacked again. Fortunately, Sang Qien reacted quickly, rushing over to his side to offer aid.

    Only then did Sang Qian wake up from his daze and dash over as well.

    The two of them coordinated their movements with their heavily-injured father, just barely dealing with the relentless attacks of the three Solitary Eight members.

    Zu An was the one facing the greatest pressure, since he was the Devil Sect¡¯s main target.

    The metal, ice, and wind element users surrounded Zu An.

    The metal element user was a fatty dressed in golden robes embroidered with golden ingots. He gave off the aura of a rich localndlord.

    He held a golden abacus in his hand. When he shook it, the beads flew out like hidden weapons, targeting Zu An¡¯s vital areas.

    Zu An quickly used his Sunflower Phantasm to evade. His unpredictable movements made all of those beads miss.

    However, those beads seemed like guided missiles. They didn¡¯t drop to the floor, but continued to attack him.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes narrowed. He split into three copies using his Sunflower Phantasm in order to confuse his opponent.

    Employing a series of strange, sneaky movements, he slipped beside the metal cultivator and thrust his sword towards his body.

    *nk!*

    Metal collided on metal. Zu An noticed that his attack had met his opponent¡¯s metal ki armor. No wonder metal element and earth element cultivators were publicly acknowledged to be the ones with the most powerful defenses! Sure enough, his armor was incredibly tough.

    Thank heavens Yuan Wenlong hadn¡¯t reached the sixth rank yet during the ns Tournament. Otherwise, I would have had no chance of victory against his ki armor.

    Three ice arrows flew towards him at great speed. These clearly belonged to the ice cultivator.

    Zu An barely managed to dodge to the side, but he was still clipped by one of the ice arrows.

    Half of his body was instantly covered in ayer of frost, weighing that side of him down significantly. These ice arrows clearly had slowing effects.

    ¡°Hmph, I can sleep in bed with my wife¡¯s freezing body! You think I¡¯m scared of this little bit of cold that you have?¡± Zu An fired up his Primordial Origin Sutra, and most of the frost quickly dissipated.

    Another attack came flying out from the golden abacus. Zu An tried to evade with his Sunflower Phantasm, but he suddenly discovered that the air had be extremely viscous. It was difficult for him to move quickly.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The wind element cultivator had summoned five small tornadoes in a formation around him. Zu An found himself trapped in a powerful field of wind, which greatly affected his movements.

 Chapter 481: Lady Saint

    <h4>Chapter 481: Lady Saint</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The wind cultivator was a middle-aged woman. Her appearance was exceedingly ordinary, butpared to that reincarnation of the Tyrannosaurus Rex that was her lightning-wielding counterpart, she could even be considered pretty.

    She held a fan in her hand. With the slightest of movements, the surrounding air would start to ripple outwards, merging together to form little tornadoes. These tornadoes didn¡¯t rush straight at Zu An, which would have made it easy for him to avoid them.

    This was what led to Zu An¡¯s mistake. By the time he reacted, he had already been affected by the Wind Domain.

    Because of the slowing effects of this field, his Sunflower Phantasm grew sluggish, and the golden abacus beads¡ª looking like maggots that chewed through flesh and bone¡ªflew towards him again.

    Even though Zu An quickly brandished the Tai¡¯e Sword to protect himself, there was no way for him to block all of them.

    The beads struck him all across his body, releasing muffled thuds whenever they made contact with his body.

    The metal cultivator smiled as he saw his attacksnd. He had deliberately avoided his opponent¡¯s vital areas this time, precisely because his orders were to capture Zu An alive. Despite this, the power contained in those beads was enough topletely strip a fifth rank cultivator of any ability to move.

    ording to their intelligence, Zu An¡¯s cultivation was around the fifth rank.

    However, as he looked on, his eyes suddenly widened. Not only did Zu An not fall, he even managed to peel the beads off of his body.

    ¡°Ow, that really hurts!¡± Zu An weighed them in his hands. They really were made of gold! This dude has way too much money.

    He didn¡¯t waste a second, and stored them into his Brilliant ss Bead. He wondered how much these gold beads would sell for.

    The metal cultivator was stunned. He was about to order his abacus to continue its attack, but he discovered in shock that he had lost his connection to half of the beads.

    He quickly called back the remaining beads. Huge chunks were missing from the glittering golden abacus.

    Where did they go? The metal cultivator wanted to cry. This metal abacus was his prized weapon! He had spent a long time preparing the materials and forging it, but it had somehow mysteriously be like this.

    He glowered at Zu An. ¡°Is this your doing?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Solitary Metal for 233 Rage points!

    Zu An shed a shy smile. ¡°You guys hurt me so badly! I¡¯ve suffered so much, both physically and mentally. Isn¡¯t it reasonable to ask for somepensation?¡±

    The metal cultivator almost fainted from anger. To hell with yourpensation! Did you even suffer a single bruise from me?

    You have sessfully trolled Solitary Metal for 999 Rage points!

    He was also incredibly shocked. He could still recall the feeling of those beads hitting Zu An¡¯s body. It felt entirely different from the usual sensation of striking against flesh¡ªinstead, it felt more like striking a wall. How was his body so sturdy?

    While he was staring nkly, the ice cultivator had already made his move.

    Zu An finally caught sight of the ice cultivator. He was a tall, skinny man wrapped in a snow-white cloak, with a white cap on his head. He was the perfect image of a creep.

    He dashed up to Zu An, and let out a breath in his direction.

    A visible st of cold air swept over. Zu An knew that it would spell disaster if he allowed it to touch him.

    His movement was still being restricted by the Wind Domain, so Zu An used Grandgale instead. He teleported a distance away, breaking free from the tornado formation.

    As he vanished, the ice cultivator¡¯s cold breathnded where he had just been, and the area was immediately nketed in a sheet of ice.

    At her distant position, the wind cultivator was stunned. Her Wind Domain had trapped many powerful cultivators in the past. Of course, some had broken free, but they were always cultivators whose cultivation levels were much higher than her own!

    Trapping cultivators around the fourth or fifth rank should have been a piece of cake, let alone someone like Zu An.

    While she was staring nkly, Zu An cursed at the ice cultivator. ¡°Hey, creep! Did you brush your damned teeth this morning? Your breath stinks! How does your wife stand you...?¡±

    The ice cultivator did not appreciate Zu An¡¯s words at all.

    You have sessfully trolled Solitary Ice for 712 Rage points!

    ¡°I¡¯ll kill you!¡±

    The ice cultivator was furious. He spread his hands, and countless ice arrows materialized behind him.

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s expression turned to horror. She quickly cried out, ¡°Go easy on him!¡±

    Unfortunately, the infuriated ice cultivator paid her no heed. The ice arrows shot straight towards Zu An.

    ¡°Hmph, your movement technique might be formidable, but my attack covers every angle! Let¡¯s see how you get away from this!¡±

    That wasn¡¯t all. He had chosen tounch his frost arrows along a very specific path, at the instant when Zu An and Pei Mianman just happened to be lined up.

    If Zu An evaded, Pei Mianman would likely bear the full brunt of his attack.

    Zu An quickly realized this as well. Facing this cone of attacks was truly troublesome. He couldn¡¯t evade it, and even if he could, he couldn¡¯t choose to do so.

    To be honest, the one thing he wascking was a way of dealing with such area-of-effect attacks. He instinctively wanted to take out the dragon¡¯s corpse, because there was no way these ice arrows could prate the scales of a dragon.

    However, given the dragon elder that had shown up earlier, he knew that he could end up being targeted by the dragon race if word of this got out.

    Moreover, his spatial artifact would be exposed as well. He could tell from the reactions of those who had seen it that such a spatial artifact was on par with the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra. There were already enough people after his life¡ªhe really didn¡¯t need that number to go up.

    Just as he was at a loss as to what to do, amp suddenly rose into the sky, giving off a faint yellow light. Bathed in themp¡¯s yellow radiance, the ice arrows seemed to grind to a halt.

    A sweet fragrance wafted over. Qiu Honglei was already at Zu An¡¯s side, pulling him away.

    Behind him, Pei Mianman realized what was going on, and evaded as well.

    Only when they had vacated the area did the ice arrows seem to return to normal. They showered down in arge area.

    Zu An was speechless. No matter how strong his body was, those ice arrows would¡¯ve probably still have turned him into a hedgehog!

    ¡°Lady Saint!¡± The ice cultivator immediately panicked when he saw Qiu Honglei help Zu An.

    Qiu Honglei raised her hand, stopping him from continuing. She then turned to look at Zu An. ¡°Are you all right?¡±

    The other members of the Solitary Eight were about to rush over, but when they saw the saint of their sect next to Zu An, they couldn¡¯t bring themselves to attack.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Breathing in her fragrance seemed to refresh Zu An¡¯s mind immediately. ¡°How could I not be, now that you¡¯vee to save me? But aren¡¯t you scared that I might hold you hostage in such a situation?¡±

    Qiu Honglei smiled. ¡°Will you really?¡±

    He was so close to her perfect face right now. her delicate skin, those vivid eyes... It was enough to make any man go crazy.

    She really is a bloody fox demon! ¡°I¡¯ve always been someone who knows his benefactors from his adversaries. You saved me earlier¡ªhow can I repay your kindness with aggression?¡±

    Qiu Honglei smiled. ¡°It seems like I wasn¡¯t wrong when I realized I saw something in you.¡±

    Zu An looked at thatntern in her hand. ¡°Your magic weapon is pretty good. What kind of weapon is it?¡±

    It was as if time had stopped in that instant. Thisntern really was quite special.

    ¡°That¡¯s a secret. I remember you used to say something like ¡®a secret makes a woman a woman.¡¯¡± Qiu Honglei winked in a yful manner.

    Zu An was stunned. He hadn¡¯t expected this woman to be so quick-witted, and even articte Vermouth¡¯s catchphrase.[1]

    Pei Mianman¡¯s dissatisfied voice interrupted this moment. ¡°The one called Zu, are you done yet? We¡¯re out here facing death, but you¡¯re busy flirting with a girl?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face scrunched up in displeasure.

    Qiu Honglei smiled. ¡°It seems someone¡¯s jealous. Let¡¯s get back to the main matter at hand, then.¡±

    Her expression grew serious. ¡°You should surrender.¡±

    1. Vermouth is a character from Detective Conan.

 Chapter 482: The Deal

    <h4>Chapter 482: The Deal</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Surrender?¡± Zu An snorted. ¡°That word doesn¡¯t exist in my dictionary.¡±

    Qiu Honglei wasn¡¯t upset by this, but continued, ¡°Don¡¯t be in such a hurry to refuse. Take a look at the situation for yourself. Even if we keep fighting, there¡¯s no way you can defeat us. Then again, say you reveal all your trump cards and somehow manage to escape on your own, there¡¯s no way the rest of them will be able to do the same.¡±

    Zu An clearly saw the danger that the rest of his group was in. The members of the Solitary Eight were all at the peak of the sixth rank, and some of them had even reached the seventh rank.

    Pei Mianman was only at the sixth rank, while Zheng Dan was at the peak of fifth rank. They had been wounded in the previous battles as well, which made it difficult for them to continue fighting these higher-ranked experts.

    If not for Pei Mianman¡¯s extraordinary mes, the two of them would have been captured a long time ago.

    Even so, they were in a very tight spot.

    As for the Sang family, they were in an even worse state. They were just barely holding on, thanks to the seriously-wounded Sang Hong. When it came to Sang Qian and Sang Qien, their actual fighting strengths were considerably weaker than both Pei Mianman¡¯s and Zheng Dan¡¯s.

    When it came to him, he knew that he was barely holding on against the metal, wind, and ice cultivators, let alone finding a chance to retaliate.

    Sigh, if I had known that this was going to happen, I would have asked Yun Yuqing to stay a little longer. The situation would be much easier to deal with if she were still here.

    However, he quickly dispelled this thought. After all, there were just too many people pursuing him. Yun Yuqing had already saved him once.¡ªwas he supposed to rely on her to save him for the rest of his life?

    Noticing his silence, Qiu Honglei continued, ¡°You don¡¯t need to be too worried about surrendering either. We won¡¯t harm you. You should be able to tell from what had gone on earlier that all of them were holding back.¡±

    Zu An snorted. ¡°Isn¡¯t it just because they want me to hand over the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra to your sect master?¡±

    Qiu Honglei smiled. ¡°I won¡¯t refute that. Then again, everyone in the world is looking for you right now, not just our sect master. However, our holy sect is different from the other powers. The other powers will surely torture you for the technique, then kill you to silence you. However, our sect master has always treasured those with talents. He wants to gather all like-minded people to his side. If you prove yourself capable, you¡¯ll definitely have a promising future in our holy sect.¡±

    Zu An frowned. ¡°But I still need to offer up the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra to your sect master first.¡±

    Qiu Honglei looked at him calmly, then said, ¡°Ah Zu, you must understand that holding onto a treasured item will only get you into trouble, unless you possess enough strength to deal with all other powers. However, you clearly do not possess the necessary level of strength right now. Our sect master can shelter you and ensure your survival. That is the best I can offer you.¡±

    Zu An understood what she was trying to say. His current situation seemed like one of absolute despair, and that made her conditions extremely favorable. After all, his life was surely forfeit if he were captured by any other power.

    If it wasn¡¯t for his good rtionship with Qiu Honglei, he would probably wind up dead even if he fell into the hands of the Devil Sect.

    It didn¡¯t seem appropriate for him to refuse such conditions.

    ¡°Thank you, Lady Qiu. Even though you did not mention it explicitly, I know just how much you¡¯ve done for me.¡± Zu An sped his fist. Unfortunately, he had his own ns, and he harbored no illusions that the sect master of the Devil Sect would actually allow him to leave.

    Qiu Honglei snorted lightly. ¡°As long as you know.¡± The other three girls werepletely stunned by the yful tone in her voice. She seemed to realize that her behavior was a little strange as well. With a light cough, she let her smile fade. ¡°Does that mean you agree?¡±

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ve already be ustomed to living a free life. I really do not wish to serve under another.¡±

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s expression turned chilly. She turned around and gave the order to the Solitary Eight. ¡°Kill them all!¡±

    Her sudden icy disy made everyone realize that she wasn¡¯t that endlessly-charming Immortal Abode courtesan queen, but rather the Lady Saint of the Devil Sect who murdered others without batting an eyelid.

    ¡°Understood!¡± The metal and ice cultivators were already gritting their teeth in anger. Now that they had been given the order they craved, they rushed forward with malicious smiles.

    Zu An was just too hateful, but they couldn¡¯t do anything to him because of the sect master¡¯s orders and thedy saint¡¯s protection. However, they could vent their anger by killing his friends.

    Sang Qian immediately panicked when he saw these threeing towards them. They were already in a terrible situation, and they were now being driven further along the path towards certain death.

    He never expected that the goddess he used to be so fond of would be so quick to kill! It was as if he was nothing more than anothermoner in her eyes. He felt hurt, disappointed, and scared. He also felt extreme anger towards Zu An.

    ¡°Zu An, this is all your fault!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for 1024 Rage points!

    Zu An couldn¡¯t be bothered to spare him another nce. He was most worried for the safety of both Pei Mianman and Zheng Dan. He instinctively tried to rush over to aid them, but he was stopped by Qiu Honglei.

    ¡°You¡¯ll have to get past me first if you want to go there.¡± Qiu Honglei stood in his way and calmly raised herntern.

    Zu An¡¯s head began to ache. Qiu Honglei was an extremely mysterious person, and her cultivation was around the fifth rank, perhaps almost reaching the sixth rank. There was her mysteriousntern as well. Getting past her would be no easy task.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    He knew that Pei Mianman and Zheng Dan were both injured. He didn¡¯t dare hesitate any longer. He immediately said, ¡°Fine, I agree. I¡¯ll go with you, but let them go.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s more like it.¡± A smile cut through Qiu Honglei¡¯s frosty expression. It seemed to melt through all the iciness in an instant.

    Whatever small amount of anger Zu An had felt also vanished in smoke when he saw the beautiful, smiling woman in front of him. Sigh, I guess I¡¯m still a sucker for appearances.

    Qiu Honglei turned around and gave the order for the Solitary Eight to let Pei Mianman and the others go. However, the lightning cultivator frowned and said, ¡°Lady Saint, these people will reveal information on Zu An and the whereabouts of our sect if we let them go. This will cause more trouble for us.¡±

    The ice cultivator was quick to agree. ¡°Indeed! If we don¡¯t silence them, there will soon be countless cultivatorsing after our holy sect!¡±

    The other members of the Solitary Eight nodded their heads one after another. None of them agreed with letting these people go. After all, they were the ones with the advantage right now. There was no reason to let them go.

    Qiu Honglei was troubled as well. She knew that eliminating these witnesses was the sensible choice. However, from an emotional standpoint, she had just promised Zu An not to do so, and those two girls looked important to him as well. If she really killed them, it might cause irreparable damage to her rtionship with Zu An.

    Zu An immediately ced a de against his own neck when he saw her hesitation. ¡°If you all dare touch them, I will kill myself immediately. Let¡¯s see how you exin things to your sect master then!¡±

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡± Both Pei Mianman and Zheng Dan panicked when they saw this. Unfortunately, the lightning cultivator stopped them from rushing over to him.

    Qiu Honglei wanted to stop him, but Zu An quickly backed away. ¡°Don¡¯t try to take my sword. Even if I can¡¯t defeat you, I still have the ability to choose death on my own.¡±

    ¡°I refuse to believe that the brat will end his own life,¡± the ice cultivator said.

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Qiu Honglei red at him. Even though she knew Zu An well and didn¡¯t think that he would kill himself, she couldn¡¯t take such a risk. Besides, she had a good enough reason to counter any objections, so there was no need to go to such extremes.

    She said in a firm voice, ¡°Our mission is to bring Zu An back with us. Nothing else is more important. Release them!¡±

    The Solitary Eight looked at each other in dismay. Even though they were all stronger than Qiu Honglei, she enjoyed a special status, and she was also the sect master¡¯s disciple. They couldn¡¯t afford to offend her.

    They also had no desire to face the sect master¡¯s wrath if something really did happen to Zu An.

    As such, even the lightning and ice cultivators, who had voiced the strongest objections, did not press the issue. They both gestured for Pei Mianman and the others to leave.

    Sang Qian felt as if he had been granted a great amnesty. He took off immediately, carrying his father on his back. Sang Qien was slightly more hesitant. She turned back to look several times, but she said nothing in the end.

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡± Pei Mianman and Zheng Dan clearly weren¡¯t willing to see Zu An taken away by the Devil Sect. They both cried out and tried to rush over to him.

    Zu An stopped them. ¡°Stay away. You guys can¡¯t save me, even if you stay behind and give up your own lives. Don¡¯t let my sacrifice be meaningless.¡±

    Seeing that they were about to say something further, he sent them a voice transmission via ki. ¡°You sillysses, can¡¯t you run off first, find some help, and then rescue meter?¡±

 Chapter 483: Outwit

    <h4>Chapter 483: Outwit</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The two girls were stunned when they heard what he said. They subconsciously exchanged looks, then said, ¡°Okay. Ah Zu, please take care of yourself.¡±

    Pei Mianman deliberately locked eyes with Qiu Honglei. ¡°Miss Qiu, you¡¯d better take care of him. I will definitely kill you if something happens to him.¡±

    Qiu Honglei rolled her eyes. ¡°Hmph, I don¡¯t even think you can defeat me. Stop acting so smug just because you¡¯ve got a big chest.¡±

    Sang Qien, who was still nearby, couldn¡¯t help but nce at Qiu Honglei¡¯s chest. Yours isn¡¯t that small either! Why are you pretending to be jealous? Annoying... How are people like me with ordinary chests supposed to feel?

    Pei Mianman snorted. ¡°If you have the skill, then fight me one-on-one!¡±

    Qiu Honglei gave her injuries a look and shook her head. She smiled ambiguously and said, ¡°Forget it. You¡¯re wounded. Besides, you won¡¯t admit defeat even if I win. Also, someone might feel heartbroken if I end up hurting you somewhere.¡±

    Pei Mianman¡¯s face heated up when she saw Qiu Honglei¡¯s eyes wander about Zu An¡¯s body. She knew what condition she was currently in, and calcted that she didn¡¯t have much of a chance of beating her. She didn¡¯t press the issue further.

    Zu An also used this chance to speak up. ¡°Enough, enough. Hurry up and leave already. Get some rest and recover properly.¡±

    Pei Mianman grunted in acknowledgement, then left with Zheng Dan.

    Many members of the Solitary Eight watched regretfully as the two girls left. Those two women were both excellent specimens. Letting them go really was a waste.

    The Devil Sect weed all sorts of people, which was why they weren¡¯t exactly bound by a strict moral code, especially when it came to this issue. Given how beautiful Pei Mianman and Zheng Dan were, it was inevitable that some of the members would have impure thoughts.

    Under different circumstances, they would have tried to seize those two girls in secret and enjoy themselves for a while. Unfortunately, the sect master had given them an important mission, and there were eyes everywhere, so none of them dared to take the risk.

    The lightning cultivator snorted in dissatisfaction when she saw herpanions'' expressions. She cursed those women for being so flirtatious and feminine. To her, letting them go was a perfectly reasonable choice.

    After the two girls had left, Qiu Honglei looked back at Zu An. ¡°Please.¡±

    The lightning cultivator took out some chains to bind Zu An. Zu An frowned. ¡°Isn¡¯t this a recruitment? Is this how your sect treats your guests?¡±

    Qiu Honglei stopped the lightning cultivator. ¡°Young master Zu is the sect master¡¯s guest, and he has chosen to stay behind on his own. There is no need to bind him.¡±

    The lightning cultivator frowned. ¡°What if he tries to run?¡±

    Qiu Honglei looked at Zu An. ¡°I don¡¯t believe Ah Zu would cause me any trouble.¡±

    Herrge eyes were so beautiful, it was inconceivable that any man could bear to hurt or disappoint her.

    However, Zu An was already used to being around all sorts of beauties, so his resistance to such temptations was rather high. ¡°That might not be so. That¡¯s why, if you don¡¯t want me to run, Lady Qiu has to watch me real closely.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Shameful!¡± The lightning cultivator was furious. ¡°Thedy saint of our sect shall not be sullied by a man like you!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Solitary Lightning for 444 Rage points!

    Zu An was speechless. Just who was it that sent Qiu Honglei to the Immortal Abode? There were so many people fawning over back then. Why didn¡¯t I see you tearing that ce down with your hammer?

    Qiu Honglei smiled and said, ¡°Solitary Lightning, there¡¯s no need to worry. Zu An is my friend, and he likes to joke around. There is no need to take his words seriously.¡±

    The other Solitary Eight members had thoughtful looks on their faces as they listened to theirdy saint defend Zu An over and over again. Who knew how many admirers Qiu Honglei had back in the sect! Many of the higher-ups had publicly dered their intent to pursue her, yet no one had ever managed to get so close to her.

    Furthermore, given her special status, even those big shots didn¡¯t dare to go too far. That was why she had always seemed like an unattainable treasure in everyone¡¯s eyes.

    But now, this random brat had appeared, and seemed so close to her! If news of this got back, even if the sect master didn¡¯t choose to kill him to safeguard the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, thedy saint¡¯s endless pursuers definitely would!

    Qiu Honglei said to Zu An, ¡°Ah Zu, is this enough to make you feel at ease?¡±

    Zu An gave her a look that was full of emotion. ¡°Honglei, you¡¯re really too good to me! I don¡¯t know how to repay you. How about I offer you my body...¡±

    ¡°Ahem ahem...¡± Qiu Honglei knew of his special traits, and quickly cut him off. ¡°Enough, enough, it¡¯s time to set off! Let¡¯s return to the sect as soon as possible.¡±

    Zu An chuckled and asked in passing, ¡°Honglei, is your sect master male or female? Is there anything he is fond of? Or anything he dislikes? How many meals does he eat every day...?¡±

    Qiu Honglei felt a growing headache. ¡°Why are you asking about all that?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to identally piss him off and lose my head over it! If possible, I¡¯d also like to prepare some gifts to get closer to him.¡± Zu An said all this as if it was only right, and to be expected.

    Qiu Honglei snorted and said, ¡°Obediently handing over the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra would be the best present of all.¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± Zu An agreed, ¡°but I am also hoping that your sect master is female. I¡¯ve always been adies man, you see. If your sect master is a guy, he might feel jealous and hate me.¡±

    Qiu Honglei was momentarily speechless.

    Even the Solitary Eight couldn¡¯t believe what they were hearing.

    This fe¡¯s shamelessness far exceeded their expectations!

    The lightning cultivator sniffed disdainfully. ¡°Then why is it that I don¡¯t like you, and why do I get annoyed whenever I see a smooth-talker like you?¡±

    Zu An nced at her body, which looked like it had been forged out of iron, and took in her bulging muscles. He swallowed subconsciously before replying, ¡°Compared to ordinary women, you are a little... different.¡±

    The lightning cultivator was furious. ¡°What did you say?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Solitary Lightning for 999 Rage points!

    The thing she hated most of all was being seen by men in this way.

    Zu An pivoted smoothly. ¡°I¡¯m saying that you¡¯re a heroine among women! You¡¯re surely the idol of valiant and unrivaled heroes, not irresponsible kids like me.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s more like it!¡± The lightning cultivator said with a huff. A proud smile appeared on her face, as if she were daydreaming about her invincible and heroic sweetheart.

    The others all felt their insides churning, but none of them dared to show even the smallest hint of what they thought. They were clearly well-acquainted with her fiery temper.

    ...

    When Qiu Honglei¡¯s party had left, Pei Mianman and Zheng Dan discussed how they were going to rescue Zu An.

    Sang Qian wasn¡¯t far away. When he saw them, he ran over. ¡°Are you two okay?¡±

    Pei Mianman rolled her eyes. He was thest person she wanted to entertain right now. Meanwhile, Zheng Dan felt like he was still her husband, although in name only, and ignoring him seemed a little inappropriate. However, she wasn¡¯t really in the mood to speak to him either, especially when she recalled how he¡¯d kept trying to harm Zu An over and over.

    Sang Qian was ashamed and angry at being given the cold shoulder. Fortunately, Sang Qien arrived with her father at this moment, saving him from further embarrassment.

    ¡°Lady Pei, sister-inw, are you two discussing how to rescue Zu An?¡± Sang Qien asked.

    Clearly, now that they had spent so much time together, Pei Mianman¡¯s identity wasn¡¯t a secret anymore.

    ¡°Yes. Young miss Sang, I¡¯ve heard that you¡¯re quite resourceful. Do you have any suggestions?¡± They had fought side by side earlier, so Pei Mianman had a different attitude towards Sang Qien.

    ¡°We could contact the local officials and inform King Liang. They would surely step in to seize Zu An back,¡± Sang Qien said.

    Pei Mianman shook her head. ¡°That won¡¯t do. That would be rescuing him from a wolf¡¯s den just to throw him into a tiger¡¯s cave.¡±

    Even though Zu An had already told her that he had a n for what to do in the capital, it was truly difficult for her to imagine what he could possibly do against the unrivaled emperor.

    That was why she wasn¡¯t willing to see him fall into King Liang¡¯s hands again.

    Sang Qien stayed quiet for a moment, then said, ¡°In that case, we can only save him ourselves. I have some subordinates with me, and our original n was to set up an ambush in a nearby inn. However, I found out that someone had sent assassins after my father, so I had to move out on my own. I had assumed that those previous arrangements would be wasted, but now, it seems like those men are in the perfect spot to rescue Zu An.¡±

    ¡°Sis!¡± Sang Qian was unhappy. He was really hoping that Zu An would die. He had absolutely no desire to rescue Zu An.

    Sang Hong sent him a voice transmission. ¡°Qian¡¯er, we are still criminals. If we can save Zu An, we can absolve ourselves of this crime. The emperor will be delighted to know what we have done, and he might even erase our crimes.¡±

    With this exnation, Sang Qian finally understood what was at stake. He replied with a grunt, but his heart was still filled with a sense of injustice.

    Zheng Dan couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°Those fiends from the Devil Sect are all really strong. Will we be able to defeat them?¡±

    Sang Qien smiled. ¡°Sister-inw, there are many matters in this world that can be taken care of without using force, but wit.¡±

 Chapter 484: Are You Looking Down On Us?

    <h4>Chapter 484: Are You Looking Down On Us?</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Wit?¡± Zheng Dan was confused.

    ¡°Let¡¯s head to that small town first,¡± Sang Qien said in reply. ¡°They will have to pass by it as well. I¡¯ll exin matters along the way.¡±

    ¡°But those Devil Sect fiends have cultivations that are higher than ours, and they left earlier as well. Will we make it in time if we leave now?¡± Pei Mianman was a little skeptical.

    Sang Qien quickly reassured her. ¡°Earlier on, I learned about a small path between the mountains from some local hunters in town, which is much shorter than the main path. That was the path I took to get here. If we follow this path, we should be able to reach town first.¡±

    Pei Mianman¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°All right, then. Let¡¯s get moving!¡±

    They made their way through the forest. Sang Qian doggedly tried to start a conversation with Pei Mianman along the way. ¡°Miss Pei, why must you get involved in all of this? Are you carrying out the Pei n¡¯s will?¡±

    Pei Mianman shook her head. ¡°I am merely acting on my own. I do not represent the Pei n.¡±

    ¡°Then Miss Pei really is a paragon of righteousness!¡± Sang Qian said in praise. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that Miss Pei and Miss Chu are close friends, and it seems Miss Pei was really eager to help out once you heard that something had happened to Miss Chu¡¯s husband.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re too kind,¡± Pei Mianman said with a gentle snort. She didn¡¯t look at all pleased. Sang Qian was clearly trying to say that Zu An was Chu Chuyan¡¯s husband, and that she should not harbor any thoughts about him.

    Sang Qian¡¯s eyes couldn¡¯t help but wander towards her chest, which was gently rising and falling because of her irritation. He swallowed. This woman really is top-notch! She¡¯s so pretty even when she¡¯s angry.

    ¡°Is there anything else you need, young master Sang?¡± Pei Mianman was rather annoyed. His wandering eyes did not go unnoticed. If they weren¡¯t relying on Sang Qien¡¯s help to rescue Zu An, she would have snapped his head off by now.

    ¡°Miss Pei, you don¡¯t need to worry. If you find yourself in any dangerter, I will surely rush to your aid.¡± Sang Qian could feel that he was in a much better condition, now that the medicine¡¯s effects had spread through his body, and his usual arrogance returned.

    Pei Mianman smiled. ¡°Thank you, young master. Then again, young master Sang, shouldn¡¯t you be protecting your fianc¨¦e instead?¡±

    Zheng Dan was none too pleased by this.

    That dude was clearly bothering you¡ªwhy do you have to start causing trouble for me?!

    Sang Qian nced at Zheng Dan and said resentfully, ¡°I do not believe Miss Zheng needs me to worry about her.¡±

    It was obvious that he didn¡¯t like seeing his fianc¨¦e¡¯s anxious desire to save another man.

    Zheng Dan smiled, but she didn¡¯t say anything. Her rtionship with the Sang n was ruined beyond repair, but she felt not a single shred of regret.

    Sang Qian ran over to Pei Mianman¡¯s side to chat her up. Meanwhile, Sang Qien waspletely speechless when she saw this. Is my brother stupid? His attempts at flirting are just too clumsy.

    Pei Mianman finally had enough. She found Sang Qien and asked her about the n. ¡°Miss Sang, what did you mean when you said we were going to outwit them?¡±

    Sang Qien was grateful for the distraction. Her big brother¡¯s clumsy disy was hurting her eyes. She quicklyid out what she had in mind. ¡°Their cultivation ranks are higher than ours, so a direct confrontation wouldn¡¯t work. That is why we need to use other methods. For example... poison.¡±

    ¡°Poison?¡± Pei Mianman frowned. ¡°Those Devil Sect cultivators are all powerful individuals, though, and regr poisons will likely be useless against them. Let alone the fact that they are all ruffians who have extensive experiences with using underhanded means. Our chances for sess are slim at best.¡±

    The corners of Sang Qien¡¯s lips curved upwards, revealing a foxy smile. ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯ve gone through quite a bit of effort to procure some ¡®Monarch¡¯s Loyalty¡¯.¡±

    ¡°¡®Monarch¡¯s loyalty¡¯?¡± Zheng Dan, who had been listening quietly the entire time, eximed in surprise. ¡°The miraculous poison that is known for being colorless and odorless, and can prevent those afflicted from using ki?¡±

    She used to be the boss of the Whale Gang, and she possessed a fair amount of knowledge in this field.

    ¡°Indeed. With such a poison at our disposal, it doesn¡¯t matter how powerful those Devil Sect cultivators are,¡± Sang Qien said proudly.

    Pei Mianman¡¯s mood improved considerably, now that there was a hope of rescuing Zu An. ¡°The capital is full of rumors of Miss Sang¡¯s wisdom. Indeed, it seems Miss Sang is as brilliant as expected!¡±

    Sang Qien¡¯s face reddened. ¡°These are small, simple tactics. They¡¯re nothing special.¡±

    Their group hurried towards the small town.

    ...

    Not long after they arrived, another carriage slowly entered the town.

    ¡°Lady Saint, let¡¯s stop here to rest and reorganize,¡± Solitary Lightning said.

    ¡°All right. Make sure to stock up this time. We won¡¯t be making another stop. After this, we¡¯ll be heading straight back to the sect. The faster we bring him back, the fewer potential headaches we¡¯ll face,¡± Qiu Honglei replied.

    ¡°Understood!¡± The other Solitary Eight members cheered. They held high positions in the sect, and they were used to leadingfortablyvish lifestyles. They had had to put up with quite a bit of difort during this mission, and were looking forward to some rest.

    Qiu Honglei turned around to give Zu An a yful look. ¡°Why do you keep looking at me? You¡¯ve been staring at me the whole journey!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s because you¡¯re pretty, of course.¡± Zu An sighed in satisfaction. ¡°I was quite stressed out by all that had happened, but my mood instantly improved once I had you by my side.¡±

    Qiu Honglei snorted. ¡°You rascal, I see that your mouth is as slick as ever.¡±

    Even though that was what she said, her brows betrayed her inner delight. It really was quite strange. She was praised wherever she went, by many who had much greater literary talent than Zu An, and yet she felt nothing when they spoke.

    The carriage suddenly came to a stop. Solitary Wind¡¯s voice came from outside. ¡°Lady Saint, we¡¯ve arrived at the tavern.¡±

    Qiu Honglei apanied Zu An out of the carriage. Zu An looked at the words ¡®Four Seas Inn¡¯ above him, and a thoughtful look came over him. He remembered that the casino that the Sang n and Zheng n had run was also named ¡®Four Seas¡¯. He¡¯d even won a million taels of silver from them once.

    ¡°Is there something wrong with the name?¡± Qiu Honglei walked over to him and asked curiously.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. The name just evokes a feeling of familiarity.¡±

    Zu An chuckled and strutted inside. ¡°Waiter, we¡¯re ready to order!¡±

    Solitary Lightning and the others rolled their eyes. This kid really did not have a single shred of decency.

    ¡°Coming!¡± A waiter quickly rushed over with a towel.

    Zu An was just about to order when a thought urred to him. He turned around to look at Qiu Honglei. ¡°You guys are covering everything for this trip, right?¡±

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s mouth fell open in shock.

    Despite that, she still replied, ¡°But of course. The young master is our esteemed guest, so this meal is on us.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good, then.¡± Zu An then turned to the waiter and said, ¡°I want stewed bear paws, braised camel humps, stir-fried tiger¡¯s tails, shark¡¯s fin abalone soup...¡±

    The Solitary Eight felt their eyelids twitch vigorously. Was this kid deliberately trying to rip them off?

    Fortunately, the waiter had a troubled expression. ¡°Our humble establishment doesn¡¯t serve such precious dishes,¡± he said.

    ¡°You guys don¡¯t even have these dishes?¡± Zu An looked unhappy. ¡°Then what do you guys have?¡±

    The waiter, having seen Zu An¡¯s outburst earlier, didn¡¯t dare show any disrespect. He quickly replied, ¡°We have roastmb, roast pork, tender steak, roast chicken, stewed goose, duck in soy sauce...¡±

    After he had gone over their entire menu, he asked with great expectation, ¡°What does our esteemed guest wish to order?¡±

    ¡°What do I want to order? Are you looking down on us? Look at those fellows over there¡ªdo they look like they¡¯re broke?¡± Zu An pointed at the Solitary Eight. ¡°Give us one of everything you just mentioned. If you even skip out on even a single dish, it¡¯ll only mean that you¡¯re looking down on them.¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± This waiter was stunned. He had never seen this way of ordering before.

    Every single member of the Solitary Eight looked as though they had eaten a mouthful of shit. If they stopped Zu An, it would only make them look stingy, yet they couldn¡¯t suppress the anger they felt.

    You have sessfully trolled the Solitary Eight for 233... 233... 233...

    In the end, it was Qiu Honglei who stepped in impatiently. ¡°Enough, don¡¯t listen to him. Just give us some of your best dishes...¡±

    Even though she said she would only order some of their best dishes, she ended up ordering quite a bit, but not so much as to be wasteful.

    The waiter looked nkly at Qiu Honglei, clearly enamored by her beauty, and only snapped out of his daze after she called him a half-dozen times. He said with a reddened face, ¡°Got it!¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°Honglei, your charm really is unmatched! Forget about the waiter, everyone in this inn is sneaking looks in your direction.¡±

    ¡°Stop teasing me already.¡± Qiu Honglei rolled her eyes. She was more than ustomed to this. ¡°Hurry up and eat so we can get moving.¡±

    Soon afterwards, the table was covered in piping hot food. The stomachs of the Solitary Eight were already rumbling with hunger. They were just about to eat when Qiu Honglei noticed a figure in the distance. She stopped herpanions. ¡°Wait!¡±

 Chapter 485: An Enchanting Woman

    <h4>Chapter 485: An Enchanting Woman</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± The Solitary Eight looked at her.

    Qiu Honglei recalled the figure that had just shed across her vision, and she grew suspicious. ¡°Test the food.¡±

    The Solitary Eight weren¡¯t clueless newborn hatchlings, and quickly caught on. One of them took out a needle to test out the food, but the needle did not change color. It hadn¡¯t detected any poison.

    Zu An was speechless at theck of knowledge in these backwards civilizations. Silver needles only detected sulfides. The only way the silver needles would react is if the container that stored the poison wasn¡¯t air-tight, allowing some sulfides to appear in the arsenic.

    Many poisons don¡¯t even contain any sulfides! A silver needle won¡¯t cut it!

    ¡°Something¡¯s not right. There is definitely something wrong with this food,¡± Qiu Honglei said decisively.

    The rest of them turned to look at Solitary Wood. Zu An was curious. Why were they looking at him?

    The green-haired man¡ªSolitary Wood¡ªced his little finger into the soup and licked it. He closed his eyes, as if in deep thought. A momentter, he said with an icy voice, ¡°¡®Monarch¡¯s Loyalty¡¯! I might not have been able to detect it without Lady Saint¡¯s warning!¡±

    Zu An was stunned. So, wood element cultivators have an affinity with poisons! Thank goodness Snow didn¡¯t try to poison me back then...

    ¡°What?!¡± The others¡¯ expressions grew dark. Solitary Lightning was even more furious. In a sh, she seized the waiter who had served them.

    The waiter drew a dagger from inside his sleeves when he realized that he had been exposed. Unfortunately, he was no match for a powerful Solitary Eight member from the Devil Sect. Solitary Lightning grabbed his throat. ¡°Speak! Who prompted you to do this?!¡±

    Unfortunately, she used too much strength, and he was choked to death instead.

    ¡°Trash!¡± Solitary Lightning tossed his corpse aside, and went after the other waiters in the inn.

    They began to flee when they realized that something wasn¡¯t right. Unfortunately, there was no way they could outrun the Solitary Eight.

    The fight in the inn was over almost before it had begun. Most of the waiters were killed on the spot, but the few that were captured ended their own lives by breaking the poison pills stored within their teeth.

    ¡°They¡¯re all deathsworn soldiers!¡± The Solitary Eight were stunned. Whoevermanded such deathsworn soldiers was no ordinary power. ¡°Who dares to target us?¡±

    Qiu Honglei coldly issued an order. ¡°Search the other areas of the in.¡±

    Solitary Wind, Fire, and Metal headed out to search the tavern. They returned in a moment, shaking their heads. They had found nothing.

    Qiu Honglei scanned her surroundings. The other guests of the inn had fled, leaving behind a huge mess. She frowned. ¡°Forget it, there¡¯s no sense in chasing after them. Go out and buy some food. We will prepare our own food and rest here for the night. We set out tomorrow morning.¡±

    ¡°What? We¡¯re still staying here for the night?¡± Solitary Wind¡¯s voice was overflowing with worry. ¡°What if our enemies attack again?¡±

    Qiu Honglei shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t believe they have the ability to make another move. It¡¯s already dark outside, and if we set out again, we¡¯ll have to sleep outside. We can take advantage of this inn and get some rest.¡±

    When the Solitary Eight dispersed, Zu An said with a frown, ¡°Have you already figured out our attackers¡¯ identities?¡±

    Qiu Honglei smiled. ¡°I should be asking you that question. It seems like they¡¯ve gone through quite the effort to rescue you.¡±

    ¡°Rescue me?¡± Even though Zu An had his suspicions, he wasn¡¯t certain.

    ¡°Of course it was to rescue you! Speaking of which, those two beauties seem to care about you a great deal. They haven¡¯t given up yet. No... they shouldn¡¯t have had the time to move so many men. It is most likely the Sang n¡¯s young miss who nned this,¡± Qiu Honglei mumbled to herself.

    ¡°How can you be so sure?¡± Zu An asked curiously.

    ¡°Because I saw Sang Qian just now.¡± Qiu Honglei smiled. If she hadn¡¯t noticed him all of a sudden, they might have been poisoned already. ¡®Monarch¡¯s Loyalty¡¯, huh? It seems they¡¯re quite formidable, managing to get their hands on such a precious poison.

    ¡°Sang Qian?¡± Zu An frowned. Did that fellow do it on purpose? He probably revealed himself because he doesn¡¯t want me to be saved.

    His expression darkened considerably. He and Sang Qian were enemies to begin with, so he already knew that Sang Qian wanted to kill him. But if you¡¯re going to do it, then do it openly! Why do you have to resort to despicable methods, and send so many people to their graves? This made Zu An extremely angry.

    He came from a civilized world, after all. This was the first time he had seen so many people die for his sake, and he felt awful inside.

    Even though these people had died at the hands of the Solitary Eight, he didn¡¯t me them. They had their own mission to carry out, after all. This was a world where the strong preyed on the weak¡ªit was either kill, or be killed. Each person had to rely on their own skill and ability. That was just the way it was.

    However, Sang Qian was the one to me for these deaths. Serious killing intent surged within him.

    He had made up his mind. He was going to take that man¡¯s life the next time they met, no matter what. He would no longer show consideration for Sang Hong.

    It took him a while to finally calm down. When he did so, he said in a low voice, ¡°I want to ask you for a favor.¡±

    ¡°As long as it¡¯s within my abilities, sure.¡± Even though Qiu Honglei had noticed the sudden change in him, she didn¡¯t know what had triggered him to act in this way.

    ¡°I want to bury these men and let them rest in peace.¡± He looked at the corpses strewn about the ce. His tone was extremely sad.

    Qiu Honglei felt troubled. ¡°I didn¡¯t bring any servants along with me, and I don¡¯t believe the Solitary Eight will be willing to do that.¡±

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s all right. I¡¯ll do it myself.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Qiu Honglei was rather surprised. She didn¡¯t understand why Zu An would do this.

    ¡°Even though I don¡¯t know them personally, they died trying to save me. This is all I can do for them,¡± Zu An said quietly.

    Qiu Honglei fell silent.

    She was the saint of the Devil Sect, and someone who had enjoyed a high status from as far back as she could remember. Even in the two years she¡¯d spent in the Immortal Abode on an undercover mission, she¡¯d had endless servants at her disposal, to order around as she saw fit. This was something that she¡¯d never had to worry about.

    She wasn¡¯t the only one in the world like this. The noble elite of this world and other powerful cultivators did not grasp the concept of human equality. Many people weren¡¯t even human in their eyes¡ªjust ves, servants, or pawns.

    That was why she hadn¡¯t understood Zu An¡¯s reaction at first. However, as she watched him dig one grave after another in the rear courtyard and then carefully bury those deathsworn soldiers, something changed within her, and she was extremely moved.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Qiu Honglei apologized. In a way, these people had died because of her.

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°They wanted to poison all of you, so it was inevitable that you would kill them. That is why I don¡¯t me you for it. Instead, there¡¯s only one person to me.¡±

    Qiu Honglei was an intelligent woman, and she immediately understood what he meant. ¡°You¡¯re talking about Sang Qian, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t reply, but went about burying the corpses, his face deathly serious. Then, he found a board and began carving. ¡°A grave for loyal men, set up by Zu An.¡±

    Qiu Honglei watched Zu An¡¯s lonesome figure. It suddenly urred to her that she didn¡¯t actually understand this man at all.

    ...

    Elsewhere, the Sang family members, Pei Mianman, and Zheng Dan were fleeing for their lives. They knew that there was no way they could defeat the Devil Sect now that they had been exposed.

    When they were finally in the clear, Sang Qien gave Sang Qian an angry look. ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean, why?¡± Sang Qian seemed to be trying too hard to look natural.

    Sang Qien said, ¡°If you hadn¡¯t shown yourself to Qiu Honglei, they would never have realized that they were being poisoned. There would have been no need for those deathsworn soldiers to sacrifice themselves! Do you know how much our Sang n invested to nurture them?¡±

    Sang Hong¡¯s expression was dark as well. The Sang n wasn¡¯t as established as many of the other ns, and they didn¡¯t have as many deathsworn soldiers. These few were more or less all they had.

    Sang Qian said disapprovingly, ¡°I didn¡¯t foresee that this would happen either! How am I supposed to know that woman Qiu Honglei would be sharp enough to notice me?¡±

    Pei Mianman was furious. ¡°Did you do it on purpose? You¡¯ve wanted to kill Zu An from the very start!¡±

    Zheng Dan¡¯s eyes became as cold as ice, leaking out a hint of killing intent.

    Sang Hong¡¯s voice also grew heavy. ¡°Qian¡¯er, you¡¯ve really disappointed me.¡±

    I don¡¯t care if you want to kill Zu An, but did you have to do it now? You¡¯ve even cost our n so many deathsworn soldiers!

    Being vicious and merciless is all well and good, but stupidity cannot be tolerated.

    Sang Qian erupted in fury. ¡°Fine, fine, fine! It¡¯s all my fault! Since all of you think that Zu An is so great, then go make him your big brother, and make him your son! I¡¯ve had enough!¡±

    He turned around and ran off. Sang Hong subconsciously took a step after him, but he let go of the idea. Instead, he stopped Pei Mianman and Zheng Dan from pursuing him as well.

    Sang Qian¡¯s figure quickly vanished from sight.

    He ran at full speed, getting angrier the more he ran. He stopped at the edge of a cliff and yelled out curses at Zu An, venting all of his anger and frustration.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qian for 999... 999... 999...

    Just then, he heard a bewitching female voice. ¡°Handsome young man, I take it you know Zu An?¡±

 Chapter 486: Who Is the Bad One?

    <h4>Chapter 486: Who Is the Bad One?</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Sang Qian whipped his head around. Had he been so angry that someone had approached him unnoticed while he was cursing Zu An?

    However, once heid eyes on the neer, he immediately exhaled in relief.

    It was a middle-aged daoist nun. She was dressed in a yellow daoist robe, and held a snowy-white horsetail whisk in her hand.

    It seemed wrong to call her middle-aged. Her face showed no signs of aging, yet there was no way she was a youngdy. She exuded an aura of maturity that a young girl couldn¡¯t possibly emte.

    She wasn¡¯t extremely pretty, and was at least inferior to Pei Mianman and Zheng Dan, but she couldn¡¯t be considered ugly either. With her graceful posture, one might even consider her elegant.

    ¡°Honored Sister, are you speaking to me?¡± Sang Qian¡¯s tone grew polite as well. After all, men subconsciously tried to maintain a favorable image in front of beautiful women.

    ¡°Do you see anyone else here?¡± The daoist nun giggled, herughter harboring a mysterious charm.

    Sang Qian felt his heart skip a beat. Herughter couldn¡¯t be considered dignified, yet it wasn¡¯t frivolous either¡ªhis sense of her was difficult to describe.

    Perhaps he could call it an elegant charm. Her unique charm was something that youngdies did not possess. This was a new experience for him.

    ¡°Honored Sister, do you know Zu An as well?¡± Instead of losing his mind, Sang Qian grew more vignt.

    ¡°I do not. However, I heard you cursing him rather loudly, so he must not be a good person,¡± that daoist nun said.

    Sang Qian felt joy ring out in his heart. After all, everyone seemed too eager to praise Zu An right now. Pei Mianman liked him, his fianc¨¦e was enamored with him... Hardest of all to ept was that his father and little sister had even spoken up for him again and again.

    Sang Qian was about to go crazy. Now that he¡¯d finally heard someone speak up for him instead, he was moved to the brink of tears.

    ¡°Honored Sister, you¡¯re absolutely right! That Zu An is utterly despicable!¡± Sang Qian cursed him again.

    ¡°Just what did he do to make you so upset?¡± That daoist nun said with an ambiguous smile. ¡°Could it be that he has stolen your wife?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not it!¡± Sang Qian¡¯s face flushed entirely red. Even though Zheng Dan and Zu An seemed to share a close rtionship, he didn¡¯t believe that things had progressed that far. In any case, even if something had happened between them, which man would personally admit to such a shameful thing? ¡°He¡¯s just really annoying.¡±

    The daoist nun smiled and remarked, ¡°If you find him that annoying, then confront him face to face. Cursing him behind his back doesn¡¯t seem like something a valiant man would do.¡±

    Sang Qian¡¯s face heated up. ¡°Who said that I didn¡¯t? I just failed, that¡¯s all!¡±

    To stop her from prying further, he quickly asked, ¡°Why are you here, Honored Sister? These mountains are quite dangerous, and there are many vicious beasts roaming about. Even if you run into other humans, they¡¯re most likely to be bandits.¡±

    The daoist nun sighed. ¡°People like me must walk our own path to gain wisdom, so we are called to roam these mountains. I¡¯ve been lucky so far, and haven¡¯t run into any vicious beasts yet. As for bandits... I wonder if you are one of them?¡±

    Sang Qian stuck his chest out and dered quickly, ¡°Of course not! I am actually a court official in charge of apprehending criminals!¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± A bizarre expression shed across the daoist nun¡¯s eyes. ¡°So you were a military officer! I apologize for my disrespect.¡±

    Sang Qian was ted to hear her praise. He suddenly found this woman much more lovely. Who cares about Zheng Dan, or Pei Mianman? Both of you can screw off!

    The hormones within him began to stir. He quickly said, ¡°Honored Sister, where are you headed? I can apany you if you need protection.¡±

    ¡°You, protect me?¡± A strange look came into her eyes again.

    ¡°Of course! You might not know it from looking at me, but I¡¯m a sixth rank expert! Those bandits and vicious beasts are no match for me!¡± Sang Qian continued his boasting. He had to assure this woman that he was powerful and get on her good side.

    ¡°Sixth rank? You¡¯re so strong!¡± The daoist nun covered her mouth in apparent surprise.

    ¡°Actually, my dad is even stronger. He¡¯s a cultivator at the peak of eighth rank!¡± Sang Qian wanted to exaggerate and say that he was ninth rank, but he didn¡¯t have the confidence.

    The daoist nun chuckled. ¡°Young master, it seems youe from quite a distinguished family.¡±

    Sang Qian was extremely pleased with himself. Who knew how many distinguished daughters he had courted over the years just by relying on his outstanding n and his own status? A daoist nun like her who was used to a simple, frugal life would be no challenge at all. ¡°You still haven¡¯t told me where you¡¯re going. If you¡¯re traveling a long way, I can apany you.¡±

    He had already made his decision. No matter her destination, he was going to say that it was along the way for him.

    He would keep herpany, and get close to her. For someone with his charm and skill, it would be a walk in the park.

    As for his father and little sister, he didn¡¯t want to go back to them just to be mistreated again. At worst, he would just reunite with them in the capital.

    He subconsciously looked the woman over. He could vaguely make out her graceful outline even through her loose robes.

    Even though this woman wasn¡¯t as pretty as Pei Mianman and Zheng Dan, she possessed a powerful allure that made him want to ravage her.

    His heart began to beat wildly as he yed out various scenes in his mind.

    That daoist nun seemed to sense the burning passion in his eyes. She looked him over before saying, ¡°I am going to a small town just over there. Is it along the way, young master?¡±

    ¡°I was just there! You can count on me.¡± Sang Qian¡¯s eyes lit up.

    ¡°Oh? Won¡¯t I be troubling the young master if I make you double back?¡± The daoist nun seemed a little embarrassed.

    ¡°It¡¯s no problem. It¡¯s not that far away.¡± As he said this, Sang Qian suddenly remembered the members of the Devil Sect, which gave him pause. ¡°I advise you not to go there right now. Those fiends from the Devil Sect might not have left yet.¡±

    ¡°Fiends from the Devil Sect?¡± Her eyes twitched left and right. ¡°Oh, that Zu An that you were cursing¡ªis he there?¡±

    Sang Qian said, ¡°He is. He¡¯s survived for so long thanks to his good luck. But now that he¡¯s fallen into the Devil Sect¡¯s hands, he won¡¯t be alive much longer.¡±

    The daoist nun nodded. ¡°I see. I must make haste, then.¡±

    Sang Qian was stunned. ¡°Honored Sister, did you not hear what I just said?¡±

    The daoist nun said with a chuckle, ¡°I did. But you¡¯re amazing, aren¡¯t you, young master? You can protect me, right? I¡¯m sure those fiends from the Devil Sect are not even worth mentioning.¡±

    ¡°Of... of course!¡± Sang Qianughed awkwardly. ¡°This way, please.¡±

    ...

    After they had walked for a while, that daoist nun suddenly stopped. ¡°We seem to be going in the wrong direction.¡±

    Sang Qian stared at her. Of course it¡¯s the wrong direction! Do you think I¡¯m stupid? I finally managed to escape from the clutches of the Devil Sect¡ªwhy in the world would I go back?

    ¡°I know a shortcut that¡¯s a little faster.¡±

    Fear crept into the daoist nun¡¯s voice. ¡°Young master, please don¡¯t deceive me! This path takes us further and further away! What if we run into some nasty people?¡±

    Sang Qianughed and said, ¡°I¡¯m here to protect you, aren¡¯t I?¡±

    That daoist nun blinked. ¡°But what if the young master is also a bad person?¡±

    Sang Qian¡¯s breath caught in his throat. Before he coulde up with a reply, the daoist nun burst outughing. ¡°I¡¯m just joking with you! Young master, how could someone like you be a bad person?¡±

    Sang Qianughed. ¡°But of course, but of course!¡±

    As they walked a little more, Sang Qian suddenly said, ¡°I wonder... Since I am escorting you and offering my protection, how are you prepared to repay me?¡±

    The daoist nun smiled and said, ¡°What do you have in mind, young master?¡±

    Seeing the yfulness in her expression, Sang Qian could no longer resist. He immediately pulled her closer to him. ¡°I want you, of course.¡±

    That daoist nun turned pale, and she quickly pushed him away. ¡°Young master, please do not be like this.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Sang Qianughed out loud. ¡°You don¡¯t need to keep up the act. I don¡¯t think you¡¯re a proper daoist nun either, since you¡¯ve been teasing me this whole time. Why don¡¯t we just get straight to the point? Let¡¯s sleep together.¡±

    ¡°As I expected, the young master is a bad person after all,¡± she remarked.

    Sang Qian only treated this as a joke, andughedcently. ¡°Unfortunately, you¡¯ve realized this toote.¡±

    All of a sudden, he frowned, because his little brother wasn¡¯t reacting at all. Something¡¯s not right. Given my past experience, with such a gorgeous beauty in my arms, it should be pointing right to the sky!

    A strange expression suddenly appeared on the daoist nun¡¯s face. ¡°You seem to have forgotten something, young master.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Sang Qian was stunned. A strange mood had fallen.

    ¡°What if I am the bad person?¡± The daoist nun grinned. Her alluring red lips suddenly parted into six horrifying blood-sucking mouthparts.

    Sang Qian almost leapt out of his skin. He wanted to get away, but there was no way for him to do so. Those soft arms gripped him like a vise.

    He watched in horror as those six terrifying mouthpartstched onto his neck. Gulp, gulp, gulp... his blood was quickly sucked away.

    Sang Qian quickly felt his body go as cold as ice. A feeling of numbness spread outwards from his neck, and he slowly stopped feeling any pain.

    Thankfully, his survival instincts reminded him to struggle with everything he had. Unfortunately, he was quickly growing weaker and weaker.

    He discovered with rm that his arms had begun to shrivel up at a visible rate, quickly wasting away until it was just a thinyer of skin wrapped around the bone.

    Darkness devoured him.

 Chapter 487: Zhuxie Chixin

    <h4>Chapter 487: Zhuxie Chixin</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    A whileter, the satisfied daoist nun tossed the mummified Sang Qian aside. Her six blood-sucking mouthparts slowly retracted, turning back into tender and glistening red lips.

    It could have been lipstick staining those lips red, but it could also have been blood.

    The daoist nun licked her lips with an intoxicated expression. ¡°The blood essence of a young man tastes oh so good! But something doesn¡¯t seem quite right. Why does it feel as though he¡¯scking some masculine energy? That shouldn¡¯t be the case. He had such great libido, how could he becking...?¡±

    She stood there in a daze for a while, confused about what happened. In the end, she still couldn¡¯t puzzle it out. ¡°Forget it. Finding Zu An is still the most important thing.¡±

    She turned around and transformed into a flight of countless small mosquitoes. The ck cloud vanished into the distance.

    ...

    A short whileter, Sang Qien¡¯s voice drifted out from close by. ¡°Huh? The sound came from here earlier. Where did he go?¡±

    After the father and daughter of the Sang n had stopped Pei Mianman and Zheng Dan, they consoled them, promising that they would continue to help them rescue Zu An. Only then did their anger subside somewhat.

    Sang Hong then grew worried about his son¡¯s safety. They were in the depths of the mountains, and it was very possible that he would run into someone from the Devil Sect. As such, they all hurried off in the direction Sang Qian had taken.

    They had been searching around for a while when they suddenly heard a miserable scream, and immediately rushed in that direction.

    Sang Hong¡¯s eyelids twitched. He grew more and more worried. ¡°Your brother¡¯s cry was rather loud. He was clearly in great danger. If we don¡¯t find him soon, it might be toote.¡±

    Zheng Dan frowned. ¡°Are you sure? He has a good level of cultivation. He should be able to hold his own even if he runs into someone formidable.¡±

    ¡°I hope that¡¯s the case,¡± Sang Hong replied, but he couldn¡¯t shake his sense of foreboding.

    Sang Qien suddenly let out a scream.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Everyone rushed to where she was.

    Sang Qien¡¯s face was pale. She pointed to the side. ¡°There¡¯s... a dried up corpse over there.¡±

    ¡°A dried up corpse?¡± Sang Hong''s voice grew low. ¡°There are quite a few scavengers roaming these mountain depths. It isn¡¯t strange for there to be dried up corpses around the area. Let¡¯s hurry up and find your big brother.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Sang Qien nodded, and resumed her search.

    Sang Hong walked over to where she had been standing. He had nned to give the corpse a passing look, but his entire body suddenly trembled, and his legs seemed to give way.

    Zheng Dan quickly supported him. ¡°Lord Sang, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Sang Hong pointed a trembling finger at the dried up corpse. ¡°Those... those clothes. Don¡¯t they seem rather familiar?¡±

    Zheng Dan looked over, and her heart suddenly began to race. They seemed to be what Zu An had been wearing before! Her face turned pale.

    There was nothing else on Sang Hong¡¯s mind. He knelt down and lifted up the corpse. When he saw the corpse¡¯s face, he screamed in agony. A burst of blood sprayed out from his mouth.

    Even though Sang Qian had been sucked dry until only skin and bones remained, he could still vaguely make out his appearance.

    Zheng Dan saw it as well. She was relieved that it wasn¡¯t Zu An, but she couldn¡¯t help but feel a touch of grief, knowing that it was Sang Qian.

    They had been engaged for a while, after all, and they had many conversations before. Even though she resented the fact that he¡¯d kept targeting Zu An, seeing him meet such a tragic end left her with a web ofplicated emotions.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Sang Qien came back when she noticed that something was wrong. She too saw the corpse¡¯s face clearly and let out an anguished cry. Her face turnedpletely pale.

    She never would¡¯ve imagined that her vigorous and lively brother would end up like this!

    Pei Mianman walked over. She frowned when saw Sang Qian¡¯s appearance. She had never seen such a death before.

    ¡°Who did this?!¡± Sang Hong said through clenched teeth. Hatred burned deep within his bones and seeped out through his eyes.

    Sang Qian was his only son. There was no way he could produce another one, given his age. With Sang Qian¡¯s death, he had no more sessors.

    In an instant, all his efforts in this lifetime seemed utterly meaningless. Even throughout his imprisonment, he had retained his wits about him. He was confident that he would be able to bounce back.

    However, no matter how many schemes he could cook up, he was still powerless when it came to bringing his son back.

    The only thing that kept him going now was his desire for revenge. He had to kill the one who had killed his son.

    Pei Mianman replied, ¡°We didn¡¯t see anyone when we looked around earlier.¡±

    She was secretly grateful that she and Zheng Dan had stuck around with them this whole time. Otherwise, given their earlier hostility, Sang Hong might havee after them.

    ¡°Dad...¡± Sang Qien immediately walked over to support him, her eyes filled with tears. She too was heartbroken to see her brother die so miserably.

    With difficulty, Sang Hong put aside his grief. His body was shaking as he knelt down by his son¡¯s corpse and began to examine the cause of death.

    In this moment, he was no longer Brightmoon City¡¯s cunning and unpredictable governor. Instead, he was just another pitiful, grieving elder.

    Sang Qien helped her father out. Her hands were trembling as they reached out to touch her brother¡¯s corpse, although it was unclear if it was because of sorrow or anger.

    The two of them examined the corpse for a while, then Sang Qien said in confusion, ¡°Dad, I don¡¯t see any wounds on big brother¡¯s body.¡±

    The tiny wounds on Sang Qian¡¯s neck were hard to detect, since there was only ayer of skin covering his bones.

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t there any injuries...?¡± Sang Hong muttered to himself. He couldn¡¯t understand how his son had died either.

    From a distance, they heard the sound of galloping horse¡¯s hooves, growing closer. Sang Hong raised his head. Had the attackers returned?

    Even Pei Mianman and Zheng Dan grew curious. They were in the wilderness¡ªwhy would there be mounted men?

    They looked up and were blinded by an expanse of glistening yellow light. Only when they squinted did they see that it was indeed a group of cavalry troops, and most of them were dressed in golden armor. Their expressions were solemn.

    Zheng Dan sighed in awe. The Chu n¡¯s Red Cloak Army had seemed to her to be the elite of the elites, but the pressure that these cavalrymen gave off was stronger even than that of the Red Cloak Army!

    Sang Hong¡¯s expression changed. ¡°The Bright Tiger Army!¡±

    ¡°Bright Tiger?¡± Zheng Dan¡¯s confusion was apparent.

    Pei Mianman was shocked as well, but quickly exined, ¡°You¡¯re not from the capital, so you might not know about this. The Bright Tiger Army is the Son of Heaven¡¯s personal army. They operate strictly under the emperor¡¯s solemand.¡±

    Zheng Dan was shocked. ¡°Are you saying that the emperor hase personally?¡±

    Sang Qien shook her head. ¡°Not necessarily. Given how things are right now, how could his majesty leave the capital city? He probably sent a trusted aide.¡±

    When these troops drew near, they could finally make out the appearances of those at the very front.

    The dozen or so men at the very front had unicorns embroidered on their clothes, and wore austere metal masks. This was an image that they couldn¡¯t be more familiar with.

    The Embroidered Envoy!

    The same thought crossed their minds at the same time. More shocking was that these Embroidered Envoy wore clothes that were of different color than the ones who were escorting them previously, and seemed to be made of even better quality material. These men were surely higher ranked.

    Most surprising of all, the clothes of the man at the very front were different from the others. His clothes were stained a dark red, and the designs on his garments were woven out of golden silk.

    There was no mask covering his face, leaving itpletely exposed.

    He was a middle-aged man. His skin waspletely white, as if it never saw the sun. Together with his prating hawk-like eyes, they made his expression seem extremely grim. He exuded a frigid, chilling aura.

    ¡°Zhuxie Chixin!¡± A bitter expression spread across Sang Hong¡¯s face. He never expected that this man would appear.

    Fine drops of sweat covered Pei Mianman¡¯s brow. She said quietly to Zheng Dan, ¡°This person is the Chief Commander of the Embroidered Envoy, Zhuzie Chixin. He is nothing like that small leader Huang Huihong. Rather, he leads all of the Embroidered Envoy. His cultivation is deep and immeasurable. He¡¯s taken down countless nobles and officials over the years. His very appearance can even make children stop crying at night.¡±

    The clear and gentle voice of a woman spoke. ¡°Manman?¡±

    Pei Mianman looked towards the group with disbelief. She saw a familiar and beautiful figure, and her reply was tinged with a hint of disbelief. ¡°Chuyan?¡±

 Chapter 488: Fiend Races

    <h4>Chapter 488: Fiend Races</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    This was a beautiful woman in an ice-blue colored long dress. Long hair fluttered behind her picturesque figure. Who else could this be but Chu Chuyan?

    There were too many people earlier, and they were all wearing dazzling helmets, so no one noticed her.

    Zheng Dan sighed inwardly when she saw her exceptional appearance. No wonder Ah Zu was willing to sacrifice himself for the Chu n.

    But thinking back, he also offered himself up to the Devil sect for his sake, and he shielded her by cing his own self at risk many times. This made her smile warmly.

    Sang Qien looked at that woman in the long dress in a stupor. She heard about her beauty all the time in the capital. Sure enough, when she really did meet this person, she was a devastatingly beautiful woman! No wonder so many of those young masters chased after her, and even her big brother seemed to be quite fond of her.

    When she thought of her big brother, her nose wrinkled in soreness. She almost cried again.

    ¡°Chuyan, why are you together with them?¡± Pei Mianman looked at her in confusion.

    Chu Chuyan came down from a horse and arrived by her side. ¡°I heard about the Chu n¡¯s affairs from the capital, and then hurried in Brightmoon City¡¯s direction. Later on, I heard that something happened to Zu An, and I just happened to run into Commander Zhuxie, so I decided to travel with them. They have ess to better information after all, so it would be easier to find Zu An.¡±

    ¡°So that was what happened.¡± Pei Mianman knew that Zhuxie Chixin was mysterious. If it wasn¡¯t because of Chu Chuyan¡¯s outstanding reputation in the capital, he wouldn¡¯t have given any normal person the time of day.

    ¡°What about you? What are you doing here?¡± Chu Chuyan blinked her eyes and asked in curiosity.

    ¡°I...¡± Pei Mianman was just about to reply when she felt a bit speechless. How was she supposed to reply?

    ¡°Did youe to save Zu An?¡± Chu Chuyan sesemed to have guessed at her thoughts. She asked her with a smile.

    Pei Mianman voiced her confirmation with a guilty conscience. ¡°Aren¡¯t we good friends? You weren¡¯t in Brightmoon City when all of that happened, so how can I do nothing?¡±

    ¡°Manman, thank you so much.¡± Chu Chuyan couldn¡¯t help but grab her hands and say this with a moved voice.

    She really went through a roller coaster of emotions during this period, and there was no one she could even talk to. Now that she learned that her close friend was helping her all this time, she immediately felt warm inside.

    ¡°Chuyan, you¡¯re being too polite. This is what I should do.¡± Pei Mianman felt more awkward the more she said. Am I really doing something good? Ah, what am I feeling guilty for!

    The Chu n already wrote a letter of divorce in the Chu n, so they¡¯re not even husband and wife anymore! Pei Mianman, why are you acting like a caught mistress?

    This is so annoying!

    Pei Mianman felt regret as she thought these things. But it seemed a bitte to change her tone now.

    The Embroidered Envoy Chief Commander on the side said at this time, ¡°Sir Sang, did you all break out? I didn¡¯t expect a loyal and devoted man like Sir Sang to dare do something so disgraceful.¡±

    His voice was just as cold as his appearance. Everyone shivered when they heard it.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Sang Hong replied with a heavy voice, ¡°This humble one reports to Sir Zhuxie. We did not break out, but rather that our group was attacked by a rebel army. Later on, the Dark Elves and Devil Sect attacked us. The ones who watched over us are all dead. Commander Huang Huihong undid our seals for the sake of not letting us fall into their hands.¡±

    ¡°Huang Huihong died?¡± Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s eyes narrowed. It was hard to tell what he was currently feeling.

    ¡°Correct.¡± Sang Hong coughed. Sang Qien then exined the situation in his ce.

    ¡°Cash Warrior Ding Run, good, very good.¡± Zhuxie Chixinughed coldly. Everyone thought that he would try to get revenge for Huang Huihong, but who would¡¯ve thought that he would turn to the other Embroidered Envoy and say, ¡°Did you all hear what they said? Huang Huihong was killed so easily because he was ipetent! If you all want to live long lives, then you better cultivate hard every day. Cultivate, cultivate, and keep cultivating!¡±

    Zheng Dan and the other girls were rmed. This man is so callous! Could it be that all of the Embroidered Envoy are like this?

    ¡°Understood!¡± Those Embroidered Envoy were extremely disciplined. They didn¡¯t utter another sound after saying this word.

    Zhuxie Chixin nodded in satisfaction, and then she turned to look at Pei Mianman. ¡°You¡¯re that girl born of a concubine from the Pei n?¡±

    Pei Mianman felt awful inside, but she didn¡¯t show it on the surface. She could only reply, ¡°Yes, this humble one is Pei Mianman.¡±

    ¡°It sounds like you want to save Zu An. Are you trying to forcefully release a prisoner?¡± Zhuxie Chixin gave her a cold look.

    Pei Mianman felt as if she was thrown into an icehouse under this gaze. She couldn¡¯t muster the slightest intention of rebelling. She felt like it was hard to even gather her thoughts to form proper sentences.

    Chu Chuyan immediately spoke up from the side. ¡°Sir Zuxie, we chose the wrong words earlier. She is my friend, so she came to protect Zu An after finding out that various powers were scheming against his majesty.¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin grunted an ¡®oh¡¯ and declined toment. He shifted his gaze after a while.

    Pei Mianman felt much more rxed when she was no longer being stared at. She was shocked. There were always rumors that Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s cultivation was deep and unmeasurable, but it seemed like he was even more formidable than what the rumors stated.

    Zhuxie Chixin gave Sang Qien a look. ¡°Then what about Miss Sang? Do you have any intentions of freeing your father and brother?¡±

    Sang Qien was now under the same pressure Pei Mianman just faced. Sang Hong quickly spoke up in her ce. ¡°The youngdy heard that someone might act against us, so she came over out of worry for our safety. She definitely has no intentions of breaking out prisoners.¡±

    ¡°Then ording to what Sir Sang is saying, it seems like Miss Sang does not trust that the court can protect their own prisoners?¡± Zhuxie Chixin harrumphed.

    Sang Qien cursed inwardly. You guys already failed, okay? But there was no way she would say that out loud. ¡°Of course I trust the court, but I was still worried for my family. That was why I came here to take a look.¡±

    ¡°Whatever. I won¡¯t pry further out of consideration that this was out of filial piety.¡± Zhuxie Chixin gave Sang Hong a cold look. ¡°Sir Sang, are you going to follow us obediently, or will you defy us?¡±

    Sang HOng¡¯s face paled. He immediately cupped his hands and said, ¡°I do not dare trouble the Chief Commander. I will quietly let myself be captured. However, before this, sir please help me get revenge for my son.¡±

    He understood his current situation well. He was seriously injured, and even if he was in top form, he was no match for such a powerful opponent. As such, there was no way he would have thoughts of revenge.

    ¡°Sang Qian? What happened to him?¡± Zhuxie Chixin was surprised. He didn¡¯t see him anywhere.

    Sang Hong gave the dried up corpse on the ground a sorrowful look. ¡°My son was harmed and died a tragic death. Unfortunately, I don¡¯t even know who the murderer is.¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin noticed the corpse in the underbrush at this time. His eyes narrowed, and then he leapt off his horse. He squatted down by the corpse and examined it. In the end, he said with a grave voice, ¡°This was done by the Blood race.¡±

    ¡°Blood race?¡± Sang Hang was stunned, but he quickly reacted. ¡°Hasn¡¯t the Blood race already vanished for centuries after their defeat?¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin examined the wound on his neck and said with a grave voice, ¡°It seems like the Fiend Emperor hasn¡¯t fully resigned himself to defeat. He has begun to lust after ournd once more.¡±

    The expressions of the women here were all stunned. They were talented students from their respective academies, so they were naturally aware of the rted history.

    In the past, when the humans fought against the foreign races, the so-called foreign races were actually the Fiend races.

    In the eyes of normal people, the Demons, Elves, Dark Elves, Beastmen, and even the Dragons were all collectively known as the Fiend races.

    But cultivators from distinguished ns knew that these races and the Pure Fiend race were different. The Fiend race were the most powerful, while these races all followed the Fiend Emperor.

    In this world, all types of animals, nts, and other life forms had a chance of cultivating and bing fiends. Even some non-living things, given the opportunity, could be fiends and transform into human form.

    Of course, these were non-innate fiends. It was extremely difficult for them to seed.

    There were another group of natural born Fiend race who didn¡¯t need to cultivate to be fiends, and the power within their blood was enough to give birth to human formed bodies.

    The Blood race was a unique branch of the Fiend races. Their primary trait was that they survived through bloodsucking. Their original forms are of all different sorts, like bats, leeches, and mosquitoes. Even the other great fiends within the Fiend races feared them.

 Chapter 489: Win-Win

    <h4>Chapter 489: Win-Win</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Sang Hong was incredibly heartbroken. ¡°There¡¯s no bad blood between my son and the blood race¡ªwhy would they kill him?¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin replied, ¡°Members of the blood race kill without reason. Forget about humans for a minute¡ªeven if they ran into isted fiends, their bloodthirsty nature would drive them to kill.¡±

    Sang Hong finally understood what had happened. It was just bad luck that his son happened to run into someone of the blood race.

    ¡°But why would someone of the blood race appear here?¡± Sang Qien asked while biting her red lip.

    ¡°They probably do not wish for his majesty to gain eternal life. Since the fiend emperor has made a move, I need to contact His Majesty as quickly as possible,¡± Zhuxie Chixin said.

    Sang Hong replied, ¡°I wish to avenge my son first before I surrender myself. I hope Lord Zhuxie can show me some leniency.¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Zhuxie Chixin replied coldly. ¡°I am in charge of capturing you all and bringing you to justice, and I cannot allow you to leave. Besides, you are seriously injured right now, and you will be no match for the murderer even if you run into them. You¡¯ll just be throwing your life away. Men, lock him up.¡±

    In a moment, his hands were bound with special chains. As he felt his ki being restrained, Sang Hong knew that all hopes of revenge were gone, and sadness overwhelmed him.

    ¡°Dad!¡± Sang Qien saw the tears in his father¡¯s eyes. In her heart, her father had always been a heroic figure. He was always incredibly sharp, and being around him always brought her a feeling of safety. When had she ever seen him so powerless?

    Zhuxie Chixin frowned as he saw the grief in both father and daughter. ¡°Lord Sang, there¡¯s no need to worry. Since a monster of the fiend race has appeared, I will help you get rid of them if we encounter them.¡±

    Gratitude welled up within Sang Hong. ¡°Thank you, Lord Zhuxie!¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin nodded, then ordered his men to bind Zheng Dan as well. He had clearly done his homework, and knew that she was the daughter-inw of the Sang n and one of the prisoners that had been detained.

    Zheng Dan knew that resistance was futile in the face of so many cultivators. There was nothing for her to do but nce at Pei Mianman and Chu Chuyan. There were some things that she just couldn¡¯t say.

    Pei Mianman smiled. She knew what she was thinking, and sent her a voice transmission. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we will definitely rescue Ah Zu.¡±

    Zheng Dan sighed in relief. Her lips were trembling as she silently mouthed, ¡°Thank you!¡±

    Pei Mianman nodded in her direction. What the heck was up with Zu An? How the heck did he get so many girls to care about him? Even I am over here trying to appease his wife, for goodness¡¯ sake.

    After securing the two criminals, Zhuxie Chixin asked, ¡°Where is Zu An?¡±

    ¡°He was captured by thedy saint of the Devil Sect and their Solitary Eight. He was in the inn of the nearby town earlier. Our earlier attempt to free him failed, so I do not know what the situation is like now,¡± Pei Mianman replied. To rescue Zu An, they had no choice but to rely on this group. If everything went smoothly, she would try to save Zu An during the chaoster.

    ¡°What about King Liang and Liu Yao?¡± Zhuxie Chixin asked.

    ¡°They were attacked by a rebel army led by Lu Sanyuan,¡± replied Sang Qien. ¡°They ordered the Embroidered Envoy to escape with Zu An and the other prisoners. I do not know where they are now.¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Hmph, just a bunch of ipetent fools.¡± Zhuxie Chixin snorted. He was clearly extremely unsatisfied with this development.

    The others were shocked. One was the emperor¡¯s uncle, while the other was the empress¡¯ uncle, yet he had dismissed them both so bluntly. It was clear just how much confidence he had in himself.

    Zhuxie Chixin hesitated after learning about what had gone down in the small town. Should he rush over, or should he try to make contact with King Liang and the other troops first?

    Those fellows from the Devil Sect had most likely already left. They would require more manpower for their search, so regrouping with King Liang was the safer option.

    Pei Mianman recognized why he was hesitating, so she suggested, ¡°It¡¯ll create too big of a disturbance if all of us showed up in town. We don¡¯t want to startle them. I¡¯ll head over to scout out the situation first.¡±

    Chu Chuyan chimed in as well. ¡°Indeed. How about I go with her first? That way, we¡¯ll be able to gather more intelligence.¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin nodded and said, ¡°Fine. Of course, if you free Zu An and flee on your own, the Chu n and Pei n will be charged with crimes. Don¡¯t say I didn¡¯t warn you both.¡±

    Chu Chuyan and Pei Mianman exchanged nces. They saw the worry in each other¡¯s eyes, but agreed anyway. ¡°Fine!¡±

    Together, the two of them made haste towards the small town. One was elegant and graceful, and the other possessed a fiery charm that was very rarely seen. They moved off together, their movements synchronized in a disy of perfection that left even the well-trained Bright Tiger Army and the Embroidered Envoy in a daze.

    Zhuxie Chixin snorted loudly to snap his subordinates out of their daze, and then said to Sang Hong and his daughter, ¡°Tell me everything that happened along the way, especially the details about how those embroidered envoys died.¡±

    ...

    Soon enough, night fell. In the heart of the small town, inside the Four Seas Inn, the Solitary Eight had purchased everything they needed for the journey. After dinner, they returned to their rooms to rest.

    Qiu Honglei went to Zu An¡¯s room. The other members of Solitary Eight were not disapproving, because they knew that she was going to try and fish out the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra from him.

    But they had also heard about the rumors that Zu An was a yboy. They were worried that this pervert would do something disrespectful to theirdy saint, so one of the Solitary Eight stood guard on the roof.

    Solitary Ice volunteered for this position. The previous fight against Zu An had left him with a sour taste in his mouth, and he questioned Qiu Honglei¡¯s attitude towards Zu An as well. There was no way he would allow the two of them to engage in anything suspicious.

    Hey down on the roof with his legs crossed, straining his ears to listen in on what was going on inside the room.

    Zu An said with an embarrassed smile when he saw Qiu Hongleie in, ¡°You guys really are enthusiastic about entertaining your guests. Not only did you guys treat me to food and entertainment earlier, you¡¯ve even sent yourdy saint to apany me for the night. Outstanding!¡±

    Solitary Ice gritted his teeth in anger.

    You have sessfully trolled Solitary Ice for 358 Rage points!

    Screw this guy! I¡¯m going to tell this to everyone who is pursuing ourdy saint once we return to the sect. They¡¯ll tear him apart once they find out how this man has harassed their goddess!

    Qiu Honglei rolled her eyes. ¡°I really don¡¯t know whether to praise you or scold you. How can you be so carefree as to joke around given the situation you¡¯re in right now?¡±

    What is with this guy? He was so serious earlier on when he was burying those deathsworn soldiers, yet now he¡¯s joking around again.

    ¡°You can choose to face each day with a smile, or live in grief every day. If that¡¯s the case, wouldn¡¯t it be better to choose to live each day joyfully?¡± Zu An shrugged his shoulders and replied nonchntly.

    A strange look appeared on Qiu Honglei¡¯s face. She sighed and said, ¡°You are the most optimistic person I have ever met.¡±

    Zu An felt a bit embarrassed. ¡°I¡¯m honestly not as great as you make me out to be. But you¡¯re protecting me, and you¡¯re thedy saint of your sect, which means you¡¯re ranked rather highly. Why would I be scared while under your protection?¡±

    Qiu Honglei shook her head. ¡°My status in the sect isn¡¯t as high as you think. This is still a world where strength is everything. I am still too young, and my cultivation is merely at the sixth rank. The sect has far too many powerful cultivators, and many of them do not even treat me as a big deal. The only reason they treat me with any respect is because of my rtionship with my master.

    ¡°That is why the only way you can secure your position in the sect is by offering your Phoenix Nirvana Sutra to my master.¡±

    Zu An snorted. ¡°If I hand it over, the only thing that is guaranteed is my quick death.¡±

    Qiu Honglei exined herself. ¡°I know what you are worried about, which is why I¡¯ve thought of a mutually beneficial way out for everyone concerned. It¡¯s this: you can be the master¡¯s disciple as well. That way, no one would dare to do anything, and no one will im that the sect master forcefully seized the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra from you either. You will be safe, and you¡¯ll have a new identity. Your advancement through the sect will be much faster as well.¡±

    Zu An knew that she was being genuine and sincere, given how detailed her n was. She wasn¡¯t like the others, who were buttering him up just so he would hand over the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra to them. However, even though he was moved, he still had no intentions of joining the Devil Sect. As such, he said with augh, ¡°Your sect master must be a pervert.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Qiu Honglei was stunned. ¡°Why would you suddenly say something like that?¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°Why else would he take such a gorgeous woman like you as his disciple?¡±

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s face turnedpletely red. ¡°What are you saying? My master is a woman!¡±

 Chapter 490: Surprise

    <h4>Chapter 490: Surprise</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    You have sessfully trolled Qiu Honglei for 233 Rage points!

    It was obvious that she respected her master greatly, and was upset with Zu An¡¯s crass depiction of her master.

    ¡°What? A woman?¡± Zu An immediately became much more interested.

    I¡¯m awake now!

    ¡°How old is your master? Is she pretty? Has she ever married before?...¡± Zu An bombarded her with an unending series of questions.

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s mouth fell open.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    She was both furious and humiliated. ¡°You! How dare you have such thoughts about my master?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Qiu Honglei for 100 Rage points!

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Zu An obviously wouldn¡¯t admit to it. ¡°Aren¡¯t you the one inviting me to join your sect, and yet you can¡¯t even tell me such basic information? How can your offer be considered sincere?¡±

    Qiu Honglei was just about to faint. This man kept running circles around her! However, his words made some sense as well. Zu An was going to learn about these things sooner orter anyway, so she might as well tell them to him first, as an expression of her sincerity. As such, she said, ¡°I don¡¯t know exactly how old my master is. From looks alone, she could be my older sister, but I¡¯m pretty sure she¡¯s much older.

    ¡°Master¡¯s appearance... Of course she¡¯s extremely beautiful, but not many people have seen her true appearance. Whether or not you will have that opportunity will depend on your luck.

    ¡°As for marriage, as far as I know, my master has never married before. She has always remained single. However, she seems to always be thinking about someone.¡±

    ...

    Zu An sighed after he heard her description. ¡°I suddenly have the urge to meet your master now, especially after hearing everything you said. Even so, your master is still a pervert.¡±

    Qiu Honglei frowned. ¡°Why would you say that again?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Qiu Honglei for 135 Rage points!

    Zu Anughed. ¡°Men aren''t the only ones who can be perverts. Why else would she take in a charming, handsome, confident man like me as her disciple?¡±

    Qiu Honglei was momentarily speechless.

    Meanwhile, on the roof, Solitary Ice sneered. Heh, I guess I was too worried. Given this brat¡¯s nature, he¡¯ll meet a tragic end even without me lifting a finger!

    Qiu Honglei quickly said, ¡°There¡¯s something I must warn you about. You absolutely cannot let your mouth run in front of my master. Master is extremely strict. She condemns those who vite the sect¡¯s rules to execution. If you offend her, I won¡¯t be able to save you.¡±

    Zu Anughed, not seeming to care one whit. He said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. She might be like that to others, but there¡¯s no way she¡¯ll treat me like that.¡±

    Qiu Honglei just stared.

    She didn¡¯t even know what to say anymore. Why did he seem in such great need of a good ass-whooping today?

    ¡°Oh, right. How are you rted to that Lu Sanyuan fellow? I thought that he was your sect master at first,¡± Zu An asked curiously.

    Qiu Honglei replied, ¡°He is the sect master¡¯s junior, as well as my martial uncle.¡±

    Solitary Ice shook his head. Thedy saint really was telling this man everything! Just what did this guy do to make her behave in this fashion?

    Hmph, women are all unreliable. They¡¯re usually so cool and elegant, but they go crazy the instant they meet a man they like.

    I¡¯m going to report this to the sect master once we get back for sure. This woman is going to be the end of us one day!

    He had to tell his brothers back at the sect to stop their bootlicking as well. The girl of your dreams already has a man. No matter how many more licks you give, you¡¯ll get absolutely nothing in return.

    The two inside continued to chat, oblivious to him and his thoughts.

    Zu An sighed. ¡°What is your sect really called? Why do the people of this world call your sect the Devil Sect? Do you guys have anything to do with the demon race?¡±

    He couldn¡¯t help but think of Yun Yuqing. If they were rted, then they might just all get along.

    Qiu Honglei shook her head. ¡°We have nothing to do with the demon race. We call ourselves the Holy Sect, but the people of this world do not understand our philosophy. They often use the name Devil Sect to nder us.¡±

    Zu An gave a surprised exmation. ¡°Then what is your philosophy?¡±

    Qiu Honglei exined, ¡°Throughout sessive generations, the imperial court has harbored the belief that cultivation is reserved for the rare few who have the talent for it. Once a person bes a cultivator, they canpletely alter their fate and enjoy the glory and splendor offered by the world. However, because the powerful noble ns usually inter-marry, their children will always have a higher chance of having a talent for cultivation. If this persists, the chances that anyone ofmon descent would develop a talent for cultivation will continue to dwindle...¡±

    ¡°The sect master believes that all humans are equal, and that cultivation shouldn¡¯t be something enjoyed by the select few¡ªrather, everyone should be granted that right. This is what she has continued to proim, and she has never stopped researching ways to allow ordinary people to cultivate. However, the mainstream practitioners within the world of cultivation refuse to ept this, so they view it as an evil and sphemous path.¡± As she spoke, Qiu Honglei grew more and more fired up, until she was filled with righteous indignation.

    Zu An clicked his tongue in amazement. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect your master to have such a wonderful belief.¡±

    Qiu Honglei was stunned. She didn¡¯t expect him to agree with these beliefs. She grabbed his hand joyfully. ¡°Is that really how you feel? You aren¡¯t saying it on purpose just to make me happy, are you?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s tone grew strange. ¡°It really is a noble way of thinking. Why would I lie about that?¡±

    ¡°My master will definitely like you!¡± Qiu Honglei was so happy that she began bouncing up and down like a little child.

    Zu An was stunned. He had never seen Qiu Honglei like this before. After all, she always walked around exuding a devastatingly beautiful aura, as though every single man was dancing within the palm of her hand.

    Only now did he really get the sense that she was just a young teenage woman.

    Qiu Honglei suddenly noticed his gaze. ¡°What are you looking at?¡± she said awkwardly, her face turning slightly red.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen you so happy before,¡± Zu An said with a sigh.

    ¡°But of course! It¡¯s rare to meet someone who can sympathize with our beliefs! In the past, everyone immediately avoided us after hearing what we had to say. Even if they did say something positive, it was usually because of my appearance, and they would usually say these things just to please me.¡± A field of stars seemed to dance within Qiu Honglei¡¯s eyes, flickering with a beautiful radiance.

    ¡°Don¡¯t count your chickens before they hatch,¡± Zu An said, dousing her enthusiasm. ¡°Even though this is a noble ideal, you¡¯re going against themon belief. There¡¯s no way this can end well.¡±

    After all, they were just kidding themselves. Why did all those cultivators work so hard? It was clearly in pursuit of glory and splendor, power and authority! How could they possibly allow anyone in the world to cultivate?

    Leaving aside the major ns for a moment, not even ordinary cultivators would agree to such a view. They work so hard to turn their lives around through cultivation, and just as they are about to form their own distinguished n, you turn around and announce that everyone in the world can cultivate now? It¡¯ll feel like a p to the face!

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s smile slowly faded. ¡°I know how difficult this is as well. However, even with that knowledge, we will still forge a path forward. That is the depth of our conviction.¡±

    Her eyes sparkled, and Zu An couldn¡¯t help but feel a great sense of admiration.

    Meanwhile, on the rooftop, Solitary Ice sneered. Which one of those who joined their Holy Sect wasn¡¯t full of such idealistic thoughts in the beginning? Unfortunately, ideals alone were worthless. It wasmon knowledge that the most glorious path in this world was to increase one¡¯s one strength, grow rich and enjoy life¡¯s pleasures! As for the rest of it, that was for the sect master to worry about.

    Ourdy saint seems to be quite an intelligent person, so why does she sound like she¡¯s being serious?

    Could it be that girls withrge chests are all...

    A snow-white horsetail whisk suddenly wrapped around his neck. He was given a sudden fright, and instinctively tried to resist, but the horsetail seemed somehow alive. It sank its strands into his neck, and the blood within his body was quickly siphoned away through these very strands.

    The snow-white whisk became bright red. Solitary Ice struggled frantically, but his body swiftly grew weaker. He didn¡¯t even have the strength to sound an rm, let alone put up a struggle.

    He saw the flesh on his arm wither away at a visible rate, until only ayer of skin left.

    A sudden horror crept into his soul, but his consciousness had already sunk into darkness.

    A brief momentter, a seductive daoist nun appeared on the roof. She put away the horsetail whisk. The color gradually drained out of the whisk, entering her body through the handle.

    ¡°The taste of blood is truly scrumptious.¡± The daoist nun had an intoxicated look on her face. She looked downwards, a dangerous glint flickering within her eyes. ¡°It seems like I¡¯ve caught a big fish this time.¡±

 Chapter 491: Mosquito Daoist

    Chapter 491: Mosquito Daoist

    Given his cultivation, Solitary Ice wouldn¡¯t have been killed in just a few short seconds if he¡¯d faced off against her directly, even if he was no match for her. If he¡¯d activated his ice ki armor, it would have taken the daoist nun a significant amount of effort to break through it.

    Unfortunately, most of his attention had been focused on eavesdropping on the conversation happening below him. He was also too overconfident, believing that his senses were so keen that not even the sound of the wind blowing through the grass could escape his detection.

    He had no idea that a powerful enemy had already crept up on him silently, and he wasn¡¯t even granted the slightest opportunity to fight back.

    Even in the jungle, when two evenly-matched vicious beasts fought, the one who was caught off-guard would be killed immediately. Who cared whether or not his cultivation was equal to the daoist nun¡¯s?

    Below them, Qiu Honglei lifted her head in confusion. ¡°Solitary Ice, did something happen?¡±

    Even though Solitary Ice didn¡¯t manage to put up any sort of meaningful resistance, his feeble struggle still produced some small bit of sound. Qiu Honglei was also a cultivator, and this sudden disturbance didn¡¯t escape her ears.

    Of course, she didn¡¯t think too much of it either, but posed this question casually. After all, it was hard to imagine that one of the glorious Solitary Eight of the Devil Sect could be quietly assassinated.

    Strangely, there was no reply at all. Qiu Honglei turned to the window in confusion, and called out again. ¡°Solitary Ice?¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The window was suddenly smashed open, and a sh of apricot yellow burst in. A pair of fair-skinned palms flew towards her chest with great force.

    Qiu Honglei had no time to think. She raised her own palm in front of herself to ward off the blow. The two of them shed, and she felt as if she had been struck by lightning. Blood sprayed out from her mouth, and her aura immediately weakened considerably.

    The attacker was, of course, the daoist nun. She gave a grunt of surprise. ¡°As expected, thedy saint of the Devil Sect has some skill!¡±

    Even though her tone was full of praise, she didn¡¯t stop her assault, but continued to target Qiu Honglei¡¯s vitals.

    It was already a miracle that she had managed to block one attack while caught off-guard. There was almost no chance for her to escape the next blow.

    A hint of despair shed across Qiu Honglei¡¯s eyes when she saw those vicious white handsing towards her. Her internal ki had been thrown into an absolute mess by the previous strike. Given her cultivation, she be able to recover within three breaths, but her opponent obviously wasn¡¯t going to give her the chance.

    Another person suddenly appeared in front of her, and a warm arm wrapped around her. ¡°We have to go!¡±

    Zu An used his Grandgale skill at the crucial moment and rescued her from the deadly situation.

    The daoist nun¡¯s palm strike lost its intended target, and mmed into the pir behind the spot where Qiu Honglei had originally been standing.

    There was no earth-shaking noise. In fact, there was absolutely no sound at all, which was a surprise, given the aggressive momentum of her palm. It seemed an utter contradiction.

    When she retracted her palm, however, the massive pir instantly copsed. It didn¡¯t break into pieces, but turned into powder instead, scattering across the floor.

    Both Zu An and Qiu Honglei grew pale at the sight of this. Surely they would have been reduced to a puddle of blood if they had been struck by that blow!

    The two of them finally had a chance to see their attacker. She was a daoist nun dressed in apricot-yellow robes, and holding a horsetail whisk in her hand. She seemed rather ordinary, but gave off a strangely flirtatious aura.

    Zu An was stunned when he saw her attire. ¡°Li Mochou?¡±[1]

    Her dressing and general demeanor was just too simr to Li Mochou! However, her beauty was still rather inferior.

    ¡°Hm?¡± That daoist nun didn¡¯t press the attack, and looked at Zu An in surprise. ¡°What was that that you just used? Why is it so fast?¡±

    Zu An snorted. ¡°Why should I tell you? Why don¡¯t you tell me about your palm strike first?¡±

    The daoist nun sneered. ¡°Damned brat, you¡¯re courting death!¡±

    A palm flew towards them at once. It moved extremely quickly, and almost reached them in an instant.

    Zu An cried out in rm. He quickly used his Sunflower Phantasm to split into three copies which took off in different directions.

    The daoist nun struck one of the afterimages, and her eyes widened further in greater shock. ¡°This movement technique¡­!¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t dare act carelessly. Carrying Qiu Honglei in his arms, he tried to burst through the doorway.

    Of course, the daoist nun had no intention of letting him do as he pleased. With a flick of her horsetail whisk, the strands, which were several feet long, instantly stretched out to be tens of feet long, blocking his path to the door.

    Startled by this sudden development, Zu An changed directions at once.

    However, the strands of white horsehair seemed to be alive. They curled and began to wrap around the two of them like snakes.

    Out of the corner of his eyes, Zu An noticed a stray strand brush across a wooden bench. Immediately, the sturdy bench split in two, and the looked extremely smooth. It was as though it had been sliced through by aser beam. There was no way he could let those strands touch him.

    He used his Sunflower Phantasm to continuously evade the attacking strands. However, the white strands of horsehair seemed to be never-ending. They continued to grow and extend, eventually criss-crossing the entire room like a spider¡¯s web. The safe spaces through which he could move grew ever smaller.

    A cruel smile appeared on that daoist nun¡¯s face, like a cat who had finally cornered a mouse. ¡°Kid, you really are quite the surprise. Your cultivation is rather average, yet your movement technique far surpasses that of many master rank cultivators. I¡¯m growing more and more interested in you.¡±

    ¡°Why are you being so ruthless if you¡¯re interested in me?¡± Sweat began to pour from his temples. White strands of horsehair streaked across the entire room. He knew that he was going to be captured in less than half a minute.

    That daoist nun beamed and said, ¡°It is precisely because I¡¯m interested in you that I¡¯m taking my time capturing you. I adore young and healthy men like you.¡±

    A chill ran down Zu An¡¯s spine. ¡°Sorry, I don¡¯t have any interest in old hags like you!¡± he yelled.

    ¡°What did you say?!¡± That daoist nun erupted in fury. She let out a scream, and the threads of her whisk began to move even more aggressively.

    You have sessfully trolled Mosquito Daoist for 678 Rage points!

    ¡°Mosquito daoist?¡± Zu An was startled when he saw the notification for the Rage points. He had been sure that she was a spider type.

    Unfortunately, the price of angering her was great. The violent strands had blocked off all paths of escape. He could only look on as those threads closed in on him.

    Qiu Honglei suddenly brought out antern, and pale yellow light began to spill out of it. The iing strands seemed to have been frozen in ce.

    Even though Zu An had dodged all around the room earlier, he had moved extremely quickly. In reality, not much time had actually passed. Qiu Honglei had finally sorted out her chaotic ki.

    ¡°What? The Empress Lantern!¡± The mosquito daoist stared at thentern in her hands, her eyes lighting up with greed.

    Qiu Honglei was sweating profusely. ¡°We need to go now! I can¡¯t hold her back much longer!¡±

    Zu An hurtled around the room with her in his arms, feeling rather indignant. I want to flee as well, but this room is like a bloody spider¡¯s cave right now. How the heck are we supposed to escape?

    The mosquito daoist giggled. ¡°Your cultivation is too low, so you cannot utilize thentern¡¯s full power. I¡¯ll recover soon. When that happens, thisntern will also be mine.¡±

    She didn¡¯t expect her luck to be so good. Earlier in the day, she had run into an ignorant fool outside. Even though he had been rather dumb, he was young and his cultivation was pretty high, which meant he tasted fabulous. The one on the roof had been a little older, which meant that he tasted slightly worse, but his cultivation had been even higher.

    Her n was to kill thedy saint of the Devil Sect, then slowly torture the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra out of Zu An. She never expected to find the Empress Lantern here! Even though it wasn¡¯t as powerful as she remembered, this was probably because Qiu Honglei¡¯s cultivation was too low.

    She cackled with glee as she counted out her spoils for the day. I had to keep a low profile all this while because of my reputation, but once I cultivate the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra and obtain the Empress Lantern, who else will be able to do anything to me?

    1. Li Mochou is a character from Jin Yong¡¯s The Return of the Condor Heroes. She is a vicious killer who wields a horsetail whisk.

 Chapter 492: Are You All Blind?

    Chapter 492: Are You All Blind?

    ¡°Don¡¯t be scared, I¡¯ll make sure you die a painless death. I like the blood of healthy, strong men the most, but you¡¯re such a pretty young woman, and even I can¡¯t resist having a taste! I¡¯ll have to remove your skin as well. You have such perfect skin and a gorgeous face, so it¡¯s a huge waste to turn you into a dried corpse! Hehehe¡­¡± THe mosquito daoist licked her red lips and cackled in a terrifying manner.

    Qiu Honglei was thedy saint of the Devil Sect, and had seen all kinds of brutality before.

    However, this woman in front of her was just too weird. If she let this nun kill her, she would be yed, and would not be able to rest in peace! She shuddered in fear.

    Zu An also felt a chill run through him as well. This¡­ thing¡­ was named Mosquito Daoist and not Daoist Wen.[1] Was she some sort of mosquito monster?

    Mosquitoes drink blood! Wouldn¡¯t a mosquito of this size easily suck us dry?

    The effects of Qiu Honglei¡¯sntern grew weaker and weaker, and the daoist nun began to inch towards them. The two of them were horrified. In the face of such absolute strength, they were, for the moment, out of ideas.

    Zu An¡¯s gaze swept across an oilmp on a side table. He picked it up and poured the oil onto those threads, then threw thentern at those threads.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    With a loud boom, the threads burst into me, the tongues of fire shooting quickly along the threads. The mosquito daoist let out a terrified cry and frantically retracted her horsetail whisk. Under normal circumstances, not even the mes of fire element cultivators could reach her agile whisk. Unfortunately, she was still under the effects of the pale yellow light, and her movements were sluggish, which was why it burned so badly.

    Zu An used this chance to crash through the door beside him.

    ¡°What happened?¡± The activity had finally rmed the other members of the Solitary Eight, and they rushed over, drawn by the noise.

    Fury consumed them when they saw Qiu Honglei lying in Zu An¡¯s embrace, offering no resistance.

    ¡°Damned brat, where do you think you¡¯re going?!¡±

    ¡°Release ourdy saint at once!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled the Solitary Eight for 555¡­ 555¡­ 555¡­

    Seeing them rushing at him, Zu An was both panicked and furious. ¡°Are you all fucking blind? Can¡¯t you see what is going on?!¡±

    All of them were stunned. They had never seen a criminal go so off-script before. They were just about to move against him when a daoist rushed out from inside the room.

    A number of holes had been burned into the mosquito daoist¡¯s horsetail whisk, and the white threads had been charred ck.A burnt smell wafted through the air.

    Even her apricot-yellow daoist robes bore traces of fire damage,rge holes exposing the skin underneath and drawing the eyes of all the men. Even though this woman wasn¡¯t as pretty as theirdy saint, her body still held some unique charm of its own.

    The mosquito daoist had leapt out in pursuit of Zu An and Qiu Honglei, but she frowned when she saw how many others were also present. For the moment, it seemed better not to act rashly.

    Zu An and Qiu Honglei faced off against her, but were afraid of provoking her further. A strange state of silence fell across the scene.

    At that moment, something ck and charred rolled down from the roof andnded with a thump. All of them jumped in fright.

    Solitary Wind, who was closest to the object, gave it a look. ¡°Why is there a dried-up corpse here? Hm? His clothes look a bit familiar¡­¡±

    A scream quickly followed. ¡°It¡¯s¡­ it¡¯s Solitary Ice!¡±

    Even though it was a desated corpse, she could still vaguely tell who he was, given the clothes and general appearance.

    The others were all shaken. Qiu Honglei immediately cried out, ¡°She¡¯s the killer!¡±

    She finally realized why Solitary Ice hadn¡¯t answered her when she called out earlier, and why Solitary Ice hadn¡¯t entered to help even when the fight broke out inside. After all, he was the one who was in charge of keeping watch on the roof.

    Zu An nced at the mummified remains and swallowed hard. He had expected that, since she was a mosquito monster, she would drain blood, and consume much more than an ordinary mosquito. However, he never expected that she would consume so much that even someone like Solitary Ice would be instantly turned into a withered husk.

    While they were still processing the shock from Solitary Ice¡¯s tragic death, The mosquito daoist suddenly moved. The horsetail whisk in her hands flicked out at Solitary Fire, who was closest to her.

    Solitary Fire couldn¡¯t produce his ki armor in time. The impact caused a fountain of blood to spray out of his mouth as he was sent flying, crashing into a nearby house.

    The mosquito daoist clearly did not appreciate being burned. She had chosen to deal with Solitary Fire first, in order to avoid history repeating itself.

    She flickered, and instantly appeared next to Solitary Water.

    Even though the water element wasparatively weaker in terms of offense, it was strong in providing healing. If he wasn¡¯t dealt with first, it could turn into a long-drawn battle.

    The mosquito daoist was an experienced fighter, and she knew about this as well. That was why Solitary Water was the second target after Solitary Fire.

    Solitary Water was an old man who had lived a long life, and he was brimming with experience as well. He quickly summoned his ki armor when he sensed that something was off. A transparent sphere of light materialized around him as he thrust out the staff in his hands.

    There was no time to use any elemental skills¡ªhe could only use a physical attack to try to stall his opponent. As long as he could stall her, just for a short while, hispanions could bail him out.

    But his opponent¡¯s body suddenly wavered, causing his staff to pass through empty air.

    In a sh, the mosquito daoist was already next to him. Her red lips curled upwards in a sneer. She raised a white hand and gently tapped his water element barrier.

    Solitary Water was unperturbed. Your element does not counter mine! Do you think it¡¯s that easy to break through my ki armor?

    But hisposed expression suddenly stiffened. Cracks began to form on his transparent barrier, spreading out from where she had gently tapped against it. Her hand formed a fist, and she struck his barrier again.

    This time, his barrier could no longer hold, and shattered. Barely slowing down, her fist continued forward and mmed into his chest.

    Solitary Water screamed miserably as his body was blown backwards, sending him crashing into a pile of straw. Fortunately, his barrier had absorbed a portion of the power of her blow, or he might have been in on the spot.

    Even so, he was seriously injured, and was effectively out of the fight for some time.

    The Devil Sect¡¯s Solitary Eight were all experienced fighters. They quickly snapped out of their initial shock.

    They summoned their respective ki armors. By the time their opponent attacked Solitary Water, they had already prepared counterattacks, using their respective skills.

    An expanse of thistles and thorns suddenly materialized under the mosquito daoist¡¯s feet the moment she smashed through Solitary Water¡¯s ki armor. Solitary Wood was attempting to restrain her.

    The mosquito daoist tapped her feet against the ground and leapt into the sky. However, the sinister nts seemed like living animals. They stretched upwards like a, and a host of green vines wrapped themselves around her legs.

    Her expression became cold. Sheshed out with her horsetail whisk. The soft strands of hair seemed to have turned into incredibly sharp saws. They tangled around the sinister vines. With a twist, they chopped through the thick vines, sending green juices sttering everywhere and filling the air with a strong smell of vegetation.

    Countless streaks of golden light were alreadyncing in her direction. This was Solitary Metal¡¯s special weapon. His grasp of timing was perfect, using the exact moment that she had been distracted by hispanions to cut off her retreat.

    He wasn¡¯t holding back this time, not like before, when he fought against Zu An. Every single abacus bead contained enough power to smash arge boulder to pieces.

    He shared a good rtionship with Solitary Ice, and was filled with a murderous hate when he saw how tragically he had died. In his eyes, there was no room for mercy.

    Seeing that she couldn¡¯t dodge this attack, Mosquito Daoist gave an angry huff. Her body trembled, transforming into a cloud of mosquitoes.

    The numerous abacus beads were now outnumbered by these mosquitoes.

    Solitary Metal now fully understood the feeling of trying to use cannon fire to hit a mosquito. Those mosquitoes could change their formation at will. His full-powered attack flew through empty air!

    ¡°A mosquito daoist! She¡¯s a mosquito daoist from the blood race!¡± A terrified voice rang out.

    The Devil Sect¡¯s Solitary Eight were all experienced wayfarers when it came to the world of blood and violence, and one of them had swiftly recognized what she was.

    1. Wen (ÎÄ) is amon character in Chinese names, and the character for mosquito (ÎÃ) is also pronounced as Wen.

 Chapter 493: Right at the Edge

    <h4>Chapter 493: Right at the Edge</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    A sudden silence descended upon the battlefield. The Devil Sect fighters had approached the battle in an extremely arrogant manner, but now, their eyes were filled with fear.

    The ck swarm of mosquitoes merged together, coalescing into the mosquito daoist again. She held the horsetail whisk in one hand, while the other hand was behind her back. She held herself up proudly and said, ¡°Since all of you know who I am, why don¡¯t you back down quietly?¡±

    She could tell from the earlier exchanges that these people possessed a decent amount of strength. Even though she didn¡¯t fear them, dealing with them all would cost her a considerable amount of effort. Her main goal was to obtain Zu An¡¯s Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, but now, she didn¡¯t want to miss out on that pretty girl¡¯s Empress Lantern either.

    When he saw how the insufferably arrogant Solitary Eight had suddenly grown timid, Zu An immediately asked the beautiful woman in his arms, ¡°What exactly is going on? Is this person extremely famous?¡±

    Even though he knew from the start that this person was called Mosquito Daoist, he had never heard of such a name before.

    Qiu Honglei blushed. ¡°Can you let me down first? How much longer are you going to hold me like this?¡±

    Only now did Zu An react. Heughed in embarrassment and said, ¡°You were hurt pretty bad earlier, and I thought that you had yet to recover.¡±

    He let her down as he spoke. He hadn¡¯t realized it earlier while facing the threat of death, but her body really was incredibly supple, and she gave off a fragrance that made his inner beast go crazy.

    Even after he let her down, he could still sense the lingering fragrance on his fingertips.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°I¡¯m already almost fully recovered.¡± Qiu Honglei awkwardly tucked a few scattered strands of hair behind her ears. Her beautiful face seemed to have acquired a rosyplexion, perhaps as a result of the light emitted by the fire in the room nearby. She looked absolutely stunning. ¡°Thank you for saving me earlier.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression was colored with disappointment. ¡°Is that it? Just a ¡®thank you¡¯? Where¡¯s the sincerity in that? Shouldn¡¯t you be devoting everything to the one who saved your life?¡±

    ¡°Hmph! Shameless!¡± Qiu Honglei was clearly already used to his manner of speaking, so she didn¡¯t get angry. She quickly exined the situation. ¡°Mosquito Daoist is a powerful expert of the blood race who excels in drawing out and consuming her target¡¯s blood essence. Many powerful individuals from various different ns have all fallen prey to her in the past. I never expected her to appear here.¡±¡¯

    ¡°The blood race?¡± Zu An remembered Sang Liuyu¡¯s lessons in the academy regarding this race of people. He really couldn¡¯t figure out how such arge living being could have evolved from mosquitoes.

    He had loathed mosquitoes in his previous world. Now, he had the pleasure of running into an intelligent mosquito monster.

    Solitary Metal spoke up, his voice dark and thunderous. ¡°Our Holy Sect and your blood race have never crossed paths before. Why did you kill our men?¡±

    Mosquito Daoist covered her mouth with her hand, her body shaking withughter. ¡°You must be joking! I¡¯ve always done whatever I wished, and killed whoever I wished to kill. Why do I need to exin anything to you all? Get out of my sight, if you know what¡¯s best for you. If not, then I don¡¯t mind sucking a few more people dry.¡±

    The remaining members of the Solitary Eight instinctively took a step back when they heard her words, clearly frightened by her vicious reputation. They had witnessed how easily she had taken out Solitary Fire, crushed Solitary Water¡¯s ki armor, and neutralized their attacks, and concluded that her cultivation was at least at the master rank. Having now discovered who she was, and knowing the various rumors about her, they became even more fearful.

    Qiu Honglei spoke up at this time. ¡°Aren¡¯t you just after the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra? Our sect master has demanded that it be brought back to the sect, so there is no way we will hand it over to you.¡±

    She said these things mainly to strengthen the waning spirits of the Solitary Eight, and remind them that this was their sworn duty.

    The members of the Solitary Eight were startled. Only now did they truly remember that they had dedicated their lives to this mission. It was one thing to be defeated by a stronger opponent, but if they lost Zu An because they surrendered in a cowardly manner, then only cruelty and torture awaited them back in the sect.

    Qiu Honglei continued on. ¡°In any case, I don¡¯t believe that you really can do whatever you want. Otherwise, you wouldn¡¯t have been constantly pursued and forced to remain low-profile for so many years.¡±

    Zu An was rather amazed. She fully deserved her reputation as the Immortal Abode¡¯s courtesan queen, which she had held for so many days. She managed topletely transform the mood and boost the confidence of her allies with just a few words... She¡¯s almost as good as I am!

    The mosquito daoist was furious. ¡°You annoying bitch, I detested you from the moment I first set my eyes on you. Die!¡±

    As soon as the words left her mouth, sheunched herself at Qiu Honglei, intent on killing her.

    The remaining members of the Solitary Eight were fully prepared. With a flick of her fan, Solitary Wind sent out a gust of wind, pushing Qiu Honglei and Zu An away. Several tornadoes quickly surrounded their attacker.

    Mosquito Daoist narrowed her eyes. She brandished the horsetail whisk and swung it about a few times to forcibly destroy those tornadoes. However, Solitary Wind¡¯s attack still managed to shave off a portion of her momentum.

    With a roar, Solitary Lightning smashed her massive hammer down on her. Lightning swirled around the hammer, and it was easy to imagine just how much power was contained in this savage blow.

    Not even Mosquito Daoist dared to face such a ferocious attack directly. With a snap of her wrist, the horsetail whisk wrapped around the shaft of Solitary Lightning¡¯s hammer, using a firm, flexible force of her own to deflect the power of the blow to the side.

    Solitary Lightning felt a strange force run up the length of the shaft. She lost control of the direction of the hammer, and could only send it flying into the inn next to her.

    With a loud boom, the inn came crashing down, throwing out smoke and dust in all directions. Almost half of the entire inn had copsed instantly, and streaks of lightning continued to flicker about the ruins.

    Zu An even saw some chickens fly out from the kitchen. Unfortunately for them, they were caught by the crackling lighting and instantly roasted.

    He gulped. This woman is truly a T-Rex! That was some serious power... What a pity it didn¡¯t hit Mosquito Daoist.

    Mosquito Daoist continued her charge. However, a tall and sturdy figure leapt to block her path. ¡°You¡¯re courting death!¡±

    Mosquito Daoist smiled in a sinister fashion. In that instant, her grin seemed to stretch all the way to her ears. The strands of the horsetail whisk in her hands spread out and stabbed towards him like steel needles.

    The threads of this horsetail whisk had been carefully crafted from her own mouthparts over these past few years. They were both flexible and incredibly strong, and could suck the blood out of whatever they pierced. Even an elephant would be sucked dry in a few short breaths, as long as they prated it¡¯s body, let alone a single human male.

    It was truly a pity that a third of it had been burned up by Zu An¡¯s oilmp. Just thinking about it made her burn with grief and fury. It had been a difficult task to refine every single strand from her mouthparts!

    You have sessfully trolled Mosquito Daoist for 731 Rage points!

    ¡°Be careful!¡± Zu An quickly shouted a warning to Solitary Earth. This Mosquito Daoist definitely loathes me... she didn¡¯t forget to contribute some Rage points to me even while she¡¯s fighting someone else! If I fall into her hands, I¡¯m done for.

    Solitary Earth let out a roar. A massive shield as tall as himself suddenly appeared in front of him. The countless needle-like strands crashed into it.

    Mosquito Daoist was unimpressed at first when he created the shield. After all, her horsetail whisk could split boulders, and it wasn¡¯t all that difficult for it to pierce metal and jade either. What use was a shoddy shield like this?

    However, the next moment, her eyes grew wide. Her horsetail whisk was actually unable to pierce through this massive shield!

    ¡°An earth element cultivator?¡± She quickly realized what was going on. This shield was rather extraordinary, and together with the protection that the earth offered, it indeed became quite difficult to break through.

    She reacted quickly as well. With a flick of her hand, the horsetail whisk went around the shield, striking at her opponent from three different angles¡ªfrom the left, the right, and up above.

    Solitary Earth was already prepared. He reached out his hand and pressed against the ground. The ground suddenly swelled, and several massive figures crawled out through the surface.

    ¡°Gargoyles?¡± Zu An¡¯s eyes went round. The things that had just crawled out from underground looked simr to the gargoyles featured in the movies from his previous world, yet there was something slightly different about them, although he couldn¡¯t put his finger on exactly what it was. It seemed to him like these gargoylescked the cold and eerie aura of the gargoyles he remembered.

    Those gargoyles surrounded Solitary Earth, blocking the attacking strands from the horsetail whisk.

    Mosquito Daoist chuckled. With a flick of her wrist, the strands fanned out, slicing through the gargoyles in an instant.

    However, her smile quickly froze, because the gargoyles didn¡¯t seem to care that they had been cut apart at all. The cuts quickly closed, and then the gargoyles charged towards her from all directions.

 Chapter 494: A Strange Excitement

    <h4>Chapter 494: A Strange Excitement</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Despite their clumsy appearance, the gargoyles were actually quite agile. They closed the distance in the blink of an eye, reaching out their ws to grab Mosquito Daoist.

    Mosquito Daoist struck out with her palm, instantly smashing a gargoyle¡¯s arm to pieces, although the counterforce caused her body to tremble as well.

    She knew that facing off against these giant statues wasn¡¯t a sensible choice. After all, her opponent could continue to make more of them.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    With a wave of her hand, her daoist robes fluttered about her, and she nted her feet firmly on the ground.

    Solitary Earth was overjoyed. It seemed that this Mosquito Daoist, despite being known for her vicious reputation, wasn¡¯t all that impressive after all. He ordered the gargoyles to surround her.

    The gargoyles grabbed a hold of Mosquito Daoist¡¯s arms and legs, then pulled with all their strength.

    Mosquito Daoist¡¯s frail-looking body was instantly ripped to pieces.

    Everyone on the battlefield was stunned, and even Solitary Earth was stupefied. He hadn¡¯t expected that the renowned Mosquito Daoist would be killed so easily.

    Was this a clone?

    Suddenly, the mutted corpse of the mosquito daoist transformed into a swarm of ck mosquitoes, which then flew around the gargoyles.

    ¡°Be careful!¡± Cries of rm sounded from Solitary Earth¡¯spanions.

    Solitary Earth knew that the situation was dire. He quickly dodged to the side, but Mosquito Daoist just happened to be right there. A fair-skinned hand struck him silently.

    His ki armor only managed tost a few short seconds before shattering.

    The fair, white hand drove straight in and mmed against his right side.

    Solitary Earth felt as if he had been struck by lightning. His body was flung backwards like a leaky sandbag. More than half of his ribs had been broken, and he suffered severe internal injuries as well. His ki was thrown into an absolute mess. There was no way he could fight again.

    Mosquito Daoist seemed surprised. ¡°The bodies of earth element cultivators are pretty tough after all.¡±

    She was clearly surprised that Solitary Earth had only been seriously injured, and hadn¡¯t been killed straight away.

    The rest of them finally realized what had just happened. Mosquito Daoist had used mosquitoes to create a clone, baiting in those gargoyles. Meanwhile, her real body had crept up to Solitary Earth¡¯s side in order to ambush him.

    This woman was just too cunning, and it seemed almost impossible to bepletely prepared for her attacks.

    No one else wanted to give her another opportunity to try something. They converged on her at once. Solitary Wood spread his hands out, and green leaves showered down on Mosquito Daoist like a rain of arrows.

    With a snort, Mosquito Daoist flung her the wide sleeves of her daoist robe outwards, sucking in all the green leaves flying towards her. Then, she leapt viciously towards Solitary Wood.

    She was just too fast for him. There was no way Solitary Wood could evade in time.

    Mosquito Daoist¡¯s fingers suddenly lengthened and became incredibly sharp. They stabbed straight into his chest, and she seemed about to rip his heart out. Suddenly, she frowned.

    Solitary Wood had turned into a block of wood. Meanwhile, his actual body had already retreated a fair distance away. His face, which had previously given off a faint green glow, was now incredibly pale. Thatst blow had definitely terrified him.

    ¡°Wood Illusion Technique?¡± Mosquito Daoist had a wealth of experience and knowledge, and she quickly put together what had just happened.

    At that instant, Solitary Wind¡¯s attack arrived. A myriad of wind des swept over, each de more than ten meters in length, flying towards their target with incredible, terrifying power.

    Mosquito Daoist didn¡¯t face it head on, instead turning into a swarm of ck mosquitoes to evade this attack. The des were toorge, which made it hard for them to harm those small mosquitoes.

    ¡°I¡¯ve made you wait for quite a while!¡± Solitary Lightning suddenly charged out of the ruins of the inn, flinging her hammer into the air. It fired off countless streaks of radiant lightning, trapping the fleeing mosquitoes in an electric field.

    ¡°Ah!!¡± Mosquito Daoist screamed bitterly.

    She could evade most physical attacks by changing into mosquito form. Even if she encountered a stronger opponent, she could live to fight another day as long as a single mosquito escaped.

    However, an electrical field such as this one was her natural counter! Electricity arced through the sky, scorching the mosquitoes no matter how many there were.

    A burnt smell spread through the air. Arge amount of the mosquitoes had been electrocuted by the arcing lightning. Zu An swallowed as he took in this scene. Why does this remind me of those UV mosquito-killingmps?

    Mosquito Daoist no longer dared to remain in her mosquito form, and quickly reverted to her daoist nun form.

    However, she had lost her previous confident and domineering stance. Her face was covered in a patchwork of ck charring. Arge amount of her hair had been scorched away or turned into a frizzy mass, and her clothing was even more tattered than before.

    ¡°You muscle-bound hag, I¡¯m going to kill you!¡± Mosquito Daoist stared balefully at Solitary Lightning. It had been a long while since she had been made to suffer like this.

    Solitary Lightning was furious when she heard her enemy address her in this manner. Her appearance was the one thing she was most sensitive about. She cursed out loud. ¡°I¡¯m going to st you to death with my lightning!¡±

    The hammer, which was still in midair, began to rotate more quickly, and thicker streaks of lighting began to arc towards Mosquito Daoist.

    Mosquito Daoist spread out her arms, her loose daoist robes fluttering about behind her. She took a deep breath and opened her mouth wide, sending out a st of energy that created visible ripples in the air in front of her.

    The thick streak of lightning arcing towards her from above was deflected by this invisible ripple, and the air was filled with an unbearably loud buzzing sound.

    This was a sound that everyone was familiar with; the sound mosquitoes made during the summer. However, it was now amplified many, many times.

    All those present clutched their ears in pain. Several of them even fell to the ground and began to roll around in pain.

    Zu An found it the hardest to endure. After all, his cultivation was the lowest out of them all, and it was extremely hard for him to protect himself against this sort of sound wave attack.

    Qiu Honglei noticed this, and grabbed his hand. She transmitted a gentle aura through her hand to help strengthen his defenses against this tortuous sound.

    However, she wasn¡¯t all that better off herself. Her beautiful brows were knotted together tightly, and her exquisite face was twisted in pain.

    Mosquito Daoist smiled when she saw the pained expressions of all those around her. She began to walk towards Zu An and Qiu Honglei. She hadn¡¯t used this move at the start because this technique was quite exhausting to use, and she couldn¡¯t use it carelessly. In addition to that, the technique also easily alerted distant enemies.

    She had grown ustomed to keeping a low profile these years, hiding in the shadows and ambushing her targets. She did her best not to alert others of her existence, knowing that it could spell disaster if she ended up provoking a truly formidable figure.

    However, she couldn¡¯t be bothered with all of that now. Even though these people from the Devil Sect weren¡¯t particrly strong individually, they all had unique skills, and it was rather tricky for her to deal with all of them. She did not want the battle to drag on any further, just in case they brought out more tricks. Better to seize the two of them now, and leave this ce quickly.

    Mosquito Daoist drew closer, a malevolent smile on her face. Zu An knew that he couldn¡¯t let things continue on this way. He knew that, if he fell into the hands of other powers, he would still have a chance of escaping. However, if this woman captured him, it wouldn¡¯t be too long before he was turned into a desated corpse.

    Was there anything he could do?

    He scanned his surroundings, seeing the Solitary Eight clutching their ears in pain, and was struck by a sudden thought. ¡°Whatcha lookin¡¯ at?¡±

    Mosquito Daoist was stunned, and she felt a mysterious, subconscious urge to reply. ¡°I¡¯m looking at you, shithead!¡±

    As she replied, her sound wave attack was naturally interrupted, releasing the rest of them from their torment.

    Mosquito Daoist frowned. She couldn¡¯t understand why she would reply to such a question. However, dealing with these people was still her top priority. As such, she opened her mouth, preparing to use the same skill again. However, the instant she released her sound waves, the voice sounded again.

    ¡°Whatcha lookin¡¯ at?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m looking at you, shithead!¡± Mosquito Daoist replied again.

    You have sessfully trolled Mosquito Daoist for 444 Rage points!

    She was struckpletely dumb. Once might have been a coincidence, but two times?

    She suddenly looked over at Zu An. ¡°Are you from the dragon race?¡±

    She knew of the power of the dragon race¡¯s Soulspeak ability.

    ¡°Now that you know, why don¡¯t you just back down quietly!¡± Bracing himself, Zu An stuck out his chest. He was going to bluff his way through this situation by banking on the formidable reputation of the dragon race.

    Thest thing he expected was for Mosquito Daoist¡¯s eyes to light up in sudden excitement. ¡°I¡¯ve never had a chance to feast on a dragon¡¯s blood essence. I¡¯ve really stumbled upon a delicacy today!¡± With that, she pounced at him.

 Chapter 495: Raging Jealousy

    <h4>Chapter 495: Raging Jealousy</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Seeing her throw herself at him so excitedly left Zu An at a loss for words. Are dragons in this world really considered that weak? If she wasn¡¯t scared off when I invoked their title then fine, but why did she have to get more excited...?

    He grew suspicious of just what sort of status dragons held in this world.

    However, it wasn¡¯t the right time to think about these things right now. He pushed Qiu Honglei away as his opponent rushed right at him, and he himself dodged in the other direction.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Mosquito Daoist had already witnessed his entric movement technique earlier, so she wasn¡¯t surprised that he evaded her attack, especially since she wasn¡¯t going all out. As he slipped away, she calmly continued her pursuit, trying to grab a hold of him.

    Zu An used his Sunflower Phantasm several times. Even though he could evade her attacks for now, he couldn¡¯t break free from her. His opponent stuck to him doggedly, almost always remaining within three feet of him.

    Several times, he was almost seized by her sharp fingernails, which caused Zu An to break into cold sweat.

    Of course, his opponent¡¯s cultivation was much higher than his, after all, and she had dominated the murky underworld for many years. Herbat experience and uncanny vision were both outstanding. She continued to pressure him with her series of nned attacks, and it was getting harder and harder for him to evade.

    ¡°I¡¯ve caught you!¡± Mosquito Daoist smiled flirtatiously, swiftly wing at his shoulder with a single hand.

    This was precisely the moment that Zu An was powerless¡ªthe split second between two different moves. There was no chance of him evading this attack.

    Just as he was secretly cursing inside, a longsword flew out, perfectly intercepting this deadly strike.

    ¡°You vixen, I¡¯ll kill you!¡± Mosquito Daoist¡¯s eyes widened as she red at Qiu Honglei, screaming in unfettered rage. She had finally pressured Zu An enough that an opportunity had opened up, yet this woman had stepped in and ruined all of her ns.

    Zu An¡¯s strange movement technique was already tricky enough for her to deal with. It would be difficult to work another opening and capture him if he got away this time.

    The more she thought about this, the stronger her hatred burned. She struck out to kill.

    She had still been holding back a little when up against Zu An earlier, because he possessed the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, but Qiu Honglei was an entirely different story.

    She only needed her Empress Lantern. As for Qiu Honglei herself, it was all the same to her whether she lived or died. Moreover, she had a deep hatred for women who were prettier than her.

    Mosquito Daoist felt her rage burn within her each time she saw Qiu Honglei¡¯s devastatingly beautiful face, and each time she saw the infatuation and adoration in the eyes of all the men who looked at her. Not only did she want to kill her, she wanted to peel off her skin. Let¡¯s see how she¡¯ll be able to seduce a man then!

    Qiu Honglei was horrified by this ruthless attack. She quickly raised her sword in defense, pushing her sword art to the fullest extent.

    Unfortunately, the difference between their cultivation ranks was just too great. Mosquito Daoist¡¯s hand stabbed straight through the web of sword shes, and snapped her longsword with a simple flick of her wrist. Her palm morphed into a w, stretching towards Qiu Honglei¡¯s face.

    She wanted to tear off that disgustingly beautiful face, starting from the top of her head.

    As her sword snapped, Qiu Honglei¡¯s ki was thrown into chaos, and she couldn¡¯t muster any strength to defend herself.

    Her mind wentpletely nk as she stared at the cold glint of those long fingernails. She seemed to have already sensed her inevitable death.

    In that instant, a figure leaped in front of her and wrapped her in his arms, using his back to defend against the vicious w.

    *Psshhh!*

    Even though Zu An¡¯s body had been reforged twice by the Primordial Origin Sutra, it was still easily ripped apart by Mosquito Daoist¡¯s razor-sharp fingernails. They shed open five bloody grooves on his back.

    Mosquito Daoist was momentarily stunned, then roared in fury. ¡°You bastard, you¡¯d throw away your own life for her sake?¡±

    As a woman, she had never met any man who would do the same for her. That was why seeing another woman be blessed in such a way filled her with immeasurable rage.

    You have sessfully trolled Mosquito Daoist for 1024 Rage points!

    Zu An wouldn¡¯t really go that far for another girl, but he keenly sensed that Mosquito Daoist had attacked Qiu Honglei with a much stronger intent to kill, whenpared to her attacks against him. He quickly recognized that she was after the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, which was why she wouldn¡¯t kill him immediately.

    It was because of this, and the toughness of his body, that he chose to block this lethal attack for Qiu Honglei.

    Of course, since she was being such a great wingman, there was no way he would give up a chance to win some affection. He immediately looked deeply into Qiu Honglei¡¯s eyes and said, ¡°Of course! If she dies, then there won¡¯t be any point in living!¡±

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡± Tears immediately welled up within Qiu Honglei¡¯s eyes. She had already grown numb to the hypocritical ttery of the men within the Holy Sect and the Immortal Abode, and had never believed any of them.

    But, in this moment, having seen Zu An sacrifice himself for her, and then say such words with blood spewing from his mouth, it felt as though her heart had been struck by a massive hammer. She was utterly ovee with emotion.

    Zu An was frightened by her reaction. There¡¯s no need to take it this far, is there? This girl had been pretty good at teasing him, and all their flirting had always been just for fun, right?

    Mosquito Daoist was disgusted by this disy of affection. Her expression slowly darkened. She had to kill this Qiu Honglei no matter what, to assuage her anger!

    At this moment, the Solitary Eight finally recovered, and came rushing over.

    Mosquito Daoist was more than fed up with them. She instinctively opened her mouth to use her sound wave attack, but as soon as the buzzing noises came out, she was met by the same tired line: ¡°Whatcha lookin¡¯ at?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m looking at you, shithead!¡± Mosquito Daoist finally experienced that old dragon¡¯s pain. What pissed her off even more was that Zu An never stopped her before she employed her ultimate move, but waited until she had begun unleashing it before stopping her.

    This meant that she had to cut off her ultimate move abruptly just to respond with that stupid sentence. Forcibly pushing her sonic shockwave back into her mouth created a substantial amount of bacsh within her own head, making her head ring with noise. If not for her powerful cultivation, she would have already been severely injured, and vomiting blood all over the ground.

    Even so, being interrupted several times in session felt terrible, and she couldn¡¯t immediately use this skill again either.

    The Solitary Eight used this chance to bring forth their respective skills. Solitary Lightning brandished her massive hammer and called out to Qiu Honglei, ¡°Lady Saint, hurry up and take Zu An away! We¡¯ll hold her off!¡±

    They knew that Mosquito Daoist was after Zu An and the Empress Lantern. They couldn¡¯t afford to let her get her ws on either one of them.

    Qiu Honglei understood just how critical the situation was, and was worried about Zu An¡¯s condition as well. She nodded and said, ¡°Be careful, all of you!¡±

    Then, she quickly disappeared into the darkness of night with Zu An in her arms.

    Mosquito Daoist let out a howl of fury as she saw her prey escaping. She was about to give chase, but the Solitary Eight unleashed their most powerful skills at once. She had exhausted quite a bit of her own strength previously, and she was momentarily unable to get away.

    Qiu Honglei supported Zu An in her arms as they fled, only stopping when the inn was out of sight. ¡°Ah Zu, how are your injuries?¡± she asked.

    Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°I¡¯m fine. They¡¯re not a big deal at all.¡±

    As he said this, however, he couldn¡¯t hold back a frown. That woman¡¯s fingernails really are quite terrifying. Why is the pain getting worse and worse?

    ¡°Your injuries are so serious, how can you say they¡¯re no big deal?¡± Qiu Honglei quickly examined his wounds, then cried out in rm, ¡°There was poison on her fingernails!¡±

    Qiu Honglei wept as she took in the bloody gashes along his back, and the purple-ck bruising all around the wounds. ¡°It¡¯s all my fault. You wouldn¡¯t have suffered such terrible injuries if not for me.¡±

    ¡°Silly girl, I was able to save a precious and delicate flower like you for the price of this little injury. That¡¯s already more than worth the sacrifice! Why are you crying?¡± Zu An couldn¡¯t resist reaching out a hand to wipe off the tears staining her cheek.

    Qiu Honglei couldn¡¯t help butugh, then hit him lightly. ¡°Can¡¯t you see what sort of situation we¡¯re in? Yet you¡¯re still joking around.¡±

    Immediately after that, she said nervously, ¡°We need to deal with the poison in your wounds quickly. There¡¯ll be trouble otherwise.¡±

    ¡°How do we treat it?¡± Zu An wondered if the Primordial Origin Sutra had the power to detoxify as well.

    ¡°Don¡¯t move.¡± Qiu Honglei said with a gentle voice, then sat down behind him. Her red lips pressed gently against his wounds, and she sucked out the poison from his wounds.

 Chapter 496: Nave Lovers

    <h4>Chapter 496: Nave Lovers</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°What?¡± Zu An was startled. Oddly enough, he was a little ufortable with this.

    ¡°Don¡¯t move.¡± Qiu Honglei mumbled indistinctly, at the same time tucking the strands of hair that had fallen down onto her cheeks back behind her ears.

    Zu An subconsciously straightened. The surroundings were quiet, so quiet that only the gentle breathing of the two of them could be heard.

    He could vaguely smell the scent of her hair, as well as the delicate fragrance that had to belong to a youngdy. Of course, the things he sensed most intimately were her soft lips and her flexible tongue...

    Ahem, ahem, get your head out of the gutter! Be calm, be calm!

    Just like that, the two of them sat quietly, leaning against each other as Qiu Honglei sucked out the poisoned blood and spat it out one mouthful at a time.

    After what seemed like an eternity, Qiu Honglei finally heaved a sigh of relief. The color of his wounds had finally returned to a normal red. ¡°I¡¯ve already sucked out most of the poisoned blood. Fortunately, the poison in Mosquito Daoist¡¯s fingernails wasn¡¯t too strong.¡±

    As she spoke, Qiu Honglei took out a bottle of medicine and gave him a pill to swallow. She ripped off a clean potion of her skirt and bandaged him up.

    Zu An handed her a container. ¡°This will help to detoxify some of the poison. Swirl some around in your mouth, and then take some of it. Don¡¯t let the poison affect you as well.¡±

    Qiu Honglei didn¡¯t refuse, and drank the antitoxin that he offered.

    She was surprised that he had somehow produced this bottle out of thin air, but soon reasoned that he probably had a spatial artifact with him. She didn¡¯t ask about it further, since these were often closely-guarded secrets that their bearers did not wish to talk about.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Zu An said sincerely.

    ¡°What are you thanking me for? It was clearly you who saved my life.¡± Qiu Honglei smiled. Compared to the perfectly practiced smile she showed others, her expression right now was much warmer.

    ¡°You saved my life too.¡± Zu An also smiled. ¡°If you hadn¡¯t sucked out the poison from my wounds, it would have spread quickly and killed me.¡±

    Qiu Honglei gave him a nk look. This man was usually so indecent, but he actually had such a soft and gentle side. He was worried that I would feel as though I had let him down, and said these things tofort me.

    But how could he equate the two deeds? Even without her, the poison would have only caused him to suffer for a while, and would not have really cost him his life.

    While she was looking at Zu An, Zu An was also looking at her¡ªmore specifically, at her moist red lips. He thought about how she had used her mouth to treat his wounds. Each time she brushed his wounds with her mouth, it felt as though little electric currents were sent through his body. The tingling feeling was incredible, as though every single cell in his body had been excited by her touch.

    If her sucking on a wound already felt that good, I wonder what it would feel like if she did that somewhere else...

    He stared at her tender and beautiful red lips, and swallowed. It was a small motion, but the sound of it was amplified by the utter silence of their surroundings.

    Zu An subconsciously raised his head to look at Qiu Honglei, and their eyes soon met.

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s face turned red. ¡°Pervert!¡±

    She turned away in embarrassment.

    Zu An could not believe it.

    He immediately cried out in injustice, ¡°Am I a pervert just because I swallowed my saliva? I think you¡¯re the one who misunderstood me.¡±

    Qiu Honglei snorted. ¡°You¡¯re well aware of what kind of nonsense goes through your own head.¡±

    Zu An stared at her, speechless.

    This woman had spent quite some time in the Immortal Abode, after all, and was much more knowledgeable than the ordinary youngdy.

    So what if you¡¯re angry¡ªwhere are my Rage points?

    ¡°Heh heh heh...¡±

    At that instant, a low and terrifyingugh drifted over to them.

    Both of them grew rmed. The ambiguous atmosphere between them dissipated in an instant as they both put up their guards.

    ¡°Oh look at how innocent the two of you are! You¡¯re supposed to be running for your lives, yet here you are, muttering sweet nothings to each other.¡±

    The familiar voice of Mosquito Daoist echoed around the clearing. It seemed like it wasing from far away at first, but by the time she finished speaking, she sounded as though she was right next to them.

    The two of them suddenly raised their heads, and noticed a woman in apricot-yellow daoist robes standing on a nearby treetop, perched on a rtively thin branch. It shouldn¡¯t have been able to support the weight of a human, not even a petite woman.

    However, it seemed as though Mosquito Daoist didn¡¯t weigh anything at all. Her feet rested gracefully on top of the branch, her figure swaying naturally with the wind.

    Qiu Honglei was shocked. ¡°What about mypanions? Did you kill them all?¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Mosquito Daoist snorted. ¡°I¡¯ve never had a habit of leaving my enemies unsilenced.¡±

    She felt heat rush towards her face. Even though those Devil Sect cultivators were individually weaker than her, they all had their unique skills. When they teamed up against her, it became quite difficult for her to take them out. She had been in a rush to capture Zu An and Qiu Honglei as well, so she didn¡¯t actually face them directly, but left behind some clones to distract them instead. Meanwhile, she had pursued the two of them here.

    Her original form was a ckblood Mosquito, which naturally excelled in flight. In terms of raw speed, she was much faster than humans of the same rank, let alone those who were much weaker than her, like Zu An and Qiu Honglei.

    She was also extremely sensitive towards the scent of blood. Even though the trail of blood they had left behind was faint, it did not escape her notice.

    That was why she had easily caught up with them, even though the two of them had run a fair distance away.

    ¡°Honglei,¡± Zu An said quietly, ¡°I¡¯ll do my best to stall her. Use this chance to get away. It¡¯s best if you can find your way back to your martial uncle, Lu Sanyuan. He should be able to ensure your safety.¡±

    Qiu Honglei shook her head, and gently held his hands. ¡°I¡¯ll face her together with you.¡±

    Zu An grew agitated. ¡°You¡¯re being foolish! She wants my Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, so she won¡¯t kill me, but she won¡¯t be so polite to you.¡±

    Qiu Honglei still refused to leave. ¡°I won¡¯t leave you! If worsees to worst, I¡¯ll wait for you in the afterlife.¡±

    She gave a slight smile as she said these words, her expression poignant yet determined. She was clearly ready to die.

    Mosquito Daoistughed cruelly from atop the tree. ¡°What a moving performance! I¡¯ve heard that spouses should face everything together, but your affection for each other seems to go even deeper than that of husband and wife.¡±

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s cheeks, which had turnedpletely pale from nervousness and fear, reddened slightly.

    Noting her bashful appearance, even Mosquito Daoist had to admit that this woman was truly beautiful, no matter how picky she tried to be.

    This only made her grow more jealous, which further fueled her rage. ¡°What a pity¡ªI love to tear lovebirds apart!¡±

    She swooped down at the two of them.

    She already knew that Zu An was as slippery as a loach, and that she wouldn¡¯t be able to snag him quickly. Rather than wasting time, it seemed expedient to deal with Qiu Honglei first.

    The two of them had stepped in to save one another earlier, so she knew that Zu An would definitely jump in if she attacked Qiu Honglei. This would greatly reduce the effectiveness of his sted movement technique.

    Sure enough, when he saw her attacking Qiu Honglei, Zu An gritted his teeth and ran over to help her.

    Mosquito Daoist sniffed disdainfully and took a step forward. She moved so quickly that even Zu An had no time to react.

    She suddenly appeared right in front of Zu An and smashed a palm into his chest. She knew what he was thinking¡ªthat she would restrain herself in order not to kill him.

    Even though she wasn¡¯t out to kill him, crippling him by taking away his movement ability was no trouble at all.

    Forget about someone of the fifth rank¡ªeven someone at the peak of the sixth rank would bepletely stripped of their ability to fight after being struck by her palm.

    Blood spurted out crazily from Zu An¡¯s mouth as multiple ribs snapped. However, the Primordial Origin Sutra quickly did its job and repaired his injuries.

    Mosquito Daoist didn¡¯t spare him another look, and pressed her attack against Qiu Honglei.

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡± Qiu Honglei screamed in horror. However, she couldn¡¯t afford to be distracted right now. She quickly took out the Empress Lantern. The pale yellow light surrounded Mosquito Daoist and substantially slowed her movements.

    Mosquito Daoist didn¡¯t panic. ¡°Hmph, your cultivation is too low. You cannot harness thentern¡¯s full power.¡±

    Thentern had been most effective the first time she used it. At this time, the power of thentern seemed to have weakened greatly. It wasn¡¯t able topletely immobilize Mosquito Daoist, but only slowed her movements.

    In this way, Qiu Honglei was just barely able to keep up with her speed, and the two of them exchanged several blows. Even though thatntern had slowed her movements, it couldn¡¯t weaken her keen vision or dull herbat experience. In a matter of seconds, Mosquito Daoist seized an opening and struck her shoulder with her palm.

    Qiu Honglei shrieked in agony as she was sent flying. Mosquito Daoist was just about to take her life when Zu An¡¯s voice came from off to the side. ¡°Did you ask for my permission before touching my woman?¡±

 Chapter 497: A Jealous Arrival

    <h4>Chapter 497: A Jealous Arrival</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An spat out the blood that had umted in his mouth as he slowly stood up from the ground. Even though he was shaking a little, he seemed to possess a resolute strength.

    ¡°You... how are you still able to stand up?¡± Mosquito Daoist was shocked. She was very clear about the strength behind her earlier strike, and knew that it should have rendered her opponent unable to continue fighting.

    Zu An wiped away the blood at the corners of his lips. He chuckled and said, ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t a real man be able to stand up again?¡±

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s face blushed. Even at this sort of time, he¡¯s still able to make that sort of joke.

    She suddenly recalled him calling her ¡®his woman¡¯ earlier, and her heart rate inexplicably quickened. She snorted inwardly. When did I ever be your woman?

    Despite this, she wasn¡¯t angry at all. On the contrary, she couldn¡¯t hold back a smile.

    Mosquito Daoist snorted. ¡°Let¡¯s see how many times you can stand back up!¡± She rushed at Zu An.

    Her main objective was still to obtain the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, and she was worried that he might somehow slip through her fingers and escape, now that he had stood back up.

    After all, even the closest of couples might dere that they would fight and die together, but when the threat of death reared its ugly head, they could easily have second thoughts. She didn¡¯t dare to take that risk, and decided to capture him first.

    Seeing hering towards him, Zu An used his Sunflower Phantasm and moved in to engage her, wanting to create an opportunity to stab her with his Poisonous Prick. He was seriously injured right now, which meant that the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra¡¯s strengthening effects had kicked in. It was still possible that he could fashion an opening.

    He didn¡¯t dare bring out the dagger now, in case his opponent noticed something amiss and put up her guard. He bided his time, waiting for an opportunity to present itself.

    Mosquito Daoist frowned. She had a strange feeling that his speed seemed to have increased. However, she attributed this to the slowing effects of Qiu Honglei¡¯sntern, and didn¡¯t pay it too much attention.

    Now that she had gotten serious, Zu An was now put under an increased amount of pressure. Even though his speed and power had been greatly enhanced, the difference in their strength was still too great.

    Not only was he unable to hurt her, he could barely fend off her attacks.

    He couldn¡¯t help but chastise Qiu Honglei. ¡°Silly girl, why are you staring stupidly? Use yourntern!¡±

    ¡°Oh, right...¡± Qiu Honglei¡¯s face went red. She seemed to have only just woken up from her daze. She quickly shone herntern over at them.

    Zu An was incredulous. ¡°Don¡¯t aim that shit at me!¡±

    When the pale yellow radiance covered him, he finally experienced what everyone else had been subjected to. His body immediately felt much heavier.

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s face grew warm. ¡°I didn¡¯t do it on purpose.¡±

    She quickly aimed the beam of light at Mosquito Daoist.

    Zu An¡¯s request was actually a rather difficult one, because herntern¡¯s radiance affected arge area, and it wasn¡¯t easy to exclude Zu An from its effects.

    However, she possessed a sharp mind, and quickly discovered a workaround, using her hand and her clothes to block off some of the light. Even though this severely reduced the amount of light shining on the battlefield, it became easier to control where the beam went.

    Mosquito Daoist was clearly unhappy with this new development. Even though she was fast, whenever the beam of yellow lightnded on her body, her movement speed was significantly affected.

    Because of this, Zu An almost managed to injure her several times.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Fury bubbled within her heart. Both of these kids had cultivations that were much weaker than her own, yet it seemed like everyone had special abilities these days, constantly tripping her up and preventing her from steamrolling them like she had nned.

    Several times, she thought about turning around to deal with Qiu Honglei, but Zu An doggedly kept her from doing so.

    He fought wildly, willingly suffering injuries in order to create opportunities for himself, which left her with quite the headache.

    Given his cultivation, she had originally believed that it wouldn¡¯t make much of a difference even if she took a few hits. However, a mysterious sense of danger had crept up on her, warning her that she absolutely could not be wounded by her opponent in any way.

    Even though her cultivation was high, she was rather infamous, and had made many enemies over the years. Having been pursued by them for many years had made her extremely sensitive toward danger.

    Even though she didn¡¯t understand where this feeling of danger wasing from, she never doubted her intuition. She had relied on exactly this sixth sense over these years to get her out of some very tight spots.

    He was able to get back up despite suffering such serious injuries... This style of fighting, disregarding any injuries you might suffer just to try to injure your own opponent, isn¡¯t usually a sensible choice either. His constitution must be quite special. She turned this over in her mind, and could onlye up with this one conclusion.

    The sudden increase in his speed and power had to be due to the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra as well.

    It really was worthy of being a legendary technique!

    Now that she thought about it, she wanted it even more. She had to deal with Zu An first. Compared to the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, the Empress Lantern didn¡¯t seem nearly as important.

    Now that she was going all out, Zu An was hard-pressed to hold it together, even with the help of the mysticalntern¡¯s light.

    His body was struck several times in quick session by the horsetail whisk.

    Her horsetail whisk looked soft and gentle, but every single strand of it felt like sharp steel wire when theyshed against his body. Theycerated his flesh, opening up deep wounds.

    If it wasn¡¯t for his special constitution, he would have already been diced into little chunks.

    ¡°You little bastard, I¡¯ll give you credit forsting this long with just five ranks of cultivation. However... This game ends here!¡± Mosquito Daoist crouched down, and then she tore up an absolutely massive chunk of earth.

    The massive chunk of earth perfectly blocked off the light from Qiu Honglei¡¯sntern.

    Qiu Honglei was stunned. This mosquito monster wasn¡¯t an earth element cultivator¡ªwhy was she able to control the earth?

    She thought about it a little more, and finally understood what had happened. Mosquito Daoist had always been moving around the same area. She thought that she had been busy attacking Zu An, but she must have been using her movements to wear down the earth beneath her as well.

    That was a terrifying level of skill to have. After all, she had to carve out the outline of this chunk of earth while ensuring that the surface remained in one piece. Only then would she have been able to lift it up as a single mass and block herntern¡¯s light.

    Qiu Honglei didn¡¯t have time to admire her strategy. The only thing that filled her mind was worry over Zu An¡¯s safety. ¡°Ah Zu!¡±

    Now that she wasn¡¯t restrained by thentern¡¯s radiance, Mosquito Daoist¡¯s speed suddenly increased severalfold. She reached a hand towards Zu An¡¯s shoulder.

    Startled, Zu An frantically shouted, ¡°Whatcha lookin¡¯ at?!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m looking at you, shithead!¡± Mosquito Daoist replied, causing her to lose her focus for a split second.

    Zu An immediately used Grandgale to blink arge distance away.

    Mosquito Daoist could not believe what had just happened.

    You have sessfully trolled Mosquito Daoist of 251 Rage points!

    Despite her anger, she felt a grudging sense of admiration. Despite having a rather ordinary level of cultivation, hisbat sense and techniques were top-notch, far superior even to those of some well-known experts.

    She felt an even stronger need to kill him. This kid was already like this at just the fifth rank¡ªwhat would happen once he actually matured?

    Her thoughts were racing quickly through her mind, but it did not slow down her attacks. With a flick of her hand, the strands of her horsetail whisk extended again. She had already witnessed his instantaneous movement technique, so there was no way she would be caughtpletely off-guard again.

    Zu An teleported again, but, to his horror, he was already surrounded by whisk strands. It was as if his opponent had already anticipated that he would dodge in this direction.

    The horsetail whisk wrapped around him in the blink of an eye, the ends of its strands looking like straws as they stabbed towards his face.

    Mosquito Daoist had clearly had enough of his never ending tricks. She decided to suck out a portion of his blood andpletely cripple his movements first.

    She had confidence in her ability to hold back. She could cripple him without taking his life.

    As he saw the strands approach his face, Zu An recalled Solitary Ice¡¯s mummified appearance, and couldn¡¯t help but panic. He had enjoyed Qiu Honglei sucking on him earlier, but there was no way he was going to let this woman have a go!

    Just as he was about to bring out his final trump card, a burst of ck me flew through the air, setting the iing strands on fire.

    Those ck mes behaved extremely strangely. They instantly raced upwards along the whisk strands, heading towards Mosquito Daoist at incredible speed.

    ¡°Ah!!¡± Mosquito Daoist let out a horrifying shriek. She quickly retracted her horsetail whisk and frantically tried to put out the fire.

    Given her cultivation, there was no way she could be injured by these mes, but it was a different story when it came to her horsetail whisk.

    A good chunk of it had already been burned off by Zu An earlier while they were at the inn, and another half had just been burned away by these strange mes. Her horsetail whisk was now a sorry, barren thing, with just about a quarter of the original threads hanging loosely from the handle.

    She whipped around in anger. ¡°Show yourself!¡±

    She froze almost immediately, swallowing subconsciously. So big! Her eyes lowered towards her own chest, and she was overwhelmed by an intense feeling of inferiority.

    ¡°Big Manman!¡± Zu An was overjoyed to see her enchanting figure.

    Unexpectedly, Pei Mianman herself expressed no joy at all. She watched as Qiu Honglei ran towards Zu An with a face full of worry, then sneered and said, ¡°All the way here, we worried about you constantly, but it seems you were actually enjoying yourself with another woman.¡±

 Chapter 498: Absolute Chaos

    <h4>Chapter 498: Absolute Chaos</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An scratched his head and gave an embarrassedugh. He muttered quietly, ¡°It really was pretty dangerous over here, you know...¡±

    Qiu Honglei, who had been flying towards him, stopped when she noticed what was going on. She heaved a sigh of relief when she saw that Zu An was all right, but still felt extremely embarrassed when she recalled Pei Mianman¡¯s words.

    Despite that, she recovered quickly as well. Sheughed and said, ¡°Ah Zu, is thisdy your wife, First Miss Chu?¡±

    Zu An had no idea what to say.

    Pei Mianman simmered with fury. Clearly, this woman was deliberately mocking her for getting jealous even though she wasn¡¯t Zu An¡¯s wife.

    ¡°I¡¯m Chuyan¡¯s good friend. What¡¯s wrong about lending her husband a helping hand?¡± Pei Mianman regretted her words as soon as they left her mouth. The two of them clearly already divorced, so why did she even have to mention Chuyan? What the heck is wrong with me and my guilty conscience?!

    ¡°Oh~¡± Qiu Honglei deliberately drew out this word. ¡°You¡¯re helping your close friend watch over her husband? Or perhaps the close friend ended up falling for her husband?¡±

    Zu An was yet again rendered speechless.

    Pei Mianman looked like she was about to burst.

    Mosquito Daoist lost her patience. ¡°I don¡¯t want to listen to you guys bitch about your love affairs!¡±

    She rushed straight at Qiu Honglei. Herntern had really gotten on her nerves earlier, so she had to get rid of this girl first. From his actions earlier on, it didn¡¯t seem like Zu An was willing to escape on his own and leave this beauty behind.

    Qiu Honglei braced herself, not affording herself any room for carelessness. However, she soon found herself in a tight spot. If it wasn¡¯t because Mosquito Daoist was slightly concerned about her Empress Lantern, she would have already lost her life a long time ago.

    Seeing this, Zu An grew rmed. He immediately drew his sword and rushed over. ¡°Big Manman, now isn¡¯t the time to worry about personal grudges! We have to kill this damned mosquito first!¡±

    Damned mosquito?

    Mosquito Daoist flipped out.

    ¡°I will make sure you regret being born with that mouth of yours!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Mosquito Daoist for 888 Rage points!

    Pei Mianman was shocked when she heard the word ¡®mosquito¡¯. She had seen Sang Qian¡¯s wretched appearance with her own eyes earlier. Back then, Zhuxie Chixin had deduced it to be the handiwork of someone from the blood race. He had even named some possible aggressors, and one of them was none other than the Mosquito Daoist.

    Now that she was right in front of her, who else could the perpetrator have been but her?

    She quickly yelled out a warning. ¡°Be careful! She can suck out your blood essence and turn you into a dried-up corpse!¡±

    Zu An was shocked. Big Manman is truly knowledgeable¡ªI¡¯m surprised she even knows about this!

    Mosquito Daoist¡¯sughter was sinister. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll definitely suck all of you dryter!¡±

    She stared at Pei Mianman¡¯s impressive chest and swallowed. I¡¯m going to suck you dry in a bit. Let¡¯s see if you¡¯ll still be thatrge then!

    Zu An and Qui Honglei seemed to be faring worse and worse by the second, so Pei Mianman could not afford to wait any longer. ck mes surged around her as she charged in to offer assistance.

    Sensing the strangeness of these ck mes, Mosquito Daoist quickly kept away her horsetail whisk. Every single strand of this horsetail whisk had been refined from a mouthpart that she had shed, so they weren¡¯t easily acquired. Most of them had been burned up on this night alone, so she didn¡¯t dare use it any more, lest these ck mes burn the rest of it up. Not even killing the three of them would be enoughpensation for her losses then.

    Besides, even without the assistance of a weapon, her cultivation was still far above the three of them.

    Pei Mianman was only brushed by the wind produced by Mosquito Daoist¡¯s palm strike, yet her arm already felt numb. She was astonished. Why is this Mosquito Daoist so strong?!

    Zu An noticed her reaction. Worried that she might be underestimating her opponent, he quickly reminded her, ¡°Be careful, this person is at least at the master rank. She is also incredibly crafty.¡±

    Before Pei Mianman could reply, Mosquito Daoist chuckled and said, ¡°What a cuted, you really understand this big sis well. Come and let this big sis give you a big old smooch.¡±

    Even though she was smiling, she felt incredibly vexed inside. Given her cultivation, dealing with three sixth rank cultivators should be a trifling matter, not to mention that not even all of these brats were at the sixth rank!

    However, the three of them really were rather strange. Zu An had his devilish movement technique, and he seemed to be growing stronger the longer he fought. Meanwhile, Qiu Honglei had her Empress Lantern to slow down her movements, and this woman now wielded ck mes that were different from most other elemental mes. A single slip up and she might get burned, and perhaps even suffer soul-wounding pain.

    With all three of them working together, she found herself in quite a bind.

    The three of them shivered when they heard herughter. She had clearly been going after Zu An earlier with the intent to kill, yet now, she suddenly appeared all seductive and flirtatious. It was a jarring contrast.

    However, the three of them sensed that her attacks had grown fiercer, and they did not dare let themselves be distracted.

    Even so, it wasn¡¯t long before Qiu Honglei groaned in pain as one of Mosquito Daoist¡¯s attacks struck her shoulder.

    Mosquito Daoist¡¯s fingernails glinted in the moonlight as they wed at her face. She would end her life with this strike.

    An arm, wreathed in swirling ck me, reached out to block her, buying Qiu Honglei an extra second.

    Zu An used this opening to drag Qiu Honglei behind him, avoiding Mosquito Daoist¡¯s follow-up attacks.

    ¡°Thanks!¡± Qiu Honglei said as she recovered from her shock. She didn¡¯t say this to Zu An, but directed her gratitude towards Pei Mianman instead.

    Pei Mianman snorted, but could not spare the time or attention needed to reply her. Mosquito Daoistunched a barrage of attacks at her, and she couldn¡¯t afford to be distracted at all.

    Mosquito Daoist felt her anger begin to boil over. These were just three kids, yet she couldn¡¯t deal with even a single one of them! She roared in fury, and a huge mass of ckblood Mosquitoes swarmed outwards.

    All three of them were greatly rmed. Aside from Pei Mianman, who enjoyed the protection of her ck mes that the mosquitoes didn¡¯t dare approach, the other two were immediately overwhelmed by these ck mosquitoes.

    Qiu Honglei fared a little better since she had her Empress Lantern, and could slow down the movements of the mosquitoes, allowing her to evade. However, there was no way she could help anyone else out.

    Zu An fared the worst of all. He swung his sword about continuously, striking out with his hand from time, but the mosquitoes were incredibly nimble and elusive, constantly finding openings to bite him.

    A terrible itch radiated out from these bites in endless waves, which made clear to him that these mosquitoes were poisonous. However, he had no area-of-effect skills to bring to bear, so there was nothing he could do about it.

    Seeing his situation, Pei Mianman sent out a sliver of ck me to help him out. Those ckblood Mosquitoes quickly evaded the approaching tongue of me, which made things much more manageable for Zu An.

    However, this caused Pei Mianman to be momentarily distracted, which gave Mosquito Daoist an opportunity. She did not hesitate, mming a palm into her chest.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Pei Mianman screamed in pain, and a spray of blood left her mouth as she was blown aside.

    ¡°So soft!¡± The lingering feeling made Mosquito Daoist frown. This woman¡¯s chest was sorge, which helped to cushion her blow significantly. That earlier strike of hers was probably not enough to kill her.

    She immediately moved in to finish the job.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t care less about the mosquito bites anymore, and leaped to help Pei Mianman, but Mosquito Daoist struck his sword with her finger, exerting a tremendous force that almost made him drop his sword. Blood gushed out from the webbing in between his fingers.

    No longer hindered by the Empress Lantern, Mosquito Daoist could finally disy her terrifying cultivation.

    Zu An waspletely helpless. He could only throw himself in front of Pei Mianman and use his own body as a shield.

    Mosquito Daoist saw through his intentions, and flew into a rage. ¡°Do you think that I won¡¯t kill you?!¡±

    She held nothing back, thrusting her hand straight towards his back.

    This strike would be enough topletely prate his body, allowing her to rip out Pei Mianman¡¯s heart.

    Pei Mianman would certainly be dead, while Zu An might still survive. She wasn¡¯t aiming for any of his vital spots, and his terrifying recovery ability had left a deep impression on her.

    Zu An smiled bitterly as he sensed the terrifying killing intent. ¡°It looks like the two of us are going to pass on together, like true lovebirds.¡±

    Pei Mianman stared straight into his eyes, her expression incredibly warm. This man had leaped in front of a deadly blow without a second thought, utterly willing to give up his life to save her. In the face of such an act, she felt that that death was not such a terrifying fate after all.

    The temperature suddenly plummeted, and several snowkes even fluttered around the air. Many of the ckblood Mosquitoes flying around them fell out of the sky like miniature ice sculptures.

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°Snow in summer? Perhaps not even the heavens are willing to see us lovebirds perish together.¡±

    Pei Mianman¡¯s face went entirely red. ¡°Lovebirds my ass! Don¡¯t you even recognize your own wife¡¯s Snowke Sword?!¡±

    A streak of frozen light sliced through the night sky from the side,ncing towards Mosquito Daoist¡¯s vitals like a streak of lightning.

 Chapter 499: I Have Always Lived a Pure and Innocent Life

    <h4>Chapter 499: I Have Always Lived a Pure and Innocent Life</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Mosquito Daoist was shocked as well. This person¡¯s cultivation was higher than the other three, and was most likely at the seventh rank.

    Whoever it was, they had chosen their moment well. If Mosquito Daoist had pressed on with her attack, even though the big breasted woman was dead for sure, she herself would have also been seriously injured.

    Her many years spent on the run had made her prioritize her own safety above all else, and she would never expose herself to the risk of suffering severe injuries in order to kill someone. She retracted her hand at once, and blocked the iing sword.

    The two exchanged several blows in an instant. However, her opponent was extremely crafty, and did not try to overpower her directly, which greatly reduced the advantage of her superior cultivation rank.

    Mosquito Daoist finally caught a glimpse of her opponent. She was a ridiculously beautiful woman whose entire being radiated the crisp, cold bite of a winter morning, granting her the air of an immortal goddess descended from heaven.

    Mosquito Daoist felt her self-confidence get crushed in an instant. She normally unted herself as a beautiful woman, yet every single girl she had run into today was more stunning than herself! Either their chests were muchrger, or their aura was superior to hers! She had been defeated in every single aspect!

    She red furiously at Zu An. What the heck was up with this brat? He didn¡¯t look like he was anything special, so why did he have so many stunning women around him? Is there something special about him that I don¡¯t see?

    Opposite her, Zu An immediately cheered when he saw the woman in that long, icy-blue dress. This woman was just as coldly arrogant and gorgeous as he remembered. ¡°Honey!¡±

    They had already been separated for a few months, after all. When they had just separated, he could still see her from time to time using themunications mirror, butter on, he couldn¡¯t even do that anymore.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s cold and indifferent expression warmed considerably when she heard his voice. She turned to look at her husband. She was just about to say something when she suddenly noticed that he was on top of her close friend, pressed up against her until even Pei Mianman¡¯s breasts seemed ufortably squashed. Her beautiful brows immediately knit together again.

    Pei Mianman didn¡¯t know what was going on either, but she was overwhelmed with guilt. She pushed Zu An off of her and said, ¡°Chuyan, you¡¯re finally here!¡±

    Chu Chuyan smiled ambiguously. ¡°I might have missed out on such an exciting scene if I¡¯d arrived even a momentter.¡±

    Pei Mianman¡¯s face flushed red. She waved her hands and said, ¡°Don¡¯t get it wrong! It¡¯s not what you think, he did that to save me...¡±

    Chu Chuyan giggled. ¡°Manman, this isn¡¯t like you at all! I didn¡¯t think anything of it earlier on, but now, I¡¯m really wondering if there¡¯s something going on between you two.¡±

    Pei Mianman quickly realized what was wrong. If she had been her usual self, she would surely have used this chance to tease others. When had she ever had to defend herself in such a panic?

    However, she reacted quickly as well. She smiled sweetly and said, ¡°Now that you mention it, the two of you aren¡¯t husband and wife anymore, so it shouldn¡¯t really matter even if I did make a move, right?¡±

    Chu Chuyan snorted. ¡°Go ahead! He¡¯s not that great anyway. I don¡¯t care.¡±

    Heartbreak was written all over Zu An¡¯s face. ¡°Chuyan, how could you say something so hurtful?¡±

    No one¡ªnot even he¡ªexpected Pei Mianman to hook an arm around his arm and throw Chu Chuyan a flirtatious smile. ¡°You said it yourself~¡±

    Chu Chuyan was given a fright. Was this woman being serious?! Then again, she remembered how daring Pei Mianman was usually, and immediately felt a twinge of regret. But she had already said what she¡¯d said, and there was no way to take it all back. She could only give Zu An an unhappy look. What is up with that ecstatic grin on your face?!

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Chuyan for 233 Rage points!

    Zu An waspletely enthralled by the soft, warm feeling around his arm. When he saw these Rage points, he almost leaped into the air in fright.

    Qiu Honglei had a strange expression on her face, having keenly picked up on the awkward atmosphere. The corners of her lips curved ever-so-slightly upwards.

    This Pei Mianman adopted such an overbearing manner earlier when she questioned me. To see her cowering like this in front of someone else is just too amusing...

    But Pei Mianman¡¯s words also reminded her that Zu An was already single. From now on, it was every woman for themselves.

    A pensive smile spread across her lips. She used to be Immortal Abode¡¯s courtesan queen, after all. Seducing men was her specialty.

    Mosquito Daoist finally snapped out of her daze, and roared in annoyance, ¡°They just keeping, one after another. Just how many girls do you have, you brat?! Stop wasting my time and call them all out already!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Mosquito Daoist for 582 Rage points!

    Zu An waved his hands frantically when he saw the three girls eyeing him as well. ¡°Stop trying to create disharmony between us! I have always lived a pure and innocent life. How could I have other women?¡±

    Pei Mianman rolled her eyes. Like hell I¡¯ll believe you! Zheng Dan was willing to give up everything for you earlier on. Do you think I¡¯m blind? Should I rat you out to Chuyanter...?

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Chu Chuyan and Qiu Honglei scoffed disdainfully as well. They clearly didn¡¯t believe him either.

    Despite their feelings, his first sentence reminded the girls that now wasn¡¯t the time to settle things with Zu An. They would deal with that after they made it through this crisis.

    Mosquito Daoist used this opportunity to charge at Qiu Honglei. Her Empress Lantern posed the greatest threat, after all.

    Chu Chuyan quickly brandished her sword and swooped over to help her. She understood the current situation. Even though Zu An had been captured by the Devil Sect, Qiu Honglei had most likely been helping him out this whole time.

    Moreover, she knew more about her rtionship with Zu An than Pei Mianman did. After all, back then, Qiu Honglei had taken the initiative to ask to be Zu An¡¯s concubine!

    Even though she didn¡¯t feel good about it, she couldn¡¯t bring herself to watch idly from the side.

    ¡°Thanks!¡± Qiu Honglei gave Chu Chuyan a grateful look.

    ¡°We¡¯re all on the same side, there¡¯s no need to be so polite.¡± Chu Chuyan smiled, then shifted her full focus to the battle.

    Qiu Honglei was stunned. What did she mean by ¡®on the same side¡¯?

    In moments, however, Chu Chuyan was soon in great danger herself, and Qiu Honglei did not have the time to ponder its meaning any further. She quickly used herntern to help her out.

    Zu An and Pei Mianman joined the battle as well. They knew that, given Mosquito Daoist¡¯s cultivation, they still weren¡¯t a match for her even though they now had Chu Chuyan on their side.

    It didn¡¯t take long for the light from Qiu Honglei¡¯sntern to grow dim. She said in rm, ¡°I already used it too much today! Thentern will run out of energy soon!¡±

    Almost immediately, thentern went outpletely.

    Mosquito Daoistughed. Her speed suddenly increased, and in no time at all, she covered the four of them in a fresh round of injuries.

    Pei Mianman was already badly injured, and she could take no more. Her body flew through the air and crashed to the ground off to the side.

    Zu An was the main meat shield, taking blow after blow after blow, and not even the Primordial Origin Sutra¡¯s incredible healing could keep up. If it wasn¡¯t because Mosquito Daoist still wanted the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, he would have died a hundred times over.

    He too was sent flying, crashing to the ground and gasping for air. He struggled to find his feet again.

    Seeing him drenched in blood, Chu Chuyan grew distressed and cried out, ¡°Manman, hurry up and take Zu An away from here!¡±

    She didn¡¯t tell her to bring him to Zhuxie Chixin, because sending Zu An to the capital was equivalent to sending him to his death. That was why it would be best if the two of them took this chance to flee. As for the consequences, she couldn¡¯t care less about them at that moment.

    Pei Mianman frowned, but did not reply. She was not in good shape at all, and found it difficult even to muster the strength to speak.

    Zu An was not about to leave. ¡°No, I won¡¯t abandon my women and flee on my own.¡±

    Even when they fought together, they weren¡¯t a match for Mosquito Daoist. If only Chu Chuyan and Qiu Honglei stayed behind, they would be in even greater danger.

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s heart skipped a beat. She wondered if he had said ¡®my women¡¯ instead of ¡®my wife¡¯ on purpose.

    Chu Chuyan panicked. ¡°If you stay, we¡¯ll just all die together! Besides, others will be here soon. You don¡¯t have to worry about us...¡±

    Mosquito Daoist cut her off. ¡°Not a single one of you will escape!¡± With that, she intensified her attacks, and even the ice around Chu Chuyan began to melt.

    Zu An was stunned. There were othersing? Who?

    There was the swift sound of approaching footsteps, and several members of the Devil Sect¡¯s Solitary Eight appeared. ¡°Lady Saint!¡±

    Qiu Honglei was overjoyed. ¡°Quick! Help us defeat Mosquito Daoist!¡±

    They were momentarily confused by the presence of Chu Chuyan and Pei Mianman, but they quickly pushed their thoughts aside once they saw the danger that Qiu Honglei was in. They quickly joined the fray.

    The pressure on Chu Chuyan decreased substantially. She turned around and said to Pei Mianman, ¡°Manman, take him away! Don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t know the consequences of staying here!¡±

    Pei Mianman bit her lip. ¡°Fine!¡±

    She tugged at Zu An and said, ¡°Ah Zu, trust us!¡±

    Zu An was about to refuse, but her words caused him to freeze momentarily. He let himself be pulled deeper into the forest.

    Seeing this, the Solitary Eight of the Devil Sect was about to give chase, but Qiu Honglei stopped them from doing so immediately. ¡°We¡¯ll deal with Mosquito Daoist first!¡±

 Chapter 500: Bad News

    <h4>Chapter 500: Bad News</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The Solitary Eight all frowned when they heard what she said.

    Solitary Wind said, ¡°Lady Saint, our objective right now is to capture Zu An, not to deal with Mosquito Daoist.¡±

    The cultivation of Mosquito Daoist was just too high. A few of them were seriously injured already, and they did not relish the prospect of facing her again. They were not willing to engage Mosquito Daoist in yet another fight unless absolutely necessary.

    Qiu Honglei shook her head. ¡°If you leave now in pursuit of Zu An, Mosquito Daoist will be the one to benefit in the end.¡±

    Solitary Metal wasn¡¯t convinced. ¡°Even if we defeat Mosquito Daoist, we¡¯ll lose Zu An. Wouldn¡¯t all our efforts be for nothing, then? It¡¯s better if we leave right now.¡±

    They were clearly unwilling to fight Mosquito Daoist again. Earlier on, Solitary Metal had been furious that his good friend Solitary Ice had been sucked dry, and was all ready to avenge him. Unfortunately, the fight outside the inn had been too awful, and left them all with a lingering sense of dread.

    Qiu Honglei grunted in displeasure. ¡°Then what about my Empress Lantern? She wants to steal that too. Are you guys going to just let that happen?¡±

    The Solitary Eight looked at each other in dismay. They knew that the Empress Lantern was something given to her by the sect master. There was no way the sect master would forgive them if they just looked on while it was stolen.

    ¡°But we¡¯ll be med if we let Zu An get away as well...¡± Solitary Lightning said. Even though she looked like a brute, she wasn¡¯t stupid.

    Qiu Honglei cut her off. ¡°I will take responsibility for everything when we face the sect master!¡±

    Seeing her take this stance, there wasn¡¯t much else the Solitary Eight could say. They knuckled down and resumed their battle with Mosquito Daoist. Even though they had lost some of theirpanions, with the seventh ranked Chu Chuyan on their side, their overall strength was still rtively the same as before.

    Chu Chuyan secretly sent Qiu Honglei a voice transmission. ¡°Thanks!¡±

    She was obviously aware that Qiu Honglei was doing all of this for her and Zu An.

    Qiu Honglei replied, ¡°Big sis saved my life earlier.¡±

    She immediately regretted calling her ¡®big sis¡¯ as soon as the words left her mouth. She had already divorced Zu An¡ªwhy did she still have to call her big sis?

    Chu Chuyan was momentarily stunned, and an odd smile touched the corners of her lips.

    Unlike them, Mosquito Daoist was incredibly furious. She had let those idiots from the Devil Sect talk among themselves in hopes that they would give up on fighting her, allowing her to deal with Chu Chuyan alone. Who could have expected that they would end up working together?

    ¡°All of you can go to hell!¡± Killing intent surged within Mosquito Daoist as she charged straight at them.

    ...

    Elsewhere, Zu An and Pei Mianman supported each other as they ran through the forest. The two of them were both seriously injured, and it was even a struggle to maintain an upright stance as they leaned against each other.

    After a while, though, the regenerative properties of Zu An¡¯s Primordial Origin Sutra began to take effect, and he recovered at a much faster rate than Pei Mianman. Eventually, he was the one shouldering most of her weight.

    In a remote part of the woods, Zu An sat down, still carrying Pei Mianman. He gave her another Soul Return Pill.

    Pei Mianman also took this chance to regte her breathing, and a faint trace of color finally returned to her face a whileter.

    ¡°How do you feel?¡± Zu An asked, clearly worried.

    ¡°Much better. Your pills are indeed amazing,¡± Pei Mianman sighed, clearly impressed. ¡°Right, you¡¯ve given me medicine, but what about you?¡±

    She hadn¡¯t seen Zu An take any medicine of his own, so she immediately became worried.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. Can¡¯t you see that I¡¯m already much better?¡± As he spoke Zu An flexed his arm, showing off his current condition.

    Pei Mianman wasn¡¯t reassured. She traced her fingers slowly across his skin to examine his wounds. She could sense that the horrifying injuries that he¡¯d sustained earlier were already starting to heal, and her mouth fell openpletely. ¡°Your body¡¯s regenerative properties are really astonishing!¡±

    Zu An swallowed with difficulty. ¡°Please don¡¯t touch me like that...¡±

    He was carrying her in his arms right now, and her thin dress was unable to keep in any of her body heat. Her soft, supple body was pressed against his, and his nostrils were filled with her intoxicating fragrance. It was enough to turn any man into a beast!

    ¡°We¡¯re already so close. What¡¯s the harm in a little touching?¡± Pei Mianman couldn¡¯t help but tease him. ¡°Have you really recovered...¡±

    In the middle of her sentence, a trace of redness suddenly appeared on her face, and she bolted out of his arms. ¡°No, you don¡¯t have to reply. I know you¡¯re fine.¡±

    Zu An wanted to cry. How is this my fault?! What kind of man won¡¯t have such a reaction with such a ravishing beauty in their arms?

    Pei Mianman stood next to him, her facepletely red. An awkward silence fell across them. Zu An tried to alleviate the embarrassment by asking, ¡°Why did you insist that I leave?¡±

    His heart was full of worry for Chu Chuyan. Mosquito Daoist was just too strong. A single mistake could end up costing her her life.

    ¡°Are you worried about Chuyan?¡± Pei Mianman seemed to have read his thoughts. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, help is on the way,¡± she reassured him.

    ¡°Who¡¯ll show up to help her?¡± Zu An immediately asked. He seemed to remember Chu Chuyan mentioning it as well. Did a few ridiculous simps follow her all the way there?

    ¡°Look at how nervous you are! It¡¯s not what you¡¯re thinking.¡± Pei Mianman rolled her eyes. ¡°We ran into a new contingent of troops dispatched by the capital. The leader is the Chief Commander of the Embroidered Envoy, Zhuxie Chixin...¡±

    She gave him a rough summary of what had happened.

    Zu An¡¯s expression grew strange when he learned that Sang Qian had been turned into a desated corpse. He sighed and said, ¡°Even though I really wanted to kill him myself for ruining your n to rescue me from the inn, I can¡¯t help but feel ufortable knowing that he met such a tragic end.¡±

    Even though he hadn¡¯t seen Sang Qian¡¯s death with his own eyes, he had seen how Solitary Ice had died. That sight alone had sent a chill down his spine.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re worrying about someone else¡¯s wife?¡± Pei Mianman snorted. ¡°Take my advice and don¡¯t worry about Zheng Dan. Both her and the Sang family have been detained by court officials and taken back to the capital first.¡±

    Zu An was a bit disappointed to hear this, but he still said, ¡°That¡¯s probably for the best. At least it¡¯s better than following me around and putting herself in danger.¡±

    Now that the emperor had sent out arger force to escort them, the ones who wanted the Sang n dead wouldn¡¯t dare get their way. Zheng Dan¡¯s safety would thus be ensured as well.

    ¡°So you guys made me leave because you didn¡¯t want me to run into Zhuxie Chixin? Won¡¯t he put the me on you two then?¡± Zu An immediately noticed this problem.

    Pei Mianman shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s all right. Your safety is more important. There is no way His Majesty can use this matter as an excuse to bring down both the Chu n and Pei n.¡±

    Zu An was incredibly moved to realize that they had done all of this for him. He held her hand and said, ¡°Big Manman, thank you guys so much!¡±

    Pei Mianman¡¯s face turned red, and she quickly pulled her hand away. ¡°You can say whatever you want, but don¡¯t just grab my hand out of nowhere.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°You didn¡¯t seem to mind when I carried and hugged you earlier,¡± Zu An mumbled.

    ¡°What did you say?¡± Pei Mianman replied yfully.

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°Nothing.¡±

    Out of nowhere came a derisive snort. ¡°Oh, look at you pair of adulterers! Your wife is out there risking life and limb for your sake, while you¡¯re having the time of your life with another woman! Also, young miss, your best friend didn¡¯t put her husband in your hands just so you could have your way with him.¡±

    Zu An and Pei Mianman turned around immediately, and saw a familiar figure not too far away.

    ¡°You¡¯re back again? Will you ever be satisfied?!¡± Zu An felt a huge headacheing on. This Mosquito Daoist haunted them like a bloody spirit! How long had she been pursuing him?

    This time, though, her clothes were in tatters, and she was riddled with injuries. He could tell that she wasn¡¯t in great condition.

    ¡°What happened to Chuyan?¡± Zu An looked behind her. Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t see anyone else.

    ¡°Dead, of course.¡± Mosquito Daoist snorted, a hint of joy appearing on her face.

    ¡°Dead?¡± Zu An felt as though a bomb had gone off in his mind. It was hard for him just to keep his feet under him.

    Right at that moment, a dazzling streak of light shed through the sky, descending towards them at great speed like a zing meteorite.

 Chapter 501: Flaming Meteor

    <h4>Chapter 501: ming Meteor</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Pei Mianman quickly reached out an arm to support him. ¡°Ah Zu, don¡¯t let yourself be tricked! Not even those guys from the Devil Sect could injure her that badly! Zhuxie Chixin had to have made it in time. That¡¯s the only exnation for her grievous wounds. With the help of those from the capital, how could anything have happened to Chuyan?¡±

    Zu An finally snapped out of his daze. In the dungeon, he had seen Chuyan use her ultimate, forbidden technique to fend off a ninth-ranked Shi Kun despite being at the fifth rank herself. There was no way she could be killed so easily, now that she was at the seventh rank. Even if she decided not to use that technique, it still wouldn¡¯t be easy for Mosquito Daoist to kill her.

    He hadn¡¯t sensed her unleashing her ultimate, forbidden technique, which meant that Chuyan had never been forced into such a dire, life-threatening situation.

    These thoughts help to calm him down. He red at Mosquito Daoist and berated her. ¡°Damned mosquito, I never expected that you would love lying so much! You gave daddy such a fright.¡±

    Mosquito Daoist was furious. ¡°What did you say, brat?!¡±

    As a powerful cultivator, she was respected and feared by many, and had run rampant across the world for many years. When was thest time she had been humiliated by a kid like this?

    You have sessfully trolled Mosquito Daoist for 999 Rage points!

    She was just about to teach him a lesson when a strange red bird suddenly appeared in front of her.

    It fluttered in front of her for a moment, then it opened its beak and released a strange cry.

    Mosquito Daoist screamed. She clutched her ears, but this didn¡¯t help block the torrent of sound at all.

    She was a master of sound-based attacks herself, and immediately realized that this wasn¡¯t a regr sound wave, but a spirit-based attack.

    She quickly calmed her mind and used her ki to defend herself.

    Seeing Mosquito Daoist in such acute pain, Pei Mianman prepared to leap forward, eager to take advantage of this, but Zu An grabbed her and started running instead. ¡°What are you doing? We should be running right now!¡±

    His Hundredwarble was a spirit element technique. It served as a powerful defense against the spirit-based attacks of others, but it wasn¡¯t as great at offense.

    The difference in cultivation between Mosquito Daoist and himself was way too big after all.

    Even though Mosquito Daoist had been caught off guard, Hundredwarble only managed to stall her for a little. It didn¡¯t do much actual damage.

    As for using this as a chance to attack her, that waspletely a fanciful delusion. Even though she was distracted spiritually, it wasn¡¯t enough to make herpletely lose control of herself. If they attacked her, she would still be in a position to retaliate.

    If the gap in their cultivations wasn¡¯t so huge, he might have given it a try. However, the difference was way toorge, which made itpletely pointless to take the risk. That was why he immediately pulled Pei Mianman away and ran further into the forest.

    Mosquito Daoist was furious when she saw where the two of them had run to. ¡°I will kill you!¡±

    She wanted to chase after them, but was currently crippled by a splitting headache. The only thing she could do was to kneel down on the floor and clutch her head tightly.

    Despite this, she wasn¡¯t too worried. This skill of his surely had a finite duration. Once the effects wore off, she would quickly catch up to them.

    Those two were both injured, and their clothes¡ªand even their bodies¡ªwere drenched in blood. Even if theypletely recovered from their injuries, took a shower, and changed into new clothes, it would still not be enough to wash away all traces of blood.

    From the nature documentaries that he used to enjoy in his past world, he knew that sharks could smell a single drop of blood from a few kilometers away, even if it had been diluted a thousand times. These fiend races had a powerful sense of smell, and it wasn''t something that he could fathom given his current knowledge.

    ¡°Where are we running to?¡± Pei Mianman asked, greatly worried.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An thought for a bit and said, ¡°Let¡¯s meet up with that Zhuxie Chixin you mentioned. Mosquito Daoist is riddled with injuries that he gave her. In that case, it¡¯ll be safe once we reach his side.¡±

    ¡°But that¡¯s only temporary safety! You¡¯ll die for sure once you reach the capital!¡± Pei Mianman gave him a doubtful look. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re not suggesting this just because you want to meet up with Chuyan?¡±

    Zu An was momentarily speechless. They were already in such a sticky situation, yet this woman¡¯s imagination was still so rich! ¡°Of course not! Didn¡¯t I already exin everything to you guys?¡±

    ¡°Okay then.¡± Pei Mianman did not sound fully convinced. ¡°But Mosquito Daoist is blocking our path back to the others. We might run straight into her if we go back now.¡±

    ¡°That is why I¡¯m going in this direction. We¡¯ll take a huge detour,¡± Zu An replied.

    In agreement, the two of them continued to move around the forest.

    A whileter, the air was suddenly filled with an urgent buzzing.

    ¡°Mosquito Daoist is almost here.¡± Pei Mianman frowned anxiously. This was the sound she heard every time Mosquito Daoist was close. She was probably using her mosquitoes to track them.

    ¡°She¡¯s like a spirit who won¡¯t stop haunting me!¡± Zu An ground his teeth in annoyance. He really wished he had a bottle of pesticide or an electric fly swatter right now.

    Of course, these were mere idle thoughts. Even if he had those things from his past world, there was no way they would help him get rid of this sentient mosquito monster.

    Their surroundings suddenly grew brighter.

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°It¡¯s already dawn?¡±

    But this doesn¡¯t make any sense! Did I really lose track of time while we were being chased?

    ¡°No, the sky isn¡¯t brightening! It¡¯s that thing!¡± Pei Mianman pointed towards the sky in shock.

    Zu An raised his head. A shooting star seemed to have suddenly appeared! However,pared to those shooting stars that streak through the sky and disappear, this shooting star was growing brighter andrger by the second as it approached the ground.

    Pei Mianman subconsciously grabbed Zu An¡¯s arm. Her voice began to shake. ¡°An irregr phenomenon! This is an inauspicious sign! Are we really going to die here today?¡±

    Zu An was quite amused. He didn¡¯t expect her usual bold and passionate self to be hiding such a timid side. He patted her hand tofort her. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s just a falling meteorite. It¡¯s a normal thing in astronomy.¡±

    He had seen many instances of such falling meteorites, thanks to the phone recordings and other media avable in his past world. He still recalled therge Russian meteor, as well as the one in western China.

    While they were chatting, the meteor, which was already pretty bright, suddenly erupted with a blinding white light, burning like the sun. It was supposed to be the middle of the night, yet it now seemed as bright as day. The light was strong enough to illuminate even distant objects and make them clearly visible.

    This pseudo-daylight persisted for half a minute, then just as suddenly as it had appeared, the dazzling white light dimmed, and the burning meteor seemed to fall apart. It broke into several dozen waves of dark red mes, shooting off in different directions.

    The sky became dark again, and the surroundings grew deathly quiet.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Irregr phenomena always bring treasures with them. I¡¯m going to take a look.¡±

    Pei Mianman was worried. ¡°We¡¯re being hunted right now, and we don¡¯t even know if we¡¯ll be able to make it out alive. How can you still be in the mood to look for treasure?!¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°This is where you¡¯re wrong. Even if we try to run back as quickly as we could, Mosquito Daoist will most likely catch up to us. We won¡¯t be able to meet up with Zhuxie Chixin in time. But that meteor caused a huge disturbance, and everyone within several dozen li is sure to have seen it. Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s group is no exception.

    ¡°There isn¡¯t a living soul who wouldn¡¯t be tempted by powerful treasure! Everyone who¡¯s seen it will be heading over there to check it out, and they will surely get there much faster than we do. It¡¯s safer than running around looking for them ourselves.¡±

    Pei Mianman gave him a startled look. She thought that greed had taken over his mind, but he¡¯d actually reasoned things out in such great detail.

    Zu Anughed bashfully. ¡°Don¡¯t stare at me like that... You know, research shows that two people can¡¯t help but fall in love if they stare into each other''s eyes for thirty seconds.¡±

    ¡°Fall in love, my ass!¡± Pei Mianman scoffed. ¡°Why didn¡¯t I see you act like this when Chuyan was with us earlier?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Are you implying that I should act more intimately with you in front of Chuyan?¡±

    ¡°Hmph! In your dreams!¡± Pei Mianman snorted angrily. She ran off, her mind in quite a mess.

    Zu An chuckled and followed after her.

    The two of them headed in the direction where thergest meteorite chunk had fallen. In a few moments, they found themselves in front of a massive crater. All the earth around it was scorched ck, and guttering mes still burned across the surrounding wastnd.

 Chapter 502: Strange Stele

    <h4>Chapter 502: Strange Stele</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The soil inside the crater seemed a little strange. It was as if it had been crystallized by extremely high temperatures.

    ¡°Why do I feel a chill?¡± Pei Mianman subconsciously grabbed at Zu An¡¯s arm. She leaned against him heavily, as if doing so would make her feel a little safer.

    ¡°Indeed, it does seem a little cold.¡± Zu An found this strange as well. A bloody meteor justnded here, and yet it¡¯s still cold? Shouldn¡¯t it be scorching hot?

    The surrounding area still bore scars of an intense, burning heat, and even the air was choked with a burnt smell. Everything pointed at the fact that the area should be hot, but strangely enough, they felt cold instead!

    ¡°Be careful. The path to great treasure is usually paved with danger,¡± Zu An reminded her, gently patting her hand.

    Pei Mianman grunted in agreement and put up her guard as well. She was ready to react at any given moment.

    The two of them carefully reached the lip of the crater and walked towards that meteor. A kaleidoscope of thoughts raced through Zu An¡¯s mind. I hope there¡¯s no radiation...

    There were many cases in his past world where meteors or other such items contained radioactive properties. Those who uncovered these shining rocks thought that they stumbled upon some priceless treasure... but they were instead tormented by the excruciating effects of radiation, up to the point where they wished they were dead instead of alive.

    However, now wasn¡¯t the time to think about these things. He headed towards it to have a look for himself.

    The two of them found themselves in front of a giant ck meteor and slowly circled around it. It didn¡¯t seem to be all that special. It was just a bit bigger than an ordinary meteor.

    Where¡¯s the promised treasure? This was supposed to be some fated encounter, right?

    Suddenly, they heard a burst of sinisterughter. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect the two of you toe all the way here. Did you find anything nice? Be good and hand it over, and I might just spare your lives.¡±

    Mosquito Daoist was standing at the edge of the crater, staring coldly at the two of them.

    Zu An felt a huge headache. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure I owed you some ridiculous debt in my past life, and you¡¯ve somehow chased me all the way into this one!¡±

    He was trying to buy some time. If his suspicions were correct, then Zhuxie Chixin and the others would be arriving soon.

    Mosquito Daoist tried her best to rearrange her tattered daoist robes. Unfortunately, no matter how she tried, she still could not manage to cover most of her exposed skin. ¡°Hmph! I¡¯m not in the mood to chat with you right now, brat. Hand over what you¡¯ve found, or else I¡¯ll start working on the woman next to you. Don¡¯te crying to me then.¡±

    She already had a n in mind. She wouldn¡¯t immediately kill Pei Mianman, but use her as a hostage to get the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra out of Zu An instead.

    Zu An shrugged and pulled Pei Mianman behind him. ¡°We just got here as well, and only managed to look around for a bit. This big meteor is the only thing here. There¡¯s nothing else.¡±

    Given her past experiences with him, Mosquito Daoist wasn¡¯t at all inclined to believe him. She leaped towards the two of them.

    Zu An and Pei Mianman quickly raised their weapons in defense. Unfortunately, they didn¡¯t have Qiu Honglei¡¯s Empress Lantern, and Mosquito Daoist was also already slowly adapting to the two of them, especially Zu An¡¯s strange movement technique and Pei Mianman¡¯s ck mes. Now that she was more prepared, the two of them were no match for her.

    Pei Mianman was the more injured of the two, and her reactions were slow. She was thrown backwards by the force of Mosquito Daoist¡¯s attack.

    If it wasn¡¯t because Mosquito Daoist still had a use for her in mind, she would have already died.

    Seeing her seriously injured, Zu An tried to leap to her aid, but this only gave Mosquito Daoist an opening. She seized the opportunity and sent a palm flying towards his chest and smashing right into it.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Mosquito Daoist wasn¡¯t as lenient with him as she was with Pei Mianman. She had watched him crawl back up over and over again while drenched in blood, and knew that he definitely had some special powers of recovery, which she subconsciously attributed to the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra. That was why she no longer held back like in the previous fights.

    Zu An felt as if a fire truck had rammed straight into him. His body flew backwards in a graceful arc and crashed into the meteorite behind him.

    The tremendous impact sent him smashing right through the surface of the meteor, creating a human-shaped hole.

    Even Mosquito Daoist was given a fright. She wanted to fully immobilize Zu An, not take his life immediately. How was it possible that her attack had been so strong?!

    Only Zu An alone knew that, although the meteorite behind him looked as though it was fashioned out of some incredibly tough ck steel, it was actually nowhere near that sturdy. On the contrary, it was actually quite brittle.

    Mosquito was just about to jump in and secure the two of them when a loud and continuous cracking filled the air, as though something was breaking apart.

    She immediately stopped and looked at the massive meteorite behind Zu An. Given her cultivation, she could tell that that was where the sounds wereing from.

    It looked like Zu An hadn¡¯t been lying after all. The two of them hadn¡¯t had time to uncover the meteor¡¯s secrets yet.

    An irregr phenomenon of nature always brought with it a powerful treasure, but this treasure was often guarded by tremendous danger. She wasn¡¯t in the greatest condition right now, so she had to be more careful.

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡± Pei Mianman staggered over to where Zu An had crashed into the meteorite, pulling him out. Just these simple movements alone were enough to exhaust whatever remaining energy she had. It was clear just how serious her injuries were.

    Zu An found himself free of the meteorite, his clothespletely tattered, like those of a beggar.

    However, he didn¡¯t have time to tend to himself right now. He turned around to look at the meteorite behind him. Cracks had appeared all around that human-shaped hole. Initially, there were only one or two cracks, but more and more quickly followed. Eventually, the entire outeryer of the meteor was covered in cracks.

    Without warning, this massive meteor suddenly split open and broke into countless small pieces.

    A pitch-ck stele[1] poked out from the rubble. There were two strange symbols carved on the surface. They looked like characters or drawings, but were somehow neither. Pei Mianman was quite knowledgeable herself, but she had never seen characters like these in the writings ornguage of any race.

    Zu An stared at the two characters as if he were in a trance. A figure rushed past the two of them. Mosquito Daoist reached for the stele, her eyes brimming with excitement, ¡°Hahaha! This treasure is mine!¡±

    A meteorite descended from outer space, containing a stele within it. Anyone with a brain could figure out that it was extraordinary! This was sure to be some exceptional treasure! She couldn¡¯t resist the temptation, and decided to seize it for herself first.

    Zu An and Pei Mianman were both in a terrible state, and werepletely powerless to stop her. They could only watch as she wrapped her hands around the stele.

    However, the moment Mosquito Daoist grabbed the stele, ayer of light flickered across it, sending a powerful force rippling outwards. With an agonizing shriek, Mosquito Daoist¡¯s body was blown backwards.

    Even though she managed to neutralize most of the impact thanks to her extensivebat experience, she still suffered a considerable number of internal injuries.

    Zu An immediately cheered. ¡°Serves you right!¡±

    Mosquito Daoist refused to acknowledge defeat. She rushed towards the stele again. This time, she used less force than before, and slowly reached her hand towards the stele. However, there was the same flicker of light, and she was flung away by what appeared to be a barrier around the stele.

    This time, however, since she hadn¡¯t used too much strength, she was only pushed away lightly, without suffering any serious damage.

    Mosquito Daoist slowly walked around the stele, trying out different methods that she coulde up with, but none of them worked.

    Not only was she left frustrated, she knew that others would soon be drawn here as well. She didn¡¯t have much time left.

    Off to the side, Zu An grabbed Pei Mianman¡¯s hand and signaled to her with his eyes. The two of them used what remained of their strength to run away from the stele. With luck, Mosquito Daoist would be distracted by the stele and would not give chase.

    However, with a flicker of movement, Mosquito Daoist appeared in front of the two of them, blocking their path. She reached out her hand and grabbed Pei Mianman by her neck. ¡°You two, go and touch that stele!¡±

    It was possible that she, as a member of the fiend race, could not pass through whatever barrier was around it, but the two humans might be able to seed. After all, such restrictions were simr to those that elders of the human race employed to safeguard their own secrets, and prevent other races from inheriting their skills.

    Zu An snorted disdainfully. ¡°Those who ask for help should always ask nicely.¡±

    Mosquito Daoist could only stare at him, speechless.

    Is this guy somehow blind to the fact that he is currently a prisoner? She would¡¯ve already killed him instantly if not for the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra.

    You have sessfully trolled Mosquito Daoist for 222 Rage points!

    ¡°If you keep spouting nonsense, I¡¯ll start cutting up your woman¡¯s face!¡± she threatened, stroking her sharp fingernails along Pei Mianman¡¯s fair cheeks.

    1. A stele is arge stone tablet.

 Chapter 503: Yinxu

    <h4>Chapter 503: Yinxu</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Pei Mianman¡¯s expression grew frosty. ¡°I¡¯ll bite my own tongue and end my life if you dare cut up my face! Let¡¯s see what you¡¯ll use to get the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra out of Zu An then.¡±

    She could guess what Mosquito Daoist was thinking, and purposely said this to remind Zu An as well.

    Mosquito Daoist froze. ¡°Oh? Girl, you look pretty delicate and fragile, but you have a pretty stiff backbone. It seems like you care a little bit about this face of yours. In that case, you¡¯d better cooperate obediently!¡±

    ¡°Enough, enough.¡± Zu An was worried that she might actually hurt Pei Mianman. ¡°Let¡¯s just go over there. Let her go first.¡±

    ¡°You first.¡± Mosquito Daoist wanted to be careful. She didn¡¯t want to see anything else happen.

    Zu An shrugged his shoulders and walked straight towards that stele without any further argument. Mosquito Daoist was quite surprised at how agreeable he was being.

    He reached the stele and examined it carefully. It was entirely ck in color and felt extremely ancient. He couldn¡¯t figure out if the two symbols carved on its surface were words or decorative designs.

    He stared at those somewhat familiar diagrams, and a pensive look appeared on his face.

    ¡°What are you dilly dallying for?¡± Mosquito Daoist said impatiently when she saw him standing in front of the stele like a statue. A massive meteorite had crashed in this area, and others might be arriving at any time to investigate. She was obviously in a hurry.

    Zu An grunted in reply, then gently touched the stele. As expected, he encountered the same problem as Mosquito Daoist.

    A transparent barrier formed in front of his hand, preventing him from touching the stele.

    ¡°Use more force!¡± Mosquito Daoist ordered, frowning. Were her suspicions wrong? Could it be that this wasn¡¯t left behind by a powerful human?

    Zu An could only brace himself and throw himself at the stele. However, he had seen what Mosquito Daoist had suffered earlier, so he didn¡¯t use his full strength.

    Sure enough, the instant he rammed into the barrier, it instantly became incredibly hard. He cried out in pain.

    Mosquito Daoist was watching all of this closely. She noticed that the force of the rebound was clearly not as great as when she herself had charged at it earlier. The main function of this object was probably to absorb the energy of an impact and then reflect it back.

    ¡°I can¡¯t break through either.¡± Zu An rubbed his shoulder as he crawled back to his feet. He had a hopeless expression on his face.

    Mosquito Daoist proposed another idea. ¡°Scatter some of your blood on it.¡± She had roamed the world for many years, and she knew that many restrictions used blood as a catalyst.

    She wasn¡¯t worried that this stele would recognize Zu An as its owner. After all, she had this big-chested woman as hostage, and she was confident that she could easily overwhelm Zu An as well, given the gap in their cultivations.

    Even though it was unusual to be able to transfer a blood-bound treasure from one owner to another, it would be a different story once the original owner died.

    She would get rid of him once she obtained the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra anyway. It took barely an instant to formte her ns.

    Zu An didn¡¯t refuse her request. He was already riddled with wounds, so it was easy enough to draw blood from any of them.

    He flicked a drop of blood at the stele. The blood disappeared after making contact with the transparent barrier, but there was no reaction.

    ¡°Was it insufficient?¡± Mosquito Daoist muttered. ¡°Use more!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have much left, thanks to you!¡± Zu An berated her angrily. However, he still ran his palm across his body, coating it in blood, then reached forward to touch the barrier.

    The barrier seemed to be able to cleanse itself somehow. His hand left a red stain on the barrier, but the red color quickly disappeared, and the patch regained its original transparency.

    ¡°Did it absorb it or not¡­?¡± Mosquito Daoist was confused. She pushed Pei Mianman forward. ¡°You, go and give it a try.¡±

    Pei Mianman was anxious to be away from her. When she reached Zu An¡¯s side, she said through voice transmission, ¡°Ah Zu, what do we do now?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression was a little odd. ¡°Don¡¯t panic. I think our luck is about to change.¡±

    ¡°About to change?¡± Pei Mianman was confused. She couldn¡¯t see how things would get any better. Were they really putting all of their hopes on other people getting here in time?

    ¡°What are you two muttering about there? Hurry up and give it a try!¡± Mosquito Daoist shouted. She didn¡¯t dare stand too close because she was afraid that there would be some other formidable defensive mechanism. However, she remained close enough that she could still react in time if something happened.

    Pei Mianman had no choice but to do what Zu An had done earlier. At first, the barrier remained intact, and showed no sign of reaction. However, as she wiped off the blood from her wounds and tried onest time, that stele suddenly trembled. The two diagrams on the stele red with a burst of golden light. The symbols seemed to havee alive, flickering with light.

    When this happened, Mosquito Daoist rushed forward to take a look. Unfortunately, aside from the golden light flowing out of the two diagrams, nothing else seemed to have changed. The barrier was still there, and they still couldn¡¯t touch the stele.

    ¡°It looks like the key lies with those two symbol diagrams,¡± Mosquito Daoist said. ¡°Do either of you recognize it?¡±

    Zu An and Pei Mianman both shook their heads. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen it before.¡±

    Mosquito Daoist was asking for the sake of asking. Even she, who had mountains of experience, had never seen these symbols before. There was no way that these kids would have either.

    She fell into deep thought. ¡°Does this seal need the blood of a woman to activate, or does it need a man and a woman to activate it together¡­?¡±

    While she was still pondering this issue, Zu An suddenly grabbed Pei Mianman. He looked at the two strange patterns on the stele and said, ¡°Yin¡­ Xu!¡±

    The strange symbols weren¡¯t some random chicken scratches¡ªthey were ancient Chinese characters from his past world! These were oracle bone inscriptions!

    A writtennguage already existed during one of China''s most ancient dynasties, the Shang Dynasty. These characters were usually carved on tortoiseshell and bones, and then used for sacrificial purposes. That was why they were called oracle bone inscriptions.

    Even though modern china already deciphered most of these oracle bone inscriptions, these scribblings were iprehensible to ordinary people. None of them would recognize these characters.

    Zu An only recognized these characters because he had watched a documentary about archaeology previously, regarding this oracle script. The title of that documentary was ¡®Yinxu, ruins of Yinshang¡¯.

    The Shang Dynasty had relocated their capital city many times. The most famous capital city was Yin City. That was why the Shang Dynasty was also called the Yinshang. This capital city waster excavated, but after a thousand years of erosion, this previously-prosperous city had been reduced to mere buried ruins.

    That was why those remains were called Yinxu[1].

    Zu A didn¡¯t know why he would see these two characters in this strange world, moreover through the oracle script of the Shang Dynasty. Yinxu should have been a termter generations used when referring to the Shang Dynasty¡ªthere should be no way those actually from the Shang Dynasty would use this term.

    However, this wasn¡¯t the time to think about all this. When he heard Mosquito Daoist say that the keyy in those two characters, and seeing how the seal had clearly been triggered earlier, he had to give it a try.

    The stele shook suddenly at the sound of his voice. The strokes of the two characters began to move, and then they began to swirl around the edges of the stele. The stele morphed into a portal the height of an average human. The borders shone with gold, while the inside was ck.

    Zu An was no stranger to these portals. He had seen simr wormholes in the science fiction works of his past world. The entrance to the Ursae dungeon was also a simr portal, although this portal was much smaller in scale.

    Without hesitation, he held on tightly to Pei Mianman¡¯s hand and jumped straight in.

    ¡°You little bastard!¡± Mosquito Daoist had been deep in thought, so the sudden developments left her rather stunned. The stele had been protected by the barrier just a moment ago, and the gate of light had formed almost instantly, so she was powerless to stop them in time.

    She subconsciously reached out towards the two of them when she saw them jump through, trying to grab at least one of them, and managed to grab Zu An¡¯s trouser leg. But Zu An was already prepared. His longsword sliced through his pant leg, cutting that section off.

    Mosquito Daoist was left holding a pointless piece of cloth. From the time Zu An and Pei Mianman entered it, the portal had already shrunk to the size of a bowl, preventing any other humanoids from entering.

    She couldn¡¯t believe what she was seeing. She had seen secret dungeons before, but she had never seen a secret dungeon that only remained open for such a short time.

    There was no way that she would stand idly by as this treasure slipped right through her fingers, not after so much sacrifice. She would never ept this! She transformed into a ckblood Mosquito and followed them inside the instant before the portal closed.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    1. The character ¡®xu¡¯ means burial grounds.

 Chapter 504: The Most Shameless Man of All

    <h4>Chapter 504: The Most Shameless Man of All</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The inn within the small town was full of the Imperial Guard, and King Liang and Liu Yao were surprisingly on the list. They had already made contact with the reinforcements sent from the capital.

    King Liang and Liu Yao were normally confident and arrogant, because they were usually the most powerful individuals present, and were also rtives of the emperor and empress.

    Now, however, the two of them were ufortably restless. They snuck looks at the man off to the side from time to time, as if trying to determine his present mood.

    No one could me them for being so cautious. Even though the rank of the man in front of them was beneath theirs, his strength was absolutely unquestioned. His rank was being deliberately suppressed only because he was the emperor¡¯s confidante, and the emperor wanted him to serve as the leader of his secret service.

    Many nobles and officials in the capital had been crushed by him over the years, which was why the two of them did not dare to be negligent.

    They had been given the huge task of capturing Zu An, and yet they had ended up losing him, and the lives of ten of the Embroidered Envoy as well.

    If they had managed to capture Lu Sanyuan, then they might have at least been able to make up for some of that. However, Lu Sanyuan¡¯s cultivation was way too high, and even with the two of them working in tandem, there was no way for them to deal with him. They had been toyed with for a while before he had swaggered off.

    There was only one possible oue for this, which was for them to be stripped of their ranks and criticized harshly. The two of them were rtives of the emperor and empress, so they wouldn¡¯t suffer as poor a fate as other ordinary officials, but they wouldn¡¯t stand a chance if Zhuxie Chixin spoke poorly of them when they returned to the capital.

    A storm was brewing on Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s face. He had noticed the way the two of them wer behaving, but paid them no attention.

    One after the other, the Embroidered Envoy began to return from their assigned scouting missions.

    ¡°Reporting to the Chief Commander! We did not locate Mosquito Daoist¡¯s whereabouts.¡±

    ¡°Reporting to the Chief Commander! We did not locate Zu An¡¯s whereabouts.¡±

    ¡°There was no sign of the young miss of the Pei n either.¡±

    ¡­

    Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s eyelids twitched as the reports came in. He looked at the beautiful and reserved woman beside him. ¡°Miss Chu, I fear that we require an exnation from you.¡±

    ¡°I do not understand what I should be exining,¡± Chu Chuyan replied indifferently.

    King Liang and Liu Yao were taken aback. This youngdy was clearly showing such bravado because of her ignorance. She did not know how terrifying Zhuxie Chixin was. In the capital, even children knew to fear him.

    Despite that, their hearts were full of admiration as well. They had heard of the reputation of the Chu n¡¯s first miss before, but they would only catch glimpses of her from far away. They weren¡¯t of the same generation, after all, so even if Chu Chuyan was in the capital, there wouldn¡¯t be any suitable opportunity for them to interact with her.

    Now, they managed to see what she was like up close. As expected, her reputation was well-deserved. She really did have the aura of an immortal deity, floating above the cares of the mortal world.

    Given their social status, the two of them had already seen their fair share of young and beautiful women. However, sharp and refined women like her really were a rarity, and what made her even more outstanding was her uniquely cold arrogance and her noble temperament.

    Right now, she was facing the leader of this special assignment, whose cultivation was far above hers, and who held the lives of countless people in the palm of his hand. However, she didn¡¯t try to assert herself, nor did she bend down in subservience. She merely maintained her simple, elegantposure.

    Such a proud and arrogant demeanor stirred in men a powerful desire to conquer her. However, such a woman was definitely not worthy of any ordinary man.

    She¡¯s like a flower lovingly ced upon a pile of cow dung!

    The two of them both happened upon the same thought by chance, because both of them recalled how obscenely and shamelessly Zu An had acted along the way.

    In their opinion, the person worthy of Chu Chuyan would be an elegant and handsome young master, who was gentle in speech and character. This man would have to possess an exceptional background, and be a genius as a cultivator, nurtured from his youth. This Zu An, however, was just some hoodlum from the streets, no matter which angle they looked at him from. They had no idea which part of him attracted Chu Chuyan.

    They subconsciously nced over at the nearby Zheng Dan. The Sang n¡¯s daughter-inw treated him rather well too, and hadn¡¯t said much even when Zu An bullied her. They even seemed to be rather attached to each other.

    Then, there was thatdy saint of the Devil Sect, and the Pei n¡¯s young miss as well. Both of them seemed to be close to Zu An.

    Their imaginations went into overdrive. Were the aesthetic tastes of women and men that different?

    Zhuxie Chixin cut off their fanciful thoughts with a cold snort. ¡°I recall that Chu First Miss promised me that you wouldn¡¯t help Zu An escape. You swore on the name of the Chu n. Why are you cing the Chu n in danger because of a man?¡±

    Chu Chuyan kept herposure. ¡°I indeed made this promise, and I didn¡¯t help Zu An escape.¡±

    ¡°Then why was it that Zu An was gone by the time I arrived?¡± Zhuxie Chixin gave her a frosty look. Her exceptional appearance hadn¡¯t the slightest effect on him. As the leader of the Embroidered Envoy, the emperor¡¯s greatest and most trusted aide, he had long since trained himself to be unaffected by the charms of women.

    Chu Chuyan replied, ¡°At the time, Mosquito Daoist was going to kill both Pei Mianman and Ah Zu, and the members of the Devil Sect were intent on capturing them as well. I did not have the ability to protect them both, so I ordered them to leave the battlefield first in order to survive. I did not intend to let Zu An escape.¡±

    ¡°Why did those members of the Devil Sect agree to cooperate with you? On top of that, you even let them go when I arrived. Is the Chu n colluding with the Devil Sect?¡± Zhuxie Chixin leaned forward. His gaze was intensely oppressive, and his voice had grown much more severe.

    King Liang and Liu Yao subconsciously straightened their bodies, cowed by his overbearing stance.

    Sang Hong, Sang Qien, and Zheng Dan exchanged nces. This was definitely a huge crime. The emperor had been looking for a way to deal with the Chu n all along, and this crime would really be the final nail in the coffin for the Chu n.

    Chu Chuyan clearly realized this as well. She frowned. ¡°Lord Zhuxie, please do not speak such frightening words. Our Chu n has nothing to do with the Devil Sect. We only worked together because Mosquito Daoist was too strong. Neither side was a match for her.¡±

    After a pause, she continued, ¡°Lord Zhuxie is well aware of Mosquito Daoist¡¯s prowess. Respectfully, not even you could restrain her, so I stood even less of a chance. As for what happened then, the Devil Sect used the opportunity to get away. I was seriously injured myself, so there wasn¡¯t much I could do to stop them.¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin almost choked on his breath. This woman hadpletely turned the tables on him! It was true that Mosquito Daoist had sli[ped through his fingers in the end. If this matter was examined closely, he would be the one to bear all the responsibility.

    His expression grew even darker. Mosquito Daoist was infamous, and she really was quite formidable herself. The many years she had spent on the run from her pursuers had only helped her to perfect her arts in escape. She had still managed to get away despite his side having such a huge advantage in terms of numbers.

    As for those Devil Sect fiends, they had also taken the opportunity to slip away.

    Thatdy saint of the Devil Sect had run in the direction of Chu Chuyan, who should have at least done something about it, but she had deliberately let her go.

    Unfortunately her exnation for that was also reasonable and fair, and he had no proof to back his im up.

    His face was almost as ck as a piece of coal. A subordinate interrupted them. ¡°Reporting! There has been a discovery in the rear courtyard.¡±

    This sudden report was sudden and unexpected, and he quickly got up to take a look. The others also followed, curious to find out what had happened.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    They reached the rear courtyard, where they discovered a simple, crude tombstone. The graves were exhumed, and then the dozen-or-so corpses were removed.

    Zhuxie Chixin frowned. ¡°Who are these people? Are they from the Devil Sect?¡±

    A trembling voice spoke in reply. ¡°No, they are warriors from our Sang n.¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin looked at Sang Qien. ¡°Why would your men die here? From their appearance, they seemed to have dressed themselves up as tavern workers. What were you all nning?¡±

    ¡°I received intelligence that someone wanted to harm my father, so I summoned some men to protect them¡­¡± Sang Qien gave a rough recount of what had happened. For the sake of avoidingplications, she didn¡¯t talk about how they took the initiative to save Zu An, instead framing the meeting between the Devil Sect and their men as a coincidence.

    ¡°Those Devil Sect members really are vicious and merciless.¡± Zhuxie Chixin suddenly sensed something amiss. ¡°Who buried these people, then? Those Devil Sect members wouldn¡¯t be so kind-hearted as to bury them and erect a tombstone, right?¡±

    Even though these people weren¡¯t resting in coffins, they had still been carefully buried. Every one of them had their clothes sorted out, and they were even given a woven mat to serve as a coffin.

    ¡°It was probably Zu An,¡± Chu Chuyan said. She looked at the words on the tombstone and blushed. ¡°The handwriting is so ugly, yet the words are so distinctive. Who else could it be but him?¡±

    Someone else found the other half of the tombstone, which had identally broken off while the graves were being exhumed. Sure enough, therge words ¡®Set up by Zu An¡¯ were written on it.

    ¡°Zu An¡­¡± Sang Qien fell into a daze as she read the words he had written: ¡°Grave of loyal men¡¯. Her eyes grew slightly misty. She suddenly seemed to understand why her sister-inw had fallen for this man.

    ¡­

    ¡°Achoo!¡± Meanwhile, somewhere far away, Zu An sneezed. ¡°Which girl is thinking about me now?¡± he muttered to himself.

    Next to him, Pei Mianman snorted. ¡°You really are the most shameless man I have ever met.¡±

 Chapter 505, Part I: Hell On Earth

    <h4>Chapter 505, Part I: Hell On Earth</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    A sudden cry rang out from outside the inn. ¡°Come over here! What is that?¡±

    A group of people subconsciously raised their heads and looked in the direction that person was pointing. A blinding radiance streaked across the sky.

    Liu Yao looked at that shining meteorite as it flew through the night sky, and muttered to himself, ¡°It¡¯s an irregr phenomenon¡­ It surely harbors a great treasure!¡±

    The eyes of those around him burned with desire when they heard what he said.

    Only Zhuxie Chixin maintained an impassive expression. He stared at that streak of radiance that had suddenly turned the dark night into day, then said, ¡°Let¡¯s move. We¡¯re heading over there to take a look.¡±

    Chu Chuyan was slightly hesitant. She was still worried about Zu An and Pei Mianman¡¯s safety, concerned that they might not be able to escape Mosquito Daoist¡¯s pursuit. She wanted to use this opportunity to find them.

    Sang Qien walked over to her side and said, ¡°Big sister Chu, even though I haven¡¯t been with Zu An for a long time, from what I know about him, he¡¯ll probably run towards that falling meteorite. I¡¯m sure its sudden appearance has drawn enough attention, and other people will converge on it swiftly. There will surely be others there to help keep Mosquito Daoist in check.¡±

    After all, there was clearly no need for Zu An to reveal the fact that he possessed Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, yet he had done so deliberately to drag in other powers to keep the emperor in check. This man could be considered absolutely reckless, yet at the same time, he was still an incredibly meticulous thinker. She believed that he would choose to run towards the meteor, as that would make it easier for him to escape.

    Chu Chuyan gave her a surprised look. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that Miss Sang was sharp, and it now seems like the rumors were all true. If we do end up rescuing Ah Zu, I shall owe you a debt of gratitude.¡±

    ¡°I should be the one who is grateful to him for burying these men.¡± Sang Qien gave those deathsworn soldiers a look. She had already requested that Zhuxie Chixin order the men to be buried again. Once they returned to the capital, they would dispatch some people to bring these men back home.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s expression softened as well. ¡°Even though there are too many things I can criticize Zu An for, deep down, he is still a kind person.¡±

    Sang Qien grunted in agreement. ¡°I could sense that as well.¡±

    Sang Hong sighed. He actually admired Zu An greatly. If he¡¯d known about this beforehand, he would have brought his daughter to Brightmoon City instead, and taken him in as his son-inw. His son wouldn¡¯t have had to die such a miserable death then¡­

    Zhuxie Chixin and the others were not in a sympathetic mood. He left behind some men to guard the inn and watch the criminals, then personally led the Embroidered Envoy in the direction the meteorite had crashed.

    King Liang and Liu Yao couldn¡¯t hide their curiosity, and followed along as well. So did Chu Chuyan, who was worried about Zu An.

    However, by the time they reached the crash site, all they saw was a crater, with some debris scattered about, probably from the meteorite. Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s face was as dark as a thundercloud.

    ¡°Lord Zhuxie, do you see Zu An?¡± Chu Chuyan asked. He had the highest cultivation among them all, and had arrived first, so he might have noticed something.

    Zhuxie Chixin stared at the remnants of the meteor. ¡°We were toote. I saw them jump through a portal. Mosquito Daoist followed them in as well. The portal disappeared too quickly, and I wasn¡¯t able to stop them in time.¡±

    He presumed that the portal was the entrance to a secret dungeon. However, he had never seen a portal entrance close that quickly. Who knew if Zu An would even be able to return alive? After all, only after a secret dungeon had matured and been mostly explored did it be rtively safer. Most secret dungeons were extremely dangerous when they first opened.

    He felt a huge headacheing on when he thought about how he was going to exin things to the emperor once he got back.

    ¡°Mosquito Daoist went in as well?¡± Chu Chuyan¡¯s expression changed slightly, a tremor of fear growing in her heart.

    ¡°That¡¯s not something to be worried about. Secret dungeons are usually ratherplicated, so they might have been sent to different locations upon entering,¡± said Zhuxie Chixin.

    ¡­

    The instant Zu An and Pei Mianman entered the portal, they felt a sudden weightlessness. This wasn¡¯t an unfamiliar feeling¡ªthey had felt something simr when they entered the dungeon behind the academy.

    When they regained their senses, they discovered that they were in a world shrouded in mist. Gray-colored fog hung heavy in the air all around them.

    ¡°I think I saw Mosquito Daoist enter as well,¡± Pei Mianman said, ncing behind her in worry. However, there was no one there.

    Zu An said, ¡°She did follow us in, but she was probably sent to a different location.¡±

    He too felt a growing headache. That woman just never gave up! She never even let this small opportunity slip past her.

    Pei Mianman also understood what had happened. This was true of many other secret dungeons as well. Those who entered were often sent to different locations within the dungeon. To arrive in the same location as a group, those entering needed to hold hands.

    Only now did she notice that their hands were still sped together tightly. Her face colored slightly as she felt the heating from his hand. ¡°How much longer are you going to hold my hand for?¡±

    Zu An chuckled awkwardly and quickly let go of her hand. ¡°I had no choice earlier! I wasn¡¯t trying to take advantage of you.¡±

    ¡°I know.¡± Pei Mianman¡¯s looked at him with her beautiful peach-blossom eyes, which were deep and enchanting. ¡°Otherwise, I would¡¯ve burned you to ash with my ck mes a long time ago.¡±

    Zu An jumped in fright. ¡°Please don¡¯t¡­Whoeveres into contact with your ck mes is incineratedpletely, and even their bones are reduced to nothing!¡±

    ¡°You silly thing, why would I use my ck mes on you?¡± Pei Mianman giggled.

    Zu An looked around them, peering out at the greenish-gray mist surrounding them. This mist seemed different from regr mist, that would dissipate even in a gentle breeze. It was exceptionally thick, and he wasn¡¯t confident that even Solitary Wind¡¯s tornados could scatter it. ¡°Be careful, this ce is rather strange, and we don¡¯t know where Mosquito Daoist is either. Things could turn sour if we end up running into her.¡±

    This mist reduced their visibility to just a few meters ahead of them, which wasn¡¯t far at all. If Mosquito Daoist was hiding nearby, they wouldn¡¯t have any advanced warning.

    ¡°Okay¡­¡± Pei Mianman wasn¡¯t actually that scared, yet she somehow felt a sense of safety when she was around this man, although his cultivation was clearly lower than hers.

    ¡°How are your injuries?¡± Zu An said as he took out a pill. She had been injured by Mosquito Daoist again earlier on, and he could see how weak she was.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m already in a much better condition.¡± Pei Mianman shook her head, refusing his offer. ¡°The medicine from earlier is still doing its work. I¡¯m already slowly recovering.¡±

    Zu An had to give Ji Dengtu credit for his medicine. He made a mental note to get some more from Ji Xiaoxi the next time he saw her.

    ¡°By the way, how were you able to recognize the characters on that stele?¡± Pei Mianman asked curiously. The scene from earlier on was still fresh in her memory.

    ¡°Because I know a lot of things, duh!¡± Zu An said smugly.

    Pei Mianman snorted. ¡°I¡¯ve studied the records left behind by all the different races ever since I was young. Why have I never seen these words, then?¡±

    Zu An knew that she was a top student, and he probably wouldn¡¯t be able to fool her if he said that they were some random characters that were only used in his hometown. Instead, he said, ¡°I don¡¯t know either. I¡¯ve seen those characters in my dreams before, so I recognized them when I saw them on the stele.¡±

    Pei Mianman was shocked. ¡°There are records dating far back into ancient times about certain individuals¡¯ talents being directly bestowed on them by the heavens. I¡¯ve always thought that it was just a myth. I never expected that such a thing would be true.¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An exhaled in relief. He had chosen this excuse precisely because of these examples from the past. He hadn¡¯t expected it to actually work.

    Now that he had loosened up, a host of questions began to bubble up in his mind. Would he actually see the ruins of Yinshang, ande across any oracle bone inscriptions?

    He recalled meeting the first emperor, Qin Shihuang, in the dungeon behind the academy, and other figures from ancient times. He sank deep into thought, trying to puzzle out what was going on.

    ¡°Ah!!¡± Pei Mianman suddenly cried out in rm, and subconsciously grabbed his arm.

    ¡°What happened?¡± Zu An asked anxiously. He looked all around him, expecting to see that Mosquito Daoist had somehow caught up to them, but their immediate surroundings seemedpletely calm, and he didn¡¯t detect any possible dangers.

    ¡°Blood¡­¡± Pei Mianman pointed at the ground beneath them. ¡°The color of the soil here is dark red, as if it had been soaked in blood.¡±

    There was greenish-gray mist surrounding them. They could only see a few meters ahead of them, and they had been in a constant state of stress all this while. The sight of the blood-red ground beneath them was enough to immediately send chills running down anyone¡¯s spine.

    Just how much blood was needed topletely turn the soil dark red?

 Chapter 505, Part II: Hell On Earth

    <h4>Chapter 505, Part II: Hell On Earth</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An was quick to reassure her. ¡°It might not be blood. It might just be red because of the presence of oxidized iron.¡±

    ¡°Oxidized iron?¡± Pei Mianman froze, a nk expression on her face.

    ¡°You can think of it as rusted iron.¡± Even though Zu An was trying his best tofort her, he didn¡¯t have much confidence in his own exnation. Was this really the result of oxidation?

    Pei Mianman said, ¡°Regardless of what it is, we still need to remain alert. This sort of secret dungeon is probably full of dangers.¡±

    This was actuallymon knowledge in the cultivation world. It was easy to see if a secret dungeon was dangerous or not just from its environment. If it had gentle breezes, bright beautiful sunlight, green hills and clear waters, it was probably a rtively peaceful dungeon. Even if the core of the dungeon was slightly more dangerous, it would be perfectly manageable as long as one did not venture there.

    The environment of this particr dungeon was anything but that.

    The two of them proceeded carefully, because it was all too easy to get lost within the dense greenish-gray mist. There was no way to distinguish north from south, east from west. The two of them could only proceed forward cautiously, one step at a time.

    The ground beneath them gave away suddenly. This section was not solid enough to support their weight.

    ¡°Be careful!¡± Zu An and Pei Mianman coincidentally cried out in warning at the same time as they leaped backwards.

    Unfortunately, Pei Mianman was seriously injured, so she was unable to jump to safety. Zu An grabbed her right away, but the action sent him tumbling down into the hole as well.

    In a panic, he quickly stuck out a hand and tried to grab onto a nearby wall. He didn¡¯t know how deep this hole was, or if it was a trap, so he didn¡¯t dare let them fall.

    Unfortunately, things didn''t turn out the way he had expected. There was something not right with the walls of the pit. They were hard and slippery. At Zu An¡¯s current level of cultivation, he could split a stone with no difficulty at all. His fingers should have dug into the wall firmly and held on, especially considering the strength he had used.

    Somehow, though, his fingers were only able to make shallow indents on the wall, and were unable to prate any deeper. His fingers were already in great pain, despite having not made much of a mark on the wall.

    With Zu An unable to grab onto any handhold, the two of them tumbled down into the darkness.

    Zu An subconsciously wrapped himself around Pei Mianman, using his body to shield her. She was seriously injured right now, and he was concerned that this fall would be enough to kill her.

    As for himself, he had the Primordial Origin Sutra, so his powers of recovery far exceeded any normal human.

    Just like that, the two of them rolled downwards. He tucked Pei Mianman¡¯s head firmly against his chest and did his best to cover her with as much of his body as possible.

    Fortunately, they weren¡¯t tumbling into a bottomless abyss. After a moment, the two of them finally hit the bottom.

    Zu An groaned as he felt something sharp stabbing into his back. However, he couldn¡¯t be bothered with this right now. He quickly lifted the face of the beauty in his arms. ¡°Big Manman, are you all right?¡±

    Pei Mianman¡¯s wless eyes no longer possessed their usual devastatingly powerful charm. Instead, she stared at him somewhat nkly. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ fine. Aren¡¯t you worried that Chuyan might be heartbroken if you throw away your life here?¡±

    She clearly remembered what had happened just now. He hadn¡¯t run away on his own, but fell into this hole with her in order to save her.

    But none of them knew what was down here, and he had put his own life in danger just to save hers.

    Moreover, he had used his own body to shield her from the rocks and other dangers as they tumbled down the slope. Her clothes were only slightly wrinkled, perhaps torn in some spots, and she had suffered only minor cuts and scrapes.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    On the contrary, Zu An¡¯s clothes had beenpletely ripped to shreds, and his face was covered in cuts and bruises.

    Zu Anughed out loud. ¡°What kind of nonsense are you spewing? How could I abandon you like that? Aren¡¯t you my friend?¡±

    ¡°But we¡¯re only friends¡­¡± A trace of disappointment shed across her face, vanishing as soon as it appeared. She immediately found her usual charm again. ¡°I guess that¡¯s fine. I am Chuyan¡¯s good friend, after all. Chuyan would never let you hear the end of it if you didn¡¯t save me.¡±

    She then raised a fist and hit Zu An.

    ¡°Ah!!¡± Zu An inhaled sharply. He felt a piercing pain in his back, and then he spat out a mouthful of blood.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? I didn¡¯t even use any strength!¡± Seeing him in such pain almost brought Pei Mianman to tears.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I think something stabbed me in the back when wended earlier. Help me take a look.¡± Zu An twisted his head, but he couldn¡¯t see his own back.

    Pei Mianman immediately began to weep. A long, sharp object had pierced deep into his back. From the looks of it, it had already punctured his lungs. No wonder blood had gushed out from his mouth!

    Hearing her description, Zu An unexpectedly rxed. ¡°It¡¯s not too bad. Help me pull it out.¡±

    ¡°But if I pull it out now, you¡¯ll lose a lot of blood!¡± Pei Mianman eximed.

    Zu An rubbed her head and reassured her. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. My cultivation might be average, but my body is pretty tough. Nothing¡¯s going to happen.¡±

    Pei Mianman finally remembered the amazing regenerative properties of his body. She bit her lip and said, ¡°Be careful.¡±

    ¡°Yes ma¡¯am!¡± Zu An straightened his body. Even though it was painful, he forced himself to act calmly, so as not to worry her.

    He was actually quite amazed at himself. He was horrified when he first learned that Guan Yu had poison scraped off his bones[1], but he had been dealt countless grievous wounds in this world already. Forget about scraping his bones¡ªhis bones had already broken and fused back together many, many times.

    Of course, this was all thanks to the world of cultivation. The bodies of cultivators were not as brittle as ordinary humans. Nevertheless, other cultivators would have already died if they had suffered the injuries he did. In the end, he had to thank the Heiress Ball of Delights he had back then, and now, the Primordial Origin Sutra.

    Pei Mianman was a cultivation genius, and she was able to keep her hands steady no matter what weapons they wielded. However, as she held onto the object sticking into Zu An, her hands trembled furiously.

    ¡°It¡¯s all right, just pull it out.¡± Zu An patted her gently. His warm smile finally calmed her down.

    Pei Mianman also knew that she couldn¡¯t keep putting it off. She took a deep breath, and then she slowly pulled out that sharp rock. Her movements were slow, afraid that blood might just gush out if she pulled it out too quickly.

    Zu An groaned, and his forehead was immediately covered in fine beads of sweat. This hurts way too bloody much! Then again, it had pieced his lungs, after all.

    From what he knew, the most painful way to die in his previous world was to have one¡¯s lungs severely punctured. The victim would leave the world in great pain, gasping for air all the way.

    Once again, he felt grateful for the Primordial Origin Sutra¡¯s incredible powers of regeneration. Without it, even if he didn¡¯t die here, he would still end up dying from an infection.

    Pei Mianman finally removed the sharp rock. Then, she tapped his pressure points and helped him seal up the wound. Even so, there was a massive hole in Zu An¡¯s back, and his body was riddled with other wounds as well. Tears began to stream uncontrobly down her face again.

    She knew that she would have been killed by this sharp object if Zu An hadn¡¯t protected her. She was the only reason he had been wounded so badly.

    Because of what happened to her mother, Pei Mianman never believed in the concepts of love and affection. Although she always put on a flirtatious attitude, and seemed the pr opposite of Chu Chuyan, her heart had always been as cold and unfeeling as a rod of pure iron. She viewed everything in the world with indifference.

    Even though her rtionship with Zu An was pretty good, and she might have felt a little bit for him, that was as far as it went.

    Now, though, he had saved her life over and over and again, and the walls around her heart¡ªwhich she had built up ever since she was a young girl¡ªhad begun to copse bit by bit. Even her long-frozen heart had begun to melt.

    ¡°Sis, can you please save the crying forter? Help me apply some medication, please.¡± Zu An was speechless. Wasn¡¯t this girl usually pretty quick-witted? Why was she acting like a little girl today?

    Pei Mianman snapped out of her daze. She took the medicine bottle from his hands and helped him apply the medicine, then tore off a part of her clothing to bandage his wound.

    Her eyes suddenly narrowed as she noticed several other bandages on his body. These bandages even had little flowers embroidered on them, and they seemed to give off a faint fragrance. Another woman had definitely helped him with his wounds.

    This was only a momentary distraction for her. She quickly wrapped up his fresh injuries and helped him wipe away the sweat on his brow.

    ¡°Big Manman, your hands are really soft.¡± Zu An felt much better as the coolness seeped into his back. With Divine Physician Ji¡¯s medicine and the Primordial Origin Sutra working in tandem, survival wasn¡¯t an issue at all.

    This time, Pei Mianman didn¡¯tugh. Instead, she gave him a serious look. ¡°Ah Zu, can you promise me something?¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Zu An froze.

    Pei Mianman bit her lips. She hesitated several times, clearly searching for the right way to say this. In the end, she looked him in the eyes and said, ¡°Can you promise me that you won¡¯t risk your life to pick up girls in the future?!¡±

    Zu An stared, speechless.

    Pei Mianman continued, ¡°You risked your own life to save me several times, and you did the same for Zheng Dan earlier. You blocked a spear for her. And then there¡¯s that Qiu Honglei as well¡­ If you don¡¯t cherish your own body, how can you face¡­ face Chuyan?¡±

    Zu An was embarrassed. ¡°Actually, I wasn¡¯t thinking about any of that. I just couldn¡¯t bear to watch you guys die without doing anything¡­¡±

    Pei Mianman¡¯s gaze softened. ¡°I know you mean well, but your luck will run out eventually if you keep doing that! What if you really do lose your life?¡±

    Zu An said quietly, ¡°My body is different from those of ordinary humans¡­¡±

    Pei Mianman cut him off. ¡°I know you can recover quickly, but even that has a limit! Can you promise me that you won¡¯t do something stupid like this in the future?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s heart softened when he looked into her misty eyes. He quickly said, ¡°All right, all right, I promise you. Even if I am saving others, I will make sure that I survive¡­ But if you encounter danger again, there¡¯s no way I won¡¯t try to save you.¡±

    ¡°Look at this guy¡­¡± Pei Mianman sighed. This dummy didn¡¯t understand me at all! How many girls can resist a man who is willing to risk his own life to protect her? Who knows how much emotional bank this guy will rack up in the future!

    Zu An picked up the sharp object that had stabbed right into his body. ¡°Let¡¯s see what in the world made me suffer so much.¡±

    His eyes suddenly narrowed in the middle of his sentence. This wasn¡¯t a rock, but a human rib bone!

    Pei Mianman¡¯s attention had been totally on him earlier on. Now, she also recognized what this thing was. ¡°This¡­ this¡­¡±

    Zu An quickly stood up and examined his surroundings. Both their faces immediately drained of all color.

    Zu An said with a bitter smile, ¡°It seems like what you said was correct. This entire ce was dyed red with blood.¡±

    Perhaps because they had fallen quite a fair distance, the mist around them wasn¡¯t as thick as before. This pit was roughly the size of a few ser fields. There were sets of bones strewn everywhere. Every single skeleton was twisted, clearly revealing the agony they had experienced before their death. It really was hell on earth.

    1. In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Guan Yu was struck in the arm by a poisoned arrow. The wound refused to heal, so a visiting physician offered to treat the wound by cutting all the way to the bone and scraping off the poison. Guan Yu supposedly endured this procedure without anesthetic.

 Chapter 506: Everything is Strange

    <h4>Chapter 506: Everything is Strange</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Ah!¡± Pei Mianman cried out in rm. However, she immediately realized that she shouldn¡¯t be drawing any attention to herself right now, especially in such a strange and unfamiliar environment.

    She subconsciously grabbed Zu An¡¯s arm and leaned against him, as though he was her only source of warmth.

    Her body was trembling slightly. Zu An sighed. Even though this woman usually appeared bold and unppable, in the end, she was still a youngdy inside. It waspletely normal for her to feel fear when confronted by such a situation.

    Forget about her for a moment, even a man like him would be scared out of his wits. If he was the only one here, his heart would be pounding like crazy.

    However, he had a young woman next to him, and a pretty one at that. For some reason, he suddenly wasn¡¯t so scared anymore.

    No wonder thepanies of his previous world always made men and women work together on tasks. Women could stimte the hormones of the men and make them more courageous, thus greatly increasing the efficiency of their work; the men would have simr effects on women.

    He cleared his throat and tried tofort her. ¡°Don¡¯t be scared, they¡¯re just bones. Whoever they belonged to died a long time ago.¡±

    Pei Mianman blushed. She was slightly embarrassed by her current behavior. ¡°Hmph, I won¡¯t be scared even if they were alive. By the way, could this be an ancient battlefield?¡±

    Zu An squatted down by a nearby skeleton. He examined it for a while, then shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t believe it is. I didn¡¯t see any weapons along the way.¡±

    ¡°Then could it be the field that the victors of the battle used for executions? This would exin why no weapons were left behind!¡± Pei Mianman said. ¡°There are rumors of an ancient Devilgod who massacred four hundred thousand troops, even though they had already surrendered. That really was terrifying.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. Was she talking about Bai Qi? He didn¡¯t expect this world to have a legend like this![1]

    He had always suspected that this world was linked to his previous world in countless ways. However, the academy¡¯s books on geography¡ªif they were urate¡ªshowed that this world should be much, much bigger than Earth, which was why this couldn¡¯t be Earth.

    He shook his head to dispel these thoughts, then replied, ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s that either. They don¡¯t look as though they meekly allowed themselves to be executed, nor are they kneeling on the ground. They don¡¯t seem like surrendered soldiers who were awaiting execution.¡±

    He had noticed this by carefully examining several skeletons earlier on.

    ¡°Then were they buried alive? I noticed that you weren¡¯t able to grab onto the walls earlier.¡± Pei Mianman walked over to a wall and poked at it with her fingers. The surface was tough and had a slippery surface, as if it were coated in oil. ¡°This seems to be something that prevents people from climbing back up.¡±

    ¡°Buried alive?¡± Zu An had a strange look on his face. ¡°Isn¡¯t there something you¡¯re forgetting? There¡¯s no dirt here.¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Pei Mianman¡¯s face immediately turned red. Only now did she realize that she said something foolish. If they had been buried alive, these corpses would still be underground. The reason they had fallen into this pit was because it was hollow, with only a thinyer of soil covering it.

    ¡°Then what do you think is going on?¡± She said with a huff of annoyance, to cover up her own embarrassment.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know how they died, but I¡¯ve noticed something really strange. All of their heads are pointed in a certain direction.¡± Zu An said, his face a serious mask.

    Stunned by his revtion, Pei Mianman rushed over to examine the skeletons around them. She had felt something amiss as well, but had been unable to put her finger on what exactly it was. Now, with Zu An¡¯s sudden remark, she finally knew the strange feeling in her gut wasing from. Even though the skeletons were all in different postures, they possessed onemon trait, which was that all of their heads were lowered, as if they were all looking at something beneath them.

    Zu An inspected these skeletons a little more before saying, ¡°They weren¡¯t executed by hanging. The neck bones of those who are hanged would snap backwards, and their heads should not be pointed downwards like this. There are other signs as well. These skeletons don¡¯t bear any significant damage, which proves that they weren¡¯t killed by weapons. Their bones didn¡¯t turn ck either, so it doesn¡¯t look like they were poisoned.¡±

    Pei Mianman¡¯s face turned pale. ¡°Stop scaring me! It sounds more and more strange now¡­¡±

    Zu An sighed. ¡°This ce was strange to begin with. It¡¯s not a big deal, we don¡¯t need to know the cause of death. Let¡¯s find a way out of this ce first.¡±

    He walked over to the wall of the pit and looked around. His voice, when he next spoke, was tinged with puzzlement. ¡°Hm? I remember us tumbling down a long slope when we first fell. Why do these walls now look perfectly vertical?¡±

    ¡°This ce is way too weird.¡± Pei Mianman also remembered that they had tumbled down a slope with Zu An wrapped around her. Now, the walls all seemed to be perpendicr to the ground, with no sign of a slope at all.

    Zu An also had a bad sense of foreboding. He cleared his head, then looked above him. ¡°This pit doesn¡¯t seem to be that deep¡­¡± He muttered to himself.

    The pit was around twenty meters deep. This might be extremely deep for an ordinary person, but it wasn¡¯t too difficult for a cultivator.

    ¡°Wait here. I¡¯m going to see if I can jump out.¡± Zu An said to Pei Mianman. Scaling such a height wasn¡¯t usually difficult for him, but that was only if he had some footholds along the way. The walls were too slippery for that, so he had to make it in a single leap.

    It wasn¡¯t too big of a deal if he tripped and fell, but Pei Mianman was injured. It would be a disaster if he fell while carrying her.

    ¡°Okay, but be careful!¡± Pei Mianman stood obediently aside, like a young married woman.

    Zu An nodded. Taking a deep breath, he bent his knees and jumped. His body shot out like a missile.

    ¡°I should be able to make it,¡± Zu An said with a smile. He saw that he was about to reach the top. He still had quite a bit of momentum left over, so it wouldn¡¯t be too difficult to carry Pei Mianman with him.

    ¡°Be careful!¡± Pei Mianman cried out in rm.

    There was a loud crash. His head exploded with pain, and then his ears began to ring. It was as if he had identally run straight into a pair of ss doors.

    If it wasn¡¯t for his sturdy body, his head would¡¯ve been smashed open right there and then.

    He screamed in pain as he fell from midair. Pei Mianman quickly rushed forward to catch him, but she was seriously injured and didn¡¯t have the strength to do so. Both of them ended up on the ground in a heap.

    Zu An quickly raised his head, and saw a shimmer of blue light.

    Sure enough, a transparent seal had appeared across the top of the pit. The runes on its surface were extremely strange, not at all resembling the style of the runes he was used to after arriving in this world. Despite this, they still seemed rather familiar. What were they exactly?

    His mind moved quickly, and he suddenly cried out in rm. ¡°I remember! Those are Taotie Runes!¡±

    In the museums and documentaries of his past world, many bronze artifacts dug up from the Shang and Zhou Dynasties had these types of designs. Some called them Taotie Runes, while others called them Beast Runes. They meant more or less the same thing.

    ¡°Can you move your hands first?¡± A voice called out from beneath him, dripping with annoyance.

    Zu An lowered his head, and saw that he was currently squashing Pei Mianman. Because he had fallen from above, he had naturally stretched his hands out to support himself, and they just happened to be pressed against her chest.

    So soft!

    This was his first thought.

    So big!

    This was Zu An¡¯s second thought. However, he quickly snapped out of his daze and pulled his hands away. ¡°Um, would you believe me if I said that it wasn¡¯t on purpose?¡±

    ¡°I know that already.¡± Pei Mianman¡¯s face was slightly red. She got back to her feet with his help.

    It was Zu An¡¯s turn to be stunned. She didn¡¯t get mad? After all, when someone pretended to identally bump into her back at the academy, she had chased after him with her ck mes until a teacher interfered and saved that unfortunate kid.

    ¡°Why is there a seal above us?¡± Pei Mianmanpletely ignored what had just happened. She stared above her and said, ¡°We definitely fell from up there.¡±

    As they spoke, the flickering blue streaks of light on the seal slowly disappeared, and in a few moments, it was as if the seal did not exist at all. However, they both knew that it was still there, and once activated, it would reappear.

    ¡°It looks like we can only look for a way out down here.¡± Zu An could tell that the seal above them was simr to the barrier around the stele that had brought them here. It wasn¡¯t something they could destroy, given their current strength.

    Pei Mianman grunted in agreement. She was just about to reply when a sudden quaver entered her voice. ¡°The eye sockets of those skeletons¡­ they¡¯re shining¡­¡±

    1. Bai Qi was a general for the Qin state who was responsible for the deaths of over a million people. He was nicknamed the Human Butcher. The battle that Pei Mianman is referring to is the Battle of Changping (260 BCE).

 Chapter 507: A Difficult Dilemma

    <h4>Chapter 507: A Difficult Dilemma</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Shining?¡± Stunned by her remark, he quickly turned to follow her gaze. Sure enough, blue light was suddenly burning in the dark sockets of the skull. It was as if this skeleton had opened its eyes!

    Zu An subconsciously took a step back as well. He swallowed with difficulty and said, ¡°Does this world of yours have ghosts?¡±

    Pei Mianman was also in a state of panic. It was already scary enough that this massive pit was filled with skeletons, and the strange light shining within that skull made her even more terrified. She didn¡¯t even notice that he said ¡®this world of yours¡¯.

    ¡°Ghosts? Are you talking about spirits of the deceased? There are several ancient records of them. In the past, several cultivators sought out unconventional paths, and began to delve into necromancy. Some managed to control corpses and other such things.¡±

    Zu An recalled the zombie troops that he¡¯d seen in the dungeon behind the academy, and Zhang Han as well. These could all be considered undead creatures. He wondered what kind of being his big sis empress was¡­

    But now wasn¡¯t the time to think about these things. He looked at the skeleton, its eyes still flickering with blue light. ¡°I don¡¯t think these are undead creatures. I¡¯ve met them before, and the feeling I get from them is different.¡±

    Back in the old tomb in the Ursae Dungeon, even though those undead creatures had inferior intelligence, he could sense a form of ki fluctuation from their bodies. However, he did not feel anything of that nature from these skeletons, and the light inside of those eye sockets were very different as well.

    ¡°Then what kind of thing is this skeleton?¡± Pei Mianman was still a little scared. She didn¡¯t know if it was because she was weak from her injuries, or if it was because she had Zu An next to her, but she felt much more timid than before.

    ¡°It might just be some phosphorescence. Such phenomena tend to happen in cemeteries and other such ces. Phosphorus is quite mmable, and it produces blue mes when ignited. Many people don¡¯t know about this and treat them as mes that represent the souls of the departed,¡± Zu An exined, imparting some scientific knowledge to her.

    ¡°Phosphorus? Is it something simr to that oxidized iron that you were talking about earlier?¡± Pei Mianman asked curiously. She considered herself quite well read, but she had never read anything about these before.

    ¡°Something like that. They¡¯re both a type of chemical.¡± Zu An¡¯s face heated up. He had said earlier that the dirt was red in color because of oxidized iron, yet it turned out that it was actually blood. He really hoped that he wouldn¡¯t embarrass himself again.

    As if she had read his mind, Pei Mianman¡¯s fingers began to tremble as she pointed in another direction. ¡°Why are more and more eyes lighting up?¡±

    Zu An quickly looked around. He noticed that the other skulls were beginning to emit blue light as well, one after the other.

    There were thousands of skeletons in this mass grave, and blue lights were beginning to light up arge area. The pit, which had been dark earlier on, was now filled with an eerie glow. It was an utterly terrifying sight.

    Suddenly, there was a strange rustling, but they didn¡¯t see a single person around them. Things began to feel weirder and weirder.

    ¡°Are you¡­ sure that it¡¯s just phosphorous?¡± Pei Mianman leaned even closer to him. She sounded extremely frightened.

    Zu An gulped. This was definitely not phosphorus. If it was, why did they all coincidentally happen to burn only within the eye sockets of those skeletons?

    Damn it! Why am I still trying to exin all these things with science? There are many things in this world that can¡¯t even be exined through science to begin with!

    The soft, tender touch on Zu An¡¯s arm was about to drive him crazy, but made him braver as well. He said in a low voice, ¡°I¡¯ll go and take a look!¡± Standing around and thinking about it would only make him more afraid.

    ¡°Be careful!¡± Pei Mianman reminded him.

    She followed behind him so that she could look after him by being at his side, and also because staying with him made her feel slightly safer.

    Zu An took out his Tai¡¯e Sword. He carefully stopped next to the closest skull, vignt against any sudden attacks.

    The skull on the skeleton hung limply, without showing any sign of change.

    Zu An didn¡¯t believe that it was luring him in. After all, undead creatures usuallycked intelligence, and wouldn¡¯t be capable of such tricks.

    He squatted down by one of the skeletons. ¡°Excuse me, I¡¯m really sorry for disturbing you. I just want to find out what happened here. This might help you rest in peace as well.¡±

    After saying this, he reached out his hand and slowly removed its skull. He wanted to see what was going on.

    However, as soon as he lifted it up, the two cold lights red brightly, then shot out towards his face.

    He immediately identified what those two lights were. They weren¡¯t will-o-the-wisps, nor were they ghosts. They were two strange-looking snakes.

    These two snakes weren¡¯trge, only a foot in length. Their bodies were extremely thin as well, but their heads were quiterge.

    It had a bump on its head, and there was what seemed to be a vertical eye on that bump¡ªwhich Zu An supposed could be considered its face. It was precisely this eye that was glowing with blue light.

    Normal snakes had eyes on the sides of their head, and they were always small and round. However, not only was the snake¡¯s eye oriented vertically, each snake only had one eye, which made them look extremely bizarre.

    Its entire body was painted with ck and red patterns, and almost every single one of its characteristics suggested that it was poisonous.

    Zu An had already prepared himself to deal with any sudden ambushes when he removed the skull. As the snakes lunged at him, his Tai¡¯e Sword shed, and the two snakes were hacked into four chunks.

    However, his eyes immediately narrowed, because the snakes did not seem to lose any forward momentum at all, even after being sliced apart.

    He then remembered that snakes could still move after losing their heads. There were many cases of people dying after being bitten by beheaded snakes in his previous world.

    ¡°Damn it all!¡± The two snakes were lightning-quick to begin with, and the two of them were extremely close to him, so there was nothing else that Zu An could do.

    He could only pray that his powerful regenerative abilities could ward off the venom that was sure to be in these snakes. However, the snakes were extremely weird, and their poison was sure to be potent.

    A burst of ck me shed past, and the two snakes were instantly burned to a crisp.

    It was none other than Pei Mianman, stepping in to help him. Zu An felt cold sweat dripping down his back. He gave her a grateful look. ¡°Big Manman, I would be dead right now if you hadn¡¯t been here with me.¡±

    Pei Mianman smiled. ¡°You¡¯ve already saved me many times as well.¡±

    However, her smile quickly froze. ¡°I think it¡¯s best if we leave this ce as soon as possible.¡±

    Zu An turned around. All around them, the blue lights in the skulls had begun to move. The strange snakes wriggled out from those skulls, with many of those skulls harboring two snakes. They nketed the ground, soon covering everything in sight.

    There were thousands of corpses here, and it was easy enough to imagine just how many snakes there were here.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here!¡± Zu An turned and ran, pulling Pei Mianman along with him. The snakes swarmed at them from all directions.

    Usually, cultivators like them should be much faster than snakes, but these snakes were something else altogether. They were incredibly fast, and didn¡¯t seem to be falling behind at all.

    Zu An ran across the massive pit, doing his best to avoid these snakes. He didn¡¯t want to be surrounded by them. Only when he had to did he use his Tai¡¯e Sword to open up a path.

    This time, he had learned from experience, and paid attention to the direction in which the snakes were facing. There was no way he would let himself be ambushed again.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    This pit was massive. Zu An estimated that it was the size of seven or eight ser fields. However, they were cultivators, so they were much faster than ordinary people. Even though this pit wasrge, it wouldn¡¯t take them much time to fully explore it.

    Unfortunately, these strange snakes were everywhere, and did not give up their pursuit of them. As they ran past more of the bleached bones, more and more snakes joined those that were already pursuing them.

    There was no way Zu An could just stop. If he stopped running, the sea of snakes would catch up to them. When he hacked through those few snakes that got too close, he noticed that their blood was like acid, burning through the ground. Their blood was definitely highly toxic and corrosive. If he let these snakes overrun thempletely, their fate would surely be too horrible to imagine.

    However, continuing to run around would only rm more and more of these snakes. It was hardly a solution to their problem.

    The only hope was to find an exit from this pit. Only then would there be a chance for survival.

    However, after running around the perimeter of the pit, they were left in despair. Aside from those skeletons and the strange snakes, there was nothing else. There was no way out.

 Chapter 508, Part I: On the Verge of Despair

    <h4>Chapter 508, Part I: On the Verge of Despair</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Ah Zu, is there anything we can do?¡± Pei Mianman was no longer her confident and bold self. Her face was deathly pale.

    As a cultivator, she wasn¡¯t really afraid of death.

    However there were many ways to die! If she was killed by someone else, then that was that. However, being slowly chewed to death, little by little, by an endless sea of snakes was just too horrifying to even imagine.

    She finally understood why those skeletons didn¡¯t have any wounds. They had probably been poisoned by these strange snakes! These snakes were so small, so their teeth didn¡¯t leave behind any visible marks on the bones. After these people had died from the venom in the snake bites, the snakes would feast on the flesh of the corpses¡­

    These snakes would enter her body, and thene out of her eye sockets¡­ Pei Mianman shivered in fear.

    Zu An¡¯s mind was moving at lightspeed. It would be a losing battle if they stood their ground against this endless multitude of snakes. He had to think of something else.

    But they already examined this entire pit, and there was no exit to be found.

    Unfortunately, this made a lot of sense. This pit was clearly designed to kill. The walls were slippery and impossible to climb, and there was even a seal above them, preventing any attempt to escape in that direction. Why would the one who made this trap allow any of its prey to leave?

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but feel despair creeping into his mind. Why did they have to fall into this pit?

    Hm? Wait. There was no seal when we fell in! There¡¯s no way this seal could allow entry but not exit, right? I don¡¯t think it¡¯s that advanced.

    He quickly scanned the surroundings. The walls around them were all perfectly vertical, but he was sure that they had tumbled in along a slope. Even though that slope was steep, it was definitely not perfectly vertical.

    ¡°Ah Zu?¡± Pei Mianman saw Zu An staring. She dealt with the iing snakes with her ck mes as she yelled at him.

    Zu An snapped out of his daze. He said to Pei Mianman, ¡°We need to hurry back.¡±

    ¡°Back? Back where?¡± Pei Mianman was lost.

    Zu An replied, ¡°We are returning to where we fell in. There should be an exit there.¡±

    Pei Mianman immediately replied, ¡°We already checked that area! There were only vertical walls there. There were no exits.¡±

    They had moved on to look elsewhere precisely because they hadn¡¯t found any exits there. They had already covered a distance of several ser fields. There would only be more of these strange snakes to deal with if they went back.

    Zu An quickly exined, ¡°What you see isn¡¯t necessarily real most of the time. Who knows, there might be some hidden mechanism, or an illusion that made us think they were walls.¡±

    Pei Mianman still wasn¡¯t convinced. ¡°But we already checked everything. There were no mechanisms!¡±

    She wasn¡¯t a dolt. On the contrary, she was incredibly smart. She wouldn¡¯t have been considered one of the best cultivators in her age group otherwise. She had taken special care to check that area before they left, just to make sure that there were no such hidden mechanisms.

    Zu An replied, ¡°We only checked the sections closest to the ground earlier. What if the switch is higher up on the walls?¡±

    He led Pei Mianman back to the spot, brandishing his sword at the iing snakes as he continued his analysis. ¡°Actually, now that I think about it, it¡¯s easy to see the contradiction. Since there is a seal above, why is there a need to make the walls so slippery?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Pei Mianman had instinctively assumed that the seal was meant to deal with powerful experts, while the slippery walls were to deal with ordinary people. However, since there was already a seal in ce, making the walls slippery was indeed pointless.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An quickly continued, ¡°We saw earlier that those skeletons weren¡¯t bound, which meant that they could have tried to escape at any time as well. If the seal above only activated after they entered, those who fell in could use that small opening to escape, which would be troublesome. That suggests that the seal was already in ce before those poor souls fell in.

    ¡°This presents another problem. If the seal was already in ce, how were they put in? They were clearly brought in by a different channel. They were probably unconscious when they were chucked in, which was why they didn¡¯t know that this alternate channel existed.¡±

    Pei Mianman still had her doubts. ¡°In that case, all of the victims could have been thrown in first, and then sealed in afterwards. There¡¯s no fear of them escaping then.!¡±

    ¡°There are three things that suggest otherwise!¡± Zu An said. ¡°Firstly, there are too many bones down here. If they were all brought in at the same time, that would be a lot of work. From what I saw along the way, there were differences in the skeletons as well. They weren¡¯t uniformly scattered around the pit, but rather in groups, and the groups were spaced out as well. These groups definitely didn¡¯t know each other beforehand. We stepped on some bones along the way as well. Some of them were still hard, but some of them were much softer, which would mean that they were much older.

    ¡°Secondly, if I was the one in charge of engineering such arge pit trap, I definitely wouldn¡¯t want to make it a single-use trap. I¡¯d want it to be reusable. This increases the probability that there is an alternate channel, which was what I spoke about earlier.

    ¡°Thirdly, and most importantly, we were awake when we fell in, and we tumbled along an incline. This is the basis for my initial spection.¡±

    Pei Mianman¡¯s eyes shone brilliantly as she listened to all of this. She had already begun to despair earlier on, but his analysis had given her a newfound hope. Even though she had yet to see this secret passage herself, she was already convinced. ¡°Ah Zu, you¡¯re too awesome!¡±

    Being praised by a beautiful woman who looked at him with adoring eyes made Zu An¡¯s heart stir. ¡°Of course I am. Don¡¯t end up falling in love with me now.¡±

    ¡°Hmph! You¡¯re shameless!¡± Pei Mianman rolled her eyes, but she really was quite amazed. This fe was able to remain optimistic no matter the situation, and his optimism was infectious, imparting to those around him a feeling of safety.

    However, the two of them didn¡¯t have the luxury of chatting right now. More and more of those snakes had shown up as they made their way back, and they found it hard to even find proper footing.

    At first, the situation was still manageable, thanks to Pei Mianman¡¯s ck mes. The snakes seemed afraid of fire, and didn¡¯t dare get too close.

    However, Pei Mianman¡¯s injuries were still substantial, and she couldn¡¯t sustain the ck mes indefinitely. Eventually, she had to take a break to recover.

    Zu An was left to wail away with his sword to clear away the snakes in their path. Fortunately, his Bixie Swordy didn¡¯t use up his ki. His direct fighting style was also suitable for such a situation, where enemies were everywhere.

    Unfortunately, his Sunflower Phantasm was nowpletely useless. The technique was good for evading enemies, but there were snakes all around them, and simply evading attacks wouldn¡¯t do him much good.

    Snakes swarmed them from all directions. Left with no choice, Zu An tried to leap from skeleton to skeleton, using the bones almost like stepping stones. However, these skeletons had snakes of their own, which often slithered out when disturbed. If not for his quick reactions or Pei Mianman¡¯s ck mes, he would¡¯ve already lost his life.

    Faced with this seemingly impossible problem, Zu An discovered another method, which was to leap to the wall. Even though the walls were slippery and hard to use as footing, he could hang onto them with his Tai¡¯e Sword and the Poisonous Prick, moving along the wall by alternately stabbing one or the other into the wall.

    No matter how tough the walls were, they didn¡¯t stand a chance against the Tai¡¯e Sword or the Poisonous Prick, which both cut through iron like dirt.

    Zu An sighed in relief. He patted Pei Mianman, who was clinging to him, and said, ¡°We finally have a chance to catch our breath.¡±

    He decided to climb back up to where they had fallen in, using his two des like climbing ws.

    Pei Mianman grunted in agreement. Her face was a little red. Her arms were hooked around his neck, and her body was pressed up right against his. They could feel each other¡¯s body heat through their clothes. She was normally rather bold, but she felt incredibly embarrassed right now.

    Zu An wasn¡¯t faring much better either. His entire body was burning up as he smelled the fragrance of the woman clinging to him and felt the softness of her chest against his. This massive pit that was full of danger now no longer seemed as hateful¡­

    He suddenly felt the beauty embracing him slowly slide downwards, and was immediately given a fright. He freed up one hand in order to grab her thigh and support her. ¡°Manman, don¡¯t let go! If you fall, it¡¯ll be over!¡±

    The snakes were all gathered right beneath them with their heads raised, staring at them with their vertical eyes and hissing. It was an extremely frightening sight.

    Pei Mianman bit her lip, clearly embarrassed as well. ¡°I don¡¯t have any strength left. I can¡¯t hold on tightly any longer¡­¡±

 Chapter 508, Part II: On the Verge of Despair

    <h4>Chapter 508, Part II: On the Verge of Despair</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Where are you putting your hand?!

    Despite her reaction, Pei Mianman knew that he was doing this to save her, so she didn¡¯t say anything.

    ¡°Wrap your legs around my waist. That¡¯ll make it easier for you to cling onto me.¡± Zu An said this as he lifted her leg, trying to wrap it around him.

    ¡°No way!¡± Pei Mianman immediately refused. Even a pure and innocent young woman would know that such a thing wasn¡¯t proper at all! How could she allow this?

    Zu An began to sweat. ¡°Miss, I¡¯m really not trying to take advantage of you! My hands are upied with trying to climb this wall. If I carry you with one arm, we won¡¯t be able to go anywhere!¡±

    Pei Mianman raised her head. She could see the veins on his sword arm bulging, clearly supporting a substantial amount of weight. She wasn¡¯t apletely unreasonable person. Even though it was embarrassing, she still ultimately agreed to it, given their current situation. ¡°Fine. But you can¡¯t tell Chuyan about this. No, waitÒ»you can¡¯t tell anyone!¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face darkened. ¡°Why would I tell her something like that?¡±

    Satisfied, Pei Mianman sighed in relief. She bit her red lip, and then wrapped her arms around his neck again. She did her best to sp her legs around his waist. Her entire body was now hanging off him.

    The two of them were intimately wrapped around each other, and she could feel his masculine aura all around her. Even the usually flirtatious and bold Pei Mianman felt a little shy. She buried her head into his chest, and her body was trembling just a little. She didn¡¯t dare say a single word.

    Zu An hadn¡¯t had any wicked ideas before, but when he sensed just how sensitive she was, his mind began to stir as well.

    The hissing of the strange snakes below him dragged him back to reality. They weren¡¯tpletely out of danger yet.

    He was just about to move upwards with the Poisonous Prick when a few streaks of blue light shot towards them.

    Zu An shivered in fear. He shed with his de, and the blue lights tumbled back down. He had already noticed that his attackers had been those strange snakes.

    Several more snakes coiled their bodies, then shot upwards, flying at the two of them.

    Zu An blocked them with his dagger. He was grateful that he hadn¡¯t thrust this de into the wall yet. If both of his des had been stuck into the wall, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to fend off those snakes in time.

    Thankfully, he was suspended in midair, so only a few of the strange snakes on the ground could attack him in this manner at the same time. That was why he could just barely fend them off.

    This was hardly something to celebrate, though. With the snakes attacking him, he had to focus on defense, and could not move forward at all.

    Pei Mianman also noticed this predicament. She quickly said, ¡°Give me a little bit of time. Once I recover, I¡¯ll help you out with my ck mes. You can use that chance to climb.¡±

    ¡°Okay!¡± This was the only option left to them. Zu An focused on cutting down the iing strange snakes.

    Pei Mianman pondered for a moment, then removed a pendant and hung it around his neck. ¡°Wear this.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°What is this?¡± He had noticed a red cord hanging from her neck for quite some time. However, what hung from it was always buried in her cleavage, so he had no idea what it was.

    He watched her pull it out slowly from deep within her chest, her fair white skin faintly visible. Blood almost shot straight out of his nose.

    ¡°It¡¯s a protective talisman that my mother gave me. It can grant you immunity from the ck mes. I¡¯m not in the best condition right now, so I can¡¯t control the ck mes as well as before. Since the two of us are so close, I don¡¯t want to identally hurt you,¡± Pei Mianman exined.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Zu An was incredibly touched. He couldn¡¯t resist remarking, ¡°Isn¡¯t this your most treasured possession? If you give this to me, doesn¡¯t that mean you¡¯repletely open to me? If I do end up having some wicked thoughts about you, you wouldn¡¯t be able to defy me.¡±

    After all, half of Pei Mianman¡¯s strength came from her ck mes. If this pendant granted him immunity against those ck mes, her life would bepletely within his grasp.

    Pei Mianman gave him a look of annoyance, then pouted yfully. ¡°Why would I give that to you if I was worried about that? Focus already, and prepare to move.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± Zu An didn¡¯t dare let himself be distracted in such a dangerous situation either.

    ¡°Let¡¯s begin!¡± Pei Mianman¡¯s hand surged with ck mes as soon as she said this, and the iing snakes shrieked and fell away.

    Those strange snakes below were all scared of these mes, and became more apprehensive about attacking.

    Zu An used this chance to plunge his dagger into the wall, and begin to scale it quickly.

    He could feel that the ck mes were now different. In the past, he always felt that the ck mes were extremely frightening, and filled with destructive power. Now, however, they seemed warm andforting, perhaps even a little inviting. This was probably all because of the pendant. He could feel a wave of warmth spreading outwards from his chest. He wasn¡¯t sure if it was the pendant itself getting warm, or if it was just the lingering body heat of the beauty clinging to him.

    ¡°Help me defend against them!¡± Pei Mianman reminded him quickly.

    Zu An was already prepared. He swung out with the Tai¡¯e Sword, stopping the iing snakes. Compared to the Poisonous Prick, the extra length of the Tai¡¯e Sword made it more useful.

    The snakes stopped their attacks. They probably realized that all of their efforts had only resulted in meaningless deaths.

    Zu An exhaled in relief. The two of them hung in the air to rest. When Pei Mianman had recovered a bit of strength, they began to climb again.

    Zu An felt like teasing her as the scent of her fragrance filled his nostrils again, but his eyes suddenly narrowed. He noticed that arge number of the snakes had grouped up together below them.

    He hadn¡¯t noticed it at first, but as more and more snakes gathered together, they gradually formed a ball of strange snakes.

    This ball grew taller and wider as more snakes joined in, and the top of the ball slowly got closer and closer to the two of them.

    Only some of the snakes had enough strength to sessfully threaten them earlier. Now that they formed this sphere, however, many more snakes could crawl onto that sphere, which shortened the distance between them and their quarry.

    ¡°Hold onto me tightly! I¡¯m going to move somewhere else.¡± Zu An said with a stern voice. Staying here would only be asking for a beating.

    ¡°What? But I haven¡¯t recovered yet!¡± Pei Mianman¡¯s forehead was covered in sweat. Thest scuffle had exhausted her quite a bit, and she had no energy left to protect him.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I can cover short distances quickly.¡± Zu An wanted to save Grandgale for more dangerous moments, but it was too dangerous to linger here any longer.

    Pei Mianman suddenly realized what he was talking about. She remembered that he had an ability that allowed him to instantly move acrossrge distances. She exhaled in relief and wrapped herself tightly around him.

    Zu An used Grandgale. In his current state, Grandgale could cover about a hundred meters per use. This pit was a few ser fields in size, so he needed to use it at least five times before he could make it to the other side.

    Unfortunately, three consecutive uses were his limit, and he would not be able to cover enough distance. However, that wasn¡¯t a concern right now. His first priority was to get away from this current spot.

    A split secondter, he reappeared a hundred meters away. Because he was still halfway up the wall, he made sure that he was facing the wall directly. The instant he reappeared, he stabbed his des into the wall, and tried his best to cushion Pei Mianman from the impact.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    However, the force still threw Pei Mianman violently into him.

    Her face instantly turned red.

    The two of them were already tangled around each other in the most intimate way, and pounding against each other only made their bodies shake even more.

    Pei Mianman bit her lip, her eyes misty. She moved over to his ears and said quietly, ¡°You¡¯re terrible¡­ Chuyan has no idea just how perverted you are.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t me me for that! That¡¯s just my natural reaction. I have no control over this.¡± Zu An wanted to cry. I¡¯m just trying to save us!

    ¡°I know¡­¡± Pei Mianman paused, then added quietly, ¡°I¡¯m not ming you for it.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s heart trembled. What are you trying to say?

    Whatever it was, he didn¡¯t have time to think about it right now, because the massive ball of snakes was rolling towards them. As it rolled, it seemed to grow even faster than before, and it was only gettingrger.

    He cursed secretly. He gave Pei Mianman a warning, then used Grandgale again, jumping to another part of the wall.

    Zu An was left gasping for breath after using Grandgale three times in quick session. He would be unable to use Gandgale again for some time. Each time, he had also teleported the furthest he could manage, which took a great toll on him.

    He watched as the massive ball of snakes pursued them relentlessly. Fortunately, Pei Mianman had managed to recover a little of her strength, and used her ck mes to protect him.

    Zu An used this chance to move a few more meters away. After that, however, the two of them found themselves out of options.

    Zu An looked at those final few dozen meters, unwilling to give up. He was eighty percent sure that that tunnel was right there, but there was just no way that the two of them could make it.

    He fended off the stray iing snakes as he watched the massive ball get closer and closer.

    He assessed their situation, and determined that they wouldn¡¯t be able to recover before the ball of snakes caught up to them.

    His survival instincts still drove him to hack away at the closest snakes with his sword. However, when that ball of snakes finally rolled below them, the two of them were ovee with true despair.

    Right at that moment, a nearby wall suddenly split open and a giant tongue shot out, thrusting straight into the terrifying ball of snakes.

 Chapter 509: Ancient Beast

    <h4>Chapter 509: Ancient Beast</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Ah Zu, are we all going to die here?¡± Pei Mianman looked down at the giant ball of snakes below them. She could now clearly see the sinister and vile appearance of every single strange snake.

    There was still some distance between that strange ball of snakes and themselves, but they could tell that it wouldn¡¯t be long before more and more snakes would crawl their way up, and then catapult towards them.

    ¡°We won¡¯t give up until the veryst second,¡± Zu An said firmly. He was trying his best to think up possible methods of dealing with this densely-packed ball of strange snakes, but ended up throwing them out one after the other.

    Pei Mianman looked up at him. ¡°Will you feel regret if Chu Chuyan wasn¡¯t by your side at your final moments?¡±

    Zu An hacked away the iing snakes. He shook his head and said, ¡°Why would I regret that? I¡¯m already quite satisfied having you here with me.¡±

    Pei Mianman¡¯s lips curved upwards when she heard this reply, and a hint of joy appeared on her pale cheeks. She suddenly thought of something and said with a sigh, ¡°Say, how great would it be if the two of us had met first?¡±

    Zu An subconsciously replied, ¡°If we had met first, you wouldn¡¯t have even given me a second nce.¡±

    ¡°At least you know yourself well,¡± Pei Mianman said,ughing. She was fully in agreement. Given her own personality, if it hadn¡¯t been because Chu Chuyan had ended up marrying him, she wouldn''t have even given him a second look.

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°Why are you suddenly asking me something so weird? What, did you really fall in love with me?¡±

    Unexpectedly, Pei Mianman didn¡¯t get annoyed or embarrassed. Instead, she calmly raised her head, looking into his eyes with her own, which he noticed were pure and clear. Then, she suddenly pressed her lips against his.

    Zu An was stunned. Those soft red lips and her sweet fragrance made his body quiver. He almost lost control of himself, and the iing snakes almost reached him. He quickly swung his sword at them to stop them.

    The moment dragged on, and Pei Mianman¡¯s weak and pale face seemed to grow a little pink. She turned her head away in embarrassment. ¡°Don¡¯t misunderstand, I just felt that it would be a pity to die without ever experiencing a kiss, so I gave it a try. You don¡¯t have to overthink it.¡±

    Zu An was crestfallen. ¡°Why does it sound like you would have been okay if it had been any random man?¡±

    A slight smile spread across Pei Mianman¡¯s face. ¡°It didn¡¯t have to be you.¡±

    Zu Anughed and said, ¡°There¡¯s still many more things you haven¡¯t tried yet. I¡¯ll dly take you for a ride.¡±

    ¡°Get lost!¡± Pei Mianman scoffed. However, no Rage points apanied it, so it seemed she wasn¡¯t actually angry.

    The air of ambiguity that this exchange created gave this treacherous and vicious pit an unexpected hint of warmth, but both of them knew that they were running out of time.

    The giant ball of snakes stopped, apparently happy with how close they were to their prey, and the ball stopped growing. A wave of strange snakes crawled to the top of the ball, preparing tounch themselves upwards.

    The number of snakes attacking them had increased severalfold, and Zu An didn¡¯t believe that he could stop all of them. Even if he made it through one wave, there would be many more toe. The two of them were already at the end of their ropes.

    As despair began to creep in, a section of the wall nearby suddenly split open. A thick, greenish gray object thrust out, stabbing straight into the ball of snakes. It retracted again, drawing a staggering amount of struggling strange snakes in with it.

    Sounds of chewing came from behind the hole in the wall, as if something was enjoying a snack.

    Zu An and Pei Mianman looked at each other, not knowing what to say. Zu An swallowed with difficulty. ¡°Was that¡­ a tongue?¡±

    Pei Mianman shared his horror. ¡°I think so.¡±

    That tongue was so big and long¡­ What kind of creature has a tongue like that?

    Zu An clearly remembered that the blood of those snakes were highly toxic and corrosive. However, that unknown creature behind that wall had chewed and swallowed them up just like that.

    Won¡¯t its stomach be left full of holes?

    That tongue was a weird greenish gray color too, which doesn¡¯t look healthy at all¡­

    A bunch of random thoughts ran through Zu An¡¯s mind. Those strange snakes that had been attacking them wave upon wave finally seemed to have met their natural predator, and they quickly scattered in rm.

    The massive ball of snakes, which had been massive just a second ago, instantly crumbled. The strange snakes seemed to lose all will to remain, and fled in all directions.

    However, they had gathered in such great numbers that escaping was tricky, and the strange snakes at the center were unfortunately out of luck. As panic overtook them, they couldn¡¯t manage to wriggle free in time, instead growing even more tangled together.

    The massive tongue struck again, and this time, Zu An caught a much better view of it. The tongue wasn¡¯t soft like what he had imagined, but seemed more like a steel spear. It instantly pierced through the ball of snakes and came out the other side. A mixture of snake blood and strange sticky saliva dripped from the tip of the tongue.

    The tip of the tongue was sharp and had three prongs, and the edges of the tongue were barbed. It gave the two of them chills just by looking at it.

    ¡°What¡­ What kind of monster is this?¡± Pei Mianman¡¯s voice was extremely soft, as though she was scared of alerting the creature to their presence.

    Zu An shook his head, unable to answer. He stared at the spot in the wall not too far away. That was surely where they had fallen in from! That was supposed to be their way out, yet they now had this new and terrifying gatekeeper to worry about.

    Most of the snakes had either been eaten or had fled after the tongue thrust out a second time. The massive ball of snakes was almostpletely gone. The terrifying tongue shot out a few more times, but did not find much joy each time.

    The monster within the wall was clearly annoyed by this, and slowly emerged, its heavy footfalls echoing across the pit.

    The first thing that caught their eye was a massive mouth filled with two rows of terrifying teeth. Every single tooth in that mouth seemed as long and sharp as a de.

    Saliva dripped continuously from its mouth and onto the ground. It was viscous and thick, and nauseatingly disgusting to look at.

    Zu An swallowed. Why does this thing look a little like a T-Rex from the movies?

    But he quickly changed his mind. Despite the simrities in their jaws, the other aspects of the monster were different. The first thing was its build. This monster looked like it was only about three meters tall, and its four limbs were better-proportioned. Even though its hind legs were a little beefier, the two arms in front weren¡¯t tiny, and the sharp talons at the front end were definitely not just for show.

    The point of its long tail was incredibly sharp as well, and fine ridges extruded from its tail and all the way up its spine, simr to the xenomorphs from the Alien movies in his previous world.

    It''s head seemed rather weird as well, and wasrge and long. It was clearly a carnivore, yet a pair of horns perched on its head that made it seem like a herbivore, perhaps a goat.

    However, that wasn¡¯t the strangest thing about it. The most bizarre thing about it was that there were no eyes on its head!

    Strange patterns covered the top of its head and its horns, giving it a ruthless and mysterious look.

    ¡°Those patterns are almost identical to the ones on the seal above!¡± Pei Mianman whispered to Zu An.

    Zu An nodded. They were indeed exactly the same. In fact, the same patterns could be found on the bronze artifacts from the Shang and Zhou Dynasties that had been unearthed in his previous world.

    This ancient beast opened its massive mouth and roared. However, it wasn¡¯t as earth-shaking as they had imagined. It was hardly mighty or ferocious, but instead sounded quite¡­ pathetic. It sounded like the wailing of an infant.

    Despite this, those strange snakes slithered away like mice in the presence of a cat. Many of them even forgot how to flee, and froze in ce instead.

    Zu An and Pei Mianman also felt the blood drain from their faces. This sound wentpletely against their expectations, and sounded extremely off-putting. Paired with the creepy environment that they were in right now, any audience watching this in a theatre back home would have been scared half to death.

    That monster leaped straight towards the highest concentration of snakes. Its tongue shot out again, piercing the snakes that were frozen in fear, and dragged them back into its mouth.

    The rest of the snakes finally seemed to shake off whatever daze they were in, and began to flee as fast as they could.

    Zu An finally noticed the creature¡¯s eyes. Its eyes weren¡¯t on its head, but rather, on its shoulders.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The legend of a certain ancient beast suddenly surfaced in his mind.

 Chapter 510: At Deaths Door

    <h4>Chapter 510: At Death''s Door</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Mount Gouwu is filled with jade above and copper within. Around it roams a beast with the body of a goat and face of a man. Its eyes are beneath its armpits, with fangs and ws of a tiger. Its cry sounds like the wailing of an infant. It is known as the paoxiao, a man-eating beast.¡±

    This was a record from the ¡®ssic of Mountains[1] and Seas¡¯ from ancient China. Its description was way too simr to the beast that they were seeing below them.

    The paoxiao had a name that was moremonly used, which was the taotie!

    What the hell is going on today? First, I run into all these weird snakes, and then I run into an ancient beast?! My luck is bloody terrible!

    Wait a moment. Does that mean that, by thews of moral conservation, I am destined to draw something amazing from the lottery?

    Of course, this was just an idle thought. He wouldn¡¯t dare let himself be distracted right now by drawing the lottery.

    Pei Mianman¡¯s arms tightened around his neck. People were most scared of the unknown, and that creature below was a horrifying representation of that.

    ¡°Do you think it¡¯ll notice us?¡± Pei Mianman finally recovered a little, and asked Zu An via ki transmission. She was worried that the monster might hear them if she uttered even the slightest bit of sound.

    Zu An wasn¡¯t certain. ¡°I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll be that unlucky.¡±

    As soon as he said this, he wanted to smack himself on the mouth. It seemed like being in this world for so long had undermined his vignce. Why the hell was he nting random gs for no reason?

    Fortunately, that taotie didn''t raise its head to look at them, but instead continued to chase after those strange snakes. It searched for them through the white bones.

    Whenever its tongue shot out, the skulls that it targeted would shatter, and the snakes inside would be devoured.

    Something clicked in Zu An¡¯s head. No wonder he had seen so many smashed bones earlier. It didn¡¯t look like they¡¯d been destroyed by a weapon earlier on, so he just assumed that they had corroded over time. He didn¡¯t expect it to be coteral damage thanks to this fellow¡¯s feasting!

    At the same time, he was thoroughly unimpressed by those strange snakes. They didn¡¯t seem to be putting up any resistance. Just swarm this dude! Even elephants can be bitten to death when there are enough ants!

    Weren¡¯t you going all out against the two of us earlier? Why the hell are you all turning into wimps now?

    All joking aside, this was their one opportunity. Zu An turned to Pei Mianman. ¡°This is a good chance. We¡¯ll move towards that tunnel while it¡¯s busy eating.¡±

    He was actually rather thankful. If this taotie hadn¡¯t appeared, the two of them would have been done in by these strange snakes. Now, not only were they free of the threat posed by those strange snakes, they didn¡¯t have to search for the escape route anymore. The only thing they had to watch out for was being noticed by that taotie.

    But, the taotie seemed to be having the time of its life gorging itself, and hadn¡¯t yet noticed the two of them.

    Pei Mianman nodded, a twinkle of eagerness appearing in her eyes. She did not want to stay even a second longer in this ce if she could.

    The two of them moved towards the hole stealthily. When they reached it, it was just as expected. It was close to where the two of them had fallen, and was around five to six meters above the ground.

    It was a difficult height for ordinary people to reach, and the special modifications made to the walls made it even harder. It would be a challenge even for cultivators who had fallen in to get back up here. As such, there was no way they could unravel this secret.

    Zu An again used the Tai¡¯e Sword and Poisonous Prick like climbing ws, alternately stabbing them into the wall to scale it. After a short while, they finally reached the hole in the wall.

    Some of the taotie¡¯s saliva still coated the entrance to the tunnel. It was quite gross to step on, and there seemed to be quite a bit of it inside as well.

    However, as they looked upwards at the inclined tunnel, the joy of finally being able to escape was enough to make thempletely ignore all of this.

    Pei Mianman smiled. She was thinking about what she should say to him. After all, she had only kissed him so daringly because she thought that they were already doomed. Now that there was a hope of escape, she felt a little embarrassed. Then again, Zu An and Chuyan were already divorced, but chasing after the man who had once belonged to her closest friend still seemed kind of wrong.

    Suddenly, blood gushed out of her shoulder, and the smile on her face froze. She looked down in shock. A section of a savage tongue had prated right through her body.

    She didn¡¯t even have a chance to think. A powerful force pulled her backwards. She was already weak and seriously wounded. Even though she had recovered a little of her strength, her shoulder de was now punctured, and thest bit of ki that she had in reserve was instantly scattered. How could she possibly hold onto Zu An? Her entire body was flung backwards.

    Zu An saw the tongue shoot out of the taotie¡¯s mouth and stab Pei Mianman right through the shoulder, dragging her back in towards its mouth.

    The two terrifying rows of teeth only needed to close around her gently in order to cut her to pieces before chewing her to a pulp.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes immediately turned red when he saw the despair in Pei Mianman¡¯s eyes, and how she frantically tried to reach for his hand. He let out a ferocious roar, and then ran after her.

    The tongue was retracting way too quickly, and there was no way he would reach her with his regr speed of movement. He had to use Grandgale.

    He had just barely recovered a single use of Grandgale after all this time, and he could not teleport as far right now. Fortunately, the taotie¡¯s tongue wasn¡¯t a hundred meters long.

    Pei Mianman had already given into despair. She never expected that she would die in such a miserable way¡­ If she had known that this was going to happen, she would have rather lost her life to those strange snakes. It seemed like the less painful option right now.

    The next instant, she suddenly saw Zu An reappear at her side, like an angel from heaven. Everything seemed so surreal, she thought that she had to be dreaming.

    Zu An didn¡¯t have any time to exin. He wrapped one arm around her, brandishing the Poisonous Prick in his other hand. He hacked it downwards, aiming for the section of the tongue that had skewered her shoulder.

    He was actually incredibly worried. The taotie¡¯s tongue looked a lot different from the tongue of a normal beast, and seemed more like a spear than an actual appendage. It was perfectly straight and covered in barbs. If he couldn¡¯t cut through it, he was afraid that he wouldn¡¯t be able to prevent Pei Mianman from being swallowed by this monstrosity.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Fortunately, the Poisonous Prick cut through iron like tissue. It sliced cleanly through the taotie tongue.

    A screech tore through the air. The taotie was in incredible pain from having a piece of its tongue chopped off.

    Zu An fell through the air with Pei Mianman in his arms. He immediately asked her, ¡°Manman, are you all right?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s really you? I wasn¡¯t dreaming?¡± Pei Mianman wept tears of joy. She seemed like she had endless things to say, but her brows suddenly knit together tightly, and she groaned in pain.

    Zu An quickly removed the piece of the tongue that was still embedded in her shoulder. In that instant, he felt a stinging pain. He tossed the piece of tongue aside and looked at his hand. His hand had been scorched ck! The creature¡¯s blood clearly had powerful corrosive properties, which was probably a result of it constantly ingesting those strange snakes.

    Zu An cursed. This thing was just as annoying as one of those xenomorphs.

    He quickly examined Pei Mianman¡¯s injuries. A bloody hole had been torn right through her shoulder, trailing wisps of smoke. Clearly, the powerful corrosive properties of the taotie blood was causing severe damage to her body.

    Zu An panicked. He fished out the bottle of antitoxin that he¡¯d gotten from Ji Dengtu, but it didn¡¯t seem to do anything when he applied it. Ji Dengtu had never seen a taotie before, and there was no way he could have produced something to counteract it¡¯s venom.

    Zu An took out his Tai¡¯e Sword, intending to cut away the corroded flesh. However, the wound was toorge, and there was nothing he could do. If he really did try to cut away the infected flesh, her entire shoulder might fall off, and she would die even more quickly.

    His eyes turned red, and he squeezed his fist so tightly that his fingernails made deep gouges in his palm.

    Despite all this, Pei Mianman seemed relieved. ¡°Ah Zu, you don¡¯t need to worry about me anymore. I know that I am already done for¡­ You don¡¯t know how happy I was to see you appear at my side again after I was caught by that monster¡­ I thought to myself, why didn¡¯t I decide to be with you earlier¡­ Chu Chuyan, the n mission, I don¡¯t care about any of that anymore¡­¡±

    Tears trickled down her beautiful face. Her sentences started to be a bit disjointed. She was already approaching death¡¯s door.

    Zu An felt as if a knife had been plunged into his chest. The pain he felt was indescribable. ¡°No! I won¡¯t let you die!¡± he yelled.

    He was just thinking about what he could do to save her, when Pei Mianman eximed in rm, ¡°Hurry¡­ you need to run away¡­ don¡¯t worry about me anymore!¡±

    The thudding of heavy footsteps came from behind him, and Zu An turned around. The giant taotie was lumbering towards them with a furious expression.

    Zu An was horrified. Hadn¡¯t he wounded this thing with the Poisonous Prick? Why wasn¡¯t it dead yet?!

    1. The ¡®ssic of Mountains and Seas¡¯ is a collection of information regarding mythic geography and beasts.

 Chapter 511, Part I: Hidden Affection

    <h4>Chapter 511, Part I: Hidden Affection</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Now wasn¡¯t the time to ponder over why it was still alive. The taotie monster, with its heavy, plodding footsteps, had reached his position.

    Zu An looked up at the sinister monster in front of him and swallowed, the fine hairs on his arms standing on end.

    He continually tried his best to cheer himself on, afraid that he would somehow lose the will to fight. Hey, this thing only looks scary on the outside. It might be a rather famous legend, but just look at its size! It¡¯s only a mini Tyrannosaurus Rex.

    He wouldn¡¯t have stood a chance if he¡¯d run into this thing in his previous world, no matter how many lives he had. But things were different now, because he was a cultivator. His body¡¯s abilities and reaction speed made him a mini-superman himself, so there was a non-zero chance that he would still emerge victorious.

    As these thoughts poured through his mind, he calmed down substantially. ¡°Come at me, you bastard!¡± he yelled.

    The taotie monster seemed to have understood his provocation. It screamed as it ran towards him.

    That infantile wailinging from such a massive figure was just absurd, but Zu An couldn¡¯t find it within him tough. His opponent sent a paw flying in his direction, but it disappeared before reaching him, pulled away to dodge the counterblow from his longsword. Zu An¡¯s Poisonous Prick wasn¡¯t effective, so he had switched to the Tai¡¯e Sword, which gave him more reach.

    Zu An had been darkly optimistic at first, as he saw the taotie flinging its paw stupidly towards the Tai¡¯e Sword. The monster was still made of flesh and blood after all. The Tai¡¯e Sword was sharp enough to slice through the strongest metal, and it would cut right through the taotie¡¯s body like tofu.

    However, just as his sword was about to cut into his opponent, the taotie¡¯s w dodged the blow and struck the Tai¡¯e Sword from the side instead, along the t of the de.

    Caught unprepared, the impact made Zu An lose his grip on his sword. The Tai¡¯e Sword flew through the sky and stabbed de-first into a pile of bones.

    Zu An was horrified. This wasn¡¯t a normal monster! It was actually way stronger than it looked! It¡¯s not a bloody mini T-Rex, it¡¯s way stronger than that!

    He felt the wind go out of his sails. It looked like humans weren¡¯t the only ones who could increase their cultivation through training. Monsters could do the same thing!

    He didn¡¯t dare treat his opponent as a monster with a low IQ anymore. The monster¡¯s quick reactions in this exchange got him thinking that the taotie had probably noticed the two of them from the very start, but had feigned ignorance. Only when the two of them had put down their guard did itsh out with its tongue, almost taking the both of them out.

    Thoughts flooded through his mind as he sprinted towards the Tai¡¯e Sword. He had to retrieve the longsword in order to continue his battle.

    He had no confidence in beating this thing bare-handed.

    Of course, the taotie had no intention of letting him have his way. It wailed and leapt between him and the Tai¡¯e Sword. In one smooth motion, it tackled Zu An.

    Zu An didn¡¯t expect it to be able to move so quickly. After all, up to this point, the creature had always walked with heavy, ponderous steps.

    He was caught off-guard again, and the taotie managed to pin him down with its body.

    Zu An wanted to cry, yet no tears came out. This was the first time he had been pushed to the ground, yet it wasn¡¯t a ravishing woman who did so, but this freakish monster!

    He began to wonder if he¡¯d been born with some sort of mental disability. Why the hell would he think about such a thing right now?

    The taotie didn¡¯t show him any mercy. A bloody mouth bit down on his head, and his nose was filled with a foul, bloody stench.

    Zu An reached out his hands, grabbing its upper and lower jaws, and closed them before they could reach him.

    He had learned from watching the Discovery Channel that many of these creatures were able to exertrge amounts of force while biting, but opening their jaws again was an entirely different story.

    For example, a crocodile¡¯s jaws could tear through buffaloes and horses, let alone a human being. However, if its mouth was shut ahead of time, the strength of a mature man alone was enough to keep it from opening again.

    Zu An had already deduced from their earlier exchange that, even though this taotie was stronger than him, the difference in strength wasn¡¯t that great. That was why he grabbed its jaws in a moment of desperation, to prevent it from using its menacing fangs.

    The taotie was stunned as well. This was the first time it had encountered prey like this. It instinctively tried to open its mouth, but found that its jaws were still tightly mped together, and there was no way it could open them. It flung its head around frantically.

    This was a matter of life and death, so there was no way Zu An would let go.

    Seeing that it was unsessful at dislodging Zu An, the taotie suddenly raised its sharp tail and stabbed it towards his head.

    ¡°Be careful!¡± Pei Mianman had been watching this battle the entire time. She cried out to try to warn him, but ended up triggering her injuries as well. She was in so much pain that sweat covered her body, but she didn¡¯t care. She stared weakly in Zu An¡¯s direction.

    When she saw that sharp tail stab into the ground, she felt something explode within her head, and her soul almost left her body.

    But Zu An¡¯s voice sounded immediately afterwards. ¡°You little sh*t, do you think I¡¯ve never seen ¡®Aliens¡¯ before?¡±

    Pei Mianman was overjoyed to hear his voice, but her injuries were too serious, which prevented her from speaking.

    Zu An turned his head and saw that the tail had embedded itself deep into the ground. He sighed in relief. He had been paying attention to its long, sharp tail from the moment the fight had begun, and had known that it was preparing an attack the instant he saw its tail coil upwards like a scorpion¡¯s.

    The taotie was furious. Its tail trembled. It pulled itself out of the ground, then stabbed downwards again.

    Zu An turned in the other direction to dodge the blow. The taotie missed again. It pulled out its tail and stabbed at Zu An, and Zu An evaded¡­ Just like that, they entered a deadly game of attack and evade.

    Of course, this might just be a game for the taotie, but a single moment of distraction for Zu An would result in his inevitable death.

    Zu An knew that he would only be dying his defeat if he focused solely on defense. This wasn¡¯t a solution. However, with his current level of strength, it was all he could do just to keep the taotie¡¯s mouth closed. There was no way he could push this heavy body off of him.

    A sh of cruelty lit up his eyes, and he purposely chose not to dodge the next blow, allowing the tail to stab deep into his shoulder.

    There was a fountain of blood, and Zu An¡¯s eyes became bloodshot. He wanted to suffer more injuries in order to activate the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra¡¯s strengthening effects. He was already injured, and this horrific new injury sent a fresh wave of power through him.

    He pressed his leg against the taotie¡¯s stomach. As the tail stabbed downwards once more to take his life, he sent the taotie flying with a kick.

    There was a loud crash as the taotiended in a pile of bones, crushing them to pieces. The strange snakes hiding inside fled in disarray, but the taotie swiftly grabbed them with its ws and threw them into its mouth.

    The eyes on its shoulders stared at the human across from it. It couldn¡¯t understand why he had suddenly gained a burst of strength.

    Zu An had already taken the opportunity to pick up his Tai¡¯e Sword. At the same time, he stared at the taotie¡¯s paws, which seemed somehow human, but with ws as sharp as a tiger¡¯s.

    The way the monster had flung those strange snakes into its mouth was exactly like how a human would eat with their hands. Its ws were clearly extremely agile. This was not good news at all.

    The taotie hesitated for the briefest of moments. Its gluttonous instincts propelled it to throw itself straight at Zu An.

    Zu An was prepared for its speed this time. He used the Sunflower Phantasm to dodge to one side, his technique boosted by the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra¡¯s effects. As he passed alongside the onrushing taotie, he thrust his sword towards its head.

    The taotie sensed the oing danger. Its long tail thrashed out, stabbing towards his body.

    Zu An sized up the reach of the Tai¡¯e Sword with the length of the taotie¡¯s tail, and determined that trading blows with it right now was not worth it.

    He gave up on stabbing its head, and hacked his sword sideways instead. The Tai¡¯e Sword was incredibly sharp, and sliced through the midsection of the taotie¡¯s tail with ease. Greenish-gray liquid sttered across the white bones, the corrosive liquid burningrge holes in them.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Screech!¡±

    The taotie screamed in pain. Clearly, the sudden loss of half its tail had caused it great suffering.

    All this screeching was giving Zu An a headache. He swung his left fist right at its head, dealing it a vicious blow. ¡°Shut the hell up!¡±

 Chapter 511, Part II: Hidden Affection

    <h4>Chapter 511, Part II: Hidden Affection</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The impact staggered the taotie several steps backwards, and it smashed into the wall behind it. It shook its head as it crawled back up to its feet. The strike had made it a little dizzy.

    Zu An shook out his arm. The blow had also made his own fist really sore. He actually regretted doing that. If he¡¯d known that this would be the oue, he would¡¯ve hit its waist instead.

    He was worried that Pei Mianman wouldn¡¯t be able to hold on much longer. Noticing that the monster was still dizzy, he seized the opportunity to strike with his Tai¡¯e Sword.

    However, a crafty look suddenly appeared in the taotie¡¯s eyes, and its two horns suddenly crackled with purple electricity. A ball of electricity materialized in the space between them, and itunched the ball of electricity straight towards Zu An.

    The whole process¡ªfrom the first crackle of electricity to theunching of the ball of lightning¡ªwas almost instantaneous.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t use Grandgale, so there was no way he could evade the attack. The ball of electricity smashed squarely into his chest. An intense pain rippled out from the front of his chest, apanied by a burnt smell.

    That wasn¡¯t the most terrifying thing. His entire body had gone numb, and he couldn¡¯t move a single muscle.

    This was an electrical paralysis effect!

    Zu An turned pale with fright. He couldn¡¯t be more clear about what losing all mobility at this crucial moment meant! However, there wasn¡¯t a single thing he could do in this situation.

    That taotie opened its mouth, and its long tongue shot towards his forehead. The monster clearly intended to crush his skull in one move.

    Zu An felt the fine hairs all along his body stand on end as he watched that tongue inch closer and closer. He knew that he was moments away from death.

    The tongue was just too quick, and he was paralyzed as well, with no way to put up any sort of effective resistance.

    However, the scene of his head exploding was not realized. Instead, the tongue stopped an inch in front of Zu An¡¯s forehead.

    Both Zu An and the taotie were simrly stunned. The taotie retracted its tongue and fired it out again, but once again, it stopped an inch from Zu An¡¯s forehead.

    Zu An finally realized what was going on. He had cut off a chunk of its tongue earlier when it had stabbed Pei Mianman. The taotie was ustomed to the usual length of its tongue, which was why it instinctively felt that it was close enough for it to impale its opponent¡¯s head. It had forgotten that it was missing a chunk of its tongue.

    There was no way Zu An would let this opportunity slip by. While it was distracted, he summoned Hundredwarble andunched a spiritual attack.

    Because of the limits of his level of cultivation, Hundredwarble, in its current form, excelled more in defense than offense, but that only applied with high level cultivators. Even though the taotie was cunning, it was still a beast that was incapable of speech, and had not developed any true intelligence. This made it weaker towards spirit element attacks.

    Sure enough, as his Hundredwarble screeched, sending an invisible wave rippling outwards, the taotie¡¯s body trembled, and its eyes went nk. Even its tongue, which was extended straight out like a spear, fell limply to the side.

    Zu An, who had been on the brink of death earlier on, felt his blood ignite. The numbing effects gradually receded, and he just about recovered his ability to move. He didn¡¯t dare hesitate for even a second. He gripped his Tai¡¯e Sword and stabbed it into the taotie¡¯s side.

    He recalled the pain that he¡¯d experienced when he struck its head, and chose a different target this time. Instead of striking its head, he stabbed the longsword through the eye on its shoulder.

    This monster was so grotesquely shaped, it was impossible to know whether it had a real head, like any other creature. Generally speaking, however, the eyes wouldn¡¯t be too far from the head.

    ¡°Screech!¡±

    The sword pierced the eye and went right in, almost up to the hilt, and the taotie shrieked miserably.

    Its entire body went rigid for a second, before copsing to the ground.

    Zu An pulled the sword back out. Vile liquid poured out from its eyeball, scorching the surrounding earth ck.

    ¡°Thank goodness the Tai¡¯e Sword is an extraordinary treasure. If it had been any other sword, it would have already been melted by its blood.¡± Zu An pulled out his sword. He didn¡¯t have time to examine the taotie¡¯s corpse. He rushed over to check on Pei Mianman instead.

    Pei Mianman had been watching the battle the whole time. She had her heart in her mouth each time she saw him dancing on the brink of death. Only when she saw that he had killed the taotie did she heave a massive sigh of relief.

    However, as soon as she let it out, all of her strength left her as well, and she copsed to the ground.

    Zu An immediately rushed to support her. ¡°Manman! Manman!¡±

    Pei Mianman struggled to open her eyes. A smile graced her lips. ¡°Ah Zu, you¡¯re so amazing. You even managed to kill such a terrifying monster.¡±

    Zu An would usually never pass up such a great chance to boast, but he only felt his mood sour as he examined the terrifying wound on her shoulder. He couldn¡¯t bring himself to tease her at all. ¡°Manman, don¡¯t speak. You need to preserve your strength.¡±

    Pei Mianman shook her head, which was resting in the crook of his arm. ¡°I¡¯m going to die soon, so I won¡¯t be able to say anything else if I don¡¯t do it now¡­ Actually, I still have many¡­ many things I want to say to you, but when I think about it¡­ even if I tell you anything¡­ It¡¯s¡­ It¡¯s better if I don¡¯t say them at all¡­ Instead, I wish you and Chuyan¡­ the¡­¡±

    The light in her eyes gradually grew dim. Zu An quickly said, ¡°I won¡¯t let you die! I won¡¯t let you die!¡±

    His brain moved at lightning speed. He quickly fished out a ss bottle filled with bright-red liquid and poured the contents as quickly as he could into her mouth. At the same time, he nervously muttered, ¡°Manman, you have to hold on, you cannot give up here!¡±

    In the end, however, her eyes slowly fell shut.

    Zu An felt as if his entire body had been thrown into a frozen abyss. He carried her as he muttered to himself, ¡°Why did it take me so long to remember that I still had a bottle of ¡®Faith in Brother Spring¡¯?! I should have given it to you to drink earlier, then you wouldn¡¯t have died¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s my fault, it¡¯s all my fault¡­ You¡¯re so beautiful, and you have such extraordinary talent. You should¡¯ve been able to enjoy an amazing life¡­ If you hadn¡¯t tried to save me, you would never have died here¡­¡±

    ¡­

    Zu An held onto her, his heart broken into a million pieces. All of his feelings for her poured out. The scene of their first meeting filled his mind¡ªher charming eyes and beautiful smile were still fresh in his memory. He remembered their fight in Chu Chuyan¡¯s room, and how she had snuck into his roomte at night to teach him her martial skills. He cherished all the times she had spent with him, and all they had experienced together¡­

    The ache in his heart grew and grew. He embraced her tightly, sobbing in grief and sorrow.

    ¡°Hey, it¡¯s itchy. Your snot is getting on my clothes.¡± A sudden giggle tickled his ears.

    Zu An straightened his body in disbelief. When he looked down, his gaze was met by a beautiful face, looking back at him. Those clear peach-blossom eyes were just as lovely as before.

    ¡°You¡­ you¡¯re not dead?¡± Zu An asked in disbelief.

    ¡°Did you want me to die?¡± Pei Mianman snorted. ¡°What kind of medicine was that? I already had one foot in the grave, but it somehow dragged me right back.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a medicine that grants eternal life, which was bestowed upon me by an immortal.¡± Zu An said with a smile.

    ¡°A medicine that grants eternal life?¡± Pei Mianman was stunned. ¡°Couldn¡¯t you grant immortality to everyone around you with this?¡±

    Zu An scratched his head. ¡°I only had this one bottle left. I might be able to get some moreter.¡±

    Before he could finish, Pei Mianman¡¯s expression changed. ¡°You gave me your only bottle of this miraculous medicine?¡±

    Zu Anughed and said, ¡°I was just messing with you. There¡¯s no way this medicine could grant eternal life.¡±

    Pei Mianman pursed her lips. ¡°Even so, the fact that that thing could drag me back from the brink of death means it¡¯s pretty damned close. I can¡¯t believe you actually used something like that on me! How can I even repay you?¡±

    ¡°Hmph, what¡¯s all this talk about repayment?¡± Zu An smacked her bottom in annoyance. ¡°You were already fine a while ago, weren¡¯t you? Why didn¡¯t you say anything? You just had to watch me cry my heart out.¡±

    Pei Mianman¡¯s face turned entirely red. She pouted and said, ¡°I really did fall unconscious at first, before gradually waking up. Actually, I¡¯m quite grateful. If this hadn¡¯t happened, how would I have found out how much I meant to you?¡±

    She looked deeply into his eyes as she said this, her own eyes filled with tenderness. Zu An stared back into them, lost in their beauty. She seemed even more beautiful than usual. He found himself in a daze.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Pei Mianman suddenly cried out.

    ¡°What happened?¡± Zu An asked. He was worried that something bad had happened to her.

    Pei Mianman turned towards her shoulder, ¡°My shoulder injury feels really itchy. Can you help me take a look at it?¡±

    She remembered that her shoulder had suffered a terrible injury. The taotie¡¯s corrosive saliva had inflicted some horrific wounds, and she was afraid that it hadn¡¯t beenpletely cleared away.

    Zu An gently prodded her wound. ¡°Does it hurt? Don¡¯t worry. This medicine is powerful enough that it can regrow lost limbs.¡±

    He had experienced this himself, after all. Previously, his wounds had been far worse than hers, yet he had still recovered.

    ¡°It really doesn¡¯t hurt.¡± Pei Mianman was surprised. She moved her arm around. She could clearly feel that the huge hole was gone, and that she was already back to normal. However, there was one other thing that she was worried about. ¡°Help me remove the clothes covering that area. Can you check if there¡¯s a scar?¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Even a regr girl would cherish the appearance of her skin, let alone an exceptional beauty like her. Any girl would be afraid of their injuries leaving behind marks and blemishes.

    ¡°Oh.¡± Zu An subconsciously raised his hand towards her shoulder, but then hesitated and said, ¡°That¡¯s not very appropriate, is it? Guys and girls shouldn¡¯t do this sort of stuff.¡±

    Even though the bottle of red medicine could restore her life force, it didn¡¯t repair her clothes, which were already in tatters. If he tried to take one part of them off, everything else might just slide right off as well. Thest thing he wanted was to be mistaken as some lecherous scoundrel.

    Pei Mianman giggled. ¡°You¡¯re normally so careless with the things you say, and you were hugging me however you wanted to earlier on. What¡¯s up with this sudden gentlemanly behaviour?¡±

    ¡°I was only doing that to save you! Besides, I¡¯m always a gentleman, what are you talking about¡­¡± Zu An felt his confidence leaking away the more he spoke.

    Pei Mianman gave him a warm look and said, ¡°You silly man, the two of us are already so close. So what if you end up seeing something? It¡¯s fine.¡±

 Chapter 512, Part I: A Stone Gate above White Bones

    <h4>Chapter 512, Part I: A Stone Gate above White Bones</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An felt a shudder run through his mind as he heard her words. He wasn¡¯t some crass and unromantic man. How could he miss the implied meaning behind them?

    His eyes roamed across her beautiful face, taking in her affectionate and charming eyes and her moist, red lips. He could resist no more, and moved in to kiss her.

    Pei Mianman stiffened for an instant, but then immediately softened, responding to him with the same intense passion.

    After what seemed like eternity, their lips parted again. He looked down at the lovely Pei Mianman, snuggled in his arms, then sighed suddenly and said, ¡°Aren¡¯t we letting Chuyan down by doing this?¡±

    He wouldn¡¯t have cared so much if it had been someone else, but Pei Mianman and Chu Chuyan were close friends. He had no idea how he was going to exin this to her in the future. One misstep, and Chuyan would feel betrayed.

    Pei Mianman rolled her eyes at him. ¡°Aren¡¯t you two already divorced?¡±

    Zu An froze for a moment, then a smile appeared on his face. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re right. Let¡¯s continue then.¡± With that, he went in for another kiss.

    Pei Mianman snorted. ¡°Hmph! yboy!¡±

    Zu An knew that she wasn¡¯t actually upset, so he continued to look at her, a big smile on his face.

    Pei Mianman pushed him away. ¡°Stop causing trouble already. Help me take a look at my shoulder injury.¡±

    ¡°Okay!¡± Zu An undid her cor button, and then tugged at her clothes. Her skin looked extremely soft and fair, and seemed almost pale in contrast to the bloodstains on her clothes. The skin along her cleavageÒ»which was just barely visibleÒ»seemed especially inviting. He stared at it in a daze.

    ¡°What are you staring at? I told you to look at the wound¡­¡± Pei Mianman protested yfully.

    ¡°Oh yeah.¡± Zu An¡¯s face heated up. He tore his gaze away from those snowy mountains and lightly touched the scab on her shoulder. ¡°Your wounds are pretty much healed already. The itch ising from the scabbing over your wound.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Really?¡± Pei Mianman was overjoyed. ¡°Will there be a scar?¡±

    ¡°Of course not.¡± Zu An had suffered many wounds himself, yet none of them ever left a scar.

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Pei Mianman was still a little worried. ¡°Help me check my back as well.¡±

    Zu An looked over her back while saying with a smile, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, even if you do end up with a scar, I¡¯ll still want you.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, like you even stand a chance. I have guys lining up all the way from the entrance of the Academy to Hidden Dragon Mountain,¡± Pei Mianman said in annoyance, dressing herself again and fastening her clothes.

    Zu Anughed loudly. ¡°All right, all right. Let¡¯s get out of here first.¡±

    As if they could sense the taotie¡¯s death, the strange snakes that were hidden in the shadows seemed ready to emerge again. He didn¡¯t want to end up in the situation they were in earlier on.

    Pei Mianman nodded and extracted herself out of his embrace. With her injuries now recovered, she felt as though she could move about properly again. Even though she wasn¡¯t back at her peak, she had no problem protecting herself now. She grew even more amazed at Zu An¡¯s miraculous medicine, and her eyes gaze softened further when she looked at him.

    Zu An stood in front of the hole in the wall, then suddenly turned around and stored the taotie¡¯s corpse away.

    Pei Mianman clutched her nose and said with disdain, ¡°What in the world do you need that thing for?¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°This is a monster that no one outside this dungeon has ever seen before. Its corpse might be useful for something.¡±

    His Brilliant ss Bead already contained a lot of things, and he didn¡¯t know if the taotie¡¯s corpse would roll around, leaking blood and corroding the other things inside.

    Zu An examined the interior of the Brilliant ss Bead and discovered that the taotie corpse seemed to upy an independent space within it. The things inside didn¡¯t seem to be disturbing each other. He heaved a sigh of relief.

    ¡°What use could such an ugly and nasty monster have?¡± Pei Mianman felt a wave of nausea when she recalled her earlier experience. ¡°By the way, your spatial artifact has a ridiculous amount of storage. I can¡¯t believe it can even hold such a massive monster!¡±

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°Did you forget about that huge dragon from earlier on? If it can store something like that, what¡¯s so difficult about this thing?¡± As he said this, he took out the Brilliant ss Bead and showed it off to her.

    Pei Mianman sighed in amazement. ¡°This spatial storage artifact might not be any less valuable than your Phoenix Nirvana Sutra! Aren¡¯t you afraid of revealing your secret to me? What if I end up having some evil thoughts?¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°It would be too tiresome to live in this world if I can¡¯t even trust my beloved.¡±

    ¡°Beloved?¡± Pei Mianman felt her heart tremble. His words clearly left her deeply moved.

    Zu An changed the topic and said, ¡°Of course, if big Manman wants to have any wicked thoughts about me, you are wee any time. You don¡¯t have to pity me just because I look like a beautiful and tender flower.¡±

    Pei Mianman immediately wanted to smack him. ¡°You¡¯re always like this. You can¡¯t maintain your sense of decency for longer than a few moments.¡±

    After a little more back-and-forth, the two of them finally returned to the opening that led to the sloped tunnel. ¡°Be careful,¡± Zu An warned her, as he looked at the mucus coating the walls.

    Fortunately, this mucus wasn¡¯t too corrosive. It was just sticky and gross.

    ¡°Okay.¡± Pei Mianman was already moving on her tiptoes before his warning. As a girl, she felt a natural aversion towards such things.

    The two of them followed this slope upwards. They were actually a little thankful to that taotie. It had helped them deal with those strange snakes, and the mucus that it secreted made the climb up the slope a little easier.

    After a while, they finally crawled out of the pit. Somehow, seeing the familiar greenish-gray mist gave the two of them a strange sense offort.

    ¡°We have to be careful. We can¡¯t fall in again.¡± Zu An looked at the slope beneath them, fear still lingering in the back of his mind.

    Pei Mianman raised her head to look at him. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m already more or less recovered. I can back you up if we run into any danger.¡±

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°I would still prefer not to encounter any further danger.¡±

    Suddenly, he sensed something amiss. He pushed Pei Mianman to the side. ¡°Be careful!¡±

    Pei Mianman shouted these two words at the same time.

    Both of them dodged in opposite directions. A greenish-gray tongue speared into the ground where they had been standing just a moment ago, sending up a plume of dust.

    They both shuddered when they saw that familiar-looking tongue, and quickly looked at where it hade from.

    A terrifying figure slowly shambled out of the greenish-gray mist. That strange head, white fangs, sticky drool, and eyes on its shoulders were identical to the fellow that they had just dealt with.

    It was another taotie!

    ¡°What the hell is up with our luck today? I can¡¯t believe we¡¯ve run into more of these strange things!¡± Zu An let out an exasperated sigh. However, he wasn¡¯t all that worried. They had been ambushed by that taotie earlier on, and he had no knowledge about how to fight it. Now that Pei Mianman had recovered, and he already knew what this taotie was capable of, it was much easier to deal with.

    The taotie seemed to have sensed his contempt. It wailed as it charged at Zu An. It pushed off its hind legs and reached him in a single bound.

    Zu An was already prepared. He slid down beneath it and thrusted his sword upwards from underneath, intending to hack its belly straight open.

    However, even though the taotie wasrge, it was extremely agile. Leaping to one side, it pushed his sword to the side with a swing of one of its paws, and struck at his face with the other.

    At the same time, its long tail also stabbed towards his stomach.

    Zu An quickly arrested his momentum and mbered out from underneath the monster in a rather sorry state. He couldn¡¯t be bothered with how stupid he looked right now.

    ¡°Damn it,¡± he cursed. ¡°I knew the keyboard warriors on those online forums were dumb. Sliding under a tiger to kill it? What a stupid idea!¡±

    The taotie had alreadynded on the ground. It mmed its forearms into the ground, then screeched again as it charged at him. Its agility far surpassed that of an ordinary human,

    A torrent of ck me flew through the air and wrapped itself around the taotie. Pei Mianman had made her move.

    The taotie roared in shock. It still sounded like a wailing baby, just with a slightly different pitch.

    The creature¡¯s skin seemed rather special. It rolled around the ground a few times, and the ck mes, which were usually so hard to deal with, gradually disappeared.

    Zu An was astonished, but he still moved in anyway. While the taotie was distracted by the ck mes, he stabbed his sword into its eye, the same way he had dealt with the previous taotie.

    The taotie screamed in horror, then went limp as life drained out of it. It hadn¡¯t expected to die so easily. It still had other skills that it wanted to show off!

 Chapter 512, Part II: A Stone Gate above White Bones

    <h4>Chapter 512, Part II: A Stone Gate above White Bones</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An put away the Tai¡¯e Sword. ¡°Big Manman, this victory was only possible because of you.¡±

    ¡°My ck mes wouldn¡¯t have reached it if you didn¡¯t draw its attention.¡± Pei Mianman frowned as she looked at the corpse with some uncertainty. ¡°What¡¯s up with this monster, though? Why can¡¯t my ck mes injure it?¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Her ck mes were strong enough to reduce even steel to ashes. Why were they utterly ineffective against the monster, which was made of flesh and blood?

    ¡°This taotie does seem a little strange. My Poisonous Prick was also ineffective against it.¡± Zu An didn¡¯t understand why this dagger, which always guaranteed a kill, hadn¡¯t worked.

    ¡°Taotie? You know what this thing is?¡± Pei Mianman asked with curiosity.

    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ve seen some written recordings of it¡­¡± Zu An told her about the things he remembered.

    Pei Mianman was utterly astonished. ¡°Why have I never heard of it before? Where did you read all this from?¡±

    Zu Anughed and said, ¡°The world is full of unknowns. There are many things you haven¡¯t seen or heard of before.¡±

    Pei Mianman wasn¡¯t too surprised when she heard this. ¡°This ce is just too weird. Let¡¯s look for an exit first.¡±

    Zu An nodded. ¡°I agree. But this thick fog is everywhere, so we have to be careful. Let¡¯s not run into more of those taotie monsters.¡±

    A chorus of infant wails sounded as soon as he said this.

    What the hell?? Zu An could not believe his ears.

    The two of them shivered, and couldn¡¯t help but look in the direction the noise hade from. They saw several figures ambling out of the mist. What else could they be but more taoties?

    Zu An wanted to smack his own mouth. Damn my stupid mouth! They showed up as soon as he mentioned them¡­ it was almost as if he hadmanded them into existence!

    What if I say that I¡¯ll be unrivaled under the heavens and have a billion wives? Will that happen as well?

    Despite his self-mockery, he acted decisively, without hesitation. He pulled Pei Mianman¡¯s arm and said, ¡°Run!¡±

    It wasn¡¯t too hard for the two of them to deal with a single taotie, but they were definitely outmatched when faced against so many of them at once.

    Seeing the two of them turning tail, the newly-arrived taotie horde screeched and chased after them. However, they suddenly stopped as they noticed the taotie corpse on the ground. They surrounded the corpse and began to consume it. The massive corpse was quickly devoured, and even the blood that had sttered on the ground was cleaned up.

    Zu An ran frantically, with Pei Mianman close behind him. He didn¡¯t dare linger, even though he saw what those taotie were doing out of the corner of his eye.

    After running for who knew how long, they suddenly came upon a gate, standing right in front of them.

    The gate was magnificent, towering twenty to thirty meters high, guarded by many massive stone pirs which stood in front of it.

    Standing in front of the gate and looking up at it, both Zu An and Pei Mianman felt small and insignificant. The gate seemed to emanate a great pressure.

    Unfortunately, the gate was tightly shut, and there was no way it could be opened through human strength alone.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Pei Mianman suddenly cried out in rm.

    Zu An jumped in fright. He whipped around, thinking that she had been ambushed by a taotie or some other monster, but he didn¡¯t see anyone around her.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± He walked over and asked, his voice filled with concern.

    ¡°Over there¡­¡± Pei Mianman quickly pointed to the side.

    Zu An looked in the direction she was pointing, and saw a skeleton kneeling by a set of stairs.

    This skeleton wasrge and majestic. Even though it was kneeling on one leg, it still gave off a mysterious and imposing power.

    ¡°Is that another one of the victims from the past?¡± Pei Mianman asked, recalling the bones that had umted within the giant pit that they had just left behind.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡± Zu An shook his head. He pointed at the white bones and said, ¡°Look at that long spear in its handsÒ»it looks like a mighty warrior. I think whoever this was was a valiant warrior, when they were still alive. Its stance seems natural, and there aren¡¯t any visible wounds. It probably chose to guard this ce willingly. I wonder if they were buried here, or if they died a natural death while guarding this ce and slowly turned to bones.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s¡­ there¡¯s more over there!¡± Pei Mianman cried out in rm, pointing at the pirs in front of the gate.

    Zu An walked over to take a look. He felt a chill run down his spine. He thought that the lower section of the pirs were just engraved with decorative designs, but when he got closer, he noticed that every single pir was built on a set of white bones.

    He counted them. There were fifteen skeletons in total, and it seemed that even more of them were buried underground.

    ¡°The one who built this ce was definitely quite cruel.¡± Pei Mianman walked over to Zu An¡¯s side, her body trembling visibly.

    Even though she usually walked around with a flirtatious smile, she was a decisive and ruthless person. However, after experiencing that pit of death and seeing these structures built atop piles of bones, she too had begun to grow afraid.

    Zu An said in a low voice, ¡°Perhaps this is part of their culture and customs. I know of an ancient country that offered up living people as sacrifices. To them, it was a means of expressing their deepest sincerity and adoration to the heavens.¡±

    He had watched the documentary ¡®Yinxu: Ruins of Yinshang¡¯, so he obviously knew that the people of Yinshang offered up human sacrifices. This dungeon was also called ¡®Yinxu¡¯. Even though he didn¡¯t know if they were one and the same, he was sure that there was some connection between the two.

    ¡°But these are all innocent people! Which one of them would be willing to be offered as a sacrifice to the heavens?¡± Pei Mianman looked at the bones below the pirs and the stone gate, feelingpassion stirring within her.

    Zu An said, ¡°They were probably all prisoners of war. In those times, being taken captive only guaranteed that there would be a miserable fate awaiting you.¡±

    Pei Mianman bit her lip. ¡°Let¡¯s look for a different way out. I don¡¯t feelfortable being here.¡±

    Zu An grunted in agreement. This ce was indeed rather strange and ominous.

    The two of them walked over to the side to begin their search, but Pei Mianman suddenly stopped. She pulled him back and said, ¡°Be careful!¡±

    Zu An froze. Only now did he realize that just ahead of them was the edge of a cliff. Beyond that cliff was a bottomless abyss, waiting silently like a slumbering beast. Neither of them wanted to look down into it a second longer than they had to.

    Pei Mianman threw a rock down, but they didn¡¯t hear it hit the bottom. That scared both of them. It either meant that the abyss was so deep that no echo could escape it, or that there were spatial cracks or other strange phenomena below.

    Regardless of which one it was, falling down didn¡¯t seem like a sensible choice.

    The two of them quickly moved to search in the opposite direction. A whileter, they were disappointed to find that the path also ended in a cliff, beyond which was the same endless abyss.

    They finally understood that the path they had taken while running from the taoties was most likely a floating bridge. Because they were surrounded by dense fog, though, they hadn¡¯t been able to see their surroundings clearly.

    The two of them were immediately thankful that neither of them tripped or fell while being pursued by those taoties. If they had fallen off a cliff like the one that confronted them now, they would not have been lucky enough to escape again.

    Pei Mianman was puzzled. ¡°If it really is bottomless, then what is under the ce that we came from? What is beneath thoserge stone gates? There¡¯s no way everything is just floating in midair, right?¡±

    ¡°Floating?¡± Zu An¡¯s voice grew serious. ¡°That¡¯s not entirely impossible. After all, this dungeon was within a meteorite. Who knows, we might still be inside that ancient stele. The spatialws inside it may be entirely different from the outside world.

    ¡°Who would¡¯ve thought that we would be trapped here after finally escaping from Mosquito Daoist¡­? The only thing I want to know right now is how to get out,¡± heined.

    Oddly enough, Pei Mianman had a smile on her face. ¡°I think this ce has been pretty good so far.¡±

    She did not want to face the headache of having to exin things to Chuyan, or whateverints and annoyances her own n might raise. If she could live in this world with Zu An, just the two of them, it didn¡¯t sound all that bad.

    A faint chorus of screeches drifted over from a distance away, causing her expression to change. She remembered those taoties and the white bones, and her thoughts of staying here were immediately dispelled.

    ¡°We¡¯ll return to that gate first!¡± Zu An said, running back to it with Pei Mianman. If they kept going forward, they might run straight into the pursuing taotie. If they returned to those stone gates and found a way to get through it, they might somehow be able to make it through this disaster. Even if they didn¡¯t manage to find a way inside, the two of them could still defend themselves without the danger of being surrounded.

    Pei Mianman had also read the pros and cons of the situation, so she didn¡¯t hesitate. The two of them quickly returned to the stone gate and began to search for a way to open those doors.

    They didn¡¯t notice the spark of red light that flickered within the eye sockets of the skeleton kneeling by the stairs.

 Chapter 513: A Flash of Cold Light

    <h4>Chapter 513: A sh of Cold Light</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Ah Zu,e look! There¡¯s a strange bird here!¡± Pei Mianman pointed at the middle of the stone gate. ¡°Maybe the switch to open it is over there!¡±

    Zu An noticed it as well. A strange bird diagram was right in the center of the gate, and it was entirely red in color. It bore a certain resemnce to a phoenix or a peacock, but was neither.

    It looked a little bit like the ¡®Hundredwarble¡¯ that he could summon.

    Zu An made the association and quickly used Hundredwarble,manding it to approach that diagram. Unfortunately, no matter how it flew around and cried out, the door showed no reaction.

    As the Hundredwarble¡¯s cries spread, however, the red lights burning in the eye sockets of the kneeling skeleton warrior gradually dimmed, but neither Zu An nor Pei Mianman noticed this.

    Zu An frowned, feeling rather disappointed. ¡°It didn¡¯t do anything?¡±

    He suddenly remembered from that documentary on Yinshang that the forefather of the Shang Dynasty was named Qi. ¡®In the Song n was a woman with the simple name of Di. After ingesting the egg of a strange bird, Qi was born¡¯. Thereafter, the Shang Dynasty would often use that mysterious bird as a totem. This bird was probably the same mysterious bird that they used. What exactly did this mysterious bird symbolize?

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    While he was deep in thought, Pei Mianman suddenly made a new discovery. ¡°Huh? This bird diagram seems a little strange. I think these rocks around it can be moved. There are some patterns in the center of the bird as well.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He shifted his attention to the gate, and noticed that there were indeed four lines¡ªtwo horizontal, two vertical¡ªthat divided this mysterious bird diagram into nine smallpartments.

    Around the diagram of the bird was a ring of small square blocks, each one carved with a strange symbol. Pei Mianman tried to move them, and discovered that these small square blocks could slide into those ninepartments.

    ¡°One, two, three¡­¡± Pei Mianman counted them, then said with surprise, ¡°There are exactly nine of these blocks. It looks like we just need to put them in the correct spot for the door to open.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right. Manman, you¡¯re really sharp.¡± Zu An walked right up to the gate and stared distractedly at the nine blocks surrounding the diagram. He had thought about it too deeply, and ended up being led astray. In the end, it was Pei Mianman, who was unburdened by these extra thoughts, who noticed these things. ¡°But what do these symbols mean? Have you seen them before?¡±

    ¡°I haven¡¯t.¡± Pei Mianman shook her head. She trawled her mind for information that might be simr enough to help her out. ¡°I have never seen anything like this from any of the records of the other races. The style of these symbols seem rather simr to the ones on the stele, though.¡±

    ¡°You think so?¡± Zu An was stunned. He examined those symbols again. Now that she had brought this up, he gradually picked up some things about those strange patterns.

    Since this was rted to the oracle script, it was easy enough for him to associate the nine numbers and ninepartments, to the mystical diagrams of ancient China, which were believed to be rted to the origins of writing. In the book describing the diagrams, this famous verse stood out: ¡°Nine in the crown, and one in the base; three on the left, seven on the right; two and four are the shoulders, six and eight, the feet; five resides at the center.¡±

    To put it simply, the sum of all the numbers along any given line would be fifteen, regardless of whether the line was drawn vertically, horizontally, or diagonally.

    Putting these numbers in the locations was quite simple, and anyone with basic mathematical knowledge could do it. The problem was that the symbols on these blocks were different from the numbers he was used to. He had no idea which design corresponded to which number.

    There were four patterns that were rtively easy to recognize. The ones with one, two, three and four horizontal lines should correspond to one, two, three, and four respectively.

    The others were harder to distinguish. For example, one symbol looked like a trident with a curved shaft, one was in the shape of the ÈË character, and yet another had an X in the center, but a horizontal line above and beneath, making it look like a folding stool or a spring in those Mario games. Another looked like )(, like a pair of brackets put the wrong way.

    The weirdest one was the one that looked like a cross.

    Zu An subconsciously thought of it as ten, since it looked exactly like the modern Chinese character for that number (Ê®), but he immediately threw out this thought. After all, there were only ninepartments, so the number ten should not appear at all.

    Regret slowly crept into his mind. If he¡¯d studied more about the oracle script, he might recognize these characters.

    He really didn¡¯t know how those archaeologists of the past ever figured out which character was which.

    Wait a second¡­

    A sudden thought urred to him. He remembered the documentary stating that the reason why Chinese civilization could always be traced to amon origin was because people thousands of yearster could always understand the writings of their ancestors from thousands of years ago.

    Why would they recognize them? Clearly, the writing should have evolved, generation by generation, from the older characters.

    The characters ofter generations came from the Qin Dynasty¡¯s lesser seals, while the lesser seals were themselves derived from the oracle script.

    In that case, the oracle script should always have some rtionship to the characters ofter generations. Theplicated oracle script might not be that easy to figure out, but he already knew that these characters corresponded to the numbers one to nine. He should be able to figure something out if he examined them carefully.

    He looked at the symbol that looked like a trident with a curved shaft and put his mind to work, analyzing it from all different angles.

    With a sh of inspiration, he flipped the trident around. Doesn¡¯t this resemble the left side of the ¡®nine¡¯ character (¾Å)? The curved shaft corresponded to the hook on the right side of the character.

    The flipped brackets¡­ don¡¯t they look simr to the ¡®eight¡¯ character (°Ë)?

    Wait, but if this is eight, then what about the symbol that looked like ÈË? Wasn¡¯t it also a bit like eight? Perhaps they symbolize the two dots under the ¡®six¡¯ character (Áù)?

    Could the symbol that looked like the spring from the Mario games possibly be the ¡®five¡¯ character (Îå)?

    The symbol matched up nicely if he rotated the ¡®X¡¯ between the two horizontal lines.

    The cross symbol should be the character for ¡®seven¡¯ (Æß). There was only a hook missing.

    Zu An examined them again. Even though his reasoning made some sense, there were still holes in his logic. For example, if the four horizontal lines didn¡¯t mean four, that would throw him offpletely. Also, he wasn¡¯t really sure if he¡¯d made the right choices regarding eight and six.

    He was just about to give it more thought when the infantile wailing sounded again. Those taotie had finally pursued them here after thoroughly consuming the corpse of their brethren.

    ¡°Ah Zu, what do we do?¡± Pei Mianman stared at the faint shapes of the taotie, barely discernible in the mist. ck mes surged in her hands as she prepared for battle.

    The two of them definitely stood no chance against that many taoties.

    Zu An was out of time. He ced the stones in the positions that he spected were correct.

    The design of the gate was rather intricate, and there were grooves that allowed the square pieces to slide into different positions.

    When he slid thest piece into ce, a wave of golden light washed over the nine symbols, then extended outwards even further. Theypletely filled the crack between the stone gates, and shot out along the entire frame of the gate.

    *Crack~*

    There came the sound of gears moving within, and the gate slowly swung open.

    Pei Mianman looked at Zu An in astonishment. ¡°Ah Zu, my admiration for you just keeps growing! How were you even able to decipher such a difficult mechanism?¡±

    She was pretty confident in her own intelligence, yet she¡¯d had no idea where to even start when it came to those ancient symbols.

    ¡°Haha, there are many, many more amazing aspects of me for you to learn about in the future.¡± Even though Zu An sounded cocky, he felt a tinge of guilt. He had only been able to decipher those mechanisms because he had the knowledge of the hardworking archaeologists of his previous world. Without this knowledge, he wouldn¡¯t have even known where to begin.

    ¡°Show off~¡± Pei Mianman rolled her eyes. She had no idea how Chuyan had managed to notice how extraordinary he was ahead of time, but she wasn¡¯t in the mood to think about these things right now. She pulled Zu An towards the gate and said, ¡°The taoties are about to catch up! We¡¯d better enter!¡±

    Once they had run through the gate, they looked for a way to close the gate again, to lock the taoties outside. Unfortunately, they couldn¡¯t close the gate at all, no matter what they did.

    The situation was dire, and they didn¡¯t have any more time to find the closing mechanism. Zu An could only grab Pei Mianman and run further inside.

    ¡°Screech!¡± A taotie screamed as it rushed towards the gate tform. It was just about to throw itself at the stone gate when there was a sh of cold light, and it froze immediately.

    The burly skeleton warrior slowly stood up, and a drop of blood slowly trickled down its spear, falling to the ground with a quiet sound.

    The rigid body of the taotie shuddered, and its massive head slowly slid down its neck.

 Chapter 514: A Strange Mural

    <h4>Chapter 514: A Strange Mural</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The burly skeleton warrior looked at the taotie, then turned its head rigidly towards the stone gate. Its mouth creaked, and several vague words were audible. ¡°Protect¡­ intruders¡­ eliminate¡­¡±

    It slowly walked over to the stone gate, gripping the spear in its hands.

    It looked as though it had just woken from a deep slumber. Its movements were slightly awkward at first, but as it walked, its body seemed to grow lighter, and its movements also gradually grew smoother. Eventually, it even began to run.

    The other taoties rushed out from the mist. They tilted their heads slightly when they saw their beheadedrade. They couldn¡¯t figure out why the strongest and fastest of them had suddenly been reduced to this.

    However, their instincts quickly overtook their curiosity, and they began to gorge themselves on theirrade¡¯s corpse.

    After all, in Chinese mythology, the taotie was synonymous with gluttony. They would eat anything they could find, and ording to legend, it was so gluttonous that it ended up eating its own body, leaving only its head¡­

    ¡­

    Everything was fine when Zu An and Pei Mianman first went through the gate. The light filtering from outside was enough for them to see the way ahead.

    In front of them was a wide and perfectly straight path, lined with several stone statues of various different animals. Some of the animals weremon, like horses, elephants, tigers, and camels, but the others had strange appearances, and neither of them could make out what they were supposed to be.

    Zu An was afraid that there might be something strange about these stone statues, but they didn¡¯t seem to be giving off any signs of life.

    To be sure, Pei Mianman burned some statues with her ck mes. As expected, however, there was no reaction at all.

    The two of them rxed their guard. ¡°These should be stone statues from ancient times,¡± Zu An postted, ¡°which probably means that there is a great tomb up ahead. However, I don¡¯t feel like this is a tomb at all. Our surroundings, and the stone gate earlier on, makes it seem more like a pce.¡±

    ¡°We can decide whether it is a tomb or a pceter. Let¡¯s find a ce to hide first.¡± Pei Mianman was still afraid of the taotie, and she really didn¡¯t want to have anything more to do with them.

    ¡°Okay.¡± Zu An knew as well that it wasn¡¯t the right time to ponder over this matter.

    The two of them continued forward, and quickly found themselves faced by three bridges. A winding brook murmured below them.

    Pei Mianman was surprised. ¡°There¡¯s actually water here.¡±

    This ce seemed to have been abandoned for a long time. Many great rivers often changed their paths or dried up as centuries passed, and a small brook like this should have been no exception. It was a miracle that it still continued to exist.

    Zu An knelt beside the brook and dipped his hand into it. The water was cold to his touch. ¡°It¡¯s water. It seems like the sort that flows out from karstndform caves.¡±

    ¡°Karstndforms?¡± Pei Mianman was perplexed. She wasn¡¯t familiar with this terminology.

    ¡°They are cavities formed when limestone is corroded by groundwater, forming caves¡­ You can just think of them as the caves with stctites growing on them,¡± Zu An exined, still absorbed by his own thoughts. ¡°From the temperature of the water, we can conclude that this ce is underground. Could it be that stele sent us to this underground space¡­?¡±

    ¡°Be careful!¡± Pei Mianman suddenly called out a warning.

    Zu An had watched many videos about the animal kingdom, and there was no way he would approach any body of water without putting up his guard.

    He saw a dark shadow rush out towards him, and nailed it to the riverbank with a stab of his sword.

    It was an alligator, far smaller than a Nile crocodile, and more like a spectacled caiman.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Pei Mianman walked over to him, still watching the water surface vigntly. She didn¡¯t know if Zu An¡¯s clean and efficient strike had intimidated itspanions or not. The water¡¯s surface waspletely calm, and there was no sign of any other crocodiles.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Zu An pulled his sword back out and squatted down beside the crocodile to examine it. ¡°It seems no different from a normal crocodile, but its eyes have degenerated. This is strange¡­ Why does this ce have so many carnivorous animals? What do they eat?¡±

    This ce really was full of unexinable things, but he didn¡¯t have the time to think about it right now. He stored the crocodile in his Brilliant ss Bead.

    Pei Mianman was shocked. ¡°Why did you store that thing?¡±

    ¡°To eat itter, of course.¡± Zu An replied, as if it was the most obvious thing. ¡°We have no idea how long we¡¯ll be trapped here, and we¡¯ll have to eat something eventually.¡±

    The strength and speed of cultivators far exceeded normal people, but their energy requirements were also much higher. To put it simply, they needed to eat much more. They had been getting into one fight after another continuously, and Zu An was already starving. If they weren¡¯t so pressed for time, he might have already roasted and devoured the crocodile.

    There were many countries in which roasted crocodile meat was served, but he had never tried it before.

    ¡°You¡¯re going to eat it? I¡¯ll pass.¡± Pei Mianman had a strange look on her face. As a woman, she didn¡¯t like to look at such nasty things, let alone eat them.

    Zu An chuckled and didn¡¯t force the issue. Either way, once they got hungry enough, it would look delicious all the same. It was the same for him when he had firste to this world. He hadn¡¯t liked the thought of mooching at first, but ended up enjoying it immensely in the end.

    The two of them crossed the bridges and went inside some buildings. It had grown darker as they got further and further away from the entrance, and it was even darker inside the buildings. It was so dark that they couldn¡¯t even see their own fingers if they held out their hands in front of them.

    The two of them already experienced the consequences of poor visibility, out in the fog. Back then, they had fallen into a pit trap by ident, and neither of them was eager to repeat that right now.

    Zu An ran through the things he had on him. He subconsciously wanted to take out his magical shlight to light the way, but remembered that it wouldn¡¯t light up without the presence of a light source.

    Piece of junk!

    While Zu An was feeling annoyed, a burst of light suddenly flickered next to him. ck mes swirled around Pei Mianman. Not only did it light up the surroundings, it made her look more beautiful too.

    Zu An rushed over to hug her. ¡°Big Manman, you really are beautiful.¡±

    Pei Mianman jumped in fright and quickly extinguished the mes, afraid that she would hurt him. She quickly remembered that she had given him her pendant, which granted immunity against the ck mes, and heaved a sigh in relief.

    ¡°You¡¯re so annoying!¡± Pei Mianman¡¯s face reddened as she pushed him away. ¡°I saw several marks on the walls that could have been made by fire. They may be braziers. Let me see if I can light them.¡±

    With a wave of her hand, a streak of ck me shot out like a snake. It slithered across the walls, moving across the ces that she remembered.

    In a moment, fires burst into life one after another. Those markings had been made by braziers after all. Who would¡¯ve known that there would still be oil stored within them after all this time?

    The light from the fires quickly lit up their surroundings reaching far into the distance. The two of them looked around and saw that they were indeed within a magnificent pce.

    The firelight reflected off something golden in the distance. It was as if they had arrived at a capital city made out of gold.

    ¡°Is all of this gold?¡± Pei Mianman was stupefied. Massive golden pirs stretched out before her eyes. If they managed to bring these back with them, they would be rich enough to rival a nation.

    Zu An walked over to the closest wall and pinched it, then shook his head. ¡°Sorry to disappoint you. Gold is rather soft, but this material is much sturdier. It¡¯s probably brass. You can check those braziers if you don¡¯t believe me. The surface facing the fire should be covered in ayer of ck. That wouldn¡¯t happen with real gold.¡±

    Metallurgy was quite advanced in the Shang Dynasty, thanks mostly to the discovery of copper smelting. Both copper and bronze had a golden sheen when first forged, and only turned green after endless years of corrosion by water and oxygen, taking on the appearance of the ancient bronze artifacts that everyone was so familiar with.

    Pei Mianman was greatly disappointed when she learned that all this wasn¡¯t gold. ¡°I got all excited for nothing. Hm? What is that?¡±

    Zu An had to give this woman some credit. She was always noticing these clues before him.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    They walked forward a little more and noticed many beautiful carvings on the walls. However, the murals all seemed rather abstract, so he couldn¡¯t immediately figure out what they represented.

    Words were carved around the murals as well. Pei Mianman looked at him with great expectation. ¡°What do those words say?¡±

    These were written in the same strange and ancient oracle script, after all. Zu An had deciphered the characters on the stele and the stone gate, so she thought that he could understand these too.

    Zu An grumbled secretly. Do you take me for some archaeologist? I was already pushing my luck, deciphering the simple oracle script from earlier. There¡¯s no way I¡¯ll know what those characters mean!

    However, as he looked into her beautiful and expectant eyes, Zu An couldn¡¯t help but act all knowledgeable. ¡°Maybe a monsterid its eggs in a young woman¡¯s mouth. The infant monster incubated inside the young woman¡¯s body, then it burst straight out of her body¡­¡±

    The mural did depict a monster and a youngdy, after all. There seemed to be an egg-shaped object inside her mouth. Then, the woman¡¯s belly was shown to be erged¡­

    He had just been making up nonsense, borrowing from the plot of ¡®Aliens¡¯, but the more he spoke, the more it seemed to match the contents of these carvings, as though what he said was actually the truth.

    ¡°Absolute nonsense!¡± a cold voice thundered.

 Chapter 515, Part I: Show Me What Youve Got!

    <h4>Chapter 515, Part I: Show Me What You''ve Got!</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Instead of being rmed by this sudden voice, Zu An was ovee with joy. ¡°Big sis empress, you finally woke up! I thought that you¡­ I thought¡­¡±

    ¡°That I died?¡± The ice-cold voice remarked snidely in his head.

    ¡°That¡¯s not it.¡± Zu Anughed in embarrassment. ¡°I thought that you¡¯d gone to sleep and didn¡¯t care about me anymore.¡±

    ¡°Why would Ie out when you¡¯re flirting with that big-boobed sis of yours over here?¡± Mi Li said with a snort. It was easy to imagine her rolling her eyes.

    ¡°Big-boobed sis?¡± Zu An subconsciously nced at Pei Mianman¡¯s chest. He had to admit that this was indeed a fitting nickname.

    ¡°What do you mean, ¡®flirting¡¯? I encountered so much danger along the way, and I almost died, okay? Why didn¡¯t you help me out?¡± Zu An said with a bit of bitterness.

    ¡°What do you mean by ¡®encountering danger¡¯? You only fell into danger because you tried to save that big-boobed sis! Earlier on, while that mosquito was around, you even risked your life several times to save that Zheng girl, and thatdy whatever of the Devil Sect as well. Hmph! That big-boobed sis got one thing right¡ªyou really do risk your life to chase skirts. Even if I tried to save you, it would hardly make a difference, given how easily you keep trying to throw your life away, so why would I even bother? I¡¯d rather you just died earlier. That way, I wouldn¡¯t have to keep feeling so annoyed.¡± The cold in Mi Li¡¯s voice was piercing.

    Despite this, Zu An giggled and said, ¡°Big sis empress, even though your words are rather mean, you still care about me, right? Otherwise, you wouldn¡¯t have paid so much attention to all that had happened along the way.¡±

    ¡°Hmph! Wipe that smile off your face. I¡¯m not as easy as those other girls of yours.¡± Despite her words, Mi Li¡¯s tone had clearly softened a little. She looked at the carvings on the wall and said, ¡°Let¡¯s talk about those murals.¡±

    In her current form, no one besides Zu An could see her unless she wanted them to. She pointed towards the wall and said, ¡°Everything you said earlier on was absolute rubbish. This here clearly shows a giant bird spreading its wings above. This thing below it is a bird¡¯s nest, filled with eggs. It was the young woman who crawled up to it and stole an egg, and then ate it. The youngdy became pregnant soon afterwards and gave birth to a child¡­ This is the legend that you recalled earlier: ¡®In the Song n was a woman with the simple name of Di. After ingesting the egg of a strange bird, Qi was born.¡±¡±

    Zu An had a look of surprise on his face. ¡°Big sis empress, you¡¯re so smart!¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    He had only known of that because of a documentary, but she was somehow aware of such obscure knowledge!

    Mi Li snorted. ¡°Are you stupid? Yinshang isn¡¯t even that far removed from the period I lived in.¡±

    Zu Anughed awkwardly. It came to him that she was from the Qin Dynasty, which was only a single dynasty away from the Shang Dynasty.

    Mi Li walked over to another mural, this one depicting a scene of war. A great number of chariots were arrayed on both sides, with many ranks of soldiers behind them.

    On one of the chariots stood a tall and stalwart man. It was obvious that he was strong and mighty, and was clearly the main character of this mural. Another man stood on the opposite side of him, marking him as his opponent. However, this person¡¯s expression looked rather dark and cowardly.

    Mi Li studied the characters written next to the mural, then pointed at the two men. ¡°That¡¯s the founder of the Shang Dynasty, Cheng Tang. This is the battle of Mingtiao, which spelled the end of the Xia Dynasty. On the other side of him is the monarch of the Xia Dynasty, Xia Jie. After this defeat, he fled to Nanchao and died, while Cheng Tang returned victorious. He gathered the feudal vassals and formally established the Shang Dynasty and its capital city, Bo City.¡±

    ¡°Bo City?¡± Zu An was shocked. ¡°Wasn¡¯t Yin City the capital of the Shang Dynasty?¡±

    Yinshang had gotten its name because, over the years, people had grown ustomed to using that name to refer to it. Of course, those who had read ¡®Investiture of the Gods¡¯ would know that the capital city of the Shang Dynasty was Zhaoge. Regardless of whether it was Zhaoge or Yin City, however, neither of them were Bo City.

    ¡°I¡¯m amazed at how na?ve you are, trying to show off with how little you know. The Shang emperors of the past moved their capitals frequently.¡± Mi Li pointed at a mural in the back and exined, ¡°That was all because of the way inheritance worked in the Shang Dynasty. In these ancient times, danger lurked in every corner. The foreign tribes were coveting theirnd, and beasts of nature roamed freely as well, and so the average lifespan was rather short. Most died in the prime of their lives, and the Shang emperor was no exception. There was no way he would pass on his throne to a young child, because all that mattered in those times was whether or not the emperor could properly lead his people to survival.

    ¡°That was why, in the early years of the Shang Dynasty, the throne was inherited by the emperor¡¯s brothers. Once the Shang emperor died, his younger brother would seed the throne. This continued on for some time.

    ¡°There was one problem with this¡ªany branch of the imperial n could im the right of inheritance. Once the dust settled, the lifespans of the people would have naturally grown longer. Soon enough, the emperors often began to have mature heirs, and were thus no longer willing to pass on their imperial position to their brothers. They wanted to pass it onto their sons instead, but the other kings wouldn¡¯t agree to that. A cruel power struggle was unavoidable.

    ¡°Once the new emperor seeded the throne, most of them would choose to move the capital, to reduce the threat that the other remaining kings posed. This way, theplicated and tricky bnce of powers in the capital would be rendered meaningless.¡±

    ¡°I understand that!¡± Zu An remembered something simr ying out in the Song Dynasty. During the early period, when Zhao Kuangyin usurped the Later Zhou regime and established the Northern Song Dynasty, he nned to pass on his throne to his younger brother, Zhao Guangyi, to solidify the Zhao n¡¯s power. Later on, however, after ruling for more than ten years, his young son had already grown up, and he changed his mind, wanting to pass on the imperial throne to him instead.

    Unfortunately, back then, an unwritten rule stated that the heir apparent to the throne would serve as overseer of the capital, Kaifeng. Zhao Guangyi had already held that position for many years, and so he wielded massive influence there.

    Zhao Kuangyin nned to deal with this situation by moving the capital, but this attempt encountered intense opposition within the court. It was ultimately dismantled by Zhao Guangyi¡¯s famous words: ¡®If the monarch knows no honor, the people will rebel¡¯. When Zhao Kuangyin saw how many people were backing his younger brother, and that he was naturally benevolent by nature, he abandoned all thoughts of moving the capital.

    Mi Li pointed at the third mural and said, ¡°The Shang Dynasty continued to change capital cities again and again. Thissted until Pan Geng made Yin City the capital, where it finally stabilized. This mural describes various things regarding this move by Pan Geng.¡±

    Zu An looked at the fourth mural. ¡°Huh? There¡¯s a woman in this mural. She looks quite pretty too.¡±

    Mi Li snorted. ¡°Look at you, your head is filled to the brim with thoughts about whether girls are pretty or not. You¡¯re disrespecting your ancestors! She is Fu Hao, the empress of Wu Ding, and one of the Shang Dynasty¡¯s most powerful monarchs. After Pan Geng moved the capital, the Shang Dynasty gradually stabilized. When it reached Wu Ding¡¯s generation, the state, which had been in decline, flourished once more. Not only was Wu Ding capable, his wife, Fu Hao, was also vitally important.

    ¡°Back then, the Gui, Tu, Qiang, Ren, and Hu parties surrounding the Shang Dynasty were all extremely strong. They all desired the riches of the Shang Dynasty''snd¡­¡±

    ¡°Parties?¡± Zu An asked, cutting her off.

    ¡°It¡¯s what the Shang Dynasty called the surrounding foreign tribes and nations.¡± exined Mi Li. She looked back at the depiction of Fu Hao. ¡°Back then, the Shang Dynasty was constantly engaged in war. The empress Fu Hao personallymanded troops, defeating the foreign tribes one after another, and even wiping out a few of the enemy territories. This helped topletely stabilize the Shang Dynasty. She was truly a woman worth admiring.¡±

    Zu An saw the adoration in Mi Li¡¯s eyes, and remembered that she was also an empress. She was probably moved by Fu Hao¡¯s aplishments.

    Mi Li stopped in front of another mural. Suddenly, she frowned. ¡°Something is not right!¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Zu An asked with a strange tone. This mural was located next to a river. There were many boats on this river, and thenterns and colored banners on it made it seem like a festive day. There were men escorting the groom and bride from both sides. It looked like a grand wedding.

    Mi Li pointed at a few of the words beside it and said, ¡°The theme of this mural is ¡®Match Made in Heaven¡¯, but if I recall correctly, ¡®Match Made in Heaven¡¯es from the Shijing, the Book of Songs. It portrays the wedding of Ji Chang, the ruler of the Zhou Dynasty.

    ¡°In times gone by, Ji Chang met his wife on the banks of the Wei River, and was moved by her beauty. When he learned that she waspassionate and wise, and that she lived a simple and unadorned life, Ji Chang decided to take her as his wife. Because there were no bridges across the Wei River, Ji Chang decided to use boats to fashion a bridge over the Wei River. The boats lined up bow-to-stern to form a bridge, and he would meet her on this bridge. It was a grand and magnificent scene.¡±

    Zu An was amazed. ¡°That¡¯s exactly what¡¯s on the mural. So where¡¯s the strange part?¡±

    ¡°This is where the strangeness lies,¡± Mi Li said with a frown. ¡°The empress was a noble woman from the Shen state. Back then, even though the Shen state was a part of Yinshang, she was definitely not a true Shang Dynasty princess. However, the words next to this mural state that it was king Di Yi who married off his own beautiful younger sister to Ji Chang, and that was the actual match made in heaven. However, this goespletely against what is written in the Shijing!¡±

 Chapter 515, Part II: Show Me What Youve Got!

    <h4>Chapter 515, Part II: Show Me What You''ve Got!</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Di Yi?¡± All these names were starting to make Zu An¡¯s head spin.

    Mi Li replied, ¡°He is the secondst monarch, as well as the father of King Zhou, whom you might know more about.¡±

    ¡°Oh, King Zhou!¡± Zu An¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°I know who that is. He fell in love with the fox spirit Daji, which resulted in the destruction of the Shang Dynasty. Everyone knows that. I wonder just how beautiful Daji was for him topletely lose himself in that way.¡±

    Neither modern textbooks nor the ¡®Investiture of the Gods¡¯ contained many positive things about King Zhou of Shang and Daji. However, he didn¡¯t really care about that. He was burning to know just how stunning history¡¯s most famous fox spirit really was.

    ¡°You really are a pervert!¡± Mi Li berated him. After his interruption, she moved on from the ¡®Match Made in Heaven¡¯ mural. She pointed at thest mural and said, ¡°I believe the Daji that you so desperately want to see is right here.¡±

    Zu An peered at it curiously, and saw a woman outlined by graceful lines. Unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t see her real appearance through such a medium, and could only tell from her curves that she indeed possessed an exceptionally beautiful figure. ¡°Wow, her waist is so thin! And her chest is sorge, it¡¯s almost on the level of Big Manman¡­¡±

    Mi Li rolled her eyes. She was already used to this degenerate side of him. She continued with her exnation of the mural. ¡°This painting exins the eradication of the Shang Dynasty. Over here is the battle of Muye. The Shang Dynasty¡¯s army changed sides right before the battle, leading to a crushing defeat¡­ In the throes of despair, King Zhoumitted suicide with his wife by self-immtion. Thus, the Zhou Dynasty was established. King Zhou¡¯s son, the crown prince Wu Geng, was left in Yin City as an offering to the ancestors.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Zu An was rather curious. ¡°Wasn¡¯t the Shang Dynastypletely wiped out by the Zhou Dynasty? Why was King Zhou¡¯s son allowed to stay in the capital city, under the banner of the Shang Dynasty?¡±

    ¡°In ancient times, there was an unwritten rule stating that one could destroy a nation, but not their customs. However, this was rarely actually put into practice.¡± Mi Li sneered. ¡°In the end, the victorious side was forced into making suchpromises only because the defeated side still had a substantial force remaining. The Zhou Dynasty destroyed many other smaller countries following that¡ªwhen did they ever allow them to carry on their customs? Our Qin State was never so hypocritical. If we want to wipe out an enemy, we would do it. If we said we¡¯d eradicate a n, that¡¯s what we did.¡±

    Zu An stared at her, speechless.

    He noticed the frenzy in Mi Li¡¯s eyes, and swallowed. This woman was a rather strong-willed person.

    Mi Li continued, ¡°The Shang Dynasty had existed for many centuries, after all, so even if King Zhou died, their remaining forces were still substantial. The Zhou Dynasty allowed Wu Geng to remain in Yin City as the monarch of the remaining Shang loyalists. However, you shouldn¡¯t look down on him just because of how easily he was defeated in the Battle of Muye. Four yearster, Wu Geng instigated a rebellion, and it took the Zhou Dynasty three whole years before he was defeated.

    ¡°Even though Wu Geng¡¯s bloodline had ended, the Shang loyalists still had two other powerful forces. King Zhou¡¯s uncle Jizi wasn¡¯t willing to bow down to serve the Zhou Dynasty, so he led some of the people from Yin City to Beiqian, establishing the Chaoxian state. History calls it the Ji n Chaoxian. The only son of King Zhou¡¯s older brother¡¯s led several subordinates and established the Song state, which is quite famous as well, so you should know about them. There are many stories whose main characters are stupid Song people.¡±

    Mi Li¡¯s smile dripped with mockery. ¡°After all, the Song state was made up of migrants from Yinshang. The other states were all made up of Zhou people, which is why they always mocked those from Song.¡±

    Zu An was stupefied. All of that had actually happened? Many of those jokes had bemonly used phrases, even in his modern age. Even thousands of yearster, everyone still remembered the stupidity of the people from the Song state¡­ That¡¯s really brutal.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Ah Zu, Ah Zu?¡± Pei Mianman¡¯s voice tugged at Zu An¡¯s consciousness the same way she tugged at his clothes.

    Zu An snapped out of his daze. ¡°What is it?¡± he asked her.

    Pei Mianman looked worried. ¡°You were acting rather strangely for quite a while. You were looking at the murals and muttering to yourself. I thought that you¡¯d been affected by some kind of spell! Are you all right?¡±

    Zu An now realized that his conversation with Mi Li had gone entirely unnoticed by her. She couldn¡¯t see Mi Li, after all. He was quick to reassure her. ¡°I¡¯m fine. I was trying to figure out what those murals were saying and fell into a little bit of a trance,¡± he said in exnation.

    Pei Mianman was curious. ¡°You can understand what the words mean?¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡± Zu An roughly exined everything he¡¯d just heard, making some adjustments so that it was easier for her to understand.

    Pei Mianman¡¯s beautiful eyes grew wide with astonishment as she listened to what he said. She grabbed his arm. ¡°Ah Zu, you¡¯re so learned! You even recognize characters from the ancient past. I¡¯ve already made up my mind. I am going to make you mine, even if Chuyan doesn¡¯t agree!¡±

    Zu An was left speechless.

    The wonderful feeling of her hands on his armpletely overwhelmed him as well, and a look of ecstasy swept across his face.

    ¡°Hmph!¡± A cold snort sounded beside his ear.

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for 998 Rage points!

    This kid is using my knowledge to show off in front of a girl! This is so annoying!!!

    Seeing that big-boobed girltch onto Zu An so intimately, as well as that stupid expression on his face, was enough to leave Mi Li feeling suffocated. Her soul body immediately vanished, and she didn¡¯t reappear again, no matter how Zu An called her.

    Oh no¡­ did I really piss big sis empress off this time?

    Zu An called and called, but she didn¡¯t respond. He couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°Big sis empress, you¡¯re not jealous, are you?¡±

    ¡°Hah! Jealous my ass!¡± Mi Li finally responded.

    Zu Anughed heartily. ¡°I know, I know. You¡¯ve spent quite a bit of time with a handsome and outstanding man like me. It¡¯spletely natural for you to fall for me.¡±

    Mi Li would have put her face in her hands if she had either of them.

    She didn¡¯t know where this fellow got his thick skin from. Did he actually think that she liked him?

    She was the empress of an entire nation! How could she end up liking a brat from the streets?

    If it wasn¡¯t because their souls were tied together, she would have killed him with a single smack to the face.

    If I really go blind and end up favoring this kid, I¡¯m going to make him kneel before me every day and sing ¡®Conquer¡¯ as punishment!

    Their souls were linked together, so they understood each other very well, and she had even gotten to know the song ¡®Conquer¡¯.

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for 33¡­ 33¡­ 33¡­

    Zu An quickly apologized when he realized that he had pissed her off for real this time. Unfortunately, Mi Li didn¡¯t respond any further, no matter what he said.

    Zu An was used to this as well. This stuff happened all the time. Sigh, what can you do when you have an arrogant big sis like her?

    He held Pei Mianman¡¯s hand as they continued to head deeper inside. Suddenly, his sixth sense tingled, and he quickly pushed Pei Mianman out of the way, throwing himself in the opposite direction.

    A streak of cold light descended from above,ncing down on the ground where the two of them had been standing a split second ago.

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡± Pei Mianman reacted as well. ck mes surrounded her as she took up abat stance. She caught sight of their attacker¡­ and froze. ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡±

    A skeleton stood facing them, sparkling with a vague luster. A faint red light flickered within its eye sockets, and it held a long spear in its hands. The skeleton gave off a powerful and menacing aura.

    Zu An swallowed. ¡°Doesn¡¯t this fellow look kind of familiar?¡±

    Pei Mianman replied, ¡°I think it¡¯s the same skeleton warrior that was kneeling by the stone gate¡­¡±

    The skeleton warrior was already moving before she even finished her sentence. It flipped into the air and somersaulted to the side, then brought its spear down onto Zu An. It was clearly dead, yet it still had enough of an instinct to treat the man as the greatest threat, intending to eliminate him first.

    Its aura surged powerfully. The aerial maneuver it pulled was incredibly stylish, making it look like a scythe-wielding reaper of death.

    Zu An might¡¯ve cheered in admiration if the skeleton hadn¡¯t beening after him.

    However, the powerful feeling of fear welling up within him prevented him from acting carelessly. He drew his Tai¡¯e Sword to face his opponent and charged at it head on, not bothering to evade. ¡°Show me what you¡¯ve got!¡± he roared.

    *Boom!*

    A thunderous noise echoed around the chamber. A figure flew through the air and mmed into a wall, sending several bricks tumbling.

    Zu An crawled up off the ground. He spat out some dirt that had gotten into his mouth. ¡°All right, you¡¯re pretty strong, bro.¡±

    Pei Mianmanughed. Even the way this guy fought was funny. She quickly summoned her ck mes and moved in to support him.

 Chapter 516: Natural Enemies

    <h4>Chapter 516: Natural Enemies</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Pei Mianman figured that her opponent was an undead creature, so it was probably scared of fire. With that reasoning, she summoned a me dragon and sent it flying towards it.

    The skeletal warrior also sensed danger. It spun around, retrieving a spherical shield from its waist. The shield looked small at first, the size of a small disc, but it immediately spun, fanning outwards to be muchrger. It turned into a meter-wide shield that blocked all of the iing mes.

    Pei Mianman was astonished. She was about tomand the mes to go around the shield, but with a shake of the skeletal warrior¡¯s arm, countless sharp teeth emerged around the rim of the shield.

    Even Zu An¡¯s eyes grew wide when he saw this. Didn¡¯t they only find bronze artifacts in Yinshang? How the heck did this thing get its hands on something with such advanced technology?

    The stalwart skeleton sent the shield spinning through the air. The spherical shield sliced through the air, flying straight at Pei Mianman. The shield flickered with a vicious metallic glint, and the whoosh that it made as it cut through the air was quite frightening as well. It was clearly powerful enough to slice whatever¡ªor whoever¡ªit hit into two.

    Pei Mianman twisted her upper body to the side. Her body bent elegantly like a willow branch, disying her incredible flexibility. The shield whizzed right past her.

    However, this round shield seemed to have a pair of eyes. After it flew past her, it spun around, slicing at her from the opposite direction.

    Fortunately, Pei Mianman was prepared. With a tap of her toes, she flipped backwards, barely evading the shield.

    Even so, a part of her dress could not avoid the spinning shield. The shield¡¯s sharp edges sliced through it, cutting it right off.

    Pei Mianman¡¯s face paled. She would have lost half her leg if she had been even a moment too slow.

    That skeletal warrior grabbed the returning shield, then flung it out again.

    Pei Mianman¡¯s entire body surged with ck mes, and her movement speed increased as well. She dodged to the side, but that spinning shield pursued her relentlessly.

    Zu An leaped in to attack the skeletal warrior as well. He noticed that the red lights in its eyes were flickering, and attributed this to its need to control the flying shield. He was worried about Pei Mianman, so he attacked the skeleton to try and distract it.

    The skeleton brandished its spear about, creating a zone around him that Zu An could not enter.

    Zu An had already suffered a heavy blow in the first skirmish, and he knew that he wasn¡¯t a match for it in terms of power. As such, he used Sunflower Phantasm to split himself into two and attack it from different directions.

    That skeletal warrior¡¯s head tilted to the side, confusion somehow swirling within its red eyes. How did this person suddenly split into two?

    Despite this, it swung its spear without hesitation, slicing both figures in half.

    However, it was given another shock, because it did not feel like it was cutting through flesh. Instead, it only sliced through empty air.

    A third Zu An appeared behind it, and the Tai¡¯e Sword cut straight across its neck.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The Tai¡¯e Sword was incredibly sharp, and Zu An had attacked with a good amount of his strength. He didn¡¯t believe that it could withstand this blow, no matter how tough its bones were.

    A skullnded on the ground and rolled around.

    The shield, which was still spinning in midair, went out of control as well. It lost its ability to continue attacking, burying itself into a nearby wall.

    Zu An rushed over to support Pei Mianman. ¡°Manman, are you all right?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m okay.¡± Pei Mianman gave that skeleton a fearful look. ¡°We might already be dead if it had decided to ambush us by the gate.¡±

    ¡°Which is why our luck is actually pretty good.¡± Zu An chuckled. He walked over to the wall to examine the stationary shield. He had witnessed the power and intricacy of this thing just now. This was definitely an excellent defensive tool and a formidable weapon. He wondered if there was a way he could use it himself.

    He reached out his hand to remove the shield. With a sudden whoosh, the shield began to spin again, freeing itself from the wall. Zu An dodged to the side in rm. His head had almost been sliced in half!

    ¡°What the heck? Is this weapon intelligent?¡± Zu An looked at the flying shield with shock.

    ¡°Ah Zu, over there!¡± Pei Mianman¡¯s voice contained an unmistakable tremble. It was as if she had seen a ghost.

    Zu An looked over and shuddered. The skeletal warrior¡¯s headless body hadn¡¯t fallen. Instead, it was walking around. When it got near its head, it squatted down and felt around on the ground, as though it couldn¡¯t see. Even though its head was within reach, it was still slightly off, and couldn¡¯t quite find its head.

    Zu An immediately snapped out of his daze. He shouted and charged at it, sword in hand. Unfortunately, that spinning shield flew between the two of them, blocking his path.

    *Clunk!*

    Sword and shield collided with a muffled crash. Zu An took several steps back, his arms sore.

    The headless skeleton had finally found its skull. It picked it up and ced it on its nec, then twisted it, as though aligning the wound.

    White light shed on its neck, and the massive cut disappeared, as though nothing had happened. Red light flickered to life within its eye sockets, and its spear stabbed towards the two of them again.

    Zu An dodged to the side. ¡°Does this thing never die?¡± he eximed in rm. ¡°How the hell am I supposed to beat that?!¡±

    Pei Mianman replied with a strained voice. ¡°Let me see if I can burn it to ashes with my ck mes. I refuse to believe that it can revive itself after that.¡±

    A burst of me rushed towards the skeleton.

    This time, the skeletal warrior didn¡¯t have its shield to defend itself. Instead, it stomped on the ground and leaped upwards.

    The two of them were stunned. Its speed was much faster than expected, nothing like the clumsy skeletal warriors that they were used to.

    The three of them quickly got into a massive tangle. Pei Mianman sent her mes burning towards their opponent, yet it always managed to stop them using its vicious attacks.

    The skeleton¡¯s attacks were just too strong for them. It wove its spear about itself in an intricate series of patterns, creating a zone several meters around it that they could not breach.

    Such a weapon, with its long reach, was normally weaker in closebat, yet when they finally managed to close the gap after considerable effort, they were confronted by the spinning shield, which served as both offense and defense. It was like a very deadly hedgehog! The two of them had no idea what to do.

    After several more exchanges, Zu An and Pei Mianman were both hit, and crashed into a nearby wall. Fortunately, the two of them managed to evade the sharp edge of its de at thest second, saving themselves from being ripped apart.

    The skeletal warrior turned around, ready to pursue them again.

    Suddenly, a chorus of wails came from a distance away, apanied by the thudding of heavy footsteps.

    All three of them turned around. Five taoties slowly trundled in.

    The skeletal warrior ignored the two of them, and pointed its spear at the approaching. Even though it was made of bones, both Zu An and Pei Mianman could still see that it had gotten serious.

    The newly-arrived taoties did not spare a nce at Zu An, charging towards the skeletal warrior instead.

    Zu An was surprised. ¡°That¡¯s way too strange. The taotie is a glutton by nature¡ªshouldn¡¯t it be more interested in fleshy bodies like ours? Why did it go straight after that skeleton?¡±

    ¡°The Shang people were fond of capturing taotie and training them to use in battles against surrounding nations,¡± Pei Mianman mumbled in reply. ¡°However, the taotie are incredibly cunning and vicious, and were unwilling to let themselves be used like that forever. The soldiers of the Shang army killed many of them, but many of their soldiers were devoured by taotie in return. They are natural enemies who will fight to the death as soon as they encounter each other.¡±

    Zu An felt his eyes go wide. ¡°How did you know all of that?¡±

    Pei Mianman had a confused expression on her face. She rubbed her forehead subconsciously. ¡°I don''t know. My mind was flooded by a multitude of scenes in an instant. They were unfamiliar, yet somehow familiar as well. I replied on instinct when I heard your question.¡±

 Chapter 517: A Strange Elevated Pavilion

    <h4>Chapter 517: A Strange Elevated Pavilion</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An frowned. ¡°Did something invade your consciousness?¡±

    He looked around anxiously, but didn¡¯t see anything. ¡°This ce is really weird.¡±

    Pei Mianman shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t think so. I don¡¯t feel the dizziness thates with being manipted, and those scenes feel like my own memories¡­ I only know that there¡¯s a strange feeling about all this.¡±

    Zu An was about to reply, but something changed dramatically in the fight below them. The stalemate between the taoties and the skeletal warrior was finally broken. A taotie screamed and charged at the skeleton.

    Those cruel white teeth looked as though they could bite straight through any bone on the skeletal warrior¡¯s body.

    The skeletal warrior flung out its shield, straight towards the taotie, which was charging at it with great speed. The shield was flying almost as fast as the taotie was running¡ªhow could it possibly evade?

    The spinning shield was like a cutting machine, cleaving the taotie¡¯s skull right in half. The momentum continued to push the rest of the taotie¡¯s body forward, but it soon crashed to the ground, its legs and feet twitching about.

    Meanwhile, the spinning shield behaved like a boomerang, returning to the skeletal warrior¡¯s hands.

    The two horns on one of the taotie¡¯s heads flickered with electricity, sending a streak of blue lightncing out at the spinning shield and striking it squarely. The flying shield shuddered before falling to the ground. It stopped spinning and becamepletely still, as if its connection to its owner had been severed.

    The other taoties¡¯ horns also began to flicker with electricity. Streaks of blue light shout towards the skeletal warrior.

    The skeletal warrior brandished the long spear in its hands, forming an imprable barrier in front of itself and blocking every bolt of blue lightning.

    With a firm push off the ground, the skeletal warrior flew forward, leaving behind an afterimage. It appeared beside the closest taotie and hacked at it with its spear, instantly chopping off the taotie¡¯s feet. Unbnced, the taotie fell to the ground.

    The skeletal warrior didn¡¯t give it another opportunity, and dealt a lethal blow.

    Its long spear sunk into the taotie¡¯s body. A taotie¡¯s long tail flicked over, striking the skeleton¡¯s arm.

    No matter how sturdy its bones were, the skeletal warrior was unable to shrug off this blow. The ferocity behind the attack knocked the spear out of its hands.

    Despite this setback, it reacted quickly. It reached out one hand to grab the attacking tail, and then it used this taotie as its new weapon, flinging it as though throwing a discus. It collided with another of its brethren.

    ¡°Screech!¡± The two taoties wailed miserably, confused and disoriented from the collision.

    With a flick of its foot, the skeletal warrior flipped its long spear into the air and sent it flying with a firm side kick.

    The spear shot out with absolute precision, instantly impaling one of the unsteady taoties and nailing it into the wall.

    Zu An swallowed. This skeletal warrior had to have been an incredible warrior when it was alive. There was no other way it could be this badass!

    The most unfortunate taotie was the one which had had its tail grabbed. The skeletal warrior picked it up and mmed it back into the ground again and again. After more than ten earth-rattling blows, its entire body was covered in wounds, seeping with all sorts of vile liquids.

    Thest taotie finally shook itself out of its daze. It threw itself at the skeletal warrior, knocking it to the ground.

    The skeletal warrior let go of the tail he was holding and turned his attention to this remaining taotie.

    Zu An found himself caught in two minds. Should he help thisst taotie? After all, he had only stayed because he wanted to find a chance to deal with all of them once and for all. That way, he wouldn¡¯t have to worry about being chased by either side.

    However, the skeletal warrior was just too strong. It had taken care of four taoties almost instantly.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Even though a taotie managed to knock it down, it was an undead creature. He really didn¡¯t think that the taotie had any chance of victory.

    This battle had already reached its climax. The taotie continuously raked its sharp ws against the skeletal warrior¡¯s body, filling the air with ear-splitting scraping sounds.

    Deep, long furrows were beginning to show on the skeletal warrior¡¯s sturdy bones.

    The taotie¡¯s sharp tail waved about, stabbing at the skeletal warrior¡¯s skull again and again. The skeletal warrior continuously evaded the strikes, and the sharp tail kicked up fountains of dirt. It was a truly chaotic scene.

    Zu An stroked his chin. Why does this scene look so familiar¡­?

    He was still hesitant about whether or not he should help. However, that skeletal warrior could heal even if its skull were chopped off, so he really didn¡¯t know what could possibly counter it.

    In the end, he decided to let the taotie test the waters a little longer. After all, ording to what Big Manman said, the two of them were mortal enemies, and each of them definitely knew about the other¡¯s weaknesses.

    The skeletal warrior nted his foot against the Taotie¡¯s belly and kicked out, sending it smashing into a nearby wall. Debris flew everywhere.

    The skeletal warrior crawled to its feet and charged at the taotie. The taotie suddenlyunched its incredibly sturdy tongue at its skull.

    The skeletal warrior was already prepared for this attack. It dodged to the side and reached out a hand, grabbing the tongue. With a ferocious yank, he ripped the entire tongue out of the taotie¡¯s mouth.

    The taotie screeched in untold agony. Blood and other unknown liquids gushed out of its mouth. It staggered to the side and copsed. Having this massive tongue torn out was apparently a mortal wound, even for something as tough as this creature.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t hide his disappointment. I know you can¡¯t beat that skeleton, but you can¡¯t be that useless, right? You all seemed so vicious when up against me earlier, but you just let that skeleton annihte all of you like that?

    No wonder this fellow was put on guard duty. It¡¯s just way too strong.

    Despite this, Zu An remained calm. He looked at Pei Mianman. ¡°I think I know what its weakness is.¡±

    Pei Mianman wasn¡¯t stupid either. She had also figured out what he was thinking from watching the battle. ¡°It¡¯s head!¡±

    Those Taotie were always trying to attack its head. There was surely a reason for this.

    Zu An had only removed the skull from its body, but did not fully crush its head. That was why he had mistakenly believed that it was immortal.

    The taotie which had been smashed repeatedly into the ground was somehow still alive. It staggered to its feet and instinctively tried to run, having already lost its will to fight.

    That skeletal warrior reached out its hand, and then the shield that had fallen to the floor earlier came alive again. It flew past the taotie and returned to its owner¡¯s hand.

    The taotie continued to run a few more steps before its head slid off.

    The skeletal warrior walked over to the taotie impaled against the wall to retrieve its spear. It pulled out the spear in one smooth motion, then turned around. Its red eyes stared coldly at Zu An and Pei Mianman.

    Zu An swallowed. Even though he knew its weakness now, it had just shown them how terrifyingly strong it was. The two of them stood absolutely no chance.

    He was just about to wonder what he should do when something unexpected happened. The sharp end of a tail came poking out of the skeletal warrior¡¯s forehead.

    The skeletal warrior wanted to turn around and see what had killed it, but with its head pierced through like that, it couldn¡¯t evenplete this simple movement.

    Zu An and Pei Mianman squinted, and noticed another taotie hidden on a beam behind it. They didn¡¯t know how long it had spent hiding there. It had waited until the skeletal warrior had killed itsrades and dropped its guard before delivering this lethal strike.

    The skeletal warrior tried to raise its spear, but a terrifying tongue flew out, sting its skeletal hand to pieces.

    The taotie slowly lifted its tail into the air, raising the skeleton with it. The red light burning within the skeletal warrior¡¯s eyes dimmed and scattered, and its other arm hung powerlessly. The shield it was holding fell to the ground with a thunk.

    Zu An wanted to take that shield for himself, but he gave up on the idea when the taotie hopped off the beam. This taotie wasrger than any of the other ones he had seen, several times the size of those ordinary taoties.

    ¡°I think we should leave this ce as quickly as possible,¡± said Pei Mianman.

    ¡°I concur.¡± The two of them turned and ran as soon as the words left his mouth.

    The earlier taotie¡¯s attacks had left behind several scars on the skeletal warrior¡¯s bones, but they weren¡¯t able to truly defeat it. However, this new fellow¡¯s tongue had instantly smashed its entire forearm to pieces. There was no way they would be able to win this fight.

    The giant taotie let out a roar and gave chase, plodding after them with heavy footsteps. It moved very quickly, which waspletely unexpected, given it¡¯s enormous body.

    ¡°Why isn¡¯t that guy eating its friends¡¯ corpses?!¡± Zu An yelled, cursing. Unfortunately, there was nothing else they could do right now but run.

    He wanted to find a narrow path to run towards, which would hopefully slow down the creature behind them. However, this pce was incredibly massive, and there were no narrow spaces to be found.

    After some time, the two of them found themselves in front of a staircase, leading up to an elevated pavilion. They stared upwards, their expressions slightly despairing. Heading up these stairs and into the pavilion was asking for death.

    They turned back around, preparing to fight. It was almost as if their backs were against a wall. Unexpectedly, the massive taotie suddenly stopped. It stayed several zhang away, staring vigntly at the elevated pavilion, as though it was somehow afraid.

 Chapter 518: Turn Back Now

    <h4>Chapter 518: Turn Back Now</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°What''s going on?¡± Zu An was taken aback by how hesitant the giant taotie was.

    Pei Mianman nced at the elevated pavilion. ¡°I think it¡¯s scared of this elevated pavilion. There might be something terrifying lurking over there.¡±

    ¡°But there¡¯s nothing over there¡­¡± Zu An jumped high up into the air, but did not see anything.

    ¡°Let¡¯s wait for a while,¡± suggested Pei Mianman. Regardless of what was going on, something that could scare even this giant taotie was probably not something that they could deal with on their own.

    ¡°All right.¡± Even though Zu An was usually rather easygoing, he was a cautious person deep down. There was clearly something dangerous up there, so there was no way he would run headfirst into that.

    ¡°I wonder when that guy will leave,¡± Pei Mianman remarked, frowning at the giant beast.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care about it leaving. I¡¯m more worried about it charging over.¡± Zu An estimated that the distance between them was only about ten or so meters. For most cultivators, such a distance could be taken care of in a single leap, and the same went for that taotie monster.

    That giant taotie had clearly grown impatient as they were talking. It pushed off its hind legs strongly and charged at them.

    Zu An could not believe it.

    Why the hell did I have to raise a stupid g for myself?!

    ¡°Does your mouth have some bloody superpower?¡± Pei Mianman was incredulous. This sort of thing had already happened more than once.

    With no other escape route, the two of them were forced to run up the stairs.

    They had only made it up a few steps when ancient music began to fill the air around them.

    The ferocious giant taotie hesitated when it heard this music, and subconsciously took a few steps back.

    ¡°Where is that musicing from?¡± Pei Mianman was confused. There were no instruments around them to exin the sudden music.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°I think it¡¯sing from the stairs.¡± As he said this, Zu An stomped on the step he was standing on, and music drifted out.

    ¡°Why would these stairs make music?¡± Pei Mianman stomped in disbelief as well. Sure enough, more music followed.

    ¡°I dreamt of some musical staircases. All sorts of songs could be yed when they were stepped on¡­¡± Zu An didn¡¯t dare bring up his hometown as an excuse anymore. After all, everyone knew that he had spent his entire life in Brightmoon City. Pei Mianman was intimately familiar with Brightmoon City, so he wouldn¡¯t get away with that sort of bluff. He could only put all of this on dreams.

    Pei Mianman already knew that he dreamt of weird things, so she epted what he said. ¡°The music that is being yed sounds like wind chimes, but also a bit like the bianzhong, that ancient bell instrument. But this melody is different from the usual sweet-sounding tunes that these instruments tend to y. It actually sounds rather sinister. I think it¡¯s giving me the chills.¡±

    ¡°If something¡¯s not right, then let¡¯s not climb up any further!¡± Zu An pulled Pei Mianman back. Creepy music was ying, and they had a giant taotie right behind them. Everything about this was weird!

    Unfortunately, that giant Taotie had no intentions of letting the two of them go. Even though it didn¡¯t dare climb up, it opened its bloody mouth, sending a long tongue shooting out at the two of them.

    The skeletal warrior¡¯s bones, which were as hard as steel, had been instantly shattered by this tongue. The two of them didn¡¯t dare underestimate its power, and instantly evaded to the side.

    However, the massive taotie used its tongue like a spear, continuously thrusting it at the two of them. There wasn¡¯t that much room to evade, since they were on a flight of stairs, and they were almost impaled by the tongue several times.

    Zu An knew that it was folly to continue on like this. They were going to be wounded by that tongue sooner orter. He grabbed Pei Mianman and began to run up the stairs. ¡°There¡¯s no choice! We have to go up!¡±

    Even if this giant taotie didn¡¯t continue to attack them, it¡¯s mere presence would be enough to trap them here, and they would die sooner orter.

    Pei Mianman voiced her agreement. Given their current situation, she would much rather risk whatever was up there than face the giant taotie.

    The two of them went up the stairs. It was as if they were stepping on a piano¨Devery step produced music that echoed through the cavernous ce. It really was eerie.

    ¡°Do you feel like the air is getting colder?¡± Pei Mianman crossed her arms and asked in a puzzled manner.

    Zu An spread his arms. ¡°Come here, I¡¯ll give you a warm hug.¡±

    Pei Mianman snorted. ¡°You¡¯re always so annoying. I¡¯m being serious!¡±

    Zu An put away his smile. ¡°You¡¯re right. There might be some sinister things nearby. We need to be careful.¡±

    ¡°I think there¡¯s a stele over there. There seem to be some words on it,¡± Pei Mianman said, pointing at the distant summit.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°I can¡¯t see what¡¯s on it.¡±

    Given their cultivation, it shouldn¡¯t have been difficult to make out the words from this distance away. However, the air around that stele seemed rather strange, and it was making the words blurry.

    As the two of them approached, the words grew less blurred. By the time they reached the end of the stairs, they could finally make out those words.

    Unfortunately, they were still written in the cryptic runes of the oracle script, and Zu An could not make heads or tails out of them. He called out to his big sis empress, but Mi Li didn¡¯t respond at all.

    ¡°Turn back now, turn back now; forty-four steps, none shall leave!¡± Pei Mianman looked at that stele and slowly recited the words.

    Zu An looked at her in shock. What the hell¡­?

    ¡°You can understand these characters as well?¡±

    Pei Mianman shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t understand them, but for some reason, I subconsciously read them out when I looked at those words.¡±

    ¡°Forty-four steps¡­ I think we just happened to have walked up forty-four steps.¡± Zu An¡¯s face paled. Whoever nted this stele had put it in a terrible spot! They hadn¡¯t been able to see it clearly beforehand, and it only managed to warn them when they were close to it.

    Of course, by the time they were close enough to read it, it was already toote! What a stupid scam!

    The music grew ever more sinister and eerie, sounding as if countless spirits were wailing.

    The two of them felt the ground beneath them tremble. When they looked down, they didn¡¯t see any stairs. The path was made of countless skulls!

    There was a row of torches along the sides of the stairs, which Pei Mianman had lit with her ck mes earlier on. The ordinary mes within them suddenly flickered, and took on a frightening green color.

    Zu An swallowed. ¡°What the hell is this¡­ I don¡¯t like where this is going at all!¡±

    As soon as the words left his mouth, many transparent ghosts suddenly appeared from within the mist, each with a sinister appearance, and every single one of them wailing and howling.

    ¡°Ghosts?¡± This sight was a rude shock for someone like him, who had been educated using science.

    Pei Mianman jumped in to exin it to him. ¡°In some special circumstances, if the souls of the deceased are not extinguished, they will turn into these evil, spirit-like existences. Some texts refer to them collectively as the underworld race, but they are quite rare¡­¡±

    As she was exining this, the spirits, which seemed to be flickering in and out of existence, suddenly grew alert, as though they had smelled blood. A group of them flew towards the two humans, but the majority headed towards the giant taotie. Its massive size clearly made it more attractive.

    That taotie immediately broke out into a run. Unfortunately, it had unknowingly ended up on the stairs while chasing Zu An and Pei Mianman, even if it wasn¡¯t as far up as the two of them.

    Those evil spirits swarmed over it, drowning its massive body in a sea of ghostly ones.

    The taotie wailed continuously, waving its razor-sharp ws about itself, and using its bloody mouth to tear at the spirits. Its sharp tail thrashed about.

    Unfortunately, the evil spirits had no material form, and so its physical attacks passed straight through them without doing anything.

    ¡°Screech!¡±

    The giant taotie shrieked furiously, but as time went on, its utterances sounded more and more like cries of anguish.

    In a matter of moments, its massive body copsed. The flesh covering some parts of it had already disappeared, exposing the white bone beneath

    At this rate, its entire body would soon be devoured by those evil spirits.

    Zu An and Pei Mianman had no time to be distracted. Some of the evil spirits were swooping towards them as well.

 Chapter 519: An Offering

    <h4>Chapter 519: An Offering</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An thrashed about with his Tai¡¯e Sword. Unfortunately, these malicious spirits weren¡¯t material creatures, and the sword passed right through their bodies.

    The evil spirits let out sinisterughs as they bore down on him, showing no fear at all.

    Fortunately, Zu An had his Sunflower Phantasm, so he was able to just barely evade their attacks, and wasn¡¯t subjected to the giant taotie¡¯s horrifying experience.

    Even so, the malicious spirits still managed to w at his arm and legs, immediately sending a fiery pain shooting through the areas they made contact with.

    He couldn¡¯t see anything on his legs, but when he pulled back his sleeves, there were dark handprints on his arms.

    ¡°What the hell is this!¡± Zu An was less than thrilled. He couldn¡¯t hit them, yet their spiritual bodies could hurt him. How the hell was he supposed to fight something like this?

    The malicious spirits realized they had missed their target. Screaming, they whirled around and charged at him again.

    Zu An¡¯s heart sank. He was trying to figure out just how he was supposed to face them when a torrent of ck me swept over.

    The malicious spirits let out terrified wails and backed up several meters. They were clearly afraid of these mes.

    Pei Mianman had already rushed to his side. She held Zu An¡¯s hands in her own. ¡°Are you all right?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m all right. I didn¡¯t expect your ck mes to be so effective in such a situation!¡± Zu An remarked, clearly astonished.

    ¡°These malicious spirits are sinister yin-type creatures, while my ck mes produce a dominant yang force. It is a natural counter to them,¡± Pei Mianman replied.

    The giant taotie¡¯s miserable screams echoed from below. The two of them subconsciously nced downwards. The malicious spirits were gradually stripping the flesh from its body, turning it into nothing but a pile of white bones.

    Zu An gulped. The things in this strange pce were all ridiculously strong¡­ That skeleton warrior earlier on had killed five ordinary taoties on its own, only to end up being done in by this giant taotie. He thought that this giant taotie would be the final boss, but it had met such a tragic end!

    As the flesh of that giant Taotie was picked clean, many malicious spirits began to fly back up, approaching the two humans.

    Pei Mianman made her ck mes burn even more powerfully. Only then did the malicious spirits finally keep their distance.

    ¡°Should we get out of this ce first?¡± Pei Mianman said. The giant taotie that had threatened them earlier was already dead, and would pose them no danger if they chose to head back down.

    Zu An frowned. ¡°We¡¯ve already spent quite some time in this secret dungeon,¡± he said, ¡°We need to find a way out before we die. Besides, now that we¡¯ve made it all the way up here, I fear that leaving might not be that easy.¡±

    Pei Mianman couldn¡¯t shake her worry. ¡°But I can¡¯t maintain these ck mes forever! Once they go out, we¡¯ll have our flesh stripped off, just like that taotie.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll head down temporarily ande up with a n first,¡± Zu An said.

    The two of them made their way slowly down the stairs.

    Countless malicious spirits continued to linger around them. Just as they were about to reach the first step, the spirits moved to block their way, wailing and howling.

    Whenever Pei Mianman used her ck mes to chase away a portion of them, more would quickly take their ce. There was no way to break through this barricade.

    That wasn¡¯t the end of their troubles. It seemed as though the malicious spirits couldmunicate with each other. They quickly changed their n. Arge group of them moved to surround the duo, then began to spin.

    As they spun, they generatedrge gusts of sinister winds, blowing Pei Mianman¡¯s ck mes about.

    Her face paled. ¡°I won¡¯t be able to hold out for much longer like this!¡±

    These sinister winds made it more taxing than usual to maintain her ck mes.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An¡¯s voice grew serious. ¡°Let¡¯s go back up to that elevated pavilion.¡±

    ¡°Won¡¯t it be even more dangerous up there?¡± Pei Mianman asked, extremely worried.

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°Often, only a fine line separates life and death. Who knows, the way out of this dungeon might be hidden up there.¡±

    They hadn¡¯t passed any other possible paths on the way here, and they had yet to find any other way out. They had no choice but to press forward. The only path left open to them was up those stairs.

    Pei Mianman was at her wits end as well. She followed him up the stairs to the pavilion.

    The pavilion was circr in shape. Aside from arge bronze cauldron at the very center, it was utterly bare

    Zu An rushed over to check if there were any hidden exits, but found nothing.

    The screaming and wailing was getting louder and louder. The malicious spirits seemed to have realized that the two of them had no way out. Their strange and terribleughter filled the air.

    ¡°Ah Zu, what do we do now? I won¡¯t be able to hold out for much longer!¡± Pei Mianman cried, her voice on the edge of full panic. The sinister winds had caused her to reduce the range of her mes as much as possible, just so she could hold on for a little longer.

    Zu An frowned. He was just about to reply when Mi Li¡¯s voice came to him. ¡°Why are there so many spirits?¡±

    Zu An was overjoyed. ¡°Big sis empress, you¡¯ve finallye out!¡±

    Mi Li snorted coldly. ¡°You¡¯re always provoking trouble. Look at how many vengeful spirits there are. All your flesh would have been devoured if I¡¯de out even a secondter.¡±

    ¡°I knew that big sis empress still cared about me,¡± Zu An said, giggling. ¡°By the way, you¡¯re a soul as well. Can you talk to them and tell them that we¡¯re all on the same side?¡±

    Mi Li was momentarily speechless.

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for 233 Rage points!

    ¡°What do you think I am?!¡±

    ¡°Um¡­ I thought that you guys seemed kind of simr in terms of your state of existence, so you might have some things inmon¡­¡±

    ¡°Hmph! These things only have their instincts left. They can¡¯t even be considered intelligent. How could they possiblypare to me?¡±

    Hearing the bare anger in her voice, Zu An also recognized that he had messed up, and he quickly changed the topic. ¡°Ahem, ahem¡­ Big sis empress, do you have any suggestions for what we should do?¡±

    ¡°But of course I do,¡± Mi Li said proudly. ¡°I presume that this is Yinshang¡¯s sacrificial altar.¡±

    ¡°Sacrificial altar?¡± Zu An looked around him. It wasn¡¯t quite what he expected, but that wasn¡¯t important right now. ¡°What does a sacrificial altar have to do with our current situation?

    Mi Li replied, ¡°In Yinshang, the offering of sacrifices was considered a big deal. From birth to death, battles, agriculture¡­ a sacrifice would be held for all sorts of important asions. Once the sacrifice was made, the people would ask the heavens for guidance. Whenever a sacrifice was held, the most important thing was the offering. Since this is the sacrificial altar, making an offering should be able to get you out of this disaster.¡±

    ¡°An offering?¡± The people of the modern world were rather far removed from things like sacrificial ritual. Burning incense and ritual money was pretty much the limit of what they did. Who bothered with things like sacrificial offerings?

    Mi Li said, ¡°Usually, these were animal sacrifices, but in the case of Yinshang, the highest quality offerings would be human lives. The people of Yinshang believed that an offering of flesh and blood was appreciated by the heavens the most, and would elicit the best response.¡±

    Zu An recalled the contents of that documentary. No wonder there were so many white bones out there earlier. They were probably all used as sacrifices.

    ¡°Why can¡¯t I use that taotie as a sacrifice?¡± Zu An asked in confusion. ¡°It died here, and its flesh was stripped clean as well.¡±

    ¡°The people of Yinshang always cooked their offerings in the bronze cauldron. For them, the purpose of this bronze cauldron was to cook things. Since that taotie wasn''t cooked inside this cauldron, it cannot be considered an offering.¡±

    ¡°I should¡¯ve seized its corpse if I¡¯d known things would turn out like this!¡± Zu An¡¯s heart filled with regret. ¡°Where would I find an offering now?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s so difficult about that?¡± Mi Li¡¯s voice became ice-cold. ¡°Isn¡¯t that big-boobed sis of yours a perfect offering? It¡¯s a human sacrifice of the highest quality. She¡¯s pretty, and her chest isrge. I believe the heavens will be extremely pleased with this sacrifice.

    ¡°Given your rtionship with her, there¡¯s no reason why she would be on guard. It would be easy enough for you to kill her¡­¡±

    Zu An couldn¡¯t believe what he¡¯d just heard.

    Does she really hate her that much? She actually suggested using Big Manman as a sacrifice, and she even figured out the details! Are you just jealous that her chest is bigger than yours?

    Mi Li gave an impatient huff. ¡°You should think things through, or else you¡¯ll end up dying with her. If you want to die, go ahead, but don¡¯t drag me down with you. If you can¡¯t do the deed, then I¡¯ll help you.¡±

    ¡°No way!¡± Zu An refused her right away. His mind raced, perhaps worried that Mi Li might actually try something. A thought struck him like a bolt of lightning. ¡°I have an offering!¡±

 Chapter 520: An Underground Tunnel

    <h4>Chapter 520: An Underground Tunnel</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    He took out the corpse of the crocodile from his Brilliant ss Bead and tossed it into therge bronze cauldron.

    Mi Li was surprised. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to have something like that in your spatial artifact. Unfortunately, that crocodile isn¡¯t precious enough, and can¡¯t serve as a sacrifice on its own.¡±

    Zu An saw how she was eyeing Pei Mianman, and his scalp went numb with tension. He really was worried that she might just kill Big Manman. He fished out the other taotie that he had picked up earlier. ¡°I have this too!¡±

    ¡°A taotie? Even though it looks quite nasty, the people of the Shang Dynasty often used it as sacrifices before battle. It should serve its purpose.¡± Mi Li finally nodded.

    Zu An sighed in relief. If this was still not enough, I¡¯d have to bring out that giant dragon¡¯s corpse as well. There¡¯s no way that wouldn¡¯t be enough to appease them.

    The only thing that worried him was how he was going to fit that massive dragon¡¯s corpse inside this puny cauldron.

    Pei Mianman gave a frightened start. ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    He hadn¡¯t responded to her earlier question at all, and then suddenly threw a crocodile and a taotie corpse into therge cauldron. She had no idea what was up with him.

    The taotie was slightlyrger than the cauldron. He took out the Tai¡¯e Sword and began to chop off its head, limbs, and tail before putting the corpse in.

    The taotie¡¯s bodily fluids flowed out everywhere. However, for some reason, nothing happened even when the corrosive liquidnded on the ground or the bronze cauldron.

    However, this butchering scene was truly bizarre to watch. If Zu An hadn¡¯t looked so clear-eyed, she would¡¯ve thought that he was somehow bewitched.

    ¡°I¡¯m trying to find a way out of this situation.¡± Zu An exined. ¡°Hey, can you light a fire underneath the cauldron? I need to cook everything inside.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Pei Mianman was stunned. ¡°I can¡¯t even summon enough of my ck mes to protect the two of us! Why should I cook this stuff?¡±

    She really couldn¡¯t figure out the inner workings of this fellow¡¯s brain.

    Zu An exined the situation quickly, giving her a rough idea of the connection between this ce and the need for the sacrifice.

    Pei Mianman was still skeptical, but she knew that Zu An usually thought things through before taking action, which was why she decided to trust him.

    As such, she used her ck mes to protect the two of them while using whatever she could spare to heat up the bronze cauldron.

    She could¡¯ve kept her ck mes going for almost an hour more, but now, the most she couldst was another fifteen minutes.

    She looked at Zu An again, but clenched her teeth and chose to keep her silence.

    Zu An pulled her next to the bronze cauldron. This way, they could use the mes under the bronze cauldron as cover, easing the pressure on her.

    The bronze cauldron was quiterge to begin with, and it would have been hard for ordinary mes to heat its contents, let alone cook them.

    Fortunately, Pei Mianman¡¯s ck mes were extraordinary, and were able to quickly bring up the temperature of the cauldron. Soon, the smell of cooking meat wafted out from within the cauldron, together with an assortment of other disgusting, nauseating smells.

    Those were probably the taotie¡¯s mucus and corrosive liquidsing to a boil.

    Zu An looked at the ck mess simmering within the pot, and his expression immediately grew extremely bizarre. Will the gods in heaven get a stomach ache if they eat this stuff? What if whichever deity up there punishes us out of anger¡­?

    However, they were alreadymitted, and he could not back out now. The only thing left was to brace himself for the consequences.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Pei Mianman frowned as well. She couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°This smell, it¡¯s like¡­ like¡­¡±

    Zu Anughed when he saw how embarrassed she was. ¡°Like a pot of sh*t, right?¡±

    ¡°Please, stop¡­¡± Pei Mianman felt her stomach churning. She retched. ¡°Are you sure that this can serve as an offering?¡±

    ¡°It should be good enough.¡± Zu An wasn¡¯t sure either. ¡°This is made out of flesh, after all. Even though it smells bad, it¡¯s like sh*t-vored chocte, which is still chocte in the end. It¡¯s way better than chocte-vored sh*t. If you¡¯re a deity, which one would you choose?¡±

    Even though she had never heard of chocte before, Pei Mianman could guess at what he meant. She pinched her nose in embarrassment. ¡°Neither.¡±

    This momentary distraction produced a gap in her defenses, and countless malicious spirits swarmed in.

    Pei Mianman¡¯s expression changed. Zu An wrapped her in his arms to protect her. He had already fished out his mysterious shlight. This little gadget was good at stopping undead creatures.

    He knew that he could only get one final use out of it, and he didn¡¯t want to waste it unless he absolutely had to.

    Unfortunately, there was already nothing else he could do. He was just about to activate the shlight when the malicious spirits acted as though they had been suddenly drawn to something delicious, and they all flew towards the bronze cauldron.

    The indescribable mess inside seemed like a delicacy for all the evil spirits, and they all threw themselves at it with aplomb. The strange flesh inside was devoured at a visible rate.

    The crocodile and taotie corpses had filled up the entire cauldron, but the contents of the cauldron were gobbled up in a matter of moments by the malicious spirits.

    None of the spirits came back out after entering the cauldron. The sinister mist gradually dissipated, and the green mes burning within the braziers also returned to a more normal hue. The malicious spirits had all vanished.

    ¡°It really¡­ worked.¡± Pei Mianman¡¯s face was pale. She had resigned herself to death, yet they had actually managed to survive.

    Mi Li snorted. ¡°Just a big-boobed bimbo after all. She only knows how to seduce men.¡±

    Zu An scrunched up his face, puzzled.

    Just what is going on with big sis empress today? Isn¡¯t she getting way too jealous?

    Of course, he didn¡¯t dare voice these thoughts out loud, since he wanted to keep on living.

    A strange rumble began to fill the air, and a part of the floor behind therge bronze cauldron split into several sections. These sections rotated, revealing a circr hole.

    Within it was another long flight of stairs which wound downwards. The mes under therge bronze cauldron only lit the first several meters down, and the rest of the hole was pitch-ck. There was no way of telling what was down there.

    ¡°Big sis empress, what is going on?¡± Since Mi Li was already awake, Zu An did not want to waste this opportunity, in case she went back to sleep again.

    Mi Li¡¯s tone was grave. ¡°I read an old record before that spoke about a strange architectural quirk of Yinshang. While the pce was above ground, the Imperial Tomb was situated beneath it. Since this is the sacrificial altar, it¡¯s naturally a ce linked to the supernatural. The people of the Shang Dynasty didn¡¯t only offer sacrifices to deities. They worshipped ghosts as well. The deities were in the heavens, while the ghosts were their ancestors. If my suspicions are correct, this path should lead to the Shang Dynasty¡¯s Imperial Tomb.¡±

    Zu An swallowed. ¡°We¡¯ve already run into so much danger in the pce! First there was the powerful skeleton soldier, and then these malicious flesh-eating spirits¡­ Who knows what else is awaiting us below!¡±

    Mi Li snorted coldly. ¡°You¡¯re out of options. Have you forgotten about what happened in the dungeon where you met me? Every dungeon has its own special dungeon core, and unless you shatter this dungeon core, you¡¯ll be stuck inside forever. From what you¡¯ve seen so far, this dungeon core isn¡¯t above ground, so it has to be below.

    ¡°I know that you still have two dragon corpses to use as food, and you carry some daily necessities on you as well. These will probablyst you a year or two, but what about a few decades, or even a century? This ce is full of dangers anyway! Your safety isn¡¯t guaranteed even if you stay in this surface pce region.

    ¡°Also, if my predictions are correct, this dungeon should contain a miraculous technique that is at least on par with the Primordial Origin Sutra. You were granted a tremendous opportunity to be able to enter this dungeon. How can you hesitate now?¡±

    Seeing that she had taken on her stern teacher role, Zu An muttered, ¡°I was just saying those things. I didn¡¯t say I wouldn¡¯t go¡­¡±

    ¡°Good.¡± Mi Li¡¯s expression eased a little. She looked over at Pei Mianman. ¡°It¡¯s actually fortunate that you entered this dungeon with this woman. ording to what I know, Yinshang¡¯s women were granted much higher status than those of other feudal dynasties. The queens of Yinshang were often high priests, great generals, or held other positions simr to senior ministers, helping the monarch deal with many government affairs. Having a woman at your side might actually turn out to be a huge blessing.¡±

 Chapter 521: Guman Tong

    <h4>Chapter 521: Guman Tong</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An smiled. He held Pei Mianman¡¯s soft hand and said, ¡°She¡¯s been a great help to me, not just in this dungeon, but outside as well.¡±

    Pei Mianman stiffened. She hadn¡¯t expected him to suddenly hold her hand. Now that the danger had passed, however, she was able to let herself rx a little. She closed her hand over his and leaned against his shoulder, her cheeks blushing beautifully.

    Mi Li waspletely speechless when she saw the two of them embracing so intimately. What the hell did she do to deserve this? She had no desire to watch this disgusting and adulterous couple engage in such a public disy of affection!

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for 333 Rage points!

    She decided to go back into the Tai¡¯e Sword so that she wouldn¡¯t have to witness any more of this.

    Zu An knew that he had truly angered her when he saw the Rage points she had contributed. However, there was nothing else he could do! There was no way he could just refuse Big Manman¡¯s affection! I¡¯m sure big sis empress will get used to it eventually.

    If Mi Li had known what he was thinking, she might really have exploded from anger.

    Pei Mianman said, ¡°Ah Zu, are we going down?¡±

    She actually enjoyed this rare moment of warmth. She didn¡¯t want to ruin this moment of intimacy and dive straight into dangers unknown.

    Zu An nodded. ¡°Yes. It¡¯s not just to find the way out. There might be a huge opportunity down there as well¡­¡±

    He roughly exined what he¡¯d learned from Mi Li. At the same time, he thought to himself that this was probably one of the Twelve Unknowable Regions. A secret manual was hidden here! If he could obtain it, it could unlock a new function in the Keyboard system.

    Pei Mianman wasn¡¯t all that interested in any huge opportunities, but she knew that hanging around this area wasn¡¯t going to solve their problems. It would be better to find a way out first, then take the time to enjoy their rtionship.

    The two reached an agreement, and headed down the stairs.

    When they passed therge cauldron, they noticed that the malicious spirits had already disappeared. Of the crocodile and the taotie, only two sets of bones remained.

    Zu An noticed two special bones with rings of ancient patterns on them. They even flickered with electricity.

    He recalled that these were the two horns on the Taotie¡¯s head. Things that could release electricity were definitely extraordinary goods, so he gathered them and put them away.

    He instinctively turned around towards the remains of the giant taotie. Its two horns were evenrger, so they should be even more precious.

    He moved to pick them up, but when he stepped on the stairs, the strange melody began to y again, and the surrounding air became colder. The mes on the walls flickered as well.

    Zu An immediately pulled back his foot. What kind of joke was this? He didn¡¯t want to summon those malicious spirits again! He didn¡¯t have any more sacrifices to give!

    Despite his regret, he had no choice but to give those two horns up.

    The two of them each removed a torch from the wall, then they headed down the dark tunnel.

    The stairs weren¡¯t perfectly straight, but rather wound their way down, as though spiraling around a single pir.

    The images of many Shang warriors were engraved into the walls along the way, along with depictions of dragons, taoties, lightning, birds, beasts, and other decorative patterns.

    Zu An wasn¡¯t an expert in this field, and could only rely on his knowledge from that one documentary.

    He wanted to ask Mi Li for help, but Mi Li seemed really angry this time around, and didn¡¯t respond to any of his questions.

    As for Pei Mianman, although she seemed to have experienced something magical earlier, that ability seemed to have disappeared, and there wasn¡¯t much she could say about those carvings.

    A whileter, the two of them finally reached the bottom of the stairs.

    A grand and ancient-looking boulevard extended out before them, paved with countless massive bs that had beenid out in an orderly fashion. The amount of manpower and resources needed to construct such a thing would have been staggering.

    The two of them continued onward with torches in hand. As they made their way further along, Pei Mianman suddenly cried out in rm and shrank into Zu An¡¯s embrace. ¡°Ah Zu¡­¡±

    Zu An followed her gaze, and noticed that there were deep pits on both sides of the boulevard. These pits weren¡¯t asrge as the one they had fallen into, but both of them were simrly filled with white bones.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An patted Pei Mianman¡¯s hand tofort her, then walked over to the edge of one of the pits to have a look. This pit was only a few meters deep, and did not seem to be able to trap anyone.

    However, he was worried that there might be something in the pit, or that there might be some of those strange snakes hidden within the white bones, so he didn¡¯t risk going in yet. Instead, he picked up a small rock and threw it in. Seeing that none of the dangers that he¡¯d envisioned were present, he continued on with his investigation.

    ¡°Ah Zu,e back up already!¡± Pei Mianman was clearly unwilling to head down herself, and she was worried that something might happen to Zu An down there.

    Zu An looked around for a while before jumping back out. ¡°These are probably the pits where the sacrifices were ced. They¡¯re different from the pit outside. These bones seem stronger, more nourished than those poor fellows outside.¡±

    ¡°You mentioned before that this might very well be Yinshang¡¯s Imperial Tomb. The quality of the sacrifices here will surely be higher than those outside,¡± Pei Mianman observed.

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Zu An had a simr conclusion. ¡°What¡¯s strange is that those white skeletons outside weren¡¯t really damaged, yet the bones here are scattered all over the ce.¡±

    The skulls of the skeletons here had been separated from the rest of the remains. It was impossible to figure out which skull belonged to which.

    ¡°Captive enemy peoples or warriors were decapitated before being sacrificed, to ensure the highest-quality offerings,¡± Pei Mianman suddenly said.

    Zu An looked at her with shock. How the hell did she know that?

    Pei Mianman also covered her mouth in rm after saying those words. It took her a few moments to calm down again. ¡°I have no idea what is going on either¡­ I subconsciously blurted that out. Do you think I was possessed?¡±

    She was extremely worried. Now that there was really something going on between Zu An and herself, she was hopeful for the future. She didn¡¯t want anything bad to happen to her now.

    Zu An said seriously, ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯re being possessed. I¡¯m guessing that you have some sort of connection to this ce. You don¡¯t need to be scared. It¡¯s not necessarily a bad thing.¡±

    He recalled what Mi Li had said earlier. Who knows, maybe this dungeon really does need the both of us to be here.

    Hisforting words helped to put Pei Mianman a little more at ease. However, a thin film of fear still clung to her, and she didn¡¯t feel as confident and bold as she usually did.

    The two of them continued onward, noticing simr pits appearing one after another as they kept on walking. The remains inside these pits had all been decapitated as well. All in all, there were well over a thousand skeletons.

    Even though there weren¡¯t as many as in the pit outside, these were all remains of the nobility or of strong warriors, so they were of much higher quality.

    Zu An could feel Pei Mianman trembling slightly. Zu An held her hand and began to move faster. He wanted to leave this ce as quickly as possible.

    Soon, though, he had no choice but to stop. No matter how daring he was, the scene in front of him still made his scalp tingle with dread.

    There was a sacrificial pit in front of him. This pit was smaller than all of the other ones, but the things inside were extremely unusual.

    There were seventeen infants inside. They weren¡¯t bones, but looked like real babies. Not only were their bodies pitch-ck, but there were all sorts of strange patterns on their skin as well.

    If not for the fact that he didn¡¯t sense them breathing, he would¡¯ve thought that they were alive!

    ¡°How can they be so cruel? They didn¡¯t even spare the infants¡­¡± Pei Mianman bit her lip, her voice quivering with fear and anger.

    Zu An¡¯s voice was gloomy. ¡°In that dream of mine, there was a country called Thand. In ancient Thand, there was a general called Kun Ping who conquered a city. The leader of the city offered his daughter to Kun Ping as a gift, whom Kun Ping eventually married. He even stayed in the city until his wife became pregnant. However, the rtionship between Kun Ping and the leader soured, and the leader asked his daughter to kill Kun Ping by poisoning his meal. When Kun Ping learned of this n, he killed his wife as revenge. After his wife died, Kun Ping ripped open his wife¡¯s stomach and pulled out her unborn child, then brought it to a temple. He lit a fire, and then he wrapped up the upper half of the infant¡¯s body in cloth covered in scriptures. He ced it on top of the fire and roasted it until the infant¡¯s corpse dried and shriveled up. Kun Ping chanted scriptures throughout the entire process. When the ceremony was over, the infant had be a soul that couldmunicate with him. Kun Ping called it ¡®Guman Tong¡¯[1]. He brought it with him into battle, and was victorious every time.¡±

    Zu An paused for a moment. He looked at the scene in front of him and said, ¡°These infants seem quite simr to that ¡®Guman Tong¡¯. I never expected the people of Yinshang to be so ruthless.¡±

    As soon as he had spoken, the infant corpses, whose eyes had been closed all the while, suddenly opened them. Their eyes flickered with red light, and they slowly began to crawl out of the pit towards the two of them.

    1. The Kuman Thong (or Kuman Nee if the spirit is a female child) is a household divinity in Thand folk religion, believed to bring good luck and fortune to the homeowner if properly revered. It has its roots in necromancy and ck magic, where an unborn fetus would be surgically removed, roasted in a ceremony, then covered in gold leaf. Simr practices can be found in the neighboring countries of Laos and Cambodia.

 Chapter 522: Controlled

    <h4>Chapter 522: Controlled</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An felt his scalp tingling. Horror movies involving children or infants were always the worst ones, and now, there were suddenly so many of them crawling towards him. Anyone who was a little less brave would probably have fainted on the spot!

    Pei Mianman¡¯s voice was quivering uncontrobly. ¡°Ah Zu, did your dream tell you how to deal with them?¡±

    Zu An was on the verge of tears as well. ¡°No¡­¡±

    He only knew about this legend, but he didn¡¯t know anything else about it.

    The Guman Tong wereing closer and closer. Pei Mianman couldn¡¯t hold herself back anymore and unleashed her ck mes on them. No matter what, she still saw them as undead creatures, so her mes should be effective against them.

    However, her eyes went wide as she witnessed what followed. The Guman Tong were surrounded by ck mes, but they showed no expressions of pain¡ªinstead, theyughed. As they crawled forward, they used their hands to caress the mes, as though encountering an old friend.

    Pei Mianman immediately began to question her life. Her ck mes were much more formidable than ordinary mes. It could even melt rocks and steel, let alone the flesh of a human body! However, it seemed to do nothing against these ¡®infants¡¯.

    Zu An said with a gloomy voice, ¡°These Guman Tong were created through secret rites involving raging fire. It¡¯s to be expected that they aren¡¯t afraid of fire.¡±

    By now, several Guman Tong had reached them. Zu An hacked at one of them with his Tai¡¯e Sword.

    The bodies of the Guman Tong seemed as hard as metal. The sharp Tai¡¯e Sword failed to leave even a single mark on them.

    The two of them slowly retreated, keeping their guards up, and a momentter, Zu An let out a breath. ¡°Even though these Guman Tong are extremely strange, they don¡¯t seem to possess any strong offensive capability. We¡¯ll be fine as long as we¡¯re careful.¡±

    Neither Zu An¡¯s sword nor Pei Mianman¡¯s mes did little to damage the advancing Guman Tong, but they were still infants, after all, so they did not know how to walk properly, but could only crawl. They did not move quickly, and their attacks were rudimentary at best.

    As soon as Zu An had spoken, however, the sound of bones grinding together came from the sacrificial pits around them.

    Cold sweat began dripping down the backs of the two humans. This sound was exceedingly familiar¡ªit was precisely the sound the skeletal warrior from the gate had made when it walked.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    They looked towards the source of the sound and saw many skeletons crawling out from those sacrificial pits. They held rusted spears that they picked up from who knew where. As soon as they were clear of the pits, they charged at the two of them.

    ¡°What the hell is this?!¡± The range of those spears was way too far. The dozen or so skeletons seemed to have some form of telepathy. They moved together like a real army formation and coordinated their attacks, forcing the two of them to dodge in a rather unttering manner.

    ¡°These guys don¡¯t even have heads. How are they even seeing us?!¡± Zu An was utterly despondent. Even though the skeletal warrior earlier on didn¡¯t have actual eyes, it still had a head. The two red lights that burned within its sockets could function as eyes, so he could still understand its existence to some extent.

    However, despite these skeletal warriors having absolutely nothing above their necks, their movements didn¡¯t seem the least bit affected!

    ¡°Look at their backs!¡± Pei Mianman had sharp eyes, and she quickly noticed what was going on.

    Zu An looked more carefully. The skeletons each had a Guman Tong hanging off their backs. Their bodies were already under the Guman Tong¡¯s control, so they obviously didn¡¯t need eyes anymore.

    Even though the Guman Tong themselves did not possess any significant offensive prowess, they amplified it greatly by attaching themselves to these skeletons.

    These skeletons were no match for Zu An and Pei Mianman one on one, but with more than ten of them working together, they created a semnce of a military formation, which multiplied their overall strength.

    With a loud crash, Zu An sent his Tai¡¯e Sword crashing against the long spears. He felt as if his fingers were splitting apart, and he almost lost his grip on his longsword.

    As such, he immediately changed his strategy. He used his miraculous movement technique to weave around the skeletons, sneaking in hidden strikes with the Tai¡¯e Sword from time to time.

    The bodies of these skeletons weren¡¯t as tough as those of the Guman Tong, nor were they as hardy as that of the skeletal warrior they had faced aboveground. Soon enough, the sword strikes began to leave long scars on their bones.

    Zu An nced over at Pei Mianman. ck mes swirled around her, burning away at those skeletons until their white bones trembled wildly. Clearly, their bones were unable to resist the ck mes. If it wasn¡¯t for the protection that the Guman Tong offered, they would have already been reduced to ash.

    Zu An heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that she was unharmed, and turned his attention back to attacking those skeletons. Each time he saw an opening, he chose to strike at their legs. After striking the same point several times, the skeleton¡¯s leg bones would finally lose their integrity, causing the skeleton to lose its bnce and fall to the ground.

    Zu An used this chance to hack them to pieces, preventing the Guman Tong from controlling them any further.

    Despite this, the fact that he had no idea how to deal with these Guman Tong frustrated him greatly. If he couldn¡¯t get rid of them, then they would just control other skeletal warriors. He would be worn out soon even if he didn¡¯t die.

    A sudden thought struck Zu An, and he took out some rope to tie up the Guman Tong that had fallen off the skeleton. He stored many sundry items within the Brilliant ss Bead, thanks to its incrediblyrge space, and he had nock of lime powder for ambushes, ropes, hidden weapons, and other useful items.

    It would have been great if he possessed the Embroidered Envoy¡¯s Soul-sealing Chains, which might have allowed him to actually restrain the Guman Tong. Even though these ropes were tough enough, they weren¡¯t magical weapons, and it was doubtful if they would be able to hold the Guman Tong for very long.

    However, as matters stood, he didn¡¯t have any other means. He could only trap them for as long as he could.

    He managed to take down several more skeletal warriors, and caught a total of seven Guman Tong.

    He felt a sense of aplishment well up within him, and called out to Pei Mianman, ¡°Big Manman, knock those Guman Tong off the skeletons. I¡¯ll capture them!¡±

    Despite shouting several times, however, he received no reply. Perturbed, he quickly turned around. He saw that Pei Mianman was fine, and the skeletal warriors that had surrounded her were all on the ground, lifeless. They had clearly been dealt with.

    Zu An hurried over to her. ¡°Big Manman, how did you do it? What happened to the Guman Tong on their backs?¡± he asked.

    He was still expecting an answer when, suddenly, a torrent of ck me shot out at him.

    Zu An had no idea she would suddenly attack him! He quickly dodged to the side, but wasn¡¯t able topletely evade the stream of me, and some of it caught a part of his clothes.

    He had witnessed firsthand how strong these ck mes were. Once they made contact, not even bits of bone would be left behind.

    He quickly tore off that part of his clothes and patted down his body. He knew that, if any of those ck mes came into contact with his flesh, it would be difficult¡ªor even impossible¡ªto put out.

    Surprisingly, though, the ck mes went out on their own in a moment, and did not spread to the rest of him.

    He finally remembered the pendant she had given him, which made him immune to the ck mes.

    He had almost forgotten about it!

    Zu An heaved a sigh of relief, and secretly rejoiced that he hadn¡¯t returned the pendant yet.

    He turned to Pei Mianman. ¡°Manman, what¡¯s gotten into you?¡±

    Her eyes stared back at him, dark and overcast. She didn¡¯t reply, but continued to attack him.

    ¡°Big Manman?¡± Zu An continued to yell, almost suffering severe injuries from several close shaves. Pei Mianman had more than just her ck mes at her disposal, after all.

    Mi Li¡¯s cold voice spoke into his mind. ¡°The Guman Tong has already taken control of her mind. If you continue to hold back, there¡¯s a high chance you¡¯ll be killed.¡±

    ¡°Big sis empress!¡± Zu An was both shocked and overjoyed. For some reason, he always felt a sense offort whenever he heard her voice.

    At the same time, he quickly studied Pei Mianman, and saw that there was a Guman Tong hanging around her neck. Its lips cracked open a grin when it saw him looking at it.

    Zu An felt a chill run through his body. He finally understood where the Guman Tong had gone after the skeletal warriors around her had copsed.

    Zu An felt his mind tremble with shock. ¡°This thing can control people?¡±

    Mi Li replied, ¡°Of course. Didn¡¯t you say earlier on that the general from Thand was unstoppable when he brought his Guman Tong to battle? I believe it was probably because it could control the human mind.¡±

    ¡°Then why am I not being controlled?¡± Zu An recalled that some of the Guman Tong had touched him several times, and fear crept into his mind.

    Mi Li snorted. ¡°Your soul is bound to mine. There¡¯s no way you could possibly be controlled by a mere Guman Tong.¡±

    ¡°Then how do I free someone who is controlled?¡± asked Zu An hurriedly.

    Mi Li¡¯s voice was like ice. ¡°There is no way. You have to kill her.¡±

 Chapter 523: The Girl From the Netherworld

    <h4>Chapter 523: The Girl From the Netherworld</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An felt like he was about to burst. He finally couldn¡¯t take it anymore. ¡°Big sis empress, you can¡¯t be like this just because her boobs are bigger than yours!¡±

    She had been constantly expressing her dislike for Pei Mianman along the way, even inciting him to get rid of her several times. Now, yet again, she was asking him to kill her!

    Mi Li sneered. ¡°What a joke! Why would someone like me be jealous of her?¡±

    Zu An rolled his eyes. ¡°Am I wrong?¡±

    ¡°Of course you are! Even though¡­¡±¡ªMi Li suddenly no longer sounded so confident¡ª¡°Even though her chest¡­ is slightly bigger than mine. But I¡¯m not that petty!¡±

    Zu An sneered.

    Mi Li huffed angrily. However, she had used the time to sort out her own thoughts. ¡°It¡¯s not as though you didn¡¯t see it for yourself earlier on. You only managed to get those Guman Tong to detach themselves when you smashed apart the skeletons that they had been clinging onto. Your big-boobed sis has been possessed, just like them. What else can you do?¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t reply. Instead, he tried to sneak behind Pei Mianman and stab the Guman Tong hanging from her neck with his sword.

    Unfortunately, Pei Mianman¡¯s movement technique wasn¡¯t anything to scoff at. There was no way she would allow him the chance to do that so easily. Although there were some moments when she moved just a shade too slowly, the Guman Tong was just too tough. Its body was almost indestructible, and try as he might, the Tai¡¯e Sword just could not scratch it.

    All the while, Zu An was the one who had to be careful not to injure Pei Mianman, and so he was almost wounded several times.

    Mi Li¡¯s voice dripped with dissatisfaction. ¡°Even though the ck mes of this big-boobed sis can¡¯t do much to you, she is still a sixth level cultivator. She had much morebat experience than a newbie like you. You might have been able to deal with her if this were any other situation, given your hodge podge of random skills. Right now, though, you¡¯re worried about not hurting her, while she can attack you without any reservations. If this continues, you¡¯ll eventually be exhausted and lose.¡±

    ¡°Do you think I don¡¯t know that? But how can I hurt her?!¡± Zu An was starting to get annoyed. ¡°Please be quiet if you have nothing constructive to offer.¡±

    Mi Li fell into a stiff silence.

    Zu An was surprised to find that there had been no Rage points even after all this while. ¡°You¡¯re not mad?¡±

    ¡°Why would I be?¡± Mi Li¡¯s voice was actually quite calm.

    ¡°Weren¡¯t you hollering at me to kill Big Manman just a moment ago?¡± Zu An asked.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Mi Li said coldly, ¡°I was merely testing to see if you had the potential to be a powerful overlord. It¡¯s truly a pity though that you do not. You cannot separate your emotions and desires from what¡¯s most important. You¡¯ve failed to sacrifice others for your own gain.¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°No matter how great your authority or status bes, what meaning would there be to it if you sacrificed those you cherish to get there?¡±

    Mi Li sighed wistfully, as if she had recalled something from the past. ¡°I don¡¯t know whether to call you na?ve or farsighted. Many of those whose cultivation levels are much higher than yours have failed to see this point.¡±

    Zu An grumbled. Being farsighted isn¡¯t always something good either.

    ¡°Then why don¡¯t you look all that disappointed now that you¡¯ve found out I don¡¯t have this potential to be an overlord?¡± he continued to ask.

    Mi Li smiled ambiguously. ¡°Why would I feel disappointed? It¡¯s not like I need to rely on you to dominate the world. On the contrary, given our current situation, I¡¯d actually prefer that you keep your kind and simple nature. Since you won¡¯t abandon your big-boobed sis even though your life is hanging by a thread, you probably wouldn¡¯t turn your back on me in the future either.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you just being paranoid?¡± Zu An said gloomily. ¡°You¡¯ve tested me a few times in the past already.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s so bad about putting you to the test a few more times? Either way, I¡¯m about to go crazy from boredom.¡± Mi Li¡¯s lips curved upwards. She was clearly in a good mood.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s that great of an idea though. Your tests might still not get you to understand who I am. What if everything I¡¯ve shown you is just a performance?¡± Zu An snorted. ¡°You were already fooled once. Who would¡¯ve thought that you would still choose to trust someone so easily after so many years have passed?¡±

    Mi Li was stunned. She had never considered this before. She suddenly felt as though she had acted rather foolishly.

    By this time, Zu An was truly starting to panic. ¡°You¡¯ve already posed whatever test you wanted. Can you finally tell me how to save Big Manman?¡±

    Pei Mianman¡¯s attacks were bing more and more vicious, and other possessed skeletal warriors had swarmed over to him as well. Even though Zu An had Sunflower Phantasm, he couldn¡¯t avoid all of their attacks, and he was swiftly covered in wounds.

    Mi Li shook her head. ¡°Even though I was testing you, I didn¡¯t lie. Aside from killing her, I really do not know any other method.¡±

    Zu An felt as if he had been thrown into an ice bath. He rubbed the pendant around his neck, recalling Pei Mianman¡¯s smile. He gritted his teeth and said, ¡°There is definitely a way! I will save her!¡±

    Suddenly, a melodious singing voice began to echo around the tomb. The voice was beautiful, like that of an oriole, clear and moving. The voice definitely belonged to a youngdy in the prime of her youth.

    However, they were in a strange and sinister ce right now! Why would there be an ordinary youngdy here?

    The song was also strangely alluring, and Zu An felt as though it was simr to the songs of the sirens from the games he used to y, both beautiful and dangerous.

    Both Pei Mianman and the skeletal warriors around him stopped attacking. The Guman Tong on their backs turned their heads to listen to this song. Their vicious expressions gradually disappeared, and their lips curved upwards in the pure and innocent smiles of infants.

    ¡°Ga ga ga~¡±

    The Guman Tongughed as they jumped off of their hosts and crawled towards the source of the sound.

    Whatever force had been holding the headless skeletal warriors up left them, and they copsed to the ground, bing lifeless bones once more.

    Pei Mianman¡¯s rigid body rxed as well, and she fell to the side.

    Zu An rushed over to support her. ¡°Manman, how do you feel?¡±

    Pei Mianman slowly opened her eyes. She was moved when she saw Zu An looking down at her. ¡°Ah Zu, you¡¯re okay?¡±

    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I be?¡± Zu An smiled. He gently wiped away her tears.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ I couldn¡¯t control my body earlier on. I could only watch as I continued to attack you.¡± Pei Mianman apologized again and again. She looked really ashamed of herself.

    ¡°It¡¯s not your fault. You were being controlled by a Guman Tong,¡± Zu An said as he looked at the strange infants. He became more and more confused.

    ¡°Why did they suddenly leave?¡± Pei Mianman was clearly shaken by what had just happened.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s that song.¡± Zu An grew serious. Whatever could control these Guman Tong was surely a boss-level monster.

    Theughter of the Guman Tong gradually grew more distinct. They had returned.

    The two of them instinctively took a step back, watching these Guman Tong vigntly.

    The Guman Tong were crowding around a petite figure. Those that weren¡¯t clinging to her legs, were crawling around her.

    They finally saw the figure clearly. She was a beautiful teenage girl wearing a straw dress. The dress only covered her most intimate areas, and exposed arge amount of skin.

    ¡°This girl is dressed so boldly!¡± Pei Mianman blushed. She was usually the one who was bold and daring when it came to fashion, yet she waspletely shocked by how much skin this girl was showing! Even brothel girls rarely put on so little.

    But the strangest part was that this girl was not giving off even a trace of sinister energy. They had no idea how she was doing what she was doing.

    Zu An frowned. ¡°I believe this is how the early primitive tribes dressed. Back then, the spinning and weaving industries weren¡¯t as developed as they are now. Their clothes often only serve to cover the private parts.¡±

    ¡°Primitive tribes? Then doesn¡¯t that mean she is¡­¡± Pei Mianman was shocked.

    ¡°Indeed, I¡¯ve already been dead for many, many years.¡± Despite her smile, the youngdy¡¯s words were absolutely terrifying.

    Zu An whispered to Mi Li, ¡°Big sis empress, you might have to call this little girl your grandma¡­¡±

    ¡°Screw you!¡± Mi Li spat.

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for 111 Rage points!

    ¡°If I¡¯m not wrong, she¡¯s from the Yinshang period. That means she¡¯s way older than you. Maybe it¡¯s not enough just to call her grandma.¡±

    Mi Li was beyond speechless.

    Zu An walked forward and sped his fist at this girl. ¡°Thank you, youngdy, for saving us.¡±

 Chapter 524: A Young Ladyâ€™s Request

    <h4>Chapter 524: A Young Lady¡¯s Request</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Huh? You aren''t scared of me?¡± The girl was surprised. Her body was semi-transparent, and there was a slightly eerie quality to her voice.

    She was simr to those malicious spirits on those stairs, but her expression was much more serene. She didn¡¯t share their viciousness and resentment.

    Zu An smiled. ¡°You¡¯re quite cute. Why would I be scared of you?¡±

    Even though the girl in front of him wasn¡¯t as pretty as Pei Mianman or Mi Li, she was still a little beauty. She gave off an air of youthfulness, and the addition of her stunning outfit left him with a good impression of her.

    Pei Mianman smiled when she heard what he said. Mi Li rolled her eyes. This fellow always went into full sweet-talk mode whenever he saw a girl! She was sick and tired of it.

    ¡°I do not deserve such praise,¡± the girl replied, a hint of redness coloring her face.

    Zu An kept his momentum going. ¡°I¡¯m Ah Zu, and this is my friend, Pei Mianman. May I ask what your name is?¡±

    ¡°My name is Jiang¡­ Jiang¡­¡± The youngdy frowned midway through her sentence, seeming slightly uncertain.

    ¡°You¡¯re Jiangjiang?¡± Zu An felt that this was quite the special name.

    ¡°No.¡± The girl shook her head and blushed. ¡°It¡¯s been too long, and I¡¯ve forgotten my name. I only remember that my surname is Jiang.¡±

    She couldn¡¯t help but burst into tears.

    Zu An was left speechless for a moment.

    How could you even forget your own name? Just how much time passed?

    Mi Li sighed. ¡°She is truly pitiful.¡±

    She suddenly felt a pang of sympathy for this poor girl. She too had been sealed away in a tomb for more than ten thousand years, all by herself. If it wasn¡¯t for her unyielding nature and desire for revenge given her past betrayal, she might have forgotten her own name as well.

    This girl was clearly much younger when she¡¯d died, and she hadn¡¯t lived as grandly as Mi Li herself had. When she passed away, she had to endure an even longer period of time as well. It waspletely understandable that she had forgotten so many of the things that had taken ce when she was still alive.

    Zu An spoke up tofort her. ¡° I¡¯ll just call you Jiangjiang, then. It sounds pretty good.¡±

    ¡°Jiangjiang?¡± The youngdy froze for a moment, then shed a bright and beautiful smile. ¡°Sure!¡±

    ¡°By the way¡­ did you raise these Guman Tong? They seem to get along with you quite well.¡± Zu An looked at those Guman Tong who moved around her feet and swallowed.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t raise them. But after spending so much time together, we¡¯ve already be friends. They¡¯re like my younger brothers.¡± The youngdy squatted down and rubbed their heads, a doting expression on her face.

    Zu An asked, ¡°Jiangjiang, what kind of ce is this?¡±

    ¡°This is the capital city of the Shang Dynasty, of course.¡± A hint of fear shed across her face when she mentioned Yinshang. ¡°Are you two Shang people?¡± she probed.

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°No, we¡¯re not. We are only travelers who identally find ourselves lost in this ce.¡±

    He noticed that her expression changed when she mentioned Yinshang, and he added, ¡°By the way, Yinshang has long been destroyed¡­¡±

    ¡°Destroyed?¡± The youngdy seemed shocked by this, but there was an unmistakable hint of happiness in her voice.

    Zu An grunted in confirmation, then roughly exined the history of the fate of the Shang Dynasty. Pei Mianman looked at him in shock. Why had she never heard about these things before? Was this also a part of the world in his dream?

    As she listened to his recounting, the youngdy was at times shocked and surprised. As he wrapped up his story, she expressed her gratitude to him, then said, ¡°So, ten thousand years have already passed.¡±

    Her emotions overcame her for a moment, and she let out a deep sigh. Another thought suddenly struck her. ¡°Then what about the Eastern Barbarians?¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°The Eastern Barbarians were wiped out as well, but they were destroyed after Yinshang.¡±

    ¡°So they¡¯ve also be extinct¡­¡± The girl was lost in her own thoughts for a moment, then sighed again and said, ¡°I knew in my heart that that was the likely oue. No countries exist forever, after all.¡±

    ¡°Jiangjiang, are you an Eastern Barbarian?¡± Zu An asked.

    The girl nodded. ¡°I was the daughter of the leader of the Eastern Barbarians.¡±

    ¡°So you were their princess! There¡¯s no need for you to feel too broken-hearted. Even though the Eastern Barbarian Country has been wiped out, their bloodline continued on, having merged with that of the other ns of the Central ins to form the origins of the Chinese people. For example, the progenitor of the Qin State, whoter on destroyed the Zhou Dynasty, was rumored to be a descendant of the Eastern Barbarians.¡±

    He secretly turned to Mi Li and said jokingly, ¡°Big sis empress, doesn¡¯t this mean that this little girl might really be your grandma¡­?¡±

    Mi Li was not amused.

    Her face became red. She clearly found it hard to ept that this girl was actually her ancestor. ¡°Hmph, that just means that the people of the Qin Dynasty had something to do with the Eastern Barbarians. Even though I was the empress of the Qin State, I am a daughter of the Chu State. What does that have to do with me?¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t reply, but only chuckled.

    Mi Li felt weirdly frustrated when she saw that smirk on his face. She really wanted to beat him up.

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for 55¡­ 55¡­ 55¡­

    Sure enough, the girl¡¯s tears turned into a smile, and her mood improved significantly. ¡°Thank you, big brother.¡±

    ¡°Big brother?¡± Zu An had a strange look on his face. This girl is ancient enough to be the great, great grandmother of my own ancestors¡­ How can she call me big brother?!

    It seemed like she still saw herself as a teenage girl.

    Now that he knew more about her, Zu An felt as though a huge boulder had been lifted off his chest. He had really been worried that she was yet another overpowered hidden boss. ¡°Right, Jiangjiang, why are you here? Do you know how to get out of this ce?¡±

    ¡°I was captured during a previous battle between Yinshang and Eastern Barbarians, and brought here as a prisoner.¡± Her face became downcast again. This was clearly a painful memory for her. ¡°As for the exit, I can only guess. I¡¯m not sure.¡±

    ¡°Please tell me,¡± Zu An said excitedly. Pei Mianman was also happy. She clearly didn¡¯t wish to stay here any longer.

    The youngdy pointed towards the distant darkness. ¡°There is a trial below. I heard that if you can pass the trial, not only can you leave this ce, but you can obtain an unimaginable boon as well. Unfortunately, there are special restrictions that prevent me from entering.¡±

    Pei Mianman thought things over and asked, ¡°Jiangjiang, if you can¡¯t go in, how do you know about it?¡±

    The girl replied, ¡°I overheard the people who built this ce say this, many, many years ago. They couldn¡¯t see me, so they weren¡¯t on guard against any eavesdroppers.¡±

    Zu An found this interesting. She was probably already a spirit back then. There¡¯s a lot she could have overheard.

    The girl suddenly raised her head to look at the two of them. ¡°Big brother, big sister, can the two of you help me with something?¡±

    Zu An thought about how the people of Yinshang had treated their captives, and he could imagine just how bitter her experience had been. He was immediately ovee with pity. ¡°Jiangjiang, ask us anything you want. We¡¯ll definitely help you as much as we can.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, big brother!¡± The youngdy smiled sweetly. She pointed into the distant darkness. ¡°There should be a jade badge over there. It¡¯s a sacred object belonging to our Eastern Barbarian Country which is rumored to allowmunication with the divine. After our defeat in the previous war, many of my nsmen were captured and used as offerings. Because of Yinshang¡¯s formations, they have not been able to rest in peace. I do not know if you¡¯ve encountered them, but I¡¯ve heard that they are trapped within a staircase. With that jade badge, I can carry out a ceremony and help their souls find peace.¡±

    ¡°So they were your nsmen!¡± Zu An¡¯s expression grew sour. Those fellows had almost devoured all of his flesh.

    The youngdy wept when she heard about his experience. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, big brother. They aren¡¯t doing it because they want to¡­¡±

    ¡°I understand, I understand,¡± Zu An hurriedly consoled her. ¡°Look, we¡¯re all in one piece, right? Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll help you find that jade badge.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, big brother!¡± The youngdy beamed with happiness. ¡°There¡¯s something else I would like to entrust you with. Could you help me look for my missing headter on?¡±

    Zu An was momentarily at a loss for words.

    Why did that sound so weird and creepy?

    ¡°Did I scare you guys¡­?¡± The youngdy was embarrassed. With difficulty, she carried on with her exnation. ¡°From what I remember, I was brought here by the people of Yinshang as a prisoner. ording to their customs, human sacrifices made the best offerings. Because I was a special person within the court of their enemy, they cut off my head and put it on a Shang monarch¡¯s grave to serve as an offering¡­¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Jiangjiang¡­¡± Even Pei Mianman began to sob when she heard about her tragic past. She subconsciously wanted to hug her tofort her. Unfortunately, she was a soul body, so her hands passed right through her.

    Zu An was ovee with sympathy as well. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will definitely find your missing head. There is a problem, though¡­ I won¡¯t know which head is yours.¡±

 Chapter 525: Ya Zhangâ€™s Tomb

    <h4>Chapter 525: Ya Zhang¡¯s Tomb</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Ever since they had entered this dungeon, they had seen bones everywhere. The pit that they had fallen into on the surface had contained more than ten thousand skeletons, and the skeletons they had seen while exploring this pce numbered well into the thousands as well. Since they were proceeding further into a tomb, it was obvious that there would be even more of them waiting ahead. Finding Jiangjiang¡¯s head out of all of them was really going to be a huge issue.

    The worst part of it all was that her head would probably bear no resemnce to what it had looked like before. After so many years, it was bound to end up looking like a normal skull. It was going to be like finding a needle in a haystack.

    The youngdy said, ¡°I heard some people mention that, because of my special status, they ced my head in a Yin and boiled it. I don¡¯t think this happens too often. If you find a skull in such a vessel that is roughly the size of someone my age, that would probably be the right one.¡±

    Zu An was horrified, as were Pei Mianman and Mi Li.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    This girl¡¯s fate was truly tragic. She¡¯d been captured by her enemies, and her head had even been boiled after she had been decapitated.

    As if she could sense what they were feeling, the youngdy smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s all right. Even though it was painful back then, a long time has passed, and I¡¯ve already forgotten all about it.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s voice was filled with quiet determination. ¡°Jiangjiang, I will definitely bring your head and that jade badge back to you. All of you will be able to rest in peace.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, big brother.¡± The youngdy smiled sweetly. ¡°I¡¯ll bring you to the entrance to the tomb.¡±

    The youngdy led them further in, the Guman Tong following alongside them.

    They had been terrified of these Guman Tong earlier on, but they seemed quite adorable now.

    ¡°You should be careful. We don¡¯t know what¡¯s really going on in this girl¡¯s head. She might be tricking you,¡± Mi Li warned him in his mind.

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°Big sis empress, you can¡¯t keep being so paranoid, even if you were betrayed in the past.¡±

    Mi Li snorted. ¡°Exin this to me, then. Why did all of her nsmen turn into mindless malicious spirits, while she alone retained her will? She was so young back then, and she was probably much weaker than most of the experts in her n.¡±

    ¡°I agree that it does seem a little strange,¡± Zu An said in a low voice, ¡°But I trust her. I can sense the sincerity in her words, and in her gaze as well.¡±

    ¡°Hah!¡± Mi Li sneered. ¡°Could it be that you don¡¯t know that women are naturally gifted liars? Many countries make use of female spies, and all of them are masters of acting. Those who fall for their tricks are always left clueless in the end.¡±

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°I know that such people exist, but she is definitely not one of them.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll regret it once you¡¯ve realized you¡¯ve been tricked.¡± Mi Li could see that he had made up his mind, and did not bother to try to convince him otherwise. ¡°By the way, do you know what this Yin she¡¯s talking about looks like?¡±

    ¡°Of course. It¡¯s a traditional vessel for cooking. The upper section, called the Zeng, is used to hold food. Beneath the Zeng is a perforated Bi, which allows steam to pass through. Under that is the Ge, the section where water is boiled. The entire thing is simr to a modern steamer,¡± Zu An replied.

    Mi Li was shocked. ¡°You actually know some stuff, huh? Even things like this.¡±

    She had wanted to give him some pointers to make it easier to find, especially since not many people knew about such an ancient cooking device. It seemed her advice would be unnecessary.

    Zu An smiled without replying. There was one other reason why he trusted that youngdy that he didn¡¯t speak about. The documentary about Yinshang that he¡¯d watched in his previous life made mention of a bronze artifact with a head inside. That bronze artifact was called a ¡®Yin¡¯, as the documentary exined.

    Clearly, this youngdy wasn¡¯t lying.

    The group of them walked on for a while before arriving at the mouth of a tunnel. The youngdy pointed inside and said, ¡°The graves of sessive Shang monarchs are buried inside. The Shang people have set up a restriction that prevents my younger brothers and I from entering, but I believe that the two of you can enter freely.¡±

    ¡°Jiangjiang, I will definitely find your head and the jade badge,¡± Zu An promised her again. He was truly sympathetic to her plight, and he wanted to help release her from this burden as soon as possible.

    ¡°Thank you, big brother!¡± The youngdy¡¯s eyes sparkled. ¡°You guys have to be careful. There might be dangers along the way.¡±

    Zu An nodded. He would¡¯ve been careful even if she hadn¡¯t said anything. How could he let his guard down in this sort of ce?

    After bidding her farewell, Zu An made to go in. However, he felt as if he had rammed straight into a ss door.

    ¡°A seal?¡± Zu An¡¯s expression grew perturbed. He noticed the outline of a light-blue barrier. The familiar taotie runes ran along its surface, as well as all sorts of mysterious birds and dragons. However, this looked like a much higher-level seal than the one in the giant pit on the surface.

    ¡°Ah!¡± The youngdy cried out in rm, and her jovial mood deted. ¡°I didn¡¯t think that it would prevent you from entering as well. I thought that this restriction only applied to us.¡±

    Zu An consoled her immediately. ¡°Jiangjiang, you don¡¯t need to feel dejected. Let¡¯s try to find another way to go inside.¡±

    The entrance was right there. He had to go inside no matter what.

    He recalled the oracle script on the stele that took them into this dungeon, and tried to find a simr mechanism. Unfortunately, his search was in vain.

    Zu An¡¯s head began to throb, and he had no choice but to turn to Mi Li. ¡°Big sis empress, do you have any suggestions?¡±

    Mi Li snorted. ¡°If I was at my peak, this sort of seal wouldn¡¯t be able to stop me at all.¡±

    ¡°What about now?¡± Zu An pressed her.

    Mi Li seemed a little embarrassed. ¡°Now, I have no idea either.¡±

    Zu An shook his head.

    Why did you have to show off if you can¡¯t do anything about it now? Are you trying to act cute?

    Pei Mianman spoke up. ¡°Ah Zu, it seems that I¡­ can go straight in.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He turned around and saw Pei Mianman reach her hand inside the tunnel. Her hand passed right through the barrier without any resistance.

    He quickly ran over to give it a try, but his hand would still not pass through.

    ¡°This woman might have some type of connection with Yinshang. It looks like it really was heaven¡¯s will that the two of you entered this dungeon together,¡± Mi Li said.

    Zu An remembered how various fragments of memory had appeared in Pei Mianman¡¯s mind from time to time, and he nodded in agreement.

    Pei Mianman held his hand. ¡°Let¡¯s see if we can both enter if we do this.¡±

    Zu An held her hand and tried to enter. To his shock, the wall-like barrier immediately became intangible, and his hand was able to easily pass through it.

    He pondered for a moment, then turned around towards the youngdy behind them. ¡°Jiangjiang, let¡¯s take you inside as well.¡±

    The youngdy was excited as well. Unfortunately, they tried several times, but they couldn¡¯t find a way to physically link hands, the formation still prevented her from entering the tunnel. ¡°Big brother, big sister, it looks like I can¡¯t go in,¡± she said. ¡°All I can do is trouble you guys to help me with those tasks.¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t try to force the issue. After saying a few words of constion, he followed Pei Mianman through the seal.

    The two of them went down a flight of stairs. It felt like they had gone down another level before the ground ttened out again.

    They proceeded onwards carefully, and soon enough, a temple loomed in front of them.

    Zu An was shocked. Why would there be a temple in this sort of ce?

    The two of them went inside to take a look. It didn¡¯t take them long to realize that it wasn¡¯t a temple, but a small sanctuary. This was a ce where a memorial tablet had been consecrated, a ce where sacrifices were offered to departed spirits.

    Mi Li recognized the characters on the tablet. ¡°Ya Zhang¡¯s tomb.¡±

    ¡°Who is this Ya Zhang?¡± Zu An asked.

    Mi Li shook her head and said, ¡°Yinshang existed more than a thousand years before the Qin Dynasty, and many records were lost. I have never heard of this name. But from the weapons arranged nearby, he was probably a general when he was alive. The fact that he was buried together with a king means that hemanded great status. The jade badge you are looking for might just be up ahead. You should head inside and take a look.¡±

    ¡°Go further in?¡± Zu An froze.

    Mi Li said, ¡°The sanctuary and the tomb would not be located too far apart from each other. Traditionally, in the Shang Dynasty, the coffin would lie right beneath the sanctuary. Take a look around. There should be a way to go down.¡±

    Zu An recalled the sorrowful past of the girl that they had left outside. He didn¡¯t want to pass up any chance to help her, so he agreed to Mi Li¡¯s suggestion and began to look around. He thought that finding the entrance into the tomb would be difficult, but it was actually right behind the sanctuary. He saw it as soon as he walked around.

    This made sense as well. This was the tomb of a Shang monarch, after all. There wereyers of defenses outside, including vicious beasts, malicious spirits, and a skeleton warrior. The final entrance to this ce was even sealed off by a formation. There was no way an ordinary person could get inside, so there was obviously no need to make this area moreplicated than necessary.

    Zu An and Pei Mianman walked over to the opening. There was a chunk of a broken dragon statue behind it, but it was not big enough to obstruct the two of them. They used their ki to move the dragon statue aside, then pushed open the door to the tomb.

    Pei Mianman produced a me to light up the interior. The inside of the tomb was simple. It was only several square meters in size, and a massive coffiny in the center of it.

    Mi Li suddenly spoke up. ¡°Huh? Something¡¯s not right!¡±

 Chapter 526: A Victim of Violence

    <h4>Chapter 526: A Victim of Violence</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Zu An was shocked. His body immediately tensed, instinctively expecting danger.

    Mi Li continued, ¡°ording to the burial customs, both the tomb and the path leading to it would be constructed to represent the status and glory of the one buried there. The tombs of the most glorious individuals would have four paths leading up to the tomb, from the four cardinal directions. These tombs haveyouts that are simr to the character ¡®ya¡¯ (ÑÇ), which is why they call it the ¡®Ya¡¯ style tomb. Only monarchs are bestowed the honor of being buried in these types of tombs. For those in the next highest rank, their tombs have two paths to the north and south, and they have ¡®Zhong¡¯ (ÖÐ) style tombs. These are usually the tombs of high nobles. They are located in a different ce, and the tombs are smaller. For individuals with status just below that, their tombs have only one path leading up to it, and their tombs are called ¡®Jia¡¯ (¼×) style tombs. These are often granted to lesser nobles.

    ¡°In summary, those who were considered of significant status while they were alive would all be buried in one of these three types of tombs. However, this tomb only has a tomb pit, and not even a single tomb path leading to it, so the one buried here should be someone ordinary. However, considering the scale of the sanctuary above and the abundant amount of items they were buried with, as well as the fact that they were buried near the monarch¡¯s tomb, the upant of this coffin should have been an extraordinary figure, no matter how we look at it. However, their tomb is so¡­ so simple.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps Yinshang¡¯s tombs were different from those ofter generations,¡± Zu An remarked. ¡°I¡¯ll check to see if the jade badge Jiangjiang needs is somewhere here.¡±

    There was arge pile of items around the coffin, and he couldn¡¯t make them out clearly from where they were standing.

    Pei Mianman was worried that something might happen, so she followed him down into the tomb pit.

    There were all sorts of burial gifts arranged around the tomb pit. Most of them were bronze artifacts, but there were also several artifacts made from jade, ceramic, bones, ivory, and other items of jewelry.

    To the north of the coffin were all types of bronze cauldrons. In ancient times, cauldrons weren¡¯t only used to cook food, but were also a symbol of authority.

    On its south side were square wine vessels, square cups, earthenware, jars, pots, goblets, and other articles the deceased had used while they were alive. The burial customs of the ancient Shang Dynasty attached great importance to making sure that the dead were treated just as they had been while they were alive, which was why these things would apany them in burial.

    Of course, Zu An didn¡¯t recognize these bronze artifacts, which were all of different shapes and sizes. Mi Li was the one who exined them to him.

    She was a Qin Dynasty empress, so she knew much more about these things. She also had the umted knowledge of the imperial library at her disposal, so her knowledge was even more extensive. She felt incredibly refreshed after exining everything to him.

    Zu An wasn¡¯t all that interested in her ramblings, yet he didn¡¯t want to dampen her enthusiasm either, so he changed the topic instead. ¡°The things off to the side seem to be weapons. Huh? What is this weapon?¡±

    Zu An noticed that there were many bronze weapons on one side of the tomb. There were spears, pikes, and arrows, but one particr type of weapon seemed strange to him. It was shaped like an axe, but the de pointed upwards.

    ¡°That¡¯s a Yue!¡± Mi Li¡¯s expression grew serious. ¡°That isn¡¯t an ordinary weapon. It¡¯s not usually used on the battlefield, but is used as a symbol of authority instead. It is often bestowed by the emperor upon a general, granting him the power tomand the military wherever he wishes. One, two, three¡­ There are actually seven such weapons here. This individual must have wielded exceptional authority within the military! Why have I never heard anything about him before, though?¡±

    ¡°The people of this era did not have the ability to leave books or other written records forter generations to study, so it¡¯s quite expected for you not to have heard of him,¡± Zu An remarked. ¡°There isn¡¯t any jade badge here. Let¡¯s take a look elsewhere.¡± Zu An thought about bringing back some of the bronze artifacts with him. After all, every single one of them would be priceless national treasures in his previous world!

    However, he swiftly changed his mind. These things weren¡¯t very valuable in this world, and they were just some ordinary artifacts with nothing really special about them. They weren¡¯t really useful to him at this point.

    Pei Mianman suddenly spoke up. ¡°Hey, this thing is really cute.¡±

    Zu An rushed over. He thought that she found the jade badge or something, but she was only staring at a bronze artifact with a big smile.

    The bronze artifact was indeed special. It looked like a water buffalo, but it was also rather different from an ordinary depiction of a buffalo. This bull had a well-built physique. Its head stretched forward, and its mouth was slightly open. The other parts of it, like the eyes, ears, nose, horns, torso, and tail, were vivid and lifelike.

    There were dragon, bird, tiger, elephant, and other animal designs carved all over its body, giving it a rather magnificent and borate look.

    Even though it looked bold and powerful, its head was tilted slightly, and its mouth was open as well, which made it look charmingly naive. No wonder Pei Mianman had taken a liking to it.

    ¡°If you like it, we can take it with us.¡± Zu An held Pei Mianman¡¯s hand, a doting smile on his face.

    Mi Li rolled her eyes.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± Pei Mianman shook her head. ¡°Since this was buried with the deceased, it was probably something they liked when they were alive. Let¡¯s not steal something like that. Also¡­¡±

    She nced at the giant coffin beside her, then moved over to Zu An¡¯s side. She said in a quiet voice, ¡°This ce is way too strange¡­ Things could get messy if we incur the owner¡¯s anger and ites out to settle things.¡±

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but smile when he heard this. Pei Mianman always seemed so bold and daring. He didn¡¯t expect her to be so afraid of these supernatural things.

    Mi Li¡¯s voice sounded in his head. ¡°Stop flirting already. There¡¯s another ce you haven¡¯t looked at yet.¡±

    Zu An jumped in fright when he saw her eyeing the coffin. ¡°You want to open the coffin?¡±

    Mi Li snorted. ¡°Of course! The best funerary objects are always buried inside the coffin. Your jade badge might just be inside.¡±

    Zu An swallowed. ¡°Isn¡¯t that a little improper? We¡¯ll be disturbing his sleep.¡±

    ¡°Closed-minded!¡± Mi Li berated him. ¡°This is an opportunity! The one who refuses to explore a mountain of treasure is the greatest fool. You even promised that girl that you¡¯d find it, and you need to find the mechanism to leave this dungeon as well. This tomb is quite unusual. Who knows if there are any key clues hidden inside?¡±

    Her words seemed reasonable to Zu An, and his resolve was further strengthened when he recalled the girl¡¯s tragic past. He made up his mind. ¡°Fine, then!¡±

    Pei Mianman jumped in fright when she saw that he was going to open the coffin. She quickly moved to stop him, but Zu An repeated what Mi Li had said to her.

    Pei Mianman bit her lip, but nodded in assent in the end. ¡°Okay then. Since you¡¯ve already made up your mind, I¡¯ll support your decision. Just be careful.¡±

    Zu An gave her an acknowledgement, then bowed towards the coffin. ¡°Respectful elder, I apologize for disturbing your peace. We need to find a way out of here, and have been left without a choice. Please forgive our actions.¡±

    Mi Li snorted when she saw his actions. ¡°What a waste of time!¡±

    The coffin had two parts to it¡ªan inner and outer one.

    The outer coffin was painted mainly in ck, with some red and yellow patterns.

    After Zu An paid his respects, he picked up a bronze spear from the side and inserted it under the lid to lever it open.

    Several funerary objects were ced in the space between the inner and outer coffins, for example, the helmet of a general and some fine pottery. However, the jade badge the youngdy had spoken of was nowhere to be seen.

    Despite this, their hope swelled. The stuff inside the coffin was much better than what was left outside, which meant that the inner coffin probably held even more valuable items. The jade badge might just be inside!

    The inner coffin was painted red, and covered in delicate dragon and fish designs. The lid of the coffin was bordered with gold leaf. Gold was scarce back in the Yinshang period, and given the amount of gold on the coffin, it was easy to imagine the respected status of the one buried here when they were alive.

    Zu An wanted to copy what they did in ¡®Ghost Blows Out the Light¡¯[1], which was to light a candle in the corner of the coffin and see if it went out, just as a precaution. But after thinking about it, he reasoned that the both of them were cultivators, so any traces of carbon dioxide inside the coffin would probably not do them much harm. If worse came to worst and something weird jumped out at them, they would still be able to fight it off. Given the number of times they¡¯d already fought against the undead, lighting a candle as a precaution really seemed a little excessive.

    As such, he warned Pei Mianman onest time to be on her guard, before using the spear to pry the lid open.

    There were many jade artifacts inside. A jade annulus and other jade pieces were arranged along both sides of the buried individual¡¯s upper body, and four dragon-shaped ornaments were arranged on his back, forming almost a straight line from top to bottom. Jade pipes were ced on its chest and abdomen, while shells were on his lower body. The bottom of the coffin was full of cinnabar.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Pei Mianman subconsciously leaned against Zu An. ¡°Why¡­ Why is his posture so strange?¡±

    The buried individual hadn¡¯t been reduced to bone yet, but seemed like a ratherplete and dried up corpse. They could even vaguely picture what he would have looked like while he was still alive.

    This wasn¡¯t strange, however. What was strange was how the figure had been ced in the coffin.

    He wasn¡¯t lying on his back or his side like how a regr person would have been buried. He was facing downwards instead.

    Mi Li¡¯s voice sounded. ¡°This is probably what was known in legends as the prone burial. Only two types of people are buried like this. The first is those of inferior status, which is clearly not the case. This leaves only one other possibility. This man didn¡¯t die naturally, but suffered a violent death!¡±

    A sinister wind blew around them as soon as she said this. The temperature dropped, and chills ran down their bodies.

    1. A popr web novel about grave robbers seeking buried treasure, first published in 2006.

 Chapter 527: Going Against the Grain

    <h4>Chapter 527: Going Against the Grain</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°He was killed violently¡­¡± Zu An had a weird look on his face. If this had been ¡®Ghost Blows Out the Light¡¯, something would have surely been about to pop out.

    Mi Li pointed at the corpse. ¡°Look, there are a total of seven wounds on his body. Six of them are concentrated around his left side. His left arm, thigh, and pelvis have injuries made by both blunt and sharp weapons. Some of them have healed, while some haven¡¯t. This means that he suffered merciless blows even while he was dying.¡±

    ¡°Was he a living sacrifice?¡± Zu An asked. They had run into too many sacrifices along the way. Knowing the culture of Yinshang, something like that was not beyond them.

    Mi Li shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t think so. The people who lived in the time of Yinshang reveled in living sacrifices, but such a fate was reserved for enemy captives, and not for their own citizens. They would never do such a thing to a general of such stature. From his wounds, he probably died on the battlefield, and his corpse waster buried here with the rest of the monarchs.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Her analysis did seem to make a lot of sense to Zu An.

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Pei Mianman suddenly eximed. While they were talking, she had been carefully observing the coffin and its interior, and had suddenly noticed a strange object.

    Zu An looked in and noticed an artificial hand on the right side of the corpse. It seemed to be made out of bronze. The hand was nearly identical to a real hand, and even had fingernails on it.

    There were taotie runes carved onto the back of the hand, as well as other designs, giving an unusual aesthetic.

    Mi Li said, ¡°This was probably the mortal wound. His arm was severed on the battlefield, which caused him to bleed to death. From the looks of it, though, the soldiers of the Shang Dynasty weren¡¯t able to retrieve his arm from the chaotic battlefield, so they could only make him an artificial one to ensure that his body was whole when they buried him.¡±

    ¡°An artificial limb?¡± Zu An exined everything to Pei Mianman, a strange look on his face. He hadn¡¯t expected things such as artificial limbs to exist in such an ancient period.

    Pei Mianman sighed in amazement. ¡°A general who died on the battlefield! He is someone worthy of respect.¡±

    With their hearts thus moved with admiration, they continued to look around inside the coffins a little more. Even though there were other precious golden and jade artifacts, they didn¡¯t find any sign of a jade badge.

    Zu An was just about to put the lid back on when Mi Li said with surprise, ¡°You¡¯re leaving just like that?¡±

    ¡°What else would I do?¡± Zu An was confused. He didn¡¯t get what she was saying.

    ¡°You¡¯re not taking any of the treasure with you? You have more than enough space in your Brilliant ss Bead.¡± Mi Li looked rather aggrieved. ¡°How can youe to a ce of such treasure but leave empty-handed?¡±

    Zu An shook his head, unmoved by her objection. ¡°I¡¯m no tomb raider. How can I steal any of these items, especially since they were things that this individual used and treasured while he was still alive?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re so close-minded!¡± Mi Li was not happy that she wasn¡¯t able to bring him around. She turned her head away and sulked.

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for 22¡­ 22¡­ 22¡­

    Pei Mianman also had no interest in any of the items. The two of them were of one mind. They both turned to leave.

    A sudden creaking issued from behind them. Both of them jumped in rm and spun around.

    They noticed that the lid of the coffin¡ªwhich they had firmly closed just moments earlier¡ªhad suddenly shifted to the side, opening just a crack.

    Pei Mianman shivered. ¡°Ah Zu, did you close the lid properly?¡±

    Zu An swallowed. ¡°I did.¡±

    Doesn¡¯t that mean that the corpse just moved?

    As soon as this thought appeared in their minds, a desated hand reached out from within the coffin and grabbed the side of the coffin. A chill wind swept through the entire tomb, and the temperature dropped substantially.

    ¡°Ah!!¡± Pei Mianman cried out in fear. This sight was just too frightening, even for a cultivator.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here!¡± Zu An knew that the situation was going south very quickly. He grabbed Pei Mianman and ran.

    ¡°Moo~!¡±

    The powerful cry of a bull echoed through the tomb, and a massive bulk charged right at the two of them.

    Neither of them dared face this attack head on, and they both frantically dodged to the side. As it passed them, they finally recognized what was attacking them.

    It was arge water buffalo! It was the same shape as the bull they had noticed earlier, but was several times its size.

    When they looked in the direction of where that bull statue had been, sure enough, that bronze bull was gone.

    With a loud thud, the lid of the coffin was shoved asidepletely. The desated corpse within it slowly stood up.

    Zu An and Pei Mianman both stared at it, their mouths dropping open.

    The water buffalo happily danced over to the newly-arisen corpse. The two of them looked rather close and intimate.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°Elder, we were just passing by. Respectfully, we did not rob your tomb, and we even covered you back up. There¡¯s no need for you to see us out!¡±

    The corpse seemed to have heard him. He turned around to look at Zu An, his eyeballs vaguely visible. His mouth opened and closed, forming words with great difficulty. ¡°Outsider, intruder, die¡­¡±

    It stretched out a hand. A spear flew into his grasp, and the corpse shed it at them viciously.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    A green bolt of energy shot out at the two of them. Zu An and Pei Mianman hurriedly drew upon their own unique methods to defend themselves, but were still sent flying into the wall behind them. Sand and dust poured down from above.

    Zu An was terribly shaken, and his fingers were bleeding as well. He had a rather awful look on his face. That was just a casual attack, yet it already packed so much power! His strength was clearly far above that of the previous skeletal warrior.

    The two of them hadn¡¯t even been able to defeat that skeletal warrior¡ªhow could they possibly face this general?

    Zu An¡¯s mood soured. If I was the protagonist, and things yed out in the same vein as those tired web novel clich¨¦s, I would only be facing arrogant fifth or sixth rank cultivators. They¡¯d be strutting around, mocking me and making sure I know just how big of a difference in strength there is between us, only to have me p them all in the face afterwards.

    But why are there eighth, ninth, and even master rank experts popping up left and right? If my ass isn¡¯t getting beaten up, then I¡¯m on the way to getting my ass beaten up¡­ What the hell is this?

    Damn it all!

    The skeletal general¡ªwho was probably Ya Zhang¡ªwas stepping forward. He subconsciously moved to kick away the obstruction in front of him, but halfway through his motion, he stopped. He looked down and saw that it was his own coffin, which he would need if he wanted to return to his slumber. As such, he jumped over instead.

    Bracing himself, Zu An used his Sunflower Phantasm, splitting himself into two copies and charging at his opponent.

    Ya Zhang brandished his spear, cleaving straight through the clones. Both figures shattered, leaving Ya Zhang stunned. It didn¡¯t feel like he¡¯d hit anything.

    Zu An appeared behind him in the next instant, swinging his sword towards the general¡¯s head.

    Thanks to the fight with the skeletal warrior, he already knew that these bastards¡¯ heads were their weak points. He wanted to see if he could somehow catch him off-guard.

    If Ya Zhang were still alive, then such an ambush would never have worked, given the gap in their cultivation. However, he was now a dried corpse, and the rity of his mind and the flexibility of his body should surely be in an inferior state. It seemed like a worthwhile gamble to Zu An.

    Sure enough, his n worked! Zu An was overjoyed as he saw his sword shing towards his opponent¡¯s head.

    The sword was on the verge of entering the back of his head when a deep bellow reached his ears, and a massive figure rammed into his body.

    The bull statue was protecting its owner! Zu An felt as if he had been hit by a fire truck, and his body was sent flying.

    Blood spurted out of Zu An¡¯s mouth, and half of his body went numb from the pain. Any normal cultivator would have had half of their ribs crushed, and he would have suffered the same fate as well, if not for his special constitution.

    That bull charged at him again, its massive horns glinting with a murderous light. If they scored a blow, the tomb floor would be covered in his internal organs.

    ¡°Ah Zu, be careful!¡± Pei Mianman flew towards him as well. Her fair hand swept out, releasing a ck fireball that exploded against the onrushing bull.

    The bull cried out, leaping about in anguish. Unfortunately, these ck mes were extraordinary, and the bull was unable to extinguish them no matter how hard it tried.

    General Ya Zhang was by its side in an instant, reaching out a hand to caress its back. A ck mist spread across the bull¡¯s body, slowly extinguishing the mes as it spread across it.

    He looked coldly at Pei Mianman. ¡°You¡¯ve hurt my beloved bull. Die!¡±

 Chapter 528: Letâ€™s Make a Deal

    <h4>Chapter 528: Let¡¯s Make a Deal</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    He brandished his long spear as he stalked forward one step after another, closing in on Pei Mianman. ¡°Be careful!¡± cried out anxiously.

    The impact had left him struggling for breath, and there was no way for him to help her even if he wanted to.

    However, Pei Mianman didn¡¯t panic. She weaved to and fro, leaning backwards and avoiding her opponent¡¯s vicious attack. Her movements were extremely graceful, as though she were performing a beautiful dance instead of fighting a battle where her life was on the line.

    Zu An felt immensely relieved for her. He wasn¡¯t that concerned about Pei Mianman¡¯s flexibility. Instead, his mind was on her voluptuous chest. It was easy enough for the rest of her to avoid the deadly spear, but if she was stabbed in the chest, she would surely die.

    Fortunately, she had ounted for that as well. She bent backwards, almost touching the ground, and the spear passed barely half an inch above her.

    Zu An let out the breath he was holding. He btedly realized that she was clearly used to her own body. She¡¯d grown into it, and had been fighting for many years with it, which meant that she was in tune with what it could and couldn¡¯t do. There was no need for him to be worried for her at all, at least not about this.

    However, what he saw next made his heart race with anxiety once again. Having missed his first blow, General Ya Zhang immediately shed his spear back towards her. Pei Mianman had leaned so far backwards that she was practically parallel to the ground, and there was no way for her to avoid it.

    He was just about to rush forward to help when he saw Pei Mianman reach out her hand. She tapped it lightly against the spear, and she somehow managed to regain her bnce. She pivoted about on her toes, her body bending like a willow branch, bending and weaving around the spear as it moved.

    Ya Zhang swung his spear about, but it seemed there was no way for him to injure her. On the contrary, he seemed to be at a bit of a disadvantage. He wasn¡¯t able to bring the powerful strength of his spear to bear.

    ¡°Entangling Feathersilk Art!¡± Zu An immediately recognized this movement technique. This was a close-quarters technique that she had taught him previously, and she was a skilled proponent of it. He had no idea that it could be used like this.

    Again, it btedly struck him that Pei Mianman wasn¡¯t the delicate sort of girl that needed protection. Rather, she was a rare cultivation genius. It was only because of this dungeon, and all the unknown things within it, that she was left rather shaken. Thanks to the strange snakes, ghosts, and other oddities that had popped up one after another, she had only been able to disy fifty to sixty percent of her abilities. Herpromised state was why she had been in danger several times, and he had to step in to save her.

    She had finally managed to recover her usual air of dangerous seduction, perhaps because she had gotten used to her surroundings, or because something had happened while she passed through the barrier that had sealed the entrance to this tomb. Despite facing someone who was clearly far stronger than her, she didn¡¯t seem at all as though she was at a disadvantage.

    Zu An didn¡¯t waste time admiring this. With Pei Mianman upying General Ya Zhang¡¯s spear, he took the opportunity to thrust his Tai¡¯e Sword at the general¡¯s skull.

    The water buffalo had recovered by now. With a loud bellow, it ran over to help its master again.

    Zu An was prepared for this. He took out a pair of red underpants from his Brilliant ss Bead and waved it in front of the onrushing bull.

    Ever since he¡¯d obtained the wonderful spatial artifact that was the Brilliant ss Bead, Zu An had filled it up with all manner of things. Aside from several treasures, he also kept all sorts of daily necessities within it.

    As for the red underpants, it wasn¡¯t because he had a weird fetish or thought it was a lucky color. He had underpants of all colors inside it¡ªorange, red, blue, purple, green¡­ Wait, no¡­ No green underpants.

    The bull¡¯s eyes immediately became bloodshot when it saw red, and charged straight at the pair of underpants.

    Zu An tossed the red underpants at the wall, and the bull followed after it, ramming straight into the wall.

    With a loud boom, the bull smashed its head into the wall, sendingrge chunks of debris tumbling down.

    The walls of this tomb weren''t made of normal dirt. They were special, made of dirt that had beenpressed through repeated hammering, and then mixed with glutinous rice, tung oil, and other adhesive materials. It was so tough that regr des would have been unable to leave a mark.

    Despite this, a part of it was still shattered by the bull¡¯s charge. It was easy to imagine just how powerful it was.

    Of course, there was no way the bull would be unaffected. It was left dizzy and confused. Its horns were embedded deep into the wall, and no matter how hard it tried, it couldn¡¯t free itself. It would take a while before it was able to rejoin the fray.

    Excitement shimmered in Zu An¡¯s eyes. This was the opening he needed to pierce General Ya Zhang¡¯s skull. However, a bronze hand suddenly appeared in front of him, blocking his lethal strike.

    There was a loud clunk, and he felt a tremendous force travel up the body of his sword, almost knocking it right out of his hands. The bronze hand shot towards him again.

    In a panic, Zu An brought the longsword in front of his chest to block the blow, but even so, he was unable topletely ward off this attack, and the hand struck his chest. If it had been anyone else with his cultivation level, they would have been knocked out right away.

    Pei Mianman was finally unable to handle the attacks from the general¡¯s spear, and was flung to the side.

    Both of them were breathing heavily, having exhausted quite a bit of energy during that brief exchange.

    ¡°Big sis empress, I¡¯m really going to die if you don¡¯t help us!¡± Zu An cried out in despair. There was no way he could beat this general. In the face of absolute strength, all his techniques and strategies were meaningless.

    He could tell that General Ya Zhang was at least at the ninth rank, but his cultivation could easily surpass the master rank. The difference between the two of them was so great that he couldn¡¯t properly gauge it.

    Fortunately, Mi Li wasn¡¯t feigning sleep. Instead, she replied calmly, ¡°It¡¯s not as though you have no way of dealing with him yourself. Why are you asking me?¡±

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°I do?¡±

    Mi Li said, ¡°The second level of the Primordial Origin Sutra can ward away evil. It is the bane of the undead! Isn¡¯t that what you used to purify the twenty thousand departed spirits previously?¡±

    Zu An stared nkly.

    Mi Li¡¯s expression grew a little strange when she saw his reaction. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me¡­ you don¡¯t remember?¡±

    Now that he¡¯d been reminded of it, Zu An finally remembered. He couldn¡¯t help but scowl. ¡°I really did forget.¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Sometimes, knowing too many things wasn¡¯t necessarily a good thing. It was easy to forget his techniques.

    If he had remembered, he wouldn¡¯t have been in so much danger on that staircase! He could havepletely destroyed them!

    Then again, those were all Jiangjiang¡¯s nsmen. If she¡¯d found out that their spirits had been extinguished, their conversation might not have gone so smoothly.

    He wondered if the Primordial Origin Sutra could deal with the Guman Tong as well¡­

    I guess I managed to make it this far because of those mistakes, though.

    Even though he tried to console himself in this fashion, Zu An was still rather sullen. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you remind me about this earlier?¡±

    Mi Li smirked. ¡°You were constantly relying on the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, so I thought you were intent on training yourself while being close to the brink of death. Besides, you seem to constantly want to fashion dangerous situations in order to steal the heart of that big-boobed sis. Either way, you got through all of this more scared than hurt, so why would I stop you?¡±

    Zu An could not believe what he was hearing.

    Do you think I¡¯m that shameless? I would rely on my own charms if I ever wanted to steal a girl¡¯s heart, okay?!

    ¡°Ah Zu, be careful!¡±

    Pei Mianman¡¯s cry brought him out of his reverie. General Ya Zhang¡¯s spear was flying towards Zu An. The general was clearly upset by how his beloved cow had been deceived and bullied.

    Zu An began to draw upon his Primordial Origin Sutra, applying the primordial ki to his Tai¡¯e Sword. At the same time, he began to mutter to himself, ¡°Return to dust, this is not your home, cease¡­¡±

    Before he could finish his incantation, General Ya Zhang stopped, holding out a hand to forestall him. ¡°Wait, we can talk this out! Let''s make a deal!¡±

    Even though his voice was cryptic and hard to understand, Zu An could just about make out what he was saying.

    Zu An was surprised. This fellow was actually still intelligent! He was simr to that girl outside. ¡°What kind of deal?¡±

    General Ya Zhang wiped a hand across his forehead when he saw Zu An stop, as if he was wiping away his sweat. Then again, how could he sweat in his current condition? ¡°I know that you might possess a way of harming me, so there is no need to continue fighting. I can bring you to the trial left behind by the Shang monarchs.¡±

 Chapter 529: The Destined Ones

    <h4>Chapter 529: The Destined Ones</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An was astounded by what he was hearing.

    He couldn¡¯t help himself. ¡°Bro, where¡¯s your integrity?¡± he yelled at the general. He didn¡¯t even feel like calling this corpse ¡®elder¡¯ anymore.

    Even though General Ya Zhang had never heard of the word ¡®integrity¡¯ before, he could more or less guess at the meaning. ¡°I am in charge of guarding this ce and preventing intruders from entering. My job is to wait until the destined onese to undergo the trial. I can tell that you two are fated to take the trial, so there is no need for us to fight anymore.¡±

    Pei Mianman came up to Zu An to find out just what the hell was going on. This dried up corpse had been hostile and aggressive a second ago, yet its attitude hadpletely changed in an instant.

    Zu An told her through voice transmission that he had a means to eliminate evil spirits.

    Pei Mianman beamed. She was pleasantly surprised at first, but then it hit her¡ªif this was the case, why did they bother letting themselves get beaten up in the first ce?

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    As if he could read her mind, Zu An exined awkwardly, ¡°I know too many things, so I sort of forgot about it¡­¡±

    Pei Mianman stared at him in disbelief.

    To hide his embarrassment, Zu An quickly turned to the general and asked, ¡°How do you deduce if someone is destined?¡±

    He left out the second part of his question. Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re calling me some destined one just because I have a way to hurt you¡­

    General Ya Zhang had already walked over to the wall. He stabbed his spear into the ground, and freed his bull from the wall.

    The bull was still dizzy after being pulled free, but when it saw Zu An, it bellowed and prepared to charge again.

    General Ya Zhang ced his hand on its back and caressed it gently, and it gradually calmed down. The two of them seemed to share a special understanding.

    The general finally replied to Zu An¡¯s question. ¡°First of all, the trial must be attempted by both a man and woman at the same time. If only a single man or woman entered, they would not be the destined ones. Furthermore¡­¡±

    He paused for a moment, and then he turned his dried-up head towards Pei Mianman. ¡°There is a familiar auraing from her.¡±

    Pei Mianman stared at him in puzzlement.

    Zu An recalled the strange things that had happened to her along the way, and quickly asked, ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    General Ya Zhang replied, ¡°She seems to possess the aura of a Shang queen.¡±

    ¡°A Shang queen?¡± Zu An frowned. ¡°Which queen?¡±

    General Ya Zhang shook his head. ¡°It isn¡¯t a specific queen. Instead, I sense many queens within her.¡±

    Zu An narrowed his eyes.

    What the hell is this? Is this guying up with bullsh*t just to swindle me?

    Pei Mianman was a little frightened when she heard this, and subconsciously leaned against Zu An, as if he was her only source of reassurance.

    Zu An held herfortingly.

    Mi Li¡¯s voice whispered into his ear, ¡°Kid, your luck with girls really is good. Who knows, even queens from another dynasty might be joining you in bed.¡±

    She immediately regretted these words when they came out of her mouth. Wasn¡¯t she a queen herself?

    Zu An rolled his eyes. ¡°Manman is just Manman, how can she be anyone else? I refuse to believe in such coincidences. How likely is it for us to run into another queen like you who isn¡¯t dead yet?¡±

    Mi Li sniffed. She also knew that such a thing was rather unlikely. Her circumstances were exceedingly unique. Who else could end up with her rotten luck?

    ¡°Follow me,¡± General Ya Zhang said.

    He bent his knees slightly, then leapt up to the surface. The bull mooed a couple of times, then jumped out as well. It was difficult to imagine how something with such a stout body could leap so gracefully.

    Zu An and Pei Mianman exchanged nces, then followed their lead as well.

    Seeing that the two of them had exited the tomb pit as well, Ya Zhang turned and led the way, his bull following alongside.

    It was reassuring to know that the guardian of the ce was personally leading the way.

    Despite this, though, Zu An wasn¡¯t ready topletely let down his guard. He exchanged nces with Pei Mianman, and saw that she was doing the same. Both of them remained vignt, ready to act instantly if anything strange urred.

    Zu An needed to know more, so he asked, ¡°Excuse me, General. Are you Ya Zhang?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Ya Zhang replied. ¡°My name is Ya. Zhang is my tribe.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°You aren¡¯t a member of the Shang?¡±

    Ya Zhang replied, ¡°My tribe served the Shang monarch, so we can be considered half-Shang.¡±

    ¡°It looks like the Shang monarch trusted you quite a bit since he put you in charge of guarding the tomb.¡± Zu An showered him with a healthy dose of praise. He didn¡¯t know if this fellow was a man or a ghost, but whatever he was, he would probably like hearing something like this.

    Sure enough, a proud look appeared on Ya Zhang¡¯s face. ¡°I have made countless heroic contributions to the Shang monarch, and my rank in the military is second only to Fu Hao. I am ranked beneath her not because my achievements are beneath hers, but because of her status as the queen.¡±

    ¡°Fu Hao?¡± Zu An recalled the history lesson Mi Li had given him as they perused the murals in the pce earlier.

    ¡°But the queen is an amazing woman, beautiful and excellent in battle. I have noints about being ranked beneath her.¡± Ya Zhang¡¯s voice seemed to color with a different sort of feeling.

    Zu An smiled. ¡°It seems like the general admires Fu Hao quite a bit.¡±

    Ya Zhang¡¯s ¡®face¡¯ changed. ¡°Please do not say such irresponsible things! If His Majesty heard that, we would be offered up as living sacrifices.¡±

    As he said this, he looked all around him in panic, as though he was scared of something.

    A sudden thought struck Zu An. ¡°Is your monarch still alive?¡±

    Ya Zhang shook his head. ¡°My beloved bull and I are the only ones left in the tomb. I have always revered His Majesty and the queen like deities. It was an instinctive reaction.¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°You only mentioned that you were afraid of incurring the wrath of your king. You did not dismiss your adoration of Fu Hao.¡±

    Ya Zhang stiffened, and remained silent for a long while. Eventually, he sighed deeply. ¡°Who wouldn¡¯t adore a heroic figure like the empress? But everyone reveres her like a deity. None of us have any other inappropriate thoughts.¡±

    Pei Mianman couldn¡¯t help but pinch Zu An¡¯s waist. Why was this fe so gossipy? He was being rather rude towards these ancient people.

    Zu An judged it a good enough time to cut the small talk, so he used the momentum of the conversation to pivot to what was important. ¡°By the way, what is the nature of this trial that you mentioned?¡±

    ¡°I do not know what kind of trial awaits you inside either. The two of you must explore it yourselves.¡± Ya Zhang paused for a moment, then added, ¡°Let me offer you a warning. Several pairs entered the trial over the past ten thousand years, all of them giants among men. Their strength were far greater than yours, but none of them passed the trial.¡±

    Pei Mianman¡¯s face drained of color, and she quickly asked, ¡°What happens if you fail the trial?¡±

    ¡°Death, of course.¡± Ya Zhang looked at her, and his voice became much gentler. ¡°But you two do not need to be too worried. Even though your cultivation levels are lower than the others, he has many secrets on him, while you have the aura of the queens. Who knows, the two of you might really be able to unlock the secrets of this dungeon.¡±

    Zu An asked, ¡°What if we don¡¯t participate in the trial? Is there a way to leave this dungeon?¡±

    Since his primordial ki was enough to ovee the general, it was not absolutely necessary to take the trial.

    Ya Zhang shook his head. ¡°There isn''t. You can only leave this ce by passing the trial. Also you must participate as quickly as possible, or else you will be assimted into this dungeon, and your bodies will be a part of the dungeon as well.¡±

    Their expressions immediately grew rmed, and they quickly examined their own bodies. Sure enough, their ki was flowing out of their bodies at an extremely slow rate. They had initially put it down to fatigue after all the constant fighting, but now they knew that it was a consequence of just being in this dungeon.

    Pei Mianman bit her lip. She had just confirmed her rtionship with Zu An earlier, and she had wanted to enjoy a bit of peace with her lover here. Now, it looked like they wouldn¡¯t have that chance.

    ¡°In that case, General, do you know where we can find the jade badge of the Eastern Barbarians?¡± Zu An asked gravely. His agreement with the Eastern Barbarian princess was still firmly on his mind.

    ¡°The jade badge?¡± Ya Zhang thought for a moment. ¡°I have an impression of something like that. The queen was quite fond of it in the past, I believe, so His Majesty buried it with her in her tomb. You can enter the queen¡¯s tomb once you pass the trial.¡±

    Zu Anughed bitterly. It seemed like there was no other choice but to take the trial.

    By this time, they had reached arge hall. When they saw the interior of it, both Pei Mianman and Zu An were shell-shocked.

 Chapter 530: Roiling and Churning

    <h4>Chapter 530: Roiling and Churning</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Inside the pce, rows of meat hung in midair.

    Zu An¡¯s first reaction was that they were some form of preserved meat, but that didn¡¯t seem right. When he looked more carefully, he realized that they were human corpses!

    The internal organs of these human corpses had been emptied out, and their bodies were cut open down the middle and hung from the ceiling by hooks. They looked like livestock hung up on a butcher¡¯s line.

    Pei Mianman let out the breath she had been holding. ¡°How could there be such cruelty in this world?¡±

    Zu An also felt extremely disturbed. Even though they had seen many sacrificial pits along the way, the sacrifices within them had already turned to bones, and so the visual shock wasn¡¯t as great.

    These dried-up corpses had been air-dried, and had not turned to bone. Not only that, their bodies were disyed the way butchered livestock would be.

    Even though he had always been aware of the concept of human sacrifices, it was never something he hade into personal contact with. He never expected to actually see humans treated as livestock one day!

    ¡°This wasn¡¯t a form of punishment, but rather a sacrificial method known as mao sacrifice.¡± General Ya Zhang replied hurriedly, as though Pei Mianman¡¯s question had caused him some distress.

    ¡°Mao sacrifice?¡± Zu An pondered on this a moment. These corpses were cut open down the middle¡­ their remains did resemble the ¡®mao¡¯ (Ã®) character.

    General Ya Zhang continued, ¡°When we offered sacrifices to the heavens, the best offerings were human sacrifices. We offered their internal organs, their blood, and the head. As for the other parts of the human sacrifice, these could be roasted, boiled, stewed, or air-dried into dried meat¡­¡±

    ¡°Stop, stop, stop!¡± Zu An was scared witless. ¡°Stop talking about this as though you¡¯re making food!¡±

    ¡°We are preparing food, though.¡± General Ya Zhang had a bewildered expression on his face. ¡°After all, they are food offered to the deities. ording to our customs, as the deities enjoy the offerings, they will bestow their blessings upon them. That is why, once the ceremony ends, these blessed offerings be delicacies that only the few of high status could partake of.¡±

    Zu An almost did not want to process what he was hearing.

    He felt his stomach churning. It was all too distressing to listen to.

    Pei Mianman wasn¡¯t faring much better. She ran off to the side and began to retch.

    They didn¡¯t dare linger in this ce any longer, and quickly proceeded onwards. Soon afterwards, they arrived in front of a tribute altar with all manner of bronze tools arranged on it. Mi Li had told him the names of these articles before, but the words were all so unfamiliar that he didn¡¯t remember a single one of them.

    Some of the te-like vessels held a sort of paste. He was rather astounded. After all, after ten thousand years, even things stored in freezers would have decayed into nothingness. Why did they still seem to retain the same appearance that they had during the ceremony? It appeared that there was a mysterious power preserving all of this.

    Seeing them staring at the paste-like substance, General Ya Zhang stepped in to exin. ¡°This is the minced-meat sacrifice, which is created by mincing human flesh into a paste. Those who are of high status, usually the leaders of a faction, are used in this sort of sacrifice. Such a sacrifice is considered extremely precious. Would the two of you like to give it a taste?¡±

    He scooped up a bit of paste from one of the tes and offered it to the two of them.

    ¡°No, no, no!¡± Zu An and Pei Mianman both backed away quickly, waving their hands vigorously.

    This is too bloody hardcore, man! What the hell is wrong with these Shang Dynasty people!

    Zu An suddenly remembered that the ¡®Investiture of the Gods¡¯ described how the Zhou King would not hesitate to have people chopped up into mincemeat. For example, both Bo Yikao, the eldest son of King Wen of Zhou, and Queen Jiang¡¯s father were chopped up into mincemeat andter eaten.

    He¡¯d held onto the belief that this was just something made up in order to make the Zhou monarch look like a brutal freak. Now, he knew that this was actually amon sacrificial method used in the Shang Dynasty!

    ¡°What a pity.¡± General Ya Zhang shook his head at the two of them, as though they were ignorant of the luxuries in life. He ced his finger into his mouth and had a taste. ¡°It¡¯s been so long since I¡¯ve enjoyed such a delicacy. Thank you for waking me up again.¡±

    Zu An and Pei Mianman stared at him, speechless.

    The two of them were on the verge of a breakdown. They felt extremely ufortable walking next to a cannibal.

    Zu An pulled Pei Mianman closer to him as they continued on swiftly. Thest thing he wanted to do was to stay in a ce with human mincemeat.

    As they walked on, they encountered arge bronze cauldron in the middle of their path. It was different from the empty cauldron outside. This one was filled up with what looked like some sort of meat jelly, or a mass of solidified grease.

    Zu An had a look of helplessness on his face. ¡°You don¡¯t have to tell me. This is also human flesh, right?¡±

    Ya Zhang nodded. ¡°This cauldron can cook more than forty people at once. Only the king¡¯s cauldron is allowed to be this massive.¡±

    His tone was full of adoration and envy. He ced his dried-up hand along the edge of the cauldron, and waves of ck smoke spread out from it. The chunks of meat jello inside began to melt, and they could see bits of recognizably-human pieces bobbing up and down inside.

    Pei Mianman didn¡¯t dare give the contents another look and hid behind Zu An. Out of sight, out of mind.

    Zu An¡¯s heart was pounding as well. Seeing General Ya Zhang¡¯s expression of excitement, he quickly said, ¡°Excuse me for saying this, but if you fish some of that out again and start eating, I¡¯m going to exorcise evil here and now, and to hell with whatever trial awaits!¡±

    General Ya Zhang looked confused. ¡°Divine sacrifices are the most solemn and sacred things in the world. These offerings have been blessed by the deities themselves. How can any of this be evil?¡±

    Zu An knew that the general was expressing his honest beliefs, because this was how the people of Yinshang were like. That was why he did not be enraged. ¡°Human sacrifices have long been abolished inter generations. Can you please not do this in front of us?¡±

    ¡°Fine.¡± General Ya Zhang could sense the primordial ki swirling around his sword, so there was nothing he could do. He didn¡¯t press the issue, and removed his hand from the cauldron. The meat jello that was starting to boil gradually stopped simmering.

    A thought surfaced in Zu An¡¯s mind, and he remembered the request that the Eastern Barbarian princess had made. ¡°Use your spear and poke around inside for me. See if there¡¯s a head inside,¡± he asked General Ya Zhang.

    He didn¡¯t want to do it himself. The pot of meat jelly was just too big, and to be honest, it really was quite horrifying to look at.

    ¡°A head?¡± General Ya Zhang wasn¡¯t sure what he wanted, but he still stirred the pot with his spear.

    Zu An stared at it ufortably. He saw several heads, but none of them seemed like they belonged to a youngdy.

    He gave up the search, and they continued on through the grand hall.

    After they had covered some more ground, General Ya Zhang announced, ¡°We¡¯ve arrived at the location for the trial.¡±

    Zu An and Pei Mianman looked at what was in front of them. There were all sorts of patterns carved on the walls, from murals to formations.

    At the very center of it all was a small circr tform, and a strange bronze artifact sat on it. This bronze artifact only had three legs, and it was shaped like a bird.

    ¡°Is that the Three-legged Golden Crow?¡±[1] This was Zu An¡¯s first reaction, but he quickly shook his head and dismissed the idea. He noticed that thest leg wasn¡¯t a leg, but the tail feathers of the bird.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The entire bronze artifact was covered in patterns. Its beak and breast were adorned with cicadas, and feather patterns covered its head. The underside was decorated with depictions of Kui,[2] and a twin-headed Kui was drawn on each side. Long, coiling snakes wound around its wings, interspersed with rhombus patterns. The head of a beast was stamped behind its neck, and soaring wings decorated the rest of its back.

    The design of the bird was quite intricate, and it was truly a sight to behold.

    General Ya Zhang looked at this bronze artifact with eyes full of adoration. ¡°This is the queen¡¯s favorite owl statue, and marks the entrance to the trial.¡±

    The people of Yinshang believed that this quiet bird that roamed the night was full of mystery, like an emissary sent by the deities. That was why they had made such a fine and detailed statue of the owl.

    These statues were also ancient wine vessels.

    Zu An immediately asked a key question. ¡°How do we start the trial?¡±

    General Ya Zhang pointed at the statue. ¡°You can enter if each of you holds onto one of the wings of the owl statue. I wish you two the best of luck.¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t walk over to it right away. Instead, he turned to Pei Mianman and said, ¡°Manman, we don¡¯t know what awaits us in this trial. Let¡¯s take some time to rest first.¡±

    This was exactly what she was thinking as well. The two of them took some medicine then sat down to rest. They had fought battle after battle to get here, and were both quite exhausted. It was only natural for them to want to regain their peak condition before taking on the challenge of this dangerous trial.

    General Ya Zhang shook his head. The corners of his lips curved upwards, as if smiling in ridicule. Not a single pair had seeded after all these years, and these two possessed the weakest cultivation. What difference would a little more preparation make?

    1. The Three-legged Golden Crow is a divine bird in ancient Chinese mythology, and is said to reside in the center of the sun.

    2. Kui are one-legged mountain demons of Chinese mythology

 Chapter 531: The Unexpected Beginning of a Trial

    <h4>Chapter 531: The Unexpected Beginning of a Trial</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    While the two of them were resting and recovering, Pei Mianman sent Zu An a voice transmission. ¡°Ah Zu, you have to be carefulter on. We cannot trust this Ya Zhang character.¡±

    ¡°Indeed.¡± Zu An nodded. ¡°There might be some hidden traps on that owl statue. But we¡¯ll talk about this more after we recover.¡±

    ¡°All right.¡± Pei Mianman had no objections. She began to focus all her attention on her recovery.

    Zu An regted his breathing while asking Mi Li, ¡°Big sis empress, do you think there¡¯s anything wrong with that owl statue?¡±

    Mi Li¡¯s soul body appeared, but of course, only Zu An, who was bound to her, could see her. ¡°I checked it out earlier and didn¡¯t see any hidden mechanisms. If it really is as Ya Zhang says, that no one has ever passed the trial, then there¡¯s no need to set up any traps. Those who enter will die anyway.¡±

    Zu An saw her expression and grew curious. ¡°Since it¡¯s already so dangerous, why aren¡¯t you stopping me from entering?¡±

    ¡°Why do I need to stop you?¡± Mi Li looked at him in confusion. ¡°The greater the risk, the greater the return. Now that we know that there are bountiful rewards waiting at the end of the trial, I¡¯d have to be mad to stop you.¡±

    Zu An was left speechless for a moment. ¡°But Ya Zhang said that many others with cultivation levels far above ours failed to pass the trial,¡± he finally managed.

    Although cultivation was only one aspect of a person, more often than not, cultivation also represented an individual¡¯s ability, aptitude, and luck. Putting aside age and opportunities, those with higher cultivation usually possessed more intelligence and wisdom. If so many geniuses had failed before, what hope would they have of sess?

    Mi Li frowned when she heard what he said. ¡°Preposterous! Cultivators should be unyielding, and be willing to challenge all odds! If you¡¯re always so scared that you¡¯re about to sh*t your pants all the time, what¡¯s the point of cultivating at all?!¡±

    Zu An became gloomy. ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯m scared of dying¡­ I just don¡¯t want to bring you down with me too. Our souls are bound together, so if I die, you¡¯ll die too. Fifth rank cultivators like me are a dime a dozen¡ªif I die, then so be it, but you¡¯re a powerful expert. It¡¯ll be too much of a pity if you end up dying because of me.¡±

    Mi Li was stunned by his words, and her expression immediately softened. ¡°So you were worried about me. Don¡¯t worry, I believe in you. Only if you be stronger will I have a greater chance of reforging my body in the future.¡±

    Zu An wanted to cry. Telling him that she believed in him didn¡¯t make him feel better at all. He didn¡¯t even have any confidence in himself to begin with.

    As if she could sense his uncertainty, Mi Li continued, ¡°Do you think I only said that as mere constion? I really do believe in you, because I¡¯ve seen what you are capable of. You have endless miraculous skills at your disposal, and you¡¯re a crafty person yourself. I refuse to believe that the Shang monarch¡¯s trial can defeat someone who managed to conquer Ying Zheng¡¯s three formations. If you managed to survive even that, what¡¯s there to worry about with a trial like this?¡±

    Zu An was stunned. You¡¯re actually right¡­ Ying Zheng was none other than one of history¡¯s most powerful emperors! He was the one who unified all of China, establishing traditions thatsted thousands of years. To a certain degree, he was like the emperor of emperors.

    Even though the Shang Dynasty was powerful, it was still inferior to the Qin Dynasty. Their monarchs and the talents they possessed would never be able to match up to those of the First Emperor. Since he¡¯d even faced off against this First Emperor, what else did he have to be afraid of?

    Mi Li¡¯s voice softened further. ¡°Besides, even if you really did fail the trial, at worst, I¡¯ll just die with you. I don¡¯t even think it¡¯s that big of a deal, so what are you getting worried for?¡±

    Zu An finally regained his usual confident and easygoing manner. ¡°When you put it like that, it sounds as though we¡¯re meeting death together in the name of love. I didn¡¯t think that you cared so much for me, big sis empress.¡±

    Mi Li rolled her eyes. ¡°Save your smooth talk for your big-boobed sis over there. It¡¯s useless on me.¡±

    Zu An looked exasperated. ¡°Manman has a name, you know? Why do you keep calling her that?¡±

    Mi Li gave Pei Mianman a sidelong nce. Her gaze hovered over her chest, and she mumbled, ¡°Who asked her to have such big boobs.¡±

    Zu An could only shake his head.

    After this brief period of rest, the two of them were more or less prepared. Even though they hadn¡¯tpletely recovered, they were about ny percent there. Further rest would be meaningless, as they could feel their ki beginning to disappear at a faster rate. If they waited around any longer, they might truly begin to assimte into the surrounding dungeon.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An had a question for Ya Zhang. ¡°Does the soul alone enter the trial, or does the body enter as well?¡±

    ¡°To be honest, I do not know too much about what the trial is all about,¡± Ya Zhang replied in a low voice. ¡°However, this is a question I can answer. It is your soul that enters, because the previous men and women who undertook this trial remained next to the owl statue even after their trial had begun.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed. ¡°Doesn¡¯t that mean that you can kill us once we begin the trial?¡±

    He was fully aware that Ya Zhang was only treating them well right now because of the threat of his primordial ki. After all, this dried-up corpse had wanted to kill him before.

    ¡°You do not need to worry about that,¡± replied Ya Zhang. Once the trial begins, a formation will protect you. The owl statue that the empress left behind will grant you protection from any external force, and this protection will only disappear after the trial ends.

    ¡°Furthermore, I will havepleted my task once you start the trial, and I will return to my coffin and sleep. After all, this trial might go on for a long time. I do not have the patience to wait for it to reach its conclusion.¡±

    Zu An figured as much. There was no way the Shang monarch would set up something like this just to kill someone.

    Despite this, he didn¡¯t dare to trust Ya Zhangpletely. As he wrestled with this conflict, Mi Li¡¯s voice came from beside him. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll take care of things on this end. Even if that protective formation doesn¡¯t exist, that dried-up corpse general won¡¯t be able to hurt you.¡±

    Zu An was overjoyed. Mi Li would never say something that she wasn¡¯t able to aplish. ¡°There¡¯s nothing I need to worry about, then. Oh, you have to protect Manman too.¡±

    He remembered her poor attitude towards Pei Mianman the entire time, and was btedly worried that she might not do anything to protect her. It would be toote for regrets then.

    Mi Li did not take his implications well.

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for 22¡­ 22¡­ 22¡­

    ¡°Do I really seem like such a malicious person to you?¡± Mi Li asked with a frosty stare.

    ¡°It¡¯s not maliciousness, but killing decisively,¡± replied Zu An. ¡°That¡¯s something people of your status would probably do.¡±

    Mi Li sniffed disdainfully. ¡°Killing decisively doesn¡¯t mean acting stupidly. This trial clearly requires the both of you in order to seed. If I let your big-boobed sis die without doing anything, wouldn¡¯t I be harming you as well? That¡¯s the same as harming myself.¡±

    Zu An let himself rx. What Mi Li said made a lot of sense. ¡°Sorry, big sis empress. I was too small-minded, and judged you unfairly.¡±

    Mi Li turned her away, not bothering with him any further.

    ¡°I¡¯ll leave it to you, then,¡± said Zu An as he smiled awkwardly. With that, he and Pei Mianman went to the owl statue.

    Pei Mianman wasn¡¯t stupid, and let him know of her own worries through ki transmission. She too was afraid that Ya Zhang might try something.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve already taken care of that,¡± Zu An reassured her.

    Pei Mianman set aside her worries. Ever since she¡¯d met Zu An, she had known him to be reliable when dealing with important matters. Since he said so, she was sure that they would face no problems.

    She didn¡¯t know why she trusted this man so much. Her past self would have thought that she¡¯d gone crazy.

    Zu An held her hand to prevent something unexpected from happeningter on. Then, they put their hands on the owl¡¯s wings as Ya Zhang instructed. They sent their ki and their minds inside.

    The owl statue suddenly erupted in a burst of golden light. All of the patterns adorning its body lit up, making it incredibly dazzling to look at.

    Before the two of them could tell what exactly had happened, they felt as if they were being pulled into a giant whirlpool. Then, they lost consciousness.

    ¡­

    A whileter, Zu An woke up in a groggy state. He found himself lying on a luxurious ivory bed. There was even a mist-like muslin veil around it.

    He sat up, and all of the covers fell off of his body. He discovered with shock that he was stark naked.

    Before he could process what was happening, a charming feminine moan came from beside him.

 Chapter 532: What Exactly is Being Tested?

    <h4>Chapter 532: What Exactly is Being Tested?</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An turned around and saw a youngdy lying next to him. He couldn¡¯t see her face clearly because of the long back hair falling across her face in waves. However, when he got up and the sheets fell off his body, it left a ratherrge expanse of snow white skin exposed.

    Even though he only caught a glimpse, he could already imagine her seductive figure. Her skin was glowing, and absolutely captivating. Zu An immediately felt his body grow stiff.

    ¡°Something¡¯s not right with this opening!¡±

    Zu An swallowed, and began to ponder hard.

    ording to Ya Zhang¡¯s description, no one had ever passed this trial before. That meant that this trial was probably extremely dangerous, yet the environment he found himself in was ridiculously extravagant, and did not seem dangerous at all.

    Was the greatest danger of this trial the woman beside him?

    Setting a honey trap against me? Oh man, this is super effective¡­

    Wait, where¡¯s Big Manman?

    This sudden thought made his expression warp. He looked all around him, but aside from the youngdy next to him, there wasn¡¯t another person in sight.

    Wait, these spectacr waves look somewhat familiar.

    The youngdy next to him moaned in a charming fashion. She was about to wake up.

    The sound came out of her so naturally, like a cool breeze blowing between the mountains, the song of an oriole, and even a hint of sultry seduction. It was enough to make any man¡¯s heart go wild.

    Zu An¡¯s entire body went rigid. He felt as if he was about to explode. However, there was something else that he was considering: How was he supposed to exin the current situation to her?

    This is just like the beginning of a damn soap opera! Wait, no¡­ a soap opera wouldn¡¯t dare let the actors really go this far.

    The youngdy gradually woke up. She sat up subconsciously, and seemed just about to look around her.

    But she suddenly sensed the chill on her chest, and swiftly realized that she wasn¡¯t covered at all.

    She screamed in rm and covered her chest, but there was no way her dainty fingers were enough to cover those majestic peaks.

    Zu An felt his nose grow terribly hot. It felt as though blood might gush out at any time.

    By now, though, he had already recognized who she was. Heughed and said, ¡°You know, in this sort of situation, the first thing you should cover is your face.¡±

    The youngdy realized that a man was beside her, and was just about to go crazy when she recognized his familiar and yful voice. She was ovee with surprise and joy. ¡°Ah Zu?¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°Big Manman, it¡¯s me~¡±

    He wanted to exchange a warm gaze with her, but his eyes were sucked downwards, as though drawn by a ma.

    Pei Mianman noticed his gaze moving, and her devastatingly charming face flushedpletely red. Her beautiful peach-blossom eyes were shrouded with a watery mist.

    ¡°Do you like them?¡± Her voice sounded even more lovely than usual.

    ¡°I do¡­¡± Zu An nodded subconsciously, but quickly realized what he¡¯d said and frantically tried to exin himself. ¡°Um¡­ I wasn¡¯t looking on purpose! When I woke up, we were already like this¡­¡±

    He knew that the women of this world cared a lot about their chastity. Even though Pei Mianman was usually flirtatious and charming, he knew that it was just a front. She was actually still a maiden. Now that a man had seen all of her, she might be furious and ashamed.

    Before he could finish blurting out an excuse, a soft finger pressed against his lips. ¡°You dummy, what are you getting so nervous about? Do you see me using you?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Zu An blinked. His mind couldn¡¯t process what was happening.

    Pei Mianman slowly leaned into him. She pressed her cheek against his chest, and she said with a gentle voice, ¡°I was about to go mad when I woke up and realized that I was naked, with a man beside me. I was just about to kill him when I realized that it was you.¡±

    ¡°So what if it¡¯s me?¡± Zu An felt his heart racing as he took in her beautiful fragrance, and he subconsciously wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

    The feel of her bare skin under his hand made him feel as though he was in heaven.

    Pei Mianman pursed her lips, then tilted her head up to look at him. ¡°If it¡¯s you, then I¡¯m okay with it.¡±

    ¡°Manman¡­¡± Zu An felt his entire body go rock solid when he heard her affectionate words, and even the softest parts deep within him were touched as well.

    Pei Mianman smiled sweetly when she saw his astonished expression. ¡°You dummy, we already established our rtionship outside. What¡¯s up with that look?¡±

    Zu An chuckled and said. ¡°This blessing came so abruptly that I didn¡¯t have time to react.¡±

    Pei Mianman snorted. ¡°You woke up first. Why didn¡¯t you wake me up as well? I was given a fright for nothing.¡±

    Zu An stared at her and mumbled, ¡°Your face was covered by your hair, and I really didn¡¯t recognize you with your clothes off¡­¡±

    Pei Mianman was speechless.

    Both ashamed and furious, she hit him with a yful punch.

    Zu An fought back just as yfully. As their bodies pressed against each other, the both of them began to heat up.

    In the end, Zu An grabbed her hands, and Pei Mianman also stopped moving. Herrge, misty eyes stared straight at him, full of tenderness and affection. There was no mistaking her intent.

    Staring at her soft, red lips, Zu An could no longer hold himself back. He slowly moved closer.

    Pei Mianman¡¯s entire body went rigid when she sensed himing nearer to her. However, she rxed just as quickly, and stayed where she was. She slowly closed her eyes.

    Pei Mianman¡¯s entire body trembled when she sensed his lips. It was as if electricity was flowing through her entire body. Her arms moved subconsciously to envelop him.

    Sweethearts who have just established their rtionship were all like this, fully immersed and affectionate as they shared their kiss.

    After what seemed like forever, their lips finally parted. Pei Mianman¡¯s cheeks were rosy, and her voice grew gentler and more lovely. ¡°Your sword is pressing against me.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An¡¯s face went red. He didn¡¯t know how to exin himself.

    But Pei Mianman was also quick to react to what was happening. Both of them were naked in the same bed. How could he possibly have a sword with him?

    She lifted a corner of the covers to take a look, and her peach-blossom eyes immediately grew even more misty.

    Zu An was just about to say something when Pei Mianman giggled. ¡°I was wondering why all of the boys in the academy were acting so strangely after making their way out of the Ursae Dungeon. Some rumors were spreading, and I even caught a few of them to interrogate them, but not a single one dared to speak. Now, I finally know why.¡±

    Zu An blushed with shame. This woman really was tough! She had actually captured some other students and interrogated them about this!

    Pei Mianman¡¯s face turned pink when she said this. She snorted and said, ¡°No wonder those men called you a donkey. I thought they were cursing you back then, but now¡­¡± Her words dissolved in a fit of giggles.

    Zu An was upset. ¡°You evil witch, are you taunting me? If I lose control, you¡¯ll have to bear the responsibility!¡±

    Pei Mianman leaned into his embrace. She twirled a strand of hair between her fingers. ¡°I¡¯ll bear the responsibility.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s heart was beating fiercely. He wasn¡¯t entirely sure what she meant.

    Once again, Pei Mianman lifted a corner of the covers. She gasped and said, ¡°Wow¡­ how did Chuyan¡¯s delicate body take on such a monster?¡±

    How could Zu An still possibly hold himself back? He rolled and pressed himself down on her, looking straight into her eyes. ¡°Won¡¯t you know once you give it a try?¡±

    Pei Mianman looked back at him with her misty eyes. ¡°You dummy, I¡¯ve already told you that I¡¯m yours. Why are you hesitating?¡±

    Zu An let out a bestial roar. He pressed his lips against hers and kissed her passionately.

    ¡­

    A whileter, Pei Mianman¡¯s beautiful brows knit together in a frown. Her charming face showed the barest hint of pain. She pressed a hand against his chest and said, ¡°Hold¡­ hold on¡­¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Zu An was about to curse. My bowstring is pulled all the way back and ready to fire! Are you trying to kill me?!

    The sensation of pain had triggered another thought in Pei Mianman¡¯s mind. ¡°Ah Zu, aren¡¯t we still in a trial?¡±

    Zu An nodded. He remembered the reason why they were here as well.

    Pei Mianman pursed her lips for a moment, then asked him a few small secrets only the two of them knew about. When he answered every one correctly, she sighed and said, ¡°I was worried that I might have fallen for some sort of illusion. That¡¯s why I had to confirm your identity first.¡±

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°Manman, you really are sharp.¡± At the same time, he was a little perplexed. What exactly was this trial supposed to be about? Could it be that this trial really was a honey trap?

 Chapter 533: My King, Theres Bad News!

    <h4>Chapter 533: My King, There''s Bad News!</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An was a little uneasy after all. He noticed that their surroundings were absolutely magnificent, and there seemed to be some people on guard outside the room. He covered Pei Mianman with the nket, then shouted. ¡°Send someone inside!¡±

    The door was opened with a creak. A young maid slowly walked in.

    The maid was quite pretty. In his previous world, she would have been considered the prettiest girl in ss.

    However, Zu An was already used to having the absolutely stunning Pei Mianman around him, and was greatly immune to such beauty. He wasn¡¯t so easily moved by such ordinarily pretty girls.

    Her outfit was quite eye-catching, though, mostly because she wasn¡¯t wearing much at all. She wore a small corset and a miniskirt, which just about covered her key areas.

    The youngdy¡¯s fair and slim waist was exposed, as well as her well proportioned legs. Her youthfulness was on full disy.

    After the initial shock had passed, Zu An realized that goods were probably in short supply in ancient times. The industries of spinning and weaving hadn¡¯t quite taken off yet, so people were often dressed in less clothing. This youngdy wasn¡¯t deliberately trying to expose herself.

    He sighed in envy. Men from such ancient times really were blessed!

    While his mind was wandering, the maid greeted them respectfully. ¡°My King, what orders do you have for me?¡±

    ¡°King?¡± Zu An was shocked. Pei Mianman¡¯s eyes also went wide. She clearly did not expect this either.

    ¡°What dynasty are we in?¡± Zu An quickly asked.

    ¡°Dynasty?¡± The maid looked confused. She clearly didn¡¯t understand the meaning of this word.

    Zu An quickly cleared his throat and tried again. ¡°Which state are we in?¡±

    The maid understood him this time. ¡°This is the Shang State. My King, is there something wrong? Why are you suddenly asking me something so strange?¡±

    Zu An was startled. He was worried that he had just slipped up in front of her. But after thinking it over for a bit, he realized that he was the king, after all, and there wasn¡¯t anything to be worried about. After all, those in the Shang Dynasty were quick to offer up human lives as sacrifices.

    As such, he put on a serious expression and cleared his throat. ¡°Am I the one asking the questions, or are you?¡±

    That maid was so scared that she threw herself to the ground when she saw his anger, not knowing it was feigned. Her entire body shook as she said, ¡°My King, please spare me! Please spare me!¡±

    From her horrified expression alone, Zu An could sense just how terrifying the Shang Dynasty¡¯s methods of punishment were.

    Scaring a girl like this made him feel rather awful. However, he remembered his objective, so he had no choice now but to harden his heart. ¡°Speak my name, and I shall spare your life.¡±

    That servant girl frantically kowtowed in apology. ¡°My King, please spare me! This servant doesn¡¯t dare speak your glorious name!¡±

    Zu An snorted. ¡°If I tell you to say it, then say it. If you don¡¯t speak, I will have you turned into mincemeat.¡±

    This maid¡¯s expression altered greatly. She clearly understood just how bitter a punishment being turned into mincemeat was. ¡°Respectfully, my King, your name is Wu Ding, history¡¯s greatest monarch¡­¡±

    She was quite bright, and immediatelyunched into a long list of bootlicking praise.

    ¡°Wu Ding?¡± Zu An frowned. He recalled the documentary that he¡¯d watched in his previous world, and the murals which Mi Li had exined. A bunch of information about Wu Ding flooded his mind.

    He was here to participate in a trial. Why did he suddenly be the Shang Dynasty¡¯s Wu Ding?

    Something else urred to him. He pointed at Pei Mianman and said, ¡°What about her? Who is she?¡±

    The maid had a strange look on her face. My King, how could you forget who she is? Have you somehow been possessed, your Majesty?

    Of course, she did not dare give voice to any of these thoughts. Instead, she hurriedly replied, ¡°My King, she is your queen, Fu Hao.¡±

    ¡°Fu Hao?¡± Zu An¡¯s shock was even greater than when he found out that he was Wu Ding. After all, Fu Hao was the first female general recorded in Chinese history, as well as a queen and a high priest. All that added together made her an absolutely legendary figure.

    Pei Mianman was shocked as well. Even though she wasn¡¯t familiar with the history of the Shang Dynasty, she knew that she was an outstanding and heroic woman, from the way Ya Zhang had praised her earlier. They had entered into this trial through Fu Hao¡¯s bronze owl statue as well.

    Zu An looked at the shaking maid kneeling before him. As someone who had crossed over from a civilized world, he couldn¡¯t bear to watch any more of this. He let her go after asking a few more questions.

    He even offered her a few words of constion, which helped to calm her down.

    ¡°I apologize if I have disturbed your rest, my king and queen.¡± The maid felt as if she had received a huge pardon. She quickly closed the door and withdrew.

    Pei Mianman looked worried. ¡°Ah Zu, this trial is way too weird! I have no idea what is being tested.¡±

    Zu An nodded. He said with a serious tone, ¡°Right now, we only know one thing.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Pei Mianman quickly asked.

    Zu An smiled when he looked at her. ¡°That we¡¯re already a proper husband and wife, so we can do what husbands and wives do.¡±

    Pei Mianman protested yfully. She thought that he had something important to say, since he seemed so serious, but she never expected that.

    Now that they knew the context of the trial, however, they no longer felt as rmed. Furthermore, the two of them had feelings for each other, and the intimate physical contact that they¡¯d shared had enhanced them even more. Her heart was beginning to grow fonder.

    Zu An immediately threw herself at her, eager to continue their previously unfinished business.

    ¡°But what if this trial is truly a test of your lust?¡± Pei Mianman was still a bit worried.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°It can¡¯t possibly be. Wu Ding and Fu Hao were an ordinary, married couple who loved each other. They even had a few children. It¡¯s better if we go along with the script for now.¡±

    ¡°How do you know all of this?¡± Pei Mianman was confused. This Shang Dynasty, Wu Ding, and all the other stuff were things that she had never heard of.

    Zu An favored her with a faint smile, and pointed at his head. ¡°This is the world that I saw in my dreams.¡±

    Pei Mianman blinked. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect the world in your dreams to be so simr to these dungeons,¡± she couldn¡¯t help but reply with a sigh. ¡°Sometimes, I wonder if you really are blessed by the heavens.¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°Then why don¡¯t we bond a little more so that you can experience this natural blessing for yourself? Who knows, your cultivation might even progress by leaps and bounds!¡±

    ¡°Pah! Do you really think you¡¯re some sacred, cultivation-boosting treasure?¡± Pei Mianman said with a snort. After a moment, though, she froze. She remembered that her cultivation had been around the same as Chu Chuyan¡¯s, and she might even have been slightly superior, given the strength she had been hiding, Yet, after the dungeon incident, her cultivation had suddenly shot through the roof. Thest time they¡¯d met, she was already at the seventh rank! What if it really was because of this guy¡¯s¡­ seed?

    However, her thoughts quickly became jumbled up as she gradually lost herself to Zu An¡¯s skillful movements.

    Where did this guy hone his skills at stealing hearts¡­? This vague thought shed across Pei Mianman¡¯s mind as she subconsciously embraced the man who was entwined around her body.

    ¡­

    After some time, she sensed her lover begin to hesitate, his movements bing more tender. She said with a sweet smile, ¡°Ah Zu, it¡¯s okay. I''m alreadypletely yours.¡±

    ¡°You really are a temptress¡­¡± Zu An sighed. Pei Mianman and Chu Chuyan were two entirely different personalities! Chu Chuyan was cold and aloof, like a block of ice, while Pei Mianman was as hot and passionate as a raging fire! Once she had acknowledged their rtionship, she was the one constantlying on to him.

    There was no way Zu An would hold himself back after this soft and gentle invitation. He threw himself right into it.

    Even the strongest and sharpest sword would have its de sealed by a scabbard.

    Pei Mianman looked as though she was in pain and ecstasy at the same time. She took a deep breath, and embraced her lover. Only after an eternity did they pause to catch their breath.

    Her face was rosy pink, and her eyes clouded over with mist. ¡°I really pity Chuyan.¡±

    Zu An was bewildered by her sudden remark.

    Pei Mianman bit her lip and said, ¡°She¡¯s abused by you like this day after day.¡±

    Zu An leaned into her ear and whispered, ¡°Then what about you?¡±

    Pei Mianman smiled mysteriously. ¡°My body isn¡¯t as delicate as Chu Chuyan¡¯s. You can abuse me however you want¡­ I like it¡­¡±

    Her words were more effective than any aphrodisiac. The bed began to rock and sway more vigorously, the sheets rising and falling like ocean waves. The bed itself groaned in pain, as though it might copse at any time.

    The maid standing guard outside swallowed. ¡°The king and queen are really affectionate towards each other¡­¡± she mumbled to herself.

    ¡°The king¡¯s stamina is also¡­ outstanding¡­¡±

    ¡­

    The two of them lost track of time. Suddenly, the sound of hurried footsteps came from outside. ¡°My King! There¡¯s bad news!¡±

 Chapter 534: A Crisis

    <h4>Chapter 534: A Crisis</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The maid quickly stepped in to stop him. ¡°Lord Prime Minister, the king and queen are currently resting.¡±

    ¡°This is a military emergency! There will be serious repercussions if there is any dy!¡± A middle-aged man replied in panicked tones.

    ¡°Lord Prime Minister, we¡¯ll be punished severely if we disturb the king now¡­¡± The maid was about to cry.

    Zu An was speechless when he heard what was happening outside. Right now, he was holding Pei Mianman in his arms and sharing words of love. Thest thing he wanted was to be disturbed.

    However, Pei Mianman quickly pushed him away. ¡°Hurry up and invite him in already. We can¡¯t hold up important matters. I don¡¯t want to be known as a beautiful woman who caused the downfall of this country.¡±

    Zu Anughed. He finally knew why there were so many incapable rulers throughout history. When there were gorgeous imperial concubines all around you, getting out of bed early to hold a morning court session really wasn¡¯t easy.

    He let Pei Mianman get dressed. There was no way he could invite someone in while she was still lying in bed. He didn¡¯t have any NTR fetishes, and preferred to enjoy his women on his own.

    As Pei Mianman sat up, her chest rippled, driving Zu An berserk.

    ¡°Have you not seen enough yet?¡± Pei Mianman teased yfully.

    Zu An swallowed. ¡°I¡¯ll never grow tired of this sight for the rest of my life! Even ten lifetimes is not enough for me to have my fill!¡±

    As the words left his mouth, he couldn¡¯t help but lunge at her, reaching his hands out greedily.

    Pei Mianman huffed in dismay and pushed him away. With important people outside, she was in no mood to y around with him.

    She finally eluded his pursuit and found some clothes to put on. Her expression grew a little strange. ¡°These clothes¡­ is that all to them?¡±

    Zu An had seen how the maid had been dressed earlier on, so he had a rough idea what she meant. But when he turned around, he almost vomited blood.

    As a queen, her clothes were made of more material than the maid¡¯s, but there was still no way it couldpare to what could be produced using the spinning and weaving technology developed inter periods.

    Her clothing was considered bold, even by the standards of the brothels inter periods!

    Just like the maid¡¯s, her outfitprised an upper garment and a short skirt. Because Pei Mianman¡¯s chest really was a bit toorge, though, her top was rather short, which left her fair waist exposed. Together with her well-proportioned thighs and long legs, she was the perfect example of a wild and primitive beauty. The visual impact of her was just too staggering.

    Pei Mianman was also rather ufortable with the amount of skin she was showing, and backed away subconsciously. However, her brows drew together suddenly, and she subconsciously bent over.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Zu An was rmed by this, and quickly rushed over to check on her.

    Pei Mianman rolled her eyes at him. ¡°Have you forgotten what you did to me earlier?¡±

    Only now did Zu An realize what was going on. She had been a virgin until not too long ago, and she had just gone through such a wild experience. It would have been more surprising if there weren¡¯t any consequences.

    ¡°Stopughing!¡± Pei Mianman said in annoyance. Something else worried her more. ¡°There are peopleing in. Do you think I¡¯m revealing a little too much?¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°Nope, it looks great on you. This is in line with the customs of this period. Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± This sort of outfit was a little too revealing in Brightmoon City, but dressing up like this waspletely normal during summertime in his previous world, and many girls wore things that were even bolder.

    Every period had its own treasures.

    His heart blossomed with joy as the thought crossed his mind, and he gave the order for the one outside to enter.

    In moments, the door opened, and a middle-aged man strutted in. ¡°This subject, Fu Shuo, pays my respects to the king and queen.¡±

    His expression was pure, and he did not give Pei Mianman any unnecessary looks. Zu An nodded in approval. This was an honest man. Moreover, he could tell from his appearance that he was a loyal subject who cared about his country.

    ¡°Fu Shuo?¡± Some information quickly entered Zu An¡¯s head. Wu Ding had been given a dream by the deities, which led him to begin searching the world for the one subject sent to him by the heavens. Eventually, he found him.

    This middle-aged man used to be an ordinary ve working as forcedbor. He was building a wall along the side of the road when Wu Ding showed up and chose him.

    This was mentioned in both books ¡®Mencius¡¯ and the ¡®Book of Documents¡¯.

    After being chosen by Wu Ding, he rose up the ranks rapidly. Eventually, he became the prime minister of the Shang Dynasty, someone with tremendous authority.

    Zu An obviously did not believe the nonsense about him receiving a dream from the deities. What were the chances of a random ve picked off the streets growing into someone capable?

    More likely than not, Wu Ding had grown up among themon people during his childhood, and he probably already knew this Fu Shuo from back then. He then deliberately concocted this ¡®dream from the deities¡¯ as a reason.

    When Wu Ding rose to power, he didn¡¯t have enough experience, prestige, or manpower. That was why it was recorded in history that he did not say anything for three years, spending the time silently observing the workings of the court. Later on, he found Fu Shuo, someone he knew, to strengthen his foundation.

    Zu An knew full well that this was someone under his personalmand. As such, he quickly returned the greeting and said, ¡°Lord Prime Minister, what is the matter?¡±

    In ancient times, the position of prime minister was very significant. It allowed whoever held the position to converse with the monarch directly. Only after feudalism developedter on was the role of prime minister reduced. Eventually, even they had to bow down before the emperor.

    ¡°We¡¯ve received news from the front line that the troops we sent to suppress the Qiang Faction have been entirely wiped out!¡± Fu Shuo said with a grave expression.

    ¡°What?!¡± Zu An had already begun to slowly assume the role of Wu Ding.

    Even though he didn¡¯t quite know what was the purpose of this trial, since he and Pei Mianman had taken on the roles of Wu Ding and Fu Hao, making decisions that benefited the Shang Dynasty would definitely be the right choice.

    Information poured into his head. The Qiang Faction was a powerful tribe to the northwest of the Shang Dynasty. Their range of influence extended roughly over the present Gansu and Shanxi provinces. They would send their forces to plunder themon folk of the Shang Dynasty from time to time.

    The word ¡®faction¡¯ in this case had the same meaning as country. The people of the Shang Dynasty called all the countries around them ¡®factions¡¯.

    This time, the Qiang Faction hadunched a great invasion along the borders of the Shang Dynasty. Although the Shang Dynasty dispatched a general to stop them, their army had beenpletely wiped out.

    This put the Shang Dynasty in a perilous situation. After all, the Qiang Faction was an old enemy of the Shang Dynasty, and were far from weak. The slightest carelessness would lead to utter destruction.

    Zu An fell deep into thought. Is the purpose of this trial to see if we could resolve the Shang Dynasty¡¯s crisis?

    ¡°Who has the most wisdom in the art of war in our country?¡± he asked.

    Fu Shuo replied, ¡°That would be you, my king.¡±

    Zu An wanted to p the man.

    ¡°Think about the situation before us! Stop buttering me up and tell me the truth!¡±

    ¡°Buttering up?¡± Fu Shuo was confused. He clearly didn¡¯t understand this phrase. ¡°I am speaking the truth. You are our dynasty¡¯s greatest general. The second-best general was sent to deal with the Qiang invaders, and he has already been killed.¡±

    Zu An took some time to silently process this.

    Finally, he sighed. ¡°It looks like I can only make the trip myself.¡±

    Given how the situation was, there was no other choice. After all, he had thousands of years of history as reference, and he¡¯d yed a crap ton of strategy games too, so it wasn¡¯t like he stood no chance at all.

    Fu Shuo quickly tried to dissuade him. ¡°My king, you mustn¡¯t leave Yin Capital!¡±

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°Why is that?¡±

    Fu Shuo looked at him in confusion. ¡°Respectfully, my lord, please tell me that you haven¡¯t forgotten about the dangers you are in! You tried to seize back the authority to make appointments, angering many of the older nobility. Trouble is brewing, both inside and outside Yin Capital. You are still safe within these walls, but if you leave, something bad might immediately befall you!¡±

    What a pain in the ass. ¡°Do you have any suggestions, then?¡± Zu An asked.

    This dude is supposed to be a well-known and capable subject, right? I hope his reputation isn¡¯t undeserved¡­

    Fu Shuo looked at Pei Mianman and said in a serious tone, ¡°We might need the queen to set out this time. We absolutely cannot lose this battle, so we must send out the rest of the capital¡¯s military! There are too few people around that we can trust. If we ce this responsibility in the hands of anyone with ulterior motives, there will be terrible consequences. Only the queen will not betray my king. Furthermore, she will be leading three thousand elite troops, who are going to join up with the king¡¯s army. I believe that she will definitely be able to defeat the invading Qiang Faction!¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An immediately turned pale with fright at the suggestion that Pei Mianman would have to fight on the battlefield. ¡°No, absolutely not!¡±

 Chapter 535: A Happy Coincidence

    <h4>Chapter 535: A Happy Coincidence</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    What kind of joke was this? The real Fu Hao might have been some goddess of war, but it was Pei Mianman in the guise of Fu Hao right now, and she was just a youngdy! In fact, she had just been under him begging for mercy a moment ago¡ªhow could she tolerate the trauma of a battlefield?

    More than that, though, this trial was really strange. He didn¡¯t know much about this Qiang Faction, but they had somehow managed to wipe out the Shang Dynasty¡¯s entire army. Wouldn¡¯t it be suicide to send Pei Mianman, someone who had never fought a war before?

    Fu Shuo tried to persuade him. ¡°My king, I know you care a lot about the queen, but now isn¡¯t the time to act impulsively! The queen has subdued an internal uprising before, which shows that she is more than capable at handling military affairs. My king, you do not need to worry.¡±

    Zu An did not like this idea at all. He couldn¡¯t just exin what was really going on to Fu Shuo.

    Seeing that he had not yete around, Fu Shuo continued his efforts. ¡°My king, we are at a critical moment of life and death! If either your uncles or cousins were to lead the troops, your position as king will begin to crumble once they return victorious!¡±

    Zu An froze. ¡°Why is that?¡±

    A hint of uncertainty shed across Fu Shuo¡¯s face when he heard this question. ¡°In our Shang State, one of the king¡¯s brothers seeds him upon his death. Once a king passes, his brother will take the throne, and so on and so forth. Only in a few situations will the throne be passed on to the king¡¯s son.

    ¡°In the past, Pan Geng moved to Yin Capital, and when he passed on, his throne was passed on to his younger brother, Xiao Xin. When Xiao Xin died, the throne was passed onto his brother, Xiao Yi, who is your father. In theory, he should have passed on the throne to his younger brother or one of their older sons, yet he gave it to you, his own son. The rest of his brothers were obviously unhappy with this, and tried to usurp the throne. If we allow those men to lead the army and defeat the Qiang Faction, their prestige will rise sharply. My king, how will you deal with that, then? I know how much you treasure the queen, but if your throne is seized, you won¡¯t have the strength to protect her.

    ¡°If this subject may be so bold, the queen is absolutely stunning. Once you fall from power, many may start to covet her. Once that happens, it will be toote for regrets.¡±

    His careful exnation was all Zu An needed to understand the situation. This Fu Shuo was truly worthy of his status as a renowned ancient statesman. He had managed to dissect the situation so clearly, which marked him as an exceedinglypetent individual. If the two of them had been Wu Ding or Fu Hao, it might have been enough to convince them. Unfortunately, they were bothplete fakes.

    He was just about to think of a way to refute him when Pei Mianman spoke up. ¡°Fine, I will go.¡±

    ¡°Manman!¡± Zu An was shocked. He never expected her to volunteer herself like that.

    Fu Shuo was confused. Why did the king address the queen as such? In the end, he assumed that it was a nickname that the king had given her, and dismissed the matter.

    Pei Mianman pulled Zu An to the side and said through voice transmission, ¡°Ah Zu, I know you are worried about me, but we came here to ovee a trial. It might seem safe for now, doing nothing but hiding in this pce, but it will only amount to waiting for a slow death. Once the opportunity passes us by, the situation will be beyond saving.

    ¡°This Fu Shuo is clearly sent by this trial to give us the information we need. I believe we can trust what he says. If I do notmand the troops, there will only be two possible oues: either the Qiang Faction will invade, leading to the destruction of the Shang State, or your uncles and cousins will defeat the Qiang Faction and then seize your throne¡­ Regardless of which one it is, we will definitely fail this trial.¡±

    Zu An frowned. ¡°But leading troops is just way too dangerous! You don¡¯t have any experience in this field, so everything points to disaster if you head out.¡±

    Pei Mianman smiled sweetly. ¡°Please do not treat me as some spoiled and obedient daughter. I¡¯ve faced all sorts of difficulties on the road to my current cultivation. I¡¯ve even been to an army camp before¡­¡±

    Zu An was shocked. ¡°You served as a soldier before?¡±

    He recalled the story of Mn, a woman who had dressed up as a man to join the army. When his eyesnded on her chest, however, he immediately rejected this thought. There was no way she could pull that off!

    ¡°I was never a soldier, but I¡¯ve been to an army camp, and I know my way around.¡± Pei Mianman smiled. ¡°The Pei n is a powerful n in the Zhou Dynasty, after all. We have some influence in the military.¡±

    She continued, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Ah Zu. We cultivators seek our own path, and we believe that all things in this worlde from amon origin. If I can reach the sixth rank at such a young age, I refuse to believe that I am a fool when ites to matters of war.¡±

    Seeing her overflowing confidence, Zu An reminded himself that she wasn¡¯t just a pretty decoration, but a cultivation genius. She had definitely experienced unimaginable difficulties and ovee great challenges in order to reach her current level of aplishment. She didn¡¯t need others to worry about her at all.

    ¡°I was the one who was too closed-minded,¡± Zu An said in apology.

    Pei Mianman blushed in return. ¡°You care about me way too much.¡±

    Zu Anughed loudly. ¡°Then I wish you sess!¡±

    Pei Mianman grunted in agreement. ¡°Do not worry, I will definitelyplete my mission. This trial requires both a man and a woman to participate together, which means that both of them will have their own tests to ovee. You need to be careful as well.¡±

    Zu An nodded. If the woman needs to defeat the Qiang Faction as part of the trial, then what do I need to do?

    Despite pondering over the matter for a while, he couldn¡¯te up with anything concrete. As such, he let it go for the moment, and decided to help Pei Mianman with the issue of the Qiang Faction.

    He wanted to help her out as much as he could, but the Shang Dynasty hadn¡¯t left many historical records behind, and there were no records at all regarding how Fu Hao defeated the Qiang Faction. Feeling rather helpless, the best he could do was to give her a rough exnation of the terrain of Shanxi and Gansu. After all, Pei Mianman knew nothing about this world.

    Zu An didn¡¯t know if this would help. After all, he didn¡¯t have a detailed military map of the terrain, and only had some rough knowledge about several mountain ranges and rivers in the area.

    Fu Shuo was rather shocked by this. ¡°My king actually knows so much about the Qiang Faction! How did you learn about this?¡±

    Zu An was at a loss for words. He was about to say that he¡¯d sent someone to scout it out, but Fu Shuo was his trusted aide, so this lie might not get past him. As such, he used a different approach. ¡°I had a dream, and in this dream, a deity taught me these things.¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Fu Shuo was overjoyed. ¡°Incredible, a divine dream! It looks like even the heavens are assisting my king and protecting my great Shang State. Our troops will surely return victorious!¡±

    Zu An had a strange look on his face. He had been a little worried about this lie at first, but it seemed that the people of this period were extremely superstitious, and thus were very easily convinced.

    After his initial joy, Fu Shuo suddenly remembered another matter. ¡°There is one other issue right now. We need the high priest to pray to the heavens before our army sets out for battle, and await the deities¡¯ decree. The high priest belongs to the old nobility. If they interfere in this process, Her Majesty might not be able to set out to battle so smoothly.¡±

    Zu An sniffed in disdain. ¡°I¡¯ve already been blessed with a dream from the deities. The deities are protecting me. Let this information be known. Let¡¯s see if they still dare to use these foolish tactics then!¡±

    Fu Shuo¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Excellent! We can use the information my king has received regarding the terrain as further proof. The high priest wouldn¡¯t dare hinder us then, and it will also boost the morale of our troops. This matter is already half-solved!¡±

    A sudden thought urred to Zu An. ¡°A drawing itself might not be enough. Let¡¯s make a sand table of the terrain for the officers and soldiers to observe.¡±

    ¡°A sand table?¡± Fu Shuo was confused.

    Zu An exined the concept of a sand table, to Fu Shuo¡¯s amazement. ¡°My king is both wise and brilliant! Once we secure our victory, we can easily use this momentum to promote the queen to the position of high priestess! This way, even the divine right will be under our control. My king, I believe your ambitions will soon be fulfilled.¡±

    Pei Mianman was looking at him as well, her beautiful eyes swirling with tender feelings. This man had brought her way too many surprises! A sand table was a wonderful idea that she had never heard of before, but she could easily imagine how useful it could be on a battlefield.

    Zu An secretly knew that everything was going so smoothly only because he was a transmigrator, standing upon the shoulders of giants, and he just happened to be familiar with this period of history, which inadvertently negated a myriad of potential dangers.

    No matter how brilliant the previous participants of this trial had been, they had known nothing about the Shang Dynasty. They might not have even made it past the obstacle of the high priest, let alone managed to defeat the powerful Qiang Faction.

 Chapter 536: Whos the One with the Problem?

    <h4>Chapter 536: Who''s the One with the Problem?</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    After discussing several more details, Fu Shuo left to make his preparations.

    He advised Pei Mianman to inspect the three thousand elite troops he¡¯d brought over from the vassal state to prepare them for their uing battle.

    Zu An wanted to go as well, but Fu Shuo reminded him that he had to remain within the pce, as there were many people out for his life.

    Pei Mianman gave him a reassuring look. ¡°Ah Zu, don¡¯t worry. I will be careful and act ording to the situation.¡±

    It was true that she had been an extraordinary woman and a brilliant genius even before he¡¯d met her. Zu An acknowledged that his worry might indeed be a little excessive.

    They exchanged a few more words, and then he let her go.

    Zu An chuckled when he saw how ovee with emotion Fu Shuo was when he expressed his trust in him. If he hadn¡¯t had foreknowledge of Fu Shuo¡ªthat he was extremely loyal to Wu Ding, and even one of the great ancient sages¡ªhe might still have been too worried to let Pei Mianman go off alone.

    It was easy for him to picture how things went for the others who had attempted this trial. They would definitely have been on edge after entering this unfamiliar world. When met with Fu Shuo¡¯s advice to split up, they would probably have suspected him, and resorted to either interrogating him or even outright refusing his advice. The male participant might even have insisted on going along as well. All of these would inevitably have led to a bad end.

    Of course, knowledge of history wasn¡¯t absolutely essential for this trial. Even those who werepletely ignorant of it could tell from their conversation, and the situation they were in, that Fu Shuo and Wu Ding shared a special rtionship. However, it was difficult for others to gain enough information within a brief amount of time, which made it that much harder.

    No wonder all those who attempted this trial before failed! To be honest, I don¡¯t even think they could have made it past this first obstacle.

    Zu An¡¯s imagination began to run wild. He had already begun to treat this trial as an open world game. All sorts of possibilities and paths began to appear in his mind.

    If this Fu Shuo was sent to help the trial participants, there would definitely be an antagonist as well¡­

    When Zu An opened the door, he noticed the same maid standing outside the door. A thought urred to him, and he called her over to make a request.

    ¡°I greet the great king and queen.¡± The maid knelt on the ground, her body shaking slightly. She was clearly still frightened by Zu An¡¯s earlier threats, and had not fully recovered yet. She was clueless as to why he would suddenly call her over.

    Zu An carefully looked this youngdy over. He had to admit that even though she wasn¡¯t exceptionally beautiful, she was rather delicate and pretty, especially with those long and slender legs that werepletely exposed. Her fair and glowing skin also gave off a wild and primitive sort of beauty.

    ¡°What was your name again?¡±

    The maid stiffened. The king has even forgotten my name! However, she didn¡¯t dare question him again, and quickly replied, ¡°This servant¡¯s name is Xiao Tuo.¡±

    ¡°Xiao Tuo?¡± Zu An thought it a rather strange name, but then again, names in these ancient periods were all quite weird. Even the names of the Shang monarchs seemed rather sloppy, so he didn¡¯t worry too much about it. ¡°Xiao Tuo, where are you from?¡±

    Pei Mianman, who was already several steps away, had a strange look on her face. She sent him a ki transmission. ¡°Ah Zu, don¡¯t you know the situation we¡¯re in right now? How can you still be in the mood to y around with this girl?¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°What, are you jealous?¡± he replied.

    Pei Mianman sniffed disdainfully. ¡°Whatever. You¡¯re the king, so y around if you want. But please remember that this is a trial, so don¡¯t forget your real objective.¡±

    As someone from a great n, she clearly didn¡¯t mind her man having some fun on the side. She was only worried that it would somehow affect the results of this trial.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I know what I¡¯m doing. Something¡¯s not right with this maid,¡± Zu An replied.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    A look of surprise shed across Pei Mianman¡¯s eyes. She subconsciously nced at that servant¡¯s lovely and pitiful appearance, but couldn¡¯t see what the issue was.

    Of course, she knew that Zu An wouldn¡¯t say such a thing for no reason. Now that she knew he wasn¡¯t about to y around, she warned him once more to be careful, then left with Fu Shuo.

    The maid replied with a gentle voice, ¡°I am from the Tuo State.¡±

    ¡°The Tuo State?¡± Zu An froze for a moment. He had never heard of this country before. Of course, there were many small countries in these ancient periods that had long been erased by the flow of time.

    He reached out a hand to help her to her feet. Still holding onto her hand, he led her to a table off to the side. ¡°Where is the Tuo State? Can you mark it out for me on the map?¡±

    The maid blushed, clearly embarrassed that a man was holding her hand.

    ¡°Tuo State is to the southeast of the Shang State,¡± She hurriedly replied. ¡°It¡¯s around here.¡±

    Using this chance to free her hand, she drew a circle on the map he had drawn out earlier.

    Zu An¡¯s smile grew wider, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder like a pervert. ¡°Xiao Tuo, please tell me a little about your homnd¡¯s sights and customs.¡±

    Are you joking? How could a normal maid possibly know how to use a map?

    She was able to urately pinpoint the position of the Tuo State from just a casual look, which meant that she had special training in this field.

    He¡¯d deliberately held her hand earlier and put on that perverted act in order to throw her off, hoping her nervousness would lead her to subconsciously reveal gaps in her act.

    This wasn¡¯t the only hole in her fa?ade. As a maid, obtaining the favor of a monarch was an extraordinary opportunity, yet her body had stiffened just now, subconsciously rejecting his touch.

    She had even found a reason to throw aside his hand. Even though the reason seemed appropriate, he was already suspicious of her, and this only served to confirm them.

    For a woman to resist the touch of a king meant that either she hated the Shang monarch, or that she already had another lover in her heart. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have subconsciously rejected him. Which one was it?

    That was why he wanted to carry on the conversation, to see if he could pick up any more clues.

    The maid hadn¡¯t expected him to show such indifference towards military affairs, and instead asked about her homnd, while holding her in such an inappropriate manner. What a perverted and incapable ruler.

    You have sessfully trolled Xiao Tuo for 123¡­ 123¡­ 123¡­

    Zu An felt his certainty growing as he saw the influx of Rage points.

    He had to admit that her pure and youthful appearance made for a good cover. She was also the personal maid of the Shang monarch, which meant that the participants of the trial would subconsciously mark her as someone trustworthy.

    Those who hade before him had probably asked her many questions from the start, and fallen right into her trap.

    The one who designed this trial probably did not expect Pei Mianman and himself to be in no hurry to look for clues, but romp around in bed instead¡­

    Since they didn¡¯t have the time to ask the maid about anything else before Fu Shuo¡¯s arrival, they naturally hadn¡¯t been misguided by whatever misinformation she might have provided.

    Zu An¡¯s face took on a strange expression. I guess being a pervert isn¡¯t so bad sometimes.

    This maid began to answer his question, giving him some information on the Tuo State while thinking about how she was going to escape from his clutches.

    Zu An nodded as he listened. ¡°It sounds like quite a beautiful ce, but that¡¯s to be expected. How could the Tuo State be a bad ce if it managed to produce a charming girl like you?¡±

    When did women from ancient times ever experience such a manner of flirtation? Even though she constantly reminded herself that this was a perverted and incapable ruler, she still couldn¡¯t help but smile. After all, which girl didn¡¯t like being praised?

    ¡°My king, I do not deserve such praise.¡± The maid bowed respectfully. ¡°This servant must ask to be excused.¡±

    Zu An held onto her to stop her. ¡°Hey, did I say you can go? Keep mepany for a while longer. My heart is distraught with anxiety right now.¡±

    Are you kidding me? How could he let her go and give her a chance to release any information?

    He hadn¡¯t noticed this about her earlier, which was why he hadn¡¯t excluded her from his conversation with Fu Shuo and Pei Mianman. Even though there was a door between them, it wasn¡¯t too difficult for her to eavesdrop if she wanted to.

    It would be disastrous if she¡¯d overheard their ns and leaked them out.

    Only after Fu Shuo finished his preparations and Pei Mianman set out to battle would the situation stabilize. When that happened, he could let her go without worrying about any leaks.

    But how was he supposed to keep her here? Did he really have to y out the role of a perverted and incapable ruler?

 Chapter 537: A Maidâ€™s Contempt

    <h4>Chapter 537: A Maid¡¯s Contempt</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The maid¡¯s heart was pounding as Zu An held her in his embrace, so loudly that even Zu An could hear it.

    ¡°Xiao Tuo, why are you so nervous?¡± Zu An suddenly knew why people loved having authority. Harassing those beneath you while being in a superior position, holding all the cards in your hands¡­ This really was a pretty good feeling.

    ¡°I¡¯m not¡­ I¡¯m not nervous.¡± The maid said hurriedly, trying to exin her way out of it.

    Zu An almostughed out loud when he saw how anxious she was. It seems these people from the past were rather simple. Even specially-trained female spies can¡¯t hide their thoughts. There was no way he would be able to see through the spies ofter feudal dynasties so easily.

    The maid gradually calmed down, finally realizing that she wouldn¡¯t be able to get away from him, at least for some time. In that case, she would use this opportunity toplete the young master¡¯s mission.

    Zu An took this opportunity to ask about something else. ¡°By the way, since Tuo State is to the east, do you know anything about the Eastern Barbarians?¡±

    He knew that asking her about her real motives directly was a useless endeavor, so he decided to ask her some questions about things she couldn¡¯t possibly lie about. With that, he would gradually lower her vignce beforeing around to the main matter.

    ¡°The Eastern Barbarians?¡± The maid was taken aback. She didn¡¯t expect him to ask her about somethingpletely unrted. Shouldn¡¯t he be asking about the Qiang Faction?

    This ipetent ruler began to seem more and more enigmatic to her, but she replied nheless. ¡°I know a bit about them. They excel at the use of the bow and arrow, and their customs are greatly different from the Shang State¡­¡±

    Zu An nodded as he listened to her reply. He was able to learn a lot more about the Eastern Barbarians from her. ¡°By the way, do you know who the princess of the Eastern Barbarian is? Do they have a jade badge as their national treasure?¡±

    He recalled the promise he¡¯d made with the youngdy in the upper tomb, and how Ya Zhang also mentioned that Fu Hao was fond of this jade badge. The Eastern Barbarians were a part of this period after all.

    ¡°The Eastern Barbarian princess?¡± The maid thought for a bit and then replied, ¡°There was a great battle between the Shang State and the Eastern Barbarians two years ago. Our Great Shang won a great victory, and princess Jiang was captured.¡±

    ¡°Where is she?¡± Zu An asked immediately.

    The maid looked at him strangely. ¡°She was offered up as a sacrifice already. Her head was even put into a bronze earthenware vessel and steamed.¡±

    Zu An was momentarily at a loss for words.

    Sigh, I really feel bad for Jiangjiang. I wanted to see if I could save her since I¡¯m currently the king of the Shang State, but I guess there¡¯s no way to change her tragic fate¡­

    ¡°What about the jade badge that belongs to the Eastern Barbarians?¡± asked Zu An. As matters stood, he could only do what he could to bring her spirit peace.

    The maid hesitated, but eventually said, ¡°ording to the Eastern Barbarians, the jade badge has spiritual properties. That is why it is currently in the hands of the high priest, who uses it to strengthen the offering rituals.¡±

    ¡°The high priest?¡± Zu An recalled her hesitant expression and said, ¡°Xiao Tuo, are you close to the high priest?¡±

    The maid seemed flustered by this question. She quickly said, ¡°My king has misunderstood me! The high priest is venerable, and this servant doesn¡¯t dare to have any presumptuous thoughts. That was why I was hesitant in my reply.¡±

    Zu An recalled that the high priests of this age were considered the emissaries of deities, and from a certain point of view, they could be considered of equal status as the Shang monarch. Fu Shuo had mentioned seizing back the divine authority earlier on, probably because the current high priest wasn¡¯t on their side.

    ¡°Tell me more about this high priest,¡± Zu An said. ¡°What is his name?¡±

    The maid¡¯s expression grew stranger. How can you not know this? Are you possessed? But she still replied, ¡°The High Priest¡¯s name is Lian, my king, and he is your cousin¡­¡±

    Zu An listened to her reply, asking further questions when necessary, and finally got an idea of who this high priest was. The high priest was the son of a previous Shang monarch, Xiao Xin. When Xiao Xin died, his son was still young, so he passed on the throne to his younger brother Xiao Yi, who was Wu Ding¡¯s father.

    This made the situation much clearer. Lian was definitely unhappy that Xiao Yi had passed on the throne to his own son. Given the usual way things worked, the throne should have belonged to him and his line. That was why he was disloyal.

    He hadn¡¯t watched all those dramas for nothing. It was easy enough for him to see through these rtionships.

    Objectively speaking, it wasn¡¯t Lian¡¯s fault for being unhappy. If such a thing had happened to him, Zu An would also want to find a way to seize back what he deemed to be his family¡¯s throne.

    Of course, Zu An was currently Wu Ding. Furthermore, Wu Ding was known to be an outstanding monarch who ruled for many decades. Knowing this, there was no way he would just abdicate the throne.

    ¡°My king, you seem to ce a lot of trust in the Lord Prime Minister,¡± the maid suddenly said.

    Zu An noticed that she had deliberately changed the subject. She clearly didn¡¯t wish to talk more about Lian, as it wouldn¡¯t do her any good.

    ¡°Fu Shuo is my friend, and he is an upright and capable man. I have reason to trust him,¡± Zu An exined with a smile.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Instead of refuting this statement, the maid proceeded to tter him greatly. However, as their conversation continued, she tried to sow dissent between Fu Shuo and Wu Ding.

    She actually did this quite skillfully, without blowing her cover. Unfortunately for her, Zu An was already on guard from the beginning, and her words had little effect on him.

    With her missionplete, the maid tried to excuse herself again. She desperately wanted to leave, so that she could pass on the information that she had gained.

    As she made to leave, however, Zu An grabbed hold of her. ¡°Why are you leaving? I need you to keep mepany as I sleep.¡±

    The maid waspletely speechless.

    You have sessfully trolled Xiao Tuo for 233¡­ 233¡­ 233¡­

    This perverted ruler had asked her about so many things, but this was what he had been angling for all along!

    Feeling deeply ufortable from the masculine aura surrounding her, she grew agitated and began to struggle subconsciously.

    Zu An gasped in surprise. He had to give credit to the designer of this trial. After all, their bodies weren¡¯t allowed in, only their souls. These people within it could be considered NPCs within a game, a game in which failure would result in the yer¡¯s death.

    However, weren¡¯t these NPCs just too realistic?

    He could keenly sense the astonishing suppleness of her skin, asn well as the heating off it. As she struggled, she rubbed against him constantly, which made him go even crazier.

    Zu An had only nned to scare her a little at first, but the more she struggled, the more he felt a me begin to burn within him.

    ¡°Could it be that Xiao Tuo feels that I, a king, am not good enough for you?¡± Zu An said, letting displeasure creep into his voice as she continued to struggle.

    ¡°Xiao Tuo doesn¡¯t dare.¡± The maid cursed inwardly. What else can I say? Can I really say that you aren¡¯t? I¡¯ll be chopped up into mincemeat!

    By now, though, she realized that something was different with the king, and slowly ceased her struggle.

    ¡°Then do you already have a lover?¡± Zu An continued to probe.

    ¡°Xiao Tuo does not,¡± denied the maid. As she said this, though, the face of a man shed across her mind. She sighed. It looked like the two of them were not fated to be together¡­ The only thing she could do for him was to help him achieve his dream.

    Zu An smiled when he sensed her reaction. Instead of exposing her lie, he carried her into the bed, wrapping a leg around her as though it was the most natural thing to do.

    Feeling the tightness of his embrace and the weight of his body against her, the maid¡¯s heart sank.

    She knew that there was no way she would be able to escape. She could only sigh secretly. Big brother Lian, Xiao Tuo cannot remain pure for you¡­

    Tears trickled out of the corners of her eyes.

    Despite this, she understood what her mission was. She bit her lip. Since this was her fate, she would use her body and get on good terms with this ipetent ruler and earn his trust. She would ruin his rtionship with his wife! That would help big brother Lian the most.

    She was already mentally prepared to sacrifice herself. However, the man behind her did not take that final step.

    In moments, the sound of snoring came from behind her.

    The maid was stunned. He fell asleep?

    She recalled what had gone on between this foolish king and Fu Hao earlier on. Her face reddened, and she sniffed disdainfully. It looks like not even a pervert like you has unlimited stamina!

    How dare you have the nerve to take advantage of me?!

    She twisted her body about in an attempt to leave, but the arms that were wrapped around her felt like iron mps. No matter how she tried, she could not break free.

    Afraid that she would him up, she had no choice but to give up her struggle. Shey there, thinking about her next move, while also disparaging the man holding her in her mind.

    Suddenly, her face turned red. She could feel something prodding against her.

 Chapter 538: Childhood Sweethearts

    <h4>Chapter 538: Childhood Sweethearts</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The maid wasn¡¯t a dumbss. She didn¡¯t have to have experience to know what that was.

    She was the king¡¯s personal maid, and there was no way she wouldn¡¯t know what was prodding at her right now.

    She was still a maiden, and this was the first time she was being held in this way by a man, surrounded by his masculine aura. The people of this period were dressed lightly as well, so there was a lot of skin-to-skin contact, and she could even hear his heartbeat clearly. How could she possibly stand this?

    To cap it all off, she could constantly feel that loathsome thing prodding against her. She really wanted to cut it right off!

    Unfortunately, that was mere wishful thinking. Even if she had a de, she wouldn¡¯t have dared. If the king died suddenly, the high priest would be the prime suspect. That was why she had to move slowly, knocking down this ipetent ruler¡¯s prestige little by little. The invasion by the Qiang Faction provided the best opportunity. If the matter yed out as it should, then Wu Ding would be humiliated, and the High Priest¡¯s prestige would soar. At that point, ascending the throne would be a foregone conclusion.

    Even though she continued to distract herself with these thoughts, the man behind her continued to hold onto her tightly, and his embrace was beginning to feel like a furnace. He kept rubbing against her body as well, making her heart pound madly and her thoughts scatter.

    Is this guy actually sleeping or not?!

    The maid was hopping mad, but powerless to do anything about it. She could only try her best to avoid his constant grinding.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Unfortunately, locked in his embrace this way, there was only so much room for her to move about. No matter how she wiggled, some part of him would still be rubbing against her.

    After a long struggle, she exhausted most of her strength, and her breathing was beginning to grow ragged as well.

    Every time she twisted about, she could keenly sense the thing behind her pushing into her more and more firmly. She dared not move about anymore, and silently grew still.

    Zu An almostughed out loud when he sensed just how much the girl in his arms was trembling. It seemed to him that the female spies of this era had yet to undergo truly specialized training, and their bodies remained extremely sensitive. The female spies ofter eras would have been used to treating their bodies as weapons. None of them would have been so ufortable just from being held by a man.

    However, he had to admit that the girl had really soft skin, and holding her like this actually felt pretty good.

    They had been constantly surrounded by danger, and he had just engaged in an intensely passionate struggle with Pei Mianman not too long ago, so he was quite exhausted. Lying on such afortable bed with a girl in his arms was a wee respite, and drowsiness slowly overtook him. Before falling asleep, he made sure to wrap his arms around hers, and drape a leg across her waist. This way, he would immediately wake up if she made any strange movements.

    Of course, this made things extremely awkward for the maid. She didn¡¯t dare let herself get the slightest bit distracted, yet the more on edge she was, the more sensitive she became. Eventually, her entire body felt heavy and stiff.

    She was incredibly ashamed that she was left in this state by the king she usually looked down on, and that she was letting down her lover. She also began to question her own life, wondering if she really was an emotionally fickle woman.

    ¡­

    The next morning, the maid discovered that she had actually fallen asleep in his arms. Her expression flickered between shame and horror as she struggled free from his arms at once.

    Knowing that Pei Mianman should have alreadypleted whatever she needed to do, Zu An didn¡¯t bother stopping her.

    The maid bowed before leaving, then hurriedly left the pce, secretly heading to a remote hut.

    She smiled when she glimpsed a familiar face. She was just about to walk up to it when a cold voice came from within the darkness. ¡°You¡¯rete.¡±

    The maid¡¯s smile froze, and she quickly exined, ¡°I wasn¡¯t able to get away earlier. Last night, that ipetent ruler made me stay¡­¡±

    Midway through her sentence, she stopped suddenly. She didn¡¯t know how to exin herself.

    ¡°You were forced to stay behind and sleep with him?¡± The voice chilled further.

    The maid began to panic. ¡°Big brother Lian, don¡¯t misunderstand! He didn¡¯t actually do anything to me!¡±

    The person in the shadows in front of her wore a crown filled with feathers. There were a few streaks of color across his face, and he held an intricate jade badge in his hand. If Zu An were here, he would have recognized it as the jade badge sought after by the young Eastern Barbarian girl.

    This was the high priest of the Shang State, Lian. He was also Wu Ding¡¯s cousin, the son of the man who served as the Shang monarch before Wu Ding¡¯s father.

    ¡°ording to the people from the pce, Wu Ding took you to bed.¡± It was hard to make out his expression from the mysterious patterns drawn on his face.

    ¡°We didn¡¯t do anything, he only hugged me¡­ and then fell asleep,¡± The maid hurriedly exined.

    ¡°That was the reason why I sent you in in the first ce, even if nothing went on between the two of you.¡± Lian clearly didn¡¯t believe her. A man and a woman, sleeping together for an entire night in the same bed, wearing very little. Who would believe that nothing had happened?

    The maid was truly beginning to panic. ¡°That incapable ruler and the empress went at it for quite a while, and he was tired out. He fell asleep while holding me.¡±

    ¡°The empress¡­¡± Lian¡¯s eyelids twitched. A glint of mad jealousy shed across his eyes when he thought about how another man had toyed with that stunning woman.

    Wu Ding, everything that you possess should have been mine. One day, I will seize back everything. Your throne, your wife, and everything else you own will be mine!

    You have sessfully trolled Lian for 999¡­ 999¡­ 999¡­

    Zu An smiled as he noticed the Rage points flowing in. He had more or less pieced together what was going on, but now, he had confirmation that Lian was indeed a major boss in this trial.

    He had to give props to the Keyboard system, though. It was able to follow him into this trial that not even Mi Li could enter! She had been forced to stay outside with his physical body, within the Tai¡¯e Sword.

    It made some sense, though, as the soul was the one that had been drawn into this trial, and the Keyboard system was much more tightly bound to his soul.

    He expressed gratitude for his blessings. This damned trial hadn¡¯t given him a single hint, and he¡¯d had to rely on his own investigative prowess. The other participants had probably taken a long time to realize who the real enemy was, and by then, it would have been toote for them.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in the remote hut, the maid was done talking about her night spent with the incapable king. She quickly changed the topic, bringing up what Zu An, Fu Shuo and Pei Mianman had discussed.

    Lian had also calmed down. After listening to all of this, he said in a serious tone, ¡°This Fu Shuo is quite formidable. He actually managed toe up with such a n. It¡¯s a pity that you¡¯vee to me toote. They¡¯ve already spread the news, and now everyone knows that the king has received a divine dream. The idea of the sand table was also magnificent, and managed to convince everyone of his im. Even though I am a high priest, it is already too difficult for me to stop them.¡±

    ¡°I guess that ipetent king still has some skill, considering how he managed toe up with something like that,¡± The maid said in amazement.

    Lian snorted and said, ¡°Fu Shuo was probably the one who came up with the sand table. Before Fu Shuo was an official, he worked in matters of construction, which makes this his specialized field. Wu Ding probablyid im to it to increase his own prestige.¡±

    Based on what she¡¯d heard, the maid wasn¡¯t so sure that this was the case, but it didn¡¯t feel appropriate for her to correct him. ¡°Big brother Lian, it¡¯s all my fault that I couldn¡¯t tell you about it in time and messed up your ns,¡± she said in the end.

    ¡°No harm done!¡± Lian waved his hand. ¡°If they want to send the empress out to battle, then so be it. How can a woman like her possibly lead the troops? Once she messes up and loses both our army and Wu Ding¡¯s personal guard, it¡¯ll be a piece of cake for me to take over.¡±

    The maid smiled. She liked seeing this confident side of him.

    ¡°Although¡­¡± Lian changed the topic. ¡°I believe this Wu Ding is suspicious of you.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± The maid couldn¡¯t contain her shock.

    Lian¡¯s voice hardened. ¡°I believe that he deliberately kept you in the pce to prevent you from contacting me.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no way that¡¯s true.¡± The maid just couldn¡¯t believe that that pervert was such a meticulous thinker.

    ¡°I hope that you¡¯re right.¡± Lian looked at her with a mixture of conflict and hesitancy. ¡°But I can tell that this incapable king is quite fond of you, though. Perhaps you can use this opportunity to be his woman and earn his trust.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± A tremor ran through the maid¡¯s body. She could not believe what she¡¯d just heard. ¡°Big brother Lian, you know how I feel about you, yet you want me to¡­¡±

    ¡°Of course I do. Xiao Tuo, the two of us were childhood sweethearts, and we¡¯ve shared a deep affection. Even if you lose your purity, I would not mind it at all. Once I ascend to the throne, you will still be the empress,¡± Lian said gently. As he said this, though, it was Fu Hao¡¯s gorgeous appearance that appeared in his mind instead.

    ¡°Is there no other way?¡± The maid¡¯s thin lips were about to bleed from how hard she was biting them. ¡°I can use a different means to gain his trust! Also, the Qiang Faction has already begun their invasion. Who knows, he might be dethroned very soon. Why do I have to¡­¡±

    Lian cut her off. ¡°I¡¯m asking you to infiltrate his bedroom not just so you can obtain his trust. It is a key part of my great nter on!¡±

    ¡°What n?¡± The maid was on the verge of tears.

    Lian shook his head. ¡°Now is not the time to reveal it yet. You will know when the timees. You just need to remember one thing¡ªuse all of your charms to make himpletely infatuated with you. That¡¯s all.¡±

 Chapter 539: Business or Pleasure

    <h4>Chapter 539: Business or Pleasure</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Xiao Tuo couldn¡¯t believe what she was hearing.

    Even though he wasn¡¯t speaking loudly, every word rumbled like thunder.

    She never would have thought that her childhood sweetheart would push her into the arms of another man! He had even told her to do everything she could to seduce him!

    She suddenly wondered if she had made the right choice.

    As if he could sense the change in her emotions, Lian¡¯s voice softened. ¡°Xiao Tuo, I know that I¡¯m being unfair. If you don''t want to do it, then just leave the pce. I won¡¯t serve as the high priest anymore, and the two of us can just travel the world. I refuse to believe that Wu Ding can catch us so easily.¡±

    The maid was somewhat tempted at first, but she calmed down when she heard thest part. ¡°Big brother Lian, how can I be that selfish and let your years of hard work be wasted? You are the well-respected high priest. How can I make you follow me into a life of hiding? Furthermore, you¡¯re the one who should be king, so why should you run? Big brother Lian, I like you, so of course I will help you.¡±

    Happiness blossomed within the heart of the man across from her, but he maintained his outward appearance of heartbroken grief. ¡°But I¡¯m making things difficult for you! No, let¡¯s try to find another way.¡±

    The maid pressed her finger against his lips. ¡°It¡¯s already toote to change the n now. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m willing to do anything for your sake.¡±

    Lian held her hands, his voice full of emotion. ¡°I¡¯m the one at fault, for being so useless that I have to sacrifice my own woman to achieve my goal.¡±

    The maid¡¯s expression blossomed with happiness when she heard the words ¡®my woman¡¯. After all, her big brother Lian had never publicly admitted to this before. Now that she heard him say this, she felt as though any sacrifice was worth it.

    ¡°This has nothing to do with you. It was Wu Ding¡¯s father who disregarded the rules and selfishly passed on his throne to his son, wronging you in the process.¡±

    ¡°Xiao Tuo¡­¡± Even though Lian had ulterior motives, he was still moved by the devotion that his childhood sweetheart was showing towards him. In that instant, he almost felt reluctant to send away his beloved girl.

    After all, the high priest was already a well-respected position. Why was there a need to strive for the throne? He even had a lovely girl at his side¡­

    The maid¡¯s heart beat frantically as she and her lover held hands. Her face gradually reddened, and a different mood began to surround this ce.

    The two of them slowly drew closer and closer. For some reason, the image of what had taken cest night appeared in her head, and her body suddenly stiffened.

    This slight reaction also snapped Lian out of his trance. He quickly let go of her hands, his back dripping with cold sweat. Lian, you bear a heavy familial responsibility on your shoulders! How can you let mere feelings get in the way of such important matters? Are you going to throw away all the years of hard work that everyone has put in?

    Wu Ding would definitely realize something was wrong if he took Xiao Tuo¡¯s virginity. Everything would be ruined if he became suspicious!

    ¡°Xiao Tuo, you¡¯ve been away from the pce for quite some time now. It¡¯s time for you to go back.¡± Lian¡¯s eyes grew clear again, and his voice was perfectly calm.

    A hint of bitterness swirled within the maid¡¯s eyes, but her mind was a mess as well. She didn¡¯t say anything else, merely bidding him goodbye before leaving.

    Lian¡¯s expression was pained as he watched the beautiful figure of his childhood sweetheart slowly disappear into the distance. The two of them had shared a deep affection for each other since they were young, and there was no way he could remain hard-hearted.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    He clenched his fists tightly, hatred shrouding his face. ¡°Wu Ding, I will definitely chop your corpse up to ten thousand pieces!¡±

    The maid was extremely nervous when she returned to the pce. How in the world am I supposed to seduce that ipetent king?

    When she remembered his shameless and perverted behavior, though, it became clear to her that she probably wouldn¡¯t have to do a thing. He would probably seek her out on his own.

    She thought about his romp with the empress in his bedroom earlier, and how he¡¯d carried her to bed as well, and she grew more convinced of that notion.

    ¡­

    At the moment, though, Zu An wasn¡¯t in the mood to attend to her. He had left the room quickly in order to participate in the ceremonial sacrifice.

    A country is often built on sacrifice and battle.

    For the Shang Dynasty, these two things¡ªsacrifice and battle¡ªwere valued above all else, and at this time, both matters were intersecting.

    Almost all of the high-ranking individuals within the Shang state were present at the altar, which was surrounded by row upon row of warriors.

    Three thousand of them were elite troops under themand of Fu Hao, while another ten thousand were part of Wu Ding¡¯s personal guard. Each one of them was well-built, strong and muscr.

    Such an army was considered massive in ancient times. Sending out troops in the thousands was already unusual, and this time, more than ten thousand troops setting out together was unprecedented.

    Behind their serious expressions, a hint of nervousness lurked. None of them knew how this battle would end.

    Both Lian and Xiao Tuo rushed over to the ceremony separately. Xiao Tuo¡¯s information hade toote for the high priest to have made any preparations, and he could only do as Wu Ding and Fu Shuo wished.

    Either way, Fu Hao leading the troops wouldn¡¯t affect his n. To a certain degree, it even made it even easier for him.

    He knew how much was riding on the oue of this battle. Even though he was eager to see the king¡¯s troops wiped out, causing him to lose all of his prestige, he didn¡¯t dare show any hint of it. One misstep, and everyone might suspect him of stirring up internal strife.

    He respectfully and formallypleted the first part of the ceremony. After burning the tortoiseshell, he interpreted the cracks that formed on its surface, dering that the deities had decreed a victory. Everyone cheered.

    Of course, he subtly yed around with the phrasing of it, so that he wouldn¡¯t end up trapping himself. This way, even if their battle ended in defeat, he could still push the me onto the king instead.

    The others who were present at the ceremony noted nothing amiss, but Zu An was already suspicious of him from the start, and obviously picked up that something was not right.

    However, he kept his suspicions to himself. He trusted Pei Mianman, and in the course of history as well. Pei Mianman would surely return victorious, and the high priest¡¯s ns would amount to nothing.

    He examined this hidden boss. This man was rather well-built, and taller than the people around him. Despite the face paint, he gave off a heroic and mighty aura. This man¡­ is almost on my level.

    The ceremony seemed like hocus-pocus Zu An, and he had very little interest in all this superstitious nonsense. He spent the time sharing intelligence with Pei Mianman through ki transmission.

    When it came time for the sacrificial offerings, though, both of them frowned. Because this ceremony was more important than ever before, only selected the most important human lives had been chosen as offerings. Ten or so Qiang Faction captives were brought out.

    When he saw that these captives were about to be decapitated and have their innards fished out, Zu An hurriedly called matters to a halt. He ordered that livestock be used in their ce.

    It wasn¡¯t because he was some Mother Teresa; he just didn¡¯t want these human sacrifices to end up on his dinner table after being cooked. He¡¯d learned from Ya Zhang that these offerings were made into delicacies after they had been offered to the deities, and he¡¯d also confirmed this tradition with Fu Shuo and Xiao Tuo.

    More than that, however, he knew that these captives were much more valuable alive than used as sacrifices.

    Why was Huo Qubing able to fight within the vast Hexi Corridor with just a single army, leaving the Huns trembling in fear? Back then, the Han people had never even been to that area, yet he seemed to have his own personal GPS system![1]

    Aside from his obvious military talent, this wasrgely due to his use of Hun ves. He was able to achieve his military miracle by having them lead the way.

    The current situation was simr. The forces of the Qiang Faction were primarily located around the Shanxi and Gansu regions. Even though he¡¯d drawn a map for Pei Mianman, it was only enough to give her a broad overview of the area. Only the locals would know more detailed topography.

    How could he afford to kill off these living maps?

    He shared his thoughts with Pei Mianman, and she immediately agreed with him. The two of them would protect this group of people.

    Everyone else present was shocked. Why weren¡¯t they going to use the highest quality human lives as an offering for the ceremony? What if they incurred the wrath of the heavens?

    Lian almostughed out loud. If something bad truly ended up befalling their army on the battlefield, he had the perfect way to me it all on Wu Ding. This saved him quite a bit of work! As such, he also encouraged this change.

    ¡­

    Just like that, the army of the Shang State began their relentless northwestern advance to face an unknown fate.

    Back in the pce, Zu An was left to deal with all manner of government affairs. They swept away some rebel forces that were hiding in Yin Capital as they waited painfully, minute by minute, for news to return from the battlefield.

    Finally, one night, Xiao Tuo found herself outside the pce bedroom. She took a deep breath to steady herself. She knew that she couldn¡¯t stall any longer, especially since her big brother Lian¡¯s forces had suffered attacks these past few days. She had to earn the king¡¯s trust and obtain some vital information as soon as possible.

    1. Huo Qubing was a general in the Western Han Dynasty. The Hexi Corridor is a long but narrow stretch ofnd within western Gansu. The battle referenced in this section urred around 121 BCE.

 Chapter 540: A Pure and Innocent Female Spy

    <h4>Chapter 540: A Pure and Innocent Female Spy</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An was currently seated in front of a desk, reading through some documents on a tortoise shell. A civilization without paper meant that daily life was terribly inconvenient. He had to carry bones around with him day after day. Aside from tortoise shells, he had to lug around cow bones, sheep bones¡­ It seemed as though any sort of bone that could be carved on was used.

    ¡°Even bamboo slips would be better than this,¡± Zu Anined. At least it was his soul that had entered this trial, which meant that he could understand these oracle script and converse normally with the people of this world. Not being able to read or write while in this trial would have been truly terrible.

    A shadow fell across him, and the scent of a youngdy gently filled his senses. Zu An raised his head to look at the maid in front of him. ¡°Xiao Tuo, why are you here?¡±

    In truth, Zu An had already made a rough guess, given the nervousness in her expression and the tension in her body.

    Xiao Tuo bit her lip. ¡°My king, it¡¯s already sote. Why aren¡¯t you resting yet?¡± she said with a gentle voice.

    Zu An looked outside the window. Using the way time was measured in his previous world, it wasn¡¯t past eight in the evening yet. In his previous life, sleeping before midnight would have been early for him. There was no way this could be consideredte.

    But for the ancient people, there was no electricity, and even lighting a fire was costly. It was already quitete for them.

    He raised the bone in his hand. ¡°I still have some documents to take care of.¡±

    Xiao Tuo was surprised. This good-for-nothing king was surprisingly diligent.

    Despite this she remained focused on her mission. She walked behind Zu An and gently leaned against his shoulder. ¡°Should I help my king release some stress?¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°Xiao Tuo, I wish you¡¯d been this amodating earlier on!¡±

    Xiao Tuo scoffed in her heart. She wanted to strangle this man in front of her to death! However, she knew that there was nothing she could do. Forcing herself to smile, she began to massage him, at the same time keeping an eye on the documents in his hands to see if she could obtain any important information.

    She never expected Zu An to lean backwards all the way, almost burying his entire head into her chest! He let out a rxed sigh. ¡°Ah, that¡¯s more like it. Your massage techniques are pretty good!¡±

    Xiao Tuo¡¯s body went rigid. All thoughts of reading the documents in front of him fled from her mind, and she almost subconsciously pushed him away.

    However, she quickly remembered the reason she was here. Gritting her teeth, she forcefully held herself back.

    Zu An was obviously able to read her bodynguage. A strange smile appeared on his face. He¡¯d deliberately fallen into a sensitive part of her to feel out her true motives. She had clearly been against this sort of behavior before, yet there was surprisingly little reaction this time around.

    It seems like she¡¯s really here to seduce me today.

    But what made her change so noticeably all of a sudden?

    Hatred? Or perhaps¡­ love?

    He¡¯d taken note of the high priest Lian earlier on during the ceremony. Such a tall and well-built figure did seem like something girls would fall for.

    He had already asked Fu Shuo to look into this maid¡¯s background a few days ago. The document he¡¯d been reading was the file he¡¯dpiled about her. She dide from the Tuo State, but there was something else interesting: she seemed to have grown up together with Lian.

    Are they childhood sweethearts? I¡¯m surprised Lian is willing to do such a thing.

    A mocking smile spread across Zu An¡¯s lips.

    In that case, I¡¯ll let you have a taste of an amazing double loss! But how am I going to make this spy unwittingly be my spy¡­

    ¡°My king, what are you smiling at?¡± Xiao Tuo asked as she gently massaged his temples. With this fellow lying on her chest this way, she felt extremely flustered. She was desperate for a change of topic in order to get rid of the awkwardness.

    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I be smiling? Xiao Tuo is making me feel so good.¡± Zu An had to admit that this trial was just way too realistic. Although only his soul had been transferred into it, everything felt just like reality.

    His fun with Pei Mianman was one thing, since she was also a participant in the trial.

    But this maid was just an NPC, yet she could totally pass off as an ordinary, real-life person! He could feel the softness of her chest, and the heat from her supple skin. He could even smell the special fragrance that only a youngdy carried.

    Isn¡¯t everything way too realistic? Wait, there¡¯s still something else I need to test¡­

    ¡°Thank you for your praise, my king.¡± An embarrassed smile graced Xiao Tuo¡¯s lips, but she was secretly cursing him inside. He was a perverted and useless king after all!

    At this moment, though, she was in a dilemma. Just how was she supposed to go on from here?

    If she threw herself straight at him, she would seem a bit too cheap. Who cared if he wasn¡¯t interested in the end? Even she wasn¡¯t willing to let herself go so low.

    Fortunately, Zu An spoke up. ¡°I¡¯ve been feeling rather tired these days. Please apany me to the bath.¡±

    He had already gone over every nook and cranny of the pce over thest few days. He did not want to miss any vital information or clues within it which could prove crucial to thepletion of this trial.

    In his investigation, he hade across a hot spring in the pce that had been modified into the king¡¯s personal bath.

    All this while, he¡¯d been busy with his investigations and had not had the time to rest. Now that he¡¯d built up a decent understanding of this trial, he could finally take it a little easier.

    Xiao Tuo stiffened for a moment, but she quickly lowered her head in eptance. ¡°Okay.¡±

    She obviously knew that it was easier for things to happen in a ce like a hot spring. This is fine¡­

    Carrying a fresh set of clothes, she followed him to the bath. Zu An removed his clothes and walked straight into the hot spring.

    Xiao Tuo¡¯s face flushed red. She quickly turned her head to the side, secretly cursing him. This man really is a scoundrel! Even though she¡¯d turned away, however, his strong and sturdy body continued to surface in her thoughts from time to time.

    Especially that elongated object that had prodded her repeatedly that night.

    Just recalling the events of that night were enough to make her cheeks go bright red.

    Zu An felt the heat of the hot spring seep into his body, and sighed blissfully.

    If he wasn¡¯t being hunted down by humans, then he was being hunted down by ghosts. He really was exhausted. Now, he finally had a chance topletely rx! It was a pity that Manman wasn¡¯t given the same chance to rest, even now. He wondered how things were going for her.

    While he was lost in his thoughts, he suddenly felt a pair of trembling hands rest on his shoulders, then begin to massage him gently.

    Zu An turned around and saw that Xiao Tuo was kneeling at the edge of the hot spring. Her posture was quite strange because of the difference in height.

    ¡°You shoulde in. You look quite ufortable up there,¡± Zu An said with a chuckle. Since this girl wanted to seduce him, he¡¯d give her that chance! Meanwhile, he could enjoy these benefits that came with being a king. Why would he give up such a perfect opportunity?

    Xiao Tuo bit her lip. There was a conflicted look on her face.

    Zu An didn¡¯t continue to pressure her, and closed his eyes restfully instead. He wasn¡¯t going to fall so low as to force a girl into pleasuring him. He wouldn¡¯t make her do anything she didn¡¯t want to do herself.

    A few moments passed, and a soft voice called out to him as a pair of hands pushed him forward. ¡°My king, please move forward a little so that I can massage you properly.¡±

    Zu An opened his eyes. The scene before him almost made blood gush out of his nose! This youngdy¡¯s golden skin shimmered, reflecting the clear spring water just as well as the water reflected her gorgeous image. Most of her body was obscured underwater, but the mystery only made it harder for any man to resist.

    Zu An had a strange look on his face. ¡°You didn¡¯t have to take off your clothes, you know.¡±

    Xiao Tuo was momentarily at a loss for words.

    Bloody hell, why didn¡¯t you say so then!

    This useless king was definitely trying to make a fool out of her!

    You have sessfully trolled Xiao Tuo for 233¡­ 233¡­ 233¡­

    Of course, there was no way she would put her clothes on again, now that they were in this situation.

    She took a deep breath to calm her flustered mind, and then she hid behind Zu An to continue massaging him, as if this would somehow make her feel a little better.

    He knew that she was deliberately hiding from his line of sight, so Zu An didn¡¯t turn around to look at her again. This little girl looked like she was already about to cry!

    Sigh, even the female spies of this age are so adorably innocent¡­ I feel embarrassed just teasing her.

    He continued to rx with his eyes closed. He already had so many female friends, so it wasn¡¯t too hard for him to resist temptation. Rather than going further, he was more than content with just enjoying this hot spring while having a pretty youngdy massage him.

    His mind was at peace, but the maid¡¯s was definitely not. Never in her entire life had she ever been so intimate with another man.

    Her face slowly grew redder and redder, although she didn¡¯t know if it was because of the heat of the hot spring or from being so close to the body of such a strong man. Her heart began to beat faster and faster.

    She sighed. Since she¡¯d already made it this far, she might as well follow through with her mission.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    She reminded herself of her sweetheart¡¯s dream, and a sh of decisiveness flickered across her eyes, apanied by a trace of sorry. She wrapped her arms around Zu An, then pressed herself gently against his back.

 Chapter 541: Blind Confidence

    <h4>Chapter 541: Blind Confidence</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An was stupefied when he felt something soft against his back. This girl was really going for broke here!

    ¡°Xiao Tuo, what are you doing?¡± He could clearly feel the smoothness of her bare skin on his own.

    Xiao Tuo bit her red lip, her cheeks burning up. Why did this stupid king have to pretend as though he didn¡¯t know? But she couldn¡¯t just stay silent, so she forced herself to say, ¡°I¡­ I am massaging my king.¡±

    Zu An had a strange look on his face. ¡°Go on then.¡±

    This king is worthless! Xiao Tuo cursed inwardly. She was already being extremely proactive, and she had fully expected that this perverted ruler would not be able to hold himself back. She was expecting him to immediately vite her.

    Once that happened, she wouldn¡¯t have to worry about the rest. She would just treat it as though she was being bitten by a dog.

    But who could have expected that he would remain as steady as a mountain? He sounded perfectly calm, and she had absolutely no idea how she was supposed to follow this up.

    She had already gone so far. If she still failed to achieve her objective, she would be too ashamed to keep on living.

    A shudder ran through Xiao Tuo¡¯s entire body. She wasn¡¯t afraid of sacrificing herself, but she was worried that her sacrifice would be in vain. Even though they hadn¡¯t yet taken the final step, this alone was almost equivalent to losing her purity. If she couldn¡¯t make him take her as his woman, then all of her future ns would fall through, and even big brother Lian would find it more difficult to realize his dream.

    She felt a wave of sadness when she thought of her big brother Lian. As matters stood, however, she was truly left with no other choice. Her only objective was to figure out just how she was going to seduce the man in front of her.

    Unfortunately, she was inexperienced. Her hands groped around Zu An¡¯s body awkwardly, but she was so unsure about herself that she did not even dare to touch any of his key areas.

    Zu An chuckled secretly. This girl really was charmingly innocent. Even though she was trained as a female spy, she was so ufortable with the role.

    Of course, if she really had been proficient in this field, he might not have been in the mood to y around with her.

    Zu An figured that letting this awkwardness continue was pointless, so he said, ¡°Help me wash my back.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­ okay¡­¡± Xiao Tuo sighed in relief. She was already on the verge of panic, unsure as to how to proceed.

    She was just about to bring her hands back behind him when Zu An reached out his own hands to grab them. ¡°Keep your hands in front of me.¡±

    Xiao Tuo¡¯s confusion was evident. ¡°Then how am I supposed to wash your back, my king?¡±

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°You don¡¯t need to use your hands to wash my back.¡±

    Xiao Tuo blinked, then stared nkly for a while. Her imagination regarding this was rather limited, and she couldn¡¯t figure out what he meant.

    Zu An sighed. It looked like he was going to have to do some hand-holding.

    He pulled her arms forward so that her body was pressed up against his back. ¡°Like this¡­¡± he said, demonstrating what he expected from her.

    Damn this perverted king!

    You have sessfully trolled Xiao Tuo for 567 Rage points!

    Xiao Tuo was ashamed, angry, and shocked. How in the world was she supposed to know that such a thing existed?

    She cursed him to death in her heart, but there was nothing she could do about it now. She could only wash his back in this manner, trembling all the while.

    Her entire body shuddered as soon as she¡¯d made contact with him, as though electricity had coursed through her body. For a pure youngdy like her, such a shock was just too much for her body to handle.

    Zu An closed his eyes, reveling in thefort. Being an emperor really was great! No wonder people risked their lives to achieve such a position.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in the High Priest¡¯s residence, Lian was gazing towards the pce with an extremely unpleasant expression.

    His trusted aide, who was beside him, felt the urge to speak up. ¡°High Priest,dy Xiao Tuo shares a deep affection with you. Isn¡¯t sending her to the pce a little too cruel?¡±

    ¡°Are you trying to tell me what to do?¡± Lian turned around, shooting him a ferocious look.

    The trusted aide immediately lowered his head. ¡°This humble one doesn¡¯t dare.¡±

    Lian snorted dismissively. ¡°Those who wish to achieve greatness do not bother about the small details. I will remember her achievements, and I definitely won¡¯t mistreat her in the future. She will have her ce in the chamber of imperial concubines.¡±

    The trusted aide scoffed secretly. Didn¡¯t you tell her to her face that she was going to be the empress? Now, though, it seems she¡¯s only going to be a concubine.

    He considered his thoughts silently for a moment, but feltpelled to speak again. ¡°That girl is kind-hearted by nature. Lady Xiao Tuo has remained pure all this while, ever since she was young. What if she ends up being confused by that good-for-nothing king¡­?¡±

    ¡°That won¡¯t happen,¡± Lian cut him off confidently. ¡°I am the one whom she loves. I know how she feels about me better than anyone else does.¡±

    ¡­

    Right now, though, the girl whom he said was fully devoted to him was sitting in Zu An¡¯s embrace, her body weak.

    Xiao Tuo truly was a pure and innocent girl, and the unorthodox massage had left her entire body limp after just a short amount of time. She did not have the strength to continue on with it.

    Zu An had decided to move her in front of him instead, so that he could examine this youngdy up close. Either because of the heat from the hot springs, or because of her extreme embarrassment, her skin was a rosy pink. There was a special charm to her innocence, and she was truly a sight to behold.

    He chuckled when he sensed something odd about her. ¡°Xiao Tuo, you really look like you were just fished out of water.¡±

    Xiao Tuo was stunned. Wasn¡¯t I just inside a hot spring earlier? Of course I look like I just got out of water! However, she soon realized what he meant, and she somehow grew even redder.

    The powerful aura of a man being this close to her was too much. She sighed inwardly, and then acknowledged her fate. ¡°My king, please have pity on me.¡±

    He knew that she was a spy, so there was no way he would show her any sympathy. He pressed down on her right away.

    Xiao Tuo cried out, wrapping herself tightly around the man on top of her.

    When he saw how frightened she was, Zu An couldn¡¯t find it within himself to be forceful. He became much gentler¡­

    ¡­

    After what seemed like an eternity, Xiao Tuo gradually woke up, to see that she was already lying on a bed. There was even a thin nket covering her.

    She tried to remember what had happened, and her face quickly turned red.

    When she had nned out what to do earlier, she had decided that it would be better to pretend to moan a few times just to please him, and satisfy the man¡¯s desire to conquer a woman.

    She never would have guessed that there would be no need for her to pretend at all! Moans had emerged from deep within her uncontrobly, and she had lost consciousness soon afterwards.

    As she recalled her disappointing performance¡ªshe didn¡¯t even know when or how she was brought to this bed!¡ªa thought suddenly shed into her mind. Fu Hao is a really strong woman! She managed to withstand this man¡¯s pounding for so long¡­

    A million expressions flickered across her face as she looked at that sturdy figure sitting at the desk nearby.This man was the one who had stolen her first time.

    He was still looking through documents, even thiste into the night. Calling him an ipetent king really did seem rather unfair, but ¡®pervert¡¯ fit his description perfectly!

    Just as she was clenching her fists in annoyance, he spoke. ¡°Are you awake?¡±

    Even though she hated his guts, Xiao Tuo didn¡¯t dare let any of it show on the surface. ¡°Greetings, my king. Xiao Tuo is truly a good-for-nothing. I actually needed my king to take care of me earlier¡­¡±

    She struggled off the bed and was about to kneel, but her entire body seemed strangely stiff, which made her frown subconsciously.

    Zu An sighed. Although his soul was the only thing that had entered this trial, everything about it seemed as lifelike as the real world. It really was kind of crazy.

    He slowly supported her back up. ¡°There¡¯s no need for such formality. Your body has yet to recover. It¡¯s better if you get some rest first.¡±

    He helped her back into bed, then covered her up again.

    Xiao Tuo was a little flustered by how caring he was. His current mannerisms were way too different from the mental image she had of this incapable king!

    No, this won¡¯t do! I can¡¯t be deceived by his false kindness! I can¡¯t let down big brother Lian!

    But she immediately recalled that she had given away her virgin experience to this man, and a dark shadow overwhelmed her heart. Pursing her lips, she turned her head to the side. Two sets of tears left streaks across her cheeks.

    Zu An shook his head. This girl really thought that he wouldn¡¯t be able to see her crying just because she¡¯d turned her head away? She was truly innocent and na?ve, to a worrying degree.

    For some reason, he suddenly thought of the movie ¡®Lust, Caution¡¯, and sighed. Honey traps weren¡¯t something to be carelesslyid! A strictly-trained female spy who specialized in such a lifestyle might be able to use her body as a weapon without any emotional repercussions, but many female spies who didn¡¯t have as much experience or resolve often ended up destroying themselves because of this.

    However, if the high priest was hell bent on using her as his chess piece, then he would just have to beat him at his own game.

    ¡­

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Several dayster, the sound of something shattering echoed within the High Priest¡¯s room, followed by a man¡¯s furious roar.

    ¡°You incapable king! You tyrannical and incapable king!¡±

    The red-eyed man storming about the room was none other than Lian. He had his men constantly watching for activity within the pce. The reports he received were always the same: the king, carrying Xiao Tuo in his arms, making music with her every single night.

    Even though this was all part of his ns, the knowledge that his own childhood sweetheart was pressed up against his mortal enemy day and night still drove him mad with anger.

    You have sessfully trolled Lian for 1024¡­ 1024¡­ 1024¡­

 Chapter 542: Cards on the Table

    <h4>Chapter 542: Cards on the Table</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    His trusted aide waited until Lian¡¯s anger had passed before saying, ¡°At least miss Xiao Tuo was able to give us some information. Because of that, we¡­ aren¡¯t losing out.¡±

    He had a hard time finding the right way to phrase things. In the end, that was the most appropriate thing he could find.

    Lian¡¯s expression sank. ¡°Xiao Tuo has indeed been of great service to us. Have we prepared our countermeasures using her information yet?¡±

    His trusted aide nodded. ¡°We¡¯ve already finished all of our preparations. We¡¯ve even roped in many unhappy chancellors who had been deliberately suppressed by Wu Ding.¡±

    ¡°Good.¡± Lian¡¯s expression eased a little. ¡°Oh, right. There is something else that needs to be done. I need you to make a trip.¡±

    ¡°This subordinate won¡¯t hesitate toplete any tasks the high priest needs me to take care of!¡± his aide said right away, sping his fist at his master.

    Lian looked in the direction of the imperial pce. The image of Wu Ding pressing down on his childhood sweetheart made him clench his fists so tightly that his nails were about to dig into his skin. ¡°Find a way to contact Fu Hao on the front lines. Let her know that this incapable ruler of hers has already begun ying around with other women from the moment she left, and that he is spending all his days messing around the pce.¡±

    His trusted aide¡¯s eyes brightened, and he said with admiration, ¡°The High Priest¡¯s tactics are truly marvelous! By ruining their rtionship, even if Fu Hao returns victorious, their rtionship will never be the same again. The fiefdom under Fu Hao is powerful, which makes her one of Wu Ding¡¯s most powerful allies. If Fu Hao ever chooses to withdraw her support for him, he will be finished!¡±

    He sighed deeply, full of admiration for what he was witnessing. He didn¡¯t fully approve of the high priest sending his own beloved woman into the pce, but now, he could see that the high priest really was someone with acute foresight!

    Lian sneered as well. ¡°There isn¡¯t a woman in this world who does not feel jealousy. Make it look natural. We don¡¯t want Fu Hao to grow suspicious.¡±

    The trusted aide sped his fist. ¡°I understand!¡±

    ¡°Go, and do what needs to be done.¡± Lian waved his hand. He¡¯d spent such a long timeying out his ns, and it was now about time to reel in the. It was also time for that incapable king to feel some pain.

    ¡­

    A few dayster, Zu An was lying in Xiao Tuo¡¯s warm embrace, rxing as she fed him grapes one by one.

    Zu An was fully immersed in the enjoyment of this heavenly lifestyle when someone hurriedly brought in a report from outside the pce.

    ¡°It¡¯s already sote in the evening. What kind of secret report could there be? Leave.¡± Zu An was slightly annoyed, and refused to see the messenger. He turned around and buried his head in Xiao Tuo¡¯s chest.

    Xiao Tuo blushed and said in a gentle voice, ¡°My king, these matters of state are extremely important. I¡¯m sure he¡¯se with important news, especially if he¡¯s bothering you sote.¡±

    She had already been contacted by Lian beforehand, so she knew what was going on. She had her own part to y.

    Xiao Tuo sighed when she looked at the man who was restingfortably in her embrace. From the time they¡¯d spent together, she had begun to realize that this man wasn¡¯t as bad as she¡¯d always thought he was. On the contrary, he actually treated her pretty well.

    She had rejected him at first, butter on, even if her mind wasn¡¯t willing, her body instinctively weed him. In time, even she began to wonder if she was truly unwilling or not.

    No! Big brother Lian is the one I love! I entered this pce for his sake. You cannot let this incapable king deceive you! She warned herself constantly.

    She had secretly taken a look at many of the king¡¯s confidential documents during their time together, and she¡¯d also overheard his conversations with his trusted aide, all of which she reported to Lian. She was already too deep undercover to back out now.

    ¡°Fine. Since Xiao Tuo is asking me to, I¡¯ll grant him an audience,¡± said Zu An with a chuckle. He gestured for the messenger toe in.

    Xiao Tuo felt slightly entranced by his smile. This man really did treat her quite well. She couldn¡¯t help but feel a little sorry for him.

    In a few moments, someone entered and offered him a report. He was a mid-levelmander in Wu Ding¡¯s army, and he had risked this trip back to inform him about the situation on the front lines.

    Fu Hao learned that her husband had taken in a new woman soon after she had left. While she was braving dangers day after day on the battlefield, the king was ying around in the pce. This left her infuriated, and many of Fu Hao¡¯s subordinates were angered as well. All of them advised her to break away from him.

    Many of the members of Wu Ding¡¯s own guard learned of this, so they sent someone back to let him know, as they were all worried that something might happen. That way, he could make some preparations himself. The best countermeasure would be to send another general to take her ce before she truly made her decision to rebel.

    After listening to the report, Zu An¡¯s expression grew thoughtful. He tapped his finger lightly against the table.

    Xiao Tuo immediately rushed over and knelt down. ¡°My king, this is all Xiao Tuo¡¯s fault! I¡¯ve ruined your rtionship with the queen! Please, send me to the queen and let her punish me.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes grew cold when he heard what she said. She imed to be begging for forgiveness, but in actuality, she was offering herself up as living proof of the discord between the king and queen. If it hadn¡¯t been him and Pei Mianman ying the roles of the king and queen, she might have truly aplished her objective.

    He turned to look at themander. ¡°Are you certain that you heard the queen voice her thoughts of rebellion?¡±

    ¡°The queen has not expressed any clear attitudes on the matter yet,¡± rified themander. ¡°However, she is clearly uncertain, and her aides are inciting her against you. Respectfully, she might point her spears at you at any time. Once she returns to Yin Capital, she might start a huge rebellion!¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°You¡¯re quite sharp. You knew that I wouldn¡¯t believe you if you said that the queen is rebelling. Instead, you worded your statement ambiguously to make me second guess myself.¡±

    Themander stiffened, and Xiao Tuo frowned as well. Things did not seem to be going ording to n.

    ¡°Someone drag this liar away and have him executed!¡±manded Zu An.

    ording to the customs of the Shang Dynasty, it was well within his rights to turn this man into a human sacrifice as punishment. However, Zu An could not stomach such a decision, so he decided to let him have an easy death instead.

    In a sh, two tall guards entered the room. They each grabbed themander by an arm and took him away.

    ¡°I am being wronged, my king! Everything I said was true!¡± The man struggled frantically, but there was no way he could break free.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t be bothered with him anymore. Instead, he marveled at the cultivation of these pce guards. That officer was quite strong himself, yet he was less than nothing before those two guards.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The skeleton warrior that had been guarding the gate seemed to share a simr build as them. No wonder it had been so ferocious.

    Themander¡¯s anguished voice gradually faded, and the pce became quiet once more.

    Xiao Tuo¡¯s expression was pale. She couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°My king, why did you have him put to death without even investigating if what he said was true? What if all the things he said really did happen? Also, if you sentence him to death straight after he rushed back from the front lines, wouldn¡¯t that decrease the morale of our loyal soldiers?¡±

    ¡°There is no way what he said is true,¡± Zu An replied indifferently. ¡°I trust the queen, just as I know the queen trusts me. There can be no betrayal between us.¡±

    What kind of joke was this? He knew exactly what kind of rtionship he and Pei Mianman shared.

    To a certain degree, they were both tourists in this world. They only had each other, and there was no way they would let themselves be deceived by the natives, let alone the fact that they were lovers who had already braved great dangers together.

    He had wondered all along what the most dangerous part of this trial would be, and among the things he suspected, the difficulty ofmunicating across a great distance was a big concern. After all, rumors could distort the real truth. There were many examples of this that even junior high students knew about. That was why he had been careful to warn Pei Mianman about these dangers before she left.

    ¡°But then, given the way my king treats me, aren¡¯t you already betraying the queen to some extent?¡± Xiao Tuo said weakly.

    Zu An fixed his stare on her. ¡°You tried to seduce me while harboring ulterior motives, and I was merely ying your game, using you to mislead the one behind you. Why would the queen me me for that?¡±

    Even though this was what he said, he still felt rather guilty inside. However, he decided that Manman probably wouldn¡¯t mind whatever happened between him and an NPC.

    Xiao Tuo felt as if she had been struck by lightning. She continued to deny it feebly, mumbling, ¡°My king, what are you saying? I¡­ I don¡¯t understand.¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°Xiao Tuo, I know you were sent by Lian. The two of you were childhood sweethearts, and shared a deep affection for one another. I didn¡¯t expect him to send you to the pce to serve me. That was truly a great sacrifice.¡±

    ¡°You¡­ you knew about everything.¡± Xiao Tuo felt thest of her strength leak out of her. For some reason, however, she felt no fear. Instead, it was as though she had been released from an iron cage.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I knew from the very beginning.¡± Zu An walked over to her and looked at her. Then, he carried her and walked over to the bed.

    Xiao Tuo finally snapped out of her daze, and began to struggle frantically. ¡°No! Let me go!¡±

    Zu An¡¯s voice was icy cold. ¡°You¡¯ve already served me many, many times. The two of us were practically glued together. Why are you suddenly behaving like this?¡±

    ¡°That was different!¡± Xiao Tuo began to sob. She could numb herself before with the thought that it was all for the sake of her mission, and that it was all part of her lover¡¯s n.

    Now that everything had been exposed, however, how could she continue to remain with this man?

 Chapter 543: A Crumbling Heart

    <h4>Chapter 543: A Crumbling Heart</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°What¡¯s different?¡± Zu An carried her to the bed and sat down. He didn¡¯t go further.

    Xiao Tuo turned her face away and tightly pursed her lips, offering no reply. She knew that, at this point, anything she said would be meaningless.

    Zu An smiled. ¡°Unfortunately, I¡¯m a soft-hearted man who lets bygones be bygones. I won¡¯t hold anything against you, as long as you agree to be my woman.¡±

    ¡°Keep on dreaming!¡± Even though Xiao Tuo was so scared that her entire body was shaking, she still summoned the courage to reject him. ¡°Big brother Lian will be the only one that my heart belongs to. I will never give myself to an incapable ruler like you!¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°Your love for Lian might be unswerving, but I fear that he doesn¡¯t trust you.¡±

    Xiao Tuo bit her lip, and then said, ¡°I grew up with my big brother Lian. We understand each other. You cannot drive a wedge between us.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± A mocking look flickered across Zu An¡¯s face. ¡°If the two of you really are childhood sweethearts, then why would he be willing to send you into the pce to serve another man?¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious? Both you and your father stole the throne that belongs to him. Since I love him, I would obviously do everything I can to help him,¡± Xiao Tuo replied.

    ¡°You¡¯re even willing to give up your own chastity for that?¡±

    ¡°I am willing.¡± By now, Xiao Tuo had already calmed down. She said coldly, ¡°Feel free to punish me however you please. I don¡¯t want to hear any more of this nonsense.¡±

    Zu An was surprised. ¡°What a heroic woman! Unfortunately, you¡¯ve dedicated yourself to the wrong cause.¡±

    Xiao Tuo turned her head away. She didn¡¯t want to argue with him over this matter.

    Zu An said, ¡°When I said that Lian might not trust you, I wasn¡¯t trying to hurt you. Think about it. When you first entered the pce, you constantly exchanged information with him, yet as time went on, the intervals between your visits grew longer and longer, and eventually, it was almost a miracle that you two would meet up at all. Why do you think that is?¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± Xiao Tuo choked for a moment. She didn¡¯t have a good exnation for this either. She hadn¡¯t even realized that she had done this.

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s because the longer we spent with each other, the more fond you became of me. You subconsciously felt like you were wronging me. Your actions were because of your guilt.¡±

    If it wasn¡¯t for the changes he¡¯d notice in her behavior, he wouldn¡¯t even have bothered with exining all of this to her. He could have just had an imperial guard lock her up. Even if he didn¡¯t sentence her to death, he could have her thrown into the inner prison.

    Xiao Tuo¡¯s face paled, and she immediately retorted, ¡°Nonsense! How could I possibly develop feelings for you?!¡±

    ¡°Anyone would develop feelings of attachment if they raised a kitten or puppy long enough, all the more so if they spent time with another human being. We¡¯ve been together all this time, and engaged in activities even more intimate than what married couples do. What¡¯s so strange about an innocent girl like you unknowingly developing feelings for me?¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°No¡­ no way¡­¡± Xiao Tuo was still in denial, but her voice was already no longer as firm as before.

    She was even beginning to doubt her convictions. Could it really be like what he said, that she had developed feelings for him?

    But the one in her heart was her big brother Lian! Why would she suddenly be such a fickle woman?

    Seeing her conflicted expression, Zu An continued, ¡°No matter how good your rtionship with Lian is, there is no way a man would let such a thing go. Even if he does seed to the throne, he won¡¯t be able to ept the fact that you already slept with another man so many times. That¡¯s why, from the moment you agreed to the n, your fate was doomed to be a tragic one, regardless of whether it was me or Lian who won out.¡±

    All color drained from Xiao Tuo¡¯s face. She¡¯d considered such a thing beforehand, but she had always subconsciously told herself that big brother Lian wasn¡¯t that sort of person, and didn¡¯t let herself consider anything beyond that. Now that Zu An hadid all of this out, she knew that this was most likely the truth.

    Zu An went on, ¡°I doubt that he¡¯s okay whenever he thinks about what you are doing. Now that you¡¯re contacting him much less frequently as well, who could me him if he begins to suspect that, after sleeping with me day after day, you¡¯ve already developed some feelings for me? When you look at all of this together, it¡¯s simply one bad thing on top of another. There¡¯s no chance that the two of you will ever return to being how you were in the past.¡±

    Xiao Tuo took a deep breath. ¡°I understand what you are saying, but so what? I¡¯ve already agreed to help him. As long as he thinks well about me from time to time, I will be more than satisfied. I never nned for the two of us to be exclusive lovers.¡±

    ¡°You expect him to think well of you?¡± Zu Anughed out loud. ¡°You¡¯re too na?ve! You¡¯ll be lucky if he doesn¡¯t loathe you! How could he possibly have any good thoughts when he thinks of you?¡±

    ¡°Nonsense! How could he possibly hate me?!¡± Xiao Tuo began to panic. This was thest strand of hope that she was desperately clinging onto. She did not want to let anyone take it away from her.

    Zu An reached out his hand and lifted her chin gently, admiring her pretty face up close. ¡°Since I already knew your objective from the very start, did you think that I would have taken no precautions?¡±

    A sudden thought shed into Xiao Tuo¡¯s mind, and her face warped with horror.

    Zu An traced his finger across her face, feeling her soft and smooth skin. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve passed on all of the intelligence that you¡¯ve obtained from me during this period. Even though you were always rather careful, I was already aware of your intentions, so there was no way I could let you achieve your goals.¡±

    ¡°But I still obtained a lot of secret intelligence!¡± Xiao Tuo said quickly.

    Zu Anughed. ¡°Because all of that was false information that I deliberately let you have ess to.¡±

    ¡°False information?¡± Xiao Tuo felt something snap within her, and her soul seemed to leave her body. Shepletely forgot about the hand on her face¡­ Of course, given the things they had done during this period, such a trifling thing was hardly a big deal.

    Zu An nodded. ¡°Actually, I feel truly grateful to you. It was rather difficult to get rid of those who opposed me, but by having you mislead Lian, I had him take care of many of his own trusted subordinates for me. Haha! He thought that those people that he removed had been bribed by me. Instead, the people he now trusts and ced in important positions are the ones that actually work for me.

    ¡°You¡¯ve really helped me out and put him in quite the miserable position! Tell me, do you think Lian will still think fondly of you, or will he hate you?¡±

    Xiao Tuo¡¯s body went ice-cold. ¡°You¡¯re a devil!¡± she cried.

    Zu An grabbed her hand. ¡°Let me make something clear.¡± he replied, his voice devoid of emotion. ¡°You were the ones who plotted against me first. Who is the real devil here?¡±

    Xiao Tuo¡¯s face went nk, and her entire body went limp. She began to sob.

    Thest of her faith had crumbled, and she finally realized that everything she had stood for was a joke.

    She had given up her own purity and happiness, and ruined all of Lian¡¯s dreams in the process. All of this was just too much for her to take.

    The man in front of her showed her no mercy, his fiendish voice continuing to batter her ears. ¡°Once he realizes all of this, and he associates it with the grievance he has already been feeling all this while, his first thought will be that you somehow developed feelings for me, which will lead him to think that you betrayed him. He will believe that you plotted with me to fool him.¡±

    ¡°No, he won¡¯t¡­¡± Xiao Tuo mumbled, frantically shaking her head. However, she knew just how powerless her words were.

    ¡°Why are you telling me all of this? Is it just so you can humiliate me even more?¡± Xiao Tuo looked at him, her eyes brimming with tears.

    Zu An looked back at her, then reached out a hand to wipe away the tears dripping down her cheeks. ¡°It¡¯s because I want you.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve already had me all along!¡± Xiao Tuo screamed. He had already toyed with her day and night! Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s still not satisfied?!

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°No, I haven¡¯t.¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Xiao Tuo was stunned. She was confused at first, but she slowly understood what he meant. He did not only want her body, he wanted her heart as well.

    She sneered. ¡°Do you think it¡¯s even possible?¡±

    Zu An said indifferently, ¡°If it wasn¡¯t because of the changes I¡¯d seen happen in the way you treated me, as well as the hesitation and doubt you subconsciously felt whenever you leaked out information, I wouldn¡¯t have even bothered to say so much to you.¡±

    Xiao Tuo stayed silent. Could I have unknowingly¡­?

    Zu An continued, ¡°There¡¯s really no need for you to feel sympathy for someone who uses his lover¡¯s body to achieve his goals. Besides, putting aside your feelings for now, you still have your family and the people of the Tuo State to worry about. Do you truly wish for all of them to be chopped up into mincemeat and offered as human sacrifices just because of their rtionship to you?¡±

    Xiao Tuo¡¯s entire body began to tremble. ¡°You really are a devil after all!¡±

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not saying all this to threaten you. You need to understand that, more often than not, decisions are not left up to the king alone. When it is time for Lian to stand ountable for his deeds, the court officials will examine both you and your family and the people within your state. This isn¡¯t something I can dismiss with a wave of my hand, even if I wanted to. If I did so, our entire country would be thrown into disorder.

    ¡°I¡¯m only telling you this because I want you to choose a path that actually benefits yourself. Only if you willingly give yourself to me can I convince everyone that everything you did was a part of my n. Only then can you, your family and the people of your state avoid that bitter ending.¡±

    When he saw her nk expression, Zu An lowered his head to kiss her cherry-colored lips.

    Xiao Tuo subconsciously reached out to push him away, but her hands froze midway.

    Zu An smiled. He interlocked his fingers with hers, and then he carried her to the bed.

    Xiao Tuo¡¯s heart began to pound. Even though she had embraced him intimately on many asions over the course of this period, for some reason, she felt extremely nervous. She might have been even more nervous than the first time.

    She knew that, this time at least, her heart was awash with contradiction and hesitation.

 Chapter 544: Testing the Heart

    <h4>Chapter 544: Testing the Heart</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    While she was hesitating, she suddenly felt a familiar feeling, and she instinctively embraced the man in front of her.

    Noticing her subconscious actions, Xiao Tuo finally acknowledged her fate. It seemed that even her body was ustomed to this man.

    ¡°Look at me.¡± A voice ordered beside her ear, which brooked no questioning.

    She wanted to turn her head away, but Zu An turned her head right back.

    Xiao Tuo felt extremely helpless as she caught sight of the satisfied smile in his eyes.

    As they continued to gaze deeply into each other¡¯s eyes, though, she suddenly felt a spark of tenderness blossom within her. Even though it was faint, she knew that her actions were no longer a result of sticking to a mission.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡­

    After goodness knows how long, Xiao Tuo found herself huddled within Zu An¡¯s embrace, looking at him quietly.

    He was already fast asleep. Even though Xiao Tuo was also exhausted as well, her mind was currently in a mess, and there was no way she would be able to follow suit.

    Thoughts constantly raced through her mind, and as she observed them silently, she suddenly grew surprised. She noticed that her head was mostly filled with thoughts about this king and that she rarely thought about Lian at all.

    Xiao Tuo looked at the man next to her, aplicated expression on her face. Could she really have developed feelings for him?

    In the end, however, her exhaustion won out, and she gradually drifted off into thend of dreams. As she was dreaming, her brow furrowed, and her expression clearly mirrored her inner panic. She subconsciously moved closer towards Zu An. Only when she felt his body¡¯s warmth and sensed his heartbeat did she gradually calm down.

    When Xiao Tuo awoke the next morning, she discovered how closely she¡¯d curled up against him as she slept, and her face grew bright red. She hadn¡¯t expected to be so attached to him even when she was sleeping.

    As she stared at his face¡ªangr and strong, as though sculpted by a master¡ªshe blushed. This incapable king is pretty good-looking, I guess.

    Her mind drifted off, absorbed by its own thoughts. Whenever she was with Lian, she found even breathing difficult, and most of her memories with him were filled with bitterness and suffering. Yet her memories of her time together with this man were much sweeter. Why was that? Could this be what love really felt like?

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard that if one stares at someone for more than fifteen seconds, you will fall in love with them. You¡¯ve been staring at me for quite a while.¡± Zu An¡¯s teasingughter echoed through the room.

    Xiao Tuo¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and she recoiled away from him. ¡°You¡­ you were already awake?¡±

    ¡°I woke up when I heard a certain someone¡¯s heartbeat speed up.¡± Zu An pulled her slender waist straight into his arms. ¡°We¡¯re already a couple, there¡¯s nothing to hide.¡±

    ¡°A couple¡­¡± A trace of warmth seeped into Xiao Tuo¡¯s ice-cold heart.

    Before she could say anything, however, she felt his weight on her. ¡°It¡¯s still early in the morning!¡± she cried out in rm.

    ¡°So what if it¡¯s morning?¡± Zu An seemed utterly unfazed.

    Xiao Tuo¡¯s pretty brows drew together slightly. She snorted, and then said, ¡°You incapable king¡­¡±

    She had always used this term as a way of cursing him, but now, there seemed to be a more ambiguous meaning behind it.

    ¡­

    After they had yed around for a while, Zu An called over his trusted aide. ¡°Pass down the order that Manman¡­ ahem, ahem¡­ Fu Hao is to be granted the white banner and the yellow axe. She does not need to report to me first before making decisions regarding any military decisions.¡±

    In this age, the white banner and the yellow axe represented royal power, and had never been granted to any other subject before.

    Xiao Tuo was lying within the inner chamber, aplicated expression on her face. It seemed the king truly favored his queen. Furthermore, the extraordinary trust they had in each other was truly a rare and precious thing.

    She knew that all of Lian¡¯s efforts to drive a wedge between them and create unrest in Yin Capital had failedpletely.

    Zu An¡¯s voice sounded again. ¡°Inform everyone that I am taking Xiao Tuo as mydy. Have Fu Shuo and the others sort out the formalities.¡±

    In the Shang Dynasty, the term dy¡¯ was synonymous with ¡®concubine¡¯.

    Xiao Tuo was well and truly shocked. She had always assumed that she was nothing more than a toy to him. After all, she had entered the pce with ulterior motives, and she had epted that this alone was to be her fate.

    However, he had now acknowledged her as hisdy. In the future, no one could treat her as a maid anymore, and had to greet her respectfully as Lady Tuo instead.

    Even though she wouldn¡¯t have as much authority as the queen, the difference was not terribly significant.

    A sudden thought struck her. Even if Lian really had seeded, this would be the best fate she could have been granted.

    She was never a stupid girl. She knew that, by serving Wu Ding in the manner she did, none of the court officials would have ever agreed to her bing the queen, even if Lian did not mind it.

    Bing one of his concubines was already the best she could have hoped for. What would have happened if Lian truly held her actions against her?

    She had grown up with Lian, and she understood his temperament perfectly. She had just chosen not to think about this issue too deeply. However, having listened to Zu An¡¯s analysis the previous night, she knew that he was correct. There was nothing good waiting for her if Lian had seeded.

    Now, Lian had absolutely no chance of sess, and both her family¡¯s lives and those of the people in her state were hanging on her decision.

    She saw Zu An return to the inner chamber, and her expression grewplicated. ¡°My king, Xiao Tuo doesn¡¯t deserve such honor. I feel too ashamed to ept this. Please rescind that order!¡± she said.

    The king truly treated her well, but the more he did so, the more guilty she felt.

    Zu Anughed heartily. ¡°A king cannot go back on his word so easily. Since I have already granted it to you, all you need to do is to ept it. Of course, if you feel that you haven¡¯t done enough to earn it, there is something you can help me with.¡±

    ¡°Something that I can help with?¡± Xiao Tuo was bewildered. She couldn¡¯t think of anything that the king couldn¡¯t do himself, but had to rely on her for.

    Zu An handed her a bamboo slip. ¡°Pass this on to Lian.¡±

    Xiao Tuo was shocked. She could read his intent even without looking at the contents. ¡°No, I cannot harm him! My king, I will serve you with everything I have, but please do not make me personally do something so cruel!¡±

    Even though she had given Lian some false information, she had only done so out of ignorance. Now that she knew that this was false and harmful information, how could she bring herself to deceive Lian?

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? You still can¡¯t forget about him?¡±

    Xiao Tuo remained silent. How could she let go of her childhood sweetheart so easily?

    Zu An said coldly, ¡°Xiao Tuo, there are times when we have to do things we don¡¯t want to. If you don¡¯t do this, how will I ever be able to trust youpletely?¡±

    Xiao Tuo bit her lip. She knelt in front of Zu An and begged for forgiveness. ¡°Xiao Tuo knows that there is no way I can gain my king¡¯s trust, but I cannot do anything to betray big brother Lian either! My king, please grant me death.¡±

    ¡°You cannot do anything to betray Lian?¡± Zu Anughed. ¡°Haven¡¯t you already done so several timesst night?¡±

    Xiao Tuo immediately blushed a bright red. She had slept with Zu An before for the sake of her mission. Lian had been aware of it as well, which was why she was able to keep her conscience clean.

    However, with all that had happenedst night, she had abandoned her mission and romped around with the king. To a certain extent, she had already betrayed Lian.

    Zu An continued, ¡°How about this? Let¡¯s make a bet. Pass this information to Lian. If he trusts you and acts ording to this piece of intelligence, then I will never force you to do anything again. I¡¯ll even let you leave the pce and return to his side.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Xiao Tuo felt an initial burst of excitement when she heard this, but when she realized that this meant that she would bepletely separated from Zu An, she hesitated.

    ¡°I¡¯m not done yet.¡± Zu An¡¯s tone changed. ¡°If he doesn¡¯t trust you and doesn¡¯t act ording to the information, then from today onwards, you will forget your past and fully devote yourself to me. What do you say?¡±

    Xiao Tuo¡¯s mouth fell open. She had a million things she wanted to say in that moment, but only a single word came out.

    ¡°Fine!¡±

    She was also curious as to what choice Lian would eventually make.

    Zu An smiled when he saw Xiao Tuo processing the possibilities. He had never truly expected Xiao Tuo to have abandoned Lianpletely.

    If she had agreed to it without any hesitation, Zu An would not have been pleased. After all, how could he possibly trust a girl who would betray her childhood sweetheart so easily?

    However, having her past lover on her mind was not ideal either. In fact, it would make it even harder for him to trust her.

    As such, he decided upon this method of dealing with her. Even though Xiao Tuo was full of hope, he knew that there was only one possible conclusion.

    The heart is best not tested.

 Chapter 545: The End?

    <h4>Chapter 545: The End?</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Xiao Tuo passed on the information as nned. She had never been so nervous about her future before.

    Unfortunately, no matter what she desperately wished for, the oue of the test was obvious.

    Zu An¡¯s suspicions were spot on. Jealousy had already cost Lian most of his reason. As information from the pce lessened and grew more infrequent, he couldn¡¯t help but begin to doubt Xiao Tuo.

    Then there was news from the pce that Xiao Tuo had been granted the status ofdy, which silenced himpletely.

    He knew that even if he ascended to the throne, that was the most he would be able to offer her.

    Now, Xiao Tuo had chosen this time to pass him new information, but how could he dare to trust it? He tossed the information straight into the trash.

    Xiao Tuo waited anxiously for three days, but there was no response from Lian at all. All of her expectations gradually sunk into the abyss. At the same time, though, she felt a sense of relief rising within her.

    If he really acted ording to the information she¡¯d given him, she wouldn¡¯t have known how to face him.

    Of course, all of this took ce in her subconscious, and she was not truly aware of these thoughts or feelings.

    Zu An, on the other hand, had already known that this result was inevitable. In reality, he had broken down her inner defenses a while ago, and only went through all of this trouble just to make it easier for her to ept reality, and to give her a reason for her to convince herself of the truth.

    Zu An stopped behind her and gently wrapped his arms around her soft body. ¡°It¡¯s already past the agreed time. Are you convinced now?¡±

    Xiao Tuo sighed. She made her decision and turned around. She bowed towards him. ¡°My king, from today on, Xiao Tuo will be fully devoted to you. I give my everything to you.¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°Pretty words are often not enough. Actions speak much louder.¡±

    Xiao Tuo looked at him with annoyance, and a shy yet charming expression glistened within her eyes as she slowly knelt down.

    Zu An¡¯s breathing immediately sped up. Even though the two of them had spent so much time together and tried all sorts of things, he had never seen her be so proactive.

    He had known that she was a spy all along, so he did not hold back, and taught her many ways of pleasuring him.

    Back then, even though Xiao Tuo hadn¡¯t objected to what he¡¯d put her through, she couldn¡¯t hide the shame in her eyes, nor prevent him from reaping the Rage points that she directed towards him.

    He¡¯d been quite nervous about letting her do such things before, because he was afraid that she had given up hope, and was willing to do anything to get revenge.

    Even though only his soul had entered this trial, if it really was bitten off, there was no guarantee that his real body wouldn¡¯t also be affected.

    This left him walking a tight line between ecstasy and anxiety.

    This time, however, it waspletely different. She showed no hint of resentment. Instead, she was gentle and caring.

    This was the final act that made Zu An believe that she hade over to his side.

    However, he suddenly saw a line of tears flowing down her cheek. Frowning, he helped her wipe them away and asked, ¡°Are you still thinking about the past?¡±

    Xiao Tuo sniffled, took a deep breath, then shook her head. ¡°These tears are my final farewell to the past.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s heart welled up with sympathy when he heard these words. He took her into his arms, and then he walked towards the inner chamber. The atmosphere within the room gradually heated up.

    ¡­

    Once Xiao Tuo switched allegiances, everything else followed along naturally. Zu An had already used false information to eliminate all of Lian¡¯s men around the capital.

    Lian was nowpletely alone. He only had several family members left, and was surrounded by spies sent by Zu An.

    Dealing with Lian¡¯s power base should have been extremely difficult. Not only was he the high priest, he was the son of a former king as well, and had a considerable amount of power.

    However, Xiao Tuo was familiar with the resources at his disposal. With the information she provided, taking them down was a walk in the park.

    When he had taken care of these matters, news finally arrived that Pei Mianman had been victorious. The Qiang Faction had suffered such a severe defeat that they had no chances of threatening the Shang State anymore.

    When Pei Mianman returned with the army, Zu An personally set out with the court officials to greet her outside the city.

    All of them agreed that such a move was appropriate. Not only was the king showing his love for his queen, such an act would also be a huge boost to the public¡¯s morale.

    Only Zu An himself knew that he was doing this mostly because he missed Pei Mianman. She had already been gone for several months. If it wasn¡¯t because he had a lot of things to take care of within Yin Capital itself, he might have already run off to join her on the front lines.

    Soon after they set out, an army appeared on the horizon. The one leading them rode on a white steed, and was dressed in beautiful golden armor. In the radiance of the morning sun she shone like a divine goddess.

    ¡°The queen really is pretty.¡±

    ¡°She is probably the number one beauty in our Great Shang State.¡±

    ¡°She isn¡¯t only our number one beauty, she is also the number one war goddess!¡±

    ¡°Her chest really is massive, though!¡±

    ¡°Do you want to die?¡±

    ¡­

    Many of themon folk had followed them outside the city to greet the returning heroes. Zu An wasn¡¯t annoyed by their whispers, but smiled instead. This was also his first reaction upon seeing Pei Mianman again.

    They had been separated for so long, and she was already his woman. He was in a good mood, so he didn¡¯t mind theirments.

    In the past, Pei Mianman had always had a flirtatious charm about her, which made her stand out amongst other women. But now, she exuded a heroic spirit that he knew could only be forged by the blood and mes of the battlefield.

    These two characteristics melded together to give her an entirely unique aura.

    Pei Mianman was also happy to see him, and immediately urged her horse over.

    ¡°All of you, stay here,¡± Zu An ordered his subordinates. ¡°No one is allowed toe close to us.¡±

    There were many things he and Pei Mianman had to discuss alone, which they couldn¡¯t allow others to hear. Since the two of them were greatly honored individuals, none of the officials raised an objection.

    ¡°Manman, you¡¯re finally back.¡± Zu An said with a sigh, holding her hand tenderly.

    Pei Mianman snorted. ¡°The pce might have burned down if I hadn¡¯t returned. Do you know how many people were hounding me about how close you were to that Xiao Tuo girl?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m being wronged! That was all a scheme that the high priest came up with to separate us!¡± Zu Anined.

    Pei Mianman looked amused. ¡°So they were lying, then? There¡¯s nothing going on between you and Xiao Tuo in the pce?¡±

    Zu An was embarrassed. ¡°That¡­ was my way of beating them at their own game. I had to sacrifice myself to bring Xiao Tuo over to my side! If not, it would have been almost impossible to deal with the high priest!¡±

    He exined the events that had transpired in the capital while she was gone.

    Pei Mianman¡¯s expression finally eased a little. ¡°Only you could make being perverted sound like such an upright thing! I think you¡¯re just abusing your authority.¡±

    Zu An knew that she was still bitter about it, and that any further words would not help. Instead, he gave her a big hug. ¡°Manman, thank you for your efforts.¡±

    He knew even without asking that she had gone through a lot in order to defeat the savage Qiang Faction.

    Pei Mianman¡¯s voice softened. ¡°You¡¯ve been through a lot as well. At least I knew who my enemies were on the front lines. You had to face an unknown enemy inside the city, and had to constantly arrange for the necessary logistical support for our army. I received your yellow axe and white banner of authority. If not for your firm support, I might not have been able to aplish what I needed to do so smoothly¡­¡±

    The two of them poured out their hearts to each other as time ticked by. The other officials couldn¡¯t help but be impatient, reminding them several times that they were still outside the city.

    Pei Mianman pushed Zu An away in embarrassment, and the two of them led the throng back into the city.

    Zu An used this victory to snuff out the final pocket of dissenters who had been making use of the chaos of the Qiang Faction invasion to stir up rebellion.

    Lian was obviously one of his targets, and he had more than enough documentary proof to bring him down. Even without this proof, no one would have questioned Zu An and Pei Mianman, given their current authority and status within the state.

    After Lina had been dealt with, Fu Shuo enacted their earlier n to make Pei Mianman the high priest. All divine authority was now in the king¡¯s hands.

    As a reward for Pei Mianman¡¯s achievements, the court decided to cast an owl statue and a jade phoenix for her. The jade badge that had previously belonged to Lian also went to her, as she was the new High Priest.

    The two of them could both feel the ki flowing through these three articles, which had meticulous formations engraved on each of them. Every single artifact was unique and exceptional, and would have been considered priceless treasures in the real world.

    Unfortunately, only their souls had entered this trial, and there was no way for them to extract these items into the physical world, so they didn¡¯t grow too attached to them.

    They had defeated the invading enemy from without, and quelled the dissent within. This should be enough to satisfy the requirements of the trial, right?

    However, the sun continued to rise in the east and set in the west. As the days passed one after another, they still did not see any sign of the trial ending.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

 Chapter 546: Buried in Work

    <h4>Chapter 546: Buried in Work</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    One after another, the days passed, and the two of them grew more and more restless. Even though they were the king and queen of this dynasty, they both knew that this was not the real world.

    Pei Mianman finally couldn¡¯t stand it anymore. ¡°Ah Zu, what is going on?¡± She asked Zu An, dragging him away from Xiao Tuo in the process.

    Afraid of her status as the queen, Xiao Tuo did not say anything.

    Zu An was rather embarrassed. He put his clothes on and said, ¡°I have no idea either. I suppose it¡¯s no wonder those past trial participants never seeded either. I thought that it was because they were too dumb, but it looks like I¡¯ve underestimated those heroes.¡±

    He had managed to expose Xiao Tuo as a spy and root out the hidden boss, the high priest Lian, and he shared an exceptional bond of trust with Pei Mianman. All of this had made him extremely cocky. Now, however, it dawned on him that there surely were other stunning candidates who had participated in this trial before. It wasn¡¯t unreasonable that some of them would have gotten this far as well.

    ¡°Then what should we do now?¡± Pei Mianman asked nervously.

    Zu An¡¯s tone grew serious. ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about this issue constantly these past few days. We must have overlooked something. We have to carefully go over the details of what happened, and see if we can figure out the key to this trial.¡±

    This kind of open world trial really was a pain in the ass, since it gave him no clues as to what he was supposed to do. He had to dig up every bit of information on his own, and he wasn¡¯t even given any feedback as to whether he was doing well or not.

    Pei Mianman bit her lip, her voice clouded with worry. ¡°Won¡¯t this be extremely dangerous for our real bodies outside the trial, though? We¡¯ve already spent a few months in the trial. Who knows¡­¡±

    An ordinary person would have died a long time ago without sustenance. Even though the bodies of cultivators were tougher, there was still a limit.

    Zu An replied, ¡°I¡¯m not too worried about that. If my suspicions are correct, the flow of time inside this trial should be different from outside. A few months in here might only be an instant outside. If this weren¡¯t the case, this trial would be impossible toplete, and that would render it meaningless.¡±

    To borrow a phrase from ancient mythology, ¡®a day in the heavens above is a year on earth¡¯. It wouldn¡¯t have surprised him in the least if time flowed differently in different worlds.

    Pei Mianman was calmed by his words. ¡°Even so, we can¡¯t stay here forever.¡±

    Zu An frowned and said, ¡°I¡¯ve gone over everything that¡¯s happened so far, but I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve overlooked anything¡­¡±

    A sudden thought urred to him, and he quickly turned Pei Mianman. ¡°Tell me everything that happened in your battle against the Qiang Faction again. Don¡¯t leave out on even a single detail.¡±

    Since this was a joint trial shared by both a man and a woman, whatever happened on her end would also be vital.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you exactly what happened already?¡± Pei Mianman grumbled, but she still went on, ¡°Those Qiang people were quite tough, and every single one of them was courageous and battle-hardened. However, their civilizationgged behind ours in terms of technology. We had war chariots, and made use of formations as well, while they fought more individually¡­ Even so, they were still quite valiant. We were trapped and surrounded during one of the battles, but fortunately, a nearby tribe rushed over to help us. That was why we were able to defeat the Qiang Faction.¡±

    ¡°A tribe?¡± Zu An was surprised. ¡°Do you know which tribe they are?¡±

    Pei Mianman¡¯s brows furrowed. ¡°I believe they called themselves the Zhou tribe. They reside in the west, and seemed to have been oppressed by the Qiang Faction for a long time. That was why they came to our aid.¡±

    ¡°The Zhou tribe?¡± Zu An suddenly straightened. ¡°This is it, this is it! The Shang Dynasty was wiped out by the Zhou Dynasty! I believe this trial has something to do with these Zhou people.¡±

    ¡°But the Zhou tribe was also rather behind in terms of technology. There¡¯s no way they are a match for our Shang State!¡±

    ¡°They might not be able to match us now, but what about a few centuriester?¡± Zu An¡¯s mind moved quickly. ¡°Could the objective of the trial be to cut off this problem before it even develops?¡±

    As he spoke, he grew more and more convinced that this was the case. He quickly summoned Fu Shuo and shared his thoughts.

    ¡°What? My king wishes to wipe out the Zhou tribe?¡± Fu Shuo was shocked. He quickly said, ¡°I absolutely advise against it! Not only is theirnd worthless to us, they even helped us in our battle against the Qiang Faction. If we turn around and attack them now, we would be seen as dishonorable! How would the other factions treat us then? We can¡¯t have all of them turning against us!¡±

    Pei Mianman shared his views as well. After all, she had fought side-by-side with the Zhou tribe not too long ago.

    Zu An knew that there was a good reason for his conclusion, but there was no way he could exin his true reasoning to Fu Shuo. He could only put on a stern expression and say, ¡°I¡¯ve already made up my mind. There is no room for discussion. Prepare to mobilize the men.¡±

    Fu Shuo was about to try to dissuade him again when a messenger arrived with an urgent report. ¡°Reporting! The ruler of the Zhi State has sent an emissary requesting aid. The Earth Faction has invaded their territory, and they are powerless to stop them. They have requested that my king provide them with reinforcements.¡±

    ¡°The Zhi State? The Earth Faction?¡± Zu An was bewildered. Why had these two powers suddenly popped out of nowhere?

    Fu Shuo was quick to offer an exnation. ¡°The Zhi State is a small country to the north, and we have always shared a cordial rtionship with them. Their country has publicly acknowledged their status as our vassal state. They are a natural barrier against any incursions from the north. The Earth Faction is a powerful barbarian tribe further north. They are probably taking advantage of the disorder that the Qiang Faction invasion has caused tounch their own invasion.¡±

    Zu An finally remembered that the Earth Faction had been mentioned in some of the documents he¡¯d read. The Earth Faction upied territory around Shanxi and Hebei, and were a powerful enemy of the Shang Dynasty.

    He hadn¡¯t paid them too much attention earlier on because he didn''t think they had much to do with his trial.

    Even now, he did not believe that these factions were rted to his trial. He could send any random military officer to aid them, while he maintained his focus on the west, and the Zhou tribe.

    However, Fu Shuo and all the other court officials opposed this n. ¡°We cannot do this! The Zhou tribe is weak, and does not even border our Shang Capital! Attacking them makes no sense, and will instead turn the rest of the states against us! We must focus on the Earth Faction. They are at least as strong as the Qiang Faction. Once they break through our northern defensive line and march south, our Great Shang State will be in huge danger!¡±

    Zu An was stunned. Was the threat they posed really that serious?

    As they deliberated, more emissaries showed up one after another, all hailing from the Zhi State, with each message sounding more urgent than thest. It was easy to see how precarious the situation in the north had be.

    Pei Mianman pulled Zu An to the side. ¡°Ah Zu, if the Shang State is wiped out, wouldn¡¯t that spell the end of the trial?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± Zu An knew what she was trying to say. The Shang people had set up this trial. If he let the Shang State be destroyed by the Earth Faction, then he wouldn¡¯t have to worry about the Zhou people at all. All of it would be over right there and then.

    Faced with no other choice, he decided to destroy the Earth Faction first, and then find a chance to deal with the Zhou people afterwards.

    The court officials were overjoyed, and praised him for being wise and brilliant.

    Zu An wasn¡¯t in the mood for idle chatter. He immediately gathered all of the chancellors to discuss military strategy. The more mundane matters were easy enough to handle, but the key was to elect a leader for the troops.

    All the chancellors threw their weight behind the queen. After all, she was held in such high esteem, and she had already proven herself in the battle against the Qiang Faction. There was no one more qualified than her.

    Zu An''s head began to ache immediately. He obviously didn¡¯t want to be separated from Pei Mianman again, and neither did she.

    However, the two of them examined the situation carefully, and concluded that this might be yet another part of the trial. In the end, Pei Mianman took the initiative to volunteer.

    As for Zu An, he had to remain behind in Yin Capital. It hadn¡¯t been too long since he¡¯d dealt with the high priest, and several of that traitor¡¯s old subordinates were still in hiding. If he left, the capital might descend into chaos. Moreover, while the strength of the army and its generals were essential for war, so were the setting up of supply lines and other forms of logistics support. Victory and defeat hinged on the robustness of these logistics.

    Only with Zu An taking care of the logistics in Yin Capital would Pei Mianman be able to wage this war without undue amounts of stress.

    This whole situation left Zu An feeling rather strange. Everyone was used to hearing about the man going out to work while the woman managed the household chores, but in this case, the roles had beenpletely flipped. Despite this, he did not object to it, since it was what the trial demanded of him. He did not want his pride to get in the way of their goal.

    ¡­

    Having experienced the war with the Qian Faction, both Pei Mianman and Zu An were clear on their roles and responsibilities. Three monthster, Pei Mianman returned victorious.

    Zu An thought that they could now turn their attention to the Zhou tribe, but not a moment had passed before the ruler of the Tang State pleaded for help. This time, it was the Eros Faction, invading across the northern banks of the Yellow River.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    When they had finally dealt with the Eros Faction, the even more powerful Ghost Faction marched across the Mongolian teau to challenge them. Zu An and Pei Mianman werepletely overwhelmed, and could not spare a moment to deal with the western Zhou tribe.

 Chapter 547: Dream, or Reality?

    <h4>Chapter 547: Dream, or Reality?</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An stiffened when he heard the name ¡®Eros Faction¡¯. Why the hell would a people choose such a name? This word had an entirely different meaning in his previous world¡­

    The Eros Faction was a nomadic group who roamed modern-day Inner Mongolia, around the Great Bend of the Yellow River. They were slightly weaker than the Qiang Faction, but were certainly no pushovers.

    Pei Mianman lead her soldiers to battle again, and it took a long time for her to finally repel their advance.

    Unfortunately, this was all they could do. These nomadic tribes were mobile and adaptable, and although fighting them off was rtively easy, wiping them out was almost impossible.

    From time to time, these nomadic factions came back to attack them, forcing Pei Mianman to lead the troops and put out the fires.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t stand these long periods of separation, and began to select officers from among the court to take over Pei Mianman¡¯s role.

    These years of constant battle were the perfect stage for these officers to showcase their talent. Zu An ended up promoting Bird, Feather, Elephant, Sparrow, and many others to higher ranks.

    He mocked them in secret even as he promoted them. These ancient people really were absolutely terrible at names. What kind of names were these? It sounded as though they were raising chickens or something.

    Out of all these promoted officers, one of them stood head and shoulders above the rest: Ya Zhang!

    It was none other than the dried-up corpse general in the tomb who had guided them to this trial.

    He was originally the young master of the Zhang n, which was to the south. The Zhang n served Shang, which was why he had been sent to Yin Capital and given an official post.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    However, this fellow hadn¡¯t been satisfied with obediently doing his job. Instead, he stole secrets about the spinning, weaving, and metallurgical technologies of the Yin Capital. He wanted to bring this knowledge back home in order to improve the lives of his n.

    Unfortunately, he was caught doing this, and was about to be executed. Thankfully for him, Zu An just happened to be passing by. When he heard Ya Zhang¡¯s name, a strange look came over him, but he still stepped in to spare him.

    Ya Zhang was moved to tears, and willingly offered to fight on the front lines in order to make up for his crimes.

    As a result, his military contributions grew and grew, elevating him above the other generals, and almost reaching the level of Fu Hao.

    Zu An had tried to obtain some clues regarding this trial from him, but Ya Zhang had absolutely no idea about it. He had clearly been given the task of guarding the dungeon onlyter on.

    After spending several years dealing with the Eros and Earth factions, the Shang Dynasty encountered another powerful enemy: The Ghost Faction!

    The Ghost Faction roamed the Mongolian teau, and were very likely the ancestors of the Huns. Their men were innately stronger than those of the Earth and Eros factions.

    Thankfully, after years under Zu An¡¯s management, the political situation within the Shang Dynasty had already stabilized, and their nation was stronger than ever. Together with their well-trained army and the maturity of the other generals, there was no need for Pei Mianman to lead the troops personally.

    This war continued for several years, and Zu An and Pei Mianman were hard-pressed to set up and maintain the logistics support.

    In the cruelty of war, both sides suffered massive casualties, and even a seasonedmander like Ya Zhang was killed in battle.

    Because of the chaos that reigned on the battlefield, by the time the soldiers of the Shang Dynasty retrieved his corpse, his body was covered in de wounds, and his severed arm had been lost amidst the carnage.

    Zu An was stunned. Remembering the bronze hand he had seen in the tomb, he ordered craftsmen to make an identical one so that it could be buried with him, allowing him to be buried as a whole person. This order earned praise from all levels of society. Such a gesture was truly the mark of a benevolent king.

    Confusion clouded Zu An¡¯s mind. He began to wonder whether he had made the decision because he had seen the bronze hand on Ya Zhang¡¯s corpse, or if it was because he had given this order that the bronze hand had appeared. As he turned this puzzle over in his mind, he grew more and more perplexed.

    Sometimes, he even felt as though this trial was the real world, while the world beyond it might have been the imaginary one.

    When they had finally put down the Ghost Faction, the Shang Dynasty desperately needed time to recover after years of war.

    They were not given the opportunity, however, because the Ba Faction from the southwest began to encroach on theirnds.

    Zu An was pissed. ¡°Motherfuckers¡­ Do you think this is a public restroom? Do you think you can alle and go as you please?!¡±

    The constant parade of intruders had left him hopping mad. He finally couldn¡¯t hold himself back anymore. Now that the country was stable, he decided to set out together with Pei Mianman.

    The two of them were perfectly coordinated. Zu An lured the Ba Faction¡¯s army to where Pei Mianman was waiting, sessfully executing the first encircling ambush.

    By now, a decade had already passed, and Zu An felt some things beginning to slip his mind. However, he was currently the ruler of a country, and watching it prosper under his rule was immensely satisfying. This task left no room for any other idle thoughts.

    Not only did he have Pei Mianman, the charming Xiao Tuo was also by his side, serving him. He had noints about living such an extravagant and luxurious lifestyle.

    After some time, more good news arrived.

    Pei Mianman was pregnant!

    It wasn¡¯t a surprise that she would be pregnant after a decade of marriage. However, Pei Mianman had been constantly away, fighting on the front lines, which meant that they couldn¡¯t spend as much time as they would have liked. It was only recently that they had begun to spend more time together as a couple.

    Both of them were stunned when they heard news of the pregnancy. Was it even possible for souls to get pregnant?

    However, this was merely a fleeting thought, and was quickly reced with overwhelming joy.

    They had already spent way too long in this world. Everything around them was so real that they had gotten used to it. It was easy for them to believe that their previous world was one that they had somehow dreamed up.

    She carried the child for ten months, and Zu An took great care of her during this period.

    Unfortunately, a problem arose.

    Pei Mianman went into an extremely difficult period ofbor.

    The midwives of this age knew no other way of easing the delivery, aside from encouraging the pregnant woman to exert more force. The doctors of this age were more akin to witch doctors and shamans, and to a certain degree, they were no different from religious nuts.

    Even though Zu An offered all types of suggestions and methods, he was not an obstetrician, and had no practical experience when it came to childbirth. In the end, he could only watch as she lost her life to theplicated delivery.

    In the final moments before Pei Mianman closed her eyes for thest time, Zu An felt as if his body was struck by lightning. He didn¡¯t dare to believe that this was really happening.

    However, everyone else seemed ustomed to such a situation, and did their best to console him.

    Because of the limited development of science and medicine in this age, humans had short lifespans, and it wasmon knowledge that pregnant women would always face such dangers during delivery.

    Even though the queen was an extremely capable individual and enjoyed special status in society, she was no different from any other ordinary woman when it came to this.

    This was not easy for Zu An to ept, and it was a long time before he could breathe normally again. All the while, Xiao Tuo stayed by his side, gentlyforting him.

    Even though the king fell into depression, the court continued to operate normally. Fu Shuo and the other important ministers handled the queen¡¯s funeral arrangements.

    Because of her immense importance to the king, as well as the queen¡¯s miraculous contributions to their country over the years, they arranged for the most solemn funeral, and built the most majestic tomb to house her.

    There was no way Zu An could dy the queen¡¯s burial indefinitely. He could only personally oversee the burial ceremony and send her off one final time.

    After Pei Mianman¡¯s death, Zu An wandered around aimlessly, an empty husk with no soul. He was often either found drinking in a corner of the pce or ying with Xiao Tuo and the concubines. This seemed the only way for him to numb himself and make him forget about those painful memories.

    Thanks to the efforts that he and Pei Mianman had put into growing the country, the other nations surrounding them could do little to harm them. His country only continued to grow in power, and the organization of the court and the personnel within it matured as well. Despite his absence from government affairs, the country was more or less able to run itself.

    Just like that, time seemed to fly past. In the blink of an eye, several decades went by, and Zu An was now an old man. In this period, it was a miracle for someone his age to still be alive.

    He watched as Fu Shuo and the other important ministers passed on, one after another. Even Xiao Tuo had passed away a few years ago. Many other concubines¡ªmost of whom he couldn¡¯t name¡ªpassed on before him as well.

    Many days, after he had numbed himself with pleasures, he would find himself alone in the pce in the dead of night. He always felt as though he had forgotten something, yet he just couldn¡¯t remember what it was that had slipped his mind.

    This troubled him at first, but as time went on, he slowly forgot about these conflicting emotions.

    These past few days, however, something seemed to speak to him within his mind. He could sense the encroaching shadow of death, and knew that he didn¡¯t have much time left to live.

    Despite this, he felt at peace. He had already served as the king of this country for more than half a century, and had enjoyed everything there was to enjoy. What else was there to be unhappy about?

    One day, unable to sleep, he took a stroll around the pce, and unknowingly found himself in front of a tattered house. His entire body froze.

    He vaguely recalled that he had resided in this very ce in his earlier days, and he couldn¡¯t remember why he had insisted that it be preserved.

    He pushed open the door and went in. The interior of the house was covered in dust.

    Previously, the pce maids had known how much the king cared about this ce, and they kept it meticulously clean, since he would visit from time to time.

    As time went on, however, the king gradually stoppeding by, and they slowly stopped bothering with cleaning it altogether.

    Zu An sat down by the bedside, wrapped in his own silence. Just as he got up to leave, he saw a glint of light.

    Something was reflecting the moonlight that was seeping in through the window.

    He nced over and noticed something wedged in between the bed and the bed frame. It was in an extremely tricky spot, so not even the maids who cleaned this ce before had noticed it.

    It was a pendant with a me insignia.

    As the ruler of a country, he was ustomed to all sorts of treasures. Outwardly, this pendant was hardly special.

    However, his entire body trembled the instant heid eyes on this pendant. He finally remembered what he had forgotten about all these years. He remembered the reason why he hade into this world!

    This was the ck me pendant that Pei Mianman had given him.

    Perhaps they had had too much fun together in this room before, and this pendant had identally fallen into this little nook. With the two of them busy dealing with the country¡¯s affairs, they had most likely forgotten about it.

    ¡°Manman.¡± In that instant, tears trickled down the old man¡¯s weathered face.

    Suddenly, his vision grew blurry, and the world began to warp. When Zu An woke up, he discovered that he was in another world.

 Chapter 548: Reincarnation

    <h4>Chapter 548: Reincarnation</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Big brother, big brother!¡± A bright and clear voice called into his ear. Zu An was still in a daze. He hadn¡¯t yet reacted to the world suddenly changing around him. A cute little girl was in front of him, spreading her arms. ¡°Big brother, carry me!¡±

    Zu An was perplexed. What¡¯s going on?

    He couldn¡¯t ignore the adorable little girl in front of him, though. Her hair was tied up in lovely pigtails, making her look just like a doll.

    He instinctively spread his arms to wee this cute little child.

    ¡°You¡¯re the best, big brother!¡± The little girl got on her tiptoes and nted her lips against his cheek. Seeing the trail of saliva she¡¯d left on his face, she dissolved into a fit ofughter.

    Zu An was left speechless.

    Before he could feel annoyed, a horrifying fact struck him. He wasn¡¯t much older than this little girl, who seemed about ten years old. In fact, his arms and legs were as small as hers. He was a scrawny teenager himself!

    Did I somehow be young again? Zu An was stunned. He remembered that he was Wu Ding just a moment ago, an old man with one foot already in the grave. How did he suddenly be a child?

    Also, where is this ce?

    He looked around him. The surroundings looked both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time.

    While the surroundings seemed simr to his old pce, the houses and rooms seemed somehow different.

    He had sat on the throne for more than fifty years, so there was no way he wouldn¡¯t recognize his own pce. These rooms were clearly different from those of his time.

    ¡°Big brother, you meanie! You¡¯re ignoring me!¡± The little girl in his arms puffed up her cheeks and pouted.

    ¡°Big brother?¡± Zu An¡¯s mind finally returned to the present. Looking at the cute little girl in his arms, he froze for a moment, then asked, ¡°Manman?¡±

    He had experienced Pei Mianman dying in his previous life. Since this scene was clearly another part of the trial, he wondered if Pei Mianman had somehow followed him here.

    ¡°What Manman? You¡¯re a meanie! Big brother doesn¡¯t even remember my name! I¡¯m San Cai!¡± The little girl pinched his cheeks. Even though she was angry, she was still so young that it didn¡¯t hurt at all. In fact, it actually felt rather good.

    ¡°San Cai¡­?¡± Zu An was momentarily stunned, but all of a sudden, memories began to pour in. His name was Xian, the son of the Shang King Wen Ding. As for this Wen Ding, after searching his memories, he concluded that Wu Ding was Wen Ding¡¯s great great grandfather.

    He began to curse. He¡¯d actually be the son of his grandson¡¯s grandson! What kind of nonsense is this?

    His memories informed him that he had two younger sisters. The younger one was the cute little girl in his arms, San Cai. He had another sister, who was slightly older, named Mu.

    Only now did he realize that there was another youngdy standing at the railing. Even though she was younger than he was currently, he could tell that she was a beauty in the making. She had pretty curved brows and snow white skin, and waves of ck hair flowed behind her like a waterfall.

    Her eyes were the most attractive part of her. They were enchanting, gleaming like the most precious of gemstones. From time to time, they seemed to ooze a slight, seductive charm.

    Bloody hell, she¡¯s only ten years old, and she¡¯s already such a devilish beauty. What will she be like when she grows up?

    That youngdy looked at him, and her expression grew slightly strange. However, she still bowed and spread her cherry-red lips to greet him. ¡°Big brother¡­¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An felt his heart tremble. The girl¡¯s voice was so soft and beautiful, and even he, a king who had seen all manner of beauties, couldn¡¯t help but be enamored by her. She truly was an enchantress!

    ¡°Hello, sister.¡± He replied. He pushed aside his distracting thoughts about her. He was trying to figure out just what the heck was going on. What was this section of the trial about? And where did Manman go? There was no way that she had really died in the previous part of the trial, right?

    His eyes grew red when this possibility urred to him, and his heart felt so pained, it seemed about to burst. He could rely on alcohol and women to numb himself before, but so many memories returned when he¡¯d found Pei Mianman¡¯s pendant. The pain, which had been suppressed over several decades, surged so powerfully that he could no longer keep it under control.

    ¡°Big brother, why are you crying?¡± San Cai noticed that something was wrong, and she quickly helped him wipe away his tears. Unfortunately, there was only so much that her little hands could do. She quickly called out to the other girl. ¡°Big sister, what¡¯s wrong with big brother? Did I make him mad at me?¡±

    The other young girl¡ªMu¡ªwalked over to him, bringing with her a subtle, elegant fragrance. ¡°Big brother, are you okay?¡± she asked gently.

    Zu An froze. In that instant, it felt as though it was Pei Mianman asking him that question. Unfortunately, he had buried her with his own two hands in the previous world, so there was no way she could be the youngdy in front of him.

    ¡°Big brother, let¡¯s y a game together,¡± San Cai said with a smile, trying to cheer him up in her own way.

    The young girl named Mu tugged on his hand as well.

    Zu An¡¯s heart had been shattered by what he¡¯d experienced in his most recent life¡ªhow could he possibly be in the mood to y games with two little girls right now? However, he couldn¡¯t get away from their constant coaxing and pestering, and eventually agreed to y with them.

    As he watched these two charming girls and heard their innocentughter, the shadows looming over his mind gradually began to dissipate, and he managed a faint smile.

    Right now, at least, he could distract himself from the pain in his heart.

    San Cai was still a little girl, after all. After ying for a while, she fell asleep in Zu An¡¯s arms. Her innocent and pure expression was extremely adorable.

    When he saw drool dripping from the corner of her mouth, Zu An couldn¡¯t help but curve the corners of his own lips upwards in a smile.

    Beside him, someone snorted. ¡°You really are nothing but a good-for-nothing pervert. You won¡¯t even let such a little girl pass you by.¡±

    Stunned, Zu An looked at the girl beside him. These blunt words did not sound like they belonged on the lips of such a young girl.

    When she saw his expression, the girl named Mu sighed deeply. ¡°Ah Zu, aren¡¯t you usually quite sharp? Why do you look so stupid now?¡±

    Zu An felt his heart explode with joy when he heard her address him in that way. ¡°Manman!¡±

    He subconsciously stood up to hug her, forgetting all about the little sister fast asleep in his arms.

    With a thud, San Cai fell to the ground. She immediately cried out in pain, and tears began to stream down her face as she wailed miserably.

    Both Mu and Zu An were left speechless.

    Mu red at Zu An, then quickly helped San Cai back to her feet, patting her gently tofort her.

    San Cai was a little girl, and had been fast asleep just a moment ago. After pouting and crying for a bit, she fell back to sleep.

    Zu An sighed. ¡°She¡¯s a pig. How can she go back to sleep after that?¡±

    Mu snorted. ¡°Weren¡¯t you the same when you were little? It¡¯s your fault for being so careless and dumping her on the ground. If she hurt herself from that fall, things would have been bad. I can¡¯t believe that you fathered so many children in your past life, yet you still don¡¯t know how to hold a child!¡±

    ¡°What do you mean, ¡®I fathered many children¡¯?¡± Zu An smiled in embarrassment. ¡°I was just too happy to see you again.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Mu sneered. ¡°I¡¯ve been looking over the Shang monarch¡¯s records. After Fu Hao¡¯s death, Wu Ding took in many wives and gave birth to many children.¡±

    Zu An was taken aback by this sudden usation, and hurriedly tried to defend himself. ¡°That was the Wu Ding from history, not me! After you died, I waspletely heartbroken, and I had to rely on drinking to numb my pain. I was nothing more than a walking corpse. How could I remember anything else?¡±

    ¡°Hmph, it probably wasn''t just alcohol. You probably indulged in other pleasures to drown out your sorrows too,¡± Mu said usingly, but her expression softened. ¡°I thought that you¡¯d already forgotten about me. Why else didn¡¯t you recognize me, even after such a long time?¡±

    Zu An could hardly feel more wronged. ¡°You still kept your original appearance during the previous trial! But you look so different now, and you already died once. I wasn¡¯t able to put it all together so quickly.¡±

    Pei Mianman pouted. ¡°What do you mean I look different? This is what I looked like when I was younger! Those who truly know me would have easily recognized me, but my lover somehow couldn¡¯t. I can¡¯t believe it.¡±

    ¡°This is what you looked like when you were younger?¡± Zu An eximed, pleasantly surprised.

 Chapter 549: I Want to Try it too!

    <h4>Chapter 549: I Want to Try it too!</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°What, do you have something against how I look?¡± Pei Mianman said with an angry huff. Despite her words, she clearly still cared about what he thought about her, even in this form. She subconsciously caressed her own cheek and said, ¡°Do you think I look ugly?¡±

    Zu An burst outughing. He reached out and wrapped his arms around her. Her body was rather soft, and veryfortable to hug. ¡°Someone who doesn¡¯t know you might think you¡¯re just fishing forpliments. If this is what is called ugly, then there are no attractive people in this world.¡±

    Pei Mianman bit her lip. ¡°Then what about Chuyan?¡± she said with an ambiguous smile.

    The two of them had already lived out an entire lifetime in the previous trial as husband and wife, and it was very difficult to distinguish between what was real and what was not.

    The name ¡®Chuyan¡¯ seemed to call to him from a different life, but it helped to remind Zu An that all of this he was experiencing right now was merely a trial.

    Zu An chuckled as he looked into Pei Mianman¡¯s hopeful eyes. ¡°I have no idea what Chuyan looked like when she was a kid. Either way, you¡¯re the prettiest girl I know at this age.¡±

    Pei Mianman snorted. Her eyes swirled with a charm that didn¡¯t match her current age. ¡°You¡¯re always so crafty.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s heart stirred when he saw her beautiful smile. He could no longer hold back his decades of pent-up feelings, and slowly moved in to kiss her.

    Pei Mianman bit her lip. She said guiltily, ¡°Stop, you¡¯re my big brother now.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. ¡°Are you really taking all of this seriously? We aren¡¯t true brothers and sisters.¡±

    Pei Mianman blushed. ¡°Whatever the case, all of this is just too realistic! It doesn¡¯t feel different from the outside world at all. Whoever managed to make such an incredible trial must have been a genius¡­ It¡¯s like something straight out of a fantasy story.¡±

    ¡°It truly is extremely realistic.¡± Zu An said, fear still lingering within him. ¡°I was almost trapped in the previous world. If I hadn''t identally stumbled upon your pendant, I might have truly lost touch with reality.¡±

    He proceeded to tell her everything that had happened in the previous trial. Pei Mianman listened to it all, sighing constantly.

    ¡°Manman, do you know how much despair I was in? You died from a miscarriage, and I couldn¡¯t find a way toplete the trial on my own. I could only numb myself to run away from the past¡­ I had to make myself believe I was Wu Ding, treat everything else that had happened in the real world as a dream. That was the only thing that could make it more bearable.¡± Zu An¡¯s tone was somber.

    Pei Mianman¡¯s hand gently caressed his cheek, and embraced him. ¡°Ah Zu, I thought that dying before you did was painful, but from what you¡¯ve said, it seems like the one who lives on is the one who truly suffers. If our roles were swapped, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to take it¡­ Thankfully, all of this is already in the past. Now that the two of us are back together, we¡¯ll ovee this trial!¡±

    Given how things were, it was safe to assume that they had passed the first trial. Even though they didn¡¯t know what exactly was being tested, they at least found themselves at a new and most wee beginning.

    ¡°Manman, I feel more motivated and at peace with you at my side.¡± Zu An shivered when he recalled Pei Mianman¡¯s previous death.

    Pei Mianman¡¯s face turned red. ¡°I feel the same way as well.¡±

    Her pure and beautiful expression tore down thest of Zu An¡¯s barriers, and he kissed her.

    The two of them had been separated by death. Pei Mianman couldn''t hold back the emotions that welled up within her at this reunion, and kissed him just as fiercely.

    The two of them lost themselves in their affection, gradually growing more and more passionate. It was as if each of them were scared that the other person might vanish all of a sudden.

    ¡°That¡¯s gross! Are you two eating each other¡¯s spit?¡± A soft voice interjected.

    Zu An and Pei Mianman separated at once, as if shocked by an electric current. San Cai had already woken up, and was staring at them while pointing at their mouths.

    Pei Mianman pinched Zu An. ¡°It¡¯s all your fault!¡± This was just too embarrassing!

    Zu An didn¡¯t know whether tough or to cry. How is this my fault? It¡¯s this brat¡¯s fault for spoiling our fun!

    ¡°San Cai, I think you¡¯ve made a mistake. We were just hugging each other,¡± Zu An said hurriedly, trying to cook up an exnation. ¡°Don¡¯t I always hug you as well?¡±

    ¡°Do you think it¡¯s easy to trick me just because I¡¯m a child?¡± San Cai said, blinking. ¡°I saw what you were doing!¡±

    ¡°Um¡­¡± Zu An felt a headacheing on. It was rather dangerous to have done what they did earlier. If this brat ended up telling anyone about it, it might erupt into a huge scandal.

    He didn¡¯t really care about his reputation in the world of this trial, and being shunned socially didn¡¯t really matter to him either.

    He was only afraid that it might influence the results of the trial, and cause him to fail.

    That was why he squatted down beside the little girl and said, ¡°San Cai, as your big brother and big sister, do we treat you well?¡±

    San Cai nodded. ¡°Big brother and big sister treat me really well.¡±

    Zu An sighed. Thank goodness they were close. That made things easier. ¡°Then what happened today will be our little secret. I¡¯ll y with you every day and buy you delicious things to eat.¡±

    ¡°Yay!¡± San Cai¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°But I don¡¯t want to eat all these delicious things, I want to eat something else.¡±

    Zu An smiled when he heard her response. ¡°What do you want to eat? I¡¯ll bring it to you!¡±

    San Cai blinked. She pointed at his mouth and said, ¡°I want to eat your saliva as well. I bet it¡¯s delicious, that¡¯s why big sister was secretly eating it!¡±

    Zu An and Pei Mianman shared exasperated looks.

    Zu An could feel himself sweating. He said quickly, ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s too good. That¡¯s something that only a boy and a girl who are really close can do. We¡¯re siblings, so we cannot do that.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t we really close?¡± San Cai tilted her head. She didn¡¯t understand at all. ¡°Also, if my big sister can, then why can¡¯t I? I hate this! You guys are being mean¡­¡±

    Her sadness grew and grew, and eventually, she began to cry.

    Zu An gave Pei Mianman a pleading look. What were they supposed to do?

    Pei Mianman rolled her eyes. ¡°You created this problem. Deal with it yourself.¡±

    Despite her words, she was clearly in no mood to let news of this spread, so she tried her best to cajole San Cai as well. Unfortunately, the little girl continued to cry andin no matter what they said.

    Zu An and Pei Mianman frowned. Even though the two of them knew the other¡¯s real identities, and that all of this was fake, they were still siblings in this world!

    If their ¡®father¡¯ in this world found out, he might just break their legs in a fit of anger.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Eventually, Pei Mianman was the one who stumbled on a solution first. A sudden sh of inspiration struck her, and she said, ¡°San Cai, you¡¯re still too young. It¡¯s not good for you to get so close to a boy. When you be as old as me, big brother will let you try it, okay?¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± The little girl was instantly happy again.

    ¡°Of course! Let¡¯s make a pinky promise.¡± Seeing that she had managed to convince the young girl, Pei Mianman exhaled in relief. Once this girl grew up, she would understand it on her own, and she wouldn¡¯t be dumb enough to bring up this event from her past.

    Now that they had sessfully appeased San Cai, the two of them really wanted some time alone, but they just couldn¡¯t find a way to ditch this little girl.

    Finally, several maids appeared to escort her back in for dinner, and to prepare her for bed.

    Other maids also escorted Zu An and Pei Mianman to their respective chambers.

    Zu An still had a lot of things he wanted to say to Pei Mianman, as well as many questions for her. How could he wait until sunrise to see her again?

    He snuck out in the dead of night and entered Pei Mianman¡¯s room.

    He had ruled from this pce for fifty years, and was eminently familiar with itsyout. Even though the interior had been remodeled slightly, it wasn¡¯t too difficult to navigate once he got used to it, especially since he¡¯d asked Pei Mianman where her room was earlier on.

    When a stranger suddenly entered her room, Pei Mianman jumped with fright. She was just about to fight back when she recognized Zu An. She let go of the breath she had been holding, bing embarrassed and nervous instead. ¡°What are you doing here in the middle of the night?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve been apart for so long, and I have too many things I want to say to you.¡± Zu An took in her blushing face and chuckled. ¡°We¡¯re already a seasoned old couple. Why are you getting all embarrassed?¡±

    ¡°Things are different now!¡± Pei Mianman had many things to tell him as well, but she still felt embarrassed when she thought about their current appearances and identities.

    ¡°What¡¯s different? You¡¯ll forever be my Manman.¡± Zu An dove straight under her covers.

    Pei Mianman¡¯s face immediately went beet red. However, she embraced him without another word. The two of them had been apart for too long, and she didn¡¯t want to go through that ever again. ¡°Ah Zu, I¡¯ve really missed you too.¡±

 Chapter 550: Shooting Oneself in the Foot

    <h4>Chapter 550: Shooting Oneself in the Foot</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Both of them poured their hearts out to each other. Clearly, they had been separated for far too long in the previous segment of the trial.

    The separation was worse for Zu An, who had to spend decades without Pei Mianman after her ¡®death¡¯. He could only smile like an idiot and stare at this girl in front of him. His wounded soul had finally received nourishment again, blooming like a desert after a rainstorm.

    He had originallye to talk about important matters, but the well of emotions was too great, and they didn¡¯t talk about anything else, only expressing their deepest feelings for each other.

    They spent the time extremely close to each other, their minds and bodies touching, and the temperature in the sheets gradually rose.

    Pei Mianman¡¯s breathing began to hasten. Her eyes started to blur, and a light blush suffused her cheeks. Even though Zu An knew that she was beautiful, she had a different look to her this time, which took his breath away.

    Her face grew red. She quickly grabbed his hands and said, ¡°You beast! I¡¯m so young, yet you still can¡¯t let me go.¡±

    Zu Anughed, clearly in a good mood. ¡°How long have we been together? What¡¯s the point of saying all this right now?¡±

    Pei Mianman remembered their days spent in the pce as king and queen, full of love and affection. Her body softened, and she took the initiative to lean into him.

    ¡­

    A few momentster, a sudden peal ofughter came from under the sheets. Pei Mianman wasughing so hard at her lover that her entire body was quivering.

    Zu An¡¯s face was as dark as charcoal. It had finally dawned on him that he wasn¡¯t his old self right now. Sigh¡­

    ¡°Enough, let¡¯s put this aside for now. I¡¯d rather just talk with you quietly.¡± Pei Mianman pressed her cheek against his chest. It felt wonderful to lean against him like that.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but smile as well. His mind slowly grew calm again, and he began to talk about the things that had happened after they had been separated.

    The night flew by in an instant, and Zu An left quietly, just before daybreak. If he were to be discovered, the consequences would be far worse than just having his legs broken. There were many terrifying forms of punishment during this age.

    After that night, the two of them were inseparable, sticking together like glue. Everyone around them was amazed by the affection that these two siblings shared.

    In order to avoid suspicion, they always brought their little sister San Cai with them whenever they went out in public, so that no one who saw them could have impure thoughts about their rtionship.

    San Cai was obviously happy to y with her big sister and big brother. Unfortunately, she was still too young to realize that she was a third wheel.

    This day was the same as any other. After they had brought San Cai around the pce and yed with her for a while, they tricked her into ying with the mud by herself after the maids left.

    Going off to the side, Zu An and Pei Mianman began to converse. The childishness and immaturity they disyed in front of otherspletely disappeared, reced by a mature seriousness.

    ¡°Ah Zu, what do you think is going on in this part of the trial?¡± Pei Mianman looked worried. Even though she knew that only moments had passed in the real world, this trial had already spanned several decades.

    They didn¡¯t want to be trapped in this trial forever, which was why, after several days of pouring out all their feelings and affection for each other, they gradually let their logical minds take over again, and began to discuss the main issue.

    ¡°I believe that the people of Zhou are still the key to this,¡± Zu An said in a serious tone.

    ¡°The people of Zhou?¡± Pei Mianman was momentarily shocked, but her memories started to return. She gradually recalled that, in the previous world, Zu An had been nning to deal with the people of Zhou, but they had be distracted by other matters, and eventually forgot about them entirely.

    ¡°Indeed. Even though I don¡¯t have any concrete proof, I believe that I am right. Since the Shang State was destroyed by the Zhou Dynasty, this trial will most likely have something to do with the people of Zhou.¡± Zu An replied.

    Pei Mianman was confused. ¡°This trial was set up by the Shang State. If your suspicions are correct, doesn¡¯t that mean that they had foreknowledge of their defeat at the hands of the people of Zhou? In that case, why didn¡¯t they act earlier? Also, they wouldn¡¯t have had the time or resources to construct a grand project like this trial after they were wiped out by the Zhou Dynasty.¡±

    Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°Many believe that Di Xin was thest monarch of the Shang State. After the Shang people were defeated in the Battle of Muye, King Di Xin and Dajimitted suicide by self-immtion, and the people of Zhou took control of the Central ins. However, that was not the end of the Shang. King Di Xin¡¯s crown prince seeded as the Shang monarch and continued to carry out the Shang Dynasty¡¯s traditions. Besides him, both the Song State and what waster known as North Korea[1] were established by people from the Shang Dynasty, which is why they had the ability to create a trial like this.¡±

    Pei Mianman nodded, then asked out of curiosity, ¡°Did you end up dealing with the people of Zhou in our previous world?¡±

    Zu An seemed embarrassed. ¡°Back then, all the other powers surrounding the Shang Dynasty were stronger than Zhou. No one considered the people of Zhou a threat, so what could I do to them? After you died from the miscarriage, I was more dead than alive inside. I wasn¡¯t in the right frame of mind to deal with them at all.¡±

    Tenderness seeped into Pei Mianman¡¯s expression, and she gripped his hands tightly in her own. ¡°Ah Zu, you¡¯ve really gone through a lot.¡±

    Zu An gave her hands a squeeze and said with a sigh, ¡°You had it worse. You had to go through death.¡±

    Pei Mianman¡¯s eyes went red. She bit her lip and said, ¡°I was really scared back then. I don¡¯t even think I can bring myself to give birth again.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to if you don¡¯t want to. Don¡¯t we already have a cute young one right here?¡± He nced over at their little sister, who was covered in dirt, and they bothughed.

    Even though they were siblings in name, their souls were that of mature adults, and this little sister of theirs was like a daughter to them.

    As if she could sense that they wereughing at her, San Cai turned around. When she saw them snuggling up against each other, she immediately ran over, still covered in mud. ¡°Big brother, big sister, I want a hug too! I want a hug!¡±

    ¡­

    Another decade passed by in a sh, and Pei Mianman became more and more stunning, while Zu An recovered his usual handsome and confident appearance.

    Even San Cai, who used to be constantly covered in mud and drool, grew into an elegant youngdy.

    To Zu An, time had passed by awfully quickly. Ten years should have been a long time, yet he felt like it had flown by in an instant.

    It was just like the TV shows in his original world. A young main character would be happily jumping and running around in the fields, then in the middle of all of that, a line of text would appear across the scene: ¡®Ten yearster¡­¡¯

    In an instant, that kid would transform into a mature male lead.

    Zu An shook his head and threw this absurd thought out of his head. Even though these years had passed quickly, he and Pei Mianman hadn¡¯t wasted them idly, but spent the time studying the people of Zhou as much as they could.

    During Wu Ding¡¯s reign, even though Fu Hao had led an army of thirteen thousand men and defeated the Qiang Faction, she did not have the ability topletely eradicate them.

    After years of war against the Shang Dynasty, the Qiang Faction split into several tribes which continued to harass the northwestern territories of the Shang Dynasty from time to time.

    The Shang Dynasty employed their vassal states to help deal with these tribes, and the Zhou state was one of these vassal states.

    After decades of war, the people of Zhou gradually set themselves apart from the other vassal states. With the Qiang Faction scattered, a power vacuum developed within the Shaanxi and Gansu regions. The Shang Dynasty was too far away to exert any meaningful control over this area, and so the territories of the Qiang Faction were slowly swallowed up by the Zhou State.

    Of course, the people of Zhou weren¡¯t the only ones eyeing this territory¡ªother vassal states coveted thisnd as well. However, the leader of the people of Zhou at the time was named Ji Li. He was a powerful and domineering figure, leading his people in battles all across the region and seizing control of this massive territory for himself. He forged political marriages with the nobles from the Shang Dynasty and maintained excellent rtions with the other vassal states. It was said that he excelled at both war and diplomacy.

    Eventually, the ruler of the Shang Dynasty named him leader of the western vassal states.

    Both Zu An and Pei Mianman were worried to see that the people of Zhou, who had once been so weak, had now grown into a powerhouse. They continued to advise their ¡®father¡¯ Wen Ding to act against the people of Zhou.

    Perhaps because of their interference, or perhaps because he himself started to fear the influence and power of the Zhou state, Wen Ding summoned Ji Li to the capital city under some vague pretense, then fashioned an excuse to have him executed.

    Zu An and Pei Mianman were both left speechless by this sudden turn of events. They hadn¡¯t expected Wen Ding to be so direct and ruthless! The people of Zhou were already so powerful, and merely killing their leader did little to dent their strength. Instead, it cost the Shang Dynasty the support of their remaining allies. The world of the Shang Dynasty was littered with vassal states, all which naturally sympathized with Ji Li after seeing how he had been dealt with.

    Zu An knew that even though Ji Li was an exceptional figure, the Zhou state still had even more formidable kings, King Wen and King Wu, who were yet to make an appearance.

    Wen Ding, on the other hand, wasn¡¯t terribly concerned. Even the entire country, from the court down to the military leaders, did not consider the killing of a vassal state¡¯s ruler that big of a deal. This was what the Shang kings had done throughout history¡ªcrushing any vassal state who refused to submit. If their leader refused to obey, they would be dealt with. If the people of the state grew disgruntled and rebelled, then they were met with war.

    The fierce warriors of Yin Capital were constantly ready to teach those vassal states how to behave. At the same time, the Shang Dynasty required regr wars, as they neededrge amounts of ves to function. People were needed for both hardbor and as sacrificial offerings.

    But soon afterwards, it became apparent that they had miscalcted. The Yi people to the east of Huai Riverunched a powerful invasion.

    The vassal states that served as the Shang Dynasty¡¯s eastern barrier crumbled under the assault. No one knew whether it was because Ji Li¡¯s unjust execution had drained these people of the will to fight, or because they just weren¡¯t up to the task. Either way, the people of Yi were closing in on the Shang Dynasty.

    Bad news came from the west as well. The people of Zhou were infuriated by the sudden death of their innocent leader, and had taken to arms. Now that they had risen up in rebellion as well, the Shang Dynasty was about to be pincered from two sides.

    Even though the Shang Dynasty was powerful, the eastern invasion was too great a threat. If the people of Zhou attacked from the west as well, they might just be overwhelmed.

    At this time, the court ministers came up with a proposal. Since the rtionship between the Shang Dynasty and the Zhou state had always been good up until Ji Li¡¯s death, it would be possible to appease them by offering a political marriage aspensation. This way, the imminent threat from the west would be easily avoided.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Meanwhile, Princess Mu had always been a stunning beauty, and there was no better candidate.

    1. It is important to note that mainstream schrs from both North and South Korea dispute this theory, and believe this im is nothing more than Chinese nationalism at y.

 Chapter 551, Part I: A Match Made in Heaven

    <h4>Chapter 551, Part I: A Match Made in Heaven</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°No, absolutely not!¡± Zu An was incensed by the suggestion. What the hell is this? How can Manman be used as a pawn in a political marriage?

    A court minister was quick to step in. ¡°We all know that the prince and the princess share close ties as siblings, but this is for the sake of our country. My Prince, please do not let your emotions affect your decisions!¡±

    ¡°If you want a marriage, then send your own daughter or sister,¡± Zu An shot back.

    More and more court ministers began to criticize him for being small-minded and refusing to look at the bigger picture. No matter how glib his tongue was, Zu An couldn¡¯t win against all these old foxes.

    He was pushed back further and further. Eventually, the whole court began to question his virtue and morality.

    Just as Zu An was forced into a corner, a clear voice suddenly sounded by the main doors. ¡°Let me be the one to go, then.¡±

    The whole court turned to look. It was Princess San Cai, a resolute expression on her face.

    Zu An was shocked. ¡°San Cai, what are you doing here? Nothing¡¯s going on here¡­¡±

    The other ministers whispered among themselves and shook their heads. Clearly, they felt that this was inappropriate.

    San Cai cut right to the point. ¡°What is inappropriate? Am I not a princess as well?¡±

    The ministers began to argue between themselves. In the end, Wen Ding, the Shang monarch, tapped his hammer on the table. ¡°San Cai will be offered in marriage.¡±

    With that, he sent an emissary to the west to discuss this with the Zhou court. The matter was thus settled.

    ¡­

    When they had withdrawn from the court, Zu An and Pei Mianman anxiously approached San Cai. ¡°Why did you volunteer for this marriage? Who knows if you¡¯ll be happy if you go there! You might lose your chance at a lifetime of happiness.¡±

    San Cai smiled. ¡°Is big sis going to take my ce if I don¡¯t go?¡±

    Zu An choked for a moment, then continued, ¡°It¡¯s not her ce to go. Even if our two states are to be joined in marriage, can¡¯t we just use any daughter from one of the noble houses? Why do either of you need to go?¡±

    San Cai shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s not so simple. Our country is facing an unprecedented crisis. Father killed the ruler of the western Zhou state, who was the leader of the western states. How could any noble girl assuage the wrath of the people of Zhou? Only a princess can ease the tensions and allow our Shang State to focus on dealing with the Yi invasion. We cannot afford to be crushed from both sides right now.

    ¡°The only princesses of suitable age in the royal family are my big sister and myself. Big sis, since you aren¡¯t willing to go, I am the only one left. As a princess, I¡¯ve enjoyed afortable life. Now that my country needs me, I will have to answer the call.¡±

    Zu An was at a loss for words. He didn¡¯t expect her to already be so mature at her age. Too many daughters of the nobility enjoyed their wealth from birth, yet weren¡¯t willing to take up the corresponding duty when the time came.

    Now, it seemed as though he and Pei Mianman were the ones who were being selfish. However, the two of them hade here to pass a trial, and nothing more. There was no way for them to have any deeper feelings towards this country.

    Pei Mianman spoke up quietly. ¡°How can I let my younger sister sacrifice herself? As the big sister, of course I need to go.¡±

    Zu An panicked. ¡°Manman!¡±

    Pei Mianman gave him a reassuring look. Given her skill and experience, she was confident that she could retain her purity while in the Zhou state, at least for a time. As for what happened afterwards, they would cross that bridge when they got there.

    San Cai smiled and said, ¡°Big sis, if you really do get married, what would big brother do?¡±

    Zu An and Pei Mianman both froze. ¡°San Cai, what are you saying?¡±

    San Cai sighed. ¡°The two of you were always ying around with each other whenever you thought you already put me to sleep. Do you think that children really are that na?ve?¡±

    Zu An was left speechless.

    Pei Mianman couldn¡¯t believe what she was hearing as well. She gave Zu An an embarrassed look. It was all this guy¡¯s fault!

    San Cai continued, ¡°Others might not know about your rtionship, but I¡¯m your little sister. How could I not know? Even though I don¡¯t know what awaits the two of you in the future, I can¡¯t just watch as the two be separated.¡±

    They hadn¡¯t expected her to be doing this for their sake. Both Zu An and Pei Mianman¡¯s eyes reddened. Now, they were even more unwilling to watch her sacrifice herself.

    As they began to dissuade her, San Cai put away her smile. ¡°Big brother, big sister, please don¡¯t think that I am only doing it for the two of you. I was always puzzled whenever I listened in on your conversations, but I could at least tell that the people of Zhou might very well bring about the destruction of the Shang State.

    ¡°As a princess of the Shang State, I felt like I had to do something as well. Unfortunately, I was never good at anything, and I cannotpare to either of you. If a great strategist like big sister is married off to the Zhou state, that would be the greatest loss to our Shang State. Rather than being married off, she should stay here and help our great Shang State while I serve as an insider within the Zhou court. This way, we can work together and ensure the continued prosperity of our great Shang State.¡±

    Zu An and Pei Mianman now knew that she wasn¡¯t making this choice on a whim. On the contrary, she had already thought things through carefully.

    ¡°But this is unfair for you! You are sacrificing a lifetime of happiness!¡± Zu An and Pei Mianman both said. The three of them had grown up together, and they were all very close. The two of them really did see her as their own dear sister. There was no way they were willing to see her suffer any wrong!

    San Cai giggled. ¡°Who knows, maybe it won¡¯t be so bad. For better or for worse, I am getting married to the leader of the Zhou people. In theory, I would be the queen of a country. Furthermore, I heard that Ji Chang isn¡¯t a terrible person, and he¡¯s actually quite handsome as well. What if we really do fall in love? I might even be able to convince him to offer his allegiance unconditionally.¡±

    ¡°Ji Chang?¡± Zu An¡¯s mood immediately sank. Even though the Shang Dynasty was eventually brought down by King Wu Ji Fa, the bulk of the groundwork had beenid by King Wen Ji Chang. Ji Fa had merely finished the job he had started. How could someone like this be subdued by a woman?

    San Cai shook her head when she heard his concerns. ¡°Even if I cannot convince him to swear allegiance, I will help our country by giving birth to many children. Given my status, he cannot make me a mere concubine. My children will thus be the sessors of the Zhou throne. They will be rtives of the Shang king, and will ease the tensions between the two great states.¡±

    ¡°But¡­¡± Zu An and Pei Mianman exchanged a look. This n really did seem like it had a chance of working.

    Putting aside the fact that they would be rted by blood, these children would also be raised by San Cai, which would give them a strong connection to their Shang heritage. If this passed down for several generations, the people of Zhou might trulye to serve the Shang Dynasty. Such urrences were prevalent throughout history.

    In the end, this trial wasn¡¯t a true recounting of history. By dealing with this critical situation and changing its course, they might just be able to seed in this trial.

    San Cai smiled and said, ¡°Enough, I don¡¯t want to talk about this with you two anymore. I still have a ton of things to take care of.¡± With that, she left with a spring in her step.

    Pei Mianman sighed deeply as she watched her departing figure. ¡°We didn¡¯t try hard enough to keep her out of our discussions. We let her listen in, which was why she subconsciously began to see the Zhou state as the enemy, and eventually volunteered for this marriage.¡±

    ¡°I hope everything goes smoothly.¡± In the end, Zu An did not stop her. In his opinion, even if they failed this trial and both he and Pei Mianman died, it wouldn¡¯t stop San Cai from bing the founding mother of the Zhou Dynasty. That wouldn¡¯t necessarily be a bad thing.

    Soon, an emissary returned with news that the people of Zhou had agreed to the marriage. Ji Chang would meet them at the Wei River to escort his new bride home.

    The Shang court was not opposed to such an arrangement. After all, they had just invited the previous leader of the Zhou state to Yin Capital, only to have him executed. If they insisted on having Ji Change to the capital as well, no one would show up.

    As such, the Shang court arranged for some men to escort Princess San Cai to Wei River. Zu An volunteered to make this trip, while Pei Mianman disguised herself and followed as an attendant.

    Their party arrived at the bank of the Wei River. There was no bridge across this river during this age, but Ji Chang was already prepared for this.

    Zu An saw a bridge of boats stretched across the surface of the river. He sighed in admiration. This was probably the first bridge of boats in history!

    They finallyid their eyes on Ji Chang. The man seemed refined, gentle, and elegant. He was both handsome and a good speaker.

    Zu An felt a sudden impulse rising within him. If he killed this man, who almost single-handedly buried the Shang Dynasty, would that change history?

    However, he quickly dispelled this thought. Leaving aside the multipleyers of Zhou guards that made this an extremely challenging task, even if he managed to seed, it would only further cement the hostility between the two states.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    They still had the eastern Yi invasion to deal with. If the western Zhou state were to march on them in a quest for revenge, it would only hasten the fall of the Shang Dynasty.

    Several unpleasant things happened during this event, as many of the people within the Zhou state were against this marriage. Those who were sent out to collect fruits came back with empty baskets, cursing the Shang princess and implying that she would be doomed to be infertile.

    Aside from this, some of the cooks who prepared the meals deliberately choose not to let out the blood from the animal carcasses, making themb meat taste foul and hard to swallow.

    Zu An was infuriated by the insults. Ji Chang quickly apologized and ordered someone to sing a song for San Cai. ¡°The ospreys call on the islet in the river. The modest, retiring, virtuous, youngdy makes for our prince a good mate¡­¡± He named this marriage song ¡®Match Made in Heaven¡¯.

    San Cai was beaming with joy when she heard this song, and her expression softened as she looked at her new husband. Even the other members of the Shang party gradually relented, and their anger slowly turned to happiness.

    Zu An wore a rather strange expression. He didn¡¯t expect the most popr piece of the Shijing¡ªthe Book of Songs¡ªto be a gift for his own little sister! He had to admit that Ji Chang looked all right. Paired with his use of songs and poetry to woo girls, he could tell that this man was definitely an experienced yboy.

    Of course, there was no way Zu An would let himself be tricked by a song like that. However, he also understood that an angry word now would only make things difficult for San Cai in the future. With that in mind, he could only suppress his rage, and try his best to mellow his hostility with friendship.

    San Cai secretly sought out Zu An when she had a chance to, during an intermission within the ceremony. ¡°My dear big brother, are you still sulking?¡± she asked him with a smile.

    Zu An sighed deeply. ¡°I can¡¯t help but feel like this flower that I so carefully raised is about to be trampled by another man. How can I feel happy about that?¡±

    San Cai blushed. ¡°If you weren¡¯t my brother, I would never have agreed to a marriage with some random Zhou leader.¡± She sighed. ¡°Unfortunately, I¡¯m not as brave as my big sister.¡±

 Chapter 551, Part II: A Match Made in Heaven

    <h4>Chapter 551, Part II: A Match Made in Heaven</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An had no idea how to reply to that.

    Pei Mianman, who was hiding nearby, was speechless as well, but for a different reason.

    ¡°All right, I have to go now,¡± San Cai said with a smile. ¡°Big brother, do you have anything you want to say to me?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s tone grew serious. ¡°San Cai, from what I¡¯ve seen, putting aside the hostile way in which each side sees the other for now, this Ji Chang seems like an outstanding person. You don¡¯t always have to think about doing what¡¯s best for the Shang State. It would be more than enough if you spent your days peacefully with him. Please do not let your considerations for our matters prevent you from obtaining happiness.¡±

    San Cai curled her lips in a sneer. ¡°Is that all you wanted to say to me?¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    With that, she turned and left, dissatisfaction written on her face.

    In the end, though, she still turned around and said quietly, ¡°In truth, I don¡¯t really feel much towards that Ji Chang, or whatever his name is.¡±

    After she said this, she fled.

    Zu An was baffled by this whole series of events. He looked at the approaching Pei Mianman and asked, ¡°What did she mean?¡±

    Pei Mianman was quiet for a moment, then sighed. ¡°This thing called love truly is painful sometimes.¡±

    ¡­

    The next day, the groom brought San Cai away. Zu An and Pei Mianman had no choice but to return to Yin Capital, no matter how unwilling they were.

    Then, they had to help their ¡®father¡¯ deal with the Yi invasion.

    Zu An and Pei Mianman were already experienced in all sorts of battles and political affairs, thanks to the previous trial. Dealing with their current tasks was not at all difficult.

    However, the two of them soon realized that the Shang Dynasty was gued with many problems. Their nation wasn¡¯t as powerful as it once was, and the bureaucratic system was a mess. Zu An ran into many obstacles while dealing with the logistics of the war.

    Pei Mianman also noticed that the military prowess had declined significantly since the days of the ever-victorious army under Wu Ding¡¯s reign.

    The two could only do the best they could. They felt as though the country was like a small boat being tossed about in a great storm, one that might capsize at any moment.

    During this period, San Cai contacted them from time to time, regaling them with snippets of her daily life, her life after marriage, the local customs of Zhou, as well as how much she missed her home.

    She mentioned as well that Ji Chang treated her well, which set their hearts a little more at ease.

    ¡­

    As time went on, her letters came more and more infrequently. Even though the two of them found it strange, they didn¡¯t think too much about it. They were busy dealing with the Yi invasion, and did not have much spare attention to ponder over other matters.

    After years of war, Zu An gradually set himself above the rest of the court, bing the undisputed sessor of the Shang monarchy.

    When Wen Ding passed away, Zu An seeded him as the new Shang king. Together with Pei Mianman¡¯s help, they finally managed to quell the chaos created by the Yi invasion.

    At this time, they received dire news from the Zhou state. San Can had died from a difficult birth.

    The sudden news struck the two of them like a bolt of lightning out of a clear sky. They dared not believe the news.

    After all, Pei Mianman had passed away in exactly the same way in the previous trial. Zu An had been so worried that he had carefully researched this matter, and passed on his knowledge to San Cai. How could she have died the same way?

    He quickly sent men to investigate, and soon enough, they dug up more information.

    Ji Chang had taken in a noble daughter from the Shen State as a concubine. Once San Cai passed on, he immediately elevated her to his side as his main wife.

    Not only that, there were new songs spreading through Zhou¡¯s territory, praising the union as a marriage predetermined by fate. Even the song ¡®Match Made in Heaven¡¯ began to circte again.

    His younger sister was supposed to be the main character of this song, yet her role had been stolen by another! As the centuries rolled by, who would remember San Cai? Those who came after would only know this other concubine as the main female character in ¡®Match Made in Heaven¡¯.

    Zu An was furious. He refused to listen to the opposition of his subjects, and decided to dere war against the Zhou state, firstly because he wanted to settle this seemingly endless trial, and secondly to avenge his dear little sister.

    Pei Mianman did nothing to stop him. She was angry as well, because this was the younger sister she had grown up with and loved.

    The two were just about to set out to war when the entire world distorted.

    ¡­

    When their vision cleared up again, they discovered that they weren¡¯t in their familiar pce, but in a strange and foreign ce.

    It was clearly still a pce, but it was far inferior to the grand imperial pce in Yin Capital.

    Pei Mianman was leaning against his shoulder. The two of them were seated on a wide and magnificent throne, watching as a group of pce maids in revealing costumes danced below them.

    Even though Zu An was already a veteran of such scenes, his face still flushed red. The outfits these maids wore were just too revealing! Their dance was extremely seductive as well, dark and enchanting.

    This was on the verge of being obscene!

    Zu An quickly snapped out of his daze, he and Pei Mianman exchanged looks.

    Since they were already used to passing through different worlds, the two of them managed to calm themselves rather quickly. They ordered the dancers to withdraw, and then called over a female attendant.

    They were much more clever with their questioning this time around,pared to the first trial, when Zu An was Wu Ding. At the very least, no one suspected them of losing their memories.

    They managed to determine their current situation and knew their respective identities without much hassle.

    Zu An had a rather strange look on his face, and he stared at Pei Mianman in somewhat of a daze. After decades of progress, it seemed that the spinning and weaving technologies had advanced substantially.

    She was dressed in avish dress that also functioned as a nightgown. He wondered who it was that managed tobine these two entirely different styles together perfectly.

    She was leaning naturally against the throne, the thin material of her dress perfectly outlining her striking curves.

    Topped off with her moist red lips, her figure seemed to possess an even more seductive charm than usual. Anyone who saw her would surely daydream about her constantly.

    ¡°Why are you looking at me like that?¡± Pei Mianman said, her face reddening. Even though they had already spent so much time together, she seemed to still be the young woman from the past.

    Zu An sighed and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect the two of us to take on the identities of these two people. This is probably thest phase of the trial. Whether or not we pass or fail will hinge on this.¡±

    ¡°Why are you so certain that this is thest phase of the trial?¡± Pei Mianman was rather perplexed. ¡°Is there something wrong with our identities?¡±

    ¡°Something is very wrong.¡± Zu An sighed. ¡°In my dream world, they were the most famous individuals of the Shang Dynasty.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Pei Mianman sighed in relief when she heard that they were still a part of the Shang Dynasty. They had already served as the Shang king and queen for so long, so they were already familiar with the military and system of governance. This bolstered her confidence in their ability to tackle whatever woulde their way.

    ¡°Of course. It is because you are Daji, and I am Di Xin.¡± Zu An was full of conflicting emotions. Of all the identities they could have assumed, these two were thest ones that he¡¯d expected.

    Could it be that nothing he¡¯d done in the past could change the turning of the wheel of time and help him avert the tragic fate that this country faced? It looked like they were doomed to fail this trial.

    He was so overwhelmed that he didn¡¯t even bother mocking himself for bing his own son.

    The father of Di Xin was Xian, the man he had been in the previous trial.

    ¡°What¡¯s really going on?¡± Pei Mianman asked hurriedly.

    Zu An sighed and told her the story of Di Xin and Daji.

    As she listened, Pei Mianman¡¯s expression grew strange as well. She did not expect them to be faced with this sort of situation.

    She quickly sensed Zu An¡¯s sullen mood, though and said, ¡°Ah Zu, even though we don¡¯t know if the world in your dream is real or not, we¡¯ve already experienced so much together. We cannot just ept this fate! Since we already know what to avoid, then even if the conclusion you spoke of seems inevitable, I¡¯m sure there¡¯s a chance that we can still avoid it. It will all depend on whether or not we can grasp this opportunity!¡±

    Zu An felt a shudder run though his body. ¡°You¡¯re right. We won¡¯t give up until the veryst second!¡±

    Her words had stirred a renewed sense of motivation in his heart. His spirit lifted, and his heart grew more at ease.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help butugh when he looked at the devastatingly beautiful woman in his arms. ¡°You vixen.¡±

    ¡°You perverted and incapable king,¡± Pei Mianman scoffed. After hearing his story, she knew that Daji was history¡¯s most famous fox spirit. Of course, Di Xin was also synonymous with the words perverted and ipetent.

    ¡°A pervert? Me? Then I¡¯ll show you just how perverted I am!¡± Zu An was terrified yet weirdly stimted when he thought about her current identity. He immediately pounced on her.

    Pei Mianman gazed at him with her charming peach-blossom eyes, and she wrapped her arms gently around the man on top of her. ¡°You really are a good-for-nothing king after all. In the previous world, even when I was little, you¡­¡±

    The two of them had been trapped in this strange trial for way too long, causing several negative emotions to umte within them. If they didn¡¯t take whatever opportunity they could to vent them, they would¡¯ve already gone mad.

    After their exchange of passion, the two began to seriously consider what they were going to do. Suddenly, a maid entered with a report. ¡°The eldest son of the leader of Western Zhou, Bo Yikao, hase to pay his respects to my king!¡±

 Chapter 552: New Rivals, Old Hatreds

    <h4>Chapter 552: New Rivals, Old Hatreds</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Bo Yikao?¡± Zu An stiffened for a moment as he recalled the corresponding part of history.

    Wasn¡¯t Ji Chang imprisoned by King Di Xin, after which his son, Bo Yikao, was sent by the Western Zhou state carrying many precious gifts in order to ransom him? The history books said that Daji took a fancy to him and tried to seduce him, but he waspletely unmoved. Instead, heshed out at her. Daji was furious and used him of harassing her, demanding that Bo Yikao be chopped up into mincemeat and fed to Ji Chang¡­

    Daji was an incredibly charming and famous beauty in the annals of history. Would she really be tempted by some random youngster? He was sure that theter generations had defamed her.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Now that they were in this world, however, Zu An knew that he did not have to worry about Pei Mianman being interested in this pretty boy. Instead, he was delighted by this visit, and quickly asked one of his men, ¡°Is that fe Ji Chang locked up here?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± That subordinate replied. ¡°The crown prince of Western Zhou hase to the capital precisely to ransom his father.¡±

    ¡°Ransom?¡± Zu An sneered. How could he possibly let them go? There were still a ton of things that he wanted to get revenge for.

    ¡°Send him in!¡± Zu An remembered what had happened to San Cai, and there were too many questions and too much rage within him.

    Soon enough, a young man was escorted in. Zu An had to admit that this kid was quite handsome¡ªperhaps just a little less handsome than himself.

    ¡°Bo Yikao pays his respects to the king and queen.¡± The young man maintained a perfectly respectful attitude.

    ¡°Why are you here?¡± Zu An said with a sneer.

    Bo Yikao was rmed. He could sense Zu An¡¯s displeasure, but he still said, ¡°This subject hase bearing gifts, in the hopes that you will release my father. I hope the king can be magnanimous towards us.¡±

    In ancient times, captives could be ransomed even while two states were at war, and it was perfectly understandable since Western Zhou was still a vassal state of the Shang State at the moment, and hostilities had not yet begun.

    ¡°You wish to ransom him?¡± Zu An didn¡¯t give him an answer. Instead, he locked eyes with him and asked, ¡°Who is your mother?¡±

    ¡°My mother?¡± Bo Yikao froze, and his expression grew strange. He had heard that the man on the throne was both licentious and tyrannical. Don¡¯t tell me he is interested in my mother?

    Absolutely preposterous!

    You have sessfully trolled Bo Yikao for 999 Rage points!

    Of course, this wasn¡¯t a ce where he couldsh out in anger. He could only lower his head and suppress his rage. He replied with a low voice, ¡°My mother¡¯s name is Tai Si, ady of the Shen State.¡±

    ¡°Then what about San Cai?¡± Zu An asked, continuing with his line of questioning. He really wanted to know if there was any connection between this current trial world and the previous one.

    Pei Mianman¡¯s hands tightened around his own. She was also concerned about what happened to San Cai. She was afraid that these worlds were unrted, and that they would never hear anything about San Cai again.

    ¡°San Cai?¡± A look of confusion filled Bo Yikao¡¯s eyes.

    Zu An started to grow impatient. ¡°I¡¯m talking about my little¡­ ahem, my aunt. She was married to your father.¡±

    Even though they were siblings in the previous world, he was now Di Xin, her nephew.

    Bo Yikao nodded in realization. ¡°You¡¯re talking about my aunt! She passed away during a difficult birth. I wasn¡¯t born yet, so I do not know the details regarding this.¡±

    Zu An sighed. So, San Cai existed in this world after all! In that case, he was definitely going to find out the truth.

    Pei Mianman spoke up as well. ¡°Why do you sound like you¡¯re in such a rush to express your innocence? Perhaps¡­ you¡¯re lying?¡± Her tone was frosty.

    Bo Yikao turned to look at her, a sudden hint of shock appearing in his eyes, but it was soon reced by fear. ¡°This subject is merely stating a fact that ismon knowledge! I would not think of lying.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s voice had be a low growl. ¡°What ismon knowledge might not be the actual truth. Send someone in and have him locked up too. Torture him to find out the truth about what happened!¡±

    Bo Yikao turned pale with fright. The rest of the court quickly stepped in to advise against this. ¡°My king, you must not do this! Bo Yikao is the crown prince of Western Zhou. Our rtionship with Western Zhou has already grown tense, now that Ji Chang has been imprisoned. If we imprison his son as well, we would be openly dering our hostile intent!¡±

    ¡°If it is to be war, then so be it. Do you think I¡¯m afraid?¡± Zu An was annoyed. The issues surrounding Western Zhou had gued him for a long time. It was something he had to deal with eventually.

    This time around, even San Cai was involved. He had to get to the bottom of this no matter what.

    The whole court continued urging him to reconsider, and even Pei Mianman grew annoyed with them. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that Bo Yikao hase bearing many gifts, and I see that all of you are so eager to defend him. Could it be that you have all taken gifts from him?¡±

    When confronted with this usation, the dissenting voices quickly died down, and Bo Yikao was swiftly thrown into prison.

    Zu An had someone question him about San Cai, but he knew that it wouldn¡¯t bear fruit immediately. As such, he decided to visit Ji Chang in his cell first.

    When heid eyes on him, he discovered that the man didn¡¯t look too different from what he remembered. He was bearded now, and seemed slightly more mature, but age had yet to leave many traces on his face.

    Zu An was shocked that he actually looked the same. Could it be that there was actually some connection between this world and the previous one?

    Ji Chang was equally shocked when he saw him. After a long moment of silence, he finally said with a sigh, ¡°Too simr. This king and the previous one look too simr.¡±

    The two of them had met once before in the previous world, on the banks of the Wei River. Surprisingly, he still remembered that moment.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Ji Chang, do you know why I locked you up in here?¡±

    Ji Chang calmly said, ¡°The king naturally has his reason for locking me up. This subject does not dare to guess your thoughts haphazardly.¡±

    Zu An frowned. This fe was incredibly cunning after all, both enigmatic and unpredictable.

    However, he wasn¡¯t in the mood to y these games. He got straight to the point. ¡°My¡­ aunt, San Cai. What did you do to her? How did she die?¡±

    Ji Chang was stunned by this question. He replied, ¡°She passed away inbor, during a difficult birth. I suffered endless grief over her death as well.¡± He sighed. ¡°If she hadn¡¯t met with such an early death, my rtionship with the king might not be so tense.¡±

    Zu An watched his expression carefully. He saw no hint of panic, which made him begin to wonder if San Cai had really died of natural causes.

    Pei Mianman sneered. ¡°There is no way San Cai would die from difficulties during childbirth. Back then, even I¡­¡± she coughed, then continued, ¡°Back then, we ensured that many specialists passed on their knowledge regarding childbirth to her, precisely because we were worried that such a thing would happen.¡±

    Ji Chang replied, ¡°The moon is round and slender at different times, and humans experience disaster and happiness between dawn and dusk. There are too many things outside of our control when ites to those you love; everything is subject to the whims of the heavens. I was also heartbroken at San Cai¡¯s death, but there is nothing I can do against heaven¡¯s will.¡±

    Zu An sneered. ¡°Then ording to your words, it was heaven that demanded her death?¡±

    Ji Chang replied calmly, ¡°Respectfully, that is not what I said. I merely meant that it is hard to predict heaven¡¯s will. I do not dare to hazard a guess when ites to such matters.¡±

    Zu An knew that this was an experienced old fox, and that it would be useless no matter how he questioned him. He shouted for someone toe over. ¡°Torture him. Find out exactly what happened back then!¡±

    Ji Chang remained unfazed. ¡°Torturers have always been inferior to doctors. I fear that my king¡¯s decision is unwise, and it will only serve topletely sever the rtionship between our two states.¡±

    ¡°Rtionship? Your Zhou people have rapacious designs. Do you really think that I do not know of them?!¡± Zu An waved his hand, indicating for his subordinates to begin.

    The Shang Dynasty employed many forms of torture. Once the king gave the order, it wasn¡¯t difficult to find a good torturer.

    Ji Chang sighed. ¡°The king¡¯s erroneous ways may incur the criticisms of themon people.¡±

    Zu An had no wish to argue with him further, and turned to leave. At the door to his cell, he paused for a moment and said, ¡°I know that your bones are tough, and I probably won¡¯t get any information out of you. However, I wonder if Bo Yikao is as tough as you.¡±

    Ji Chang¡¯s impassive expression finally slipped when he heard this.

    Zu An and Pei Mianman then paid a visit to Bo Yikao¡¯s cell. They could hear Bo Yikao¡¯s miserable screams and anguished curses, even from far away. The torture that was being carried out inside made their eyelids twitch uncontrobly. It was just too cruel.

    Even watching it for a short moment was too much for the two of them. They went outside to wait.

    A whileter, a report came from inside the prison. ¡°He is willing to confess.¡±

    Zu An and Pei Mianman were thrilled, and went back in quickly. Bo Yikao was no longer his handsome old self. His entire body was badly mangled, and seemed moments away from hisst breath.

    Zu An had to admit that this fellow was quite tough. He had somehow managed tost this long.

    Bo Yikao¡¯s lips moved when he saw theme in. He had been cursing brutally thest time, yet now, he didn¡¯t even have the strength to curse anymore. ¡°I just want a quick death¡­¡± he muttered weakly.

    Often, living was more painful than being dead. Bo Yikao understood his current situation well. Death was a form of release for him.

    Zu An knew that now wasn¡¯t the time to showpassion. He grabbed a stool and sat down. ¡°Talk. How did San Cai die?¡±

 Chapter 553: The Marrying Maiden

    <h4>Chapter 553: The Marrying Maiden</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An¡¯s eyelids twitched continuously as Bo Yikao spilled his tale, and the rage that burned within him grew hotter and fiercer.

    He finally knew how San Cai died. Complications during childbirth? It was all a lie!

    Back then, after Ji Chang brought San Cai back to Western Zhou, he had a pce prepared just for her.

    San Cai was ecstatic at first, and felt that Ji Chang truly cared about her.

    However, she gradually began to sense that things were not as they seemed. There was nothing wrong with the way Ji Chang interacted with her publicly, and he also invited her to participate in various important asions, like a loving husband normally would.

    Despite all this, he had never visited her pce in private even once. The two were only husband and wife in name, not in reality. Ji Chang seemed to treat her as a mere tool, to be used to aplish his goals.

    San Cai didn¡¯t really mind this, because she didn¡¯t really like Ji Chang. Instead, being able to live alone in her own pce gave her a sense of freedom.

    She could even write letters to her big brother and sister now and then. Of course, she never mentioned the truth about her own life, so as not to cause them undue worry.

    After her initial happiness, San Cai gradually remembered her purpose. Her first reason for entering into this marriage was to gather information on Western Zhou, and the second reason was to develop a closer rtionship with her now-husband.

    As such, she took the initiative to approach Ji Chang, but Ji Chang never let slip any information, and she couldn¡¯t find a way to bring the two of them closer together.

    One day, something unexpected finally happened. San Cai overheard a conversation between Ji Chang and a strategist.

    It turned out that Western Zhou had already set into motion a plot to take down the Shang Dynasty. The wheels had begun to turn during the time of Ji Chang¡¯s grandfather. Back then, Western Zhou already had thoughts of overthrowing the Shang Dynasty. However, the Shang Dynasty was simply too strong, so they could only bide their time.

    After the Qiang Faction was defeated and the territory was left without a ruler, they helped the Shang state wipe out the remaining Qiang forces. Under the guise of guarding the border, they spent several decades slowly acquiring thend that used to belong to the Qiang Faction.

    Then, they began to rope in various nobles of other states and improve their rtionships with them.

    Unfortunately, something unexpected happened. Ji Li, Ji Chang¡¯s father, was killed by the Shang monarch, which was a serious blow to Western Zhou¡¯s ns to overthrow the Shang Dynasty.

    They also realized that the Shang Dynasty had grown wary of their sudden rise to power. Since the two states were not equally strong, they decided that it was not the right time to show their true colors.

    They nned to use the eastern Yi invasion as a way to whittle down some of the Shang Dynasty¡¯s strength, while they themselves used the opportunity to grow stronger.

    Thus, when the Shang Dynasty suggested a political marriage, they immediately agreed.

    Of course, agreeing to such a marriage was one thing. There was no way that Western Zhou would allow the blood of a Shang State¡¯s princess to flow into their sessors, which would hinder their grand scheme, which by now dated back over a hundred years.

    That was why Ji Chang kept his distance from San Cai. They could only be husband and wife in name.

    What horrified San Cai even more was that, on the day that she was betrothed, Ji Chang hadn¡¯te to Wei River merely to fetch her home. Rather, he was using that opportunity to scout out the topography of the area to n for a future attack.

    Making a bridge over the Wei River using boats sounded romantic, but it was actually practice for a future attack via the river.

    San Cai¡¯s entire body went ice-cold as soon as she realized this. She knew that her country was truly in danger.

    She had always listened to her big brother and big sister talk about the threat that the people of Western Zhou posed. Back then, she didn¡¯t believe them, and merely thought that they were being paranoid.

    Who would have known that the situation would be even more dangerous than they had expected?!

    She quickly tried to contact her siblings to let them know about all of this, but Ji Chang and his cohort found out about her.

    As such, Ji Chang ced her under house arrest. She wasn¡¯t allowed to have any contact with the outside world.

    All of San Cai¡¯s methods to contact Yin Capital failed. She knew that she would be locked up until her death.

    She didn¡¯t want to die in such a meaningless way, so she steeled herself for the inevitable, andmitted suicide.

    She knew that she had no way of contacting her home country, so she could only rely on such an extreme method.

    Ji Chang could keep her under house arrest, but there was no way he could hide the news of her death.

    Once news of her death reached Yin Capital, they would surely be on guard.

    Her big brother and big sister were so intelligent, and they would definitely understand the meaning behind it all¡­

    However, she could never have predicted that Ji Chang would fool the Shang Dynasty by pretending that she had died during childbirth. Even though Zu An and Pei Mianman weren¡¯t convinced, they had been quickly sent over to the next part of the trial. As such, they weren¡¯t given the opportunity to avenge her death.

    Zu An and Pei Mianman both wept when they learned the truth about what had happened.

    ¡°My foolish sister, do you think we didn¡¯t know how vicious and dangerous the people of the Zhou state were? There was no need for you to give your life as a reminder!¡± Zu An and Pei Mianman both recalled the cute little sister they had grown up with. When they thought about just how much despair she had felt, and what she had gone through while all alone in a foreign country, they felt as though knives were digging into their hearts.

    She had sacrificed her own happiness for the sake of her country, and then sacrificed her life as well. She had been made to suffer so much that she should never have had to go through at such a young age.

    Zu An suddenly rose to his feet. He was going to settle things with Ji Chang.

    ¡°My king, what should we do with Bo Yikao?¡± asked the jailer.

    Zu An¡¯s voice was cold. ¡°Chop him up into mincemeat!¡±

    Since this was his end historically, Zu An was more than willing to let history take its course.

    Bo Yikao quivered in fear when he heard this. ¡°You tyrannical and incapable ruler!¡± he yelled. ¡°You arepletely untrustworthy, and you won¡¯t be granted an easy death¡­¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Bo Yikao for 1024¡­ 1024¡­ 1024¡­

    Zu An remained unfazed. Right now, he only had the desire to kill.

    A momentter, Zu An returned to Ji Chang¡¯s cell. He saw that, even though Ji Chang¡¯s body bore several marks, he wasn¡¯t being tortured severely at the moment. Instead, he was sitting in a corner fiddling with a rock. He seemed to be scribbling on the ground.

    Zu An¡¯s expression grew cold. ¡°Who allowed him to rest?¡±

    The jailer beside him replied carefully, ¡°The imperial uncle Bi Gan came in earlier and said that the Western Duke should not be subjected to such torture. He was just about to speak with you,my king. It seems like the two of you just missed each other.¡±

    ¡°Bi Gan?¡± Zu An¡¯s eyelids gave an involuntary twitch. He was well known as a just and honorable official. From recorded history, this man had continuously tried to rectify Di Xin¡¯s corrupt ways. Eventually, Di Xin ordered Bi Gan to be executed by extracting his heart.

    Now wasn¡¯t the time to think about Bi Gan, though. He walked in front of Ji Chang and looked down at the writing he had made on the ground. ¡°The Book of Changes?¡±[1]

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Ji Chang was shocked. ¡°I did not expect the king to know about this. This is something that I¡¯ve only managed to figure out in recent years!¡±

    Zu An offered no reply. Instead, he said, ¡°I¡¯ve heard that the Book of Changes is used in divination. You seemed to be doing some of that earlier. What did you find out?¡±

    Ji Chang lowered his head to look at the diagram below. He said with a bitter expression, ¡°The Marrying Maiden; violence and killing.¡±[2]

    Zu An was stunned. He didn¡¯t expect this man to actually have some skill at divination. He was indeed out for blood this time, and it had to do with his younger sister.

    Under different circumstances, he would actually have tried to learn about the usage of the Book of Changes from him. After all, Ji Chang was the creator of the Book of Changes, and it was definitely full of mysterious power.

    However, he had no interest in all of this right now. He waved his hand casually, and a subordinate appeared in a few moments, bearing a te of food.

    A jailer quickly brought Ji Chang a meat patty. It was still steaming, and had clearly been freshly prepared.

    Ji Chang¡¯s expression instantly paled when he saw the meat patty in front of him.

    Zu An sneered. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Is the Western Duke afraid that I will poison you?¡±

    Ji Chang sighed. ¡°The king is the son of heaven. If you wished for this subject to die, then I must die. Why is there a need to resort to poison? This subject thanks the king for your favor.¡±

    With that, he reached out a trembling hand towards the meat patty and brought it up to his mouth. Hesitation flickered across his face.

    Zu An stared at him. He didn¡¯t expect himself to really be history¡¯s tyrant. He didn¡¯t know why King Di Xin would do something this cruel, but he had his own reason for doing this. He had to have justice for his cute little sister.

    Ji Chang sighed. In the end, he steeled himself and bit into the meat patty. However, he could not control his reaction. Turning to the side, he retched horribly.

    Zu An sneered. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Does it not suit the Western Duke¡¯s tastes? This meat was freshly ughtered and prepared.¡±

    Ji Chang was speechless for a moment.

    He took a deep breath topose himself, then said, ¡°The food is delicious, my king, but my body seems to be¡­¡±

    Before he could finish, Zu An said, ¡°Since it¡¯s delicious, then have some more.¡±

    Ji Chang¡¯s breath caught, and he almost choked.

    You have sessfully trolled Ji Chang for 999 Rage points!

    No matter how shrewd he was, Ju Chan couldn¡¯t help but grow furious. However, he reminded himself of his mission. As long as he could make it past this, he would eventually get his revenge on the Shang Dynasty. He would kill this tyrannical ruler and his witch with a thousand des. What did this momentary shame and disgrace matter,pared to the grand scheme of things?

    As such, he ate all of the meat patties in front of him without a hint of expression. ¡°Thank you, my king, for your gift.¡±

    Zu An looked at him. ¡°Do you know what type of meat these patties were made of?¡±

    Ji Chang¡¯s heart began to pound. ¡°I do not know, nor do I want to know.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s voice grew cold. ¡°Do you think that just because you obeyed me and ate these patties, I will somehow believe that you are truly obedient? That I¡¯ll let you go back to the west so you can continue to carry out your revenge, and eventually destroy my great Shang Dynasty?¡±

    Ji Chang knew that things had taken a turn for the worse, when he suddenly heard the words of the man in front of him. ¡°I will make sure to repay your treatment of San Cai severalfold!

    ¡°Men, turn the Western Duke into mincemeat!¡±

    1. The Book of Changes, or the I Ching, is an ancient and well-known Chinese divination text, originating from the Western Zhou period.

    2. The Book of Changes uses a set of 64 hexagrams for divination. The Marrying Maiden (also known as Converting the Maiden) is hexagram 54.

 Chapter 554, Part I: The Final Boss

    <h4>Chapter 554, Part I: The Final Boss</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    A panicked shout interrupted him. ¡°You absolutely must not do this!¡± An old man with gray hair was hurrying over to him, surrounded by a group of people.

    Bi Gan? Zu An frowned when he turned around and saw this man. The memories he had inherited from this body told him that this was his uncle, Bi Gan.

    He looked exactly like someone whose top priority was the welfare of his country and its people. He was dressed like a faithful official that wasmonly portrayed in the dramas that he used to watch.

    ¡°Why not?¡± Zu An said, not hiding his displeasure. This seemed like someone who he just would not get along with.

    Bi Gan interposed himself between Zu An and Ji Chang and said anxiously, ¡°This is the Western Duke. How can he be executed for no reason? Wouldn¡¯t this rm the other vassal states?¡±

    ¡°No reason?¡± Zu An sneered. ¡°He was the one who killed my little¡­ aunt, San Cai. Isn¡¯t that a good enough reason? Murderers should pay with their lives! This is right and proper!¡±

    Bi Gan was stunned. He clearly hadn¡¯t expected to run into something like this. Pei Mianman gave him a rough summary of what had happened to San Cai. She knew that the imperial uncle Bi Ganmanded extraordinary prestige within the court. If they could bring him onto their side, this matter would be much easier to deal with.

    Bi Gan knew who San Cai was, and hearing what had happened to her caused a deep furrow to appear between his brows as well.

    Despite this, he still said, ¡°My king, since all this is in the past, San Cai won¡¯te back to life even if we execute the Western Duke! We arranged for San Cai¡¯s marriage precisely for the sake of easing tensions between our two states. If we kill the Western Duke, wouldn¡¯t that make San Cai¡¯s deathpletely meaningless? Besides, strictly speaking, San Caimitted suicide, so the Western Duke wasn¡¯t the one who killed her!¡±

    Zu Anughed when he heard this. ¡°From what I¡¯ve heard, uncle, it seems like you¡¯re ming San Cai for her own death.¡±

    Bi Gan replied, ¡°That¡¯s not what I am trying to say, my king. I only ask that you think about the bigger picture, and not let your emotions affect your decisions.¡±

    Zu An sneered. ¡°You keep mentioning the bigger picture, but there¡¯s already such great hostility between our two states. Even if we let Ji Chang go, do you think he will somehow think better of us? He will plot his revenge on the Shang Dynasty. We are releasing a tiger into the mountains! Imperial uncle, you are too close-minded.¡±

    He couldn¡¯t be bothered to argue with Bi Gan any further, and immediately carried through with his order. ¡°Where is the executioner? If he doesn¡¯t do his job this instant, then turn him into mincemeat, together with the Western Duke.¡±

    He was utterly furious right now. He was done discussing this matter, and he couldn¡¯t care less if he altered the course of history because of this. The only thing on his mind was getting revenge for San Cai.

    The jailor jumped into action, and quickly escorted Ji Chang out for execution.

    Bi Gan panicked. ¡°My king, you absolutely must not do this! You will be bringing a huge disaster upon yourself by doing this!¡±

    Zu An let his annoyance show. ¡°Are you the imperial uncle of our Great Shang Dynasty, or the imperial uncle of Western Zhou? You seem eager to speak up for them all the time.¡± He dismissed the man from his mind, and he and Pei Mianman walked out of the prison together.

    ¡°You¡­ you¡­¡± Bi Gan was so angry that his entire body was shaking. He was so choked up with rage that he couldn¡¯t even form a proper sentence.

    You have sessfully trolled Bi Gan for 733¡­ 733¡­ 733¡­

    In the end, Ji Chang was executed. The next day, the entire court rose up in uproar, and countless officials penned letters of admonishment to Zu An.

    Ji Chang had always conducted himself well. He had the bearing of a wise man, and had maintained good rtionships with the aristocrats and nobles.

    Zu An paid close attention to the proceedings of the court. He saw that a faction of the ministers were led by the imperial uncle Bi Gan, while another faction was led by a different imperial uncle, Ji Zi. The two of them shared simr attitudes, and it looked like it would be hard to break them down.

    A third faction was controlled by his own brother, Weizi. This Weizi really was unlucky. They clearly shared the same parents, yet because his mother hadn¡¯t yet been appointed the queen when she gave birth to him, Weizi was considered a bastard child. Meanwhile, his mother had already ascended to queenhood when his little brother¡ªDi Xin, whose identity Zu An now assumed¡ªwas born, and so it was his little brother who ultimately seeded to the throne.

    Zu An knew that there was bad blood between them. Sure enough, he sted Zu An with criticism, together with Bi Gan and Ji Zi.

    The prime minister Shang Rong and court historian Xin Jia were even more brutal with their verbal attacks.

    Yet another faction existed in the court, led by the crown prince Wu Geng. The knowledge that he already had a grown-up son in this world gave Zu An a headache.

    He obviously had no personal affection for this son. Fortunately, though, this son was still rather filial, and sometimes spoke out on his behalf.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Wu Geng was birthed by Queen Jiang. Zu An had seen her before in the pce. She was a sweet-tempered woman, but Zu An wasn¡¯t in the mood to fool around at all. All of his attention was ced onpleting San Cai¡¯s revenge, as well aspleting this trial with Pei Mianman.

    When he saw that most of the ministers within the court and the military officials opposed him, Zu An couldn¡¯t help but view Di Xin with contempt. This king really was too much of a failure! He was practically alone in the court. It looked as though he would have to find some new and trustworthy aides.

    After wasting much of the day on conflict and bickering, the court finally settled down to deal with the real issue: How were they going to handle the retaliation that was sure toe from Western Zhou?

    After all, both Ji Chang and his son had been made into mincemeat. This was a serious offence that would surely shatter any rtions with the people of Western Zhou.

    Knowing that hostile conflict was inevitable, Zu An and Pei Mianman began to reorganize the military and wait for the people of Western Zhou to make their move.

    Unfortunately, even after waiting for several months, the armies of Western Zhou never materialized. While Zu An was left puzzled, news suddenly arrived from the northwest. Western Zhou forces had captured the Li State, within the Taihang Mountains.

    Li State was the Shang Dynasty¡¯s northwestern barrier, and had always enjoyed good rtions with the Shang State. But now, they have been eradicated by Western Zhou.

    Zu An was furious. He hadn¡¯t received any news of this at all, even as it was going on.

    He immediately investigated the matter, and discovered that the pleas for help from the Li State had somehow been lost when it reached prime minister Shang Rong.

    Even though Shang Rong had a proper reason to excuse himself from this matter, Zu An had already served as king for many, many years. He could see through it all at a nce, and knew that this slip-up had beenpletely intentional. Aside from the prime minister, no one else would have enough authority to intercept such urgent military intelligence.

    He was about to throw him into prison, but Shang Rong was warned of this ahead of time, and fled the city with his family to the Taihang Mountains to live out their lives as bandits. Once there, they dered that they had been persecuted by King Di Xin and his evil wife, Daji. Unable to put up with King Di Xin anymore, they had left to seek asylum.

    Historian Xin Jia was also extremely dissatisfied by this matter. He angrily denounced Zu An in the court, then when he heard that the prime minister had fled, he too fled west, and became Western Zhou¡¯s distinguished guest.

    Zu An was beyond furious. It was clear that these fellows had sold out their own country, yet public opinion had somehow been distorted to reflect that he was a brutal ruler who mistreated his subjects!

    After all, public opinion waspletely controlled by the royal lines of Bi Gan and Ji Zi, as well as the rest of the nobility.

    King Di Xin was truly an abject failure. That was why, all around him, people were deserting him and rebelling.

    However, Zu An did not try to ease the rtionship with Bi Gan and the others. He knew that there was no way to get them back on his side.

    He had already served as the Shang monarch for several generations, so he could tell that there were too many issues to deal with. There was still tension between factions that held differing views on whether the throne should be passed to a deceased king¡¯s brothers, or to his son. At the same time, the position of High Priest was often controlled by the aristocrats and nobles, which meant that they had power almost equal to the Shang king himself.

    Knowing that they would be unwilling to relinquish power so readily, he began to establish his own faction, made up of the different hierarchies within society¡ªlesser nobles, mid-level schrs,moners, and independent soldiers.

 Chapter 554, Part II: The Final Boss

    <h4>Chapter 554, Part II: The Final Boss</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Having shortlisted his candidates, Pei Mianman inspected them and picked out the best among them.

    Both Fei Lian and i, a father and son duo, were outstanding. Fei Lian was a quick fighter, while i was bold and powerful. They were both unmatched on the battlefield.

    Fei Zhong was a man of poor character, but he was an extremely crafty and sharp individual, and a rare talent.

    Jiao Ge, a captive eastern barbarian, was good at business and umting wealth.

    All these names were familiar to Zu An, and left a queasy feeling in his gut. He vaguely recalled that, besides Jiao Ge, they all seemed to be famously corrupt court officials in history. He didn¡¯t expect that he would walk the same path as the actual King Di Xin.

    Unfortunately he didn¡¯t have a choice right now, since there was no one else he could rely on. He had to make use of any resources he had, even if he was drinking poisoned water to quench his thirst.

    Fortunately, these individuals werepetent enough. Under their management, the Shang State gradually strengthened its fragmented national power.

    With that settled, Zu An and Pei Mianman turned their attention towards eradicating Western Zhou.

    Unfortunately, a new disturbance arose within the court. Fei Zhong¡¯s faction had risen in prestige because of their sesses, and began to seize control over the court¡¯s authority, causing Bi Gan and the rest of the old nobility to grow dissatisfied.

    The older nobility rounded up many people who had either been abused or received bribes, and used them to use Fei Zhong¡¯s faction of misconduct, even implying that the king was relying on scoundrels and riff-raff to govern.

    This left Zu An with a huge headache. It was true that Fei Zhong¡¯s faction had very loose morals. They weren¡¯t men of good breeding either, and they were quick to abuse their newly-gained authority.

    Of course, this didn¡¯t mean that the noses of Bi Gan and the rest of the old nobility werepletely clean either. Relying on their family backgrounds as backing, they had no need to stoop to such measures, and even when they did, they had their own ways of hiding their unsavory actions. The nobility had honed these methods over hundreds of years, and they were not something that Fei Zhong and his cohort could easily pick up.

    In the past, Zu An might have chosen to slowly ease the enmity between the two factions, but he had little patience for that right now. His sole objective was to deal with Western Zhou and make it through this trial.

    Even though Bi Gan and the rest of the nobles were more upright in terms of character, there was no way Zu An could rely on them. On the contrary, even though Fei Zhong¡¯s faction wasn¡¯t made up of the most morally upstanding bunch of people, they were much more loyal to him. He finally understood why so many incapable rulers like to have treacherous ministers around them¡­

    Thus, he dealt with the old nobility swiftly and decisively, using Fei Zhong¡¯s faction to nder Bi Gan. This was a specialty for those from the lower rungs of society.

    Eventually, Bi Gan grew so angry that he resigned. Zu An was afraid that he might also seek asylum in Western Zhou, so he put him under house arrest instead, and ordered men to guard his residence. However, he couldn¡¯t bring himself to kill someone as upright as him.

    Because he was under house arrest, however, all sorts of false rumors began to spread. There was even a ridiculous theory that Daji was sick, and she wanted to use Bi Gan¡¯s seven apertures to heal herself, which led to Bi Gan being killed by having his heart extracted.

    Zu An was speechless. He sent people to look into the source of the rumors, but his investigations were fruitless. Things only went from bad to worse.

    When imperial uncle Ji Zi heard about these vicious methods, he resigned from his post as well, worried that he would be next. He stayed home and yed the fool.

    Zu An obviously saw through his actions, but now that these people had left the imperial court, it became easier for him to do what he needed to do, which was why he didn¡¯t force them to stay.

    Finally, the new leader of Western Zhou, Ji Fa, called for a Great Assembly at Mengjin, purportedly involving eight hundred feudal princes, which was a hostile move against the Shang State.

    Over the past century, Western Zhou had forged a terrifying alliance with other states. Many of the other vassal states had good rtionships with Western Zhou, and were also dissatisfied with the Shang Dynasty¡¯s rule. Many of these states took part in this assembly.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Of course, Ji Fa wasn¡¯t stupid. He had realized that the Shang Dynasty had grown in strength recently, and was no longer a hundred percent sure that he would emerge victorious. As such, he didn¡¯t dere war immediately. Instead, he bided his time, waiting for a good opportunity to present itself.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t care less about those eight hundred-or-whatever feudal princes who took part in the assembly. He knew that, ultimately, his enemy was Western Zhou. As long as he defeated them, the most powerful of the vassal states, the other vassal states would naturally surrender.

    Both sides continued to prepare for the decisive battle.

    After some time had passed, the Eastern Barbarians suddenlyunched a great invasion of the Shang Dynasty.

    The Shang Dynasty has always been besieged by enemies from all sides. There was the Qiang Faction to the northwest, the Ghost Faction to the north, the Eastern Barbarians to the east, the people of the River Yi to the southeast, the Ba Faction to the southwest¡­

    Those ofter generations might have viewed this period of endless war as the beginning of the unification of China, but for those who lived during these times, it was a brutal and trying time.

    The Eastern Barbarians were always one of the Shang Dynasty¡¯s most tenacious enemies. They had been defeated several times throughout the past few centuries, but could never be fully subdued.

    Zu An even spent a lot of effort trying to improve the rtionships between the two peoples and form an alliance, but it unfortunately fell through.

    The entire court, both the civilian and military leaders, all suggested going to war with the Eastern Barbarians. Zu An did not refuse this request, and allowed the general Fei Lian to lead the bulk of the Shang army in an attack on the Eastern Barbarians.

    Ji Fa, who had been waiting for an opportunity all this time, was ted. He mobilized all of his state¡¯s forces and marched east to attack the Shang Dynasty¡¯s capital.

    The capital was left mostly unguarded, since their main forces were off to the east. Caught unprepared, Zu An had no choice but to put together a ve army, promising them their freedom after the battle.

    Taking i and Fei Zhong with him under the royal banner, they met the approaching Zhou army at Muye.

    Seeing this ragtag ve army, Ji Fa sensed victory within his grasp. He spread his own forces out, preparing to encircle the Shang army and wipe them out.

    However, at the crucial moment, the situation suddenly changed. Fei Jian suddenly appeared at the head of the main Shang army and surrounded the Western Zhou forces.

    Ji Fa was shocked. After all, his intelligence reports all stated that this army was supposed to be off dealing with the Eastern Barbarians.

    Zu An sneered. He knew from the very start that the Eastern Barbarians were never the real threat, and that Western Zhou was his greatest enemy.

    That was why he openly sent his great general east, but secretly ordered Fei Lian to double back with the army.

    After this initial rm, Ji Fa calmed himself quickly, and demanded with a cold voice, ¡°What are all of you waiting for?¡±

    As soon as he spoke, chaos erupted within the Shang army. The forces being led by Weizi suddenly turned around and began to attack the army under themand of Zu An.

    Yet another armed force rushed out as well. These were the forces led by Shang Rong, who had been hiding in the Taihang Mountains.

    These sudden developments tipped the scales slightly in Western Zhou¡¯s favor.

    Zu An sighed. ¡°I¡¯ve already predicted all of this.¡±

    Weizi was someone who had barely missed his chance at the throne. It was inevitable that Zu An would set up precautions against him.

    With a wave of his banner ofmand, Pei Mianman charged out, leading her own army.

    No one in this world expected the charming Daji to be so ferocious. Of course, there was no way they could know that she was the Shang Dynasty¡¯s war goddess, Fu Hao.

    As he saw the battle slowly swinging in his favor, Zu An sensed a bad premonition. Ji Fa seemed far too calm. Does he still have another card hidden up his sleeve?

    He had always had a nagging feeling that he had overlooked something. He closed his eyes,pletely ignoring the ughter taking ce, and began to go over every single detail in his mind. He suddenly recalled the murals he had seen in the upper tomb, and remembered the things Mi Li had told him.

    He turned towards the nearby crown prince. He saw him slowly raise his hand, as though he was about to give a hand signal.

    ¡°Wu Geng,¡± Zu An said, ¡°let¡¯s talk.¡±

    Wu Geng was stunned by this sudden remark, and seemed rather uncertain. However, he still urged his horse over to Zu An and bowed respectfully. ¡°What orders do you have for me, father?¡±

    Zu An waved his hands, gesturing for those around them to leave them alone. Then, he sighed. ¡°I¡¯m sure both of us know that we aren¡¯t really father and son. Why is there a need to put on this facade?¡±

    Wu Geng¡¯s expression flickered. ¡°Respectfully, I do not know what you mean.¡±

    Zu An looked at the intense battlefield around them and said calmly, ¡°Weren¡¯t you about to order your soldiers to rebel just now?¡±

    Wu Geng grew silent, offering no reply.

    Zu An looked at him. ¡°Should I call you the traitor of the Shang Dynasty, or the creator of this trial?¡±

 Chapter 555, Part I: Heaven-Devouring Sutra

    <h4>Chapter 555, Part I: Heaven-Devouring Sutra</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Upon hearing this statement, Wu Geng¡¯s expression, which had been calm andposed before, changed immediately. He quickly rose from his respectful bow, and his humble demeanor was suddenly reced with the domineering aura of a king.

    He looked at Zu An and said calmly, ¡°When did you find out?¡±

    As he said this, the surroundings suddenly changed. Just a moment ago, they had been on a battlefield bathed in rivers of blood, but it all vanished in a blink of an eye.

    This was not the battlefield of Muye, but a deer terrace pavilion, which had been constructed a few years before the battle.

    Pei Mianman appeared as well, seemingly dazed by the sudden change. She quickly rushed over to Zu An¡¯s side and asked, ¡°Ah Zu, what¡¯s going on?¡±

    Zu An smiled bitterly. ¡°The one before you is the creator of this trial, the true final Shang king.¡±

    Pei Mianman looked at the crown prince in shock. This quiet and soft-spoken prince had often visited her to wish her good health. She really couldn¡¯t associate him with the final boss of the trial.

    Wu Geng frowned at Zu An. ¡°You still haven¡¯t answered my question.¡±

    Zu An turned to him and said, ¡°Ever since I entered this dungeon, something had bothered me. Since King Di Xin fled to this deer terrace pavilion to immte himself after his defeat at Muye, he clearly had no time to make this dungeon. That leaves only two possible candidates. The first is King Di Xin¡¯s step-brother, Weizi, whoter established the Song State, and the other is King Di Xin¡¯s son, Wu Geng, who seeded him as the king of the Shang State.

    ¡°Weizi struggled with Di Xin for the throne, so to a certain degree, he can be considered a traitor of the Shang Dynasty. Furthermore, he is the founding ruler of the Song State, which means he shares a good rtionship with the people of Western Zhou. I cannot picture him creating this dungeon.

    ¡°That leaves you as the only choice. The Zhou Dynasty took power after Di Xinmitted suicide, and you became thest king of the Shang State. After temporarily acknowledging their rule for a few years, you led the remaining people of the Shang State in a rebellion, while the new ruler of the Zhou Dynasty was still young. This warsted for three years, but still ended in failure.¡±

    Wu Geng was shocked by Zu An¡¯s analysis. ¡°You seem to be quite familiar with this period of history. However, the people of this world do not know about this. Who are you?¡±

    Zu An sighed. ¡°Perhaps I¡¯m just someone led here by fate.¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Wu Geng clearly had no intentions to probe further. He let his gaze wander around the deer terrace pavilion, his voice growing softer. ¡°Do you know what happened after we were defeated at the battle of Muye?¡±

    Zu An shook his head. The other party seemed as though he had a lot to say¡ªwhy would he stop him?

    Wu Geng reached out a hand. The air in front of him rippled, then, like the surface of a mirror, several scenes appeared.

    A tall and valiant man fled to this deer terrace pavilion. He sighed towards the heavens. Unwilling to be humiliated by the people of Zhou, he set himself on fire.

    This was King Di Xin. Daji apanied him in death as well.

    Soon afterwards, The army of Western Zhou entered Shang Capital. After awarding achievements and handing out rewards, they carried out sacrifices to thank the deities.

    The best offerings were always human lives, and they had more than enough candidates to choose from.

    A hundred of Di Xin¡¯s trusted subjects were escorted up to the sacrificial tform. They were dismembered and left alone to struggle in a pool of blood. The louder their howls and the greater their struggles, the better they were as sacrifices for the deities.

    The generals who had fought fiercely on the battlefield of Muye as well as the n leaders of Shang¡¯s major noble ns were stripped of their clothes and thrown into a cauldron of boiling water.

    King Di Xin¡¯s corpse was found, and the heads of Di Xin and his concubines were burned on a giant bonfire. This scorched smoke was the favorite food of the deities.

    ¡­

    Zu An and Pei Mianman stared nkly for a long time. They had served as the kings and queens of the Shang State themselves, so seeing these cruel scenes made rage burn within them.

    Wu Geng said, ¡°The main reason I created this dungeon was to ensure that the truth of the past was restored, as well as revisit why the Great Shang Dynasty eventually perished.¡±

    After pausing for a moment, he turned his sharp eyes towards Zu An and Pei Mianman. ¡°You¡¯ve both gone through several trials. Were you able to conclude why the Great Shang Dynasty was destroyed?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s heart skipped a beat. Was this the final trial? He didn¡¯t dare treat this carelessly. After organizing his thoughts, he said, ¡°In my opinion, there are four main reasons. The first is obviously the rise of the Zhou state. At first, when the northwestern Qiang Faction was defeated, the Zhou State used this chance to seize the newly vacant Central ins. The Central ins have always been a territory greatly coveted by many powers. As long as this territory is properly utilized, whoever controlled this territory would inevitably rise to power. Unfortunately, the Shang Dynasty faced all sorts of powerful enemies, and were not able to turn their attentions fully to this matter. When the Shang Dynasty had finally dealt with the rest of their enemies, the Zhou State had alreadye to power, and the Shang Dynasty was forced to engage them using the twin prongs of war and diplomacy¡ªfor example, killing Ji Li, and marrying off San Cai. Unfortunately, the Zhou State had already been scheming for a long time, and sessive generations of rulers vowed to take down the Shang Dynasty. There was no way for the Shang Dynasty to escape its destruction.¡±

    Wu Geng¡¯s face remained expressionless. ¡°What else?¡±

    Zu An continued, ¡°The second reason concerns the right to inherit the throne. Whether a brother or a son should inherit the throne is something that the factions within the court can never agree on. As such, the royal family is constantly in a state of internal conflict, greatly reducing the national power of the Shang State and preventing it from truly uniting against its enemies.¡±

    Wu Geng sighed. ¡°Indeed. Internal struggles within the royal family never ceased throughout the five hundred years of the Shang Dynasty. The capital was moved frequently precisely because of this reason.¡±

    Zu An let out the breath he was holding. He held Pei Mianman¡¯s hand and continued, ¡°Thirdly, the struggle between imperial and divine authority. Things like the offering of sacrifices were merely used to deceive themon people. As the Shang king, it should be clear to you that deities do not truly exist. However, the High Priest can still borrow the divine will to keep imperial power in check. This is something that no ambitious Shang ruler would ept, resulting in yet another power struggle. To be honest, this reason is linked to the second reason, since the High Priest is usually royalty who lost the right to seed the throne.¡±

    Wu Geng nodded. ¡°The High Priest has always been granted great authority, ever since the dynasty was founded. Every Shang king tried to seize the power of divine authority for himself, but apart from Wu Ding and a few other kings with exceptional ability, divine authority was always controlled by the other branches of the royal family. So, what is the fourth reason?¡±

    ¡°The fourth reason¡­¡± Zu An paused for a moment, and then said, ¡°If the reasons I mentioned earlier were the key reasons behind the Shang King¡¯s destruction, then this fourth thing directly rtes to the Shang Dynasty¡¯s destruction. During King Di Xin¡¯s reign, The imperial uncle Bi Gan and the old nobility led by Ji Zi were not unified behind the will of the Shang king, because the many centuries of history behind their families prevented them from doing so. On top of that, Weizi lost his right to the throne because of aughable reason, which led him to ally himself with the powerful Zhou State and fulfill his aspirations to be king. Even though he didn¡¯t be the Shang king in the end, he still became the ruler of the Song State.

    ¡°There were also important statesmen in the court, such as Shang Rong and Xin Jia, who were on good terms with the Zhou State. There are far more names that I didn¡¯t mention. King Di Xin must have felt as though he waspletely alone, and that no one agreed with him.¡±

    ¡°There was one person that you did not mention.¡± Wu Geng said. ¡°Jiao Ge, whose father single-handedly rose to power, was someone who had secretly sought out the Zhou State a long time ago.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°Jiao Ge? Wasn¡¯t he a ve that your father freed? Why would someone directly under his charge switch sides?¡±

    Wu Geng snorted. ¡°Because before father saved him, he had already been bought by the Zhou State. Do not forget that he is an eastern barbarian. After centuries of war, the grudge between the Eastern Barbarians and the Shang Dynasty had gone too deep. The Great Shang Dynasty even stole the artifact sacred to the Eastern Barbarians¡ªtheir jade badge. How could any of them ever truly serve the Shang Dynasty?¡±

    ¡°The jade badge¡­¡± Zu An suddenly thought of something. The youngdy Jiangjiang, who was outside the trial, was looking for this item. He had seen it during Wu Ding¡¯s reign, and it had been buried with Fu Haoter on.

    He quickly brought himself back to the present, and continued, ¡°Apart from those people I mentioned, you, the crown prince, also seemed to be unhappy with King Di Xin. I believe that you also joined in the betrayal. King Di Xin had enemies at all sides. How could he possibly win? However, there is one thing I do not understand. It makes sense for the others to betray King Di Xin, but you are the crown prince. Why would you betray him?¡±

 Chapter 555, Part II: Heaven-Devouring Sutra

    <h4>Chapter 555, Part II: Heaven-Devouring Sutra</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Wu Geng¡¯s expression grew downcast. ¡°My father doted on Daji greatly. Because my mother, the queen, was constantly losing favor, I felt that she might be abandoned at any time. If Daji gave birth to another son, then my position as the crown prince would be unstable. As such, I thought that it would be better if I made the first move. I did not truly wish to betray the Shang Dynasty. I merely wanted to use the people of Zhou to force my father off the throne. Unfortunately, I never predicted that the Zhou State would be so ambitious, and that they were nning topletely eradicate the Shang Dynasty from the very beginning.¡±

    Zu An sighed. ¡°You all let the wolf right in.¡± All these Shang nobles had been so busy struggling amongst themselves that they had let the predator right in, with no idea how dangerous it could be.

    ¡°By the time we realized this, it was already toote. The broader situation was already set in stone, and the Zhou State had already assumed lordship,¡± Wu Geng said through gritted teeth. ¡°The Zhou State was too strong, so we could only bide our time. Later on, after Ji Fa¡¯s death, his young son seeded to the throne, and I used the opportunity to rebel against the Zhou State. I was afraid that we might lose, so I prepared this dungeon ahead of time. This way, even if we lost, others would still be able to find out the real truth.¡±

    Wu Geng turned towards Zu An and Pei Mianman. ¡°The two of you are rather excellent. All the previous participants had higher cultivations than you, but I stripped everyone of their cultivations for this trial, turning them into normal people. What I wished to see wasn¡¯t the cultivation of the participants, but rather whether or not they could understand the anguish and hatred of the people of the Shang Dynasty, and whether or not they could find a solution to our downfall.¡±

    He continued, ¡°The participants were all wise and intelligent, but many of them weren¡¯t even able to pass the first trial. If they weren¡¯t deceived by Xiao Tuo, they either disagreed with Fu Shuo, or forgot themselves and their reasons for participating in this trial after a few decades of living as royalty.

    ¡°As for the second trial, if they weren¡¯t truly close to San Cai, she would not have taken the initiative to agree to the marriage. If the female trial participant went to Western Zhou, the only thing awaiting her would be death.

    ¡°As for the third trial, you actually managed to sort out a chaotic situation within the court, and clearly identified friends and foes. The main force was present during the Battle of Muye, and yourpanion even joined the fray with another army. On top of all of this, you saw through my identity. If my father had shared your insights and tenacity, things might have turned out differently.¡±

    Zu An and Pei Mianman exchanged a look, and both let out a sigh of relief. They knew that they were the first of all of the trial participants to get this far.

    However, Wu Geng¡¯s tone suddenly changed. ¡°Unfortunately, you have not seeded in the trial. You have only realized all of this at thest second, and it is toote to change anything. Once I give the order, my troops will rebel, and we will reach the same conclusion. You weren¡¯t able to alter the course of our fate.¡±

    Zu An and Pei Mianman shared a somber look. Failing at the final hurdle was truly a terrible feeling.

    Wu Geng¡¯s voice was also full of regret. ¡°Your performance during these trials was truly outstanding, far more outstanding than any participants in the past. Unfortunately, the more things like this happen, the higher my expectations be. Perhaps there might be others more outstanding than the two of you who will show upter, participants who could clear this trial perfectly. Prepare yourselves¡ªthe only thing that awaits you is death.¡±

    As he said this he slowly rose into the air, and ck mist shrouded his body. He lifted a hand slowly, and a sinister taotie rune appeared on his palm. A ck hole took form in front of it, producing a powerful gravitational force that destroyed everything around them. Even the majestic deer terrace pavilion began to crumble. All things were being sucked into that ck hole.

    He had already judged them as failures, and he was going to close the world of the trial. He would wait another endless period for the next pair of destined participants.

    The force was so strong that both Zu An and Pei Mianman felt that their souls were about to be ripped from them and sucked into the ck hole.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Pei Mianman tightly gripped Zu An¡¯s hand and smiled apologetically. ¡°For better or for worse, we¡¯ve still spent a lifetime with each other. I¡¯m okay with dying like this.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t give up so soon.¡± Zu An looked at Wu Geng and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t fail this trial. I still have another card to y!¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Wu Geng was stunned. He sneered. ¡°None of your machinations escaped my notice. What else could you possibly have up your sleeve?¡±

    Despite these words, he still closed his palm slightly and the suction force decreased substantially.

    Zu An felt the pressure ease considerably, and said with a sigh, ¡°It looks like you still subconsciously wish for us to seed.¡±

    Wu Geng snorted and said, ¡°Your words are useless. If you do not tell me what else you¡¯ve nned, all that awaits you is destruction.¡±

    Zu An quickly said, ¡°You left this dungeon behind in order to keep a record of the true history of the Shang Dynasty, and to wash away the stain of infamy. You also wanted to see if anyone could find a way for the Shang Dynasty to avoid its tragic fate.¡±

    ¡°So what? Even though you¡¯ve seeded in discovering the first objective, you have not seeded in reaching the second, Wu Geng said coldly.

    Zu Anughed. ¡°Do you still remember Fei Lian and i, that father and son duo?¡±

    Wu Geng frowned. He wasn¡¯t sure where Zu An was going with this. ¡°I do. You elevated them from their status asmon soldiers. They can be considered loyal soldiers. Even if we allowed the battle to y out, i would have died in the Battle of Muye. Even though Fei Lian would eventually escape and vow to defeat the Zhou State, he alone cannot make a difference. He is just too weak.¡±

    Zu An replied. ¡°Even though Fei Lian didn¡¯t seed, he nted a seed that was passed down, one generation after another. Fei Lian is the progenitor of the people of the Qin State, and the Zhou Dynasty was eventually brought down by the Qin State! While the people of Zhou spent many generations plotting the downfall of the Shang Dynasty before finally seeding, Fei Lian did the same!¡±

    ¡°Fei Lian is the progenitor of the Qin people?¡± Wu Geng was stunned. He closed his eyes, as if searching through a library of information.

    A momentter, he suddenly opened his eyes and let out a burst ofughter. ¡°Fei Lian raised i¡¯s son Nu Feng, and Nu Feng sired Pang Gao. Pang Gao sired Tai Ji who in turn sired Da Luo. Da Luo sired Fei Zi, and Fei Zi established the Qin State, and eventually took down the Zhou Dynasty. Ha ha ha! Wonderful, truly wonderful!¡±

    Zu An sighed in relief. If not for the empress of the Qin Dynasty, Mi Li, he wouldn¡¯t have known about this at all. That was why he had immediately ced Fei Lian and i in important positions as soon as he found them. He nned to keep them as a trump card just in case. He never expected that they would end up ying such a vital role in events.

    Wu Geng pulled his hand back and slowly descended to the ground again, and the destruction of the world around them halted.

    He looked at Zu An with aplicated expression. ¡°You¡¯ve truly surprised me, I didn¡¯t expect you to have thought so far ahead. Even though you didn¡¯t directly alter fate and prevent the eradication of Shang, even if you managed to change it, so what? After all, this is but a trial, and nothing here is real. None of this canpare to reality. It cannotpare to the joy of seeing Fei Lian¡¯s sessor taking down the Zhou Dynasty!¡±

    Zu An sped his fist. ¡°It was only luck. We were only given so many chances to seed because of the crown prince¡¯s expectations towards the participants of this trial.¡±

    Wu Geng nodded slightly. ¡°Not bad, not bad at all. You aren¡¯t arrogant despite your achievements. If my father had shared your humility, perhaps he wouldn¡¯t have been so utterly isted.¡±

    Zu An did not offer anyment. It was fine for Wu Geng to speak ill of his father, but that didn¡¯t mean that he could. ¡°Does this mean that we have sessfully passed the trial?¡±

    Wu Geng didn¡¯t reply. Instead, his tone grew serious, and he said, ¡°Answer onest question for me. Why do you possess the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, which belongs to the Zhou royal family? Have you entered the Zhou Dynasty dungeon?¡±

    He did not suspect him of being a descendant of the Zhou royal family because he had seen this fellow turn Ji Chang and his son into mincemeat. What descendant would ever be so unfilial?

    He wasn¡¯t familiar with the Primordial Origin Sutra, which belonged to the Qin Dynasty, and so he wasn¡¯t as sensitive to this.

    Zu An sensed the killing intent, and said carefully, ¡°I did not enter any dungeon or trial set by the Zhou Dynasty. It was a senior of mine who entered, and I was fortunate enough that it passed on to me.¡± He gave a rough rundown of what had gone on with Old Mi.

    ¡°I see, that¡¯s good.¡± Wu Geng roared withughter. ¡°It seems you are blessed with good fortune. You are worthy of the inheritance of my Shang Dynasty. Take it.¡±

    A bronze book flew through the air. Zu An caught it, and saw therge characters on the copper cover: Heaven-Devouring Sutra.

    ¡°This will serve as your reward for passing the trial.¡± Wu Geng said, ¡°The Heaven-Devouring Sutra is something only sessive generations of Shang kings were worthy of cultivating. It is far stronger than the Zhou State¡¯s Phoenix Nirvana Sutra. My Great Shang Dynasty would never be inferior to the Zhou State when ites to this.¡±

    Zu An was immediately overjoyed when he heard the contempt in the crown prince¡¯s voice. Apparently, his hatred for Zhou truly ran deep.

    He asked quickly, ¡°Then what about mypanion? Can she cultivate this skill? What kind of reward will she obtain?¡±

    Wu Geng said indifferently, ¡°The Heaven-Devouring Sutra is something only Shang kings can cultivate, and it is not avable to her. However, you need not worry. She has her own share of rewards.¡±

    Then, a shining piece of jade fell into Pei Mianman¡¯s hands. ¡°This is Heaven''s Wisdom Jade,¡± Wu Gent exined. ¡°It can absorb the ki of the world, allowing you to cultivate twice as quickly with only half the effort. In addition, it has another use. As long as this jade piece does not break, even if the flesh perishes, the soul can continue to live on.¡±

    Pei Mianman held the piece of jade within her palm. She felt as if her soul was being nurtured. It was easy to see how this would improve her rate of cultivation. Furthermore, from what he was saying, wasn¡¯t this equivalent to granting her a second life?

    Wu Geng continued, ¡°Lastly, the bearer of this jade piece will be acknowledged by the owl statue that serves as the conduit for this trial. That statue is also a formidable treasure. Since you lived one of your lives here as Fu Hao, it is a perfect match for you.¡±

    Pei Mianman¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Thank you, crown prince!¡±

    ¡°It should be me who offers my thanks to the two of you.¡± Wu Geng sped his fist. ¡°You may feel free to leave. This sinner can finally visit the great temple with honor, and pay my respects to my ancestors¡­¡± With that, he turned and left, his lonesome figure gradually fading into nothingness.

 Chapter 556: New Function Unlocked

    Chapter 556: New Function Unlocked

    ¡°How do we leave this dungeon?¡± Zu An suddenly realized that he hadn¡¯t asked the most important question. Unfortunately, there was no reply. He didn¡¯t know if Wu Geng did this on purpose, or if he had already left this world.

    The space around them began to warp. The two of them felt a feeling of weightlessness, and when they woke up again, they discovered that they were still touching Fu Hao¡¯s owl statue.

    This was where they had begun the trial. There was no one else around them. Previously, they had been worried that Ya Zhang¡¯s corpse would be waiting to ambush them, but after going through Wu Ding¡¯s trial, they knew that Ya Zhang was both loyal and reliable. Zu An actually wanted to spend some time reminiscing with that fellow, but he wasn¡¯t around. He had most likely gone back to his coffin to sleep.

    ¡°Hm? Why did you return so quickly? Did you fail to start the trial?¡± Mi Li¡¯s familiar voice came to him.

    Zu An was stunned by her remark. ¡°How much time has passed since we touched this statue?¡±

    ¡°Not that long, maybe just a few breaths. Did you fail to start the trial, or have you already passed it?¡± Mi Li was someone with great experience, and already had a vague idea of what had happened.

    ¡°Of course we passed.¡± Zu An sighed. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that only a few seconds had passed. We went through several decades inside.¡±

    Even though the period between Wu Ding and Di Xin spanned several centuries, Zu An and Pei Mianman had only experienced a few decades themselves.

    Then again, it hadn¡¯t truly felt like several decades either. To Zu An, his time spent living the different lives within the dungeon seemed to go by much more quickly than in the real world as well.

    ¡°Time flows at its own pace in these trials, which is why such a phenomenon is quitemon.¡± Mi Li replied, ¡°You can tell me the details of what happenedter. For now, what did you obtain frompleting the trial?¡±

    She suddenly realized that it had been a long time since she was this excited about anything. She hadn¡¯t even been this excited when she stumbled upon pleasant surprises while cultivating in the past. Why was she so excited over Zu An potentially getting stronger?

    She was quite perplexed when she thought of this, but she merely put it down to her eagerness to reforge a new body. After all, the stronger he was, the quicker she would be able to achieve her own goal. That must be it.

    Zu An replied, ¡°I received something called the Heaven-Devouring Sutra.¡±

    ¡°Heaven-Devouring Sutra?¡± Mi Li was taken aback.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Do you know about it, big sis empress?¡± Zu An was somewhat startled by her reaction.

    ¡°Of course! The Shang royal family¡¯s Heaven-Devouring Sutra is a technique that would leave the world terror-stricken!¡± Mi Li¡¯s expression was hard to read. ¡°Most techniques in this world obey the naturalws. In essence, these naturalws make use of abundance topensate for deficiencies elsewhere. However, the technique of the Shang royal family takes the exact opposite approach. It uses deficiencies to further one¡¯s own abundance, relying on the devouring of other cultivators¡¯ ki to strengthen oneself¡­¡±

    When he heard what she said, Zu An subconsciously blurted out, ¡°Like the Star Devouring Art?¡±[1]

    ¡°What is this Star Devouring Art?¡± Mi Li was confused.

    ¡°Nothing¡­¡± Zu An threw her a random exnation as he pondered over his new skill. It seemed pretty simr to the Star Devouring Art, but was probably an upgraded version of it. At the very least, it didn¡¯t seem like one had to cripple his own intrinsic cultivation and start from scratch again.

    These Shang Dynasty fellows were truly something else¡­ They used humans as sacrifices, ate human flesh, and now I find out that they even sucked out their ki¡­ It was difficult not to call them cannibals at this point.

    Mi Li said, ¡°Even though this technique seems a little treacherous, it suits your current situation quite well. Since your cultivation is still so low, you can use this skill to grow quickly. However, I have to warn you that this technique has a sinister undercurrent to it. If you are even a little bit careless, it might consume you instead. The more you use it, the more ruthless you will be, and you may eventually lose yourself.¡±

    Zu Anughed. ¡°Big sis empress, you¡¯re worrying too much. There can be good or bad people, but there¡¯s no such distinction when ites to techniques. As long as I only use this to devour bad people, then even a sinister technique will be a good one.¡±

    Mi Li nodded. ¡°It¡¯s rare for someone as young as you to understand that. However, I do not believe there is a need to limit yourself to only devouring bad people. There is no such thing as an absolutely good or bad person, so just focus on your own goals of cultivation, and don¡¯t rely on it too much. Anyways, since you¡¯re already conscious, there''s nothing for me to worry about anymore. I¡¯ll give you and your big-boobed sis some personal space.¡±

    With that, she seemed to disappear without a trace. She seemed to have already fallen asleep.

    Even though it seemed like the two of them had chatted for a while, based on the number of words exchanged, their conversation had been carried out between their two souls, so it all happened in a split second.

    Pei Mianman didn¡¯t notice anything strange. She said, ¡°Ah Zu, Wu Geng didn¡¯t tell us how to get out of this dungeon. What do we do now?¡±

    They had sessfully exited the trial, but they were still inside the secret dungeon, which was located within the ancient stele. They had no idea how to get out.

    ¡°We have no choice but to look around ourselves,¡± Zu An said with a sigh. ¡°By the way, Wu Geng said that you could take Fu Hao¡¯s owl statue with you. Give it a try. Do you think you can move it?¡±

    Pei Mianman gently caressed the owl statue beside her. ¡°I can sense some special connection and intimacy with this owl statue, so I should be able tomune with it somehow. I¡¯ll need some time, though.¡±

    ¡°Take your time to settle that first. We have plenty of time. I¡¯ll keep watch from over there.¡± Zu An said.

    Pei Mianman nodded. She wrapped her hands gently around the owl¡¯s wings and focused on trying tomunicate with it.

    Zu An saw her intense focus, and figured that he should leave her alone for a while. As such, he began to study the Heaven-Devouring Sutra that Wu Geng had given him.

    As soon as he took out the bronze document, an icy voice sounded in his head.

    Yinxu¡¯s secret manual, Heaven-Devouring Sutra, has been detected. Do you wish to cultivate it?

    Zu An obviously hit ¡®Yes¡¯. The bronze item in his hands turned into starlight and vanished, and a wave of information flowed directly into his head.

    When he looked inside himself, he saw a taotie diagram take form. This taotie greedily devoured everything it could. Once it had done so, it even began to eat its own body, eventually leaving only arge mouth.

    Even so, it still wasn¡¯t satisfied. It suddenly raised its head towards the sky and widened its massive mouth, swallowing the heavens themselves.

    Then, there was a great rumbling noise. The taotie¡¯s giant mouth turned into a ck hole, swallowing up all the celestial bodies that approached it¡­

    Zu An felt his throat go dry after watching this entire ¡®animation¡¯. This technique really did seem quite sinister. Would he end up turning into a ck hole as well if he continued to use it¡­?

    While he was lost in his own thoughts, the cold, mechanical voice sounded again.

    A new function of the Keyboard has been unlocked because you have obtained a secondplete secret manual: The Valkyrie System!

    Unlike in other dynasties, where men were considered of much higher status than women, many outstanding heroines emerged during the rule of the different kings and queens of the Shang Dynasty. These women were revered by themon people of the Shang Dynasty as valkyries.

    Many other worlds have such outstanding women as well. Unfortunately, as their worlds copsed, these dazzling valkyries lost their former strength and glory as well. Their souls became fragmented and iplete, and their bodies continually drift along the ebb and flow of space-time.

    Tiger Talismans can be used in the Valkyrie System. If your luck is good, you might resonate with a certain valkyrie who has been lost to the flow of space-time, and you can summon her to your world to fight for you!

    Tiger Talismans can be obtained through the Rage lottery system. As a congrattory reward for unlocking the Valkyrie System, you have received ten Tiger Talismans. We wish you the best of luck and hope you can resonate with a valkyrie during your ten free attempts.

    As a friendly reminder, if you have purchased lottery tickets your entire life but have never won, we advise you not to have any high expectations for the Valkyrie System¡­

    As he listened, Zu An slowly shook his head.

 Chapter 557: The First Valkyrie

    <h4>Chapter 557: The First Valkyrie</h4>

    Zu An was in a bit of a daze after listening to the exnation of this new system. He seemed to have returned to his previous world and the games he used to y. Wasn¡¯t this Valkyrie System just a heartless waifu gacha game?!

    These abysmal drop rates were the exact mechanism through which those gamingpanies scammed everyone of their money! Countless people spent crazy amounts of money chasing after those SSR cards.

    Of course, spending money wasn¡¯t enough, since it all boiled down to luck in the end. For the sake of obtaining those SSR cards, people tried out all sorts of weird rituals to improve their luck. Those who prayed to the Buddha before trying their luck were rank amateurs. He¡¯d once seen someone chanting strange ¡®cthulhu¡¯ incantations before he started drawing. It was as if he had gonepletely mad¡­

    Thinking about these familiar things from his previous world left Zu An feeling warm and fuzzy inside. When he considered this Valkyrie System again, he felt a sense of familiar intimacy.

    Annoyingly, though, people in his previous world could just swipe their credit cards in order to obtain these things. What was the currency used for this System?

    Rage points?

    And what the hell was with that friendly reminder? It sounded so smug and sinister as it described to him just how low the probability of a sessful draw was.

    He was precisely the type of person who had bought lottery tickets without ever winning once¡­

    But it was pointless to dwell on this now. He still had to give this new system a try.

    He took out a Tiger Talisman and fiddled with it in his hands. It looked pretty simr to the Tiger Talismans of his previous world, but were much more exquisite. It was made of a material that seemed a mix of gold and jade, and there were many fine runes carved on its surface. These runes probably formed a link with the flow of space-time.

    ¡°The runes engraved on these talismans might have even more significance than those on the actual Tiger Talismans.¡± Zu An wasn¡¯t in a rush to put it to use, but took his time to look it over.

    Unfortunately, he knew nothing about runes, so these didn¡¯t mean much to him. He decided to make an imprint of the runes, so that he could get someone to research themter.

    He took out an ink set from his Brilliant ss Bead. Unfortunately, the ink wouldn¡¯t stay on the talisman, so he couldn¡¯t make a print of it. Unwilling to give up just yet, he tried to copy them out himself. However, even though he could clearly make out the details of the runes, whenever he tried to replicate the lines, his mind would grow foggy, and he would inexplicably seem to forget.

    After several unsessful tries, Zu An finally gave up. It was clear that these rune formations had some form of protection on them, precisely to prevent others from deciphering it.

    ¡°So stingy!¡± Zu An grumbled. Helpless to do anything about it, he could only hold the Tiger Talisman and say a sincere prayer, as the System stated.

    A mysterious force spread out from his hand, and Zu An felt as though his body was levitating towards the heavens.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    It seemed to him as though his soul had left his body, and he was ascending into the boundless starry expanse. All of a sudden, a powerful astral storm swept over him.

    A sh of understanding struck him. This was probably the so-called chaotic flow of space-time.

    Zu An focused his attention and carefully explored the flow. This chaotic flow of space-time was surrounded by a destructive power. Fortunately, he seemed to be enjoying the protection of some strange runes. Without them, he would¡¯ve been instantly obliterated.

    These are the runes on the Tiger Talisman¡­

    Zu An pondered over the connection for a bit, but he quickly sensed several fine specks of light flickering within the chaotic stream.

    ¡°Could those be the so-called valkyries?¡±

    Zu An was overjoyed. He tried tomunicate with them using his soul. Unfortunately, his pleas seemed to elicit no response at all.

    Then, a single speck of light responded, zipping towards him quickly.

    Zu An beamed with happiness, andughed crazily towards the heavens. ¡°Hahaha! I am the protagonist after all! I¡¯ve established a connection with a valkyrie on my very first try! Just what kind of crazy luck is this?¡±

    I wonder if this valkyrie will be pretty¡­ Ahem, I don¡¯t judge by appearances! But I mean¡­ if I had a choice, I wouldn¡¯t mind someone who''s cute¡­

    Please, please, please don¡¯t let it be someone like Solitary Lightning¡­

    The image of Solitary Lightning, her body like that of a pir of iron, shed into Zu An¡¯s mind. If he ended up with a valkyrie like that, he might just end his own life.

    While his thoughts were running wild, the flickering speck of light had already appeared in front of him, and he subconsciously reached a hand out to catch it.

    Huh? Why is it so light?

    However, his expression changed a momentter, because what was inside his hand wasn¡¯t a valkyrie, but a hat. A shining green hat.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t believe his eyes.

    What the hell is this? He didn¡¯t know why this Valkyrie System would give him a female hat. But he figured that since it came out of his usual lottery system, it probably wasn¡¯t too bad of an item. Didn¡¯t that Hat of Forgiveness he had drawn earlier have an amazing ability?

    He quickly examined the hat in his hands. However, he was stupefied when the exnation of the item appeared in front of him.

    Even though this is just a normal green hat that cannot be any more normal, if it is to your liking, put it on, and I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be the hottest topic on the block!

    ¡°Fuck off!¡± Zu An tossed the hat away in anger.

    Unlucky!

    He couldn¡¯t believe he had received this stupid thing on his first try. Even if he was going to buy a green hat, it would be for someone else to wear!

    With a despondent expression, he took out a second Tiger Talisman and began the summoning ritual.

    This time, he didn¡¯t treat it as frivolously as before. Instead, he opened his heart to the flowpletely, hoping that he could trulymunicate with one of those specks of light.

    A momentter, there was a response. He sensed the heat contained within this speck of light, and even his soul seemed to jump with excitement.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but smile. He¡¯d heard that, when master alchemists and cksmiths produced their proudest works, their souls would often resonate with these items. He never expected that he would end up having a simr experience.

    Soon afterwards, the flickering speck of light reached his hand, and the light faded. He looked down at what he¡¯d received.

    ¡°A book?¡±

    Is this some type of exceptional secret manual?

    But I already have three top-tier secret arts. That¡¯s more than enough for me to handle right now...

    Of course, he wouldn¡¯t mind getting another one of the secret manuals from these Unknowable Regions. That would be absolutely amazing.

    His heart was full of expectation. The first character that drew his attention was ¡®Shao¡¯.

    Shao what?

    Shaolin¡¯s Seventy-Two Supreme Skills?

    He continued reading. Suddenly, his eyelids twitched. The second word was ¡®Fu¡¯ (Woman).

    Zu An told himself to calm down. Even emperors had to study the ¡®ssic of the White Madam¡¯[1]</a>. Maybe this Shao Fu whatever was a simr technique.

    However, he immediately had a bad feeling when he saw the third character¡ª¡®Bai¡¯.

    He quit stalling and read the entire title. Sure enough, thest character was exactly what he thought it was, and his face twisted in annoyance.

    Still, Zu An refused to admit defeat. He flipped through the contents to see if this cover had just been pped on the book, while its contents were something else entirely.

    He was quickly disappointed. The contents were exactly the same as the book he was thinking about, and he had even written out a copy for Ji Dengtu back in Brightmoon City. He couldn¡¯t be more familiar with the story.

    His face utterly dark, he took out the third Tiger Talisman and tried his luck a third time.

    When the light scattered, he saw a medicine pouch in his handsbelled ¡®Sleeping Pills¡¯.

    Zu An was speechless.

    Unconvinced, he gave them a try. After spending so much time with Ji Xiaoxi, he had picked up a couple of things about medicine himself. These were the most ordinary sleeping pills, and had no special effects at all.

    He could buy this stuff by the kilogram back in Brightmoon City, and yet he¡¯d used up a precious Tiger Talisman for them!

    His three draws so far had all been trash! Didn¡¯t the exnation state that they would all be things that resonated with his soul?

    Don¡¯t tell me I¡¯m truly such a despicable and low-ss being?

    Zu An wept in anguish. I¡¯m being wronged!

    It took him a while to regain hisposure after which, he continued to use his remaining Tiger Talismans.

    He had made up his mind. If all ten attempts gave him trash, he would never use this stupid Valkyrie System again.

    After all, if he really wanted to mooch off of girls, then there were plenty of candidates in the real world. Why did he have to chase after these valkyries, who might not even be real?

    Perhaps the System somehow registered hisints, because the following pulls weren¡¯t as terrible as the first three. He ended up with a bunch of weapons¡ªscimitars, wolf''s-teeth clubs, meteor hammers¡­

    Despite this, they were stillmon items. Even though some of them were sharp, they were made of the most basic materials. They were only high-quality items whenpared to ordinary weapons.

    He even received something that looked like a musical instrument. This jade ¡®pipa¡¯ looked quite precious, and it had an eye-catching appearance as well.

    I¡¯ll give this to one of my female friendster. Wait, I don¡¯t think any of them y the pipa¡­

    His mind wandered as he used the tenth Tiger Talisman, and a glowing ball of light quickly approached him. He was just wondering what kind of garbage he was going to get this time when his eyes suddenly widened. What appeared in front of him wasn¡¯t an object, but a woman. An extremely beautiful woman.

    He had already seen his fair share of beauties, yet the instant he saw her, it was as if something had exploded within his mind, leaving him in a daze.

    Even more shocking than her appearance was the information that appeared next to her.

    Endless charm shrouds this noble woman, whose figure is adorned in extravagant jade and golden silk. Her beauty rivals that of goddesses in the highest of heavens, yet in reality, she is the fox that caused the downfall of Yinshang.

    ¡°Da¡­ Daji?¡±

 Chapter 558, Part I: The Mysteries of Life

    <h4>Chapter 558, Part I: The Mysteries of Life</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    This stunning woman¡¯s fair and glowing skin had a slight pinkish hue, as if a small amount of blush had been applied across wless white jade, enhancing her exceptional appearance.

    Wisps of otherworldly mist swirled about her white dress, which was adorned with pieces of jade and golden silk. Together with her elegant bearing, she seemed like a perfect and unattainable goddess who had descended from the heavens to grace the mortal world.

    Although her dress didn¡¯t reveal much, it was fashioned in a way to increase the air of mystery about her, which only served to further drive the minds and hearts of men wild.

    It enhanced her graceful and curvaceous figure, her slim and elegant neck, her thin waist and full bottom and her pure white skin¡ªevery single part of her wonderful body seemed exceptionally lovely.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Her beautiful eyes were as deep and breathtaking as the starry sky, vast and peaceful. Although they betrayed no emotions, her very being still exuded elegance and seduction.

    Zu An felt his heart beating faster from just a single nce, and his breathing became slightly ragged. This woman really was devastatingly beautiful! Although she was standing still, and not even her eyes were moving, she somehow stirred some primal urge within him.

    Without a doubt, this ridiculously gorgeous woman had to be Daji.

    ¡°How can Daji be considered a valkyrie?¡±

    Zu An was rather bewildered. He had really never associated history¡¯s most famous fox spirit with any sort of martial prowess.

    Unless, of course, it wasbat strength in bed. If so, she¡¯d be SS tier for sure.

    When he examined her description further, though, he discovered that his initial impressions were wrong. This Daji really could fight.

    Following the System¡¯s instructions, he looked more closely at Daji, and a menu popped up, disying her various skills. It did not disy her strength, defensive stats, health, or things like that. Instead, it described some of her abilities.

    Daji excelled at using musical artifacts. She could y something called ¡®Voice of the Devil¡¯, which would make those of lower cultivation or willpower enter a state of confusion or lose consciousness.

    Besides this, she also had the ¡®Fox Charm¡¯ skill, which let her control a target of the opposite sex with lower cultivation than her for a short time. It would even have an effect on someone of higher cultivation, stunning them with her beauty and making them more reluctant to hurt her.

    She could also summon a nine-tailed fox to fight for her. As her cultivation rose, the nine-tailed fox would slowly develop ming tails. At its pinnacle, it would have nine tails of fire.

    After reading through the entire tooltip, Zu An felt an intense amount of shock. Which world did this Dajie from? Why was she so OP?

    He shuffled his way over to her. ¡°Excuse me¡­ great heroine. How are you? My name is Zu An. You can just call me Ah Zu in the future. Of course, I wouldn¡¯t mind at all if you wanted to call me master.¡±

    Despite his introduction, the woman showed no response. This exceptional beauty only stared at him calmly, with eyes devoid of emotion.

    Zu An was stunned. Her eyes were indeed beautiful, but he felt as though something was missing from them. It was as if he was staring at a doll.

    He moved to the side, and saw that her eyes did not track his movements.

    He suddenly remembered the exnation that the Valkyrie System had provided him. The valkyries that were summoned would have lost their memories and souls, and only theirbat instincts would remain.

    ¡°So it¡¯s just a human shaped doll?¡± Zu An thought to himself. They probably can¡¯t even talk, then.

    He¡¯d watched his fair share of shows in his past world, so it wasn¡¯t like he had never seen such things before. These valkyries seemed simr to battle puppets and machines.

    Of course, these valkyries looked much prettier.

    ¡°Is it some kind of a robot?¡± Zu An couldn¡¯t hold himself back and poked Daji¡¯s arm. What he felt left him incredibly shocked. Is she actually a real person?

    He was sure that her skin was no different from an ordinary person¡¯s, although it looked much smoother and softer.

    ¡°I wonder if the rest of her also resembles an ordinary person¡­¡± Zu An had a weird look on his face. He knew that people from his past world spent vast sums of money on replica dolls that imitated real people, yet no matter how real they looked, it was easy enough to tell that they weren¡¯t actual people. However, even though this doll in front of him didn¡¯t have a soul, she wasn¡¯t that much different from an actual person.

    He cursed. Wouldn¡¯t these valkyries be sex dolls if this system fell into the hands of a bad person?

    Wait, there¡¯s no way that would be allowed.

    After pondering it over for a while, he decided to give it a try. He slowly reached his hand towards Daji¡¯s chest.

    As if she sensed his hand approaching, a trace of¡­ something¡­ seemed to appear within Daji¡¯s initially-vacant eyes. She dodged backwards, and the sound of a sharp crack rang out.

    Zu An counted his blessings. If he hadn¡¯t moved backwards quickly enough, he would have been pped in the face instead of just on his hand.

    Only now did he notice a value on Daji¡¯s menu: Goodwill: 0

    That was perfectly understandable. This was their first meeting, after all. Why would she have a favorable opinion of him?

    Then again, how was he supposed to raise this?

    If this value reaches its maximum in the future, does that mean that¡­

    Ahem, ahem!

    His face turnedpletely red. Pah! I only did that to study the system, I don¡¯t have any perverted thoughts¡­

    Now that he knew that he couldn¡¯t do anything hical towards these valkyries, his heart began to calm down.

    He then issued an order to Daji. ¡°Attack me!¡±

    Daji, who had been expressionless a moment ago, raised her head to look at him. A strange radiance appeared in her eyes, and then she charged at him.

    After exchanging several blows, Zu An ordered her to stop, and Daji stopped, bing motionless again. The radiance in her eyes also gradually faded, and she returned to her original, emotionless state.

    Judging from their previous exchange, Zu An judged Daji¡¯s fighting techniques as rather outstanding. Even he had been left rather flustered several times.

    Unfortunately, she didn¡¯t possess exceptional strength or speed. In fact, in these areas, she was practically no different from an ordinary person. She didn¡¯t even seem like a cultivator. This was quite different from his expectations of her as a legendary war goddess. Even if he did summon her, she wouldn¡¯t be able to help him at all.

    He examined the tooltip describing her skills again, and noticed that many of the skills referenced her level of cultivation, which surprised him.

    Her cultivation level right now was the same as an ordinary person¡¯s. But what if this could be raised somehow?

    He noticed that there were several formation diagrams on Daji¡¯s body, which were quite simr to the formations inside of him.

    Does that mean that her cultivation can be increased using Ki Fruits?

    Given Zu An¡¯s current level of cultivation, raising it by even a single step required a crazy amount of Ki Fruits, and he had already given up on using these Ki Fruits to raise his own cultivation.

    However, he still receivedrge amounts of Ki Fruits whenever he entered the Rage point lottery system. Not using them would be too much of a waste. Ths Valkyrie System seemed to be the perfect ce to dump all of these fruits.

    Zu An prayed that this valkyrie didn¡¯t need that many Ki Fruits to fill up her formations. If her formations required the same astronomical amount of Ki Fruits as his own, he would be at his wit¡¯s end.

    Inspired by this new thought, he decided to put it to the test.

    It has already been a long time since he¡¯d drawn the lottery. He looked at his Rage points bnce, and saw that he¡¯d umted a total of 350,862 Rage points. He spent it all in one go.

    This gave him a total of 3,508 draws. Thankfully, the system now had a multi-draw function. It would have been an absolute pain if he¡¯d had to perform each draw one by one.

    When the results of his draws rolled in, he couldn¡¯t help but curse.

    After all, he had stored up more points than ever before! He was hoping for at least one useful skill to appear.

    In the end, however, he didn¡¯t get a single skill!

    Strictly speaking, though, he wasn¡¯t burned too badly. Even though he didn¡¯t get any skills, the drop rate for Ki Fruits seemed higher than usual. He expected to only receive between 350 to 400 Ki Fruits, but he ended up with 700 this time.

    He also received another five Tiger Talismans. His heart was pounding when he saw the light marker hover over the ¡®Shift¡¯ key during the lottery, because this key had never been lit up before, and he was hoping to get something incredible.

    In the end, he was only rewarded with five Tiger Talismans.

    Zu An was just about to use these five talismans to see if he could snag a new valkyrie, but after some thought, he reconsidered. He had already used up all of his luck drawing this Daji. He probably wouldn¡¯t get anything even if he used up the rest of the talismans.

    Besides, even if he did draw another valkyrie, they were no different from ordinary people in their initial state, and would require resources in order to be upgraded. He didn¡¯t have a lot of resources right now, so it would be a waste even if he did manage to attract one of them.

    With these thoughts in mind, he stored the five talismans away forter use.

    He turned his attention to the Ki Fruits, and hesitated. Should he use these on himself, or Daji?

 Chapter 558, Part II: The Mysteries of Life

    <h4>Chapter 558, Part II: The Mysteries of Life</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    He looked within himself to examine the current status of his cultivation. He was already at the fifth rank before, and four of the rank¡¯s formations had been illuminated. Wait, why is the fifth formation also filled up now?

    After all, this fifth formation required a total of 2,178,309 Ki Fruits to fill!

    He began to revisit what had happened to him in this period. He had faced off against the Cash Warrior, and participated in a series of battles against Mosquito Daoist. He had suffered injuries from which he¡¯d recovered from several times, contributing to the remarkable progress of his fifth formation. Even his Primordial Origin Sutra seemed to have improved quite a bit after constantly repairing his battered body. He sensed that he was getting closer to the thirdyer.

    Getting continuously beaten up was the right way to cultivate the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra. He wouldn¡¯t make much progress even if he sat around eating Ki Fruits all day.

    He calcted that the sixth formation would need 3,524,578 Ki Fruits to fill. The paltry sum of Ki Fruits he had was a mere drop in this vast ocean, so he set aside the idea of using the Ki Fruits on himself.

    Instead, he walked over to Daji and peered at her pure and charming face. ¡°Open your mouth,¡± he ordered.

    Daji was surprisingly obedient.

    ¡°Open it wider,¡± Zu An said with a sigh. No matter what state they were in, a beauty was still a beauty. Even without a soul, her movements were incredibly graceful.

    Daji opened her mouth wider. Zu An slowly tossed the ki fruits into her mouth one after another. Fortunately, the ki fruits melted as soon as they went into her mouth. She didn¡¯t even have to swallow them.

    ¡°Is this considered throwing food away?¡± Zu An couldn¡¯t help but chuckle as he tossed the Ki Fruits one by one into her open mouth. What if I make her drink the Eighteen Spring Winds? What would happen then¡­?

    He quickly dispelled this thought, and stopped his mind from wandering any further.

    He didn¡¯t immediately use up all 700 Ki Fruits, but fed them to her in batches, while paying close attention to the changes in her cultivation

    He noticed that the more Ki Fruits Daji consumed, the faster her ki began to circte, and her cultivation also climbed rapidly.

    Zu An quietly kept count as he observed the results. 60 fruits were enough to bring her to the first rank, and 120 the second rank, after which the rate of increase began to slow. In total, the 700 Ki Fruits brought Daji to the peak of the fourth rank. She was just a hair¡¯s breadth away from the fifth rank.

    Her rapid progress made Zu An incredibly jealous. He had endured endless suffering just to get to the fifth rank! There¡¯s no way he would¡¯ve been able to reach such a level just by eating Ki Fruits. Meanwhile, this woman had already reached the pinnacle of fourth rank.

    Even though he couldn¡¯t figure out the exact mathematical rtionship between the number of Ki Fruits consumed and the increase in her cultivation, he could tell that it was rtively linear, judging by the rate it had taken to get her to the fourth rank. Even though it would take more Ki Fruits in the future, it wouldn¡¯t be the ridiculous amount that would be needed for him to raise his own cultivation.

    He ran the numbers quickly in his head. If a thousand Rage points earned him a single Ki Fruit, he could raise Daji to the ninth rank with just a few million Rage points.

    Even though a few million Rage Points seemed like a lot, it wasn¡¯t impossible for him to collect that many.

    Zu An was starting to look down on himself. This pretty chick over here could increase her cultivation so easily! Why was it so bloody difficult for him to increase his own strength through Ki Frutis?

    A sudden development startled him out of his train of thought. He could sense that the ki around him had be somewhat different.

    He was certain that he¡¯d sensed traces of the fire element.

    He moved his hand slowly around, and a sliver of me unexpectedly appeared within his palm. Shocked, he shook his hand rapidly, and the tongue of me vanished.

    He collected himself and continued to observe the fire element around him silently. Without warning, another tongue of me appeared in his hand.

    He was prepared for it this time and examined it patiently. It didn¡¯t seem to pose any threat to him¡ªon the contrary, he sensed an intimate connection to it. He tried to experiment with it, and realized that he could control it with his will.

    ¡°Huh? How did you suddenly awaken the fire element?¡± Mi Li¡¯s voice broke in, full of surprise.

    Zu An jumped in fright. ¡°Big sis empress, I¡¯m really beginning to think that you¡¯re spying on me!¡± he yelled. ¡°That¡¯s why you always appear out of the blue!¡±

    Mi Li snorted. ¡°Stop acting so smug. Who wants to keep tabs on you?¡±

    Her soul body materialized, and she looked at the me in his hand, clicking her tongue in wonder.

    Pei Mianman was currently focused onmuning with the owl statue. Her eyes were closed, and she wasn¡¯t aware of what was happening around her.

    ¡°What is going on? Did you run into another lucky encounter?¡± Mi Li asked curiously.

    Zu An pondered a moment, then summoned Daji. Mi Li would see her sooner orter, since he was going to rely on her to fight for him often in the future. He might as well take her out now so that she could examine her as well.

    Even Mi Li jumped in fright when the ravishing beauty suddenly appeared next to her. ¡°What is going on? Don¡¯t tell me there are people living inside you?¡±

    ¡°No, no! Uh¡­¡± Despite racking his brains for a long time, Zu An couldn¡¯t find a way to properly exin Daji¡¯s existence. ¡°Just treat her as something that I¡¯ve summoned,¡± he finally managed.

    ¡°Something you¡¯ve summoned?¡± Mi Li had a weird look on her face. She had heard of summoning beasts, departed spirits, and even giant dragons, but she had never heard of anyone summoning an exceptional beauty before.

    Mi Li¡¯s face suddenly went red. ¡°You¡¯re a freaking pervert after all!¡± she scolded him.

    Zu An was taken aback by her sudden outburst.

    What the hell? What on earth did I do wrong now? It¡¯s this damned System¡¯s fault more than anything!

    ¡°She isn¡¯t conscious?¡± Mi Li was quick to notice the w within her after a short examination.

    Zu An nodded. ¡°She¡¯s lost both her soul and her memories. She only has her fighting instincts left.¡±

    Mi Li was curious. ¡°Judging from your tone, you seem to know her past identity.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s Daji,¡± replied Zu An.

    ¡°Daji?¡± Mi Li twitched with shock. ¡°The one from the Shang Dynasty?¡±

    ¡°How many other Dajis are there in this world?¡± Zu An said with a bitter smile.

    ¡°No wonder she was hailed as a fox spirit even after a millennia¡­ She is truly a stunning femme fatale after all! Even a woman like me is touched by her beauty.¡± Mi Li¡¯s praise was effusive. ¡°But can this dainty thing fight? I¡¯ve never heard of Daji having any fighting skill.¡±

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but poke fun at her. ¡°Even a Qin empress like you has such incredibly high cultivation. Can¡¯t she be as strong as well?¡±

    Mi Li blushed. This did make some sense.

    She considered this for a bit, then asked, ¡°Is she a fire element cultivator?¡±

    Zu An froze for a moment, then nodded. ¡°She should be.¡±

    Daji could summon a nine-tailed fox, and the nine tails were all fashioned from mes. What other element could she wield but the fire element?

    Mi Li¡¯s expression was one of realization. ¡°That makes more sense. From what I know, a summoner often shares some of the skills of the summoned being. She¡¯s probably the reason why you can interact with the fire element.¡±

    She said with augh, ¡°I was wondering why a fifth rank cultivator like yourself hadn¡¯t awakened any element yet. This was it all along. If you¡¯re able to summon others like her who have different elemental skills, you might be the first person in this world to master all the elements.¡±

    She paused, and then her expression grew strange. ¡°From what I know, you lost both of your parents at a young age and wereter raised by your uncle.¡±

    Zu An was perplexed. He didn¡¯t know why she suddenly brought this up.

    However, he still replied, ¡°To be honest, I still don¡¯t know if my parents really died, or if they just went missing. I don¡¯t even know who they are.¡±

    Mi Li gasped. ¡°There¡¯s no need for any further confusion. I think I know who your father is.¡±

    ¡°Who?¡± Zu An was stunned.

    Mi Li looked at him strangely. ¡°The naturalws of the world.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. What the hell?

    Mi Li bared her teeth at him. ¡°If you weren¡¯t fathered by the naturalws of the world, then why do you keep having such ridiculous luck? ¡®Master of all elements¡¯. Do you know what a ridiculous concept this is?¡±

    He remembered that he had asked such a question before. Most people could only awaken a single element, and only a very select few could perhaps cultivate multiple elements. Even so, that person would be considered a true genius, appearing once every millennia! If someone like him appeared, wielding all the elements¡­

    Um¡­ This really did seem like cheating.

    Mi Li felt a shudder run through her. She was clearly quite shaken by this revtion. ¡°People like us can only awaken a single element despite an entire lifetime of cultivation, yet a brat like you can somehow control all of the elements so easily! If I had met someone like you back when I was still alive, I would have ordered your death as soon as you were born.¡±

    Zu Anughed in embarrassment. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t have to go that far, right? I mean, my cultivation is progressing really slowly, isn¡¯t it? Gaining strength is so much harder than for an ordinary cultivator. Also, I have to pay a big price to summon someone like Daji. I won¡¯t be able to summon anyone else for quite some time. There¡¯s no way it would be that easy to master all the elements.¡±

    Mi Li grunted in satisfaction. ¡°That makes me feel so much better. Buting back to what matters most, the stronger you are, the better it is for me. That way, my safety is guaranteed, and you¡¯ll be able to forge me a body that much sooner¡­¡±

    Midway through her sentence, she trailed off, and turned towards Daji. ¡°Didn¡¯t you mention earlier that she was missing a soul?¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An nodded instinctively. ¡°Yeah, so?¡± He quickly caught on to her train of thought. ¡°But she is my¡­!¡±

    Before he could finish, Mi Li lunged at Daji, a huge smile on her face. ¡°Don¡¯t be so stingy! I¡¯ll just borrow her body for a while. She¡¯ll still belong to you in the future.¡±

 Chapter 559, Part I: A Falling Out

    <h4>Chapter 559, Part I: A Falling Out</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    After spending such a long time as a soul, Mi Li desperately wished to go for a stroll as a normal person. She was tired of spending most of her time asleep, and wanted to take a look at this new world for herself.

    Even though Zu An was reluctant, he had to admit that she had been a great help to him so far. He had already agreed to help her reconstruct her body. Now that there was an opportunity for Mi Li to have a body of her own, it didn¡¯t feel proper to stop her. He let her soul body fly into Daji.

    Mi Li entered Daji¡¯s body. Zu An was just about to ask her how she felt when he was stunned by a miserable scream. Mi Li¡¯s soul leapt back out of Daji¡¯s body and stared back at it in horror.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, big sis empress?¡± asked Zu An urgently. Clearly something had gone wrong.

    Mi Li red at him. ¡°You said that this woman wascking a soul?¡±

    ¡°Yup,¡± Zu An confirmed. That was what the system told him, at least.

    Mi Li looked confused by the honesty in his voice. ¡°That¡¯s strange¡­¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Zu An asked in a panic. He noticed that Mi Li¡¯s body was flickering, as if she was fading. She had clearly suffered severe damage.

    Mi Li replied, ¡°She isn¡¯t missing a soul. It¡¯s just been sealed by a profound and mysterious formation¡­ Um, I guess you can consider her soul damaged, given this seal. Of her three souls and seven forms, only her Life Soul has been allowed to return to her body. That¡¯s why she looks like a living corpse.¡±

    Every person has three souls and seven mortal forms. The three souls are the Heaven Soul, Earth Soul, and Life Soul. The seven forms represent a person¡¯s joy, anger, grief, fear, love, hatred, and lust.

    Zu An was stunned by this revtion. ¡°If I understand you correctly, we can restore her intelligence by undoing her seal.¡±

    Endless possibilities had opened up for him. Daji was already beautiful in her current form, but it just didn¡¯t seem right for only her body to be here. If her soul were to be returned as well, he could find himself in an intimate rtionship with a legendary fox spirit.

    ¡°Forget it,¡± Mi Li said with a snort. ¡°The seal on her body is extremely profound, and even seems to resonate with the dao. Even I, at the peak of my powers, would not be able to crack it, let alone someone like you.¡±

    Zu An wasn¡¯t happy with her dismissal. ¡°It¡¯s not as if we¡¯re in a rush to unseal her. Anyway, it¡¯s better than epting that she¡¯ll be an empty shell forever. Big sis empress, is there no way for you to possess her?¡±

    Mi Li rolled her eyes. ¡°With that terrifying formation within her, I¡¯d just be asking to be extinguished if I try to go in.¡±

    Zu An let out the breath he was holding. ¡°That¡¯s good then, that¡¯s good,¡± he replied subconsciously.

    Mi Li¡¯s expression turned cold. ¡°What? Do you think that you¡¯d lose a girl to y with if I possess her body? You look way too happy about this.¡±

    Zu An sighed. ¡°I just don¡¯t want you to leave me. I¡¯m already used to having you by my side.¡±

    Mi Li¡¯s eyes trembled slightly. She was silent for a while, then said quietly, ¡°I¡¯ll have to leave eventually.¡±

    Zu Anughed. ¡°At least we¡¯re together for now. I have some time to prepare myself.¡±

    Mi Li pursed her lips, but didn¡¯t say anything else.

    ¡°Were you injured just now?¡± asked Zu An hurriedly.

    Mi Li nodded, her voice harboring lingering traces of fear and annoyance. ¡°Thankfully, I was still rather careful, and fled immediately when I sensed that something was wrong. If not, my soul might really have been sted apart by that seal. Even so, my soul still suffered a considerable amount of damage. All the recovery that I¡¯d made after this period of bitter effort has now been wiped away.¡±

    Zu An was at a loss for words.

    Even though he knew that her soul had been damaged, he hadn¡¯t expected it to be that serious. No wonder her tone had been rather awful just now.

    ¡°Forget it. I really have to go into hibernation in order to restore the damage, so I won¡¯t be able to help you for some time. You have to throw away the thought that I¡¯m somehow secretly watching you, and that I¡¯ll be able to help you if you encounter any danger. Otherwise, you¡¯ll die without even knowing what killed you.¡± Mi Li¡¯s tone was extremely serious.

    Zu An nodded. ¡°Big sis empress, you¡¯ve already taken care of me for so long, and I¡¯ve gone through quite a bit myself as well. If I had to rely on you every time, I would be worse than useless.

    ¡°Right, I¡¯ll definitely find some medicine that can help your soul restore itself once I reach the capital.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll be dealing with the number one cultivator of this world once you reach the capital. Even your own safety isn¡¯t guaranteed. Forget about it.¡± Despite her words, Mi Li¡¯s expression grew gentler, and she gave a slight sniff. Since this fellow bore such goodwill towards her, she wouldn¡¯t bother challenging him on his filthy thoughts.

    You put it so nicely just now, but don¡¯t think for a second that I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re really thinking. You¡¯re afraid that you¡¯ll lose out twice if I seize Daji¡¯s body, right? Hmph! How dare you have such thoughts about me? You¡¯re just a shameful pervert after all.

    Mi Li quickly went into hibernation. Zu An stowed Daji away as well, and began to study the Heaven Devouring Sutra. From its description alone, it seemed like quite a ferocious technique. It was now rather obvious how Wu Geng had been able to decimate everything around the deer terrace pavilion by channeling a single skill through his palm. He had probably used the Heaven Devouring Sutra.

    He felt anticipation building within him. He didn¡¯t know when he would be able to reach that level of power.

    His expression suddenly grew strange. Wu Geng had been a participant in the final trial, but so had his mother, Queen Jiang. Her appearance within the trial would not have been different from her real self.

    His anxiety regarding the trial had led him to ignore the chambers of imperial concubines during his time as king. What if he hadn¡¯t held back, but kept Queen Jiangpany? Would Wu Ding have interfered to stop him?

    ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± Said a sweet-sounding voice beside his ear.

    ¡°I was just regretting that I didn¡¯t¡­¡± Zu An was halfway through his reply when he suddenly noticed Pei Mianman standing next to him, a smile across her face.

    ¡°What are you regretting?¡± Pei Mianman asked curiously.

    ¡°Nothing.¡± Zu An¡¯s face turned red. How could he possibly say it out loud? Even he was embarrassed by the thought. ¡°You¡¯ve sessfullymuned with Fu Hao¡¯s owl statue?¡±

    ¡°Yup. I already established a connection with it.¡± Pei Mianman opened her fair hand. The owl statue had shrunk to a miniature size, and was slowly spinning within her palm.

    Zu An was jealous, but only of how cool she looked right now. ¡°What does this owl statue do?¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Pei Mianman shook her head. ¡°I still don¡¯t know too much about it, but I know that it¡¯s somehow rted to the darkness of the night. I need some more time to study it.¡±

    Zu An nodded. Many magical artifacts only unlocked all of their functions after the two souls mergedpletely. Pei Mianman had just established a connection with this owl, but given that she had taken on the identity of Fu Hao within the trial, he believed she would quickly reach that stage.

    ¡°Oh, right. A hidden passage opened up after I connected with the owl statue. It seems to lead further down,¡± Pei Mianman said.

    Zu An looked at where the owl statue had stood. Sure enough, a dark passage led down through the ground. The murals along the sides of this passage seemed extremely familiar. ¡°This is Fu Hao¡¯s tomb!¡± he blurted out.

    ¡°Huh? How do you know?¡± Pei Mianman asked him curiously.

    A look of great turmoil appeared on Zu An¡¯s face. ¡°Did you forget that I was the one who constructed your tomb after you died in the trial? These murals and this owl statue, everything is exactly as I remember them.¡±

    Pei Mianman held his hand gently. ¡°All of that is already in the past. I¡¯m right here by your side.¡±

    Zu An nodded. ¡°Yeah. Let¡¯s head down. I remember that the jade badge of the Eastern Barbarians was ced among the funerary objects. We still have our promise to Jiangjiang to fulfill.¡±

    ¡°Won¡¯t it be poor etiquette if we disturb her rest, though?¡± Pei Mianman said with a worried look.

    Zu Anughed and said, ¡°Aren¡¯t you Fu Hao? I am Wu Ding. We¡¯re just taking a stroll down memoryne. Even if there is some part of her still down there, she might be overjoyed to see some old friends.¡±

    ¡°Everything in the trial was fake though¡­¡± Pei Mianman mumbled. Despite her words, a fair amount of tension seemed to drain out of her.

 Chapter 559, Part II: A Falling Out

    <h4>Chapter 559, Part II: A Falling Out</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The two of them headed down into the tomb. Sure enough, everything was just as he remembered, which left even Zu An slightly baffled. He felt it a little difficult to distinguish between what was real and what had happened within the dreamworld of the trial.

    It didn¡¯t take him long to find the jade badge, and the bronze vessel where Jiangjiang¡¯s head was stored. In the trial, Zu An had specifically given the order that Jiangjiang¡¯s remains were to be ced in this tomb out of worry that he wouldn¡¯t be able to find themter on. Sure enough, her remains were truly in this tomb.

    Pei Mianman had a strange look on her face. ¡°I can¡¯t believe that it¡¯s really here. Could it be that what we experienced in the trial was all real?¡±

    ¡°It might not be what you think. There¡¯s no way for us to exin this coincidence based on what we know so far. Let¡¯s not make any blind guesses.¡± Despite his words, Zu An couldn¡¯t resist looking towards the giant coffin, which was resting off to the side.

    Pei Mianman was also drawn towards it. She suddenly said in a soft voice, ¡°I want to see the person buried inside.¡±

    Zu An held her hand and shook his head. ¡°I think it¡¯s better if we don¡¯t. In my heart, you are my Manman, no one else is. There is no need to cause any unnecessaryplications.¡±

    Pei Mianman was stunned for a moment, then she smiled sweetly. ¡°You¡¯re right. I am myself. There¡¯s no need to make myself doubt my own path.¡±

    With that, the two of them avoided any further spection, and left Fu Hao¡¯s tomb hand in hand.

    ¡°By the way, I now know how to leave this dungeon,¡± Pei Mianman said. A new revtion hade to her mind.

    ¡°How do we leave?¡± Zu An asked eagerly. The two of them had already stayed in this dungeon for way too long. They wondered how Chuyan and the others were doing outside.

    Even though Mi Li told him that he hadn¡¯t spent that much time in the trial, they had still been wandering this dungeon for a considerable amount of time before they had even attempted the trial. Assuming that the flow of time within this dungeon was different from the real world, things might already be drastically different in the outside world. If that were true, it would be a terrible tragedy.

    ¡°This owl statue is the formation core of this dungeon. We can leave through it whenever we want.¡± Pei Mianman replied. ¡°However, if we leave the dungeon through its formation core, this dungeon might never open again.¡±

    ¡°Then let¡¯s give Jiangjiang the badge before leaving,¡± Zu An said. ¡°That way, she¡¯ll at least be able to bring her nsmen peace.¡±

    The two of them both believed in keeping their promises, and weren¡¯t about to go back on their word. They hurried back to the entryway where they had separated from her.

    ¡°Jiangjiang?¡± The surroundings were pitch ck, and Zu An couldn¡¯t see anything, so he had to resort to calling out her name.

    Despite the darkness, they knew that this was Jiangjiang¡¯s territory, and they had gone through so much together, so they weren¡¯t nearly as scared as before.

    ¡°She¡¯s over there,¡± Pei Mianman said, pointing.

    Zu An was surprised, but walked in the direction she was pointing. It was still pitch ck, and he couldn¡¯t make anything out. ¡°How can you see her even when it¡¯s this dark?¡±

    ¡°I think it¡¯s because of Fu Hao¡¯s owl statue. After all, the owl is the king of the night. Even in the darkness, things seem just as clear as day for me. I have a feeling that if Ipletely master this owl statue, I might be able to create darkness and drag an enemy within it in battle,¡± Pei Mianman said excitedly.

    ¡°That¡¯s probably some sort of domain. Now, you might stand an even chance if you encounter opponents with a higher level of cultivation than you,¡± Zu An said with a sigh of admiration.

    While the two of them were chatting, the spectral girl had already run up to them. ¡°Big brother, big sister¡­¡±

    She had been running towards them excitedly, but when she came closer to the two of them, her expression suddenly changed.

    Since the two of them were in a hurry to leave, they didn¡¯t notice this slight change in her expression. Zu An handed her the jade badge. ¡°Jiangjiang, thankfully, I didn¡¯t have to go back on my word. This is the jade badge you asked for.¡±

    The youngdy took it from him. When she touched the jade badge, happiness returned to her face. ¡°Thank¡­ thank you.¡±

    She slipped the jade badge onto her arm. As she put it on, the surface of the jade badge glowed momentarily, before the light gradually faded. A pattern resembling the jade badge had been engraved around her arm.

    Zu An clicked his tongue in wonder. They had learned in the trial that this was the holy artifact of the Eastern Barbarians, yet for him and Pei Mianman, it looked just like a normal jade badge. It was exquisitely crafted, but aside from that, they hadn¡¯t noticed anything special about it. However, it clearly became something different when in Jiangjiang¡¯s possession.

    Despite this development, neither of them would go so low as to covet someone else¡¯s possessions. Zu An remembered something else, and handed her the earthenware vessel containing her head. ¡°Jiangjiang, this should be your head¡­¡±

    He wanted to say some words of constion, but when the girl saw the head in the earthenware vessel, her eyes immediately turned red. ¡°All those from Shang shall die!¡± she said, baring her teeth at them.

    Zu An immediately put up his guard, and quickly pulled Pei Mianman behind him. The ground where the two of them had been standing just a moment ago crumbled instantly. Clearly, it had been sted by a wave of tremendous power.

    ¡°Jiangjiang, have you gone mad?¡± he demanded angrily.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The girl floated in midair, her beautiful hair fluttering about her. ¡°All the people of Shang must die. The two of you carry extremely strong Shang auras. You are definitely genuine people of Shang.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. It was probably the Heaven Devouring Sutra that he was carrying, and Fu Hao¡¯s treasured owl statue and the Heaven¡¯s Wisdom Jade that Mianman had on her. They also served for many generations as the rulers of the Shang Dynasty, so it would be hard to get rid of this aura even if they wanted to.

    The youngdy¡¯s voice thundered again. ¡°That is why¡­ you must¡­ die!¡±

    She stretched out her hand, and a cacophony of voices began to rustle in the wind. Zu An and Pei Mianman¡¯s expressions immediately grew awful. The Guman Tong had appeared around the youngdy again, and skeletal warriors were assembling as well. There was even the sound of hissing, indicating the presence of the strange snakes they had seen in the great pit outside the tomb.

    Zu An could still remember how much of a headache those strange snakes had posed, and he hurriedly turned to Pei Mianman. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say we have a way out of this dungeon?¡± he asked. ¡°Can we leave right now?¡±

    Pei Mianman shook her head. ¡°Not yet,¡± she replied with a frown, ¡°I need some time to establish a link. I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll give us the time.¡±

    The approaching skeletal warriors had already drawn their des and swung them at the pair of them even before she had finished her sentence.

    Zu An whipped out the Tai¡¯e Sword and stuck it into the head of the closest skeletal warrior. However, more skeletons quickly charged at him, taking the ce of their fallenrade. In addition, several of the strange snakes were slithering across the ground, spewing venom at the two humans. Some of them even flung themselves at them in an attempt to bite them.

    The skeletal warriors naturally did not fear the venom of these strange snakes, but Zu An and Pei Mianman surely did.

    The two of them quickly found themselves in a spot of bother. Suddenly, a ck rose blossomed on the battlefield. It was beautiful, yet full of devastating power. All the skeletons and strange snakes were burned to ashes.

    This was Pei Mianman¡¯s skill, ¡®ming Rose¡¯. She had not been in the best condition ever since being in the dungeon, and wasn¡¯t able to use this skill so far. Now that she was back to her peak, her attacks were vicious.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t had the opportunity to use this move until now,¡± Pei Mianman said softly.

    More and more strange snakes and skeletal warriors swarmed at them, pouring forth like an endless tide.

    The girl floating in the air frowned. As though she had given some sort of order, the Guman Tong around her charged at Pei Mianman.

    Pei Mianman had a look of consternation on her face. She remembered the suffering she had experienced while under the control of one of these Guman Tong. The Guman Tong were immune to mes as well, which made it a bad matchup for her.

    Zu An quickly leaped to her side, brandishing his sword to fend off the iing Guman Tong. Despite this, he knew that his efforts were not enough. He wanted to use the Heaven Devouring Sutra, but the creatures around him were all deceased beings or disgusting snakes. He might have been able to devour anything once he mastered the skill, but at his current level of understanding, there was no way for him to do so.

    A sudden burst of inspiration struck him. There were so many of these fellows around them, and they were all of low intelligence. He might not have any area-of-effect skills, but he knew someone who did!

    He quickly summoned Daji and gave her an order.

    Pei Mianman¡¯s eyes went wide. A ridiculously beautiful woman suddenly appeared, carrying a jade pipa in her arms. She plucked the strings gently with her fingers, and a pleasant melody began to fill the space. The iing Guman Tong, skeletal warriors and endless waves of strange snakes all froze.

 Chapter 560, Part I: Unstoppable

    <h4>Chapter 560, Part I: Unstoppable</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Voice of the Devil!

    It immediately caused those of lower cultivation or intelligence to lose their awareness and go mad.

    Daji was only at the peak of the fourth rank, and many of these skeletal warriors and the Guman Tong possessed stronger cultivations than her. However, they all had one trait inmon¡ªthey had low intelligence.

    Even though the Guman Tong had the ability to manipte minds, they did not possess a high level of natural intelligence.

    The skeletal warriors and the Guman Tong all fell into a frenzy. Even though the Guman Tong did not show any facial expressions, it was easy enough to sense their suffering.

    Almost immediately, the undead creatures began to attack theirpanions around them, frantically causing chaos to erupt.

    The strange snakes were even worse off. They had tangled around each other, and were biting down on each other with their poisonous fangs, or trying to crush other snakes with their own bodies. It was like something out of hell itself.

    Pei Mianman was stupefied. She subconsciously leaned against Zu An to find safety andfort.

    The youngdy Jiangjiang was also shocked. The Voice of the Devil was naturally ineffective against her, given her intelligence and level of cultivation.

    Having lost control of her subordinates, Jiangjiang quickly pressed her hand¡ªthe one adorned with the jade badge pattern¡ªagainst the head of the Guman Tong next to her. Sparkling light flickered around the Guman Tong¡¯s body, which started to grow.

    In the blink of an eye, it had grown from the size of an infant into a giant, ten zhang tall, with Jiangjiang standing on its head.

    Both Zu An and Pei Mianman could hardlyprehend what they were seeing.

    Jiangjiang pointed at the two of them, and the giant Guman Tong began plodding towards them.

    Even though it was not moving quickly, a single giant step was enough to cover a dozen meters. It moved even faster than a normal person sprinting.

    *Boom, boom, boom!*

    Its heavy steps sent shudders throughout the entire mausoleum. Any unfortunate skeletal warrior caught beneath its feet were instantly crushed to dust.

    There was no way Zu An and Pei Mianman could face that massive thing head on. Nodding at each other, they split up, dodging in different directions.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    This giant Guman Tong was surprisingly agile. Just as they moved, two fleshy palms crashed down on where the two of them had been standing.

    The two of them continued to dodge, as fountains of debris shot into the air all around them.

    The youngdy atop the giant Guman Tong steered it towards Daji. She knew that, once she got rid of this woman, her subordinates would recover their senses.

    With a light tap of her feet, Daji gracefully evaded the onrushing giant. Her dress fluttered about, making her seem like an immortal fairy.

    Even though shecked a soul, she still retained her instincts for battle, and she was able to easily dodge the attacks aimed at her.

    Despite this Zu An knew that continuing on like this wouldn¡¯t get them anywhere. It didn¡¯t matter how many times the Guman Tong missed¡ªthey would be finished if they were hit even once.

    He summoned Grandgale, blinking forward towards the Guman Tong¡¯s head.

    Jiangjiang seemed to have sensed something. She instructed the Guman Tong to dodge to the side.

    This sudden move meant that Zu An had nowhere to nt his feet. As he fell, he plunged the Tai¡¯e Sword into the shoulder of the Guman Tong instead.

    The Guman Tong¡¯s body was extremely tough and hard to cut into, but Zu An¡¯s sword was shrouded in primordial ki, and stabbed straight into its flesh.

    The Guman Tong squealed in pain, and tried to dislodge him by swinging a massive palm towards its shoulder.

    Zu An was stuck in an awkward spot, and he was briefly unable to exert any sort of strength. He was nning to jump back down to the ground to look for another opportunity.

    However, he knew that Jiangjiang was already on guard against a second attempt, and that it might not be that easy to get close again.

    Pei Mianman took out her owl statue, which quickly erged in size. It let out a screech as it whirled towards him, perfectly blocking the Guman Tong¡¯s iing palm.

    Zu An used this chance to sort out his inner ki and find his feet. He pushed off against the Guman Tong¡¯s body and leapt straight onto its head.

    Shocked by this sudden move, Jiangjiang raised her hand sending countless evil spirits flying towards him.

    Zu An snorted. He summoned his primordial ki, and his longsword shed about him, leaving trails of white light. Upon making contact with the sword, the spirits melted like snow against a me.

    Jiangjiang raised her hand, and the jade badge erupted with radiance. Countless blue arrows of light appeared all around her.

    With a twitch of her finger, the arrows streaked out towards Zu An.

    The Eastern Barbarians were praised for their skill at archery. As expected, their reputation was well deserved.

    Jiangjiang¡¯s efforts were not rewarded. Even though the arrows struck home, her target instantly shattered, melting into thin air. It was just an illusion.

    She was just about to use another skill when her entire body went rigid. The de of a longsword was pressed against her neck.

    Zu An had used his Sunflower Phantasm to maneuver himself behind her.

    ¡°Why are you showing me mercy?¡± Jiangjiang said with difficulty.

    Even though it was only close to her neck, she could feel a scorching pain from the terrifying white light that imbued the de, which had already caused her irreversible damage. If this de were to pierce her, she would instantly lose her life.

    Zu An looked at her and sighed. ¡°You¡¯ve already lived a pitiful life. Why would I make your fate even more tragic? Mypanion and I aren¡¯t people of the Shang Dynasty. We just participated in their trial, which is why we have their aura.¡±

    It would have been easier just to kill her, but this youngdy had been captured by the Shang Dynasty as a prisoner and cruelly used as a human sacrifice. Her head had even been thrown into a bronze vessel to be cooked. Yet after that, she had to wander this dungeon alone as a spirit for such a long time. She had already suffered a fate that was beyond tragic.

    Jiangjiang was moved by what he said. Her bloodshot eyes gradually returned to normal, losing their frenzied look. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± she said softly. ¡°I couldn¡¯t control my emotions.¡±

    ¡°This hatred has been etched into your bones. It¡¯s to be expected.¡± Zu An retracted his sword. The hatred that the Eastern Barbarians felt towards the Shang Dynasty wasn¡¯t something that could be set aside so easily.

    Jiangjiang looked at him strangely. She was surprised at how easily he had withdrawn his de. ¡°Aren¡¯t you scared that I¡¯ll continue to attack you?¡±

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°I know that you aren¡¯t one of those murderous evil spirits.¡±

    He wasn¡¯t dumb enough to believe that¡ªhe was just confident that he could easily kill her with his primordial ki, which was why he wasn¡¯t afraid if she suddenly retaliated. Of course, there was no way he would say that out loud.

    Jiangjiang remained silent for a while, then said, ¡°Thank you!¡±

    She gently patted the Guman Tong beneath her. Its massive body quickly shrunk, returning to its normal size. With a wave of her hand, the strange snakes slithered away as well, and the skeletal warriors also returned to their burial pits. The Guman Tong giggled as they crawled and tottered away.

    Zu An was amazed. He hadn¡¯t the slightest idea how she controlled them.

    Jiangjiang turned to Zu An and said, ¡°Big brother, I want to help my nsmen find peace. Can you escort me to them?¡±

    Zu An nodded. This was something he had promised her before.

    Pei Mianman opened her mouth, but closed it again without saying anything. She had many things she wanted to ask Zu An, for example, who that ridiculously beautiful white clothed woman was¡­

    But her heart was full of pity for Jiangjiang, and decided to see her matter through first.

    The three of them soon found themselves at the elevated pavilion at the top of the stairs. Jiangjiang sighed as she looked at those stairs. The endless resentful spirits rushed over immediately, having apparently sensed something. They wailed as they gathered around her, as if trying to say something. Their previously-vicious expressions were now full of sadness and grief.

    Jiangjiang consoled them gently, then spread her hand upwards. The jade badge slowly rose into the air, and she began the ritual to free her nsmen.

    A gentle light radiated from the jade badge. Bathed within this light the expressions of the resentful spirits soon became peaceful. One after another they closed their eyes, before turning into specks of light.

    They had been trapped here for over ten thousand years. This was the day when they were finally freed.

    After sending them off, Jiangjiang turned around and bowed towards Zu An. ¡°Thank you big brother and big sister. If I didn¡¯t receive your help, I would have never been able to do this.¡±

    Zu An was about to say something, but his expression changed suddenly. ¡°Your body¡­¡±

    Her body had begun to flicker, as if she was about to vanish at any moment.

    Jiangjiang smiled. ¡°The only purpose for my long existence within this underground pce was to free my people. Now that my wish has been fulfilled, I need to find peace as well. I¡¯ve existed for so long, and I feel tired.¡±

    Zu An did not know what to say or do. Her story was just too tragic! She had carried on alone in this underground pce for such a long time. It seemed that any words of constion he could utter would be meaningless.

    Jiangjiang stretched out her hand towards him, and a jade badge flew to Zu An. ¡°This is the sacred artifact of the Eastern Barbarians. Big brother, since you have helped us so much, I pass this on to you. There is no need to let it remain buried here. You can use it to control them¡­¡±

    With that, she became one with the endless specks of light.

 Chapter 560, Part II: Unstoppable

    <h4>Chapter 560, Part II: Unstoppable</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Pei Mianman¡¯s eyes were red. ¡°Jiangjiang¡¯s life was so pitiful.¡±

    Zu An hugged her tightly. He was also ovee with emotion, and was speechless for a long time.

    Just like that, the two of them stood there in silence.

    A gentle breeze drifted over, carrying a delicate fragrance that tickled Pei Mianman¡¯s nose. She turned around and saw a beautiful white clothed woman standing quietly off to the side, as if she was Zu An¡¯s maid. She could not contain her curiosity any longer. ¡°Ah Zu, who is she?¡±

    ¡°She is someone I can summon¡­¡± Zu An tried to exin the best he could, in a way that she would be able to understand.

    Pei Mianman was shocked by this sudden revtion. ¡°How amazing!¡±

    She thought that this woman was some random girl Zu An had picked up along the way. When she heard that she was summoned, her nervousness immediately eased.

    She rushed over to Daji¡¯s side to examine her, and even reached out a finger to poke her. ¡°Huh? She feels just like a real person!¡±

    The sight of the two beautiful women standing next to each other was enough to leave Zu An utterly dazed.

    However, another detail stunned him even more. No matter how Pei Mianman poked her, Daji showed no reaction. Yet, when he had poked her earlier on, he was almost pped in the face.

    ¡°She was a real person, once upon a time,¡± Zu An said, then told her about how she had lost her soul.

    Pei Mianman sighed. ¡°There really are many pitiful people in this world. She is such a stunning woman, but she still had to end up as someone else¡¯s puppet.¡±

    Zu An wasn¡¯t happy with her choice of words. ¡°What do you mean, ¡®someone else¡¯?¡±

    Pei Mianman snorted, then blushed and said, ¡°She is already pitiful enough. You¡¯re not allowed to do anything awful to her.¡±

    Zu An choked on a mouthful of saliva and sputtered.

    ¡°Am I that type of person?¡±

    ¡°Do you really have no self-awareness?¡±

    ¡°Um¡­ don¡¯t worry. Even though I¡¯m her master, I will only use her forbat. I can¡¯t even get close to her¡­¡±

    He showed her what would happen if he tried, and Pei Mianmanughed so hard that her entire body shook uncontrobly. ¡°You really had impure intentions after all! You¡¯ve already tried!¡±

    ¡°I identally touched her earlier¡­¡± Zu An said guiltily. ¡°Stopughing already! I¡¯m going to get mad if you keep onughing.¡±

    Pei Mianman noticed his downtrodden expression and stifled her giggling. ¡°All right, I won¡¯tugh anymore. Does she have a name?¡±

    ¡°Daji.¡±

    ¡°Daji?¡±

    Seeing Pei Mianman¡¯s shocked face, Zu An forced a smile and said, ¡°It¡¯s the same Daji that you¡¯re thinking of. After her world was destroyed, she was stuck in the flow of space-time, and then I summoned her.¡±

    Zu An had told Pei Mianman many things about Daji over the course of their long years within the trial, so she knew much about this woman and her past. ¡°She is ridiculously beautiful after all¡­¡± she said with a sigh. ¡°No wonder everyone called her a once-in-a-millennia fox spirit.¡±

    Her face suddenly turned red. She pinched Zu An and said, ¡°I finally know why you got so excited that night after you found out I was Daji!¡±

    Zu An had no words to defend himself.

    Instead, he recalled Daji and quickly changed the topic. ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t it past time we left this dungeon?¡±

    Pei Mianman was shocked. ¡°Where did she go?¡±

    ¡°Probably some special spatial ne¡­¡± Zu An said.

    He didn¡¯t know how to exin it either, but he knew that he could summon her again at any time. Also, once Daji suffered a certain amount of damage, she would be forcibly sent back to that spatial ne to slowly recover. Of course, this recovery process was extremely slow, and she would still require her master to supplement this with medicine.

    Pei Mianman nodded in understanding. She took out the owl statue and used it tomunicate with the dungeon, making the necessary preparations for them to leave.

    Zu An stroked the jade badge around his wrist. He recalled what Jiangjiang had said before she disappeared. This thing seemed to have the ability tomunicate with the supernatural. It was mainly used during sacrificial rituals, but of course, it had a more practical effect, which was controlling creatures with lesser intelligence, even undead things. For example, Jiangjiang had used it earlier tomand all those creatures to attack the two of them.

    This was different from Daji¡¯s ¡®Voice of the Devil¡¯. Daji¡¯s skill made her targets enter a confused state, but it did not allow her topletely control her targets. Their effects were different.

    Zu An pondered on this item a little more. This jade badge seemed simr to a skill belonging to any druid ss in the games of his previous world. With it, he could make many creatures obey hismands.

    Rather than using it for battle, it seemed much more useful for scouting purposes. It was easy to imagine just how terrifying he could be if the ordinary little creatures around his enemies could suddenly be his eyes and ears.

    Wait, what if those little creatures identally caught a peep of some girls bathing¡­?

    Ahem, ahem! I am an honorable man. Why would I ever do something like that?!

    While his thoughts were running wild, Pei Mianman took hold of his hand. ¡°It¡¯s ready!¡±

    A portal suddenly appeared in front of them. Holding tightly onto his hand, Pei Mianman stepped through it.

    Everything blurred, and the whole world before their eyes exploded with a blinding brilliance. They were no longer within the dark and sinister depths of the underground pce. Instead, a cool breeze caressed their faces, and the air was filled with the sound of birds chirping.

    Both of them smiled when they saw the sun shining above them, and took in the familiar feeling of ki in the air. ¡°We¡¯re finally back.¡±

    Pei Mianman suddenly grew agitated. ¡°Ah Zu, the emperor still wants you arrested. Why don¡¯t you use this chance to go into hiding? Everyone will assume that you died in the dungeon. Once the emperor passes on, you¡¯ll be safe.¡±

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°Even though everyone believes that the Emperor doesn¡¯t have many years left to live, he is still the world¡¯s most powerful expert. At worst, he¡¯ll still live another decade or so. What if he ends up living for a few more decades? How much longer am I supposed to wait?

    ¡°Besides, everyone in the world already knows about my Phoenix Nirvana Sutra. I¡¯d actually prefer to have the emperor after me. If he dies, then I¡¯d be in even more danger. This is the best chance for me to head to the capital and deal with this situation once and for all.¡±

    Pei Mianman pursed her lips. ¡°Your words sound so noble, but aren¡¯t you doing all of this for Chuyan in the end?¡±

    Right after the words left her mouth, the two of them colored with embarrassment. In the confines of the dungeon, the two of them could live as husband and wife. However, this was the real world, and they had too many other things to worry about out here.

    Zu An gently took her hand in his. ¡°Manman, I¡¯m also doing this for you. You went inside the dungeon with me. If I go into hiding, doesn¡¯t that mean that you won¡¯t be able to show yourself in public ever again? Unlike me, you don¡¯t only have yourself to look out for. You still have your n and the rest of your loved ones.¡±

    Pei Mianman thought of her mother, and her eyes reddened with tears. She threw herself into his arms. ¡°Ah Zu, you¡¯re so great.¡±

    As they shared their affection with each other, a coldugh echoed from close by. ¡°What a cute pair of lovers! However, the two of you ruined my greatest opportunity. How will youpensate me for my loss?¡±

    Zu An and Pei Mianman were both given a huge fright. They hadn¡¯t noticed anyone around them, even with their cultivation! They turned around, and immediately felt chills run up their spines.

    A yellow-robed woman was sneering at them. Who else could this be but Mosquito Daoist?

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Mosquito Daoist had defeated so many powerful individuals on her own. Right now, they only had each other to rely on, and Mosquito Daoist¡¯s injuries had already healedpletely. The pressure that she was radiating was greater than anything they had felt before. Both of them shivered in fear.

    Strangely, though, while Mosquito Daoist had always been shrouded in a sinister aura, she now seemed like a heavenly presence instead, radiating a solemn, holy aura.

    ¡°Why are you here?¡± Zu An said, his voice low.

    Mosquito Daoist snorted, ¡°Since the two of you left the dungeon, I was naturally made to leave as well. Hmph, it¡¯s a pity that I didn¡¯t run into the two of you in the dungeon. I would have just killed you both if it would have prevented my opportunity from being ruined.¡±

    Zu An was shocked by her words. It appeared that she didn¡¯t even care about the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra anymore. ¡°What kind of opportunity did we ruin?¡±

    Mosquito Daoist bared her teeth, and the aura of holiness was instantly reced by viciousness. ¡°I was in the midst of absorbing the most prized holy treasure of the Western Sect¡ªthe Twelveyered Golden Lotus. I would have be unstoppable if I had absorbed all of it! Who cares about the Great Zhou Emperor, or the King of Fiends? None of them would have been my match. But I was dragged out of the dungeon by the two of you after absorbing only threeyers!¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Zu An was stupefied.

 Chapter 561: Fatal Red Lips

    <h4>Chapter 561: Fatal Red Lips</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An was speechless. We almost lost our lives in that stupid Shang Dynasty trial, yet this woman somehow ended up in that other ce?

    Does this dungeon bring people of different cultivation levels to different ces?

    The things Mosquito Daoist had just spoken of were familiar to him. In the world written about in the ¡®Investiture of the Gods¡¯, there was an incredibly powerful Mosquito Daoist, but how she came to be, no one knew. This Mosquito Daoist only made a single appearance, but it was definitely one that left an impression. She feasted upon the famous Holy Mother Tortoise, sucking her dry and leaving nothing but an empty shell.

    What was this Holy Mother Tortoise? She was one of the four disciples of the Grandmaster of Heaven! She had been restrained by the Western Sect¡¯s Sect Master, Guidance Daoist, which allowed Mosquito Daoist was able to suck her dry.

    After this Mosquito Daoist sucked the Holy Mother Tortoise dry, she headed west, and absorbed threeyers of the Western Sect¡¯s Twelve-Layered Golden Lotus, dying the Western Sect¡¯s ns by a thousand years.

    Nothing else was recorded about this Mosquito Daoist within the pages of the ¡®Investiture of the Gods¡¯. She seemed to have appeared out of thin air, and then vanished again in the same way.

    Zu An was rather rmed. Given how things were, could it be that the Mosquito Daoist mentioned was the same as the one in front of them?!

    How was he even supposed to go up against someone from that world? There were gods and buddhas everywhere in that world, and immortals were asmon as stray dogs! If Mosquito Daoist was allowed to do whatever she wanted to, even in such a ce, what were the two of them supposed to do against her?

    Zu An was not about to give up, but went ahead to test the waters. ¡°If we didn¡¯t drag you out of the dungeon, you might have been killed by the Western Sect¡¯s Guidance Daoist once he returned. You should really be thanking us instead.¡±

    Pei Mianman waspletely bewildered. She had no idea what he was talking about.

    Mosquito Daoist was surprised. ¡°How does a brat like you know about Guidance Daoist?¡±

    Zu An was equally shocked. There really was a Guidance Daoist in there! ¡°What is your cultivation rank now?¡± he asked quickly.

    Perhaps because of his apparent knowledge of the world she had been in, Mosquito Daoist seemed inclined to chat. ¡°To be honest, I should be thanking you. This dungeon has provided me with a bountiful harvest. Other than the obvious benefits, I am most grateful for the privilege to have experienced such apletely different world. I¡¯ve learned that cultivators could actually be that powerful! I¡¯ve gained a clear sense of direction. Now, the cultivators of this world seem like nothing more than ignorant frogs sitting at the bottom of a well.¡±

    She said all this in an even, unhurried tone, sounding like a renowned schr. It was easy to imagine that, after a period of seclusion, she would surely emerge as one of that world¡¯s top-notch experts.

    Zu An cursed. Are you the damned protagonist, or am I?! If I had gone to that world, I just might have been able to get my hands on some remarkable treasure¡­!

    However, he wasn¡¯t fully convinced by her story. The world that Mosquito Daoist had been sent to might not have been real. After all, Wu Geng had built Yinxu all by himself. Even though he was strong, he wasn¡¯t strong enough to create the world that was mentioned within the ¡®Investiture of the Gods¡¯. Mosquito Daoist had probably been led to nothing but a facsimile of that world.

    Wu Geng was a god within that dungeon, after all, and he could do whatever he wanted within it.

    But how did Wu Genge to know about the ¡®Investiture of the Gods¡¯? Did he read that novel, or was it personal experience?

    Mosquito Daoist continued, ¡°What you say is also correct. If you didn¡¯t draw me out of it so quickly, I might have died there¡­¡±

    Her face turned red when she said this. She had been caught by Guidance Daoist not long after she had arrived in that world. There was nothing she could do, and she was locked up for a long, long time. Later on, she managed to sneak out when the boy set to guard her grew careless, and she proceeded to absorb threeyers of the Golden Lotus. However, as she was doing so, she could already sense the aura of Guidance Daoist returning. She decided to risk it all and absorb the entire Golden Lotus, even though she knew that Guidance Daoist would kill her in revenge.

    Zu An sped his fist towards her. ¡°Since we¡¯ve done you a favor, I won¡¯t ask for anything else. We¡¯ll go our separate ways, and we¡¯ll meet again if fate wills it.¡±

    He was just about to lead Pei Mianman away when his vision blurred. Mosquito Daoist was already in front of them, blocking their way. ¡°You want to leave? Dream on! Hand over the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, and I¡¯ll consider giving you two an easy death.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. ¡°You¡¯ve experienced an entire world of flying immortals and buddhas, and absorbed threeyers of the Golden Lotus, and yet you¡¯re still bickering about a book that might not even grant you immortality? Are you kidding me?¡±

    Mosquito Daoist was slightly embarrassed as well. She snorted and said, ¡°It is precisely because of my experiences within that world that I yearn for immortality even more! If I had been able topletely absorb all twelveyers, I might not need your Phoenix Nirvana Sutra. Unfortunately, since I couldn¡¯t, I can only look to you.¡±

    As the words left her mouth, her hand was already reaching towards Zu An, trying to grab him. She was extremely fast, much faster than thest time they had faced each other. Her strength had clearly increased after her sojourn within the dungeon.

    Of course, Zu An¡¯s cultivation had also increased. He quickly used the Sunflower Phantasm, sending the three images of him flying off in different directions.

    Mosquito Daoist sneered. ¡°This trick again!¡¯

    A hint of golden light appeared in her eyes, outlining the vague form of a lotus.

    ¡°I¡¯ve found you!¡¯

    She paid no attention to the mirror images, and charged straight at his real body.

    Zu An reacted quickly as well, bringing his sword in front of him to block her strike.

    A crisp, clear note rang out as they shed, then Zu An¡¯s body was blown backwards. It took him a while before he finally found his footing again. Blood trickled down from the corner of his mouth. The strike had made a mess of the ki flowing within him.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Mosquito Daoist¡¯s eyes fell on his Tai¡¯e Sword. ¡°Your sword is quite excellent. I¡¯ll take it for myselfter, if you don¡¯t mind.¡±

    Having faced off against it several times before their entry into the dungeon, she was already well-versed in its capabilities.

    She continued her assault. She had reaped such extraordinary benefits from her time in the dungeon, and she was confident that she could take him down within three moves.

    A fiery ck rose bloomed, causing Mosquito Daoist to frown. She could sense the devastating power within the ck mes, and was cautious not to get caught within its st wave.

    She raised her palm, and the stunning ck rose was blown apart.

    She looked at Pei Mianman. ¡°That kid¡¯s movement technique is a bit tricky, but your own strength is still far off.¡±

    Despite her words, her eyes still unconsciously lingered on Pei Mianman¡¯s chest for a few seconds. The force from her palm strike had forced Pei Mianman back a fair distance, and her chest was still bouncing from the sudden impact.

    Mosquito Daoist looked down at her own chest, and a hint of vexation shed across her eyes.

    Hmph! I¡¯m definitely going to suck that low-ss chest dryter!

    Pei Mianman somehow retained herposure. ¡°Is that so?¡± she replied.

    A small owl statue appeared in her palm, which quickly began to grow.

    A massive owl took flight, swooping across the area, shrouding the surroundings in darkness.

    This darkness was extremely strange. Cultivators were generally still able to see, even at night, although not as well as in the day. However, this darkness seemed to swallow up all light, and even cultivators were left blinded by it.

    Zu An realized what was happening. Pei Mianman had described this as one of the abilities of Fu Hao¡¯s owl statue¡ªthat it could create a domain of darkness. No one else could see within this domain, but everything within it would be as bright as day to Pei Mianman.

    He quickly dodged to the side to avoid an attack from Mosquito Daoist, guessing her movements based on what he could remember about herst position. He could do nothing more but to put his trust in Manman for now. He didn¡¯t want to cause any trouble for her.

    Unexpectedly, Mosquito Daoist¡¯s wantonughter echoed out around the darkness. ¡°Hahaha! Little girl, you really are a big-breasted bimbo! Have you forgotten that mosquitoes are most active at night?¡±

    As soon as the words left her mouth, Pei Mianman let out a muffled groan, and the darkness gradually cleared.

    Zu An knew that things had taken a bad turn. He was just about to move when he felt a hand mp down on his shoulder, followed by the sound of Mosquito Daoist¡¯s mocking voice. ¡°You really are a slippery one. Instead of asking you again, how about I just suck out all of your blood essence, and read through your memoriester?¡±

    Zu An could finally see again. Mosquito Daoist was standing a few inches in front of him, snuggling against his chest as if she was his lover.

    Her lips moved towards his neck, as though she were about to kiss him there. However, she suddenly bit down on him fiercely.

    Zu An felt a wave of weakness spread through his body, as he felt all of his blood essence being sucked out, flowing into her treacherous mouth.

 Chapter 562: The Embrace of Death

    <h4>Chapter 562: The Embrace of Death</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Mosquito Daoist¡¯s entire body trembled, and disbelief was etched all across her face. ¡°This is the legendary transcendent-aptitude blood! Hahaha! Absorbing this might be on par with absorbing the Twelve-Layered Golden Lotus! It seems the heavens have not forsaken me! Today, I am going topletely refine the Golden Lotus with your transcendent-aptitude blood. Once I cultivate the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra as well, no one in this world will be able to stop me!¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Pei Mianman wanted to dash forward to help him, but she was still recovering from Mosquito Daoist¡¯s previous blow, and could not move at all.

    Unexpectedly, Zu An¡¯s hands slowly moved upwards, wrapping around the waist of the woman in front of him.

    Mosquito Daoist was surprised, but she didn¡¯t mind it much. After all, those whom she preyed on were always weakened and leftpletely powerless, with no ability to resist.

    Mosquito Daoist¡¯s lips spread out in a smile when she considered her prospects. ¡°Hmm? Do you wish to hold me before you die? My body is rather fine, if I do say so myself. Since you¡¯ve given me so much, I guess I can let you get away with this.¡±

    Given her current cultivation, she didn¡¯t even need to use her mouth to suck out his blood essence. Just resting her hand on his shoulder was enough to absorb his blood essence, so talking did not interfere with this process.

    Zu An sighed. ¡°It would have been great if you couldn¡¯t speak while sucking my blood.¡±

    Mosquito Daoist¡¯s smile grew wider. ¡°Are you trying to beg for mercy?¡± she said. ¡°To be honest, you don¡¯t look all that bad. If you¡¯re willing to be my boy toy, I might keep you alive to y around with. Of course, you¡¯ll have to hand over the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra first.¡±

    As she spoke, she deliberately slowed down the rate at which she was absorbing his blood.

    Even though she could read his memories by absorbing all of his blood essence and obtain the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra in that way, it wasn¡¯t a hundred percent foolproof. It would be a tragedy if some unexpected mishap urred and she failed to obtain the entire thing. The best thing for her would still be for Zu An to cooperate willingly.

    Zu An sighed. ¡°Even though you aren¡¯t particrly beautiful, I guess your looks are still passable. I¡¯m actually quite an open-minded person, and I don¡¯t really mind if you are some monster girl. If you were some other type of female monster girl, I might just take you up on the offer, but you¡¯re a mosquito monster, so that¡¯s a bit¡­ a bit hard to take in.¡±

    Mosquito Daoist was infuriated by the disdain in his voice. ¡°You¡¯re courting death!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Mosquito Daoist for 1024 Rage points!

    Even though her cultivation was profound, she was still a woman. Mocking her in such a way drove her mad beyond belief. She lost all thoughts of trying to subdue his will. All she wanted to do was to suck him dry immediately.

    However, she soon found herself rather confused. Why was he still so fleshy? Hisplexion even seemed to have improved.

    She had already lost count of how many experts she had sucked dry. Among them, many had cultivations that were much higher than his. She could suck them dry in just a few heartbeats if she went all out¡ªwhy did he still look perfectly fine even after she had sucked on him for so long?

    She suddenly noticed a strange sensation around her waist. There seemed to be waves of heat spreading out from that area, apanied by a feeling of numbness. She knew that Zu An¡¯s hands were there, but the touch of a man shouldn¡¯t have been enough to make her feel that way. Was he some aphrodisiac in human form?

    She was at a loss as to what to make of it. However, as someone who had been at the top of the food chain for a long time, she was quick to notice that something else was wrong.

    She finally realized that her own vitality was leeching out of her from her waist at an rming rate. There seemed to be a powerful suction force within his palms.

    Mosquito Daoist was shocked. ¡°What kind of trick is this?¡±

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°You¡¯re sucking on me, and I¡¯m sucking on you. We just happen to bnce out.¡±

    He had actually nned to do this from the get go. Mosquito Daoist¡¯s cultivation was far stronger than both his and Pei Mianman¡¯s, and they had already fought several intense battles against her before entering the dungeon. She knew the extent of most of his abilities. That was why there was no way for him to match her in a fair fight.

    This meant that he had to use the Heaven-Devouring Sutra to see if he could win through cheesing her.

    Even though the Heaven-Devouring Sutra could absorb another¡¯s cultivation, it was hard for him to even touch her, given the difference in their cultivations. As such, he figured that he would use himself as bait. That was his only chance to close the distance.

    Mosquito Daoist wanted to brush his hands away, yet she discovered that she waspletely powerless. Things that were usually incredibly easy for her to do suddenly seemed impossible.

    She looked at the man in front of her in horror and said hatefully, ¡°Do you really think that this random absorption ability that you picked up is enough to deal with me? Let¡¯s see who can absorb the other faster, then!¡±

    She was a fiend race monster to begin with, and sucking out blood essence was her innate skill. She had cultivated it for so long that it was her specialty. She obviously wasn¡¯t scared of facing someone when it came to this.

    This fe clearly had not known this technique beforehand. She didn¡¯t know where he picked it up, but there was no way he could win out in such a battle.

    It didn¡¯t take too long for her confidence to erode, though. It seemed that she just couldn¡¯t get the upper hand.

    Of course, it wasn¡¯t that her skills at absorption were inferior to his at all. There was no way that her opponent could win out either.

    The two of them were stuck in a stalemate, each one sucking away at the other¡¯s cultivation. Neither side could find an edge.

    Zu An grumbled inwardly. After all, this was the first time he was using this Heaven-Devouring Sutra, and he was not at all proficient at it. Just being able to match Mosquito Daoist¡¯s rate of absorption was enough to prove the might of this Heaven Devouring Sutra.

    Pei Mianman finally recovered and leaped forward, thrusting her sword at Mosquito Daoist¡¯s back.

    Sensing what she was trying to do, Mosquito Daoist did not panic. Instead, she sneered.

    Zu An immediately shouted out a warning. ¡°Manman, stop! We are in a strange state of equilibrium right now. Anything that approaches us might be devoured. If you approach, you¡¯ll be instantly sucked dry by the both of us!¡±

    Pei Mianman¡¯s face paled, and she stopped at once. ¡°Then what should I do?¡±

    Zu An frowned. He couldn¡¯te up with any good ideas either.

    Mosquito Daoist said, ¡°Since neither of us can defeat the other, how about we agree toy down arms?¡±

    Zu An sneered, ¡°Do you take me for a fool? If I stop now, you have a million other ways to kill us.¡±

    He had only managed to fashion this situation by catching her off guard. How was he going to catch her with the Heaven-Devouring Sutra a second time?

    Mosquito Daoist smiled. ¡°That¡¯s an easy task. I¡¯ll swear a blood oath.¡±

    Immediately, she intoned, ¡°May the heavens serve as my witness. If I kill the two of you after we agree toy down arms, I will let you suck me dry and kill me. Is that good enough?¡±

    She sneered secretly as she said this. I¡¯ll just suck you dry without killing you!

    Furthermore, with the difference in their cultivations, there was no way she would give him a chance to use his absorption ability again. That way, there would be no way for him to fulfill the second part of the oath of sucking her dry and killing her.

    Zu An nodded. ¡°Fine.¡±

    Pei Mianman began to panic. ¡°Ah Zu, that woman is incredibly crafty! You can¡¯t trust her that easily!¡±

    ¡°Ohe on!¡± Mosquito Daoist smacked her lips. ¡°Do you really want your lover to die alongside me? Perhaps you already have another man in mind? I could tell that you are a fickle woman from the moment I saw your flirtatious eyes.¡±

    Pei Mianman was so angry her entire body was shaking. ¡°You¡­!¡±

    Zu An interrupted them. ¡°We¡¯ll count to three. We¡¯ll both let go of one hand first, and then let go of the other hand. What do you say?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fine!¡± Mosquito Daoist seemed to have a sly look in her eyes.

    ¡°One¡­ Two¡­ Three!¡±

    ¡°Huh? Why didn¡¯t you let go?¡±

    ¡°Hah, brat, you¡¯re quite treacherous yourself. I don¡¯t see you letting go either.¡±

    ¡°But you were the one who made the blood oath.¡±

    ¡°Fine, I will definitely let go this time.¡±

    ¡°One¡­¡±

    After Zu An said ¡®one¡¯, he didn¡¯t continue on any further. Instead he summoned the Tai¡¯e Sword, and activated its unique domain of power!

    The Tai¡¯e Sword was a sword that walked the dao of power. He had rarely used this skill ever since he hade into possession of the sword, but always held onto it as one of his final trump cards.

    He did not hesitate to bring it out now. The Tai¡¯e Sword¡¯s domain of power erupted at close range.

    A draconic cry surged outwards from the sword, and an iparable aura of domination swept outwards.

    Even Pei Mianman was scared witless, and she felt a sudden urge to kneel down.

    How could Mosquito Daoist possibly fend off this power under such close range?

    Despite her cultivation, she felt a tremor run through her body, and she seemed to have been thrust back to her weakest moments. The moment when she was still a youngrva, being chased by other, more terrifyingrvae. The moment when she finally turned into a mosquito and took to the air, and instantly had to fend off the vicious dragonflies all around her, the malicious toad tongue, the spiderwebs between the leaves¡­

    In an instant, all of the most terrifying things she encountered in her life filled her mind, and her entire body began to shake.

    Zu An used this chance to summon the full might of the Heaven-Devouring Sutra.

    His two palms turned into ck holes, sucking in Mosquito Daoist¡¯s ki essence.

    In moments, Mosquito Daoist¡¯s body began to shrivel up.

    Mosquito Daoist let out a horrified cry. ¡°Stop¡­ don¡¯t¡­¡±

    Zu An sneered at her pleas. ¡°You¡¯ve sucked away the blood essence of countless people. Having your own blood essence sucked away today can be considered a form of retribution.¡±

    ¡°No¡­¡± Mosquito Daoist¡¯s voice was incredibly weak, but she still cried out frantically, ¡°We made a blood oath¡­¡±

    ¡°That was your own doing. I didn¡¯t do anything,¡± said Zu An indifferently.

    Mosquito Daoist grew livid.

    ¡°Damn you, you won¡¯t have an easy death!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Mosquito Daoist for 1024¡­ 1024¡­ 1024¡­

    Mosquito Daoist was confident in her superior cultivation, and had only focused on crafting a loophole within her own oath. She didn¡¯t even consider that she could be injured by the two of them.

    Now, she finally understood that the other party had never nned to let her go. However, it was already toote.

    Zu An took her firmly into his embrace as her body shriveled up more and more. Eventually, she became just like the dried-up corpses that she had turned all the others into.

    Zu An squeezed, and Mosquito Daoist¡¯s spine snapped with an audible crack.

    He felt the woman in his arms turn into a pile of mush. He looked at the horrific state of her corpse, and felt his stomach churn. He immediately tossed her aside.

    Just like that, this vicious fiend race monster who had terrorized many outstanding heroes for such a long time ceased to exist.

 Chapter 563: What it Means to Court Disaster

    <h4>Chapter 563: What it Means to Court Disaster</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Pei Mianman quickly ran over to him, and was shocked by the scene that greeted her eyes. ¡°So this is the power of the Heaven-Devouring Sutra?¡±

    She knew that Zu An had obtained a secret manual from the dungeon, but she had not seen him use it yet. As expected, it was ridiculously powerful.

    ¡°Yup.¡± Zu An nodded. A ball of fire appeared within his palm. He was going to burn Mosquito Daoist¡¯s corpse. The thing really seemed disgusting.

    Pei Mianman guessed what he was thinking, and said, ¡°I think her corpse still has some uses. She sucked away all of Sang Qian¡¯s blood essence, drawing the great ire of the Sang n. If you hand her corpse over to the Sang n, you can forge a friendly rtionship with them. Perhaps they might even turn a blind eye to you stealing their daughter-inw.¡±

    She had already deduced his rtionship with Zheng Dan after fighting alongside them.

    Zu An eyed her sideways.

    ¡°What do you mean, ¡®stealing¡¯? We just get along well, okay?¡±

    ¡°Of course, of course,¡± Pei Mianman said with a smile. ¡°You get along really, really well with someone else¡¯s widow.¡±

    Zu An decided that it would be pointless to defend himself.

    Even though he wasn¡¯t too happy about it, he still stored Mosquito Daoist¡¯s corpse into the Brilliant ss Bead.

    ¡°One other thing. I think it¡¯s better if you don¡¯t reveal your new technique to others. Personal cultivation is the most important thing to cultivators, since they only acquire it through bitter training. If you reveal that you can absorb their cultivation so easily, every single one would call you a devil and turn on you.¡± Pei Mianman¡¯s warning was a serious one. Mosquito Daoist was so notorious precisely because everyone feared her ability to suck out blood essence.

    Zu An nodded. ¡°I won¡¯t.¡±

    This wasmon sense to him. The ¡®Star Devouring Art¡¯, the ¡®Darknorth Technique¡¯¡­ which one of these weren¡¯t despised by the general popce?

    Pei Mianman was relieved to hear this. ¡°What is your cultivation rank now? Why can¡¯t I tell?¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He quickly examined himself. What he saw left him stupefied.

    The formations within his body lit up one after another, almost blinding him with their brilliance.

    One, two, three, four¡­

    Earlier on, when he examined himself, only the fifth formation of the fifth rank was filled. Now, all of his fifth rank formations were lit up!

    All of his bones seemed to sparkle like polished jade. Even without anyone telling him so, he could sense that his bones were far stronger than an ordinary person¡¯s.

    This was the result of reaching the pinnacle of the fifth rank¡ªtempering one¡¯s bones.

    He saw that a new set of formations had appeared on his bones. From what he learned about cultivation in the academy, this was probably bone marrow cultivation.

    He slowly counted the formations. There were nine, and all nine were already lit up!

    He had reached the peak of sixth rank!

    All of his bones were surging with seemingly-endless amounts of life force.

    Zu An was stunned. Did he just jump straight to the sixth rank?

    Reaching the fifth rank at his age already made him a cultivation genius, even within Brightmoon City. Those with cultivation aptitudes like Chu Chuyan or Pei Mianman had spent bitter years cultivating since childhood. Their ns provided them a nearly endless supply of cultivation resources for them, and it was considered incredible for them just to barely reach this level. What the hell was he, then?

    He thought back to what the academy had taught him about cultivation. Sixth rank cultivators could surround themselves in elemental armor, making it nearly impossible for lower rank cultivators to face them.

    He had not awakened an element yet, so he couldn¡¯t use elemental armor. Now that he could borrow Daji¡¯s fire element, though, it was easy enough to surround himself in a shield of mes.

    After testing out the defensive strength of his armor, he immediately became grateful that he had the Tai¡¯e Sword and Poisonous Prick. Without their strange ability to cut straight through these elemental armors, he wouldn¡¯t have had any chance of defeating the experts he had faced in the past.

    The Tai¡¯e Sword and Poisonous Prick were probably exactly like ki prating weapons in wuxia novels.

    He sensed that the powerful wave of ki that he had absorbed was not yet spent. After refining his bone marrow, it began to temper his blood.

    Nine vague formations could be seen within his blood vessels.

    The leftover ki filled three of these formations before finally stopping.

    Cultivators who reach the seventh rank could replenish their own blood at any time. Even if they suffered horrendous injuries, as long as the damage was not irreversible, and they were given enough time, they could eventually make aplete recovery.

    Zu An tested this out as well, but noticed that the speed of recovery was much less than what the Primordial Origin Sutra afforded him. It wasn¡¯t that useful to him at all.

    Of course, he knew that he only thought of it like that because of the Primordial Origin Sutra. For other cultivators, this ability to recover quickly was absolutely vital.

    Against cultivators of lower cultivation, any damage taken could be repaired through passive healing.

    Against experts, it was almost impossible to avoid injuries. The ability to recover quickly was equivalent to a second life.

    Zu An felt rather dazed. He had just managed to jump two whole ranks.

    ¡°Seventh rank?¡± Pei Mianman couldn¡¯t help but chuckle when she heard what he said. ¡°Seven ranks of cultivation is enough to make you a city lord. This is ignoring the fact that you are still so young.¡±

    Which woman didn¡¯t want their lover to be outstanding? The more formidable he became, the happier she was.

    ¡°But¡­¡± She frowned. She walked around him and continued to examine his body. ¡°You seem different from other seventh rank cultivators.¡±

    Zu An was confused. ¡°How so?¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Pei Mianman pursed her lips. ¡°It¡¯s hard to say. I¡¯ve seen quite a few seventh rank cultivators, so I could roughly sense their cultivation. You should be at the third step of the seventh rank, so I should be able to sense it too. But I can¡¯t seem to sense your cultivation at all.¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t know what was going on either. He hadn¡¯t been cultivating very long, so there was no way he couldpare to Pei Mianman, who had been born into a great n, when it came to this matter.

    ¡°There¡¯s something stranger.¡± Pei Mianman said. ¡°Mosquito Daoist should have already reached the master rank. Why did you only increase two ranks after absorbing her cultivation?¡±

    ¡°Is increasing two ranks considered little?¡± Zu An was stunned. After all, every single formation of his required a ridiculous amount of Ki Fruits to fill. Now that he reached the seventh rank, the requirements were even crazier. He was already overjoyed by his sudden progress.

    ¡°Of course it¡¯s not a lot! Mosquito Daoist was at the master rank, and might have been just outside grandmaster rank as well. Her cultivation was incredibly formidable, yet absorbing all of it only gave you two ranks. Could it be that too much of it was lost in the transfer?¡± Pei Mianman was rather confused as well.

    ¡°Perhaps.¡± Zu An had spent some time studying physics in his previous world. He knew that arge portion of energy was wasted during conversion. There was no way he could have absorbed all of Mosquito Daoist¡¯s cultivation.

    Pei Mianman stared at him for a long time before saying, ¡°There might be another possibility.¡±

    Zu An was confused, but she continued, ¡°For you, the third step of the seventh rank may be differentpared to ordinary cultivators. It might be much more formidable than theirs. Whether against Cash Warrior or Mosquito Daoist, your cultivation was clearly beneath mine, yet the threat you posed was greater. Furthermore, you showed no sign of ki exhaustion. Yourbat strength doesn¡¯t match your rank at all. This is probably an amazing effect of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra.¡±

    ¡°Ki exhaustion?¡± Zu An looked at her quizzically.

    ¡°Mmhmm.¡± Pei Mianman had a strange look on her face. ¡°Even though those at the eighth rank can harmonize with the world, they can only forge a momentary connection. It cannot be sustained forever. Only those who reach the master rank can link with heaven and earth at any time, and gain an endless source of ki. Those at their level don¡¯t have to worry about ki exhaustion.

    ¡°For cultivators like us, no matter how strong we are, once our ki is used up, we won¡¯t have much fighting strength anymore. However, you don¡¯t seem to face this issue, nor have I seen you eat any medicine to replenish your ki.¡±

    Zu An finally understood. She was talking about mana regeneration, or recovering internal strength in the worlds of wuxia novels.

    However, he had never experienced any sign of ki decline, despite the difficult battles that he¡¯d fought so far.

    ¡°You¡¯ve only realized this now?¡± snorted Mi Li from within his mind.

    Zu An was instantly delighted. ¡°Big sis empress, you¡¯re awake!¡±

    ¡°Hmph, you were making so much noise with that damn mosquito earlier. How could I continue sleeping? You¡¯ve never used that Heaven-Devouring Sutra before, so I did not expect you to defeat her. Good thing you have a pretty sound head on your shoulders.¡± Mi Li¡¯s voice carried quite a bit of praise.

    ¡°But of course!¡± Zu An said, self-satisfied. ¡°Right, you were saying that I don¡¯t face the problem of ki exhaustion. Why?¡±

    Mi Li replied, ¡°Two reasons. Firstly, apart from repairing your body¡¯s injuries, the Primordial Origin Sutra also replenishes ki. Your Phoenix Nirvana Sutra also stores arge reservoir of ki within your body, one sorge that it¡¯s hard even for you to use all of it up. Why else do you think it¡¯s so hard to cultivate using the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra? It¡¯s because every single rank requires several times the ki whenpared to an ordinary cultivator.¡±

    Zu An now understood why he was able to bring Daji to the peak of the fourth rank with just 700 ki fruits, but for him, that number was hardly worth mentioning.

    Mi Li sighed. ¡°Legend has it that immortality is possible once the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra is cultivated to its mastery. After living tens of thousands of years, even the most powerful cultivators can only add years to their lives. That isn¡¯t true immortality. It only makes sense for the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra to be so hard to cultivate. Ordinarily, it would require a crazy amount of ki, and sessfully cultivating it shouldn¡¯t even be possible.

    ¡°Yet a stupid brat like you keeps finding lucky breaks over and over again. Who knows, you might actually seed and achieve immortality.¡±

    Zu An was confused. ¡°Didn¡¯t you live for ten thousand years too? Isn¡¯t that immortality?¡±

    ¡°It isn¡¯t,¡± Mi Li replied. ¡°My situation is different. I was sealed in an underground mausoleum, which, surprisingly enough, had its own benefits. Time flowed extremely slowly under the seal, which is why, even though I seem to have lived for ten thousand years in your eyes, I didn¡¯t actually experience that much time myself. In a sense, it only felt like a deep sleep.¡±

    Zu An was overjoyed by this. ¡°I thought that you might be some ten thousand-year-old hag. I never expected that you¡¯d have the mental age of a teenager. Come and greet this big brother!¡±

 Chapter 564: No, You Came at the Perfect Time

    <h4>Chapter 564: No, You Came at the Perfect Time</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Mi Li was stunned into silence for a moment.

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for 1024 Rage points!

    ¡°Brat, you¡¯re courting death!¡±

    She was absolutely livid. Out of thin air, a ruler appeared in her hand, which she used to smack his head repeatedly. ¡°You really want someone to call you ¡®big brother¡¯? Why don¡¯t you say it yourself?!¡±

    Ah Zu was beaten until bumps appeared all over his head. He covered his head and dodged for his life. This woman is too bloody fierce! She¡¯s only a soul¡ªwhy can she dish out physical attacks? This makes no sense!

    ¡°Ah Zu, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Pei Mianman saw him muttering to himself weirdly, and then he seemed to be holding his head in pain. She rushed over to check on him. ¡°Does the Heaven-Devouring Sutra have some type of side effect?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, it''s nothing.¡± Zu An smiled in embarrassment. The beating she just dished out seemed to do much for Mi Li¡¯s temper. When she saw Pei Mianman walk over, she returned to the Tai¡¯e Sword and didn¡¯t make another sound.

    ¡°That¡¯s good. I was really scared.¡± Pei Mianman patted her chest, making it ripple.

    Zu An offered some words of constion, then suddenly noticed that there were two new strange bird diagrams inside of him and grew excited. Whenever he broke through a new rank, he would gain ess to a strange bird. Grandgale, Hundredwarble and Blue Mard had all proven extremely useful. He wondered what he would awaken this time.

    The fifth rank formation looked like a phoenix, but this phoenix was entirely white, like a fairy draped in snow. Two small characters were engraved on the side. ¡°Snow Phoenix!¡±

    It was really beautiful!

    Zu An sighed deeply. The other strange birds weren¡¯t all that good-looking, but this Snow Phoenix was absolutely outstanding. If he could remove it and raise it as a pet, it would instantly charm every girl he met.

    He thought especially of Chu Chuyan, who was also an ice element cultivator] This phoenix would be the perfect match for her. Unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t give it away as a gift.

    With a wave of his hand, the cry of a phoenix sounded, and a snow phoenix flew out. As expected, it left a trail of ice and snow wherever it went.

    Pei Mianman was dazzled by the sight. ¡°This bird is so pretty! And it even generates such extreme cold. Its power can¡¯t be underestimated!¡±

    ¡°These are abilities that I can awaken once I reach a certain level.¡± Zu An didn¡¯t hide this from her, and gave her a rough exnation of how it worked.

    ¡°You have so many strange abilities. Even I am getting jealous,¡± Pei Mianman said, but her expression was full of happiness. ¡°It¡¯s a pity that you didn¡¯t awaken the ice element. The power of this ability would surely be even greater.¡±

    A sudden thought struck Zu An. He had only summoned these strange birds on their own previously, and had never thought about pairing them with their corresponding elements.

    No wonder he felt as though Blue Mard''s ability wasn¡¯t too special, and only gave him some affinity with the water element. It seemed that these strange birds only revealed their greatest power when they were paired with their corresponding elements!

    He wanted to give it a try, but none of these birds were of the fire element. Right now, he could only borrow Daji¡¯s fire element.

    Then what about the other strange bird I¡¯ve unlocked?

    Zu An looked at the sixth rank formation, and noticed that its imprint was shaped like a peacock. Its feathers were beautiful, and its tail feathers were exceptionally long. Its two wings were covered in many eye-shaped patterns, colored orange and white.

    He saw its name next to it: Blue Luan!

    Zu An was curious. What did this bird do?

    He summoned it, and as soon as its blue figure appeared, it cried towards the sky, ¡°I don¡¯t fear death, I will fight!¡±

    It looked as though it was going to challenge the entire world.

    Zu An was bewildered.

    This bird can talk?

    Zu An tried tomunicate with it, but apart from repeating these words, it couldn¡¯t actually speak.

    As it cried out, however, its entire body turned into a giant sword. It rushed into the sky, and then crashed back down from the heavens. The incredibly powerful sword ki that it released could be sensed even from far away.

    There was a loud boom, and the surrounding area was carpeted in craters the size of basketball courts.

    The nts and trees around those craters were all blown to dust, leaving no traces of life behind. In addition, the ground within the craters was covered in fine cracks, as if it had been sundered by the sword ki.

    A wave of weakness swept through Zu An, causing him to stumble slightly. This was clearly not a technique he could use often.

    Thankfully, it was very powerful. He could use it as his killing move.

    Pei Mianman¡¯s jaws had fallen wide open with shock. ¡°Who knows how many times stronger this move would be if you were a metal element cultivator! Isn¡¯t your strength increasing way too fast?¡±

    Zu An felt as though he¡¯d just upgraded all his gear. He¡¯d learned the Heaven Devouring Sutra and sucked away all of Mosquito Daoist¡¯s cultivation, and even obtained these two new skills as well. He was overjoyed.

    He pulled Pei Mianman to him. ¡°Manman, you¡¯re so smart! I never thought about using my own elemental ability with these skills!¡±

    Pei Mianman blushed. She felt as though her observation wasn¡¯t of much use. After all, he seemed to have awakened the fire element ability¡­

    She was just about to say something when his lips pressed tightly against hers.

    She moaned, and her entire body went limp. She enthusiastically embraced the man holding her up.

    ¡°Ahem, ahem¡­¡±

    A light cough interrupted them. The two of them subconsciously turned around and saw arge group of people standing nearby.

    At the center was an incredibly pale, middle-aged man. His dark red robes and his lightning sharp eyes lent him a sinister, icy-cold aura. Right now, though, he wore a strange expression on his face.

    This was the leader of the Embroidered Envoy¡ªZhuxie Chixin!

    Despite this, the two of them weren¡¯t looking at him right now. Rather, they were staring at the woman whose white clothes were as beautiful as gentle snowfall in winter.

    The woman was standing still, calmly watching them. A gentle breeze lifted the corners of her dress and set her fine ck hair fluttering. She looked like a snow lotus that bloomed on a great cier, crystal clear and elegant.

    An ambiguous smile graced her beautiful face as she looked at them.

    Her eyes were clearly extremely cold, yet Pei Mianman felt as if she was being burned. She immediately pushed the man in her arms away and backed up a few steps. ¡°Chu¡­ Chuyan,¡± she greeted her guiltily.

    A thoughtful expression appeared on Chu Chuyan¡¯s face. ¡°Did Ie at a bad time?¡±

    Zu An really wanted to channel Xiaoli Feidao right now and say ¡®No, you came at the perfect time¡¯ before spreading his arms wide.

    After some hesitation, however, he decided that he didn¡¯t want to die just yet.

    Pei Mianman felt incredibly gloomy inside. Chu Chuyan had already divorced him, so why did she still feel so guilty?

    She was about to say something, but Chu Chuyan walked over to them, causing her to lose all confidence.

    When he noticed how red her face was, Zu An realized that now wasn¡¯t the time to hide as a man. ¡°I¡­¡±

    Before he could even exin himself, though, his nose was filled with a fragrant aroma. Chu Chuyan had already thrown herself into his arms.

    Zu An was stunned. Chu Chuyan had always been cold and emotionless, whether it was because she cultivated the Snowke Sword or if it was her natural disposition. This was the first time he had seen her so emotional, especially when in front of so many people.

    ¡°Ah Zu, I¡¯m happy as long as you guys are okay.¡± Chu Chuyan¡¯s body was shaking slightly. She embraced him tightly, as if she was scared that he might disappear at any moment.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An felt a wave of tenderness surge within him, and he clung to her tightly in return.

    The two of them had just gotten married when their n had been thrown into turmoil. They were forced to separate for a long time, and had only just been reunited.

    They held each other as if no one else was here. All the surrounding warriors watched silently, each of them feeling the urge to cry.

    These soldiers had already beenpletely enamored by Chu Chuyan after traveling with her.

    Even though they knew that she had married before, it was irrelevant when it came to someone this beautiful.

    Besides, it wasmon knowledge that the wedding had been annulled, and that Chu Chuyan was single again.

    Despite feeling that this woman was way beyond their league, their male instincts still made them simp after her, and they had been at her beck and call for most of their journey.

    This was especially so after Zu An went missing. Many of them spoke words of constion to her, but they were actually secretly delighted.

    No one expected this fellow to make a return!

    Even so, his reappearance was of little consequence. The emperor had already ordered his arrest, so he was dead for sure.

    Furthermore, everyone had seen him with another woman, and young miss Chu had even caught them in the act.

    Hmph! Miss Chu definitely saw how much of a yboy this man is and won¡¯t care about him anymore. We finally have a chance!

    Wait, hold on¡­ what is going on? Why isn¡¯t it going as expected?

    You¡¯re at least supposed to p his face a few times, right?

    Or maybe teach this mistress a lesson!

    Wait, this mistress is quite pretty. She doesn¡¯t seem to be inferior to young miss Chu in any way. Her chest is massive as well¡­

    Uh¡­ I guess we can¡¯t me Zu An¡­

    Zu An¡¯s mood immediately improved when he saw the Rage points pouring in. These fellows really knew how to wee him!

    Zhuxie Chixin coughed. He clearly didn¡¯t feelfortable watching this public disy of affection. ¡°Where is Mosquito Daoist?¡±

    Chu Chuyan quickly sent Zu An a voice transmission. ¡°When we heard that you guys were being chased by the Mosquito Daoist, we tried to find you as quickly as possible. However, we were toote, and saw her disappear into the dungeon with you two. We couldn¡¯t go inside the dungeon and could only wait outside. We rushed over immediately after sensing the ki eruptions over here.¡±

    Zu An gave her a grateful look. Then, he said to Zhuxie Chixin, ¡°Mosquito Daoist got away not too long ago.¡±

    ¡°She ran away? She didn¡¯t go after you?¡± Zhuxie Chixin was clearly still suspicious. ¡°Then why are there traces of battle all around us?¡±

    Zu An obviously didn¡¯t want to give away his trump cards. Pei Mianman stepped in to cover for him. ¡°Two mysterious experts appeared to fend off Mosquito Daoist. They left just before you arrived.¡±

    ¡°Mysterious experts?¡± Zhuxie Chixin looked around. One of the experts should be a metal element cultivator wielding a sword, while the other was an ice element cultivator. ¡°Who were they? Why did they save you?¡±

    Pei Mianman shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know. We didn¡¯t have time to ask them anything.¡±

    She secretly gestured towards Zu An while speaking. The n was to muddy the waters further and let him guess the identities of those two mysterious experts.

    Sure enough, Zhuxie Chixin fell deep into thought. Countless possibilities appeared in his mind, but he rejected them one after another. His head began to throb, but he still couldn¡¯t figure it out.

    ¡°We¡¯ll take the criminals back to the capital first.¡± Zhuxie Chixin said. He would investigate this matter using the Embroidered Envoy¡¯s informationwork, but only after bringing them back with him. He will find out who dared interfere in this matter.

    Zu An wasn¡¯t nning on running to begin with, so he cooperated with them.

    Chu Chuyan walked over to Pei Mianman and said with a smile, ¡°Manman, isn¡¯t there something you ought to tell me?¡±

    Pei Mianman panicked. In the end, she decided toy it all out in the open. ¡°Chuyan, Ah Zu and I have already be a true husband and wife in the dungeon.¡±

    Either way, Chu Chuyan and Zu An had already divorced each other. She might as well use this chance to solidify their rtionship. That way, she wouldn¡¯t have to subconsciously avoid this woman when she saw her in the future.

    ¡°A real husband and wife?¡± Chu Chuyan gave her a look. ¡°But you¡¯re clearly still a virgin.¡±

    Pei Mianman was stunned into silence.

    Only now did she realize that, even though they had lived as husband and wife throughout several generations and tried almost everything, it was their souls that had entered that trial. In the real world, she was still a virgin!

    Pei Mianman¡¯s face immediately became red. She was both ashamed and annoyed. That scoundrel is actually going to take my chastity three times!

 Chapter 565, Part 1: The Most Badass Little Miss Perfect in the Zhou Dynasty

    <h4>Chapter 565, Part 1: The Most Badass Little Miss Perfect in the Zhou Dynasty</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Chu Chuyan saw Pei Mianman¡¯s expression grow downcast and assumed that she was embarrassed. She sighed and said, ¡°Manman, I didn¡¯t have many friends growing up. You are my best friend.¡±

    Pei Mianman¡¯s face heated up. ¡°Sorry.¡±

    She told herself that the two of them were already divorced, and that there was nothing left between Zu An and Chuyan, but she knew that she couldn¡¯t deceive herself. After all, the divorce had been forced upon them due to the situation, and she had already gotten involved even before the divorce happened.

    Chu Chuyan couldn¡¯t help butugh when she noticed Pei Mianman blushing like a young newlywed. ¡°Do you think I¡¯m angry at you?¡±

    ¡°Wait, you don¡¯t mind?¡± Pei Mianman was stunned by Chuyan''s tone.

    ¡°If things were normal, then of course I would mind,¡± said Chu Chuyan with a sigh. ¡°But who knows what will happen to Ah Zu now? We¡¯re in the middle of a crisis, yet you were still willing to stick with him. This shows that you really do love him. How can I me you for what happened?¡±

    Pei Mianman fell silent, her initial happiness reced with worry. Zu An had provoked someone much too strong this time. There didn¡¯t seem to be any hope. ¡°He always insisted on going to the capital. He said that he can settle this issue once he gets there. Do you have any solutions?¡±

    ¡°He really said that?¡± Chu Chuyan was shocked. ¡°What kind of solution could I have? To be honest, I was hoping that the two of you would just go into hiding after leaving the dungeon. Unfortunately, Zhuxie Chixin still found you.¡±

    Pei Mianman bit her lip. She¡¯d obviously thought about this before. ¡°I suggested this to him, but he didn¡¯t want to leave you behind.¡±

    Chu Chuyan was stunned. Her eyes wandered over to Zu An, and she seemed lost in her own thoughts.

    ¡°If there really is no other choice, you could try asking your grandfather for help,¡± said Pei Mianman. ¡°Given your grandfather¡¯s status, the situation might not bepletely hopeless.¡±

    Chu Chuyan looked worried. ¡°You know of my n¡¯s rtionship with my grandfather¡¯s n. My grandfather did not approve of my mother¡¯s decision back then, and he has already cut off all overt contact¡­¡± she sighed. ¡°I¡¯ll try asking him again. We can¡¯t pass up any little crumb of hope.¡±

    Pei Mianman voiced her agreement. ¡°I will return to my n and see what I can do, but I don¡¯t have much confidence. You know about my awkward position in the n.¡±

    Chu Chuyan held her hand. From a certain point of view, they were fellow sufferers, which was why they had be close friends. Even though their personalities were entirely different, they were kindred spirits in many ways. However, she never expected the two of them to end up liking the same man.

    The soldiers nearby continued to sneak looks at them. The fight that they had envisioned did not materialize. Instead, the two women seemed to get along perfectly. What the hell is this?

    Even two ordinary married women should not be behaving like this in such a situation, let alone two stunning beauties. What kind of ck magic did that Zu An fellow possess?

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but turn around when he noticed the continuous inflow of Rage points. He too was stunned when he saw the two women holding hands.

    Are those two super open-minded, or do they actually not like me that much? How can they get along that well after finding out the truth¡­?

    ¡­

    Wrapped up in their own worries, the group of them quickly returned to the nearby inn. It wasn¡¯t actually that far away.

    Chu Chuyan saw him looking around and said, ¡°The father and daughter of the Sang n, have already been escorted back to the capital, along with young miss Zheng.¡±

    Zu An only grunted in acknowledgement.

    Chu Chuyan wanted to ask about his rtionship with Zheng Dan, but when she considered the uncertain fate that he was facing, she lost the urge to confront him.

    King Liang and Liu Yao returned as well. They had been out looking for Zu An. Zhuxie Chixin gave them an update as soon as he found them.

    King Liang and Liu Yao both sighed with relief when they saw that Zu An had been detained again. Too many things had happened on this trip. Now, they could leave the rest to Zhuxie Chixin. Whatever happened from here on out would not be their concern.

    King Liang stroked his beard when he saw Pei Mianman. He walked over and said, ¡°Miss Pei, we received a letter from the Pei n two days ago. Here it is.¡±

    Pei Mianman was confused. She opened the letter. When she saw the keepsake inside, her expression instantly changed.

    ¡°What happened?¡± Zu An and Chu Chuyan both noticed that something was wrong, and quickly showed their concern.

    Pei Mianman bit her lip, conflicting expressions flickering across her face. After a while, she said in a dejected voice, ¡°Ah Zu, I might not be able to apany you to the capital. There¡¯s something I need to do. I need to return to my n.¡±

    ¡°What happened?¡± Zu An was really worried. This girl always had a half-smile on her face. He almost never saw her like this.

    ¡°My mother sent me a note, but she didn¡¯t include any details. I¡¯m not sure what¡¯s happened either.¡± Pei Mianman looked around her. She took out the keepsake inside and said in a quiet voice, ¡°I made an arrangement with her that we would never use this signal unless the situation was absolutely urgent. That¡¯s why I have to go back and find out what¡¯s happened.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s tone grew serious. ¡°In that case, you should hurry. Also, be careful. Who knows what could be going on.¡±

    Pei Mianman wanted to say something, but she hesitated. ¡°Ah Zu, if I leave now, I¡¯m afraid that we¡¯ll never meet again.¡± She knew that, after making this trip, she might not be able to get to the capital in time. By the time she arrived, it could already be toote.

    Zu An stroked her head with a smile. ¡°What are you thinking? How could vermin like me die so easily? I¡¯ll be waiting for you at the capital. I¡¯m more worried about you. You must take care of yourself. I don¡¯t want anything to happen to you after I sort out my own situation.¡±

    ¡°Hmph! Can¡¯t you say anything nicer?¡± Pei Mianman said with a snort. She looked over at Chu Chuyan. ¡°Chuyan, please take care of Ah Zu.¡±

    Chu Chuyan had a strange look on her face. ¡°Manman, have you forgotten that Ah Zu is my husband? I would take care of him even if you hadn¡¯t said anything.¡±

    ¡°But you¡¯re already divorced,¡± Pei Miaman retorted with a snort. She leapt into Zu An¡¯s arm and got on her tiptoes, giving him a big kiss.

    Even though Zu An made it sound simple, she didn¡¯t have that much confidence in him. If the emperor wanted him dead, who in the world could prevent it?

    She knew that this separation might really be eternal, which was why she poured everything into this kiss. If not for all the eyes around them, she would even have offered all of herself to him right now.

    Within the dungeon, only their souls had been entwined together. In the real world, she was still a virgin. She was sure she would feel endless regret if this separation turned out to be eternal.

    The eyes of the surrounding guards and embroidered envoys went wide. What the hell is this? Why does a criminal on death row have such crazy luck with thedies?

    Miss Chu, why aren¡¯t you doing anything about this?!

    You have sessfully trolled the Soldiers for 1024¡­ 1024 ¡­ 1024¡­

    Chu Chuyan sighed. She actually sympathized with Pei Mianman. However, she noticed everyone around them looking at her with strange expressions, and felt extremely ufortable. She felt as though she should be doing something right now, yet she didn¡¯t know what it was. The uncertainty within her was truly hard to express.

    In the end, she could only turn her head to the side. Out of sight, out of mind.

    What a beautiful green meadow. Those trees in the distance have tender green branches, and even the birds seem like dark green parrots¡­

    This is such a beautiful scene, full of life.

    But why do I feel so strange?

    When their lips finally separated, Pei Mianman''s gorgeous face seemed even more beautiful. She looked wistfully at her lover, and said through voice transmission, ¡°Ah Zu, if something ends up happening in the capital, then I will follow in your steps.¡±

    Zu An jumped in fright. ¡°Don¡¯t say such foolish things!¡± he said hurriedly. ¡°You cannot believe that I am dead unless you see my corpse! Wait, no. Even if you see my corpse, I might be alive through some other secret method! I don¡¯t want anything tragic to happen, for example, you killing yourself when I''m not even dead! If that happens, no tears wille out even if I feel like crying! Even if you insist on doing something like that, please wait at least a decade after you¡¯re sure that I¡¯m gone¡­¡±

    Pei Mianman knew that he was saying this on purpose, to ease her anxiety. As such, she didn¡¯t argue with him. Instead, she replied, ¡°All right. I will only make my decision after I am certain. But I still hope that both of us can meet again in this world. I¡­ my body is waiting for you.¡±

    These words immediately made Zu An¡¯s blood boil. He also knew that what had happened in the trial was merely a mingling of their souls.

    Pei Mianman smiled when she noticed the changes in his body. She quickly walked away, her face red. ¡°I hope everything goes smoothly.¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin was surprised. ¡°Miss Pei¡¯s cultivation seems to have increased quite a bit.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    King Liang nodded. ¡°She looks to have already reached the pinnacle of the sixth rank, perhaps already touching the gates of the seventh rank! She is still so young!¡± His voice mirrored the other man¡¯s shock.

    Liu Yao seemed rather wistful. ¡°Truly, the world of cultivators will always have capable people. Each generation will rece thest.¡±

    He had only barely reached the ninth rank despite cultivating his entire life. He wasn¡¯t even sure if he had reached the fifth rank when he was her age.

    Zhuxie Chixin and King Liang gave him a look of disdain. This fe really was ignorant. Should you really be saying this right now?

    Inside their hearts, however, they shared simr sentiments. Pei Mianman was at the peak of the sixth rank, while Chu Chuyan was already at the seventh rank. Both of them were only young adults. The speed at which they cultivated really was frightening.

    But then, why did both of these stunning girls end up falling for Zu An?

    Because Zu An was using his Mirror Mirage to hide his aura, he only appeared to be at the fifth rank, which made him seem like a pile of sh*t beside a dazzling flower.

    Wait, no. He¡¯s a pile of sh*t beside two beautiful flowers.

    You have sessfully trolled Zhuxie Chixin for 233 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled King Liang Zhaoyi for 999 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled Liu Yao for 999 Rage points!

 Chapter 565, Part II: The Most Badass Little Miss Perfect in the Zhou Dynasty

    <h4>Chapter 565, Part II: The Most Badass Little Miss Perfect in the Zhou Dynasty</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An couldn¡¯t be bothered about these Rage points right now. He watched Pei Mianman leave with a deep sense of frustration.

    ¡°Stop looking already, she¡¯s gone.¡± Chu Chuyan appeared at his side. Her voice wasn¡¯t as calm as before.

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°Are you jealous?¡±

    ¡°Who would be jealous of you?¡± Chu Chuyan snorted and left.

    Zhuxie Chixin walked over. ¡°We¡¯re returning to the capital. Bind him up with Soul-Reaping Chains.¡±

    Chu Chuyan, who was just leaving, immediately returned to her husband¡¯s side. ¡°He decided toe back on his own, which showed that he has no ns of running. Why are you still restraining him with those chains?¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin frowned. ¡°It is merely a precaution. We won¡¯t be able to always keep watch over him.¡±

    Chu Chuyan was undeterred. ¡°He¡¯s had many chances to run away already. If you insist on binding him with Soul-Reaping Chains, then we¡¯ll just fight to the death here! Either way, he¡¯s dead when he gets to the capital anyway. What difference does it make?¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s brow tightened further, but King Liang stepped in. ¡°Commander Zhuxie, we may still face many dangers along the way. If we are all held up, and someone tries to kill him while he is powerless to defend himself, things will go poorly for us.¡±

    This was exactly what had happened to him. Strictly speaking, even if Zu An escaped, it would still be better than for him to die to his assassins. If he got away, they would still have the chance to recapture him. If he died, that would be permanent. Where would the emperor find another Phoenix Nirvana Sutra then?

    Zhuxie Chixin snorted. ¡°Now that I¡¯m around, that won¡¯t happen.¡±

    Despite his words, he did not insist on tying Zu An up.

    Zu An was finally put into a special carriage. Even though it wasn¡¯t as splendid as Liu Yao¡¯s carriage, it was much better than a prison carriage. After so many assassination attempts, they didn¡¯t dare ce him in an open prison carriage. The walls of this carriage had been carved with special formations that could block the arrows of any potential assassins.

    Chu Chuyan demanded to be ced in the carriage as well. Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s first reaction was to refuse.

    What kind of joke is this? How can a criminal be allowed to freely interact with others?

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    When Zhuxie Chixin learned that Zheng Dan and Zu An had shared the same carriage, he secretly wished death upon his former jailers.

    Absolutely preposterous! Putting a man and a woman together like that¡­ If something happened, it would shame the entire court.

    Seeing Chu Chuyan¡¯s cold expression, though, he figured that that was the least of his worries. However, since the emperor himself had ordered this arrest, it was still best to prevent others from interacting with him.

    Unexpectedly, it was Zu An¡¯s turn to kick up a fuss. He railed about how this was his final journey, and that it was inhuman not to allow a husband and wife to spend their final moments together. He threatened to fight to the death instead of allowing himself to be escorted to the capital.

    Zhuxie Chixin felt his head begin to throb. He was finally experiencing King Liang and Liu Yao¡¯s earlier frustrations for himself.

    ¡°I can protect him inside and serve as a final line of protection,¡± Chu Chuyan said.

    Zhuxie Chixin pondered it over, and finally agreed. Even though he believed that he had brought enough men to deal with any situation, it was still better to be safe than sorry.

    He was also aware that there could be spies among their party. If they found an opening and attacked Zu An, things would be truly dicey.

    He might suspect anyone else, but there was no way Chu Chuyan would collude with any other powers.

    ¡­

    Their group set out. Outside the carriage, the guards were extremely vignt. On the contrary, it was much more peaceful inside.

    ¡°Why are you staring at me?¡± Chu Chuyan asked. She touched her own face, feeling slightly ufortable under his gaze. She thought that she had something on her face.

    ¡°My wife, it¡¯s been too long. You¡¯ve be prettier and prettier.¡± Zu An said with a chuckle.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s face froze. ¡°Who are you calling your wife? We¡¯re already divorced.¡±

    She didn¡¯t want to cause trouble while Pei Mianman had been around, but now that they were alone, she did not need to worry about that.

    Zu An was unfazed. ¡°Even though you say that, I know you still care about me. You helped me out by convincing Zhuxie Chixin to agree to this arrangement.¡±

    Chu Chuyan sighed. She knew as well that now wasn¡¯t the time to get jealous. She sent him a ki transmission. ¡°I argued for this arrangement because I wanted to give you a chance. I¡¯ll help you escape when a good opportunity presents itself.¡±

    Zu An looked at her. ¡°But if we do that, what about you? What about the Chu n?¡±

    Chu Chuyan became quiet. After a long silence, she said, ¡°I can¡¯t be bothered with all of that now, given how things stand. The emperor cannot destroy our n over this matter, even if he wants to. Our n still has some connections. We didn¡¯t have time to use them in Brightmoon City, but we definitely will not submit so easily this time.¡±

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°There is no need for you and the Chu n to take that risk. I¡¯ll just go to the capital. I might still be spared.¡±

    Chu Chuyan was curious. ¡°Just what kind of n do you have?¡±

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°I actually don¡¯t have that much confidence in it. If I talk about it now, I¡¯ll only lower the chances of sess.¡±

    ¡°Then I won¡¯t ask about it anymore.¡± Chu Chuyan bit her lip. ¡°I¡¯ll seek someone out once we reach the capital. If he¡¯s willing to help, he might be able to free you from the emperor¡¯s hands.¡±

    Frightened, Zu An quickly said, ¡°Please don¡¯t do anything foolish! You aren¡¯t allowed to sacrifice your own purity for my sake!¡±

    All the stupid TV dramas he¡¯d watched had left him withsting trauma. For the sake of the male lead, the female lead would beg the viin for mercy. The viins would inevitably demand that she offer her body as payment, to which she would agree¡­

    Did the directors make up all that garbage because it was their fetish, or did they do it to mess with society?

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s fair cheeks blushed when she understood what he meant. ¡°Hmph! What kind of nonsense are you thinking of? I was going to ask my grandfather for help!¡±

    Zu An was surprised. ¡°Who is your grandfather? Is he really amazing?¡±

    After all, the emperor wanted to get him to hand over the secrets to immortality. He really couldn¡¯t picture a single man persuading someone like that to let him go.

    After a slight hesitation, Chu Chuyan said, ¡°There is no point in hiding it from you at this point. My grandfather is Qin Zheng, the Vanguard General. His brother, my granduncle, is Qin Se, the Defense General.¡±

    Qin Zheng, Qin Se?[1]

    Zu An was just about to mock them for their weird names when he suddenly remembered what Shang Liuyu had said about these positions, back in Brightmoon Academy.

    The Vanguard General was in charge of the six armies to the north. The entire dynasty¡¯s elite troops were under hismand.

    The two guard armies that the cocky Liu Yaomanded were part of these six armies. He served under the Vanguard General.

    The Defense General was in charge of all of the mid- and high-level military officials. He also managed the troops in the outskirts of the capital.

    In the army, the Great General and White Rider General held the highest ranks, but these were more positions of honor rather than real authority.

    On the contrary, the Vanguard General and the Defense General were active members of the military. To a certain degree, her two grandfathers were considered the number one and number two officers in the military.

    Zu An was rather stunned. ¡°Your grandfather¡¯s n is so powerful! Why are there so many people in Brightmoon City bullying your Chu n?¡±

    Chu Chuyan sighed. ¡°It¡¯s an old story. Back then, my grandfather did not agree to my mother¡¯s marriage to my father, and arranged a different marriage for her. Later on, my mother chose to elope with my father, leaving him furious. He severed all ties to her.

    ¡°Both my grandfather and my mother are stubborn and unyielding, and they haven¡¯t contacted each other, even after all these years. Only in recent years did they slowly begin to reach out to one another because of her children. Even then, it was only out of concern for us.

    ¡°Grandfather hates my father. The fact that he hasn¡¯t tried to do anything to my father is already a blessing. Why would he step in to help the Chu n?¡±

    Zu Anughed, and then clung to her thighs. ¡°I never expected this at all! I ended up marrying the most awesome Miss Perfect in the entire country, as well as the granddaughter of the most badass officials! I definitely have to cling tightly to these thick thighs.¡±[2]

    Chu Chuyan tried many times, but just couldn¡¯t push him away. In the end, she had to let him do what he wanted. Her face was beet red. ¡°What nonsense are you spouting? There are so many girls with simr or better backgrounds in the capital! I¡¯m nothing like what you describe. Furthermore, strictly speaking, it was I who married you¡­ Also, what do you mean when you say my thighs are thick?¡±

    Are they chubbier than Pei Mianman¡¯s? Of course, she was too embarrassed to ask him that.

    Zu An now remembered that he was a drafted son-inw, but he didn¡¯t care. ¡°Either way, we¡¯ve already divorced, so the past doesn¡¯t count. I¡¯ll just have to court you again this time.¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s cold and emotionless exterior shattered instantly when she sensed his hands inching up her thighs. Her face flushed red. This fellow really is a rascal through and through

    1. These are musical instruments.

    2. Clinging to someone¡¯s thighs is ng for mooching.

 Chapter 566, Part I: Scandal

    <h4>Chapter 566, Part I: Scandal</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Stop¡­¡± Chu Chuyan cried out and stopped his naughty hands. ¡°There are people outside!¡±

    Zu An knew that she was easily embarrassed and that he probably wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything intimate with her within this carriage, so he did not persist. He wrapped his arms around her waist instead. ¡°This is okay, right?¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s body was cool to the touch, and wrapping his arms around her was extremely pleasant. It was the perfect feeling in the summer heat.

    ¡°We¡¯re already divorced, we shouldn¡¯t be doing this¡­¡± Chu Chuyan¡¯s face reddened slightly.

    ¡°We can still be friends even if we¡¯re divorced. It¡¯s not as though we¡¯ve never held each other before,¡± Zu An said shamelessly.

    ¡°Do you know of any friends who hold each other like this¡­?¡± Chu Chuyan said with a snort. However, she knew that they had only divorced because they had no choice, so she did not push him away. Instead, she buried her head in his chest. ¡°Ah Zu, what happened to the two of you? Can you tell me about it?¡±

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°You¡¯re probably most interested in what happened between Pei Mianman and I, right?¡±

    ¡°You really have some nerve.¡± Chu Chuyan straightened. She felt her teeth aching when she saw his mischievous smile. ¡°I didn¡¯t see you for a few months. Then I lost my husband, and now I find out that he¡¯d gotten together with my friend. Despite it all, I¡¯m not holding it against you.¡±

    Zu An immediately hugged her and said apologetically, ¡°What does my wife want to know? I will tell you everything in great detail¡­¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s heart softened when she heard the words ¡®my wife¡¯. Even though the two of them were officially divorced, that was not how she felt inside. She was still extremely happy that he addressed her as such.

    Leaning closely against each other, they shared what had happened to each of them over this period. Of course, Zu An had the most to say.

    ¡°You spent several decades with Manman in the dungeon?!¡± Chu Chuyan was rather envious. She hadn¡¯t felt that way earlier on, since she hadn¡¯t been sure what Zu An¡¯s fate would be, and since Pei Mianman was also her good friend and not aplete outsider.

    However, when she learned that they had spent several decades together as true spouses, she lost her cool. Why did it now seem as though they were the real married couple, while she and Zu An hadn¡¯t spent nearly enough time together?

    Zu An felt a bit guilty. ¡°To be honest, I don¡¯t think it was actually a few decades. The flow of time in the dungeon was quite strange. If someone told me that it was a few decades, I would have believed it, although, in reality, it was only a moment. We didn¡¯t really spend decades together.¡±

    ¡°Even if it wasn¡¯t a few decades, it was still at least a few years!¡± Chu Chuyan said, glowering. She didn¡¯t know why she was so angry, yet the more she thought about this, the worse she felt.

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Chuyan for 233¡­ 233¡­ 233¡­

    Zu An gently took her into his embrace again. ¡°My wife, I am so happy that you¡¯re jealous about what happened. I thought that you didn¡¯t care about me anymore.¡±

    Chu Chuyan finally lost herposure. ¡°Why do you only feel happy when you make others angry? Are you some sort of freak?¡±

    Zu An knew that persisting with this topic wasn¡¯t a wise choice, and that it might really spiral out of control. He quickly changed the topic and said, ¡°My dear wife, please tell me more about the capital. That way, I won¡¯t be going therepletely ignorant.¡±

    He¡¯d heard some things about it from the Sang father and daughter earlier on, but they had little time for leisurely chatter since they had been on the run. He was still pretty clueless about the capital.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s expression grew serious, now that he had turned to more important matters. ¡°Besides His Majesty, there are eight people who are considered to hold the highest official positions, andmand the greatest prestige. Everyone refers to them as the Eight Dukes: The Grand Preceptor, the Grand Tutor, the Grand Protector, the Minister of Education, the Minister of Works, the Grand Minister of War, and the Great General.¡±

    ¡°By the way, the father of Shi Kun, whom you offended in Brightmoon City, is one of the eight dukes. He is the court¡¯s Grand Minister of War, Shi Miao.¡±[1]

    Zu An had a strange look on his face. ¡°Why does everyone have such weird names?¡±

    Chu Chuyan was momentarily speechless.

    What goes through this dummy¡¯s head every day?

    She continued, ¡°Of course, you don¡¯t need to be too worried. Even though the Eight Dukes possess high social standing, these positions do not possess any real authority. They do not manage any official affairs. That¡¯s why, even though you¡¯ve offended the Shi n, things aren¡¯t as bad as you think.¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°That Shi Kun always looked so smug, and I¡¯ve always thought his n was powerful. I guess he¡¯s just a paper tiger.¡±

    ¡°I only said that because I didn¡¯t want you to feel too much pressure,¡± Chu Chuyan said in warning. ¡°However, even though the Eight Dukes are only nominal positions, their status cannot be denied. Their disciples are scattered throughout the court, and many of their own descendants hold high positions. You cannot lower your guard.¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°I¡¯ve already offended the emperor himself. Beside him, the Shi n is nothing.¡±

    Chu Chuyan sighed. ¡°You¡¯re really optimistic.¡± He was right, though. As of this moment, the greatest foe was the emperor. The Shi n was insignificantpared to him.

    She began to exin the various powers in the capital. ¡°Under the eight dukes are the White Rider General, the War Chariot General, the Vanguard General, the Defense General, and other generals¡­

    ¡°The Vanguard General and the Defense General are my grandfathers. I already told you about them earlier¡­ King Qi holds the title of White Horse General. This was originally a nominal position, without an actual militarymand, but King Qi is an entirely different case altogether. He still has trusted men under him.¡±

    Zu An nodded. ¡°I understand. Anyone who can go against the emperor can¡¯t be an ordinary person.¡±

    He¡¯d heard much about King Qi back in Brightmoon City. King Qi looked as though he was battling his nephew, the crown prince, for the throne, but in reality, his battle had always been against the emperor. There was no way he was a weakling.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°The War Chariot General, Liu Guang, is the father of the empress, as well as the older brother of Liu Yao.¡±

    Zu An figured that this position was equivalent to the leader of the royal rtives. The emperor probably put him in such a lofty position to keep King Qi in check.

    Even though Liu Yao had nine ranks of cultivation, he seemed a bit too hotheaded and crude. Zu An wondered if his older brother was morepetent.

    ¡°Then what position does King Liang hold?¡± Zu An said curiously. There was no way he was only a noble without any official post.

    Chu Chuyan replied, ¡°King Liang holds the position of Rear General.¡±

    ¡°Rear General?¡± Zu An was stunned. This position sounded quiteplicated.

    Chu Chuyan exined, ¡°Let me exin. The six armies are the Vanguard, the Defense, the Left and Right Guard, the Brave Riders, and the Gueris. The Vanguard leads the military into battle, while the Defense is in charge of defending the army camp. The Left and Right Guard aremanded by the Left Guard General and Right Guard General. They ensure the safety of the imperial pce. The Brave Riders and the Gueris are the mobile forces of the imperial pce, and are used to deal with any sudden emergencies. These six armies make up the military force of the imperial pce.

    ¡°Besides these forces, there are four armies within the capital city that are in charge of the city gates and public security. Each army is in charge of one region¡ªfront, rear, left and right. The ones inmand are known as the Front, Rear, Left, and Right Generals. King Liang is the Rear General.

    ¡°The Garrisoned Rider, Infantry, Monster Rider, Eternal River, Roaring Fire, and Reserve armies are stationed in the city outskirts. Theirmanders are known as the six high military officials. These six armies make up the core force of the empire¡¯s battlefield operations. They are the first to set out to battle.¡±

    Zu An nodded. ¡°So that¡¯s how everything is set up!¡± He finally understood the military structure of this world.

    Chu Chuyan continued, ¡°The core of authority in the court resides within the Imperial Secretariat, the Central Secretariat, and Chancellery. The Imperial Secretariat is made up of the emperor¡¯s own trusted ministers, who discuss important matters together with His Majesty. They are in charge of drafting up edicts. The Chancellery are in charge of the examination and approval of edicts. The Central Secretariat is in charge of implementation and dealing with specific governmental affairs¡­¡±

    Zu An asked some questions from time to time, and soon understood the workings of the government. The Central Secretariat was a ce where many extremely important matters were decided.

    The Secretariat Supervisor was in charge of the Central Secretariat, and the Director was his second-inmand. There were several assistant ministers and other officials under them.

    The Chancellery wasposed of many eunuchs, and served as assistants to the emperor in his daily life. While the officials within the Central Secretariat were not allowed to live in the imperial pce, many of those in the Chancellery were eunuchs and pce attendants, so there was no issue here.

    Of course, there was no way a pce eunuch could take care of everything. After all, a eunuch¡¯s knowledge and experiences were limited. That was why the emperor granted many of his trusted aides in the Chancellery the authority toe and go freely about the pce.

    The heads of the Chancellery were the Chief Attendants, and there were normally more than just one. There were four in the current dynasty, and under them were the court gentlemen,prehensive duty personnel, and other officials.

    The Imperial Secretariat was the organization in charge of implementation. It was led by the Director of the Imperial Secretariat, and his assistant directors served under him. Beneath them were the high officials of various departments.

    In his previous world, many theatrical works involved the main character carrying out a grand scheme. Once he took care of the Imperial Secretariat, his mission would beplete¡­ In reality, though, these various Imperial Secretariat officials weren¡¯t really the ones who had most of the authority, because they merely implemented the policies, but had no say in making them.

    Even though these three major departments were equal in name, strictly speaking, the Central Secretariat and Chancellery had greater power than the Imperial Secretariat. Of course, nothing was absolute. If the emperor was weaker and less prestigious, or if he wasn¡¯tpetent, then the Central Secretariat and Chancellery may lose power, and the Imperial Secretariat would instead be the main arm of the government.

    However, the current emperor was the most powerful cultivator in the world. That elevated the status of the Central Secretariat and the Chancellery.

    ¡°Oh, right. The Imperial Secretariat, Pei Ming, and the Chief Attendant of the Chancellery, Pei Zheng, are both from the Pei n. That¡¯s the same major n that Manmanes from,¡± Chu Chuyan suddenly added.

    1. Miao means sprout.

 Chapter 566, Part II: Scandal

    <h4>Chapter 566, Part II: Scandal</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Your ns are all so powerful?¡± Zu An¡¯s eyes went wide. The ns that these women were from wielded such staggering power that he almost didn¡¯t feel like trying so hard anymore.

    Chu Chuyan frowned. ¡°Manman¡¯s status in her n is a little¡­ awkward. It¡¯s not as morous as you think.¡±

    ¡°What is going on in her n?¡± Zu An asked quickly. ¡°There¡¯s also the issue of her mother. She looked like she was in a hurry to go see her.¡±

    Chu Chuyan opened her mouth to speak, then hesitated. ¡°I think it¡¯s best if Manman tells you about her situation herself. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s something I should talk about.¡±

    Zu An had a pensive look on his face when he saw her uncertainty. Was it an affair¡­?

    Chu Chuyan got back to the main topic. ¡°Besides these three departments, there are nine major ministers. They are in charge of various political and economic affairs in various fields. For example, the Minister of Ceremonies is in charge of academies country-wide. They wield great authority.¡±

    Zu An knew that Brightmoon Academy had outstanding teachers, and also nurtured many talented individuals. There were many academies like this throughout the variousmanderies within this empire. All of them added together were truly a formidable force.

    ¡°This is a rough summary of how the capital is structured. You haven¡¯t met them yet, so you might not be able to match names to faces. I¡¯ll introduce them to you one by one in the future, if we have a chance.¡± Chu Chuyan grew dejected. She wasn¡¯t sure if Ah Zu would even be alive after his meeting with the emperor.

    Zu An pondered over what he¡¯d heard, then said, ¡°Onest question. Of all of these people you mentioned, who is in King Qi¡¯s faction, and who remains loyal to the emperor? Who has remained neutral?¡±

    The Chu n had been buffeted by both sides in Brightmoon City. The battle between the two factions would surely be more intense within the capital.

    It was imperative that he sort these things out first, to give him some confidence when he faced the emperorter on.

    Chu Chuyan looked about cautiously, then said through voice transmission, ¡°No one will publicly admit to these things. However, it is still possible to tell which camp they are in through their day-to-day words and actions.

    ¡°The core of King Qi¡¯s faction should be the Qin, Yu, and Pei n. The Qin n is my grandfather¡¯s n. My grandfather¡¯s older sister is King Qi¡¯s mother. As King Qi¡¯s maternal uncles, they naturally support King Qi¡­¡±

    Zu An clicked his tongue. Only now do I find out that your grandfather is a firm supporter of the King Qi party. Why then did the Chu n bother to remain neutral all this while¡­?

    ¡°The leader of the Yu n, Yu Xuanchong, is one of the Imperial Secretariat¡¯s confidential assistants. The Yu n started out in the ki stone business, which made them an extremely wealthy n.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression suddenly grew strange. ¡°What is Yu Yanluo¡¯s connection with the Yu n?¡±

    He remembered that he had saved a stunning young madam in a valley not long after arriving in this world. She seemed to be in the ki stone business as well. In the past, she was known as the capital¡¯s number-one beauty.

    That woman turned out to be insincere, though. She said that she was going to repay his kindness, yet he couldn¡¯t find her in Brightmoon City afterwards!

    Damn it all! Pretty girls are all liars¡­

    Chu Chuyan was surprised. ¡°You know about Yu Yanluo?¡±

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t she the number-one beauty in the capital some time ago? She should be famous, right? Why is it weird that I know about her?¡± Zu An looked as if he were stating the obvious.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s face reddened, and she snorted. ¡°Men are all pigs!¡±

    She finally knew why her mother always reacted this way whenever her father talked about Yu Yanluo.

    However, she still went on,¡°Yu Yanluo is from the Yu n. The Yu n has always produced handsome men and beautiful women. They are a n that many great ns wish to intermarry with. Yu Yanluo is the most outstanding among them¡­¡±

    Zu An wrapped his arms around her soft waist and gave her a peck on her cold cheek. ¡°I don¡¯t think the Yu n is all that special. The Chu n¡¯s women are prettier.¡±

    Chu Chuyan knew that he was praising her. She couldn¡¯t help but feel happy inside, but there was no way she would admit to it. ¡°You might not say that if you saw Yu Yanluo in person. After my dad saw her once, he never forgot about her since. Hmph¡­¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯ve never seen her before¡­¡± Zu An mumbled.

    When he thought back to their first meeting, though, he had to admit that she was stunning.

    Chu Chuyan continued, ¡°The Pei n has two main branches. The first branch belongs to Waterfront Duke Pei Zheng, the n leader. His official position is Chief Attendant, and he is also Manman¡¯s grandfather.¡±

    ¡°So he¡¯s Manman¡¯s grandfather.¡± Zu An immediately had a much better impression of him.

    Chu Chuyan wanted to say something, but hesitated. ¡°The situation might not be that harmonious. You shouldn¡¯t let your impressions be so easily swayed.¡±

    She continued, ¡°The other branch is led by Greatdeer Duke, Pei Ming. He is the Director of the Imperial Secretariat. Pei Zheng¡¯s branch is a firm supporter of King Qi, but Pei Ming¡¯s allegiance is much more ambiguous. As a whole, though, the n should be leaning towards King Qi¡¯s faction.

    ¡°The emperor¡¯s faction includes the Yang and Meng ns, as well as King Liang. You have already met King Liang and the people of the Yang n. The leader of the Meng n, Meng Jing, is one of the Eight Dukes. He is the Minister of Works, and enjoys great prestige. His son, Meng Yi, is the Central Secretariat Supervisor, who manages the Central Secretariat¡­¡±

    ¡°What is his son¡¯s name again?¡± Zu An asked in shock.

    ¡°Meng Yi. Do you know him?¡± Chu Chuyan was confused.

    Zu An sighed. This is Meng Yi we¡¯re talking about! Which man doesn¡¯t know about him? What was his father thinking when he gave his son that name?!

    Chu Chuyan didn¡¯t understand what he was getting at, and continued. ¡°Meng Yi has a daughter, who is married to the reserve ruler, Zhao Ping.¡±

    ¡°Reserve ruler?¡±

    ¡°The reserve rulers are the crown prince¡¯s younger brothers. The crown prince has many younger brothers. You¡¯ve already met King Wu in North Order Commandery. He is also one of the reserve rulers.¡±

    ¡°Ah, King Wu. I remember that guy.¡± Zu An had a strange look on his face. Not only did he remember him, he had a deep impression of that man. He was even more familiar with Madam Wu.

    Chu Chuyan stared at him, her cheeks turning slightly red. ¡°Why do you have that look on your face? Are you thinking about something nasty?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face heated up. He was too embarrassed to talk about what had transpired between him and Madam Wu, so he quickly changed the topic. ¡°Oh, right. Since the crown prince has so many younger brothers, and all of those younger brothers seem quite intelligent, why does the emperor still insist on making a dummy the crown prince?¡±

    Judging from his dealings with King Wu, apart from some seemingly strange fetishes, he seemed much smarter and more capable than the average person. He was definitely more than qualified to hold the position of crown prince. As for the current crown prince, even though everyone spoke ambiguously about him, he was clearly an idiot.

    Chu Chuyan replied, ¡°I reckon His Majesty wishes that one of his more¡­ normal¡­ sons could be the crown prince, but it¡¯s just not meant to be. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re familiar with the story behind the emperor and King Qi. Even though the two aren¡¯t blood brothers, the current emperor was given to his uncle to adopt. This uncle was thete emperor when he was younger. However, the political situation was confusing back then. As King Qi was still too young, the current emperor, who was an adult, seeded him. King Qi actually has the qualifications to seed the throne.

    ¡°His Majesty sustained great injuries from the battles against the foreign tribes in his earlier years, so his time is already limited. Meanwhile, King Qi is wise and capable, and many ministers believe that the throne should pass to King Qi. His Majesty wishes to pass the throne to his own son, and the only way he could do that is by sticking to the rules and passing it onto the eldest son of his first wife. If he skipped over him and chose someone else, the choice of sessor would be apetition of the worthy. If that happened, which current prince couldpare to King Qi?

    ¡°That¡¯s why, even though his majesty knows that the crown prince is rather slow, he has no choice but to designate him the crown prince.¡±

    Zu An was confused. ¡°Would a dummy like that be able to keep hold of his position, though? Doesn¡¯t the current emperor fear that our entire country might copse under his rule?¡±

    Chu Chuyan exined, ¡°Even though the crown prince isn¡¯t too bright, he isn¡¯t tantly stupid. With wise subjects to assist him, ruling isn¡¯t impossible. The crown prince has heirs as well. Even though they are young, they don¡¯t have any problems with their intellect. Things would settle down once the throne passes on to one of them.¡±

    Zu An was shocked. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that the crown prince only got married recently. Yet he already has a son?¡±

    Chu Chuyan blushed. She quietly said, ¡°The heir wasn¡¯t birthed by the crown prince¡¯s wife. Back then, his majesty was worried that the crown prince wasn¡¯t¡­ wasn¡¯t familiar with the ways of the world, so he granted him a beautiful pce concubine. Subsequently, this concubine became pregnant. Because she didn¡¯t want to cause any conflict with the crown princess, she returned to the pce to give birth there.¡±

    Zu An had a weird look on his face. ¡°Does this childe from the stupid crown prince¡¯s seed or the emperor¡¯s? How could the concubine go back to live in the imperial pce? This surely is a huge scandal!¡±

 Chapter 567: The Capital City

    <h4>Chapter 567: The Capital City</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Chu Chuyan was rmed. ¡°Please watch what you say!¡±

    She looked around quickly. Satisfied that no one had heard anything, she said quietly ,¡°The Embroidered Envoy are His Majesty¡¯s eyes and ears, and Zhuxie Chixin is the emperor¡¯s most loyal aide! If news of what you said reached the emperor¡¯s ears, you¡¯d be dead for sure!¡±

    However, Zu An didn¡¯t seem to mind. He shrugged and said, ¡°I¡¯m already in such dire straits, it doesn¡¯t really matter. If His Majesty finds out, then so be it.¡±

    Chu Chuyan gently held his hand tofort him. A moment passed before she spoke again. ¡°Actually, several rumors that echoed your thoughts did spread. Without proof, though, they only remained as spection.¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°How can anyone other than the main actors have any proof? There is something else that I¡¯m curious about. All the other princes seem incredibly intelligent. Why is the crown prince the only one who is dumb?¡±

    Chu Chuyan frowned. ¡°There¡¯s no consensus on this subject either. The fiend races im that His Majesty has too much blood on his hands, and that this is retribution. Some humans believe that someone might have done something to the crown prince while he was still young, leading to his current state¡­ Of course, these are just rumors, and might not be true.¡±

    ¡°Wind in an empty cave has toe from somewhere. They might not bepletely unfounded.¡± Zu An slipped into deep thought.

    When they were done discussing important matters, they turned to more personal things. Chu Chuyan said with a gentle voice, ¡°Ah Zu, the Chu n is truly grateful for what you¡¯ve done. If it wasn¡¯t for you, we might have been destroyed. We¡¯ve never had a chance to formally express our gratitude yet.¡±

    Zu Anughed and said, ¡°Aren¡¯t you my wife? Who else would I help if I don¡¯t help you?¡±

    Chu Chuyan shook her head. ¡°Many married couples aren¡¯t willing to go that far for each other. There are too many examples of couples giving up on each other before a real disaster. You even ced yourself in danger for the sake of the Chu n. Few husbands in the world are able to do something like that.¡±

    Zu An leaned backwards. ¡°Yes, keep stroking my ego just like that. How are you going to thank me, then? You can¡¯t just use words, right? That wouldn¡¯t be sincere at all.¡±

    Chu Chuyan blushed. She moved closer to him and gave him a kiss.

    Right when she was about to pull back, she felt a pair of arms wrap tightly around her waist, and a pair of warm lips pressed against hers.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s entire body went rigid, but she quickly rxed, and warmly received her lover¡¯s affection.

    Her head was in an absolute mess. However, a sudden slight chill caused her to quickly snap out of her daze, and she pushed him away in a hurry.

    It was one thing for him to reached his hands into her clothes, but this fellow had actually begun to remove her clothes!

    There were still so many people outside. Her fair, snow colored cheeks were alreadypletely red.

    This rascal is getting more and more skilled! He probably practiced it on Manman in the dungeon¡­

    Annoyed by this thought, she moved closer and bit down on his shoulder.

    ¡°Ssss!¡± Zu An sucked in air through his teeth. Where did thise from?

    Is she ming me for what I just did? Aren¡¯t we already so familiar with each other? He had no idea that she was currently jealous of another woman.

    ¡°I¡¯ll take my leave for now. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea for me to stay inside this carriage all the time,¡± Chu Chuyan said with a huff. She left the carriage after sorting out her clothes.

    Zu An grew gloomy. He began to fiddle with his spatial storage out of boredom, and mentally went through the things he had learned. He wasn¡¯t going to forget something as important as the Primordial Origin Sutra¡¯s exorcism properties again.

    Unexpectedly, he found a secret manual: ¡®me de¡¯. He hadn¡¯t been able to cultivate this before because he hadn¡¯t awakened the fire element. Now that he could borrow Daji¡¯s fire element, he could give it a try.

    Zu An even summoned Daji to see if she could learn it as well. After all, she was also a fire element user. Unfortunately, she couldn¡¯t cultivate it without her soul. Zu An gave up after trying several times. ¡°I should¡¯ve let Manman give it a try.¡± Then again, he remembered how powerful herbat skills were. Her mes could transform into a fire dragon or a rose flower. Those skills were probably better than this one.

    He calmed himself down and began to examine it closely, and the various moves within the me de manual slowly yed out in his mind. His only regret was that he couldn¡¯t put it to the test immediately.

    Nothing else unusual happened along the way. With Zhuxie Chixin, King Liang, and Liu Yao here, as well as arge contingent made up of the Embroidered Envoy and Imperial Guards, there was no way a small group of assassins could do anything. Only a giant rebel army would stand a chance.

    As they drew nearer to the capital, Chu Chuyan grew more and more worried, and regret began to creep into her heart. They were already in critical danger, yet she had let petty jealousy ovee her earlier!

    Several imperial guards came by, trying to gain some favors from her, but she only found them annoying. She gave a few curt responses, then went back inside the carriage.

    Those guards sighed as they stared at her graceful figure. ¡°She really is a goddess, descended from the highest of heavens! Why is that Zu An so lucky?¡±

    ¡°Is he though? We¡¯re almost at the capital. He doesn¡¯t have many days left to live.¡±

    ¡°Who cares, man. If I could be young miss Chu¡¯s husband for even a single day, I wouldn¡¯t give a sh*t if I died tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Look at this disgusting bootlicker.¡±

    ¡°What, you wouldn¡¯t?¡±

    ¡°Of course I wouldn¡¯t! I need two days at the very least.¡±

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, inside the carriage, Zu An couldn¡¯t help but chuckle. ¡°It seems your charm is still as potent as ever.¡±

    Chu Chuyan blushed. ¡°Even you are making fun of me,¡± she said with a snort.

    She could vaguely pick up what they were saying behind her back as well. Even though she was a little annoyed, she wouldn¡¯t really do anything about it. Cutting out their tongues as soon as they said something unpleasant was something only a witch would do. It just didn¡¯t match her style.

    She suddenly wrinkled her nose. ¡°Huh? Why is there a strange smell in here?¡±

    Zu An began to sweat buckets. It was probably Daji¡¯s scent, lingering in the air. That¡¯s strange, though. Daji doesn¡¯t even have a soul, so there¡¯s no way she would wear any fragrances on herself. Where the hell did this smelle from, then?

    Also, this bloody woman¡¯s nose is like a dog¡¯s! Why is she so sensitive towards other people¡¯s smells? Everything is the same to us guys¡ªit all smells good anyway.

    He didn¡¯t dare summon Daji to introduce her. After all, Chu Chuyan had already been so jealous just a few days ago. He¡¯d only be asking for a swift death if he summoned another woman now.

    He¡¯d tell her about it after she calmed down a little.

    Zu An quickly changed the topic. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that it was better if you didn¡¯t stay inside this carriage all the time? Why does it seem like you¡¯ve been staying longer and longer recently?¡±

    Chu Chuyan sighed. ¡°Ah Zu, it¡¯s only three days before we reach the capital.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He knew that she was worried for his safety. After all, from her perspective, his future looked grim.

    He couldn¡¯t reply to her, though, because a pair of soft lips were pressed against his.

    After his initial shock, Zu An reacted quickly. He knew that she was being so proactive because she was afraid that they would soon be separated forever.

    Zu An felt a tender warmth surge within him, and he immediately embraced her slim waist.

    Suddenly, Chu Chuyan moved her tender body upwards, and faint snowkes seemed to flutter around the two of them.

    ¡°What is this?¡± Zu An asked curiously.

    Chu Chuyan''s cheeks were rosy and beautiful. Her voice was incredibly soft. ¡°This blocks any sound from getting out¡­¡±

    Zu An trembled. He never expected such a proactive move from her usually cold and easily-embarrassed self. He could no longer hold himself back and threw himself at her. ¡°Don¡¯t¡­ don¡¯t take off my clothes. There won¡¯t be enough time if someonees in¡­¡± Chu Chuyan said, biting her lip. She never imagined that she would one day utter such words.

    When she thought about how much Zu An had done for her, she gradually calmed down.

    Her warning made sense to Zu An. If someone caught them in the act, he would be the one losing out. He let it be, and the two of them made do.

    They were newlyweds, yet they had been forced apart due to family circumstances, and were only reunited after such a long time apart. When sparks flew, there was no way for them to hold themselves back.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Chu Chuyan clenched her teeth and held it all in. Even though she had already done what she could to stop any sound from leaking out, she still didn¡¯t dare make any noise. However, the longer things went on, the more quickly her body failed her¡­

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, the imperial guards outside nced at the carriage from time to time.

    ¡°Why does it seem like the carriage is shaking a little? Do you think¡­¡±

    ¡°Shut up! First Miss Chu is a goddess among goddesses. There¡¯s no way it¡¯s what you¡¯re thinking!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right, haha¡­ But he is still her husband. My mind can¡¯t help but wander when they¡¯re both hiding inside.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to worry. That Zu fellow doesn¡¯t have many days left to live, anyway. Once First Miss Chu recovers her freedom, she¡¯ll be fair game for all of us.¡±

    ¡°As for me, I don¡¯t even have any excessive expectations. I¡¯d be satisfied if I could just exchange a few more words with her.¡±

    ¡°Pah! Disgusting bootlicker. I¡¯m honestly embarrassed to be in the same group as you.¡±

    ¡­

    After what seemed like an eternity, this unattainable goddess was left lying in Zu An¡¯s embrace, drained of all energy. Her rosyplexion and her blissful expression belied her earlier bliss.

    ¡°Ah Zu, I¡¯ll have to go off on my own earlier. We¡¯ll meet again at the capital.¡± Chu Chuyan¡¯s fingers gently caressed her lover¡¯s face, her eyes filled with reluctance.

    Zu An knew that she was going to ask her grandfather for help. Even though he knew that there was little chance of sess, he didn¡¯t want to dampen her mood. He lowered his head and kissed her glistening red lips. ¡°Let¡¯s leave everything to fate. There¡¯s no need to try to force an oue. You have to trust me. I have my own way out.¡±

    Chu Chuyan grunted in acknowledgement, then snuggled against him like a kitten. She wanted to stay like this, forever and ever¡­

    Unfortunately, they still had to separate in the end. After a short rest to recover her strength, she left.

    ¡­

    Zu An was bored to death after she left. Fortunately, they reached the capital in three days.

    Zu An was quite shaken when he saw the magnificent city gates. He could vaguely sense a strange pressure surrounding him after entering the city.

    As if sensing his confusion, Zhuxie Chixin said, ¡°There is arge formation protecting the capital. It intimidates petty scoundrels and restricts all flight. Those who wantonly cause trouble in the capital will suffer a vicious rebound from the formation. Don¡¯t say I didn¡¯t warn you.¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°I don¡¯t have many days left to live in the capital anyway. These restrictions don¡¯t matter much to me.¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin was taken aback. ¡°You¡¯re surprisingly open-minded. It is already dark, so we¡¯ll spend the night in the city. We¡¯ll leave for the pce tomorrow morning.¡±

    Zu An frowned. What kind of joke is this? This is the technique for granting eternal life that the emperor needs! Forget about it being dark¡ªeven if the emperor was plowing away at a concubine, he should immediately summon me once he learned that I arrived, right?

    Why are they keeping me out in the city for a night? They¡¯re taking risks for no reason.

    Something¡¯s not right!

 Chapter 568: Pretty Features

    <h4>Chapter 568: Pretty Features</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An was taken to a secluded residence to spend the night. It wasn¡¯t far from the imperial pce, and he could vaguely make out the vermillion walls and bright yellow zed roof tiles of the imperial pce from where he was.

    This ce was probably chosen as it provided quick ess to the imperial pce the next morning.

    The security was rather tight, even though King Liang and Liu Yao both left, most likely returning to their own duties.

    Zhuxie Chixin left as well, presumably to report to the emperor.

    Zu An was a bit confused by the remaining guards outside. Was Zhuxie Chixin really that confident? Even though these guards weren¡¯t terrible, the top three experts had all left. Did they not fear that someone might seize this opportunity to make a move?

    He even wondered if Zhuxie Chixin had been bought by a certain faction. However, both the members of the Sang n and Chu Chuyan seemed fully convinced that Zhuxie Chixin was the emperor¡¯s most trusted subordinate.

    If even such a confidante could be bought, it would only prove the emperor''s ipetence. There was no way such a person could have risen to be the world¡¯s most powerful expert!

    Zu An really couldn¡¯t figure out why they would make him wait a whole night before entering the pce. He felt like a sick person waiting for his shots. The needles weren¡¯t even that bad¡ªwhat was most agonizing was the wait.

    He was also curious why Chu Chuyan hadn¡¯t appeared. She promised to meet up again at the capital. Shouldn¡¯t they already be together again?

    ¡­

    Chu Chuyan was currently in the Qin Manor, a panicked expression on her face. ¡°My respected grandfather, I have never asked you for anything in my life. But if you refuse to do anything now, Ah Zu will die for sure!¡±

    Across from her was a tall and valiant-looking elder. Even though his hair was streaked with silver, he did not seem frail or aged, but gave off an aura of authority and power.

    Despite his advanced age, his brows were sharp and his eyes were clear, and hisplexion was excellent. It was easy to imagine how handsome and suave he had been in his younger years.

    This was none other than Chu Chuyan¡¯s grandfather, the number-one ranked official in the imperial military, Vanguard General Qin Zheng.

    At the moment, he was focused on the paper in front of him, his brush making meticulous strokes as characters slowly took form. He seemedpletely deaf to Chu Chuyan¡¯s pleas.

    Chu Chuyan bit her lip. Her anxiety was killing her. Her grandfather was clearly a military leader, yet he loved to act like a cultured snob. He loved it when others praised him for his schrly side.

    His calligraphy was clearly average, yet he just had to act as though he was some sort of master.

    Of course, Chu Chuyan would never speak such thoughts out loud. Her grandfather was rather open-minded when it came to other things, but he would immediately lose his temper if anyone brought up this touchy subject.

    The standard of his calligraphy was far below that of any master, but there was a certain grace to his movements with the brush.

    This was the first thing that made people take notice and praise him for, but it soon got out of hand. Over time, their praises ended up making this man think that he really was some reincarnated master of calligraphy.

    Qin Zheng finallypleted the piece in front of him, and brought out his private seal to mark it. There was a satisfied expression on his face. ¡°Chuyan,e over here and tell me what you think of this piece.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s eyelids twitched when she saw the words: ¡®tranquility yields transcendence¡¯. This was clearly a warning for her to guard against pride and impatience, and to calm her mind first.

    But Zu An had already arrived at the capital! How could she remain calm?

    Chu Chuyan forced herself to utter some faint praise, since she truly needed his help.

    Qin Zheng snorted. ¡°Aren¡¯t you being too obvious with your false ttery? Hmph. I remember that you were never a liar before. You¡¯ve picked up a pile of bad habits after marrying that hoodlum.¡±

    Chu Chuyan became unhappy. ¡°Zu An is not a hoodlum.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s just a local rascal from the streets. What else can he be but a hoodlum?¡± Qin Zheng was clearly unhappy. ¡°I really didn¡¯t know what your useless father was thinking. He actually picked a random hoodlum from that small ce as his son-inw! It¡¯s utterly preposterous.¡±

    Chu Chuyan knew that her grandfather still resented her father. As someone from the younger generation, though, it wasn¡¯t her ce to butt in, especially on this topic.

    Qin Zheng was clearly not done. ¡°Given your beauty and cultivation aptitude, every outstanding man would desire to be with you. Yet that disgraceful father and muddle-headed mother of yours ended up letting you marry that piece of trash. Now, you¡¯re even a widow!¡±

    Chu Chuyan forced her voice to remain calm. ¡°Ah Zu is not trash. In my view, no other man in this entire world canpare to him.¡±

    ¡°What the hell did that fellow do to your head?¡± Qin Zheng frowned. ¡°You and your mother are of the same breed after all.¡±

    Chu Chuyan bit her lip. Things were clearly not going well. But for Zu An¡¯s sake, she held her temper and tried to reason with him. ¡°Which other man can cause His Majesty such concern? The fact that Ah Zu was able to obtain the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra alone proves that he is extraordinary.¡±

    Qin Zheng sneered. ¡°I was still feeling fine until you mentioned it, but now that you¡¯ve brought it up, I¡¯ve grown annoyed. All was well for King Qi¡¯s faction, but now, some stupid brat has appeared with the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, which supposedly grants immortality! We have no choice now but toy low.¡±

    Chu Chuyan couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°Grandfather, I don¡¯t understand why the Qin n insists on joining this feud. Even though my great-aunt is King Qi¡¯s mother, that alone isn¡¯t enough for the entire Qin n to be tied to the same ship! A single mishap will lead to the entire n¡¯s eradication!¡±

    Qin Zheng grew serious. ¡°You are a cultivator as well, so you should understand the reasoning behind my belief that stagnation is equivalent to regression. Even though the Qin n is the top military n right now, can the same be said in the next one or two decades? There are many ns eyeing our position, waiting to take our ce, wishing to enjoy the glory and honor that we do, and to seize our resources. How can I do nothing about this?

    ¡°It is all your mother¡¯s fault!¡± Qin Zheng grew more and more worked up. ¡°Back then, your great-aunt was married to King Qi¡¯s father. Our n was to marry your mother into the pce as a concubine. This way, we would have our feet in both puddles, so it wouldn¡¯t matter which side won and lost. We would havee out ahead either way. However, your mother was possessed by a pig, and insisted on eloping with that trash Chu Zhongtian, leaving us with no choice but to throw our lot in with one faction.¡±

    Chu Chuyan was speechless.

    This was the first time she was hearing about this. Her father was truly formidable, to be able to steal away the emperor¡¯s woman!

    I wondered why His Majesty was always out to get our Chu n. I never knew this angle existed.

    Qin Zheng grew increasingly unhappy when he saw the corners of her lips lift upwards. ¡°What are you smiling about? Giving birth to daughters is truly equivalent to losing money! Your mother acts like this, and you as well!¡±

    Chu Chuyan knew that he was only saying this because he was angry, not because he really bore her malice. She helped him back into his chair. ¡°Grandfather, please drink some tea to ease your mood.¡±

    Qin Zheng took the teacup from her to quench his dry throat. ¡°You used to be so cold to everyone, but now you¡¯ve actually learned how to curry favor for that Zu An¡¯s sake. Now, even I am growing a little interested in seeing what kind of person that kid is for myself.¡±

    Chu Chuyan was delighted. ¡°Grandfather, are you agreeing to save him?¡±

    Qin Zheng shook his head. ¡°This is the emperor we¡¯re talking about. If he wants someone dead, who can save that person? Let alone the fact that it isn¡¯t just the emperor who wants him dead.¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s expression changed slightly. She was just about to probe further when Qin Zheng flicked out his hand to strike her acupoint. ¡°Take the young miss away. She is not permitted to even take half a step out of her room for the next few days.¡±

    ¡°Grandfather!¡± Chu Chuyan cried out in rm. However, Qin Zheng remained unfazed no matter how she implored him.

    After she was brought away, Qin Zheng looked in the direction of the imperial pce and sighed. ¡°Back then, I was too tenderhearted towards your mother, and ended up ruining the rest of her life. I will not repeat that disaster this time.¡±

    ¡­

    As all this was going on, Zu An was meditating in his room, when the door suddenly flew open. He opened his eyes, and was stunned by what he saw.

    He expected to be faced by some vicious assassin, but he was instead greeted by an extravagantly-dressed young man. This young man was handsome and had a slim build. He looked a little frail, but his bearing was perfect, and his suave appearance left a deep impression.

    This young man would surely be idolized by all the young girls in any school in Zu An¡¯s previous life. Even the hottest stars would pale inparison.

    After arriving in this world, the most handsome man he had seen was Xie Xiu. Of course, this was putting aside what he saw in the mirror every day. However, this world actually had someone who was even more beautiful, and even more feminine Xie Xiu!

    Zu An nced at his chest. There was nothing outstanding there.

    He then looked at his throat, and could vaguely make out an Adam¡¯s apple.

    Zu An¡¯s mouth twitched. It wasn¡¯t a woman masquerading as a man. How boring.

    The young man was also sizing him up curiously. When he noticed Zu An¡¯s rude and intrusive eyes, he immediately grew angry. ¡°What the hell are you looking at? I have no idea what the heck my big sister sees in you!¡±

 Chapter 569: Younger Brother-In-Law and Younger Sister-In-Law

    <h4>Chapter 569: Younger Brother-In-Law and Younger Sister-In-Law</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Only now did Zu An notice that this young man bore a slight resemnce to Chu Chuyan and Chu Huanzhao. He sighed. These really were outstanding genes!

    He was stunned speechless by his words, though. It was another brat! What kind of tone is that?

    He might have been slightly more tolerant if he was a girl, but this was a damned man! A potential sister-inw had suddenly be a brother-inw. This difference between expectation and reality only served to make his crass tone seem worse.

    ¡°Of course she fell for me because I¡¯m handsome and outstanding. She was charmed by me, and did not fall for a certain someone who blurts out crude words at the very first meeting.¡±

    This young man¡¯s expression flickered when he heard the mockery in Zu An¡¯s voice. ¡°The rumors were true, after all! You¡¯re just a smooth talker, a good-for-nothing hoodlum.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Youzhao for 477 Rage points!

    Zu An immediately became annoyed. ¡°Damned brat, where is your respect for your brother-inw? What the heck is all of this nonsense? Has everything you¡¯ve studied in the capital all these years passed out of your ass instead of going to your head?¡±

    ¡°Such filthy speech!¡± Chu Youzhao scoffed. ¡°Leaving aside the fact that my big sis already divorced you, I would never acknowledge you even if you were still together!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Youzhao for 571 Rage points!

    Zu An leaned casually into his chair. ¡°Your elder sister acknowledged me, and your dad and your mom did too. Who gives a sh*t about your opinion? Do I need your approval?¡±

    Who knew whaty ahead for him? Moreover, he was already annoyed because he didn¡¯t get to meet Chu Chuyan or Pei Mianman. Since this brat had shown a terrible attitude from the start, it was only expected that he would receive the same in return.

    ¡°You!¡± Chu Youzhao immediately erupted in fury.

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Youzhao for 999 Rage points!

    He finally couldn¡¯t hold back anymore, and sent a fist flying towards Zu An¡¯s face.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes narrowed. Peak of the fourth rank! This kid¡¯s pretty good for his age.

    However, Zu An was already used to opponents on a whole different level. If they weren¡¯t at the eighth or ninth rank, then they were master rank or higher. To him, any attack on this level would be full of ws.

    He turned to the side and grabbed his fist. With a pull and push, he disrupted Chu Youzhao¡¯s center of gravity, and then easily twisted his arm behind him, pressing his body against a nearby table.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you embarrassed by yourck of skill? It¡¯s honestly a miracle that you¡¯ve managed to survive for this long,¡± Zu An said with a sigh.

    ¡°I was just caught off guard! If you have the guts, then let me go and face me again!¡± Chu Youzhao was ashamed and angry. Why is this guy so strong? Could his cultivation be much higher than mine?

    Impossible! The teachers at the Imperial Academy and the seniors of the family all praised me for my outstanding aptitude! Only my big sis couldpare to me back when she was my age!

    With such amazing aptitude, ess to a sea of resources from a young age, and the best teachers at his disposal, there was no way a random hoodlum who had grown up on the streets could be stronger.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Perhaps it¡¯s ack of fighting experience. This fellow had grown up in the slums, after all, so he was surely more experienced when it came to a real fight. I was surely just caught off guard.

    Zu An picked up one of the decorative scrolls from the table. ¡°All right, your brother-inw will teach you your first lesson today. If you lose, you lose! There¡¯s no excuse for losing. Would your enemies give you a second chance?¡±

    With that, he pped the scroll that he had picked up against the brat¡¯s buttocks. This little brat seemed to have been spoiled, growing up in a luxurious environment. He was used to being bossy and unruly, and was in urgent need of a beating.

    ¡°You¡­ how dare you hit me there?¡± Chu Youzhao was instantly dazed. A mixture of shame and anger made his face go red.

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Youzhao for 999 Rage points!

    ¡°What do you mean? Do you want me to hit your face instead of your buttocks?¡± Zu An smacked him again.

    He still had the Chu n and Qin n to consider. If he hit his face, it might leave a mark, which would make things awkward for everyone.

    However, there was no problem if he smacked the brat¡¯s bottom. Even if this kid told on him, there was no way he would pull down his pants as proof.

    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m going to kill you!¡± Chu Youzhao struggled fiercely. Unfortunately, Zu An was too strong, and he could not wiggle free.

    ¡°Your brother-inw will teach you your second lesson now. You should submit when it is time to submit. A wise man submits to circumstances.¡± As soon as the words left his mouth, Zu An smacked the scroll down again.

    ¡°Ah!!¡± Chu Youzhao screamed. ¡°You hoodlum, how dare you do this to me! My father, my big sister, and my grandfather will never forgive you for this!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Youzhao for 999 Rage points!

    Zu An snorted. ¡°Weren¡¯t you acting all high and mighty just a second ago? Why are you suddenly relying on others now? It¡¯s time for your third lesson from your brother-inw. When outside, you need to rely on yourself. Don¡¯t abuse your position to kick others around.¡±

    Chu Youzhao was about to go crazy. When had he ever been treated like this before? He couldn¡¯t stand being hit in such a sensitive spot by a man. He cursed Zu An furiously.

    Unfortunately, each curse was met by a furious strike.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help butugh. ¡°Hey, do you have some weird fetish? Are you cursing more, hoping that I¡¯ll hit you harder?¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Chu Youzhao was almost whimpering at this point. He didn¡¯t dare curse anymore. In fact, he was starting to grow afraid after such a fierce beating.

    The worst thing was, even though it had hurt in the beginning, a strange feeling had now begun to arise within him each time the scroll hammered down, making his heart rate quicken.

    Zu An was speechless when he saw the tears brimming within the brat¡¯s eyes. ¡°Come on, you¡¯re already a grown man. Are you really going to cry just like that? Ah, forget it. I¡¯ll let you go if you call me ¡®brother-inw¡¯.¡±

    Chu Youzhao turned his head to the side and pursed his lips tightly, stubbornness written all over his face.

    Zu An wasn¡¯t freaky enough to force a man to call him ¡®brother-inw¡¯. Since he wasn¡¯t willing, he immediately turned his attention to something that was puzzling him. ¡°How did you get in?¡±

    There were guards everywhere, and he was a criminal. How had this fellow managed to strut right in?

    Chu Youzhao wanted to ignore him at first, but when he saw that Zu An was about to hit him again¡ªand he was not willing to call him ¡®brother-inw¡¯¡ªhe had no choice but to reply, ¡°My grandfather told me toe here. He gave me hismand token. He is a high-ranking official in the military, and my elder sister¡­ wanted me to pass some words to you. We¡¯re all family, sort of, so those guards didn¡¯t stop me.¡±

    ¡°Where is your big sister? Why isn¡¯t she here? Also, what did she want you to tell me?¡± Zu An asked impatiently.

    Chu Youzhao snorted. ¡°My big sister obviously feels disinclined to meet with you, so she told me to tell you to cease your delusional thinking. The two of you have been fully separated¡­ Ah!!! Why are you hitting me again?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Youzhao for 233 Rage points!

    ¡°Why would your big sister tell you to say that? You¡¯re obviously making that sh*t up, so you deserve to get hit.¡± Zu An obviously didn¡¯t believe a word. ¡°Your big sister was probably detained by the Qin n and couldn¡¯te.¡±

    ¡°How did you know?¡± Chu Youzhao blurted out.

    Zu An snorted. He¡¯d seen this clich¨¦ far too many times in TV dramas.

    Chu Youzhao said, ¡°Indeed, my elder sister wanted my grandfather to save you, but grandfather refused. His Majesty wants your life. How can my grandfather save you? You¡¯re dead anyway, so if you really care about my big sister, then just be the bigger person and write a letter of separation. It¡¯s better to get the pain over with than to prolong the agony. My big sister is so beautiful and stunning. How can her life be ruined at the hands of¡­ Ah!!! Why are you hitting me again?!¡±

    Zu An sneered. ¡°You were trying to instigate your brother-inw¡¯s separation from your own sister. Doesn¡¯t that deserve a beating?¡±

    ¡°Nonsense! You¡¯re clearly hitting me because you like it!¡± the hint of a sob crept into Chu Youzhao¡¯s voice.

    ¡°You¡¯re not even a pretty girl, and I¡¯m not a freak. Why the hell would I enjoy this?¡± Zu An let him go with a disdainful expression. ¡°Look at you, already a man yet still crying so easily. Stop being a sissy.¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± Chu Youzhao, filled with anger and embarrassment, almost charged at him again after just being released. However, as soon as he saw Zu An¡¯s expression, he immediately grew terrified and hurriedly said, ¡°I¡¯m only doing what¡¯s best for my big sister! You can¡¯t be so selfish and ruin her whole life just for your own sake!¡±

    ¡°Look at you, sitting on your moral high horse.¡± Zu An eyed him coldly. ¡°Keep spouting such nonsense, and I¡¯ll hit you again.¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Chu Youzhao could not erase the humiliation from his mind, and he charged at Zu An again. ¡°I¡¯m going to fight you to the death!¡±

    Right then, a glint of cold light streaked into the room. Chu Youzhao was about to run straight into it. Zu An pressed a hand against his chest and pushed him away. ¡°Be careful!¡±

    Staggered by the sudden shove, Chu Youzhao fell onto his bottom. A ck arrow was stuck to the wall behind where he had been standing, still vibrating. It was easy to imagine what would have happened, had they moved a momentter.

    Zu An stared at his hand absentmindedly, then looked at Chu Youzhao, ¡°You¡¯re a¡­¡±

    The softness he¡¯d felt was just too real. What man had pecs like this?

    Zu An was stunned. So the heir to the Chu n was actually a girl! Should he praise Chu Zhongtian or me him for not trying harder? He¡¯d actually sired three daughters in a row.

    Having been in this world for quite a while now, he understood the order of session within the Zhou Dynasty. It wasmon for ns to lose their titles if no male heirs could be produced. It wasn¡¯t surprising at all that Chu Zhongtian would choose to pass his youngest daughter off as a man.

 Chapter 570: One Step, One Kill

    <h4>Chapter 570: One Step, One Kill</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Her chest looked t and ordinary, and there even seemed to be an Adam¡¯s apple on her neck. These were probably just illusions created by an artifact.

    Her chest was already so well-developed despite her young age. What more when she grew older?

    Zu An sighed. These sisters all came from the same mother, so why was it that the oldest sister and the third sister had inherited Qin Wanru¡¯s assets, while the second sister was as t as an airport runway?

    Poor Chu Huanzhao!

    Chu Youzhao was left in a daze by the touch on her chest. Getting her bottom smacked by a man was one thing, especially since Zu An had thought that she was a boy, but what now? If he ever made mention of what had just happened, she might just die of embarrassment!

    She saw him wiggle his fingers a little, a strange smile appearing on his face. Something snapped within her, and rage and humiliation overwhelmed her. ¡°You shameless pervert, I¡¯ll take your life!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Youzhao for 1024 Rage points!

    She drew a short sword and stabbed it at him. Despite her earlier anger, she had only wanted to fight him bare-handed, since he was still her brother-inw. Now, however, all she cared about was getting revenge.

    Although she was quick, someone else was quicker. A ck figure shot past her, also aiming for Zu An.

    ¡°Get lost!¡±

    The assassin saw her as a nuisance and flung her aside.

    Chu Youzhao saw the cold glint in the other person¡¯s hand, and quickly brought her sword in to defend herself. She was rather surprised by her own impressive reaction.

    A clear tone sounded as her short sword shed with this neer¡¯s unknown weapon. A tremendous shock jolted her whole body, causing her to tumble backwards and m heavily into the wall.

    She coughed out a mouthful of blood. The qi within her was all over the ce and she couldn¡¯t muster any more strength.

    She was horrified. Her cultivation was at the pinnacle of the fourth rank. She was first among her peers, and was considered an excellent warrior, even by the standards of the wider world. How was it that she couldn¡¯t even handle a casual blow from this assant?

    She noticed that most of the assassin¡¯s concentration was on Zu An. This idle attack probably only had twenty to thirty percent of his strength behind it.

    This assassin is probably at the sixth rank.

    Many teachers at the academy were at this level, which was why she was able to roughly gauge his level.

    Isn¡¯t this pervert dead for sure, then?

    After all, he was just a hoodlum from the streets. Even though she had heard that he¡¯d encountered some opportunities recently, his upbringing was much too poor. There was a limit to how much he could improve in such a short amount of time.

    Chu Youzhao bit her lip. Even though she had cursed death on Zu An, she had only done so out of anger. In the end, he was still her brother-inw. She felt extremely conflicted. Watching him get assassinated would be an entirely different thing.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes narrowed when he saw his assant¡¯s pitch-ck clothes. He had been attacked by simrly-dressed people on the way to the capital. His previous attackers had been dark elves, but the person in front of him now did not seem to have the same slim build.

    He finally identified the cold glint of metal on his assant¡¯s hands. These were tiger-w des, which he had attached to his fists. Those who used such weapons were fighters skilled in close-quartersbat.

    He was also a cultivator at the pinnacle of the sixth rank!

    In the past, he might have been forced to constantly evade, and would have had no choice but to hold on as he suffered wave upon wave of relentless blows.

    However, after absorbing Mosquito Daoist¡¯s cultivation, his assant seemed to be moving in slow motion.

    He stretched out his fingers, and instantly sped the vicious tiger-w des between them.

    Shining Finger!

    Chu Youzhao was looking on with great worry, and was immediately stupefied when she saw this. She subconsciously rubbed her eyes. What the heck is going on? Is there something wrong with my eyes?

    The w-wielding assant was stunned as well. Something¡¯s not right! Shouldn¡¯t I be the one overwhelming my opponent and battering him with a storm of attacks?

    The intelligence had stated that his target was slightly unusual, but surely this was just too much!

    He tried to free his des several times, but they did not budge.

    Zu An sighed. ¡°Do you think you¡¯re Wolverine?¡±

    His fingers twisted as he spoke, snapping one of the des. Then, with a casual wave of his hand, he cut through this assant¡¯s arm muscles, then brought the broken de up to his neck. Since he had attacked first, there was no need for Zu An to show him any mercy.

    Halfway through these motions, an rm went off inside his mind. He quickly backed up and kicked this tiger w assant in the chest, cutting off his life force.

    He harnessed the reaction force to send himself backwards. The spot he was just standing in was covered in a dozen six-pointed throwing stars.

    He turned around to see an assassin¡ªwho looked like a ninja¡ªswinging a de at him.

    So, there are ninjas in this world. Zu An was shocked. With a light tap of his toes, he used the Sunflower Phantasm to evade this attack, then struck this new assant with his Shining Finger.

    He expected to immediately immobilize his opponent, but a frown appeared on Zu An¡¯s face as he sensed that something was off.

    A sharp ''Thunk!'' apanied his strike. His opponent had somehow turned into a block of wood.

    Ninjas were always full of tricks.

    With another sh of cold light, a pitch-ck sword thrust at him maliciously.

    Chu Youzhao felt extremely ashamed of herself. She had never seen such a fast sword thrust! She had been quite satisfied with her own disy of skill earlier on, but it was dirt inparison to this one.

    ¡°Be careful!¡± She yelled out subconsciously. However, her voice came to a strangled halt, because she saw that a sword had already passed through Zu An¡¯s neck.

    Is he dead? She shivered. Even though she found him annoying, her eldest sister liked him a lot. She would definitely be heartbroken once she found out what happened.

    Her eyes suddenly widened in disbelief, however, as she suddenly saw Zu An appear in another corner of the room. A finger was already thrusting into the middle of the swordsman¡¯s back.

    *Spurt!*

    Blood burst out from his chest. The blood vessels within his heart had been forcefully ruptured, causing him to die instantly.

    Yet another assassin had just broken in. He had a strange bow in his hands, full of sharp edges. This was clearly not an ordinary bow, but rather one that was geared for close-quarterbat.

    The archer was already regretting his choice. He had hoped toplete his mission as quickly as possible by entering the room, since it was difficult for him to line up a clean shot from outside. There was no way for him to know beforehand that his opponent would be far stronger than his intelligence had stated. It was toote to retreat to a safer distance now.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An had noted the power of the initial arrow, and knew that this opponent would pose a huge threat if he was allowed to get away. As such, he immediately summoned Grandgale to close the distance instantly.

    The archer spun his bow rapidly as he danced about, showing off a set of outstanding martial skills. There were no openings in his defense.

    He knew that all he had to do was hold on long enough for hispanion to mount an attack. He could use that opportunity to retreat to a safer distance, which would give him time to take down his opponent.

    Unfortunately, a strange bird suddenly appeared in front of him, and a terrible pain seemed to reach deep into his soul. The slightest hint of sluggishness crept into his impregnable defensive movements.

    In that split second, a sword shed through.

    This assassin had always admired hispanion, whose sword techniques were outstanding and tricky to deal with. He had always felt that hispanion¡¯s swordsmanship was unmatched, given his cultivation level.

    In this instant, however, he knew that he¡¯d been wrong all along. He couldn¡¯t even see this sword strike clearly. It was just a blur before his eyes, then he felt a chill slip across his throat.

    As an assassin, he obviously knew that he had been struck in the neck. In the final moments before his death, he could only curse the one who had provided them with the intelligence for this mission.

    Bloody hell! Didn¡¯t they say that the target only had five levels of cultivation? Even if you say that he possesses strange and unpredictable skills, four sixth rank assassins should be more than enough to spare!

    As assassins, they never fought enemies head-on, and every one of them had the ability to challenge those whose cultivations were higher than their own. Many of them had even killed seventh-ranked experts before.

    Despite all this, this fellow had ughtered them like chickens!

    Is he at the eighth rank already? No, not even an eighth rank could take us out that easily! Is he at the ninth rank, or even a master?

    How the hell is that possible?!

    Zu An whipped around suddenly. He frowned as he looked towards a corner of the room.

    The ninja assassin had finally revealed himself. Unfortunately, he was holding onto Chu Youzhao, his de pressed up against her neck. His voice was hoarse and unpleasant. ¡°Don¡¯t move, or else your friend dies!¡±

 Chapter 571, Part I: The Shadow Group

    <h4>Chapter 571, Part I: The Shadow Group</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Even though this sequence of events took a while to describe, not much time had passed at all.

    Just a moment ago, Chu Youzhao¡¯s eyes had widened in astonishment. She never expected her notorious trash of a brother-inw to be so formidable! The assassins were clearly highly-rated killers, yet they had been dispatched so easily.

    Did I get out on the wrong side of the bed today?

    Am I dreaming? Or is all this an illusion?

    Hmph! Why would I ever dream of this stupid guy being so strong¡­

    Her thoughts had been all over the ce when she was captured by the assassin a split secondter.

    Her face turned deathly pale when she felt the chill of the de against her neck. She froze immediately, not daring to move a muscle.

    Zu An gave the two of them a look. He chuckled and said, ¡°Friend? Didn¡¯t you see him running at me with a sword just a moment ago? Feel free to kill my enemy for me! Why would you use him to threaten me? Are all assassins so dumb these days?¡±

    Despite the confidence in his voice, he was rather flustered inside. It should have been crawling with guards outside! It would be one thing for Chu Youzhao to enter, since she had her grandfather¡¯smand token, but how the hell did all these assassins get in? Moreover, it had been some time since the assassins first broke in, yet none of the guards had reacted.

    Zu An listened closely, trying to figure out what was happening outside. A ruckus was going on outside as well, and there was the sound of fighting and killing. Clearly, another party was distracting the guards, which allowed these assassins to approach him.

    Of course, none of them could have expected that, not only did their assassins fail to kill him, they had been killed instead.

    He was always confused when reading fiction novels of his previous world. Why did the viins always seem so dumb? They would always dispatch henchmen that were only a single rank higher to eliminate the main character, and all of them would be killed by their target instead. Wouldn¡¯t it go much more smoothly if they dispatched someone who was several ranks higher instead?

    After his experiences in this world, however, he was beginning to understand why.

    Fifth rank and sixth rank cultivators were already considered rather outstanding, while those seventh rank and higher were already big shots. Why would they bother dealing with some nobody?

    Even if the viins really did dispatch powerful cultivators, none of them would be happy about it. They would be annoyed to have to personally deal with such petty things. They had more than enough on their te already.

    At their level, they had enemies on their own level to deal with, which was more than enough trouble already.

    Mosquito Daoist and Cash Warrior hadn¡¯t been sent to deal with him, but for his escorts, who had been ranked as highly as them.

    Right now, the guards outside were holding back the main force, and there was no way that the ones who made it past would be highly-ranked big shots.

    So far, he had only revealed himself to be at the fifth rank. Even though he had showcased all sorts of outstanding skills, four sixth-rank assassins would surely have been enough, with room to spare. There was no way they could have known that he had absorbed Mosquito Daoist¡¯s cultivation and grown much stronger.

    The ninja was stupefied when he heard what Zu An said. Thinking back to when he first entered, it did seem like this person really had wanted to kill Zu An.

    What the hell is a measly fourth rank doing here, though? Which idiot faction sent this fool?

    Chu Youzhao was quivering with fury. She was angry at herself for even worrying for this stupid man! If she had known that this would happen, she would have wished death upon him instead!

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Youzhao for 233¡­ 233¡­ 233¡­

    She took a deep breath, and then said coldly, ¡°I am the grandson of the Vanguard General Qin Zheng and the daughter of Brightmoon Duke, of the Chu n! I doubt whichever power backing you can suffer the consequences if something were to happen to me. Let me go, and I¡¯m willing to forget all of this!¡±

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but curse. ¡°You bloody idiot!¡±

    Chu Youzhao glowered at him. I don¡¯t care if you¡¯re not going to do anything to help me, but what¡¯s wrong with me trying to save myself? You even dare to curse me? Hmph! I¡¯m definitely going to tell grandfather and big sis about this. They¡¯ll see this guy¡¯s real and ugly side!

    She fully expected to frighten the ninja assassin. However, he roared withughter instead. ¡°As long as we¡¯re paid enough, we¡¯re even willing to assassinate the royal family. Who cares about a measly Qin or Chu n?¡±

    Chu Youzhao was stunned. She did not expect the assassin to look down on even the Qin and Chu ns! Just how strong was the power backing him?

    The ninja turned to Zu An and said, ¡°I was almost fooled by you earlier. You are the brother-inw of this brat, so of course you care about his safety.¡±

    Zu An waspletely speechless. What was he supposed to do when he had a monkey for a teammate? Despite this, he still tried his best to look indifferent, ¡°Everyone knows that my marriage has already been annulled, so he¡¯s nothing to me. Isn¡¯t it ratherughable for you to use a stranger to threaten me?¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± That ninja snorted. He tightened his grip around his de, eliciting a cry of rm from Chu Youzhao. A bright line of blood appeared along her neck. ¡°Drop your sword! If not, I won¡¯t just cut through the skin next time.¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    All the color drained from Chu Youzhao¡¯s face. She was still young, after all. Moreover, she had the Qin n behind her, and so she was used to being surrounded and praised by all those around her. When had she ever experienced anything as dangerous as this?

    The assassin couldn¡¯t care less about her credentials. In fact, nobody seemed to care a whit about what she thought. Only now did she realize just howughable her usual arrogance was.

    ¡°Fine, fine, fine! I¡¯ll drop it.¡± Zu An would never want a random stranger to be caught up in a dangerous situation because of him, let alone Chu Chuyan¡¯s youngest sister.

    He lowered the sword to the ground. ¡°Do you want me to put it down horizontally, or vertically?¡±

    Chu Youzhao was stunned. This man really lowered his weapon! Does he really intend to save me?

    She wasn¡¯t actually stupid. She quickly realized that he had only said what he said earlier to confuse the assassin and sever any apparent rtionship between them. That way, the assassin wouldn¡¯t be able to use her as a bargaining chip.

    However, she had taken the initiative to introduce herself, giving this assassin a weakness to exploit.

    ¡°Don¡¯t y any tricks, or else this brat dies!¡±manded the assassin.

    He moved behind Chu Youzhao while saying this. As an experienced assassin, he naturally knew how to guard against sudden attacks.

    ¡°Sure, sure, sure. I¡¯ve already put it down.¡± Zu An frowned. This fellow was being incredibly careful, and was not presenting him with any opportunities.

    ¡°Cripple yourself! Do it quickly!¡± ordered the ninja.

    Chu Youzhao panicked. ¡°Don¡¯t agree to that! We¡¯ll both be dead for sure!¡±

    ¡°Shut your mouth!¡± The ninja flew into a rage, borne out of humiliation. His hand tightened around his sword, as though he would draw blood if she spoke another word.

    Zu Anughed and said. ¡°Do you think I¡¯m as stupid as you? Like hell I¡¯ll agree to something like that.¡±

    Chu Youzhao was speechless.

    Her face was entirely red from embarrassment. Her worry had beenpletely pointless. This was just way too shameful.

    Ahh!! This guy¡¯s tone really pisses me off!

    The ninja knew that his conditions weren¡¯t realistic, so he changed them. ¡°Then break your right arm. That way, you¡¯ll still have some strength, and you¡¯ll still make a full recovery eventually. Meanwhile, I¡¯ll be guaranteed my safety.¡±

    He knew from their previous exchange that this person¡¯s cultivation was far beyond what he could deal with on his own, which was why escape was his top priority. He would be rewarded greatly once he returned with information about Zu An¡¯s true strength.

    Zu An frowned. He could follow this line of reasoning as well. How could he just let this man get away with this information?

    The ninja¡¯s voice grew softer. ¡°If you refuse, then I¡¯ll risk it all and take down this Chu n heir down with me. Let¡¯s see how you face the Chu and Qin ns then!¡±

    Someone else suddenly entered the room. ¡°Gui Tian, why hasn¡¯t this area been taken care of yet?¡±

    The neer was covered head-to-toe in ck, only revealing a pair of eyes. She looked just like the rest of these assassins.

    Despite her clothing, her figure was exquisite. This was definitely a woman.

    The one called Gui Tian was pleasantly surprised to see the new arrival. ¡°Be careful, this person is definitely not at the fifth rank. He may even be beyond the eighth rank! He¡¯s already killed my otherpanions!¡±

    This woman had joined them recently, but she was quite skilled. Most importantly, she was attractive as well. He had wanted to get close to her several times, but the right opportunity had never presented itself. Surprisingly, though, he had been offered this chance to fight alongside her. With luck, they might develop some camaraderie, which could perhaps lead to something even betterter on.

    He eyed her figure greedily. Not even the courtesan queens of the brothels couldpare to her. He had been cursing his bad luck earlier on, but now, it didn¡¯t seem quite that bad.

    ¡°Oh?¡± The woman gave Zu An a look of surprise.

    Shock ran through Zu An. Why did these eyes seem slightly familiar?

 Chapter 571, Part II: The Shadow Group

    <h4>Chapter 571, Part II: The Shadow Group</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°How can he possibly be at the eighth rank at his age?¡± the woman scoffed.

    Chu Youzhao nodded in clear agreement. Her own dad was at the eighth rank! Just how old was this good-for-nothing? How could he possibly have such profound cultivation?

    The woman¡¯s voice drew a strange look from Zu An.

    ¡°I¡¯m not lying! The corpses of the rest of mypanions are still here!¡± protested the ninja, Gui Tian.

    Chu Youzhao also felt slightly bewildered by the assassin¡¯s statement. The images of Zu An easily dispatching the assants appeared in her head. She had to admit that he looked rather dashing back then¡­

    What the heck! He is one hundred percent a scoundrel!

    The female assassin looked at the corpses littering the ground in shock, but she quickly said, ¡°In that case, there is no way the two of us can defeat him alone. I¡¯ll retreat and contact the others first.¡±

    ¡°That was my intention as well.¡± Gui Tian sighed in relief. He¡¯d been under way too much pressure facing Zu An on his own. Now that he had the help of anotherpanion, his chances of a sessful escape had increased greatly.

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°Look at the two of you, chatting like no one else is here. You¡¯re treating me as though I¡¯m no big deal at all.¡±

    Gui Tian snorted. ¡°This fellow is going to die if you dare to try anything.¡±

    He withdrew towards the door, Chu Youzhao in hand. He had no choice but to use Chu Youzhao as a bargaining chip earlier, but he knew that hoping for Zu An to break his own arm was also wishful thinking. Now that he had hispanion covering him, there was no time to waste. It was best if he left as quickly as possible.

    Zu An immediately froze. It seemed he had been scared off by the threat.

    ¡°You know what happened here best of all. Tell our master about it in detail once you return. Go on, I¡¯ll cover you.¡± The female assassin walked forward. She held her sword at the ready, prepared for a sudden attack by Zu An.

    Gui Tian was overjoyed. ¡°Thank you. I will surely repay this debt.¡±

    Despite his words, he didn¡¯t dare lower his guard. All of his attention was focused on Zu An, afraid he might make a move.

    Suddenly, his entire body stiffened, and he turned towards hispanion in disbelief. ¡°You bitch¡­ why?!¡±

    A thin vine had pierced through his back. There was no surviving this strike.

    As a killer himself, he had never fully trusted hispanions, and had been paying attention to her sword the whole time as well. He never predicted that she would employ a different method.

    That woman chuckled. ¡°Sorry. I met this guy before I met you.¡±

    Gui Tian¡¯s expression changed greatly. Knowing that he was a goner, he tried to raise his hand, intending to drag Chu Youzhao down with him.

    However, he discovered that he couldn¡¯t move at all. He had already been entangled by countless thin vines.

    The female assassin was beside him in an instant. She didn¡¯t give him another chance and snapped his neck.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Chu Youzhao screamed in rm. She subconsciously ran towards Zu An.

    Even though that scoundrel was annoying, he was still part of her family. He was a little more reliable than this killer.

    As soon as she took a step forward, however, she felt a sharp pain on the back of her head, and she fainted.

    Zu An rushed over to support her. ¡°Why did you knock him out?¡±

    The female assassin pulled back her hand with a snort. ¡°What, you can¡¯t bear to see him get hurt?¡±

    ¡°Like hell I care about him.¡± Zu An tossed Chu Youzhao onto a couch.

    The female assassin was momentarily speechless.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°You should exercise some care, lest your Madam hunt you down for that.¡±

    ¡°This brat needs to experience a bit of hardship.¡± Even though this was what Zu An said, he still made sure that he was safe. ¡°My n¡¯s Madam? Is that jealousy I sense?¡±

    He undid her face covering as he said this, revealing her charming face. This was none other than Snow, with whom he had parted ways with a long time ago. Her real name was Qiao Xueying.

    ¡°When did you recognize me?¡± Qiao Xueying looked at him with a big smile, her face glowing with radiance.

    ¡°When I saw your eyes.¡± Despite his words, he felt rather guilty inside. He had only sensed a slight familiarity when he saw her, and hadn¡¯t been all that confident. Only when he heard her voice had he been sure.

    Of course, he wasn¡¯t stupid enough to say that in such a situation.

    Qiao Xueying was obviously delighted. ¡°Hmph! I thought that you¡¯d already forgotten about me a long time ago.¡±

    Zu An pulled her into his arms. ¡°How could I dare to forget someone so beautiful?¡±

    Qiao Xueying¡¯s face turned red, and a hint of shyness crept into her expression. ¡°You¡¯ve be more and more of a smooth talker.¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°Wasn¡¯t I this way when you first met me?¡±

    ¡°You have some nerve! I hated you so much I wanted to chop your tongue off at first.¡± A warm feeling welled up within her as she recalled what happened.

    Seeing the youngdy¡¯s petite red lips, memories of the dungeon flooded Zu An¡¯s mind. A great surge of emotion overcame him, and he kissed her.

    ¡°Mmm¡­¡± Her body instinctively stiffened, but she quickly melted into his embrace. She held her lover, receiving his attentions gently and bashfully.

    The moment stretched out, then Qiao Xueying hurriedly pushed him away as if he was burning hot. ¡°The situation is too urgent right now. Let¡¯s talk about important matters first.¡±

    The sound of fighting drifted in from outside. Zu An knew that guards might rush in at any time, so he didn¡¯t dare mess around further. ¡°How did you end up in an organization of assassins?¡±

    ¡°After we separated, I came back to the capital to help my nsmen. Many of my nsmen are serving under the Shi n. I had to secure the backing of another power, so I joined the Shadow Group.¡± Qiao Xueying exined.

    ¡°The Shadow Group?¡± Zu An froze. It sounded like some sneaky and shady organization.

    ¡°The Shadow Group is the most mysterious and powerful assassin organization,¡± Qiao Xueying replied. ¡°As long as the payout is high enough, they are willing toplete any hit. Of course, there¡¯s no way they can kill someone like the emperor. I rushed over when I learned that the target of the Shadow Group was you, but I didn¡¯t expect you to have be so strong all of a sudden. You even dealt with four sixth rank assassins on your own.¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°You took care of one of them.¡±

    Qiao Xueying rolled her eyes. ¡°Hmph! You always had a soft spot for women. Now it seems you¡¯re interested in men as well.¡± This fellow still had the nerve to say such a thing after forcing her to do something like that! When this deed was exposed, it would be akin to betrayal. The Shadow Group dealt with such matters extremely harshly.

    Zu An chuckled in embarrassment. ¡°What can I do? Chu Chuyan is his big sister, after all.¡±

    Judging from her tone, she didn¡¯t seem to know that Chu Youzhao was a girl, and he wasn¡¯t about to rify this mix-up. After all, this was probably the Chu n¡¯s greatest secret. If exposed, it could cause disaster, and he didn¡¯t want to be the cause of something like that.[1]

    ¡°By the way, who is the master of this Shadow Group? Do you know who put a hit on me? Or could it be that the Shadow Group is the one who wants me dead?¡± Zu An asked. There had been many attempts on his life from the moment he¡¯d first set out for the capital. He needed more information on this enemy.

    Qiao Xueying shook her head. ¡°The master of the Shadow Group is the most mysterious person in the world. I fear that no one besides himself knows his identity. Though I believe someone else ordered this assassination, the Shadow Group always ensures absolute secrecy when ites to their clients. No one knows who that person is.¡±

    Zu An reached out a hand to brush away a few strands of hair from her face. ¡°I¡¯m sure it¡¯s been dangerous for you, operating in such an assassin organization.¡±

    Qiao Xueying¡¯s smile grew brighter when she sensed his concern. ¡°Rx, I have plenty of skills to rely on. Things haven¡¯t been that bad. Besides, I need the strength of the Shadow Group if I am to protect my nsmen.

    ¡°By the way, I¡¯ve arranged for a group of my nsment to leave the city tomorrow, early in the morning. Come with me. I¡¯ll arrange for you to join them. I¡¯m about eighty percent confident we¡¯ll be able to leave the capital sessfully.¡± Qiao Xueying grabbed his arm and prepared to leave.

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°You came to save me?¡±

    Qiao Xueying snorted. ¡°You¡¯re my man, after all. Who else would I save, if not you?¡±

    Zu An was incredibly moved by this, and immediately pulled her into his embrace.

    ¡°Oh my gosh, can we hugter? Zhuxie Chixin is going to return soon. It¡¯ll be toote then!¡± The familiar warmth brought back scenes from their time in the dungeon, and Qiao Xueying felt her legs begin to weaken.

    1. In Mandarin, the pronouns ¡®him¡¯ and ¡®her¡¯ are phically the same.

 Chapter 572: Beyond Her Understanding

    <h4>Chapter 572: Beyond Her Understanding</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An was about to tell her that she didn¡¯t have to go that far, and that he nned to face the emperor and settle the issue on his own once and for all.

    However, he couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that all that had happened so far was just too strange. Firstly, the emperor did not summon him to the pce, but made him wait outside for a night. Then, a group of assassins somehow reached him so easily. If he hadn¡¯t made a great breakthrough in his cultivation, he would probably be dead by now.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    He didn¡¯t know who was orchestrating all this. If Zhuxie Chixin was one of the perpetrators, and heter found out that the assassins hadn¡¯t been able to kill him, he might just send even stronger assants, or even get personally involved. That would truly be a headache. It was probably safer for him to make his escape first and lie low for a while.

    He nodded. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go.¡±

    Qiao Xueying beamed. She grabbed his hand and ran towards the window.

    ¡°Wait¡­¡± Zu An hurriedly picked up Chu Youzhao.

    ¡°What are you bringing him along for?¡± Qiao Xueying wasn¡¯t too happy that a third wheel wasing along. ¡°The assassins have failed, and the guards will soon arrive. No one will harm him, given who he is.¡±

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°Everything that¡¯s happened today is much too strange. Things will get worse if something happens to him.¡±

    If it were anyone else, Qiao Xueying wouldn¡¯t have cared if they were dead or alive. However, since he was a scion of the Chu n, she did not object any further.

    Zu An walked over to her, carrying Chu Youzhao. As he walked, he felt a soft, squishy feeling. His heart skipped a beat, and he quickly shifted how he was holding her.

    What the hell is this girl using? Her disguise seems perfect from the outside, but it¡¯spletely different once one touches her.

    He looked at the corpses on the ground, and his expression grew stern. With a wave of his hand, they were engulfed in mes. He did not want others to discover what had happened by examining the wounds on these corpses, whether it was Gui Tian¡¯s¡ªwhom Qiao Xueying had killed¡ªor the other three. Anyone who was determined enough could easily find out the truth. The mes spread quickly, but did not produce any sound. In a few heartbeats, the four corpses were sopletely disintegrated that not even ashes remained.

    Qiao Xueying was surprised. ¡°You¡¯ve awakened the fire element? The mes you wield don¡¯t seem quite like those of other fire element cultivators, though. They seem rather special.¡±

    ¡°Of course they¡¯re special. I think they¡¯re the magical mes of the nine-tailed fox.¡± The mes he wielded were borrowed from Daji, so there was no way they were merely ordinary.

    He had always been jealous of Pei Mianman¡¯s destructive ck mes, but now, his own mes did not seem all that bad.

    The two of them talked quietly as they left the residence under the cover of night.

    Zu An made sure to keep an eye on what was happening outside. Many guards were engaged in fierce fighting with a score of ck-d men. Some of these ck-d men had much higher cultivations than the four he had killed.

    The bulk of their force was needed to distract the guards for this mission, so they could only afford to send those sixth-ranked experts to take care of him.

    The ck-d men beat a fighting retreat. They figured that theirpanions should have already seeded, so there was no reason to throw their lives away.

    The two of them moved through the shadows silently. There were already soldiers patrolling the streets, having clearly noticed that something was not right within the city.

    Qiao Xueying was extremely familiar with the capital. She led the way, just barely avoiding the soldiers¡¯ detection. Eventually, the two of them arrived at a quiet, secluded residence.

    Qiao Xueying opened the door and invited him in. ¡°This is one of my hidden safehouses. Let¡¯s wait things out here. I¡¯ll take you to my nsmen once things calm down.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Zu An looked about. Even though the interior wasn¡¯t all that special, it was still rather nice. It was filled with all manner of nts and flowers, giving the space a refreshing feeling. It seemed that elves had a much greater affinity to nature.

    Qiao Xueying helped him ce Chu Youzhao on a chair. She was not about to let another man sleep in her bed, even if he was the Chu n¡¯s heir.

    Zu An figured out what she was thinking, and couldn¡¯t resist a chuckle.

    ¡°By the way, do you know anyone from the fox race?¡± Qiao Xueying asked, rather confused. She hadn¡¯t had the chance to ask about this along the way, but they had some time to kill right now. She continued, ¡°Even so¡­ the fox race¡¯s abilities lie in their bloodline. They have no way of passing on their me-wielding skills to you either.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯splicated.¡± Zu An didn¡¯t know how to exin things either. ¡°If I had to sum it up, I am merely borrowing the mes of a nine-tailed fox.¡±

    Qiao Xueying was surprised. ¡°I was worried about how I would introduce you to the fiend races, but it¡¯s much easier now, since you can borrow the power that the nine-tailed foxes wield. After all, it¡¯s been a long time since there was a true nine-tailed fox within the fox race. You will surely be treated like a distinguished guest. Who knows, you might even be able to be their Saint. Even though the fox race isn¡¯t a particrly strong race, they wield significant power, given their special status. It should be easy enough for them to shelter a single person.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°You¡¯re nning to send me to live with the fiend races?¡±

    ¡°Where else could I send you?¡± Qiao Xueying replied. ¡°Right now, you¡¯re wanted by the emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty, so no ce within the Zhou Dynasty will be safe. However, no matter how strong the emperor is, he cannot interfere within the territories of our fiend races. You can hide out together with them for a few years. Once the emperor dies, you cane back.¡±

    The term¡¯ fiend races¡¯ was used as a collective term for the other races in this world. The elves were one of the fiend races, so that was why she used the word ¡®our¡¯.

    Zu Anughed. ¡°The emperor of the Zhou Dynasty wants me for the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, which can grant immortality. Do you think that no one else will covet my technique if I escape to thends of the fiend races?¡±

    Qiao Xueying was stunned. She hadn¡¯t considered this possibility. After a short hesitation, she said, ¡°The lifespans of fiends are longer than that of humans, so they don¡¯t have such a great desire for techniques that grant immortality¡­¡±

    Zu An shook his head. He gently caressed her beautifully braided hair. ¡°Snow, thank you for worrying about me, but I should go to the pce tomorrow. I will face the emperor and settle this issue on my own, once and for all.¡±

    Qiao Xueying began to panic. ¡°The emperor is the world¡¯s publicly-acknowledged number-one expert! Even if you¡¯ve be stronger, you still don¡¯t stand a chance!¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°Silly girl, I¡¯m not going there to fight him. Don¡¯t worry, I have a n. If my n fails, then I¡¯ll escape with you to thends of the fiends.¡±

    Qiao Xueying was incredibly worried. ¡°But what if you don¡¯t even have the chance to escape¡­?¡±

    Zu An drew her petite body into his arms. ¡°Trust me. I¡¯ll be okay.¡±

    Qiao Xueying hugged him tightly, as if he might slip away forever if she loosened her hold just a smidge.

    After being apart for such a long time, any couple would act like newlyweds when they finally met again. As the two of them held on to each other, the temperature began to rise.

    Qiao Xueying¡¯s body slowly grew soft, while Zu An became harder.

    No words were needed. Everything proceeded naturally. The two of them kissed each other deeply.

    ¡­

    A whileter, Qiao Xueying hastily tidied her messy clothes. She looked at Chu Youzhao, who was nearby, her facepletely red. ¡°Not¡­ not over here¡­¡±

    Zu An chuckled. He wanted to tell her that it was all right because Chu Youzhao was a girl too, and that she was still unconscious anyway.

    However, when he saw her pleading stare, he did not bother exining, but carried her straight to the nearby bed.

    Qiao Xueying reached out her fingers. Several fine vines extended outwards, closing the curtains around them.

    ¡­

    After a long time, Chu Youzhao slowly came to. She felt as if she had awaked from a strange dream. Everything within it had been pink and rosy, and it was just too embarrassing. She had dreamt that she was sleeping with a man, and that the man had been toying with her body to his heart¡¯s content. All sorts of embarrassing noises had issued from her mouth.

    His face had been blurry, but when she moved closer, she recognized that person¡¯s face. It was her brother-inw!

    She woke up in fright.

    So it was a dream!

    She let out a long sigh, and she closed her legs together in shame. Why would she dream of something so embarrassing? And with that scoundrel as well!

    Wait, the shameful sounds from my dream are still here.

    She subconsciously turned around, and her eyes immediately widened. Even though there was a thinyer of curtains between them, she could still make out the figures inside.

    What are they doing? Pretending to ride a horse?

    Chu Youzhao was puzzled. Before she could react, a vine stretched out and knocked her out again.

 Chapter 573: Entering the Palace

    <h4>Chapter 573: Entering the Pce</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°It¡¯s all your fault!¡± The next morning, Qiao Xueying could scarcely contain her embarrassment and anger. She pummeled Zu An in the chest continuously.

    Zu An had a strange look on his face. ¡°There was a screen between us. He couldn¡¯t see anything.¡±

    ¡°But I feel weird!¡± Qiao Xueying spun around. She felt really ufortable. If it had been First Miss Chu, things might have been different, but this was the heir of the Chu n!

    If not for her friendship with Chu Chuyan, she might have just silenced him forever.

    Zu An moved his hand through her borately-braided hair. ¡°You knocked him out, right? Besides, even if he saw anything, he would have seen me. I was the one closer to him.¡±

    Qiao Xueying pulled her braid out of his hands. ¡°Right, what was that ¡®steering wheel¡¯ you mentionedst night?¡± she asked, a strange look on her face.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An coughed noisily, almost choking on his own spit. ¡°Nothing! Haha¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s definitely not good.¡± Qiao Xueying¡¯s face waspletely red. She didn¡¯t know how this fellow came up with such things. Miss Chu was always such a cold and aloof woman. Did she let him get away with all of this as well?

    Zu An looked out the window. ¡°The sun¡¯s almost up. It¡¯s about time I went back. I still have to get into the pce.¡±

    Qiao Xueying immediately put everything else out of her mind. Her expression grew serious. ¡°Ah Zu, are you sure you can seed? Why not just stick with my n and leave when the gates open?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I know what I¡¯m doing.¡± Zu An was incredibly touched by her concerned expression. He kissed her delicate red lips again.

    Qiao Xueying quickly pushed him away, her face full of fear and embarrassment. ¡°Stop¡­ I really can¡¯t take it anymore¡­¡±

    The bodies of elves were more delicate than humans, and Zu An was much stronger than an ordinary man. Her body felt on the edge of falling apart after being tossed and turned about by him all night.

    Zu Anughed. ¡°I¡¯m no beast. I just wanted to kiss you.¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say thatst night?¡± Qiao Xueying grumbled.

    Zu An had no reply to that.

    The two of them embraced each other affectionately for a few more moments. Then, Qiao Xueying got up to help him get dressed.

    Zu An sighed in amazement. ¡°You¡¯re very skilled with your hands.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know how to do any of this before. But as a servant of Miss Chu, I had to pick this up.¡± Qiao Xueying sighed. ¡°I must¡¯ve owed you lovers a debt in my past life. Not only did I fail toplete my mission, I even ended up suffering a huge loss.¡±

    Zu An pinched her cheeks. ¡°We¡¯re lovers too.¡±

    The gloom hanging over Qiao Xueying immediately disappeared when she heard what he said, and she smiled so broadly her eyes turned into crescents.

    Zu An was still worried about Chu Youzhao, but Qiao Xueying assured him that she would escort the Chu heir back to the Qin n.

    He knew that she was more familiar with the capital. Furthermore, she had some connection to the Chu n herself, so he was willing to trust her with this task.

    He returned to the residence he had been staying at the night before. He could hear Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s furious bellowing even from a distance away. ¡°Have you found him?¡±

    ¡°Not yet¡­¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t even figure out if it was the assassins who captured him or if he ran away himself?!¡±

    ¡°Things were too messyst night, so one was able to see clearly¡­¡±

    ¡°All of you are trash! Give the order to post arrest warrants everywhere! Also, seal up the city gates! No one is allowed to enter or leave until we find him!¡±

    Zu An knew that it was about time. He cleared his throat. ¡°Is the Chief Commander looking for me?¡±

    Everyone in the residence whipped around, and all their eyes lit up when they saw him. After all, if they had really lost the person most wanted by the emperor, not a single one of them would have lived. How could they not be happy to see him return?

    Zhuxie Chixin was the one most shocked. ¡°You¡¯re okay?¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°Was the Chief Commander hoping that something would happen to me?¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s face darkened. ¡°What are you saying? Why would I want something to happen to you? Are you injured? Do you need treatment?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Zu An said, refusing his offer. Who knew what manner of strange things might happen now if he asked for treatment.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s head for the pce immediately. I do not want anything else to happen.¡± Zhuxie Chixin waved his hand and ordered his subordinates to make preparations.

    Zu An was perturbed by the hurry that Zhuxie Chixin was in. Could my hunch have been wrong?

    Zhuxie Chixin escorted him into the pce with a group of guards.

    ¡°We won¡¯t run into any more assassins along the way, will we?¡± Zu An pondered aloud.

    ¡°If theye, then they will die.¡± Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s reply was extremely straightforward. He was clearly full of confidence.

    Zu An seemed to fall into deep thought, while it was Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s turn to grow curious. ¡°Where did you gost night?¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°There were so many people gunning for my life, so I decided to hide for a bit.¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s expression grew slightly strange. ¡°To be honest, there are very few people who I¡¯m unable toprehend, and you are one of these few. You could have easily run away, yet you came back. Furthermore, you¡¯re even cooperating with us as if you¡¯re in a hurry to meet His Majesty.¡±

    ¡°Could it be that the Chief Commander does not wish for me to meet the emperor?¡± Zu An asked in return.

    Zhuxie Chixin stared at him. ¡°Do you know what awaits you once you meet His Majesty?¡±

    ¡°I do.¡± Zu An smiled. He lookedpletely calm.

    Zhuxie Chixin stared at him uncertainly, then chuckled to himself. He¡¯s a weird one indeed.

    He did not ask any further questions. The group of them headed straight to the pce.

    Zu An was slightly awestruck when he saw the red walls and golden tiles of the structure in front of him. The Forbidden City of his previous world was already incredibly grand, but this imperial pce was far more majestic.

    From the height of the pce walls to the aura that their gates gave off, all of it was far greater than those of the Forbidden City.

    He supposed that it made sense. This was a world of cultivators, after all, where strength ruled above all. The imperial pce would have to be much more intimidating.

    Every guard here had to have at least four ranks of cultivation, and many were even at the fifth rank.

    Outside the pce, each one of them would be considered individually outstanding. Moreover, these soldiers had been trained in the use of army formations, which would sharply increase their collective strength.

    This imperial pce was probably the safest ce in this world.

    With Zhuxie Chixin leading the way, no one dared obstruct them. After walking for what seemed like an age, they finally arrived at a majestic gate. There was already an old eunuch waiting for them.

    Zhuxie Chixin spoke to Zu An. ¡°I cannot apany you further. Follow Eunuch Li. He will take you to meet His Majesty.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. Most likely, the inner pcey beyond this gate. The ones who lived within were either imperial concubines, or other women. Ordinarily, other men would not be allowed in.

    By letting him go in, it was clear that they did not n to let him leave alive.

    Given the situation he was in, though, he could only deal with whatever happened as best as he could. He hoped his n would go smoothly.

    ¡°Thank you, Chief Commander, for your trouble.¡± After the old eunuchpleted the handover with Zhuxie Chixin, he said with a sharp voice, ¡°Follow me.¡±

    Even though Old Mi¡¯s voice was unpleasant to listen to, at least it wasn¡¯t this bad. Zu An was rather disdainful. This old man matched the stereotype of a pce eunuch perfectly. Old Mi probably covered up his deficiencies with his powerful cultivation.

    He followed the old eunuch further inside. He wanted to joke around with this old eunuch for a bit, but he did not expect him to be this arrogant. He quickly lost interest in exchanging barbs with the old fellow. After all, the emperor was still the key to all this.

    The further in they went, the quieter it became. It was as if they were strolling through a private garden.

    The two of them walked along a long promenade that stretched across a stream, and finally stopped under a pavilion. ¡°Wait here,¡± the old eunuch said.

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°I thought I was going to meet His Majesty?¡±

    ¡°His Majesty is currently attending the morning court session,¡± the old eunuch replied, ¡°so you are to wait here first. Don¡¯t do anything foolish.¡±

    With that, he left Zu An alone.

    A strange expression spread across Zu An¡¯s face. This emperor seemed ratherx! Was he really going to be left alone in the inner pce? Wasn¡¯t the emperor worried that he might cause a ruckus?

    Some pastries wereid out on a table under the pavilion. Zu An had been busy all night, and Zhuxie Chixin hadn¡¯t given him any breakfast. He was actually feeling a little hungry.

    Of course, he didn¡¯t dare eat any of it.

    He tried his best, but eventually, he couldn¡¯t sit still any longer. Those pastries were right in front of him, yet he couldn¡¯t eat them. What an awful test of willpower.

    He decided to take a walk instead. It was always good to familiarize oneself with one¡¯s surroundings, after all.

    The pceyout was extremelyplicated, and he started to feel lost after walking around for a bit. He was just about to turn around when he heard a rather simple-minded voice. ¡°I want you guys to learn to jump like frogs. Do you see any frogs jumping while wearing pants?¡±

 Chapter 574: Dumbstruck

    <h4>Chapter 574: Dumbstruck</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An was dumbfounded. Whoever you are, you¡¯re right. Frogs really don¡¯t jump while wearing pants.

    He traced the source of the voice, and saw arge fatty standing in front of a pool, pointing his finger at several young eunuchs and berating them. The young eunuchs were all lying on the ground, looking like Ouyang Feng practicing the frog technique.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    From their miserable expressions, however, he could tell that they were being forced into this.

    The big fatty¡¯s face waspletely round. From his appearance, he didn¡¯t seem all that smart.

    Who the hell could act so arrogantly within the inner pce? This fatty was scolding those eunuchs like an elder scolding their grandsons, and the eunuchs had their heads bowed, begging for forgiveness. Not a single one of them dared show defiance.

    Zu An took a closer look at what the fatty was wearing. He was draped in apricot yellow, and dragons seemed to be embroidered on his clothing.

    This couldn¡¯t be the emperor, could it?

    Zu An immediately rejected this thought. If the number-one expert in the world looked like a handicapped child, this world was done for.

    He then remembered the rumors regarding the crown prince. A man who could freely move about in the inner pce and dressed in yellow, dragon-patterned robes¡­ Who else could this be?

    Chu Chuyan had mentioned to him that the crown prince was named Zhao Ruizhi. At the time, Zu An had thought that being given such a name was surely an omen for him to turn out mentally deficient.[1]

    ¡°Huh? You, little eunuch over there. Hurry up and get over here.¡± By this time, the crown prince had noticed Zu An, and called him over.

    Zu An was speechless. Are you blind? Look at my bold and mighty appearance! Who are you calling a eunuch?

    Since he had nothing better to do, though, he figured that there was no harm in getting to know this crown prince.

    He made his way over.

    The other eunuchs stared at him. ¡°What brazen behavior! Who are you? How dare you barge into the inner pce?¡±

    The crown prince somehow couldn¡¯t tell, but the rest of them knew that there was no way this person was a eunuch. Was he an assassin?

    Then again, the imperial pce had so many powerful cultivators within its walls, and security was so tight. How could an assassin possibly get in?

    Besides, it was possible that he was the heir of a certain minister who had entered with an imperial order, so they dared not openly call him an assassin yet.

    Zu An was about to exin himself when that fatty said unhappily, ¡°Shut up. Do frogs speak?¡±

    The eunuchs quickly shut their mouths, bitter expressions on their faces.

    The fatty continued, ¡°What about your pants? Do frogs wear pants? Take them all off.¡±

    Zu An added, ¡°It isn¡¯t just pants. Frogs don¡¯t wear clothes either.¡±

    The fatty was extremely pleased, beaming as though he had found his soul mate. ¡°You¡¯re right! Why didn¡¯t I think of that? Little Xu, Little He, take off all of your clothes.¡±

    The eunuchs nced at Zu An resentfully. This fe was throwing stones at them while they were already down! Wait until we have a chance for revenge. We¡¯ll make sure you¡¯ll get what you deserve!

    You have sessfully trolled Eunuch Xu Kun for 444 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled Eunuch He Te for 444 Rage points!

    You have sessfully¡­

    However, they couldn¡¯t go against these orders. They knew that their master was moody. Um¡­ wait, to be more precise, he has no concept of good and evil.

    Apanion of theirs, who had clearly never offended the crown prince, had been given a miserable beating. The crown prince had not felt as though this was an evil act¡ªhe just wanted to find out which was harder, a stick or a human skull. It was purely for his amusement.

    On bnce, though, the crown prince didn¡¯t treat them that poorly. As long as none of them got on his bad side, they actually did pretty well for themselves.

    Zu An was speechless as he watched the eunuchs bashfully take off their clothes. He really had no interest in watching eunuchs strip. It would have been much more interesting if these were pce maids.

    That was strange, though. There were only eunuchs at the crown prince¡¯s side. Not a single maid was in sight.

    As he looked around, he asked idly, ¡°Why were you asking them to learn how to jump like frogs?¡±

    The fatty pointed at the frogs in the nearby pond, which was covered in lotus flowers. ¡°I heard several frogs croaking when I was passing by just now. I asked them if the frogs decided to croak on their own, or if they made them croak to tter me.¡±

    Zu An stared nkly for a moment. It took him a moment to realize that he had referred to both the frogs and the eunuchs in much the same way, and was momentarily stunned. This fellow¡¯s head worked in truly bizarre ways.

    He followed up on the crown prince¡¯s statement. ¡°And what did they say?¡±

    The fatty pointed at the thin, weak eunuch and said, ¡°Little Xu said that those frogs croak like that whenever spring approaches.¡±

    Zu An felt as though it was apletely appropriate reply, but the fatty said, ¡°It¡¯s utterly preposterous that these frogs did not croak in wee when they saw me! That¡¯s why I told Little Xu to learn how to croak like a frog when he greets me, but he just couldn¡¯t learn to do so! That¡¯s why I asked him to learn how to jump like a frog instead.¡±

    Zu An had no reply to that.

    He swallowed, then asked about the others. ¡°What about the rest of them?¡±

    The fatty replied, ¡°Oh, I asked Little He the same thing, and he said that the frogs obviously croaked as a way of greeting me.¡±

    Zu An figured that, since Little Xu¡¯s answer had clearly displeased him, it would be even more stupid if the others didn¡¯t change their answer. ¡°Then why did you punish them too?¡±

    The fatty replied angrily, ¡°His reply made me happy, but I wanted to hear the frogs greet me again. Unfortunately, they couldn¡¯t make the frogs croak. Doesn¡¯t that mean that they were lying to me?¡±

    Zu An was once again speechless.

    Of course the frogs would run off when so many people showed up so suddenly!

    He looked at the eunuchs with pity. Whichever reply they chose was destined to be the wrong choice. What a terrible plight.

    Those eunuchs seemed to have sensed the meaning within his gaze. They nodded knowingly back at him. Finally, someone understands the depth of our suffering!

    They were originally angry at him for throwing stones at them while they were down, but after seeing his sympathetic expression, their enmity towards him decreased.

    The big fatty continued, ¡°Oh, since you¡¯re here, I want to hear your thoughts as well. Did those frogs croak on their own, or were they greeting me?¡±

    Zu An wanted to hit his head against a wall.

    If he had known this was going to happen, he wouldn¡¯t have asked so many questions!

    The eunuchs all took delight in his misfortune. Heh, look at how smug you were a moment ago. You¡¯re about to be made to strip and jump with the rest of us.

    The fatty was rather dissatisfied that Zu An had yet to reply. ¡°Hello? I¡¯m talking to you. Are you looking down on me by not replying?¡±

    ¡°Of course not.¡± Zu An gave the pond a look. A confident smile appeared on his lips. ¡°These frogs are obviously croaking to greet you.¡±

    The fatty was overjoyed. ¡°Haha! I knew it! Can you make them croak a few more times, then?¡±

    The eunuchs exchanged nces, and almost burst outughing. Where did this idiote from? You just had to keep talking and draw the crown prince¡¯s attention. Look at you now!

    ¡°Sure.¡± Zu An chuckled. He walked over to the pond, then spoke as if he was addressing the frogs in the pond. ¡°Fellow frog brothers, my friend wants to hear you greet him some more. Please show him some respect and croak for him.¡±

    The eunuchs allughed. Wasn¡¯t this guy even dumber than the crown prince?

    Of course, none of them dared give voice to these thoughts. However, they looked at Zu An the way anyone would look at the vige idiot.

    The big fatty seemed to have discovered a kindred spirit. He quickly rushed over to Zu An¡¯s side. ¡°You can talk to frogs?¡±

    Zu An smiled modestly. ¡°Only a little.¡±

    Little Xu finally couldn¡¯t take it anymore. ¡°Master, you¡¯re being fooled! No one in this world can talk to frogs!¡±

    Little He nodded in agreement. ¡°Exactly, Master¡­¡±

    Before he could finish, the sound of croaking came from the direction of the pond. There were only a few frogs at first, but the croaking became louder and louder. Eventually, all the frogs were croaking in unison.

    The eunuchs stared at the pond, all of them dumbstruck. Innumerable frogs were squatting on the lotus leaves, as though all of the frogs in the pond had appeared. They were all croaking at the crown prince, sitting in a proper stance, as though paying their respects.

    1. Ruizhi means ¡®wise and farsighted¡¯.

 Chapter 575: Crown Princess

    <h4>Chapter 575: Crown Princess</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The fatty was ted. He ran over to the pond, looking left and right excitedly. He looked as happy as a child.

    Zu An heard many people refer to the crown prince as ¡®unsophisticated¡¯. Back then, he thought that they were too embarrassed to call him an idiot, so that was why they changed their wording.

    Now, it looked like the crown prince was indeed simple and unsophisticated.

    If he was born in an ordinary n, he might just enjoy his life as a wealthy heir, but in the royal family, he was doomed for a bad ending. He remembered that there was an emperor from the Western Jin Dynasty who was simr to this crown prince in front of him. In the end, the entire country rose in rebellion.

    Normally, the emperor of this world would be the most powerful cultivator. The emperor should know this, yet he insists on creating this danger due to his selfish desires!

    While his mind was wandering, the fatty ran over with a big smile. His fat jiggled like waves as he ran.

    ¡°You really can speak to frogs! How did you do it? Teach me! You¡¯ll be my big bro from today on!¡± The big fatty tugged on his sleeves in adoration.

    Zu An knew that he already had this fatty in the bag. ¡°I can teach you, but honestly, I¡¯m pretty hungry right now, so I don¡¯t think I can teach that well.¡±

    Little Xu and Little He werepletely gobsmacked. The crown prince actually called this fe big bro? The worst part was that this guy agreed! He had no idea what the hell he was getting himself into!

    ¡°That¡¯s not a problem, there¡¯s a lot of snacks here. Little Xu, Little He, hurry ande serve this¡­¡± The fatty was stunned. ¡°Big bro, what is your name?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Zu An.¡± There was no need to hide this. Everyone inside the pce was going to know sooner orter.

    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m Zhao Ruizhi.¡± The fatty weed him with a big smile. This was the seat that his people prepared for him. There were all types of fine refreshments and fruits on the table. ¡°Big bro, these aren¡¯t anything special, but you can eat some for now. I¡¯ll have them make something good for youter.¡±

    When they saw the fawning smile on the crown prince¡¯s face and how he stuck to this neer like a dog, the eunuchs were stupefied. They wanted to berate Zu An, but with how much the crown prince liked him, they were all too scared to say anything.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to go through all that trouble.¡± Zu An picked up a pastry and took a big bite out of it. Suddenly, he remembered that there were definitely many people who envied this stupid crown prince. If someone poisoned him, then it really would be incredibly unlucky if he ate it instead.

    As such, he handed the pastry in his hand to him. ¡°Eat some too.¡±

    ¡°Sure!¡± Zhao Ruizhi smiled in a simple and honest manner. He took it and threw it into his mouth.

    The others couldn¡¯t stop him in time. All of their faces paled. What if there was some poison on this fe¡¯s hands? There was no way they would survive if something happened to the crown prince!

    All of them stared at the crown prince to see if there was anything wrong.

    Zhao Ruizhi picked up another pastry. ¡°Big bro, you should keep eating. It tastes pretty good.¡±

    When he saw how quickly the food disappeared, Zu An finally understood how this dude ended up bing so fat.

    But now, he didn¡¯t have to worry about the food being tampered with. He also picked up a pastry and began to eat.

    Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s face was stuffed with food, so his voice was muffled as he said, ¡°By the way, how did you talk to the frogs? Hurry and teach me!¡±

    ¡°You need to imagine that you are one of them first, and then you have to let go of your thoughts. You cannot use only your mouth tomunicate with them.¡± Zu An told him a load of bullsh*t. The reason he could talk to them was because of the jade badge he got from the Eastern Barbarian girl in the Yinxu dungeon. That thing allowed him tomunicate with lower intelligence life forms.

    Hm? His expression suddenly changed. He wondered if he could use it to control this dummy crown prince. He didn¡¯t seem to be that intelligent.

    Zhao Ruizhi seemed to have gained the most important treasure. He wasn¡¯t even in the mood to eat anymore and quickly ran over to the pond to y with the frogs.

    Then, he suddenly ran over and squatted down, releasing a croak sound.

    The frogs also replied with a croak. Zhao Ruizhi was immediately excited. ¡°Big bro, big bro! I learned how to talk to them too!¡±

    Zu An had a strange look on his face. ¡°What did you tell them?¡± He didn¡¯t have time to make those frogs cooperate with him.

    Zhao Ruizhi replied, ¡°I asked them if they ate yet.¡±

    ¡°Did they reply?¡± Zu An had a strange look on his face.

    ¡°They did! They told me they ate already!¡± Zhao Ruizhi said without any hesitation.

    Zu An: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    What the heck. Saves me the effort I guess.

    This fe is actually too smart for his own good.

    Those eunuchs were stunned. If they knew that it was this easy to con the crown prince, why the hell did they jump around naked like frogs earlier?

    But they also knew that they couldn¡¯t make the frogs greet the crown prince like Zu An did, so the crown prince obviously wouldn¡¯t believe them.

    Zhao Ruizhi ran back over to Zu An¡¯s side after ying with the frogs for a bit. ¡°Big bro, you¡¯re so awesome, so I have something else I want to ask you.¡±

    ¡°Ask me anything.¡± Zu An peeled a banana while replying nonchntly.

    Those eunuchs all widened their eyes from howid back he seemed. This person really was freaking daring!

    Zu An knew what they were thinking from the iing Rage points. However, he wasn¡¯t intentionally courting disaster, but rather felt that with an oddball like the crown prince, you can¡¯t y your cards the same way you usually do.

    It was instead easier to gain the crown prince¡¯s favor by putting on this type of smug attitude.

    Zhao Ruizhi chuckled. He gave those eunuchs a look, his expression seemingly a bit embarrassed. He moved next to Zu An and said with a hushed voice, ¡°So¡­ there¡¯s someone I want to mess with, maybe make her smell my fart or something, but she¡¯s way too smart. She always avoids it before I prank her. Do you have any ideas?¡±

    Zu An: ¡°???¡±

    I¡¯m still freaking eating! Why are you saying something so disgusting to my face?

    But when he saw his pure and hopeful expression, he knew that this fatty was being serious. As such, he chuckled. This fe really was like a child who just wanted to prank his friends.

    He casually replied, ¡°That¡¯s easy enough. Next time, when you are about to fart, tell your friends ¡®something smells like it¡¯s burning¡¯. Then, they will subconsciously pay more attention to their sense of smell to check to see if something really is burning. However, that¡¯ll just make them breathe in your entire fart.¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Those eunuchs were extremely shocked. Is this something a freaking human thinks of? This is just way too evil!

    Zhao Ruizhi became even happier. ¡°Big bro is really strong! I¡¯ll definitely be able to prank her this time!¡±

    Zu An was surprised. ¡°Who are you trying to prank?¡±

    Zhao Ruizhi replied, ¡°My wife. She is always making fun of me for being stupid, so I wanted to mess with her for once.¡±

    Zu An: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    This is the freaking crown princess! What the hell am I supposed to say now? You actually want your wife to smell your fart?

    ¡°Were you trying to prank me?¡± A cold voice sounded from behind them at this time.

    Zhao Ruizhi trembled. He immediately began to shake all over like a quail.

    Zu An turned around with curiosity. His eyes couldn¡¯t help but light up.

    A beautiful woman slowly walked towards the two of them. Her shoulders looked like they were sculpted, her waistline thin as if it was bound. Her neck was long and graceful like a swan. Her skin was fair and smooth. She was dressed in a set of dazzling and luxurious pce outfit, the two ribbons fluttering behind her making her waist look even more thin and enchanting.

    There was a red beauty mark at the center of her forehead. Her hair was dressed meticulously, decorated by an exquisite lotus flower woven out of threads. There were several delicate hairpins at both sides, as well as a shining golden ornament. She naturally exuded a type of noble grandeur.

    Her enchanting and dignified eyes were staring coldly at Zu An.

 Chapter 576: Young Noble Lady

    <h4>Chapter 576: Young Noble Lady</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An frowned. Even though this woman was definitely pretty, she seemed a bit too cold.

    This type of coldness was different from Chu Chuyan¡¯s. Chu Chuyan¡¯s natural disposition was gentle and refined. Together with the Snowke Sword she cultivated, she gave off the feeling of an ice beauty.

    But the woman before him had a type of high and mighty indifference. She was clearly not that old, yet she gave off a type of dignity that didn¡¯t match her age.

    No wonder that lively fatty suddenly became like a mouse that saw a cat.

    Zu An wasn¡¯t stupid. He immediately knew that this was the crown princess.

    The beautiful woman gave the two of them a look. Zhao Ruizhi stood up from his seat as if his bottom just got burned. He stood there rigidly and obediently¡­

    She saw that Zu An was still sitting leisurely in ce, casually eating fruits. She frowned.

    The maid next to her saw this change in expression and immediately berated, ¡°Outrageous! Who do you think you are? You dare sit in the crown prince¡¯s spot?¡±

    Zu An thought to himself that this crown princess really was incredibly arrogant. It was almost as if he was of too low status to even speak to, so she had her maid scold him in her ce.

    He gave that maid a sidelong look. ¡°Your crown prince let me sit here. Do I need to ask you for permission first? Are you even anyone important?¡±

    ¡°You!¡± That maid immediately began to shake all over.

    You have sessfully trolled Rong Mo for +999 Rage points!

    As the crown princess¡¯ personal maid, others would try to curry favor with her wherever she went. When had she ever encountered anyone who immediately criticized her? She was so baffled she didn¡¯t know how to respond, which made her even more angry.

    Zu An sneered. Rong Mo? Why isn¡¯t your name Granny Rong?[1]

    He could tell right from the start that this wasn¡¯t someone he could reason with.

    The crown princess gave him a surprised look. She didn¡¯t expect this person to be so daring.

    You have sessfully trolled Bi Linglong for +258 Rage points!

    Zu An gave her a look too. This woman¡¯s name sounded pretty nice, but the person herself was a bit too fierce.[2]

    The crown princess felt increasingly unhappy when she saw his fixed gaze. She harrumphed.

    She was the crown princess! Normally, all men would bow their heads in her presence. At the very least, they didn¡¯t dare look at her.

    Even the important ministers of the court would do their best to avoid looking at her too much, yet this fe stared at her in such an unrestrained manner!

    You have sessfully trolled Bi Linglong for +489 Rage points!

    Zhao Ruizhi timidly said, ¡°Little Mo, I was the one who told him to sit there.¡±

    That maid was about to say something else when the crown princess stopped her. This foolish girl criticized Zu An with the crown prince¡¯s name, yet the other party shot right back using the same name. It waspletely pointless to try and argue further on this matter.

    She turned her head to ask the naked eunuchs to the side, ¡°What are you all doing here?¡±

    Little Xu and Little He trembled as they replied, ¡°Replying to the crown princess. We were pretending to be frogs.¡±

    Bi Linglong: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    She knew what kind of person her husband was as well. These shenanigans weren¡¯t surprising at all. As such, she changed her approach and asked, ¡°What happened here just now? Also, who is this?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes narrowed. This crown princess was much smarter than that maid. From the looks of it, she was looking for another reason to punish him.

    Little Xu and Little He hurriedly recounted what just happened. They didn¡¯t dare to offend the crown princess, but they were also scared of offending the crown prince, which was why the information was unbiased. They objectively exined what just happened.

    But who would¡¯ve thought that Bi Linglong would be furious upon hearing this. ¡°Chat with frogs? Utterly preposterous! Have this sorcerer who has deceived the crown prince receive twenty strikes to the mouth as a warning to others! All those who dare to deceive the crown prince through such treacherous methods in the future are to be punished severely.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± The eunuchs who followed behind her walked towards Zu An with a sinister smile.

    Zhao Ruizhi opened his mouth several times, but when he saw the crown princess¡¯ ferocious expression, he guiltily swallowed down his pleas for leniency.

    Zu An cursed him for being a good for nothing henpecked man. There was obviously no way he would let these eunuchs have their way. He immediately berated them. ¡°Wait a moment!¡±

    Bi Linglong gave him a cold look. She didn¡¯t have any intention of talking to him.

    Zu An¡¯s face darkened. Wasn¡¯t the normal trend to give him a chance to exin himself?

    Under helplessness, he could only say, ¡°I am a friend the crown prince invited. If you do not believe me, you can ask him for proof.¡± He nudged the fatty next to him while saying this.

    Zhao Ruizhi seemed to have woken up from his dream. He thus said, ¡°Linglong, he is my friend, and he didn¡¯t lie to me. I wanted to make him my teacher so that I can learn how to talk to frogs. It¡¯s much more interesting than the things the tutors teach me.¡±

    ¡°He even told you to call him your teacher?¡± Bi Linglong¡¯s expression became even colder. ¡°Absolutely shameful! There is no need for the mouth strikes, just drag him down and have him beaten a hundred times by the rod!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Bi Linglong for +581 Rage!

    Those eunuchs immediately quickened their steps and rushed at him.

    Zu An gave them a cold look. Those eunuchs¡¯ bodies immediately became ice-cold, as if they were facing something terrifying. They didn¡¯t dare take even half a step forward.

    Even the crown princess and maid¡¯s hearts subconsciously jumped.

    Why were this fe¡¯s eyes so terrifying?

    But how could they know that Zu An already experienced countless battles that ced him on the edge of life and death? He even spent several decades as the ruler of the Shang Dynasty! Together with the fact that he always carried the Tai¡¯e Sword with him, a sword known for its dao of power, his aura already changed considerably. Normal people would feel pressure and fear when they faced him. It was just that normally, he intentionally concealed this type of aura.

    There was no way he would remain polite when this crown princess treated him with such disrespect.

    How could an ordinary person survive a hundred strikes by the rod? Even a cultivator would have ayer of skin shaved off, because the one hitting them would also be cultivators.

    Zu An thus said coldly, ¡°The crown prince is already so old, could it be that he doesn¡¯t even have the right to choose who he bes friends with, who he chooses to learn from? As a wife, aren¡¯t you too controlling? I wonder if you think you are the crown heir and that he is just your live-in son-inw.¡±

    Bi Linglong¡¯s face twitched. How could she dare admit to something like that? It would be really troublesome if this type of rumor got out. She quickly bowed to Zhao Ruizhi and said, ¡°Crown prince, I was just worried that you might be simple by nature, so you ended up being deceived by someone else. There were no other intentions behind my actions.¡±

    Zhao Ruizhi didn¡¯t pick up on any of the conflict between the two of them. He said with a chuckle, ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s fine.¡±

    He subconsciously walked over to help her up when he saw her bow towards him.

    But Bi Linglong instead got back up before he could do anything. Even though it looked like the crown prince supported her, Zu An was close enough to see that the two of them didn¡¯t make any contact.

    A pondering expression appeared on his face. This husband and wife rtionship was interesting.

    He coughed lightly and said, ¡°Then ording to the crown princess¡¯ words, could it be that you think the crown prince is stupid, that he doesn¡¯t even have the ability to distinguish between right and wrong?¡±

    The others¡¯ expressions all changed when they heard what he said. The matters of the crown prince being stupid was an absolute taboo. It was something everyone was hush hush about. No one dared to mention it publicly. Yet this fe was quite something! Not only did he say this in public, he even said it in front of the crown prince himself!

    Bi Linglong was just about to say something, yet who would¡¯ve thought that Zhao Ruizhi would say in agreement, ¡°Linglong, what Zu An says is right! I¡¯m not stupid.¡±

    Bi Linglong: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    This idiot of a husband was messing everything up! What else could she even do about this?

    But she wasn¡¯t willing to let Zu An go just like that either. Both sides were stuck in a deadlocked situation just like that.

    Wait, Zu An, this name¡­ Why does it sound familiar?

    At this time, a gentle and soft voice sounded from the side. ¡°May I ask who Little Sister Linglong is upset at?¡±

    Bi Linglong¡¯s expression changed when she heard this voice. She recovered her usual smiling appearance and turned around. ¡°Concubine Bai, what made you decide to go for a stroll around here today?¡±

    Zu An followed the sound of the voice. He saw a slender and elegant young nobledy. She was beautiful like a spring mountain, her eyes clear like autumn waters. She was gorgeous, yet she gave off a type of dignified and unapproachable aura.

    1. Momo here means granny, or olddy

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    2. Bi = Jade, Linglong = Exquisite

 Chapter 577: Meeting the Emperor

    <h4>Chapter 577: Meeting the Emperor</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An gave Bi Linglong a look, and then he looked at this Concubine Bai. It really was a contrast of different types of beauties.

    But even though this crown princess was stunning, she was a bit too fierce. It was instead this Concubine Bai who seemed more gentle and dignified. Those who saw her immediately produced good impressions of her.

    But these two seemed to hate each other. He could even vaguely sense sparks in the sky.

    The crown prince immediately became a happy mess. ¡°Big Sis Bai, you came!¡±

    That young nobledy gave him a graceful bow. Even her greeting was graceful like flowing water. ¡°There is no need for the crown prince to address my humble self in such a way. You can just call me Rouxue.¡±

    So her name was Bai Rouxue.

    Wait, humble self?

    Zu An suddenly realized that this young married woman was probably the concubine Chu Chuyan told him about. The emperor gave her to the crown prince, and then she gave birth to a son.

    No wonder she called the crown princess little sister earlier. Then, even though Bi Linglong was unhappy, she could only hold herself back and feign civility.

    This Bai Rouxue looked a bit older than Bi Linglong. At times, the crown princess still looked like a youngdy, but this concubine was more like a married woman, a mature one at that.

    His eyes unknowingly drifted towards her impressive chest. Chu Chuyan mentioned that she already had a child¡­ was she still breastfeeding?

    Bai Rouxue¡¯s face turned a bit red, as if she noticed his eyes. But she didn¡¯t say anything and instead turned towards the crown princess. ¡°I heard Little Sister Linglong¡¯s voice all the way from the other courtyard, so I came to see who made you so angry.¡±

    Bi Linglong was annoyed. Are you mocking me for having a loud voice?

    She said indifferently, ¡°I only wanted to teach an ignorant man a lesson. I didn¡¯t expect to startle Concubine Bai.¡±

    The other party called her little sister because she was a bit older than her. Together with her special identity, this type of address was also appropriate.

    But she was absolutely not willing to call her big sister. After all, she was the real princess, so why would she call a concubine big sister?

    ¡°Oh? Could it be that this is the so-called ignorant man?¡± Bai Rouxue gave Zu An a curious look.

    Zu An had a strange expression on his face. This wasn¡¯t the time for this! He felt as if he was suddenly caught up in a great pce drama.

    He gave Zhao Ruizhi a look. This fatty¡¯s luck with girls wasn¡¯t that bad. Both of these girls were extremely beautiful, and their styles were alsopletely different.

    But the current Zhao Ruizhi was smiling like aplete idiot.

    Bai Rouxue sized up Zu An. ¡°Judging from your attire, you don¡¯t seem to be a member of the pce. How did youe in?¡±

    Bi Linglong was rmed. This was indeed the case! She actually forgot this most important issue earlier. It was all because this fe was too daring that she was so pissed off that she wasn¡¯t as sharp as she usually was.

    Zu An replied, ¡°Zhuxie Chixin brought me in. Then, Elder Li took me nearby.¡±

    Bai Rouxue¡¯s expression changed. She finally remembered why this name was so familiar. It was that guy with the method of immortality everyone was moring about.

    Bi Linglong also sized him up in surprise. She also knew who Zu An was now.

    Bi Linglong harrumphed and said to Zhao Ruizhi, ¡°Crown prince, let¡¯s go back. Your morning lessons are not finished yet.¡±

    Zhao Ruizhi began to panic. ¡°But I still want to y more with Zu An! There are so many things to y¡­¡±

    But Bi Linglong shot him a sidelong nce, scaring him so badly that he swallowed all of the other words back down.

    Bai Rouxue pursed her lips and said, ¡°Little Sister Linglong, why are you in such a rush to leave?¡±

    Bi Linglong replied coldly, ¡°I must bring the crown prince back to his lessons. I dare not be negligent.¡±

    Hmph! This Zu An is someone the emperor himself wants to meet, yet she ordered for him to be beaten to death! If news of this got to the emperor, then who knew what kind of thoughts he might have towards her and her n.

    She knew that she couldn¡¯t do anything else to Zu An, so why would she continue to stay here and make a fool of herself?

    She gave the maid a look. The maid named Rong Mo quickly ordered the eunuchs to bring the crown prince back. Everyone hurriedly left. Only Zhao Ruizhi alone turned his head reluctantly, either to get onest look at that gentle Big Sister Bai, or because he didn¡¯t want to leave Zu An yet.

    Zu An cupped his hands towards this graceful nobledy when they left. ¡°Thank you Concubine Bai for speaking out for justice earlier. You¡¯ve saved me quite a bit of trouble.¡±

    Bai Rouxue nodded her head slightly, a faint smile on her face. She didn¡¯t reply and turned around to quietly leave.

    Zu An was gloomy. Were all pce women this arrogant?

    That beautiful crown princess didn¡¯t feel like talking to him either and had her maid speak in her ce. Onlyter on was she finally unable to hold herself back and said some things.

    Now, this seemingly gentle and graceful Concubine Bai was also insufferably arrogant, unwilling to even speak a single word to him.

    It made him seem like a freaking sex offender. Who the hell are you even on guard against?

    Of course, he knew that let alone these imperial concubines, even the women of ordinary families wouldn¡¯t talk to male strangers for no reason. They called men outside of the family outsider men, and a single moment of carelessness and there might be rumors of them meeting up with an outsider man. Something like this was catastrophic for the reputation of most girls.

    Brightmoon City was more open-minded due to being a trade city. The other cities were much more strict on the matter.

    But normally speaking, a ce like the capital shouldn¡¯t be as conservative.

    He suddenly realized something. The crown prince was stupid, so as the concubines of this type of prince, they naturally had to pay more attention to these things to avoid suspicion.

    He sighed when he thought of this. Even though this crown prince was dumb, he was quite blessed.

    A small eunuch quickly ran over. ¡°My goodness, how did you end up all the way here? All of us were looking for you! Hurry and follow me. His majesty has finished his court session and will now meet you.¡±

    Zu An frowned. He was on guard. ¡°Where is Elder Li?¡±

    The small eunuch subconsciously replied, ¡°Elder Li seemed to have made a mistake and the emperor¡­¡±

    He immediately stopped talking midway. ¡°Stop asking so many questions! Move faster!¡±

    Zu An was amused. He followed this small eunuch to a quiet and elegant room. When he saw the words ¡®Imperial Study¡¯ hanging above the entrance, he sighed in relief. Even though he had his guesses, he was still worried that this small eunuch would lead him to a trap. It now seemed like he was worried for nothing.

    This was the inner pce after all, the ce where the emperor¡¯s personal staff operated. If there was always trouble happening in this type of ce, then the emperor really was too ipetent.

    The small eunuch said respectfully by the entrance. ¡°Your majesty, I have brought him.¡±

    A dignified voice sounded from within. ¡°Let him in.¡±

    The small eunuch pushed open the door and gestured for Zu An to go in.

    Even though he already thought through his n, now that it was game time, Zu An discovered that he was still a bit nervous. His heart was thumping, and even his body was shivering uncontrobly.

    It wasn¡¯t that he was cowardly, but rather an instinctive feeling of danger. After all, he was going to face this world¡¯s most powerful cultivator. If his n failed, then the only thing awaiting him might really be death.

    But he was still someone who spent several decades as an emperor in Yinxu Dungeon. He took a deep breath and quickly calmed down. Then, he walked in.

    The small eunuch closed the door behind him after he entered.

    The noise of the door closing added to the heavy atmosphere.

    Zu An felt a type of suffocating feeling when he entered the room, as if even breathing became much more difficult than usual.

    His expression changed slightly. He knew that this was the pressure of a powerful cultivator. But even though he already absorbed Mosquito Daoist¡¯s cultivation and grew much stronger, he still felt extremely ufortable.

    This was a pressure he had never faced before. Regardless of whether it was Old Mi, Eunuch Wei, the giant dragon, Mosquito Daoist, or others he faced on his way to the capital, none of their auras couldpare to what he was experiencing right now. The only one who was a bit simr was Mi Li when he first met her. But back then, he had the Heiress Ball of Delights, so he wasn¡¯t too worried.

    He still had the courage to fight back then, but now, he felt a trembling from his very soul. Every single cell in his body seemed to be screaming that it was useless, to not even struggle and ept his fate.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    But he remembered the remnant soul of the first emperor of China he faced in the Ursae Dungeon, as well as the Shang King Wu Geng. He even made it through those encounters, so how could he give in so easily now?

    Furthermore, as a transmigrator, he had seen everything imaginable on the inte before. He couldn¡¯t let his isekai predecessors down!

    His perspective changed when he thought of these things. The pressure instantly lessened.

    A voice of surprise sounded from not far away. ¡°Oh? You¡¯re quite the interesting fe.¡±

 Chapter 578: Unfathomable Might

    <h4>Chapter 578: Unfathomable Might</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An followed the source of the sound. He saw a tall and robust dragon-robed man standing by a writing desk. This man was currently facing him expressionlessly.

    This was clearly the Great Zhou Dynasty¡¯s Emperor. His clothes could be copied, but this aura was definitely not something that could be replicated.

    He already asked Chu Chuyan and found out that the emperor¡¯s name was Zhao Han.

    Zu An wanted to see just how exaggerated this number one expert was for himself. But when they looked at each other, he only remembered his sharp and prating eyes.

    He didn¡¯t know how to describe those eyes. He had met emperors before, but the first emperor was already just a remnant soul. Furthermore, he already passed the trial, so the other party treated Zu An as one of his own. He didn¡¯t exert his pressure on Zu An.

    Later on, this was also true for Wu Geng. He always had the burden of the Shang Dynasty¡¯s destruction weighing down on his shoulders. He even pretended to be an ordinary crown prince during the trial, so his aura was deliberately masked. That was why Zu An didn¡¯t feel too much pressure.

    But the person in front of him was different. Those eyes seemed to stab straight through his soul. They instantly prated all of your defenses, as if no secrets remained uncovered.

    Zu An knew that this was a type of illusion, but he still subconsciously averted his eyes.

    Then, he saw the dragon robes. There was a pen in his hands that was writing something a moment ago. Why do these major figures all love to unt this calligraphy stuff?

    The emperor¡¯s voice carried a mysterious feeling of dignity and confidence. ¡°You are different from other people. Others will immediately be scared witless when they see this emperor, but you still have the leisurely mood to even let your imagination run wild.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He even saw through my random thoughts? Does this guy know mind reading?

    But he still replied, ¡°What can I say? When you crawl up from the bottom, where your life is utterly worthless, you tend to develop a bit of an unyielding nature.¡±

    ¡°You are even acting like this before me! No wonder you behaved the way you did in front of the crown prince.¡± The emperor lowered his pen. If anyone was standing next to him, they would see that he wrote the word ¡®immortality¡¯ with a few dots behind it. His heart was clearly full of hesitation and indecisiveness while writing these words.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Of course, as an emperor, he wouldn¡¯t show this to anyone else.

    Zu An was surprised when he heard this. ¡°So your majesty already knew about that.¡±

    Just how long had it been since I separated from the crown prince? He even knew about this?

    As if seeing through his thoughts, the emperor slowly said, ¡°Of course I know. It isn¡¯t so easy to hide anything in this pce from me.¡±

    Zu An remained silent. He didn¡¯t know what the meaning behind the emperor telling him these things was. He was wondering how he was going to get him to wear the Hat of Forgiveness.

    One n was to use his instantaneous movement skill to dash over and make him wear it. Everything would be easy to deal with once he made the emperor wear it.

    But he immediately gave up on this thought as soon as he met the real deal.

    The other party was standing there casually, and it seemed like there was only a zhang between them. However, Zu An felt as if there was an endless abyss between them. He couldn¡¯t even pinpoint his exact position.

    It was obvious that with his cultivation, he wouldn¡¯t have any chances of approaching the emperor unless he let him.

    The emperor gave him a long look. ¡°If this was in the past, I might admire your temperament and resolve. I might even try to take you under my wing. But now¡­ someone like you would never yield. In the future, the crown prince wouldn¡¯t be able to make you bow down either, so this emperor obviously cannot leave a disaster like you alive. Have him executed and inform the entire world that this is the consequence of offending the crown prince.¡±

    Zu An: ¡°???¡±

    Bro, you¡¯re not ying your cards like how you¡¯re supposed to! You¡¯re going to execute me already? How am I even supposed to respond?

    Guards quickly swarmed in. Zu An was about to evade, but his entire body was restricted after the emperor just gave him an indifferent look. He couldn¡¯t move at all.

    He was instantly detained by the guards and escorted out.

    Zu An shouted, ¡°I refuse to ept this type of baseless usation!¡±

    The emperor said coldly, ¡°Does this emperor need your eptance if I wish for something to be done?¡±

    Zu An: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    Bro, you won¡¯t make any friends talking like that.

    He quickly shouted while he was being dragged out, ¡°Then does the emperor not want the method of immortality?¡±

    ¡°Immortality?¡± The emperor lowered his head and gave his calligraphy a look. A hint of mockery shed past his lips. With a wave of his hand, that sheet of paper instantly turned to powder, yet the table remained unharmed. One could imagine just how great his control over his own power was.

    ¡°Immortality is but an illusory ideal. Monarchs have fallen one generation after the next, which one of them has obtained true immortality? This emperor does not trust in such an illusory immortality. On the contrary, I have led the humans in defeating the Fiend ns and unified the wilderness. Everyone will remember my glorious achievements! This is true immortality.¡± The emperor¡¯s originally emotionless face finally changed a bit. His entire being seemed to have been possessed by a type of zealotry.

    Zu An immediately began to curse this emperor. Why the hell are you sending people to find the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra if you don¡¯t even care about immortality? Why did you even bring me here then?

    Since this was already a matter of life and death, his mind moved at lightspeed. He quickly said, ¡°But after ten thousand years, people might not remember your achievements anymore! They might even forget about you after just a few centuries!¡±

    ¡°Impossible!¡± The emperor erupted into rage. This was the immortality he sought, what he cared about the most. How could he tolerate the doubt of others?

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Han for +999 Rage!

    An iparably powerful aura swept out. The two guards who detained Zu An immediately knelt down and begged for forgiveness.

    Even though Zu An also felt awful from the pressure, he still sighed in relief.

    He finally received some Rage points from this person. He was still human after all, and not a god.

    There was no way he was going to waste any time. He seized this fleeting chance. ¡°What I wish to say cannot enter the ears of anyone else.¡±

    The emperor gave him a cold look. With a wave of his hand, the two guards withdrew. With his cultivation, there was naturally no need to fear any eavesdroppers.

    When the guards left, the emperor said, ¡°You may speak. However, if you dare y tricks on me, heh¡­¡± The threatening tone in his voice was clear.

    Zu An already sorted out his thoughts earlier. He replied, ¡°Your emperor¡¯s idea is fine. There will still be records of your achievements many, many yearster. This type of immortality is much more meaningful than someone who lives a life secluded in the mountains. However, your wish won¡¯t be truly fulfilled either. After all, if you want your achievements to be passed down for an eternity, then you must have scribes record the details as they are. But if the dynasties change, defamation of previous dynasties is amon practice. Even if dynasties do not change, if someone who doesn¡¯t agree with your majesty seeds the throne, then they might also tamper with history. It might not be able to fool those of the current age, but they will deceive those of centuries and millenniater. At that time, your majesty¡¯s achievements would be buried in the great river of time, and those ofter generations wouldn¡¯t know about what happened. If that happens, then your majesty will not obtain your immortality.¡±

    The emperor narrowed his eyes. ¡°What are you implying?¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°Your majesty understands fully well. Why must you ask a question you already know the answer to?¡±

    Sorry, King Qi. I can only use you as my shield. Every man for themselves.

    The emperor began to think to himself. If someone dared to talk to him with this type of tone normally, he would¡¯ve had them dragged out and beaten to death already. However, Zu An¡¯s words really did prod at some of his deepest insecurities. This was also what he had been worried about all these years.

    He gave Zu An a look. He had a pondering expression on his face. ¡°Then what kind of n do you have?¡±

    Zu An was about to say something when he suddenly noticed his expression. ¡°Your majesty probably already has a n, so I would only be making a fool of myself. But if your majesty wants to y a game of chess, then I can serve as a chess piece.¡±

    He really was frightened earlier, but he already realized that the other party exhausted too many resources to bring him to the capital. There was no way he would immediately kill him off.

    The reason why the emperor did what he did earlier was probably just as an initial show of strength.

    The emperor was surprised. ¡°You are indeed a bit special. No wonder she interceded for your sake.¡±

 Chapter 579: First In History

    <h4>Chapter 579: First In History</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Huh?¡± Zu An was stunned. Someone spoke up for him? He didn¡¯t even know if the one the emperor was talking about was male or female. Was it Chu Chuyan? But she wasn¡¯t someone who had the qualifications to speak directly with the emperor, right?

    The emperor¡¯s expression became gloomy. He walked over to the window and gazed into the distant skies. His initial vicious expression now had a trace of softness. ¡°Back then, I owed her a favor¡­¡±

    His voice trailed off. He was reminiscing, but Zu An didn¡¯t know if it was about his past or that person.

    Zu An was stunned when he saw his expression. This was probably some old me. Furthermore, why does the emperor look so much like a simp?

    There was a woman in this world that he couldn¡¯t obtain?

    Zu An immediately felt his thirst for gossip burn within him. Who was this woman? What was even more weird was, why would this woman speak up for him?

    When did I ever meet someone like that?

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    He thought back to the women that he knew. He couldn¡¯t think of anyone.

    The emperor already turned around. ¡°Right, how has Wanru been recently?¡±

    ¡°Wanru?¡± Zu An was stunned. Only after a while did he realize who he was talking about. ¡°Mother-inw hasn¡¯t had it easy recently at all. She has endless worries from all of the dangers surrounding the Chu n.¡±

    Meanwhile, his thoughts went wild. Qin Wanru had a rtionship with the emperor? Why did he suddenly see some greenery above his father-inw¡¯s head?

    Could it be that the one who spoke up for him was her?

    But that doesn¡¯t seem right? She can¡¯t even help the Chu n, so how can she protect me?

    ¡°Are you trying to speak up for her?¡± The emperor harrumphed. ¡°Who told her to pick that Chu Zhongtian fe back then? Otherwise, she would be an imperial concubine right now. There wouldn¡¯t have been any of those annoying vexations.¡±

    Zu An: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    He really was shocked. Even though he guessed that there might be something between these two, he never expected Qin Wanru have had the chance to be an imperial concubine!

    Father-inw really was quite something back then! He actually stole a girl from the emperor himself! No wonder the Chu n had it so rough these years¡­

    ¡°It¡¯s not like what you¡¯re thinking.¡± As if seeing through Zu An¡¯s thoughts, the emperor said with a snort, ¡°How can this emperor be the type who gets jealous over a woman? The main reason why I have continued to act against the Chu n is because the Chu n is nobility from the previous dynasty, moreover one of their leaders. Theirnd and wealth do not belong to the court, which makes them a state within a state. How can I tolerate something like that?¡±

    ¡°I get it, I get it.¡± Zu An had a strange look on his face. Even so, I refuse to believe that you didn¡¯t have any thoughts of taking down your love rival. Otherwise, there are so many other nobles to take care of, why do you just have to start with the Chu n?

    The emperor frowned, clearly unwilling to discuss this matter further. ¡°Even though I promised that person to spare your life, it is on the premise that you hand over the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra. Otherwise, do not me me for betraying the friendship of an old friend.¡±

    Zu An: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you just say that you didn¡¯t care about that fleeting immortality?¡±

    ¡°It is fleeting for other monarchs, but the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra is now right in front of me, so how can it still be considered fleeting?¡± The emperor said with a coldugh.

    Zu An was speechless. So this guy was just trying to show off? I almost gave him too much credit.

    He deliberately showed hesitation. ¡°But that¡¯s the only trump card I have. What if I still die after I hand it over?¡±

    The emperor said indifferently, ¡°I do not go back on my words. If I say that I have promised an old friend to spare your life, then I will spare your life. Do not challenge my patience.¡±

    Zu An clenched his teeth. He fished out the Hat of Forgiveness and threw it over. ¡°The Phoenix Nirvana Sutra¡¯s chants and forms are stored in this hat. You¡¯ll be able to sense the scriptures if you put it on.¡±

    He was gambling on the fact that the emperor never truly saw the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra before. After all, all of Old Mi¡¯spanions were silenced back then, and there was no way he would¡¯ve sent back any news regarding the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra himself.

    Later on, Eunuch Wei Dan never saw the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra either, so there should be no way for the emperor to know what the true scripture was written on.

    Of course, he didn¡¯t have the skill to leave soul imprints on the Hat of Forgiveness. That was Mi Li¡¯s work. Only with her knowledge and cultivation was she able to pull off something like this.

    When he received the hat and saw its lush green color, the emperor subconsciously frowned. He didn¡¯t immediately put it on.

    ¡°I heard that you gave the Sang n¡¯s young master a green hat during the Sang n¡¯s wedding in Brightmoon City?¡± The emperor¡¯s expression became dangerous.

    Zu An panicked. He didn¡¯t expect the emperor to know even these details. He could only reply honestly. ¡°That is indeed the case, but that hat is different from this one. That was just a normal green hat, but this one has the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra recorded on it.¡±

    The emperor frowned. ¡°I still cannot understand why you would give Sang Qian a green hat, and it¡¯s even the same form as your most precious ¡®Phoenix Nirvana Sutra¡¯. ording to the intelligence, you and Sang Qian didn¡¯t seem to get along.¡±

    Zu An broke out in cold sweat. He didn¡¯t expect his past pranks to end up messing things up now. ¡°I wasn¡¯t thinking about anything else back then, I just didn¡¯t want to give him anything expensive, so I chose a cheap hat. It was a coincidence, purely a coincidence.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± The emperor sneered. ¡°I assumed that giving someone a green hat meant that you fooled around with his wife or some simr meaning.¡±

    With his powerful informationwork, it wasn¡¯t hard to figure out Zu An and Zheng Dan¡¯s rtionship.

    Zu An: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    How could he possibly admit to that? If the emperor knew that this was what you were thinking, then you wouldn¡¯t live no matter how many lives you had!

    After all, apart from anything that would threaten the imperial throne, what the emperor feared the most was any of his concubines messing with other men.

    There were endless beauties within the chamber of concubines, but there was only one emperor. There was no way he could pay close attention to every single one of them. A single moment of carelessness and one of those concubines might seek out another man out of loneliness. That was why all men who had any dealings with imperial concubines would have themselves castrated and turned into eunuchs.

    He quickly exined, ¡°That is absolutely not my intention! Furthermore, there is no way I could make something like this hat!¡±

    The emperor nodded. ¡°Hmph, if it wasn¡¯t because of the profound mysteries not even I understand within this hat, I would¡¯ve immediately cut you down upon seeing this type of green hat.¡±

    Zu An smiled apologetically. ¡°Your majesty is truly wise and brilliant!¡±

    He sighed. This keyboard warrior system always gave him weird but amazing stuff. That ¡®Heiress Ball of Delights¡¯ was like this. Back then, there was such a huge gap in cultivation, yet he was able to fight back because of the Heiress Ball of Delights.

    Now, this Hat of Forgiveness was the same. Mi Li could vaguely sense some mysterious rune formations on it, but that was only because of her extensive knowledge. She had great achievements in this field.

    Even though his majesty was strong, he cannotpare to Mi Li in this aspect. That is why he could only sense the mysterious dao within, yet couldn¡¯t understand what the source was.

    But he knew that this hat was definitely not something ordinary. Forget about Zu An, not even he could make anything like this hat. That was why he believed Zu An.

    However, how was he supposed to know that Zu An had crazy cheats?

    The emperor returned to his dragon throne with the hat in hand. After some hesitation, he still wore it. With his cultivation, he didn¡¯t have to fear any trickery with this hat. The reason he hesitated was because once he obtained the true method of immortality, the faith he pursued his entire life might begin to waver.

    But the temptation of immortality was way too great. The battle with the Fiend ns wounded his foundation, which made his life expectancy be much lower than normal. He could even vaguely sense that he didn¡¯t have many years left. However, he still had too many things that he wasn¡¯t willing to let go of.

    Zu An released a long sigh of relief when he saw the lush green hat on the emperor¡¯s head. Even though there were some hups, things still went pretty smoothly.

    He suddenly rxed. He was probably the first one in history to make an emperor happily put on a green hat, right?

 Chapter 580: A Chill Between his Legs

    <h4>Chapter 580: A Chill Between his Legs</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An was disappointed with himself. He was in a life-or-death situation, yet his mind could still manage to wander to such idle thoughts.

    He wasn¡¯t absolutely sure if the Hat of Forgiveness would work on the emperor. After all, he was the world¡¯s foremost expert. It would be a disaster if he possessed something that nullified the hat¡¯s effects.

    Even though he wasn¡¯t betting it all on the Hat of Forgiveness, things would go much more smoothly if it worked.

    As his thoughts wandered, the emperor sat on the dragon throne, his eyes closed in thought. Zu An didn¡¯t know if the Hat of Forgiveness was doing its work, or if the emperor was examining the contents of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra.

    In a few moments, the emperor slowly opened his eyes, his expression hard to read. A whileter, he mumbled to himself, ¡°Some things are hardly worth eating, but discarding them would still be a pity.¡±

    ¡°Has your majestyprehended the meaning of immortality?¡± Zu An asked carefully. Naturally, the technique he had ced in the hat was not the real Phoenix Nirvana Sutra. After all, there was no way he would be stupid enough to hand over his greatest trump card.

    Of course, the chant wasn¡¯tpletely fake. It was, in fact, ny percent true. However, the ten percent of falsehood was enough to ruin the other ny percent.

    He hadn¡¯t read ¡®Legend of Condor Heroes¡¯ for nothing. The tale of how Huang Rong used a fake ¡®Nine Yin Sutra¡¯ to drive Ouyang Feng mad was pretty muchmon knowledge.

    The emperor¡¯s cultivation was too great, and he would easily see through simple counterfeits. That is why he didn¡¯t dare change too much of it.

    Even so, at his level, altering such a thing was beyond him. It was Mi Li who had helped him. She was probably the only one in this present world with sufficient cultivation and knowledge to create such a thing.

    Mi Li¡¯s expression had been rather strange when she heard that he was willing to share the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra with her, though her thoughts were unfathomable.

    ¡°How can such a lowly technique exist in this world? It actually requires that you be beaten up to increase your strength.¡± The emperor frowned at Zu An. ¡°I assume you¡¯ve been beaten up often?¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°Indeed. I¡¯ve walked the line between life and death many times. I¡¯ve already lost count of how many times I have been beaten up.¡±

    The emperor grunted. ¡°No wonder you¡¯re such a lowly person.¡±

    Zu An felt like he¡¯d been punched in the nuts.

    What the hell, man?

    He really wanted to smack this guy in the face. Of course, given the difference in their cultivation, he would end up being the one taught a lesson instead, so he dispelled this thought. He could only stare at the green hat and secretly relish in this small victory.

    ¡°I am the son of heaven,¡± mused the emperor. ¡°Who in this world would dare to strike me? Whose fists can even reach me? Forget it. Worst of all, you have to throw away all other techniques and solely cultivate this one. What Ick the most is time. I don¡¯t have enough time for something like this.¡±

    Zu An feigned a look of concern. ¡°But this technique is incredible, and Your Majesty¡¯s aptitude is exceptional! Who knows, you might be able to cultivate this technique more quickly than anyone else.¡±

    The emperor shook his head. ¡°No matter how fast I can do it, there is still a limit. I will not make it in time. Furthermore, the amount of ki required to progress bes tremendouster on, so much so that even I am left baffled. Even if one started cultivating from within their mother¡¯s womb, they would still not be able to attain immortality. Small wonder why no one had ever truly attained immortality, even though the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra has made several appearances in the past. This technique only has a dismal chance of sess.¡±

    Given his status, how could he possibly cripple the astonishing cultivation he has built up for himself? Wouldn¡¯t all those fellows who were restless with his rule immediately rebel? What would he rely on to quell the chaos then?

    Once he died, the entire empire would copse, and with it, the immortality he sought.

    As someone who had attained the highest cultivation in this world, this was clear enough to him. Perhaps others might have been blinded by thoughts of immortality, but not him.

    The emperor gave Zu An a strange look. ¡°Zhuxie Chixin reported something unusual. You clearly had several chances to escape along the way, yet you never did. Instead, you cooperated well, as if you were in a rush to throw away your life. The two of us have always been puzzled over this matter. Now, I believe you knew that there was no way that I would cultivate this technique, and that was why you weren¡¯t worried. Is that correct?¡±

    ¡°Your majesty is both wise and brilliant.¡± Zu An bowed respectfully. His posture was perfectly humble.

    This was precisely why he had made the journey to the capital so confidently. If the emperor had been in the prime of his life, he would have possessed boundless prospects, and Zu An would never have taken the risk ofing to the capital. However, the fact that the emperor was close to death gave him some room for negotiation.

    The Hat of Forgiveness was the extra icing on the cake, and not the other way around.

    Thest thing he expected was for the emperor to sneer at him. ¡°Unfortunately, you¡¯ve miscalcted. Even though I won¡¯t cultivate this Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, you are younger than me. You still have hope. Do you think that I will let someone who has a chance of attaining immortality stay alive?¡±

    Zu An remained calm. ¡°Your majesty, you said just now that no one can truly cultivate this technique, so how could I possibly attain immortality? If I really had a chance of cultivating it sessfully, I wouldn¡¯t have dared toe to the capital.¡±

    He wasn¡¯t lying when he said this, because he knew how hard it was to make any progress by relying on the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra alone. Even with the Keyboard supporting him, it was difficult. The amount of Rage points needed to fill the fifth rank¡¯s formations was already staggering.

    Moreover, the amount of Rage points required for theter formations increased exponentially, which made sess even more unrealistic.

    For any other person, progress would be much slower.

    Of course, his other techniques still gave him some hope, but any other person wouldn¡¯t have a snowball¡¯s chance in hell.

    The emperor¡¯s breath caught. He realized that he lost hisposure for a moment. His excitement for immortality had led him to feel disappointment. Even his originally irond will wavered. His actions contradicted his own words.

    He sneered at Zu An. ¡°Showing off your wit in front of this emperor isn¡¯t a smart choice.¡±

    Zu An replied. ¡°I wasn¡¯t trying to show off. I was just stating facts.¡±

    The emperor stared at him for a long while, then changed the topic. ¡°What is your opinion on the crown prince?

    Zu An was surprised by this question. As his father, do you really have no idea what your son is like?

    Of course, he wasn¡¯t so stupid as to boldly im that the crown prince was dumb. After all, no matter how selfless a father was, he would never like to hear such a thing. ¡°The crown prince is simple and honest in nature. His disposition harkens back to the grace of our ancestors.¡±

    Zu An wanted to cry. Do you think it¡¯s easy for me toe up with this type of tactful bullsh*t?

    The emperor was momentarily stunned, then a smile spread slowly across his lips. ¡°You¡¯re quite a crafty fellow.¡±

    Zu An took the chance to probe further. ¡°Did Your Majesty have Elder Li lead me to meet the crown prince on purpose?¡±

    He had served as emperor in Yinxu, so he understood the workings of a ruler¡¯s mind. There was no need to always be a yes-man. It was sometimes more favorable to bring up important points at suitable times.

    The emperor snorted. ¡°That fellow has already been diced and fed to the dogs.¡±

    Zu An shivered. Such a response was wholly unexpected.

    To be honest, his meeting with the crown prince had seemed strange. From the emperor¡¯s words, it seemed like he wasn¡¯t the one who incited Elder Li to escort him to a location close to the crown prince.

    Elder Li definitely had not acted on his own initiative on this matter, which meant that there was someone behind him, directing his actions.

    Whoever they were, they were probably hoping that the crown prince or princess would do them a favor and get rid of him. After all, given the crown prince¡¯s morality and his temperament, there was a high chance of Zu An dying. The crown princess had a terrible temper as well, and would have easily ordered him to be beaten to death.

    The emperor¡¯s order for his arrest had left Zu An clutching the end of his rope. Being humiliated by both the crown prince and princess might have been enough to push him over the edge and make him throw caution to the wind just to bring the crown prince down with him.

    Whether it was he who killed the crown prince or vice versa, either oue would have benefitted the one behind the scenes. It was clear that this person did not have the ability to send assassins into the imperial pce, so they had to resort to such an approach.

    Of course, it was impossible for the hidden mastermind to predict that Zu An wouldn¡¯t feel like he was in a tight spot at all. He had nned to meet the emperor to settle this matter to begin with, so there was no way that this n could have seeded.

    The emperor walked over to the window with his hands behind his back, his eyes gazing at the distant scenery. A hint of obsession glinted within his eyes. ¡°Do you know why I arranged for you to spend a night outside the pce?¡±

    Zu An opened his mouth to speak, but hesitated. The emperorughed. ¡°There¡¯s no harm in showing off some of your intelligence. This emperor requires someone with intelligence to face what¡¯s toe, not an idiot.¡±

    Zu An thus said, ¡°I¡¯ve been pondering this myself as well. Ordinarily, keeping me outside the pce for another day would only mean an extra day of uncertainty. Sure enough, assassins showed up. As the world¡¯s number one expert, there¡¯s no way you could have been blind to this fact.¡±

    The emperor snorted. ¡°Stop wasting your time with ttery.¡±

    Zu An chuckled, then continued. ¡°After meeting Your Majesty, it suddenly dawned on me that Your Majesty was using me as bait to draw out all your enemies so that you could seize them in one fell swoop.¡±

    At first, he had only sent King Liang and a few Embroidered Envoy to arrest him. Even though they seemed strong, the secret of eternal life was much too strong of a temptation, and their strength alone had not been enough to stop the attacks of various factions.

    This emperor really is vicious. Was my journey not arduous enough? He even gave those fellows another chance in the capital.

    If it hadn¡¯t been because of all the cheats he had, the weeds on his tomb would have already grown sky high.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure that they have their fair share of sharp individuals on their side, though. Would they jump straight in even if they knew it was a trap?¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An replied, ¡°Your Majesty¡¯s n was brilliant, so it wasn¡¯t that obvious of a trap. Besides, it doesn¡¯t matter even if a few capable individuals are suspicious, because there¡¯s nothing to hide. Immortality is something everyone wishes for, and no one would ever wish for Your Majesty to obtain immortality. That is why they had no choice but to take the leap, even if there was a pit in front of them.¡±

    The emperor was clearly surprised. ¡°If I wasn¡¯t already told that you had grown up on the streets, I would have suspected that you were actually a wily old fox who has roamed the political circles for several decades. You actually managed to see through this plot so easily.¡±

    ¡°These are merely blind guesses on my part.¡± Zu An smiled. The other party wasn¡¯t actually wrong. He had served as the ruler in Yinxu for several decades, and he had long since mastered the art of such political intrigue.

    The emperor continued, ¡°You are correct. I wanted to lure out those who lurked in the undercurrents. There were many seemingly-loyal regional government officials who had long since defected. I needed to find a way to keep them in check. Since a public assassination attempt urred within the capital, it¡¯s clear that the security officer of the Murong n won¡¯t be doing his job anymore.¡±

    The security officer was the central minister in charge of supervising the capital city and the surrounding area, as well as one of the emperor¡¯s rtives. He was also in charge of maintainingw and order within the capital, simr to the chief of theter world¡¯s Commission for Discipline Inspection and Ministry of Public Security. He yed a critical role in the court.

    Zu An suddenly grew rmed. He vaguely remembered Chu Chuyan mentioning this person before. Her grandmother seemed to be from the Murong n! What the hell, I ended up screwing over my mother-inw¡¯s family¡­

    The emperor smiled ambiguously. ¡°How do you think I should deal with you, then?¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°Seeing how I was so cooperative along the way, and even helped you catch so many fish, I suppose I would graciously ept a noble title. A dukedom or something simr would suffice.¡±

    The emperor was less than amused.

    Does this fellow think that noble titles are handed out like cabbages? That they are given out casually?

    He snorted instead. ¡°It seems you¡¯re pretty sharp. I just happen to need a trusted eunuch by my side¡­¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes flew wide open.

    He subconsciously brought his legs together. For some reason, he felt a chill in hisher regions all of sudden.

 Chapter 581: No Middle Path

    <h4>Chapter 581: No Middle Path</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An immediately waved his hands and said, ¡°I¡¯m not sharp at all, nor do I know how to read people! I¡¯m also terribly clumsy, and I definitely can¡¯t tend to your majesty properly!¡±

    The corners of the emperor¡¯s lips curved upwards as he took in Zu An¡¯s nervous expression. ¡°You can learn if you do not know how. There are many experienced old eunuchs in the pce who can teach you slowly.¡±

    Zu An gritted his teeth and said, ¡°I¡¯m sure Your Majesty needs me to take care of something. If you dare to turn me into a eunuch, then there will be no further discussion. I¡¯d rather die than let that happen!¡±

    The emperor¡¯s eyes narrowed, and the room chilled a few degrees. ¡°Are you threatening me?¡±

    Zu An braced himself and said, ¡°I am merely speaking the truth.¡±

    The emperor snorted. ¡°You really are quite brazen. Forget it, I¡¯ll let you keep your two taels of flesh for now. But I¡¯ll send you to the castration room if you handle things poorly.¡±

    Zu An was not amused.

    My jewels definitely weigh more than two taels. You might be mentally scarred if I show them to you.

    The emperor removed the green hat from his head. After caressing it gently, he picked up a book from his desk and tossed it to Zu An. ¡°Memorize the contents, and then find a way to get it into King Qi¡¯s hands.¡±

    Zu An instinctively caught it. The cover of this book seemed made of gold, but at the same time, it wasn¡¯t. It was surely something extraordinary. The book felt simple yet ancient, as if it had existed for over ten thousand years.

    This wasn¡¯t what shocked him the most. What threw him off the most were the words written on the cover, in bold and mboyant calligraphy¡ªPhoenix Nirvana Sutra!

    Had the emperor already managed to obtain the real Phoenix Nirvana Sutra?

    Zu An immediately broke out in cold sweat. However, he quickly realized that, if the emperor really knew the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, he would already be a dead man.

    The emperor frowned. ¡°You seem nervous. Why?¡±

    Given his cultivation, even the slightest eleration of the heart rate or the subtle opening of the pores could not escape his notice.

    Zu An knew that the emperor was already suspicious, and did not dare act carelessly. He carefully considered his reply, then said, ¡°I¡¯m still a nobody. Now that I¡¯ve been drawn into the struggle between Your Majesty and King Qi, I realize that either one of you could kill me with just a thought. That was an rming insight.¡±

    This was actually something that worried him. After all, he¡¯d faced all manner of assassination attempts on the way to the capital. Even though he wasn¡¯t certain if King Qi was rted to all of them, he was definitely involved somehow.

    King Qi was definitely powerful in his own right, if he dared to go against the emperor. He could sense that the sh between the two factions had reached a climax even while he was still back in Brightmoon City. If he got involved in this on his own, he might not make it out alive, even if he had nine lives.

    The emperor seemed relieved by his exnation. ¡°You¡¯re already involved. It is toote to try to stay out of it.¡±

    Zu An fell silent. He¡¯d been forced into this struggle from the moment he leaked out news regarding the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra.

    However, he didn¡¯t regret making this technique public. Without the emperor to keep the various powers in check, he might not have been able to survive long enough to be one of his pawns. Without this lifeline, being kidnapped and tortured for the secrets of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra would have been a likely fate.

    Now, he had just barely managed to forge a path to his own survival. Even though it was still dangerous, it was already more than he could have asked for.

    Zu An opened the book. He could tell that the technique recorded within was also profound and mysterious. Since the emperor was giving it to King Qi, though, it was surely nothing good.

    If he recalled correctly, King Qi was the emperor¡¯s brother.

    He thought that he was already quite crafty, but he paled inparison to the emperor.

    ¡°By the way, even though you are quite sharp, I have to mention that the Chu n and Qin n are inws. I¡¯m doing this to warn you not to do anything foolish at a crucial moment. The Qin n is one of the core forces within King Qi¡¯s faction. If you subconsciously side with King Qi and betray meh, heh¡­ The castration room always wees more eunuchs, and the entertainment department always needs more women. The Chu n seems to have several outstanding candidates, such as their Madam and the young misses¡­ I¡¯ve given you fair warning.¡±

    Zu An forced himself to remain silent.

    This dogsh*t emperor is going too far! He¡¯s ckmailing me so openly!

    The emperor snorted when he saw his expression. ¡°Don¡¯t think I¡¯m a vicious person. Consider everything carefully. Who was trying to kill you along the way, and how many losses did they suffer because of you? There is already an inconsble hatred between you and them. Your only choice is to follow me. Only then do you have any prospects.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure it stings to be known as the drafted son-inw of the Chu n, and the Qin n has no love for the Chu n. Many ns are more formidable than the Chu n. Even if you seek out King Qi¡¯s faction, hoping that they are willing to look past all their losses and take you in, you will only be a drafted son-inw attached to the Chu n. You won¡¯t have any status to speak of. As long as you do your job well, I can grant you the Madam and the young misses of the Chu n. You can even have your pick of thedies in the capital. I believe you know which choice you should make.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    As an emperor, he rarely spoke this much, but this matter was just too important. He had to exin it all personally, to avoid a third party getting wind of this.

    Zu An secretly berated the emperor. Do I need your help to get the women of the Chu n? I can get them just fine on my own.

    ¡°Huh? What was that about Madam?¡± He subconsciously blurted out.

    My dear emperor, do you have some weird fetish? She was almost one of your concubines before!

    Furthermore, such a thing was absolutely taboo, given his rtionship with Chu Chuyan.

    The emperor was stunned. He had made that as an offhandment. However, when he realized the meaning behind his words, a strange smile appeared on his face. ¡°So, you¡¯ve harbored such thoughts towards Qin Wanru.¡±

    As the emperor, he wasn¡¯t scared of his subordinates having desires. What he feared was ack of desire. Their desires made them easier to control.

    Zu An¡¯s face darkened. You were the one who said it. What does it have to do with me?

    The emperor continued casually, ¡°Of course, such things are easy enough to deal with. Once King Qi falls, the Chu n, if it is tied to King Qi¡¯s faction, will have to pay a price. Their women will be taken in by the entertainment department. When that timees, you can ransom them to your own manor and do whatever you wish with them. No one else will know what happens there. They themselves will only have tears of gratitude for you.¡±

    The entertainment department was where the wives and daughters of traitorous officials were sent. Even though they were considered court prostitutes, they were treated even worse than private prostitutes. The girls in normal brothels still had a chance to ransom themselves, but those in the entertainment department had no hope of getting out. The only way to freedom was if the emperor himself agreed to it.

    But the emperor sent those women to the entertainment department precisely to punish officials who broke thew, as a warning for others. Why would he ever let them out?

    Of course, if Zu An served the country well and asked for such a favor, it was entirely possible for the emperor to grant him a few of them. However, such a boon was rarely given, so the emperor wasn¡¯t lying when he said that the women of the Chu n would be extremely grateful to him.

    Zu An was slightly disbelieving.

    Such a ploy was just too evil! He had considered himself a battle-hardened veteran in this field, given the training he¡¯d received from all his online teachers. Only now did he discover that he was an innocent little flower, pure and white, whenpared to the nobility of this world.

    The emperor spoke calmly, as though speaking about apletely ordinary matter. Apparently, such things weremon among the princes and dukes.

    Zu An had to admit anyone else might have been thoroughly convinced. Unfortunately, though, he was a young man who had experienced a modern education. How could he do something like harm the Chu n for his own selfish interests?

    Of course, he wasn¡¯t stupid enough to correct the emperor then and there, since this was the only way for him to survive the battle between him and King Qi. On the contrary, it was better for the emperor to harbor such a misunderstanding.

    Zu An did not pursue this matter further. ¡°I wonder how Your Majesty ns to make King Qi trust me,¡± he asked instead. ¡°Are you going to pretend to imprison me, and have King Qi¡¯s people save me?¡±

    Was he supposed to be a double agent? Unfortunately, no spy in modern history ever met a good ending¡­

    The emperor nodded in satisfaction when he saw how quickly Zu An had epted his new role. ¡°That won¡¯t work. It¡¯s too obvious. King Qi has always been careful. He wouldn¡¯t fall for something like that.¡±

 Chapter 582: Phoenix Man

    <h4>Chapter 582: Phoenix Man</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Furthermore,¡± The emperor paused and smiled coldly, ¡°If he really had the chance to get to you, he might be just as happy to kill you as to save you.¡±

    Zu An remained silent. He also knew that that was true. He had faced assassins from King Qi¡¯s faction on the way to the capital. Even though the two of them had never met, there was already a great enmity between them.

    Of course, the emperor wasn¡¯t bringing this up time and again out of the goodness of his heart. He was clearly trying to portray himself as benevolent, and that he cared more about Zu An. But was that really the case?

    Wei Dan was the emperor¡¯s trusted eunuch, and had served him to the best of his ability. However, the emperor hadn¡¯t yet asked a single question regarding his death.

    His death was likely linked to Zu An, so he was deliberately avoiding this issue. After all, Zu An was currently more useful to him.

    He did not know if the emperor would seek to settle this matter in the future. However, regardless of what would eventually happen, the emperor was definitely a cold and decisive man.

    ¡°Then what should we do?¡± Zu An knew that the emperor definitely already had a n, and was quick to show his cooperation.

    The emperor gave him a token of authority. Zu An turned it about in his hands, and noticed the engraving of what seemed like a unicorn on it. This was the mythological animal, the xiezhi, a creature known for its ability to discern between good and evil. He had seen it before on the uniforms of the Embroidered Envoy, but this one was golden, and seemed to carry much more authority.

    The emperor said, ¡°I will grant you this golden token, which symbolizes the status of an Embroidered Envoy, cing you only beneath Zhuxie Chixin. You may use it at your own discretion as necessary.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Your Majesty.¡± Zu An was overjoyed. He quickly put the token away. This is good stuff! Those embroidered envoys had honestly seemed pretty badass as they carried out ¡®heaven¡¯s will¡¯. Most importantly, he was now highly-ranked, even among the Embroidered Envoy. Wasn¡¯t he now free to do whatever he wanted?

    As if reading his thoughts, the emperor said, ¡°You should not expose this identity. After all, you have a special mission to carry out. Once someone finds out that you are an embroidered envoy equipped with a golden token, your death maye even more swiftly.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Your Majesty, for your reminder.¡± Zu An reminded himself to stay alert. The Embroidered Envoys were the emperor¡¯s most trusted aides. If King Qi¡¯s faction found out that he possessed thismand token, they might not trust anything he said.

    The emperor continued, ¡°This is merely a hidden identity that I am granting you, out of consideration for your safety. Do not tell anyone else about it. I have to give you another public identity. Hm¡­ Since King Qi is currently the crown prince¡¯s imperial preceptor¡­¡±

    He thought for a moment, and then he called in a eunuch. ¡°Pass down the order. Because Zu An has offered up the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, he is to be granted the title of Baron for his contributions. His title is¡­¡±

    He paused for a moment, as if deciding on what would be most appropriate. His eyes quickly lit up. ¡°His title is Phoenix Man.¡±

    Zu An felt his jaw fall to the floor.[1]

    ¡°Your Majesty, please give me a different title!¡± Zu An¡¯s face had turned green. How the hell was he supposed to face anyone with the nickname ¡®Phoenix Man¡¯?

    The emperor seemed displeased. ¡°Nonsense. You¡¯ve offered up the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra. What else would I call you if not Phoenix Man?¡±

    He wanted to use this title to provoke King Qi¡¯s faction, so he was not so easily put off. He continued, ¡°Furthermore, appoint him as the crown prince¡¯s pce secretary. He will supervise and apany the crown prince in his studies.¡±

    Zu An immediately understood what the emperor was thinking. The crown prince¡¯s pce secretary was equivalent to a study partner, although he would hold a higher status. He would also concurrently hold the positions of secretary and chambein. Since King Qi was the crown prince¡¯s imperial preceptor, they would both be serving as officials within the eastern pce. Contact would be unavoidable, and it wouldn¡¯t draw any suspicion.

    In his heart, Zu An was secretly ridiculing the whole situation. King Qi and the crown prince are going crazy fighting over the right of inheritance, yet you made King Qi his goddamned teacher? I wonder which genius came up with that idea.

    Of course, that wasn¡¯t even the main point. He still did not want to be known as the bloody Phoenix Man!

    The emperor wasn¡¯t in the mood to discuss this with him any further. He dismissed him with a wave of his hand, as he already discussed almost everything that had to be discussed. As an emperor, he had many matters to deal with. He couldn¡¯t waste any more time on Zu An.

    Zu An wanted toin some more, but the eunuch assigned to escort him was so frightened that he quickly tried to drag him out.

    The eunuch was obviously not strong enough to manhandle him, but with a wave of the emperor¡¯s sleeves, an invisible force pushed Zu An out of the room.

    The instant he was forced out, he saw the emperor pick up the green hat and put it on again. He stroked the hat as he fell into deep thought. It was clear that, even though he sounded as though he did not actually care about this, the temptation of immortality was not so easily brushed aside, especially when he was close to death.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An¡¯s lips curved into a smile. Hmph, you said that you didn¡¯t want it, but your actions are betraying you.

    At this moment, Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s voice came from outside. ¡°Congrattions, Phoenix Man!¡±

    The emperor had not prevented those outside from hearing thetter part of his conversation, which was why Zhuxie Chixin knew about this.

    Even though his words were congrattory, his tone was cold, which sent an instinctive chill through Zu An¡¯s body.

    Zu An¡¯s eyelids twitched. ¡°Just call me by my name. Don¡¯t use this title.¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin was confused, but he wasn¡¯t about to argue. ¡°Follow me. I¡¯ll escort you out of the pce.¡±

    He turned around and led the way.

    This was truly a pain in the ass for Zu An. Just walking with this person left him feeling extremely ufortable. He opened his mouth to speak several times, but hesitated each time. He wanted to announce that he was an Embroidered Envoy too, but hispanion¡¯s expression was so unapproachable that he had no chance to do so.

    They left the imperial study and wandered around the pce. Zu An suddenly realized that they were still within the inner pce. Clearly, Zhuxie Chixin was allowed inside, so why had he hand Zu An over to Elder Li earlier on?

    He was probably in cahoots with the emperor, and they were both trying to lure the snakes out of their holes. They were probably looking to catch the hidden conspirators in one fell swoop.

    King Qi¡¯s faction had truly suffered disastrous losses as he had made his way to the capital. He had probably cost them a great deal during his journey.

    After walking for a while, Zu An suddenly observed, ¡°This isn¡¯t the way out of the pce.¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin replied, ¡°The words earlier were meant for the eunuchs. His majesty has already secretly identified you as an Embroidered Envoy, so I am bringing you to your residence within the pce first.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to be living in the pce?¡± Zu An was well and truly surprised.

    ¡°The Embroidered Envoy are His Majesty¡¯s most trusted agents,¡± replied Zhuxie Chixin. ¡°It¡¯s only natural that they have to maintain a constant presence within the pce.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± Zu An was actually a little excited. He was going to live in the imperial pce! This was the dream of countless keyboard warriors!

    The imperial pce was such a mysterious ce. There were all manner of beautiful concubines and princesses living here¡­

    Pah! I¡¯m a decent person! I¡¯m nothing like them.

    ¡°Even though the Embroidered Envoy are the emperor¡¯s personal agents, granting them the freedom to enter and leave the inner pce, they are not permitted to enter the inner pce on their own, without an imperialmand,¡± warned Zhuxie Chixin. ¡°Anyone found to have vited this will have all of their possessions confiscated, and their n will be eradicated. I hope that you bear this in mind.¡±

    Zu An nodded. This made much more sense. How could the emperorpletely let down his guard against him?

    The path Zhuxie Chixin chose was rather secluded, and they did not encounter any concubines or maids.

    Soon afterwards, they reached a quiet and remote residence. Zhuxie Chixin handed him a key token. ¡°This is your residence, and this is the key that unlocks the restrictions around this courtyard. Remember the path you took to get here from the imperial study. His Majesty will summon you to his study often.¡±

    As a cultivator, his consciousness was much more formidable than an ordinary person¡¯s. Once a cultivator reached a certain rank, they would naturally develop a highly retentive memory. That was why Zhuxie Chixin wasn¡¯t worried that Zu An would forget the route, despite only walking through it once.

    ¡°Then what about the rest of thepound? I¡¯m not too familiar with this ce. Can the Chief Commander show me around?¡± Zu An asked.

    Zhuxie Chixin gave him a warning re. ¡°The otherpounds are where the concubines, the princess, and the young prince live. You should not be going to those ces. What are you trying to do?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s heart skipped a beat. ¡°I was just asking about it¡­ haha¡­ Thank you for your reminder.¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin dismissed his behavior as the curiosity of someone from a poor background. ¡°Familiarize yourself with your residence here. After that, I¡¯ll take you to your residence outside the pce.¡±

    1.¡±Phoenix Man¡± is ng for an ugly duckling, or someone who grew up poor in the countryside, but managed to move to a big city and be sessful.

 Chapter 583: Kindred Spirits

    <h4>Chapter 583: Kindred Spirits</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Sure.¡± Zu An had his own staff residence back at Brightmoon Academy, so he was familiar with the unlocking mechanism. He opened the door and took in the rather sizable courtyard. There were even several different rooms within. The environment andyout were rather nice, but of course, it emphasized safety and secrecy. This was probably an upational hazard of the Embroidered Envoy.

    ¡°Where are the other embroidered envoys?¡± Zu An asked curiously.

    Zhuxie Chixin replied, ¡°This is your personal residence. Why would there be any other embroidered envoys here?¡±

    ¡°My personal residence?¡± Zu An was stunned. Are the benefits really this good? He assumed that he was going to be thrown into amon barracks with other envoys.

    Zhuxie Chixin gave him a strange look. ¡°Of course you¡¯ll be living alone. The identities of embroidered envoys are wrapped in mystery. They are almost always masked while on the job. Aside from the emperor, even I do not know the true identities of some of them. Of course it¡¯s not possible for us all to live together.¡±

    ¡°Then where do the others live?¡± Zu An probed further.

    ¡°Their residences are scattered throughout the pce, like your own,¡± replied Zhuxie Chixin. ¡°However, not many embroidered envoys are qualified to live within the pce¡­ In short, if otherse by, you absolutely cannot show your real face to them. You must wear a mask. Masks, uniforms, and other equipment can be found inside. You can look through themter.¡±

    Zu An gasped. ¡°Everything was prepared so quickly? It seems His Majesty had already made these arrangements a while ago.¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin sped his fist in the direction of the imperial study. ¡°We subordinates cannot presume to know His Majesty¡¯s thoughts.¡±

    Zu An curled his lips in disdain. Why are you sucking up to him all the way over here? There¡¯s no way the emperor can hear or see you.

    ¡°By the way, where are the residences of the other embroidered envoys in the pce? I should pay them a visit. It¡¯s better to get to know them sooner rather thanter, right?¡± Zu An asked.

    Zhuxie Chixin frowned. ¡°The embroidered envoys usually prefer to remain independent. It¡¯s best if you do not mingle amongst yourselves privately. Furthermore, almost all of them are out investigating cases. They do not spend much time in the pce.¡±

    ¡°They don¡¯t spend much time in the pce?¡± Zu An was momentarily shocked, but a thought struck him. Investigating cases was probably a secondary reason. The main reason was probably the restrictiveness of living within the pce. None of them would be allowed outside their own residence, and spending all day in this small space was akin to imprisonment.

    It would be a disaster if they identally ran into a concubine or princess. That was a transgression that would result in the eradication of their entire n.

    Clearly, no other embroidered envoy would wish to live in the pce. Zu An was probably the only one who was this excited.

    Zhuxie Chixin was beginning to grow annoyed. ¡°Are you done looking around yet? If you are, we¡¯ll be leaving the pce. I¡¯ll show you to your residence outside the pce.¡±

    ¡°I have another ce outside the pce?¡± Even Zu An was beginning to feel embarrassed. Not only were they distributed tasks, they were distributed houses as well! He had received two of them in one go, one within the pce and one without. He would have been incredibly rich if he¡¯d been given two houses like this in his previous world.

    ¡°Of course. We of the Embroidered Envoy have to assume different identities when carrying out our respective tasks. Besides, you also hold the position of the crown prince¡¯s secretary, and have no rtives in the capital. We can¡¯t just have you sleeping on the streets,¡± said Zhuxie Chixin.

    Zu An looked as though he was moved to tears. ¡°The emperor has truly taken good care of me. I will never be able to repay this kindness even in a thousand lifetimes!¡±

    ¡°As long as you have this mindset, then the emperor¡¯s trust in you was not in vain.¡± Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s expression eased slightly.

    It seemed to Zu An that Zhuxie Chixin really was one of the emperor¡¯s most loyal men after all. He didn¡¯t have enough information earlier on, which was why he had suspected this guy of setting him up.

    The two of them swiftly made their way to the pce gates. Along the way, they crossed paths with avishly-dressed beauty. Zhuxie Chixin immediately pulled Zu An to the side and lowered his head in greeting.

    Even though themander was devout and respectful, Zu An wasn¡¯t so honest. He secretly raised his head to take a peek. He saw a group of maids and eunuchs escorting a beautiful woman past them.

    She had a charming and graceful figure, and there was a natural sway to her gait. Oddly enough, she did not give off an aura of seduction. Rather, he only sensed a pure, gentle and graceful bearing.

    Hm? It¡¯s actually her.

    He¡¯d met this woman not too long ago. It was Concubine Bai.

    Thisvishly-dressed beauty was actually bored to death, and was out for a stroll. She paid no heed to the guards bowing towards her, since it was a habitual sight.

    However, she quickly noticed that one of them was actually sneaking looks at her. She was shocked. Did this little guard not understand the rules, or was he truly so brazen?

    She was kind-hearted by nature, so she was not about to make a huge fuss over it, in case she harmed his prospects.

    She was just about to pretend that she hadn¡¯t seen anything when she suddenly eximed in surprise. She had already recognized the guard as Zu An. ¡°It¡¯s you?¡±

    Her voice was warm and moving, flowing like a gentle stream.

    Zu An smiled. ¡°I did not expect that we would meet again so soon.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    His words caused a tinge of rosiness to appear on this beauty¡¯s cheeks.

    Zhuxie Chixin frowned. He had just warned this fe not to interact with the pce concubines, yet an incident had urred so quickly, and right in front of him as well!

    Wait, why does this guy sound so flirtatious?

    He could only do his best to remedy the situation. ¡°If I may speak, Concubine Bai. He has just been granted the title of Phoenix Man by His Majesty, and will also serve as the crown prince¡¯s secretary. This subordinate is escorting him out of the pce.¡±

    Bai Rouxue waspletely bowled over by this news. She was familiar with the matters surrounding Zu An. She thought that he was dead for sure, but he had not only been granted a noble title, he was now the crown prince¡¯s secretary! How did he manage to aplish this?

    She quickly put aside these thoughts and said with a sweet smile, ¡°This young master has truly been blessed. I¡¯ll leave you to take care of the crown prince in the future.¡±

    These were appropriate remarks from the crown prince¡¯s concubine.

    ¡°That is my duty,¡± replied Zu An. ¡°The crown prince and I felt a strange familiarity when we first met. I believe we can be kindred spirits.¡±

    ¡°I thank you again for your trouble.¡± His words stirred a strange feeling within Bai Rouxue, but she did not pay them too much heed. She nodded her head and smiled faintly, before the pce maids and eunuchs escorted her away. It was clear that they did not want her conversing with another man for too long.

    Zu An breathed in the faint fragrance lingering in the air. Suddenly, it seemed as though he wasn¡¯t in such a bad spot after all.

    When Concubine Bai left, Zhuxie Chixin frowned. ¡°I warned you before. Why did you take the initiative to talk to her? Thank goodness I was by your side today. If news of this circtes to the wrong people, you won¡¯t be able to bear the consequences alone.¡±

    Zu An disagreed privately. After all, the emperor still needed him to take down King Qi. Why would he blow up over something this petty? ¡°I was almost punished by the crown princess earlier,¡± he replied, ¡°and I was only able to get out of it thanks to Concubine Bai. I only wanted to express my gratitude to her.¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin nodded. He had heard a little about Zu An¡¯s encounter with the crown prince and princess. ¡°We¡¯ll ignore this for now. Don¡¯t do something like that again. You need to be careful while you are in the eastern pce. It¡¯ll be bad enough if you provoke the crown prince¡¯s other concubines, but you absolutely must not provoke the crown princess or Concubine Bai.¡±

    Zu An was stupefied. That damned fatty seemed rather slow, yet he actually had so many girls around him!

    Who the hell said that I was fickle in love? I¡¯m not even worth mentioning whenpared to these nobles.

    ¡°I can understand why I should be wary of the crown princess, but Concubine Bai is only a concubine. Why do I have to be so careful around her?¡± asked Zu An curiously.

    Zhuxie Chixin hesitated, but he knew that the two of them were going to be working together in the future, so he offered Zu An an exnation. ¡°Concubine Bai was personally bestowed to the crown prince by His Majesty. Furthermore, she was the one who gave birth to the crown prince¡¯s only son. Naturally, she enjoys special status.¡±

    Zu An suddenly felt an urge to gossip, and he fired off a series of questions. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that Concubine Bai used to be His Majesty¡¯s concubine. Is that true? Did His Majesty show her a lot of affection? She and the crown prince¡­¡±

    The torrent of words caused Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s eyelids to twitch uncontrobly. ¡°Shut up! You shouldn¡¯t be asking about these things!¡±

    The Embroidered Envoy was traditionally made up of reserved individuals who quietly got things done, yet this fellow had suddenly popped out of nowhere to shatter that custom. It made him doubt the emperor¡¯s arrangements for the first time.

    His face was gloomy as he led Zu An out of the pce. He stopped in front of a residence outside the capital city. ¡°This residence will be yours.¡±

    Zu An saw the characters ¡®Ding Manor¡¯ on the que outside the entrance, and peered through the gates. ¡°But there¡¯s still people living inside¡­¡± he said hesitantly.

    ¡°Not for long.¡± Zhuxie Chixin waved his hands. Several embroidered envoys wearing masks appeared, seemingly out of thin air, and rushed into the residence. Several screams erupted, but they were quickly silenced.

    ¡°From today, this will be your home,¡± anno

 Chapter 584, Part I: Murong Qinghe

    <h4>Chapter 584, Part I: Murong Qinghe</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An frowned. ¡°I could¡¯ve just bought a ce with my own money if you didn¡¯t have any vacant buildings. Why did you have to seize someone else¡¯s ce like this?¡±

    ¡°Do you think that you can buy a house in the capital just because you have money?¡± said Zhuxie Chixin indifferently.

    Zu An snorted. What, is there a bloody lottery system for this too?

    ¡°Even if you can¡¯t buy one, couldn¡¯t I just live in an inn? I really can¡¯t stomach this sort of killing.¡±

    ¡°You are an Embroidered Envoy, and the crown prince¡¯s secretary as well. It would be a huge scandal if we made you live in an inn, and it would be terribly damaging for the reputation of the imperial court,¡± Zhuxie Chixin said with an angry huff. However, he continued, ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to fret. The master of this n was shown the emperor¡¯s favor, but he proved disloyal, double-crossing His Majesty and colluding with the Devil Sect. This is the fate they deserve.¡±

    Zu An fell silent. Even though he understood the rationale behind it, he hade from a civilized world. He just couldn¡¯t ept how human lives weren¡¯t valued in this world.

    At the same time, he realized that Zhuxie Chixin had deliberately brought him here and showed him this scene as a warning. He was reminding him that, if he did not discharge his duty towards the emperor, he would end up just like this n.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    It took the embroidered envoys some time to clean out the interior, after which, Zhuxie Chixin showed him in.

    Zu An had to give the Embroidered Envoy credit. There were no bloodstains left inside. These were definitely true professionals.

    Zhuxie Chixin said, ¡°Why don¡¯t you stay here from now on? I¡¯ll arrange for some maids and servants.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need. I¡¯m used to living alone, and this ce isn¡¯t that big. I can take care of everything by myself.¡± Zu An quickly refused the offer. Who knew how many spies would be watching him if he let him arrange for helpers!

    Zhuxie Chixin frowned, but he wasn¡¯t about to argue over something so trivial. ¡°All right, then. Rest up today, then report to the eastern pce on your own tomorrow morning.¡±

    He waved a hand, and a subordinate appeared with several sets of clothes and amand token.

    ¡°These are the uniforms and themand token of the crown prince¡¯s pce secretary. You can use these to enter the pce, but you must leave the pce before dawn.¡± Zhuxie Chixin lowered his voice. ¡°Of course, given your status as an Embroidered Envoy, you can still stay in the pce, but that mightpromise your identity. You can act as you see fit.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for the reminder, Chief Commander.¡± Even though Zu An had seen his fair share of degenerate harem web novels, and he secretly desired a harem himself, he wouldn¡¯t let that mess with his mind. Besides, the emperor was the number one expert in this world. His divine senses covered the entire imperial pce. Nothing would escape his detection.

    On top of all of that, he had bumped into many restrictions while Zhuxie Chixin was escorting him around the imperial pce. If he were to wander around an unfamiliar ce like the inner pce, he could easily run into trouble.

    Zhuxie Chixin taught him several secret methods of contact unique to the members of the Embroidered Envoy, then got up to leave.

    ¡°It¡¯s already time to eat. Let me act as a proper host and invite you to a meal.¡± Even Zu An felt as though his tone wasn¡¯t all that sincere.

    Zhuxie Chixin shook his head. ¡°The Embroidered Envoy avoid interacting privately with each other. Do not bring up things like entertaining guests in the future. I¡¯m leaving.¡±

    He turned to leave. It seemed as though he had only taken a few steps, but he vanished into the distance in the blink of an eye.

    Zu An snorted. These fellows didn¡¯t even have a social rtionship with each other. The Embroidered Envoy only looked cool from the outside.

    He suddenly turned around. ¡°Show yourself!¡±

    A charming figure entered. ¡°You¡¯re getting more and more vignt.¡±

    Zu An smiled when he saw the person¡¯s exquisitely braided pigtails. ¡°I¡¯m also pretty strong now, okay? How did you know I was here?¡±

    ¡°I was waiting for news at the pce entrance this whole time,¡± replied Qiao Xueying. ¡°I wanted to see if there was a chance to rescue you, but I never expected you to leavepletely safe and sound! Zhuxie Chixin was beside you, so I didn¡¯t dare get too close, lest I be discovered. I only came after he left.¡±

    Zu An felt his heart soften, and he instinctively drew her into his arms. ¡°Snow, you¡¯re too good to me.¡±

    Qiao Xueying smelled really nice, and her hair was giving off a natural, flowery fragrance, nicer than any shampoo. He supposed it was because she was an elf, which gave her a natural affinity to nature.

    She sighed. ¡°What can I do? You¡¯re the man I¡¯ve chosen, after all.¡± Qiao Xueying hugged him,ying her head against his chest. ¡°After you went in, I was really worried that you wouldn¡¯te out again. My cultivation isn¡¯t high enough, so I didn¡¯t even know how I would save you.¡±

    Zu An felt his heart surge withpassion. ¡°You silly girl. Given your current cultivation, you¡¯d be cut down before you could even make it through the gates.¡±

    He still remembered how this woman just hadn¡¯t gotten along with him when he first entered this world. After they had confirmed their rtionship, her vicious temper was nowhere to be seen, reced with gentleness instead. He was probably the only one in this world who could enjoy this side of her.

    Qiao Xueying raised her head and looked at him with glittery eyes. ¡°But you made it out safe and sound. When you said that you had a n, I didn¡¯t really believe you. Just how did you do it?¡±

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s already dark. Let¡¯s find a ce to eat and chat some more.¡±

    ¡°Okay. I¡¯m familiar with the capital, and I know a ce.¡± Qiao Xueying held his hand. She was practically skipping as she walked.

    Zu An knew that she had to shoulder the responsibility of keeping her nsmen safe at a young age, and now, she had to blend in with the Shadow Group. That organization was surely a dark and lonely ce to be in.

    ¡°Snow, do you have to stay in the Shadow Group?¡± he asked. ¡°I think it¡¯s better if you left. It¡¯s just too dangerous.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± replied Qiao Xueying. ¡°I¡¯ve struck a deal with the Shadow Group. I¡¯ll have my freedom as long as Iplete one final important task for them.¡±

    Zu An jumped in fright. Do you have any idea what kind of g you¡¯re nting for yourself? ¡°What is this important task? Is it dangerous?¡± he asked quickly.

    Qiao Xueying shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know the details yet. There¡¯s no way there wouldn¡¯t be danger. It¡¯s a mission being given to an assassin, after all. However, I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be too difficult. I am ratherpetent, you know?¡±

    ¡°You have to be careful!¡± Zu An warned her. ¡°I¡¯ve read too many stories where something happened to the character after they dered that the next mission would be theirst!¡±

    ¡°Pui, pui, pui!¡± Qiao Xueying said disdainfully. ¡°There¡¯s no way I¡¯m going to be that unlucky!¡±

    ¡°At least let me know when you¡¯re about to carry out thatst mission. I¡¯ll see if I can help you out,¡± said Zu An.

    ¡°Of course.¡± Qiao Xueying wasn¡¯t worried about the Shadow Group¡¯s rules of secrecy, given their closeness. Knowing that her lover cared so much about her filled her soul with joy.

    They soon arrived at a restaurant. The restaurant wasn¡¯t that big, but it was quiet and secluded. She asked for a private room and ordered arge number of dishes. Having spent so much time with him in the Chu n, she knew his preferences well.

    Zu An was surprised. ¡°These are all my favorites! Order some stuff for yourself as well. I¡¯ll pay.¡±

    Qiao Xueying shook her head. ¡°Have you forgotten that I¡¯m an elf? Even though I don¡¯t live off of nature alone, I am not that interested in human food.¡±

    Even back in the Chu n, she had only eaten a few vegetable dishes. She was much more interested in the desserts. Now that she didn¡¯t have to put up a front anymore, she was obviously not going to eat any of the food.

    Zu An thought for a bit, then called over a waiter. He instructed him to bring over some fruit juices and teas, as well as arge te of melon seeds.

    ¡°Seeing how you¡¯re always shooting out vines and other nts, it¡¯s important for you to drink enough liquids to prevent dehydration. I remember that you loved chewing on melon seeds too.¡±

    Qiao Xueying¡¯s eyes immediately lit up. She immediately pulled over the te of seeds while sipping on the different types of juices. She looked like she was really enjoying herself.

    Zu An smiled. Seeing her enjoying the melon seeds really brought him back to his time in the Chu n.

    He then told her all that had happened in the pce. He didn¡¯t even hide his status as an embroidered envoy.

    Even though the emperor and Zhuxie Chixin had warned him repeatedly not to reveal his new identity to others, living in this world just wouldn¡¯t be worth it if he couldn¡¯t even trust someone who had shared half her lifespan with him.

    ¡°The conflict between King Qi and the emperor has already reached its climax. It¡¯ll be extremely dangerous for you now that you¡¯re caught in the middle of it.¡± The melon seeds suddenly tasted like ashes in her mouth. ¡°Miss Chu¡¯s grandfather is from the Qin n too, which is part of King Qi¡¯s core force. What is she supposed to do?¡±

    This was a huge headache for Zu An as well. After some thought, he said, ¡°I don¡¯t think King Qi and I are at the point where we cannot coexist. As for what¡¯s toe, we just have to take things one step at a time. By the way, did you return Chu Youzhao?¡±

    Qiao Xueying rolled her eyes. ¡°What, were you worried that I would kill him behind your back? Rx, I won¡¯t harm him, out of consideration for his sister. Oh, I discovered something else when I returned him. Miss Chu is being detained by the Qin n.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face sank. ¡°Chu Youzhao mentioned this when he sought me out. It¡¯s one thing if the Qin n doesn¡¯t n to help me, but they¡¯re just causing more trouble. It¡¯s truly hateful.¡±

    ¡°Madam Chu and Elder Qin had a falling out many years ago,¡± replied Qiao Xueying. ¡°That¡¯s why the rtionship between the two families has always been strained. However, the Qin n has still treated the first miss and the young master quite well.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°What about Huanzhao?¡±

    Isn¡¯t my lil¡¯ Huanzhao¡¯s existence just too pitiful?

 Chapter 584, Part II: Murong Qinghe

    <h4>Chapter 584, Part II: Murong Qinghe</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Qiao Xueying giggled. ¡°She rarely visits the capital. They haven¡¯t met that often.¡±

    Zu An knew that he had been overly worried. The two of them carried on with more personal matters. He asked her about what she did after she returned to the capital, and she was also curious about his encounters during this period. Both of them were amazed at the other¡¯s experiences.

    A whileter, Qiao Xueying got up. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    ¡°Where are we going?¡± Zu An asked.

    Qiao Xueying rolled her eyes. ¡°To visit Chuyan in the Qin Estate, of course. I can sense that you¡¯re feeling a little unsettled.¡±

    Zu An smiled in embarrassment. ¡°It wasn¡¯t that obvious, right? She was trying to save me, yet she ended up being ced under house arrest by the Qin n. I¡¯m worried that she might do something stupid.¡±

    The dramas of his past world always had such stupid plots, which left him rather traumatized.

    ¡°We should let her know that you¡¯re safe and sound.¡± Qiao Xueying held his hand. ¡°You aren¡¯t familiar with the capital, so you probably don¡¯t even know where the Qin Estate is. I¡¯ll take you there.¡±

    The two of them headed for the exit. Qiao Xueying suddenly thought of something and turned around. Zu An stared in shock as she stored all of the remaining seeds into her pouch.

    ¡°You really do like chewing those seeds¡­¡± Zu An tapped her cheeks. Her teeth were still white and sparkling, showing no wear from the constant chewing. Uh¡­ I suppose the bodies of cultivators really cannot be judged based on what I know from my previous world.

    Qiao Xueying blushed. ¡°It¡¯s only because I¡¯ve been busy. I haven¡¯t had the spare time to chew on them, not like when I was in the Chu n.¡±

    Zu An chuckled and patted her head. ¡°I¡¯ll buy some more for you next time.¡±

    ¡°No! If you buy too many and they get damp, they won¡¯t taste good anymore!¡±

    ¡°I can wield the fire element now. I¡¯ll help you roast them againter.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, I¡¯m a wood element cultivator, so I hate things like fire. I suppose I¡¯m doomed to be curbed by you for the rest of my life.¡±

    ¡°You can actually use water too. You can put out a fire if you try a little harder.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean I have water¡­¡± Qiao Xueying looked confused. When she saw his strange smile, she immediately realized what he meant and started hitting him. ¡°You¡¯re a horrible person after all! I knew it from the moment I first saw you!¡±

    ¡°Hahaha¡­¡±

    The two of them traded jokes as they walked. Eventually, they found themselves in front of a grand residence.

    Qiao Xueying gestured at what was in front of them. ¡°There. All of that is the Qin n¡¯s property.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He thought that the Chu Estate was alreadyrge enough. However, it was nothingpared to the Qin Estate.

    There was no end in sight. It was basically a small-scale imperial pce! All of this, even in an expensive ce like the capital.

    ¡°Bloody rich bastards!¡± he spat mockingly.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Qiao Xueying shared his sentiment. ¡°The Qin n is the most important military n, so it is indeed much more powerful than the Chu n. However, this is still nothingpared to the Yu n. Theirs is true extravagance,parable to the imperial pce.¡±

    Zu An remembered Chu Chuyan mentioning that the Yu n was not only of the highest echelon of authority within the court, but that their n also ran a ki stone business. They were the pinnacle of wealth.

    Yu Yanluo appeared in his mind, in all her devastating beauty. His soul had been stirred by her previously, but it had already been so long that he wasn¡¯t as enamored as before.

    Hmph, Yu Yanluo, you¡¯d better not let me catch you again. If you ever ghost me again, there¡¯ll be hell to pay!

    Qiao Xueying said, ¡°Ah Zu, I won¡¯t go in with you. I have a lot of things to take care of myself, and given who I am, it might not be best for me to meet with them.¡±

    ¡°Okay, go take care of what you need to first.¡± Zu An remembered that she used to be a spy within the Chu n. Even though Chu Chuyan had forgiven her in the end, Chu Chuyan clearly did not hold much sway within the Qin n. It would be terrible if the Qin n ended up doing something to her.

    Qiao Xueying was slightly saddened, but she then heard him say, ¡°Are you going toe to my ceter, or should I head to yours?¡±

    Qiao Xueying¡¯s cheeks immediately turned red. ¡°I don¡¯t know when I¡¯ll be done¡­ It¡¯ll be more convenient if I went to you.¡±

    Zu An wrapped his arm around her waist and kissed her gently on her small lips. ¡°I¡¯ll be waiting.¡±

    When she remembered how she had almost been snapped like a twig the night before, Qiao Xueying¡¯s face reddened further. She wanted to refuse him, but to be honest, she felt an urge to carry on as well.

    I¡¯ll definitely figure out what a steering wheel is today¡­

    When Qiao Xueying left, Zu An smoothed out his clothes before walking towards the entrance to the Qin Estate. He thought about sneaking in, but changed his mind. He wasn¡¯t a criminal anymore, so there was no need to sneak around like that.

    He arrived at the entrance and informed the guards of his name and his reason for his visit. The guards were all shocked. They did not dare let him in right away, and told him to wait outside before rushing in to inform the master.

    Zu An had a strange look on his face. He expected that he¡¯d have to face some arrogant and condescending people who¡¯d try to stop him, like in the fiction novels he¡¯d read. He didn¡¯t expect things to go so smoothly.

    As soon as the thought emerged, a female voice interrupted him. ¡°So, you¡¯re Zu An.¡±

    The voice was rather pleasant, but had a cold edge.

    Zu An turned around and saw a tall and slender woman eyeing him from not far away.

    This youngdy was clearly beautiful, but it was her tall, graceful figure that truly caught the eye. She was not wearing a dress, like other demure young women, but a set of tight-fitting clothes, and she stood straight as a spear. He could tell from a single look that there wasn¡¯t a single ounce of unwanted fat on her body.

    Yup, even her breasts are nice and firm. It¡¯s not too exaggerated, but they arerge and perky enough.

    Her skin was also different from that of women from distinguished ns who rarely went out. It was nicely tanned, clearly from a healthy amount of sunlight, yet it did not seem crude on her. On the contrary, it seemed like honey-colored jade, smooth and exquisite.

    Together with her long, straight legs, she was the perfect example of a tall, athletic beauty, with a hint of wildness to her. Even though he didn¡¯t know her, he could tell that she was a girl who loved life, someone who was full of energy.

    The youngdy¡¯s face immediately darkened when she saw his probing look. ¡°What are you looking at?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Murong Qinghe for 244 Rage points!

    Murong Qinghe?

    Zu An searched through his memories. He hadn¡¯t heard of this name before.

    Seeing her furious expression, Zu An smiled and said, ¡°You were the one who called out to me. Of course I have to look at you closely to see if you¡¯re a friend of mine.¡±

    The youngdy snorted. ¡°Who are you calling a friend?¡±

    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t jump to conclusions.¡± Zu An said. ¡°I had a dream in which you were a good friend of mine. I remember that you told me your name was Murong Qinghe. Is that your name?¡±

    The youngdy was clearly startled, and subconsciously took a few steps back. She was sure that she had never met this fellow before. The only reason she knew his name was because he had just announced his identity at the gates of the estate. Why did this guy know her name? Could it be that they had really crossed paths in a dream¡­?

    Pah!

    The youngdy¡¯s face turnedpletely red. ¡°How could I possibly have met someone like you in a dream, let alone reveal my name to you? Hmph! Many people in the capital know my name. You definitely saw me in the city while hiding out somewhere. That¡¯s surely it!¡±

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but sigh. Are all pretty girls really this self-confident?

    ¡°Since you seem certain that we never met in a dream, why do you recognize me?¡± Zu An noticed that no one from the Qin n hade to receive him yet. Since he was bored, ying around with a youngdy didn¡¯t seem all that bad.

    ¡°You just said it¡­¡± Murong Qinghe suddenly reacted. ¡°I was almost distracted! Mister Zu, since I just happened to run into you here, I¡¯ll use this opportunity to settle our debt!¡±

    With that, she charged at him. Her body was strong and healthy, and she had covered the distance in the blink of an eye. With her long legs extended, she aimed a kick squarely at his chest.

 Chapter 585: Girl on Girl?

    <h4>Chapter 585: Girl on Girl?</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An felt his heart sink. Why are all these pretty girls so irritable?

    However, he had no time to spare on idle thoughts. He quickly raised his arm to block her kick. Oh? Judging from her ki fluctuations, she seems to be at the fifth rank. Given her age, this level of cultivation is enough to mark her as a prodigy.

    Murong Qinghe¡¯s shock far surpassed his. What the heck is going on? She could not understand how he had blocked her confident attack so easily.

    How high is his cultivation?

    He was still so young, after all. How could such a thing be possible? Furthermore, it was rumored that Chu First Miss had married a nobody from the streets. How could this brat be at all formidable?

    I¡¯m sure I went easy on him subconsciously, which was why he managed to block it so effortlessly.

    She could feel the heat from his palm, from where he had grabbed her leg. She was both ashamed and annoyed.

    You have sessfully trolled Murong Qinghe for 444 Rage points!

    Her body twisted about her waist, and she spun in the air, sending her other foot at him. This rotation helped her to utilize all of her strength. The power of this kick was far greater than the first.

    Zu An was not expecting her to be able to carry out another attack so quickly. Herbat instincts were rather sharp.

    He had no choice but to let go of her foot and take a step back to ward off this second attack.

    After breaking free of his grasp, Murong Qinghe unleashed a flurry of attacks, battering him with her long legs.

    She danced quickly from side to side as she struck, pummeling him with blows from all directions.

    This woman is doing tsunami kicks straight into roundhouse kicks! No wonder she isn¡¯t wearing a dress.

    He was amazed that his mind still had the capacity for such distracted thoughts. He did not know it was possible in such a situation.

    Her attacks were bing increasingly impatient. Zu An raised a finger, then jabbed it at her when he saw an opening.

    Shining Finger!

    He had attacked her weak spot instinctively, but he immediately regretted it as his finger sank into a soft, tender spot. He had jabbed her inner thigh.

    Murong Qinghe screamed and copsed to the side. She instinctively tried to rise, but the soreness immediately spread out through her entire leg. Her legs were so weak that she almost couldn¡¯t remain still. Her expression grew extremely bizarre.

    Zu An was wondering if he should exin himself, but she was clearly the one who was out to kill him. Apologizing at this point would just be sad.

    Murong Qinghe was about to say something, but her eyes suddenly darted to his finger in shock. ¡°What is this move of yours called?¡±

    Zu An was stunned. She isn¡¯t crying or throwing a tantrum over how I¡¯ve infringed on her purity?

    What was up with her reaction? She was actually only interested in knowing the name of his technique!

    Was she one of those legendary martial idiots?

    Despite this, he still subconsciously replied, ¡° Shining Finger.¡±

    ¡°Shining Finger?¡± Murong Qinghe remained silent for a moment. ¡°That¡¯s not a bad name at all. However, you better watch out.¡±

    She removed two short spears from her waist. She hadn¡¯t used her weapons earlier due to her pride. She thought that her legs were enough to deal with him. Now that she knew he was an expert, though, she wasn¡¯t about to show the least bit of negligence.

    ¡°Haiyah!¡± With a cry, she flew at him, the two spears striking at him, one from the left and one from the right, cutting off almost all means of escape.

    Zu An could sense the killing intent from the spears even from a distance. It was an aura that seemed to have been tempered in the blood of her enemies on the battlefield.

    He had noticed the two spears from the very start, but had believed them to be some strange ornaments. Apparently, they were actually ferocious weapons.

    This girl didn¡¯t look that old, yet she already had the aura of a war hardened soldier.

    Despite the thoughts running through his head, he did not stop moving. He took a step to the side and used his Sunflower Phantasm.

    Murong Qinghe was sure that her two spears would hit, yet her opponent suddenly vanished in the blink of an eye.

    By the time she reacted, he was already next to her. rmed, she hurriedly retracted a spear, bringing it back in front of her just in time to intercept the iing finger.

    Zu An was quite impressed. Her earlier attack had been excellent. Even though her cultivation wasn¡¯t that high, herbat sense was much higher than those of her peers.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    It was worth mentioning that the sixth rank assassins had been eliminated by him in mere moments, yet this youngdy at the fifth rank had managed to keep up with him after so many moves.

    Even though he was holding back, her response was still remarkable.

    Murong Qinghe felt her arm go sore. The force of the blow was too much for her fingers to handle, and one of her spears was sent flying.

    Zu An smirked. I¡¯ve already disarmed you. Isn¡¯t it time to concede?

    Unexpectedly, Murong Qinghe thrust her other spear outward, catching up to the spear that had been knocked flying a moment ago. With an audible ck, the two short spearsbined together to form a long spear.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes widened. Something like this exists?

    Without hesitation, Murong Qinghe thrust her spear out, flying at him like a silver dragon.

    Zu An frowned as he watched the multiple images of spear-points jabbing towards him closely. He reached out with two fingers, and the images disappeared. There was only a single spear point, gently sped between his fingers.

    Murong Qinghe¡¯s face was entirely red. She couldn¡¯t wrench it free no matter how she tried. She was horrified. How could he have such strong fingers? She shuddered to think what would happen if those fingers struck her body.

    ¡°Stop trying already. You won¡¯t be able to get it free. If you want your spear back, it¡¯s not a problem at all. Just beg me to return it, and I might just do so,¡± Zu An said casually. In his previous fights, if it wasn¡¯t an eighth rank cultivator he was facing, then it was a ninth rank one. I can stomach getting bullied by them, but if I let a young woman bully me as well, I don¡¯t know where to hide my face.

    Murong Qinghe was furious. ¡°Keep dreaming!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Murong Qinghe for 999 Rage points!

    Her rage seemed to feed her strength. She let go of her spear and wrapped her forearm around the spear shaft instead, then began to twist.

    The spear began to spin along with the rotational force she was exerting.

    Not even Zu An could hold onto it, and he quickly let go.

    Murong Qinghe¡¯s lips curved upwards. She was just about to retract her spear when her smile stiffened.

    Zu An had reached out two fingers to sp her spear again. At the same time, his fingers slowly moved up and down the shaft. ¡°What a fine spear!¡± he marveled.

    ¡°Let go!¡± Murong Qinghe was incredibly embarrassed. After all, she had been trained in the art of the spear since she was young. After more than ten years with it, she had formed a bond with this spear. It was like an extension of her body.

    Him fondling the spear was no different from fondling her body!

    She didn¡¯t mind if he ended up touching her while they were fighting. After spending such a long time in the army, she had long grown ustomed to ordinary physical contact with her enemies.

    However, this spear was the source of her pride and glory. If she wasn¡¯t using it to cut down enemies, then she was beating people into submission with it. Yet now, it had been seized and fondled by this awful man. She felt a strange sense of humiliation.

    Zu An noticed her body trembling slightly. His first thought was that she was angry, but he quickly realized that this wasn¡¯t the case. He too was vastly experienced. He immediately realized that this was how Qiao Xueying was when she had been stimted the night before.

    Zu An was stupefied. Come on. Really? You¡¯re getting aroused just because I¡¯m touching your spear?

    What kind of weird fetish is this?

    At this moment, the gates to the Qin Estate opened, and an rmed voice called out. ¡°What are you two doing?¡±

    Murong Qinghe seemed as though she had received a great amnesty. She even lost all interest in retrieving her spear. She rushed over to the neer¡¯s side and pointed at Zu An. ¡°Big brother Chu, this guy is bullying me!¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyeballs were about to pop out of their sockets. Where had that valiant woman who brandished her spear so ferociously go?

    The tomboy had suddenly transformed into an obedient little girl?

    She was clearly slightly taller than Chu Youzhao, yet she was suddenly acting all cute and helpless, staring at him with starstruck eyes. Zu An¡¯s eyes went wide. Had this woman made some sort of mistake? Had she fallen for the cross-dressing Chu Youzhao?

 Chapter 586: A Deal

    <h4>Chapter 586: A Deal</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    It took Zu An a long time to react to what was happening. He couldn¡¯t believe that this starstruck woman was the same valiant and formidable warrior from before. Does she have any idea that the man she adores is a cross-dressing trap?

    Or maybe she does know?

    Huh? Why do I sense some girl-on-girl romance going on? But they¡¯re both beauties¡­ What an interesting pair¡­

    Chu Youzhao was about to speak up for Murong Qinghe, but the moment she saw Zu An, her eyes widened. ¡°It¡¯s you!¡±

    Zu An nodded. ¡°Who else would it be? I never expected you to be this popr with girls.¡±

    Chu Youzhao obviously knew what he was implying, and her face immediately turned red.

    She quickly ran over to him and pulled him to the side. ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to expose my identity!¡± she hissed quietly.

    Zu An was stunned. So she really does think you¡¯re a man? If I¡¯m not mistaken, isn¡¯t Murong your grandmother¡¯s n? Doesn¡¯t she know the truth?

    Then again, this issue was the Chu n¡¯s greatest secret, since the fate of the Chu n¡¯s noble title rested on it. It wasn¡¯t a surprise that they did not know about it.

    Sorry, Miss Murong, your love is doomed to be unrequited.

    The whole thing was quite strange to him. It seemed like one¡¯s outward appearances really didn¡¯t say much about one¡¯s preferences. Murong Qinghe was such a tough-looking girl, yet she had ended up falling for a pretty boy like Chu Youzhao.

    Chu Youzhao had an artifact that hid her feminine traits. Even though she looked quite dashing, there was still a feminine side to her appearance. So this isMurong Qinghe¡¯s type?

    ¡°Why should I?¡± Zu An replied in amusement.

    Chu Youzhao bit her lip, which might have seemed slightly disgusting if she really was a guy. On the other hand, knowing that she was a woman made the gesture rather alluring. That was the benefit of having good looks.

    ¡°Because you¡¯re my brother-inw! Why would you leak out the Chu n¡¯s secrets?¡±

    Zu An raised his eyebrows. He was extremely pleased that she had called him brother-inw. ¡°So I¡¯m not a scoundrel?¡±

    Chu Youzhao snorted. ¡°You¡¯re clearly my brother-inw, yet you touched your wife¡¯s little sister. What else are you but a scoundrel?¡±

    She had been terribly upset that her amazing eldest sister had ended up marrying apletely useless man. She did not approve of it one bit, and she was also worried about her big sister¡¯s happiness.

    However, she had seen with her own eyes how easily he had taken care of those powerful assassins. She had to admit that he looked rather gant right then.

    Unfortunately, this fellow just had to touch her there. Back then, she had been embarrassed and furious, but she gathered herposure again after one night. What else could she do about it? She couldn¡¯t just kill him since he was her brother-inw, after all. She couldn¡¯t beat him either¡­ She could only console herself that, at least, it hadn¡¯t been an outsider.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t believe she still held it against him.

    ¡°I was trying to save you, okay? I never thought that you were¡­ hmph.¡±

    Chu Youzhao¡¯s lips curved upwards in a half-smile. ¡°All I know is that you touched me. I¡¯ll just tell my eldest sister if I have to. Let¡¯s see what she thinks about that.¡±

    Ugh, what a pain. Zu An had just gotten together with Chu Chuyan¡¯s best friend. When she found out, Chu Chuyan hadn¡¯t been sure if he would manage to stay alive, so she couldn¡¯t bring herself to get angry, which allowed him to weather that storm. Who knew if she¡¯d bring it up again? If she found out that he touched her little sister, she might really lose it¡­

    Chu Youzhao was delighted when she saw him grimacing. It went a long way to soothe her sense of injustice. ¡°So? How about it? You keep my secret and I¡¯ll keep yours.¡±

    ¡°Why do I feel like it¡¯s not fair?¡± Zu An said, hesitating. ¡°How about you call me brother-inw a few more times?¡±

    ¡°No way!¡± Chu Youzhao was annoyed. ¡°I¡¯ll tell my eldest sister, then.¡±

    ¡°What are you two doing?¡± Murong Qinghe was confused by the sight of the two of them whispering in a corner.

    ¡°Uh¡­ I¡¯m going to help you teach this guy a lesson since he¡¯s bullying you!¡± Chu Chuyan turned around and replied, draping her arm around Zu An¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Come on, show me some consideration and y along.

    Zu An had a weird look on his face. Did you forget something, perhaps? If you put your arm around me like that, I can feel everything! What happened yesterday was an ident, but now you¡¯re doing this on purpose¡­

    Chu Youzhao immediately realized what was going on as well, and she flushed red. She punched him in the gut. ¡°Scoundrel!¡± She was only going to put on an act at first, but in the end, she didn¡¯t hold back one bit.

    Zu An cried out. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you hold back?!¡± he hissed at her.

    ¡°It¡¯s your fault for taking advantage of me!¡±

    ¡°What¡­? Youngdy, you were the one who came on to me, okay?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re still talking about it?!¡±

    ¡°Ah!!¡±

    ¡­

    Murong Qinghe was now the one who was embarrassed. She rushed over to them. ¡°Big brother Chu, I think that¡¯s enough¡­¡±

    They were from the same n, after all. If they fell out because of her, how was she going to marry into the Chu n¡­?

    Chu Youzhao shoved Zu An away, her face red. ¡°Enough! I¡¯ll spare you this time, but only because of little sister Qinghe.¡±

    ¡°Little sister?¡± Zu An studied Murong Qinghe. Chu Youzhao was already young enough, yet this girl was actually even younger? She doesn¡¯t look it, though, judging by her height and how developed she is¡­

    Murong Qinghe sensed his gaze and shot him a hateful look, but when she thought about how they were going to be seeing each other often in the future as family members, she swallowed this anger back down.

    Hmph! I won¡¯t lower myself to argue with you because of big brother Chu!

    Chu Youzhao waved at Zu An. ¡°Big s¡­ ahem, ahem¡­ Grandpa invites you inside.¡±

    Zu An nodded. He was quite curious to find out what Chuyan¡¯s grandfather, the legendary, most highly-ranked figure in the military, was like.

    As they headed inside, Chu Youzhao asked Murong Qinghe, ¡°Qinghe, why are you here today?¡±

    Murong Qinghe gave Zu An a sidelong nce. ¡°It¡¯s all because of him! In the court session this morning, His Majesty was furious, yelling about how it was intolerable that there would be a public assassination attempt within the capital. My grandfather was the Security Officer, and was in charge of public safety within the capital. Because of this, my grandfather obviously had to take responsibility. He was relieved as Security Officer and moved to the position of Supervisor of Attendants, which has no real power. Hmph!¡±

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but chuckle. No wonder she was so upset. The Security Officer wielded great authority, and was feared within the court. Even though the Supervisor of Attendants was considered one of the nine Ministers, and seemed to enjoy an elevated status, several of these ministerial positions were slowly bing figureheads, with their authority being transferred to the other branches. One of these weakened ministerial positions was the Supervisor of Attendants.

    In theory, the Supervisor of Attendants was supposed to be in charge of the imperial bodyguards, but the military leadership within the pce was tangled andplicated, each power intricately bnced against another. There was the Left General and Right General of the pce gates, as well as the Brave Rider General and Gueri Warfare General who were each in charge of their corresponding troops. There was also Zhuxie Chixin,mander of the Embroidered Envoy, which maintained arge presence within the capital. The Supervisor of Attendants was only required to arrange the ceremonies that preceded the emperor¡¯s departure on long journeys outside the capital.

    ¡°How is all of that my fault?¡± Zu An retorted. ¡°I¡¯m clearly the biggest victim. Your grandfather wasn¡¯t able to maintain security within the capital, which was why I was attacked as soon as I entered the city. I almost lost my life, you know?¡±

    Murong Qinghe pouted. ¡°My grandfather isn¡¯t the only one in charge of keeping peace within the capital, though. It feels as though we¡¯re being punished for no reason¡­ We¡¯re in this position because of you.¡±

    Zu An knew that the emperor was merely finding excuses to shuffle aside important ministers loyal to King Qi¡¯s faction. Of course, he couldn''t say this out loud.

    Chu Youzhao quickly tried to mediate this situation. ¡°Both of you are victims! The assassins are the ones we should me for all this.¡±

    She had almost been killed by those assassins yesterday, and she had only been saved thanks to her brother-inw¡¯s intervention. Hm? Why do I recall dreaming about something really embarrassingst night? Something about brother-inw riding a horse?

    They quickly found themselves entering a study. Within, a tall and sturdy elder cast his gaze over the three of them. His eyes shifted to Murong Qinghe, a smile appearing on his face. ¡°Little Qinghe, you must havee to y with Youzhao again.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face darkened. This elder was deliberately ignoring him in a clear show of strength.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

 Chapter 587: The Devil Sectâ€™s Retaliation

    <h4>Chapter 587: The Devil Sect¡¯s Retaliation</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    A slight blush came to Murong Qinghe¡¯s tanned skin. ¡°That¡¯s not it,¡± she exined quickly. ¡°My grandfather wants to hold a banquet tonight, and he¡¯s invited you and the State Duke of Prestige for a chat. I agreed toe over since I wasn¡¯t doing anything¡±

    The master of the Qin n, Qin Zheng, was the State Duke of Triumph, while the head of the second branch of the Qin n was the State Duke of Prestige. These two national dukes came from the same n, and they both wielded great authority. Clearly, the Qin n was a n covered in glory.

    A state duke was the highest rank of all the nobility. Chu Zhongtian, as Brightmoon Duke, was a rank lower. However, the Chu n had their own feudalnd and army, so their true power was far greater than an ordinary duke¡¯s, almost on par with a state duke.

    Zu An wrinkled his nose in disdain when he heard Murong Qinghe¡¯s awkward cover up. Who are you trying to fool? You¡¯re sneaking looks at Chu Youzhao even as you¡¯re speaking! Anyone can tell what your true objective is.

    Does the master of the Qin n know about Chu Youzhao¡¯s real identity or not? At this rate, it¡¯s not just the Murong n¡¯s young miss whose affection will be unrequited. This deception is going to prove costly to your own people¡­

    Qin Zheng nodded. ¡°All right, I will attend the banquet promptly with my brother tonight.¡±

    He obviously knew the reason behind the Murong n¡¯s invitation. He nced at Zu An subconsciously when he thought of this, rage surging within him.

    The battle between King Qi and the crown prince was going so well, yet this stupid variable had shown up out of nowhere. King Qi¡¯s side had suffered disastrous losses, and even a Security Officer was stripped of his important position!

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Zheng for 724 Rage points!

    Zu An felt the beginnings of a headache when he saw the Rage points. He could roughly understand why, but this situation wasn¡¯t really his fault. I¡¯m a victim too!

    It seemed that things weren¡¯t going to go too smoothly this time.

    Chu Youzhao quickly said, ¡°Grandfather, brother-inw has something he wishes to discuss with you.¡±

    ¡°Brother-inw?¡± Qin Zheng frowned. ¡°When did you have a brother-inw?¡±

    Chu Youzhao still hadn¡¯t figured out the situation yet. She quickly introduced Zu An. ¡°This is Zu An, my eldest sister¡¯s husband¡­¡±

    Qin Zheng cut her off before she could finish. ¡°The Chu n has already written a letter of divorce, annulling their marriage. How can he still be rted to your eldest sister?¡±

    Chu Youzhao was immediately at a loss for words. Strictly speaking, this was indeed true.

    Zu An frowned. Yet before he could even say anything, Qin Zheng spoke again. ¡°Young master Zu, I¡¯ve heard that you offered up the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra to His Majesty, and were granted the title of Phoenix Man in return?¡±

    Even though his tone was polite, it was still aloof.

    Since this was Chu Chuyan¡¯s grandfather, Zu An set aside his usual pettiness and replied, ¡°Indeed. I offered up the sutra to His Majesty earlier.¡±

    Qin Zheng stared at him. ¡°Is there really a means to gain immortality in this world?¡±

    ¡°It does if you believe it, and it doesn¡¯t if you don¡¯t,¡± Zu An replied casually.

    Qin Zheng sneered. ¡°If there really is a way of gaining immortality, why would His Majesty leave you alive?¡±

    ¡°Is the State Duke of Triumph suggesting that His Majesty is narrow-minded and cruel?¡± Zu An asked in return.

    Qin Zheng choked on his breath. He hadn¡¯t expected himself to give into his emotions and make such a careless mistake. ¡°That¡¯s obviously not what I meant. It¡¯s just that His Majesty is the ruler of an empire, so he cannot be judged as an ordinary person. He must make considerations for the longevity of the empire, so certain decisions he makes are excusable.¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°His Majesty has read through the sutra and believes that, even though the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra is of benefit to cultivators, it cannot grant immortality. That was why he let me go.¡±

    Both he and the emperor had agreed to this story. After all, it would be way too dangerous for him if he imed to have the true secrets to immortality. He would be so busy dealing with all the annoying flies buzzing around him that he wouldn¡¯t be able to focus on his mission.

    Qin Zheng nodded. ¡°That makes sense.¡± If it could truly grant immortality, then the emperor would not have let him go. Furthermore, he had only granted Zu An the lowest rank of nobility, which proved that what he had offered up was rather mundane.

    The intelligence he¡¯d received from the pce stated as much. The emperor had also specially emphasized that all those who wantonly discussed immortality were to be executed.

    Despite this, he wondered whether the emperor was deliberately trying to pull the wool over everyone else¡¯s eyes. He had to discuss this with Murong and the others.

    Zu An noticed Qin Zheng¡¯s flickering expression, and had to admit that the emperor¡¯s ns were brilliant. It was hard to tell reality from falsehood. These people were left dumbfounded, and forced toe up with unfounded theories.

    Zu An coughed and exined his reason foring. ¡°I¡¯m here to bring Chuyan back home.¡±

    Now that he¡¯d expressed his request sincerely, it was the Qin n¡¯s turn to respond.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Back home?¡± Qin Zheng¡¯s expression darkened. ¡°There¡¯s nothing between you and Chuyan. What do you mean, ¡®bring her back home¡¯? Besides, this is her home.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s voice became cold. ¡°If I recall correctly, the State Duke of Triumph has already severed his father-daughter rtionship with Chuyan¡¯s mother. Strictly speaking, the two of you are unrted. How can this be considered her home?¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Qin Zheng erupted in fury. He was someone who enjoyed a high status and great authority. When has anyone ever dared to speak to him like this?

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Zheng for 999 Rage points!

    Zu An remained expressionless. He¡¯d made it through the debacle with the emperor. No matter how formidable Qin Zheng was, he could notpare to the emperor.

    ¡°Grandfather, please don¡¯t get angry!¡± Panicked, Chu Youzhao tried to mediate the situation. ¡°Brother-inw, you don¡¯t know everything! Grandfather has taken excellent care of us siblings all these years.¡±

    Qin Zheng scoffed. ¡°Who cares about an outsider¡¯s opinion on my rtionship with my daughter? Regardless, we are still rted by blood. Things are different whenpared to someone like you.¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°If you truly think of her as family, then why did you ce her under house arrest like a prisoner? Is this your idea of family?¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Qin Zheng was so angry that he almostughed. Do you really have no idea why I put Chuyan under house arrest? It was because I was worried that she might do something stupid for your sake!

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Zheng for 999¡­ 999¡­ 999¡­

    Zu An was rather pained when he saw the iing Rage points. Is everyone in the army this hotheaded?

    Now that things had reached this point, though, he wasn¡¯t about to back down. ¡°If the State Duke of Triumph refuses to release her, then I will ask His Majesty himself to judge this matter.¡±

    ¡°Not even His Majesty can get involved in our family affairs.¡± Even though this was what he said, Qin Zheng was beginning to hesitate. This damned brat had handed over the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, which made him a rising star in the emperor¡¯s eyes. If Zu An really got the emperor involved, he might end up bing theughingstock of the entire court.

    He restrained his anger and said, ¡°There is no point arguing the matter. Why don¡¯t we hear what Chuyan has to say? We¡¯ll see if she is willing to go with you or not.¡±

    After a slight hesitation, Zu An nodded. ¡°Fine.¡±

    He would have no choice but to brace himself for the worst if he insisted on keeping her locked up. Leaving aside the guards, Zu An could judge from this elder¡¯s ki fluctuations alone that he was the peak of the master rank. He was no match for him.

    Soon enough, Chu Chuyan appeared. He could see that her face was slightly thin and pallid. She had clearly been worried about Zu An while at a loss as to how to save him, leaving her both mentally and physically exhausted.

    When she saw Zu An, though, her eyes immediately lit up. She threw herself into his arms. ¡°Ah Zu, you¡¯re okay?¡±

    Zu An patted her trembling body and said softly, ¡°I¡¯m fine. I¡¯ve made it through the worst of it.¡±

    Chu Youzhao felt her eyes go wide. Her big sister was always as cold as ice, and she always looked the part of a sessful career woman. She supported half of the Chu n on her shoulders all by herself! Who the heck is this weak and helpless girl?!

    Murong Qinghe was also shocked by what she was seeing. Chu Chuyan had always been one of her greatest idols. She was always dressed in a stunning white, and her talent was exceptional. Murong Qinghe saw her as a role model, and had cultivated bitterly with the hope of surpassing Chu Chuyan when she got to her age, then gradually catching up to her.

    However, she never expected the gap in their cultivations to be so huge. Wasn¡¯t increasing one¡¯s cultivation supposed to get harder as one progressed? She thought that she was on her way to catching up now that she had five ranks of cultivation, yet Chu Chuyan was already at the seventh rank!

    Why would such a woman respond to a man this way?

    Then again, she remembered her fight with him earlier, and decided that Zu An wasn¡¯t as bad as the rumors put him out to be. Hmph, is that kid from the Shi n blind? Why does he keep calling this guy trash?

    Of course, he¡¯s still worse than big brother Chu.

    Her eyes quickly shifted to Chu Youzhao, and her clear, sharp eyes immediately zed over.

    Qin Zheng couldn¡¯t keep watching this anymore. ¡°The two of you are already divorced. What kind of scandal are you trying to start, holding each other like this? You¡¯re making a joke out of yourselves in front of outsiders!¡±

    Murong Qinghe was about to say something, but hesitated. I¡¯m not an outsider¡­ I¡¯m going to marry big brother Chu sooner orter!

    Chu Chuyan blushed. She gently pushed Zu An away before saying, ¡°Grandfather, the reason we annulled the marriage was because Ah Zu was worried about our Chu n getting involved. Since the matters have already been taken care of, we can go ahead and restore our marriage. Besides, a marriage agreement doesn¡¯t mean much to me. In my eyes, he has always been my husband.¡±

    Qin Zheng stared nkly at her. It seemed like he had traveled back in time. Back then, Qin Wanru had argued with him in the same manner. In the end, she had chosen that bastard Chu and eloped with him.

    Hmph, it¡¯s true that daughters only cause the n to suffer losses!

    He calmed down and said, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter what you believe. What¡¯s important is that the two of you are no longer husband and wife, and everyone else knows this as well. Your actions will only bring shame to the Chu n and our Qin n.¡±

    Chu Chuyan curled her lips in contempt. She clearly did not agree, but was not about to argue with her grandfather over this.

    Qin Zheng had not forgotten his reason for summoning her. ¡°Make your decision. Are you going to stay in the Qin n or let this rascal take you away?¡±

    Chu Chuyan was confused by his question. Chu Youzhao quickly ran over to fill her in on what had happened.

    After listening to what she had to say, Chu Chuyan replied, ¡°Grandfather, may I speak privately with Ah Zu?¡±

    Qin Zheng frowned. He waved his hand, letting them go ahead.

    Chu Chuyan led Zu An out of the study and into her own room.

    Zu An sighed. ¡°I know what choice you will make, even if you don¡¯t say anything. You¡¯re someone who cares a lot about duty. How can you abandon the Qin n just like that?¡±

    Chu Chuyan looked apologetic. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Ah Zu. My grandfather and my mother severed their rtionship as father and daughter, and even though my mother never said anything, I know that she has always regretted her choice. Because of their stubborn nature, neither one of them is willing to submit, so it¡¯s up to the younger generation¡ªus¡ªto ease their rtionship. Youzhao has been under my grandfather¡¯s care all these years, and that has gradually improved the rtionship between the two ns. If I leave now, all of our efforts will amount to nothing, and there won¡¯t be another chance to fix my grandfather and my mother¡¯s rtionship ever again. Besides, what will happen to Youzhao in the Qin n?¡±

    Zu An sighed. ¡°You¡¯re always thinking about others, but you never consider your own happiness. You¡¯re always the one sacrificing for your n¡­¡±

    Chu Chuyan smiled. ¡°If it wasn¡¯t because of these sacrifices, how could I have met you?¡±

    Given her beauty and cultivation, she had her pick of the outstanding men of the other great ns. However, for the sake of the Chu n, she had had no choice but to settle for a randomly-chosen drafted son-inw, and eventually found Zu An.

    She had been willing to sacrifice a lifetime of happiness, but she never expected that she would stumble upon the perfect match for her.

    Zu An didn¡¯t expect her usually cold self to pour everything out. He took her into his arms and bent down to kiss her.

    Chu Chuyan was embarrassed. ¡°They¡¯re still waiting for our reply.¡±

    ¡°Let them wait.¡± Zu An scoffed, and continued to kiss her.

    Chu Chuyan relented. She gave a lot of consideration to her n, yet she hadn¡¯t given much consideration to her lover. She knew that she had made Zu An suffer. She felt like she had let him down, and therefore let him do as he pleased.

    ¡­

    While the two of them were passionately engaged with each other, in another residence within the capital, the members of the Devil Sect were giving their reports to an incredibly charming woman. ¡°Lady Saint, Lord Ding was killed by the Embroidered Envoy and the residence has been granted to another official.¡±

    That woman snorted. ¡°If the Embroidered Envoyys their hands on our people, they¡¯d better be prepared to pay the price. Kill the new owner of Ding Manor as a warning. We are not a force to be trifled with!¡±

 Chapter 588: Persona Destroyed

    <h4>Chapter 588: Persona Destroyed</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Yes ma¡¯am! We will take care of all who dare offend our Holy Sect! Blood for blood!¡± Those subordinates rushed out excitedly to organize this attack.

    The charmingdy was naturally Qiu Honglei. She was currently reclining on a soft couch, perfectly disying her seductive figure. However, none of the surrounding sect members dared to sneak any disrespectful looks. The saintess¡¯ status was great. She was definitely not someone they could offend. Furthermore, even though she was beautiful, she was also vicious and decisive.

    Qiu Honglei yawnedzily and casually asked, ¡°Right, who is the new official taking the ce of Ding Manor? It¡¯s not every day we see the Embroidered Envoy personally cleaning out a manor for an official.¡±

    The capital city division replied, ¡°I believe it is some fe named ¡®Phoenix Man¡¯. He offered up something to his majesty and received great favor. I think his name was Zu An or something?¡±

    The capital city division didn¡¯t participate in the attack on Zu An, so they didn¡¯t know about their rtionship.

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s originally disinterested expression immediately froze. She sat up from the couch and ordered, ¡°Tell them to cancel the attack immediately!¡±

    Everyone from the capital city division: ¡°???¡±

    There was someone who immediately voiced his doubts. ¡°Why are we cancelling the attack? Are we not going to retaliate against those who challenge us? Our Holy Sect will be theughing stock of the entire world!¡±

    ¡°Because¡­ because¡­¡± Qiu Honglei also felt a huge headache. How could she have expected that this random manor would be connected to Zu An? But she couldn¡¯t exin their rtionship. However, her mind was starting to move quickly again, so she quickly thought of a solution. ¡°Because I n to personally set out myself.¡±

    ¡°There is no need for our saintess to take care of such a small matter. Our people will deal with it nice and cleanly. We will definitely chop that fe up to pieces and make him regret being born!¡± The capital division¡¯s people expressed their loyalty one after another. How could they give up such a good chance to show off in front of the saintess?

    ¡°I am d that everyone is so brave and loyal¡­'''' Qiu Honglei was all smiles, but she was cursing them to death inside. She wasn¡¯t in the mood to praise them at all.

    All of these capital city division members relished in this moment. They were all thinking to themselves that there were definitely going to be great benefits from receiving the saintess¡¯ favor this time.

    After thinking for a bit, Qiu Honglei said, ¡°The sect master wille to the capital soon and prepare that important matter. I am worried that this might be a trap set up by the Embroidered Envoy. We might end up alerting our enemies if we send out our subordinates now, so it¡¯s best if I make a trip myself and adapt to the situation.¡±

    ¡°The saintess is wise and farsighted after all, far greater than what we could ever hope to match¡­¡± Everyone ttered her like crazy. ¡°We will arrange for some experts to apany the saintess. They¡¯ll be able to protect you then.¡±

    ¡°There is no need!¡± Qiu Honglei immediately refused. When she saw her subordinates¡¯ rmed expressions, she coughed lightly and returned to her usual charming voice. ¡°I alone am enough. It will cause too much of a disturbance if more people go.¡±

    Her thoughts were all over the ce right now. After her separation with Zu Anst time, she didn¡¯t expect him to really make it through his predicament. She definitely had to hear just how he managed to get out of that kind of situation today.

    ¡­

    Zu An wasn¡¯t in the mood to think about anything else. The only thing in his mind was what he was going to do to this ice beauty in his arms.

    At first, Chu Chuyan only allowed him to hug her closely, but that quickly developed into groping, which she tacitly epted with a red face. However, this fe was going further and further, insisting on continuing. How could she ept that? ¡°No, stop! There are still people waiting outside!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯ll be fine as long as I finish quickly.¡± The more she acted like this, the more evil thoughts appeared in Zu An¡¯s head.

    Chu Chuyan bit her lip. ¡°When have you ever finished quickly¡­¡± When she recalled how she was tormented by him in the middle of the night, her body would go weak no matter how cold she was.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    How could Zu An still hold back when he saw the bit of sweetness in her expression? He pounced.

    Chu Chuyan moaned. She tightly embraced the man in front of her. As a well-behaved daughter of a wealthy n her entire life, she discovered that ever since she met this fe, she developed a bunch of bad habits. She learned how to lie, and then there was all of this stuff¡­ she became shameless.

    She knew that all of this stuff was absolutely crazy from her upbringing, yet for some reason, she always felt a strange sense of excitement. She became much more sensitive than usual.

    ¡­

    A whileter, there were small and quick steps that sounded. ¡°Big sis, brother-inw, are you guys not finished¡­ Huh?¡±

    The two of them were already extremely nervous. When they suddenly heard this sound, both of them jumped in fright.

    Chu Chuyan cried out. Her entire body shook fiercely like ripples.

    Zu An sucked in cold air. Who was the one who cultivated the Heaven Devouring Sutra here? He couldn¡¯t hold back at all under the waves of powerful suction force. He released everything.

    Chu Youzhao, who was standing by the entrance: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    She waspletely stupefied. Her big sister was always like an ice queen who stood at the peak of a frozen mountain, cold and proud. She was like a goddess who identally stumbled into this secr world.

    She wasn¡¯t the only one who had this thought. This was what all of the young masters in the capital thought.

    Whenever Chu Chuyan entered the capital, just a single nce of her graceful figure would be enough to drive those young masters crazy. All of them pursued her madly, yet her big sister didn¡¯t pay them any attention.

    Those people could only ask about her big sister through her, because they were ¡®sister and brother¡¯. All of them wanted to slide in through this roundabout way, treating this ¡®younger brother¡¯ extremely well while asking her about some of her big sister¡¯s hobbies and interests.

    Chu Youzhao suddenly felt sympathy for all those bootlickers. If they knew that their queen from the heavens was being ravaged underneath another man, as if she would give birth to his child as long as he gave the word, would die for him if he said so, she wondered just how many of those men would decide to just hang themselves.

    Your persona is falling apart, big sis!

    Chu Chuyan was already so embarrassed she wanted to find a hole to hide in. However, Zu An was shameless enough. He helped her sort out her clothes while getting up. ¡°We were busy discussing our opinions and suggestions on this matter. We didn¡¯t expect time to pass by so quickly, haha¡­¡±

    Chu Youzhao: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    There is actually such a shameless person in this world?

    This guy is a big scoundrel after all!

    It¡¯s good that you are helping my big sis with her clothes, but why aren¡¯t you putting on your own pants?!

    Chu Youzhao immediately covered her face with her hands. However, she secretly peeped through the gaps between her fingers. ¡°Um¡­ Grandfather is getting a bit impatient. He told me toe and see how things are going.¡±

    Chu Chuyan finally recovered a bit ofposure. ¡°Alright, we will head over soon.¡±

    At the same time, she pinched Zu An¡¯s waist. This fe really was a wicked scoundrel!

    Chu Youzhao had a weird look on her face when she heard her big sister¡¯s usual clear and cold voice. Your cover is already blown, big sis! The only thing in my head is the two of you¡­

    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ going to report to my grandfather so that they don¡¯t send anyone else.¡± Chu Youzhao was still a youngdy after all. Even though she was a bit curious at first, her embarrassment still won out in the end. She quickly ran away.

    ¡°It¡¯s all your fault.¡± Chu Chuyan was already about to cry.

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s fine, we¡¯re all from the same family anyway. Youzhao won¡¯t tell anyone else. But really, that kid really is something for watching the whole thing.¡±

    Chu Chuyan bit her soft red lip and said quietly, ¡°It¡¯s not that big of a deal for Youzhao to see, because she isn¡¯t my little brother, but¡­ my little sister.¡±

    Even though this was the Chu n¡¯s greatest secret, there was no need to hide this from him. She was worried that he might mind that Chu Youzhao saw them, that this would leave behind some unnecessary misunderstandings. It was best that she exined this sooner.

    Zu An subconsciously replied, ¡°Yeah, I know.¡±

    ¡°Huh? Why do you know that?¡± It was now Chu Chuyan¡¯s turn to be surprised.

    ¡°Uh¡­ I saved her when we were attacked during the assassination and found out then.¡± Zu An said ambiguously. He couldn¡¯t just say that he identally touched her chest, right?

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to have already saved Youzhao too.¡± Chu Chuyan said with a sigh. ¡°Our Chu n really owes you too much. I have no idea how we are going to repay you.¡±

 Chapter 589: Wrong Person

    <h4>Chapter 589: Wrong Person</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An gently embraced her soft waist. ¡°We¡¯re already one. Don¡¯t treat me like an outsider now.¡±

    Chu Chuyan blushed. She quickly pushed him away. ¡°Stop messing around already, everyone is already impatient outside.¡±

    Zu An was a bit sad when he saw how she looked at him like a pervert. Am I that type of person?

    The two of them quickly returned to the study. Qin Zheng said indifferently, ¡°So? What is your decision?¡±

    He stared at Chu Chuyan. He was actually a bit nervous. She better not run away like Wanru did back then¡­ He might just die from anger if he had to go through that twice.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s face was still a bit red from before. She said with a gentle voice, ¡°Of course I will stay in grandfather¡¯s house.¡±

    Qin Zheng roared withughter. ¡°Excellent! That¡¯s my granddaughter! Mister Zu, did you hear what she said?¡±

    Zu An was speechless when he saw his provocative expression. Bro, how old are you, man? You¡¯re acting like a kid. You might just die from excessive anger if you found out what I did to your precious granddaughter just now.

    I hope Chu Youzhao can keep a secret. Even though I am shameless, I don¡¯t think Chu Chuyan could take it.

    He subconsciously nced over at Chu Youshao. For some reason, she just happened to be looking at him as well, so their eyes met. Her heartbeat quickened. She quickly shifted her eyes away, unknown what she was thinking.

    Murong Qinghe¡¯s attention was always on Chu Youzhao. She also quickly noticed that something was strange.

    Hm? Why is Big Brother Chu¡¯s face red?

    But he¡¯s still sooooo handsome!

    Big Brother Chu¡¯s skin is so good. It¡¯s fair with a bit of a pink blush. It¡¯s not dark like mine¡­

    She actually didn¡¯t know just how attractive her tanned and healthy skin was to other guys. She was just used to seeing fair-skinned girls everywhere in the capital. Even though she didn¡¯t really mind normally, she couldn¡¯t help but worry in front of the person she liked.

    Big Brother Chu¡¯s skin is so fair, will he dislike my darker skin?

    Should I ask the others what they use to make their skin pale when I get back?

    But what if theyugh at me¡­

    ¡­

    Zu An spoke up at this time. ¡°Since it is Chuyan¡¯s own choice, then I will respect it. However, I hope that the State Duke of Triumph will not keep her under house arrest anymore.

    The two of them discussed already that as long as Chu Chuyan recovered her freedom, then they could just meet whenever they wished. The main thing was that they had to make sure they weren¡¯t found out.

    Qin Zheng harrumphed. ¡°Do I need you to teach me how to take good care of my granddaughters?¡±

    The reason he detained Chu Chuyan was only because he was worried that she might act on an impulse and try to save Zu An. Now that Zu An was already safe, there was naturally no need to detain her anymore.

    I should have Chuyan set out and make some indirect inquiries about the details regarding Zu An¡¯s deal with the emperor.

    He definitely couldn¡¯t bring himself to ask these things now, and he wouldn¡¯t even believe her even if she did reply.

    After reaching an agreement, Zu An got up to leave. Otherwise, being together with a fuming old man really wasn¡¯t fun at all.

    Chu Chuyan was embarrassed because of what just happened. She had her younger sister see Zu An out.

    Murong Qinghe wanted to follow them out, but Qin Zheng kept her behind to ask her about her grandfather. She could only watch with jealousy as the two of them left. Even though she knew that it would only be a short while before she would see her Big Brother Chu again, she still didn¡¯t feel good.

    Furthermore, why did she feel like there was a bit of green in the air while watching their rear figures?

    Zu An finally couldn¡¯t take it anymore when they reached the entrance. ¡°What the heck is wrong with you? Why are you staring at me?¡±

    Chu Youzhao harrumphed. ¡°Do you really have no idea why I am looking at you like that?¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°Look at you, following bad examples from a young age and thinking all those bad thoughts. Be careful or you might end up ruining yourself.¡±

    Chu Youzhao: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    Who the heck was the one doing the bad things here? Are you really spouting this sophistry to me right now? This guy really is hateful!

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Youzhao for +233 Rage points!

    She took a deep breath. ¡°Did you bring me backst night?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± Zu An didn¡¯t want to expose Qiao Xueying.

    ¡°I was unconscious back then. How did you bring me back?¡± Chu Youzhao¡¯s cheeks were pink.

    Zu An had to admit that this cross-dressing dude was pretty attractive. No wonder that silly Murong Qinghe ended up being obsessed with her. ¡°I carried you back of course, how else did I bring you here? I¡¯m a cultivator. Forget about a person, I could easily lug back a pig, so you don¡¯t really need to be that grateful.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a scoundrel after all!¡± Chu Youzhao stomped her feet. She turned around and ran back.

    Zu An was stunned. I said you don¡¯t need to be that grateful, so why are you cursing me?

    But he quickly tossed this thought out of his head, because he still had more important matters to tend to.

    It wasn¡¯t Chuyan alone who worried about him.

    Pei Mianman returned home and wasn¡¯t at the capital. He couldn¡¯t contact her even if he wanted to. However, the emperor informed the entire world about his new status, so she should be able to find out soon after.

    However, there was someone else he cared about at the hospital. Zheng Dan was still here with the Sang n''s father and daughter.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    He already found out before that after the Sang n¡¯s father and daughter returned, the emperor showed pity on the old man. His crimes were reduced to some minor offenses, and they were ced under house arrest.

    When the ns who were opposed to Sang Hong found out that he wouldn¡¯t have any more sessors, they were all incredibly happy. They didn¡¯t bother arguing with the emperor, which was why they all tacitly epted this result.

    What did it matter even if you chose the prettiest daughter-inw? She can¡¯t even help you give birth to a son. Furthermore, Sang Hong is already incredibly old, he doesn¡¯t even have the ability to have another child. He was doomed to be without an heir.

    Since you want to be a lonely subject of the emperor to the end, then so be it.

    The Sang n was actually quite famous in the capital. Zu An knew the general direction. After asking around a bit along the way, he quickly arrived at his destination.

    He had just visited the magnificent Qin n, so the Sang n seemed much poorer inparison. Not only was their territory much smaller, there were many dead leaves by the entrance that hadn¡¯t been swept away.

    There was a bleak and defeated aura that filled this ce.

    Zu An wanted to head in from the main entrance, but he saw some people monitoring this area from the shadows. House arrest was also a type of punishment, so he couldn¡¯t let them catch him.

    He didn¡¯t want to expose his rtionship with Zheng Dan either, wishing to avoid bringing unforeseeable dangers to the two sides.

    He moved over to a secluded courtyard wall, and then leapt over with a tap of his feet.

    With his cultivation, those watchers outside couldn¡¯t detect him at all.

    When he entered Sang Manor, he discovered that there weren¡¯t many servants inside, let alone any guards. It wasn¡¯t like the territory of a governor at all.

    He figured that this was likely due to Sang Hong¡¯s fall from power. The people of the manor all abandoned this sinking ship.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but sigh. Even though he was enemies with Sang Hong in the past, that was merely because they were in different factions. He still admired that man¡¯s ability and methods. He felt a bit of sympathy when he saw someone like this fall so low.

    He walked inside and discovered that this was probably the rear garden. Even though he called it a garden, it wasn¡¯t thatrge either.

    He saw a white figure moving about.

    When he thought about the bleakness he saw along the way, Zu An was rmed. Was there a female ghost wandering this ce?

    But he immediatelyughed at himself. This was a world of cultivators. He already saw his fair share of zombies, skeletons, and ghosts in the dungeons. Why was he still stuck in the thinking of his past world?

    He walked around the corner and finally saw that white figure. Sure enough, it was a white clothed woman. Her back was facing him, her figure seated on a swing, swaying back and forth absentmindedly.

    Zu An quietly leaned over. ¡°Thedy seems rather lonely. Could you use apanion?¡±

    Who else could this familiar figure be but Zheng Dan?

    The woman jumped in fright. She turned around nervously, but forgot that she was still swaying on the swing. She lost her center of gravity and fell.

    Zu An quickly caught her. She swung her hand to strike him, but she was stunned when she saw who it was. ¡°It¡¯s you?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face was about to turn green. The one in his embrace wasn¡¯t Zheng Dan at all! It was the Sang n¡¯s first miss Sang Qien!

 Chapter 590: Leading a Wolf Into the House

    <h4>Chapter 590: Leading a Wolf Into the House</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Sang Qien was currently in the air, so Zu An couldn¡¯t just let go right now. However, it didn¡¯t seem appropriate for him to keep holding onto her as well.

    Zu An gulped. ¡°Would you believe me if I said that I thought you were someone else?¡±

    Sang Qien¡¯s face turned red. She gently pushed him away and stood up on her own. She was as lithe as a swallow, her movements extremely graceful. ¡°Then who did you think I was?¡±

    ¡°I thought that you were¡­¡± Zu subconsciously reacted, but he suddenly realized that he shouldn¡¯t say Zheng Dan. This was her sister-inw! Wouldn¡¯t it be a p to her face if he told Sang Qien that he was looking for Zheng Dan?

    He could only change the topic and point at her white clothes. ¡°Why are you dressed up like this?¡±

    Sang Qien¡¯s eyes turned red. ¡°Did you forget that my big brother was killed by Mosquito Daoist? Because we were prisoners before, we could only bury him in the wilderness. His corpse was just brought back recently, so we are currently keeping watch.¡±

    ¡°My condolences, Miss Sang.¡± Zu An sighed. Even though he and Sang Qian had a grudge with each other, the man was already dead. It was already all in the past.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± But Sang Qien¡¯s mood was still downcast.

    Zu An suddenly thought of something. He took out Mosquito Daoist¡¯s corpse from the Brilliant ss Bead. "This is the one who killed your big brother. I made sure to collect her corpse because I knew you guys might need it.¡±

    After a long time had passed, it was normal for a corpse to shrivel up. That was why he didn¡¯t have to worry about others wondering if Mosquito Daoist had her essence blood sucked out.

    ¡°Mosquito Daoist!¡± Sang Qien immediately recognized her brother¡¯s murderer. She was shocked and overjoyed. ¡°How did she die?¡±

    She saw Mosquito Daoist in action before. Not even her father was her match, so it seemed like there was no hope in getting revenge. However, she actually died!

    Zu An said, ¡°I was lucky and managed to take her down. I wanted to just burn up the corpse to settle the issue, but I remembered that you guys will definitely want to see her corpse. That was why I kept it with me.¡±

    Sang Qien was a sharp girl. She didn¡¯t ask about how he killed Mosquito Daoist, because everyone had their own secrets. ¡°Thank you Brother Zu! You are a great benefactor of our Sang n.¡±

    She only thanked him half-heartedly earlier, but this time, it was sincere.

    ¡°I¡¯m already happy that you don¡¯t hate me.¡± Zu An smiled bitterly. After all, there was no way the Sang n would let him go after finding out his rtionship with Zheng Dan.

    Sang Qien instead thought in apletely different direction. ¡°Brother Zu, you cannot say that. We were enemies because we were on different sides. Whoever won and lost depended on the other¡¯s skills. We can only say that we were outyed when we lost back then, so how can we me you? Furthermore, strictly speaking, it was my father who acted against you all first, so you only retaliated because you had no choice.¡±

    Zu An was a bit speechless. ¡°Miss Sang¡¯s open-mindedness truly leaves me surprised.¡±

    ¡°Brother Zu, please head inside as our guest. I will let my father know.¡± Sang Qien¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up and she waved behind herself. ¡°Sister-inw, please help me entertain Brother Zu. I am going to bring Mosquito Daoist¡¯s corpse to my father. He will definitely be pleased.¡±

    It originally didn¡¯t seem proper to make a widowed sister-inw receive an outsider man, but the Sang n was already in dire straits. They didn¡¯t have many servants left, and there was no better choice for the task. She was also in a hurry to contact her father, so she didn¡¯t think too much about these things.

    Zu An turned around and saw that Zheng Dan was standing not too far away in white mourning clothes, her face full of joy when she saw him.

    As expected, a ssic dress never disappointed. Zheng Dan was already extremely beautiful, but now, these snow-white clothes made her look even more lovely.

    ¡°No problem, Little Qien. I¡¯ll look after him.¡± Zheng Dan did her best to make her voice sound as calm as possible.

    ¡°Thank you, sister-inw.¡± Sang Qien was only thinking about her task right now, so she didn¡¯t think too much about it. She brought Mosquito Daoist¡¯s corpse with her so that she could tell her father the good news.

    When she left, Zheng Dan nodded towards Zu An. ¡°Young master Zu, please follow me.¡±

    Zu An knew that she was worried about being seen, so he couldn¡¯t help butugh. It was as if he returned to his time back at Brightmoon Academy again. Back then, she used to pretend that she wasn¡¯t close to him, and they used their identity as teacher and student to deceive everyone else.

    Zheng Dan didn¡¯t close the door after they arrived at the room. A man and a woman being together in the same room would draw unwanted rumors if they closed the door.

    She brought Zu An behind the door, to a ce no one else could see. She could no longer hold back her emotions and threw herself into his embrace. She said while choking on emotions, ¡°Ah Zu, you¡¯re really okay?¡±

    Even though he told her again and again that he had a solution, the one he was facing was the emperor, the number one expert in this world. She didn¡¯t believe that he could safely make it through the crisis no matter how much she trusted him.

    ¡°Yup, I¡¯m perfectly fine. I already dealt with everything.¡± When he sensed how her body was shaking slightly, Zu An knew that she was extremely worried during this period.

    His clothes were already drenched in tears soon afterwards. Zheng Dan really is a water element cultivator¡­ is she freaking made of water or something?

    The two of them exchanged some intimate words, and they also talked about what happened after they separated.

    ¡°Why are you wearing these clothes too? Are you also mourning over Sang Qian?¡± Zu An was a bit jealous.

    Zheng Dan giggled. ¡°No way. I didn¡¯t want to wear them, but¡­ Forget it, I don¡¯t want any bad karma.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s heart softened. ¡°I know what you were going to say. You were worried that I might be killed today, so you put it on for me.¡±

    ¡°But thankfully, you¡¯re okay.¡± Zheng Dan helped him sort out his messy clothes, feeling a bit embarrassed when she saw how his clothes were soaked in her tears.

    Zu An was moved by her affection. He lowered his head to kiss her.

    Zheng Dan moaned. She wrapped her arms around his neck and received him enthusiastically. Compared to the bashful Chu Chuyan, she was much more proactive. They did plenty of this type of stuff back in Brightmoon Academy, so this was nothing strange to her at all.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An was interrupted by Chu Youzhao when he was in Qin Manor, so there was no way for him to get it all out during that short amount of time. Now that Zheng Dan, this lovely and pitiful widow, was in front of him, Zu An felt more and more aroused.

    A light cough sounded at this time. Then. Sang Qien¡¯s voice sounded. ¡°Young master Zu, my father has invited you up for a chat.¡±

    Zheng Dan jumped in fright. She quickly pushed him away.

    Zu An was also a bit embarrassed. However, he was always rather shameless and quickly recovered hisposure. He walked out and said, ¡°I wanted to meet with Sir Sang as well. Hm? Miss Sang, why is your face so red?¡±

    Sang Qien gave him an annoyed look. She opened her mouth to say something, but then stopped. In the end, she didn¡¯t say anything about what just happened and only said, ¡°Maybe it was because I tried to get here as fast as I could.¡±

    Zu An obviously knew that she was using a coverup. With her cultivation, she wouldn¡¯t break a sweat even if she ran at full speed. Did she see something?

    But this shouldn¡¯t be the case! If she really saw anything, then wouldn¡¯t she immediately be hostile? This was her sister-inw he was messing around with!

    While Zu An was thinking to himself, he quickly arrived in the Sang n¡¯s main hall. Sang Hong already came out to greet him. ¡°You are our benefactor. Please ept this old one¡¯s respect.¡±

    Zu An jumped in fright. He quickly helped Sang Hong back up. How could he possibly dare to let him bow to him? ¡°Sir Sang is being too formal! There is no need for this at all.¡±

    Sang Hong sighed. ¡°My son lost his life to Mosquito Daoist. Her cultivation was too high, and none of us could even hope to stop her. There are many people who want her dead, yet all of their efforts were wasted. I thought that there might be no chance for revenge in this life of mine, but she actually ended up dying under your hands. What are you if not our benefactor?¡±

    Zu An said. ¡°Mosquito Daoist¡¯s cultivation was far greater than mine. I was only able to kill her through luck.¡±

    Sang Hong didn¡¯t ask him about how he killed Mosquito Daoist. ¡°This is what the heavens have dictated. Since you are not willing to receive my respects, then little Qien, please bow in ce of your father and brother.¡±

    Sang Qien bit her lip, her face flushed blood red. She was more than willing to bow her head before, but after what she just saw, it became much harder.

    But even so, she was still a smart and caring daughter. She knew that her father felt terrible during this period, so it was best if she didn¡¯t tell him the truth. Sigh, I¡¯ll shoulder this truth alone.

    As such, she turned towards Zu An in embarrassment. ¡°Our benefactor¡­¡±

    Zu An quickly supported her to her feet. ¡°Please don¡¯t do this! The reason I brought back Mosquito Daoist¡¯s corpse wasn¡¯t because I wanted to be repaid with gratitude. We all traveled to the capital together and even fought side by side, so we''re alreadyrades. That was why I brought her over to you guys. You¡¯ll make me feel sorry if you do this.¡±

    Sang Qien blinked her eyes. This man wasn¡¯t as disappointing as she imagined him to be.

 Chapter 591: Midnight Visitor

    <h4>Chapter 591: Midnight Visitor</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An didn¡¯t make them bow down in the end. The Sang n¡¯s father and daughter became more and more moved, their expressions filled with admiration. They used to be enemies, so they understood just how far this young man went, and how formidable he became now.

    ¡°By the way, Ah Zu, how did you manage to keep your life in front of the emperor?¡± Sang Hong was curious. Sang Qien and Zheng Dan¡¯s beautiful eyes were also staring at him. This was what all of them were confused about. After all, all of them believed that he was dead for certain when they set out for the capital before.

    ¡°Perhaps it might just be his majesty¡¯s benevolence.¡± Zu An said. ¡°I offered up the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra to him. After reading it, he gave me some words of praise, and then bestowed upon me the title of baron.¡±

    His transaction with the emperor was the greatest secret. He naturally couldn¡¯t let others know about the truth.

    ¡°Benevolence?¡± A hint of mockery shed past Sang Hong¡¯s eyes. If his emperor was benevolent, then he wouldn¡¯t be in the state he was in right now. After all, he had always devoted himself to working for the emperor, offending countless officials in the process. Yet in the end, he was discarded as soon as something happened.

    He knew that this was an inevitable conclusion. Normally speaking, he wouldn¡¯t be too bothered by it, but it was because of this that his only son died, cutting short his lineage. How could he possibly view this situation rationally?

    Sang Qien frowned and said, ¡°Could it be that the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra cannot truly grant immortality?¡±

    This was the only exnation. Otherwise, there was no way his majesty would have any reason to let him live.

    Zu An smiled. ¡°Immortality has always been a vague and imaginary concept. The truth has already been long distorted.¡±

    This was what he and the emperor agreed upon to say. Together with how the emperor dealt with him, most people would believe this. This way, Zu An would no longer be hunted down by everyone.

    But King Qi was different. As the emperor¡¯s opponent, there was no way he would trust the emperor¡¯s unteral words. He would definitely confirm it himself before he would feel relieved. Otherwise, if the emperor really ended up secretly obtaining immortality, then all of the scheming and arrangements he did throughout his entire life would be a joke.

    Sang Hong instead had a ruminating expression on his face. With his understanding of the emperor, he knew that there was definitely something deeper to this matter. However, he didn¡¯t continue to ask about it and instead said in a meaningful manner, ¡°Ah Zu, you¡¯ve shown our Sang n great grace. You can ask us for anything you need in the future. Even though you have always been blessed with good fortune, it¡¯s still easy to be easily ripped apart inside of this capital city¡¯s great storm. That is why being careful is the most important.¡±

    ¡°Thank you Sir Sang.¡± Zu An was happy to hear that. After all, he knew far too little about the capital city¡¯s powers. But with Sang Hong, this old fox who had already been involved with the political circles for decades, everything would go much smoother.

    Sang Hong continued, ¡°But my age is already great, so I fear that I will not be as useful as before. I have suffered a great mental blow after experiencing the death of my son. You can seek out little Qien in the future if you need anything. She is not inferior to myself in terms of wit. I believe she can be of help to you.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. Only now did he realize that when he was in Brightmoon City, even though Sang Hong was already aged, his eyes were still filled with fighting spirit. Now, they were filled with a feeling of decline. He looked like he aged another decade during this time.

    He sighed. He cupped his hands towards Sang Qien and said, ¡°I will have to trouble Lady Sang in the future.¡±

    ¡°Big Brother Zu is too polite.¡± Sang Qien smiled. She gave her father a puzzled look. She obviously picked up on the fact that his father was ying matchmaker between Zu An and herself. But father, do you know that he and sister-inw already¡­ sigh.

    ¡°Oh, right.¡± Sang Hong suddenly said, ¡°My request to his majesty has already been approved, so we will set out for our home in a few days and bury Sang Qian¡¯s coffin together with the Sang n¡¯s ancestors. This might take some time.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Zu An subconsciously looked at Zheng Dan. They were going to separate after just meeting each other again?

    He knew about Zheng Dan¡¯s tricky situation. She shouldered the responsibility of this n. Even though she didn¡¯tplete the ritual kneeling during the wedding ceremony, she was the Sang n¡¯s officially wed daughter-inw. As long as the Sang n and Zheng n do not annul the wedding agreement, then she cannot leave.

    Of course, she can leave if she wants, but she would easily take on infamy and pressure from society. The Zheng n would then be involved as well.

    Zheng Dan also felt remorseful. She didn¡¯t want to leave either. She already persisted with waiting here for a few more days precisely out of worry for Zu An. Now that her lover was fine, she already felt at ease.

    As for herself, she nned to stay with the Sang n through these hardest times first. After all, the Sang n lost their only son and were now arranging funeral matters. It wouldn¡¯t be too insincere if she brought up a divorce now.

    Sang Qien snorted. These two are exchanging flirty looks in front of my eyes! Do you think I¡¯m blind?

    Also, my father has always been incredibly shrewd. Why hasn¡¯t he noticed anything regarding my sister-inw?

    Sang Hong coughed. He suddenly said, ¡°By the way, Ah Zu, there is something I should remind you about. I heard that you became the crown prince¡¯s secretary. You must be careful in the eastern pce. The crown prince, even though he is a bit¡­ Cough cough, a bit simple and honest, you cannot treat him like an ordinary fool. His deeper nature is actually extremely cruel, furthermore not bound by enough rationality. He has always done whatever he pleased. There are already far too many eunuchs and pce maids who have inadvertently provoked him and died because of it. That is why you must absolutely not offend him.¡±

    ¡°Thank you Sir Sang for your reminder.¡± Zu An recalled those unfortunate eunuchs earlier and nodded. It wouldn¡¯t be a big deal if an ordinary family gave birth to a stupid son, but it was different when this was the crown prince. He possesses tremendous authority naturally as a crown prince. Once he turned to evil, then the damage would be huge.

    Sang Hong continued, ¡°Right, there is one other matter. There was that Shi n¡¯s young master who didn¡¯t get along with you in Brightmoon City. He is also one of the crown prince¡¯s important men.¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Huh?¡± Zu An almost forgot about that guy. Back then, that young master was in a hurry to leave Brightmoon City and flee back to the capital. Who would¡¯ve thought that they would meet again so soon? It really was a small world.

    Sang Qien said with a smile, ¡°Big Brother Zu can even kill Mosquito Daoist, so a trifling Shi Kun is definitely not a problem. Furthermore, he has obtained his majesty¡¯s appreciation, so I do not think the Shi n dares to pressure him with their status anymore.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your praise, Lady Sang.¡± Zu An gave Sang Qien a strange look. Even though what she said was indeed true, why did it sound like she enjoyed watching him suffer?

    They chatted for a while longer before Zu An bid his farewell. Even though he really wanted to spend more time with Zheng Dan, he couldn¡¯t do much with the Sang n¡¯s father and daughter here.

    He returned to Ding Manor. Uh, wait, no, this was now his own home.

    Zu An discovered with shock that everything inside already lookedpletely new. The inside of the rooms had clearly been meticulously sorted out, and even the bedding and other things had been changed.

    His first reaction was that Zhuxie Chixin sent someone to sort everything out, but he quickly rejected this thought. Those Embroidered Envoy knew how to kill, but there was no way they were adept at these tasks.

    He noticed that the surrounding environment became a bit simr to the Chu n in Brightmoon City. It was quite simr to the small courtyard he used to live in.

    He was moved when he smelled the leftover scent of nts in the air. He knew that this was the work of Qiao Xueying.

    Only she was this capable, moreover this familiar with the Chu n.

    ¡°Snow, where are you Snow?¡± Zu An quickly looked around for that petite figure. He didn¡¯t know how she cleaned this entire courtyard. This was definitely a huge workload!

    Even though she could use countless vines in ce of her hands, she managed to turn such arge courtyard into such afortable ce in such a short time. He wondered just how much sweat and effort she put into it.

    But he didn¡¯t find her even after searching the entire courtyard. In the end, he found a letter by his bed, written in graceful calligraphy, ¡°Something happened back in the n that needs urgent attention. The master didn¡¯t return yet, so we will meet again in the future.¡±

    Zu An felt a bit apologetic. He could imagine how Qiao Xueying cleaned up the entire courtyard alone and waited for him with great expectation, and then the disappointment she felt when he didn¡¯te.

    He wondered what happened to her nsmen. He hoped that everything went smoothly.

    He suddenly realized that all of the girls at his side seemed to shoulder great responsibility. Their lives were full ofpromises and helplessness. He was the only one who was entirely alone, who seemed a bit more free.

    He already toiled for several days on end. He decided to take a nice hot bath to rx. Even though the cultivators of this world wouldn¡¯t be dirty once they reached a certain point, he already spent a long time as a mortal before traveling to this world. There were some habits that he couldn¡¯t change

    Even though no one helped him heat up some water, it wasn¡¯t anything difficult. He drew some water into the bathtub with his Blue Mard ability, and then he summoned Daji to heat up the water with her fox fire.

    Zu An bathedfortably in the bathtub. Even though the technology of this world wasn¡¯t as developed as his previous world, with the abilities of cultivators, he could still raise his quality of life to a suitable standard.

    The people of this world only used cultivation to kill. It really was a waste of resources.

    Daji, who was kneeling beside him, was expressionless. If she retained her intellect and knew that she was using her own fire to help him take a bath, she might be so angry she¡¯d beat him to death.

    While he was leisurely bathing, there was a light knocking sound by the entrance.

 Chapter 592: Questioning Life

    <h4>Chapter 592: Questioning Life</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Who is it?¡± Zu An was rmed. He had just arrived at the capital and didn¡¯t know many people. Who woulde to seek him out at this time?

    ¡°I¡­¡± A timid and lovable voice sounded from the entrance. Zu An was overjoyed. He was just about to undo the restrictions when he suddenly heard someone climbing over the walls.

    He cursed inwardly, these restrictions really were shoddy! They weren''t anything like his Embroidered Envoy residence in the pce. It would only stop some small thieves at best and didn¡¯t do anything against those with higher cultivation.

    He quickly put Daji away to prevent this intruder from seeing her.

    A ck robed figure leapt over soon afterwards. Zu An waved his hand towards her. ¡°I¡¯m over here!¡±

    This unknown visitor was dressed in a ck cloak that wrapped around her entire body. She was stunned when she saw that Zu An was currently inside a bathtub. ¡°You¡­ are taking a bath.¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Her voice was lovable and pleasant. This was clearly a girl.

    Zu An patted the water. ¡°Wannae in?¡±

    ¡°Hmph, no way.¡± The woman took off her cloak, her clothes inside were pure white. It was surprisingly Zheng Dan, who he had just met with. He told her his address earlier, and this ce wasn¡¯t too hard to find.

    ¡°Why are you still wearing this?¡± Zu An asked curiously.

    Zheng Dan curled her lips. ¡°I couldn¡¯t help it, I sneaked out of the house. I still have to go backter, so it was too troublesome to change. If you don¡¯t like it, then how about I change here?¡±

    ¡°Nope, that¡¯s perfect.¡± Zu An pulled her towards him.

    ¡°Ah¡­¡± Zheng Dan staggered a bit. Soon afterwards, she understood what he meant. Her pretty face became red. ¡°Pervert.¡±

    Zu Anughed. He raised his hand and brought her into the bathtub. Her clothes werepletely soaked through and pressing against her skin.

    Before Zheng Dan could voice her surprise at her sudden increase in strength, she was overwhelmed with shame and embarrassment. ¡°How am I supposed to go back afterwards?¡±

    A me appeared on Zu An¡¯s hand. ¡°I¡¯ll dry your clothester.¡±

    This was the good thing about the cultivation world. He could take care of many things without borrowing an external device.

    ¡°You¡¯ve awakened a fire element ability?¡± Zheng Dan was shocked. Even though she was happy to see her lover grow stronger, the ability he awakened was the fire element!

    Sang Qian was also a fire element cultivator after all. She felt like they only ended up the way they did because they were ipatible like fire and water, but now, her real lover was also a fire element cultivator! She couldn¡¯t help but feel worried that this was an ominous sign.

    Zu An knew what she was thinking. He said with a chuckle, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I didn¡¯t only awaken the fire element. I can control water too.¡± His finger spun, and then some water moved towards it.

    The Blue Mard ability allowed him a certain degree of water element control when there was water. However, he wasn¡¯t able to use the water element in the air for battle, and his control over the same element was also a bit inferior to someone who mainly cultivated this element.

    But its greatest ability was allowing him to be more intimate with water, allowing him to even freely breathe underwater like a fish. Furthermore, it would be much easier for him to learn water element movement techniques andbat skills in the future. The only part that wascking right now was awakening this water element ability. It looked like his only hope for this was summoning a water element valkyrie.

    Zheng Dan¡¯s worry immediately changed to happiness. ¡°Ah Zu, you¡¯re so awesome!¡±

    Zu An moved over and said by her ear, ¡°You know that there is something else about me that is awesome.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re so annoying¡­¡± Zheng Dan said, but her eyes were gleaming.

    Zu An suddenly erupted with an unexinable thought when he saw her soaked snow-white mourning gown. How could he still hold himself back? He threw himself at her with a growl.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, on the other side, Qiu Honglei finally managed to convince the capital city division. She rushed towards Zu An¡¯s courtyard in the evening.

    She was extremely excited when she thought about their reunion.

    She already had a good impression of him when they were in Brightmoon City. Later on, they fought together on the way to the capital. He risked his life to protect her, and she also helped him suck out poison¡­

    Ahhh was I too reserved back then? His wife Chu Chuyan is an ice beauty. Does he like her type more?

    Hmph, isn¡¯t she just pretending to be decent? Do you think I can¡¯t do the same?

    With a thought, her flirtatious smile immediately disappeared. Her aura instead became extremely dignified like the daughter of a prestigious house.

    But her features were just too charming. Even if she was deliberately putting on this dignified appearance, she still gave off a feminine charm.

    She took out a small mirror when she was outside of Zu An¡¯s manor and looked at the reflection.

    Not bad, I washed my hair before I came out and put on some light makeup.

    She could already tell from their previous interaction that Zu An didn¡¯t care too much for heavy makeup.

    Her bearing seemed spot on too. She didn¡¯t look as flirtatious as usual. Yup, he¡¯ll definitely fall for me as long as I keep this up.

    She put away her small mirror with a content smile. Then, she quietly walked up to knock on the door.

    What, did you think I¡¯ll jump over the wall? Even though the restrictions aren¡¯t a big deal at all for me, jumping the wall is something a crude woman would do. As a wise and virtuous woman, of course I¡¯ll enter from the front.

    Her lush green fingers were just about to knock on the door when she suddenly picked up some faint sounds from within. Her smile instantly froze.

    She was so angry she kicked a rock on the side of the road. If she knew it was going to be like this, she should¡¯ve just had those capital city division members burn down this whole ce!

    I¡¯m so mad!

    You have sessfully trolled Qiu Honglei for +999 +999 +999¡­

    Unfortunately, Zu An waspletely preupied right now. He didn¡¯t notice the Rage points at all.

    Qiu Honglei was about to leave, but she felt like leaving just like this was too frustrating.

    Hmph! Is that Chu Chuyan inside? She always has that ice queen appearance on the outside, but look at her now! She¡¯s even more wild than those girls from Immortal Abode!

    She decided to take a look at her ¡®disgraceful appearance¡¯ for herself. That way, she definitely wouldn¡¯t feel any inferiority when she met her face to face in the future.

    She could no longer hold back when this thought emerged. She scaled the walls and leapt in.

    She knew that both of them were experts, so she had to be careful. She moved about like a cat without making any noise.

    Those excited sounds became louder and louder. She crept closer.

    ¡°They¡¯re doing it in the bathtub? Is Chu Chuyan that bold? Is her ice queen appearance just a front?¡± Qiu Honglei silently cursed.

    She quietly peeped in. Her eyes immediately shone brilliantly.

    She didn¡¯t take off her clothes? Because of the angle she was looking from, she couldn¡¯t see the girl¡¯s face too clearly. However, it was the same white clothes Chu Chuyan normally liked to wear.

    She suddenly began to question life. What the hell is wrong with this world? Why would you take a bath with your clothes on? Aren¡¯t you guys in too much of a hurry?

    Huh? Wait a minute¡­ there¡¯s other uses for the mouth than just eating?

    Who is the one from the Devil Sect here¡­

    Only when the two of them came out from the bathtub and Zu An dried the girl¡¯s clothes with a fire he created from his hand did she snap out of her daze.

    Zu An awakened the fire element? The quality of the mes looked pretty high too. They don''t look like ordinary mes.

    Hold on, this girl isn¡¯t Chu Chuyan!

    She met Chu Chuyan on the way to the capital, so she knew that she was not Chu Chuyan, but rather the Sang n¡¯s daughter-inw Zheng Dan. She wasn¡¯t wearing a white dress either, but rather mourning clothes.

    She snorted. What a vixen! Her husband had just passed away, yet she was already with another man.

    Even though she already guessed at these two¡¯s true rtionship, spections were spections. Seeing it for herself was something else. The scene she just saw was just too shocking!

    After her clothes were dried, Zheng Dan quickly put on a cloak and left, clearly in a hurry to return.

    Her legs almost gave out after running a few steps. Qiu Honglei¡¯s brows jumped when she saw this. Serves you right! It¡¯s your fault for going at it like a lunatic!

    She couldn¡¯t help but be distracted for a moment while mocking Zheng Dan. There was a gap in her concealment.

    ¡°Show yourself!¡± Zu An knew that this person probably saw everything, so he didn¡¯t n to show this person any mercy.

    But he didn¡¯t expect the other party to not evade at all. She continued to stare at him coldly from the treetop she was hiding in.

 Chapter 593: A Dangerous Job

    <h4>Chapter 593: A Dangerous Job</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An was shocked when he saw her face. He quickly redirected the force of his palm strike. This sudden change in stance was too much for him, and he crashed into the ground.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Qiu Honglei put on her usual, seductive smile. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, young master? You¡¯re bowing as soon as you see me? How can I ept something like that?¡±

    To hell with all that cold and aloof nonsense! This guy clearly appreciates the flirty and seductive type! If I hadn¡¯t spent some time undercover in the Immortal Abode, I would be far inferior to that Zheng Dan!

    Zu An crawled back to his feet in embarrassment. ¡°So it was you, Honglei. Haha¡­¡±

    She cut him off before he could finish. ¡°Honglei? Are the two of us that close?¡±

    Zu An was left speechless.

    Isn¡¯t that what I called you before? You were all smiles back then¡­

    Zu An pretended that nothing had happened. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say something beforeing over?¡±

    Qiu Honglei snorted. ¡°How could I have witnessed such a stunning scene if I had let you know ahead of time?¡¯

    ¡°About that¡­ haha¡­¡± No matter how shameless Zu An was, he was still in a rather fine pickle. ¡°I¡¯m really d that I got to see you again.¡±

    Qiu Honglei sneered. ¡°Really? It almost seemed like I¡¯d arrived at a bad time, and was interrupting something.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not interrupting anything at all! We were already done¡­ ahem, ahem. Honglei, how did you know that I was here?¡± Zu An changed the topic again. It seemed like his bath was pointless. He was drenched in sweat again, and not just from the heat.

    ¡°Lord Ding, who used to live here, belonged to my Holy Sect, but you swooped right in and cleared him out. Of course I had toe to take a look.¡± Qiu Honglei¡¯s regret was slowly building. She really should have had her subordinates clean this ce out. Let¡¯s see if this yboy dares to keep messing around after that.

    ¡°So, he was one of yours¡­¡± Zu An was apologetic. ¡°Sorry about that, really. I had no control over that matter. Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s men moved too quickly.¡±

    ¡°No one can stop Zhuxie Chixin from killing the people he wants dead.¡± Qiu Honglei wasn¡¯t upset because of this. She was upset because she had dolled herself up for him, but had been rewarded with that disgusting scene instead. She hadn¡¯t fully expressed her anger yet.

    Zu An said, ¡°Honglei, could youe down from that tree, please? Talking to you like this is making my neck sore.¡±

    With her in the tree and him on the ground below, he was forced to tilt his head upwards to look at her.

    ¡°No way. It feels pretty good to have you speaking to me like this.¡± Qiu Honglei¡¯s lips curved upwards, her legs swinging in the air. Her mood had improved significantly.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but point out something. ¡°Um¡­ You¡¯re wearing a dress. I can see¡­¡±

    Before he finished, Qiu Honglei shrieked in rm and jumped down from the tree. She smoothed down the front of her dress and stared at him, her face red. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say so earlier?!¡±

    ¡°I was trying to be tactful about it, but you didn¡¯t get my message!¡± Zu An looked extremely wronged.

    Qiu Honglei stared at him, speechless.

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°Honglei, let¡¯s chat inside. It¡¯s a little chilly out here.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s your fault for not dressing properly,¡± Qiu Honglei retorted with an angry huff. She turned her head away to avoid looking at his naked body.

    Zu Anughed in embarrassment, and quickly found an outfit to put on.

    Qiu Honglei looked around inside. ¡°Oh? It¡¯s only been a short while, but you¡¯ve cleaned up the interior rather nicely. I didn¡¯t expect you to have such skills.¡±

    ¡°Haha¡­ you¡¯re too kind¡­¡±Zu An obviously wasn¡¯t about to tell her that this was Qiao Xueying¡¯s work. Even though his rtionship with Qiu Honglei wasn¡¯t quite sorted out yet, his survival instincts still told him that he should not reveal this to her if he did not want to die.

    Qiu Honglei dropped herself into a random chair. Enough time had passed, and most of her annoyance had dissipated. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to make it through such a tough situation alive. It¡¯s a feat worth praising, whether we are friends or enemies.¡±

    ¡°I was just lucky. I should be thanking you for taking care of me along the way. If not for you, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to reach the capital safely,¡± said Zu An sincerely.

    ¡°Hmph, you are making me sound like a rebel of the Holy Sect,¡± replied Qiu Honglei. ¡°You managed to escape death because of your own prowess. It had nothing to do with me.¡±

    Zu An nodded. ¡°Of course, of course.¡±

    The two of them looked at each other in silence. They did not require words to express their true thoughts to each other.

    Qiu Honglei coughed lightly. ¡°Did you really hand the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra to the emperor?¡±

    Zu An grunted in acknowledgement. Of course, there was no way he would tell anyone that he had tampered with the sutra.

    ¡°If that was your n all along, you should have just handed it to my master. Who knows, you might have even been appointed vice sect master. That¡¯s much better than being a mere baron.¡± Qiu Honglei was slightly unhappy.

    ¡°But that might have led to the emperor wiping out your sect,¡± replied Zu An.

    Qiu Honglei fell silent. It was true that, in its current form, the Devil Sect did not have the strength to fend off a full-scale offensive from the emperor. ¡°But why would the emperor let you live? Unless¡­ the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra cannot really grant immortality?¡±

    Zu An smiled ambiguously, ¡°I¡¯ve already lost track of how many times I¡¯ve been asked this question. Indeed, the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra cannot truly grant immortality.¡±

    This wasn¡¯t a lie. Even the real Phoenix Nirvana Sutra would not be able to grant immortality if it was cultivated on its own.

    ¡°Then why didn¡¯t you just release that information to the world earlier? Instead, you were forced to run for your life,¡± Qiu Hongleiined, as she recalled the dangers he had encountered along the way.

    ¡°No one would have believed me even if I¡¯d said it earlier,¡± said Zu An with a bitter smile.

    Qiu Honglei knew the truth in that statement. After another moment of silence, she said, ¡°I¡¯ve heard that you¡¯re now the crown prince¡¯s pce secretary?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    ¡°Does the pce secretary keep himpany during the day, or at night?¡±

    Zu An looked at her strangely. ¡°During the day, of course. The eastern pce is within the inner pce. How could they allow other men to remain inside at night?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good then, that¡¯s good.¡± Qiu Honglei sighed in relief.

    Zu An was puzzled. ¡°Why would you suddenly ask that?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Just an idle question.¡± Qiu Honglei¡¯s eyes sparkled. After a slight hesitation, she continued, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t get too immersed in your role as the crown prince¡¯s secretary. Leave each day once you¡¯re done with your duties. Don¡¯t stay there too long.¡±

    Zu An looked her in the eye. ¡°Are you saying this because you know that something will happen soon?¡±

    ¡°Nothing will happen.¡± Qiu Honglei had calmed down as well. ¡°However, there are rumors that maids and eunuchs often go missing in the eastern pce. I¡¯m just worried that something might happen to you too.¡±

    Zu An felt a surge of warmth within him. ¡°Thank you, Honglei, but I shouldn¡¯t have any trouble protecting myself.¡±

    ¡°Okay,¡± replied Qiu Honglei. She did not seem inclined to speak for much longer. ¡°I¡¯m relieved that you¡¯re all right. I¡¯ll head back, then.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re leaving so soon?¡± Zu An was reluctant to see her go.

    Qiu Honglei turned around and gave him an ambiguous smile. ¡°You did all that with another girl, and now you¡¯reing onto me? Don¡¯t you feel like you¡¯re fooling around too much?¡±

    Zu An forced a smile. ¡°You know that¡¯s not what I meant.¡±

    Qiu Honglei snorted. ¡°It¡¯s already gettingte, so I have to go back. There¡¯s still a lot that I need to take care of back at the sect.¡±

    ¡°Let me know if you need any help in the future,¡± Zu An offered quickly. ¡°I¡¯m now a court official, after all. I can take good care of you.¡±

    Qiu Honglei gestured at the courtyard they were in. ¡°Thest official who worked with us had his entire n wiped out. Are you trying to follow in his footsteps?¡±

    Zu An was momentarily at a loss for words.

    ¡°I¡¯m only helping you, not the Devil Sect.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, isn¡¯t helping me the same as helping the Devil Sect?¡±

    Despite her tone, Qiu Honglei felt her mood lighten. ¡°Since you¡¯re having such thoughts, our friendship hasn¡¯t been in vain. We¡¯ll meet again if fate wills it.¡±

    With a tap of her feet, her dress fluttered about, and she took off.

    Zu An quickly waved at her. ¡°Oh, I forgot to say that your eyebrows look prettier than usual.¡±

    Upon hearing this, Qiu Honglei turned around and smiled sweetly at him. I guess I didn¡¯t pretty myself up for nothing.

    ¡­

    When Zu An entered the pce the next morning, his mind was filled with images of Zheng Dan¡¯s wonderfully supple figure, as well as the smile that Qiu Honglei had shed at him just before she left. Each girl truly had their own unique charm, and it was really hard to say who had the upper hand.

    I really am trash¡­

    Even he was disappointed in himself.

    It didn¡¯t take him long to reach the eastern pce. After his identity was verified, he was brought to the crown prince¡¯s study.

    ¡°The crown prince is inside. Please report on your own.¡±

    Zu An nodded. Standing outside the door, he announced, ¡°Newly appointed crown prince secretary Zu An requests an audience with the crown prince.¡±

    ¡°Come in,e in,¡± came the crown prince¡¯s voice.

    He could imagine just how excited the crown prince was from his tone. Zu An chuckled and pushed open the door, but was instantly on guard as a gust of wind blew towards him.

 Chapter 594: Falling Into Your Own Trap

    <h4>Chapter 594: Falling Into Your Own Trap</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An quickly dodged backwards. He saw some dirty yellow liquid pour down from above the door, and there was a cask below. He could smell the contents from far away.

    He finally realized that someone ced a bucket of piss above the door ahead of time. Once someone pushed open the door and went inside, they would be covered in pee. Even though it wasn¡¯t anything life threatening, it would be incredibly humiliating.

    Shi Kun¡¯s appearance appeared in his mind when he recalled Sang Hong¡¯s reminder. He sneered. You got away pretty quickly from Brightmoon Cityst time, but watch how I deal with you this time.

    As such, he summoned Blue Mard and sent back the dirty yellow liquid with even greater speed.

    There were two people giggling behind the door. The fatty was obviously the crown prince, while the man next to him was much more handsome, a pretty boy no matter how you looked at him. It was just a pity that his sinister gaze ruined the feeling he gave off. But no matter how much it ruined his appearance, he was still much nicer to look at than the big fatty next to him.

    This man was naturally Shi Kun. He almost exploded from anger when he found out that Zu An became the crown prince¡¯s secretary. What right does Zu An have to deserve this? He is nothing more than a scoundrel off the streets! Not only did he get the goddess he had chased after for so long, now he became the crown prince¡¯s secretary, equals with him?

    This guy is a freaking lucky bastard! That was why he decided to arrange a bucket of piss to ruin his sted luck.

    The crown prince was stupid to begin with, and he loved this type of stuff the most. He was naturally easily convinced.

    But he didn¡¯t expect the other party to react so quickly. After all, he even arranged a wind element formation by the entrance. The pile of piss was something not even a sixth rank cultivator could avoid.

    When he saw the yellow liquid that was flying back, the crown prince¡¯s mouth opened wide. He couldn¡¯t avoid it at all on his own.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Shi Kun had the chance to block this stuff in his ce, but that meant that he had to cover himself in this disgusting stuff. He even made sure to get the piss of the smelliest and dirtiest eunuch! His eyelids jumped, he really didn¡¯t want to be covered in this stuff.

    As such, he decisively shifted to the side. The crown prince was not so lucky. Even though there was a eunuch who wanted to block in front of him, he was still covered from head to toe in this filth.

    After the crown prince¡¯s initial shock, he broke out crying. ¡°Wah¡­ retch¡­ Whose pee is this? Why does it smell so bad? I am definitely going to¡­ retch¡­¡±

    Shi Kun¡¯s eyelids jumped. He was really d that he didn¡¯t take this stuff for the crown prince. Otherwise, he might be scarred for life.

    Zu An was also stunned. He knew that things were going to be a problem from how the fatty was crying.

    This damn fatty really is stupid! Even if you are going to prank someone, you don¡¯t have to stand right behind the door, right?

    Shi Kun stepped out and said, ¡°Brazen! You dare try to assassinate the crown prince? This is a great offense punishable by the eradication of your entire n!¡±

    The eunuchs all voiced out their criticism as well. After all, quite a few of them had piss on them too. Whose pee is this? Why the hell does it smell so bad?

    The crown prince was about to say something, but his mouth was wide open earlier, so there was quite a bit that got in. He immediately threw up as soon as he opened his mouth. ¡°Retch¡­¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyelids jumped. He could only look at Shi Kun and say, ¡°It¡¯s you again. You¡¯re like a freaking haunted ghost.¡±

    Shi Kun harrumphed. ¡°You can give up on any thoughts of sucking up. You attacked the crown prince! No one can save you now.¡±

    This was another reason why he didn¡¯t block in front of the crown prince. He was just trying to vent some anger by pranking Zu An, but if the crown prince was the one who was pranked instead, then that would be an absolute disaster. This brat Zu An was dead for sure.

    A group of guards rushed over when they heard the news. They were stunned when they saw the situation in the room. What the heck is going on? Why is the crown prince¡¯s study so filthy?

    But they noticed the crown prince¡¯s situation. Furthermore, with how Shi Kun was pointing at Zu An, all of them pointed their des at Zu An to arrest him.

    ¡°Wait!¡± Zu An pointed at Shi Kun. ¡°You said that I tried to kill the crown prince. Then what did I use to do so?¡±

    ¡°Of course it¡¯s¡­¡± Shi Kun was just about to point at the piss bucket, but he suddenly couldn¡¯t continue. What assassin would use a bucket of piss to kill? Who would believe him? It¡¯s all his fault for trying to use Zu An with the worst crime possible. His first reaction was an assassination attempt.

    Zu An immediately said, ¡°It looks like you wanted to say this pile of piss, right? Everyone knows that I didn¡¯te in with anything when I entered the pce, all of the guards along the way can confirm that. Then that means that if it was my aplice who prepared this bucket of piss, then his n also needs to be eradicated too, right?¡±

    Shi Kun immediately felt a headache. The one who prepared this bucket was him! Many people in the crown prince¡¯s pce knew about this, he couldn¡¯t hide this fact even if he wanted to. How could he have predicted that his prank would backfire like this?

    Zu An was an orphan, and he even divorced Chu Chuyan. He really was alone, so it made no difference to him if he was punished with nine generations of n eradication. However, he was different! The Shi n was a huge n. If they really were involved because of this, then he might be skinned alive!

    He could only change his wording and say, ¡°Even if it wasn¡¯t an assassination, everyone saw you ssh piss on the crown prince¡¯s body. This is a great crime of disrespect and ought to be punished!¡±

    ¡°Indeed¡­ retch¡­¡± That big fatty immediately agreed. He really was beyond grossed out. How could he still remember yesterday¡¯s camaraderie?

    Shi Kunughed. This fe was dead for sure now that he had the crown prince¡¯s support.

    Zu An remembered Sang Hong¡¯s warning. This fe indeed inherited his father¡¯s mercilessness and viciousness.

    But he also thought of a solution during this time. He used Blue Mard, and then he sucked away all of the yellow liquid.

    To a certain degree, pee was also a type of water after all.

    The crown prince was originally entirely drenched, yet he became dry again a momentter. Even the disgusting smell in his mouth disappeared.

    A yellow sphere gathered in front of him. It was clearly made of that disgusting liquid.

    Zu An waved his hand, and then the ball flew towards Shi Kun¡¯s mouth.

    Shi Kun wasughing happily, so his mouth was wide open. How could he react in time? ¡°Ugh¡­ cough cough¡­ retch¡­¡±

    He clutched his own throat to vomit it out, but he couldn¡¯t make it in time at all. The disgusting smell filled his senses. He could no longer hold back and threw up everything he ate from the night before.

    Zu An, you fucking bastard!!!!!

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Kun for +999 +999 +999¡­

    Unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t say anything right now. His mouth only instinctively retched. This wasn¡¯t it, tears were pouring out of his eyes. Whose fucking piss is this? Why is the smell so strong?!

    Zu An didn¡¯t pay him any more attention. He used his skill ¡®Befriend a Rich Man¡¯ on the crown prince. A hundred thousand taels of silver instantly vanished just like that, but the crown prince already subconsciously thought of him as a friend.

    ¡°This is fun! This is fun!¡± The crown prince pped his fat hands. ¡°Big bro, you have to teach me how to do that!¡±

    Zu An sighed in relief when he saw his intimate expression. Thest two uses of this ¡®Befriend a Rich Man¡¯ didn¡¯t go so well, he never got what he wanted. He was even instinctively worried that he might be scammed this time as well. Fortunately, it finally did something. It looked like this skill wasn¡¯t aplete scam after all.

    Shi Kun was stunned. He didn¡¯t know why the crown prince would suddenly no longer me Zu An. Wasn¡¯t the crown prince pretty petty and easily angered?

    ¡°Sure. However, crown prince, please do not call me big bro in the future. This doesn¡¯t conform with the rules.¡± Zu An was worried that others might use this against him in the future, so it was best if he stopped this earlier.

    The crown prince didn¡¯t pay this much attention. ¡°Oh yeah, it¡¯s not only this, you have to teach me how to be invulnerable.¡±

    ¡°Invulnerable?¡± Zu An was stunned.

    The crown prince pointed at Shi Kun and said, ¡°That¡¯s what he said. He said that your cultivation was clearly not high, but even though so many assassins came after you on your way to the capital, they still couldn¡¯t kill you. He said that the reason for that was because you were invulnerable to des.¡±

    Shi Kun threw up so much he almost threw up his own bile. But he was already at the sixth rank, which made him a high ranking cultivator. He finally used his ki to expel the piss from within him. He carried that bucket and vomited again and again, almost filling it up.

    When he heard the crown prince say this, he quickly exined, ¡°Exactly! If the crown prince doesn¡¯t believe me, then have him stand by the door and throw knives at him.¡±

 Chapter 595: Vicious Tactics

    <h4>Chapter 595: Vicious Tactics</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Okay, okay!¡± The big fatty eximed, pping his hands excitedly.

    Zu An was speechless. This guy really is simple-minded. Even though he now considered Zu An a friend, he was tantly willing to disregard his friend¡¯s safety for his own amusement.

    He included Shi Kun in his ire. If you¡¯re going to drink piss, just drink it quietly. Why are you spouting so much garbage?

    Shi Kun had a savage expression on his face. Not only had he failed to prank Zu An, he ended up embarrassing himself instead! How could he leave things like this?

    He didn¡¯t know why the crown prince would let Zu An go after being drenched in piss, but now that the chips had fallen in this manner, he had to adapt his strategy.

    He¡¯d improvised when the crown prince found himself drenched in piss. This was the real n that he¡¯d carefully prepared.

    He took out some des he¡¯d prepared beforehand and handed them to the crown prince. These had been specially withdrawn from the Shi n¡¯s treasury. They were heaven-grade weapons, the Immortal Beheading Knives. They could prate the defenses of cultivators and wound their souls.

    Anyone struck by these knives would suffer damage to their souls, and it would take decades to fully recover from such an injury. Even for the greatest of geniuses, losing several decades of cultivation would be impossible to recover from.

    If the injury was serious enough, it could even prevent the cultivator from making any further progress.

    Putting aside those at the fifth or sixth rank, even someone at the eighth or ninth rank would never want to face such weapons. Even they would not be able to withstand their lethal effects. Of course, a low-level cultivator would not be able to hit an eighth or ninth rank expert with these knives.

    Zu An frowned as he stared at the knives. There was a faint yet dangerous aura surrounding them. They did not look special on the outside, but it was possible that they had some special or unique feature to them.

    He wasn¡¯t about to fall into Shi Kun¡¯s trap. He sped his fist towards the fatty and said, ¡°Crown prince, I do not have any ability to turn myself invulnerable. There¡¯s no need to test it out.¡±

    The crown prince hesitated. Inexplicably, Zu An seemed to be his friend, and since his friend was unwilling to go along, then he would let the matter drop.

    However, Shi Kun quickly spoke up. ¡°Everyone knows about the stunning skill young master Zu disyed in the ns Tournament in Brightmoon City, as well as his outstanding achievements in the Ursae Dungeon. He even defeated a multitude of experts on his way to the capital, and learned the method to immortality, which piqued His Majesty¡¯s interest. Why does someone like that act so humbly?¡±

    The crown prince¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Big bro, you¡¯re actually that awesome?¡±

    ¡°Not at all.¡± Zu An was speechless. Shi Kun surely had bad intentions if he was praising him like this.

    Sure enough, Shi Kun added, ¡°This humble servant knows that the crown prince has always been simple and kind-hearted, but this person knows the method to gain immortality. Even if he suffers an injury, he should be able to recover immediately. There¡¯s no need for the crown prince to be concerned.¡±

    Zu An almost burst outughing. Simple and kind-hearted? Judging from their interaction so far, the crown prince was only simple-minded, with nary a trace of kindheartedness!

    He sneered. ¡°Brother Shi, have you perhaps forgotten His Majesty¡¯s order that all those who mention immortality idly are to be killed?¡±

    Shi Kun¡¯s expression became solemn. ¡°Of course I remember. However, I am not talking about immortality, I am merely saying that the technique you cultivate is formidable, admired even by His Majesty. He even granted you the title of baron. Since you came to serve as the crown prince¡¯s secretary, you should help the crown prince broaden his horizons.¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes, yes, I want to see this!¡± The crown prince was bouncing with excitement, his eyes full of expectation.

    Zu An frowned. ¡°I¡¯m afraid it will be difficult to demonstrate the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra alone. Young master Shi, are you willing to cooperate with me in this demonstration for the crown prince?¡±

    Shi Kun¡¯s expression changed. He had almost been killed at the entrance to the dungeon behind Brightmoon Academy previously. Even though he had grown in strength, Zu An had managed to stay alive even through his encounters with Mosquito Daoist, the Devil Sect¡¯s Solitary Eight, the dark elves, and all manner of assassination attempts. He didn¡¯t dare fight someone like that. If Zu An used this opportunity to exact revenge, he¡¯d be dead before he could even begin to feel sorry for himself.

    Thinking quickly, he said, ¡°Young master Zu¡¯s skills are renowned. This humble one doesn¡¯t dare make a fool of himself.¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯re not willing to put some skin in the game, then why are you talking so much smack?¡± Zu An snorted, looking at him with unfiltered disdain.

    Anger surged within Shi Kun. This man was a rascal from the streets after all! He really had no idea why Chu First Miss had ended up favoring this man.

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Kun for 456 Rage points!

    Shi Kun took a deep breath. ¡°This isn¡¯t the time for us to duke it out amongst ourselves. We are here to demonstrate your incredible resilience to the crown prince, by allowing him to throw these knives at you. The crown prince is only slightly better than an ordinary person. Could it be that you¡¯re afraid to do this?¡±

    Zu An said with smiles. ¡°Young master Shi, are you implying that the crown prince¡¯s cultivation is low, and that he is a fool?¡±

    ¡°Shi Kun, is that what you are saying?¡± the big fatty asked, staring at him angrily.

    Shi Kun immediately broke out in cold sweat. ¡°Clearly that¡¯s not what I meant! The crown prince is the heir to the throne, and does not need to cultivate at all. That¡¯s what cultivators like us are here for! We are here to serve, and take on the most dangerous assignments on your behalf.¡±

    The crown prince nodded in satisfaction. ¡°That¡¯s more like it.¡±

    Zu An had to admit that Shi Kun¡¯s reaction time and his eloquence were both top-notch. He¡¯d even been able to tactfully extract himself from such a situation.

    Afraid that Zu An would say something else, Shi Kun seized the initiative to speak. ¡°The crown prince merely wishes to see your skills. What is the meaning behind all these excuses? Are you looking down on the crown prince?¡±

    ¡°Exactly, exactly!¡± A frown appeared on the crown prince¡¯s chubby face. He was clearly growing unhappy as well.

    The guards seemed to be taking this situation very seriously. They were ready to arrest someone as soon as the crown prince gave the word.

    Zu An knew that there was no way out of this. Therefore, he made his own proposal. ¡°It seems a little boring to make me take on the des alone. How about we make a bet? Let¡¯s see who can survive more of these des¡ªme, or young master Shi.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The crown prince immediately grew excited. ¡°Yes, yes, yes! Shi Kun, go with him!¡±

    Shi Kun felt the blood drain from his face. He never expected that he would end up shooting himself in the foot.

    But he reacted quickly as well. He immediately remembered that this fellow might not know about the power of the Immortal Beheading Knives. He could just stall for time, and let him go first. That way, Zu An would immediately be seriously injured, which would prevent him from doing anything else. Once that happened, he could rely on his glib tongue to trick the crown prince further, and make it through this ordeal safe and sound.

    If they kept stalling, though, another unexpected variable might just pop up. That was why he agreed to it immediately. ¡°Fine. Young master Zu, please be my guest and go first!¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t object to it. Getting struck by a de wasn¡¯t too hard to take, since he still possessed the Primordial Origin Sutra¡¯s powerful regenerative properties. Either way, he would have an edge over Shi Kun.

    He began to think about how he was going to deal with Shi Kun.

    Soon enough, several eunuchs escorted Zu An over to the wall behind the door. They made him spread his arms with his back against the wall. Apples were ced on his head, hands, and in between his legs.

    Shi Kun grinned evilly, his scheme finallying to fruition. He handed the knife to the crown prince. ¡°Crown prince, make sure to aim for the apples. With your skill, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll make every throw.¡±

    ¡°Of course! I¡¯ve been a master at throwing knives ever since I was young.¡± The crown prince picked up the knife, eager to give it a try.

    Shi Kun added, ¡°Not only is thispetition about individual cultivation, it¡¯s about courage as well. Anyone who flinches or makes the apples fall will be considered the loser. The loser will have to lick the other party¡¯s shoes and learn how to act like a dog. Do you agree?¡±

    He sneered. Once Zu An does this, I¡¯ll let the entire world know what happened! Let¡¯s see how you¡¯ll face young miss Chu then! Not just young miss Chu¡ªyou won¡¯t be able to face another living being!

    ¡°Act like a dog? That sounds fun!¡± The crown prince was practically jumping up and down. It had been too long since hest experienced something as interesting as this.

    Zu An sighed. The crown prince truly was simple-minded. However, he still nodded and said, ¡°It¡¯s settled, then!¡±

    Shi Kun wasn¡¯t expecting such a straightforward answer. He also realized that this guy probably intended to take the knives head on, and rely on his defense and his body¡¯s natural recovery. However, Zu An had no clue about the true power of these knives!

    Even though it would be a pity that Zu An wouldn¡¯t really be able to lick his shoes like a dog afterwards, he¡¯d still be a cripple for life. That was good enough.

    He understood the crown prince well. The man couldn¡¯t be considered a cultivator at all. His Majesty had bestowed countless precious resources on him, and several individuals had forcefully transferred their own ki into him as well. Even though he was stronger than an ordinary person, he had zero clue how to utilize his ki.

    Forget about making every throw¡ªit would be a miracle if he hit even a single apple. Zu An was about to be turned into a porcupine!

 Chapter 596: How is this Possible?

    <h4>Chapter 596: How is this Possible?</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An suddenly spoke up. ¡°I¡¯ve agreed to this, but what if young master Shi goes back on his word after I take my turn?¡±

    ¡°Why would I go back on this agreement?¡± Shi Kun sneered. ¡°With the crown prince here, and so many eunuchs and guards as witnesses, what is there to worry about?¡±

    ¡°Exactly! If he goes back on his promise, I¡¯ll kill him.¡± The big fatty patted his chest as a promise.

    Zu An sneered. If you were born an ordinary person, you might have actually been granted that authority. Unfortunately, you¡¯re a fool, so you don¡¯t wield any real power as crown prince.

    Of course, if he wasn¡¯t a fool, he would never have sanctioned this preposterouspetition.

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°If it was anyone else, I wouldn¡¯t be concerned. However, I¡¯ve heard that young master Shi¡¯s father is the Grand Court Minister of War, one of the venerable Eight Dukes. Even His Majesty needs to show him some respect. There¡¯s nothing we can do to him even if he does shame himself today.¡±

    Shi Kun frowned. ¡°What are you proposing, then? In my opinion, you¡¯re just making a ton of excuses because you¡¯re scared.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s tone was nonchnt. ¡°If you truly wish topete with me, then let¡¯s swear an oath, with the world as our witness.¡±

    He was always curious as to why the contracts of this world could not be vited. As his cultivation deepened, he gradually understood the workings of naturalw. Contracts made under oath often resonated with the natural world, and therefore, there was no way of getting out of them.

    Shi Kun found himself in a terrible spot. He had nned to chicken outter, but once he made this oath, he would have no choice but to take his own turn. He knew of the crown prince¡¯s sh*tty aim, and he really wasn¡¯t looking forward to bing a cripple as well.

    A thought struck him, and he immediately raised his arm and made the oath. In moments, both of them sensed a wave of naturalws entering their bodies.

    Shi Kun wasn¡¯t worried, since he¡¯d woven a loophole within his oath. He had only promised that he would also take his turn once Zu An had taken his. He would have to stand against the wall as well, but he could admit defeat before a single knife was thrown.

    Either way, Zu An would already be unconscious, thanks to his soul being ripped apart, so he wouldn¡¯t be forced to lick his shoes and pretend to be a dog anymore. He¡¯d have much more leeway once that happened.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    He was truly going for broke. For the sake of crippling Zu An, he did not hesitate to ce himself in danger.

    Seeing that he had sworn the oath, Zu An nodded in satisfaction. He leaned casually against the wall, and even leisurely checked the freshness of the apples. ¡°I¡¯m ready. Please begin, crown prince.¡±

    Little Xu and Little He, who had arranged the apples for him, wore looks of sympathy. Several years ago, the crown prince had decided to learn how to throw knives on a whim. He had ced apples on the bodies of eunuchs as well, and would only stop when he managed to hit all of the apples.

    At the crown prince¡¯s level of skill, he would only hit one out of every dozen or so throws, mostly out of sheer luck. Each time, a dozen or so lesser eunuchs would suffer.

    If they weren¡¯t hit in a vital spot, they could still recover after a period of recuperation. However, the unlucky ones who were hit in a vital area would die on the spot. This crown prince¡¯s secretary was probably done for. ¡°Hurry up, get out of the way! I¡¯m going to begin!¡± The crown prince waved the eunuchs away impatiently.

    None of the eunuchs dared to stay where they were, and quickly slinked away. The guards also moved as far away as possible. They all stood several zhang away from where Zu An was standing.

    Zu An felt his skin tingling. Is this crown prince¡¯s aim so bad that all these people have to stand that far away?

    Shi Kun wore a massive grin. He could already picture Zu An¡¯s miserable ending.

    Zu An¡¯s gaze fell on the de in the crown prince¡¯s hands. The feeling of danger grew stronger and stronger, and he did not dare to take them head on, no matter how quick his regeneration was.

    There¡¯s definitely something wrong with these knives!

    Even though he didn¡¯t know what exactly was strange about these knives, Shi Kun had wanted him to go through with this really badly. This could only mean that he had definitely done something to them. Zu An was not about to face them straight up.

    He stared intently at the crown prince. The crown prince¡¯s expression suddenly went nk, then he threw the de.

    *Thud!*

    The knife hit the apple on Zu An¡¯s head with absolute precision and stabbed into the wall. It¡¯s hilt was still shaking slightly.

    A strange silence fell across the entire room, as all its upants stared at this scene with the same stupefied expression.

    ¡°How?!¡± Shi Kun rubbed his eyes. He thought that his eyes were deceiving him.

    The knife was still stabbed straight into the wall, and the reactions of the eunuchs and the guards proved that he wasn¡¯t seeing things.

    The crown prince was truly incredibly lucky! Damn it!

    This sort of thing had happened before. After about a dozen knives, the crown prince would somehow manage to get one on target.

    Shi Kun sighed in relief when he remembered this.

    The crown prince threw a second de, and Shi Kun was stunned by the way he had thrown it. He felt his heart thud. Why is his form so steady?

    He whipped around. That knife hadnded right between Zu An¡¯s legs, splitting the apple between them cleanly in half.

    ¡°Outstanding! The crown prince is amazing!¡±

    Little Xu and Little He had ovee their initial shock. How could they let go of such a perfect opportunity to suck up to the crown prince? They both cheered wildly.

    The guards joined in as well. Throwing with such uracy wasn¡¯t difficult for them, but this was the crown prince! This was a feat worth praising!

    Calm down, calm down. This must be a coincidence. Yup, a coincidence. Shi Kun consoled himself continuously, but sweat had already begun to trickle down his temples. None of his self-constion seemed to be working. His conviction was already starting to waver.

    The crown prince flung out two more knives, which struck the apples bnced on Zu An¡¯s right and left arms perfectly. Zu An was untouched! Shi Kun felt as if a bucket of ice water had been emptied over his head. His entire body went limp, and he was unable to support his one weight. He fell into the chair behind him, and even that didn¡¯t seem to be enough. He had to wiggle about several times to prevent himself from sliding all the way to the floor.

    ¡°How is this possible, how is this possible¡­¡± Shi Kun was panicking inside. It wasn¡¯t just because he couldn¡¯t sessfully harm Zu An, though. He was worried about something else as well. Landing one throw could be a coincidence, but how couldnding four in a row be coincidence as well?

    Could it be that the crown prince was feigning simple-mindedness all along? Was he deliberately putting on such an appearance to fool everyone?

    That makes sense. His Majesty is utterly incredible. How can someone like that give birth to an idiot? How could he insist on passing down the throne to him even if he knew that he was an idiot¡­?

    This father and son duo are surely nning something huge!

    They deliberately made the son seem foolish in order to bait out any disloyal subjects, so that they could capture them all in one go!

    I¡¯m done for! I haven¡¯t been all that respectful to the crown prince all these years, and often yed and acted as though he was a fool. The crown prince surely remembers all of this. I¡¯m done for, I¡¯m done for¡­

    Zu An didn¡¯t know that all of this was going on in Shi Kun¡¯s mind. He was the only one who knew the truth.

    This crown prince wasn¡¯t hiding anything at all. His intelligence was truly at the level of a child.

    This was exactly why he could use the jade badge to temporarily control the crown prince!

    The badge was useful against creatures of lower intelligence. Zu An had considered this the first time he had met the crown prince. An ordinary person couldn¡¯t be controlled by the jade badge, but the crown prince was extremely stupid. To a certain degree, he could be considered a lower intelligence lifeform. Zu An was intrigued to know if the jade badge could control him.

    He wasn¡¯t able to test this theory out before, but with this huge disaster looming over him, he had to give it a try. It was rather difficult at first, but once he used ¡®Befriend a Rich Man¡¯, the crown prince wasn¡¯t as resistant to him. He discovered that he could just about control him, which made him overjoyed. Only then did he agree to take part in this gamble with Shi Kun.

    Zu An had used the jade badge to take control of the crown prince just now. In a sense, the one who had thrown the knives wasn¡¯t the crown prince, but him.

    Given Zu An¡¯s cultivation, hitting the apples from such close range was easy enough.

    Of course, he could only control the crown prince for a short amount of time, but it was already more than enough.

    Zu An secretly counted his blessings. He moved away from the wall, removing the knives that were stuck in it and handing them back to the crown prince. Only then did he look at Shi Kun, draped limply in the chair. ¡°Young master Shi, I believe it¡¯s your turn,¡± he said, a huge smile on his face.

 Chapter 597: A Tragic Sight

    <h4>Chapter 597: A Tragic Sight</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Shi Kun¡¯s eyelids twitched, and he forced a smile with great difficulty. ¡°Brother Zupleted the task so perfectly, there¡¯s no way I could do any better. I won¡¯t make a fool out of myself.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Young master Shi, are you going back on your words?¡± scoffed Zu An. "You made an oath just now. Don¡¯t you remember?¡±

    Shi Kun was about to cry. He never expected to shoot himself in the foot! He felt as though he was in a dream. He really couldn¡¯t understand how the crown prince had managed tond all four knives!

    The crown prince was still buzzing with excitement. ¡°Exactly! Hurry up and go already. I feel great today, and I want to enjoy this feeling a little more.¡±

    He was still a person, after all, and there was a limit to how long Zu An could control him. He was already incredibly thankful that he had managed to make it past the knife-throwing. The crown prince was now back to his usual self.

    The crown prince himself felt as though he were drifting in the clouds. He had somehow made all four throws, yet he still sensed a strange emptiness within him. He wanted to do it again to relive the sensations.

    Shi Kun looked at the crown prince in shock. Just a moment ago, the crown prince had given off a deep and unfathomable aura. Why did he now seem like an idiot again?

    Is he doing this to get back at me?

    No way. I¡¯ve been at the crown prince¡¯s side for so long! Even if I never made any huge contributions on his behalf, I¡¯ve still worked hard! I should still be closer to him than Zu An, right? The crown prince surely ns to help me out and strike the four apples as well. That way, everyone will be happy.

    With this thought, the boulder weighing down on him finally disappeared.

    Zu An was growing impatient. ¡°Young master Shi, if you aren¡¯t going topete, then just admit defeat. Crawl up to my feet and start barking like a dog.¡±

    Wait¡­ Having your feet licked by a grown man seems a little gross. Is this guy a freak? Why did hee up with these stakes? I guess I can just about put up with it if I get to see him act like a dog.

    Shi Kun believed that he had figured out what the crown prince was thinking, so there was no way he was going to put up with this. His rage boiled over immediately. ¡°Screw you! Do you think I¡¯ll lose to you? If I have to do it, then I will!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Kun for 999 Rage points!

    He walked over to the wall and spread his arms. ¡°Come, put the apples on me! What do I need to worry about when the crown prince never misses?¡±

    He showered the crown prince some praise, just as a failsafe.

    ¡°Of course! I don''t miss.¡± The crown prince¡¯s eyes weren¡¯trge to begin with, and there was so much meat on his face. He was smiling so hard from all the praise he was hearing that his eyespletely disappeared.

    Little Xu and Little He felt their own eyelids twitching. Crown prince¡­ How could you say that? Aren¡¯t you afraid that the spirits of all those little eunuchs that you killed woulde back to haunt you?

    After the apples were put in ce, the crown prince suddenly muttered to himself, ¡°I¡¯ve already made four in a row. If I make another four in a row, that won¡¯t really show off my skills. How about I blindfold myself, and make the throws that way?¡±

    Fear stabbed into him, and Shi Kun felt his confidence shatter. He immediately said, ¡°The crown prince is wise and honorable. Zu An and I made a wager, and it must be conducted fairly! The crown prince can practice throwing blindfolded another day!¡±

    Little Xu and Little He cursed him silently. What the hell are you saying? Who else would be the targets if the crown prince were to practice throwing while blindfolded on a different day?

    But they were only lesser eunuchs, while Shi Kun was the heir of the Minister of War, someone of venerable status whom they could not afford to offend. They had no choice but to hold in their resentment.

    ¡°Oh, is that right?¡± The crown prince felt slightly dejected. ¡°All right then, I¡¯ll begin. Hm¡­ I guess I¡¯ll start with the head.¡±

    Shi Kun felt his knees begin to quiver.

    ¡°Crown prince, you are supposed to aim at the apple, not the head¡­¡± he reminded him weakly.

    The crown prince¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°I know that! Do you think I¡¯m dumb? If you keep talking, I¡¯m really going to throw it at your head.¡±

    Shi Kun immediately apologized. ¡°This subject doesn¡¯t dare!¡±

    He was cursing the crown prince silently. Given this fellow¡¯s track record, it¡¯s probably better if he aims for my head. That way, he would surely miss it.

    After witnessing the earlier miracle for himself, though, he didn¡¯t dare voice these thoughts.

    The crown prince nodded in satisfaction, then raised the knife and took aim.

    Shi Kun¡¯s heart was pounding. The crown prince hadn¡¯t done this earlier on! Every single throw had been quick, clean and efficient, yet he was taking his time to aim right now! Shi Kun couldn¡¯t help but sense something amiss.

    He stared at the crown prince¡¯s hand. His heart seemed to be quivering in time with the motion of that hand.

    The waiting was really the worst part. It would be better if he threw it right away.

    As if sensing his thoughts, the crown prince finally threw the knife.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The knife was wobbling left and right, and did not have any of the grace of the previous throws.

    Shi Kun was stupefied. What the hell?

    Didn¡¯t you say you were going to aim at the apple on my head?! Why are you aiming down there? Are you aiming at the one between my legs?

    But the angle doesn¡¯t seem right. It¡¯s a little too high. If it doesn¡¯t strike the apple, it¡¯ll strike me in the vital area below my belt!

    He had the luxury of thinking so many thoughts because the crown prince¡¯s knife was travelling rather slowly. Shi Kun was a sixth rank cultivator, so he could clearly observe the knife¡¯s trajectory.

    The surrounding eunuchs and guards nodded. This was more in line with the crown prince¡¯s usual skill. Wait, no, he¡¯s actually doing pretty well. It¡¯s only a few feet away from the target. After all, when he first started, there was an even chance that the de would fly several zhang away from the target.

    Shi Kun broke out in cold sweat. What do I do? What the heck do I do now?!

    Is the crown prince trying to discipline me? But these aren¡¯t normal knives! If they were normal knives, he could still brace himself and go along with it, but these Immortal Beheading Knives wounded the soul of their targets! He would be crippled if it hit, let alone being hit in his most precious area!

    Not only would his prospects be ruined, he wouldn¡¯t be able to live as a man anymore!

    Just as the knife was about to reach him, he finally made his decision. Screw it! The most important thing is to retain my strength. After all, in this world of cultivation, one¡¯s strength determines how high one can climb.

    This was why he moved. He reached out his hand to grab the iing de. The tip of the de was barely an inch away from his precious jewels.

    He sighed in relief. His mind was already trying to work out his next move. There was no way Zu An would let him off the hook. Did he really have to kneel down and lick his shoes?

    Before Zu An could say anything, the crown prince said unhappily, ¡°Shi Kun, what are you doing? Why did you suddenly move? The apples have all fallen as well. Is it because you thought that I, the crown prince, would miss?¡±

    Shi Kun resisted the urge to curse aloud. Can¡¯t you see where you¡¯re aiming? I almost became Eunuch Shi!

    He was just about to say something when the door mmed open. ¡°What nonsense are you all coercing the crown prince into now?!¡±

    A beautiful woman was standing in the doorway, staring angrily at everyone. This was none other than the crown princess, Bi Linglong, who Zu An had met earlier.

    Bi Linglong had been born into one of the Great Zhou Dynasty¡¯s greatest ns. She was born beautiful andpetent, so she had always been proud and arrogant. She was different from other women. Even though she was young, she boasted extensive knowledge, and harbored powerful ambitions.

    She was married to the crown prince, the future empress. It should have been a dream for her, yet her husband just had to turn out to be a fool.

    She would get angry whenever she saw her husband¡¯s stupid appearance, but since she was already married to him, what else could she do? She tried her best to urge the crown prince to study hard. The crown prince¡¯s aptitude at cultivation wasn¡¯t anything special, which meant that he should apply himself to studying how to manage the affairs of government. Either way, given his status, he did not really need to attend to anything personally.

    When all was said and done, even if he didn¡¯t know how to handle government affairs, she would still be happy if he could be more like a normal person.

    However, this stupid husband of hers never failed to cause her trouble. His shenanigans over talking to frogs the day before had already be the joke of the capital. Today, the crown tutor was supposed to arrange some assignments for him to aid in his study, yet she had suddenly heard from a maid that the crown prince seemed to be ying a game with some secretaries.

    How dare you! Her rage had boiled over immediately, and she stormed over, even mming the door open.

    She couldn¡¯t openly criticize the crown prince, so she had to vent her anger on those around him. She had already decided that she had to discipline the people around the crown prince. Let¡¯s see who dares go along with the crown prince¡¯s nonsense then!

    If this had been any other time, those at the crown prince¡¯s side would have already been begging for forgiveness. Now, though, no one was even looking at her. All of them were looking behind the door.

    Her beautiful eyebrows knit together in a frown, and she turned around in confusion. She discovered that Shi Kun was standing behind the very door she had mmed open, his face deathly pale. He was holding onto a de which had been stabbed into his crotch. Blood was still flowing down his legs, quickly forming a huge puddle.

    Bi Linglong was stupefied. What the hell were these people ying at? They¡¯re stabbing themselves? Down there?

 Chapter 598: Repaying Evil with Evil

    <h4>Chapter 598: Repaying Evil with Evil</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An gasped. He felt a chill run through his legs, and his hand subconsciously moved towards his own precious equipment. This is way too tragic¡­ This dude might need to change his name in the future.[1]

    It wasn¡¯t just him. Everyone else subconsciously closed their legs as well. Even the two eunuchs, little Xu and little He, swallowed. The scene confronting them made them recall their own purifying ritual.

    Back then, there were many procedures that had to be met before they were purified. They couldn¡¯t drink water for a few days leading up to it, and they lived in a warm silkworm room. The de was disinfected, and those with some money could bribe their attendants into giving them some anesthetic to numb the pain. Even so, they were in so much pain afterwards that they couldn¡¯t even take care of themselves.

    But this Shi Kun had made no preparations at all! Furthermore, he didn¡¯t even scream during the entire process! He was truly a real man!

    Wait, no. From this day forward, he won¡¯t be a man anymore¡­

    Shi Kun¡¯s face was as white as a sheet of paper. Huge beads of sweat poured down his face. It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t want to scream¡ªrather, he was in so much pain that he didn¡¯t even have the strength to scream.

    It was not just physical pain¡ªhis soul was in agony as well.

    After all, the Immortal Beheading Knives were able to wound the soul directly.

    Shi Kun could feel that something was now missing from his consciousness. He knew that it was likely that he wouldn¡¯t be able to cultivate much more.

    Worst of all, he had been maimed in his most precious spot. He would not be able to call himself a man anymore.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    If Zu An was the one who had done this, he could have leaned on the strength of his n to make Zu An pay with his life, but this was the crown princess¡¯ doing¡­

    The knowledge that he would be forced to swallow this grievance overwhelmed his mind with anguished fury. His eyes rolled backwards, and he fainted.

    ¡°What in the world are you all doing? Why would he¡­¡± Bi Linglong was stunned. She knew that Shi Kun enjoyed special status, and that he wasn¡¯t someone to be treated carelessly. The fact that he had suffered such a serious wound while in thepany of the crown prince could cause an upheaval within the court.

    Everyone was looking at her with the same strange expression. Only the crown prince didn¡¯t seem to mind. ¡°He was holding the knife in his hand while standing behind the door,¡± he exined with a smile ¡°When you mmed the door open, the knife stabbed into him. Didn¡¯t you hear the sound of the de slicing into him?¡±

    Bi Linglong was speechless.

    Now that she thought about it, she did hear something like that. But she had been so angry that she paid little attention to it.

    She felt like she was losing her mind. What the hell is all this?! She was a glorious crown princess, yet she had personally castrated a man! If news got out, it would cause a terrible misunderstanding.

    Zu An coughed and spoke up. ¡°This isn¡¯t the crown princess¡¯ fault. Even if the crown princess hadn¡¯t been here, he still would have been wounded down there. The two of us swore a binding oath, and he has no one but himself to me. If the crown princess hadn¡¯te in, ording to the provisions of the oath, he might have lost his life right away. The crown princess actually saved his life.¡±

    Little Xu and little He spoke out in agreement. They hadn¡¯t expected their grievance against the young master to be settled so quickly. You can offend anyone else, just don¡¯t offend us eunuchs![2]

    Bi Linglong finally snapped out of her daze. She suddenly found Zu An much more pleasing. She coughed lightly, then quickly gestured towards some servants. ¡°Quickly, notify Physician Xuan¡­ have him brought to the imperial hospital. Tell the physicians to use the best medicines to treat him.¡±

    The blood gushing out of him was way too horrifying. She turned away resolutely. Out of sight, out of mind.

    As Shi Kun was brought out, Bi Linglong was in no mood to berate the crown prince any further. On the contrary, she interrogated the eunuchs and guards about what had happened, and made sure that they got their stories straight, to hopefully prevent any bad blood between the Shi n and her own family.

    Zu An was left more or less alone. No one seemed to be paying any attention to him.

    He looked at the knives on the ground. The crown prince had thrown them aside earlier on, fearing that the crown princess was going to scold him further.

    Feeling curious, Zu An picked them up. Right from the start, he could sense that they were special.

    After all, given his current strength and regenerative abilities, not even heaven-grade weapons should be able to pose such a great threat to him.

    Shi Kun¡¯s reaction proved his suspicions. The pain that the young man had felt did not seem to only be physical¡ªit seemed to also affect the soul.

    He touched the de, and the ice-cold sensation made his soul extremely ufortable.

    As one walked the path of cultivation, one would use the ki of the world to temper one¡¯s flesh. From master rank onwards, one would then temper the soul.

    Only after reaching the ninth rank and stabilizing the flesh, would the flesh be powerful enough to harness the power that came from the consumption of the soul.

    Of course, this did not mean that those below master rank did not possess souls. The soul was always in existence, but master rank cultivators could manifest their souls and use it to attack their enemies.

    For cultivators below the master rank, the soul was invisible and intangible, but it was still there.

    If one suffered a wound to the soul, that was the end of their prospects for cultivation.

    Shi Kun had actually brought out something so vicious to use against him! Zu An¡¯s expression grew cold. Shi Kun deserved everyst bit of what he¡¯d got.

    Since no one was paying attention to him, he secretly stowed the knives away inside his Brilliant ss Bead. Even though these des were incredibly treacherous, there was no denying that they were priceless treasures. They mighte in handyter on.

    He noticed the characters ¡®Immortal Beheading¡¯ carved on the des.

    Immortal Beheading Knives?

    Zu An was stunned. He remembered that, in the world of the ¡®Investiture of the Gods'', there was a Daoist, Lu Ya, whose strongest weapons were the Immortal Beheading Knives!

    He quickly shook his head. Even though these knives were formidable, the Immortal Beheading Knives of legend could cut down gods and devils alike. These were definitely not the same.

    He counted them up. There were three in total. For some strange reason, he sensed that they weren¡¯t aplete set.

    Wait¡­ one is still stuck in Shi Kun¡¯s crotch.

    Zu An¡¯s eyelids twitched when he remembered where the knife had embedded itself in. Suddenly, it seemed that he didn¡¯t want it anymore.

    However, he knew that the entire set of this treasure, when used together, would be much stronger than if they were used individually, just like how equipment in his previous world functioned more effectively when the right sets were used together.

    Since the crown princess was still busy admonishing the servants of the eastern pce, he headed straight for the hospital. He could use this chance to familiarize himself with the interior of the imperial pce.

    He was stopped and questioned by several guards along the way, but each time, he whipped out the token that marked him as the crown prince¡¯s secretary and said that he was visiting the injured Shi Kun, on the orders of the crown prince and princess.

    None of the guards doubted him. After all, they had never seen anyone who would dare lie about the crown prince¡¯s orders.

    Of course, Zu An was a transmigrator, so he did not share the same superstitions as the natives of this world. Besides, it would bepletely normal for the crown princess to send someone to check up on the wounded individual. Perhaps not now, since she had yet to recover from her shock, but she would surely send someer on. Taking the initiative to make the trip was a favor to her. She might even feel grateful afterwards.

    He arrived at the imperial hospital, which was buzzing with activity. All those within were clearly busy tending to the seriously-wounded Shi Kun, and could spare him no attention.

    Zu An wandered around, and quickly found a bloody throwing knife lying on a desk.

    His nose wrinkled in disgust when he thought about where the blood hade from, so he picked up a pot of tea and rinsed it thoroughly, then wiped it clean with a piece of cloth.

    The people around him who noticed his actions thought it strange, but they took note of his eastern pce uniform, and did not say anything. At the moment, all of their attention was on Shi Kun.

    The imperial physician¡¯s voice boomed across the hospital.

    ¡°Has the wound been cleaned yet?

    ¡°After I reconnect it with my water element technique, immediately apply the flesh reconnection ointment and fasten it in ce! Be quick about it!

    ¡°Also, why isn¡¯t the medicinal decoction[3] ready yet? We need him to drink it as soon as we are done with the procedure! Remember that you cannot add too much water!¡±

    ¡­

    Zu An had a strange look on his face. He didn¡¯t think that this world was capable of reconnecting tissue! The world of cultivation and the world of science really did achieve the same result through different means.

    As he sighed in astonishment, he suddenly heard Shi Kun¡¯s mumbled curses.

    ¡°Go to hell, Zu An¡­ you bloody bastard¡­ I hope your corpse gets chopped up to a million pieces¡­¡±

    ¡°Asshole¡­¡±

    ¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Kun for 999¡­ 999¡­ 999¡­

    Shi Kun¡¯s words were muffled, so Zu An couldn¡¯t hear them too clearly, but Shi Kun was surely cursing Zu An even while unconscious. It was easy to imagine just how intense his hatred of him was.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes narrowed. You¡¯re the one who wanted to harm me, and it was the crown princess who wounded you. Why are you hating on me instead of her?

    Zu An¡¯s expression grew cold. This twisted snake had been constantly scheming against him. How should you repay evil? With evil, of course!

    Even though he always considered himself a good person, he was no Mother Teresa. Since you want to kill me, I have no choice but to kill you first.

    He looked around. There were so many physicians around Shi Kun, and they were watching him closely, and he was surrounded by people with powerful cultivations as well. It was way too hard to kill Shi Kun right now.

    1. The ¡®Kun¡¯ in Shi Kun can mean elder brother.

    2. Shi Kun had previously told the crown prince to practice throwing knives while blindfolded on a different day, so these eunuchs would have had to suffer as a result. They were upset about being thrown under the bus by Shi Kun.

    3. A medicinal syrup made by boiling various herbs.

 Chapter 599: Explosion After Reconnection

    <h4>Chapter 599: Explosion After Reconnection</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    As Zu An was fretting over the medicinal decoction, the physician suddenly said, ¡°Ask them to hurry up! Why isn¡¯t the medicine prepared yet?¡±

    Immediately, a young assistant took off towards a small lodge, which was emitting a strong medicinal smell. It was clearly the ce within the hospital where the medicine was being prepared.

    A thought came to Zu An, and he followed quietly.

    There were many people inside the medicine preparation room, and each one of them was focused on the medicine furnace in front of them. There were many imperial concubines in the imperial pce, and each one of them had their own special tasks.

    Of course, the most important one right now was the one with Shi Kun¡¯s medicine. Several medical assistants stood around watching, whispering amongst one another.

    Zu An was speechless. How am I supposed to do anything with so many eyes looking on?

    ¡°Hurry up! Isn¡¯t it done yet?¡± A voice demanded urgently.

    ¡°It¡¯s done, it¡¯s done.¡± The assistant who was watching the furnace scooped out the medicine inside into a bowl.

    Zu An secretly used his fire element to make the fire in the furnace burn more fiercely.

    Startled, the assistant looked at the furnace in shock. ¡°Huh? Why did the fire suddenly be bigger?¡±

    After all, the intensity of the fire was extremely important in the preparation of medicine. A single mistake could lead to a drastic difference in medicinal effects, and might evenpletely ruin the precious ingredients.

    In the ensuing chaos, Zu An flicked his finger lightly, sending a small drop of liquid into the bowl of medicine.

    The assistant holding the bowl of medicine was distracted, so no one noticed this drop of liquid.

    Not losing sight of his own responsibilities, the assistant quickly carried the medicine back to the operating room.

    Positioning himself nearby, Zu An watched everything closely. Quickly, cries of rm filled the room.

    ¡°Huh? Why is blood suddenly gushing out?¡±

    ¡°Bring me the hemostatic now!¡±

    ¡°We can¡¯t stop the bleeding! Young master Shi is about to stop breathing!¡±

    ¡°Bring me a Life Return Pill, let¡¯s see if it can help him to hang on.¡±

    ¡°It won¡¯t work, he¡¯s bleeding too much.¡±

    ¡­

    An unnerving silence fell across the room. It was several heartbeats before someone spoke.

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard that young master Shi was a romantic young master, but I didn¡¯t expect him to still have such thoughts even in such a state¡­ Trouble truly follows those who invite it.¡±

    ¡°Indeed. Doctors cannot save those who wish to die. It is not that our skills were insufficient. Rather, the young master is too¡­ sigh.¡±

    ¡°It is natural for something to go wrong, given this degree of injury. None of us are really to me for this.¡±

    ¡­

    Zu An almost burst outughing when he heard the discussion. These physicians looked honest, but they were quite good at deflecting me.

    Of course, Zu An had no idea that these physicians had already mastered the art of looking after their own hide after their long years of service in the imperial pce. Saving others was already a secondary concern to them¡ªremaining free of me was the most important thing. There were so many important individuals in the pce. If any of them took their anger out on these physicians, they would have long since been executed.

    Zu An had been slightly worried about the fallout from this situation, but these physicians had unexpectedly resolved the issue for him on their own. As such, he returned to the eastern pce.

    The liquid that he¡¯d added into the bowl hadn¡¯t been poisonous. If he added poison, it would have been too easy for the physicians to notice that something was wrong.

    It was ¡®Bull¡¯s Cream¡¯. He had held onto it ever since Brightmoon City, but never expected that it woulde in handy here.

    This drug wasn¡¯t toxic. Instead, it was one of the world¡¯s most famous aphrodisiacs. It wouldn¡¯t have done much if Shi Kun had ingested it normally, since he could have found some women to satisfy his desires.

    However, his organ had been chopped off, and had just been miraculously reconnected by the physician, so it was still extremely fragile.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    It shot straight up under the effects of ¡®Bull¡¯s Cream¡¯. How could that fragile thing resist such a violent movement? It snapped right off!

    What followed was an inevitable stream of blood. These doctors fed him a Life Return Pill, which was a powerful medicine in its own right. Coupled with the ¡®Bull¡¯s Cream¡¯ already circting through him, he was beyond saving.

    Each year, no matter how much the castration process within the pce was perfected, many eunuchs still died from blood loss. That was why the physicians were not too perturbed by the result.

    Zu An¡¯s expression was cold. This Shi Kun had targeted him continuously back in Brightmoon City. He would have let things slide if he had just behaved himself after returning to the capital. Under the Shi n¡¯s protection, there was little that Zu An could have done to him. However, he just had to court death.

    ¡­

    He returned to the eastern pce. As he was about to go in, a woman walked out.

    They were about to run into each other, so Zu An quickly took a few steps back. He had already recognized the crown princess. He wasn¡¯t an idiot. Publicly making contact with a crown princess was a huge offense.

    The capital was full of watching eyes, and he didn¡¯t want there to be any trouble.

    The crown princess backpedaled as well. She seemed unsteady and about to fall, but Zu An looked down respectfully, not nning to help her at all.

    The maid behind the crown princess reached out a hand to steady her, then red at Zu An. ¡°You¡¯re rather bold! You almost rammed into the crown princess!¡±

    Is that what you call ramming? You guys clearly don¡¯t know what ramming really means.

    Zu An cut short his random thoughts and looked at the maid. He remembered her as the same maid he¡¯d met beside the pond. Her name was Rong Mo¡­? He didn¡¯t expect her to be a powerful cultivator as well.

    The crown princess frowned. ¡°Where did you go? I was looking everywhere for you.¡±

    Zu An replied. ¡°I went to the hospital to check on Shi Kun¡¯s injuries. That act can be considered an expression of the eastern pce¡¯s consideration.¡±

    Even though he hadn¡¯t touched her, he could still smell her scent from this distance. He had to admit that this crown princess was a great beauty. Unfortunately, she was just a tad too fierce and arrogant. You¡¯re not even the empress. Who the heck are you putting on that insufferable act for?

    The crown princess sneered back at him. You? Concern for Shi Kun?

    She had already determined the details of what had happened from the eunuchs and guards, and also learned about the grudge between the two of them that had developed in Brightmoon City.

    Even though she knew these things, she still had to make a show of being courteous. ¡°Good. We should have sent someone. Servants, have some gifts sent to young master Shi.¡±

    Zu An had a strange look on his face. ¡°There¡¯s no need.¡±

    ¡°Did you already bring him some gifts?¡± The crown princess was shocked. A hint of viciousness appeared in her eyes. She had to admit that his actions marked him as a rather intelligent fellow. However, it wasn¡¯t always a good thing for servants to be too smart.

    ¡°That is not the case.¡± Zu An paused for a moment, and then said, ¡°When I arrived at the hospital, I heard the people inside say that the young master¡¯s wound suddenly opened up again, and there was no way for them to stop the bleeding. He has already passed on.¡±

    ¡°Passed on?¡± The crown princess trembled, herplexion turning pale again. After all, she had been the one who pushed in that de!

    Even though there was no chance of the Shi n condemning her, the Shi n was still a great n. Trouble would surely follow hot on the heels of such an incident.

    She took a deep breath. ¡°Summon everyone who was involved in the matter just now. Let¡¯s make sure we are all clear on what just happened.¡±

    She was rather decisive. Everyone had to be singing from the same hymn sheet if she was going to absolve herself and the crown prince of any responsibility.

    The crown princess thought about shifting all of the me onto Zu An, but she considered that he might retaliate by revealing that she was the one who mmed the door open to cause Shi Kun¡¯s injury, and gave up on the idea.

    One after another, the crown princess summoned everyone connected to the affair. This continued for many hours. Zu An even had to admit that this crown princess was much more intelligent than her stupid husband. In her version, the people in the eastern pce were much less culpable for what happened, and the enmity of the Shi n was redirected to the physicians instead.

    Unfortunately, she had no idea that those physicians were also wily old foxes, and had alreadye up with a n to shift the me.

    Who knew how things would developter on?

    Just as Zu An was about to leave the pce after his shift, a lesser eunuch stopped him. ¡°The empress invites you for an audience.¡±

    Zu An was taken aback. He did not know why the empress would summon him. They didn¡¯t know each other at all! The only connection between them was that he had met her uncle before, Guard General Liu Yao.

 Chapter 600: Insider Details

    <h4>Chapter 600: Insider Details</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Although Zu An found this rather strange, it was still a summons from the empress, so there wasn¡¯t anything he could do about it.

    He followed the two lesser eunuchs to the emperor¡¯s Pce of Peace. He wanted to get a bit of information from these eunuchs. ¡°Greetings, eunuchs. What shall I call the two of you?¡±

    The two lesser eunuchs immediately smiled. ¡°Greetings, Lord Zu.¡±

    Since the bodies of eunuchs werecking, they were always subconsciously treated as people of lower status. Only the eunuchs of the highest status were grudgingly shown some respect by most officials, who were full of contempt towards lesser eunuchs. It was almost as if even speaking a single sentence to them was beneath them, and the disgust in their eyes could be seen from a mile away. It was rare for them to encounter someone who treated them well, so they appreciated it.

    ¡°I¡¯m little Zhuo,¡± said the slightly chubbier one.

    ¡°I¡¯m little Gui,¡± the skinnier one replied.

    Little Gui?

    Stunned, Zu An examined the fellow¡¯s aura. He was indeed a genuine eunuch, and not a fake like Wei Xiaobao.[1]

    Regardless, he was still happy to hear a familiar name. ¡°An excellent name. The two of you have made me remember things about my homnd, and I feel a greater kinship towards you. Here¡¯s a small gift. Please do not refuse them.¡±

    He gave each of them a pearl. There had been a ton of this stuff in the red dragon¡¯s cave outside of Brightmoon City, so he gave them one each.

    As someone who had extensive knowledge from his past world, he understood how terrifying of an existence eunuchs were. It was never wrong to get on good terms with them.

    The two lesser eunuchs¡¯ eyes grew wide when they saw the massive pearls, and quickly looked around. When they saw that no one had noticed, they slipped them into their sleeves and said, ¡°Lord Zu is forthright after all!¡±

    ¡°Your future prospects are surely boundless!¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°I¡¯m not worthy of such praise, really,¡± said Zu An with augh. Their conversation went extremely well after that.

    When he figured it was about time, he said casually, ¡°I wonder why the empress sought me out this time.¡±

    ¡°How can servants like us fathom the thoughts of our master?¡± The two lesser eunuchs clearly felt slightly embarrassed to say this after receiving such great gifts. As such, they added, ¡°However, the empress has always treated people well. Lord Zu need not worry too much.¡±

    ¡°Oh, the empress¡¯ mood seems to be rather good today.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good then, that¡¯s good.¡± Zu An sighed in relief.

    Little Gui continued quietly, ¡°The empress is kind, but you absolutely must not offend Eunuch Lu! He is extremely fierce.¡±

    ¡°Eunuch Lu?¡± Zu An was perplexed, but their subsequent exnations helped him rify matters.

    This Eunuch Lu was someone from the empress¡¯ hometown, and they had entered the pce at the same time. The empress trusted him greatly, and because of his ability, he quickly became the manager of the Pce of Peace. Most of the affairs in this pce,rge or small, were under his management.

    ¡°Eunuch Lu¡¯s cultivation is extremely high. He is the publicly acknowledged number two among eunuchs in terms of cultivation. He is second only to Eunuch Wei.¡±

    ¡°Wait, I think he¡¯s in the top three. There was a Eunuch Mi as well, I recall.¡±

    ¡°That man has already been missing for a few decades. You can¡¯t include him anymore.¡±

    ¡­

    Zu An had a weird look on his face as he watched their conversation. They were probably talking about Wei Dan and Old Mi! It was easy to imagine how high Eunuch Lu¡¯s cultivation was, if he was considered on the same level as those two.

    Furthermore, this Eunuch Lu actually came from the empress¡¯ hometown and joined the pce at the same time. Could they have been a pair of sweethearts who were forced to separate because the woman was taken in as a concubine? Was the man unwilling to abandon her, joining the pce as a eunuch as well?

    Damn. Just what kind of character do you have to have to do something like that¡­?

    The more he pondered over it, the more likely it seemed. Chu Chuyan had told him that the current empress wasn¡¯t the crown prince¡¯s mother, but that woman¡¯s younger sister. Just before the former empress died of illness, for the sake of her n¡¯s glory, she had suggested that her younger sister take her ce.

    There was a high chance that she already had a lover before she joined the pce. However, because of her n, she had no choice but to ept this fate¡­

    Chu Chuyan or Sang Hong would not have any inkling of these insider stories. Buying off these two eunuchs with two pearls was definitely worth it.

    He had to find a chance to get to know little Xu and little He in the eastern pce as well¡­

    Sigh, it¡¯s not my fault I have so much money that I can do whatever I want.

    They soon arrived outside the Pce of Peace. ¡°Empress, we have arrived with Lord Zu,¡± the two lesser Eunuchs announced respectfully.

    ¡°Come in,¡± replied a gentle voice, which also carried a hint of prestige. This air of majesty had probably developed naturally, after being the mother of an empire for some time. Despite this, her voice still sounded extremely gentle.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but bring the crown princess to mind. Her voice was also rather pleasant to listen to, but she was just too fierce. You should learn from the empress.

    The two lesser eunuchs pushed open the doors and led Zu An inside.

    Zu An didn¡¯t have many reservations. He had been given a secret mission by the emperor, so it was unlikely that the empress would set a trap for him here.

    The interior was filled with a sandalwood and rouge scent that immediately calmed the mind of all who entered.

    A lingering wisp of killing intent had still been lurking within his mind after dealing with Shi Kun, but it all disappeared now.

    He looked inside. A pearl curtain separated the room into two, behind which was seated a phoenix-robed woman on a tall seat. The smoke from the burning sandalwood incense beside her made her seem hazy.

    Even given Zu An¡¯s current cultivation, he could just barely make out a middle-aged beauty. Her skin was bright, and her features were dignified. It wasn¡¯t fair to call her middle-aged, as the women of the world of cultivation retained their beauty well. Once a cultivator reached a certain level, they could ensure that their appearance did not age too quickly.

    In a world of immortal cultivators, ady who looked eighteen, could actually be eighty, or even eight thousand years old.

    This was a slight exaggeration, of course¡ªtime would still leave its marks eventually. However,pared to his past world, the effects were already considered very minimal.

    Even though the phoenix robes she wore were loose, they still couldn¡¯t fully hide her voluptuous and elegant figure. The most eye-catching part was her ridiculously mature lower body.

    Her ass is huge! James Harden would be a fan for sure.

    Zu An quickly greeted her while admiring her body. ¡°Your Highness, I offer my greetings.¡±

    One thing good about this world was that officials only needed to offer a normal greeting¡ªthey didn¡¯t have to kowtow. The forms of address weren¡¯t as strict as the past dynasties of his world either.

    They were all cultivators after all, so they were all proud. Kneeling was just a little too shameful, and it could easily ruin one¡¯s confidence in cultivation. Having considered all this, the emperor chose not to force the issue.

    ¡°You¡¯re rather daring. You actually stared at me for that long,¡± said the empress. Her voice was cold and indifferent.

    The other visitors to the Pce of Peace were all extremely respectful, and none of them dared to look directly at her. Yet this man had stared at her, and with such a fierce gaze as well! He even looked her up and down! What kind of ce does this man think he is in? Does he think I''m a girl from a whorehouse?!

    You have sessfully trolled Liu Ning for 344 Rage points!

    Following her rage, a middle-aged eunuch suddenly walked out, looking at Zu An coldly. A powerful wave of pressure spread outwards from him.

    This was most likely Eunuch Lu, whom the two lesser eunuchs had spoken of. Zu An hadn¡¯t noticed him standing in the shadows. He seemed to be at the ninth rank, at least.

    Zu An began to sweat buckets. He hadn¡¯t actually stared at her that long, but this woman was just too sensitive. He immediately exined himself. ¡°I was expecting your highness to be a dignified and imposing woman, but I was not expecting you to be so gentle and beautiful. That was why I couldn¡¯t help but let my gaze linger. I must ask the empress for forgiveness.¡±

    ¡°Gentle and beautiful?¡± The empress was taken aback, falling into a slight daze. It had been so long since someoneplimented her beauty. The emperor was busy with his work and rarely visited the Pce of Peace, while no one else dared to say such things to her. Who was left for her to impress with her beauty?

    Eunuch Lu? Hmph!

    She wasn¡¯t willing to show her vulnerable side right now, though, so she smiled and said, ¡°Your mouth is rather slick. I now understand how Chu First Miss was duped.¡±

    Even though she called him slick, she still had a big smile on her face. She wasn¡¯t a fierce or violent person to begin with, so her anger quickly dissipated as well.

    1. Little Gui is a reference to Jin Yong¡¯s novel The Deer and the Cauldron.

 Chapter 601: Interrogation

    <h4>Chapter 601: Interrogation</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The overbearing Eunuch Lu withdrew when he saw that the empress was no longer upset. He returned to the shadows, as if he had never appeared.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but give him another look. He noticed that the eunuch was looking at the empress behind the pearl curtains. His expression was no longer as ferocious as before, but rather full of tenderness.

    Zu An was dying for some popcorn. There was something going on between the two of them! But it seems like a one-sided love from Eunuch Lu¡¯s side.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but think that the man was rather stupid, though. No matter how much you like someone, it¡¯s not worth losing your pp over, is it?

    No matter how much a girl likes you, if you don¡¯t have your little one anymore, then what¡¯s the point, no matter how much you love her? No wonder the empress never paid you much attention.

    Eunuch Lu withdrew his gaze. He noticed Zu An looking at him, which confused him. What¡¯s up with this guy¡¯s sympathetic look?

    The empress¡¯ amusement passed. ¡°I heard that something happened in the eastern pce today,¡± she remarked.

    ¡°Yes. The other crown prince¡¯s secretary, Shi Kun, was wounded in a vital area during a game. The imperial physician wasn''t able to save him, so he died an untimely death.¡± Zu An said with an expression of great regret. He was quite impressed with himself. He was now just like those wily old foxes. Lies rolled off his tongue with ease.

    ¡°Pushing the me onto the imperial physician isn¡¯t a bad choice.¡± The empress chuckled. ¡°I believe this was what the crown princess taught you all to say, was it not?¡±

    ¡°This is indeed what happened. There¡¯s no need for anyone to teach me to describe what happened.¡± Zu An found it hard to figure out what this empress was really thinking, so he did not dare speak the truth yet.

    The empress looked at him with surprise. ¡°I thought that you were a slick person, but I didn¡¯t expect you to have a bit of character as well.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, your highness, for the praise.¡± Zu An¡¯s expression was gloomy. Why did it sound like she was mocking him? Whatever. When your butt is bigger¡­ wait, no. I mean, when your responsibilities are greater, your words matter more.

    ¡°You¡¯ve met the crown prince more than once. How do you feel about him?¡± The empress asked gently.

    Zu An wasn¡¯t surprised that she knew that he had met with the crown prince more than once. As the empress, it would be way too ipetent of her if she knew nothing about the happenings within the pce. ¡°The crown prince¡¯s down to earth nature resembles those of our dignified ancestors.¡±

    The empress snorted. ¡°You¡¯re throwing the same words that you gave the emperor at me. Speak honestly.¡±

    Zu An was momentarily speechless.

    If you really want me to speak the truth, then I¡¯d say that the crown prince is retarded, and a kid with learning disabilities. But will you ept that?

    Even if you didn¡¯t me me for saying such things, how am I supposed to survive in the pce afterwards?

    However, this was a question he couldn¡¯t ignore. He thought of something and quickly said, ¡°Even though the crown prince¡¯s talents are ordinary, things should be fine, especially with the crown princess assisting him.¡±

    It wasmon for mother-inws and daughter-inws not to get along. You brought up the crown prince on your own earlier, so I¡¯m sure your rtionship with her isn¡¯t much better off.

    Sure enough, when she heard the words ¡®crown princess¡¯, the empress subconsciously frowned. ¡°Linglong is indeed capable, but she is too ambitious. The crown prince might be her puppet.¡±

    Zu An stared nkly for a moment. Lady, I¡¯ve only just met you. Is it right for you to speak to a stranger like this? Or has your resentment towards your daughter-inw already reached an unbearable degree¡­?

    ¡°Why am I telling you these things?¡± The empressughed in self-mockery. ¡°Are you going to tell the crown princess about this?¡±

    ¡°Did you say something, Your Highness? I didn¡¯t hear anything,¡± replied Zu An immediately.

    The empress stared at him silently.

    Eunuch Lu couldn¡¯t help but look at him as well. Someone this shameless actually exists?

    ¡°You are quite sharp,¡± replied the empress with a sigh. ¡°But it doesn¡¯t matter whether you tell anyone else or not. Either way, she already knows.¡±

    The gears within Zu An¡¯s mind began to turn. On the surface, it looked like a struggle between King Qi and the crown prince for the throne, which meant that the empress and the crown princess should be on the same side. However, because the empress wasn¡¯t the mother of the crown prince, even if the crown prince gained the throne, she would still be left in a rather awkward situation.

    The crown princess represented the Bi n, while the empress represented the Liu n. Future conflict between the two would be unavoidable.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    It would have been all right if the crown princess had been a sweet-tempered person, but she was headstrong, with a fierce temperament. This would be an extremely ufortable prospect for the empress.

    Is she telling me these things because she wishes to rope me in? After all, I can be considered one of the crown prince¡¯s men.

    ¡°Don¡¯t think about it too much,¡± said the empress. ¡°All you need to do isplete your job, which is protecting the crown prince and supervising his studies. Don¡¯t put too much weight on what you heard today.¡±

    Zu An bowed. ¡°Understood.¡±

    ¡°Oh, one other thing. Can the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra really grant immortality?¡± the empress asked suddenly.

    Zu An was taken aback. All that rambling earlier on had been a smokescreen. This was her true objective. ¡°His Majesty has already dered that there is no such thing as immortality in this world.¡±

    The empress smiled. ¡°You and I both know that he only said that to convince the masses. That¡¯s why I am now asking you personally.¡±

    ¡°I have already offered the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra to His Majesty,¡± replied Zu An. ¡°If the empress is curious, why don¡¯t you ask His Majesty for it, so that you can examine it for yourself?¡±

    The empress¡¯ expression altered slightly. She had indeed asked him about it, but he had told her that the scriptures existed in a spiritual form, and that it could only be read three times. Eunuch Mi had read it once, Zu An had read it once, and the emperor had now read it once, causing the scriptures to vanish. That was why he couldn¡¯t show them to her.

    At the time, she had assumed that he just didn¡¯t want to tell her, so she didn¡¯t probe any further. However, there was no way for her to know that Zu An¡¯s ¡®Hat of Forgiveness¡¯ was only valid for a one-time use. After using it, it would turn into an ordinary hat, and its spiritual contents would scatter. Zu An had thought of this three-time restriction to exin this, and managed to convince the emperor. He did not expect to fool the empress with it as well.

    When Eunuch Lu saw the empress in deep thought, he spoke up in her ce. ¡°When the empress asks you a question, you reply immediately. Why are you bringing all this up? Are you the one questioning Her Highness, or is she questioning you?¡±

    Zu An scoffed disdainfully inside. What a masterss simp. Keep white-knighting. You still won¡¯t get her. ¡°Practicing the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra does not grant immortality. The emperor would not have let me live otherwise.¡±

    The empress nodded. She had suspected as much. ¡°Fine, I won¡¯t ask you any more about this matter. There is something else I wish to know. Where did Wei Dan go?¡±

    rmed, Zu An quickly said, ¡°I do not understand the question, Your Highness. Who is this Wei Dan? Why are you asking me?¡±

    The empress said indifferently, ¡°Eunuch Wei served for several years in the Pce of Peace and took good care of me. Later on, he was transferred to His Majesty¡¯s side. His Majesty might not feel sentimental about those around him, but I am different. I want to find out the truth.

    ¡°In the past, Eunuch Mi betrayed us and escaped with the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra. We never received any news about his whereabouts. Only recently did we hear that he seemed to be in Brightmoon City. His majesty sent Wei Dan to capture Eunuch Mi, ordering him to bring back the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra. Both Eunuch Mi and Wei Dan have both gone missing, while the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra is with you. If I do not ask you about this, then who else would I ask?¡±

    Zu An smiled bitterly. ¡°Does your highness think that I killed him? Even though I arrived in the capital not long ago, I have already heard many people praising Eunuch Wei for his profound cultivation. How could I possibly kill a master rank cultivator like him?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not going to deny that you know him anymore?¡± said the empress with a snort. ¡°Even though your cultivation isn¡¯t high enough to challenge Wei Dan, you might have interfered in his battle with Eunuch Mi. You could have killed them both to steal their treasures.¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°Your Highness thinks too highly of me. They are both masters. No matter how badly wounded they are, I could never consider going up against either of them. I only came into possession of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra because Eunuch Mi passed it on to me before his death.¡±

    Eunuch Lu cried out in surprise.

    ¡°From the sound of it, Old Mi was the one who killed Wei Dan,¡± the empress eximed. ¡°But how is that possible? Wei Dan¡¯s cultivation is above Old Mi¡¯s.¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°Your Highness has forgotten that Old Mi had cultivated the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra for several decades. He was already a very different person. However, Wei Dan¡¯s cultivation was still extremely profound. Even though Old Mi was able to kill Wei Dan, he suffered a mortal blow as well. Old Mi and I were both in the Chu n, and had developed a close rtionship. That¡¯s why he decided to pass it on to me.¡±

    Most of what he said was the truth. He wasn''t afraid that they would find out what really happened. Either way, everyone knew that he had the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra. It was fine as long as he didn¡¯t reveal Old Mi¡¯s n to possess his body.

    However, the one thing he had been worried about was exposed. ¡°Rubbish!¡± eximed Eunuch Lu with a snort. ¡°Mi Lianying has always been a cunning and treacherous man. He would rather take the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra with him to the grave than allow anyone else to have it. Why would he help someone else?¡±

    Zu An sighed. It takes one eunuch to know another. This fellow could be considered quite close to Old Mi. Of all people, he would know that Old Mi did not have such a magnanimous side to him.

    While he was thinking of a response, a cry of rm was raised from outside. ¡°Assassins!¡±

    As soon as the warning was shouted out, several dark glints streaked through the windows, flying straight towards the empress inside.

 Chapter 602: Empressâ€™ Flight

    <h4>Chapter 602: Empress¡¯ Flight</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An was quite familiar with these dark streaks of light. They had shown up a few times on his way to the capital. These were the arrows of assassins! They flew much faster than regr arrows and coveredrge distances almost instantly.

    Eunuch Lu, who was hiding in the shadows, rushed out in front of the pearl curtains, flinging his spacious sleeves outward. The arrows, which seemed powerful enough to st apart rocks, were crushed by the strange, flexible force within his sleeves.

    Without breaking stride, he flew straight out like a bolt of lightning. He nned to quickly deal with the assassins outside.

    Since they were in the imperial pce¡¯s inner courtyard, there shouldn¡¯t have been many assassins. If he acted immediately, he could quickly contain the situation.

    He realized his error as soon as he rushed out. There were assassins everywhere, and they were engaged in a vicious battle against the pce guards.

    Eunuch Lu was shocked. ¡°How is this possible?¡± He even wondered if King Qi had finally rebelled and brought his own army in.

    He did not slow at all. He snapped the spines of the two assassins closest to him, then rushed back inside. Protecting the empress was his top priority.

    However, things didn''t go as nned. Someone suddenly rushed out at him from within the group of ck d men. The two of them exchanged three palm strikes.

    Eunuch Lu was rmed. Ninth rank!

    He was instantly on guard. He knew that it wasn¡¯t possible to evaluate an assassin¡¯s strength by their cultivation alone. They often trod the line between life and death, and so their real strength was much greater. They could often defeat cultivators of higher rank than themselves.

    Eunuch Lu sharpened his focus immediately. He had ovee his initial rm, and found calmness again. The assassins before him weren¡¯t soldiers. King Qi hadn¡¯t rebelled.

    These fellows looked like assassins from the Shadow Group. Hmph, the Shadow Group cares more about money than lives after all. They even dare to attack the empress!

    He knew that, as long as he could hold these people off long enough, the pce''s military would provide assistance. These assassins would all be dead once they were surrounded.

    Zu An felt a piercing headache. Why did he run into these things wherever he went? How could there even be an attack on the empress¡¯ Pce of Peace? No one would believe him even if he told them!

    Unfortunately, the intense sounds of killing outside and the blood spraying against the windows reminded him that all of this was real.

    He instinctively turned to look at the empress seated behind the pearl curtains. Her expression hadn¡¯t changed, although she was slightly paler than before. She was still much moreposed than the people attending her. The eunuchs and maids around her were shaking with fear.

    He looked for little Zhuo and little Gui. They weren¡¯t with the others, but huddled together in a corner of the hall, trembling. Clearly, they weren¡¯t important enough to be allowed by the empress¡¯ side yet.

    There was a loud bang, and the doorway was smashed open. Several pce guards flew through it, their bodies covered in blood.

    They were immediately set upon by several ck-d assassins, who hacked madly at them.

    Little Zhuo and little Gui stared at the sight, their mouths wide open.

    They began to shake even more fiercely.

    The ck-d assassins paid them no attention. Their focus was on the woman behind the pearl curtains. They charged at her, des in hand.

    Eunuch Lu had been keeping an eye on the situation inside. When he saw this, he flung his sleeves out, and the des that had fallen to the ground immediately shot out at the assassins running at the empress like bolts of lightning, impaling them to the ground.

    Zu An felt a chill run through his body. Ninth rank cultivators could harmonize with the world¡¯s natural power. The speed and power of an idle attack wasn¡¯t something an ordinary person could handle.

    After all, these assassins that had just rushed in were also cultivators, yet they had all been dispatched from so far away.

    Zu An thanked the heavens that he had the Sunflower Phantasm. If not for this miraculous technique that allowed him to avoid shing with these types of experts head on, as well as his other pile of trump cards, he would have died a hundred times over on his way to the capital.

    Eunuch Lu groaned. He¡¯d been distracted while dealing with the assassins inside, and his opponent was not about to let such a glorious opportunity slip by. He dealt him a serious blow.

    Eunuch Lu was more or less spent. He had managed to even the odds a little, but he was in no state to help out with what was going on within the pce hall.

    Another batch of assassins stormed in, charging ruthlessly at the empress.

    Zu An sighed. He couldn¡¯t just look on without doing anything. He was now a court official, and had even been made an embroidered envoy. He would face a long list of crimes if he didn¡¯t try to save the empress.

    Of course, he wasn¡¯t hot-headed enough to rush straight in and put his life on the line. He had no rtionship with the empress, and he refused to believe that she didn¡¯t have anything up her sleeves.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    This was a world of cultivation after all, where status was often decided through strength. Even though he gradually understood that this rule wasn¡¯t as absolute as he previously thought, and that many great ns were able to ce mediocre people in official positions, generally speaking, strength still reigned supreme. The emperor was the strongest person in this world. Even though the empress was likely not ranked second, she should at least be a top-level expert.

    That was why he chose to only confront two assassins, one at the fifth rank and the other at the sixth rank. Even if someone questioned himter, he could defend himself. After all, in the eyes of most people, he was but a fifth rank cultivator. The fact that he stopped two assassins on his own would have been considered taking a great risk.

    More guards of the Pce of Peace entered the fray as well, but were stopped by yet more assassins. They could only look on as the assassins who had made it past them ran at the empress.

    Zu An¡¯s eyelids twitched. Who had the home advantage, and who were the attackers? Why were these armored guards at a disadvantage instead?

    In a heartbeat, the four assassins had already made it to the empress.

    The maids and eunuchs at the empress¡¯ side mustered their courage and leaped in front of the empress. After all, they were her personal guards, and they wouldn¡¯t be let off the hook if something happened to the empress. These individuals seemed like they had been trained, but the fact that they were servants meant that their cultivation talent was ordinary at best. Even though they had some cultivation, none could stand against these vicious assassins.

    There was a quick session of pitiful screams, as servants dropped into puddles of blood one after another.

    The empress frowned. She finally made her move, sending her fair palm outward. Her movements were clearly extremely slow, yet the assassin across from her just couldn¡¯t avoid it. Her hand touched his head.

    This assassin loved heading to the brothels and entertainment districts in his free time, and he loved being pampered by the girls¡¯ soft hands. This hand was much more beautiful, fair, and soft than the hands he was used to¡­ If he ever caught a glimpse of such a beautiful hand in a brothel, he might have climaxed right away.

    He was rising now too, but he felt as though he was getting lighter and lighter. Afterwards¡­ there was no afterwards.

    Everyone in the hall looked on in shock. Even Zu An couldn¡¯t believe what he was seeing. He¡¯d expected the empress to be strong, but wasn¡¯t this a little overboard?

    Her fair palm moved again, touching the chest of another assassin. The assassin wanted to dodge it, but the air around him seemed to have solidified. He couldn¡¯t get out of the way. He could only watch despairingly as that beautiful yet terrifying palm inched towards him.

    Just as it was about to touch him, however, it suddenly stopped. The empress coughed out a mouthful of blood.

    Zu An was even more perplexed by this turn of events.

    This assassin, who survived by the skin of his teeth, was overjoyed. ¡°Her cultivation went astray in her earlier years, and she never fully recovered. Everyone, attack!¡±

    He sent a fist flying towards her as he said this, causing her to retract her palm. The other assassins, who had been immobilized a moment ago, frantically brandished their des at the empress.

    The empress gritted her teeth. These assassins would have been nothing for her to deal with if she hadn¡¯t been wounded!

    She quickly raised her hands, preparing to deal with her attackers. Even though it was hard for her to muster any strength, her sight still remained. She barely managed to avoid or deflect the iing blows of the assassins.

    Unfortunately, she couldn¡¯t evade the fist behind her. That fist flickered with an earthen-yellow radiance. Her attacker was an earth element cultivator who had harnessed the power of the earth, and his fists carried tremendous power.

    The fist smashed into her lower back. Blood gushed out from her mouth, along with thest bit of her strength.

    She tried to use the momentum of the blow to propel herself outside. Eunuch Lu was outside, and the pce guards as well. They were much more useful than the eunuchs and maids inside.

    However, she underestimated her long-term internal injuries.

    Midway through her flight, her ki suddenly ran out. Her body fell out of the air, directly towards Zu An, who was below her.

    Zu An subconsciously caught her. What the hell

 Chapter 603: A Man Among Men

    <h4>Chapter 603: A Man Among Men</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Everyone inside the pce was stunned.

    Little Gui, who was trembling in the corner, almost forgot his fear.

    Little Zhuo was staring incredulously as well.

    This guy really is daring! He even dares to hug the empress! His Majesty is the only one in this world who can hold her, and yet you dare to put your hands on her?

    They began to regret epting the pearl that Zu An had given them. They did not know if they would be caught up in the aftermath once this matter was looked into.

    Both of them looked at Zu An pitifully. Even if this fellow was lucky enough to avoid death, he would most likely be one of them. When that happened, should they call him little Zu, or little An?

    Zu An was obviously stunned as well. He had nned to ride this out without having to step in, watching from the sidelines as the empress showed off her skills. Perhaps he would cheer her on a bit.

    Now, though, everything had been flipped on its head. The tremendously powerful empress was suddenly spent, and then the situation had beenpletely reversed!

    Sis, can¡¯t you just run the other way? Why the hell are youing towards me?

    You¡¯re even jumping straight into my arms¡­ Wow, this body is really soft, and she has a really good bottom¡­ Ahem, that''s not important right now. If I hold her like this, is it considered skinship?

    Will the empress be able to ept this? Will the other officials use me of misconduct?

    Will my punishment be execution, or castration?

    His legs closed subconsciously. If he had known that this would happen, he would have let her fall.

    He¡¯d only just dealt with the matter regarding the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, yet he somehow managed to provoke the emperor again. Should he burn some incense to chase away the bad luck?

    But His Majesty put on my Hat of Forgiveness, didn¡¯t he? He probably shouldn¡¯t have it out for me¡­

    His head was once again filled with nonsense.

    The empress hadn¡¯t expected to fall into the embrace of another man. Her alluring face reddened slightly, either from shame or from her injuries. However, she was a mature woman, and not an innocent youngdy. She quicklyposed herself and yelled at him, ¡°What are you staring at? The assants areing!¡±

    Zu An snapped out of his daze. It wasn¡¯t just the assassins who had been going after the empress. The two assassins that he¡¯d faced off against also brandished their swords.

    What a pain in the ass. For a split second, he considered throwing the empress at them.

    However, that would certainly spell his doom. He might still survive if he saved the empress¡¯ life.

    I just want to do my job without any drama. Is that so hard?

    The only thing he could do was to run, all the while holding onto the empress and cursing. These assassins were all experts, while he was carrying someone, with his armspletely upied. How was he even supposed to fight?

    The empress wanted to say something to help him avoid these attacks. After all, even though she was wounded, she could still see. Unexpectedly, Zu An¡¯s figure twisted a few times before she could open her mouth, leaving several afterimages behind and managing to avoid the iing attacks with ease.

    This movement technique¡­ it looks like Mi Lianying¡¯s Sunflower Phantasm!

    No, even though it¡¯s simr, it¡¯s much more profound. When she noticed that he was about to run outside, she quickly stopped him. ¡°Don¡¯t run outside!¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An stopped and looked at her in confusion. Why the hell not?

    The empress blushed and said quietly, ¡°If you appear in front of everyone while carrying me, I won¡¯t be able to protect you from the consequences even if I wanted to¡­¡±

    Zu An suddenly understood what she was saying. Right now, only a few people had seen what was going on. As long as the empress didn¡¯t bring it up, the situation would be resolved easily.

    Outside, however, there would be countless pairs of eyes watching. They couldn¡¯t cover this matter up even if they wanted to. At that point, even if both the empress and emperor did not pursue the matter further, the righteous factions within the court and the imperial censors would certainly not let him off the hook. When that happened, the emperor would have no choice but to execute him.

    Zu An felt a chill run up his neck. He quickly dodged backwards and hid behind the door that wasn¡¯t broken, making sure that no one outside could see him.

    Another thought struck him. ¡°Can¡¯t I just put you down?¡±

    He was about to drop her when the empress quickly grabbed his hand. ¡°No! I can¡¯t move. I¡¯m not in a good condition.¡±

    Zu An stared at her.

    Sis, what the hell?

    Huh? Why is there something soft on my arm?

    He looked at his arm, and expression became even more grave. Yup, there¡¯s no way the emperor is going to let me go.

    The assassins were about to catch up to him again.

    Zu An was incredibly pissed. It¡¯s all these guys¡¯ fault!

    ¡°Piss off!¡± he yelled at them.

    He summoned Snow Phoenix, sending out a st of frost. The iing assants'' eyes widened in shock, and their movements gradually slowed to a stop.

    Ayer of frost could be seen covering their clothes. In moments, they were turned into ice sculptures.

    Little Gui and little Zhuo felt as though their eyes were about to pop out of their sockets. Why is this guy so strong? Was he really the same guy that just bribed them?

    The empress¡¯ eyes widened too. She had just seen him use that strange movement technique and she also knew that he had cultivated the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, so she knew that his cultivation should be rather high. However, she never expected that he could be this strong!

    He dealt with the assassins just like that?

    What sort of ability was that? It seems slightly simr to the Chu n¡¯s ¡®Snowke Sword¡¯.

    This was precisely why Zu An had chosen to use this technique. He had many trump cards that he did not wish to reveal. The Snow Phoenix indeed had simr properties to Chu Chuyan¡¯s ¡®Snowke Sword¡¯, and he was confident that no one would grow suspicious if he used it.

    The empress¡¯ mind was on another topic. If this fellow was so strong, why did he pretend to be in danger while battling two assassins? I was dying over there, yet you were loafing on the job?

    You have sessfully trolled Liu Ning for 55¡­ 55¡­ 55¡­

    Zu An almost dropped this woman when he saw the iing Rage points. What the hell is wrong with you? Why would you get angry at me for saving you?

    Fortunately, the amount was small, indicating that the situation could still be redeemed.

    He coughed and said, ¡°Empress, where do we go now?¡±

    The empress bit her lip. ¡°Carry me to the inner room.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Since they couldn¡¯t go outside, he would let her rest inside for now.

    The empress frowned as they passed little Gui and little Zhuo.

    Zu An knew that she was thinking about killing them. Even though she was gentle by nature, as empress, she was often ced in situations where she had no choice.

    With a sigh, he said, ¡°These two eunuchs treated me quite well on my way here.¡±

    He did not say that they were his friends, since that would only harm their cause.

    He had to express his intent more tactfully.

    The empress obviously understood his plea. He had just saved her life as well, and she owed him that much. As such, she stared at the two lesser eunuchs coldly and said, ¡°If I hear a word about what happened today, your families¡¯ lives are forfeit.¡±

    ¡°This servant doesn¡¯t dare!¡± The two lesser eunuchs pounded their heads against the ground, and their bodies began to tremble even more violently.

    The empress nodded in satisfaction. ¡°My eunuchs have just been killed. The two of you will be my personal servants from now on.¡±

    Little Gui and little Zhuo were momentarily stunned, then joy overwhelmed them. ¡°Thank you, Your Highness, for your grace!¡±

    Before this moment, they had only been two lesser eunuchs with no status within the Pce of Peace. Now, they had been elevated to the empress¡¯ personal eunuchs! Such a rise in status was a glorious gift that they had never dared to even dream about.

    They looked at Zu An gratefully. They knew that they had not only been saved, but also shown such favor, all because of this man.

    It had all started out as nothing more than a friendly greeting. They never expected him to actually be this loyal.

    Such an act is worthy of the man who dares to even hold the empress in his arms!This is a man among men! Following him in the future is definitely the right choice!

    Zu An wasn¡¯t to know that these two eunuchs wanted to set up a shrine for him in their homes right at that moment. He carried the empress into the inner room. The smell of the precious incense inside soothed his mind. It was truly a nice feeling.

    The empress pointed at the phoenix couch that To one side of the room. ¡°Take me to bed.¡±

    Zu An was so shocked he almost dropped her.

 Chapter 604: Whos Threatening Who?

    <h4>Chapter 604: Who''s Threatening Who?</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Seeing Zu An¡¯s dazed expression, the empress finally realized what she had just said, and her cheeks flushed red. ¡°What the heck are you thinking of? My injuries are severe, and I can¡¯t sit. I have to lie on the bed!¡±

    Zu An smiled in embarrassment. ¡°You scared me to death! I thought that you¡­¡±

    The empress snorted, ¡°You thought that I wanted to sleep with you? What kind of dumb thoughts go on inside your head? I really have no idea what Chuyan saw in you.¡±

    Zu An, carrying her to her bed, was stunned. ¡°Your Highness, you know Chuyan?¡±

    ¡°We met once in the past. Both her looks and her character are first-ss, and countless noble sons tried to court her.¡± The empress¡¯s voice carried quite a bit of praise.

    Her entire body suddenly went rigid. Her brows were knit together in a tight frown, and she was unable to speak any further.

    She could feel something hard pressing against her. She had assumed that it was a dagger or some other weapon at first, so she did not pay it too much attention.

    However, she suddenly felt it change, and that was when she realized the truth. This was the imperial pce! How could he have brought a weapon in?

    Her face grew red at first, then darkened. ¡°You damned brat, you really are daring! How dare you have such thoughts towards your empress!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Liu Ning for 233 Rage points!

    She wasn¡¯t young nor innocent, so she was not shy or embarrassed about it. Instead, she immediately berated him.

    Zu An grumbled inwardly. He could only try to exin himself. ¡°You can¡¯t me me for this! Any normal man would have the same reaction if they were holding an incredible beauty like yourself. It would be weirder if there was no reaction at all.¡±

    Even he felt that his exnation was rather shameless. What sort of situation were they in?

    The empress sneered. ¡°Isn¡¯t your reaction too exaggerated?¡±

    Zu An''s skin was harder than a city wall. ¡°This only means that Your Highness¡¯ charm is just too formidable.¡±

    The empress was so angry that sheughed instead. ¡°Oh? Do you think I should be happy about it, then?¡±

    Zu An ced her on the bed with a sigh. ¡°Empress, you¡¯re not an ordinary woman. You should know that it wasn¡¯t on purpose. I never even wanted to get involved in all of this from the very start. It was you¡­ Ahem, it was fate that willed it. There¡¯s no need to argue over such a small matter."

    The empress obviously understood the reasoning behind this. However, she was already used to her high and mighty stature. Letting him off the hook for this transgression did not sit well with her. ¡°Hmph! How can such a thing be considered a small matter for us women? You¡¯ve dared to disrespect me, which shows how little consideration you have for rules and etiquette to begin with, and proves that you¡¯re just a scoundrel. Well then, should I tell His Majesty about this and have you beaten to death?¡±

    She noticed the hint of viciousness that shed across Zu An¡¯s eyes the moment she said this, just before heavy force pressed down on her.

    ¡°What¡­ What are you doing?¡± The empress flew into a panic at the weight of a man pressed so closely against her. Her calm expression fled, and she shrank backwards.

    Unperturbed, Zu An pressed down on her shoulder and fixed her with a cold stare. ¡°Woman, you¡¯re the one who does not understand the current situation. I just saved your life! It¡¯s one thing if you don¡¯t thank me, but you¡¯re threatening me instead.¡±

    The empress¡¯ eyes went wide. ¡°That isn''t a sufficient reason for you to be disrespectful towards me!¡±

    She was already starting to regret her actions. Her threat had been an ordinary political tactic used to scare the other party, giving her room to rope him in afterwards. However, she never expected him to act so differently, and strike back at her.

    Could it be that this fellow had no knowledge of court regtions? Notwithstanding that, she was still the empress! How did he dare to treat her like this? He truly is a scoundrel with an utterck of respect for authority.

    She could never have known that, ever since he entered the pce, Zu An had been strung up like a tightrope. He was surrounded by powers too great toprehend. The empress, King Qi, or the other ns in the capital¡ªhe was not strong enough to protect himself if they demanded his life.

    Walking this tight line had left him extremely stressed out, and he was already suppressing a great deal of rage. Now, this empress hade along and given him a hot load of garbage. The way she attacked him, the one who had saved her life, caused something to snap within him, and he could no longer keep a lid on his anger.

    He was still a transmigrator, and did not have the same level of respect towards the monarchy as the natives of this world did.

    Zu An¡¯s gaze was icy-cold. ¡°Empress, please understand clearly that you threw yourself at me. Even so, I did not suspect you of seducing me at all. How can you turn around and im that I treated you with disrespect?¡±

    ¡°Me, seduce you?¡± Even the empress, who was normally rather even-tempered, couldn¡¯t help but grow furious. ¡°I am the mother of an empire, the glorious empress! Why would I seduce a shameless scoundrel?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Liu Ning for 444¡­ 444¡­ 444¡­

    Zu An harrumphed. ¡°That¡¯s hard to say. The empress may have a pristine appearance, but it does get lonesome within the pce. You might have missed the feeling of a man.¡±

    The empress¡¯ gaze grew frigid. ¡°Absolutely disgraceful! Don¡¯t you know that these words alone could lead to the eradication of your n a hundred times over?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Liu Ning for 999¡­ 999¡­ 999¡­

    She was on the verge of ordering the execution of all of his rtives!

    Zu An was incensed as well. ¡°Your Highness, I¡¯m afraid you don¡¯t understand the situation you¡¯re in. There are many assassins outside right now. Even if I kill you, everyone will believe that it was the assassins who did it. No one would suspect me.¡±

    The empress¡¯ breathing grew ragged, and herrge chest rose and fell rapidly. However, she refrained from taunting him any further.

    Everything that this man had done up to the present moment proved that he had no reservations. She wasn¡¯t about to throw her life away now because of some fleeting emotion.

    Her eyes flickered about. She decided on a n, and mellowed her tone. ¡°Fine. I was the one in the wrong earlier on. I¡¯ll offer you an apology here. Please get off me so we can speak properly.¡±

    She had already decided that, once everything was said and done, she was going to order Eunuch Lu to secretly get rid of this scoundrel.

    Zu An saw a constant stream of notifications¡ªYou have sessfully trolled Liu Ning for 1024 Rage points!ing in through his Keyboard system. If I didn¡¯t have this Keyboard system, I might have really been fooled by you.

    He sighed. ¡°Your Highness ns to kill me off after pacifying me. Isn¡¯t that right?¡±

    The empress was shocked. Can this fellow read minds? How does he know my thoughts?

    Her face immediately paled, because she knew that things were turning sour. Why would this guy ever let her go if he knew what she nned to do? There were so many assassins outside as well, and he could easily put the me on them.

    The only two other witnesses were the two lesser eunuchs outside. However, they were not cultivators, and it was easy enough to dispatch them.

    This thought dispelled any lingering hesitation. She had finally umted some ki again. Gathering her strength, she sent a palm flying towards her chest.

    Zu An was already prepared. He grabbed her wrist and pressed it against the bed. The strength, which she had mustered with great difficulty, instantly vanished.

    The empress was on the verge of tears. Her cultivation was sufficient to dominate the entire world. In the past, she could have killed him with a single strike. Yet now, she had fallen so low that she was being bullied by a dog¡ªNo, pressed down under a dog! It was a truly tragic fate.

    Zu An instinctively whipped out the Poisonous Prick from his Brilliant ss Bead, the de shing towards the empress¡¯ neck. The empress could clearly sense the chill of the de. This was a weapon that cut straight at the soul. This was imminent death. She cried out and instinctively closed her eyes.

    The Poisonous Prick stopped a hair from her snow-white neck. Zu An¡¯s expression flickered. Frankly, he wasn¡¯t an indiscriminate murderer. Killing someone like this wasn¡¯t something he wanted to do if he could afford not to.

    Yet if he didn¡¯t, the consequences would be endless.

    There was no way he could stop halfway.

    The empress sensed his hesitation. She opened her eyes and sneered. ¡°What, you don¡¯t darey a hand on me now? If you respectfully kowtow to me three times in apology, I might just consider forgiving you.¡±

    ¡°Kowtow my ass!¡± Zu An exploded with rage. His palm smacked straight down on herrge, juicy and peach-shaped cheeks.

    All rational thought disappeared from the empress¡¯ mind. She stared at him in a daze, temporarily unable to form a coherent sentence.

    Since he wasmitted, Zu An couldn¡¯t stop halfway. He smacked her viciously. I¡¯ve gotta admit, this does feel rather nice¡­

    ¡°Ah!! What are you doing?¡±

    ¡°Stop hitting me!¡±

    ¡°I¡­ was wrong! Isn¡¯t that enough?¡±

    ¡°Ah~¡±

    ¡­

    The empress let out a high-pitched yet slightly muffled cry, leaving Zu An slightly stunned. Isn¡¯t she giving up a little too easily?

    The empress¡¯ eyes were already filled with tears, and her body was shaking uncontrobly. ¡°I will chop up your corpse into ten thousand pieces!¡± She said through gritted teeth. It sounded like she was sobbing.

    She had been born into a great n. From her earliest memory, her older sister had been the empress, and sheter assumed the mantle of empress as well. She had always enjoyed a lofty status and an extravagant life. When had she ever been subjected to something like this?

    She was about to curse again, but her mouth was suddenly covered by his. ¡°Mmm¡­mmm¡­¡±

    Zu An straightened, wiping off the drool around her mouth. His voice was cold. ¡°You keep saying that I¡¯ve offended you, and even use this usation to threaten me with death. Fine. Now I''ve truly offended you. If anything happens to me in the future, I will let the emperor know that you were vited by another man. Let¡¯s see how you continue being the empress when that timees. I¡¯m sure your choice is clear enough.¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The empress waspletely dumbstruck. However, after her initial rage had passed, she realized that she really had no way of getting back at him¡­

    At that moment, cold, mockingughter drifted over from the doorway. ¡°What a spectacr pair of adulterers!¡±

 Chapter 605: Reunion

    <h4>Chapter 605: Reunion</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The empress was extremely vexed. She had been prepared to use Zu An¡¯s disrespect towards her as a bargaining chip to threaten him further, which would eventually allow her to control himpletely.

    However, Zu An just had to turn this phony ¡®offense¡¯ into something real. This made things much more troublesome.

    Whether or not his earlier actions constituted an offence was up to her discretion, which left her some leeway as to how to proceed.

    However, now that he had truly disrespected her, it was all in His Majesty¡¯s hands. If the emperor really looked into this matter, Zu An would be dead for sure, but the emperor would forever loathe her.

    She had only nned to use this little secret to keep Zu An on a leash, but it was now a secret that both of them were forced to keep.

    If she only had herself to worry about, she might have risked it and tried to get rid of Zu An for this offence.

    However, she wasn¡¯t an ind. She had the massive Liu n riding on her shoulders, and she dared not take the risk. If something untoward happened, the entire Liu n would go down with her.

    Was she just supposed to swallow it down like that?

    She was the glorious empress of this empire, yet she had to let this man kiss her and mess around with her?

    She turned the matter over in her mind, but finally realized that there really wasn¡¯t anything she could do.

    The more she thought about it, the angrier she felt.

    You have sessfully trolled Liu Ning for 1024¡­ 1024¡­ 1024¡­

    The iing rage points were all Zu An needed to know that he had truly provoked the empress this time. However, there was nothing he could do. There was no better option that he could think of besides killing her.

    The empress was about to say something, but was interrupted by a cold, mockingugh. ¡°What a spectacr pair of adulterers!¡±

    The two of them turned and spotted a ck-d assassin staring at them from not far away.

    The empress felt her head explode. She was still thinking of what to do about Zu An, but this new development required urgent attention. ¡°Hurry¡­ hurry and kill him!¡± she said instinctively.

    This was something only she and Zu An knew about. Once they had hashed out a secret agreement, they could still keep it under wraps. However, things would get messy if a third party found out.

    She had already subconsciously put Zu An in the same camp as her. After all, they were stuck in the same boat when it came to this affair.

    Zu An was vexed as well. There was no way for him to escape execution if an assassin leaked out what had gone on in this inner chamber.

    Without hesitation, he flew at the assassin.

    The assassin reacted even more quickly, and took off immediately.

    Zu An froze. Wasn¡¯t this assassin here to kill the empress? Why did he flee?

    The empress was already on the verge of tears. When she saw him staring nkly, she yelled, ¡°Go after him! Once he gets away, he doesn¡¯t even need his des to kill us both!¡±

    Zu An snapped out of his daze and ran after the assassin.

    The situation outside waspletely different from before. Guards from other areas of the pce had rushed over, and more and more assassins were being cut down. They were no match for these elite troops.

    One of the Shadow Group assassins blew a whistle loudly, and the remaining assassins began to withdraw.

    The one who had confronted Eunuch Lu was clearly the leader of this Shadow Group operation. He used the force of Eunuch Lu¡¯s final strike to withdraw, retreating under the cover of hispanions.

    Eunuch Lu did not pursue, since the assassin was at the same rank as him. He was also carrying an injury, and he did not wish to fight someone of the same level at such a disadvantage.

    Most importantly, he was worried about the empress¡¯ safety. He saw a ck-d assassin and Zu An rush out, one after the other. He immediately charged in, a panicked expression on his face. I hope nothing happened to the empress!

    Zu An sighed in relief when he saw Eunuch Lu rush inside. His biggest worry was that another assassin would sneak in and kill the empress while he was busy chasing after this one. That would be the absolute worst-case scenario.

    Judging from the empress¡¯ tone, a tacit agreement had been made. As long as they could maintain a certain degree of bnce, neither one of them would dare mention what happened, and both of them would protect this secret.

    The only thing he needed to do was to silence this Shadow Group assassin.

    After pursuing the assassin for a while, Zu An began to frown. Why does this person seem familiar? He was certain that he had never heard this person¡¯s voice before, though. That was why he kept up his pursuit.

    He found his quarry rather strange. Even though he was slowly catching up, it would still take him some time to do so. Zu An began to panic. Just as he was about to pull out one of his trump cards, two guards rushed out.

    The attire of the Shadow Group¡¯s members was infamous. The two guards immediately drew their des to confront him. ¡°Stop!¡±

    The two of them attacked the ck-d individual from two directions. The ck d individual tried to dodge, weaving about, but could not find an opening to flee. Instead, he was pressured into a dangerous situation.

    Zu An was overjoyed. As expected, there were many hidden experts in the pce! These seemingly-ordinary guards were actually both at the fifth rank, and they had clearly practiced fighting together. They were much stronger when they coordinated with one another.

    The ck-d assassin soon found himself in apromising position. A palm struck his shoulder, making him groan.

    Huh?

    The voice sounded slightly familiar! The voice that he had heard in the inner chamber had been that of a man, yet now, the assassin clearly sounded like a woman.

    The two guards were not about to show mercy just because she was a woman.

    The ck-d woman unleashed her true power. She suddenly raised her hand, and countless vines tangled around the two guards.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Wood element?¡± The two guards panicked. Their des were quickly wreathed in me.

    Ordinarily, it would have been easy enough for the ck-d woman to deal with these guards, given their respective cultivations. Unfortunately, she had just happened to run into fire element cultivators, which naturally countered her own element.

    ¡°Ah!!¡± The woman let out a cry of rm. One of the guards¡¯ des had found their mark. Even though she evaded quickly, it still left a bloody cut left on her body.

    How could Zu An still wait? He rushed over and said, ¡°Guard brothers, let me help you!¡±

    The two guards took note of the official uniform that Zu An wore. He had also been in pursuit of this assassin earlier on, so none of them were on guard against him. ¡°Stay back and block off her escape route! You¡¯ll get in our way if you join the fight.¡±

    ¡°Okay!¡± Zu An answered eagerly, continuing to charge at them.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± These inner pce guards were extremely vignt. They quickly noticed that something was wrong, and put their des up in a guard position.

    However, a ck hole seemed to appear from nowhere, sucking their ki dry.

    There was no way for them to have predicted such a thing. The sudden feeling of nausea almost caused them to vomit.

    Zu An used this chance to strike out with his finger twice, once for each guard, ending their lives.

    Even though he didn¡¯t like to kill needlessly, he was never soft-hearted when someone he cared for was in danger.

    After dealing with the two guards, Zu An turned towards the ck-d woman. ¡°Snow, how are your injuries?¡±

    ¡°Huh? You recognized me?¡± The ck d woman removed her veil, revealing her delicate face. Who else could she be but Snow?

    ¡°I thought you looked familiar, but I wasn''t sure because you had the voice of a man.¡± Zu An felt joy well up within him. He hadn¡¯t expected to run into her in the pce.

    Qiao Xueying removed a small jade pendant from her neck. ¡°This is one of the Shadow Group¡¯s artifacts. It can change your voice and conceal your identity to a certain degree.¡±

    After offering the exnation, she huffed angrily. ¡°Of course you wouldn¡¯t have recognized me, though. You were busy fooling around with the empress.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a misunderstanding¡­¡± Zu An broke out in cold sweat. How could he have predicted that sort of situation? He was just about to exin himself when he heard footsteps approaching. Clearly, more guards were on their way.

    ¡°The assassin is over there!¡± Some of them had noticed them.

    Qiao Xueying¡¯s expression changed. She was dead for sure if she was trapped here. She might even drag Zu An down with her.

 Chapter 606: The Sorrow of Parting

    <h4>Chapter 606: The Sorrow of Parting</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Follow me!¡± Zu An pulled her into an alley.

    Qiao Xueying suddenly felt at ease when she felt his hand around hers. With him beside her, nothing seemed that dangerous anymore.

    She had already made her decision. If she really couldn¡¯t get away, she would find a way to cut off all rtions with him, so that she wouldn¡¯t drag him down with her.

    As she was pondering her future moves, she found herself led along a veryplicated route. She was shocked. ¡°Ah Zu, how are you so familiar with these roads?¡±

    ¡°Have you already forgotten that I¡¯m now a pce official?¡± Zu An said with a chuckle. They were already in front of a residence.

    Qiao Xueying waspletely dazed when she saw him open the door casually. Her lover was bing more and more incredible!

    Zu An closed the door behind her and took out a set of clothes. ¡°Change into these clothes and wear this mask.¡±

    Qiao Xueying was shocked when she saw the unique embroidery. ¡°This is an Embroidered Envoy uniform!¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°What did I just tell you? Is your memory that poor?¡±

    He had more than one set of the uniform. They were slightly toorge for Qiao Xueying, but with some adjustments, it would look all right. With guards running about everywhere in the pce, it was difficult for her to leave. However, dressing as an embroidered envoy would make it that much easier to escape.

    Snow stuck out her tongue. ¡°There was so much going on that I forgot, all right?¡±

    She picked up the clothes, and her face suddenly turned red. ¡°Can you turn around?¡±

    Zu Anughed. ¡°We¡¯re already partners. What is there to be embarrassed about?¡±

    ¡°Who are you calling your partner?¡± Qiao Xueying said with a huff. She was still shy about it, though, and ran behind a screen to change.

    ¡°Why did you guys try to assassinate the empress?¡± asked Zu An from the other side of the screen ¡°Don¡¯t you know how dangerous that is?¡±

    In his opinion, it was suicidal. They might have been able to catch the pce unprepared, but once the guards reacted, the assassins were most certainly dead.

    ¡°This was a massive mission that the Shadow Group epted. The client offered a great reward for this mission. As long as the price is high enough, the Shadow Group is willing to even kill a deity. That is their creed,¡± exined Qiao Xueying. ¡°This was my final task that the Shadow Group assigned to me. I didn¡¯t know what the mission was either. I only realized what was going to happen after I was brought into the pce, but by then, it was already toote. I could only brace myself and follow through with it, since it was a chance at a new life. Who would¡¯ve thought that I would find you fooling around with that empress? Hmph!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Qiao Xueying for 23¡­ 23¡­ 23¡­

    ¡°It¡¯s not what you¡¯re thinking!¡± Zu An finally had some room to exin himself. ¡°I had no choice, I had to do it in order to protect myself in the future¡­¡±

    He gave her a rough exnation of the events that had transpired.

    Qiao Xueying was stunned. She poked her head out from behind the screen, her fair corbones faintly visible. ¡°You said that you spanked the empress and kissed her? And in the end, not only were you not punished, she even had to protect you?¡±

    ¡°I think so.¡± Zu An had a strange look on his face. ¡°I actually have to thank you. If you hadn¡¯t frightened her, she might not have reached that decision.¡±

    Qiao Xueying gave him a long look. She had so many thoughts in her head that she didn¡¯t know where to start. ¡°That''s you, all right,¡± she said in the end.

    Zu An smiled in embarrassment, then quickly changed the topic. ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you thest time to let me know before you go on yourst mission? Thank heavens I just happened to be in the imperial pce as well. The consequences might have been too tragic otherwise!¡±

    Qiao Xueying disappeared behind the screen again. ¡°I didn¡¯t see you at your ce, and there wasn¡¯t enough time. I had to set out together with the rest of the Shadow Group.¡± Sheughed. ¡°The fact that you saved me in the pce means that we really are destined for each other after all.¡±

    ¡°We might not be that lucky next time.¡± Zu An shook his head when he glimpsed her smile. It seems all women care about this stuff about destiny. ¡°So, do you know who the client is?¡±

    Qiao Xueying shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Shadow Group always maintains absolute secrecy when ites to their clients, especially for such a massive undertaking."

    Zu An knew that this was a pointless line of questioning. ¡°After today¡¯s affair, the imperial court will surely go after the Shadow Group. You shouldn¡¯t go back to them.¡±

    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ve already fulfilled my agreement with them, so I¡¯m nowpletely free.¡± Qiao Xueying said this as she tidied up her clothes.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes lit up. Qiao Xueying was an attractive person to begin with, and these clothes lent her a slightly heroic air. The words ¡®cosy forey¡¯ suddenly appeared in his mind.

    Qiao Xueying immediately looked down at her outfit when she noticed his stare. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Did I put them on wrongly?¡±

    He replied with a firm hug and a deep and passionate kiss.

    Only after a long moment did Zu An reluctantly separate from her. He looked at the youngdy in his arms and said, ¡°Snow, you really are beautiful.¡±

    The youngdy was extremely happy to hear his praise. Her eyes sparkled as she looked at him. ¡°Ah Zu~¡±

    Zu An felt extremely moved. He picked her up and moved her to the desk, then swept everything off it.

    Qiao Xueying¡¯s heart began to pound even harder. ¡°I just finished putting on these clothes¡­¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s just how I like it.¡± Zu An kissed her.

    ¡°Mmm¡­¡±

    ¡­

    A whileter, a mass of hurried footsteps sounded outside, followed by the raised voice of a guard. ¡°The assassin seems to have escaped in this direction. Everyone, search this area carefully.¡±

    ¡°Ah!!¡± Qiao Xueying cried out in rm and quickly pushed her lover away. Her face was red as she smoothed out her messy clothes.

    Zu An was irritated. Why did these guys have toe now? However, he knew that proper business was their top priority, so he didn¡¯t whine about it.

    He put on an Embroidered Envoy uniform as well, and helped Qiao Xueying put on her mask. In moments, there were two Embroidered Envoy inside the room.

    Zu An looked at her and nodded in satisfaction. Although she was slightly smaller in stature, she didn¡¯t look much different from other Embroidered Envoy.

    There were short men in this world too, so it wasn¡¯t a big deal.

    When they were ready, he and Qiao Xueying walked out.

    ¡°Show yourself!¡± Guards quickly surrounded them.

    Zu An fished out amand token and waved it in front of them.

    ¡°Golden Token Embroidered Envoy!¡± The shocked guards immediately greeted him respectfully. After all, the Embroidered Envoy was a mysterious group to begin with, enjoying great status, and those that held golden tokens were second only to Zhuxie Chixin.

    Only ten Embroidered Envoy were granted golden tokens, and every single one of them had arge number of silver- and bronze-token envoys beneath them. These golden-token envoys were of extremely high status, and these guards did not dare provoke one of them.

    The guard leader mustered up the courage to ask a question. ¡°If I may ask, My Lord, have you seen an assassin running past?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s voice was stern. ¡°I did not. I don¡¯t believe any assassins have appeared within several zhang of this ce.¡±

    The guard felt relieved. ¡°If you say so, My Lord, there is no mistake. We¡¯re leaving!¡±

    With a wave of his hand, he led his group in a different direction.

    Zu An and Qiao Xueying both walked towards the entrance. Qiao Xueying was bouncing. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect your status to be so useful!¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°Your lover is extremely capable, you know?¡±

    Qiao Xueying snorted. ¡°Hmph, rascal.¡± However, there was no trace of annoyance in her voice.

    The departing guards also began to discuss amongst themselves. ¡°Leader, something doesn¡¯t seem right with those two. I¡¯ve never heard of two Embroidered Envoy exiting from the same room before.¡±

    That guard snorted. ¡°I know what you are trying to say. I might have suspected something if it was any other Embroidered Envoy, but he had a golden token! Those with golden tokens all have tremendous cultivations. How could an assassin pass off as one of them?¡±

    The others chuckled. ¡°You are right, sir.¡±

    ¡°Although, I have always heard that each embroidered envoy lives alone. It feels weird to see two of them living together.¡±

    ¡°Did you notice that the one next to the golden-token envoy was slightly shorter?¡±

    ¡°Was she a woman? Are there women among the Embroidered Envoy?¡±

    ¡°Even if she isn¡¯t a woman, he has to be the petite and pretty type. Many high-ranking officials love that type. He is a golden-token envoy, so it¡¯s expected that he would pick up a subordinate like that.¡±

    ¡°Leader, why do you sound so excited when you¡¯re discussing this matter? Please don¡¯t have those thoughts about us!¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Pah! You should take a good look in the mirror first!¡±

    ¡­

    Zu An had already led Qiao Xueying to one of the pce entrances. Even though the security around the imperial pce was strict, the golden token of the Embroidered Envoy was too powerful. The guards did not ask a single question when they saw his attire and token, and let them straight through.

    ¡°Ah Zu, we have to part ways. I need to bring my nsmen home,¡± said Qiao Xueying reluctantly.

    She had only stayed in the capital, and even worked for the Shi n, in order to rescue her elven nsmen that had been trapped inside from the previous war.

    Later on, she found out that, even though the Shi n promised to help her rescue her nsmen, they had only used it as a leash around her neck. They did not do much, and even took part in the elven ve trade themselves.

    After she turned against them, she used the strength she had umted over the years and the strength of the Shadow Group to sessfully rescue many of her nsmen.

    She had already sent several batches out of the capital. This was the final batch, and she was going along with them. The human world wasn¡¯t her home, after all, and she held special status among her n. The n had continuously urged her to return toplete an important ceremony.

    Zu An felt a great reluctance. ¡°Snow, I really don¡¯t want to part with you, but I have too many things to take care of. I can¡¯t leave with you.¡±

    Qiao Xueying snorted. ¡°You¡¯re making it sound as if you¡¯re actually willing to leave behind Chu First Miss and the others¡­ I won¡¯t be unreasonable and make you give up everything to return home with me. But if you have a chance, please visit me. I¡¯ll be with the elven n.¡±

    ¡°I will surelye looking for you,¡± said Zu An seriously.

    Qiao Xueying beamed. She got on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. ¡°Ah Zu, you¡¯re the best!¡±

    Zu An sighed. Separation always hurt the most.

    All sorts of conflicting emotions rose up within him. He was about to say something, but his Embroidered Envoy golden token flickered with radiance, transmitting a strand of divine will. ¡°All Embroidered Envoy near the pce are to cease whatever they are doing and render aid to the eastern pce at once!¡±

 Chapter 607: Exposed

    <h4>Chapter 607: Exposed</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Having to part with Snow left Zu An with a heavy heart. He still had many things that he wanted to say to her. At the very least, he wanted to see her off.

    Unfortunately, the message transmitted to his golden token caused his expression to immediately change.

    The one sending this message was Zhuxie Chixin!

    Besides serving as a proof of identity, the Embroidered Envoy token also served as amunications device. It was simr to the walkie-talkies of police officers, which could easily convey orders from superiors.

    Of course, this function would only be used for major emergencies.

    Furthermore, if an envoy did not respond immediately, and was caught cking on the job, the formation on the golden token could record everything, such as the distance from the emergency site and other relevant information. Reward and me would be properly apportioned amongst the Embroidered Envoy, depending on the oue.

    Zhuxie Chixin had told him of all this when he first became an Embroidered Envoy. Fortunately, the golden token only recorded distance and other such data, but couldn¡¯t record videos like a security camera. If it could, he would already be exposed.

    This was to be expected, though, since every single one of the Embroidered Envoy was individually outstanding. Pride often grew withpetence. Which one of them would tolerate having a security camera on them that recorded every action?

    Having a token withmunication capabilities that only recorded basic information for the apportioning of rewards and punishments was the bestpromise.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Qiao Xueying asked. She could sense that something was amiss.

    Zu An exined what had just happened as he wondered about what was going on. There had just been a bunch of assassins in the empress¡¯ pce. Why would there suddenly be assassins in the crown prince¡¯s eastern pce as well?

    Did all of the guards decide to go on vacation at the same time?

    Also, wasn¡¯t the emperor the number one expert in the world? His divine senses are rumored to cover the entire imperial pce. Why wasn¡¯t he taking action, even when something so serious had happened?

    Snow voiced her surprise. ¡°I didn¡¯t hear anything about the Shadow Group having another operation! Besides, all of our elites should have been involved in the attack on the empress. I don¡¯t think even a group as powerful as the Shadow Group could attack the eastern pce simultaneously.¡±

    Zu An came to the only logical conclusion. ¡°Then it¡¯s probably another power.¡±

    Several things still weren¡¯t clear, though. Weren¡¯t these two powers too well-coordinated? The guards had all been drawn to the Pce of Peace, then dispersed to pursue Shadow Group¡¯s retreating assassins, after which, there was yet another attack on the eastern pce. There was no way the guards would be able to make it in time. No wonder Zhuxie Chixin had ordered the Embroidered Envoy to provide aid as quickly as possible.

    Wait, I haven¡¯t seen Zhuxie Chixin around either.

    Unfortunately, the token only allowed for one-waymunication, and was used only to distribute orders.

    Qiao Xueying said, ¡°Ah Zu, you should go. If you don¡¯t, you might get into trouble when they review the situation.¡±

    Zu An hesitated. ¡°That means I won¡¯t be able to see you off.¡±

    Qiao Xueying smiled. ¡°You¡¯ve already apanied me so far outside the pce. I¡¯m more than happy.¡±

    Zu An took the young woman into his arms, feeling her delicate body pressed up against his. ¡°Snow, I will surely visit you.¡±

    Qiao Xueying beamed, and her voice became incredibly sweet. ¡°All right, then. I¡¯ll be waiting for you.¡±

    After he left her, Zu An put on his mask and returned to the pce, hurrying towards the eastern pce.

    Annoyed by the summons, he had made up his mind. Since they forced him and Snow to part ways, he would only do the bare minimum to help out.

    Any faction that could attempt an assassination on the crown prince had to wield a terrifying power. He had no interest in risking his life to protect a fool that he had only met twice.

    He hadn¡¯t seeded in his n to ck off at the Pce of Peace. This time, he was definitely going to learn from that experience.

    However, he did not waste any time along the way. The token recorded his position constantly, so if he moved too slowly, it woulde back to bite him.

    By the time he reached the eastern pce, it had been turned into a ughterhouse.

    The ground was littered with the corpses of guards and ck-d assassins, and the ground was covered in rivers of blood.

    The eastern pce guards were clearly at the point of copse. Only a single middle-aged man and a few guards were hanging on.

    Judging from his uniform, this was likely the crown prince¡¯s lesser tutor, the eighth-ranked Cao Hou.

    King Qi was the crown prince¡¯s great tutor, but given his status, there was no way he would continuously stay by the crown prince¡¯s side to serve as his teacher.

    This lesser tutor was the crown prince¡¯s real tutor.

    Zu An had been summoned to the Pce of Peace, and had not had the chance to formally meet this man.

    There was a sense of dignity about this man, perhaps because of his long service as the crown prince¡¯s tutor. His attacks were also strong and disciplined, and he beat away the assassins¡¯ best efforts.

    Zu An was impressed. As expected of an eighth-ranked cultivator!

    They were heavily outnumbered, though. Despite his individual strength, he was just barely holding on.

    Zu An looked around, and saw that even the crown princess was fighting, a sword in her hand.

    The crown princess was already pretty, with a tall and slender build. As she fought, her dress fluttered about her, and she looked just like a goddess in a painting.

    Zu An silently evaluated her. She¡¯s only slightly behind my Chuyan.

    She was protecting the crown prince, who cowered behind her, curled up in a ball and trembling. Even though he had been bestowed all manner of treasures from birth, and he was stronger than an ordinary person, hecked the courage to help his own wife.

    He was nked by two eunuchs. They were none other than little Xu and little He, one wielding a wooden stool, and the other a broom. They were also quaking with fear, their eyes darting desperately about.

    Zu An was speechless. Are you guys kidding me? Grab a damned de or something! There are corpses everywhere. Any random sword would be better than what you¡¯re holding!

    The crown princess¡¯ cultivation seemed to be around the fifth or sixth rank. She would have been considered a rather formidable cultivator in the outside world. Most of the assassins were also around this level.

    Despite this, she was a crown princess, used to living a pampered life. She didn¡¯t have much actual martial experience.

    She was almost injured several times, but was saved by a petite figure who was weaving and darting around her.

    Bixie Swordy?

    Zu An was momentarily surprised, but he quickly realized that it only looked slightly simr.

    He had already identified this person. It was the crown princess¡¯ personal maid, Rong Mo. Her cultivation was much higher than the crown princess¡¯. Each time she moved, she left a wound on her opponent.

    Most shocking of all was her weapon. It wasn¡¯t a de or a sword, but a fine embroidery needle!

    She doesn¡¯t seem like Invincible East. She seems more like¡­[1]

    He pondered this at length, and finally found a close-fitting description. This was just like how Granny Rong stabbed Xia Ziwei in ''My Fair Princess''!

    She really does bear resemnce to that assassin, Granny Rong!

    Zu An really couldn¡¯t associate this petite maid with the wrinkled face of Granny Rong.

    No, wait. Her cultivation seems to be around the sixth or seventh rank! Those with Chu Chuyan and Pei Mianman¡¯s aptitude had to have been given a plethora of opportunities in order to rise to the sixth rank. How did this maid do it? How is her cultivation this high?

    He quickly came to a conclusion. She was definitely not as young as she looked. In fact, she might actually already be a granny.

    A number of embroidered envoys had reached the eastern pce as well. They had clearly been nearby, and rushed over when they received the summons.

    Unfortunately, almost all of them had bronze tokens, and there was only a single silver-token envoy. Even though his cultivation was decent, he wasn¡¯t able to turn the tide, and could only alleviate some of the pressure on the crown prince¡¯s entourage.

    Zu An made sure that his mask was on properly. He figured he could probably get away with just dealing with one or two assassins. However, his appearance did not escape either side. When they saw that another embroidered envoy had shown up, thebatants on both sides frowned, but did not seem to care. These embroidered envoys were not individually strong, and they wouldn¡¯t be carrying the emperor¡¯s powerful decrees if they weren¡¯tpleting a task for the emperor. The assassins were not cowed by his presence.

    However, several of the embroidered envoys grew excited when they saw Zu An. ¡°It¡¯s a golden token lord! We¡¯re saved!¡±

    At this sudden exmation, everyone turned to look in Zu An¡¯s direction. Several individuals, whose cultivations were clearly much higher than the rest, rushed straight at him.

    Zu An could barely hold back his rage.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Motherfucker! I even put away my damned golden token in order to blend in. How the hell did they still recognize me?!

    1. Invincible East is a character from The Smiling, Proud Wanderer.

 Chapter 608: I Wanted to Keep a Low Profile, But My Opponent is Too Strong!

    <h4>Chapter 608: I Wanted to Keep a Low Profile, But My Opponent is Too Strong!</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    One of the assassins facing the crown prince¡¯s lesser tutor rushed at Zu An.

    Seventh rank!

    Zu An quickly deduced his cultivation from his charge.

    He began cursing in his heart. This fellow is clearly the number two expert attacking Cao Hou. Why the hell is he leaving him behind anding after me instead? He¡¯s even bringing some of his buddies along, all of them at the sixth rank!

    Where is your integrity? You should be attacking Cao Hou or the crown prince. Why the hell are youing at me?!

    Zu An felt this way because he didn¡¯t truly know what a golden-token embroidered envoy represented. He hadn¡¯t spent enough time as a member of the Embroidered Envoy to fully understand this.

    There were only ten golden-token envoys in the entire Embroidered Envoy, and every single one of them were sharp and reliable. The most basic requirement was powerful cultivation, and they were all the strongest amongst the Embroidered Envoy.

    They were all at the seventh rank at least, and it was rumored that some were even at the ninth rank.

    Huang Huihong, who had been sent to arrest Zu An, was only a silver-token envoy. This illustrated just how high-ranking a golden-token envoy was.

    In the eyes of these assants, the threat posed by a single golden-token envoy was even greater than that posed by the crown prince¡¯s lesser tutor ,Cao Hou.

    After all, they didn¡¯t know which one of the golden-token envoys it was. If he was at the ninth rank, the fight was all but over.

    They had to pit their greatest strength against him right from the start.

    Zu An didn¡¯t dare show any negligence. He quickly raised his palm to ward off the seventh-ranked assassin.

    The assassin felt his own strength disappear, leaving him horrified. ¡°Holy sh*t, this one is at least at the eighth rank!¡±

    He didn¡¯t know that this was because of the Heaven Devouring Sutra, and therefore put it down to his opponent¡¯s cultivation surpassing his own. However, Zu An didn¡¯t seem like a ninth rank to him. If his opponent had been at the ninth rank, the palm strike would have ended his life.

    The assassins cursed their bad luck. If only it had been a seventh-ranked envoy instead!

    All those defending the crown prince were stunned. The crown princess swiveled her beautiful eyes in his direction. She had to properly thank this individual when everything was over.

    Zu An was baffled as well. He knew that his cultivation couldn¡¯t be evaluated through ordinary means, but the fact that he was facing someone at the peak of the seventh rank without being at a disadvantage was still unexpected.

    I¡¯m already this strong?

    Two more assassins rushed at him, one from the right and one from the left, clearly intending to alleviate some of the pressure on their seventh-rankedpanion.

    Zu An knew that these assassins were proficient in the art of killing, so he didn¡¯t dare take them lightly. It would be a disaster if he were to be defeated and exposed.

    He didn¡¯t want to reveal his identity by using his usual set of skills, so he harnessed the Heaven Devouring Sutra instead. Even though he couldn¡¯t form ck holes like Wu Geng had back then, he could already form a powerful vortex in his palm.

    Itpletely sucked away the ki from the longsword of the assassin on the left. With a twist, he crushed the sharp longsword into an unrecognizable lump of steel.

    rmed, the assassin quickly withdrew, but Zu An wasn¡¯t about to give up on such a great opportunity. Speed was his forte. He rushed over and smashed a palm against the assassin, who spurted out a stream of blood.

    All those present were stunned. This man is so strong!

    Even the lesser tutor, Cao Hou, gave him a look of surprise. Who is this Embroidered Envoy? Why can¡¯t I see through his cultivation? His cultivation didn¡¯t seem that high¡­ Could it be that he is hiding his aura through a great skill, and that he is pursuing a dao that is close to the naturalws? Could this man¡¯s cultivation be far above mine, which is why I cannot understand him?

    The crown princess was starry-eyed. It wasn¡¯t that she liked this Embroidered Envoy, She was merelyforted by the presence of a reliable protector at such a critical moment.

    The looks of adoration directed at Zu An left him on cloud nine.

    What¡¯s the point of cultivation? It¡¯s obviously for showing off!

    At the same time, he sighed in amazement. The Heaven Devouring Sutra was a supremely useful skill. It could neutralize an opponent¡¯s attack, making it practically impossible for them to evaluate his real cultivation. It turned him into a wolf in sheep¡¯s clothing!

    Of course, he wasn¡¯t going to show off the cultivation-absorbing ability of the Heaven Devouring Sutra. He did not want to be a public enemy of the entire world. This ability would have to be used in secret.

    You have sessfully trolled Qiu Honglei for 123 Rage points!

    ¡­

    He received a continuous stream of notifications for the Rage points he was umting. These assassins had clearly been angered by the death of theirpanion. However, one name left Zu An stunned.

    Qiu Honglei?

    She¡¯s here as well?

    Zu An immediately scanned the battlefield. Almost everyone was wearing ck, and the battlefield was enveloped in chaos. It was hard to tell who was who.

    While he was momentarily distracted, the assassin on the right attacked again.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An deftly evaded this attack. His main opponent was the seventh-ranked individual. That man posed the greatest threat.

    The seventh-ranked expert used all his skills when he saw Zu An flying at him. Seizing the initiative right now was absolutely vital.

    Zu An frowned, and secretly summoned Hundredwarble tounch a spiritual attack.

    There was no way this seventh rank was Qiu Honglei, so he did not feel a need to hold back.

    He desperately wanted to maintain a low profile, but his opponent was way too strong!

    In that case, he¡¯d just pretend to be a great master. Either way, he had a mask on right now, so no one knew his true identity.

    He was only worried that he might end up ruining whatever Qiu Honglei¡¯s n was. Unfortunately, that was outside of his control. He could only take things one step at a time, and secretly rescue Qiu Honglei afterwards.

    There was no way his seventh-ranked opponent could have anticipated this attack. His vision blurred, and he immediately felt dizzy. When he finally snapped out of his daze, a palm had already been smashed into his body. He was flung to the ground, blood gushing out of his mouth.

    A sword was thrust towards Zu An¡¯s back. The assassin he had evaded earlier was back on the offensive.

    As his sword thrust out, he saw Zu An seriously wound his seventh-rankedpanion, and his entire body went cold. He knew that this would probably be the end of him. Unfortunately, his sword had been thrust forward, and it was toote to retract it. He leaned into the attack with all his strength, risking it all on one blow.

    Two of Zu An¡¯s fingers darted out and mped down on his sword. With his other hand, he sent a strike flying towards the assassin.

    ¡°Shining Finger?¡± The assassin eximed in shock.

    Zu An was taken aback. I¡¯ve already deliberately changed my technique, but it was still recognized!

    Few people in the world had seen this technique, and those who knew its name were even fewer in number.

    However, he had never heard this assassin¡¯s voice before!

    He suddenly remembered that Qiao Xueying had deliberately changed her voice to hide her identity, and he was struck with a moment of realization. He moved his hand three inches to the side so that the other party could easily evade his blow. ¡°Honglei?¡±

    No wonder this assassin was so flexible! Sigh, I¡¯m not familiar enough with her body. Otherwise, I would¡¯ve recognized her from the start.

    ¡°Ah Zu?¡± The assassin cried out in surprise. She reverted to her original voice.

    Zu An was overjoyed. As they fought, Zu An sent his voice to her via ki transmission. ¡°Why are you a part of this assassination?¡±

    She seemed much weaker than usual, probably because she did not have her Empress Lantern. Using it would surely have exposed her identity.

    ¡°How did you be an Embroidered Envoy?¡± replied Qiu Honglei with a question of her own.

    ¡°It¡¯s a long story,¡± Both of them said at the same time.

    Zu An felt slightly pained by the situation. ¡°Let me find a way out for you first.¡±

    Qiu Honglei shook her head. ¡°No. We¡¯re all in on this, and have no way to retreat. We must kill the crown prince.¡±

    ¡°When did your Devil Secte into conflict with the crown prince?¡± Zu An was confused.

    ¡°It¡¯s hard to exin everything right now. I can''t just leave mypanions and run off on my own right now, can I?¡± Qiu Honglei was extremely troubled. She had convinced herself that she would seed in this mission or die trying, but now that she had met Zu An again, she discovered that she didn¡¯t want to die. Unfortunately, there was no way for her to escape alone.

    The two continued to converse while fighting. It looked like a dangerous battle, but two intelligent individuals working together could make any situation go smoothly.

    The rest of thebatants were confused. This golden-token envoy had just finished off a seventh-ranked expert almost instantly. Why was he having trouble with this new opponent, who was only at the sixth rank?

    Those allied with the eastern pce wondered if this sixth-ranked individual possessed some secret skill.

    The rest of the assassins were overjoyed. ¡°All hail our Lady Saint! She is truly formidable!¡±

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s expression suddenly changed, and she sent out a warning. ¡°Be careful, my master has arrived!¡±

 Chapter 609: Long-Haired Master

    <h4>Chapter 609: Long-Haired Master</h4>

    Even without her warning, Zu An had already sensed the fatal threat of danger. All his fine hairs were standing on end.

    He saw a streak of cold light sh towards him.He could almost see the reaper¡¯s scythe descending upon him, mere millimeters from his neck.

    Terrified, he immediately used Grandgale to blink away. Only then did he realize that the streak of light was a small and exquisite sword.

    A flying sword?

    He had always been dazzled when he saw or read about sword cultivators fighting in movies and novels, but right now, he loathed these flying swords that he had never faced before, because it was out to kill him.

    He intentionally chose not to blink backwards, but chose a direction perpendicr to the sword¡¯s path. He was afraid that the sword would merely continue its forward trajectory and hit him anyway. There was no way he could have known that the sword could turn in midair.

    Damn it! Does it have some sort of homing system? Is it a damned missile? This is bullshit!

    Without hesitation, he used his Sunflower Phantasm. On the brink of death, he split into four clones that took off in four different directions.

    The flying sword somehow continued to pursue his true self, ignoring the three other clones.

    Zu An could scarcely believe what he was seeing.

    He quickly summoned Snow Phoenix to try and slow down the flying sword.

    The instant Snow Phoenix was summoned, everything within several zhang turned into a frozen wondend. The flying sword was instantly covered in ayer of frost.

    However, it only seemed to halt for an instant before flying straight through the frozen domain and right towards him.

    Zu An used Grandgale three times in session. He was sweating buckets. Somehow, this flying sword was moving as quickly as his instantaneous movement skill. The flying sword would reach him nearly the instant hended, forcing him to use Grandgale again.

    He knew that there was no way he could use Grandgale endlessly. He had only been able to use it so often because he had absorbed Mosquito Daoist¡¯s cultivation, which greatly increased his strength.

    Even after dodging a few times, though, the sword still continued to pursue him relentlessly.

    His mind quickly sprung into action, seeking a solution. Even the guided missiles of his past had to rely on infrared or radar.What is this flying sword using to lock onto me?

    Wait a minute. Guided missiles require data about their target in order to track it down, whether it be heat signatures or other information. Could I confuse this flying sword by changing my own data?

    When it came to cultivators, what made each one stand out from the rest? Their auras, of course!

    Once a cultivator reached a certain level of cultivation, they did not need to rely on their sight. They could tell who their opponent was purely through their aura. Everyone¡¯s aura was different. No matter how simr they were, there would still be minor differences. Of course, one could change one¡¯s aura through certain methods. For example, the tokens carried by the Embroidered Envoy could hide and change one¡¯s aura, so that no one would be able to tell their true identities.

    He immediately used his Mirror Mirage skill, which Qiu Honglei had taught him. His aurapletely vanished, turning himself into any ordinary mortal.

    ¡°Hm?¡±

    A surprised exmation came from somewhere in the air, seemingly belonging to a woman. With his life hanging by a thread, however, Zu An was in no mood to appreciate the beauty of this voice.

    His entire body was stered against a wall, his back covered in sweat. The flying sword had stabbed itself into the wall as well, missing his neck by an inch.

    The entire imperial pce was fortified using formations, especially this Eastern Pce, which was a ce of utmost importance. The formations were strong enough to absorb the full-powered strikes of high-level cultivators without suffering damage, by distributing the force throughout the entire pce.

    Yet somehow, this sword had managed to prate straight through this fortified wall, all the way up to the hilt. It would have been horrific if this sword had made contact with his flesh.

    This sequence of events happened almost within a blink of an eye.

    Qiu Honglei did not even have time to plead for her master to show leniency.

    Everyone in the Eastern Pce witnessed this scene. The assassins grew inspired, and their attacks became even more ferocious.

    Those defending the crown prince cursed, mightily confused. Why hadn¡¯t His Majesty made an appearance, considering all the chaos that was going on? They saw no sign of Zhuxie Chixin either!

    At this moment, Zu An saw a graceful figure dash towards the crown prince. Even though she wore a ck veil, with her ck hair flowing behind her like a waterfall, he could tell, even from behind her, that she was an exceptional beauty.

    Was she the one that had attacked him earlier?

    Zu An shivered.Hmph, I¡¯ll definitely return the favor one day.

    A strange thought popped into his head when he noticed that her hair reached almost past her buttocks.Does she have to roll up her hair first every time she uses the bathroom?

    The woman had already reached the crown prince. The crown princess¡¯ maid, Rong Mo, rushed forward to meet her, a thin needle in hand, leaving behind a strange afterimage.

    The assassin stretched out a single finger, and Rong Mo was blown backwards like a bag of sand before anyone could tell what had happened. No one knew if she was still alive.

    The crown princess¡¯ charming face lost its color. However, she still raised her sword to confront the woman in front of her.

    From off to the side came a furious roar. ¡°Scoundrel! You dare?!¡±

    A figure flew forward like an artillery shell, interposing himself between the crown princess and her opponent and exchanging a blow with thetter.

    The woman flipped through the air gracefully,nding on the branch of a willow tree nearby. These soft willow branches would have been set into violent motion by the slightest breeze, yet this woman stood on one of them as if it was level ground.

    The figure who had rushed in staggered, his face unnaturally red. However, he quickly suppressed it.

    Zu An finally got a good glimpse of him. It was a white haired elder with sharp brows and a straight back, with a hint of unruliness to his bearing. He had surely been wooed by countless women when he was younger.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Huh? Why does this elder seem slightly familiar?

    The crown princess¡¯ greeting resolved his confusion. ¡°Thank you, great Minister of War, for your assistance.¡±

    Zu An was immediately enlightened. This was Shi Kun¡¯s father, one of the Great Zhou Dynasty¡¯s Eight Dukes and Minister of War, Shi Miao! He was a master rank expert!

    The father and son were both rather sinister.

    His son had just lost his life because of the crown princess, and yet, Shi Miao was here, saving her life. Did he truly not feel anything?

    Shi Miao was disgusted by this situation. He felt so awful that he wanted to throw up blood.

    He had only just heard that something had happened to his son, and rushed to the pce for more information, only to learn that Shi Kun had died due to massive blood loss.

    He consulted the hospital¡¯s personnel about the details, and found out that his son had been ying with knives behind a door when the crown princess mmed it open, causing one of the des to embed itself in his crotch.

    He had flown into an absolute rage. If it had been anyone else, he would have beaten them to death in order to avenge his son. However, there was nothing he could do when it came to the crown princess.

    He was a man of high status, and the Shi n was an outstanding n, so there was no way he would submit to this humiliation. He had decided to storm the Eastern Pce and demand an exnation. At the very least, he wanted them to hand over Zu An, who had beenpeting with his son.

    He never expected that he would run straight into an attack on the Eastern Pce.

    He stepped in instinctively to stop the assassin, but regretted his decision almost immediately.What the hell is wrong with me? Couldn¡¯t I have stepped in a secondter, and let this assassin take care of the crown prince and princess first? I just had toe in and save the one who killed my son!His inner turmoil really made him want to vomit blood.

    ¡°You are too kind, crown princess. This subject is merely doing his duty,¡± Shi Miao said expressionlessly. He turned towards the woman standing on the willow branch. ¡°All masters are renowned figures. May I ask who you are? Do you know that publicly attacking the crown prince is an offense punishable by the eradication of your n up to the ninth generation?¡±

    Even though he looked calm on the surface, his thoughts were a mess. The previous exchange showed that he was at a massive disadvantage. This person¡¯s cultivation was above his own. Furthermore, this person was a woman.Who exactly is she?

 Chapter 610: The Only One Who Knows

    <h4>Chapter 610: The Only One Who Knows</h4>

    ¡°The ascent of a stupid crown prince to the throne will only bring disaster to thend. For the sake of themon people, every capable man and woman should offer up their strength for this cause,¡± said the woman standing on the willow branch. Her voice was enthralling. It was clear and melodious, yet carried undercurrents of maturity.

    Zu An found her voice very pleasant. Unfortunately, he had almost been killed by this very woman.

    Shi Miao froze. ¡°You¡¯re part of King Qi¡¯s faction?¡±

    The first half of her statement was often repeated by those from King Qi¡¯s faction, and those from that faction often held the second half of it to be true, although they never truly said it aloud, fearing the emperor¡¯s wrath.

    The woman shook her head. ¡°I do not follow King Qi. I am doing this for the good of the world.¡±

    The more she carried on, the more Shi Miao suspected her of colluding with King Qi, despite her denial.

    A wisp of uncertainty crept into his mind. Given his own status and position, he did not want to get caught up in the conflict between King Qi and the crown prince. He had assumed that this was a random group of assassins. He never expected to find himself trapped in this situation.

    Zu An, on the other hand, had a strange expression on his face. Shi Miao believed that the woman was a follower of King Qi, but he knew that she wasn¡¯t.

    He had just seen Qiu Honglei, who was from the Devil Sect, and he had never heard of the Devil Sect throwing their chips in with King Qi.

    She had mentioned her master earlier. Was this person her master?

    That made much more sense. Only someone this exceptional could have such a stunning disciple.

    Even though this woman was masked, her eyes were beautiful, like the moon in a starry sky. She was undoubtedly an exceptional woman.

    So this is the Devil Sect¡¯s sect master.Why was she putting on the pretense of being in King Qi¡¯s faction, intentionally or otherwise?

    Wait a minute!

    A sudden revtion struck Zu An. He was no longer a novice in politics, but had his fair share of experience regarding treacherous schemes. He quickly deduced that the Devil Sect had used the Shadow Group to attack the empress in order to draw away the attention of the imperial pce guards.

    They would then be free to send their own elites to assassinate the crown prince in the Eastern Pce, while pinning the me squarely on King Qi. The emperor was sure to take his anger out on King Qi.

    King Qi would be severely wronged, and would surely not resign himself to his fate, especially considering his own strength. With such an incident to serve as a shpoint, the entire country would rise up in rebellion.

    This would grant the Devil Sect their greatest opportunity.

    Zu An swallowed. Qiu Honglei¡¯s master was truly remarkable. She had surely put a lot of thought into this n. There was no way he would have deduced the truth if he hadn¡¯t recognized Qiu Honglei.

    He realized that he was the only one who had deduced this, and decided that it would be best to leave as soon as possible, before the Devil Sect¡¯s sect master decided to silence him.

    The one strange thing about this whole situation was¡­ where the heck was the emperor?

    Even though the Devil Sect hade up with an excellent n, the emperor should have been strong enough to quell the chaos in an instant!

    The woman spoke up again. ¡°Lord Shi, this matter doesn¡¯t concern you. Please move aside.¡±

    Shi Miao gradually calmed himself. Since this assassin had recognized him, she was probably someone from the imperial court. ¡°Now that I¡¯m here, how can I stand aside and do nothing?¡±

    Was she joking? All would have been well if he hadn¡¯te along, but now that he had, there was no way he would stand idly by. That would be akin to announcing to the whole world that he was on King Qi¡¯s side. There was no way His Majesty would ever let him off the hook.

    His regret grew stronger. He had assumed that these were a ragged band of assassins that could be easily dealt with, and that doing so would grant him great recognition. It was likely that the emperor would also generouslypensate the Shi n for Shi Kun¡¯s death as well. There was no way he could have anticipated such a serious situation to develop. He was worried about just keeping himself alive, let alone the crown prince.

    The woman¡¯s voice grew cold. ¡°Since Lord Shi insists on choosing the wrong path, I have no choice but to cross you.¡±

    By the time the words left her mouth, she had already appeared in front of Shi Miao. Her palm shed forward, sending out a terrifying wave of force. It was clear that she nned to get rid of the crown prince behind him as quickly as possible as well.

    Shi Miao¡¯s expression changed, and his guard went up immediately. A giant tornado took form in front of him, sending countless wind des flying towards his opponent.

    Zu An waspletely bowled over. He had seen Shi Kun use something simr in the dungeon behind the academy, but Shi Kun¡¯s tornado was a mere loachpared to this massive dragon!n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Not only that, Shi Miao¡¯s tornado had wind des hidden within it, every single one of them boasting destructive power. A single hit would surely result in a fountain of blood.

    Zu An was even more convinced that it was past time to leave. Now that the sect master of the Devil Sect¡¯s was here, Qiu Honglei¡¯s safety was guaranteed.

    A huge boom echoed around the pce as the giant tornado crashed into the slim, fair palm standing in its way. Not only was her hand not diced up, the tornado was scattered instead.

    The shockwaves made the entire Eastern Pce tremble, and the assassins and guards who had been locked in a fierce battle were thrown to the ground.

    This was the power within just a single strike!

    The woman smiled sweetly. ¡°Your cultivation was slightly lower than mine to begin with, and now, you have to protect both the crown prince and princess. That makes you even less of a match for me.¡±

    Shi Miao calmed the swirling blood and ki within his body as he replied, ¡°The winner of our contest will be determined soon enough. Do you only fight with your mouth?¡±

    The woman¡¯s eyes turned cold. ¡°You¡¯re courting death!¡±

    She attacked even more viciously, aiming straight at his vital spots.

    Shi Miao was stunned.What did I say to make you this angry?

    He had no time to answer his own question. All his focus was on defending himself.

    Zu An was the only one who almostughed out loud.She¡¯s the sect master of the Devil Sect, and those she interacts with tiptoe around her.A girl using her mouth to fight? It was easy enough to associate that with something else. She probably thought that Shi Miao was mocking her, although he had no such intention.

    Yes, keep fighting! Beat the shit out of Shi Miao for me!Zu An wanted to see the world in chaos. He was connected to Shi Kun¡¯s death, after all. He was worried that, if the Shi n could not hold the crown princess ountable, they woulde after him instead. It was in his best interests if the most powerful member of the Shi n was beaten down.

    At that instant, a faint breeze brushed past him, carrying a sweet fragrance. The crown princess was beside him, carrying the crown prince and looking at him with her beautiful eyes. ¡°Golden token lord, please keep us safe,¡± she pleaded with him.

    Even though Shi Miao was formidable, they could clearly see that his entire body was trembling, and his robes were spotted with blood. He had clearly been wounded already.

    The crown princess was an intelligent person, and she knew that she was in danger if she continued to stay behind Shi Miao. If he left a single opening for his opponent, it was likely that they would all be dead. That drove her decision to flee. This removed the need for Shi Miao to defend them, which meant that he could fight with no distractions, and perhaps hold on a little longer. What they needed the most right now was time.

    The area was crawling with assassins, which limited the safe ces that she could flee to. It would have probably been best to join up with the crown prince¡¯s lesser tutor, since his cultivation was high, and he was loyal to the crown prince. Unfortunately, he was surrounded by powerful assassins, and bringing the crown prince to him would only cause him more trouble.

    The only choice left to her was the golden-token envoy. He had demonstrated great strength earlier on. Even though he had been heavily outssed by the woman¡¯s flying sword, it was expected, since that was a full-powered attack by a master rank cultivator. Just being able to evade it was already rather impressive.

    The most powerful member of the assassins, that woman, was being held up by Shi Miao. The rest of the assassins should be no match for this golden-token envoy.

    As she spoke, the crown princess felt her entire body go weak. She staggered, and couldn¡¯t help but fall into Zu An¡¯s arms.

    Zu An was stunned speechless.

    What the hell? I was just about to bail! Why the hell are youing to me and pulling all the aggro with you?

    Also, why the hell are you falling into my arms? Please conduct yourself in a more dignified manner.

    He had just gone through the whole ridiculous situation with the empress, saving her while having her fall into his arms. Not only were his contributions not recognized, he had instead found himself in a mountain of trouble.

    The crown prince¡¯s eyes lit up when he saw this. He spread his arms and leaped at Zu An. ¡°I want a hug! I want a hug too!¡±

    Zu An would have facepalmed if he could.

 Chapter 611: Protectorâ€™s Silhouette

    <h4>Chapter 611: Protector¡¯s Silhouette</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An was speechless. At least the crown princess is a beautiful woman. She feels tender and smells nice, so I can just about tolerate holding her.

    But you¡¯re a damned pig, bro! I can still see grease stains and leftover crumbs on your shirt! Who the hell wants to hug you? Do you really have no self-awareness?

    He calmly wrapped his arm around the crown princess¡¯ waist, sidestepping the crown prince and gently pushing him away. Of course, he chose his words carefully. ¡°Your Highness, I still need to fight. If I carry you as well, both my hands will be tied up, and I won¡¯t be able to fight off these assassins.¡±

    The crown prince pouted and pointed at the crown princess in his arms. ¡°Then can¡¯t you just drop her and carry me?¡±

    His statement boggled Zu An¡¯s mind.

    This kid really is a master of logic! I can¡¯t fault him at all¡­

    Shouldn¡¯t your main focus be on preventing me from holding your wife, though? Why aren¡¯t you jealous at all?

    An angry huff came from nearby. Qiu Honglei had rushed towards them, sword in hand. She didn¡¯t attack Zu An, but targeted the crown princess in his arms.

    Zu An fended her off while secretly sending her a voice transmission. ¡°Honglei, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°Nothing. I¡¯m going for that vixen. How could she fall over even on level ground? Does she take us all for fools?¡± Qiu Honglei¡¯s annoyance was growing by the second. She had seen her fair share of her seniors seducing men. This was but one of their techniques.

    She had looked upon them with contempt, but she never expected a woman to use it on her¡­ Ahem. On her friend.

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°She¡¯s a glorious crown princess. Why would she seduce me? She¡¯s clearly exhausted from all this constant fighting.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, these vixens¡¯ methods are incredible at misleading stupid men like you. It takes one woman to understand another,¡± Qiu Honglei said with a snort, all the while increasing the ferocity of her attacks.

    Zu An was left speechless.

    He couldn¡¯t deal with her directly. He had to make sure Qiu Honglei didn¡¯t hurt the crown princess, yet he couldn¡¯t hurt Qiu Honglei either. It really was an awkward situation.

    The other assassins reacted quickly,ing to the defense of their Lady Saint.

    Qiu Honglei was now conflicted. She was worried that Zu An might be identally injured, yet she couldn¡¯t overtly let their enemies go free. This was quite the predicament.

    It didn¡¯t take long for the crown princess to recover her strength after her momentary weakness. When she snapped out of her daze and discovered that she was in the golden-token envoy¡¯s arms, she immediately grew ashamed.

    She was from a distinguished n, and had never been held like this by another man before. She had never even held hands with a man before, let alone been embraced by one.

    Even after marrying the crown prince, she had never feltfortable around him. Furthermore, the crown prince was a fool, so she never let him touch her. How could she end up letting this mere guard take advantage of her like this?

    In her eyes, the Embroidered Envoy were nothing but pce guards. He was merely a high-ranking one.

    She wanted to struggle free, because being seen like that in public was truly damaging for her reputation. However, she could read the situation as well. This golden-token envoy was under attack on multiple fronts. If she made any sudden movements, she could create an opening for one of his opponents to exploit.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    She resisted the urge to shove him away and silently observed the assassins¡¯ attacks. She felt a sense of rm growing within her.

    She could feel that the arm around her waist was extremely strong, and heat from it was passing through her thin clothes and into her body. It was as if an invisible force was spreading through her, gradually tugging at her heartstrings.

    His gaze was focused as he faced his opponents, and the moves he used to neutralize their attacks were so suave¡­

    Which youngdy didn¡¯t yearn for love?

    Not so long ago, she had been one who enjoyed romance novels. She used to smile stupidly, curled up under the covers and reading these novels. Ever since she became the crown princess, though, her childhood fantasies were slowly extinguished, one after the other, and she never read those books again.

    Wasn¡¯t this the exact scene she had always dreamed of? That her man would protect her like this, even if the entire world was against him?

    If only the crown prince was like this, how great would that be¡­

    She subconsciously looked at the crown prince. When she saw his chubby face and those beady eyes, almost invisible under theyers of fat, she sighed.

    What was even more infuriating was that the crown prince wasn¡¯t mad that she was in the arms of another man. On the contrary, he was pping his hands and cheering the embroidered envoy on!

    Even though he was praising his strength, the crown princess still felt her heart grow cold. How could the crown prince be that simple-minded?

    She did not hold any extravagant hopes that her husband would be some great hero, but he could at least be a normal person. Comparatively speaking, this embroidered envoy holding her gave her a much greater sense of security.

    She wasn¡¯t usually this weak, but too much had happened in such a short span of time, and the constant fighting had brought her face to face with the specter of death for the first time in her life. When ced in extreme danger, it was natural that one¡¯s heart would beat much more quickly. Together with a spike in adrenaline, they would experience a quick burst of power.

    Once this effect wore off, they would be left drained and weary. The crown princess was currently in this weakened state.

    ¡°You know no shame!¡± cried an angry voice. She noticed an assassin ring at her, mes burning within her eyes.

    The crown princess felt blood rush to her face. What an embarrassment! If even an assassin was ashamed by such a sight, how was she ever supposed to face anyone else in the imperial pce again?

    All other considerations went out of her mind. When the man holding her forced back another group of assassins, she quickly squirmed out of his embrace and rushed to her husband¡¯s side. Her heart was pounding.

    ¡°Linglong, why is your face so red?¡± the crown prince asked curiously. ¡°Are you sick? Do you want me to ask the doctor to bring you some medicine?¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± The crown princess yelled in irritation.

    ¡°Oh¡­¡± The crown prince felt incredibly wronged, but his fear of his wife kept him from retorting.

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s attacks grew more and more ferocious. Her anger was evident through the ki transmission. ¡°No wonder you stopped me. It¡¯s because of this woman! I knew it, you only smile for a new lover, but never bother about the tears of the one left behind. Hmph!¡±

    Just the thought of the crown princess pressed up against his chest was enough to drive her to the brink of madness.

    You have sessfully trolled Qiu Honglei for 233¡­ 233¡­ 233¡­

    Zu An¡¯s head was about to explode. ¡°I¡¯m being wronged! You know that I was just about to flee, thanks to your amazing master¡¯s appearance. How was I supposed to know that the crown princess would run to me?¡±

    Also, when have you ever been one of my old lovers?

    Qiu Honglei pouted. ¡°You could have just ignored her.¡±

    Zu An was despondent. ¡°I¡¯m known as one of the pce personnel right now. If I don¡¯t step in, I¡¯ll be dead for sure¡­¡±

    Qiu Honglei knew that he was telling the truth, but it did little to cheer her up. ¡°Those are all excuses. The truth is that you found the crown princess beautiful. If she looked like the crown prince, would you have protected her?¡±

    Zu An opened his mouth, but no words came out.

    He really had nothing to say. If the crown princess looked like a pig, it was true that he might not have been so enthusiastic.

    Qiu Honglei sneered. ¡°Hmph, men!¡±

    Zu An was just about to say something when Shi Miao let out a pathetic scream. He crashed into a nearby hut, blood spurting out of his mouth. The woman attacking him did not let up, but dashed right after him.

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed immediately. Even though her movements looked graceful and otherworldly, he knew that her strikes were extremely terrifying. He had no confidence that he could bear the full brunt of her attacks while protecting the crown prince and princess. Just holding onto his own life would be difficult.

    Just as he was hesitating, wondering if it was time for him to bail, a strong vibration ran through his token. A thought came to him, and he stuck out his chest and pushed Bi Linglong behind him. ¡°Crown princess, please be careful. Hold onto the crown prince and get behind me. I will protect you!¡±

    The sect master of the Devil Sect was already in front of him. The terrifying pressure she exerted made it hard for him to even breathe.

    Right then, a cold voice split the air. ¡°Which scoundrel dares to cause trouble in the imperial pce?!¡±

 Chapter 612: Two-Faced Woman

    <h4>Chapter 612: Two-Faced Woman</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The crown princess stared at Zu An¡¯s broad back, in a slight daze.

    She had always been the one protecting the crown prince, but as a woman herself, she subconsciously needed a strong man to protect her as well. Unfortunately, because of her current status, she was forced to hide this side of her deep within herself.

    Now, she was being protected from a powerful assassin by this man.

    She knew that this was a master rank assassin. Not even Minister of War Shi Miao was her match. How could this golden-token envoy possibly stop her?

    Despite this, he continued to stand in front of her, putting his life on the line.

    The crown princess remembered something she had read in her romance novels: No woman could resist a man who was willing to sacrifice his life for her. Back then, she had scoffed at that quote, believing it to be the author¡¯s personal wish alone. Now that she had experienced it herself, this statement resonated deeply within her.

    She didn¡¯t know what drove this individual to protect her. Was it his duty, or was it something else? She wasn¡¯t sure, and she didn¡¯t want to be, either. She only knew that she would never forget this man¡¯s tall, upright figure.

    Suddenly, a terrifying voice filled the air. ¡°Which scoundrel dares to cause trouble in the imperial pce?!¡±

    She saw a figure dressed in dark red swiftly approaching. The morbidly pale skin and ice-cold eyes¡­ Zhuxie Chixin!

    The crown princess sighed in relief. The man who was protecting her did not need to die.

    Zu An also sighed in relief. Bro, what took you so long? If you didn¡¯t show your face, I would have been left wondering who my enemies really were.

    He had only put on this valiant act because he had received news of Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s arrival.

    Won¡¯t this grant me a promotion?

    Of course, he never expected his actions to unintentionally bring about a different effect.

    Zhuxie Chixin moved extremely quickly, immediately exchanging a blow with the long-haired woman. Both of them were shaken by the force. The long-haired woman flew backwards, while Zhuxie Chixin staggered.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Zhuxie Chixin was surprised. Her cultivation was not the same as a normal master rank cultivator!

    Despite this, he wasn¡¯t worried. After all, he was the terrifying leader of the Embroidered Envoy. Not only was he a loyal subject of the emperor, he possessed tremendous strength as well.

    He was at the peak of the master rank, and had even gained some new insights recently, which elevated him just outside the grandmaster rank.

    The emperor and King Qi aside, not many dared im to be more powerful than him.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Seeing someone at your age with such high cultivation leaves me beyond surprised. You had great prospects ahead of you, but you¡¯re now going to lose your life because you invaded the imperial pce.¡± Zhuxie Chixin sighed, as though he felt sincere pity.

    The long-haired woman chuckled. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that Chief Commander Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s strength leaves the entire imperial court in awe. Now that we¡¯ve met, I can tell that you are as formidable as the rumors say, though you are, unfortunately, a little too arrogant. Do you truly believe you can defeat me?¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin remained unfazed. ¡°The time for words is over.¡±

    After saying this, he shot forward like a streak of lightning. It seemed even faster than Zu An¡¯s instantaneous movement skill.

    His entire body erupted with scarlet mes, as though he had be a phoenix.

    Zu An clicked his tongue. He had always assumed Zhuxie Chixin was an ice element cultivator, given his cold exterior. He actually wields the fire element?

    More than that, it now looked as though he was the one who cultivated the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra! He truly looked like a reincarnated phoenix.

    Zu An found himself feeling slightly jealous. Even though his own Phoenix Nirvana Sutra was rather amazing, it didn¡¯t look that badass in a fight!

    The crown princess¡¯s gentle voice sounded. ¡°Kind sir, are you wounded?¡±

    Zu An was stunned. The few times he¡¯d met her, the crown princess had always been distant, acting and speaking fiercely. He had never seen her speak to anyone in such a gentle voice.

    He sped his fist towards her. ¡°Thank you, crown princess, for your concern. I have only suffered a few minor injuries.¡±

    Zu An actually wasn¡¯t injured at all, but if he admitted it, he would never receive the recognition that he deserved.

    The crown princess¡¯ red lips parted slightly as she looked at this tall, burly figure in front of her. This is a true man among men, who sheds no tears! He¡¯s nothing like that stupid crown prince who cries if he identally bumps into a desk corner.

    To Zu An, things only seemed to be getting stranger. Why was this crown princess staring at him dumbly without saying anything?

    He coughed lightly. ¡°Crown princess, are you injured?¡± he asked quickly in return.

    The crown princess blushed and shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±

    She was wounded, but how could she let this man know?

    ¡°I¡¯m injured, I¡¯m injured!¡± cried the crown prince. ¡°I got a huge bump on my head when I hit that pir! It¡¯s swelling badly!¡±

    The crown princess resisted the urge to hit him.

    She was utterly furious. Look at this man, and now look at my own husband!

    She was exhausted.

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°Crown prince, you need not worry. This minor injury will heal once the imperial physician applies some medicine.¡±

    ¡°But it hurts really bad,¡± said the crown prince, pouting. He looked over at the crown princess. ¡°Mom always blows on my injuries when I get hurt. Linglong, can you blow on it for me? It might get better faster.¡±

    The crown princess was about to explode. Bloody hell! Am I your wife or your mom?

    ¡°Blow on it yourself!¡± she yelled with an angry huff.

    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Her constant abuse left the crown prince cowering in fear. He dared not say anything else, and tried his best to blow air across the bump on his head.

    This exchange left Zu An speechless.

    I was definitely seeing things earlier. The crown princess is definitely very fierce.

    The crown princess moved over to his side, her voice suddenly gentle again. ¡°What should I call you, kind sir? Have we met before?¡±

    The golden-token envoys were mysterious, and rarely appeared in public. However, she was the crown princess, so she had met a few of them. Even though all of them wore masks as well, she knew that the one in front of her wasn¡¯t one she hade across before.

    Zu An picked up hismand token and flipped it around, showing her the number. ¡°I am Eleven.¡±

    Golden-token envoys did not give out their true names, but referred to themselves by their numbers. There was no need to hide this.

    Besides, he wanted to be rewarded after this, so he had to make sure that the crown princess knew who had saved her and the crown prince.

    It was the crown princess¡¯ turn to grow shocked. ¡°Eleven? Weren¡¯t there only ten golden-token envoys?¡±

    ¡°Ah, I was recently promoted.¡± Her reminder left Zu An slightly deted. From what he knew, every single golden-token envoy had many silver-token envoys beneath them, and countless bronze-token envoys below these. He was the only one with merely amand token.

    Of course, he knew what the emperor was up to. He had only been granted this token so that it would be easier for him to conduct certain affairs, and for him to trick King Qi. He wasn¡¯t nning to give Zu An any real authority.

    ¡°You were recently promoted?¡± The crown princess blinked. ¡°You are truly a promising young man.¡±

    ¡°The crown princess is too generous with your praise.¡± Zu An was used to seeing her haughty and arrogant appearance, and found it hard to adjust to this gentle side of her.

    The crown princess smiled when she heard what he said. She had mentioned this as a test. For some reason, she was secretly hoping that this embroidered envoy was not a middle-aged man, or even an elder.

    Zu An was stunned. The crown princess possessed great beauty, but the fierce expression she often wore spoiled her image. She really was much more charming when she smiled.

    ¡°Linglong, your smile is so pretty. Why haven¡¯t I ever seen you smile before?¡± The crown prince stopped blowing on his wound, his eyes wide. Even though he was stupid, every human being was naturally drawn towards beauty.

    The crown princess red at him in annoyance. Do you really have no idea why I never smile around you?

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s sword suddenly thrust out. She loathed this scene. Was this crown princess working in a brothel? Now that she felt slightly safer, she was already back to seducing other men, even with her own husband beside her!

    The other assassins rushed in as well, determined to take down the crown prince. Any losses were eptable, as long as they aplished their goal.

 Chapter 613: Grandmaster

    <h4>Chapter 613: Grandmaster</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An felt a headache. How could he let them assassinate the crown prince when everyone was looking? If that happened, it would be more strange if the emperor didn¡¯t execute him!

    That was why he could only stop Qiu Honglei and the others. Meanwhile, he sent a voice transmission. ¡°Honglei, you should get out of here. Even Zhuxie Chixin has returned, you all don¡¯t have a chance anymore.¡±

    ¡°It won¡¯t be toote after killing the crown prince and this woman first. You can just leave with us afterwards.¡± Qiu Honglei replied indifferently when she saw him protecting the crown princess the entire time.

    You have sessfully trolled Qiu Honglei for +555 +555 +555¡­

    Zu An could understand why Qiu Honglei was so angry too. If it wasn¡¯t because he popped up out of nowhere and ruined their mission, they would¡¯ve already seeded. That was why there was no way they wouldn¡¯t be angry.

    But from his perspective, there was no way he could just watch without doing anything! This was the problem with being on opposing sides, there will always be situations where he couldn¡¯t satisfy both sides.

    During this time, new Embroidered Envoy and guards rushed over. The Devil Sect gradually entered a disadvantaged position.

    Zu An began to panic. ¡°Honglei, it¡¯ll be toote if you don¡¯t leave now!¡±

    He was worried that they might hurt the crown prince and princess at first, but now, he began to worry about Qiu Honglei.

    Qiu Honglei bit her lip. She was also hesitant.

    The long-haired woman¡¯s cold and clear voice sounded from the other side. ¡°The noble treat others with respect and self-restraint, those with humility will be blessed by heavenlyw.¡±

    The assassins who heard this were all stunned. Then, they began to attack the pce even more viciously.

    ¡°Everyone, be on guard! Protect the crown prince and princess!¡± Another guard immediately fought with everything he had.

    Zu An was puzzled. The Devil Sect was clearly at a great disadvantage. Why did they stillunch this mad assault? Could it be that the Devil Sect really didn¡¯t care about the lives of their subordinates? But her disciples were among them!

    He quickly warned Qiu Honglei, ¡°Why are you still risking your life for your master if she doesn¡¯t care about you guys? You need to hurry and find a way to leave, I¡¯ll help cover you!¡±

    Qiu Honglei felt her heart soften when she heard his words of concern. Her expression also eased considerably. ¡°You¡¯ve misunderstood. This is a secret signal of retreat that we set up ahead of time. Everyone is looking for a chance to withdraw.¡±

    Zu An finally realized what was happening. If they straight up said that they were pulling out, then the guards would immediately have a huge boost of morale. They might instead fail to escape under the guards¡¯ pursuit.

    By putting on this bluff of fighting to the death, the guards would instead be confused and wouldn¡¯t adopt any extreme ns. Their first priority would be to ensure the safety of the most important people, allowing them to escape first.

    Sure enough, those ck d assassins looked for chances to escape one after another, with a group of people led by Qiu Honglei staying behind to hold up the rear. They clearly already went through strict training.

    Zhuxie Chixin was furious when he saw this. ¡°You all wish to leave? All of you can just stay behind!¡±

    He waved his hand towards the side. A giant me hand descended from the skies and smashed down on them. The giant me hand¡¯s pressure wasn¡¯t something those below could resist at all. They were instantly crushed to ashes.

    But those ck d assassins didn¡¯t panic at all. They continued to withdraw in an orderly manner.

    The long-haired woman¡¯s voice sounded again. ¡°Your opponent is me!¡±

    A vicious streak of light shot over from the eastern pce¡¯s walls. Zu An¡¯s eyes were sharp, immediately recognizing it to be the flying sword that almost took his life.

    The sword was flowing with radiance. It was a bit shorter than a normal sword. It seemed even smaller in front of that massive, zing palm.

    But it was precisely this small sword that stabbed straight through that massive me palm. There was a huge hole created in that palm, and then that hole grewrger andrger. It was almost as if it was being destroyed by a type of naturalw. The me palmpletely vanished.

    Zhuxie Chixin: ¡°???¡±

    Zu An now felt so much better. He was almost done in by this sword and thought that it was because he sucked. He didn¡¯t expect Zhuxie Chixin to experience the same thing!

    Zhuxie Chixin looked at that long haired woman with a frown. ¡°Are you really only a master?¡±

    The long-haired woman said indifferently, ¡°Won¡¯t you find out if you continue fighting? Rambling on and on doesn¡¯t seem like the style of the terror-inducing Embroidered Envoy chiefmander.¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s eyes narrowed. Killing intent surged within him. His sleeves swung out, and then a pitch-ck chain wrapped around the other party.

    Zu An was rmed. ¡°Soul Reaping Chains!¡±

    He saw Huang Huihong¡¯s subordinates use these Soul Reaping Chains. Back then, they were able to multiply their strength by working together. Furthermore, the Soul Reaping Chains were able to cut off a part of a cultivator¡¯s ki flow. It was quite an incredible weapon.

    Now, it looked like the reason the Soul Reaping Chains became the standard weapon for most of the Embroidered Envoy seemed to be rted to Zhuxie Chixin. He created suitable weapons for lower level cultivators using his own weapon. He was a powerful master rank cultivator after all!

    He quickly noticed that the Soul Reaping Chains in Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s hands were a bit different from the ones he saw before. There was a pitch-ck sickle at the end, with only the de revealing a white color. It seemed like the weapon of the god of death!

    These were the true Soul Reaping Chains!

    Zhuxie Chixin¡¯splexion was extremely grim. It had already been many years since he used his true weapon. However, this long-haired woman was too strange, so he didn¡¯t dare show the slightest bit of carelessness. He wouldn¡¯t be able to shoulder the guilt if these assassins were allowed to escape.

    The long-haired woman didn¡¯t wish to face these chains head on. She backed up several zhang of distance with a tap of her feet.

    With a flick of Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s wrist, the Soul Reaping Chains extended several zhang, perfectly wrapping around this long-haired woman¡¯s waist.

    He grinned. This woman was too careless! She didn¡¯t predict that his Soul Reaping Chains could lengthen! Hmph, once you are wrapped up by the Soul Reaping Chains, your ki will be restrained. You won¡¯t be able to struggle further then!

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    At the same time, that cold and sinister giant sickle hacked towards her waist. The long-haired woman¡¯s slender waist and the massive sickle de formed a stark contrast.

    Zhuxie Chixin licked his lips, a mad look shing past his eyes. He couldn¡¯t be bothered to keep her alive for interrogation anymore. Killing a top level expert like this would be extremely beneficial towards his cultivation. He could already picture the wonderful scene of this woman being cleaved in two by his sickle, how her blood would stter all over her long-hair. At that point, he would fully consolidate his cultivation at the grandmaster rank.

    Zu An was rmed. Even though he was almost killed by her flying sword, he still found it hard to watch this long-haired beauty be killed like this. He hoped that she could escape alive.

    A white clothed angel appeared on his shoulder. ¡°She is Honglei¡¯s master. Honglei will definitely be sad if she dies.¡±

    A red clothed devil appeared on his other shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t waste your breath. You only think she looks pretty and lust after her body. You¡¯re despicable!¡±

    The white clothed angel retorted, ¡°Nonsense! Her face is covered, how can I even tell if she is pretty or not?¡±

    The red clothed devil said with mockery, ¡°Look at her figure and beautiful eyes. Do you really need to see her eyes to know that she¡¯s a beauty?¡±

    The white clothed angel: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    While Zu An was experiencing great internal conflict, there was suddenly a change that happened on the battlefield. Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s expression changed, because he realized that something wasn¡¯t right.

    The long-haired woman was cut in half by the spinning sickle. However, the scene of blood eruption didn¡¯t happen. Instead, the woman¡¯s figure gradually disappeared, and what was wrapped by the chains was a snapped pir.

    ¡°Substitution technique?¡± Zhuxie Chixin was shocked. He quickly evaded to the side.

    A long haired beauty appeared behind him at the same time. A sword thrusted at him.

    Fortunately, Zhuxie Chixin evaded fast enough. But even so, there was a long, bloody wound hacked open across his ribs.

    His eyes narrowed. He didn¡¯t give his wound a single look and instead stared at that long-haired woman. ¡°You aren¡¯t a master, but a grandmaster! Who exactly are you!¡±

 Chapter 614: An Astonishing Attack

    <h4>Chapter 614: An Astonishing Attack</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An was worried that Qiu Honglei¡¯s master would be cut in half, but she had somehow managed to flip the entire situation around. Despite that, Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s wound didn¡¯t look too serious, and he was clearly still able to carry on.

    What Zhuxie Chixin had said concerned him the most, though. Grandmaster rank!

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    This woman is a grandmaster?

    Couldn¡¯t he now boast that he had survived an attack from a grandmaster?

    The long-haired woman didn¡¯t reply, but casually waved her hand. Qiu Honglei and the others who were holding up the rear were gently pushed out of the eastern pce by an unseen force.

    Zhuxie Chixin quickly gave out orders. ¡°Guo Zhi, have some of your men escort the crown prince to safety. Zhao Yuan, lead some of the troops and go after the assassins. Golden Token Eleven, disperse the members of the Embroidered Envoy who are present to the various pce gates and inform the garrison generals about the situation. We cannot let a single assassin escape. All those who go against my orders are to be killed. There will be no exceptions!¡±

    The Imperial Guard within the imperial pce were split into four main troops: The left troop, the right troop, the gueri warfare troop, and the brave riders.

    Guo Zhi was the Right Guard General. Zhao Yuan was the Gueri Warfare General, and was part of the royal family, although his bloodline was only distantly rted to the current emperor¡¯s bloodline.

    So much had happened within the imperial pce so far this day, and the entire Imperial Guard was in chaos. No one knew if the Right Guard General and Brave Rider General were by the empress¡¯ side, or somewhere else. Either way, they hadn¡¯t shown up here.

    Guo Zhi and Zhao Yuan had only just arrived with their men.

    These four great generals were all eighth rank experts. As long as Zhuxie Chixin could stall this long-haired woman, who had the highest cultivation, they would be more than enough to deal with the remaining assassins.

    ¡°Understood!¡± answered both generals. Even though Zhuxie Chixin wasn¡¯t of a higher military rank than them, he was the emperor¡¯s most trusted aide, which granted him the authority tomand them.

    The two of them also looked at Zu An in surprise. Weren¡¯t there only ten golden-token embroidered envoys? When did they promote another one?

    Zu An was secretly grumbling. I didn¡¯t want to do anything! Why the hell are you pushing sh*t onto me?

    However, he figured that this would at least allow him to see if Qiu Honglei made it out safely, so he dly epted the orders.

    When he passed by the crown princess, she suddenly said, ¡°Lord Eleven, please be careful!¡±

    Zu An was stunned. However, he still sped his fist and said, ¡°Thank you, crown princess.¡±

    He quickly took his leave. Just before he left, he gave the long-haired woman who was hovering in the air onest look. Her clothes were fluttering about, her figure as dazzling as the moon, and as fleeting as the clouds.

    He sighed. When will I be that awesome?

    Despite being in the air, she didn¡¯t seem to be at that great an altitude. He suddenly remembered that there was a formation covering the capital that restricted cultivators from flying. He pushed these thoughts aside and ordered all the bronze-token envoys under his charge to disperse to the respective pce gates and inform the guards of the news.

    The envoys were stunned. ¡°My lord, don¡¯t you need anyone at your side?¡±

    Zu An waved his hand. ¡°The leader of the scoundrels is being held up by Lord Zhuxie, and none of the remaining assassins are a match for me. You all need to stay together so that you can watch each other¡¯s backs.¡±

    He had to find a way to get Qiu Honglei out, he obviously didn¡¯t want anyone at his side to hold him back.

    Of course, none of the other embroidered envoys knew that. Instead, they were full of admiration. Golden-token envoys truly had profound cultivations. Quite a few of them had witnessed his battle in the eastern pce, so none of them doubted what he said.

    ¡°Thank you, Lord Eleven, for your concern!¡±

    After the embroidered envoys thanked him, they dispersed quickly towards the pce gates to which they had been assigned.

    Their grateful expressions almost made Zu An burst outughing. It felt truly amazing to scam others and still be thanked for it.

    He quickly buried his mirth and began his search for Qiu Honglei.

    He remembered that the long-haired woman had sent Qiu Honglei east, so he subconsciously took off in that direction. He didn¡¯t know if he would run into Qiu Honglei. For all he knew, she might have already left the imperial pce¡­ He could only leave it to fate.

    It didn¡¯t take long for him to hear sounds of ughtering from nearby, and he quickly rushed towards the source.

    He found himself in a rock garden and noticed a group of guards surrounding several ck-d individuals, who were struggling to protect one of theirrades.

    ¡°Qiu Honglei!¡± Zu An immediately recognized her. The two of them had crossed blows recently, so he quickly recognized her despite the veil covering her face.

    He assessed the guards, and his heart sank immediately. These weren¡¯t ordinary guards, but well-trained subordinates led by a man in golden armor. Their leader¡¯s helmet was simr to that of Right Guard General Guo Zhi and Gueri Warfare General Zhao Yuan, which marked him as someone of the same rank.

    It¡¯s probably Left Guard General Cheng Xiong. Zu An deduced quickly. He was an eighth rank expert.

    The assassins were heavily outnumbered to begin with, and they had to contend with Cheng Xiong, an eighth-ranked expert. Qiu Honglei¡¯s group was about to fall apart. If not for the presence of the expert who had faced off against the crown prince¡¯s lesser tutor, they would have been finished off a long time ago.

    Unfortunately, this particr Devil Sect expert had clearly been greatly injured in the battle in the eastern pce. He was no match for Cheng Xiong, who was in peak condition.

    His otherpanions had mostly been either killed or captured. The remaining Devil Sect expert quickly grabbed Qiu Honglei and shoved her away. ¡°Get out of here!¡±

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s eyes were filled with tears, but she knew that now wasn¡¯t the time to act emotionally. She clenched her teeth and fled frantically. She did not want herrades¡¯ sacrifices to be in vain. However, Cheng Xiong¡¯s sinisterughter followed after her. ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going?¡±

    His palm smashed into thest Devil Sect expert¡¯s chest. The Devil Sect expert froze for a moment, then copsed. Before he could crawl back up, the des of the guards around him were already pressed against his neck.

    Cheng Xiong didn¡¯t stop, but took off after Qiu Honglei. He was certain he could catch up to her within three breaths. After all, this assassin was merely at the sixth rank. The difference between them was too great.

    Qiu Honglei knew that the enemy was rapidly approaching from behind her, and despair overcame her immediately.

    A slight bitterness bubbled up within her heart. ¡°That idiot risked his life to protect the crown princess, yet now that something¡¯s happened to me, I don¡¯t see him anywhere.¡±

    Of course, she knew that such aint was unreasonable. After all, her sect members had fled in all directions, so that they wouldn¡¯t bepletely surrounded after leaving the eastern pce. Their group had been unlucky, and just happened to run into the iing Left Guard General.

    Even she couldn¡¯t have predicted her own poor luck, so how could Zu An have? Given the size of the pce, it would be impossible for him to find her even if he wanted to rescue her.

    She touched the dagger at her waist, and a look of determination spread across her face. Everyone on this mission had agreed to pretend to be King Qi¡¯s men if they were captured, because all those who had been chosen for this mission were elites who didn¡¯t fear death.

    Even so, she knew that she couldn¡¯t be captured, even if everyone else was. Firstly, she held a special ce within the sect, and secondly, she was a woman, and beautiful one as well. Once captured, she would suffer unbearable humiliation.

    She had already resolved to die during this mission. The men of the sect had all sacrificed themselves for their grand ideal. How could she be any different?

    Her one regret was that she wouldn¡¯t be able to see that fellow again before she died¡­

    Right at that moment, a de of me several meters in length came crashing down, and her face turned pale. The imperial pce was truly filled with an endless number of experts. She might not even be able to get the easy death she wished for.

    Surprisingly, the iing me de did not strike her. Instead, it crashed down beside her and onto the pursuing Cheng Xiong.

    rmed by this sudden development, Cheng Xiong crossed his arms in front of himself. The steel rings around his arms spun quickly, sending out an ear-piercing sound. He uncrossed his arms and leapt into the air like a massive tiger, roaring as he charged towards the source of the me de.

    *Boom!*

    A tremendous noise erupted, and the rock garden hended in was crushed into powder. With a wave of his hand, he swept away the iing smoke and dust. The assassin was already nowhere to be seen.

    A terrifying pressure suddenly spread outward from the direction of the eastern pce. It was hard for him to remain standing, even with his cultivation. He turned towards the eastern pce with a look of shock. ¡°Even His Majesty has gotten involved. Who is worthy of his personal interference?¡±

 Chapter 615: Wheel of the Crescent Moon

    <h4>Chapter 615: Wheel of the Crescent Moon</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    In the eastern pce, Zhuxie Chixin tried his best to stop the assassins that had been ushered out, but was unfortunately stopped by the long-haired woman.

    With a cold expression, he sent his Soul-reaping Chains flying about the battlefield, hacking and shing unpredictably. It truly seemed like a sickle from hell.

    Unfortunately, all of his attacks were easily blocked by the small, exquisite sword.

    His opponent did not wield the sword in her hand. Instead, it seemed to possess a sentience of its own. It flew around the long-haired woman freely, blocking his sickle perfectly each time.

    Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s brow furrowed. He tried to think of a woman who used a short sword like this, who was also at the grandmaster rank. Unfortunately, he wasn¡¯t able toe up with anyone. There were a few potential candidates, but none of them were a perfect match for the woman facing him.

    After another dozen or so strikes, the long-haired woman smiled and said, ¡°I won¡¯t y with you anymore.¡±

    She sensed that the others had already made it out, but something seemed to have happened in the vicinity of her disciple. She had to head over and help her out.

    As soon as she moved, however, Zhuxie Chixin dashed to block her path.

    The long-haired woman frowned. ¡°Why do you have to go this far? You know you can¡¯t stop me. If we keep fighting, even your foundation might be damaged. It will take several decades for you to recover from something like that.¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s expression was downcast. ¡°There is no denying that your cultivation is extremely high, and I have rarely seen anyone on your level. Unfortunately, even if I cannot stop you, do not forget that this is the imperial pce. Do you believe that His Majesty himself will be unable to stop you?¡±

    The woman chuckled. ¡°There¡¯s no need to frighten me. I know that His Majesty is currently¡­ unable to make an appearance.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± A bright yellow decree suddenly appeared in Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s hands. He quickly unfolded it and began to chant. ¡°The decree of the emperor who has epted the mandate of heaven states¡­¡±

    The woman grew alert. She knew that the Embroidered Envoy could act in the emperor¡¯s stead, but this was a rare urrence. Why did Zhuxie Chixin just happen to have an imperial edict on him?

    She didn¡¯t dare hesitate. Her short sword flew out in an arc and shot towards Zhuxie Chixin. She clearly hoped to silence him before he couldplete the chant.

    Unfortunately for her, Zhuxie Chixin had one foot through the door leading to grandmaster rank. There was no way silencing him would be that easy.

    When the flying sword reached him, a massive golden palm leapt out of the decree to meet him.

    The flying sword had been able to prate Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s zing palm earlier on, but was immediately stopped when it struck the golden palm. It began to vibrate wildly.

    The golden palm made contact with the tip of the sword and continued forward without stopping. The nigh-invincible flying sword was slowly broken apart, inch by inch. The golden palm continued to shoot forward, almost reaching the long-haired woman.

    Zhuxie Chixin continued to stare at her. The destruction of her flying sword should have resulted in serious injuries for her, and perhaps should have even stripped her of all power to resist. Why did this woman look as though she was still in perfect condition?

    Could it be that the flying sword wasn¡¯t her real weapon?

    The long-haired woman wasn¡¯t feeling fine at all. Her heart was pounding fiercely, and her expression was deadly serious. She spread her arms and slowly rose into the air. Her long hair fluttered about, and a crescent moon rose behind her.

    ¡°Huh? Why is there another moon?¡± Many in the eastern pce rubbed their eyes. They thought that they were seeing things.

    That curved moon scattered out a clear and cool radiance. The long-haired woman looked beautiful and elegant. Now that there was this sparkling and translucent moonlight behind her, even though she was dressed in all ck, she still looked extraordinary like a lunar goddess.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Bathed in the beautiful moonlight, these same people were suddenly shocked to discover that they couldn¡¯t move. No¡ªthey could move, but their movements were extremely slow, even slower than a snail¡¯s.

    Zhuxie Chixin was astounded. He knew exactly what was going on. She was a light element cultivator who could freeze time!

    Of course, this wasn¡¯t a true freezing of time. Instead, she was greatly slowing the movements of all her enemies within a certain range, which made it feel as though time had been frozen.

    There were few light element cultivators to begin with, and those who had reached her level were even rarer. One person suddenly leaped out in his mind.

    Even though she always used a flying sword as her weapon, she was now forced to use her Wheel of the Crescent Moon. He should¡¯ve guessed her identity a long time ago!

    This was the Devil Sect¡¯s Sect Master, Yun Jianyue!

    The golden palm also seemed to be affected by the quiet moonlight, and it gradually slowed.

    Unfortunately, the long-haired woman had no time to rejoice. Even though the massive palm was slowed, it was still approaching her.

    The palm was almost on her, and would hit her in moments, even if it were slowed to a snail¡¯s pace.

    She clenched her teeth. With a wave of her hands, sheunched the bright, curved moon at the palm, intercepting it and creating a huge explosion.

    Many in the eastern pce were deafened by the sound of it, and it took a long while for them to recover their hearing. Even so, their heads were still ringing, and blood was flowing out of most of their ears.

    The formation that protected the eastern pce was instantly ttened by the shockwave.

    The eastern pce had yet to experience any damage, despite the pitched battles that had preceded this one. It went to show just how strong the defenses were.

    No matter how formidable these defenses were, however, there was still a limit to how much punishment they could take. How could they withstand the powerful shockwave released by the collision of two attacks, one of them beyond the grandmaster level?

    Zhuxie Chixin vomited a mouthful of blood. He had shielded the others in the eastern pce, preventing them from dying from the shockwaves, but suffered massive injuries as a result.

    By the time the golden palm gradually dissipated, the long-haired woman had already vanished without a trace.

    The emperor¡¯s face gradually took form in the sky above the eastern pce. The massive figure spoke slowly. ¡°She was seriously injured, and couldn¡¯t have gone far. Zhuxie Chixin, you must capture her!¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin knelt down straight away. ¡°I will follow your orders! Long live the emperor!¡± he said with great respect.

    The others in the eastern pce knelt down as well, their expressions full of awe. Everyone said that His Majesty was the number one expert, but few had ever witnessed him personally take part in a fight.

    The long-haired woman had been terribly formidable, yet she still wasn¡¯t a match for His Majesty¡¯s attack.

    All who remained in the eastern pce were awash with pride, reveling in the glory that was the emperor¡¯s appearance. Many cultivators among them, whose cultivations had teaued for many years, had been granted insights because of this.

    Zhuxie Chixin had reaped incredible benefits as well. However, he did not have the time to digest these insights right now. He escorted the Right Guard General and the crown prince¡¯s lesser tutor to a safe location, then led his subordinates in search of that long-haired woman.

    Even though he had been injured while protecting everyone else in the eastern pce from harm, his injuries were nothingpared to those suffered by the long-haired woman. That woman would certainly die if they crossed paths.

    He even suspected that she might not be able to escape if she ran into some ordinary guardsmen.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, elsewhere in the imperial pce, Qiu Honglei had just seen a giant sword of mes brush past her. Before she could even react, someone grabbed her and pulled her to the side.

    rmed, she was just about to retaliate when she heard a familiar voice beside her ear. ¡°It¡¯s me.¡±

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s hands stopped halfway. ¡°Ah Zu!¡± she cried out in joy.

    I guess this guy has a conscience after all! She thought that he only cared about the crown princess. Apparently, it seemed he cared about her as well.

    ¡°Shush!¡± Zu An gestured for her to be quiet. After all, the eighth-ranked Cheng Xiong was still pursuing them.

    He had deliberately used the me de, a technique he had never used so far, to hide his identity.

    This was the benefit of knowing many different techniques!

    I really need to write down everything I know and note down when I used it, though. It¡¯ll be trouble if I get caught using a technique reserved for a different identity.

    Zu An led Qiu Honglei along a convoluted route, but he wasn¡¯t confident that he could throw off Cheng Xiong. The Left Guard General was surely much more familiar with the imperial pce than him.

    He even considered baiting their pursuer to a secluded ce to get rid of him if they really couldn¡¯t shake him off.

    He was only at the eighth rank, after all. Even though he was a full rank behind, he still stood a chance. With Qiu Honglei¡¯s help, the odds were better than even.

    However, an eighth rank expert surely had his own trump cards. It would be terrible if Zu An let him get away.

    While he was hesitating, a terrifying explosion came from the direction of the eastern pce. The entire imperial pce¡ªno, everyone in the capital¡ªtrembled at this eruption of power.

    ¡°We¡¯re leaving!¡± Zu An might have gone ahead with his n to confront Cheng Xiong, but he had already witnessed the emperor¡¯s power once in Brightmoon City, and met him face-to-face in his study not too long ago. He was already used to his power. He would use this opportunity while Cheng Xiong was overwhelmed by this domineering power to elude him.

    Qiu Honglei was trembling. ¡°Was that the emperor?¡± She suspected as much, but was still unwilling to believe it.

    Before Zu An had a chance to reply, the emperor¡¯s order that Zhuxie Chixin capture the long-haired woman had already echoed throughout the entire imperial pce.

    ¡°My master is in trouble!¡± eximed Qiu Honglei, rmed. She turned back immediately. ¡°I need to save my master!¡±

 Chapter 616: Come and Go as We Please

    <h4>Chapter 616: Come and Go as We Please</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An panicked. He pulled her to the side. ¡°They were caught unprepared by you guys earlier, but the guards have already reacted to the situation. The defense systems have been fully activated. Aren¡¯t you just throwing your life away by running in now?¡±

    ¡°But my elderly master has taken good care of me all this time. How can I just do nothing?¡± Qiu Honglei was panicking.

    ¡°Elderly?¡± Zu An had a strange look on his face. The long-haired woman didn¡¯t look that old! Fuck! The world of cultivation is just that unreliable! They look like a freaking loli on the outside, but their real age might be older than your grandma!

    But those female immortals in the books he read were all in the thousands as well. All those stories about Chang¡¯e, thatdy in the moon, those seven female immortals¡­ did those lurkers on the female streamers¡¯ channels ever care about any of that?

    Forget about those female immortals, if there was a wealthy girl who was even a bit attractive, many guys would start saying ¡®auntie, I don¡¯t want to work hard anymore¡¯¡­

    He coughed and put away these random thoughts. He quickly said to Qiu Honglei, ¡°But you can¡¯t throw away your own life while trying to save someone else! I could tell that you were about to end your own life from that dagger you pulled out. What if you get captured on your way back inside the pce?¡±

    Qiu Honglei pursed her lips. ¡°I¡¯ll just fight to the death with my master if I have to! My master definitely needs help right now. If I abandon her now, then I¡¯ll regret it for the rest of my life. My path of dao will also be disturbed and I won¡¯t be able to make any more progress.¡±

    Zu An knew that she wasn¡¯t lying. Many cultivators of this world paid careful attention to their own mental states. If something happened to their conviction, then forget about not being able to advance, it might be hard for them to even maintain their current cultivation.

    He could only say, ¡°Let me bring you out of the pce first. Then, I¡¯ll look for your master.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Qiu Honglei was overjoyed. She jumped into his arms and gave him a peck on the cheeks.

    Qiu Honglei blushed when she saw his surprised expression. ¡°What are you looking at? It¡¯s not like I didn¡¯t kiss you before. Didn¡¯t I suck out the poison from your back before?¡±

    Zu Anughed. ¡°Even that¡¯s considered kissing?¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡± Qiu Honglei harrumphed. Worry returns to her face. ¡°I¡¯ll go with you. We¡¯ll be able to watch out for each other.¡±

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°No, I have the identity of an Embroidered Envoy right now which makes things much easier. It¡¯ll instead be more inconvenient if youe with me.¡±

    Qiu Honglei nodded. She wasn¡¯t the type of woman who would pester endlessly. She was able to understand what was most important right now. ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to trouble you. You have to help me save my master.¡±

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll do my best. You don¡¯t need to be too worried. Your master is a glorious grandmaster rank cultivator after all. It¡¯s not that easy to finish her off.¡± Zu An held her hand and said in constion.

    Qiu Honglei was still worried. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be that worried if it was anyone else, but she faced the emperor!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Even if it is just for your sake, I will do everything I can to save her.¡± Zu An said.

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s teary eyes looked at him with a gentle gaze. She was incredibly moved. ¡°Ah Zu, you¡¯re the best.¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    She alreadypletely forgave him for protecting the crown princes and fighting on the other side.

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°In that case, how about you give me another kiss?¡±

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s face turned red. She got on her tiptoes to give him another kiss on the cheeks. However, the other party suddenly turned his head and met her lips with his.

    Caught unprepared, the two of them kissed each other on the lips. She was extremely embarrassed and backed up. Her face was entirely red. ¡°You¡­ you¡¯re shameless!¡±

    Zu Anughed. ¡°I¡¯m much more motivated to save our master now, after getting a kiss from Honglei.¡±

    Qiu Honglei rolled her eyes when she heard him call her master ¡®our¡¯ master. This fe really was as shameless as before. But¡­ I don¡¯t hate that.

    She felt her cheeks heat up and quickly said, ¡°But my master has a mask covering her face. How are you going to know whether or not it is herter?¡±

    Zu An had a strange look on his face. He recalled the woman from the eastern pce. ¡°With hair that long, it¡¯ll be hard to not recognize her, right?¡±

    ¡°I guess you¡¯re right.¡± Qiu Honglei chuckled. She had always been envious of her beautiful long hair.

    ¡°I¡¯ll bring you out of the pce first.¡± Zu An gave the nearby city gate a look. ¡°I¡¯ll draw the guards¡¯ attention. Use that chance to climb over the wall.¡±

    He chose this ce because the pce walls were a bit lower.

    ¡°Alright!¡± Qiu Honglei gave the walls a look. As long as no one was watching up there, then with her cultivation, she should be able to scale this wall.

    Then, Zu An strut towards the nearby city gates.

    ¡°Halt! Name yourself!¡± The city gate¡¯s guards immediately noticed him.

    He didn¡¯t reply and instead slowly walked over. His Embroidered Envoy outfit made those guards¡¯ eyes narrow.

    ¡°May I ask what sir is doing here?¡± A lesser officer asked. His eyes continuously drifted towards Zu An¡¯s waist token. He was incredibly shocked! It was a golden token envoy!

    ¡°I wish to leave the gates.¡± Zu An said with a low and muffled voice.

    Those guards looked troubled. ¡°Sir, there were assassins that just entered the pce, so the pce gates are shut. That is why no one is allowed out.¡±

    Zu An picked up the Embroidered Envoy golden token and held it in front of them. He deliberately roared out in anger, ¡°I carry the emperor¡¯s mission. You all dare to stop me? Can you all bear the consequences of dying his majesty¡¯s orders?¡±

    Those guards all looked at each other in dismay. They wanted to dissuade Zu An, but Zu An maintained an unquestionable attitude. They were starting to get angry as well.

    This golden token envoy really is something!

    Uh¡­ wait. He really isn¡¯t someone incredible¡­

    But they didn¡¯t dare let anyone out after the assassins that stormed in today. They had the confidence in standing against him.

    The atmosphere was growing more and more tense, the guards around the city wall also gradually approached. If there really was some conflict, these guards were definitely going to suffer against this golden token envoy.

    Qiu Honglei smiled when she saw Zu An discipline those guards like they were his grandsons. This fe really was a top ss bully.

    She didn¡¯t waste this chance he gave her. She used this gap in the guards¡¯ defenses to silently scale the wall.

    Zu An sighed in relief when he saw her leave safely. When he saw more and more guards move over, all of them holding des with unkind expressions, he coughed lightly and said, ¡°All of you are excellent men, you have carried out your orders loyally. I was onlying here to test out your reactions. I am satisfied with the result. Remember that you have to be like this. No matter whoes, unless theye with the emperor¡¯s decree, no one is allowed to leave! Do you understand?!¡±

    ¡°We understand!¡±

    Zu An raised his voice at the end, and these guards were scared to the point where they subconsciously replied.

    ¡°All of you have worked hard. I am heading to the other gates to inform them.¡± Zu An looked unfazed on the surface, but his heart was pounding. He quickly turned around to leave.

    All of the guards here. ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    Is he crazy?!

    What kind of situation were they now in? Yet he is here to test us out like this?

    We had to listen to your scolding too! Are you using us for your own amusement?

    But when they recalled his golden token envoy status, all of them could only hold back their anger.

    You have sessfully trolled the pce gate guards for +666 +666 +666¡­

    Zu An felt incredibly refreshed when he saw the iing Rage points. As expected, Rage points were easier to earn when there were more people to taunt! He had to pay the city outskirts camps a visit some time. He¡¯ll definitely make a killing in Rage points there!

    But he quickly remembered his task of saving Qiu Honglei¡¯s master. The imperial pce was sorge, finding her was going to be quite troublesome.

    He returned to the eastern pce and was about to ask around about the situation. However, when he saw the pce razed to the ground, he waspletely confused.

    The emperor fought against a grandmaster¡­ aren¡¯t the results a bit too ridiculous?

    He was just about to question someone when a bronze token envoy rushed over. ¡°Sir, I¡¯ve been looking for you for a while.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°Why were you looking for me?¡±

    There was one thing that was bad about Embroidered Envoys, which was that everyone wore masks and uniforms. It was really hard to tell who was who.

    That person said respectfully, ¡°His majesty has summoned you. We haven¡¯t been able to find you after all this time.¡±

    Zu An was startled. ¡°I will head over immediately.¡±

    He followed this person to the imperial study. Even before he even entered through the gates, he could already hear the emperor¡¯s furious voice. ¡°Do you think the imperial pce is a food market? Are those assassins allowed to go wherever they please? Do you still want to keep your heads or not?!¡±

 Chapter 617: Am I Really Going to Lose an Arm?

    <h4>Chapter 617: Am I Really Going to Lose an Arm?</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Not only was Zu An not frightened by the emperor¡¯s outburst, he almost burst outughing instead. He¡¯d had almost the exact same thoughts in mind, although he wasn¡¯t thinking about a market, but a public restroom.

    Honestly, though, it wasn¡¯t fair for the emperor to berate them like this. Even though the guards had been rather ineffective, it was because their enemies had the upper hand from the start. The most notable group of assassins¡ªthe Shadow Group¡ªand the elites of the Devil Sect had both shown up. Even a grandmaster had appeared, and yet the emperor, the most powerful cultivator, had failed to show. What were these guards supposed to do?

    What the hell is this emperor doing anyway?

    Zu An wondered if he should announce his arrival. He wasn¡¯t so keen on being caught in the crossfire.

    The eunuch outside spoke. ¡°My Lord Eleven, His Majesty has asked that you enter as soon as you arrive.¡±

    Zu An was ovee with blessed relief. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    He entered carefully, and was shocked to discover that the emperor wasn¡¯t inside. Instead, a massive mirror stood in the middle of the room, with an image of the emperor on its reflective surface. It was simr to the recording mirror that he¡¯d used to converse with Chu Chuyan, but this one was muchrger.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    What¡¯s going on? He looked around and saw that no one else present seemed the least bit surprised. They seemed to ept that this was how things worked.

    He quietly took a look around. By now, Zhuxie Chixin was considered an old acquaintance. He had always seemed bossy and domineering, with his nose pointed into the sky. Right now, however, he was standing obediently off to the side like a little quail, his attitude incredibly respectful.

    The one who was being pointed at and scolded was another old acquaintance, Guard General Liu Yao.

    He was bowing very low, and continuously begging for forgiveness. The arrogance he had shown in Brightmoon City was nowhere to be seen.

    Even though he was the empress¡¯ uncle, which made him the emperor¡¯s senior, he did not dare bring that up before the emperor himself.

    He was feeling rather despondent as well. Even though the Guard General, in theory, was the highest-rankingmander of the imperial pce, he usually lived in his own estate. The defenses of the imperial pce were overseen by the Left, Right, Gueri Warfare, and Brave Rider Generals, as well as Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s Embroidered Envoy and the few imperial bodyguards under the charge of the Supervisor of Attendants.

    He had already discharged his duties for the day and left the pce in high spirits, before the chaos arose at night. He had been at home, enjoying a drink. How could he have reacted to the situation in a timely manner?

    Zu An¡¯s eyes moved across the room. It was filled with powerful yers from the imperial court. He recognized Right General Guo Zhi and Guerri Warfare General Zhao Yuan, whom he¡¯d met in the eastern pce earlier.

    He¡¯s seen one of the others not too long ago as well. This man had been pursuing Qiu Honglei, but had been stopped by his own me de. This was none other than Left Guard General Cheng Xiong.

    Zu An did not see the Brave Rider General here. He wondered where this man was.

    Another lean-looking, elderly man was present. His bronze skin gave his slim body a mysterious sense of explosive strength.

    While at the academy, Shang Liuyu had given him a pictorial book that introduced the uniforms of important officials in the court. This uniform resembled the drawing of the clothing worn by the Supervisor of Attendants.

    Was this the new Supervisor of Attendants, Murong Tong, the grandfather of Murong Qinghe?

    No wonder that little girl had tanned skin. Was this a hereditary trait?

    His back was much straighter than those of the other yes-men in the room. He was in charge of the emperor¡¯s ceremonial bodyguards. The emperor¡¯s cultivation was unmatched, so the bodyguards were mostly there for show. Besides, he had been transferred to this post because of other reasons, not because of the most recent assassination attempt.

    Hmph, it¡¯s all because of that brat, Zu An! He¡¯s the reason I have to apany these fellows and suffer through this!

    You have sessfully trolled Murong Tong for 723 Rage points!

    The sudden influx of Rage points gave Zu An a fright. His first instinct was that Murong Tong had somehow recognized him, but after giving it some thought, he changed his mind. This old man was probably still upset about being transferred.

    After going at them for a while, the emperor finally calmed down. He then said, ¡°All the officials present will be demoted by one rank, and you will forfeit your sry for the next three years. You will all remain in your positions for now, and continue to discharge your regr duties until you make up for your failures with future contributions.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Your Majesty!¡± All of them bowed low and expressed their thanks. For individuals with their status, things like their sry were seen as dispensable. Such a punishment was nothing more than a p on the wrist.

    Zu An was the only one who was upset. Bro, I haven¡¯t even gotten a single paycheck yet, and you¡¯re already going to withhold three years¡¯ worth?

    Unlike these other fellows, I don¡¯t have any other sources of ie. Not only do I have to risk my life to help the emperorplete his stupid mission, I now have to work as a ve for three years?

    Not even a sweatshop is this abusive!

    Unfortunately, he had just witnessed the emperor¡¯s power. Even though he was cursing in his heart, he did not dare voice hisints.

    The emperor nodded, satisfied by their reactions. ¡°Cheng Xiong, you will be in charge of investigating the attempted assassination of the empress, and finding out who they are!

    ¡°Guo Zhi, you are in charge of the assassination attempt in the eastern pce. Eliminate all of the escaping assassins.

    ¡°Liu Yao, Zhao Yuan, you¡¯re both in charge of locking down the capital city. You are permitted to arrest all suspicious individuals. All those who resist are to be executed!¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± They acknowledged in unison.

    Zu An was d that Qiao Xueying had managed to flee earlier in the day. If she had been half a dayte, her nsmen might not have made it out. She had patiently suffered in the capital for such a long time, finally managing to rescue her nsmen. It would have been far too tragic if it had all crumbled at thest minute.

    He was much more worried about Qiu Honglei. It was already dark, and the security around the city walls was tight. She had no way of leaving the capital city. He wondered if she would manage to evade capture by Liu Yao and Zhao Yuan.

    The others left after receiving their orders, leaving Zu An and Zhuxie Chixin behind.

    The emperor looked at Zhuxie Chixin. ¡°Did you capture that woman?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s heart skipped a beat. He knew that the emperor was talking about Qiu Honglei¡¯s master, and his ears pricked up.

    Zhuxie Chixin shook his head.

    ¡°This humble one is ipetent. We searched for her for a long time, but we were unable to discover her whereabouts. We don¡¯t even know if she¡¯s left the pce.¡±

    The emperor seemed surprisingly sanguine. ¡°The woman is a grandmaster. Even though she¡¯s seriously injured, it won¡¯t be easy to capture her. However, the city games are sealed shut. I¡¯m sure she hasn¡¯t left the capital city yet. You are still in charge of finding her.¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡± Zhuxie Chixin bowed respectfully.

    The emperor then said, ¡°You¡¯re a very knowledgeable man. Were you able to determine who she was in your brief battle?¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin said, ¡°That woman used a short sword at first and fought with the strength of a master cultivator, probably because she did not want to reveal her identity. But when faced with your attack, Your Majesty, she was forced to use her true weapon, which gave me some idea of who she was.

    ¡°The weapon she wields is the Wheel of the Crescent Moon, and she is a light element cultivator who is able to slow time. These mark her as the Devil Sect¡¯s sect master, Yun Jianyue.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s heart began to pound. Holy crap, she¡¯s exposed! The ploy hatched by Qiu Honglei and the others to frame King Qi for this is probably done for. Not only that, the imperial court is probably going to go all out against the Devil Sect¡­ Things don¡¯t look good for them.

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s master seemed to have a name befitting her bearing, though. She had indeed looked just like a beautiful moon hiding among the clouds. [1]

    The emperor remained silent for a while. ¡°Did you mention this to anyone else?¡± he finally asked.

    ¡°This subject knows the importance of this information. I have not spoken about it to anyone else,¡± replied Zhuxie Chixin hurriedly.

    The emperor nodded. ¡°Good. This matter must be kept secret. You are not permitted to bring it up again.¡±

    Even though Zhuxie Chixin was slightly confused, he did not probe any further, but acknowledged the emperor¡¯s order. ¡°Understood!¡±

    Zu An was stunned. What the hell is going on? Could Qiu Honglei¡¯s master be the emperor¡¯s old me or something? That doesn¡¯t seem right, though. If she was a former lover of his, he should have realized who she was immediately after that exchange of blows.

    ¡°Withdraw. Zu An, stay behind.¡± The emperor¡¯s indifferent voice came from the mirror.

    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡± Zhuxie Chixin shot Zu An a surprised look before taking his leave, but said nothing else. He withdrew quickly and closed the door behind him.

    The emperor stared daggers at Zu An. ¡°I heard that you carried the crown princess today?¡±

    Even though he was only facing a mirror, the pressure exerted on Zu An soaked his clothes in cold sweat. ¡°Your Majesty, we were in a critical situation. I did that to save the crown princess¡­¡±

    The emperor¡¯s gaze turned ice-cold. He did not let him finish speaking. ¡°Which arm did you use to hold her? Cut it off yourself.¡±

    1. Yun = Cloud, Jian = Between, Yue = Moon.

 Chapter 618: Scammer

    <h4>Chapter 618: Scammer</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An almost fell over in shock.

    He thought that the emperor had made him stay because he wanted to grant him some rewards in private. He¡¯d been happily awaiting the emperor to bestow on him his well-deserved rewards for saving so many people today, only for the emperor to hit him with this line.

    Bro, what the hell?

    His hairs were all standing on end, and he instinctively wanted to flee, but he forced himself to calm down. Even though the emperor was speaking through the mirror, killing him would be easy enough, given the emperor¡¯s cultivation. After all, just a single appearance by him had been enough to decide matters in Brightmoon City.

    Furthermore, he had just faced off against Qiu Honglei¡¯s master, and had been able to easily defeat her despite not being in the pce at all.

    If even a glorious grandmaster wasn¡¯t a match for him, his own cultivation was worthless.

    Zu An took a deep breath. He braced himself and said, ¡°Your Majesty is not being fair. I cannot ept this!¡±

    ¡°I am the emperor. Do I need you to approve of what I wish to be done?¡± replied the emperor haughtily.

    Zu An was momentarily speechless.

    Do you think you¡¯re fucking Chen Beixuan or something?[1]

    However, he reacted quickly. ¡°Your Majesty wants to achieve immortality throughout the ages, in an indirect manner. I don¡¯t believe that you want history to remember you as an unjust man, or that you are a foolish ruler who acts on a whim.¡±

    Hmph. You can say that you don¡¯t care about what I think, or what everyone else here thinks, but there¡¯s no way you wouldn¡¯t care about what theter generation thinks of you.

    The emperor¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°It¡¯s been many years since someone has spoken to me like that.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s tone immediately became extremely respectful. ¡°I am not trying to offend Your Majesty. I only wish to state a few things. There was an assassination attempt in the imperial pce today. First, I saved the empress¡¯ life in the Pce of Peace, then I rushed over to the eastern pce and saved both the crown prince and princess. Of all the contributions made by anyone today, mine must rank among the top three most worthy, even if they aren¡¯t considered the most worthy of all. If Your Majesty does not wish to reward me, that is your prerogative, but you¡¯ve even ordered me to cut off a limb. That caused me to blurt out several delirious things in a moment of rm. I must ask for Your Majesty¡¯s forgiveness.¡±

    The emperor snorted. ¡°You¡¯re rather crafty, aren¡¯t you? Whatever, I¡¯ll give you a chance to make up for your crimes, so that you won¡¯t go to your death without knowing why.¡±

    ¡°Make up for my crimes?¡± Zu An was confused. He cursed inwardly. Weren¡¯t you saying just a second ago that you didn¡¯t need my approval to do anything? Yet now you¡¯re concerned about this stuff.

    ¡°Help me take care of two matters,¡± continued the emperor. ¡°Oncepleted, not only will I pardon your licentious acts towards the crown princess, I will also reward you greatly. If you fail, I believe you already know the consequences.¡±

    ¡°What are these matters?¡± Zu An quickly asked. Just carrying the crown princess is considered a licentious act? Then what about what I did to the empress? I absolutely cannot let him know about that. Otherwise, I¡¯ll be tortured to death.

    The emperor was not privy to his thoughts. ¡°The first matter is to investigate how the assassins were able to get into the pce through theyers of guards,¡± he said.

    Zu An was surprised. ¡°Your Majesty, why aren¡¯t you assigning this task to the Left and Right Guard Generals?¡±

    The emperor red at him. ¡°They have their own investigations, and you have yours. Is there a problem?¡±

    Zu An shivered. ¡°Not at all.¡± It sounded as though the emperor didn¡¯t fully trust the Left and Right Generals.

    The emperor continued. ¡°Secondly, you are to find out who leaked out the information that I wasn¡¯t in the pce. The assassins found the perfect moment to strike, and I refuse to believe that it was all just a coincidence.¡±

    Zu An forced a smile. ¡°Your Majesty, you know that it¡¯s only been a few days since I arrived at the capital. I am of lowly status, and I¡¯m not well acquainted with many people. How am I supposed to investigate such a thing? Why not let Commander Zhuxie lead a team to investigate this instead? They are much more skilled at this.¡±

    ¡°If I tell you to do it, then you do it. What¡¯s with all of this nonsense?¡± The emperor¡¯s face was as dark as a thunderhead. Ordinarily, his subjects would not even dare to breathe too loudly in front of him. And yet, this fellow not only talked back to him, he was even haggling with him!

    Zu Anughed awkwardly. ¡°Please, Your Majesty, I¡¯m only trying to help youe up with the fastest and most effective way to investigate these matters.¡±

    The emperor hesitated a moment, then decided that, since he was going to assign Zu An to this case, there were some matters that he needed to be informed about. As such, he said, ¡°The reason I picked you for this is precisely because you haven¡¯t been here for long. With fewer ties in the capital, there¡¯s less for me to worry about.¡±

    Zu An was surprised. ¡°Does Your Majesty suspect Lord Zhuxie and the others?¡±

    The emperor eyed him coldly, but did not offer an answer. Instead, he continued, ¡°Only a handful knew that I was taking a trip out of the pce, yet this information managed to be leaked. That¡¯s why I need you to look into it.¡±

    Zu An was rmed. The emperor really wasn¡¯t in the pce! ¡°Where did you go, Your Majesty?¡±

    The emperor narrowed his eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t ask about things that you shouldn¡¯t be asking about.¡±

    Zu An was at a loss for words.

    To save himself from the awkward silence, he changed the topic. ¡°Your Majesty, at least let me know who knew about your departure. Was it the empress, the senior concubine, or was it someone else?¡±

    The emperor replied lightly, ¡°The empress and the other concubines do not know. The only ones who knew were the ones in the room with you just now, as well as several eunuchs who help me through my daily activities. I¡¯ll leave it to you to investigate.¡±

    The pieces finally fell into ce for Zu An.

    No wonder he called me here to take part in the meeting. He wanted me to know who the suspects were.

    Although Zhuxie Chixin is his trusted aide, he still isn¡¯t free of suspicion¡­ The paranoia of the one who rules is truly terrifying.

    Stranger than that, though, was that not even his wives knew about his whereabouts, despite confiding in several others. Tsk tsk, his concubines really are pitiful. Rumor has it that the emperor hasn¡¯t even visited his concubines in many years due to his decreasing lifespan¡­

    What a pity. All this excellent farnd is being neglected! These concubines probably find it pointless to vie for his affections.

    ¡°You hold the golden token of the Embroidered Envoy, which should be enough for you to do whatever you need to do. There¡¯s no need to fret over your official rank. However, let me remind you that you absolutely must not expose your true identity during your search, because it will affect your other mission concerning King Qi. You know the consequences if that happens.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Understood!¡± Zu An did not need the emperor to point this out to him. It was much more interesting to y around with multiple identities. It wasn¡¯t fun at all if heid all his cards on the table.

    ¡°You may leave.¡± The emperor closed his eyes.

    Zu An let out the breath he had been holding. He left the study and closed the door.

    The eunuch escorted him out with a smile. ¡°Lord Eleven truly has boundless prospects! Rarely does His Majesty ever meet with an embroidered envoy alone, Zhuxie Chixin aside.¡±

    This news stunned Zu An. It seemed he had to find a chance to have a talk with Zhuxie Chixin, to mend fences and the like. It would be terrible if that man turned against him.

    After all, Zhuxie Chixin had one foot through the door to the rank of grandmaster, and he wielded tremendous authority as well. Having someone like that as an antagonist would be truly awful.

    ¡°How do I address you?¡± Zu An asked the eunuch. The emperor mentioned that some eunuchs attended him on his daily activities. This was probably one of them. Was this guy currying favor with him out of guilt?

    ¡°This humble one¡¯s surname is Wen,¡± The eunuch said with a smile. He wore a warm and affable expression on his chubby face.

    ¡°I am still a neer here, Eunuch Wen. It would be good if you look out for me in the future.¡± Zu An¡¯s tone was polite, but he had something totally different in mind. Why are all eunuchs usually so fat? I¡¯ve heard that pig farmers always said that castrated pigs grew the fattest. Is the same principle at work here¡­?

    ¡°You¡¯re too kind, My Lord.¡± Eunuch Wen was all smiles. This new golden-token envoy was rather insightful and interesting, not like the others who were all dark and gloomy, looking around as if everyone owed them money.

    The two of them chatted for a while, and separated amicably.

    After walking for a while, Zu An suddenly smacked his head with a free hand. ¡°Ah! I was scammed!¡±

    It had suddenly dawned on him that the emperor had never intended to me him for anything. He had deliberately scared him so that he would focus on this new task, while feeling grateful for the opportunity.

    Dammit! Not only did I not get anything for saving your damned wife and children, but you¡¯re pulling this sort of stunt on me as well. Are all emperors scammers?

    He was boiling with rage inside, but he had to keep this thought bottled up inside. He didn¡¯t dare blurt any of it out loud.

    Lost in his own thoughts, he wandered past a rock garden, when a hand suddenly reached out and pulled him in.

    1. This is a character from another novel.

 Chapter 619: Embrace of Death, Part Two

    <h4>Chapter 619: Embrace of Death, Part Two</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An was stunned at first, but snapped to alertness when the hand touched his shoulder.

    One hand was on his shoulder, pulling him into the garden, while the other hand wrapped around his neck. If this person wanted him dead, he would be dead for sure.

    Ordinarily, a cultivator would not be able to put up a fight if their shoulder pressure point was restrained. However, how could a cheat like him bepared to an ordinary cultivator?

    He immediately used his Heaven-Devouring Sutra. A powerful suction force appeared around his shoulder, neutralizing the ki around that hand restraining him.

    ¡°Hm?¡± a female voice eximed in surprise. Whoever it was, she hadn¡¯t expected this strange suction force to appear.

    With his life in imminent danger, Zu An could hardly be bothered by the gender of his attacker.

    He twisted his shoulder, immediately employing the Entangling Feathersilk Art that Pei Mianman had taught him. He slid from her grasp like a loach, then followed up by sliding up her arm to grab her neck.

    With an angry huff and a wave of her hand, the woman pped away his encroaching arm, and then struck at his forehead with her fingers.

    You want to y around with finger techniques? I¡¯m good at that too! Zu An immediately struck back with his Shining Finger.

    Anger shed within the woman¡¯s eyes when she saw that her fingers had been stopped by a man. With a snap of her flexible wrist, she retaliated, sending a force shooting through her own fingers.

    Zu An felt his own fingers go numb, and he lost his grip. Before he could process what had happened, the other party had already attacked.

    The two of them exchanged several dozen blows within the confines of the rock garden, each strike containing a vicious amount of force.

    Zu An was ovee with shock. After absorbing Mosquito Daoist¡¯s cultivation, he was considered a powerful cultivator, and had been easily able to dispatch the elite assassins from the Shadow Group.

    He didn¡¯t know what it was with this woman. Her aura was rather unstable, and, judging by her current strength, she was around the sixth or seventh rank at most. She even seemed to be injured. Why wasn¡¯t he able to deal with her?

    The woman was equally astonished. After all, she rarely met someone who was a match for her, yet now, despite her opponent clearly having much less experience than her, she was still unable to subdue him.

    Even though she was seriously injured, she still retained her sight, her experiences, and her extensive techniques. She would have had no problem going up against anyone beneath the eighth rank.

    Not only that, but she had caught him unprepared!

    She cursed inwardly. She had been gunning for his Embroidered Envoy uniform, because it would make moving around much easier, but she never expected him to be such a tough nut to crack.

    The rock garden was exceedingly cramped, and they were employing both their arms and legs to fight, resulting in their bodies tangling around each other quite often. At first, she hadn¡¯t minded it that much, since she fully expected him to soon be dead. As the fight went on, however, she felt more and more as though she was being taken advantage of.

    She wanted desperately to leave the confined space, but she was dragged back in as soon as she tried to get out.

    She couldn¡¯t help but grind her teeth. Was this fellow really nning to take advantage of her?

    Someone possessing her cultivation realm and temperament wasn¡¯t so easily fazed, however, and she quickly calmed down. She reasoned that her opponent was only confining their battle to this narrow space not so that he could make advances on her, but because he was afraid that their fight would be more unpredictable in a more spacious area.

    As she was reasoning this out, a vicious expression shed across Zu An¡¯s eyes. His fine hairs were standing on end, and his mind was tight with concentration. He knew that his life could be extinguished if he made even the slightest misstep.

    His attention was focused on a razor¡¯s edge. He didn¡¯t even notice the Rage points he was receiving.

    He wasn¡¯t about to hold back anything. ¡°Whatcha starin¡¯ at?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m staring at you, sh*thead!¡± the woman replied subconsciously.

    A bewildered expression immediately appeared on her face.

    While she was still in shock, Zu An wrapped her in his arms and activated the Heaven-Devouring Sutra, madly trying to absorb her cultivation.

    This was how he killed Mosquito Daoist! He called it¡ªthe Embrace of Death!

    The two of them were pressed tightly against each other, leaving the woman both shocked and furious. She abandoned all reservations. She raised her hand, and a streak of vicious light appeared.

    As soon as it appeared, however, it vanished without a trace.

    Again, the woman was left bewildered.

    However, it took her mere moments to realize that her opponent was using a strange technique to siphon away her cultivation. Some of the ki flowing along the surface of her body had already been absorbed.

    Now was not the time for embarrassment. She quickly focused her mind, solidifying her ki reserves to counter her opponent¡¯s powerful siphoning attack.

    All was going smoothly for Zu An at first, but a frown quickly appeared on his face. He wasn¡¯t able to siphon off any more of her ki!

    The other party¡¯s ki foundation was incredibly firm. It seemed like a massive mountain that just refused to be absorbed. He could siphon away some loose silt, but that did little to affect the solidity of the mountain.

    Of course, if he continued this for a few decades, he might just be able to siphon all of it away, but such a scenario was hardly realistic.

    On the flip side, the woman was equally shaken. She had dominated the world for such a long time. Was she really going to be done in by an unnamed embroidered envoy?

    With her body so tightly restrained, and the powerful suction force tearing away at her, she couldn¡¯t muster any strength to retaliate, and could only continue to defend her foundation to prevent him from siphoning it all away.

    Thankfully, her cultivation was much higher than his, so her cultivation remained and she kept her foundation. If not, she might have been cleaned out.

    How could there be such a terrifying, demonic technique in this world? Huh, could this be Mosquito Daoist? Wait, no¡­ Mosquito Daoist is a woman. Is this her prot¨¦g¨¦? Or perhaps someone else from the blood race? Why would the emperor make someone of the blood race an Embroidered Envoy¡­? Her mind soon clouded over with these random, disturbing thoughts.

    A sudden surge swept through her blood essence and her ki. Her previous injuries red, causing her to cough out blood, which coated the inner surface of her mask.

    Zu An was overjoyed to sense his opponent¡¯s once-solid defenses crumbling, and immediately pressed his attack.

    A sh of resolve crossed the woman¡¯s eyes when she sensed her foundation flowing out of her. In that case, she would just take this man down with her!

    Zu An could feel that victory was in sight. However, as soon as he rxed slightly, he suddenly noticed that the woman in his arms had extremely long hair.

    He would have facepalmed if he could.

    What a pain in the ass! I didn¡¯t even recognize her!

    The rock garden was dim and cramped, and he hadn¡¯t really gotten a good look at her. He¡¯d been on the brink of death since he was dragged in as well, and hadn¡¯t been focused on anything else but surviving.

    He stopped siphoning her foundation at once. ¡°Are you Yun Jianyue?¡± he asked.

    The woman¡¯s resolve hardened even further when she heard him speak her name. With her pride at stake, how could she possibly allow herself to be a prisoner?

    Zu An suddenly sensed her internal ki surge, as though a terrifying force was about to erupt. Frightened and anxious, he immediately said, ¡°I¡¯m Qiu Honglei¡¯s friend!¡±

    ¡°Honglei?¡± The woman was stunned. She wasn¡¯t expecting this person to bring up her disciple.

    Zu An was relieved when he sensed the terrifying power subside slightly. ¡°Yes, I just rescued her and escorted her out of the pce. She asked me to find you and rescue you.¡±

    ¡°When did Honglei be friends with an Embroidered Envoy?¡± A thought suddenly struck Yun Jianyue. ¡°You¡¯re the Embroidered Envoy who survived my sword?¡±

    Given her status and cultivation, she couldn¡¯t care less if he was a golden-, silver- or bronze-token envoy, all embroidered envoys were the same, and not worth remembering.

    Zu Anughed awkwardly. ¡°Your memory is excellent, senior.¡±

    Yun Jianyue was now ny percent convinced. ¡°Hmph, I should¡¯ve just killed you back then. If I did, I wouldn¡¯t be in this miserable state.¡±

    She felt rather despondent. She could have killed him with a single blow before, yet the situation had changed so quickly. She was now his captive.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An was surprised, reading between the lines. ¡°You showed mercy back then?¡±

    Yun Jianyue sneered. ¡°If I hadn¡¯t noticed that you used Mirror Mirage, do you think you would still be alive?¡±

    Mirror Mirage was one of her secret skills, and she had only passed it down to her disciple, Qiu Honglei. That was why she was shocked when she saw him use it, and directed her flying sword a few inches wide.

    Fear still lingered as Zu An recalled the incident. ¡°My luck really is pretty good.¡±

    Yun Jianyue was just about to say something when a guard¡¯s voice rang out. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡±

 Chapter 620: Stunning Beauty

    <h4>Chapter 620: Stunning Beauty</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s entire body stiffened, and her injuries, which she had barely stabilized, red up again. In her current state, she was equivalent to a low-level cultivator. If these guards osted her, it would be hard for her to escape, even with her experience and her sight.

    This could even trigger other guards to rush to the scene. At that point, the entire pce would be after her, and she would be dead for sure.

    She didn¡¯t want to admit it, but she had no choice but to rely on this man right now.

    Yun Jianyue immediately panicked when she heard the guards¡¯ approaching footsteps.

    This fear was foreign to her, something she had not felt ever since her cultivations had scaled such great heights.

    Two cats suddenly jumped out, hissing at the guards.

    The female cat was especially fierce.

    The guards chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s just a female cat in heat. She was with her partner just now.¡±

    ¡°You scared her! Watch out, she mighte after you at night!¡±

    ¡°Tsk, I would¡¯ve loved if it was some cute catgirl.¡±

    ¡­

    They walked away, chatting amongst themselves, clearly attributing the noises they had heard to these cats. They continued their patrol elsewhere.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression was ashen, because she was in the embrace of a man right now. It almost seemed as though those guards had been talking about her.

    ¡°Did you cause the cats to act that way?¡± she asked curiously as they left the garden.

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Zu An looked at the jade badge in his hands. Even though the trinket wasn¡¯t a deadly weapon, it truly had its own uses. Controlling two cats to divert the guards¡¯ attention had been a piece of cake.

    ¡°Why did you choose a female and a male cat?¡± Yun Jianyue asked, frowning.

    ¡°Um, these two just happened to be nearby. The guards might not have believed that a single one could make that much noise.¡± Zu An was taken aback. This woman focuses on some very strange details¡­ Shouldn¡¯t she be asking why I can control the cats? But now, it seemed as though he didn¡¯t have to make up an excuse for that.

    He suddenly froze. His mind had been so tense earlier on, but now that the danger was past, he realized that there was something soft pressed against his chest.

    As expected of a master¡­ This woman¡¯s body is mature yet tender, just like ripe honey peaches.

    He could smell a faint scent as well. There was no way she would use any perfume while conducting an assassination. This was probably her natural scent.

    It was not the smell of cosmetics, but a natural, delicate fragrance.

    This was a world of cultivation. Once one cultivated oneself to a certain degree, any impurities within the body would have been refined away, and one would never umte dirt or grime. A cultivator could remain perfectly clean even if they did not shower for a month.

    Of course, most cultivators weren¡¯t born with high cultivation. They lived like ordinary humans for a good part of their lives, so bathing and changing into fresh clothes was a natural habit. Even after their cultivation increased, they would instinctively retain these habits.

    ¡°Have you held me for long enough?¡± Yun Jianyue said coldly.

    Zu Anughed in embarrassment and quickly let go of her. ¡°I didn¡¯t recognize you earlier on. Please forgive me for that, big sis.¡±

    ¡°Big sis?¡± Yun Jianyue had a strange look on her face. ¡°Honglei calls me master, and you are her friend. That makes me your senior as well. You should call me that instead.¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°Honglei calls you master, and I will call you big sis. There¡¯s nothing wrong with that. To each their own.¡±

    Yun Jianyue stared at him expressionlessly.

    She didn¡¯t feel like arguing with him over this, and walked away slowly. Having a man this close to her was slightly diforting.

    Unfortunately, she had still underestimated her own injuries. He had given her some support while he was holding her, but when she tried to move on her own, she felt dizzy the moment she took a single step. Her legs buckled, and she couldn¡¯t help but fall to the side.

    ¡°Be careful!¡± Zu An cried, quickly moving to support her.

    ¡°Thanks.¡± Yun Jianyue was surprisingly unbothered by this. She wasn¡¯t embarrassed or annoyed just because he had touched her while helping her.

    ¡°Are your wounds that serious?¡± Zu An asked, concerned.

    Yun Jianyue leaned against a rock, herplexion a bit pale. ¡°They were okay earlier on, but my condition worsened when I fought with you just now, and they seem to have red up again.¡±

    She removed the veil covering her face, as the blood on it was extremely ufortable.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes immediately widened. Even though he had seen her graceful bearing and assumed that she was pretty, he hadn¡¯t expected her to be so beautiful.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    She did not look at all like a young maiden yet to reach full bloom, but gave off the grace of a mature woman instead. This was when a woman was most enchanting.

    He had expected that she would be full of viciousness, since she was the sect master of the Devil Sect, and that she might even have a trace of masculine valor.

    But this was not the case at all. On the contrary, her grace and beauty were exceptional, her lips red and moist, ahd her cheeks fair and white. Her ample bosom moved as she breathed. She was a truly wonderful sight to behold, one that would tug at the hearts of all men.

    He could sense how slim her waist was, even through her ck clothes. Her bottom was incredibly well-sculpted and offered the greatest temptation.

    She was truly an extraordinary beauty!

    This thought filled Zu An¡¯s mind. She was just too stunning, as morous as a peony in full bloom.

    Her eyes however, seemed distant, seemingly set apart from the mortal world. They had a deep profoundness to them, as though they were two bright moons set against the stars above. Even though they were beautiful, she seemed to be looking down from high above the world, giving her a distant, mysterious look.

    These two sides of her seemed contradictory, yet they meshed together perfectly. Without her cold, distant eyes, she might seem like an extraordinary beauty who would enjoy a night in bed, which seemed to tarnish her style slightly.

    However, without the mature and sensual side to her, she would seem too distant, too emotionless.

    ¡°If you weren¡¯t a friend of Honglei, I would have already gouged out your eyeballs.¡± Yun Jianyue seemed to be speaking about somethingpletely insignificant, but she was giving off a terrifying aura.

    ¡°It¡¯s not like you can defeat me right now, anyway,¡± Zu An grumbled under his breath.

    ¡°What did you say?¡± Yun Jianyue¡¯s eyebrows were raised, and there was a dangerous glint to her eyes.

    Zu An immediately changed his tone. ¡°I¡¯m just crying out in injustice for those fes who had their eyes gouged out. Just because they were staring at you doesn¡¯t mean that they harbored wicked thoughts. You¡¯re just too beautiful. Not even someone like me, who has seen his fair share of beautiful women, could avert my gaze, let alone the other guys without such luck. They were admiring and praising a work of art that would be glimpsed only once in a lifetime, and yet they had their eyes gouged out. Isn¡¯t that too pitiful a fate?¡±

    ¡°Are you trying to tell me how I should act?¡± Yun Jianyue¡¯s face remained expressionless.

    ¡°Um¡­¡± Zu An at a loss for words. He found keeping up with her slightly difficult. ¡°Couldn¡¯t you tell that I was praising your beauty in a roundabout way?¡±

    ¡°Since you said that they were admiring a work of art that they would only see once in a lifetime, then it should be worth it. Why retain their sight, only to continue looking at ugliness?¡± Yun Jianyue said indifferently.

    Zu An was stupefied. ¡°Wow, you¡¯re making so much sense, even I can¡¯t rebut that.¡±

    ¡°This is the first time I¡¯ve met an embroidered envoy with such a slick tongue.¡± Yun Jianyue paused for a moment, then suddenly asked, ¡°Is this how you deceived Honglei?¡±

    Zu An sighed. ¡°Big sis, do you have such little confidence in your disciple? Is Honglei really someone that is so easily fooled?¡±

    Yun Jianyue stared at him. ¡°I¡¯m only putting up with you because I know she isn¡¯t that sort of person.¡±

    Zu An was dumbfounded.

    Sis, if you keep this up, you won¡¯t have any friends, you know?

    As such, he decided to just stop talking.

    The two of them stared at each other for a moment, and Yun Jianyue finally couldn¡¯t help but frown. ¡°Do you n to just stand around with me like this? If I¡¯m right, more guards are on their way.¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°So? It¡¯s not as though they¡¯re after me,¡± he replied.

 Chapter 621: Accidental Meeting

    <h4>Chapter 621: idental Meeting</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Girl, please take a look at yourself. I¡¯m definitely not going to keep babying you if you keep up this arrogant bs.

    Zu An was a man who didn¡¯t simp.

    ¡°Are you waiting for me to beg you?¡± As if she saw through his intentions, a pondering expression appeared on Yun Jianyue¡¯s face.

    ¡°Nope, not at all. That¡¯s nonsense.¡± Zu An refuted three times in a row. ¡°Of course, if you want to talk nicely, it¡¯s not like I won¡¯t change my mind.¡±

    Yun Jianyue chuckled. ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll just tell those guards thate that you¡¯re my aplice, that you used your identity as a golden token envoy to bring us assassins. What do you think about that?¡±

    Zu An: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    Fine, you win!

    Helpless to do anything about it, he could only say, ¡°It¡¯ll be hard to bring you out of the pce now. Hide at my ce for now and wait out the storm. Once you recover, we¡¯ll leave then.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t very likely for him to bring her out with the same method he used for Qiu Honglei. Furthermore, the Left and Right Guard Generals, Zhuxie Chixin, the Gueri Warfare General, and the others were all over the pce searching for her. A single mishap and he¡¯ll end up running into them. Yun Jianyue was also seriously injured right now, so she might not even be able to make it over the pce walls.

    Yun Jinayue didn¡¯t refuse. ¡°Alright.¡±

    Zu An left to look around. He saw that there was no one around, so he waved towards her. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Yun Jiayue got up. Her body suddenly staggered. She was clearly a bit dizzy.

    Zu An frowned. ¡°Let me help you.¡±

    She knew that there was no way she would let him carry her. He didn¡¯t deliberately make things harder either.

    Yun Jianyue nodded and slowly reached over her hand.

    Zu An: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    She looked like a concubine who was out for a stroll or something, while he was just a lesser eunuch.

    Fine, I¡¯ll let you have your way out of respect for Honglei.

    He reached out his hand and supported her, and then slowly walked towards his own residence.

    ¡°You won¡¯te and kill me just because I held your hand in the future, right?¡±

    He learned from his past experiences. There was a heap of trouble after he touched the crown princess. He didn¡¯t want to go through so much effort saving someone only to end up not only without any benefits, but with a ton of trouble instead.

    ¡°Why would I kill you?¡± Yun Jianyue gave him a weird look. ¡°Just because you touched my hand?¡±

    It was now Zu An¡¯s turn to be shocked. ¡°Do men often touch your hands?¡±

    She¡¯s already used to it?

    But when he thought about how she came from the Devil Sect, he felt that this made sense as well. However, he still felt weird for some reason.

    Sigh, the inferiorityplexes of men. Why do we all be idiots when we meet beautiful women?

    ¡°I do suddenly feel an urge to kill you after hearing what you just said though.¡± Yun Jianyue harrumphed.

    Zu An instead felt happier when he heard this reply. So no one else touched you¡­ Very good, very good.

    Yun Jianyue frowned. ¡°Stop wasting time chatting already. There are guards looking everywhere right now. I don¡¯t want to run into them.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Normally, her divine senses could easily stretch across a range of a few dozen li. Nothing in that area would escape her detection. Unfortunately, she was seriously injured right now and didn¡¯t have this ability anymore.

    She was so used to easily sensing her enemies that she felt deaf and blind right now. This really was unsettling.

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, there¡¯s no one around us.¡±

    Yun Jianyue was confused. She didn¡¯t know where his confidence came from. Could it be that his cultivation already reached a point where his divine senses could extend outwards?

    But she was impressed by the rest of their journey. There were several times when Zu An pulled her to the side. She thought that he wanted to take advantage of her, but she immediately understood when she saw the guards who came right after he pulled her to the side.

    This happened several times, and they managed to hide from them each time. It was as if he already knew their locations ahead of time.

    Yun Jianyue finally couldn¡¯t hold back her curiosity. ¡°How are you doing this?¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°That¡¯s a secret.¡±

    He obviously couldn¡¯t extend his senses, but he used other methods to achieve simr results.

    He had the jade badge in his hands, allowing him to control the surrounding small creatures. The imperial pce was full of greenery. There were trees, nts, as well as all types of cats, mice, birds, and other creatures. The guards wouldn¡¯t be on guard against them, so how could they know that these little things already became his eyes and ears?

    By borrowing these small creatures, Zu An was able to detect the guards¡¯ whereabouts ahead of time. That was why he was able to calmly bring her to his own residence even with people searching everywhere in the pce.

    Yun Jianyue couldn¡¯t bring herself to ask more when she saw him put on this mysterious act. For cultivators, many skills were their life saving measures. It was indeed not wise to reveal them to outsiders.

    She thought to herself that she would find a chance to ask her disciple in the future and see if she knew.

    Zu An used his waist token to open up the residence¡¯s restrictions, and then he invited Yun Jianyue inside. ¡°This is the golden token envoy¡¯s residence. Normally speaking, no one woulde in, so you can peacefully nurse yourself here.¡±

    He even deliberately stuck out his chest when he mentioned the golden token. He wanted to unt and impress the other party a bit, yet she didn¡¯t show any interest.

    ¡°Thanks.¡± Yun Jianyue looked around. This ce was indeed quite secluded and suitable for her to weather the storm.

    Seeing that she didn¡¯t y along, Zu An¡¯s interest also waned. ¡°By the way, how did you end up in the rock garden? That ce isn¡¯t too far from the emperor¡¯s imperial study. Weren¡¯t you scared of being discovered?¡±

    Yun Jianyue slowly sat down on a chair. Even though she was seriously injured, there were no issues that could be picked from her bearing. Her posture was upright, making her chest rise and waist look thin. Her body lines looked especially enchanting.

    Her lips parted, her gentle voice carrying a bit of coldness. ¡°The most dangerous ce will often be the safest. It is because it was closest to the imperial study that the guards would subconsciously choose to overlook that area. That is why I could use ¡®Mirror Mirage¡¯ to hide my aura and escape their detection. Of course¡­¡±

    She paused for a moment and said, ¡°If the emperor really was in the pce, then I wouldn¡¯t have dared to take this risk.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes lit up. He remembered the task the emperor gave him and quickly asked, ¡°How did you know that the emperor wasn¡¯t in the pce?¡±

    Yun Jianyue gave him an expressionless look. She clearly didn¡¯t n to reply to him.

    Zu An didn¡¯t expect things to change that quickly. He could only say, ¡°How about I exchange information with you? Weren¡¯t you curious about how I avoided those guards¡¯ detection?¡±

    Yun Jianyue sneered in mockery. ¡°No way. These two pieces of information aren¡¯t equal. Of course, I wouldn¡¯t tell you even if you had something worth trading. I will not sell out that person.¡±

    Seeing how firm her expression was, Zu An was a bit disappointed. Seems like I have to look for a different method.

    ¡°How did you meet Honglei?¡± Yun Jianyue suddenly gave the Embroidered Envoy before her a curious look. She understood her own disciple the best. She looked nice to everyone on the surface, making them feel wonderful, but she was actually an extremely proud and aloof woman who would never ept other men. She only treated them like a game.

    Yet she became friends with this person, and her precious disciple even gave him her Mirror Mirage. Meanwhile, he was willing to risk nine generations of n eradication to save her. Their rtionship was definitely close.

    Zu An¡¯s first reaction was to use this information for exchange, but he quickly dispelled this thought. This wasn¡¯t something worth hiding, since she would find out once she asked Honglei. He might as well just tell her to get some brownie points.

    Once he got enough of these brownie points, he would make her realize that he wasn¡¯t some easy prostitute.

    What was the most expensive thing in this world? It was often free things that were the most expensive.

    ¡°We met in Brightmoon City.¡±

    Yun Jianyue was stirred when she heard his reply. ¡°You¡¯re Zu An?¡±

    Zu An was shocked. He removed his mask. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to know me.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, it would be harder for me to not know you.¡± Yun Jianyue recalled the intelligence she received earlier. Qiu Honglei was going to marry into the Chu n as a concubine! Back then, she thought that the girl was merely finding a way to plot against the Chu n.

    But during Zu An¡¯s journey to the capital, Qiu Honglei showed Zu An mercy several times. The sect¡¯s Solitary Eight noted all of these things.

    Furthermore, there was this interaction this time. It would be more strange if there wasn¡¯t something going on between them.

    Zu An was about to say something when he heard Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s voice. ¡°Eleven, are you there?¡±

 Chapter 622: Toying With the Heart

    <h4>Chapter 622: Toying With the Heart</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An jumped in fright when he heard what Zhuxie Chixin said. Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression changed as well.

    She was dead for certain if Zhuxie Chixin caught her in her current state.

    How did he find me? Did Zu An tell him? Those Embroidered Envoy might have some private signals¡­

    But she quickly refuted this thought. If he really wanted her dead, then he could¡¯ve just dealt with her while he was sucking out her cultivation. Why would he have to go through all this trouble?

    Zu An¡¯s head was filled with many thoughts as well. He thought about pretending to not be here and ignore him so that Zhuxie Chixin would leave after calling out a few times with no response.

    However, he realized that this wouldn¡¯t work. This man most likely knew he was here from how he just happened to be here at this time.

    Could it be that he saw me bring back Yun Jianyue?

    He couldn¡¯t help but feel shocked when he thought of this.

    He quickly analyzed these thoughts. No, this shouldn¡¯t be it. I was extremely careful the entire time and had all those small creatures watching out for me. Zhuxie Chixin would have to be a freaking god to catch me.

    He lowered his head and looked at his waist token. He could vaguely sense a bit of warmth from it. Was it this thing that gave him away?¡±

    ¡°Eleven?¡± Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s voice became a bit impatient.

    Zu An immediately replied, ¡°Coming,ing.¡±

    He sent Yun Jianyue a voice transmission. ¡°Be careful, I¡¯m going to deal with him.¡±

    Yun Jianyue nodded. She didn¡¯t even dare voice any reply.

    Zu An hurriedly rushed out. He saw that Zhuxie Chixin was currently standing outside in the courtyard.

    I don¡¯t see any guards around him¡­ I don¡¯t think he¡¯s here to catch me.

    ¡°Greetings, chiefmander.¡± Zu An opened the door and greeted him.

    ¡°Why did it take you so long toe out?¡± Zhuxie Chixin frowned. His pale white face carried a bit of displeasure.

    He did know I was here!

    Zu An felt his heart pound and quickly said, ¡°I had to fight a lot today, and I was quite frightened through it all, so I¡¯m tired. That¡¯s why Iid down on my bed and unknowingly slept. I thought I was dreaming at first when I first heard chiefmander¡¯s voice.¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin said impatiently, ¡°You¡¯re probably the only one who dares to sleep in the entire imperial pce.¡±

    ¡°Chiefmander has worked hard.¡± Zu An smiled apologetically. Then, he asked, ¡°May I ask what you need me for?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing important. I sensed that you were inside while patrolling nearby, so I wanted to have a chat with you.¡± Zhuxie Chixin pointed at his own waist token. His token was different from the other Embroidered Envoy. It wasn¡¯t gold or silver, but made of jade. ¡°This thing lets me sense other Embroidered Envoy within a set range. This allows all of us to save a lot of time.¡±

    So it was the waist token after all! However, he didn¡¯t find this too surprising with Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s status.

    But why did he suddenlye here to talk to me?

    Zhuxie Chixin immediately said, ¡°We¡¯ve been busy all night and haven¡¯t had much of a breather. You wouldn¡¯t mind if I ask for some tea to drink inside, right?¡±

    Zu An immediately panicked. If he invited Zhuxie Chixin inside and he saw Yun Jianyue, then that would be really bad.

    But if a freaking superior was passing by your home and asked for a drink, how can you refuse?

    ¡°Uh¡­ Chief Commander, you¡¯ve really worked hard today¡­¡± His mind moved at lightning speed. He was just about to find an excuse when Zhuxie walked straight inside.

    Zu An: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    His heart was about to jump to his throat. He even wondered if he could take down Zhuxie Chixin with Yun Jianyue¡¯s help.

    But he immediately rejected this thought. Forget about the fact that Yun Jianyue was already seriously injured and powerless, even if she could keep fighting, the chances of them defeating a pseudo grandmaster was slim.

    Furthermore, Zhuxie Chixin could summon reinforcements from inside the pce at any time. Fighting against him was definitely a bad idea.

    Seeing that he couldn¡¯t stop him, he could only say, ¡°I¡¯ll naturally wee the chiefmander to my humble abode! But I just moved in and haven¡¯t done much cleaning. I¡¯m afraid that I won¡¯t be able to properly amodate the chiefmander¡­¡±

    He deliberately raised his pitch to warn Yun Jianyue. She was a grandmaster, so he didn¡¯t think she was a dummy.

    ¡°There is no need to be so polite. We are all colleagues anyway, we¡¯re our own people already.¡± Zhuxie Chixin turned around to give him a curious look. ¡°Hm? Why are you sweating so much?¡±

    Zu An had just removed his mask and didn¡¯t put it back on yet. Either way, Zhuxie Chixin already knew who he was, so he didn¡¯t have to hide anything.

    Zu An quickly said, ¡°It might be because I¡¯m still worried. The imperial pce has its restrictions, yet so many assassins still came in somehow. I¡¯m scared just thinking about it.¡±

    ¡°Today¡¯s events were indeed a bit absurd.¡± Zhuxie Chixin felt deep understanding. At the same time, he warned, ¡°Right, make sure you wear your mask when you wear these clothes. Your true identity cannot be exposed.¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An cupped his hands. ¡°Thank you chiefmander for your reminder.¡±

    This guy does care about me a bit. If I don¡¯t have to, I¡¯ll try not to do anything to him.

    He rushed in ahead of Zhuxie Chixin. Sure enough, he didn¡¯t see Yun Jianyue inside. He sighed with relief. Her ¡®Mirror Mirage¡¯ couldpletely hide her aura. As long as Zhuxie Chixin didn¡¯t see her himself, then she practically didn¡¯t exist in his perception.

    He swept his eyes over the entire house. Eventually, his eyesnded on the bed. The curtains were lowered and the bedding was messy as if someone had just gotten up.

    Zu An praised Yun Jianyue for her attention to detail. He told Zhuxie Chixin that he had just slept for a bit, and she actually helped him make things seem more realistic.

    Furthermore, she helped him lower half the curtains. If she lowered all of it, then others would immediately suspect that he was hiding someone. But when it was half opened, it would instead look more natural.

    Zu An already suspected that Yun Jianyue was hiding behind the half curtains that were lowered.

    He quickly poured a cup of tea for Zhuxie Chixin. ¡°Chiefmander, please.¡±

    He said this while naturally standing between the bed and Zhuxie Chixin to block his line of sight.

    ¡°You should sit down as well. There is no need to be so polite.¡± Zhuxie Chixin picked up the teacup and sipped on it before lowering it again.

    Zu An felt his heart go thud. This man was clearly not here just for some tea.

    Zhuxie Chixin was about to say something, but he hesitated. He was clearly trying to sort out his words. Suddenly, he sniffed. ¡°Hm? Why does it smell like a woman here?¡±

    Zu An felt like his scalp was going to explode when he heard what he said. When he saw the other party start to look around, he had no idea how his mind moved so fast, but he quickly said, ¡°It might be because I held the crown princess earlier when I saved her back at the eastern pce. I ended up with a bit of her fragrance.¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin frowned. ¡°But this doesn¡¯t seem like the crown princess¡¯ smell.¡±

    Zu An cursed. Everyone knows that women are more sensitive to the smells of other women, but why the hell is a big fe like you this way too?!

    He tried to remedy the situation. ¡°I stayed some time in the Pce of Peace as well, and I saved the empress as well. It might be a mixture of several smells.

    Zhuxie Chixin nodded and epted this exnation. He also knew that the empress liked to mix all types of well known scents. It was indeed hard to differentiate the smells once they were mixed.

    Zu An was worried that he would keep asking questions, so he took the initiative to say, ¡°Chiefmander seems to be quite familiar with the crown princess¡¯ smell.¡±

    ¡°Those in our trade are naturally a bit more sensitive to smells.¡± Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s face went rigid. He quickly said with a lowered voice, ¡°You cannot tell this to other people. You¡¯re going to make me lose my life with those questions.¡±

    Zu An said with an awkwardugh, ¡°Chiefmander, that¡¯s definitely not my intention.¡±

    Zu An immediately felt better when he saw how frightened Zhuxie Chixin became. You were the one who was scaring me all this time. I should have a turn too, right?

    Zhuxie Chixin harrumphed. ¡°You¡¯re quite the lucky fe. You managed to save both the empress and crown princess today. Your prospects seem to be bright.¡±

    Zu An said with a bitter smile. ¡°Please don¡¯t mention this anymore, I almost lost my head over the matter.¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin was stunned. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°I was held back by his majesty because he heard that I touched the crown princess. He wanted me to cut off my own arm¡­¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin had a weird look on his face. ¡°You should be content with your situation. The fact that you are still fine is already because of his majesty¡¯s grace.¡±

    ¡°If only it was that easy. His majesty wanted me to make up for my sins through contributions. If I cannotplete my investigation, then I¡¯m probably still dead.¡± Zu An deliberately shifted the topic in this direction.

    ¡°Oh? Contributions to make up for your crimes?¡± Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s expression changed slightly.

 Chapter 623: Blood Moon Rises, Hell is Unleashed

    <h4>Chapter 623: Blood Moon Rises, Hell is Unleashed</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An secretly snickered at how Zhuxie Chixin seemed too embarrassed to ask his question. His own initial panic had already subsided.

    Zhuxie Chixin had clearly been lying when he said he was just passing by. He had a specific objective in mind. His hesitancy, and the strange look that he had given Zu An before leaving the imperial study, led him to believe that these two were rted.

    Therefore, he spoke first. ¡°His Majesty was extremely angry at the way the assassins managed to storm the imperial pce. He also found it exceedingly strange that they had found the perfect time to attack, just when he happened to be away.¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin came to a sudden realization. ¡°This matter is strange indeed,¡± he continued, following Zu An¡¯s lead. ¡°Only a small handful of people would have known that the emperor was not in the pce.¡±

    Zu An sighed. ¡°That¡¯s why His Majesty instructed me to find out who leaked out this information.¡±

    Even though Zhuxie Chixin had surmised as much, his expression still flickered slightly. The fact that the emperor didn¡¯t order him and his subordinates to investigate this matter meant that he already suspected him.

    Even though he knew that his master was a suspicious man, finding out that he was now the target of that suspicion made him question his loyalty just a little.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°I¡¯m one of the suspects as well. Since you¡¯re telling me this, I¡¯m assuming that you aren¡¯t afraid that I could be one of them?¡± Zhuxie Chixin looked at his new subordinate with amusement. He admired how calm this fellow had been on their way to the capital, and what transpiredter on had left him even more amazed. That was why he hadn¡¯t had the slightest objection when he heard that the emperor was going to make him a golden-token envoy.

    Zu An forced a smile. ¡°Your devotion to His Majesty is known by all those under the heavens. Furthermore, Chief Commander, you took good care of me on the way to the capital, so I obviously understand your moral character. Why would you ever secretly collude with assassins?¡±

    Yun Jianyue, who was hiding behind the curtains, rolled her eyes. This fellow really was a bootlicker. Just listening to him made her cringe.

    Even though he knew that Zu An was just paying him lip service, it was still music to Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s ears. ¡°Indeed, I have a clear conscience. I am sincerely grateful to have the trust of a fellow brother.¡±

    At the same time, he sighed inside. Even this Zu An, whom he had only known a short time, trusted him. And yet, the emperor, to whom he had remained loyal to for so long, already suspected him.

    Zu An was pleasantly surprised. ttery really was a powerful tool after all! This guy had called him Eleven a moment ago, yet he now even called him brother.

    He definitely had to cling onto such a powerful fellow! His words may have been seen as ttery, but they were also sincere.

    The emperor clearly wants us to keep each other in check, but I¡¯m not someone who has blind faith. Why would I devote myself to someone who might kill me on a whim?

    We should all gang up¡­ Ahem, I mean, let¡¯s all just get along. The most important thing in life is happiness.

    That was why he didn¡¯t hesitate to tell Zhuxie Chixin about the emperor¡¯s task. Whether or not this man leaked out the information was of no consequence. The most important thing was to draw them closer together.

    If he really was with the Devil Sect, they would be on the same side anyway.

    Of course, there was no way he would tell any of the others this. He wasn¡¯t friends with any of them, nor did he understand their character. It would be too risky to speak about such intimate things with absolute strangers.

    He coughed and said, ¡°Big brother, you¡¯re too polite. I actually wanted your opinion on how to handle this case. You are the professional, after all.¡±

    Yun Jianyue had a strange expression on her face. This guy really is way too casual with his own life. He even called Zhuxie Chixin ¡®big brother¡¯! He¡¯s probably the only person in this entire world who dares to call Zhuxie Chixin that. [1]

    Was Honglei fooled by this fellow¡¯s skin, which is thicker than a damned city wall?

    Zhuxie Chixin tapped his fingers lightly on the table. He was clearly turning something over in his mind. To Zu An¡¯s request, he replied, ¡°Since His Majesty put you in charge of this investigation, he clearly doesn¡¯t wish for me to interfere. I have a certain way of doing things that might not be beneficial to you, as His Majesty will undoubtedly find out. Carry out your investigation boldly, and without fear. Let me know in the future if you need any help.¡±

    When he didn¡¯t call him ¡®brother¡¯ this time, Zu An knew that the other party had only forgotten himself briefly earlier on. Growing a friendship was a long process after all¡­ I suppose I have to find a chance to invite him to a brothel in the future. As the proverbs say, men should jump, fight together, flee together, and¡­

    But this guy¡¯s face is so white and pale. What if there¡¯s something wrong with him down there¡­ I¡¯d only be shooting myself in the foot.

    Zhuxie Chixin sighed. ¡°I¡¯ve spoken too seriously. We¡¯rerades, after all. It¡¯s only natural that we help each other out. You find your task a pain, but I have a huge headache as well. His Majesty wants me to find out where that female assassin is, yet I don¡¯t have the slightest clue. That woman seemed to have vanished into thin air.¡±

    He was despondent over all that had happened so far that day, which was why he was conversing so freely with Zu An. He would never usually do such a thing.

    A thought came to Zu An. ¡°Did you say that the long-haired woman¡¯s name was Yun Jianyue earlier, and that she was the Devil Sect¡¯s sect master?¡±

    ¡°Indeed.¡± Zhuxie Chixin nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve been so proud of my own cultivation all these years, believing that, aside from His Majesty himself, no one was my equal. I looked down on everyone, yet I actually ended up being defeated by a woman.¡±

    Zu An was quick to console him. ¡°There¡¯s no need to feel so dejected, big brother. She¡¯s the sect master of the Devil Sect,, after all, and might have lived several decades longer than you. There¡¯s nothing wrong with losing to an old hag.¡±

    Behind the curtain, Yun Jianyue raised her eyebrows. Her expression was slightly strange.

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for 333 Rage points!

    This guy is a scoundrel! Even though she had already tempered her mind over the years, she still erupted in anger.

    Zhuxie Chixin gave him a puzzled look. ¡°Old hag? No one knows the Devil Sect¡¯s master¡¯s true age, but she has to be younger than me, so how could she be an old hag? If she really was older than me, I wouldn¡¯t feel so bad being defeated by her.¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s lips curled upwards. She was much more satisfied with Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s words.

    Zu An sighed with relief when he learned that she wasn¡¯t an old hag. That¡¯s good, that¡¯s good.

    However, he didn¡¯t give up this perfect opportunity to gather information. ¡°By the way, you mentioned that she was seriously injured. Will her lovere looking for vengeance? Big brother, you cannot lower your guard when you capture her.¡±

    Lover? Yun Jianyue felt her hands itching. She was definitely going to give this fellow a good beating once she recovered.

    A faint smile appeared on Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s otherwise-serious face. ¡°How could such a ferocious woman have a lover? Which man in the world would dare take her as his lover?¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s breathing hastened, causing her ample chest to wobble. If not for her ability to maintain her Mirror Mirage perfectly, she might have already been noticed by Zhuxie Chixin.

    He spoke well earlier on, but he¡¯s the same type of fellow as Zu An!

    Zu An resisted his urge to turn around. ¡°If Yun Jianyue heard you ndering her behind her back like this, she might just twist your head off.¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin harrumphed. ¡°Even though I am indeed slightly weaker than her, it won¡¯t be easy for her to defeat me. Besides, His Majesty himself had dealt her an injury. Who cares if she hears this?¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s face remained expressionless. She wasn¡¯t the type to act rashly upon her emotions. She wouldn¡¯t fight him to the death in her current situation.

    Hmph, I¡¯ll remember this debt.

    Zu An resisted the urge tough. ¡°Is she really that fierce? She seemed rather gentle and refined when she was in the eastern pce earlier. Even when she was masked, I could sense that she was a great beauty. Hmm¡­ Her figure seemed pretty good as well.¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin frowned. ¡°It¡¯s all right to say such things in private, but you can never utter them in public. If either the Devil Sect or the imperial court finds out, you¡¯ll definitely suffer for it.¡±

    He got up and walked over to the window, looking off into the western horizon. ¡°You might not know about the terror that is Yun Jianyue because you¡¯re too young. Back in the day, the Devil Sect was under attack on all fronts. The previous sect master was killed by His Majesty, leaving the Devil Sect leaderless. There were many factions in the Devil Sect, and none of their leaders were willing to bow down to another. This resulted in a bloody power struggle to determine who would assume the role of sect master.

    ¡°It was then-Lady Saint, Yun Jianyue, who emerged victorious, quickly subduing the other factions. She wiped out all those who were not loyal to her. The imperial court was overjoyed by this oue. We assumed that this prolonged internal strife would wipe out a lot of powerful experts, and that they would be easily defeated. With Yun Jianyue inmand, however, the great army of the imperial court waspletely wiped out. That battle was a true bloodbath. Countless experts who had been dispatched by the imperial court perished at her hands, thus granting her the infamous reputation of a powerful devil.

    ¡°Your brief glimpse of her may have left you feeling that Yun Jianyue is a goddess, but the elders who had witnessed that battle all muttered the same words: ¡®Blood moon rises, hell is unleashed¡¯.¡±

    Zu An was rmed. Was that woman truly that terrifying?

    He had embraced her, and even teased her on asion. He¡¯d even enjoyed the feeling of her breasts. Wasn¡¯t he dead for sure?

    1. In Mandarin, ¡®big brother¡¯ is a semi-casual term used as an address towards a man older than you.

 Chapter 624: I Want You...

    <h4>Chapter 624: I Want You¡­</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The thought made Zu An swallow in fear. He had been courting death earlier on!

    Something else quickly crossed his mind. ¡°If she killed so many court experts, why didn¡¯t His Majesty intervene? Didn¡¯t you say that the former Devil Sect sect master had been killed by His Majesty?¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin exined, ¡°That woman was too crafty. She made her move as soon as His Majesty left for the capital. Whenever the forces of the imperial court were greater than what she could handle, she would vanish, along with her subordinates. Only when the imperial court¡¯s forces were weakened would she suddenly appear like a ghost and wipe those men out. After several such defeats, the imperial court decided to withdraw its forces temporarily.¡±

    Zu An was incredibly shaken. Yun Jianyue was an expert at gueri warfare! However, he didn¡¯t understand the decision of the imperial court. ¡°They withdrew? The court actually gave up?¡±

    After all, most of the experts in the world had been roped in by the imperial court. He really couldn¡¯t figure out why they would give up, considering their strength.

    Zhuxie Chixin lowered his voice and said, ¡°Humans once waged war against the fiend races. Even though His Majesty killed the Fiend Emperor, he was badly wounded by his adversary before his death. His Majesty finally managed to stabilize his condition, but his injuries red up again after he killed the Devil Sect Master. His Majesty was focused on his own recovery, and did not pay the Devil Sect as much attention. No one else in the imperial court is a match for Yun Jianyue. Furthermore, under her leadership, the Devil Sect did not attack us for no reason. As such, both sides tacitly decided to live in harmony.¡±

    Zu An now understood why so many rtives of the emperor and empress were out causing trouble. It wasn¡¯t just because the emperor didn¡¯t have much time left. Rather, it was because his foundation had been severely damaged in the past.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Despite this, he could tell that the emperor really was a formidable person. He had managed to kill the sect master of the Devil Sect even with the damage to his foundation, and easily defeated Yun Jianyue as well.

    ¡°All right. I need to continue searching for Yun Jianyue.¡± Zhuxie Chixin hade to enquire about Zu An¡¯s task. He hadn¡¯t expected the other party to be so cooperative, and he was rather satisfied with the oue.

    Zu An rose as well, and saw him out. As he was leaving, Zu An even waved at him. ¡°Big brother, I wish you luck in capturing that female devil!¡±

    When Zhuxie Chixin had left and Zu An closed the door again, Yun Jianyue was already sitting on the bed. She gave him a look of disdain. ¡°Bootlicker.¡±

    ¡°What do you know? This is called worldly wisdom, okay? It¡¯s not as though I¡¯ll lose anything by offering him some kind words. It even helps to foster our rtionship. Everyone is happy.¡± Zu An was obviously upset by her usation.

    ¡°You only have to resort to such tricks because you¡¯re too weak,¡± Yun Jianyue said indifferently. ¡°Once you¡¯re strong enough, there¡¯s no reason to curry favor with anyone, especially if you could solve your problem easily by killing them.¡±

    Zu An rolled his eyes. ¡°Then why don¡¯t you pay the emperor a visit and give that a try?¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s breath caught in her throat.

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for 111 Rage points!

    Doesn¡¯t this guy know how to have a proper conversation?!

    Zu An grabbed a chair and sat in front of her, looking at her curiously. ¡°Are you really a devil, like what he said?¡±

    Yun Jianyue wasn¡¯t used to someone being that close to her. She could almost feel him breathing. She subconsciously leaned backwards to put some distance between them. ¡°Of course. I even love to eat the brains of infants and the mention of my name keeps children in bed at night. That¡¯s why you¡¯d better not offend me.¡±

    Zu An looked her up and down. He really found it hard to associate this beautiful and graceful woman with the viinous woman Zhuxie Chixin had described.

    Sigh, why do you always judge people by appearances, Zu An? You¡¯re disgusting!

    He scolded himself, then said, ¡°So what should I do with you, now that I know this? Since you¡¯re a devil who kills without batting an eyelid, you¡¯ll get even with me once you recover. I won¡¯t be able to defeat you when that happens. In that case, I might as well leverage my current advantage and kill you first.¡±

    He deliberately put on a ferocious expression as he said this.

    Yun Jianyue sat there, unmoving. Her expression did not change at all. She looked calmly at him as though he was an idiot.

    Seriously?

    ¡°Sis, can you y along? I¡¯m obviously trying my hardest to act tough. Are you really not afraid?¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t show any killing intent,¡± replied Yun Jianyue indifferently.

    Zu An was taken aback. He quickly realized that, at her level, she could keenly sense the invisible killing intent. It didn¡¯t matter how vicious he looked on the outside.

    He quickly lost interest in this little game. The little tricks that he used to deceive fair young maidens were useless against such an imperious woman.

    He took out a pill and tossed it to her. ¡°This is a Soul Return Pill. It¡¯s pretty effective at treating all sorts of injuries. Take it.¡±

    Yun Jianyue looked at him. ¡°Is this medicine created by Brightmoon City¡¯s Divine Physician Ji?¡±

    It was his turn to be surprised. ¡°You know him?¡±

    How did that rascal Ji Dengtu know so many beautiful women?

    Why the hell is he still pestering me everyday, then?

    Sigh, I wonder how Xiaoxi is doing. I kinda miss that adorable little one. I really want to give her soft cheeks a kiss¡­

    Yun Jianyue replied, ¡°I¡¯ve merely heard about him. Honglei spent some time undercover in Brightmoon City, and sent back some information about him. You should hold onto this medicine. It¡¯s useless to me.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Zu An felt a sudden urge to stand up for Ji Dengtu. ¡°Even though Divine Physician Ji¡¯s cultivation isn¡¯t as high as yours, his medical expertise is still exceptional. Why won¡¯t it work on you?¡±

    ¡°At my level, my body is much stronger than an ordinary cultivator¡¯s,¡± Yun Jianyue exined. ¡°Generally speaking, no wound that I suffer will be lethal. Even the most grievous wounds will slowly heal on their own.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression grew strange. He seemed to have returned to a time when he had just crossed over. Given Yun Jianyue¡¯s cultivation, her body had already been tempered to a level beyond that of any human.

    Let¡¯s put it this way. Even if shey down and let you have your way with her, you would be powerless to put it in unless your cultivation was close to hers.

    Even if she controlled her body to somehow guide you inside, just a moment of lost concentration would be enough to snap you in half.

    Even if you somehow render her unconscious so that she couldn¡¯t move, a stray moment of arousal, a slight squeeze, and that would be the end of your little one¡­

    The men of this world live truly miserable lives. No wonder so many of them are trying so desperately to increase their cultivation.

    Yun Jianyue frowned. ¡°What are you thinking about?¡±

    She could subconsciously sense that this fellow¡¯s mind was going astray.

    ¡°Nothing.¡± Guiltily, Zu An changed the topic. ¡°Why do you seem so terribly injured, then?¡±

    Yun Jianyue replied, ¡°My battle against the emperor was on the soul level. It¡¯s my soul that¡¯s been wounded. Unless you have a pill that nourishes the soul, all other medicines are useless.¡±

    ¡°Which medicines can nourish the soul?¡± Zu An asked curiously. ¡°I have quite a few pills on me.¡±

    He had pills from Ji Dengtu, and other pills he had collected along the way. All together, he really did have quite a lot of medicine on him.

    Yun Jianyue gave him an indifferent look. She didn¡¯t think he held much promise, but she still replied, ¡°Scarletme Dew, Greendevil Jade, Spiritheaven Lotus, Vajra Darkfruit, Whitecloud Dew, Skyvenom Orchid, Five Aggregates Root¡­ these will all do. Do you have any of them?¡±

    Zu An stared nkly at her.

    I¡¯ve never even heard of any of that sh*t.

    Zu An remained silent. He really didn¡¯t have any of that on him. Even though he had Faith In Brother Spring, it was only a small bottle. He didn¡¯t think it would work on a grandmaster. Even if he was going to use it, why would he waste his most expensive stuff on her? They weren¡¯t even close.

    Yun Jianyue smiled slightly, leaning against the bed and closing her eyes to rest.

    Her obvious contempt left Zu An feeling sour. ¡°What if I find any of these for you? How would you repay me then?¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s eyes flew open. ¡°You have these herbs?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not important right now. If I get them for you, how would you repay me?¡± Zu An asked with an angry snort.

    ¡°What do you want?¡± asked Yun Jianyue, a thoughtful smile on her lips.

    Zu An examined her beautiful cheeks closely and slowly said, ¡°I want you¡­¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s brows climbed upwards, and her expression immediately grew extremely dangerous.

    ¡°I want your disciple, Honglei,¡± Zu An finished.

    Yun Jianyue stared at him, speechless.

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for 444 Rage points!

 Chapter 625: Different Means, Same Result

    <h4>Chapter 625: Different Means, Same Result</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Of course, she knew that he was deliberately teasing her. She said coldly, ¡°Honglei isn¡¯t my private property. I cannot use her in a transaction.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not asking you to give her to me like that, I just don¡¯t want you to stop us from getting together.¡± There were so many shows where annoying n leaders would get in the way of male and female leads. He didn¡¯t want to go through the same thing.

    Yun Jianyue was now really shocked. ¡°Your rtionship has already reached that level?¡±

    She was shocked. Looks like she didn¡¯t pay enough attention to her disciple recently. She didn¡¯t expect her to have already liked a man without her notice!

    Zu An stuck out his chest. ¡°A man like me who is suave, valiant, confident, distinguished, aplished... a man among men, what¡¯s so wrong about her liking someone like that?¡±

    Yun Jianyue was speechless when she heard the string of adjectives.

    She really wanted to pick up the pillow next to her and plug up his mouth. This guy is just too shameless!

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +555 +555 +555...

    Yun Jianyue took a deep breath to calm herself down. ¡°I won¡¯t interfere with the two of you, but you must promise me that you won¡¯t ruin Honglei¡¯s purity.¡±

    Zu An: ¡°???¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re harmonious lovers. What do you mean ruin her purity?¡±

    Yun Jianyue sneered. ¡°No matter how glib your tongue is, you still cannot change the fate that entangles her.¡±

    Zu An: ¡°......¡±

    Yun Jianyue continued, ¡°Honglei¡¯s cultivation method is special. She cannot lose her virginity before she reaches a high level of cultivation, or else her dao will be ruined and she will even suffer a bacsh. She will be a ve to her desires.¡±

    Zu An immediately became upset. ¡°What kind of stupid technique is that? How can this world have such a ridiculous method?¡±

    Yun Jianyue gave him an indifferent look. ¡°Why can¡¯t there be? Isn¡¯t this the technique I cultivate?¡±

    Zu An gave her a stupefied look. So that¡¯s the reason why you¡¯re still unmarried...

    Yun Jianye wasn¡¯t all that embarrassed and began to exin, ¡°The method we cultivate is called ¡®Heavenly Devil¡¯s Temptation¡¯. You can probably tell from the name that this is a technique full of charm and allure. You¡¯ve been around Honglei for a while already, so I believe you understand this.¡±

    Zu An nodded. He was indeed stunned by Qiu Honglei when he met her. His first reaction was that he wanted to take her to bed. He wasn¡¯t someone who didn¡¯t have beauties around him after all and was good at retaining hisposure. The other men in Immortal Abode werepletely enchanted.

    Yun Jianyue continued, ¡°Once she reaches a higher level of cultivation, she will be destroyed by her own desires. If she can remain clear-headed throughout the entire process, then she can reach the highest level of Heavenly Devil¡¯s Temptation. If she fails before then, not only will her cultivation regress significantly, she will suffer a severe rebound and go crazy whenever she sees another man. Since the two of you are already a couple, I do not believe you would wish to see that happen.¡±

    Zu An remained silent for a moment. He didn¡¯t wish to see Qiu Honglei be this way!

    But he became more and more upset the more he thought about it. ¡°What kind of dogshit technique is this? Aren¡¯t you all the Devil Sect? It¡¯s the freaking Devil Sect, yet you guys care so much about preserving chastity like those orthodox sects. Isn¡¯t the flirtatious and seductive style more fitting?¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression was cold. ¡°We are the Holy Sect. Our sect''s mission is to bring up everyone and make them equally strong. Devil Sect is a name the court deliberately gave us to nder us.

    Zu An didn¡¯t feel like arguing with her over this. ¡°Fine, fine, fine, we¡¯ll call it the Holy Sect if you want. Then couldn¡¯t Honglei choose to not cultivate your stupid technique? I¡¯ll give her something else aspensation.¡±

    He had quite a few techniques on him. He was sure he could find something suitable for her.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Are you perhaps saying you¡¯ll give her the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra?¡±

    The Devil Sect sent quite a few people to capture him along the way. All of that was for the sake of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra.

    Zu An was about to exin that the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra¡¯s cultivation requirements weren¡¯t suitable for her, but then again there was no need to exin anything. Either way, he had other methods. ¡°So what?¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression immediately became brilliant. After thinking for a while, she said, ¡°You really go all out in chasing after girls, huh? No wonder even Honglei was moved by you.¡±

    If she knew it was going to be like this, she wouldn¡¯t have gone through all the trouble. She would¡¯ve just sent Honglei.

    When he heard her sigh, Zu An thought to himself, if I can get both of you in a package deal, then it¡¯s not just the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, I¡¯ll be willing to give you even more! Of course, there was no way he would ever say that out loud.

    Yun Jianyue then asked, ¡°Can the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra really grant immortality?¡±

    ¡°Hold on, wait, wait, wait, you¡¯ve already scammed quite a bit of information from me. Are you really going to keep going if I don¡¯t stop you?¡± Zu An snorted, but he still replied, ¡°The Phoenix Nirvana Sutra¡¯ immortality is merely a fanciful ideal. It cannot be implemented in reality.¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s brows were about to raise again, but she sighed when she heard what he said. ¡°That¡¯s good then, that¡¯s good.¡±

    As long as the emperor couldn¡¯t obtain immortality, then everything else wasn¡¯t an issue.

    She didn¡¯t suspect Zu An of deceiving her. She already deduced that there was no way the emperor would let Zu An go if the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra could really grant immortality.

    She thus continued, ¡°I will thank you in Honglei¡¯s ce ahead of time. Unfortunately, the Heavenly Devil¡¯s Temptation is rather special. Once cultivated, it cannot be stopped unless one reaches my level.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t your technique a scam then?¡± Zu An stormed over angrily. He suddenly thought of something and asked, ¡°How old are you?¡±

    Yun Jianyue raised her brows. ¡°Are you tired of living?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s mind jumped. Even though the other party was seriously injured, the pressure he felt still left him stunned. He now knew that since he showed her mercy by the rock garden, he would never have another chance to win against her again.

    Thus, he quickly said, ¡°It¡¯s not that I want to know your age, I just want to know how many years it¡¯ll take for Honglei to reach your level. I need to know that at least, right?¡±

    Yun Jianyue harrumphed. ¡°If you really love her, then who cares how long it will take? If you cannot wait that long, then that means you never loved her. This is a good thing for her as well.¡±

    Zu An gave her a look full of pity. ¡°You¡¯ve never fallen in love before, right?¡±

    Yun Jianyue erupted with fury at once. ¡°Are you courting death?¡±

    Zu An wrinkled his nose and said, ¡°Only someone who never dated would use such childish tactics. Things like feelings... they often crumble before the face of testing.¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s face heated up. She indeed didn¡¯t have much experience in this field, but there was no way she would admit that. ¡°Hmph! I¡¯ve walked on more bridges than you¡¯ve walked roads. Do you really think you understand anything better than me?¡±

    Zu An knew that she was starting to feel embarrassed, so he didn¡¯t tease her anymore. ¡°Alright, remember your promise. I¡¯ll find your medicine, and you¡¯ll agree to our rtionship.¡±

    Yun Jianyue frowned. ¡°Where are you going to look?¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°The imperial hospital of course. There are so many renowned physicians and expensive medicines. Who knows, your stuff might be there.¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s eyes lit up. Even though this fe spoke a lot of nonsense, he really hit the nail on the head this time. This might really work.

    ¡°You should just stay here and not wander around. Wait for me toe back.¡± Zu An was worried and warned again.

    ¡°Okay.¡± Yun Jianyue subconsciously replied, but she frowned soon afterwards. Why did she feel like a young married woman waiting for her husband to return?

    She shook her head and quickly tossed out this thought.

    Zu An cursed the entire way to the hospital. I¡¯m probably the only decent man out there. If any other dude encountered a stunning goddess who hit rock bottom, they would definitely use the chance to go crazy on her!

    ...

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Meanwhile, the bearded left guard general had just left the Pce of Peace. The subordinate waiting outside said, ¡°General, is there any new information?¡±

    Cheng Xiong¡¯s face was overcast. ¡°It was too messy back then and the empress was quite frightened. She cannot remember the details too clearly. It looks like we have to go through other means.¡±

    His subordinates were all horrified. The emperor flew into a terrible rage this time and put them in charge of looking into the empress¡¯ assassination.

    However, it was this ce that experienced danger first. By the time the eastern pce was also in chaos, the assassins on this side already all ran away, while those who weren¡¯t able to get away ended their own lives. They couldn¡¯t find a single person to interrogate.

    While he was at his wits end, Cheng Xiong suddenly said, ¡°We¡¯ll pay the imperial hospital a visit. If there are still assassins in the pce, then they will need medicine for treatment. They might target the hospital.¡±

    The others were all overjoyed. ¡°Our general is wise!¡±

 Chapter 626: Rejection

    <h4>Chapter 626: Rejection</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The imperial hospital was within sight. Zu An didn¡¯t expect himself to be back so soon.

    When he entered, he subconsciously gave the room Shi Kun was in a look. However, there was no one there now. The Shi n most likely brought him back.

    ¡°I wonder if they managed to piece together his thing after it exploded. Otherwise, he¡¯ll have to be buried without aplete body.¡± Zu An thought without any ill intentions.

    He could hear groans from time to timeing from soldiers covered in blood. Hospital staff were busy applying medicine and wrapping up their injuries.

    Zu An sighed. Both the Devil Sect and imperial pce suffered severe casualties this time.

    Of course, sympathy was just sympathy. If the people he cared about really were in danger, he still wouldn¡¯t show any mercy.

    Suddenly, he heard a bunch of voices. There was a group of people surrounding a single individual. ¡°When the assassins charged into the eastern pce back then, they killed whoever was in sight! Those fes were all powerful experts, so the eastern pce guards¡¯ casualties instantly climbed over half.¡±

    ¡°When we withdrew into the pce, we wanted to borrow the eastern pce¡¯s defense formation to hold them off, but the enemy was already prepared for that! They had some kind of artifact that disrupted the pce¡¯s formation. Then, the one in the lead smashed the formation to pieces with a single strike.¡±

    Zu An gave them a look. The one in the middle had dark circles around his eyes like the administrative masters of his past world.

    He nodded inwardly. The ce he lived in had a defensive formation, so why wouldn¡¯t the eastern pce have one? But Yun Jianyue was definitely prepared. If they dared to even invade the eastern pce, then the formation shouldn¡¯t be an issue.

    The other guards all gasped. ¡°Then what did you all do?¡±

    The guard with the dark circles said with a smile, ¡°Fortunately, the crown prince¡¯s lesser tutor rushed over in time and stopped the enemy leader. However, those assassins continued to charge at the crown prince. When I saw that everyone was in fear, my body acted before my mind could process what was happening. I roared and charged with a de in hand, ughtering from the pce entrance into the courtyard, and then all the way back. I charged and returned three times, leaving behind the corpses of assassins everywhere in my wake. My eyes didn¡¯t even blink once during the entire thing.¡±

    A tall and skinny guard next to him sneered. ¡°You didn¡¯t blink once for that long?¡±

    ¡°Of course not! There were enemies everywhere. I couldn¡¯t afford to be distracted at all.¡± The guard with the ck circles stuck out his chest. He felt absolutely amazing when he saw the looks of admiration all around him.

    The tall and skinny guard spoke up again. ¡°Won¡¯t your eyes dry out if you don¡¯t blink?¡±

    The guard with the ck circles stopped smiling. ¡°I¡¯m talking about how I charged in three times and killed so many assassins. Why do you care if my eyes are dry or not?¡±

    ¡°What I am concerned about is actually the same thing.¡± The tall and skinny guard said, ¡°Did you charge in three times or did you run back three times?¡±

    The guard with the dark circles harrumphed. ¡°Of course I charged in and came back three times!¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°You said that you killed assassins until there were corpses everywhere. How many assassins did you really kill?¡±

    ¡°How could I count them all during such a dangerous time?¡±

    ¡°I counted them. Back then, you killed three assassins and wounded four.¡±

    The surrounding guards became quiet. The story sounded pretty badass at first, but this was all?

    Even though they knew that with so many assassins as enemies and how outnumbered they were, these achievements were already extremely impressive, they still couldn¡¯t help butugh in ridicule. After all, this fe went a bit too far with his bragging.

    The guard with the dark circles around his eyes said angrily, ¡°Jiao Sigun, are you really going to do this to me right now? How many did you kill then?¡±

    The guard who was tall and skinny like a pole seemed to have been waiting for this question. He raised his hand and said with a smug tone, ¡°Nothing special. I just happened to have killed one more than you.¡±

    The guard with the ck circles around his eyes: ¡°......¡±

    The surrounding guards tactfully began to praise that tall and skinny guard.

    The guard with the ck circles around his eyes was upset that he had his spotlight stolen by hispanion. ¡°But in the end, none of us are anything special. The one we should be most grateful to is Sir Eleven.¡±

    ¡°Who is Sir Eleven?¡± Those guards were confused. They had never heard this nickname before.

    Zu An was about to seek out the physician further inside. However, he couldn¡¯t help but stop when he heard this. Sigh, why are humans so vain?

    The guard with the ck rings around his eyes said, ¡°Golden token envoy Sir Eleven of course.¡±

    ¡°Nonsense, there are only ten golden token envoys.¡± One of the guards retorted.

    ¡°We thought that there were only ten as well, but we learned that there were eleven today.¡± The guard with the dark circles around his eyes said, ¡°We were heavily outnumbered, and even the crown princess had to join the fight. When the crown princess was in danger, Sir Eleven appeared and carried... Cough cough... He raised his de and cut down several high level assassins.¡±

    Even though he was talking casually right now, he knew that the matters of carrying the crown princess was taboo. He didn¡¯t dare publicly announce this.

    The tall and skinnypanion corrected, ¡°Strictly speaking, Sir Eleven didn¡¯t kill those assassins but merely defeated them with a single move. He didn¡¯t kill them at all.¡±

    ¡°Why do you keep correcting me?!¡± The guard with the dark circles around his eyes said angrily. ¡°If you keep shooting off that mouth, I won¡¯t y dice with you anymore in the future!¡±

    ¡°Oh...¡± The tall and skinny guard thus finally closed his mouth.

    The guard with the dark circles around his eyes continued, ¡°Either way, once Sir Eleven arrived, the pressure decreased a lot for all of us. He protected the crown prince and princess with a sword in hand, putting fear in the hearts of all enemies with his might. Countless assassins charged at him, yet none of them could do anything to him.¡±

    His boasting earlier was exposed, so he could only brag about Sir Eleven to satisfy his vanity. He felt extremely satisfied again when he saw the sparkling eyes around him.

    The tall and skinnypanion¡¯s expression immediately became conflicted. He wanted to say something several times, but stopped himself each time. In the end, he still had to correct, ¡°Sir Eleven didn¡¯t use a sword...¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± The guard with the dark circles was about to fight this guy to the death when one of the guards said out of curiosity, ¡°But I heard that a grandmaster appeared on the assassins¡¯ side! Could it be that Sir Eleven can defeat even a grandmaster?¡±

    The guard with the dark circles exined, ¡°Sir Eleven isn¡¯t a grandmaster, but not even the full powered flying sword attack of that grandmaster could hurt Sir Eleven. That sword¡¯s power was something everyone in the eastern pce saw. You all can make fun of me if you want, but that sword¡¯s aura was so terrifying I almost shat my pants!¡±

    ¡°The full powered attack of a grandmaster is something not even a ninth ranked expert can handle...¡± The surrounding guards were all in disbelief. They turned to look at the tall and skinny man.

    This time, he didn¡¯t correct the dark circles guard and instead said, ¡°Sir Eleven indeed evaded that sword without suffering any damage.¡±

    The guards in the pce were all experts, so they naturally understood what this symbolized. All of them immediately felt great respect for this mysterious Sir Eleven.

    Zu An coughed at this time and said, ¡°Actually, I didn¡¯t make it out unscathed. I suffered considerable internal injuries from that grandmaster¡¯s attack. Look, am I not here for medicine?¡±

    He was wondering how he was going to get medicine. Fortunately, these guards brought him the perfect excuse.

    The group all turned their heads when they heard his voice.

    The guard with the dark circles and the skinny guard immediately recognized him. They were both incredibly moved. ¡°Sir Eleven!¡±

    The other guards all examined this golden token envoy. So this was that mysterious Sir Eleven? He was dressed in an Embroidered Envoy attire as expected.

    Seeing that the two guards were still wrapped up in gauze and clearly in bad shape, he quickly supported them to their feet. ¡°What are you two doing? Please rise.¡±

    The two guards were moved. ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for Sir Eleven, we brothers might not have been able to see today. How can we forget this life saving gratitude?¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t remember who they were, as the eastern pce was too chaotic back then. He did save some guards though, and he didn¡¯t expect these two to be two of them. ¡°You are too polite. What should I call you two?¡±

    He had his identity as the crown prince¡¯s secretary as well. It was absolutely vital that he got close to these guards.

    ¡°We don¡¯t dare treat you without courtesy! I am Piao Duandiao.¡± The guard with the dark circles said with a huge smile.

    ¡°I am Jiao Sigun.¡± The tall and skinny guard did his best to smile, but it was extremely awkward looking.

    Zu An had a strange expression. ¡°The ones who gave you your names are quite something.¡±[1]

    Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun hurriedly nodded. ¡°Haha, that¡¯s what we thought too.¡±

    The guards all surrounded him and asked about what happened during the battle. All of them looked at Zu An with eyes of adoration.

    Zu An felt like he was on cloud nine. This hospital is my freaking paradise! The people here are so nice.

    However, he didn¡¯t forget his objective. He deliberately coughed a few times and said, ¡°I have some injuries that need to be tended to, so I will get some medicine first.¡±

    Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun immediately volunteered to help. ¡°Sir Eleven, we¡¯ll help you find the hospital¡¯smissioner assistant.¡±

    They were imperial guards, so they woulde here from time to time, making them familiar with this ce.

    The head of the imperial hospital was the hospitalmissioner, but most of the hospital¡¯s matters were taken care of by the left and rightmissioner assistants. The one who was on duty today was the left assistant Ma An.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Zu An cupped his hands.

    ¡°Sir Eleven is too courteous.¡± Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun were actually incredibly happy. This Sir Eleven wasn¡¯t as cold and aloof as the other golden token envoys. Improving their rtionship with someone like him was definitely a good thing. They might even have him as a great patron in the future.

    Soon afterwards, they found themissioner assistant. This was an elder with a goatee. He gave Zu An a nce. ¡°May I ask where sir is injured?¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°I suffered a blow from that grandmaster earlier, and I feel as if my mind has be unsteady. I feel ufortable whenever I think too hard about something.¡±

    ¡°Oh my, your soul must¡¯ve been wounded. Let me think about which medicines can heal the soul...¡± Themissioner assistant stroked his beard. He rarely encountered these types of patients and was left momentarily puzzled.

    Zu An asked probingly, ¡°Do you have any Five Aggregates Root?¡±

    Themissioner assistant¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°This is indeed something that can cure the soul. There were two of them that were offered up a while ago from the western barbarians.¡±

    Zu An was overjoyed. He consulted with Yun Jianyue beforeing here. There were some medicines that were too precious, so not even the imperial hospital would have them. As such, they chose some medicines that had a higher chance of being here to ask about. He didn¡¯t expect to seed on the first try.

    But themissioner assistant said with a frown, ¡°But this item is extremely precious. It is something that is reserved for the empress or the prince, I fear that we cannot give it to sir.¡±

    1. Duan = break, diao = bird, duandiao sounds like broken off. Si = thread, gun = stick or rod

 Chapter 627: Love Over Friendship

    <h4>Chapter 627: Love Over Friendship</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun became nervous. ¡°Sir Eleven was wounded when he saved the crown prince and crown princess! Don¡¯t tell me that this is still not enough to obtain this type of medicine?¡±

    Themissioner assistant shook his head. His expression was one of ¡®this is official business¡¯. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, rules are rules. This medicine is only to be used for the royal family and cannot be used by anyone else.

    The two guards thus couldn¡¯t say much else. They were only two guards from the eastern pce and couldn¡¯t force themissioner assistant to do anything. Moreover, after staying in the pce for a long time, they also understood that the pce had some rules in ce.

    Zu An remained silent for a moment. He took out his golden token. ¡°His majesty sent me to investigate a case. If I am wounded, then I cannot carry out this task. Will you be able to shoulder the responsibility if it affects his majesty¡¯s orders?¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Thatmissioner assistant immediately revealed an unhappy expression. ¡°Sir Eleven, please do not try to threaten me with the emperor¡¯s orders. I am not trying to cheat you of anything. If youe with his majesty¡¯s decree or vocal approval, then I will immediately give you the medicine and not say another word.¡±

    You have trolled Ma An for +413 Rage points!

    Zu An was a bit gloomy. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve offended you before? Why are you hostile towards me?

    But Yun Jianyue¡¯s wounds might be increasingly problematic if he couldn¡¯t find some medicine here.

    Should I sneak in and steal it?

    No, that won¡¯t work. Forget about the attack making the security much tighhter, even if I did manage to steal the Five Aggregates Root, I¡¯ll end up drawing way too much suspicion.

    I¡¯ve just been rejected. If it was stolen so quickly afterwards, then it would be more strange if I wasn¡¯t suspected.

    While both sides were in conflict, there was a sweet fragrance that appeared. A pleasant sounding yet imposing voice sounded. ¡°I wonder if I have the right to request for this medicine?¡±

    Everyone turned around. They suddenly saw a group of eunuchs and maids surround a beautiful woman. Her fair skin formed a perfect contrast with the red beauty mark on her forehead. The golden ornaments she wore in her hair reflected the lights of the fires around them. She was dressed extravagantly. Anyone else would have a hard time pulling off this style as it easily made one seem too tacky, yet she didn¡¯t have this problem at all. It was as if this outfit was made for her.

    ¡°We greet the crown princess!¡± Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun immediately knelt down in greeting. Themissioner assistant named Ma An¡¯s previous arrogance immediately vanished.

    ¡°You all are wounded, there is no need for excessive formalities.¡± The crown princess reached out her hand and revealed a faint smile. The two guards immediately felt blessed to be in her presence.

    ¡°The crown princess cares about us after all!¡± The two guards were both incredibly moved. In reality, after all this time, the men of the eastern pce had more respect for the crown princess than the crown prince. After all, it really was quite hard for them to feel sincere respect for the crown prince with his normal behavior.

    What a pity! A goddess like the crown princess could only be married to this type of crown prince...

    The two guards immediately threw these thoughts out. These royal family matters weren¡¯t things two trifling guards like them couldment on.

    Zu An gave her a surprised look. He really didn¡¯t expect to encounter her here.

    However, when he saw the gifts in the hands of the euncuhs and maids around her, he realized that she probably came to express sympathy for the wounded guards.

    This woman is really good at getting other people to like her! Just look at how moved Piao Duandiao and the others are.

    The crown princess nodded in his direction when she saw his gaze. Then, she looked back at themissioner assistant. ¡°Sir Ma, I wish to use this Five Aggregates Root. Would that be appropriate?¡±

    Themissioner assistant hesitated for a moment. He could guess at why she wanted this medicine. However, he immediately smiled apologetically and said, ¡°What is the crown princess saying? If your distinguished self wants it, then of course it is okay. Men, bring out a Five Aggregates Root from the storage.¡±

    A medicine assistant quickly left and returned with a jade case. Themissioner assistant offered it respectfully to the crown princess. ¡°The Five Aggregates Root is extremely precious, so it is preserved in a jade case to prevent the medicinal effects from scattering. Furthermore, there is a special protective formation in ce around the case. The crown princess should use it quickly after its removal.¡±

    The crown princess smiled and said, ¡°Thank you, Sir Ma.¡±

    Zu An immediately felt annoyed. This old fart is incredibly arrogant to me, but he¡¯s a disgusting simp in front of the crown princess.

    It was actually more troublesome if the Five Aggregates Root ended up in the crown princess¡¯ hands. It might be easier to steal it from her, but her status was too sensitive. It was easy for any interaction with her to get out of hand.

    The crown princess then took the maids and eunuchs to visit the other wounded soldiers. There were immediately cheers. All of them were excited by the crown princess¡¯ soothing smile.

    Zu An sneered. This woman is so fierce inside the eastern pce, yet she treats outsiders so kindly. The crown prince really has some tough luck.

    But isn¡¯t she scared of the emperor¡¯s interference if she keeps roping people in?

    However, Zu An quickly recalled the crown prince¡¯s weak-minded appearance. Perhaps the emperor is actually hoping that this daughter-inw actually has some ability, as that would allow her to support the crown prince better in the future. In that case, he obviously wouldn¡¯t worry about these things.

    He shook his head and decided to leave this ce for now. He¡¯ll think of a solutionter.

    Not long after he walked out, there was suddenly a clear and melodious voice that called out. ¡°Sir Eleven, please wait a moment.¡±

    Zu An turned around to look at the beautiful woman behind him. ¡°Does the crown princess need this one for something?¡±

    He noticed that the crown prince¡¯s maids and eunuchs were currently giving the injured guards gifts. With her status as the crown princess, an appearance alone was already enough. There was no need for her to personally do these things, so she used this chance toe out.

    For some reason, he had a feeling that the crown princess¡¯ tone was a bit different from usual. She normally maintained a dignified and strict tone, and at times, she would give off a rather fierce feeling. However, her tone was gentle and sweet without a trace of anger.

    The crown princess stopped several feet from him and didn¡¯t get any closer. She understood the pce rules and maintained enough distance from other subjects. ¡°I am indebted to Sir Eleven for saving me... and the crown prince. I haven¡¯t had a chance to express my thanks yet.¡±

    ¡°The crown princess is too kind. That was just my duty.¡± Zu An calmly replied. It was all because he touched her that the emperor almost forced him to chop off his own arm, despite the fact that he saved so many people. He still had some lingering fears from that, so maintaining enough distance was best.

    ¡°Sir Eleven saved my... our lives. How can I not feel gratitude over this?¡± The crown princess¡¯ expression wasn¡¯t as serious as before. On the contrary, she was smiling like a cheerful youngdy. ¡°Oh, right. I heard your conversation just now. Were you injured by that assassin?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m alright, it won¡¯t be too much of a hindrance.¡± Zu An was a bit stunned when he saw her blossoming smile. Is this really still the same vicious crown princess he saw earlier?

    The crown princess gestured to the side, and then a maid arrived with a jade case. ¡°I heard that sir¡¯s soul was wounded, so I will bestow sir this Five Aggregates Root. How can we ignore such an injury after you saved both me and the crown prince?¡±

    She was the crown princess, so there were many pairs of eyes watching her every move. She obviously couldn¡¯t personally hand this to another man.

    Zu An didn¡¯t expect her to have asked for this Five Aggregates Root for his sake! He was immediately overjoyed at the turn of events and received the jade case. ¡°I am extremely grateful, crown princess.¡±

    The two exchanged a few more sentences, and then Zu An withdrew respectfully. It wasn¡¯t proper for the two of them to chat for too long with their statuses.

    The crown princess was in a bit of a daze while watching his retreating figure. No one knew what she was thinking.

    The maid next to her said with a quiet vice, ¡°We came to find medicine for Sister Rong Mo. What is Sister Rong Mo supposed to do if your respected self gives the Five Aggregates Root to him?¡¯

    The crown princess¡¯ smile froze. ¡°Ah! I forgot... Go, go, go, we need them to prescribe us some other medicine.¡±

    ...

    The Left Guard General Cheng Xiong arrived with his men not long after the crown princess¡¯ people left. He sought out themissioner assistant. ¡°What medicines did the imperial hospital lose today?¡±

 Chapter 628: Caught Like a Turtle in a Jar

    <h4>Chapter 628: Caught Like a Turtle in a Jar</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Themissioner assistant¡¯s expression changed and quickly said, ¡°Our imperial hospital prides itself in loyally carrying out our duty. How could we lose any medicines?¡±

    Cheng Xiong rolled his eyes inside when he heard this. These tactful phrases are useless, who knows how much your people stuffed your pockets?

    This was indeed the case for many government offices, with everyone turning a blind eye. But of course, he wasn¡¯t going to just expose them. ¡°Cough cough, Sir Ma must have misunderstood. The reason I am saying this is because the pce was attacked tonight, so even many of the guards were injured. As such, there were definitely many assassins who were injured. Those who did not escape mighte here for medicine to treat their injuries. That is why I wanted to try to investigate from this perspective. This way, if there were any assassins discovered to be in the pce, then your respected self would bepletely free from me.¡±

    ¡°The assassins today were truly vicious. Not even our many pce guards could stop them. That is why if they really did steal some medicine from the imperial hospital, it isn¡¯t your fault at all.¡± He added.

    Themissioner assistant said with a sigh, ¡°So that was what the general meant. General Cheng, please feel at ease. Our hospital will fully cooperate with your investigation.¡±

    After saying this, he called over some helpers to check on the storeroom¡¯s inventory. Cheng Xiong didn¡¯t send any men over because every government office has their own secrets. He didn¡¯te here to investigate the imperial hospital, so he wouldn¡¯t offend the officials here for no reason.

    Soon afterwards, someone returned and said, ¡°There are no medicines missing.¡±

    Cheng Xiong was shocked. ¡°You checked everything that quickly?¡±

    He was even starting to feel suspicious now. The investigation ended way too quickly! Was there really a huge deficit inside? He felt an urge to run in and check himself, because he had the pressing mission of capturing the assassins right now. After all, now that something so major happened in the imperial pce, as the Left Guard General, he had a lot of responsibility to shoulder. If he didn¡¯t find out any useful information soon, then his future might be done for.

    Themissioner assistant exined, ¡°Shi n¡¯s young master was wounded, and then there were a bunch of injured guards who came in afterwards. My staff were constantlying in and out of the storeroom. I would¡¯ve immediately noticed something if there really was something missing.¡±

    Cheng Xiong was relieved when he heard this. After thinking for a bit, he said, ¡°Who dropped by for medicine during this time? Do you have the records?¡±

    The assassins managed to break into the pce too easily, so he suspected that there were insiders inside the pce. These spies might have helped the assassins bring out some medicine.

    ¡°Of course there are records. These are the rules.¡± Themissioner assistant gestured with his hand, and then a thick book entered it. ¡°These are all of the medicines that have been given out from the imperial hospital during these past few days.¡±

    Cheng Xiong hurriedly flipped through it. However, he didn¡¯t see anything strange even after examining it for a long time.

    Suddenly, his eyesnded on a record. ¡°Huh? The crown princess requested a Five Aggregates Root?¡±

    ¡°Indeed. When the general came, the crown princess had just brought it away.¡± Themissioner assistant replied.

    Cheng Xiong grunted in acknowledgement and didn¡¯t treat this as a big deal. He could suspect anyone, but he wouldn¡¯t dare suspect the crown princess!

    Right at this time, themissioner assistant suddenly said, ¡°There is something quite strange. Golden token envoy Sir Eleven also asked for this type of medicine before the crown princess came.¡±

    ¡°Sir Eleven?¡± Cheng Xiong frowned. He remembered the one he saw in the imperial study. ¡°What does this medicine do?¡±

    Themissioner assistant said, ¡°It has amazing effects on nurturing the soul. At the same time, it can treat internal injuries. It is an incredible medicine that is hard toe by.¡±

    Cheng Xiong¡¯s expression changed. He remembered meeting him in the imperial study. Back then, his gait was steady and his breathing calm. He didn¡¯t seem wounded at all. What did he need this medicine for then?

    He suddenly thought of something else. When he was about to catch the female assassin, a mysterious person suddenly rushed out to save her. Even though mes covered almost everything back then, he was able to see a corner of that person¡¯s clothes.

    He didn¡¯t think much about this before, but now that he connected the dots, the clothing did seem a bit like an Embroidered Envoy uniform!

    He could no longer sit still. He got up and walked out while calling over his subordinates. ¡°We¡¯re leaving.¡±

    When he saw them leave energetically, the corners of thismissioner assistant¡¯s lips curled upwards. However, when he noticed that other physicians wereing, his expression immediately became serious again, recovering his usual calm.

    ...

    Meanwhile, after Zu An bid the crown princess farewell, he returned to his residence. When he opened the door, he discovered that there was no one inside. He immediately panicked. ¡°Big sis?¡±

    He didn¡¯t find a single person even after searching all day. There was only a lingering fragrance here.

    For some reason, he felt a bit dejected. He sat down and said gloomily, ¡°She didn¡¯t even leave a word before disappearing. She has no conscience at all!¡±

    ¡°Who are you saying has no conscience?¡± A teasing voice sounded from above him.

    Zu An raised his head with pleasant surprise. He saw that a beautiful woman was currently leaning against a beam, her long hair falling downwards. Her posture seemedfortable and carefree.

    He had to admit that this woman really was blessed by the heavens. Every little movement she made was stunning.

    ¡°Why did you go up there?¡± Zu An was gloomy. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you reply when I called out to you?¡±

    ¡°You brought back Zhuxie Chixin after leaving for just a short whilest time, who knows who you¡¯ll be bringing back this time? It¡¯s obvious I should be hiding myself.¡± Yun Jianyue jumped down from the beam, her movements light like a feather. ¡°As for why I didn¡¯t reply, I merely wanted to see your reaction.¡±

    ¡°Then was my reaction satisfactory, miss sect master?¡± Zu An harrumphed.

    Yun Jianyue smiled. ¡°My mood improved greatly when I saw tears almost appear in your eyes.¡±

    Zu An: ¡°......¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t your ego a bit too high? I would look for a kitten or puppy I raised if they suddenly went missing too, let alone a person.¡±

    It was now the time for Yun Jianyue¡¯s smile to freeze. A whileter, she harrumphed and said, ¡°Your mouth is pretty skilled.¡±

    ¡°Oh? How did you know?¡± Zu An widened his eyes.

    Yun Jianyue subconsciously took a step back. She just felt like his words were strange for some reason.

    ¡°Did you get the medicine?¡± She felt a bit ufortable and changed the topic.

    ¡°Yup. Five Aggregates Root. However, I don¡¯t want to give it to you anymore.¡± Zu An brought out the jade case and dangled it in front of her. Then, he returned it into his robes.

    Yun Jianyue gave him an impatient look. ¡°Has anyone ever told you that you really need a good spanking?¡±

    Zu An harrumphed. ¡°If you want the Five Aggregates Root, then beg me for it.¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression immediately became extremely dangerous. Before she even said anything, Zu An¡¯s expression changed.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Yun Jianyue sensed that something was off and asked.

    Zu An said, ¡°There is arge group of troops heading our way. The leader is... huh? The Left Guard General Cheng Xiong!¡±

    He became more careful ever since he was almost caught by Zhuxie Chixinst time. As such, he always used the jade badge to control the nearby little creatures. This way, he would always know before danger showed up ahead of time.

    ¡°You¡¯re sure that they areing for us?¡± Yun Jianyue said. They were looking everywhere for the assassins in the pce after all. It was normal for guards to be passing by this area.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An nodded. ¡°They¡¯ve already surrounded the courtyard.¡±

    ¡°Did they discover me? But they shouldn¡¯t have been able to.¡± Yun Jianyue was a bit confused.

    Zu An said, ¡°They¡¯re probably here for me. Someone became suspicious after I picked up the medicine from the hospital.

    Right at this time, a knocking sounded from outside. ¡°Inspection, please open the door!¡±

    Zu An immediately thought of something. He pretended to be weak and said, ¡°I¡¯m treating my injuries right now. What¡¯s the issue?¡±

    The guard outside said, ¡°Assassins stormed the pce and rmed the empress and crown prince. For the security of everyone in the pce, we are inspecting everywhere in the pce to ensure that no ce remains unchecked.¡±

    Zu An said unhappily, ¡°Are you fucking blind? This is a golden token envoy¡¯s residence. Why would an assassin be hiding here? Get lost!¡±

    Yun Jianyue nodded. This fe wasn¡¯t stupid, he knew how to use his special identity.

    Cheng Xiong¡¯s voice sounded at this time. ¡°Sir Eleven, please excuse our rudeness. This general shoulders his majesty¡¯s mission to find the surviving assassins. As such, every residence must be inspected. We are not targeting you alone. Even Chief Commander Zhuxie Chixin has agreed to have his courtyard searched, so I must trouble Sir Eleven for your cooperation.¡±

    Zu An remained silent for a moment. Since Cheng Xiong already said this, then what other reasons could he even use to stop them? Once they came in, Yun Jianyue would be exposed!

 Chapter 629: Shrinking Technique

    <h4>Chapter 629: Shrinking Technique</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Right at this time, Yun Jianyue said, ¡°Go lie down on the bed.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Zu An was confused. He didn¡¯t know why he was saying this.

    Yun Jianyue gave him an annoyed look. ¡°Didn¡¯t you tell everyone that you were injured? You should be resting.¡±

    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re right.¡± Zu An moved to the bed. He pulled over the covers.

    This was his house, yet this was the first time he slept on the bed.

    Yun Jianyue shot him another look. ¡°Clothes!¡±

    Zu An was extremely confused. Yun Jianyue said with a frown, ¡°You¡¯re usually pretty sharp. Are you going to sleep with your clothes on?¡±

    Zu An said ¡®oh¡¯, and then he removed the outfit. However, he kept his helmet on, because he couldn¡¯t reveal his real identity to anyone.

    He finally snapped out of his daze afterpleting all of this. ¡°What is the point of all of this? You¡¯re the biggest issue, big sis! I don¡¯t care about being seen.¡±

    After a bit of hesitation, Yun Jianyue moved aside the covers and made her way in as well.

    Zu An: ¡°???¡±

    Her long hair brushed against his body. It felt soft like silk.

    Her delicate fragrance and soft body made Zu An blurt out, ¡°I feel like you¡¯re lusting after my body!¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Yun Jianyue¡¯s face blushed red for the first time. However, it disappeared in an instant.

    He could sense that she seemed to be using some type of flexibility technique. She twisted about in the covers, and then her figure became extremely soft, her size also bing smaller. It actually didn¡¯t seem like someone else was inside of the covers.

    Zu An was stupefied. He saw those yoga girls do all types of weird postures in the past, yetpared to Yun Jianyue, they looked like amateurs!

    Whoever got to marry this woman would definitely be extremely blessed!

    ¡°Do you want to die?¡± Yun Jianyue said through gritted teeth from under the covers.

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +999 Rage points!

    Zu An¡¯s face heated up. His legs fidgeted unnaturally. ¡°This is a normal reaction! I can¡¯t control this,e on.¡±

    Yun Jianyue: ¡°......¡±

    She twisted her head the other way. I would¡¯ve snapped that thing right off if you were doing it on purpose!

    There was no way she would ever do something like this if it wasn¡¯t because she had no other choice!

    She knew that if someone came in to search this ce, hiding behind the curtains likest time probably wouldn¡¯t work.

    Zhuxie Chixin never searched in detail because he didn¡¯t suspect Zu An in the first ce, but these people outside were clearly different. Every corner of the room will be searched, so hiding behind the curtains wasn¡¯t a real solution. Zu An mentioned that there were a group of guards surrounding this ce. She¡¯ll be immediately exposed if she tried to jump out through the window!

    But because of all of this, she ended up letting this brat take advantage of her!

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +233 +233 +233...

    Is this kid from the freaking beast race? Or is he half beastman? But he looks like a normal human from the outside!

    Yun Jianyue was a sect master after all, so she was able to separate her emotions from her actions. She calmed herself down.

    Cheng Xiong¡¯s impatient voice sounded from outside. ¡°Sir Eleven, if you still refuse to open the door, I have reason to suspect that you are hiding a criminal inside, and we will be forced to break in!¡±

    Even though there was a protective formation surrounding this ce, the defenses were limited. There was no way it could withstand the attacks of an eight ranked general and a group of experts.

    Zu An pressed the room key at this time. The doors opened on their own. ¡°Then search if you want to. I only moved in today so there¡¯s nothing here. The search shouldn¡¯t take that long.¡±

    Cheng Xiong was a bit surprised. This guy let theme in! Then did they really wrong him?

    However, he wasn¡¯t convinced so quickly. He waved his hands and indicated for his subordinates to search around. Searches were their specialty, so not even hidden rooms and cers would escape their detection.

    He himself headed towards the main bedroom. ¡°Sir Eleven, please pardon my rudeness. I must carry out my official duty.¡±

    Even though he was suspicious inside, he was still polite on the outside. After all, they would see each other often in the pce in the future. He still had to show him some courtesy.

    ¡°There¡¯s no rudeness to it. Please do what you need to afterpleting your search. I am preparing to rest and nurse my wounds.¡± Zu An struggled to a half seated posture on the bed as if he was roused awake.

    ¡°So Sir Eleven was sleeping! Didn¡¯t you just head to the hospital earlier?¡± Cheng Xiong stared at the other party. He wanted to find something from his expression, but he was wearing a mask, so he couldn¡¯t see anything.

    Zu An said with augh, ¡°Looks like General Cheng came prepared. The investigation is quite thorough.¡±

    Cheng Xiong wasn¡¯t annoyed and said with a smile, ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. Since his majesty assigned me to this case, then I need to do my utmost. I cannot let any leads go.¡±

    ¡°Then has General Cheng found anything?¡± Zu An frowned inwardly. He didn¡¯t know why this fe would target him. Normally speaking, the two of them shouldn¡¯t have any grudges, and he even had his status as a golden token envoy. There was no reason for this man to be so aggressive.

    ¡°Those assassins are too cunning. We weren¡¯t able to find anything of value yet. However, I believe that there are definitely still some assassins hiding around inside the pce, just that we do not know where they are hiding. However, I believe all of them will be found soon.¡± Cheng Xiong said.

    ¡°I wish General Cheng sess.¡± Zu An had to admit that this fe was sharp enough, that he actually managed to guess at the truth.

    Cheng Xiongughed and suddenly asked, ¡°By the way, I heard that Sir Eleven was injured from the hospital earlier, but if I recall correctly, Sir Eleven didn¡¯t look injured in the imperial study. Could it be that you encountered an assassin after you left the imperial study?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s heart pounded. Did this guy already see through him?

    Of course, he wouldn¡¯t give anything away on the surface. ¡°I was wounded by that female assassin¡¯s flying sword back at the eastern pce, but his majesty emphasizes bearing, so I forcefully suppressed it. Later on, I found a chance to get some medicine from the hospital.¡±

    ¡°But I heard that the hospital didn¡¯t give you any medicine? They gave it to the crown princess instead.¡± Cheng Xiong moved closer to him. ¡°Does Sir Eleven wish for me to help you out? Even though I am only at the eighth rank, I still have the ability to treat one¡¯s injuries.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t trouble the general for that. The crown princess already gave the medicine to me, so my condition has already improved considerably. I only need to rest a few more days.¡± Zu An deliberately spoke of the crown princess¡¯ matter hoping that he would back off.

    Sure enough, when Cheng Xiong heard about this, his expression changed on the spot. He didn¡¯t expect the two of them to share this type of friendship.

    However, he was still fierce in nature. Since he already offended the other party, rather than waiting for him to get revenge with the Embroidered Envoy and crown princess on his side in the future, he might as well crush him here.

    ¡°To be honest, that female assassin still leaves me with lingering fears. She is a glorious grandmaster, yet she does something unbefitting of her status and carries out an assassination! It truly is shameless,¡± said Cheng Xiong.

    Zu An could feel Yun Jianyue¡¯s body go taut when these words sounded. These words definitely angered her.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Out of worry that she wouldn¡¯t be able to suppress her anger, he gently patted her, indicating for her to calm down.

    Yun Jianyue: ¡°......¡±

    Should I feed this kid to the dogs after I recover?

    Zu An continued off of Cheng Xiong¡¯s words and said, ¡°That female assassin was quite beautiful, but what a pity that she is too vicious. I almost died under her sword.

    Cheng Xiong said with praise, ¡°The fact that Sir Eleven evaded the sword of a grandmaster is already incredibly praiseworthy. I wonder what kind of technique Sir Eleven cultivates. The ¡®Phoenix Nirvana Sutra¡¯ is a me element technique, I reckon?¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He finally understood why the other party was suspicious. He was trying to see if the me de that rescued Qiu Honglei had anything to do with him.

    He said indifferently, ¡°The Phoenix Nirvana Sutra is something his majesty has deemed that he wants. I fear that it is rather unsuitable for General Cheng to ask about it, am I right?¡±

    Cheng Xiong¡¯s expression changed. ¡°I was in such admiration over Sir Eleven¡¯s methods that my tongue slipped. Pardon me for that.¡±

    While speaking, his eyes couldn¡¯t help but shift to the nket covering Zu An.

 Chapter 630: Loli Transformation

    <h4>Chapter 630: Loli Transformation</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Cheng Xiong¡¯s subordinates were already wrapping up their search. One after another, they informed him that they didn¡¯t locate anyone.

    Cheng Xiong began to think to himself. The only ce that hadn¡¯t been searched yet was this bed.

    He cupped his hands and said, ¡°We still need to search the bottom of the bed. Sir Eleven doesn¡¯t mind, right?¡±

    Zu An frowned. ¡°What is General Cheng implying? Would I not know if there was someone underneath my bed?¡±

    As a golden token envoy, if he didn¡¯t even have this bit of skill, then he would be an absolute joke. The other party requested this despite knowing the abilities of golden envoys, so it indeed seemed a bit excessive.

    Cheng Xiong said with a chuckle, ¡°I have no other intentions. However, Sir Eleven has been injured, so your perception might not be so sharp. Please let us help you check inside. This way, Sir Eleven can rest easier.¡±

    He didn¡¯t wait for Zu An¡¯s reply after saying this and gestured for his subordinates to search.

    Several imperial guardsid down on the ground. They raised the fabric covering the bottom of the bed and thrusted their swords inside.

    Unfortunately, they didn¡¯t find anything even after continuing this for a while.

    Zu An sighed. He thought to himself that it would be even more strange if you all did find something under the bed! Right at this time, Yun Jianyue sent a ki transmission. ¡°You should express some anger, or else it will seem strange.¡±

    Zu An was shocked. He quickly realized that as well. If a glorious golden token envoy allowed these men to overturn his house and didn¡¯t react, then that would only mean that he had a guilty conscience!

    As such, he waved his hand and directly disyed the Heaven Devouring Art. The guards who were standing up felt a wave of pressure, and then they couldn¡¯t hold onto their des anymore. All of them flew towards the bed.

    Then, with a flip of his wrist, those long des were crumpled up into lumps of metal. He coldly said, ¡°Has General Cheng never taught your subordinates any rules, using weapons in my home?¡±

    Those guards all broke out into cold sweat. They immediately knelt down in apology.

    Even Cheng Xiong¡¯s eyes narrowed. He gave the lumps of metal on the ground a look and quickly cupped his hands. ¡°My subordinates have been a bit too anxious in capturing the assassins and offended Sir Eleven. Please forgive them.¡±

    He was extremely rmed right now. It wasn¡¯t that he feared the other party¡¯s cultivation, because the ki fluctuations that appeared just now weren''t more powerful than his. However, he couldn¡¯t see through that technique. He couldn¡¯t replicate its power at all.

    It was to the extent where he couldn¡¯t even tell what element the other party used.

    Zu An said indifferently, ¡°Since you all are in a rush to capture assassins, then go out and catch assassins. What are you all wasting time here for?¡±

    Cheng Xiong¡¯s expression changed. However, he quickly recovered his cool and gestured for his subordinates to leave. ¡°We¡¯ve disturbed you today. I hope Sir Eleven does not take offense.¡±

    Zu An had a cold look on his face and didn¡¯t reply.

    Cheng Xiong lost interest here and was about to leave. When he arrived by the entrance, he gave Zu An a look. He said in a meaningful tone, ¡°Sir Eleven¡¯s methods are bold and impressive. It didn¡¯t look like you were injured at all.¡±

    Zu An said indifferently, ¡°Even if we are injured, defeating some trifling people isn¡¯t anything troublesome for a golden token envoy.¡±

    Cheng Xiong¡¯s face sunk. The other party dragged him into the scolding as well. However, he really didn¡¯t have much confidence in the situation, as the golden token envoys were all mysterious and powerful people. He wasn¡¯t sure if he could win against the other party.

    He gave the covers onest reluctant look. If the other party was really much weaker, he might just pull aside the covers. However, this golden token envoy¡¯s performance was too strong, so he could only give up on the thought.

    He consoled himself that there was no way the covers could be hiding a mature person from how the covers looked, only a small child at most. Why would there be a small child among the assants?

    Furthermore, he already spread his senses across the entire room. Apart from Zu An, he didn¡¯t detect another person. That was why he didn¡¯t persist with the issue.

    ¡°Could it be that I really made a mistake?¡± He offended a golden token envoy this time, yet he didn¡¯t even get anything out of it. Cheng Xiong left with his subordinates with a gloomy expression.

    Zu An pressed the room¡¯s key, and the courtyard¡¯s gate closed on its own.

    This was the advantage of this world. Even though it didn¡¯t advance as far on the science and technology tree, there were many conveniences that were instead reced through cultivation.

    His covers were moved aside when he closed the door. A petite figure made its way out from inside.

    When he saw the loli-like Yu Jianyue, Zu An couldn¡¯t help but want to pinch her cheeks. She was just too cute.

    ¡°Do you seek death?!¡± Yun Jianyue smacked his hands away. Then, after twisting a few times, she gradually returned to her normal appearance, changing from a little loli to a mature big sister.

    Zu An sighed and said, ¡°Has anyone ever told you that your little form is too cute?¡±

    A trace of redness shed past Yun Jianyue¡¯s face. ¡°You are not allowed to tell anyone about what just happened, not even Honglei! Otherwise, I will kill you!¡±

    Zu An had a strange look on his face. ¡°That means no one else saw that form before?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not the case.¡± Yun Jianyue revealed a reminiscent expression. ¡°Sometimes, when I¡¯m really bored in the sect, I¡¯ll change into this form and look around the nearby towns and cities.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An: ¡°???¡±

    Sis, you¡¯re a freaking sect master, moreover of the glorious Devil Sect! Isn¡¯t this a bit weird?

    Yun Jianyue immediately snapped out of her daze. She ended up unknowingly telling him an incredible secret. Her expression immediately became extremely dangerous. ¡°Did you use that chance to touch me earlier?¡±

    Zu An immediately waved his hands. ¡°Of course not! I was just worried that you might have acted out after hearing Cheng Xiong¡¯s words. Things would be really bad if you did that!¡±

    Yun Jianyue harrumphed and said, ¡°Could it be that in your eyes, I am just a bimbo with big breasts¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression became strange. He couldn¡¯t help but look at her impressive chest. Maybe not a fool, but your boobs really are the real deal.

    ¡°What are you looking at?!¡± Yun Jianyue suddenlyughed, but her smile was extremely sinister.

    ¡°Nothing.¡± Zu Anughed and quickly brought out the Five Aggregates Root. ¡°Here, you can recover faster with this, right?¡±

    He already hugged her and touched her. It would be a bit insincere of him if he didn¡¯t give this to her now.

    Yun Jianyue frowned, but she didn¡¯t refuse him in the end. She received the jade case, but she didn¡¯t immediately open it. ¡°That Cheng Xiong seems to be quite hostile towards you. You need to be careful. I do not believe he would let the matter rest here.¡±

    ¡°Sigh, I have no idea where I offended him though.¡± Zu An was getting quite the headache from this as well. Being schemed against by a shrewd guy like this was quite upsetting.

    ¡°Rather than sitting and waiting for trouble toe, it¡¯s better to strike first. Just find a chance to get rid of him.¡± Yun Jianyue said coldly.

    Zu An was stupefied. In this instant, he finally understood that this beautiful woman wasn¡¯t of the kind sort, but rather the terror inspiring Devil Sect Master!

    Yun Jianyue no longer brought up Cheng Xiong¡¯s matter after giving him this warning. ¡°Help me watch the surroundings. I¡¯m going to treat my injuries.¡±

    Then, she sat down on the bed in a meditative stance. She opened the case and ced it between her legs, revealing the Five Aggregates Root within.

    Zu An could sense an exuberant wave of spiritual ki that refreshed his mind rush over. He got on his tiptoes and looked over. He saw a root-like medicinal ingredient resting in the jade case, the swirling energy visible above it. He could tell that it was something extraordinary from a single look.

    Yun Jianyue didn¡¯t devour it and instead circted her energies in a meditative stance. A whileter, a strand of thick energy slowly rose from the Five Aggregates Root, and then entered her body through her nose. A faint rosiness returned to her pale face.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes widened. She looked just like a goddess with smoke all around her. Even treating her injuries was such a beautiful scene! When would he be like this?

    After an hour or so, Yun Jianyue opened her eyes. She closed the case.

    Zu An was already bored to death. He was stunned when he saw this. ¡°Your injuries were already healed that quickly?¡±

    Yun Jianyue shook her head. ¡°Of course not. The injuries of the soul need to be slowly nursed, it cannot be rushed. Treatment with the Five Aggregates Root for an hour each day is already the limit. It will instead be a waste if it is continued longer.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s mood instantly improved. ¡°Haha, then you should just cultivate slowly! Either way, you can live here for as long as you want. Right, can you move over? I need to sleep.¡±

 Chapter 631: Sound In the Middle of the Night

    <h4>Chapter 631: Sound In the Middle of the Night</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°You¡¯re going to sleep?¡± Yun Jianyue frowned. She didn¡¯t immediately react to what he said.

    ¡°Of course! Your assassins invaded, and then I ran all over the ce saving people. Later on, I was even scared by Zhuxie Chixin and Cheng Xiong a few times. I¡¯m already super tired.¡± Zu An said this while lying down. ¡°Move over please, you¡¯re in the way.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re going to sleep on the bed?¡± Yun Jianyue remained expressionless. Shouldn¡¯t the man normally act like a gentleman in this situation? This fe really didn¡¯t behave like you would expect him to.

    Zu An said naturally, ¡°Of course. This is my room and my bed. Where else would I sleep if I don¡¯t sleep here?¡±

    Yun Jianyue took a deep breath. She calmed the rage that was building up within her. ¡°Then where do I sleep?¡±

    ¡°The floor of course. What, do you want to sleep with me?¡± Zu An held onto his covers and gave her a suspicious look as if she was a pervert.

    This was a special courtyard reserved for an Embroidered Envoy to take a short rest, so it wasn¡¯t thatrge. There was no way it had a guest room or something like that. That was why apart from this bed, there was no other ce.

    Yun Jianyue: ¡°???¡±

    As a grandmaster, she thought that she was already immune to emotional fluctuations. Yet today, because of this man, she found that this wasn¡¯t true at all.

    He was just too shameless!

    ¡°You are a man, and I am a woman. Could it be that you just cannot be the gentleman here?¡± Yun Jianyue naturally didn¡¯t want to sleep on the ground. However, as a grandmaster, she naturally couldn¡¯t just fight with him over this. After all, he saved her and even offered her medicine for her wounds. Even for the Devil Sect¡¯s sect master, doing something like immediately bing hostile seemed a bit too low.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t, I support gender equality.¡± Zu An immediately said. ¡°You¡¯re even a glorious Devil Sect Master, you¡¯re stronger than all those men anyway. Do you really have the nerveto say these things because you¡¯re a girl.¡±

    Yun Jianyue: ¡°......¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +444 Rage points!

    She snorted and said, ¡°Those who dare speak such words to me are already dead. I won¡¯t argue with you since you saved me.¡±

    After saying this, she moved to a wooden stool and closed her eyes. At her level, external weather didn¡¯t affect her much. She didn¡¯t need something like a cover.

    Zu Anid down on the bed. He propped up his head and said, ¡°Isn¡¯t sitting there all night kind of ufortable?¡±

    He had to admit that her long hair that reached her bottom was a delightful sight. It was just like a natural work of art! He didn¡¯t hope for more, he¡¯ll just treat this as nice scenery.

    ¡°Are you nning to give me the bed then?¡± Yun Jianyue didn¡¯t even open her eyes.

    ¡°Uh... I wanted to give you a proposal. Can¡¯t you make your own bed?¡± Zu An said.

    ¡°Make one?¡± Yun Jianyue said indifferently, ¡°There¡¯s no need.¡±

    She was already extremely familiar with this residence. There weren¡¯t even any extra chairs. Was she going to piece together some chairs and sleep on them? That wouldpletely tarnish her reputation as a glorious sect master!

    Zu An said, ¡°There was a goddess-like legend from my hometown who didn¡¯t use beds either. She only needed a rope tied between two walls, and then she would sleep on it.¡±

    ¡°Hm?¡± Yun Jianyue opened her eyes. She was clearly a bit moved. ¡°There was someone like that?¡±

    Zu An was also a bit excited. He sat up and said, ¡°Yup! She¡¯s a goddess that appeared in the dreams of far too many shut-ins!¡±

    Sigh, this Xiaolongnu brings back too many memories from his past world. It¡¯s truly a pity that he can¡¯t return anymore.[1]

    ¡°Disgraceful.¡± Yun Jianyue was full of disdain when she looked at his appearance.

    However, she still got up. She produced a white silk thread from her sleeves. With a flick of her wrist, the ends shot into the walls, forming a simple bed.

    Zu An was stunned. Where the heck did this long silk bande from? But he quickly realized that he had a spatial storage himself, so there was no way this glorious sect master wouldn¡¯t have one.

    Yun Jianyue tapped her feet, and then she gracefully stood on the band. Then, sheid down, her body slowly reclining backwards. ¡°Is this what you were talking about?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Zu An was in a bit of a daze. Her stance was just like the actress in the drama he watched. There wasn¡¯t a trace of inelegance. No, this woman was much more stunning, and even her expression was aloof and distant. Was this the so-called pure yet sexy?

    Yun Jianyueid down on the band. She felt strangely rxed. ¡°This method isn¡¯t bad. It feels quitefortable.¡±

    WIth her cultivation, it wasn¡¯t difficult for her to maintain her bnce on this thin band.

    Zu An gave that beautiful figure on the thread a look. Her long hair fell from above, and her figure really was stunning. Um... the all ck outfit could be reced though.

    Yun Jianyue suddenly sat up at this time.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°What is it?¡± Zu An asked out of curiosity.

    ¡°My clothes are too tight, so it¡¯s a bit ufortable.¡± Yun Jianyue said with a frown. She didn¡¯t feel it when she was sitting on the chair, but now that she was lying on this band, her clothes were a bit tight.

    Zu An said, ¡°Do you want to change? I have some clothes here.¡±

    Yun Jianyue gave him a strange look. ¡°Are you a pervert? Why do you have female clothes here?¡±

    Zu An immediately became angry and ashamed. ¡°Pah! I was merely keeping them here for my woman!¡±

    ¡°Hmph! If you already have other girls, why are you still chasing after our Honglei?¡± Yun Jianyue became unhappy.

    Zu An said, ¡°I¡¯m sure you know about my Chu n situation. Furthermore, Honglei knew about it from the start too. I didn¡¯t lie to her or anything.¡±

    Yun Jianyue frowned. What the heck is going on with that girl Honglei? She clearly knows that this kid is a yboy, so how could she still fall for him? She said coldly, ¡°There¡¯s no need, I have my own clothes.¡±

    Then, with a tap of her toes, she arrived behind the curtains. ¡°If you sneak a look, then I¡¯m going to kill you even if I have to permanently sacrifice my cultivation.¡±

    ¡°Who are you looking down on, sis? Am I someone like that?!¡± Zu An said angrily. He turned around and had his back to her.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine as long as you aren¡¯t.¡± Yun Jianyue sighed when she saw this. She removed a set of clothes from her storage artifact and began to change.

    Zu An¡¯s heart pounded when he heard the rustling sounds of clothes being removed. Isn¡¯t this woman freaking seducing me by changing right here?

    He felt something stir within him when he smelled the lingering scent.

    I can¡¯t turn around myself, but I can use the jade badge¡¯s power to see with their eyes...

    He raised his hand and was about to use that ability, but he gave up on the thought in the end. Hmph! I¡¯m a man of character! If I want to look, then I¡¯ll just look openly. What is there to be proud of by being sneaky?

    ¡°What are you muttering about over there?¡± Yun Jianyue¡¯s soft footsteps sounded behind him.

    Zu An turned around. His eyes lit up. She changed into a set of white clothes, whichpletely removed all of the fierceness of a witch. She seemed much more pure and otherworldly.

    He couldn¡¯t help but sigh. ¡°Your appearance really doesn¡¯t match how others describe you! The ruler of the Devil Sect should be the aggressive and seductive type, what are you ying around with this immortal goddess stuff for?¡±

    Her brows raised when she heard the words aggressive and seductive, but she felt much better when she heard his following words. She snorted and didn¡¯t bother arguing with him. She returned to that thin band to sleep.

    Zu An was more and more moved as he stared at the white d beauty. Eventually, thest bit of disharmony also disappeared, making her even prettier than the Xiaolongnu he remembered from that drama.

    ¡°What are you staring at?¡± Even though she didn¡¯t open her eyes, Yun Jianyue seemed to be able to sense his movements.

    Zu An snapped out of his daze and said with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s nothing important. I just wanted to warn you that when you remain on the silk band, your thoughts need to remain pure, or else you¡¯ll easily fall off.¡±

    Yun Jianyue said indifferently, ¡°Are you doubting my cultivation?¡±

    Zu An figured that this made sense as well. She was already a grandmaster, so this type of thing shouldn¡¯t be too difficult for her.

    As such, heid down again. Even though his mind was going crazy from the lingering scent and how he was sleeping in the same room as such a stunning beauty, he really was too tired today. He quickly fell asleep.

    ...

    There was suddenly a thud sound that roused him awake in the middle of the night. It wasbined with a girl¡¯s cry of rm. ¡°Ah!¡±

    1. Xiaolongn¨¹ is the fictional female protagonist of the wuxia novel The Return of the Condor Heroes by Jin Yong.

 Chapter 632: Sinister Web

    <h4>Chapter 632: Sinister Web</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An jumped in fright. He suddenly got up and followed the source of the sound with vignce. He saw that the beauty was already gone from that silk band.

    He subconsciously lowered his head and saw that Yun Jianyue was currently rubbing her butt on the ground. Her long hair was all over the ce, her appearance rather sorry.

    He gave that swaying band above a look, and then looked at her below. He seemed to have understood something, and then his lips curled upwards.

    ¡°You¡¯re dead if youugh!¡± Yun Jianyue suddenly turned around to look at him, her expression dangerous.

    However, her face was heated up. This was just too embarrassing! She vowed that she would never fall a moment ago, yet she humiliated herself so quickly afterwards.

    She was a glorious Holy Sect Master! Embarrassing herself like this in front of a youngster made her so humiliated her toes almost dug into the floor.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve gone through strict training. I won¡¯tugh, unless... I can¡¯t hold it in.¡± Zu An couldn¡¯t hold it in.

    Yun Jianyue: ¡°......¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +233 +233 +233...

    She really was too embarrassed. She said coldly, ¡°Then you give it a try if you can! Let¡¯s see if you fall off!¡±

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m someone who loves to think random things all day, I cannot achieve purity of mind. I won¡¯t embarrass myself.¡±

    Yun Jianyue: ¡°......¡±

    She remembered that he just reminded her a moment ago. She thought that she would be fine.

    ¡°I refuse to believe in this nonsense!¡± She harrumphed. With a tap of her toes, she returned to that silk band.

    Her figure swayed a bit, but she still steadily remained on the band.

    Zu An said, ¡°Your soul is wounded. It¡¯ll take longer for you to recover if you force it and don¡¯t get any rest.¡±

    Yun Jianyue thought of something. She was indeed forcing herself to not fall asleep. Otherwise, it would be way too embarrassing if she fell again.

    When she returned to the silk band, she understood that what he spoke of was that this sleeping method was one of empty mind. Even though she reached the grandmaster realm, her soul was damaged and her thoughts were all over the ce. She couldn¡¯t calmly sleep on this band at all.

    It was still manageable when she was awake, but once she fell asleep and she lost control, then it was easy for her to fall down.

    Zu An knew that he wouldn¡¯t be able to convince her otherwise, seeing that she didn¡¯t reply. ¡°I¡¯m gonna sleep first then. If you can¡¯t hold onter, then juste and sleep on the bed. We¡¯ll both sleep on our own side. We¡¯re all warriors anyway, we don¡¯t have to bicker over the small things.¡±

    He turned around to continue sleeping after saying this and didn¡¯t wait for her response.

    Yun Jianyue was stunned. She couldn¡¯t help but be shaken as well. This was a special situation. If she couldn¡¯t get some proper rest, then her soul would recover slower. Why did she have to go through this torment just because of her pride?

    Furthermore, would this fe even be able to do anything to her? The one he liked was Honglei. She was his senior.

    She also had her own strength too. If he really crossed the line, then she would make sure he regretted being born into this world.

    Thus, she made her decision.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    However, it was a bit too shameless to go over now. Thus, shey on the silk band for a while, and then when she heard his breathing gradually ease and saw that he already fell asleep, she then gracefully hopped off the silk band.

    She noticed that Zu An was sleeping on the side of the bed and left most of it for her.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression changed several times. In the end, she stillid down on her side. Of course, she stayed far away from him and didn¡¯t touch him at all.

    She took a deep breath. She calmed her messy breathing and said coldly, ¡°I don¡¯t care if you are really asleep or not, but I¡¯ll cut off your hand if it crosses over. Got it?¡±

    But the only thing she got in return was Zu An¡¯s breathing.

    Yun Jianyue thus restlessly closed her eyes. Her soul was seriously injured, so she should be resting a lot. As such, she finally couldn¡¯t hold on anymore and fell asleep.

    ...

    Meanwhile, Cheng Xiong couldn¡¯t fall asleep at all. His eyes were bloodshot as he investigated the Pce of Peace¡¯s assassination attempt.

    So many things happened in the pce this time. He knew that he was going to be eliminated by the emperor if he didn¡¯t find out anything.

    He had people continue to search the pce for assassins while calling over the patrolling guards to question them. He told those men to not let any details go. He wanted to investigate everyst clue.

    While investigating troop after troop of soldiers, there was someone who said guility, ¡°We recall two Embroidered Envoying out of Sir Eleven¡¯s room.¡±

    ¡°Golden token eleven?¡± Cheng Xiong frowned. Why was it him again? His eyes lit up and he seemed to have realized something. He quickly asked, ¡°You are certain that it was two Embroidered Envoy?¡±

    After all, Embroidered Envoy had special status. They rarely even showed their identity to each other. They would head to a government office if they had something to discuss, as there were areas specially designated there for them to work. They definitely wouldn¡¯t invite another Embroidered Envoy to their private residence.

    ¡°Yes, I am sure. The other Embroidered Envoy¡¯s figure was a bit smaller, so everyone thought that perhaps Sir Eleven swung that way and found someone of smaller build to y with, haha.¡± That guard was d that his superior didn¡¯t have such fetishes. Seeing other people involved in misfortune was always better than going through it yourself.

    ¡°Wait, the other person¡¯s clothes seemed to be a golden token envoy too... He shouldn¡¯t be Eleven¡¯s subordinate, right?¡± Another guard said with puzzlement.

    ¡°Really? I didn¡¯t notice anything. Their uniforms look about the same.¡± Those guards began to discuss among themselves whether the subordinate was also a golden token envoy.¡±

    Cheng Xiong became more and more excited. This Eleven definitely had something wrong with him!

    But after his previous failure, he didn¡¯t dare rush straight in and instead summoned the pce gate guards.

    Eventually, he learned that not long after the Pce of Peace was attacked by assassins, there were two Embroidered Envoy who left. One of them had a golden token, but they didn¡¯t know about the other one hiding behind him.

    Because Embroidered Envoy were rather mysterious, everyone was more careful. That was why they didn¡¯t look too closely.

    Cheng Xiong finallyughed out loud when he heard all of this. Let¡¯s see where you try to run off to now!

    ...

    Zu An didn¡¯t know that a huge sinister was wrapping around him. He was sleeping soundly right now.

    Next to him, Yun Jianyue was sleeping even nicer. However, she suddenly woke up in the middle of the night. She felt Zu An turn around with an evil smile, and then sneakily reach his hand towards her.

    She sneered. She was about to chop off his limbs to teach him what it meant to offend a sect master.

    But for some reason, she suddenly discovered that she waspletely powerless. Her eyelids were also incredibly heavy. She couldn¡¯t muster any strength to counterattack.

    During this moment of distraction, his hand was already on her.

    She was about to explode from anger. She struggled frantically, yet she just couldn¡¯t muster any strength.

    ¡°Stop resisting. The more you resist, the more excited I be.¡± She seemed to vaguely hear him say.

    Then, she felt his hand slide into her clothes. Her entire body went rigid, and then she suddenly opened her eyes.

    The morning sunlight seeped in from outside the window. She realized that it was already daytime. So it was just a dream... Why the heck am I dreaming something so embarrassing.

    After her cultivation made great achievements, her soul became stabilized and she rarely dreamt.

    She figured that it was probably because her soul was damaged from her battle with the emperor that she dreamt. Only, she didn¡¯t dream of her battle against the emperor and instead dreamt of this fe. This made her feel extremely strange.

    He definitely did something to me in the middle of the night!

    She was rmed and subconsciously looked to the side. She was just about to scold him when she waspletely stunned.

    She discovered that the two of them were tightly hugging each other. It wasn¡¯t Zu An who was hugging her, but rather her who took the initiative to hug him.

    She was wrapped around him like an octopus, her thighs pressed against his waist.

    Yun Jianyue: ¡°......¡±

    She actually knew that she had always been a messy sleeper too, or else she wouldn¡¯t have fallen off that silk band in the middle of the night. However, she didn¡¯t expect herself to be this bad.

    What was even more upsetting was that because it was early in the morning, his thing had risen as well. It was pressing right against her lower abdomen. She could sense its ferocity through her clothes.

    ¡°No wonder I had that dream!¡± Yun Jianyue was so angry she kicked him right off the bed.

 Chapter 633: Accidental Collision

    <h4>Chapter 633: idental Collision</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°The fuck?¡± Zu An¡¯s eyes widened in shock. He thought that there was a hidden attack, but he rxed a bit when he saw that it was Yun Jianyue¡¯s overly taut body.

    ¡°It¡¯s your fault for disrespecting me!¡± Yun Jianyue blushed, but she quickly recovered herposure. At the same time, she was d that she took the initiative, or else if he woke up first and saw her like this, then she would be absolutely destroyed!

    When he saw where her eyes moved, Zu An was furious. ¡°This is a man¡¯s natural reaction. You¡¯re sleeping in my house, my bed, yet you¡¯re hitting me. Isn¡¯t this going a bit too far?!¡±

    Yun Jianyue felt a bit guilty. She harrumphed and said, ¡°That kick was also a woman¡¯s instinctive reaction.¡±

    Zu An: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    This woman is actually so shameless! As if she inherited my teachings¡­

    Yun Jianyue was now a bit embarrassed. Her voice eased a bit. ¡°Thank you for saving me. My injuries have improved a bit as well, so let¡¯s not bother each other anymore.¡±

    She was a girl after all, so it wasn¡¯t all thatfortable living with another man under the same roof. Furthermore, she had to sleep with him on the same bed, so she felt extremely ufortable. If he noticed how she was sleeping¡­ just the thought alone was embarrassing.

    Zu An said with a serious voice, ¡°Your injuries were so serious, how could you recover after just a single night? Also, the entire imperial pce is under strict martialw, and the formation is up and running again. His majesty¡¯s divine senses even cover the entire pce. How can you even get out?¡±

    Yun Jianyue became quiet. Of course she knew these things! But she couldn¡¯t bring them up because of various reasons. ¡°My sect¡¯s people have either died off or escaped. They are definitely hiding in the imperial city, leaderless. I need to find a way to contact Honglei and have her take care of some things.¡±

    Zu An thought for a bit, and then he said, ¡°You can¡¯t leave the pce right now. I¡¯ll contact her in your ce.¡±

    He still had his identity as the crown prince secretary. Even getting to the eastern pce was a bit of a headache, because all passages through the pce gates were recorded. Later on, once those who were after him investigated closely and discovered that the crown prince¡¯s secretary didn¡¯t pass through the gates, then his identity would be easily exposed.

    After a bit of hesitation, Yun Jianyue didn¡¯t persist and said. ¡°I¡¯ll have to thank you for that.¡±

    Zu An took out a bunch of food from his Brilliant ss Bead. ¡°I¡¯m going out for a bit, you should just rest here. You absolutely cannot go out. Eat some of this first, I¡¯ll bring better thingster.¡±

    ¡°Thanks.¡± With Yun Jianyue¡¯s cultivation, there wasn¡¯t a huge issue even if she didn¡¯t eat for half a month. However, she didn¡¯t refuse his good intentions.

    ¡°By the way, if you have the chance, help me buy a hammock.¡± She added. Since she chose to stay here, then she had to do something about her sleeping arrangements.

    She definitely can¡¯t continue to sleep on the bed, yet she can¡¯t sleep on the silk band either. This meant that she needed a bed.

    A normal spatial storage might not be able to store an entire bed, but a hammock can be rolled up, so it shouldn¡¯t be too big of an issue.

    ¡°Okay.¡± Zu An felt that it was a bit of a pity. He wanted to pretend to be asleep, but identally fell asleep and wasted such an excellent opportunity and even offended her.

    Yun Jianyue was a bit apologetic when she saw him leave. ¡°Does it still hurt?¡±

    Zu An was stunned. Then, a smile appeared on his face. ¡°So big sis does care about me after all!¡±

    ¡°Hmph!¡± Yun Jianyue harrumphed. ¡°I was worried that no one would be able to help me if you got injured.¡±

    Zu Anughed. He left with a good mood.

    After an entire night of inspection, the pce doors were already opened up again. After all, the normal officials needed to continue their work, they couldn¡¯t always be locked up.

    Zu An¡¯s status as a golden token envoy would allow him to freely move in and out of the pce. He noticed that the pce gate guards were acting a bit strange when they saw his waist token. This reaction left him puzzled. He raised his vignce. There was someone who was on his trail after all!

    Can it be that Cheng Xiong still didn¡¯t give up?

    Zu An sneered. With his current strength, it wasn¡¯t so easy to follow him!

    He made a few circles around the city. Once he threw off those tailing him, he changed in a corner, and then headed towards his own residence inside the city.

    His entire body went taut as soon as he returned to his residence. He suddenly attacked to the side.

    Antern rose at this time, and then a figure attacked at him too.

    The two of them immediately recognized each other and stopped.

    ¡°Honglei!¡±

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡±

    Zu An was happy and surprised. ¡°It¡¯s great that you¡¯re okay! His majesty sent General Liu Yao and Gueri Warfar General Zhao Yuan to search the capital city. I was worried that something might have happened to you.¡±

    Qiu Honglei smiled. ¡°This girl has spent many years as a warrior. Do you think I¡¯ll be captured that easily?¡±

    She suddenly noticed that her tone was a bit off and quickly apologized. ¡°Ah Zu, I wasn¡¯t trying to criticize you.¡±

    ¡°I know.¡± Zu An smiled. He held her hand and walked inside. ¡°Let¡¯s talk inside to prevent anyone from listening in on us.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Qiu Honglei subconsciously wanted to pull back her hand, but his grip was tight. She bit her lip and let him do what he wanted.

    Zu An thought to himself that this girl was already getting used to holding hands and other physical contact. Hugging her didn¡¯t seem to be okay too. Unfortunately, even though he worked so hard to get here, there was no future ahead.

    Hm? Wait, even though they cannot lose their virginity because of the method they cultivate, there are other ways to y around! I don¡¯t have a stash of japanese stuff for nothing!

    ¡°Ah Zu, did you find my master?¡± Qiu Honglei asked with worry. She was raised by her master, and she taught her everything too, so she really respected her master. She was extremely worried about her right now.

    ¡°I found her, and we slept together.¡± Zu An¡¯s mind was elsewhere and replied subconsciously.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Qiu Honglei was shocked.

    ¡°Ahem¡­¡± Zu An¡¯s face heated up and quickly said, ¡°I saved her and brought her to my residence inside the pce.¡±

    ¡°How is the elder master?¡± Qiu Honglei nervously grabbed his hand.

    ¡°Um, your master isn¡¯t old at all.¡± Zu An said with curiosity.

    Qiu Honglei stuck out her tongue. ¡°I was just being respectful¡­¡± She remembered being beaten several times for calling her this in the past. Looks like women all cared about their age after all! However, her master really did look like she would be her big sister at most.

    Zu An replied, ¡°Her soul was injured from her battle against the emperor¡­ But you do not need to worry. I¡¯ve already given her a Five Aggregates Root to treat her injuries, so she is fine. She was more worried about you guys and told me to tell you guys about her following ns.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good then.¡± Qiu Honglei sighed in relief. ¡°We went into hiding after leaving the pce. We¡¯ve done business in the capital for many years, so hiding some people isn¡¯t too big of a problem. The most regretful part are the brothers who were capturedst night.¡±

    There was even an elder who was caught because of her. She felt more and more awful. She was about to say something, but then hesitated. She wanted to ask Zu An to help those people, but these prisoners weren¡¯t easy to rescue at all. He already took a huge risk trying to save her master, so how could she burden him with the others?

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Ah Zu, you¡¯ve really helped us a lot. We don¡¯t even know how to properly thank you.¡± Qiu Honglei gave him a sweet look.

    Zu Anughed and said, ¡°We¡¯re all our own people, you¡¯re treating me like a stranger by saying these things! Of course, if you really want to thank me, then why don¡¯t you offer yourself to me?¡±

    He pulled her into his embrace after saying this. He wanted to see if Yun Jianyue deceived him.

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s face reddened when she sat in his embrace. ¡°Ah Zu, the technique I cultivate is special. I cannot let my body be tarnished for a period of time.¡±

    Zu An sighed inside when he heard what she said. It was like this after all!

    Qiu Honglei merely treated this as disappointment on his end. She bit her lips, and then suddenly said, ¡°Ah Zu, even though I cannot give myself to you, I¡¯ve seen what those girls in Immortal Abode have done. I can take care of you in other ways.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s heart immediately began to pound. Qiu Honglei¡¯s cheeks became more and more rosy. She was sitting in his arms, so there was no way she didn¡¯t feel his body¡¯s reactions.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, a few streets out, a beautiful white clothed woman was currently walking over with a handsome young master. Their attractiveness were both off the charts and drew eyes from all directions.

    ¡°Big sis, their looks are really annoying!¡±

    ¡°You have the identity of a man right now anyway. What is there to be scared of?¡±

    ¡°Hmph, I just don¡¯t like it.¡± The youngster added. Her big sister¡¯s expression was the same! But I guess she doesn¡¯t look as annoyed.

    ¡°Your brother-inw lives here?¡± The goddess-like white d woman¡¯s voice was no longer as cold and indifferent. It sounded a bit panicked instead.

    ¡°Two more streets. We¡¯re not far already.¡± The young man couldn¡¯t help but remember that scene from that day upon seeing her expression. His cheeks also became pink.

 Chapter 634: Impending Hell

    <h4>Chapter 634: Impending Hell</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Big sis was really scammed badly by that fe! She¡¯s rushing here so early in the morning! The young man could never figure out how her amazing and proud big sis would be like this towards another man!

    The brother and sister were precisely Chu Chuyan and Chu Youzhao. No, they should be called sisters.

    ¡°Did you get the address right? Why haven¡¯t we arrived yet?¡± Chu Chuyan became a bit unhappy.

    Chu Youzhao really wasn¡¯t used to this pouting little girl side of her big sister. ¡°I already sent some people to look into it. His baron manor is where Sir Ding used to live. It should be right over there.¡±

    Chu Youzhao voiced her reply. Her footsteps unknowingly quickened. Chu Youzhao curled her lips in disdain, but she still followed her sister.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    They finally arrived in front of a courtyard. Chu Chuyan saw the card with therge words ¡®Phoenix Baron¡¯ on it and momentarily entered a daze. Everyone said that he was just a Chu n wastrel, yet now, he already became a baron!

    Even though baron was the lowest of the titles of nobility, this was the beginning. Now, he could already be considered a true aristocrat who could enjoy status and wealth normal people couldn¡¯t.

    She wondered what her parents¡¯ reactions were after learning that Zu An became a baron.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s lips curled upwards, as if she remembered something interesting.

    Chu Youzhao, who was watching her the entire time, wrinkled her nose. It was just a trifling baron, why was her sister bing so happy for?

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s previous impatience disappeared. She stood in front of the gate and began to sort out her clothes and hair, returning to her usual aloof and cold beauty. ¡°Help me knock on the door.¡±

    Chu Youzhao rolled her eyes. Sis, you looked like you were already impatient, and look at you putting on this wise and virtuous appearance again. You have your pride, but that doesn¡¯t mean that I don¡¯t!

    But the obedience that had been instilled within her by her big sister still made her do it. She walked over with a pout and knocked. ¡°Brother-inw, are you there? Me and big sis came for a visit! Hm? This door doesn¡¯t seem to be locked¡­¡±

    The man and woman who seemed to be ying a game almost had a heart attack when they heard her voice.

    Zu An immediately sat up. He couldn¡¯t hold it in anymore from the sudden stimtion. He erupted like a volcano.

    Qiu Honglei was ying around with a charming smile a moment ago and definitely couldn¡¯t dodge in time. She was immediately stunned.

    Zu An was also stunned. Brightmoon City was a ce where rich merchants gathered, a tier one city. The people there were used to seeing grand sights. However, even so, Qiu Honglei still turned the entire city upside down in just a bit over a year¡¯s time. All of the other courtesan queens werepletely overshadowed.

    Even though she was always charming and flirtatious, no one had ever seen her truly get close to a man. This instead gave her a special feeling of purity.

    It was because of the perfectbination of these two that so many officials in Brightmoon City becamepletely hooked on her. There were even some people who worshipped her like an untouchable goddess.

    Her stunning appearance already possessed fatal attraction. Now that there was this feature added as well, it really was too much for those men to resist. She was no longer an untouchable goddess, but rather one within reach!

    He took out a handkerchief and gave it to her. ¡°Here, wipe it off.¡±

    Qiu Honglei received the handkerchief with a grumbling expression. She didn¡¯t understand what came over her for her to help him with this type of thing. Even though she liked him a lot, things shouldn¡¯t have developed so quickly!

    Was it because they fought together yesterday, and then he took on a huge risk to save her master? Did she want to repay him out of a moment of emotion?

    But that doesn¡¯t seem right! If it was any other man, they would be begging to help her out!

    It¡¯s all because this man is too shameless. She was only making a joke. After all, she stayed in Immortal Abode for more than a year, so she was influenced by the way they spoke. But who would¡¯ve thought that he actually treated them seriously!

    She didn¡¯t know why, but she strangely let him get away with it. She was still a bit shy in the beginning, but she became more and more passionate too, only thinking about how to better please her lover¡­

    The room was filled with an ambiguous atmosphere, so she didn¡¯t feel anything then, but now that she was suddenly roused awake by the one at the gate, she was already beyond embarrassed. She didn¡¯t feel regret, she was just worried that she gave off the impression that she was cheap.

    ¡°What do we do now?¡± Qiu Honglei was a bit upset. She couldn¡¯t even wipe this stuff off properly!

    ¡°You should hide inside for now.¡± Zu An quickly pointed at a screen inside.

    Qiu Honglei didn¡¯t want anyone else to see her current appearance. She voiced her agreement and hid herself.

    Zu An thus quickly sorted out his clothes before greeting his visitors.

    ¡°So you were inside! Why did it take you so long toe out?¡± Chu Youzhao was unhappy when she saw him. Wouldn¡¯t her big sis strangle her if they ended up finding no one here after making this trip?

    ¡°I had something to take care of just now haha, so I was a bit absentminded.¡± Zu An said guiltily. Then, he gave Chu Chuyan a look. ¡°Chuyan, you came too.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I came to see your new ce. I haven¡¯t visited yet.¡± Chu Chuyan smiled. She suddenly stared at his cheeks. ¡°Huh? Why is your face so red?¡±

    ¡°It might be because it¡¯s a bit too hot inside, haha.¡± Zu An waved his hand like a fan and tried to muddle his way through.

    ¡°Is today hot?¡± Chu Youzhao was confused.

    Zu An didn¡¯t pay her any attention. He thought to himself that it was best if he didn¡¯t bring them inside, or else they might notice Qiu Honglei.

    But how could he do that? It would be strange if he didn¡¯t bring them inside to sit down when they came all this way!

    The two sisters still entered in the end. Chu Chuyan immediately frowned when she entered. Chu Youzhao didn¡¯t have so much misgivings and asked, ¡°Huh? What is this smell?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face went rigid. He said with an awkward smile, ¡°I just moved in and haven¡¯t had time to clean it yet. It might have some leftover smell.¡±

    Chu Youzhao replied with an ¡®oh¡¯. She epted this reply.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s expression was more strange. Her youngest sister was still a little girl, so she might not be able to distinguish this type of special smell, but how could she not?

    No wonder this guy¡¯s face is so red and his clothes look a bit messy! So he was doing that stuff by himself¡­

    Maybe he couldn¡¯t hold it in anymore? But the two of us had just¡­

    Her face flushed red. It was probably because he was scared by her little sister that he couldn¡¯t hold it in.

    Her cheeks became really hot when she recalled what happened that day.

    ¡°Huh? Big sis, why is your face so red? Is today really that hot?¡± Chu Youzhao was stunned. She didn¡¯t feel hot at all! Her big sister even cultivated the Snowke Sword, so why would she be scared of heat?

    Chu Chuyan gave her little sister a look. This little brat had that stupid bewildered look on her face, she really needed a good spanking. She changed the topic with a cough. ¡°Why aren¡¯t there any servants or maids here?¡±

    Zu An pointed at the imperial pce. ¡°I¡¯m scared that there¡¯ll be spies nted here, so I decided to reject their offer for servants. I¡¯m already used to living alone anyway.¡±

    Chu Chuyan shook her head. ¡°This is arge ce, how can you take care of everything alone? If news gets out, you¡¯ll be aughingstock in the entire capital city. I thought that it was because you were so poor that you couldn¡¯t hire any servants.¡±

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°It¡¯s their mouths anyway, if they want to talk, then let them.¡±

    Chu Youzhao rolled her eyes and said with disdain, ¡°Even if we ignore the other things, you need people for normal cleaning, right? Otherwise, this ce will always have this weird smell.¡±

    Zu An: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    Chu Chuyan couldn¡¯t help but smile when she saw his expression. ¡°How about this? I¡¯ll arrange for some servants for you. If you don¡¯t trust the capital city¡¯s people, I¡¯ll send some people I know from Brightmoon City.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea.¡± Zu An figured this made sense as well. This wasn¡¯t an apartment like his past world. He¡¯ll really work himself to death if he had to clean it himself.

    Chu Chuyan gave him an unhappy look. She felt like he was acting a bit strange for some reason. ¡°By the way, I heard that there were assassins in the eastern pce yesterday. Did you encounter any danger?¡±

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t too bad.¡± Zu An held her soft small hands. He didn¡¯t have a chance to tell her that he was now an Embroidered Envoy yet. He always had this stupid third-wheeling Chu Youzhao next to him. Even though he trusted Chu Chuyan, he didn¡¯t trust this brat. Chu Youzhao didn¡¯t look like the tight-lipped sort at all.

    The Qin n was even a core part of King Qi¡¯s forces. If he told her, it would leave Chu Chuyan quite conflicted too.

    Chu Youzhao said, ¡°I wonder where those assassins came from. They just had to say that King Qi incited them! Absolute nonsense.¡±

    Zu An gave her a sidelong nce. ¡°How do you know that it wasn¡¯t King Qi?¡±

    Chu Youzhao harrumphed. ¡°Of course it wasn¡¯t. King Qi is an outstanding and wise man, why would he do something like this? He was clearly set up! Those assassins really are shameless!¡±

    Qiu Honglei was currently massaging her sore wrist from behind the curtain. She frowned when she heard this. This kid was cursing her people right in front of her!

    Chu Chuyan suddenly turned around. ¡°Show yourself!¡±

 Chapter 635: Both Sides Shattered

    <h4>Chapter 635: Both Sides Shattered</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The reason why Chu Chuyan was able to leave the Qin n without any issues today was because she told them she was going to inquire about the assassin incident in the pce.

    Zu An was the crown prince¡¯s secretary, so he should know about the inside details. That was why the Qin n tacitly allowed her to leave.

    Of course, Chu Chuyan and her parents were of one mind. They only wished to remain neutral, they didn¡¯t want to be caught up in this battle for the throne. However, Chu Youzhao, this child who was raised in her grandfather¡¯s house since she was little, was already deeply partial to King Qi from what she was raised on. That was why she subconsciously spoke out for King Qi.

    The Qin n received news that the captured assassins looked like they absolutely wouldn¡¯t submit at first, but after a series of torture, they all confessed. All of them said that it was King Qi who sent them.

    This made the situation much more serious. Everyone in King Qi¡¯s faction rose up in rage. If they didn¡¯t deal with this issue properly, then their entire group might just copse.

    Chu Youzhao also seemed to take this personally. She cursed yesterday¡¯s assassins for framing them, calling them shameless and despicable.

    These words stung the ears of Qiu Honglei behind the screen, making her feel terrible. She leaked out a bit of her aura due to a ripple in her emotions.

    Chu Chuyan was now already a seventh ranked expert. She immediately sensed that something wasn¡¯t right.

    She didn¡¯t suspect Zu An. Her first reaction was that someone was hiding to attack him. After all, many people knew that he had the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, and he was now the crown prince¡¯s secretary as well. She heard that the death of the Shi n¡¯s young master was rted to him, so there was a chance that this was an assassin sent by the Shi n for revenge.

    As such, she immediately flew over, thrusting her fingers out like a sword.

    Sword ki immediately swept out towards the curtains.

    The curtains were sted to pieces by the sword ki in an instant, and a figure appeared. The two of them exchanged several attacks in session.

    Qiu Honglei was the Saintess after all, so she was the best of her age in terms of skill and technique. She wasn¡¯t at a disadvantage at all.

    Chu Youzhao excitedly rolled up her sleeves and charged over. ¡°Big sis, let me help!¡±

    When would she find a chance like this in the capital? No one dared to really fight against her normally. Murong Qinghe wasn¡¯t too bad since she had a high cultivation and was ferocious in battle, but she always gave up before the very end. It really was boring.

    It was much more dangerous when she encountered those assassins with her brother-inwst time. It was different today. She had her big sis and brother-inw here to protect her, so her safety was definitely ensured. That was why she charged over excitedly.

    Zu An pressed down on her head and stopped her. ¡°Don¡¯t charge over blindly. You¡¯ll only add to the chaos.¡±

    ¡°Stop touching my head!¡± Chu Youzhao waved her ws at him, but her figure was so small that her hands couldn¡¯t even reach Zu An and only waved about in the air.

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Youzhao for +233 +233 +233¡­

    Chu Chuyan stopped at this time as well. ¡°So it was you?¡±

    There was a bit of misunderstanding at first, but she already saw who she was from her appearance. Brightmoon City Immortal Abode¡¯s courtesan queen! Later on, they even fought together on the way to the capital, so how could she not recognize this person?

    Qiu Honglei voiced her agreement. ¡°Greetings, Chu first miss.¡±

    She was a bit rmed right now and didn¡¯t know what to say.

    ¡°Huh? They know each other?¡± Chu Youzhao became disappointed when she heard what they said. They weren¡¯t going to keep fighting anymore! She angrily smacked Zu An¡¯s hand away.

    Zu An wanted to say something, but his survival instincts told him to shut his mouth right now.

    ¡°What is Lady Qiu doing here? Could it be that you desire Ah Zu¡¯s Phoenix Nirvana Sutra?¡± Chu Chuyan frowned. She naturally knew that she was the Saintess of the Devil Sect. She still remembered how the Devil Sect¡¯s experts tried to kidnap Zu An.

    If it wasn¡¯t because Qiu Honglei secretly helped Zu An, there was no way she would show mercy right now.

    Qiu Honglei said with a cough, ¡°I was in the capital, so I decided to visit an old friend.¡±

    This reason was indeed suitable, but Chu Chuyan just felt like something was strange. Suddenly, she remembered that strange smell here. She suddenly thought of something and said, ¡°You haven¡¯t wiped off all of the stuff on your face yet.¡±

    Qiu Honglei was incredibly embarrassed. She quickly moved her hand to her face, but there was nothing there at all. ¡°You lied¡­¡±

    But she noticed right away midway through her sentence. She fell for her trap.

    Zu An gasped as well. The pure and cold Chu Chuyan actually had this dark side to her!

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s expression became cold. She harrumphed and gave Zu An a look.

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Chuyan for +256 +256 +256¡­

    This scoundrel! She was worried about him just a moment ago and felt that she might not have fulfilled her duty properly as a wife. Yet in the end, he was having fun with another woman here!

    Zu Anughed in embarrassment. ¡°Chuyan¡­¡±

    Chu Chuyan didn¡¯t want to hear any exnation. She looked at Qiu Honglei and said, ¡°If I recall correctly, Lady Qiu is unmarried. Bying to the home of a married man and¡­ doing these things, the Devil Sect¡¯s people indeed do things differently.¡±

    Chu Youzhao was a smart person herself. Even though she didn¡¯t know what was happening exactly, she could roughly guess that this woman was her big sister¡¯s rival in love. Hmph, she looks like a slut. I knew she wasn¡¯t anyone good.

    She also spoke out and said, ¡°Big sis, did you only realize this now? The Devil Sect are all this shameless and despicable!¡±

    Even though she rarely spoke noisily around her big sister, she obviously had to stand on her sister¡¯s side here.

    Qiu Honglei was furious inside, but she was full of smiles on the surface. ¡°Indeed, our Devil Sect is shameless and despicable. There is no way we canpare to the righteous great ns! If you¡¯re of value, then you¡¯ll be worked like a dog. Once you¡¯re useless, you¡¯re swept right out the door and never seen again, because it would be oh so terrible to have them bringing the n down. It is instead our Devil Sect¡¯s monsters who have always been finding a way to rescue these people. Ah Zu, what do you say?¡±

    Zu An broke out in cold sweat. ¡°Hey guys, it¡¯s not that serious haha. Separating from the Chu n is something we agreed to beforehand, and I didn¡¯t want to trouble them. Also, Chuyan, she still¡­¡±

    Qiu Honglei immediately cut him off here and targeted Chu Chuyan. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re right. I remember that you have nothing to do with the Chu n anymore. I wonder what a certain someone is trying to prove by strutting here as if they have a righteous reason?¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s breathing stopped. The Chu n¡¯s decision to break things off with Zu An had always been a thorn in her heart. She wasn¡¯t in Brightmoon City back then, and by the time she found out, it was already toote.

    The two of them tacitly chose not to bring this up, but now, she was facing the consequences. Right¡­ the two of them weren¡¯t husband and wife anymore.

    Chu Youzhao was furious. ¡°Where did this vixene from? You¡¯re stealing someone else¡¯s man, yet you¡¯re doing it with such forced justice! I¡¯m going to contact the government office and have them capture you Devil Sect scum.¡±

    But Qiu Honglei merely leaned against Zu An charmingly. ¡°I am Ah Zu¡¯s good friend, and I live here normally. If you tell on me, then aren¡¯t you putting him in an awkward spot? Ah Zu has treated your Chu n with utmost duty, right? Is this how you bite the hand that feeds you?¡±

    ¡°You¡­¡± Chu Youzhao was stumped for words. How could she be a match for someone like Qiu Honglei, the Devil Sect¡¯s Saintess who even stayed in Immortal Abode for a long time?

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s eyelids were jumping when she saw how she leaned against Zu An. I should¡¯ve just let Zhuxie Chixin capture her instead of letting her go! Hmph! I¡¯m so angry!

    She turned around with an expressionless face. ¡°Youzhao, let¡¯s go.¡±

    Chu Youzhao was a bit unhappy at this result. Big sis, you are his main lover! How can you let this bitch get away? But when she saw how fast her big sister was leaving, she still followed her when she measured the gap between herself and Qiu Honglei.

    Zu An was about to exin, but Qiu Honglei grabbed him. ¡°Ah Zu, can you bring me some water to wash my face with? I feel like there are scabs forming on my face.¡±

    Chu Chuyan, who had just reached the entrance, suddenly stopped. She took a deep breath, and then she continued without even turning around.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Chuyan for +999 Rage points!

    When he saw QIu Honglei¡¯s hopeful and pleading expression, Zu An sighed. After everything that happened, he would seem a bit too heartless if he left now. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll get some water for you.¡±

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s panicked heart finally calmed down when she heard what he said. Her face was beaming with smiles.

    ¡°Honglei, we could¡¯ve all got along, why did you have to say such harsh things?¡± Zu An helped her wash her face while saying this gloomily.

 Chapter 636: Signboards

    <h4>Chapter 636: Signboards</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Qiu Honglei harrumphed. ¡°I cannot stand her righteous attitude! It was one thing when I visited Chu Manorst time. She was indeed your wife back then, but the Chu n already abandoned you for their own sake, so how can I still let her get away with that?¡±

    Zu An sighed. ¡°It¡¯s not what you think. That was the best choice back then, and the Chu n helped me in private afterwards.¡±

    Qiu Honglei pouted. ¡°I still feel like they abandoned you.¡±

    Zu An was silent. He understood that all decisions made by a n had to consider the benefits of most people. They definitely couldn¡¯t act based on their own selfish whims, so he understood why the Chu n did what they did. However, understanding was understanding. He didn¡¯t feel too good about this either. He discovered that after arriving in this world, he never had a true family.

    Qiu Honglei held his hand when she saw his dejected appearance. ¡°Okay¡­ My motives weren¡¯t that pure either. I just didn¡¯t want to see her act smug.¡±

    Zu An smiled and pulled her into his embrace. ¡°You¡¯re a Devil Sect monster, right? It¡¯spletely natural for you to do something like this.¡±

    After doing what they just did, their rtionship improved drastically. Qiu Honglei also leanedfortably into his embrace to continue their affection that had just ended.

    ¡­

    However, Zu An didn¡¯t forget his objective for leaving the pce. He bought a hammock from a shop on the street. Qiu Honglei kept himpany. She was surprised when she saw this. ¡°Why are you buying this?¡±

    ¡°For your master of course. It¡¯s pretty awkward for a man and woman to live together.¡± Zu An exined.

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°You slept on the same bed as masterst night?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face heated up. How could he dare to admit something like this? He quickly said, ¡°There¡¯s no way that¡¯s possible. Even if I wanted to, would your master agree?¡±

    Qiu Honglei smiled. ¡°You¡¯re right. It¡¯ll make more sense for her to kill you with one smack.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, it¡¯s not just a smack, he was still sore from her kick this morning.

    Zu An had to head into the eastern pce to clock in for work after he bought the hammock. There was something so big that happened in the eastern pce yesterday, so it would be bad if the crown prince¡¯s secretary didn¡¯t show up.

    The two reluctantly separated. Qiu Honglei sighed as she looked at his retreating figure. She had no idea what in the world happened to her today. She clearly shouldn¡¯t be so close to him because of her cultivation technique, yet she just had to argue with Chu Chuyan.

    But when she recalled her attitude thest time she visited the Chu n, she still felt awful. She finally felt better after facing her head-on today.

    ¡­

    Zu An continued to received Chu Chuyan¡¯s Rage points the entire way to the imperial pce. He thought to himself that he really pissed her off badly. He had to find a way to appease her anger.

    But he had his work to take care of first. He had to enter the pce first.

    Zu An pretended like he had no idea what happened and entered the eastern pce like normal. He immediately expressed his shock when he saw the ttened Eastern Pce.

    Someone spoke up from the side. ¡°Isn¡¯t this Sir Zu?¡±

    Zu An turned around. He noticed that a guard with dark circles was walking over. He smiled and said, ¡°So it was Sir Piao.¡±

    Piao Duandiao was quite shocked. An imperial guard like him obviously needed to recognize everyone who came in and out of the eastern pce. He didn¡¯t expect the new crown prince¡¯s secretary would know his name. This fe was way better than that arrogant Shi Kun.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    As such, he immediately had a favorable impression of Zu An. ¡°Sir Zu, the assassins attacked the eastern pce yesterday. There was even a grandmaster who came, and his majesty personally got involved. This ce was razed to the ground from the st waves.¡±

    Zu An asked with concern, ¡°Are the crown prince and crown princess okay?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re fine, they were just shaken up a bit. We¡¯re using another pce to temporarily serve as the eastern pce. I¡¯ll bring you there.¡± Piao Duandian said enthusiastically.

    Staff like them who worked in the pce all aimed to not offend anyone. This fe was even quite nice to him, so he obviously wouldn¡¯t treat him rudely.

    ¡°Thank you, Sir Piao.¡± Zu An cupped his hands. After yesterday¡¯s interaction, he knew that this was a fe who liked to be in the limelight, so he was obviously going to adapt.

    Piao Duandiao felt amazing when he heard Zu An call him Sir Piao. His expression became more and more friendly.

    The two of them began to chat casually. Piao Duandiao felt more and more like this new secretary was a good fe. He was going to introduce this secretary to Jiao Sigun next time.

    They quickly arrived at the new eastern pce. Zu An paid the crown prince a visit first, but the fatty was so rmedst night that he waspletely dispirited today. He wasn¡¯t even in the mood to y anymore, and so he naturally didn¡¯t want to meet with him.

    Zu An didn¡¯t mind at all. He was happy to remain invisible for the day. However, continuing like this without doing anything was a bit boring.

    A whileter, he asked the people around him and learned that the crown prince¡¯s lesser tutor was also injured quite badly. Together with such a huge thing happening yesterday, today¡¯s lessons were thus canceled.

    He wondered if he could use this chance to get closer to big sis sect master¡­ pah! Help Honglei¡¯s master pass on information to her master.

    No one will notice if he goes for a stroll, right?

    He snuck towards the entrance, but he ended up running into a beautiful woman.

    Zu An was rmed when he saw who it was. He quickly took a few steps back. ¡°I greet the crown princess!¡±

    It was precisely because he unintentionally carried her that the emperor stingily wanted him to chop off his hand. Now, if he really bumped into her, there would be nowhere for him to run to.

    The crown princess was given a fright. She quickly took a step back and regained her footing. The decorations on her dress bumped into each other from her sudden movements.

    However, her mood was clearly not that great. She said with a frown. ¡°And where are you off to?¡± Zu An obviously didn¡¯t dare to say that he was skipping work. After thinking for a bit, he exined, ¡°I wanted to use the restroom.¡±

    The crown princess frowned in disdain. ¡°You werete today.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face heated up. After ying around with Qiu Honglei, he ended up beingte. ¡°The security outside the pce was strict and there were patrolling soldiers everywhere. That was why there was a dy.¡±

    This woman had her fierce and arrogant appearance again. Her appearance yesterday was much cuter in his opinion.

    The crown princess voiced her reply. ¡°Remember to leave earlier next time. The crown prince¡¯s secretary, apart from apanying the crown prince in his studies, also shoulders the important duty of ensuring the crown prince¡¯s safety. I didn¡¯t see you anywhere yesterday when the assassins came. Fortunately, golden token envoy Sir Eleven arrived in time. You should learn from his example.¡±

    ¡°Of course, of course. I will definitely learn properly from his example.¡± Zu An didn¡¯t argue with her that it would be even more strange for him to remain in the eastern pce when his shift ended. Hmph, I wonder what this woman¡¯s expression would be like if she found out I am precisely golden token eleven!

    The crown princess frowned. She sighed inwardly. Why was everyone so ipetent and infuriating?! Look at how mature and earnest Sir Eleven is, how he gives off a natural sense of security, yet this fe only knows how to put on that fake smile. If the crown prince only has these useless idiots at his side, how were they going to face King Qi in the future?

    She wanted to say more when a tall and skinny lesser eunuch rushed over. ¡°I greet the crown princess! Her highness the empress wishes for a meeting.¡±

    Zu An recognized him to be one of the empress¡¯ two lesser eunuchs, Little Gui. After the attack on the Pce of Peace, many high eunuchs were assassinated by the Shadow Group. Those two fes really did get promoted like crazy.

    The crown princess nodded. ¡°There were too many things that happened these days. I almost forgot to wish the empress good health.¡±

    She called over the stunned fatty off to the side and was about to head over to the ce of Peace. Little Gui said with a big smile, ¡°The empress has invited everyone from the eastern pce as well. She wishes to reward those who bravely defended herst night.¡±

    The crown princess was stunned momentarily, but this made sense as well, so she didn¡¯t pay it too much attention. Even though the empress intends to rope some people in with this move, the crown princess didn¡¯t feel a need to bicker over such a small matter with her. Furthermore, if she did interfere with this matter, the eastern pce¡¯s people would resent her for it too. She wouldn¡¯t do something so foolish.

    Zu An¡¯s heart instead pounded. He immediately knew that the crown prince and crown princess, even the entire eastern pce were just signboards, just pretenses. This was just for the sake of meeting him!

 Chapter 637: Push and Pull

    <h4>Chapter 637: Push and Pull</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    All of them hurried to the Pce of Peace. It was often troublesome for ordinary subjects to enter the pce, but with the crown prince and princess in the lead, as well as the empress¡¯ own personal eunuchs apanying them, it was smooth sailing.

    Along the way, Little Gui snuck Zu An a secretive look, confirming their friendship. As he passed by Zu An, he spoke in a quiet voice, ¡°Thank you, My Lord, for saving my life.¡±

    Those who worked in the pce were usually sharp individuals. He obviously knew that he had almost been silenced yesterday, and was only alive because of Zu An. Not only that, he was even promoted to the station of the empress¡¯ personal eunuch.

    Zu An smiled. ¡°You¡¯re too kind,¡± he replied. ¡°We were merely helping each other out.¡±

    This was exactly what Little Gui wanted to hear. He was further ted by theck of arrogance in the other party¡¯s bearing. ¡°We should find the opportunity to grow even closer in the future.¡±

    He didn¡¯t dare speak for too long, especially with so many people around them. With these final words, he moved to the front of the party to lead the way.

    Zu An smiled as well. He knew how formidable eunuchs could be, after all the dramas he had watched in his previous world. It was best not to offend these fellows if possible, and it would be even better if he could get along with them.

    Of course, he had to make sure all of this was done in secret. He¡¯d surely be looked down on by most of the court if he was always seen hanging around them.

    Even though the two of them had only spoken briefly, their conversation hadn¡¯t escaped the crown princess¡¯ ears. She moved next to Zu An. ¡°Are you familiar with the eunuchs in the Pce of Peace?¡± she asked with a frown.

    Zu An could smell her sweet fragrance. ¡°It was this eunuch who led the way the previous time the empress invited me for an audience,¡± he replied.

    ¡°The two of you are this close after just a single meeting?¡± The crown princess frowned, rm bells ringing in her mind. Was the empress trying to insert her spies into the eastern pce?

    ¡°Maybe I¡¯m just a naturally friendly person,¡± replied Zu An with a chuckle. At the same time, he couldn¡¯t miss the crown princess¡¯ wariness. Sure enough, it seemed daughter-inws had a natural animosity towards their mother-inws, no matter what world they were in. Furthermore, the empress wasn¡¯t the crown prince¡¯s biological mother, which was yet another thing that fueled the crown princess¡¯ suspicions.

    The crown princess was momentarily speechless.

    This guy considers himself a naturally friendly person? Where the heck does his confidencee from?

    His cheeky expression really ticked her off. Golden Token Lord Eleven¡¯s emotionless, steadfast visage appeared in her mind. That was what a man should be like!

    When she remembered how he had held her yesterday, she suddenly felt the side of her waist grow warm. This is where he had ced his hand yesterday¡­

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The crown princess felt her cheeks start to burn. She hurriedly dispelled these random thoughts. ¡°Why did the empress seek you out yesterday?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Nothing much. She was merely concerned with the reliability of the crown prince¡¯s new secretary. She was also interested in the details of what happened to Shi Kun,¡± replied Zu An.

    The crown princess stared at him. ¡°And how did you reply?¡±

    The empress was the mistress of her own pce, and it was natural for her to ask about all these things. For some reason, though, the crown princess felt unsettled. It was as if the empress was reaching a meddling hand into her own domain.

    ¡°Of course I replied that I¡¯m a reliable man. As for the matter concerning Shi Kun, I only told her everything you instructed us to say.¡± Zu An wasn¡¯t satisfied with being the only one having to answer questions, so he changed the topic. ¡°Huh? Why don¡¯t I see Granny Mo anywhere¡­ Ahem, I meant to say, your personal maid?¡±

    The crown princess¡¯ voice took on a slightly worried edge. ¡°She was seriously injured in the bitter battle yesterday, and her soul was wounded. It¡¯s a pity there was no appropriate medicine to treat her. All she can do is rest.¡±

    Zu An was stunned by this revtion. So the crown princess had gone to the hospital looking for medicine for her maid! But why did she suddenly give the medicine to me?

    Rong Mo might just faint if she knew about this.

    He remembered how infatuated the crown princess was with his other identity, and a sudden thought urred to him. He examined this beauty up close. She had beautiful eyes and an oval face, and her lips were moist and red. He had to admit that she really was a gorgeous specimen. She was good enough to be considered a good match for him.

    His eyesnded on the red beauty mark between her eyebrows. How is this thing made? It looks like a plum blossom sometimes, and at other times, a clover. It looks pretty ssy.

    The crown princess was about to say something else, but she noticed that he was staring at her as soon as she looked up at him. She frowned. ¡°Lord Zu, please remember your status.¡±

    Why is he staring at me like this? Is this guy tired of living?

    If it had been anyone else, she might¡¯ve exploded on the spot, but she knew that he was only amoner from Brightmoon City, and had only made it to his station through a series of coincidental opportunities. It was only natural that he didn¡¯t understand some of the rules.

    If she stirred something up, rumors might surface. Her social standing was rather precarious right now, and countless eyes were watching her. The fewerplications, the better.

    Zu An was speechless when he saw the crown princess turn her head away, as though avoiding a pervert¡¯s gaze. Do you have to go that far? I was just looking at your beauty mark. I wasn¡¯t lusting after you or anything.

    ¡­

    Their party soon reached the Pce of Peace. The crown princess and crown prince entered to pay their respects, and the empress smiled in return. She didn¡¯t give Zu An a single look. The empress and the crown princess chatted amiably.

    Zu An snorted in disdain. Look at this loving mother-and-child act. The crown princess clearly mistrusts the empress, and the empress revealed her dissatisfaction with the crown princess just yesterday. Yet when they meet face-to-face, they look like besties!

    Tsk, women are truly terrifying.

    After exchanging some small talk, the empress bestowed rewards upon the others within the eastern pce, awarding them for their service in protecting the crown prince and princess.

    The crown princess gave Zu An a sidelong nce. Rewarding the others was one thing, but this fellow had left early yesterday. What bullsh*t contributions did he make?

    Calm down, calm down. You¡¯re a wise and virtuousdy. How can you use such crude words?

    An impulse came over the fat crown prince, and he began to throw a tantrum, demanding food. The empress was just about to send them away, but when she saw this, she smiled. She ordered the maids to take them aside for some refreshments.

    The crown princess had no choice but to go along. She didn¡¯t have to worry about the food being poisoned, because the crown prince was the child of the empress¡¯ older sister. They were on the same side, united against King Qi.

    The way her husband¡ªin name only¡ªinhaled the food was utterly embarrassing. Unfortunately, she couldn¡¯t reveal her true feelings, and forced herself to stare nkly to one side. Lord Eleven, who had saved her from the dangerous crisis, unwittingly appeared in her mind again, and she let out an internal sigh.

    The others from the eastern pce were also brought to a different part of the pce for refreshments. All of them were extremely moved by the empress¡¯ show of appreciation.

    Zu An was secretly taken to another pce by Little Gui. There, the empress was sittingfortably on a recliner, her dress outlining her voluptuous curves.

    Her ass is wider than her shoulders, her thighs thicker than a goddess¡¯¡­

    Zu An silently evaluated her. He had no idea what the emperor was thinking either, ignoring such a stunning woman. She¡¯s experiencing a drought, man!

    The empress casually waved Little Gui away. Eunuch Lu seemed to have been given instructions beforehand. He too withdrew outside.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but chuckle. ¡°The empress had everyone else withdraw, and only kept the two of them here. Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re lusting after my body?¡±

    The empress¡¯ expression grew as cold and dark as a winter storm. ¡°Filthy servant, you¡¯re growing more daring by the day! Believe me when I say that I can have you dragged out and beaten to death by the rod on the spot!¡±

    Zu An lost his smile as well. ¡°Empress, I¡¯ve shown you the necessary respect in front of others, yet you bring me to such a private ce only to threaten me. Could it be that you¡¯ve gotten something wrong?¡±

    The empress¡¯ heart skipped a beat when she noticed his invasive gaze. For some reason, her heart, which had been dry for far too long, felt as though it had been watered by a youthful spring rain.

    She straightened rather unnaturally, and her voice lost some of its edge. ¡°This empress¡­ I brought you here to ask you what happened to that assassin.¡±

    Her sudden change in attitude and the more informal way she was speaking to him, left Zu An slightly shocked. Do I have to be fierce to you before you act civilly? Could you somehow be a masochist?

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± he replied quietly. ¡°That assassin is already under my control. He won¡¯t cause any more trouble.¡±

    The empress¡¯ expression flickered. ¡°You didn¡¯t kill him?¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°What if the empress secretly kills me after I kill him?¡±

    The empress¡¯ expression fluctuated several times. This thought had crossed her mind before. She had indeed nned to have Eunuch Lu find an opportunity to silence him. Even though killing a crown prince¡¯s secretary was rather troublesome, it was a risk worth taking, for the sake of her reputation. She didn¡¯t want anyone to have any leverage against her.

    ¡°Rx,¡± Zu An said. ¡°As long as I¡¯m safe and sound, that person will always be under my control. But if something happens to me, I can¡¯t promise that rumors won¡¯t spring up all over the ce.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Liu Ning for 444 Rage points!

    The empress ground her teeth in anger. She obviously knew that he was threatening her, but worst of all, she couldn¡¯t do a thing about it.

    ¡°Do you know that both of us will be finished if that assassin escapes?¡± she said grimly.

    ¡°I¡¯ve made the appropriate arrangements. There won¡¯t be anyplications,¡± said Zu An with great confidence.

    ¡°I hope you don¡¯t disappoint me. Get lost.¡± The empress rubbed her temples. She felt extremely vexed.

    Zu An¡¯s face turned cold. He took a step forward and pinched her cheek. ¡°Woman, don¡¯t talk to me like that.¡±

    He knew that, in this strange sort of rtionship, the weaker he appeared, the easier it would be for her to step all over him. He had to take the initiative to control the situation.

    The empress was stunned. She never thought that this fellow would dare to be so rude to her!

 Chapter 638: Lethal Move

    <h4>Chapter 638: Lethal Move</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Thest time, the assassins had thrown the ce into chaos, and no one had been paying attention to them. Now, though, the crown prince and princess weren¡¯t far away, and the same could be said for the rest of the people from the eastern pce. Eunuch Lu and the other eunuchs were guarding the entrance as well.

    How dare he!

    For some reason, though, this feeling of oppression was apletely new experience for her. Even though her mind told her to reject him, and that she should hate him for doing this, every cell in her body was crying out in pleasure. Her body and her heart hadin dormant for far too long. This fellow was kindling in her the same feelings that she experienced when she first met the emperor.

    She took a deep breath and dispelled those thoughts from her mind. She did her best to keep her voice from shaking. ¡°Do you know what you are doing right now?¡±

    Zu An calmly said, ¡°I only want the empress to understand our current rtionship. I won¡¯t be so polite if you call me a filthy servant again.¡±

    The empress¡¯ breathing became hurried, and her ample chest heaved. Her usually-dignified eyes were on the verge of tearing. ¡°What sort of impoliteness do you have in mind?¡±

    Zu An almost choked. He really hadn¡¯t expected this¡­ He was only nning to scare her a little and gain some respect. Wasn¡¯t her reaction a little over the top?

    The empress¡¯ smile was extremely dangerous. ¡°Brat, don¡¯t pretend as though you¡¯d really do anything to me. Even if I just lie here and let you do what you wish, would you really dare?¡±

    For some reason, she felt a twinge of anticipation.

    Frightened by it, she quickly tried to suppress it.

    Zu An was left speechless.

    He had to admit that he really didn¡¯t dare cross that line.

    The empress was way too powerful. She could have him killed with a single thought. Even though the emperor rarely left the pce, secrets rarely remained secrets forever. With his divine senses, it would be hard for anything to slip past him.

    Even though the empress was a mature and juicy peach, ripe for picking, he didn¡¯t dare take such a huge risk. He still had a lot of things he wanted to do, after all.

    Seeing his momentary hesitation, the empress chuckled and pushed his hand away. ¡°It''s useless to try to bluff this empress. In the future, we¡¯ll both just mind our own business and pretend that nothing ever happened. Please do not vainly try to use that matter against me.¡±

    This was actually all Zu An was hoping for as well. It would have been a little shameful to admit it, though.

    Mature women weren¡¯t the same as young maidens after all. Sigh, why do I feel like I was yed? This is so embarrassing.

    Just then, someone suddenly walked in through the doorway.

    Zu An and the empress immediately straightened and put some distance between each other.

    The empress was clearly unhappy. ¡°Why did youe inside?¡±

    The one who had entered was Eunuch Lu. He peered at Zu An with his hawk-like eyes. ¡°Empress, do you want this old servant to kill him?¡±

    Zu An was rmed. This man facing him was at the ninth rank, and he¡¯d been standing at the doorway, which was close by. If he had wanted to, he could have easily eavesdropped on them.

    I was too careless!

    He wasn¡¯t utterly terrified, though. Although his current cultivation was not enough to defeat this old eunuch, he could protect himself well enough. Furthermore, there was no way the empress would want this matter to leak out, which meant that she would not call anyone else to help.

    The empress looked at him in surprise. She didn¡¯t expect him to still be calm in this situation. She shook her head. ¡°There¡¯s no need. I know what I¡¯m doing.¡±

    She gave the eunuch a look of displeasure. ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you to wait outside? Who told you toe in?¡±

    Eunuch Lu¡¯s sinister expression immediately morphed into an apologetic smile. ¡°Your Highness, I just received some important information that you need to know about.¡±

    Zu An waspletely speechless. This guy¡¯s expression had changed way too quickly. Simps really are a different breed¡­ Keep on licking her boots, I guess. No matter how hard you try, you won¡¯t get a single crumb.

    ¡°Speak.¡± The empressy back down on her recliner, assuming her usual indifference.

    Eunuch Lu¡¯s eyes burned with passion as he took in her wonderful curves. Unfortunately, the fire quickly dimmed. Something urred to him, and he turned around to look at Zu An, his expression slightly uncertain.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Lord Zu will be one of us in the future.¡± The empress chuckled. She didn¡¯t mind using these insignificant matters to reel Zu An in.

    Zu An was speechless when he saw Eunuch Lu¡¯s hate-filled eyes. Bro, you don¡¯t even have a pipi. Why are you treating everyone as your rival in love?

    Eunuch Lu made his report. ¡°Reporting to the empress. The Left Guard General Cheng Xiong is currently investigating the Embroidered Envoy within the pce.¡±

    ¡°Investigating the Embroidered Envoy? Has he gone mad?¡± The empress was stunned. The Embroidered Envoy were the emperor¡¯s trusted aides. How could Cheng Xiong be that bold?

    Zu An secretly panicked. This was probably a scheme directed against him.

    Eunuch Lu continued, ¡° received information that an assassin was dressed in the uniform of the Embroidered Envoy. That is why the number of Embroidered Envoy uniforms is being checked. Those within the Embroidered Envoy are unhappy with this, and are currently opposing him.¡±

    Zu An felt as if a bucket of cold water was dumped on him. It was clear as day. Cheng Xiong wasing after him!

    Cheng Xiong must have been disheartened by his failure the night before, but he had surely nned to retaliate in an even stronger fashion. This time, his investigation had been extremely thorough. He had even managed to find out that he had used his Embroidered Envoy uniform to sneak Snow out!

    He seemed to be making an enemy of the whole Embroidered Envoy, but in reality, this was a lethal strike aimed at him.

    Yun Jianyue was still hiding in his residence. She had been fortunate enough to escape detection yesterday, but if the search continued, it would grow more difficult for her to hide.

    What should I do? What am I supposed to do now?

    His mind moved at lightning speed. At the same time, he felt a twinge of regret. He¡¯d underestimated the intelligence of the people of this world. These weren¡¯t NPCs from the novels he¡¯d read or the games he¡¯d yed. They were all sharp-witted individuals, worthy of their current positions of power.

    He tried to think of countermeasures. His first thought was to ask the empress for help, but what was he supposed to say? How could he secure the empress¡¯ help to aid the Embroidered Envoy, unless he revealed his own identity as one of them?

    If he revealed his identity, though, was he then supposed to exin to her that he had helped an assassin escape?

    She might assume that he knew the assassins, which would make the situation even more problematic.

    Furthermore, she had the Liu n backing her. If she found out about his status as an Embroidered Envoy, it would be impossible to ensure that she didn¡¯t reveal it to her n. That would make things even more dangerous for him, as both the emperor and King Qi would want him gone.

    Should he contact Zhuxie Chixin? He couldn¡¯t just let these people climb all over him. Besides, they had gotten along quite well the day before¡­

    No way, no way. Things will be even moreplicated if that old fox Zhuxie Chixin found out that I let an assassin go.

    As his mind worked, the empress, reclining on her seat, shed a slow smile. ¡°Cheng Xiong is someone in King Qi¡¯s faction. He¡¯s worried that His Majesty might use this as an excuse to transfer him away from his important position, so he is already trying everything he can to prevent it. It¡¯s fine. Let him and the Embroidered Envoy have their little dogfight.¡±

    Zu An was surprised. Cheng Xiong is in King Qi¡¯s faction?

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    No wonder he cared so much about this investigation! Wait, there¡¯s something I can do.

    ¡°Empress, if there is nothing else, I¡¯ll take my leave.¡± Zu An bowed to the empress again. He had to show her proper etiquette in front of others.

    ¡°Eunuch Lu, escort him out for me.¡± The empress waved her hand. She didn¡¯t seem to be in the mood to entertain Eunuch Lu privately.

    ¡°Understood.¡± Eunuch Lu led Zu An out, his expression rather awful.

    I touched the goddess he dreams about every night, so it¡¯s normal for him to hate me. I suppose there¡¯s no getting along with him.

    They left the room, and Eunuch Lu closed the door. He was about to speak, but hesitated slightly, before finally saying it anyway. ¡°You¡¯re a thief without the guts to match. Are you really that scared of His Majesty finding out?¡±

    Zu An was taken aback by his tone. This wasn¡¯t what he was expecting! Why did he feel like this eunuch was secretly encouraging his actions?

    Hadn¡¯t he always fancied the empress? Why would he allow another man to get close to her? He even seemed pretty excited about it.

    Eunuch Lu¡­ or should I say, Eunuch Green?[1]

    1. The surname Lu is simr to the Chinese character for ¡®green¡¯, and green represents¡­ you guys already know at this point.

 Chapter 639: Kill the Criminal

    <h4>Chapter 639: Kill the Criminal</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An smiled in embarrassment. ¡°Eunuch has misunderstood. I have utmost respect for the empress. Why would I do anything that offends her?¡±

    ¡°Heh.¡± Eunuch Lu smirked.

    Zu An really didn¡¯t want to talk too much with this old creep. After a few more sentences, he bid him farewell.

    He quickly arrived at the side chamber. The crown prince was stuffing his face, his mouth and fingers covered in grease.

    The crown princess¡¯ expression waspletely cold. She clearly wanted to lecture the crown prince, yet she was worried that this was the Pce of Peace, so it was bad if others saw her lecture the crown prince. She could only hold it all in, but the more she endured, the more angry she got. She said with a sneer, ¡°Crown prince, have you finished your meal? It is time for us to go back.¡±

    The fatty shook his head. ¡°They said that there¡¯s still a lot of fooding! There¡¯s steamedmb, steamed bear¡¯s paw, steamed deer tail, roast duck, roast chicken, roast goose, stewed pork, stewed duck, stewed chicken, spiced meat, air-dried meat, sausages, assorted vegetables, smoked chicken, pork soup, sticky rice duck¡­¡±

    The crown princess¡¯ eyelids jumped when she heard all of this. This fe couldn¡¯t even remember more than three sentences from the Three Character ssic, yet he remembered the names of all of these dishes. Were you a pig in yourst life?

    When Zu An arrived, he almost saw steame out of her head.

    He hesitated. Would now be a bad time to talk to her?

    But the current matters were pressing. He couldn¡¯t be bothered with all of that right now and braced himself. ¡°Crown princess.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± The crown princess was extremely unhappy.

    Zu An was annoyed. This woman really was fickle. She was so nice when I wore that mask, why are youpletely different now?

    He could only say patiently, ¡°The empress bestowed us many things, but I wasn¡¯t even in the eastern pce yesterday. I feel guilty epting all of this, so how about we pass them onto people who really need these goods?¡±

    ¡°Those who really need it?¡± The crown princess felt like this guy at least had some self-awareness. ¡°Forget it, just take them. Those who deserve rewards already received them, so you can just keep what you were given.¡±

    As a crown princess, she naturally wouldn¡¯t do something like take the rewards of her subordinates. Otherwise, the empress would be the phnthropist, while she became the evil person.

    ¡°Hm, wait¡­¡± She suddenly thought of something. There was indeed someone who didn¡¯t receive any rewards.

    She suddenly felt excited and called over the big fatty. ¡°Crown prince, we should express our thanks to golden token Sir Eleven. He saved us yesterday.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The nervous Zu An sighed in relief when he heard her say this. Thank goodness the crown princess was smart.

    It was because she was smart that even though Zu An wanted to drag the crown princess straight over to deal with Cheng Xiong, he was worried that she might smell something fishy afterwards.

    He couldn¡¯t let anyone make the slightest connection between the crown prince¡¯s secretary and Golden Token Eleven.

    That was why he could only make tactful suggestions and make the crown princess think of Golden Token Eleven herself. That way, there wouldn¡¯t be any problems.

    The crown prince waspletely immersed in the food right now. When he heard this, he waved his hands and said, ¡°I¡¯m not going. I didn¡¯t finish eating yet.¡±

    ¡°Eat, eat, eat, that¡¯s all you know how to do!¡± The crown princess finally couldn¡¯t hold it in anymore. Her face was covered in disgust when she saw the crown prince¡¯s jiggling fat. ¡°You don¡¯t even care about the one who saved your life? Once his majesty and the lesser tutor find out about this, they¡¯re going to scold you again!¡±

    The crown prince protected the food in front of him as if he was worried that she might just swipe all of it onto the floor. After all, it wouldn¡¯t be the first time she did that.

    After sessfully protecting the food, he sighed in relief and said, ¡°Can¡¯t we just have that imperial guarde over and give him some reward? Why do we have to run all the way there?¡±

    Zu An panicked. What the crown prince said wasn¡¯t entirely without reason. All of the guards and officials were the royal family¡¯s subjects. Why did the master have to visit the subject themselves?

    Fortunately, the crown princess harrumphed and said, ¡°We obviously need to express our sincerity when others save our lives. Furthermore, as the royal family, we should be winning over our subjects with goodwill. This is something that should be little effort but great benefits.¡±

    But regardless of how she tried to reason with him, the crown prince remained unmoved. ¡°Go by yourself then, if you really wanna go.¡±

    Food was clearly a higher priority than the one who saved his life.

    The crown princess gritted her teeth. She decided she wasn¡¯t going to say anything else. She waved her hand and said, ¡°We¡¯re going!¡±

    Zu An followed behind her. He sighed when he heard the clinking of the decorations on her dress. The crown princess was definitely in a horrible mood, or else her dress wouldn¡¯t be making so much noise.

    High ranking officials always loved to wear jade ornaments on them. This served to express their honesty and upright character, as they would make noises wherever they went, so they couldn¡¯t sneak around with them on. At the same time, this was a type of decoration, as well as a way to help restrict one¡¯s bearing and only allowing a graceful gait that wasn¡¯t too fast or too slow. Only at the perfect speed would the jade pendants make the most pleasant sounding noises.

    That was why the noiseing from the crown princess¡¯ dress was already a bit discourteous. She was definitely angered quite badly by the crown prince.

    He already quietly left the troop a while ago. He brought his Golden Token Eleven uniform out from his Brilliant ss Bead and quickly changed along the way, hurrying to his own pce residence.

    I hope I can make it in time!

    He prayed inside. Cheng Xiong made it clear that he was going to target him. He might make it look like he was targeting the other Embroidered Envoys, but he will definitely head his way soon.

    Sure enough, Cheng Xiong already surrounded the courtyard with arge group of imperial guards.

    Cheng Xiong said, ¡°Sir Eleven, we are carrying out a routine inspection. If you do not reply, I wille inside with my men.¡±

    Seeing that there was no response after saying this, his lips curled upwards. Then, he said to his subordinates, ¡°Since Sir Eleven is not here, then just open the door.¡±

    Zu An noticed that there were two imperial guards who were dressed differently. They didn¡¯t look like imperial guards but rather like librarian researchers. These were probably rune masters! They specialized in engraving runes and were capable of bringing about many miraculous things.

    The runes of these courtyards were all made by them, so of course they could unlock them.

    Zu An harrumphed when he saw that they were about to break open the formation. He walked over. ¡°What are you all doing?¡±

    Cheng Xiong smirked when he saw him arrive, and then he put on an embarrassed smile. ¡°Sir Eleven came back at just the right time. You saved us the effort of breaking down the door. We are examining the situation with the Embroidered Envoy¡¯s uniforms. I ask sir to bring them out so everyone can take a look.¡±

    Zu An sneered. ¡°Bastards, what right do you have to investigate the Embroidered Envoy? Am I supposed to do whatever you tell me to do? Who do you think you are?¡±

    Cheng Xiong¡¯s breathing stopped. He didn¡¯t expect this guy to straight up drop the pretenses!

    You have sessfully trolled Cheng Xiong for +888 Rage points!

    Don¡¯t me me for being rude then!

    Chng Xiong¡¯s expression immediately became cold. ¡°The imperial guards reported seeing someone dressed in an Embroidered Envoy uniform that shouldn¡¯t be. That is why we are investigating the Embroidered Envoy¡¯s uniforms.¡±

    Zu An cut him off. ¡°What a joke. Since the pce guards noticed that it was an assassin, why didn¡¯t they arrest him on the spot and insist on doing all of this afterwards? I have enough reason to suspect that you are deliberately making false charges.¡±

    Someone like Cheng Xiong who reached his position was naturally someone with enough resolution. He immediately said, ¡°The truth wille to light. If Sir Eleven has no guilt, then why aren¡¯t you letting us investigate this situation? You could easily convince us with the truth.¡±

    Zu An sneered. ¡°What kind of logic is that? You are throwing sh*t at my face and demanding I prove my innocence? Then what if I said that you ate two bowls of sh*t for breakfast, and so we should have your stomach cut open for everyone to see. That way, we can prove your innocence by seeing if there is sh*t inside or not!¡±

    The surrounding imperial guards all did their best to hold in theirughter. They wanted tough, but couldn¡¯t. It really was quite the terrible feeling.

    ¡°You bastard!¡± Cheng Xiong roared in anger.

    You have sessfully trolled Cheng Xiong for +999 Rage points!

    ¡°Arrest this man! Cut him down if he resists!¡± He was already full of killing intent, to the extent where he was starting to feel excitement. As the investigator of this case, he currently had the authority and reason for his suspicion. As long as this fe resisted, then he could im that he was resisting due to guilt, so killing him was a logical choice. Zhuxie Chixin and the others wouldn¡¯t be able to say anything afterwards.

 Chapter 640: A Formidable Woman

    <h4>Chapter 640: A Formidable Woman</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Yes sir!¡± The surrounding guards were all his direct subordinates. When they heard this, they charged and surrounded Zu An. The other party was a golden token envoy, so they didn¡¯t dare act carelessly. However, they had their general leading them and imperial guards to back them up. This fe was all alone, so he was dead for sure.

    Zu An¡¯s expression was grave. He focused all of his concentration in preparation of a sudden attack.

    An icily arrogant voice sounded by his ears. ¡°Should I help out?¡±

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but chuckle. Turns out Yun Jianyue was paying attention to the situation the entire time. He chuckled when he thought about how she was peeping through the door¡¯s cracks.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need. I¡¯ll be even more dead if youe out right now.¡± Zu An quickly replied through ki.

    What kind of joke is this? If Yun Jianyue exposed herself, then he would be dead many times over!

    ¡°Hmph! You¡¯re dead for sure if I don¡¯t make an appearance.¡± Yun Jianyue was clearly unhappy to be treated as a burden.

    ¡°Rx, I have a n.¡± Zu An quickly replied while looking nervously in a direction. Crown princess, why aren¡¯t you here yet? Your future man is in danger!

    As if she heard his prayer, avishly dressed figure appeared nearby.

    Zu An thought of something. He fiercely berated, ¡°Cheng Xiong, is it because I saved the crown princess and ruined your nsst night that you are so determined to get rid of me?¡±

    The crown princess frowned when she heard this. She was confused as to why there were so many imperial guards surrounding that ce, but she immediately came to some conclusions when she heard this voice.

    With her status, she naturally understood that Cheng Xiong was a part of King Qi¡¯s faction. Could it be that they really were behind yesterday¡¯s attack?

    The conflict between the crown prince and King Qi was already reaching its climax. Nothing was too surprising at this point.

    Cheng Xiong was about to give the order to attack, but when he heard this, he was shocked and furious. ¡°Bastard, what kind of nonsense are you spouting?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Cheng Xiong for +444 +444 +444¡­

    The words Zu An spoke could send him straight to death! If he carried this type of criminal charge, then his entire n would be eradicated!

    Zu An said coldly, ¡°No secrets can remain secrets forever unless everyone involved is dead. If this wasn¡¯t your objective, then why did you charge at me as if you¡¯ve lost your mind? Are golden envoy tokens this easy to bully?¡±

    With this, Cheng Xiong¡¯s soldiers couldn¡¯t help but look at their general. This really was quite strange! The Embroidered Envoy were figures that were usually avoided. It was already a blessing if these envoys didn¡¯te looking for you! Yet you¡¯re provoking one of them on purpose, moreover a golden token envoy?!

    Cheng Xiong was about to explode from anger. Framing others wasn¡¯t anything new for him, but this time, he really felt like Zu An was suspicious, that he had something to do with the assassins. Yet now, he was the one being suspected instead!

    ¡°Scoundrel! You dare nder my name? Die!¡± He brandished his de. A wave of surging power cleaved down at Zu An.

    He also had other intentions for doing this. He wanted to witness Zu An¡¯sbat skills. Once it was revealed that he was of the me element, furthermore able to use that me de fromst night, then that would prove everything.

    Zu An harrumphed. He sent his palm towards the de. The Heaven Devouring Sutra sucked away all of the ki on his de.

    ¡°What is the name of this technique?¡± Cheng Xiong was incredibly bewildered. Whenever they fought, his strength would suddenly vanish. He knew that he might not be able to defeat his opponent one on one. ¡°What are you all staring at? Charge at him!¡±

    The pce¡¯s imperial guards all had their formation techniques they excelled at. Once they fought together, a single opponent stood no chance against them.

    Those guards alreadypleted their formations. They raised their bows to fire at their opponent. Suddenly, a dignified voice sounded from the side. ¡°Halt! What are you all doing?¡±

    Everyone turned their heads. They immediately bowed down in respect when they saw who it was. ¡°We greet the crown princess!¡±

    Cheng Xiong was rmed. Why is this woman here?! However, he bowed at once as well, not daring to show any negligence.

    The crown princess¡¯ eyes coldly scanned this ce. ¡°You all really are something! I didn¡¯t see all of you doing much when the assassins attacked yesterday, yet aren¡¯t you vigorous and lively now?¡±

    The imperial guards were all ashamed after being criticized like this by the crown princess.

    Cheng Xiong wasparatively more calm. He quickly exined, ¡°The crown princess has misunderstood. We are only investigating.¡±

    He then exined how the pce gate guards noticed that there was someone who blended in with an Embroidered Envoy uniform.

    The crown princess harrumphed. ¡°Since you know that that person was an assassin, then why didn¡¯t you catch him?¡±

    Zu An almost broke outughing. That¡¯s my girl! Her thoughts are the same as mine.

    Cheng Xiong stopped breathing for a moment. He quickly exined, ¡°We only found outter on.¡±

    The crown princess turned around to give Zu An a look. She thought to herself, Sir Eleven is just as cool and handsome as I remember. Her lips couldn¡¯t help but curl upwards. However, when she turned around to look at Cheng Xiong again, her face already became much more emotionless. ¡°Since you didn¡¯t notice anything back then, then how can you be so certain that this Embroidered Envoy is the assassin? Do you all have any proof?¡±

    ¡°This¡­¡± Cheng Xiong was speechless. After all, these were all only his own personal spections. Even though everything made sense, hecked concrete proof. ¡°The reason we are searching the Embroidered Envoy¡¯s uniforms is precisely to look for proof. Those innocent definitely have all of their uniforms, while the one who helped an assassin escape is missing a set.¡±

    The crown princess gave Zu An a look when she saw how determined Cheng Xiong was.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An sneered and said, ¡°I previously already asked, how can your one-sided statement alone demand innocence? In the future, can I use you of any random crime and then overturn your entire home as a result? General Cheng, can you ept this type of result?¡±

    The crown princess¡¯ thoughts moved quickly. After Zu An¡¯s earlier reminder, she now really suspected that King Qi¡¯s faction was trying to deal with those loyal to the crown prince. ¡°Indeed. General Cheng, your argument is not convincing enough.¡±

    Cheng Xiong endured his rage and said, ¡°Crown princess, this general really isn¡¯t speaking without thinking. Yesterday, there were guards who walked around this area and happened to see two Embroidered Envoy walk out from his house. They can serve as proof. Everyone knows that Embroidered Envoy always act alone, who would invite another one into their private residence? That is why the other one was definitely an assassin!¡±

    He sneered. The moment Zu An failed to give a proper response, he would immediately close out this victory and force him to talk about the other Embroidered Envoy¡¯s identity. It would be hard for him to escape then.

    The crown princess looked at Zu An with a frown. ¡°Did this type of thing happen?¡±

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°All of this is nonsense. When did Ie out with another Embroidered Envoy? Those imperial guards are all your subordinates, so they will obviously do what you tell them to do. General Cheng, you¡¯ve truly gone quite far in order to frame me.¡±

    Cheng Xiong almost spat out blood. This man was lying through his teeth! There is someone this shameless in this world?!

    Whenever he framed others, everything would be arranged to perfection. He could use others of guilt even if they didn¡¯t have any. Yet today, he knew that this person was guilty, yet he instead felt helpless in taking him down!

    You have sessfully trolled Cheng Xiong for +999 +999 +999¡­

    Cheng Xiong quickly said, ¡°Crown princess, please do not let this person deceive you. He harbors evil intentions and has colluded with the assassins. He has definitely done atrocious things in this conspiracy.¡±

    The crown princess cut him off. ¡°Enough. If Sir Eleven has truly colluded with the assassins, then why would he go so far to fend off the assassins and save me¡­ ahem¡­ and the crown prince?¡±

    Cheng Xiong subconsciously replied, ¡°The assassins by the Pce of Peace and the Eastern Pce might not be from the same camp. He has colluded with the assassins from the Pce of Peace, but that doesn¡¯t mean that he is rted to the assassins by the Eastern Pce.¡±

    The crown princess¡¯ expression sunk at once. ¡°He rescued me and the crown prince, yet colluded with the Pce of Peace¡¯s assassins. Is General Cheng iming that we wanted to kill the empress?¡±

    Cheng Xiong was horrified. ¡°This general doesn¡¯t dare! That is not what I was trying to say¡­¡±

    He wanted to say something else, but he was immediately cut off by the crown princess. ¡°Enough. Sir Eleven is someone who his majesty and Zhuxie Chixin personally approve of. If there was something wrong with him, then perhaps it means that General Cheng thinks that his majesty and Sir Zhuxie aren¡¯t wise enough, that they would choose the wrong person?¡±

    Cheng Xiong was sweating buckets. ¡°This general absolutely does not dare.¡±

    This woman really was formidable. She was using him of things one after another, and he didn¡¯t dare shoulder a single one of them.

    Knowing that there was no way he could take down Zu An with the crown princess here, he decisively had his subordinates withdraw from this ce. At the same time, he began to think to himself, why the crown princess would appear at this time. He was going to prepare more carefully next time. He wouldn¡¯t talk to Zu An and would instead just arrest him on the spot.

 Chapter 641: As If Waking From a Dream

    <h4>Chapter 641: As If Waking From a Dream</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    When Cheng Xiong and his men left, the crown princess turned around. Her originally vicious expression immediately eased up, her dignified eyes carrying a bit of gentleness. ¡°Sir Eleven, are you alright?¡±

    The scene of how she reprimanded Cheng Xiong reappeared in his head. Now that was what I call dashing!

    He stared nkly for a moment when he saw her smile gently towards him.

    ¡°Sir Eleven?¡± The crown princess blushed when she saw the other party stare at her like this. She coughed lightly to remind him.

    It really was strange. Zu An looked at her in a simr manner before, yet she found it annoying back then. She even scolded him for it. Yet when Sir Eleven did this, she immediately felt her heart begin to pound.

    What is going on with me?

    Zu An snapped out of his daze and said, ¡°Thank you crown princess for helping me out of my trouble. I am fine.¡±

    The crown princess was clearly still worried. ¡°I heard that your soul was wounded at the hospitalst time, and you just faced Cheng Xiong. Did your injuries re up again?¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°Someone like Cheng Xiong isn¡¯t enough to injure me.¡±

    ¡°Sir Eleven¡¯s cultivation is profound as expected! It really is admirable.¡± When she saw his confident appearance, the crown princess thought to herself, this is what a real man should be like!

    Zu An cupped his hands. ¡°This is thanks to the crown princess¡¯ grace. I wouldn¡¯t have been able to recover so quickly without the medicine.¡±

    The crown princess blushed. ¡°I¡¯m d I was able to help.¡±

    After saying this, she didn¡¯t dare meet his eyes anymore and quickly said. ¡°You saved me and the crown prince, but we never had a chance to properly thank you. The crown prince was quite frightened by the ordeal and could not make it, that is why he told me toe and grant Sir Eleven some gifts in his ce. I hope sir does not refuse.¡±

    A group of maids and eunuchs brought over tes of gold, silver, and precious gems. There were also many expensive medicines.

    Zu An thought to himself that the princess didn¡¯t have it easy. She was clearly furious at the crown prince, yet she still protected her husband on the surface.

    Zu An didn¡¯t act pretentious when he saw these treasures. ¡°Thank you, crown prince and crown princess for your blessings!¡±

    He wasn¡¯t as noble and virtuous as the leads in those television dramas. Money was good stuff, the more the better!

    The crown princess felt relieved when she saw him ept the gifts. She was worried that he would refuse her kindness, but now that he received it, both sides were on friendly terms. Even though she was a noble crown princess, the status of golden token envoys were also quite special. Obtaining his friendship was extremely beneficial towards the crown prince¡¯s future.

    This was my purpose ining here, yup. Nothing else.

    She continued to convince herself like this. Then, she nodded towards Zu An with a smile. It wasn¡¯t convenient for her to speak too much to another man with her status. She slowly left after granting him this gift.

    Zu An then stored the treasures into his Brilliant ss Bead before quickly disappearing from this ce.

    Yun Jianyue, who was waiting for him toe in couldn¡¯t help but stomp her feet. ¡°This rascal!¡±

    Meanwhile, Zu An found a secluded ce and quickly removed his Embroidered Envoy uniform. Then, he weed the crown princess¡¯ troops.

    The crown princess furrowed when she saw his arrival. ¡°Where did you go just now?¡±

    Zu Anughed in embarrassment. ¡°My stomach felt weird, so I went to the bathroom.¡±

    The crown princess: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    This guy is always going to the bathroom whenever I see him! Is there something wrong with his body?

    Also, why are you telling me those details? Disgusting.

    Compared to Sir Eleven, it really is like the clouds and dirt!

    She subconsciously took a step back, as if she was worried that she would be contaminated by him if she was even a bit closer. ¡°The crown prince is resting today, and the lesser tutor is also nursing his wounds. There is nothing else that needs attention in the pce, so you can return for now.¡±

    Zu An was worried that he might be juggling too many things right now. He was overjoyed when he heard this. ¡°Thank you crown princess!¡±

    The crown princess waved her hand and left with her servants with an expression of disdain.

    Zu An quickly returned to his own courtyard. Yun Jianyue was currently lying on the silk band, her figure swaying there, as if she liked the feeling of sleeping here.

    She might fall off if she fell asleep, but lying down here during the day wasn¡¯t an issue. Hmph, it feels quite nice up here. Once I go back, I¡¯m going to have one of these set up there too.

    ¡°Big sis sect master really is elegant and refined! I was almost scared to death back then.¡± Zu An sat down with a big smile. He poured a cup of tea to drink. Running back and forth today left him quite tired. It really would be great if he could transform like the monkey king.

    But when he sipped on this tea while admiring the amazing beauty before him, he felt rxed and carefree.

    Yun Jianyue harrumphed. ¡°Your rtionship with the crown princess seems pretty good. With her protection, nothing would¡¯ve happened to you.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    She offered her help, yet he rejected her without hesitation, only to rely on another woman! Hmph! Do you think I don¡¯t have my own pride?

    Zu An exined, ¡°That¡¯s because I saved her before, so she is merely returning the favor. There¡¯s nothing else between us.¡±

    In front of a girl, it¡¯s always better not to get into the details of your rtionship with other women. This is my fboi cultivation¡¯s very doctrine!

    But how could he have known that this would piss the other party off? Yun Jianyue suddenly got up, the silk band¡¯s restriction making her bottom look even more seductive. ¡°It makes me angry just thinking about it! If it wasn¡¯t because of you, we would¡¯ve already killed the crown prince and princess, sessfully framing King Qi! We wouldn¡¯t have had to face the emperor either! I would¡¯t have been injured¡­¡± She was only talking about it casually at first, but she got more and more angry as she continued.

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +555 +555 +555¡­

    Zu An felt like he had poked a ho¡¯s nest. He quickly said, ¡°I don¡¯t really understand what you all are trying to do either. Right now, King Qi and the crown prince¡¯s struggle has reached a climax. By getting rid of the crown prince, wouldn¡¯t that be helping King Qi? No matter how furious the emperor is, he still cannot immediately end King Qi¡¯s life. Once he calms down, he will have realized that there is something fishy about the entire matter.¡±

    If King Qi rose to the throne, then he would be much more powerful than a stupid crown prince will ever be. At that point, the Devil Sect¡¯s survival would only be increasingly difficult.

    Yun Jianyue harrumphed. ¡°That¡¯s not something you need to worry about. We have our own thoughts on the matter.¡±

    Zu An frowned. ¡°But his majesty already knows your identity now. Your attempts to frame King Qi have already failed!¡±

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t it all because of you that my identity was exposed?¡± Yun Jianyue grinded her teeth in anger. ¡°As for the emperor knowing my identity, so what? Who said that the Holy Sect cannot work under King Qi?¡±

    Zu An had a strange look on his face. Were pretty girls all two-faced? King Qi really had quite the drama on his side to deal with it seems.

    Feeling the resentment towards him, Zu An quickly said, ¡°I met with Honglei when I left the pce earlier and told her everything. Also, this is the hammock I bought for you.¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s rage decreased considerably when she saw how he was busying about for her, and he even saved her life. ¡°Honglei is fine, right?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s fine. She was just a bit broken-hearted over herpanions being captured.¡± Zu An replied.

    After a bit of hesitation, Yun Jianyue still said, ¡°It seems like you¡¯re doing quite well for yourself in the pce. If there is a chance, help the Holy Sect free the captives. If you cannot save them, it will be good if you can quickly end their suffering.¡±

    Zu An rolled his eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t even know if I¡¯ll survive, do you think I have the leisure of saving other people?¡±

    Yun Jianyue said in annoyance, ¡°I¡¯m telling you to make the first move to gain an upper hand, but you just don¡¯t get it.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean make the first move? You make it sound so easy.¡± Zu An was a bit upset.

    Yun Jianyue said with a sneer, ¡°Fool, didn¡¯t the emperor put you in charge of finding out who leaked out the information that he wasn¡¯t in the pce? You can¡¯t even deal with Cheng Xiong with imperial authority on your side?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face lit up. ¡°The one who told you was Cheng Xiong? Wait, that doesn¡¯t seem right.¡±

    He quickly rejected this thought. If Yun Jianyue¡¯s insider was Cheng Xiong, then she definitely wouldn¡¯t have told him in this manner.

    Yun Jianyue had an ambiguous smile on her face. She asked another question in return. ¡°Tell me, if his majesty put you in charge of the investigation, then doesn¡¯t that mean he is already suspecting someone? Who else could this suspect be?¡±

 Chapter 642: Keyboard, Come!

    <h4>Chapter 642: Keyboard, Come!</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An suddenly realized something. Suspects passed over his mind one after another.

    Zhuxie Chixin? No, he was the emperor¡¯s trusted aide for many years. Even if the emperor suspected him, he wouldn¡¯t do it so directly?

    His own eunuchs? That didn¡¯t seem right either. If he really suspected them, then he could just have them tortured for a confession. There is no need to put a golden token envoy like me in charge.

    That means there are only the imperial guard generals left¡­

    If he was still confused at first, once he learned that Cheng Xiong was part of King Qi¡¯s faction, many of his doubts disappeared.

    ¡°It is Cheng Xiong!¡± Zu An blurted out.

    Yun Jianyue nodded, looking like she was proud of him. ¡°Indeed. Because of sessive generations of inheritance, King Qi¡¯s strength in the military is extremely great, not only in the local armies but even in the imperial pce. If you were the emperor, would you feel relieved leaving a vital position like the Left Guard General to someone under King Qi¡¯s faction?¡±

    ¡°Of course not.¡± Zu An became excited as well. He continued off of her analysis, ¡°We¡¯ve found out that the assassins are rted to King Qi¡­ Actually even if the assassins were unrted to King Qi, the emperor would never let such a good chance go. He will use this chance to shift the me onto King Qi and use this as an excuse to purge King Qi¡¯s faction.¡±

    No wonder Yun Jianyue was so confident. It didn¡¯t matter at all if she was exposed, because she was sure that the emperor would still act ording to their ns. They could use this good chance to cut off King Qi¡¯s wings. This wasn¡¯t a conspiracy, but rather an overt plot! That was why she didn¡¯t care about being exposed at all.

    He gave Yun Jianyue aplicated look. ¡°Big sis sect master, you really are treacherous.¡±

    ¡°Your praise is too kind.¡± Yun Jianyue was full of delight. ¡°Kid, you¡¯re not too bad either.¡±

    ¡°Then what should I do now?¡± Zu An asked. With a two-faced queen like this on his side, he didn¡¯t have to waste his own brainpower.

    Yun Jianyue thought for a bit. Her beautiful face became rather serious while deep in thought.

    A whileter, she said, ¡°You should pay Zhuxie Chixin a visit first. As the leader of the Embroidered Envoy, he naturally has a duty to act when his subordinates are being bullied. Furthermore, he is the emperor¡¯s trusted aide, so he will help the emperor get rid of Cheng Xiong, so he will naturally be a huge help. However, there is a problem. That man has always been mistrustful, so you should be ready for his questioning before you meet him. Once you got him on your side, you should¡­¡±

    Zu An was feeling hard-pressed, but after hearing her meticulous analysis, everything became much clearer. He sighed in admiration. ¡°Whoever marries you in the future will have a wife as awesome as Zhuge Liang!¡±

    ¡°Who is Zhuge Liang?¡± Yun Jianyue frowned, but she then said with a snort, ¡°Why do I need to marry anyone? Even if I need men, I¡¯ll just take in some male pets. Are there any men worthy of marrying me in this world?¡±

    Zu An had a weird look on his face. A whileter, he said with a sigh, ¡°Big sis sect master is tough after all!¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s eyelids jumped. Then, she turned around arrogantly and began to fix her hammock. She clearly didn¡¯t intend to sleep on the same bed as this man again.

    ¡­

    Zu An left to seek out Zhuxie Chixin. After his conflict with Cheng Xiong, as an Embroidered Envoy, he obviously had toin to his boss about it.

    However, he was suddenly carried away by an impulse. It seems like it¡¯s been a while since he pulled his keyboard system¡¯s lottery¡­ There was so much going around in the pce and there was danger lurking at every corner. Having some more life-saving measures was always a good thing.

    As such, he found a secluded ce to bring out the Rage System.

    After not checking for a while, he unwittingly already gathered 285,132 Rage points.

    He started pulling right away. He did stuff like wash his face and pray before, but he already grew ustomed to this process. He didn¡¯t feel like bothering with these tricks anymore.

    Thank you for ying¡­ Thank you for ying¡­ ki fruit¡­ Thank you for ying¡­

    Huh? Where did the tiger talismans go?

    Zu An became a bit disappointed. He pulled Daji with the tiger talismansst time. Even though Daji¡¯s current strength was only at the peak of the fourth rank, the greatest benefit was that he was able to use her me element through resonance! This allowed him to cultivate me system arts!

    If he could pull a valkyrie from a different element, then that would grant him an ability from a different element!

    Zu An¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up while feeling disappointment. He noticed that the keyboard¡¯s indicator stopped over the J key. Unfortunately, it was a multi-pull, so the words flew past the screen quickly. He couldn¡¯t see what exactly it was.

    When the pulls finally finished, he saw that he obtained a new skill and 280 ki fruits.

    He impatiently scrolled towards the description for the new ability.

    Keyboard,e![1]

    Skill description: As a keyboard warrior, Keyboard Come is your most important skill. When you experience injustice, shout ¡®Keyboard, Come!¡¯ loud and proud! Make sure your voice is full of spirit, let the people know what it means to speak things into existence!

    Once the skill is activated, all words you speak will be reality.

    Special note: The use of this ability consumes soul force, so please refrain from excessive trolling. The greater your trolling, the greater the rebound that takes ce an hourter. Your soul will suffer an intense shock.

    Only after reaching the master level will the soul stabilize, thus allowing more liberal use of this skill.

    Please remember that if you troll too hard, even a grandmaster¡¯s soul won¡¯t be able to handle the rebound. You will perish before your words fullye into effect.

    As a keyboard warrior, you could troll as hard as you could behind aputer screen, but in front of real people, it is best if you act cautiously!

    Zu An waspletely stupefied after he read the description.

    Keyboarde? Speak things into existence? What kind of ridiculous skill is this? So this was a keyboard warrior¡¯s final form!

    As for the limitations, it was somethingpletely understandable. If he boasted that he created this very world, he might just explode as soon as this thought appears in his head!

    He might not even have to go that far. Saying that he was stronger than the emperor might be enough to end his existence.

    What was the limit to this skill?

    Zu An felt like it was a bit of a pain. He wanted to give it a try, but he was worried that he might burn himself so badly he¡¯ll be too embarrassed to speak up about how he died in the afterlife. He died from boasting too much? That¡¯s way too embarrassing!

    As such, he could only put this skill aside for now. He fed the 280 ki fruits to Daji. Daji was at the peak of the fourth rank before, but after ingesting these ki fruits, she jumped to mid-stage fifth rank. The fifth rank needed 600 ki fruits in total.

    Zu An really was incredibly envious whenever he saw how little fruits she needed to raise her cultivation. For himself, the ki fruits were reasonable when he first started cultivation, butter on, he couldn¡¯t rely on these ki fruits for his cultivation at all.

    Afterpleting all of this, he headed to the Embroidered Envoy¡¯s government office.

    The Embroidered Envoy had their own ce to work in the imperial pce. This was a remote pce called the Embroidery House.

    He almost choked when he first saw this name. This name is way too feminine, right? It doesn¡¯t match the Embroidered Envoy¡¯s badass style at all!

    Zhuxie Chixin already rushed over when he heard the news. He listened to his subordinatesin about Cheng Xiong with a sullen face.

    It was always the Embroidered Envoy who investigated others, yet they were the ones who were being investigated today. They felt incredibly wronged.

    He waved his hand towards Zu An when he saw Zu An arrive. ¡°Eleven,e with me. The others, return to your posts. I will personally deal with today¡¯s matters.¡±

    Zu An followed him upstairs. This was where he dealt with administrative work.

    Zhuxie Chixin slowly sat down on his chair and gestured for Zu An to sit down as well. Then, he said, ¡°You and Cheng Xiong have a grudge between you?¡±

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°I only met him these past few days. How can there be a grudge?¡±

    ¡°Then why is he so determined to scheme against you?¡± Zhuxie Chixin was confused. With his ability to discern judgments, he could obviously tell that Zu An was Cheng Xiong¡¯s objective.

    Zu An pretended to hesitate for a moment, and then he said, ¡°I suspect that he has already guessed at what I am investigating. That is why he wanted to make the first move.¡±

    ¡°You are saying that he was the one who leaked out information regarding his majesty¡¯s absence?¡± Zhuxie Chixin calmly looked at him. There was nothing visible from his expression.

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°I have no proof, but this seems to be the only possibility.¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin shook his head. ¡°No, there is one other possibility. That Cheng Xiong¡¯s suspicions aren¡¯t wrong and that you did collude with the assassins.¡±

    His expression became incredibly sharp the moment he finished speaking. His aura immediately enveloped Zu An¡¯s entire body.

    1. The character for keyboard sounds like sword. This is a parody on how cultivators tend to love calling for their sword this way

 Chapter 643: Face Bathed in Tears

    <h4>Chapter 643: Face Bathed in Tears</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    In that instant, all of Zu An¡¯s fine hairs stood on end. There was no escaping from the killing intent of a pseudo grandmaster under this amount of distance.

    Even though Zu An fought against Yun Jianyue that evening by the eastern pce, she didn¡¯t use her full strength back then to hide her identity. Later on, when Zu An fought her in the rock garden, she was already seriously injured by the emperor¡¯s attacks, so her strength dropped considerably. It was to the extent where he subconsciously began to underestimate grandmasters.

    Only after experiencing it directly like this did he understand how great the difference between them was. He even wondered if he could survive three attacks from the other party if they really fought.

    While he was sweating, his reactions were fast as well. He forcefully suppressed any thoughts of resistance and replied, ¡°What is the chiefmander saying? I do not understand.¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin sneered. His voice was incredibly sinister. ¡°I¡¯ve already investigated this on my own. Cheng Xiong did not suspect you without reason. That day, there were two golden token envoys who left the pce gates. However, I know fully well that the other golden token envoys had their missions, so there was no way they would appear in the pce.¡±

    Zu An felt a thud noise sound inside of him. However, his mouth already instinctively began to refute. ¡°I¡¯m being wronged here! That¡¯s the one-sided testimony of those pce guards, and they are Cheng Xiong¡¯s subordinates. Wouldn¡¯t they say anything Cheng Xiong told them to say?¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Zhuxie Chixin stared at him. ¡°It¡¯s not difficult for us to prove whether you are being wronged or not. Hand over all of your uniforms for me to inspect. Every single Embroidered Envoy uniform is special, and their use is strictly recorded. They cannot be imitated through outsider methods.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s breathing stopped. He didn¡¯t expect Zhuxie Chixin to actually want the uniforms. One set of uniform was taken by Snow, so how was he supposed to bring it out?

    How was he going to exin that he was missing a set? No, he would be suspicious no matter how he tried to exin himself.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zhuxie Chixin said, ¡°I recall telling you that there is a small storage space in your waist tile. The goods of an Embroidered Envoy can all be stored there. Do not tell me that you cannot bring it out, or that one set was stolen.¡±

    The waist tokens of Embroidered Envoy were indeed special. They could issue orders uni-directionally, and they had storage capabilities as well. As one¡¯s rank climbed higher, the storage space would berger andrger, but it would still only be a square meter at the greatest. It couldn¡¯tpare to the Brilliant ss Bead¡¯s storage space at all.

    As Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s killing intent grew stronger and stronger, Zu An knew that his hesitation already drew suspicion. He could only brace himself and say, ¡°The truth will reveal itself in time. I merely have to bring out my uniforms for the chiefmander to see.¡±

    He slowly took out his uniform one set after another. The other party couldn¡¯t tell that he didn¡¯t use the waist token but the Brilliant ss Bead.

    Zhuxie Chixin slowly nodded when he saw Zu An bring out the uniforms one after another. ¡°You were issued eight sets of uniformsst time, four for winter, four for summer. You¡¯ve brought out seven sets. Where is thest one?¡±

    His eyes became incredibly prating while saying this, as if he would immediately act as soon as the eighth set didn¡¯t appear.

    Zu An swallowed. ¡°Of course it¡¯s¡­¡±

    He paused for a moment, and then he said one word after another, ¡°The eighth set of Embroidered Envoy uniform is in my waist token¡¯s storage.¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin frowned. Why was this fe¡¯s tone bing so strange?

    However, his furrowed brows eased up, because the other party slowly removed another set of uniform.

    He was still a bit worried and examined this uniform. It was indeed the golden token envoy uniform. These uniforms were specially crafted with many secret markings that not even the golden token envoy could know about. That was why no one could imitate them.

    He thus smiled and said, ¡°I was just going to say that there was no way you could have been colluding with the assassins. It was definitely Cheng Xiong who was trying to frame you.¡±

    Zu An felt the pressure ease. The killing intent surrounding him instantly disappeared. He cursed inwardly, you almost killed me just now, yet you now look like you¡¯ve always trusted me?

    Bastard, where did that look of absolute confidence you showed mest time in my house go? Look at you now, turning against me so quickly.

    But he didn¡¯t reveal any of this on the surface. He said with a smile, ¡°It is natural for the chiefmander to be suspicious. We indeed cannot let any point of suspicion go. I¡¯ve learned quite a bit from this matter.¡±

    The reason why he was able to bring out the disappeared uniform was because he used the ¡®Keyboard Come¡¯ ability. He didn¡¯t expect to be able to make an identical set of uniform out of nothing!

    This shouldn¡¯t be too major, right? I hope the rebound isn¡¯t too serious.

    Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s expression became more gentle. This junior knew how to speak well, and he was also tactful as well. He¡¯s a capable man. ¡°It looks like Cheng Xiong is trying to frame you. Brother Zu, is there anything you need help with? This big bro will help you out.¡±

    Since he suspected the other party just now, he obviously needed to ease the rtionship a bit. This kid is a smart person, so he should be able to tell what to do.

    Sure enough, Zu An looked extremely happy and said, ¡°Thank you, chiefmander! There really are some matters I need your help with.¡±

    ¡°Please speak freely.¡± Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s expression eased even more. He remembered what he shared with Zu An in private, so he definitely didn¡¯t want to tarnish this friendship.

    ¡°I wanted to ask the chiefmander to help me keep an eye on Cheng Xiong and his n. I wish to know everything about him in detail.¡± Zu An wanted to take down Cheng Xiong, but he didn¡¯t know enough about this person. He needed to investigate a bit first and then see if there were any areas he could make use of.

    He was already overloaded from his roles as an Embroidered Envoy and the crown prince¡¯s secretary, how could he have the extra time to pay attention to that side? He could only seek out the help of others.

    Unfortunately, even though he was a golden token envoy, it was only a nominal position. The emperor didn¡¯t actually assign him any subordinates, so he could only ask Zhuxie Chixin for help.

    ¡°That¡¯s not an issue at all. Keeping an eye on someone is the Embroidered Envoy¡¯s specialty. We will send a silver token envoy and some subordinates to take care of this matter.¡± Zhuxie Chixin immediately agreed. This wasn¡¯t anything too hard, and doing so would easily improve their rtionship. Furthermore, if he really did find out something, then his majesty would consider it his contribution as well, so everything worked out.

    Zu An sighed in relief. Then, perhaps it was because Zhuxie Chixin felt guilty, but he stayed behind for some tea and they chatted for a while. When he felt like their rtionship¡¯s tension had eased a bit, he then let Zu An go.

    Zu An¡¯s smile immediately vanished when he left the Embroidery House. His expression was incredibly pale, and there was a stinging pain in his brain. The back of his head felt a bit chilly, as if something had been fished out.

    He felt like vomiting. It was simr to the nausea of ying a 3D game for too long.

    Zu An immediately realized that this was the rebound of using Keyboard Come. It used up his soul force, which was equivalent to wounding his soul.

    His breathing became more and more rushed. He didn¡¯t want anyone to see that something was wrong, so he quickly returned to his own residence.

    His hands were shaking as he unlocked the door. Then, he felt dizzy and copsed.

    I¡¯m done for¡­ my handsome face is going to be ruined if I fall t on it¡­ I depend on this face for a living¡­

    Huh? What is this? So big¡­ so soft¡­

    He felt like he fell into a warm embrace. There was a nice smell, and then he heard a cry of rm. Then, he didn¡¯t remember anything else.

    ¡­

    Yun Jianyue was resting in the room. When she heard the noise outside, she knew that Zu An returned.

    She didn¡¯t really feel like doing anything. After all, why would the dignified sect master of the Holy Sect greet a man¡¯s return like a married woman?

    However, she quickly frowned, because she heard that Zu An¡¯s steps were unsteady. He seemed to have been injured.

    Why would he be injured though? To the extent where even his steps would be unstable?

    Her expression became serious. She understood Zu An¡¯s cultivation well. Even though his rank wasn¡¯t high, his real strength was powerful. Even though she was seriously injured back then, her strength couldn¡¯t be evaluated through conventional means. However, she was almost done in by him.

    With this type of cultivation, who could hurt him?

    Could it be that Zhuxie Chixin did something?

    She couldn¡¯t sit still any longer when she thought of this. She quickly rushed out to greet him. After all, Zu An¡¯s safety was tied to her own.

    Yet when she opened the door, he fell right into her arms, his face falling straight into her soft chest.

 Chapter 644: Sailing Through a Sea of Bitterness

    <h4>Chapter 644: Sailing Through a Sea of Bitterness</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Yun Jianyue: ¡°???¡±

    She was concerned, so she opened the door a bit too quickly. She didn¡¯t expect this type of thing to happen.

    Killing intent shed past her eyes when she saw his head buried in her chest. This guy even took his mask off beforehand!

    Her fingers were like hooks. They were about to take his life when she suddenly voiced her surprise.

    With her cultivation, she naturally noticed that his soul was wounded.

    ¡°Hm? Could it be that the emperor made a move? That doesn¡¯t make sense¡­ If the emperor attacked him, then how could Zu An still be alive?¡± Yun Jianyue removed the man from her breasts and carefully examined his condition. Her expression flickered continuously, as if she was clearly engaged in intense internal conflict.

    ¡­

    When Zu An woke up again, he noticed that he was sitting on his bed. Yun Jianyue was sitting across from him, her beautiful long hair flying about on their own.

    What was even more shocking was that they were holding hands. He could clearly feel how soft her hands were.

    ¡°Don¡¯t think any random thoughts and focus your mind. Absorb the medicinal force.¡± Yun Jianyue said coldly. She immediately realized that he woke up.

    Zu An felt like he was enveloped in a medicinal aura. He lowered his head and saw the Five Aggregates Root floating between them, spinning on its own. It was likely floating because of Yun Jianyue¡¯s aura. Its divine radiance slowly moved towards his nostrils.

    Yun Jianyue retracted her hands. ¡°You fainted just now, so you couldn¡¯t operate ki on your own. That was why I lent you a helping hand. Since you are awake now, then you can start moving on your own.¡±

    ¡°Start moving on my own?¡± Zu An had a strange look. I¡¯d love it if I could do it myself. But when he saw her ice-cold expression, he knew that it wasn¡¯t what he was thinking.

    Thus, he started his inner ki flow, using the medicinal force to nurse his wounded soul.

    Sigh, Keyboard Come¡¯s side effects are too strong. It wasn¡¯t even a big deal, yet my soul almost exploded! Do I really have to wait until master rank before I can use it more often?

    As such, he asked, ¡°Big sis sect master, how do you train your soul?¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Soul?¡± Yun Jianyue sneered. ¡°Ask me that question after you reach the master rank.¡±

    ¡°Only masters can forge their souls?¡± Zu An wasn¡¯t willing to give up.

    ¡°Of course.¡± Yun Jianyue said indifferently. ¡°The first to ninth rank are for tempering the body. Only when the body is strong enough can it support a more powerful soul. Cultivation is like setting sail in a sea of bitterness. The stronger the body, the steadier the boat, so it won¡¯t be torn apart by the tempest. Once the soul is fortified, then there will be a helm and a sail, allowing you to traverse this sea faster¡­¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t really know what she was saying, but it sounded pretty awesome. He asked, ¡°Has anyone crossed this sea of bitterness?¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s breathing stopped. Do you know what you are asking? Her expression gradually calmed. ¡°No. There are only people who have sailed a bit further than the others.¡±

    Zu An replied with an ¡®oh¡¯. He had a rough idea of what she meant. It looks like it was best if he didn¡¯t think about forging the soul with his current cultivation rank.

    ¡°By the way, I remember falling into something soft when I just came back.¡± A whileter, Zu An opened his eyes again. He couldn¡¯t help but voice his thoughts.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s eyelids jumped. She coldly said, ¡°You remember wrong.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +444 +444 +444¡­

    Zu An was rmed when he saw the Rage points. Could it be¡­

    He knew that it was best if he didn¡¯t pursue this topic when he saw her expression.

    A whileter, he suddenly felt the medicinal smell disappear. When he opened his eyes, he saw that Yun Jianyue was storing away the Five Aggregates Root.

    He became gloomy. ¡°Come on, I was the one who brought back this thing! Why are you being so stingy?¡±

    Yun Jianyue raised her brows. ¡°You don¡¯t understand anything! Even though this medicine is good for the soul, too much is just as bad as not enough. Once you take in too much of it, it will instead wound your soul. Even I don¡¯t dare to take in too much of it with my cultivation. You can continue if you want to die.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +233 +233 +233¡­

    Zu An quicklyughed in apology. ¡°It¡¯s my misunderstanding, big sis sect master¡­ How about I give you a shoulder massage in apology?¡±

    He was also a bit curious. He remembered only receiving single digits when he was in Brightmoon City, yet now, he often received them in strings. Looks like the stronger the person, the more soul force they can offer¡­

    Yun Jianyue took a step to the side to avoid his arms. ¡°You wanted to give me a shoulder massage? Should I even bother exposing you?¡±

    Zu Anughed awkwardly. ¡°At least my respect and adoration for big sis sect master are definitely not fake.¡±

    Yun Jianyue didn¡¯t feel like paying him any more attention. She asked, ¡°What happened after you visited Zhuxie Chixin? Why was your soul wounded?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression became serious. ¡°Zhuxie Chixin was suspicious of me as well¡­¡±

    He roughly recounted what happened.

    Yun Jianyue nodded. ¡°Zhuxie Chixin is an old fox. It would be more strange if he wasn¡¯t suspicious. So, how did you deceive him?¡±

    Zu An exined without giving away the details, ¡°I got another set of clothes from a different Embroidered Envoy¡­¡±

    How could he tell her about a skill like Keyboard Come? She¡¯s not even part of his harem.

    Yun Jianyue frowned. She clearly didn¡¯t believe this exnation. ¡°Yours is a golden token envoy uniform, how can you just pass someone else¡¯s as yours? Furthermore, you still haven¡¯t exined to me why your soul was wounded.¡±

    When Zu An was at a loss for how to exin things, Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression changed slightly. ¡°Someone is here.¡±

    With a sh, she hid behind the curtains. It really was a pity how practiced this seemed.

    A knocking sounded outside. ¡°Is Sir Eleven inside?¡±

    Zu An put on his mask again. When he was sure that nothing was wrong, he then walked out. He saw a chubby eunuch standing outside and quickly greeted him with one hand cupped in another. ¡°So it was Eunuch Wen.¡±

    ¡°Sir Eleven is too polite.¡± Eunuch Wen was beaming. This new golden token envoy actually knew how to be courteous, which immediately made him seem pleasing. ¡°His majesty has invited sir to the imperial study.¡±

    Zu An was rmed. Is he going to ask about the results of the investigation? But it has only been a day or so, how am I supposed to find out the results so quickly?

    However, there was nothing strange with his expression on the surface. ¡°Alright. Let me get my waist token first.¡±

    Eunuch Wen nodded. As long as Zu An didn¡¯t run away, he could wait for him to get something.

    Zu An pretended to be grabbing his waist token while conversing with Yun Jianyue.

    ¡°I heard everything.¡± Yun Jianyue paused for a moment, and then she added, ¡°Be careful.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyebrows raised when he heard this, and his eyes brightened. Seems like I didn¡¯t get on her good side for nothing. She¡¯s even starting to show me concern now!

    After closing the door, he followed Eunuch Wen to the study. Zu An slipped a jadeite bracelet into his hands along the way, something the crown princess gave him earlier. ¡°I wonder what his majesty needs me for this time?¡±

    Eunuch Wen sighed. ¡°Sir Eleven, you are forcing me to do a wrong here.¡±

    Even so, he still put the bracelet straight into his sleeves. Then, he said, ¡°How can us servants rashly try to guess at what his majesty needs sir for? However, his majesty¡¯s mood seems to be quite terrible today. Oh, right, the Left Guard General seems to be in the imperial study as well.¡±

    As the emperor¡¯s personal eunuch, how could any rumors in the pce escape his ears? Cheng Xiong and Zu An had some conflict before, and then even the crown princess came to bail him out. He knew a bit about all of this.

    The reason why he took his gift wasn¡¯t because he took a liking to Zu An¡¯s etiquette, but rather because the crown princess favored him. Furthermore, Cheng Xiong was someone under King Qi¡¯s faction. This was why he spoke out in reminder to establish good faith.

    ¡°Thank you, Eunuch Wen.¡± Zu An panicked a bit. Dammit, it¡¯s Cheng Xiong again! I just can¡¯t get rid of that bastard! I wonder what he came up with this time.

    He even wondered if he could make it out of the study alive this time. Hmph, I¡¯ll just stake it all with Keyboard Come if I have to!

    His panicked mind gradually calmed after this thought.

 Chapter 645: Mysterious Master

    <h4>Chapter 645: Mysterious Master</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The two of them quickly arrived at the imperial study. Eunuch Wen bowed respectfully at the entrance. ¡°Your majesty, Sir Eleven has arrived.¡±

    ¡°Let him in.¡± A dignified voice sounded from within.

    Eunuch Wen moved to the side and gestured for Zu An to go in.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An nodded with a smile, but he was panicking inside. Could it be that the emperor already came back? That means that big sis sect master is in danger!

    Zu An immediately sighed in relief when he saw the giant mirror on the dragon throne inside. Thankfully, it is still just a divine will he is facing.

    But why does it look so strange? It looks like a portrait of the deceased. Is he not afraid of this being inauspicious?

    There was another person in the room. Cheng Xiong was standing respectfully to the side, but he was looking at Zu An with a sneer, as if he already foresaw his miserable ending.

    Zu An didn¡¯t pay him any attention. He greeted the emperor. ¡°I pay my respects to your majesty!¡±

    The man in the dragon robes within the mirror opened his eyes. He didn¡¯t speak any unnecessary words and immediately talked about the main matter at hand. ¡°Left Guard General has imed that you have colluded with the assassins. Is this true?¡±

    Zu An already had a feeling that this was the case, so he didn¡¯t panic. ¡°Your majesty, this subject is being wronged. How could I possibly collude with the assassins? General Cheng ispletely ndering me.¡±

    ¡°nder?¡± Cheng Xiong sneered. ¡°Didn¡¯t you seek out soul healing medicine from the imperial hospital not too long ago?¡±

    Zu An felt a thud noise inside of him. This was where the issue was after all.

    He replied, ¡°Correct, I have.¡±

    Many people saw him do this, so there was no need to refute it.

    Cheng Xiong said, ¡°Why would a grandmaster bother attacking the soul of a nobody like you? Furthermore, the female assassin only showed strength at the master rank at first, so there is no way she would use any soul attack methods. Thus, how could you have your soul damaged? In my opinion, the soul healing medicine was most likely for that female assassins.¡±

    Zu An almost gave this man a thumbs up. This fe already practically guessed at everything himself!

    Of course, there was no way he would admit to that. ¡°General Cheng is not a grandmaster, so how do you know what a grandmaster thinks? What difference is there between what you say and a random countryside wife iming that the empress eats flour cakes too?¡±

    ¡°You¡­!¡± Cheng Xiong was so angry his entire body was shaking. This fe¡¯s mouth really was too formidable. He always felt like he fell behind a bit.

    You have sessfully trolled Cheng Xiong for +311 +311 +311¡­

    ¡°Impudent!¡± The emperor in the mirror opened his eyes. His dignified gazended on Zu An. He was clearly unhappy with hearing the empress being used in an analogy.

    Only now did Zu An realize that there was an empress in this world. He was already used to using these phrases in his past world.

    Fortunately, the emperor didn¡¯t argue with him over this point. His eyes were like burning torches as he looked at Zu An. ¡°I do not recall your soul being injured thest time you arrived at the imperial study.¡±

    The corners of Cheng Xiong¡¯s mouths were already about to reach his ears. Now that even his majesty said this, everything was already settled. All he had to do now was watch a good show.

    Zu An¡¯s mind sunk. He quickly exined, ¡°Back then, I didn¡¯t realize that I was injured. Only after I left the imperial study did my soul injuries erupt.¡±

    The emperor frowned. Grandmasters indeed had such methods.

    Cheng Xiong sneered. ¡°Sir Eleven, these lies are meaningless. With his majesty¡¯s cultivation, he can easily tell whether your soul is injured or not from a single nce.¡±

    Then, he bowed towards the emperor. ¡°Your majesty, please preside over this manner!¡±

    The emperor nodded. His sharp eyes stared at Zu An. Two faint streaks of golden light surrounded Zu An as if they were tangible. He wasn¡¯t given the slightest chance to retaliate.

    Let¡¯s see how you make it out of this one! Cheng Xiong felt incredible right now. This fe was just way too hard to deal with. He tried different things again and again, yet he failed to make any progress several times. Fortunately, they had such a powerful emperor. No one could deceive him.

    Zu An had a strange look on his face. This really was a coincidence. He just used Keyboard Come, which caused him to suffer a soul injury, and he even used the Five Aggregates Root to treat himself. Now, this was exactly what he was being tested on. He almost had a feeling like he was taking an open-book exam!

    The emperor gave him a look and then calmly said, ¡°His soul is indeed injured, and there are traces of the Five Aggregates Root¡¯s aura.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Cheng Xiong¡¯s smile immediately froze.

    How could this be?!

    He quickly said, ¡°Is there a mistake¡­¡±

    But the emperor immediately cut him off before he even finished his sentence. ¡°Are you doubting my judgment?¡±

    Cheng Xiong was covered in cold sweat. ¡°This subject doesn¡¯t dare! But when the assassins invaded, the pce gate guards reported two golden token envoy leaving. However, my investigation showed that there couldn¡¯t have been any other golden token envoys apart from Sir Eleven. This means that he definitely used his uniform to secretly send out an assassin! We will find out the truth if we investigate his uniforms.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± The emperor looked at Zu An again.

    Zu An was rmed. Even though he used Keyboard Come to make a uniform out of thin air, some time had already passed. That uniform already disappeared.

    The effects of Keyboard Come were only temporary and would disappear after a while. Otherwise, couldn¡¯t he just brag that he was number one in the world and that his soul was invincible? That would mean that his soul wouldn¡¯t take any damage.

    A quiet voice sounded at this time. ¡°There is no need for further investigation. I looked into it myself. Sir Eleven¡¯s uniform wasplete, and there were no signs of being worn by anyone else.¡± Zhuxie Chixin walked in. His long and narrow eyes gave Cheng Xiong a look.

    Cheng Xiong began to panic. ¡°Your majesty, the Embroidered Envoy might be shielding each other¡­¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s expression sunk. ¡°Please watch what you say, General Cheng. When have I ever shielded a subordinate in all these years? It is instead a certain someone who loves to frame others.¡±

    ¡°Enough, do not discuss this matter further. Do not fight amongst yourselves in private and focus on your investigations. Zhuxie Chixin, stay behind. Everyone else can leave.¡± The emperor said coldly, and then he closed his eyes. He didn¡¯t look like he had any interest in speaking more.

    ¡°Understood!¡± Cheng Xiong didn¡¯t dare to say anything else. He quickly withdrew.

    Zu An gave Zhuxie Chixin a grateful look, and then he left as well. He didn¡¯t dare to say anything while inside, but once they were outside, he said, ¡°General Cheng, why have you targeted me again and again? I wonder how I offended you?¡±

    Cheng Xiong said indifferently, ¡°I do not know what Sir Eleven is saying. This general never acts based on grudges and always acts impartially.¡±

    Zu An had to admire this guy¡¯s shamelessness. He obviously didn¡¯t keep him here to discuss reason with him, but to collect Rage points. ¡°I really appreciate how even though the general clearly hates me, there¡¯s nothing you can do but appear helpless, ha ha ha.¡±

    He strutted off after saying this.

    Cheng Xiong was left standing there by himself. His face began to twist, smoke rising from the top of his head.

    You have sessfully trolled Cheng Xiong for +999 +999 +999¡­

    Cheng Xiong¡¯s trusted aides quietly walked over. ¡°General, why do we keep going after him? He is a golden token envoy after all and not that easy to deal with.

    A golden token envoy alone was already hard enough to deal with, and this one even had Zhuxie Chixin backing him. They felt like Cheng Xiong really did make a miscalction this time.

    Cheng Xiong snorted and said, ¡°You all know nothing! His majesty has wanted to take out King Qi¡¯s faction for a while now, and this asssassination is the best reason to do so. He clearly ns to remove me first. I need to strike first and find a scapegoat to get through this ordeal.¡±

    Whether or not he found out the truth of this matter actually didn¡¯t matter at all. What was important was that he had to find someone to shoulder the me.

    Golden Token Eleven looked like the most suitable candidate. He had enough status, and his foundation wasn¡¯t firm enough yet. Furthermore, this fe¡¯s rtionship with the assassins was suspicious to begin with. He was the perfect scapegoat!

    Zu An was just about to return to his big sis sect master after leaving the imperial study and discuss Cheng Xiong¡¯s matter together, but a servant girl suddenly approached him. ¡°Sir Eleven, my master invites you for a meeting.¡±

    ¡°Who is your master?¡± Zu An was curious. Who else did he know among the harem chambers?¡±

    That maid didn¡¯t reply. ¡°Sir Eleven will know once you arrive.¡±

 Chapter 646: Flower Tea

    <h4>Chapter 646: Flower Tea</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An frowned. His first reaction was if Cheng Xiong set up another trap for him.

    But he quickly realized that Cheng Xiong went all out in front of the emperor. There was no way he wouldunch another attack so quickly.

    ¡°Please lead the way, pretty sis.¡± He was curious, so he decided to just see where this went.

    The pce maid blushed when she heard him call her pretty sis. She had never been addressed this way before! This Embroidered Envoy didn¡¯t seem as scary as his colleagues and instead seemed a lot more friendly.

    She quickly brought him to a secluded pce. There were all types of beautiful flowers inside. It was a delightful scene.

    Zu An was quite shocked. These flowers were clearly not native to this ce. There were some flowers around his own courtyard too, but they were far inferior to the flowers here.

    These flowers had definitely been meticulously nted by someone. Thus, he asked the maid with a smile, ¡°This pretty sis has a delicate touch, you grew so many pretty flowers.¡±

    That maid¡¯s face blushed. ¡°These were nted by her highness.¡±

    ¡°Her highness?¡± Zu An was rmed. This was definitely not the Pce of Peace, so which highness was this?¡±

    ¡°Is Sir Eleven someone fond of flowers?¡± A gentle voice sounded.

    Zu An raised his head. He saw a beautiful silhouette standing within some flower clusters nearby. She held a pair of shears in hand and was currently trimming the branches and leaves. The maid bowed before slowly withdrawing.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Greetings, Concubine Bai.¡± Zu An immediately recognized her. She showed him favor when he first entered the pce. This gentle and graceful woman had left him with a deep impression then.

    Back then, she wasn¡¯t even willing to speak too much to another man. Why did she specially ask for him today then?

    Concubine Bai handed the shears to the maid beside her. She wiped her hands on the moist towel that was brought over. Then, she looked at Zu An and said, ¡°Sir Eleven is too courteous.¡±

    She was a gentle person to begin with, and she was even more finely spoken. This made others who faced her feel a natural feeling of tenderness towards her. That dumb crown prince really was quite lucky to have such a graceful flower of a concubine on top of his stunning wife, the crown princess.

    ¡°I heard Sir Eleven praise these flowers in the courtyard. It looks like sir is someone who also appreciates flowers.¡± Concubine Bai¡¯s expression became more and more gentle, as if she met a kindred spirit.

    ¡°I am indeed fond of flowers as well.¡± But inwardly, Zu An added, but the flowers I like are women like you.

    He subconsciously looked around. He didn¡¯t see any ambushes waiting.

    It wasn¡¯t his fault for being overly suspicious. He really was scared quite badly from all the events that popped up these past few days. What if this woman was in cahoots with Cheng Xiong, and then he jumped out to frame him of harassing her?

    ¡°I wonder what Concubine Bai has brought me here for today?¡± Zu An asked carefully. Pretty girls were pretty, but it would be really bad if he let it affect his decision.

    Concubine Bai revealed a faintugh. ¡°You saved the crown prince and princess earlier. I haven¡¯t had a chance to thank you for that yet, so I invited you here today.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He didn¡¯t expect it to be this reason. However, as the crown prince¡¯s concubine, it was normal for her to want to thank him.

    He cupped his hands. ¡°That¡¯s my duty. I do not dare im credit for it.¡±

    Concubine Bai said, ¡°The crown princess has already awarded you today, if I do not do the same, others might feel that I do not care about the crown prince¡¯s safety. Could it be that Sir Eleven wants to ce me in such a difficult spot?¡±

    Those eyes swirled like sparkling gems.

    Zu An praised her for being formidable inside. This woman already gave birth to a child, yet look at how lovely she still looks.

    He quickly replied, ¡°This subordinate does not dare.¡±

    Concubine Bai continued, ¡°Could it be that Sir Eleven feels that my gifts cannotpare to the crown princess¡¯? But that makes sense, as a concubine like me does not have much to offer.¡±

    Zu An knew that she was only saying this on the surface, but he was still moved by her words. He thought to himself, there were no women who were easy to deal with in the pce.

    ¡°Concubine Bai speaks too seriously. This subordinate is extremely grateful.¡±

    Concubine Bai nodded in satisfaction. She had the maids and eunuchs who were holding pearls and jewels wait on the side first.

    She slowly sat down on the gazebo nearby, and then she poured a cup of tea while gesturing for him to have a seat. ¡°Sir Eleven, please have a seat.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. Sitting this close is not good, right?

    Concubine Bai continued, ¡°I can¡¯t help but feel that some gifts alone make me seem too cold, that it won¡¯t be able to fully express my gratitude for saving the crown prince¡¯s life. That is why I wanted to invite sir for a cup of flower tea. Even though it isn¡¯t anything precious, it is a rare experience.¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°Concubine Bai is too polite. If this kind of tea isn¡¯t precious, then what is precious in this world?¡±

    He sat down across from her under the gazebo as well. This was a ce with an open view all around them, and there were maids and eunuchs standing around them as well, so there shouldn¡¯t be any misunderstandings.

    From how she invited him to some tea, he could tell that this was most likely to express her good faith.

    A gentle smile shed past Concubine Bai¡¯s eyes, one that made one unknowingly calm down. ¡°Sir Eleven, please.¡±

    While she was pouring tea, she brought out a white bowl. It was an exquisite white like that of milk. Perhaps it was because it hadn¡¯t been long since she had a child, but her movements made her chest look even a bitrger.

    Zu An didn¡¯t dare look in that direction. He stared at the tea in front of him.

    Unlike the green or brown colored teas he was used to, the tea in his cup had a rose tinge. When paired with this emerald green porcin cup, it really was a pleasing sight.

    He released a sincere sigh. ¡°This tea is just like Concubine Bai, even the white jade and pearls pale inparison. Not even the first budding of roses is as beautiful.¡±

    But Zu An felt regret the moment these words came out of his mouth. He was so used to flirting with girls that he forgot this was the imperial pce! Her status was special, and these words really were inappropriate.

    Sure enough, Concubine Bai¡¯s expression changed slightly and she adjusted her seating a bit when she heard this, as if she was trying to widen the distance. However, she noticed the clear expression in the other party¡¯s eyes, that he wasn¡¯t the lecher she imagined. She sighed in relief and knew that this was heartfelt praise.

    A light blush shed past Concubine Bai¡¯s face, just like the tea in the cup. ¡°Sir Eleven is too kind with your praise.¡±

    Zu An chuckled awkwardly. Now wasn¡¯t a good time for him to say anything else, so he could only sip on the tea. When he picked up the teacup, he immediately smelled a special fragrance. It was different from the smell of any cosmetics, but rather a fresh and clean aroma. ¡°What an incredible aroma!¡±

    Concubine Bai smiled and said, ¡°This teabines the fragrance of many flowers, so it carries their aromas. I¡¯ve spent a long time researching how to prevent the fragrance from being too strong.¡±

    ¡°Concubine Bai is elegant and refined as expected.¡± Zu An said in praise. He was worried at first, thinking that the tea might be poisonous, but he could feel the aroma filling his mouth with just a small sip. He couldn¡¯t help but drink a bit more.

    Either way, Concubine Bai wouldn¡¯t dare to publicly assassinate a golden token envoy, right? If it¡¯s an aphrodisiac¡­ Um¡­ I guess I have the most powerful aphrodisiacs on me. This tea doesn¡¯t taste anything like that familiar feeling.

    Concubine Bai looked pleased when she saw him take a few more sips. After all, everyone loved to receive the acknowledgement of others.

    However, she suddenly remembered that the other partypared the tea to her. If he keeps drinking it, doesn¡¯t that mean¡­

    Her heartbeat quickened. She quickly changed the topic. ¡°I heard that there was a grandmaster among the assassins this time?¡±

    Zu An lowered his teacup. ¡°Indeed, and it was even a woman.¡±

    This was public knowledge, so there was no need to hide it.

    A hint of admiration shed past Concubine Bai¡¯s eyes. ¡°It is quite admirable that Sir Eleven was able to protect the crown prince despite facing a grandmaster.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face heated up. ¡°To be honest, I wouldn¡¯t even be able to take a single one of her blows. The one who defeated her was his majesty.¡±

    Concubine Bai smiled. ¡°Sir Eleven is too humble. Surviving a grandmaster¡¯s sword unscathed is still something worth being proud of. Furthermore, I heard from the maids that it was because Sir Eleven fought valiantly that you were able to fend the enemies off unil his majesty arrived. That is why you are still the official with the most outstanding service.¡±

    ¡°Concubine Bai overpraises.¡± Zu An was even starting to be swept along a bit. This woman was pretty, her voice was soothing, and everything she said made him feel good. It really was hard for his mind to not wander.

    ¡°By the way, I heard that the female assassin was wounded, but she escaped. Have you captured her yet? What if she is hiding somewhere inside the pce? I fear that people like us will be in danger.¡± Concubine Bai said with worry. ¡°I¡¯m not too important, but I cannot continue living if something happens to the imperial grandchild.¡±

 Chapter 647: Government Courtesan Queen

    <h4>Chapter 647: Government Courtesan Queen</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    When he saw Concubine Bai look like she was almost worried to tears, Zu An felt like any man¡¯s heart would melt in his situation.

    Isn¡¯t this girl showing green tea bitch gs? But guys really do fall for this stuff huh¡­

    He quickly consoled her, ¡°Concubine Bai, do not worry. Even though that female assassins has not been captured, his majesty has already wounded her seriously. Even if she isn¡¯t dead, she is already crippled badly. How could she still stir up trouble in her situation?¡±

    ¡°His majesty is indeed number one after all.¡± Concubine Bai muttered to herself, her expression in a bit of a daze.

    Zu An continued, ¡°Furthermore, Sir Zhuxie has alreadyunched a full force investigation for her arrest. That female assassin is busy hiding herself. How can she dare stir up trouble in the pce?¡±

    Either way, big sis sect master couldn¡¯t hear him right now anyway. It was probably okay to say these things.

    Concubine Bai smiled and said, ¡°Thank you Sir Eleven for consoling me. I feel much better now.¡±

    The sound of an infant crying sounded at this time. Concubine Bai quickly got up. ¡°I apologize, but the imperial grandson might be hungry. I¡¯m going to take a look.¡±

    Zu An subconsciously nced at herrge breasts. Aren¡¯t there specialized wet nurses in the pce? Why does the concubine need to feed him herself?

    Concubine Bai¡¯s face reddened when she noticed his expression. There was also a bit of bashfulness.

    ¡°Then I will take my leave now too.¡± Zu An quickly got up.

    Concubine Bai said, ¡°I will have the maids and eunuchs deliver these goods to your courtyard.¡± After saying this, her beautiful figure quickly left.

    Then, the maid who brought him here led a group of eunuchs carrying several chests to Zu An¡¯s residence.

    ¡°What is pretty sis¡¯ name?¡± Zu An gave this delicate and pretty maid a look. He didn¡¯t actually have any thoughts about her, but subconsciously wanted to get closer to the subordinates who worked under important people.

    Important figures might have to appear virtuous and prestigious, but that wasn¡¯t the case for servants like them after all. Having these people on his side would be extremely useful.

    ¡°My name is Xin Rui, Sir Eleven.¡± The maid replied bashfully.

    ¡°It¡¯s a good name.¡± Zu An smiled. ¡°You share your master¡¯s temperament. No wonder Concubine Bai trusts you.¡±

    Concubine Bai loves flowers after all, even her servant¡¯s surname was rted to a flower.[1]

    Xin Rui replied with a quiet voice, ¡°I do not dare to bepared with my master.¡±

    Zu An fully exercised his smooth talk skills he obtained from his past world along the way. Xin Rui was left shaken.

    He learned quite a bit about Concubine Bai along the way as well. She does not normally reside in the eastern pce, and she doesn¡¯t seem to be that familiar with the crown prince¡¯s side. She only resided in her private residence in the pce. Her favourite pastime is raising all types of nts and flowers.

    Regardless of whether it was the crown prince or the crown princess, neither of them visits her, and she rarely visits the two of them as well. They seem to livepletely independently.

    Isn¡¯t this crown prince a willing cuckold then?

    Zu An began to think to himself. How can a stunning and elegant woman like Concubine Bai favor an idiot fatty like the crown prince? But other than the crown prince, who else could it be?

    Is it really the emperor himself?

    Sigh, I don¡¯t have enough information at all, it¡¯s hard to say¡­

    Xin Rui left with everyone after leaving the chests behind. Only after Zu An closed the door, did Yun Jianyue appear from her room and say with a cold expression, ¡°You really are a yboy. You won¡¯t even let a maid go.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s flirting with Xin Rui clearly didn¡¯t escape her ears.

    ¡°You understand nothing. Danger lurks on every side in this pce, so I obviously need to be careful! I need to do my best to get more people on my side.¡± Zu An harrumphed and didn¡¯t want to pay her any more attention.

    Yun Jianyue understood this reasoning as well, so she didn¡¯t argue any more about this subject. She gave the contents of the chests a look and voiced her surprise. ¡°You really do have luck with women. The crown princess and Concubine Bai are both so eager to send you gifts.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s merely because my identity is special.¡± Zu An said, ¡°Oh, by the way, I need to make a trip outside the pce. I cannot let Cheng Xiong continue to act against me like this. I need to retaliate as well.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Yun Jianyue nodded and didn¡¯t say much else. She returned to the silk band and closed her eyes.

    Zu An was speechless. This girl really was getting a bit too immersed in the Xiaolongnu act.

    ¡­

    Zu An ran into an Embroidered Envoy as soon as he walked out. ¡°Sir Eleven, this is the information Chief Commander Zhuxie ordered for me to deliver.¡±

    Zu An received it and took a look. This was a report on Cheng Xiong. He was shocked. ¡°All of this was put together this quickly?¡±

    Only half a day had passed since he spoke with Zhuxie Chixin!

    That Embroidered Envoy said with a smile, ¡°The Embroidery House carries detailed information on every official, we¡¯ve only had topile some avable information so far. Sir, please take your time looking through it. This subordinate will withdraw first.¡±

    ¡°Thanks!¡± Zu An now realized that the Embroidered Envoy were the intelligence force the emperor used to monitor all the officials. It waspletely natural for them to have these resources at their disposal.

    He began to read through the information carefully.

    This Cheng Xiong came from a poor upbringing and climbed up the ranks on the battlefield. Later on he obtained the appreciation of Defense General Qin Se, which granted him rapid promotions. Eventually, he became the Left Guard General, as well as an important member of King Qi¡¯s faction.

    Zu An felt a headache when he saw the name Qin Se. He didn¡¯t expect to run into Chuyan¡¯s second grandfather at the end of all of this.

    As he continued to read, his brows gradually furrowed.

    Once Cheng Xiong established himself from his peers, hepletely forgot about his humble upbringing and instead engaged even more eagerly in corruption and abuse of thew.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    There were many instances recorded in the Embroidered Envoy¡¯s information where he forcefully seized the property and assets ofmon people. Once, it was because he wanted another man¡¯s wife that he manipted that n¡¯s head until they became bankrupt and homeless. Then, he sessfully obtained that man¡¯s wife.

    His son Cheng Gang was also an infamous good-for-nothin¡¯ in the capital. There were quite a few instances of him oppressing the people.

    Zu An¡¯s eyelids jumped as he read through the information. After some time, he sighed. ¡°Absolute filth!¡±

    But there was one small line of red text at the very bottom. The handwriting was gentle and reserved, giving off a type of awe-inspiring feeling. He could tell right away that this was Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s handwriting.

    He wrote that these crimes are not enough to take down a high ranking Left Guard General, so he hopes Zu An does not act rashly.

    Zu An frowned and quickly realized that these tyrannical actions weremon among these aristocrats and high officials. It was just like how the people of his age would often visit whorehouses and government brothels, these were allmon practices. No one would feel that it was strange.

    In the eyes of the emperor and court officials, these were all harmless things. At most, they would reprimand Cheng Xiong. It wasn¡¯t enough to remove him from his position.

    Zu An felt incredibly frustrated. This world¡¯s people might be used to it, but as a transmigrator, a citizen of the past world, there was no way he would share their views.

    As for thesemoners who became ruined and destitute, in the eyes of the nobility, it wasn¡¯t a big deal at all. This type of wronged feeling was hard to swallow.

    Zu An suddenly noticed something else. It was mentioned that Cheng Gang recently became enamored by a courtesan queen in the government brothel.

    Unlike the Immortal Abode of Brightmoon City, the government brothel was run by the state. The women inside were all the females of ruined officials or prisoners of war. Of course, there were some people who were roped in through normal channels, for example, a family who was too poor and had to sell off their young girl¡­

    In general, the quality of girls in these government brothels was higher than that of civilian run ones.

    The famous courtesans of history, like Dong Xiaowan, Li Xiangjun, Bian Yujun and Chen Yuanyuan all came from these types of ces.

    In a ce like Brightmoon City, Immortal Abode was already one of the greatest brothels. However, in the capital, the best whorehouse would always be this government brothel.

    ¡°Government brothel¡­¡± Zu An had an idea. The information here stated that Cheng Gang was making a visit tonight.

    ¡­

    When he left the pce, Zu An originally nned to visit Chu Chuyan and clear up the misunderstanding from this morning. After all, she was definitely not happy about yesterday¡¯s matters.

    But after thinking about it, important business came first. Furthermore, she was probably still angry, so he should give it some time for her anger to cool off first.

    Zu An arrived at the government brothel at nightfall. There were no girls leaning over the balcony and calling out to ordinary men like in ordinary brothels.

    After all, this was a government run facility. Everyone had their pride.

    The worker at the entrance noticed that his demeanor wasn¡¯t bad and was dressed properly. He quickly smiled and greeted him. ¡°Young master, is there anyone you are interested in?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve admired Lady Shuangyue¡¯s grace for quite some time. She is the reason for my visit today.¡± Zu An replied. Lady Shuangyue was precisely the courtesan queen Cheng Gang was interested in.

    He felt like this name was familiar as soon as he said it. Where did he hear this name before?

    That worker¡¯s expression immediately changed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, young master. Shuangyue¡¯s courtyard has been reserved by someone else today. She won¡¯t be taking any other customers.¡±

    1. Rui = stamen, pistil

 Chapter 648: Completely Played

    <h4>Chapter 648: Completely yed</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The government whorehouse wasn¡¯t a single building, but rather several courtyards. Ordinary girls would do business together, but every courtesan queen had their own private ce.

    The government brothel had more than one courtesan queen. As such, it was easy to imagine howrge this ce was.

    ¡°It¡¯s been reserved?¡± Zu An frowned. He didn¡¯t expect to run into something like this.

    He tossed the worker a silver coin. ¡°Help me think of something. It wasn¡¯t easy for me to make this trip.¡±

    He wanted to investigate Cheng Gang and that courtesan queen to see if he could get any useful information, but what was going on here?

    The worker¡¯s eyes lit up when he saw the silver coin. He immediately showed Zu An a huge smile. ¡°Young master, pleasee inside first. Let me see if Lady Shuangyue can make any amodations.¡±

    He was brought inside and taken through several turns. Eventually, they arrived at a small courtyard. This ce was quite refined and didn¡¯t have too much feminine qualities. It didn¡¯t feel like one came to a brothel, but rather a youngdy¡¯s chambers.

    Zu An was given some tea and asked to wait in the courtyard. That worker quickly went inside to give a report.

    Shuangyue was currently dressing and grooming herself in front of a mirror, reclining to her side was a woman. Her seductive figure and charming expression were enough to even move the hearts of other women.

    ¡°Shuangyue, you¡¯re growing prettier and prettier.¡± The girl who was lying down said with a smile. Her voice was so soothing it could melt bones.

    The courtesan queen who sat in front of the mirror rolled her eyes. ¡°Miss, can you stop making fun of me? How can my looks evenpare to yours? These men in the capital haven¡¯t seen much. If they visited Brightmoon City and met you, would they even touch a courtesan queen like me?¡±

    The girl who was lying down said with a smile, ¡°Come on, you don¡¯t need to bring yourself down like that. There are areas where I am inferior to you, like how you are a catwoman. This is something many men cannot resist at all.¡±

    The courtesan queen was startled. ¡°Ah, you¡¯re making fun of me!¡±

    While the two of them were chatting, a knocking sounded from outside. The worker brought in a message. ¡°Lady, there is a young master outside who wishes to meet you.¡±

    The courtesan queen¡¯s expression sunk. ¡°Are you stupid? I¡¯ve already been reserved by Young Master Cheng for the whole night, yet you still dare bring someone in? Did that man bribe you?¡±

    ¡°I do not dare! I will immediately reject that young master.¡± The worker immediately apologized. He quickly left after saying this.

    The girl who was lying down got up. She stretched her bodyzily, entuating her stunning curves. ¡°See? There are so many men who are chasing after you. Isn¡¯t your charm apparent?¡±

    The courtesan queen scoffed. ¡°They¡¯re all some ugly guys.¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright, I won¡¯t tease you anymore.¡± That woman put away her smile. ¡°By the way, that Cheng Gang seems to have invited some important people today. They should all be from King Qi¡¯s faction if I am not mistaken. You must carefully observe what they are discussing.¡±

    The flower courtesan voiced her acknowledgment. ¡°I¡¯ve already fully obtained his trust from these past few days. He won¡¯t disappoint.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good. I¡¯m going out for some fresh air first.¡± The girl who was lying down stood up.

    The flower courtesan smiled. ¡°Please be careful. If the ugly men of this ce see you, they''ll go crazy.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re getting more and more brave. You¡¯re even teasing me now.¡± That girl harrumphed and left through the side door.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but frown when he heard the worker¡¯s response.

    That worker said, ¡°How about I introduce another flower courtesan to the young master? I promise that she won¡¯t be worse than Lady Shuangyue.¡±

    He didn¡¯t dare offend someone this liberal with money. Furthermore, he already took his money, so he had to take care of him well.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need.¡± Zu An shook his head. He wondered if he should just sneak inter? Either way, he could control the small creatures in the vicinity. As long as it wasn¡¯t too far, he should be able to hear what Cheng Gang and this flower courtesan talked about.

    He subconsciously gave the second floor where the courtesan queen was a look. He just happened to see a beautiful figure walk out.

    That figure was originally unhappy to see a boorish man look at her, but she immediately smiled brilliantly when she saw who it was.

    Zu An also smiled. He said to the worker, ¡°You should go and do what you need to. I¡¯ll leave after sitting here for a bit longer.¡±

    That worker thought that Zu An was reluctant to part with Shuangyue and wanted to sit here to admire the other party. He sneered inside, but on the outside, he showed a ttering smile. ¡°Then please feel at ease, young master.¡±

    He quickly left after saying this out of fear that this man will ask for that silver ingot back.

    That figure already arrived at Zu An¡¯s side after a fragrant breeze. ¡°Why did youe here?¡±

    Zu An also had a weird look on his face. ¡°What are you doing here? Don¡¯t tell me that courtesan queen is you?¡±

    The beautiful woman was naturally Qiu Honglei. She seemed even more stunning under the brothel¡¯snterns.

    But for some reason, Zu An felt extremely unhappy inside.

    ¡°You jealous?¡± Qiu Honglei was a clever girl. She immediately knew what he was thinking and teased with a smile.

    Zu An harrumphed. ¡°I heard that the courtesan queen has a good rtionship with Cheng n¡¯s young master. Did Ie at a bad time?¡±

    Qiu Honglei grabbed his arm. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, that courtesan queen isn¡¯t me.¡±

    Zu An felt his body soften from being embraced. All of his irritation disappeared as well.

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s eyes suddenly moved around. ¡°Were you the one who bribed that worker just now?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s smile froze. He suddenly felt like his reputation was done for. He coughed and said, ¡°Of course not. Am I the type who would spend money to meet with a courtesan queen?¡±

    Qiu Honglei giggled and didn¡¯t bother exposing him. She pulled him towards the brothel. ¡°It¡¯s easy if you want to meet the courtesan queen. I¡¯ll just bring you over.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°You know her?¡±

    ¡°Not only do I know her, you do too.¡± Qiu Honglei said with augh.

    Zu An was confused. When he entered the room, he saw a familiar figure.

    ¡°Miss, why did youe back so¡­ Huh? Young Master Zu?¡± That courtesan queen waspletely shocked.

    Zu An¡¯s eyelids jumped. ¡°So you were Lady Leng.¡±

    This courtesan queen was precisely Qiu Honglei¡¯s maid in Immortal Abode, the catwoman Leng Shuangyue!

    Ah, what the heck¡­ If I knew that, I wouldn¡¯t have spent all that silver.

    Leng Shuangyue smiled. ¡°Young master still remembers my name.¡±

    Zu An asked with curiosity, ¡°Why are you guys here?¡±

    Leng Shuangyue wanted to say something, but hesitated. She subconsciously looked to Qiu Honglei. Qiu Honglei said, ¡°It¡¯s fine, he¡¯s one of us. This is precisely our Holy Sect¡¯s capital city branch!¡±

    Leng Shuangyue was stunned. She thought to herself that the saintess really trusted this man. She even told him such a high level secret!

    Zu An had a strange look on his face. ¡°You guys managed to reach all the way into the government brothel? You guys are quite formidable!¡±

    The government brothel was different from a normal one. This was a facility run by the state, and every girl¡¯s identity was documented and their background researched, yet the Devil Sect managed to seep their influence all the way here! This was quite a difficult task.

    Qiu Honglei sneered. ¡°As long as there are men involved, there is nothing we cannot deal with.¡±

    Zu An thus remembered how powerful the seduction she cultivated was. There were likely other girls who excelled in this field. Normal men wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand something like that at all.

    ¡°But isn¡¯t a ce like the government brothel a bit too foul? Aren¡¯t your Holy Sect¡¯s people making too great of a sacrifice?¡± Zu An said with a frown.

    Qiu Honglei had him sit down on a chair to the side. ¡°I know what you are worried about, but our sect has a special department who specializes in this field. The method they cultivate is special, and mingling between the sexes is actually beneficial towards their cultivation.¡±

    Zu An subconsciously nced at the catwoman. Is this the so-called sexual arts?

    Qiu Honglei said in annoyance, ¡°What are you looking at her like that for? She¡¯s not sleeping with any guests and is still a virgin! If you like her, I can have her take care of you though.¡±

    ¡°Miss!¡± The catwoman stomped her feet. She was clearly embarrassed and distressed.

    Zu An was curious. ¡°Then is Cheng Gang an idiot? I heard that he was quite ensnared with her. Did he not get any benefits at all?¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Qiu Honglei exined, ¡°Our sect¡¯s charm technique can ce one in an illusion. Even though Shuangyue hasn¡¯t reached that level yet, she can make Cheng Gang enter an illusion with the help of some medicines and¡­ alleviate himself.¡±

    Zu An now understood what was happening. So that Cheng Gang was beingpletely yed here!

    A servant girl knocked on the door and reported, ¡°Miss, Young Master Cheng¡¯s group has arrived.¡±

 Chapter 649: Donâ€™t Touch Me

    <h4>Chapter 649: Don¡¯t Touch Me</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Leng Shuangyue bowed towards the two of them. ¡°Miss, young master, I need to go out for a bit.¡±

    Qiu Honglei waved her hand. ¡°You should go. Take care of them well.¡±

    Leng Shuangyue voiced her acknowledgement and slowly left. She closed the door behind her.

    Qiu Honglei smiled. ¡°Look at how your eyes are glued to her. If you want her, then I can give her to you. I¡¯m being serious.¡±

    Zu An blushed. ¡°What do you mean? I was just preupied with some thoughts just now.¡±

    Qiu Honglei turned around and sat in his embrace. She hooked her hands around his neck. ¡°It¡¯s not like I mind. Either way, I can¡¯t service you, so isn¡¯t it all the same if I have one of my girls take care of you?¡±

    After what they did in his room, thest barrier between them had beenpletely shattered. That was why she didn¡¯t hold back at all before her lover. She sat intimately in his embrace.

    Zu An stiffened up when he felt the soft feeling of her bottom. Qiu Honglei¡¯s cheeks blushed. Her misty eyes looked at him. ¡°Naughty.¡±

    Zu An gulped. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t y with fire like this. You know you can¡¯t give yourself to me, yet you¡¯re still doing this type of thing.¡±

    Qiu Honglei giggled. ¡°Even if a fire starts, so what? Did you forget that this is a government brothel? We can just find some girls to help appease your fire.¡±

    This woman!

    Zu An groaned. He remembered his objective and used up a lot of willpower to push her away. ¡°Let me see what kind of person this Cheng Gang is for myself.¡±

    ¡°Scaredy cat.¡± Qiu Honglei said this on the surface, but inside, her heart was pounding. If Zu An was ying with fire, then what about her?

    Zu An could have other girls help him, but what could she do?

    She stuck out her tongue at him. Meanwhile, she told herself that she really couldn¡¯t be doing this type of stuff in the future.

    Zu An arrived by the window and opened it a crack to take a look at the situation below.

    He saw a stout young man with a thick neck in the lead. As if trying to pose as a culture lover, he wore a blue vest that was popr among the capital¡¯s young masters. He wanted to look schrly and refined, but because of his built, it didn¡¯t suit him at all.

    ¡°That¡¯s Cheng Gang. It¡¯s obvious that he¡¯s a coarse muscle head, yet he still wants to look like a schr.¡± Qiu Honglei arrived at his side and introduced him. Her voice was full of disdain.

    Zu An¡¯s expression was a bit strange. It wasn¡¯t that girls didn¡¯t like muscr guys, they just didn¡¯t like ugly guys. There was actually a term girls on the inte liked to call this type of men: shrimp men. Only after cutting off the head can you eat them.

    ¡°Hm? So the one he invited this time was the Qin n¡¯s young master.¡± Qiu Honglei was surprised when she saw the people behind him. ¡°The two in the back with thick brows and big eyes are the State Duke of Triumph¡¯s grandson Qin Guangyuan, while the one with more delicate features is State Duke of Prestige¡¯s grandson Qin Yongde.¡±

    The State Duke of Triumph is Chu Chuyan¡¯s grandfather Qin Zheng, while the State Duke of Prestige is Chu Chuyan¡¯s second grandfather Qin Se.

    He had to admit that the Qin n had good genes. Their attractiveness indexes were all pretty high. Cheng Gang looked like a servant next to the two of them.

    This was understandable as well. Qin Zheng and Qin Se weren¡¯t bad looking, and with their high status, they were able to marry beautiful women. This continued for their children, and since they were handsome and beautiful, the chances of giving birth to an ugly child was low.

    ¡°Hm? There¡¯s someone you recognize.¡± Qiu Honglei had a weird look on her face. She nudged Zu An with her elbow. ¡°Your little brother-inw came too. Should I have my girls take good care of him?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes widened too. He looked at the petite figure in the very back. This really was an attractive kid. Qin Yongde was quite handsome already, butpared to her, he was far off.

    Why did that kid run all the way here? Zu An felt a headache. Did you forget that you¡¯re a crossdresser? Coming to this type of ce ispletely courting death! He quickly replied when he heard Qiu Honglei¡¯s teasing, ¡°There¡¯s no need, just treat him like how you normally do so they don¡¯t find anything off.¡±

    ¡°Young Master Qin, Young Master Chu, this way please.¡± Cheng Gang¡¯s boorish voice sounded. He made it sound as if he was the master here and he was enthusiastically inviting them over.

    Shangyue also skillfully received these guests. She wanted to invite them inside, but the thick browed Qin Guangyuan stopped her. ¡°Let¡¯s stay here in the courtyard.¡±

    Shuangyue was stunned, but she quickly reacted. ¡°Sure!¡± She ordered the maids to bring some drinks and fruits out from inside.

    Qiu Hongleimented, ¡°I believe they are discussing something ssified and are scared of outsiders listening in. That is why they chose a more spacious ce.¡±

    Zu An nodded. This was what he thought as well.

    Cheng Gangughed and said, ¡°Shuangyue, these are all formidable young masters. However, the star of tonight is young master Chu. This is the first time he has been to this type of ce, so it¡¯s enough if you take good care of him.¡±

    Chu Youzhao blushed, but she quickly returned to normal. ¡°It¡¯s fine, I¡¯m okay by myself.¡±

    The handsome Qin Yongde chuckled and patted her shoulder. ¡°Youzhao is still a bit shy. We¡¯re all men, aren¡¯t we? You¡¯ll get used to it once wee here more often. This Lady Shuangyue is quite a beauty. She¡¯s an excellent choice for your first time.¡±

    Chu Youzhao evaded his hand in a tactful manner, but she was hard-pressed inside. I wouldn¡¯t havee with them to this ce if I knew it was going to be like this! Sigh, it¡¯s so tiring pretending to be a guy¡­ There¡¯s even all of these stupid things to worry about.

    Shuangyue said with a smile, ¡°Young Master Chu really is dashing.¡±

    She naturally knew Chu Youzhao¡¯s rtionship with Brightmoon City¡¯s Chu n. She thought to herself that since he was Zu An¡¯s brother-inw, she really should treat him well.

    The others teased, ¡°Even Shuangyue seems to have been charmed by our Brother Youzhao, haha.¡±

    Qin Yongde also smiled. ¡°Even Murong n¡¯s first miss has beenpletely captivated by him, let alone a brothel girl.¡±

    Qin Guangyuan frowned slightly. ¡°Second brother, please speak cautiously.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Qin Yongde also realized thatparing Murong n¡¯s first miss with a brothel girl wasn¡¯t too suitable. ¡°That was not too good of me. I¡¯ll drink three cups as a punishment.¡±

    Their group began to drink cheerfully soon afterwards, with each of them having two girls to keep thempany. Meanwhile, Chu Youzhao had Shuangyue at her side.

    As he watched the Qin brothers and Cheng Gang take advantage of the girls at their side, Zu An felt like he returned to his past world¡¯s club scene.

    Uh¡­ As a highly experienced keyboard warrior, he obviously never went to those ces before. He only heard about them online.

    While these fes were like fish back in water, Chu Youzhao was sitting restlessly. She continued to move to the side and gave that pretty flower courtesan a vignt look. ¡°Don¡¯t touch me.¡±

    Shangyue giggled. ¡°Why must Young Master Chu be so nervous? I won¡¯t eat you.¡±

    Chu Youzhao frowned. These women from brothels really had no sense of shame. However, she couldn¡¯t express that right now and could only say, ¡°I¡¯m not used to physical contact with others.¡±

    ¡°No problem, then I will sit a bit further away.¡± Shuangyue didn¡¯t suspect anything. She had met all types of men in this ce with many who were even more strange. ¡°Since this is the young master¡¯s first time, this humble one will pour a ss to honor you.¡±

    Chu Youzhao bit her lip. She felt extremely humiliated when she saw what the others were doing around her. She didn¡¯t refuse the drink, because she needed something to divert her attention.

    Shuangyue beamed when she saw that Chu Youzhao was willing to drink. She quickly poured her one ss after another. As the flower courtesan of a government brothel, she was full of tricks to get her clients to drink, so how could the inexperienced Chu Youzhao be a match? She still unknowingly drank a lot even when she had the intent to refuse.

    Inside the building, Qiu Honglei smiled. ¡°Your little brother-inw is quite a gentleman. It¡¯s just that he is a bit too feminine.¡±

    Zu An rolled his eyes. Is this girl stupid? It¡¯s one thing if youe to a brothel, but you¡¯re going to drink that much too? Are you not scared that you¡¯ll ck out here and expose your identity?

    A whileter, Cheng Gang said with a cough, ¡°Lady Shuangyue, we have something we need to discuss among ourselves.¡±

    Leng Shuangyue got up and bowed. ¡°If there is anything sirs need, please let this humble one know.¡± Then, she slowly left with the other girls.

    Zu An¡¯s face lit up. ¡°They¡¯re starting!¡±

    This wait really was quite hard to endure. He had to watch them y around while he couldn¡¯t do anything himself.

    Qiu Honglei looked worried. ¡°We might not be able to hear anything once they deliberately hide what they are saying.¡±

 Chapter 650: Sinister Undertaking

    <h4>Chapter 650: Sinister Undertaking</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    They deliberately chose to discuss in the spacious courtyard precisely because they were worried that there might be a secret eavesdropping room inside.

    The building wasn¡¯t that far from the courtyard, and those with higher cultivation could still hear what they were saying. However, once Qin Guangyuan brought out a strange rock and put it on the table, the two of them inside discovered that they couldn¡¯t hear anything anymore.

    ¡°That¡¯s a soundproof stone produced by the Royal Academy. It can prevent sound from leaving a certain radius.¡± Qiu Honglei was experienced and knowledgeable. She quickly exined.

    ¡°Royal Academy?¡± Zu An was stunned, but he quickly realized that this was probably the highest educational establishment in the Zhou Dynasty. It was just like the ancient times¡¯ imperial college.

    The most outstanding students from ces like Brightmoon Academy would be brought to the capital¡¯s Royal Academy to further their studies. Once they graduate from their studies there, they would immediately be officials.

    In reality, any students who could enter this Royal Academy were already good enough to be officials. However, everyone wanted to make even greater achievements in the academy before they came out. After all, the greater your cultivation, the higher your starting point in your career. This would have a greater snowballing effect on your future prospects. That was why no one would choose to enter their official careers too early.

    ¡°I cannot hear what they are saying. What do we do? Should I have Shuangyue find a way to get closer?¡± Qiu Honglei was worried.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need. I have a way.¡± Zu An closed his eyes and began to search for small creatures around the courtyard. Apart from small insects, there were mostly mice. However, mice would be easily killed once they got close.

    As such, he eventually chose a fox flower cat and made it approachzily.

    Cats were so cute. These people won¡¯t have a bad reaction, right?

    Sure enough, they noticed the cat as soon as it approached. But when they saw that it was just a cat, they immediately sighed in relief and didn¡¯t pay it any more attention.

    ¡°Why did Brother Cheng call us over today?¡± Qin Guangyuan sat upright and still. The feeling he gave off seemed extremely steady.

    On the other side, Qin Yongde sat in a much more rxed manner. He leanedzily into his chair as if there were no bones in his body.

    As for Chu Youzhao, her face was flushed red from intoxication, and her sight was a bit blurry. She looked extremely captivating.

    Cheng Gang retracted his gaze with shock. He thought to himself that the Chu n¡¯s young master really was pretty. If he was from an ordinary n, he might even bring him home to y around with a bit.

    Even though he didn¡¯t swing that way, he felt like he wouldn¡¯t mind if that man was as pretty as Chu Youzhao.

    He coughed lightly and put away those thoughts. ¡°Everyone should already know that the assassins from the previous attack all admitted that they were sent by King Qi.¡±

    ¡°But we¡¯re clearly being framed!¡± Chu Youzhao mmed the table. She became much more bold than usual after drinking.

    Qin Yongde smiled indifferently. ¡°If even we could tell that this is a setup, then how can his majesty not?¡±

    Qin Guangyuan frowned. ¡°What I fear is precisely that his majesty knows, yet pretends otherwise.¡±

    Qin Yongde¡¯s smile froze. Chu Youzhao also frowned. They clearly realized that the chances of this were high. Cheng Gang said, ¡°Young master¡¯s sight is sharp as expected. This is what my father believes as well. His majesty might use this attack as an excuse to target those under King Qi¡¯s faction. My father¡¯s current situation is rather precarious and he cannot directly seek out the State Duke of Triumph and State Duke of Prestige, that is why they wish to exchange some thoughts through us.¡±

    Zu An nodded inwardly. So the reason they came all the way to the government brothel was to pull a wool over everyone else¡¯s eyes.

    Qin Guangyuan asked, ¡°Has your esteemed father found out where those assassins came from yet?¡±

    Cheng Gang shook his head. ¡°He does not. We only know that the assassins are led by a young, long-haired woman with grandmaster level cultivation.¡±

    ¡°Young woman, grandmaster?¡± Chu Youzhao said with a high pitched voice. She was always annoyed at the fact that she wasn¡¯t born as a man. Otherwise, she would¡¯ve been able to solve many of the Chu n¡¯s problems.

    But when she heard that this young woman was actually a grandmaster, how could she not feel admiration?

    Qin Yongde said with a smile, ¡°Youzhao, do not be deceived by outward appearances. Those with profound cultivation can preserve their youth. She might seem like a young woman in your eyes, but she is already an old granny.¡±

    Zu An had a weird look on his face. Tell that to Yun Jianyue¡¯s face if you have the guts. She¡¯ll smash your stupid head open.

    Though¡­ How old is big sis sect master really?

    Chu Youzhao continued, ¡°She looks like a long haired young woman, but she is a grandmaster. Shouldn¡¯t it be easy to find out her identity?¡±

    Qin Guangyuan shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s far from easy. Even though there aren¡¯t many grandmasters in this world, most of them live in seclusion and rarelye out. It is difficult for outsiders to know much about them.¡±

    Qin Yongde who was sittingzily now stood up. ¡°Even though normal people might not know, his majesty should be able to guess at who it is, right?¡±

    Qin Guangyuan said with a bitter smile, ¡°And we¡¯ve nowe full circle. His majesty might use this opportunity to attack King Qi¡¯s faction.¡±

    Cheng Gang voiced his agreement. ¡°This is what my father thinks as well. He is the Left Guard General, as well as one of King Qi¡¯s important figures who controls the imperial pce army. He might be one of the people his majesty wants to get rid of the most. That is why my father has always been acting proactively and trying to redirect the attention to one of the Embroidered Envoy.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, no wonder this mad dog keeps biting me! So he wanted to find a scapegoat for this matter.

    ¡°Embroidered Envoy?¡± Qin Guangyuan nodded. ¡°I heard something about that.¡±

    All of them worked in the pce, so there was no way they didn¡¯t hear about it.

    Cheng Gang said through gritted teeth, ¡°Our n was quite meticulous at first, but that Embroidered Envoy is quite tricky. He manages to avert disaster every time and he made my father¡¯s ns go to waste. My father¡¯s situation is bing worse and worse.¡±

    ¡°He is a golden token envoy, it is to be expected that he is hard to deal with.¡± Qin Yongde¡¯s tone was full of dissatisfaction. He felt like something was wrong with Cheng Xiong¡¯s head. Why did he insist on choosing a freaking golden token envoy? Isn¡¯t he courting disaster?

    Cheng Gang said gloomily, ¡°The reason why my father chose him is because he doesn¡¯t have much of a foundation, and there are many points of suspicion to begin with. He might really have something to do with the assassins. That was why as my father got deeper and deeper into the investigation, it was already too hard to stop halfway. Now, he has already offended the Embroidered Envoy. If he cannot redirect the me, then the Embroidered Envoy¡¯s following retaliation will be brutal.¡±

    Qin Guangyuan nodded. ¡°Now that things are already like this, we can only choose him. Is there anything General Cheng wishes for us to convey to our grandfathers?¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Even though they were outstanding among their peers, these major affairs were still to be handled by their n¡¯s elders. They could only pass on the information.

    ¡°Of course.¡± Cheng Gang said. ¡°I need the two State Dukes to look into Golden Token Eleven¡¯s background and see if there are any openings to take advantage of.¡±

    The Qin n had great influence in the military, and they were also in charge of the selection of various officers. They were deeply involved in these matters. Only people like them could look into this matter.

    Qin Guangyuan frowned. ¡°The backgrounds of the Embroidered Envoy are all mysterious, let alone golden token envoys. Even though the Qin n has many of our people in official positions, we might not be able to find out this information.¡±

    Cheng Gang chuckled and said, ¡°Even if you do not find anything, we can forge a crime of him colluding with the assassins. I believe that this isn¡¯t anything too difficult for the two State Dukes.¡±

    This wasn¡¯t something Cheng Xiong could do in his current situation, so he had to ask others for help.

    Qin Guangyuan frowned. He didn¡¯t say anything.

    Chu Youzhao couldn¡¯t endure this. ¡°Aren¡¯t we harming an innocent person here?¡±

    Cheng Gang sneered and didn¡¯t say anything.

    Qin Yongde used this chance to say, ¡°Youzhao, remember. In the political circles, there is no such thing as innocent or guilty, only whether there are enough benefits. If we do not do this, then his majesty will use this chance to attack King Qi. Wouldn¡¯t King Qi be the one who is wronged then?¡±

    Chu Youzhao opened her mouth. However, even though she didn¡¯t approve of this, she couldn¡¯t find any reasons to retort.

    Qin Guangyuan spoke up. ¡°Leave this matter to our Qin n. We must act quickly and decisively.¡±

    Cheng Gang smiled. ¡°Young masters are clear spoken as expected. Let¡¯s have a toast to tonight!¡±

    Now that they finished discussing official matters, the drinks continued. They called back Shuangyue and the other maids.

    Zu An¡¯s face was gloomy. If he didn¡¯t happen to run into this talk, he would¡¯ve been schemed against without any idea.

    These capital old foxes, each more treacherous than thest.

    After listening to his exnation, Qiu Honglei also became upset. ¡°Aren¡¯t these people a bit too shameless?¡±

    Zu An replied with a bitter smile, ¡°The worst part is that they just got extremely lucky. What kind of luck is this?¡±

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s expression also became strange, because Zu An really did collude with her group, the assassins.

    Zu An thought for a bit, and then said, ¡°I need you guys to help me with something¡­¡±

    When she listened to what he had to say, Qiu Honglei¡¯s pretty brows furrowed deeply. ¡°I¡¯m willing to help you of course, but this is a huge matter that might bring the decades of work we put into this capital city station of ours to ruin. I cannot promise you this if the rest of the sect does not agree. That is why I need you to promise us something else.¡±

 Chapter 651: The Chicken has Flown the Coop, the Eggs are Broken

    <h4>Chapter 651: The Chicken has Flown the Coop, the Eggs are Broken</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An was disappointed. ¡°I saved you and your sect master, yet your sect¡¯s people want me to agree to something else? Isn¡¯t that going a bit too far?¡±

    Qiu Honglei was extremely apologetic. ¡°This isn¡¯t what I want either, but I do not dare tell anyone that you saved the sect master. Once someone knows, then this secret has a high chance of leaking out. I¡¯m worried about your safety in the pce.¡±

    Zu An knew that he had misunderstood her. ¡°You¡¯ve thought things out in more detail than me.¡±

    The less people who knew about a secret, the better. Furthermore, there were many factions in the Devil Sect, so who knows if they would sell themselves out or not. That was why remaining hidden was a wise choice.

    Qiu Honglei continued, ¡°I don¡¯t know if master told you yet, but she rose up to her position by purging many factions. Now that she is seriously injured and missing, many people have begun to stir restlessly in the sect. That is why even if she gave the orders, these people still might not listen.¡±

    Zu An snorted. ¡°Your sect¡¯s people sure are loyal.¡±

    Qiu Honglei sighed when she heard the sarcasm in his voice. ¡°Loyalty isn¡¯t our creed. In the end, what everyone trusts is thew of the jungle. Whoever has more strength has thest say. There is still some reason behind why the outside world calls us the Devil Sect.¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°Then what kind of justification does your sect need to work with me?¡±

    Qiu Honglei exined, ¡°There were members from all different factions that were captured. If you can rescue them, then they will definitely agree to help.¡±

    Zu An frowned. Why aren¡¯t those guys dead yet?

    Any assassinations attempted against the empress or crown prince was an offense punishable by nine generations of executions. There were so many people watching these prisoners right now. How could he possibly save them?

    Qiu Honglei continued, ¡°I know that this is extremely difficult as well, so if you really cannot save them, it¡¯s enough if you can give them an easy death and prevent them from suffering any more.¡±

    Even though they couldn¡¯t see what was happening, they could imagine just what kind of suffering those people went through inside the imperial prison.

    ¡°Fine, that¡¯s something I can try to do.¡± Zu An agreed. Yun Jianyue gave him a simr request before. Since he could gain the favor of two people at once, then that was more than he could ask for.

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll discuss things with our sect now. You should rest for a bit here.¡± Qiu Honglei quickly left.

    Since the Devil Sect¡¯s center of operations was in this government brothel, many of the sect¡¯s higher level figures were here.

    Zu An nodded. It didn¡¯t make sense for him to show up in this type of situation, so he just stayed here by the window out of boredom. Suddenly, he was shocked to see that something unexpected happened below.

    Chu Youzhao¡¯s cheeks werepletely red, her eyes blurred. She was already drunk.

    Look at this silly girl. Do you have no idea how much alcohol you can tolerate? You came to a brothel and got this wasted?

    Qin Guangyuan frowned. ¡°Youzhao is still too young. He couldn¡¯t drink much, as expected.¡±

    Cheng Gangughed and immediately said, ¡°Lady Shuangyue, young master Chu is drunk, so please take him inside for some rest. You better take care of him well!¡±

    Lady Shuangyue blushed. She said timidly, ¡°Being able to serve young master Chu is my fortune.¡±

    Her eyes nced towards Chu Youzhao from time to time, perfectly disying her feminine charm.

    ¡°Don¡¯t¡­ don¡¯t touch me.¡± Chu Youzhao subconsciously pushed her away. However, her entire body was weak from drinking, so she didn¡¯t have the strength to push her away at all.

    ¡°Young master, I will bring you inside for some rest.¡± Shuangyue said with a gentle voice.

    ¡°Mm¡­ mm¡­¡± Chu Youzhao replied hazily.

    Cheng Gang was stunned by these two¡¯s beauty when they were next to each other. He even felt like the delicate and pretty Chu Youzhao was a bit more alluring than Shuangyue. He felt a wave of heat surge within his belly. Should I sneak into the roomter on and join in on the action?

    He was already a regr customer of Shuangyue¡¯s, so she shouldn¡¯t refuse, right? But this young master Chu¡¯s status is a bit special¡­ If news of this got out, then it would be extremely troublesome.

    What the fuck? Why the hell am I going after a man?!

    It¡¯s all this kid¡¯s fault for being too good-looking!

    Qin Yongde who was busy ying with the girl in his embrace snapped out of his daze. He said with a smile, ¡°Shuangyue, this little brother of mine is still quite immature. You need to be more gentle with himter.¡±

    ¡°No¡­ don¡¯t¡­¡± Chu Youzhao mumbled, refusing subconsciously. However, her weak voice waspletely ignored.

    Shuangyue responded with a lovable smile. ¡°I¡¯m always gentle, okay? How about I give young master Chu a little bonuster?¡±

    Speaking in this type of manner in a government brothel waspletely eptable.

    Sure enough, the others were amused as expected. They all roared inughter. Shuangyue carried Chu Youzhao inside.

    Cheng Gang¡¯s eyes moved around. He picked up his girl and walked towards the entrance as well. ¡°Young masters, please carry on. I¡¯m going to have some fun first, hahaha.¡±

    Vulgar¡­ Qin Guangyuan and Qin Yongde both said at the same time. But they both suddenly found the girls in their arms much more enchanting.

    Qin Yongde couldn¡¯t hold himself back any longer either. He got up with his hands around two girls¡¯ waists. ¡°Bro, I¡¯m heading inside too, haha.¡±

    Qin Guangyuan¡¯s face darkened. This fe has no willpower at all! With their status, what kind of beauties hadn¡¯t they met before? Was there a need to be in such a rush?

    ¡°Young master Qin truly is a steady minded gentleman¡­¡± The girl next to him reached out her hand and moved her finger around his chest.

    Qin Guangyuan¡¯s entire body stiffened up. Ahem¡­ these girls from the government brothel are quite different. Loosening up once in a while isn¡¯t so bad either.

    Then, he was brought into a small, secluded room by this girl. Sounds of the bed shaking quickly ensued.

    ¡­

    Zu An, who was quietly watching all of this, was stunned. These Devil Sect¡¯s girls are really good at what they do! Even these experienced young masters ended up unknowingly falling into their trap.

    Light and gentle footsteps sounded at this time. Shuangyue arrived behind him. ¡°Young master, I¡¯ve already put young master Chu to sleep. Should I arrange for someone to service him?¡±

    Chu Youzhao was Zu An¡¯s younger brother-inw, so she wanted to ask him to make sure. Of course, there was no way she would do it herself. She had more than enough girls under her to finish the deed.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need. I¡¯ll pay him a visit myself.¡± Service her with another girl? Won¡¯t her crossdressing matter bepletely exposed then? He couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Did you notice anything¡­ peculiar about his body?¡±

    He wondered if anything happened when Shuangyue carried her inside. After all, it was because he identally touched her that he found out something was off.

    ¡°Peculiar?¡± Shuangyue was confused. ¡°What is the young master talking about?¡±

    Zu An sighed in relief when he saw that she didn¡¯t notice anything. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. You should do what you need to do. I¡¯ll take care of him.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Shuangyue had a weird look on her face. This man came all the way to a brothel, yet he didn¡¯t care about the beauties at all and instead went to visit his little brother-inw. Don¡¯t tell me that he likes men?

    But young master Chu was indeed handsome. I might have been moved too if I was a man.

    She brought Zu An down the stairs. Suddenly, he noticed a dark figure rush into Chu Youzhao¡¯s room. Zu An¡¯s expression changed and he quickly rushed over.

    Cheng Gang had just sneaked into this room. ¡°Huh? Why is Shuangyue not here?¡±

    His attention immediately shifted to Chu Youzhao. His face was prettier than even this ce¡¯s courtesan queens. His small mouth was opened slightly, his red lips making his heart pound.

    ¡°Screw it, I¡¯ll just have a taste of what another man feels like then!¡± Cheng Gang had a feeling that something wasn¡¯t quite right. He seemed to be much more stimted than normal. Normally speaking, he would definitely feel reservations towards his status, yet the alcohol made him throw all of that away.

    Young master Chu was drunk anyway, and he¡¯ll just feel a bit of pain in the bottom tomorrow. He won¡¯t suspect me at all.

    He gulped. He took off his clothes, and then he pounced onto the bed.

    Then, his figure suddenly froze. He felt a hand grip his neck. A biting cold voice sounded. ¡°You¡¯re courting death!¡±

    Cheng Gang was horrified. He quickly swung his arm backwards. However, his neck was in pain as soon as he swung it halfway. Then, he cked out.

    Zu An tossed the limp Cheng Gang onto the ground. He felt disgusted when he saw how high his crotch was. He stomped his foot down on it.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Ugh¡­¡± Even while unconscious, Cheng Gang still curled up in pain like a shrimp.

    Shuangyue gulped. This man really was decisive! How were they going to deal with the consequences of this afterwards?

 Chapter 652: Confrontation

    <h4>Chapter 652: Confrontation</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An quickly arrived by the bed. ¡°Youzhao? Youzhao?¡±

    He sighed in relief when he saw that her clothes were still on.

    Only now did he have a chance to carefully look at her. Her skin was fair with a light blush, her eyshes long and curled. She looked just like a fine doll. This was especially true with her moist red lips that were slightly opened. As she breathed in and out, they seemed to be silently tempting him.

    He couldn¡¯t really me that Cheng Gang for going crazy. What kind of man was this ridiculously handsome?

    While Zu An thought these things with ridicule, Chu Youzhao finally hazily opened her eyes. She was confused when she saw that it was Zu An. Her voice was extremely lovable and delicate. ¡°Brother-inw?¡±

    Shuangyue felt goosebumps all over her body. This man¡¯s words sounded even sweeter than their government brothel¡¯s courtesan queens! What the hell!

    Zu An smelled a sweet scent from her mouth. He frowned and gave Shuangyue a look. ¡°What kind of wine did you guys serve?¡±

    Shuangyue exined, ¡°There is a bit of special medicine mixed into the alcohol that has aphrodisiac properties. However, the amount is extremely small and won¡¯t affect one¡¯s rationality. I didn¡¯t expect Cheng Gang to be so daring today, doing this towards a man¡­¡±

    She stopped midway through her sentence when she saw Chu Youzhao¡¯s charming appearance. What the heck is this? Even a woman would be stirred from looking at him, let alone a man.

    Zu An suddenly realized that this was the medicine Qiu Honglei was talking about before, the one that made the men feel like Shuangyue slept with them.

    Shuangyue had a worried look on her face. ¡°Young master, Cheng Gang¡¯s status is important. How are you going to deal with this situation?¡±

    Zu An said with an overcast voice, ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry, I¡¯ll take care of this. You just need to let Honglei know.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± This was what Shuangyue nned to do anyway. She quickly left after hearing him say this.

    ¡°Brother¡­ inw, why are you here? Am I dreaming?¡± Chu Youzhao was still in a half-drunk state.

    ¡°Dreaming, dreaming, you were almost done in by someone else and you had no idea.¡± Zu An was a bit dispirited. He tried to support her up.

    But her entire body was limp. She fell straight into his arms as soon as he supported her up.

    ¡°Brother-inw, how can you¡­ do this to me? I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m going to tell big sis¡­ don¡¯t¡­¡± Chu Youzhaoid in his arms, her eyes swirling about. Her cheeks seemed to be burning up.

    Zu An: ¡°???¡±

    He was confused. Was she still dreaming?

    He impatiently mmed his palm down on her bottom. ¡°Brat, what the heck are you learning? What kind of dream are you dreaming?!¡±

    He thought that she would wake up from this p, but she instead smiled stupidly and said, ¡°Brother-inw, why are you hitting me? Is this how you y with sister-inw too?¡±

    Zu An was really speechless now. This girl still thought that she was dreaming?

    Out of helplessness, he could only pick up the cup of tea next to him. He wanted to ssh this over her to wake her up, but when he saw her perfect face, he couldn¡¯t set the resolution.

    As such, he helped her drink some tea first, and then he dipped his finger into the tea before flicking it on her face.

    ¡°Huh¡­ huh?¡± Chu Youzhao finally seemed to have woken up. ¡°Brother-inw, it really is you?¡±

    ¡°You should be thankful it¡¯s me, or else you would be so devastated you won¡¯t even be able to shed any tears.¡± Zu An harrumphed in annoyance.

    ¡°Why are you here?¡± Chu Youzhao didn¡¯t see Cheng Gang. She suddenly realized that her arms were around her brother-inw¡¯s neck and jumped in fright. She quickly pushed him away. ¡°Pervert! Let go of me!¡±

    Zu An: ¡°???¡±

    He almostughed out of anger. He was just about to teach this brat a lesson when the window was smashed open. A streak of sword energy shot inside. The temperature of this room dropped a few degrees at once.

    He shivered. He turned around and quickly used Shining Finger, sping the other party¡¯s longsword.

    He saw who it was as soon as he was about to retaliate. Her clothes were purer than snow, her long hair fluttered about behind her. She looked just like a heavenly goddess.

    ¡°It¡¯s you?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s you!¡±

    The two both said at the same time.

    ¡°Big sis!¡± Chu Youzhao quickly ran over to her side and hid behind her. She looked at Zu An vigntly. ¡°Big sis this¡­ this pervert was bullying me.¡±

    She was about to call him brother-inw again, but she suddenly realized that he had just taken advantage of her, so why would she call him that?

    ¡°What is going on?¡± Chu Chuyan gave Zu An a puzzled look. Even though she was still upset over the morning¡¯s matters, she refused to believe that Zu An would do something like this.

    Seeing that she didn¡¯t me him immediately, Zu An felt his heart soften. My wife still cares about me.

    He rolled his eyes and impatiently pointed at Cheng Gang next to him. ¡°A crossdresser came to a brothel and drunk herself to the point where she was lying on the bed like a dead pig. But no matter how good her getup was, even if she did dress up as a man, she still ended up turning on this pervert. He sneaked over while she was unconscious to make his move, but I stopped him. This brat has no sense of shame and nders her benefactor.¡±

    ¡°Cheng¡­ Cheng Gang?¡± At this time, Chu Youzhao saw the one on the floor. Her expression changed.

    Chu Chuyan noticed the blood by his crotch. She had a rough idea of what happened. She turned around to criticize her sister. ¡°What is wrong with you? Is a ce like the government brothel a ce you should be at?¡±

    Chu Youzhao¡¯s face went deathly pale. She realized how terrifying of a situation she just evaded. Under her sister¡¯s criticism, she mumbled, ¡°Eldest brother and second brother called me over. They were saying how us high status men had toe to the government brothel. I was worried that they might be suspicious, so I followed along¡­I followed along to gain some experience. That way, once other guys mentioned the government brothel, I would have something to add too.¡±

    Zu An looked out the window. Why didn¡¯t the Qin brothers react after all the noise here?

    Chu Chuyanughed out of anger. ¡°Even if you were worried about being exposed, you shouldn¡¯t havee to a government brothel! Do you not know what kind of ce this is? I heard that you followed your cousins here and rushed over, yet I was still a step toote. Thank goodness your brother-inw was here, or else¡­¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    She suddenly gave Zu An a suspicious look. ¡°Right, why are you here?¡±

    Zu Anughed in embarrassment, ¡°I was investigating a case, so I followed Cheng Gang here. Why would an upright and outstanding man like me go to a ce like the government brothel?¡±

    Chu Chuyan smiled when she heard that he wasn¡¯t here to y around. However, she still said with a snort, ¡°Hmph, who was it that went to y around in Immortal Abode back then, and then ended up with all that courtesan queen Qiu Honglei trouble?¡±

    Zu An: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    Judging from the bitterness in her voice when she spoke about Qiu Honglei, he knew that she was still upset about this morning. He sensibly shut his mouth.

    Chu Youzhao walked over with a red face. ¡°Thank you, brother-inw.¡±

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°I do not dare to receive that. In a certain person¡¯s eyes, I am but a no good pervert.¡±

    Chu Youzhao grabbed his arms and began to sway them. ¡°Sorry, I misunderstood you brother-inw. Brother-inw is the best in the world¡­¡±

    A bunch of ttery came out of her mouth. She knew that she was trying to get herself out of this sticky situation, but for some reason, she liked the things she was saying.

    Zu An: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    This kid has some skills! She has a natural ability that makes it hard for others to be angry at her!

    Compared to the cold Chu Chuyan or the tomboy Chu Huanzhao, why was this third sister so good at currying favor?

    But you¡¯re still crossdressing right now! A man acting like this is a bit¡­

    Chu Chuyan frowned. ¡°Enough, enough already! How old are you already? Stop pulling on your brother-inw¡¯s arms. Aren¡¯t you embarrassed?¡±

    A charmingughter suddenly sounded. ¡°Oh? Chu First Miss is quite the jealous woman. You¡¯re even jealous of your own younger brother.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s fine hairs stood on end. Even though he was d that he had so many close female friends, this kind of battlefield was just too scary.

    Chu Chuyan suddenly turned around. ¡°Why are you here?¡±

    The dots connected in her head. Could it be that she was secretly meeting with Ah Zu here?

    Her face immediately turned extremely cold.

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Chuyan for +404 +404 +404¡­

    ¡°Ah Zu arranged a meeting with me here, of course.¡± Qiu Honglei said with a smile. She leaned sweetly against his shoulder.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s expression became colder and colder. She was like a volcano that was about to erupt at any moment.

 Chapter 653: An Uproar in the Capital

    <h4>Chapter 653: An Uproar in the Capital</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An felt his scalp begin to tingle, and he quickly pushed Qiu Honglei away. ¡°Honglei, why do you have to joke around like that? The most important thing right now is to figure out how to get out of this.¡±

    The Left Guard General¡¯s only son had been crippled. Such a thing would undoubtedly cause a huge uproar.

    Qiu Honglei knew that this matter would be nothing but trouble, so she didn¡¯t continue to mess around. ¡°I¡¯ve already made sure that the young masters of the Qin n are both asleep. They won¡¯t awaken for quite some time.¡±

    No wonder neither of them rushed over, despite all the noise. He initially thought that they had been too busy with their own girls to worry about other things.

    Chu Chuyan frowned. She was clearly puzzled as to how this woman could make her cousins fall asleep. After all, they were also outstanding among their peers.

    However, none of that was important right now. She looked at Cheng Gang. ¡°Just say that I was the one who did it,¡± she said. ¡°No matter how formidable the Left Guard General is, he can¡¯t do anything to our Chu n.¡±

    The Chu n was a dukedom that had been passed down for generations. They were a great power in Brightmoon city, and had their own army. They had no need to fear the Left Guard General.

    Zu An was still weighing the pros and cons of this when Qiu Honglei said with a sneer, ¡°There have always been rumors that Chu First Miss was exceptionally intelligent, but that doesn¡¯t seem to be the case to me.¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s expression chilled a few degrees. ¡°Speak properly if you have something to say. Stop talking in circles.¡±

    ¡°Has Chu First Miss forgotten what sort of ce this is?¡± said Qiu Honglei. ¡°This is the government brothel! If news that Cheng Gang was crippled by you in the government brothel got out, wouldn¡¯t your reputation be ruined?¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s face paled. It dawned on her that, if they made such a thing public, all sorts of rumors would begin to fly about. Anyone who didn¡¯t know better would subconsciously believe that she had been humiliated by Cheng Gang in a government brothel, and that she hadshed out in anger.

    ¡°Thank you for the reminder,¡± she said grudgingly. Despite their differences, she was still grateful for Qiu Honglei for pointing this out.

    Qiu Hongleiughed delicately. ¡°There¡¯s no need to thank me. I just didn¡¯t want Ah Zu to be left broken-hearted.¡±

    Chu Chuyan ground her teeth in irritation. Her opinion of this woman had changed slightly, but she did not expect this vixen to still be so annoying.

    Zu An pondered over the matter for a while. ¡°Let¡¯s just say that it was Youzhao who did this. He is a ¡®man¡¯ after all, so we don¡¯t need to fear any wild rumors. Besides, given his status in the Qin n, they will surely shield him from any repercussions, so Cheng Xiong won¡¯t be able to exact revenge.¡±

    There was one other reason why he suggested this. This would create a rift between Cheng Xiong and the Qin n, or at the very least, put some distance between them. That way, once something happened to Cheng Xiong, the Qin n would be less anxious to help out.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Chu Chuyan was slightly uncertain, but she knew just how serious this matter was, and she wasn¡¯t about to let Zu An provoke the Cheng n on his own and make an enemy out of such a massive n. Especially since he¡¯d helped her little sister in the first ce. She nodded. ¡°Okay.¡±

    Having found out the truth, Chu Youzhao hated Cheng Gang bitterly, and naturally had no objections to this.

    ¡­

    They ironed out some of the details, and only went their separate wayste into the night. They each had their own tasks to take care of.

    Zu An noticed that Chu Chuyan had wanted to bring up something else several times, but hesitated each time. He mopped away the cold sweat on his brow. Thank goodness the issue of Cheng Gang had diverted their attention. If not, the two women would have brought about Armageddon.

    He had to be more careful from now on. Having a girl hanging off each arm did feel amazing, but he absolutely could not let them bump into each other!

    Once he returned to the imperial pce, he summoned the silver-token and bronze-token envoys that Zhuxie Chixin had temporarily assigned him, and gave them various orders.

    ¡­

    The next morning, the same piece of news was being discussed all over the capital city. If there had been Twitter in this world, this news would have been the number-one trending issue.

    The previous night, the Left Guard General¡¯s only son, Cheng Gang, had been crippled in the government brothel!

    The Left Guard General was a high-ranking general. Not only was he in charge of the imperial guards within the pce, his position was also a vital one. Cheng Gang was one of the most outstanding men of his generation within the capital. When someone like that was crippled, how could it not cause an uproar?

    Everyone assumed that the Left Guard General would erupt in fury and viciously cut down the one responsible. After all, Cheng Gang was his only son, and he usually doted on him. Whoever cut short his bloodline in such a manner was sure to incur his full wrath.

    Surprisingly, though, Cheng Xiong maintained his silence, and did not go on a rampage.

    The officials within the imperial court sensed that something was amiss, and they all began to look into this matter privately.

    Within this world, no walls were soundproof. Soon enough, they discovered that Cheng Gang hadn¡¯t gone to the government brothel alone. He had gone with the young masters of the Qin n.

    ¡°Could the young masters of the Qin n have done this?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a brothel we¡¯re talking about. They probably got into a fight over a girl.¡±

    ¡°No wonder Cheng Xiong doesn¡¯t dare exact revenge. The Qin n is far stronger than the Cheng n. In the past, Cheng Xiong was even Elder Qin¡¯s subordinate.¡±

    ¡­

    These officials believed that they had found out the truth, but soon afterwards, explosive news came out. It turned out that Cheng Gang had been driven sex-crazy, and had actually gone after the young master of the Chu n! In the end, it was this young master Chu that crippled him.

    ¡°Cheng Gang actually likes men?¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I mention before that Cheng Xiong kept staring at my butt? It seems their entire family is like this.¡±

    ¡°Tsk, why don¡¯t you take a look in the mirror once in a while? The Chu young master is extremely good-looking! No wonder Cheng Gang couldn¡¯t control himself.¡±

    ¡°Heh, Chu First Miss is a publicly-acknowledged goddess, and her younger brother is also so ¡®outstanding¡¯. If someone could snag both of these siblings, wouldn¡¯t they be living in heaven everyday?¡±

    ¡­

    Chu Youzhao never expected that she would be famous in this way. In the past, only the young masters within the capital knew of her natural attractiveness. Now, everyone in the capital was curious as to what she looked like. They were curious as to who could make Cheng Gang lose his senses and go after a man.

    To a certain degree, her ¡®attractiveness¡¯, as mentioned in the rumors about her, even surpassed that of her big sister.

    ¡°It¡¯s all that stupid brother-inw¡¯s fault! How am I supposed to even go out from now on?!¡± Chu Youzhao said, stamping her feet in annoyance. She was so embarrassed by these rumors that the house was about to fall to ruin from all her stomping.

    Chu Chuyan resisted her urge tough and said, ¡°It¡¯s your fault for going to that sort of ce. It¡¯s not somewhere you should be. If your brother-inw hadn¡¯t saved you, you¡¯d be in a far more terrible situation right now.¡±

    Chu Youzhao¡¯s face turned red. ¡°You¡¯re right, but¡­ How am I supposed to meet anyone in the future¡­¡±

    She had really suffered a social death!

    Even Murong Qinghe had looked at her strangely. She couldn¡¯t hold it in anymore. ¡°Ah!!! This is so annoying!¡±

    She jumped into bed and pulled the covers over herself, as though hiding in there was the only way to avoid her embarrassment.

    Chu Chuyan couldn¡¯t help butugh when she saw her rolled up in her bed. She looked out of the window, curious as to what Zu An was going to do from now on.

    It didn¡¯t take long for her to find out.

    Once the imperial court learned of this matter, they dispatched the city lord to oversee the case. After all, given the special status of the victim, the matter demanded a proper exnation.

    The city lord was put in a really tough spot. On one side was the only son of the Left Guard General, while on the other was the heir of three state dukes. What was he supposed to do? He was also extremely helpless.

    However, he was someone who had survived in a ce like the capital, which was filled with powerful yers, by being flexible. He quickly thought of something.

    If he couldn¡¯t afford to offend either the Qin n or the Chu n, then could he do something about the government brothel?

    As such, he ordered his constables to capture the courtesan queen and all the other girls involved, intending to pin the me on them. That way, he could bring some closure to this case, and leave a way out for both sides.

    As for the girls from the government brothel, their innocence or guilt did not matter to these higher officials.

    Having to serve in the government brothel was already pitiful enough. It might even be doing them a favor by sending them on their way earlier, so that they could reincarnate and live properly in their next lives.

    Unfortunately, even though this n seemed sound, there was an unexpected development.

    When the constables arrived, the courtesan queen Leng Shuangyue was nowhere to be found. Even the girls who had served in that residence were gone.

    Even more strange was the fact that many items within the residence had been deliberately destroyed, as though they were trying to hide some secrets.

    The constables immediately put their full focus on the case, and eventually found a lead in the form of a half-burnt letter. Presumably, the ones who fled had been in too much of a hurry, and did not have time to verify that everything had been destroyed.

    When they examined the contents, they discovered that these people seemed to be rted to the assassins who had attacked the pce a few days ago. They quickly reported this to the city lord.

    The city lord immediately realized that he had a huge case on his hands, and quickly reported his findings to the imperial court.

    The entire court was riled up when they learned of this. The emperor was furious, and ordered the Embroidered Envoy to investigate this matter fully.

 Chapter 654: Willing to Even Sell Out Your Own

    <h4>Chapter 654: Willing to Even Sell Out Your Own</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The Embroidered Envoy were quite annoyed to begin with after being targeted by Cheng Xiong. How could they let this chance go?

    Soon afterwards, the Embroidered Envoy arrested Cheng Gang. At first, Cheng Gang insisted that he knew nothing, but everyone knew that he was close to that courtesan queen Shuangyue, staying at her side almost every night. Who would believe him if he said that they didn¡¯t have anything to do with each other?

    The Embroidered Envoy thus carried out torture, their specialty, to teach Cheng Gang a lesson.

    Then, ¡®confessions¡¯ were obtained from Cheng Gang under torture. He admitted to leaking out news to the assassin, and that was why the assassins were able to invade so easily.

    Zhuxie Chixin didn¡¯t let them go yet. He continued his investigation. Soon afterwards, he ¡®found out¡¯ that Cheng Xiong was the one who incited all of this, that he was already bought out by the assassins.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An clicked his tongue in wonder when he heard of all of this. This fe is quite vicious! Cheng Xiong targeted the Embroidered Envoy, and now, he got revenge ten times over.

    Having an ally like this gave him a strange sense of peace.

    Of course, having this type of person as an enemy would be a huge headache.

    Cheng Xing was shocked and furious, yet he couldn¡¯t interfere with the Embroidered Envoy¡¯s investigation at all. As such, he immediately began to contact all of his connections.

    After all, he was one of King Qi¡¯s important personnel. Even though the Qin n¡¯s brothers were quite upset at what happened in the government brothel, they couldn¡¯t let Zhuxie Chixin harm King Qi.

    As such, King Qi¡¯s faction rose up as well. Many people brought up the grudge between Cheng Xiong and the Embroidered Envoy, saying that letting them investigate this matter will disturb public justice.

    In the court, King Qi¡¯s faction and the crown prince¡¯s side were all reciting quotes from the ssics one after another. They were clearly on the verge of cursing each other to hell, yet they still didn¡¯t speak any obscenities. It really was quite impressive.

    Later on, even the emperor was hard-pressed under all the noise. As such, he ordered for the Commandant of Justice and Security Officer to investigate this case alongside the Embroidered Envoy, thus having three departments involved.

    The Commandant of Justice was one of the nine ministers in charge of punishment and the prison, the highest judicial structure of the central authorities. This was simr to theter world¡¯s supreme court.

    The Security Officer was in charge of the capital¡¯s public security, so they overlooked the capital city and its surrounding area¡¯s officials. This was equivalent to theter world¡¯s Ministry of Public Security, prosecutor¡¯s office, discipline inspectionmission, and other simr organizations.

    Meanwhile, the Embroidered Envoy was the royal family¡¯s covert organization, equivalent to ancient china¡¯s infamous Embroidered Uniform Guard and Eastern Bureau.

    These three groups were now working together. This was something never before seen.

    The Commandant of Justice quickly took Cheng Gang. They were not like the Embroidered Envoy with their interrogation by torture, but rather amiable. Not only did they get Cheng Gang treated, they even brought him food and drink.

    Ignoring everything else, Commandant of Justice Jiang Boyang was under King Qi¡¯s faction.

    Soon afterwards, the Commandant of Justice overthrew the Embroidered Envoy¡¯s judgment. Furthermore, they criticized the Embroidered Envoy for extorting confessions for their personal grudges.

    Zhuxie Chixin obviously imed that this was nder. At the same time, he bit back, iming that they were ganging up for personal interest, because Cheng Xiong would often bend thew in their favor.

    These two factions started another huge sh in the court. What followed was the investigation of the Security Officer.

    Everything was transferred from the Commandant of Justice to the Security Officer. Cheng Gang fell from heaven down to hell again.

    After staying with the Commandant of Justice for a few days and being treated with all types of medicines, his injuries from the Embroidered Envoy already pretty much healed. Yet when he arrived at the Security Officer¡¯s ce, he was immediately beaten as soon as he arrived.

    The wounds that had scabbed opened up again. He screamed for mercy.

    After his hell-like experience with the Embroidered Envoy, he knew that gritting his teeth and bearing the pain waspletely useless. He still had to speak in the end.

    The only difference was whether he was going to confess after he couldn¡¯t take it anymore, or save himself the pain.

    As such, the Security Officer quickly obtained his oral confession that he was colluding with the assassins, and he was acting under his father¡¯s prompting.

    King Qi¡¯s faction was shocked and furious. After all, the Security Officer used to be one of their men, but the assassination attempt on Zu An when he first entered the pce stripped him of this role. The previous Security Officer was transferred away to the position of supervisor of attendants.

    The newly appointed Security Officer was Cao Xing, the crown prince lesser tutor¡¯s father, so he was definitely on the crown prince¡¯s side. Now that he was given this opportunity, he was definitely going to make full use of it.

    However, there were still quite a few of Murong Tong, the past Security Officer¡¯s past subordinates there. Soon afterwards, there were people who denounced Cao Xing¡¯s investigation as a confession obtained from torture. The court thus entered another uproar.

    ¡­

    After listening to Zu An¡¯s exnation of what happened during this period, the long haired Yun Jianyue walked over to the window and gazed towards the distant throne room. There was a sneer on her face. ¡°Those court officials all speak ofpassion, duty, propriety, and integrity, yet they¡¯re all acting under selfish interests. Such chaos will one day lead to a cmity.¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°With the most powerful emperor overseeing them, what kind of cmity could happen even if these people argue?¡±

    Yun Jianyue said with a profound voice, ¡°But the emperor will still perish one day.¡±

    Zu An was startled. He asked, ¡°How are you so certain?¡±

    Yun Jianyue replied, ¡°There has always been a rumor that the emperor was seriously wounded from his battle against the Fiend Emperor, to the extent where it lowered his lifespan. However, no one knows if this is real or not. When I fought him, I became certain that he was indeed injured.¡±

    ¡°But that was what, just a split second?¡± Zu An couldn¡¯t help but say in mockery.

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +444 +444 +444¡­

    Yun Jianyue gave him an annoyed look. Why was this guy so annoying sometimes?

    A whileter, she said in annoyance, ¡°With the emperor¡¯s cultivation, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to get away if he wasn¡¯t injured.¡±

    Zu An was shocked. ¡°You¡¯re already a grandmaster, but even you can¡¯t even get away? Is the difference that great?¡±

    ¡°Why do they call him an Earth Immortal? To a certain degree, he is already a half immortal. For the rest of us, even the very best are still mortals. There¡¯s obviously a huge difference.¡± Yun Jianyue¡¯s tone carried a bit of helplessness. At the same time, her eyes were full of longing towards that cultivation realm.

    She snapped out of her daze a whileter and gave Zu An a meaningful look. ¡°Thankfully, your Phoenix Nirvana Sutra cannot grant him true immortality, or else if the emperor doesn¡¯t die, then people like us will never have a chance to rise up.¡±

    Zu An knew that she was still trying to get information out of him. As such, he replied, ¡°Rx, he can¡¯t gain immortality through my Phoenix Nirvana Sutra.¡±

    Of course, whether or not he could get it himself was a different story.

    Yun Jianyue sighed in relief when she obtained his confirmation again.

    Zu An suddenly realized something. Whether or not the emperor was going to die wasn¡¯t something he should be concerned about. What he had to focus on was Cheng Gang¡¯s case. ¡°By the way, even though Cheng Gang¡¯s father has been pronounced guilty by both the Embroidered Envoy and Security Officer, the Commandant of Justice will insist that there is no crime. Even though Cheng Xiong has already been taken into custody, with this stalemate, aren¡¯t we still missing the important, decisive evidence?¡±

    Frankly speaking, his retaliation against Cheng Xiong was already done extremely sessfully. He almost instantly brought down a glorious Left Guard General and threw him into prison. However, King Qi¡¯s faction had substantial power, so he didn¡¯t know whether or not Cheng Xiong really will be found guilty in the end.

    A mysterious smile appeared in Yun Jianyue¡¯s eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s anything difficult at all.¡±

    Zu An was listening with his ears pricked. He became impatient when he saw how she deliberately kept him in suspense. ¡°Big sis sect master, please tell me! I¡¯m dying from the suspense!¡±

    When she saw how nervous he was, Yun Jianyue felt a bit more at ease. She suffered way too much during these days with him, tossed and turned until even her way of thinking changed greatly.

    ¡°Did you forget about the people of the Holy Sect that were captured?¡± Yun Jianyue said. ¡°The proof has always been there. We¡¯ll just have to see whether or not you¡¯ll make use of it.¡±

    Zu An felt as if a streak of electricity ran through his head. He was just about to grasp it, yet it seemed to slip past. Thus, he could only ask Yun Jianyue. ¡°I hope big sis sect master can grant me your teachings.¡±

    Yun Jianyue seemed satisfied with his attitude. She then said, ¡°Find a way to contact them. As long as they admit to colluding with Cheng Xiong, then Cheng Xiong will undoubtedly die.¡±

    Zu An gave Yun Jianyue aplicated look. This woman was so vicious she would even sell out her own people! Those captives were already doomed, yet she still wanted to make the most out of them even before they died.

 Chapter 655: Male Honey Trap

    <h4>Chapter 655: Male Honey Trap</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    But even though he thought this, Zu An still said, ¡°But why would those people listen to me? I cannot just tell them about the rtionship between us.¡±

    After being targeted by Cheng Xiong, he understood that there were too many smart people in the capital. A slight moment of weakness would easily result in his doom.

    Zhuxie Chixin was currently looking for Yun Jianyue, and the emperor also cared a lot about this. He didn¡¯t want to bring disaster onto himself.

    Furthermore, he couldn¡¯t visit the Devil Sect¡¯s captives with his status as an Embroidered Envoy. The only ones who knew about this identity were Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei. He could trust them, but he didn¡¯t dare take this risk with others in the Devil Sect.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to expose our rtionship.¡± Yun Jianyue remained silent for a moment before saying, ¡°You can just meet them with your real identity. Say that Honglei entrusted you with the task of saving them. They will trust you.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Zu An was shocked.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Yun Jianyue said, ¡°There are some among the captives who will recognize you, for example, Solitary Fire. He even captured you before on your way to the capital.¡±

    ¡°So it¡¯s that guy.¡± Zu An had an impression of him. Back then, those Solitary Eight were quite powerful when they came to capture him. Unfortunately,ter on, Solitary Ice was killed by Mosquito Daoist, and now Solitary Fire also became a prisoner. He didn¡¯t know how the others were doing now.

    Yun Jianyue continued, ¡°There is one other person who you might have met before in Brightmoon City. Honglei¡¯s senior brother Gu Yueyi, he seems to have been captured as well.¡±

    ¡°Ah, that dude. I remember him.¡± Zu An remembered that he even tried to pretend to be Chen Xuan. In the end, the fake met the real deal. He was beaten pretty badly back then.

    ¡°He is your disciple too? It seems like you aren¡¯t very good at picking disciples.¡± For some reason, Zu An felt rather annoyed. Why would such a great beauty take in a male disciple?

    ¡°I have quite a few disciples like him.¡± Yun Jianyue rolled her eyes. ¡°The Holy Sect is rooted in many different ces, so it¡¯s only natural that I foster my own strength to strengthen my position. Taking in disciples is one of the easiest ways to get others under my wing, so why not?¡±

    Zu An sighed and said, ¡°Being a disciple of yours is truly pitiful. They all exist to be used. I really pity my Honglei.¡±

    Yun Jianyue said calmly, ¡°The fact they became my disciple means that they obtained far more resources than before. What is pitiful about doing what they ought to do? Furthermore, Honglei is different from others, she is my core disciple. Only she alone cultivates my true cultivation secrets.¡±

    Zu An rolled his eyes. ¡°It would¡¯ve been better if you didn¡¯t pass on your stupid unmarried woman technique.¡±

    He suddenly thought of something. Yun Jianyue cultivated the Heavenly Devil Temptation. This skill name seems simr to one of Daji¡¯s skills. Did they have some type of connection?

    They¡¯re both charming techniques. Probably simr.

    ¡°What. Did. You. Say?!¡± When she heard the words stupid unmarried woman, Yun Jianyue¡¯s eyelids jumped.

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +999 +999 +999¡­

    It was clear that these words possessed tremendous destructive power against her.

    Zu An hurriedly changed the topic. ¡°By the way, when I saved Honglei, I saw that one of your sect¡¯s experts was captured by Cheng Xiong. He seems to be the one who was fighting against the crown prince¡¯s lesser tutor by the eastern pce back then.¡±

    Yun Jianyue couldn¡¯t remain angry when she heard that he was talking about something important. She replied, ¡°He is our sect¡¯s elder Sun Luzhen. He is an upstanding person who is also loyal and devoted to me.¡±

    A bit of mncholy appeared between her brows when she spoke of him. She suffered disastrous losses this time during this imperial pce assassination.

    ¡°I can tell.¡± Zu An remembered how Sun Luzhen had a chance to escape, yet he let himself get captured for Qiu Honglei¡¯s safety.

    He couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°ording to what I know, your Devil Sect has many powerful individuals. Why did only this amount of people join this operation?¡±

    He remembered Qiu Honglei mentioning that there was a vice sect leader, left and right emissaries, kings, elders, and the Solitary Eight. He didn¡¯t see any of these kings or emissaries during this attack.

    Yun Jianyue sighed. ¡°I told you before that our sect has many factions. Even though I am the sect leader, I cannot decide that many things with my word alone. The assassination on the imperial pce was something many people didn¡¯t agree with. Even though I put this n into motion by using my authority as the sect master, the other factions weren¡¯t too enthusiastic about the matter. I could only make them hold up the enemy¡¯s reinforcements. Me and my personal men were the only ones to carry out the main operation.¡±

    Zu An snorted. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that even a grandmaster like you would still have to live such a stifled life.¡±

    Yun Jianyue said with annoyance, ¡°The emperor is number one in the world, yet there are still so many things he is helpless before. How can anyone living in this world have everything go as they please.¡±

    Zu An gave her a worried look. ¡°Then ording to what you are saying, you¡¯ve lost a lot of your personal men during this attack. You¡¯re seriously injured now as well. How are you still going to remain as the sect master?¡±

    Yun Jianyue said proudly, ¡°As long as I do not die, the rest of the sect has no chance of climbing over me.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, why are you setting up a g for yourself?! What if the entire sect goes against you when you go back and you get reduced to nothing? I don¡¯t really want to see that happen.

    But after thinking about it, he realized that her cultivation was still high. He was indeed feeling groundless fears.

    His attention shifted to the case. ¡°There is something else annoying to worry about. The captured assassins are all in Right Guard General Guo Zhi¡¯s hands. I might not be able to even meet with them.¡±

    Yun Jianyue snorted. ¡°Isn¡¯t your rtionship with the crown princess pretty good? Just seduce her and start from that side. Cheng Xiong is under King Qi¡¯s faction, so you aren¡¯t the only one who wants to get rid of him.¡±

    Zu An was surprised. He chuckled and said, ¡°Big sis sect master, with how intelligent and wise you are, I don¡¯t think any man who marries you would dare go after another girl.¡±

    ¡°Beat it! I¡¯m going to treat my injuries.¡± Yun Jianyue chased him away with an annoyed expression. If it was anyone else who said this to her, they would already be dead.

    Unfortunately, after staying around this brat these days, she was already gradually getting used to his constantly joking manner.

    She still had her pride as a senior, so she couldn¡¯t kill him. As such, she could only chase him away.

    Zu An left the courtyard with a smile. He didn¡¯t seek out the crown princess with his identity as Golden Token Eleven like she suggested, but rather changed into his crown prince¡¯s secretary outfit.

    He arrived at the eastern pce. The crown prince¡¯s lesser tutor was still wounded and couldn¡¯t hold sses. The big fatty crown prince was happily ying around with the lesser eunuchs.

    After giving them a look, he decided to seek out the crown princess.

    He dered who he was and walked in. He saw that the crown princess was propping her face up with her hand and currently staring nkly out of the window. As the cool breeze blew in from the window, he seemed to be able to vaguely make out her fine eyshes.

    Zu An sighed. It was probably exhausting for her to have that type of a husband.

    He released a light cough to announce his arrival. The crown princess snapped out of her daze. Her arms crossed in front of her and she straightened her back. She recovered her usual dignified appearance. ¡°What is it?¡±

    Zu An gave the surrounding maids and eunuchs a troubled look. ¡°I have something important to discuss with the crown princess alone.¡±

    The crown princess frowned. However, the door was still opened. There was no way the crown princess could speak with another man alone with the pce rules.

    ¡°I really do have something important to say to the crown princess¡­¡± Zu An took a few steps closer, because this matter really couldn¡¯t be heard by others.

    The crown princess became a bit unhappy. ¡°What are you doing? Stay there and speak.¡±

    This woman is quite guarded against others.

    Zu An thus said, ¡°Does the crown princess know about the recent uproar over Cheng Xiong¡¯s case?¡±

 Chapter 656: Confession

    <h4>Chapter 656: Confession</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The crown princess gave him a look. ¡°If even you are saying it¡¯s an uproar, how can I not know?¡±

    Zu An used this chance to ask, ¡°Then does the crown princess feel that Cheng Xiong can be punished?¡±

    The crown princess was always paying attention to this matter. After all, to a certain degree, this affected the battle between the crown prince and King Qi. She remained silent for a moment, but she still lightly shook her head in the end. ¡°Even though the Embroidered Envoy and the Security Officer have deemed him guilty, the Commandant of Justice firmly believes that he was a framed victim. There isn¡¯t enough proof either. They can only pronounce Cheng Gang guilty at most and cannot bring down Cheng Xiong.¡±

    King Qi¡¯s faction was extremely powerful. They had the Qin n as the head of the military, Imperial Secretariat¡¯s Left Confidential Assistant Yu Xuanchong, Secretariat Director Lian Yu, Chief Attendant Pei Zheng, and many more big shots who presided over their respective important roles. They even had older supporters with outstanding moral standing and reputation from the imperial n who supported them. How could they just let their Cheng Xiong be wrongly used?

    Even though her father contacted the Liu n, Meng n, King Liang, and many others in the court, their men fighting back fiercely, they still couldn¡¯t convict Cheng Xiong.

    Murong Tong was transferred away from his vital position as the Security Officer, which already made King Qi¡¯s faction suffer a fierce blow. How could they just watch their Left Guard General be transferred away too?

    That was why only Cheng Gang would be convicted. This was already the consensus the crown prince¡¯s faction reached.

    She became annoyed when she thought of this. She said in annoyance, ¡°Why are you asking about these things?¡±

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°Does the crown princess want Cheng Xiong to be guilty, or do you want him to be innocent?¡±

    The crown princess¡¯ expression sank. ¡°What are you beating around the bush for? Whether an important minister like General Cheng is guilty or not will be decided by the court. What does it have to do with me?¡±

    Zu An sighed. ¡°Whatever, I thought that the crown princess wanted to punish Cheng Xiong for his crimes, so I had a good way. Now, it seems like I was overthinking it.¡±

    He walked out after saying this.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The crown princess¡¯ expression changed when she looked at his rear figure. In the end, she said, ¡°Wait, do you really have a way?¡±

    Zu An paused. He turned around to look at her. ¡°Does the crown princess feel that I would waste my time here and joke around about this type of matter?¡±

    The crown princess frowned. Even though she found this guy annoying, he was definitely not a fool like the crown prince. It was indeed not likely for him to do something so meaningless.

    However, she still had her misgivings. ¡°Why would you help me?¡±

    Zu An said with a chuckle, ¡°What if I said it was because the crown princess was pretty?¡±

    The crown princess¡¯ expression immediately changed. ¡°Do you know that you¡¯ve alreadymitted a great crime of disrespect?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Bi Linglong for +700 Rage points!

    Zu An saw that even though she was angry, she didn¡¯t call for the imperial bodyguards. Thank goodness this is a woman who knows how to weigh her pros and cons¡­ ¡°Crown princess, please do not get angry. Actually, my reason for helping you is very simple. Has the crown princess already forgotten what my current identity is?¡±

    ¡°Your identity?¡± The crown princess was stunned. Then, she remembered that he was the crown prince¡¯s secretary. He should already be part of the crown prince¡¯s faction. He should obviously help the crown prince for the sake of his own future.

    She thus felt relieved. ¡°Even though I trust your motives, I doubt yourpetence.¡±

    Zu An lowered his voice. ¡°All I need is the crown princess to help me arrange a meeting with the captured assassins.¡±

    Apart from preventing his status as Sir Eleven from being exposed, the other reason why he met the crown princess with this identity was because he wanted to improve his status within the eastern pce. He didn¡¯t want to be a stupid fatty¡¯s studypanion forever. Only by letting the crown princess and the powers behind her know of his worth, would more ns go into motion.

    ¡°Meet those assassins?¡± The crown princess was confused.

    Zu An said, ¡°The crown princess should have a way of convincing Right Guard General Guo Zhi, right? Those assassins are all under his management right now. Normal people cannot meet with them.¡±

    The Left Guard General was already someone under King Qi¡¯s faction. Unless the emperor suddenly lost his mind, there was no way he would let the Right Guard General be on King Qi¡¯s faction too.

    The crown princess frowned. ¡°What do you want to do with them.¡±

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°I cannot tell you right now, because if I tell you, then it won¡¯t work. The crown princess will understand everythingter.¡±

    The crown princess gave him a look. She began to think to herself. A whileter, her red lips opened again. ¡°Fine, I can arrange a meeting. However, if you lied to me, I will report your rudeness to the emperor. Not even an immortal would be able to save you then.¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°I will not disappoint the crown princess.¡±

    The crown princess then arranged for the guards to lead Zu An to the prison. When he saw that the guard leading the way had dark circles around his eyes, Zu An was overjoyed. ¡°Oh? Isn¡¯t this imperial guard Piao and guard Jiao?¡±

    The two lesser imperial guards were precisely Jiao Sigun and Piao Duandiao.

    Piao Duandiao couldn¡¯t hold back his smile as well. ¡°So it was Sir Zu! It¡¯s an honor to finally meet you.¡±

    Next to him, Jiao Sigun couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°You never even heard his name before, what do you mean it¡¯s an honor.¡±

    Piao Duandian¡¯s face darkened. ¡°Didn¡¯t we meet a few days ago? Stop bickering with me.¡±

    Jiao Sigun harrumphed. ¡°I¡¯m not bickering. I just don¡¯t want to see you being fake.¡±

    Piao Duandiao didn¡¯t want to pay him any more attention. He said to Zu An with a smile, ¡°Sir Zu really is enviable. You¡¯ve only been in the eastern pce for a few days, but you already obtained the crown princess¡¯ trust. We brothers have never been assigned to be the guards of an important minister yet.¡±

    He noticed that Jiao Sigun was about to say something again and immediately gave him a look. ¡°Shut up! Or else I¡¯m not bringing you with me to the government brothel again.¡±

    Jiao Sigun said, ¡°Now that something so big happened at the government brothel, who would dare to go there? Are you stupid?¡±

    Piao Duandiao: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but smile when he saw these two clowns. He didn¡¯t know how the crown princess put up with them all these years.

    He coughed lightly and said, ¡°Brother Piao is being too formal. It¡¯s merely to get some information for the crown princess. The pce hasn¡¯t been too peaceful recently, so I must trouble you two this time.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re too kind, you¡¯re too kind.¡± Piao Duandiao¡¯s chest stuck out a bit further when he heard what Zu An said.

    When they arrived at the imperial prison, the Right Guard General Guo Zhi already received the news and was waiting here. He cupped his hands when he saw Zu An. ¡°Sir Zu.¡±

    Zu An returned the greeting with surprise. ¡°General Guo is troubling me with your courtesy! Huh? General, why do you look like this?¡±

    After all, this was a glorious Right Guard General. His status and authority were much higher than the crown prince¡¯s secretary.

    It had only been a few days since theirst meeting, yet this fe¡¯s dark circles looked like Piao Duandiao¡¯s. His hair was messy and greasy as well, it had clearly been a while since he washed it. His beard was also scraggly. He looked like he seemed to have aged a decade.

    Guo Zhi brought him to the side. He sighed and said with a low voice, ¡°His majesty ordered me to investigate the eastern pce¡¯s attack, but I haven¡¯t found any clues. Those assassins insist that they were acting under King Qi, yet when they are asked how King Qi prompted them, they always replied that they don¡¯t know. This type of confession is clearly framing King Qi, so how can I report that upwards?¡±

    There were no stupid people in the imperial pce, so he knew that the assassins were framing King Qi. If he dared to bring out these oral confessions, then King Qi¡¯s faction would immediately fire back. However, he also understood what the emperor wanted, so he couldn¡¯t say that King Qi waspletely innocent. That was why he was stuck in a dilemma.

    ¡°I heard the crown princess say that you had a way to open these assassins¡¯ mouths?¡± He asked excitedly.

    Zu An had a rough idea of what he was thinking. No wonder this man looked like he finally met his savior. ¡°I can give it a try.¡±

    Guo Zhi was overjoyed. ¡°Sir Zu, please hurry on in.¡±

    When they saw how enthusiastically Guo Zhi brought Zu An in, Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun outside the imperial prison looked at each other in dismay. They said quietly, ¡°Why does the Right Guard General treat him so well? We might have to cling tightly to this patron in the future.¡±

    ¡°Seconded.¡± Jiao Sigun surprisingly didn¡¯t argue about this.

    Zu An followed Guo Zhi down. When he entered the imperial prison, he cupped his hands and said, ¡°General Guo, I wish to talk with these assassins in private.¡±

    Guo Zhi nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s fine. The crown princess has already told me. However, Sir Zu, you must be careful. Those assassins are all vicious people.¡±

    Zu An voiced his response. Guo Zhi was about to leave, but a terrified and panicked voice sounded from nearby. ¡°Don¡¯t hit me anymore! I¡¯ll confess everything! I want to meet Sir Guo!¡±

 Chapter 657: Interrogation

    <h4>Chapter 657: Interrogation</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An looked around the imperial prison as he followed Guo Zhi in.

    This wasn¡¯t a standard prison, but rather a ce where the pce temporarily kept criminals. There was one level above ground, and many levels below ground.

    As they gradually followed the stairs down, sunlight faded. They could feel the cold and damp feeling of a prison.

    The surrounding walls were all built from massive chunks of rock. He could vaguely make out some formations from their surface.

    Not only did they prevent outsiders from digging in, it also prevented earth element cultivators from escaping.

    He saw dark red stains on the torture instruments along the way, clearly the blood of the criminals, giving this ce a type of stifling feeling.

    Guo Zhi brought Zu An down. Screams of someone about to confess sounded at this time.

    Guo Zhi revealed frantic joy. He quickly rushed over and didn¡¯t pay Zu An any more attention.

    Zu An frowned and quickly followed.

    The curses of others could vaguely be heard.

    ¡°Fucking pussy!¡±

    ¡°Do you know how many of our dead brothers you are letting down?¡±

    ¡°Your master has shown you so much care all these years. Is this how you¡¯ll repay her?¡±

    ¡­

    There were all types of obscene curses mixed in. Every single person rted to this individual was cursed many times over.

    Guo Zhi harrumphed. He seized a whip from the side and sent it thrashing out. ¡°All of you better shut your mouth!¡±

    Sure enough, those voices became quiet. They already didn¡¯t have much strength left after being tortured day after day. They were only berating out of anger just now. Now that they vented that anger, they couldn¡¯t even muster the strength to do that.

    Guo Zhi brought one of them to an isted room. Zu An followed out of curiosity.

    Guo Zhi gave him a look, but he didn¡¯t say anything. This was someone the crown princess introduced, so since she trusted him, that meant he was one of them.

    Zu An sized up this youngster who was covered in blood. His expression immediately became strange. So it was someone he knew!

    This was Qiu Honglei¡¯s senior, that Gu Yueyi he met before in Brightmoon City.

    Gu Yueyi also saw him. His expression immediately changed tremendously.

    Guo Zhi said with a heavy snort, ¡°You said that you were ready to confess. You can speak now.¡±

    Gu Yueyi¡¯s eyes moved around. He immediately pointed at Zu An. ¡°He¡­¡±

    ¡°What about me?¡± Zu An walked over with a smile. He sorted out his clothes, as if he was brushing off the dust.

    Gu Yueyi saw the jade pendant at his waist. His expression was mixed with shock, rm, and pleasant surprise. If one didn¡¯t see it for themselves, then it was hard to imagine that one person could show so many expressions.

    ¡°What about him?¡± Guo Zhi was confused.

    Gu Yueyi snapped out of his daze. ¡°Who is he? Why is he here?¡±

    Guo Zhi sighed in relief and said, ¡°That¡¯s none of your business. Either way, he is someone trustworthy. Just hurry and tell me what you have to confess.¡±

    Gu Yueyi replied, ¡°Oh. I wanted to say that you really shouldn¡¯t keep hitting us. We already said everything we should be saying. The one who prompted us really is King Qi.¡±

    Guo Zhi was so angry he insteadughed. ¡°You wanted to y a joke on me?¡±

    He never thought that this was the reason this kid specially called him out. He was so angry his whip thrashed down viciously on the other party.

    ¡°We really already told everything! Sir Guo, why don¡¯t you believe me?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re still messing around?!¡±

    ¡°Ah¡­ ah¡­¡±

    As he watched Gu Yueyi scream continuously, his expression darting towards him from time to time, Zu An knew that it was about time. He coughed lightly and said, ¡°General Guo, how about you let me give these miserable wretches a try?¡±

    ¡°You?¡± Guo Zhi was skeptical. He already interrogated these people for several days without obtaining any meaningful information. Just now, he was even messed with. He really didn¡¯t dare to believe that Zu An had any solutions.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°It won¡¯t hurt to give it a try.¡± Zu An had a sincere expression on his face.

    Guo Zhi thought to himself that this was the reason why the crown princess sent him to begin with. He handed him the whip in his hands. ¡°Sure, hit them as much as you want and di¡­ discipline them. It¡¯s fine even if you do hurt them.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyelids jumped. Can this guy not pause at such weird moments?[1]

    When Guo Zhi left, Zu An brought thepletely limp Gu Yueyi back into his cell. There were many people bound to wooden racks and currently experiencing the torment of the jailers.

    One of them was skinny and tall, his hair a bit red. He was precisely the Solitary Fire he met before on his way to the capital.

    There was another person who had long sideburns. Even though he was behind bars, there was still a bold and powerful auraing from his expression. This was most likely the Elder Sun Luzhen Yun Jianyue spoke of from the sect.

    There were some others who were scattered about in another cell. They were covered in blood, unknown if they were still alive or dead.

    Zu An felt admiration for them. Even though he mocked the Devil Sect for being selfish mercenaries, these people already experienced so much torture, yet they still didn¡¯t sell out Yun Jianyue. It seems like they still had their own convictions.

    ¡°You traitor, you dare toe back? This old one won¡¯t let you go even if you be a ghost!¡± Sun Luzhen was so furious when he saw Gu Yueyi that he wanted to throw himself over. The chains on his body nked with noise, as if he might break free at any time.

    ¡°You¡¯re still acting up?¡± A jailer¡¯s whip thrashed over. Sun Luzhen screamed miserably and didn¡¯t dare to struggle anymore. He only stared viciously at Gu Yueyi.

    Gu Yueyi was about to say something, but he hesitated. He gave Zu An and the nearby jailer a look. In the end, he didn¡¯t say anything.

    Zu An gave the whip in the jailer¡¯s hands a curious look. There were some formations covering it. It seemed simr to Huanzhao¡¯s whip and could magnify pain. No wonder even a tough fe like Sun Luzhen couldn¡¯t hold on.

    Solitary Fire also slowly opened his eyes. When he saw Zu A, his eyes were filled with shock. ¡°You¡­ you¡­¡±

    ¡°What are you looking at me for? Have you never seen someone so handsome before?¡± Zu An immediately brandished the whip Guo Zhi gave him, making him swallow his words right back down.

    Then, he said to the jailer next to him. ¡°You all should head out. I¡¯m going to talk to them in private.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± Those jailers already received their orders. They passed down the orders and quickly withdrew.

    When those jailers left, Solitary Fire spat out a mouthful of bloody spit. ¡°Pah! Dammit all! I didn¡¯t expect fortunes to rise and fall like this, that I¡¯ll end up dying under your hands. If you want to kill or torture me, then do what you will!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Solitary Fire for +999 Rage points!

    It was obvious that he thought that Zu An was now getting revenge for what happened on the way to the capital.

    Gu Yueyi quickly said, ¡°Sir Fire has misunderstood! He is not an enemy, but rather someone sent by the saintess!¡±

    He immediately recognized that the jade pendant Zu An carried belonged to Qiu Honglei. That was why he changed his mind on the spot.

    ¡°The saintess?¡± Solitary Fire was stunned. He recalled that the saintess was indeed friendly with this man. He became momentarily confused.

    Sun Luzhen, who was bound to the wooden stake, red at Gu Yueyi in fury. ¡°Stupid brat, what kind of nonsense are you spouting? What saintess? I¡¯ve never heard of her.¡±

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but chuckle. ¡°Elder Sun is a fierce character after all. You aren¡¯t willing to let anything go even in this type of situation.¡±

    Sun Luzhen¡¯s breathing stopped when he heard his name called. He looked at Zu An. ¡°Who are you exactly?¡±

    Solitary Fire said, ¡°Zu An, that kid with the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra.¡±

    Sun Luzhen suddenly understood. He had heard a bit about this matter.

    Zu An leisurely sat down on a nearby stool. ¡°It was indeed Honglei who begged me toe. Since we¡¯re friends, I came to bring some of her words.¡±

    Gu Yueyi felt a bit of jealousy when he heard how intimate Zu An referred to Qiu Honglei. After all, this was a junior he admired for a long time, yet she always treated him coldly. Now, she even gave her jade pendant to this person.

    But when he thought about how he had to depend on this person in the future, he suppressed his unhappy thoughts.

    ¡°What did she want to tell us?¡± Sun Luzhen asked out of curiosity.

    Zu An said, ¡°Do you all know why you have to insist that it was King Qi who incited you, yet these people refuse to believe it? It is because you all only know how to attack King Qi, yet you didn¡¯t talk about any of the details. How could these people dare to report something unreliable like this upwards? I came to teach you how to properly take care of this matter¡­¡±

    ¡°So this was it!¡± Sun Luzhen sighed. ¡°No wonder they didn¡¯t believe us no matter what we said and continued to beat us day after day. No matter how tough my bones are, I am about to break down too.¡±

    Solitary Fire gave him a curious look. ¡°Then what are these details? What should we say?¡±

    Zu An thus exined to them how Cheng Xiong used his son Cheng Gang, sending him to the government brothel to contact Shuangyue. He exined everything to them carefully in detail.

    The others nodded inwardly. Gu Yueyi alone asked a vital question. ¡°Young master Zu, we can say these things, but once we say them, we¡¯ll be worthless. The pce might just execute us. Do you have any way of saving us?¡±

    His eyes burned fiercely as he looked at Zu An.

    1. Two characters were used for the word discipline in thest paragraph. When split apart, the first character means fuck

 Chapter 658: Storm Clouds Approach

    <h4>Chapter 658: Storm Clouds Approach</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°Of course there is a way to save you all. Actually, your lives are important if you say they are, and they are unimportant if you say they aren¡¯t. For the aristocrats of the court, what they care more about is their struggle with King Qi¡¯s faction, they don¡¯t care about your lives. That is why this is where your opportunity to live lies.¡±

    After seeing how Gu Yueyi almost sold out his own people, he didn¡¯t dare say that there was no way to save them. Otherwise, there was no way this kid would cooperate. He might even sell him out instead.

    That was why he could only use this reason to convince him first. However, he was letting down Sun Luzhen and Solitary Fire, giving them fake happiness.

    Gu Yueyi obtained hope for survival when he heard this. He immediately became overjoyed. ¡°Young master Zu really is our lucky star! We knew that you were someone extraordinary the moment we first set eyes on you back then in Brightmoon City! Hahaha, this is great!¡±

    He was so excited it was hard for him to even speak.

    Zu An rolled his eyes. He definitely didn¡¯t remember this guy being all that friendly with him back in Brightmoon City. This kid was about to kill him.

    Sun Luzhen said, ¡°Thank you young master Zu for remaining loyal and helping us. I do not know how to repay this kindness.¡±

    Solitary Fire said, ¡°I have offended you before on the way to the capital. Young master Zu, please do not mind the offenses of a petty person like me. This one will be eternally grateful!¡±

    The desire for survival was instinctive. If they didn¡¯t have to die, then that was obviously the best solution.

    ¡°Sirs are too polite. Forgive me for not being able to treat your injuries, or else they will be suspicious.¡± Zu An was apologetic. He would feel bad if he couldn¡¯t save them, yet he waspletely powerless to save them.

    ¡°These small injuries are nothing.¡± They allughed. What man feared the most was theck of hope. Now that they knew that there was a chance of being saved, they didn¡¯t care much no matter how injured they were.

    After discussing the details with them, Zu An left them to inform Guo Zhi.

    Guo Zhi was shocked when he obtained their confession. He merely allowed Zu An to give it a try. He didn¡¯t expect this fe to actually open up their mouths!

    What was even harder to believe was that they actually confessed their rtionship with Cheng Xiong.

    His expression became extremelyplicated. ¡°Sir Zu, is this really what they said¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°Is that important?¡±

    Guo Zhi quickly realized something. Right, this isn¡¯t important at all!

    The crown prince¡¯s faction was trying to find a way to deal with King Qi. He also roughly guessed at his majesty¡¯s intentions. Cheng Xiong was supposed to be dealt with to begin with. Now, another one of his headaches were dealt with. This was great news!

    He immediately became inspired when he thought of this. ¡°Thank you, Sir Zu! Sir Zu will definitely be a first rate subject after this matter passes.¡±

    ¡°All of this was investigated by Sir Guo. It has nothing to do with me.¡± Zu An said with a meaningful smile.

    Guo Zhi was stunned, but he quickly realized what was happening. The other party didn¡¯t want to reveal his talents! He instead gave me all of the contributions?

    But when he thought about it, this made sense as well. Zu An¡¯s background was still shallow, so offending King Qi¡¯s faction so badly wasn¡¯t necessarily a good thing.

    However, this waspletely different for him. With his status, he could perfectly digest all of these contributions. He didn¡¯t have to worry about King Qi¡¯s retaliation at all.

    He was overjoyed at the turn of events. ¡°Brother Zu brought me such a great gift! If there is anything I can do to help this brother out, then just tell me!¡±

    Of course, he still had to interrogate them himself once more to make sure. However, his words right now were still sincere.

    Zu An sneered inside. You were saying sir this sir that a moment ago, and now we¡¯re suddenly brothers.

    ¡°Brother Guo speaks too seriously. I¡¯ll need Sir Guo to take care of me in the pce in the future.¡± He went along with this, calling him brother as well.

    Even though these fair-weather friends weren¡¯t reliable in a moment of crisis, they could still help out on some small matters when interests aligned. For him, this was already enough.

    The two of them chatted happily on the way out. Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun werepletely stupefied when they saw how close the two were.

    On the way back, Piao Duandiao couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Sir Zu, were you already acquainted with Sir Guo?¡±

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°Not at all.¡±

    ¡°Then why did he sound so enthusiastic while talking to you?¡± Jiao Sigun asked with curiosity.

    Zu Anughed and said, ¡°What can I say, I¡¯m a naturally friendly guy. Didn¡¯t you two feel close to me when you first met me too?¡±

    ¡°Of course, of course.¡± Piao Duandiaoughed apologetically. Only an idiot would refute in this type of situation.

    Jiao Sigun also voiced his agreement. He wasn¡¯t doing this falsely, but because he really did feel mysteriously close to this fe. It really was strange. They shouldn¡¯t have met before, so why did they feel so close?

    The two of them thought to themselves, even the crown princess attached such importance to him so quickly, so it¡¯spletely natural for us to feel close to him.

    They returned to the eastern pce, and then Zu An reported the results to the crown princess. The crown princess was immediately stunned. She quickly called her trusted aides to set up their following ns.

    Meanwhile, Zu An leisurely waited for a nice drama to unfold. He returned to let Yun Jianyue know about the current situation first.

    When she heard that Sun Luzhen and the others were already tortured to the point where they almost didn¡¯t look human anymore, Yun Jianyue took a deep breath. ¡°I was the one who harmed them.¡±

    She even had the urge to rush to the prison to bail them out. However, she quickly rejected this thought.

    The emperor already returned to the pce, and she hadn¡¯t fully recovered yet. Charging into the imperial prison waspletely meaningless.

    Zu An continued, ¡°That disciple of yours was about to spill everything.¡±

    He then told her about how he just happened to see Gu Yueyi almost betray her.

    Then, he said, ¡°Even though I tricked him by saying that they can be saved, he won¡¯t be fooled for that long. He¡¯ll be a problem sooner orter.¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression grew cold. ¡°Then just kill him so he can never speak.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. This is your own freaking disciple! You¡¯re going to kill him just like that?

    He looked at this long haired woman. He then realized that this was the legendary Devil Sect Master, a cold-blooded killer.

    ¡­

    During the next day¡¯s morning court session, the crown prince¡¯s officials quickly brought up Cheng Gang¡¯s case. This naturally involved Cheng Xiong. King Qi¡¯s men insisted on defending Cheng Xiong, to the extent where they were willing to abandon Cheng Gang.

    Originally, both sides would argue meaninglessly for a while, and then they would just leave it at that.

    However, the crown prince¡¯s faction suddenly brought out fatal proof, the confessions of the captured assassins. They exined how they used the government brothel, as well as Cheng Xiong¡¯s father and son rtionship. All of the details were extremely clear.

    King Qi¡¯s faction refuted one after another at first, but they only became more and more powerless as time went on.

    It was because all of them knew fully well that those assassins were caught first, and then Cheng Gang¡¯s matter happened afterwards. Unless the Right Guard General Guo Zhi leaked them information, there was no way those assassins¡¯ confessions would match up that well.

    Everyone knew that Guo Zhi was someone directly under the emperor. If they suspected him, then weren¡¯t they suspecting that his majesty framed Cheng Xiong?

    Who would do something that foolish?

    This was let alone the fact that those assassins were going to die to begin with. So why would they listen to Guo Zhi¡¯s words?

    That was why King Qi¡¯s faction backed down in the end. Several big shots exchanged a few looks. Since Cheng Xiong couldn¡¯t be saved, then they would settle for the next best thing, to cut off his rtionship with King Qi so that he didn¡¯t drag him down further.

    It was clear that the emperor didn¡¯t n to use this as a chance to attack King Qi directly. The court quickly reached a decision.

    Cheng Xiong and his son colluded with the assassins in their attack on the empress and crown prince. They are to be punished with nine generations of executions.

    Fortunately, the father and son were mutually dependant and didn¡¯t have many people in their n.

    As for those who were rted, those who were to be executed were executed, those that were sent to the border to fight were sent out.

    ¡­

    Zu An and Yun Jianyue chatted over tea. Yun Jianyue gave him a look and said indifferently, ¡°What, you can¡¯t bear to see this result?¡±

    ¡°I do feel a bit ufortable.¡± Zu An became quiet. As someone from a civilized world, killing off an entire family so easily was still hard to ept.

    Yun Jianyue poured a cup of tea for him. ¡°That¡¯s how the world is. If you don¡¯t kill me, then I¡¯ll kill you. If Cheng Xiong seeded in framing you earlier, then the one whose n would be eradicated would be you.¡±

    Zu An said with a bitter smile, ¡°But to a certain degree, he wasn¡¯t really framing me. I was ¡®colluding¡¯ with you guys.¡±

    ¡°Your way of thinking really is weird.¡± Yun Jianyue gave him a look of surprise. ¡°Cheng Xiong didn¡¯t attack you because he really knew about your connection to us. His motives were merely because he needed a scapegoat. Even if you were innocent, he would¡¯ve still chosen you. In the end, both of you were just chess pieces in the battle between the emperor and King Qi, whether you live or die is not a choice you can make yourself. You should figure out how to live on this chessboard longer, not worry about the deaths of other chess pieces.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed. ¡°I¡¯ve benefited from your advice!¡±

    Yun Jianyue smiled. ¡°Heh, you only show me some respect in these types of times.¡±

    Zu An was about to say something with a chuckle, but he suddenly heard Eunuch Wen¡¯s voice.

    ¡°Sir Eleven, his majesty has summoned you to the imperial study.¡±

    Zu An and Yun Jianyue exchanged a look. Then, he arrived at the entrance.

    Along the way, he asked, ¡°Euncuh Wen, why did his majesty suddenly ask for me?¡±

    Eunuch Wen¡¯s expression remained unchanged. ¡°This humble one does not know.¡±

    Zu An was upset when he saw how this eunuch pretended to not know him. This guy took bribes quite fast, yet he immediately became hostile once something happened.

    But he realized something as well. Wasn¡¯t the other party¡¯s attitude a type of warning in itself?

    Sure enough, Eunuch Wen walked in front, his lips moving slightly. ¡°His majesty¡¯s mood seems to be quite bad today. Sir Eleven, you should be more careful.¡±

 Chapter 659: Hanging On By a Thread

    <h4>Chapter 659: Hanging On By a Thread</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An felt his head go nk. The emperor seeking him out at this type of time was definitely not anything good!

    He didn¡¯t ask Eunuch Wen further about what the emperor wanted. He was already grateful that he told him these things, so he shouldn¡¯t trouble this man any more.

    Furthermore, he probably didn¡¯t know what the emperor was really thinking either.

    The two of them arrived at the imperial study. Eunuch Wen went ahead to report his arrival first. He quickly came back out and told Zu An, ¡°His majesty invites Sir Zu inside.¡±

    After saying this, he gave him a ¡®best of luck¡¯ look. Zu An released a bitter chuckle. Now that things were like this, he could only brace himself and go in.

    When he arrived inside the Imperial Study, he saw that it was no longer the bronze mirror, but rather the emperor himself reading over a report.

    When Zu An entered, the emperor didn¡¯t react at all, as if he was just empty air.

    Zu An stood to the side and bowed. ¡°This subject pays his respects to your majesty.¡±

    The emperor still didn¡¯t respond. Zu An gulped. I¡¯m finished. The reason this guy is unhappy is probably because of me!

    He stared straight down and didn¡¯t say anything, remaining silent to prevent this situation from getting any worse.

    A whileter, the emperor raised his head to give him a look. When he saw how he was acting, heughed out of anger. ¡°Normally, those court officials are all shaking in fear and reverence, yet you¡¯re standing there like nobody¡¯s business.¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°I was scared that I would disturb your majesty from reading your report.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re just as slick as always.¡± The emperor harrumphed. ¡°How is the investigation I assigned you going?¡±

    Zu An thought over his words, and then slowly said, ¡°I already found some clues. The Left Guard General Cheng Xiong colluded with the assassins through his son Cheng Gang. He exchanged information with the government brothel¡­¡±

    The emperor declined to express anything after hearing his exnation. ¡°Then what about the motive?¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°Cheng Xiong is an important member of King Qi¡¯s faction. I believe he wanted to use the assassination to get rid of the crown prince so King Qi can seed to the throne.¡±

    The emperor gave him a cold look. ¡°Are you using my own younger brother, a respected and wise king! How brazen?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Han for +444 Rage points.

    Zu An snorted inside. Is this emperor really going to put on this type of appearance even in this situation? Everyone in this world knows that you and King Qi are already like water and fire, that you¡¯re itching to get rid of him. Who are you putting on this performance for?

    Of course, mockery was mockery. He¡¯d be courting death if he said any of this out loud. He could only continue based on the situation and say, ¡°This subject does not dare vainly guess whether or not King Qi is really the one behind it all, but this is the most suitable deduction.¡±

    His majesty tossed the report in his hands onto the table. ¡°You¡¯ve found an excellent reason, and you¡¯ve even told me a reasonable motive. If it was anyone else, they might believe what you are saying. Unfortunately, I know that King Qi would never do something so stupid.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. Wouldn¡¯t King Qi receive the most benefits if the crown prince dies?

    The emperor seemed to have guessed at his thoughts and said, ¡°I have many sons, and there is nock of sharp and powerful ones among them. Why then, did I choose the crown prince?¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An¡¯s head began to move quickly. He quickly recalled what he discussed with Chu Chuyan on the way to the capital.

    Because of who thete emperor was, King Qi indeed had right to session. The only thing the emperor could fight back with was his oldest son¡¯s right to session. The crown prince is the emperor¡¯s oldest son, which is why he is the heir apparent to the throne. He has thew on his side as well, so King Qi¡¯s faction has no choice but to acknowledge this fact as well.

    But if the emperor didn¡¯t go this path and instead chose to have his sonspete in brilliance and wisdom, who couldpare to King Qi?

    The emperor said coldly, ¡°You are a smart person, so I believe you understand. That is why if something happened to the current crown prince, then I have a justifiable reason to switch to a more intelligent genius to serve as the new crown prince, because he is the next in line. Do you think King Qi would do something so foolish?¡±

    Zu An immediately broke out into cold sweat, because he also understood what was going on now. King Qi likely doesn¡¯t wish for the current crown prince to die either.

    It was precisely because of this stupid crown prince that the so many knowledgeable and experienced members of the court were worried about their future. This was the foundation for why they chose to side with King Qi.

    If the crown prince became someone intelligent¡­ No, even if he was only an ordinary person, as long as he had the ability to preserve the work of his predecessors, then why would so many of the court¡¯s subjects brace themselves to sh against the most powerful emperor? Why would they side with King Qi?

    It now seems like Yun Jianyue miscalcted as well. Regardless of how she tried to frame King Qi, the emperor knew that it was definitely not done by King Qi.

    Zu An quickly said. ¡°His majesty is wise and brilliant. This subject will continue searching for the culprit.¡±

    ¡°Heh, you are going to continue searching?¡± The emperor put away his smile. ¡°You¡¯ve colluded with the Devil Sect to take down the Left Guard General, who are you nning to frame with the Devil Sect next?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s heart stopped. Cold sweat soaked through his clothes.

    The emperor knows everything!

    Wait, calm down first. Maybe he is just testing me?

    As such, he pretended to bepletely innocent. ¡°What does your majesty mean? This subject is slow-witted and does not understand.¡±

    The emperor instead nodded in praise. ¡°Your temperament is not bad. Your mind has not copsed even at this point.¡±

    Zu An sighed in relief, but the emperor¡¯s expression becamepletely cold. ¡°Unfortunately, the proof is undeniable. All excuses will only seem even moreughable.¡±

    He tossed the ounts book he was reading over. ¡°Take a look for yourself.¡±

    Zu An gulped. He opened the document in front of him. This was clearly a confidential document, yet when he saw the contents on the surface, an explosion went off in his head. Every single cell in his body was quivering.

    His dealings with Qiu Honglei in Brightmoon City were written in detail. There was even the matters of how Qiu Honglei took the initiative to marry herself to him.

    Later on, on their way to the capital, the Devil Sect¡¯s experts tried to seize Zu An. The one in the lead was precisely Qiu Honglei.

    ording to various sources, Qiu Honglei was the saintess of the Devil Sect.

    Furthermore, the long haired female grandmaster was the Devil Sect Master Yun Jianyue, and Qiu Honglei was her direct disciple.

    There seemed to be a girl who looked like Qiu Hongleiing in and out of Zu An¡¯s baron residence during these past few days. Later on, Zu An headed into the government brothel and Cheng Gang was crippled. The case of Cheng Gang colluding with the government brothel followed right after¡­

    One could make reasonable deductions from all of this information even without seeing it for themselves. Furthermore, the deductions were practically the same as reality.

    He could tell from a single nce that this was Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s handwriting. Motherfucker, that guy called me a brother to my face but stabbed me right in the back.

    But he knew that ming Zhuxie Chixin was meaningless. It was probably the emperor who had him investigate him. Damn it, they¡¯re all ruthless old foxes.

    ¡°Looks like Cheng Xiong wasn¡¯t wrong previously. It was you who sent out an assassin after all.¡± The emperor¡¯s cold eyes surrounded him, as if he was looking at a dead person.

    In this instant, his aura erupted. Zu An felt as if the air around him became incredibly viscous, and he couldn¡¯t even move a finger. It was as if he would be blown to ashes with a single thought from the emperor.

    Zu An¡¯s brain moved quickly, trying to find a way to deal with this. His first reaction was to deny it to the very end, because there was no conclusive proof recorded.

    But he immediately rejected this idea. Investigation and proof were only used to convince themon people. For the emperor, as long as he believed something happened, would he let you go just because there wasn¡¯t any proof?

    Wait, I didn¡¯t seem to have received much Rage points from the emperor in the backend?

    Furthermore, why is he telling me all of this? If he really wanted me dead, he could have just killed me. Is there a need to talk so much?

    When he thought of the mission he was given, he suddenly thought of something and immediately said, ¡°This subject hasmitted a mortal crime! But I didn¡¯t collude with the Devil Sect, it was all because I just happened to run into Qiu Honglei! She saved my life before, so I couldn¡¯t just watch her die without doing anything. That was why I let her live!¡±

    He spoke half truths. Of course, he couldn¡¯t talk about how he saved Yun Jianyue. The emperor would never permit a grandmaster to slip through his grasp.

    The emperor gave him an expressionless look. ¡°Oh? So you were just repaying a past gratitude. Then should this emperor reward you for that?¡±

    Zu An quickly said, ¡°This subject doesn¡¯t dare! I should die by a thousand cuts. I¡¯ll let your majesty decide how this situation should be dealt with.¡±

 Chapter 660: One Day, I Will Rise

    <h4>Chapter 660: One Day, I Will Rise</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    He emperor nodded when he saw Zu An trembling in fear, as if he was extremely satisfied with this attitude.

    As the emperor, he absolutely loved the feeling of seeing his subjects trembling in fear, their lives decided by a mere thought of his.

    He returned to the present and said with a loud voice, ¡°Not bad, you didn¡¯t quibble with me, or else you would already be a corpse. Fine, since you still have some loyalty, then this emperor will grant you a chance to redeem yourself.¡±

    Loyal to you my ass!

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    He knew that this was just a political trick the emperor was used to using. He cursed this emperor to hell inside. However, there was only sincerity on the surface. ¡°If your majesty has an order, then I will tread through water or mes to achieve it.¡±

    At the same time, he sighed inside. Looks like keeping his life wasn¡¯t an issue.

    THe emperor looked more and more satisfied at his attitude. He was thinking that if this kid didn¡¯t act tactfully, then he would use this chance to give him a good beating. But since he knew how to behave, then he¡¯ll skip the beating. ¡°Since you and the Devil Sect¡¯s saintess have some connection, then use this chance to infiltrate the Devil Sect. You are to first find out where the Devil Sect¡¯s Yun Jianyue is hiding, and then second figure out what kind of rtionship the Devil Sect and King Qi has exactly. Furthermore, if you can gain a steady footing in the Devil Sect, then you might be of use to me that way too.¡±

    Zu An sighed in relief. At least he doesn¡¯t know where Yun Jianyue is. Yeah, I cannot let him know, or else I¡¯m dead for sure.

    He put on a troubled look and said, ¡°The Devil Sect Master is a grandmaster! A nobody like me won¡¯t be able to do anything!¡±

    The emperor said calmly, ¡°I only need you to find out some information, I¡¯m not telling you to fight her. I¡¯ll intervene personally when ites to face her, so you don¡¯t need to worry.¡±

    Zu An looked like he was relieved. Immediately afterwards, he said in confusion, ¡°Didn¡¯t your majesty say that the assassination on the crown prince can¡¯t possibly have been directed by King Qi? Why are you still investigating their rtionship?¡±

    The emperor said unhappily, ¡°Just investigate it if I tell you to, don¡¯t ask so many questions.¡±

    But a whileter, he was worried that Zu An might not put too much detail in this matter, so he said, ¡°Even though the chances of King Qi colluding with the Devil Sect isn¡¯t high, what I fear is that he might actually make use of the fact that Ithink this. That is why I want you to look into it.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. Is this dude a psycho? He says that it has nothing to do with King Qi, yet now he¡¯s saying that it might. Tsk, it¡¯s really hard to please such a paranoid ruler.

    I have to be more careful in the future. I absolutely cannot think that I¡¯ve ever truly earned this guy¡¯s trust.

    He coughed lightly and said with a troubled voice, ¡°But I only have some personal friendship with Qiu Honglei, this has nothing to do with the Devil Sect as a whole. There are many people from their group who wants me dead, so it¡¯ll be hard for me to join them. My life is insignificant, but it¡¯ll be bad if I end up ruining your majesty¡¯s ns.¡±

    Zu An already expressed what he needed to express. He has nothing to do with the Devil Sect, and he definitely didn¡¯t recognize no Yun Jianyue.

    The emperor¡¯s brows eased. Even though he knew that this kid was ttering him, he still liked what he was hearing. ¡°That¡¯s an easy matter. Aren¡¯t there still a few Devil Sect assassins locked up? Figure out a way to save them. The Devil Sect will naturally appreciate this. Furthermore, with your connection to Qiu Honglei, you can easily join them.¡±

    Zu An was stupefied. Well, would you look at that.

    Regardless of whether it was Qiu Honglei or Yun Jianyue, they were all begging him to save those prisoners. It was to the point where they were okay with him just ending their lives painlessly if he couldn¡¯t save them.

    But the emperor gave him the green light in saving them! What did he have to worry about?

    The emperor frowned when he saw that he was standing there all stunned. ¡°What, can¡¯t do it?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll do my best.¡± Zu An looked like he was troubled. However, he almost burst outughing inside.

    The emperor said, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t think that this is an easy task. There is nock of smart people in the Devil Sect. That Yun Jianyue was able to cultivate to a grandmaster level, and she managed to think up this entire plot, so her intellect is definitely top notch. What you should consider first and foremost is how to prevent them from suspecting you. Furthermore, I will inform Guo Zhi to cooperate with you. Rescue them once you are confident in doing so.¡±

    ¡°Thank you your majesty for your guidance.¡± Meanwhile, inside, Zu An sneered. You¡¯re praising Yun Jianyue so greatly, yet you saw through her ns so easily. Aren¡¯t you actually tooting your own horn here?

    ¡°Enough, you can leave.¡± The emperor waved his hand, clearly about to return to his cultivation.

    Zu An gritted his teeth. ¡°Your majesty, if this subject may make a presumptuous request.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± The emperor opened his eyes with surprise.

    Zu An said, ¡°I am willing to infiltrate the Devil Sect for your majesty¡¯s sake, but Qiu Honglei has saved my live several times, so I want to return her kindness. Your majesty, can you spare her life after you destroy the Devil Sect?¡±

    He did his best to y the role he should be ying. He absolutely cannot let the emperor notice how happy he was right now.

    The emperor sneered. ¡°Is that called returning kindness? Aren¡¯t you just lusting after her?¡±

    Zu An chuckled in embarrassment and looked like he was hard-pressed.

    The emperor thus said, ¡°Whatever. As long as you can help me sessfully wipe out the Devil Sect, then I can give you a trifling woman. Of course, this is the premise that shepletely gives up her rebellious status. Otherwise, do not me me for being ruthless.¡±

    ¡°Of course, of course.¡± Zu An said hurriedly.

    ¡°Get out.¡± The emperor said emotionlessly.

    Zu An left the imperial study. Even though nothing odd could be seen from the surface, his inside was extremely grave.

    In the emperor¡¯s eyes, he was an ant that might die at any time. He didn¡¯t care about Zu An at all.

    He could survive once or twice, but if he survived through the skin of his teeth every time, then he refused to believe that he would be this lucky every time.

    Hmph, you shouldn¡¯t look down on me. Tides might just turn in the future!

    He said this inside, but he had no choice but to turn back to reality right now.

    Cheng Xiong targeted him again and again, and he was able tounch a sessful counterattack. However, it was now the emperor. Did he really have the ability to defeat him?

    But this was the freaking number one expert in the world!

    Unless¡­

    His eyes flickered about. The first stages of a n seemed to have formed within him.

    He returned to his courtyard. Yun Jianyue pretended to be speaking without thinking. ¡°Hm, you seem fine? I thought that the emperor was about to get rid of you.¡±

    With her cultivation, Eunuch Wen¡¯s words didn¡¯t escape her ears.

    Zu An¡¯s mood immediately improved considerably when he saw the long-haired beauty before him. ¡°If the emperor really wanted me dead, would you sacrifice yourself for me out of love?¡±

    He obviously didn¡¯t tell her about what happened inside. He just returned from the gates of hell. He would be wasting such a huge stroke of fortune if he didn¡¯t fully make use of it to gain their favor.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression grew cold. ¡°Damn brat, don¡¯t think that I won¡¯t kill you just because you saved me.¡±

    Zu An had some confidence when he saw that there were no Rage points that came in. ¡°Sigh, there are too many people who want me dead. You¡¯re not the only one.¡±

    Yun Jianyue frowned. However, she didn¡¯t ask anything else when she sensed the bleakness in his voice.

    A whileter, she suddenly said, ¡°I might leave soon.¡±

    Zu An immediately panicked. ¡°No! What if I don¡¯t tease you so often anymore? You know that I wasn¡¯t being disrespectful on purpose! I just felt like a glorious sect master getting angry was pretty interesting.¡±

    Yun Jianyue shot him an annoyed look. ¡°I really might not be able to hold myself back from killing you one day.¡±

    She already had a rough idea of this man¡¯s nature after being around him during this period. She knew that he was different from most people in this world. He didn¡¯t have too many social restrictions or taboos holding him back. Even though some of the things he said really were annoying, it was precisely because of this that she felt that this was a different experience.

    There was no one who dared to talk so casually and joke around with her after she achieved her high cultivation after all.

    ¡°Big sis, you¡¯re such a typical tsundere.¡± Then, Zu An put away his smile. ¡°But your injuries haven¡¯t recovered yet. Isn¡¯t it too dangerous for you to leave?¡±

    Yun Jianyue shook her head. ¡°The emperor has now returned. We¡¯re both in the pce right now. As my condition improves, it will be hard to hide my aura from him. It¡¯ll be dangerous if I stay here further, and it will harm you as well.¡±

    Zu An naturally wouldn¡¯t persuade her to stay when he heard this reason. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll try to find a way to bring you out of the pce.¡±

    This was definitely going to be a dangerous operation. They couldn¡¯t startle the emperor, or else there was no way she would be able to ve.

    He suddenly thought of an idea.

 Chapter 661: Playboy Cultivation Time

    <h4>Chapter 661: yboy Cultivation Time</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    While Zu An was thinking to himself, Yun Jianyue was worried herself. After some hesitation, she said, ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about me. I don¡¯t want to drag you down.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°What are you saying? If I was scared of being dragged down, I wouldn¡¯t have saved you back then.¡±

    ¡°I know you¡¯re a valiant man, but this is different. I n to make a trip to the prison. You¡¯ve already helped me enough, so I cannot burden you further.¡± Yun Jianyue watched him carefully while speaking. Even though this man talked a bit too much normally, he was much more reliable than those people from the sect who always bragged about how loyal they were. Even if Honglei ends up with this man, it won¡¯t be a disgrace. It was just a pity that the two couldn¡¯t do anything because of the technique she cultivated.

    Zu An was a bit embarrassed when he heard her call him a valiant man. Honestly, I wouldn¡¯t be trying so hard if you weren¡¯t pretty.

    As a veteran pervert, he at least understood himself this much.

    However, he quickly realized something and asked with shock, ¡°You¡¯re going to the prison? Don¡¯t tell me you still want to save yourpanions? Isn¡¯t that just courting death?¡±

    Yun Jianyue shook her head, her long hair fluttering behind her. ¡°It isn¡¯t to save them, but to kill them.¡±

    Zu An: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    Do all Devil Sect people jump to conclusions like this? I can¡¯t keep up at all.

    Yun Jianyue exined, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I know what kind of situation we are in. With the emperor overseeing this ce, I won¡¯t be able to rescue them out of the prison even if I was at my strongest, let alone now when I¡¯m injured. I only wish to end their suffering. You told me how badly they were tortured. As the sect master, I should at least end their suffering if I cannot set them free.¡±

    His tone was incredibly bleak. She felt angry and conflicted from her powerlessness.

    Zu An gave her a strange look. Yun Jianyue thought that he was about to dissuade her and said, ¡°Don¡¯t bother. My dao will suffer if I do not settle this matter, and I might not be able to make any more progress. Your identity won¡¯t be exposed either if I do it.¡±

    It had already been a few days since Zu An convinced Gu Yueyi and the others that he could save them. Now that so many days had passed, they were probably starting to be worried. Once they felt despair, they might betray Zu An.

    Zu An was a bit ashamed when he heard her say this. His big sis sect master was thinking about him, yet he was only focused on getting the most out of her.

    He cleared his throat and said, ¡°The security around the prison is strict. It¡¯ll be too dangerous if you go, so leave it to me. I¡¯ll try to see if I can save them.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re going to save them? How?¡± Yun Jianyue was stunned. She clearly didn¡¯t expect him to say this. In her opinion, with the emperor overseeing the pce, saving them waspletely an impossible task.

    ¡°Not through force, of course, but by outwitting them.¡± Zu An pointed at his head. He gave her a sincere look and said, ¡°I¡¯ve been to the imperial prison already, so I am more familiar with those people. Things will go much smoother if I am the one who does it. I¡¯ve been trying to figure out a way to save them all this time. You¡¯re always lost in thought and looking towards the imperial prison. I wanted to surprise you before, but now that I heard that you are going to take the risk, I can only tell you now.¡±

    A white clothed angel appeared on his shoulder, cursing him for his stupid yboy self as he spoke these words. He was using the emperor¡¯s favor to chase after girls!

    But then, another ck-clothed devil sneered on his other shoulder. ¡°Pah, it¡¯s just feelings, you aren¡¯t even doing anything serious.¡±

    Yun Jianyue was a bit rmed when she saw his burning eyes. She subconsciously took a step back. ¡°You¡­ You actually already did so much for me.¡±

    Zu An sighed inside when he saw how rmed she was. This woman might be a grandmaster in terms of cultivation, but she waspletely naive in this field after remaining a maiden for so long. She ispletely a novice before him.

    ¡°We¡¯re friends who lived together for some time at worst, right? How can I not help a friend out?¡± Zu An didn¡¯t go further. Their rtionship wasn¡¯t at that point yet. Going further now would only ruin things.

    The emperor¡¯s mission for me is to infiltrate the Devil Sect. Does this count?

    ¡°Friend¡­¡± Yun Jianyue¡¯s stirred heart calmed down a bit when she heard this word. She gave him a sidelong look. ¡°Who¡¯s living¡­ living together with you? Why did you have to say it like that.¡±

    She normally always upheld a cold and arrogant appearance. This was a rare immature side of her.

    Zu An was momentarily stunned.

    Yun Jianyue noticed that she lost herposure when she saw his expression. She quickly recovered her usual mighty and domineering appearance. ¡°What are you looking at? I¡¯ll dig your eyes out if you keep staring.¡±

    At the same time, she warned herself that this was Honglei¡¯s man, that she shouldn¡¯t do anythingughable.

    ¡°Big sis sect master really is a goddess. You¡¯re so beautiful even when you¡¯re angry.¡± Zu An almost burst outughing when he saw her look angry on purpose. You can¡¯t hide anything from me in this field! I didn¡¯t sense any Rage points from you.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s brows couldn¡¯t help but ease when she heard him praise her beauty. However, she still said stubbornly, ¡°I am Honglei¡¯s master. I advise you to be more careful when making jokes.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s nose wrinkled. ¡°Didn¡¯t I say that we should just worry about our own rtionship?¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s eyebrows rose. She was just about to flip out when Zu An quickly said, ¡°I¡¯m going to make a trip to the eastern pce. I can¡¯t always be missing as the crown prince¡¯s secretary.¡±

    Yun Jianyueughed when she saw him leave in a sorry state, as if he was fleeing. ¡°Hmph, and I thought that you were so fearless you were going to do something.¡±

    Her smile really was like the first budding of spring. There was now a bit of worldly beauty added to this cold lunar goddess.

    ¡­

    Zu An thought about how he was going to save those Devil Sect assassins along the way. Even though he had the emperor¡¯s permission, he didn¡¯t dare make this matter public. He could only give some hints to rted people. He still had to figure out how he was going to save them himself.

    It wasn¡¯t that hard to rescue them from the prison, what was harder to manage were the consequences. He couldn¡¯t draw the Devil Sect¡¯s suspicion, nor did he want to draw any suspicion from the imperial guards. After all, none of them knew what the emperor was really thinking. Their first instincts would be to execute him for breaking out criminals.

    Sending them out of the pce was another headache.

    He unknowingly already arrived at the eastern pce while lost in his thoughts. The scene before his eyes left him shocked.

    The fat crown prince was respectfully bringing a cup of tea to someone.

    The crown princess was also standing respectfully to the side. Her difort was visible. She was probably on the verge of snapping.

    Zu An was quite curious. The crown princess was normally like a proud little hen who looked at everyone else like trash. There was someone who could make her act like this?

    The one seated was a schrly middle-aged man. Even though there were some traces of age left, his brows were sharp, his eyes gentle like water. It was easy to see how popr he was with girls when he was younger.

    His hair was meticulouslybed with some white hairs on his temples. However, no one felt that he looked old, it rather gave him a bit of a ssy feeling.

    The crown prince said with a weak voice, ¡°Great tutor, please drink some tea.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s mind jumped. He finally knew who the one before him was. No wonder he looked a bit simr to the emperor!

    King Qi, Zhao Jing!

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    King Qi slowly spoke at this time. ¡°It seems like in the time this king hasn¡¯t showed up in the eastern pce, the crown prince has forgotten many of the rules. That is why I am having the crown prince review them today. I am your teacher, as well as your uncle. Do you have anyints by having you serve me tea?¡±

    ¡°Not at all, not at all.¡± The fatty was clearly scared of this uncle. He didn¡¯t dare talk back at all.

    The crown princess¡¯ eyes were full of reluctance, but she couldn¡¯t find any reason to retort. She could only sulk by herself. She got more and more angry when she saw how timid and useless her husband was.

    Zu An was startled when he saw this scene. There¡¯s a solution!

 Chapter 662: Tit for Tat

    <h4>Chapter 662: Tit for Tat</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°This subject pays his respects to the crown prince and princess!¡± Zu An said with a clear voice.

    The atmosphere was originally quite strange, with even the crown prince and princess bowing their heads. The others of the eastern pce were keeping quiet out of fear as well.

    Yet now, this loud voice suddenly sounded. It immediately became the focal point of everyone¡¯s attention.

    Little Xu and Little He who was standing at the crown prince¡¯s sides stared in a stupor. This guy is really brave! He dares speak up at this type of time?

    The imperial guards Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun who were close to Zu An winked their eyes as hard as they could from the distance. They were hinting towards him not to say anything bad.

    Zu An felt warm inside. Looks like these friends were worth making! However, he had his own ns. He walked over to the crown prince and princess. ¡°Hm? Apart from his majesty, who else can make the crown prince and princess serve him tea so respectfully? May I ask who you are?¡±

    Publicly offending King Qi was a decision he made after careful thought. King Qi was the one who arranged most of those assassinations he experienced on the way to the capital. Why did he have to treat someone who wanted him dead nicely?

    Furthermore, after all the things that happened after he arrived at the capital, there was no way the two of them could be on friendly terms again.

    For example, it was because of him that King Qi faction¡¯s Murong Tong was transferred out from the crucial security officer position. Now, the Left Guard General Cheng Xiong was also dead. No matter how magnanimous King Qi was, his subordinates would definitely hate Zu An bitterly.

    Zu An didn¡¯t even think King Qi to be that open-minded anyway. That was why he might as well just offend this person directly. That way, he would be tightly bound to the imperial princess.

    As for the emperor¡¯s task of giving King Qi the fake Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, this wasn¡¯t a task with a time limit, so he couldn¡¯t care less.

    He looked at King Qi while speaking. Meanwhile inside, he sighed in praise that this mature and graceful middle-aged man would definitely be lethal for youngdies.

    King Qi also looked at him. There weren¡¯t any emotions visible in his eyes.

    It was to the extent where Zu An didn¡¯t even receive any Rage points.

    Zu An was quite surprised. This was a shrewd person who he had to deal with carefully.

    The crown princess was overjoyed at the turn of events. She found this guy a bit annoying at first, but he seemed much more pleasing today.

    She smiled inside, but on the outside, she still pretended to reprimand him. ¡°This is the world renown and wise King Qi. Zu An, how can you treat him with such disrespect?¡±

    She deliberately emphasized the words renown and wise precisely to mock him for bullying them juniors today.

    The crown princess actually knew why he woulde with this type of attitude today. It was precisely the crown prince¡¯s faction that put Cheng Xiong to death. It was easy to imagine how King Qi felt after losing such an important general. Regardless of whether it was for himself or for his subordinates, he had toe out and vent a bit.

    That was why he deliberately troubled her and the crown prince, and she had no choice but to suck it up.

    We¡¯ve already obtained our benefits anyway. Do what you will with your pettiness.

    But now that Zu An came, she suddenly discovered that she didn¡¯t have to put up with his pettiness.

    ¡°I greet King Qi.¡± Zu An put on an rmed look and greeted him respectfully.

    ¡°So you¡¯re Zu An?¡± King Qi¡¯s expression was a bitplicated when he looked at Zu An. After all, he always had the upper hand in his struggle against the emperor all these years. In his mind, his opponent was never this stupid nephew and his wife who thought she was smart. His real opponent was always his older brother on that dragon throne.

    The emperor was indeed unrivaled, but he was no match against time. Furthermore, the crown prince was just too pathetic, so the situation was gradually leaning towards him.

    Yet once Zu An appeared, he waspletely caught off guard with his immortality granting ¡®Phoenix Nirvana Sutra¡¯. When he learned of this, his mental state that had remained calm for so long became panicked for the first time. If the emperor really obtained immortality, then what the hell would he even be fighting for?

    Once this news went out, even some officials who were secretly on his side began to waver. The reason they were on his side wasn¡¯t because they liked him, but rather because the most powerful emperor was about to die, and the crown prince was worthless.

    Once they learned that the emperor had a chance of obtaining eternal life, why would these officials suddenly grow tired of living and betray the emperor?

    He was already badly burned from before. After this fe arrived at the capital, he lost his Security Officer and the Left Guard General, these vital positions. This was the first time his faction suffered devastating losses in recent years!

    Is this person my natural nemesis? He erased this thought as soon as it appeared. At his level, he wouldn¡¯t let himself have such useless thoughts.

    Zu An replied, ¡°This lowly official is Zu An. I have longed to meet with the renown King Qi.¡±

    King Qi¡¯s eyelids jumped. This fe expressed his hatred for me just now, yet now he says he has longed to meet me? Isn¡¯t this clear mockery?

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Jing for +99 Rage points!

    Zu An was disappointed when he received these Rage points. This was a grandmaster, for better or for worse! His soul force was incredibly powerful, he shouldn¡¯t be offering such a small amount.

    However, mockery was still just mockery in the end. How could anyone who could contend against the world¡¯s most powerful cultivator for so long be weak?

    When he was chatting with Yun Jianyue, she told him that there were two and a half people who scared her. The first two were the emperor and King Qi. As for someone like Zhuxie Chixin, he couldn¡¯t even count as half. He was just an ant who was a bit more troublesome.

    King Qi picked up his teacup and took a sip, then, he said calmly, ¡°Judging from Sir Zu¡¯s words just now, it seems that you don¡¯t think it¡¯s too suitable for me to have the crown prince serve me tea? Studies should be started from the basics, and a strict teacher will help the student appreciate learning. This is wisdom passed down from the ancient times. I fear that Sir Zu might not have heard of it before as you grew up in Brightmoon City¡¯s streets.¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t get upset when he heard him mock him for being ignorant. He said with a smile, ¡°However, the crown prince is the heir apparent to the throne after all. The crown princess will be the empress. I feel that King Qi¡¯s behavior does not really follow the dao of subjects.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Many people gasped when they heard these words. Little Xu and Little He¡¯s faces turned deathly pale. Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun sighed inside, thinking that Zu An was done for. He actually dared to speak like this to King Qi? He¡¯s dead for sure!

    Even the crown princess¡¯ maid Rong Mo¡¯s entire body went taut. She was scared that King Qi¡¯s anger would shift to the crown prince and princess. Once this man attacked, not even she at her peak could be his match, let alone right now when she was still heavily injured.

    She immediately cursed Zu An for being a good-for-nothing when she thought of this.

    You have sessfully trolled Rong Mo for +233 +233 +233¡­

    Only the crown princess alone felt incredibly refreshed. She found Zu An more and more pleasing. She didn¡¯t expect this fe to be so loyal to them. She felt like she should spend some effort fostering him.

    King Qi¡¯s eyes narrowed, but his reaction was quick as well. He said, ¡°In the path of learning, respect for the teacher is the most important. Only when one respects their teacher will they attach importance to learning itself. Hence, there are two situations when the ruler will not treat his subjects as subjects. The first is when the subject presides over a sacrifice to the heavens, and the second is when the subject assumes the role of a teacher.¡±[1]

    Zu An thanked the heavens that he went through nine years ofpulsory education before he crossed over. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t understand what this stuff meant at all.

    Even though he was in a world of cultivation, for the sake of a stable country, a system of etiquette has been inherited through thousands of years. There was no need for a teacher to show the courtesy of a subject when he teaches the ruler the ssics. When the ruler is learning, he should forget his status as a ruler and seriously learn. This was the so-called respect for your teacher.

    His intentions were clear. This even applies to a ruler, let alone a crown prince and princess.

    The crown princess¡¯ pretty eyes looked towards Zu An. This was precisely the reason why she held it all in. She was curious as to how Zu An was going to respond.

    For some reason, she just felt like this fe wasn¡¯t going to disappoint her.

    1. The original is incredibly hard to understand on its own like a lot of chinese literature

 Chapter 663: Grandmasters Should Not Be Provoked

    <h4>Chapter 663: Grandmasters Should Not Be Provoked</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An replied, ¡°As the crown prince¡¯s great tutor, there is indeed a need for the crown prince and princess to be respectful towards you when you are teaching.¡±

    The fatty to the side nodded his head stupidly in agreement. ¡°Exactly, exactly!¡±

    The crown princess¡¯ brows furrowed. She was happy with this fe¡¯s performance a moment ago, but this was all he had? Furthermore, the crown prince¡¯s dumbness really was tiring.

    Only King Qi alone remained quiet. With his status, he obviously knew that this person had more to say.

    Sure enough, Zu An continued, ¡°But King Qi is no longer a teacher before and after the lesson. There¡¯s a reason why there is a difference between a ruler and his ministers. At those times, shouldn¡¯t you be greeting the crown prince with respect when you see him?¡±

    King Qi¡¯s brows rose. This fe had quite the sharp mouth. However, this indeed left him in a tricky situation.

    Zu An immediately looked at the crown prince. ¡°Your highness crown prince, has your ss with King Qi finished for today?¡±

    The crown prince scratched his head and rplied in a feeble-minded manner. ¡°I think so. Are you going to y with the frogs with me outside?¡±

    When he saw the crown princess¡¯ face darken, Zu An thought to himself, like hell I¡¯ll catch frogs with you. The bit ofpetency I barely managed to umte was almost done in by you!

    He cleared his throat and calmed himself down before saying, ¡°Since the sses have already finished, then it should be King Qi¡¯s turn to show the crown prince respect.¡±

    When he saw that King Qi was expressionless, he added fuel to the fire. ¡°King Qi seems unwilling to pay respects to the crown prince. Could it be that you have thoughts of taking his ce?¡±

    King Qi¡¯s face finally showed a change in expression. Even though the struggle between the crown prince and himself over the throne could no longer be stopped, they still looked amiable on the surface. This wasn¡¯t something that should be brought out into the open at all.

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Jing for +666 Rage points!

    He was finally truly angered. He gave Zu An a cold look. In that instant, Zu An felt as if he fell into a frozenke, as if he might die a secondter.

    Is this the power of a grandmaster¡­ Zu An had a bitter smile on his face. What the hell was he doing? He was clearly already a cheat-like existence among those his age, yet he ended up provoking the number two cultivator in this world.

    He was scared badly by the emperor not too long ago. Yet now, he was being pressured by King Qi.

    King Qi was surprised when he saw that Zu An remained unfazed, his expression calm. After all, under this type of distance, normal cultivators couldn¡¯t withstand his pressure at all. Most of them would be kneeling on the ground right now. He wanted to teach this sharp mouthed brat a lesson this way and also shave off some of the influence his words just won him. However, he never expected that this would actually be useless!

    With his pride as a grandmaster, if a junior survived his attacks once, then with his status, he shouldn¡¯t make another move. However, King Qi was also a politician who valued practicality. That was why he decided to release his pressure again. This time, he wouldn¡¯t hold back at all and would rather make sure this fe learned a harsh lesson.

    But right at this time, the crown princess stood in front of Zu An. Even though her expression was a bit pale, she still raised her head and said, ¡°It hasn¡¯t been long since he arrived at the eastern pce, so he does not understand many of the rules. I ask that King Qi be magnanimous if he has offended you in any way.¡±

    Zu An was surprised when he saw the frail figure in front of him. After all, the crown princess always hated his guts, yet now, she actually stood in front of him!

    King Qi gave her a look and chuckled. ¡°The crown princess speaks too seriously. Why would this king lower myself to his level?¡±

    Then, he turned towards the fatty next to him. ¡°Crown prince, do you want me to greet you respectfully?¡±

    The crown prince quickly waved his big hands. ¡°No need, no need.¡±

    He was always a bit scared of this teacher of his. He didn¡¯t dare make him bow towards himself.

    The crown princess gave him an angry re. She really hated this stupid and cowardly side of him.

    But she also knew that King Qi¡¯s status was different. Pressuring him wasn¡¯t a sensible decision.

    After experiencing this disturbance, King Qi didn¡¯t feel like staying here any longer. With his status, continuing to target Zu An would lower his status too much. He quickly found a reason to bid the crown prince and princess farewell.

    The crown princess wanted this huge headache to leave as soon as possible. She naturally didn¡¯t keep him.

    When King Qi was about to walk out of the door, he paused by Zu An¡¯s side. He said indifferently, ¡°Sir Zu, you¡¯re quite something.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, King Qi, for your praise.¡± Zu An¡¯s attitude was extremely respectful, with nothing that could be picked from his attitude. He didn¡¯t want the other party to find any reason to act against him.

    King Qi stopped breathing for a moment. Am I praising you right now?

    He harrumphed, and then left with a brush of his sleeves.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Once he left, everyone in the eastern pce sighed in relief. It was way too suffocating just now.

    Even though King Qi was the crown prince¡¯s great tutor, he only came asionally. It was usually the lesser tutor who taught the crown prince. That was why most of the people in the eastern pce were the crown prince and princess¡¯ men.

    Zu An greeted the crown princess under everyone¡¯s looks of admiration. ¡°I greet the crown princess.¡±

    As for the crown prince, he already dragged the eunuchs with him to y around. He wasn¡¯t in the mood to pay him any attention.

    The crown princess looked at her idiot husband, and then at the man before her. She sighed. Forget about Sir Eleven, the crown prince can¡¯t evenpare to this fe!

    She quickly sorted out her thoughts and showed Zu An a smile. ¡°Thank you Sir Zu for what you did today.¡±

    ¡°As a subordinate of the eastern pce, I naturally need to help the crown princess with her troubles.¡± Zu An also directly left out the crown prince.

    Everyone knew that the real head of the eastern pce was the crown princess. No one felt that this was unsuitable.

    The crown princess¡¯ expression eased up even more. She was clearly happy with the loyalty this man showed. ¡°You should take note of your own safety in the future.¡±

    She was warning him about King Qi¡¯s revenge.

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°With the crown prince and princess¡¯ fortune and protection, I believe that I¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    The crown princess said with a look of disdain, ¡°You only know how to say pretty words. What kind of fortune do I have?¡±

    Zu An said with a deadly earnest expression, ¡°The crown princess will be the mother of this empire. How can you not be blessed with fortune?¡±

    The princess¡¯ maid was stunned when she saw how shaken up the crown princess was. Weren¡¯t this fe¡¯s words a bit too flirtatious?

    But what was even more shocking was that the crown princess didn¡¯t seem annoyed at all. I only took a few days off. Is there something that happened in the time that I was gone?

    Zu An took this chance to say, ¡°Crown princess, I¡¯m taking some time off to visit the imperial prison.¡±

    ¡°Imperial prison?¡± The crown princess frowned. ¡°Why are you going there?¡±

    Cheng Xiong¡¯s case was already settled. The criminals there were already meaningless for her.

    Zu An replied, ¡°I am going to interrogate those assassins further to see if I can get some more information about him.¡±

    The crown princess knew that he was talking about King Qi. She replied, ¡°Fine. However, even if you find out something, do not act rashly and discuss it with me first.¡±

    When Zu An left the pce, the princess¡¯ maid Rong Mo couldn¡¯t help but ask with a hushed voice, ¡°Your highness, why are you treating that brat so well? Didn¡¯t you find him really annoying before?¡±

    The crown princess sat down leisurely and took the tea her maid brought over. Then, she said slowly, ¡°I do not mind an annoying person, what I mind is an ipetent one. Even though this Zu An is quite annoying, he is a talented individual. I just happen tock someone like that under me.¡±

    The main forces in the struggle against King Qi were his majesty¡¯s trusted aides, the Liu n behind the empress, as well as her own father. However, she had too few trustworthy men under her.

    In her opinion, King Qi wasn¡¯t the only enemy. Once she defeated King Qi, she had to worry about the empress¡¯ family.

    Even though her first meeting with Zu An was quite disagreeable, he has done quite wellter on. Having someone like him on her side would definitely be of great help.

    Sigh, it¡¯s all the crown prince¡¯s fault for being so useless. I have to take care of everything.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, King Qi was slowly drinking tea in another gazebo within the pce. A golden armored imperial guard troop quickly arrived and greeted him. ¡°We greet King Qi. We await your orders.¡±

    Even the Left Guard General was under King Qi¡¯s faction. cing some of his men in the guards was too easy.

    King Qi stared at the golden fish swimming about in theke nearby. He smiled and said, ¡°Invite Zu An here.¡±

    How many years has it been since someone dared to provoke him like this?

    Thest time seemed to be a few years ago. There were some guards who acted arrogantly because they were the crown prince¡¯s personal guards. In the end, didn¡¯t they all turn into heads inside of wooden boxes?

    Regardless of whether it was his status or the fact that he was a grandmaster, he definitely wasn¡¯t someone a nobody can humiliate.

    Furthermore, many of his subordinates were furious at Cheng Xiong¡¯s case. They needed something to appease them. It was this kid¡¯s fault for being so unsightly.

 Chapter 664: If We Canâ€™t Be Saved, Then Just Wait For Death

    <h4>Chapter 664: If We Can¡¯t Be Saved, Then Just Wait For Death</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Those guards exchanged a look. They said with worry, ¡°Zu An is now his majesty¡¯s baron, and he is also the crown prince¡¯s secretary. Would it be¡­¡±

    King Qi said indifferently, ¡°It¡¯s fine. You all just need to bring him here.¡±

    Seeing that they didn¡¯t have to do the deed themselves, those guards sighed in relief. They cupped their hands and left to carry out the order.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    King Qi looked in the eastern pce¡¯s direction. His lips carried a hint of ridicule. The crown princess¡¯ intent to raise a right hand man didn¡¯t escape his notice. He won¡¯t let it happen that easily.

    Meanwhile, Zu An had just left the eastern pce, yet he was stopped by Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Zu An was curious when he saw the two want to say something, but hesitate.

    Piao Duandiao hesitated for a long time. When he saw that no one noticed them, he said with a lowered voice, ¡°Sir Zu, you really have to be careful in the following days.¡±

    ¡°Why would you say that?¡± Zu An was also a bit rmed when he saw how serious they were.

    Jiao Sigun said, ¡°Do you know why the two of us were able to be the eastern pce¡¯s lesser guard leaders?¡±

    ¡°Because the two of you are hidden dragons of the eastern pce?¡± Zu An couldn¡¯t help but smile when he looked at these two.

    They were stunned and didn¡¯t understand what he was saying. However, they said, ¡°With our qualifications, we have no right to rise up to be the guard leaders of the eastern pce so quickly. The two guards before us, regardless of whether it was their qualifications or cultivation, were top notch within the imperial guards. They were also high-spirited back then and wanted to do something great.¡±

    ¡°In the end, there was an instance where their attitude towards King Qi was¡­ a bit arrogant. They berated him directly. King Qi didn¡¯t say anything at the time, yet the next day, they didn¡¯t report for the morning roll call. Everyone looked for them. Eventually, they found two headless corpses.¡±

    ¡°The subordinates who criticized King Qi with them all had their heads removed as well.¡±

    ¡°This matter created a huge disturbance. However, it soon ended without anything being settled.¡±

    Zu An was stunned when he heard all of this. No wonder everyone in the eastern pce was shaking like quails. So there was this type of thing!

    He really couldn¡¯t tell at all. King Qi looked like a refined and schrly person, yet he was actually this vicious.

    No wonder he could fight against the emperor for so long, as expected of his own blood brother. The viciousness and paranoia ran in the family.

    He suddenly noticed that the two guards were looking at him with a strange expression. He was shocked. ¡°Why are you looking at me like that?¡±

    The two said, ¡°Those two didn¡¯t leave King Qi as badly burned as what you did back then. Good luck.¡±

    Then, they left with a sigh, as if this man was beyond saving and already a dead man.

    Zu An: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    He had to admit that even though these two were quite the amusing bunch, they were quite loyal. At the very least, they would do their best to warn him. They didn¡¯t let him down.

    But he wasn¡¯t all that scared, because offending King Qi was part of his ns.

    The Right Guard General Guo Zhi just happened to be on his patrol when he arrived at the imperial prison. He immediately smiled in a friendly manner when he saw Zu An. ¡°Oh my, Brother Zu, which wind brought you back today?¡±

    This fe solved such a difficult problem for him back then, so he found him rather pleasing.

    Zu An smiled and exchanged some conventional greetings. Then, when he expressed his intent, Guo Zhi was surprised. ¡°Didn¡¯t we already obtain an oral confession? What else is there to investigate?¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°The crown princess told me to question them some more. It¡¯s just routine business.¡±

    Guo Zhi had a look of understanding on his face. ¡°No problem, Brother Zu can question them as much as you want. I¡¯ve actually been quite conflicted by how I should deal with these fes. Cheng Xiong¡¯s case has already concluded, so they¡¯re already useless. Keeping them here is a problem too. There were many times where I just wanted to¡­¡±

    He brought his thumb across his neck while speaking. Then, he said, ¡°But his majesty didn¡¯t say anything, so I don¡¯t dare go too far on my own. Brother Zu, if you could, could you sound out his majesty¡¯s attitude? How should I deal with these fes?¡±

    ¡°Why hasn¡¯t Brother Guo asked about that yourself? Your rank is much higher than mine.¡± Zu An was shocked. The emperor actually didn¡¯t tell him that he was going to let them go. This would make his following ns much more difficult.

    Guo Zhi said in annoyance, ¡°I don¡¯t dare take such a risk! The pce just experienced that attack, and his majesty already berated us several times. Now, even Cheng Xiong was done in, so I should be lying low. But Brother Zu, you¡¯re different! His majesty told me that you can freely visit the prison and to cooperate with any request you have. I¡¯m honestly quite envious. Brother Zu has only been here a few days, yet you have already obtained the favor of his majesty!¡±

    Zu An cursed inside. The emperor is being too tactful here! Guo Zhi might not be able to get the hint! Looks like I¡¯ll have to figure out a way to save them on my own.

    He thought for a bit, and then he said, ¡°Then please withdraw all of the experts from the prison for now.¡±

    Guo Zhi was shocked. ¡°But what if the prisoners get away?¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°We are inside the imperial pce¡¯s inner pce. How could they get away? Furthermore, they still have the Soul Reaping Chains of the Embroidered Envoy on them.¡±

    Guo Zhi was quite troubled. ¡°But why are we suddenly removing the guards?¡±

    Zu An pulled him to the side and said quietly, ¡°I want to make an illusion for those prisoners, to make them misunderstand and think that there is a chance for them to escape. With the hope of life, they will start to treasure life and rx a bit. This will allow me to gain more information.¡±

    Guo Zhi¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Brother Zu is brilliant as expected! No wonder you were able to get out so much information from themst time.¡±

    After saying this, he ran over to pull out his subordinates. He only left behind the lowest level jailers for the prison¡¯s normal operations.

    Afterpleting all of this, he rushed over to Zu An and said, ¡°Brother Zu, please feel free to do what you need to. The imperial pce¡¯s security has be more strict after the recent attack, so I need to continue my patrol. I won¡¯t be keeping youpany.¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll invite Brother Guo for a drink next time.¡± Zu An cupped his hands.

    ¡°Sounds good!¡± Guo Zhi waved his hand and then left with his men.

    Zu An remained silent for a moment. This fe had a simple appearance, but how could anyone in his position be stupid?

    Ever since he was almost done in by Cheng Xiong, he didn¡¯t dare to look down on the IQ of these officials anymore.

    Guo Zhi probably guessed at what he wanted to do, and that was why he was leaving far away. He didn¡¯t want anything to do with this matter.

    Of course, if it wasn¡¯t because the emperor already gave him some instructions, he wouldn¡¯t have withdrawn his men so quickly.

    Zu An sorted out his thoughts, and then walked straight into the prison.

    Within the deepest level of the prison, there were a few people who were whispering among themselves.

    ¡°Elder, Sir Fire, why hasn¡¯t anyone saved us even after all this time?¡± The one who spoke was Gu Yueyi. He had unreal expectations during these days, yet the higher his hopes climbed, the more restless he became.

    ¡°How can it be that easy to rescue someone from the imperial prison? Just wait patiently.¡± Elder Sun Luzhen opened his eyes and said. Even though he was covered in blood, his eyes were still bright.

    ¡°What if he never nned to save us? What if he lied to us?¡± When Gu Yueyi said this, his face became more and more pale. He felt like this was more and more likely to be the case.

    Sun Luzhen and Solitary Fire also became quiet. The two of them also already vaguely thought of this possibility.

    ¡°Cease yourints.¡± Sun Luzhen still kept hisposure in the end.

    Solitary Fire also said, ¡°Indeed. We set our resolution to die during this assassination to begin with. If he can save us, then we will be thankful. If not, then that is to be expected.¡±

    Gu Yueyi¡¯s expression changed. He thought to himself, the two of you are already so old, so you¡¯re obviously content with life. I¡¯m still young!

    He even thought that if Zu An really went back on his words, then he would just confess everything to Sir Guo. He wanted to see if he could use this secret to exchange for his life.

    A clear voice sound. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect Solitary Fire to still be so open-minded. It really is admirable.¡±

    Their group was shocked and pleasantly surprised. They all turned around and saw Zu An nearby. All of them sighed in relief.

    Even though they gave no thought to their personal lives, living was obviously better than dying.

    However, when they noticed the group of jailers standing behind him, their expressions all changed. Gu Yueyi said with a trembling voice, ¡°You¡­ you¡¯re not here to silence us, are you?¡±

    Zu An chuckled. He was just about to reply when there was suddenly a burst of noise. Several jailers were pushed down the stairs.

    Eight golden armored imperial guards strut inside and viciously berated, ¡°You blind things, you dare to stop us from bringing over the one King Qi wishes to meet?¡±

 Chapter 665: Ingenious Plan

    <h4>Chapter 665: Ingenious n</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The jailers all drew their des and were about to stop them when they heard the disturbance. Who would dare to act so domineeringly in this type of ce?

    But when they heard the words King Qi, all of them withdrew their des again.

    King Qi¡¯s prestige in the court was tremendous, and he had always maintained a decent reputation. These jailers didn¡¯t dare to offend him.

    Those golden armored guards were satisfied when they saw the fear in their eyes. With King Qi behind them, they could walk proudly wherever they went.

    They arrived in front of Zu An, their expressions so arrogant their noses were pointing at the sky. ¡°So you¡¯re Zu An?¡±

    Zu An sized up the other party. Of course, it wasn''t their appearance, but rather their auras. The leader was at the sixth rank, while the rest were at the fifth rank. Together with the formationbat style imperial guards were familiar with, taking down a seventh rank cultivator wasn¡¯t too big of an issue.

    Furthermore, this was inside the imperial pce. There has never been someone who refused the invitation of an imperial guard.

    ¡°I am. May I ask what you all came here for?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°King Qi invites you for an audience.¡± The leader with the big nostrils casually cupped his hands.

    The Devil Sect assassins in the prison were all rmed. They finally managed to await Zu An¡¯s arrival, yet he was now being brought away by someone?

    Zu An looked quite troubled. ¡°The crown prince and princess asked me to question these prisoners. How about I head over once I¡¯m finished?¡±

    The one with the big nostrils sneered and said, ¡°If King Qi wants to meet someone, all of them would be running over as fast as they could in fear and respect. When has there ever been someone like you who uses all sorts of excuses?¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°So the crown prince and princess¡¯ orders are not orders? Could it be that in your respective selves¡¯ eyes, King Qi is greater than the crown prince and princess?¡±

    The jailers silently stood to the side, their eyes looking straight at the ground. They didn¡¯t dare participate in this level of battlefield.

    The breathing of the person with the big nostrils¡¯ stopped momentarily. He said with a bit of annoyance. ¡°You can forget about trying to instigate anything. King Qi is the crown prince¡¯s senior, as well as the crown prince¡¯s teacher. Even if the crown prince was here, he would send you to King Qi first. If you do not believe me, you can seek out the crown prince and ask him.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Liu Chenyu for +444 Rage points!

    The jailers subconsciously took a few more steps back. All of them wereining inside. Why did they have to be caught up in this type of thing?

    Zu An shook his head and said with a sigh, ¡°King Qi is King Qi, you are yourself. Even though the crown prince and crown princess do not dare do anything to King Qi, do you think that they cannot take care of a trifling guard like you? Once your words reach the crown prince and princess¡¯ ears, do you think that they will let that slide?¡±

    The one with the big nostrils was a bit shaken. He was also starting to feel a bit of regret. It was all this Zu An¡¯s fault, or else how could he possibly misspeak like this?

    Hmph, whatever. This brat won¡¯t be able to act smug for long. Once he reaches King Qi¡¯s hands, he might just immediately lose his head.

    You have sessfully trolled Liu Chenyu for +567 Rage points!

    Now!

    Zu An was waiting precisely for the moment he became distracted. He rushed over and stabbed his forehead.

    His cultivation was not at a level that could bepared to an ordinary seventh rank. Furthermore, with his instantaneous movement skill, how could his opponent possibly dodge his attack?

    Bang!

    A st of blood gushed out of his forehead. Liu Chenyu was so shocked his eyes werepletely wide open. He didn¡¯t expect the other party to attack him, let alone go straight for a killing blow.

    The imperial guards who followed him were all stunned. They hurriedly tried to draw their des and surround Zu An.

    But right at this moment, they felt a tremendous suction force. All of their ki seemed to have suddenly vanished into nothing.

    Their center of gravity became unstable. They staggered towards the center where Zu An was. Zu An¡¯s finger thrusted out and instantly ended their lives.

    All of this happened too quickly for anyone else to react. Those golden armored soldiers were already lying all over the ground like dirt.

    Elder Sun Luzhen was shocked. The reaction ability and cultivation he disyed were shocking. He even wondered if he had the ability to dispatch all of these guards himself this efficiently.

    Solitary Fire¡¯s eyes widened. This kid¡¯s cultivation is higher than what he saw on their way to the capital! Just how much time has passed since then?!

    Gu Yueyi was incredibly jealous. After all, Zu An was but a drafted son-inw who everyone looked down on. Even though he disyed his talents during the npetition, Zu An was still not someone he treated with any importance. However, in such a short amount of time, Zu An already climbed to this level, far surpassing himself! No wonder his junior sister liked him.

    Pah! Junior sister will be mine one day!

    Those surrounding jailers all drew their des and faced Zu An like he was a great enemy. They stammered, ¡°Sir¡­ Sir Zu, what is the meaning of this?¡±

    They were scared badly by this scene.

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, this is my grudge with King Qi, it has nothing to do with you guys.¡±

    Those jailers looked at each other in dismay, and then they sighed in relief. However, they all cursed silently. Is this guy an idiot? He is willing to publicly go against King Qi like this?

    The instant they rxed, Zu An summoned Hundredwarble. An invisible sound wave rippled outwards.

    He had Guo Zhi transfer away the experts here, so these jailers were just ordinary people. How could they withstand this type of power? All of them fainted.

    It wasn¡¯t just the enemies that were knocked out, everyone from the Devil Sect also fainted.

    Sun Luzhen and the others had high cultivations, but their strength was sealed by the Embroidered Envoy¡¯s seals. After the torture they suffered, they already became far weaker than before.

    Zu An moved over to strike the jailers¡¯ acupoints. Suddenly, he sensed an incredibly powerful divine will sweep over him.

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed. This might was extremely familiar, and he had already experienced it several times. Only the emperor alone had this type of power.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, King Qi, who was enjoying tea in his gazebo, felt his body go rigid. He looked towards the prison with curiosity and muttered, ¡°What happened in that ce for even brother emperor to be startled?¡±

    But this divine will arrived and left quickly. He figured that it was probably because the emperor noticed it was just Zu An, and then he didn¡¯t pay that ce any more attention.

    Zu An sat down on a stool to the side, gasping for air. His entire body was soaked with sweat.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    No wonder everyone said that the emperor¡¯s will stretched across the entire pce. So this was what they meant!

    The emperor obviously didn¡¯t care about the conversations of ordinary people, but if there were any strange auras that erupted in the pce, then he would immediately detect it.

    No wonder Yun Jianyue chose toe when the emperor wasn¡¯t here. Otherwise, the emperor would immediately pacify the situation as soon as they tried anything.

    Zu An looked at those jailers again. He called all of the remaining people here beforehand, so no one should¡¯ve figured out what happened yet.

    However there was one more thing that he had to take care of. He took out a bottle from his Brilliant ss Bead and poured a few drops into a teapot. Then, he fed the tea to those jailers.

    Ever since he received the emperor¡¯s mission, he had always been wondering how to deal with this situation. Breaking them out of the imperial prison wasn¡¯t hard, what was annoying was the aftermath.

    He couldn¡¯t draw suspicion from the Devil Sect, nor could he draw suspicion from the pce.

    That was why he needed a scapegoat.

    In the end, the only one who had the ability and motive to break out the prisoners was King Qi.

    Furthermore, by using King Qi as an excuse, once everything was dealt with, the emperor could easily sort this entire thing out. Since it was rted to King Qi, they won¡¯t publicly fall out unless there was absolutely no choice.

    This way, Guo Zhi and the others wouldn¡¯t suspect that anything was strange.

    That was why he deliberately infuriated King Qi just now, precisely so that he would send his people to act against himself. He just didn¡¯t expect him to respond so well and send his men so quickly.

    Of course, there was another issue. He couldn¡¯t let these jailers¡¯ confessions sell him out.

    Killing them was the easiest way, but he didn¡¯t want to kill the innocent for no reason. Furthermore, he had just asked Guo Zhi to transfer away his cultivators. If these people were killed afterwards, then even an idiot would be able to guess that it was him.

    That was why he needed these jailers alive, to serve as witnesses to the arrival of King Qi¡¯s men.

    As for the things he did, he needed these jailers to forget about them.

    The ¡®Worries Be Gone¡¯ he added to the tea was something he got during the Chu n¡¯s rebellion, something that was originally to be used on Qin Wanru. This medicine would make one forget the things that happened within a set period of time.

    ¡°I really am a genius.¡± Zu An was a bit amazed at his own work. However, he was hurting inside, because he used one of the world¡¯s strongest aphrodisiacs on a group of ugly men.

 Chapter 666: Exposed

    <h4>Chapter 666: Exposed</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The jailers were all bunched up together. When Zu An saw how high up these fes¡¯ trousers were bulging, he wondered if their butts will hurt once they get up.

    He suddenly noticed something. One of these guys¡¯ trousers were ordinary. He felt great sympathy. If not even one of the world¡¯s most powerful aphrodisiacs worked on you, then what was the point in living anymore?

    Afterpleting these tasks, Zu An quickly arrived at the golden armored guards¡¯ corpses side and stripped off their armor and clothes. Then, he stored their corpses into the Brilliant ss Bead.

    The reason why he didn¡¯t use any weapons was because he was worried that the blood might stain these clothes. Things might get annoyingter on once the investigations began.

    Afterpleting all of this, he opened up the prison cells and woke up the Devil Sect¡¯s people.

    ¡°What happened just now?¡± Gu Yueyi looked around in confusion.

    Sun Luzhen and Solitary Fire were more collected. They could both sense that it was a spiritual attack.

    Zu An didn¡¯t exin anything and said, ¡°I knocked them out. Hurry and change into these clothes. I¡¯ll bring you out of the pce.¡±

    The Devil Sect¡¯s people snapped out of their daze. All of them were excited when they discovered that there was hope in living again. All of them rushed over to change into these clothes.

    Even though there were many people who were captured, many of them were wounded from the day of the attack. Then, after strict torture, more and more died in session. Now, including Sun Luzhen, there were only seven left.

    There were eight golden armor guards who entered, so it was perfect.

    Zu An quickly helped them undo the Embroidered Envoy¡¯s restrictions. They were already incredibly weak from the torture. It would take a long time for them to recover their original strength.

    When he saw that some of them were having trouble even walking, Zu An sighed. He took out some of the medicine he got from Divine Physician Ji before.

    Warm streams filled their bodies when they took the pill, allowing them to recover quite a bit of strength. Even the weakest one among them could walk again.

    Sun Luzhen was the first to cup his hands towards Zu An. ¡°Sir Zu, you have shown us great favor this time. We will engrave this gratitude forever. Even if there are mountains of daggers and seas of mes, as long as Sir Zu requests it of us, we will not show any hesitation.¡±

    Zu An replied with a smile. ¡°There¡¯s no need to speak so seriously. We still haven¡¯t gotten out of danger yet, so let¡¯s not lower our guard.¡±

    He didn¡¯t take these people¡¯s words to heart. They might be sincere when they were saying these things now, but people will always change. There was probably no one in this world willing to go through mountains of daggers and seas of mes.

    He was doing this to gain Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei¡¯s favor anyway. These fes¡¯ gratitude was just a bonus.

    They all snapped back to reality and voiced their agreement. They were still in the pce, so it was still too early to feel happiness.

    After they changed into the armor, Gu Yueyi raised a de to end those jailers¡¯ lives. They had been tormented by these fes day and night. Now that the situation had turned around, how could he just let them live and swallow this down?

    Zu An quickly stopped him. ¡°Brother Gu, I still have a use for these people here.¡±

    Gu Yueyi said reluctantly, ¡°But many of our brothers died under these people¡¯s interrogations!¡±

    Zu An said with a serious voice, ¡°The top priority is to rescue all of you right now. I need them to deal with the aftermath.¡±

    Sun Luzhen frowned and said, ¡°Yueyi, do not bring young master Zu trouble.¡±

    He was an elder with great status in the sect. Gu Yueyi could only resentfully put away his weapon.

    Zu An sighed in relief. He beckoned towards them and led them out.

    They didn¡¯t bump into anyone along the way because he already called all of them down beforehand.

    All of them were moved when they left the imperial prison and saw sunlight once more. They thought that they were dead for certain, yet they were actually able to see the light of day again.

    All of this was thanks to young master Zu!

    They looked at Zu An with gratitude. Even Gu Yueyi¡¯s positive feelings surpassed the negativity of when they were at odds before.

    ¡°I¡¯ll bring you guys out of the pce gates. You all have King Qi¡¯s waist tokens. Together with this set of armor, it shouldn¡¯t be too hard to leave.¡± Zu An said with a lowered voice.

    ¡°Thank you, young master Zu.¡± All of them cupped their hands.

    However, not long after they left, there was a soft voice that suddenly sounded. ¡°Wait!¡±

    Zu An¡¯s entire body went rigid when he heard this voice. He felt as if he sunk straight into a frozen sea.

    How was he this unlucky? He actually ran into King Qi here!

    He noticed that Sun Luzhen and the others silently moved their hands to their sword hilts. He quickly sent them voice transmissions. ¡°Don¡¯t act rashly. The one who came is King Qi. He has grandmaster level cultivation.¡±

    He didn¡¯t need to continue. When they heard his identity, all of them gave up their ns of taking down this person.

    They were well-aware of King Qi¡¯s reputation. This was a man with grandmaster level cultivation! Forget about all of them being seriously injured right now, even if they were at their very best, they still wouldn¡¯t be able to put even a scratch on him!

    ¡°Where are you all going?¡± King Qi asked with a frown.

    He noticed that the emperor¡¯s will descended here. He wondered what kind of thing happened here that drew his attention, so he decided toe for a look.

    He just happened to run into Zu An¡¯s group.

    Zu An¡¯s thoughts moved quickly. He immediately produced many methods to deal with the other party. In the end, he said, ¡°Didn¡¯t King Qi ask me toe meet with you?¡±

    He thanked the heavens that he didn¡¯t make these people wear the uniform of the guard with the big nostrils. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t be able to bluff his way through.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    King Qi shouldn''t have recognized the normal guards, right?

    There wasn¡¯t anything else he could do, he could only make a gamble here.

    If there really was no choice, then he would just call over the emperor. Screw it all, if his n to have him infiltrate the Devil Sect failed, he couldn¡¯t just throw his life away here.

    King Qi replied with an ¡®oh¡¯. ¡°Indeed, I was looking for you about something. The rest of you can withdraw for now.¡±

    The first half was for Zu An, thetter half was for the guards.

    Zu An sighed in relief. Thank goodness the other party didn¡¯t recognize them, or else the consequences would be horrifying.

    He gave Sun Luzhen and the others a look, indicating for them to leave first. Now that King Qi was so close, he didn¡¯t even dare send a voice transmission out of fear that he might notice something was off.

    Either way, he already told them everything they needed to know. As for leaving the pce, they even managed to infiltrate the pce that day, so it shouldn¡¯t be an issue, right?

    Sun Luzhen¡¯s group didn¡¯t even dare to raise their heads. They cupped their hands and turned around to leave.

    ¡°Wait!¡± King Qi suddenly frowned. ¡°Why don¡¯t I see Liu Chenyu?¡±

    Sun Luzhen and the others¡¯ hearts began to pound. They didn¡¯t even know who Liu Chenyu was, so what were they supposed to say?

    Zu An received this person¡¯s Rage points before, so he knew that it was the big nostril leader. His mind moved quickly and he said, ¡°Leader Liu was summoned by the emperor just now.¡±

    ¡°Summoned by brother emperor?¡± King Qi¡¯s expression changed. Could it be that the reason the emperor¡¯s will descended was because of Liu Chenyu?

    But that doesn¡¯t seem right. Would he be able to draw the emperor¡¯s divine will?

    He looked at Sun Luzhen¡¯s group. ¡°Hm? Why don¡¯t I see leader Wang either? All of you, raise your heads.¡±

    All of them felt chills run through their bodies when they heard this.

    Zu An was panicking. He didn¡¯t know how to exin himself now either.

 Chapter 667: Suspicion Aroused

    <h4>Chapter 667: Suspicion Aroused</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    At this time, a delicate voice sounded from the side. ¡°Sir Zu, why are you still here after such a long time?¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    King Qi frowned when he heard this voice.

    Zu An was immediately overjoyed when he heard the voice. He saw a beauty in a pce dress standing there, behind her a group of imperial guards led by Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun.

    He quickly greeted them. ¡°I greet the crown princess.¡±

    Everyone from the Devil Sect lowered their heads as well. Gu Yueyi sneaked a look at her, and then his eyes widened.

    The girls he spent his life around were all the flirtatious and witch-like sort. They were incredibly charming and lovely. However, in terms of ss and elegance, none of them couldpare to the girl in front of him.

    He felt his throat go dry when he saw the graceful pce outfit and thevish decorations. His heart began to pound. Holy sh*t, holy sh*t, how can someone be this pretty? Junior sis, it¡¯s not that I¡¯m not loyal to you, it¡¯s just that this crown princess is too pretty!

    It wasn¡¯t that Qiu Honglei¡¯s appearance was better than the crown princess¡¯. In terms of beauty, this crown princess instead seemed to pale a bit. The key was that Gu Yueyi lived his life at the bottom levels of society, and he was always around the Devil Sect¡¯s people normally. That was why this type of high ss feeling was fatal against him.

    Things like princesses, upper-ssdies, as long as their looks were about the same, these people were much more charming than the girls of the world of warriors.

    The crown princess slowly walked over. There seemed to be a bit of sweet fragrance lingering about the air. This type of smell was different from the perfumes of brothels, but rather a high ss smell. He couldn¡¯t describe it in detail, but it smelled like burning silver.

    King Qi¡¯s attention shifted as well. He looked at the crown princess. ¡°Linglong, why did you have the leisure to suddenly pay this ce a visit?¡±

    The crown princess was annoyed when she heard that he called her by her name and not the crown princess. He was clearly trying to exert pressure over her with his status as her senior. However, she didn¡¯t act out and only replied, ¡°I had Sir Zu take care of some matters, but he didn¡¯te back after so long. The pce has been rather restless after the assassins¡¯ attack, so I was worried that he might have been attacked by someone with ill intent. That was why I decided toe here for a visit.¡±

    Zu An felt warm inside. This woman acts fierce on the outside, but she¡¯s not so bad inside after all, huh?

    He saw Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun behind her as well. It was probably these fes who warned the crown princess. I¡¯ll take them to the government brothel once things calm down.

    Everyone from the Devil Sect was incredibly shocked inside. They didn¡¯t expect this young master Zu to already have so much status! Just how many days has it been since he entered the pce? Yet the Right Guard General was already calling him brother, and now the crown princess cared so much about him too.

    Gu Yueyi was incredibly jealous. Zu An is only a bit more handsome than me, so why do all these pretty girls like him so much?

    Junior sister is like this, and now even the crown princess is acting like this! How are the rest of us supposed to even live?

    King Qi remained expressionless. However, he obviously knew that the other party was hinting towards him. ¡°Sir Zu is someone who easily gains the favor of others after all. It¡¯s only been a few days, yet Linglong is already taking such good care of him.¡±

    The crown princess knew that the other party was implying that she was only doing this because he was handsome. She was furious and said coldly, ¡°I will take care of everyone who works earnestly for the crown prince¡¯s sake.¡±

    King Qi chuckled and didn¡¯t debate with her further on the topic. ¡°This king merely wanted to invite Zu An for a chat. Linglong won¡¯t mind, right?¡±

    The crown princess chuckled. ¡°King Qi, please feel at ease. I¡¯ll just be waiting right here.¡±

    She made it clear that she was watching, so he better not try anything.

    King Qiughed. He said to Zu An, ¡°Sir Zu, follow me.¡±

    Zu An bowed. ¡°King Qi, please.¡±

    King Qi nodded and walked towards the side on his own first.

    Zu An gestured towards Sun Luzhen and the others, indicating for them to leave right away.

    Sun Luzhen and the others weren¡¯t stupid. They quietly withdrew using this chance. Only Gu Yueyi gave the crown princess onest reluctant look.

    King Qi was already further away, and the crown princess¡¯ group was watching Zu An, so no one was looking at them.

    After walking a couple dozen meters, King Qi stopped by a rock garden. ¡°Let¡¯s talk here. Any further and Linglong will worry since she won¡¯t be able to see you.¡±

    Zu An replied in a standard manner, ¡°The crown princess empathizes with us subjects.¡±

    At the same time, he mocked inside, do you really have no understanding of yourself? The reason she is acting like this is because you killed without a second thought before.

    King Qi sized him up out of curiosity. ¡°Linglong has never cared so much about someone before. You¡¯re a first.¡±

    Zu An replied with silence. He suspected that the reason he said these words was to make him produce unnecessary delusions about the crown princess. If the crown princess actually fell in love with him, then that would be too great.

    King Qi continued, ¡°I heard that the Chu n¡¯s first miss took you in as a drafted son-inw. I am quite surprised, as I¡¯ve met that girl before. It isn¡¯t going too far to call her a stunning talent. Everyone in the capital was wondering just who this outstanding girl was going to marry. When they learned that she was going to marry you, their eyes almost fell out of their sockets. I even found it quite surprising myself. But now that even the crown princess cares so much about you, it seems like there really is something special about you.¡±

    Zu An revealed an embarrassed expression. ¡°I¡¯m really not as great as King Qi is making me out to be. Maybe I am a bit handsome, I¡¯m pretty cool too I guess, and I am loyal, upstanding¡­ The rest isn¡¯t worth talking about, since I can¡¯tpare to King Qi at all.¡±

    King Qi¡¯s eyelids twitched. For some reason, he really wanted to give this brat a beating whenever he spoke to him.

    You have sessfully trolled King Qi for +213 +213 +213¡­

    He took a deep breath and suppressed the urges he felt inside, wisely choosing to change the topic. ¡°What does Sir Zu think about the Cheng Xiong case?¡±

    Zu An feigned naivety. ¡°It hasn¡¯t been long since I arrived at the capital, and I am merely a trivial small official. The amount of information I have ess to is very limited. I really do not know the details of Sir Cheng¡¯s case at all.¡±

    King Qi couldn¡¯t help but give him another look. There was something this shameless in this world?

    If it wasn¡¯t because the crown princess was watching nearby, he might just smack this kid dead.

    You have sessfully trolled King Qi for +300 +300 +300¡­

    Even though he was usually shrewd and careful, he was really annoyed after experiencing this type of situation again and again. He said coldly, ¡°ording to what I know, it was only after those assassins met with Sir Zu that they decided to implicate General Cheng.¡±

    Zu An was rmed. This man¡¯s sources ran deep, he had eyes even in the imperial prison.

    He replied without batting an eyelid, ¡°King Qi should know who the one who wanted to bring down General Cheng really is. I am but a small figure. How could I affect the greater situation on my own?¡±

    King Qi gave him a look of surprise. ¡°You¡¯re quite daring. You dare to even say something like that.¡±

    Zu An spoke with an honest face, ¡°In front of King Qi, how could I dare to hide anything?¡±

    King Qi smiled ambiguously. ¡°Is that really true?¡±

    Zu An pped his own chest in assurance. ¡°Of course it is! Heaven and earth can serve as witnesses.¡±

    ¡°Fine then. I just happen to have something I want to ask you about.¡± King Qi stared into his eyes. ¡°Can the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra truly grant eternal life?¡±

    Zu An revealed a forced smile. ¡°His majesty has already informed the world. There is no need for King Qi to ask me.¡±

    King Qi said coldly. ¡°I am asking you to speak right now.¡±

    Zu An immediately replied. ¡°His majesty obviously cannot obtain eternal life through this technique.¡±

    As for whether or not I can, I didn¡¯t say anything about that.

    When he heard the sincerity and assurance in his voice, King Qi was surprised. ¡°Do you know that you might have justmitted a capital offense if these words reach his majesty¡¯s ears?¡±

    Zu An revealed a forced smile and said, ¡°King Qi is such a renown and wise sage. I believe you will not trouble me over such things.¡±

    King Qi chuckled and gently patted his shoulder. ¡°You have some prospects, kid. I am optimistic about you.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed. His eyes looked at his shoulder. Don¡¯t tell me this is some bone melting palm or something, right? I won¡¯t even know how I died if a grandmaster wanted to kill me.

    ¡°Hurry and go back. Linglong is already starting to panic.¡± King Qi said with a smile.

    ¡°Thank you, King Qi.¡± Zu An hurriedly left. The pressure he faced when being around this type of person was just too great.

    When he saw that Zu An was far away, a finger appeared a zhang behind King Qi. King Qi¡¯s smile instantly vanished. ¡°Help me look into two things. The first is why the emperor would ask for Liu Chenyu, and the second is to help me keep an eye on Golden Token Eleven. For some reason, I feel like he and Zu An are the same person. The timing for these two¡¯s appearance is a bit too odd.¡±

    The one in the shadows replied, ¡°Understood!¡±

 Chapter 668: Guiding Light

    <h4>Chapter 668: Guiding Light</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    King Qi looked at Zu An¡¯s figure. A Golden Token Eleven suddenly appeared as soon as he arrived at the capital. After all, all these years, the Embroidered Envoy always only had ten golden token members and they were selected after strict requirements. This Golden Token Eleven seemed to havee out of thin air. He couldn¡¯t even find out anything about him even with his informationwork.

    Furthermore, after Cheng Xiong¡¯s case erupted, he looked into this matter and saw that Cheng Xiong previously suspected Golden Token Eleven. Then, after Zu An entered the imperial prison, those assassins immediately changed what they were saying. Their confessions were thest straw that took down Cheng Xiong.

    Even though he didn¡¯t think that it was too likely, he still had someone look into it in private just in case.

    He was thinking about the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra as well. Even though Zu An said that it didn¡¯t grant immortality, he definitely wouldn¡¯t believe him so easily. The only way he would be sure was if he grabbed a copy and took a look at it himself.

    The reason he called Zu An over was precisely to get the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra out of him. However, after several meetings with him, he understood well that Zu An wasn¡¯t someone easy to deal with. Furthermore, with the crown princess sheltering him like this, he couldn¡¯t go too far, or else he¡¯ll incur the emperor¡¯s dissatisfaction.

    Then how was he going to get the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra out of him?

    King Qi suddenly thought of something. He recovered his usualposure again.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, the crown princess saw that Zu An returned. She quickly walked over and said with a quiet voice, ¡°Did King Qi do anything to you?¡±

    Zu An said with a bitter expression, ¡°Do you think King Qi is the type who will pat you on the shoulder and it seems like nothing much, but a few dayster, all of your blood vessels will explode?¡±

    The crown princess was stunned. She subconsciously replied, ¡°He is a grandmaster, so he probably can do that¡­¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression became even more ugly when he heard what she said.

    ¡°Did King Qi make things difficult for you?¡± The crown princess'' face changed as well.

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°He didn¡¯t, he only asked me some questions.¡±

    There were many things that wouldn¡¯t help even if he told her. Would she get revenge on King Qi for him?

    But he still expressed his gratitude. ¡°Thank you, crown princess, for saving me. If you didn¡¯t show up, I might have been finished today.¡±

    Regardless of whether it was the Devil Sect¡¯s assassins being exposed or King Qi¡¯s questioning, both would lead to a bad ending.

    The crown princess voiced her approval. ¡°You don¡¯t need to think too much about it either. I am not doing this specially to save you. If it was any other subordinate who was loyal to the crown prince, I would do my best to save him too.¡±

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but chuckle. King Qi¡¯s earlier words were already effective. This woman was scared that he would have any unrealistic expectations about her.

    He said with a smile, ¡°The crown princess empathizes with the officials. We all understand.¡±

    The crown princess nodded. ¡°We¡¯re heading back to the eastern pce before King Qi finds you alone and seizes you again.¡±

    Zu An was rather troubled. ¡°I won¡¯t be going back with the crown princess. I still have some matters I haven¡¯t finished taking care of.¡±

    He had to clean up the imperial pce¡¯s side, or else everyone would start suspecting him.

    ¡°What else do you need to take care of?¡± The crown princess was curious.

    Zu An thought for a bit, and then he said, ¡°His majesty requested something of me.¡± He wasn¡¯t entirely lying. Infiltrating the Devil Sect was what the emperor ordered of him, right? Even if he found out afterwards, he didn¡¯t have to worry about it.

    The crown princess was quite surprised. She gave him a few more looks. This kid gained his majesty¡¯s favor too?

    Yup, I do need to do my best to rope him in.

    ¡­

    When the crown princess¡¯ group left, Zu An pulled Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun behind. ¡°I won¡¯t thank you guys since we¡¯re bros. We¡¯ll go to the government brothel when there¡¯s some free time, my treat.¡±

    Piao Duandiao¡¯s eyes that were covered in dark circles lit up. He said with augh, ¡°Sounds good!¡±

    Even though his back was already about to break from how often he visited that ce, if someone else was paying, why would he refuse?

    Jiao Sigun couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°This is where you¡¯re wrong. Since you already said that there is no need for thanks, then why are you inviting us to¡­¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Piao Duandiao cut him off before he even finished his sentence. ¡°All you need to say is whether you want to go or not!¡±

    Jiao Sigun seemed conflicted, but in the end he still couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°I want to!¡±

    ¡°If you want to, then just shut up.¡± Piao Duandiao smacked him in the back of the head, and then he smiled towards Zu An. ¡°Then it¡¯s decided! We¡¯ll meet up when we have some free time.¡±

    Zu An chuckled. It was as if he was back with those friends of his from his past world¡­ Pah, was I this type of person before?

    When he saw that there was no one around him, he quickly went back inside the imperial prison. He had to somehow wake up those jailers, and then pretend to have just woken up as well.

    Those jailers blinked their eyes when they saw that the prisoners were gone. All of them began to panic.

    ¡°This is a n eradicating sin¡­¡±

    All of them mumbled to themselves. The leader quickly rushed over to sound the rm.

    Zu An grabbed him. ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    That jailer quickly said, ¡°Obviously contacting the other imperial guards to search for the criminals.¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°Are you sure that¡¯s what you want to do? Once this gets out of hand, then all of your possessions will be confiscated and your entire family will be eradicated!¡±

    ¡°But if we don¡¯t immediately issue a report, then it¡¯s the same result¡­¡± That prison head was sullen.

    Zu An said, ¡°All of us are responsible for the escape of the criminals today. None of us will be able to live once the higher ups issue me.¡±

    The prison head grabbed his clothes. ¡°Sir Zu is experienced and knowledgeable. Please tell us if you have any suggestions.¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°How about we send some people to see if the criminals have done anything yet?¡±

    The prison head was stunned. He quickly sent out some of his men to investigate. Soon afterwards, there was information that came back. ¡°The pce is peaceful. Nothing seems to have happened.¡±

    Zu An sighed in relief. Looks like Sun Luzhen and the others have already escaped.

    That prison head was confused. ¡°But how could that be? Why would the escaped prisoners not make any sounds?¡±

    ¡°I know!¡± Zu An pretended to have suddenly realized something and drew the prison head¡¯s attention. He pulled him to a corner and said, ¡°Do you remember those golden armored guards that just barged in?¡±

    Because of his conversation with King Qi, he found out that King Qi knew about the events of the prison. As such, there might be eyes in the prison. That was why he had to talk to this prison head privately to prevent more information from reaching King Qi¡¯s ears.

    ¡°Were there? I don¡¯t remember.¡± The prison leader scratched his head in confusion. His brain felt extremely foggy. He just couldn¡¯t remember.

    Zu An criticized some of the jailers and said, ¡°How can you remember nothing? They are King Qi¡¯s men. Your men tried to stop them from barging in, and then they were knocked out.¡±

    ¡°Huh? I think I remember a bit about what you are saying. I was pretty angry too. What happened afterwards¡­¡± The prison leader felt like his head was about to explode, yet he still couldn¡¯t figure anything else out.

    Zu An sighed. Worries Be Gone really could make one forget. However, it didn¡¯tpletely erase the memory, but rather broke up the memories into fragments. If there were enough reminders, they can still remember some things. That was why after telling them half-truths just now, the prison leader finally remembered that King Qi¡¯s men came.

    He continued and said, ¡°Who do you think could possibly rescue these criminals in such a crazy way, furthermore not rm any of the guards?¡±

    That prison head was rmed. ¡°Are you talking about King Qi?¡±

    He remembered that these criminals insisted that they were working for King Qi as well. Could it be that King Qi was saving his own people? Or perhaps he was silencing them?

    Zu An immediately took a step back. ¡°You said that, not me.¡±

    That jailer jumped in fright and quickly said, ¡°I¡­ I was only specting! I don¡¯t dare to nder King Qi.¡±

    Zu An walked over and put his arm around this jailer¡¯s mouth. ¡°We¡¯re all bound to the same ship now. Since King Qi rescued those people, we don¡¯t need to make this a public affair. Let¡¯s just secretly report this. The higher ups will deal with it how it should be dealt with.¡±

    The prison head hesitated. ¡°But we will still be punished for our negligence¡­¡±

    ¡°Are you stupid? Think about who the other party is for a minute! It¡¯s freaking King Qi, his majesty¡¯s own brother! Would his majesty really investigate him over this matter? This matter will definitely remain unsettled indefinitely. Since no one is going to investigate, then we haven¡¯tmitted any crimes.¡± Zu An exined.

    The prison head¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Sir Zu is the guiding light that shows us the way! If it wasn¡¯t for Sir Zu, all of us would have been dead many times over.¡±

    Zu An had a gloomy look on his face. Is this how a guiding light is supposed to be used?

    But he still warned repeatedly, ¡°This matter is extremely important, so do not tell anyone else about it. The more mouths, the more things get out of hand. Once the court¡¯s nobles find out, it¡¯ll be a bloodbath. At that point, his majesty cannot keep the peace even if he wants to and we¡¯ll be done for.¡±

    The prison head patted his chest and said, ¡°Of course I know that! Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t tell anyone about those things. As for my fes over there, I have a way to shut their mouths too.¡±

    ¡°Then that¡¯s good.¡± Zu An left the imperial prison in a better mood. The only thing left to take care of now is bringing Yun Jianyue out of the pce.

    Sigh, to be honest, I really want to keep living with incredible beauty¡­

    While he was feeling some regret, he suddenly felt something and looked behind him. Unfortunately, there was no one there.

    Is there someone following me? Or was that just me being paranoid?

 Chapter 669: Two Faces

    <h4>Chapter 669: Two Faces</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An felt quite restless. Danger lurked around every corner, so he didn¡¯t dare to act carelessly.

    Even though his cultivation was quite high now, in a ce like the imperial pce, there were too many people who were stronger than him. Furthermore, there were many techniques to hide one¡¯s traces in this world. It wasn¡¯t surprising at all if he couldn¡¯t sense the other party¡¯s aura.

    As such, he quickly used the jade badge tomunicate with the nearby little creatures. His line of sight expanded to over ten zhang around him through their eyes.

    Apart from the patrolling guards, there was no one else¡­

    Hold on¡­ Zu An suddenly noticed someone familiar around the corner a few zhang out. It was a chubby and pale eunuch.

    ¡°It¡¯s him?¡± Zu An frowned. This person was precisely Eunuch Wen who served at the emperor¡¯s side.

    Normally, Eunuch Wen was always smiling regardless of who he was around. Together with how chubby he was, he naturally gave off a friendly feeling. His current expression was overcast,pletely different from his previous amicable feeling.

    Was this his true self?

    Zu An shivered. He really was tricked by this guy¡¯s smiling face before.

    He thought that it might have been King Qi who sent someone after him after suffering a lossst time. He didn¡¯t expect it to be someone on the emperor¡¯s side.

    Did the emperor always have someone tail me?

    That doesn¡¯t seem right¡­ With the emperor¡¯s divine will, he doesn¡¯t need anyone to tail him. Furthermore, this feeling only appeared recently, probably right after he offended King Qi. Hm? Is Eunuch Wen one of King Qi¡¯s men?

    Zu An immediately jumped in fright as soon as this thought emerged in his mind. After all, Eunuch Wen was someone who served at the emperor¡¯s very side! If even he was bought out by King Qi, then it was easy to see just how terrifying King Qi was.

    But didn¡¯t this make the emperor seem a bit stupid? With how powerful he was, would he really bepletely oblivious to the fact that those at his side were bribed? That shouldn''t be, right?

    But he recalled the shows from his past world. The more unlikely it was, the more deadly¡­

    All types of thoughts rushed to his head. His head was all over the ce.

    Eunuch Wen was sorting out his clothes from the other side of the corner, and then he rubbed his chubby face. The smile he was used to seeing returned to his face.

    He looked at Zu An with a look of pleasant surprise when he turned the corner. ¡°Sir Zu, I was looking for you.¡±

    Zu An forced out a smile. After knowing that this person had two faces, it really was hard for him to act with as much ease as before. ¡°So it was Eunuch Wen! Is there anything you need from me?¡±

    Eunuch Wen said with a smile, ¡°His majesty wishes to meet with you. Sir Zu, pleasee with me to the imperial study.¡±

    Even though the sun was hanging bright up in the sky, when he saw this eunuch¡¯s smile, Zu An still couldn¡¯t help but shiver. ¡°I¡¯ve troubled you. I¡¯ll go over right now.¡±

    ¡°Sir Zu, please!¡± Eunuch Wen said with a smile.

    Zu An bowed, and then he followed this man to the imperial study.

    After meeting with the emperor again and again, he was now no longer as scared as before.

    Either way, the emperor still had many things he needed Zu An to take care of. He¡¯ll use his political tricks to scare him a few times at most, he wouldn¡¯t really harm him.

    It was instead this Eunuch Wen who hid behind his smile that he felt was hard to deal with.

    Should he bring this up to the emperorter and find out if this guy really was working for King Qi or not?

    But Zu An immediately cut this thought short as soon as it appeared.

    If Eunuch Wen was sent by the emperor to monitor him, then he would instead be the one being exposed.

    Even if there really was something wrong with Eunuch Wen, I have no proof. Now really isn¡¯t the time to say strange things and ruin my rtionship with the emperor. This man has served the emperor for so long, so he¡¯ll definitely trust him more.

    It¡¯ll be really bad once Eunuch Wen gets revenge.

    It¡¯s better if I don¡¯t expose anything right now. Eunuch Wen doesn¡¯t know that I know his true side, so I am the one with the advantage. If I unmask him now, I¡¯ll instead lose this advantage in information.

    ¡°Sir Zu, is there something on your mind today?¡± Eunuch Wen asked with a chuckle, ¡°You seem much more quiet than usual.¡±

    Zu An shivered. Did he notice anything? He quickly smiled and exined, ¡°I can¡¯t help but feel a bit of rm when his majesty summons me.¡±

    ¡°So that was it.¡± Eunuch Wen felt relieved. ¡°Actually, there is no need for Sir Zu to feel too worried. His majesty¡¯s mood seems to be quite good today.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for letting me know.¡± Zu An gave him two more hundred tael silver notes. It was always better to appease this type of cunning fe first.

    Eunuch Wen¡¯s smile became even bigger when he saw the silver notes. His eyes were about to turn into slits.

    ¡­

    When they arrived at the imperial study, Eunuch Wen waited outside. When Zu An walked in, the emperor was currently reading a book on his dragon throne. His expression seemed quite rxed.

    ¡°I pay my respects to your majesty.¡± Zu An greeted him.

    The emperor voiced his reply. A whileter, he lowered the book and said, ¡°You already released the assassins in the imperial prison?¡±

    ¡°I am fortunate to have not disappointed his majesty with this task.¡± Zu An cursed inside, aren¡¯t you asking a question you already know the answer to? Your freaking divine will even swept by.

    The emperor nodded in satisfaction. ¡°Does the Devil Sect suspect anything?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so, I pushed all of the me onto King Qi¡­¡± Then, he told the emperor what happened while leaving out only a bit.

    ¡°You are quite sharp. Now, those people in the imperial prison won¡¯t suspect anything, and no news will get out.¡± The emperor smiled. This kid from the streets is much better than those well studied children of nobles! I don¡¯t think there are many others who could take care of this matter as cleanly as he did.

    Zu An quickly replied, ¡°However, I ended up identally bumping into King Qi when I left the imperial prison. Back then, he was suspicious of those assassins that were disguised as imperial guards. In a moment of desperation, I could only say that the guard leader Liu Chenyu was called over by your respected self¡­¡±

    The emperorughed out loud. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that resourceful little bro of mine to bepletely fooled by a kid like you.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An¡¯s expression grew strange. He knew that the two of them were brothers. The emperor was the older brother, while King Qi was the younger, making him number two. However, calling him little bro just sounded so weird.[1]

    He didn¡¯t want to draw any suspicion and quickly said, ¡°I¡¯m only clever in trivial matters. King Qi was only tricked because of his carelessness. Once he looks into it, he will know that I was lying.¡±

    He had a worried look on his face when he said this.

    Sigh, I¡¯ve hung out with these old foxes for so long that I¡¯m about to be one myself.

    The emperor waved his hand and said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that, I will make some arrangements.¡±

    Zu An sighed. He was scared that King Qi would look into Liu Chengyu¡¯s whereabouts. Now that the emperor said he would take care of it, then there was definitely nothing to worry about anymore.

    The emperor remained quiet for a moment, and then he said, ¡°You¡¯ve now offended King Qi. How are you going toplete the first task that I have given you?¡±

    Zu An exined, ¡°King Qi is full of suspicion and incredibly shrewd. If I hand him the fake manual directly, he will instead be more suspicious. By doing the exact opposite and making him think that he obtained the manual through his own methods, things will go even more smoothly.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, not bad. What you say makes sense.¡± The emperor nodded. With his understanding of his little brother, he indeed did fit this description.

    Zu An suddenly thought of something and quickly said, ¡°Your majesty, I was patted three times by King Qi just now. I¡¯m worried that he might have used something like a bone melting palm treacherous technique on me, but I won¡¯t know anything immediately. Can you help me take a look? My life is so petty that I fear I will fail to carry out your majesty¡¯s mission!¡±

    The emperor was stunned. When he heard what Zu An said, only then did he react to what this bone melting palm was. He became serious as well. ¡°Come over and let this emperor take a look.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Zu An was overjoyed. With the number one expert helping him out, even if King Qi really did ce any restrictions on him, he could still easily deal with it.

    The emperor looked him over. Suddenly, he patted his body gently three times. ¡°It¡¯s done.¡±

    Zu An was overjoyed. ¡°Thank you, your majesty!¡±

    The emperor sneered and said, ¡°It¡¯s too early for you to be happy. King Qi doesn¡¯t know the restriction methods that you described, but I just happened to know them. You¡¯ve reminded me about it just now, so I set up some restrictions on your body. This way, you¡¯ll carry out the tasks I have assigned you with more care.¡±

    Zu An: ¡°???¡±

    1. The little bro here is ng for penis

 Chapter 670: Looming in the Shadows

    <h4>Chapter 670: Looming in the Shadows</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Goddammit! I shouldn¡¯t have said what I shouldn¡¯t have said!

    Zu An felt like an absolute fool. I¡¯m so stupid, I¡¯m so, so stupid. I¡¯ve met this emperor so many times already, but I still haven¡¯t figured out low his morals are!

    If he could receive his own Rage points, then it might be a string of 1024s right now.

    The emperor felt amazing when he saw Zu An¡¯s expression. With his status and cultivation, how long has it been since he felt like this?

    He coughed and said, ¡°But you don¡¯t need to worry too much. This seal won¡¯t activate for some time. As long as you do things well for me, then I will remove it for you after the matter.¡±

    Zu An furiously cursed this man in front of him. Like hell I¡¯ll believe your stupid ass! This guy is just too evil.

    He knew that even if hepleted those tasks, the emperor still wouldn¡¯t remove the seal so easily. He might have to do more things, all the way until he had no value left¡­

    However, he still pretended to be moved to tears on the surface. ¡°Thank you so much, your majesty!¡±

    The emperor nodded in satisfaction. He liked the feeling of having the lives and deaths of numerous people within his grasp. ¡°You can leave!¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± Zu An bowed respectfully, but he left with a stomach full of curses.

    When he passed through the entrance, Eunuch Wen nodded towards him with a smile. But in Zu An¡¯s eyes, this smile appeared especially sinister.

    Sigh, I wonder who this Eunuch Wen really is.

    A whileter, he frowned. The feeling of being tailed appeared again.

    He controlled the nearby little birds, but he didn¡¯t see anyone suspicious.

    Am I being paranoid?

    Zu An shook his head. He was under way too much pressure recently. He was even starting to wonder if he was developing paranoia.

    However, he still didn¡¯t dare to act careless. He made a few circles around the pce and changed the animals that were watching. He still didn¡¯t see anyone monitoring him.

    He sighed in relief and headed towards his Golden Token Eleven courtyard. He had to let Yun Jianyue know about Sun Luzhen¡¯s matters, and also help bring her out.

    Even though he didn¡¯t want to separate with a beauty like Yun Jianyue, the emperor was too dangerous. Once he found out, then he would really be dead. He didn¡¯t dare take any risks after the encounter he just had in the imperial study.

    Zu An almost felt like he wasing home when he saw the courtyard hidden in the forest. When he thought about how there was a woman waiting for him, the feeling was really good.

    However, when he remembered the feeling of being tailed, just to be sure, he didn¡¯t walk straight in and instead pretended to pass by from the side.

    After walking around for a while, he saw that there was nothing wrong. He was just about to head back when he heard Yun Jianyue¡¯s voice. ¡°Don¡¯t turn around. Someone¡¯s following you.¡±

    Zu An: ¡°???¡±

    There really was someone following him! Yun Jianyue was a grandmaster after all. Now that she recovered some of her strength, her senses were much sharper than his.

    ¡°Do you know who it is? Is it a fat eunuch?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°His hiding technique is extremely skilled. I haven¡¯t recovered from my injuries yet, so I do not know where exactly he is, nor can I see him. However, I know that he is there.¡± Yun Jianyue¡¯s voice was cold, yet carried a bit of elegant charm. It really was pleasant to listen to.

    But Zu An wasn¡¯t in the mood to enjoy anything at all. Instead, he felt goosebumps.

    After all, he already tried all different ways to find out who it was, yet he didn¡¯t see anything. It was easy to see just how formidable this person was.

    He had way too many secrets. Having a terrifying person like this monitoring him was frightening.

    ¡°How about we bait him out, and then we take him out together?¡± Zu An rejected this idea as soon as he proposed it. The emperor was overseeing the pce right now. He will immediately know if there was any activity. Once Yun Jianyue got involved, then the aura would be too obvious.

    ¡°I have a way. Wait a bit.¡± Yun Jianyue became quiet after saying this. Soon afterwards, the door creaked open.

    Zu An was stunned. What is going on?

    He turned around. He saw a masked golden token envoy walk out from inside.

    Was there another golden token envoy that entered my room? Zu An was shocked. However, he quickly realized that these were his clothes. It went without saying who this person was. No wonder Yun Jianyue asked for a set of his uniform before.

    Yun Jianyue was tall and slender. Together with how the uniform was designed to hide one¡¯s identity anyway, there was nothing strange at all when she pretended to be Golden Token Eleven.

    Zu An saw her walk around. He really didn¡¯t know how she was hiding that fat ass of hers. Furthermore, even though the clothes seemed like they were right, he couldn¡¯t see anything. However, this didn¡¯t stop Zu An from imagining her wonderful figure.

    The uniforms of golden token envoys were handsome to begin with, but they had always been worn by men. Now that a woman wore it, it added a different type of style.

    Was this the so-called uniform seduction? Like a female police officer?

    A bunch of thoughts passed by Zu An¡¯s head. However, he shook his head. Now was not the time to be thinking about these things.

    Zu An¡¯s mind moved quickly. He walked up and said, ¡°So it was Sir Eleven! Thank you for rescuing the crown prince and princessst time.¡±

    Yun Jianyue gave him a look, thinking to herself that this fe really was quite the actor. She replied impatiently with a low voice.

    WIth her experience, as long as she didn¡¯t speak too much, others wouldn¡¯t be able to tell that she wasn¡¯t a man.

    Zu An cupped his hands. ¡°Looks like sir has some matters to attend to. I won¡¯t disturb you then. Sir, please feel at ease.¡±

    Yun Jianyue nodded. Then, she walked in another direction.

    She spoke to him through voice transmission. ¡°I¡¯m going to walk around and see if I can find that person.¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°Head towards the pce gates. I already saved Sun Luzhen and the others. You should use this chance to leave as well.¡±

    Yun Jianyue was surprised and happy. She didn¡¯t expect him to have really saved them from the imperial prison! She was curious as to how he did it, but she knew that now wasn¡¯t the time. As such, she said with a bit of worry, ¡°But what will you do once I leave? There is an expert tailing you.¡±

    ¡°You won¡¯t be able to help me fight against him even if you stay.¡± Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, this is the imperial pce. With the emperor overseeing things, that mysterious expert won¡¯t dare to do anything. He¡¯ll only follow me for a while, and you¡¯re my biggest secret right now. Once you leave, I won¡¯t be scared of him following me.¡±

    When she heard him say that she was his biggest secret, Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression became strange. These words made her heart rate speed up for some reason. However, she quickly collected herself and said, ¡°Okay, I¡¯m leaving first. Let¡¯s find a chance to meet upter.¡±

    When he saw the two leave in separate directions, a figure slowly emerged in the shadows of arge tree.

    If there was someone who was watching this exact spot, their eyes might pop right out. There wasn¡¯t anyone in the shade of this tree before, and this person seemed to have crawled straight out of the shadows.

    ¡°Hm? There are two people. Looks like King Qi guessed wrong.¡± That person muttered. He looked left and right. He hesitated for a bit, and then in the end, he headed after Yun Jianyue.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s voice sounded by Zu An¡¯s ears. ¡°That person is following me.¡±

    Zu An was rmed. ¡°You need to be careful!¡±

    Meanwhile, he was quite confused. He thought that this person came after him, yet now, it didn¡¯t seem like it. What kind of background did this person have? What was he after?

    Yun Jianyue chuckled. ¡°The one who should be careful is him.¡±

    Zu An quickly realized something. Yun Jianyue was a grandmaster after all. Even after being injured, she was still a grandmaster. The one in the shadows thought that he was catching fish, but it was instead a huge shark that bit the bait.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The two got further and further away from each other. It already went beyond the range of ki transmission.

    Yun Jianyue could continue to transmit her voice, but the ki she had to use was greater. This would easily draw the emperor¡¯s attention, so there was no need to do so.

    Zu An continued to walk for a while. Then, he secretly turned around and followed her. He just didn¡¯t feel at ease if he didn¡¯t see Yun Jianyue leave the pce with his own eyes.

    Either way, that feeling of being followed was now gone, so he wasn¡¯t scared of being discovered.

    He followed her to the imperial pce¡¯s western gate. He saw that Yun Jianyue didn¡¯t walk too quickly or too slowly. His gait was just like that of an expert.

    ¡°I should make her wear these clothes again when there is a chance¡­¡± All types of perverted thoughts filled his mind. A stupid smile unknowingly appeared on his face.

    Yun Jianyue arrived at the gates. She showed his Golden Token Eleven waist tile, and then those imperial guards quickly let her through.

    Golden token envoys had tremendous status to begin with, and this one had just saved the crown prince and princess. He was a popr fe in the eastern pce. Who would want to offend someone like that?

    A beautiful voice sounded when she was just about to leave. ¡°Wait!¡±

    Yun Jianyue frowned. Zu An also cried out inint. Why did they have to run into her at this type of time?!

    The sounds of jewels nking sounded from not far away. A gorgeously dressed woman slowly walked over gracefully. Who else could this be but the crown princess?

 Chapter 671: Reincarnated Playboy

    <h4>Chapter 671: Reincarnated yboy</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An had a bit of a headache. What the hell is wrong with this crown princess? Why does she always pop up out of nowhere?

    This was going to be annoying. Even though there was nothing strange about Yun Jianyue from the outside, the crown princess was already quite familiar with Golden Token Eleven. She¡¯ll immediately notice that something is strange as soon as they talk.

    ¡°We greet the crown princess!¡± The guards near this gate all greeted her respectfully.

    The crown princess nodded in acknowledgement, her bearing elegant. Anyone who saw her right now would praise her for her etiquette, thinking that she was destined to be the empress of this world.

    She waved her hands, indicating for her subordinates to leave. Then, she walked up to Yun Jianyue and said, ¡°Sir Eleven, I didn¡¯t expect you to meet you here.¡±

    Yun Jianyue voiced her acknowledgement. She obviously knew that she would be exposed as soon as she spoke. She clearly heard how this crown princess acted when she was chatting with Golden Token Eleven outside the courtyard before. She seemed to care a lot about him after he saved herst time.

    She suddenly thought of something. Should she use this chance to seize her, or even capture her?

    The two of them were this close. She didn¡¯t even need to use grandmaster level strength.

    But she threw out that thought immediately afterwards. Not only was killing the crown princess alone meaningless, even if it had any significance, it would ce Zu An in danger. The other party helped her out so much, so how could she repay her benefactor like this?

    The crown princess didn¡¯t seem to mind this ¡®aloof¡¯ attitude Golden Token Eleven showed that much. On the contrary, there was a faint smile on her face. ¡°Sir Eleven, were you satisfied with the gift I gave youst time? If you need anything else, please let me know.¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Yun Jianyue was speechless. Didn¡¯t everyone say that the crown princess was proud and cold? Why was she so talkative today?

    Fortunately, the crown princess continued without waiting for her to reply. ¡°By the way, I heard that Concubine Bai invited Sir Eleven for a meeting as well. I wonder what kind of things she gave you? What is Sir Eleven¡¯s opinion of her?¡±

    The nearby maid Rong Mo looked at her master with a strange look. The crown princess never acted like this normally! She was always cold and aloof. This made many people even feel that she was a bit too fierce.

    Normally, if anyone else dared to act lovey-dovey like this, the crown princess would already be furious. However today, not only did she not get angry, she was full of smiles. She was also much more talkative than usual. Did she really have some other thoughts towards Sir Eleven?

    She was frightened as soon as this thought appeared in her mind. She immediately told herself that this was absolute nonsense. As the crown princess¡¯ maid, she knew the crown princess¡¯ temperament. She would never do something that would disgrace her n. Furthermore, the crown princess was a strong and ambitious woman. What she needed was authority. This was something only the crown prince and her current identity could give her. She definitely would not act recklessly.

    She¡¯s definitely just grateful that Sir Eleven saved her.

    When she remembered the situation they were in, and then how Golden Token Eleven seemed to have descended from the heavens itself, Rong Mo nodded to herself. Putting everything else aside, Sir Eleven really was quite handsome back then.

    Yun Jianyue looked at the smiling crown princess in front of her. She had an ambiguous smile on her face. As a woman, she could clearly sense the good intentions the crown princess had towards Zu An.

    She didn¡¯t expect Honglei to have this type of rival in love¡­

    Pah! When did I agree to Honglei and his affair?

    Honglei can¡¯t even sleep with him, so it¡¯s better to get the pain over with quickly and use this as a chance to end her feelings so it doesn¡¯t end up affecting her cultivation.

    I¡¯ll just find another way to make it up to Zu An for what he did for the Holy Sect.

    Though I have to say¡­ this kid really must be the reincarnation of some crazy yboy. Just how many days has it been since he entered the pce, yet the crown princess is already crazy about him?

    No wonder the disciple I raised with so much care was done in by this brat too.

    While her thoughts were all over the ce, the crown princess who didn¡¯t receive any reply for a long time was finally a bit confused. ¡°Sir Eleven, why aren¡¯t you saying anything?¡±

    Yun Jianyue began to panic. She sensed that the mysterious pursuer was nearby. Once she said something, Zu An would be in danger.

    Zu An¡¯s voice sounded by her ear through voice transmission at this time. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, leave it to me.¡±

    Immediately afterwards, he said to the crown princess, ¡°Crown princess, please forgive me. Concubine Bai¡¯s status is special, so it isn¡¯t someone a mere subject like me can talk about.¡±

    Yun Jianyue was wearing a mask. The crown princess¡¯ cultivation wasn¡¯t high enough, so she couldn¡¯t tell who it was that was sending the voice transmission.

    ¡°Her status is special?¡± The crown princess sneered, clearly a bit unsatisfied when she heard this. ¡°That woman might not be good at anything else, but she really is pretty good at putting on that pitiful act.¡±

    Yun Jianyue was shocked, because this was a voice transmission. She didn¡¯t know what Zu An was saying. From what the crown princess was saying, was she talking about Concubine Bai?

    But the crown princess quickly reacted and said apologetically, ¡°I apologize, I lost myposure for a moment. I¡¯ve let Sir Eleven see a poor side of me.¡±

    Yun Jianyue shook her head, indicating that it was fine.

    Zu An thought to himself that the crown princess¡¯ resentment towards Concubine Bai was quite deep! Is it because she felt that by giving birth to the crown prince¡¯s son, she gave her a feeling of danger?

    But now wasn¡¯t the time to worry about these things. He was worried that Yun Jianyue would eventually be exposed if they continued to chat like this, so he decided to just go on the offensive. ¡°The crown princess does not need to worry about my opinion of Concubine Bai. Could it be that you are jealous?¡±

    The crown princess¡¯ face immediately turned entirely red. She gave Yun Jianyue a fierce look. ¡°Pervert!¡±

    She stormed off with a huff. But from how she was leaving in such a hurry, it looked more like she was skipping.

    Rong Mo and the others were shocked when they saw this and quickly rushed over. They wanted to ask about what happened, yet the crown princess didn¡¯t say a single word, so they didn¡¯t dare to ask anything. They could only quickly follow behind her.

    Yun Jianyue had a strange expression on her face. Why did the crown princess look like she pretended to be displeased?

    She couldn¡¯t help but ask Zu An, ¡°What did you just tell her?¡±

    Zu An harrumphed in annoyance. ¡°Hurry up and use this chance to leave. Is now the time for gossip?¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s face heated up. She also felt like her behavior was a bit inexcusable. She voiced her agreement and left.

    Her voice was transmitted back soon afterwards. ¡°That person seems to have followed me out of the pce.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°I didn¡¯t see anyone else leave the pce?¡±

    He was paying close attention to the situation the entire time. Apart from Yun Jianyue, there was no one else who passed by the pce gate.

    Yun Jianyue remained silent for a moment, and then she said, ¡°I know what it is now. There are some ns with special hiding abilities, for example, the dark elves who can move through shadows. This individual is probably using something simr.¡±

    Zu An said with worry, ¡°Then I¡¯lle out and help you!¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need. I¡¯ll find a chance to get rid of him when there is a chance once I get out of here.¡± Yun Jianyue was back to her domineering sect master self.

    ¡°Then you have to be careful!¡± Zu An thought to himself that this made sense. Once she left the pce, she didn¡¯t have to be so worried about the emperor¡¯s divine will. Dealing with a hidden assassin wasn¡¯t too difficult. If he went out, it would instead easily expose his connection with Golden Token Eleven.

    Zu An returned to the eastern pce to report to the crown princess after leaving the gate. When he walked towards the eastern pce gate, he saw that the crown prince was ying go with some lesser eunuchs.

    Little He and Little Xu looked absolutely miserable. They were being abused by the big fatty right now.

    The crown prince was extremely happy when he saw Zu Ane over. ¡°Come here,e here! These dummies don¡¯t even know how to y go.¡±

    Little He and Little Xu both cursed inside. Like hell we¡¯ll know how to y! If we knew, why would we be eunuchs?

    In this age, go was a game of ss. It was something only nobles and wealthy families knew.

    ¡°Go?¡± Zu An gave him a confused look. Is this fe¡¯s intelligence great enough to y such aplicated game?

    I can¡¯t even y well with my smarts.

    ¡°The crown prince knows how to y go?¡± He couldn¡¯t help but ask.

    The fatty¡¯s face fell. ¡°That¡¯s why I want you to teach me! Whatever, if you don¡¯t teach me, then I¡¯m going to have them send you to the castration room.¡±

    Zu An: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    This damn fatty really was annoying sometimes!

    The eunuchs gave him a look of sympathy. They had no idea what was up with the crown prince so suddenly today. He suddenly insisted on learning how to y go! Forget about them knowing how to y, even if they did know, teaching this crown prince would be an impossible task.

    The crown prince gave Zu An a look. ¡°What are you staring nkly for? Do you not know?¡±

    Zu An coughed and said, ¡°Isn¡¯t it just go? This is but a simple matter.¡±

 Chapter 672: I Have a Friend

    <h4>Chapter 672: I Have a Friend</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Little He and Little Xu were skeptical when they heard what he said. This fe is bragging, right? The lesser tutor taught the crown prince many things before. Forget about the crown prince not being able to learn anything, not even they who were watching from the side could figure anything out.

    The crown princess was known for her intelligence. She even gave the crown prince some sses in private, yet he still didn¡¯t learn anything. She was so upset she wasn¡¯t willing to teach the crown prince anything anymore.

    Where the heck did this fe get his confidence from? And he said that it¡¯s easy?

    Zu An sat down across from the crown prince. He picked up the chessboard and the pieces. Then, he began to exin the rules.

    ¡°Huh? So I just need to connect five in a row to win? That¡¯s so easy! Those fes are acting all high and mighty, so I almost thought that it was a really hard game.¡± The crown prince was excited and looked like he was a genius.

    However, he was soon utterly crushed by Zu An. He couldn¡¯t continue this and said, ¡°Enough, enough, you should do what you have to do for now. Little He,e and y with me.¡±

    Little He and Little Xu were stunned as well. They thought to themselves, so go was this easy? They learned it pretty quickly as well. However, they didn¡¯t dare to y so mercilessly like Zu An. They secretly threw the games, and soon afterwards, the crown prince was smiling from ear to ear.[1]

    While they were busy with what they were doing, Zu An used this chance to head into the inner room to pay the crown princess a visit.

    The crown princess was sitting in front of a mirror and grooming herself. She pressed the back of her hands against her cheeks, as if she was checking to see how hot her face was.

    She immediately put away her ¡®youngdy yearning for love¡¯ act. With a light cough, she recovered her usual dignified appearance. ¡°What is the crown prince doing outside that¡¯s so noisy?¡±

    ¡°Ah, they¡¯re ying go outside.¡± Zu An added inwardly, the simplified version five-in-a-row.

    ¡°Go?¡± The crown princess harrumphed. She clearly remembered something unpleasant.

    She didn¡¯t feel like wasting any attention on the crown prince and asked, ¡°What do you need?¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°I didn¡¯t get any new information when I went to the imperial prison.¡±

    He didn¡¯t dare to tell her about King Qi ¡®rescuing¡¯ the prisoners, or else she would use this chance tounch an attack on King Qi¡¯s faction in the court. That would create a huge uproar, and then things would developpletely differently from how he wanted them to.

    The crown princess voiced her agreement. She clearly didn¡¯t ce much hope on this matter either.

    ¡°By the way, why did the emperor suddenly summon you?¡± The crown princess couldn¡¯t help but ask. From her perspective, she really couldn¡¯t figure out what the emperor needed him for.

    Zu An replied, ¡°His majesty heard that King Qi summoned me, so he called me over to tell me to do my utmost in helping the crown prince and princess.¡±

    The crown princess was startled. ¡°Is that really what his majesty said?¡±

    ¡°How could I dare lie to you?¡± Zu An replied. ¡°Actually, even if his majesty didn¡¯t say that, I would still strive to do my utmost until my dying day.¡±

    ¡°Strive your utmost until your dying day¡­¡± The crown princess repeated what he said. She didn¡¯t expect this person to have some talent in literature as well. Looks like I really did look down on him before. However, she wasn¡¯t the gullible sort. Instead, her eyes were bright as she stared at him. ¡°Why would you go this far?¡±

    Zu An looked straight into her eyes without evading them at all. ¡°Of course, it is because of the crown princess¡­¡±

    The crown princess¡¯ expression suddenly changed when she heard what he said. However, she heard him continue to say, ¡°Because of the crown princess protecting me from King Qi earlier. Even though I haven¡¯t studied for many years, I know how to repay gratitude. I will definitely do my best to help the crown princess.¡±

    The crown princess felt relieved and said, ¡°It¡¯s rare to see loyalty like yours. As long as you continue to work well for the eastern pce, both me and the crown prince will not treat you unfairly.¡±

    She didn¡¯t know why, but this man¡¯s style of speaking was a bit simr to Sir Eleven. However, she immediately tossed away the thought. How is that even possible? The two of them were just too different!

    She felt her heart thumping as soon as she remembered Sir Eleven. Why did he say something like that?

    Could it be that he was teasing me?

    But how could he dare? I am a glorious crown princess! He is an Embroidered Envoy who protects the royal family¡­ How could he¡­

    Maybe I¡¯m overthinking things? Maybe that¡¯s not what he meant?

    She quickly stopped Zu An when she thought of this. ¡°Wait!¡±

    Zu An turned around and looked at her in confusion.

    The crown princess¡¯ cheeks turned red. ¡°I have a friend. There¡¯s a problem that she just couldn¡¯t figure out all this time, so I want to ask Sir Zu for advice.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. What is this woman going to ask me? ¡°Please speak your mind, crown princess.¡±

    But how could he know that this wasn¡¯t a problem the crown princess could ask those by her side, that she would experience absolute social death if she did so? Furthermore, the only ones around her were the eunuchs and maids. The only one who she could maybe talk to was an idiot. She didn¡¯t have anyone else to talk to! On the contrary, Zu An wasn¡¯t that close with her, and he came from amon background as well. He might be able to offer her a different perspective.

    The crown princess paused for a moment, as if she was considering her words. ¡°That friend of mine, it¡¯s really my friend!¡­¡± As if she was scared that he wouldn¡¯t believe her, she looked into his eyes and emphasized this point.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but chuckle. ¡°Enough, enough. I know that it¡¯s definitely not you, crown princess.¡±

    The crown princess¡¯ face flushed red. She continued, ¡°She knows a man, and she has a great impression of this man. However, one day, that man suddenly said to me¡­ Ahem, he said some weird things to my friend. I do not know what he is trying to say at all.¡±

    Zu An realized something. ¡°That person said something strange to you¡­ to your friend?¡±

    ¡°Yes¡­ yes¡­¡± The crown princess was a bit hesitant.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    However, she still told him what Golden Token Eleven said. Then, she added, ¡°My friend¡¯s status is special, so she doesn¡¯t have any chance of being with that man. He knows this as well, but he still said what he said. How can he say something like that?¡±

    Zu An had a strange look on his face. He didn¡¯t expect the words he spoke to help Yun Jianyue out of her predicament to have left this woman so troubled. He could only exin and say, ¡°Maybe that man is just like that. He likes to speak casually and didn¡¯t mean anything more by it. Those words didn¡¯t mean anything else.¡±

    But the crown princess instead immediately stared at him and said, ¡°Nonsense! That man is mature and steadfast! Do you think that he is as frivolous as you?¡±

    Zu An was speechless. I guess once you fall for someone, you see them out of rose-tinted lens. You¡¯ll only think good things about that person. He couldn¡¯t help but say with a mysterious smile, ¡°Looks like the crown princess is quite familiar with this person.¡±

    The crown princess¡¯ heart rate immediately quickened when she heard what he said. She realized that her current appearance was quite unsuitable. She quickly added, ¡°My friend told me all of these things.¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t expose her and said, ¡°Perhaps that person has some good opinion of you¡­ towards your friend. Even though he knows that there is no chance of anything happening, he was so helpless that he couldn¡¯t hold himself back. That was why he ended up saying something so ambiguous to you¡­ to your friend to express his love?¡±

    As a sessful sea king, regardless of whether they are useful or not, as long as the fish is pretty, he would bring them into his side of the sea first.[2]

    ¡°Ah?¡± The crown princess¡¯ lips changed into an O shape. Her heart began to pound. Could it be that this was what Sir Eleven meant?

    But¡­ but our identities¡­ how can we¡­

    When she first met the crown prince, she thought that he was just a bit slow. She tried all different ways to teach him and change him, yet he remained an idiot throughout the entire process. After trying again and again, she finally gave up in the end.

    She married the crown prince mainly for her family. Neither side felt anything for each other. When she saw that he couldn¡¯t be molded in any way, her heart already became stone cold.

    However, this stone cold heart was now beating fiercely. She felt full of energy, as if she was full of anticipation for every moment.

    Is this the power of love? She was so frightened by this thought that her red face turned deathly white. She killed this thought and then looked at Zu An. ¡°My friend¡¯s identity is special, so you cannot tell anyone about this. Otherwise, you won¡¯t be able to handle the consequences if she mes you.¡±

    Zu An forced a smile. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I don¡¯t have a loose tongue.¡±

    He wondered to himself, if the day came when this woman knew about his real identity, would she be so embarrassed that she would stomp out three bedrooms and a living room on the ground.

    This scene was really something worth looking forward to.

    1. The game of go is much moreplex. Instead, most people will y connect five using the ck and white pieces, including me when I was younger with my parents.

    2. Sea king is ng for fboi

 Chapter 673: No Meaning Left

    <h4>Chapter 673: No Meaning Left</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Alright, you can leave now.¡± The crown princess waved her hand. Her head was all over the ce right now so she needed to be alone.

    Zu An cupped his hands and left. Outside, the crown prince was currently having the time of his life beating the two lesser eunuchs.

    When he saw how into it the eunuchs looked in this battle between noobs, he sighed in admiration. This was just a small eastern pce, yet there were two oscar worthy actors right here.

    When he saw that it was already getting dark, he found Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun. ¡°Are you guys off yet? If you¡¯re done, then let¡¯s go!¡±

    ¡°Off?¡± The two were stunned, but they could guess what this meant. They both looked excited. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±

    Even though none of them said where they were going, any man would understand from how they were gesturing towards each other.

    Zu An was, obviously, not that excited about the government brothel. The girls at his side were prettier than even the courtesan queens, so why did he need to y around in that type of ce?

    He did this mainly to find Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei. He wanted to see if they already made it out safely. Furthermore, he wanted to ask Yun Jianyue about the one who had been tailing them before.

    The Devil Sect¡¯s base of operations was located in the government brothel. Even though it experienced the Cheng Gang disturbance, that was something they did set up deliberately. They already made preparations beforehand and only gave up some resources to look the part. That was why the court didn¡¯t didn¡¯t end up endangering their real base there.

    Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun saved him from King Qi by informing the crown princess. This was a gratitude he had to repay. This visit was also a good excuse to hide his real objective.

    ¡°Big bro Zu, a night in the government brothel is practically half a month of sry for us. It hasn¡¯t been that long since you¡¯ve entered the capital, so you haven¡¯t gotten paid yet, right? How about wee back next month?¡± After his initial excitement passed, Piao Duandiao realized this and asked out of consideration.

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s fine, I can at least pay for a single night in the government brothel.¡±

    This fe was already calling him big bro! This guy was easy to get along with after all.

    Piao Duandiao¡¯s eyes immediately lit up. His dark circles also became more obvious. ¡°Big Bro Zu is really generous! I heard that there were a few new courtesan queens in the government brothel. Let¡¯s visit one of them today.¡±

    Jiao Sigun sneered. ¡°Who was the oneining about waist pain and looking for stimtion medicine everywhere? Will you even be able to get it up even if there was a courtesan queen right in front of you?¡±

    Piao Duandiao was furious, but his expressioncked confidence. ¡°Nonsense! When did I have any of that? I was just looking for some sleeping medicine, okay? Hmph, forget about a courtesan queen, I would be able to do it even if it was you lying on the bed. Would you believe me?¡±

    ¡°Tsk, with your little toothpick of a thing, who knows who will be the one screwing who.¡± Jiao Sigun fired back.

    ¡°Who is a little toothpick? If you have guts, then let¡¯spare!¡± Piao Duandiao was like a cat that had his tail stepped on.

    ¡°Sure, why not? I was about to take a piss anyway.¡± Jiao Sigun chuckled. He walked over to arge tree, and then he whistled while doing a number one.

    This world wasn¡¯t a clean and orderly metropolis like the modern world. There were no proper public toilet systems. This type of thing was incrediblymon.

    Piao Duandiao¡¯s expression changed several times. In the end, he still braced himself and walked over. He did his best to stay a bit further away from Jiao Sigun.

    Jiao Sigun gave him a sidelong nce. He almost blurted outughing. ¡°That¡¯s it?¡±

    Piao Duandiao snorted. ¡°Yours is about the same.¡±

    Zu An suddenly felt the urge to go as well when he heard them peeing.

    He walked over. Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun quietly nced over. Jiao Sigun was full of confidence, while Piao Duandiao wanted to find some confidence.

    However, both of them trembled the moment they took a single nce. Their smiles instantly froze.

    What the fuck? Is that something a human should have?

    The two of them both took a step to the side to stand a bit further from him.

    Then, they shook their legs a few times before pulling up their pants in dejection.

    Piao Duandiao felt like everything was meaningless, while Jiao Sigun was questioning life.

    The two no longer argued with each other for the rest of the way. Both of them were quiet.

    Zu An smirked. He asked a rhetorical question. ¡°Why aren¡¯t the two of you saying anything?¡±

    Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun turned around to give him a look. Their expressions were incredibly conflicted.

    There will always be people better than you¡­ I won¡¯t act cocky about this ever again. Sigh, I shouldn¡¯t have tried to show off when I didn¡¯t even have anything special. After seeing Zu An¡¯s, what is the point of anything anymore¡­ thought Jiao Sigun.

    I need to ask Sir Zu just how he got it that big in the future. Even if I only learn some small tricks, it¡¯ll be enough to destroy that bastard Jiao Sigun! I can¡¯t let him brag in front of me all the time. Piao Duandiao thought.

    Am I being mean? Sigh, but not showing off is just like wearing your best stuff at night in total darkness. I had a rare chance to show off a bit, so it¡¯s fine, right? Zu An thought.

    All of them were preupied with different thoughts. They arrived at the government brothel soon afterwards.

    Zu An contacted the female brothel keeper through the secret signal he agreed on with Qiu Honglei. She quickly returned with a bunch of girls.

    ¡°Young master, these are all popr girls in the government brothel. You may choose whichever one you like.¡± The female brothel keeper said with a big smile. She leaned towards Zu An with herrge chest while speaking. There was a powerful perfumeing from her body.

    Zu An nudged to the side without batting an eyelid. He wasn¡¯t someone with such a high tolerance that he would even choose a brothel keeper.

    But these girls she brought weren¡¯t bad at all. All of them were cute and lovely. They would easily be the prettiest girls in school in his past world.

    Sigh, this scheme really does bring back memories¡­ He was already starting to miss his past glory days a bit¡­

    Pah! I¡¯m an upright and outstanding person! How could I have possibly gone to those types of ces?

    He cleared his throat and pointed at Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun. ¡°They¡¯re the main characters today. I¡¯ll be satisfied as long as you take good care of them.¡±

    Isn¡¯t prostitution illegal in many countries¡­ But I¡¯m not paying them anything, right? Then this doesn¡¯t count?

    There¡¯s no way the Devil Sect will charge me with our rtionship.

    Zu An immediately felt much better.

    The brothel keeper was beaming with smiles. ¡°No problem! Girls, take care of them well.¡±

    Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun were rmed. They began to whisper among themselves.

    ¡°You really can¡¯t judge a person by appearances! Big Bro Zu looks upright and honest, but he¡¯s actually so experienced in this type of ce!¡± Jiao Sigun said with a sigh. Zu An looked like he was right at home here.

    Piao Duandiao was alsopletely convinced. ¡°And I thought that I was already quite the old hand in this ce. Compared to Big Bro Zu, I¡¯m nothing.¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    They would only y with some ordinary girls whenever they came here. Yet now, the ones they were with were all the most popr girls they didn¡¯t even dare to dream about before!

    In terms of face and body, these girls were far, far superior!

    ¡°If we keep following Big Bro Zu, we¡¯ll definitely live well!¡± Piao Duandiao said sincerely.

    Jiao Sigun surprisingly didn¡¯t argue back at all. Instead, he nodded in deep agreement.

    The two of them quickly chose a girl they liked. Piao Duandiao chose a girl who looked a bit older and a bit more voluptuous.

    Jiao Sigun chose a petite girl who looked charming and pitiful.

    Zu An gave them a look. He finally knew why Piao Duandiao was always so fake.

    As for Jiao Sigun, he looked cold and aloof, but he actually liked this green tea bitch type. He told himself that he had to make sure to warn the brothel keeper, or else this innocent fe might end up losing everything to this girl.

    The brothel keeper said with a smile, ¡°The other two sirs have already chosen. Which girl does Sir Zu wish to choose?¡±

    Zu An waved his hand and said, ¡°Only a kid would choose. An adult will take all of them.¡±

    Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun were horrified. Their big bro really was the big bro. This type of style wasn¡¯t something they could ever hope to achieve.

    The brothel keeper was shocked. ¡°You¡­ want all of them?¡±

    ¡°Is that a problem?¡± Zu An gave her a look.

    ¡°Not at all!¡± The brothel keeper smiled. ¡°I¡¯m just worried about the young master¡¯s body. Not even iron couldst that long!¡±

    Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun looked dejected. ¡°Brothel keeper, I think you should worry more about your girls.¡±

    Both of them recalled the same scene¡­

    Damn it! We can¡¯t keep remembering that scene! We¡¯ll be depressed at this rate!

    The two of them quickly took their girls with them to their rooms. They didn¡¯t want to look at Zu An anymore and remember that scene.

    Zu An had girls all around him. He leaned back infort and enjoyed the service of these lovely girls all around him. It was like heaven on earth!

    Meanwhile, a beautiful youngdy who was watching from inside of a nearby room stomped her feet in anger. ¡°This scoundrel! He¡¯s pissing me off!¡±

 Chapter 674: Embarrassing Encounter

    <h4>Chapter 674: Embarrassing Encounter</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An was fully enjoying these girls¡¯ massage. Every single cell in his body was screaming with joy.

    Sigh, the girls of this world are much better than the girls of my past world. They¡¯re all so soft spoken and nice, and they¡¯re even talented in many ways. Those girls from my past world are all ready to curse at any time and always starting sh*t.

    While he was enjoying himself, he suddenly felt like there were less and less girls pampering him. The room seemed to have be a lot colder.

    ¡°Huh? Why did you guys stop massaging me?¡± Zu An couldn¡¯t help but raise his head. He saw a stunning youngdy standing by the entrance, her pink dress perfectly outlining her figure. Her chest filled up the front of her dress, her supple waist looked like it was asking to be held. Even more stunning were her long and straight legs that could vaguely be made out through the dress. It was as if there was a jade-likeyer of light covering them, making her skin seem even more soft and fine.

    Even though this wasn¡¯t the first time he saw her, Zu An was still amazed. This age was far more open-minded than ancient china, but dressing like this was still considered daring. However, she didn¡¯t give off any feelings of low-ss, but rather made one feel like she had dressed herself well, as if this seductive appearance was made for her.

    Zu An had a sincere smile on his face. ¡°Honglei, you came.¡±

    Qiu Honglei said with a smile, ¡°If I didn¡¯t, then I might¡¯ve missed out on seeing young master Zu enjoying himself so much.¡±

    Her voice was soft and lovely, but the Rage points that he continued to receive from the back end sold her out.

    You have sessfully trolled Qiu Honglei for +223 +223 +223¡­

    Zu An was speechless. Didn¡¯t you used to live in Immortal Abode? You should know how pitiful these girls are! I¡¯m helping them with their business here to make their lives a bit easier, so why are you getting upset?

    Of course, he wasn¡¯t stupid enough to blurt that out. Instead, he said, ¡°It¡¯s all a misunderstanding! I wanted to meet with you as soon as possible too!¡±

    ¡°You wanted to meet me, but then you ended up being surrounded by all these girls?¡± Qiu Honglei was still smiling, but her smile was dangerous.

    Zu An said with a resolute expression, ¡°You¡¯re only judging me by what you see, you don¡¯t know how much thought I put into this! I¡¯ve already been in the government brothel for a while, but you still didn¡¯te out to meet me. I don¡¯t have any other way of contacting you, so I could only make you jealous so you woulde out sooner!¡±

    ¡°Hmph, who will get jealous over you¡­¡± Qiu Honglei harrumphed. Her face flushed red.

    Zu An used this chance to reach out his arm and use the Heaven Devouring Sutra, pulling her right into his embrace. If those Shang Dynasty emperors knew that he used their most powerful art for this type of thing, they might get so angry that they¡¯d jump right out of their coffins!

    ¡°What are you doing? Let go of me!¡± Qiu Honglei struggled subconsciously.

    But how could Zu An let go now? He kissed her right on her soft red lips. ¡°Mmm!¡­¡± Qiu Honglei¡¯s entire body went rigid. Then, it gradually softened.

    A whileter, she suddenly noticed something and quickly pushed him away. ¡°Just now¡­ did you kiss those girls?¡±

    ¡°No way, I only told them to give me a massage.¡± Then, Zu An looked into her eyes and said with great affection, ¡°You are the only one I will ever kiss in this type of ce.¡±

    ¡°You only know how to say good things.¡± Qiu Honglei harrumphed in annoyance. However, the joy between her brows was clear.

    Zu An sighed. This girl was clearly putting on the look of an enchantress, yet she¡¯s this naive and pure.

    That Jiao Sigun who picked that delicate and innocent looking green tea bitch was instead the one who seemed less naive inparison.

    He gently embraced this beauty in his arms. ¡°Honglei, I¡¯m really blessed to be able to meet with you again.¡±

    Qiu Honglei was moved. She loved hearing these types of things. She pressed her face gently against his chest and said, ¡°I am too.¡±

    The two of them snuggled up against each other like this, enjoying this rare moment of peace.

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s face suddenly turned red a whileter. Her lovely eyes were misty. ¡°Bad guy¡­¡±

    This type of charming look and seductive voice is going to do even a monk in, let alone me!

    The pressure became greater and greater. Qiu Honglei¡¯s face became more and more red.

    Zu An¡¯s throat went dry. He said with a sigh, ¡°Anyone who hugs Honglei like this and remains unmoved can¡¯t even be considered a real man.¡±

    ¡°Smooth talker¡­¡± Qiu Honglei waspletely flustered. She subconsciously stood up. ¡°You should call over those girls to help you out, I won¡¯t get angry.¡±

    She was about to leave after saying this, but Zu An pulled her back. ¡°But all of them together can¡¯t even add up to a fraction of you!¡±

    Qiu Honglei was happy to hear that. This guy was always so great with words. However, she quickly reacted and said, ¡°No way! You know that my cultivation method is special, so I can¡¯t¡­¡±

    Zu An cut her off before she even finished what she had to say. ¡°No, you can.¡±

    He guided her soft little hand down while talking.

    Qiu Honglei immediately remembered when she helped him thest time she was at his house. Her ears burned up.

    But she was also starting to get into it. The first reason was because of her natural curiosity, while the second was that she wanted to please her lover. That was why she bent down after a bit of resistance.

    ¡°It¡¯s really amazing¡­ How does it get so much bigger so quickly?¡±

    ¡°Will it hurt for you?¡±

    ¡°You won¡¯t do it all over my face likest time, right?¡±

    ¡­

    Qiu Honglei was full of questions. She eximed in admiration from time to time.

    Zu An replied to her questions one after another and guided her through the process. But he had to admit that she had a talent for this. She was a bit underripe at first, but quickly became self-taught. Her delicate hands became more and more gentle, making him feel like he was experiencing a soft spring breeze, or a warm sun in winter.

    A whileter, Qiu Honglei finally couldn¡¯t hold herself back anymore. ¡°How much longer do you need me to do this for? My wrist is starting to get sore.¡±

    She was already bent over with her head lowered to begin with. When she said this, her breath brushed over him like the fragrance of orchids. Zu An became more and more sensitive.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    He suddenly thought of something and gently pressed his hand down on her head.

    Qiu Honglei was a Devil Sect witch after all, and she spent some time in Immortal Abode. She immediately knew what he wanted to do.

    She gave him a resentful look, but she didn¡¯t refuse him in the end. She sorted out the messy strands of hair around her temples, and then her soft red lips pressed down.

    Zu An inhaled sharply.

    ¡­

    A whileter, the door mmed open. A fierce voice sounded upon seeing this scene. ¡°What are you two doing?!¡±

    Qiu Honglei was like a startled rabbit. She jumped straight up and clutched her mouth while looking at the long haired beauty at the entrance. She said in embarrassment, ¡°Mas¡­ master.¡±

    The one who came was obviously Yun Jianyue. When she heard that Zu An paid a visit, she rushed over excitedly. Yet when she opened the door, her excitement instantly vanished.

    She was annoyed that her carefully raised disciple she passed everything to actually ended up being such a disappointment.

    Also, this Zu An really was hateful! He actually defiled her disciple!

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +888 +888 +888¡­

    ¡°Do you really have the nerve to call me your master right now? I don¡¯t have any disciples like you.¡± Yun Jianyue gave Qiu Honglei an impatient look.

    Even though Qiu Honglei was the Devil Sect¡¯s witch, she was still a virgin. Doing this type of thing, and then being seen made her so embarrassed she felt like she could die. She could no longer stay here after being criticized like this by her master. She clutched her red face and ran out.

    Only Zu An and Yun Jianyue were left.

    Zu An pulled up his pants in embarrassment. He blurted out, ¡°Big sis sect master, couldn¡¯t you have at least knocked first?¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression was cold. ¡°Am I supposed to just wait as you defile my disciple?¡±

 Chapter 675: Forced Breakup

    <h4>Chapter 675: Forced Breakup</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +444 +444 +444¡­

    Zu An felt a huge headache. He quickly said, ¡°We¡¯re an affectionate couple! These were things that happened naturally because of our love for each other, how can you call that lowly?¡±

    ¡°Happened naturally?¡± Yun Jianyue sneered. ¡°Then why did you push down on Honglei¡¯s head just now?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face heated up. ¡°I didn¡¯t use that much strength. If Honglei didn¡¯t want to do it, then why would I force her to?¡±

    ¡°Alright, whatever, I don¡¯t want to hear your random exnation.¡± For some reason, Yun JIanyue felt really really annoyed. ¡°In short, you¡¯re not allowed to meet with Honglei in the future.¡±

    ¡°Why?!¡± Zu An immediately sat up and cried out.

    Yun Jianyue said with a sullen expression, ¡°You know that Honglei¡¯s cultivation technique is special. She cannot lose her virginity before she reaches a certain level.¡±

    Zu An mumbled, ¡°I know, that¡¯s why the two of us knew not to really go that far.¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s eyebrows were raised. She looked like she was about to flip out, but she remembered how much Zu An helped them during this period and forced herself to hold back her rage. ¡°Hmph, this is called nothing? You were able to let it all out, but what about Honglei? Men aren¡¯t the only ones with lust, women do too! If you keep seducing her like this, it¡¯ll eventually umte to the point where he cannot hold herself back anymore. It¡¯s very likely that she¡¯ll be overwhelmed by lust then!¡±

    Zu An: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    He spat out, ¡°Your technique is fucking trash!¡±

    ¡°Trash?¡± Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression became dangerous. ¡°It was this ¡®trash technique¡¯ that allowed me to reach the grandmaster level. I can crush you like an ant. Do you want to give it a try?¡±

    ¡°Not at all, not at all.¡± Zu An waved his hands in embarrassment. This unmarrieddy really had quite the temper.

    Yun Jianyue then continued and said, ¡°Since you said that you are Honglei¡¯s lover, then you should consider things from her perspective. If the two of you continue like this, she will only be tormented by her emotions and there will be many obstructions in her path of cultivation. She might never reach that realm of perfection and might even die along the way.¡±

    Zu An jumped in fright. ¡°It¡¯s that dangerous?¡±

    ¡°Of course! Do you think I¡¯m saying this just to scare you?¡± Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression was serious. ¡°There were many who tried to cultivate this technique in the Holy Sect before, but many of them either could not control themselves and lost their cultivation, or they went crazy and lost everything. Up until now, I am the only person who has sessfully cultivated this technique.¡±

    Zu An immediately blurted out, ¡°Why did you make Honglei cultivate it then if it¡¯s so dangerous?!¡±

    Yun Jianyue harrumphed in annoyance, ¡°I¡¯ve always raised her like my sessor. Whose technique would she cultivate if not mine? With her foresight and temperament, no man in the world would faze her, yet she ended up encountering a yboy like you!¡±

    Zu An stuck out his chest. ¡°I¡¯m handsome and rich, so is it so wrong for a girl to like me?¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Yun Jianyue: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    She wanted to smack this guy on the head, and then stomp on his face a few times. This kid really needed a good beating.

    Zu An said at this time, ¡°Fine, I¡¯m not a sex fiend¡­ Wait, hold on, what kind of look is that? If you keep that up, I¡¯m actually going to get upset. Ahem, I don¡¯t want to harm Honglei either, so I promise that I won¡¯t make her do these types of things anymore.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not enough. The two of you are not allowed to meet each other anymore.¡± Yun Jianyue persisted. ¡°From these past few days, I have seen that even her foundations have started to be unstable. She might be beyond saving if she continues to stay with you. That is why I will bring her back to the sect to have her earnestly cultivate in seclusion.¡±

    Zu An immediately asked, ¡°Then how long does she need to cultivate for?¡±

    ¡°Until I think she has reached a suitable level.¡± Yun Jianyue leaned back leisurely into her chair. She felt satisfied inside. Kid, you¡¯re still far too young to argue against me.

    Zu An was furious. ¡°Aren¡¯t you clearly being shameless here? Screw that!¡±

    This stupid old unmarried woman was probably jealous seeing how close he was with Honglei. He might have to wait until the end of time before he would obtain her acknowledgement.

    ¡°You are always free to fight against me if you aren¡¯t convinced. If you win, then we¡¯ll follow your rules.¡± Yun Jianyue¡¯s bright eyes swept over him indifferently.

    Zu An¡¯s breathing stopped. He understood himself well. This woman was a grandmaster, and she already recovered quite a bit of her strength. Beating him up was like ying with a toy.

    As such, he decisively changed his strategy. ¡°Big sis sect master, isn¡¯t this going a bit too far? When you were seriously injured, I took the risk to get you soul healing medicine. I drew Cheng Xiong¡¯s suspicion because of this as well and almost died. Later on, I even saved your sect members who were doomed to die. It¡¯s one thing if you don¡¯t thank me for doing all of this, but if you abandon your benefactor after getting what you want, isn¡¯t that going a bit too far?¡±

    Yun Jianyue sighed. ¡°I know¡­ We owe you too much. That is why I will try to think of another way topensate you.¡±

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t want anything else. I only want Honglei.¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s brows stood up. ¡°Brat, don¡¯t go too far! I already exined everything to you earlier. Choose something else.¡±

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°Honglei isn¡¯t a bargaining chip I can just switch for something else.¡±

    Yun Jianyue looked him in the eyes. Even though this fe was a yboy, he still treated Honglei quite well.

    Her expression eased a bit. ¡°Our Holy Sect will forever remember your gratitude. We will definitely repay you generously afterwards.¡±

    Zu An waved his hand, clearly not in the mood to talk about this stuff. ¡°Have Sun Luzhen and the others returned safely?¡±

    Yun Jianyue nodded. ¡°When they left the pce, Honglei arranged for some men to receive them. They were already brought out of the capital. They have said repeatedly that they wish to express their thanks to you in person.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s good that they were able to leave.¡± Zu An sighed in relief. If something happened to Sun Luzhen and the others, then it was easy for him to get in trouble. ¡°By the way, what about the one who was secretly following you?¡±

    ¡°I was just about to talk to you about that.¡± Yun Jianyue said with a grave expression. ¡°I originally wanted to find a chance to kill him, but that person¡¯s hiding technique was too outstanding, so I failed.¡±

    ¡°Even you couldn¡¯t do anything?¡± Zu An was shocked.

    Yun Jianyue voiced her confirmation. ¡°Forget about the fact that I am wounded right now, even if I was in my prime, I wouldn¡¯t even have a hundred percent certainty in detaining him. His stealth technique has already almost reached the level of natural dao. I couldn¡¯t even see his appearance.¡±

    ¡°Someone like this can¡¯t be unknown, right? Do you know anyone who matches the description?¡± Zu An quickly asked. Having someone this powerful stalking him from the shadows really was quite the frightening thing.

    Yun Jianyue shook her head. ¡°This world is sorge, there are still many capable individuals. How can I possibly know someone like that? Since he excels in stealth, then he definitely made sure to hide his own name as well. Thus, it is even harder for outsiders to know who he is.¡±

    Zu An nodded. He understood this reasoning. Looks like he had to find a chance to ask the emperor about this and have him investigate. But what if this person is Eunuch Wen?

    He thought to himself for a second. Yun Jianyue suddenly voiced her surprise. She stared at his chest. ¡°Hm? Your ki flow seems to be different from normal. Were you injured?¡±

    After staying together for so long, as a grandmaster, she was already extremely familiar with his aura.

    Zu An said with a bitter smile. ¡°I had to put my life on the line to help you this time.¡±

    Then, he gave her a rough summary of the emperor¡¯s seal ced on him.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression changed. Without waiting for his agreement, she reached out a hand and grabbed his arm to sense his inner ki flow.

    Her hands were cold and ufortable to the touch. However, Zu An wasn¡¯t in the mood to pay attention to these things. Instead, he stared nervously at her, because her brows were deeply furrowed, as if he was suffering from an incurable disease.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to be like that. The emperor said that he can get rid of it. Would he lie to me?¡± Zu An said nervously.

    In the end, Yun Jianyue said, ¡°Remove your clothes.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Zu An was stunned.

    Yun Jianyue said, ¡°I will try to help you get rid of this seal. However, your qi will surge during this process. The heat must be released promptly. That is why you need to take off your clothes.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± Zu An was happy to do this. If the other party could help him undo this ticking time bomb, then he wouldn¡¯t have to live in fear evey day.

    When he took off his top, Yun Jianyue said coldly, ¡°Your pants too.¡±

    Zu An: ¡°???¡±

 Chapter 676: Confiscating the Tool of Crime

    <h4>Chapter 676: Confiscating the Tool of Crime</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An¡¯s expression suddenly became strange. ¡°Big sis sect master, are you after my body?¡±

    Yun Jianyue was furious. ¡°What are you saying?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +444 +444 +444¡­

    Zu An mumbled, ¡°Then why would you make me take off my pants too? Those are a man¡¯s private parts, you know?¡±

    Yun Jianyue took a deep breath and endured the urge to beat him up. ¡°Didn¡¯t I just exin it to you? The emperor¡¯s cultivation is incredibly powerful, so how can it be that easy to get rid of his seal? I need to do everything I can. During this process, the two types of ki will sh, making your ki surge powerfully. If we do not immediately release the heat, then your meridians will suffer irreversible burns. Your body might even explode and die!¡±

    Anyone else who dared make this type of joke with her would have been executed on the spot, yet this fe provoked her several times! Even though she was furious, she didn¡¯t do anything. Even she surprised herself. In the end, she could only exin it through the fact that the Holy Sect owed him a lot.

    Zu An replied with an ¡®oh¡¯. ¡°It¡¯s that Sex and Zen stuff, right? I got it.¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s brows furrowed. ¡°Sex and Zen?¡±

    Even though she was knowledgeable, she never heard of this type of technique before.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Zu An barely got by and began to take off his clothes. His healthy and fit chest was exposed.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s eyebrows raised upwards. ¡°Huh, I didn¡¯t expect a kid like you to be that fit. I couldn¡¯t tell with your clothes on.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s body was far stronger than an ordinary person¡¯s after experiencing the Primordial Origin Sutra¡¯s refinement. His body was much tougher than those of high level cultivators.

    What was even more remarkable was that this type of refinement used the primordial ki of heaven and earth to temper his body. All of the essence was stored inside. His muscles weren¡¯t bulky and sinister like those martial idiots¡¯, but instead looked slim and soft. His skin was glowing and gave off a type of harmonious sense of aesthetic, yet also looked like it carried explosive power.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Even Yun Jianyue couldn¡¯t help but give him a few more nces. The pursuit of beauty was the innate tendency of all humans.

    ¡°Did you say that on purpose to lessen your own embarrassment?¡± Zu An mocked. ¡°If you keep staring, I¡¯m going to start charging you.¡±

    ¡°Me, stare at you?¡± Yun Jianyue immediately seemed like a cat who had its tail stepped on. ¡°I was just observing the seal in your body!¡±

    It¡¯s a freaking miracle that this kid was able to live for this long with that filthy mouth of his!

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +567 +567 +567¡­

    Zu An thought to himself, you don¡¯t even have x-ray vision, how can you just see inside my body? Of course, he wouldn¡¯t expose her. ¡°Alright, it¡¯s my misunderstanding. But I¡¯m about to take off my pants, so can you turn around first?¡±

    He didn¡¯t really mind, but he was worried that the other party might just chop off his thing with her sword out of embarrassment. That would really be bad.

    Yun Jianyue harrumphed, as if she finally felt like she had a moment to let off some steam. ¡°Brat, you¡¯re still acting all embarrassed? Not many in this world dare stand before me, what do you think I haven¡¯t seen before?¡± Even though this was what she said, she still turned around.

    Zu An cursed inside. Stupid old unmarried woman, it¡¯ll be more stange if you have seen it before.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s chest rose and fell after turning around. She was definitely not as calm as she made herself sound on the surface.

    She could hear rustling sounds behind her. A whileter, Zu An said, ¡°I¡¯m done.¡±

    Yun Jianyue took a deep breath and told herself to not be rmed when she turned back around. I am the Holy Sect¡¯s sect master! What kind of trials and tribtions haven¡¯t I faced before? How can I act cowardly in front of a kid like this?

    ¡°Hmph! It¡¯s not like I haven¡¯t seen it before!¡±

    Zu An actually did underestimate her. In her earlier years, she had met some filthy men who lusted after innocent wives. She interfered herself to punish them and would often remove their tool of crime. She wasn¡¯t one of those young girls who never saw anything before.

    But even though she already mentally prepared herself, she was still a bit absentminded when she turned back around.

    Is¡­ is there something wrong with this world?

    After chopping off those criminals¡¯ things in the past, she still had some understanding of their length. But why was this guy in front of her different from those people?

    After a bit of hesitation, she couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Did¡­ did you end up getting poisoned somewhere? Is that why it¡¯s so swollen?¡±

    Her voice couldn¡¯t help but soften up a bit.

    Zu An was stunned. Then, he realized that she had misunderstood, so he could only exin, ¡°There¡¯s no poison, this is just how it normally is. Maybe I am¡­ just too blessed?¡±

    He felt different saying this for some reason.

    Yun Jianyue had lived for a long time after all. She quickly realized that she had misunderstood. Her charming face immediately became entirely red. She wanted to find a hole to hide herself in out of embarrassment.

    She coughed to dissolve the embarrassment. ¡°Go sit on the bed. I need to help you undo your seal¡­ Um, also, remember to have your back towards me.¡±

    Zu An sighed in relief as well. To be honest, being looked at like this was a lot of pressure for him too.

    When he sensed that she was sitting behind him to treat him, Zu An was stunned. ¡°You¡¯re not taking off your clothes?¡±

    ¡°Why would I take off my clothes?¡± Yun Jianyue was stunned, and then she was furious. ¡°What kind of nonsense are you thinking?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +996 +996 +996¡­

    ¡°Nothing! I was just worried that your ki will surge as well. If we cannot get rid of it in time, then it¡¯ll be dangerous!¡± Zu An quickly exined. Meanwhile inside, he was full of regret. Didn¡¯t Xiaolongnu and Yang Guo both strip when they cultivated?[1]

    Yun Jianyue said coldly, ¡°Stop thinking random stupid thoughts! Move your ki through your dantian and rx your body. Do not reject my ki at all.¡±

    ¡°Okay¡­¡± Zu An chuckled in embarrassment. He sat properly on the bed.

    Yun Jianyue reached out her fair hand and pressed it against his back, her expression serious. She did her best to remove all unnecessary thoughts. While undoing the seal of the most powerful cultivator in the world, she couldn¡¯t be distracted in the slightest.

    Zu An¡¯s suspicions weren¡¯t entirely wrong. Once the heat was released, there would indeed be some danger for her. However, how could she remove her clothes in front of another man? She figured that she should be able to deal with it with her grandmaster level cultivation. That was why she sent her ki into his body.

    Zu An felt a powerful wave of ki enter his body. It was different from the scorching heat of the emperor, this ki was like the cool moonlight of the night. It unknowingly made one rx.

    Unfortunately, this peace didn¡¯t continue for a long time. The seal the emperor left in his body immediately roared out like a dragon when it sensed that this aura was trying to undo it. It retaliated viciously.

    Yun Jianyue did her best to contend against this power with a soft and firm force. The two powers tangled about each other. One moment, Zu An felt like he was being broiled, and then the next, he felt as if he was covered in ice.

    Waves of white steam rose from his body. He felt as if he was in a steamer basket. He finally knew why she said that he had to take off his clothes.

    Even Zu An¡¯s powerful body was suffering bitterly under the sh of these two powers. However, he had already experienced the brink of death several times. Compared to then, this wasn¡¯t much at all.

    A hint of surprise shed past Yun Jianyue¡¯s eyes. She actually knew just how much pain using brute force to undo the emperor¡¯s seal was. She didn¡¯t say it on purpose before because he always teased her. She wanted to teach him a lesson with this, yet the other party actually endured it, not even releasing a single groan.

    She was quite impressed. Even though this man acted rather frivolously, he was a man of steel deep down.

    Her voice became gentler as well. ¡°Hold on a bit longer. The emperor¡¯s seal is already starting to loosen up.¡±

    She reached out her hand and patted on the other party¡¯s shoulder, and then he spun in ce. She used this chance to strike his front and back acupoints with the ster force she cultivated.

    How powerful was the most powerful cultivator? Another grandmaster might not have been able to neutralize it.

    However, the ster force she cultivated touched upon thews of time and space. She could even slow down and even temporarily suspend time to a certain extent.

    She used the ster force to temporarily sever the connection between the emperor¡¯s seal and Zu An¡¯s body. Then, she used the chance to slowly destroy this seal.

    Of course, if the emperor was here himself, her ster force wouldn¡¯t do much against him. However, she had confidence in dealing with some leftover power.

    A whileter, Yun Jianyue finally destroyed most of that terrifying seal. She sighed in relief. Suddenly, she noticed that something was pressing against her. When she lowered her head, she was first momentarily stunned. Then, her cheeks flushed red in rage. ¡°Little bastard, you¡¯re courting death!¡±

    1. Characters from the fictional novel The Return of the Condor Heroes

 Chapter 677: Strange Peace

    <h4>Chapter 677: Strange Peace</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    She could still tolerate it if this kid was disrespectful towards her. But now, he dared to publicly disrespect her like this?

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +999 +999 +999¡­

    She really was angry now. After all, she had her fair share of blood on her hands as the Holy Sect¡¯s secz master. She killed until rivers were formed out of blood when the court faced the Holy Sect in the past.

    The temperature of the entire room dropped by several degrees. Zu An felt all of his fine hairs stand on end. He felt killing intent surge from the other party¡¯s eyes.

    He quickly exined, ¡°It¡¯s a misunderstanding! Big sis sect master, didn¡¯t you say that my ki will surge when the seal is undone? I can¡¯t control this!¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s eyes narrowed. She indeed recalled this. This really wasn¡¯t his fault. It wasn¡¯t he who had strange thoughts towards her, but rather because of the ki suring within his body.

    But why did she feel so unhappy when she thought of this?

    She subconsciously lowered her head and scoffed inwardly, so ugly!

    The ferocious thing remained in her head for a long time. She was finally convinced that Zu An wasn¡¯t poisoned, but rather that he was just naturally like that. Those rapists from the past can¡¯tpare at all¡­

    Ah!!! Yun Jianyue, Yun Jianyue! What kind of nonsense are you spouting?! He¡¯s so much younger than you, and also your disciple¡¯s lover! Stop thinking about it, stop it, stop it!

    She did her best to calm herself down. She turned him around with a smack to his body, and then continued to break up his seal.

    Zu An sighed in relief. It looks like he made it through this trial! Little guy, little guy, do you know that you almost killed me just now?

    He had his back towards her, so he didn¡¯t notice that there was an abnormal redness by Yun Jianyue¡¯s neck.

    It wasn¡¯t just him, Yun Jianyue didn¡¯t notice either.

    A whileter, Yun Jianyue¡¯s furrowed brows rxed a bit. She was close topletely erasing the emperor¡¯s seal.

    She took a deep breath, and then she slowly transferred the energy that was scattered throughout Zu An¡¯s body. She wanted to take out all of the emperor¡¯s remaining power in one go.

    However, when her energy surrounded that seal, it was as if the seal the emperor left behind knew about its situation. Its aura became much more powerful. This seal that looked like a surrounded worm suddenly turned into a roaring golden dragon. It immediately became much stronger than before.

    How could the seal of the most powerful cultivator in this world not have any trump cards?

    Yun Jianyue couldn¡¯t help but remember Zu An¡¯s ferocious scene when she sensed this massive dragon that just appeared. Her heart began to pound crazily. She quickly focused her attention.

    But this moment of distraction created an opening for the emperor¡¯s seal. It began to fiercely retaliate.

    Pfft!

    A mouthful of blood sprayed out of Yun Jianyue¡¯s mouth. Her eyes were filled with horror.

    The emperor was just too terrifying! This seal could actually use her ki to replenish itself! This meant that it would continue to grow more and more powerful! Most of the aura that was destroyed before was instantly recovered. Now, it was insteadunching a counterattack on her.

    If Yun Jianyue was at her strongest, then even if this seal had some tricks, it wouldn¡¯t be able to injure her. However, she was already seriously injured, so her cultivation was greatly affected. It was now hard for her to withstand the retaliation.

    She could even feel that this seal was about to enter her body and lock her up as well.

    She was frightened when she saw this. She quickly used all of her strength to deal with this terrifying seal.

    Unfortunately, the more she retaliated, the more nourishment the emperor¡¯s seal received, which made it more and more powerful. But if she didn¡¯t retaliate, then the seal would enter her body!

    This waspletely a two-fold poison! She was dead either way.

    Yun Jianyue quickly thought about a way to deal with this. However, no matter what she tried, she could not stop the invasion of that golden power.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    There was only one way, which was to directly explode Zu An¡¯s heart. This way, their connection would be separated, and the emperor¡¯s seal wouldn¡¯t have any living organism to live off of. She would then bepletely free.

    But¡­

    She remembered how she was seriously wounded by the emperor in the pce, and then it was this man who saved her when she was in a desperate situation.

    Later on, he even taught her how to sleep in the air on a rope.

    The two of them slept on the same bed.

    He was willing to risk saving her sect¡¯s members so that she wouldn¡¯t have to be in danger.

    ¡­

    She remembered all the things that happened between the two of them during this period. In the end, the ki that was transferred to her palm wasn¡¯t released.

    Forget it, he is Honglei¡¯s lover. I cannot kill him and make Honglei resent me for the rest of her life.

    She continued to tell herself this.

    As for the emperor¡¯s seal, she¡¯ll just think of a way to get rid of it herselfter.

    Suddenly, she sensed a wave of power surge from deep within Zu An. Even though this power was rather weak, the level was extremely high, even much higher than her grandmaster cultivation.

    With the help of this power, it was as if there were suddenly reinforcements. The situation was suddenly reversed.

    Yun Jianyue didn¡¯t let such a great chance go. She guided this pure wave of power into her body, and then her entire body received nourishment. In the end, it condensed into an even more powerful force to retaliate against the emperor¡¯s golden seal.

    That golden seal was pushed back into Zu An¡¯s body step by step. Yun Jianyue didn¡¯t n to let it go. It left her in such a sorry state earlier. She was definitely not someone who would just take that lying down!

    That golden seal was pushed to the limit. It gave up on fleeing and retaliated with everything it had.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression grew grave, because arge portion of power became the seal¡¯s replenishment. With her current state, even after obtaining that mysterious pure energy¡¯s nourishment, it was still difficult topletely neutralize this seal.

    It would be really bad if she ended up just like how she was earlier.

    When she thought of this, she decided to stop for now. She¡¯ll help him eliminate this seal when shepletely recovered from her injuries.

    Right at this time, Zu An suddenly felt a swirling ck hole like existence within him. There was a terrifying force that appeared.

    Regardless of whether it was the golden seal or Yun Jiayue¡¯s energy, everything was sucked towards that ck hole.

    ¡°This is¡­¡± Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression changed. She suddenly recalled the attack Zu An revealed when they first faced each other. This was precisely what her wounded self was almost defeated by in the rock garden.

    She didn¡¯t hesitate at all. Shepletely severed the connection between that energy and herself. Even though she would lose some of her cultivation this way, she could still slowly recover itter. She might just lose all of her cultivation instead if she tried to contend against that ck hole.

    This rascal, I¡¯m helping him get rid of this seal, yet he¡¯s actually trying to suck away my cultivation?

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression grew cold. She slowly raised her fingers and prepared to stab them into the back of his head.

    But she was suddenly stunned, because she noticed that the other party¡¯s eyes were closed. His body was shaking all over. He was unconscious.

    Looks like the sh with the golden seal earlier knocked him out.

    Yun Jianyue sighed in relief. She silently withdrew her long and slender fingers.

    Not even she could stand against that golden seal¡¯s retaliation, so how could Zu An possibly do it with his cultivation?

    ¡°Just what kind of crazy technique did this kid cultivate?¡± Yun Jianyue frowned. In that instant, she could feel that the energy the emperor left within his body was refined by that ck hole in his body.

    Hmph, this kid really did profit from our disaster.

    Yun Jianyue didn¡¯t want to stay here anymore now that she knew that his seal was gone. This man¡¯s body was getting more and more stiff. This was especially the case after thest struggle. Right now, his entire body was releasing astonishing heat. She felt extremely ufortable being so close to him.

    She got off the bed and prepared to leave. However, when she stood up, she suddenly felt light-headed. An unprecedented feeling of weakness spread through her body. She had suffered too much just now.

    Everything in front of her eyes went ck, and then she began to fall. However, she reacted quickly as well. She subconsciously reached her hand towards the bed to support herself.

    What followed left herpletely stunned. Zu An was roused awake by the stimtion. He lowered his head, and then he looked at the long haired beauty before him. The two pairs of eyes stared at each other. This entire room entered a strange moment of peacefulness.

 Chapter 678: Other Side Effect

    <h4>Chapter 678: Other Side Effect</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    And you said you weren¡¯t after my body! This was the first thought that appeared in his mind. Hoever, he knew that his vital part was at the mercy of the other party, should he utter these words, she might just snap it off out of rage.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s breathing also became hurried. Her brain wentpletely nk in this instant. She had no idea how to deal with this type of situation.

    All types of thoughts flooded her mind. Even though her heart was pounding, she still had to maintain the appearance of a grandmaster. She forcefully maintained a cold expression and said, ¡°Would you believe me if I said that it was an ident?¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Of course I would!¡± Zu An continued off of her words, ¡°But can you please let go first? I¡¯m about to burst from the grip¡­¡±

    His veins were bulging, his expression a bit pained. He warned her carefully.

    Compared to Qiu Honglei¡¯s fine, small hand, this woman¡¯s hand was like an iron mp. If it wasn¡¯t because his body was much tougher than that of a normal person¡¯s, the hand of a grandmaster¡¯s could crush rock like tofu, and little Zu An wouldn¡¯t have stood a chance either.

    Yun Jianyue snapped out of her daze at this time. Her small hand shrank back at lightning speed, and then she turned around. Her usually confident and carefree face was covered in ayer of unnatural blush.

    She took a deep breath and calmed down her raging emotions. Then, she said with a feigned calmness, ¡°I¡¯ve already taken care of most of the seal in your body. The remaining bit was sucked away by a mysterious power in your body. Hmph, you¡¯ve also sucked away some of my energy I infused into your body as well. If it wasn¡¯t because of Honglei, I would¡¯ve already smacked you to death.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, big sis sect master.¡± Zu An said with sincere gratitude. He didn¡¯tpletely faint, so he had a vague recollection of how dangerous the process was. During a moment of crisis, the Heaven Devouring Sutra within his body acted out on its own, swallowing up some of her energy. He felt a bit apologetic about this.

    ¡°The energies of an Earth Immortal and grandmaster will bring you tremendous benefits once youpletely digest them.¡± Yun Jianyue paused for a moment, and then she added, ¡°But remember not topletely refine away the emperor¡¯s aura. You should at least leave an empty shell there, or else the emperor will be able to tell that you¡¯ve already removed the seal. I¡¯ll teach you a way to prevent that, do it like this¡­¡±

    Zu An was shocked. ¡°Big sis really is old and wise! Otherwise, I would¡¯ve celebrated too soon.¡±

    With his understanding of the emperor, if the other party found out that his seal was already removed, then he would definitely used an even more vicious method to deal with him.

    ¡°Old?¡± Yun Jianyue¡¯s brows were raised. She was extremely sensitive to this word. She harrumphed in annoyance, ¡°Also, I don¡¯t know where you learned that sinister absorption technique. Remember, either don¡¯t use it, or silence all who witness you using it. Once news of this gets out, you¡¯ll be the public enemy of the world.¡±

    ¡°Thank you big sis for the reminder.¡± Zu An obviously understood what she meant. What was the most important part of cultivation? It was obviously your cultivation level! If someone could suck out another person¡¯s cultivation to strengthen themselves, then everyone would be frightened. They¡¯ll all join hands to get rid of him.

    Yun Jianyue nodded when she saw his serious appearance. Looks like she didn¡¯t have to warn him too much. She thought of another matter. ¡°Do you have any connections with the Holy Sect?¡±

    Zu An was confused. He didn¡¯t know why she would suddenly ask something like this. ¡°Uh¡­ does my rtionship with Honglei count?¡±

    He originally wanted to say that the two of them had a special rtionship, but he didn¡¯t say it out of consideration for little Zu An¡¯s safety.

    Yun Jianyue: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°I am asking you if you¡¯ve cultivated the Holy Sect¡¯s Heavenly Devil Temptation before, or if one of your elders used to be a part of the Holy Sect.¡±

    She recalled that familiar source of power when she faced the emperor¡¯s seal. The power was of high quality, leaving even her shocked. She really was curious what that was.

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°I haven¡¯t. I¡¯m already so handsome and suave, panties will drop wherever I go. Why do I have to cultivate your temptation technique?¡±

    Yun Jianyue: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    This kid really needs a beating as usual¡­

    She thought to herself for a bit. It wasn¡¯t too likely for this fe to have cultivated the Heavenly Devil Temptation. After all, all those who have cultivated this were women, and the Holy Sect had always passed it directly down to an inheritor. There was no way they would¡¯ve leaked it out to outsiders. What was even more important was that those who practiced this had to maintain their purity, yet the one in front of her¡­ Hmph, who knows how many times he has done it already.

    While she was thinking to herself, there was suddenly a mysterious pounding from her soul. Then a warm stream flowed through her entire body. She subconsciously mped her legs together.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Zu An noticed that something was off and quickly asked with concern.

    ¡°Nothing!¡± Yun Jianyue was like a startled rabbit. She jumped back and widened the gap, as if she was scared that he would get closer.

    Zu An was bewildered. Why are you looking at me like I¡¯m some wolf? I should be the one who is embarrassed, right? Also, what can I even do to you with our gap in cultivation? I¡¯m the one who¡¯s helpless if you try anything!

    Sigh¡­ If it really gets to that point, then I only have one request¡­ please be gentle¡­

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression flickered several times, as if she was experiencing great internal turmoil.

    A whileter, she finally straightened her trembling body. ¡°You should work on refining the energies. I¡¯m leaving first.¡±

    Then, her figure vanished from the room. However, a secondter, she reappeared by the entrance. ¡°Don¡¯t tell anyone else about what happened today. If I hear even a tiny rumor, you¡¯re dead.¡±

    After saying this, she left without even waiting for Zu An¡¯s response.

    Zu An looked in the direction she left in confusion. Why does her voice sound so strange? She doesn¡¯t sound as cold and arrogant as usual? Her voice was even trembling a little bit like a little kitten¡­ She was clearly threatening him, yet he didn¡¯t feel threatened at all¡­

    Ahem, how is that possible? That unmarried old woman¡¯s cultivation is so high, and her willpower so firm, how can it possibly be what I¡¯m thinking? She was probably injured while helping me with my seal, so she wants to return and get some rest.

    He thus collected his thoughts and began to refine the powerful energies within him.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, on the other side, it hadn¡¯t been long since Yun Jianyue left Zu An¡¯s room. Her legs buckled. She grabbed the nearby railing to support herself.

    A moan came out of her mouth. An expression of horror shed past Yun Jianyue¡¯s eyes. ¡°How can this be? I¡¯ve already sessfully cultivated the Heavenly Devil Temptation! How can I still be overwhelmed by lust?¡±

    This technique was powerful, but it had all types of side effects as well.

    Apart from not being allowed to lose her virginity before the technique is fully cultivated, there was one other shameful thing that she didn¡¯t tell Zu An. This was that when it was cultivated to thete-mid stage, she would be overwhelmed by lust. There were a few days every month where she would be overwhelmed by desire, tempting her to find a man to help her.

    If she could make it past that period, then her cultivation would be a bit purer. If she could not, then her many years of hard work would be wasted.

    The side effects of this technique seemed like it was made to prevent people from seeding. Even though the Holy Sect was full of outstanding disciples, the ones who ended up seeding in the end were pitifully few.

    This was also the reason why she insisted on separating Zu An and Qiu Honglei.

    Perhaps her obedient disciple could still control herself now, but that was because her cultivation hadn¡¯t reached that level yet. Once she entered theter stages and was overwhelmed by lust, if two harmonious lovers were near each other, then the difficulty of those days every month would be exponentially higher.

    Yun Jianyue relied on her shocking talent and willpower to cultivate this technique to its peak. She finally broke free from the lust that would entangle her. So why did this reappear?

    Even her incredibly firm will began to waver. It wasn¡¯t only because of the fear of being dominated by this technique in the past, it was also because of the fear towards the unknown.

    If she still cannot break free of this state at her level, then what meaning was there left in cultivating this technique?

    But she already couldn¡¯t be bothered to think about all of this. She hurriedly returned to the rear courtyard. That was where her private room was. Furthermore, this ce was connected to a natural spring, so an indoor bath was set up. This was where she used to wash herself.

    She rushed back to that room. A wave of energy flew out, locking down the door and windows. Then, she removed her clothes, exposing her sparkling white body, her long hair scattered down across her back. The ck and white color formed a stark contrast. Her entire figure was giving off an intangible aura of seduction that would make any man in this world turn into an aps.

    She knew that this was the result of her failing to control this technique. She quickly jumped into the ice-cold pool and soaked herself inside. Soon afterwards, the originally ice-cold pool began to boil.

 Chapter 679: You Can Use Me

    <h4>Chapter 679: You Can Use Me</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    On the other side, Zu An was refining the tremendous energy inside of him. Regardless of whether it was the energy left behind by the emperor or Yun Jianyue, even though the amount wasn¡¯t thatrge, the quality was higher than any energy he had encountered before.

    Well, other than those stupid old things in the secret dungeons.

    He sat down on the bed and began to transfer the energies for his own use.

    Even though the two energies were trapped within the ck hole like vortex and could not escape, one belonged to an Earth Immortal, while the other came from a Grandmaster. They were both furious when an ant-like existence like Zu An actually wanted to devour them. They were frantically retaliating.

    If it was just a seventh ranked cultivator, or even one at the peak of seventh rank, trying to absorb the energies of an Earth Immortal or Grandmaster was simply wishful thinking. They would be lucky if they didn¡¯t explode to death on the spot.

    But Zu An wasn¡¯t a normal seventh ranked cultivator. His ki was far more dense than others at his rank. He even had this ridiculous Heaven Devouring Art, which was why he was able to refine the energies of these two powerful individuals.

    Zu An focused on refining the energy while using the method Yun Jianyue taught him to leave behind an empty shell of the emperor¡¯s energy.

    He needed to use the leftover energy as a bluff. As long as the emperor didn¡¯t investigate up close, he should be able to get by.

    ¡­

    A whileter, Zu An suddenly opened his eyes. Light flickered past his eyes. One of his eyes seemed resplendent like the sun, while the other was cool like the moon. However, they quickly returned to normal.

    He took a look at his inner self and was pleasantly surprised. Previously, only three formations were lit up in his seventhyer. Now, there were already eight formations lit up, with only one thest one remaining before he broke through into the eighth rank!

    Even though the amount of energy he received from the emperor and Yun Jianyue was small, the quality was much higher. That was why it was able to help him out so much.

    He put on his clothes. It was already dawn outside. He pushed open the door and left.

    He headed straight for Yun Jianyue¡¯s room. He reached out his hand to knock on the door, but he was pushed back by its seal.

    ¡°Name yourself!¡± Yun Jianyue¡¯s voice sounded.

    ¡°It¡¯s me. I have something to ask big sis sect master.¡± Zu An was surprised. Why did her voice sound so¡­ seductive?

    There was a moment of silence. A whileter, Yun Jianyue said, ¡°Wait a bit.¡±

    A whileter, the door slowly opened. Yun Jianyue¡¯s weary voice sounded from within. ¡°You cane in.¡±

    Zu An walked inside. He saw that white steam was surging inside, as if this was a steam room. He was shocked. ¡°What is happening?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing you need to make a fuss about. I just finished my bath.¡± A hazy figure slowly walked out.

    ¡°You finished your bath?¡± Zu An was stunned. It was still nighttime when she leftst night, while now, it was already dawn.

    ¡°Is that any of your business?¡± Yun Jianyue harrumphed. However, her voice was sweet with a yful hint.

    Zu An frowned. He felt like there was something wrong with her condition.

    However, his eyes quickly widened. That hazy figure walked out of the mist.

    Yun Jianyue only casually draped a nightgown over herself. Even though it wasn¡¯t transparent, the faint outlines were even more enchanting.

    Her damp long hair casually fell behind her back, making arge part of her nightgown wet and sticking to her body. He could sense her incredibly seductive curves even from far away.

    It was like a hibiscus flower that blossomed in a clear spring, a natural beautiful creation.

    These words appeared in Zu An¡¯s mind, but he quickly tossed them out. What do you mean hibiscus? Only a peony or rose could describe how stunning this woman was.

    Because the nightgown was sticking to her, when her delicate feet were exposed underneath, her toes seemed cute and lovely. Her calves were straight and fine, and her well proportioned thighs were also vaguely visible¡­

    ¡°Have you stared enough yet?¡± Yun Jianyue¡¯s yful voice sounded.

    Zu An was startled. When he looked at her, he was met with an ambiguously smiling expression. He quickly exined, ¡°I¡¯m sorry! Big sis empress was just too beautiful, so I couldn¡¯t help but take a few more looks. Please forgive me for that.¡±

    At the same time, he was shocked. The usual Yun Jianyue would immediately scowl at him. She would never speak to him softly like this!

    Wait, the normal Yun Jianyue would never dress like this in front of me.

    Yun Jiayue already casuallyid down on a soft seat. She supported her head with one of her arms, and then her faintly discernible legs crossed together. She looked just like the imperial consort Feng Xiaolian as she looked at Zu An with an ambiguous expression. ¡°Why did you seek me out at this type of time?¡±

    So fucking hot! Zu An¡¯s eyes drifted towards her chest. Those fair white peaks were absolutely fatal! She was giving off astonishing levels of temptation that would make any man¡¯s mouth dry. All men would turn into beasts, unable to resist their urge to pounce over and tear apart her clothes, then press her down beneath them to ravage her¡­

    Zu An gulped. He controlled these thoughts with all of his willpower. Meanwhile, he began to curse himself. What the hell is going on? Why am I like this?

    He was worried that he might reallypletely offend her, so he didn¡¯t dare continue to look at her. He quickly shifted his eyes. ¡°Ahem, I wanted to ask you when you guys were going to leave the capital. Please let me at least meet with Honglei before you all leave.¡±

    He was caught red-handedst night with her and forced to separate. It didn¡¯t seem like he would be able to meet with Qiu Honglei again for some time. He wanted a chance to say a proper goodbye.

    ¡°We¡¯re leaving at daylight.¡± Yun Jianyue replied. She originally nned to stay for a whileter, but after her eruption of desirest night, she was in a rush to enter seclusion cultivation. At the same time, she didn¡¯t dare remain in this kind of state outside. The sect was still safer.

    Furthermore, there were many things that helped her cope with the episodes each month.

    ¡°You¡¯re going back so soon?¡± Zu An was rmed. He didn¡¯t think that they would leave so quickly.

    ¡°What, you can¡¯t bear to see us go?¡± Yun Jianyueughed. Her chest even moved a bit from how her body rocked back and forth.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An sighed. A mature woman is definitely a mature woman! She¡¯s nothing like those young girls. At the very least, most girls can¡¯tpete with this kind of chest size¡­ Ahem, Manman is an exception, she doesn¡¯t count.

    ¡°Of course I don¡¯t¡­¡± Zu an was about to reply, but he was suddenly stunned.

    Huh? Wait, she used the word us?

    What does that mean?

    This woman would get mad at him when he just teased her a little bit. Why did their roles suddenly swap today, with her teasing him?

    ¡°Big sis sect master, you¡¯re okay, right?¡± Zu An could feel that there was something wrong with her condition from their earlier exchange. He couldn¡¯t be bothered to admire her stunning figure right now and asked with concern.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. It¡¯s just a small episode of heat.¡± Yun Jianyue exined, as if she was saying somethingpletely insignificant.

    ¡°Episode of heat?¡± Zu An frowned. He could tell just from the name that it wasn¡¯t something good!

    Yun Jianyue gave him a rough exnation of what this episode of heat was, and then she said, ¡°You should understand now why I insisted on stopping you from being with Honglei, right?¡±

    She wouldn¡¯t have told him such a huge secret normally, but under this episode¡¯s effects, even though soaking in the water for an entire night got rid of most of the heat, she was still in an endlessly seductive state. She was much more open-minded than usual and had less reservations.

    ¡°So that¡¯s what it was!¡± Zu An¡¯s eyes shone brightly. Which genius came up with this idiotic technique? There are so many stupid side-effects!

    ¡°But big sis, haven¡¯t you already reached the pinnacle of the technique? Why are you still experiencing these side effects?¡± Zu An suddenly realized this issue.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s eyes were half open, as if she was extremely tired. ¡°I don¡¯t know either, it suddenly appeared after I helped you undo the seal¡­ Maybe it¡¯s because of the injury I received from the emperor, and then my cultivation dropped a bit when I fought with his seal. That¡¯s why I ended up like this¡­ I should get better once I return and recover properly.¡±

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°Big sis, this episode of heat isn¡¯t a joke! You have to take care of yourself. If¡­ I am only saying if, big sis sect master, you really need a man¡¯s help, you cannot find anyone else to help you. You can use me, I will definitely do my best.¡±

    Yun Jianyue was a bit moved when she heard his previous words, but the second halfpletely changed everything. She widened her misty eyes, and then a dangerous smile appeared on her face. ¡°It seems to me like you¡¯re finally tired of living.¡±

 Chapter 680: Meticulous and Careful

    <h4>Chapter 680: Meticulous and Careful</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    This was already Yun Jianyue¡¯s second time saying something like this to Zu An. This kid was always testing her patience!

    It really was strange though. Anyone else would¡¯ve died many times over by now if they said something like that, yet she just couldn¡¯t do anything to this guy.

    Zu An immediately smiled in apology. ¡°I was saying if, haha, just if. If big sis sect master has no such ns, then we obviously don¡¯t need to talk about it.¡±

    Yun Jianyue yawned. Her red lips looked especially soft and enchanting. ¡°Is there anything else? If not, get lost!¡±

    She had been tormented by this stupid episode of heat all night and was already extremely tired. Even though she didn¡¯t mind chatting with a handsome and strong young man right now in her current state, her rationality still won out in the end. She really shouldn¡¯t be with him in her current state.

    ¡°I have onest question!¡± Zu An quickly said, ¡°Who is your inside man in the pce? You can tell me this now, right? That way, we can help each other. Otherwise, it¡¯ll be really bad if we end up harming each other without knowing our identities.¡±

    Yun Jianyue shook her head. ¡°You will know when it is time.¡±

    Zu An frowned. ¡°You still don¡¯t trust me?¡±

    Yun Jianyue exined, ¡°This isn¡¯t a matter of trust, but rather that this person¡¯s identity is special. I promised this person that I will not tell a third person, so I hope you can understand. As for what you are worried about, that won¡¯t happen. That person won¡¯t harm you and might even help you.¡±

    ¡°This person is that mysterious?¡± Zu An saw that she really didn¡¯t n to tell him. He could only sigh. ¡°I hope things are as you say.¡±

    He no longer let this bother him and instead said, ¡°Then where is Honglei? I¡¯m going to tell her goodbye.¡±

    Yun Jianyue harrumphed. ¡°Wait a bit. I¡¯ll let you two meet when the sun rises.¡±

    Are you kidding me? It¡¯s still dark outside. What if you cannot hold yourselves back because you¡¯re about to separate?

    Zu An: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    Who the hell are you being so wary against? Am I someone like that?

    ¡­

    Zu An was quickly chased out of Yun Jianyue¡¯s room. He could only return to his room and go back to sleep. However, his head was filled with Yun Jianyue¡¯s seductive figure. There were several times where he almost couldn¡¯t hold himself back, but he still managed somehow in the end. He had just enjoyed Honglei¡¯s soft, little hands. He was even starting to look down on himself a bit.

    After toiling an entire night, even though his thoughts were all over the ce, he still gradually fell asleep.

    The next morning, Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun both left their rooms at the same time by chance. Then, they exchanged a smile.

    ¡°How wasst night?¡± A refreshed Jiao Sigun loosened his brows and quietly asked.

    ¡°It was a great battle of course. That girl continued to beg for forgiveness.¡± Piao Duandiao said while sticking out his chest. However, he secretly rubbed his lower back. I¡¯m so sore¡­ Isn¡¯t this kind of bad?

    ¡°Really?¡± Jiao Sigun was suspicious.

    Piao Duandiao coughed guiltily. The one who was begging for forgivenessst night was him. But how could he say that? He immediately changed the topic to escape his embarrassment. ¡°What about you?¡±

    Jiao Sigun replied with an ¡®oh¡¯. ¡°I asked that girl how much they normally charge.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Piao Duandiao was curious. He would never have a chance to be with a girl like this normally either. He wasn¡¯t clear on the prices.

    Jiao Sigun said, ¡°That girl told me that it was twenty taels on the ground and a hundred taels in bed. Do you know which one I chose?¡±

    ¡°The bed?¡± Piao Duandiao asked. Zu An was paying anyway, so they might as well enjoy themselves, right?

    Jiao Sigun shook his head. ¡°The floor of course.¡±

    Piao Duandiao: ¡°???¡±

    Jiao Sigun said as if it was to be expected, ¡°Even though Sir Zu is the one paying, we should try to help him save money as much as possible, right? With the same amount of money, I could do it five times on the ground instead of once on the bed. Isn¡¯t this more valuable?¡±

    Piao Duandiao waspletely stupefied. He was first shocked at how this man¡¯s head worked, and then he was shocked at his endurance.

    Five times¡­ five times¡­

    This number continued to ring in his head. He was just too jealous!

    ¡°Sirs, there is no need for you two to wait. Young master Zu is resting inside.¡± A maid quickly came to contact them.

    ¡°It¡¯s already morning, why does he still need rest? Can it be that big bro Zu is the one with some trouble down there?¡± Piao Duandiao cried out in delight. He finally regained some confidence.

    Jiao Sigun quickly corrected, ¡°How many girls did he have with himst night? Forget about five times, he might¡¯ve even done it fifteen times. Sir Zu really is amazing. I¡¯m left with nothing but admiration.¡±

    ¡°Fifteen times¡­¡± Piao Duandiao¡¯s smile immediately froze.

    Jiao Sigun said ¡°Sir Zu worked for an entire night, so he should sleep a bit longer. Let¡¯s leave first and not disturb him.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Piao Duandiao shuffled his feet numbly. He thought to himself that he really needed to get some proper rest so he could get some respect from the others next time.

    ¡­

    When the two of them left, the government brothel became quiet again.

    A whileter, Yun Jianyue was roused awake from the knocking on the door. ¡°Master, master!¡±

    Yun Jianyue suddenly sat up. She subconsciously rubbed her legs. Her face was extremely red. Why did I dream about him? Ah!!! I shouldn¡¯t have treated that scoundrel.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The knocking on the door became more and more urgent. It was now more like a pounding.

    Yun Jianyue put on some clothes, covering her stunning figure. She then undid the seal on the door. ¡°What is making you all nervous like that? You¡¯re not acting like a saintess at all.¡±

    Qiu Honglei walked inside unhappily. ¡°Master, why are we leaving so urgently?¡±

    ¡°Something happened back at the sect, so we need to return as soon as possible.¡± Yun Jianyue replied with a cold voice. She thought to herself that she¡¯ll exin it to her once they get back so that she didn¡¯t make a scene here.

    She twisted her waist unnaturally while talking. The mminess down there wasn¡¯t veryfortable.

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s expression changed when she heard that something happened back at the sect. She wasn¡¯t the narrow-minded type, so she no longer refused to go back. ¡°I only have one request. Let me meet with Ah Zu once before we go back.¡±

    Yun Jianyue was really annoyed when she heard this for some reason. She harrumphed. ¡°Being obsessed with a man will only hinder your cultivation.¡±

    Qiu Honglei didn¡¯t back down at all. ¡°That¡¯s only because master doesn¡¯t know anything about love¡­¡±

    But when she saw her master¡¯s brows stand up, she changed her tone. ¡°Ahem, master isn¡¯t someone any man in this world is worthy of. This disciple hasn¡¯t reached that level yet. Once I head back, I will focus on cultivation.¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s brows finally eased. ¡°Hmph. Have Leng Shuangyue apany you so that you don¡¯t disappoint our n morals.¡±

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s face turned red. Everyone else calls us the Devil Sect! What kind of n morals are there?

    But she didn¡¯t dare speak these thoughts and quickly left. When she reached the entrance, she suddenly turned around and gave Yun Jianyue a look. ¡°Master, you¡¯re okay, right?¡±

    ¡°What could have possibly happened to me?¡± Yun Jianyue harrumphed. She dragged theforter over her legs in an awkward manner. I need to take a bath after this.

    Qiu Honglei was puzzled. She felt like her master was a bit off today for some reason. Normally, she was aloof and cold like the moon. She gave a natural feeling of alienation. Yet today, she seemed full of worldliness, and even she, as another woman, was starting to be stirred¡­

    She quickly shook her head. I¡¯m definitely overthinking things. How can anything happen to someone like my master?

    She quickly rushed over to Zu An¡¯s room. Her maid Leng Shuangyue watched the two of them from the entrance. ¡°The sect master has given me orders. I hope the saintess does not force me to do anything.¡±

    ¡°All of you are so annoying.¡± Qiu Honglei waved her hand and impatiently entered.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in another extravagant guest room on the only road between the imperial pce and the government brothel.

    A noble young master stood in front of a slightly open, second floor window sill. He gazed upon the street outside and said with a frown, ¡°It has already been so long, why hasn¡¯t Zu Ane out yet? It¡¯s already been a long time since those two eastern pce imperial guards left.¡±

    His subordinate next to him replied, ¡°We¡¯ve already sent someone to investigate. It is rumored that Zu An ordered a dozen courtesan queens and is currently sleeping.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, that kid has some talent I guess.¡± The noble young master harrumphed. ¡°Unfortunately, I fear that this might be thest time he gets to act so carefree.¡±

 Chapter 681: Fierce Woman

    <h4>Chapter 681: Fierce Woman</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The subordinate next to him said with some hesitation, ¡°Young master, Zu An is someone who the emperor has granted the title of baron after all, and he is also a member of the eastern pce. Won¡¯t there be a huge uproar if you assassinate him in public?¡±

    The noble young master said indifferently, ¡°Who said I was going to kill him? Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve alreadypleted all the necessary arrangements. I will teach him an unforgettable lesson. It¡¯s his fault for daring to go against my father? My father might not lower himself to his level, but I¡¯ve always been one to take proper revenge.¡±

    ¡°Young master is wise.¡± The subordinate next to him immediately praised.

    The young noble wasn¡¯t fazed at all. ¡°Have you allpleted those preparations? Check everything again. I won¡¯t tolerate any carelessness.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± His subordinates quickly withdrew to check up on this.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in the government brothel, Zu An was alreadypletely dressed and waiting.

    When he saw a gorgeous youngdy in a long dress enter, he couldn¡¯t help but sigh with praise. ¡°Honglei, I am still just as dazzled whenever I see you again.¡±

    ¡°That mouth of yours has fooled too many girls already.¡± Qiu Honglei rolled her eyes. However, there wasn¡¯t any joy from being praised visible on her face. ¡°Ah Zu, I have to go back to the Holy Sect.¡±

    ¡°I know.¡± Zu An also looked discouraged. ¡°Your master already told me.¡±

    Damn it, why are there so many goodbyes recently? First, it¡¯s Manman, then Zheng Dan, after that Snow. Now, even Qiu Honglei is going to leave!

    The capital city was where things were happening, yet he instead felt strangely lonely.

    ¡°Meetings are difficult, and goodbyes are also unbearable.¡± Qiu Honglei sighed. She spent two years as a courtesan queen in Immortal Abode. During that time, she had met so many schrs and poets, so some of it couldn¡¯t help but rub off on her. ¡°We have to separate right after confirming our rtionship¡­¡±

    Zu An pulled her into his arms and said with a serious voice, ¡°If you fail at cultivating that stupid technique, then just throw it away. I don¡¯t need you to be an incredible expert. If you¡¯re weaker, then I¡¯ll have more chances to protect you.¡±

    Leng Shuangyue waspletely speechless when she heard these words. This guy really is a master pervert! He took their saintess right into his arms! Moreover, saintess, can you at least look the part a bit? Didn¡¯t you have many tricks to deal with those other men back then? You would have them dancing around your fingertips, yet they would never get anything. How did you end up catching feelings yourself?

    Sigh, if all of those guys knew that the saintess of their dreams was bashfully lying in the arms of another man, they might vomit blood out of anger.

    ¡­

    Leng Shuangyue thought all types of thoughts. However, if the sect master didn¡¯t say anything about it, then she wouldn¡¯t jump out and be the bad guy right now. A hug wasn¡¯t a big deal either as long as they didn¡¯t go any further.

    Qiu Honglei harrumphed. ¡°Hmph, my master would¡¯ve killed you if she heard you talking about the Heavenly Devil Temptation like this.¡±

    But she knew that she couldn¡¯t continue this type of rtionship forever. How was she supposed to contend against all of Zu An¡¯s other girls if she gave up on Heavenly Devil Temptation now?

    She was definitely pretty, but were Chu First Miss and the others not? If she ended up butting heads with one who was stronger than her, then she would bepletely helpless!

    Furthermore, she was the Holy Sect¡¯s saintess. She had her own ambitions too.

    She wanted to pursue the dao and be powerful like her master. No, it would be great if she could be even stronger.

    Hmph, her master loved to spank her when she was a child. She wanted to give her a taste of that one day too! She immediately felt extremely guilty when this type of sphemous thought emerged, but she was still eager to give it a try. She was from the Devil Sect after all, and they rebelled against orthodoxy.

    ¡°I¡¯m being serious here! Your cultivation technique is really dangerous, even your master¡­¡± Zu An hesitated. In the end, he didn¡¯t tell her about Yun Jianyue¡¯s rpse out of fear of adding more pressure. She might end up experiencing unnecessary fear during her future cultivation.

    She was different from Yun Jianyue anyway. As long as she reached the consummate level, even if she experienced a rpse episode, Zu An could just help her deal with it. He really didn¡¯t mind.

    Qiu Honglei suddenly looked motivated. ¡°Ah Zu, don¡¯t worry. My master said that I have the best aptitude out of all of the Holy Sect¡¯s inheritors. I will cultivate the technique to its peak, and then look for you then. But you better not forget about me.¡±

    Her voice carried a bit of bitterness when she reached the end.

    ¡°How could I forget about you? I will think about you every day, dream about you¡­¡± Zu An whispered by her ears and spoke all types of words of endearment to her. Then, he raised her fair and beautiful chin up to kiss her.

    Qiu Honglei moaned. She fell weak in his embrace. She received him gently and tenderly.

    Leng Shuangyue¡¯s eyes widened. She looked at Qiu Honglei in disbelief.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Sis, those are things yboys say! Haven¡¯t you heard your fair share of them back at Immortal Abode? Didn¡¯t you mock those silly girls for being fooled? Why did you suddenly be one of those naive girls too?

    Also, can the two of you not kiss that passionately? There¡¯s someone else right here!

    Mister Zu, where the hell is your hand going?

    Ma¡¯am, where is your past aloofness? Did you forget that the sect¡¯s saintness must remain chaste?

    She was extremely conflicted. She hesitated over whether she should stop them or not. However, the two of them didn¡¯t cross that final line, so she was worried that she might instead incur their hatred if she went over. But with how passionate the two of them were, she really was worried that something might happen.

    Fortunately, Qiu Honglei snapped out of it and pushed Zu An away. She sorted out her messy clothes and said gloomily, ¡°You were only good to me because you wanted my body after all¡­¡±

    Two streaks of tears slid down her cheeks. She looked extremely heartbroken.

    Zu An immediately panicked. ¡°Of course not! If I longed for your body, I wouldn¡¯t have stopped each time, and I wouldn¡¯t let you go back with your master! Even though your master is a grandmaster, she is wounded, and this is the capital, so I can still make you stay if I wanted to. It¡¯s only because I care about your prospects that I agreed to your master¡¯s condition¡­¡±

    Qiu Honglei smiled brightly again when she saw how he was losing his head while trying to exin himself. ¡°Ah Zu, you¡¯re really the best to me¡­¡±

    Leng Shuangyue sighed when she saw that the two hugged again, but they weren¡¯t touching each other passionately like before and only hugging each other warmly. The saintess is still the saintess after all¡­ I was worried that she might have turned into an idiot. Her green tea methods are still just as outstanding as before.

    Hmph, us Holy Sect women naturally need to be tough like this!

    She finally rxed now. She knew that she worried about the saintess for nothing.

    After all, there were many outstanding candidates in the sect back then, yet she rose to the top to be the only saintess. How could she be an idiot because of a stinky man?

    ¡­

    Zu An and Qiu Honglei finally bid each other farewell. When he left the government brothel, he felt a bit listless.

    They¡¯ve all left, all of them have left me¡­

    Even though this separation wasn¡¯t forever, Zu An still felt a sense of loneliness. Everything before him looked dismal and depressing.

    He continued to walk just like this. Suddenly, cries of rm sounded from nearby.

    When Zu An turned around, he saw that a powerful steed was charging at him, its momentum like that of a tank¡¯s.

    Even the horses of the world of cultivation are that powerful?

    Zu An was stunned. He evaded to the side to dodge. With his current cultivation, how could a horse ram into him?

    That horse bashed left and right. This street immediately became chaotic, with everyone losing their heads out of fear.

    A carriage slowly appeared at this time. The driver at the front was a sloppy looking elder. He was scared silly when he saw the scene before him and froze in ce.

    The carriage he was driving was already a bit shabby. It looked like it belonged to an ordinary family. With this horse¡¯s momentum, the carriage would definitely explode to pieces and the people inside would die for sure.

    Zu An frowned. He was someone who transmigrated from another world. He had witnessed many famous instances of cars that lost control and hit innocent pedestrians on the news. As a keyboard warrior back then, he could only type with righteous indignation back then. Now, he had the ability to do something, so there was no way he would let this type of tragedy y out before his eyes.

    With a shout, he charged over. He was fast enough to overtake the horse and grab that horse¡¯s reins.

    His feet dragged out two long grooves in the ground. In the end, he managed topletely stop this startled horse.

    The horse continued to stomp its legs in restlessness.

    ¡°Uncle Fu, did something happen?¡± A sweet and pleasant sounding voice sounded from inside the carriage at this time. It sounded like the droplets of a clear spring, and also like the chirping of birds.

    Zu An was stunned. Didn¡¯t he hear this voice before from somewhere? Yet he couldn¡¯t remember where exactly.

    ¡°Madam, there was a startled horse that charged over, but someone stopped it for us.¡± The old driver replied.

    The gentle voice sounded again. ¡°Let¡¯s just leave then since nothing happened.¡±

 Chapter 682: Trap

    <h4>Chapter 682: Trap</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An immediately became a bit upset. He took a step and blocked in front of the carriage. ¡°I just saved you guys, hello? Even if you¡¯re not deeply grateful, would it hurt you to say thanks?¡±

    The woman in the carriage didn¡¯t say anything else. She clearly wasn¡¯t willing to speak with an outsider man.

    The old driver smirked and said coldly, ¡°Who knows how many crazy people have tried to approach our madam because of all types of reasons. There were quite a few who used some cheap tricks to look like a hero.¡±

    He revealed his mouthful of yellow teeth. One of his front teeth was missing, so his smile was rather striking.

    Zu An was stunned. Soon afterwards, he realized that the other party had misunderstood.

    Doesn¡¯t the girl inside have too big of an ego? Just how beautiful do you have to be for people to do something like that to her?

    Their carriage looks ordinary, so I don¡¯t think their n has much money. Though there is a saying that beautiese from peasants¡­

    But he quickly shook his head and refuted this thought. Those who were truly beautiful were probably long seized into the chambers of bigwigs. Why would they live like this?

    This was a world of cultivation ruled by the fist. He refused to believe that those experts would leave a stunning peasant beauty alone.

    Right now, his mood was terrible because of Qiu Honglei and Yun Jianyue¡¯s departures, so he didn¡¯t feel like arguing with them. He waved his hand impatiently and said, ¡°Whatever, forget it. My good intention was instead treated like horse sh*t. Just get out of here.¡±

    The driver chuckled a few times. He had already experienced his fair share of these types of events. This person¡¯s reaction was simr to some of the others when they were exposed. Seeing that the madam inside didn¡¯t have any other orders, he swung the reigns to leave.

    Suddenly, there was a loud voice that sounded. ¡°Halt!¡±

    The driver¡¯s brows were raised. He thought to himself that he underestimated this brat. Looks like he had other ns! He stopped the reins to see what other tricks he wanted to y.

    But when he turned around, he only saw dust flying everywhere. A group of horsemen rushed over. The one in the front stopped in front of Zu An and took a look. He was horrified and turned around to report, ¡°General, ck Ice has been seriously injured! It might not survive!¡±

    ¡°What?¡± A young man urged his horse forward.

    The surrounding individuals¡¯ eyes lit up. This really was a handsome and outstanding young master.

    Some nearby girls covered their mouths and whispered among themselves when they saw hisvish golden embroidered robe, his golden band adorned with decorations of dragons and phoenixes, his finelybed long hair, and his sharp eyes. Judging from their starstruck expressions, their husbandos list definitely just added a new entry.

    The driver with the missing tooth was shocked. He quickly said to the one inside the carriage, ¡°Madam, I fear that we might have misunderstood this time. The one who has arrived is King Qi¡¯s heir. He seems to be targeting that fe.¡±

    The woman inside gently voiced her acknowledgement. Then, she didn¡¯t say anything.

    Zu An frowned. He nced at the startled horse next to him. This horse¡¯s body was jet-ck, while one of its hooves was white like snow. No wonder it was named ck Ice.

    But right now, it didn¡¯t look as powerful as before, and was instead foaming at the mouth. Its eyes were bloodshot, and its body was swaying from side to side.

    Zu An subconsciously loosened his grip. That horse could no longer stand still and crashed to the ground, its entire body twitching. It was obvious that it wouldn¡¯t survive.

    ¡°What is going on? I didn¡¯t use much strength when I was holding it, but it shouldn¡¯t be enough to take its life right?¡± Zu An was confused.

    ¡°Hmph! So many people witnessed you killing ck Ice, yet you dare quibble like this?¡± That young noble was always glowering at him from atop that horse. He didn¡¯t say anything, and it was instead the knight beside him that spoke.

    Zu An began to get angry when he heard his attitude. ¡°Your horse was injuring people in the middle of the street, yet you¡¯re making bogus usations here? Is there even aw left in this country?¡±

    For better or for worse, he was a serious court official, so he obviously needed to use thew here, let alone the fact that he was on the right side of it.

    The young master on the horse finally spoke up. ¡°There are injured people? May I ask where they are?¡±

    ¡°The speeding horse rammed into many people¡¯s booths. There¡¯s probably many people who were injured!¡± Zu An pointed at the messy street.

    ¡°Is that so?¡± The young noble said with a loud voice. ¡°Which one of you has suffered because of our horse earlier? Pleasee out so I canpensate you.¡±

    He said this three times in session. There was no response.

    He then slowly turned back towards Zu An, an amused smile resting on his lips. ¡°You¡¯ve seen for yourself that no one was injured by my horse. It was you who killed this young master¡¯s horse instead. This is definitive proof. Do you have anything else to say?¡±

    Zu An immediately realized what was happening. Thesemon people were scared of bringing trouble upon themselves. This young master was definitely not someone they should offend. The followers at his side were all ring at everyone, so they were scared of retaliating and didn¡¯t dare to say anything.

    He didn¡¯t me these people. That was how human nature worked.

    He pointed at the carriage nearby. ¡°Apart from those on the street, the speeding horse charged at them too. If I didn¡¯t stop it, their carriage would¡¯ve beenpletely destroyed and their people would¡¯ve died.¡±

    The young noble gave that carriage a look. This carriage was quite shabby in appearance and didn¡¯t look like it belonged to any rich household. He became even more rxed and looked at that carriage in a haughty manner. ¡°Was that true?¡±

    The threatening expression in his eyes was clear.

    Zu An frowned. This guy was clearly using his status to pressure them. Wow, I actually ended up getting caught in a deliberate car crash scam today.

    He thought that the carriage driver would look after his own hide just like the others, but he instead cracked open a grin and said, ¡°That is correct. That crazy horse was charging straight at us and almost frightened our madam.¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    He didn¡¯t admit to Zu An¡¯s im that the carriage and the people inside would¡¯ve perished. However, no one else here noticed this.

    The young noble gave him a look, and then he shifted his gaze, as if giving this ugly man even another look was disgraceful. ¡°But aren¡¯t you guys fine? Who knows if you all are in on this together?¡±

    The driver with the missing tooth chuckled, but he didn¡¯t say anything else.

    Now that Zu An knew that these people were here to start trouble, Zu An instead calmed down. So these were the so-called influential bigwigs of this world, huh? They¡¯re quite good at twisting the truth. Unfortunately, none of you canpete with me in terms of shamelessness.

    That young noble then looked at Zu An and said coldly, ¡°ck Ice is a military horse. It has brought back great achievements on the battlefield and has a permanent post in the Ministry of War. Do you know what kind of crime killing a military horse is?¡±

    Zu An said indifferently. ¡°Nope.¡±

    I really want to see just what kind of show you¡¯ll bring me. I¡¯m someone who has chatted with the emperor, King Qi, and Yun Jianyue, these types of people.

    This scene didn¡¯t make him panic even in the slightest, let alone pressure him into using force.

    The horseman next to him immediately continued, ¡°Killing a military horse is a huge crime! You will be banished at the very least. If it is a military horse that has an army rank, then your crimes will be even worse, bing a capital offense.¡±

    Zu Anughed. He looked at that extravagantly dressed young master. ¡°You want my life all because of a deranged horse that tore up this entire street? Y¡¯all are quite the vicious bastards.¡±

    That young noble¡¯s expression grew cold. When had anyone dared to speak like this to him ever since he was young?

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Zhi for +444 Rage points!

    Zu An¡¯s eyes narrowed. So this kid¡¯s surname is Zhao, huh? Anyone with the surname Zhao had a high chance of being part of the royal family.

    The horsemen on the side immediately berated one after the next, ¡°Outrageous! You dare speak so rudely to our general?¡±

    ¡°General? Then do you all know who I am?¡± Zu An walked with his hands behind his back. After refining the auras of an Earth Immortal and a Grandmaster, he was stronger than he had ever been. He naturally gave off a sense of confidence.

    ¡°Hm?¡± The driver with the missing tooth was surprised.

    ¡°What is it, Uncle Fu?¡± The pleasing voice of the madam inside sounded.

    The driver chuckled and said, ¡°Madam, this kid seems to have some guts.¡±

 Chapter 683: Even Someone Like You?

    <h4>Chapter 683: Even Someone Like You?</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Oh?¡± The madam inside was only a bit surprised, but she didn¡¯t continue asking about this. It was as if nothing in the outside world was that interesting to her.

    However, the other party did help her after all, so she didn¡¯t n to just leave right now.

    The driver with the missing tooth had served her for many years, so he naturally guessed at her intentions. As such, he leaned against the carriage door in a rxed manner as if he was watching a show.

    A look of contempt shed past the young noble¡¯s eyes when he heard what Zu An said. However, he still cupped his hands and yed along. ¡°Forgive me for having clumsy eyes, I really do not know who your respected self is.¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°I¡¯m not really anyone special, though I am a baron his majesty personally chose. I¡¯m also the eastern pce¡¯s crown prince secretary, but that¡¯s not that big of a deal. Since we are all officials, then why don¡¯t we just leave the matter at that?¡±

    The main reason he said this was because he wanted to find out whether this really was a coincidence or if these people were targeting him. Normally speaking, if it was a coincidence, then once they learned of his status, then they should feel some reservations.

    Phoenix Baron and crown prince¡¯s secretary, these weren¡¯t identities that were that special. However, one was bestowed by the emperor, while the other was an official who worked closely with the future emperor. Any normal person wouldn¡¯t want to trouble him any further.

    ¡°Hm?¡± A voice of surprise sounded from the carriage. A crack was opened up in the curtains, and some elegant fingers could vaguely be made out. It was easy to imagine just how beautiful the person inside was just from her fingertips.

    The driver with the missing tooth was surprised. The madam never showed much interest in anything. What happened to her today?

    The young noble chuckled. ¡°A crown prince secretary? Furthermore a baron? You¡¯re quite the big official, aren¡¯t ya? I¡¯m so scared!¡±

    The other horsemen also roared withughter. All of them began to mock him.

    ¡°Just a trivial petty official dares boast about his identity here?¡±

    ¡°I fear that it is just a country bumpkin. If a boulder fell out of the sky and hit somewhere in the capital, eight out of ten of them will probably be higher rank than him.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m saying. Even many of us here are higher ranked than a trifling crown prince secretary.¡±

    ¡­

    Even though the crown prince¡¯s secretary worked close to the crown prince, his rank wasn¡¯t very high. Their words weren¡¯t wrong.

    However, this position couldn¡¯t really be evaluated based on its rank, because he worked with the crown prince. They often became high-ranking officials in the future. It was just like how many leaders of the past world had secretaries, and even though their statuses weren¡¯t high, who dared to offend any big shot¡¯s secretary?

    Zu An looked calmly at these people. He already had a rough idea of what was happening. These people indeed came to target him, and they definitely did not belong to the crown prince¡¯s faction. Otherwise, they had to at least show him some courtesy.

    This meant that this could only be someone from King Qi¡¯s faction. No wonder that startled horse situation was so strange. This was something that these fes set up deliberately!

    The young noble waved his hand, indicating for everyone to quiet down. Then, he said to Zu An, ¡°I wonder what column and row this sir stands at in the throne room?¡±

    During the court sessions, only those of higher ranks had the qualifications to stand near the emperor.

    Officials who were ranked lower could only wait outside the throne room and line up in session. Unless it was a special circumstance, they couldn¡¯t meet with the emperor at all. They could only asionally see what happened in the throne room from a distance.

    Those of even lower rank would be even further away and near the pce entrance. They wouldn¡¯t be able to see a thing and could only see the roof of the grand throne room.

    That was why the position one stood in could be used to distinguish a difference in rank and preference.

    Zu An said indifferently, ¡°I do not need to attend the court sessions.¡±

    That young noble roared withughter. ¡°So this sir doesn¡¯t even have the qualifications to participate in the court sessions!¡±

    He immediately put away his smile, and then spat on the ground. ¡°You still dare to im that you¡¯re an official like me? Even someone like you?¡±

    Those horsemen all cooperated with their young master. They mocked Zu An one after another.

    ¡°Fucking noisy!¡± Zu An harrumphed and used his Hundredwarble ability. An invisible sound wave spread out. Those horsemen felt a pain in their heads. Many of them momentarily couldn¡¯t even speak what they wanted to say.

    Some with lower cultivation levels even fell off their horses in sorry states.

    Zu An didn¡¯t use all of his strength, or else these horsemen might be idiots on the spot.

    As an elite, cream of the crop keyboard warrior, he knew that revealing all of your trump cards right from the start wasn¡¯t a good choice.

    The surrounding civilians began to flee when they saw that both sides began to sh. Soon afterwards, this entire ce became empty.

    That young master narrowed his eyes. ¡°I was wondering why you were so confident. Turns out you had some cultivation on you. What a pity that it is just six ranks. You dare behave like that in the capital with just that?¡±

    The strength this person disyed matched the intelligence. It was stated that it was around the five or sixth rank of cultivation, but his real fighting strength was higher, equivalent to the peak of sixth rank, perhaps even touching upon the seventh rank.

    However, even if he was seventh rank, so what? He was still an ant in this young noble¡¯s eyes.

    Zu An looked at him with an ambiguous smile. ¡°Then I wonder which great official your respected self is? At the very least, you can allow me to die knowing what happened, right?¡±

    The young noble harrumphed. He raised his chin proudly, his nose pointing at the sky.

    Things like self-introductions wasn¡¯t something he would ever drop low enough to do. The horseman next to him understood and said, ¡°Open your damn eyes and take a look. This one is King Qi¡¯s heir, a Reserve Diary Officer? Is he someone a trivial official like you dares to provoke? Do you know what kind of crime offending a higher official is?!¡±

    Even though the title Reserve Diary Officer didn¡¯t sound like anything amazing, this wasn¡¯t the same officer as the army rank ofter generations. This was a true high ranking general.

    The imperial pce had the vanguard, rear, left, right, cavalry, and gueri warfare armies. Apart from this, each of the four directions of the capital city had an army, the east, west, north, and south armies.

    These troops were there to ensure the safety of the imperial pce and the capital city.

    Meanwhile, the capital city outskirts had six great high ranking officers, each in control of their own army: the garrisoned rider, infantry, monster rider, eternal river, roaring fire, and reserve armies. These were the empire¡¯s central field army, the elites among elites.

    Every single high ranking officer grasped a sixth of this army¡¯s power. They all had at least eight ranks of cultivation, so it was easy to imagine how high this position was.

    Zu An was shocked. No wonder! Now that he had just offended King Qi, the elder can¡¯t make a move out of consideration for his status, so the juniors set out.

    Looks like this trap was set up to have him killed. A military horse was ughtered and he went against a higher official, this was an incredibly dangerous situation. Even if the higher ups looked into this matter, they would have enough reasons to justify their actions.

    From how smooth everything went, this was probably not their first time doing this.

    An urgent voice sounded from the side. ¡°Young master, my brother-inw has just arrived at the capital city and doesn¡¯t know many of the rules! He didn¡¯t offend you on purpose, so please let him go out of behalf for the Qin and Chu ns!¡±

    A young man whose features were even prettier than a girl¡¯s walked out. This was precisely Chu Youzhao.

    There was another fierce, leopard-like beauty with tanned skin next to her. Who else could this be but Murong Qinghe?

    Chu Youzhao and Murong Qinghe were only out to have some fun. They both rushed over to see what was happening over on this side out of curiosity, as they were both the curious sort. However, this drama they nned to watch ended up involving them too.

    She quickly rushed out to ease the situation when she saw that it was Zu An.

    ¡°So it was young master Chu anddy Murong.¡± King Qi¡¯s heir Zhao Zhi nodded slightly in greeting. The ones behind these two were all core members of King Qi¡¯s faction, so he didn¡¯t dare treat them with contempt. ¡°From what young master Chu is saying, this one must be that famous Chu n¡¯s drafted son-inw, Zu An, right? Back then, when Chu First Miss chose some random rascal off the streets as her husband, many young masters in the capital were sighing with disappointment. I thought that with Chu First Miss¡¯ sight, the drafted husband might have something special about him.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°But now that I meet him again, I can only say that Chu First Miss¡¯ eye for men really isn¡¯t that great.¡±

    Chu Youzhao was upset. However, she needed this person to let Zu An go, so she could only forcefully suppress her rage. ¡°My brother-inw is a neer. If he has offended the young master in any way, I will apologize in his ce.¡±

    Zu An said indifferently, ¡°Youzhao,e back over here. Why do I need you to apologize for me? It¡¯s more like it if he apologizes to me.¡±

 Chapter 684: Humiliation and Rage

    <h4>Chapter 684: Humiliation and Rage</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    When these words came out, the surroundings suddenly became quiet. Then, everyone burst out intoughter. Was there something wrong with this person¡¯s head?

    Even the heir of King Qi had to apologize to him? Who does this kid think he is?!

    Chu Youzhao was angry and panicking. She managed to calm things down after such difficulty, yet why was this guy so bad at talking? Hepletely ruined all of her efforts so quickly! There was no way King Qi¡¯s heir would let him go now!

    Murong Qinghe frowned. The Murong n would definitely stand by King Qi¡¯s side. If it wasn¡¯t because Youzhao stepped out, she wouldn¡¯t even get involved in this matter.

    She had faced Zu An before back at the Qin n, and she admired his cultivation. However, he acted haughty in front of people he shouldn¡¯t be acting haughty in front of, so it seemed more like he only had strength and no smarts.

    Hmph, it¡¯s still my big brother Chu who is gentle and kind. He¡¯s the most handsome.

    While she was all starstruck, the driver with the missing tooth also shook his head inside. ¡°That little fe is a bit too confident.¡±

    A soft chuckle came out from inside the carriage. ¡°Is that so? Why is it that I don¡¯t think so?¡±

    The driver was incredibly shocked. It has been so long since he heard his madamugh, yet now, she was actually smiling because of a stupid impulsive kid?

    ¡°Does madam know him?¡± He asked probingly. His madam was acting a bit strange today. She seemed to actually care a bit about this Zu An.

    The carriage became quiet once more. The madam clearly didn¡¯t n to reply.

    King Qi¡¯s heir looked at Zu An in disbelief. Then, as if he had just heard a great joke, he roared withughter. ¡°Me, apologize to you? I would do that to someone like you?¡±

    Zu An sighed. ¡°Don¡¯t say I didn¡¯t give you a chance to apologize. You won¡¯t have the chance again.¡±

    King Qi¡¯s heir harrumphed and ignored what he said, as if he was talking to a lunatic. Then, he looked at Chu Youzhao and said, ¡°Young master Chu, you too have seen for yourself that this guy is courting death himself. You cannot me me for what¡¯s toe.¡±

    Chu Youzhao was starting to panic. She arrived in front of Zu An and said with a hushed voice, ¡°Brother-inw, you don¡¯t need to prove anything here! He is King Qi¡¯s heir, as well as the Reserve Diary Officer. He¡¯s not someone you can offend! Yes, I know you¡¯re good at fighting, but King Qi¡¯s heir has eight ranks of cultivation. He has so many men behind him too. How many can you defeat?¡±

    Zu An rubbed her head and chuckled. ¡°Not bad, you¡¯re still worried about me even in this type of situation. This brother-inw didn¡¯t dote on you for nothing.¡±

    ¡°Pah, who the heck wants your doting.¡± Chu Youzhao blushed. She was embarrassed and panicking. However, she also momentarily forgot what else she wanted to say.

    King Qi¡¯s heir spoke up again. ¡°If I¡¯m recalling correctly, the Chu n seems to have already severed their rtionship with this Zu An. He has already been exiled from the family and is no longer Chu First Miss¡¯ husband. This naturally means that he isn¡¯t your brother-inw either. That is why you shouldn¡¯t worry about this matter anymore, young master Chu.¡±

    Even though he didn¡¯t really care about the Chu n with his status, the Chu n¡¯s rtionship with the Qin n was special. Chu First Miss, as well as this young master Chu were both favored by the Qin n¡¯s two lords. Furthermore, everyone knows that Murong Qinghe liked this young master Chu. He didn¡¯t want to ruin everyone¡¯s rtionships because of this small matter, and that was why he patiently exined to Chu Youzhao despite his usual nature.

    Chu Youzhao was about to say something, but Zu An grabbed her hand and told her through ki transmission, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I know what I am doing.¡±

    Chu Youzhao was stunned. He didn¡¯t seem to be as muddle-headed as she thought from how calm his voice seemed.

    When she recalled all of her memories about him, she realized that even though he always made her annoyed, when there really was danger, he was always as reliable as a mountain. When she thought of this, even though she couldn¡¯t understand why he would face King Qi¡¯s heir head-on like this, she gave up on persuading him further.

    She then remembered that her hand was in his. Her heart began to pound. She quickly pulled her hand back, and then she ran back to Murong Qinghe¡¯s side. She only calmed down a bit after returning to her usual ymate¡¯s side.

    Murong Qinghe gave her a strange look. ¡°Big brother Chu, why is your face so red?¡±

    ¡°Is it? Maybe it¡¯s because I was a bit worried.¡± Chu Youzhao touched her cheeks. She noticed that it was a bit hot and quickly said this out of guilt.

    ¡°Big brother Chu, you don¡¯t need to feel too worried. You already did everything you should¡¯ve done. Your brother-inw insists on doing this, so it isn¡¯t a situation you can do anything about.¡± Murong Qinghe gave Zu An a look of disdain. She felt like this muscle head was nowhere near as cool as her handsome big brother Chu.

    King Qi¡¯s heir said, ¡°Forget it, out of favor for Chu first miss and young master Chu, I won¡¯t trouble him too much. If he breaks his own arm and leg, then I¡¯ll just leave the matter at that.¡±

    Murong Qinghe nodded inside. Even though King Qi¡¯s heir was rather fierce, this was already the best conclusion for Zu An. At the very least, he will remain alive. As for his broken arm and leg, they will heal in time.

    Chu Youzhao was still worried. She thought to herself that it would¡¯ve been better if she was with her big sister this time. If she was here, then nothing would¡¯ve happened here.

    Zu An began to pick at his ear. He said impatiently, ¡°Are you done bbering yet? Did you get to your position by using your mouth? Do you think you¡¯re me or something?¡±

    The young noble¡¯s face became cold. ¡°Very good, you¡¯ve sessfully angered me. Since he isn¡¯t willing to do it himself, then you all should help him out.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Zhi for +888 Rage points!

    ¡°Understood!¡± The surrounding horsemen already received orders a long time ago. They rushed at Zu An with sinister expressions.

    Since our young master said to break his limbs, then we¡¯ll break his thing too, since that¡¯s a third leg, right? Let¡¯s see if you¡¯ll still act so smug then!

    ¡°Brother-inw, be careful!¡± Chu Youzhao was now really panicking when she saw those horsemen charge over.

    After all, cavalry had an overwhelming advantage against infantry. When horsemen charged on the battlefield, that was like impending death for the infantry.

    Murong Qinghe sighed. Since her big brother Chu cared so much about this man, then she will do her best to save himter. She believed that King Qi¡¯s heir would at least spare her this much respect.

    Zu An stood in ce with his arms behind him. It was as if he didn¡¯t even see these horses charge at him.

    He must be scared! All of the horsemen produced this same thought in their heads. They originally nned to go around and cut off his retreat, and then pressure him until he had nowhere else to go.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    However, this fe just stood in ce stupidly without evading at all. Then in that case, they¡¯ll save the trouble.

    Being rammed into by a speeding horse would shatter half his ribs at the very least, right? However, it¡¯s this fe¡¯s fault for offending their young master.

    The horsemen smiled sinisterly. They charged straight at him.

    Something strange suddenly happened. Those speeding horses suddenly stopped. The entire situationpletely changed in the blink of an eye.

    Many horsemen were caught off guard and throne straight off the horses¡¯ backs. Only a few who had higher cultivation levels barely managed to stay still. However, their bodies were still flung left and right, leaving them in sorry states.

    Those that were flung to the ground didn¡¯t expect this at all, all of them badly battered from the fall, some who even had broken bones. There were a few unlucky ones who facented into the dirt and lost half their teeth. The blooding out of their nose was mixed with the blooding out of their mouths. It really was an extremely sorry sight.

    Everyone was stupefied. Chu Youzhao and Murong Qinghe both subconsciously rubbed their eyes, as if they didn¡¯t dare to believe what they were seeing.

    The young noble¡¯s side looked at those horsemen in confusion. These were all strictly trained warhorses who wouldn¡¯t be frightened even on the battlefield where cannons fired for days on end. Why would they suddenly behave this way?

    The driver on the carriage¡¯s side voiced his surprise. He muttered to himself, ¡°How did he do it? I couldn¡¯t even tell.¡±

    Zu An calmly looked at the horsemen lying on the ground in pain,pletely unfazed. He said with an amused voice, ¡°New years is still quite far away, why are you all suddenly greeting me? Sorry fes, I don¡¯t have any new years money to give you.¡±

    ¡°You little bastard, you¡¯re courting death!¡± Those cavalry were furious. Theypletely disregarded their injuries and drew their des. They charged at him. They didn¡¯t use their weapons before, but they were now utterly infuriated by this guy.

    You have sessfully trolled the horsemen for +999 +999 +999¡­

    The horsemen who weren¡¯t flung off also rushed over.

    Murong Qinghe exined, ¡°Those horsemen are mostly at the fourth and fifth rank, with a good number of sixth ranked cultivators. However, these are all members of the empire¡¯s elite field army and proficient in formation strategy. That is why it would be dangerous even for a seventh rank cultivator in this situation.¡±

    Chu Youzhao¡¯s heart began to pound nervously again.

 Chapter 685: Sheâ€™s a Bit Too Old For me

    <h4>Chapter 685: She¡¯s a Bit Too Old For me</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The first two who arrived were both at the sixth rank. Even though they weren¡¯t on horses, their momentum was still terrifying.

    Their attacks were simple and direct,cking tricks. This was a trademark of the army.

    There was a bloodiness exuding from their des that was clearly tempered from the battlefield.

    Zu An faced them head-on. With his current cultivation, these individuals weren¡¯t worth evading.

    He didn¡¯t use Shining Finger, as this was something Golden Token Eleven used before. There were people watching everywhere, so they might make the connection.

    Instead, he attacked with a palm. He struck the sides of the two des, one strike to the left and one strike to the right. With his strength, he could¡¯ve broken their arms too, and made their fingers bleed.

    However, after the strikes, they only staggered a bit. Then, they quickly retaliated with their free palm.

    Zu An faced their strikes head-on. When both sides¡¯ palms met, they were all blown back. There was a zhang of space left open.

    Zu An frowned. He noticed that there was ayer of blue light swirling about their bodies, as well as some faint cryptic runes. He realized that this was probably the formations used in the army.

    He was no stranger to these things. When he was in Brightmoon City, the Chu n¡¯s private army relied on these formations to withstand the attacks of a master.

    It was precisely because of formations that armies still existed in this world of cultivation. All attacks would be distributed evenly among the soldiers.

    Right now, the young master¡¯s side werepletely shocked. After all, this small troop was his personal army, every single one of them excellent soldiers. The main force was at the fifth rank, and only a few were at the fourth rank. There were a good number of sixth rank as well. Together with this formation in ce, they could easily take out anyone at the peak of the sixth rank, yet they were only going even with this Zu An?

    Even though he already tried his best not to underestimate him, this fe still ended up being more formidable than the intelligence.

    However, King Qi¡¯s heir didn¡¯t care. These personal troops of his could even take out a seventh rank cultivator without an issue, let alone this Zu An.

    As if they could sense their master¡¯s dissatisfaction, those soldiers all felt their faces heat up. They roared out in anger and charged at Zu An again from all directions.

    Why was it that many cultivators couldn¡¯t adapt to a real battlefield? In the end, it is because there are weaponsing at you from all sides, so most evasive maneuvers be useless. On the contrary, eliminating the enemy in a swift and efficient manner, while preserving as much stamina as possible for an extended battle, instead became optimal.

    This wasn¡¯t the first time they faced a cultivator from the world of jianghu. It was hard for these types of cultivators to adapt to this type of fighting style and they were always defeated under their coordinated attacks.[1]

    When he saw those iing figures, Zu An knew that most of his paths of retreat had already been cut off. The only few openings were traps they deliberately left open. Once he evaded in those areas, their attacks would wear him down wave upon wave.

    There is no way to evade the coordinated attacks of this army. However¡­ why do I have to dodge?

    He spread his arms, and then a wisp of white energy appeared in the very center. Then, snowkes filled the heavens. The iing soldiers were showered in ice and snow. Ayer of frost quickly extended across their bodies. Their iing stance seemed to have suddenly gone into slow motion, their steps slower and slower. Eventually, all of them turned into frozen ice sculptures.

    Chu Youzhao, who was currently extremely worried, widened her pretty eyes in shock. ¡°Snowke Sword?!¡±

    She was too familiar with her big sister¡¯s Snowke Sword. This scene before her was indeed simr, yet also a bit different. She couldn¡¯t quite put her fingers on it.

    However, she felt like Zu An¡¯s Snowke Sword seemed even more formidable than her big sister¡¯s inparison.

    This fe was actually a genius?

    Chu Youzhao was incredibly shocked. It was already extremely difficult for her big sis to cultivate the Snowke Sword to her level even with her amazing aptitude, but how long has this brother-inw cultivated for? Even if her big sis taught him after they got married, it has only been a few months, right? Yet the student already surpassed the master?

    The driver with the missing tooth frowned. ¡°This doesn¡¯t seem to be ¡®Snowke Sword¡¯, but it indeed shares a bit of its sword intent. How strange¡­¡±

    King Qi¡¯s heir was waiting for his subordinates to beat the sh*t out of Zu An, yet in that instant, all of his subordinates were actuallypletely wiped out!

    He was shocked and furious. ¡°Damn moocher, even your best skill was picked up from your woman.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Zhi for +444 +444 +444¡­

    He couldn¡¯t tell the difference. He also subconsciously took this for Chu Chuyan¡¯s ¡®Snowke Sword¡¯.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An indeed used the Snowke Sword, but he didn¡¯t awaken an ice element ability, so there was no way it would be as strong as Chu Chuyan¡¯s. However, he could summon his Snow Phoenix. When paired together, it was enough to pull off this bluff.

    Furthermore, the power of the Snow Phoenix was rted to his cultivation. Now that his cultivation level increased, the power of the Snow Phoenix also increased substantially.

    When he heard what the young noble said, heughed and said, ¡°Mooching is a skill in itself, alright? Especially when it¡¯s a stunning beauty like Chuyan, do you think she¡¯ll like any random man? If you have the skill, why don¡¯t you try and mooch off of her? She won¡¯t even give you the time of day. Who else is there¡­ Oh, right, there seems to be a woman named Yu Yanluo, the past number one beauty of the capital. If you have the skill, why don¡¯t you try to mooch off of her? It won¡¯t be toote toe back and mock me then.¡±

    The driver watching from the distance was furious. ¡°Bastard! This fe is just too annoying. He dares nder madam¡¯s reputation!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Uncle Fu for +666 Rage points!

    However, Zu An was currently focused on King Qi¡¯s heir. He didn¡¯t notice these Rage points.

    The woman in the carriage chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s fine. This little fe is quite interesting.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Uncle Fu looked towards the carriage in shock. Judging from her tone, it seemed like the two really did know each other!

    The young noble also stopped breathing for a moment. ¡°You¡¯re making mooching sound so righteous and just? You¡¯re probably the only one who could do such a thing.¡±

    Nearby, Murong Qinghe nodded in deep sympathy. She quietly said to Chu Youzhao next to her, ¡°Big brother Chu, your brother-inw is really shameless.¡±

    Chu Youzhao felt her cheeks heat up. ¡°He really is different from a normal person.¡±

    Zu An said with a sigh, ¡°Looks like you can¡¯t mooch off of Yu Yanluo after all. It¡¯s no surprise you would be ashamed and angry.¡±

    King Qi¡¯s heir said proudly, ¡°This young master has an illustrious background, and my cultivation is high. There are far too many women who chase after me. Why do I need to be so shameless as to mooch off of someone?¡±

    ¡°Did all of those girls chase after you? Aren¡¯t they all after you because of your background and dad?¡± Zu An said with disdain. ¡°But look at me, clearly penniless and without any status or authority, yet all the prettiest girls of this world like me. That¡¯s real skill.¡±

    The driver with the missing tooth gasped. ¡°This fe¡¯s shamelessness has really exceeded this old one¡¯s wildest imagination!¡±

    The woman in the carriage chuckled. ¡°You haven¡¯t seen his even more shameless side yet.¡±

    As if she remembered something from the past, a perfect smile appeared on her soft, red lips.

    King Qi sneered. ¡°My background and my father are all a part of my charm, so why is there a need to separate them? Who else can you me for being born into a sh*t family?¡±

    With his knowledge and experiences, he naturally wasn¡¯t someone who would be taunted by Zu An.

    Zu An sighed. ¡°That is why you can only attract these cheap and materialistic girls. Can you obtain any of those girls who have the same background as you, but are the top beauties of this world? For example, the Devil Sect¡¯s Yun Jianyue, or the past capital madonna Yu Yanluo?¡±

    The young noble¡¯s skin twitched. Both of these were women renown for their beauty in this entire world. It wasn¡¯t just their beauty, their status was also fatal temptation. Why would they like a junior like him?

    He couldn¡¯t hold back his sarcasm as he said, ¡°You¡¯re talking like you could.¡±

    Murong Qinghe also gave her crush a nudge. ¡°Big brother Chu, your brother-inw is a bit too shameless. He¡¯s actually using these types of women as examples.¡±

    Chu Youzhao also had a weird look on her face. She obviously knew the status of these women. The only ones who were on part with them were those like his majesty and King Qi. It seemed a bit unfair for her brother-inw to bring them up.

    Zu An looked like he had already been waiting for this reply for a long time. He feigned indifference and said, ¡°I do not dare speak about the Devil Sect¡¯s sect master, but Yu Yanluo and I are much closer than you think. But she¡¯s a bit too old for me, so I didn¡¯t ept her love.¡±

    The driver with the missing tooth immediately spat out the water he was drinking.

    The woman inside the carriage: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    1. Jianghu is a general term used for the world of martial arts, their actions usually outside the scope of governments andw.

 Chapter 686: I Mean, You Said It

    <h4>Chapter 686: I Mean, You Said It</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    You have sessfully trolled Yu Yanluo for +222 +222 +222¡­

    All women cared about their age. She was just watching from the side for fun, yet now, she was caught up in the drama too.

    Uncle Fu¡¯s expression also became extremely strange. It has already been so many years, yet this was the first time a man showed disdain towards the madam because of her age.

    Did age even matter when the madam was that pretty?

    Furthermore, she wasn¡¯t even that old! She looked just like those other youngdies! Is this kid blind?

    Murong Qinghe tugged on Chu Youzhao¡¯s sleeves. ¡°Your brother-inw really is brave. He actually dares to say something like that, hehe.¡±

    As someone who grew up in the capital, she obviously knew who Yu Yanluo was. Back then, her stunning looks were known throughout all of the noble circles. Just how many men of their father¡¯s generation were bewitched by her looks?

    Chu Youzhao¡¯s eyelids jumped. ¡°What brother-inw? I don¡¯t know who he is.¡±

    This is too embarrassing! What the heck are you even bragging about? Did you really have to go this far?

    You¡¯re even saying how close you are with another woman in front of my face! How is my big sis supposed to feel?

    King Qi¡¯s heir was first stunned, and then he roared out withughter. ¡°You and Yu Yanluo are close? Hahaha, are you trying to make me die fromughing? Do you know what kind of person Yu Yanluo is? She is the number one beauty in this world! Back then, both his majesty and my father pursued¡­ ahem¡­¡±

    He realized that he had misspoken and quickly stopped himself. ¡°If a goddess like her ended up liking an idiot like you, then I¡¯ll do a handstand and eat sh*t right now!¡±

    Zu An curled his lips. ¡°I mean, you said it.¡±

    He fished out an entirely white jade pendant from his inner pocket. There were meticulous flower and animal decorations on it, and there was a ¡®Yu¡¯ character at the very center. ¡°Do you recognize this pendant? This was the keepsake of love Yu Yanluo gave me. She normally always keeps it on her, but she can¡¯t always be with me, so she gave me this so that it could be with me all the time in her ce.¡±

    He once saved Yu Yanluo from the hands of the ckwind Stockade. She said that she would return the favor once she returned to Brightmoon City, but when he looked for herter on, he couldn¡¯t find her at all. Furthermore, she never came back.

    Didn¡¯t this mean that she scammed him?

    You can¡¯t me me then. I¡¯ll just use her to make myself look good.

    It was now King Qi¡¯s heir, Chu Youzhao, and the others¡¯ turn to be shocked. Even though they didn¡¯t recognize this as Yu Yanluo¡¯s personal keepsake, the ¡®Yu¡¯ character on the pendant was something they recognized. Furthermore, the decorations were the Yu n¡¯s crest that outsiders couldn¡¯t fake.

    ¡°Wait, does brother-inw really have a rtionship with Yu Yanluo?¡± Chu Youzhao and Murong Qinghe looked at Zu An in shock. Both of their little mouths were wide open.

    ¡°How is that possible?!¡± Zhao Zhi was also shocked. In that instant, he even felt a bit of jealousy.

    Who was Yu Yanluo? It might have been a while since she was the star of the capital, but she was the undisputed number one beauty!

    Even his father pursued her yet failed! He had seen her a few years ago too. He could never forget her stunning features after that single nce. She appeared in his dreams countless times afterwards.

    But he understood clearly that nothing would ever happen between someone like him and Yu Yanluo. That was why he only purely admired her.

    If the goddess even he only dared to silently admire ended up liking a man who he looked down on himself, then wouldn¡¯t he be so angry his insides would feel like it''s exploding?

    How is this possible?!

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Zhi for +999 +999 +999¡­

    King Qi¡¯s heir quickly snapped out of his daze. There was no way a goddess like her would like a drafted son-inw like this. He took a deep breath and felt his rationality returning to him. He sneered and said, ¡°You¡¯re probably just saying any random Yu n pendant is Yu Yanluo¡¯s. Do you think I¡¯ll believe you? Yu Yanluo would like you? Why don¡¯t you look in the mirror once in a while!¡±

    Murong Qinghe and Chu Youzhao nodded in sympathy. They felt like this was a reasonable exnation.

    Only the driver with the missing tooth knew that this pendant wasn¡¯t something an ordinary Yu n member could have. It was indeed something the madam kept on her.

    He looked towards the carriage with disbelief. ¡°Madam, did you really end up liking that young man?¡±

    The woman inside harrumphed. ¡°Hmph, even you¡¯re falling for his bluff?¡±

    The driver with the missing tooth chuckled awkwardly. He should¡¯ve been the first to reject this thought. After all, his madam hadn¡¯t gotten close to any men in recent years. It was to the extent where she didn¡¯t even give her nominal husband much attention¡­

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Yet today, she was strangely interested in this kid named Zu An. That was why it wasn¡¯t strange for him to be suspicious.

    ¡°Since the madam doesn¡¯t have anything to do with him, then I will tear up his mouth so that he doesn¡¯t ruin madam¡¯s reputation.¡± The driver with the missing tooth said with righteous indignation.

    ¡°Forget it.¡± The woman in the carriage quickly said. ¡°Let¡¯s watch for a bit longer first.¡±

    The driver¡¯s eyebrows rose. Looks like this madam really did have a different rtionship with this brat!

    Zu An put away the pendant and said with disdain, ¡°You really are jealous. If you don¡¯t believe me, then go ask around in the Yu n. However, I fear that you¡¯ll refuse to believe it even if Yu Yanluoes out herself and exins that to you, so you don¡¯t have to do a handstand and eat sh*t.¡±

    The young noble¡¯s face immediately turned purple. ¡°Hmph! I¡¯m not going to waste words with you. Yu n¡¯s people will get their revenge on youter now that you¡¯ve spoken behind Yu Yanluo¡¯s back. Why don¡¯t we talk about our thing.¡±

    ¡°What thing do we have between us? I am only interested in women. I have no interest in you no matter how pretty you are.¡± Zu An said with contempt.

    King Qi¡¯s heir: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Zhi for +444 +444 +444¡­

    He took a deep breath to calm himself down. He said with a snort, ¡°You have a sharp mouth, but this is a world of cultivators where everything depends on strength. This young master will make you understand how big the world really is!¡±

    Chu Youzhao¡¯s heart began to pound nervously again. Everyone knew that King Qi¡¯s heir had eight ranks of cultivation. Now that her brother-inwpletely offended him, would he really hold back?

    ¡°Hold on!¡± When he saw that Zhao Zhi was about to charge over, Zu An quickly raised his hands to stop him.

    ¡°What, scared?¡± King Qi¡¯s heir sneered. He wasn¡¯t in a rush to attack anymore. ¡°If you are scared, then I¡¯ll give you a chance. If you kneel and knock your head against the ground, then I can consider letting you go.¡±

    He only said that he would consider it, not that he agreed to let him go. Once Zu An really did bow in front of everyone, he would then teach him how cruel this world really was.

    Zu An said with a sigh. ¡°I¡¯m just worried that things will get annoying. What if I beat you up so badly that you run crying to your mom and dadter? Then this matter will never end.¡±

    King Qi¡¯s heirughed in disdain. ¡°I need to cry for help against trash like you?¡±

    Even though Zu An¡¯s cultivation was already quite impressive, in the eyes of an eighth rank cultivator, he could indeed only be considered trash.

    ¡°That¡¯s hard to say, man. How about this? Let¡¯s make a vow and have a fair fight. Neither one of us can get revenge on the other afterwards. What do you say?¡± Zu An wasn¡¯t scared of this fe in front of him, but he had to consider the element of King Qi.

    King Qi¡¯s heir frowned. He was actually a bit moved by this suggestion. Zu An was a subordinate of the eastern pce after all. ording to the reports of his spies, the crown prince and crown princess seemed to trust him a lot. It would indeed be a bit troublesome if the eastern pce¡¯s side questioned him afterwards.

    If this type of vow was made, then he didn¡¯t have to worry about these consequences.

    But why is this fe saying this? It feels like something is off¡­

    When he saw that the other party went silent, Zu An began to spur him on. ¡°What, the glorious heir of King Qi is scared of me? Whatever, you can just call your pops over and I¡¯ll just have to deal with him.¡±

    King Qi¡¯s heir erupted with rage. ¡°Me? Scared of you?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Zhi for +888 Rage points!

    Even though his extraordinary background brought him endless benefits, it had its faults too. Everyone believed that everything he had was because of his father.

    But he felt like he obtained his aplishments on his own and that he didn¡¯t abuse his resources. That was why he hated it when others thought that hepletely relied on his father.

    ¡°If you want a vow, then a vow it''ll be! You better not regret it afterwards.¡± King Qi¡¯s heir knew that the other party was taunting him, but he didn¡¯t care. This was a good chance to reduce his worries.

 Chapter 687: Not Very Strong, But Definitely Humiliating

    <h4>Chapter 687: Not Very Strong, But Definitely Humiliating</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    He raised three fingers towards the sky and vowed, ¡°I, Zhao Zhi, vow to fight a fair battle against Zu An today. Regardless of what the result is, I will not use my family background to retaliate, lest I suffer the wrath of the world.¡±

    After saying this, there was a faint golden light thatnded on his body, indicating that the vow was already in effect.

    Zu An thus sighed in relief. He learned the power of vows when he had just arrived in this world. Now, he didn¡¯t have to worry about King Qi¡¯s retaliation, or at the very least he didn¡¯t have to worry about it out in the open. This was already enough. He would just deal with whatever underhanded tricks he used. He was equipped with powerful cultivation now, and with his smarts, it¡¯s not too big of a problem as long as a grandmaster like King Qi didn¡¯t attack him himself.

    Then, he also made a vow in suit. ¡°I, Zu An, vow to fight a fair battle against Zhao Zhi. Regardless of what the result is, I will not use my family background to retaliate, lest I suffer the wrath of the world.¡±

    The driver with the missing tooth snickered. ¡°This kid really is shameless.¡±

    King Qi¡¯s heir had his family behind him, what kind of family background does a brat like you have?

    The woman in the carriage chuckled and nodded in agreement. ¡°He¡¯s just like before.¡±

    The driver¡¯s eyes lit up. There really was some drama! He had to find a chance to look into thister.

    Murong Qinghe tugged on Chu Youzhao¡¯s sleeve. ¡°Big brother Chu, your brother-inw is so shameless. Your big sis is probably bullied by him all the time, right?¡±

    She met Chu Chuyan before. She originally thought that there was no way someone like Chu First Miss would be bullied, but after seeing Zu An for herself, she was suddenly no longer so confident in her judgment.

    ¡°Yeah, she¡¯s always being bullied.¡± Chu Youzhao¡¯s face turned red. She remembered that time she identally stumbled upon that scene of her big sister being pressed down beneath Zu An, how her normally proud and cold expression waspletely gone. Just the thought of it alone left her feeling dejected.

    Zhao Zhi¡¯s face twitched. He clearly realized this hole in Zu An¡¯s vow, but he didn¡¯t care. He was going to win this time either way, so he¡¯ll use this fair fight topletely cripple this man. That way, not even the crown prince, princess, or even the emperor could me him for his actions.

    ¡°You can go first. Otherwise, you might not have a chance again.¡± King Qi¡¯s heir said proudly. He had great confidence in himself. Being in a rush to take down a piece of trash would really drag down his reputation.

    Even though most of themoners were scared off, there were still some people here after all. The Chu n¡¯s heir, Murong n¡¯s young miss, as well as that carriage over there.

    Speaking of, that carriage is quite strange. Why did it stay here even after understanding the situation?

    Could it be that there really is some important figure sitting inside? But it looks just like an ordinary carriage from the outside?

    ¡°If you want to get beaten up that badly, then I¡¯ll help you out.¡± Zu An didn¡¯t refuse him. Seizing this moment where the other party was underestimating him, he shot out like a bullet and rushed in front of him.

    King Qi¡¯s heir jumped in fright. How is this guy so fast?!

    When he saw Zu An send a fist flying over, he quickly sent out a fist in return. A malicious smirk appeared on his face. With the difference in cultivation, his fist would instantly crush the other party¡¯s hand.

    When the two fists were about to meet, Zu An¡¯s seemingly ferocious fist instead changed into a flexible force. His arms slipped past his opponent¡¯s fist like a snake. Then, his five fingers spread out.

    Smack!

    Everyone who was watching this was stunned. As a martial idiot, Murong Qinghe was watching this battle with her eyes widened the entire time. She wanted to see if there was anything she could use herself.

    She fought against Zu An before. Even though she was defeated miserably, she knew that he was definitely no match for an eight ranked cultivator. In her opinion, Zu An¡¯s best choice was to focus on defense and drag out the fight. Maybe those from the eastern pce woulde and interfereter.

    But Zu An instead seized the advantage! Attacking was one thing, but he even managed to somehow smack King Qi¡¯s heir on the face?

    Why did that move look so much like the Pei n¡¯s Feathersilk Entangling Art?

    It shouldn¡¯t be, right? Why does he know the Pei n¡¯s technique?

    Even though she could tell that what it was by the time Zu An¡¯s hand made it that far, his palm alreadycked much strength, it was just too humiliating.

    Sure enough, King Qi roared with rage when he felt the fiery sensation on his face. ¡°How dare you p me? How dare you?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Zhi for +999 +999 +999¡­

    All of his hair began to fly upwards. A fist smashed towards his opponent¡¯s chest. He wasn¡¯t in the mood to spare his opponent at all. The only thought in his head was that he was going to pulverize Zu An into a bloody paste. Only then could he get rid of this shame.

    The driver with the missing tooth frowned. ¡°That kid¡¯s decision wasn¡¯t too wise. That p doesn¡¯t have any power and instead provoked his opponent. Now, King Qi¡¯s heir is attacking to kill. Madam, should I interfere to save his lifeter?¡±

    He could tell that his madam cared about this kid, which was why he asked this.

    The woman in the carriage said indifferently, ¡°Let¡¯s see what happens first.¡±

    With her understanding of Zu An, he wasn¡¯t the impetuous type.

    Furthermore, how could anyone who can remain alive after facing the emperor not have any tricks up his sleeves?

    Chu Youzhao cried out in rm. The fight already changed again. King Qi¡¯s heir Zhao Zhinded his blow right in the center of Zu An¡¯s chest, and then his body exploded.

    Zhao Zhi frowned. The feelinging from his fist told him that he missed. He only hit a mirage.

    Sure enough, Zu An was already several zhang out.

    King Qi¡¯s heir was baffled. Why was this guy so fast? However, he couldn¡¯t be bothered to think about this right now and chased right after Zu An.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    No matter how fast you are, can your speed surpass an eighth ranked cultivator?

    He was even a lightning element cultivator who excelled in speed!

    Zu An quickly raised his palms to face his opponent. The two of them instantly exchanged a dozen blows. The ki that rippled outwards made those horseman sculptures rock side by side. Even Chu Youzhao and Murong Qinghe couldn¡¯t help but back up.

    Both of them widened their eyes in rm. They never expected Zu An to go even with an eighth ranked expert in a head-on fight!

    Chu Youzhao clenched her fist. The scene of her brother-inw easily dealing with the assassins reappeared in her mind. She thought to herself, maybe he really had a chance of winning!

    Murong Qinghe seemed to have read her thoughts. She shook her head and said, ¡°Even though your brother-inw¡¯s strength is quite admirable, there is still a gappared to King Qi¡¯s heir after all. The higher level the cultivation, the more difficult it is to win as the underdog. He might not even be able to break through his opponent¡¯s defenses.¡±

    As if to prove her words, Zu An thrusted out with his fingers, using the Snowke Sword to stab at his opponent¡¯s ribs.

    However, ayer of purple radiance flickered across the surface of Zhao Zhi¡¯s body,pletely neutralizing this attack.

    There was even a numbing sensationing back along Zu An¡¯s fingers caused by an electrical retaliation. Zu An realized something. He immediately used the Sunflower Phantasm to withdraw three zhang away.

    The spot he was standing in a split second ago exploded under the power of a lightning shrouded fist. Electricity flickered about, sting open a massive crater into the ground. Even the rubble was scorched ck from the powerful lightning.

    King Qi¡¯s heir frowned as he looked at his opponent. This movement technique was quite strange, but it didn¡¯t matter. He said coldly, ¡°Your movement technique is probably what gave you the confidence to face me, I presume. Unfortunately, your attack can¡¯t even pierce through my elemental barrier, so how will you possibly win against this young master?!¡±

    He was in an invincible position right now. All he needed to do was to exhaust his opponent¡¯s ki. As the battle continued, the ki of lower rank cultivators would quickly dry up. Once Zu An became tired, that strange movement technique wouldn¡¯t be a big deal anymore. Zhao Zhi could then easily smash Zu An to bits.

    Zu An sighed. ¡°Why do you viins love to talk so much? If you feel like I can¡¯t break through your defenses, then do you have the guts to stand there and take three hits from me?¡±

    He silently brought out the Tai¡¯e Sword while speaking. This sword specialized in piercing through the elemental barriers of cultivators. Fighting against someone of higher cultivation rank might be impossible for others, but for him, that was not the case at all.

 Chapter 688, Part 1: Lightning Descends Upon the Arrogant

    <h4>Chapter 688, Part 1: Lightning Descends Upon the Arrogant</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    King Qi¡¯s heir frowned. ¡°Who are you trying to scare with that shoddy thing?¡±

    The Tai¡¯e Sword didn¡¯t look like anything special on the outside. It wasn¡¯t shiny like normal divine weapons and instead looked rusted and useless. It wasn¡¯t any surprise that it was called shoddy.

    ¡°Then do you want to have a taste of this shoddy thing?¡± Zu An said with a chuckle. He wanted to see if this fe would be so stupid as to agree to this condition. If he did, then he would learn a really harsh lesson.

    ¡°Do you think I¡¯m an idiot?¡± King Qi¡¯s heir didn¡¯t agree. Even though he didn¡¯t think this shoddy thing could break through his elemental barrier, there was no way he would just stand there like an idiot and let Zu An attack him.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t dare, then you can¡¯t me me for going all out.¡± He reappeared by Zhao Zhi¡¯s side like a ghost immediately after he finished speaking. The sword in his hands thrusted out at his opponent at an inconceivable angle.

    Zhao Zhi¡¯s expression changed. This guy¡¯s movement technique is just way too weird! He didn¡¯t dare act carelessly at all. Fortunately, one of the lightning element¡¯s advantages was speed. As such, his figure flickered and evaded. Then, he retaliated.

    The two individuals flickered back and forth. It was an absolutely dazzling sight for the spectators.

    Murong Qinghe waspletely stupefied. ¡°How is your brother-inw so strong?¡±

    This scene before her already went beyond her understanding. As a martial idiot, even though her cultivation wasn¡¯t much in the capital, she was definitely top notch among her peers, and her eyes were excellent. There were many powerful cultivators in her n, so being in this type of environment ever since she was young made her sight far superior to those who trained on their own.

    But regardless of how she looked at it, Zu An shouldn¡¯t be his opponent¡¯s match! King Qi¡¯s heir had eight ranks of cultivation!

    Yet the two of them were clearly equally matched right now!

    Wait, no, she even felt like King Qi¡¯s heir was gradually losing the advantage.

    Zu An¡¯s movement technique was just too strange, to the extent where his swordy waspletely unpredictable. She was bewildered even while watching from this distance.

    Chu First Miss seemed like an untouchable goddess when she used this technique, yet when this fe used the same thing, his aura became entirely different.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Chu Youzhao proudly stuck out her chest. ¡°But of course! Did you forget whose brother-inw he is?¡±

    Murong Qinghe wrinkled her nose in disdain. Who was the one cursing his brother-inw a few months ago and even wondering if his big sister went blind? Yet now, your attitude changed that quickly?

    King Qi¡¯s heir was shocked and furious. ¡°Very good, you¡¯ve sessfully gained my attention now. You have the right to see my sword.¡±

    With his eight ranks of cultivation, he didn¡¯t think defeating Zu An would take much effort at all. That was why he didn¡¯t use any weapons out of fear that it would make him look less cool.

    But now, he couldn¡¯t be bothered anymore. He wanted to wait until the other party exhausted all of his stamina first so that there would be an opening to exploit in his movement technique, but for some reason, the other party¡¯s energy seemed to be incredibly vast. Not even a battle of this intensity was able to do anything to him.

    If this continued, this young noble might be the one who was injured before he managed to exhaust his opponent.

    He was a mighty eighty ranked cultivator, yet he couldn¡¯t even take down this rat off the streets. If he was injured instead, how was he supposed to survive in his social circles in the future?

    ¡°Look at you, still acting tough.¡± Zu An harrumphed in disdain. ¡°You¡¯re pulling your sword out now, huh? If not, I would''ve already cut off all three legs.¡±

    The young noble¡¯s face turnedpletely red. He was almost struck by this fe¡¯s sword several times. He originally had the confidence to hold out with his elemental barrier, but this sword kept aiming for his freaking little bro down there. He really didn¡¯t have confidence in letting that sword hit it head-on.

    He thrusted out his sword silently, inwardly furious. I have to chop off this bastard¡¯s arms and legs even if I don¡¯t kill him today! I have to get rid of that irritating tongue too!

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Zhi for +444 +444 +444¡­

    Murong Qinghe blinked her eyes when she saw them tangle about each other again. She looked at Chu Youzhao. ¡°Big brother Chu, what is a third leg?¡±

    A martial idiot like her was only sharp on matters of cultivation. However, this phase really was a bit outside the scope of her knowledge.

    ¡°A kid shouldn¡¯t ask so much about these things.¡± Chu Youzhao blushed. She didn¡¯t know about this before either. However, when she saw Zu An push down her big sis, she already fully understood what the third leg was without anyone teaching her.

    ¡°You¡¯re not even that much older than me.¡± Murong QInghe mumbled and wasn¡¯t happy that the other party was looking down on her because of her age. She was just about to say something, but when she saw Chu Youzhao¡¯s red face, her eyes became starstruck again. Big brother Chu really is handsome!

    ¡­

    While Murong Qinghe was starstruck, King Qi¡¯s heir wasn¡¯t in that great of a mood. With his background and status, his weapon was naturally a top grade divine weapon. He thought that he could easily slice through the chunk of metal in Zu An¡¯s hands, yet that stupid stick just didn¡¯t break even after shing several times.

    Did I wake up on the wrong foot today?

    King Qi¡¯s heir began to doubt his life. It was one thing if he couldn¡¯t defeat a low level cultivator with eight levels of cultivation, but not even his weapon could defeat his opponent¡¯s shoddy weapon! What the heck is going on?

    But he didn¡¯t let himself get distracted at all. Instead, he seized an exceptional timing to stab Zu An¡¯s thigh.

    ¡°Hmph! Let¡¯s see what you¡¯ll do now!¡± However, his smile froze as soon as it appeared on his face, because the feeling from his sword was off.

    Sure enough, the Zu An he stabbed gradually disappeared.

    It¡¯s another afterimage!

    He didn¡¯t even turn around and stabbed straight backwards.

    Chu Youzhao cried out in rm. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw that Zu An evaded behind King Qi¡¯s heir. However, his opponent¡¯s reaction was too fast, so it looked as if Zu An was the one proactively bringing his chest up to that sword.

    Even further out, the driver with the missing tooth sensed the madam in the carriage lean forward. He knew that she was getting worried. He exined, ¡°Madam, do not worry. This kid¡¯s movement technique is quite stunning. He wasn¡¯t injured.¡±

    The woman inside the carriage thus sighed in relief.

    ¡­

    On the battlefield, King Qi¡¯s heir was also shocked. He sensed that he missed this time as well.

    He immediately wanted to evade to the side, but he was a step toote. There was a sharp paining back from his thigh. Blood erupted.

    King Qi¡¯s heir roared out. He crazily brandished the sword in his hands. A tyrannical st of lightning scattered outwards. This attack was enough to batter Zu An half dead.

    Unfortunately, Zu An didn¡¯t greedily proceed with his attack. He quickly withdrew after getting his advantage, so this attackpletely missed.

    ¡°How can you break through my defenses?!¡± King Qi¡¯s heir lowered his head to look at the bloody wound on his leg. He was shocked and furious.

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Zhi for +588 +588 +588¡­

    If it wasn''t because of his cultivator survival instincts that drove him to move sideways at thest second, his little bro might already be gone.

    Zu An sighed in pity. An eighth ranked cultivator had their fair share of skills after all! Otherwise, his attack just now would¡¯ve already finished his opponent.

    ¡°Who was it that was bragging about how I cannot even break through your defenses? If you still don¡¯t believe me, should I show you again?¡±

    Zhao Zhi¡¯s expression was cold. He gave the Tai¡¯e Sword an apprehensive look. He knew that this weapon was where the problem lied. ¡°I admit that I¡¯ve underestimated you. However, do you really think that you can defeat me because of that strange sword?¡±

    ¡°Are you born under the year of the duck or something? Why is your mouth so hard and stubborn?¡± Zu An mocked.[1]

    Nearby, Chu Youzhao and Murong Qinghe both subconsciously nodded. They felt like King Qi¡¯s heir was indeed embarrassing himself. If you lose, you lose. Even if you only lose the first bout, you still lost.

    He was a glorious eighth ranked cultivator, yet he was pressured to this extent by a lower level cultivator and even injured. It didn¡¯t matter no matter what you say at this point.

    It was instead that driver with the missing tooth that frowned and said, ¡°The kid is in danger.¡±

    He was originally hoping that the madam inside the carriage would say something, and then he would exin what he meant. But he didn¡¯t hear anything from her, so everything he wanted to say had to be swallowed back down. This really wasn¡¯t a great feeling.

    Zhao Zhi¡¯s headband had already unwittingly broken apart. His previously orderly hair was fluttering about in midair. His eyes were suffused with a purple color. ¡°Do you know what is the difference between an eighth ranked cultivator and a lower rank cultivator?¡±

    Zu An was startled when he sensed the sudden change in his opponent¡¯s aura. He recalled what he learned before at the academy.

    Sixth rank would form an elemental barrier. This made it so that low level cultivators had practically no chance of winning. This was the first major transformation on the path of cultivation.

    The eighth rank was considered the second major transformation. Before the eighth rank, cultivation relied purely on the natural ki of the world they stored within them. In other words, they relied on their own power. Once you reached the eighth rank, you can begin to borrow the power of the world outside!

    Even in his past world where science and technology were developed, where humans could wander the cosmos and explore the seas, any random natural disaster carried far more destructive power than an atomic bomb.

    Compared to the power of the world, humans were still too insignificant.

    And right now, he could keenly sense that the world¡¯s ki was frantically surging towards King Qi¡¯s heir.

    1. There is no year of the duck, he¡¯s mocking him

 Chapter 688, Part 2: Lightning Descends Upon the Arrogant

    <h4>Chapter 688, Part 2: Lightning Descends Upon the Arrogant</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    King Qi¡¯s heir finally revealed joy when he saw Zu An¡¯s expression change. ¡°Looks like you must¡¯ve realized it as well. I didn¡¯t want to cause that big of a scene in the capital before, but you forced my hand! I will let you witness the terror of an eighth ranked cultivator!¡±

    He rushed straight up to Zu An as soon as he finished what he was saying. He moved extremely quickly, to the extent where not even Chu Youzhao or Murong Qinghe could react in time.

    Zu An was shocked. The other party¡¯s speed increased several foldpared to before! He already couldn¡¯t evade in time, so he clenched his teeth and thrusted his sword at his opponent¡¯s vitals. When two warriors shed, the more courageous one will win. He refused to believe that a rich brat like this fe would be willing to fight while risking his own life.

    ¡°Peasants from the streets always fight with their lives like this.¡± King Qi¡¯s heir sneered. ¡°What a pity. Before absolute strength, everything else is meaningless!¡±

    He easily blocked the Tai¡¯e Sword while speaking. With his current speed, his opponent¡¯s self sacrificing strike wasughable.

    His fist swung out at the same time. White colored energy surged on his fist, the result of speed breaking past the sound barrier. It was like a sonic boom caused by fighter jets.

    Zu An reached out his hand to block it, but he was toote. His opponent¡¯s fist smashed into his chest.

    Sounds of bones cracking erupted. Zu An¡¯s body was flung through the air like a broken sack and crashed heavily into the ground.

    ¡°Brother-inw!¡± Chu Youzhao turned pale with fright. She even saw blood gush out of Zu An¡¯s mouth when he fell from the sky.

    She ran out and blocked in front of Zu An. ¡°Young heir, please be magnanimous.¡±

    ¡°Big brother Chu!¡± Murong Qinghe was shocked and quickly ran over as well. How terrifying was the strength of an eighth ranked cultivator? Any random st wave would be fatal to them.

    Even so, she still subconsciously ran over to Chu Youzhao¡¯s side to protect her.

    King Qi¡¯s heir stopped a zhang in front of the two of them. He said with a frown. ¡°Out of favor for the Qin n and Murong n, I can pretend that the two of you didn¡¯t say anything just now. Step aside.¡±

    Murong Qinghe quickly tugged on Chu Youzhao. ¡°Exactly! Big brother Chu, this is your brother-inw and the young heir¡¯s battle! Furthermore, you can¡¯t do anything even if you stay here. We need to step aside.¡±

    The first reason was because he was worried about Chu Youzhao¡¯s safety, the second was because the Murong n backed King Qi¡¯s faction. There was no way she would sh with King Qi¡¯s heir, as she didn¡¯t want to ruin their rtionship.

    As for Zu An, even though it was a pity, he had no one to me but himself for being so arrogant.

    As a martial idiot, she only acknowledged victory or defeat in fair battles like these.

    ¡°No!¡± Chu Youzhao screamed. Even though she was so scared her entire body was shaking, she still didn¡¯t move at all.

    She didn¡¯t know if she was doing this because of her big sis or if it was because her brother-inw saved her several times. She only knew that she couldn¡¯t back down right now, or else she would definitely regret it for the rest of her life.

    Zhao Zhi¡¯s expression turned cold. ¡°Young master Chu, you should do what you should before you are forced to!¡±

    The Chu n of Brightmoon City indeed had strength, but they refused their offers again and again. King Qi¡¯s faction was already growing increasingly impatient with them.

    The reason why he spoke kindly wasn¡¯t because of the Chu n, but rather out of favor for the Qin n.

    But if Chu Youzhao didn¡¯t back down now, then the Qin n¡¯s two masters wouldn¡¯t me him even if something happened.

    Chu Youzhao was shaking under the pressure of an eighth ranked cultivator. She thought to herself that it would be great if her big sis was here. She was still too young, and her cultivation wasn¡¯t high. The man in front of her could crush her with a single finger, so she really was scared out of her mind.

    However, she quickly realized that it wouldn¡¯t make a difference even if her big sis was here. She wasn¡¯t a match for an eighth ranked opponent!

    Even though she was already this scared, she still stubbornly spread out her arms and refused to move at all.

    ¡°Big brother Chu!¡± Murong Qinghe began to panic. She even wondered if she should knock him out and bring her away. Even if he med her afterwards, at least he would be alive!

    Suddenly, there was a voice that sounded behind the two of them. ¡°Youzhao, is that really all the confidence you have in your brother-inw?¡±

    Chu Youzhao trembled. She turned around in disbelief. She saw that Zu An was standing behind her with a smile.

    ¡°Brother-inw!¡± Chu Youzhao was shocked and happy. ¡°You¡¯re okay?¡±

    Zu An nodded slightly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. His punch only tickled a bit. It wasn¡¯t a big deal.¡±

    The proudly smiling Zhao Zhi¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°How can that be?!¡±

    He was sure that his punch shattered his opponent¡¯s sternum, so how can this guy stand back up again? Furthermore, didn¡¯t his aura seem a bit thicker than before?

    Zu An didn¡¯t pay him any attention and only said to Chu Youzhao, ¡°Youzhao, stand off to the side. I need to settle things with this young heir.¡±

    He had to admit that this Chu n little sister was a bit bratty before, but underneath the tough outer shell was an extremely soft inside. He didn¡¯t feel like saving her was done in vain.

    ¡°Okay!¡± Chu Youzhao happily ran off to the side when she saw that he was fine.

    Murong Qinghe was speechless. You didn¡¯t move at all when I tried to convince you, but you¡¯re doing it so happily with just a word from your brother-inw?

    When they left, Zu An gave the young heir a look. ¡°It¡¯s time for us to settle things.¡±

    ¡°Why do you lookpletely fine?¡± Zhao Zhi didn¡¯t panic at all even when the other party stabbed him earlier. He felt like everything was still within his grasp then. However now, he really was starting to panic. The unknown would forever be the greatest source of fear.

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°You have no one but yourself to me for being so superficial. Your punch only tickled.¡±

    Zhao Zhi¡¯s breathing stopped. His fist could bring down a city wall, yet this guy called it a tickle! ¡°Hmph, I don¡¯t know what kind of secret method you used to recover so quickly, but let¡¯s see how many more of them you can take.¡±

    He already rushed at Zu An as soon as he finished speaking. In his eyes, there was no way something so ridiculous wouldn¡¯t have a cost. Zu An would fall sooner orter.

    But for Zu An, the Primordial Origin Sutra¡¯s powerful recoverative ability and the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra worked in synergy, one helping him take a beating, while the other increased his strength. Zu An wanted to try and use this chance to improve both the Primordial Origin Sutra and the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra.

    But his little sister-inw and the others were watching. It¡¯ll really look quite bad if he was beaten up too badly.

    Forget it, my reputation is the most important!

    Zu An really couldn¡¯t bring himself to look bad in front of everyone, so he decided to just end this quickly.

    Zhao Zhi was shocked to discover that his opponent¡¯s power and speed went up several fold, he was already on par with him! Together with his strange movement technique, he instead quickly fell into a disadvantage.

    He was only at the initial stage of the eighth rank, while Zu An was already at the peak of the seventh rank. Furthermore, Zu An¡¯s cultivation was different from others to begin with, so he was far stronger than others with the same cultivation level as himself.

    That was why in terms of cultivation, King Qi¡¯s heir was instead weaker.

    But the young heir didn¡¯t know this. The more he fought, the more nervous he became. When his body was covered in injuries, he finally felt scared. He roared out. He gave up on fighting against Zu An in close range and used his ultimate move.

    ¡°Holy Lightning of the Hegemon!¡±

    His body slowly rose into the air. He spread his arms, and then his entire body was suffused with purple light. He became absolutely dazzling, as if he turned into a giant ball of lightning.

    Thick streaks of lightning rushed out in all directions from him like chains, surrounding everything within a dozen zhang. Electricity hackled about within this zone. This ce was turned into a sea of lightning.

    Zhao Zhi¡¯s voice sounded through gnashing teeth. ¡°Keep dodging, keep running around! What does it matter no matter how crazy your movement technique is? This is a sea of lightning, there¡¯s nowhere to hide! You will now pay the price of angering this young master!¡±

    Chu Youzhao¡¯s face turnedpletely white under the lightning¡¯s illumination. Murong Qinghe already learned her lesson and grabbed her firmly.

    The woman in the carriage could no longer remain calm. She urgently cried out, ¡°Hurry and save him!¡±

    The driver had a grim expression. He was about to get up, but suddenly stopped. ¡°I might not have to interfere.¡±

    ...

    Inside the sea of lightning, Zu An sighed and said, ¡°Do you know what I hate the most in this life? Fucking lightning!¡±

    He was struck by lightning when he first crossed over! He never wanted to experience that again.

    ¡°You hate it, but it is precisely my lightning that will punish you, and you cannot do anything about it? How does that feel?¡± King Qi¡¯s heir finally vented a bit of his resentment. This kid¡¯s words stabbed at him again and again. It was about time he made him pay the price for offending him. ¡°I will give you onest chance. If you kneel down and kowtow a hundred times, then I might spare your life.¡±

    It has already been so long since he was pressured to this point. Only by thoroughly humiliating him, would he be able to vent out his frustrations.

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°Then I¡¯ll give you a chance as well. If you kneel down and kowtow a thousand times, then I''ll spare your life as well.¡±

    King Qi¡¯s heir erupted with anger. ¡°Since it is death you are seeking, I will grant you your desire!¡±

    ¡°God of thunder, aid me!¡±

    His hands pointed towards the heavens. Thunderclouds rumbled in the skies above. Everyone here could sense the terrifying pressure.

    Then, electricity cackled. A malevolent face already appeared within the lightning radiance.

    Suddenly, a massive ball of lightning appeared at this time, hitting the young heir floating in midair.

    In that instant, he waspletely soaked. The lightning that was aiming at Zu An instantly changed directions and all concentrated towards him.

    ¡°Motherfucking...¡± King Qi¡¯s heir only had time to curse a single word, and then he was cooked from the outside. Then, he dropped straight down from the sky.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

 Chapter 689: Why Not?

    <h4>Chapter 689: Why Not?</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°What is going on?¡± Chu Youzhao¡¯s eyes widened. King Qi¡¯s heir was about to use his ultimate move, and it looked like her brother-inw was on the brink of defeat. Then, at thest second, it was instead the young heir who was hacked by lightning instead?

    Murong Qinghe was also stupefied. Everything that happened left her utterly shocked. She subconsciously looked around her. ¡°Was there anyone that secretly helped him?¡±

    She saw that the ball of water fly out from the side. Was there a water element expert hiding nearby?

    The driver with the missing tooth also looked around with his shocked eyes. His expression was a bit confused.

    Zu An walked up to the young heir and looked at his twitching body. He sighed. It was worth learning physics and chemistry after all.

    When he saw his opponent surge with electricity all around him earlier, he already gathered a pool of water from the nearby family ponds, vats and other vessels. He was waiting for a chance to use this giant ball of water.

    He didn¡¯t awaken a water element, so he couldn¡¯t make water element out of thin air and do tricks with it. All he could do was use Blue Mard to move the water.

    Zu Anpletely shut down his opponent during his most confident moment. He was going to make this young and arrogant heir understand that even the world of cultivation had to follow thews of physics.

    ¡°Weren¡¯t you about to punish me with lightning? Why aren¡¯t youing at me anymore?¡± Zu An asked in ridicule when he saw the scorched ck, steaming body.

    King Qi¡¯s heir moved his fingers, as if he was trying to summon lightning, but only a bit of blue electricity flew about. Then, his body trembled from paralysis.

    ¡°Oh? Were you trying to shock me?¡± Zu Anughed when he saw this. He put one foot on his chest and said, ¡°Just now, who was the one that said that everything is meaningless before absolute strength?¡±

    When had King Qi¡¯s heir ever had his chest stepped on? He struggled frantically, but his entire body was numb from electricity. What was to be intense struggling ended up being some meaningless twitching.

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Zhi for +999 +999 +999...

    If it wasn¡¯t because he was a lightning element cultivator, his entire body would¡¯ve already been cooked through from the lightning.

    The fact that he was still alive was already quite the miracle in itself. However, the price was that he might have to rest up for several months before he can make a full recovery.

    Zu An lowered his head and took a look. He couldn¡¯t hold back a chuckle. This young heir¡¯s hair that was originally straight and elegant was now standing up, and all of his extravagant clothes had been sted to ashes. It was still barely holding together a moment ago, but all of the scorched clothes exploded when he moved just a little bit, revealing his lightning charred body underneath.

    ¡°Ah!¡±

    Murong Qinghe and Chu Youzhao jumped in fright. They both quickly turned around, their hearts pounding.

    Murong Qinghe gave the lover next to her a look of surprise. I¡¯m embarrassed because I¡¯m a girl, but what are you so startled for?

    Chu Youzhao¡¯s face waspletely red. She was actually a bit confused. The question she was wondering was, why did Zhao Zhi and her brother-inw¡¯s look so different?

    It¡¯s so small...

    Who is the weird one?

    Zu An lowered his head and looked at the young heir¡¯s groin. A look of disdain shed past his face. ¡°That¡¯s it?¡±

    But with so many youngdies nearby, he couldn¡¯t just pull out his right now. He moved the tip of his sword over and circled around it. ¡°It¡¯s already so burnt. Should I help you get rid of it?¡±

    King Qi¡¯s heir was so scared he felt his soul leave his body. He could still slowly recover from his current injuries, but if this thing was cut off, then it really would be hard to reconnect!

    There really would be no going back at that point.

    He was quite the arrogant person, but his tone immediately softened considerably. ¡°It is a bit burnt right now. But please save the energy, it can still be used.¡±

    Zu Anughed. ¡°It already looks like this, but you still want to use it? It¡¯ll be amazing if you can still pee out of it.¡±

    King Qi¡¯s heir forced out an apologetic smile, but rage was surging endlessly within him. I will definitely chop your corpse to ten thousand pieces in the future!

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Zhi for +1024 +1024 +1024...

    Zu An¡¯s expression grew cold when he saw the iing Rage points. ¡°Could it be that you¡¯re cursing me inside right now?¡±

    ¡°No... I¡¯m not...¡± The young heir¡¯s expression changed. He wanted to say some nice words to ease the mood. However, with his status, he was always the one being praised ever since he was little, when had he ever done it to anyone else? He couldn¡¯t even do it properly.

    ¡°Oh, I suddenly remembered something.¡± Zu An looked like he suddenly realized something. ¡°You told me before that I should break my own arms and legs and bow down in apology, right?¡±

    ¡°You heard wrong, that¡¯s not what I meant.¡± King Qi¡¯s heir frantically exined. He thought to himself that right now, he had to make it through this trial no matter what. Once King Qi manor¡¯s men received the news and rushed over to save him, then he would make sure to repay this guy a hundred times over!

    ¡°Then are you saying that I¡¯m deaf?¡± Zu An said coldly.

    King Qi¡¯s heir: ¡°......¡±

    He really couldn¡¯t get used to how this guy¡¯s mind worked. But he also realized by now that he was doing this on purpose. He was going to be ridiculed no matter how he replied.

    As such, he took a deep breath. After his momentary rm passed, he calmed down. ¡°There¡¯s no point in being pretentious here. Do you really dare to hurt me? I am King Qi¡¯s oldest son, as well as the court¡¯s Reserve Diary Officer. If I am injured in the slightest, then you will suffer ten times, no, hundred times the revenge.¡±

    Zu An frowned. ¡°Your identity is indeed special. Your father in particr is a problem.¡±

    A look of mockery and disdain appeared on the young heir¡¯s face. ¡°Correct. Looks like you still have a clear understanding of the situation. I can overlook today¡¯s matter and just let it pass.¡±

    But inside, he sneered. Overlook? No way!

    Once he returned to King Qi¡¯s manor, he would make sure this fe understood what it meant to wish he was dead rather than alive.

    Zu An sighed. ¡°That dad of yours is indeed a problem, but I¡¯ve never been someone who listened to threats. I don¡¯t have that great of a temper, you know? Why did you just have to provoke me?¡±

    As soon as he finished speaking, he stomped down on his knees. Arge crack noise immediately sounded.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Chu Youzhao and Murong Qinghe were stupefied. This fe actually dared to do this to King Qi¡¯s heir? Do you know what the consequences of doing this are?

    Chu Youzhao snapped out of her initial happiness regarding her brother-inw¡¯seback. Her heart was filled with worry.

    The driver with the missing tooth frowned. He couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°This kid is too reckless. He has nowpletely offended King Qi. I fear that no one can save him now.¡±

    The carriage became silent. No one knew what the madam inside was thinking.

    ¡°Ahh!!!!¡± Zhao Zhi¡¯s bitter screams filled this entire street. He experienced tremendous pain and anger. ¡°You actually dare to hurt me! You dare?!!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Zhi for +1024 +1024 +1024...

    Other than when the other party circled his crotch, he didn¡¯t actually feel much panic. After all, he knew that the other party wouldn¡¯t actually dare. However, the intense pain from his knees made him begin to doubt life. Is this guy really not scared of my father at all? Is he fucking stupid?!

    Zu An¡¯s lips twitched. ¡°Did your brain get fried from the lightning too? Didn¡¯t I already hurt you? You are still asking if I dare or not? Since you seem quite confused, then let me help make it a bit more clear for you.¡±

    His foot stomped down on his other knee.

    ¡°Stop!¡± Murong Qinghe was rmed when she saw this. She quickly ran over to stop Zu An.

    Zu An shot her a cold look. ¡°Did you not get beaten enough yetst time?¡±

    Murong Qinghe took a few steps back out of guilt. When she remembered how this man grabbed her spear, that strange warm feeling that mysteriously filled her body, she froze up. She did not want to experience something so embarrassing again.

    However, when she remembered King Qi¡¯s rtionship to the Murong n, she still mustered the courage to say, ¡°You cannot hurt him.¡±

    ¡°Why not?¡± Zu An said indifferently.

    Murong Qinghe bit her soft lips and said, ¡°Because he is King Qi¡¯s heir. His status is special. Once something happens to him, the entire capital will be chaotic. Isn¡¯t this reason enough?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not enough!¡± Zu An was expressionless. He was about to stomp down again, but he suddenly had a bad feeling. He turned towards the street.

    He saw an elder appear from the end of the street, his entire head covered in silver strands of hair, yet there were no wrinkles on his face. As he slowly walked over, he looked like he was one with the world. He clearly didn¡¯t take many steps, yet he already reappeared several zhang from the two of them. ¡°I advise you to move that filthy foot of yours.¡±

 Chapter 690: World Easily Deceived

    <h4>Chapter 690: World Easily Deceived</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An gave him a look and frowned. He couldn¡¯t see through this man¡¯s cultivation. This meant that his cultivation rank was quite a bit higher than his own.

    In fact, he didn¡¯t need to check his rank. Just from his bearing alone, he could tell that this elder was different. Every step he took seemed to be stepping on your very heart, harmonizing with your heartbeat. It made one unnaturally produce a strong feeling of nausea.

    He didn¡¯t doubt for a second that just these steps alone would be enough to shatter the heart of a weaker cultivator.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Zu An¡¯s entire body was on alert. He didn¡¯t dare show any carelessness.

    ¡°Han Fengqiu.¡± The elder stood calmly in ce. He didn¡¯t have any intention of doing anything, as if just his name alone was already enough.

    The driver with the missing tooth frowned. ¡°Things are gettingplicated now.¡±

    ¡°Is this person formidable?¡± The madam inside said with her pleasing voice.

    ¡°He is one of King Qi Manor¡¯s four great guardians. He is a cultivator at the peak of ninth rank.¡± The driver exined. The madam didn¡¯t get too involved in the cultivation circles, so it was natural for her to not know about these things.

    Those at the master level were either kings or major officials in the court. The peak of ninth rank signified that they were basically the highest level figures that could be found within a n.

    King Qi¡¯s n was probably the only one who could send out someone like this. If it was anyone else, who would have the qualifications to have someone at the peak of the ninth rank as a servant?

    Wouldn¡¯t they enjoy themselves much more if they became a great official themselves?

    The carriage became quiet again.

    ¡­

    Zu An¡¯s voice sounded again. ¡°Han Feng what?¡±

    ¡°Han Fengqiu.¡± The elder repeated again. He thought to himself that this kid probably realized something and was now confirming it with him.

    ¡°Something feng qiu?¡± Zu An asked again.

    The silver-haired elder frowned. However, he still held back and said, ¡°Han Fengqiu!¡±

    However, his voice already couldn¡¯t help but get louder.

    ¡°Han something qiu?¡± Zu An looked confused, as if he really couldn¡¯t remember.

    The silver-haired elder: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°Damn brat, were you making fun of me?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Han Fengqiu for +315 +315 +315¡­

    He refused to believe that a cultivator¡¯s memory could be that bad. This kid was clearly messing with him!

    Zu An revealed a simple and honest smile. ¡°You only realized it now? You don¡¯t seem all that sharp.¡±

    The silver-haired elder: ¡°???¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Han Fengqiu for +999 +999 +999¡­

    Augh sounded from the distant carriage, but it sounded like that person immediately covered her mouth with her hand.

    Zu An and the young heir¡¯s battle was quite shocking, so no one paid attention to the madam and driver¡¯s conversation.

    But herugh during this moment of silence was too apparent.

    Everyone looked towards the source of this abrupt sound. There was actually someone with a voice that sounded that nice in this world?

    However, this was only a passing thought. Their heads were quickly reced by other thoughts.

    Zu An: ¡°Hm? This voice sounds quite nice. I wonder what the girl herself looks like¡­ But the fact that she remained here means she at least has some loyalty. I didn¡¯t save you for nothing earlier.¡±

    The silver-haired elder thought to himself; ¡°I cannot see through that driver. Is he an ordinary person or a powerful cultivator? An ordinary person wouldn¡¯t stay here and watch this like a y, right?¡±

    Murong Qinghe said quietly to Chu Youzhao, ¡°Big brother Chu, your brother-inw is too reckless! His strength isn¡¯t enough, yet he has provoked another powerful expert. I can¡¯t tell if he is a smart person or not.¡±

    As the young miss of the Murong n, she obviously knew who Han Fengqiu was, and she knew his cultivation level as well. The peak of the ninth rank was a level that would overwhelm anyone under the master rank!

    What she was more worried about wasn¡¯t whether Zu An was smart or stupid. What she was worried about was if it would trouble her big brother Chu.

    She still had lingering fears when Chu Youzhao ran out and blocked in front of Zu An earlier. She didn¡¯t want to go through that again.

    Chu Youzhao replied, ¡°My big sis said that brother-inw looks uncouth and impetuous, but he is actually incredibly sharp. He¡¯ll always leave his enemies seething in anger while he himself loses nothing. Even though this doesn¡¯t really agree with the virtue we are taught, it¡¯s still pretty fun to watch sometimes.¡±

    Her big sister¡¯s eyes were shining when she talked to her about this back then. Chu Youzhao didn¡¯t really take it to heart and felt like her big sis was just describing a shameless and despicable man.

    But after hanging around this brother-inw a few times, she gradually understood what her big sis meant.

    Her brother-inw really was good at pissing people off! That was how King Qi¡¯s heir was earlier, and now, this elder was going to go through the same thing.

    After seeing that greateback, her eyes were sparkling as well. She was now full of confidence towards her brother-inw.

    Han Fengqiu retracted his gaze from the carriage. That carriage was just too ordinary looking, so it shouldn¡¯t be anyone too strong even if they had some skills. The most pressing matter right now was rescuing the heir.

    He looked coldly at Zu An. ¡°Kid, you¡¯ve sessfully made me angry.¡±

    Zu An sighed. ¡°Why do you stuck up people always sound the same? Do you think that you¡¯re some powerful CEO or something?¡±

    King Qi¡¯s heir was in so much pain that he was about to cry. Even though he had more than enough curses to unload onto Zu An when he heard this, he still didn¡¯t dare to speak.

    This guy really is a madman, so this really was a fight not worth picking. He would slowly get his revenge once his Uncle Han saved him!

    Han Fengqiu¡¯s eyes narrowed. Even though he didn¡¯t know what a CEO was, the ridicule in his voice was obvious. ¡°Brat, you might pay dearly for those reckless words.¡±

    Zu An said coldly. ¡°Did you ask me to move my foot just now?¡±

    Han Fengqiu nodded his head slightly. ¡°Indeed, or else this old one¡­¡±

    Before he even finished his sentence, Zu An¡¯s foot already stomped down. The sound of bones shattering was mixed with the young heir¡¯s squealing. Everyone here was horrified.

    Chu Youzhao was stupefied. No matter how good her opinion of her brother-inw was bing, she felt like he really did it now.

    Murong Qinghe looked at Zu An like she was looking at a dead person. Trampling the young heir¡¯s knee in front of an expert at the peak of the ninth level¡­ this man is beyond saving. He is just waiting for death at this point.

    The driver with the missing tooth gasped. ¡°I thought that he was the slick and cunning type. I didn¡¯t expect him to be the tough and stubborn type! This kid is quite frightening!¡±

    The woman in the carriage frowned, but she didn¡¯t say anything in the end.

    Han Fengqiu was so angry his entire body was shaking ¡°You dare¡­?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Han Fengqiu for +998 +998 +998¡­

    Zu An gave him an indifferent look. ¡°You¡¯re right. Sometimes, you really do pay dearly for speaking reckless words. If you talked a bit nicely, I might have let him go, but you decided to talk to me in that way, as if you¡¯re almost afraid that I won¡¯t do something to him. You know, I¡¯m really starting to wonder if you¡¯re acting as a spy in King Qi¡¯s manor and trying to use this chance to get rid of the heir.¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Han Fengqiu¡¯s breathing stopped. He really did feel a bit of rm in that instant. He was scared that King Qi might misunderstand.

    However, he quickly calmed down. ¡°Your mouth really is sharp. Unfortunately, talk is useless in this world!¡±

    His longsword already left his waist as soon as he finished his sentence. An incredibly sharp streak of sword energy locked onto Zu An.

    In that instant, Zu An felt goosebumps cover his body. He quickly raised the Tai¡¯e Sword to protect himself.

    A loud noise sounded. He was sted back several zhang of distance. Blood was dripping out from between his fingers.

    Han Fengqiu was already standing in front of King Qi¡¯s heir. He squatted down to take a look. ¡°Young heir, are you okay?¡±

    The young heir in question raised his hand and pointed at Zu An. He said through gritted teeth, ¡°I won¡¯t die. Break every bone in that bastard¡¯s body first. Don¡¯t even leave a single one intact!¡±

    When had he ever been injured so badly in his life? When had he ever experienced such humiliation? There was only one thought in his head right now, which was revenge. He was going to make Zu An regret being born into this world.

    ¡°Understood!¡± Han Fengqiu stood up. His aura instantly locked onto Zu An.

    Zu An said with a smile. ¡°Young heir, did you forget the vow you made to this world before the battle? This was supposed to be a fair battle between us. If you use your n¡¯s power to get revenge, you might just suffer heaven¡¯s wrath.¡±

    Han Fengqiu frowned. If the young heir really made this type of vow, then he really couldn¡¯t interfere.

    But who could¡¯ve expected that King Qi¡¯s heir would point towards those ice sculptures and say, ¡°I may have said that I won¡¯t use King Qi Manor¡¯s strength to get revenge. But you killed so many court officials. This is a crime punishable by death! Uncle Han would only be bringing you to justice ording to thew.¡±

 Chapter 691: Fury

    <h4>Chapter 691: Fury</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An gasped in amazement. ¡°I thought that I was already shameless enough, butpared to you, it looks like I still have much to learn! You¡¯re actually using thew to get revenge on me.¡±

    King Qi¡¯s heir struggled to a seated position. He wanted to recover his usual proud demeanor. But after being hacked by lightning, his expression was still incredibly sinister no matter how he tried to hide it. ¡°Do not misunderstand. I am not getting revenge on you. Just now, I established a vow to the world, so how could I possibly get revenge?¡±

    The power of oaths wasn¡¯t something he dared to look down on. That was why he wanted to do his best to avoid the consequences.

    Zu An sneered. ¡°Have you heard this phrase before? You shouldn¡¯t deceive the heavens.¡±

    King Qi¡¯s heir roared withughter. ¡°That is merely something the weak use to console themselves. The world is heartless and views all things like dogs. There is no evil and good in the eyes of heavenlyw. As long as you follow its rules, then there is nothing else to worry about.¡±

    ¡°This guy is twisting logic!¡± Chu Youzhao became unhappy. She felt like they already made an oath, yet he was still getting revenge. This was just too shameless!

    Murong Qinghe also frowned. As a martial idiot, she believed that a loss was a loss. This heir¡¯s behavior was a bit too shameless.

    However, as the Murong n¡¯s daughter, she also admired his decision. As King Qi¡¯s heir, it would be more worrisome if he really was someone naive.

    ¡°The weak?¡± Zu Anughed in mockery. ¡°Who was it that was being stepped on like a dead dog just now? Who was the weak?¡±

    The young heir¡¯s breathing stopped momentarily. His chest rose and fell intensely. What happened just now was utterly humiliating.

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Zhi for +999 +999 +999¡­

    Han Fengqiu said with a frown, ¡°Heir, there is no need for you to lower yourself to that nobody¡¯s level.¡±

    King Qi¡¯s heir took a deep breath. He wasn¡¯t apletely useless and foolish son. He quickly reacted and said, ¡°Indeed, one¡¯s strength is not only reflected in their cultivation, it also depends on the resources at his disposal. Between me and you, calling you the weak is already speaking highly of you.¡±

    Zu Anughed out loud. ¡°Who was it that was boasting earlier that you didn¡¯t rely on anyone but yourself?¡±

    King Qi¡¯s heir: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    Did this guy not know how to have a proper conversation?

    He was ashamed and furious. He knew that he couldn¡¯t win against this person in talking. He roared out, ¡°Uncle Han, cripple him!¡±

    ¡°Alright. Young heir, please stay here and rest. Watch how I deal with this ant.¡± Han Fengqiu turned around and looked at Zu An. ¡°Brat, you should be honored that this old one is personally getting involved. In that regard, this life you lived is already worth it.¡±

    Zu An spat on the ground and said with mockery. ¡°Just you? A trifling ninth rank? Could it be that you don¡¯t know that I¡¯m always hanging around Earth Immortals and Grandmasters? There were even quite a few master rank cultivators who died under my hands. You¡¯re only a trifling ninth rank. I really don¡¯t know where you get your confidence from.¡±

    Mosquito Daoist, Old Mi, these individuals really did die under his hands. Furthermore, regardless of whether it was Mi Li or Qin Shihuang, their souls, or if it was the final Shang king Wu Geng, all of these were existences not inferior to the current emperor. In terms of the truly powerful cultivators, there really weren¡¯t many who couldpare to Zu An. He obviously didn¡¯t attach much importance to someone at the peak of the ninth rank.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    But there was no way other people would know about these things. They would only think that he was spouting nonsense.

    Murong Qinghe scoffed. ¡°Big brother Chu, your brother-inw¡¯s cultivation isn¡¯t bad, but he really goes too far with his boasting.¡±

    Chu Youzhao¡¯s pretty face heated up. Even though she knew that her brother-inw was formidable,paring himself to Earth Immortals and Grandmasters was too much. Even she was feeling embarrassed in his ce.

    The driver in the distance chuckled. ¡°He killed a few masters? Madam, this friend of yours really is quite bold.¡±

    He didn¡¯t receive a reply.

    Han Fengqiu obviously didn¡¯t believe him either. ¡°You are so young, yet you are full of nonsense. Today, this old one will properly discipline you in ce of your family. You will learn that you can use your mouth to eat at will, but you cannot speak randomly¡­¡±

    Before he even finished speaking, Zu An interrupted him. ¡°Your pants fell.¡±

    Han Fengqiu was stunned. Then, he felt his legs go cold. When he lowered his head, he saw that his pants already fell to his ankles.

    That shriveled penis was shaking in the cold wind. It looked extremely pitiful.

    He was speaking domineeringly a moment ago, yet now, all of that grandeur vanished in an instant.

    ¡°Ah!!¡±

    Chu Youzhao and Murong Qinghe both covered their eyes and turned around. Their faces all became bright red.

    What the heck is going on? We never saw anything after living for so many years, why are we seeing that dirty thing so many times today?

    Chu Youzhao couldn¡¯t help but remember her brother-inw back then again. She thought to herself, why were other men so much smaller than him?

    This was true for King Qi¡¯s heir, and now even for this ninth ranked expert.

    Even so, this wasn¡¯t what King Qi¡¯s heir thought. Even though Han Fengqiu was on his side, he still couldn¡¯t help but want tough.

    He gave it another look, and then a big smile appeared on his face. He finally regained his confidence.

    In the future, he could tell others that he was better than a ninth ranked expert¡­ No, I can¡¯t. Uncle Han might kill me for that.

    Unlike King Qi¡¯s heir who was holding back hisughter with great difficulty, the driver with the missing tooth roared withughter. ¡°So this fe likes to walk around with his balls dangling! How old are you already, yet you still have this type of hobby? Hahaha, you¡¯re killing me here.¡±

    The madam inside the carriage. ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    Shepletely shut the curtains in front of her. This type of scene was just too offensive to the eyes.

    Han Fengqiu¡¯s head wentpletely nk. He was already an elder and reached the peak of the ninth rank. What kind of situations hasn¡¯t he experienced before?

    But he really never experienced this type of situation before!

    He finally snapped out of his daze when he heard theughter all around him. He pulled up his pants while charging at Zu An: ¡°Die!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Han Fengqiu for +1024 +1024 +1024¡­

    He was now utterly enraged. His eye sockets were splitting, and he was burning with a frenzy of rage. There wasn¡¯t a trace of a high ss elder anymore.

    He didn¡¯t think that his pants falling had something to do with Zu An, he only felt like this kid¡¯s mouth was too vicious. He was going to rip apart his face and feed his tongue to dogs to vent his anger.

    As for the driver with the missing tooth, he¡¯ll make sure he wouldn¡¯t be able tough anymore either.

    The speed of a ninth rank expert was extremely fast. His figure shot out like a streak of lightning. Murong Qinghe and Chu Youzhao couldn''t react at all.

    However, Zu An was already prepared. He used the Sunflower Phantasm to dodge to the side. Heck, he even experienced Mi Li¡¯s strict training before, and he was even able to evade her attacks sometimes. What could a trifling ninth rank who only reached his rank because of his seniority do to him?

    ¡°Huh?¡± The driver with the missing tooth was thoroughly enjoying himself. But when he saw this scene, he was shocked. It was because he saw that Zu An¡¯s grasp of timing was perfect.

    Dodging the attacks of the young heir wasn¡¯t anything special, but evading the strikes of someone at the peak of ninth rank waspletely different. They could lock onto their target¡¯s auras, so normal movement skills becamepletely meaningless. However, Zu An still dodged!

    Is this really a coincidence, or¡­

    However, Han Fengqiu didn¡¯t notice this. There was only one thought in his mind right now: He was going to catch Zu An, and then kill him.

    Zu An was feeling the pressure too. The current Han Fengqiu was probably using 120% of his usual strength, so his speed was far greater than Zhao Zhi¡¯s.Iif it wasn¡¯t because of his mastery of his Sunflower Phantasm, he might¡¯ve already been caught. But even so, this was a dangerous battle.

    He was tempted to say ¡®your pants fell again¡¯, but he didn¡¯t do it. Even though the skill Keybaord Come was strong, it didn¡¯te without a price. The rebound of making his pants fall once shouldn¡¯t be too bad, but if he did it repeatedly, then it might be hard for him to handle.

    Han Fengqiu was also starting to get a bit worried. He was a powerful cultivator at the peak of the ninth rank, yet he couldn¡¯t take out his opponent after going all out. This fe was as slippery as a loach!

    It was all because of the capital city¡¯s sted air restriction. Otherwise, with his ability to fly, it would be useless no matter how fast Zu An was if he attacked from above.

 Chapter 692: Madamâ€™s Invitation

    <h4>Chapter 692: Madam¡¯s Invitation</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    King Qi¡¯s heir was waiting for his Uncle Han to take down his opponent, and then he would get his revenge.

    But Han Fengqiu still couldn¡¯t capture Zu An even after such a long time!

    In that instant, he instead felt a bit relieved. Look, not even someone at the peak of the ninth rnk could catch him. Isn¡¯t itpletely normal for an eighth rank like me to lose?

    Murong Qinghe stared at this scene. Her fierce brows furrowed deeply. ¡°Your brother-inw is really strange¡­ He was fighting like this against King Qi¡¯s heir earlier, and he¡¯s now doing the same thing with a cultivator at the peak of the ninth rank. What is even his limit?¡±

    Chu Youzhao said proudly, ¡°My brother-inw is really strong, you know?¡±

    She even thought to herself that it was a pity that her sister-inw wasn¡¯t here and couldn¡¯t see this scene.

    Han Fengqiu stopped when he heard the surrounding discussions. His face was scalding hot from the embarrassment.

    He still couldn¡¯t take down this kid after so long even with his cultivation! He was already extremely humiliated.

    He knew that it would be hard for him to catch Zu An if he continued this, so he decided to just stop. ¡°Little bastard, you¡¯ve really angered this old one this time.¡±

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but smile. ¡°Ah, so you weren¡¯t actually that angry when your pants dropped in front of everyone.¡±

    He fought with his life on the line against even more powerful opponents before. No matter how formidable Han Fengqiu was, it wasn¡¯t enough to truly scare him.

    Han Fengqiu¡¯s skin twitched, and then he sighed. He didn¡¯t say anything else and instead held his sword in front of him.

    Vrrrmmmmm!

    The sword began to vibrate.

    Then, his right hand drew out arge circle in front of him.

    The sword in front of him suddenly multiplied, spread out like a peacock, and then blossomed like a chrysanthemum.

    Zu An retracted his smile as well. He could sense this sword energy¡¯s viciousness from far away.

    Han Fengqiu flung the ring of swords into the sky. The swords continued to spin and vibrate with noise.

    Then, one became two, two became four, four became eight¡­

    Endless sword energy filled the skies.

    Han Fengqiu sneered. ¡°Brat, where will you run now?!¡±

    He and King Qi¡¯s heir both had the same idea. Since they couldn¡¯t deal with his movement technique, then he¡¯ll just use an area of effect move so there¡¯s nowhere left to evade.

    The woman in the carriage spoke up. ¡°Save him!¡±

    In her opinion, there was no way for Zu An to avoid this attack.

    ¡°Fine!¡± The driver with the missing tooth cracked open a grin. Then, he took a step out, appearing right in the middle of the battlefield.

    All of the sword energy suddenly descended, creating a rain of swords. Everything within a range of several dozen li waspletely covered. Now, Zu An couldn¡¯t dodge no matter where he tried to dodge.

    Zu An¡¯s expression grew strange. You¡¯re using a sword? Then I just happen to have a simr skill.

    He was just about to make his move when someone appeared in front of him.

    ¡°Hm? That carriage driver?¡± Zu An recognized who this was right away. This old fe¡¯s teeth were crooked and even had a tooth missing, so it would be hard for him to forget this level of ugliness even if he tried.

    The driver with the missing tooth reached into midair and made an ordinary gripping motion. He perfectly grabbed Han Fengqiu¡¯s sword.

    When this sword was caught, all of the sword energy seemed to evaporate into thin air, immediately scattering into nothing.

    Han Fengqiu¡¯s smile instantly froze. He wanted to see Zu An scream in agony from the sword ki. How could he have anticipated this scene?

    But he quickly reacted as well. He immediately greeted the driver with the missing tooth respectfully. ¡°King Qi Manor¡¯s Han Fengqiu greets the senior!¡±

    Even though the other party looked a bit younger than himself, in the world of cultivation, the strong carried seniority.

    Since this man could easily see through his sword formation and grab his sword, that meant that his skills were at least a grade above him. This implied that he was at least a master rank cultivator! Only at the level where one could cultivate the soul, would they be able to easily see through the formation and instantly find its core.

    It also served to express his identity. No matter how powerful this opponent was, he couldn¡¯t possibly be stronger than King Qi, so this was a warning.

    The driver with the missing tooth harrumphed. ¡°Don¡¯t try to scare me with King Qi. I indeed cannot win against King Qi, but giving you a beating isn¡¯t so difficult.¡±

    Han Fengqiu: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh, right. I wasughing earlier. Didn¡¯t you want to beat me up earlier?¡± The driver didn¡¯t have any ns of letting this matter drop. He looked at Han Fengqiu with an ambiguous smile.

    Han Fengqiu immediately apologized. ¡°This junior doesn¡¯t dare!¡±

    Fine beads of sweat were already starting to form on his forehead. He thought to himself, what the hell is going on? He actually ended up running into one freak after another today!

    He wanted topletely dominate this situation, and then use this chance to show off a bit. Yet before he even regained some of his honor, he was humiliated again!

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think you would.¡± The driver with the missing tooth harrumphed. Then, he turned to look at Zu An. ¡°Kid, you¡¯re not bad. Your mouth is a bit sharp, but you¡¯re not too bad looking and have decent cultivation.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. Why are you looking at me like I¡¯m your son-inw or something?

    He quickly cupped his hands and said, ¡°I wouldn''t have made such a fool of myself if I knew that senior had such a powerful cultivation.¡±

    No wonder the other party didn¡¯t thank him at all when he stopped that horse. Turns out the horse never had a chance of harming them!

    ¡°It¡¯s rare to see someone with such chivalry.¡± The driver with the missing tooth found him more and more pleasing.

    Chu Youzhao was shocked and happy. Endless sword energy was about to drown out Zu An a moment ago, making her so nervous her heart was about to jump out, yet a momentter, this mysterious expert helped her brother-inw! Judging from his tone, it looked like her brother-inw was definitely going to be alright.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    She couldn¡¯t help but ask Murong Qinghe quietly, ¡°You know the most about cultivators. Do you know who this senior is?¡±

    Murong Qinghe was also quite baffled. ¡°I don¡¯t.¡±

    She knew almost all of the master rank cultivators in the capital, but there really wasn¡¯t a single one that matched the description of this mysterious man!

    The carriage didn¡¯t have any n emblems, and it looked no different from apletely ordinary carriage.

    Nearby, King Qi¡¯s heir was unhappy.

    Han Fengqiu might feel misgivings, but he didn¡¯t.

    Apart from the emperor himself, there weren¡¯t many others he needed to fear in the capital. ¡°Who is your distinguished self? Do you know that shielding a criminal who has murdered military officers is a serious crime? You are stopping the court from carrying out thew!¡±

    The driver with the missing tooth chuckled, revealing his yellow and crooked teeth. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t try to scare me with these things. I believe the court is able to discern between what is really right and wrong.¡±

    Zu An spoke up at this time. ¡°Hey, tomato face, you can use your mouth to eat random things, but you can¡¯t speak random things. When did I murder court officers? These fes were only frozen.¡±

    Zu An retracted the cold energy. The frozen individuals all came back to life, but many of them were missing arms and legs.

    King Qi¡¯s heir was shocked. What kind of move is this? It could do this type of thing? However, he didn¡¯t bother investigating this and immediately said, ¡°Even if they¡¯re not dead, their arms and legs have been broken by you. Attacking a military officer is a huge crime!¡±

    Zu Anughed. ¡°We have so many witnesses. It was clearly you who wanted to show off so badly that those chunks of ice fell, breaking their arms and legs. The main culprit is yourself! Old sir whose pants fell, please capture this main culprit!¡±

    ¡°You!¡± King Qi¡¯s heir was shaking all over in anger. With his status, he couldpletely get away with deliberately distorting the truth and framing someone. Yet now, he suddenly felt like their identities were flip flopped.

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Zhi for +888 +888 +888¡­

    Han Fengqiu¡¯s eyelids jumped when he heard the words ¡®pants fell¡¯. Was this kid born to piss people off?

    You have sessfully trolled Han Fengqiu for +999 +999 +999¡­

    He took a deep breath and forced himself to endure the urge to attack. He gave that driver with the missing tooth a look. ¡°May I ask what this senior¡¯s great name is?¡±

    He knew that the main problem here was this mysterious expert. If this man wasn¡¯t here, then Zu An was just livestock waiting to be ughtered.

    ¡°I¡¯ve forgotten my name. I am merely an ordinary carriage driver now.¡± The driver waved his hand casually.

    The others were baffled, but Han Fengqiu¡¯s expression changed. ¡°Could it be that you are¡­¡±

    However, King Qi¡¯s heir became annoyed. ¡°Who the hell cares who he is? Today¡­¡±

    Han Fengqiu quickly stopped him and whispered by his ears, ¡°Young heir, he is¡­¡±

    King Qi¡¯s heir immediately began to breathe heavily. He quickly looked towards the ordinary carriage, his eyes full of expectation and desire.

    Zu An frowned. What was going on with this fe? Why did he look like a pig in heat? Was he not scared that his little fe might just break if he gets too excited?

    The driver with the missing tooth smiled and said to Zu An, ¡°Youngster, my madam invites you for a meeting.¡±

 Chapter 693: Rebound

    <h4>Chapter 693: Rebound</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    When he heard the driver invite Zu An over, the young heir Zhao Zhi¡¯s breathing became hurried.

    There were very few people in this world who could receive that madam¡¯s invitation

    He had always been a proud person, yet he was never able to meet with her. This was a woman who not even the emperor, his father, or the heirs of various nobility could hope to meet. It waspletely natural for her to disregard him as well.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Yet she ended up inviting Zu An, who he looked down on, for a meeting! This is something he didn¡¯t even dare to dream of!

    They are close?

    This thought appeared in his head, but he immediately realized that it wasn¡¯t what he was thinking.

    But Zu An was about to go through the carriage curtains and be with her in the same cabin. To a certain degree, this was indeed the case.

    His eyes were no longer filled with disdain beneath contempt when he looked at Zu An, but instead endless jealousy.

    Why? Why did the gorgeous Chu First Miss choose him?!

    Why did the number one beauty of the capital, Yu Yanluo, also treat him like this?

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Zhi for +555 +555 +555¡­

    The worst part of it all was that Yu Yanluo saw his current sorry state. This was absolutely social death!

    He originally felt that there weren¡¯t many spectators anyway, and thosemoners already ran away. Chu Youzhao and Murong Qinghe were both part of King Qi¡¯s faction, so they wouldn¡¯t tell anyone. The carriage looked like it was just from an ordinary n, so they just needed to secretly get rid of them afterwards.

    This way, no news regarding his miserable defeat to Zu An would even get out. However, the capital¡¯s number one beauty Yu Yanluo just had to be inside that seemingly ordinary carriage!

    There was no way he could kill her. His dad might be the first to smack him to death if he dared to even try.

    He himself couldn¡¯t even bear to!

    He had seen her from the distance before, and he even dreamed about her. That exceptional face seemed to be something that didn¡¯t belong to this secr world. Which man would be able to resolve themselves to destroy this natural work of art?

    But the more it was like this, the more unbearable the memory of being stepped on by Zu An was.

    It¡¯s all because of that dog spawn Zu An!

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Zhi for +1024 +1024 +1024¡­

    Zu An was surprised. ¡°Who is your madam?¡±

    The driver with the missing tooth chuckled. ¡°You¡¯ll know once you go inside.¡±

    Zu An gave King Qi¡¯s heir and Han Fengqiu a look. He was a bit puzzled. Who was it that could make both of them react like this?

    The woman inside this carriage spoke up. ¡°Young heir, this young master saved me just now after all. Can we leave this matter at that out of favor for this humble one?¡±

    The voice was soft and pleasant. It didn¡¯t act cute or childish at all, yet it made all those who heard it feel like their bones were melting.

    Murong Qinghe was extremely envious. ¡°I wish my voice sounded that good.¡±

    ¡°But your voice is pretty nice. It¡¯s a lot nicer than a certain pretentious someone.¡± Chu Youzhao harrumphed. For some reason, she felt a natural enmity towards this mysterious woman. She just felt like she was up to no good.

    ¡°Really?¡± Murong Qinghe was extremely happy to hear the one she liked praise her like this. A bit of rosiness appeared on her face.

    My voice obviously doesn¡¯t sound as good, but big brother Chu still said that. He must care a lot about me! Ah!!! I¡¯m so embarrassed.

    King Qi¡¯s heir was moved. Yu Yanluo actually spoke to me! And she took the initiative to do so!

    He was a bit overwhelmed and subconsciously wanted to stand up to sort out his clothes, but only then did he notice that all of his clothes had been sted to ashes by his own lightning. Fortunately, Han Fengqiu acted quickly and covered him up to hide this ugly sight.

    He gave Zu An a hateful re. I will get my revenge, or my name is not Zhao Zhi!

    But when he looked in the carriage¡¯s direction, his malicious expression was instantly reced by a smile. ¡°Since it is madam¡¯s request, then I need to show that much respect. Mister Zu, your murders of military officers will be properly investigated. We¡¯re leaving!¡±

    Han Fengqiu sighed in relief. He really didn¡¯t know what to do if they continued to face this mysterious expert.

    The young heir is worthy of being the young heir after all. He used this chance to leave properly so that it didn¡¯t look like he was fleeing hastily.

    But this young heir he was praising was full of regret. Fuck, what the hell am I trying to act cool for?

    If he stubbornly refused and stayed, he might instead draw more of that madam¡¯s attention. At the very least, he could exchange a few more words with her, right?

    Sigh, he finally got this rare chance to talk to her, yet he couldn¡¯t even meet her face to face. It was instead Zu An who was able to interact so closely with her inside the carriage.

    This Zu An is only a spineless coward who only knows how to hide behind a woman after all!

    But I want to hide behind a woman like Madam Yu too!

    Ahhhhhh!! This is so infuriating!

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Zhi for +924 +924 +924¡­

    Zu An watched as they left. After a bit of hesitation, he decided not to do anything.

    Someone at the peak of the ninth rank isn¡¯t easy to deal with. Furthermore, his dad King Qi is an even bigger problem. Now wasn¡¯t the time to burn all the bridges yet.

    ¡°Ahem. Our madam has invited you inside.¡± The driver arrived at his side, his tone a bit dissatisfied.

    What the heck is this? Who in the capital isn¡¯t honored by a meeting from my madam? Every one of them is eager to meet her. Yet it was instead this brat who was obviously no good who was instead unfazed?

    ¡°Sorry, I was a bit absent-minded haha.¡± Zu An snapped out of his daze and quickly walked towards the carriage. He was quite curious who the one inside was.

    Chu Youzhao and Murong Qinghe subconsciously wanted to follow and find out who it was, but they were stopped by the driver. ¡°Young misses, please wait here for a bit.¡±

    Murong Qinghe was one thing, but Chu Youzhao was angry and nervous. Unfortunately, there wasn¡¯t much she could do in front of someone who was at least at the master rank. She could only watch as her brother-inw walked over to the carriage, as if he was walking straight into a subus¡¯ir.

    When Zu An arrived next to the carriage, he cupped his hands and said, ¡°Thank you madam for your help.¡±

    A chuckle sounded from within. ¡°You saved me just now as well.¡±

    Chu Youzhao¡¯s nose wrinkled in disdain. This woman¡¯sughter was just like that of a witch! Isn¡¯t she clearly trying to seduce him? But she had to admit that this was the most beautiful voice she had ever heard.

    Zu Anughed in self-mockery. ¡°If I knew that the madam had such a formidable guard, I wouldn¡¯t have meddled. I was almost done in by King Qi Manor.¡±

    As if sensing his dissatisfaction, the woman inside said with a gentle voice, ¡°This only serves to further disy your valor. Even though outsiders might think of you as a sloppy and frivolous man, I know that there is a chivalrous core deep within your bones. Regardless of how domineering the enemy is, they will still be furious when they see you. This was how it was back then, and it is still the same way now.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face heated up. ¡°I¡¯m starting to get embarrassed from all this praise too, haha¡­ Hm? It seems like you know me?¡±

    The carriage became quiet for a moment. A whileter, the woman inside said, ¡°You shoulde in.¡±

    The driver with the missing tooth was stunned. Did I hear wrong? The madam was actually inviting him inside?

    The two of them were going to share that narrow space?

    He had worked as a driver for this madam for many years already. He knew that because of her stunning beauty, she cared a lot about the space between her and those she interacted with. She would never let other men get that close to her.

    But she let this brat go in! When he recalled how much this madam cared about Zu An, he really began to wonder if she liked this kid!

    This brat is decent looking, but is my madam someone who cares about appearances? She won¡¯t ever find someone as pretty as the one in the mirror, so the madam definitely didn¡¯t care about appearance.

    Maybe she is admiring him as an impressive junior? Yeah, this is possible¡­

    While the driver with the missing tooth was thinking all types of things, Zu An already moved aside the curtains and went inside. But before he could see her appearance, there was a feeling of dizziness in his head.

    Fuck, the rebound of Keyboard Come is this brutal?

    His body fell uncontrobly as soon as this thought emerged. Following a woman¡¯s cry of rm, he copsed into a soft body.

 Chapter 694: Auntie, I Donâ€™t Want to Work Anymore

    <h4>Chapter 694: Auntie, I Don¡¯t Want to Work Anymore</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The driver with the missing tooth was watching vigntly the entire time. When he heard the madam cry out in rm, his expression suddenly changed. He instantly appeared next to the carriage. ¡°Madam, what happened?¡±

    He didn¡¯t dare go inside, because his madam didn¡¯t like to meet with people. Normally, he couldn¡¯t enter her private space without her permission.

    Chu Youzhao and Murong Qinghe also rushed over, but there was no way they could match the driver¡¯s speed. They arrived a bitter.

    Murong Qinghe tugged on Chu Youzhao¡¯s sleeves. She said with a strange expression, ¡°Big brother Chu, your brother-inw really is¡­¡±

    Her face turned red. She couldn¡¯t bring herself to continue.

    Chu Youzhao also stomped her feet in annoyance. ¡°Who is my brother-inw? I don¡¯t have such a perverted brother-inw!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Youzhao for +223 +223 +223¡­

    Murong Qinghe wrinkled her nose. Who was the one who kept saying brother-inw earlier?

    The madam¡¯s voice sounded again from inside the carriage. ¡°Nothing¡­ It¡¯s nothing. Uncle Fu, please help me keep watch outside. Do not let anyone near.¡±

    The driver with the missing tooth was still hesitant. ¡°Madam, is there really nothing wrong?¡±

    He was worried that she might only be saying this because she was being threatened inside.

    The madam¡¯s voice sounded again. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I am fine. I have some things I wish to talk to him about. You only need to stand guard outside.¡±

    Then, a blueyer of light appeared around the carriage. The driver knew that a restriction that cut off all sound was activated.

    Only the madam knew about this. This wasn¡¯t possible unless she wanted to activate it herself.

    He sighed in relief when he thought of this. ¡°Then this old servant will wait outside.¡±

    He shooed away Chu Youzhao and Murong Qinghe while saying this.

    At the same time, he was inwardly shocked. The madam actually activated this formation! Looks like she really did trust this brat. Otherwise, if there were any dangers that happened inside, no one would save her even if she screamed her lungs out.

    Chu Youzhao was blown away by an invisible force. She was upset. ¡°What is your madam doing by locking up my brother-inw? Are you plotting against him?¡±

    ¡°The madam? Plotting against your brother-inw?¡± The driver almostughed out of irritation. The number of men who wanted to scheme against their madam in the capital might be enough to wrap around the capital itself three times over if they lined up from the pce gates. Who is the one scared of who here?

    While they were bickering with each other, a stunning madam was currently lying down on a soft seat. Her enchanting and starry eyes looked at the man lying on her with an ambiguous smile. ¡°How much longer are you nning to lie there for?¡±

    Zu An was extremely distressed. Am I the type of shameless bastard to take advantage of a girl? I¡¯ve alreadypletely distinguished myself from such lowly people, I relied on my own charm to make beautiese to me on their own!

    What the heck is this, pushing her down as soon as I enter? She¡¯s going to think that I¡¯m a pervert! I still have some dignity, you know?

    But he never expected the rebound of Keyboard Come to be so great.

    It was different fromst time. Last time, he used Keyboard Come to make a new set of golden token envoy uniform, so the rebound was expected.

    But he only made that old man¡¯s pants fall this time! Why was the rebound still so great?

    However, this was where he was wrong. Why would the pants of a powerful ninth rank expert fall down for no reason? If it was an expert at the same level, they would definitely be able to use this opening to take Han Fengqiu¡¯s life. That was why it only looked like his pants were falling on the surface, but in reality, it was rted to the very life of a cultivator at the peak of the ninth rank. How could the rebound be small then?

    Fortunately, this was only an indirect effect. Otherwise, there might even be danger to Zu An¡¯s life.

    Zu An said with a bitter smile, ¡°Would you believe me if I said that my strength gave out because I just fought a great battle, and that I wasn¡¯t trying to take advantage of you?¡±

    He thought that he was done for, but the response he received was unexpected. ¡°I do. You were able to fight against an eight rank and someone at the peak of ninth rank at your young age. The fact that you couldst until now is already extremely impressive.¡±

    Zu An: ¡°???¡±

    Even I wouldn¡¯t believe what I said if I was on the other end. Is this girl stupid?

    Huh? Wait, why does she look familiar?

    There was finally a bit of impatience in this beautiful woman¡¯s voice. ¡°Are you still not going to get up?¡±

    ¡°My bad, my bad.¡± Zu Anughed awkwardly and quickly sat up.

    He wasn¡¯t a kid who didn¡¯t know anything anymore. However, the astonishingly soft feeling even made his heart start pounding.

    The beautiful woman sat up as well. She sorted out her clothes and hair.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An finally had a chance to get a good look at her. Her skin was fair and smooth and her face was wless. Her hair was coiled up above her in an elegant fashion, making her neck appear graceful and slender.

    A luminescent pearl was embedded at the top of the carriage. As the soft radiance scattered down on her cheeks, her gentle features seemed to have been painted by a brush. It was hard to say whether the luminescent pearl was brighter or her.

    ¡°It¡¯s you!¡± Zu An finally recognized who this was. He was startled and happy. The woman before him was the one he saved with Ji Xiaoxi back then, the capital¡¯s number one beauty: Yu Yanluo!

    ¡°We meet again.¡± Yu Yanluo smiled. Her smile was so beautiful it was as if a beautiful flower bloomed inside this carriage.

    There wasn¡¯t any bit of anger from being offended, nor was there any trace of a girl¡¯s bashfulness. She was calm and natural in bearing, as if she was the main character of this world.

    ¡°It has been a long time. Who would¡¯ve thought that the madam to be just as stunning, if not more so today.¡± Zu An sighed. ¡°I was wondering why King Qi¡¯s heir suddenly turned into a simp. Now that I¡¯ve met with the madam again, I finally understand.¡±

    Yu Yanluo didn¡¯t show much reaction to his praise. After all, she had heard ttery even more over the top over the years. ¡°Your growth is quite surprising. Thest time I met you, it was quite challenging for you to even deal with those ckwing Stockade¡¯s scoundrels, yet now, a few monthster, you can already face experts at the peak of the ninth rank.¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°I remember you told mest time that I¡¯m still a few years too early if I want to be your man. Now that you¡¯ve seen my growth, has that time shortened by a bit?¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯sposure finally snapped. A faint blush appeared on her gorgeous face. She gave him a rebuking look. ¡°What am I going to do with you¡­¡±

    Zu An had to admit that someone this beautiful was pretty even when she was angry. However, for better or for worse, his tolerance for beauties had been raised after meeting all those girls. He quickly recovered hisposure and said with an upset tone, ¡°It¡¯s your fault for forgetting your past promise!¡±

    ¡°I forgot my promise?¡± Yu Yanluo reached out her palm. Her fingers were fine and slender, as if they were sculpted from jade. ¡°Return it to me.¡±

    ¡°Return what?¡± Zu An was stunned.

    ¡°My jade pendant.¡± Yu Yanluo harrumphed. ¡°I don¡¯t want to see you spreading rumors with it everywhere, that I gave it to you because I fell in love and it¡¯s some lover¡¯s gift or something.¡±

    No matter how thick Zu An¡¯s skin was, his boasting earlier was now exposed, leaving him extremely ashamed.

    But he reacted quickly as well and went on the offensive. ¡°You really do forget the debts you owe! I saved youst time, so you gave me this pendant and said you were going to repay me. When I went to the Yu n in Brightmoon City, you were nowhere to be seen! Now, I finally meet you again, yet you want this pendant back?¡±

    Yu Yanluo exined, ¡°Many things were happening in Brightmoon City back then, so I had no choice but to leave. That was why I didn¡¯t have a chance to thank you. However, I alreadypensated youter on.¡±

    ¡°Youpensated me?¡± Zu An was confused.

    There was a faint smile in Yu Yanluo¡¯s eyes. ¡°Why else do you think his majesty left you alive?¡±

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in King Qi Manor, King Qi looked at his lightning scorched son with an overcast expression. ¡°Who the hell did this?!¡±

 Chapter 695, Part 1: Chess Pieces and the Player Who Moves Them

    <h4>Chapter 695, Part 1: Chess Pieces and the yer Who Moves Them</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    King Qi¡¯s heir opened his mouth to say something. He wanted to hug his dad and cry for him to get revenge, but he suddenly remembered the vow he made with Zu An. He couldn¡¯t ask his father to help. As such, he endured this urge.

    Furthermore, he knew that with his father¡¯s nature,ining tearfully might just achieve the opposite effect.

    When Han Fengqiu saw him be quiet, he spoke up out of consideration. ¡°It was that Zu An brat.¡±

    ¡°Zu An?¡± King Qi frowned. ¡°Are you kidding me? He only has around six to seven ranks of cultivation. How was he able to hurt you this badly?¡±

    The young heir¡¯s face went entirely red. This was also what left him incredibly puzzled. He wanted to understand why his powerful eight ranks of cultivation would lose to that brat, moreover so badly.

    Han Fengqiu exined, ¡°That fe¡¯s movement technique is quite bizarre, and not even I could catch him. It was to be expected that the heir was at a disadvantage here.¡±

    ¡°Not even you could catch him?¡± King Qi¡¯s heir was surprised. Even if he didn¡¯t trust his son¡¯s strength, he understood Han Fengqiu¡¯s strength well. Regardless of whether it was cultivation orbat experience, neither wascking. If even he couldn¡¯t catch Zu An, then how shocking was that brat?

    Han Fengqiu¡¯s face heated up. He quickly added, ¡°The main reason is because the capital restricts flight. Otherwise, I could¡¯ve caught him no matter how fast he is. Even so, I still almost took him down, but Madam Yu¡¯s subordinate Uncle Fu interfered. That was why I could only bring the young heir back.¡±

    ¡°Madam Yu?¡± King Qi¡¯s breathing became rushed. ¡°You are talking about Yu Yanluo?¡±

    ¡°Yes, it was precisely her.¡± Han Fengqiu replied.

    When King Qi¡¯s heir saw his father lose hisposure for a moment, he should¡¯ve been outraged because of his mother. However, back then, Yu Yanluo left the entire capital shaken. As a man, he actually sympathized with his father.

    ¡°She actually returned to the capital?¡± King Qi was a bit excited. He began to pace about a few times in the room. In the end, he stood by the window and looked towards a certain direction. The light in his eyes gradually calmed. ¡°It¡¯s a pity, unfortunately. If this was ten years ago, I would¡¯ve rushed over to meet with her regardless of everything, but I am no longer in the mood.¡±

    Han Fengqiu said fawningly, ¡°It is a blessing for us subjects if the king cares more about the greater situation.¡±

    King Qi turned around. ¡°Why would Yu Yanluo save Zu An?¡±

    Han Fengqiu shook his head. He didn¡¯t know why either.

    The young heir spoke up with a weak voice, ¡°It might be because Zu An saved them before¡­¡±

    Then, he told his father about the story of the startled horse.

    King Qi nodded. ¡°This n of yours wasn¡¯t bad, and you used thew to your advantage in every move. You didn¡¯t let my teachings go to waste.¡±

    Zhao Zhi was happy to hear this. ¡°Thank you, father!¡±

    He wasn¡¯t King Qi¡¯s only son, so he faced quite the pressure himself. He obviously wanted to further the gap between himself and the others to prevent them from having any thoughts they shouldn¡¯t have.

    And where did this advantagee from? It obviously came from his father¡¯s doting.

    But suddenly, King Qi harrumphed coldly. ¡°Unfortunately, this n wasn¡¯t perfect. Since it was a trap to begin with, why didn¡¯t you arrange for a carriage yourself?¡±

    Zhao Zhi exined, ¡°I was worried that it would be too obvious. The court¡¯s Liu n, Meng n, and Bi n, they will definitely make a fuss over it, so I decided to find a passing carriage. We carefully observed it beforehand. That carriage waspletely ordinary. How could we have expected that it would be Yu Yanluo¡¯s carriage?¡±

    ¡°Hmph, this is why a slight bit of negligence can ruin everything.¡± King Qi reprimanded. ¡°Even if the court¡¯s people suspect you, so what? Once there is irrefutable evidence, they will only bark a few times at most. But because of your hesitation, the entire situation ended in ruins. You¡¯re saving a little only to lose a lot! Remember, you need to make sure to understand clearly what kind of risks you can shoulder and which risks you cannot afford to take.¡±

    ¡°Thank you father for your advice!¡± Zhao Zhi quickly got up to bow down. Unfortunately, the pain from his knees immediately made sweat trickle down his face.

    ¡°Your knees are crushed?¡± Only now did King Qi begin to examine his injuries. His expression sunk.

    ¡°This child is ipetent. I¡¯ve let father down.¡± Zhao Zhi knew that his father hated excuses the most. It was better to just humble himself and admit his inadequacy.

    Sure enough, King Qi¡¯s expression eased a bit when he heard this. He reached out his hand and gently caressed his kneecaps. Two white lights appeared in his palms.

    Pain appeared on Zhao Zhi¡¯s face. A whileter, his brows gradually eased. ¡°Thank you, father!¡±

    Han Fengqiu sighed in admiration. His master¡¯s cultivation was deep and profound as expected. He could actually heal this level of injury so easily! I even took a look at it earlier, yet couldn¡¯t do anything.

    ¡°What I did was merely prevent any irrecoverable damage. You still need some physicians to treat you. It will take a few months for you to make a full recovery.¡± King Qi said coldly, ¡°There¡¯s no harm in this. You can ponder over your mistakes and not disgrace yourself further.¡±

    Unwillingness shed past Zhao Zhi¡¯s eyes, but he still didn¡¯t dare to retort in the end. ¡°Understood!¡±

    His hatred of Zu An was already at its absolute limit. He thought to himself that once he recovered, he was going to chop his corpse into ten thousand pieces!

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Zhi for +999 +999 +999¡­

    ¡°Alright, tell me the details of your battle against Zu An now.¡± King Qi patted the sides of his clothes, and then he sat down with perfect posture.

    His greatest confusion right now was Zu An¡¯s extraordinary fighting strength. Was it because of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra? If it really was so incredible, then doesn¡¯t that mean what his majesty cultivated is¡­

    Zhao Zhi endured the pain and did his best to sit up. Then, he told his father about the battle.

    King Qi listened while analyzing what happened. ¡°Zu An¡¯s strange movement technique should be Eunuch Mi¡¯s Sunflower Phantasm. He most likely passed it onto Zu An as his inheritor in the time he spent in Brightmoon City. However, even though the Sunflower Phantasm has some points of merit, it shouldn¡¯t be at this level.¡±

    Han Fengqiu added, ¡°My king, now that you mention it, I do feel that the youngster¡¯s movement skill is like the rumored Sunflower Phantasm. However, there is something that is a bit different. As for how it is different, it is hard for even me to say.¡±

    King Qi nodded. His tone became a bit unhappy when he looked at his son again. ¡°Even if that movement technique is strange, you have eight ranks of cultivation. How did you get beaten so miserably?¡±

    Zhao Zhi¡¯s face heated up. He quickly said, ¡°I held the advantage throughout the entire fight. However, because of his strange movement technique, I didn¡¯t want to y hide-and-seek anymore, so I used Holy Lightning of the Hegemon. I wanted to trap him within a sea of lightning.¡±

    Han Fengqiu nodded. The reason he filled the sky with swords was because he had simr thoughts. This type of area of effect attack was needed to deal with this type of strange movement technique.

    ¡°And then?¡± King Qi was instead indifferent. He knew that this move was the wrong choice just by looking at his son¡¯s current wretched state.

    Zhao Zhi said with grief and indignation, ¡°There was a giant ball of water that suddenly appeared. It soaked me, so all of the thunder clouds attacked me instead! Once I waspletely paralyzed, then, that bastard Zu An¡­ he¡­¡±

    He became incredibly dejected when he thought about how he was stepped on, and then had his knees crushed. His eyes couldn¡¯t help but be moist.

    King Qi gave him a look. When he saw that he didn¡¯t really cry, he nodded in satisfaction. ¡°Your life has been too easy these years. This is a good lesson for you.¡±

    Zhao Zhi didn¡¯t dare retort. He only replied, ¡°Yes!¡±

    Han Fengqiu quickly spoke out for the heir, ¡°This means that there should¡¯ve been a water element expert hiding nearby and plotting against the young heir at that crucial moment. Otherwise, the young heir would¡¯ve already defeated Zu An.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Water element user?¡± King Qi epted this conclusion after thinking for a moment. The element Zu An revealed seemed to be the ice element, so he couldn¡¯t use the water element as well. There should¡¯ve been a water element user. However, who could this be?

    He began to filter through all of the water element experts in the capital. Those who could scheme against Zhao Zhi needed to be above Han Fengqiu¡¯s level. A few candidates appeared, but he subconsciously felt that it wasn¡¯t too likely to be them. Yet after thinking again, he felt like every single one of them had the motive. His brows furrowed deeply.

    Zhao Zhi said hatefully, ¡°Once I recover, I will definitely skin Zu An alive! Only then can I vent out this hatred.¡±

    After listening to their analysis, he also realized that no matter how formidable Zu An was, only a water element user could have helped him in that situation. Zu An himself only relied on his strange movement technique. If they really fought, then he wasn¡¯t his match.

    King Qi harrumphed fiercely. ¡°Have you not brought enough shame to yourself? You should focus on recovering. Once you recover, you are not allowed to go anywhere! Do not forget that your idiotic self made that absurd vow!¡±

    Zhao Zhi began to panic. ¡°Won¡¯t it be okay as long as I do not use our n¡¯s power? I¡¯ll be more prepared next time! I can easily take down that Zu An by myself.¡±

    King Qi gave him a disappointed look. ¡°Do you think you yourself is the only thing you represent? Your father has reached a critical period, and the entire court¡¯s eyes are on me. Your father has always maintained a clean reputation, so they could not use anything against me. If you jump out and start something now, then wouldn¡¯t we be handing them the weapon with our own hands?¡±

    Zhao Zhi finally understood his father¡¯s misgivings, but even so, he was still unsatisfied inside. ¡°But are we really going to just leave this matter at that? He broke both of my legs! If he doesn¡¯t pay the price, then everyone will think that our King Qi Manor isn¡¯t a big deal at all. Won¡¯t that bring us more trouble? Shaming me isn¡¯t a big deal, but father, humiliating you is!¡±

    King Qi sneered. ¡°Don¡¯t try to use your shrewdness with me. Did I say I was going to let him go?¡±

 Chapter 695, Part 2: Chess Pieces and the Player Who Moves Them

    <h4>Chapter 695, Part 2: Chess Pieces and the yer Who Moves Them</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zhao Zhi¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°What kind of magnificent moves does father have?¡±

    King Qi snorted. When he stood up again, there was a mysterious grandeur to his presence. ¡°I will teach you one more lesson today. Many times, it is better to not rashly charge forward. Even the strongest and sharpest person will be nothing more than a chess piece. You need to leap out of the chessboard and be the chess yer.¡±

    ¡°Chess yer?¡± Zhao Zhi was stunned. He began to think to himself.

    King Qiughed and said, ¡°Why do you need to act yourself if you want to take care of Zu An? There are others who want him dead more than you do. As long as you y that chess piece well, won¡¯t it be far better than doing the deed yourself?¡±

    Zhao Zhi¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Are you talking about the Shi n?¡±

    He reached the eighth rank before the age of forty. Even though this was because of King Qi Manor¡¯s wealth of resources, this was also a reflection of his own talent and intelligence. He wasn¡¯t stupid.

    King Qi nodded. ¡°Shi Kun died a few days ago in the Eastern Pce. It is rumored that the crown princess identally wounded him, so those Shi n people could only hold back their rage. Forget about unintentional, even if it was intentional, they wouldn¡¯t dare to get revenge. But even though they cannot get revenge on the crown princess, that doesn¡¯t mean that they cannot take their anger out on other people. In the end, the reason why something happened to Shi Kun in the first ce is because of Zu An. The reason why the Shi n hasn¡¯t made a move yet is either because they haven¡¯t realized this yet, or that they still have some misgivings. All you need to do is give them a push.¡±

    Zhao Zhi¡¯s expression changed. ¡°Father is brilliant as expected! Not only will this force the Shi n to target Zu An, we can even drag the neutral Shi n into our camp. After all, Shi Kun was the son the Minister of War doted on the most. He died under the crown princess¡¯ hands. If the crown prince rises to the throne, then he will never be able to get his revenge. Only by cooperating with us will he have a chance of getting revenge.¡±

    King Qi finally smiled. ¡°Indeed. You didn¡¯t let me down.¡±

    Zhao Zhi expressed his humility to his father, but his expression was vicious. ¡°Zu An, let¡¯s see what you¡¯ll do now!¡±

    At the same time, he thought to himself that in order to get revenge on a man, nothing was better than beating him up, and then seizing his women and making him hear their weeping.

    Hmph, I need to find a chance to get my hands on Chu Chuyan, and then I¡¯ll toy with her in front of his face! I want to see what kind of expression that fe will have then!

    ¡­

    ¡°Achoo!¡± Zu An sneezed inside the carriage. He subconsciously rubbed his nose. ¡°Hm? There are quite a few people thinking about me.¡±

    Yu Yanluo covered her mouth and said with a smile, ¡°I reckon they probably want you dead. You¡¯re quite good at making enemies.¡±

    Zu An shrugged his shoulders. ¡°What can I say? I¡¯m too outstanding. The tallest tree in the forest is the one that gets blown down, right?¡±

    Yu Yanluo: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    How can this guy make shamelessness seem so refined and justified?

    Zu An put away his smile. ¡°Now, I know that it was because of madam that his majesty let me live. Thank you, madam.¡±

    He still felt lingering fears. He thought that it was all because of the Hat of Forgiveness, but it was actually because of her help.

    No wonder the emperor said that someone spoke out for him. Back then, he thought that it might¡¯ve been Qin Wanru.

    ¡°You saved my life back then outside Brightmoon City. I am only repaying a debt.¡± Yu Yanluo said with an ambiguous smile. ¡°I hope that no one will misunderstand me as someone who doesn¡¯t repay favors anymore.¡±

    Zu Anughed in embarrassment. He was criticizing her a moment ago. Now, when he remembered it, he became a bit embarrassed. He quickly changed the topic and said, ¡°By the way, you had such a formidable bodyguard with you this time. Why were you almost done in by the ckwind Stockade back then?¡±

    Yu Yanluo sighed. Great distress shed past her eyes. ¡°Too many things happened back then¡­¡±

    Zu An was anticipating a long andplex story, but she didn¡¯t say anything more than that.

    Yu Yanluo snapped out of her daze a whileter. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯ve made you see a poor side of myself.¡±

    Zu An said with a chuckle, ¡°Who knows how many men in this world want to see this side of madam, but will never be able to. Any smile on my face will be one of happiness, why would I ever mock madam?¡±

    ¡°Your mouth is formidable after all.¡± Yu Yanluo couldn¡¯t help butugh.

    ¡°Even though I do not know why madam is worried, all things will pass, and there will be people who understand. I hope madam can feel a bit more at ease.¡± Zu An¡¯s eyes looked towards her.

    ¡°All things will pass¡­¡± Yu Yanluo muttered to herself. Her eyes lit up. ¡°I thought that you only knew how to tease others, but you¡¯re pretty good at consoling as well. The so-called people who understand, are you talking about yourself?¡±

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°At the very least, I know myself. I fear that I do not have the right to discuss these things with madam now. As for the future, that is hard to say.¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you feel like I was too old for you?¡± Yu Yanluo grinned. There was an ambiguous smile in her expression.

    Zu An¡¯s face heated up. ¡°I said that to trick that brat Zhao Zhi, so please don¡¯t take that to heart, madam. Madam is so beautiful that it¡¯s not too absurd for you to be my little sister.¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s face became red. Everyone else behaved properly when they met her out of fear that they would leave her with a bad impression, yet this fe was always so natural with his jokes, she didn¡¯t find them that offensive.

    She harrumphed. ¡°You¡¯re only good at joking around. Return that pendant please. I don¡¯t want to hear any bad rumors flying around anymore.¡±

    Zu An took out the jade pendant and handed it to her. Compared to the pendant, her hand looked a bit prettier.

    Yu Yanluo was surprised. She thought that he wouldn¡¯t return it to her, but he actually gave up on it so quickly.

    More admiration appeared in her expression. ¡°You¡¯ve offended King Qi¡¯s heir. What are you going to do now?¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. They won¡¯t be able to do anything to me for quite some time.¡±

    Ever since the moment King Qi¡¯s faction sent assassins after him on his way to the capital, there was already no chance of the two being on the same side. Later on, after the emperor assigned him some tasks, and then the friendships he made in the eastern pce, all of this made it so that there was no way he would get along with King Qi. To put it simply, it wouldn¡¯t be easy for King Qi to do anything to him with these powers backing him.

    Yu Yanluo said, ¡°If anyone else told me these words, I might think that they are arrogant, but you¡¯re different. Ever since I met you, you seem to be creating miracles one after the next. I believe that you will turn misfortunes into blessings. If there is anything that you really cannot deal with, you can seek me out. Even though I might not be able to protect you, I can still offer you some help.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, madam!¡± Zu An was overjoyed upon hearing this. Her status, as well as the resources at her disposal, made her a great ally. Receiving this promise was the same as having more get out of jail free cards.

    After chatting a while longer, Yu Yanluo bid him farewell. This trip back to the capital was made in secret, so she didn¡¯t wish to stay here for too long.

    When Zu An left the carriage, the driver with the missing tooth sized him up with a strange expression, and then he sniffed him. He rxed when he didn¡¯t smell anything strange. ¡°Kid, you¡¯re pretty good. I have high expectations for you, hahaha¡­¡±

    Heshed out with the horsewhip after saying this and drove the carriage away.

    ¡°What the heck is up with that driver? Why is his smile so wretched?¡± Chu Youzhao ran over. She was clearly unhappy that she wasn¡¯t allowed to get closer earlier. ¡°Brother-inw, are you okay? Did that vixen¡­ ahem, did anything happen between the two of you?¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°What could¡¯ve possibly happened to me?¡± Zu An was a bit confused at what she was asking.

    Chu Youzhao¡¯s face turned red. She quickly said, ¡°Who is the woman in the carriage?¡±

    ¡°A beautiful woman.¡± Zu An was still amazed at Yu Yanluo¡¯s beauty. Why would the heavens bless a single woman with so much? It was almost as if it did everything to make her the most perfect beauty possible.

    Hm, this woman is a perfect match for me.

    Chu Youzhao became worried when she saw that he didn¡¯t say anything else. ¡°Come on, who was she?¡±

    Murong Qinghe¡¯s eyes widened as well. She was also extremely curious. Just what kind of woman could make such a powerful expert willingly serve as her driver?

    Zu An was getting annoyed. ¡°What are kids asking about all of this for? Her identity is special, so I can¡¯t just b about it.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t even tell me?¡± Chu Youzhao grinded her teeth.

    Zu An rolled his eyes. ¡°You¡¯re not even my wife.¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Chu Youzhao wanted to bite him.

    Murong Qinghe was confused. Does this guy like men? My big brother Chu is so pretty, I need to protect him!

    A rumbling noise sounded at this time. The three of them turned around and saw arge troop of horses rushing in their direction.

 Chapter 696: The Crown Princessâ€™ Worries

    <h4>Chapter 696: The Crown Princess¡¯ Worries</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Chu Youzhao immediately rushed over to Zu An¡¯s side. ¡°Brother-inw, be careful!¡±

    She thought that King Qi''s faction were already back to get revenge. However, Murong Qinghe saw who it was and said quietly, ¡°They¡¯re from the eastern pce.¡±

    Chu Youzhao was stunned. Their group rushed over and surrounded their party.

    Then, a carriage proceeded from behind the horses. A eunuch moved aside the curtains, and then avishly dressed woman slowly walked out. Her golden hairpin and jade jewelry dazzled under the sunlight, making her seem elegant and stunning.

    ¡°I greet the crown princess!¡± Chu Youzhao and Murong Qinghe were both individuals who grew up in the capital, so they naturally recognized Bi Linglong. Even though they belonged to different factions, they had to admit that this woman was beautiful. What was even more exceptional was the noble air around her. Thesevish clothes only served to further set off her beauty.

    The crown princess nodded her head slightly towards the two of them. She naturally didn¡¯t feel much towards those from King Qi¡¯s faction, so she only showed them basic courtesy.

    Then, she walked towards Zu An. Her eyes examined him. When she saw that nothing major happened to him, she sighed in relief. ¡°I heard that something happened to Sir Zu, and I happened to be in the area. They didn¡¯t do much to you, did they?¡±

    She looked at Chu Youzhao and Murong Qinghe with puzzlement when she spoke to him. Isn¡¯t King Qi¡¯s faction a bit too careless if they are sending these two to deal with Zu An?

    Zu An quickly said, ¡°The crown princess has misunderstood. They are my friends.¡±

    ¡°Friends?¡± The crown princess raised her beautiful brows. This fe is actually friends with people from King Qi¡¯s faction? Interesting¡­

    Murong Qinghe sighed in relief. ¡°We still have things to take care of back in our ns, so we¡¯ll excuse ourselves for now.¡±

    The Murong n was always opposed to the crown prince, so she didn¡¯t feelfortable staying here.

    She also dragged Chu Youzhao with her. Chu Youzhao was a bit unwilling, but she knew that she couldn¡¯t really say anything with the crown princess here. Furthermore, after living in the Qin n for a long time, their rtionship with the eastern pce had never been too good. Being surrounded by the eastern pce¡¯s people didn¡¯t feel too great, so she left. When she left, she gave Zu An a wronged look.

    The crown princess had no reason to keep them here. When she looked at their retreating figures, she couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°Looks like your rtionship with your little brother-inw isn¡¯t that bad.¡±

    Chu Youzhao¡¯s expression when she left didn¡¯t escape her notice. She was a bit surprised. Didn¡¯t the Chu n chase Zu An out at the crucial moment? Why were the two sides still on such good terms with each other?

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°Apart from being handsome, something else good about me is that I get along with people easily. People who hang around me for a while can¡¯t help but like me.¡±

    The crown princess: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    Why did she want to beat him up when she saw his smile?

    ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else, then let¡¯s head back to the eastern pce.¡± She harrumphed, and then she returned to her carriage.

    ¡°Okay.¡± Zu An thought to himself that even though the crown princess¡¯ words were a bit harsh, she wasn¡¯t a bad person. She immediately came when she learned that something happened to him. Even though she wasn¡¯t too happy right now, she was still worried that King Qi¡¯s people might act against him, so she was bringing him back to the pce with her.

    They didn¡¯t say anything to each other along the way. With so many people here, no matter how good Zu An was with words, he still couldn¡¯t just head over to her carriage to talk to her.

    They returned to the eastern pce soon afterwards. Zu An was surprised to discover that Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun were currently kneeling at the entrance in punishment. He was shocked. ¡°What are you two doing? Who dares treat the eastern pce¡¯s guards this way? It¡¯s absolutely preposterous!¡±

    ¡°I punished them.¡± The crown princess walked over from behind him. Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun both forced a smile towards Zu An, and then they continued to kneel there with their heads down.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Crown princess, why did you punish them?¡±

    The crown princess gave him an indifferent look. ¡°They dragged you into the government brothel, and they didn¡¯t return with you. They even dragged you into King Qi Manor¡¯s trap. Fortunately, you made it through this affair, or else this wouldn¡¯t be all for their punishment.¡±

    Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun were a bit bitter. It was clearly Zu An who brought them to the government brothel, so why did it be them who brought him there?

    But Zu An paid for them and even got into danger, so they couldn¡¯t bring themselves to correct her.

    Zu An was stunned. He didn¡¯t expect her to care so much about him.

    The crown princess was stunned when she saw his scorching eyes. Then, her face turned red. ¡°You¡¯re thinking too much. This princess would do my best to save any member of the eastern pce if they are being targeted by King Qi Manor. It isn¡¯t just you.¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°Thank you, crown princess. This subordinate will definitely strive to the utmost for the crown princess in the future.¡±

    Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun¡¯s eyes widened. Look at how good he is at ttery! Our big bro is worthy of being our big bro.

    The crown princess¡¯ eyes lit up. She didn¡¯t expect him to use the ssics in this way. Her eyes carried a bit more admiration when she looked at him. As expected of the man who made the King Qi father and son duo suffer in session.

    However, isn¡¯t this kid a bit too brave? He dares to stare at me like this?

    Hmph, if I shift my eyes now, then wouldn¡¯t that mean that I am scared of him? How will I control him in the future?

    What a joke!

    As such, she decided not to move her eyes first and waited for him to move his eyes away first. However, Zu An was shameless and didn¡¯t have any intention of shifting his gaze.

    The two of them stared at each other just like that. The crown princess finally couldn¡¯t take it anymore. A faint redness spread across her fair neck.

    The people around them had weird expressions. Why did it look like the crown princess and Sir Zu were staring at each other like lovers? How is that possible?

    Suddenly, a chubby fe moved over. ¡°What is a government brothel?¡±

    The crown princess finally snapped out of her daze and retracted her eyes. She gave the crown prince an annoyed look and said, ¡°A dirty ce. You are not allowed to go.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­¡± The big fatty was given a scare. All of his fat trembled. He was clearly scared of this wife of his.

    The crown princess then quickly left. She felt her cheeks be a bit heated. What is up with her today? She actually made such a huge mistake! She had to make sure this Zu An got a good beating in the future!

    However, ording to the information she received, this kid could even fight on par with King Qi¡¯s heir! He really is a rare genius. The eastern pce has already been in decline for so long. She needed a powerful general like him to face King Qi Manor! But what could she use to rope him in?

    When she left, the crown prince quickly pulled Zu An over and asked quietly, ¡°Tell me, tell me. What kind of ce is the government brothel?¡±

    Zu An gave him a weird look. ¡°Didn¡¯t the crown princess just tell you?¡±

    ¡°I know she won¡¯t tell me the truth!¡± The crown prince pouted, as if he was recalling the two years he had been oppressed by her. ¡°Hurry and tell me! Otherwise, I¡¯ll tell someone about how you stared at Linglong earlier!¡±

    Zu An was shocked. Is this fe really stupid? He even managed to figure this out? Was he acting the whole time?

    But he quickly realized that the fact that he could control the crown prince for a moment meant that he really was stupid. His intellect was about the same as a ten year old child.

    ¡°Ahem, the government brothel is a¡­ a ce of exercise.¡± Zu An thought for a bit. He used the most tactful words to describe it. Otherwise, the crown princess would definitely be annoyed if she found out he told the crown prince what kind of ce it was.

    ¡°ce of exercise?¡± The crown prince frowned. ¡°You¡¯re lying to me. If it¡¯s a ce of exercise, then it¡¯s definitely no fun. But you and the guards yed for an entire night.¡±

    As a fatty, he had a natural rejection towards any form of exercise.

    Zu An had a weird look on his face. ¡°Who said that exercising isn¡¯t fun? That ce is a heaven for men.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The crown prince immediately became interested. ¡°So it¡¯s a fun ce! You have to bring me next time.¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Zu An felt a headache. He could only say half-heartedly, ¡°Sure, next time, next time.¡±

    The crown prince left in satisfaction when he received his promise.

    A lesser eunuch came over to give him a report. The emperor invited Zu An to his study for an audience.

    The crown princess watched as Zu An quickly left. Her beautiful eyes were surprised. The imperial concubines in the pce only met the emperor a few times a year, yet this kid seemed like he was visiting him practically every day?

    This type of person is definitely worth investing in. But how am I going to rope him in?

    This fe seems to be quite the pervert, so honey traps will probably work. But his wife is a famous beauty! He probably doesn¡¯t care about normal girls¡­

    Hm¡­ I can¡¯t do it myself, right?

    ¡­

    While the crown princess was conflicted, Zu An already arrived at the imperial study. The emperor was giving off an imposing aura. He looked at Zu An indifferently and said, ¡°This emperor gave you the task of infiltrating the Devil Sect. Have you found any traces of Yun Jianyue yet?¡±

 Chapter 697: Fanning the Flames

    <h4>Chapter 697: Fanning the mes</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An felt the emperor¡¯s aura lock onto him. It felt as if he might silence him if he spoke even a single wrong word. Zu An cursed inside, you think you¡¯re all that just because your cultivation is high!

    But he quickly let it go. Having a high cultivation indeed made you special. At the very least, there was nothing he could do about it right now.

    He bowed and said, ¡°Replying to your majesty. I have not received any information regarding the Devil Sect¡¯s sect master yet.¡±

    The emperor harrumphed in dissatisfaction. ¡°Then what¡¯s the use in sending you into the Devil Sect?¡±

    Zu An was extremely unhappy. Wasn¡¯t this guy too impatient? ¡°Your majesty, even though this subject didn¡¯t find any news regarding the Devil Sect¡¯s sect master, I have discovered that the Devil Sect has a secret hideout in the capital.¡±

    This was something he agreed on after discussing it with Yun Jianyue. Even though Yun Jianyue didn¡¯t know that he shouldered this mission of infiltration, she didn¡¯t mind helping him out with this. After all, from her point of view, Zu An ended up provoking a lot of danger from helping her, so helping him in this way gave him an extrayer of protection.

    As for that secret hideout, it was obviously a chess piece that was prepared ahead of time.

    ¡°Oh?¡± The emperor¡¯s expression thus eased a bit. ¡°You¡¯ve done well. Use your status as an Embroidered Envoyter to dig out that hideout.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± Zu An bowed. He thought to himself that this emperor really was careful. He¡¯s making me investigate the location I provided. If I only found a deserted ce with nothing inside, then he will start to suspect me.

    You think you¡¯re already one step ahead, but I¡¯m five steps ahead of you! I already predicted that you would think this. There are quite a few Devil Sect members there, and many of them are even higher level figures! Of course, these are all those of factions that oppose Yun Jianyue. She definitely wouldn¡¯t mind using the emperor¡¯s forces to wipe them out for good.

    These are all old foxes, I tell ya!

    Even though Zu An was mocking the emperor, he was also praising Yun Jianyue. She looked like a goddess from the clouds, yet her schemes were extremely vicious.

    He thought to himself that he really had to be careful around these people, or else he¡¯ll end up getting scammed really badly.

    The emperor nodded in satisfaction. Then, he pretended to ask inadvertently, ¡°Right, I heard that you and King Qi¡¯s heir had a dispute? Do you know what kind of crime offending a great member of the court is?!¡±

    ¡°This subject was used wrongly!¡± Zu An quickly said, ¡°It wasn¡¯t me who wanted to offend him, but rather that he framed me.¡±

    He exined the n of King Qi¡¯s heir to the emperor.

    ¡°Zhao Zhi seems to have inherited some of his father¡¯s wit. Unfortunately, he is still a bit too young.¡± The emperor sneered. However, his eyes carried more praise when he looked at Zu An. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to see through all of this, and you even made him suffer for it. You¡¯re quite the sharp kid.¡±

    Zu An knew that the emperor probably felt absolutely amazing when he saw how hard he was resisting the urge tough. After all, his battle against King Qi during these years has only been difficult. It has been a long while since he saw King Qi¡¯s side suffer such a huge loss.

    He used this chance while the emperor¡¯s mood was good to force a bitter expression. ¡°But now, I¡¯ve alreadypletely offended Kign Qi¡¯s side. I¡¯ll really be dead if King Qi tries to get revenge now.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Knowing King Qi, he won¡¯t act directly against you but rather make use of someone else. If you can even deal with Zhao Zhi and Han Fengqiu, then who else can do anything to you?¡± The emperor had a pleased expression on his face. He thought to himself that he still underestimated this little fe! Judging from how he is developing, even if he isn¡¯t able to pass on that fake manual to King Qi, he¡¯ll still be of great use.

    This brat has really tormented King Qi quite a bit during these past few days.

    Zu An sighed in relief. The emperor didn¡¯t promise anything, but he knew that he definitely wouldn¡¯t let King Qi do anything to him directly.

    The strong opposition he showed against King Qi¡¯s faction wasn¡¯t only done because he was forced to, he also did it to show off to the emperor.

    Only by proving that he had ability and that he could never live under the same sky as King Qi, would this manpletely trust him and be willing to protect him, rather than use him like a disposable chess piece.

    ¡°By the way, why was there suddenly arge ball of water?¡± The emperor asked in a seemingly nonchnt manner.

    Zu An trembled. This matter had just taken ce, yet the emperor already heard about all the details! The reports of Embroidered Envoys really are urate.

    Thank god I prepared ahead of time!

    He immediately replied with a surprised expression, ¡°Ah, I thought that it was your respected self who sent an expert to protect me.¡±

    The emperor¡¯s breathing stopped. He grunted in reply and didn¡¯t try to exin himself, as if he really did send someone to protect Zu An.

    At the same time, he began to wonder to himself which power ended up protecting Zu An.

    The Chu n? But Chu Zhongtian is only at the eighth rank. He doesn¡¯t have the strength to protect Zu An at all.

    Could it be that there is another power I don¡¯t know of that has joined this battle?

    As the emperor, he didn¡¯t like these unknown variables. However, continuing to question Zu An further didn¡¯t seem like it would produce any results. As such, he changed his question and asked, ¡°Why did Yu Yanluo invite you inside her carriage?¡±

    He didn¡¯t ask why Yu Yanluo would help Zu An, because she was precisely the one who asked him to keep Zu An alive. That was why he knew that Zu An saved her before.

    Zu An noticed the bit of jealousy in his voice and thought to himself, Yu Yanluo really has a lot of simps! Other simps might be fine, but this is the most ferocious and vicious simp! You have to be careful, or else he might just do something crazy out of jealousy.

    He quickly exined, ¡°It might be because I saved her back then in Brightmoon City. She probably favors me as a junior.¡±

    The emperor¡¯s brows loosened when he heard this exnation. Treating him as a junior was fine. ¡°Right, why did your cultivation level increase so quickly? Even Zhao Zhi and Han Fengqiu could do anything to you? Is it because of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra?¡±

    Zu An shivered. He sensed a hint of killing intent sh past the other party¡¯s expression.

    After all, the text he offered the emperor definitely didn¡¯t have these effects. That was why the emperor might have already started to question the authenticity of the manual.

    It feels like I¡¯m living with a freaking lion all the time!

    Fortunately, Zu An prepared for this beforehand. ¡°Your majesty, if it wasn¡¯t because of Madam Yu¡¯s help, I might have already been killed by Han Fengqiu. As for King Qi¡¯s heir, it was because of the ¡®Sunflower Phantasm¡¯ Old Mi taught me before that I was able to even fight against him.¡±

    ¡°Even the most miraculous movement techniques have limits. How is this possible unless you¡¯ve already reached the seventh rank?¡± The emperor harrumphed. He clearly didn¡¯t believe Zu An¡¯s words.

    Zu An could only say with a troubled expression, ¡°Your majesty is wise and brilliant. Actually, it was because Old Mi wanted to possess my body, but it failed for some reason. He passed away, but a portion of his strength was left in my body. That was why I advanced so quickly.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The emperor had a look of ¡®no wonder¡¯ on his face. ¡°So that was it. I was wondering why you had some of Eunuch Mi¡¯s cultivation.¡±

    Zu An cupped his hands and said, ¡°Your majesty is enlightened!¡±

    But inside, he was thinking, if you knew the truth, you''d be extremely embarrassed right now!

    The emperor nodded in satisfaction. ¡°You can leave. Remember to investigate the Devil Sect¡¯s hideout.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    ¡­

    When Zu An left the study, he immediately found a ce to change into his Golden Token Eleven uniform. Then, he sought out the Embroidered Envoy who were already awaiting orders and headed towards that hideout.

    The people in the hideout were horrified when they saw Embroidered Envoye at them. They had been sold out by Yun Jianyue, so there wasn¡¯t anything suspicious from their reactions.

    What followed was a series of intense battles. There were many Devil Sect experts in this hideout, but Zu An didn¡¯t even have to get involved himself. The silver token and bronze token envoys already suppressed this hideout by themselves.

    Zu An sighed in wonder. The Embroidered Envoy¡¯s coordinated battle style was indeed formidable. Their Soul Reaping Chains in particr were even harder to defend against.

    Zu An finally sighed in relief when those prisoners were brought back to the Embroidered Envoy prison. The emperor probably won¡¯t be suspicious of him anymore.

    He returned to his home after leaving the pce. He was stunned as soon as he arrived at the entrance.

    It looked like someone barged in!

    But this person didn¡¯t break through his courtyard¡¯s defensive formation. Was this person¡¯s cultivation already at an inconceivable level?

    Even so, he had just fought against someone at the peak of the ninth rank, so he was quite confident in himself and didn¡¯t back down. Instead, he sneaked inside.

    There were a man and a woman chatting inside. The man had pretty features that surpassed even a woman, while the woman was even more beautiful and elegant.

    The young man said, ¡°Big sis, brother-inw is really indecent. You have to watch out for him.¡±

    The beautiful woman was surprised and said, ¡°Did he bully you?¡±

    The young man¡¯s face blushed and he quickly said. ¡°He didn¡¯t, he didn¡¯t. But he¡¯s always seducing girls outside, and he doesn¡¯t even care that I¡¯m right there watching.¡±

    The beautiful girl frowned. ¡°That fe is still okay in other aspects, but this part of him is ridiculous!¡±

    When she remembered how even her best friend went to bed with him, she immediately became upset.

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Chuyan for +233 +233 +233¡­

    ¡°Exactly! Exactly!¡± The youngster fanned the mes. ¡°Big sis, he still hasn¡¯te back after so long, did he end up staying at some vixen¡¯s ce? I saw him flirting with that girl in the carriage in the morning. Maybe they already agreed to meet at night!¡±

 Chapter 698: Dangerous Sister-In-Law

    <h4>Chapter 698: Dangerous Sister-In-Law</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    A teasing voice sounded at this time. ¡°Your mouth might start blistering if you talk behind other people¡¯s back all the time.¡±

    Zu An was also quite underwhelmed. He thought that some powerful assassin came in, so he was always on 120% vignce. Yet in the end, it was just Chu Chuyan and her little sister. He gave her a set of keys before, so it was no wonder that the seal of the rear courtyard was still intact.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Chu Youzhao¡¯s face turned red. She didn¡¯t expect to be caught by Zu An. She shrunk behind her big sister in embarrassment.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s pretty face also became red. She didn¡¯t think her conversation with her little sister would be overheard either. She said awkwardly, ¡°So you¡¯re back¡­¡±

    Zu An voiced his reply. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m back.¡±

    Even though these seemed like meaningless words to others, the two of them used to be husband and wife. They instead felt extremely warm when they heard these words.

    Chu Chuyan got up and arrived at his side. She looked him up and down. ¡°I heard that there was some conflict between you and King Qi¡¯s heir this morning. Were you injured at all?¡±

    She was dressed in a dark blue dress. She looked absolutely stunning. However, what was different from usual was that there wasn¡¯t any of her usual coldness, but instead a bit of warmth.

    Zu An sighed when he looked at the beauty before him. ¡°It¡¯s still my wife who worries about me the most.¡±

    Chu Chuyan avoided his iing arms. ¡°There¡¯s a child here. Watch yourself.¡±

    Chu Youzhao became upset. ¡°Big sis! I¡¯m not a child anymore!¡±

    This was what she cared about the most.

    Zu Anughed. ¡°Youzhao is indeed not young anymore.¡±

    Regardless of whether it¡¯s her age or her body¡­ Ahem, I was wrong, I was wrong!

    He quickly added, ¡°Youzhao shielded me several times today. The fact that she could stand up for me during those times needs a lot of courage.¡±

    Chu Youzhao was now instead the one who became a bit embarrassed. She became bashful. ¡°I¡¯m not as good as you¡¯re making it sound.¡±

    Chu Chuyan stroked her little sister¡¯s head in appreciation as well. ¡°Youzhao really has grown up.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t really help that much. It was brother-inw who was really strong. Big sis, you weren¡¯t there, but brother-inw was really incredible¡­¡± Chu Youzhao¡¯s eyes were radiating with delight as she exined about what happened.

    Even though this wasn¡¯t the first time she was hearing about this, she still sighed in amazement. ¡°Ah Zu, Zhao Zhi has eight ranks of cultivation! Are you really okay?¡±

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, your husband is quite amazing, you know? How could just a trifling Zhao Zhi hurt me?¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s expression becameplicated. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to grow so quickly. You didn¡¯t even have any cultivation a few months ago, but now, even I¡¯m looking up to you.¡±

    She knew that she would¡¯ve lost to Zhao Zhi unless she used her forbidden arts. But even if she used her forbidden arts, she would still be crippled. She really didn¡¯t want to go through the events of the secret dungeon again.

    On the contrary, Zu An could easily win against Zhao Zhi. She couldn¡¯tpare to him anymore.

    She had always been a proud person, as well as a well-known cultivation genius. However, she was defeated in her proudest field by Zu An¡¯s ridiculous rise. In this moment, she even felt a bit disappointed and frustrated.

    Chu Youzhao also couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°Exactly! Brother-inw is so amazing. What were dad and mom thinking back then? They thought that big sis was wrong in marrying him and even cut off their rtionship with him. Is everyone in Brightmoon City blind? I almost thought that brother-inw really was trash from all the rumors in the capital¡­¡±

    Chu Chuyan: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    No wonder mom and dad wanted a son! Girls are born to leave the family!

    Zu An took her straight into his embrace. ¡°If the husband is strong, then doesn¡¯t it mean that you are strong too? What difference is there between us?¡±

    Chu Chuyan couldn¡¯t help but smile when she felt his warm embrace. What was she arguing with her husband about here?

    Chu Youzhao said with jealousy, ¡°Hey! There¡¯s someone else here, you know?¡±

    Zu An spread open his arms. ¡°If you want, brother-inw can hug you too.¡±

    Chu Youzhao hid behind Chu Chuyan in rm. She stomped her feet and pouted. ¡°Big sis!¡±

    Chu Chuyan gave Zu An a look. ¡°It¡¯s one thing if you¡¯re teasing other girls, but how can you tease your little sister-inw?¡±

    Zu An immediately said, ¡°I¡¯m being wronged here! I¡¯m only trying tofort her here! Moreover, when did I tease other girls outside?¡±

    This is the code of fuckboy cultivation. Even if there is irrefutable evidence, I cannot admit it no matter what, let alone the fact that there isn¡¯t any!

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Chu Chuyan harrumphed. ¡°Then who was the woman inside that carriage who saved you today?¡±

    Chu Youzhao immediately pricked her ears. The love for gossip is something encoded in the genes of every human.

    ¡°Oh, her? I think her name was Yu Yanluo.¡± Zu An didn¡¯t hide this. After all, even the emperor and King Qi¡¯s heir knew this, so rumors would start circting soon.

    ¡°Who?¡± Chu Chuyan was a bit stunned.

    ¡°What?¡± Chu Youzhao cried out in disbelief.

    ¡°Yu Yanluo.¡± Zu An repeated. He acted like he didn¡¯t really care. But he still felt great when he saw the two girls¡¯ shocked expressions.

    Sigh, bragging is also human nature!

    ¡°The capital¡¯s past number one beauty?¡± Chu Youzhao lost her cool and quickly asked.

    ¡°Was there another Yu Yanluo I haven¡¯t heard about.¡± Zu An asked in curiosity.

    ¡°Heavens!¡± Chu Youzhao clutched her mouth. She didn¡¯t know what to say for a moment.

    Chu Chuyan wasn¡¯t as calm as usual either. She pretended to ask carelessly, ¡°The two of you¡­ don¡¯t know each other. Why would she save you?¡±

    She was praised as Brightmoon City¡¯s number one beauty ever since she was little. She spent some time in the capital as well, so there were some busybodies who called her the capital¡¯s new generation number one beauty.

    But this wasn¡¯t something that received public recognition. There were still many girls in the capital whose face and physique weren¡¯t beneath hers.

    But Yu Yanluo was the undisputed number one beauty back then. She had dominated her generation! Legends of her beauty were still circting even to this day.

    Even though there was something that happened between Pei Mianman and Zu An and she got a bit upset over it, she didn¡¯t lose her head. She still had enough confidence in her own charm.

    But this was Yu Yanluo we were talking about now! She really found it hard to remain calm. This was the publicly acknowledged number one beauty! This was a woman even the emperor and King Qi admired in the past. Even her father¡­ Her mother still brought this matter up often.

    How could this ¡®love rival¡¯ not make her rmed?

    ¡°I saved her once before. She¡¯s just returning the favor.¡± Zu An exined. Chu Chuyan and his little sister-inw¡¯s changes in expression didn¡¯t escape his eyes. This type of feeling really was refreshing!

    Even the smelliest sh*t would be fragrant right now¡­ A pah pah pah! You¡¯re the one who is sh*t!

    ¡°When did you save her?¡± Chu Chuyan was no longer as calm and unperturbed. She wasn¡¯t willing to let any detail between the two of them go.

    ¡°Oh, back then in Brightmoon City¡¯s outskirts¡­¡± Zu An gave her a rough recount of what happened. ¡°I told you guys that I met Yu Yanluo before, but you all didn¡¯t believe me.¡±

    Sigh, life is truly full of vexations. All of them love to believe my lies, yet no one believes the truth.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s expression froze. No one would¡¯ve believed what he said back then, right?

    ¡°Is she really as pretty as the rumors say?¡± She couldn¡¯t help but ask.

    Zu An immediately said with an upright expression, ¡°No matter how pretty she is, how can she be prettier than my wife? You¡¯re younger than her too.¡±

    Are you kidding me? As a king of the fishes, how can I make such a rudimentary mistake?!

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s furrowed brows slowly rxed. Even though she knew that he was saying this on purpose, she was still happy. Didn¡¯t this mean that he cares about her?

    Chu Youzhao suddenly said, ¡°I heard that because of Yu Yanluo¡¯s beauty, she always maintains some distance with other men. But she actually invited you inside her carriage today!¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Chu Chuyan¡¯s expression immediately became more dangerous.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An¡¯s reaction was fast. ¡°Um, it¡¯s only because she didn¡¯t want to show herself. She only treats me as a junior in her eyes!¡±

    Chu Chuyan felt relieved. Indeed, Yu Yanluo is someone from her father¡¯s generation. Why was she getting so worked up?

    Zu An wiped at his cold sweat. Chu Youzhao suddenly smacked her head. ¡°Ah, I remember! Brother-inw said that Yu Yanluo fell in love with him and gave him a token of love. None of us believed him back then, but now that I think about it, he really did have Yu Yanluo¡¯s personal pendant.¡±

    Zu An was about to cry. Who the hell said that all little sister-inws were kind?

 Chapter 699: Brother-In-Lawâ€™s Ultimate Move

    <h4>Chapter 699: Brother-In-Law¡¯s Ultimate Move</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An flinched as he turned to look at Chu Chuyan, but he didn¡¯t see the explosive rage he imagined, but instead a huge smile. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to obtain the lover¡¯s gift of the capital city¡¯s number one beauty! Why didn¡¯t you tell me earlier? When are you going to introduce her to us?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Chuyan for +574 +574 +574¡­

    Zu An¡¯s eyelids jumped. I really would¡¯ve believed you if I didn¡¯t see all these Rage points.

    He quickly said with a firm expression, ¡°Chuyan, you misunderstood! I was just speaking on the cusp earlier to trick King Qi¡¯s heir! You know that there was a huge difference in strength between us as well, so I had to use every advantage I had!¡±

    ¡°But didn¡¯t she really give her personal item to you?¡± Chu Chuyan was still smiling.

    However, she was at a loss inside. Everyone thought that she had ruined herself by choosing Zu An as her husband. Even she herself never treated him as her real husband. Onlyter on after experiencing various things together, did she end up gradually liking him.

    But now, even the number one beauty liked this man. Who was the one who was out of whose league now?

    If her dad were to find out that his crush liked his own son-inw, what kind of expression would he have?

    This Yu Yanluo really is the natural enemy of both me and my mother! She first tried to take my mother¡¯s man, and now she¡¯s after mine.

    Countless thoughts flew past her mind in this instant. Zu An quickly exined, ¡°It¡¯s all a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding! I don¡¯t have anything like that on me!¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Chu Chuyan didn¡¯t believe him.

    Chu Youzhao jumped in excitedly. ¡°Big sis, he¡¯s lying. I saw that jade pendant myself.¡±

    For some reason, she felt absolutely fantastic when she saw her brother-inw in such a sorry state. It was as if electricity was running through her entire body!

    Zu An almost grabbed her and started spanking her viciously again. This little kid really wanted to see the entire world in chaos! ¡°I really don¡¯t! If you don¡¯t believe me, you can search my body.¡±

    He was d that Yu Yanluo took that pendant back, or else it really would be quite troublesome right now.

    Chu Chuyan smiled ambiguously at Zu An. She obviously wouldn¡¯t lower herself to do something like that, but Chu Youzhao was still young and didn¡¯t have such misgivings.

    Chu Youzhao immediately read her expression. She rolled up her sleeves and ran over. ¡°I¡¯ll look for it!¡±

    Then, her two little hands began to rub his body all over.

    Zu An: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    Sis, you can¡¯t just touch another man like this¡­ There should be some boundaries between men and women, you know?

    But when he saw their vicious expressions, he sensibly chose to remain silent.

    ¡°Hm?¡± Even after searching for a while, Chu Youzhao still didn¡¯t find that jade pendant.

    She was still unconvinced. Was it hiding in his pants?

    Chu Chuyan finally couldn¡¯t sit still anymore when she saw her reach her hands into his pants. She pulled her back. ¡°Enough, enough. Since your brother-inw said that he doesn¡¯t have it, then let¡¯s just say that he doesn¡¯t have it.¡±

    ¡°But he clearly¡­¡± Chu Youzhao suddenly realized something halfway through her sentence. Her pretty face swiftly turned entirely red.

    She could no longer sit still. She covered her face and ran out.

    Zu An was gloomy. ¡°I¡¯m clearly the one who was taken advantage of here, so why is she the one running away?¡±

    Chu Chuyan tugged on his sleeves in annoyance. ¡°She¡¯s still young and shy. Don¡¯t provoke her so much.¡±

    Zu An used this chance to take her into his arms. ¡°She¡¯s still young, but what about this mature girl here?¡±

    Chu Chuyan was just about to say something, but her neck suddenly went entirely red. The two of them were pressed up against each other, and she could already sense that powerful pressure again. ¡°Why are you always¡­¡±

    Zu An couldn¡¯t just admit that he became this way from Chu Youzhao¡¯s groping, right? ¡°Ahem, it¡¯s because I missed you so much, so I can¡¯t hold myself back when I see you again¡­¡±

    Another rule of yboy cultivation: It should always be sweet words whenever you open your mouth.

    How could Chu Chuyan understand anything about this? Her lovestruck self was quickly thrown for a loop.

    She finally reacted when she felt him carrying her to the bed. She reached out her hand and pressed it against his chest. ¡°Stop¡­ Youzhao is still outside.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it natural for lovers to be like newlyweds when they meet again after a long period of separation? Furthermore, it¡¯s not like she didn¡¯t see us before. So what if she finds out?¡± Zu An replied while kissing her.

    Chu Chuyan was like a startled deer. She felt like there was something wrong with what he said, yet she couldn¡¯t find any argument to retort against him.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Her entire body suddenly went rigid when she was kissed. There was a bit of charm in her usually cold eyes. ¡°You¡­¡±

    Zu An lowered his head and kissed her beautiful ear. ¡°Everyone else ims that you are as cold as ice. Only I alone know just how warm you are inside.¡±

    Chu Chuyan was a pure and innocent youngdy. How could she possibly resist this type of teasing? She was soon utterly defeated.

    She bit down gently on his shoulder as a sign of resistance. However, she was quickly battered by a powerful storm in retaliation.

    ¡­

    Chu Youzhao went out into the courtyard to calm herself down a bit. Her red cheeks slowly returned to normal under the cold night winds.

    ¡°Hmph, I was defending big sis, so why am I running away all embarrassed like this? I saw him bring out that jade pendant today. Did he hide it in some storage device?¡±

    As someone from a big n, Chu Youzhao obviously knew about things like spatial storages. Even though these things were expensive, that didn¡¯t mean that her brother-inw definitely didn¡¯t have one.

    She rushed back when she thought of this. She thought to herself, let¡¯s see where you¡¯ll keep hiding it now!

    Yet when she came back, she discovered that the door was closed. She found this strange. She was just about to open the door when she heard her brother-inw¡¯s voice. ¡°I have a powerful staff technique that was bestowed upon me from the heavens. I will now show you the first form: Knees against shoulders.¡±

    Chu Youzhao was stunned. What is this staff technique from the heavens? And what is knees against shoulders?

    But when she thought about how her brother-inw had just defeated the eighth ranked King Qi¡¯s heir, and then fought against an expert at the peak of the ninth rank for so long, she realized he definitely knew a lot of powerful arts. Even her big sis probably had to study humbly from this guy!

    She knew that her big sister was always proud and arrogant. She might be willing to ask her husband for advice in private, but she might fly into rage from embarrassment. She still remembered being beaten up by her when she was little¡­

    As such, she quietly approached. She looked through the door¡¯s gap to see what kind of technique her brother-inw was teaching her sister. However, after just a single nce, she flew backwards as if she touched boiling water.

    Her fair face was once again covered in ayer of captivating red.

    ¡°Brother-inw really is a bad guy!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m also disappointed in you, big sister!¡±

    ¡­

    She clenched her teeth. Her expression changed again and again.

    A whileter, a conflicted look appeared on her face. She muttered to herself, ¡°I¡¯ll look one more time. Just onest time¡­¡±

    Everyone has a natural curiosity towards things they had nevere into contact with before.

    For example, when you live in a hotel, if you never did it before but suddenly heard passionate pounding next door, you wouldn¡¯t be able to help but want to press up against the wall and listen. But once you¡¯re used to it, you will instead find it annoying and disturbing your sleep¡­

    She watched for a while. Her breathing quickly became rushed. In the end, her shyness as a youngdy finally won against her curiosity, and she ran away with a red face.

    Her entire body felt mmy and ufortable. She wanted to go home and take a shower, but Qin Manor was still pretty far away. She was a bit scared of going home alone.

    She cursed Zu An a few times inside. Her eyes shifted over to a well to the side. She drew a bucket of water. There was no one else in this courtyard anyway, and there were more than enough guest rooms.

    On the other side, Chu Chuyan covered her eyes with her hands. ¡°Ah!¡­ I¡¯ll really be too embarrassed to ever show myself to anyone again.¡±

    Both of them were cultivators. How could they not notice Chu Youzhao¡¯s heavy breathing earlier?

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°For this type of thing, I won¡¯t be awkward as long as you¡¯re not awkward about it. She¡¯s the only one who¡¯ll be embarrassed. It¡¯s not even the first time she¡¯s seen it, so it¡¯ll be fine as long as she gets used to it.¡±

    Chu Chuyan: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    Is this something you can get used to?

    But she wasn¡¯t in the mood to think about these things right now¡­

    ¡­

    A whileter, Chu Chuyan was leaning into his embrace. Her voice was extremely soft and gentle. ¡°Ah Zu, you offended King Qi now. Why don¡¯t you just return with me to Brightmoon City? That ce is far away. Even if King Qi wants to target you, the Chu n will be able to protect you.¡±

 Chapter 700: Intentional Trouble

    <h4>Chapter 700: Intentional Trouble</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°As a man, how can I hide under another person¡¯s protection forever? Even though the capital is dangerous, it is also full of opportunities.¡±

    Chu Chuyan looked sad. ¡°I know. You¡¯re still ming us for abandoning you back then. But I wasn¡¯t in Brightmoon City back then, or else I would¡¯ve definitely stopped this from happening!¡±

    Zu An pulled her soft body closer to himself. ¡°You¡¯re thinking too much. Your father and mother treated me very well. They only made that choice because there was no other way. They actually secretly helped me escape, so why would I hate them?¡±

    Chu Chuyan was shocked. ¡°I can understand if you don¡¯t hate my father. However, I thought you and my mother never got along?¡±

    Zu An sighed. ¡°Many things happened between your mother and me after you left. The past grudges are alreadypletely gone.¡±

    ¡°What happened between the two of you?¡± Chu Chuyan was confused. Why did these words sound so strange? ¡°Also, my mother keeps asking me about you from time to time. She would never care much about what happened to you before.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face heated up. ¡°It''s nothing much. Your amazing husband helped her stop the Chu n¡¯s rebellion and saved your dad. After that, her opinion of me naturally improved.¡±

    Chu Chuyan smiled and pressed her cheeks gently against his chest. ¡°You¡¯re right.¡±

    But there was still worry on her face. ¡°King Qi is at the Grandmaster rank, and what¡¯s even more terrifying are the forces under hismand. He has more than half of the court under him, and not even the emperor could do much to him. It¡¯ll be way too dangerous for you in the capital now that you¡¯ve offended him.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not alone. I still have the emperor behind me. Furthermore, with the crown prince and crown princess¡¯ support, at least on the surface, he cannot act against me. He can only scheme in the background. However, I have some strength myself now. What can they even do against me?¡±

    In terms of scheming, who can win against me?

    Chu Chuyan remembered how not even Han Fengqiu, who was at the peak of the ninth rank, could take him out, so she knew that he had enough strength to protect himself. She thus calmed down a bit. However, she soon realized another problem. ¡°The crown princess? Why would the crown princess help you? Could it be that you and her¡­¡±

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but chuckle. ¡°My Chuyan is jealous. How in the world did youe to that conclusion? What kind of status does the crown princess have? You are suspecting that something happened between me and her?¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s face turned red with shame. She felt like it was ridiculous as soon as the words left her mouth. This was the crown princess, the future mother of the nation! Why would she do anything foolish with another man?

    ¡°It¡¯s all your fault for messing around with Yu Yanluo. Who would¡¯ve thought that you and the capital¡¯s number one beauty had a connection?¡± She harrumphed to hide her embarrassment.

    Zu Anughed. ¡°What can I say? I¡¯m just too charming of a man.¡±

    Chu Chuyan: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    Even though what he said was true to a certain extent, Chu Chuyan still felt like he really deserved a good beating.

    Zu An¡¯s expression suddenly became serious. ¡°Oh, right. From what you¡¯ve just said, it sounds like you¡¯re going back to Brightmoon City?¡±

    Chu Chuyan bit her lip and nodded her head. ¡°Yeah. I already stayed in the capital for a long time because of the ount book. Then, I was moving around because of you. I never returned to Brightmoon City all this time. The Chu n has survived its worst crisis, but regardless of whether it is the emperor or King Qi, they won¡¯t stop here. Furthermore, the Chu n has suffered a great blow after experiencing those tribtions one after the next. There are too many things that need to be taken care of. The Chu n might even really copse if I don¡¯t return to pacify the people.¡±

    Chu Zhongtian already gradually ced most of the authority of the Chu n into her hands over the years. She was the one who managed the operations of the Chu n. If she was missing at this crucial time, then it would indeed be dangerous for the Chu n.

    Zu An sighed and said, ¡°Even you are leaving me. Everyone is leaving¡­¡±

    These close friends of his were leaving one after the next. He already experienced enough of this pain.

    If Chu Chuyan left as well, then even if this capital was bustling with activity, it would still be nothing more than a lonely prison for him.

    Chu Chuyan pursed her lips when she sensed his sadness. ¡°Ah Zu, even though I have decided to return to Brightmoon City, I¡¯m not leaving immediately. I¡¯ll stay in the capital with you a while longer.¡±

    Zu An immediately became happier. He hugged her and said, ¡°Haha, it¡¯s still my wife who is the best.¡±

    Chu Chuyan yfully hit his chest. ¡°You¡¯re making it sound like you know other people¡¯s wives.¡±

    Zu Anughed and said, ¡°Why would I love and pamper anyone else¡¯s wives?¡±

    Chu Chuyan just felt like his words were strange. Before she could ask more about it, her expression changed, because he went on the offensive once more. ¡°Ah Zu, stop¡­¡±

    She still hadn¡¯t fully recovered after theirst session.

    How could Zu An still hold on when he saw the usually cold and aloof goddess beg for mercy? He carried her over to the window.

    ¡°Where do youe up with all of this¡­¡± Chu Chuyan was embarrassed and nervous. She always felt like this fe was a bit too experienced.

    Zu An obviously wouldn¡¯t reply to a death question like this. He might be able to talk glibly in other situations, but right now, actions were much more useful.

    Chu Chuyan frowned tightly at first, as if she was enduring something. However, her brows quickly loosened up, and her expression became sweet again¡­

    ¡­

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The next morning, Chu Chuyan helped Zu An get dressed with tender feelings. She really looked like a gentle and soft young wife.

    Chu Youzhao was off to the side with dark circles around her eyes. She gloomily watched as the two of them acted all lovey dovey around each other.

    It¡¯s all big sis¡¯ fault that I had to stay out all night. Thank goodness I came out with big sis, or else my grandfathers would have already sent out people to look for us.

    But this really was strange. The two of them had tossed and turned all night, yet they both looked extremely energetic, while I¡¯m the one who¡¯s all haggard.

    Her big sister in particr, was practically glowing! Even she, as a girl, was staring nkly in awe.

    She understood her big sis¡¯ beauty extremely well. However, her big sis was usually rather cold, but she now looked extremely captivating. Was this still her same big sister?

    ¡­

    When Zu An left to report for morning roll call, Chu Chuyan also brought her younger sister to the Qin n.

    Along the way, Chu Youzhao kept looking at her big sister. Chu Chuyan was confused. ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    Chu Youzhao had a weird look on her face. ¡°Big sis, aren¡¯t you walking kind of weird?¡±

    Chu Chuyan was stunned. ¡°Am I?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Chu Youzhao nodded with a serious expression. She gestured with her fingers. ¡°Your legs used to be like this, but now, they¡¯re like this. They look like they¡¯re a bit more separated than usual.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re seeing things!¡± Chu Chuyan¡¯s face became entirely red. How can they not be separated? After being tormented for an entire night, she was already used to Zu An¡¯s shape. That guy¡¯s is just a bit too¡­

    Chu Youzhao said quietly, ¡°Also, big sis, can you guys not do it by the window sill? You¡¯ll end up disturbing other people¡¯s rest, you know?¡±

    She ran away after saying this.

    Chu Chuyan finally couldn¡¯t take it anymore. ¡°You brat, stop right there!¡±

    ¡­

    While the two sisters were bickering with each other, Zu An already arrived at the imperial pce.

    He was just about to head inside when a young official stopped him. ¡°Your uniform is not orderly. Step back!¡±

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°Who the hell are you?¡±

    What the fuck? Chu Chuyan helped me sort out my clothes today, and I¡¯ve never even dressed this orderly before. You dare im that my clothes are messy?

    He had never seen this person before him before. He looked to be in his early thirties. He had a decent appearance, and together with the mustache above his lips, he did look quite schrly.

    ¡°This official is the Assistant Minister of the Huang gate. Our posts have been rotated today, and I am in charge of observing the bearing of all officials.¡± This official said proudly.

    Zu An was baffled. Was King Qi already getting revenge on him so quickly?

    But he didn¡¯t want to give the other party anything to take advantage of, so he endured his dissatisfaction and asked, ¡°May I ask sir which part of my uniform is not orderly?¡±

    The official with the beard said indifferently, ¡°If I say that your clothes are not orderly, then they are not orderly. Go off to the side and sort them out by yourself. Stop loitering here, blocking other officials from entering.¡±

 Chapter 701: One Palm Cannot Clap

    <h4>Chapter 701: One Palm Cannot p</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The officials lining up behind Zu An became unhappy. They all urged him to move aside for now.

    Zu An straight up ignored them. He gave this official with the mustache a cold look. ¡°My clothes are not orderly as long as you say they aren¡¯t? Who do you think you are?¡±

    The official with the mustache cupped his hands towards the pce and said coldly, ¡°This is the authority the court has granted me. When ites to the inspection of the appearance of officials, I naturally have thest say.¡±

    ¡°Does this mean that you have already made your decision to deliberately trouble me?¡± Zu An¡¯s expression was cold.

    The official¡¯s nose pointed straight at the sky. ¡°I have always enforced thew fairly, how could I possibly deliberately trouble you? Why am I not troubling others? One palm cannot p. You should reflect on your own instead of ming others.¡±

    Zu An was immediately shocked. He didn¡¯t expect to hear the ssic quote of a certain someone from his past world.

    The mustached officer said impatiently again, ¡°You are wasting everyone¡¯s time here. ording to thew, you should be made to stand to the side for two hours in punishment as a model for other officials!¡±

    Even though it was early in the morning, the sun had already risen. Standing for two hours under the sun wasn¡¯t too big of a deal, but the humiliation was great.

    After all, those who passed through this pce gate were all court officials. Once they witnessed this scene, he would be theughingstock of the entire court.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°May I ask what sir¡¯s name is?¡±

    ¡°What, do you want to get revenge on me?¡± The mustached official had a look of disdain on his face. ¡°I will never give out a fake name, I am the Assistant Minister of the Huang Gate, Shi Jun! Everything that has happened today has been done impartially. You cannot do anything to me no matter how youin and cry today.¡±

    ¡°Shi Jun?¡± Zu An suddenly realized what was happening. ¡°What kind of rtionship do you have with Shi Kun?¡±

    The mustached officer gave him a cold look. After a long time had passed, he said, ¡°Shi Kun is this one¡¯s younger brother.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, no wonder he found this guy familiar. So he was that kid¡¯s big brother!

    Shi Jun continued and said, ¡°I would never target you because of my younger brother. I am just doing my job ording to official business.¡±

    The Shi n¡¯s brothers were all close. This guy was the reason his younger brother died, so he obviously needed to get revenge.

    The Shi n was originally a bit cautious because of the crown princess, but King Qi Manor contacted them. With their cooperation, the Shi n had nothing else to worry about.

    As for Zu An defeating King Qi¡¯s heir, the Shi n didn¡¯t pay that much attention. ording to the reports, the only thing special about this fe is his movement technique. His real cultivation was only around the sixth or seventh rank.

    The reason King Qi¡¯s heir lost was mainly because he underestimated his opponent, as well as the help of a mysterious expert.

    Now that they were in the imperial pce, how could any mysterious experts dare to approach? The emperor would just kill him!

    Furthermore, he was a seventh ranked expert himself, so he naturally dared to sh with Zu An head-on like this.

    The officials who were passing by all snorted disdainfully. Who are you trying to fool? However, none of them would stand out at this type of time.

    After all, there was no proof that he was avenging a personal grudge right now, and no one wanted to offend the Shi n.

    ¡°Ah, so you¡¯re just doing your job ording to official business~¡± Zu An repeated and deliberately stretched out the words.

    Shi Jun harrumphed. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter what you think. You have no choice but to obey me. Get lost and stand to the side!¡±

    He deliberately spoke this way to infuriate the other party. Once he could no longer hold back, he could call over the Imperial Guard. He was currently in a position of power, so he had more than enough methods to deal with Zu An.

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°Unfortunately, you made a fatal error.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Shi Jun frowned. He wondered to himself where he slipped up, but he understood the rules of etiquette like the back of his hand. Not even the emperor himself would be able to criticize him in any way.

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°Who said one palm cannot p?¡±

    As soon as he finished speaking, he instantly moved in front of Shi Jun. There was a loud and clear smack noise. A red handprint appeared on Shi Jun¡¯s face.

    Zu An already returned to his original location. He stretched out his fingers. The recoil from that p actually stung a bit. ¡°Look, didn¡¯t one palm make a pping sound just now?¡±

    Everyone was stupefied. No one expected to see this! His speed was way too fast, and he actually dared to attack Shi Jun!

    Shi Jun clutched his face. His head was ringing. His head wentpletely nk in that instant and he only reacted after the event.

    I was hit?

    This motherfucker hit me?

    In front of so many people¡¯s faces?

    He erupted into rage. ¡°You bastard, you¡¯re courting death!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Jun for +999 +999 +999¡­

    But even so, he didn¡¯t attack. Instead, he calmed himself down and said, ¡°You dare to publicly attack an Etiquette Inspection Officer? This is a huge crime! Guards, arrest this man and punish him with a hundred strikes with the rod! Then, throw him into the imperial prison until further orders from his majesty!¡±

    He thought to himself that not even King Qi¡¯s heir could take down this guy. Furthermore, the other party moved too quickly just now, to the point where he couldn¡¯t even see too clearly. He didn¡¯t think he could win against Zu An himself.

    But he was currently in charge of inspecting the appearance of officials. In this type of situation, he couldmand the Imperial Guard.

    The surrounding Imperial Guards were stunned. They had never encountered this type of thing before.

    In the past, those officials who failed the inspection were all panicking in fear and obediently suffered their punishment by standing off to the side. When did they eversh out against the inspector?

    Ever since the founding of the Great Zhou Dynasty, no, since even further back, has anything like this ever happened before?

    That was why they didn¡¯t immediately react when they heard Shi Jun¡¯s exasperated roaring. How were they supposed to deal with this type of event?

    Zu An used this chance to speak to Shi Jun. ¡° Again and again, you are saying how you are in charge of supervising the etiquette of all officials. Then let me ask you, what if there is an official whose clothes are so disorderly that they didn¡¯t even wear their pants properly?¡±

    Shi Jun subconsciously replied, ¡°They are looking down on the court¡¯sws and discipline of course. Their crime of disrespect will remove them from office, and those whose crimes are more serious are to be banished.¡±

    He was stunned as soon as he finished this sentence. Why am I replying to him? I should be arresting this man right now.

    He was just about to urge the guards again when Zu An said with a voice of ridicule. ¡°Oh? I was just about to remind you that your pants dropped.¡±

    ¡°Nonsense! Don¡¯t think that you¡­¡± Shi Jun sneered. Unfortunately, he felt a chill between his legs as soon as he reached halfway through his sentence. When he lowered his head, he saw that his pants already fell between his legs. He immediately froze up.

    Zu An said to the guards, ¡°This person¡¯s bearing is not in order. Why are you not arresting him already? He should be sent out to the front lines, right?¡±

    Those imperial guards subconsciously nodded. But there was something wrong here, right? They didn¡¯t know what was right here.

    Everyone was shocked. The disturbance here became even greater than before.

    The officials who were passing by were merely acting as detached bystanders, but now, they all surrounded this ce for gossip. There were many people who evenmented:

    ¡°The Shi n¡¯s people groom themselves pretty well. It¡¯s white and clean.¡±

    ¡°But there¡¯s no hair down there at all! They don¡¯t look all that masculine.¡±

    ¡°Wow, his underwear is so fancy¡­¡±

    ¡­

    Shi Jun raised his head to the sky and screamed in agony when he heard the surrounding discussions. ¡°No!!!!!¡±

    He vomited a mouthful of blood. Then, he copsed.

    Throwing up a mouthful of blood looked terrifying, but with his cultivation, it wasn¡¯t a big deal at all.

    However, the shame he suffered was too much. Pretending to faint in this type of situation was better than to go through this pain.

    It¡¯s all this damn Zu An¡¯s fault!

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Jun for +1024 +1024 +1024¡­

    Zu An used this chance to sneak into the imperial pce. He was full of disdain inside. You want to use the rules against me? I¡¯ll flip the damn table!

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    He arrived at the eastern pce and idly yed a few games of five-in-a-row with the crown prince. There were several times when the crown prince was screaming in panic. Little Xu and Little He broke out into cold sweat from watching. Sir Zu really was brave, he actually didn¡¯t let the crown prince win!

    Time passed just like that. Soon afterwards, the morning court session ended. The crown princess returned with a sullen expression. ¡°Gather all of the eastern pce¡¯s important members. There is a huge matter to discuss!¡±

 Chapter 702: Eastern Palaceâ€™s Predicament

    <h4>Chapter 702: Eastern Pce¡¯s Predicament</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    After the crown princess gave her orders, she withdrew inside the inner pce with a grim expression.

    Soon afterwards, the eastern pce¡¯s eunuchs and maids rushed out to spread the news.

    Zu An was the only one who seemed to instead be at ease. It hadn¡¯t been long since he arrived at the eastern pce, so many officials didn¡¯t know him. He wouldn¡¯t know who to contact if he was given orders to spread the news, so he instead had nothing to do.

    No, he had a task. He was here to y five-in-a-row with the fatty.

    Zu An absent-mindedly yed with him while asking, ¡°Crown prince, what happened?¡±

    ¡°How would I know¡­ Ah, you cannot put it there! I don¡¯t care!¡± The crown prince blocked a certain spot on the game board, stopping Zu An from putting a piece there.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but chuckle. He took back his tile. What am I doing? Why am I asking this guy?

    He was about to ask the crown princess, but judging from how cold her expression was just now, he was worried that now might really be a bad time. He thus prodded the fatty next to him and said, ¡°Crown prince, something big seems to have happened. You¡¯re not going to take a look?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, we have Linglong to take care of it anyway.¡± The crown prince waved his hand in annoyance. His attention returned to the go board.

    Zu An sighed. ¡°The crown princess is still a woman in the end. She has her moments of weakness, you know?¡¯

    The crown prince said indifferently, ¡°Linglong was able to take care of everything during these years. Ah, stop talking about that and just y.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. I can win easily even if I¡¯m distracted, yet you want me to y seriously?¡±

    Just what the heck did the crown princess do in her past life for her to end up with this type of idiot?

    But he didn¡¯t have to worry about the royal family¡¯s matters. He yed with the crown prince while watching the surrounding activity.

    Soon afterwards, there were officials who rushed over. Most of them were elders and middle-aged men. He didn¡¯t see many young people among them. If they didn¡¯t have red-crowned cranes embroidered on their clothes, then it was qilins. These were clearly important officials in the court.

    The first rank of civil officials had red-crowned cranes on their uniforms, while the first rank of military officials had qilins.

    Hm? There are python decorations too?

    Zu An¡¯s eyes lit up. So it was an old acquaintance! It¡¯s King Liang!

    There was another elder who came with them. Even though all of his hair was white and wrinkles covered his face, his eyes were still sharp. There was a domineering aura around him.

    Furthermore, there was one more familiar person. General Liu Yao was respectfully following half a step behind him.

    Zu An was stunned. The Liu Yao he remembered was so arrogant his nose was always pointed at the sky. Who the hell is this?

    He had just recently arrived at the capital after all, so he didn¡¯t know that many people. However, he could ask the crown prince.

    The crown prince gave that person a look. Then, he was so frightened his chubby face trembled. ¡°That¡¯s my grandpa¡­¡±

    He secretly hid his go piece under his seat while saying this. He looked really scared of this man.

    Zu An realized who this was now. So it was the emperor¡¯s father-inw, the War Chariot General Liu Guang! The empress, as well as the former empress, were both daughters of this man.

    Liu Guang enjoyed great status because of his daughters, upying the position of War Chariot General. In terms of the military system, his rank was second only to the Great General and White Rider General. His rank was even higher than the Qin n¡¯s state dukes.

    Of course, military rank was one thing, real authority was something else. The Qin n¡¯s two state dukes had powerful men that worked under them, so their real authority was a bit greater.

    Liu Guang just happened to be looking in this direction at this time as well. He stormed over in anger. How could the crown prince¡¯s movements escape his notice?

    ¡°Do you know what kind of situation we are in right now? Crown prince, how can you still be ying around here?!¡± Liu Guang was furious. He pointed at Zu An and said, ¡°Drag this fool who has tricked the crown prince into ying around down into the dungeons to be flogged with a hundred strikes!¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed. He was being punished just for being here!

    What the hell is going on today? Why do I keep encountering these ridiculous situations one after the next?

    Suddenly, Liu Yao ran over to his brother¡¯s side and whispered a few words. Liu Guang¡¯s expression changed a bit when he looked at Zu An. ¡°Oh, so it was Zu An. You¡¯ve done some work these past few days. But¡­¡±

    Before he finished, his figure froze, as if he was listening to something. There seemed to be someone conversing with him through ki transmission.

    A whileter, he changed his tone. ¡°Since you¡¯re a neer, I won¡¯t hold you responsible since you don¡¯t know better. However, you are the crown prince¡¯s secretary and are in charge of overseeing the crown prince¡¯s studies. Do not behave willfully with the crown prince in the future.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± Zu An cupped his hands. ¡°Thank you, senior.¡±

    He was surprised. Did Liu Yao speak out for him? But this didn¡¯t make sense¡­ They didn¡¯t really share any friendship. Furthermore, it would make more sense if this man hated him after what happened in Brightmoon City.

    At this time, the crown princess appeared nearby. ¡°Everyone, pleasee in for the discussion.¡±

    She sounded extremely tired. However, this instead gave her voice a unique tone that sounded soothing to the ears.

    Zu An realized that it was the crown princess who spoke out for him.

    ¡°Crown prince, pleasee inside as well. This matter has to do with you.¡± The crown princess then gave Zu An a look. She had a look of hesitation on her face. However, when she thought about how his status was a bit too lowpared to Liu Guang and the others, inviting him inside would seem a bit too abrupt, so she gave up on this thought.

    Liu Guang and the others followed her inside. When they entered, he couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°Linglong, you seem to value that brat quite a bit?¡±

    The crown princess replied, ¡°Even though Zu An seems a bit irresponsible on the surface, he is a rare genius. He has only been in the capital for a few days, yet he has already made King Qi suffer greatly. I believe that everyone has heard about how he broke Zhao Zhi¡¯s legs yesterday as well, I presume?¡±

    Liu Guang stroked his beard and said with augh, ¡°This was the best piece of news I¡¯ve received in recent years. Looks like even King Qi and the others have their bad days!¡±

    King Liang Zhaoyi also said, ¡°I have interacted with him before in Brightmoon City. Even though his bearing is rather ordinary, he is incredibly treacherous. He can also turn peril into safety, and it is instead his opponents who are badly humiliated.¡±

    Liu Yao, who was standing nearby, immediately became upset. ¡°What are you looking at me for?¡±

    King Liang replied, ¡°I was just looking around.¡±

    The crown princess quickly interrupted the two of them to avoid a dispute from starting. ¡°It is hard enough trying to rope someone like him in, so why is there a need to make him feel unwee over such a small matter? That was why I stopped senior earlier.¡±

    Liu Guang nodded. This was something he agreed with.

    Liu Yao insteadined, ¡°Linglong, aren¡¯t you favoring him too much? He¡¯s just a scoundrel from the streets. What is so special about him? He¡¯s just a bit lucky at most.¡±

    The crown princesspletely disregarded this simple-minded man and began to converse with the others.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An was chatting with Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun outside.

    The two guards looked at him with worship. ¡°Big bro, I thought that you were going to be punished by that great senior, but you¡¯re still perfectly fine! I really, really admire you!¡±

    Zu An rolled his eyes. ¡°Why do I feel like you guys were hoping that I¡¯ll get beaten?¡±

    ¡°Big bro, that¡¯s a misunderstanding! Are we that type of people?!¡± The two of them quickly expressed their loyalty.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but look in the inner hall¡¯s direction. ¡°By the way, do you guys know what happened?¡±

    Jiao Sigun said inint, ¡°The two of us were being punished here all this time, so how could we know what happened? But judging from how the crown princess looks, it¡¯s probably something major.¡±

    Piao Duandiao nodded and parroted, ¡°We¡¯ve already worked for the eastern pce for many years. We¡¯ve never seen such a huge gathering before.¡±

    ¡°Then do you recognize the officials who went inside earlier?¡± Zu An continued to ask them questions. Even though Chuyan gave him a rough breakdown of the court¡¯s situation, he only knew their names and ranks. He couldn¡¯t match names with faces.

    The two guards exined, ¡°The one who went in first is the Imperial Secretariat¡¯s Right Confidential Assistant, Bi Qi. He is also the crown princess¡¯ father.¡±

    Zu An recalled the people who went in earlier. Bi Qi was probably the middle-aged man who arrived first.

    He was quite handsome. After all, how could a father who gave birth to the crown princess possibly be ugly?

    However, even though his face was expressionless, Zu An couldn¡¯t help but feel that his man was a sinister old fox.

    This type of feeling was strange. It was like watching a show where the role the actor was ying was clearly a righteous one, yet because of who the actor was, the viewer will still subconsciously think that he is a viin.

    This was the feeling Bi Qi gave him. He was clearly grand in appearance, and there weren¡¯t any strange expressions to be seen on his face. He even nodded towards some eunuchs and maids in greeting. Regardless of which angle one looked at it from, he would seem like a radiant and elegant man. However, the first impression Zu An had of this man was that he is a crafty person.

    ¡°The next to arrive was the Central Secretariat Supervisor Meng Yi. You seem to know the ones who just arrived, so we won¡¯t introduce them.¡± The two guards exined from the side.

    The shock in Zu An¡¯s face grew. These were all the crown prince faction¡¯s core personnel! Just what kind of event was this for all of them to be gathered together today?

    Their group continued the discussion inside for most of the day. Only when night fell, did the people inside graduallye out. However, their faces were all full of worries.

    When those people left, Zu An secretly sought out the crown princess. ¡°Crown princess, what happened?¡±

    ¡°Crown princess?¡± Bi Linglong frowned. Suddenly, sheughed in distress. ¡°I fear that I might not even be able to continue being the crown princess soon.¡±

    Zu An was rmed. ¡°Why would you say that?¡±

    Judging from their recent interactions, he knew that this girl was proud down to her very bones. He had never seen her so dejected before.

    Bi Linglong gave the crown prince, who was ying nearby, a look. Her eyes were full of helplessness. ¡°King Qi¡¯s faction went all out today in court. The crown prince will soon no longer be the crown prince. Should that happen, then I will naturally no longer be the crown princess anymore.¡±

 Chapter 703: Test

    <h4>Chapter 703: Test</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°King Qi¡¯s faction went on the offensive? There is no way the emperor wouldn¡¯t do anything about it. Crown princess, you do not need to worry.¡± Zu An said in constion. However, he knew that any matter that could leave the crown prince¡¯s faction so dejected was definitely no small matter.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°If only it were that simple.¡± The crown princess sighed. ¡°During today¡¯s morning court session, our faction¡¯s officials questioned King Qi. After all, the assassination case is closely tied to King Qi. Regardless of how King Qi¡¯s faction tried to defend themselves, we would have ways of dealing with it. However, we didn¡¯t expect King Qi to be so vicious. He straight up took on all of the me, but he then pushed all of the me onto Cheng Xiong¡¯s father and son.¡±

    ¡°Then, even though many of our people were doubtful, without any key evidence and with so many members on King Qi¡¯s side, more and more people began to speak out for him, so this matter was settled at that.¡±

    Zu An said with surprise, ¡°But this is something that we should have expected. What was it that made all of you look like that?¡±

    ¡°It would¡¯ve been fine if that was all.¡± The crown princess sighed. ¡°But soon afterwards, King Qi¡¯s faction began to wantonly retaliate with this topic. Many people mentioned that the crown prince doesn¡¯t even have the ability to protect himself, so how was he supposed to inherit this world?¡±

    After all, the Great Zhou Dynasty was established through martial might. One¡¯s status in this world was decided through cultivation.

    Previously, even though the crown prince was a bit of a letdown, he had the world¡¯s most powerful father. Even though everyone was unhappy, they still couldn¡¯t say anything.

    The crown prince was almost killed after that attack. Everyone finally began to pay attention to this issue.

    In order to denounce King Qi, the crown prince¡¯s faction had previously continuously stated how dangerous the situation was back then, how the crown prince almost died many times.

    Yet in the end, everything became proof that supported King Qi¡¯s argument.

    Many originally neutral officials in the court became extremely dissatisfied towards the stupid crown prince. They finally couldn¡¯t take it anymore.

    Once the crown prince bes the emperor, he might be done in by any random assassination. If that happened, wouldn¡¯t the entire country fall into chaos as well?

    Those people didn¡¯t speak out for King Qi¡¯s sake, but rather out of a desire for the public good. As such, not even the emperor could speak much in rebuke.

    Of course, the emperor wasn¡¯t someone who would let others step on him. He decisively sent those who wereining the loudest to be flogged in order to snuff out the first signs of the uprising.

    However, those people seemed to have already made a n. They continued to step out one after another, none of them fearing death. Instead, they felt like being flogged was something glorious.

    The emperor who cared a lot about his reputation knew what these people were thinking. They wanted to leave their names behind in history!

    The emperor did everything he could to seek out immortality, and this immortality was nothing more than leaving his name behind. How could he allow these people to achieve the same result from just being flogged?

    Furthermore, if this matter was really recorded, then whether the emperor¡¯s name would be recorded positively or instead as infamy was hard to say.

    That was why under the condemnation of King Qi¡¯s faction and the neutral faction¡¯s cooperation, the emperor had no choice but topromise.

    He was going to hold a test for the crown prince. If he can pass, then that means that he has the qualifications to seed to the throne. He has the ability to rule the empire.

    But if he fails, then he can only abdicate from the throne.

    King Qi¡¯s faction was satisfied with this result, because they knew that with the crown prince¡¯s skills, there was no way he could pass. As such, King Qi would then seed the throne as the justified imperial brother.

    The reason the emperor agreed to this proposal was because as long as the test was man-made, then there was room for maniption.

    He was caughtpletely unprepared this morning. By choosing a test, he can use this matter to buy some time and find a suitable solution.

    But for the crown princess, she felt as if the sky was copsing when she heard the news.

    Others might feel that the crown prince was merely simple-minded, but she knew just how stupid this guy was. Other than eating, sh*tting, and ying, he didn¡¯t know a thing!

    It was to the extent where even the games he yed were mentally deficient games. For example, he waspletely enamored by the five-in-a-row recently, which was an incredibly simple and uncouth game. She had no idea who came up with this type of game.

    You can grab anyone off the street¡­ No, any kid off the street and they might have a better chance at passing the test than this crown prince.

    Zu An finally understood why everyone was so distressed after listening to the crown prince¡¯s exnation. No one had any confidence in that fatty.

    ¡°So what is he being tested on?¡± Zu An cut straight to the point.

    The crown princess shook her head. ¡°I have no idea what the contents are, but matters of cultivation and ruling are unavoidable. Both sides will have to discuss some more over what is being tested.¡±

    She was extremely gloomy. The crown prince won¡¯t be able to pass no matter what he is being tested on.

    Zu An said in constion, ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much. The crown prince is his majesty¡¯s oldest son after all, so he will definitely get involved.¡±

    ¡°I hope that is the case.¡± The crown princess instead didn¡¯t have much hope, because she didn¡¯t think the emperor could do anything about this.

    ¡°By the way, I heard that the Shi n¡¯s men troubled you by the entrance today?¡± The crown princess collected herself and asked.

    Zu An replied, ¡°It¡¯s nothing important and I already dealt with it. The crown princess doesn¡¯t need to worry about it.¡±

    The crown princess voiced her response. ¡°Then you can just leave now.¡±

    It was a pity that Shi Kun¡¯s matterpletely offended the Shi n, which might push them towards King Qi¡¯s side. However, she really wasn¡¯t in the mood to think about these things.

    She sighed when she looked at Zu An¡¯s departing figure. If the crown prince was someone who saved her worry like this guy, then just how great would that be?

    ¡­

    When Zu An left the eastern pce, a lesser eunuch ran up to him and told him the emperor had summoned him.

    His expression immediately became helpless. Those concubines were all eager to meet with the emperor even once, yet he himself was seeing this man almost every day. What the hell is this?

    But ridiculing was just that. There was nothing else he could do in this situation, so he could only follow the eunuch to the imperial study.

    When he entered the imperial study, he saw that the emperor had an overcast expression. He immediately bowed tactfully. ¡°I greet your majesty.¡±

    The other party was still upset, so it was best not to provoke him.

    The emperor voiced his response. Then, he picked up a memorial and said, ¡°Someone used you of using violence by the pce gates, that you attacked the inspector of etiquette Shi Jun. Did this happen?¡±

    ¡°I am being used wrongly. There was nothing wrong with me, but that Shi Jun deliberately targeted me¡­¡± Zu An was just about to exin when the emperor cut him off.

    ¡°There is another matter that I am curious about. Why was it that his pants fell as soon as you said they would? ording to the reports, this was also what you said to Han Fengqiu during your battle.¡± The emperor¡¯s expression immediately became extremely sharp. ¡°Do you have the dragon race¡¯s blood? Do you have their Soulspeak ability?¡±

    Zu An quickly exined, ¡°Your majesty is wise. There was a dragon race elder who tried to kill me along the way, so how could I have any connection with them? Let alone the dragon Soulspeak ability.¡±

    Keyboard Come was a skill that he absolutely could not tell the emperor about, or else he would be dead for sure. No emperors would feel at ease having someone that they cannot control under them.

    ¡°Then why did their pants fall? I refuse to believe that it is a coincidence.¡± The emperor gave him a cold look. One was at the peak of the ninth rank, while one was at the seventh rank. How could their pants fall just because you said that they would?

    Zu An quickly exined, ¡°I have no idea how Han Fengqiu¡¯s pants fell, but that event gave me some inspiration. Shi Kun wanted to oppress me through etiquette, so when I rushed in to strike him in the face, I secretly broke open his waistband. He was still in shock and anger at the time, so he didn¡¯t notice anything.¡±

    The emperor was stunned. Then, he couldn¡¯t help but roar withughter. ¡°You are quite the weird fe. Shi Jun was done in quite badly by you. He might not have the shame to take up etiquette inspection ever again.¡±

    Zu An sighed in relief when he saw the other partyugh. Thank goodness my reactions are fast.

    But this emperor really is cold¡­ The Shi n has established heroic contributions in the Great Zhou Dynasty, and the n leader of the Shi n is also one of the court¡¯s prestigious eight dukes! He probably doesn¡¯t care about the Shi n at all and is only annoyed that they are now siding with King Qi.

    The emperor continued, ¡°I believe you have already heard about the test¡¯s matter. You¡¯ve always been quite the clever fe. Do you have any ideas?¡±

 Chapter 704: Suspicious

    <h4>Chapter 704: Suspicious</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An¡¯s first reaction was to teach the crown prince the way of guaranteed victory in five-in-a-row. After all, his age alreadypletely studied this game. As long as he went first, he would definitely win.

    But after thinking about it to himself, he still dispelled this thought in the end.

    Even though five-in-row was easy, the sure-win method had all types of variations as well. If the crown prince could remember every choice he needed to make, then he wouldn¡¯t be known as an idiot.

    He thought for a bit, and then said, ¡°With the crown prince as he is, we might have to cheat. What is he being tested on? We can give the crown prince the answers beforehand.¡±

    The emperor replied, ¡°The contents of the test have not been confirmed yet, but it will most likely be held by the Royal Academy. The academy¡¯s staff are all stubborn and smelly like rocks in atrine pit. They would never agree to helping the crown prince cheat. Your idea will not work.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Neither side would be okay with the other side presiding over this test. Only the Royal Academy could receive the trust of both sides.

    The Royal Academy had always remained neutral after both sides struggled for so long. They refused to join in on this struggle, but there was no need for them to participate either.

    There were many outstanding cultivators who came out of the Royal Academy. They were scattered all across the world and had great status.

    Regardless of who became emperor, it wouldn¡¯t bring them any benefits, but it wouldn¡¯t hurt them at all either. The people inside were all fanatical researchers without any interest in authority. It was to the extent where they believed that authority would only distract them from their cultivation.

    It was precisely because of their zealotry towards cultivation that both the emperor and King Qi trusted that they wouldn¡¯t act impartially.

    Zu An frowned. ¡°Then things are much trickier. Should we have someone pretend to be the crown prince and take the test in his ce? Are there any miraculous transformation techniques?¡±

    This was a world of cultivation after all. There should be a way to pass off as the crown prince.

    The emperor slowly shook his head. ¡°There is, but it can only fool those who are not familiar with the crown prince. King Qi¡¯s faction will definitely investigate closely. I do not think this will escape their detection.¡±

    Zu An shrugged his shoulders and spread his arms. ¡°Then there¡¯s really nothing I can do. Your majesty is powerful and brilliant. You will definitely think of a solution.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear that pompous nonsense.¡± The emperor paced around in the imperial study with an annoyed expression. If even he was using crude words, then that means that this matter really left him really annoyed today. If his mood was bad, then that meant even more people would be unhappy. ¡°I¡¯m giving you half a month to think of a solution. Otherwise, if the crown prince cannot remain the crown prince, then there is no use for a crown prince secretary either. I¡¯ll just throw you into the castration room.¡±

    Zu An: ¡°???¡±

    Motherfucker! You¡¯re making me do everything for you? Not even a production team would order their people like this!

    Even though this was what he was thinking, he didn¡¯t show any dissatisfaction on the surface. ¡°Understood!¡±

    ¡­

    Zu An felt extremely irritated when he left the imperial study. He walked out of the pce. Fuck the crown prince and princess! If there¡¯s no choice, I¡¯m just going to leave alone! The emperor might think that his seal is still in ce, but he has no idea that a grandmaster already helped me get rid of it!

    Hmph, I¡¯m going home and embracing my lovely Chuyan! Like I give a sh*t if the crown prince dies or not.

    A lesser eunuch ran over while he was thinking to himself. ¡°Sir Zu, my n¡¯s master invites you for a meeting.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. This lesser eunuch looked familiar. ¡°Who is your master?¡±

    ¡°My master is Concubine Bai.¡± The lesser eunuch replied respectfully.

    Zu An gave the dusky sky a look. ¡°It¡¯s already gettingte. I don¡¯t think this is a good time?¡±

    Normally speaking, subjects cannot walk willfully around in the pce. Only a few officials had this authority, and most of them were like secretaries and assistants to the emperor¡¯s everyday life.

    Zu An could go as he wished with his status as the crown prince¡¯s secretary, but that was limited to the daytime. He had to leave the pce once it got dark, or else that would be a huge crime.

    If there were any subjects who were still inside the pce after it got dark, ahem, there probably isn¡¯t a single emperor who is fond of being cucked.

    ¡°It¡¯s rted to the crown prince¡¯s exam.¡± That lesser eunuch said.

    ¡°Lead the way!¡± After a bit of hesitation, he still followed this lesser eunuch. The emperor just gave him this mission with his life on the line. Even though he would run if he had no choice, it was best not to run away when he didn¡¯t have to yet.

    Concubine Bai was the crown prince¡¯s concubine, so her rise and fall were tied to his. Her concern for the crown prince was real, so she might really have some ideas.

    When they arrived at the Hundred Flowers Garden, the eunuch bowed before leaving.

    A maid walked out from inside. It was precisely Concubine Bai¡¯s personal maid Xin Rui.

    ¡°Sir Zu, this way please!¡± Xin Rui bowed slightly and invited him in.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°Why didn¡¯t I see you first? I almost thought that the eunuch was trying to harm me.¡±

    Even though it never happened to him, he had seen more than enough examples of this. He didn¡¯t watch those dramas for nothing.

    Xin Rui covered her mouth andughed in a bashful manner. ¡°Sir Zu must be kidding. Who would be brazen enough to harm someone in the pce?¡±

    Zu An thought to himself that the servant really was a reflection of the master. Concubine Bai¡¯s personality was gentle and soft, Xin Rui¡¯s nature was also simr, perhaps even a bit more bashful.

    The crown princess was rather tough, and Rong Mo was also like a hot pepper.

    While he was thinking random thoughts, he was soon brought into the main hall. Xin Rui gestured inside. ¡°Sir Zu, pleasee in.¡±

    Zu An nodded and walked inside. He had a good opinion of Concubine Bai thest time they met, and he also wanted to try that tea again. He wondered if he would have a chance to drink it again today.

    He saw a beautiful figure seated at the other end of the table. Her posture was dignified, and her delicate body¡¯s lines were incredibly charming. He quickly shook his head. Stop, don¡¯t think that before I end up with some weird fetish!

    But when he got closer and saw her appearance, he was stunned. It wasn¡¯t that she was ugly, but rather that even though she was gentle, graceful, and poised, she wasn¡¯t Concubine Bai at all.

    This woman also looked at him in shock. Both of them spoke at the same time, ¡°Why are you here?¡±

    ¡°Crown princess, why are you here?¡± Zu An asked in confusion.

    The crown princess also harrumphed in annoyance. ¡°I was the one who asked first.¡±

    This kid really doesn¡¯t follow the rules! I need to properly discipline himter.

    Sigh, forget it. It¡¯s normal for talented people to have a bit of pride. I don¡¯t have too many people to use right now, so I shouldn¡¯t chase him away.

    Zu An wrinkled his nose. This woman was always so domineering. I¡¯ll peel away your outer shell one day, let¡¯s see if it¡¯s still hard or soft inside. ¡°Concubine Bai invited me and said that she had something to say about the crown prince¡¯s matter.¡±

    The crown princess frowned. ¡°That¡¯s what she said to me too.¡±

    She suddenly got up and started to walk out after saying this.

    After being in the pce for so long, she was naturally sensitive towards these matters. It was already dark outside, and there was no third person present. Being in the same room as another man would start a huge scandal.

    But Xin Rui just happened to walk in with a cup of tea when she reached the entrance. ¡°Huh? Crown princess, why are you suddenly leaving?¡±

    The crown princess harrumphed. ¡°What is Concubine Bai trying to do? Why isn¡¯t she here yet?!¡±

    She was the crown princess. When had she ever waited for a concubine?

    However, Concubine Bai sent someone to pass on the message that there was a solution to the crown prince¡¯s test. That was why she endured and came here.

    But that woman invited a man here! Even though she was already familiar with Zu An, interacting in private like this still left her a bit ufortable.

    Xin Rui exined, ¡°Crown princess, please feel at ease. My master is currently preparing something and wille out soon. She told me to bring this Hundred Flower Tea to the two of you in apology.¡±

    The crown princess subconsciously licked her lips when she heard the words Hundred Flower Tea. She naturally knew of Concubine Bai¡¯s unique tea. She drank it a few times before and absolutely adored the vor.

    But because of her conflicting rtionship with Concubine Bai, they didn¡¯t get along with each other. She was also stubborn as well, so she naturally couldn¡¯t lower her pride to ask for any. As such, she could only secretly long for it.

    It would be a waste to not drink it since she is offering¡­

    Pah! I am here because of the crown prince¡¯s test, it¡¯s not for drinking her shoddy tea!

    ¡°Fine then, I will wait for half a stick of incense¡¯s time for her. I will immediately leave if she is still not here by then.¡± The crown princess sat down again and gracefully sipped on the fragrant tea. She sighed inwardly in praise. She really didn¡¯t know how Concubine Bai made such a delicious tea! She had some maids try to imitate it in private, but it would always be sickeningly sweet, and drinking it just didn¡¯t feel right. Itcked the natural simplicity and elegance of this Hundred Flower Tea.

    A whileter, she subconsciously tugged on her cor. She looked at Zu An and asked, ¡°Do you feel like it is a bit hot today?¡±

 Chapter 705: Scalp Numbing

    <h4>Chapter 705: Scalp Numbing</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Xin Rui ced the Hundred Flower Tea in front of the two of them. Then, she left with a sweet smile.

    The crown princess frowned, but she didn¡¯t say anything else. Since this was rted to the crown prince¡¯s test, they couldn¡¯t allow more people to hear about their discussion.

    As for Zu An, he was still an eastern pce member in the end, so he wasn¡¯t aplete outsider. It should be fine for him to stay here for a short while.

    The most crucial part of this was that Concubine Bai invited her for this meeting. Even though the two of them didn¡¯t really get along, she was still the crown prince¡¯s concubine after all, and she even gave birth to his son. The crown prince¡¯s prospects were also her own. Now that there was danger, there was no reason for her to do anything strange.

    A powerful and refreshing fragrance swirled about her lips when she lifted the cup. When she swallowed the tea, the warm tea gradually spread through her body, and her anxious mood gradually calmed a bit.

    Zu An was also drinking the tea. At the same time, he was secretly observing her.

    Her eyes were bright and her skin was fair. Her lips were an enticing red. There was a faint hint of mncholy lingering between her brows, adding a bit of tenderness to her usually domineering bearing.

    What was even a rarer sight was that even in this type of situation, her posture was still upright and elegant.

    He had to admit that the crown princess was an incredible beauty.

    He finally experienced what was the so-called feast for the eyes. The swirling steaming from the Hundred Flower Tea almost seemed like a sweet fragrance that came from her body.

    The crown princess¡¯ cheeks gradually flushed red. She could feel his gaze. How can this guy be behaving like this?

    You have sessfully trolled Bi Linglong for +22 +22 +22¡­

    However, saying anything in this type of situation would only make everyone embarrassed. It would make it hard for them to interact with each other in the future.

    She was just wondering how she was going to rope him in. Now, it was clear.

    She had been pretty ever since she was little, so she fully understood the uses of her own beauty. It was just that there had never been any situations where she had to make sure of her beauty yet.

    Of course, she wasn¡¯t going to use a honey trap on Zu An. She was a glorious crown princess, she didn¡¯t have to lower herself to that extent. However, she could still use her beauty to speak some gentle words to him and rope him in that way.

    Her red lips parted slightly when she thought of this. ¡°Sir Zu, how did you meet the Chu n¡¯s first miss?¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He didn¡¯t expect her to suddenly ask him this. ¡°It was actually quite the coincidence. I was washing myself in a pond in the wilderness, and then a girl suddenly dropped from the sky andnded in my arms.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± The crown princess originally only nned to have a casual chat to get closer to him, but she immediately became interested when she heard this. ¡°Was that Chu Chuyan? Why would she drop from the sky?¡±

    When he saw her sparkling eyes, Zu An thought to himself, you really believed that? But he also became amused, so he continued to bber, ¡°Oh, back then, there was a cliff nearby. She jumped off of it.¡±

    Chuyan, my dear, I¡¯m sorry for using you like this.

    ¡°What? Was shemitting suicide?¡± The crown princess clutched her mouth. She really couldn¡¯t picture Chu Chuyan doing this. After all, she had already heard rumors about her before. Chu First Miss was an extraordinary beauty. During the short period she resided in the capital, she already left countless noble heirs in yearning day and night.

    The most important part was that she was also a cultivation genius. There was practically no one at her level among her peers.

    Why would such a stunning womanmit suicide?

    ¡°Ah, I think it was because she was told she had to marry a certain someone. With every hope turning to dust, she decided to just end it all.¡± Zu An said nonchntly.

    The crown princess was shocked. She wondered just which n it was that the Chu n was going to join in marriage, but she rejected them one after another after thinking about it.

    A whileter, she suddenly became a bit sad, because she sympathized with Chu Chuyan¡¯s situation. After all, she was also left with no choice but to marry an idiot because of her n.

    But she wasn¡¯t as confident as Chu Chuyan, choosing to just end it all with death.

    ¡°Then?¡± Her mood became dejected.

    ¡°Then, I just happened to have saved her¡­¡± Zu An randomly weaved in the plot of Titanic, changing certain details along the way.

    The crown princess was only asking casually, but she didn¡¯t expect such aplicated and bizarre story. She waspletely sucked in. ¡°No wonder she ended up choosing you as her husband against everyone else¡¯s opinions! Everyone else thought that a flower like her fell into¡­ Ahem, but now, I understand her choice.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Wasn¡¯t this type of love story precisely the fantasies she indulged in during her youth? It was just a pity that the feelings of youth had long been buried deep within her heart, never to see the light again. But now that she heard his story, she seemed to have returned to her teenage years when she still knew how to dream.

    Zu An was stunned when he saw her dumbstruck appearance. Hello? You¡¯re the crown princess, don¡¯t forget! Shouldn¡¯t you be experienced and knowledgeable? Just a random Titanic parody already made you like this?

    Now that I think about it, didn¡¯t Chuyan also like to read that Domineering Sword Immortal stuff?

    He suddenly felt that he could be an incredibly famous writer in this age! He could just randomly giarize any random love story and get tons of youngdies as his fans!

    Wait, I might even be able to visit brothels without paying like Liu Yong, that Song poet¡­ Ahem! This isn¡¯t what¡¯s important right now!

    He gave that stunning beauty a look. ¡°Crown princess, how did you and the crown prince meet?¡±

    The crown princess would never answer this type of question normally. However, perhaps because she was moved by the story she had just heard, she was still quite emotional. After a bit of hesitation, she still replied, ¡°Our meeting wasn¡¯t as dramatic as yours. It was just a simple marriage between ns. His majesty approved of the Bi n¡¯s power and wished to bring us against King Qi with the marriage. My father wanted to stabilize the Bi n as well, so he agreed to this marriage¡­¡±

    The way she told this story made it sound as if this was somethingpletely unrted to her. He could sense the loneliness from this story and couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Do you like the crown prince?¡±

    ¡°He is the crown prince, I am the crown princess, I have no choice but to like him. I don¡¯t have a choice¡­¡± Her expression suddenly changed, as if she noticed that she forgot herself. ¡°You¡¯ve crossed the line. I don¡¯t want to hear anything like this again.¡±

    Zu An lost all interest when he saw that she returned to her normal proud self. He began to sip on his tea again.

    ¡°Why is Concubine Bai still not here?!¡± The crown princess was starting to get annoyed. She couldn¡¯t help but loosen her cor. ¡°Don¡¯t you feel like it¡¯s a bit hot today?¡±

    ¡°It is indeed a bit hot.¡± Zu An also felt a bit warm. ¡°But that shouldn¡¯t be, it is already dusk¡­¡±

    Their expressions both changed the moment he said this. They were about to get up and leave, but they felt dizzy as soon as they stood up. Then, they both fell back into their chairs, losing consciousness.

    Fuck, I fell into a trap! Zu An bit his tongue to try and stay awake, and he even transferred his ki to force out the poison. Unfortunately, the medicine¡¯s effects were extremely powerful, so his efforts weren¡¯t effective. He could vaguely make out a woman walking over. Then, she lifted his cor and walked towards the crown princess.

    After that, everything went dark.

    ¡­

    A whileter, Zu An felt that he already dreamt that he was embracing Chu Chuyan. Chuyan¡¯s body really is smooth¡­ Huh? But isn¡¯t her body normally cold?

    Her size also seems a bit off¡­

    Is it Manman? But Manman already went home, so how could she be here?

    Is it Dandan? But she won¡¯t be back for a while either, right?

    Huh? Why does this woman look a bit like the crown princess¡­ I¡¯m dreaming about her?

    Wait! Crown princess!

    A sh of realization passed by his brain. He remembered what happened before he fainted and immediately woke up out of fright.

    His entire body went rigid when he saw the scene before him.

    Apletely naked girl was lying in his arms. Her skin was fine like satin, her body more fragrant than even the Hundred Flower Tea. Her face was exquisite and wless, especially the slight blush on her cheeks which only served to make her even more enchanting.

    If this was any other time, he might even celebrate his luck with women. But right now, his greatest emotion was horror, a scalp numbing horror.

    After all, the one who was lying there in her birthday suit, was the crown princess.

    As if sensing his movements, the crown princess also slowly opened her eyes.

 Chapter 706: To Catch a Thief in the Act

    <h4>Chapter 706: To Catch a Thief in the Act</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The crown princess¡¯ eyes were still a bit blurry when she first saw Zu An so close to her, thinking that she was still dreaming. She subconsciously rubbed her eyes. This movement made her suddenly feel a chill throughout her body.

    She lowered her head and saw that she was lying in his embrace without a speck of clothing on her. Her expression instantly changed.

    ¡°Ah!!!!!!!!¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    She immediately clutched her own mouth the moment she screamed out. Her scream came to a screeching halt.

    Even in this moment, she still didn¡¯t lose her rationality. She knew that if she screamed, then it might draw people here. Zu An would die for sure, and she herself would be done for as well.

    Her feet didn¡¯t hesitate either. She kicked him straight in the stomach.

    You have sessfully trolled Bi Linglong for +999 +999 +999¡­

    Zu An obviously wouldn¡¯t be so stupid as to let her really kick him. He reached out and grabbed her foot. He sighed and said, ¡°Crown princess, we were clearly schemed against here!¡±

    The crown princess¡¯ face went entirely red. Do I need you to tell me this? I obviously know that!

    You have sessfully trolled Bi Linglong for +888 +888 +888¡­

    ¡°Let go!¡± The crown princess shouted. Her expression was extremely ashamed.

    Her kick was a subconscious reaction. How could she have predicted that her foot would be grabbed by him?

    The two of them weren¡¯t wearing anything right now. This type of situation was as vulgar as vulgar could be.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes couldn¡¯t help but roam about her body. Then, his expression went rigid. He let go in an embarrassed manner. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry! It wasn¡¯t on purpose!¡±

    The crown princess¡¯ face was incredibly gloomy. She was screaming inside right now as well. She quickly pulled the covers around herself. However, she had no idea how seductive she looked right now with just her exposed corbone.

    ¡°Did you do anything to me earlier?¡± After her initial rage and rm passed, the crown princess gradually calmed down. She knew that what was most important right now was dealing with this matter. She could settle everything else with himter.

    Zu An hesitated. ¡°I don¡¯t know either.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± The crown princess immediately felt her blood pressure go up.

    You have sessfully trolled Bi Linglong for +666 +666 +666¡­

    Zu An said, ¡°I didn¡¯t wake up that much earlier than you, I¡¯m just as confused as you are. I seem to have groped and embraced you, but I don¡¯t think I did anything¡­ Can¡¯t you tell if we really did it or not yourself?!¡±

    ¡°You groped and embraced me? Is this still nothing?¡± The crown princess¡¯ eyelids jumped. She already checked herself while asking him under the covers. She indeed didn¡¯t seem to have been prated. But why did she want to hit him so much when she heard what he said?

    She took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. She looked around her and said, ¡°Where are my clothes? Hurry and bring me my clothes.¡±

    She obviously wasn¡¯t in a state to look for anything right now, or else he really will see everything.

    Zu An turned around and began to look. But because he got up, the crown princess¡¯ eyes narrowed. Is this guy a freaking donkey or something?!

    After looking around, Zu An shook his head. ¡°There are no clothes.¡±

    Since they wanted to frame the two of them, how could they allow them to wear any clothes?

    He figured that it might be because he woke up earlier than they nned, which was why the n wasn¡¯t fully in action yet.

    Wait, why did the crown princess also wake up ahead of time?

    But now wasn¡¯t the time to be worried about this. He quickly looked around and said, ¡°Crown princess, do you know where we are right now?¡±

    They didn¡¯t seem to be in the main hall they were in earlier, but rather a courtyard. Did they already leave the pce?

    But that can¡¯t be. If they want to frame us, then we are definitely still inside the pce.

    The crown princess¡¯ face became incredibly pale when she heard that there were no clothes. When she heard what he said, she subconsciously replied, ¡°This isn¡¯t the Hundred Flower Pce. That disgraceful Concubine Bai wouldn¡¯t dare to frame me in her own pce.¡±

    She lived in this pce, so she understood the buildings¡¯ standards and styles well. The designs on the furniture, windows, and other parts of the room didn¡¯t match the standard of a concubine.

    A moring suddenly sounded from outside. ¡°It¡¯s right over here. I think I heard someone suspiciouse this way.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. This voice seemed familiar. This is the voice of Shi Kun who harassed him this afternoon by the pce entrance! This fe actually went that far? He dares to mess with even the crown princess?

    He suddenly connected the dots. No wonder Shi Jun dared to openly oppose him without any fear of the eastern pce behind him! So he nned to bring down the crown princess from the start!

    But why is he so brave, to the point where he dares to touch the crown princess?

    The crown princess¡¯ face turned deathly pale. She was so worried she was about to cry. ¡°I¡¯m finished, I¡¯m finished¡­¡±

    She waspletely beside herself. Once those people barged in and saw the two of them here without any clothes on, no exnations would do anything.

    Even if she spoke, no one would believe her. Furthermore, for the sake of hiding the scandal, the royal family would also silently eliminate her. Even the Bi n would be destroyed.

    Zu An felt his fine hairs stand on end as well. He knew that this was now a moment of life and death. The emperor told him to cut off his arm when he found out that he touched the crown princess. If he found out that his daughter-inw ended up being this close to another man, he would definitely st him to ashes.

    Suddenly, a quiet voice sounded by his ears. The voice was extremely anxious. ¡°Hurry and run! I¡¯ll help you stall them for a while!¡±

    This was a female voice. However, he didn¡¯t have any impression of this person. This woman shouldn¡¯t have spoken to him before.

    His first reaction was that this was part of the trap, that it was pulling him even deeper down.

    But he quickly refuted this thought. He and the crown princess already looked like this right now. All those people outside had to do was barge inside. They didn¡¯t need to go further at all.

    But who inside this pce would help him?

    He knew that even though he had some friends in the pce, most of them were only acquaintances. They might help out with some small matters, but they definitely wouldn¡¯t want anything to do with something this major.

    Was this one of Yun Jianyue¡¯s spies?

    In the end, this was the only possibility. After all, he didn¡¯t know any other women in the pce.

    He didn¡¯t hesitate at all. While his head was moving, he immediately fished out a set of clothes from the Brilliant ss Bead and covered himself. He really was grateful that Mi Li previously taught him the way to refine the Brilliant ss Bead into his body.

    Without his approval, the other party wouldn¡¯t find the Brilliant ss Bead even if they cut his stomach open.

    As for the crown princess, he didn¡¯t have time to cover her up. Zu An wrapped her up in the nkets and then jumped out of the window.

    ¡°What are you doing?!¡± The crown princess was shocked and furious. She struggled frantically.

    You have sessfully trolled Bi Linglong for +233 +233 +233¡­

    Zu An said with a trembling voice, ¡°When you catch a thief, you need the goods and you need to catch them in the action! As long as they don¡¯t find us there, then we still have a chance.¡±

    Bi Linglong was stunned. She now knew that she misunderstood him.

    She saw that his expression was steady, and his usually frivolous attitude was nowhere to be seen. It was as if he became apletely different person.

    ¡°Don¡¯t show your face!¡± Zu An pressed her head into his chest. Then, he smashed through the window and frantically ran towards a certain direction.

    ¡°Over there!¡± Shi Jun shouted by the entrance. The group of people immediately charged towards them.

    Zu An didn¡¯t use his normal instantaneous movement, nor did he use his Sunflower Phantasm. Otherwise, he would be dead for sure once a report reached the emperor.

    That damn emperor didn¡¯t care about no evidence, he made decisions based on what he believed was true.

    Fortunately, his cultivation had made tremendous progress, so his basic speed alone was already quite fast.

    The sounds of drums being beat sounded. Even more people rushed over, and even the pce¡¯s Imperial Guard was rmed.

    Their enemy came prepared. They already set up an inescapable.

    The crown princess saw silhouettes in all directions. Her heart sunk. I¡¯m done for¡­ how can we possibly escape from so many people?

    Rather than letting everyone see her current sorry appearance, she should¡¯ve just died inside of that room.

    Even though there was a nket covering her body, she still didn¡¯t feel any sense of security.

    ¡°Halt!¡± Four Imperial Pce guards charged at them from the front. They brandished their des. These four individuals had undergone strict training, making their coordination seamless. Two attacked at his vitals, one hacked at the crown princess in the nkets to get his attention, while thest one cut off his escape route.

 Chapter 707: End of the Line

    <h4>Chapter 707: End of the Line</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The crown princess felt her heart sink to rock bottom. These Imperial Pce guards were all around the fourth and fifth rank, and their armors and weapons were standardized with rune formations. Their armor could block the full force blow of someone at the sixth rank, and they could greatly diminish the power of a seventh ranked expert.

    The des also had different elements. When they worked together, regardless of what kind of element their opponent was, they could still cut through their elemental barriers.

    Together with their formation tactics, they could easily take down a sixth rank expert, and they had a good chance against a seventh rank cultivator.

    Regardless, they were going to be tangled up by these soldiers for a while. Other soldiers were closing in after receiving news as well. Once they arrived, there would be no hope left.

    The crown princess clenched her teeth and said, ¡°Let me go. We¡¯ll fight together!¡±

    She couldn¡¯t even be bothered with the fact that she was naked right now. Once she faced them, these guards would see everything.

    If they couldn¡¯t deal with these people as quickly as possible, more people would end up seeing her current state. She might as well just go all out now.

    Zu An didn¡¯t pay her any attention. Instead, the Poisonous Prick appeared in his hands with a flick of his wrist. Then, he used the Sunflower Phantasm to weave about. He turned into countless afterimages. Those guards¡¯ armors didn¡¯t seem to offer any resistance at all and were cut through like paper.

    He didn¡¯t choose to hit the exposed hands or necks, because those targets were too small. He needed to kill with a single blow, and what hecked the most right now was time.

    Those guards trusted their defenses too much, to the extent where they were fighting with the intent of taking damage themselves. However, how could they have predicted that the dagger would cut through them like nothing? It could even cut through a powerful expert¡¯s elemental barrier, let alone their armors.

    Those guards felt like they were only slightly injured, so theypletely ignored the damage. They nned to surround and take this guy down.

    However, their bodies suddenly went stiff. Then, many ck, cryptic runes spread out from their injuries. Everything went dark, and then they copsed.

    Zu An didn¡¯t dare hold back during this moment of crisis. These guards appeared so quickly as well, so they were definitely part of this trap. There was no reason for him to hold back.

    The crown princess¡¯ beautiful eyes widened. She was thinking about how she should join hands with him to take them out a second ago, yet a secondter, he already took care of these people!

    ¡°How did you do it?¡± Even though this wasn¡¯t the time to be worried about this, she still couldn¡¯t help but ask this.

    After all, the report stated that his cultivation was only around the fifth or sixth level. Even though she found out that he defeated the eighth ranked Zhao Zhi, everyone believed that it wasn¡¯t his own strength that defeated King Qi¡¯s heir, but rather that there was a mysterious expert who helped him. Furthermore, that Zhao Zhi was always incredibly arrogant, so this result was probably because he underestimated his opponent.

    Now that she witnessed this scene herself, the crown princess felt like she had to reassess this man¡¯s strength.

    Zu An didn¡¯t reply and instead gave those guards a look. Then, he reached out his hand, sucking their corpses into the Brilliant ss Bead.

    ¡°Spatial storage!¡± The crown princess was a knowledgeable person. She immediately thought to herself that spatial storages were usually notrge at all. It would be hard to store the bodies of fourrge men. This man actually had this type of treasure on him too!

    She reacted quickly and said, ¡°Why are you storing them? Hurry and store me inside too!¡±

    Right now, she only wanted a safe ce to hide in. If she could hide in a storage space, then she wouldn¡¯t be discovered.

    Zu An said impatiently, ¡°Spatial storages can¡¯t store living things. If you want to be a corpse, then be my guest.¡±

    The crown princess bit her lip, and then she said, ¡°If there really is no choice, then just store me inside! I would rather be a corpse than be seen like this!¡±

    Whether or not she could still remain the crown princess was secondary to her current appearance. How was she supposed to continue living if she was exposed in front of the public without any clothes on? Let alone the fact that she would be dragging down the Bi n. She would rather just die and end all of the troubles.

    Zu An was shocked. He could roughly guess at her intentions. Sigh, the women of this world all cared greatly about the honor and glory of their ns.

    For the sake of her family, Chuyan chose to take in a good-for-nothing piece of trash. Zheng Dan married into the Sang n for the Zheng n. Now, the crown princess was even willing to sacrifice herself for the sake of her n.

    He didn¡¯t stay here. Instead, he continued to run with the crown princess in his arms.

    ¡°Return to the eastern pce!¡± The crown princess immediately said. She knew that since Concubine Bai was targeting her, these weren¡¯t the only people they had to deal with. They would send people towards the eastern pce as well to prove that she wasn¡¯t there. The best way of erasing all suspicion is to return to the Eastern Pce. This way, as long as she refused to admit to anything, then all of her efforts to frame her would be meaningless.

    ¡°Fine!¡± Zu An rushed in that direction.

    There were people everywhere in their path, yet he always seemed to be able to avoid them ahead of time, as if he knew where they were.

    There were several times where the crown princess felt like her heart was jumping up to her throat. However, when she saw that he was able to evade them all, she couldn¡¯t help but sigh in relief.

    She finally had a chance to raise her head and look at him. She suddenly discovered that this fe was quite handsome. His jawline was sharp, and his expression was firm. It gave one a strange feeling of security.

    She thought to herself, how great would it be if this guy was like this normally as well? He just has to put on that stupid shameless appearance. It really takes away from his bearing.

    The crown princess felt her heart begin to beat frantically like never before. She didn¡¯t know if it was because of the suspension bridge effect, but she subconsciously moved herself a bit closer to his chest.

    His arms feel as warm as Sir Eleven¡¯s¡­

    She immediately strangled this thought as soon as it emerged. How is this possible?! How can hepare to Sir Eleven¡­

    But he really does have the ability!

    Zu An didn¡¯t have the leisure of paying attention to her expression at all. Right now, he was a hundred and twenty percent focused. He used the jade badge to control the nearby creatures, borrowing their eyes to observe the guards around him.

    It was as if he had a radar map in his head. That was why he was able to avoid these guards each time.

    But the disturbance was getting greater and greater. More and more guards rushed over when they heard the news. There was less and less space for him to move around in.

    There were several times where he would¡¯ve been discovered if he moved half a second too slow.

    But luck wouldn¡¯t favor him forever. There was once where he finally couldn¡¯t help but be seen by a guard. Even though it didn¡¯t take much time for him to get rid of them, he still lost the chance to break out of the encirclement¡­ In reality, the security in the imperial pce was extremely strict. That so-called chance never existed. It was merely a matter of being discovered sooner versuster.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An leapt into a rock guarden¡¯s shadows with the crown princess in hand. He gasped for breath. He exhausted a lot of stamina from running for his life just now. Both his ki and mind had been taxed like never before.

    ¡°Is there no way out?¡± The crown princess was a smart person as well. She immediately reacted.

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Zu An¡¯s face was grave. More and more guards were flocking over, and there were no more gaps to exploit. He could only wait for an opportunity now.

    The crown princess¡¯ face was pale. Suddenly, she set her resolution and said, ¡°You should just kill me, and then store me in the spatial storage. You might be able to get out if you¡¯re by yourself.¡±

    She wasn¡¯t making a heroic sacrifice. It was because she knew that with how she looked right now, she couldn¡¯t meet with anyone.

    Zu An thought to himself. He thought about using Keyboard Come to see if he could say that the crown princess was currently in the eastern pce and teleport her over this way. However, he didn¡¯t know what kind of price his soul had to pay to aplish this.

    After all, his head felt like it was splitting just from saying someone¡¯s pants fell. He didn¡¯t reach the grandmaster level yet and didn¡¯t condense his soul. Keyboard Come wasn¡¯t a skill he could use carelessly.

    He was worried that if he sent the crown princess to the eastern pce, then he might just die on the spot. He didn¡¯t dare take this risk.

    Then, he thought about making a set of clothes for the crown princess. This way, they might be able to bluff their way out.

    But he didn¡¯t know what kind of clothes the crown princess wore. He wanted to use Keyboard Come, but he couldn¡¯t picture a set of her clothes clearly.

    He gradually understood that Keyboard Come, to a certain extent, was a realization of his thoughts. The reason why he could make Golden Token Eleven¡¯s uniform out of thin air was because he wore it every day, so he understood the details.

    But the crown princess¡¯ clothes¡­

    ording to the pce rules, it was disrespectful for an official to even give the women of the royal family even a second look. Even though Zu An was daring and nced at her a few more times, he never wore it himself, so how could he possibly know the details of her clothes? He naturally couldn¡¯t make aplete set for her.

    He was always confused why the ones who framed them took their clothes. He originally thought that this would make the situation look a bit too forced.

    But now, he finally understood. Who cares if it is a trap or not? The key is that the crown princess cannot be seen with another man naked! As long as they aplished this, then they already achieved their goal. That was why they wouldn¡¯t allow any variables and would rather others suspect that their clothes were stolen.

    Zu An¡¯s expression suddenly changed when he thought of this. It was because he saw Zhuxie Chixin walk this way through the view of the small creatures around them.

    He could deal with ordinary guards, but against a grandmaster like Zhuxie Chixin¡­ he didn¡¯t have any confidence.

 Chapter 708: Shameless to This Degree?

    <h4>Chapter 708: Shameless to This Degree?</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Even though judging from what Yun Jianyue said, he was only a pseudo grandmaster and hasn¡¯t really reached that level yet, this was definitely not someone he could possibly defeat right now.

    There was a limit to challenging those of higher rank than yourself. This man was just too many ranks higher than him! If it was a girl, then he could try and use something like the Heiress Ball of Delights, but like hell he could do anything against a male grandmaster!

    Even so, he didn¡¯t feel despair. He quickly thought of something. He took out a set of female clothes from the Brilliant ss Bead. Regardless of whether it was Pei Mianman or Chu Chuyan, there were some of their clothes stored here.

    After recalling the crown princess¡¯ build, he didn¡¯t take out Pei Mianman¡¯s clothes. They wouldn¡¯t fit too well then.

    The crown princess was shocked when she saw him suddenly take out clothes. Why did this fe always carry female clothes around with him? Is he a pervert?

    But she reacted quickly as well. She immediately shook her head and said, ¡°It¡¯s useless. There are many maids who help me dress each day. There are recordings regarding what I wore today. I¡¯ll be ying right into her hands if I wear these clothes without any good reason.¡±

    Zu An threw the clothes impatiently into her arms. ¡°Stop bbering. Just put them on!¡±

    ¡°You!¡± The crown princess¡¯ eyes turned red. Who dares to speak to me like this normally? I¡¯ve dropped so low that even you dare to bully me?

    Zu An wasn¡¯t in the mood to care about her feelings right now. He began to panic as he watched her slowly receive the clothes. He immediately stored the nkets straight into the Brilliant ss Bead.

    The crown princess was buck naked again. She was shocked and furious. Her eyes were starting to be misty with tears.

    You have sessfully trolled Bi Linglong for +555 +555 +555¡­

    Zu An picked up the clothes and draped them over her. ¡°Someone¡¯sing. Put them on already unless you want someone to see you like this!¡±

    The crown princess was about to go crazy from anger. However, with things how they were, she can only hold it in. She continuously consoled herself that this man already saw everything earlier on the bed anyway. She¡¯s just letting him see once more right now. She absolutely cannot let anyone else see anything.

    She had all types of maids assist her with dressing normally, so she never realized that she could get dressed herself so quickly. These clothes were already on her after just a few seconds of time.

    She was biting her lip the entire time, to the point where there was a bit of red by the corners of her mouth. Her mood right now was clearly not great.

    While she was getting dressed, Zu An took out the corpses of the guards he collected earlier. He stripped their armor and put it on himself.

    The crown princess blushed when she saw him strip down and quickly averted her eyes. At the same time, she was shocked. This man was going to pretend to be an imperial pce guard? But what is the point of this? He¡¯ll be easily seen through!

    Zu An already changed. Then, he took out a thin skin mask and threw it onto her face.

    The crown princess subconsciously shrunk back. ¡°What is this?¡±

    ¡°Face mask. It can turn you into another person.¡± Zu An quickly said. He didn¡¯t wait for her to reply and pulled her straight over to press the mask onto her face to make it fit tightly.

    The crown princess no longer resisted when she heard that it could change her appearance and instead cooperated.

    Her body even shook slightly when she felt the other party¡¯s fingers massage her face. However, she didn¡¯t say anything from start to finish.

    Zu An put on a mask himself after putting it onto her. His face quickly became amon and ordinary one.

    These were masks he took from the ckwind Stockade¡¯s leader Chen Xuan back then. He hoped they would help him through this crisis today.

    He put away everything else. Zu An¡¯s body suddenly froze. He pulled the crown princess¡¯ petite body until it was tightly sticking to him. At the same time, he powered his head to press his lips against hers.

    The crown princess¡¯ head wentpletely nk. He dares to take advantage of me at this type of time?!

    You have sessfully trolled Bi Linglong for +814 +814 +814¡­

    After her initial nking out, she instinctively began to struggle.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An quickly said by her ears, ¡°Stop moving and y along! Zhuxie Chixin ising, so whether or not we can make it past this disaster will depend on your acting skills! You absolutely cannot reveal any cultivation!¡±

    As long as one didn¡¯t attack or release ki fluctuations, it was hard for an ordinary person to tell what level of cultivation you had.

    The crown princess¡¯ entire body went rigid when she heard what he said. She was an extremely smart woman. Even though the other party didn¡¯t have time to tell her the details, she already had an idea.

    Sure enough, she stopped resisting and instead subconsciously wrapped her arms around his waist.

    It was now Zu An¡¯s turn to be shocked. He didn¡¯t expect the crown princess to cooperate so well. This woman was tough inside after all!

    He continued to kiss her red lips. He could feel the stiffness of her body, but it began to quickly soften.

    If it wasn¡¯t because he could sense how unfamiliar with this she was, Zu An might¡¯ve even suspected that she was used to this type of thing.

    He was just going to y along at first, but as they kissed, he began to get more and more into it.

    The crown princess¡¯ heart was also frantically pounding. Her status was incredibly great. When had she ever done something so passionate with another man?

    So this is what a kiss feels like?

    She originally thought that she would loathe being vited like this, but for some reason, she didn¡¯t feel ufortable at all. His movements were gentle and made her feelfortable.

    It was as if streaks of electricity were running through her body. This was something she never experienced before!

    Ah!! Why is this guy so good at this?!

    Does he do this to Chu Chuyan every day or something?!

    I guess it makes sense though¡­ Someone perverted like him managed tond a beauty like Chu First Miss. Why would he waste a moment of time to appreciate her¡­

    Her thoughts were all over the ce. Suddenly, there was a thud sound. She felt everything around her go bright. Turns out the rock garden around them had been removed.

    When she raised her head, she saw Zhuxie Chixin and a group of Embroidered Envoy looking at them with unkind expressions.

    Her heart immediately shot up to her throat. There was only a single voice repeating itself in her head. ¡°We¡¯re finished, we¡¯re finished¡­¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin is the emperor¡¯s trusted aide, and his cultivation is profound. Being seen by him is the same as beingpletely exposed!

    Zu An wrapped his arms around her waist and patted lightly, indicating for her to not be nervous.

    The crown princess then slowly exhaled. Right, we have masks on right now. I hope it¡¯s enough to fool them.

    But being seen like this is simrly a capital offense.

    Zu An pretended to be shocked and horrified. He crawled backwards. ¡°Sir¡­ Sir Zhuxie!¡±

    Everyone in the pce knew who Zhuxie Chixin was, so he didn¡¯t have to worry about saying this.

    The crown princess was shocked. This kid¡¯s acting is just too good! He looked just like someone who was caught in an affair. The embarrassment and horror really were imitated to perfection.

    Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s eyes roamed across the two of them. He frowned. ¡°The two of you are quite brazen, doing this type of thing in the pce!¡±

    In his opinion, this was probably an Imperial Guard and a maid¡¯s secret affair. After all, even though they were maids, all women in the pce were the emperor¡¯s private property. It was entirely possible for the emperor to one day be in the mood when he saw a maid.

    That was why the chastity of maids were incredibly important. It was a huge offense for even eunuchs and maids to share food, let alone for an Imperial Guard to really do something to a maid.

    Does this guard want his entire n eradicated?!

    ¡°Sir Zhuxie, please spare my life, please¡­¡± Zu An¡¯s face turnedpletely pale, as if he lost all strength. He fell weakly to the ground, as if all he could do was continue this senseless plea.

    The crown princess immediately expressed her rm. She copied him and fell to the ground.

    She was full of admiration inside. He really is sharp, doing this so that he doesn¡¯t have to kneel.

    Zhuxie Chixin wasn¡¯t in the mood to bother with this matter. He asked with a stern voice, ¡°Have the two of you seen¡­ the crown princess anywhere?¡±

    ¡°The crown princess?¡± Zu An quickly shook his head. ¡°We haven¡¯t! We heard a bunch of noise around us earlier and we were worried that we might be seen, so we hid here¡­ Sir Zhuxie, please spare my life! It was this woman who seduced me! It has nothing to do with me!¡±

    The crown princess¡¯ eyes immediately widened. This guy is actually shameless to this degree?!

 Chapter 709: Heaven-Defying Charm

    <h4>Chapter 709: Heaven-Defying Charm</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    But jokes were just jokes. The crown princess was a smart person. She quickly reacted, screaming and howling while hitting Zu An. ¡°You¡¯re a disgusting brute with absolutely no conscience! You told me just now that you would never leave me, but now, you dare say this?!¡±

    Zu An gave her a huge thumbs up inside. The crown princess wasn¡¯t just a pretty decoration after all! She had managed to y along so well.

    Zhuxie Chixin frowned. His expression was full of revulsion when he looked at Zu An. Even husbands and wives would abandon each other in the face of a real tragedy, never mind the fact that these two weren¡¯t even real spouses.

    This imperial guard probably knew that his actions might constitute a n eradication offense, so he wanted to find a way to clear his name. However, would he be able to? He shouldn¡¯t have done this in the first ce.

    ¡°What division are you from? Who is your immediate superior?¡± Zhuxie Chixin asked with a stormy voice.

    ¡°I am from the armed escort division. My boss is Sir Qu Zhishang,¡± Zu An replied. He had already spent a few days in the pce, so this wasn¡¯t something too difficult for him to answer.

    Zhuxie Chixin looked off to the side. Then, an Embroidered Envoy nodded toward him, indicating that there was indeed someone named Qu Zhishang in the armed escort division. He now felt at ease. He pointed at the crown princess, asking, ¡°And you? Which pce are you from? Which elder is in charge of you?¡±

    The crown princess lowered her head and replied carefully, ¡°This servant is from the Pce of Grace, under Elder Liang.¡± She had lived for so long in the pce, so she knew these things even better than Zu An.

    Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s subordinate was already nodding, indicating that such a person existed. His suspicions were lowered. ¡°Have someone bring them to Eunuch Wen. Have him deal with this situation.¡±

    He didn¡¯t have the leisure of tending to these two right now. He had received news earlier that the crown princess and Zu An seemed to have had an affair, so he had to quickly find the two of them and cut off all information as soon as possible.

    ¡°Understood!¡± Two Embroidered Envoys epted the order and began to escort the two of them toward Eunuch Wen.

    Zu An sighed in relief. This was what he had been gambling on, that Zhuxie Chixin wouldn¡¯t be in the mood to deal with this. Furthermore, he was the emperor¡¯s personal investigator, so he was in charge of important matters. This type of illicit rtionship stuff was better handled by someone else.

    The crown princess also sighed in relief. She had to admit that Zu An¡¯s n was utterly wless. No one would suspect an imperial guard and a pce maid of having a secret affair, as it was a crime punishable by death. It might even involve their families.

    Now that they had done such a thing, it seemed as if they were dead for sure on the surface, but they could instead use the Embroidered Envoys to bring them out of the encirclement.

    These two Embroidered Envoys can¡¯t possibly be a match for Zu An and myself¡­ Actually, I¡¯m just a plus one. Zu An should be able to get rid of both of them on his own.

    They had really managed to get out of such a dangerous situation! She felt more and more admiration. This Zu An really couldn¡¯t be judged based on his usual frivolous appearance. No wonder the Chu n¡¯s first miss had been married to him! This was indeed a top level talent.

    Zhuxie Chixin was already a few dozen li away when he suddenly voiced his surprise and turned around to look at the maid¡¯s rear figure. As the leader of the Embroidered Envoys, he had handled countless cases. He had much sharper insight than normal people.

    Even though the woman¡¯s figure was ordinary, her bearing was elegant, and her back was straight when she walked, carrying a sort of noble aura. She didn¡¯t really seem like an ordinary maid!

    ¡°Wait!¡±

    Zu An and the crown princess¡¯ faces both changed greatly when they heard Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s voice. They both instantly realized what the problem was.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The crown princess quickly gave Zu An a look. They might have to just risk it all and run while Zhuxie Chixin was still a few dozen li away. However, Zu An shook his head without giving anything away. That distance was absolutely nothing for a grandmaster. It waspletely meaningless to try and run.

    The crown princess bit her lip. She was really panicking now. Only when she saw that Zu An was still calm did she feel a bit more at ease.

    Zhuxie Chixin arrived in front of the two of them with his subordinates. He waved his hand and said, ¡°Interrogate them separately.¡±

    The Embroidered Envoys immediately understood what he meant. This was something they were extremely experienced in. Even though they didn¡¯t understand game theory, the many cases they handled had taught them that interrogating criminals separately would often reveal many holes in their stories.

    Zu An and the crown princess¡¯ hearts were pounding crazily right now. They didn¡¯t have time to make sure their confessions matched up at all! If they were interrogated on information regarding the other party separately, then wouldn¡¯t they be immediately exposed?

    But with things being how they were, they had no choice. They could only allow the Embroidered Envoys to lead the two of them in separate directions.

    Zhuxie Chixin personally interrogated Zu An. ¡°What is that maid¡¯s name?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression sank. He knew that the crown princess was being asked the same question. However, everything had happened so suddenly that they hadn¡¯t had time to pay attention to these details.

    He secretly used the jade badge, wanting to draw on the ground through the ants to contact the crown princess. However, he immediately gave up on that thought. Even if he answered this question, how was he supposed to answer the harder questions toe?

    Furthermore, the Embroidered Envoys were all sharp individuals. If he used ants to contact the crown princess, he might just end up drawing their attention. If that happened, he would have used up one of his trump cards for nothing.

    Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s expression became overcast. ¡°What? Is this a hard question to answer?¡± His aura had already locked onto Zu An, as if he would immediately strike if Zu An said something wrong.

    Zu An replied, ¡°Her name is Tian Xiue.¡±

    Just then, a figure rushed past them. How could Zhuxie Chixin not notice it? He suddenly turned around and yelled, ¡°Show yourself!¡±

    That person didn¡¯t reply, and instead continued to run away.

    ¡°Bring them to Eunuch Wen! Everyone else, follow me!¡± Zhuxie Chixin quickly chased after the figure. Even though the guard and the maid were suspicious, there wasn¡¯t anything too significant. It was instead that figure who had rushed past that drew his suspicion. It seemed to be a woman! Was it Yun Jianyue?

    But in order to guard against the unexpected, he assigned two more Embroidered Envoys to escort the pair. Four Embroidered Envoys would no doubt be enough to deal with most situations.

    Then, he brought everyone else with him to chase after the woman who had just run past them. He didn¡¯t dare reveal any carelessness, since it might be Yun Jianyue. He also suspected that it might be the crown princess. He had to find her as soon as possible and figure out what was happening, to see if Zu An had done anything to her.

    When the group left, the remaining four Embroidered Envoys escorted Zu An and the crown princess out.

    The crown princess was still quite shaken up. Her eyes were full of relief when she looked toward Zu An. The very first question they asked would have already exposed her, and yet a glimmer of hope had suddenly appeared in the darkness.

    Zu An wasn¡¯t in any state to react to her right now at all. Instead, he waspletely focused on controlling Daji.

    The figure that had rushed past was precisely the valkyrie he had summoned, Daji!

    He¡¯d really had no other options left, so he had to use Daji to draw Zhuxie Chixin away. But Daji only had five ranks of cultivation right now. It was just too difficult for her to escape Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s pursuit. He used the jade badge so Daji could avoid danger ahead of time, but no matter how great he was at manipting her pursuers, the difference in strength was too great.

    In the end, Daji finally couldn¡¯t get away, and Zhuxie Chixin grabbed her shoulder.

    ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going?!¡± Zhuxie Chixin roared in anger. Just as he was about to strike the other party, Daji suddenly turned around.

    Zhuxie Chixin was stunned. There was actually someone this beautiful in this world?

    This woman looked like the lone goddess in a world of mortals, and yet also like a devastating beauty who could bring down an entire country. He would never have imagined that these two entirely different auras could actually appear on the same woman¡¯s body.

    The other Embroidered Envoys were even more stunned. All of them felt great pity. How could they bring themselves to do anything to this woman? Even the capital¡¯s former number one beauty Yu Yanluo probably didn¡¯t exceed this level, right?

    It was still Zhuxie Chixin who remained calm. He snapped back to reality and said, ¡°Ma¡¯am, who are you?¡±

    Daji only looked at him silently without saying anything. Zhuxie Chixin felt as if he had treated this beauty a bit rudely when her eyes swept over him, and he subconsciously drew his head back.

    Zu An could sense all of this. He almost burst outughing. Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s face was so feminine, Zu An had thought he was some transvestite or something. He hadn¡¯t expected this man to have an appreciation for beauty.

    When had he ever treated an enemy this nicely before? Wasn¡¯t this still all because Daji was too pretty in the end?

    However, Zhuxie Chixin still snapped out of his daze. ¡°Ma¡¯am, why did you trespass into the imperial pce?¡±

    Daji still didn¡¯t say anything. In reality, she didn¡¯t have the ability to talk at all at the moment.

    Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s expression sank. ¡°If ma¡¯am is still unwilling to speak, then don¡¯t me me for being rude.¡±

    He was someone with a firm will after all, so he immediately remembered his duty. It was just too strange for this ridiculously beautiful woman to show up out of nowhere. As such, he reached his hand toward her and nned to detain her for the time being.

 Chapter 710: Secret Path

    <h4>Chapter 710: Secret Path</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Daji instinctively wanted to evade, but unfortunately, she only had five ranks of cultivation. How could she avoid someone who was already close to reaching grandmaster rank?

    Zhuxie Chixin immediately grabbed her shoulder. He was worried that he might hurt her when he saw her beautiful facial features, so he subconsciously used less strength.

    ¡°Ma¡¯am, I apologize in advance!¡± However, he still didn¡¯t forget his duty. He reached out his hand and was about to pour his ki into her body to seal up her vessels.

    However, suddenly, there was a sh of white light. That ridiculously beautiful woman vanished without a trace.

    Zhuxie Chixin: ¡°???¡±

    He turned around with difficulty. He looked at his own subordinates. ¡°Was there a woman here just now?¡±

    His reaction waspletely normal. After all, with his cultivation, not even Yun Jianyue would¡¯ve been able to escape after being restrained by him.

    Yet someone with a trifling five ranks of cultivation vanished into thin air?

    Could it be that this woman cultivated the rare spatial element? But with her shoulder¡¯s acupoint seized by him, not even a cultivator with the spatial attribute should be able to escape! What the hell is going on?

    The other Embroidered Envoy subconsciously rubbed their eyes as well. They all looked at each other in dismay.

    ¡°I think there was a woman here.¡±

    ¡°It was a really pretty one at that.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen a girl that pretty in my life.¡±

    ¡­

    They began to chat among themselves, but they became more and more unsure. After all, that woman vanished in front of so many people¡¯s eyes!

    Don¡¯t tell me it was a ghost?

    They really lost their confidence after witnessing something this weird. Meanwhile, Zu An sighed in relief. Fortunately, he was able to recall Daji in time. He was worried that he might¡¯ve not been able to recall her in time, but thankfully, his keyboard system was still as reliable as ever.

    The two of them had already been brought out of the quarantined area during this time. Zu An knew that it was almost time. His previous limp self suddenly attacked, striking the closest Embroidered Envoy with his fingers. How could they have expected this sudden development? They were immediately knocked out.

    The other two Embroidered Envoy were shocked when they saw this. They both drew the des at their waist and charged over.

    Zu An was extremely fast. He rushed forwards and pressed the des back into the sheaths. The two Embroidered Envoy realized that Zu An¡¯s cultivation was powerful and not something they could deal with. They immediately reached towards their waist tiles so they could issue a warning to the others.

    But the two of them suddenly fell limp to the ground when their hands just started to reach out.

    Zu An raised his head and saw the crown princess¡¯cent expression.

    ¡°Hmph, I have some cultivation too, you know?¡± The crown princess harrumphed. Her eyes were sparkling proudly.

    Zu An was just about to say something, but his expression suddenly changed. He squatted down to examine the two Embroidered Envoy. ¡°You killed them?¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The crown princess gave him a surprised look. ¡°What, should I have invited them to my new year party or something?¡±

    She picked up their des and finished off the two Embroidered Envoy Zu An knocked out earlier.

    Zu An¡¯s breathing immediately became hurried. ¡°We had no choice before, but these two are innocent! It was enough for me to just knock them out, so why did you need to take their lives?¡±

    He was also a member of the Embroidered Envoy after all. Furthermore, he had his personal code of not killing people he didn¡¯t have to kill. After all, they were all people, and it wasn¡¯t easy making a living. It was one thing killing those guards since they were part of the scheme, but these Embroidered Envoy clearly didn¡¯t participate in that n. They were really being wronged here.

    ¡°Innocent? I am freaking innocent! Who is going to defend me?¡± The crown princess¡¯ expression turned cold. ¡°If we leave them alive, they¡¯ll immediately find out that we were the ones who attacked them. Zhuxie Chixin would definitely suspect our identities.¡±

    ¡°By killing them, Zhuxie Chixin at least wouldn¡¯t know how they died. They might have been silenced by a passing expert. Maybe we were also captured by that expert¡­ All of this can help mislead their judgment. Is this not something good?¡±

    Zu An knew that she was making sense here. However, he still couldn¡¯t ept the fact that she took lives like nothing.

    The crown princess¡¯ tone softened when she saw his unhappy expression. ¡°I didn¡¯t have a choice either, you know? Once this matter got out, both of us would be done for. Furthermore, it isn¡¯t just us, even our ns would be wiped out. I don¡¯t think you want to bring down the Chu n and harm Chu First Miss, right?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face was expressionless. ¡°Enough already. You don¡¯t need to exin these things to me. We¡¯ve already broken free, so let¡¯s part here. We¡¯ll all just return and do what we need to do.¡±

    He turned around to leave after saying this. The crown princess¡¯ eyes were swirling in inner conflict. She ran over and grabbed his sleeve.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Zu An looked at her with a frown.

    The crown princess looked wronged. ¡°The pce is in chaos and there are guards everywhere. How can I move around with how I look right now? Can you bring me back to the eastern pce?¡±

    She was wearing Chu Chuyan¡¯s clothes right now. If someone found out that she left, and that she then changed clothes, then wouldn¡¯t rumors fly everywhere? She really would be done for then.

    Zu An was able to somehow avoid danger ahead of time again and again earlier. Even though she didn¡¯t know how he did it, she knew that this man was reliable. With his protection, there was a much higher chance of her making it back to the eastern pce.

    Zu An also knew that she was speaking the truth. After a long sigh, he said, ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll bring you back. I¡¯m leaving as soon as I do.¡±

    She was already dressed, so he didn¡¯t need to carry her anymore. He held her hand, and then he used the jade badge to search the vicinity for danger.

    The crown princess looked at her hand. She could feel the heating from his hand. Her cheeks turned a bit red. After a bit of hesitation, she decided not to let go and allowed him to just hold her hand.

    They were able to avoid all of the guards. They could already see the outlines of the eastern pce. Zu An suddenly stopped. ¡°The Eastern Pce¡¯s security is extremely strict. It¡¯ll be extremely hard for me to get past them.¡±

    ¡°We obviously can¡¯t go in from the front. Follow me.¡± The crown princess said with a gentle voice. Then, she grabbed his hand and walked towards a well.

    ¡°Is there anyone nearby?¡± The crown princess looked around and asked uneasily.

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°The closest is thirty meters out, and there just happens to be courtyard walls and trees blocking his sight. He can¡¯t see anything.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good then.¡± The crown princess sighed in relief. She held Zu An¡¯s hand and said, ¡°Jump down with me.¡±

    Zu An was a bit confused, but the crown princess already jumped into the well.

    He followed her.

    He was just about to fall into water when a hand suddenly reached out and grabbed him. He then noticed that there was an inconspicuous tform on the wall. The crown princess was standing there.

    ¡°This is the Eastern Pce¡¯s secret escape path. We can use this to quickly get away when there is danger.¡± The crown princess gently twisted a mechanism after pulling him up. She opened up a stone gate.

    Zu An nodded inside. He saw simr things in those shows of his past world. He couldn¡¯t help but be curious. ¡°Then why didn¡¯t you guys try to run away during the attackst time?¡±

    The crown princess replied, ¡°That attack happened too suddenly. Me and the crown prince just happened to be out, so we didn¡¯t have time toe back inside.¡±

    Zu An thus understood. The opening was about a person¡¯s height tall. There were luminescent beads embedded deep into the walls, so it wasn¡¯t too difficult to see.

    He felt the path wind upwards. The two of them continued just like this. The crown princess suddenly stopped. ¡°Up ahead is where I sleep.¡±

    Zu An cupped his hands. ¡°Since I¡¯ve already safely escorted you here, then I am leaving.¡±

    But the crown princes reached out and grabbed him. ¡°I need you toe with me inside. I have something I need your help with.¡±

    Zu An: ¡°???¡±

 Chapter 711: Devastated

    <h4>Chapter 711: Devastated</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The crown princess exined, ¡°There are some maids inside, so I need you to help me knock them out.¡± She definitely couldn¡¯t aplish that with her cultivation.

    ¡°Why do you have to knock out your own maids?¡± Zu An asked, not understanding.

    The crown princess said, ¡°How can we let anyone else know after this sort of thing happened? I don¡¯t want to entrust my own safety to the hands of more people than necessary. Furthermore, I can¡¯t guarantee that these servants aren¡¯t spies nted by other people, so it¡¯s best if we knock them unconscious for now.¡±

    Zu An understood. This woman was naturally suited to a high position. She considered things from a different anglepared to ordinary people. However, he had to admit that her n was more dependable than the alternative.

    The crown princess looked through a hidden hole. ¡°There are two maids chatting by the southeastern corner. There¡¯s a maid sorting out things to the west. There are two by the entrance.¡±

    Zu An curled his lips. She wasn¡¯t even inside the room, yet there were still so many maids standing guard. It was certainly fitting of her status as the crown princess. He moved over to take a look, memorizing where each of the maids were.

    The crown princess backed up a bit. Her face was a bit red, but fortunately, it was too dark to tell. When Zu An had moved, he had touched her face by ident.

    However, she quickly remembered that when Zhuxie Chixin found them, he had done more than just touch her face. The two of them had even kissed¡­ Her face immediately became even more red, and her expression became conflicted too.

    ¡°Alright, I have an idea. How do you open the mechanism?¡± Zu An asked.

    The crown princess came over. ¡°When I count to three, you should charge in and restrain them. Don¡¯t give them any chance to rm the guards outside.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Zu An focused his attention. He listened to the crown princess¡¯ count. Once it reached three, light suddenly appeared above him. He immediately rushed in, and the maids turned around in confusion when they heard the noise. Unfortunately, a blur passed before their eyes and they fainted.

    The two by the entrance began to run. Zu An decisively used Grandgale to instantly move behind them and knock them out, and their bodies fell back into the room.

    The crown princess had crawled out from the secret passage by then. Zu An noticed that the secret passage was actually above the bed. Thinking about it, that made sense, as it would allow her to immediately escape if someone attempted to assassinate her while she was sleeping.

    ¡°Thank goodness that maid Rong Mo of yours wasn¡¯t here, or else it wouldn¡¯t have been so easy.¡± Zu An sighed in relief.

    The crown princess replied, ¡°She went with me to the Hundred Flower Pce. She was waiting outside back then, and is probably looking for me right now. That¡¯s why she isn¡¯t here.¡±

    Zu An nodded. Something so big had happened to the crown princess. It would be more strange if Rong Mo didn¡¯t look for her. He gave the unconscious maids a look and couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°You¡¯re not going to kill them too, are you?¡±

    The crown princess frowned. ¡°Did they see your face just now?¡±

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Then there¡¯s no need. Why would I kill them?¡± The crown princess harrumphed. ¡°Am I really an indiscriminate murderer in your eyes?¡± Zu An chuckled awkwardly and remained silent.

    The crown princess removed the mask covering her face. Then, she took out a set of clothes from a chest ced off to the side. Shemanded seriously, ¡°Come here.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Zu An was confused, but he still walked over.

    ¡°Help me get dressed,¡± the crown princess said indifferently, as if she were talking about something insignificant.

    Zu An was stupefied. ¡°You want me to help you get dressed?¡± He even felt as if he were looking at a child in that instant. Why do you need help putting on your clothes? You really are a match for that stupid crown prince.

    As if seeing through his intentions, the crown princess said, ¡°My clothes are alwaysplex. I have several maids who help me get dressed normally. I can¡¯t put them on alone.¡±

    Zu An realized that he had overthought the situation. He moved over to her side and asked, ¡°What do I do?¡±

    The crown princess gave him a look. Then, she undid her waistband, allowing the dress to slide down her fine skin, and expose her shining white body.

    Zu An¡¯s breathing quickened. In an instant, he was left a little stunned. What kind of situation was this?

    ¡°You already saw everything you weren¡¯t supposed to see anyway. What¡¯s that look on your face?¡± The crown princess¡¯ voice was surprisingly calm, but her rising and falling chest exposed that she wasn¡¯t asposed as she seemed on the surface.

    Zu An said with a bitter smile, ¡°That was a situation I couldn¡¯t control.¡±

    The crown princess spread her arms. ¡°Bring the clothes over there and help me put them on.¡±

    Zu An felt as if he were being harassed right now, but what else could he even say in this type of situation? He could only obediently bring the clothes over. He had to admit that they were pretty, and they were indeed quiteplicated. It was impossible for someone to get dressed in them alone.

    As such, he silently helped her get dressed. The crown princess¡¯ face waspletely red during the entire process.

    After some time, the crown princess spoke again. ¡°I don¡¯t want anyone to know about what happened today.¡±

    Zu An said in agreement, ¡°Alright, I won¡¯t tell anyone about this.¡±

    ¡°I hope you can forget about it too.¡± The crown princess took a deep breath.

    ¡°Fine.¡± Zu An wasn¡¯t as frivolous as usual. He knew that the other party cared a lot about this, so now wasn¡¯t the time to joke around.

    ¡°I¡¯ll do my best to raise you up in the future and give you more resources to repay you for your help today. As for anything else, you shouldn¡¯ think about it. I am still the crown princess in the end, so our statuses¡­¡± The crown princess¡¯ eyshes trembled. Her emotions were clearly all over the ce.

    ¡°Understood!¡± Zu An nodded continuously.

    The crown princess hesitated. A whileter, she suddenly said, ¡°The crown prince and I have never done it.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°Why are you telling me that?¡±

    The crown princess looked away, seemingly upset. ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡±

    Waves surged within Zu An. Even though he¡¯d had some guesses before, those were just guesses. Now that he had heard her admit it herself, he experienced an entirely different feeling. What was even more shocking was the fact that she¡¯d told him directly.

    Don¡¯t tell me she developed some positive feelings for me after seeing how dashing I was today?

    But that makes sense too¡­ With how upright and handsome I am, I¡¯m better than that fatty in every single way. It¡¯s not surprising at all that she likes me.

    But why do I feel as if something isn¡¯t right¡­

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The bashful crown princess, who was currently sorting out her hair, looked at Zu An as he helped her put on her girdle. The back of his head was exposed. A cold glint suddenly shed in her eyes.

    She removed a golden hairpin and stabbed it viciously toward the back of Zu An¡¯s head. The golden hairpin flickered with a faint blue radiance, clearly having been soaked in poison for a long time. Once pricked, the target would undoubtedly die.

    However, the golden hairpin didn¡¯t stab into Zu An¡¯s head. Instead, it stopped an inch before it touched him. It wasn¡¯t that the crown princess had shown mercy, but rather that it was sped between two of Zu An¡¯s fingers.

    The crown princess¡¯ expression changed. ¡°How did you know I was going to kill you?!¡± she eximed. They were so close that the attack was almost impossible to guard against unless the other party had been wary the entire time.

    Zu An flicked his wrist. A wave of force spread out, and the golden hairpin flew out of the crown princess¡¯ hands and into his. Then, he slowly stood up and said, ¡°To be honest, I was fooled at first.¡± He threw away the golden hairpin and sighed. ¡°The beautiful and noble crown princess removed her clothes in front of me without holding back at all. What man in this world could resist such temptation?¡±

    ¡°Even the most inflexible man might feel that the crown princess felt something for him. Surely that would be the only reason for her to strip in front of him. His mind might even start roaming, and he might feel that he had a chance with the crown princess.¡±

    ¡°You even emphasized that you haven¡¯t done anything with the crown prince. That would make a man¡¯s thoughts go even crazier, creating a fantasy that this would be the perfect opportunity for him to take the crown prince¡¯s ce and be your man.¡±

    ¡°Then why did you suspect me?!¡± That was what the crown princess just couldn¡¯t figure out. After all, this fellow seemed like the model example of a pervert. She had sacrificed herself to set up this huge honey trap, yet he had managed to see through it!

 Chapter 712: Reward

    <h4>Chapter 712: Reward</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An took a deep breath. ¡°In the end, it was because you¡¯re too smart for your own good. You just had to add that you were a virgin. That was just too forced.¡±

    ¡°Originally, my impression of you was that of a noble person of naturally high status. Even when you removed all of your clothing without any reservations before me, it matched that type of style. However, you insisted that you had nothing to do with the crown prince, which instantly made you seem like a youngdy who had just awakened her feelings of love. This sudden change didn¡¯t really mesh well, so I couldn¡¯t help but start to worry.¡±

    The crown princess¡¯ face turned red. ¡°I already went this far, and yet you¡¯re still analyzing everything so coldly. Are you even a man at this point?!¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°Didn¡¯t you already find out whether or not I was a man earlier?¡±

    The crown princess recalled that scene she had seen when she just woke up. Her expression grew strange. This guy is like a freaking donkey! If he isn¡¯t a man, then no one else could possibly be male.

    Zu An continued, ¡°I was already beginning to feel vignt when you silenced those Embroidered Envoys. After all, they didn¡¯t know your identity, and they could only give tiny clues, but you still killed them. So how could you possibly feel at ease about someone like me, who experienced the entire event?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why the more gently you treated me, the more worried I became.¡± Zu An chuckled. ¡°Of course, the reason you even managed to lead me on to this extent is that I¡¯m just too outstanding. Pretty girls can¡¯t help but end up liking me. I thought that was what was going on here.¡±

    The crown princess was silent. This guy really is shameless to an unimaginable level.

    ¡°Woman, tell me, how should I deal with you?¡± Zu An reached out and grabbed her chin, raising her head up. Unfortunately, the crown princess stubbornly jerked her head to the side. She was clearly full of unwillingness and anger.

    You have sessfully trolled Bi Linglong for +233 +233 +233¡­

    Zu An¡¯s face turned cold. He exerted force, roughly turning her head back around. ¡°Woman, you don¡¯t seem to understand your current situation.¡±

    The crown princess sneered. ¡°What, could it be that you would dare to kill me?¡±

    Zu An frowned. To be honest, this is indeed a bit difficult¡­ Her status is too special.

    The crown princessughed in contempt when she saw his hesitation. ¡°Of course you wouldn¡¯t dare. Hurry up and release me. Let¡¯s just pretend that nothing happened. My promise towards you before is still in effect. I¡¯ll do my best to promote you and advance your career.¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An sighed. ¡°Indeed, I can¡¯t kill you. However, by provoking me like this¡­ It seems you¡¯re not aware that there¡¯s something else I can do to you?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± The crown princess¡¯ heart began to pound as she began to have a bad premonition.

    Zu An revealed an evil grin. He reached his hand toward her neck and began to gently massage it. ¡°If I force you to sleep with me here, what else can you do about it?¡±

    ¡°You dare?!¡± The crown princess¡¯ expression changed. This guy was a disgusting pervert after all!

    You have sessfully trolled Bi Linglong for +444 +444 +444¡­

    Zu An shrugged. ¡°And why wouldn¡¯t I? Either way, we would be the only ones to know. Knowing you, even if I did something to you, out of consideration for your identity, for the Bi n, or even for your own ambitions, you wouldn¡¯t disclose anything. Am I wrong?¡±

    The crown princess¡¯ face changed several times. Even though she didn¡¯t want to admit it, most of what he said was true. Could she really go all out and use him? If she did that, then she would be finished, and so would the Bi n.

    Zu Anughed when he saw her changing expression. He raised her chin and gave her a strong kiss.

    ¡°Mmm¡­!¡± The crown princess struggled fiercely. Thest time they had kissed was because they wanted to make it past Zhuxie Chixin. Now, they were in private. How could she agree to this type of thing?

    Zu An pulled away from her lips. He said with a smile, ¡°This is your punishment for trying to kill me. The next time you think of something like that, I won¡¯t be so polite.¡±

    The crown princess fell weakly onto her bed and began to whimper, ¡°I was sleeping with you without any clothes until the moment I woke up. Then, you groped and kissed me. If you were me, what would you do? I carry the n¡¯s glory on my shoulders! If something happened, everyone in the Bi n would be silenced. How could I take that gamble? Of course killing you was the safest choice!¡±

    She had experienced more danger in thest few hours than she¡¯d had in thest decade or so of her life. She had gone through a rollercoaster of emotion, and now, she finally copsed.

    Zu An remained silent. He knew that if it were anyone else, they probably would have made the same choice. That was human nature.

    Furthermore, he had taken advantage of her today, which was why he didn¡¯t get too upset. However, he obviously wouldn¡¯t admit to that. ¡°You also touched and kissed me. Is my purity not worth anything? Do you see me crying like you?¡±

    The crown princess couldn¡¯t even cry anymore when she heard Zu An¡¯s words. After a long time passed, she gloomily said, ¡°You really are shameless!¡±

    Suddenly, there was moring outside. A voice called out, ¡°Who are you people? You dare barge into the eastern pce?!¡±

    Shi Jun could be heard saying, ¡°We received a report from the guards that the crown princess was kidnapped by a man. That¡¯s why we came to check on the crown princess¡¯ safety.¡±

    Zu An and the crown princess exchanged a look. ¡°They didn¡¯t find us out there, so they came back here to prove you weren¡¯t in the eastern pce.¡±

    ¡°Concubine Bai, that bitch really wants to kill me!¡± the crown princess eximed angrily.

    ¡°Scoundrels, is the crown princess¡¯ personal chamber a ce you all can barge into just because you want to?¡± Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun asked. They were clearly the ones stopping the intruders.

    ¡°Hmph, I¡¯m in charge of inspecting the pce, so of course I have the authority to do that! Why are you giving me so many excuses? Is it because there¡¯s something shameful you can¡¯t let others know about?¡± Shi Jun replied arrogantly. He had been born under an influential n, and he had a high status himself. He obviously didn¡¯t care much about two small guards.

    ¡°The ones Sir Shi inspects should be outer subjects, right? When have the pce¡¯s women been a part of Sir Shi¡¯s management?¡± a female voice said.

    The crown princess¡¯ eyes lit up. That was her personal maid Rong Mo. Looks like this girl isn¡¯t stupid. She didn¡¯t find me in the Hundred Flower Pce, so she came back to stabilize the situation here.

    Another female voice said, ¡°Sir Shi is only concerned about the crown princess¡¯ safety, so we should confirm this properly. Could it be that you don¡¯t even trust me?¡±

    The crown princess¡¯ expression changed. She said quietly, ¡°That¡¯s his majesty''s Concubine Shu. You should leave through the secret passage.¡± All of their efforts would be wasted if they saw Zu An here.

    ¡°Okay!¡± Zu An didn¡¯t hesitate at all. He immediately prepared to leave through the passage by the bed.

    ¡°Wait!¡± The crown princess grabbed him. ¡°Unblock their acupoints first, but don¡¯t let them see you.¡±

    Zu An praised the crown princess¡¯ attention to detail internally. He nodded, transforming into afterimages. He undid the servants¡¯ seals, and then leapt into the secret passage.

    The crown princess quickly began sealing the secret tunnel again. However, Zu An suddenly turned around and gave her a kiss. ¡°I¡¯ll just treat this as my reward for saving you!¡± Then, he left with augh.

    The crown princess clutched her mouth. She was ashamed and panicky. This guy! I have to pay him backter! But she couldn¡¯t be bothered to be angry right now. She quickly sorted out the bedding. She couldn¡¯t let anyone else know about the existence of this secret passage.

    The door mmed open as soon as she finished fixing the bed. It was clear that Rong Mo, Piao Duandiao, and Jiao Sigun couldn¡¯t stop Concubine Shu and Shi Jun¡¯sbined forces.

    The crown prince was also there, but he really was a good-for-nothing! Not only had he not stopped them, he had even followed these two excitedly as if there were some drama to watch. The crown princess was seething with rage when she saw his expression. No matter how much of a rascal Zu An was, he was still far more reliable than this guy.

    Concubine Shu and Shi Jun barged in looking as if they were already confident in their victory. However, when they saw the crown princess sitting on the bed, they werepletely stupefied. ¡°Why¡­ Why are you here?¡±

    The crown princess replied coldly, ¡°What, is there something wrong with me being in my own chambers?¡±

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An had just exited the other end of the secret passage. He could sense that there were people everywhere in the imperial pce. He knew that all of the guards in the imperial pce were searching for any suspicious personnel. Furthermore, the pce gates were already shut, so he abandoned all thoughts of leaving the pce.

    He found a secluded ce to change into his Embroidered Envoy uniform, bing Golden Token Eleven once more.

    I wonder what the crown princess¡¯ reaction would be if she finds out I¡¯m Golden Token Eleven.

    He grinned when he felt the lingering sweetness on his lips. Even though today had been quite dangerous, all in all, it wasn¡¯t that bad. He headed toward his own little courtyard and decided to just spend the night there to ride the storm out.

    But he was stunned as soon as he approached his courtyard. He noticed that there were quite a few people waiting to ambush him.

 Chapter 713: Joint Hearing

    <h4>Chapter 713: Joint Hearing</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An¡¯s figure froze. Upon closer observation, he saw that it was a group of Embroidered Envoy who was hiding nearby, and the one in the lead was actually Zhuxie Chixin.

    He heard his heart thumping. Did he end up giving something away along the way?

    He subconsciously wanted to turn tail and run. After all, he was carrying the crown princess naked in his arms. Even if he was framed, this was enough crime for his execution.

    However, he quickly calmed himself down. If they were here waiting in ambush, then that doesn¡¯t mean that they have proof. If he ran away, it would instead prove his guilt.

    The most important part was that the imperial pce¡¯s guards had already been transferred, and the gates had been shut. He might not even be able to get away.

    He took a deep breath, and then he calmly walked over.

    As soon as he showed himself, there was immediately a group of Embroidered Envoy who surrounded him.

    ¡°May I ask what is happening?¡± Zu An asked with an overcast voice.

    Zhuxie Chixin walked over, his expression a bitplicated. ¡°Golden Token Eleven, please follow us. There is a matter that requires investigation.¡±

    ¡°What kind of matter?¡± Zu An calmly asked.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zhuxie Chixin gave him a deep look. He didn¡¯t reply and instead gestured towards his subordinates. ¡°Take him away!¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t resist. With a pseudo grandmaster here, all resistance was meaningless.

    ¡­

    He was quickly brought to the Embroidered Envoy¡¯s headquarters, the Embroidery House.

    He was brought into a private room. Zhuxie Chixin gestured for everyone else to leave. He was going to carry out this interrogation alone.

    The other Embroidered Envoy were a bit surprised. After all, ording to regtions, many people needed to be present during a criminal¡¯s interrogation as a way of keeping others in check and preventing collusion.

    Their chiefmander was breaking the rules here!

    However, Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s prestige was great, and the one being interrogated was this mysterious neer Golden Token Eleven. They didn¡¯t say anything and obediently withdrew.

    When everyone left, Zhuxie Chixin sat down across from Zu An and calmly stared at him.

    Zu An already removed his mask. After all, the other party already knew who he was. ¡°Chief Commander, what kind of crime have Imitted? Why did you need to arrest me?¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin mmed the table fiercely. ¡°You really are bold! You actually dare to defile the crown princess!¡±

    Zu An immediately looked ¡®horrified¡¯. ¡°Chief Commander, where are these wordsing from? This is a crime punishable by the eradication of one¡¯s entire n! This isn¡¯t something that can be joked around with.¡±

    ¡°Who is joking around with you?¡± Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s face was overcast. ¡°Someone reported that you and the crown princess carried out illicit rtions. Did this happen?¡±

    ¡°Absolutely not. Even if you don¡¯t believe me, do you not trust the crown princess?¡± Zu An quickly asked. ¡°I haven¡¯t even been in the imperial pce for that long. Who is the crown princess? Why should she care about me? I really don¡¯t know who the hell is starting rumors and creating all this trouble. They must be fucking blind.¡± He knew that it was probably Shi Jun, but he couldn¡¯t say this out loud, because only those present knew that Shi Jun barged into the princess¡¯ chambers with a group of men.

    He watched so much Detective Conan in his past life. The offenders would always blurt out something important by ident. That was why he made sure to carefully think through everything he said.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about who reported you. It isn¡¯t only a single person who reported you, there are maids, servants, and even eunuchs who have personally witnessed it.¡± Zhuxie Chixin said coldly.

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible, because I¡¯ve never done this type of thing! Chief Commander, please uphold justice!¡± Zu An thought to himself that they probably only saw his back while he was running at most. There was no way they saw my face. The crown princess was buried in my chest the entire time, so there is even less of a chance that they saw me.

    Looks like those who reported me are the ones who orchestrated this scheme after all.

    ¡°Then why didn¡¯t you leave the pce even though it grew dark?¡± Zhuxie Chixin continued to ask.

    ¡°I saw that it was already dark, so I decided to stay in my courtyard. Either way, I¡¯m by myself if I stay outside too. I might as well stay in the pce where more things are happening.¡± Zu An exined.

    ¡°Where more things are happening?¡± Zhuxie Chixinughed from anger. ¡°What kind of ce do you think the imperial pce is? There are concubines and princesses living here. How can a man casually reside in the pce?!¡±

    Zu An mumbled, ¡°Am I not an Embroidered Envoy though? What¡¯s the point of this status if I don¡¯t use it.¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    He took a deep breath. ¡°Then why were you not there when we came earlier? Where did you go sote in the night?¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°I was just going for a stroll around the imperial pce. It hasn¡¯t been long since I came here, so I wanted to familiarize myself with this ce. I was worried that an attack likest time might happen, so I wanted to be more prepared just in case. That way, I¡¯ll be ready once something happens.¡±

    ¡°You were going for a stroll around the imperial pce thiste in the night?¡± Zhuxie Chixinughed again. ¡°What did I tell you before? The imperial pce is full of distinguished individuals, and you cannot casually roam this ce, you have to avoid them. Did you already forget?¡±

    ¡°But I went out for a bit because I was bored. I didn¡¯t expect that I would be suspicious because of that!¡± Zu An quickly said, ¡°Chief Commander, even though it hasn¡¯t been long since I joined the eastern pce and I don¡¯t know the crown princess too long, judging from what I do know, she would never do something illicit with another man.¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin harrumphed coldly. ¡°If it wasn¡¯t because of my trust in the crown princess¡¯ character, do you think his majesty would still have the patience to have me ask you so many questions?¡±

    Zu An looked shocked. ¡°So it was his majesty who wanted to question me.¡±

    ¡°What else do you think it is? Now that something so major happened, how could his majesty not get involved?¡± Zhuxie Chixin said coldly. ¡°Through our analysis, we have determined that you and the crown princess have most likely been framed. You need to tell me everything that has happened between you and the crown princess. Only then can I properly deal with the aftermath.¡±

    Zu An said with an honest expression, ¡°Chief Commander, why don¡¯t you believe me? There¡¯s really nothing that happened between me and the crown princess. I haven¡¯t seen the crown princess after I left the imperial study.¡± He obviously wouldn¡¯t admit to this even though he sensed some sincerity, feeling that both the emperor and Zhuxie Chixin wanted to deal with the aftermath. Even so, once that happened, the crown princess might remain alive, but he was dead for sure.

    He still remembered how even though he clearly saved the crown princess during Yun Jianyue¡¯s attack, he almost lost an arm because he touched her back then.

    Meanwhile today, the two of them already went through all of that. There was no way the emperor would allow another man to defile his daughter-inw, right?

    Zhuxie Chixin gave him a deep look. A whileter, he said with an overcast voice. ¡°Very good. In the future, no matter what anyone asks you, you need to just grit your teeth and say that no matter what.¡±

    Zu An looked at him in surprise. Was this fe secretly helping him?

    Looks like the favor fromst time wasing in clutch now!

    Zhuxie Chixin coughed. His voice returned to normal. ¡°Then have you seen anyone suspicious?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Zu An shook his head. ¡°The entire pce went crazy not long after I left. The imperial guards seemed to be looking for someone. I was worried that something might have happened, so I returned. Then, I saw you guys waiting here.¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin sat down into his chair again. His fingers tapped lightly on the table. He began to think to himself.

    The sound of the tapping was magnified in this sealed room. It gave off a natural feeling of pressure.

    A whileter, Zhuxie Chixin said, ¡°Someone will bring you into the imperial prison for further interrogation in a bit. You should understand what you should say and shouldn¡¯t say when the timees. Furthermore, his majesty has informed me to tell you that you are not to expose your identity as an Embroidered Envoy.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± Zu An didn¡¯t feel that bad inside. Since the emperor said this, then that meant that he still wanted him to deal with King QI. That was why as long as he didn¡¯t expose that he did anything to the crown princess, then the emperor wouldn¡¯t kill him.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°Why is this matter reaching all the way to the imperial prison? Shouldn¡¯t this matter be investigated in private as much as possible? Making it public like this will tarnish the crown princess¡¯ reputation.¡±

    After a bit of hesitation, Zhuxie Chixin exined, ¡°There isn¡¯t a single giant in the pce. Many powers belong to King Qi. They have begun to stir, so how can we possibly put this matter down quietly?¡±

    ¡°The crown princess¡¯ identity is special, so we cannot interrogate her. We obviously need to start from you.¡±

    Zu An revealed a bitter smile. The ordinary people of this world had no authority after all.

    ¡­

    When Zhuxie Chixin left, he was quickly escorted to the imperial prison.

    The Right Guard General Guo Zhi sighed when he saw him. ¡°Brother Zu, I didn¡¯t expect to meet you again under this type of situation.¡±

    Zu An forced augh and said, ¡°Me neither.¡±

    Guo Zhi wanted to say something, but then hesitated. While no one was paying attention, he said through ki transmission, ¡°The Imperial Director, Commandant of Justice, and Supervisor of Attendants will interrogate you one after another. Good luck.¡±

 Chapter 714, Part 1: Father-In-Law

    <h4>Chapter 714, Part 1: Father-In-Law</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Thank you brother Guo for your reminder!¡± Zu An also secretly replied. His past friendship was now paying some dividends. At the very least, the other party would help him out a bit to the best of his ability.

    Guo Zhi gave him a deep look, and then he silently left.

    Zu An was escorted into a special cell. His body was sealed up by experts, and there were Soul Reaping Chains tied around him. Not only did this prevent him from escaping, it prevented him from killing himself as well.

    All of this was expected. Zu An¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change.

    Either way, he could use many of his skills even without ki. These measures didn¡¯t affect him too much.

    What he was worried about was instead the iing joint hearing. He felt a bit of a headache when he thought of this. He was just a trifling crown prince secretary right now. Was there a need for these three big shots to hold a joint hearing?

    This world was a bit different from ancient china. The joint hearings were normally carried out by the Commandant of Justice, Imperial Censor, and Security Officer. However, because this matter involved the crown princess, that was why the Imperial Director and Supervisor of Attendants reced the Imperial Censor and Security Officer to prevent a publicmotion.

    The Imperial Director is one of the nine ministers. He is in charge of controlling the royal family, as well as their rtives and nobility¡¯s affairs. Since this involved the crown princess, he was the most suitable candidate for presiding over this matter.

    He remembered Chu Chuyan telling him that the Imperial Director Zhen Xueyi¡¯s wife is actually the emperor¡¯s older sister Princess Chang Chuan. The people the emperor used for this interrogation were probably men he trusted himself.

    The Commandant of Justice and Supervisor of Attendants were also part of the nine ministers. The Commandant of Justice Jiang Boyang was in charge of the prison to begin with and an expert at judging cases. A case on this level would naturally need him present.

    This wasn¡¯t the first time Zu An interacted with him. During the Cheng Xiong case, he strongly advocated for Cheng Xiong¡¯s innocence, but in the end, he was forced to state the crimes.

    Tsk tsk tsk, this is going to be a fierce sh. I¡¯m probably done for if I fall into his hands.

    The lyrics of ¡®Bracing the Chills¡¯ yed in Zu An¡¯s mind. However, he quickly realized something. He did all of that with his identity as Golden Token Eleven. What did this have to do with the crown prince secretary identity?

    Jiang Boyang probably won¡¯t hate me. Yup. I hope this is the case.

    However, the Supervisor of Attendants was troublesome. The Supervisor of Attendants Murong Tong used to be the Security Officer, a man with great authority, yet it was because of Zu An that he was transferred to this useless position. This man probably really hated Zu An.

    Honestly, is there something wrong with the emperor¡¯s head? Why the hell would two out of the three members sent for this interrogation be from King Qi¡¯s faction? And they both have enmity against me? Do you want me to freaking die?!

    If I die, then your daughter-inw¡¯s reputation will be finished too!

    But mockery was mockery in the end. Judging from his time in the capital, he already knew that King Qi¡¯s influence was deeply rooted. How could they let go of such a great opportunity this time?

    The key was that regardless of whether it was Jiang Boyang or Murong Tong, one was an expert at investigating cases, while one used to be a Security Officer, so he was also a specialist in this matter. It was probably hard for even the emperor himself to refuse their additions.

    ¡­

    Time unknowingly passed by just like that. Soon afterwards, there was a jailer who came to escort him out. ¡°Sir Zu, please follow us. Sir Imperial Director and the others have things to ask you.¡±

    These individuals still owed him a favor from the assassins¡¯ breakout fromst time, so that was why all of them spoke politely. They didn¡¯t humiliate him like an ordinary criminal.

    Zu An was brought into a private room. The jailers there said, ¡°Sir Zu, we need to restrain you due to conventions. Please forgive us.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Zu An¡¯s expression remained calm.

    The jailers mped his arms and legs to the wooden benches while saying in praise, ¡°Sir Zu really is extraordinary. We¡¯ve met many members of the court here, but they were all either weeping bitter tears or already beside themselves. It is rare to see someone with Sir Zu¡¯sposure.¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°Worry is the interest paid by those who borrow trouble. I am innocent in this matter, so there is naturally no need to fear an interrogation like the others.¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Those jailers all voiced their praise. The door opened at this time, and several robed officials slowly walked in.

    The one in the lead was an elder with a face that seemed to harbor great bitterness and hatred. His white hair was casually bound with a wooden hairpin, and there were quite a few messy strands falling out. He gave off a dispirited feeling. When Zu An saw him, he though he saw an old version of Ji Dengtu.

    But their appearances weren¡¯t simr at all, so he quickly removed the thought that this was Ji Dengtu¡¯s dad.

    ording to his uniform and how he walked at the very front, this was most likely the Imperial Director Zhen Xueyi.

    If he married the emperor¡¯s older sister, then he should be someone of the same generation as the emperor, right? Why was it that the emperor looked like he was in the prime of his life, while this guy looked like he was already aged and dying?

    The second official was a graceful middle-aged man with a fineplexion. His hair was only graying around the temples, but this only gave him an even more distinguished and elegant feel. It was easy to imagine how many girls he attracted when he was younger.

    Compared to the Imperial Director, he seemed much more upright, and his hair was meticulouslybed. His clothes were well-ironed without any creases.

    Judging from the white tiger diagram on the uniform, this was probably the Commandant of Justice Jiang Boyang.

    Zu An gave him a few more nces. He fought against this man before during the Cheng Xiong case, but this was their first real meeting.

    He saw that Jiang Boyang wasn¡¯t looking at him. Instead, he was staring at the Imperial Director¡¯s messy hair with a somewhat warped expression, as if he was a bit constipated.

    In the end, he finally couldn¡¯t endure it anymore and said, ¡°Sir Zhen, as one of the nine ministers, we officials are model examples for others. We need to pay attention to our appearances.¡±

    Zhen Xueyi chuckled. ¡°Nine ministers? We¡¯ve already lost our former glory, how are we still model officials? It¡¯ll be more fitting if you told these things to the Chancellery, Imperial Secretariat, and Central Secretariat.¡±

    Jiang Boyang¡¯s eyelids twitched. He took a deep breath and said, ¡°But don¡¯t you feel ufortable with your hair like that? How about I help you sort it out?¡±

    Zhen Xueyi quickly evaded to the side. ¡°Men¡¯s heads and women''s waists are parts those who are not lovers should not touch! Furthermore, I feel like this is more natural, that it can further exhibit my unruly and free nature.¡±

    Murong Tong sneered from the back. ¡°You already have one foot in the grave, yet you¡¯re still talking about lovers, about being unruly and free? Are you not scared that Princess Chang Chuan will make you kneel on a washboard?¡±

    Murong Tong was a familiar person. Zu An already met him several times.

    Zhen Xueyi became upset. ¡°Hey, charcoal face, don¡¯t cross the line! Don¡¯t think that I won¡¯t expose you for peeping on Madam Yu¡¯s inner room back then!¡±

    Murong Tong erupted in rage. ¡°You old thing, weren¡¯t you there too back then! Also, how many time have I already told you? My skin tone is a healthy and beautiful bronze and not ck!¡±

    Zu An was surprised. These individuals should be a part of different camps and be like water and fire. Why did they instead look like old friends?

    But he quickly realized that all of these officials in the capital knew each other somewhat. They all grew up and strived for ambition together. Onlyter on did they end up choosing the different factions they wanted to serve.

    Even so, their former friendship still existed. Their ns were probably even connected through marriage in various ways, and their rtionshipsplicated. As such, it wasn¡¯t to the point where neither side could not coexist with the other in this world.

    Jiang Boyang felt a huge headache when he heard them fight. He disregarded them and looked at Zu An. He suddenly frowned. ¡°Who restrained you?¡±

    His fingers gently brushed out while walking over, and then a chain snapped on its own. It was easy to see how profound his cultivation was.

    Zu An was stunned. This guy seems to be pretty nice?

    But Jiang Boyang didn¡¯t continue to remove his shackles and instead began to sort out his cor that became a bit crooked. Then, he took a step back to look at Zu An. After that, he sat back down in satisfaction.

    Zu An was stunned. Bro, what the fuck? Why are you stopping at just a single chain?!

    He lowered his head and noticed that the chains on his body were now symmetrical. When he remembered the irritation of the other party when he looked at the Imperial Director, Zu An didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry. So I just ran into someone with freaking OCD! I almost thought that he had some goodwill.

    ¡°Enough, enough, we need to take care of the main matter at hand first.¡± Jiang Boyang stopped the two arguing individuals.

    The messy haired Zhen Xueyi sat down casually at the highest position. ¡°You can start then. You¡¯re the expert at judging cases.¡±

    Jiang Boyang¡¯s breathing became rushed again when he saw him sit carelessly on his seat. He quickly shifted his eyes so he didn¡¯t have to look at this man anymore. He mmed the table, making a loud noise. ¡°Zu An, I examined the records of the pce gate and discovered that you did not leave at dusk. What kind of shady business were you doing in the pce?¡±

    This wasn¡¯t an easy question for Zu An to answer. Zhuxie Chixin told him to not reveal his identity as an Embroidered Envoy, which made it much harder for him to exin why he remained in the pce.

    It was a huge offense for a subject to not leave the pce at dusk. They will definitely be used of disturbing the harem chambers.

    But Zu An was prepared for this. He calmly replied, ¡°His majesty assigned me a secret mission. That was why I didn¡¯t leave the pce.¡±

    The three individuals exchanged a look. They couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°What kind of secret mission?¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°I already said it was a secret mission, so how can I possibly randomly tell others?¡±

    Murong Tong became furious. ¡°Brat, you better get rid of that smile right now. We are the ones interrogating you right now, so you should understand your position!¡±

    The fact that this brat made him drop from the powerful Security Officer position down to his current useless position made him absolutely furious.

    You have sessfully trolled Murong Tong for +491 +491 +491¡­

 Chapter 714, Part 2: Father-in-Law

    <h4>Chapter 714, Part 2: Father-in-Law</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An sighed. ¡°Sir Murong, could it be that you think I dare to falsify his majesty¡¯s intent? This is something easily confirmed. I was summoned to the imperial study as soon as I left the eastern pce.¡±

    Murong Tong¡¯s breathing stopped. In their opinion, there was indeed no one who dared falsify such a thing. That was a crime punishable by n eradication!

    Jiang Boyang flipped through the files in his hands and said with a nod, ¡°There was indeed such a matter.¡± It was clear that he had already gathered all types of information before arriving here.

    Then, his tone changed. ¡°But this can only prove that you carried out a secret mission after you left the imperial study. No one knows what you did afterward. There were quite a few people who saw you together with the crown princess, your clothes messy¡­ Ahem, how do you plead in response to this usation?¡±

    ¡°Complete nonsense! Absolute nder!¡± Zu An appeared to be a bit worked up. ¡°It¡¯s one thing if you nder me, but you dare nder the incorruptible crown princess?! How dare they even have such thoughts? May I ask Sir Jiang who the ones that ndered us are?¡±

    Jiang Boyang cleared his throat. ¡°Whether it¡¯s nder or not, we¡¯ll naturally investigate that. However, I can¡¯t tell you their identities.¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°I¡¯ve always been a benevolent person, and I always attract the fondness of others. I really can¡¯t think of who would frame me¡­¡±

    ¡°You always attract the fondness of others?¡± Murong Tong sneered. Did this kid have a misunderstanding about him?

    Zu An suddenly realized something. ¡°Ah, I remember. I believe Sir Murong lost your position because I was attacked as soon as I arrived in the capital. If there really were anyone who would want to frame me, then I fear¡­¡±

    Murong Tong was so angry smoke almost came out of his head. ¡°Little bastard, are you saying that I framed you?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Murong Tong for +668 +668 +668¡­

    Zu An shrugged. ¡°I didn¡¯t say it, you did.¡± He thought to himself that even though that kid Murong Qinghe was also a bit rash, she was still probably more cool-headed than this old fart.

    Jiang Boyang quickly said, ¡°Sir Murong, please don¡¯t be so impatient.¡± Then, he turned to Zu An. ¡°You really are an annoying troublemaker. You¡¯re affecting our handling of this case.¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°Sir Jiang is wise; I was merely trying to analyze the motives of those who are trying to harm me. I can tell from Sir Murong¡¯s straightforward nature that he clearly wasn¡¯t the one who did this.¡± Murong Tong finally calmed down a bit after being praised that way.

    Zu An continued, ¡°By the way, I remembered something. This morning, I seem to have offended the Huang gate¡¯s Shi Jun. He kept making things difficult for me, so I couldn¡¯t help but use my palm to ¡®express myself¡¯ to his face. He even ended up dropping his pants for some reason. His younger brother Shi Kun also has a grudge against me, so if there really is someone with the motive to harm me, then he¡¯s definitely a top suspect.¡±

    Now, even the Imperial Director whose eyes were half closed in repose couldn¡¯t help but widen his eyes. You used your palm to ¡®express yourself¡¯ to Shi Jun¡¯s face? Who the heck says that?!

    Jiang Boyang¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°I didn¡¯t mention Shi Jun¡¯s name. Why did you immediately suspect that it was him? Speak, is it because you saw him when he barged in on you and the crown princess?¡±

    Zu An lookedpletely shocked. ¡°It really was that kid? I was going to say that fellow clearly looked like the bad sort. So it really was him!¡±

    Murong Tong shouted, ¡°You should just stop there! The fact that you mentioned him means that you¡¯ve already practically confessed to this.¡±

    Zu An sighed. ¡°Sir Murong, you used to be a Security Officer. This situation should be something super easy for you to figure out, right?

    ¡°My moral standing might not be too great, so it¡¯s excusable for there to be some misunderstanding here. But who is the crown princess? She was born from an influential n, and she¡¯s always maintained an excellent bearing. She carries the grace of the future empire¡¯s mother! Do you really believe that this type of woman would do anything with another man?

    ¡°That¡¯s why this matter is clearly nder! Not only does the one who framed me bear animosity towards me, they don¡¯t care about offending the crown princess either. If you think about this, the only one whom the crown princess and I both have a grudge against is the Shi n. After all, it was because of Shi Kun¡¯s bet with me that he ended up indirectly dying by the crown princess¡¯ hand.¡±

    Murong Tong¡¯s expression sank. ¡°All of these are merely your own spections. Do you have any proof?¡±

    ¡°Nope.¡± Zu An shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m merely speaking my thoughts. Whether it¡¯s really true or not, this is something you all need to investigate.¡±

    Murong Tong sneered. ¡°Since there¡¯s no proof, then you¡¯re just uttering nonsense. The Shi n is part of the eight ducal ns. Do you know what kind of crime ndering such great officials would entail?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression grew cold as well. ¡°No matter how great the Shi n is, are they greater than the crown princess, greater than the royal n¡¯s dignity? The one behind the scenes have already clearly expressed their intent to humiliate the royal n. You didn¡¯t investigate this, but instead insist that the crown princess really did something illicit. I have reason to suspect your motives!¡±

    Murong Tong was furious. ¡°You bastard! Do you think I wouldn¡¯t dare to kill you?¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    You have sessfully trolled Murong Tong for +876 +876 +876¡­

    Zu An said with his head high, ¡°Can it be that Sir Murong wants to extract a confession out of torture? I, Zu An, am an iron-willed man down to my bones! My dignity cannot be corrupted by wealth and honors; I will absolutely not nder the crown princess.¡±

    ¡°Your dignity cannot be corrupted by wealth and honors?¡± Murong Tongughed out of anger. ¡°Even someone like you is worthy of speaking such words? Fine, I want to see just how tough your bones are! Bring someone here to start the torture!¡±

    Zhen Xueyi coughed. ¡°Sir Murong, please don¡¯t be so impatient. What Zu An said might not be entirely without reason. Even if he confesses under torture, we still won¡¯t be able to convince the masses.¡±

    Zu An sighed inside when he heard those words. The reason he had spoken such words was because the emperor would definitely not let that happen without doing anything. This Imperial Director was definitely someone from his faction, so he wouldn¡¯t let King Qi¡¯s faction act recklessly.

    Of course, if he had guessed wrong, he would have just taken the beating. The Phoenix Nirvana Sutra was a technique that could be improved by getting beaten anyway.

    ¡°In all my years of investigating cases, I¡¯ve learned that talk is useless against people like him. They have to be beaten into submission.¡± Murong Tong harrumphed. He looked toward the Commandant of Justice. ¡°Boyang, what do you think?¡±

    Jiang Boyang said, ¡°I agree with Sir Imperial Director¡¯s opinion. What Zu An has said isn¡¯t entirely without reason. We can indeed start our investigation from that angle.¡±

    Murong Tong¡¯s expression turned nk. He thought to himself, Hey, which side are you even on? He knew that Jiang Boyang was always an upright and inflexible man. Was this guy really being a problem at such a critical moment? This was the perfect moment to take advantage of. King Qi might cry if this chance wasn¡¯t used, right?

    Zu An was also surprised. He hadn¡¯t expected Jiang Boyang to speak out for him. He thought that this fellow would target him because of Cheng Xiong¡¯s case.

    With two out of three sharing an opinion, there was nothing Murong Tong could do. He could only allow the other two people to ask some insignificant questions. Then, they decided to continue their investigation from Shi Jun¡¯s side.

    They eventually got up to investigate other clues, but Jiang Boyang deliberately stayed at the very back. His expression was a bit strange as he examined Zu An.

    Zu An could tell that this guy had something he wanted to ask him, but he was confused. I don¡¯t even know this guy, so why would he help me?

    Jiang Boyang nodded and said, ¡°No wonder Luofu always praised you before, and she even entrusted me with the task of saving you. Now that I¡¯ve met you, I see that you really are slick-tongued, but you aren¡¯t a bad person deep down. Furthermore, you¡¯re quite brave. She didn¡¯t judge you incorrectly.¡±

    A list of names shed through Zu An¡¯s head. Who is Luofu? Wait, his surname is Jiang¡­ ¡°The gorgeous principal? So you¡¯re father-inw¡­ Ahem, you¡¯re the gorgeous principal¡¯s father?¡± He blurted out.

    ¡°Gorgeous principal? Father-inw¡­¡± Jiang Boyang¡¯s eyes flickered. His expression became dangerous when he looked at Zu An. ¡°Indeed, Luofu is my daughter. Back then, she didn¡¯t want to be the crown princess and left home alone, heading to Brightmoon City. Now that I think about it, that was a good thing, or else she would be the one caught up in this matter.¡±

    Zu An was shocked. That gorgeous big sis with the amazing legs had almost be the crown princess? Um, wait, no. It¡¯s because she didn¡¯t want to be the crown princess that she ran away. Otherwise, the current Bi Linglong wouldn¡¯t be there.

    He quickly snapped out of his daze. ¡°So you were actually my elder! Back then, Brightmoon City¡¯s big sis principal treated me really well. I didn¡¯t expect to have elder¡¯s help too! Looks like we share some karma after all.¡±

    Jiang Boyang harrumphed. ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to thank me. Back then, when his majesty wanted your method of immortality, Luofu wanted me to save you, but I was powerless to do so. I didn¡¯t expect you to actually survive that ordeal.¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°Even so, I¡¯m grateful for big sis principal¡¯s kindness. Also, elder, didn¡¯t you end up helping me this time anyway?¡±

    Jiang Boyang said indifferently, ¡°I¡¯m not helping you, but rather just judging the matter as it stands. There are indeed many points of suspicion in this matter.¡±

    After saying so, he turned to leave. But after taking a few steps, he suddenly frowned and stopped. He lowered his head and smoothed out the corner of his jacket, which had be a bit creased from sitting. A hint of joy appeared on his face again when he saw his orderly uniform. Then, he continued to walk outside. Zu An even noticed that every single step he took was the exact same distance.

    Soon afterwards, a jailer brought Zu An back to the prison room, where he sat there quietly pondering.

    Things were getting more and more interesting. He had thought that the Jiang n was an inseparable part of King Qi¡¯s faction, but now, that might not necessarily be the case.

    Perhaps the Jiang n might be more partial toward King Qi normally, but in the end, Jiang Boyang had still chosen to deal with matters impartially. No wonder the emperor had agreed to putting him in charge of this case.

    Furthermore, from what he had seen today regarding the rtionship between the nine ministers, Zu An realized that he had misunderstood something.

    The crown prince¡¯s faction and King Qi¡¯s faction looked irreconcble from the outside, but they had many personal friendships between them. Perhaps there would be a chance to exploit this in the future¡­

    Time quickly passed. The next morning arrived, unbeknownst to Zu An. A jailer came and said, ¡°Sir Zu, someone hase to visit you.¡±

 Chapter 715: Disappeared

    <h4>Chapter 715: Disappeared</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°A visitor?¡± Zu An was confused. What kind of person would visit him at this sort of time?

    Could it be the crown princess? No, she¡¯s currently caught up in this huge scheme. There¡¯s no way she would have the leisure to do such a thing.

    Maybe it¡¯s Zhuxie Chixin? Did the emperor send him to make sure I knew what to say? But I think we already said everything that needs to be said, right? Also, Zhuxie Chixin doesn¡¯t need to visit me like this, he can juste straight in.

    While he was baffled at who the person could be, an ice blue figure in a long dress appeared nearby, surprising him. ¡°Chuyan!¡±

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡± Chu Chuyan broke out into a small sprint. Only when she saw that her man hadn¡¯t been beaten did she sigh in relief.

    ¡°Why are you here?!¡± Zu An was surprised and happy to see her. He grabbed her small, ice-cold hands.

    Chu Chuyan harrumphed and pulled her hand back. Her joy immediately disappeared, returning to her usual coldness. ¡°Who were you expecting? That crown princess of yours?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Chuyan for +77 +77 +77¡­

    Zu An forced a chuckle. ¡°It¡¯s one thing if others are framing me, but how can you think that way?¡±

    Chu Chuyan looked rather hurt. ¡°If that were how I really thought, then I wouldn¡¯t have visited you first thing in the morning.¡±

    Zu An felt warm inside and grabbed her small hand again. ¡°My own wife treasures me the most after all.¡±

    Chu Chuyan then said, ¡°Even though you¡¯re perverted, from my understanding of you, even if you did long for the crown princess, you would only go after her secretly when you were a hundred percent sure that it would be fine. You would never cause such a huge scene.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. Sis, we¡¯re in the imperial prison right now! Aren¡¯t you being a bit too rude here?

    As if she had guessed his thoughts, Chu Chuyan harrumphed and said, ¡°What are you so scared of? This is exactly what we need them to know, that you absolutely wouldn¡¯t have done anything to the crown princess.¡± She gave the two jailers who were monitoring the situation a look.

    The jailers had strange looks on their faces. They immediately turned their heads, as if they hadn¡¯t heard anything, but they then exchanged looks and began to whisper among themselves.

    ¡°Chu First Miss is a legendary beauty as the rumors say! But why is her personality not as cold as people say?¡±

    ¡°Sir Zu really is lucky to have such a stunning wife. Like hell he would do something crazy with other girls with this type of woman at home!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s hard to say. Guys get tired of even the prettiest women after a while. Furthermore, the crown princess is also pretty.¡±

    ¡°Fuck! I almost feel as if you¡¯re talking about that hag of mine back home.¡±

    ¡°You dare gossip about the crown princess? Do you all not want your lives anymore?¡±

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An asked, ¡°Chuyan, why did youe here today?¡±

    ¡°I waited for you all night yesterday.¡± Chu Chuyan looked rather wronged as she continued, ¡°But then Youzhao told me that something bad happened to you. That was how I learned about this matter between you and the crown princess. But unfortunately, night had already fallen by then, so I couldn¡¯t enter the pce. That was why I could only wait until daytime before I could ask grandfather to let me in.

    ¡°I was even stopped by a eunuch surnamed Wen along the way. Considering how many people were crowding around him, he¡¯s probably that general manager who serves by his majesty¡¯s side.¡± Chu Chuyan sounded as if she still had some lingering fears. ¡°I thought that I was done for and that I¡¯d even be punished by grandfather, but he let me go just after asking me my identity. It really was strange.¡±

    Zu An smiled. He thought to himself that he hadn¡¯t given Eunuch Wen all those gifts for nothing.

    ¡°Then, after I arrived at the imperial prison, I thought that I could use grandfather and second grandfather¡¯s connections to see if I could get past the Right Guard General. But when he heard I hade to see you, he just let me straight in.¡± Chu Chuyan looked at Zu An strangely. ¡°I almost felt as if the two of them weren¡¯t showing favor to my grandfather, but rather to you. Are you really doing that well in the pce, all by yourself?¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°Of course. You know your man¡¯s charms well. Men and women alike all fall victim¡­¡±

    ¡°Fell victim, like the way you¡¯re in this imperial prison right now?¡± Chu Chuyan coldly interrupted.

    Zu An fell silent. Ah¡­ Being brutally roasted right in the middle of my boast really feels like sh*t¡­

    Chu Chuyan quickly asked, ¡°Just what happenedst night?¡±

    ¡°I was obviously framed¡­¡± Zu An repeated what he had told the Imperial Director and the others. It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t trust her, but rather that this was the imperial prison, so there might be unwanted ears. It was still best to y it safe.

    ¡°The Shi n is just too despicable!¡± Chu Chuyan¡¯s expression turned cold. She had personally experienced Shi Kun¡¯s shamelessness back then, having almost died in the Ursae Dungeon because of the Shi n. She immediately believed him when he said that it was the Shi n that was scheming all of this.

    Zu An sighed. ¡°It would be great if it were only the Shi n. What I¡¯m worried about is that the one behind all of this might actually be King Qi.¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s expression changed. ¡°It can¡¯t be, right? King Qi¡¯s reputation has always been good. This time, this matter has involved even the royal family, so this would be too risky for him. If it were exposed, everything would be over.¡± Thanks to the Qin n¡¯s influence, her impression of King Qi wasn¡¯t bad.

    ¡°I hope it isn¡¯t him.¡± Zu An¡¯s expression was grim. ¡°But even if it isn¡¯t him, he¡¯ll still use this chance to involve me and the crown princess in a scandal, thus weakening the crown prince¡¯s side.¡±

    ¡°It would¡¯ve been great if you had just agreed to follow me back to Brightmoon City.¡± Chu Chuyan had naturally deduced that this was an inevitable choice for King Qi. However, after just a moment of dejection, she quickly asked, ¡°Is there anything I can help you with? I can¡¯t just let you continue to be framed by other people like this, right?¡±

    Zu An sighed in praise inside. His wife really wasn¡¯t a pretty decoration after all. It was no wonder she had been able to manage the Chu n¡¯s affairs all these years.

    ¡°There is something. Can you help me investigate some people? Help me find out which eunuchs and guards are dering that they saw me and the crown princess together, and investigate their background. See if they have any connection to King Qi or the Shi n,¡± Zu An requested. ¡°Also, help me investigate the Hundred Flower Pce¡¯s maid Xin Rui and see what¡¯s going on with her.¡±

    ¡°Xin Rui?¡± Chu Chuyan was stunned. ¡°What kind of rtionship does she have with this case?¡± She was puzzled. Zu An didn¡¯t know the names of the others he wanted her to investigate, but he named this person.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about that. Help me check to see if she¡¯s still in the Hundred Flower Pce, if she¡¯s still alive. It would be even better if you could help me look into her background.¡± Zu An didn¡¯t exin in detail. He couldn¡¯t tell her about what had happened between him and the crown princess in the Hundred Flower Pce, but he could investigate them in secret. Furthermore, the key to all of this was Xin Rui.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Chu Chuyan didn¡¯t make things difficult for him. ¡°But even if I can investigate all of this, all of this is inside the imperial pce, so the investigation will be quite slow. I¡¯m worried that this might affect things on your side.¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°It¡¯s not a problem. Seek out the empress and ask her for help. Of course, you need to investigate Xin Rui on your own. You can¡¯t entrust this to anyone else.¡±

    ¡°The empress?¡± Chu Chuyan was shocked. ¡°We have no friendship with the empress. She might not be willing to help!¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, You may have no rtionship with her, but I definitely do. ¡°When you seek her out, help me tell her ¡®It¡¯s better to shatter as precious jade than to remain safe as lowly pottery¡¯; she¡¯ll understand and help you.¡±

    Chu Chuyan was mystified. However, she knew that Zu An wouldn¡¯t joke around at this type of critical moment. As such, she chose to trust him and said, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll seek her out.¡± The Chu and Qin n were top level ns in the court. She obviously had a way to meet with the empress.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    After saying so, she was in a hurry to leave, but Zu An stopped her. ¡°Come here, give me a kiss. Pleasefort your frightened husband.¡±

    ¡°Do you want me to die from shame?!¡± Chu Chuyan immediately blushed when she looked at the jailers.

    Zu An sighed. ¡°I really might die here¡­ We might not be able to kiss again.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to say that!¡± Chu Chuyan began to panic and immediately covered Zu An¡¯s mouth.

    ¡°Then just give me a kiss.¡± Zu An moved over to the edge of the bars. He had a huge smile on his face.

    Chu Chuyan bit her lip. In the end, worry still overcame her bashfulness. She moved over to kiss him. Then, under the whistling and heckling of the guards, she ran away with a red face and eximed ¡°I¡¯m going to talk to the empress!¡±

    The jailers all rushed over excitedly when she left.

    ¡°Sir Zu is really formidable! You managed to tame an ice queen so well!¡±

    ¡°You have to teach us!¡±

    ¡­

    Zu Anughed when he saw their pleading expressions. ¡°That¡¯s easy enough; you just need the five essential truths.¡±

    ¡°The five essential truths?¡± all of the jailers looked at each other in dismay and asked.

    ¡°The first is ¡®Pan An¡¯; uh, that refers to a legendary handsome man. The second is ¡®donkey¡¯; you need to be just like me down there¡­¡±

    Then, he exined the other three truths. He chatted with them while asking about what was happening in the pce at the moment.

    ¡­

    After a few hours passed, Chu Chuyan rushed back with new information. ¡°Ah Zu, I¡¯ve already contacted the empress. She didn¡¯t say whether she agreed or not, she only said `I understand¡¯.¡±

    Zu An nodded. ¡°That¡¯s good enough. You don¡¯t need to worry about the rest.¡±

    Chu Chuyan immediately added, ¡°By the way, you told me to look into that Hundred Flower Pce¡¯s Xin Rui. I looked into it, and she seems to have disappeared yesterday.¡±

 Chapter 716: Silenced

    <h4>Chapter 716: Silenced</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Disappeared?¡± Zu An raised an eyebrow. Actually, this was within his expectations as well. Someone that important couldn¡¯t possibly remain behind to be investigated. Though as for whether she had gone missing or if she had been silenced, he was leaning toward thetter.

    But he was currently behind bars and had a billion things to worry about. He couldn¡¯t even have someone else investigate this matter.

    ¡°By the way, do you know what¡¯s going on with the Hundred Flower Pce¡¯s Concubine Bai?¡± Zu An asked.

    Chu Chuyan was apologetic, her eyes misty. ¡°I was too pressed for time, and this is an investigation on the pce¡¯s matters, so I didn¡¯t have time to look into it yet.¡±

    Zu An held her hands and said, ¡°I was being too impatient. You don¡¯t need to bother with this matter anymore. Let¡¯s wait for news from the empress¡¯ side first.¡±

    ¡°What kind of rtionship do you have with the empress, exactly? Why¡­¡± Chu Chuyan¡¯s eyes were full of puzzlement. ¡°Why was it that after she found out I¡¯d arrived because of you, her expression turned extremely strange? When she heard what you told me to tell her, not only did she not get angry, her tone instead became more friendly.¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°It¡¯s probably because the empress owes me a favor. That¡¯s why she¡¯s willing to help me find a way to save myself. You don¡¯t need to worry too much.¡±

    Chu Chuyan sighed in relief. ¡°That¡¯s good then.¡±

    ¡­

    Chu Chuyan left after the two of them chatted for a while longer. She was able to discern what was important right now. She knew staying here further was meaningless, and that she had to send out her men to save Zu An. She couldn¡¯t entrust everything to the empress.

    Zu An was incredibly moved. He reminded her that she absolutely shouldn¡¯t do anything too rash, or else she might be deceived by bad people. At the same time, he told her that he still had some cards to y, that he¡¯d most likely be able to make it past this ordeal. He had watched so many shows in his past world, after all. He didn¡¯t want Chuyan to do something stupid for the sake of saving him.

    Chu Chuyan was also an extremely sharp person. She immediately realized what he was saying and replied, her face reddening, ¡°What kind of nonsense are you even thinking of?¡± Then, she said with a beautiful smile, ¡°I know that you care about me. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve managed the Chu n before, so what kinds of sinister schemes do you think I haven¡¯t seen?¡±

    Zu An now felt at ease. ¡°I almost forgot that my dear wife was such an amazing woman, haha.¡±

    There were still some jailers nearby, so Chuyan was still shy. She couldn¡¯t handle the term ¡®dear wife¡¯ and quickly left out of embarrassment.

    The jailers ran over to consult Zu An some more about his skills. He boasted a bit to them while asking them about some of the pce¡¯s matters.

    ¡°Concubine Bai? Concubine Bai rarelyes out. I don¡¯t think there are many people who know what she¡¯s doing.¡±

    ¡°I heard that her maid has been gone for several days though.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s probably more than that. After something so big happened in the eastern pce, the Hundred Flower Pce obviously needs to keep a low profile. It¡¯s normal for her personal maid to not show herself.¡±

    ¡°If something really happened to the crown princess, then Concubine Bai might actually be the most suitable candidate to rise to the position of crown princess.¡±

    ¡­

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An began to think to himself after hearing their chattering. A whileter, he asked, ¡°What¡¯s the situation with the crown princess, by the way? Ah, this topic is a bit sensitive since both of us are involved in this case. It¡¯s okay if you can¡¯t speak about it.¡±

    The jailers exchanged a look, and then they said with a chuckle, ¡°Sir Zu is too polite! We all know that the two of you are being wronged. It¡¯s not a big deal to tell you at all.¡±

    ¡°Exactly! Yesterday morning, the pce elder examined the crown princess¡¯ body. There were no traces of the crown princess having been vited by a man.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not all! I heard that the crown princess is still a virgin.¡±

    ¡°How is that possible? The crown prince and princess have already been married for so long. How could she still be a virgin?¡±

    ¡°That crown prince of ours¡­¡±

    ¡­

    They might not have spoken so much if it were just for the fact that Zu An had covered for them after the Devil Sect assassins escaped. It was still because the information had proven that the crown princess was innocent that they dared to discuss these things.

    Zu An coughed and said, ¡°Everyone, please watch what you say. I think it¡¯s just some gossip that wishes to nder the crown prince. You can¡¯t let yourselves fall into their trap.

    The jailers seemed to have suddenly realized something. ¡°So that was it! Sir Zu, you¡¯ve saved us again!¡± All of them felt lingering fear and expressed their thanks.

    Zu An began to think to himself again after voicing his response. He hadn¡¯t expected that the crown princess was actually telling the truth! It had been so many years since she got married, yet she was still a virgin. However, she might have more problems to deal withter now that the information had been leaked out.

    The emperor wouldn¡¯t make such a poor decision to expose that, right? Could it be King Qi¡¯s faction then? But wouldn¡¯t thatpletely prove her innocence in this matter? The more he thought about the matter, the greater his headache grew. He felt the things going on in the background weren¡¯t so simple.

    ¡­

    Time passed just like that. The jailers Zu An had chatted with had already dispersed. Zu An sat by himself in the prison cell alone, lost in his own thoughts.

    ¡°It¡¯s mealtime!¡± A jailer lowered a food tray and then turned around to leave.

    Zu An didn¡¯t expect it to have be mealtime so quickly. He gave therge bowl in front of him a look. The prisoners who got locked up in the imperial prison weren¡¯t ordinary, so the food was surprisingly decent. He really was starting to get hungry after tossing and turning for an entire night.

    Suddenly, a thought shed past his head. He raised his head and looked at the jailer. ¡°Wait!¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± That jailer turned around, his tone a bit impatient.

    Zu An looked at him and asked, ¡°Why do you look unfamiliar? I haven¡¯t met you before.¡±

    That jailer replied, ¡°Oh, that¡¯s because I was just transferred here.¡±

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°Then can I trouble you to please call over General Guo for me? I have some important information to share with him.¡±

    That jailer said impatiently, ¡°Just eat your stuff. You think General Guo has the time to see you?¡± He left while cursing to himself afterward.

    Zu An lowered his head to look at his food. He began to think to himself.

    ¡­

    A whileter, Right Guard General Guo Zhi entered with a group of people. ¡°Sir Zu, Sir Imperial Director and the others wish to interrogate you some more.¡±

    Zu An remained in the cell without moving.

    Guo Zhi didn¡¯t receive any reply even after calling out a few times. His expression changed. ¡°Something bad has happened!¡±

    He quickly opened the prison cell and rushed over to Zu An¡¯s side. When he saw the purple color of Zu An¡¯s face, he quickly shouted, ¡°He¡¯s been poisoned! Hurry and bring over an imperial physician!¡±

    The jailers quickly rushed out. Guo Zhi did his best to remove the poison from Zu An¡¯s body. Zhen Xueyi, Jiang Boyang, and Murong Tong all rushed over when they heard the news.

    ¡°Something happened?¡±

    ¡°Zu An was poisoned?¡±

    ¡°What the hell are you all doing?!¡±

    The three elders cried out in anger and rm.

    ¡­

    Zu An, who had been lying on the ground, suddenly sat up. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Guo Zhi was puzzled. Wasn¡¯t this fellow on his dying breath a moment ago?

    Zu An showed the other party an apologetic smile. ¡°Thank you for helping me, Brother Guo. I was really helpless just now.¡±

    He had already grown suspicious when he saw that unfamiliar jalier. After all, after rescuing the Devil Sect¡¯s assassins, he knew almost all of the jailers. All of them chatted a bunch together, and his rtionship with them was great.

    Even if there were a new jailer, why would they use a new person to take care of such an important prisoner? There was definitely something wrong with this new jailer!

    Zu An¡¯s first reaction had been that someone wanted to silence him. However, he wasn¡¯t sure who it was that wanted him dead.

    The most suspicious one was Guo Zhi, as this was his domain. No one could take care of this matter better than him. But he hadn¡¯t dared disclose that suspicion earlier, so he could only pretend to have been poisoned.

    When Guo Zhi rushed in, he had already prepared promptly to avoid the other party finishing the job when he came in.

    When the other party had helped him force out the poison, he secretly used the Heaven Devouring Art. If Guo Zhi really wanted to harm him, then Zu An would immediately suck him dry. However, Guo Zi¡¯s ki was gentle and beneficial. He really had helped Zu An remove the poison.

    Even so, Zu An didn¡¯t dare act carelessly. He only got up after Jiang Boyang and the others arrived.

    He couldn¡¯t trust anyone. Jiang Boyang was probably the one he trusted the most, as he had a certain level of friendship with the gorgeous principal. Of course, he wouldn¡¯t fully trust the man just because of that, because these three ministers represented all types of powers. They kept each other in check, so none of them could do what they wished on their own.

    Murong Tong immediately frowned. ¡°Zu An, what the hell is going on?¡±

    Zu An sighed. He pointed at that rice bowl in the corner. ¡°Someone wanted to kill me.¡±

 Chapter 717: Irrefutable Evidence

    <h4>Chapter 717: Irrefutable Evidence</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°What?!¡± Everyone¡¯s expressions changed. Who was Zu An? He was a criminal who was involved in a scandal with the crown princess right now. There were countless pairs of eyes on him right now, yet someone wanted to kill him? Who would dare to do such a thing?

    Jiang Boyang subconsciously looked in the direction Zu An was pointing at. When he saw the overturned food, the grains of rice scattered everywhere across the dried grass, he immediately revealed a suffering expression.

    Zhen Xueyi and Murong Tong both turned around and gave Guo Zhi another look. In that instant, they could feel the power of the aura that erupted from him.

    Huh? Why was this fellow so angry? Was he angry that someone had tried to silence this matter, or was it because of Zu An? Could it be that he had some friendship with Zu An that they didn¡¯t know about?

    Murong Tong quickly said, ¡°Hurry and examine the poison inside.¡±

    There was no way they would believe that it was poisonous just because Zu An said that it was. They wouldn¡¯t allow themselves to be led by the nose like this.

    The imperial prison locked up extremely important prisoners, so there were naturally specialized personnel who checked for poison. The one assigned to that duty quickly came with a silver needle. Then, he brought the food up to his nose to give it a sniff. He even licked it with the tip of his tongue.

    Zu An¡¯s eyebrows rose when he saw this. Isn¡¯t this just too much dedication? If it were a pile of sh*t that was poisoned, would he give it a lick too?

    That jailer quickly spat out the things in his mouth. He got up and said, ¡°The food has Zombie Poison mixed in. Even though this poison isn¡¯t fatal, it can make one lose their mind and be a living corpse.¡±

    Everyone¡¯s expression became serious when they heard the report. The poison wasn¡¯t intended to kill Zu An. Were they worried that killing him would be going too far, risking too much? But turning him into a living corpse was another form of silencing him.

    The messy-haired Imperial Director Zhen Xueyi finally spoke up. He gave Guo Zhi a cold look. ¡°Who was the one who delivered Zu An¡¯s food today?¡±

    Guo Zhi quickly called for someone to look into it. The result made his expression change several times. ¡°There was a new person who was transferred over. He¡¯s already nowhere to be seen.¡±

    ¡°Absolutely disgraceful! You actually allowed someone to barge into the imperial prison and do whatever they want? Do you even want your position as the Right Guard General anymore?!¡± Jiang Boyang was already furious. When he saw Zhen Xueyi¡¯s messy hair, he felt as if he could no longer hold himself back. Guo Zhi became the target for venting his anger.

    Guo Zhi began to sweat buckets. His expression was full of shame. ¡°I¡¯ll immediately investigate this person.¡±

    He wasn¡¯t scared of Jiang Boyang. Even though the other party¡¯s official rank was higher than his, they belonged to different departments, and as such, thetter couldn¡¯t tell him to do anything. However, something major had happened in his own domain. If the emperor criticized him, he wouldn¡¯t be able to bear that guilt.

    Furthermore, he and Zu An had even called each other brothers, yet something had almost happened to Zu An in his own domain. This was just too humiliating.

    Jiang Boyang¡¯s expression thus eased a bit. However, he couldn¡¯t remain in such a messy prison. He immediately got up to leave and gestured for the jailer to bring Zu An to the interrogation room.

    When the others arrived, Jiang Boyang was already sitting upright in front of the table, with everything on top of it arranged neatly. Even the surface was spotlessly clean.

    Zhen Xueyi and Murong Tong exchanged a look. How had this guy done it? They didn¡¯t see him bring a rag or anything.

    Jiang Boyang cleared his throat and said, ¡°Zu An, how is the poison? Should we call over a physician to check your condition?¡±

    Zhen Xueyi and Murong Tong became even more certain now. This fellow really did have some type of rtionship with Zu An.

    Zu An replied, ¡°Thank you, Sir Jiang. This matter involves the crown princess¡¯ innocence, so even if I¡¯m poisoned, I¡¯ill still do my best to cooperate with sirs.¡±

    The three officials had strange expressions. This kid really was shameless! All of them could clearly see that he was fine right now.

    Jiang Boyang was also caught off guard. ¡°Alright then. Do you know who could have done this to you?¡±

    Zu An sighed. ¡°I could go on and on. I can tell you, but will you write it all down?¡±

    Murong Tong harrumphed coldly. ¡°Stop using excuses. Just start talking. Don¡¯t tell me you think the three of us aren¡¯t sufficient as witnesses?¡±

    Zu An smiled, ¡°Then I¡¯ll start. The first one who might do something to me is Sir Murong. Everyone knows that Sir Murong lost his position of Security Officer because of my involvement.¡±

    Murong Tong was furious. ¡°You rascal! Who do you think you are? That was a normal court transfer; why would it be because of you?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Murong Tong for +388 +388 +388¡­

    Zu An shrugged. He looked as if he didn¡¯t feel like arguing with this fellow, that everyone who knew the truth knew it. Murong Tong became even more angry when he saw this.

    Zhen Xueyi quickly grabbed him. ¡°Ahem, this old one can vouch for brother Murong; he¡¯s an upright person. Even if he¡¯s a bit unhappy over that matter, he wouldn¡¯t do something like this.¡±

    Zu An used that chance to say, ¡°I also feel that Sir Murong is the outspoken and forthright type of person. He wouldn¡¯t use this type of treacherous scheme.¡±

    Murong Tong stuck out his chest. He thought to himself that these were the best words that hade out of this brat¡¯s mouth since he¡¯d met him.

    Huh? Wait, if you knew that, then why would you say what you said? Weren¡¯t you just messing with me?

    You have sessfully trolled Murong Tong for +666 +666 +666¡­

    But how could he know that Zu An was only doing this to earn some Rage points?

    Zu An then continued, ¡°Apart from Sir Murong, the one who wants me dead the most is probably King Qi. After all, I made him look bad not too long ago, and then I crushed his heir¡¯s knees. If I were King Qi, I would be itching to finish me off.¡±

    Everyone¡¯s expressions became strange. It looks like you at least know yourself well.

    Jiang Boyang coughed and asked, ¡°Do you know that ndering a court king is a huge offense?¡± At the same time, he gestured towards the scribe to not record that statement yet.

    Zu An said, ¡°I¡¯m not framing him, I¡¯m only bringing up points of suspicion. As for the rest, you all need to investigate that on your own.¡±

    Zhen Xueyi and the others exchanged a look. They saw the seriousness in each other¡¯s expressions. This case was already full of points of suspicion from the very start. Even Murong Tong, who was a strong supporter of King Qi, was starting to suspect his leader.

    Zu Anughed coldly when he saw their suspicious expressions. ¡°I already said that I¡¯d be willing to talk, but I wasn¡¯t sure if you could write it all down. And look where we are now.¡±

    Zhen Xueyi, who had been casually sitting in his seat, said, ¡°We obviously need to treat this matter seriously if it involves the king. Just keep talking for now. Are there any other suspicious people?¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°Are you sure you want me to keep talking?¡±

    All of them became unhappy. ¡°Just keep going!¡± Who the heck are you kidding? You already even said King Qi¡¯s name; is there anyone else more tricky to deal with?

    But their expressions immediately changed the next second, because Zu An said, ¡°The next one who might want me dead is his majesty!¡±

    After a moment of petrification, all of them snapped out of their daze. Now, even Jiang Boyang became upset. ¡°Brazen! Do you understand what kind of crime you¡¯ve justmitted?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Jiang Boyang for +22 +22 +22¡­

    Is this kid stupid? If we really start an investigation, then these words alone are enough to condemn him for a great crime!

    Zu An sighed. ¡°I warned you, but you all forced me to say it. Even if there is disrespect, I guess we¡¯ll all be disrespectful together.¡±

    The three officials were speechless. But in the end, it was Zhen Xueyi who spoke up. ¡°Tell us why you think his majesty would wish to kill you first.¡± He thought, Why does this kid deserve a beating so badly? I even want to teach him a lesson.

    Zu An said, ¡°This matter involves the crown princess¡¯ purity, and if the crown prince were cuc¡­ Ahem, and I might be innocent, I might not be. For his majesty, wouldn¡¯t the simplest manner be to just get rid of me? As the ruler, one would rather identally kill a thousand innocents than let a single crook go. Isn¡¯t that but amon practice?¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Everyone¡¯s expression immediately became shocked when they looked at Zu An. This kid was just a brat off the streets, yet he actually understood the art of ruling so well! Was he self-taught, or had someone taught him¡­?

    Jiang Boyang said, ¡°Your analysis is reasonable, but there is one point you¡¯re wrong on. His majesty doesn¡¯t care if you are innocent or not; what he cares the most about is if the crown princess is innocent. He can kill you at will, but the crown princess is different. She isn¡¯t someone who can just be swapped out. That¡¯s why before we investigate all of this, his majesty wouldn¡¯t act against you first.¡±

    Zu An was surprised. He had really wondered if the one who wanted to silence him was the emperor. However, after listening to that exnation, only then did he realize that he still couldn¡¯t see as far as these real old foxes.

    Murong Tong became annoyed. ¡°Enough, enough, this kid is rambling on just to mess with us. There¡¯s no need to ask him so much anymore. I have something I want to ask you. We investigated some other eyewitnesses. Not only did they provide an oral confession, they also have proof.¡±

    ¡°What kind of proof?¡± Zu An was stunned. He began to think to himself. He didn¡¯t think there was anything that could give away his identity!

    Murong Tong said with a coldugh, ¡°There were people in the pce who found your clothes and the crown princess¡¯¡­ dress at the scene of the crime. How are you going to exin this?¡±

    Everyone¡¯s eyes bore daggers into Zu An when these words were spoken.

 Chapter 718: I Have a Friend

    <h4>Chapter 718: I Have a Friend</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed as he realized he had actually forgotten that detail! They hadn¡¯t found their clothes anywhere back then. The ones who were scheming against them had definitely hidden them, and then ced them at the scene of the crime afterwards.

    ¡°What, you have nothing else to say?¡± Murong Tong sneered when he saw Zu An¡¯s change in expression.

    Zu An sighed and asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t this easy enough? Couldn¡¯t someone just steal my clothes and throw them into the scene of the crime? My residence in the capital isn¡¯t a secret, and there aren¡¯t really any defenses. Any expert can go in and steal a set of clothes. What¡¯s so hard about that?¡±

    Murong Tong frowned. ¡°Stealing your clothes is easy, but the crown princess is in the eastern pce. Her clothes aren¡¯t so easily stolen!¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°Then you should ask the crown princess about that. How the hell would I know how they were stolen?¡±

    Murong Tong roared angrily, ¡°That damn tongue of yours! It seems we won¡¯t get anywhere without torture!¡±

    Zu An said gloomily, ¡°Sir Murong seems to want me to be involved with the crown princess this badly. I wonder what kind of ulterior motives you have.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t try to nder me.¡± Murong Tong was already starting to get used to Zu An¡¯s sharp words. ¡°I¡¯m merely doing this for the sake of the case.¡±

    ¡°Since it¡¯s for the case, then isn¡¯t this simple enough?¡± Zu An said, ¡°You can all seek out the experienced wet nurses to examine the crown princess¡¯ body, and see if she was vited by a man. Won¡¯t you find what you¡¯re looking for then?¡±

    Everyone in the room fell silent and exchanged a few looks. Then Murong Tong said, ¡°You sound quite confident. Is it because you already knew the crown princess is a virgin that you¡¯re making us investigate this?¡±

    Zu An feigned shock. ¡°What? The crown princess was actually a virgin? How long has she been married to the crown prince already?¡± He was even starting to admire his own acting skills. He obviously wouldn¡¯t admit that he had learned that detail from the jailers.

    Murong Tong harrumphed. ¡°Why would you be so confident unless you knew the truth? Did the crown princess tell you that when you met with her in private?¡±

    Zhen Xueyi frowned unhappily and warned, ¡°Brother Murong, please watch your words.¡±

    Only now did Zu An reply, ¡°I don¡¯t know anything about the crown princess¡¯ circumstances. However, whether or not she¡¯s been vited isn¡¯t something only virginity will prove. You can check if she fits snugly.¡±

    ¡°Fits snugly?¡± The interrogators¡¯ eyes went nk. However, they had lived for a long time, and they had spent their fair share of time in the brothels. Their hairs were graying now and they were truly experienced veterans in that field so they immediately realized what he was saying. Their expressions were a bit strange when they looked at Zu An. This fellow really was something! He could use such a phrase in this way.

    Zu An was confused by their reactions, but he still continued, ¡°You can also check if the crown princess¡¯ personal clothing has any traces of male fluids. You can also check the smell. Once you look into all of this, then you can easily discern that both the crown princess and I are innocent.¡±

    Jiang Boyang coughed. ¡°The pce has already examined all of this. The crown princess is indeed pure and unharmed. However¡­¡±

    Murong Tong continued, ¡°There is one other thing. You were seen by the pce¡¯s personnel when you two carried out illicit activities, and that was why you stopped. There¡¯s no way to prove that the two of you really are innocent.¡±

    Zu An shrugged. ¡°If you say it like that, then there¡¯s nothing I can do.¡± At the same time, he sighed in praise internally. Murong Tong and Jiang Boyang were expert investigators, as expected. They were already extremely close to the truth of what had happened between him and the crown princess.

    Zhen Xueyi spoke up. ¡°What do the two of you think?¡±

    Jiang Boyang said seriously. ¡°Judging from the various clues, I believe Zu An was most likely framed.¡±

    Zu An felt warm inside. As expected of the gorgeous principal¡¯s dad! He knows how to treasure his future son-inw after all.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Murong Tong harrumphed. ¡°But we can¡¯t eliminate the possibility that he and the crown princess have something going on between them.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, I won¡¯t agree to your granddaughter¡¯s wedding to Youzhao. Let¡¯s see what you¡¯ll do then!

    Zhen Xueyi said, ¡°Since both sides have reason to support their im and weck proof, then we can only seek out that person.¡±

    ¡°Indeed. Once he interferes, we¡¯ll immediately know the truth.¡± Jiang Boyang nodded in agreement.

    Murong Tong said a bit hesitantly, ¡°But he usually doesn¡¯t get involved in this type of thing. He might not agree!¡±

    Zhen Xueyi chuckled coldly. ¡°This matter has involved the crown princess, and it will affect our empire itself. He has to agree even if he doesn¡¯t want to.¡±

    Zu An waspletely confused. ¡°Who are you all talking about?¡±

    ¡°The Royal Academy¡¯s Libationer, Chen Si,¡± Murong Tong said with a coldugh. ¡°Libationer Chen is proficient in divination. He can distinguish the hearts of people. No one can tell lies before him.¡± A libationer was equivalent to a headmaster, but their authority was far greater.

    Zu An was shocked and thought, There¡¯s someone this OP in this world? Doesn¡¯t this mean that Chen Si is basically a hundred percent urate lie detector? That¡¯s such a pain in the ass!

    Murong Tong smirked. ¡°Your heart is beating pretty quickly. Are you nervous?¡±

    Zu An shivered. These fellows were all powerful experts, so they were able to pick up on these things. However, he reacted quickly and said with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s not fear, but rather excitement. I can finally express my innocence! Can you bring Sir Libationer here sooner so I can get out of here earlier?¡±

    Murong Tong was starting to lose confidence when he saw the excitement in Zu An¡¯s expression. Could it be that this guy really had a clear conscience?

    ¡­

    Their party quickly left to report the matter to the emperor. At the same time, they had to invite Libationer Chen here.

    Zu An was brought back into his prison cell. Everything inside had already been cleaned out, and Guo Zhi had even arranged for a jailer to stand guard outside for fear that someone else would try anything. Zhuxie Chixin came over when he received the news as well. He sent a group of Embroidered Envoys to oversee the ce just in case something was wrong with the jailers. With both sides keeping each other in check, not even a single fly would be able to get in.

    Zu An sank deep into thought when he saw the Embroidered Envoys. It looks like the one who wanted me dead isn¡¯t the emperor. Who was it then? Also, what do I do about that freaking lie detector?

    It wasn¡¯t that he was scared of Libationer Chen, because he had the ridiculous Keyboard Come skill. That was enough to help him make it through this ordeal, but the side effects were a bit too strong.

    But even though he could pass the test, what about the crown princess¡¯ side? What if this Libationer Chen went over to test the crown princess too? Wouldn¡¯t they both be seen through?

    He began to panic when he thought of that possibility. Unfortunately, he was locked up and couldn¡¯t do anything.

    Suddenly, he thought of something. He realized that he hadn¡¯t pulled his lottery in a while. Since he had nothing better to do, then he¡¯d just take care of that. He calcted his points, and found that he had 358,655 Rage points in total. After he had arrived at the capital, the people he dealt with had had higher cultivations, and all of them had offered more Rage points.

    He gave the surrounding jailers a look. They weren¡¯t paying any attention to him, so he began pulling the lottery.

    Thank you for ying¡­ Thank you for ying¡­ Thank you for ying¡­

    Suddenly, the keyboard stopped on the P key.

    Congrattions for winning a new skill: ¡°I Have a Friend!¡±

 Chapter 719: That Other Half Person

    <h4>Chapter 719: That Other Half Person</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An had a weird expression as he stared at the skill description.

    I Have a Friend Skill Description: In this world, there is an extremely mysterious and loyal friend. It doesn¡¯t matter whether you want to prove your words are real, or there¡¯s something you don¡¯t want to talk about because it is too embarrassing; he will immediately bail you out. No one has really seen him before, yet he really does exist in the lives of everyone.

    Skill Effects: When you start with ¡®I have a friend¡¯, everyone will know that you¡¯re making that statement up. That friend of yours is actually yourself.

    Zu An was stunned. What the hell? Isn¡¯t this skill just trash? Even if I didn¡¯t have this skill, if I said that ¡®I have a friend¡¯, everyone would know that I was talking about myself, right? Why the heck do I need this skill? What a freaking scam!

    Zu An finally snapped. Most of these skills were scams. His mood wasn¡¯t all that great after pulling a skill that wasn¡¯t all that useful. He could only pray to Buddha to see if he could get a skill that could help him out of his current predicament.

    Thank you for ying¡­ Thank you for ying¡­ Thank you for ying¡­

    His eyes twitched when he saw those words. In the end, he didn¡¯t pull any other new skills or tools. He could only sigh in disappointment. Looks like suddenly asking Buddha for help when he rarely ever lit incense didn¡¯t work.

    The total came out to 331 Ki Fruits. Compared to the usual ten percent hit rate, his luck today really was garbage.

    Zu An looked around. Although he saw that no one was paying attention to him, he still didn¡¯t feel at ease. He went to the corner and used his body to block their line of sight. Then, he secretly summoned Daji and fed her the Ki Fruits.

    Daji¡¯s aura rose sharply and she broke straight into the sixth rank.

    Zu An¡¯s mood finally improved a bit. He thought to himself, If I earned a few more waves of Rage points and managed to raise Daji to the master rank, or even grandmaster rank, then wouldn¡¯t I be practically invincible?

    Even though his current strength wasn¡¯t bad, the seventh rank wasn¡¯t anything special at all in the capital. There were eighth ranked experts everywhere. He wanted to cry when he thought of that. He cultivated frantically, yet in the end, Daji¡¯s rise in cultivation was already about to catch up to him. What the hell¡­?

    Suddenly, his mind stirred and he quickly recalled Daji. A secondter, Guo Zhi appeared outside of his prison and asked, ¡°Brother Zu, are you alright?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine, I was just taking a piss here.¡± Zu An shook his body a bit and then pulled up his pants.

    ¡°That¡¯s good, that¡¯s good. You can just call for someone if you need anything.¡± Guo Zhi looked him over. When he saw that Zu An was fine, he left, muttering to himself, ¡°How strange¡­ I think I sensed some type of aura just now. Was that a misperception?¡±

    Zu An immediately went on alert. It seemed it would be better to be a bit more careful. If word of Daji¡¯s appearance reached Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s ears, then things would be a bit tricky.

    Then, hey down on the bed and began to slowly recollect the details of the whole affair¡­

    ¡­

    Time passed just like that. Zu An wasn¡¯t interrogated for several days. He was so bored in his cell that he felt like a hen about toy some eggs.

    Fortunately, Chu Chuyan visited him from time to time, bringing him the newest information from the court. ¡°The court has been in quite amotion recently. Because there hasn¡¯t been any conclusive proof, the crown prince¡¯s factionunched a full force retaliation, saying that someone tried to frame them. They¡¯re insisting on an investigation to find the one who nned this behind the scenes.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°King Qi¡¯s faction isn¡¯t willing to just back down either. They made a huge fuss over the witnesses and your clothes that were left on the scene. Now that we¡¯re on the topic, do you really have nothing going on with the crown princess? Why were your clothes found together?¡±

    Zu An smiled in embarrassment and said, ¡°We¡¯re clearly being framed here. Wouldn¡¯t it be easy enough if they wanted to steal my clothes?¡±

    ¡°But stealing the crown princess¡¯ clothes isn¡¯t that easy, right?¡± Chu Chuyan frowned. However, she didn¡¯t really suspect Zu An. She continued, ¡°After fighting back and forth, someone suggested to call for Sir Libationer to find out the truth.

    ¡°Many subjects didn¡¯t agree to this at first, as they all had their own misgivings. But there¡¯s nothing else they can do. They went back and forth for a few days. I believe they¡¯ll reach an agreement soon, and Sir Libationer wille to settle this matter.¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s clear and cold eyes revealed her worries. ¡°Sir Libationer¡¯s strength is unfathomable. He isn¡¯t any weaker than King Qi. There are some who suspect that he might even be someoneparable to his majesty. No one can lie in front of him.¡±

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to receive such an honor. Even someone this important is getting involved.¡±

    He remembered Yun Jianyue mentioning that there were two and a half people she had some misgivings against. He knew about the emperor and King Qi. Was this Libationer the half?

    ¡°You¡¯re still in the mood tough?¡± Chu Chuyan began to panic. ¡°If you really did anything, then there¡¯s no way you would be able to hide it from Sir Libationer.¡±

    Zu An had a weird expression. ¡°I¡¯m talking about what-ifs, okay? What if. What if there were something between me and the crown princess? What would you do?¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s beautiful brows raised sharply. ¡°Then you would deserve it even if you die!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Chuyan for +22 +22 +22¡­

    Look at this jealous girl! Zu Anughed and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, both the crown princess and I are innocent.¡± Though¡­ Our interpretation of the word innocent might be different. Either way, there was no way he would im to be guilty unless they went all the way to third base.

    Chu Chuyan sighed in relief. ¡°That¡¯s good. Once Sir Libationeres, you should be able to get out soon afterwards.¡±

    Zu An noticed the weariness in her expression and his heart softened. He grabbed her hands and said, ¡°Chuyan, I¡¯ve really troubled you these past few days by making you run all over the ce.¡±

    Chu Chuyan sighed and said, ¡°I actually know that everything I¡¯ve done these past few days has been useless. What happened this time is already on toorge of a scale. Neither the Chu nor the Qin n can do too much for you.¡±

    Zu An smiled warmly. ¡°You did help me a lot. Otherwise, it wouldn¡¯t have been the Libationer who came, and I would¡¯ve been secretly silenced instead.¡±

    Chu Chuyan smiled. ¡°You¡¯re always so good atforting me.¡±

    ¡­

    After Chu Chuyan left, Zhen Xueyi, Jiang Boyang, and Murong Tong entered together. Zhuxie Chixin was present as well. When he saw the lineup, Zu An shivered inside. It seemed some things truly were inevitable.

    The jailer brought Zu An to an interrogation room. Zhen Xueyi and the others didn¡¯t sit down the way they had before, but instead waited quietly by the entrance. Even Zhuxie Chixin didn¡¯t have his usual arrogant expression.

    Soon afterwards, an invisible aura pushed open the entrance, and an elder in a green robe slowly walked in. His steps looked extremely slow, but he entered the interrogation room almost instantly. That feeling of spatial distortion was painful to watch.

    Zu An sized up this legendary figure, but he could only be described as ordinary looking, to the point where no one would even bother giving him a second look if they saw him outside. Comparatively, Jiang Boyang and the others appeared to have much more character. However, those elegant uncles could only serve as supporting characters next to this elder.

    His eyes were incredibly deep, as if they carried the weight of countless experiences. In that instant, Zu An almost forgot what he looked like. The only things left were those deep eyes.

    ¡°You are that Zu An?¡± The libationer didn¡¯t greet Jiang Boyang and the others, to the extent where he didn¡¯t even nod toward them. It was impossible to tell if that was because of disdain, or merely because he didn¡¯t need to do such a thing due to his status.

    Jiang Boyang and the others didn¡¯t be upset, as if they had expected that. They instructed, ¡°Zu An, hurry and pay your respects to Sir Libationer.¡±

    Zu An greeted the elder. ¡°This junior greets Sir Libationer.¡± Being stubborn and arrogant in front of someone like this would be very stupid. Furthermore, this man was in charge of his fate.

    The libationer smiled and said, ¡°There is no need to be nervous. You only need to reply to one question. Please answer naturally and do not resist.¡±

    In that instant, Zu An felt as if he had been bathed in autumn wind. He focused a hundred and twenty percent of his attention and replied, ¡°Sir Libationer, please ask away!¡±

    This elder was ridiculously strong. If he forced himself to Keyboard Come, that would most likely result in his death. The only thing he could try out at this point would be his new skill. He had already thought through just how to use that seemingly trash skill. However, he still didn¡¯t have a hundred percent confidence in making it past this libationer¡¯s trial.

    The libationer¡¯s eyes shone with radiance as he asked, ¡°Are you and the crown princess innocent?¡±

    ¡°I have a friend¡­¡± Zu An was just about to start his skill, but he was stunned. This question¡­ He immediately replied, ¡°Yes!¡±

    The libationer nodded. ¡°It is the truth. Very well, my interrogation isplete.¡± After saying so, he turned around to leave.

 Chapter 720: Back in the Light

    <h4>Chapter 720: Back in the Light</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The others, who were standing by the entrance, were stunned. ¡°It¡¯s over, just like that?¡±

    Murong Tong was the most nervous. He quickly stepped out in front of the elder and asked, ¡°Sir Libationer, you¡¯ve already finished your interrogation?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± The libationer seemed to treasure words like gold.

    Murong Tong really was panicking now. ¡°But isn¡¯t this a bit too careless? Shouldn¡¯t you ask things in more detail?¡±

    The libationer gave him an indifferent look. ¡°Are you trying to teach me how to do things?¡±

    Murong Tong immediately felt his entire body go ice-cold, to the extent where he found it a bit hard to breathe. He shivered and immediately apologized, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare!¡±

    Jiang Boyang also spoke out in his ce. ¡°Sir Libationer, please don¡¯t mind. His nature is a bit too straightforward.¡±

    The libationer nodded and said, ¡°I have already asked everything I need to ask. He is innocent. Just release him.¡± He didn¡¯t wait for these people to say anything else and stepped out. His figure gradually disappeared into the distance.

    Zu An was incredibly shocked. He hadn¡¯t used the I Have a Friend skill just now, because the question the other party had asked was extremely strange.

    The libationer hadn¡¯t asked if he was with the crown princess that day, nor had he asked if they had removed their clothes. Instead, he had asked an ambiguous question.

    ¡®Are you and the crown princess innocent?¡¯

    Even though most people wouldn¡¯t find this question that strange, as someone who was directly involved, he understood what had happened. Everyone¡¯s feelings toward innocence were different.

    Others might think that being with the crown princess without clothes on, or even touching one another a bit, would make one guilty. But as a transmigrator, Zu An thought it was normal for guys and girls to touch each other. Only if they got to third base would he really consider himself guilty.

    That was why he hadn¡¯t needed his new skill at all when facing this question. Furthermore, the other party hadn¡¯t continued to ask anything else.

    If it had been just an ordinary person asking, he might have wondered if the other party was truly a professional, or if this was just a moment of negligence.

    However, this was the libationer! He was the third most powerful cultivator in the entire court. His status was extraordinary. Why would someone like that make such a low-level mistake?

    This Sir Libationer was secretly helping me! But why would he help me? Zu An thought to himself. He was sure that he had never seen this person before. It was to the extent where he had only heard of this person in the past few days.

    There was no reason for such a person to help a nobody like him, right? Could it be that I¡¯m overthinking things, that all of this is just a coincidence? He was internally conflicted.

    However, just then, Guo Zhi ran over with a smile and said, ¡°Now that those sirs are reporting to the emperor about Sir Libationer¡¯s decision, I believe brother Zu will be free soon. Let me offer my congrattions ahead of time!¡±

    Zu An smiled as well. ¡°Thank you, brother Guo, for your care these past few days. Otherwise, I might¡¯ve really been put in a hard spot.¡±

    Guo Zhi was the one who became a bit embarrassed instead. ¡°My brother, you¡¯re being too polite! I really almost harmed you this time¡­ I still feel quite guilty about that.¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°It was something hard to prevent. By the way, did you find the one who did that?¡±

    Guo Zhi replied, ¡°I found him, but he had already ended his own life by then. We weren¡¯t able to find out much about him either, so this is still an unresolved case.¡±

    ¡°So that¡¯s what happened¡­¡± Zu An thought to himself.

    A whileter, someone came over to inform Zu An that he was being released. He left the gloomy and cold prison, and the sudden sunlight was a bit hard for him to adjust to. He thought, Sigh, I was such a good citizen in my past world. How many times have I been locked up already in this one?

    ¡°Big bro Zu!¡± Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun arrived with some other guards, bearing big smiles on their faces. ¡°We came here to wee you back when we heard the news of your release!¡±

    Zu A felt warm inside. ¡°You guys don¡¯t have work today?¡± he asked.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°The crown princess gave us a day off,¡± Jiao Sigun replied.

    Zu An was stunned. He realized that sending them here to wee him was probably the crown princess¡¯ idea. After experiencing such an ordeal, she couldn¡¯t reallye herself, so she had done this instead. That girl still has some conscience. I didn¡¯t save her for nothing after all.

    Piao Duandiao moved over and winked at him. ¡°Brother Zu, shall we make a trip to the government brothel? You should vent out all of your frustrations on those cute sisters.¡± Ever since he had heard Zu An use the phrase ¡®cute sis¡¯, he had begun to use it quite often himself.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help butugh. This fellow¡¯s surname really suited him. He had an exceptionally strong attachment to such a thing.[1]

    They headed toward the pce entrance. Zu An found a chance to quietly ask, ¡°Has Sir Libationer visited the eastern pce?¡±

    Piao Duandiao shook his head. ¡°He didn¡¯t.¡±

    Zu An sighed in relief. To be honest, he had been worried about the crown princess¡¯ side the most. Since the libationer hadn¡¯t questioned her, then with her wits, this opportunity would surely be enough for her to deal with the rest of the trouble.

    ¡°How is the crown princess doing these days?¡± Zu An asked.

    Piao Duandiao chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s only because I know you that I wouldn¡¯t think anything strange. Anyone else might have other thoughts.¡±

    Jiao Sigun retorted, ¡°You don¡¯t know sh*t. Big bro Zu is merely asking this out of loyalty. It¡¯s your mind that¡¯s dirty. I definitely wouldn¡¯t have thought those weird things.¡±

    Piao Duandiao was already used to Jiao Sigun¡¯s bickering and didn¡¯t feel likementing. He continued, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the crown princess has remained inside the entire time, so there haven¡¯t been any problems. Still, I can tell her mood isn¡¯t too good.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself that it would be weirder for the crown princess¡¯ mood to be good after this type of thing had happened.

    They all left the pce gates happily. They began to chat about what kind of girl they would go after once they arrived at the government brothel.

    Qiu Honglei and Yun Jianyue had left, so Zu An wasn¡¯t really in the mood to go there anymore. No matter how amazing those courtesan queens were, they were far inferior to the girls at his side. Still, he couldn¡¯t really refuse these people¡¯s enthusiasm.

    Suddenly, a guard said, ¡°Wow, there¡¯s an incredible beauty over there!¡±

    ¡°Be careful, anyone who can wait near the pce gates definitely isn¡¯t an ordinary person.¡±

    ¡°I wonder which sir¡¯s wife that is. Tsk, that person really is lucky.¡±

    ¡­

    When he heard theirments, Zu An turned to look in that direction out of curiosity. He then saw a familiar face.

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡± An icy blue figure rushed over and leapt into Zu An¡¯s embrace under the shocked gazes of all of the imperial guards.

    The guards gulped. It turned out the husband they were so jealous of had actually been right there with them all this time!

    ¡°Chuyan, why are you here?¡± Zu An asked, surprised and happy.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s face was a bit red. She had been so excited that she lost her bearing. Now, she noticed that there were many eyes looking at her. She quickly took a step back and withdrew from his embrace. ¡°I received news that the Libationer would personally interrogate you, so I waited for the results by the gates. Then, sure enough, you were released. Huh, who are they?¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°They¡¯re my friends, colleagues from the eastern pce. This is my wife, everyone.¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s face immediately turned red when she heard the word wife. After all, her marriage to Zu An had already been annulled by the Chu n. Now that she heard Zu An continue to call her his wife, her usually cold face revealed a stunning smile. ¡°Hello, everyone. May I ask where all of you are going?¡±

    This gorgeous scene that was like the first budding of spring made the guards feel their souls going limp. When had they ever met such a beautiful woman before?

    Even though the crown princess was beautiful, she was always stern and dignified. The other concubines were also of high status. None of them would smile so warmly toward them like Chu Chuyan.

    When Piao Duandiao and the others snapped out of their daze, they said, ¡°We greet thedy. We were¡­ just escorting big bro Zu out.¡± How could they say that they were going to take Zu An to a brothel to his wife¡¯s face?

    Chu Chuyan smiled. ¡°I¡¯ve troubled everyone. I¡¯ve prepared a bit of wine back home. Why don¡¯t all of youe with us?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need, there¡¯s no need. We still have business to take care of,¡± Piao Duandiao and the others quickly said. How could they interfere in this two-person world of romance? It was best if they didn¡¯t disturb the couple. Furthermore, they had a day off, so they should obviously spend that time in the government brothel.

    Just then, Chu Youzhao ran over as well. She eximed with a sweet smile, ¡°Brother-inw!¡±

    Murong Qinghe came over with her and subconsciously began, ¡°Brother-¡­ Ahem, hello, Sir Zu.¡± She almost blurted out ¡®brother-inw¡¯ too. Her face turned red from embarrassment.

    All of the guards were stunned.

    Big bro Zu, your brother-inw is prettier than a girl!

    Also, that little beauty over there seems to be the Murong n¡¯s young miss? Look at how shy she seems. Does she like big bro as well? But she¡¯s the dignified youngdy of the Murong n! Is she going to be a concubine?

    Big bro is our big bro after all. You¡¯re the model for all of us to strive after.

    Just then, a carriage slowly stopped nearby. A pair of perfect legs emerged first. Piao Duandiao and the others immediately began breathing hurriedly

    1. The character ¡®Piao¡¯ can mean ¡®in and simple¡¯.

 Chapter 721: Itâ€™s Even Embarrassing for Me to Expose You

    <h4>Chapter 721: It¡¯s Even Embarrassing for Me to Expose You</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The capital was more open-minded than average to begin with. The girls tended to dress in somewhat more revealing outfits, so their nice, thick thighs could be seen from time to time.

    However, no one had seen legs as beautiful as these. The worst part was that they were even covered in ck stockings! Those stockings had a shine to them that drew the attention of onlookers, and theirce borders had a pulse-pounding allure.

    ¡°Holy sh*t, holy sh*t! I¡¯d better not see any girls with stockings like these in the government brothel, or I won¡¯t evenst a stick of incense¡¯s worth of time!¡± Piao Duandiao gulped.

    Jiao Sigun looked at him in disdain and ruthlessly saw straight through him, remarking, ¡°When have you eversted longer than a stick of incense?¡±

    Piao Duandiao was furious. ¡°What the hell, man? I¡¯m really going to stop hanging out with you! Do you believe I won¡¯t?!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe you,¡± Jiao Sigun replied.

    ¡°¡­¡± Piao Duandiao fell silent before changing the topic. ¡°Which great sir¡¯s woman do you think this one is?¡±

    ¡°Could it be big bro Zu?¡± Jiao Sigun asked quietly.

    Piao Duandiao scoffed. ¡°Do you think he¡¯s a freaking deity or something? Chu First Miss is already ridiculously beautiful. The fact that she can tolerate the Murong n¡¯s young miss is already the limit. How could she tolerate such a beautiful¡­ woman¡­¡±

    Before he even finished speaking, that stunning woman wearing those seductive ck stockings walked over. Her gait carried a special rhythm, full of elegance and style, unlike the girls of the government brothels. The sounds her high heels made whenever they touched the ground seemed to pierce through to the guards¡¯ hearts.

    ¡°Hey, do you think that woman¡¯sing over because she likes me?¡± Piao Duandiao asked as he subconsciously stuck out his chest.

    ¡°Nonsense, she¡¯s clearly walking in my direction,¡± Jiao Sigun immediately retorted.

    However, both of them soon froze. The mature and gorgeous beauty had stopped right in front of Zu An.

    ¡°Long time no see,¡± the beauty in the ck stockings said as she looked at Zu An. There was a faint smile on her face.

    ¡°It¡¯s been so long that I¡¯m already all worn out, and yet big sis principal still looks so amazing.¡± Zu An sighed in praise. If this woman had lived in his past world, every man would immediately imagine her as a sexy officedy, secretary, or teacher, among other such fetishes¡­

    Jiang Luofu crossed her arms, which only further emphasized her outstanding figure. ¡°You don¡¯t seem to have changed all that much in my opinion. You¡¯re still so slick-tongued.¡±

    Chu Chuyan was surprised and happy as she asked, ¡°Principal Jiang, why did youe to the capital?¡±

    Jiang Luofu couldn¡¯t help but smile warmly when she looked at Chu Chuyan, the academy¡¯s most talented student. She exined, ¡°I was a bit bored in Brightmoon City. Since some of the academy¡¯s students were chosen by the Royal Academy anyway, I decided to apany them here and visit home.¡±

    With Chu Chuyan¡¯s background, she obviously knew about Jiang Luofu¡¯s rtionship to Jiang Boyang. She was curious about something else and asked, ¡°I wonder which students were fortunate enough to be chosen by the Royal Academy?¡±

    After all, the Royal Academy was the highest-ranked educational establishment in the entire empire. The heaven ss of Brightmoon Academy was already full of geniuses, butpared to the brightest geniuses of the entire empire, they couldn¡¯t help but seem ordinary.

    The number of students who were epted into the Royal Academy never exceeded five people. If they were unlucky, then it was entirely possible for not even a single person to make it.

    ¡°It really is quite the upsetting topic,¡± Jiang Luofu said. ¡°You guys were students that I was extremely optimistic about, students who might even have had a chance at shattering the academy¡¯s records. Unfortunately, you disappeared at the most crucial time, and then who knows where Pei Mianman went. Something ended up happening to Zheng Dan too. Without our best students here, we almost ended up with no good candidates this time.¡±

    Chu Chuyan said apologetically, ¡°It¡¯s my fault. I ended up disturbing the academy¡¯s affairs because of my own situation.¡±

    Jiang Luofu sighed. ¡°You don¡¯t need to me yourself too much. I know it¡¯s not your fault. Thankfully, three people passed. You guys are familiar with two of them, and they even followed me here to visit you.¡±

    ¡°Who are they?¡± Chu Chuyan asked curiously. After all, in the capital, they couldn¡¯t help but feel like outsiders. Brightmoon City was their real home.

    ¡°You guys shoulde out.¡± Jiang Luofu waved toward the carriage.

    ¡°Principal, you¡¯re really no fun. I was waiting to see if brother Zu could guess who we were,¡± came a voice. The doors opened, and an attractive man and woman walked out.

    Murong Qinghe¡¯s eyes widened in shock. She looked at the man, and then looked at Chu Youzhao next to her. There¡¯s actually another man as handsome and pretty as my big brother Chu? Hmph! I think my big brother Chu is still a bit more handsome!

    Piao Duandiao and the other imperial guards sneered internally. A pretty boy who''s worthless otherwise!

    However, their eyes were drawn to the girl at his side. Her demeanor was different from Chu Chuyan¡¯s quiet and exquisite style, as well as from Jiang Luofu¡¯s morous bearing. This woman had an educated and distinguished aura that made one unable to help but feel closer to her.

    They thought to themselves that even though the government brothel¡¯s girls were all proficient in various skills, they all seemed tock the qualities of a truly talented girl. They alsocked the sort of softness thaty between this girl¡¯s brows.

    The youngdy first nodded in greeting to Chu Chuyan. ¡°Chu First Miss.¡± Then, when she looked at Zu An, she smiled faintly. ¡°Young master Zu.¡±

    All of the guards¡¯ expressions grew strange. Does this woman have something to do with our big bro Zu too?! Heavens, big bro, we know you¡¯re amazing, but there¡¯s no need to take all of these incredible beauties, right? Can you leave something behind for the rest of us?

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Of course, the thought passed by in a sh. They knew fully well that these girls would never have anything to do with them. It was still those government brothel girls who were more realistic goals. Those were girls they could see and touch.

    The guards could no longer endure these mental blows. They bid their farewells one after another and headed toward the government brothel with lowered heads.

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°Brother Xie, Lady Xie, it really is touching for people of the same hometown to meet. Come, let¡¯s alle together for a group hug!¡± he eximed, walking over with his arms spread.

    Xie Daoyun scoffed, looking away to hide her blush. For the sake of protecting his sister, Xie Xiu could only brace himself and walk forward to hug Zu An. ¡°Brother Zu is still as enthusiastic as before, haha.¡±

    At the same time, Xie Xiu was conflicted inside. This guy isn¡¯t gay, right? He was quite the attractive man. He¡¯d had a few run-ins of that sort over the years, making him hate physical contact with other men.

    Zu An hadn¡¯t really been aiming for him, however. Both of them felt a bit awkward and tacitly agreed to separate. Hemented, ¡°I have a whole new level of respect for brother Xie. You actually managed to get into the Royal Academy!¡±

    Even though Xie Xiu wasn¡¯t bad, his specialty had never been cultivation. He wasn¡¯t a top student in Brightmoon Academy. Meanwhile, even though Xie Daoyun wasn¡¯t good at cultivation, she was excellent in other areas. Wasn¡¯t Xie Xiu¡¯s forte just chasing after girls? There was no way that was the Royal Academy¡¯s basis for recruiting him, right?

    ¡°Big sister got in on her own. I only made it here through my father¡¯s connections, haha,¡± Xie Xiu exined without holding back anything.

    ¡°Your family¡¯s strength is also part of your own; there¡¯s no need for brother Xie to be like this.¡± Zu An gave the quiet youngdy to the side a surprised look. ¡°So Lady Xie was actually hiding your strength all this time?¡±

    Xie Daoyun blushed. ¡°I merely applied as a Rune Master. I didn¡¯t enter through traditional means of cultivation.¡±

    Zu An praised her, ¡°But a Rune Master is extremely formidable! Regardless of whether it¡¯s weapons, building defenses, or army formations, they can be far more useful than a single cultivator. If there¡¯s a chance in the future, I¡¯ll need to learn well from Miss Xie.¡±

    Xie Daoyun subconsciously nced at Chu Chuyan and said quietly, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare take that position. It would be best if we could all learn from each other.¡±

    Jiang Luofu finally couldn¡¯t take it anymore. She stood between the two of them. ¡°What do you mean ¡®learn from her¡¯? Even I¡¯m a bit embarrassed exposing you. Also, Xie Xiu, why are you always like this? That girl is the Murong n¡¯s young miss, okay? That¡¯s not someone you should be messing around with.¡±

    It turned out that by this time, Xie Xiu had already rushed over to Murong Qinghe¡¯s side to start something, while Chu Youzhao angrily protected her friend.

    Zu An chuckled. His little sister-inw was also a girl, and yet she was this controlling towards Murong Qinghe? Don¡¯t tell me you really developed some feelings? Tsk tsk. Even though I don¡¯t mind some girl on girl action, isn¡¯t that taboo in this world?

 Chapter 722: You Donâ€™t Want My Big Sister, But I Want Your Younger Sister

    <h4>Chapter 722: You Don¡¯t Want My Big Sister, But I Want Your Younger Sister</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    When she saw Chu Chuyan¡¯s ambiguous smile, Xie Daoyun immediately panicked. She quickly moved away from Zu An. Then, she punched her little brother to get rid of her embarrassment. She pulled on his ears and dragged him off to the side, saying, ¡°The capital isn¡¯t Brightmoon City! Stop messing around.¡±

    Their father was in charge of Brightmoon City, so they could always scrape by somehow no matter what he did to girls. However, the capital was different. Any random person might have a higher rank than their father! If something happened, then there would be no saving the situation.

    ¡°Aaaah! Sis, please let go! I didn¡¯t do anything bad!¡± Xie Xiu screamed. Who wouldn¡¯t be embarrassed by having their ears pulled in public?

    Zu An was just about tough at him when Chu Chuyan quietly moved to his side and pinched his waist without anyone noticing.

    Zu An inhaled sharply through his teeth. In the past, when Chu Chuyan hadn¡¯t immediatelyshed out from jealousy, he had actually felt a bit upset. He had felt that perhaps she didn¡¯t care that much about him. But now that she acted jealous, he realized that she had been a bit cuter before. Sigh, am I not just a piece of sh*t¡­?

    The group chatted for a while before heading to Zu An¡¯s residence. Xie Xiu and Xie Daoyun looked around his house with curiosity, and even Jiang Luofu gave it a few looks.

    ¡°Haha, looks like we have a base in the capital now. We¡¯lle over to y whenever there¡¯s some free time,¡± Xie Xiu said with augh.

    For the sake of properly fostering these two, their father had deliberately chosen not to purchase any property here. He had made them live in the academy dormitory so they could study properly. But even though the academy dormitory wasn¡¯t so bad, how could itpare to a house outside?

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°You¡¯re wee anytime.¡± He looked at Xie Daoyun as he spoke.

    Xie Daoyun felt her heart jump. Why am I like this? Don¡¯t tell me he said that specially to me? This guy is a pervert after all! Even though she was unhappy, she didn¡¯t show any anger. Instead, her cheeks were flushed red, making her look even more charming than usual.

    Chu Chuyan had been ordering some servants to set up a fire pan by the entrance and didn¡¯t notice what was going on. ¡°Everyone, please cross over this fire pan to burn away bad luck,¡± she urged everyone.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but chuckle. He didn¡¯t expect this different world to have so many customs too. He crossed the fire pan, but right when he was about to enter the room, Chu Chuyan stopped him.

    Chu Chuyan said, ¡°Remove all of your clothes and burn them in the fire pan. Don¡¯t bring the imperial prison¡¯s bad luck back home.¡±

    Zu An frowned. ¡°We don¡¯t need to go that far, right?¡±

    ¡°Absolutely not; you must do this.¡± Chu Chuyan was extremely stubborn on this matter.

    Jiang Luofu smiled and said, ¡°Even though this thing called luck is a bit vague, it indeed exists. There¡¯s no harm in being more careful.¡±

    Helpless to resist, Zu An could only remove his clothes and toss them into the fire pan.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Murong Qinghe blushed. She quickly covered her eyes with her hands. However, there were small gaps between her fingers.

    Chu Youzhao told herself that she was a man right now, so she couldn¡¯t act like a little girl in front of everyone. However, if someone looked at her from behind, they would notice a ring of bright red around her neck.

    Jiang Luofu was the one who acted the most naturally. As a mature woman, she obviously wouldn¡¯t be as shy as these little girls. She looked at Zu An¡¯s body with appreciative eyes.

    Xie Daoyun was the mostdylike person in the group. She immediately turned around and refused to look at Zu An. However, the image of his masculine body was already imprinted in her mind.

    Xie Xiu looked at Zu An¡¯s muscles enviously and remarked, ¡°Brother Zu, how do you train your body? I didn¡¯t expect you to be so big!¡±

    Zu An¡¯s muscles weren¡¯t only robust; they didn¡¯t bulge like other people¡¯s. His body¡¯s lines were flowing and smooth, yet the group could all feel the explosive power contained with them.

    As a pretty boy, even though Xie Xiu believed that he was unmatched in terms of facial features, he still felt his build was a bitcking. For example, he felt his abs had already been developed to the highest level possible. Even though he normally mocked more muscr men, he still couldn¡¯t help but admire someone like Zu An who had both looks and strength.

    Zu An said proudly, ¡°It¡¯s not something you can learn. This is called having strong genes!¡± He couldn¡¯t just say that those muscles had been obtained by getting beaten up, right? That would be way too embarrassing.

    Chu Chuyan then said, ¡°Take off your pants,¡± leaving Zu An speechless.

    Jiang Luofu¡¯s expression also became a bit unnatural. She subconsciously turned to the side and pretended to be looking somewhere else.

    Xie Xiu felt even more pained and humiliated. He had finally freed himself from what he had seen that day in the dungeon. Did he really have to see it again? I don¡¯t want to!

    Xie Daoyun sighed inside. There had been rumors that Chu First Miss and Zu An were husband and wife only in name. But judging from how things looked, they were clearly already a proper couple!

    Chu Youzhao turned Murong Qinghe around, saying, ¡°Little Qinghe, you can¡¯t look at something like that.¡± However, that scene of Zu An and Chu Chuyan appeared in her head, and her heart rate immediately quickened.

    Zu Anughed in embarrassment. ¡°That wouldn¡¯t be too good, right?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not telling you to take them off in front of everyone.¡± Chu Chuyan rolled her eyes. She ordered a servant to set up a makeshift changing room.

    Zu An sighed in admiration. His wife really was meticulous! For the sake of preventing awkwardness, he changed behind cover while asking, ¡°Huh? Where did all of these maidse from?¡±

    Chu Chuyan replied, ¡°Did you forget already? I said I was going to help you with that. You were worried about the people here, so I found some of the n¡¯s servants to bring here. They finally arrived, so there are people to help you with your everyday life now.¡±

    Zu An felt warm inside. ¡°I was going to say that these fellows looked familiar. Right, why don¡¯t I see that brat Cheng Shouping?¡± he asked.

    Chu Chuyan replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know either. My mom said that even the Reader Elder doesn¡¯t like him, that he¡¯s the most annoying person. That¡¯s why she didn¡¯t send him. Now that we¡¯re on the topic, who is Reader Elder?¡±

    Zu An was stunned and said, ¡°I have no idea. But even though that kid is a bit slow, he¡¯s quite the lucky star.¡± However, he didn¡¯t argue.

    After changing into new clothes, he invited Jiang Luofu and the others inside. A feast had already been prepared. Now that these fellow townsfolk had gathered together, the atmosphere became more and more lively.

    Zu An took the opportunity to pour a ss for Jiang Luofu. ¡°Big sis principal, I really have to thank you this time. It¡¯s all because of your esteemed father that I was able to safely make it through this matter.¡±

    Jiang Luofu thought to herself that this kid was too embarrassed to call her ¡®gorgeous principal¡¯ in front of his wife¡¯s face. She replied, ¡°My father has always been an upright and inspoken man. He wouldn¡¯t act out of selfish intentions just because of me. He must have taken care of you because he felt that you were innocent.¡±

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°Your father¡¯s moral integrity is truly worthy of admiration. However, I still have to thank you. You tried to help me when I was captured by the Embroidered Envoys before as well.¡±

    Jiang Luofu felt her cheeks grow warm. ¡°I don''t dare to im credit for that. Even though I tried to do what I could, it wasn¡¯t of any use.¡±

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°Just the intent alone is already something I¡¯m extremely grateful for.¡±

    Chu Chuyan was incredibly shocked and also raised her cup. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect Principal Jiang to have helped us so much. I¡¯ll also drink a ss out of respect.¡±

    When Jiang Luofu looked at Chu Chuyan¡¯s clear and cold, but smiling eyes, she couldn¡¯t help but feel like there was more behind her gaze. Her own expression became a bit unnatural. ¡°What do you mean ¡®intent¡¯? It was mainly because Liuyu wanted to save you. I was so annoyed that I finally couldn¡¯t take it anymore and asked my father for help.¡±

    Jiang Luofu ended up selling her friend out in the end. But she wasn¡¯t even here anyway, so it didn¡¯t really matter.

    ¡°Teacher Shang¡­¡± The woman in that gazebo appeared in Zu An¡¯s head again, and he entered a momentary daze.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Chu Chuyan had an ambiguous smile on her face. ¡°Ah Zu, I didn¡¯t expect yourwork to be that wide. Even the academy¡¯s mysterious Teacher Shang views you favorably?¡± She had chosen him as a drafted husband mainly because of his ordinary and slow personality. Yet in the end, he had ended up being a womanizer! She had beenpletely fooled.

    Zu An was rmed and said, ¡°Teacher Shang is kind-hearted by nature. She couldn¡¯t bear to see her student be wronged. Please ask father and mother-inw to help me express my thanks.¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± Chu Chuyan¡¯s expression immediately softened considerably.

    The already tipsy Xie Xiu moved over. ¡°Ah Zu, do you have a little sister or someone like that?¡±

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°No, why would you ask that?¡±

    Xie Xiu looked disappointed. He gave his older sister a look and said dejectedly, ¡°I feel like I¡¯m really losing out here¡­¡±

 Chapter 723: Simp All You Want, You Wonâ€™t Even Get a Crumb

    <h4>Chapter 723: Simp All You Want, You Won¡¯t Even Get a Crumb</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Xie Daoyun, who had been paying attention to their side of the room, felt her face heat up. She pulled her little brother¡¯s ears, flustered. ¡°Stupid brat, what the heck are you saying?¡±

    Even though she did think of Zu An favorably, it would never be at the level where she would be willing to marry him. Besides, was he really going to say that right in front of Chu First Miss? How was she even supposed to show herself in public in the future?

    Xie Xiu chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m going back to my old habits, haha. Let¡¯s drink, let¡¯s drink.¡±

    Fortunately, Murong Qinghe helped him out of his embarrassment. She got up and proposed a toast to Zu An. ¡°Brother Zu, I know that my grandfather has troubled you quite a bit during this period. I hope you can forgive him. That¡¯s just his nature.¡±

    She was still thinking about marrying into the Chu n. Chu First Miss seemed to be the one managing the household, and her big brother Chu seemed to trust and adore this brother-inw greatly, so it was best to remain on good terms. Otherwise, if he talked badly about her, he might end up ruining her rtionship with her big brother Chu!

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°Qinghe, you don¡¯t need to worry. Your grandfather was only acting out of duty and not for petty revenge. How could I me you guys?¡±

    That old fart Murong Tong had probably had thoughts of getting revenge, but he still hadn¡¯t gone against the verdict in the end. As such, it wasn¡¯t that big of a deal. Since Murong Qinghe was already humbling herself like this, it was clearly because of Youzhao. He couldn¡¯t just interfere and get in the way of those lovebirds, right?

    Murong Qinghe sighed in relief when she heard Zu An¡¯s words. She drained her ss in one gulp, and then said with a big smile, ¡°Thank you, big brother Zu!¡±

    ¡­

    As they drank and chatted, the atmosphere quickly became more and more lively. Time gradually passed.

    It was already quitete by the time they finished. Jiang Luofu and the Xie siblings left one after the other. On the other hand, Chu Youzhao and Murong Qinghe didn''t leave. It wasn¡¯t that they wanted to stay behind, but rather that they werepletely drunk.

    The two girls rarely drank to such an extent. But because of the festive mood, they had downed one ss after another and had quickly be drunk.

    That fellow Xie Xiu had tried to go after Murong Qinghe again. He was definitely a part of the problem, encouraging her to drink more.

    As such, Chu Youzhao had obviously be unhappy, drinking in her partner''s ce. However, how could she be a match for Xie Xiu, who lived and breathed this type of atmosphere? She was quickly defeated.

    Murong Qinghe stubbornly stepped forward to help out her big brother Chu when she saw such bullying going on. It was unknown whether the reason was her bloodline, but even though she was young, she could definitely hold a substantial amount of alcohol. Furthermore, Chu Youzhao had already fought part of the battle for her.

    In the end, the drinking contest ended in mutual defeat. The two girls werepletely defeated, but Xie Xiu wasn¡¯t much better off, needing the help of the Xie n¡¯s servants just to walk.

    When he saw the unconscious Murong Qinghe, Zu An said with a sigh, ¡°She¡¯s really quite the little hot pepper. Even Xie Xiu was unexpectedly defeated today.¡±

    Chu Chuyan harrumphed. ¡°That fellow had bad intentions anyway, so he had iting. But Little Qinghe had to suffer for this.¡± She knew that this girl was close to her little sister, which was why she was also concerned. She arranged for some servants to clean up the table while supporting Murong Qinghe, taking her to a room to rest.

    As for Chu Youzhao, Zu An had to carry her back. After all, in front of everyone else¡¯s eyes, she was a man. As her big sister, it wasn¡¯t too appropriate for Chu Chuyan to carry her back.

    When Zu An picked her up and followed behind Chu Chuyan, he thought to himself, This girl really iss soft. Who would believe she was a guy if they carried her like this?

    ¡°Mm¡­¡± In her drunken slumber, Chu Youzhao instinctively twisted her body to adjust to a morefortable posture. Her small tongue licked her bright red lips, as if she were still drinking while asleep.

    Zu An¡¯s face heated up and he averted his eyes. I¡¯ve sinned, I¡¯ve sinned!

    ¡°What are youing in for?¡± Chu Chuyan rebuked, suddenly turning around to look at him.

    Zu An was stunned, asking, ¡°Aren¡¯t we moving them to a bed so they can get some rest?¡±

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean you can sleep here too.¡± Chu Chuyan said in annoyance. ¡°Even though we know they¡¯re both girls, no one else knows. This might tarnish Qinghe¡¯s name.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Zu An realized what was happening. He had almost made a crucial mistake. As such, he carried Chu Youzhao to the room next door, and then helped her take off her shoes. When he saw her cute toes, he was a bit stunned.

    You¡¯re a disgusting beast! he thought to himself. Then, he pulled over the covers and covered her up.

    But just when he was about to leave, Chu Youzhao grabbed his arm, saying, ¡°Brother-inw¡­ Brother-inw¡­¡±

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t leave¡­¡± Chu Youzhao muttered. Her voice was sweeter than usual.

    Zu An pinched her cheeks, which still had some baby fat on them. ¡°Alright, I won¡¯t leave.¡± At the same time, he controlled a bit of water and slowly moved it across her face to help her wash away the residual effects of the alcohol, and also to serve as a coldpress.

    When he saw that she didn¡¯t react even after a long time, Zu An couldn¡¯t help but chuckle. He thought that she had woken up, but she had just been subconsciously dreaming. He had no idea what she was dreaming of, that even he would appear.

    A whileter, Chu Chuyan entered and said, ¡°I already sent the remaining people outside. No one wille in here.¡±

    Her sister was cross-dressing as a man, so there was no way she would allow any male servants to serve her, but female servants also seemed unsuitable. Chu Youzhao was currently drunk and defenseless. It would be really troublesome if someone found out she was female.

    When she saw them holding each other¡¯s hands, Chu Chuyan said impatiently, ¡°Even though Youzhao is young, you¡¯re still different genders. You should pay more attention to that in the future.¡±

    Zu An replied with a bitter smile, ¡°She was the one who grabbed my hand and didn¡¯t let me leave! I can¡¯t just pry her hand off, can I?¡±

    Chu Chuyan harrumphed. ¡°I don¡¯t know what kind of ck magic you used. Youzhao normally has quite the bad temper, but she¡¯s already getting along so well with you after such a short period of time.¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you that I was an incredibly charming man? Everyone who sees me can¡¯t help but feel close to me. Wasn¡¯t that true for you too?¡±

    ¡°Pah, shameless!¡± Chu Chuyan harrumphed. Immediately afterwards, she spoke with a serious expression, ¡°Huanzhao is one thing, but Youzhao is our Chu n¡¯s heir! There is no way she¡¯ll marry anyone, so you¡¯d better not do anything to her. Otherwise, our Chu n¡¯s centuries of effort might be ruined.¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Then¡­ That means Huanzhao is fine?¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s eyebrows rose. ¡°So you had those thoughts after all!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Chuyan for +66 +66 +66¡­

    Zu An quickly interrupted her, eximing, ¡°I was just joking!¡± But immediately afterward, he frowned. ¡°But aren¡¯t you all ruining Youzhao¡¯s life?¡±

    Chu Chuyan released a deep sigh. ¡°What choice do we have? This is the fate of women. We enjoy the wealth and glory of our ns from childhood, so we should also bear our n¡¯s responsibility. Every one of us has made sacrifices, just like when I chose you back then¡­¡±

    Her face reddened as she spoke. She had chosen a good-for-nothing off the streets as a drafted husband, truly intending to sacrifice a lifetime of happiness. But now, it seemed more as if she were pushing her luck too far.

    Zu Anughed and took her into his arms. ¡°What, was it really a huge sacrifice to be with me? Since you¡¯ve already said it like this, then I guess I have no choice but to ravage this legendary ice queen.¡± He smiled in an evil manner. With just a single hand, he had made this publicly acknowledged cultivation geniuspletely weak.

    ¡°No¡­ not here¡­¡± Chu Chuyan couldn¡¯t hold back her bashfulness when she sensed him getting closer and closer. Her little sister was right there! Even though she was already asleep, Chu Chuyan was still too thin-skinned to do it here.

    ¡°But Youzhao won¡¯t let go of my hand! I¡¯m scared that I might harm her.¡± Zu An was a bit conflicted.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s cold cheeks were flushed. It was unclear whether it was because of the alcohol, or because of the situation. There was a bit of charm in her expression as she said, ¡°I was always a bit embarrassed when you did this to me before. But after experiencing it again and again, I¡¯ve realized that there are really too many unexpected things in life. Since we¡¯re together right now, then I should be giving myself to you to prevent us from having any more regrets.¡±

    After she said those words, as Zu An watched in shock, she gently moved her hair behind her ears and then slowly lowered her head.

    Zu An subconsciously grabbed her hair. His entire body went rigid, and he released a long exhtion¡­

    ¡­

    A whileter, when Chu Youzhao and Murong Qinghe woke up, Chu Chuyan took both of them back home. At the Murong n¡¯s main gate, they happened to run into a young master, Murong Qinghe¡¯s older brother Murong Xiu.

    Chu Chuyan subconsciously frowned. This man was always fawning upon her, and he had previously been one of her pursuers. No matter how she refused him, even after she had already gotten married, he had still never stopped persistently chasing her. But this was Murong Qinghe¡¯s older brother, so she didn¡¯t want to offend him too badly.

    After both sides exchanged conventional greetings, Murong Xiu asked out of surprise, ¡°Chu First Miss, why does your voice seem to be a bit rough today?¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s face reddened. ¡°It¡¯s nothing much. It¡¯s just that my throat is a bit sore.¡±

    Murong Xiu quickly began firing off questions. ¡°Have you taken any medicine for it?

    ¡°Did you catch a cold from dressing too lightly?

    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t eat anything greasy.

    ¡°Make sure to stay warm at night.

    ¡°Is your forehead hot?

    ¡°Do you have any other symptoms?

    ¡°Should I bring you to an imperial physician and have him take a look?

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m close to the imperial physician. I, Murong Xiu, have at least this much of a reputation.

    ¡°Also, as long as Chu First Miss wants me to, I¡¯m free for twenty-four hours every day!¡±

    ¡­

    Chu Chuyan was extremely ufortable under this endless barrage. She really wanted topletely shut him up by replying that it was because her husband had¡­

    But she still had to keep up appearances. In the end, she couldn¡¯t bring herself to say that. She replied indifferently, ¡°Thank you, for your concern, young master Murong. I feel fine; I¡¯ll be okay after some rest.¡±

    Murong Xiu opened his mouth again, and was about to shower her with more words when Murong Qinghe finally couldn¡¯t take it anymore and said, ¡°Hey, why are you so freaking annoying? You just bber on and on!¡±

 Chapter 724: Even an Honest Person Flips Out Sometimes

    <h4>Chapter 724: Even an Honest Person Flips Out Sometimes</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°I¡¯ve shown Chu First Miss a poor side of me, haha.¡± Murong Xiu was quite embarrassed and finally stopped his chattering. He gestured for a maid to support Murong Qinghe.

    Chu Chuyan nodded slightly, then turned around to leave with Chu Youzhao. Murong Xiu was momentarily dazed as he watched that sweet, fair, and graceful figure walk away.

    Murong Qinghe couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°Stop looking already; she¡¯s already gone.¡±

    Murong Xiu harrumphed. ¡°What does a kid like you know about true love?¡±

    ¡°Chu First Miss is already married!¡± Murong Qinghe rolled her eyes. Did this guy have a fetish for other people¡¯s wives?

    ¡°Miss Chu has already divorced that guy surnamed Zu or whatever.¡± Murong Xiu quickly justified himself, as if her words were ndering his goddess. ¡°Furthermore, with Chu First Miss¡¯ beauty, character, and ability, I don¡¯t mind at all even if she has married once. The one I like is her; no matter what choice she makes, I¡¯ll still like her.¡±

    Murong Qinghe stared at him for a long time. In the end, she couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°You really take your simping to a whole different level.¡± This was a term she had learned from Zu An. It really was quite fitting here.

    Murong Xiu frowned. He had a feeling the term didn¡¯t mean anything good. ¡°With a strong will, one can achieve anything. What does a brat like you understand?¡±

    Murong Qinghe opened her delicate mouth and gave her brother a sympathetic look. You have no idea what your goddess has just gone though, and yet you¡¯re still bbering about will or whatever¡­

    Murong Qinghe had actually woken up in the middle of the night. Her cultivation was higher than Chu Youzhao¡¯s, and her bloodline made her sober up faster than normal people.

    She had felt a bit parched when she woke up, so she¡¯d looked for water to drink. As she passed by Chu Youzhao¡¯s room, she noticed that the door wasn¡¯tpletely closed, and that her big brother Chu was sleeping inside.

    Something seemed to possess her when she saw his ridiculously handsome face. She snuck in and began to look at her big brother Chu¡¯s fair cheeks and his red lips. Her heart beat crazily. How can this world have a man this beautiful?!

    After some hesitation, she finally couldn¡¯t resist the temptation and secretly lowered her head to kiss his little mouth. Even though she was normally rough and straightforward, she was still a girl in the end. She was worried that the other party might wake up when she did such a daring thing, and she felt extremely guilty doing so.

    Suddenly, she heard a noise from off to the side that frightened her. However, the sound was very strange and disturbing. She couldn¡¯t resist her curiosity and moved over to the window to take a peek.

    Just like that, her entire worldview was shattered. Was that still the cold big sister Chu she remembered?! After all, she had seen her fair share of Chu Chuyan¡¯s cold exterior because of Murong Xiu. Was this totally submissive and charming woman really the same person?

    When she recalled all of this, her eyes became filled with more and more sympathy when she looked at her older brother. She felt she should once more warn him that his goddess already belonged to another man.

    Suddenly, Murong Xiu said, ¡°Why are you even talking like that anyway? Shouldn¡¯t you be helping me? If I can obtain Chu first miss and be that big brother Chu¡¯s brother-inw, then I can help you more! Wouldn¡¯t it be easy enough for the two of you to get together then?¡±

    Murong Qinghe¡¯s eyes lit up. That makes sense! Then I won¡¯t tell him about what happened for now.

    ¡­

    Zu An obviously didn¡¯t know what they were talking about. After a beautiful night, he felt refreshed and energized. He changed into the uniform of the crown prince¡¯s secretary, then entered the pce for morning roll call.

    When he arrived at the eastern pce, he greeted Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun with a smile. ¡°How wasst night?¡±

    But the two of them didn¡¯t respond to him, and instead continuously gestured toward him. Zu An was surprised. Had something happened?

    A flustered and exasperated voice emerged from inside. ¡°That Zu An guy came? Arrest him for this crown prince immediately!¡±

    Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun were helpless and could only arrest Zu An. Still, they warned him quietly, ¡°You have to hold back no matter what. You can¡¯t go against the crown prince! Otherwise, it¡¯s hard to predict what might happen.¡± Over the years, the crown prince had had too many people beaten to death. That was why they immediately warned Zu An.

    Zu An frowned. It was actually the stupid fatty this time. When had he offended this fellow?

    They quickly entered the pce. The crown prince sat high up on a chair while two lesser eunuchs fed him grapes. When he saw Zu An, he immediately picked up the te next to him and threw it at Zu An¡¯s head.

    Unfortunately, his uracy was too poor and he couldn''t hit the target. It insteadnded on Piao Duandiao¡¯s face. Piao Duandiao was stunned, but he didn¡¯t dare show any dissatisfaction and instead maintained a smile.

    When the scattered grapes and juice sttered onto him, Zu An¡¯s expression sank. What kind of tantrum is this damn fatty throwing now?

    ¡°You actually dare to take advantage of Linglong?!¡± the crown prince eximed, enraged. ¡°Men, beat this man viciously until he dies!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Ruizhi for +888 +888 +888¡­

    Zu An hadn¡¯t expected this idiot to be able to provide so many Rage points. Although his intelligence was poor, even children knew how to protect their toys, it seemed. After all, the crown princess was obviously the most precious and important toy to him.

    He could only try to exin, ¡°The crown prince has misunderstood. Nothing happened between me and the crown princess. This is something your majesty¡¯s father and even King Qi have already investigated. Even Sir Libationer personally set out to prove my innocence. If the crown prince doesn¡¯t believe me, you can ask them.¡±

    Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun quickly parroted, ¡°Indeed, crown prince. There are viins who are trying to trick you! Sir Zu is innocent.¡± These colleagues, whom Zu An had a good rtionship with, both spoke out for his sake.

    The crown prince roared out, ¡°I don¡¯t care! Regardless of who it is, anyone who offends Linglong shall die!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Ruizhi for +444 +444 +444¡­

    Zu An only now remembered his first encounter, when he had seen the fatty¡¯s sinister expression. Back then, he had heard that there were many eunuchs and maids who had been killed by this guy. He had almost been fooled by the crown prince¡¯s simple exterior these past few days, and forgotten how ruthless he was.

    ¡°What? Why aren¡¯t you all doing anything? Are you all colluding with him?¡± The crown prince roared furiously at the other people in the room, ¡°If you still don¡¯t obey me, then all of you will be punished the same way!¡±

    The attendants of the eastern pce looked at each other in dismay. They quietly said to Zu An, ¡°Sir Zu, sorry about this. Please endure for a bit.¡± This was because Zu An had a good rtionship with these people. If it were anyone else, they would already have been beaten until they lost ayer of skin.

    Zu An was tied to a seat and a group of guards walked over with thick sticks. His expression was gloomy. He could increase his strength through getting beaten up, but wasn¡¯t this too humiliating? He wasn¡¯t a masochist. He could tolerate being beaten up by a high level cultivator, but he definitely wouldn¡¯t ept something like this.

    Just as he was beginning to consider how he might get out of this situation, an icy voice shouted, ¡°Halt!¡±

    The attendants sighed in relief. Thank goodness the crown princess hade. She was the only one who could keep the crown prince in check. Otherwise, if the crown prince really went crazy, then they might also go down with Zu An.

    The crown prince was excited when he saw the crown princess. ¡°Linglong, you came at the perfect time! Watch how I¡¯m going to discipline this guy who bullied you.¡±

    The crown princess scanned the area for a moment before her eyes fell on Zu An. She had a rough idea of what was happening. Her brows rose sharply as she asked, ¡°What is the crown prince doing?¡±

    The crown prince replied, ¡°I¡¯m beating up the one who bullied you!¡±

    ¡°His majesty and Sir Libationer already said that we were framed, and yet you¡¯re beating him up here. What would others think of me if news of this got out?¡± The crown princess began to cry from frustration. ¡°People would only think that something had really happened between the two of us. How would I even live in the future?! Crown prince, is this because you really want to make Concubine Bai your official wife? That isn¡¯t necessary; I¡¯ll just retire on my own! What¡¯s the point of being a crown princess anymore?¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The crown prince immediately panicked. He had no idea where to put his chubby hands. ¡°Linglong, please don¡¯t get mad. That¡¯s not what I meant! I just wanted to help you¡­¡±

    ¡°If the crown prince really wants to help me feel better, then look for the ones who framed me, and don¡¯t act against Zu An.¡± The crown princess¡¯ tears poured out like pearls. ¡°Not only are you not helping me, you¡¯re instead condemning me to eternal damnation¡­¡±

    The crown prince became flustered. ¡°Won¡¯t it be okay if I just don''t hit him?¡±

    The crown princess immediately cut him off. ¡°Not only can you not hit him, you must put him in an important position. Only then can we show that we have a clear conscience! Only then will everyone be convinced.¡±

    Zu An was stupefied. This woman really had the crown prince in the palm of her hand.

 Chapter 725: Time to Settle Things

    <h4>Chapter 725: Time to Settle Things</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The crown prince began to hesitate when he heard that not only could he not punish Zu An, he also had to put him in an important position. ¡°But¡­¡±

    The crown princess red at him. ¡°What, do you not even believe my words?¡±

    The crown prince was dispirited. He quickly giggled and said, ¡°I believe you, I believe you! Linglong¡¯s words are always right. Men, award Zu An a hundred taels of gold and five hundred taels of silver. Also, grant him¡­ Grant him¡­¡±

    He was momentarily stunned. He gave the crown princess a pleading look. ¡°Linglong, what rank should we give him?¡± He didn¡¯t have any concept of the eastern pce¡¯s various official ranks.

    The crown princess said indifferently, ¡°Just make him the crown prince¡¯s chambein.¡±

    The position of crown prince¡¯s chambein was extremely high. Its name made it sound simr to a secretary-general or chairman¡¯s assistant, but it had real authorityparable to a prime minister in feudal China. Of course, that was still limited to the eastern pce.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s just give him the position of chambein.¡± The crown prince didn¡¯t treat it as a big deal and just did whatever the crown princess thought was right.

    The crown princess nodded slightly and looked at Zu An. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you thanking the crown prince yet?¡±

    ¡°This subject thanks the crown prince and princess!¡± Zu An eximed, shocked. In his time here, he had obviously found out what kind of position this was. He hadn¡¯t expected to suddenly be ced in such a vital position! It seemed the crown princess was true to her promise, promoting him at an insane rate after he saved her.

    The crown princess said some more things to the crown prince, causing his expression to immediately improve. Then, he happily called out to Little He and Little Xu so he could y with them.

    When they left, the smiling crown princess¡¯ face suddenly sank. She gave a lesser eunuch who was shaking in the corner a look and said, ¡°Someone, drag him into the prison to have him beaten to death.¡±

    That lesser eunuch finally copsed. He fell to the ground and pleaded, ¡°Crown princess, spare my life, please spare my life!¡±

    The crown princess¡¯ expression was cold. She didn¡¯t pay him any attention. Her trusted aide soon brought away the lesser eunuch, who was so scared he pissed his pants. Then, she looked coldly at those who remained. ¡°This is the result of gossiping around the crown prince. I hope no one else will do something so foolish in the future.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± The attendants bowed respectfully, keeping quiet out of fear.

    The crown princess really was formidable. She knew everything in the eastern pce like the back of her hand. She had been able to discern who was responsible immediately, and then had dealt with the situation swiftly and decisively. It didn¡¯t look as though anyone would dare to double cross her again.

    ¡°Sir Zu, follow me. I have something to ask you,¡± the crown princess said before heading into the inner chambers.

    Zu An was stunned. He thought, Isn¡¯t the crown princess being a bit too daring? There was just a sex scandal between the two of us, yet you aren¡¯t avoiding me at all? But he had many questions to ask her as well, so he followed her inside.

    Piao Duandiao nudged Jiao Sigun, who was next to him. ¡°Hey, do you think there really is something between big bro Zu and the crown princess?¡±

    Jiao Sigun immediately moved a bit farther away from him. ¡°Don¡¯t drag me down with you if you wanna die.¡± Piao Duandiao immediately realized what he meant and knew that it was a warning. He quickly shut his mouth.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An followed the crown princess into the inner chambers. The crown princess said, ¡°Bring Sir Zu a seat.¡±

    A maid quickly brought over a chair for Zu An. When Zu An sat down, he asked respectfully, ¡°May I ask what the crown princess needs of this subject?¡± He still had to show her basic courtesy in front of other people.

    The crown princess waved her hands, and the maids withdrew outside. There was no way they could close the door, as that would lead to endless gossip.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The maids guarded the entrance outside. At this distance, they could clearly see what was happening inside, but it wasn¡¯t to the point that they could eavesdrop on what was being said.

    ¡°How was your time in the imperial prison?¡± the crown princess asked when she saw that the maids had all left.

    Zu An replied, ¡°It really is a terrible ce! His majesty¡¯s people immediately forced an interrogation on me as soon as I arrived. He wanted to know if I vited his daughter-inw. Then, King Qi¡¯s people came and did the same thing, wishing to force me to admit that there was something between us, so they could use that to bring down both you and the crown prince. However, I remained steadfast and held on. I absolutely didn¡¯t yield!¡±

    ¡°Forced an interrogation?¡± The crown princess had an ambiguous expression as she said, ¡°But I don¡¯t see any injuries on you.¡±

    Zu An remained unfazed. ¡°That¡¯s because I recover fast. Also, I have Divine Physician Ji¡¯s medicine, so that¡¯s why I was able to recover quickly. Crown princess, you don¡¯t need to be too grateful; true men don¡¯t talk about their pain. Also, please don¡¯t like me because of that; I¡¯m a married man.¡±

    The crown princess was speechless. After a moment, she asked, ¡°Why are you always like this?¡± She rolled her eyes. ¡°I heard that your rtionship with Right Guard General Guo Zhi was quite good, so your days in the imperial prison were spent quitefortably. The only thing missing might have been some government brothel courtesans to serve you.¡±

    Zu An sighed. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect the crown princess to know so much about everything, even though you were locked up inside the eastern pce all day. You¡¯re right, General Guo and I are pretty close, and he didn¡¯t make things hard for me inside either. However, I was interrogated quite frequently, and many people wanted to get rid of me as soon as possible. Oh, right, I was once attacked by someone in the imperial prison. It wasn¡¯t someone you sent, right?¡±

    The crown princess¡¯ expression changed as she replied, ¡°Why would I do something like that? Even though the dead can¡¯t speak, my innocence woulde into question. How could I take this type of gamble? I would never do something so foolish!¡±

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t think it was too likely to be you either.¡±

    The crown princess smiled. ¡°Thank you for trusting me. I indeed wronged you this time, and it was because of you that I was able to survive. However, how did you survive Sir Libationer¡¯s trial?¡±

    This was what she was the most curious about. Who was the Libationer? In all these years, no one had ever been able to tell a lie in front of him. Back then, she had already despaired when she heard that the Libationer was getting involved. How could she have expected this sudden turn for the better?

    Zu An replied ambiguously, ¡°I naturally have my methods. Crown princess, you don¡¯t need to worry about it.¡±

    He didn¡¯t say that the Libationer had secretly helped him, because he felt there was more to it. He had to look into this himself.

    The crown princess was a bit distracted when she looked into his eyes. Even though this man was normally a bit unrestrained, he had many secrets on him. He had actually even been able to make it through the Libationer¡¯s questioning! If it could be said that she had merely viewed him favorably before, now her impression of him was that he was an enigmatic and iprehensible person.

    ¡°By the way,¡± Zu An asked out of curiosity, ¡°Why didn¡¯t Sir Libationer question you? I was actually more scared about your end.¡±

    The crown princess thought to herself, Sure enough, this fellow didn¡¯t fear the Libationer¡¯s questioning after all! She really didn¡¯t know what he had up his sleeves. She thought to herself that she had to look into the situation given a chance. She said, ¡°I¡¯m still the crown princess in the end, and his majesty cares about the royal family¡¯s reputation. As long as the interrogation on your side went well, then I¡¯d naturally be fine. If there had been something wrong on your side, then all that would have awaited me was the rope.¡±

    When he heard the lingering fear and rare dejection in the crown princess¡¯ voice, Zu An knew that she really had been scared badly this time. He instinctively tried to console her. ¡°Heaven helps the worthy. The crown princess is destined to be the mother of our empire, so you have the heavens¡¯ protection.¡±

    The crown princess smiled sweetly. ¡°Your mouth is surprisingly sweet.¡±

    Zu An suddenly remembered how the two of them had hugged and kissed that day in the rock garden to get past Zhuxie Chixin. For some reason, he suddenly remarked, ¡°I think the crown princess¡¯ lips are sweeter.¡±

    The crown princess also couldn¡¯t help but remember that night as well. Her pretty face turned red. However, when she heard what he said, her face instantly fell. ¡°Sir Zu, I¡¯ve already forgotten what happened before, and I hope you can do the same. Otherwise, it won¡¯t be good for either one of us. I don¡¯t know how many pairs of eyes are watching us. We can¡¯t make the slightest mistake.¡±

    Zu An also regretted saying those words, using this chance to say, ¡°Fine.¡±

    The crown princess got up and said, ¡°Follow me.¡±

    ¡°Where are we going?¡± Zu An asked, stunned.

    ¡°Obviously, to get revenge on the main culprit of all this!¡± A hint of ruthless killing intent shed through the crown princess¡¯ beautiful eyes.

 Chapter 726: The Reveal

    <h4>Chapter 726: The Reveal</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The main culprit was naturally Concubine Bai. What happened to them had taken ce in the Hundred Flower Pce, and the one who had poisoned them was her personal maid. There was no way that woman was uninvolved.

    Zu An was a bit hesitant. ¡°How about we investigate them secretly first? We might startle them and scare them away if we go without any proof.¡±

    The crown princess harrumphed. ¡°An investigation requires proof. I¡¯m not going there for an investigation, but rather to vent my anger!¡± She stormed out immediately after, and her personal maid Rong Mo quickly followed behind her. She also summoned some maids and servants to apany them. Zu An quickly followed along.

    ¡°Big bro Zu, congrattions on your promotion,¡± Jiao Sigun and Piao Duandiao moved over and said happily.

    ¡°How about we celebrate this tonight at the government brothel?¡± Piao Duandiao suggested excitedly.

    Zu An gave the ck circles under Piao Duandiao¡¯s eyes a look and couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°Didn¡¯t you guys just go yesterday? Won¡¯t your waist be sore if you go today too?¡±

    ¡°Of course n¡­¡± Piao Duandiao subconsciously straightened out his chest, but pain surged through his body. He subconsciously rubbed his waist. ¡°I guess I am still a bit sore.¡±

    ¡°You should just get some proper rest. Don¡¯t let those government brothel girls suck you dry day after day.¡± Zu An patted his shoulder with a chuckle. After he had parted ways with Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei, he had already lost most of his interest in the government brothel.

    Piao Duandiao sighed quietly as he watched Zu An¡¯s departing figure. ¡°Big bro Zu has changed.¡±

    Jiao Sigun rolled his eyes. ¡°If you had the Chu n¡¯s first miss as your wife, you wouldn¡¯t be all that interested in those powdered prostitutes either.¡±

    ¡°But won¡¯t you get tired of even the prettiest girl eventually? The government brothel has all sorts of different girls, so they can give you fresh feelings,¡± Piao Duandiao retorted.

    ¡°Heh,¡± Jiao Sigun sneered. ¡°Did you forget all those beauties we saw at the pce gates yesterday? Who says big bro only has Chu First Miss alone? He might sleep with Chu First Miss today, and then he might have the young Murongdy tomorrow. It could be Miss Jiang the day after, and then Lady Xie¡­ There would be a new vor every day. Once it became Chu First Miss¡¯ turn again, then wouldn¡¯t it be fresh again? Why would he feel any boredom?¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°This is the first time you¡¯ve made sense.¡± Piao Duandiao was stupefied. His eyes were full of jealousy. ¡°I thought I understood what made big bro Zu happy before, but now that you¡¯ve opened my eyes, I realize I can¡¯t bring him any happiness at all.¡±

    The crown princess¡¯ group quickly arrived at the Hundred Flower Pce, but Concubine Bai was already ready to meet them. ¡°I greet the crown princess!¡± Piao Duandiao, Jiao Sigun and the other servants thought to themselves that Concubine Bai was beautiful, and even her words were gentle. They really enjoyed listening to her speak.

    Zu An really found it hard to associate this charming and graceful exterior with the vicious person who had schemed so viciously against them. He couldn¡¯t help but be on alert. The prettier the girl, the better they were at lying. Zu An, how could you be fooled by the oldest trick in the book?

    Comparatively speaking, the crown princess wasn¡¯t fooled by her exterior at all. She replied coldly, ¡°Concubine Bai, why did youe out so quickly today?¡±

    Concubine Bai looked troubled and said, ¡°This one doesn¡¯t understand what the crown princess is saying.¡±

    Even Piao Duandiao and the other eastern pce subordinates felt the crown princess was crossing the line when they saw Concubine Bai¡¯s pitiful appearance, that she was bullying someone as gentle as that. Of course, they only dared to think these thoughts; they wouldn¡¯t dare to speak them out.

    Zu An was the only one who knew that the crown princess was talking about thest time they had gone to the Hundred Flower Pce, how Concubine Bai had never shown herself.

    The crown princess harrumphed and didn¡¯t say anything else. After all, this wasn¡¯t a matter she could easily talk about. She walked straight into the Hundred Flower Pce, and sat at the most important seat as soon as she went in. She looked around and said, ¡°Why don¡¯t I see that maid of yours?¡±

    ¡°Is the crown princess talking about Xin Rui?¡± Concubine Bai replied, ¡°She requested a leave of absence a few days ago, so she isn¡¯t here. She hasn¡¯t returned yet.¡±

    ¡°She requested a leave? Are you sure she wasn¡¯t just silenced?¡± the crown princess sneered.

    Concubine Bai remained unfazed. ¡°The crown princess must be joking.¡±

    The crown princess mmed her chair. ¡°Who¡¯s joking around with you?! Men, arrest this lowly woman and strike her across the face!¡±

    Piao Duandiao and the other guards frowned inside. They didn¡¯t understand what the crown princess was trying to do. Of course, this type of thing required physical contact with a concubine, so it wasn¡¯t for the men to do.

    Instead, Rong Mo walked forward in a threatening manner alongside some maids. The maids of the Hundred Flower Pce were all rmed. They subconsciously thought of protecting their master. However, how could they be a match for Rong Mo? They were blown back by her strength, and Concubine Bai was detained soon afterward.

    Rong Mo raised her hand high, but just when she was just about to bring it down, Concubine Bai spoke. ¡°Crown princess, even if you wish to strike me, you must at least give me a reason.¡±

    The crown princess said indifferently, ¡°You treated me with disrespect. ording to the pcews, I naturally have the right to strike you.¡±

    ¡°This one has always treated the crown princess with respect. I have never dared to show any negligence in this matter. I wonder what this disrespect you are speaking of is.¡± Concubine Bai gained the sympathy of the onlookers with her pitiful appearance. There were tears in her eyes as she looked around. ¡°There are so many people watching. All of them can serve as witnesses.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? Then do you all feel that I¡¯m making things difficult for Concubine Bai for no reason?¡± The crown princess scanned the ce with her sharp gaze.

    Those maids and eunuchs all shook their heads. ¡°We don¡¯t!¡±

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help butugh. These people were all scared of the crown princess¡¯ ¡®tyrannical abuse¡¯. To be honest, even though the crown princess wasn¡¯t that old, the awe she inspired was much greater than that of others her age.

    Just then, Concubine Bai looked at Zu An. ¡°Sir Zu, can you speak a few words for the sake of justice?¡±

    The crown princess frowned. This lowly woman loved to seduce men with her pitiful appearance. She didn¡¯t say anything this time and gave Zu An a curious look, wanting to see how he would reply.

    Zu An said with an embarrassed smile, ¡°We aren¡¯t actually that close¡­¡±

    Even though Concubine Bai had met with him alone before, given him some gifts, and even offered him her Hundred Flower Tea, meaning their rtionship shouldn¡¯t have been that bad, he had almost been done in by her this time. As such, he couldn¡¯t afford to be soft-hearted here.

    ¡°Men all forget favors and justice after all. I helped you before, but you¡¯re so quick to turn your back,¡± came a voice next to Zu An¡¯s ears, apanied by a sigh. His eyes widened, because Concubine Bai was only staring at him with herrge, misty eyes, but she hadn¡¯t opened her mouth.

    But these words had clearly been spoken by her! Concubine Bai was actually a hidden expert! Furthermore, what was even more important was the voice she spoke with¡­

    Rong Mo finally became impatient and her palm flew downward, but Zu An quickly walked forward to stop her. ¡°Wait!¡±

    Rong Mo frowned. She gave him a cold look. The others broke out in cold sweat because of Zu An. You can¡¯t go against the crown princess just because she favors you!

    Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun exchanged a look. Lust can lead to bad consequences!

    The crown princess became unhappy and asked, ¡°What the heck are you doing?¡±

    Zu An said quietly, ¡°Concubine Bai has things she wishes to say to the crown princess. Would it be possible to have everyone else leave for now?¡±

    The crown princess raised her eyebrows. She wouldn¡¯t have batted an eyelid if Concubine Bai had said so, but if it was Zu An saying those words, then she knew there was definitely a reason for it. After a bit of hesitation, she waved her hands, gesturing for Rong Mo and the others to leave.

    ¡°Crown princess¡­¡± Rong Mo was worried that something might happen to the crown princess if she were left here alone.

    The crown princess said indifferently, ¡°It¡¯s fine. All of you are to guard the entrance. No one is permitted inside without my orders.¡±

    Rong Mo had no choice but to leave. She gave Zu An a hateful look when she walked past. The crown princess always discussed everything with me before, and would never hide things from me. Now, this kides out of nowhere and I suddenly feel estranged from the crown princess! There are many things I can¡¯t even listen to anymore. Everyone likes to call women vixens, but in my opinion, this is probably the king of male vixens!

    You have sessfully trolled Rong Mo for +233 +233 +233¡­

    When everyone withdrew, the crown princess gave Concubine Bai a cold look. ¡°Speak. What do you have to say to me?¡±

    Concubine Bai stood up from the ground. She no longer carried her usual lovable air, and her entire demeanor became incredibly calm instead. ¡°I know why you came today. However, I can tell you clearly that the one who framed you that day isn¡¯t me. On the contrary, I even saved you two.¡±

 Chapter 727: Daggers Hidden Behind a Smile

    <h4>Chapter 727: Daggers Hidden Behind a Smile</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The crown princess¡¯ expression changed and she eximed, ¡°What is the meaning of this?!¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°She isn¡¯t lying. Everything happened too suddenly that day. There was one thing I didn¡¯t have time to tell you about.

    ¡°When I was in the room, and the two of us were¡­ in that situation, when both of us were at a loss for what to do, I heard a woman warning us to run away as quickly as possible. Furthermore, she helped us stall some of the ones trying to catch us in this scam¡­ Ahem, stall them for a bit. Otherwise, we would¡¯ve already been ruined by the mastermind.

    ¡°The situation was too dire back then, so I wasn¡¯t sure who that woman was. Just now, I heard that woman¡¯s voice again.¡± He looked toward Concubine Bai and finished, ¡°So it was Concubine Bai.¡±

    The crown princess¡¯ eyes narrowed. She suddenly looked toward Concubine Bai, asking, ¡°Your cultivation was actually that high? Do you have ulterior motives for approaching the crown prince?¡±

    Concubine Bai said indifferently, ¡°Crown princess, don¡¯ forget that I was assigned to the crown prince by his majesty. The reason I got closer to the crown prince was first to serve him, and second was of course to protect him.¡±

    Zu An sighed regretfully. How was that damn fatty worthy of the service of a woman as wonderful as this? However, something clicked inside of him at that instant. Wait, this woman was sent by the emperor. Doesn¡¯t that mean the emperor knows about what happened between me and the crown princess?

    The crown princess¡¯ face instantly paled. She had clearly realized that fact as well.

    Concubine Bai noticed their changes in expression. She giggled and said, ¡°The two of you really are kindred spirits; even your thoughts head in the same direction. Don¡¯t worry, I didn¡¯t report what happened to his majesty. Otherwise, how could you two have arrived here safely?¡±

    The crown princess¡¯ expression turned cold. ¡°Are you threatening me?¡±

    Concubine Bai shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m not threatening you, but rather informing you that we¡¯re all in the same boat. King Qi¡¯s schemes against the crown prince are only growing more and more troublesome. The crown prince¡¯s great test is approaching soon. What meaning is there in us sisters fighting right now? What is most important is helping the crown prince out of his current predicament.¡±

    The crown princess stared at Concubine Bai. But right when Zu An thought that she was on the verge of going crazy, her serious expression suddenly became extremely amiable. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect little sister Concubine Bai to have done so much for me. I was a bit too strong-minded, and I might have offended you, little sister. Please don¡¯t take it to heart. In the future, we¡¯ll serve and assist the crown prince on the imperial throne together.¡±

    Concubine Bai also regained her usual lovable yet bashful smile as she said, ¡°I fear I might have to trouble big sister for more pointers in the future. I will follow big sister faithfully.¡±

    Even though strictly speaking, Concubine Bai was a bit older than the crown princess, the crown princess was the main wife after all, so it wasn¡¯t wrong for her to use the term ¡®big sister¡¯.

    Zu An waspletely stupefied. The two of them had been at each other¡¯s throats a moment ago, yet now, they were as close as siblings? Wasn¡¯t this difference a bit too drastic? In that instant, he began to question life. Looks like I can¡¯t trust those pretty girls no matter how close they seem to be on the surface!

    Zu An finally couldn¡¯t tolerate the two anymore. He coughed lightly to interrupt their act. ¡°Concubine Bai, I believe Xin Rui didn¡¯t really take a leave of absence, right?¡±

    Concubine Bai put away her formal smile. ¡°Indeed. After that day, Xin Rui disappeared without a trace. I suspect that not only has she left, she might also have been silenced by the true mastermind.¡±

    The crown princess opened her mouth, but there was a hint of hesitation on her face. In the end, she held herself back and didn¡¯t say anything.

    Zu An guessed her thoughts and helped her by asking, ¡°Xin Rui is your personal maid, after all. Why would she be bought out by another?¡±

    The crown princess gave him a look of admiration. This fellow understands me pretty well.

    For some reason, she recalled the scene of them kissing each other again, which made her suddenly blush. She quickly calmed herself down and banished those nonsensical thoughts from her head.

    Concubine Bai sighed and said, ¡°I can¡¯t understand that either. From what I know, Xin Rui should be extremely good-natured. Even now, it¡¯s hard for me to believe that she did such a thing.

    ¡°In the end, I believe that it¡¯s because I lived in seclusion for so long that I neglected the thoughts of my subordinates. That¡¯s why she ended up being tempted by others.¡±

    ¡°Do you think that it might be Shi Jun?¡± Zu An asked.

    The one who hade to catch him and the crown princess was Shi Jun. The other party was an official of the Huang gate, so he could enter and exit the pce at will. It was entirely possible for him to have colluded with Xin Rui.

    Concubine Bai shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    Zu An and the crown princess exchanged a look. It seemed like they had to investigate this matter from this angle.

    The crown princess finally spoke up. ¡°That day¡­ Why did you arriveter? I¡­ I¡­¡± She was too embarrassed to continue.

    Concubine Bai gave her an understanding smile. ¡°Big sister, don¡¯t worry. This matter is a crime punishable by n eradication. Xin Rui didn¡¯t dare to use other people, so she personally carried out everything. I noticed that she was acting strange and followed her here. When I arrived, I was able to stop Shi Jun¡¯s people. That¡¯s why no one else saw what big sister looked like back then¡­¡±

    She suddenly paused. Her eyes stopped on Zu An¡¯s body, her expression ambiguous. Her intended meaning was clear. Apart from him, no other man saw you. However, this matter was too sensitive, so she didn¡¯t want to start any further conflict.

    A trace of shyness shed across the crown princess¡¯ face. Soon afterward, she recovered her usual coldness. ¡°By the way, Sir Zu was almost silenced that day in the imperial pce. Does Concubine Bai have any clues regarding this?¡±

    Concubine Bai shook her head. ¡°I normally don¡¯t get involved in these kinds of matters. How could I know anything?¡±

    The crown princess could only ask, ¡°Then does your maid have any family?¡± She was clearly nning to start investigating from that angle.

    Concubine Bai thought for a bit, and then replied with uncertainty, ¡°Her father has already passed away, so she grew up with her mother. Oh, right, she seems to have a younger brother. As for anything else, I don¡¯t know. You¡¯ll have to check with internal affairs for the exact details.¡±

    The crown princess asked a few more questions, but Concubine Bai didn¡¯t know the answers to most of them. She really did seem to be a sweet and naive woman who always stayed in her residence. However, after experiencing such matters, no one would think of her as that sort of person.

    When they left the Hundred Flower Pce, the crown princess gestured for her subordinates to stay a bit further away. She had something to say to Zu An alone.

    Rong Mo had a bitter expression. This male vixen was winning more and more favor.

    Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun exchanged a look. They both saw worry in the other¡¯s eyes. Their big bro Zu and the crown princess were a bit too close! Were these two really not going to avoid each other after such a huge thing had happened?

    They both pricked up their ears. They wanted to hear what the two had to say to each other. They were two imperial guards from the eastern pce, so they had to shoulder the responsibility of monitoring the situation. If an outer subject really ended up fooling around with the eastern pce¡¯s women, they would also be med.

    They thought to themselves that if they sensed anything strange between the two, they would have to immediately warn Zu An and tell him that he absolutely couldn¡¯t make such a mistake. Even though the crown princess was pretty, she wasn¡¯t someone he could handle!

    However, they sighed in relief soon afterward, because the two talked aboutpletely normal topics. She chatted with Zu An the same way she would talk to any other important figure.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Although the two of them seemed to be chatting about all sorts of high-minded subjects, they were actually conversing with ki transmission. Zu An said, ¡°Crown princess, let¡¯s start from Xin Rui¡¯s family. Let¡¯s see if we can find out anything.¡±

    The crown princess replied, ¡°That side has probably already been cleaned up by the other party, so we won¡¯t find much, but we can give it a try. You¡¯re pretty sharp, so take a look and see if you notice anything.¡±

    Zu An nodded. ¡°By the way, what do you think about Concubine Bai?¡±

    ¡°Concubine Bai?¡± The crown princess sneered. ¡°Find a chance to secretly deal with her.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. Weren¡¯t you chatting all nicely with her a moment ago? Why do you have so much killing intent now?

    He couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we focus on our real enemies first right now? The other party has expressed her sincerity. That wouldn¡¯t be too good, would it?¡±

    ¡°Looks like you¡¯ve been confused by that vixen after all.¡± The crown princess shot him a look and said, ¡°These are nothing more than stalling tactics. She has us by the throat right now. She¡¯ll act as soon as this exam matter is over and take my ce to be the new crown princess. How can I let her do as she wishes?!¡±

 Chapter 728: Bad Cop

    <h4>Chapter 728: Bad Cop</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    When she saw Zu An¡¯s stupefied appearance, the crown princess asked unhappily, ¡°What, do you think I¡¯m being too vicious again?¡±

    Zu An sighed. ¡°I do think you¡¯re being a bit too merciless.¡±

    The crown princess said coldly, ¡°This imperial pce is a cruel ce. It¡¯s kill or be killed. Those who couldn¡¯t do heartless things have already packed the cemeteries.¡±

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but reply, ¡°Why is there a need to do this? The two of you are allies. If you¡¯ve guessed her intentions incorrectly, then you might instead help King Qi¡¯s people.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t ce my own safety in the hands of others.¡± The crown princess gave Zu An a sidelong nce. ¡°What, do you feel bad for her? Don¡¯t forget that the two of us are bound together now. If she ends up doing something, I¡¯ll be finished, and you¡¯ll be even more dead.¡±

    Zu An fell silent. He knew that what she had said was true.

    When she saw his reaction, the crown princess¡¯ tone eased. ¡°If it weren¡¯t because we had no choice, I wouldn¡¯t want things to be like this either. However, the only one I can trust right now is you. I can¡¯t entrust this matter to anyone else. That¡¯s why you can¡¯t let your emotions affect your decisions.¡±

    Zu An said quietly, ¡°I know what I need to do.¡± Still, even though her n was the safest one, he didn¡¯t want to be her de.

    The crown princess nodded in satisfaction when she saw that he didn¡¯t directly oppose her. When their group returned to the eastern pce, she returned to the inner chambers to rest.

    Zu An was met with congrattions from his colleagues, but inside, he had too many things to think about. Suddenly, a lesser eunuch told him that his majesty had summoned him.

    Everyone else in the eastern pce had envious expressions on their faces. Apart from some great subjects with tremendous authority, there probably weren¡¯t many others who were able to meet with the emperor again and again. They even wondered if the concubines met his majesty as much as Zu An.

    But Zu An knew that this wasn¡¯t a blessing at all. The pressure he experienced during each meeting was great. That fellow was incredibly moody and equally paranoid. With a single mistake, Zu An¡¯s life would be forfeit. The reason he had been summoned this time was most likely due to the rumors involving the crown princess.

    ¡­

    Sure enough, when Zu An arrived at the imperial study, the gloomy-looking emperor looked at him with an unfathomable gaze. ¡°I heard that the crown princess promoted you to chambein?¡±

    Zu An shivered inwardly. So little time had passed, and yet the emperor already knew? He had eyes and ears everywhere in this pce after all. He answered, ¡°Replying to your majesty, the crown princess indeed promoted me to chambein.¡±

    The emperor said emotionlessly, ¡°I heard that the crown princess even talked with you in private, and the eunuchs and maids were made to wait outside?¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An replied, ¡°The crown princess¡¯ heart is pure and clear like the moon. She only had official matters to discuss with me, so there was no reason to avoid each other.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s surprisingly smart. She knows that the more things like this, the more it will shut others up.¡± The emperor suddenly changed the topic. ¡°However, this emperor still suspects that something happened between the two of you.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed a bit and he quickly said, ¡°Your majesty is wise and brilliant. The crown princess and I are innocent. We werepletely ndered and framed. This matter has already gone through much investigation, and even Sir Libationer was invited to question me. All of them can attest to my innocence.¡±

    The emperor harrumphed. ¡°I heard that you all just went to the Hundred Flower Pce; is that right?¡±

    Zu An thought to himself that this fellow¡¯s thoughts really jumped around quickly. Of course, his expression still remained respectful on the surface as he answered, ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Why did you head there first? Did something happen there?¡± The emperor was seated high up on his dragon throne, so it was hard to see his current expression.

    Zu An thought to himself, Could it be that the emperor already knows something?However, he still looked rather calm on the surface. ¡°The crown princess suspected that the one behind the scenes was Concubine Bai.¡±

    ¡°Then why did they sound as if they were getting along so soon afterward?¡± The emperor brought some tea to his lips.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t be bothered with the fact that the emperor¡¯s intelligence was so precise. ¡°That¡¯s because Concubine Bai¡¯s nature is kind, and she quickly exined the misunderstanding. Furthermore, the crown prince¡¯s test is imminent, so they wish to cooperate through this trial and avoid furtherplications.¡±

    The emperor harrumphed. ¡°At least they know to think about the bigger picture.¡± Then he continued, ¡°Then who do you think is framing you?¡±

    Zu An said sullenly, ¡°I am not sure.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not sure?¡± The emperor sneered. ¡°You even said that it was the Shi n who harmed you in the imperial prison.¡±

    Zu An exined, ¡°That was just a random guess. I could say that to those three ministers, but I have no proof, so I don¡¯t dare to make random ims to your majesty.¡±

    The emperor¡¯s mood improved when he saw how tactful Zu An was. ¡°Do you know why this emperor decided to keep you alive this time?¡±

    Zu An asked probingly, ¡°Because Sir Libationer proved my innocence?¡±

    The emperor sneered. ¡°There¡¯s something you don¡¯t understand. The libationer wasn¡¯t here to prove your innocence, but rather the crown princess¡¯. The fact that a subject was involved in this sort of rumor with the crown princess is already a crime that even death can¡¯t atone for.¡±

    ¡°This subject was wrong!¡± Zu An broke out into cold sweat. It seemed he had still underestimated this emperor. Motherfucker¡­ I was an emperor myself in Yinshang¡¯s secret dungeon! But when did I ever make decisions unjustly like you?!

    The emperor then said, ¡°You did well with the Devil Sect¡¯s casest time, and you also managed to find out who was colluding with the assassins in the pce. As you have some talent, I¡¯ve decided to leave you alive for now. You¡¯ll be the one in charge of finding the one who framed the crown princess as well. You have until the crown prince¡¯s exam to find out who the mastermind is. If you can¡¯t find anything, there will be no use in keeping you alive anymore.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. Bro, there should be a good cop and a bad cop, but you¡¯re only using the bad cop side! What the hell? But even though he was cursing inside, he could only smile on the surface. ¡°Understood; this subject will do everything I can to find the perpetrator.¡±

    ¡°Remember to investigate with your Golden Token Eleven identity,¡± the emperor reminded him. Then, he closed his eyes and indicated that Zu An could leave.

    Zu An was surprised. He used this chance to ask, ¡°Your majesty, something strange happened earlier.¡±

    ¡°Speak.¡± The emperor seemed to be meditating.

    Zu An said, ¡°I discovered that someone has been secretly investigating me all this time, but no matter what kind of method I try to use, I still can¡¯t find out who he is. That person seems to be extremely proficient in stealth techniques.¡±

    He paid close attention to the emperor¡¯s expression while asking this. Previously, he had suspected that it was the emperor who had sent that mysterious person. But over time, he grew more and more convinced that that was impossible. Of course, he didn¡¯t lower his guard. He wanted to obtain some information from the other party¡¯s expression.

    ¡°What?¡± The emperor¡¯s eyes suddenly widened. In that instant, his expression became extremely sharp. ¡°Since you know this person is extremely proficient in stealth techniques, then how did you discover him?¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°I have a special ability that lets me see people within a certain distance around me. I could sense that he was nearby, but I just couldn¡¯t find him.¡±

    He had already told the emperor that he¡¯d obtained all of Old Mi¡¯s skills. As such, the emperor knew that he was already a powerful expert, so there was no need to hide anything. Either way, such a skill was still nothing much before the emperor.

    Sure enough, the emperor didn¡¯t ask more about it and instead began to think to himself. ¡°With your current cultivation, the people who could evade your detection¡­¡±

    A whileter, he seemed to have thought of something. He said seriously, ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about this matter anymore. I¡¯ll send someone to take care of it.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± Zu An had already obtained the information he wanted, so he left, satisfied.

    When he walked out, Eunuch Wen came to apany him. He said with a smile, ¡°Sir Zu truly is impressive! This one hasn¡¯t seen anyone who has received the appreciation of the emperor like Sir Zu in all these years.¡±

    ¡°Eunuch Wen is too polite,¡± Zu An replied, but inwardly, he cursed endlessly. Like hell this is appreciation! That bastard is ready to kill me at a moment¡¯s notice. Hmph, I¡¯ll make sure those concubines of yours have a taste of my viciousness in the future too.

    ¡­

    After chatting with Eunuch Wen for a bit longer and thanking him for taking care of Chu Chuyan, he left while the mood was still pretty good. He changed into his Golden Token Eleven clothes in his courtyard, and then went to meet with Right Guard General Guo Zhi.

    Guo Zhi cupped his hands when he heard of Zu An¡¯s arrival. ¡°Sir Eleven, please tell me if there is anything I can help you with.¡±

    Even though his rank was higher, the Embroidered Envoys had a special status. Furthermore, the golden token envoys were all deep and immeasurable existences. This person was acting directly under the emperor, so he obviously didn¡¯t dare to offend the other party.

    Zu An asked, ¡°I wish to look through the records of everyone who has entered and exited the pce these past few days.¡±

 Chapter 729: Its Him?

    <h4>Chapter 729: It''s Him?</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Guo Zhi was shocked. ¡°All of the records? That¡¯s a lot of work to go through. May I ask what Sir Eleven is investigating? I can help you narrow down the scope a bit first.¡±

    After a bit of hesitation, Zu An said, ¡°I wish to investigate the records of the pce maids who have entered and exited the pce.¡±

    Guo Zhi sighed in relief. ¡°That¡¯s not too difficult. There are four pce gates in the pce. The southern Zhuque Gate is a gate that only opens where there are important ceremonies or court gatherings. The western Yunlong Gate is what the civil and military officials use. The eastern Wenhua Gate is for the nine ministers¡¯ men and some imperial secretaries. The pce maids and eunuchs can normally only move through the northern Xuanwu Gate. That¡¯s why you only need to investigate one gate¡¯s records.¡±

    Zu An hesitated. ¡°What if they left through another gate?¡±

    Guo Zhi shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s absolutely impossible. There are so many eyes around the pce gates. There¡¯s no way a pce maid could possibly leave through those other ces.¡±

    Zu An felt relieved. ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to trouble General Guo.¡±

    ¡°Sir Eleven is too polite.¡± Guo Zhi brought Zu An to the northern Xuanwu Gate.

    Soon afterwards, a golden-armored general with thick eyebrows and big eyes rushed over. ¡°I greet General Guo and¡­ Sir.¡±

    Guo Zhi introduced Zu An. ¡°This is Golden Token Eleven, who is investigating a case on imperial orders. You need to do everything you can to cooperate. This is Xuanwu Gate¡¯s Manager Ou Wu, and he¡¯s in charge of the Xuanwu Gate¡¯s various matters. You can ask him anything you need.¡±

    Every single gate had a manager in charge of the gate¡¯s imperial guards.

    ¡°I greet Sir Eleven.¡± Ou Wu didn¡¯t dare to show any negligence when he saw that this was a golden token envoy Guo Zhi had personally introduced.

    ¡°Greetings, General Ou.¡± Zu An cupped his hands. ¡°I wish to inquire about all of the maids who entered and exited through this gate recently.¡±

    ¡°That isn¡¯t an issue.¡± Ou Wu nodded. ¡°All who pass through the imperial pce¡¯s gates are recorded in detail. Sirs, please follow me.¡±

    The two of them were quickly brought into a storeroom near the pce gates. Ou Wu had someone bring over something that looked like an ount book. ¡°I wonder which maid Sir Eleven wishes to investigate?¡±

    Zu An said sternly, ¡°I¡¯ll look over it myself. Bring out all of the records within the past half month.¡± He wasn¡¯t willing to let others know about his investigation of Xin Rui, and he deliberately extended the time frame.

    ¡°Okay!¡± Ou Wu wasn¡¯t surprised at all. These types of things happened quite often in the imperial pce, and he knew that sometimes, the less he knew, the better.

    Thick registers were quickly brought to Zu An one after another. He began to quickly flip through them. Ou Wu tactfully stepped outside, and Guo Zhi also followed him out to chat with him.

    Zu An was shocked when he flipped through the densely packed records. There were actually this many people who came and went through the pce each day?

    This was a result of having been misled by the costume dramas of his past world. The imperial pce engaged in quite a bit of exchange, as the things in it needed to be purchased outside. There were so many esteemed people living in the pce. If every one of them used a few servants, then the numbers would be quite high when added together.

    Fortunately, after bing a cultivator, Zu An¡¯s mind was much more powerful than it had been in the past. His speed of reading was also far faster. He quickly sifted through the corresponding records. About two hourster, he finished looking through everything. However, he didn¡¯t find any records of Xin Rui leaving the pce.

    Zu An left the room. Guo Zhi had already left in the interim, and only Ou Wu had stayed behind.

    ¡°Did Sir Eleven obtain what you needed?¡± Ou Wu asked.

    Zu An shook his head. He asked, ¡°Is there a possibility that someone might have left using the identity of another? I didn¡¯t find any records of that person.¡±

    Ou Wu cried out in rm. ¡°I don¡¯t think so! That would be a crime punishable by death. Who would take such a risk?¡±

    ¡°But you¡¯re saying there''s a chance?¡± Zu An continued to ask.

    Ou Wu hesitated before saying, ¡°If the other party could obtain the waist token andmand tile of another servant, then there would be a chance. However, that would be extremely difficult¡­¡±

    Zu An directly interrupted him. ¡°I¡¯ll have my Embroidered Envoys cooperate with all of you to check the identities of every single person who entered and exited the pce.¡±

    He was worried that it wouldn¡¯t be enough if he left this matter to the pce gate guards alone. After all, if a mistake really were found, then they would be the ones held responsible. That was why he specially transferred over some Embroidered Envoys to supervise the process. He had to admit that having people under him made things much easier.

    Ou Wu shivered inside. ¡°Understood!¡±

    ¡­

    Zu An went to the Embroidery House and transferred some Embroidered Envoys over. He had already had such authority as a golden token envoy, never mind the fact that he was now acting directly under the emperor¡¯s orders.

    Then, he sent another group to investigate all of the imperial pce¡¯s wells, ponds,kes, and other hiding ces to see if they could find a maid¡¯s corpse.

    He really did suspect that after those events, Xin Rui had most likely been silenced. But if she was still alive, then they needed to find her. If she was dead, then they needed her corpse.

    ¡­

    After arranging all those things, he went to the Internal Affairs Manor to investigate Xin Rui¡¯s background. He quickly found what he wanted. Sure enough, it was as Concubine Bai had said.

    Xin Rui¡¯s father had passed away a long time ago, leaving only her mother and her young brother back at home. Because Xin Rui had be the Hundred Flower Pce¡¯s head maid, their lives had gradually improved. She had managed to purchase a residence with her sry and rewards, so her family had moved there. Her family¡¯s address was also written down.

    Zu An sighed. He hadn¡¯t expected houses in the capital to still be so expensive! For better or for worse, Xin Rui had had a decent job, yet she had only been able to purchase a house on the outskirts.

    He didn¡¯t want to waste any time and immediately called over a group of Embroidered Envoys to leave with him. He didn¡¯t know if they would make it in time, or if it would already be toote.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in the eastern pce, the crown princess and some trusted officials were discussing the crown prince¡¯s impending exam. Rong Mo quietly moved over to whisper something to the crown princess.

    ¡°The Embroidered Envoys are investigating a pce maid?¡± The crown princess¡¯ brows furrowed.

    Due to the way the crown prince was, most of the eastern pce¡¯s matters were under her management. As such, she naturally had eyes in the pce. Zu An¡¯s enthusiastic investigation didn¡¯t escape the notice of those who were paying attention, so she quickly received the news.

    ¡°Do you know why?¡± The crown princess looked worried. Why was a maid being investigated right now? Was it because of the matter involving her?

    ¡°He seems to be investigating the records of those who came and left through the pce. At the same time, there are many Embroidered Envoys searching through wells and other hiding spots to see if they can find any corpses.¡± Rong Mo voiced her own suspicions. ¡°I really don¡¯t know which unfortunate maid was beaten to death by her master, and then ended up drawing his majesty¡¯s attention. Once that master is found, I fear he¡¯ll have quite the price to pay.¡±

    The crown princess¡¯ face paled. How could the death of an ordinary pce maid draw the attention of so many Embroidered Envoys? This was clearly someone going straight after her! Why had these Embroidered Envoys learned that there was something wrong with the maid so quickly?

    ¡°Where is Sir Zu? Have him meet me right now.¡± The crown princess was extremely confused and flustered right now. She couldn¡¯t discuss this matter with anyone else, so she instinctively thought of Zu An. That fellow had even been able to survive that type of ordeal, so he should have a way out of this matter too. For some reason, her anxious heart seemed to calm a bit whenever she thought of him.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Rong Mo harrumphed. ¡°That fellow didn¡¯t return after he was summoned by his majesty.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s still in the imperial study?¡± The crown princess¡¯ expression changed. Had something happened to him?

    ¡°I heard that he came out, but he didn¡¯te back to greet the crown princess! He really has no respect for your highness.¡± Rong Mo chattered continuously, using this chance to get some revenge on that annoying male vixen. It¡¯s all his fault for stealing my spot under the crown princess!

    The crown princess sighed in relief when she heard that Zu An was fine. Her personal maid¡¯s thoughts didn¡¯t escape her notice, but she didn¡¯t n to expose her. After all, it wasn¡¯t a good thing to view Zu An too favorably in front of others.

    ¡°Right, which Embroidered Envoy is in charge of the investigation this time?¡± The crown princess picked up her teacup. At the same time, she wondered if she could use her connections to get in touch with him. Even though the Embroidered Envoys worked directly under his majesty, after years of managing the eastern pce, she had friendly rtions with the sirs there.

    ¡°The one who is in charge seems to be a golden token; I believe it¡¯s Sir Eleven.¡± Rong Mo replied.

    ¡°Sir Eleven?¡± The crown princess¡¯ tea almost spilled. Her expression immediately became somewhat confused and bashful. ¡°So it¡¯s him¡­¡±

 Chapter 730: Tough Guy

    <h4>Chapter 730: Tough Guy</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An continued his investigation with his group of Embroidered Envoys. He searched for Xin Rui¡¯s mother and brother ording to the address recorded in the internal affairs documents.

    These Embroidered Envoys weren¡¯t like Zu An, who had just recently arrived in the capital. They were all familiar with the capital¡¯s streets and alleys, so they found the courtyard soon afterward.

    The Embroidered Envoys split into several groups expertly. One group circled around to the back door, while another upied the high points and watched the surroundings. Yet another group guarded the various entrances into the alleys.

    The remaining group then went up to the main entrance to knock on the door. After knocking a few times without hearing a reaction, they directly kicked open the door and stormed in ferociously.

    Zu An slowly walked in. He didn¡¯t need to do anything himself, so he had more time to examine the surrounding details. When he saw the scene inside the courtyard, he sighed. It seemed he was still toote.

    Sure enough, someone reported back to him soon afterward. ¡°Sir Eleven, we didn¡¯t locate our targets. Judging from the scene inside, it has been many days since anyonest lived here.¡±

    Zu An nodded and said, ¡°Dig up the entire courtyard and see if there are any corpses. Also, question the surrounding neighbors to see if we can find any clues.¡±

    The Embroidered Envoys quickly set out to take care of their tasks. The courtyard was quickly excavated. After all, cultivators could do such things much faster than ordinary people. Unfortunately, they didn¡¯t find anything.

    Someone brought over an older woman and said, ¡°Sir Eleven, she was sneaking around and looking in this direction earlier.¡±

    That older woman quickly waved her hands and said, ¡°I¡¯m being wronged here! I was just wondering what the Hua n had done wrong; I¡¯m definitely not an evildoer! That Hua ndy who lived here must¡¯ve been a scoundrel after all.¡±

    ¡°Hua n?¡± Zu An recalled that Xin Rui¡¯s surname had been Hua before she joined the pce. When he heard the older woman criticize her like this, he asked, ¡°Do you hold any grudges with this n?¡±

    That older woman¡¯s expression changed. ¡°Not at all! How could I hold any grudges against them?¡± How could she possibly dare to get involved in something so big? If this n had been harmed and she imed to have enmity, then what could she do if these officials wanted to make her a scapegoat?

    Zu An said coldly, ¡°She insists on speaking falsehoods. Detain her and question her harshly.¡±

    That older woman was so scared that her entire body went weak. She quickly said, ¡°I¡¯ll speak, I¡¯ll speak! I really have no grudges with their n, but I just couldn¡¯t bear to see them idling about like that and still living better than the rest of us!¡±

    ¡°Idling about?¡± Zu An frowned.

    ¡°Yes!¡± That older woman was scared that he wouldn¡¯t believe him and quickly said, ¡°They moved here three years ago. At first, it was just the Hua n older miss and her son. That son of hers, sigh¡­ He just idles about all day! He never lifts a finger and always asks his mom for money to gamble away. Seeing how pitiful that Miss Hua was, I introduced her to a clothing repair store so they could just barely get by.

    ¡°Butter on, I heard that her daughter was working in the pce, and that even this house had been purchased with the money she earned! Sigh, if I had such an outstanding daughter, just how great would that be?

    ¡°Still the Hua n¡¯s older miss continued to work at the clothing repair store day after day.¡±

    ¡­

    When he heard her continue to bber endlessly without getting to the point, Zu An unhappily cut her off. ¡°It sounds like your rtionship wasn¡¯t so bad. Why did you carry so much resentment earlier?¡±

    ¡°Hmph, people change,¡± The older woman said angrily. ¡°One day, she suddenly stopped working. I was curious what they were doing. Their daughter did work at the pce, but they had practically wiped out their savings after purchasing this house. They shouldn¡¯t have had any spare money to spend.¡±

    ¡°But not only had they not be poverty-stricken, the Hua n¡¯sdy was instead covered in gold and silver. Tsk tsk tsk, that was jewelry I wouldn¡¯t be able to purchase even if I worked my entire life!¡± The older woman¡¯s voice was full of jealousy. ¡°She said that her daughter received the appreciation of an esteemed individual in the pce, but I think she probably stole the pce¡¯s goods! This is probably retribution.¡±

    Zu An frowned. ¡°And that¡¯s why you¡¯re so happy that they might have suffered?¡±

    ¡°If that were all, someone as old as me obviously wouldn¡¯t get angry.¡± The older woman¡¯s eyes were filled with resentment. ¡°My son is of marrying age, you see. I found a girl for him, but we¡¯re justcking a bit of money for the wedding. I wanted to borrow some from the Hua n first, but not only did that woman reject me without any hesitation, she even said that her daughter didn¡¯t have it easy either. Hah! If it weren¡¯t for the fact I found out that that woman was setting her son up with a girl too, I might¡¯ve really believed her.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. Eventually, he said, ¡°It¡¯s their money. Is it that unreasonable for her to want to leave it for her son?¡±

    The older woman began to panic. ¡°But how poor were they when they first arrived at the capital? If it weren¡¯t because of my help, they would¡¯ve already starved to death! Yet when I needed help, she instead pretended she didn¡¯t know me. After all, just any random piece of that jewelry she normally wore would¡¯ve been enough!¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, This is a model case of being jealous after someone you previously looked down on suddenly gains great sess. He wasn¡¯t in the mood to care about these petty matters, though, so he asked, ¡°When was thest time you met them?¡±

    The older woman said, ¡°Around half a month ago, I think.¡±

    ¡°Did they leave on their own, or were they brought away?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°I have no idea.¡± The older woman shook her head.

    ¡°Did anything strange happen around that time?¡± Zu An continued to ask. After all, this age wasn¡¯t liketer generations. Rumors spread quickly from mouth to mouth, and all these people lived close to each other. If there had been any strangers, there was no way they wouldn¡¯t leave behind any traces.

    ¡°There seems to have been a carriage that came a few days ago. Right¡­ We¡¯ve never seen such a grand carriage before,¡± the older woman said enviously.

    Zu An frowned. ¡°What kind of carriage was it? What do you mean by grand? What kind of symbols did it have?¡±

    The older woman was confused. ¡°Grand is grand; how would I describe something like that?¡±

    Zu An ordered some of his subordinates to find someone good at drawing to work with this older woman and get a decent image out of her, to see if they could find some clues this way. Then, he asked some more questions about the Hua n¡¯s day to day life. After he finished, he had her leave for the time being.

    ¡°Wait.¡± Zu An suddenly thought of something just as the older woman was about to leave. ¡°When did their n begin to take a turn for the better? When did she start to wear all those things you were talking about?¡±

    The older woman stopped. She thought for a bit and then replied, ¡°About a year ago, but I don¡¯t remember the exact date. I know it couldn¡¯t have been longer than a year and a half, though.¡±

    Zu An began to think to himself. It seemed Xin Rui had already been bribed by a mysterious person a year before. This was quite the long n. ¡°Where is the Hua n¡¯s old home?¡± he eventually asked.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s in Caoxian,¡± the older woman replied.

    Zu An nodded. That matched the recordings, after all. As such, he ordered all of his subordinates to investigate Caoxian to see if anyone had returned recently.

    After all, the people of this world were quite attached to their homnds. If they took the initiative to leave, then they would subconsciously choose to return home.

    Of course, there was a high chance that they¡¯d already had their freedom restricted. They might not even be alive. He was only investigating this because he didn¡¯t want to let any clues go.

    ¡­

    By the time Zu An returned to the Embroidery House from Xin Rui¡¯s home, Shi Jun had already been detained and was waiting there. His furious roars could be heard as soon as he entered the prison.

    ¡°You bastards, do you know who I am?!¡±

    ¡°Do you all know who my father is? My father is the court¡¯s great Minister of War¡­¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°Stop crying already. It doesn¡¯t matter who your father is at this point.¡± Zu An directly interrupted him. This person had been extremely zealous about catching him and the crown princess in the act. He was the biggest suspect after Xin Rui.

    Shi Jun¡¯s eyes narrowed when he saw Zu An¡¯s uniform. He obviously knew what a golden token envoy symbolized after spending so much time in the pce. However, when he remembered his father and his older brother, as well as the Shi n¡¯s influence in court, he was able to calm down a bit. He asked, ¡°If I may, what crimes have Imitted? What proof do you all have to detain me here? I want to see my father.¡±

    Zu An harrumphed. ¡°Everyone whoes here says they¡¯re innocent at first, but things rarely go as they wish. Speak, why did you wrong the crown princess?¡± He didn¡¯t even mention his own name. After all, in this sort of situation, someone like Zu An waspletely insignificant. The main target had been the crown princess.

    Shi Jun shouted noisily, ¡°I¡¯ve spoken only the truth! When have I ever wronged the crown princess?!¡±

    ¡°You rascal, Sir Libationer has already proved the crown princess¡¯ innocence. Can it be that you¡¯re questioning him?¡± Zu An retorted as he mmed the table.

    Shi Jun¡¯s expression went nk. ¡°I don¡¯t know why Sir Libationer would say that, but I really did see her with Zu An that day.¡±

    Zu An was annoyed when he remembered how much of a dilemma he had been put in that day because of this fellow. Hemanded, ¡°This person is dishonest. Use torture!¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± The Embroidered Envoys didn¡¯t have any misgivings. They were always fearless, and it didn¡¯t matter which official they acted against; they would make sure that person lost ayer of skin. What did a trifling Huang Gate guard count as?

    Shi Jun began to panic. ¡°I¡¯m innocent, so why am I getting beaten? You¡¯re all just trying to obtain confessions under torture!¡±

    Zu An looked rather annoyed. Soon afterward, a roaring whipshed out, and Shi Jun screamed in agony. Zu An¡¯s mood finally improved a bit.

    ¡°You¡¯re forcing out confessions through torture! I¡¯m going to report you!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to report all of you for abusing your power!¡±

    ¡°My dad won¡¯t let all of you go!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Jun for +888 +888 +888¡­

    Zu An said coldly, ¡°It looks like we haven¡¯t hit you hard enough.¡±

    This fellow had deliberately made things hard for him at the entrance of the pce gate. If not for the fact that he¡¯d had enough tricks to depend on, he might have already been done in. Later on, Shi Jun had even framed him and the crown princess. Had that seeded, it would have been a crime punishable by n eradication. How could he be lenient on this fellow?

    Shi Jun kept cursing at first, but he lost his strength soon afterward. He instead began to beg for mercy.

    ¡°Please, please stop hitting me¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll speak, I¡¯ll speak¡­ Isn¡¯t that enough¡­¡±

    ¡­

    Zu An said disdainfully, ¡°I almost thought you were quite the tough guy. Looks like you¡¯re merely a spineless coward.¡±

    Resentment shed through Shi Jun¡¯s eyes. He thought to himself, So what if you¡¯re a golden token envoy? Wait until I get out! My father will make sure you die many times over!

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Jun for +999 +999 +999¡­

    Zu An sneered when he saw the iing Rage points. He didn¡¯t bother exposing Shi Jun and indicated for the others to leave first. Then he asked, ¡°How did you and Xin Rui meet?¡±

    ¡°Xin Rui?¡± Shi Jun¡¯s eyes narrowed, but he quickly recovered his cool. ¡°The Hundred Flower Pce¡¯s maid? I have some impression of her since I¡¯ve been in the pce for a while, but we didn¡¯t have much interaction. We don¡¯t really know each other.¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°Oh. Then let¡¯s continue with the torture.¡± He called his subordinates back while saying, ¡°Young master Shi, the Embroidered Envoys have many different ways to get the information we need. After all, we have all the time we need, so we can test them out on you one by one.¡±

    He had wanted to just scare this fellow with the intimidation methods he had learned from those shows and novels he read, but once he had learned more about the Embroidered Envoys¡¯ torture methods, he¡¯d realized that they were the real deal. These were the real professionals! They really exemplified what it meant to wish for death.

    ¡°Nooooo!¡± Shi Jun¡¯s eyes were filled with horror. He lived in the pce, so how could he not know about the Embroidered Envoys¡¯ methods? Forget about testing them out one by one, he wouldpletely break down from just a single one of them.

    ¡°I¡¯ll speak¡­¡± he began, but as soon as he spoke up, the door suddenly mmed open.

    Then a terrifying pressure spread outward and a voice yelled, ¡°Who dares to harm my son?!¡±

 Chapter 731: Loving Family

    <h4>Chapter 731: Loving Family</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The Embroidered Envoys in the room all readied their weapons and looked at the entrance vigntly. ¡°Who dares to cause trouble in the Embroidery House?!¡±

    What kind of joke was this? What kind of ce was the Embroidery House? This was the Embroidered Envoys¡¯ headquarters! No matter which court official was brought here, they would all tremble in fear. Yet now, someone dared to cause trouble here?

    Several Embroidered Envoys brandished their Soul Reaping Chains in that direction to immediately restrict the individual. Unfortunately, they were all blown back by an invisible force as soon as they attacked.

    Even though the Embroidered Envoys were capable of formation tactics, and the Soul Reaping Chains specialized in prating ki, all of that was meaningless before an absolute difference in power.

    This was a master rank cultivator!

    Those present shivered inwardly. Zu An turned around as well. The one who hade was a tall white-haired elder with sharp brows. His eyes were filled with anger.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but smile. ¡°I was wondering who it was. So it was sir Minister of War! I wonder what sir Minister of War intends by barging into the Embroidery House.¡±

    He had seen Shi Miao interfere during Yun Jianyue¡¯s assassination attempt on the eastern pce, so he recognized this person.

    ¡°Dad, hurry and save me, dad!¡± Shi Jun became extremely excited when he saw his father. He finally saw a ray of hope in an endless abyss. The Embroidered Envoys¡¯ torture methods were just too terrifying, and he really didn¡¯t want to experience them.

    Shi Miao gave Shi Jun a look. When he saw the blood on his son¡¯s body, his face instantly sank. He scanned the ce with his sharp eyes. ¡°Who caused those injuries on his body?¡±

    The Embroidered Envoys looked at each other in dismay. They were usually domineering, but that didn¡¯t mean they were stupid. In front of a master, wouldn¡¯t stepping forward be the same as asking to be punished right now?

    All of them gave Zu An pleading looks. He was the highest ranked individual here, so he was the one who should speak right now. However, they didn¡¯t feel too optimistic. Even though golden token envoys were formidable, none had reached the master rank. What could he possibly do in this type of situation?

    They were probably going to be used to take the me, but once Chief Commander Zhuxie Chixin returned, they would then get their revenge on these people.

    Under their looks of despair, Zu An said indifferently, ¡°Stop looking all over the ce. The one who hit him was me.¡±

    ¡°Sir Eleven!¡± All of the silver and bronze token envoys were moved, but equally worried.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Sure enough, Shi Miao erupted with fury. ¡°You¡¯re courting death!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Miao for +444 +444 +444¡­

    By the time he finished speaking, he had already shot straight at Zu An like an artillery shell. It was as if a tornado had swept through the room, as the powerful winds made several tables instantly explode.

    ¡®Sir Eleven is finished!¡¯ thought most of the Embroidered Envoys present. The Embroidered Envoys excelled at formation tactics. In the entire Embroidery House, apart from Sir Zhuxie, it would mean death for any one member to face a master rank.

    But no one could have expected that, with a loud thud, Zu An promptly raised his hand and exchanged a palm with the other party.

    The shockwave from the impact made dust fall from the wall beams. The Embroidered Envoys swayed unsteadily from side to side, while those with lower cultivations began to bleed from their noses.

    However, Zu An, who had been at the very center of the explosion, was only knocked back by one zhang. His expression seemed to be at ease, as if he hadn¡¯t really been injured. Meanwhile, Shi Miao was also blown back by nearly one zhang!

    The onlookers were so shocked their jaws had practically fallen to the ground.

    Not only was Sir Eleven unharmed after being attacked by an enraged master rank cultivator, he had even equally blown his opponent back by one zhang! Just how terrifying was this person¡¯s cultivation?

    Shi Miao was bewildered as well. He had thought his attack would have been enough to seriously injure his opponent. He had wanted to use his target as an example. Yet not only had he failed, he was instead the one embarrassed.

    This person¡¯s hand was strange. He recalled that just when they were about to make contact, the other party¡¯s hand seemed to have released a powerful suction force that drained away arge portion of his strength. That was why their exchange had seemed to be evenly matched.

    Other Embroidered Envoys flocked over when they heard the activity. Shi Miao waspletely surrounded, preventing him from suddenly attacking again.

    After Shi Miao¡¯s palm strike had easily been handled, he was left in great shock. How could he dare to attack again?

    Zu An said sternly, ¡°How brazen. Do you know what kind of crime entering the Embroidery House without permission is?¡±

    ¡°All those who trespass without permission shall die!¡± an Embroidered Envoy added from the side. There were many people who had been injured because they stood in Shi Miao¡¯s way. They were quite angry right now. When had they ever suffered so much in their home base, ever since the Embroidered Envoys were founded?

    So what if he was a Minister of War? The Embroidered Envoys were separate from the court. They didn¡¯t have to bow down to anyone.

    Zu An was amused when he heard this. There really hadn¡¯t been much he could do to the Shi n before, but this fellow had ended up courting death today. How could he let such a great chance go? As such, he decisively gave the order, ¡°Men, kill this intruder on the spot!¡±

    Even though the other party was a master, there were many experts in the Embroidery House. Furthermore, they excelled in detaining someone together. With his help, it wasn¡¯t too difficult to detain Shi Miao at all.

    Shi Jun was stupefied. This fellow even dared to kill his father? Was there something wrong with the world today?

    When he saw those Embroidered Envoy charge at his father with drawn des, he felt a chill run through his bones. If his father really were killed here, then he would truly be done for. He quickly shouted, ¡°Death pardon token! Dad, use your death pardon token!¡±

    If this golden token envoy had been taken out, Shi Miao would have been confident that he could take care of this entire ce. After all, Zhuxie Chixin wasn¡¯t here. However, he hadn¡¯t expected the golden token envoy to be able to match him evenly, which had greatly boosted the morale of the other Embroidered Envoys. If they really fought, he might even have a chance of losing.

    He suddenly realized something when he heard his son¡¯s reminder. He quickly brought out a dark golden death pardon token and raised it above his head. ¡°This is his majesty¡¯s death pardon token! Who dares to kill me?¡±

    The Embroidered Envoys looked at each other in dismay and stopped moving forward. They belonged to the emperor¡¯s secret infrastructure. They could disregard the threats of any official, but they couldn¡¯t disregard the emperor¡¯s orders.

    Zu An was starting to find this situation tricky as well. He hadn¡¯t expected this fellow to have such a thing on him.

    Those people who had been given such a thing in history never had good endings. For example, in the Ming Dynasty, for those who had been granted death pardon tokens by Zhu Yuanzhang, having their entire n eradicated would be considered on the lighter side.

    Of course, the emperor had the authority to decide whether he wanted to pardon them or not. However, as subjects, they couldn¡¯t overstep their authority, or else they would draw the emperor¡¯s suspicion.

    Zu An could only point at Shi Jun and say, ¡°There¡¯s only one death pardon token. Since he doesn¡¯t have one, keep beating him.¡±

    Shi Jun was stunned. He hadn¡¯t expected that he would still be the real clown. He quickly reached his hand toward Shi Miao. ¡°Dad! Dad! Hurry and give me the death pardoning token!¡±

    Zu An smiled. Ah, what a loving family.

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Shi Miao¡¯s forehead darkened. What the hell was wrong with his son today? Why had he suddenly be so stupid? ¡°This token doesn¡¯t protect me alone! Back then, his majesty personally said that as long as the Shi n didn¡¯t conspire against the empire, this would be enough to protect our entire n!¡±

    Shi Jun finally woke up from his daze. He really had been scared badly by these Embroidered Envoys. He gave Zu An a resentful look out of embarrassment. It was all because of this guy!

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Jun for +233 +233 +233¡­

    In the end, Shi Miao brought Shi Jun away with the death pardon token. The Embroidered Envoys were left too scared of doing something wrong. Furthermore, they hadn¡¯t gone through proper procedure to detain Shi Jun, so they could only release him.

    The Embroidered Envoys all went to make aint to the emperor with righteous indignation. Zu An knew that the emperor most likely wouldn¡¯t pay any attention to this matter, since the Shi n wasn¡¯t a normal n. Furthermore, that ¡®ident¡¯ had taken ce in the eastern pce, so he couldn¡¯t criticize them too harshly.

    Sure enough, the emperor only berated Shi Miao a bit and punished him by deducting an insignificant year of his sry, and then the matter was dropped. Shi Jun couldn¡¯t be investigated further, either.

    While Zu An was having a headache over this matter, the Pce of Peace sent a eunuch to contact him. The empress had invited him for an audience.

 Chapter 732: You Can Definitely Help Me

    <h4>Chapter 732: You Can Definitely Help Me</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°The empress?¡± Zu An responded, startled. He¡¯d actually had some things he needed to talk to the empress about himself. He headed straight to the Pce of Peace, and ran into Eunuch Lu just outside the pce.

    Eunuch Lu gave him a look, and then revealed a smile that seemed even more bitter than if he had been crying. ¡°You should head inside; the empress is waiting for you.¡±

    Zu An felt a chill run down his back. Why was the way this fellow looked at him so strange? Please tell me he doesn¡¯t like me¡­ As he went inside, fragrances swirled about him. Their unique scent naturally calmed his mood.

    ¡°I greet the empress,¡± he said respectfully. There were still maids and eunuchs nearby, so he needed to show proper etiquette.

    The empress was seated on her phoenix throne. Her splendid attire seemed more and more impressive the longer Zu An looked. When he saw her, it was as if he were seeing the crown princess¡¯ future. Even though the two of them had no blood rtion, they still carried some simrities in terms of poise and grace.

    Wait, no, there is at least one huge difference. I can vaguely make out the empress¡¯ ridiculous ass from here. That isn¡¯t something the crown princess canpare with, Zu An thought. Of course, the crown princess wasn¡¯t bad either. He still remembered the stic feeling he¡¯d experienced that day. It had carried a youthful feeling that was entirely different from the empress.

    The empress waved her hands, indicating for everyone else to back down for now. Only Little Gui and Little Zhuo remained behind to wait upon them. Even though she was the respected empress, there were still many taboos involved in meeting with outside subjects. She needed to keep some people here.

    When the other maids and eunuchs left, she gestured for Little Gui and Little Zhuo to wait outside the doors. The two withdrew respectfully. When they passed by Zu An, they gave him a friendly smile. They clearly remembered the kindness he had shown them.

    There were only two people left soon afterward. The empress said indifferently, ¡°If anyone else had stared at this empress like this, I would¡¯ve already had their eyes gouged out.¡±

    Zu An released a long sigh. ¡°The empress is so beautiful, yet you can only spend your time alone in this vacant pce. The other servants have misgivings towards your highness¡¯ status and prestige and don¡¯t dare to look at you. This beauty really is being wasted, so I naturally need to stare a bit longer to helppensate for that.¡±

    The empress¡¯ cheeks blushed. Her somewhat fierce, but beautiful eyes softened. ¡°Your mouth is as sweet as always. However, I fear that these words would be enough to end your life if they reached his majesty¡¯s ears. His majesty doesn¡¯t want others to do the things he should be doing.¡±

    Zu An was surprised. This was a mature and sophisticated woman after all! She was just as good at teasing back. If he didn¡¯t take care, he might instead lose himself and go too far.

    He replied with a smile, ¡°As long as your highness doesn¡¯t talk about it, how could his majesty know?¡± That emperor always used force to threaten him, constantly using fear, so he was naturally incredibly upset. His words no longer sounded as respectful.

    The empress¡¯ expression sank. ¡°Audacious! You dare to say something so disrespectful?!¡±

    If it had been anyone else, they might really have been scared by her, but Zu An wasn¡¯t shaken in the slightest. ¡°Your highness has asked everyone else to leave. Should I take this as an implied message?¡±

    The empress stared straight at him. A whileter, she burst outughing. ¡°You really aren¡¯t like the other servants after all! I suddenly feel like having a partner like you makes things more interesting.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Zu An declined toment. ¡°Your highness, why did you seek me out today?¡±

    ¡°What, I can¡¯t ask you toe if I don¡¯t need you for anything?¡± The empress stood up. As she moved, a refreshing fragrance filled Zu An¡¯s senses.

    Zu An gave her radiant and beautiful face a look. ¡°Perhaps your highness has been alone for so long that you desire a man?¡±

    The empress chuckled. Her eyes flickered with a strange light. ¡°Can I not?¡±

    It was now Zu An¡¯s turn to bepletely stunned. When she saw his nk expression, the empress harrumphed. ¡°You damn servant, you really were going after me. I really don¡¯t know if you¡¯re ignorant or just extremely daring.¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°I¡¯m not daring at all; I¡¯ve always behaved properly in the court. I don¡¯t dare to cross any lines.¡±

    ¡°Heh¡­¡± The empress sneered. If you really want to follow the rules, all of the men in this pce must be eunuchs. ¡°Would someone cowardly dare to touch even the crown princess?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression grew serious. ¡°Both the crown princess and I are innocent. Your highness, please don¡¯ say nonsensical things.¡±

    The empress sneered. ¡°Others might really think you weren¡¯t so bold if they saw you, but you dared to even treat me¡­ Hmph, what does a crown princess count for?¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t let her words affect him. ¡°If I weren¡¯t innocent, why would his majesty let me go?¡±

    The empress¡¯ brows furrowed tightly. ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m the most confused about. With Zhao Han¡¯s nature, even if you were innocent, there would be no reason to keep you alive after a scandal broke out between you and the crown princess.¡±

    ¡°Maybe I¡¯m just lucky.¡± Zu An sighed. They really were husband and wife after all¡­ This woman understood the emperor too well.

    It was just that the emperor still needed him to deal with King Qi and didn¡¯t really n to let him go. Once King Qi was dealt with, the emperor would immediately get rid of him. Furthermore, he was in charge of finding out who framed the crown princess. If he didn¡¯t produce any results, that would be a GG for Zu An.

    Motherfucker¡­ He clearly needs me to work for him, yet he still constantly threatens to kill me. Zu An was bing more and more nervous, because the deadline was getting closer and closer.

    ¡°Right, you sent Chu First Missst time to have me investigate those maids and eunuchs¡­¡± the empress suddenly said.

    Before she even finished her sentence, Zu An asked, shocked, ¡°Did you find out anything?!¡± Shi Jun had been brought away, so his trail was cut short. He was extremely vexed about the situation.

    The empress was confused. ¡°It¡¯s not as if you¡¯re investigating this case, so why are you so worried?¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t reveal his true intentions. ¡°I need to at least find out who framed me, right?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not so incredible that I can find that out,¡± the empress said, ¡°I only managed to eliminate some suspects. They knew nothing about this matter and were swept along by theirpanions. After looking around, I discovered that those people had been called together by seven individuals for various reasons.¡±

    ¡°Which seven people?¡± Zu An asked.

    The empress walked to the side with a graceful demeanor. She removed a booklet from the cupboard and said, ¡°The names are right here.¡±

    Zu An moved to grab it, but the empress instead retracted her hand, hiding the booklet behind her. ¡°What benefit will there be for me if I hand you this?¡±

    Zu An frowned. ¡°What kind of benefit do you want? As long as I can take care of it, I¡¯ll definitely do it.¡± At the same time, he was curious. This was the glorious empress! What didn¡¯t she have? Why would she need something from him?

    The empress smiled and replied, ¡°You can definitely do it.¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    When he saw her mysterious smile, Zu An felt that something was wrong. ¡°What is it exactly?¡±

    The empress didn¡¯t reply and instead changed the topic. ¡°When you were sent to prison, Chu First Miss sought me out. I have to admit, you¡¯re quite a lucky fellow. Chu First Miss is incredibly beautiful, and she cares so much about you.¡±

    Zu An revealed a soft smile. ¡°She is indeed amazing.¡±

    The empress chatted with him about Chu Chuyan¡¯s matters a bit more, and then she said, ¡°Later on, Chu First Miss visited me a few more times. I heard that back then, all of her meridians were destroyed in the secret dungeon, but it was because you heroically stepped up that the two of you gradually grew closer.¡±

    ¡°That was probably just fate, haha.¡± Zu An smiled while thinking to himself, Why did that foolish girl tell her all of this?

    But he soon realized that Chu Chuyan had probably been anxious to save him back then, and the empress was one of the people who would have had the highest chance of saving him. That was probably why she had told the empress so much.

    The empress then asked in a carefree manner, ¡°Right, how did you heal her?¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°I managed to find an Evanescent Lotus at an opportune time. That was why I was able to save her.¡± He couldn¡¯t tell the empress that it was because he had worked diligently on Chu Chuyan body, that his yang force had saved her, right? If he said this, the empress wouldn¡¯t suspect him of anything either.

    ¡°Is that so?¡± the empress remarked indifferently.

    Zu An said, ¡°I¡¯ve already answered everything. It¡¯s time for you to give me that booklet, right?¡±

    The empress still shook her head. ¡°Come back at night. I¡¯ll give it to you then.¡±

    Zu An was shocked. ¡°Why does it have to wait until nighttime?¡±

    The empress replied, ¡°Because I¡¯ll need you to help me with something then.¡±

 Chapter 733: Trap

    <h4>Chapter 733: Trap</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°Why does it have to be at night? I need to be outside of the pce after dusk.¡±

    He already had PTSD after he and the crown princess had fallen into the same trap. He was worried that this might cause some kind of misunderstanding or trouble. Even though he had his status as an Embroidered Envoy, he couldn¡¯t let the empress know about that.

    ¡°You¡¯ll know exactly what it is then,¡± the empress said indifferently. ¡°As for leaving the pce, you don¡¯t need to worry.¡± She brought out a uniform from her drawers and said, ¡°Leave the pce at dusk, and then change into this. Come back with this waist token. No one will know it¡¯s you.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression was extremely strange when he looked at the familiar uniform in front of him. It was an Embroidered Envoy uniform. Of course, it belonged to the lowest-ranked bronze token envoy.

    Even though he was still confused at first, he quickly calmed down. The resources at the empress¡¯ disposal were definitely beyond his imagination. It wasn¡¯t all that surprising for her to have obtained an Embroidered Envoy uniform.

    Still, even with all her influence, she could only get a bronze token uniform. It seemed the Embroidered Envoys¡¯ secretive nature was still formidable.

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯lle back at night,¡± Zu An said. With his identity, entering at night wasn¡¯t all that hard. Since he had a proper excuse this time, he obviously wouldn¡¯t refuse. He was also curious what the empress needed his help with.

    When Zu An left, Eunuch Lu¡¯s gloomy figure appeared in the room. He asked, ¡°Your highness, have you made your decision?¡±

    The empress¡¯ expression was indifferent. ¡°Do I have a choice? If I had known this was the case from the start, I wouldn¡¯t have done that. But instead, I ended up leaving behind some hidden dangers¡­¡±

    Eunuch Lu hesitated. ¡°It might not be as your highness thinks.¡±

    The empress shook her head. ¡°There would be nothing lost if I guessed incorrectly. However, if I guessed correctly¡­¡± Her eyes began to burn fiercely.

    Euncuh Lu¡¯s eyes also flickered with a strange radiance. ¡°Then I wish your highness the best.¡±

    The empress¡¯ beautiful eyes stared nkly. ¡°You damned servant, why do you look even more excited than I do?¡±

    Eunuch Lu sneered. ¡°This servant is merely happy for your highness. There is finally hope after your highness suffered for so many years.¡±

    The empress raised her eyebrows, and her chest rose and fell rapidly. She clearly wasn¡¯t calm at the moment. She asked, ¡°How are the other matters going?¡±

    Eunuch Lu said respectfully, ¡°Your highness, please do not worry. Everything is already in order.¡±

    The empress voiced her acknowledgment. She waved her hands, indicating for him to withdraw for now. Then, she walked up to the bronze mirror and stared at her reflection, gently caressing her own cheeks. Her little finger and ring finger had precious gems on them, making her skin look even more morous and beautiful.

    ¡­

    After Zu An left the Pce of Peace, he took a detour. When he was sure that no one was following him, he changed into his Golden Token Eleven uniform and returned to the Embroidery House, where someone quickly came to inform him about the results of the investigation.

    Xin Rui¡¯s younger brother was named Hua Bao. He was a good-for-nothing who idled about and loved to go to the gambling den. He lost more than he won, and he would always ask his mother for more money. However, his mother didn¡¯t make much money from repairing clothes, so it was almost always Xin Rui who gave him money.

    It seemed that recently, Madam Hua had found him a wife, and she had even prepared many gifts. Everyone who knew Hua Bao had been jealous that he had such a great older sister. After all, the one who had made all of this possible was his older sister.

    The neighbors had suddenly realized that Madam Hua doted on this son a lot, and yet she constantly criticized her daughter. At a certain point, that daughter really couldn¡¯t take her younger brother¡¯s gambling habits, and had said that she wasn¡¯t willing to support him anymore. Madam Hua had wept endlessly that day and called her daughter unfilial, saying she wanted the Hua n to be without a sessor.

    The neighbors had all sympathized with Madam Hua¡¯s daughter. They had met her a few times and knew that she was pretty, and her temperament was also gentle. Many people had even tried to act as matchmakers for her.

    Butter on, they found out that she worked in the pce. Furthermore, they didn¡¯t want to get involved with her gambling-addicted younger brother. Those neighbors thus gave up on the thought.

    ¡­

    Zu An sighed inside when he heard the results. He hadn¡¯t expected this world to have spoiled sons too. He then asked, ¡°By the way, did you get a picture of the carriage?¡±

    That subordinate replied, ¡°Yes, but those people don¡¯t know much, so they immediately get confused when they see something even slightly intricate, even if it¡¯s just an ordinary carriage in the capital.¡±

    Zu An took the image and gave it a look. It seemed there was no valuable information he could get from this after all. Still, that made sense. After all, why would the other party use any carriages that would give their identity away?

    A silver token envoy who was in charge of the pce¡¯s internal affairs came over to report, ¡°Sir Eleven, we investigated all of the imperial pce¡¯s wells, ponds,kes, and other hiding spots. We found a few sets of skeletal remains, but they all belonged to old cases. Furthermore, we¡¯ve confirmed that none of them are Xin Rui.¡±

    Zu An was stupefied when he heard this. No wonder there had been so many supernatural rumors about his former world¡¯s imperial pce. Who knew how many tragic deaths and vengeful souls there were in these types of ces?! The imperial pce was a monstrous ce after all.

    ¡°But that shouldn¡¯t be¡­¡± Zu An was getting annoyed. ¡°We couldn¡¯t find any records of her leaving the pce, yet we can¡¯t find her inside the pce. How could a living person vanish into thin air?¡±

    The silver token envoy said, ¡°There were no records of her leaving alive. What if she was killed, and then brought outside?¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An was startled. That made sense; there were spatial rings in this world! But still, other people¡¯s spatial storages weren¡¯t as ridiculous as his Brilliant ss Bead. Such a thing didn¡¯t seem too likely.

    He immediately ordered, ¡°All of you should investigate the records for entry and exit from the pce gates. This time, don¡¯t look for Xin Rui; instead, see if anyone left carrying a spatial storage.¡±

    The silver token envoy shook his head. ¡°Sir Eleven, there is something you don¡¯t know. No spatial storages are allowed to enter or exit the pce. This is for the sake of preventing those with ulterior motives from bringing in hazardous materials to harm distinguished individuals. There are specialized personnel by every gate in charge of this task.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He hadn¡¯t expected the pce¡¯s security to be so strict! They had managed to think of even this. Fortunately, he had already refined the Brilliant ss Bead in his body, so others couldn¡¯t investigate it at all.

    Wait¡­ if the imperial pce¡¯s security is so strict, then how did Yun Jianyue and the others get in? Zu An thought. Even though that case had been concluded, he knew that Cheng Xiong was but a scapegoat. He hadn¡¯t ended up finding the real perpetrator behind Yun Jianyue¡¯s case.

    He shook his head to clear his mind of such disorganized thoughts. Investigating those things wasn¡¯t top priority right now, so he focused on his current case. ¡°Then you should all head out and investigate to see if anyone hadrge packages on them. I¡¯ve already observed that there are strict security checks upon entering the pce, but leaving the pce with goods is much easier.¡±

    He suspected that Xin Rui might have been brought out as a corpse. Of course, if the other party had things like the corpse dposition powder found in those tv dramas, he could only admit defeat.

    The silver token envoy¡¯s expression changed. He was just about to say something, but Zu An had already flung over a stack of silver notes. ¡°I¡¯ve really troubled you all this time. Take this and split it with everyone. Once youplete this task, there will be more rewards from his majesty as well.¡±

    If Zu An wanted people to work like ves for him, he couldn¡¯t copy those entrepreneurs who only knew how to prattle about ideals in his past world, right? He had more than enough money now, anyway, and the crown princess had rewarded him quite a bit not too long ago.

    The silver token envoy¡¯s eyes lit up when he saw the notes. He didn¡¯t trouble Zu An further, as expected, and happily left to pass on the orders.

    After Zu An made himself busy for a few more hours, night gradually descended. He left using his normal identity to leave behind a record. That was an opening he had left during the matter with the crown princessst time. He didn¡¯t want to repeat that mistake.

    Once outside, he changed into the bronze token envoy uniform the empress had given him. After reentering the pce, he headed toward the Pce of Peace.

    The Pce of Peace was the empress¡¯ private pce. Under normal circumstances, there would be many maids and eunuchs around. However, the pce seemed exceptionally quiet today. Only a few individuals passed by on asion.

    Zu An became vignt. The empress didn¡¯t set a trap for me, did she?

 Chapter 734: Beaten

    <h4>Chapter 734: Beaten</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    After having been scammed thest time in the Hundred Flower Pce, Zu An really was frightened badly. As such, he quickly used his jade badge to control the small creatures around him. There were a lot of cats at night, so he used their eyes to examine the surrounding disturbance. When he was sure that there were no ambushes set up in the pce, he then quietly snuck in.

    Suddenly, Zu An had a bad feeling. He quickly stopped and hid behind a tree. He saw a group of people head in his direction through the eyes of the cats. One figure in bright yellow robes was the emperor himself, Zhao Han!

    Zu An¡¯s entire body was covered in cold sweat. Empress, what¡¯s the meaning of this?! She made mee here, yet the emperor came himself. Is she trying to destroy me?! He didn¡¯t dare to even breathe too hard. At the same time, he used the Mirror Mirage technique to make his own aura more and more faint.

    As the emperor passed by, no one else noticed anything, but the emperor suddenly stopped.

    ¡°Your majesty, is there something wrong?¡± Eunuch Wen stepped forward and asked.

    The emperor turned around to look at the direction Zu An was hiding in. His eyes were incredibly sharp as he yelled, ¡°Show yourself! You dare trespass here?!¡±

    The tree in front of Zu An exploded as soon as the emperor finished speaking. He subconsciously wanted to evade, but he discovered that the air around him had be incredibly viscous. It was as if an invisible power were restraining him.

    He suddenly realized something. Thest time this had happened, he couldn¡¯t move at all. But this time, it didn¡¯t seem as ridiculous as before¡­ However, he didn¡¯t evade and instead stood in ce, crying, ¡°I pay my respects to your majesty!¡±

    The guards around the emperor reacted then; all of them drew their des, quickly surrounding Zu An. However, they hesitated when they saw the Embroidered Envoy outfit he was dressed in.

    The emperor frowned and remarked, ¡°It¡¯s you?¡± Zu An was wearing a mask right now. However, with the emperor¡¯s cultivation, he didn¡¯t need to look with his eyes at all anymore. He asked, ¡°Why are you here?¡± His gaze seemed to prate through Zu An.

    Zu An quickly replied, ¡°Your majesty put me in charge of investigating that case. That¡¯s why I came here to look for clues.¡±

    The emperor harrumphed. ¡°And your investigation brought you all the way to the empress? Don¡¯t tell me you suspect her?¡±

    ¡°This subject doesn¡¯t dare.¡± Zu An replied. ¡°It¡¯s precisely because I don¡¯t dare to suspect her highness that I came here in secret, to avoid drawing suspicion to her in this case.¡±

    ¡°Nonsense!¡± The emperor gave Eunuch Wen beside him a look. ¡°How should we deal with a servant intruding upon the chambers of my wives?¡±

    ¡°He is to be executed by thew!¡± Eunuch Wen gave Zu An a look. He thought to himself, Did this Embroidered Envoy go crazy? Does he not even want to keep his own life for the sake of this case?

    Zu An was rmed. ¡°Your highness, please forgive me. This subject is still a neer and doesn¡¯t know the rules. Furthermore, the case¡¯s deadline is approaching, so that¡¯s why I became anxious¡­¡±

    He knew that the emperor needed him for many things, so he definitely wouldn¡¯t be killed here. However, he still had to disy a show of strength in front of everyone else.

    Sure enough, the emperor nodded. ¡°Forget it. Out of consideration for your loyalty, I won¡¯t take your life. However, a crime is still a crime. Men, flog him fifty times as a warning.¡±

    Zu An was rmed and furious. This guy really was something! Motherfucker! Ever since I came to the capital, I¡¯ve always been forced to do this and that. Not even a production team¡¯s donkey would be abused like this! The worst part was that apart from being given the status of a golden token envoy, he hadn¡¯t gotten a single benefit afterward. He was only threatened again and again.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    He wanted to say something else, but the emperor had already entered the Pce of Peace. He wasn¡¯t given a chance to exin himself at all. Zu An was left speechless.

    Then, Eunuch Wen walked over with a group of vicious looking guards and said, ¡°Apologies, sir.¡±

    He was always amiable, and even in this type of situation, he didn¡¯t want to randomly offend anyone. After all, anyone whom the emperor would spare even after intruding so deep into the pce was definitely special. However, that didn¡¯t mean that he could ignore the emperor¡¯s orders.

    Several guards pushed Zu An down, then used their scabbards to beat him viciously.

    Zu An¡¯s face remained expressionless. However, rage burned within him.

    In truth, he didn¡¯t suffer many injuries at all from this beating. It would actually even improve his strength a bit. However, this feeling of having been wronged was unbearable. Ever since he had arrived at the capital, he had always lived like a fucking ve.

    Even though he was an optimistic person and acted in a carefree manner, there was still a limit to what he could take. This was the straw that broke the camel¡¯s back.

    The emperor clearly needed Zu An to help with several cases and obviously wouldn¡¯t kill him, yet he still continued to pretend to spare him out of kindness. Then, he would award Zu An with a vicious beating.

    In the end, it was because Zu An was still too weak. In the emperor¡¯s eyes, he was probably just a servant that the emperor could order around at will. He was probably seen as just a dog, and more than that, a dog that didn¡¯t listen too well.

    That was why the emperor always beat him down with these methods. These were actually the normal methods of a ruler. If it were any other person, they might already be incredibly scared and feel that the emperor was deep and unfathomable. Then, they would work tirelessly for fear of the emperor.

    However, Zu An was a transmigrator. He had been raised ording to an entirely different set of values. Furthermore, he had even served as a ruler before in the secret dungeon, so how could he possibly tolerate this?

    I need to grow stronger! This thought was stronger and more powerful than ever before in Zu An¡¯s mind.

    Meanwhile, in the Pce of Peace, the empress walked forward with Eunuch Lu to greet the emperor. ¡°This humble wife greets your majesty!¡±

    The emperor gave her a look of surprise. ¡°It¡¯s been a while. Ning¡¯er has grown prettier and prettier.¡±

    The empress seemed to have paid special attention to her appearance today. Her eyshes were long and elegant, and her lips were red and moist. Her clothes were also tighter than usual, making her curves seem even more outrageous. Even the emperor, who was used to seeing all kinds of beauties, was a bit surprised.

    The empress blushed and replied, ¡°Thank you, your majesty!¡±

    Eunuch Lu secretly gave the emperor a look. Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s going to stay in the Pce of Peace tonight? Tsk tsk tsk, he hasn¡¯te over for so many years, yet he just had to choose today. Could it be that this is the will of heaven?

    When faced with her clear and beautiful eyes, the emperor didn¡¯t immediately continue and instead looked around. ¡°Hm? There don¡¯t seem to be many people in the Pce of Peace tonight. It¡¯s also quite dark¡­?¡±

    Eunuch Lu began to panic. He gave the empress a worried look. Despite that, the empress remained calm and replied, ¡°Something happened to the crown princess recently, so everyone in the Pce of Peace has been busy investigating all manner of intelligence. Now that things have settled, I gave them some time to rest.¡±

    The emperor smiled. ¡°The empress is truly a model example in treating your subordinates. Men, grant every single member of the Pce of Peace half a year of sry as a bonus.¡±

    The empress immediately bowed respectfully. ¡°This humble wife thanks your majesty in their ce. Ah, why did your majesty suddenly think of the Pce of Peace today?¡±

    The emperor replied, ¡°I was carried away by a whim and decided to take a look around. Ah, right, have your injuries improved?¡±

    The empress lowered her head and said dejectedly, ¡°This humble one has already acknowledged my fate.¡±

    The emperor said, ¡°I will search the world for medicine. Your past injuries will definitely be healed.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, your majesty!¡± the empress cried happily. However, inside, she sneered. I might have believed you if this had been a few years ago, but so many years have already passed. In the end, they¡¯re always the same half-hearted goods. I already know you¡¯re only doing this to keep the other wives in check, and not because you want me to recover at all. In the end, she had to find a solution herself.

    ¡°Ah, right, I heard some moring outside. What happened?¡± The empress was worried that the emperor might read her true intentions and quickly changed the topic.

    ¡°Just an ignorant Embroidered Envoy. I already dealt with him.¡± The emperor sounded as if he were just talking about something insignificant.

    The empress was rmed. She immediately thought of the Embroidered Envoy uniform she had given Zu An. Was it him? This was just too unlucky, right? All of my ns are falling apart!

    Even though she was furious right now, she didn¡¯t show anything. She didn¡¯t continue to ask about it either. After all, it would be strange for a powerful empress to be concerned about a single Embroidered Envoy. Furthermore, this man in front of her was also quite the paranoid person.

    The two chatted for a while longer before the emperor got up and said, ¡°Empress, please take some time to rest and recover. This emperor will head back first.¡±

    The empress looked disappointed. ¡°Your majesty is not going to stay for the night?¡±

    The emperor¡¯s brows furrowed ever so slightly. Then, he shook his head. ¡°Too many things have happened recently. There are still many official matters for me to take care of.¡±

    The empress¡¯ expression seemed to suggest that she had expected this. But of course, she was still reverent and respectful on the surface. ¡°The affairs of the empire are the most important. I will apany your majesty!¡±

    ¡°Empress, there is no need to see me out!¡± the emperor replied before turning to leave the Pce of Peace.

    As the emperor exited, he came across Zu An, who had just been punished. Eunuch Wen returned to give a report, to which the emperor replied before looking at Zu An. He said, ¡°Make sure to pay more attention next time. The inside of the pce is different from the outside. If you make this mistake again, not even I can protect you.¡± He thought, This kid is from the streets. He¡¯s a bit too wild and needs to be beaten once in a while.

    Zu An was filled with curses inside. How could someone like him, who was familiar with the ruler¡¯s art of statecraft, not see through these methods? This guy was clearly threatening him, yet he was putting on this benevolent appearance.

    Of course, even though that was what he thought, he didn¡¯t show a trace of it on the surface. He said, ¡°Thank you, your majesty, for your grace.¡±

    When he saw Zu An¡¯s weak and dispirited appearance, the emperor left in satisfaction. Looks like the results of beating this kid are pretty good.

    Zu An sat in ce, meditating. He circted his Primordial Origin Sutra. He could even quickly recover from life threatening injuries, so these superficial wounds weren¡¯t much at all. His wounds quickly recovered, leaving only some scabs on the surface.

    However, though his physical wounds had healed, his rage didn¡¯t settle in the slightest. His expression was overcast. All sorts of thoughts that would normally be considered disgraceful and sphemous filled his head.

    He needed to be stronger. He couldn¡¯t be at the mercy of anyone else ever again.

    Suddenly, a mind-clearing fragrance swept over. When Zu An raised his head, he saw that the beautiful empress was already standing in front of him. She asked, ¡°Are you okay?¡±

 Chapter 735: Badger Game?

    <h4>Chapter 735: Badger Game?</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but sigh in amazement. This world of cultivation made everyone in it more attractive than the people of his previous world.

    Perhaps it was because she had once been a powerful cultivator, but time hadn¡¯t left behind any traces on the empress¡¯ body. Her skin was as smooth as a youngdy¡¯s, yet she also carried a maturity that youngdies could never hope to have. Zu An could sense the suppleness and softness of her body even through her clothes.

    Zu An realized that the emperor had left just now. Is that guy a freaking eunuch? Why did he still leave the pce after meeting with such a mature and stunning beauty? However, he was in a bad mood right now. He said coldly, ¡°Was your highness trying to harm me on purpose? Did you want to use his majesty to get rid of me?¡±

    She had arranged for him to meet her in the Pce of Peace at night, yet the emperor had just happened to show up here. The emperor rarely came here, after all. Could there really be such a coincidence in this world?

    The empress sighed and said, ¡°If I wanted to harm you, then I wouldn¡¯t havee out here to see you. Honestly, I don¡¯t even know why his majesty woulde here today.¡±

    Zu An refused toment. He only asked, ¡°What do you need me for? Can you tell me now?¡±

    The empress looked around and said, ¡°Let¡¯s talk inside. There are too many eyes here.¡±

    Zu An frowned and stayed put. The empress smiled ambiguously and said, ¡°What? Are you scared that I¡¯ll eat you inside?¡±

    Zu An harrumphed. He was really upset right now. Even though he knew that she was teasing him, he took arge step and passed her. ¡°I¡¯m quite curious as to just what kind of methods your highness is going to use against me.¡±

    ¡­

    When Zu An entered the empress¡¯ room and smelled the expensive fragrance in it, he secretly swallowed an antidote pill first for fear of being poisoned. Ji Xiaoxi had given him many medicines before, but he had been carelessst time in the Hundred Flower Pce and neglected to use them.

    After he took the pill, he felt a bit more at ease. He looked around and asked, ¡°Why is it so dark?¡± The Pce of Peace was quite dark. The lights were much dimmer than usual.

    The empress walked over, her long dress dragging along the smooth floor, making her seem even more morous. ¡°Why would I leave all those lights on? Having such a vacant ce brightly lit would only make it even more ufortable.¡±

    When he sensed her strong hidden resentment, Zu An couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Why doesn¡¯t his majesty visit your highness often? Is there some embarrassing truth that can¡¯t be revealed?¡±

    The empress chuckled. ¡°You¡¯re quite the bold one, aren¡¯t you? If his majesty heard you say that, you might already be dead.¡±

    Zu An gave her an indifferent look and said, ¡°I¡¯m just concerned about his majesty¡¯s dignified body.¡±

    The empress was left speechless. Eventually, she said, ¡°You really are something.¡± She couldn¡¯t help but give Zu An a few looks before continuing, ¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking. I can tell you that there¡¯s nothing wrong with his majesty¡¯s body.¡±

    Zu An had a strange expression as he carefully looked at the beautiful woman in front of him. He didn¡¯t think there was any man who wouldn¡¯t be tempted by this kind of stunning beauty. Since there was nothing wrong with the emperor, then was there something wrong with the empress?

    The empress¡¯ face blushed when she saw his gaze. ¡°What are you thinking? The reason his majesty hasn¡¯t stayed with any of his harem is because he doesn¡¯t have much time left. For the sake of preserving as much longevity as possible, he already started to refrain from such things a long time ago.¡±

    Zu An immediately understood. ¡°So that¡¯s what¡¯s happening. However, if he can¡¯t even touch women, then what fun is left in being number one in the world?¡±

    The empress harrumphed. ¡°That¡¯s something only a kid like you would say. The joy authority can bring you is far greater than what other things can provide. Once you reach his level, you¡¯ll find many things more interesting than women.¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t agree with her statement at all. When I was an emperor in Yinxu, I still felt these things were more interesting.

    The empress¡¯ gaze rested on the blood covering Zu An''s back. She reached out her hand to touch his wound, but she was worried that her golden fingernails would hurt him. ¡°Does it hurt?¡±

    Zu An said indifferently, ¡°Not too badly.¡± He had experienced far worse pain, so this much was nothing. However, the mental blow was too much. It had made him question many of his previous thoughts and decisions.

    The empress walked over to the side of the room. She squatted down by a cab, revealing her mature and full figure. She quickly returned with several bottles of medicine and said, ¡°Take off your clothes. I¡¯ll help you apply some medicine over your wounds.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He said with a frown, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that be inappropriate?¡±

    He couldn¡¯t help but nce around. He saw that Eunuch Lu had already left, and he hadn¡¯t even seen a single eunuch or maid after entering the Pce of Peace. He felt something was strange.

    The empress said, ¡°You were punished because of me. I feel quite apologetic as well, which is why I wanted topensate you somehow.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression turned strange. What the hell is the empress up to?

    The empressughed when she saw Zu An¡¯s expression. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? The man who had the boldness to y around with the crown princess and even dared to hit my bottom is suddenly bing shy?¡±

    She hadn¡¯t seen it herself, but while others might believe that nothing happened between him and the crown princess, with her understanding of Zu An, she knew that he had definitely done something.

    ¡°Woman, you¡¯re ying with fire right now.¡± Zu An had already been upset to begin with. Now that he was being teased like this, he decided to just take off his clothes and expose the wounds on his back. He really wanted to see what this woman was up to now.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Even though the empress was already mature and experienced, when she saw the strong and healthy body of the man in front of her, including his muscles that carried explosive power, her heart rate still quickened. She remarked, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to actually be so muscr, even though you usually have that weak and schrly appearance.¡±

    Zu An frowned. ¡°What exactly does your highness need me for?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no rush. Let¡¯s talk about itter.¡± The empress had a faint smile on her face. She lifted her dress and sat down behind him. She scooped out a bit of ointment with her finger, and then gently applied it over his wounds. ¡°That damn servant really was vicious. He didn¡¯t hold back at all.¡±

    Zu An said indifferently, ¡°They were the emperor¡¯s orders. No one dares to show any negligence.¡±

    This was a world of cultivation, so beatings were naturally a bit different from ancient times. The ones who carried out punishment specialized in dealing with cultivators as well. Furthermore, the tools they used all had special runes carved into them, making it harder for the beaten to resist.

    ¡°Hm? It¡¯s nice to be young. Your injuries have already healed so much.¡± The empress¡¯ fingers gently caressed the area around the wound on Zu An¡¯s back. The shocking heat and sticitying from his skin even made her eyes be misty. This was the vigor of a young man. She had already almost forgotten this kind of heart palpitating feeling.

    Zu An frowned. The empress was sitting right behind him, and the two of them were almost within reach. He could even smell the fragranceing from her body. Her fingers were extremely sleek and soft, but the sensation made the rage he felt go further out of control. For fear that something might happen, he said darkly, ¡°Your highness, are you seducing me right now?¡±

    The empress chuckled and said, ¡°I¡¯m merely applying medicine for you.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. What the heck was going on? If a concubine were to hear him speak so directly, shouldn¡¯t their expression have immediately changed, followed by them making some distance? There was definitely something fishy going on, but this woman refused to admit it. A mature woman was much better at grasping the tension in rtionships than a young woman, after all.

    Zu An could no longer sit still and got up. ¡°If your highness needs nothing else, then I¡¯ll leave first.¡±

    The empress grabbed his hand. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Were you scared that badly by the crown princess? Are you scared that I might frame you too?¡±

    Zu An sighed and said, ¡°Am I wrong? Your highness¡¯ behavior today is extremely strange. I have reason to suspect that this is all a badger game.¡±

    ¡°Badger game?¡± The empress was stunned. She had never heard such a term before. However, she could roughly guess its meaning. She sighed and said, ¡°I am a woman as well.¡±

    Zu An frowned as he waited for the empress¡¯ next words.

    The empress sat down. Her usual dignity and fierceness no longer showed between her brows, instead being reced by weakness and mncholy. She said, ¡°It has already been at least ten years since hest stayed the night here. I know he¡¯s trying to prolong his life as much as possible, but I¡¯m still in my prime! Staying all alone here in this pce makes one feel lonely.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s heart rate quickened. However, he didn¡¯t trust her so easily. ¡°Does your highness know that what you¡¯ve just said is enough to have your entire n destroyed?¡±

    The empress slowly stood up. She took a step forward, closing the distance between them. Zu An could even see her eyshes tremble lightly, and he could feel her breath. Her misty eyes stared calmly into his as she said, ¡°If it were anyone else, I wouldn¡¯t dare to say such things. However, you¡¯re different. I know that you have no respect for his majesty, so you¡¯re also the only one who would dare to do certain things.¡±

 Chapter 736: Master and Servant

    <h4>Chapter 736: Master and Servant</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The empress¡¯ gaze was filled with a feeling of uncertainty. Zu An was startled and asked, ¡°When your highness talks about doing certain things, are you talking about yourself?¡±

    The empress sat down and reclinedfortably. She rested her chin on her hand and replied, ¡°What do you think?¡±

    She had been a mature and curvaceous woman to begin with. When shey down like this, her figure was even more seductive and carried a rxed air. An invisible sort of seduction was taking ce.

    ¡°Since your highness doesn¡¯t need me for anything else, I¡¯ll leave first.¡± Even though Zu An felt his throat going dry, he didn¡¯t lose his head. He obviously couldn¡¯t believe that the empress would have feelings for him for no reason, but he couldn¡¯t figure out what she was really thinking, so he decided to just leave first.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be in such a hurry; who said I don¡¯t need you for anything else?¡± The empress grabbed his hand. ¡°My Great Zhou Dynasty has a national treasure I need your help to evaluate.¡±

    ¡°National treasure?¡± Zu An asked, stunned. This was a world of cultivation, and he had experienced the power of magical artifacts. Just how powerful did the item have to be for the Great Zhou Dynasty to treat it as a national treasure? He became excited and continued, ¡°May I ask what type of national treasure it is?¡±

    The empress gently ran her fingers across Zu An¡¯s body, her bright red lips rising into a lovely arc. ¡°It might be right before your eyes.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. Why did he feel like Xuanzang suffering temptation in the country of women?[1]

    The empress giggled when she saw Zu An standing in a stupor. ¡°What, is this empress not enough to be a national treasure?¡±

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but sigh. ¡°Your highness is incredibly charming, a woman among women. Of course you¡¯re a national treasure.¡±

    The empress¡¯ eyes grew a bit moist. ¡°Is that all for your evaluation? Aren¡¯t you being too half-hearted here?¡±

    It was clearly already long past the height of summer, yet Zu An felt the night was extremely hot. He replied with difficulty, ¡°Then may I ask how your highness wishes for me to evaluate you?¡±

    The empress looked at him in a seductive manner. ¡°You can give me a try yourself. Only through the most intimate experience can you give the most urate evaluation.¡±

    Zu An sighed. ¡°Your highness, are you tempting me right now?¡±

    The empress gently bit her fingertip and giggled. ¡°I heard from Chu First Miss that you¡¯ve always been a slick-tongued person, that you know how to make a girl happy. But why do you seem stiff today? It¡¯s almost as if you don¡¯t have an ounce of romance in you.¡±

    Zu An got up and said, ¡°Even though I¡¯m a bit of a lustful person, I¡¯m not a fool. Your highness definitely has ulterior motives, but unfortunately, I¡¯m too slow-witted and can¡¯t read your true objective.¡±

    When he had watched that episode of Journey to the West where Xuanzang remainedpletely indifferent before the seduction of endless charming beauties, he had felt that was a disgrace for all men. He hadn¡¯t expected to be in the same situation today. He really was quite a disgrace today too.

    ¡°I¡¯m not asking for anything else.¡± The empress sighed. ¡°My only request is for you to console me tonight. I already said that I¡¯ve been extremely lonely these years, and no one else dares to do anything to me. Only you alone dared to hit¡­ hit me there. I can¡¯t ask anyone else but you.¡±

    A bit of distress showed on the empress¡¯ face as she observed Zu An¡¯s silence. ¡°I¡¯m a glorious empress, you know? It¡¯s already quite embarrassing for me to go this far. If you still don¡¯t respond at all, then I¡¯ll really be ashamed.¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An sneered. This woman was full of schemes and infatuated with authority. Would she really be discouraged by just that? It would be more believable for you to say Piao Duandiao decided to never go to the government brothel again.

    He didn¡¯t reply, and instead walked out. He was worried that he might really be unable to control his own instincts if he stayed here. No matter how two-faced he thought the empress was, he had to admit that she was incredible at seduction.

    The underripe methods of young girls couldn¡¯tpare. The empress gave off a powerful feminine charm that could make others unable to help but think of ravaging her in bed. Furthermore, her identity was special, so the thought of doing so carried a taboo feeling. It really was something exciting to look forward to.

    Zu An only managed to free himself with tremendous willpower. The only thought in his head right now was to leave this ce as quickly as possible.

    The empress was ashamed and annoyed when she saw Zu An turning to leave. She stood up and asked ¡°Mister Zu, are you even a man? You were just beaten by his majesty like a dog, yet you don¡¯t even feel anything? I¡¯m giving you a chance to get revenge, but you don¡¯t even dare. Are you really that scared of him?¡±

    When he heard this, Zu An, who was already at the doorstep, stopped. He suddenly turned around to look at the empress, his eyes slightly reddening. ¡°What did you say?¡± This was precisely what had been gnawing at his mind. He had held back tremendous rage until just now. Now that he had been struck in his sore spot, he could no longer hold himself back.

    Acent smile shed through the depths of the empress¡¯ eyes when she saw Zu An¡¯s expression. However, she sneered with arrogant disdain, ¡°What? Do I need to repeat that for you? His majesty is unrivaled in this world, so it¡¯s not all that shameful if you can¡¯t beat him. But this empress is giving you a chance to get revenge through his woman, yet you don¡¯t even dare to do such a thing? Heh, it looks like fear has already been etched into your bones. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be quite the loyal and devoted dog in the future¡­ Ah!¡±

    As soon as the empress finished speaking, Zu An¡¯s figure shed forward, his hand mping down on her throat. ¡°Woman, I know you¡¯re deliberately provoking me, but I have to admit it¡¯s working.¡±

    The empress found it a bit hard to even breathe from the force on her neck. However, she wasn''t scared. Instead, it felt as if electricity were running through her entire body. ¡°What, don¡¯t tell me you actually dare to kill me? I don¡¯t think you have the guts.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s breathing quickened and the veins on his arms began to pop. He was currently engaged in a powerful inner conflict.

    The empress¡¯ golden fingernails gently caressed Zu An¡¯s skin, and the sharp, cold feeling made all of his body¡¯s pores contract. ¡°This empress knows that you don¡¯t dare to kill me, and I know that you¡¯re angry. That¡¯s why I¡¯m giving you this chance. You can pour out all of your rage on that person¡¯s wife. Do you dare, or not?¡± Her usually sharp and dignified gaze now carried thirty percent charm, and thirty percent grandeur, and the rest was all provocation.

    If I die for this, then so be it! Zu An didn¡¯t reply. There was only one thought in his head right now, which was topletely subdue this arrogant woman andplete the first step of his revenge. If he didn¡¯t even dare to do this, how was he supposed to challenge the emperor in the future?

    He pushed the empress straight down onto the soft seat. Then, he pounced on her with a roar. Even though the empress was left a mess by that powerful force, her lips instead curved upward. Everything was within her control.

    ¡­

    However, a whileter, she soon realized that some things were far beyond her control. Her eyes widened in horror. This was supposed to be a scene of a dignified big sis teasing a little brat, yet in that instant, she seemed to have returned to when she was just a young girl. She was full of shame and fear as she murmured, ¡°You¡­ Are you a beastman?¡±

    Zu An harrumphed. He wasn¡¯t in the mood to reply to her at all. Right now, the only thing he wanted to do was vent out all of his rage.

    ¡­

    Eunuch Lu, who had been standing guard outside the entire time, was shaking all over. He had waited for this day for a long, long time. Ning¡¯er had finallypleted her n.

    He stood guard outside while keeping all the sounds from reaching the other maids and eunuchs. Meanwhile, he silently paid attention to the crazy things that were happening inside. A single thought gradually appeared in his head. Who could have thought that this would happen to you today, Zhao Han?!

    ¡­

    After a long time had passed, Eunuch Lu frowned. You damn brat, haven¡¯t you finished yet?! He arrived outside the window they had agreed on and undid the mechanism. When he saw the scene inside, his pupils narrowed and all of his skin turned red. He took a deep breath to calm his pounding heart.

    Next, he sent a ki transmission. ¡°Your highness, it¡¯s about time. We¡¯ll continue ording to n. You¡¯re in charge of holding onto him, while this old servant will end his life!¡±

    He had witnessed Zu An fight before. Even though this fellow¡¯s cultivation wasn¡¯t high, he had endless pesky tricks. If he failed and ended up rming his majesty, that would be no joke. Both he and the empress would be dead for sure, while their respective ns would also be finished.

    If the empress worked with him, then any man would be at his weakest in this sort of situation. Eunuch Lu was confident he could finish Zu An in a single blow.

    The empress¡¯ dignified hair bun was alreadypletely scattered, and her hair stuck to her face from sweat. She bit down on her red lip and shook her head slightly in his direction.

    Eunuch Lu frowned. He began to say something, but the empress didn¡¯t give him another chance. She grabbed the curtain nearby, and then the half transparent curtain slowly descended, hiding her and Zu An¡¯s bodies.

    1. Xuanzang is the monk in Journey to the West.

 Chapter 737: Change of Plans

    <h4>Chapter 737: Change of ns</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Eunuch Lu was stunned. He didn¡¯t know why the empress would suddenly change their ns.

    However, her entirely taut body and her expression didn¡¯t escape his detection. As a man¡­ or at least a former man, he knew that at that moment, the arrogant and stubborn empress had already beenpletely subdued.

    When he thought of that, he was distressed and jealous, and yet he also felt an unclear emotion. His expression changed several times. He wanted to barge in and kill that hateful fellow several times, yet he was scared of offending the empress.

    In the end, he released a decrepit sigh, deciding to respect the empress¡¯ decision.

    ¡­

    After a long time had passed, the empress¡¯ entire body was left limp as she curled up in Zu An¡¯s embrace like a kitten. She looked at him with an extremelyplicated expression.

    ¡°Why are you looking at me like that?¡± Zu An felt a headache. Only now, after he had calmed down a bit, did he realize that he had been way too rash this time. If the emperor knew that he had molded the empress into his own shape, he would immediately be sted to ashes. At that point, no matter where he tried to run, the emperor would vow to end his life.

    But he had to admit that the empress really was quite¡­ wet. The emperor had actually left such a rare beauty neglected for all those years? What meaning was left in being unrivaled in the world?

    The empress opened her mouth slightly as if she wanted to say something, but she then hesitated. In the end, she couldn¡¯t hold back and softly said, ¡°I finally understand why Chu First Miss would be so devoted to a rascal like you.¡±

    ¡°Rascal?¡± Zu An wasn¡¯t happy to hear that description, and he gave her a pinch.

    ¡°Ah¡­!¡± the empress cried out in rm. ¡°I was praising you, okay?¡±

    Zu An smiled. He had to admit that praise from a woman this gorgeous, who had such status, made him extremely happy.

    The empress¡¯ chest rose and fell. She was still lingering in the afterglow of what had just happened. She stroked the scars on his shoulders and asked, ¡°Does it hurt?¡±

    Zu An said in annoyance, ¡°Your fingernails are so sharp, and you scratched me really hard earlier. What do you think?¡±

    The empress giggled. ¡°It¡¯s your fault for being so rough. That¡¯s why I couldn¡¯t control myself¡­¡± She suddenly paused. She looked at him gently with her misty eyes, and then said with a sigh, ¡°Everyone says that his majesty is unmatched in this world. However, only I know that in this aspect, you¡¯re actually even greater.¡±

    These words were like the sounding of war drums. How could Zu An hold himself back? He flipped her over and immersed himself in the battlefield again.

    ¡­

    When the sky brightened, Eunuch Lu finally walked into the empress¡¯ chambers. It hadn¡¯t been long since Zu An left. His eyes drifted over to the fair body resting on a seat that was now covered in ayer of pink. His breathing sped up.

    The empress pulled theforters up around herself and harrumphed in ridicule. ¡°What are you staring for? It¡¯s not as if you can do it.¡±

    Eunuch Lu¡¯s expression warped when he heard those words. He was overwhelmed with pain and regret. In the end, he could only sigh. ¡°Ning¡¯er, I know that you still me me for not having the ability to protect you back then.¡±

    The empress became worked up as she said, ¡°There¡¯s nothing strange about not being able to beat Zhao Han. He is the emperor, after all. Who could stop him from obtaining the women he wants? I¡¯ve never med you for that!

    ¡°The only thing I hate you for is that you¡­ You were actually willing to join the pce and be a eunuch!¡±

    Eunuch Lu¡¯s expression was full of pain. ¡°I was in endless pain back then. I didn¡¯t know what I had to do to protect you. This was the only way I could think of! Only then could I continue to apany you, continue to stay by your side.¡±

    ¡°How useless,¡± the empress sneered. ¡°Even more worthless than Zu An apanying me today.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to kill him!¡± Eunuch Lu¡¯s eyes were entirely red. No man could endure this type of humiliation, even if he was no longer a man.

    You have sessfully trolled Lu Qi for +1024 +1024 +1024¡­

    On the other hand, Zu An jumped in fright from the sudden surge of Rage points. How had he ended up provoking Eunuch Lu?

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The empress sneered. ¡°Kill, kill, kill! If you have the ability, go and kill Zhao Han then!¡±

    Lu Qi instantly withered when he heard the emperor¡¯s name. ¡°It¡¯s all my fault for being useless.¡±

    The empress waved her hands and said somewhat wearily, ¡°What are we talking about these old things for? I already put all that behind me a long time ago. I¡¯m tired, so you can leave.¡±

    Eunuch Lu seemed to suddenly snap out of his daze. ¡°Right, why didn¡¯t we kill him the way we agreed, and instead let him go? What if this matter is exposed? Your highness will be executed!¡±

    The empress rested her chin on her hand, her eyes half closed. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he¡¯s more scared than we are. Why would he reveal something like this?¡±

    Eunuch Lu frowned and said, ¡°The dead still keep secrets better.¡± Then, he looked at her enviously and asked, ¡°Your highness, don¡¯t tell me you actually like that brat?¡± He was filled with tremendous jealousy as he recalled the expression he had seen earlier.

    ¡°That kid is indeed pretty good in that aspect.¡± The empress sighed. ¡°But do you really think this empress is someone so easily subdued by a man?¡± She opened her eyes. The charming expression she¡¯d had when she was with Zu An waspletely gone, now reced with a chilling, awe-inspiring look.

    Eunuch Lu sighed. This was the Liu Ning he was familiar with, as expected. However, he was still full ofints. At the very least, in that instant, you were subdued by that man. Of course, he wouldn¡¯t be so stupid as to say that. Instead, he asked, ¡°Then why did you stop me from doing anything? Was there some mistake in the n?¡±

    The empress¡¯ charm gradually faded, reced with her usual arrogant and dignified self. ¡°I learned from Chu Chuyan that even though all of her meridians had been destroyed in the secret dungeon, by the time she came out, she waspletely healed. Furthermore, her cultivation even increased.

    ¡°Chu Chuyan and Zu An both said it was because of the Evanescent Lotus, but both of us know that the Evanescent Lotus can only increase your cultivation. How could it repair badly destroyed meridians?

    ¡°Out of curiosity, I asked Chu Chuyan some more questions. Judging from her hesitation and embarrassment, it was probably in that secret dungeon that the two of them truly became husband and wife.¡±

    ¡°From the intelligence we found, the two should have been married in name only. However, after that event, the two of them became incredibly close and Chu Chuyan alsopletely epted him. I refused to believe that an outstanding girl like Chu Chuyan would be subdued just because she entered a rtionship with a man. There had to be another reason.

    ¡°After associating that with the imusibleplete recovery of her destroyed vessels, I spected that this most likely had something to do with the consummation of their rtionship. You know that I¡¯ve been losing hope in my recovery these past few years. Even a slight possibility would be worth trying.

    ¡°Even if I guessed wrong, it wouldn¡¯t be a big deal. I¡¯ve already been left alone for so many years, so I¡¯d have just treated it as a bit of fun for once. But after that matter, I realized my suspicions were correct. This fellow¡¯s blood essence can indeed nourish and repair meridians.¡±

    The empress was thinking out loud. It sounded as if she were exining, but also as if she were sorting out her own thoughts. At the same time, she seemed to be venting out her frustrations toward Zhao Han.

    Eunuch Lu also became excited. ¡°Since we were already sessful, then why didn¡¯t we kill him the way we nned? I can still make it in time if I go now.¡±

    The empress shook her head. Her expression was a bit strange. ¡°Things are a bit different from what we thought. This type of method isn¡¯tpleted through a single experience, but rather requires prolonged treatment. The meridians that were damaged earlier on have already received nourishment. There are signs of recovery, but one time is far from enough. No wonder Chu Chuyan and Zu An were glued together afterward. She was an innocent girl, and yet she was tossed and turned around day after day. It would be more strange if she didn¡¯t end up liking that kid.¡±

    Eunuch Lu¡¯s expression filled with both pain and excitement when he heard that ¡®extended treatment¡¯ was required. He couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Then what about your highness? Will you end up gradually liking him too?¡±

    The empress said indifferently, ¡°Do you think I¡¯m some naive little girl? You know what I¡¯m like, and you know what I need. Not even the world¡¯s number one Zhao Han could subdue me, so what¡¯s a trifling Zu An? He¡¯s nothing more than a useful elixir.¡±

    If Zu An were here, he would see an entirely different side of that woman who had apanied him gently like a kitten earlier. As expected, the prettier the woman, the better they were at lying.

 Chapter 738: How Disappointing

    <h4>Chapter 738: How Disappointing</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The empress and Eunuch Lu thought that they had gotten away with their schemes, but how could they know that Zu An hadn¡¯t only relied on sex to heal Chu Chuyan? He had also used the Primordial Origin Sutra to repair her damaged meridians.

    Zu An hadn¡¯t known the empress¡¯ objectives, so he obviously wouldn¡¯t have proactively helped her with her injuries. As such, the empress had only received some nourishment from his blood essence. Fortunately, he had transcendent aptitude meridians, so his sperm possessed powerful properties, and that was why the empress had received benefits as well. At the same time, she thought that she had found the real method.

    The empress yawned. She waved her hand again and said, ¡°You can withdraw now; I really am tired.¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    That fellow really was a vigorous beast! She had been tossed and turned around until she had no strength left. She had used quite a bit of willpower to say those things to Eunuch Lu. Now, her eyelids immediately closed.

    Eunuch Lu sighed when he saw the satisfied and content expression the empress had before falling asleep. He walked forward and gently pulled up the covers for her before quietly leaving.

    Zu An had already returned to his Embroidered Envoy residence to rest. He was also amazed at the body of a truly mature woman. She had been able to tolerate it no matter how rough he was, and she hadsted an entire night. A youngdy definitely wouldn¡¯t havested that long. They were actually evenly matched.

    Zu An only reminisced about the experience for a bit before clearing his mind. He began to think about the empress¡¯ true objective.

    He definitely wouldn¡¯t believe that the empress had sought him out just because she was lonely. If that were really the case, she could have easily found a different person instead of waiting all this time for him.

    After all, her body¡¯s reactions couldn¡¯t deceive anyone. At first, she had acted underripe like a naive little girl, but eventually, shehad gradually returned to being a mature woman. It was clear that it had already been a long, long time since she hadst done such a thing.

    However, he just couldn¡¯t figure out her objective. Could it really just be revenge against the emperor?

    He could clearly sense her resentment toward the emperor. Furthermore, when she seduced him, she had used this revenge to provoke him. Yeah, that is the most likely reason.

    He didn¡¯t think about the subject any further, because it wasn¡¯t important. What was important was bing stronger¡­ no, it was making himself stronger.

    When he thought about all of the skills he had, the skill that had raised his cultivation the most was still the ¡®Heaven Devouring Sutra¡¯, with its ability to absorb the cultivation of other cultivators. However, after weighing the pros and cons, he gave up on the thought of using it in the end.

    With his current cultivation, it waspletely pointless to absorb the cultivation of ordinary cultivators. His cultivation wouldn¡¯t improve much, and the ki would be impure as well. He had a deep impression of the side effects of the Smiling Proud Wanderer¡¯s Star Devouring Art.

    That was why, if he was going to absorb anyone¡¯s cultivation, it had toe only from powerful cultivators. But he was in the capital right now, a ce where countless eyes were watching him. If he wasn¡¯t careful and ended up being exposed, then he might end up making the entire world his enemy!

    After all, everyone else had to cultivate properly, so why could he just steal someone else¡¯s hard work? Furthermore, people would be scared of being sucked dry, so they would all want to get rid of him first.

    That was the case with Mosquito Daoist. Even though her powerful cultivation and her survival skills had allowed her to get away with such a thing, she had always lived in the shadows. If she wasn¡¯t being chased by someone, then she was about to be chased. Such a life was also meaningless.

    That was why, unless it was absolutely necessary, Zu An wasn¡¯t willing to choose that path.

    He began to think over his other options. Suddenly, he took out a scroll from inside of the Brilliant ss Bead. Written on the scroll were the words ¡®Ki Condensation Ancient Scroll¡¯.

    This was a pill refinement method he had obtained from inside the Brilliant ss Bead, but back then, he hadn¡¯t awakened a fire element pill refinement technique. That was why this thing had been gathering dust in the corner the entire time. He had almost forgotten about it.

    Right now, he needed to increase his strength. Furthermore, he could borrow Daji¡¯s me ability. That was why he remembered it again.

    However, he didn¡¯t know how much these Ki Condensation Pills could increase his cultivation. They might not be of much help, just like ki fruits. After all, the amount of ki fruits needed to increase his cultivation was insanely high.

    Zu An decided to give it a try. He had already memorized the contents of the scroll, and he had gathered all of the necessary ingredients a while ago. He arranged a medicinal furnace inside the room, then summoned Daji.

    He had to admit that Daji was just too beautiful. Even though she didn¡¯t have her own will right now, and her eyescked the slightest bit of expression, she was just like a beautiful painting even when she was just standing casually.

    Furthermore, it was precisely because shecked her own consciousness that shecked her legendary charm, but she instead had more of an aloof air. She was just too pretty.

    Her long hair and her clothes fluttered about. She really was like a goddess from the heavens.

    What a pity though, I can only look¡­ Zu An sighed. He quickly focused and controlled Daji, making her squat down by the medicinal furnace. He began to slowly refine the medicine in the furnace.

    If others knew that he was using such an insanely beautiful woman as a maid like this, their jaws might just hit the ground from shock. Still, he couldn¡¯t be bothered with such things right now. He didn¡¯t dare to show any carelessness while following the Ki Condensation Pill¡¯s recipe.

    But he didn¡¯t control the temperature properly, causing ck smoke toe out. When he opened the lid, he saw that the ingredients had already been burned to ck dregs. It wasn¡¯t that he had been too careless. After all, seeding on the first try wasn¡¯t too likely. So, he carefully tried again.

    Failure, failure, and more failure¡­ Unexpected things kept happening every time.

    Suddenly, on his ninth attempt, a fragrance emerged from the medicinal furnace. It was different from the usual smells, because just this scent alone felt refreshing.

    Zu An opened the furnace. Two small, pigeon egg-sized brown pills were sitting inside.

    My luck¡¯s not bad! Zu An¡¯s eyes lit up. The Ki Condensation Ancient Scroll¡¯s recorded recipe required two portions of ingredients each time, as that would improve the sess rate a bit. Even if one pill got destroyed, there would at least be one more. The chances of having a pair emerge were quite low.

    He picked up one pill and swallowed it. He sensed a warm stream entering him, spreading throughout his body before disappearing.

    Zu An opened his eyes in shock. That¡¯s it? Why didn¡¯t he feel any difference?

    He quickly examined himself. He felt there wasn¡¯t much difference in the amount of gold in his formation either. Even if there had been some change, it was definitely negligible. At the very least, he couldn¡¯t detect anything.

    Don¡¯t tell me these Ki Condensation Pills are even worse than ki fruits? He had worked so hard for this, yet this was the result? He refused to admit that and checked himself again. However, he still saw the same results.

    Suddenly, a cold voice said by his ears, ¡°This pill isn¡¯t for increasing your ki, but rather for helping you condense and refine your ki. Then, it will transform your ki into a liquid state. This way, the same body can hold more ki.¡±

    Zu An looked toward the window with shock and surprise. He saw a beauty in a red dress sitting by his windowsill. Her wless face was absolutely stunning, and above her pretty eyes were brows that were a bit thicker than other girls¡¯. Her presence carried a mysterious, free, and aloof aura.

    ¡°Big sis empress!¡± Zu An refused to believe his eyes. She had slept for so long that it had already been a long time since theyst met each other.

    Mi Li raised her leg and tapped the tip of her toes against his chest, stopping him from running enthusiastically toward her. ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it. I smell a vixen on you.¡±

    Zu An smiled in embarrassment and said, ¡°You know everything.¡± Why did he feel as if he had been caught by his wife?

    Mi Li gave him an ambiguous smile. ¡°You guys were going at it so intensely, it''d be difficult for me not to know. I felt your ki surging crazily while I was asleep and thought that something had happened to you, but it turned out you were going crazy with a vixen. You¡¯re really quite something, aren¡¯t ya? You actually ended up sleeping with this world¡¯s empress?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s cheeks burned up. ¡°It¡¯s all my fault. I ended up getting too worked up and ced you in danger.¡±

    If it were just him alone, that would be one thing, but Mi Li¡¯s fate was linked to his. He had ended up provoking this world¡¯s most powerful expert out of a momentary burst of emotions. If this matter were revealed, he would be done for. That was why he felt guilty.

    Mi Li rolled her eyes. ¡°All you did was sleep with an empress. Look at how scared you are! How disappointing.¡±

 Chapter 739: A Feeling

    <h4>Chapter 739: A Feeling</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An was speechless. What do you mean, all I did was sleep with an empress? What, are there a few more empresses I can sleep with out there?

    Mi Li said, ¡°I heard most of your conversation with that sly vixen, too. I reckon you were probably bullied quite badly by the emperor, and you were even flogged yesterday. That was why you poured out all of your revenge on the empress out of anger.¡±

    Zu An was embarrassed as he said, ¡°You¡¯ve witnessed a poor side of me.¡±

    Mi Li¡¯s expression remained serious as she remarked, ¡°No, I think you did quite well.¡±

    Zu An really was confused now. He really didn¡¯t know whether Mi Li was really angry, or if she was being ironic.

    Mi Li could see through his thoughts. She harrumphed and said, ¡°I¡¯m being honest. You¡¯re destined to be this world¡¯s strongest man. How can you be afraid of the slightest thing? The emperor did whatever he wanted to you. Over time, he could leave behind a shadow in your heart, making you too scared to go against him.

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t that big of an issue when your cultivation was lower, but at higher levels of cultivation, it could affect you more and more. It could even be an inner demon that would prevent you from making any progress.¡±

    Zu An jumped in fright. ¡°Is it really that bad?¡±

    Mi Li replied, ¡°Low level cultivators like you cultivate the body and ki. Once you reach a higher level, the main focus is on cultivating the soul. Cultivating the soul requires a powerful will. The stronger your heart, the easier it bes to make your soul stronger. On the contrary, if there are gaps in your mentality, it¡¯s easy for problems in your cultivation to arise.¡±

    Zu An shivered inside. Mi Li¡¯s cultivation level was incredibly high, so he trusted her experience. At the same time, he was d that he had such an attractive teacher and friend to apany him, which would save him a lot of timepared to others.

    Mi Li continued, ¡°I originally nned to find a chance to warn you about that, but you actually took this step on your own. Very good, you¡¯re worthy of being¡­ ahem, worthy of being the man whom I beat down so viciously, but still refused to yield.¡±

    Zu An shook his head in embarrassment. ¡°All I did was sleep with a woman out of anger, yet you¡¯re putting me on a pedestal. I''m even getting a bit embarrassed.¡±

    ¡°Someone as shameless as you can be embarrassed?¡± Mi Li rolled her eyes. She continued, ¡°Still, you have to be careful. That vixen seems to have ulterior motives.¡±

    Zu An looked a bit distressed as well. ¡°I know she has other ns, but I just can¡¯t figure them out.¡±

    Mi Li gave him a strange look. ¡°She wants your body, obviously.¡±

    Zu An blushed. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t joke like that. Even though the two of us haven¡¯t done much, she¡¯s definitely not the type to do stupid things out of lust.¡±

    Mi Liughed and said, ¡°What are you thinking about? I was talking about your transcendent aptitude.¡±

    ¡°Transcendent aptitude?¡± Zu An was stunned. He had almost forgotten about that.

    Mi Li said, ¡°She seems to have some internal injuries, and she wants to use your body to heal herself. She seemed to have used some charming technique to take some of your blood essence, and that was what startled me awake. But because that method didn¡¯t hurt your foundation, I decided not to bother you.¡±

    Zu An suddenly realized what was happening. No wonder it had felt as if there were countless little mouths sucking at him inside of the empress¡¯ body! At the time, he had been amazed at just how amazing this woman felt, but it turned out she was using these tricks on him!

    Mi Li sounded a bit confused as she continued, ¡°Your transcendent aptitude blood makes your blood essence extremely useful to any cultivator. Under normal circumstances, there¡¯s no way she would let you go if she knew about it. She would have sucked you dry.¡±

    Zu An subconsciously rubbed his neck, feeling some lingering fear.

    Mi Li mused, ¡°But if she didn¡¯t know about your transcendent aptitude, then why would she make such a huge sacrifice? Why would she exchange her body for your blood essence?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s thoughts moved quickly. He suddenly thought of something. ¡°She probably deduced something when she was talking to Chuyan¡­¡±

    Then, he gave her a rough exnation of how he had sent Chuyan to ask Liu Ning for help.

    Mi Li¡¯s brows furrowed slightly. ¡°Tell your stupid wife to not b about how you healed her in the future. Otherwise, it might easily bring you great harm.¡±

    ¡°How could she have anticipated that the empress would have such thoughts? She¡¯s quite sharp normally. She was probably just a bit confused out of worry.¡± Zu An subconsciously defended Chu Chuyan.

    Mi Li¡¯s expression sank. ¡°You don¡¯t have to do that affection stuff in front of me. She¡¯s not even here. I was just reminding you to be careful about this.¡±

    Zu An saw that her expression was off and quickly said in apology, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll warn herter.¡± As the mood was a bit strange, he quickly changed topics. ¡°By the way, did you already get rid of all of the poison?¡±

    ¡°How can the Red Tears of Lady Xiang be that easy to get rid of?¡± Mi Li harrumphed. However, her expression still eased when she sensed his concern. ¡°But I¡¯ve managed to get it under control. I won¡¯t have to suddenly fall asleep again like before.¡±

    Zu An was extremely happy to hear that. ¡°That¡¯s great!¡±

    Mi Li gave him an ambiguous look. ¡°Are you being honest? Are you not scared of having another person constantly nagging you?¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°Of course I¡¯m being honest. As for my business, you already saw it all anyway. I¡¯m quite fond of myself in that aspect, so it¡¯s not as if I¡¯m scared of being seen.¡±

    Mi Li had watched the entire thing between him and Chu Chuyan anyway. Wait, didn¡¯t she possess Chu Chuyan back then? Then doesn¡¯t that mean¡­

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Mi Li¡¯s thoughts seemed to have reached a simr point. There was a blush on her pretty cheeks, and her expression was a bit unnatural as well. ¡°Ahem, who has the time to watch you? Let me make it clear right now, okay? We¡¯re still going to do things the way we did before. Don¡¯t rely on me when you encounter danger, or else you¡¯ll never be someone truly strong.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Zu An¡¯s expression also softened when he looked at her.

    Mi Li subconsciously tugged on her clothes. She couldn¡¯t help but feel that this fellow seemed to be able to see right through her. She quickly changed the topic. ¡°Right, did you find any of the things I asked you to find?¡±

    Zu An knew that she was talking about the treasures that could help her rebuild her body. ¡°Sorry, I looked through the Embroidered Envoy database, but I wasn¡¯t able to find any information.¡±

    Mi LI¡¯s brows furrowed. ¡°Could it be that all of those ingredients already went extinct over time?¡±

    Zu An consoled her. ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to be too worried. Perhaps it¡¯s just that their names changed over time. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll keep it in mind. I¡¯ll have way more resources at my disposal in the future, so it¡¯ll be easier for me to find them.¡±

    A smile returned to Mi Li¡¯s face. ¡°I guess you have some conscience. However, I¡¯ve been feeling quite strange recently. I feel as if we¡¯re close to finding something for some reason.¡±

    ¡°Is that true?¡± Zu An was shocked. Mi Li was an expert with high cultivation. There was no way she was just bluffing. There had to truly be a trail of fate.

    ¡°Yeah. But you don¡¯t have to force anything; just do what you¡¯ve been doing.¡± Mi Li was surprisingly optimistic. ¡°Alright, tell me what¡¯s happened all this time.¡±

    Zu An began to chat with her, telling her about the various things that had happened. For some reason, he felt a strange sense of security whenever he was at her side.

    Even though Mi Li wouldn¡¯t admit to it, she experienced something simr. To a certain degree, they were both outsiders in this world, so they shared a natural feeling of loneliness. They felt a sense of warmth from each other.

    As she listened to Zu An¡¯s experiences, Mi Li¡¯s frown grew deeper. In the end, she said bluntly, ¡°You really have no other skills apart from courting girls.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. Sis, are you praising me or putting me down here?

    Mi Li continued, ¡°You¡¯re only getting some small favors and gratitude out of the things you do. Even though your rtionship with them is good, why would they help you at a crucial time?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me I need to get people of my own or something?¡± Zu An suggested.

    Mi Li still shook her head. ¡°That¡¯s not it. Your current strength isn¡¯t high enough, so even if you try to gather some people, it¡¯ll still be useless. Furthermore, doing that will only draw bad attention from the emperor.¡±

    ¡°Then what do I do?¡± Zu An was getting a headache.

    Mi Li¡¯s eyes flickered brightly as she eximed, ¡°There are two things you can do!¡±

 Chapter 740, Part 1: Someone Overlooked

    <h4>Chapter 740, Part 1: Someone Overlooked</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An was startled and asked, ¡°What two things?¡±

    Mi Li replied, ¡°The first is to cultivate your reputation! The more people know about you, the more they¡¯ll be willing to follow you. You¡¯ll be able to easily gather people in the future.¡±

    ¡°Cultivate my reputation?¡± Zu An murmured, ¡°And how do I do that?¡±

    ¡°To put it simply, you need to do things others can¡¯t do. The more difficult those things are, the greater your reputation will be.¡± Mi Li said. ¡°For example, in the crown princess¡¯ case, the entire capital was thrown into an uproar, and many people were discussing it secretly. If you can crack this case, together with the matter of your Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, many people will start to recognize you.¡±

    Zu An began to feel a headache. ¡°But I still don¡¯t have any clues about this matter¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not a big problem even if you can¡¯t crack the case.¡± Mi Li¡¯s expression became a bit strange. ¡°There is one other method to gain recognition.¡±

    ¡°And what is that?¡± Zu An immediately asked.

    ¡°If you can sleep with women that others can¡¯t have. For example, if you publicly revealed that you slept with the empress, then I can promise you that every single person in every single street would recognize you. All powers that oppose the Zhou dynasty, even the foreign tribes by the border, would see you as their idol.¡± Mi Li smirked. It was clear that she found this suggestion quite amusing.

    Zu An was speechless. He wasn¡¯t tired of living yet. If he dared to say such a thing, then even though the entire world would know his name, he would be sted to smithereens by the enraged emperor.

    ¡°What¡¯s the actual second way?¡± Zu An asked impatiently.

    ¡°The second is obviously to increase your own strength. In the end, this is a world of the strong.¡± Mi Li retracted her smile and became serious. ¡°Unfortunately, you aren¡¯t willing to use the Heaven Devouring Art. That would have been your fastest method. But of course, there¡¯s a reason behind your misgivings.¡±

    She suddenly frowned, clearly pondering how to increase his strength as well. Eventually, she said, ¡°Right, I remember sealing Old Mi¡¯s strength in your body before. You couldn¡¯t absorb it back then, as that would harm your foundation. Now that your cultivation is growing so much, as long as you reach the peak of the eighth rank, you should be able to absorb the rest of his power.¡±

    ¡°Peak of the eighth rank, huh?¡± Zu An thought for a bit. Eight of his seventh rank formation diagrams were already lit up, so he could barely be considered to be at the peak of the seventh rank. He was still far from the peak of the eighth rank. Even though cultivation only became harder and harder the further one went, at the very least, he had some hope.

    He quickly asked, ¡°Right, just now, you said that Ki Condensation Pills can help high ranked cultivators break through. What was up with that? I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever needed anything to help me break through along the way.¡±

    Mi Li exined, ¡°Cultivation bes more and more difficult the farther you go. You might not have issues with breaking through when you¡¯re at a lower rank, but once you pass the seventh rank, every single rank¡¯s breakthrough bes extremely difficult.

    ¡°Many people who were geniuses in their youth could get up to the fifth or sixth rank at a young age, but they just couldn¡¯t break through the seventh rank and enter the eighth rank. That¡¯s because, after the seventh rank, every single increase in rank relies on more than just ki umtion. It requires your own enlightenment.¡±

    ¡°What do I need toprehend?¡± Zu An was confused.

    ¡°Your own dao path!¡± Mi Li¡¯s expression became stern. ¡°Starting from the eighth rank, you can resonate with the world and borrow its power. That¡¯s why you must harmonize with the world. The dao is extremely important from the seventh to eighth rank, and it¡¯s also tied to your future aplishments. The more precise of a dao you find, and the more it agrees with the origin of the world, the greater your future aplishments will be. Otherwise, you¡¯ll have to work harder without much progress.¡±

    ¡°Ah, I understand that at least.¡± Zu An was confident. Whether it was a wet path or a dry one, or even if it was a delicious one¡­ Ahem, he could find it even with his eyes closed.

    ¡°Do you really?¡± Mi Li frowned. ¡°This is no joke, you know?¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°I do.¡± Zu An had read so many webnovels in his past world. He had already read too many simr stories. The Confucian school called it ¡®resolve¡¯, Buddhism called it ¡®great aspiration¡¯¡­ In the end, it was finding a path most suited for oneself.

    ¡°Then what is your path?¡± Mi Li asked with curiosity. The other party was already close to the peak of the seventh rank. It was already a good time to start considering sch a matter.

    Zu An subconsciously replied, ¡°My dao is that one day, regardless of whose path it is, I¡¯ll be able to enter as long as I want to.¡±

    Mi Li was speechless. Even though she didn¡¯t really understand, she felt this kid was saying something perverted.

    She shook her head and got rid of her messy thoughts, continuing, ¡°The cultivators of this world often use some pills to condense their ki for the sake of enlightenment. Their seemingly intangible ki condenses into liquid and perhaps even solidifies, giving them a way to sense the origin of the world. Every single person has different innate talents, and their thoughts are different as well. The things theyprehend will often be extremely different.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes lit up. Was this ¡®origin of the world¡¯ referring to the formation of the cosmos?

    Sigh, these people don¡¯t know anything about science. How can these ignorant people sense the bigger picture? Of course theye up with all types of nonsense when they¡¯reprehending the dao! You can¡¯t really say that the insights they gain are wrong, but it¡¯s just chicken scratch. Even if youbine everything they know together, they¡¯re probably still too far from the true origin of the world.

    However, even though science had developed in his past world, theirprehension of the universe was simrlycking.

    Mi Li didn¡¯t know that Zu An already knew so much. She continued, ¡°The Ki Condensation Pill you just refined is precisely a pill that condenses the ki within your body.¡±

    Zu An was a bit disappointed. ¡°No wonder I didn¡¯t feel much increase in cultivation.¡±

    Mi Li hesitated a bit, and then said, ¡°It isn¡¯t just now. Even if you reach the peak of the seventh rank, these pills still won¡¯t be of much use.¡±

    ¡°Why? Can¡¯t they help me condense ki?¡± Zu An quickly asked.

    Mi Li said, ¡°You cultivate those unrivaled manuals, the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra and the Primorial Origin Sutra, as well as the Heaven Devouring Sutra. Your cultivation path is different from that of others to begin with. Don¡¯t tell me you haven¡¯t noticed that every single rank is much harder for you than for others?¡±

    Zu An was immediately moved when he heard this. ¡°Finally, someone who understands me! Those protagonists all manage to level up like crazy, but why am I as slow as a freaking turtle?! Those ordinary cultivators are rabbits, but I¡¯m just¡­¡±

    Mi Li said indifferently, ¡°Did you not realize that you¡¯re much stronger than others at your level?¡±

    Zu An was stunned. That made a lot of sense. He had just never really thought about it before.

    Mi Li said, ¡°Even though I¡¯ve been sleeping all this time, I¡¯ve been thinking about you as well. I have a pretty good understanding now. The reason why your cultivation is much slower, the reason why the amount of ki you need is far greater than others, is because you¡¯ve already been condensing ki on your own for a long time. It¡¯s different from the liquid form that others strive for; your ki instead exists in a state I can¡¯t evenprehend. In other words, you already did what others at the peak of the seventh, eighth, and ninth rank did. Normal people can easily get stuck at these bottlenecks for many years, or even their entire lives.¡±

    Zu An was silent. Mi Li continued, ¡°Furthermore, ording to my understanding, the strength and density of your ki condensation has already exceeded the level of masters and even grandmasters.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s brows rose. ¡°Ah¡­ this feels so good. Do you have more? Keep the praisesing.¡±

    Mi Li harrumphed. ¡°What are you getting all cocky for? Even though the quality of your ki surpasses them, its volume and overall rank is still far inferior. It still isn¡¯t hard for them to crush you to death.¡±

    Zu An said gloomily, ¡°Why do you have to be like that?¡±

    At the same time, he took out the other Ki Condensation Pill. ¡°Sigh, I finally managed to make something after so much hard work, but it ended up being useless.¡± He had ended up scrapping so many materials, and he¡¯d even had such high hopes in the beginning, so this really hurt.

    ¡°That might not necessarily be the case. Even though this pill isn¡¯t useful for you, it¡¯s useful for someone else.¡± Mi Li said.

    ¡°Who? You?¡± Zu An immediately dispelled this thought. Mi Li was a soul body right now. Furthermore, even if she had been in human form, with her cultivation, she should have already made it way past the period where she needed these pills.

    He really was quite curious, actually. She was clearly a soul body, so why did she need to wear clothes? The red dress she was wearing was something he had bought. Furthermore, there were many simr pretty dresses in his Brilliant ss Bead.

    ¡°Where are your eyes wandering?¡± Mi Li red at him. Then she continued, ¡°That vixen over there might need it.¡±

 Chapter 740, Part 2: Someone Overlooked

    <h4>Chapter 740, Part 2: Someone Overlooked</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An was stunned. When he followed Mi Li¡¯s gaze, he saw that she was looking at Daji, who was sitting next to the medicinal furnace.

    Daji had been devastatingly beautiful to begin with. Now that she was just sitting there quietly, her white dress made her look even more like a wise and stunningdy.

    ¡°I really find this hard to believe. Such a beautiful woman ended up bing a simple maid.¡± Even Mi Li couldn¡¯t help but sigh.

    Zu An snapped out of his daze and asked, ¡°The Ki Condensation Pill can be useful for her?¡±

    ¡°You can give it a try.¡± Mi Li arrived at Daji¡¯s side, her beautiful eyes full of curiosity. After all, she had even wanted to temporarily upy Daji¡¯s body, but she couldn¡¯t. That was why she was curious as to just what kind of form Daji had.

    Zu An stared at the two girls in front of him. One was dressed in fiery red clothes, and the other in fluttering white clothes. The two of them really were incredible.

    He walked over to Daji and fed her the Ki Condensation Pill. When he saw her red lips close gently, and then watched her swallow, he couldn¡¯t help but swallow as well. Exceptional beauties really were exceptional! She was still so enchanting, even in this state where she hadn¡¯t recovered her consciousness.

    ¡°You beast.¡± Zu An¡¯s gulp didn¡¯t escape Mi Li¡¯s detection, and she harrumphed in disdain.

    Zu An¡¯s face heated up. He was just about to say something, but he suddenly stopped. A row of characters had appeared on the holographic keyboard screen in his head:

    Valkyrie skill level up material detected¡­

    Zu An was shocked. He quickly read over the contents and saw that Daji¡¯s three skills, ¡®Voice of the Devil¡¯, ¡®Fox Charm¡¯, and ¡®Nine-Tailed Fox¡¯, were all skills that could be leveled up. They started at level one, but as the skills leveled up, they got stronger and stronger.

    ¡°Why does this feel like a game?¡± Zu An sneered. As a keyboard warrior shut-in, he had yed his fair share of games. This was obviously a system he was familiar with.

    Each skill had ten levels. Furthermore, regardless of which skill it was, the materials needed for each level up were the same. That was why what he needed to consider was which skill would be the most helpful right now.

    Zu An didn¡¯t have enough resources to level everything up at the same time. His past experience ying games had taught him that using resources carelessly was a stupid choice. He carefully looked over the requirements needed to level up the skills, and his expression became strange.

    Upgrading a skill to level two needed three types of materials: Two Ki Condensation Pills, four Dragon Scales, and 12,000 silvers.

    Zu An cursed. This damn scam of a system! Why does upgrading a freaking skill need silver?!

    Even though 12,000 silvers wasn¡¯t too much for his current self, he was sure that as he leveled up the skills, the required amount of silver would only be greater and greater.

    He had been scammed by countless games in his past world. Each time, what hecked was always these resources, and one would have no choice but to spend real money.

    As for the four dragon scales, that was quite the easy matter. He might not have other things, but he had more than enough dragon scales. Whether it was that red dragon or the Dragon Race elder he had killedter on his way to the capital, those corpses were still in his Brilliant ss Bead. He had been wondering what to do with them. Now, there was finally a good ce to use them. The only thing hecked now was another Ki Condensation Pill!

    As such, hemunicated his discovery to Mi Li. Mi Li thought it wasn¡¯t all that strange that he and Daji had a specialmunication method. She was instead curious about the skill leveling method. ¡°Hm? Shouldn¡¯t the skills increase with her cultivation? There¡¯s such a simple way to upgrade them? If you could poprize this, what would be the point of cultivators cultivating anymore?¡±

    Zu An smiled bitterly as he said, ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s possible.¡± After all, he had only pulled Daji as his sole valkyrie. This method was definitely useless to others.

    He quickly controlled Daji to continue refining pills. He thought that after his previous sess, his experience would make things easier. However, all he got in return were five failures in a row.

    What was even more depressing was that, during the fifth failure, ck smoke came out of the furnace and it exploded into pieces.

    Zu An and Mi Li subconsciously protected themselves, but Daji wasn¡¯t so lucky. Her fair face was covered in ck ashes. Zu An subconsciously tried to help her wipe them off, but Daji turned away and cleaned her face herself. Afterward, she continued to quietly sit in ce. Mi Li and Zu An were both left speechless.

    Eventually, Mi Li couldn¡¯t help butugh. ¡°You wanted to use this chance to take advantage of her, but she didn¡¯t bite.¡±

    Zu An felt extremely gloomy. ¡°I really only wanted to help her wipe them off.¡±

    He had already tested things out before. Daji would obey his orders and help him fight, but she absolutely wouldn¡¯t engage in any type of physical contact with him. Things had happened too quickly just now, so he had forgotten that.

    Mi Li looked at Daji with a strange expression. ¡°That maid of yours really is strange; she¡¯s quite defiant. Should I help you subdue her so she¡¯ll listen more?¡±

    She had wanted to enter Daji¡¯s body previously. No matter how proud she was, she still had to admit that Daji was beautiful, and that she was someone worthy of possessing. However, she had actually been actually blown back by a mysterious force, leaving her quite upset. That was why she wanted to get back at her.

    Daji subconsciously cowered when she heard Mi Li¡¯s words, although it was unclear whether her movements were a trick of the imagination. Still, there was a bit more vignce in her eyes.

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°Stop, I¡¯m not that much of a pervert! Furthermore, she already helped me with a lot of things recently, so she¡¯s arade and not a servant.¡±

    Since these valkyries were designed such that he couldn¡¯t touch them, there was definitely a reason for it. Forcing such a thing might instead cause unpredictable results. Furthermore, he had never been the type to use force. Wasn¡¯t it more fun to slowly improve their love meters?

    Daji turned around to give Zu An a look. Her expression didn¡¯t didn¡¯t change in the slightest.

    Mi Li sneered, ¡°Tsk, this girl is nothing more than a leather bag. You¡¯re wasting your time.¡±

    Zu An shook his head. He didn¡¯t want to continue bickering over this issue. He asked, ¡°By the way, why is the sess rate for this damn pill so low? I¡¯ll end up wasting a ton of resources at this rate.¡±

    After all, he had already used up most of his materials from all of the trials. Some of the ingredients were actually quite expensive. But the oue hadn¡¯t brought him many pills at all!

    Now that they were talking about important matters again, Mi Li put away her yful smile and stared at the broken medicine furnace. ¡°I watched the whole thing. You didn¡¯t make too many mistakes, so the issue is probably with this medicinal furnace. This furnace is just an ordinary furnace for making medicine. When refining pills, you need one specialized for it. Find a good pill furnace and it should solve your problem.¡±

    Zu An asked, ¡°Where would I find one?¡±

    Mi Li rolled her eyes. ¡°I¡¯ve been sleeping the whole time, so how could I possibly know? But judging from what you¡¯ve said, the Royal Academy in the capital probably has one.¡±

    Zu An thought of something. He remembered Jiang Luofu, as well as the Xie n¡¯s siblings. He wondered if he could get a pill furnace through his connections.

    However, those eyes filled with endless depth appeared in his mind again. He immediately became serious. He still didn¡¯t know why the other party had let him off so easily. He voiced his doubts, but Mi Li couldn¡¯t figure out the empress¡¯ objective either.

    ¡°It¡¯s useless even if you try to think about these things. The difference between you is too great. You should focus on the things you should be focusing on right now.¡± Mi Li dragged him back to reality. ¡°Bring out the information you obtained from selling your body to that vixen.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean, selling my body? Both sides were getting what we needed, okay?¡± Zu An replied gloomily. The way she put it just made him seem as if he had suffered a lot because of Liu Ning.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    He took out a booklet Liu Ning had given him. It included the oral confessions of the servants and guards who had ¡®seen¡¯ him and the crown princess together, as well as the results of the investigation.

    The two of them looked through the information together. He discovered that all the earliest witnesses had disappeared mysteriously. Most of the others had only rushed to the scene after they heard the news. ording to the information, even Shi Jun had only arrived after he received news midway.

    ¡°Could it be that I made a mistake?¡± Zu An frowned. If the one behind the scenes wasn¡¯t Shi Jun, then who could it be?

    ¡°Hurry and look over here.¡± Mi Li pointed at something in the booklet.

    ¡°Hm?¡± Zu An moved over. He suddenly smelled a faint fragrance. What the heck? She¡¯s a soul body, right? Why does she smell so good?

    Zu An subconsciously tilted his head to the side. Mi Li¡¯s side profile seemed as if it had been drawn with a brush, sleek and fine. Because her head was lowered, some of her beautiful hair had scattered down. Paired with her perfect appearance, it really was a stunning scene.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to gouge your eyes out if you stare any further,¡± Mi Li said coldly without turning around.

    Zu An jumped in fright. He quickly shifted his attention to the booklet. ¡°What¡­¡±

    He had already seen this before, but he hadn¡¯t paid too much attention to it. However, now that Mi Li had gotten his attention and pointed it out again, he noticed that something was strange. There was onemon point linking all of the missing people, which was that they had either been stationed near Xuanwu Gate, or they had visited Xuanwu Gate not too long before.

    Zu An immediately realized something. No one in the pce could find Xin Rui¡¯s corpse, and yet there were no records of her leaving the pce in the records. He had thought that Xin Rui might have been brought out through the other gates and somehow managed to pass the inspection.

    But now that he thought about it, it seemed he had overlooked something. Had Xuanwu Gate¡¯s Ou Wu colluded with Xin Rui? He was in charge of guarding the Xuanwu Gate, so he obviously had a chance to falsify the records. That way, everyone else would be misled by the investigation.

    He couldn¡¯t wait any longer when he thought of that. He put on his Embroidered Envoy mask and quickly rushed out. But as soon as he left, he bumped into a soft body.

    The other party let out a cry of rm. ¡°Ah!¡±

    ¡°How dare you?!¡± came a shocked and furious voice berating him. The sound of all sorts of weapons being drawn could be heard.

 Chapter 741: Appropriate Retribution

    <h4>Chapter 741: Appropriate Retribution</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An sensed that he had bumped into someone, and that the other party had fallen backward from the force. Subconsciously, he reached out to grab them.

    However, his senses were filled with a soft and fragrant feeling, leaving him shocked. He could hear multiple voices berating him and the sound of weapons being drawn. Soon, he realized that the person in his embrace was actually the crown princess, and his arm was around her waist.

    He quickly let go and took a step back, saying, ¡°I apologize. I was in too much of a hurry when I left and identally bumped into the crown princess. I ask the crown princess for forgiveness.¡±

    Zu An had beenpletely focused on looking for Ou Wu just now and hadn¡¯t noticed that there was someone outside. This really was quite strange. What was the crown princess doing in front of his residence so early? He had worked so hard in the Pce of Peacest night, and then he had chatted with Mi Li for a long time. The sky had already turned bright.

    ¡°Nonsense! Do you think a trifling apology is enough after you¡¯ve offended the crown princess? Men, arrest this man immediately!¡± the crown princess¡¯ personal maid Rong Mo shouted fiercely.

    ¡°Wait!¡± The crown princess stopped her subordinates. ¡°Sir Eleven didn¡¯t do it intentionally. There¡¯s no need to criticize him further.¡±

    ¡°But¡­¡± Rong Mo still seemed to have more to say.

    The crown princess red at her and retorted, ¡°Do you think I don¡¯t already have enough rumors going around about me? If you start something over this too, I¡¯ll have even more people talking about me!¡±

    Rong Mo wasn¡¯t too happy to hear those words, but she remembered that the crown princess had just had a ¡®scandal¡¯ with Zu An. Having something simr happen so quickly afterward would indeed be a bad thing.

    The guards all sheathed their des when they heard what the crown princess said, and the atmosphere immediately eased.

    ¡°Why is Sir Eleven in such a hurry this morning?¡± the crown princess asked, blushing slightly. Even though he had only held her for an instant, the feeling of safety she¡¯d experienced in his arms, as well as the heat she¡¯d felt, had still made her heart rate quicken. However, Zu An¡¯s figure suddenly appeared in her head and her expression immediately grew conflicted.

    Mi Li said teasingly by Zu An¡¯s ears, ¡°Look at you. Looks like even the crown princess has some feelings for you.¡±

    Zu An said impatiently, ¡°Stop speaking nonsense.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± The crown princess looked at him in disbelief.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An smiled awkwardly and said, ¡°It¡¯s nothing, I was talking to myself. Actually, it¡¯s a good thing that I ran into you here, crown princess. I have a matter that I need your guidance on.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not worthy of asking for guidance from. However, please speak your mind, Sir Eleven.¡± The crown princess had a faint smile on her face, as if she were a young and lively girl. It was entirely different from the strict appearance she usually disyed in the eastern pce.

    Zu An asked, ¡°Does the crown princess know who Xuanwu Gate¡¯s Ou Wu is?¡±

    The crown princess¡¯ pretty brows furrowed. She waved her hands to have her subordinates move a bit further away. Then, she asked quietly, ¡°Why is Sir Eleven suddenly asking about him? Is it because you¡¯ve discovered something about him in your investigation?¡±

    She hade here so early because she wanted to learn more about his investigation. She had been worried that he might really find out what had happened between Zu An and herself.

    Zu An replied, ¡°Indeed, there are some suspicious things.¡± In his opinion, he and the crown princess were naturally on the same side, so there was no need to hide anything from her.

    The crown princess¡¯ eyes lit up. She quickly said, ¡°He¡¯s someone from King Qi¡¯s faction. He was someone the Qin n¡¯s State Duke of Prestige personally brought up.¡±

    Zu An frowned. King Qi? Qin n? Doesn¡¯t this mean that this matter was caused by the Qin n? What the hell? Is the Qin n really willing to go that far to rip me and Chuyan apart?

    He was getting really annoyed. He cupped his hands and said, ¡°Crown princess, please forgive me. I need to visit Xuanwu Gate, so I¡¯m unable to keep youpany.¡± He turned around to leave after speaking.

    The crown princess quickly said, ¡°I¡¯ll go with you.¡± Seeing his confused expression, she said in a rather embarrassed manner, ¡°I am a victim of this matter too. I want to see just who was responsible for framing me.¡±

    Zu An knew that with her ability, the crown princess definitely knew that this investigation was rted to her. He nodded in response. Then, their group quickly headed to Xuanwu Gate.

    When they arrived at Xuanwu Gate, Ou Wu was nowhere to be seen. When Zu An asked the imperial guards for information, he learned that Ou Wu had asked for a leave of absence a few days prior.

    Zu An asked, ¡°When did he ask for a leave?¡±

    The guards thought for a bit and then replied, ¡°It might have been three days after you came to investigate.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, This is bad. This fellow probably fled because he was scared of being caught, which was why he waited a day before asking for a leave. He didn¡¯t want to make it seem as if he left as soon as he was investigated.

    He quickly ordered the Embroidered Envoys to intercept Ou Wu by looking in the various cities, but he knew that there wasn¡¯t too much hope of stopping him. However, he could at least locate the records of Ou Wu¡¯s through the various gates.

    Next, he brought his men to Ou Wu¡¯s residence in the city. The crown princess wanted to go too, but it was quite troublesome to leave the pce with her identity, so she couldn¡¯t. As such, she quickly returned to the eastern pce.

    ¡°Where is Sir Zu?¡± the crown princess asked as soon as she returned to the eastern pce. She had looked all over the ce, but she didn¡¯t see Zu An¡¯s familiar figure.

    ¡°Sir Zu hasn¡¯t shown up yet today,¡± a servant replied carefully.

    The crown princess didn¡¯t say anything. She went into her inner chambers alone, and threw her pillows angrily to the ground. ¡°That rascal! He¡¯s so unreliable during such an important time!¡±

    This matter was rted to her reputation, so she didn¡¯t dare talk to anyone else. However, that fellow actually hadn¡¯te to work on time at such a crucial moment!

    You have sessfully trolled Bi Linglong for +233 +233 +233¡­

    ¡­

    Zu An was currently focused on the case. When he saw the string of Rage points appear, he jumped in fright. I didn¡¯t even meet her, so how am I getting these Rage points?

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Mi Li asked when she sensed Zu An¡¯s strange condition. She floated through the air beside him. Even though the horse Zu An was riding was rushing quickly, she still managed to keep up perfectly. He had no idea how she was doing so.

    Zu An thought to himself, Thank god no one else can see her. It wasn¡¯t nighttime yet either, so if people saw a red-clothed woman flying through the sky, wouldn¡¯t they be really frightened?

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing,¡± Zu An replied. ¡°I¡¯m thinking about the case right now. I feel as if there¡¯s something fishy.¡±

    ¡°It is quite strange.¡± Mi Li nodded. The two of them seemed to have thought of something and didn¡¯t continue the conversation.

    ¡­

    They arrived at Ou Wu¡¯s residence soon afterward. A group of Embroidered Envoys charged in ferociously. However, they didn¡¯t find Ou Wu, nor did they find his wife.

    ¡°The madam left with the young master a few days ago, going on a vacation trip.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t the master on duty in the pce?¡±

    The servants and maids all said the same thing.

    Zu An frowned and said, ¡°This is getting quite troublesome now. We couldn¡¯t find Xin Rui¡¯s familyst time, so I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll be able to find Ou Wu¡¯s family either.¡±

    ¡°That might not be the case,¡± Mi Li said seriously. ¡°Ou Wu is a government gate official. Someone in such a key position shouldn¡¯t be allowed to leave the capital so easily. At the very least, in my era, such a thing was never permitted. I don¡¯t believe the emperor of this world would think otherwise.¡±

    Zu An immediately asked his subordinates for confirmation and received the information he needed. Then, he left behind some people to continue the search in Ou Manor. Afterward, he brought the rest to the Chongwen Gate.

    The capital was divided into the outer city, inner city, imperial city, and the imperial pce. The imperial pce was self-exnatory. The imperial city contained the royal gardens, ancestral shrine, government office, the internal affairs organization, and many storerooms, as well as some stationed troops. All sorts of high officials and nobles resided in the inner city, as well as rich and powerful members of society. The outer city was home to the moremon people.

    That was why, if Zu An wanted to find out whether Ou Wu and his family had left, he could only find such records at the inner city¡¯s city gates.

    Even though the inner city had many gates, every single gate had a specific purpose. For example, only the emperor¡¯s carriage could pass through some gates, while some were for the transportation of water and food. There were some gates that specialized in brick and wood, some for troops, and some for escorting prisoners. However, most people passed through the Chongwen Gate to travel between the inner and outer city.

    Zu An and his group hurried to the Chongwen Gate. They were met with soldiers whose spears were raised in vignce.

    The soldiers began, ¡°Who dares to spur on horses here¡­¡± But when they saw the Embroidered Envoys¡¯ uniforms, their expressions changed greatly. They quickly put away their weapons and said politely, ¡°We greet Sir Eleven.¡±

    Zu An asked sternly, ¡°Who is in charge of all of you?¡±

    The guards answered, ¡°Replying to sir, the Chongwen Gate¡¯s supervisor is Sir Murong.¡±

    ¡°Murong?¡± Zu An frowned. Was there something wrong with the Murong n?

    Just then, Mi Li spoke with an ambiguous smile, ¡°How amusing¡­ You just toyed with someone else¡¯s wifest night, yet today, your own wife is together with another man. Tsk, tsk, tsk, revenge really did bite back quickly this time, hm?¡±

    Zu An was confused. He quickly raised his head. Sure enough, he saw a familiar figure in the building, dressed in a long, ice blue dress. Her rear figure was sweet and fair. Who else could it be but Chu Chuyan?

 Chapter 742: Praising Myself

    <h4>Chapter 742: Praising Myself</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    A young man with pretty features apanied Chu Chuyan, as well as a bronze skinned, healthy youngdy. All of them were old acquaintances of Zu An¡¯s. However, a young master he didn¡¯t recognize was fawning over them. He seemed to be chatting about something with Chu Chuyan.

    Zu An was speechless. No wonder Mi Li had spoken like that just then. From this distance, it really did look as if they were chatting in an extremely close manner. He harrumphed and stormed up the stairs with a gloomy expression.

    However, he didn¡¯t suspect Chu Chuyan. Now only did he trust her, he also had confidence in himself. But that other fellow¡­ Heh!

    ¡°Chuyan, do you see the scenery over there? This is the best viewing spot in the entire capital city. Ordinary people don¡¯t have the privilege of admiring this scenery from this angle.

    ¡°I¡¯ll bring you over to hunt when there¡¯s a chance next time. That¡¯s the royal family garden, a ce ordinary people can¡¯t go to. However, our Murong n has received the emperor¡¯s benevolence, so we have permission to hunt inside.¡±

    ¡­

    Even though the young man was dressed in armor, there was no masculinity to him. It instead made him look even more like a weak intellectual. He was chatting up Chu Chuyan with a smile.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s pretty brows furrowed slightly. She subconsciously moved to the side to keep a bit of distance from the young man. ¡°Young master Murong, please don¡¯t call me Chuyan. You can call me Miss Chu, or Madam Zu.¡±

    The young man¡¯s eyes narrowed when he heard the words ¡®Madam Zu¡¯. Anger surged within him.

    You have sessfully trolled Murong Luo for +110 +110 +110¡­

    Zu An was stunned. This kid¡¯s name was Murong Luo!

    As he walked up the stairs, he just happened to hear Murong Luo say to Chuyan, ¡°Miss Chu, everyone knows that your esteemed father and mother have already driven that drafted son-inw out of the n. How can we still call the two of you husband and wife?¡±

    Chu Chuyan said indifferently, ¡°He¡¯s still my husband in my heart.¡±

    This man was Murong Qinghe¡¯s n brother. Because of Chu Chuyan¡¯s good rtionship with Murong Qinghe, she had decided to do her a favor. As such, she couldn¡¯t say anything too excessive. She could only say such a thing to clearly make some distance and make him back off.

    Murong Luo was angry inside, but he looked confident and carefree on the surface. He said, ¡°Life is full of changes. Chu First Miss is someone who values feelings greatly. I¡¯m in awe.¡±

    ¡°Hey, are you done yet? My brother-inw and sister-inw have a great rtionship. Just give up already.¡± Chu Youzhao had long since grown tired of the conversation. She jumped out and stood in between the two.

    Zu An nodded internally. He hadn¡¯t doted on this kid for nothing; at least she knew to help her brother-inw.

    Murong Luo frowned. He gestured toward Murong Qinghe for help. However, Murong Qinghe waspletely infatuated with Chu Youzhao and didn¡¯t notice his gaze at all.

    In the end, a woman¡¯s heart belongs to her man; they¡¯re not reliable at all. Murong Luo harrumphed. He was just about to say something when a cold voice said, ¡°Do you know what the punishment for negligence while on duty is?¡±

    ¡°Which idiot said that?¡± Murong Luo said furiously. He was the head of this gate, and he had the Murong n behind him. He could do whatever he wanted here. He had been wondering how else to show off in front of his goddess, but now, a fool had jumped out at the perfect time. He was going to use this fellow to disy his power.

    However, when he turned around and saw the uniformed men, he almost pissed his pants.

    Embroidered Envoys! He had grown up in the capital, so he obviously knew who the Embroidered Envoys were! Let alone the fact that the one in the lead was a golden token envoy!

    Zu An sneered, ¡°The Embroidered Envoys act in the ce of the son of heaven, yet they are merely idiots in your eyes? Looking down on his majesty is a huge crime of disrespect! Men, arrest him!¡± He obviously needed to teach a fly who had gotten too close to Chu Chuyan a good lesson.

    Murong Luo¡¯ expression changed. He quickly replied, ¡°What are you saying? That¡¯s not what I meant!¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Murong Qinghe couldn¡¯t be bothered to continue admiring her man anymore. She quickly jumped out to protect her n brother, pleading, ¡°Sir, please forgive him. He didn¡¯t know that you were the ones who came here and didn¡¯t intend to offend you. Please ept my apology in his ce.¡±

    Many matters weren¡¯t convenient for men to do. It was much easier for women to ease tension. She obviously couldn¡¯t let Murong Luo bear such an offense. After all, it wasn¡¯t rted to Murong Luo alone, but rather to the safety of the entire n.

    Zu An harrumphed and said, ¡°Everyone heard what he said just now, so I¡¯m not wronging him. Didn¡¯t you all hear it?¡±

    The other Embroidered Envoys weren¡¯t stupid. They knew that their superior didn¡¯t get along with this man, so why would they contradict him? They all nodded in agreement.

    Murong Luo¡¯s face turned incredibly pale. He was normally always the one who oppressed others. Who would have thought that the tides would suddenly turn, and that he would instead be the one oppressed? Even though he knew that the other party was using this as a pretext to make a fuss, the envoy¡¯s identity was too special. He really couldn¡¯t do anything about it.

    Murong Qinghe tugged on Chu Youzhao and Chu Chuyan¡¯s sleeves, begging for help.

    Since it was her dear little sister who was asking, Chu Youzhao obviously couldn¡¯t just watch without doing anything. She said, ¡°Sir, it was Miss Murong who invited the Qin n out to y this time. We were merely stopping here for a short time, so we ended up troubling young master Murong. I hope sir can treat this matter leniently.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself that the little brat was quite smart. She hadn¡¯t argued about the matter of disrespect, because that was merely a pretext; rather, she had focused on the negligence of duty. At the same time, she had hinted at their backgrounds. In the capital, there weren¡¯t many who didn¡¯t know who the Qin n and Murong n were, so they still had to show them at least some respect.

    Unfortunately, Zu An had no intention of doing any of that. He said, ¡°I have always upheld thew impartially; I do not need to give anyone face. It changes nothing even if you bring out the Murong n¡¯s name here.¡±

    Chu Youzhao got a bit upset when she heard those words. It wasn¡¯t because of Murong Luo, but rather because the other party didn¡¯t seem to treat the Qin n as a big deal.

    Seeing the Rage points the Murong n¡¯s siblings and Chu Youzhao provided, Zu An¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change in the slightest. He didn¡¯t have the slightest good intentions toward the two ns.

    Just then, Chu Chuyan spoke up. ¡°Sir, I believe you came because there are official matters to take care of. May I ask what they are exactly? Perhaps we can all help you with that matter together.¡±

    Mi Li, who was sitting nearby atop the city wall, sneered. ¡°Your wife is indeed the smartest one here. She immediately identified the real problem.¡±

    Zu An thought, Of course my woman is smart. Then, he coughed and looked toward Chu Chuyan and asked, ¡°Is this one Chu First Miss?¡±

    It was Chu Chuyan¡¯s turn to be shocked. She replied, ¡°Indeed. Why do you recognize me?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re the wife of the crown prince¡¯s chambein, so why wouldn¡¯t I recognize you?¡± Zu An then began to praise himself without the slightest sense of shame. ¡°Sir Zu is righteous and honorable, he acts with consideration for the people, he is handsome and suave¡­¡±

    Mi Li had originally just been watching the whole scenario unfold like a y. She waspletely stupefied when she heard Zu An speak. It looked like she had still ended up underestimating this fellow¡¯s shamelessness in the end!

    Even Chu Chuyan blushed when she heard those words. She hadn¡¯t expected her husband to be treated so well in the pce.

    Zu An coughed and finally stopped. ¡°This matter is rted to Sir Zu¡¯s innocence, so I will leave the matter at that as a favor for Madam Zu. However, even though a death crime can be pardoned, it cannot remain unpunished. For negligence and disrespect, he is to be flogged twenty times!¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± An Embroidered Envoy stepped forward and pushed Murong Luo to the ground.

    Even though Murong Luo¡¯s cultivation wasn¡¯t bad, how could he be a match for the Embroidered Envoys? He immediately lost his center of gravity and was knocked to the ground. ¡°You guys can¡¯t hit me! My dad¡­ Ah!¡± He screamed in misery before he even finished his sentence. The Embroidered Envoy¡¯s rod had already smashed down on his bottom.

    Even though Murong Qinghe and the others weren¡¯t too happy to see this, it was already quite a good conclusion for the matter to end this way. After all, it was something that could have been much worse. Furthermore, for better or for worse, Murong Luo was still a sixth rank cultivator, so he should be able to handle this beating.

    However, they had no idea how the Embroidered Envoys did things. The Envoys knew how officials thought, and they were extremely skilled in this field. Even though it looked like just twenty strikes, this fellow would need at least half a month to recover.

    As he heard Murong Luo scream miserably, Zu An sat down casually. Then, he called over Murong Luo¡¯s assistant to ask him about Ou Wu.

    The assistant replied, ¡°I believe an Ou n carriage indeed left a few days ago.¡±

    Zu An frowned. ¡°Why are his wife and children allowed to leave whenever they please?¡±

    ¡°We didn¡¯t know that Ou Wu¡¯s family was inside, and they had their n¡¯smand tile, so we couldn¡¯t investigate inside,¡± the soldiers replied.

    ¡°Since you didn¡¯t investigate, how did you know it was the Ou n¡¯s carriage?¡± Zu An¡¯s sharp eyes scanned the soldiers.

 Chapter 743: Daggers Drawn

    <h4>Chapter 743: Daggers Drawn</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°It''s because the Ou n''s carriage was moving rather quickly at the time, and then they ended up hitting amoner,¡± one of the soldiers recalled.

    ¡°What do you mean, amoner?¡± another soldier corrected. ¡°It was just a good-for-nothing who deliberately gets hit and extortspensation. He loves throwing himself at those ordinary carriages.¡±

    ¡°That fellow always does this type of thing. Since the Ou n is based here, and they didn¡¯t really cause too much trouble, we just turned a blind eye to it,¡± another soldier quickly added. At the same time, he secretly watched Zu An¡¯s expression.

    Mi Li harrumphed as she watched from nearby. ¡°That good-for-nothing probably treats them with a lot of respect, and that¡¯s why they turned a blind eye to it.¡±

    Mi Li was the empress of a country, yet she actually understands these matters so well? Zu An thought.However, he hadn¡¯te here to investigate this matter today, so he didn¡¯t care much about the guards¡¯ corruption. He asked, ¡°Then?¡±

    Seeing that Zu An didn¡¯t continue to ask about those matters, the guards sighed in relief. One quickly replied, ¡°However, they really hit the jackpot that day. Even though the carriage was ordinary, the one inside definitely wasn¡¯t. The carriage¡¯s servant beat that good-for-nothing up really badly, cursing at him while hitting him, calling him blind, saying that he even dared to frame the Ou n¡¯s carriage. That¡¯s why we had such a deep impression of the incident.¡±

    Zu An frowned. ¡°Since they wanted to leave the capital, then the more low-profile they could remain, the better. Why did they still show off so much, as if they were scared that others didn¡¯t know they were there?¡±

    Mi Li said, ¡°Those bigwigs are already used to abusing people. They don¡¯t even view those of the lower levels as people. Even if they tried to remain low-profile, they¡¯d only do so in the upper levels. What would be the point of doing that withmoners?¡±

    The guards expressed simr opinions. Zu An couldn¡¯t help but turn around to give Mi Li a look, remarking, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to understand people that well.¡±

    Mi Li harrumphed. Her chin tilted upward proudly.

    Chu Youzhao quietly tugged on Chu Chuyan¡¯s sleeves. She quietly asked, ¡°Big sis, is there something wrong with that guy? Why is he talking to himself?¡±

    ¡°Be quiet!¡± Chu Chuyan clutched her throat and said through ki transmission, ¡°It might be because these Embroidered Envoys are all a bit entric while investigating cases. Don¡¯t provoke him, or he might use that as an excuse to start a fuss.¡±

    Chu Youzhao gave Murong Luo a look. He was screaming for his life, his butt having been smacked until it was a bloody mess. She couldn¡¯t help but nod in understanding.

    Even though Chu Youzhao¡¯s voice was quiet, it didn¡¯t escape Zu An¡¯s detection. Even though Chuyan wasn¡¯t saying anything, judging from her mouth¡¯s movements, she was clearly sending a voice transmission. Most likely, it wasn¡¯t anything good. He thought, Thank goodness I have a mask on. As long as I don¡¯t act awkward, then it won''t be awkward.

    ¡°Ahem!¡± He cleared his throat and continued, ¡°Ou Wu¡¯s position is crucial, yet his n deliberately left in a different carriage. None of you suspected anything, and you didn¡¯t stop them at all?¡±

    The guards looked at each other in dismay. In the end, one of them said, ¡°Sir, in the capital, those with authority are everything. Even though rules are rules, we still let their wives and children leave from time to time. This is a secret everyone knows about. No one would bicker over something like this.¡±

    Zu An frowned. The Great Zhou Dynasty appeared to be upright and flourishing, but thew had already fallen into such disuse in private. That wasn¡¯t a good sign. Tsk, I¡¯m not the emperor, so why do I care?

    Another guard spoke up just then. ¡°Furthermore, we already carried out an investigation, but they brought out their king manor token. We didn¡¯t dare to stop them then!¡±

    Zu An asked, ¡°Which n¡¯s token was it?¡±

    The guards all shook their heads.

    ¡°We didn¡¯t dare stare at it out of fear of offending them!¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t the king manor tiles all pretty much the same?¡±

    ¡°Who dares to go against a king manor tile? That¡¯s a huge crime!¡±

    Zu An knew that he wouldn¡¯t find out anything else when he heard them say such things. He left behind some people to continue investigating Ou Wu and the other n members¡¯ whereabouts, while he himself would search the King Qi Manor with some men.

    ¡°Should we bring this person back to the Embroidery House to investigate him further?¡± A silver token Embroidered Envoy pointed at Murong Luo. He obviously knew that this fellow didn¡¯t get along with his boss, so he asked out of consideration.

    Murong Luo¡¯s expression changed greatly when he heard the words ¡®Embroidery House¡¯. That was a ce even more terrifying than the imperial prison! Those who ended up there soon wished they were dead.

    The only one who had lived to tell the tale was the Shi n¡¯s young master, but even that was only because the minister of war Shi Miao had personally rescued him. Furthermore, he¡¯d had to bring out their n¡¯s death pardon token! Shi Miao¡¯s status in the court was extraordinary. Furthermore, the Murong n didn¡¯t have a death pardoning token.

    Murong Qinghe¡¯s expression changed as well. She gave Chu Chuyan and Chu Youzhao a pleading look. Chu Chuyan could only ask, ¡°Sir, would it be possible to show mercy?¡±

    Zu An voiced his agreement. ¡°Madam Zu is pretty and speaks well. It¡¯s fine. As a favor to madam, I won¡¯t pursue this matter further. Shape up and don¡¯t make the same mistake again.¡±

    Mi Li harrumphed, ¡°Shameless!¡± However, Zu An ignored her.

    Murong Qinghe sighed in relief. She couldn¡¯t help but give Chu Chuyan a look. She thought to herself that Chu First Miss was pretty after all, if even an Embroidered Envoy who didn¡¯t care much about face would give her this favor. It really was enviable.

    Chu Youzhao thought to herself that her brother-inw really was awesome. This person had said previously that he owed her brother-inw a favor.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s cheeks blushed when she heard the words ¡®Madam Zu¡¯, making her look even more tender and beautiful. Even the Embroidered Envoys who had tremendous self-restraint couldn¡¯t help but give her a few more looks.

    ¡°Thank you, sir! Thank you, sir! This lowly official will definitely be careful in the future.¡± Murong Luo hurriedly nodded. Not only had he not looked good in front of his goddess, he had needed her help. He was full of hatred when he thought of that. It was all this damn Embroidered Envoy¡¯s fault!

    You have sessfully trolled Murong Luo for +444 +444 +444¡­

    Zu An frowned. Was this fellow courting death? However, he was in a hurry to head to King Qi Manor right now. He couldn¡¯t be bothered to argue right now.

    ¡­

    Zu An led his subordinates toward King Qi Manor. One of them asked, ¡°Leader, are we going to rush toward King Qi Manor just like that? Should we return to the Embroidery House and get more men?¡±

    Zu An sighed when he saw how nervous they were. The prestige King Qi had umted was terrifying as expected. Even the Embroidered Envoys, who were normally fearless, were scared. He reassured them, ¡°We aren¡¯t going there to start a fight, so what are you all scared of? Don¡¯t worry, I know when to stop.¡± All of the Envoys sighed in relief when they heard Zu An¡¯s words.

    Mi Li floated over to Zu An¡¯s side. She couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°What can you possibly find in King Qi Manor? You couldn¡¯t even interrogate Shi Jun, so what can you do to the glorious King Qi?¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°I already have an idea of what¡¯s happening. I just need to confirm something in King Qi Manor.¡±

    The group quickly arrived at King Qi Manor. When they saw that the Embroidered Envoys hade, the guards vigntly prepared to intercept them.

    Zu An said, ¡°I am here on orders from his majesty to investigate a case. There is something I need to meet with King Qi about.¡±

    The guard leader of King Qi Manor directly refused him. ¡°Please leave; our King is not in the manor.¡±

    ¡°Is he not here, or does he not wish to meet us?¡± Zu An frowned.

    The guard harrumphed. ¡°If I say he¡¯s not here, then he¡¯s not here.¡±

    Zu An continued to ask, ¡°Then do you know where King Qi went?¡±

    That guard replied coldly, ¡°The whereabouts of our king are secret. How can we tell just anyone?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression darkened. He took out his golden token. ¡°You¡¯re using all sorts of excuses. Can it be that you wish to go against the imperial decree?¡±

    That guard sneered and said, ¡°That thing might be useful in other ces, but it¡¯s useless here. You dog-legs don¡¯t have the right to enter the manor unless his majestyes personally.¡±

    The Embroidered Envoys were shocked and furious when they heard those words. They acted directly under the emperor himself, so when had they ever suffered this type of humiliation? But this was King Qi Manor, so they didn¡¯t dare act randomly. They could only look at Zu An with injustice in their eyes, to see what their direct superior nned to do.

    Huh? Where did he go? They discovered that he was nowhere to be seen. A clear smacking noise resounded, and then a miserable scream followed. By the time they saw what happened, the guard leader was already kneeling on the ground. His mouth was covered in blood, and he was in a sorry state.

    Zu An was standing next to him. He tossed the scabbard he had randomly picked up away and said, ¡°I hope this teaches you not to shoot your mouth off next time.¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The guard leader could feel that many of his teeth had fallen off. He had been hit before he even understood what happened. He wanted to resist, but Zu An¡¯s foot was pressing down on the crook of his leg. He couldn¡¯t budge at all.

    You have sessfully trolled Hou Wu for +888 +888 +888¡­

    The other guards were rmed and furious. They all drew their des and surrounded the group of Embroidered Envoys.

    ¡°How dare you cause trouble in the king manor!¡± A figure appeared from the manor. His voice had already begun ringing in everyone¡¯s ears before he even arrived.

    This was a powerful expert! Everyone knew many experts were said to be in King Qi Manor. Now, it seemed that was indeed the case.

    The Embroidered Envoys cursed inside. Why the hell did we believe this Sir Eleven? He said he wouldn¡¯t go too far, yet he¡¯s still so reckless. Even though they had felt great when they saw that guard beaten, they were now worried about their own situation. If there really was a dispute, their lives would probably be forfeit.

    The dozen Embroidered Envoys were surrounded by King Qi Manor¡¯s guards. It looked as if they were done for.

 Chapter 744: Madam Qi

    <h4>Chapter 744: Madam Qi</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The floating Mi Li was surprisingly calm as she said, ¡°A strong one came out. What are you going to do now? By the way, this empress needs to make it clear; I don¡¯t have any ns to interfere.¡±

    When he saw Mi Li on her high horse, Zu An really wanted to tell her that thest one who had called herself an empress had been plowed by him 1,800 times over. Instead, he said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you don¡¯t need to do anything. Besides, this fellow is an old acquaintance.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Mi Li was surprised. She had sensed that the elder was at the peak of the ninth rank when he first appeared. Even though Zu An¡¯s cultivation was now at a level where he wasn¡¯t entirely without a chance, he was still far outmatched. Where did this kid get his confidence from?

    The elder had a longsword on his back. He gave Zu An and the beaten Hou Wu at his feet a look. ¡°Who¡¯s causing trouble in King Qi Manor? It looks like you really have a death wish.¡±

    Zu An said indifferently, ¡°You¡¯re quite arrogant. We act in the ce of the son of heaven; can it be that we can¡¯t even enter King Qi Manor?¡±

    This fellow was indeed an old acquaintance. It was precisely that expert Han Fengqiu who had saved King Qi¡¯s heirst time. Zu An had to admit that his sword ki was quite frightening.

    Han Fengqiu¡¯s breathing paused for a moment. ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to try to threaten us with his majesty¡¯s name. You might be working for the son of heaven, but that¡¯s no excuse to harm our guards for no reason. All of them have posts in the court. Not even his majesty can me us if I kill you today.¡±

    He immediately prepared to attack after speaking, as if to prove his words. He didn¡¯t dare to look down on an Embroidered Envoy leader, but even so, he had never heard of any envoy being at the master rank. As such, there was no way this individual could be stronger than him.

    As for the other Embroidered Envoys¡¯ formation, there were more guards on his side, so they wouldn¡¯t dare to help this golden token envoy. He became more confident when he realized those things. However, he heard the other party speak right when he was about to attack.

    ¡°Who says I¡¯m acting without reason?¡± Zu An pointed at Hou Wu, who was still on the ground. ¡°This fellow called us dog-legs. Everyone knows that the Embroidered Envoys only listen to his majesty¡¯s decrees and orders. Isn¡¯t he then cursing his majesty as a dog?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t, that¡¯s not what I meant¡­¡± Hou Wu had thought he was being wronged at first, but now, he really was horrified.

    Han Fengqiu waspletely speechless. How the hell did these guards live normally? They even dared to curse the Embroidered Envoys.

    Zu An continued, ¡°Furthermore, judging from the way Sir Han spoke of his majesty, it didn¡¯t seem all that respectful either. Could it be that everyone in King Qi Manor is like this? I wonder if the subordinates follow the example of their superiors. Or perhaps, is there another reason?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯d better not speak nonsense!¡± Han Fengqiu began to panic. It was said that the Embroidered Envoys were difficult to deal with, and today, it seemed that was indeed the case. Once they targeted someone, even if one survived, one would have ayer of skin shaved off.

    He wasn¡¯t scared of the envoy in terms of strength, but the envoy kept bringing up the emperor. He worried that he might bring King Qi trouble, leaving him in a dilemma. This Embroidered Envoy was too shameless!

    You have sessfully trolled Han Fengqiu for +233 +233 +233¡­

    A dignified woman¡¯s voice suddenly resounded. ¡°What is going on here?¡±

    Zu An turned around. He saw that an extravagant carriage had stopped nearby, and there was a troop of guards escorting it.

    The manor¡¯s guards immediately said respectfully, ¡°We greet the madam!¡±

    ¡°Madam?¡± Zu An thought to himself. ording to his sources, Madam Qi Bi Fanghua was the crown princess¡¯ older half-sister. Even though they were sisters, there was a great difference in their ages. Even Madam Qi¡¯s son Zhao Zhi was much older than the crown princess.

    Bi Linglong¡¯s father Bi Qi really is an old cow who eats young grass¡­ The reason why there¡¯s such an age gap is because he picked a young wife.

    The crown princess and Madam Qi¡¯s rtionship wasn¡¯t too great. They actually didn¡¯t get along at all. The first reason was the crown prince and King Qi¡¯s fight over the throne, which had naturally set them apart from each other. The second was probably their different mothers. The age difference between Bi Qi¡¯s first wife and his new wife was so obvious an idiot could tell.

    Han Fengqiu rushed over to the carriage and quietly exined what had just happened. Then, Madam Qi said, ¡°And I thought that something major happened. King Qi is not inside the manor right now. If Sir Eleven has some matters to inquire about, then it will be the same to ask me. Invite Sir Eleven inside.¡±

    Mi Li chuckled and remarked, ¡°A sharp woman. She quickly dealt with the crux of the issue, so the other small matters were also easily dealt with.¡±

    Zu An sighed internally. How could King Qi¡¯s woman be someone easy to deal with? As such, he naturally went along. ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to trouble the madam.¡±

    The luxurious carriage¡¯s door opened, and a pair of thick white thighs appeared. Zu An¡¯s eyes widened. What the hell? Isn¡¯t Madam Qi supposed to be an older woman? Why does her legs look just as seductive and enticing as a youngdy¡¯s? He quickly warned himself, Remember that stupid Zhao Zhi! Her son is already so old; you better not have any strange fetishes.

    Then, a beautiful figure left the carriage. She was tall and slender, with cool and elegant features. Her hair was casually held up by a jade hairpin that exposed her long and fair neck. She looked dignified and high-ss.

    Zu An was stunned. He wasn¡¯t shocked at the woman¡¯s beauty, but rather at her identity. It was because the woman with the long legs was someone he knew! It was the gorgeous principal Jiang Luofu! Jiang Luofu is King Qi¡¯s wife?

    Zu An was momentarily distracted. However, he quickly sighed in relief, because a middle-aged woman came out from inside the carriage afterward. He could tell that she took good care of her health, and that she had been a beautifuldy when she was younger. However, her wrinkles still showed that she wasn¡¯t young anymore.

    ¡°Madam, please be careful!¡± Jiang Luofu warned. She even reached out a hand to help the woman down.

    ¡°Your gorgeous principal seems to be quite close to King Qi Manor, no?¡± Mi Li teased as she arrived next to Zu An. She obviously recognized Jiang Luofu, and she knew about her rtionship with Zu An.

    Zu An frowned. His rtionship with King Qi was quite terrible. It would be quite depressing in the future if he and Jiang Luofu became real enemies.

    Jiang Luofu gave Zu An a curious look when she passed by. She had heard about the new golden token envoy and was a bit curious about him. For some reason, she usually hated Embroidered Envoys. She felt they were dark and sinister. However, she felt a strange feeling of closeness toward that person. She shook her head and threw out the absurd thought, and entered the manor with Madam Qi.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An was invited inside by another maid. The other Embroidered Envoys were worried, but Zu An gestured to indicate that it was fine. He had them wait outside.

    Han Fengqiu was surprised. ¡°Sir Eleven is quite something!¡± Golden token envoys are all extraordinary after all. The emperor has so many talents under him. Looks like Master¡¯s road ahead won¡¯t be easy.

    ¡°I admire King Qi Manor¡¯s methods as well,¡± Zu An replied. He noticed that someone had brought away the wounded guard as well. Judging from how the guard had been moved to tears, it was obvious that Madam Qi had appeased him and even granted him a reward.

    Han Fengqiu chuckled awkwardly, but didn¡¯t reply.

    Zu An was brought inside the manor soon afterward. After taking seven or eight turns, they arrived at a gazebo. Han Fengqiu stood some distance away. It was clear that he didn¡¯t want to get too close to the manor¡¯s women.

    Madam Qi was sitting inside, with Jiang Luofu next to her. There were a few servants around them as well. Zu An had to admit that next to Jiang Luofu, Madam Qi really was overshadowed. The only thing worth praising was the bit of noble bearing she had left.

    No wonder Bi Qi doted on Bi Linglong¡¯s mother much more. She was far more attractive than her big sister.

    ¡°What did you need King Qi for? You can tell me now,¡± Madam Qi said indifferently.

    Zu An exined his intent. Madam Qi harrumphed and said, ¡°What a joke. That person was doing perfectly well, but then he vanished after you investigated him. Now, you¡¯reing all the way to King Qi Manor for this?¡±

    ¡°Everyone knows that Ou Wu was someone King Qi personally raised in the past,¡± Zu An calmly said as he stared at her.

    ¡°We¡¯re all court subjects. There¡¯s no such thing as factions,¡± Madam Qi said calmly. ¡°The master usually promotes people who are capable, and not out of selfish intent.¡±

    ¡°However, Ou Wu¡¯s wife and children left the city with King Qi Manor¡¯smand token,¡± Zu An continued. He carefully observed her expression.

    Madam Qi frowned slightly, but she quickly replied, ¡°Is there proof that it was King Qi Manor¡¯smand token?¡± As Zu An said nothing in response, she chuckled and said, ¡°There are many kings in the capital, and the king manor tokens are virtually identical. It¡¯s not too surprising for the city gate¡¯s guards to be mistaken.¡±

    Zu An began to think to himself. Madam Qi continued, ¡°I answered so many of your questions. It¡¯s time for you to answer one of mine.¡±

    ¡°Please go ahead,¡± Zu An said.

    ¡°You have always worked in the pce. Do you know the eastern pce¡¯s crown prince secretary, Zu An?¡± Madam Qi asked.

    Jiang Luofu¡¯s originally calm expression turned into one of shock.

 Chapter 745: Suspicion

    <h4>Chapter 745: Suspicion</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An was stunned. Is this woman making inquiries about me? But he still replied, ¡°I fear there aren¡¯t too many in the pce who don¡¯t know who he is.¡±

    Madam Qi harrumphed. ¡°After such a scandal happened between him and the crown princess, it would indeed be hard to not know about him.¡±

    Zu An said with a neutral expression, ¡°This matter has already been investigated. It is absolute nonsense, and he was framed by someone. Madam, I must ask you to watch what you say.¡± He was an Embroidered Envoy acting directly under the emperor. He needed to protect the royal family¡¯s dignity in this type of situation.

    ¡°Nothing remains a secret forever,¡± Madam Qi said with a sneer. ¡°That fellow Zu An really is presumptuous, daring to even beat up my son! What kinds of things wouldn¡¯t he dare to do?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Bi Fanghua for¡­

    Jiang Luofu smiled. She recalled some of the things that had happened in Brightmoon City before. That fellow indeed didn¡¯t act in a predictable way.

    Zu An coughed. No wonder this woman has such strong resentment. But I wonder how she¡¯d react if she found out the one who beat up her son was right in front of her.

    Madam Qi asked a few more questions, and Zu An casually answered them. In the end, when she saw that there wasn¡¯t any valuable information to gain, she picked up her teacup and gestured for the servants to escort Zu An out.

    During their brief interaction, Zu An had obtained the information he wanted as well. He got up and bid her farewell.

    ¡°Stop investigating those trivialities. Trust me, there¡¯s no mastermind behind the scenes. It really was Zu An and the crown princess who engaged in that scandal,¡± Madam Qi added.

    ¡­

    ¡°That woman¡¯s intuition is quite terrifying,¡± Mi Li giggled and said when they left the manor.

    Zu An proimed, ¡°The crown princess and I are innocent.¡±

    ¡°Hah!¡± Mi Li naturally knew what was going on between him and the crown princess. Even though the two of them had only embraced each other naked, and nothing else had happened, with her understanding of Zu An, something might just happen between them soon.

    Zu An didn¡¯t feel like bothering with her anymore and walked straight out. Mi Li wasn¡¯t in the mood to gossip either when she saw him ignore her. She couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°By the way, now that the trail on King Qi Manor¡¯s side has ended as well, what are you going to do? The time limit the emperor gave you is approaching.¡±

    In her opinion, this trip to King Qi Manor waspletely meaningless. After all, Z An couldn¡¯t investigate anything about King Qi no matter what he did.

    ¡°There are clues to investigate even if the trail has been cut off,¡± Zu An said, smiling.

    Mi Li¡¯s beautiful brows rose. ¡°Exin!¡±

    Zu An could only say, ¡°Actually, there is something I¡¯ve always been wondering about, and this trip here was merely to verify that. Through my interaction with Madam Qi, some of my guesses were indeed verified.¡±

    Mi Li frowned. She discovered that she still couldn¡¯t understand. However, for the sake of maintaining herpetent appearance, she didn¡¯t want to lower herself. As such, she couldn¡¯t bring herself to ask further.

    Fortunately, Zu An considerately continued, ¡°The crux of this case lies with Xin Rui. From the very start, there was one thing I didn¡¯t understand. Why would that mastermind invest so much in sending Xin Rui out of the pce? Why would they buy out Xuanwu Gate¡¯s Ou Wu, and then also help his family?¡±

    Mi Li was an intelligent person as well, so she quickly reacted. ¡°Indeed. Actually, just killing her and throwing her into a random pond would have done the trick. After all, there are many maids and eunuchs who die mysteriously, and it¡¯s almost impossible to investigate anything. However, for the sake of a trifling maid, they had to sacrifice Xuanwu Gate¡¯s supervisor, that crucial chess piece. That¡¯s not worth it at all.¡±

    Zu An nodded. ¡°Indeed. That¡¯s why I¡¯ve been thinking that the mastermind did that for a different reason. Currently, the investigations haven¡¯t uncovered Xin Rui¡¯s whereabouts. Even though it seems as if her survival is uncertain, I know she¡¯s definitely alive. If she were dead, then there would have been no point in bringing her out of the pce before silencing her.¡±

    ¡°Even if you know all of this, how does that help you? You still can¡¯t find her,¡± Mi Li couldn¡¯t help but say.

    Zu A smiled. ¡°Of course it¡¯s useful. Since Xin Rui isn¡¯t dead, that means her family members are most likely alive as well. We might not be able to find her, but finding her family might not be so difficult.¡±

    Mi Li frowned and remarked ¡°Where the heck did you learn to beat around the bush like that? Do you really think I won¡¯t smack the crap out of you?¡± Even though she didn¡¯t want to lower herself, she really couldn¡¯t resist her curiosity, so she decided to be a bit more direct.

    Zu An was speechless. This woman was so fierce, no wonder even Qin Shihuang had had to lock her up. He could only say, ¡°Do you remember what I said before about her family situation?¡±

    Mi Li frowned. ¡°Her mother is just an ordinary person, but her little brother¡­¡± Her eyes lit up. ¡°¡­loves to gamble!¡±

    ¡°Indeed. Those who are obsessed with gambling can¡¯t go a long time without gambling. Rather than trust that he¡¯s mended his ways. I would rather believe that the sun rose from the west.¡± Zu An said, ¡°I¡¯ve already had some people investigate their old home. They didn¡¯t go back. People will subconsciously choose to stay in ces they find familiar. Since they didn¡¯t go back to their old home, then they¡¯re probably still in the capital, or the counties near the capital. As long as we investigate the nearby gambling hubs, we should find something soon.¡±

    Mi Li couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°But this is nothing more than spection. What if they went somewhere far away instead and aren¡¯t in the capital?¡±

    Zu An sighed. ¡°We only try things that are likely to seed when we do anything anyway; what¡¯s the point of worrying about small odds of what ifs? If they really did go somewhere else, then count me unlucky. But even if you call me ipetent, there are two things I¡¯m the toughest in. The first is my life. I¡¯ve made it past countless situations where I should have died. Why would I fail over such a small matter?¡±

    Mi Li nodded. She agreed that there was a chance his deduction was right. ¡°What¡¯s the other thing that¡¯s the toughest?¡±

    Zu An had an amused expression as he replied, ¡°What do you think?¡±

    Mi Li was stunned. Then she blushed. ¡°Damn brat, you even dare to tease me? You¡¯d better believe me when I say I¡¯ll cut that filthy thing off!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for¡­

    Zu An chuckled and ran ahead. As he left through the front gate, the other Embroidered Envoys¡¯ expressions changed when they saw him running. They all drew their des and rushed forward.

    ¡°Leader, are you alright?¡±

    ¡°Are you being chased by King Qi Manor¡¯s men?¡±

    ¡­

    Zu An felt warm inside. Even though outsiders might feel that the Embroidered Envoy was sinister and terrifying, from his time with them, he could tell that many of them had warm hearts inside.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯re still under the son of heaven¡¯smand. What could King Qi Manor do to me?¡± Zu An gave Mi Li a look. When she saw him, she shot back an annoyed look. Then, she turned into a wisp of smoke and returned to the Tai¡¯e Sword. She was too embarrassed to talk to Zu An for some time.

    Zu An chuckled, and then headed back. He quickly summoned his subordinates and sent them on various missions. They became excited when they heard that the case had taken a turn for the better. One said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, boss! We Embroidered Envoys have an intelligencework within the capital¡¯s vicinity. As long as he¡¯s appeared in a gambling den, we¡¯ll definitely catch him!¡±

    Zu An finally sighed in relief. After separating from the Envoys, he changed into his original outfit and headed toward the pce. He hadn¡¯t even had time to report for the morning roll call today. That would definitely draw suspicion.

    When he arrived at the Eastern Pce, Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun took the chance to walk past him. They whispered, ¡°Big bro Zu, you need to be careful. The crown princess seems to be really unhappy that you¡¯rete today.¡±

    Zu An cupped his hands and gave them a grateful smile. Then, he quickly headed in to meet the crown princess.

    As he passed by the main hall, he just happened to run into the crown prince. The prince wasn¡¯t ying five-in-a-row today. It was clear that even though the game was easy, it was still a bit beyond his abilities. He had lost interest after ying a few times.

    The prince seemed to be ying at shopping in a food market. He was pretending to be a vegetable seller, but if his prices weren¡¯t ridiculously cheap, they were ridiculously expensive instead. Little Xu and Little He didn¡¯t dare to argue with him about these things and just happily yed along.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An sighed in wonder. Those two lesser eunuchs were really being troubled here. He headed straight into the study. The crown princess was currently dealing with a stack of paperwork, the work that the crown prince should be doing.

    ¡°I greet the crown princess¡­?¡± Zu An began.

    The crown princess remained expressionless. She continued to write on some documents as if he didn¡¯t exist. Zu An knew that she was angry. and that she was giving him the cold shoulder on purpose. That was why he wasn¡¯t upset. and just continued to quietly watch her.

    Her brows were slender and her eyes starry. Her nose was fine and her lips were a cherry red. Zu An had to admit that the crown princess was a top rate beauty. She still looked as if she hade straight out of a beautiful painting, even when she was just working.

    Even though the crown princess didn¡¯t look at Zu An, her pretty face still carried a blush. It was clear that she could feel his scorching gaze. She coughed lightly and indicated for the maids to withdraw to the entrance. Then, she gave Zu An an impatient look. She asked through ki transmission, ¡°What are you staring at me for?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Bi Linglong for¡­

    Zu An smiled. ¡°I¡¯m obviously staring because the crown princess is gorgeous. Even just looking at you is a type of rxation for the mind.¡±

    The crown princess was startled. She pretended to be calm and said, ¡°Don¡¯t think you can shirk responsibility just because you can say some nice things. Why were youte today? Did you know I needed your help earlier¡­¡±

    Then, she told him about how she had met Golden Token Eleven. She told him she was worried that the Envoy might find out something. ¡°But you actually weren¡¯t here at such a crucial time!¡± she eximed. She couldn¡¯t tell anyone else about this matter. She ground her teeth in anger as she thought that.

    Zu An said in a calm and unhurried manner, ¡°I waste because I was investigating this matter. Crown princess, please don¡¯t worry. Golden Token Eleven isn¡¯t investigating the situation between us. When he visited Ou Wu¡¯s manor, he didn¡¯t find that person. Ou Wu¡¯s n already left the capital ahead of time. Then, there was some conflict with Murong Luo by the Chongwen Gate¡­ After that, he headed to King Qi Manor¡­¡±

    The crown princess grew excited when she heard what had happened. ¡°So that was what happened! This matter is rted to King Qi after all! Heh, how can we let them go when there¡¯s such a great chance?¡±

    She was just about to say something when she suddenly frowned. She gave Zu An a strange look. ¡°Why do you know so much about what Golden Token Eleven did? Do you have some kind of rtionship with him? Or could it be that you two¡­ are the same person?¡±

 Chapter 746: New Discovery

    <h4>Chapter 746: New Discovery</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An was surprised, but he didn¡¯t reveal anything on the surface. ¡°Golden Token Eleven had some conflict with Murong Luo by the Chongwen Gate. Chu Chuyan was there at the time too, so I learned all of this from her. Why would the crown princess think such a strange thing?¡±

    The crown princess¡¯ face heated up. She didn¡¯t know why she would suddenly blurt that out either. She always felt a strange sense of familiarity whenever she met Golden Token Eleven. asionally, she would even think of the time Zu An had hugged her when they met.

    She had even vaguely hoped that Zu An, the one she¡¯d shared such close physical intimacy with, was the same person as Sir Eleven. That way, she wouldn¡¯t have to worry about too many things. But she couldn¡¯t really sort out those thoughts right now. She had just suddenly voiced her suspicion impulsively in the moment.

    She was incredibly embarrassed. What the heck is going on with me? Why would I associate this perverted guy with Sir Eleven? Sir Eleven is strong and collected, and he¡¯s so dashing, while this fellow is always smiling mischievously all day. They¡¯re nothing alike!

    She gradually calmed down. With a light cough, she said, ¡°It¡¯s nothing; it was just a casual question. That Sir Eleven seemed to have suddenly appeared out of thin air, so I was just a bit curious about his identity.¡±

    Zu An replied with an ¡®oh¡¯, but he was panicking inside. Aren¡¯t these girls¡¯ sixth senses a bit too frightening?

    The crown princess¡¯ thoughts were a bit all over the ce, and she didn¡¯t want to look at Zu An¡¯s face. She quickly summoned some maids. ¡°Help me summon King Liang, Sir Meng, Sir Bi, General Liu¡­¡±

    Zu An asked out of curiosity, ¡°What does the crown princess have in mind?¡±

    These were all members of the emperor¡¯s faction and all of them had respected statuses. If they were all being summoned, the crown princess was definitely nning something huge.

    ¡°That¡¯s not something you should be asking about!¡± The crown princess frowned. However, when she thought about their special rtionship, her tone unconsciously softened. She exined, ¡°Ou Wu is someone under King Qi, while the Murong n backing Murong Luo is also under King Qi¡¯s faction. What use is there left for me to serve as the crown princess if I can¡¯t even shave off some of King Qi¡¯s influence using such a great opportunity?¡±

    Zu An thought to himself that now that Ou Wu had gone missing, the only one left was Murong Luo. Even though the crown princess hadn¡¯t gone into detail, Murong Luo was probably going to be arrested and harshly interrogated. Even if he really was innocent, they would obtain confessions under torture and strike back against King Qi that way.

    Sigh, poor brother Murong¡­ Zu An felt sympathy toward the man, but he couldn¡¯t help but grin.

    As the crown princess was going to meet with all those big shots, Zu An got up to excuse himself. The crown princess nodded. However, as he walked over to the door, she suddenly called out to him. ¡°Right, I told you to find a chance to get rid of Concubine Bai. Do you have a n?¡±

    Zu An clicked his tongue inwardly. This woman really is vicious! He could only reply, ¡°Nothing yet. Her status is special, after all, and she resides in the imperial pce. It¡¯s not easy to take care of her.¡±

    The crown princess knew that he was speaking the truth, but she still said, ¡°Even though the matter isn¡¯t too pressing, you can¡¯t forget about it. Make sure to think about it.¡±

    Zu An gave her a few perfunctory replies and left. He was just about to thank Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun for their warning, when a eunuch came and told him that the emperor was waiting for him in the imperial study.

    Those of the Eastern Pce were all full of envy.

    ¡°Sir Zu really has received the favor of his majesty! His majesty summons him frequently.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not all; even the crown princess cares about him.¡±

    ¡°We should do our best to get along with him as well.¡±

    ¡­

    They quickly rushed over to ask Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun about Zu An, because they knew that their rtionship with Zu An was the closest

    The two of them looked at the eunuchs with pity. ¡°The way we got closer¡­ I fear the eunuchs can¡¯t imitate it.¡± Brothers fight together, run together, visit broth¡­ Well, there¡¯s nothing for you eunuchs to imitate. Taking you all to a brothel would just be a waste of money.

    ¡­

    Despite the looks of envy, Zu An was instead baffled. What the hell was up with the emperor? He met with Zu An more than he met his wives! He couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit guilty, since he had just worked the emperor¡¯s wife diligently for an entire night.

    When he arrived at the imperial study, Eunuch Wen¡¯s expression was friendly, indicating that the emperor¡¯s mood was quite good. Zu An sighed in relief.

    ¡°I greet your majesty!¡± Zu An had always felt a strange sense of fear and worry whenever he entered the imperial study in the past. He had always felt that the one on the dragon throne was high and mighty, as if a deity were interrogating him.

    But now, even though the emperor¡¯s aura was just as imposing, Zu An could now clearly see his face. The wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, as well as his faintly discernible white hair, revealed that even though he was the number one expert in the world, he still couldn¡¯t ovee the power of time.

    ¡°What are you looking at this emperor¡¯s head for?¡± The emperor frowned. He keenly sensed that there was something wrong with Zu An¡¯s gaze. He subconsciously touched the top of his head, but there was clearly nothing there.

    Zu An thought to himself, I¡¯m looking at that green hat you¡¯re wearing. Of course, he didn¡¯t dare to say such words out loud. He quickly said, ¡°This subject is amazed at your majesty¡¯s might. Even in casual clothes, it still feels as if there is an invisible crown resting on your head.¡±

    A faint smile appeared on the emperor¡¯s face. Even the most powerful person, as long as they were human, liked to hear their own praises.

    ¡°ttery is useless. How are you doing in the investigation of the crown princess¡¯ case? Once your time limit is up, if you don¡¯t find out the truth, then this emperor definitely won¡¯t be lenient.¡± Even though the emperor was in a good mood, he didn¡¯t show it at all. He harrumphed with a grumpy expression.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An was already used to the way the man did things, so he wasn¡¯t as worried as before. ¡°Replying to your majesty, there have already been some results from the investigation over the past few days¡­¡±

    Then, he told the emperor about Ou Wu, Murong Luo, and the other things that had urred, but he didn¡¯t bring up Xin Rui¡¯s little brother yet.

    He wasn¡¯t scared of the other Embroidered Envoys secretly telling the emperor anything. After all, he hadn¡¯t obtained anything conclusive on this matter yet, so it was understandable for him to not report things he wasn¡¯t sure of.

    ¡°Xuanwu Gate, Chongwen Gate¡­¡± The emperor¡¯s eyes narrowed. He thought to himself, Zhao Jing¡¯s hands are reaching deeper and deeper. These were all vital positions.

    ¡°You¡¯ve done well. You may leave now,¡± the emperor said. There was no need to discuss what he was going to do with the information with this brat. He didn¡¯t have the qualifications to know about these things.

    ¡°Understood!¡±

    ¡­

    When Zu An left the study, he felt as if all of the resentment that had umted inside of him had suddenly disappeared.

    The emperor is still human, not a god. He isn¡¯t omniscient and omnipotent. Like hell his divine senses cover the entire imperial pce! I can still remember clearly what I did to the empressst night, yet this emperor knows fuck-all. The emperor still treated me like a random servant, but these methods that used to be scary now only seemughable.

    What dogsh*t number one under the sky? You¡¯re nothing more than a loser in my eyes. One day, my cultivation will surpass yours.

    ¡°Look at how cocky you¡¯re getting. Who else apart from you would suddenly gain so much confidence after just ying with a woman?¡± Mi Li suddenly appeared out of nowhere, rolling her eyes at him.

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed. ¡°You really can read my thoughts?¡±

    Mi Li snorted. ¡°As if I need to read your thoughts to know what you are thinking. Even a fool can guess from how high-spirited you look.¡±

    Zu An calmly looked at her, and then he deliberately thought to himself, One day, I¡¯m going to strip youpletely naked.

    Mi Li¡¯s brows rose sharply and her palm struck straight at Zu An¡¯s face. However, this time, he dodged even more quickly and narrowly evaded it.

    ¡°Hah, you¡¯re actually using the movement technique I taught you to deal with me¡­¡± Mi Li ground her teeth. She was getting angrier and angrier.

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for +233 +233 +233¡­

    Zu An immediately cried out loudly, ¡°And you¡¯re still saying you can¡¯t read my thoughts!¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s something wrong with your expression.¡± Mi Li¡¯s expression suddenly changed. ¡°It looks as though you¡¯re thinking nonsense about me after all.¡± She could no longer hold herself back. She controlled the Tai¡¯e Sword and continued to hit his head.

    The nearby maids and eunuchs couldn¡¯t help but whisper among themselves.

    ¡°Is that sir training? Why does it look so weird?¡±

    ¡°His head really is hard. He¡¯s not breaking down even after being hit by that sword again and again.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s probably practicing some sword controlling technique, right?¡±

    ¡­

    The Embroidered Envoy found news of Xin Rui¡¯s little brother a dayter. Their people had found her little brother Hua Bao in a Gaoling County casino. However, the casino had been too chaotic at the time, so he got away.

    ¡°What?!¡± Zu An was furious. These Embroidered Envoys who specialized in such matters had actually let an ordinary gambling addict get away?

 Chapter 747: Watched

    <h4>Chapter 747: Watched</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An barked sternly, ¡°Who were the ones in charge of this matter? Arrest everyone involved!¡±

    His first reaction was to think that there was something wrong with the Embroidered Envoys. Otherwise, how could Hua Bao have gotten away? However, Xin Rui¡¯s little brother really had a crappy name. Didn¡¯t it basically mean ¡®straw bag¡¯? What the hell were his parents thinking?

    The two Embroidered Envoys reported, ¡°The one in charge of the troops this time was Sir Xiao. He immediately locked up all of the members involved in the case in Gaoling County¡¯s prison.¡±

    The two silver token envoys Zu An was speaking to were named Dai Seventh and Chen Eighth. They had been working with Zu An all throughout the case.

    Zu An had thought that their names were just nicknames at first, but they were actually their real names. What kind of careless parents would name their kids this way? He had felt that these two names were just too good to not be made a pair, so he had put them together.

    It wasn¡¯t just their names; they were both quite young, but both of them seemed to have some hair issues. Dai Seventh¡¯s hair was receding from the sides into an M shape, while Chen Eighth was the opposite, balding from the center like the Mediterranean Sea. Zu An thought that he had run into his programmer friend from his past life the first time he saw Chen Eighth.

    As for this Xiao Jianren they were talking about, he was another silver token envoy. He had voiced quite a few suggestions during the Xin Rui case investigation, so he was definitely a sharp fellow. He had left Zu An with a deep impression.

    Apart from the golden token envoys, who were a bit more mysterious, the names of the other envoys weren¡¯t a secret. At the very least, they were known among the Embroidered Envoy.

    ¡°Xiao Jianren¡­¡± Zu An muttered to himself. They hadn¡¯t found Xin Rui¡¯s corpse in the pce back then, nor could they find records of her leaving through Xuanwu Gate. It was Xiao Jianren who had suggested that Xin Rui¡¯s corpse might have been brought out of the pce, which had led them to begin investigating the records of other gates. Did this fe deliberately mislead me from the start?

    But it was pointless to think about that too much without taking a look for himself first. Zu An had Dai Eighth and Chen Seventh call over some Embroidered Envoys, then they headed toward Gaoling County.

    Gaoling County wasn¡¯t far from the capital. It was just a satellite town of the capital, somewhere on the outskirts. They quickly arrived at the yamen, where Gaoling County¡¯s magistrate weed them cautiously. He was scared that he might be med as well now that the investigation had led them to his territory. All officials, civil and military, were extremely fearful of the Embroidered Envoy''s vicious reputation.

    ¡°Who decided on this arrangement?¡± Zu An asked, surprised.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Dai Seventh replied, ¡°It was Sir Xiao who arranged this. After the arrest¡¯s failure, the first thing he did was to detain all of the Embroidered Envoys involved, the boss of the casino, as well as all rted personnel.¡±

    Zu An nodded inwardly. This Xiao Jianren really is quite formidable. Then, he quickly arranged for some of his men to interrogate those who were part of the operation. The Embroidered Envoy specialized in this field.

    But after two hours, they didn¡¯t find anything suspicious. Zu An wasn¡¯t able to obtain any new information even when he personally interrogated Xiao Jianren. That shouldn¡¯t have been the case unless these people were all in on it together, but it really was hard to imagine that so many Embroidered Envoys would be colluding over this.

    Every single Embroidered Envoy¡¯s background had been strictly investigated. It might be possible for one or two traitors to be present, but it waspletely impossible for so many of them to have rebelled together.

    ¡°So many of you went to capture a single person, yet he got away? I need an exnation for this,¡± Zu An said as he looked at the report. Hua Bao didn¡¯t even have any cultivation. Forget about the Embroidered Envoy, he shouldn¡¯t even have been able to get away from an ordinary bailiff.

    Xiao Jianren said in a low voice, ¡°Sir Eleven, I¡¯ve been thinking over this case all this time. Too many coincidences took ce during Hua Bao¡¯s escape. I believe there are only two possibilities. The first is that there are moles within our operation, and the other is that there¡¯s something wrong with the casino. I suspect that they might have aided Hua Bao¡¯s escape, but there¡¯s unfortunately no proof. We can only detain them for now.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed. Recently, if it wasn¡¯t the emperor, then he had been dealing mainly with kings and other high officials. He had subconsciously disregarded the casino¡¯s staff as passers-by. He quickly ordered Chen Eighth, ¡°Bring over the boss of the casino.¡±

    Before Chen Eighth could even move, another Embroidered Envoy reported in rm, ¡°Bad news; the casino¡¯s boss, Ning Hao, has died!¡±

    ¡°What!?¡± Zu An quickly got up and ran to Ning Hao¡¯s room. Xiao Jianren and the others followed him. They had just undergone strict questioning, so they were pretty much free from suspicion.

    They quickly saw the casino owner¡¯s corpse. Ning Hao was seated in a corner with his back to the wall, an expression of horror frozen on his face. He had already passed away a long time ago.

    ¡°Who came into contact with him during this period?¡± Zu An¡¯s eyes shot towardsGaoling County¡¯s magistrate.

    ¡°No¡­ no one! All of them were kept under close watch after these individuals had been detained, for fear that something might happen. No one was allowed to approach them!¡± The Gaoling County magistrate wiped the cold sweat on his forehead.

    Hua Bao escaping from the casino was troublesome, but it wasn¡¯t too big of a deal. However, a prisoner had been silenced under his county prison¡¯s management. This was now a huge problem. Even losing his post wouldn¡¯t be the worst oue at this point. If his entire family were banished to serve a penal sentence, then they really would be done for.

    Zu An squatted down by the corpse and examined him. His brows furrowed. Then, he gestured at his subordinates to investigate the corpse. This was another one of their specialties.

    The result came soon afterward. An Envoy reported, ¡°There were no wounds or poison. He seems to have died from extreme shock.¡±

    Zu An frowned. These casino bosses probably all had a bit of a dark past. All of them were frighteningly bold. How could he possibly have died from fear?

    Furthermore, based on the intelligence they had, this Ning Hao was close to a sixth rank cultivator. After all, it was impossible for someone engaged in this type of business near the capital to not have any strength.

    Xiao Jianren was a famous know-it-all from the Embroidery House. Even though his cultivation wasn¡¯t anything special, the fact that he could take the silver token envoy post had been because he had read enough books. He had read through almost everything in the Embroidery House.

    Xiao Jianren said, ¡°Replying to sir, there are three possibilities. The first would be that a grandmaster killed him through their divine will, and the second would be that a Fiend Race individual used sorcery. It¡¯s rumored that they¡¯re proficient in some kind of mystical art that can lock onto a target based on their birth data and personal items. The third possibility would be that someone from one of the races that cultivate special abilities, such as the Dragon Race¡¯s Soulspeak, could also silently end his life. It¡¯s all my fault for sending them to an ordinary county prison. If he had been in the Embroidery House, the special runes there would have been able to block most of these powers.¡±

    Sensing Xiao Jianren¡¯s vexation, Zu An said in constion, ¡°You¡¯ve already done quite well. None of us could have predicted that this would happen. It¡¯s not your fault.¡±

    He quickly deduced that, as there were only a few grandmasters in this world, they were unlikely to attack a mere casino boss. He had witnessed Dragon Soulspeak before; it was simr to his Keyboard Come ability, so that was indeed possible. Meanwhile, even though the Fiend Races mostly lived in the bordends, after centuries of war, many Fiend Race individuals had mixed into the world of humans.

    For example, Snow and Yun Yuqing were both Fiend Race individuals who had sessfully integrated into human society.[1] Various powers in the capital had raised Fiend Race experts as well. However, it was hard to say which n had done this.

    As such, Zu An immediately made arrangements. He had Xiao Jianren return to the Embroidery House to investigate which ns had raised Fiend Race experts. Xiao Jianren was familiar with the capital¡¯s situation, so he was most suitable for this job.

    Meanwhile, Zu An himself began to interrogate everyone else from the casino. Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t obtain any useful information even after questioning them all the way into the night. The only ones left from the casino were all some young workers who didn¡¯t know much about their boss. They only knew that he¡¯d had a mysterious background, and he seemed to have had a backer from the capital. Unfortunately, Ning Hao had always remained quiet about who this backer was.

    Zu An knew that this trail wouldn¡¯t lead anywhere. As such, he decided to return to the capital first and rushed back.

    On the way, however, he suddenly frowned and quickly pulled back his reins.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Sir Eleven?¡± the other Embroidered Envoys asked. Zu An didn¡¯t reply because he felt a strange sensation, as if he were being watched.

    1. Yun Yuqing is the Demon Race wife Zu An slept with in the prison. They were also attacked by dark elves.

 Chapter 748: Something I Need Your Help With

    <h4>Chapter 748: Something I Need Your Help With</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An didn¡¯t say anything as he used the jade badge to control the smaller creatures around him and check his surroundings. Unfortunately, many of the smaller creatures had been scared off when their group stormed over. There were some insects, but he couldn¡¯t see much through their eyes.

    After some hesitation, he called out to Mi Li. ¡°Big sis empress, help me look around to see who¡¯s spying on me.¡±

    Mi Li saidzily, ¡°I¡¯m sleeping; figure it out yourself.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. This woman really needs to be taught a good lesson! Even though he knew she didn¡¯t want him to rely on her too much, as that would affect his cultivation, there were times when he really wanted to give her a good whacking. What am I going to whack her with? Do you even need to ask?

    ¡°Be on your guard! Investigate the surroundings,¡± Zu An warned while taking the lead. Unfortunately, even though he moved quickly, he didn¡¯t detect anything in the surroundings

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    He smelled a vague, faint fragrance, but he wasn¡¯t sure whether it just came from some flowers in the fields. Even though the scent felt familiar for some reason, he couldn¡¯t recall just where he had smelled it.

    ¡°Leader, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Dai Seventh and Chen Eighth asked as they ran over. They hadn¡¯t found anything from their search either.

    ¡°I feel as if someone was following me,¡± Zu An replied while thinking to himself.

    ¡°That can¡¯t be, right? Who would dare go against the Embroidered Envoy? Let alone when we¡¯re still in the capital¡¯s domain?¡± The two of them couldn¡¯t believe such a thing.

    Zu Anughed in self-mockery. The Embroidered Envoy must have gotten so used to being high and mighty that they had developed a crazy sense of self-confidence. The same thing had happened when Huang Huihong had escorted him to the capital, but look at him now. Weeds were already growing all over his grave.

    However, he remained silent and ordered them to remain vignt. Then, he returned to the capital with a group of people. Even though it was already night and the city gates were closed, Embroidered Envoys had special status. After their waist tokens were inspected, the soldiers still opened up a small side door to let them in.

    Zu An no longer felt that sensation of being watched at any point on the way back. He shook his head. Was he really so tense that he had be a bit paranoid?

    He decided to go back to the Embroidery House first and saw Xiao Jianren flipping through all sorts of information in their database. As they hadn¡¯t really gotten any results, he ordered everyone to go home and rest first, and then continue the investigation tomorrow.

    Xiao Jianren voiced his understanding, but his eyes were still darting to the files on the table. His mind was clearly still on those files.

    Zu An chuckled inwardly. This fellow really was a workaholic. I¡¯m sure those 996 capitalists would love to have this type of worker.[1]

    When he left the Embroidery House, Zu An thought to himself that it had been a long time since he had returned to his home. Thus, he left the pce and headed home first.

    But when he reached a nearby alley, he suddenly frowned. He sensed that someone was hiding ahead. Was the spy finally going to be unmasked?

    Zu An walked over calmly. At the same time, he was confused. Could it be that this person knows I have something to do with Golden Token Eleven? That shouldn¡¯t be the case, right? Then why is this person waiting to ambush me?

    When he felt he was close enough, Zu An suddenly attacked, grabbing the person¡¯s shoulder. Huh? It feels like a normal person¡­?

    ¡°Ah!¡± came a suppressed scream. However, when the person saw that it was Zu An, his shout came to a halt with a grunt. ¡°So it was Sir Zu; you finally came back.¡±

    ¡°Little Zhuo?¡± Zu An asked, startled. This was the lesser eunuch from the Pce of Peace. The assassin attack previously had caused them to lose a lot of eunuchs, so both he and Little Gui had been promoted. He continued, ¡°What are you doing here sote at night?¡± The other party wasn¡¯t wearing his eunuch uniform, so he looked just like an ordinarymoner.

    Little Zhuo replied, ¡°I was waiting for Sir Zu, of course, but you didn¡¯t return for a long time.¡±

    ¡°Why were you looking for me?¡± Zu An asked out of curiosity.

    ¡°The empress told me to pass on a message. She has invited sir to inspect a treasure,¡± Little Zhuo replied somewhat vacantly. He didn¡¯t know why the empress would ask for Sir Zu. However, he sensibly chose not to think too much about it. In the pce, the less you knew, the better.

    Zu An almost burst outughing. That empress had been left in a drought for so long she had ended up getting hooked.

    Mi Li suddenly said, ¡°That Liu Ning really is the shame of all empresses. Utterly disgraceful.¡±

    Zu An smiled, amused. He said through ki transmission, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say she was going to use me to recover from her injuries? It might not be as bad as you made it sound.¡±

    ¡°She needs treatment, but looking for you so frequently clearly means she has other needs as well.¡± Mi Li harrumphed. This fe is like a freaking donkey! No wonder Liu Ning, that vixen, couldn¡¯t forget the taste after experiencing it once.

    Zu An chuckled when he sensed her resentment. He told Little Zhuo, ¡°I¡¯ll have to trouble you to report to the empress that there¡¯s no need to inspect the treasure. Perhaps another day.¡±

    Little Zhuo panicked and asked, ¡°How can we subjects refuse the orders of an empress?¡±

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you only need to deliver my words to her. She won¡¯t me you.¡± Little Zhuo couldn¡¯t convince him, so he could only leave nervously.

    Mi Li asked curiously, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you following him back? Even though that vixen is a bit of a slut, she¡¯s decent looking. Furthermore, I¡¯m sure that sleeping with her feels incredible.¡±

    Zu An gave her a warm look. ¡°Since you don¡¯t like it, I won¡¯t go. I¡¯ll stay here with you instead.¡±

    Mi Li¡¯s fair cheeks quickly reddened. ¡°Get lost! Who wants yourpany? I¡¯m going to go cultivate!¡± She harrumphed and disappeared into a wisp of smoke.

    Even though this woman was normally fierce, Zu An had already learned how to deal with her from being around her for a while. As for why he had refused Liu Ning, the main reason was that he didn¡¯t want to turn into the empress¡¯ tool. He understood the reasoning behind pushing and pulling.

    He had researched too much in the field of green tea and sea king in his past world, so how could he let Liu Ning seize the advantage?[2] He had managed to curry some favor from Mi Li as well.

    At this point, he was even starting to look down on himself. He had once condemned all those sea kings and green tea bitches with righteous indignation in the past, but wasn¡¯t he having a great time doing the same thing right now?

    When he returned home, Zu An noticed that the building was brightly lit. He rushed inside happily, and sure enough, a stunning, icy-blue figure was standing there. He couldn¡¯t help but pounce on her, and then he began to shower her with kisses.

    Chu Chuyan jumped in fright. But when she saw who it was, her body softened up and subconsciously weed him. The two of them embraced each other for a while longer. She suddenly remembered something, and then her face reddened. She pushed Zu An away and said charmingly, ¡°There¡¯s someone else here¡­¡±

    Zu An turned around. Chu Youzhao and Murong Qinghe were staring at the two of them with stupefied expressions. Chu Youzhao¡¯s fair skin waspletely red, while Murong Qinghe had healthy tanned skin. The two of them really did look like a good match.

    Zu An gave Chu Chuyan an upset look and said, ¡°Why do you always have these third wheels wherever you go?¡±

    Chu Youzhao had been happy to see Zu An, but she immediately became unhappy when she heard his words. ¡°Third wheel? You should thank me for helping you, or else big sis would have been stolen by another man already!¡±

    Murong QInghe tugged on her sleeves. ¡°It¡¯s not like that at all. My brother was just enthusiastic; he doesn¡¯t have any other intentions.¡±

    When she saw Chu Chuyan act like a pampered little girl in front of Zu An, thenpared it to how cold and aloof she was in front of Murong Luo, she sighed inside. She had to tell her n brother to give up; there was no hope at all.

    Zu An obviously knew that they were talking about Murong Luo. However, with his current status, there shouldn¡¯t be any reason for him to know what had happened in that building, so he didn¡¯t say anything. Either way, an ant like Murong Luo would never affect his rtionship with Chuyan.

    Just then, he noticed that there were many cases in the house, and he was surprised. ¡°Did someone bring gifts?¡±

    Chu Chuyan gave Murong Qinghe a look. The little girl pursed her lips and said, ¡°Big brother Zu, I was the one who brought these gifts this time. I was wondering if you could help me with something.¡±

    Then, she exined why she hade over. When the Embroidered Envoys had left, Murong Luo had sighed in relief. But soon afterward, some vicious soldiers had seized him. He seemed to have been implicated in the crown princess¡¯ case. Sir Eleven had expressed his friendship with Zu An previously. Furthermore, Zu An was now the Eastern Pce¡¯s chambein, so Murong Qinghe had figured that he could save her brother.

    ¡°So that was what it was.¡± Zu An looked at the little lioness with an ambiguous smile. He shook his head and said, ¡°No way.¡±

    1. A derogatory term forbor in China. It refers to working from 9 AM to 9 PM, 6 days a week.

    2. A ¡®green tea bitch¡¯ is a girl who looks prim and proper, but is a crazy bitch. A ¡®sea king¡¯ is a yboy.

 Chapter 749, Part 1: Ambush and Black-Clad Woman

    <h4>Chapter 749, Part 1: Ambush and ck-d Woman</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Why?¡± Murong Qinghe was stupefied. Wouldn¡¯t normal people at least refuse tactfully? That way, she could at least still ept it. Yet this fellow didn¡¯t behave the expected way at all and had refused so ruthlessly.

    Zu An remarked indifferently, ¡°Why would I save a man who approached my wife with bad intentions?¡±

    Murong Qinghe bit her lip. However, her tone eased up as well. ¡°I know my n brother was wrong, but I think he¡¯s already been taught enough of a lesson. Also, I can promise you that he definitely won¡¯t have any thoughts he shouldn¡¯t have in the future, or else I¡¯ll help you beat him up.¡±

    ¡°It sounds like you previously approved of him getting close to Chuyan¡­?¡± Zu An¡¯s voice became increasingly cold.

    Chu Youzhao began to panic as she listened from the side. She was about to speak out for her childhood friend, but Chu Chuyan grabbed her sleeve and shook her head. She clearly realized that something was off too.

    When they went out for a walk that day, Murong Qinghe seemed to have deliberately led them towards Chongwen Gate. She hadn¡¯t felt any suspicion back then, but now, it seemed as if she had deliberately yed the matchmaker.

    ¡°I¡¯m really sorry.¡± Murong Qinghe had only thought that her n brother could help her with Chu Youzhao if he ended up with Chu Chuyan, and all of them would be even closer then. However, even though she was normally quite bold, how could she bring out such a reason now? She could only apologize shamefully.

    Zu An remained indifferent. He sat down on a chair off to the side and poured some tea. He seemed to be implying for her to leave when he began to sip his tea. Murong Qinghe felt more and more sullen. It was too awkward to stay, yet if she left now, she would be hostile with the Chu n. She was stuck in a dilemma.

    Chu Chuyan couldn¡¯t bear to watch any longer and said, ¡°Qinghe, we¡¯ve known each other for a long time now. If you have anything you wish to say, you can say it directly to me. There¡¯s no need to y these types of tricks.¡±

    ¡°Sorry, big sis Chu. I won¡¯t do it again.¡± Murong Qinghe was also incredibly vexed. She really had gonepletely stupid this time. She had seen just how close Chu Chuyan and Zu An were, yet she¡¯d actually thought that her idiot of a n brother had a chance of sess!

    Chu Chuyan smiled, and then looked at Zu An. ¡°Ah Zu, Little Qinghe has already admitted her wrongs. She¡¯s been good friends with Chu Youzhao since she was little, and she¡¯s also a good friend of mine. Let¡¯s just leave this matter at that.¡±

    ¡°Since you¡¯re the one saying so, then how can I be unreasonable?¡± A gentle smile appeared on Zu An¡¯s face.

    ¡°Brother-inw is the best!¡± Chu Youzhao had been really hard-pressed this entire time as well. On one side was her childhood friend, while on the other was her sister and brother-inw. She had really felt awful being in the middle. Now that she saw that they had already buried the hatchet, she finally sighed in relief.

    ¡°Big brother Zu really is generous.¡± Murong Qinghe bit her lip. After a bit of hesitation, she asked, ¡°Then, about my n brother¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not impossible for me to save him, but you have to promise me something,¡± Zu An said seriously.

    Murong Qinghe quickly smiled and said, ¡°Big brother Zu, please speak! Forget about a single condition, even if it¡¯s ten, I can agree to all of them!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t count your chickens before they hatch.¡± Zu An had an ambiguous smile on his face. ¡°My condition isn¡¯t something so easily met.¡±

    Murong Qinghe gulped when she saw his strange smile. ¡°What kind of condition is it?¡±

    Chu Chuyan and Chu Youzhao pricked up their ears, but Zu An waved his hand, gesturing for them to leave first. Chu Chuyan frowned, but she didn¡¯t say anything. She knew that there was someone else who definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to hold herself back.

    Sure enough, Chu Youzhao immediately shouted, ¡°Why do we have to go outside too? Are you going to bully Little Qinghe?¡±

    Murong Qinghe cried out in rm and subconsciously took a step back. She was on guard as she looked at Zu An.

    Zu An really was left speechless. Eventually he asked, ¡°Am I really that bad in your eyes?¡±

    Chu Youzhao and Murong Qinghe both nodded at the same time as the scene of how he had tormented Chu Chuyan appeared in their heads. Ah¡­ Our faces are heating up.

    Zu An said impatiently, ¡°I need to discuss the condition with her. You guys are close, so of course you¡¯ll defend her. How can I discuss these things with her if you two speak on her behalf? But if I don¡¯t help her, she might have a grudge. That¡¯s why it¡¯ll be better if you two aren¡¯t here.¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Chu Chuyan knew what he was saying. She said with a smile, ¡°Then we¡¯ll wait for you next door.¡± Then, before Chu Youhao could say anything in response, she grabbed her and left.

    ¡­

    While the sisters were next door, Chu Youzhao paced back and forth in agitation. At the same time, she pressed her ears against the wall to see if she could hear anything.

    Chu Chuyan gave her an annoyed look and asked, ¡°What are you so worried about?¡±

    Chu Youzhao harrumphed. ¡°Who knows what that perverted brother-inw will do to Little Qinghe!¡±

    ¡°Your brother-inw isn¡¯t that type of person.¡± Chu Chuyan blushed as she spoke. She quickly exined, ¡°Even though he¡¯s¡­ a bit perverted, he¡¯s able to discern between simple and serious matters. He won¡¯t do anything to Little Qinghe. It¡¯s instead you that I¡¯m concerned about. Why do you care so much? What kind of thoughts do you have toward Qinghe?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean, what kind of thoughts?¡± Chu Youzhao asked, stunned.

    Chu Chuyan sighed. ¡°Did you forget that you¡¯re a girl? No matter how good your rtionship with her is, you can never get married. The reason you got close to her was just so she could help you hide your true identity. But what if you really forget your true mission?¡±

    Chu Youhao curled her lips and said quietly, ¡°I understand.¡± She couldn¡¯t help but be sad.

    Chu Chuyan then said, ¡°It¡¯s because we have to let down Little Qinghe that we have to do our best to make it up to her. That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t bicker too much about how she tried to set me up with her n brother. Afterward, I¡¯ll try to convince your brother-inw to help her too.¡±

    Chu Youzhao voiced her understanding. She seemed a bit unhappy to be reminded that the two of them had no future.

    Chu Chuyan sighed. They really had treated her unfairly¡­ The Chu n had ced all of the responsibility on her little sister, and a youngdy¡¯s happiness might even be affected.

    Chu Youzhao¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up. She said excitedly, ¡°I just thought of a perfect solution that will satisfy everyone!¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Chu Chuyan was confused. She didn¡¯t know what could make her little sister suddenly be so happy.

    Chu Youzhao said, ¡°I can marry Little Qinghe!¡±

    Chu Chuyan retorted impatiently, ¡°What are you thinking? You might be able to trick her now, but what about after you get married? You can¡¯t consummate the marriage.¡±

    ¡°Brother-inw can take my ce,¡± Chu Youzhao said matter-of-factly. Chu Chuyan was left speechless.

    Chu Youzhao continued, ¡°I believe that with how Qinghe feels about me, she won¡¯t care that I¡¯m a girl. But we still need a child, and it¡¯ll be too unfortunate if Qinghe can never experience the feeling of a man. We can just get brother-inw to help¡­ Ah! Big sis, why are you hitting me? Ouch¡­ ouch, ouch¡­¡±

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, on the other side, Zu An sized up Murong Qinghe. He had to admit that she was a beauty in the making. Her tanned skin gave her a healthy and fit aesthetic. She seemed extremely lively and energetic.

    Murong Qinghe was a bit frightened when she saw that he was examining her. She asked, ¡°Big brother Zu, what is the condition?¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°I¡¯ve never been all that charitable of a person. I don¡¯t really have any interest in helping people who have nothing to do with me. That¡¯s true for you as well, unless¡­ you be one of my people.¡±

    Murong Qinghe jumped in fright. She quickly covered her cor and said, ¡°Big brother Chu and I have been childhood lovers since we were young, and you¡¯re his sister¡¯s husband. How can you¡­¡±

    Zu An cut her off impatiently. ¡°What kind of nonsense are you thinking about? I¡¯m asking you if you like Youzhao.¡±

    Murong Qinghe¡¯s face instantly turned red. She gave the wall an embarrassed look. There were many things she couldn¡¯t say because of her youngdy¡¯s bashfulness, but she was a bit of a tomboy anyway, so she was a bit bolder. After a bit of hesitation, she still quietly voiced a confirmation.

    ¡°How much do you like him?¡± Zu An asked. ¡°What if he encountered something one day and was no longer the way he looks now¡­ or what if he got injured and became a cripple? What would you do? Would you still like him?¡± Um¡­ she doesn¡¯t have one down there, so that could be considered somewhat simr to being a cripple, right? Sigh¡­ Youzhao, Youzhao¡­ Look how far I am going for your sake.

    Murong Qinghe immediately cut him off. A firm and steady expression appeared on her face. ¡°I like who he is, and not anything else. No matter what kind of person he bes, I will still like him. Also, I¡¯ve already vowed to myself that I won¡¯t marry anyone other than big brother Chu in this life.¡±

 Chapter 749, Part 2: Ambush and Black-Clad Woman

    <h4>Chapter 749, Part 2: Ambush and ck-d Woman</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    When he saw how unswerving the youngdy was, Zu An found it a bit hard to watch. He said, ¡°You¡¯re still young, so there¡¯s no need for you to make such an early decision. Youzhao might not be as good as you¡¯re imagining him¡­¡±

    The little girl immediately frowned and clenched her fists, eximing angrily, ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to speak badly about big brother Chu!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Murong Qinghe for +233 +233 +233¡­

    Zu An was speechless. Looks like I was worried for nothing. Whatever, girl on girl is pretty interesting in itself. As such, he said, ¡°In that case, confirm your rtionship with Youzhao. That way, you¡¯ll be one of us, so I¡¯ll have a reason to help you out.¡±

    The usually carefree and bold youngdy instead became bashful when she heard Zu An¡¯s words. She continued to twiddle her fingers while walking around in ce. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ That¡¯s not too good, is it? I don¡¯t know if big brother Chu is willing or not¡­ Ah¡­ This is so embarrassing¡­¡±

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help butugh when he saw her acting like a little girl. A girl in love was cute after all. He said, ¡°You¡¯ll know whether he¡¯s willing or not once you ask.¡± Then, he quickly called over the other two.

    ¡°Huh? Big brother Chu, why are you holding your bottom?¡± Murong Qinghe was always concerned about her lover. She immediately noticed something was strange.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Chu Youzhao gave her big sister a resentful look. This woman really is vicious! I was only going to borrow brother-inw for a bit, it¡¯s not as if I was going to find him a concubine or something¡­ Why did you have to get so mad?

    Zu An gave them a rough summary of what he had just said. Chu Youzhao was happy and excited, saying, ¡°Of course I like Little Qinghe too! Little Qinghe is so cute; who wouldn¡¯t like her?¡±

    ¡°Ah¡­¡± Murong Qinghe covered her mouth. She was so happy she was beaming.

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°In that case, then just get this matter over with. I have a lot of empty rooms here, so the two of you can decide your rtionship in one of them.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Murong Qinghe was stunned. Even though she adored her big brother Chu, she still came from a great n. Her upbringing taught her that such behavior was crude and definitely offended public morals.

    But if it¡¯s big brother Chu¡­ She gave Chu Youzhao¡¯s handsome side profile a look. Her heart was pounding fiercely. If big brother Chu really wants to, then should I really refuse him?

    Chu Youzhao gave Zu An a nervous look. ¡°Brother-inw, you¡­¡±

    She thought that her brother-inw had forgotten that she was a girl. Why would he make her sleep with Murong Qinghe? Don¡¯t tell me he heard what I said to big sis?

    Chu Chuyan was thinking the same thing. The two sisters gave him a strange look.

    Zu An was instead baffled. What the heck are these two looking at me like that for?

    Chu Chuyan coughed lightly. She couldn¡¯t take it anymore. ¡°They¡¯re still too young; it¡¯s a bit too early for that.¡±

    Murong Qinghe was a youngdy after all. She couldn¡¯t resist her embarrassment anymore and quickly said, ¡°I¡¯m leaving first.¡± Then, she rushed out of the door. She quickly left with the servants waiting at the entrance, as if she were fleeing.

    Chu Chuyan finally couldn¡¯t hold back when she saw her leave and said, ¡°Ah Zu, what in the world are you thinking? You already know that Youzhao is¡­ Why are you making them sleep together?¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you felt she would agree?¡±

    Chu Chuyan was stunned. Only now did she realize that Murong Qinghe, who hade from an influential family, would never agree to sleeping together before marriage.

    Zu An then exined, ¡°This way, even fewer people will suspect that Youzhao is crossdressing. In the future, Murong Qinghe will be the greatest supporter of that.¡±

    Chu Youzhao suddenly experienced sorrow that didn¡¯t match her age. ¡°But I still tricked her¡­ Won¡¯t she hate me in the future once she learns the truth?¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, Could it be that love really makes one mature earlier?

    Chu Chuyan said, ¡°Indeed, we¡¯re really letting down Qinghe here. That¡¯s why, Ah Zu, can you help her with this matter? Otherwise, we¡¯ll feel too guilty.¡±

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s just a trifling Murong Luo; it¡¯s not a big deal. I¡¯ll try to save him.¡±

    Chu Chuyan sighed in relief. She gave him a warm look. ¡°Ah Zu, you really are great.¡±

    Chu Youzhao subconsciously wrapped her arms around herself. ¡°Ah! You guys are so corny! Whatever, I won¡¯t stay here and disturb you two anymore. I¡¯m going to sleep! But¡­ Can you two not make so much noise at night?¡± She was scared that she might get beaten again, and ran away while giggling.

    Chu Chuyan was ashamed and panicky. ¡°It¡¯s all your fault that she makes fun of me for this every time!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll give her a good spanking tomorrow to get revenge for you.¡± Zu An chuckled, and then took her into his arms.

    Chu Chuyan harrumphed. ¡°You just wanted to take advantage of her.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face went rigid. ¡°How can you doubt your husband¡¯s integrity like this? Your husband is going to punish you with the nw!¡±

    ¡°What nw?¡± Chu Chuyan¡¯s normally cold eyes became misty. There was a warm smile hanging from her lips as well.

    ¡°Whip punishment!¡± Zu An moved closer to her ear, and then softly kissed her ice-cold and smooth earlobe.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s entire body trembled. Then, her body softened. This guy! He¡¯s always touching my most sensitive spots.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The ice-cold goddess had alreadypletely thawed and fallen into the world of mortals.

    ¡­

    The next morning, Zu An headed to the imperial pce feeling refreshed. Chu Chuyan was a girl who was cold on the outside, but warm on the inside. Everyone thought that she was a capable woman who pushed men far away, as she had a reputation as the one who managed the Chu n¡¯s affairs.

    He was the only one who knew what kind of tender being rested underneath that tough shell. She actually had a young girl¡¯s heart, and she was full of all manner of romantic fantasies. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have been so obsessed with the ¡®Domineering Sword Immortal¡¯ novel. A warm smile appeared on Zu An¡¯s face when he recalled the previous night.

    ¡°Huh? Why are the streets so empty today? Is everyone still in bed?¡± Suddenly, he noticed that the originally bustling streets were now bleak instead. While he was a bit confused, he suddenly became alert. He saw a streak of dark light flying toward him out of the corner of his eye.

    He quickly evaded to the side. Unfortunately, that dark light was just too fast. It was far faster than the dark elves¡¯ ambush he had faced on his way to the capital. Even so, with his current cultivation, it wasn¡¯t impossible to escape. He would just be left in a bit of a sorry state.

    However, the moment he dodged, he felt pain in the back of his head. It was as if he had been stabbed by a needle. Even though he quickly recovered, that sh of dark light had already arrived in front of him in that instant.

    Only now did he see that it was arge arrow¡­ No, it was many times thicker than an arrow. It was as thick as a mature man¡¯s arm!

    A siege crossbow! Those words appeared in Zu An¡¯s mind. He didn¡¯t know why such arge-scale military weapon would appear here.

    He could only do his best to avoid getting hit in his vital areas. Still, the massive crossbow bolt dug straight into the right side of his chest.

    Boom!

    The force that struck in that instant felt as if he had been rammed into by a speeding train. He was blown back by the tremendous force, and nailed to a nearby wall.

    ¡°Hmph, I heard this fe was quite amazing. Wasn¡¯t he still easily done in by a siege crossbow?¡±

    ¡°Hurry and take apart the siege crossbow; we can¡¯t leave behind any information. You guys, go and remove his head.¡±

    ¡°Huh? That fe really is sturdy. If it were a normal cultivator, half of their body would have been blown apart.¡±

    Voices spoke one after another. Zu An didn¡¯t open his eyes, and instead used the jade badge to observe his surroundings through the small birds in the trees.

    There was an opening in the second floor of a nearby residence; inside of it was a massive crossbow. Several ck-d individuals were moving about next to it.

    Some stayed behind and quickly dismantled the crossbows, while two other ck-d individuals rushed at Zu An with des in hand.

    Zu An frowned. The power of the attack had just been too great. That siege crossbow bolt in particr had all types of runes engraved on it. Fortunately, he had undergone the Primordial Origin Sutra¡¯s refinement, so his body was incredibly tough. His body didn¡¯t explode under the impact, and it was quickly repairing his wounds.

    But even though he was still alive, the huge impact had ravaged his meridians. He still needed a dozen or so seconds before he could fight again. In a normal situation, that amount of time would be nothing. Now, it instead seemed extremely long.

    When he saw those two ck d individuals get closer and closer, Zu An couldn¡¯t be bothered with the consequences anymore. He decided to summon Daji. As for Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s suspicion and everything else, he would deal with it when the timees.

    At the same time, he prepared to use ¡®Keyboard Come¡¯ to buy him those ten seconds of time.

    The two ck d individuals arrived at Zu An¡¯s side. They raised the des in their hands and hacked at his neck. But suddenly, another ck d individual flew over. Their hands shot out like lightning, smashing into the pair¡¯s chests. The two individuals screamed miserably as they were blown back.

    ¡°Who are you?!¡± A dozen or so figures surrounded the newly-arrived ck-d individual. They all had powerful auras, and were clearly all experts.

    Zu An had already recovered the ability to move. He quietly examined the ck d individual standing in front of him. Even though this person was d in ck, her figure was graceful and fair. She was clearly a woman.

 Chapter 750: Layers Upon Layers of Suspicion

    <h4>Chapter 750: Layers Upon Layers of Suspicion</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°A woman?¡± Zu An murmured, stunned.

    Even though the figure was masked, her wonderful curves still revealed that she was a gorgeous woman. He really couldn¡¯t figure out which girl would constantly remain hidden like this to rescue him. Yun Jianyue? But that can¡¯t be. If the Devil Sect Master herself came out here, she could immediately blow these people to smithereens.

    Zu An suddenly felt his vision blur. The familiar buildings and clean streets disappeared.

    ¡­

    The surroundings had been reced by a tattered courtyard. The tavern containing that siege crossbow had also turned into a tattered ruin. Zu An had been nailed to an earthen wall by that siege crossbo¡¯s bolt, but now, the wall was almostpletely in ruins as well.

    Why am I here? Wasn¡¯t I on the way to the pce? I should already be close to the foot of the imperial city!

    In that instant, Zu An was horrified. He thought back to what had happened. He had been shot down by that siege crossbow because it felt as if his head had been stabbed by a needle. That was why his movements had been slowed slightly for a moment.

    He eventually concluded that it was probably a cultivator proficient in the spiritual element who had created this illusion and brought him here.

    Huh? Wait¡­ Then,why does this courtyard look so familiar? He saw familiar fields, spinning wheels, and the like. He suddenly realized something. Wasn¡¯t this the home of Xin Rui¡¯s mother and younger brother, which he had investigated earlier? Why had the other person decided to bring him here?

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    But now wasn¡¯t the time to think about such things, because several ck-d individuals leaped out from the shadows, surrounding the mysterious woman.

    Three over there, five over there, seven over there¡­ There were fifteen ck-d individuals in total. Two of them were already lying listlessly on the ground. Their lives had likely already been ended by the mysterious woman.

    Three people stood at the very front. One was a stout and stocky man carrying a hammer, who seemed to focus on brute strength. Another was tall and slender, carrying a red-tasseled spear. His posture was as straight as a javelin, so he was likely quite skilled with his weapon. The third person¡¯s weapon was unique; he wore a ring around each wrist, one gold, one silver.

    Zu An paid more attention to these three because, judging from the auras that had erupted from them, they were likely seventh ranked experts. However, their weapons were so special, it likely wouldn¡¯t be hard to find out their identity through the Embroidered Envoy''s intelligencework. Of course, all of that was dependent on the premise that he could return to the Embroidery House alive first.

    The remaining seven ck-d men wielded shining des, and had cold and emotionless gazes. Their expressions were the sort that only deathsworn who often engaged in ughter could have. They looked to be around the sixth rank. Furthermore, judging from their coordination, they definitely used formation tactics and the like.

    Sending such a powerful force, and even attacking me with a siege crossbow¡­ These fes really are showing me quite a lot of respect, aren¡¯t they? Zu An thought self-deprecatingly. It was probably because of the news that he had defeated King Qi¡¯s heir that they didn¡¯t dare to look down on him.

    However, these individuals had also been misled by Zu An; they believed that some mysterious expert had helped him out, not that he had won all on his own. That was why they hadn¡¯t assigned any higher level cultivators.

    Hm? Wait, where¡¯s the spiritual element cultivator who created that illusion? Zu An quickly borrowed the eyes of the nearby small creatures. Unfortunately, most of them had run away in fear after the disturbance. He barely managed to get a hold of some small birds to get a better look. Unfortunately, there were still many ces he couldn¡¯t see, so he wasn¡¯t able to find anyone else.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± asked the expert with the gold and silver rings. The other ck-d individuals watched the mysterious woman vigntly.

    The mysterious woman remained silent. She took the opportunity to quickly observe the people around her, searching for a good opportunity to attack.

    The man with the rings frowned and waved his hands,manding, ¡°Kill her! Her corpse is yours to y around with afterward.¡±

    The seven sixth ranked, de-wielding deathsworn behind him were no longer emotionless. Instead, their expressions became fierce and¡­ lustful.

    Zu An was speechless. Judging from how excited those deathsworn looked, this was definitely not the first time they had done something like this. What the hell, what kind of disgusting fetish is this? They actually like to y with corpses!?

    The deathsworn brandished the shiny des in their hands. They rushed at the mysterious woman with excellent coordination. The three seventh ranked experts watched indifferently without lifting a finger.

    What Zu An had never understood when he watched TV was why the viins would always send theirckeys first. That gave the main character several chances to level up and get stronger. Wouldn¡¯t the situation be easily solved if they went at the protagonist themselves from the start? It would be as easy as swatting a fly.

    But after he arrived in this world of cultivation, he realized that for cultivators, unless there was truly a huge difference in cultivation, it was easy to lose due tock of knowledge about the other party¡¯s trump cards and skills.

    By having one¡¯s subordinates test the enemy out first, one would be much more prepared. As for the lives of subordinates, well, it was their fault for being subordinates.

    As the deathsworn men attacked, the mysterious woman dodged gracefully. Then, she struck the de of the one in the middle, sending it toward his chest¡¯s vital areas.

    Zu An nodded approvingly. Whether in terms of cultivation orbat experience, she was first rate. Which of the girls he knew had fighting ability and stealth capabilities on this level?

    Just as the woman was about to take care of another deathsworn, two des suddenly shot out from under his arms. One was aimed at her stomach, while the other flew toward her legs. Both des had been shot out from tricky angles.

    These individuals were clearly skilled at coordinated battles, and could cover for theirrades with their attacks. Still, the mysterious woman seemed to have anticipated that, and didn¡¯t panic at all. With a tap of her feet, she leaped into the sky, where their formation was weakest.

    Just as her palms were about to break several individuals'' skulls into pieces, two of the men in the back suddenly raised shields to protect themselves. The mysterious woman frowned, but ultimately still decided to follow through with her attack.

    The two shields flickered with runes. They were clearly top quality goods from the military. However, they were sted to pieces in mere moments. Even though the mysterious woman looked delicate and slender, her palm strikes were definitely frighteningly powerful.

    The deathsworn groaned as blood flowed from their mouths and noses.

    The three experts who were watching exchanged a look. They could sense the graveness in each others¡¯ eyes. The mysterious woman¡¯s cultivation was actually this high! The key was that they had no idea who she was. Why was she interfering with their n?

    The mysterious woman suddenly rushed into the sky. As it turned out, the instant the shields shattered, the deathsworn had suddenly fired crossbows mounted on their wrists. These military-grade crossbows had special runes carved on them, and their power up close was nothing to scoff at. Not even she dared to face them head on.

    The woman frowned. She had originally nned to use this chance to kill them, but she hadn¡¯t expected them to be so sinister. As such, she gave up on her n and instead rushed over to Zu An¡¯s side. She sealed the wound on his chest, pulling out the giant crossbow bolt and asking, ¡°Ah Zu, are you okay?¡±

    It was her? Zu An was moved. When he smelled her familiar scent and heard her melodious and soft voice, he finally realized who she was. This was the wife of King Wu whom he had previously spent a night with, Yun Yuqing!

    Who are those people that want me dead anyway? Why is she here in the capital? Also, why did she show up with such great timing? Zu An had countless questions. Furthermore, he wanted to give that spiritual element expert who was hiding in the shadows a nice surprise. That was why he pretended to be unconscious and didn¡¯t reply to her.

    ¡°Ah Zu, don¡¯t scare me like that¡­¡± Yun Yuqing¡¯s voice trembled when she saw that he didn¡¯t respond. Her fair white hands gently caressed his wounds. A faint purple light shone from them, helping Zu An heal from his terrifying injury.

    ¡°Stop her!¡± The short and stocky fellow with therge hammer barked, having seen how powerful the woman was. He could no longer hold back. He rushed out, his thick and sturdy calves even making the ground split apart under his feet. Then, he brandished the giant hammer in his hands.

    But before he even arrived, a terrifying gust of wind swept over him. A spinning wheel nearby was tossed to the side and sted to pieces. If the hammer had hit Zu An and Yun Yuqing, however, their bodies would have been pulverized instantly.

 Chapter 751: Rune Master

    <h4>Chapter 751: Rune Master</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Get lost!¡± Yun Yuqing eximed. Since Zu An was in critical condition, she was clearly unhappy. When she saw the fatty with the malicious expression run at her, she raised her hand and traced a rune symbol into the air with her finger.

    The cryptic and profound rune glowed with a purple radiance. It was as if a transparent shield had formed all around her and Zu An out of thin air.

    Contempt flickered through the short and robust man¡¯s eyes. Forget about this frail looking thing; even if it were a heavy-duty shield from the army, it wouldn¡¯t be able to handle a full-powered swing from him.

    He continued to swing his hammer forward. At the same time, he added thirty percent more power, concerned that the rune might really have some tricks. In his decades of life as a warrior, there weren¡¯t many things he couldn¡¯t smash through. If it survived the first strike, he would just swing again.

    However, the loud rupturing noise he had expected never happened. He felt as if all of his strength had sunk into a ball of cotton. His eyes almost popped out of his head, because he saw his hammer sink into the shield membrane, yet it still couldn¡¯t be torn apart.

    He used even more strength, making the membrane cave in more. It seemed just about to touch Zu An and that woman¡¯s body, but it just couldn¡¯t continue further.

    ¡°Be careful!¡± hisrade cried out in rm.

    The robust man also sensed that something was wrong. He subconsciously thought of running, but as soon as he stopped exerting force, the cotton-like shield suddenly changed. It was like a spring that had beenpressed to its limit. It would immediately expand if given even the slightest opportunity.

    The man felt an earth-shattering force rush toward him. He had used almost all of his strength earlier, so how could he hope to match it? Blood gushed out of his mouth as his body hit the ground like a broken sack of sand.

    He tried to climb to his feet, but he couldn¡¯t get back up even after trying for a long time. His body instead continued to twitch, and blood trickled out endlessly from his mouth. There were even some pieces of his internal organs mixed into the blood.

    Zu An was incredibly shocked as he ¡®watched¡¯ all of this happen. Yun Yuqing¡¯s move was just too splendid and formidable.

    The man with the red-tasseled spear and the man with the two rings quickly arrived at theirrade¡¯s side. The spear user squatted down and quickly examined his condition, saying, ¡°At least sixty percent of his bones are smashed! He has internal injuries as well. He might never recover to his peak again, even if we save him.¡±

    The man with the two rings frowned. He looked intensely at Yun Yuqing and said, ¡°Woman, you have quite the vicious methods.¡±

    Yun Yuqing harrumphed. ¡°Yourpanion has no one else to me but himself. This rune¡¯s ability is ¡®ricochet¡¯. He only suffered this much force because he relied too much on strength. Why would he be in such a sorry state if he hadn¡¯t been so ruthless?¡±

    Zu An inwardly voiced his praise. He hadn¡¯t expected it to be a force-reflecting skill. My girls are all so outstanding.

    ¡°A rune master?¡± the spear user responded with a frown.

    The atmosphere immediately became tense. After all, there were many cultivators in this world, but rune masters were rare and precious. Enchanted weapons, defensive tools, and formations all needed the skills of rune masters. The imperial pce and various influential figures¡¯ residences all had defensive formations made by rune masters. The higher the level of the runes, the greater the status of the master.

    Low-level rune masters were one thing, but high-level rune masters were on an entirely different level. They were mostly concentrated in the Royal Academy, and every single one of them was treasured like a pearl. They were a strategic resource publicly acknowledged by the empire. It was to the point that they were all incredibly arrogant, unwilling to even show respect to the court.

    This woman had been able to injure a seventh rank expert so easily with a rune. She was definitely a high level rune master. However, those rune masters in the Royal Academy were all old already. Where had such a stunning female mastere from?

    The man with the two rings changed his attitude as well. His tone softened as he said, ¡°Excuse me, madam rune master. We don¡¯t share any grudges, so how about we let this matter go? We won¡¯t bother you about ourrades¡¯ injuries, so please don¡¯t¡­¡±

    Halfway through his sentence, however, he thrust his hands outward. The gold and silver rings on his arms quickly flew toward Yun Yuqing. He had clearly only had two rings before, yet in that instant, they split into countless golden and silver rings. They shot straight at Yun Yuqing¡¯s vital areas.

    Zu An was so upset he almost opened his eyes and cursed the man. You¡¯re way too shameless! What the hell? You sounded like you were trying topromise, but then you attacked while she was distracted?

    Fortunately, Yun Yuqing¡¯s feet tapped lightly against the ground, and she was able to dodge off to the side. The silver and gold rings continued to chase after her relentlessly.

    With so many rings moving together, it was as if a yellow and white snake were pursuing her. There were even several smaller ¡®snakes¡¯ that separated and waited in areas where she mightnd, forming arge.

    However, Yun Yuqing didn¡¯tnd at all. Her feet tapped against the air, leavingyers of flickering runes. She continued to walk on air, her figure graceful and elegant. It was as if a goddess were walking on water.

    The man with the two rings flicked his wrist, and the countless shadows returned to his wrist, bing two rings again.

    The spear user was shocked and upset, eximing, ¡°Are you mad? You¡¯ve offended a rune master!¡±

    The man with the two rings had an overcast expression as he replied, ¡°Do we have any other choice right now? If we can¡¯t kill and silence her, we won¡¯t live anyway.¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The man with the red tassel spear sighed. ¡°Whatever, seed or die trying it is. Everyone, attack her together!¡±

    A sh of vicious light rushed out as soon as he finished speaking. Then, his spear thrust outward like a dragon.

    Even though they were enemies, Zu An had to admit that this fellow looked like a calm andposed man when he wasn¡¯t doing anything, but once he did act, his spear gave off an incredibly threatening feeling. It really felt as if he would fight to the death here. These were spear skills that had definitely been tempered on a corpse-littered battlefield.

    Zu An became serious as well. A siege crossbow, coordinated de users, that hammer user, this spear user¡­ There are just too many signs of involvement from the military. Don¡¯t tell me it really was the Qin n who did all of this? What should I do about Chuyan and Youzhao, who are stuck in the middle?

    However, now wasn¡¯t the time to think about such things, because the man with the rings had already made his move. His rings attacked Yun Yuqing¡¯s vitals unpredictably. The deathsworn soldiers also used their de formations to cut off possible avenues of escape.

    Yun Yuqing¡¯s expression was still calm. Her slender fingers quickly formed seals as she drew several strokes in front of her. Flickering runes began to float around her, one after another.

    ¡°Be careful! Don¡¯t let her create that formation!¡± The man with the rings was furious and shocked. He tried to attack the runes in the air, but they seemed like intangible objects. His rings passed straight through.

    However, the surrounding ki was getting agitated. The atmosphere gradually became more and more harsh, clearly showing that these runes weren¡¯t just decorations, but were instead forming an absolutely terrifying attack.

    No wonder the people of this world all feared rune masters! Their attacks were just too mysterious and profound. They were almostpletely impossible to trace.

    However, the man didn¡¯t feel despair. His initial rm and fury disappeared. Instead, a strange smile gradually appeared on his face. He rushed in a certain direction and shouted fiercely, ¡°Fire!¡±

    In that instant, a massive streak of ck light fired from a nearby building. A terrifying force arrived in front of Yun Yuqing.

    The man had deliberately feigned panic and helplessness precisely to force her into this position. It was clear that after facing powerful opponents over the years, even a high level rune master had unknowingly fallen into their trap.

    Even though rune masters had all types of tricks, their bodies were much more frail than those of ordinary cultivators. Once she was sted by such a siege crossbow, none of her tricks could save her.

    Yun Yuqing was greatly shocked. Most of her attention had been focused on the formation. However, she had onlypleted half of it. If she managed to finish, then these people wouldn¡¯t have any chance of turning the situation around. But she had never expected to run into a hup now!

    It wasn¡¯t easy for her to dodge all the frenzied attacksing her way. Her strength was spent, and the siege crossbow was too fast. How could she possibly evade in time?

    I¡¯m finished! Yun Yuqing thought as she subconsciously gave the wall corner a look. She wanted to see that man onest time before she passed on¡­ Huh? Where did he go?

    ¡°Are you looking for me?¡± said a gentle voice beside her ear. She felt herself sink into a warm hug. Then, the terrifying siege crossbow brushed right past her.

 Chapter 752: Yin-Yang Man and Cat Woman

    <h4>Chapter 752: Yin-Yang Man and Cat Woman</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡± Yun Yuqing was surprised and happy when she turned around and saw that the one carrying her was Zu An.

    When he saw the fine sweat on Yun Yuqing¡¯s forehead, Zu An realized that she had been incredibly high-strung all this time. He said somewhat apologetically, ¡°You¡¯ve really had a hard time.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Yun Yuqing quickly looked at Zu An¡¯s chest and asked, ¡°What about your wound?¡±

    Zu Anughed and replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m fine. Did you forget that I¡¯m the world¡¯s hardest man?¡±

    Yun Yuqing blushed. She harrumphed. What kind of situation were they in right now? Despite that, this fellow still didn¡¯t forget to say such things.

    ¡°Impossible!¡± The ck-d figures looked at Zu An in disbelief.

    What kind of power did a siege crossbow have?! A normal person might have already been blown to smithereens. It was already incredible for someone to still be in ¡®one piece¡¯ to the extent Zu An had been earlier. So why was it that not only had he not died, he instead lookedpletely fine? Only hisplexion had paled a bit.

    After all, they had all seen how he had been nailed to the wall by that massive crossbow bolt. Even if he didn¡¯t die, he should still have sustained serious injuries. His internal organs should have been sted rotten from the impact!

    Once one cultivated to the seventh rank, they would obtain powerful regeneration abilities. However, they would still need at least half a month to recover! And yet, how long had this fellow taken? A stick of incense?

    ¡°Let me get rid of these annoying fellows first.¡± Yun Yuqing¡¯s finger traced a final stroke through the air. A purple rune appeared in midair, and then the other faintly discernible runes became several times brighter.

    ¡°Tempest¡¯s Exorcism!¡± Yun Yuqing eximed as her hands formed a seal. The runes shone brilliantly, firing countlesssers.

    All the ck-d figures dodged frantically. The seven de-wielding deathsworn took out multiple to defend themselves. Unfortunately, when the purplesers struck their shields, they pierced straight through. Bloody holes opened up all across the deathsworn¡¯s bodies. They fell to the ground one after another, dead.

    Countless spear mirages appeared in front of the spear user, dispersing the purplesers one after another. However, he knew he couldn¡¯t keep it up forever. As such, he tapped his foot against the ground,unching his body and spear into a helix-shaped spin. He flew directly toward Yun Yuqing.

    He knew that fighting against a rune master in long rangebat wasplete suicide, and only through closebat would he have a chance at victory. Unfortunately, a purple barrier of light flickered in front of him, blocking his advance.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The spear master roared, and his body began to spin even faster. Sparks flew between the tip of his spear and the barrier.

    When he saw that the speartip had managed to prate the barrier, Zu An quickly moved in front of Yun Yuqing to protect her, calling out, ¡°Be careful!¡±

    Yun Yuqing smiled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, this formation will use his power and add it to its own. The more power he exerts, the stronger its defenses will be.¡±

    Zu An was stupefied. Isn¡¯t this skill kind of ridiculous? Wouldn¡¯t you be dead once you got trapped inside?

    However, he also quickly realized that all things had a limit. If an opponent greatly exceeded Yun Yuqing in strength, they could just use brute force, or perhaps just tank straight through the purple rays.

    Hadn¡¯t that old dragon taken on her ultimate move when Zu An was on his way to the capital? He had still been fine afterward. Unfortunately, the opponents here were still far from being able topare to that old dragon. Eventually, the spear could no longer resist the powerful force, and with a crisp crack, it snapped clean in half.

    The tall and slender man became listless when he saw his spear break. His spear had been his life for many years. He had never parted with it, even when he slept. He was already one with the spear. His master had told him that as long as the spear still existed, so too would he. If the spear perished, he would as well.

    As soon as that thought entered his mind, his body was prated by several streaks of purple light. Blood burst from his body. Even the powerful regenerative abilities of a seventh ranked cultivator had limits. It waspletely impossible to recover from so many fatal wounds.

    But even as he closed his eyes, he continued to stand in ce without falling, like a spear.

    Zu An sighed. ¡°This person already reached a level where he was one with his spear. If not for the fact that he had encountered a rune master like you, rather than a closebat specialist, it would have been hard to say who woulde out on top.¡±

    Yun Yuqing nodded in deep sympathy. ¡°His spear skills were indeed formidable.¡±

    There was only a single person left standing. Countless silver and gold rings floated around him, protecting him like an eggshell and continuously fending off the surrounding rays.

    However, those purplesers were just too formidable. Many of the ring shadows vanished as soon as they made contact with the lights. Soon, the rings had decreased by a third of their original size.

    The man was enraged. ¡°How much longer are you all going to just watch?!¡± he screamed at the top of his lungs, his voice full of bitterness and resentment.

    However, it was in that moment of distraction that a purple ray prated through the center of a ring and hit his chest. His movements became sluggish. Then, he was hit by even moresers, covering his body in bloody holes

    He copsed, frantically gasping for breath. It was clear that he wouldn''t make it. At that moment, he felt a bit of regret. Why the hell had he chosen rings with holes in their centers instead of shields?

    However, he was even more resentful about another matter. He held out to hisst breath, his eyes wide as he stared at a certain direction.

    Zu An warned Yun Yuqing in a suppressed voice, ¡°Be careful, there are people hiding in the shadows. One of them is even a spirit element cultivator.¡±

    Yun Yuqing voiced her acknowledgment. She looked in another direction with a grave expression.

    A figure out of view let out a seductive and flirtatiousugh. ¡°Weren¡¯t you so arrogant that you looked down on all of us before? What, you finally remembered us now that you¡¯re dying?¡±

    The figure¡¯sughter was filled with the sound of melodious bells, making their voice seem to seep into the souls of those who heard it.

    A male and female daoist slowly entered area. Their attire was quite different from that of the ck-d figures.

    The man¡¯s clothes were half white and half ck, divided perfectly down the middle. What was even more terrifying was that his face was actually half white and half ck as well. He carried a soul banner in one hand, and his entire figure looked eerie and sinister.

    A zebra? A yin-yang man? Several terms popped up in Zu An¡¯s head.[1]

    However, his attention was quickly drawn to the other person, whom even Yun Yuqing was subconsciously drawn to. She was a woman who walked with an alluring, catlike gait. She was covered in a blue mantle from head to toe, with a hood thatpletely covered her face. Zu An and Yun Yuqing could only vaguely make out her chin and her bright red lips. They could also vaguely see some golden hair on either side of her face.

    The reason why their eyes had been drawn to the woman, apart from her mysterious outfit, was her massive chest. Not even her strange attire could hide it. Beneath her mantle were two fair legs. There was a red rope tied around her right ankle; attached to it was a small and exquisite bell that made pleasant sounds whenever she walked.

    But right now, the man with the silver and gold rings didn¡¯t feel any sense of admiration, and instead felt only endless resentment. He said, ¡°Jia Sili, Shu Shuhao, master won¡¯t let you go once he finds out that you watched us die without doing anything.¡±

    Zu An was surprised. This fellow seemed to be cursing them on the surface, but in reality, he was telling Zu An their names. He probably wants me to get rid of them if I end up escaping. Tsk tsk tsk, just how much do you have to hate them to do this? You¡¯re betraying arade even as you die.

    The woman named Jia Sili giggled. ¡°Didn¡¯t you already use those deathsworn soldiers to test out that woman? We were also learning through you. But it seems you couldn¡¯t handle being the ones who were used instead?¡± She added, ¡°Besides, don¡¯t try to scare us using your master¡¯s name. I still haven¡¯t settled my debt with all of you over what happened on the southern border back then!¡±

    1. A yin-yang man is someone with both types of reproductive organs.

 Chapter 753: Spirit Master

    <h4>Chapter 753: Spirit Master</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The man with the rings was shocked, his eyes widening. ¡°I knew you creatures from the southern border weren¡¯t trustworthy! All nonhumans are treacherous and evil!¡±

    The gloomy-looking, half white and half ck man had an intimidating smile as he retorted, ¡°You only realized that now?¡± His voice was hoarse and unpleasant to listen to, like that of a crow. It was as if there were sharp stones grinding in his throat.

    The man with the rings said sternly, ¡°You two already pledged your loyalty to the master and established a vow. You¡¯ll definitely suffer the wrath of the world for this.¡±

    The one called Jia Sili giggled coquettishly. ¡°But we didn¡¯t do anything wrong¡­? It¡¯s not as if we were the ones who killed you; they did. It doesn¡¯t have anything to do with us.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re merely getting others to do your dirty work for you! Master definitely won¡¯t let you two go!¡± The man with the rings gritted his teeth in anger. His voice was full of resentment.

    ¡°Your master¡¯s already pretty helpless himself; I really don¡¯t think he has the energy to deal with us!¡± Jia Sili giggled and said, ¡°As for that vow¡­ We¡¯ll be free after helping him with this matter. Actually, aren¡¯t we the ones avenging you here? You should be thanking us.¡±

    The man with the rings opened his mouth. He seemed to want to curse the two, but his injuries were too grave. He had already used up all of his strength after saying so many things, so how could he still hold on? A mouthful of blood poured out, and then he passed away.

    Zu An clicked his tongue in wonder. This woman seemed pretty well suited to the path of a keyboard warrior, no? Even though her words didn¡¯t sound all that special, they always stabbed right where it hurt. She had practically killed that man with just words.

    He thought for a bit and then said, ¡°Since the two of you have a grudge with their n¡¯s master, how about we just shake hands and move on? We can all just do what we need to do.¡±

    Jia Sili burst intoughter, her entire body rocking back and forth. ¡°Oh my, this little brother here¡­ I¡¯m honestly so tempted to agree, but we unfortunately made this little vow, you see. We have toplete this mission. Sorry!¡±

    As soon as Jia Sili finished speaking, Zu An suddenly felt that needle-pricking feeling in his head again. Yun Yuqing was already clutching her forehead, her face full of pain.

    Zu An harrumphed. He had been caught off guard the previous time, and that was why he had ended up being schemed against. But now that he knew this person was a spirit element expert, he was already on guard.

    He summoned the Hundredwarble. Its bright and clear cry instantly sent rings of invisible sound waves out. The stabbing feeling vanished the instant the Hundredwarble appeared, and Yun Yuqing also returned to normal.

    Zu An was quite curious. After all, Yun Yuqing was also a spirit element expert due to her Devil¡¯s Eye. Why did she seem to have suffered from that attack?

    However, he quickly realized that that was an ability of the Devil Race, and they were currently in the capital. She probably didn¡¯t want to expose her real identity, because that would bring her too much danger.

    ¡°Ah?!¡± Jia Sili voiced her surprise. She clearly hadn¡¯t expected Zu An to retaliate so fiercely. She clutched her head and screamed in pain.

    How could Zu An let such a great opportunity go? His figure flickered, and then he reappeared in front of her. The Tai¡¯e Sword was already in his hand, stabbing straight at her throat.

    His Grandgale¡¯s instantaneous movement, together with the Bixie Swordy he had practiced to perfection in Brightmoon City, made his sword thrust fast and precise. He didn¡¯t allow his opponent any room to breathe.

    Even though he couldn¡¯t see Jia Sili¡¯s expression, that smile that had always been lingering at the edge of her lips was already gone without a trace. It was easy to imagine just how rmed she was right now. She subconsciously moved backward to evade, but how could she possibly dodge such an attack?

    And yet, at that very instant, a soul banner was thrust into the sword¡¯s path, blocking Zu An¡¯s strike. Jia Sili was also pulled back several zhang.

    Peak of the eighth rank¡­ Zu An didn¡¯t continue to attack. The recoil force from that momentary interaction had told him that this white and ck yin yang man was definitely not an easy opponent. Meanwhile, if Jia Sili was his partner, then these two were probably at the same rank. Furthermore, it was clear from their unique outfits that they cultivated unusual paths. It was best to collect more information for now.

    ¡°Thank you, big brother Shu Shuhao!¡± Jia Sili patted her chest in rm after surviving by the skin of her teeth, thanking herrade.

    That yin-yang man is named Shu Shuhao. Why does he have such a weird name?[1] Zu An thought mockingly. However, as they hade from the southern border, he didn¡¯t think too much of it.

    Shu Shuhao harrumphed and said, ¡°Stop showing off and being an idiot. You were almost killed by that brat. Don¡¯t you find that embarrassing?¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Oh no, big brother Shu, please don¡¯t get mad! It has to be this way for it to be fun.¡± Jia Sili had a lovely smile on her face as she looked at Zu An. ¡°Little brother over there, I didn¡¯t expect you to have the spirit element. We didn¡¯t see that in the information at all!¡±

    ¡°The spirit element is such a rare talent; how could I have the fortune of having something like that? It¡¯s still cute sis over here who¡¯s the true expert in that field,¡± Zu An responded. In truth, he was curious. The legendary spirit element was something only one in a million cultivators had. He had never met someone with it before, yet he had ended up facing one today. What a pity it was that she was here for his life.

    ¡°Cute sis?¡± Jia Sili was stunned at first, and then her body rocked back and forth withughter. ¡°That little mouth of yours really knows how to please me.¡±

    Yun Yuqing suddenly harrumphed. ¡°Ah Zu, don¡¯t let that woman fool you. She isn¡¯t some spirit element cultivator, but rather a Spirit Master from the southern border. She excels at spirit subduing arts, and her methods are difficult to defend against. You need to be careful.¡±

    ¡°Spirit Master?¡± This was the first time Zu An had heard of the term.

    Jia Sili voiced her surprise. She was full of curiosity as she looked at Yun Yuqing, remarking, ¡°Thisdy over here knows quite a lot. There aren¡¯t many of us Spirit Masters left already.¡±

    Yun Yuqing looked away. She clearly didn¡¯t want to look at the woman¡¯s flirtatious appearance or talk to her.

    ¡°Oh my, oh my! Look at how pure and innocent this girl is acting. I¡¯ll have big brother Shu over here properly subdue you and teach you a lesson. Let¡¯s see if you can continue to act so arrogantly then,¡± Jia Sili said with a giggle. Her voice was charming and gentle, but the words she spoke were incredibly sinister.

    Shu Shuhao stared at her coldly and replied, ¡°Not interested. I¡¯m only interested in ice-cold corpses. Those are the world¡¯s most perfect works of art.¡±

    Zu An and Yun Yuqing were both speechless. This guy likes corpses too?

    Yun Yuqing warned Zu An through ki transmission, ¡°Ah Zu, you need to be careful. He¡¯s probably an expert from the southern border¡¯s Gu n. The Gu n¡¯s methods are often impossible to prepare against.¡±

    ¡°Gu n?¡± Zu An was stunned. ¡°Are they also part of the fiend race?¡±

    Yun Yuqing replied, ¡°It¡¯s a race that¡¯s half human and half fiend. They¡¯re proficient in all types of strange and grotesque Gu arts. The power they can disy isn''t inferior to that of any cultivator. This person looks like a corpse Gu who specializes in the maniption of all types of corpses. You won¡¯t even be able to rest in peace if you die under his hands.¡±

    Jia Siliughed. ¡°Isn¡¯t that easy enough? We just need to turn her into a corpse.¡±

    When he heard those words, the originally deadpan and apathetic Shu Shuhao¡¯s eyes lit up. He stared at Yun Yuqing. ¡°Hm, even though this woman¡¯s face is covered, judging from her curves, she¡¯ll definitely be a wonderful work of art once she¡¯s turned into a corpse puppet. Ahhhh¡­ I¡¯m getting excited just from thinking about it. I¡¯ll definitely sleep with her every night once I turn her into a corpse puppet!¡±

    Zu An was speechless. What the fuck? I thought those who yed around with corpses were already disgusting enough, but this guy is even weirder! He has no interest in living beauties and only feels something after turning them into zombies?

    ¡°You¡¯re courting death!¡± Yun Yuqing eximed. was still a respected madam after all. She was normally always treated with respect. She was someone with great dignity even among the demon race. How could she endure this type of nder? She screamed and thrust her short sword at th man.

    Zu An was speechless. Sis, you¡¯re a rune master! Shouldn¡¯t you be fighting against him at a distance? Mages who are no good at closebat really aren¡¯t good fighters¡­

    He was worried that something would happen to Yun Yuqing and moved to help her. However, he was stopped by Jia Sili, who said, ¡°Little brother, why don¡¯t you keep this big sispany for a while?¡±

    1. Shu is his surname. Shuhao¡¯s literal trantion is ¡®book good¡¯.

 Chapter 754: Should I Just Watch with Folded Arms?

    <h4>Chapter 754: Should I Just Watch with Folded Arms?</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An¡¯s eyes shifted to her chest as he said, ¡°Cute big sis, if you¡¯re going to call me brother, then just call me brother. Why do you have to add the word ¡®little¡¯ to it?¡±

    Jia Sili chuckled and replied, ¡°Whether you really are small or not, won¡¯t this big sis know if I give you a try?¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He was usually the one who teased others, yet the tables had been turned today. This woman was a true master of the field!

    He looked at her mantle in surprise, asking, ¡°Why are you covering your face with a mantle? Judging from your figure, you should be really pretty. Isn¡¯t covering yourself up like this a bit of a waste?¡±

    Jia Sili¡¯s body jerked back and forth fromughing too hard. ¡°Little brother over here really has a sweet tongue. Big sis will make sure you can leave this world painlesslyter.¡±

    ¡°Looks like there¡¯s no choice but to fight¡­¡± Zu An sighed. His figure flickered as he thrust a sword at Jia Sili. But then, he sensed that stinging pain in his head again.

    Zu An harrumphed. ¡°The same little trick again!¡± He immediately used Hundredwarble to counter it.

    The other party had suffered badly from using that skillst time, yet she dared to use it again. There was definitely something fishy going on.

    Sure enough, he saw that a void outline of a massive bell had appeared around the other party. It was like an erged version of the bell around her ankle. Hundredwarble¡¯s invisible sound waves smashed into the bell, releasing waves of sharp and beautiful ringing sounds.

    Jia Sili kicked off the ground, sending her body drifting backward. It was clear that as someone who was proficient in spirit element techniques, once she was prepared, Hundredwarble¡¯s attacks could no longer injure her.

    Jia Sili¡¯s fair white legs were faintly discernible within her cloak as the bell tied to her ankle rang. Even though they were fighting to the death, Zu An had to admit that it was a beautiful scene. However, he wasn¡¯t the type to show mercy because his opponent was attractive. His sword struck ruthlessly at her vital areas.

    ¡°Little brother, you really are vicious! Every single attack is aimed at such a dangerous ce.¡± Jia Sili¡¯s figure darted left and right, disappearing and reappearing in different ces.

    ¡°A blink ability?¡± Zu An finally experienced the frustration others had when they fought against him. Of course, this blink ability was entirely different from his. His instantaneous movement was in a straight line, and it took him farther, while this blink could only move within a short range. To a certain degree, it was more simr to his Sunflower Phantasm.

    Mages were always full of tricks!

    Zu An thought to himself that he had really chosen the wrong profession. Look how cool these mage skills were! Meanwhile, the path he had taken was that of a stupid meat shield warrior. He felt incrediblyme. At least I don¡¯t use a spear. Nothing good has happened to spear users in history. Huh¡­ Wait, if I say I don¡¯t use a spear, Yun Yuqing over there might be the first to disagree.

    Just then, he suddenly felt an indescribable feeling of fear. Hundredwarble subconsciously activated, allowing him to recover a secondter. Was it a kind of fear skill? He had yed a lot of games in the past, so he naturally wasn¡¯t surprised that something of the sort existed.

    He couldn¡¯t just keep letting her have the initiative. As such, he immediatelyunched his counterattack. He asked, ¡°What are you looking at?¡±

    Jia Sili had just been about to dodge, but when she heard those words, her movements paused momentarily. She involuntarily replied, ¡°I¡¯m looking at you, sh*thead!¡±

    Zu An had been waiting for this opportunity. His Tai¡¯e Sword rushed out like a shooting star and nted itself into her throat.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Urg¡­¡± Jia Sili clutched her throat with one hand, while her other hand pointed at him in disbelief as if she wanted to say something. However, in the end, she copsed without being able to say anything.

    Shu Shuhao saw the situation from the opposite side of the area. ¡°Jia Sili!¡± he roared furiously as he charged over.

    Only now did Zu An realize that the ones who had died earlier¡ªthe man with the gold and silver rings, the red-tasseled spear user, and the golden hammer user, as well as the de wielding deathsworn¡ªhad all been ¡®revived¡¯. No, they hadn''t been revived, but had instead turned into zombies.

    Yun Yuqing had mentioned that that fellow could use corpse Gu-like things to control corpses. As such, these were likely his corpse demons.[1]

    The bloodstained corpse demons charged over with sinister expressions. Zu An discovered, to his irritation, that even though these corpse demons looked like zombies, they actually retained arge portion of the host¡¯s original cultivation and skills! What the hell? How is that fair?! Wouldn¡¯t this guy be unrivaled if he were on a battlefield?

    While Zu An was getting a headache wondering how to deal with these corpse demons, the sound of orderly hoofbeats suddenly filled the area. Then, countless Embroidered Envoys jumped over the courtyard wall. Even though the corpse demons were formidable, they suffered a disadvantage in terms of numbers and were quickly detained.

    Shu Shuhao saw that the situation was unfavorable. He immediately fled, even abandoning the corpse of hisrade Jia Sili. However, no one could have expected a hand to suddenly reach out in midair, perfectly mping down on his throat.

    ¡°Cough, cough¡­¡± Shu Shuhao struggled frantically, his legs waving about. He tried everything he could to pry open that hand, but it was as immobile as a metal mp. His ck and white face turned purple as he choked.

    Therge hand twisted. With a crack, Shu Shuhao¡¯s intense struggle immediately came to a screeching halt.

    Zhuxie Chixin! Zu An immediately recognized the figure on the courtyard wall. Having an organization backing him really was the best after all! He hadn¡¯t had to work too hard to defeat these people himself.

    ¡°Commander Zhuxie!¡± Zu An greeted him as he walked over with a smile.

    However, Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s face remained expressionless. He pointed at Yun Yuqing and said, ¡°Arrest this Demon Race monster!¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± The Embroidered Envoys voiced their confirmation.

    Zu An was startled and angry. How did they know that Yun Yuqing was of the Demon Race? After all, she had even made sure not to use her Devil¡¯s Eye skill, precisely so she wouldn¡¯t expose herself.

    However, he already couldn¡¯t be bothered to think about that, because Yun Yuqing was already injured. There were so many Embroidered Envoys here. If they all attacked at the same time, Yun Yuqing wouldn¡¯t have any chance.

    He couldn¡¯t just watch a beauty be ruined like this. He stopped the Embroidered Envoys'' attacks and brought Yun Yuqing to a vacant area. Then, he quickly said to Zhuxie Chixin, ¡°Sir Zhuxie, isn¡¯t there some kind of misunderstanding here? She isn¡¯t a Demon Race monster, but rather Madam Wu!¡± He could only see if he could get by with that identity now.

    Zhuxie Chixin harrumphed. ¡°Through our investigation, we¡¯ve already found out that she is indeed Madam Wu, and she¡¯s also a Demon Race monster. Sir Zu, please don¡¯t let yourself be deceived.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face became overcast. This was the worst case scenario.

    Yun Yuqing gently pushed him away and said, ¡°This is how things are. You don¡¯t need to sacrifice yourself for me.¡± Then, she walked over on her own and faced the ruthless Embroidered Envoys alone.

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed several times. He knew that in the current situation, watching everything happen without doing anything was the smartest choice. But this woman had already engaged in close skinship with him, and she had even saved his life twice. How could he just watch without doing anything?

    He walked over and grabbed Yun Yuqing. He took a deep breath, and then said to Zhuxie Chixin, ¡°Commander Zhuxie, even if she really is from the Demon Race, she was a king¡¯s wife all these years. She has never acted improperly and was instead content with her position. Why is there such a need to pursue this matter? His majesty has conquered the world, and he has also done his best to convert the various races. There are many fiend races even in the capital. Hasn¡¯t his majesty been magnanimous and benevolent, allowing them to coexist with humans?¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin said indifferently, ¡°The Demon Race is different from other fiend races, and the arrest of Madam Wu has been mandated by his majesty himself. What Sir Zu has said just now already makes you a suspect of collusion. Out of consideration for our past interactions, I will not pursue this matter further. Please step aside.¡±

    Zu An fell silent. He felt that this matter was strange. Why would the emperor know about Yun Yuqing¡¯s true identity? Could it be that there had been traces left behind from when she had used the Devil¡¯s Eye to deal with the Embroidered Envoys in King Wu Manor? But why did they know that Yun Yuqing would just happen to be here?

    Just then, Yun Yuqing spoke to him through ki transmission. ¡°Ah Zu, thank you, but this matter has nothing to do with you. Please don¡¯t act recklessly.¡±

    After saying those words, she looked at Zhuxie Chixin. Her eyes erupted with purple brilliance. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that Sir Zhuxie is one of the most powerful cultivators under the grandmaster level. I wish to experience your skills for myself today.¡±

    1. A Gu is a legendary venomous insect. In fantasy novels, the Gu n is usually depicted as having control over poisons and parasites.

 Chapter 755: Moments Before Death

    <h4>Chapter 755: Moments Before Death</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Devil¡¯s Eye!¡± Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s expression grew serious. ¡°Everyone, don¡¯t look into her eyes!¡±

    But unfortunately, it was already toote. There were many Embroidered Envoys whose eyes were filled with purple radiance. Then, they turned their weapons on theirpanions.

    How could these Embroidered Envoys have predicted that theserades who had fought with them through life and death would attack them? They immediately suffered serious casualties. Then, the Embroidered Envoys whose eyes were shining purple rushed at Zhuxie Chixin while screaming.

    Zhuxie Chixin was furious. He immediately evaded the attacks and defended himself, because these were all Embroidered Envoy elites. He didn¡¯t want them to suffer injuries, which was why he had to hold back a great deal.

    Unfortunately, the Embroidered Envoys who were being controlled by the Devil¡¯s Eye were absolutely ruthless. All of them screamed while attacking his vitals.

    These individuals had been proficient in coordinated attacks to begin with. Even with Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s profound cultivation, he was still quickly ced in a difficult situation, since he had to hold back.

    After some time passed, he roared in anger. He knew that he was going to have to pay a hefty price as well if he continued this, so he no longer held back. His figure turned into a red afterimage, quickly cutting through the Embroidered Envoys¡¯ formation.

    He was just too fast. The others couldn¡¯t keep up at all. Miserable screams filled the ce as they flew outward one after another.

    Soon afterward, all of the Embroidered Envoys copsed. They were all clutching their arms or legs while screaming in pain. Zhuxie Chixin hadn¡¯t taken their lives, and had instead broken their arms and legs to temporarily rob them of their mobility.

    Even though their injuries were serious, they would at least live. After a few months of recovery, they could return to their posts. However, the Embroidered Envoy''s power would weaken substantially for a few months.

    Zhuxie Chixin stared at Yun Yuqing and eximed furiously, ¡°Disgraceful woman, you¡¯re courting death!¡±

    Then, with a flick of his wrist, a terrifying chain flew out from his sleeve. At the end of the Soul Reaping Chain was a pitch-ck sickle. Its bloodthirst and the hatred of the vengeful souls within could be sensed even from far away. This sickle had clearly reaped the lives of countless powerful cultivators.

    Yun Yuqing¡¯s expression was serious. Her eyes erupted with purple light, even leaving a bit of purple color in Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s eyes.

    However, his eyes became clear again a momentter. He harrumphed and said, ¡°I might have really been controlled if your cultivation were a bit higher. What a pity, you¡¯re still too far off!¡±

    That pitch-ck sickle had already somehow appeared behind Yun Yuqing by the time Zhuxie Chixin finished speaking. Yun Yuqing¡¯s foot tapped against the ground. Runes flickered by her feet, and she quickly evaded. At the same time, her finger began to draw runes in retaliation.

    Unfortunately, her opponent was Zhuxie Chixin. How could someone who was nearly a grandmaster give her this chance?

    That sickle reappeared at an inconceivable angle, tangling around Yun Yuqing relentlessly. It was to the extent that Yun Yuqing had no choice but to give up on drawing her runes several times to dodge. She was interrupted more than ten times and couldn¡¯t even draw a singleplete rune.

    Zu An¡¯s brows furrowed deeper and deeper. He noticed that Yun Yuqing had less and less space to evade. He reckoned that she would be done for in less than a stick of incense¡¯s worth of time.

    He sighed. In the end, he still wasn¡¯t the type to have a heart of stone. His figure flickered, and then he instantly appeared beside Yun Yuqing. He brandished his sword, blocking the attack that would have taken her life. Then, he quickly said, ¡°I¡¯ll help you hold him off. Hurry and draw a rune.¡±

    A rune master like Yun Yuqing needed precisely a meat shield like him to buy time.

    Yun Yuqing opened her mouth. Her beautiful eyes glistened with tears. However, she didn¡¯t say anything useless and instead quickly drew a rune. She knew that Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s cultivation was far above theirs. Only by gambling with both of their lives would there be a chance of life.

    Zhuxie Chixin was shocked and furious when he saw this. ¡°Zu An! Do you know what you¡¯re doing right now?!¡±

    Zu An sighed. ¡°Thank you,mander, for your concern. Unfortunately, she has saved my life twice, so I can¡¯t just watch her die.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯remitting treason!¡± Zhuxie Chixin screamed. ¡°There will be no ce left for you in this entire Great Zhou Dynasty, in all of human society! Is it worth it?¡±

    Even Yun Yuqing subconsciously looked at him, because she wanted to hear how he was going to reply.

    Zu An sighed. ¡°There are many things in this world that can¡¯t be weighed in terms of ¡®worth¡¯ or ¡®not worth¡¯. I only know that if I don¡¯t save her today, I¡¯ll spend the rest of my life in conflict and suffering.¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s expression immediately turned cold. ¡°Since you¡¯re willing to ruin your own prospects for a woman, then you can just¡­ die as well!¡± His aura surged powerfully. His Soul Reaping Chain instantly split into many, and countless scythes rushed at Zu An.

    Zu An focused a hundred and twenty percent of his attention, but he still couldn¡¯t dodge, or else Yun Yuqing would be instantly diced into pieces behind him. His expression was grim as he used everything he had learned to defend against the myriad of scythes. Soon afterward, there were countless cuts on his body from which blood dripped.

    The gap in cultivation between the two of them was just too great. It was futile no matter how hard he tried. Fortunately, he had the Primordial Origin Sutra, which helped him repair his body¡¯s injuries. Otherwise, he would have already been turned into a bloody mist by those terrifying scythes of death.

    Zu An sighed. He remembered how easy it had been for Yun Jianyue to deal with this scythe back in the Eastern Pce. Only when he faced it now did he realize just how terrifying the scythe was.

    ¡°Tempest¡¯s Exorcism!¡± Yun Yuqing screamed, half-sobbing. She watched as Zu An protected her without taking a single step back, no matter how much he suffered. She really wished she had another hand so she couldplete the rune formation even faster.

    Myriad runes flickered in midair, and endless streaks of purple light erupted from them. All of them had the same target: Zhuxie Chixin.

    Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s expression changed. He flicked his arm, retracting all of his Soul Reaping Chains. Then, he quickly spun them above his head, forming an umbre-like barrier to defend against the iing purple rays.

    Yun Yuqing¡¯s forehead was covered in sweat. She maintained the runes with great difficulty while telling Zu An, ¡°I can¡¯t injure him; I can only stall him. You need to run, or else we¡¯ll both die here!¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression was overcast, but he replied, ¡°That might not be the case!¡± His figure shed as he rushed in Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s direction.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zhuxie Chixin sneered when he saw Zu An charge toward him. ¡°You¡¯re courting death!¡± The sickle in his hands blocked Zu An¡¯s path, spinning like a meat grinder. Zu An would turn into mincemeat before he even got close.

    Zu An raised his Tai¡¯e Sword, and then roared out one word after another, ¡°Domain of Power!¡±

    In that instant, a powerful pressure spread outward from the Tai¡¯e Sword. The Tai¡¯e Sword pursued the sword dao of power, and this was its domain. However, this skill had a cooldown time of roughly a month. That was why Zu An wouldn¡¯t use it unless he had absolutely no choice.

    ¡°This is¡­¡± How could Zhuxie Chixin defend himself from such a terrifying force? His entire body began to subconsciously tremble. This was a force that shook his very soul. A momentary sluggishness overtook the Soul Reaping Chains in his hand.

    Zu An seized this moment to arrive next to Zhuxie Chixin. He took out the Poisonous Prick, and it cut through Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s neck.

    ¡°You¡­¡± Zhuxie Chixin clutched his throat. Unfortunately, ck runes spread from the wound. Soon afterward, he copsed without drawing another breath.

    Zu An sighed in relief. He arrived at Yun Yuqing¡¯s side and picked her up, asking, ¡°Are you okay?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Yun Yuqing looked at him with a gentle expression. ¡°Ah Zu, you treat me too well.¡±

    Zu An smiled bitterly and said, ¡°Let¡¯s leave for now. We might have startled others with themotion we caused here.¡±

    He didn¡¯t even have time to tell Chuyan goodbye. The only fortunate thing was that he didn¡¯t have any family. Chu Chuyan had already severed her rtionship with him in name, so his actions wouldn¡¯t involve her.

    Suddenly, a terrifying pressure descended, and a voice intoned, ¡°You want to leave?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes narrowed. He immediately turned around and saw a dragon robed figure standing on the roof. Who else could this be but the emperor?

    ¡°Why is it him?!¡± Zu An muttered as his thoughts went ice-cold. I¡¯m finished, I¡¯m done for! Even though he was unyielding at heart, he wasn¡¯t stupid. He needed time to grow! There was just too much of a gap in strength between him and the emperor right now.

    The emperor scanned the battlefield. He saw the Embroidered Envoys scattered everywhere, particrly Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s corpse. He erupted with rage, eximing, ¡°You dare betray this emperor? I¡¯m going to make sure you die a miserable death!¡± He raised his hand as soon as he finished speaking. In an instant, a massive palm projection crashed down from the sky.

    Zu An and Yun Yuqing felt that the air had be hard to breathe. They wanted to escape, but their bodies were locked in ce. The terrifying power before them made the two of them feel absolute despair.

    Yun Yuqing looked at Zu An in distress, saying, ¡°Ah Zu, let¡¯s give up. The emperor is the most powerful man in the world! It¡¯s useless no matter how we resist. The only thing I¡¯m grateful for is that I can die with you. We lived different lives, but we can rest together, so I have no regrets. You have to hold my hand tightly when we cross the yellow springs of hell, so that we might truly be husband and wife in our next life¡­¡±

    Zu An frowned. He had felt as if something was wrong from the beginning, but he had never had the time to think about it. Now that he was locked down by this terrifying pressure, in this final moment before death, he suddenly recovered his wits. He suddenly raised his head andpletely disregarded that descending palm. He pointed at that dragon robed man in the sky, eximing, ¡°You aren¡¯t the emperor!¡±

    Then, his palm struck the body of Yun Yuqing, who had been clinging to his arm.

 Chapter 756: Fantasy Materialize

    <h4>Chapter 756: Fantasy Materialize</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Ah!¡± Yun Yuqing cried out in rm. Her eyes were full of disbelief as blood gushed out of her mouth. ¡°Ah Zu, what are you doing?¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t reply to her, but instead stared at the dragon robed individual.

    The emperor roared withughter. ¡°Husbands and wives will abandon each other before the face of true disaster. Unfortunately, it¡¯s already toote, even if you express your loyalty to me by killing her. Die!¡±

    That palm was now already less than a zhang from Zu An¡¯s head. The pressure that descended created a palm imprint where he was standing. However, he still continued to stand proudly in ce.

    Zu An lowered his head and muttered quietly to himself, ¡°This kind of power and pressure is indeed quite simr to the emperor¡¯s. Looks like he really did leave a deep impression of his power in my mind.¡±

    ¡°However¡­¡± He suddenly raised his head, his eyes scorching as he stared at the dragon robed man on the roof. ¡°After experiencing everything that happened that night, you will forever be a loser in my eyes.¡±

    He raised his hand and intoned, ¡°God said, let there be light!¡±

    The skies seemed to respond to his words. The originally overcast skies scattered, and a strand of golden light seeped through the clouds and scattered the gloom.

    Then, it enveloped the emperor. The emperor¡¯s body began to smoke, and then his robes began to burn. Soon afterward, his entire figure was swallowed up by the mes. He screamed in agony. The terrifying palm in the sky also vanished like smoke in thin air, and the horrifying pressure vanished.

    Screaming bitterly, the emperor ended up being burned to ashes.

    Zu An had a self-deprecating smile as he said, ¡°In the world of my own consciousness, I am obviously god. Who dares to be stronger than me?¡±

    Yun Yuqing¡¯s eyes widened in horror as she murmured, ¡°That¡¯s impossible¡­¡±

    As she spoke, the surrounding scenery warped. There was no more emperor, no Zhuxie Chixin. All of the Embroidered Envoys were nowhere to be seen. All that was left were the figures of the deathsworn, who were currently fighting against Yun Yuqing.

    Meanwhile, the expression of the ¡®Yun Yuqing¡¯ Zu An had just ¡®killed¡¯ warped as well. With that mysterious mantle and that golden hair, who else could it be but Jia Sili?

    Zu An sighed. Jia Sili hadn¡¯t died, as expected. The scene of his sword stabbing through her throat had been an illusion. Wait, when did I end up falling into her illusion? I was always on guard. Not even Hundredwarble gave me any warning signs. His eyes shifted to that bell around her ankle. It had kept making sounds ever since they began to fight. It was probably the source of the illusion.

    Jia Sili stared at Zu An and asked, ¡°Just how did you realize that world was fake? I didn¡¯t think there were any ws.¡±

    Zu An sighed as he answered, ¡°I found the entire thing strange from the start. I felt that Zhuxie Chixin and the others¡¯ timing was too much of a coincidence. They came as soon as we finished fighting, as if they had been waiting in ambush all this time. These are the suburbs, after all! Even if the activity here rmed some people, the ones who should have arrived first would be the City Defense Army, not the Embroidered Envoy.¡±

    After all, he had always been the one investigating this case, so he should have the most intelligence. Not even he had anticipated that these people would be waiting in ambush, so how could Zhuxie Chixin and the others possibly react in time?

    ¡°You were able to deduce it was fake just from that?¡± Jia Sili found that answer inconceivable.

    Zu An said indifferently, ¡°There was also the matter of the emperor. He appeared too abruptly as well.¡±

    In theory, the emperor needed him to harass King Qi. He wouldn¡¯t kill Zu An the moment he saw him unless he knew about what had happened between Zu An and the empress. But how could that be possible? He wasn¡¯t an omnipotent god.

    Of course, there was a more important reason that had made Zu An even more certain, which was that he had never received any Rage points this entire time. Even though the other party could create such a powerful illusion, she couldn¡¯t imitate the soul fluctuations of every single being.

    ¡°Now that I¡¯ve answered your questions, you can rest in peace.¡± Zu An didn¡¯t want to be like a viin who talked too much. He had always been waiting for his opportunity to strike. Now that the other party was distracted from hearing his answer, he charged over.

    A ck figure rushed over to intercept Zu An. He saw that it was one of the deathsworn that had died previously, and was now a corpse puppet controlled by the yin-yang man. He casually waved his palm to st the corpse to pieces. He didn¡¯t want it to dy what he needed to do.

    But he immediately sensed that something was off, and quickly dodged several zhang to the side. That corpse suddenly exploded with a loud bang. Countless ck and green body fluids sttered everywhere, and a foul stench spread through the air.

    Zu An felt the urge to throw up. Damn it, it smells even worse than canned fish.

    When the grass on the ground made contact with the body fluids, it immediately darkened and withered. Even the ground released sizzling sounds and began to smoke. It was obvious that every single drop was poisonous.

    ¡°Can you not be so gross, please?¡± Jia Sili said in disgust. She used the bit of time Shu Shuhao had bought her to dodge, so she wasn¡¯t sttered by the body fluids. However, she tightly clutched her nose. She couldn¡¯t stand the smell either.

    ¡°Hmph, I just saved your life,¡± Shu Shuhao said in his sinister voice. He leapt over to Jia Sili¡¯s side just as the corpse had, in order to cover her. The corpse puppets under his control scattered throughout the surroundings as well.

    Now that Yun Yuqing had obtained a moment of respite, she quickly rushed to Zu An¡¯s side. Her face was covered in fine sweat, and her cheeks were flushed. The battle had clearly taken a toll on her.

    Even though her cultivation wasn¡¯t bad, she had used up too much power when she fought against the man with the two rings and the other experts. This Shu Shuhao¡¯s cultivation wasn¡¯t beneath hers, and he had used vile and vicious corpse demons to fight against her. As a woman, she had a natural fear of such things, so herbat strength had been reduced by a bit.

    Zu An walked forward a little to cover Yun Yuqing. Then, he raised his sword in front of him. All of the muscles on his body went taut, like a lion that was ready to pounce.

    Jia Siliughed and said, ¡°Oh my, big brother, we don¡¯t want to fight anymore. Why don¡¯t we just shake hands and have a chat?¡±

    ¡°It was still ¡®little brother¡¯ not too long ago. Now I¡¯m suddenly the big brother?¡± Zu An sneered. ¡°Why should I do something like that?¡±

    ¡°Big sis over here has already had a taste of little brother¡¯s strength. That¡¯s why I don¡¯t dare to call you little anymore!¡± Jia Sili¡¯s flirtatious tone made Yun Yuqing¡¯s beautiful brows furrow. Jia Sili continued, ¡°As for why we should just talk things out, that¡¯s because we have amon enemy. Why should we fight to the death then?¡±

    ¡°Common enemy?¡± Zu An harrumphed. ¡°Who shares amon enemy with you?¡±

    Jia Siliughed out loud. ¡°Big brother, please don¡¯t believe your own lies. The hostility you showed toward the emperor was clear enough. Also, you seem to have done something that has let him down. Even though big sis doesn¡¯t know what it is, I¡¯m sure that thing is enough for the emperor to kill you.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed. This woman really was a problem.

    Jia Sili didn¡¯t dare to remain careless when she sensed his killing intent. She pointed at the man with the two rings. ¡°Big brother, please don¡¯t fret and listen to this sister¡¯s words. You should have heard what I said to those people just now. Back then, the Zhou Emperor invaded our southern border and killed countless nsmen of ours. We can never forget this blood enmity. But the emperor is too powerful right now and not someone we can face alone, so the enemy of my enemy is my friend. We don¡¯t wish to waste any bit of power that can go against the emperor.¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An said indifferently, ¡°That¡¯s just wishful thinking. I don¡¯t wish to form alliances with others. On the contrary, I¡¯ll feel more at ease when you¡¯re all dead.¡±

    The ck and white Shu Shuhao said coldly, ¡°Damn brat, you sure know how to run that mouth of yours.¡±

    Jia Sili was alsoughing so hard her body was rocking back and forth. ¡°Big brother, I think you¡¯re misunderstanding something! We really do want to cooperate with you, and not just use this chance to beg for mercy.¡±

    She raised her hand and snapped her fingers. Suddenly, a bright circle of light appeared behind her out of thin air. Then, transparent weapons emerged from it one after another, aiming at Zu An and Yun Yuqing.

    Jia Sili exined, ¡°As a Spirit Master, apart from the mind illusion I just used, there is one other skill, which is ¡®Fantasy Materialize¡¯. I can make anything I imagine be reality. It¡¯s hard to say who woulde out ahead if we really fought to the death.¡±

 Chapter 757: Five Poison Token

    <h4>Chapter 757: Five Poison Token</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An¡¯s eyes widened in shock when he saw the roaring weapons. He really wanted to ask her if she was freaking Gilgamesh or Shirou Emiya with their ¡®Unlimited de Works¡¯.

    Jia Sili had pulled out all manner of tricks during their battle, and each one was more dazzling than thest. Zu An was even tempted to change his ss to Spirit Master.

    It was just like when he had yed basketball in school before. Whether or not the ball went in didn¡¯t matter; what mattered was that it looked cool. Zu An really felt like crying when he thought of Yun Yuqing and Jia Sili¡¯s dazzling skills.

    Jia Sili casually took a sword and fiddled around with it. Yun Yuqing¡¯s eyes widened in shock, and she subconsciously nced at the sword in Zu An¡¯s hand. In contrast, Zu An wasn¡¯t surprised, and instead calmly watched the other party.

    Jia Sili chuckled and said, ¡°Judging from our earlier fight, I could tell that your sword isn¡¯t bad. It¡¯s probably some divine weapon. That¡¯s why I decided to make one for myself. It might not be as good as the original, but it¡¯s probably seventy to eighty percent as good. Furthermore, I still have many other divine weapons just like this one. If I materialize every single powerful weapon I¡¯ve seen, I wonder if you would still wish to continue fighting?¡±

    Yun Yuqing¡¯s expression was filled with shock. Even though she knew that Spirit Masters were mysterious and powerful, she hadn¡¯t realized that it was to this ridiculous degree. Materializing the enemy¡¯s divine weapons, including their skills¡­ just how oppressive of a skill was that?!

    Jia Sili was extremely satisfied when she saw Yun Yuqing¡¯s expression. This was exactly what she wanted to see. However, when she looked at Zu An, she saw that he seemedpletely unfazed. ¡°It seems you don¡¯t care at all¡­?¡± shemented, frowning.

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°You might be able to fool others with this skill, but how can you fool me? Even though you can copy your opponent¡¯s weapons and their skills, a fake is still a fake. It can¡¯tpare to the original. Furthermore, mixing all sorts of weapons together will only make the skill disorderly and messy. As long as your opponent understands that, defeating your skill isn¡¯t hard at all.¡±

    Jia Sili was incredibly shocked. In truth, she had already vaguely realized the ws of her skill as well, but she couldn¡¯t pinpoint them. Yet now, this fellow had hit the nail on the head just from a single nce. Just how frightening was his talent and discernment? There was no limit to this kind of person¡¯s future! He might even exceed the emperor himself one day.

    This was the moment Zu An had been waiting for. His figure shed, and then he appeared in front of Jia Sili. His speed was so fast that not even Shu Shuhao could react in time.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Jia Sili quickly raised the ¡®Tai¡¯e Sword¡¯ in her hands. However, how could a mage defeat a warrior in close quartersbat? With a brittle sound, her ¡®Tai¡¯e Sword¡¯ snapped in two. A line of blood flew across the sky as Jia Sili¡¯s figure was pushed back several times in session.

    Shu Shuhao quickly rushed in front of Jia Sili to block the attacks with his soul banner. He saw that her right arm had been cut off, blood gushing out endlessly from the stump. He turned toward Zu An and shouted, ¡°Damn brat, you¡¯re courting death!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Shu Shuhao for +444 +444 +444¡­

    The soul banner stabbed into the ground. Two white, specter-like clouds of mist spun around Shu Shuhao as sinister winds howled. The temperature of the surroundings immediately dropped by several degrees.

    Then, a ck cloud of mist the size of a person appeared next to him. It was as if a gate to hell had opened, and a myriad of howls and wails emerged from inside.

    Following the appearance of the mist, a corpse covered in ck smoke shambled out from inside. The corpse demons with the two rings, the golden hammer, and the red-tasseled spear all began to tremble. They could no longer stand still and began crawling on the ground. This was due to a natural difference in level.

    Yun Yuqing and Zu An¡¯s expressions changed, because they could sense that this new corpse demon¡¯s strength was on an entirely different level. This was a corpse demon that was already half a step into the master rank!

    Shu Shuhao sneered. ¡°You¡¯ve forced me to do this. In that case, you can both forget about living.¡±

    However, the tinkling of bells resounded from behind him as Jia Sili blocked him with her remaining hand, saying, ¡°There¡¯s no need to go that far.¡± Then, she reached out her hand. The right arm thaty on the ground flew toward her.

    Yun Yuqing was confused. She said quietly, ¡°I didn¡¯t sense any ki fluctuations.¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°It¡¯s probably something like telekinesis.¡±

    ¡°Big brother¡¯s judgment is excellent as expected,¡± Jia Sili said with a smile. Then, she reconnected her arm to her shoulder. Light flickered around the wound, and by the time its glow faded, her arm had actually returned to normal!

    But that made sense as well. If she could even summon the divine weapons of others through her Fantasy Materialize ability, then it shouldn¡¯t be too difficult for her to reconnect a broken limb.

    Zu An was really halfway betweenughter and tears now. If this woman had been brought to his past world to reconnect limbs through surgery, she might have just be the world¡¯s most famous doctor.

    Jia Sili said with a smile, ¡°I know you might feel some resentment. They hit you with a siege crossbow, but now you¡¯ve cut off my arm. We¡¯re even now, right?¡±

    Zu An was speechless. It really was hard to hit a friendly person. Since this woman had such a good attitude, he couldn¡¯t really continue to act fiercely either.

    Jia Sili continued, ¡°I¡¯m being sincere. I¡¯m going to offer you another invitation for an alliance.¡±

    Zu An replied seriously, ¡°I managed to severely injure you multiple times over. I believe you don¡¯t have much mental strength left.¡±

    ¡°I will admit to that.¡± Jia Sili nodded. ¡°However, with my skills, it¡¯ll also be hard for you to take me down, let alone the fact that I still have big brother Shu over here. We can¡¯t say that we can definitely win, but we canst until the City Defense Army arrives.¡±

    Zu An voiced his curiosity. ¡°That¡¯s interesting. Aren¡¯t we the court officials? Once the City Defense Army arrives, wouldn¡¯t you two be the ones who have to flee? Why does it instead seem as if you¡¯re looking forward to their arrival?¡±

    Jia Sili smiled and looked toward Yun Yuqing. ¡°I believe that out of everyone here, you¡¯re the one who wouldn¡¯t wish to be captured by the court the most, right? Oh, right. Should I call you Madam Wu?¡±

    Yun Yuqing¡¯s expression changed. Her killing intent surged the moment her identity was exposed. She couldn¡¯t let them leave alive, or else things would really be troublesome.

    Jia Sili continued with a charming voice, ¡°Madam Wu must be confused about how I know your identity, but that¡¯s obviously because I saw you in big brother Zu¡¯s illusion earlier. The intelligence stated that big brother Zu was a perverted man, so I never expected him to be someone so loyal. He actually didn¡¯t hesitate to betray the entire world for you and fight against Zhuxie Chixin. In the end, he even faced the emperor¡­ Sigh, if there were a man willing to treat me like this, then even death would be worth it.¡±

    Yun Yuqing was moved when she heard those words, and subconsciously nced toward Zu An. The killing intent in her eyes disappeared, and was instead reced with aplicated array of emotions all at once¡ªshock, happiness, gentleness, and a feeling of being touched.

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡± Yun Yuqing eximed. Even though Jia Sili had only said a few things, she could already guess what had really happened in that world of illusion.

    Jia Sili suddenly closed her eyes as if she sensed something. A whileter, she said, ¡°There¡¯s a city defense troop hurrying this way, and they¡¯ll arrive in less than half a stick of incense¡¯s time. You two need to make your decision.¡±

    Zu An was still a bit hesitant, but Yun Yuqing quickly replied, ¡°Alright, we agree.¡± Zu An was surprised, but he didn¡¯t say anything.

    ¡°A wise choice.¡± Jia Sili patted Shu Shuhao and said, ¡°Just give them the antidote.¡±

    Shu Shuhao harrumphed. He tossed over a bottle of medicine. ¡°She¡¯s been hit with my corpse poison. Once you take this medicine and soak in hot water, the poison will be neutralized.¡±

    ¡°You were poisoned?¡± Zu An asked as he quickly looked at Yun Yuqing. Yun Yuqing was stunned, suddenly feeling a bit light-headed. Her body swayed back and forth. Fortunately, Zu An reached out his hand in time, preventing her from falling.

    Shu Shuhao looked at Jia Sili. He asked quietly, ¡°I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re willing to make peace with them. They would have been dead for certain if we really did fight.¡±

    Jia Sili smiled and said, ¡°Having another friend is always better than having another enemy.¡± Then, she tossed over a dark token.

    Zu An caught it and examined it. He saw that the tile depicted vipers, scorpions, centipedes, and all sorts of other poisonous creatures.

    Jia Sili gestured toward Zu An with her finger. ¡°Cute big brother,e visit us sometime in the southern border with that Five Poison Token. You¡¯ll be treated as our most distinguished guest.¡± Then, she turned around to leave with light steps.

    Zu An quickly called out, ¡°Wait, since we¡¯re now allies, then tell me one thing. Who is your master? Who was it that sent you all to kill me?¡±

 Chapter 758: Mysterious Teacher

    <h4>Chapter 758: Mysterious Teacher</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Jia Sili turned around and said with a charming smile, ¡°Even though big sis really wants to tell you, I unfortunately made a vow, so I can¡¯t tell you who he is. Otherwise, I¡¯ll suffer from the wrath of heaven, you know?¡±

    Zu An asked out of curiosity, ¡°What does your wrath of heaven have to do with me?¡±

    Jia Sili was stunned. ¡°Stupid big brother, you need to say nice things at times like this!¡± Sheharrumphed. ¡°But I¡¯m sure someone as smart as you can easily find out who sent us.¡± Then, she drifted nonchntly toward the corpses of the deathsworn soldiers.

    Zu An knew she was giving him a hint. After all, these deathsworn soldiers had set out with siege crossbows and military de formations. This was clearly the style of the army. Furthermore, the silver and gold rings, the golden hammer, and the red-tasseled spear were extremely unique weapons and fighting styles, and they were even at the seventh rank. They were definitely well-known individuals. It wouldn¡¯t be too hard to look into their backgrounds.

    Zu An gave the two of them a curious look and said, ¡°By the way, I heard something from your conversation earlier. Wasn¡¯t your mission this time to kill me? Won¡¯t you suffer from the rebound of that vow if you form an alliance with me instead?¡±

    Jia Sili sighed and replied ¡°We already did everything we could, but all of our methods were defeated by you. I even lost an arm, so how could we kill you? The city defense is here too, so we have no choice but to run.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. These fellows really are treacherous¡­ They deliberately left behind some room even when making a vow.

    ¡°Enough, we¡¯re leaving. Otherwise, we really won¡¯t be able to leave once the City Defense Army arrives. I¡¯m looking forward to our next meeting, cute big brother~¡± Jia Sili left, leaving a string of melodious bell sounds and charmingughter in her wake.

    Yu Yuqing struggled free from Zu An¡¯s embrace and said weakly, ¡°Hurry and take me out of here.¡±

    Zu An knew that she didn¡¯t want to be seen by the City Defense Army. He gave the deathsworn corpses on the ground a look. After some hesitation, he decided to just collect all of them into his Brilliant ss Bead. But after thinking about it, he put back a few, as well as the siege crossbow.

    He didn¡¯t know whether or not something would be wrong with the City Defense Army that rushed over. It would be troublesome if they ended up hiding the corpses, so he brought away some key evidence. And yet, he had to leave something behind. Otherwise, it would be hard for him to exin things to Zhuxie Chixin and the emperorter. After all, it would be extremely hard for a single person to transport such arge and clumsy siege crossbow.

    After he finished, he quickly left while carrying Yun Yuqing. Not even a minute after they left, a group of soldiers arrived. They were all filled with shock when they saw the scene, especially when they saw the siege crossbow. The leader waved his hands and said, ¡°Seal off this area! Everyone else, arrest anyone suspicious nearby!¡±

    ¡­

    Zu An had already taken Yun Yuqing several li away. When he saw a bit of ck energye out from between her brows, he quickly took out the antidote Jia Sili had given him. He said a bit hesitantly, ¡°I wonder if this medicine is real.¡±

    Yun Yuqing took the bottle from him and gave it a whiff, saying, ¡°I think it¡¯s real.¡±

    ¡°You have medical knowledge?¡± Zu An was still cautious. It would be no joke if she was wrong.

    Yun Yuqing nodded. ¡°Rune Masters all know a bit about medicine. Even though I don¡¯t have any profound achievements in that regard, I can at least tell if it¡¯s an antidote.¡± She took the medicine, and then closed her eyes. ¡°However, we still need hot water to get rid of the poison, and I¡¯m still extremely weak. Sigh, I really was too careless just now. I ended up being affected by his corpse poison without even realizing it.¡±

    Zu An recalled the methods of the yin-yang man. He said with a sigh, ¡°His attacks are difficult to prepare against, so you can¡¯t be med. By the way, where are you staying? Let me bring you back first.¡± Yun Yuqing was still weak right now, so he didn¡¯t feel confident in leaving her alone.

    Yun Yuqing didn¡¯t refuse him and said, ¡°Let¡¯s return to the capital.¡±

    ¡°The capital?¡± Zu An eximed, shocked. In his opinion, she should have been hiding somewhere on the city outskirts. However, she actually lived in the capital! After all, ording to the Great Zhou Dynasty¡¯sws, kings who didn¡¯t have an official position there couldn¡¯t casually enter the capital or bring their families to live there, or it would be a grave crime.

    Yun Yuqing undid her veil, exposing her stunning face. She had a faint smile as she said, ¡°We discovered a white deer auspicious sign in North Order Commandery, so I came to offer it to his and her majesty. Naturally, I¡¯ll be residing in the capital during this time.¡±

    Zu An sighed in amazement. This woman really was smart! After all, the emperor was already undefeated in this world and wanted for nothing. What hecked the most was longevity. Meanwhile, the white deer was a sign of longevity. The emperor might scoff disdainfully at other auspicious signs, but he would definitely be pleased at the sound of this one.

    ¡°We can¡¯t enter the capital like this,¡± Yun Yuqing removed her ck clothes. Beneath them, she was dressed in ordinary clothing. She drew a rune, and the ck outfit was burned to ashes.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but exim, ¡°But your simple outfit still can¡¯t hide your stunning beauty! You¡¯ll only draw more suspicion when you arrive at the city gate.¡±

    ¡°I just need to wear a mask.¡± Yun Yuqing smiled. She fished out a thin mask and covered her face with it. Her stunning appearance became that of an ordinary woman.

    Zu An felt relieved. This woman was a glorious king¡¯s wife, and she was also a Rune Master. How could she not have something like this?

    Yun Yuqing asked Zu An, ¡°Are you not going to use a mask?¡±

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°There¡¯s no need. I can just enter the capital like this.¡±

    ¡°But I¡¯m scared that this will bring you more trouble¡­¡± Yun Yuqing said, feeling a bit apologetic. She was a bit weak and needed to lean against Zu An. If someone saw them, there would definitely be curious people wondering what was going on.

    Zu An thought for a bit. In the end, he decided that he couldn¡¯t tarnish his reputation. It was one thing if he was seen with other girls, but Yun Yuqing¡¯s current appearance was too ordinary. If someone saw this, wouldn¡¯t they think he had no taste? As such, he still epted the mask she offered him. Then, he picked up Yun Yuqing¡¯s soft body and hurried to the city gate.

    Along the way, Yun Yuqingy in his embrace. Even though her expression remained neutral, her eyes became misty as she asked, ¡°You were really even willing to face the emperor for my sake?¡±

    Zu An smiled and replied, ¡°Didn¡¯t you save my life several times as well? How could I just watch you suffer without doing anything?¡±

    ¡°You did all that just because I saved you?¡± Yun Yuqing¡¯s small mouth opened, as if she were a bit disappointed.

    ¡°Of course not. I had to save you because you were in danger!¡± Zu An immediately realized what he had done wrong. Sweet talk was the basic skill of a yboy.

    Sure enough, Yun Yuqing immediately beamed when she heard him, saying, ¡°Ah Zu, you¡¯re so great.¡±

    The two chatted happily along the way. They quickly entered the capital, and Yun Yuqing guided them to an imposing manor inside the city. Zu An was stunned when he saw therge words ¡®King Wu Manor¡¯ on the main gate¡¯s card.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Yun Yuqing said with a smile, ¡°Every king has a residence in the capital; it¡¯s just that we rarely have a chance to stay here. Now that I¡¯m here in the capital, of course I would live here.¡± Then, she said with a frown, ¡°I left secretly today to avoid prying eyes. That¡¯s why you need to sneak back in with me.¡±

    Zu An felt some misgivings and remarked, ¡°But the security in this king manor is strict¡­¡± After all, even his residence in Brightmoon Academy had a defensive formation. This was a king manor here! How could itck defensive formations and restrictions?

    Yun Yuqing dangled a token in her hand and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we won¡¯t set off any of the security with this tile.¡±

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help butugh. The security of a prison was nothing before a traitor after all. With Yun Yuqing leading the way, as well as her warning him ahead of time, he didn¡¯t activate any of the manor¡¯s security. At the same time, he avoided the patrolling guards.

    Of course, in the end, it was still only possible because this was a king manor that had remained empty for a long time, so there weren¡¯t many guards. Otherwise, even if they made it past the outer security, he would still have easily been discovered inside.

    Yun Yuqing finally sighed in relief when she entered her inner chamber. The entire room seemed to be a bit brighter when she removed her mask and returned to her original appearance. She walked over to an empty pool nearby and gently twisted the valve. Clear, hot water poured out from the mouth of a few sculptures.

    Zu An was stupefied. ¡°A water heater?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Water heater?¡± Yun Yuqing replied, stunned. ¡°A rune formation takes in water from a nearby hot spring. The surrounding nobles all have simr pools.¡±

    Zu An sighed in amazement. These people really understood how to enjoy themselves. He had already seen many ways in which rune formations were used to raise their quality of life.

    ¡°By the way¡­ You were actually a Rune Master!? Where did you learn all this stuff?¡± Zu An asked curiously. After all, Rune Master was an upation exclusive to the human race, and this woman was of the demon race. How had she learned these secrets of the human race?

    Yun Yuqing looked apologetic as she replied, ¡°Sorry, I promised my master that I wouldn¡¯t divulge who he was.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, I was too hasty,¡± Zu An didn¡¯t really mind. He added, ¡°By the way, you should hurry and get rid of the poison. Otherwise, it¡¯ll be really bad if the corpse poison seeps in deeply.¡±

    Yun Yuqing voiced a response. But just as she was about to undo her cor, she blushed. She opened her mouth, but fell silent for a moment.

    Eventually, she asked, ¡°Ah Zu, can you help me keep watch?¡± Then, her beautiful fingers gently flew about. Piece by piece, articles of clothing slid to the ground, exposing her perfect, shining white body.

 Chapter 759: Breakthrough

    <h4>Chapter 759: Breakthrough</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An removed his mask as well. He said with an ambiguous smile, ¡°Did madam forget that there was someone else here?¡±

    Yun Yuqing tapped her foot against the ground, and then her body slowly entered the hot spring. Only her clear and smooth shoulders, as well as her beautiful corbone, were exposed. She said, ¡°You¡¯re different from other people.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m no King Wu though.¡± Zu An sighed. A true yboy should never let feelings get involved, but he had discovered that he couldn¡¯t hold himself back when it was just the two of them. Sigh, isn¡¯t being on this side of NTR just fine? Why am I ying around with feelings? I¡¯m really going to get sucked in at this rate.

    Yun Yuqing wanted to say something, but she stopped. In the end, she didn¡¯t exin anything and only sighed deeply. An awkward silence filled the room.

    Zu An was the first one to speak up. ¡°You should take care of your poison first. We can¡¯t dy that.¡±

    ¡°Okay,¡± Yun Yuqing replied. Then, she closed her eyes, and her hands formedplex seals. Nine runes gradually appeared in midair, and then gently descended onto the water¡¯s surface. The runes covered the water surface in a thinyer of gold.

    Then, Yun Yuqing sat down in the water with her legs crossed and began to focus on eliminating the poison. Momentster, Zu An noticed threads of ck energy leave her body and dissolve into the water. The golden runes then flickered around, and the ck energy was gradually refined, eventually vanishing from the pool of water.

    Zu An was shocked. The legendary Demon Race was portrayed as sinister and vicious, yet Yun Yuqing was theplete opposite. It was to the extent where she had even used a formation to clean up the remaining poison, for fear that the poison would harm innocent civilians if she just let it drain away.

    After some time passed, Yun Yuqing opened her eyes again. Her fair, blushing cheeks looked incredibly lovely within the rising steam. She said, ¡°Ah Zu, I¡¯ve already eliminated all of the corpse poison.¡±

    Zu An sighed in relief and replied, ¡°Looks like those two didn¡¯t deceive us the way I expected.¡±

    Yun Yuqing smiled and said, ¡°They¡¯re both important figures from the southern border. It should be of great help to you in the future if you get along with them.¡±

    Zu An was surprised. He actually had many questions he wanted to ask her, but he was worried that their rtionship would never go back to what it had been again if he asked them.

    Yun Yuqing swam over to the pool¡¯s side and said, ¡°Ah Zu, crouch down over here.¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t know why she would say such a thing. Yun Yuqing gently caressed his chest and removed the clothing he had worn to get past the gate inspection. When she saw that most of his body was soaked in blood, her fingers trembled slightly as she asked, ¡°Does it hurt?¡±

    ¡°It didn¡¯t hurt before, but now that your small hand has touched it, maybe it does hurt a little,¡± Zu An said with a smile.

    Yun Yuqing was momentarily distracted. This was what he had said thest time he was in North Order Commandery¡¯s King Wu Manor. She gave him an annoyed look and shot back, ¡°Look at the situation! Despite that, you¡¯re still making jokes.¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve already reached the seventh rank, so I can already recover pretty quickly. I won¡¯t die.¡±

    Yun Yuqing shook her head. ¡°Even though cultivators at the peak of the seventh rank have powerful regenerative abilities, a normal person might have exploded on the spot from being hit by a siege crossbow. Even though you survived through a fluke, it would take at least half a year for you to recover from this type of injury, and there might even be hidden damage. Even though you¡¯ve already stopped bleeding, the injuries inside won¡¯t heal so easily. Hurry and get in, I¡¯ll help you with the treatment.¡± Regardless of whether it was her status as a Rune Master or as a Demon Race individual, she had corresponding healing methods.

    Zu An asked with a strange expression, ¡°Madam, aren¡¯t you just asking for trouble here?¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Yun Yuqing looked irritated as she replied, ¡°With our rtionship, what are you worried about?¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°Looks like I was the one being unreasonable.¡± Then, he took off his clothes and jumped in.

    Yun Yuqing swam over and gently helped him clean the wound. At the same time, her other hand flickered with light to help him recover. She said, ¡°It¡¯s all my fault foringte. That was why you ended up being injured so badly.¡± Her eyes began to redden, and tears glistened by the edges of hershes.

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°If it weren¡¯t for the fact that you had hurried over in time, I might¡¯ve already been finished then and there.¡± Yun Yuqing bit her lip and didn¡¯t say anything as she focused on treating him.

    Zu An closed his eyes. Even though the Primordial Origin Sutra had already begun to repair his body, after having fought for so long, it still couldn¡¯tpare to proactive treatment at all. He wasn¡¯t sure if it was because Yun Yuqing was helping him, but the primordial ki¡¯s powers seemed far stronger than usual.

    He didn¡¯t waste this chance. He gathered the primordial ki toward his wounds, and then the originally badly mangled cavity began to sizzle and heal up at a visible rate.

    Suddenly, Zu An heard a ¡®Ding!¡¯ in his head. It was as if he had suddenly be enlightened with wisdom. He could clearly feel that the air around him had be more fragrant and sweet. If his primordial ki had felt as if it were flowing through a muddy countryside before, then now, it was as if it were traveling on a level county road. It flowed much, much faster.

    ¡°What is this?¡± Zu An eximed, happy and surprised.

    Mi Li¡¯s voice said in his head, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect a brat like you to break into the Primordial Origin Sutra¡¯s thirdyer so quickly. Tsk, tsk, what kind of damn luck is this?¡± Her red-clothed self floated next to the Tai¡¯e Sword in a semi-transparent state, and she didn¡¯t manifestpletely.

    Zu An was pleasantly surprised and eximed, ¡°You finally came out, big sis empress! You didn¡¯t even wake up when I almost died earlier.¡±

    Mi Li harrumphed. ¡°I already said that you need to be someone truly strong, so you can¡¯t think about relying on me. Furthermore, if even some low level nobodies like them could take your life, then I might as well just die too.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. Sigh, big sis empress is still just as frank. Whatever, I¡¯ll just treat her as a strict teacher who wants her students to do well.

    ¡°By the way, what kinds of benefits are there now that the Primordial Origin Sutra has reached the thirdyer?¡± Zu An recalled that the firstyer had brought him a powerful regeneration ability, and the second had contained the ability to purge evil spirits. What did this newyer bring?

    ¡°It can make you impervious to all poisons,¡± Mi Li said with an ambiguous smile. ¡°At the very least, you won¡¯t be schemed against like thest time, when you fainted alongside the crown princess.¡±

    Zu An blushed and said, ¡°I was way too carelessst time.¡±

    At the same time, he was quite shaken. Being immune to poison was amazing! Even though the cultivators of this world were strong and their bodies were tough, which had eliminated many of the illnesses of his past world, the poisons of this world had instead be even stronger. Even high level cultivators might be done in by their power. He had already suffered many times himself. This poison immunity would save him a lot of worries.

    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t feel happy too soon.¡± Mi Li¡¯s expression changed as she said, ¡°You can never use the excuse of being affected by an aphrodisiac to harass other girls again.¡±

    Zu An immediately said in an upright manner, ¡°Am I that type of person? I have always lived an incorruptible and upstanding life! I have always used my own charisma and charm¡­¡±

    Mi i immediately cut him off. ¡°Hah!¡± Her eyes shifted to Yun Yuqing, who was next to her. ¡°Tsk tsk, this is that Madam Wu you mentioned, right? She is a beauty after all; I really feel pity¡­¡±

    Suddenly, a hint of shock shed through her eyes. She suddenly gave Zu An an angry look and eximed, ¡°What the hell is up with you!? How in the world do you have so many beautiful women at your side?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for +33 +33 +33¡­

    Zu An raised his chin proudly and said, ¡°It¡¯s obviously because of my iparable charm.¡±

    Mi Li¡¯s eyelids twitched. ¡°Don¡¯t make me beat you up.¡±

    Yun Yuqing said in surprise, ¡°Your injuries recover so quickly. All of the internal organs inside of such a huge cavity have actually already regenerated!¡± She had been helping him all this time, so she could feel how his body was recovering.

    ¡°Haha, it¡¯s not as if you don¡¯t know how tough my body is,¡± Zu An subconsciously replied. Then, he gave Mi Li a guilty look.

    Mi Li harrumphed. ¡°What are you looking at me for? She¡¯s already staying with you in this hot spring. If you still don¡¯t do anything, can you even be called a man anymore?¡± She had always been tough by nature. When she saw Yun Yuqing¡¯s gentle and meek appearance, she had really gotten a strong urge to bully her.

 Chapter 760: Resolved to Pursue His Dao

    <h4>Chapter 760: Resolved to Pursue His Dao</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Unfortunately, she couldn¡¯t do much in this type of spiritual state, so she could only borrow Zu An¡¯s hand to bully Yun Yuqing.

    Zu An didn¡¯t know what Mi Li was really thinking. He said rather bashfully, ¡°But it¡¯s a bit embarrassing with you watching right next to me¡­¡±

    Mi Li harrumphed. ¡°Who wants to watch you do such dirty things?¡± Her red figure shed as soon as she finished speaking, and she disappeared in a puff of smoke.

    Zu An sighed in relief. The pressure Mi Li gave him was a bit too much. Furthermore, whispering sweet things to a woman in front of another woman just felt like courting death.

    Beside him, Yun Yuqing said yfully, ¡°You¡¯re so bad¡­¡±

    Zu An couldn¡¯t hold himself back, and he gently held Yun Yuqing¡¯s waist when he heard what she said. Her skin really was smooth and slippery in this hot spring.

    Yun Yuqing didn¡¯t reject him, and gently leaned into his embrace. Their two young bodies quickly became hotter as they pressed against each other. She said, ¡°Ah Zu¡­¡±

    ¡°Hm?¡± Zu An answered.

    Yun Yuqing didn¡¯t say anything else, and instead got on her tiptoes to kiss Zu An. She had already felt incredibly touched when she heard that Zu An was willing to sacrifice the entire world for her.

    Her soft lips were like the bugle horn that sounded the start of a war. How could Zu An still hold himself back? Water began to ssh everywhere. The water surface rippled more and more intensely, as if it were a representation of Yun Yuqing¡¯s soul¡­

    ¡­

    A long time passed. Yun Yuqing¡¯s entire body was as soft as cotton as she nestled into Zu An¡¯s embrace. Her fair, snowy skin was covered in a beautiful pink blush, making her look more and more lovely. Her figure was misty and indistinct within the mist, as if she were a goddess in a heavenly temple.

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡± Yun Yuqing pressed her cheek tightly against his chest. At the same time, herrge, watery eyes looked at the man that hadpletely subdued her, both in body and spirit.

    Zu An embraced her soft body, feeling thoroughly refreshed. The entire process had been filled with bliss. Furthermore, he discovered that the intense battle had carried him through his bottleneck. Not only had he advanced ayer in the Primordial Origin Sutra, his cultivation had even broken through to the eighth rank.

    He had already been at the peak of the seventh rank. After the siege crossbow prated his body, the injury that would have instantly taken out a simr level cultivator was something he had needed to rely on the Primordial Origin Sutra¡¯s tempering to survive.

    An injury this serious was already enough to push Zu An past the eighth rank¡¯s threshold. However, for ordinary cultivators, it was as if there were a huge pit resting between the seventh and eighth rank. They needed to seek their own dao in order to enter the eighth rank.

    The difficulty was that one couldn¡¯t just randomly choose their dao. This dao had to align with the origin of the world, and it also had to match one¡¯s own nature. If they made an incorrect choice, then their future prospects might be ruined. That was why countless people had been trapped on that threshold for a long time; some who had been geniuses in their youth were trapped there forever, surpassed by many whose aptitudes were worse than theirs.

    Even though it wasn¡¯t as difficult for Zu An to break through into the eighth rank as it was for other people because he cultivated the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, he still had to seek the dao. It was just easier for him, as he didn¡¯t have to carry out the endless process of condensing true ki.

    Even though Zu An had had some ambitions before, it had never been all that clear. But in that instant, when he experienced the soft and gentle body of Madam Wu, and remembered the empress he had toyed with in the Pce of Peace a few days ago, he recalled that domineering feeling where he had their very lives in his hands. He suddenly realized that a man among men had to train his horse with a raised horsewhip, and needed the domineering aura of a tiger. He wanted to be the most powerful man in the entire world!

    He subconsciously looked in the direction of the imperial pce. Even though he¡¯d had thoughts of surpassing the emperor before, the emperor¡¯s terror and power had left him with a deep impression that reached all the way to his subconscious.

    It was thanks to Jia Sili¡¯s illusion that he had finally gathered the courage to draw his sword, and then even defeat the emperor head-on. Even though all of that had been fake, Zu An still managed to defeat his inner demons.

    All of these elements added together resulted in Zu An breaking through to the eighth rank.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in the imperial pce, the emperor was cultivating. He suddenly opened his eyes and looked toward the horizon with a pensive expression. He was a bit puzzled. Why had he suddenly felt a strange sense of rm just now? How long had it been since hest felt such an annoying feeling?

    He frowned and called in Eunuch Wen from outside. ¡°Little Wen, help me check whether there have been any developments by the Eastern Pce.¡±

    Eunuch Wen hesitated a bit and asked, ¡°How far does your majesty wish to check?¡± The Eastern Pce was a bit toorge, after all. It waspletely impractical to check everything.

    The emperor gave him a cold look. He clearly enunciated the word, ¡°Everything!¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± Eunuch Wen was rmed. It had been a long time since the emperor wasst this serious. In that case, he obviously wouldn¡¯t spare any resources in his investigation.

    ¡­

    Zu An, who was in King Wu Manor, obviously didn¡¯t know that his dao had ended up affecting the emperor, as well as the fates of many people in the Eastern Pce.

    ¡°Ah Zu, you broke through?¡± Yun Yuqing asked, shocked and overjoyed. The two of them were close together, so she was the most sensitive to his body¡¯s various changes. Her eyes were full of veneration. A woman naturally liked a strong man.

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Zu An embraced her with a smile. ¡°A lot of this was thanks to you.¡±

    ¡°It was thanks to me?¡± Yun Yuqing looked a bit lost.

    Zu An moved over to her ear and said something quietly. Yun Yuqing immediately blushed and said, ¡°You¡¯re annoying¡­¡±

    Zu An only felt a me ignite within his lower body when he heard her yful voice. He lifted her up from behind; with his arms supporting her underarms, he raised her petite body up, and then lowered her back down.

    When had Yun Yuqing ever experienced such a game? Her heart pounded like crazy, and her bodypletely melted.

    Zu An could feel her body shaking in his arms. However, he didn¡¯t forget more important matters. He asked, ¡°Why did Jia Sili say that you were the one who wouldn''t want to be captured by the City Defense Army the most?¡±

    Zu An had had too many misgivings before. He had worried that their rtionship would never be the same again. But now that he had fully established his dao, he wasn¡¯t as overly cautious as before. He already had enough confidence in his ability to control the situation.

    Yun Yuqing began to sob, ¡°Why do you have to torment me now of all times¡­ I knew you wanted to ask earlier. You¡¯re so annoying!¡±

    Just as Yun Yuqing was about to say something, the two heard a maid say in a panicked voice, ¡°King, madam is still bathing inside. Please wait outside for a moment.¡±

    Zu An was rmed. King Wu had actuallye to the capital in secret! It was unusual. After all, the one who hade to deliver the auspicious sign was Madam Wu. King Wu¡¯s status was rather sensitive, as he was a vassal state¡¯s king. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn¡¯t be allowed in the capital, yet he had secretlye here. What was he plotting?

    King Wu said in a dissatisfied tone, ¡°Hmph, why does this king need to wait if I wish to meet my own wife? Step aside.¡±

    The maid tried to stop King Wu. They were Yun Yuqing¡¯s personal maids, so they were from the demon race as well. Their loyalty to Yun Yuqing was unquestionable.

    Yun Yuqing began to panic as she eximed, ¡°Ah Zu, you need to hide!¡±

    Zu An said unhappily, ¡°Why do I need to do that?¡±

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡± Yun Yuqing pleaded, ¡°Don¡¯t you want to know what¡¯s happening? You¡¯ll know if you listen in on my conversation with him.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s heart softened when he saw her pitiful appearance. He harrumphed, and then moved behind the nearby screen. He used Mirror Mirage and his aurapletely dissipated. Unless someone looked directly at him, they would have no idea he was there.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Yun Yuqing leaped out of the pond. Her body spun around like a celestialdy. Several runes flickered around her, and a white dress suddenly materialized around her.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes lit up. Was that a magical girl transformation? This girl really is a treasure trove! She¡¯s full of mysteries and beauty.

    The door mmed open not long after Yun Yuqing got dressed.

    ¡°King Wu, the madam¡­¡± A group of maids ran inside in rm. They were clearly conflicted, since they had failed toplete their mission.

    Yun Yuqing waved her hand and said, ¡°You all can withdraw for now.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± The maids bowed and quickly withdrew, closing the door behind them.

    Zu An spied through the gap in the curtains as a handsome man walked in. Who else could this be but King Wu?

    Even though he wasn¡¯t pleased to see him, Zu An had to admit that this guy was good looking. Everyone had thought that he was a perfect match for Madam Wu when they stood together in North Order Commandery.

    Today, King Wu wasn¡¯t dressed in his usual king¡¯s gown, but rather wore well tailored green clothes. This was most likely because he didn¡¯t want to draw too much attention in the capital. However, the clothes really did match him well, making him look quite outstanding.

    King Wu was just about to say something when he noticed the water that had sshed everywhere. His eyes narrowed.

 Chapter 761: Behind the Scenes

    <h4>Chapter 761: Behind the Scenes</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    King Wu looked toward Yun Yuqing. When he saw her slightly pink skin, his eyes were filled with infatuation. ¡°Yuqing, you are really beautiful today.¡±

    Yun Yuqing bowed and replied in a formal tone, ¡°Thank you, my king, for your praise. May I ask why you have sought me out today?¡±

    King Wu frowned. He was a bit unhappy about her attitude. Just as he was about to say something, he suddenly noticed a puddle on the ground. His expression couldn¡¯t help but change.

    He pretended to have inadvertently walked over to the edge of the pool. He looked at the damp floor, as well as the small puddles everywhere, and his expression sank. ¡°What were you doing here just now?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Taking a bath, of course. What else would I be doing?¡± Yun Yuqing replied nonchntly. She sorted out her dress and sat down at a table, pouring a cup of water for herself. All of that activity had left her feeling a bit dehydrated.

    King Wu¡¯s gaze moved over to his wife¡¯s curves. Because she had just finished her shower, there was still a bit of steaming from her body. Her clothes stuck tightly to her skin, making her curves even more seductive.

    ¡°Hmph, I wonder which store¡¯s clothes those are. They actually aren¡¯t see-through even after they get wet. My king manor will never purchase clothes from them again.¡± King Wu retracted his gaze and said, ¡°Why is there so much water all over the ground if you were just taking a bath?¡±

    Yun Yuqing replied indifferently, ¡°Can I not y around in the water if I¡¯m in the mood?¡±

    Zu An almost burst outughing. It really was the case that the prettier the girl, the better they were at lying! Yun Yuqing was indeed ying around with water, but she was ying with me.At the same time, he was confused. Why did their conversation seem a bit rigid? It didn¡¯t sound as intimate as the previous time in North Order Commandery.

    King Wu smiled apologetically. ¡°Of course you can. I didn¡¯t expect Yuqing to still be so young at heart.¡±

    Yun Yuqing lowered her cup and asked, ¡°What does the king need me for today, exactly? You even disregarded the servants and barged in, almost as if you came here to criticize me.¡±

    King Wu¡¯s smile gradually faded as well. He said, ¡°I just received news that the assassination on Zu An seems to have failed. We didn¡¯t find Zu An¡¯s corpse.¡± He paused for a moment, then looked at his wife. ¡°Did you rush over and save him?¡±

    Behind the curtain, Zu An was shocked. They had known about this assassination! In that instant, many possibilities appeared in his head. At the same time, something that had always puzzled him during this time was finally cleared up. However, there was one issue. What role had Yun Yuqing yed here, exactly?

    Yun Yuqing suddenly got up and stared at King Wu, eximing angrily, ¡°What were you intending by deliberately keeping news of Zu An¡¯s assassination from me?!¡± Zu An sighed in relief when he heard those words.

    King Wu harrumphed. ¡°It¡¯s obviously because I feared that you might be worried. Why are you getting so worked up? Don¡¯t tell me you feel something for him?¡±

    Zu An sneered in disdain. This fellow had pushed his own wife onto another man, yet he was here getting all jealous. What the hell is wrong with you?

    Yun Yuqing said indifferently, ¡°Of course. He¡¯s a true man and a reliable husband, so it¡¯s normal for me to feel something. I like him.¡±

    Zu An was shocked. He had never expected her to give this kind of answer! He had originally thought that she would try to talk her way around this, but she had chosen to charge straight ahead! Why?

    ¡°What?!¡± King Wu was also stunned. His first reaction was that he had heard wrong, but when he saw his wife¡¯s provocative gaze, he finally reacted. He roared, ¡°You actually like that rascal from the streets, that piece of trash?!¡±

    Yun Yuqing harrumphed. ¡°No one questions the background of a hero. Why would there be a need to evaluate a man based on his status and background? I only looked at what kind of person he really is. He¡¯s clearly an outstanding man, regardless of which aspect of him it is.¡±

    King Wu seemed about to explode when he heard those words. He charged furiously at Yun Yuqing, aiming to grab her neck to question her.

    Zu An was a bit worried, and prepared to save her at a moment¡¯s notice. He was full of questions. Why would Yun Yuqing make such a choice? Breaking off all rtions would bring her no benefits, after all. Not only was King Wu a king, he was even a master rank expert!

    Even though masters like him had been raised through the emperor Zhao Han¡¯s endless resources, it was still dependent on the premise that their aptitude was high enough. An idiot like the crown prince would only be fattened up a bit by all those treasures. It wouldn¡¯t be of much help at all.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Even though kings like King Wu had reached the master rank, their foundations weren¡¯t stable, and theyckedbat experience as well. They were probably the weakest of the world¡¯s master ranks. But even the weakest of master ranks were still masters! If they really fought, then Yun Yuqing would suffer a loss.

    But Yun Yuqing tapped her toes, and streaks of runes flickered at her toe tips. She quickly evaded King Wu¡¯s assault, clearly prepared ahead of time. She sighed and asked, ¡°Why are you getting upset? You should be getting even more excited when you hear me say this.¡±

    King Wu¡¯s expression changed. He stopped and asked, ¡°What are you trying to say?!¡±

    Yun Yuqing¡¯s tender and beautiful face was shrouded in ayer of frost as she responded, ¡°Don¡¯t think that I¡¯m not aware of those things you¡¯ve done.¡±

    ¡°What the hell did I do?¡± King Wu retorted. However, he immediately lost a lot of his initial confidence.

    Yun Yuqing began to recall the past. ¡°In the past, I shouldered the future of my nsmen, so I had no choice but to marry you. At first, the intelligence we received imed that you were an outstanding king in every aspect. You were handsome, your cultivation aptitude was high, and you even had talent in administrative work. I even continued to lie to myself, to make myself ept you and love you. That way, this marriage could be considered a good conclusion for me.¡±

    Zu An sighed when he heard about the events of the past. The situations of those foreign tribes really hadn¡¯t been too great in those years.

    The emperor Zhao Han had led the human race in warfare, causing a crushing defeat for the Fiend Races. Many Fiend Races had been taken captive by humans and turned into ves. Some withdrew to the border, while some concealed their identity and lived in the central ins in hiding.

    But they were still of the Fiend Races after all. It wasn¡¯t so easy for them to continue living. For the sake of the Elf Race, Qiao Xueying had no choice but to obey the Shi n. Now, Yun Yuqing was clearly in a simr situation.

    Yun Yuqing changed the topic. ¡°I was still wondering how I was going to receive you and consummate our marriage, but who could have known that you would get dead drunk on our wedding night and not even go to the bridal room? I didn¡¯t mind at first, butter on, you always kept your distance. Even though I didn¡¯t like you back then, I was also rather unsatisfied, and I even felt alone and rejected. I wondered if it was because you looked down on me as a Demon Race woman.

    ¡°Then, I suspected that there might be something wrong with your body. But I know that you have many women in the king manor. One day, I identally stumbled upon the real reason.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s curiosity was piqued when he heard those words. He really couldn¡¯t understand why, even though King Wu¡¯s body was fine, he would still refrain from touching a goddess of a wife like Yun Yuqing. He looked at King Wu.

    King Wu¡¯s expression changed, but he quickly calmed down. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re saying.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Yun Yuqing sneered. ¡°One day, one of my men discovered that you found a girl that looked simr to me, and then you had her dress up like me, and even did her hair just like mine. You trained her to speak like me. Back then, I thought that you were looking for a suitable person to act as a decoy since someone was after my life, so I became nervous. I continued to investigate until one day, I set up a recording formation in your room. I saw you carry that girl into the room, and then the two of you began to get affectionate.

    ¡°I was going to just leave it, and consider it as you seeking out a concubine. But when I was about to stop watching, who could have expected that you would make her talk like me? I could only keep watching then. That girl really was talented and did quite well. Then, at the key moment, you stopped and instead made her wear a blindfold. How could that girl dare to go against you? She thought that was just what you liked, so sheplied and covered her eyes.

    ¡°However, even though that pitiful girl thought that she was receiving the favor of her king, who could have imagined that you would bring out a strong and healthy subordinate from your cupboard? Then, you had that subordinate humiliate her in front of your face! Sigh, that pitiful girl thought that the one she was doing her best to service was her beloved master, yet she was actually being plowed by another man!

    ¡°When I saw that look of extreme excitement, I knew that you were a disgusting pervert through and through!¡±

 Chapter 762: Absolutely Bizarre

    <h4>Chapter 762: Absolutely Bizarre</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An waspletely stupefied. There was actually a man like this in the world? He had thought that this type of thing only appeared in his previous world¡¯s fiction. But there was actually someone like that in the real world! Sigh, there really are all kinds of fish in the sea.

    King Wu was furious and nervous as he eximed, ¡°You were actually secretly monitoring me!¡± His originally handsome face was now extremely warped.

    Yun Yuqing tapped her toes against the ground. Some rune formations flickered at her feet, widening her distance from him. She retorted, ¡°How else would I have found out your true colors?¡±

    Her voice was as sharp as a de, stabbing deeply into his heart. ¡°Maybe it was out of misgivings toward your cooperation with the Demon Race; or perhaps you were still haunted by the morals you had left, so you couldn¡¯t bring yourself to do that to me. That was why you found someone who looked a bit simr to me, always pretended that she was me, and then had another man vite her. Only then could you get stimted and carry out intercourse. To be honest, I was so disgusted when I saw that back then that I wanted to throw up.

    ¡°It was no wonder that you always kept your distance after we got married. It was actually because you can¡¯t get in the mood at all without doing such a thing first! But you know that I¡¯m not someone easily deceived, so you never dared to put this into action. But eventually, you finally couldn¡¯t resist that disgusting fetish of yours, so under the pretext of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, you had me seduce Zu An.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes were wide open. He had never expected this perfect couple in the eyes of others to have such a crazy rtionship in private.

    Yun Yuqing suddenly smiled. ¡°Back then, I really wanted to obtain the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, and because I wanted to get revenge on you, I agreed to your request. Back then, I thought that rather than offering my virginity to you, I might as well give it to another man. At the very least, I could then obtain the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra for the Demon Race. Now, thinking back, that was the best choice, because Zu An allowed me to learn what a true man is like, what a true husband should be like.¡±

    When he saw his wife¡¯s glowing smile, that face of happiness, King Wu knew that she had already been subdued by Zu An. That man had already left behind indelible traces, whether it was in her mind or body. He couldn¡¯t help but feel incredible envy. ¡°That damn Zu An, I¡¯m going to kill him! I¡¯ll definitely kill him!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Yan for +666 +666 +666¡­

    However, he quickly reacted and said, ¡°Virginity? Impossible! I was the one who took it!¡±

    Yun Yuqing sneered. ¡°Oh, are you talking about that weird game you were ying in that private room before you for me, that one time?¡±

    King Wu¡¯s expression changed. That was precisely what he had been referring to.

    Yun Yuqing said indifferently, ¡°How could I possibly let your disgusting self touch me? After I discovered your secret that time, I was always thinking about how I would deal with you. My months of formation arrangement were finallyplete by then. Together with the effects of the Devil¡¯s Eye, it was enough to make you fall into an illusion. That was why you thought you obtained everything.¡±

    Zu An was incredibly shocked. He had already had his suspicions back then. Yun Yuqing was just too underripe when she had first been with him, not like a youngdy who had already experienced the bedroom. However, he had beenpletely deceived by the pair¡¯s outward acts of affection, so he hadn¡¯t thought too much about it. Now he realized that had indeed been her first time after all. No wonder her brows were furrowed so tightly, and she looked like she was in so much pain¡­

    King Wu¡¯s expression changed. ¡°How is that possible? I¡¯m a glorious master! How could your Devil¡¯s Eye possibly affect me?¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Yun Yuqing sneered. ¡°I might not be able to deal with an authentic master, but a master like you who was raised on resources isn¡¯t so tough at all. Furthermore, that weird addiction of yours has created many openings in your mind. As long as I prepared a bit and nted a seed, I could activate it at a suitable time. Once the Devil¡¯s Eye worked against you once, it would be much easier in the future.

    ¡°But don¡¯t worry, I haven¡¯t let you down too much. At the very least, I helped you find a maid you like.¡±

    King Wu¡¯s expression changed several times. He asked in shock and disbelief, ¡°Then all of the affection over the years you showed me was fake?¡±

    Yun Yuqing replied, ¡°The Devil Race had an alliance with King Wu Manor. I was worried about ruining our rtionship, so that was why I yed along. If I hadn¡¯t met Zu An, I might have continued the act with you. However, I¡¯m already tired of ying pretend.¡± When she spoke about Zu An, her eyes were full of infatuation.

    However, that expression made King Wu feel as if his heart were being cut out. His expression suddenly became fierce. He stared at Yun Yuqing, exlcaiming, ¡°Fine, then I¡¯ll let you see whether I can do it or not myself!¡±

    The stunning wife he had always thought he had under his control was actually far from his reach. It was instead he who had been yed in the center of her palm! How could he swallow this resentment?

    When he saw his wife¡¯s stunning face, he felt his throat go a bit dry. He decided that he had to punish her properly no matter what. However, he suddenly felt a bit of hesitation inside. He hadn¡¯t had time to prepare today. Would I¡­ even be able to do it?

    Yun Yuqingughed. ¡°Don¡¯t believe your own lies. Should I give you some time to find a girl to y pretend first? To have her vited by another man?¡±

    ¡°Nonsense, I can do it!¡± King Wu¡¯s face became beet-red. His breathing became heavy. However, the more he thought about it, the more his little guy didn¡¯t listen. It continued to remainpletely indifferent. His expression was filled with shame when he realized that. At the same time, he was filled with anger and resentment. How can that Zu An be so strong?!

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Yan for +777 +777 +777¡­

    Yun Yuqing sighed. She waved toward the back of the curtain and said, ¡°Ah Zu, you shoulde out now.¡±

    King Wu was speechless. Even Zu An waspletely baffled. He really didn¡¯t know what Yun Yuqing was thinking. However, he had just resolved to follow his own dao, so there was no need for him to cower right now. He came out from behind the curtain on his own.

    King Wu was shocked and furious when he saw Zu An. ¡°Why are you here?!¡± he eximed.

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Yan for +233 +233 +233¡­

    Zu An sighed. He felt a bit of sympathy for the guy as he replied, ¡°Why do you think I¡¯m here?¡±

    King Wu suddenly turned around toward Yun Yuqing. ¡°You brought him here?¡±

    Yun Yuqing said indifferently, ¡°You wanted to kill him, so I obviously wanted to save him. However, I was identally poisoned during the process, so he helped me get rid of it.¡±

    ¡°How did he help you?¡± King Wu immediately asked. In response, Yun Yuqing subconsciously nced around her. There was a hint of bashfulness on her face.

    King Wu then recalled how there had been water everywhere. One could well imagine just how intense it had been before. He was shocked and furious as he eximed, ¡°Slut! You¡¯re a slut!¡±

    Yun Yuqing saw the change in his pants. She remarked with a disdainful look, ¡°Look at your body¡¯s reaction. Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s disgusting? I feel disgusted in your ce.¡±

    King Wu was ashamed and embarrassed. He didn¡¯t know why there had been no reaction all this time, yet now that he learned about what had happened here, he had such a great reaction. His feelings of anger and humiliation made him want to explode. ¡°You slut, I¡¯m going to kill you two!¡±

    Purple light suddenly erupted from Yun Yuqing¡¯s eyes. Then, a pair ofrge and mysterious eyes appeared in midair.

    Devil¡¯s Eye!

    King Wu¡¯s figure stopped. Then, ayer of purple suffused his eyes. He stood there in a stupor while smiling stupidly. He was clearly already trapped in the Devil''s Eye illusion.

    Zu An thought to himself, As expected, King Wu was already affected a long time ago. Otherwise, he was still a glorious master rank expert in the end, even if his cultivation was obtained through resources. There should have been no reason for him to be controlled so easily. Judging from the circumstances, it seemed he had already been under the influence of the Devil''s Eye for a long time.

    Yun Yuqing quickly arrived by King Wu¡¯s side to seal up his acupoints. Then, she tossed him to the side. Afterward, she stopped her Devil¡¯s Eye. She said apologetically to Zu An, ¡°I¡¯ve shown you a poor side of me.¡±

    Zu An had a strange expression on his face. ¡°Your rtionship really is quite something.¡±

    Yun Yuqing sighed. ¡°I didn¡¯t want it to be this way either. After I learned about his strange fetish, I had goosebumps all over, and I wanted to throw up whenever I saw him. If it weren¡¯t because of my nsmen¡¯s future, I would have been unable to take it a long time ago.¡±

    Zy An couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°I have to admit that your acting is really good. Even though you hated him that much, you still looked like an affectionate couple to everyone.¡±

    Yun Yuqing had a proud smile that didn¡¯t match her usual appearance. ¡°Did you forget that I¡¯m a part of the Demon Race? Demons aren¡¯t such good people, you know?¡±

    Zu An instead sighed in relief. ¡°I would be more scared if you were always this weak and timid-looking.¡±

    Yun Yuqing gave him an annoyed look. ¡°Do you know how good I am to you? Don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t feel anything?¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An chuckled and hugged her soft body. ¡°I know how tender you are well enough.¡±

    Yun Yuqing blushed a little. She said yfully, ¡°You should know the answer to the question you asked me earlier after listening to all of that, right?¡±

    Zu An sighed and asked, ¡°So he was one of the masterminds after all?¡±

    Yun Yuqing nodded. ¡°I believe it was because of¡­ what happenedst time in North Order Commandery. He went crazy from jealousy, so he wanted to use this chance to kill you. Of course, he wasn¡¯t the one who nned the entire attack. I have a selfish request. I hope you can let him go today, because he¡¯s tied to our Demon Race¡¯s future. As for the details, it¡¯s a secret that involves our nsmen, so I apologize, but I can¡¯t tell you.¡±

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but smile. ¡°You were the one who caught him, so I¡¯ll leave it up to you as to how you¡¯ll deal with him. Why would I kill him?¡±

    King Wu was a master rank, while Yun Yuqing was a mysterious Rune Master with all kinds of Demon Race skills. If they really wanted to act against him, then he might really suffer quite a bit today. She had said that purely out of consideration. Meanwhile, he naturally had to y along.

    Yun Yuqing smiled and said, ¡°Ah Zu, you¡¯re the best.¡±

    When Zu An saw that innocent and naive smile and remembered her usual delicate and timid appearance, he really found it hard to associate her with that vicious and ruthless woman he had seen moments ago. Sigh, that Zhang Wuji really hit the nail on the head. The prettier the girl, the better they are at lying.

    Yun Yuqing became sad when she sensed the reservation Zu An unintentionally exuded. ¡°I know that what happened just now must have made you feel all kinds of misgivings. I was really moved because I heard that you were willing to cast aside the entire world for me, so I couldn¡¯t hold back the urge to tell him about our rtionship. I don¡¯t want you to think that I¡¯m an unruly girl¡­ Of course, I know that it¡¯s meaningless now no matter what I say, but I know that time will prove everything.¡±

    Zu An was way past the phase of believing anything a girl told him. He had his own beliefs and didn¡¯t tangle with her on this issue. He asked, ¡°By the way, who was the one colluding with King Wu, anyway?¡±

 Chapter 763: The Truth Comes to Light

    <h4>Chapter 763: The Truth Comes to Light</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Yun Yuqing didn¡¯t try to beat around the bush, and instead said directly, ¡°I believe you¡¯ve already guessed at the truth. It¡¯s precisely the Shi n, because their most beloved son Shi Kun perished at the hands of you and the crown princess. If it were just you, that would be one thing, because there are more than enough methods for the Shi n to deal with you through their authority. However, the crown princess is also one of the ¡®murderers¡¯. That leaves them little room to maneuver.

    ¡°If the crown prince bes the emperor, she¡¯ll be the empress. There will be no hope for the Shi n to get revenge then. Actually, though, that isn¡¯t the most frightening thing; rather, it¡¯s that they don¡¯t know what kind of attitude the crown princess has about this matter. If the crown princess believes that the Shi n is on alert because of Shi Kun¡¯s death, the Shi n will inevitably fall in the future. After all, everyone knows the crown prince¡¯s situation. The one who makes all of the decisions is the crown princess. By offending her, there can be no good result for the Shi n at all.

    ¡°The Shi n can¡¯t ce their hopes on something so intangible, which is why they decided to see this to the end. They¡¯re going to get rid of the crown princess to get their revenge, as well as deal with the Shi n¡¯s future worries.¡±

    Zu An sighed with amazement. ¡°But once this matter is exposed, it will instead bring the Shi n to the chopping board ahead of time!¡±

    Yun Yuqing replied calmly, ¡°But doing this can instead ce the initiative in their hands. It¡¯s better than just waiting for their fate. All in all, their greatest mistake this time was that the one they ended up targeting was you. Something that originally should have been a cinch ended up producing all types of idents. You managed to get away.¡±

    Zu An harrumphed. ¡°I¡¯m the victim here, okay? I really was almost done in by them that night.¡±

    Yun Yuqing looked apologetic. ¡°Ah Zu, I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t expect that the man the crown princess was going to be implicated in a scandal with was you, or else I would have definitely been opposed to it.¡±

    Zu An held her hand. ¡°If you had never appeared, I would never have thought that it was you guys who had done all of this. You ended up exposing yourself for my sake, so how can I turn on my benefactor and instead doubt you?¡±

    A smile quickly covered Yun Yuqing¡¯s face. ¡°I didn¡¯t like the wrong person after all.¡±

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Right, is Xin Rui one of your people?¡±

    Yun Yuqing shook her head. ¡°Not at all.¡±

    Zu An began to think to himself. Then he continued, ¡°There is something I just can¡¯t wrap my head around. Is it really just King Wu and the Shi n who are involved in this scheme? Are there any other powers?¡±

    Yun Yuqing stared nkly at him for a moment. A whileter, she sighed and said, ¡°Ah Zu, you¡¯re really smart, as expected. Indeed, there is one other party. However, please forgive me; I can¡¯t tell you who they are for various reasons. You know I¡¯m shouldering the fate of many people, so I can¡¯t selfishly sell out other people for personal reasons.¡±

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, just tell me what you can; if you can¡¯t, it doesn¡¯t matter. It¡¯s better that you told me ahead of time, rather than trying to trick me. Besides, your words have already affirmed some of my suspicions, so I should be thanking you.¡±

    Yun Yuqing looked at him with aplicated expression. ¡°Ah Zu, you¡¯re always so good at understanding others.¡±

    Zu An chuckled as he took her into his embrace. ¡°Actually, I¡¯m even better at removing clothes.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re so bad¡­¡± Yun Yuqing pouted yfully, her cheeks bright red.

    ¡­

    After some time passed, Zu An examined the soundly sleeping King Wu. He couldn¡¯t help but feel worried. ¡°What are you nning to do from now on? You¡¯ve already be hostile to him. I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll let you go once he wakes up.¡±

    Yun Yuqing smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, after suffering from my Devil¡¯s Eye, he¡¯ll forget everything that just happened. That¡¯s also the reason why I went all out earlier.¡±

    Zu An sighed in amazement. ¡°Your Devil¡¯s Eye is really incredible¡­ Please don¡¯t ever use it against me.¡±

    Yun Yuqing said, looking upset, ¡°Didn¡¯t I use it before you in North Order Commandery? And yet, I was almost done in as a result.¡± Zu An smiled when he recalled how they had first met.

    Then Yun Yuqing said, ¡°Right, the people who tried to assassinate you have been discovered by the city defense, so I believe you should be able to solve your case soon. Zhao Yan and I will leave the capital as quickly as possible so we aren¡¯t dragged in as well. I don¡¯t know when we¡¯ll be able to meet again.¡±

    Zu An gently sorted out the hair around her temples. ¡°We¡¯ll meet again even across a thousand miles if fate wills it. Wasn¡¯t it because of fate that we met again this time?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll meet again if fate wills it?¡± Yun Yuqing¡¯s eyes lit up. As she mumbled those words to herself, her gaze was full of respect when she looked at Zu An. ¡°Ah Zu, I didn¡¯t expect you to have such skills in literature as well.¡±

    Zu An shamelessly took on the role of a giarist. He took her into his embrace and asked, ¡°Do you like me even more now?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re so annoying¡­¡±

    ¡­

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    It was still time for them to separate in the end. They gave each other reluctant goodbyes. After he left King Wu Manor, Zu An headed straight to the imperial pce. When he arrived he changed into his Sir Eleven uniform. He hurried to the Embroidery House, where he saw a man suffering from baldness in the shape of the Mediterranean Sea.

    ¡°Boss!¡± Chen Eighth ran over excitedly. ¡°You¡¯re finally back! Something huge just happened on the city outskirts.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Zu An remained unfazed. He wanted to see what kind of information the Embroidered Envoy had ess to right now. ¡°What happened?¡±

    Chen Eighth gestured for him toe inside while exining, ¡°An intense assassination attempt happened near the home of Xin Rui¡¯s mother, and there was even a siege crossbow involved. His majesty was furious and put the chiefmander in charge of investigating this matter thoroughly.¡±

    Dai Seventh, who was suffering from an entirely different kind of baldness, appeared out of who knew where and added, ¡°Judging from the corpses that were found at the scene of the crime, all of them are deathsworn soldiers from the army. Chiefmander is currently checking their identity. However, we don¡¯t know who they were after. That person got away even while attacked by a siege crossbow! Isn¡¯t that person a bit too formidable?¡±

    Zu An subconsciously stuck out his chest. He thought to himself, If I didn¡¯t know that there was no chance you knew it was me, I would¡¯ve thought that you were buttering me up.

    ¡°I believe this siege crossbow attack has something to do with the case we¡¯re investigating,¡± a calm voice said from off to the side. It turned out Xiao Jianren hade out after hearing news of Zu An¡¯s arrival.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Zu An was curious. He wanted to hear what this fellow had to say.

    Xiao Jianren said, ¡°Boss told me to investigate which noble ns were raising Fiend Race experts who could silently kill that casino boss.

    ¡°After looking through the Embroidery House¡¯s records, I discovered that even though there aren¡¯t too many ns like that, there are still a good amount. Those high officials and noble persons all seem to have some of these foreign tribe experts. However, after eliminating some ns that clearly have nothing to do with this case, I discovered that the Shi n has a guest called Jia Sili. She¡¯s from the mysterious southern border and excels in spirit subduing techniques. It would be extremely easy for her to silently kill a casino boss.

    ¡°Furthermore, there was a siege crossbow involved, as well as deathsworn knights. Both of them are from the army. Back then, the Shi n¡¯s leader Shi Miao relied on military achievements to get to his position. His third son Shi Tong is a military officer in the capital. I suspect that those deathsworn soldiers came from the Shi n.

    ¡°Lastly, the crime happened at the home of Xin Rui¡¯s mother. How can there be that much of a coincidence? Every single clue can be traced back to the Shi n. That¡¯s why I suspect that it was precisely the Shi n who framed the crown princess, it¡¯s just that I don¡¯t know who was being surrounded and attacked this time.¡±

    Zu Anughed heartily. ¡°Indeed, your analysis is excellent. It sounds almost identical to the truth.¡±

    Xiao Jianren said with a bitter smile, ¡°But unfortunately, all of this is spection; we don¡¯t have proof. The Shi n won¡¯t admit to it. Whether it¡¯s the siege crossbow or those deathsworn soldiers, the Shi n can just say that it has nothing to do with them. Even though the chiefmander is investigating their backgrounds, since they¡¯re deathsworn soldiers, it will be hard to find out anything about them.¡±

    Dai Seventh and Chen Eighth both sighed. They had already investigated this case for a long time, yet now, even though the truth was in sight, there was actually nothing to be found.

    If it were anyone else, they could seize them and extort a confession, but the Shi n was different. The n leader Shi Miao was one of the Great Zhou Dynasty¡¯s prestigious eight dukes. His sons were also all top level officials in the court.

    Ignoring the son who had died, his second son Shi Qiao was the Imperial Secretariat¡¯s Court Gentleman, and his third son Shi Tong was a high ranking officer of one of the gueri warfare armies. His fourth son Shi Jun served as the Assistant Minister of the Huang Gate, and his fifth son Shi Jin was a senior provincial official. The least impressive of them all was probably his sixth son Shi Kun, but he was still a crown prince secretary.

    That was why the Shi n really was an incredibly powerful n, a top tier family in the entire Great Zhou Dynasty. Furthermore, they had a death pardoning token, so the Embroidered Envoy couldn¡¯t do much to them.

    When he saw their dispirited appearances, Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I have proof. I¡¯m going to pay the chiefmander a visit right now.¡±

    When they saw his departing figure, Xiao Jianren and the others looked at each other in dismay.

    ¡°We didn¡¯t manage to find any proof even when we used all of the Embroidery House¡¯s resources. But boss found a way so easily?¡±

    ¡°Our boss really is deep and unfathomable!¡±

    ¡°He really is someone to look up to!¡±

    ¡­

    Zu An arrived outside Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s office and saw that he was currently taking out his anger on his subordinates. They had investigated all day, yet they couldn¡¯t find any records of those deathsworn soldiers in any of the military records. They couldn¡¯t find anything about their existence.

    ¡°How could these people appear out of thin air? Even if they¡¯re deathsworn soldiers, they would definitely have left behind some traces in the capital over the years! Yet you¡¯re all telling me that you can¡¯t find anything?¡± Zhuxie Chixin roared in anger.

    His subordinates replied while trembling, ¡°We might find something if you give us a bit more time¡­¡±

    ¡°Might? Perhaps?¡± Zhuxie Chixin erupted into another burst of rage when he heard those words. ¡°His majesty is pushing me; we don¡¯t have time!¡±

    The others fell silent out of fear. None of them were willing to say anything. Suddenly, Zu An coughed lightly and said, ¡°Chiefmander, I have some leads here.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Zhuxie Chixin was first shocked to see him, but he quickly became happy as he asked, ¡°What kind of leads?¡±

    Zu An was a bit distracted when he saw the man¡¯s appearance. After all, he had fought him to the death in Jia Sili¡¯s world of illusion. But he quickly snapped out of his daze and said, ¡°I have some things I wish to discuss with chiefmander in private.¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin knew that his identity was special, so he waved his hand and gestured for the others to leave for now. His subordinates were all happy, but also envious. They were happy that they didn''t have to hear the chiefmander¡¯s criticism, but they were also jealous that this Golden Token Eleven had just arrived, yet he already seemed to have received the favor of their chiefmander. They are always chatting with each other in private.

    When it was only the two of them left, Zu An said, ¡°The one those deathsworn were after was me.¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin was shocked and quickly asked, ¡°What exactly happened?¡±

    Zu An repeated everything that happened that day, but of course, he omitted the details involving Yun Yuqing. ¡°Later on, I continued to run, and those experts pursued me relentlessly.¡±

    ¡°The Shi n truly is daring!¡± Zhuxie Chixin mmed his table in anger. The first-rate pearwood table exploded into pieces on the spot. ¡°Then based on what you¡¯re saying, the three experts are probably the gold and silver ring user Bo Zhou, White Horse Red Spear Luo Xin, and Three Extremes Hammer Yuan Fu. All three of them are outstanding warriors from the army who established great contributions with Shi Miao in battle. It¡¯s quite surprising that you were able to survive under their attack. Unfortunately, we have no proof. The Shi n won¡¯t admit to anything even if we knock on their doorstep.¡±

    ¡°Who says there¡¯s no proof?¡± Zu An had a strange expression. He pped his hand, indicating for the people outside toe in.

    Three corpses were carried in. Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s eyes almost popped out as he said, ¡°It¡¯s them¡­¡±

 Chapter 764: Mastermind

    <h4>Chapter 764: Mastermind</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°How did they die?¡± Zhuxie Chixin asked, shocked. His first thought wasn¡¯t Zu An, whom he knew was only around the seventh rank at most. Even though this fellow always seemed to manage to disy strength greater than his cultivation, there was still a limit to that.

    These three were all cultivators at the peak of the seventh rank, and their skills had been tempered on the battlefield, so their true strength was top-notch. They were definitely not warriors anyone could randomly skip ranks to defeat.

    Zu An said without batting an eye, ¡°I killed them.¡± There was no way he could talk about Yun Yuqing, so he could only step up.

    ¡°You killed them?¡± Zhuxie Chixin eximed, even more shocked. He scrutinized Zu An and asked, ¡°How did you do it?¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°They continued to pursue me, so I used the surroundings to break them up. Then, I defeated them one by one.¡±

    He remembered the story of how ancestor Blood de had faced off against four enemies who were on par with him and came out on top, so he revised the story a bit and fed it back to Zhuxie Chixin.

    Zhuxie Chixin stared at him, stupefied. There weren¡¯t many people who possessed real strength like this. This kid was quite outstanding. When he saw the bloody holes in those corpses, he thought that they had been attacked by tremendous power. It looked like Zu An still had many trump cards in his sleeves! He didn¡¯t ask Zu An about his exact abilities, as that was a taboo subject between cultivators. No one was willing to expose their ultimate moves for no reason.

    Zhuxie Chixinughed out loud. ¡°This is a great achievement! Let¡¯s go; follow me to his majesty!¡±

    Zu An nodded. The case this time involved the Shi n, so it wasn¡¯t something Zhuxie Chixin could decide on alone.

    ¡­

    The two quickly arrived at the study. Zhuxie Chixin respectfully reported the information to the emperor, while Zu An used this chance to examine the emperor.

    After all, Jia Sili¡¯s illusion was the first time he had faced off against the emperor, and he had even defeated him then. Even though that was only the emperor in his subconscious, it had still given him iparable confidence. Now, he was much calmer when he faced the emperor.

    ¡°Hmph, the Shi n really is daring!¡± The emperor mmed his table in anger after listening to Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s entire report. He was just about to say something, but he sensed something and raised his head.

    The emperor seemed to have sensed that Zu An was observing him, which made him a bit unhappy. However, when he thought about how this fellow had just brought back a great achievement, he couldn¡¯t berate him too much. He held himself back and said, ¡°Very good. Eleven, you¡¯ve done well. Speak, what kind of reward do you want?¡±

    Zu An cursed inwardly, thinking, What, are you going to give me the crown princess if I ask for her? But he smiled and said naturally, ¡°Your majesty carries our worries on your shoulders. What more reward would I need?¡±

    He had once been a bit dissatisfied with this sort of feigned servitude, but now, he didn¡¯t feel anything. On the contrary, he felt that this would only serve to gain more favor from the emperor.

    Sure enough, the emperor roared withughter. ¡°Indeed! Eleven is growing more and more thoughtful.¡± After talking about a few other things, he said to Zhuxie Chixin, ¡°Arrest officer Shi Tong and Huang Gate¡¯s Shi Jun. We won¡¯t touch the Minister of War Shi Miao yet. Furthermore, ce some more men on the investigation of Xuanwu Gate¡¯s Ou Wu. We don¡¯t need to find the power behind him, because if I remember correctly, he¡¯s someone King Qi brought up. You can use this chance to investigate that area.¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin trembled and quickly bowed. ¡°Understood!¡±

    Zu An spoke up just then. ¡°Your majesty, this case isn¡¯t as simple as it seems. There are many points of suspicion, and there might be another true culprit¡­¡±

    The emperor waved his hand before Zu An had even finished speaking. ¡°Enough; you¡¯ve alreadypleted your mission perfectly. Just leave this case to Zhuxie Chixin; you don¡¯t have to bother with it anymore.¡±

    Zu An frowned slightly. He was just about to say something, but Zhuxie Chixin gave him an eye signal. He kept quiet when he saw it.

    The emperor closed his eyes, then sat down to meditate. He said, ¡°This emperor is tired. You two can withdraw now.¡±

    Zu An cursed inwardly. This fe is always cultivating so he can have even a minute longer to live. What meaning is there left in living if you have to spend your life like that?

    ¡­

    When the two of them left the study, Zu An asked, ¡°Chiefmander, why did you stop me from saying anything else?¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zhuxie Chixin looked around. When he saw that there was no one around, he said is a suppressed voice, ¡°What do you think is the most important thing when investigating a case?¡±

    ¡°The truth, of course,¡± Zu An subconsciously replied. Detective Conan¡¯s BGM began to y in the back of his mind.

    Zhuxie Chixin chuckled. ¡°I can¡¯t help but remember my former hot-blooded self, from when I had just joined the Embroidered Envoy in the past. Onlyter did I understand that the truth isn¡¯t important at all. What¡¯s important is what kind of truth his majesty wants.¡±

    Zu An was startled. He felt as if he were picking up on something.

    Zhuxie Chixin continued, ¡°His majesty doesn¡¯t care about the truth. He has too many things to worry about. What he cares about more are the objectives he can reach through this case. Do you understand now?¡±

    ¡°Thank you, chiefmander, for your guidance.¡± Zu An wasn¡¯t stupid. He had spent so much time wondering about the identity of the third party, he had forgotten that fact. But after he heard Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s exnation, he finally woke up.

    The current situation was the most favorable for the emperor. Not only could he deal with the Shi n, who were opposed to the crown prince and princess, he could use this chance to purge King Qi¡¯s strength. What other truth did he need to investigate?

    As for the true perpetrator, either he already knew, or he just didn¡¯t care. Either way, he was the world¡¯s strongest, so the one who was hiding in the shadows couldn¡¯t harm him.

    Zhuxie Chixin chuckled and patted his shoulder, saying, ¡°You¡¯re too polite. We¡¯ll get together and have a proper chat when there¡¯s time. I have people to arrest.¡±

    Zu An cupped his hands. After separating from Zhuxie Chixin, he returned to the Embroidery House. He summoned all of the brothers who had been with him during this case and said, ¡°All of you have worked hard during this period. This case has already been settled.¡±

    Everyone cheered, and even the usually steady Xiao Jianren smiled. All of them were physically and emotionally exhausted from the high difficulty of the case.

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°The reason why this case could be solved was all because of everyone¡¯s efforts. Sir Xiao, Dai Seventh, and Chen Eighth, head over to the storeroom and take out two thousand silvers. Reward everyone based on their contributions.¡±

    As a golden token envoy, he had a set amount of authority to begin with. Furthermore, the emperor had said that he was going to reward him, so Zhuxie Chixin naturally wouldn¡¯t trouble him over this.

    ¡°Thank you, Sir Eleven!¡± Those gathered cheered even louder. They almost picked up Zu An and raised him into the air.

    Zu An smiled when he saw how happy they were. He had done his time as a corporate ve, so he obviously understood what the most important part of working was. Even though they all had their loyalty as Embroidered Envoys, they still had families to feed back at home.

    Xiao Jianren was surprised. The Embroidered Envoy¡¯s members were usually cold and stern; the other golden token envoys weren¡¯t as considerate of their subordinates as Sir Eleven. Even if there were some rewards asionally, it was only for the sake of coaxing their subordinates. But he could tell that Sir Eleven genuinely wished well for them. It really was quite rare to see.

    They went to withdraw the money in high spirits. Zu An used this chance to look over all of the information gathered regarding the case. He couldn¡¯t help but frown when he saw that there was no information on Ou Wu.

    When Zu An left the Embroidery House, he changed into his normal attire and headed toward the Eastern Pce.

    He sighed along the way. Having so many identities really was a pain. It would be great if he could clone himself. Wait, if I clone myself, would it be considered cucking myself? He continued to ponder over this philosophical question along the way, and unknowingly arrived at the Eastern Pce.

    ¡°Heh, so our Sir Zu still remembered to report for roll call. Do you know what time it is? Could it be that you don¡¯t treat me and the crown prince with any respect?¡± the crown princess remarked coldly. She¡¯d had something to discuss with Zu An today. After all, following that experience, he had be the only one she could talk about regarding many things.

    However, he still hadn¡¯t arrived, even after she waited for a long time! She really was pissed off. Besides, this fellow didn¡¯t seem to report on time at all these days.

    You have sessfully trolled Bi Linglong for +56 +56 +56¡­

    Zu An saluted and said, ¡°Reporting to the crown princess! I left early for the imperial pce today, but I was attacked by assassins along the way.¡±

    ¡°What? You were attacked?!¡± Bi Linglong subconsciously stood up to check his wounds, but she quickly noticed the strange expressions of the maids around her. She coughed lightly to hide her embarrassment and sat back down. ¡°Are you injured? Who was the one who tried to assassinate you?¡±

    ¡°They were just some small injuries.¡± Zu An smiled. Then, he gave her a summary of what had happened.

    The crown princess had assumed it was just some thugs when she saw that he was fine, but when she heard that there had been deathsworn soldiers, a siege crossbow, and even three military experts at the peak of the seventh rank, her expression greatly changed. ¡°Yet you¡¯re still saying it wasn¡¯t a big deal? How could you only be a bit injured from such a huge scheme?¡±

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°I was hit by the siege crossbow, but none of my vitals were hit. It felt pretty terrible back then, but I¡¯m fine now.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± The crown princess subconsciously wanted to check the wound where Zu An had been hit by the siege crossbow. But when she thought about how so many people were watching, it really wasn¡¯t appropriate. She could only say, ¡°Have someone call over a physician to treat Sir Zu.¡±

    Zu An waved his hand. ¡°It¡¯s fine, I¡¯ll just pay the hospital a visitter myself.¡±

    Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun were incredibly stunned. Everyone knew just how powerful a siege crossbow was! He had been hit by a siege crossbow, yet he still looked fine apart from being a bit pale. Sigh, he really is a brave and tough man!

    The crown princess hurriedly asked, ¡°What are you still doing here if you were injured so badly?¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°I was worried that the crown princess would misunderstand. Besides, I wanted to tell you about the most recent developments in the case.¡±

    The crown princess was startled when she saw Zu An¡¯s scorching gaze. This person was normally pretty smart, so why was he sometimes so clueless? Can¡¯t you just send someone to tell me the details?

    However, when she sensed his sincerity, her heart still couldn¡¯t help but soften. Even her voice became more gentle. ¡°I¡¯ll let you have a day off today¡­ Ahem, no, you don¡¯t need toe in for the next few days either. Just focus on your recovery.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, crown princess!¡± Zu An really was spread a bit too thinly. Having this vacation would help a lot.

    The crown princess thought to herself for a bit, and then she said to the maid beside her, ¡°Little Mo, bring Sir Zu that spiritual root.¡±

    Rong Mo eximed nervously, ¡°That thousand year spiritual root is incredibly precious! It¡¯s something needed for the crown princess¡¯ future breakthrough!¡±

    The crown princess shook her head. ¡°No matter how precious it is, it isn¡¯t as precious as a person. Sir Zu is the Eastern Pce¡¯s chambein, and he was injured while investigating my case. This medicine is perfect for helping him with his recovery. What, could it be that you want me to fetch it myself?¡±

    ¡°This humble one doesn¡¯t dare!¡± Rong Mo bit her lip. She could only unwillingly enter the inner room.

    ¡°Tsk tsk, this little girl is pretty interesting in terms of how she treats you.¡± Mi Li said in Zu An¡¯s head. She seemed to have emerged because of her amusement.

    Zu An ignored her and instead bowed to Bi Linglong. ¡°Thank you, crown princess!¡±

    Mi Li marveled, ¡°Look at how shameless you are! You aren¡¯t even refusing something this precious and are just going to ept it?¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°That¡¯s where you¡¯re wrong. There¡¯s a trick back in my hometown called ¡®borrowing books¡¯. Once you borrow something, you have to return it. That way, you don¡¯t even need a reason to meet again, and both of you will start to get along. If I refuse her, I¡¯m only gaining favor once; I won¡¯t obtain any tangible benefits. On the contrary, by epting her gift, our good impressions of each other will rise by another level. Furthermore, this thing seems extremely important for her, so I¡¯ll just return it when she needs it. Won¡¯t I gain her favor once again then?¡±

    Mi Li waspletely stupefied. Only after some time did she harrumph and say, ¡°What kind of ce is this hometown of yours? There¡¯s actually so much thought behind something like this.¡±

    Zu An replied with a wistful expression, ¡°It¡¯s a ce full of people with outstanding skills, a magical ce¡­¡±

    By then, Rong Mo had already emerged. In her hands was an embroidered case resting on a red cloth. Even though the spiritual root was stored inside the case, Zu An could still feel the thick natural ki it emitted. He thanked the crown princess again.

    A bit of gentleness appeared in the crown princess¡¯ eyes. ¡°You should take some time to rest. Leave the Shi n¡¯s matters for me to settle.¡±

    Zu An knew that she was implying that she would use this chance topletely eliminate that future worry. He signaled with his eyes that he understood.

    The crown princess¡¯ face turned red. She quickly looked around, and then sighed with relief when she saw that no one else had noticed. This guy really is brazen! He dared to publicly tease her! Hmph, I¡¯ll let you off today because you¡¯re wounded.

    ¡­

    Zu An exited the Eastern Pce. The crown princess sent Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun to escort him to the physician''s courtyard. Along the way, the two of them sighed in praise.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen the crown princess treat anyone so well in these years¡­¡±

    ¡°Exactly! I''m even starting to wonder if big bro Zu and the crown princess have an affair.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He asked, ¡°Are you courting death? You even dare to utter such things?¡±

    ¡°We brothers are just joking around in private,e on! Besides, the crown princess is still treating big bro Zu this way, even after that happened. That means she has a clear conscience.¡±

    ¡°I guess you¡¯re right. However, if not for the crown princess¡¯ special status, I really would rather believe that she was together with big bro Zu. The crown princess had really had it hard these years. The crown prince can¡¯t do anything for her and instead needs her to protect him.¡±

    ¡°What the hell? Why are you ming me then!? You¡¯re courting death too!¡±

    In the end, Zu An was beginning to develop a headache, so he made them leave. His injuries had already practically healed. Wouldn¡¯t he be exposed if he went to the imperial pce now? He didn¡¯t feel like leaving the pce, so he returned to his Embroidered Envoy residence and rested for two hours.

    Soon afterward, he received news that Shi Jun had been arrested. Zu An changed into his Golden Token Eleven uniform and headed to the Embroidery House. He had many suspicions that needed to be confirmed with Shi Jun.

    His status in the Embroidered Envoy was now quite high. Even though this case was no longer under him, no one would be so senseless as to stop him. Either way, Sir Zhuxie was currently interrogating Shi Tong regarding the siege crossbow and military experts.

    Shi Jun sat in the prison with disheveled hair. His entire being looked listless, and he no longer carried his past arrogant appearance. When he heard that someone hade, he said weakly, ¡°Please don¡¯t ask me anything more¡­ We have a Death Pardoning Token, I won¡¯t say anything¡­¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°But you don¡¯t have that Death Pardoning Token on you right now.¡±

    Shi Jun jumped in fright when he heard the voice. His eyes immediately narrowed when he turned around and saw the familiar figure it belonged to. He still had nightmares about his previous experience with Zu An.

    Zu An¡¯s smile faded as he said, ¡°I don¡¯t want to waste time either. I ask the questions, you answer. Otherwise, feel free to have a taste of what it feels like to wish you were dead.¡±

    ¡°Okay, okay, okay, sir, please ask,¡± Shi Jun immediately said with an apologetic smile. A wise man knew when to choose his battles. I¡¯ll deal with this monster first, and then my father will definitely have a way of saving us!

    ¡°How did you meet Xin Rui?¡± Zu An asked.

    Shi Jun was hesitant, but he still replied, ¡°I¡¯ve served as the Huang Gate¡¯s Assistant Minister for years, so it was easy for me to move within the pce. One day, I ended up identally bumping into a frightened maid around a corner. She continued to apologize to me. When I saw her weak and rmed expression, I couldn¡¯t bring myself to punish her. Later on, she brought me some Hundred Flower Tea to thank me. That was when I learned that she was the Hundred Flower Pce¡¯s maid, Xin Rui¡­¡±

    There was a bit of tenderness in Shi Jun¡¯s eyes when he recalled the events of the past. His time with that lovely maid was clearly a joyful period.

    Zu An quickly asked, ¡°Was she the one who bumped into you, or did you bump into her?¡±

    Shi Jun frowned. ¡°I¡¯m in charge of inspecting the etiquette of officials to begin with, why would I be so impudent? However, why does it matter who bumped into whom?¡±

    ¡°Forget it.¡± Zu An smiled and continued, ¡°So that¡¯s when the two of you started to get along?¡±

    Shi Jun nodded. ¡°She was just a maid at first, but all of the women in the pce belong to his majesty, so I didn¡¯t dare to touch her. However, she told me that she had worked in the pce ever since she was really young. But now, she¡¯s almost of age, so she¡¯ll be able to leave the pce. I had some good feelings toward her as well, so I thought that I could take her as my wife. That was why our rtionship got better and better as time went on.

    ¡°Then, I learned that she had a mother and younger brother in the countryside, so I helped bring them to the capital and get them settled there. But for some reason, she fought with me over this matter,¡± Shi Jun exined, seemingly confused. ¡°Even so, our rtionship improved again, and we began to happily dream about the future.¡±

    Zu An said mockingly, ¡°You make it sound great, as if you¡¯re describing a man deep in love. But unfortunately, you had other motives for approaching her. You probably favored her for her status as the maid of Concubine Bai, knowing that one day, you¡¯d be able to make use of her. Sure enough,ter on, you sent her to frame the crown princess and Zu An. As for bringing her mother and younger brother, I reckon you were just using them as hostages.¡±

    Shi Jun¡¯s expression changed. ¡°I have no idea what you¡¯re saying!¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to deny it. It¡¯s already meaningless now. Either way, the Shi n is finished.¡±

    Shi Jun knew that what the golden token envoy was saying was the truth. Not only had the assassination failed, everyone involved was instead captured. The situation was looking extremely grim. Now, his only hope was to see if the Death Pardoning Token could save his own skin.

    He gritted his teeth. His expression was extremely vicious as he said, ¡°It¡¯s all that damn little brother¡¯s fault. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that he loved gambling and ended up being found by the Embroidered Envoy, why would we be pushed so far as to use force?¡±

    ¡°For the sake of Hua Bao, you had no choice but to sacrifice that casino boss. I already guessed a long time ago that the Shi n was the one backing that casino. After all, you guys supported the Plum Blossom Sect in opening a casino in Brightmoon City.¡± Zu An sighed.

    Shi Jun revealed a look of surprise. He thought to himself that the Embroidered Envoy¡¯s informationwork truly was extensive, if they even knew about that.

    Zu An said, ¡°That¡¯s why you all colluded with King Wu, and drew Zu An to Xin Rui¡¯s home. You wanted to kill him there, then push all of the me onto him. Then you would silence him, as the dead cannot testify.¡±

    ¡°King Wu? What King Wu?¡± Shi Jun asked, bewildered.

    Zu An was surprised when he saw that the man¡¯s expression wasn¡¯t feigned.

 Chapter 765: Victim and Perpetrator

    <h4>Chapter 765: Victim and Perpetrator</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°What, your people didn¡¯t collude with King Wu to frame Zu An and the crown princess?¡± Zu An asked.

    Shi Jun sneered. ¡°Heh, there were people who asked me if I had something to do with King Qi, yet now, it¡¯s King Wu all of a sudden. You Embroidered Envoys really are good at framing others.

    ¡°Besides, that Zu An or whatever¡­ What¡¯s so special about him? Why would a king go through all that just to deal with him?¡± Shi Jun became upset whenever he thought about Zu An. If not for what had happened between Zu An and his sixth brother, their Shi n wouldn¡¯t have fallen so far. That p by the pce entrance in particr was just too humiliating. Why would he ever admit that this fellow was important?

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Jun for +411 +411 +411¡­

    Zu An was speechless when he saw the iing Rage points. He picked up a whip and struck Shi Jun. ¡°Speak properly!¡±

    ¡°Aaah!¡± Shi Jun screamed in misery. The tools used by the Embroidered Envoy were all specialized, every single one of them simr to the Wailing Whip. It was incredibly hard to endure when such a whip struck the body. He didn¡¯t know why the other party would strike him, but he didn¡¯t dare to ask either. He could only re with resentment.

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Jun for +55 +55 +55¡­

    ¡°Whose idea was it to scheme against Zu An? Why did you feel like you could push all of the crimes onto him?¡± Zu An continued.

    ¡°That fe is so annoying that everyone wants him dead.¡± Shi Jun snorted angrily. ¡°The fact that he was involved in that kind of scandal with the crown princess means he¡¯s a suspect. If he died in Xin Rui¡¯s home, and we spread some news, we could naturally push all the responsibility onto him.¡±

    Zu An said mockingly, ¡°However, it¡¯s a pity that you not only failed to frame him, but also even ended up exposing yourselves.

    ¡°For the sake of saving that idiot Hua Bao, we exposed the casino¡¯s boss. After silencing the casino boss, we even sent out Jia Sili. With your Embroidered Envoy¡¯s information, you would have found out that it was us sooner orter. If we took the initiative to attack, we might instead carve out a path of survival for ourselves,¡± Shi Jun said angrily. ¡°It¡¯s just a pity that Zu An always has some damned stupid luck, always managing to turn misfortune into blessing.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Jun for +444 +444 +444¡­

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu Anughed out loud. ¡°He¡¯s clearly the son of luck, yet you keep targeting him. Of course things won¡¯t work out as you wish.¡±

    Shi Jun spat on the ground. ¡°Pah! That fe is just a lucky bastard who came from the streets. If he¡¯s the son of luck, then I¡¯ll do a handstand and eat sh*t right now!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Jun for +888 +888 +888¡­

    He had lived an extravagant lifestyle ever since he was young, so he had the pride of a n heir. He looked down on thesemoners the most. He could ept defeat in a struggle between the court¡¯s higher levels, but he absolutely wouldn¡¯t ept losing to a nobody he had always looked down on.

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°We have more than enough of that to go around if you want some.¡± He even had the urge to have a jailer scoop up a few bowls of feces, but he decided not to in the end, or else he might really end up grossing out his brothers here.

    ¡­

    He asked a few more questions, and Shi Jun cooperated well, answering almost everything. He was probably terrified. However, if he knew that the one he was dealing with was the Zu An he looked down on, and that this was the person he was totally helpless against, he might vomit blood from anger.

    Zu An had already obtained the information he wanted, so he left the Embroidery House. As for Shi Jun, there was no need to do anything to him. He was already doomed.

    He returned to the Eastern Pce in his official uniform. After thinking for a bit, he headed to the Hundred Flower Pce. The crown princess had entrusted him with the task of eliminating Concubine Bai, so he had to at least have a chat with her first.

    Concubine Bai had always been rather low-profile. Furthermore, after something had happened to Xin Rui, the Hundred Flower Pce had be even colder. She had always been someone who liked peace and quiet, so there weren¡¯t many eunuchs or maids there. It was almost always just the bare minimum.

    When Zu An reported that he hade for a visit, a maid quickly announced his arrival. She returned and said, ¡°Sir Zu, her highness invites you inside.¡±

    Zu An followed the maid into the pce. He saw an exquisite swing rocking back and forth slowly, and on it was a beautiful woman dressed invish pce clothes. Her dress outlined her slender waist and enchanting bottom. ¡°I greet Concubine Bai,¡± he said. He noticed that she was currently holding a chubby baby in swaddling clothes, his skin fair with a hint of red blush. He was extremely cute.

    The child seemed to have entered a wonderful dream from the swing¡¯s rhythm; his soundly sleeping face had a smile. There was a bit of drool on his lips as his small mouth moved from time to time. Whenever that happened, a bit of milk couldn¡¯t help bute out. He had clearly just had his meal.

    Zu An subconsciously gave Concubine Bai a look. Because she was holding a child, her chest looked especiallyrge and heavy.

    ¡°May I ask what made Sir Zu take interest in visiting this ce today?¡± Concubine Bai had been giving the child in her arms a doting look. When she heard Zu An¡¯s greeting, she raised her head with a smile.

    Zu An had to admit that Concubine Bai really was beautiful. Her beauty was different from that of the crown princess. If the crown princess was graceful like a peony and gorgeous like a rose, then Concubine Bai was like an elegant chrysanthemum. She was like the most exquisite and gentle small white flowers in the mountains, or the snow lotus herbs high up on the peaks. The first impression she gave off was someone who was pure and without ws, someone whom one would want to treasure and protect.

    There were many officials and subordinates who obeyed the crown princess, but it was mainly because of her prestige and power. If they were to decide who they liked more deep down, they would most likely choose the gentle and kind Concubine Bai.

    ¡°The crown princess sent me to wish your highness good health,¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Concubine Bai was surprised. Her graceful brows rose slightly as she replied, ¡°It really is quite surprising. So the crown princess actually still remembered me.¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°What is Concubine Bai saying? Of course the crown princess remembers your highness. We¡¯re all members of the Eastern Pce after all, so we should all do our best for the crown prince.¡±

    Concubine Bai chuckled. ¡°No wonder Sir Zu rose so rapidly in your career. I heard that you were promoted to crown prince¡¯s chambein. I reckon that the crown princess must also be fond of your way with words.¡±

    She gestured toward the maid on the side while saying, ¡°Bring us some Hundred Flower Tea. This is big sister crown princess¡¯ rising star. How can we treat him with any disrespect?¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡± The maid withdrew, but there was a bit of discontent in her eyes. She thought to herself, The crown princess is going a bit too far if even her subordinate needs to be treated so well by our madam.

    Zu An knew that Concubine Bai was merely looking for an excuse to make the maid leave. He said with a smile, ¡°To be honest, whenever I hear the words Hundred Flower Tea now, I can¡¯t help but feel some stress.¡±

    Concubine Bai smiled. She knew that he was talking about thest time Xin Rui had poisoned him and the crown princess. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, there¡¯s definitely nothing wrong with this tea.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s gaze moved to the child in her arms. He couldn¡¯t help but say in praise, ¡°The imperial grandson really is quite cute. Can I hold him?¡±

    Concubine Bai stared nkly for a moment, her expression a bit strange. After all, the imperial grandson¡¯s status was special. Apart from her and her personal maid, who else dared to touch him? If something happened to him, the consequences would be too horrible to imagine. No one dared to take such a risk.

    But as a mother, hearing someone praise her own child still made her feel good. She said, ¡°Sir Zu¡¯s request is a bit improper.¡± Despite those words, she didn¡¯t get angry at all.

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°Concubine Bai is mistaken here. I¡¯m now the crown prince¡¯s chambein, so it¡¯s my responsibility to take care of various matters big and small in the Eastern Pce. The imperial grandson is the little lord of the Eastern Pce, so it¡¯s within my range of responsibilities to take care of him.¡±

    Concubine Bai couldn¡¯t help butugh. ¡°An ordinary person wouldn¡¯t dare to bring up this kind of request,¡± she said while standing up from the swing. She walked over to his side with the child, cautioning, ¡°Sir Zu, please be careful not to wake him up. It wasn¡¯t easy for me to put him to sleep.¡±

    Zu An carefully received the child. He felt as if the baby were so delicate he weighed nothing. ¡°This is the first time I¡¯ve seen the imperial grandson for myself. He looks quite clever and pretty.¡±

    Concubine Bai was shocked. The men of this world didn¡¯t really know how to carry a child. She had actually broken out in cold sweat just now, worried that Zu An would be clumsy. However, she hadn¡¯t expected the other party to be so proficient, and she could sense that he truly was fond of th child from his cautious and serious expression. As such, she softened up as well. ¡°Sir Zu really is quite different from others.¡±

    The two of them were close to each other, and Zu An could smell a mysterious and elegant fragrance. Because he was holding the child, his elbow even unintentionally bumped into Concubine Bai¡¯s soft body. He said with a smile, ¡°Your highness is standing so close to me. Aren¡¯t you scared that there might be some rumors?¡±

    Concubine Bai said indifferently, ¡°This Hundred Flower Pce is already so cold and cheerless; there aren¡¯t that many people who can spread gossip. Besides, there are more discussions about what you and the crown princess do in private, so what do I have to be worried about?¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°Your highness¡¯ simple and elegant bearing really is enchanting.¡± Then he inadvertently said, ¡°The imperial grandson is so cute. He doesn¡¯t really seem to resemble the crown prince much¡­¡±

    Concubine Bai¡¯s expression changed and her tone became cold. ¡°Sir Zu, please speak cautiously. Some words might result in capital punishment.¡±

    ¡°Your highness has misunderstood. What I¡¯m saying is that the imperial grandson looks more like his mother; that he¡¯s as pretty as his mother.¡± Zu An changed his words to praise.

    Concubine Bai harrumphed and took the imperial grandson back from him. ¡°What did Sir Zue here for exactly? I refuse to believe that you¡¯re just here for such trivialities.¡±

    ¡°There are indeed some matters I wish to talk about. Xin Rui¡¯s case has reached a result,¡± Zu An said. ¡°Huang Gate¡¯s Shi Jun abused his position to approach your highness¡¯ maid Xin Rui. When has an ordinary maid like Xin Rui ever experienced the pursuit of a distinguished and aplished young master? She ended up being caught in his trap. Unfortunately, she didn¡¯t know that she was involved in a huge conspiracy; that he approached her to frame the crown princess, as well as to use this excuse to shift the me onto you, causing casualties to the crown prince¡¯s two most important wives at the same time.¡±

    Concubine Bai¡¯s expression changed slightly. ¡°The Shi n truly is vicious. It¡¯s all my fault for not paying more attention to Xin Rui. That was why I didn¡¯t notice that she had been deceived by someone.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Zu An chuckled. ¡°What I just told you was the conclusion the Embroidery House reached. However, I have apletely different suspicion.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Concubine Bai asked, puzzled.

    Zu An walked over to the swing and casually sat down. He began to gently rock back and forth like she just had. ¡°Everyone believes that Shi Jun deliberately got closer to tempt Xin Rui, and that was even what Shi Jun himself believed. But when I looked over all of the corresponding information, I discovered something interesting. The one who took the initiative wasn¡¯t Shi Jun, but ratger Xin Rui.¡±

    Concubine Bai frowned. ¡°What are you trying to say? Xin Rui has always followed the rules properly. She absolutely wouldn¡¯t have done something like this.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Zu An¡¯s smile faded as he continued, ¡°I¡¯ve already obtained a certain record through a special channel. I discovered that the two bumped into each other by ident, but without assuming that Xin Rui was the victim based on first impressions, and instead considering it from a different angle, one would discover that Xin Rui was the perpetrator the entire time. She approached Shi Jun first, and made him chase after her. The entire process was all guided by her. Unfortunately, Shi Jun, that fool, always thought that he was just that special, and is still paying the scammer more money.¡±

    Concubine Bai said indifferently, ¡°These are nothing more than baseless usations. I understand Xin Rui¡¯s nature most clearly. She has always been kind. She would never do such a thing.¡±

    ¡°Your highness, please let me finish.¡± Zu An continued, ¡°I was always confused about something. Why did the mastermind insist on going through so much effort to send Xin Rui out of the pce? Wouldn¡¯t it be better to just silence her? I immediately realized that there had to be another reason, yet I just couldn¡¯t figure it out. This continued until I received some information not too long ago. I finally understood why the mastermind would go so far to send her out of the pce.¡±

 Chapter 766: All Cards Laid on the Table

    <h4>Chapter 766: All Cards Laid on the Table</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Why?¡± Concubine Bai asked curiously.

    ¡°Actually, if you just think about it¡­¡± Zu An wanted to say ¡®I¡¯, but he immediately realized that he would be exposing himself. As such, he changed his words. ¡°If you think about it, you can deduce a thing or two from the Embroidered Envoy¡¯s actions. If Xin Rui died, they would definitely start investigating her rtionships in the pce, who she met before she died, and if anyone had the motive and opportunity to kill her. Once this happened, even Concubine Bai would be a suspect.¡±

    Concubine Bai smiled. ¡°Indeed. After all, Xin Rui is my personal maid, so I would be the number one suspect if she dies. However, even if she left the imperial pce, I would still be a prime suspect. After all, the two of us were just too close.¡±

    Zu An continued from Concubine Bai¡¯s statement. ¡°The mastermind is extremely smart. They used the weakness of human nature and remained in the most suspicious ce from the start; but others subconsciously felt that this was just too simple, that it was someone else who tried to frame her. With this type of mentality, together with the clues that appeared afterward, people wouldn¡¯t be able to help but think ¡®no wonder¡¯ afterward. Then, they would investigate other suspects, even though the main mastermind was right under their noses.¡±

    Concubine Bai frowned. ¡°Then, judging from what you¡¯re saying, it seems as if this mastermind you¡¯re speaking of is me?¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t reply to her question and instead continued, ¡°What we just talked about is what would have happened had Xin Rui died. However, Xin Rui left the imperial pce alive, so the Embroidered Envoy would definitely investigate the pce gate first. If there were no records, they would naturally suspect Xuanwu Gate¡¯s Ou Wu.¡±

    ¡°Yet when the Embroidered Envoy was about to investigate Ou Wu, he suddenly disappeared with his wife and children, while the one in charge of the gate was the Murong n¡¯s young master. Whether it¡¯s Ou Wu or Murong Luo, everyone knows they¡¯re a part of King Qi¡¯s faction. King Qi has the motive as well as the strength to target the crown princess, so everyone concluded that the mastermind was King Qi. Even the subjects supporting King Qi¡¯s faction probably believed that.

    ¡°That would mean the emperor would inevitably use this chance to deal King Qi a heavy blow. King Qi would feel that the emperor was abusing his power, and that the emperor was the one framing him, so of course he would retaliate. Once this happens, the tacit bnce between the two powers would copse, and the entire nation would be thrown into chaos. The one stirring the waters in the shadows would then take advantage of this crisis for personal gain.¡±

    Just then, the imperial grandson woke up and began to wail. Concubine Bai quickly calmed him down while saying to Zu An, ¡°I don¡¯t know what you mean by telling me all this. Can it be that you feel that I¡¯m that mastermind? I¡¯m an imperial concubine, as well as the mother of the imperial grandson. What benefit would there be from throwing the entire empire into chaos?¡±

    The maid had already returned with some Hundred Flower Tea. Furthermore, the wet nurses had also hurried over when they heard the imperial grandson cry. As that was happening, Zu An and Concubine Bai remained silent. Zu An calmly tasted the Hundred Flower Tea; its refreshing fragrance truly cleared the mind.

    Concubine Bai had the maids and wet nurses bring the imperial grandson back. When only the two of them were left, she remarked coldly, ¡°It seems you aren¡¯t scared of there being poison in the tea today.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°I don¡¯t believe that Concubine Bai would be someone so contemptible. Furthermore, the crown princess isn¡¯t here this time. By rendering me unconscious, wouldn¡¯t it imply that your highness wishes to personally start a scandal with me?¡±

    Concubine Bai¡¯s breathing quickened. ¡°Do you know that just these words alone are already enough for me to have you beaten to death by the rod?¡±

    Zu An lowered his teacup. ¡°Your highness is smart. I don¡¯t believe you would do something so unwise.¡±

    ¡°Can it be that you really believe you have mepletely in your grasp?¡± Concubine Bai sat down on the swing again. ¡°Then I really am curious about your enlightening remarks. Why did I be that mastermind, then?¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°It seems we¡¯vee full circle. In this case, King Qi became the main offender. Even though King Qi has more henchmen under him, the emperor is still the world¡¯s number one. His chances of taking down King Qi are still a bit higher. That would mean that the crown prince would no longer have anyonepeting with him. At the same time, the crown princess¡¯ purity woulde into question, so you could seed her position. You¡¯re also the mother of the imperial grandson. How could any of the other concubinespare to you?¡±

    He sighed and said, ¡°Actually, there¡¯s another principle when ites to deciphering cases. The one who has the strongest motives and obtains the greatest benefits is often the perpetrator. Unfortunately, everyone was misled by you, and overlooked that you were the greatest beneficiary.¡±

    Concubine Bai said indifferently, ¡°Does Sir Zu know what the crime of nder is? Everything you just said is baseless. I only have one question for you, though. If I really am the mastermind, why would I save the two of you from being seen naked together? Wouldn¡¯t that help me with my objective?¡±

    Zu An spoke with a sigh of praise. ¡°That¡¯s why your highness is brilliant. If you allowed the crown princess to be discovered like that, the crown princess would be finished. However, you, as the one receiving the most benefits, would rise too abruptly. Everyone would suspect you. On the contrary, by giving her a chance, the crown princess would draw all of the attention, while you would be safe behind the scenes.

    ¡°Of course, there is another reason. Compared to King Qi, the crown prince¡¯s faction was at a disadvantage to begin with. If something were to happen to the crown princess, the leader of this faction from the very start, the crown prince¡¯s faction might not be able to win against King Qi¡¯s faction. That would mean that everything would end up benefiting King Qi instead.¡±

    Concubine Bai harrumphed. ¡°Then what about now? Aren¡¯t I just helping the crown princess? I¡¯ve gotten rid of King Qi for her, and she¡¯ll be the future empress. What meaning would there be left in my doing all of this?¡±

    Zu An looked into her usually gentle eyes and said with a sigh. ¡°And that¡¯s precisely why I praised you as brilliant. It¡¯s because of the things you said that no one will suspect you. However, I¡¯ve already roughly guessed your ns. You probably have proof of the crown princess being ¡®defiled¡¯, so you can still use her current power to deal with King Qi. However, once the situation is already settled, you can have some people scatter the proof whenever you want. That way, the crown princess naturally wouldn¡¯t have the dignity to remain the empress, and it¡¯s hard to say if she could continue living.

    ¡°The crown princess is incredibly smart, but she would forever remain as one of your chess pieces. After all, she¡¯s the one who has prepared the way for you,¡± Zu An concluded. He couldn¡¯t help but respect Bi Linglong¡¯s foresight. He had felt that she was too vicious when she told him to find a chance to silence Concubine Bai; to think that she would kill such a kind and gentle woman because of such a groundless reason.

    Now, he realized that she was the truly wise one. She might not have known that the mastermind was Concubine Bai, but her keen aptitude for politics had immediately made her realize that sooner orter, Concubine Bai¡¯s existence itself would be a huge threat to her. That was why she didn¡¯t hesitate to eliminate that threat.

    Sigh, these two women look friendly on the surface, yet they¡¯re both equally vicious. Is it really just that the prettier the woman, the better they are at lying? Those beautiful female friends of Zu An¡¯s appeared in his mind one after another. He was starting to be truly paranoid. Hmph, it¡¯s only because the crown prince is too weak, so he can¡¯t control his women. I¡¯m definitely different. In the end, Zu An consoled himself that way.

    Just then, Concubine Bai gently pped her hands. ¡°You¡¯ve made quite the excellent analysis. Unfortunately, these are only your own spections. There¡¯s no proof.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s actually not so hard to get proof. We just need to find Ou Wu,¡± Zu An said.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s wait until you find him first.¡± Concubine Bai chuckled. Her delicate and pure face that had originally resembled a small white flower now seemed a bit dangerous.

    Zu An sighed. ¡°From what your highness is saying, it seems like only disaster awaits Ou Wu. Actually, I always wondered whether Ou Wu was running away on his own initiative, or if he was ¡®forced to¡¯. Your people can kill him, and then make it seem as if he escaped for fear of punishment for his crimes, framing King Qi that way.¡±

    ¡°These words might seem quiteughable in the eyes of others.¡± Concubine Bai¡¯s slender fingers pointed at the surroundings. ¡°Everyone here knows that I don¡¯t have the influence or the background to do something like this. I¡¯ve always remained deep in my own pce and rarely leave the pce gates. How could I have the ability to kill an imperial pce gate supervisor, and even bring away his entire family?¡±

    ¡°Even though you¡¯re weak on your own, you have allies, don¡¯t you?¡± Zu An chuckled. ¡°For example, maybe King Wu?¡±

 Chapter 767: To Scheme Against

    <h4>Chapter 767: To Scheme Against</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Concubine Bai¡¯s rxed expression finally changed. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re trying to say. King Wu¡¯s territory is far away in North Order Commandery. Vassal state kings aren¡¯t allowed to enter the capital without a summons. How could I possibly be his ally?¡±

    ¡°But I know that he¡¯s always been in the capital these past few days.¡± Zu An chuckled. ¡°I was surrounded and ambushed by the Shi n in Xin Rui¡¯s home this morning, and then I just happened to run into Madam Wu there.¡±

    ¡°The Shi n¡¯s people tried to kill you?¡± Concubine Bai frowned. Then, she harrumphed. ¡°A group of idiots.¡±

    Seeing that she was no longer putting on a front, Zu An chuckled. ¡°That can¡¯t really be med on the Shi n. After all, Hua Bao suddenly ran out and was captured by the Embroidered Envoy. Then, for the sake of saving him, their casino boss ended up being exposed. After silencing that casino boss, they had to use their southern border Spirit Master Jia Sili. The Embroidered Envoy would¡¯ve found out that they were involved sooner orter, so they could only go all out and try to pin all of the me on me¡­¡±

    Concubine Bai was quite shocked. ¡°Judging from your description, the Shi n should have definitely seeded with their attack. With the forces they could transfer, they should have had more than enough resources to kill you. How did you manage to survive?¡±

    ¡°What can I say? I¡¯m just too charming, and I¡¯ve always been quite lucky. I always manage to escape somehow,¡± Zu An said nonchntly.

    Concubine Bai gave him a deep look. ¡°Sir Zu¡¯s confidence isn¡¯t something ordinary men can have, as expected.¡±

    Zu An harrumphed. ¡°What¡¯s the use in praising me now?¡±

    Concubine Baiughed. ¡°I¡¯m not just praising you; I¡¯m starting to have a bit of sincere admiration for you. You¡¯ve managed to do things that arepletely impossible for many others.¡±

    Then, she changed the topic. ¡°However, admiration is one thing. You¡¯ve ndered me, but I won¡¯t admit to it. You should understand that I¡¯m the crown prince¡¯s concubine. I can only receive the greatest benefits if the crown prince rises to the throne. Why would I cooperate with King Wu and the others?¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°The reason why King Wu has gotten involved in this matter is clearly out of longing for the throne, so that¡¯s easy to understand. The crown prince isn¡¯t so smart, while King Wu is confident in his own intelligence. How could he not have thoughts of taking his ce? But eliminating the crown prince alone is useless; he needs to get rid of the strongestpetitor for the throne, King Qi, first. That¡¯s why he joined in on this n. He wanted to kill two birds with one stone, weakening King Qi and the crown prince¡¯s influence. At worst, they would destroy each other, and he would then obtain a chance.

    ¡°Meanwhile, since you¡¯re inside the pce, you¡¯re being watched constantly. It¡¯s impossible for you to make anything happen alone. You must have other people to help you do the things you want to do; for example, killing Ou Wu and pretending that his family escaped. Also, there¡¯s Hua Bao. To be honest, I don¡¯t believe that apulsive gambler like Hua Bao could escape and head to a casino from under the Shi n¡¯s strict watch by himself. You were probably the one who arranged for that.¡±

    Concubine Bai continued to rock back and forth. A pretty smile surfaced on her face as she said, ¡°Quite the interesting deduction. However, I still have the same words for you. These are your spections; you don¡¯t have proof. As for Ou Wu, even though I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on with him, judging from how things currently look, the chances of you finding him aren¡¯t high.¡±

    ¡°Judging from your tone, I reckon that Ou Wu¡¯s corpse has already been destroyed.¡± Zu An chuckled. ¡°But whether or not I find Ou Wu isn¡¯t that big of a deal. I still have other proof.¡±

    ¡°Are you talking about Xin Rui?¡± Concubine Bai¡¯s legs dangled as she sat on the swing, disying her current good mood. ¡°Since she already escaped so long ago, I believe Sir Zu must have been unable to find her.¡±

    ¡°Your highness, please don¡¯t feel happy too soon.¡± Zu An¡¯s eyes shifted to her fluttering dress as he said, ¡°Your highness, don¡¯t forget that there¡¯s one more person. I believe King Wu and the others haven¡¯t had the time to leave the capital yet. As long as I arrest them and interrogate them a bit, the truth should quicklye to light.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Concubine Bai¡¯s smile froze on her face. She said in a slightly rigid tone, ¡°Hmph, even if King Wu is here, he¡¯s still a glorious king. How can someone like him be captured just because you say so, or be interrogated at yourmand?¡±

    ¡°It seems Concubine Bai has quite a bit of confidence in King Wu,¡± Zu An said. ¡°I don¡¯t rmend overestimating the willpower of these nobles who were raised with a golden spoon. They haven¡¯t experienced many setbacks. As long as his majesty gives the order, the Embroidered Envoy can easily make him speak. After all, it¡¯s a huge offense for a vassal state king to even enter the capital. So, what do you think? Will he speak to ease his crimes out of self-preservation then?¡±

    Sure enough, Concubine Bai¡¯s expression changed. She became quiet, and even the swing stopped moving. Some timeter, she finally spoke again. ¡°Why did youe here to tell me these things? Was it to mock me, or have you arranged for some other people to lie in wait in case I admit to anything? Are you going to capture me, then?¡± She looked around while speaking, to see if there was anyone nearby.

    Zu An said grimly, ¡°There¡¯s only one thing I want to ask you. King Wu definitely wants me dead, so why did you let me go back then? After all, you could have chosen to only let the crown princess go and have me captured by the pce staff. That would simrly achieve your objective.¡±

    ¡°At least you remember that I let you go that day.¡± Concubine Bai harrumphed. She got off the swing and walked over to Zu An¡¯s side. ¡°And yet in return, what I get is you pressuring me again and again.¡±

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but chuckle when he heard her pitiful tone. ¡°Using this type of pleading tone, could it be that you n to seduce me?¡±

    ¡°If I really did try to seduce you, would you like it?¡± Concubine Bai removed the small white flower in her hair. Her mature hair bun immediately broke apart, and her long hair scattered down like a waterfall. She no longer seemed like the mother of a child, but rather like a stunning youngdy.

    Zu An¡¯s heart rate quickened when he smelled her unique hundred flower fragrance. This woman really smells too good! Just how amazing would it be to have a woman like this in his arms? Just what kind of heroic deeds had the crown prince done in his past life to make this woman give birth to his child?

    In that instant, the seemingly delicate and weak Concubine Bai suddenly attacked. She struck toward the main acupoint on Zu An¡¯s chest, her glittering fingernails releasing a vicious glint.

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°I was waiting for you to do this.¡±

    He was absolutely not a man who would lose his head over lust and fail to do things properly in front of a girl. How could he drop his guard in their current situation? He raised his hand and pressed it against Concubine Bai¡¯s wrist, blocking her threatening attack. Concubine Bai wasn¡¯t fazed, and her other hand quickly shot over.

    Zu An was startled. Concubine Bai¡¯s arm looked so slender, but it actually had such great offensive power? This woman is actually at the eighth rank? But how is that possible?!

    After all, Chu Chuyan and Pei Mianman were publicly acknowledged geniuses, yet before they had met Zu An, they had only been at the sixth rank. The fact that Chuyan had reached the seventh rank was because of Zu An¡¯s help. Despite that, even though Concubine Bai wasn¡¯t that much older than them, she was actually already at the eighth rank?

    However, he quickly realized that this was the world of cultivation, and he couldn¡¯t judge a person by appearances. It was just like the empress who, despite being much older than Zu An, looked just like a young woman. Every inch of her body felt no different from that of a youngdy. This was something Zu An had personally experienced.

    This was a simr situation. Even though Concubine Bai looked young, she could be much older than Chuyan and the others.

    Tsk tsk tsk, I wonder if anyone in the imperial pce knows her real age. The crown princess and crown prince clearly don¡¯t know. What about the emperor? Does he know? Zu An¡¯s thoughts moved quickly, but his hands didn¡¯t slow down. The two of them quickly exchanged twenty to thirty moves.

    Concubine Bai was also shocked. She had already given Zu An enough credit, yet it seemed she had still underestimated him in the end. If she had known it was going to be like this, she should¡¯ve just¡­

    She bit her red lips lightly. Her attacks became more and more fierce. However, since neither of them wanted to alert the emperor, they both held back a bit and reined in their power at close range.

    Zu An noticed that there seemed to be a rain of flower petals around him. When he tried to look past them, he couldn¡¯t see the situation outside at all. This was probably Concubine Bai¡¯s way of blocking the line of sight of the maids and wet nurses, preventing them from seeing anything.

    He chuckled when he sensed her reservations. ¡°Are we going to fight while pressed up against each other? That¡¯s actually my specialty, you know?¡± As he spoke, he used Pei Mianman¡¯s Feathersilk Entangling Art to lock down Concubine Bai¡¯s arms.

    Zu An pulled Concubine Bai over to him with great force. He examined her beauty as she continued to struggle up close. Her skin was fine like snow; he couldn¡¯t find a single blemish. ¡°Your highness must be at your wit¡¯s end now, right?¡± he asked. He wanted to have a proper chat with her.

    Suddenly, Concubine Bai revealed a charming smile and asked, ¡°Is that so?¡± In that instant, pink mist sprayed out of her mouth and hit Zu An¡¯s face. At such close range, even if Zu An immediately held his breath, he still couldn¡¯t help but breathe some of it in.

 Chapter 768: Making Things Even

    <h4>Chapter 768: Making Things Even</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The two of them fought while almost pressing up against each other. However, no matter how Concubine Bai fought, she was entangled by the other party¡¯s slippery, snake-like hands. At first, she could still switch up her attack methods to unleash an endless barrage of attacks, but as they continued to fight, the amount of space she had left to evade shrank and shrank. Eventually, even her hands were restricted and she was unable to move at all.

    When had she ever been in such close contact with another man? She was ashamed and nervous. Since she couldn¡¯t move her hands, she sent a kick at Zu An¡¯s underbelly.

    However, since the Feathersilk Entangling Art was a technique that specialized in close quartersbat, how could it not have any countermeasures for such an attack? Zu An raised his leg to block Concubine Bai, then kicked the crook of her leg. Then, he used that chance to push her legs apart.

    Concubine Bai jerked from side to side. Her body was extremely flexible, her waist and body both twisting at inconceivable angles. However, she still couldn¡¯t break free from Zu An¡¯s control. On the contrary, her face was flushed from their bodies rubbing against each other so close together.

    Zu An asked with a smile, ¡°Your highness must be at your wit¡¯s end now, right?¡± Just as he was about to negotiate with her, however, Concubine Bai suddenly smiled. Then, a pink mist sprayed out from her cherry lips, hitting Zu An in the face.

    Zu An waspletely caught off guard. An unnatural redness filled his face. Then, after rocking back and forth a few times, he fell weakly to the ground.

    ¡°Hmph!¡± Concubine Bai harrumphed after finally breaking free from his grasp. Then, she couldn¡¯t help but add a kick. ¡°Scoundrel!¡±

    She looked resentful as she asked, ¡°Weren¡¯t you acting all cocky a moment ago? Why aren¡¯t you moving now?¡± She had really suffered from that close quartersbat just then.

    She picked up her skirt and squatted down by his side. A dagger emerged from who knew where, and she ran it across Zu An¡¯s neck a few times. When she saw that there was no reaction, she finally rxed. ¡°He fainted after all. Hmph, I expect no less after being afflicted by my rose dew.¡±

    But then, she seemed quite troubled. She muttered, ¡°Say, should I kill you or not? If I don¡¯t kill you, you¡¯re just a bit too smart, so it¡¯ll be dangerous for me in the pce. If I kill you, the sect master might get angry, right? There¡¯s that junior Honglei as well. Sigh, this really is a headache.¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°If it¡¯s such a headache, then perhaps you shouldn¡¯t kill me?¡± came a man¡¯s teasing voice by Concubine Bai¡¯s ear.

    Concubine Bai jumped in fright, and she quickly tried to press the dagger against Zu An¡¯s neck. Unfortunately, she was still a step toote. Her chest went numb, and in an instant all of her acupoints were sealed up.

    Zu An got up from the ground with a chuckle. He looked at the furious beauty in front of him and said, ¡°Your highness gave me a kick just now. Say, how should I get my revenge for that?¡±

    Concubine Bai was shocked as she asked, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you unconscious?¡±

    They had been so close just now, and they had fought such an intense battle. His breathing should have been extremely rushed. That was why it was impossible for her poison to have not entered his system. Furthermore, her secret poison was enough to render him unconscious even if he only breathed in a tiny bit.

    ¡°I really am freaking lucky.¡± Zu An counted his blessings. Thankfully, he had already broken through to the third level of the Primordial Origin Sutra, so he was already immune to most poisons. Otherwise, he really would have been done in.

    ¡°What kind of poison is that?¡± he asked out of curiosity. Concubine Bai harrumphed and refused to pay attention to him.

    ¡°I can still make my guesses even if you don¡¯t talk.¡± Zu An sensed the poison with his primordial ki. Even though it wasn¡¯t a perfect analysis, he could still get a rough idea of its use.

    ¡°Huh? This poison actually isn¡¯t harmful to the body at all. It only makes one fall unconscious and enter an illusion.¡± Zu An was shocked. ¡°Why would you use a poison like this without any serious effects?¡±

    ¡°None of your business!¡± Concubine Bai felt angry and remorseful. If she had known it was going to be like this, she would have nted that dagger into his neck to begin with. Hmph, she really didn¡¯t know where this kid got his guts from, not even flinching with a de pressed against his neck. That was why she had thought he really had been affected by the poison.

    You have sessfully trolled Bai Rouxue for +233 +233 +233¡­

    ¡°His majesty has long been trying to figure out who the spy from the Devil Sect was. In the end, the one who was med was the Left Guard General Cheng Xiong and his son.¡± Zu An chuckled. ¡°But I knew it wasn¡¯t them. That was why I was always curious to find out who leaked information to the Devil Sect.

    ¡°This person¡¯s status couldn¡¯t be low, or else they wouldn¡¯t have ess to important secrets like the emperor¡¯s whereabouts, the pce¡¯s security, and other things of that nature. But if their status were too high, I wouldn¡¯t understand why they would help the Devil Sect.¡± Zu An looked at Concubine Bai and said, ¡°It turns out it was you in the end.¡±

    He had pretended to be unconscious earlier because he wanted to use this chance to get some information. Sure enough, he had ended up receiving such a nice piece of information.

    Concubine Bai was really feeling regretful now. Why the hell had she bbed like that? However, she quickly calmed down. ¡°Hmph, I¡¯m not the only one who colluded with the Devil Sect in this imperial pce. Sir Zu, aren¡¯t you one of them too? You even saved the Devil Sect Master and the saintess.¡±

    Zu An wasn¡¯t surprised. It was easy to deceive others, but such information wouldn¡¯t escape the notice of a spy on this level. After all, Yun Jianyue had always stayed in his Embroidered Envoy residence, and he couldn¡¯t always be there. These two had probably already been in contact then.

    Indeed, Concubine Bai had awarded him with a bunch of stuff back then. Thinking back, Yun Jianyue¡¯s reaction was a bit strange at the time. That was probably when they had firste into contact.

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°Your highness must think that I¡¯ll let you go because of that kind of rtionship. But as long as I kill you, no one will know about any of this. Won¡¯t I be safer then?¡±

    Concubine Bai gave him a look. A whileter, she said, ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to scare me like that. How can anyone the sect master and the saintess favor be someone that despicable and shameless?¡±

    Zu An felt a headache as he muttered, ¡°Sigh, being rejected for being a nice guy really doesn¡¯t feel too great.¡± He didn¡¯t continue the pretense either, and unsealed Concubine Bai¡¯s acupoints.

    Concubine Bai subconsciously took a few steps back when she was freed. Then, she rubbed her chest. That area still ached a bit after being struck.

    Zu An then remarked. ¡°Since we¡¯re now allies on the same ship, I believe there are some matters we can be more open about, no?¡±

    ¡°What do you want to know?¡± Concubine Bai returned to the swing. At the same time, she flung her sleeves outward and the flower petals gradually faded. The figures of the maids and wet nurses could vaguely be made out again.

    ¡°This technique of yours is quite impressive,¡± Zu An couldn¡¯t help but say in praise.

    ¡°Nothing more than a smokescreen,¡± Concubine Bai replied indifferently.

    Zu An nodded. Then he continued, ¡°The ones who wanted to take me and the crown princess down were you and King Wu, right?¡±

    After a bit of hesitation, Concubine Bai nodded and said, ¡°Correct. Your analysis was already ny percent there.¡±

    ¡°Where is Xin Rui?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°She returned afterpleting her mission,¡± Concubine Bai replied.

    ¡°Then her mother and little brother were both fake as well?¡± Zu An refused to believe that the Devil Sect would leave behind such a huge opening and let Xin Rui¡¯s loved ones be controlled.

    ¡°Correct. They were both impersonations from the sect. Otherwise, it wouldn¡¯t have been easy to escape to a casino under the Shi n¡¯s monitoring, and he would be discovered by the Embroidered Envoy even if he had help,¡± Concubine Bai replied.

    ¡°Your arrangements really were well thought out.¡± Zu An gasped. The other party was so meticulous. This had definitely not been done on a momentary whim, but rather prepared several years in advance. But if this had started several years ago, then had they already nned to act against the crown princess at that time?

    ¡°We only made some preparations ahead of time. Then, the Shi n¡¯s people just happened to be roped in recently,¡± Concubine Bai exined.

    Zu An felt relieved. He asked, ¡°Why did you choose me and the crown princess?¡± He couldn¡¯t help but feel that he had been thrown under the bus here.

    ¡°King Wu suggested it. He insisted on using you. He seems to carry extreme hatred for you.¡± Concubine Bai gave Zu An a look of surprise. ¡°Just what did you do to him to make him hate you so much?¡±

    Zu An began to think to himself. It seemed she didn¡¯t know about his rtionship with Yun Yuqing. It was probably better to keep some things a secret. He replied, ¡°What can I say? I¡¯m just too charming. Maybe King Wu felt jealous when I passed through North Order Commandery in the past.¡± Concubine Bai was speechless.

    ¡°As for the reason you let me go back then, apart from the reasons I stated¡­ Is it also because I saved Yun Jianyue and the others?¡± Zu An asked out of curiosity.

    ¡°Indeed. For the sake of saving you and not rousing King Wu¡¯s suspicion, I was left quite conflicted, you know?¡± Concubine Bai replied with a sigh.

    Zu Anughed, annoyed. ¡°What, then should I be thanking you for making me walk around the gates of hell a few times?¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you still fine?¡± Concubine Bai smiled. ¡°The crown princess is a rare beauty, and not even the crown prince has touched her pure body, yet you ended up having her.¡±

    ¡°Did you take off our clothes back then?¡± Zu An¡¯s expression darkened.

    Concubine Bai recalled the past. She subconsciously nced at his lower body, a blush appearing on her face. ¡°What meaning is there in asking that?¡±

    ¡°Of course there¡¯s meaning.¡± Zu An harrumphed. ¡°You¡¯ve already gotten to see mepletely. At the very least, you have to return the favor that we¡¯re even, right?¡±

    Concubine Bai smiled sweetly. ¡°So you want to see? Sure, I¡¯m sitting right here. You cane over and remove my clothes. I promise I won¡¯t resist.¡±

    Zu An became annoyed and asked, ¡°Woman, do you really think I wouldn¡¯t dare?¡±

    ¡°Then why don¡¯t you do it?¡± Concubine Bai raised her chin provocatively. At the same time, she gave the distant maids a look. So many people are watching. Would you dare?

    Zu An¡¯s eyes narrowed. He said, ¡°Your highness, I have a friend; he really is my friend. This person really hates being provoked. If he gets provoked, he might just act on an impulse and not care about any consequences until he gets what he wants¡­¡±

    Concubine Bai suddenly got up before he could finish and urgently said, ¡°You can¡¯t act rashly, or else both of us will be done for!¡±

    Zu An would definitely be finished in front of so many people, but because she had been touched by a man, rumors would spread about her in the pce. Then, she would be an impure person in the eyes of the royal family. All of her efforts would then go down the drain.

    ¡°But that friend of mine really is angry, you know? Already, he can¡¯t take it anymore.¡± Zu Anughed inwardly. He had never used the skill ¡®I Have a Friend¡¯ that he had pulled a while ago. He hadn¡¯t expected its first use to be right here. Hmph, judging from Concubine Bai¡¯s rmed expression, she clearly believes that the friend I¡¯m speaking of is myself. Looks like this skill is pretty good at confusing people.

    Concubine Bai¡¯s face turned red and pale. Why had she insisted on provoking this guy? She clenched her teeth, and then waved her sleeves. Flower petals began to fall again. She had to at least block their line of sight first. That way, even if something happened, she could still redeem the situation.

    Zu An¡¯s expression became extremely strange when he saw the flower petals. ¡°Can I interpret this as your highness tacitly agreeing to what I¡¯m about to do?¡±

 Chapter 769: No Idea What to Do

    <h4>Chapter 769: No Idea What to Do</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Pah!¡± Concubine Bai scoffed. ¡°I just didn¡¯t want you to do something out of impulse and cause a situation that was impossible to save.¡±

    Zu An arrived at her side, and then looked at the surrounding petals. ¡°You¡¯ve already blocked their line of sight, so doesn¡¯t that mean that no matter what I do to you, you can still save the situation?¡±

    Concubine Bai subconsciously took a step back when she sensed Zu An¡¯s strong, masculine presence. ¡°Don¡¯t¡­ Don¡¯t misunderstand. That¡¯s not what I meant.¡±

    ¡°Then what did you mean?¡± Zu An hooked his finger under her chin, gently raising her face up. Her cheeks really were beautiful like cherry blossoms, her skin incredibly smooth. Not even white jade or pearls couldpare to her beauty.

    ¡°If you¡­ If you continue, I¡­ I¡¯ll remove the flower screen around us¡­¡± Concubine Bai raised her hand, as if she were going to lower the screen.

    Zu An smiled. He moved close to her ear and asked quietly, ¡°Then why don¡¯t you?¡±

    Her fragrance was even stronger when he got closer. It was sweet, and yet it wasn¡¯t overpowering. Instead, it felt fresh and clean. Was this woman the reincarnation of the flower immortal or something?

    ¡°You¡­ How can you be so shameless?¡± Concubine Bai was starting to choke up. When she sensed the heating from Zu An¡¯s breath, she became so nervous a thinyer of goosebumps appeared on her neck.

    Zu An had a pensive look on his face when he saw her reaction. ¡°Your highness, you really don¡¯t seem like a mature woman who has already given birth to a child right now.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t seem like a proper subject right now either,¡± Concubine Bai said hatefully.

    Zu An looked her in the eyes and asked, ¡°Whose child is the imperial grandson?¡± The reason he had deliberately ¡®provoked¡¯ her was mainly because he wanted to see if he could get any information from her reactions.

    ¡°Either way, he¡¯s not yours!¡± Concubine Bai struggled free. She sorted out her clothes in rm.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but chuckle. ¡°I didn¡¯t touch your clothes, so why are you fixing them?¡±

    Concubine Bai¡¯s face turned red. She felt that she really was too nervous right now for some reason. She looked away and ignored him.

    Zu An then continued, ¡°Is he really the crown prince¡¯s son? That doesn¡¯t seem like the case to me. Even the crown princess has remained chaste after being married to him for so long. I reckon he probablycks the ability, or maybe the awareness, to do such a thing.

    ¡°Could it be that it really is as the rumors say, that this child is his majesty¡¯s? If it really were his seed, then with his nature, would he be willing to grant his woman to another man?¡± he asked while staring straight at her. ¡°Even if it¡¯s his own son we¡¯re talking about?¡±

    Concubine Bai¡¯s breathing became hurried. Her chest rose and fell intensely. ¡°This matter has nothing to do with you, so there¡¯s no need for you to keep asking. I won¡¯t say anything.¡±

    Zu Anughed. ¡°Honestly, I really am in admiration of the Devil Sect¡¯s methods! Not only did they manage to ce you in such a high position, but you even managed to be the mother of the imperial grandson. That would mean that once the imperial grandson rose to the throne, the Devil Sect¡¯seback would be inevitable.¡±

    ¡°What, are you going to expose us?¡± Concubine Bai sneered. ¡°But you shouldn¡¯t forget that we¡¯re all in the same boat here! If I¡¯m done for, you won¡¯t be able to get away either.¡±

    ¡°Why so serious?¡± Zu An chuckled. ¡°With my rtionship with Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei, how could I report you?¡±

    Concubine Bai said angrily, ¡°So you finally remember the sect master and Honglei now! Just how were you treating me earlier?¡±

    Zu An waved his hands and replied, ¡°You already saw everything, and all I did was touch your chin. I don¡¯t think I went too far at all.¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Concubine Bai thought to herself, So what, are you really going to strip me in revenge? She was extremely irritated. She looked away and ignored him.

    Zu An said, ¡°Alright, it looks like this is most likely your Devil Sect¡¯s greatest secret. I won¡¯t force it if you aren¡¯t willing to talk about it. But I have onest question. Why would you collude with King Wu? After all, you two aren¡¯t connected in any way. How did you even get into contact?¡±

    After some hesitation, Concubine Bai said, ¡°We had a bit of contact in the past.¡±

    When he saw how ambiguously Concubine Bai spoke, Zu An sighed. ¡°Your highness, don¡¯t be like this. You really don¡¯t sound like you¡¯re talking to an ally right now.¡±

    ¡°What are you trying to say?¡± Concubine Bai frowned. She seemed to have sensed some implication behind his words.

    Zu An said, ¡°You did something that might just cause the execution of your entire n. Who would dare to coborate that way over such a simple friendship?¡±

    Concubine Bai said indifferently, ¡°There truly isn¡¯t much between me and King Wu. If you don¡¯t believe me, I can make a vow.¡±

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°The two of you indeed don¡¯t have much of a rtionship, but your rtionship with Madam Wu isn¡¯t ordinary. If my suspicions aren¡¯t wrong, Madam Wu is your sect master¡¯s sister, right?¡±

    Concubine Bai¡¯s eyes narrowed when she heard those words. Her heart rate sped up noticeably. However, she quickly reacted and said coldly, ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re saying. However, I¡¯m quite impressed by your imagination.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Zu Anughed. ¡°But your reaction just now told me the truth.¡± Concubine Bai remained silent.

    Zu An continued, ¡°You¡¯re the greatest and most mysterious spy the Devil Sect has nted in the imperial pce. Back then, even with my rtionship with Honglei, as well as the life-saving grace I held toward your Devil Sect¡¯s master, Yun Jianyue still refused to tell me about you. That means that in the entire sect, your status might be in the top two or three.

    ¡°In such a situation, how could you all dare to expose your existence to King Wu? No matter how closely King Wu is working with the Devil Sect, he¡¯s still a rtive to the emperor. Your people would neverpletely trust him. Furthermore, he has a longing for the throne, so he¡¯s naturally a rival of the imperial grandson. There¡¯s no way you would give King Wu that much leverage against you guys.

    ¡°But your alliance still exists, so there¡¯s probably a middleman. Furthermore, Madam Wu¡¯s degree of involvement in this matter really is quite high. She knows about the Shi n¡¯s matters, yet the Shi n doesn¡¯t know about her. That¡¯s why she should be that middleman.

    ¡°Meanwhile, Yun Jianyue and Madam Wu both just happen to have the surname Yun. The same surname doesn¡¯t say much on its own, but with so many coincidences lining up, I fear it¡¯s no longer just a coincidence.¡±

    Zu An began to feel some regret. This was a thought that had just emerged as he spoke with Concubine Bai. Before now, he had only suspected that she might have something to do with the Devil Sect. If he had realized this from the start, he might have had better results if he had asked Yun Yuqing directly.

    After some hesitation, Concubine Bai said calmly, ¡°I won¡¯t stop you from imagining whatever you wish, but you can forget about obtaining any conclusive evidence from me.¡±

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but say mockingly, ¡°You Devil Sect people really aren¡¯t very honest. I even helped you guys out of so many life and death situations, yet you¡¯ve never told me the truth. On the contrary, look at the crown princess. She might be a bit more fierce to me on the surface, but she¡¯s actually pretty good to me. I feel like I might really have to reevaluate which side is better to lean on.¡±

    Concubine Bai became nervous. ¡°Hmph! Isn¡¯t the reason the crown princess is so good to you because I ced her right by your side? How can you forget favors so easily?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s not be so superficial; we¡¯re all adults here.¡± Zu An wagged his finger. ¡°I only care about tangible benefits afterward.¡±

    Concubine Bai sat down on the swing. Suddenly, she smiled sweetly and patted the seat next to her. ¡°Do you want to swing with me?¡±

    Zu An asked with an ambiguous smile, ¡°Are you tempting me right now?¡±

    ¡°The reason why you feel that the crown princess is better¡­ Isn¡¯t it because of the skinship you experienced?¡± A bit of charm suddenly appeared on Concubine Bai¡¯s innocent face. ¡°Whatever the crown princess has given you, I can give it to you as well.¡±

    ¡°Why not?¡± Zu An didn¡¯t exin anything and sat down right next to her.

    Concubine Bai was stunned. She hadn¡¯t expected him to agree so readily. On the contrary, she was now a bit baffled as to how to deal with this situation. Under normal circumstances, shouldn¡¯t he at least have declined the first offer? Then, she would continue to seduce him, and she would have him in the center of her palm, right? Yet now, she had no idea how to y the game anymore!

    Even though there was more than enough room on the swing for one person, it felt a bit cramped when two people used it together. That was especially the case when that fellow wrapped his arm right around her waist. He wasn¡¯t treating her like an outsider at all!

    In that instant, she felt as if she had invited a wolf straight into the house. She said in annoyance, ¡°Big brother, please don¡¯t touch me anymore. Why don¡¯t we just talk?¡±

 Chapter 770: Extreme Joy Turns to Sorrow

    <h4>Chapter 770: Extreme Joy Turns to Sorrow</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Do you think we can just chat in this kind of situation?¡± Zu An asked with a smile.

    Concubine Bai was stunned. Her eyes shifted to his hand. How am I supposed to just chat when I¡¯m so rattled from you touching me everywhere?!

    Zu An said, ¡°Your Devil Sect¡¯s people really are liars after all. You said you could give me everything the crown princess had given me just a moment ago, yet you¡¯re already going back on your word.¡±

    Concubine Bai¡¯s expression grew sullen as she eximed, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me the crown princess let you touch her all over like this?!¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°That¡¯s how it was, at least when we were naked. Your highness, didn¡¯t you see it for yourself?¡±

    Concubine Bai finally couldn¡¯t take it anymore. She struggled free from the swing and distanced herself from Zu An, saying, ¡°Fine, I¡¯m scared of you. If my senior sister learns how you treated me, she¡¯ll definitely smack you straight to death.¡±

    ¡°Senior sister?¡± Zu An asked, a bit confused.

    Concubine Bai harrumphed. ¡°There¡¯s no point in hiding it from you at this point. The sect master is my senior sister, but I was already sent into the pce at a very young age.¡±

    Zu An was quite surprised. ¡°Just how did you guys pull the wool over the emperor¡¯s head? He would actually be so careless as to let such a high ranking Devil Sect member remain at his side?¡±

    Concubine Bai said proudly, ¡°Senior sister is the world''s smartest person. Furthermore, the emperor isn¡¯t a deity; how could he possibly know everything?¡±

    Zu An nodded in deep sympathy. If that guy were omnipotent, he would¡¯ve already known that the empress has already taken on my shape inside.

    He didn¡¯t continue arguing and instead asked, ¡°By the way, was that libationer one of your people too? Or does he have some kind of a secret rtionship with your Devil Sect?¡± That libationer had helped him out before. That was something he had always been confused about. He just couldn¡¯t stop thinking about it.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that it was already yourst question earlier?¡± Concubine Bai harrumphed. ¡°Just a man who goes back on his word.¡±

    ¡°I learned it from you.¡± Zu An¡¯s eyes shifted to her slender waist.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Concubine Bai¡¯s face turned red. She knew that he was referring to how she had seduced him, and yet given up halfway. ¡°Fine, it¡¯ll be alright even if I tell you. The libationer has nothing to do with our Holy Sect. If he were one of us, then he and the sect master together would have already been enough to drag down the emperor. Why would we have to go through so much trouble?¡±

    Zu An was shocked. ¡°The libationer is that powerful?¡±

    Concubine Bai nodded. ¡°Sir Libationer has always been mysterious, and he¡¯s always been known to disregard political affairs. However, no one can disregard his existence. The publicly acknowledged top three experts are his majesty, King Qi, and the libationer.

    ¡°Everyone in the world believes that King Qi must at most be a bit weaker than his majesty, that he¡¯s number two. However, judging from my observations these past few years, the libationer might be the true number two. After all, every disciple he¡¯s raised ended up reaching the master rank. There are naturally many more eighth and ninth ranks under him.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes widened. Even his disciples were masters! Just what kind of concept was that? He asked, ¡°How many disciples does he have?¡±

    Concubine Bai gave Zu An a look, clearly shocked that he didn¡¯t even know such basic information. ¡°Every student in the Royal Academy can be considered his disciple, but most people only acknowledge twelve of them as his direct disciples.¡±

    Zu An had a pensive expression. Looks like I¡¯ll have to pay that academy a visit to clear this up. Suddenly, he thought of something and asked, ¡°By the way, someone tried to eliminate me when I was in the imperial prisonst time. Was it one of your men?¡±

    Concubine Bai was stunned. ¡°Why would we do such a thing? If we really wanted to do that, forget about Honglei, not even the sect master would let me go.¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°That¡¯s good. I hope we can help each other more in this pce in the future.¡±

    Concubine Bai harrumphed. ¡°I just hope you won¡¯te to this Hundred Flower Pce as much anymore.¡± She really wouldn¡¯t be able to take it if this kid came to provoke her every time.

    Zu Anughed heartily. ¡°Then I guess I¡¯ll make sure to stay by the crown princess¡¯ side more in the future.¡±

    Concubine Bai¡¯s expression changed. After all, even though she looked friendly with the crown princess on the surface, everyone knew that they hated each other¡¯s guts. If Zu An really did start leaning toward the crown princess, then she really would get a headache. After all, judging from their previous interactions, she could tell that this fellow¡¯spetence and luck were both top-notch.

    She asked, ¡°How are you going to face the sect master and Honglei if you keep doing this? One of them favors you, and the other has deep affection for you.¡±

    Zu An sighed. ¡°It¡¯s your Devil Sect¡¯s fault for having so many lying, beautiful women. I¡¯m really wondering if I¡¯ve been PUA¡¯d by you guys.¡±[1]

    ¡°PUA?¡± Concubine Bai was stunned. She didn¡¯t know what that word meant.

    ¡°It means that you guys were using some superficial methods to control me, but you also never invested anything from the very start. Instead, I waspletely scammed.¡± Zu An said darkly, ¡°And you¡¯re the worst of them all.¡±

    ¡°But you should at least be able to sense that Honglei¡¯s feelings for you are real, right?¡± Concubine Bai clenched her teeth. This fellow really was hard to deal with.

    Zu An replied indifferently, ¡°Who knows? After all, she hasn¡¯t really been given to me. Who knows whether your stupid technique even has those rules about virginity or whatever? Maybe they¡¯re all in on this together.¡± He could obviously sense Qiu Honglei¡¯s sincere feelings, but he wouldn¡¯t be so stupid as to say that to Concubine Bai.

    ¡°Of course you can¡¯t lose your chastity if you cultivate Heavenly Devil Temptation; even I¡­¡± Concubine Bai suddenly stopped midway and harrumphed. She had almost fallen for this fellow¡¯s bait. She quickly changed the topic. ¡°Whatever, as long as you¡¯re not scared of that crown princess being jealous in the future, then you cane here as often as you like. We¡¯ll always wee you here.¡±

    ¡°Thanks a bunch, your highness. This subject will bid his goodbye for now then.¡± Zu An had achieved his objective. Whether hepletely leaned toward the Devil Sect or the crown princess¡¯ side, neither choice was wise. Only in his current situation would he receive the most benefits.

    Concubine Bai clenched her teeth. She thought to herself, Which subject dares to touch me however they want, like you? However, when she saw the maids walk over, she couldn¡¯t really say anything. She scattered the surrounding flower petals and said, ¡°Sir Zu, please leave well; we won¡¯t be seeing you out.¡±

    ¡­

    As Zu An left the Hundred Flower Pce, he exited through the gate and returned home. Either way, the crown princess had given him some time off, and the Embroidered Envoy¡¯s case had been handed to Zhuxie Chixin. He was happy to have some free time.

    His harvest from the Hundred Flower Pce had been quite great. Many of the questions he¡¯d had were now fully answered. Furthermore, he had even established a friendly alliance with Concubine Bai.

    Concubine Bai¡¯s body really smells good¡­ He continued to think about various things along the way, and managed to reach his home without realizing it. Several figures weed him when they heard activity by the entrance.

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡±

    ¡°Brother-inw!¡±

    ¡°Big brother Zu!¡±

    Zu An¡¯s mood brightened. So it was Chu Chuyan, Chu Youzhao, and her stalker Murong Qinghe.

    ¡°We just received news that you were attacked! Were you injured at all?¡± Even though they could see Zu An standing there all fine and dandy, Chu Chuyan still continued to examine his body.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. Don¡¯t I look perfectly well?¡± Zu An felt warm inside. As expected, it was still his own wife who doted on him the most. Those other women were all more fierce than the next.

    Murong Qinghe said, ¡°I heard news from the prison that all of the barracks in the outskirts are being examined. I heard that a siege crossbow was used in the attack, and there were even signs of someone being hit by one¡­¡±

    ¡°A siege crossbow?!¡± Chu Chuyan¡¯s face paled. How could she not know how powerful a siege crossbow was? ¡°Where were you injured? Hurry and tell me!¡±

    Zu An felt more and more warm when he saw Chu Chuyan on the verge of tears. He said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I managed to evade in time, so it only brushed me. I just had some light injuries. It¡¯s already gotten much better.¡±

    He didn¡¯t want to tell them what had happened back then because he didn¡¯t want to worry Chuyan. Furthermore, the Murong n¡¯s brat was still here, so if news got out, everyone would know just how quickly he had recovered after being hit by a siege crossbow. That would draw suspicion, and subsequently, people might rush over to research his body.

    Chu Chuyan still wasn''t convinced. She quickly took off his clothes and said, ¡°Let me take a look.¡±

    Murong Qinghe¡¯s face reddened. She turned away in embarrassment. Who would have thought that even though Zu An looked pretty skinny from the outside, he was actually so robust!

    Chu Youzhao was the opposite; she bashfully stared at Zu An¡¯s body. Her cheeks blushed, yet she didn¡¯t really want to look away.

    When she finally confirmed that there weren¡¯t any serious injuries, Chu Chuyan sighed in relief and said, ¡°Thank goodness¡­¡±

    Chu Youzhao suddenly asked, ¡°Brother-inw, why do you smell so good?¡±

    Murong Qinghe also sniffed the air. ¡°It does smell pretty good. I¡¯ve never smelled this type of fragrance before.¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s gaze became dangerous. She looked at Zu An with an ambiguous smile. ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, this seems to be the smell of another woman¡­¡±

    1. ¡¯PUA¡¯ is ng for ¡®pickup artist¡¯ even in Chinese.

 Chapter 771: All Alone

    <h4>Chapter 771: All Alone</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An felt goosebumps when he heard those words. He really had been too careless this time! He had been appreciating Concubine Bai¡¯s scent just now, yet he was getting punished for it so soon afterward.

    However, he had already been through many tough situations, so he reacted quickly as well. He immediately said with a sigh, ¡°I think it¡¯s the fragrance of that southern border expert Jia Sili. Her Spirit Master technique really is hard to deal with. I was almost done in by her illusion!¡±

    ¡°Spirit Master?¡± Sure enough, Chu Chuyan¡¯s attention was redirected as she said, ¡°Spirit Masters are a kind of expert found in the southern border, and they¡¯re unpredictable and hard to deal with. They¡¯re capable of silently taking a life.¡±

    ¡°Indeed, when our Great Zhou fought against the southern border in the past, we suffered severe casualties because of their Spirit Masters,¡± Murong Qinghe said. She had spent a lot of time in the army, so she knew some of these things. ¡°The name Jia Sili sounds a bit familiar. I think she made the court¡¯s experts suffer considerably. Big brother Zu, you were actually able to survive after facing her?!¡±

    Her eyes sparkled. She had always revered the strong. Whether it was the time she had faced Zu An herself or his various aplishments as ofte, all of it left her in awe.

    If big brother Chu were strong like this, how great would that be? Murong Qinghe thought to herself. Ah! What am I thinking? Big brother Chu is best just the way he is, pretty and gentle. I¡¯ll do all of the fighting and dirty work.

    Chu Chuyan quickly asked Zu An about his battle against Jia Sili. Zu An gave them a rough summary of what had happened, because he was worried that she might be at a disadvantage if she faced a Spirit Master in the future. That was why he emphasized Jia Sili¡¯s attack methods. Of course, he changed the female lead Yun Yuqing to Chu Chuyan. Sigh, I need more practice cultivating the yboy arts¡­

    Sure enough, when she heard that Zu An had made the entire world his enemy in the illusion, and that he had even fought against the emperor, Chu Chuyan was incredibly moved.

    Chu Youzhao¡¯s face was red from excitement. My brother-inw is so awesome! He¡¯s the best and strongest person in the world!

    Even Murong Qinghe¡¯s eyes began to be dazzled, darting toward Zu An from time to time, and then back to Chu Chuyan. A slightly conflicted expression flickered across her face momentarily.

    Zu An secretly wiped his cold sweat. He had worried that these girls who were raised as faithful patriots would feel that his behavior was disgraceful. But he hadn¡¯t expected these types of love stories to be so potent against women. No wonder Yun Yuqing had been so moved when she had heard such stories back then¡­ Pah pah pah! Why am I still thinking about other girls right now? I¡¯m fucking trash!

    Zu An suddenly noticed some luggage off to the side. He was stunned and asked, ¡°Why do you have all of this with you? Are you going on a trip somewhere?¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s expression grew sad as she answered, ¡°It¡¯s not a trip; I have to go back to Brightmoon City.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Zu An eximed, agitated.

    Chu Chuyan said, ¡°I just received news from my mother that something major happened back home in the Chu n. That¡¯s why I have to go back and take care of it.¡±

    Chu Youzhao added, ¡°Even though there wasn¡¯t much time left, big sis still wanted to say goodbye to you first. When she heard that something happened to you, she could no longer remain calm and was pacing back and forth nervously here. I¡¯ve never seen her so nervous in my life!¡±

    Chu Chuyan harrumphed. ¡°She¡¯s exaggerating.¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu Anughed, and then pulled her over by the waist. ¡°Isn¡¯t it natural for a husband and wife to be worried for each other? Give me a kiss.¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s ears turned red. ¡°There are still people here.¡±

    ¡°Go, leave, get out of here. Stop getting in the way of our lover¡¯s world.¡± Zu An waved his hands, impatiently chasing away the two third wheels.

    ¡°You guys are so embarrassing!¡± Chu Youzhao and Murong Qinghe giggled as they ran out. Despite having said that, they were actually jealous of such a rtionship.

    They had seen many cases of husbands and wives treating each other with superficial respect their entire lives, acting proper and courteous. There was nothing wrong with that; it was what they had been taught growing up. However, as women, they always felt that such rtionships were missing a bit of passion and affection.

    On the contrary, Zu An¡¯s entirely different style was extremely fresh to them. They could sense the passion and brilliance of life emanating from him.

    The two peeped into the room after walking out of the door. Murong Qinghe couldn¡¯t help but ask quietly, ¡°Say, do you think your brother-inw is going to do that to your sister¡­¡± A pink blush appeared on her tanned skin halfway through her sentence. It was clear that the scene she had identally seen that night had left her with quite the impact.

    She often dreamed about that scene at night. Only, the female lead would sometimes be Chu Chuyan, and sometimes herself. The male lead would sometimes be Zu An, and sometimes Chu Youzhao¡­ She became extremely embarrassed whenever she thought about it. Why the hell would I dream about another man? I can¡¯t let big brother Chu know¡­

    Chu Youzhao also had a strange expression. ¡°Probably not, right¡­?¡± She wasn¡¯t so sure, though. She knew what kind of pervert her brother-inw was.

    ¡°Should we go and take a look?¡± Murong Qinghe was rather bold to begin with, so she was eager to give it a try.

    Chu Youzhao jumped in fright. ¡°You¡¯d better not! No way!¡± She wasn¡¯t worried about her big sister, because they were all girls, so she didn¡¯t care if Murong Qinghe saw that. She just felt it would be really bad if Murong Qinghe saw her brother-inw.

    ¡­

    While the pair was whispering outside, the two inside weren¡¯t doing what they had imagined. Instead, they were just embracing each other affectionately.

    ¡°Chuyan, what¡¯s so important that you have to go back?¡± Zu An asked reluctantly. Once Chuyan left, he really would feel like aplete foreigner here.

    Chu Chuyan leaned against his chest. ¡°I don¡¯t know exactly either, but mother definitely wouldn¡¯t speak without thinking. Something major has definitely happened back in the Chu n.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s voice rose as he asked, ¡°Is someone targeting the Chu n? For better or for worse, I¡¯m a rising star in the capital. Just let me know and I¡¯ll get rid of them.¡±

    ¡°I know, you¡¯re amazing.¡± Chu Chuyan couldn¡¯t help butugh. ¡°But as for what it is exactly, I¡¯ll only know once I go back and take a look myself.¡±

    ¡°Okay. I really can¡¯t bear to see you leave¡­¡± Zu An looked at her sadly.

    ¡°Ah Zu, I don¡¯t want to leave you either.¡± Chu Chuyan looked back reluctantly.

    The two kissed each other passionately, as if they wanted topletely assimte the other party into themselves.

    ¡­

    By the time Zu An saw Chu Chuyan out of the city outskirts, the redness on her face still hadn¡¯t faded. She said, ¡°Ah Zu, I¡¯lle back to see you as soon as I finish what I need to do in Brightmoon City.¡±

    ¡°Okay. Let me know as soon as you return. I have some resources I can use in the capital now, so we don¡¯t have to be bullied like before anymore,¡± Zu An reminded her.

    Chu Chuyan voiced her acknowledgment. Then, she said to her little sister, ¡°Youzhao, you have to take good care of your brother-inw while I¡¯m gone.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°Aren¡¯t you getting the order wrong?¡±

    Even Murong Qinghe was confused. Her big brother Chu was a gentle and beautiful man. Why did he have to take care of this thick skinned fellow?

    Chu Chuyan shook her head. ¡°Youzhao grew up under the care of his grandfathers, and he has Qinghe to help him as well, so I¡¯m not too worried about him. But you¡¯ve always been in danger during your time in the capital. You won¡¯t be so lucky every time.¡±

    Chu Youzhao became excited. She stuck out her chest and said, ¡°Big sis, don¡¯t worry! I¡¯ll definitely take care of brother-inw.¡±

    Zu An smiled. He took Chu Chuyan¡¯s hands into his own when he sensed her concern. ¡°Chuyan, thank you.¡±

    ¡­

    They had originally nned to separate in the city outskirts, but they walked another several dozen li together beyond that. In the end, they still had to separate.

    When he returned to the capital, Zu An¡¯s mood wasn¡¯t too great. Chu Youzhao knew that he wasn¡¯t in a good mood, so she didn¡¯t bother him either and left with Murong Qinghe to give him some space.

    Zu An sat on his bed in a stupor. Big Manman had left, Snow had left, Zheng Dan had left, Qiu Honglei had left, and now Chuyan had also left. He felt all alone in this world.

    ¡°Do you need someone to drink with?¡± said a chilly voice by the window.

    Zu An turned around. The first thing that met his eyes was a pair of long, stunning legs. ¡°Principal Jiang?¡±

 Chapter 772, Part 1: The Royal Academyâ€™s Eighth Senior

    <h4>Chapter 772, Part 1: The Royal Academy¡¯s Eighth Senior</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Her thighs were thick, but her calves were slender, drawing a perfect curve. Together with her fair and smooth skin, it formed a powerful contrast.

    But Zu An wasn¡¯t in the mood to admire any of that. He gave the mature and sophisticated woman seated on the windowsill a look of surprise and asked, ¡°Principal Jiang, what are you doing here?¡±

    ¡°I heard you were ambushed, so I came to take a look. The Xie siblings wanted toe as well, but Xie Daoyun was instructed to practice rune drawing by her teacher, while Xie Xiu¡¯s teacher made him y chess with him. They¡¯re quite busy, so they entrusted me to visit you.¡± Jiang Luofu¡¯s fine ck hair was held up with a jade hairpin, making her long and slender neck appear even more graceful. She was wearing a pair of elegant t-framed sses today as well.

    If Zu An had seen her at any other time, videos of sexy teachers, secretaries, and officedies might have already filled his head. Even now, he was dazed as he looked at the familiar figure in front of him. It was as if he had returned to his old world.

    ¡°Did you hurt your head? Your face looks pretty stupid right now.¡± Jiang Luofu grinned.

    Zu An was upset. ¡°You aren¡¯t acting like a caring visitor at all, but more like you came here to make fun of me.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you look fine?¡± Jiang Luofu leaped down from the window and walked over gracefully, her long and slender legs on disy.

    Zu An had to admit that just watching this woman walk was the most delightful scene. Not many of the girls from the media he used to watch couldpare to this principal.

    ¡°There¡¯s quite a bit of dust on your window. You should clean it sometime,¡± Jiang Luofu said, frowning slightly while patting away some dust from her bottom.

    Zu An said a bit apologetically, ¡°It hasn¡¯t been long since I moved into this ce, and there¡¯s no one around to help me clean it up. Only a few servants were added recently.¡± He couldn¡¯t help but think of Chu Chuyan when he thought of that. She usually seemed cold and aloof, but she was the one who cared the most about him.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t youe in through the front? Why did you have to jump in through the window?¡± he asked. Even though there were simple defensive formations in ce around this residence, they clearly couldn¡¯t stop true experts.

    Jiang Luofu said with a gloomy expression, ¡°I did try to go in from the front, but those servants said that you weren¡¯t in a good mood, and that you weren¡¯t taking guests. What else could I do but break in then?¡±

    ¡°Sorry.¡± Zu An chuckled in embarrassment, now remembering his earlier discouragement. That was why he had indeed warned those servants beforehand.

    ¡°Looks like your mood really wasn¡¯t too great today. If it were any other day, you would have already said a bunch of nonsense to me. What happened?¡± Jiang Luofu was a bit surprised.

    ¡°Nonsense, am I that type of person?¡± Zu An replied, standing up. However, he quickly became listless again as he said, ¡°Chuyan went back to Brightmoon City.¡±

    Jiang Luofu voiced her surprise. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to be someone so affectionate.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He replied, ¡°Sis, you¡¯re praising me, but why do I feel like you¡¯re mocking me?¡±

    Jiang Luofuughed, but as she approached Zu An, her expression turned serious. ¡°I heard that you might have been hit by a siege crossbow. How¡¯s the injury now?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine¡ª¡± Zu An began, but he was interrupted before he could even finish.

    Jiang Luofu cut him off. ¡°Take off your clothes and let me take a look.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. Are these mature big sisters all so aggressive? Why do I feel like I¡¯m losing my ce as the protagonist?

    While Zu An was hesitating, Jiang Luofu had already walked over to his side. She took off his clothes without any exnation.

    Zu An was stunned as he asked, ¡°Principal Jiang, are you trying to assault me?¡±

    ¡°Why would I assault a brat like you?¡± Jiang Luofuughed and said, ¡°Also, I''m no longer a principal, so you don¡¯t need to call me that anymore.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not a principal anymore?¡± Zu An asked, stunned.

    ¡°Did you already forget that I told you I was transferred back to the capital¡¯s Royal Academy? The principal is now Libationer Chen,¡± Jiang Luofu exined while examining his body. ¡°Hm? It really did prate your chest! But why did this wound heal so quickly?¡±

    No matter how fast Zu An¡¯s recovery was, the wound was extremely massive. The color of the newly reced skin was still a bit lighter, and there were signs of scabbing.

    ¡°It¡¯s not as if you don¡¯t know what kind of crazy abilities I have.¡± Zu An chuckled. Either way, the other party had never seen anyone else with transcendent level aptitude, so she couldn¡¯t prove him wrong.

    Jiang Luofu propped up her chin with one hand and said to herself, ¡°The transcendent level aptitude has such strong regeneration abilities? That¡¯s too ridiculous! No wonder there weren¡¯t many of them, and yet eventually, all of them became legendary figures.¡±

    Zu An really couldn¡¯t take it anymore. It was one thing for her to be all dressed up like an officedy, but now, even her current posture was incredibly seductive. Sigh, aren¡¯t these women just baiting me into doing something bad?

    Jiang Luofu snapped out of her daze shortly after and said, ¡°Right, apart from checking up on you, there was something else I wanted to say to you today.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Zu An¡¯s frivolous smile faded when he saw that Jiang Luofu was serious.

    ¡°ording to what I found out in these past few days, I discovered that you¡¯ve already suffered several assassination attempts since you arrived in the capital. Furthermore, there are several powers who are opposed to you, both in the open and in the dark.¡± Jiang Luofu¡¯s gaze revealed a bit of concern.

    Zu An sighed. ¡°What can I say? I always draw attention wherever I go, and all men be jealous. They naturally wish I were dead.¡±

    ¡°Your mouth is always the same after all.¡± Jiang Luofu chuckled and asked, ¡°Do you still remember your identity as a teacher in Brightmoon Academy?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, but that was just a temporary post,¡± Zu An muttered.

    Jiang Luofu was silent for a moment. Eventually she said, ¡°I¡¯ll try to see if I can get you the title of a teacher in the Royal Academy again. This way, with the identity of a Royal Academy teacher, I believe those powers will have to have more misgivings before doing anything to you.¡±

    Zu An was a bit surprised. ¡°Principal Jiang, why are you so good to me?¡±

    ¡°Maybe we were brought together by fate.¡± Jiang Luofu smiled and said, ¡°But don¡¯t think anything strange. This is purely out of favor for you, as well as your transcendent aptitude that has raised my interest. I want to see for myself just how far you¡¯ll go.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s not even a speck of love?¡± Zu An asked, sounding a bit disappointed.

    Jiang Luofu¡¯s expression darkened. ¡°Get lost!¡±

    A whileter, she said, ¡°Follow me to the academy. We¡¯ll pay Sir Libationer a visit. If you want to be a teacher in the academy, you need his approval.¡± Jiang Luofu got up from her seat. Her long legs truly were fair and dazzling.

    ¡°Okay.¡± Zu An had already wanted to pay the libationer a visit to get some answers to his confusion.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s leave now.¡± Jiang Luofu gestured with her fingers, and then turned around to leave.

    When the servants saw Zu An follow her out, their eyes widened in shock. The group of maids and servants began to whisper among themselves.

    ¡°Her legs are so long! Isn¡¯t this too much?¡±

    ¡°Hmph, she¡¯s dressed so frivolously. How can shepare to our first miss?¡±

    ¡°But how long has it been since the first miss left? Yet the young master is already meeting other women! Pah, a yboy!¡±

    ¡°What do you understand? That only proves the young master is extremely charming.¡±

    ¡­

    The Royal Academy was located west of the city, at the foot of Mount Yuquan. There weren¡¯t many ces in the capital with mountains.

    The most majestic and elegant mountains were Mount Zijin and Mount Yuquan. Mount Zijin was near the imperial pce, while Mount Yuquan was beside the Royal Academy. It was easy to see just how high the status of the academy was.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An followed Jiang Luofu to the foot of Mount Yuquan. He saw a grand memorial arch,rge vermilion pirs, and a blue backdrop. Three characters were written in bold calligraphy: ¡®The Imperial College¡¯.

    When she saw the confusion in Zu An¡¯s eyes, Jiang Luofu exined, ¡°The Royal Academy was called the Imperial College at first, and then it was changed to the name Royal Academy afterward. However, because this card was written by the first generation libationer and is rted to the academy¡¯s mountain protecting formation, this card had been left behind all this time.¡±

    ¡°Why was its name changed?¡± Zu An was confused. The new name was so modernized. Had a transmigratore up with it?

    Jiang Luofu was stunned. ¡°You really asked a good question; even I¡¯m stumped. I don¡¯t know why it was changed either. Maybe everyone just eventually started calling it the Royal Academy.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Zu An began to think to himself.

    Past the memorial arch was a perfectly straight path. The trees on either side were tall and ancient, further illustrating the academy¡¯s history. Then they arrived at a grand gate; written on it were the words ¡®Royal National Academy¡¯. Judging from the calligraphy, it didn¡¯t seem to have been written by the same person as the previous card.

    Perhaps because they saw Jiang Luofu, the guards at the entrance didn¡¯t stop the two of them. Zu An followed Jiang Luofu inside, and he discovered that the interior feltpletely different from Brightmoon Academy.

    Brightmoon Academy was somewhat brighter. Whether it was the trees or the buildings, everything seemed newer. The Royal Academy was somewhat darker. The trees reached into the skies, and the buildings looked somewhat more aged. The walls were also covered in vine-like nts, conveying a sense of the passage of time.

    Zu An suddenly sensed something strange. Some students were looking in his direction from time to time.

 Chapter 772, Part 2: The Royal Academyâ€™s Eighth Senior

    <h4>Chapter 772, Part 2: The Royal Academy¡¯s Eighth Senior</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    He wasn¡¯t so brazen as to think that they were looking at him this time. Jiang Luofu¡¯s legs were just too eye-catching. Furthermore, even though the Great Zhou Dynasty was more open-minded than any ancient era, there weren¡¯t many who dressed like her in this world.

    There were a few bold students who even catcalled Jiang Luofu.

    ¡°You guys,e quick! Look at those legs! Oh my god, if they pressed up against me, I don¡¯t even think I could evenst three seconds!¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Pah! As if you can evenst longer than three seconds normally anyway.¡±

    ¡°Have you seen the stockings she normally wears? From ck to white to skin tone, it¡¯s a different type every day. Ah, even talking about it makes me go crazy¡­¡±

    ¡°Are you tired of living? She¡¯s the academy¡¯s new Ms. Jiang! I heard that she used to be the principal of amandery¡¯s academy.¡±

    ¡°She was a principal? I¡¯m getting even more excited now!¡±

    ¡­

    A group of male students whispered among each other in the distance. Even though they were trying to be as quiet as possible, their discussion didn¡¯t escape Zu An and Jiang Luofu¡¯s high cultivations. They heard every word clearly.

    Zu An had a strange look on his face. ¡°And here I thought that these students¡¯ way of thinking was on a higher level. I didn¡¯t expect them to be just as¡­ perverted.¡±

    Jiang Luofu smiled. ¡°All of them are young and vigorous. It would be more strange if they didn¡¯t have such thoughts.¡±

    Zu An was shocked. ¡°You¡¯re not upset?¡±

    ¡°Why would I get upset?¡± Jiang Luofu looked at him strangely. ¡°I¡¯m all dressed up like this because I want others to see it. If they like it, that means I look good, which I¡¯m more than happy to hear. Why would I get angry?¡±

    Zu An was speechless. You make so much sense I don¡¯t even know what to say.

    Sigh, a mature big sister really is different from a naive little girl after all. If it were those underripe little girls, they would have already been extremely embarrassed in this situation. Maybe this is also the charm of a mature big sister?

    Though if we had known it was like this, Wei Suo, you shouldn¡¯t have snuck around like that. You could have just stared all you wanted!

    Jiang Luofu didn¡¯t pay much attention to this brief episode. She continued to walk inside while exining, ¡°The academy is divided into the front mountain and rear mountain. The front mountain is what you¡¯ve seen so far; it¡¯s more or less the same as Brightmoon Academy. Students are taught all kinds of different subjects.

    ¡°The rear mountain is where the libationer¡¯s core disciples cultivate and learn. Furthermore, if there are any outstanding students in the front mountain who set themselves apart from others, they may be the mentees of those core disciples and be taught by those teachers one on one.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, Isn¡¯t this the same as the difference between an undergrad and a research student? Hm, so in a Xianxia novel, that trantes to outer and inner disciples?

    ¡°Being epted into the rear mountains is the second greatest objective of the Royal Academy¡¯s students,¡± Jiang Luofu continued.

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°And the first is?¡±

    Jiang Luofu replied, ¡°Bing the libationer¡¯s direct, core disciple, of course. However, the libationer has only epted twelve disciples, so that objective is quite tough to reach.¡±

    ¡°Only twelve, huh?¡± This wasn¡¯t the first time Zu An had heard that the libationer had twelve disciples.

    ¡°By the way, does the academy have a pill furnace?¡± he asked. He had always wondered how he was going to get his hands on a decent pill furnace. Normal medicinal furnaces couldn¡¯t be used to refine pills. However, after asking around, everyone had said that he could only get such a thing from the academy.

    ¡°Pill furnace?¡± Jiang Luofu was confused. ¡°Why would you need a pill furnace?¡±

    ¡°I just wanted to y around with some pill refining,¡± Zu An replied.

    Jiang Luofu¡¯s eyes widened in shock. She couldn¡¯t help but raise her voice. ¡°You know how to refine pills?¡±

    Zu An replied gloomily, ¡°Why are you looking at me like that? Can I not know how to do that?¡±

    ¡°This is indeed quite the surprise. There¡¯s quite a high skill threshold for that profession, after all. Kid, you¡¯re always bringing me surprises,¡± Jiang Luofu said with a smile. ¡°No problem. We¡¯ll head over to Shen Xuzi and grab you a pill furnace after we visit Sir Libationer. He has no match in alchemy, even throughout the entire capital.¡±

    ¡°Shen Xuzi?¡± Zu An was shocked. There was someone with such a crazy name?[1]

    Jiang Luofu smiled, clearly guessing what he was thinking. She exined, ¡°It¡¯s ¡®Shen¡¯ as in ¡®Shenzhi¡¯[2]. He admires history¡¯s greatest alchemists a lot; for example, Chong Xuzi, Xuan Xuzi, Qing Xuzi, and the like, so he gave himself a simr name. Unfortunately, those alchemy masters all had simr thoughts, so all of the good names with ¡®Xu¡¯ were gone. Out of helplessness, he decided to take a different route and give himself the name Shen Xuzi. That way, even if his alchemy didn¡¯t reach great heights, he could still leave that name behind.¡±

    ¡°An interesting fe.¡± Zu An couldn¡¯t help but smile. He thought to himself, This fe¡¯s name really will be left behind in history, but maybe as a joke.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, a luxurious carriage arrived at the highest peak of Mount Yuquan, Dong¡¯e Peak.

    ¡°Halt. I¡¯ll walk the rest of the way alone to avoid disrespecting Sir Libationer,¡± said a pleasant sounding female voice from inside the carriage.

    A maid opened the door and helped the person inside out. An extravagant dress emerged, apanied by the sounds of exquisite bells. A stunning beauty slowly walked out of the carriage.

    ¡°Crown princess, be careful,¡± a maid warned. It turned out this group of people belonged to the crown princess.

    Bi Linglong smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not delicate to that extent.¡±

    She looked at a nearby pond. She saw the clear water, the green lotus leaves, and the lotuses of many different colors that decorated its surface, from pink, to light yellow, to snow white¡­ Together, they formed a beautiful scene that pleased the heart and spirit.

    The crown princess sighed in praise. ¡°This mountain peak is a bit chilly, so it isn¡¯t suitable for the growth of lotuses, yet this pond of lotuses is still so beautiful. Sir Libationer truly is mysterious and incredible.¡±

    ¡°So the crown princess was someone who appreciated flowers,¡± said a deep voice from inside of the pine forest. No emotions could be sensed within it, so the crown princess couldn¡¯t tell his current mood.

    The crown princess greeted the libationer respectfully. ¡°Linglong has arrived to greet Sir Libationer.¡±

    There was no reply, only a creaking sound. It was the sound of the entrance opening. The crown princess was happy to see that; after all, the libationer rarely received guests. The fact that he was willing to meet with her was a good start. She gestured for those at her side to remain in ce and wait for her, and then entered on her own.

    ¡­

    On the other side of the mountain, as Zu An and Jiang Luofu passed by an open area, they saw that some young students were currently arguing with each other.

    ¡°Nonsense, how can fire not be hot?¡±

    ¡°Of course fire can be not-hot as well. We use the word ¡®fire¡¯, but that¡¯s different from being hot in reality. ¡®Fire¡¯ doesn¡¯t mean ¡®hot¡¯. If ¡®fire¡¯ were hot, then one¡¯s lips would start burning as soon as one said the word. If one¡¯s lips don¡¯t burn when one says ¡®fire¡¯, fire obviously isn¡¯t hot.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re just twisting words to suit your logic!¡±

    ¡°Then do you think I¡¯m wrong? If you think I¡¯m wrong, point out where I¡¯m wrong. You can¡¯t. But you don¡¯t have to listen to my logic. Teacher, what does your respected self think?¡±

    The student bowed toward a stout, seated man. Even though this fatty¡¯s physique was quite¡­ wide, he wore a schr¡¯s outfit and had a long mustache. This gave him quite a unique appearance.

    The fatty replied, ¡°Pu Guochang¡¯s words are spoken with reason; the logic is profound.¡±

    The student who had been speaking confidently gave the other students a provocative look when he received the teacher¡¯s praise. Those other students became discouraged. After all, they had embarrassed themselves in front of their teacher and had even be the stepping stone of another.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but nce at Jiang Luofu, asking, ¡°Is this really okay?¡±

    Jiang Luofu chuckled and said, ¡°This is the dao of logic. They¡¯re all like this. That fatty is the libationer¡¯s core disciple ranked eleventh, Yin Shi.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, Aren¡¯t they just annoying bastards who get a kick from proving people wrong? Wait, this guy is also the eleventh¡­ Why the hell do I share karma with this annoying bastard?

    The fatty named Yin Shi seemed to have sensed something. He subconsciously looked in Zu An¡¯s direction.

    Jiang Luofu¡¯s expression changed. She immediately grabbed Zu An¡¯s hand. ¡°We need to get out of here!¡±

    Zu An was baffled. Why do we need to leave? Don¡¯t tell me we¡¯ll experience danger in the glorious Royal Academy? And yet, the force being exerted on his arm told him that Jiang Luofu wasn¡¯t kidding. He almost tripped from her strength.

    Zu An quickly increased his vignce in preparation for battle, but his eyes suddenly blurred. A ball of meat rolled up in front of them. When the meatball unfolded his limbs and stood up, only then did they discover that it was that Yin Shi from earlier.

    Yin Shi stroked his mustache while saying with a big smile, ¡°Ah, so it was eighth senior sister. Why are you running away as soon as you see me?¡±

    Zu An looked at Jiang Luofu in shock. ¡°Eighth senior sister?¡±

    1. The name sounds like ¡®weak kidney¡¯, which is a sign of too much sex or masturbation in Traditional Chinese Medicine.

    2. Shenzhi means ¡®so much so that¡¯.

 Chapter 773: Paying Respects as a Disciple

    <h4>Chapter 773: Paying Respects as a Disciple</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Meanwhile, Zu An waspletely baffled. Jiang Luofu was also that libationer¡¯s disciple? Why had he never heard about this before?

    After all, her strength had left him with a deep impression back in Brightmoon City. He hadn¡¯t expected her to be the libationer¡¯s disciple as well, and ranked eighth no less. It was easy to guess how extraordinary the libationer was based on that.

    Jiang Luofu seemed to have snapped out of her daze and replied to Zu An with a smile, ¡°Oh, did I forget to mention that?¡±

    Zu An was speechless. Jiang Luofu was a bit embarrassed as well. She chuckled and said, ¡°It¡¯s just that you never asked. If I talked about it first, it would seem as if I were showing off or something.¡±

    The fatty¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Eighth sister¡¯s words truly inspire me as a logician! Why don¡¯t you transfer to our department? I can give senior sister my position and be the number two here. Of course, if you¡¯re willing, we can get married too, and both upy this top position together¡­¡±

    Jiang Luofu¡¯s reply was straightforward. ¡°Get lost!¡±

    The chubby Yin Shi didn¡¯t get mad, and instead said with a smile, ¡°Eighth sister¡¯s words aren¡¯t too precise. In which direction do you want me to leave?¡±

    ¡°Back to wherever you crawled from.¡± Jiang Luofu¡¯s eyes twitched. She was clearly getting more and more irritated by the second.

    ¡°To go where I came from? Eighth sister really is wise. You really have karma with our logician department!¡± Yin Shi eximed with a deep sigh.

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°I finally understand why you wanted to run earlier.¡± This fellow really loved to argue, and he was incredibly hard to get rid of too. Who could handle such a thing?

    Only now did Yin Shi notice Zu An and ask, ¡°Hm? And this one is?¡± Then, his eyes shifted to Zu An and Jiang Luofu¡¯s sped hands. His mustache almost jumped up to his eyes. ¡°Oh? Eighth sister actually found a lover? Everyone knows how you¡¯ve rejected every man all these years. We almost thought that you had a birth defect down there or something. Now, all of us brothers can finally feel relieved.¡±

    Jiang Luofu¡¯s face darkened. Her fists clenched so tightly they began to crack. ¡°Damn fatty, are you asking for a beating?¡±

    Yin Shi hurriedly waved his hands. ¡°A gentleman uses his hands, not his fists. Violence would really be too uncouth.¡±

    Jiang Luofuughed coldly and retorted ¡°I¡¯m a woman, not a gentleman.¡±

    ¡°The academy strictly prohibits fights. Especially with statuses like ours, it would cause too much of amotion if we really fought. Teacher might put us in detention! With my personality, I really wouldn¡¯t be able to tolerate an istion room where I had no one to talk to!¡± Yin Shi eximed.

    Jiang Luofu¡¯s expression changed. She clearly had some lingering fears toward that istion room too.

    ¡°How about this? I¡¯ve been quite distressed about something. If eighth sister can answer my question, then I¡¯ll willingly go back to where I came from, and I won¡¯t bother you anymore,¡± Yin Shi said with a giggle.

    Jiang Luofu¡¯s eyes twitched. ¡°Compared to debating you, I think the istion room might be a bit better.¡±

    ¡°Come on, you¡¯re exaggerating! Who knows, you might be able to help me with my problem quickly.¡± Yin Shi was scared that she would refuse and quickly said, ¡°I¡¯ve been studying a theory recently¡­ A bird¡¯s shadow never moves. Does eighth sister feel that my statement is reasonable?¡±

    Jiang Luofu¡¯s expression was stormy. ¡°Like hell it¡¯s reasonable; of course a bird¡¯s shadow moves! Wherever the bird moves, its shadow naturally follows it wherever it goes.¡±

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help butugh. It seemedJiang Luofu really was annoyed to death by this guy. She never spoke like this usually.

    ¡°Oh, but that may not be, you see.¡± Yin Shi had acent smile on his face. He shook his head and said, ¡°The bird¡¯s shadow isn¡¯t moving, because the bird and the shadow are linked together. New shadows are produced, while old shadows fade. It merely creates an illusion of moving.¡±

    Jiang Luofu¡¯s eyebrows rose. She really wanted to curse at him, but she knew that talking was this guy¡¯s forte, and she would be the one to suffer more. As such, she took a deep breath and calmed down, saying, ¡°Alright, then what you said makes sense. This research topic is also extremely valuable. We¡¯ll leave first.¡± She pulled Zu An over behind her and began to leave.

    However, Yin Shi stopped them. ¡°Eighth sister, please don¡¯t be in such a hurry! Please tell me which parts are reasonable. I still haven¡¯t figured out how this theory can be used in practice.¡±

    Jiang Luofu was stunned. Zu An quickly rushed out to stop her when he saw that she was on the verge of erupting. He looked at the fatty in front of him and said, ¡°Um¡­ This brother over here has a simr question for you.¡±

    Yin Shi¡¯s eyes lit up as he said excitedly, ¡°Little brother, please ask.¡±

    Jiang Luofu frowned. She transmitted her voice and said, ¡°Stop arguing against him, you won¡¯t win.¡±

    Zu An gave her a look that suggested ¡®don¡¯t worry¡¯, and then continued, ¡°When you walk by thekeside in the evening, a bright moon hangs overhead. You¡¯ll find that the inverted image of the moon in theke follows you as you walk. Are there countless figures in theke, or is there only a single moon that follows you?¡±

    Yin Shi replied, ¡°Of course it¡¯s a single moon. ording to my theory just now, the moon¡¯s reflection has never even moved.¡±

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°Suppose that there¡¯s only one; then what about the person on the other side of theke? Can it be that he won¡¯t be able to see the same inverted image? In his eyes, that moon has always been following him, and the position of that moon is different from the one you see.¡±

    ¡°Hm? Interesting¡­¡± Yin Shi continued to stroke his beard. ¡°Then are there many of them?¡±

    ¡°Then if we say that there are many, why can you only see one?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°This¡­¡± Yin Shi was at a loss.

    The surrounding students¡¯ eyes widened in shock. Even Jiang Luofu found it inconceivable. This was the first time in all these years that she had seen Yin Shi stumped. When he saw that, Zu An smiled. He grabbed Jiang Luofu¡¯s hand and left with her.

    Jiang Luofu¡¯s face turned red. This kid really has no respect! She had only grabbed his hand just now because she¡¯d wanted to avoid this terrible situation. Now, they were just leaving normally, so why was he holding her hand?

    Yin Shi scratched his head in frustration. When he saw the two of them were already getting away, he could no longer hold himself back. He rushed over to Zu An¡¯s side and said, ¡°Kid, then how many moon reflections are there? If you don¡¯t know either, you were just messing with me! I won¡¯t forgive you easily for that!¡±

    Jiang Luofu took a step forward to protect Zu An. ¡°Damn fatty, who are you trying to intimidate?¡±

    Yin Shi immediately smiled and said, ¡°Eighth sister, please don¡¯t take offense. It¡¯s just that I really am curious and hope that your little brother here can give me an answer. Otherwise, my pride will really be hurt here.¡±

    Zu An patted Jiang Luofu¡¯s hand, gesturing to indicate that it was okay. Then, he walked forward and said, ¡°ording to Quantum Bayesianism, whether the reflection exists or not relies on whether there¡¯s a person there to observe it. If you¡¯re the only one there, then there¡¯s one reflection. If there are multiple people, then there are many reflections.¡±

    Yin Shi was stunned. ¡°Who is ¡®Quantum Bayesianism¡¯?¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An said, ¡°Quantum theoryes from a great genius. In this universe, there are many things that exist in a certain and uncertain state simultaneously. As for which form they will show themselves in, that depends on the observer¡­¡± He gave this fellow a rough ount of everything he had learned from the web about quantum theory.

    Yin Shi was frowning at first, but soon afterward, his eyes shone brilliantly. He mumbled to himself, ¡°So that¡¯s what it is, so that¡¯s what it is¡­ I seem to have new ideas about many things that have stumped me for so long¡­¡±

    He put away his mischievous smile and cupped his hands in respect to Zu An. ¡°If I ever gain enlightenment one day, then it will definitely be because of sir today. Please receive three kowtows from me.¡± Then, he kowtowed three times in respect.

    Those students who had wanted to join in on the liveliness felt their eyes almost pop out of their sockets. What the hell is going on? Mr. Yin Shi is the libationer¡¯s core disciple! He has tremendous status in the academy, yet he actually bowed as a disciple toward this young fe?

    The students began to whisper among themselves.

    ¡°Where did this guye from?¡±

    ¡°I have no idea. I only know that he came with Ms. Jiang.¡±

    ¡°Then is he Ms. Jiang¡¯s newest disciple?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible! Not even Ms. Jiang can win in a debate with Mr. Yin, so how could her disciple win?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right¡­ Then is he Ms. Jiang¡¯s lover?¡±

    ¡°Look, they¡¯re even holding hands. I didn¡¯t expect Ms. Jiang to be such a cougar¡­¡±

    ¡°Sigh, if she is, then I want her toe after my young self too¡­¡±

    The students were whispering all types of things, but Jiang Luofu couldn¡¯t be bothered to get upset right now. Instead, she looked at Yin Shi in shock, asking, ¡°Have you gone mad? Why would you bow toward a kid younger than you?¡±

    Yin Shi said with a firm expression, ¡°In the path of pursuing the truth, those who have greater achievementse first. Why is there a need to cling rigidly to age?¡± Then, he gave Zu An an eager look. ¡°May I ask sir what your name is? If there is a chance, I wish to consult sir for more guidance.¡±

 Chapter 774: Seventh Brother

    <h4>Chapter 774: Seventh Brother</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An worried that this might lead to too much trouble, so he had initially nned to give a random name and leave. However, Mi Li had told him that he had to increase his prestige. Furthermore, he had finally confirmed his own dao a few days ago, that he was going to be the world¡¯s most powerful man. Hiding and evading really didn¡¯t match his style. As such, he smiled and said, ¡°Your respected self speaks too seriously. This humble one is Zu An.¡±

    Yin Shi was a direct disciple of the libationer. His status in the Royal Academy was extraordinary. If this had been Zu An¡¯s previous world, then he would at the very least be a professor of Tsinghua or Peking University, and moreover, one of those who taught doctoral students. Having connections with such a person would always be a good thing.

    ¡°Zu An, why does this name sound so familiar?¡± Yin Shi muttered. Then, his eyes suddenly lit up. ¡°Might you be the one who offered up the method of immortality to his majesty, and then ended up ruining the schemes of various powers? The outstanding hero Zu An who then rose up in the eastern pce?¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He suddenly felt that he kind of liked this ce. The people here were so nice, and they spoke so well. Their statuses as logicians really were well deserved. If you praise me like this, even despite how shameless I am, I¡¯ll still blush, you know?

    The surrounding students all suddenly realized who he was when they heard those words.

    ¡°So it was Chu First Miss¡¯ husband!¡±

    ¡°I guess he looks pretty good. No wonder Chu First Miss ended up liking him.¡±

    ¡°You think? I don¡¯t think he looks like anyone special.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect the academy¡¯s publicly acknowledged beauty teacher would like him too! Why don¡¯t I have such luck¡­¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°Brother Yin is too polite. The things I¡¯ve done aren¡¯t worth mentioning.¡±

    ¡°Your looks are handsome, and you¡¯re so humble. No wonder eighth sister favors you.¡± Yin Shi cupped his hands. ¡°I¡¯m in a hurry to think over the enlightenment sir has brought me, so I won¡¯t bother you anymore. I must consult you for more wisdom at a future date.¡± After he finished speaking, he turned into a ball and rolled off into the horizon along a shaded path.

    The surrounding students quickly followed behind him. ¡°Teacher, teacher! Wait for us!¡±

    Jiang Luofu used this chance to leave with Zu An. When they left the group of students, she suddenly became a bit hesitant.

    Zu An chuckled and asked, ¡°Gorgeous principal, what are you thinking about? This isn¡¯t like you.¡±

    Jiang Luofu then said, ¡°Don¡¯t take those students¡¯ words to heart. I have no feelings for you; we¡¯re just friends.¡±

    Zu An looked disappointed. ¡°Sigh, it really hurts if you put it like that. I thought you at least had a bit of a positive impression of me.¡±

    Jiang Luofu exined, ¡°I do have a good impression of you, but it¡¯s not the type that exists between men and women¡­¡±

    ¡°I know.¡± Zu An cut her off. ¡°We have a pure male and female rtionship.¡±

    Jiang Luofu blinked. She just felt as if something was wrong with what Zu An had just said, yet she couldn¡¯t really put her finger on it.However, she was more curious about another matter right now. ¡°That quantum, bay something, what was all of that about? Why were you able to make Yin Shi like that?¡±

    ¡°I have no idea either; it was just a bunch of nonsense. Who could have expected that the guy would actually believe me?¡± Zu An thought to himself that he had learned the Bayes form before, but he had pretty much forgotten all of it.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    As for the quantum stuff, it was just some random articles he had read online as a keyboard warrior, so he would have more ammunition to use on his friends. If he really understood quantum mechanics, why the hell would he just be a stupid keyboard warrior?

    Jiang Luofu was speechless. She had thought of countless possibilities, but she had never thought that this would be the answer. In the end, she could only say helplessly, ¡°That damn fatty might just end it all if he finds out he was just conned by you.¡±

    Zu An asked shyly, ¡°Big sis, you won¡¯t sell me out, right?¡±

    The other party was already no longer a principal. Calling her ¡®gorgeous principal¡¯ didn¡¯t seem suitable anymore, so he could only change it to something else.

    Jiang Luofu liked the sound of being called ¡®big sister¡¯. She replied, ¡°Don''t worry, I get a huge headache whenever I meet that guy. I¡¯m already busy enough trying to avoid him; why would I tell him that?¡±

    Zu An said with a chuckle, ¡°That¡¯s good, then.¡±

    The two of them continued to walk together. But suddenly, Zu An voiced his surprise. He almost thought he had been sent into another illusion by Jia Sili.

    The peaceful soft meadows and towering trees of the campus environment were nowhere to be seen; instead, they were suddenly reced with lush green farms. There were wheat sprouts and rice paddy shoots, as well as all kinds of fruits and vegetables. There were many farmers brandishing hoes and doing manualbor. It was as if they had arrived on a huge ranch.

    ¡°What¡¯s all of this?¡± Zu An gave Jiang Luofu a look of disbelief.

    Jiang Luofu smiled. Then, she walked straight to the biggest paddy field and greeted a dark skinned elder dressed in an ash gray gown. ¡°Seventh senior!¡±

    ¡°Seventh senior?¡± Zu An was confused. This was someone who couldn¡¯t look more ordinary. He looked like an experienced farmer no matter how you looked at him! Yet he was actually Jiang Luofu¡¯s senior, a core disciple of the libationer!

    When he recalled that annoying Yin Shi from earlier, Zu An really began to wonder about the libationer¡¯s tastes. What kind of disciples were these? It was Jiang Luofu who seemed the most normal out of them all.

    ¡°So it was eighth sister.¡± That old farmer tossed his hoe aside and wiped his sweat with the towel over his shoulder. He gave her a simple and honest smile.

    ¡°Is eighth brother researching a new crop?¡± Jiang Luofu looked at the lush green crops around her with curiosity. ¡°Are those chives?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes widened. He began to question life at that moment. You call those chives?

    The farmer said quietly, ¡°Those are wheat sprouts¡­¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Jiang Luofu blushed. She really wanted to hide out of embarrassment just then. She was the distinguished daughter of a great n after all, so her usual studies were far from this field. That was why it was hard for her to distinguish between different crops.

    The old farmer smiled. ¡°Eighth sister, pay it no mind. It¡¯s understandable if you don¡¯t recognize these nts.¡±

    Jiang Luofu¡¯s redness finally withdrew a bit. She did her best to calmly ask, ¡°What is seventh brother researching?¡±

    Zu An was surprised. She clearly didn¡¯t know much about these things, yet she was still chatting with him so enthusiastically. It waspletely different from her attitude with Yin Shi.

    The old farmer pointed at the nearby green seedlings and said, ¡°Wheat usually takes a lot out of fertilend. After nting it, thend needs to rest for one to two years before wheat can be grown again. However, the efficiency of that is too low. Furthermore, if we always irrigate the earth, it will easily cause the soil to erode. That¡¯s why I¡¯ve been trying to find a receable solution. I discovered that rice paddies don¡¯t need rest and plowing, and can even yield two to three harvest each year in suitable locations.¡±

    Jiang Luofu said with a smile, ¡°That¡¯s great news. Why does seventh brother have a worried frown then?¡±

    The old farmer sighed. ¡°I wish it were as easy as having the best of both worlds. Soon afterward, I discovered the disadvantage to using rice paddies. The Great Zhou Dynasty has prospered over these past few years, and so the poption has increased. Rice paddies have already reached their limit. If we do not find a new solution, these paddies won¡¯t be able to keep up with the poption growth rate in fewer than twenty years. There will definitely be a great famine then.¡±

    Zu An had originally just been looking around randomly. When he heard those words, he couldn¡¯t help but feel admiration for this man. In that instant, he already understood why Jiang Luofu treated this old farmerpletely differently from Yin Shi.

    Yin Shi¡¯s light intellectual conversation might be popr among nobles, but it waspletely useless formoners. On the contrary, this old farmer¡¯s thoughts were for the entire nation¡¯s people. Regardless of which world it was, those who devoted themselves to themon people deserved respect.

    The old farmer said, ¡°There¡¯s also another issue with the rice fields, which is that it¡¯s too easy for the crops to develop illnesses. A single mistake and the crop will fail, and then not a single grain can be harvested from thatnd. In that case, themon people could work for an entire year without anything to show for it.¡±

    Jiang Luofu frowned. She wanted to say words of constion, but this really wasn¡¯t her field of expertise. She didn¡¯t know what to say.

    A voice suddenly chimed in. ¡°Then why don¡¯t you try a hybridized rice field?¡±

 Chapter 775, Part 1: This Dungeon Is Indecent

    <h4>Chapter 775, Part 1: This Dungeon Is Indecent</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The old farmer raised his head in shock, looking toward Zu An. ¡°This one is?¡±

    Jiang Luofu helped introduce Zu An. ¡°He is my friend, Zu An.¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Oh, so it was eighth sister¡¯s friend. It¡¯s nice to meet you.¡± The old farmer smiled sincerely.

    Judging from his reaction, it didn¡¯t seem as if he had ever heard Zu An¡¯s name before. Not only did Zu An not feel a trace of dissatisfaction, he instead respected the man even more. After all, it was because the farmer waspletely devoted to helping themon people that he paid no attention to outside matters and didn¡¯t know about the disturbances in the court.

    ¡°Ah Zu, this is my seventh brother, Wang Shuyang.¡± Jiang Luofu told Zu An in secret, ¡°He¡¯s a virtuous and prestigious elder. You absolutely can¡¯t trick him like you did Yin Shi.¡± She was worried that Zu An might do something simr to the previous incident and gave him a warning ahead of time.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help butugh inwardly as he asked, ¡°Am I that type of person to you?¡± At the same time, he replied to the old farmer, ¡°So it was Senior Wang. It¡¯s an honor.¡±

    Wang Shuyang smiled, clearly not caring much about Zu An¡¯s ttery. He asked, ¡°What did this little friend mean when you suggested a hybridized paddy field?¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°Elder Wang, you mentioned that rice paddies had two major issues. The first is the output ceiling, while the second is theck of resistance toward nt diseases.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right. This is actually a problem that has troubled me for many years. No matter which choice I make, I can only improve things slightly. I can¡¯t make any substantial improvements.¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°To be honest, solving this problem can be challenging if you think it¡¯s challenging, but it can also be quite easy if you change your perspective.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Then may I ask what this little friend has in mind?¡± Even though Wang Shuyang¡¯s words sounded polite, he couldn¡¯t help but frown inwardly when he saw Zu An¡¯s age, as well as his clean fingernails. This youngster had clearly never lived the life of a farmer. There were some calluses, but that was clearly from training with the sword. No matter how he looked at it, this shouldn¡¯t be someone who knew anything about farming.

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡± Jiang Luofu gave Zu An a look. She didn¡¯t believe that he knew about such things either.

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°Elder Wang must have traveled extensively over the years in search of seeds. Have you ever found any wild crops?¡±

    ¡°I have indeed.¡± Wang Shuyang had almost thought that Zu An had some enlightening remarks. Yet when he heard him say this, he couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit disappointed. ¡°But those wild crops are dry and shriveled; they can¡¯t be treated as foodstuffs or nted.¡±

    Zu An countered, ¡°The disadvantage to wild crops is ack of flesh, and so they can¡¯t be used as food. However, they have an advantage, which is that by growing in the wild, their vitality is extremely strong. They have powerful resistances against various illnesses, and they have higher tolerance against temperatures than paddy crops.¡±

    ¡°Hm¡­?¡± Wang Shuyang was moved. He felt as if a spark had gone off in his head, yet he couldn¡¯t fully grasp it yet.

    Zu An continued, ¡°The advantages of wild crops are precisely the weaknesses of grown crops. Meanwhile, their disadvantages just happen to be the advantages of the other. If we could hybridize these two types of crops, then wouldn¡¯t they bnce each other out perfectly?¡±

    Wang Shuyang¡¯s eyes immediately widened. He was extremely excited as he eximed, ¡°Wonderful, wonderful! Why have I never thought of this before? Why haven¡¯t I?! Hahaha! The people are saved, they¡¯re saved¡­¡±

    Jiang Luofu jumped in fright when she saw her usually quiet and gloomy seventh brother suddenly bing lively like a child. She quickly asked Zu An, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with him?¡±

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°I think he¡¯s just excited.¡±

    Hybridized rice fields had only been made possible through generations of scientific research in Zu An¡¯s old world. All of that knowledge had only provided results because of Mr. Yuan Longping¡¯s consolidation. As someone who devoted himself to farming, how could Wang Shuyang not see the value in it?

    If it were someone else, Zu An might have held back a bit and used that as a scheme, but even in his few minutes of interaction with Wang Shuyang, he already understood that this person truly lived for the people. Handing such new technology to people like him was the best choice for the people of the world.

    Furthermore, he only knew a bit about the concept. As for how it could truly be put into practice¡­ um¡­ If he really were that awesome, then he wouldn¡¯t have wasted his time every day arguing with strangers online.

    Wang Shuyang finally snapped out of his daze. He grabbed Zu An¡¯s hands excitedly. ¡°Little friend Zu, um¡­ no, Sir Zu! Please receive three kowtows from me.¡±

    Zu An jumped in fright. ¡°Senior, you mustn¡¯t!¡±

    Jiang Luofu was also stunned. What was up with her fellow disciples these days? Why were all of them bowing to Zu An all of a sudden? It was one thing with Yin Shi, as that fellow was a bit weird. But what was happening to her seventh brother? He had always been upright. He would never willfully produce nonsense like Yin Shi.

    Wang Shuyang said seriously, ¡°There¡¯s nothing improper about this. The first kowtow is for themon people of the world. Once the hybridized rice field concept bears fruit, then you will be the savior of millions and millions of lives! Forget about three kowtows, even if it were three hundred, three thousand, thirty thousand¡­ It would still be worth it.¡±

    Jiang Luofu was stunned. She hadn¡¯t really felt anything after hearing about Zu An¡¯s n. What he had said was actually that important?

    After Wang Shuyangpleted his bows, he gestured toward her. ¡°Eighth sister, you shoulde and kowtow to him too. Thank this hero for saving the lives of millions and millions.¡±

    Jiang Luofu was speechless. Seeing her in a daze, Wang Shuyang didn¡¯t exin further and tugged on her sleeves to make her kneel down.

    Jiang Luofu remembered that this senior brother had taken good care of her when she was little, and she had always admired his character, so she couldn¡¯t really be disrespectful right now. She could only pout while kowtowing to Zu An.

    You have sessfully trolled Jiang Luofu for +58 +58 +58¡­

    Zu An broke out into a sweat. He quickly helped Jiang Luofu back up and said, ¡°Big sis, you don¡¯t need to do this.¡±

    Unfortunately, Jiang Luofu was quite upset. If you don¡¯t want me to do it, then I¡¯m going to freaking do it! We¡¯ll see how you¡¯ll pay for thister.

    Zu An began to panic when he saw the resentment in her eyes. He quickly said, ¡°Stop already, stop! I¡¯ll return the favor!¡± He kowtowed as he spoke.

    His actions drew the attention of the surrounding farmers. Rather than farmers, they were all Wang Shuyang¡¯s students. They couldn¡¯t help but whisper among each other when they saw what was happening here.

    ¡°Huh? Don¡¯t those two look like they¡¯re bowing to each other in marriage?¡±

    ¡°Is Mr. Wang the wedding witness?¡±

    ¡°Wait, isn¡¯t that Ms. Jiang? Who is that pretty boy she¡¯s kowtowing to?¡±

    Jiang Luofu¡¯s long legs drew a lot of attention to begin with; anyone would recognize her from a single nce. When those students recognized her, their expressions were filled with jealousy as they looked at Zu An.

    Teacher Jiang was incredibly beautiful, her gorgeous legs deeply engraved in the mind of every single student. Together with her cold demeanor, there were just too many students who dreamed about her¡­

    She had always treated other men coldly, and there had never been any rumors of her being affectionate with another man, so everyone was still equal in this regard. However, they had discovered that the woman of their dreams was kowtowing with another man! How could they not be depressed?

    You have sessfully trolled the surrounding students for +444 +444 +444¡­

    Zu An jumped in fright and turned around. He saw a group of male students staring daggers at him.

    Jiang Luofu immediately jumped to her feet as if she had touched something hot. She was quite hard pressed here as well, and hadn¡¯t expected the students to misunderstand like this. To be honest, they really did look like they were kowtowing to each other in marriage. Sigh, what the hell was I thinking?

    ¡°Nonsense! Hurry and bow to Sir Zu.¡± Wang Shuyang had clearly heard the whispers as well. He gave his disciples a fierce look.

    ¡°Sir Zu?¡± The students¡¯ reactions were identical to those of Yin Shi¡¯s disciples.

    ¡°His knowledge is enough for him to be the master of you all! Why is it hard for you good-for-nothings to call him sir? Hurry and kowtow already!¡± Wang Shuyang¡¯s personality had been quite old-fashioned to begin with. Now that he was ring at them like this, the students didn¡¯t dare to retort.

    One after another, all of them greeted Zu An unwillingly. ¡°We greet Sir Zu!¡±

    What was the most painful thing in the world? It was seeing the woman of their dreams enter the arms of another man. What was even more painful than that was that they had to bow to that man in respect!

    You have sessfully trolled the surrounding students for +666 +666 +666¡­

 Chapter 775, Part 2: This Dungeon Is Indecent

    <h4>Chapter 775, Part 2: This Dungeon Is Indecent</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An felt amazing when he saw the endless Rage points flow in. Looks like having a beauty at your side is always the best for drawing hate.

    Wang Shuyang frowned. Even though he couldn¡¯t see the Rage points, he could sense that his disciples¡¯ attitudes weren¡¯t quite right. He was worried that they might offend Zu An, so he had them withdraw for now. Then, he said apologetically to Zu An, ¡°This humble Wang didn¡¯t teach them well. They still don¡¯t understand your respected self¡¯s greatness.¡±

    Zu An was embarrassed now, too. ¡°You¡¯re too courteous, Senior Wang; you can just call me Ah Zu. Furthermore, it¡¯s people like you who really do the work that are worthy of respect. I was merely shooting my mouth off a bit.¡±

    Wang Shuyang shook his head. ¡°There are many people who can work in this world, but once we talk about the greater good, everyone bes lost. Many strive to work hard their entire lives, yet everything they aim for is useless. On the contrary, if they can receive the correct principles from someone, that¡¯s far more useful than endlessly, blindly trying to force their way through.¡±

    Now, Zu An was really a bit embarrassed. ¡°Actually, I wasn¡¯t the one who came up with the hybridized paddy theory. I just happened to stumble upon a book that mentioned it in the past, that¡¯s all! Also, I only understand the theory; I have no idea about the crossbreeding, the most suitable breeds, and all of that stuff. I¡¯ll have to rely on your experience to test these things out.¡±

    ¡°Sir, please don¡¯t worry. If I still can¡¯te up with the correct crossbred paddy crop after receiving your pointers, then I¡¯ve lived this life of mine for nothing.¡± Wang Shuyang¡¯s voice carried a bit of pride that clearly came from his many years of diligence in the field.

    Inside, Zu An couldn¡¯t help but think, Reality might not be so kind. It might not be so easy for you alone. After all, the scientists of his old world had spent endless amounts of time and effort before they managed to sessfully crossbreed these crops.

    Wang Shuyang smiled and said, ¡°Haha, you¡¯re so young, yet you aren¡¯t arrogant with your aplishments. You really are a rare man of character. Eighth sister didn¡¯t choose the wrong person after all.¡±

    Jiang Luofu was speechless. Was there a misunderstanding here somewhere?

    Wang Shuyang cupped his hands and said, ¡°I need to return and study the hybridized paddy crops, so I won¡¯t disturb the two of you anymore. I¡¯ll visit sir again for guidance if I have a chance.¡± He left happily with a handful of sprouts. Each step took him several dozen zhang into the distance.

    Zu An clicked his tongue in wonder. At first, he had thought that this was just an old farmer, but he actually had this level of cultivation! The core disciples of the libationer were all exceptional after all.

    Jiang Luofu brought him further inside. She finally couldn''t hold herself back and asked, ¡°What¡¯s going on? Why do you know that hybridized paddy stuff?¡±

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°Didn¡¯t I already say it earlier? I stumbled upon it in some book I found. I think the author was surnamed Yuan.¡±

    Jiang Luofu didn¡¯t question him anymore after hearing his reasonable exnation. She said with a sigh, ¡°It seems ancient civilizations really were developed. I identally stumbled upon these stockings and clothes in a secret dungeon, and then tried to mimic their style. I really was curious as to what kind of civilization it was when I saw such pretty clothes.¡±

    Zu An was extremely interested. ¡°Can you describe to me what that dungeon was like? What kind of things were there?¡±

    Jiang Luofu began to recall old memories. ¡°It was a secret dungeon I identally stumbled into. I remember that apart from these clothes, there were some human models. Those people were simr to real people, even¡­¡± Her face suddenly became red, and she changed what she had intended to say. ¡°There were also some strange things that seemed like human skins.¡±

    ¡°Human skins?¡± Zu An jumped in fright.

    Jiang Luofu agreed. ¡°The human skins were a bit strange. There were holes that seemed like air should be pumped into them. Then, they would be like a person. They even made some weird sounds¡­ They reminded me of puppet arts, but there didn¡¯t seem to be any ki around them.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression became strange. Doesn¡¯t this sound like a blow-up doll? ¡°Do you still have those human skins?¡± he quickly asked. He wanted to verify if those things from the dungeon were from his old world, to see if this world had any connection with his Earth.

    Jiang Luofu shook her head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t. There were some others in the dungeon back then. We identally destroyed those human skins while fighting.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He asked, ¡°Do you have anything else from that ce?¡±

    Jiang Luofu nodded. ¡°I found a few flesh spiritual roots.¡±

    ¡°Flesh spiritual roots?¡± Zu An was stunned. What the hell is that? When did we ever have anything like this?

    Jiang Luofu agreed. ¡°They look like spiritual roots, but the material is like flesh, simr to human skin; and yet they aren¡¯t. I asked many people about them, but I don¡¯t know what kind of material they¡¯re made of.¡±

    ¡°Can you give me a rough description of their shape?¡± Zu An''s tone became stranger and stranger.

    ¡°Um, I think they were round cylinders, around this size¡­¡± Jiang Luofu gestured as she spoke.

    Zu An¡¯s expression became more and more conflicted the longer he listened. Why did this dungeon sound so indecent? Had she ended up barging into an adult toys store or something? No wonder the stuff she wore was just like the officedies and teachers from those porn videos¡­ Pah pah pah! Those girls are nothing but dirtpared to her! Forget it, I think it¡¯s better if I don¡¯t tell her what those things are, or else she might not be able to take it.

    Zu An wanted to find out more about that world, but he heard a nearbyugh.

    ¡°Hah! You lost again.¡±

    ¡°Teacher, how can I possibly beat you?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, I just wanted to bully you a bit for fun.¡±

    ¡°Teacher, is it toote to change courses?¡±

    ¡­

    Both of them turned around when they heard a familiar voice. They saw that two men were currently ying Go in a gazebo. The younger one had pretty features, to the extent where he even seemed a bit androgynous. Who else could it be but Xie Xiu? He was currently ying Go with a miserable look on his face.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Meanwhile, the middle-aged man across from him looked much more rxed. He was dressed in a ck and white checkered outfit. There was some gray hair around his temples, but it didn¡¯t make him look old at all. He had a lean face. Together with his wide sleeves and robes that touched the floor, he had a graceful appearance. This man had clearly been quite the looker when he was younger. Even now, he had looks that would be fatal for many younger girls.

    Zu An looked at those floor-length robes. He had only seen such clothes in dramas. With clothes this long, aren¡¯t you basically sweeping the floor while you walk? Wouldn¡¯t the bottom get really gross?

    ¡°This is my fifth brother Hei Baizi.¡± Jiang Luofu quietly introduced him to Zu An. ¡°He¡¯s the teacher Xie Xiu took on as his master.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, Looks like this Xie Xiu was still hiding quite a bit. He was always talking about how the Xie n¡¯s influence in the capital wasn¡¯t great, how he was just a trifling governor¡¯s son. Yet look at him now! Entering the academy was already a huge feat in itself, yet he had gone straight into the rear mountain. It seemed the Xie n¡¯s background was nothing to scoff at.

    Just then, Xie Xiu saw them as well. He immediately sighed in relief, as if he had seen his saviors. ¡°Ms. Jiang, Ah Zu!¡±

    Jiang Luofu nodded slightly toward him, and then she stepped forward to give a respectful greeting. ¡°I greet fifth senior.¡±

    ¡°So it was eighth sister.¡± Hei Baizi turned around to give the two of them a look. He gave a casual reply, and then his eyes fell upon Zu An. His eyes immediately became bright. ¡°You¡¯re that Zu An from the eastern pce who came up with that five-in-a-row game?¡±

    Zu An subconsciously nodded. ¡°It¡¯s nothing but a small, unrefined game.¡±

    Hei Baizi stroked his goatee and said with a serious expression, ¡°How can it be called just a small game? Anyone who can reinvent a way for Go to be yed, and furthermore greatly reduce the barrier of entry, is definitely someone of great achievement. After all, I¡¯ve unted myself as a chess saint all these years, yet I¡¯ve never been able toe up with a game myself. Your distinguished self¡¯s five-in-a-row seems simple, but there are many intricacies behind it. It really has left me in admiration.¡±

    Zu An said in embarrassment, ¡°I don¡¯t deserve such praise.¡± What the hell¡­ It¡¯s because I don¡¯t know how to y Go that I learned five-in-a-row. How can I dare to boast before a true Go master?

    Hei Baizi grabbed his hands and dragged him inside. ¡°Come,e,e, let¡¯s y a round. Xie Xiu, you trash, hurry and get out of the way. Watch carefully and see how true masters y.¡±

    Zu An was rmed. Even though he hadn¡¯t been on his guard, the other party was able to immediately grab his hands, meaning that his grasp over timing and strength were both top notch. This person¡¯s cultivation was definitely nothing to scoff at.

    Xie Xiu wasn¡¯t unhappy to hear those words at all, and instead moved aside excitedly. ¡°Senior Zu, hurry ande sit over here!¡±

    There was finally someone who could bring him out of this suffering. Even though he wasn¡¯t great at cultivation, for the sake of chasing after girls, he had be quite good at the four arts of zither, Go, calligraphy, and painting. He didn¡¯t dare to im to be number one at Go in Brightmoon City, but he was definitely in the top five, maybe even the top three.

    Unfortunately, he had ended up being dragged here to y Go every single day by Hei Baizi. He had been pretty happy at first, because he¡¯d felt he could finally disy some of his real strength. But who could have thought that even after this teacher gave him a few pieces as a handicap, he would still be easily crushed?

    Losing to the famous Go Saint wasn¡¯t that big of a deal. It was within his expectations. But he was dragged along day after day, and he would be abused in all kinds of ways each time, to the point where he began to question life itself. He began to develop PTSD over this stupid game.

    There was finally someone here to save him from his suffering, so how could he not be happy?

    Hei Baizhi shot him a look. ¡°You cheeky brat, even your master has treated him as an equal. Hurry up and call him your uncle!¡±

    Xie Xiu was speechless.

 Chapter 776, Part 1: Profound and Mysterious

    <h4>Chapter 776, Part 1: Profound and Mysterious</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Xie Xiu waspletely devastated. He thought to himself that he had always treated Zu An as an equal. Even if his big sister ended up dating this man, he still wouldn¡¯t call him uncle, but brother-inw, right?

    However, he didn¡¯t sell out his big sister in the end. Under his master¡¯s intimidating look, he could only unwillingly say, ¡°Uncle¡­¡±

    Zu An roared withughter. ¡°Oh my, we¡¯re already so close; there¡¯s no need for that.¡±

    Xie Xiu had a resentful look on his face. Why didn¡¯t you freaking say that beforehand!? You¡¯re doing this on purpose¡­ I¡¯m going to rat you out to my big sister. You can forget about bing my brother-inw! Hmph!

    Hei Baizi didn¡¯t care about how Xie Xiu was feeling right now at all and instead looked eagerly at Zu An. ¡°Mr Zu, let¡¯s y a round. Anyone who can create five-in-a-row must be incredibly skilled. It¡¯s been so long since I¡¯ve met my match, so my hands are already itching.¡±

    Zu An could only give Jiang Luofu a pleading look. Jiang Luofu said, ¡°Fifth brother, I still need to bring him to see our master.¡±

    Hei Baizi said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t take too much of your time. True experts only need a few moves to understand the other¡¯s skill. With Sir Zu¡¯s skills, he might crush me with just a few moves.¡± Even though he sounded humble, his eyes told a different story. He refused to believe that anyone could defeat him in such a short amount of time.

    Jiang Luofu asked impatiently, ¡°If you love ying Go so much, why don¡¯t you ask junior sister to y?¡±

    Hei Baizi¡¯s entire body trembled when he heard the words ¡®junior sister¡¯, revealing a simr expression to Xie Xiu¡¯s. It was as if he had heard something terrifying. ¡°No way, I won¡¯t y with that little monster. She¡¯s not human!¡± he eximed out of lingering fear.

    Zu An gave Jiang Luofu a confused look. ¡°Junior sister?¡±

    Even Xie Xiu became excited. What kind of person could scare the Go Saint so badly? I definitely have to get close to her and make her torment Hei Baizi, to let him have a taste of my misery.

    Jiang Luofu smiled. ¡°Junior sister spends most of her time studying astronomical phenomena and fortune-telling. She has the ability to discern the future¡¯s fortune and misfortune.¡±

    ¡°The future? Isn¡¯t that a bit too powerful?¡± Zu An was shocked. In all of those novels and shows he had watched, all abilities that could foretell the future had ring faults. Sometimes, knowing the future wasn¡¯t even a good thing, and would instead cause all kinds of tragedies¡­

    Jiang Luofu replied, ¡°Of course, it isn¡¯t the far future. Junior sister¡¯s ability is limited; she can only roughly predict the future within a short time frame. Though if she used it to y Go¡­¡±

    Hei Baizi¡¯s face turned overcast. ¡°Whenever I y with her, she knows what I¡¯m going to do ahead of time, so she deliberately ys to counter me. It really is frustrating.¡±

    ¡°But that¡¯s not the most important part, right? You¡¯ve never won against her,¡± Jiang Luofu said ruthlessly.

    Hei Baizi¡¯s face turned red. ¡°She¡¯s not ying Go, she¡¯s cheating! How is ying against her any fun? Sir Zu over here is much more interesting.¡± He waved his hands afterward. A myriad of light rays appeared in the air, and then ck and white chess pieces appeared around them.

    Jiang Luofu¡¯s expression changed. She said to Zu An with a bitter smile, ¡°You should just y a round with him. He¡¯s already turned the surrounding area into a prison. Looks like there¡¯s no way to leave unless you y with him.¡±

    Xie Xiu¡¯s eyes lit up. This is great! I¡¯ve even begun to question life after ying with him all day. I can¡¯t help but feel like master is a crazy old fart who only knows how to y Go. He¡¯s never taught me a single useful thing.

    If I can learn this trick from him one day¡­ If I see a girl I like, I¡¯ll just trap them with this and force them to y chess with me. Yup, with my looks and charm, I can make them fall in love with me in the time it takes to y a single round.

    But definitely not Go. I want to throw up whenever I even think of Go.

    Xie Xiu was excited, but Zu An was instead conflicted. He hadn¡¯t expected this guy to be such a chess addict. He sensed his surroundings with his ki. There was indeed a seal around them, and his ki couldn¡¯t leave at all.

    As if he sensed what Zu An was doing, Hei Baiziughed and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect Sir Zu to already have such profound cultivation at your age. As expected, someone who¡¯s excellent at chess will not becking in other areas.¡±

    Jiang Luofu was speechless. Why do I feel offended for some reason?

    Zu An began to think to himself. He couldn¡¯t admit that he had no idea how to y Go, but he was worried that the other party might get angry if he said that. At that point, it would be hard to predict what would happen. This was the academy¡¯s rear mountain after all, so it wasn¡¯t wise to offend the libationer¡¯s core disciple.

    Of course, what was more important was not looking like an idiot. He really couldn¡¯t bring himself to admit that he didn¡¯t know how to y. When he saw how eager Hei Baizi was, and even Jiang Luofu seemingly looking at him with admiration, wouldn¡¯t admitting that he didn¡¯t know how to y be the end of his social life as he knew it?

    His thoughts always moved quickly. He soon found a solution. He replied with a light cough, ¡°How about this? There¡¯s no point in ying Go. Let¡¯s y five-in-a-row.¡±

    ¡°Five-in-a-row?¡± Hei Baizi frowned. He asked with a bit of hesitation, ¡°Isn¡¯t this a bit too easy?¡±

    He admired Zu An for creating a new game, but that was only out of appreciation for his understanding of Go. He thought that Zu An¡¯s skills in Go would definitely be extremely high, and that was why he could make such an interesting game.

    However, as the Go Saint, he could still tell that five-in-a-row was pretty simple from a nce. It was only suitable for some beginner students or average people. Before a true Go expert, it really wasn¡¯t worth mentioning.

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°Even though this five-in-a-row seems simple, there are still many vicious strategies.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Hei Baizi immediately became excited. ¡°Then I really must see it for myself.¡±

    If anyone else were to say this, he absolutely wouldn¡¯t believe it. He might even spit in their face. But this person was the creator of the game, and he had already be a Go Saint in Hei Baizi¡¯s mind. That was why he believed Zu An.

    The two of them sat down in the gazebo. Xie Xiu tacitly helped them set everything up. Even Jiang Luofu stood off to the side, watching excitedly.

    As someone who came from a distinguished n, she naturally understood the game of Go. However, she wasn¡¯t very interested in that game, and it was instead five-in-a-row¡¯s simple rules that were more interesting. Now that she could see two Go Saints face off, furthermore in five-in-a-row, she wanted to see who would win and who would lose.

    Her eyes shifted to Zu An''s face. Then, she was momentarily distracted. When he was in Brightmoon Academy, this fellow had been a publicly acknowledged good-for-nothing. If not because she had identally learned that he had transcendent level aptitude, she might have thought the same thing, right?

    Even though he did have transcendent level aptitude, he had been extremely weak back then. She could have killed him with just a single finger. Yet now, he had already grown to this level. His cultivation has almost caught up with mine! He even seems to have a lot of skill in all kinds of fields¡­

    After all, regardless of whether it was Yin Shi, Wang Shuyang, or Hei Baizi, all of them were kings in their respective domains. If one could obtain recognition from any one of them, then they would already be doing extremely well for themselves. However, he had managed to dominate every single one of them? What the heck?

    She now had an unprecedented feeling of confidence toward Zu An. She spoke to him through ki transmission, ¡°Ah Zu, if you win against him, it¡¯ll be much easier for me to get you a title.¡±

    ¡°A title¡­¡± Zu An had a weird look on his face. Sis, don¡¯t you have too much confidence in me? I don¡¯t even know if I can win, myself.

    Xie Xiu walked over with the ck and white tiles, and he ced the white tiles next to his master.

    Hei Baizi frowned. After all, ck went first, so the newer or weaker yer would start ck. He was worried that this would offend Zu An. But with his reputation as the Go Saint, wouldn¡¯t it be way too embarrassing to start ck? That was why he was quite conflicted.

    Zu An saw through his distress and said, ¡°Your distinguished self is already a renowned Go Saint, so you naturally have seniority over me. Of course I should start with ck.¡±

    He Baizi sighed in relief. He said with a smile, ¡°Sir Zu is open-minded after all. Please!¡±

    Now that he had the ck pieces, Zu An felt much more confident. The reason he dared to y against the Go Saint was because five-in-a-row had a sure-win method. Furthermore, the premise was that you had to start ck.

    He calmly ced the ck piece in the center of the board.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

 Chapter 776, Part 2: Profound and Mysterious

    <h4>Chapter 776, Part 2: Profound and Mysterious</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Hei Baizi¡¯s expression changed slightly. In the game of Go, it was better to ce the pieces around the edges. cing a piece at the center didn¡¯t do much. It really was a waste. That was why cing a piece at the center was more of a handicap.

    Was Zu An deliberately going easy on him? After all, between true experts, victory and defeat was only a fine distinction. He actually dares to go easy on me; doesn¡¯t that mean that his skills are far beyond mine?

    Zu An¡¯s seated figure seemed more and more mysterious. Hei Baizi didn¡¯t dare to show any carelessness now. He quickly sat up straight and used a hundred and twenty percent of his attention. He had yed this five-in-a-row before, so he naturally knew which positions he had to guard against. Also, he had to change from a defensive position to an offensive one, or else he would be constantly pressured.

    The two of them yed one piece after another. At first, Hei Baizi still seemed rather rxed, but his expression gradually became grave.

    Jiang Luofu had a smile on her face. Even though this wasn¡¯t her strong point, she could still tell that Zu An had the advantage. For some reason, she felt more happy than if she had won herself when she saw that Zu An was about to win.

    On the other side, Xie Xiu was so happy he almost cheered in celebration. Hei Baizi, you old bastard. Who isughing now? You kept bullying me day after day, but now, you were done in by a young junior! Let¡¯s see how you¡¯ll act arrogant in the future! Of course, there was no way he would speak such words out loud. On the surface, he had a look of grief for fear that his master would take his anger out on him.

    He sneaked Zu An a few looks in the meantime. This kid is getting more and more formidable! Looks like big sis¡¯ eye for men is better than mine¡­

    Pah pah pah, my eyes are only good for checking out girls! Why do I need to be good at evaluating men anyway? For example, Principal Jiang is pretty good. Look at those long legs¡­

    He suddenly felt a wave of killing intent. When he turned around, he discovered that Jiang Luofu was ring at him with a look that definitely wasn¡¯t kind. He quickly shifted his eyes guiltily.

    Why don¡¯t you re at Zu An when he looks at you? Zu An can look, but I can¡¯t? Zu An already has Chu First Miss, Pei n¡¯s miss, and my big sister¡­ Of course, he only thought about those things. In the end, he became more and more confident that it was better for him to find those pretty daughters from humble families. Those girls were much more gentle and kind. Zu An could have his fun with those tigresses.

    After Jiang Luofu shot Xie Xiu a dirty look, she said to Hei Baizi, ¡°Fifth brother, are you going to make your move? Aren¡¯t you being too slow? The sun is already about to set.¡±

    Hei Baizi¡¯s expression paled, and then his face turned red. In the end, he lowered his chess piece helplessly and conceded. ¡°I lose.¡±

    Zu An sighed in relief. The Go Saint was the Go Saint after all. He knew the sure-win method, but there were several times where he had almost been done in. He had been extremely focused in the end and hadn¡¯t dared to make any mistakes, or else the one who won would have been Hei Baizi instead.

    Hei Baizi stared at Zu An in a daze. ¡°Your distinguished self is so young, yet you already y so well. Furthermore, you even gave me a handicap in the beginning. I have no choice but to admit defeat.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face heated up. The one who went first clearly had the advantage. The only reason Hei Baizi thought that way was because he was thinking from the perspective of Go. ¡°Senior is being too polite. Actually, victory and defeat were extremely close. There were several times where I almost lost.¡±

    Hei Baizi chuckled. ¡°You¡¯re still young, yet you aren¡¯t arrogant. Not bad, not bad. Eighth sister, your choice wasn¡¯t bad after all.¡±

    Jiang Luofu felt her veins popping. ¡°Watch what you say; he¡¯s just a friend.¡± What the hell is up with all these old farts? Why are they all ying matchmaker all of a sudden?

    ¡°Just a friend?¡± Hei Baizi had an ambiguous smile on his face. Like hell I¡¯ll believe that! This woman is extremely fierce; when has she ever gotten close to any man before? Let alone personally bringing him to the academy¡¯s rear mountain. Do you think we¡¯re blind?!

    Jiang Luofu couldn¡¯t stand his strange look. She grabbed Zu An and said, ¡°Ah Zu, we¡¯re leaving. We¡¯re not going to hang around this old thing anymore.¡±

    They quickly left afterward. Zu An could only cup his hands apologetically to Hei Baizi. ¡°Senior, we¡¯ll meet again.¡± Because he had won the match, the restriction ced around them naturally disappeared.

    ¡°We¡¯ll meet again for sure. However, I don¡¯t dare to call myself your senior.¡± Hei Baizi sighed as he watched the two leave. He felt a strange sense of loneliness.

    Even though Xie Xiu was having the time of his life inside, he still looked the part on the outside. He said with feigned sorrow, ¡°Master, you don¡¯t need to feel too hurt. Ah Zu was just lucky. His true chess skills aren¡¯t as good as master¡¯s.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t know sh*t!¡± Hei Baizi was furious and roared at him, ¡°Only capable people can attribute their sess to luck! If your master lost, then he lost! Sir Zu¡¯s game skills are the highest among all those I ¡®ve seen in this life. He even gave me a handicap in the beginning, yet I still lost! I only have admiration towards him; how can I be a sore loser here?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right, you¡¯re right. Teacher really is open-minded.¡± Xie Xiu immediately changed to his ttery tactics.

    Hei Baizi harrumphed. ¡°Set up the chess board again and y a few rounds with your master.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Xie Xiu¡¯s face immediately fell. He really wanted to throw up whenever he saw a Go board.

    ¡°What do you mean huh? Hurry up.¡± With a swing of Hei Baizi¡¯s sleeves, the white and ck pieces separated into two piles. ¡°We¡¯re ying five-in-a-row now. Repeat what Sir Zu did just now. We¡¯re going to review that game.¡±

    ¡°Okay, no problem!¡± Xie Xiu¡¯s eyes brightened. He thought to himself, I might not be able to beat you in Go, but do you think I never yed five-in-a-row before? Zu An didn¡¯t seem to have that much trouble just now. I¡¯ll just repeat what he did. Just wait, I¡¯ll get you good this time¡­ He sat down in high spirits, but he regretted it quickly afterward. He lost after just a few moves.

    Hei Baizi criticized him from time to time.

    ¡°Idiot, how can you lose so quickly?!

    ¡°What am I going to do with you?

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you look at Sir Zu for once? Your ages are simr, yet the difference between the two of you is so great!¡±

    Xie Xiu wanted to cry. That guy managed to get my sister, but I couldn¡¯t get his sister. Of course there¡¯s a big difference¡­

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An had no idea that his friend had been put in a tough spot because of him. He found a chance to ask Jiang Luofu, ¡°Big sis, who are the other seniors in front of you? Can you tell me about them? That way, I won¡¯t run into them without knowing a thing.¡±

    He felt as if he had already been hollowed out along the way. The only reason he could deal with them was because of his advantage from being a transmigrator, since he¡¯d had ess to millennia of human knowledge.

    Even so, in the past, he had just been a keyboard warrior. He knew how to shoot his mouth off online, but he¡¯d be easily exposed in front of a real expert. Just as earlier, he had almost been exposed by Hei Baizi. He really didn¡¯t want to experience another situation like that again.

    Jiang Luofu smiled. She was quite fond of a handsome young man calling her big sister. She coughed and exined, ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about that. There are no more in front of us.¡±

    ¡°No more?¡± Zu An was shocked. ¡°Doesn¡¯t the libationer have twelve disciples? How many did we even meet?¡±

    Jiang Luofu said, ¡°Among the twelve disciples, three of them have mysterious identities. Not even we are guaranteed to know who they are. At the very least, we¡¯ve never seen them in the academy before.¡±

    ¡°Which three?¡± Zu An was rather curious. He wanted to use this chance to get some information. Even though he had heard about some of these things, how could itpare to the information one of the libationer¡¯s core disciples provided herself?

    After some hesitation, Jiang Luofu said, ¡°The second senior is a doctor. We don¡¯t know his name; we only know that he disappeared many years ago. The sixth senior is an artist who pursues the dao of art. Unfortunately, I¡¯ve never met this person before, nor do I know who she is. Ninth sister is a singer. I don¡¯t know much about her, and she¡¯s always been a mysterious person. When the timees, you¡¯ll naturally know.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. The libationer¡¯s disciples were all mysterious. Looks like the female to male ratio isn¡¯t low! Together with that junior sister Jiang Luofu had mentioned earlier, didn¡¯t that mean that there were at least four?

    Is the libationer an old pervert? Zu An immediately dispelled the thought as soon as it appeared in his head and apologized inside. He had met the libationer before, and he was the very example of someone who stood aloof from worldly affairs, a true elder. Furthermore, he had taken in outstanding disciples from all manner of different fields, so how could he be someone who appreciated such lowly interests? No problem, just leave all of these lowly things to me.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up. ¡°Wait, that second brother of yours is a doctor? He¡¯s not Ji Dengtu, is he?¡±

    ¡°How could it be him? Don¡¯t bring up that guy in front of me.¡± Jiang Luofu¡¯s face immediately turned cold. Even the temperature around them seemed to drop a few degrees.

    Zu An remembered that she was Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s aunt. Ji Xiaoxi mentioned that her mother had passed away at a young age. Jiang Luofu probably hated Ji Dengtu because of her sister¡¯s death. He didn¡¯t want to bring up her sore spot either and quickly changed the topic. ¡°Then what about the libationer¡¯s other disciples?¡±

    Jiang Luofu¡¯s expression finally eased a bit and said, ¡°Third senior calls himself the Drunken Sword Immortal. He wanders the world and isn¡¯t in the academy. Tenth senior specializes in military strategy, so he remains by the border and isn¡¯t here either.

    ¡°The remaining senior brother is a rune master. He¡¯s always locked up and studying those scribblings of his. He took in Xie Daoyun recently as well, so we shouldn¡¯t run into him.

    ¡°Fourth brother is an alchemy master. If he isn¡¯t hiding in his room and concocting pills, then he¡¯s fiddling with those puppet soldiers of his.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°That¡¯s why in the end, we¡¯ve pretty much already run into every single one we can possibly run into. We shouldn¡¯t meet any more disciples today.¡±

    Zu An was curious. ¡°The libationer¡¯s disciples seem to have all taken in different schools of thought. Then, big sis, what is your specialty?¡±

    Jiang Luofu touched the rim of her sses. She said through her red lips, ¡°I¡¯m of the legalist school.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes scanned over her special cold exterior, her officedy outfit, her long legs, and her high heels. His heart began to pound. The profession of awyer really did match her perfectly! Teachers, secretaries¡­ That series would obviously includewyers and prosecutors!

 Chapter 777: The Rage of a Side Chick

    <h4>Chapter 777: The Rage of a Side Chick</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Jiang Luofu frowned. ¡°What kind of expression is that?¡±

    ¡°An expression of admiration, haha.¡± Zu Anughed awkwardly.

    ¡°Hmph, if it weren¡¯t because my rtionship with you isn¡¯t bad, I would have already beaten you up if you looked at me like that,¡± Jiang Luofu said coldly.

    Zu An became a bit gloomy. ¡°Big sis, you didn¡¯t even get mad when those students were talking about you. Why are you getting mad at me instead?¡±

    Jiang Luofu gave him a look. ¡°Those people only had pure admiration, but you were thinking about doing something.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°You can even tell such a thing?¡±

    ¡°Your eyes were weird.¡± Jiang Luofu harrumphed. Then, she walked forward and ignored him. Zu An had a bitter smile on his face as he quickly followed along.

    The two of them continued up the mountain. When Zu An saw the scenery around them be more and more serene, he sighed in praise. ¡°Sir Libationer¡¯s tastes are quite fine. Every single tree and every single de of grass seems to carry some sort of pattern, yet when you examine them closely, they look extremely natural and not out of ce in any way.¡±

    Jiang Luofu¡¯s expression eased a bit. ¡°This ce is called Dong¡¯e Peak, the highest peak of Mountain Yuquan. It¡¯s the ce the libationer personally selected as his ce of secluded cultivation. What you see was arranged by the elder in his earlier years. They resonate with the great formation that protects the academy¡­¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The two continued to chat with each other. Soon, they arrived at the mountaintop. Zu An noticed the beautiful lotus pond, and he couldn¡¯t resist the urge to get closer for a better look. The green lotus leaves in it refreshed the mind, as if they could instantly sweep away the fatigue of climbing the mountain. The lotus flowers of all sorts of different colors seemed to bring the whole ce to life. Anyone would subconsciously want to pick one and fiddle around with it in their hands.

    ¡°I advise you not to pick any of the flowers.¡± Jiang Luofu seemed to have picked up on something and immediately cautioned Zu An, ¡°Senior eleven picked a lotus flower many years ago, and he was whipped all the way from the mountaintop all the way to the bottom. His screams echoed throughout the entire academy.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s hand trembled and he quickly pulled it back. ¡°Am I the type of person who would ruin such a beautiful scene? I merely felt a sense of realization when I saw these lotus flowers.¡±

    Jiang Luofu wasn¡¯t someone easily deceived. She quickly asked,¡°What kind of realization?¡±

    ¡°Lotus flowers are grown from sludge, yet they¡¯re untainted. They float amid clear waters, yet will never seem garish.¡± Zu An had experienced nine years ofpulsory education, for better or for worse. How could he be so easily stumped by this woman?

    ¡­

    An elder voiced his surprise within the courtyard deep within the trees. The distinguisheddy seated across from him was also surprised and asked, ¡°Sir Libationer, is there something wrong?¡±

    The elder smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s nothing much. It¡¯s just that it¡¯s been a long time since I heard words that have stirred my heart.¡±

    These two were precisely Libationer Chen Si and Crown Princess Bi Linglong.

    The crown princess tactfully chose not to ask further when she saw that he didn¡¯t have any intention of exining himself. She returned to the previous topic. ¡°Does the libationer have any guidance for us regarding the crown prince¡¯s great exam this time?¡±

    The libationer said indifferently, ¡°The crown princess should be aware that this old one has never participated in the court¡¯s politics.¡±

    The crown princess was in distress. ¡°The crown prince was harmed by a viin when he was young, causing his intellect to be damaged. This kind of great exam is unfair to begin with. That was why I braced myself to consult Sir Libationer for some guidance.¡±

    ¡°Harmed by a viin¡­¡± The libationer smiled and said, ¡°There¡¯s no need for the crown princess to be worried. Even though the crown prince seems a bit old fashioned and slow, he¡¯s blessed with deep fortune. He¡¯ll naturally be able to turn misfortune into blessing.¡±

    The crown princess wasn¡¯t happy with his ambiguous words. After all, she was already tired of hearing that all day back in the Eastern Pce.

    Unfortunately, no matter how she asked, the libationer only smiled, but didn¡¯t say anything. She sighed inwardly. She knew that the other party didn¡¯t wish to participate in their struggle against King Qi. She could only ask to be excused out of helplessness.

    ¡­

    On the other side, Jiang Luofu couldn¡¯t help but reveal her surprise when she heard Zu An recite those words of poetry. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to have a bit of literary talent too. If third senior met you, he would definitely feel close to you.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t third senior the Drunken Sword Immortal? Why would he do something like that?¡± Zu An was curious. Even though he could drink, it wasn¡¯t really a hobby. As for the sword, he was indeed a bit curious. This fellow was called a sword immortal, so Zu An didn¡¯t think his own sword skills were worth mentioning here. But of course, if we were talking about shamelessness, then he didn¡¯t believe he was beneath anyone.[1]

    Jiang Luofu exined, ¡°Third senior has always been a weirdo. He ims that he excels in poetry, alcohol, and the sword, with poetry first, alcohol second, and sword techniques third. But all of us know that his poetry is nothing more than some cheap tricks, yet he¡¯s still so proud of himself. In our opinion, his knowledge is deepest in sword techniques, alcohol second, and his poetry¡­ is trash. But he just loves poetry the most. That¡¯s why if you ever met him, just those two lines alone would make him think of you as one of his own.¡±

    ¡°This third senior of yours sounds quite interesting.¡± Zu An pondered. The libationer¡¯s disciples all sound like problem children! Tsk, I wonder how he even teaches them.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, we¡¯ll meet teacher together.¡± Jiang Luofu gestured toward him. Then, she walked into the serene pine forest.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but ask along the way, ¡°Right, the weather up here is a bit cold. It isn¡¯t suitable for growing lotus flowers at all, is it?¡±

    Jiang Luofu nodded. ¡°Teacher personally set up a formation nearby that forcibly changed the climate in the area. That¡¯s why such a beautiful pond of lotuses could be raised.¡± As she exined the situation, her tone was full of admiration. It was clear that she thought of the deed as a supernatural work of art.

    Zu An asked out of curiosity, ¡°Then why did he insist on raising lotus flowers that don¡¯t suit the climate? Don¡¯t tell me it was just to show off that he had the ability to?¡±

    ¡°Of course not.¡± Jiang Luofu frowned. ¡°How can teacher be the type of person who cares about hypocritical fame? What does he have to prove? We¡¯re quite close to teacher¡¯s residence now, so you should watch your words, lest you offend teacher.¡±

    Zu An could vaguely make out a courtyard within the pine trees. He asked with a smile, ¡°What kind of person is Sir Libationer? He wouldn¡¯t bicker with a junior like me over something so petty. Since you said that Sir Libationer isn¡¯t the type to show off, then I reckon he probably did all of that inmemoration of an old friend.¡±

    The crown princess saw that the libationer had already closed his eyes in rest. She sighed softly, and then bowed respectfully. ¡°Linglong won¡¯t disturb Sir Libationer anymore. I¡¯ll bid my farewell here.¡±

    ¡°Please take care, crown princess.¡± The libationer still didn¡¯t open his eyes.

    The crown princess was full of anxiety and worry. She had no idea how the crown prince was going to pass the great exam. But just as she was about to leave, she saw the nearby libationer¡¯s body tremble, and then he suddenly opened his eyes. She was overjoyed and thought that the libationer had changed his mind, that he had something to tell her.

    However, she saw that the libationer didn¡¯t have any intention of speaking. Instead, he no longer had his usual indifference that seemed to overlook the entire world, but rather carried some other sort of feeling. He slowly stood up, and then he walked toward a painting on the wall in a daze.

    The crown princess was shocked. What is happening to the libationer? He seems to be out of it¡­? She quickly looked closely to see what was on that painting. Unfortunately, no matter how she tried, she only saw mist around the painting. She couldn¡¯t see what was painted on it at all.

    Suddenly, a familiar voice entered her ears. She couldn¡¯t help but turn to look outside the window in pleasant surprise. ¡°Zu An?¡±

    She had never expected to meet him here. Hadn¡¯t she told him to rest at home? What was he doing running all over the ce when he was still injured? And who was that woman next to him? Her beautiful brows furrowed when she saw Jiang Luofu¡¯s attire. Why is she dressed so provocatively? Is this someone who specializes in seducing men?

    However, a thought passed through her mind. She remembered that there was someone who dressed quite unusually. Could this be the Jiang n¡¯s first miss? She had heard that back then, that person was the first choice to be the crown princess. However, she had suddenly gone missing to avoid the marriage, and that was why the royal family had chosen someone else.

    This woman clearly hadn¡¯t wished to be the crown princess, so what was she doing back in the capital, let alone dressed so seductively? Zu An was no good too. He clearly already had the Chu n¡¯s miss, yet he had immediately taken her bait.

    You have sessfully trolled Bi Linglong for +233 +233 +233¡­

    1. The character used for ¡®shamelessness¡¯ here sounds simr to ¡®sword¡¯.

 Chapter 778: Divining Fate

    <h4>Chapter 778: Divining Fate</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but jump in fright when he saw the string of Rage points. What the hell had he done now that offended the crown princess? She¡¯s angry at me all the way from the Eastern Pce? Is someone talking smack about me behind my back?

    I¡¯ll have to ask brothers Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun about itter. I don¡¯t want to be stabbed in the back without even knowing who it is.

    There was no way he could have known that the crown princess just happened to be here as well.

    He suddenly heard a giggle from up ahead, and a voice said, ¡°I was the one who made this road, I was the one who nted these trees. If you wish to pass, then leave behind the toll.¡±

    Zu An was incredibly confused. This was the illustrious Royal Academy¡¯s rear mountain. There was a bandit all the way here? He raised his head and looked toward the voice, seeing a youngdy sitting on a branch. Her thin legs were dangling in the air, as if she were just a little girl next door ying on a swing. She really didn¡¯t look like a bandit.

    However, her outfit was quite strange. She was dressed in a dark blue top, and the skirt had all manner of white and light yellow star-shaped designs. The diagrams on her clothes looked mysteriously familiar, but he just couldn¡¯t recall where he had seen them before. She was also wearing a tall and sharp hat that looked quite simr to the witch hats in the fiction of his old world.

    But there wasn¡¯t even a trace of wickednessing from this youngdy, and she instead looked extremely sweet. Her eyes were deep and clear like a starry sky. Her skin was incredibly pale, as if she had never walked under the sun.

    However, her paleness wasn¡¯t a sickly sort, but rather added a delicate air to her appearance. Two quick-witted eyes darted around under her long and graceful brows, and beneath that were two charming dimples.

    She really was a cute little girl. But right now, there were tworge ck circles around her eyes. Furthermore, she was yawning, which affected her image somewhat.

    However, Zu An didn¡¯t lower his vignce because of her appearance. Anyone who would stop them and try to rob them here couldn¡¯t be a good sort. His entire body was on guard as he secretly prepared for battle.

    ¡°Junior sister, what are you doing here?¡± Just then, Jiang Luofu rushed over happily and excitedly.

    ¡°Junior sister?¡± Zu An remembered that there was a junior sister who researched fortune-telling and astronomical phenomena.

    He had been expecting an olddy! After all, judging from the order of the disciples, it wasn¡¯t based on age, but rather who had been taken in as a disciple first. There was a chance that those who were rankedter were much older than Jiang Luofu. But it was actually this pretty little girl.

    He finally realized what the diagrams on her clothes were. They were a star as of the universe! They marked the positions of the stars in the sky at night. The positions of the stars in this world were different from those of his Earth. That was why he hadn¡¯t immediately realized what they were.

    Although¡­ Even if they had been the same, a keyboard warrior like him still wouldn¡¯t be able to tell the difference.

    Looking at the little girl¡¯s appearance, it really was hard for Zu An to imagine her being capable of astronomical observations. Weren¡¯t those who studied such things all grannies or old things like Zhuge Liang?

    ¡°Hi, eighth sister.¡± That little girl jumped down from the tree. A star diagram appeared beneath her feet to support her weight as she descended in a leisurely manner.

    Jiang Luofu also smiled. She said to Zu An, ¡°Ah Zu, I¡¯ll introduce her. This is my junior sister Qi Yaoguang. Junior sister, this is my friend Zu An.¡±

    ¡°Qi Yaoguang?¡± Zu An thought that her name sounded nice, but there were actually people with the surname ¡®seven¡¯ in this world? This world really was quite bizarre.

    Jiang Luofu said with a smile, ¡°Do you feel this name is a bit familiar? The Ursae Dungeon in Brightmoon Mountain shares her name. I¡¯ve always found it quite the coincidence.¡±[1]

    Qi Yaoguang said, ¡°I always wanted to take a look, but I¡¯ve always barely missed the chance for all sorts of reasons.¡±

    ¡°By the way, why are you here?¡± Jiang Luofu asked out of curiosity.

    Qi Yaoguang replied, ¡°I was suddenly carried away by a whim and carried out a divination for myself. I learned that teacher would call me here to stop you guys, so I came ahead of time so I didn¡¯t have to listen to his nagging.¡±

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but smile. It looked like no matter where it was, the youngest would always be spoiled. He could tell from this junior sister¡¯s tone that the libationer definitely doted on her greatly. Hm? Wait, she managed to divine that the libationer would call her over to stop us?

    ¡°Teacher called you over to stop us?¡± Jiang Luofu was also shocked. ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± Qi Yaoguang nodded. ¡°Teacher has an important guest to meet with first.¡±

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°I can wait.¡± He had too many questions to ask the libationer, so he didn¡¯t mind waiting a bit. Though, who was this important guest that was worth a personal audience with the libationer?

    Qi Yaoguang sighed. ¡°Senior sister, you guys always say that my emotional intelligence is low, but this guy¡¯s seems to be lower than mine? Teacher only said that he has an important guest as an excuse so you guys wouldn¡¯t look bad, but it¡¯s actually because he doesn¡¯t want to see you at all. Yet you just insist on staying.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. What the hell? Those words freaking hurt, man.

    ¡­

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The crown princess was shocked. She gave the mysterious figure a look. ¡°Sir Libationer, why aren¡¯t you meeting him?¡± She had thought that it was because Zu An¡¯s status was too low at first, and that was why the libationer wasn¡¯t willing to meet him. However, she suddenly remembered that his direct disciple had brought Zu An here. There should have been no reason for him to be this way.

    ¡°It is not yet time,¡± the libationer said in a long and drawn-out voice.

    The crown princess was stunned. What do you mean, not yet time?! She wanted to ask more, but the libationer didn¡¯t pay her any more attention. He only continued to stand in front of that wall painting in a daze.

    ¡­

    Outside, Jiang Luofu was also puzzled. ¡°Why is the teacher unwilling to meet with him? I brought him here because I have something to report to teacher.¡±

    Qi Yaoguang scratched her hair, and then tilted her head before looking at Zu An. ¡°I don¡¯t know why teacher would give me such a weird order either. Normally, he could just choose not to meet you if he doesn¡¯t want to; why would he call me over here to stop you? How is this fe any different from anyone else?¡±

    ¡°Maybe I¡¯m a bit more handsome?¡± Zu An asked probingly.

    Qi Yaoguang gave Jiang Luofu a look. ¡°Senior sister, don¡¯t tell me this is what a higher emotional intelligence is like?¡±

    Jiang Luofu¡¯s face darkened. ¡°Don¡¯t listen to his nonsense. He¡¯s also a model example of someone with low emotional intelligence.¡±

    Qi Yaoguang¡¯s eyes lit up. She immediately felt a more intimate connection when she looked at Zu An. ¡°So it was a kindred spirit!¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, There are ces I can enter, but you can¡¯t. Stop trying to act all close.

    Qi Yaoguang then said, ¡°Wait, teacher really is acting strange. Let me take a look at your fate.¡±

    Even as she spoke, an array of stars had already formed in her hands. She fiddled with the star diagram, and then she twisted something that seemed like a dial. Her eyes began to shine as she looked at Zu An.

    Zu An jumped in fright. ¡°What is she doing?¡± He had experienced Devil¡¯s Eye and Jia Sili¡¯s illusions before. He was worried that it was something simr and immediately became vignt.

    Jiang Luofu consoled, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, this is her ability. She can see a person¡¯s future to a certain extent. When I was hesitating about whether I should be the crown princess, she helped me take a look. She told me that my life would be much better if I didn¡¯t be the crown princess. Furthermore, I didn¡¯t want to be the crown princess anyway. Reality has proven that what she said back then was correct.¡±

    ¡­

    Bi Linglong was upset as she waited inside the room. Everyone outside thought that she was doing great as the crown princess, but only she alone knew how difficult it was. It looked like an amazing position, but it was actually full of dangers.

    Can it be that it¡¯s my fate to be ruined¡­ No, as long as the crown prince bes the emperor, then I¡¯ll be the empress! I can change my fate! Her nk expression immediately became firm when she had those thoughts. She didn¡¯t see the libationer secretly shake his head behind her.

    ¡­

    Zu An eased up when he heard what Jiang Luofu said. However, he was still a bit worried. She wouldn¡¯t be able to see through his identity as a transmigrator, right?

    ¡°Why are you staring at him for so long? What¡¯s the result?¡± Jiang Luofu walked over to Qi Yaoguang. She was also quite curious.

    ¡°How can this be?¡± Qi Yaoguang was puzzled. ¡°I actually can¡¯t see through his fate path. I can only see peach blossoms everywhere.¡±[2]

    1. Ursae = Yaoguang.

    2. ¡¯Peach blossom¡¯ is a figure of speech for ¡®love affair¡¯.

 Chapter 779: Teacher Can Obtain Some Guidance Too

    <h4>Chapter 779: Teacher Can Obtain Some Guidance Too</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Peach blossoms? What does that mean?¡± Jiang Luofu frowned.

    Qi Yaoguang shook her head. ¡°I have no idea. The only thing I can see is pink everywhere.¡±

    Zu An was also confused. Does this little girl really have divination skills, or is she just a little scammer?

    ¡°You can¡¯t even tell?¡± Jiang Luofu found it a bit inconceivable.

    Qi Yaoguang shook her head. Then, she adjusted her somewhat tilted hat. ¡°It¡¯s really strange. I can at least see something in other people, but I actually can¡¯t see a single thing from him!¡±

    Jiang Luofu¡¯s expression suddenly changed. ¡°Don''t the peach blossoms everywhere mean something? Does that mean this fe is going to mess with all sorts of girls his entire life? That he has luck with thedies?¡±

    The crown princess felt her teeth starting to itch when she heard those words. No wonder that kind of thing happened with him, and even my clothes were gone! This idiot must be the reincarnation of the deity of lust or something.

    Qi Yaoguang shook her head. ¡°There are many ways to interpret peach blossoms. It might be a peach blossom tragedy, but it might be something else. However, these have nothing to do with his destiny. What describes one¡¯s fate is something else¡­ What the heck is going on?¡± She walked around Zu An while speaking. Her originally drowsy eyes were now full of curiosity. ¡°Senior sister, I¡¯m bing more and more interested in your friend.¡±

    Zu An was now alsopletely stunned. He couldn¡¯t help but feel like these two were going a bit too far. ¡°I¡¯m a married man, okay? Miss, please conduct yourself with dignity.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re married?¡± Qi Yaoguang tapped at her star diagram, adjusting it by pinching here and there. ¡°That¡¯s weird, it says here that you¡¯re not married. Wait, you are married, but you aren¡¯t¡­ What the heck is this? My head is about to explode!¡±

    Jiang Luofu quickly said, ¡°His situation is a bitplicated. He was married to Chu First Miss, but then for various reasons, they divorced on the surface; still, their affection for each other remains unchanged. There¡¯s no difference from how they treat each other normally either.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s guard rose. The gorgeous principal wasn¡¯t spying on him in private, was she?

    Qi Yaoguang now understood. ¡°So that was it, so that was it.¡±

    The crown princess frowned. His rtionship with Chu First Miss is still that great? What in the world is the Chu n thinking? For better or for worse, they¡¯re a powerful n. Why would they let their daughter follow someone like Zu An?

    Qi Yaoguang suddenly stared at Zu An and blinked. ¡°You¡¯re not even married anymore, but you¡¯re still living with her just like before. Aren¡¯t you just scum then?¡±

    Zu An was speechless. Being called scum by such a sweet looking little girl really was a whole different type of pain.

    The crown princess secretly gave her a big thumbs up. She suddenly liked this little junior sister much more. Qi Yaoguang¡¯s words really did resonate with her soul!

    Jiang Luofu gave Zu An an ambiguous smile. It¡¯s about time for this kid to suffer for once. Chu First Miss is such a wonderfuldy, yet she keeps hanging around this fe. There¡¯s quite a bit of gossip going around the capital already.

    Of course, that wasn¡¯t her objective today. While her junior sister was currently examining Zu An, she took a step forward and waved toward the wooden house. ¡°Teacher, your disciple brought Zu An here and wishes to meet you.¡± Even though she already believed what her junior sister had said, she still had to give it onest try.

    A long and drawn-out voice came from the wooden house. ¡°When it is time, we will naturally meet again.¡± His words implied that now wasn¡¯t the time.

    Jiang Luofu bit her lip and quickly said, ¡°This disciple wishes to obtain a teaching identity for Zu An. I hope that teacher can give your approval.¡±

    The crown princess was shocked. This woman had nothing to do with Zu An. Why was she helping him like this?

    She obviously understood how useful the identity of an academy teacher would be. There were many people who tried all sorts of methods to try and be an academy teacher. However, the requirements were strict, and only very few seeded.

    This woman had actuallye to ask the libationer about this for Zu An¡¯s sake? Just what kind of rtionship did they have?

    The crown princess became unhappy again. It wasn¡¯t necessarily because she had ended up liking Zu An, but rather that she thought of Zu An as someone from the Eastern Pce, one of her people. Now, it was as if one of her toys had been stolen by another woman, and that woman was even her past love rival!

    You have sessfully trolled Bi Linglong for +368 +368 +368¡­

    Zu An was stupefied. How the hell did I offend her now? However, now wasn¡¯t the time to think about such things either. He was more concerned about the libationer¡¯s reply.

    ¡°This is not in ordance with the rules,¡± the libationer said. A period of silence followed from the wooden hut. Then, the libationer spoke again. ¡°However, if you can receive more than half of the remaining core disciples¡¯ approval, then an exception can be made.¡±

    The crown princess frowned. She had heard about the libationer¡¯s disciples before. All of them were strange and entric. Many of the capital¡¯s bigwigs wanted to approach them and build a rtionship, yet the disciples didn¡¯t pay them any attention. Making them agree to this exception was definitely a difficult task.

    Even though she wasn¡¯t all that happy to see Zu An hang around all these pretty women behind her back, she also knew just how beneficial it would be for her if Zu An could be an academy teacher. That was why she still hoped that he would seed.

    Unfortunately, the more she cared, the more worried she became. When she recalled what everyone said about those disciples, she couldn¡¯t help but sigh. Looks like there¡¯s no hope this time. I¡¯ll see if I can help him think of a way next time.

    However, just then, a pleasantly surprised voice said, ¡°Sir Zu, Sir Zu! I finally found you!¡±

    The crown princess saw a short and chubby fellow roll over like a ball of meat. Who else could it be but the eleventh disciple, Yin Shi? With the way he looked, it would be hard even if the crown princess didn¡¯t want to recognize him.

    Zu An cupped his hands and said, ¡°Brother Yin!¡±

    Yin Shi hurriedly waved his hands. ¡°I don¡¯t dare to receive that title, I don¡¯t dare! Your knowledge is already enough for you to serve as my teacher! I already feel rather apologetic for calling you sir; you can just call me Little Yin in the future.¡±

    The crown princess was speechless. She subconsciously rubbed her eyes. Had she gotten up on the wrong side of the bed today? This was Yin Shi, the one famous for being hard to deal with, yet he treated Zu An with respect? He had even called Zu An his teacher? If not for the fact that she had met Yin Shi before, she might have suspected that Zu An had arranged a fraud toe here.

    The crown princess suddenly noticed a shadow by her side. When she turned around, she discovered that the libationer was also already at the windowsill, seemingly watching what was going on outside. She suddenly felt likeughing. The libationer had probably be nervous when he suddenly saw his disciple calling someone else his teacher.

    Yin Shi continued, ¡°Sir Zu, I received tremendous benefit after listening to your quantum theory! Many of my past confusions have been cleared up. I have a bunch of thoughts I want to discuss with you now¡­¡±

    Jiang Luofu jumped in fright. Your teacher is right there in that wooden hut; aren¡¯t you deliberately provoking him right now? She quickly cut him off. ¡°Junior brother, Ah Zu still has some important matters to take care of right now.¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Is he going to meet teacher? No problem, I¡¯ll wait right here.¡± Yin Shi had a respectful expression on his face. ¡°Only teacher has the qualifications to be on equal footing with Sir Zu.¡±

    Zu An, the crown princess, and Qi Yaoguang were speechless.

    Jiang Luofu quickly said, ¡°The teacher isn¡¯t willing to see him.¡±

    Yin Shi voiced his surprise. ¡°Did teacher go senile? Sir Zu is a great genius! Perhaps even teacher can gain some enlightenment from talking to him. Even his cultivation might improve¡­¡± Before he could even finish talking, he suddenly screamed in misery. An invisible force that seemed to have kicked outward, sending his flesh ball of a body tumbling down the mountain.

    The crown princess couldn¡¯t help but look at the libationer. He usually seemed aloof and indifferent. She hadn¡¯t expected him to be someone who held grudges!

    ¡°Huh? What¡¯s wrong with eleven?¡± asked a different voice.

    A stern faced old farmer and an elegant schr arrived together, carrying a ball of meat between them. Who else could it be but Yin Shi? He was about to reply, but he couldn¡¯t utter a word no matter how he tried.

    That elegant schr stroked his goatee and said with a smile, ¡°I reckon he was punished by teacher again.¡±

    When the old farmer saw Yin Shi¡¯s sorry state, his furrowed brows eased up a bit. ¡°Finally, I don¡¯t have to listen to eleven¡¯s bbering anymore.¡±

    The crown princess was shocked when she saw the two of them. These had to be the libationer¡¯s fifth disciple Hei Baizi and seventh disciple Wang Shuyang. It was hard to see either one of them normally. Why had they both gathered here? Was there some major event today?

 Chapter 780: More than Enough

    <h4>Chapter 780: More than Enough</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Wang Shuyang and Hei Baizi¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up as they Zu An. They both rushed over excitedly and said, ¡°Sir Zu, we finally found you.¡±

    The crown princess was speechless. What the hell is going on? Am I dreaming?

    Junior sister Qi Yaoguang finally couldn¡¯t stand it anymore. ¡°What the heck is up with you all today? One after another? His future might have peach blossoms, but they¡¯re not chrysanthemums!¡±[1] By her predictions, Zu An might be entangled with a lot of women in his life. But why didn¡¯t she see any women, and instead saw a bunch of men rushing at him with infatuation?

    Zu An looked at the little girl, marveling. This sweet looking girl could actually talk like that? Furthermore, did chrysanthemums have that meaning in this world too?

    Hei Baizi didn¡¯t pay her any attention and grabbed Zu An¡¯s hands. ¡°Sir Zu, I yed another dozen rounds with my disciple. I finally know where I was defeated! Come,e,e, let¡¯s y another round! I definitely won¡¯t lose so easily this time.¡±

    The crown princess began to question life now. If her memory served her correctly, wasn¡¯t Hei Baizi the Go saint? She had never heard of anyone in the capital defeating him in Go. This man was incredibly arrogant! Yet judging from the sounds of it, he seemed to have lost to Zu An?

    Qi Yaoguang also voiced her surprise. She looked at Zu An with curiosity and asked what the crown princess was curious about. ¡°You won against Hei Baizi?¡±

    Zu An humbly said, ¡°It was just by a fluke, a fluke.¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Hei Baizi said with a sigh of admiration, ¡°It wasn¡¯t a fluke at all. Only after reviewing our game did I realize that there were dozens of vicious traps hidden behind every single piece yed. No matter how I tried to counter them, it would only pressure me closer and closer to defeat. Such a level of chess strategy even leaves me in amazement.¡±

    The crown princess¡¯ cheeks turned red when she heard that. She had found that the five-in-a-row game Zu An had taught the crown prince was crude and simple, and she had wanted to me him for leading the crown prince astray, wishing to call him ignorant and ipetent. Who could have thought that Zu An¡¯s skills were this great!? Even Hei Baizi felt inferior?

    The crown princess came from a distinguished n. She was different from those noble daughters that loved rebels; she actually liked a man who excelled in the traditional system of values more. Gentle, well-educated and aplished young masters were what she liked the most.

    Zu An met her standards in terms of outward appearance, but he had always carried that stupid unruliness from the streets that she had never really liked. She hadn¡¯t expected him to have such talent! Of the four arts¡ªzither, Go, calligraphy, and painting¡ªGo was the most difficult. If he was so formidable in even the most difficult of the four, then how could he becking in the others?

    She suddenly remembered that she¡¯d had her subordinates look into Zu An¡¯s background. He seemed to have been well-known in Brightmoon City for his songwriting and poetry, but she hadn¡¯t paid much attention to it back then. She had assumed that he¡¯d merely used that to court girls from the brothel, and that he didn¡¯t have any real skills¡­

    But now, she suddenly realized that he was a real genius; it was just that he usually deliberately chose not to show off that side. Instead, he disguised himself with his usual frivolous appearance. Why would he do that?

    To begin with, he had been brought to the capital by his majesty because he had obtained the method of eternal life, the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra. Then, he had managed to be hated by King Qi¡¯s faction. Pressed between the capital¡¯s two powers, he might be crushed if he even slipped up a little bit. He was probably acting like this on purpose to protect himself.

    She couldn¡¯t help but feel pity when she thought of that. ording to the information she read, she remembered that Zu An was an orphan, and the only family he had left, his uncle, had also died. Then, he had suffered all sorts of mistreatment when he was taken into the Chu n.

    Just as he had finally managed to gain a stable footing in the Chu n, the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra matter had popped up. The Chu n had then ruthlessly abandoned him. Now, he was all alone in the capital with no one to count on but himself. He was just too pitiful.

    I have to do what I can to treat him a bit better in the future¡­ The crown prince suddenly appeared in the crown princess¡¯ head. Compared to Zu An, the crown prince was theplete opposite! He was trash who only knew how to eat until the day he died.

    ¡­

    While the crown princess was lost in thought, Qi Yaoguang asked Zu An with great curiosity, ¡°Even though Hei Baizi can¡¯t win against me, his skills are still passable. You actually won against him? Hey, let¡¯s y a game too!¡±

    Hei Baizi¡¯s face immediately turned as ck as a ck piece. He was the glorious Go Saint, and yet this stupid girl always left him at such a loss. The worst part was that it wasn¡¯t even his skills that were worse! He would always feel wronged when he thought of that.

    Zu An said with an embarrassed smile, ¡°Another day, another day.¡±

    Qi Yaoguang smiled and said, ¡°Okay, then we¡¯ll y another day. It¡¯s decided!¡±

    Wang Shuyang finally couldn¡¯t hold himself back anymore. He pushed Hei Baizi and Qi Yaoguang to the side. ¡°You¡¯re all only talking about trifling things that sap the will! Don¡¯t interfere with my important matters.¡±

    Hei Baizi harrumphed. ¡°Who said we weren¡¯t talking about important matters?¡± Even though he was a bit upset, he knew that Wang Shuyang was indeed a good citizen who worried for the people. That was why his voice became quieter and quieter, unable to argue with Wang Shuyang.

    Wang Shuyang tugged Zu An¡¯s arm and said, ¡°Sir Zu, I thought carefully about the hybridized paddy farming you suggested to me earlier. I realized that there was onerge issue! After all, rice paddy flowers are all hermaphrodites and they self pollinate. If we wanted to crossbreed them, we would have to cut off their stamens. However, their flowers are so small, it¡¯s practically impossible!¡±

    Zu An sighed in relief. Thank goodness he knew the answer to this question. In the past, there had been arguments on precisely this topic. As a keyboard warrior, he had participated in these arguments and read up on some such things during the process. He just happened to know about this problem.

    ¡°That¡¯s not too difficult of a matter. Look for male rice flowers that grow naturally in the wild. There are issues with their stamens, but the pistils are fine. Won¡¯t you be able to crossbreed then?¡± Zu An replied.

    Wang Shuyang¡¯s eyes lit up. He couldn¡¯t hold back his admiration. ¡°Wonderful! A single sentence from sir is equivalent to a decade of reading! Sir Zu, please ept my kowtow.¡± Then, he bowed to Zu An respectfully.

    The other disciples were incredibly shocked. Even though they didn¡¯t understand farming, they knew that if this thing really worked, it would have a huge impact on the world.

    The key was that Zu An hadn¡¯t withheld his knowledge about something so precious at all. If it were anyone else, they would definitely have tried to gain something out of it. Everyone bowed toward Zu An when they thought of that. Jiang Luofu was no exception as well.

    ¡°What are you all doing? Please don''t do this, please rise.¡± Zu An felt a bit of a headache. He seemed to have gotten himself in too deep this time.

    ¡­

    The crown princess watched the scene in shock. Then, she looked at the libationer at her side. She decided to test the waters. ¡°Sir Libationer, are you not upset that your disciples are bowing to a young man?¡±

    The libationer said calmly, ¡°There is something I¡¯ve always taught them. When in a group of three, there will always be one who can be your teacher. It seems they didn¡¯t forget after all. I¡¯m extremely happy to see this scene, so why would I be upset?¡±

    The crown princessughed inwardly. In that case, why did you kick Yin Shi down the mountain?

    ¡­

    Wang Shuyang used this chance to ask, ¡°By the way, Sir Zu, I have some other question¡­¡±

    Zu An was starting to get a headache. He only knew some concepts, how could he know anything about the details? He quickly said, ¡°I need you to look into these things slowly on your own. There¡¯s a reason why everyone has their own karma and fate; this world has itsws of operation as well. If we rashly try to change them too quickly, we might cause thews of the world to rebound, and that might instead be bad.¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°Oh?¡± The libationer voiced his surprise from inside the wooden hut. His eyes flickered with radiance. As he looked out of the window, his expression became more and more serious.

    The crown princess was shocked. She felt that these words were profound and mysterious as well, but she hadn¡¯t expected even the libationer to be moved. That meant that this was on a level she couldn¡¯tprehend yet.

    So Zu An¡¯s level was already so high! It seemed she had still underestimated him. She couldn¡¯t treat him like before anymore in the future.

    The people outside all revealed looks of shock too. After all, they were all the libationer¡¯s core disciples, so they were all at a high level. They all gained a bit of enlightenment after hearing those words.

    Zu An thought to himself, No way, right? I just repeated some random words I read from a web novel, and you guys really believed it?

    Jiang Luofu saw Qi Yaoguang nodding repeatedly. She couldn¡¯t help but smile and asked, ¡°Junior sister, do you understand what he¡¯s trying to say?¡±

    Qi Yaoguang replied quietly, ¡°Nope.¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t understand, then why are you nodding?¡± Jiang Luofu asked in confusion.

    Qi Yaoguang replied, ¡°They¡¯re all nodding, so if I don¡¯t nod, won¡¯t I look dumb? That¡¯s so embarrassing.¡±

    Jiang Luofu was stunned. Girl, you make so much sense right now. She coughed lightly and said, ¡°Fellow disciples, let¡¯s not trouble Ah Zu for now. I wish to take him in as a teacher of this academy, but teacher said we must obtain more than half of the votes from the remaining disciples. I must pay great senior and fourth senior a visit first.¡±

    The others immediately cried out, ¡°What are you visiting them for!? Aren¡¯t we already more than half if we all agree?¡±

    ¡°What kind of joke is this? If a great talent like Sir Zu is willing to teach here, it will be our academy¡¯s glory!¡±

    ¡°Forget about having him teach the students, he¡¯s more than enough to even be our teacher!¡±

    ¡­

    Inside the wooden house, the crown princess was already growing numb from shock. When she saw something that had originally seemed so hopeless being agreed to so easily, she instead nodded as if it were to be expected. She looked at the man outside with aplicated expression. Was this the same man she knew?

    1. Chrysanthemum is ng for anus.

 Chapter 781: Iâ€™ll Be Your Cow

    <h4>Chapter 781: I¡¯ll Be Your Cow</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An said with a troubled expression, ¡°But I¡¯m usually quite busy, so I might not have the time to teach any sses.¡±

    When he had been a math teacher back at Brightmoon Academy, there were many times where he couldn¡¯t teach the ss. He couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit guilty over that. Now, he still had his duty in the Eastern Pce, as well as being an Embroidered Envoy. He was already running around like a dog and he was up to his ears in work. How could he take on another job like this?

    The crown princess became worried when she heard Zu An¡¯s response. This guy was normally pretty quick, so why had he suddenly be so dumb? Did he not know how many benefits there were in being an academy teacher, how hard it was to be one? They¡¯re making an exception for you, yet you¡¯re stilling up with all types of excuses? That you¡¯re busy, of all things?

    Despite the crown princess¡¯ concerns, Wang Shuyang said, ¡°It¡¯s fine; teaching those students at Sir Zu¡¯s level would just be a waste. We can just inform the academy and tell them not to assign you any courses to teach.¡±

    Jiang Luofu became a bit hesitant. ¡°But if he doesn¡¯t teach any sses, wouldn¡¯t that cause a lot of trouble? There¡¯ll be all sorts of rumors.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not a problem. Even though Sir Zu won¡¯t teach the students, can¡¯t we make him our teacher? As for the lessons for us, we won¡¯t set a time, it¡¯ll be at Sir Zu¡¯s convenience. As for the style of lesson, we can just y a game of go. This way, it¡¯s a kind of rxation, so Sir Zu won¡¯t be too tired either,¡± said Hei Baizi. In his opinion, having Zu An teach the students was aplete waste. They should just use the time to y a few more games.

    Yin Shi finally recovered from the silencing seal. He immediately jumped out and shouted, ¡°You¡¯re shameless! How can Sir Zu teach through ying games? He should be discussing logic with me in front of the other students! This way, not only would we be able to benefit, even the students would gain insights!¡±

    Wang Shuyang became upset. ¡°All of you only bber about trifling nonsense. Of course Sir Zu should be talking about this hybridized breeding process. This is a great undertaking that will benefit the lives of millions and millions of people!¡±

    ¡°We cultivators aren¡¯t trying to be monks, okay? Why do we have to care about doing virtuous works.¡± Hei Baizi harrumphed. ¡°Furthermore, Sir Zu already gave you a lot of help just now; how can you still be pestering him about the details? You still call yourself a farmer? Sir Zu¡¯s wisdom belongs to everyone, not you alone. Junior sister, what do you think?¡±

    ¡°Of course, of course.¡± Qi Yaoguang nodded. She changed the topic as soon as Hei Baizi rxed. ¡°Sir Zu¡¯s wisdom belongs to the entire human race, and the future of humanity lies in the cosmos. That¡¯s why I think he should just observe the stars with me every day and talk about astrology.¡±

    ¡°Damn kid, I pampered you all these years for nothing! I¡¯m going to beat the crap out of you, do you believe me?¡± Hei Baizi eximed.

    ¡°Hmph,e at me then! Do you think I¡¯m scared of you? You can¡¯t even beat me in chess; what makes you think you can beat me in a fight?¡± Qi Yaoguang shot back.

    ¡­

    When she saw the disciples arguing, the originally flustered crown princess¡¯ jaw almost dropped to the ground. Were these really the so-called aloof and indifferent figures the capital¡¯s circles spoke of? Those incredibly proud academy teachers?

    The libationer couldn¡¯t continue to watch either. He coughed and said, ¡°All of you, get out of my sight. Stop making so much noise and disturbing this old one¡¯s rest.¡±

    The disciples didn¡¯t dare to continue making a racket when they sensed their teacher¡¯s anger. They bowed respectfully toward the wooden house, and then they left with a guilty conscience.

    They whispered toward each other along the way.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you guys say that teacher never really got angry?¡±

    ¡°Why would he even be angry anyway?¡±

    Jiang Luofu finally couldn¡¯t hold herself back and said, ¡°Hah, all of you kept calling him Sir Zu one after another, and were on the verge of bowing to him as your master instead! How is your real teacher supposed to feel?¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t teacher teach us that within a group of three, one of them could be your master? Even if we really did bow down to Sir Zu, what would be wrong with that?¡± Wang Shuyang asked seriously.

    ¡°When did your emotional intelligence suddenly drop to the level of junior sister? Do you all really believe that in this sort of situation?¡± Jiang Luofu was speechless.

    Qi Yaoguang became unhappy. ¡°Eighth sister, you can scold them if you want to, but why are you dragging me into it?¡±

    The other disciples looked at each other in dismay. All of them felt guilty when they realized that they had inadvertently offended their master.

    Jiang Luofu used this chance to drag Zu An off to the side. ¡°I still have some formalities to take care of with him, so we won¡¯t be heading off with you guys.¡± The others were quite worried, so they couldn¡¯t find it within themselves to force the two to stay.

    Zu An asked out of curiosity, ¡°Where are we going now?¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you wanted to get yourself a pill furnace? I¡¯ll bring you over to see fourth senior,¡± Jiang Luofu replied.

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you had some more formalities to take care of?¡±

    Jiang Luofu rolled her eyes. ¡°Do you think we would¡¯ve been able to get away from them if I didn¡¯t say that?¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect big sis to have such a two-faced side.¡±

    Jiang Luofu grinned. ¡°It can¡¯t be helped when you hang around with people like them. That¡¯s why you better not offend me in the future, or else. I¡¯m quite the petty person, you know?¡±

    Zu An asked curiously, ¡°And how is big sis going to be petty?¡±

    Jiang Luofu smiled. ¡°Did you already forget my field of specialty? I¡¯m aw specialist who knows all thirteen thousand, six hundred and eighty two methods of punishment, from ancient times until now. If you want, I don¡¯t mind putting you through them.¡±

    But Zu An didn¡¯t feel the slightest bit of fear. ¡°Since big sis is awyer, of course you won¡¯t know thew and break it. As long as I don¡¯t break anyws, I don¡¯t think big sis will punish me over such a small thing.¡±

    ¡°Hm?¡± Jiang Luofu was shocked. ¡°Kid, you really are quite something. I thought that it was just a coincidence when you subdued the others, but it now seems as if you really do understand all different fields. That¡¯s strange¡­ There''s a limit to what a single person can learn. How do you know so much at such a young age?¡±

    Zu An was shaken up inside, but he still sounded rxed. ¡°I have no idea either. I¡¯ve always remembered anything I read, and I read all kinds of things. That¡¯s why I know a bit about everything, but it¡¯s just that. I¡¯m nothing like all of you, who are specialists.¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Jiang Luofu smiled and said, ¡°At least you¡¯re humble. What, are you scared that we¡¯ll grow jealous of you? Though to be honest, your transcendent aptitude really is quite enviable.¡±

    Zu An tested the waters and asked, ¡°Does Sir Libationer know about my aptitude?¡± He was curious if it was because of that fact that the libationer viewed him favorably.

    Jiang Luofu shook her head. ¡°That matter is just too important. How could I talk about it with someone else without your permission? I might end up suddenly endangering your life.¡±

    Zu An felt warm inside. ¡°Big sis, you¡¯re so good to me, but there¡¯s nothing I can do for you. How about I work tirelessly for you like a cow or horse?¡±

    Jiang Luofu smiled and replied, ¡°I¡¯m not a farmer, what do I need a cow or horse for?¡±

    Zu An sighed in regret. I¡¯m willing to work for you like a cow, and all you would have to do is feed me grass, but you¡¯re not even willing to do that?

    Suddenly, he felt something and pushed Jiang Luofu behind him. ¡°Be careful!¡± Right as he spoke, a giant figure fell where he had been standing a moment ago. Dust flew everywhere, and even the ground shook.

    Zu An looked at the giant thing in front of him vigntly. It was roughly a zhang in height and tan colored. He had thought that this was some demonic beast at first, but he didn¡¯t sense any life from it. However, it looked quite simr to a human on the outside; it was just many timesrger.

    ¡°This is¡­ a robot?¡± Zu An was quite shocked.

    Jiang Luofu stopped him and said, ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry; this is fourth senior¡¯s golem. It probably treated you as an intruder because it doesn¡¯t recognize you.¡± She took out a token and waved it in front of the golem, saying, ¡°I¡¯m here to see fourth senior.¡±

    When the golem¡¯s red eyes passed over her token, its stiff and dry voice intoned, ¡°Identity confirmed. Please proceed.¡±

    The golem moved aside after speaking and slowly sat down. The red light in its eyes faded. Then, it remained still like a statue without any of its previous intimidating presence.

    Zu An turned around several times. He was quite moved. This is a freaking mecha! At that moment, he felt as if he had returned to his old world.

 Chapter 782: Golem

    <h4>Chapter 782: Golem</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    A pair of doors opened up on their own soon afterward.

    Jiang Luofu brought Zu An inside and said, ¡°By the way, let me warn you ahead of time. Fourth senior¡¯s temperament is a bit strange. It would be hard even for me to get a pill furnace if I ask him.¡± Jiang Luofu seemed like she was scared of Shen Xuzi finding out, so she spoke through ki transmission. ¡°If he¡¯s not willing to give you one, then I¡¯ll try to get one for you through the academy. Even though it won¡¯t be as good as one of fourth senior¡¯s furnaces, it should be good enough.¡±

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°Big sis really is thorough. Don¡¯t worry, my luck has always been quite good. Together with big sis¡¯ charm, I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll return empty-handed.¡±

    Jiang Luofu shot him a look. ¡°Do you ther honey over that mouth every day or something? No wonder you have so many girls around you. Don¡¯t try that stuff on me.¡±

    Zu An chuckled and quickly changed the topic. He pointed at the giant golem behind him and asked, ¡°Did your senior brother make that?¡±

    ¡°Yup. Fourth senior is a genius who can make dead thingse to life.¡± Jiang Luofu¡¯s voice was full of admiration.

    ¡°How does that thing move? What¡¯s its energy source?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°I believe he uses ki stones.¡± Jiang Luofu added hesitantly, ¡°But I don¡¯t know the exact details either. You can ask fourth senior about itter.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but asked, ¡°But aren¡¯t the expenses crazy high if they use ki stones?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± Jiang Luofu had a weird expression on her face. ¡°Fourth senior has always been rather¡­ hard pressed financially.¡±

    ¡°Haha, eighth senior still speaks so nicely for my sake. Hard-pressed? I¡¯mpletely broke!¡± A long sigh sounded from deep within. Then, the sound of wheels rolling could be heard. Zu An followed the source of the sound. What was slowlying out of the forest was a¡­ wheelchair?

    A skinny elder was sitting in it. Calling him an elder wasn¡¯t quite right though; it was only his hair that was a bit white. He didn¡¯t care about his appearance at all either, so he looked a bit older than he really was.

    Zu An was frightened. This elder was too skinny! His somewhat stooped figure made him look a bit like a monkey. It really was hard to imagine that the massive thing outside was his work. His eyes shifted to the man¡¯s legs. Even though he was wearing pants, he could vaguely tell that they were more shriveled up than a normal person¡¯s.

    Jiang Luofu told Zu An through ki transmission, ¡°Don¡¯t stare at fourth senior¡¯s legs. He doesn¡¯t like it when others look at him like that.¡±

    Zu An jumped in fright and quickly shifted his gaze. It wasn¡¯t that he was scared of the other party getting angry; he just thought it was quite rude. He asked, ¡°What happened to his legs?¡±

    Jiang Luofu said quietly, ¡°Fourth senior was born a cripple, and that was why he used alchemy topensate for his body¡¯s deficiencies. He¡¯s actually already seeded. Don¡¯t think that he can¡¯t move freely because of this wheelchair. As long as he¡¯s in that wheelchair, he¡¯s actually much more nimble than most cultivators. To a certain degree, this wheelchair is his treasure¡­ No, it¡¯s already a part of his body.¡±

    Zu An felt more and more admiration when he heard those words. This was a great example of someone changing their own fate!

    The shriveled elder chuckled and asked, ¡°What are you two whispering over there about? You¡¯re probably talking badly about me.¡±

    Jiang Luofu said, ¡°Fourth senior has misunderstood. I was merely introducing your glorious achievement to him.¡±

    Zu An also used this chance to say, ¡°Just now, that mech¡­ That golem outside was just too shocking. I truly admire senior.¡±

    The skinny elder was naturally the fourth senior Shen Xuzi, whom Jiang Luofu had spoken of. He began to stroke his beard proudly when he heard Zu An¡¯s praise. ¡°It¡¯s nothing more than some insignificant toy.¡± Despite his humble words, the pride in his eyes gave him away.

    Zu An asked out of curiosity, ¡°May I ask what kind of energy source is used to power those golems?¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Shen Xuzi was most proud of his own work. When he saw someone asking about them, he immediately replied excitedly, ¡°They use ki stones, of course. It took me decades of work to figure out how to use ki stones as a stable energy source¡­¡±

    Zu An continued to ask, ¡°How long can a single ordinary ki stone keep that golem running for?¡±

    Shen Xuzi shook his head. ¡°An ordinary ki stone isn¡¯t enough. You need at least eighty-one earth grade ki stones, and they need to be reced after each battle. Of course, if it¡¯s just guarding this courtyard, they don¡¯t need to be reced that often. Let me tell you, in order to make use of eighty-one earth grade ki stones, I had to¡­¡±

    But who could have thought that Zu An would instead sigh? ¡°What a pity.¡±

    This was Shen Xuzi¡¯s proud work. He had been waiting for the other party to praise him, yet this was what he had ended up hearing as a result! He erupted in rage. ¡°Damn brat, what did you say?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Shen Xuzi for +777 +777 +777¡­

    Jiang Luofu was shocked. She tugged on Zu An¡¯s sleeves, implying for him to be careful. Zu An gave her a look telling her not to worry. Then, he cupped his hands toward Shen Xuzi and said, ¡°Fourth senior, please don¡¯t misunderstand. I¡¯m not questioning your work. On the contrary, I have great admiration.¡±

    Jiang Luofu had a strange expression. This fe even called him fourth senior? Why do I feel like he¡¯s taking advantage of me?

    Shen Xuzi¡¯s expression eased a bit. ¡°Then what did you mean by saying that just now?¡±

    Zu An exined, ¡°I just feel that if ki stones are used as the energy source, and such arge amount at that, then it¡¯ll only be something the wealthy can use. It¡¯s not just any level of wealth either; unfortunately, it can¡¯t change the lives ofmoners at all.¡±

    ¡°This type of thing was never meant to be used for themon people.¡± Shen Xuzi couldn''t help but feel a bit pained. Forget about ordinary people, even he himself had used up a ton of money! He had to use up eighty-one earth grade ki stones whenever the golem was used for battle.

    Normally, alchemy was a profession that shouldn¡¯t have had any shortage of money. Yet for the sake of these golems, he had ended up dirt poor.

    He coughed and then continued, ¡°I¡¯ve always been researching how to improve their energy efficiency. I hope that one day, they can operate with just sixty-four stones.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but say, ¡°It¡¯ll be hard to improve the energy efficiency rate, and sixty-four earth grade ki stones still aren¡¯t something most people can afford.¡±

    ¡°Damn kid, are you here to pick faults or something?¡± Shen Xuzi¡¯s eyes almost popped out. He stared furiously at Zu An.

    You have sessfully trolled Shen Xuzi for +404 +404 +404¡­

    Zu An said with a bitter smile, ¡°The main reason for my train of thought is because I just met seventh brother, and he has always tried to improve the lives of themon people, so I was affected by his dream. That was why I subconsciously thought about whether or not this could help themon people. If fourth senior can produce an energy source that even themon people can use, then your name will definitely be remembered throughout the ages.¡±

    The man had changed his name to Shen Xuzi to leave behind his legacy as a renowned alchemist. That was why Zu An deliberately said those words.

    Sure enough, a sh of excitement passed through Shen Xuzi¡¯s eyes. Even his breathing became rushed, as if he werepletely sucked in by that future. However, he quickly said in disappointment, ¡°It¡¯s hopeless. These things aren¡¯t suitable formon people¡¯s use to begin with.¡±

    ¡°That may not be the case,¡± Zu An said. ¡°Ki stones might be too expensive for ordinary people, but what about other energy sources?¡±

    ¡°What other energy sources are there?¡± Shen Xuzi harrumphed. ¡°I¡¯ve already tried almost everything, and only ki stones are steady, and the power they provide is the greatest.¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°Then have you tried coal or crude oil, and things like that?¡±

    ¡°Coal? Crude oil?¡± Shen Xuzi had been wondering what kind of enlightening idea this kid had, but he quickly grew disappointed and remarked, ¡°Those things might be good enough for lighting a fire and keeping warm, but the amount of energy they can provide is far too little.¡± He had already lost interest. ¡°Go, go, go, I have things to research. I don¡¯t have the time to waste on you.¡±

    Jiang Luofu immediately became worried. She had originally been quite confident about getting a pill furnace from her fourth senior, yet Zu An had just had to offend him. Did this kid let things get to his head? Just because he managed to subdue Yin Shi, Hei Baizi and the others, did he think that he really was omnipotent? But you didn¡¯t know that these brothers of mine were all at the very top of their respective fields, did you?

    Even so, experiencing a setback was fine as well. It wasn¡¯t a good thing for youngsters to have everything go their way. I¡¯ll give him a proper talkter, Jiang Luofu thought.

    Just then, Zu An spoke up again. ¡°Has fourth senior considered a steam engine?¡±

 Chapter 783: No One to Enjoy Them

    <h4>Chapter 783: No One to Enjoy Them</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Steam engine? What¡¯s that?¡± Shen Xuzi was baffled. However, when he heard those words, he realized that it seemed to be rted to what he was researching, so he wasn¡¯t in such a hurry to chase them out anymore and nned to listen first.

    Jiang Luofu instead misheard and thought Zu An had said steamed chicken. She thought to herself, Is this some famous dish from somewhere or something? She quickly said, ¡°Ah Zu, my fourth senior isn¡¯t someone who chases after good food. Don¡¯t waste time on this anymore.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He really couldn''t figure out why she would say that to him. However, he wasn¡¯t in the mood to ask about it right now and instead focused on replying to Shen Xuzi. ¡°It¡¯s a kind of machine that uses water vapor to power its movement.¡±

    ¡°Nonsense; how much force can steam have? It¡¯ll only be able to move aside a saucepan lid at most.¡± Shen Xuzi snorted coldly. He felt more and more that talking about these things with this fe was a waste of time. He waved his sleeves and turned his wheelchair to head back inside. ¡°Please leave, I won¡¯t be seeing you out!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Shen Xuzi for +311 +311 +311¡­

    Zu An sighed. ¡°I thought that your distinguished self was a famous alchemist in the capital, so I had high expectations. Who would¡¯ve thought that your reputation waspletely undeserved?¡±

    Jiang Luofu¡¯s entire body broke out into sweat. What the hell is wrong with this kid? He dares to offend fourth senior?

    After all, even though her fourth senior was quite the recluse, he was still quite open-minded in general, apart from two things. The first was the fact that he was born crippled; when someone had mocked him without knowing the situation, that person had immediately had his legs smashed to smithereens by his golem, giving him a taste of what it was like to have broken legs.

    The second was questioning hispetency in his specialty. That was even worse than the first. It was to the extent where a student had questioned a bit of alchemy he taught, and then the kid was refined away by that very same alchemy technique. That student had even been the son of a duke. The duke had obviously been unhappy and caused a huge disturbance, yet in the end, the matter was settled without anything happening.

    Even the son of a duke had ended up like that after offending him. Zu An¡¯s current status was too far off!

    Jiang Luofu didn¡¯t even have time to get angry. She hurriedly said apologetically to fourth senior, ¡°Fourth senior, please don¡¯t mind it too much! My friend only spoke out of rash emotions and didn¡¯t mean to offend you. I¡¯ll bring him out of here immediately.¡±

    Her fourth senior¡¯s cultivation was actually beneath hers, but she couldn''t defeat him with all of those golems and alchemical magic weapons. Furthermore, this was fourth senior¡¯s home court. If they really fought, she didn¡¯t have the confidence toe out unscathed, let alone protect Zu An.

    But who could have thought that Shen Xuzi wouldn¡¯t pay her any attention? Instead, he suddenly turned around. He was clearly seated in a wheelchair, yet he turned even more swiftly than an ordinary person. He stared straight at Zu An. ¡°What did you say to me, you little bastard?¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    You have sessfully trolled Shen Xuzi for +999 +999 +999¡­

    As he spoke, a huge rumbling noise resounded. The entire ce began to tremble, and in moments, a huge golem was already waiting by the entrance. Its shoulders suddenly opened up, revealing ck cannon barrels.

    Zu An felt a chill run down his back. This golem waspletely a humanoid weapon! He didn¡¯t dare keep the other party in suspense any longer for fear of true friendly fire. He asked hurriedly, ¡°You said that steam could only barely move a lid, but what if it were forced through a narrow space?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Shen Xuzi¡¯s eyes flickered. He quickly reached out his hand. But the golem¡¯s shoulders turned red, and it was already toote to stop it from firing.

    Zu An¡¯s face turned green when he saw the cannons fire. It¡¯s all my tongue¡¯s fault for not being as smooth! He was just about to dodge, but he suddenly realized something and remained in ce.

    The cannon shells suddenly changed directions midway. They flew in strange trajectories, and all of them hit a nearby wall. Zu An had thought that those massive artillery shells would make the entire mountain tremble. However, golden light flickered across the walls. Then, the cannons spluttered before releasing ck smoke. It was as if nothing had happened.

    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± Zu An muttered. He began to look down on the cannons¡¯ strength. Don¡¯t tell me those barrels were only there for intimidation? Seems like Shen Xuzi¡¯s skills aren¡¯tplete enough.

    When she saw how Zu An¡¯s expression wasn¡¯t quite right, Jiang Luofu quickly said, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t look down on them. Fourth senior¡¯s cannons are extremely powerful. When he was carrying out experiments, even the entire rear mountains would tremble. Forget about the students, even we, the other disciples, couldn''t take it anymore. However, his golems were too hard to deal with, and we had to ask him for pill medicines too, so all of us just endured it.¡±

    ¡°But one day, fourth senior¡¯s cannons were too loud and disturbed teacher¡¯s afternoon nap, so he was given a vicious beating. Only then did fourth senior show some restraint.¡±

    Zu An was shocked and said, ¡°Sir Libationer is actually quite¡­ petty.¡±

    Jiang Luofu quickly exined, ¡°Even though teacher gave him a vicious beating, he empathized with his desire to experiment. As such, he had great senior design this wall. That wall is covered in rune formations and can neutralize the cannons¡¯ great impact. That¡¯s why you thought those cannons weren¡¯t that strong.¡±

    ¡°So that was what was going on.¡± Zu An thought to himself, This great senior is pretty formidable! Even a random formation he made could stop the full powered bombardment of Shen Xuzi¡¯s cannons.

    Shen Xuzi suddenly asked urgently, ¡°What exactly is going on with that steam engine you talked about?¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t keep him in suspense this time. ¡°The power of steam has been overlooked by everyone, but if it were sealed in a tight space, and steam were continuously poured in, what do you think would happen?¡±

    ¡°Either no more could go in, or that narrow space would explode?¡± Shen Xuzi was a famous alchemist after all. He realized the answer after thinking about it for a bit.

    Zu An then asked, ¡°Then what if there were a movable valve in that space?¡±

    ¡°Then of course that valve could be turned¡­¡± Shen Xuzi¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up as he spoke. ¡°If there were gears on the other side of the valve, then it would be more than enough to make a machine move¡­ No, wait, the expansion of steam can only push once, so there¡¯s no practical use¡­¡±

    Zu An added with a smile, ¡°Then what if the steam inside cooled off? Wouldn¡¯t you be able to do it again?¡±

    To a certain degree, the advancements of human technologyy in all sorts of methods of boiling water, regardless of whether it was thermal power, hydroelectric power, or nuclear power.

    ¡°Wonderful, wonderful!¡± Shen Xuzi couldn''t help but sp his hands in ce. Then, the way he looked at Zu Anpletely changed. It was no longer full of contempt like before, but reced with eagerness. ¡°Little brother over here, no, wait, sir, where did your steam engine ideae from? Even though it was just a few sentences, I can already tell that this is something that can greatly change the world!¡±

    Jiang Luofu was dazed for a long time. She had been worried about how she was going to protect Zu An from fourth senior a moment ago, and she had even been wondering if she should ask her teacher for help. But now, fourth senior was actually praising Zu An? He had even respectfully called him sir?

    Fourth senior was definitely not like Hei Baizi and the others. He was already extremely proud of his skills in his domain. This machine or whatever had that much power?

    Zu An replied, ¡°I read it in an ancient book.¡±

    ¡°A book?¡± Shen Xuzi was confused. ¡°Which book did you read this from? I¡¯ve never seen it before.¡±

    Jiang Luofu exined in his ce, ¡°He previously went inside of a secret dungeon and was able to examine some ancient things there.¡±

    Shen Xuzi suddenly realized something and said, ¡°So that was it. May I ask what else was written in that book?¡± He looked at Zu An with a hopeful and eager expression after asking.

    Zu An coughed and said, ¡°I actually came here today because I needed a pill furnace. It¡¯s already gettingte, so I need to head over to the logistics department before they go home for the day.¡±

    ¡°What kind of joke is that? Those pill furnaces are all defective things I gave them for free! What¡¯s the point in going there? Come,e,e, I¡¯ll give you the best one,¡± Shen Xuzi said while inviting him inside, as if he were scared that Zu An would run away.

    Jiang Luofu waspletely stunned when she saw that Zu An had been dragged in. This little fe really knows how to bring me surprises! Even though Zu An was younger than her, she didn¡¯t think she had met any man who couldpare to him.

    Pah, Luofu, Luofu, what kind of nonsense are you thinking?! Jiang Luofu criticized herself. Her usually cool and elegant face turned a bit red.

    She gently caressed her smooth thighs with her fingers. A hint of sadness shed across her face. She said with a sigh, ¡°Such beautiful legs, yet no one will ever be able to enjoy them. It¡¯s such a pity¡­¡±

 Chapter 784: Familiar Presence

    <h4>Chapter 784: Familiar Presence</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    However, Jiang Luofu quickly snapped out of her daze. Her face blushed. Is this the time to be all mncholic? She quickly sorted out her thoughts and followed them in, for fear that Zu An would encounter danger inside.

    Zu An followed Shen Xuzi inside. Even though Shen Xuzi was seated in a wheelchair, it didn¡¯t need to be pushed at all. The wheels spun in it on their own.

    Shen Xuzi was initially quite proud,waiting to hear Zu An¡¯s praises about his wheelchair. However, the other party¡¯s expression remainedpletely normal. He suddenly felt a bit ashamed. Someone who understood the concept of a steam engine was definitely an expert among experts! Why would he be surprised at such a trifling thing?

    But there was no way he could have known that Zu An had already seen many electric-powered wheelchairs in his past world, so he was used to it.

    Shen Xuzi was still unwilling to ept this, as if he needed to earn back some dignity. As such, he secretly activated a mechanism he was normally quite reluctant to use. Whenever they passed through one door, the next door would open up on their own without the help of any servants.

    Shen Xuzi looked at Zu An with a raised chin. This is going to blow your socks off! It¡¯ll cost a dozen more earth grade ki stones to maintain these mechanisms though, sigh¡­ Looks like I¡¯ll be eating dirt again this month.

    But who could have expected that Zu An¡¯s expression remainedpletely unfazed, as if he hadn¡¯t even seen those things happen?

    Shen Xuzi was extremely shocked now. With his experience, he obviously knew that this reaction wasn¡¯t faked, but rather that Zu An really didn¡¯t treat it as a big deal. He finally couldn''t hold himself back and asked, ¡°Sir Zu, what do you think of my automatic gates?¡±

    Zu An hesitated for a bit. A whileter, he said, ¡°Passable.¡±

    Shen Xuzi became unhappy. Were you freaking born with all this knowledge or something? He couldn''t stop himself and said, ¡°Judging from Sir Zu¡¯s tone, you seem a bit dissatisfied? There is no harm in speaking up if there are any insufficiencies. I can make some modifications.¡±

    He wanted to test Zu An out a bit. Didn¡¯t Jiang Luofu say that he had read about these things from some ancient books? He didn¡¯t dare let this scare him too badly, or else he would really be made fun of by those other disciples.

    When he heard Shen Xuzi speak, Zu An said, ¡°I noticed that you needed to press something before we passed through the door. You could just make a sensor mechanism, so as long as someone approached, it would open up on its own.¡±

    ¡°Sensor mechanism?¡± Shen Xuzi was stunned. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s something like an instation that monitors infrared rays,¡± Zu An said nonchntly. He examined his surroundings with curiosity. What he cared about more right now was obtaining that pill furnace.

    ¡°Infrared rays?¡± Shen Xuzi discovered that he knew nothing about such terms, but he could roughly guess at their meanings when he heard them. When he researched alchemy, he would asionally have some rted thoughts, but they would always slip away. Only now when they were mentioned by Zu An did he gradually remember them. At the same time, he knew that Zu An was definitely not speaking nonsense.

    He no longer felt any more doubt. His eyes instead became filled with zealotry as he followed along. ¡°Sir Zu is truly like a deity! Hearing just a few words from Sir Zu is better than a decade of bitter cultivation!¡±

    Zu An was stunned. It was just a sensor door he often saw at shopping malls. Do you really have to be that excited?

    Jiang Luofu was already numb. After seeing how those other disciples had acted, it was already hard for her to be surprised at this scene.

    ¡°Fourth senior is too polite.¡± Zu An said with a smile. ¡°About that pill furnace¡­¡±

    ¡°Look at this stupid memory of mine.¡± Shen Xuzi smacked his forehead. ¡°Sir, follow me.¡± He opened arge door. ¡°These are the best pill furnaces I¡¯ve collected over the years. Sir, if you like any one of them, then just take it. Treat it as a gift for our first meeting.¡±

    A refreshing medicinal fragrance filled Zu An¡¯s senses as soon as the door opened. It wasn¡¯t that pill medicines were being refined inside, but rather the lingering medicinal smell from past refinements. These pill furnaces were clearly all extraordinary goods.

    Zu An scanned over them. He discovered that there were all kinds of delicate cupboards inside, and every one of them had different shapes. Inside of them were unique pill furnaces.

    Every single pill furnace had apletely different outward style, but there was onemon point, which was that their surface seemed to flow with ayer of colors. It was clear that all of them possessed a spiritual nature.

    Shen Xuzi stroked his beard and said rather proudly, ¡°These are furnaces that I¡¯ve made or found over the years. All of them are top quality goods.¡±

    Zu An was now truly filled with admiration. ¡°As expected, fourth senior really is the world¡¯s most formidable alchemist! You actually have so many top level pill furnaces.¡±

    Shen Xuzi had heard simr things too many times, yet he had never felt much. But when he heard Zu An say those words, he felt immensely satisfied, as if every single pore on his body were cheering.

    I finally managed to get this fe¡¯s praise¡­ It really wasn¡¯t easy¡­ Shen Xuzi suddenly felt like crying. In that instant, he felt as if he returned to the past when he was praised by his teacher for the first time.

    He became more and more excited when he thought of that. He quickly introduced the furnaces as if he were showing off treasures. ¡°Sir Zu, these pill furnaces all have their own special functions; let me give you an introduction so you can pick the one you like.¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°That sounds great; please do so!¡± He was still just a nobody in the world of pill refinement. It was better to listen to an expert¡¯s opinion here.

    Shen Xuzi brought out a round pill furnace from the cab next to him. Zu An could smell a rxing fragrance even from where he was. He couldn''t help but say, ¡°This pill furnace seems to have a sort of moderate and gentle feeling.¡±

    Shen Xuziughed and said, ¡°Sir Zu has good insight, as expected. This furnace is named the Kindhearted Furnace.¡±

    ¡°Kindhearted Furnace?¡± Forget about Zu An, even Jiang Luofu was shocked. Why would a pill furnace have such a strange name?

    Shen Xuzi exined, ¡°As the name implies, the sess rate of refining healing medicines will be increased by fifty percent, but it will never seed in the refinement of any harmful or dangerous pills. What do you think? Isn¡¯t this furnace kindhearted?¡±

    ¡°It is indeed kindhearted.¡± Zu An said with a bitter smile. He added inwardly, But my little Xiaoxi is more kind.

    ¡°Then does Sir Zu want this furnace?¡± Shen Xuzi asked.

    Zu An was a bit hesitant. In the end, he still shook his head. ¡°Let me take a look at the other ones first.¡±

    Even though this furnace¡¯s effects were good, its uses were too limited. He might have to make some pills for offensive purposes, but this furnace would prevent him from seeding.

    Shen Xuzi chuckled. Young men were usually quite vigorous, so they didn¡¯t like pill furnaces like this without any character. As such, he picked out a pill furnace with clear edges, bearing two sharp ears. ¡°This furnace is called the Devil¡¯s Furnace. It just happens to be the opposite of the Kindhearted Furnace. It won¡¯t seed in the creation of any healing pills, but the sess rate for the creation of offensive medicines will be increased by fifty percent.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. These two were quite the pair! But if I have both, doesn¡¯t that mean that every pill¡¯s sess rate can be increased by fifty percent?

    As if seeing through his thoughts, Shen Xuzi sighed and said, ¡°Unfortunately, the two arepletely ipatible with each other. If you refine one of them, you can¡¯t use the other anymore. That¡¯s also the reason why I¡¯ve never used them all these years.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression became strange. ¡°These pill furnaces are quite¡­ stubborn.¡±

    Shen Xuzi picked up another pill furnace. ¡°Let¡¯s take a look at the others. This furnace is named the Heartless Furnace. Unlike the other two furnaces, it doesn''t distinguish between good or bad. Regardless of whether you¡¯re making healing medicines or offensive pills, i¡¯is the same, adding a twenty percent boost to the sess rate.¡±

    Zu An said with a frown, ¡°Its rate of improvement is a bit low.¡± The other two each increased the sess rate by fifty percent.

    Shen Xuzi said, ¡°There has to be give and take; how can there be anything that has the best of both worlds? Furthermore, twenty percent isn¡¯t low. This is the furnace I¡¯ve used for a long time. Over the years, its rate of improvement has brought me considerable benefits.¡±

    Zu An was a bit hesitant. There was no need to doubt Shen Xuzi¡¯s abilities. Since this was the furnace that he had used for a long time, then that meant that this one wasn¡¯t bad.

    He was just about to agree when Mi Li suddenly spoke in his ear. ¡°Don¡¯t be in a rush to make a decision yet. I think I sense a familiar feeling. Take a look around for me.¡±

 Chapter 785: I Share Affinity With This Color

    <h4>Chapter 785: I Share Affinity With This Color</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Huh?¡± Zu An was startled and pleasantly surprised.

    Mi Li had suddenly woken up and popped out, but she didn¡¯t reply when he checked up on her from time to time. He had no idea whether she was really sleeping, or she just didn¡¯t want to pay him any attention. Now that he heard her voice again, Zu An couldn''t help but feel a strange sense of happiness.

    ¡°That thing, what is it exactly?¡± Zu An quickly asked.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    After a bit of hesitation, Mi Li said, ¡°I don¡¯t know how to exin it either; it¡¯s just a familiar feeling. You should look around first.¡±

    Zu An nodded. As such, he asked Shen Xuzi, ¡°Do you have any other pill furnaces?¡±

    Shen Xuzi was surprised to see that Zu An still wasn¡¯t content. He could only take out another furnace and say, ¡°This furnace is called the Frugal Furnace!¡±

    Jiang Luofu voiced her surprise. ¡°There are even frugal and non-frugal pill furnaces?¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but chuckle. ¡°Since pill furnaces can be kind and evil, of course there can be a concept of frugality.¡±

    Shen Xuzi stroked his beard and nodded. ¡°Sir Zu is on the same level as me after all. Your skills aren¡¯t something that many canpare with.¡±

    Jiang Luofu rolled her eyes. She didn¡¯t want to lower herself to his level.

    Shen Xuzi caressed the pill furnace in his hands and said, ¡°After refining a pill, this furnace has a twenty-five percent chance to return the ingredients used. What we pill refinersck the most are ingredients. With this furnace, you can save a lot on expenses. There are some ingredients that are extremely rare and precious, so if you used this furnace and got your ingredients back, it would be really worth it.¡±

    Zu An sighed in praise. ¡°This really is quite the frugal furnace¡­¡±

    Shen Xuzi was starting to get worked up too. Now that he had a chance to show off his collection, he quickly brought out another pill furnace. ¡°This furnace is called the Extravagance Furnace. It uses up fifty percent more raw ingredients each time, but it has a ten percent chance to produce double the pills.¡±

    Zu An remarked mockingly, ¡°Only a ten percent chance for doubled returns? This furnace doesn¡¯t seem to be that great of a deal.¡±

    Shen Xuzi nodded. ¡°Indeed. If we were only refining ordinary pills, then this furnace¡¯s performance would be quite poorpared to the others. However, this furnace can often produce amazing results while making some special medicines. For example, there are some pills that have extremely rare and precious ingredients, where it¡¯s exceedingly difficult to get enough for two batches. In that case, you ould give this furnace a try.¡±

    Jiang Luofu couldn''t help but frown. ¡°Isn¡¯t that just gambling? You¡¯d lose nine out of ten times. I don¡¯t like this furnace.¡± As a person who devoted herself to thew, she carried a natural opposition toward such things.

    Shen Xuziughed and said, ¡°This furnace indeed relies a bit on luck; that¡¯s why I secretly call it the Dog Luck Furnace. For some people, this furnace would never give them anything, but for some people with incredible luck, this furnace would instead only provide returns. I believe Sir Zu is one of those lucky people.¡±

    ¡°Fourth senior is too kind with your praise.¡± Zu An chuckled. At the same time, he remembered that he had pulled a pill that increased his luck. Even though he couldn''t use it on the keyboard system, it was perfect for this pill furnace. He was quite tempted. However, when he remembered what Mi Li had told him, he still calmed himself down and decided to make a decisionter.

    Shen Xuzi was quite shocked when he saw that Zu An was still unfazed. He brought him further inside.

    Instead, it was Jiang Luofu who became a bit worried. She said through voice transmission, ¡°Ah Zu, I think you should just pick one soon. It¡¯ll be really bad if you end up provoking fourth senior by being so picky.¡±

    Zu An had a bitter smile on his face. It looked like Jiang Luofu thought that he was being greedy. Unfortunately, he couldn''t exin the real reason to her and could only continue.

    Shen Xuzi picked up a uniquely shaped pill furnace. The patterns on its surface formed a smiling face. ¡°This furnace is called the Mischievous Furnace.¡±

    Jiang Luofu was speechless. She was already desensitized from hearing these names. Just what sorts of weird things was this guy collecting?

    Shen Xuzi continued to exin, ¡°This furnace¡¯s specialty is that whenever it sessfully refines a pill, it will grant the pill a special property.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°Then isn¡¯t this pill furnace the best? You even get an extra property after making a pill.¡±

    Shen Xuzi sighed. ¡°If only it were that simple. The additional property ispletely random; they¡¯re not always positive. Sometimes, it can add some negative properties that will instead destroy the pill.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He said, ¡°This pill furnace might be the most dog luck furnace of them all.¡±

    Mi Li¡¯s voice suddenly said in his head, ¡°That green furnace in the lower cupboard up ahead, that¡¯s the one.¡±

    Zu An was quite surprised. He looked in the direction she had pointed at. He saw a furnace without anything outstanding about it, to the point where it barely looked like a pill furnace. The pill furnaces Shen Xuzi had introduced before all had brilliant colors flowing along their surface.

    However, this furnace had nothing on its surface. Well¡­ That wasn¡¯t entirely correct either. There was a bit of something; it was ayer of green¡­

    This color really was inauspicious. Zu An felt a natural rejection toward it. ¡°Big sis empress, are you sure? Should you check it again?¡±

    Mi Li said with dissatisfaction, ¡°Do you think I¡¯m the type of person who speaks randomly?¡±

    Zu An felt she was making sense. As such, he could only pick up that small green furnace by the corner. ¡°I share some affinity with this color. How about I just pick this one?¡±

    Seeing as Shen Xuzi had tossed it randomly into a corner, as if he didn¡¯t really care about it, Zu An figured that he probably wouldn¡¯t be too reluctant to part with it. As such, he didn¡¯t beg for it and just said he wanted it.

    ¡°That¡¯s the one you¡¯re choosing?¡± Shen Xuzi was quite shocked.

    Jiang Luofu had a strange expression on her face as well. ¡°You have an affinity with the color green?¡±

    Zu An quickly said, ¡°I like to bring this color that¡¯s filled with life to others; it¡¯s not that I like this color myself.¡± He had to make that clear, or else she might think he was a freak like King Wu. Then, he looked at Shen Xuzi and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Is this furnace extremely precious?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not that precious.¡± Shen Xuzi shook his head. ¡°I just happened to bump into this furnace when I went into a secret dungeon once. But no matter how I tried to study it, it didn¡¯t seem to have anything special about it. But with the difficulty of that secret dungeon, there¡¯s no way this furnace is useless. Perhaps Sir Zu knows what its uses are?¡±

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°I have no idea either. I just found it to my liking.¡± Even though he didn¡¯t know, Mi Li probably did; it was just that now wasn¡¯t the time to ask about it.

    Jiang Luofu asked with a smile, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Is fourth senior reluctant to give it away?¡± She could sense Shen Xuzi¡¯s hesitation. She was scared that he might refuse, so she deliberately gave him a push.

    Shen Xuzi¡¯s expression became stern. ¡°Nonsense. I, Shen Xuzi, have always been a man of my word. Forget it; since I couldn''t figure anything about it all these years, that means it shares no karma with me. I¡¯ll just give it to Sir Zu.¡±

    Zu An epted the small green furnace. He could sense Mi Li¡¯s excitement. ¡°Thank you, fourth senior.¡±

    Shen Xuzi was surprisingly open-minded. He didn¡¯t worry about it anymore after giving it away, and instead pulled Zu An inside. ¡°Come,e,e, tell me more about that steam engine you mentioned earlier¡­¡±

    The two of them chatted inside for a long time. Zu An had just taken something from this guy, so he was a bit embarrassed and replied to all of his questions.

    In the end, Shen Xuzi was extremely satisfied. He looked at Jiang Luofu from time to time, saying, ¡°Eighth sister, you¡¯ve found a good man this time.¡±

    Jiang Luofu¡¯s eyebrows rose straight up. ¡°I already told you, he¡¯s like my little brother.¡±

    ¡°Fine, little brother, no problem.¡± Shen Xuzi chuckled and didn¡¯t continue to argue.

    ¡­

    When Jiang Luofu and Zu An left, Shen Xuzi was still waving goodbye. Jiang Luofu couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°Ah Zu, you¡¯d better not take fourth senior¡¯s words to heart. Apart from alchemy, that guy is an idiot in everything else.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°What did he say? Why don¡¯t I remember anything?¡±

    Jiang Luofu smiled. This little fellow was surprisingly clever. But when she remembered what Shen Xuzi had just said, she worried that staying too close to Zu An would cause misunderstandings. Now that she had already helped him get a pill furnace, she had found a reason to separate from him.

    As he watched her fair and long legs recede into the distance, before Zu An even had time to sigh in amazement, Mi Li¡¯s voice said in his ears, ¡°Those really are stunning legs.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°When did you be so indecent too? Can you tell me what¡¯s going on with this thing now?¡± He took out the green furnace. Its color really was a bit ring.

    ¡°Have you heard of the legend of the nine cauldrons?¡± Mi Li asked in a slow and profound tone.

 Chapter 786: Playful

    <h4>Chapter 786: yful</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Nine cauldrons?¡± Zu An was stunned. ¡°You mean when Yu the Great divided the world into nine states, and then each of those nine states offered up bronze to create nine cauldrons as a symbol for the nine states? You mean the cauldrons that have the entire country¡¯s famous mountains, great rivers, and exotic goods engraved on their surfaces?¡±

    ¡°Correct.¡± Mi Li appeared in her red dress. She stared at the green furnace in his hands with aplicated expression.

    Zu An thought to himself, No wonder she insisted on me buying her a few more dresses. She does look pretty in them. Huh? If she can wear these dresses, then doesn¡¯t that mean that she¡¯s a tangible being to a certain degree? Then I wonder if she can feel anything¡­

    But in the end, he still got rid of that death-courting thought and returned to the main topic at hand. ¡°This little thing is one of the nine cauldrons that symbolized imperial power? You¡¯re joking, right?¡±

    The nine cauldrons possessed legendary significance in Chinese history as the publicly acknowledged treasures of the state. They were a symbol acknowledged by everyone. How could one of them be such a small green furnace?

    Mi Li raised her head, looking into the sky with her beautiful eyes. She seemed to be reminiscing about the past. ¡°When Yu the Great forged the nine cauldrons in the past, Shang Tang took down the Xia Kingdom and ced the nine cauldrons in the capital city. When Western Zhou destroyed the Shang Dynasty, it was rumored that the nine cauldrons were lost in Sishui. Ying Zheng searched around Sishui in the past and even sent people into the waters to look for them, but they didn¡¯t find anything. Who would¡¯ve thought that one of them would appear here?¡±

    Zu An was confused. ¡°Aren¡¯t there nine of these cauldrons? Also, every single one of them is extremely heavy. Back then, the king of Qin longed for King Zhou¡¯s cauldron, but he ended up being crushed to death by it. How can it be this small?¡±

    Mi Li shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know why it¡¯s like this either. The reason I felt that it has a connection with the nine cauldrons is because in the past, I visited the secret storeroom where the nine cauldrons were kept in the pce. Even though the nine cauldrons had already disappeared, the cauldrons¡¯ aura remained. That feeling was extremely unique, and I sensed a simr aura from this small furnace.¡± She reached out her hands and gently caressed the small furnace with a look of confusion.

    ¡°Then how do I use this thing? Not even that researcher Shen Xuzi could figure out anything.¡± Zu An frowned. What hecked right now was a pill furnace. If he had known that it was going to be like this, then he would have chosen another furnace.

    Mi Li harrumphed. ¡°So short-sighted! The nine cauldrons are the imperial treasures of my world! It¡¯spletely natural for that Shen Xuzi to not have figured anything out. However, you¡¯re different. You share fate with this cauldron, so I believe you shouldn¡¯t have any issues inprehending it.¡±

    ¡°I hope so,¡± Zu An said with a bitter smile. He didn¡¯t have any confidence.

    Mi Li seemed about to say something, but then suddenly frowned. She said in surprise, ¡°That Qi Yaoguang¡¯s divination wasn¡¯t wrong after all. It really is full of peach blossoms.¡± She turned into a wisp of smoke afterward, returning into the Tai¡¯e Sword.

    Zu An was stunned and subconsciously raised his head to look around. He saw a beautiful figure standing under the peach blossom trees. Her long dress fluttered around, the ribbon tied around her waist making her figure look even more morous. Under the contrast of the peach blossoms, her charming face looked tender and beautiful. Who else could it be but the crown princess Bi Linglong?

    Zu An was quite surprised. He walked over and asked, ¡°Why is the crown princess here?¡±

    Bi Linglong turned around. A perfect expression of surprise appeared on her face as she asked, ¡°Hm? What a coincidence. What are you doing here?¡±

    Zu An was also happy to see someone he knew, and furthermore a cute girl like her. He replied, ¡°I was going to pay the libationer a visit, but I wasn¡¯t able to meet with him. Why is the crown princess here?¡±

    ¡°I came to meet an old acquaintance. Then, when I saw how pretty these peach blossoms were, I couldn''t help but admire them. I didn¡¯t expect to meet you here.¡± Bi Linglong spoke calmly, as if she really didn¡¯t know what Zu An was doing here.

    ¡°Then that really is a coincidence.¡± Zu An suddenly became curious. Qi Yaoguang had read his fate and saw peach blossoms everywhere. Was it just this scene that she had seen?

    ¡°Are you going back now? Why don¡¯t we go back together?¡± Bi Linglong asked in a natural tone.

    ¡°Sure,¡± Zu An said. Not too long before, Zu An had been feeling lonely now that Chu Chuyan and the others had left. He was more than happy to be apanied by a friend.

    Bi Linglong smiled, but she quickly hid her expression and didn¡¯t say anything else. She continued to walk forward.

    Zu An had to admit that this woman always seemed to carry a bit of pride, as well as a sort of innately high-ss feeling. It really gave her a distinctive sort of charm.

    The two of them walked between the peach blossoms side by side. As a breeze blew about, endless peach blossoms fell from above, scattering down on their bodies. Even though these flower petals were so light they seemed to weigh nothing, they seemed to form ripples in Bi Linglong¡¯s heart.

    Women would always be romantic creatures. The scene mysteriously touched her. However, she quickly calmed her heart and asked in a nonchnt manner, ¡°I seem to have heard quite a disturbance in the rear mountains earlier. I heard that there was a sir who managed to win over every one of the libationer¡¯s disciples. I wonder, do you know who that was?¡±

    Zu An was a bit embarrassed. ¡°It wasn¡¯t anything like that. I just had a talk with them, and then I happened to know some things about their fields of expertise, so that was why I was able to get close to them. I don¡¯t dare to be called a sir.¡±

    Bi Linglong seemed surprised. Her red lips parted slightly as she eximed, ¡°So that mysterious person was you!¡±

    ¡°It was just a coincidence, a coincidence.¡± Zu An enjoyed her look of shock and admiration greatly. He had to admit that being admired by a woman was the best motivation for any man.

    Bi Linglong smiled. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to have these skills either. Looks like keeping you in the eastern pce was a waste of talent. I¡¯ll definitely do my best to lift you higher on the stage in the future.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, crown princess. I¡¯ll definitely strive my utmost for the crown princess¡¯ sake.¡± Zu An tactfully expressed his loyalty when he saw that she was roping him in.

    Bi Linglong¡¯s face turned red. Why did it sound as if he were taking advantage of her? If it were before, she would definitely have be furious. However, she didn¡¯t feel half a trace of anger now, and instead felt her heart thump.

    When he saw Bi Linglong¡¯s shy side profile, Zu An had to admit that her face was stunning.

    Mi Li¡¯s voice said in Zu An¡¯s ear, ¡°What a vixen.¡±

    Zu An had a strange expression as he asked, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re jealous?¡±

    ¡°Pah! Why would I be jealous of a little brat like her?¡± Mi Li became upset.

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for +250 +250 +250¡­

    Only after a while did she continue, ¡°I was just giving you a well-intentioned reminder, so you don¡¯t end up losing your head to this little brat. This woman clearly already knew about what you were doing in the academy, yet she¡¯s still pretending she just happened to bump into you here and had no idea at all.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, what kind of seductress haven¡¯t I met before in the pce? This little brat¡¯s acting isn¡¯t bad, but she¡¯s still far toockingpared to those girls,¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°Of course!¡± Mi Li said unhappily as he voiced his suspicion. She continued, ¡°I sensed her aura before outside the libationer¡¯s house. That means she was always watching everything that happened. Why is she doing all of this?¡±

    But who could have thought that Zu An wouldugh? ¡°But why do I feel as if things are even more interesting now? Men like these kinds of cute girls who are yful like this, you know?¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Mi Li was stunned. She eximed, ¡°You can just die in hell!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for +666 +666 +666¡­

    Then, she disappeared into a wisp of smoke. She didn¡¯t reply to anything Zu An said anymore.

 Chapter 787: Unexpected Leak

    <h4>Chapter 787: Unexpected Leak</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An was speechless. Big sis, you can be a bit more yful too; I¡¯ll like it just as much. Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t dare to say such things to her, or else there might really be danger to his life.

    When he snapped out of his daze and looked at Bi Linglong again, he had an amused expression on his face. This woman was bing more interesting.

    ¡°Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?¡± Bi Linglong subconsciously touched her face when she felt his gaze.

    Zu An said with a chuckle, ¡°Of course; you have flowers on your face, and they¡¯re more beautiful than all of the peach blossoms in the sky.¡±

    Bi Linglong had never expected him to praise her so aggressively. She was rattled and confused for a moment. ¡°You really are too much. I already told you before that you can¡¯t have any improper thoughts about me just because that thing happened between us¡­¡±

    But she felt she was being a bit too stiff by saying such a thing. The other party had too much value right now and was worth her investment, so she quickly exined, ¡°The main problem is that if other people hear what you just said, it won¡¯t just be you, even I¡¯ll be in huge trouble! That¡¯s why you can¡¯t me me for getting angry.¡±

    Zu An smiled ambiguously. ¡°You¡¯ve misunderstood; I was only sincerely praising your beauty. I didn¡¯t have any other thoughts.¡± This woman really was a tsundere. You sounded angry on the surface, but I didn¡¯t receive a single Rage point from you.

    Bi Linglong¡¯s cheeks blushed. ¡°That¡¯s good, then.¡± But even as the two of them both grew quiet, her heart just wouldn¡¯t stop pounding. Why had this guy stopped calling her the crown princess and started just referring to her as ¡®you¡¯? Should I be the one who should calm down a bit, or should I be widening the distance between us?

    But after what she had seen in the academy¡¯s rear mountain, she knew that he was an extraordinary talent. If she couldn''t rope him in while he was at the bottom right now, then she might not have another chance in the future.

    I can¡¯t just seduce him, right? Bi Linglong had never felt so conflicted before. She actually had natural talent in politics. Even though she was young, she had done extremely well at roping in various powers. However, even with her ability, she just felt a bit awkward when using such methods on Zu An. It was all because of that incident! That was why she couldn''t face him normally.

    The two walked along the small path side by side, their shoulders seemingly even touching a few times. The scene of the two embracing each other naked couldn''t help but appear in Bi Linglong¡¯s mind. A flush of pink began to cover her entire face.

    ¡°Crown princess!¡± The maid Rong Mo called out from nearby. Bi Linglong finally sighed in relief. At the same time, the bashfulness on her face disappeared, and she instead returned to her usual dignified appearance.

    ¡°Huh? Sir Zu?¡± Rong Mo waspletely shocked when she saw Zu An.

    Bi Linglong said, ¡°I just happened to run into Sir Zu in the rear mountain, so we¡¯re going to return together.¡±

    Rong Mo no longer asked anything further and said, ¡°Understood.¡± She raised the carriage curtains for Bi Linglong. Bi Linglong leaned over and walked into the carriage. She was about to invite Zu An inside as well, but she quickly realized that it would easily cause rumors. She changed her ns and said, ¡°Sir Zu is injured, so have him sit in front of the carriage. He can also help drive the carriage.¡±

    The surrounding guards and eunuchs exchanged looks. All of them shot Zu An envious looks.

    Zu An was instead in a difficult spot. Those of high status usually used the method of having their subordinates drive the carriage, or guard the restroom entrance, as a sign of getting closer to them. However, in his opinion, he was just being forced to be a freaking driver. It really was hard for him to feel gratitude.

    Of course, he understood Bi Linglong¡¯s good intentions, so he wouldn¡¯t go so low as to think that she was trying to humiliate him. If he had to drive the carriage, then he''d drive the freaking carriage. At least it was better than walking. Hmph, one day, I¡¯m going to proudly sit in the same carriage as her.

    He leapt up to the front of the carriage and grabbed the horsewhip. With a ¡®pa!¡¯ noise, he struck the horses¡¯ bottoms. The horses all charged forward after feeling the pain.

    The other guards and eunuchs chased after them in panic, crying, ¡°Sir Zu, slow down, slow down!¡±

    Bi Linglong staggered around inside. The carriage was always extremely steady; when had she ever ridden such a wild carriage?

    Rong Mo grabbed the window frame tightly while grumbling, ¡°Crown princess, this guy is too much! Who drives a carriage like this?¡±

    Bi Linglong¡¯s hand brushed through her messy hair, but there was a faint smile at the corner of her lips. ¡°And yet, I feel as if the usual carriage ride was a bit boring, and this is more interesting.¡±

    Rong Mo¡¯s mouth widened. She stared at her mistress in shock. For some reason, she felt as if her mistress had changed a lot.

    When she sensed that they had lost most of the guards behind them, Bi Linglong opened the carriage curtains, allowing the wind to blow her fine ck hair backward. She said, ¡°Sir Zu, you are still injured, so we¡¯ll bring you back first.¡±

    Rong Mo was shocked. She quickly advised her, ¡°Crown princess, you should reconsider! When has your respected self ever personally seen a subject home? If rumors got out, wouldn¡¯t that cause a huge uproar? Let alone the fact that you two just¡­¡± She didn¡¯t dare to continue her sentence, but her intent was clear.

    Bi Linglong frowned. She knew that what Rong Mo was saying was reasonable. The two of them had just had that scandal between them. Even though it had already died down, and she could exin her actions with a clear conscience, getting too close might produce the opposite effect.

    Just as Bi Linglong was feeling conflicted, Zu An said with a smile, ¡°If the crown princess personally sees me home, that¡¯ll be putting me in an awkward spot! I might be killed by some of your jealous fans. I think I should send the crown princess back first.¡±

    Bi Linglong sighed. This fellow really was quite considerate. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s fine as well. We can pay the hospital a visit to get Sir Zu some medicine.¡±

    Zu An wanted to refuse, but he suddenly changed his mind. He needed some ingredients for his pill concocting anyway, and there were many that weren¡¯t all that easy to find. It would be good if he could get some of them from the imperial hospital.

    ¡­

    Their carriage headed straight for the imperial pce as Bi Linglong personally apanied Zu An to the hospital. Commissioner Assistant Ma An rushed over when he heard the news, saying, ¡°This humble subject greets the crown princess.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Bi Linglong nodded slightly in return. ¡°Sir Ma, at ease. I came here today to find some treatment medicine.¡±

    ¡°May I ask what kind of medicine the crown princess needs?¡± Ma An asked.

    ¡°I need¡­¡± Bi Linglong beban, but she then stopped and gave Zu An a questioning look¡­

    Zu An replied, ¡°I need Sky Crane Root, Red Star Jade, and Purple Firmament Flower. Do you have these things here?¡±

    These were all essential ingredients for refining the Ki Condensation pill, and they were quite precious.

    Ma An was suspicious. These weren¡¯t materials for healing, but more like medicine used for a cultivation breakthrough! Even so, he didn¡¯t dare to speak up in front of the crown princess. ¡°We have Sky Crane Root and Red Star Jade, but we don¡¯t have Purple Firmament Flower.¡±

    Bi Linglong replied, ¡°Fine, then prepare some for me. I¡¯m going to take some with me.¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡± Ma An replied respectfully. He quickly rushed back to prepare the corresponding medicines, and then politely handed them to her.

    ¡°I¡¯ve troubled Sir Ma.¡± Bi Linglong didn¡¯t receive them, and instead had Rong Mo take them. Then, she turned around to leave.

    When they left the imperial hospital, Bi Linglong took the Sky Crane Root and Red Star Jade from Rong Mo and gave them to Zu An. ¡°Sir Zu, please rest well. You shouldn¡¯t run all over the ce anymore.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, crown princess.¡± Zu An felt warm inside. Even though this woman was a bit stiff sometimes, she still treated him well.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in the distant imperial hospital, a pair of jealous eyes was hiding behind a pair of curtains. A glorious imperial hospitalmissioner assistant like me is actually beneath that young brat?

    It wasn¡¯t that he had any thoughts toward the crown princess, but he felt truly awful seeing how the ingredients he had offered to the crown princess respectfully ended up being taken by the maid, and then they were even handed to that man.

    ¡°Looks like the rumors floating around the pcest time really might be true,¡± Ma An muttered to himself. ¡°But why was that Zu An found innocent, to the extent where not even the Embroidered Envoy could find anything?¡±

    ¡°Wait, if I remember correctly, the crown princess asked for some soul healing medicine for Golden Token Eleven, and then she came to get precious ingredients for Zu An. These two instances are simr! No wonder the Embroidered Envoy couldn''t find anything! If Zu An and Golden Token Eleven are one and the same, then everything makes sense!¡±

 Chapter 788: Cards Revealed

    <h4>Chapter 788: Cards Revealed</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Ma An¡¯s breathing quickened when he began thinking that. He continued to pace back and forth, as if the matter weighed heavily on his mind. ¡°No, this is merely my own spection. If I report this, it will instead affect my master¡¯s image of me. I have to investigate this further first¡­¡± he mumbled to himself.

    He then recalled Zu An¡¯s recent aplishments. Furthermore, if he really was Golden Token Eleven, then his cultivation would only be even higher than what he had shown so far. Even though he was the imperial hospital¡¯smissioner assistant, he wasn¡¯t confident he could take Zu An down alone.

    But he wasn¡¯t worried at all. He headed into the deepest part of the room and opened up a cab. Then, he took out a pitch-ck porcin bottle from within.

    Doctors and poison masters were one and the same. As a famous doctor, when did he ever have to personally do the deed if he wanted someone dead?

    Ma An smirked as he held the ck bottle.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡­

    On the other hand, once Bi Linglong handed the ingredients to Zu An, she left after saying a few things. Even though she had a lot of things she wanted to talk to him about, they couldn''t seem too close with their statuses, and they had to be even more careful in the pce.

    Zu An thought about returning to his Embroidered Envoy residence to refine some pills, but he was worried that it might cause a disturbance and draw the emperor¡¯s attention. As such, he decided to return home.

    However, not long after he left, he ended up bumping into a group of maids and eunuchs. All of them held umbres while slowly escorting avishly dressed upper-ss woman.

    The noblewoman was dressed in splendid clothes that still couldn''t hide her impressive figure. Her low-cut dress further outlined her snow-white skin. As she walked, her elegant and well-rounded bottom was enough to make any man go wild.

    However, her status was something that prevented anyone from having any such thoughts. The lesser eunuchs at her side didn¡¯t even dare to give her a second look, even though they had already had their things clipped.

    However, the old eunuch at her side was an exception. As he followed behind the nobledy, his eyes darted to her round and full bottom from time to time, his expression fluctuating between one of longing and one of deep vexation. He was a eunuch, so there was nothing he could do about it.

    ¡°I greet your highness the empress!¡± Zu An recognized Eunuch Lu. As such, who else could the beautiful madam at his side be but the empress Liu Ning?

    Eunuch Lu¡¯s first reaction when he saw Zu An was endless rage. He remembered what had happened that day.

    You have sessfully trolled Lu Qi for +588 +588 +588¡­

    However, he seemed to have remembered something else soon afterward, and his rage gradually eased. It was reced with rushed breathing and reddened eyes, as if he felt satisfied somehow.

    Zu An had always been on guard around him, so his reactions didn¡¯t escape his notice. He sighed. This Eunuch Lu really was quite something. He seemed to speak the samenguage as King Wu!

    Just then, the empress saw Zu An. Her fierce and beautiful gaze softened a bit as she said, ¡°So it was Sir Zu. I heard that the crown princess gave you a vacation, so why are you still in the pce?¡±

    Zu An was shocked. This woman seemed to be keeping an eye on his whereabouts closely! He quickly replied, ¡°I came to the imperial hospital to get some medicine.¡±

    He didn¡¯t dare to say that the crown princess had brought him here. As a sea king, preventing one girl from knowing the existence of another girl was part of the absolute basics.

    The empress said, ¡°That¡¯s perfect then. I have quite a bit of medicinal herbs, and I¡¯m not doing much with them in the pce. Sir Zu has brought back great contributions in this time, so they should be perfect for treating your injuries.¡±

    Zu An said happily, ¡°Thank you, your highness.¡± What he needed right now for pill refinement were precisely all sorts of ingredients.

    ¡°Then please follow this empress back to the Pce of Peace.¡± The empress licked her lips without anyone noticing. Her usually dignified eyes seemed to have be a bit misty.

    Eunuch Lu¡¯s expression became conflicted. In the end, he could only sigh deeply. What was there to even say?

    Zu An waspletely speechless. I feel as if giving me medicines out of concern for my health is a total excuse, and that you¡¯re actually just lusting for my body¡­

    Even though he didn¡¯t mind going at it a few times with this stunning empress, since that night had been absolutely amazing, he knew that individual ability was the most important. He didn¡¯t want to lose himself over lust. Furthermore, he already knew that the other party wanted to suck out his blood essence for her own injuries, so he couldn''t help but feel a bit of apprehension.

    ¡°Thank you, your highness, for your grace. However, this subject still has matters I need to take care of outside of the pce. I¡¯ll visit the Pce of Peace next time.¡± Zu An hurriedly left as he finished speaking.

    ¡°Next time?¡± The empress had an ambiguous smile as she watched him leave in a hurry. What she feared the most was that he had used up all of his courage that night.

    Zu An¡¯s frantic escape made him seem scared of the emperor finding out about what they had done that night, so she wasn¡¯t too worried. On the contrary, she began to think about how she was going to make him brazenly return to the Pce of Peace for some fun. She secretly asked Eunuch Lu for his opinion.

    Eunuch Lu¡¯s face went entirely red. Helping another man toy with the girl of his dreams¡­ Such a feeling really was humiliating. But he immediately felt a strange feeling of excitement and expectation. As such, he began to discuss strategies with the empress. ¡°You can try this¡­¡±

    ¡­

    Zu An sighed in relief when he left the imperial pce. Mi Li¡¯s yful voice said, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Why would you refuse the invitation of such a beauty? This isn¡¯t like you.¡±

    Zu An asked impatiently, ¡°Am I really the type of person who would ignore everything for the sake of lust in your eyes?¡±

    ¡°One hundred percent.¡± Mi Li nodded confidently, leaving Zu An speechless.

    ¡°Hmph, isn¡¯t that empress a bit much? She¡¯s actually inviting you for that stuff in broad daylight.¡± Mi Li¡¯s voice was full of dissatisfaction. ¡°The fact that even someone like this can be an empress is simply a disgrace to all empresses!¡±

    Zu An knew that this was something that had always annoyed her. He couldn''t help but remark with a chuckle, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that she only did it to heal herself?¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t the fact that she needs treatment alone enough for me to look down on her?¡± Mi Li harrumphed. She was about to continue when she frowned. ¡°Hm? There''s someone hiding inside your house.¡±

    Zu An felt warm inside. Even though she had said that she wouldn¡¯t help him anymore and that he needed to rely on himself, she still pointed things out when they encountered them.

    ¡°Is it a man or woman?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°A man, of course.¡± Mi Li rolled his eyes. ¡°What the heck is going on inside your head? You¡¯re going to die in the embrace of a woman one day.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s smile quickly faded when he heard that it was a man. He became vignt, his entire body tensing. He went inside, and saw that there wasn¡¯t a single servant in sight. He frowned, thinking that they had been attacked. However, he soon heard the sounds of even breathing. The servants were probably just unconscious.

    He sneered. Looks like this burr isn¡¯t too smart. Won¡¯t I immediately be able to tell that something is wrong if you make them all faint?

    He carefully opened the door, but there was no ambush the way he had anticipated. Instead, the one sitting inside was leisurely sipping on some tea, as if he were in his own home.

    Zu An was surprised when he saw who it was, eximing, ¡°Sir Ma?¡± He really hadn¡¯t expected to find themissioner assistant in his own house, let alone to meet him this way.

    Ma An lowered his teacup and said with a smile, ¡°Sir Zu has finally returned. I¡¯ve waited for you for a long time.¡±

    Zu An asked seriously, ¡°What is the meaning of this, Sir Ma?¡±He thought, Looks like the defensive formation really is too weak; it can¡¯t stop a true expert at all. I hope Xie Daoyun can be a formidable rune master! She can help me rece the formation here.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t worry, Sir Zu; I only wish to have a chat with you,¡± Ma An said.

    Zu An gave the slowly burning candle on the table a look, and then he said indifferently, ¡°Turning up uninvited, and then making all of my servants faint¡­ I really don¡¯t wish to chat with someone like that.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, they¡¯ll be fine after their nap,¡± Ma An said. ¡°I just believe that Sir Zu doesn¡¯t wish for the contents of our chat to be heard by others.¡±

    ¡°What does Sir Ma want to talk about?¡± Zu An asked, his expression grave.

    Ma An crossed his legs and gave Zu An a look. ¡°Sir Zu seems to be healthy and vigorous. You don¡¯t look injured at all.¡±

    ¡°That isn¡¯t something you need to concern yourself with.¡± Zu An used the jade badge to control the little creatures nearby. When he saw that there wasn¡¯t anyone else waiting in ambush, he sighed in relief.

    ¡°I can guess the truth even if you don¡¯t say anything. The medicines you took from the imperial hospital don¡¯t have many healing effects.¡± Ma An paused for a moment, and then he continued, ¡°On the contrary, they¡¯re mainly materials used for a cultivation breakthrough. I didn¡¯t expect Sir Zu to even be proficient at pill refinement.¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t feel like wasting time with him. ¡°What are you really trying to say?¡±

    Ma An didn¡¯t beat around the bush any further. ¡°Since Sir Zu wishes to refine a breakthrough pill, I believe your cultivation should be at a bottleneck. Everyone in the capital believed that Sir Zu was only able to defeat King Qi¡¯s heir and fight on even footing with King Qi Manor¡¯s Han Fengqiu because you had the help of another, but only today did I realize that this mysterious expert doesn¡¯t exist at all. Or perhaps, I should say that the mysterious expert is in fact you. Isn¡¯t that right, Golden Token Eleven?¡±

 Chapter 789: Fortunes Rise and Fall

    <h4>Chapter 789: Fortunes Rise and Fall</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An was rmed. He said in a low voice, ¡°I have no idea what you are talking about. Sir Ma, have you developed a delusional disorder?¡± At the same time, he began to look around him. All of the muscles in his body had already silently gone taut, ready to strike at any time.

    Ma An chuckled and asked coldly, ¡°Sir Eleven, are you prepared to silence me? I guess that makes sense. Embroidered Envoys indeed have the authority to act first and reportter.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s voice became cold as well. ¡°Did youe all the way here just to say these senseless things?¡±

    ¡°Naturally, I came here to ascertain your rtionship with Golden Token Eleven,¡± Ma An said. ¡°I wasn¡¯t too sure at first, but judging from your reaction, I¡¯m already sure.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Sir Ma seems confident in your backing. Could it be that you really aren¡¯t scared that something might happen to you here?¡±

    Even though he was the imperial hospital¡¯smissioner assistant, their doctors didn¡¯t specialize in cultivation. Judging from Ma An¡¯s ki fluctuations, he was only at the sixth rank. Since he already knew that Zu An was Golden Token Eleven, where did he get the confidence to face him alone?

    ¡°Our imperial hospital has never been too interested in violence. However, medicine and poison are two sides of the same coin. Since we¡¯re good at healing people, we¡¯re also good at poisoning people.¡± Ma An gave the candle on the table a look. ¡°Aren¡¯t you starting to feel weak right now, as if your strength is slipping away?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed. He quickly rushed outside. However, he dropped heavily from the sky midway through his flight. ¡°You¡­ You actually dared to poison me! Despicable!¡±

    Mi Li couldn''t help but sigh in amazement when she saw the shock and anger on Zu An¡¯s face. If she didn¡¯t know that he was impervious to most poisons, she would really have been deceived by his reaction. This brat really was a natural born actor!

    But there was no way Ma An would know the truth. He smiled when he saw Zu An¡¯s reaction. ¡°It¡¯s all the same killing. You use des, while I use poison. How is this despicable? The difference between humans and animals is precisely in trickery and wit, in our ability to think.¡± He tapped on his temple while speaking, his voice full of ridicule.

    Zu An asked ¡®weakly¡¯, ¡°What kind of poison is that? Why is it so strong?¡±

    Ma An felt proud when Zu An asked about his field of expertise. He fished out a pitch-ck bottle from his inner pocket, saying, ¡°This poison is named Frozen Soul. It was something I obtained with great difficulty. Once you are affected by this poison, your entire body will feel as if it¡¯s in a world of ice and snow. The movement of your limbs and the flow of your ki, even your heart and soul, will be frozen still.

    ¡°It would be difficult for even a master rank cultivator to survive this poison, let alone someone of your cultivation rank.¡± As he carefully stored the bottle away, Ma An had a reluctant expression on his face. ¡°It¡¯s a poison that not even a master could defy, so you don¡¯t need to feel too wronged about your death.¡±

    Zu An was shocked. When he heard the poison¡¯s description, he began to wonder if his poison immunity really was enough. He secretly circted a bit of ki and sensed that there was a bit of cold ki seeping into his body, but it was quickly neutralized by his body¡¯s primordial ki. Overall, there wasn¡¯t too much of an effect.

    He sighed inwardly in relief, and then he used the chance to ask, ¡°We share no grudges; why are you so determined to kill me?¡±

    ¡°No grudges?¡± Ma An¡¯s expression warped when he heard those words. ¡°Twenty years ago, my younger brother died under the hands of a golden token envoy! Whenever I see you golden token envoys, I want to kill you many times over! How can there be no grudges?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Ma An for +444 +444 +444¡­

    Zu An scoffed inside when he sensed the other party¡¯s strong resentment. What the hell were the political investigators doing? They had actually let this kind of person into the imperial hospital and made him themissioner assistant.

    ¡°But the one who harmed your younger brother isn¡¯t me! How long has it been since I came to the capital? I only came here to make a living!¡± Zu An tried to see if he could prove his own innocence, or else having to fight someone to the death for this sort of ridiculous reason would be too much.

    ¡°Shut your mouth! All Embroidered Envoys deserve death!¡± Ma An¡¯s eyes turned red. ¡°It¡¯s all that Cheng Xiong¡¯s fault for being too useless. He came to ask about the medicine records, and I even hinted that there was an issue with Sir Eleven asking for soul healing medicine, yet in the end, he didn¡¯t even manage to get rid of you and was killed instead!¡±

    Zu An suddenly understood. No wonder Cheng Xiong had just happened to investigate himst time, and even Zhuxie Chixin had be suspicious. So it was all because of this guy working behind the scenes.

    He said in a grave voice, ¡°But the Embroidered Envoys all act ording to his majesty¡¯s will. Don¡¯t tell me you wish to take revenge on his majesty?¡±

    Ma An chuckled. ¡°Do you think I¡¯m stupid? Of course I won¡¯t take this up to his majesty. It¡¯s enough if I just get rid of you golden token envoys. That was the vow I made in front of my younger brother¡¯s grave. I¡¯ve already managed to get rid of three of them over the years, and you¡¯re about to be the fourth.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. People always bragged about how formidable the golden token envoys were, yet they had no idea that those envoys were being done in by their own people. How embarrassing. But why was this guy so vengeful? Did he have a brotherplex or something?

    He couldn''t help but ask, ¡°You killed several golden token envoys just for this reason? Do you not know that this is a n eradicating sin?¡±

    ¡°Who would find out that I was the one who did it once you died?¡± Ma An sneered, clearly not treating it as a big deal. ¡°However, if you obediently answer my questions, then I can grant you a swift death.¡±

    Zu An sighed. ¡°Looks like I really am finished here. Just say it, what do you want to ask about?¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    He wanted to use this as a chance to look into Ma An¡¯s background too. For some reason, he felt that this matter wasn¡¯t that simple. Those golden token envoys all had powerful cultivations, and they were sharp and careful. How could they be so easily done in by Ma An?

    ¡°Does the ¡®Phoenix Nirvana Sutra¡¯ you offered up to his majesty truly have the ability to grant eternal life?¡± Ma An asked, looking eagerly at Zu An.

    Zu An sneered, ¡°What, even you desire eternal life?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not something you need to worry about. You only need to answer whether it¡¯s true or not!¡± Ma An insisted somewhat impatiently.

    Zu An said seriously, ¡°Of course it can; otherwise, why would his majesty grant me a noble title?¡±

    ¡°It actually can? Then that makes things more troublesome¡­¡± Ma An mumbled to himself.

    ¡°Why do you care if his majesty can obtain eternal life? What, do you want to take his ce?¡± Zu An was confused. With Ma An¡¯s cultivation, he shouldn¡¯t have the ability to participate in such a battle. His eyes suddenly lit up. ¡°So you had someone backing you.¡±

    ¡°Damn kid, I¡¯m the one interrogating you right now, not the other way around!¡± Ma An harrumphed. ¡°Did anything happen between you and the crown princess?¡±

    Zu An gave him a look. ¡°Who¡¯s the one behind you? King Qi?¡±

    Ma An eximed angrily, ¡°Are you in a position to ask me questions right now?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Ma An for +66 +66 +66¡­

    He kicked out toward Zu An¡¯s side as he spoke. However, halfway through the motion, he stopped out of shock. ¡°Why isn¡¯t your body covered in frost¡­¡±

    He quickly backed up, but it was already toote. The ¡®dying¡¯ Zu An suddenly moved and grabbed his ankle. Ma An subconsciously tried to kick out with his other leg to break free. At the same time, he tried to toss out some poisons. Unfortunately, a powerful suction force caused all of his body¡¯s ki to surge toward his ankle.

    He was horrified. ¡°What kind of¡­ demonic art¡­¡± Shortly afterward, he had already be powerless. Having one¡¯s body hollowed out that way would leave one feeling extremely weak.

    Zu An sucked away all of Ma An¡¯s cultivation with the Heaven Devouring Sutra, and only then did he let go. The feeling of sucking out another person¡¯s cultivation really was amazing! It really would be a problem if he couldn''t control himself and became the world¡¯s public enemy.

    ¡°Im¡­ Impossible¡­ Not even a master rank could withstand Frozen Soul, so why are you¡­ fine?¡± Ma An leaned against the wall. His hair that had been quite glossy was now dried up, and his face had be a lot skinnier, his lips deathly pale. At that moment, he began to question everything he knew about life.

    Zu An was obviously not in the mood to answer his questions. ¡°Sir Ma, you didn¡¯t think fortunes would rise and fall like this, hm? Now, I¡¯m the one asking you questions and not the other way around. Speak, who¡¯s the one backing you?¡±

    Ma An smiled bitterly. ¡°You can¡¯t expect your shoes to never get wet if you walk by the riverbank. I actually already anticipated that I would one day be done in by a golden token envoy; it¡¯s just that I didn¡¯t know it would be by a new one like you. However, I advise you not to delude yourself into thinking you can get any information out of me.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? The Embroidered Envoy¡¯s prison has quite a few tough fes like you, but I don¡¯t recall there being many of them who were able to remain silent,¡± Zu An sneered.

    Ma An said indifferently, ¡°I knew that this day woulde one day when I decided to face the golden token envoys, so I already made a seal inside my body. Once I¡¯ve been pushed to a certain point, my blood vessels will explode on their own. I am a gloriousmissioner assistant from the imperial hospital; you better believe what I say.¡±

    Zu An frowned. Judging from how confident this fellow sounded, it seemed that was most likely the case. However, he wasn¡¯t worried and said, ¡°Do you think I don¡¯t have any other methods just because I can¡¯t torture you?¡±

    As he spoke, a white light shed, and a devastatingly beautiful woman appeared out of thin air.

 Chapter 790: Acknowledged

    <h4>Chapter 790: Acknowledged</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Ma An looked at the ridiculously beautiful woman withplete shock. How had this woman appeared out of thin air?

    But he no longer bothered thinking about that soon afterward, because he waspletely enamored by her beauty. He had seen his fair share of stunning beauties as a subject in the imperial pce; for example, the empress, crown princess, and Concubine Bai. Their appearances weren¡¯t much inferior to this woman, but this woman seemed to possess a kind of charm that seemed to affect all living things. It was to the extent that she didn¡¯t even need to say anything or do anything. He felt as if even his soul had been hooked, even though she was only standing there.

    How could there be someone this stunning in the world?

    Ma An was already getting on in years, and so his lustful desires were no longer the same as they had been. However, when he smelled the faint fragrance that apanied the woman¡¯s appearance, he felt as if he had be a young man again. His heart that had remained stagnant for so long instantly came alive.

    What kind of rtionship does this woman have with Zu An? Why did she appear here? I think she was summoned when she heard Zu An¡¯s voice¡­?

    What the hell did this Zu An do in hisst life? He¡¯s a nobody from the streets, yet he obtained the Chu n¡¯s favor, and he¡¯s clearly close to this stunning beauty too!

    You have sessfully trolled Ma An for +444 +444 +444¡­

    Zu An was speechless. He thought, What is going on? Why are you getting angry at me just because you saw a pretty girl? But he didn¡¯t feel like bothering with that. He said to the beautiful woman next to him, ¡°Daji, control him and find out who the one behind him is.¡±

    Daji had three abilities. Among them, Fox Charm was able to control someone of the opposite sex for a short amount of time.

    Daji nodded, and then she calmly walked up to Ma An, showing him a devastatingly charming smile. Ma An immediately became stupefied. The only thing left in his head was ¡®I¡¯m going to die, I¡¯m going to die¡¯. Drool even flowed out of his mouth involuntarily.

    Daji couldn''t speak, so Zu An had to speak. ¡°Who is the one backing you?¡±

    However, in Ma An¡¯s eyes, it was as if Daji were the one asking him. He began, ¡°The master behind me¡­¡±

    ¡°Who is your master?¡± Zu An quickly asked.

    ¡°My master is¡­¡± Ma An subconsciously mumbled, but his expression suddenly changed. He immediately woke up. ¡°Zu An, you¡¯re really something. You were actually using sorcery!¡±

    Zu An frowned. Why would the other party wake up just then?

    Mi Li¡¯s voice said, ¡°Did you forget that there was another condition for Fox Charm? The target has to be of lower cultivation than Daji.¡±

    Zu An sighed. ¡°Of course I knew, but I thought that their cultivation levels were simr. They¡¯re both at the initial stage of the sixth rank. I even sucked out his cultivation. I didn¡¯t expect that to still not be enough.¡±

    ¡°Since the prerequisite for Fox Charm is that the target¡¯s cultivation level has to be lower, then we clearly need to follow it strictly. As for you sucking out his strength, that doesn¡¯t affect his true cultivation. Even though cultivators don¡¯t cultivate their souls in the early stages, it¡¯s still being influenced and nourished. You¡¯ve sucked away his skills, but his soul is still at the sixth rank,¡± Mi Li exin.

    ¡°Then what do I do?¡± Zu An felt a headache. This Ma An was quite cunning, setting up that restriction on himself, so he couldn''t use torture. Now, trickery wouldn¡¯t work either. He really felt quite helpless.

    Mi Li thought for a bit and then said, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that the Ki Condensation Pills could increase the rank of her skills? Why don¡¯t you give that a try?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Right!¡±

    ¡°You¡­ Who are you talking to?¡± Ma An felt a chill run down his back when he saw Zu An talking to himself. He subconsciously wanted to run, but his entire body was limp. He could only barely nudge his body a little bit.

    Zu An didn¡¯t feel like answering him. He smacked Ma An with his palm and knocked him out, nning to deal with him after the pill refinement. However, he quickly realized another problem. ¡°But big sis empress, not even Shen Xuzi knows how to work this thing¡­¡±

    He fished out the small green cauldron. To be honest, even though the color was a bit ring, it was quite a nice item.

    ¡°Shen Xuzi wasn¡¯t able to use it because he didn¡¯t have the method.¡± Mi Li¡¯s red-clothed figure appeared. She took the small green cauldron from Zu An and caressed it with her fine fingers. A whileter, she said with a sigh, ¡°But it¡¯s a pity that it¡¯s iplete. However, that¡¯s fine as well. Otherwise, aplete cauldron wouldn¡¯t be the sort of thing you could control with your current strength.¡±

    Zu An felt a bit upset. His Tai¡¯e Sword was sealed, and now this cauldron was also defective. Was his luck actually good or bad

    Of course, there was a more pressing matter at hand. He said, ¡°I¡¯ve actually already given it a try before. This thing doesn¡¯t really seem like a pill furnace.¡±

    ¡°What the hell do you know?¡± Mi Li harrumphed. ¡°The nine cauldrons are the symbols of authority, but they also possess the ability to prepare food. Did you forget your experiences in Yinxu¡¯s dungeon already?¡±

    ¡°I guess you¡¯re right.¡± Zu An nodded. During ancient times, cauldrons were artifacts used to cook; it was just that there were strict rules for the size and amount depending on one¡¯s status.

    ¡°Even though I served as the Shang emperor for so many years, I never gave the nine cauldrons a try.¡± Zu An felt a bit regretful. The nine cauldrons had disappeared during the Qin Dynasty, so they definitely existed in the Shang Dynasty. Unfortunately, the only thing on his mind back then had been how to pass that trial. He had never thought about such things.

    Mi Li shook her head. ¡°The nine cauldrons are too powerful, so there was no way Shang Emperor Wu Geng could recreate all their functions. Even if they did exist in that dungeon, those nine cauldrons would probably still be no different from ordinary cauldrons.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡± Zu An thought to himself, No wonder I never noticed the existence of any formidable nine cauldrons even though I was locked up in Yinxu for so long.

    Mi Li examined the small green cauldron in her hands. ¡°The nine cauldrons were refined by the Xia Dynasty¡¯s Yu the Great, so I believe it should operate through the Xia Dynasty royal family¡¯s technique. However,ter on, the Shang and Zhou Dynasty possessed the nine cauldrons, so ording to normal reasoning, their techniques should be able to activate it too. Use your Heaven Devouring Art or Phoenix Nirvana Sutra and infuse your ki into it.¡±

    Zu An nodded. The Heaven Devouring Sutra¡¯s offensive nature was too powerful, so he used the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra. As his ki flowed in, the small green cauldron suddenly released brilliant radiance.

    The small cauldron was originally covered in bumps. Apart from its eye-catching color, it lookedpletely normal otherwise. Now, after the rays of light surged from it, it was as if there were streaks of faintly discernible light around it. The bumps on the small cauldron seemed to follow some kind of rhythm. Many of them seemed to depict mountains and rivers, as well as other unrecognizable things.

    Mi Li was moved. ¡°Indeed, indeed! ording to the ancient records, the nine cauldrons are adorned with the mountains and rivers of the nine provinces, as well as all kinds of magical things!¡± She had never been able to see the nine cauldrons for herself, even after she became the empress of the Great Qin Dynasty. Who would have thought that she would actually see them for herself here?

    The small cauldron floated in midair, sparkling and translucent. It flowed with brilliant colors, no longer carrying any resemnce to its earlier sorry state. If Shen Xuzi had seen it in this state, he probably wouldn¡¯t have been willing to give it away.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An felt an ancient and grand aura surrounding him, as well as a dignified and profound presence. He was also faced with many scenes he had never seen before. It was as if slides of a film strip were rushing past him at a hundred times speed. In that instant, Zu An felt as if his head were about to explode. He couldn''t make out any of the scenes at all.

    ¡°Focus your mind; gather your ki toward your core!¡± Mi Li¡¯s frantic voice vaguely said in his ears.

    Some time passed, and yet it also felt as if only an instant had gone by. Zu An finally opened his eyes. His head felt as if it were splitting. He discovered that all of his clothes were tattered, and there were small droplets of blooding out of his skin. It was as if all of his fine blood vessels had exploded. He was horrified and eximed, ¡°What is going on?!¡±

    Mi Li said with a sigh, ¡°I believe your cultivation is still too low, and this cauldron is too powerful. Forcefully activating the cauldron will cause a powerful rebound. Fortunately, your body was forged by the Primordial Origin Sutra, so it¡¯s incredibly tough, or else you might have died right here. But it seems you¡¯ve already sessfully obtained the cauldron¡¯s acknowledgment, which means that your misfortune was actually a blessing.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He looked at that small green cauldron. Sure enough, he felt as if they were linked together. ¡°It acknowledged me?¡± he asked, shocked and happy.

    Mi Li harrumphed. ¡°Put on some clothes first. Stop dangling that thing everywhere.¡± At the same time, she turned around to look at Daji, who had turned away. She remarked, ¡°Strange, this woman clearly has no will. Why does she look all shy and embarrassed?¡±

 Chapter 791: Mysterious Power

    <h4>Chapter 791: Mysterious Power</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°It is a bit strange¡­¡± Zu An took out a new set of clothes and changed into them. He looked at Daji. He really found it hard to associate this stunning beauty with history¡¯s greatest enchantress. ¡°If we say that she has a will, then her normal expression is too nk, and she can¡¯t even speak. If we say that she doesn¡¯t have one, then why doesn¡¯t she let me even touch her?¡±

    Mi Li sneered. ¡°You¡¯re just a pervert after all. You want to do some weird things just because she¡¯s pretty.¡±

    ¡°Then why don¡¯t you give it a try?¡± Zu An quickly retorted.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Mi Li rolled her eyes. She didn¡¯t feel like paying him any more attention. ¡°Since you¡¯re now the owner of one of the nine cauldrons, do you know what functions it has?¡±

    Zu An wiped away the blood on his body. Even though his injuries looked frightening, his body was at a level where it didn''t really matter. ¡°I didn¡¯t have time to check before. Let me see¡­¡± He closed his eyes. He linked his mind with that ancient and profound will. A whileter, he opened his eyes again with a strange expression.

    ¡°So?¡± Mi Li asked curiously.

    ¡°The cauldron isn¡¯tplete, so it can only use a small portion of its power. It can be used for pill refinement, and you know the characteristics of its pill refinement as well,¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°I do?¡± Mi Li was baffled. She had never seen the nine cauldrons herself back then, so how could she know?

    ¡°You should have already found out back then when we were with Shen Xuzi. The characteristics of this cauldron are a mix of the Kindhearted, Devil¡¯s, Frugal, Extravagant, and all sorts of other furnaces.¡±

    Mi Li was shocked and surprised. ¡°Then doesn¡¯t that mean itbines all of their benefits?¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡± Zu An also had a big smile on his face. He had already been itching every time Shen Xuzi introduced another furnace. However, they all had their own egos and couldn''t be used together. Yet now, one of the nine cauldrons did precisely that! It let him have everything he wanted.

    He couldn''t help but say, ¡°I wonder if this cauldron has some kind of copying ability and secretly copied the other furnaces¡¯ additional effects.¡±

    However, Mi Li shook her head. ¡°I feel as if it¡¯s the opposite, that those pill furnaces were around this cauldron for a long time and ended up being affected. After all, they weren¡¯t ordinary furnaces themselves, so they were able to produce a portion of this cauldron¡¯s traits. Of course, no matter how special they are, they¡¯re still too far from the nine cauldrons. That¡¯s why they could only inherit a small part of its abilities, and still had all sorts of restrictions.¡±

    ¡°So that was it.¡± Zu An felt her analysis made more sense. He quickly brought out the ingredients he had prepared ahead of time. The imperial hospital had given him a good amount of Sky Crane Root and Red Star Jade, but he only had two stalks of Purple Firmament Flower. It was the two stalks he had gotten from that red dragon¡¯s nest outside Brightmoon City. He¡¯d had a few more stalks before, but unfortunately, they had been wasted in the ordinary medicine furnace.

    ¡°I hope that I can seed this time.¡± Zu An ced the medicines into the cauldron ording to the Ki Condensation Pill form, and then had Daji start the fire.

    Daji¡¯s eyes widened, but that might have just been Zu An¡¯s misperception. There seemed to be a bit of unwillingness in her eyes, but she didn¡¯t refuse. She reached out with her slender hand and surrounded the pill furnace with her foxfire.

    The two were practically in sync right now. He was able to perfectly control the strength of her me. Zu An was quite curious about that. Since they were connected like this, then why couldn''t he sense what she was thinking?

    However, he quickly calmed himself down and began to focus on pill refinement. The cauldron began to sparkle as the foxfire surrounded it, and one could see the ingredients inside being transformed.

    Mi Li couldn''t help but sigh. ¡°This cauldron is top-notch for refining pills after all. The reason why the sess rate of pill refinement is so low is mostly because the process requires tremendous detail. If the amount of ingredients used is even a bit too high or too low, or if the heat is improperly controlled, it can easily result in failure. Only a master alchemist can properly control all of these variables, but you can see the changes to the ingredients inside, so you can adjust things properly. This can save you decades of experiencepared to others!¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression didn¡¯t ease up in the slightest. He said with a grave voice, ¡°This isn¡¯t enough. The me still isn¡¯t enough.¡±

    ¡°Is it because Daji¡¯s cultivation is too low?¡± Mi Li asked with a frown.

    ¡°No.¡± Zu An shook his head. ¡°The feedback I¡¯m getting from the nine cauldron is that something is missing. How do I describe it¡­ It seems to need another type of fire, yet I can¡¯t exactly describe it either.¡±

    ¡°Hm?¡± Mi Li could see the situation inside as well. The ingredients were slowly being cooked, but there was still no change at all. She thought for a bit, and then she realized something. ¡°I understand now. What the nine cauldron needs is probably thebination of yin and yang. Daji¡¯s fox fire is of the yin attribute. If there is only yin, there cannot be life, if there is only yang, there cannot be growth. I believe that another type of yang me needs to be used together with this yin me in order to properly make use of this cauldron.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°But where would I find another me?¡±

    After all, he didn¡¯t awaken an element like other cultivators when he reached the sixth rank. The reason why he was able to use the me element waspletely because he borrowed Daji¡¯s fox fire.

    How was he supposed toe up with another me on the spot?

    If it was any other time, he could take the time to think about it, but he was in the middle of refining a pill right now! He was alreadymitted and couldn''t stop halfway, or else the precious pill would bepletely ruined. He had no idea when he would be able to gather enough ingredients again.

    Mi Li frowned as well, clearly at a loss on this topic. However, she had a lot of experience and quickly thought of a solution.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you awaken a weird bird every time you make a breakthrough with your Phoenix Nirvana Sutra? And then won¡¯t you get a corresponding bizarre ability?¡± Mi Li quickly said.

    Zu An nodded. ¡°Yeah.¡±

    There was no need to hide that from her with their rtionship.

    Mi Li said, ¡°The birds you awakened are Grandgale, Hundredwarble, Blue Mard, Snow Phoenix, and Blue Luan. If my suspicions aren¡¯t wrong, they should be in ordance to the phoenix¡¯s nine children.¡±

    ¡°The phoenix¡¯s nine children?¡± Zu An was stunned.

    Mi Li nodded. ¡°Indeed. It is rumored that the phoenix had nine divine birds as its descendents, each possessing a unique ability. The technique you cultivate is the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, and there just happens to be several birds. It is definitely not a coincidence.¡±

    Zu An had his suspicions as well, but he wasn¡¯t as certain as her.

    Mi Li continued, ¡°If my suspicions aren¡¯t wrong, there is one descendant called the Fire Phoenix, which inherited its ancestor¡¯s mes. If you can awaken this bird, then you can produce a yang fire. If we look at the order, then it shouldn¡¯t be far off.¡±

    Zu An said with a bitter smile, ¡°Now that you mentioned it, it is strange. I always got a new bird ability whenever my cultivation went up a rank, but even though I already reached the eighth rank, there was no new weird bird that showed up.¡±

    Mi Li replied, ¡°There is a fundamental difference between cultivators before the eighth rank and after. I believe that it is because you had just broken through the eighth rank doorstep, and your cultivation hasn¡¯t fully reached a point where you can unlock the Fire Phoenix¡¯s ability.¡±

    ¡°Then there¡¯s nothing we can do about that now.¡± Zu An felt a headache. ¡°How could I increase my cultivation in such a short time?¡±

    He sucked away Ma An¡¯s cultivation just now. He was only at the sixth rank however, so the increase wasn¡¯t much at all.

    Mi Li¡¯s expression became a bit strange. ¡°Did you forget that you have another source of power inside of you?¡±

 Chapter 792: Gold and Fire

    <h4>Chapter 792: Gold and Fire</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An put up his guard. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re going to beat me up?¡±

    The Phoenix Nirvana Sutra increased his cultivation whenever he took a beating. However, he was at the eighth rank right now, so he needed a seemingly endless amount of ki. It wasn¡¯t something that a light beating could fill up.

    Mi Li rolled her eyes. ¡°You¡¯re now so tough I don¡¯t even feel like beating you up. I¡¯m talking about another power. When that Old Mi tried to possess you, his cultivation went inside of you. I sealed that, remember?¡±

    ¡°I do!¡± Zu An¡¯s eyes filled with tears. ¡°You said that it would affect my cultivation foundation and didn¡¯t let me absorb it. I missed out a chance to immediately be amazing! I almost forgot about it after all this time.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, of course I had to interfere to stop you from ruining your own prospects,¡± Mi Li said. ¡°However, you should be able to absorb it now with your current cultivation.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Zu An¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Then wouldn¡¯t I be unstoppable in the capital afterward?¡±

    He had only been around the fifth rank back then. With Old Mi¡¯s cultivation, it would have been enough to take him to the master rank. Now, he was at the eighth rank, so wouldn¡¯t that mean that he would at least reach the peak of the master rank? Or maybe even the grandmaster rank?

    ¡°Is there nothing but crap in that head of yours?¡± This was a way of speaking that Mi Li had learned from him during this period. She found it quite to her liking. ¡°The doorstep from the ninth rank to the master rank is something you still need to cross yourself. Otherwise, it will simrly destroy your future prospects. Furthermore, once you reach the master rank, the increase in strength isn¡¯t purely piling up cultivation, which makes it even less likely that you can jump straight to the grandmaster rank.

    ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯ll undo a third of the seal this time. It should be enough for you to reach the ninth rank, and you¡¯ll be able to awaken a bird.¡±

    Zu An was disappointed. ¡°Only a third?¡±

    ¡°The ninth rank¡­ Who knows how many people get stuck at the eighth rank for the rest of their lives, yet you¡¯re looking down on it,¡± Mi Li said in dissatisfaction.

    Zu An said, ¡°That¡¯s only true if you use an ordinary person¡¯s standard, okay? My goal is to be like those webnovels¡¯ proud and invincible protagonists.¡±

    ¡°What kind of nonsense are you spouting? Do you want it or not?¡± Mi Li asked impatiently.

    ¡°Of course I do.¡± Zu An immediately changed his tone.

    ¡°Then focus.¡± Mi Li floated over to his side.

    Zu An ordered Daji to continue with the foxfire pill refinement. She was capable of acting on her own anyway, so she couldplete the task once she received instructions.

    He calmed himself down. Then, he sensed Mi Li¡¯s finger tap against his chest. Instantly, an incredibly vicious wave of ki appeared in his body. There was no time to think about where Old Mi¡¯s cultivation was hidden, or why he couldn''t sense it all this time. He quickly used the Heaven Devouring Art the way Mi Li told him to and turned that surging ki into his own.

    ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to that Heaven Devouring Art you obtained, or else it¡¯d take an incredibly long time to assimte the cultivation of another. There¡¯s no way it would¡¯ve been as easy as this,¡± Mi Li¡¯s voice said by his ear.

    Zu An nodded. He didn¡¯t dare to be careless now, and focused on refining Old Mi¡¯s ki. He could clearly sense formations appearing in his body one after another. Then, one after another, those formations lit up at a visible rate. The eighth rank¡¯s first step, second step, third step¡­

    When he broke through into the ninth rank, the formations no longer manifested in a specific portion of his body. Instead, his body seemed to have be a vast universe. The formations appeared in that vast expanse one after another. Then, they once again lit up one after another. The ninth rank¡¯s first step, second step¡­

    When it reached the fourth step, Mi Li spoke up. ¡°Enough!¡± Her finger struck out, and then the surging ki instantly disappeared without a trace.

    ¡°Come on, give me a bit more¡­¡± Zu An was still immersed in that feeling. Such a feeling really was too wonderful.

    Mi Li shook her head. ¡°Too much is just as bad as not enough. Even though your absorption ability can help you increase your strength rapidly, your foundation can easily grow unstable. You sucked away all of Mosquito Daoist¡¯s cultivation not too long ago as well, so you can¡¯t take in too much right now. This should be the limit before your foundation is damaged.¡±

    Zu An was a bit reluctant, but he trusted her judgment.

    ¡°What level is your cultivation at now?¡± Mi Li asked.

    Zu An replied, ¡°The ninth rank¡¯s fourth step.¡±

    Mi Li nodded. ¡°Not bad. The eighth rank allows one to harmonize with the force of the world, while the ninth rank can already start to temper the soul. You¡¯re now capable of short term flight, and you can wield things with your mind. That sword controlling technique Han Fengqiu used before was precisely one of the ninth rank¡¯s abilities. Of course, different cultivators can control different things. Some control swords, some control des, and some other things. You need to explore your ownbat style on your own.¡±

    ¡°I can control flying swords?!¡± Zu An¡¯s eyes lit up. How badass did those sword controlling masters look in those TV dramas? He subconsciously reached out his hand toward Daji, and then the golden hairpin she wore appeared in his hand. Daji gave him a look, but there wasn¡¯t any reaction.

    Mi Li was speechless. ¡°Your first reaction is to use it to take advantage of girls? You really are a shameless pervert.¡±

    Zu An chuckled in embarrassment. ¡°I just wanted to test it out. By the way, why do I feel as if that force was a bit hard to control?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s something that you need to slowly get used to. As your cultivation increases, the farther you¡¯ll be able to extend this skill, and the greater the strength you can exert. However, the degree of control and precision will depend on you. It¡¯s not something that can be improved purely through increasing your cultivation,¡± Mi Li said.

    Zu An couldn''t help but ask, ¡°Then doesn¡¯t that mean that someone at the first step of the ninth rank can be even more precise than one at the peak of the ninth rank?¡±

    Mi Li nodded. ¡°There is a chance in theory, but aren¡¯t all cultivators who can reach the ninth rank geniuses to begin with? Which one of them would let someone else defeat them in that aspect like this? Furthermore, this control not only relies on talent; it also depends on battlefield experience across the different cultivation ranks.¡±

    Then, her expression became serious. ¡°Your cultivation rose too quickly, so you¡¯re far from other cultivators in this aspect. Forget about a ninth rank¡¯s telekinesis ability; you probably can¡¯t evenpare to a normal eighth rank in terms of borrowing the world¡¯s strength. Your father-inw, and that Cash Warrior who tried to assassinate you on your way to the capital¡­ Even though their cultivation realms were ordinary, their technique and grasp over these areas left even me surprised.¡±

    Zu An knew that what she¡¯d said was true. Even though hisbat strength wasn¡¯t low, it was because he had relied on all manner of miraculous cheats. In terms of fundamentals, he was far inferior to those who had already remained at their cultivation realm for decades.

    Mi Li was satisfied to see that he wasn¡¯t behaving as frivolously as usual. She knew that he understood what she was saying. ¡°But there¡¯s no need to rush these matters; it¡¯ll take time. Why don¡¯t we check to see if you¡¯ve awakened any of those birds first?¡±

    Zu An realized that as well with a start. He immediately examined himself and saw that all the diagrams of the seventhyer had lit up, forming a new diagram. It had a chicken head, a fish tail, a snake neck, and a tortoise shell. It was dazzling gold in color. It looked simr to the phoenix he had seen in his previous world¡¯s media.

    He quickly looked at the right corner. Golden lines interweaved to form two simple characters: Golden Phoenix!

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°It¡¯s not the Fire Phoenix?¡± Zu An felt a bit disappointed. He had been aiming for the Fire Phoenix so he could continue his pill refinement.

    When she heard what he said, Mi Li sighed as well. ¡°The nine descendants of the phoenix have never been ordered. There have been all sorts of sayings. Some say that the Golden Phoenix is ranked fourth. Looks like you¡¯ll have to wait for your next breakthrough to get the Fire Phoenix. There¡¯s nothing that can be done about the ingredients this time. We¡¯ll just gather them again in the future.¡±

    Zu An felt that this was a letdown as well. After all, these ingredients weren¡¯t easy to gather, especially the Purple Firmament Flower. It was something not even the imperial hospital had. He had no idea when he would find more again.

    He was feeling disappointed, but he suddenly said, ¡°Hold on!¡± He sensed some formation threads flickering inside of him. A new strange bird diagram was being formed.

    Only now did he remember that the Golden Phoenix should have appeared during his eighth rank breakthrough. The reason it had never appeared was because he¡¯d needed to advance to a certain level of the eighth rank first. Now, he was already at the ninth rank¡¯s fourth step, so he had probably satisfied the conditions for the bird to appear for his ninth rank breakthrough.

    Zu An couldn''t make out this weird bird¡¯s exact appearance; he could only see mes. He could only vaguely make out feathers at their center.

    Its name was written next to it in a few strands of me: Fire Phoenix!

 Chapter 793: Birds Resemble Their Master

    <h4>Chapter 793: Birds Resemble Their Master</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°There were two birds at once?¡± Zu An was pleasantly surprised. Happiness really dide suddenly, to the extent where he had a bit of disbelief.

    Mi Li was much calmer inparison. ¡°You rose two ranks in quick session recently, so it¡¯s within reason that you awakened two birds. I almost thought that you would need to reach the peak of that cultivation realm to get one after the eighth rank; this situation is much better than what I anticipated. Right, take a look and tell me what kinds of abilities you got from those two birds.¡±

    ¡°Okay!¡± Zu An nodded. He closed his eyes and began to examine them. Then, he suddenly opened his eyes and said with a strange expression, ¡°The Fire Phoenix has the Phoenix Fire, the world¡¯s most sacred fire that embodies both destruction and benevolence. As for the Golden Phoenix... The Golden Phoenix...¡±

    Mi Li became annoyed when she saw him mumble like that. ¡°What about the Golden Phoenix?¡±

    The Golden Phoenix had always been an auspicious creature. Since it was the symbol of grandeur and elegance, it was always used as a decoration for theurels of the empress. Mi Li had a favorable impression of the Golden Phoenix, which was why she became more and more curious about what kind of ability the Golden Phoenix had.

    Zu An replied, ¡°The Golden Phoenix is of the metal attribute. Its ability is ¡®Love is more solid than gold¡¯. It... It can awaken a girl¡¯s lust and make her unable to help but love you.¡±

    Mi Li was speechless. She subconsciously took a step back, and then scoffed, ¡°Hmph, looks like the bird is just like its master. Even a glorious phoenix ended up bing a good-for-nothing because of you.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression became gloomy. ¡°It¡¯s not as if this is something I have any control over...¡±

    Mi Li harrumphed. ¡°Is there a prerequisite for this thing? Or is there a restriction on the target¡¯s cultivation?¡±

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not sure... There¡¯s no description of it. I have to slowly examine it on my own in the future.¡±

    Mi Li took another step back. She eximed with a somewhat unnatural expression, ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to use that thing on me!¡±

    Zu An snorted. ¡°I¡¯m a real man, and I¡¯m so handsome too. Girls love me! The girls around me are all stunning, so why the heck do I need to use this kind of thing to get girls?¡±

    Mi Li had to admit that was true. ¡°Your luck with girls really is pretty good.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because I¡¯m handsome!¡± Zu An stuck out his chest. ¡°Furthermore, what are you so scared of anyway? You¡¯re just a soul.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s none of your business. Either way, just don¡¯t use it on me.¡± Mi Li red at him.

    Zu An dropped his frivolity and said seriously, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t.¡±

    Mi Li sighed in relief. ording to their interactions thus far, she knew he wasn¡¯t lying. A faint smile appeared on her lips.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s refine the medicine first. You have to make sure you control the power of the fire. Don¡¯t let the ingredients get burned,¡± Mi Li warned. She wasn¡¯t scared of anything happening to this cauldron.

    Zu An nodded, and then slowly spread out his arms. A golden me appeared in the center of his palm. The entire room immediately became much hotter.

    Mi Li frowned. Her sleeves brushed outward, sending flickering runes all around them. ¡°I¡¯ve already set up a formation here so the things around us won¡¯t get destroyed by the mes. It¡¯ll also keep the mes¡¯ aura from leaking out and rming the capital¡¯s experts.¡±

    Zu An voiced his surprise. Mi Li really was a mysterious person. He could only be grateful that he¡¯d had that Heiress Ball of Delights back then when he faced her. He didn¡¯t dare to be distracted, so he quickly sent a strand of the golden mes around the cauldron. It formed a stark contrast to Daji¡¯s blue fox fire.

    Since he was already in sync with Daji right now, he could perfectly control the strength of the two mes, making them reach the optimal level of harmony. Due to the experience of using the foxfire, he had great proficiency with the Phoenix Fire. He saw the contents of the cauldron quickly melt, and then he continued to manipte the size of the mes ording to the Ki Condensation Pill form¡¯s procedures while gradually adding all sorts of auxiliary ingredients.

    The ingredientspletely turned to liquid. Then, ki surrounded the liquid so it wouldn¡¯t evaporate. The different types of liquid merged, and their impurities were removed. Their essencesbined together and reacted to each other.

    Mi Li warned from the side, ¡°Be careful, not even an experienced alchemist¡¯s sess rate can exceed fifty percent, let alone a newbie like you.¡±

    As if to prove what she had just said, the different types of liquid wrapped in ki suddenly shook violently, as if everything might copse at any moment.

    Drops of sweat trickled down Zu An¡¯s forehead. ¡°This is bad; I can¡¯t control it!¡±

    Mi Li also looked nervous, but there was nothing she could do.

    Suddenly, the cauldron flickered with green light. A strand of ancient energy surrounded the liquid. Then, the restless liquids miraculously calmed down and merged together, forming a smooth and round pill. A medicinal fragrance that refreshed the mind wafted out from within.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Mi Li¡¯s brows unfolded. ¡°Sess! Looks like the fifty percent sess rate increase kicked in. You can take the pill out.¡±

    ¡°Wait, I think there¡¯s something else happening.¡± Zu An quickly stopped her.

    Mi Li looked at the cauldron in confusion. She saw green light flicker across it, and then several faint auras surrounded the pill medicine. After that, the lights dimmed. When she checked it again, she saw that there was an identical pill right next to it.

    ¡°The double pill chance happened! This is the effect of the Extravagant Furnace!¡± Mi Li was pleasantly surprised.

    ¡°Shen Xuzi¡¯s Extravagant Furnace needed fifty percent more ingredients for this chance, but I only prepared a single portion of the ingredients!¡± Zu An eximed, puzzled.

    Mi Li smiled. ¡°The Extravagant Furnace only awakened that ability because of this cauldron, so it was weakened. You managed to save half of the ingredients with this cauldron. What, you¡¯re not satisfied with that?¡±

    ¡°Of course I¡¯m happy about this.¡± Zu An was overjoyed. He opened up the cauldron lid and removed the two red pills. Each pill had faint patterns on it.

    Mi Li sighed in amazement. ¡°They actually possess innate pill marks too. The pills a newbie like you made were actually of the highest grade.¡±

    ¡°Pill marks?¡± Zu An asked, confused.

    Mi Li exined, ¡°Many pills, once refined, are unable to reach the theoretical level of perfection. They suffer various types of damage during the refining process. But when the pill quality is high enough, innate pill marks will form on its surface. Only those legendary pill kings can asionally make pills of this level, yet you actually seeded on your first try! Looks like it¡¯s probably because of this cauldron.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but examine the cauldron again. Mi Li was stunned and asked, ¡°What are you looking for?¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°There was a Frugal Furnace that could return some ingredients too, but I don¡¯t see anything here. There was a Mischievous Furnace in Shen Xuzi¡¯s collection that would add a property, but I didn¡¯t sense any additional traits added to these two pills.¡±

    Mi Li couldn''t help but scold him, ¡°Hey, how can you be that greedy? Is double the pills not enough for you? In my opinion, the material return and double pill effects probably can¡¯t happen at the same time, and only one of them will appear. Just be happy with the result already; the chance of getting twice the pills is lower than the chance of material returns. Furthermore, adding random properties isn¡¯t reliable. Having a negative effect added to this Ki Condensation Pill could only ruin it.¡±

    Zu An figured that made sense as well. The main reason he was doing this was to raise Daji¡¯s skill rank. Ki Condensation Pills were one of the essential materials for that. It would be bad if something ended up affecting that process.

    ¡°Daji,e here!¡± Zu An gestured toward the gorgeous woman. Daji walked over gracefully. He dangled that Ki Condensation Pill in front of her and said, ¡°Go a bit lower; open your mouth.¡±

    Daji was stunned. Then, she slowly knelt down in front of him and raised her head. Her red lips parted slightly. Herrge and beautiful eyes looked straight into his. This was a gaze that could melt even the toughest steel.

    Zu An was speechless. I only told you to go down a bit lower. You don¡¯t have to assume that position, right? He felt his entire body heat up. There was an uncontroble impulse within him as well. This woman really is a vixen. I¡¯m just feeding you; do you have to make it so sexual?

 Chapter 794: The Shadow Groupâ€™s Master

    <h4>Chapter 794: The Shadow Group¡¯s Master</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Mi Li waspletely speechless. She harrumphed in annoyance. ¡°She¡¯s nothing but a vixen after all. She still seduces men by instinct even if she doesn¡¯t have a soul!¡±

    Daji seemed as if she hadn¡¯t heard anything and continued to kneel like that in front of Zu An, her gorgeous eyes staring pitifully at him.

    Mi Li looked at Zu An with an ambiguous smile. ¡°How much longer are you going to make her maintain that stance? Should I leave and let the two of you have your fun first?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face heated up. He quickly calmed himself down and sent the two Ki Condensation Pills into Daji¡¯s mouth. However, he didn¡¯t know if it was intentional or not, but her tongue seemed to have touched his fingers when she took the pills.

    Zu An felt his blood begin to boil. However, he wasn¡¯t some inexperienced kid, so he quickly calmed himself down. He took out the four dragon scales that he had already prepared beforehand, asking, ¡°What do I do with this? Do I have to make her eat them too?¡±

    Raising Daji¡¯s Fox Charm from the first to second level needed two Ki Condensation Pills, four dragon scales, and ten thousand silver. He really didn¡¯t understand why silver was needed. Who was he even paying here?

    ¡°How should I know?¡± Mi Li snorted. She turned around in a somewhat rigid manner. She thought to herself, This fe¡¯s zodiac sign is definitely a donkey, and that girl is just a good-for-nothing slut.

    Zu An checked the system. It didn¡¯t exin the exact process.

    Daji slowly stood up. Her beautiful snow-white cheeks seemed to be a bit more rosy after swallowing the two pills, making her appear even more stunning. She took the four dragon scales from Zu An, and then she ced the scales north, south, east, and west of her. Then, she reached out toward Zu An with her fair, jade-like palm, looking at him with her pitiful eyes again.

    Mi Li frowned. Did this woman really not have a soul? Her eyes looked very much alive! There was no difference from an ordinary person at all! But she had checked Daji¡¯s body before, and she couldn''t sense any soul inside.

    Zu An realized what was happening and took out a ten thousand silver note, asking, ¡°Is this what you want?¡± However, Daji didn¡¯t take it, and continued to stare at him.

    Mi Li said, ¡°I think she needs ten thousand silver taels and not a silver note. Silver is probably the medium for some kind of mysterious power, or maybe it¡¯s the energy source she needs to begin with.¡± Her cultivation was profound, after all, and she had read extensively in the past. She quickly reached that conclusion.

    Zu An realized what she was saying as well. He took out ten thousand silver taels from his Brilliant ss Bead¡¯s storage. He had the treasure he had taken from the red dragon¡¯s nest, and there were also all of the goods he had been awarded in the imperial pce. Ten thousand silver taels weren¡¯t too difficult to bring out.

    Sure enough, Daji took the silver taels when he brought them out. She arranged the silver in a ring around her, and then sat down at the very center. They could sense the aura of the Ki Condensation Pillsing out of her body. Then, streaks of light swirled about. Four dragon scales lit up, and then the outer ring of silver also started to shine.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Is this a ripple of ki, or something else?¡± Zu An asked Mi Li out of curiosity. He could sense a strange aura. It wasn¡¯t quite like ki, but it wasn¡¯t primordial energy either.

    Mi Li shook her head. ¡°This is probably a type of cultivation we don¡¯t understand. Sigh, the universe is so great; there are too many things that are worth exploring.¡± A zealous look appeared in her eyes as she spoke.

    Zu An had almost forgotten that this woman was also a bookworm! After all, anyone who could read through the Qin royal family¡¯s entire library was definitely not messing around.

    The silver around Daji slowly disappeared, and it was hard to describe how it was vanishing. It didn¡¯t disappear instantly, nor did it dissolve bit by bit. It was as if it were disappearing without anyone¡¯s notice. It was the same for the dragon scales.

    Eventually, everything disappeared. There were rings of smoke around Daji, as if her entire body were immersed in mist. The smoke quickly lessened, in the end seemingly merging into Daji. Her eyes had already opened.

    Zu An was startled. He could already sense the improvement in Daji¡¯s skill.

    Fox Charm, level two. It allowed her to temporarily control a target of the same cultivation level.

    ¡°I hope this is enough.¡± Zu An was a bit nervous. This wasn¡¯t a videogame where he could see Ma An¡¯s exact cultivation. He had to guess.

    Mi Li said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, their cultivation was about the same, and Ma An was already almost controlled before, so I don¡¯t believe their cultivation levels are too different. I¡¯m sure Daji¡¯s skill will work now.¡±

    Zu An became more confident when he heard the assurance in her voice. He dragged Ma An over and undid his seal. Then, he poured a bucket of cold water over him.

    ¡°Who, what?!¡± Ma An¡¯s consciousness wasn¡¯t too clear right after he woke up. However, the weakness he felt from his body made him gradually recall what had happened. He did his best to remain calm. ¡°You should just give up; you won¡¯t obtain any useful information from my mouth! But if you let me go, I guess I can just let bygones be bygones. I¡¯ll just let today¡¯s matter go.¡±

    ¡°Do you think I¡¯m an idiot, or are you an idiot? Do you really think I¡¯ll believe something like that?¡± Zu An rolled his eyes.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t believe me, then I can use a secret acupuncture method that will make me forget about the things that happened today. That¡¯s why there won¡¯t be any danger for you.¡± Ma An quickly said. His instinct to survive was making him exert himself like this onest time.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to go through all that trouble.¡± Zu An waved his hands and gestured for Daji toe over.

    Ma An harrumphed when he saw the gorgeous woman. ¡°You still want to use her against me? Forget it...¡± Suddenly, he was stunned halfway through his sentence. The only thing left in his world were her beautiful eyes, her every frown and smile.

    ¡°It seeded!¡± Mi Li said excitedly when she saw Ma An. With her experience, she was able to tell that his will had beenpletely controlled.

    Zu An sighed in relief. He quickly asked who the one behind Ma An was.

    Ma An shook his head somewhat rigidly. ¡°It isn¡¯t King Qi; it¡¯s master.¡±

    ¡°Who is your master?¡± Zu An frowned. Why had Ma An called him master?

    ¡°Master is from the Shadow Group,¡± Ma An instinctively replied.

    ¡°Shadow Group!¡± Zu An was rmed. This wasn¡¯t the first time he had heard that name. Back then, Qiao Xueying had also mentioned this organization. For the sake of saving her nsmen, she had joined the Shadow Group, and he had also faced their assassins in the past himself. He only knew that this was one of the world¡¯s most mysterious organizations.

    ¡°Who is the master of the Shadow Group?¡± Zu An immediately asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Ma An¡¯s eyes were expressionless. ¡°The Shadow Group¡¯s master has never revealed his true appearance to others; he has always been shrouded within a dark mist. No one in this world knows his true identity.¡±

    Zu An frowned. ¡°Then what else do you know about him?¡±

    Ma An replied, ¡°My guess is that he might be someone in the imperial pce.¡±

    ¡°Someone in the imperial pce?¡± Zu An had only been asking about the master out of curiosity, and didn¡¯t care that much about who he was. After all, no matter how mysterious he was, he was only the boss of an assassin organization. He didn¡¯t have much of an influence on the court.

    Yet now, when he heard the other party might actually be someone from the imperial pce, he immediately felt a chill run down his back. He had spent this recent period in the imperial pce after all, yet he didn¡¯t sense anyone who could be the master of the Shadow Group.

    What was even more appalling was that the imperial pce was the emperor¡¯s domain. The Shadow Group had actually managed to hide in the pce under the emperor¡¯s very eyes?

    That meant that one possibility was that the master of the Shadow Group was someone working for the emperor. But if this was the case, why would they ept the mission to assassinate Zu An? Back then, the emperor had been waiting for Zu An¡¯s Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, so the chances of the two of them being on the same side weren¡¯t too great.

    This meant that there could only be one possibility, which was that the Shadow Group¡¯s master had a different status that allowed him to stay in the imperial pce properly. Only then could he avoid drawing the emperor¡¯s suspicion.

    But who was this person? Eunuch Wen? Zhuxie Chixin? The Empress? Eunuch Lu? Guo Zhi? What about the crown princess, or Concubine Bai? Or maybe it was a in pce maid or guard?

    Faces appeared in Zu An¡¯s mind one after another. It was to the extent that even the ordinary Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun appeared in his head.

    Zu An felt goosebumps. He knew that if there really was this sort of powerful figure in the pce with him, then that expert might have his eyes on him 24/7. None of his movements would escape notice...

    It was one thing if his identity as Golden Token Eleven were exposed. But he had helped Qiao Xueying and Hong Qiulei leave, and then he had saved Yun Jianyue; furthermore, he had even spent a night with the empress... Even one of these deeds was enough to have him killed many times over. If the other party knew about these things, then they would have him by the throat. Wouldn¡¯t his life or death bepletely decided by that person¡¯s whims?

 Chapter 795: All-Element Proficiency

    <h4>Chapter 795: All-Element Proficiency</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Sensing his intense changes in emotions, Mi Li said, ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to be too worried. There weren¡¯t any suspicious individuals around when you were with Yun Jianyue and when you yed around with the empress.¡±

    Zu An finally released a sigh of relief when he heard what she had said. Even though he had also been using the jade badge to examine his surroundings, this was the world¡¯s most mysterious assassin organization, after all. He really found it hard to believe that the other party didn¡¯t have other ways to spy on him.

    But now that Mi Li had said that, he sighed in relief. Mi Li¡¯s cultivation was far beyond that of an ordinary person. No matter how formidable the Shadow Group¡¯s master was, he wouldn¡¯t have surpassed Mi Li at her peak.

    He recalled that for better or for worse, Yun Jianyue was also a grandmaster. She hadn¡¯t noticed anything strange either, so those things they had done probably didn¡¯t reach the ears of the Shadow Group¡¯s master.

    However, he didn¡¯t dare to act carelessly. He had only been a nobody back then, so the Shadow Group¡¯s master might not have cared. However, he had already climbed his way up in that time, already drawing the attention of severalrge powers, so the Shadow Group was definitely paying attention to him. He had to be more careful in the future.

    Zu An then asked a bit about the Shadow Group¡¯s intelligence, but Ma An didn¡¯t know too much. As he had already asked about almost everything he could, he began to wrap things up. ¡°Does anyone else know about what happened here between us?¡± He had to confirm that, or else if he didn¡¯t take care of it, wouldn¡¯t everything about him be exposed?

    Ma An replied listlessly, ¡°I don¡¯t have many friends, nor have I trusted anyone. Furthermore, I only came to confirm my suspicions, so I didn¡¯t tell anyone. However, just in case, I left a note in my notebook that I would pay Zu An a visit today. If something happens to me, everyone in the pce will know that the one who killed me was Zu An.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. This guy really is extremely treacherous! Thank goodness I asked about this, or else I would¡¯ve been finished! He quickly asked about where the note was, and then finished Ma An off. Even though Zu An didn¡¯t like to kill, he wouldn¡¯t show any mercy toward someone who tried to take his life.

    Ma An fell limply to the ground. Two porcin bottles, one ck and one white, rolled out from inside his clothes. The ck bottle had the words ¡®Frozen Soul¡¯ inscribed on it, while the white bottle had the word ¡®Antidote¡¯.

    Zu An picked up the ck bottle. It was extremely cold to the touch. Mi Li floated over and said, ¡°This is probably the basis for Ma An¡¯s confidence, since he can even poison a master rank cultivator. It was just that he had no idea that you had just made a breakthrough in the Primordial Origin Sutra, so you were already immune to most poisons.¡±

    Zu An looked at that candle that was still burning. He thought to himself, This Ma An really is quite unlucky. Mi Li was a spirit-like existence, while he was mysterious. Otherwise, if the two really had been poisoned, Ma An might have at least had the power to negotiate a bit.

    Mi Li stretched out her body, revealing her seductive curves. She yawned and said, ¡°All of this has made me tired. I¡¯m going to sleep.¡±

    After being around her for so long, Zu An knew that the reason Mi Li needed to sleep so much was partly because she needed to stabilize the Red Tears of Lady Xiang, while the other reason was because she didn¡¯t have a body. Her spiritual state was actually quite taxing with prolonged use, so she needed to sleep to replendish her energy.

    Zu An had even bought a bed for her and ced it in the Tai¡¯e Sword¡¯s storage. He didn¡¯t know if her spirit body could sleep on a bed or not.

    Just as Mi Li was about to leave, she suddenly thought of something and said, ¡°Right, judging from what I¡¯ve seen regarding the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra¡¯s birds, you¡¯re mainly using their distinctive traits.¡±

    ¡°Is there something wrong with that?¡± Zu An was confused.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Not at all; it¡¯s actually quite a ridiculous asset,¡± Mi Li said. She continued in a dignified manner, ¡°I¡¯ve been wondering why you couldn¡¯t awaken any element despite reaching the sixth rank. I originally thought that it was because of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, that you could only awaken one when you reach a higher level. But you¡¯ve already reached the ninth rank now, yet you still haven¡¯t obtained any elemental ability. Furthermore, there¡¯s a strange bird that appears whenever you make a breakthrough. I finally realized why that was.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Zu An quickly asked. Other cultivators all had different elements to y with; only he alone hadn¡¯t awakened any element and had to rely on only his body. That really was quite embarrassing.

    Mi Li sighed. ¡°It¡¯s because you¡¯ve already awakened elemental abilities; it¡¯s just that you¡¯ve never realized it. Otherwise, don¡¯t you think you cultivated the Snowke Sword a bit too quickly?¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°Isn¡¯t it normal for a talented genius like me to cultivate quickly?¡±

    Mi Li was speechless. She ignored what he said and continued, ¡°The Snowke Sword is an ice element battle skill. ording to normal reason, you could only get so far without awakening the ice element no matter how great your aptitude. However, you can still perform the Snowke Sword pretty well, to the extent where you can even release some of the sword skill¡¯s innate ice power.¡±

    Zu An also began to think to himself. ¡°It¡¯s probably because I used the Snow Phoenix¡¯s power, right¡­¡±

    Mi Li cut him off. ¡°It¡¯s not the Snow Phoenix¡¯s power, but rather the Snow Phoenix¡¯s ice attribute that granted you the foundation to use ice element skills. For example, when you cultivated the me de, you needed Daji¡¯s foxfire. However, now that you have the Fire Phoenix, I believe you can use it even without Daji¡¯s ability.¡±

    Zu An felt an urge to try it out. He used the me de¡¯s skill, but he deliberately chose not to borrow Daji¡¯s power. A me de appeared in his palm, and it was a dazzling gold, no different from the color of the Fire Phoenix.

    ¡°Do you understand now?¡± Mi Li continued, ¡°Every single bird is of a different attribute. For example, Grandgale is wind, Hundredwarble is spirit, Blue Mard is water, Snow Phoenix is ice, Blue Luan is wood, Golden Phoenix is metal, Fire Phoenix is fire¡­

    ¡°This means that it makes sense that you didn¡¯t awaken a specific element, because you¡¯ve awakened every single element. It¡¯s just that you¡¯re different from others in the sense that you can use them as soon as you awaken the respective ability, but you still have to practice skills rted to the different methods in order to develop them.¡±

    Zu An immediately became overjoyed. ¡°So that was what happened! Hahaha, what did I say? It¡¯s way too embarrassing if the protagonist doesn¡¯t have all the elements, hahaha!¡±

    ¡°Did you go insane?¡± Mi Li was speechless when she saw how crazily he wasughing.

    ¡°I just got a bit excited.¡± Zu An chuckled.

    Mi Li nodded in understanding. ¡°Cultivators have almost always only had one element, ever since ancient times. asionally, if there were any who were proficient in two elements, that was already considered ridiculous. Someone like you who can use all the elements ispletely unheard of, so it¡¯s extremely normal for you to be a bit excited.

    ¡°But I advise you to keep this a secret, or else you¡¯ll draw the jealousy of all cultivators. Those who are nicer might capture you for research; those who are more evil will want to get rid of you as soon as possible and kill you before you can grow stronger.¡±

    Zu An was unhappy. ¡°But I already found my dao, that a real man should face everything head on and be the strongest!¡±

    Mi Li rolled her eyes. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with biding your time for now? There were countless strong individuals throughout history, but those who only knew how to charge forward all ended up dying miserably. I don¡¯t care if you die, but don¡¯t drag me down with you.¡±

    Zu An felt this girl really was a tsundere. She clearly cares about me, yet she just has to make it sound like she¡¯s only doing it for herself. He became a bit upset and said, ¡°Then do I have to endure everything, and just swallow the humiliation if someone bullies me?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s different. If anyone tries to take advantage of you, then just find a way to beat them up. As long as you¡¯ve thought about the consequences, of course. Don¡¯t let the entire world find out that you¡¯ve awakened all of the elements,¡± Mi Li replied.

    Zu An nodded. ¡°I understand. I shouldn¡¯t show everything, or if I do, then I have to make sure that person doesn¡¯t live to see tomorrow. That way, nothing will be exposed.¡±

    Mi Li was speechless. She eventually remarked, ¡°You really are an evil little bastard.¡±

    ¡°Big sis empress, who are you learning from? You shouldn¡¯t say dirty things like that,¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°From you,¡± Mi Li retorted. It was now Zu An¡¯s turn to be speechless.

    ¡°That¡¯s why, if you have the chance to cultivate skills of other elements, it will be beneficial to your strength. Alright, I¡¯m not gonna chat with you anymore. I¡¯m going to get dark circles if I don¡¯t sleep now¡­¡± Mi Li yawned, and then disappeared into the Tai¡¯e Sword.

    Zu An began to think. He had the Snowke Sword for the ice element, and he had the me de for the fire element. What about the other elements?

    I¡¯ll ask Zheng Dan about the water element, Snow for the wood element, and as for the spirit element¡­ Oh, Yun Yuqing just happens to be the spirit element, haha! I¡¯m a genius! A male lion is going to be surrounded by lionesses after all.

    But what about wind and metal? Do I have any beauties around me who have awakened these two elements? Sigh, I was getting all cocky, but it looks like this is going to be quite the struggle.

    All of this is for the sake of cultivation! Yup, that¡¯s definitely it!

 Chapter 796: Another One Who Wants to Silence Him

    <h4>Chapter 796: Another One Who Wants to Silence Him</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An waved his palm. The phoenix¡¯s mes covered Ma An, quickly burning him to ashes. Had been nning to leave after dealing with Ma An, but he gave the quietly seated Daji a look and asked with a chuckle, ¡°So, do you want to take a nap together?¡±

    Daji silently looked away, wordlessly rejecting him.

    ¡°Why did you tempt me then, if you had none of those intentions?¡± Zu An grumbled. He stored her away and changed into his Golden Token Eleven uniform before walking toward the imperial pce under the cover of night.

    There was a curfew at night, and there were guards patrolling everywhere. There were even Embroidered Envoys walking around from time to time. The uniform saved him a ton of trouble. Not only did the Embroidered Envoys who ran into him not question him, they only nodded toward him in greeting from afar.

    Only when he reached the pce gates was his identity inspected. Zu An handed the guard his waist token. He sighed. The golden token envoy¡¯s identity really was too useful. After all, no matter how much a normal subject was favored, they weren¡¯t allowed to pass through the pce gates once they closed. If there was something urgent where they absolutely had toe back, they had to contact the emperor¡¯s pce first.

    It was much easier for Embroidered Envoys toe and go. For normal Embroidered Envoys,ing and going in the middle of the night was still troublesome, but he was currently a golden token envoy at the highest rank, so he had much more authority.

    Once he entered the pce, Zu An maintained a hundred and twenty percent of his vignce. He used the jade badge¡¯s ability to check his surroundings for any suspicious activity. The Shadow Group¡¯s master was hiding somewhere in the imperial pce, so he didn¡¯t dare to act carelessly.

    He returned to his residence and changed into a different set of clothes, then put on a mask. Then, he rushed to Ma An¡¯s residence. After spending some time in the pce, he knew where the residences of the imperial hospital¡¯s staff were. Inside the imperial pce, the emperor¡¯s pce and the chambers of the imperial concubines had the strictest security. The residences of the other maids, eunuchs, and doctors were much less secure.

    With Zu An¡¯s current cultivation, he easily snuck inside. Once he was in Ma An¡¯s residence, Zu An found the notebook based on the earlier description of where it was. Sure enough, recorded inside was the matter of Ma An seeking out Zu An today.

    He looked through the notebook for more information, thinking he might find something useful. Unfortunately, there were only records about the health checkups of visiting nobles, insights regarding medicine, which doctors weren¡¯t easy to deal with, and other such things.

    Suddenly, Zu An became vignt. He quickly put away the notebook and hid behind a bed curtain.

    A nearby window opened silently at almost the same time, and a ck-d individual rushed in. The instant they came in, they charged toward the bed, ripping through the covers with their w-like hands. The pillows inside were torn to shreds.

    ¡°Hm?¡± The ck-d individual voiced their surprise. They quickly pulled back the covers and saw that there were only pillows inside. Ma An was nowhere to be seen.

    Zu An, who was hiding in the shadows, was surprised. Judging from the speed and technique this person had just disyed, they were definitely an expert among experts! At the same time, he was curious. Who was it that wanted Ma An dead? There really was something wrong with this guy¡¯s character. He actually had so many people after his life.

    He suddenly thought of something. If this person could move freely inside the imperial pce and even had such a powerful cultivation, then who else could this be but someone from the Shadow Group?

    The ck-d individual quickly searched through the room, clearly searching for something.

    Zu An gathered his focus and concentrated. The room wasn¡¯t big, so the other party would soon find this ce. That was why he needed to seize the opportunity and strike first. His figure shed, and his palm struck at the other party.

    The ck-d individual didn¡¯t expect someone to be hiding in the room, but they reacted quickly. Their body moved strangely, barely avoiding the fatal strike at the crucial moment. Then, they retaliated with a palm.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Both palms met, and both parties couldn''t help but be shocked.

    The ck-d individual was frightened and asked, ¡°Who are you?¡± This person wasn¡¯t Ma An! How could Ma An possibly have nine ranks of cultivation?!

    Zu An became more and more confident. After his cultivation had increased, it was enough to face a ninth rank directly after all. Furthermore, he hadn¡¯t gone all out. He was confident he couldpletely capture this person.

    The other party¡¯s voice was extremely strange, as if their voice had been deliberately altered for fear of revealing their identity. Zu An became more and more curious, asking, ¡°And who are you?¡±

    The ck-d individual snorted. Killing intent shed through their eyes. Power surged around them, then their hands struck at Zu An¡¯s vitals like the ws of a hawk.

    Zu An was shocked. This person had been holding back earlier as well! Their real cultivation was at the peak of the ninth rank!

    In a proper duel, both sides could hide their skills and test out their opponent first, making them use their trump cards, and then use their own ultimate moves to take the other party out. But no one would do that in the imperial pce. There was an emperor overseeing this ce, and there were many guards and Embroidered Envoys patrolling around. That was why one had to quickly deal with their opponent, so one would always go all out.

    Zu An didn¡¯t treat this matter carelessly and quickly focused his attention.

    The two tacitly chose not to use elemental abilities for fear of alerting the emperor. Even though they didn¡¯t use elemental abilities, their attacks were still fierce and vicious. Every attack was aimed at the opponent¡¯s vital point without a shred of mercy.

    Zu An was still a bit unustomed to his new strength, as he had just reached the ninth rank. In fact, he hadn¡¯t even fully adapted to his eighth rank cultivation yet. However, ever since he had arrived in this world, he had constantly fought on the brink of life and death several times. He had already experienced many desperate battles.

    Together with his Primordial Origin Sutra¡¯s powerful regeneration, he could just fight while exchanging damage for damage. The Phoenix Nirvana Sutra would also increase his cultivation the more damage he took.

    That was why he was left at a disadvantage in the first twenty to thirty moves, and blood sttered all over his clothes. But after thirty moves, he gradually regained some ground, getting on even footing with his opponent. By the time they exchanged forty to fifty moves, he had already gradually obtained the advantage.

    The ck-d individual became more and more shocked. Why was this person¡¯s body so tough? He was able to keep fighting after suffering serious injuries as if it were nothing¡­ No, he was bing stronger and stronger! Since when had the imperial pce ever had this kind of expert?

    On several asions, they almost couldn''t hold back and nearly used elemental skills. However, the emperor was in the pce right now, so they could only give up on that thought.

    The ck-d individual was starting to be more and more scared. Their opponent¡¯s aura was bing stronger and stronger. They knew they might just be finished if they continued to fight here. As such, theyunched a barrage of w strikes at their opponent. While Zu An was defending himself against the attacks, they rushed out of the window and disappeared into the darkness.

    Zu An knew that the ck-d individual wanted to escape, so he had deliberately let them slip away. He wanted to use this chance to see just who this person was. As such, he quickly pursued the individual. Their movements were strange, allowing them to vanish almost instantly. Fortunately, Zu An had the jade badge, allowing him to see everything within a few li. No matter how this person tried to confuse him, he could still remain on their trail.

    But even so, he almost lost the person on several asions. They were just too fast. If it weren¡¯t for Zu An¡¯s Grandgale ability and the fact that he excelled in speed as well, he would¡¯ve lost the ck-d individual even if he had the jade badge¡¯s radar.

    After winding around from side to side, they ended up arriving in front of a pce. Zu An was shocked when he saw the three words ¡®Pce of Peace¡¯. This person was actually someone working under the empress?

    He quickly reacted. That ck d individual was most likely Eunuch Lu. No wonder he felt that the person¡¯s attacks were more reserved, and that there was a strange smelling from them. Now, he realized that was the smell of perfume mixed with the smell of urine.

    Why had Eunuch Lu wanted to kill the imperial hospital¡¯s Ma An? Don¡¯t tell me the empress is the Shadow Group¡¯s master?

    Zu An didn¡¯t dare run into the Pce of Peace. After thest assassin attack, the Pce of Peace¡¯s security had been strengthened, and even its rune formations had been upgraded. It wouldn¡¯t be possible for him to sneak in silently even if he had nine ranks of cultivation now.

    But just because he couldn''t enter didn¡¯t mean there was nothing he could do. He looked in the Pce of Peace¡¯s direction and raised the jade badge. A big ck cat that had been working at a small white female cat suddenly shivered all over. Then, he got off the small white cat and ran toward the empress¡¯ pce. The small white cat cried out in resentment, but she still didn¡¯t turn around.

    You yboy! No, ycat! Zu An thought.

    The empress was lyingzily on her seat, her morous curves in full view. A seductive smile appeared at the corners of her lips. ¡°The pce¡¯s cats are causing trouble again.¡±

    A ck-d individual was standing across from her, precisely the one who had just fought with Zu An. He said hatefully, ¡°This servant will castrate that big ck cat after this. All he does is torment the courtyard¡¯s female cats all day!¡±

    The empress chuckled, ¡°Just because you can¡¯t do it doesn¡¯t mean you should take it out on other people¡¯s cats. That fe is well received by those female cats, so what does it have to do with you?¡±

    The ck-d individual¡¯s entire body trembled, as if he had been greatly humiliated. Unfortunately, he couldn''t retort against any of the empress¡¯ words.

    The empress didn¡¯t want to incite him any further and changed the topic. ¡°What the heck happened to you?¡±

 Chapter 797: Whore and Dog

    <h4>Chapter 797: Whore and Dog</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The ck-d individual up ahead had already removed his mask. Who else could it be but Eunuch Lu?

    All of his clothes were in tatters, and there was quite a bit of blood on his body too. He was in a haggard state. His cultivation was already extremely high, so he alwayspleted his missions easily. When was thest time he had experienced something like this?

    Eunuch Lu wiped away the blood from the corner of his lips, saying, ¡°Sigh, I ran into a mysterious expert in Ma An¡¯s ce just now.¡±

    ¡°What happened?¡± The empress also got rid of her yful expression. She sat up from her seat, her beautiful eyes bing sharp.

    Eunuch Lu said, ¡°I sneaked into the imperial hospital, but Ma An wasn¡¯t in his bed. A mysterious expert suddenly attacked me while I was searching his room¡­¡±

    There was a big ck cat lying on a distant window. Its tail curled upzily.

    Outside of the Pce of Peace, Zu An¡¯s eyes widened. The empress had wanted to kill Ma An after all! But why?

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Inside, the empress frowned. ¡°His cultivation was higher than yours? But after Old Mi and Wei Dan, those two old things, passed on, when has anyone this powerful been inside of the imperial pce?¡±

    Eunuch Lu became upset. ¡°That person¡¯s cultivation wasn¡¯t necessarily higher than mine, and I could sense that his use of power and his understanding of his cultivation realm weren¡¯t steady. However, his body was incredibly tough. I didn¡¯t want to use elemental skills out of fear of rming the emperor, so that was why I ended up at a disadvantage.¡±

    The empress gave him a look. ¡°A loss is a loss; when did you start making so many excuses?¡±

    Eunuch Lu¡¯s expression became serious. ¡°Your highness is correct.¡±

    ¡°You weren¡¯t followed, right?¡± The empress suddenly got up from her seat and walked over to the windowside. She sighed in relief when she saw that there was no strange activity.

    Eunuch Lu said, ¡°Your highness, please feel at ease. With my movement technique, only someone with Old Mi¡¯s Sunflower Phantasm would have a chance of catching up to me, and Old Mi is already dead. Furthermore, the Pce of Peace¡¯s defenses have been upgraded. We would know immediately if someone followed me here.¡±

    The empress nodded. Then, she picked up the big ck cat by the neck and took it into her embrace. ¡°You little brat, are you messing around with those female cats again? Your life seems to be even better than that of the one living in this pce.¡±

    Eunuch Lu didn¡¯t dare to say anything when he sensed the deep resentment in her voice. It was all his fault for making that decision impulsively back then. Now, he didn¡¯t even have the confidence to console her.

    ¡°Meow~¡± The big ck cat struggled for a bit, but it then calmed down, enjoying the gentle stroking of the empress¡¯ long fingers.

    Zu An had a weird expression on his face. He had already experienced them himselfst time, but he was still amazed. They really are soft¡­ and big.

    The empress carried the ck cat back into the room. She asked, ¡°Did you obtain any information from fighting against that person?¡±

    Eunuch Lu gave the big,fortable ck cat a look of jealousy. He thought to himself, I bore the burden and worked tirelessly all these years and never enjoyed something like this, yet a brute like you ended up enjoying this first. ¡°That person¡¯s moves were varied and mixed; I couldn''t tell where he was from. The only impression I had was that his body was extremely hard.¡±

    ¡°His body is hard?¡± The empress suddenly chuckled. ¡°If you say it like that, there is someone thates to mind.¡±

    Eunuch Lu obviously knew who she was talking about when he saw the blush on her face. He was about to explode out of jealousy and anger.

    You have sessfully trolled Eunuch Lu for +233 +233 +233¡­

    The empress was just making a joke; she obviously didn¡¯t think that Zu An could leave Eunuch Lu in such a sorry state. She sighed and said, ¡°Things are tricky now. I didn¡¯t expect there to be another power after Ma An. There¡¯s no way of knowing if he¡¯s still alive or already dead.¡±

    Eunuch Lu said, ¡°I believe he¡¯s already finished, if someone like that was hiding in his room. Your highness doesn¡¯t need to worry.¡±

    ¡°I hope that¡¯s the case.¡± The empress said, ¡°Pay close attention to the imperial hospital in the following days. Report to me immediately if there is any news.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± Eunuch Lu bowed. ¡°Your highness, even though I don¡¯t know who that mysterious person is, this is still a good thing for us. Now that someone else has helped us deal with him, your highness doesn¡¯t have to worry about that matter being exposed.¡±

    The empress sighed. ¡°If I knew Zu An¡¯s blood essence could help me recover, why would I have asked you to get that medicine from Ma An? I was worried that he might instead fall out with us with that piece of information in his hands.¡±

    Outside, Zu An felt a huge headache. Even though she hadn¡¯t gotten into any details, he could already deduce the truth.

    When he and the crown princess had had that scandal and he was locked up in the imperial prison, there was someone who had suddenly poisoned his food. He couldn''t find the one who had done that, and he had been wondering why the other party would use a medicine that wasn¡¯t lethal, but rather one that attacked the mind.

    Now, everything was clear. Because of the matter between him and the empress, she was worried that he would ckmail her, so she wanted to get rid of him. But she was worried that he had backup outside, that if he died, then someone would immediately announce their secret. That was why when she met with Chu Chuyan, she had agreed on the surface, but she had actually used this chance to get rid of him.

    This woman really is vicious! Zu An clicked his tongue. He had even saved her before, and the reason they had even touched each other was also because of that day. He hadn¡¯t expected her to suddenly turn on him like this.

    Eunuch Lu spoke up again. ¡°Your highness is thinking too much. Once your highness uses him a few more times and recovers, he will lose his value. Furthermore, there¡¯s no way he would know about this matter. Even if he does, at this time, it doesn¡¯t matter. Unless¡­ Your highness really has developed feelings for him?¡±

    ¡°Feelings?¡± The empress sneered. ¡°Stop trying to test me like this. Indeed, I like his young and strong body, but he¡¯s nothing more than that. In this life of mine, I had some feelings for you when I was young and didn¡¯t know anything. Unfortunately, all sorts of things happened and I learned that things like feelings are the most useless things in the world. I don¡¯t need love. I didn¡¯t need it before, and I won¡¯t need it in the future.¡±

    Eunuch Lu became excited when he heard that he was the only man she¡¯d had feelings for. Suddenly, he didn¡¯t feel that all of these years of work had been in vain. ¡°After hearing your highness say that, it would be worth it even if I died right now. Your highness, don; worry. I¡¯ll do my utmost to help you aplish your dream.¡±

    ¡­

    Zu An silently left. He didn¡¯t feel anything within him, because he only enjoyed the empress for her body. He didn¡¯t feel anything for her. He had felt a bit embarrassed about that before, but now, he instead felt relief. This sort of woman was only worth ying around with. Both parties would only take what they needed.

    Mi Li¡¯s voice sneered in his ear, ¡°A whore and a dog really are a good match.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. ¡°Who¡¯s a dog?¡±

    Mi Li¡¯s figure appeared, a look of delight on her face. ¡°It¡¯s fine for this kind of thing to happen. Otherwise, you might really start thinking you could get any girl in the world just because you¡¯re talented, even if you were actually just a boy toy for them.¡±

    Zu An asked resentfully, ¡°Are all you empresses so cold-hearted?¡±

    Mi Li became furious. ¡°You darepare this empress with that slut?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for +444 +444 +444¡­

    Zu Anughed when he saw her strong reaction. ¡°I knew you were different.¡±

    Mi Li¡¯s expression became a bit unnatural. ¡°What kind of nonsense are you saying? It was just something interesting to watch before I fell asleep.¡± She disappeared promptly.

    Zu An was already used to her slipping in and out like this. He continued to smile.

    ¡­

    Over the next few days, Ma An¡¯s mysterious disappearance sparked quite themotion in the pce. The emperor even specially put the Embroidered Envoy in charge of investigating this case.

    However, they couldn''t find any leads after looking around. The Embroidered Envoy might have invested more resources into the investigation, but the crown prince¡¯s test wasing up. Both the emperor and Zhuxie Chixin were thinking about that matter, so the disappearance of a triflingmissioner assistant naturally paled inparison.

    Zu An¡¯s days were rather leisurely in that time. The Eastern Pce had given him a vacation, so he usually spent his time resting at home. His little sister-inw Chu Youzhao visited him from time to time and gave him some stuff because of what Chu Chuyan had told her before she left. She even took him around for sightseeing.

    Zu An was bored, so he took the chance to familiarize himself with the capital¡¯s surroundings. Chu Youzhao was young and lively, and together with the inseparable Murong Qinghe, having those two young beauties apany him was also a happy thing.

    Because of what had happened, Murong Qinghepletely changed her attitude, to the extent that she was deliberately currying favor with Zu An. He wasn¡¯t sure if it was because he had helped her n brother out in prison, or if it was because she wanted to get along with her future brother-inw. But the amount of effort she put in made Zu An feel a bit embarrassed. Seeing how nice the little girl was being, he also asked for a favor from the crown princess.

    The crown princess had originally nned to use Murong Luo to involve King Qi, but that didn¡¯t bear many results. As such, she did this favor for Zu An and let Murong Luo go, making Murong Qinhe behave more and more sweetly toward him.

    However, their period of leisure was destined to end. The crown prince¡¯s examination was drawing closer and closer. The crown princess called Zu An back to discuss the matter of the exam.

 Chapter 798: How Is It Any Different?

    <h4>Chapter 798: How Is It Any Different?</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The crown princess was discussing official business with important ministers inside. Zu An stayed outside to chat with Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun.

    ¡°Huh? Why do the two of you look so gloomy?¡± Zu An noticed that the two of them weren¡¯t in high spirits and asked out of curiosity.

    Piao Duandiao looked around carefully. When he saw that no one was paying attention, he said in a hushed voice, ¡°The crown princess has just told us that we¡¯re going with the crown prince during his exam. I know that as guards of the Eastern Pce, we¡¯re supposed to share in the crown prince¡¯s tribtions, but¡­ But¡­¡±

    Jiao Sigun harrumphed. ¡°What are you beating around the bush for? It¡¯s not as if he¡¯s an outsider. It¡¯s just that we know that this exam won¡¯t be simple. King Qi¡¯s side definitely won¡¯t let this chance go. Even though our deaths aren¡¯t guaranteed by going, it will definitely be dangerous. This might be the end.¡±

    Zu An patted their shoulders and said, ¡°All of you have your own families, and it¡¯s human nature to worry, so don¡¯t me yourselves too much. Right, has the crown prince¡¯s exam been decided on?¡±

    Now that he thought about it, the emperor had even given him the task of thinking about the exam, but hadn¡¯t bothered him about this. Ever since that night in the Pce of Peace, he no longer felt as scared of the emperor as he had before. Furthermore, the emperor didn¡¯t rush him either, as if he had already forgotten about this matter, so Zu An was happy to y the fool.

    ¡°It has. However, we don¡¯t know the exact details.¡± The two of them shook their heads.

    Just then, the ministers that had been speaking inside came out one after another. A eunuch invited Zu An toe in. Zu An patted Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun¡¯s shoulders and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll protect you guys when the timees.¡±

    Piao Duandiao watched Zu An go inside with a strange expression. He bumped his friend with his shoulder. ¡°Hey, where does big bro Zu get his confidence from?¡±

    ¡°Forget it, there¡¯s no point in making him feel discouraged too.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s what I was thinking too.¡±

    ¡­

    Zu An went into the study. There was no crown prince inside; that fatty was ying with the eunuchs outside. However, the beautiful crown princess was in the study.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you for a few days. The crown princess has grown prettier again,¡± Zu An said with a smile.

    Bi Linglong blushed. ¡°Sir Zu really says whatever you want. There would be all sorts of rumors if other people heard what you said.¡±

    Zu An remained unfazed. ¡°The skies are clear and the moon is bright, so why do we need to be scared of what other people say?¡±

    ¡°The skies are clear and the moon is bright?¡± Bi Linglong couldn''t help but remember that night when they had been together, buck naked. She harrumphed inside. That really is something only this guy would say.

    ¡°I heard that the crown prince¡¯s test has already been decided?¡± Zu An asked.

    Bi Linglong nodded. ¡°Indeed. The dungeon in the royal academy¡¯s rear mountain will open up in three days. The crown prince will kill the Jade Moon Serpent to prove his ability.¡±

    ¡°Jade Moon Serpent?¡± Zu An was stunned. This didn¡¯t sound like an easy foe at all!

    ¡°It¡¯s a seventh ranked vicious beast. It¡¯s much weaker than a dragon, but it¡¯s a lot more formidable than ordinary beasts.¡± Bi Linglong looked worried.

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°Aren¡¯t you just sending him to his grave then?¡±

    He was no stranger to secret dungeons, and every single trip was a bitter struggle. Of course, those secret dungeons had all involved Unknowable Regions, so they were different from the secret dungeons this world was familiar with. However, even normal secret dungeons were dangerous.

    If one put it nicely, this crown prince was simple, but if one were more straightforward, then he was someone who had learning difficulties and couldn''t function on his own. He probably wouldn¡¯t be able to make it back after entering a secret dungeon even if he hadn''t been given any tasks, let alone if he had to kill a seventh ranked vicious beast!

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Even though the seventh rank wasn¡¯t high, would the crown prince be able to deal with it? It would make more sense if he ended up bing a snack for that serpent.

    Bi Linglong said, ¡°This is the proposal made by the ministers from King Qi¡¯s side, so of course we¡¯ll oppose it. Someone suggested that the crown prince was to be the future monarch and not a general who fights on the front lines, so it isn¡¯t even his job to fight like this. They said that what mattered more was the strength at his disposal. That was why we suggested that we build a team led by the crown prince toplete this task.¡±

    ¡°Not a bad n.¡± Zu An chuckled. ¡°But there¡¯s no way King Qi¡¯s side would agree, right? Or else you could all just send your strongest experts to protect him. The crown prince¡¯s problem would be easily solved then.¡±

    Bi Linglong voiced her acknowledgment. ¡°Indeed. That¡¯s what they said, that if we did that, then this test would be meaningless. That¡¯s why after arguing with each other, we ended up reaching apromise. King Qi¡¯s side agreed to allowing the crown prince to bring people with him, but there¡¯s a limit on their cultivation. They have to be beneath the seventh rank. Furthermore, they can¡¯t be Embroidered Envoys or military soldiers who have gone through extensivebat formation training.¡±

    Zu An nodded. ¡°That¡¯s pretty reasonable.¡±

    After all, the cultivation levels of beasts and people werepletely different. A seventh ranked beast was much more powerful than a seventh ranked human.

    The crown prince¡¯s side couldn''t exceed six ranks of cultivation, but they would have an advantage in numbers. The candidates that were picked will definitely have specialized skills. That way, even though killing that Jade Moon Serpent would be dangerous, it would still be possible. No wonder the crown prince¡¯s side had agreed to the proposal.

    ¡°But would King Qi really be that nice?¡± Zu An couldn''t help but ask. This test was extremely important. If the crown prince sessfully passed this exam, then King Qi¡¯s faction wouldn¡¯t have another chance to question his ability. Regardless of which angle he looked at it from, King Qi¡¯s faction shouldn¡¯t have allowed this seemingly fair test to go through.

    ¡°We also feel that they might have messed with the dungeon, but we don¡¯t know what they¡¯ll do.¡± Bi Linglong¡¯s beautiful brows furrowed. ¡°Sir Libationer is in charge of opening the dungeon this time, and he will only let our people in through the agreed-upon matter. Furthermore, the emperor is watching too, so none of King Qi¡¯s men can go inside. Just what can they do?¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but ask, ¡°Is it possible for the libationer to be secretly colluding with King Qi?¡±

    Bi Linglong shook her head. ¡°He wouldn¡¯t. It hasn¡¯t been long since you came to the capital, so you don¡¯t understand the libationer¡¯s extraordinary prestige. He doesn¡¯t even need to rely on any faction to stand on equal footing with his majesty and King Qi, so why would he need to take such a huge risk? Furthermore, his majesty trusts the libationer, and I don¡¯t believe he will make a wrong decision.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, If even that paranoid old thing trusts the libationer, then there really is no need to question the libationer¡¯s position. He remarked, ¡°But there¡¯s no way King Qi will just watch this test happen without doing anything.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Bi Linglong looked at Zu An. ¡°That¡¯s why I need to send in as many trustworthy people as possible, and you¡­ are the best candidate.¡±

    ¡°Me?¡± Zu An was overjoyed at her trust. ¡°But my current cultivation is higher than the seventh rank, so I don¡¯t think I can go in.¡±

    Bi Linglong bit her lip. ¡°That is a problem, but you¡¯re around that level and not that far above it anyway. I¡¯ll try to find a way to sneak you in.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, Um¡­ I¡¯m very far above the seventh rank. I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll work¡­

    Bi Linglong suddenly raised her head and stared at him with her beautiful, burning eyes. ¡°Are you willing to help me?¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll help you.¡±

    Bi Linglong smiled sweetly when she received his affirmative reply. Her worry and gloom were swept away, her smile lighting up the entire room. If not for the fact that Zu An was already used to seeing all kinds of beauties, he might have been a bit stunned for a while.

    The crown princess blushed when she saw him stare back at her, but she didn¡¯t berate him at all. A strange mood settled in the room.

    Suddenly, the maid Rong Mo knocked on the door. ¡°Crown princess, his majesty has summoned Zu¡­ Sir Zu.¡±

    Bi Linglong finally snapped out of her daze and turned away rather rigidly to avoid his gaze. ¡°His majesty is calling you; you should go quickly.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Zu An got up to leave.

    ¡°By the way, why does his majesty keep summoning you?¡± Bi Linglong suddenly asked out of curiosity.

    ¡°Maybe because I¡¯m just such a likeable person?¡± Zu An chuckled, and then left through the door.

    Rong Mo arrived at Bi Linglong¡¯s side and said in a discontent tone, ¡°That guy is so shameless.¡±

    Bi Linglong didn¡¯t reply and instead began to think to herself. With her understanding of the emperor, there should have been no reason for him to repeatedly summon an official like Zu An!

    Rong Mo continued, ¡°Your highness, are you really going to choose him to apany you? I can go too! My cultivation isn¡¯t beneath his own.¡±

    ¡°But you¡¯ve already reached the seventh rank. You¡¯ve passed the secret dungeon¡¯s restrictions,¡± Bi Linglong said.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t he the same?¡± Rong Mo asked.

    ¡°That¡¯s different.¡±

    ¡°How is it any different?¡±

    ¡°For example¡­ He¡¯s a man?¡±

    Rong Mo was speechless.

    ¡­

    On the other hand, Zu An arrived at the imperial study. Eunuch Wen gave him a look and couldn''t help but be shocked. It seemed the emperor¡¯s mood wasn¡¯t too good today.

    Sure enough, the emperor immediately used intimidation the moment Zu An walked in, asking, ¡°Have you notpleted the task this emperor assigned you?¡±

    ¡°May I ask which task your majesty is referring to?¡± Zu An sneered inwardly. He had already seen through the other party¡¯s political schemes. They might be effective against other people in this world, but for someone like him without any concept of imperial authority, once he realized what was happening, it wouldn¡¯t have much of an effect.

    ¡°The task you were given to find a solution for the crown prince, of course. The crown prince¡¯s exam has already been decided. Do you understand your crimes?¡± The emperor looked at Zu An with his sharp eyes. A powerful aura crashed down, as if he could see through Zu An¡¯s negligence.

 Chapter 799: Would You Dare?

    <h4>Chapter 799: Would You Dare?</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An was really suffering, but he didn¡¯t show it on his face at all. He said, ¡°The crown prince¡¯s exam involves King Qi. It really isn¡¯t something an official of my level can get involved in. However, the fact that I was unable to share in your majesty¡¯s burden is something that leaves me in great shame and disappointment. Please punish me.¡±

    He, who was familiar with the art of ruling, obviously knew that the emperor wasn¡¯t really going to punish him. The emperor was just using this chance to knock him down a peg, to give him more reason toplete the task. That was why he yed along.

    The emperor waspletely convinced that Zu An was being toyed with in the palm of his hand, yet he was actually being led by the nose. This sort of feeling really was great.

    The emperor was stunned. He hadn¡¯t expected this kid to be so obedient. He had prepared a bunch of criticism, yet now, it waspletely useless. He waspletely caught off guard. Eventually, he gathered his thoughts and said, ¡°Since you already know that you¡¯ve sinned, I¡¯m not someone unreasonable either. I n to give you a chance to make up for your mistake.¡±

    Zu An sneered inwardly, but he looked overjoyed on the surface. ¡°Please speak, your majesty! This subject is willing to go through anything; not even ten thousand deaths can hold me back!¡±

    The emperor was extremely satisfied with his attitude. His expression eased a bit. ¡°I believe you already know about the crown prince¡¯s exam.¡±

    Zu An nodded. ¡°I heard a bit about it in the Eastern Pce.¡±

    ¡°The crown princess told you, I presume,¡± The emperor said with an ambiguous smile.

    Zu An shivered inwardly. He quickly replied, ¡°The crown princess is worried about the crown prince¡¯s prospects, so she wished for all of us subjects to pool our wisdom and see if there was a solution.¡±

    Looks like this fe is still apprehensive about me and his daughter-inw being too close. He had almost lost an arm back then just because he had to carry her, so he didn¡¯t dare ck in his reply. He immediately expressed his innocence in the matter.

    Thankfully, the emperor didn¡¯t continue to question him on that matter. He instead said in praise, ¡°Linglong, that child is responsible and diligent. What she worries about isn¡¯t without reason. Even I refuse to believe that Zhao Jing wouldn¡¯t interfere in this matter.¡±

    Zu An keenly sensed that the other party hadn¡¯t used the title of King Qi like before, but rather directly used the name Zhao Jing. It seemed the emperor was already slowly considering him one of his own. In truth, they were kindred spirits in a way.

    The emperor continued. ¡°This emperor really can¡¯t feel at ease, so I n to send someone to follow the crown prince and look around inside. The first reason is to ensure the crown prince¡¯s safety, while the second is to guard against anything from King Qi¡¯s side. As a golden token envoy, as well as an important minister of the Eastern Pce, you¡¯re the most suitable candidate.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An felt a huge headache. He really couldn''t figure out why the emperor would trust him so much. After all, this pi;d already be considered one of the first major battles between the emperor and King Qi¡¯s faction. Neither side could afford this loss. Why did the emperor trust someone like him who hadn¡¯t been in the capital for that long?

    He quickly said, ¡°This humble subject knows how worthless he is. My life is insignificant, but there would be no forgiveness for me if the crown prince were implicated as well. Based on what this subject knows, the most suitable candidate is none other than Chief Commander Zhuxie Chixin. His cultivation is profound, and he¡¯s incredibly loyal to your majesty¡­¡±

    The emperor cut him off before he could even finish his sentence. ¡°Hmph, do you think I don¡¯t want to send him? However, both sides have tacitly agreed that no one over the seventh rank will enter the dungeon, and everyone knows that Zhuxie Chixin is already a pseudo-grandmaster. How could Zhao Jing¡¯s side possibly agree to him entering the dungeon?¡±

    Zu An had a bitter smile as he said, ¡°But my cultivation rank has also surpassed that level¡­¡±

    The emperor¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Honestly, you¡¯ve increased in strength a bit too quickly. You were only around the sixth or seventh rank when you first arrived at the capital. Just how long has it been for you to have already reached this point? But this doesn¡¯t make sense, because I¡¯ve already read through the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra you handed over. Your cultivation should be even slower than an ordinary cultivator¡¯s.¡±

    Zu An shivered. He knew that the emperor was suspicious of him right now. Fortunately, he had already prepared for this. ¡°The reason why this subject¡¯s cultivation was fast is because Old Mi tried to possess me, so he gave me all of his cultivation. I¡¯ve been gradually digesting his cultivation, so that¡¯s why I¡¯ve been advancing so quickly.¡±

    The emperor nodded, letting go of his doubts. With his knowledge and experience, he was fully aware of such phenomena. Even though such things were able to bring quick increases in cultivation, they weren¡¯t favorable at all for a cultivator in the long-term, as they would damage one¡¯s foundation. One would have no hope of reaching higher cultivation ranks.

    But the emperor didn¡¯t tell Zu An that. His current cultivation was already perfect for what the emperor needed him for. As for problems with Zu An¡¯s cultivation in the future, that was for him to worry about himself.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if your cultivation realm is higher, because most people believe you¡¯re only around the seventh rank. I¡¯ll give you a treasure that can hide your cultivationter, and that should do the trick,¡± the emperor said. If it weren¡¯t because everyone already knew what level Zhuxie Chixin was at, he might have already given it to him instead.

    Zu An was shocked. ¡°There¡¯s actually something like that in this world? Isn¡¯t this test really easy then? You can just send in some powerful cultivators then; clearing the exam will be a breeze!¡±

    The emperor snorted. ¡°If only it were that easy. Even though there are many items that can conceal your aura, there aren¡¯t many that can escape the notice of truly aplished warriors. This is the only such item this emperor has found even after scouring the world. Don¡¯t let down my trust in you.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, your majesty, for your grace!¡± Zu An looked as if he were incredibly moved. Inwardly, even he was admiring his own acting skills. I hope I don¡¯t end up with some bipr disorder or something by doing this all the time¡­

    Then, the emperor warned him about some things to pay attention to before he entered the dungeon, and that protecting the crown prince was his absolute first priority. Afterward, the emperor said, ¡°You can leave. Pay Concubine Bai a visitter; she¡¯ll hand you the item.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± Zu An withdrew from the imperial study calmly as usual, but there were great emotions surging inside of him. He had never expected the treasure capable of hiding one¡¯s cultivation to be in Concubine Bai¡¯s possession.

    He immediately made several guesses. Just what kind of rtionship did the emperor and Concubine Bai have? Why would he leave something so important with her? Wasn¡¯t Concubine Bai Yun Jianyue¡¯s junior sister? Don¡¯t tell me that the emperor really doesn¡¯t know that she¡¯s part of the Devil Sect?!

    ¡­

    While lost in thought, Zu An ended up wandering into the Hundred Flower Pce. When he vaguely made out the scene of blossoming flowers, Zu An felt a chill run down his back. This woman really is too treacherous¡­ He recalled how helpless she had seemed when he had provoked her a bitst time. Now that he thought about it, maybe all of that was fake.

    Wait, does the emperor also know that I provoked this concubine of the crown prince? Many thoughts filled his mind, but he calmed himself down after taking a deep breath. Even if the emperor does know, so what? Since he didn¡¯t expose me, that means he still needs me. That gives me room to work with.

    He was led inside by the pce maid. Concubine Bai was slowly rocking back and forth on a swing, an infant in her arms. She didn¡¯t seem surprised to see Zu An at all. She waved her hand, gesturing for everyone else to leave.

    ¡°Is your highness implying for us to continue where we left off by sending the servants away?¡± Zu An asked mischievously.

    Concubine Bai didn¡¯t look scared and instead gave him an ambiguous smile. ¡°Even the current you? Would you dare?¡±

    Zu An harrumphed. He took a step forward and sat down on the swing. He picked Concubine Bai up and ced her right in his embrace.

    Concubine Bai was shocked and furious. After a momentary daze, she began to struggle. ¡°What are you doing? Let me go!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Bai Rouxue for +34 +34 +34¡­

    Zu An sighed. ¡°That¡¯s why you shouldn¡¯t tease men like that.¡±

    Concubine Bai stopped struggling. She discovered that the more she struggled, the more her parts rubbed against Zu An. She forced herself to calm down and asked gravely, ¡°Do you know what you¡¯re doing right now? If I told his majesty, not even nine lives would keep you alive.¡±

    Zu An embraced her fair waist and honey peach bottom. He replied in a carefree tone, ¡°But you won¡¯t tell his majesty though, will you?¡± His mindset was alreadypletely different from before. He preferred to be on the offensive.

    Concubine Bai¡¯s expression darkened. ¡°Don¡¯t think you can threaten me just because you know my rtionship with the Devil Sect.¡±

    ¡°But that way is quite effective, no?¡± Zu An didn¡¯t press the matter. The reason he had teased her was just to lower her guard towards skinship and to get some more information. He didn¡¯t really n to do anything to her.

    Concubine Bai took a deep breath, and then her expression became yful again. ¡°Then what if I told you that I was his majesty¡¯s woman? Would you dare to touch me again?¡±

 Chapter 800: Imperial Grandson

    <h4>Chapter 800: Imperial Grandson</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    However, her face turned red the moment she finished speaking. Zu An¡¯s powerful physiological reaction had already told her the answer.

    Concubine Bai was starting to feel dizzy. She had originally thought that he would be frightened. After all, the emperor was the world¡¯s most powerful man; who dared to offend him in this world? Even King Qi, who had fought with him for so many years, didn¡¯t dare to touch his women. However, not only was Zu An not scared, he had instead be even more excited. Did I misunderstand the situation, or is there something wrong with him?

    ¡°You¡¯re the emperor¡¯s woman?¡± Zu An was momentarily distracted. However, he also snapped out of his daze, because that was what made the most sense. There were many rumors involving Concubine Bai and the emperor.

    ¡°If you know, then let go already!¡± Concubine Bai did her best to put on an angry and dignified appearance. Unfortunately, her figure was too weak and petite. Not only did she not look scary at all, but her appearance would instead only encourage men to think even weirder thoughts.

    ¡°Why do I have to let go? Since I¡¯ve already touched his majesty¡¯s woman, then I¡¯m dead either way. In that case, I might as well enjoy myself a bit longer before I die. For better or for worse, I can leave this world without any regrets,¡± Zu An said with a chuckle.

    Concubine Bai waspletely speechless. Why wasn¡¯t this kid behaving the way a normal person would act? She didn¡¯t even know how to continue. Eventually, she took a deep breath and said, ¡°Okay, I promise I won¡¯t tell his majesty about what happened. Can you please let go now?¡±

    Zu An replied with a smile, ¡°You¡¯re not even going to tell his majesty, so shouldn¡¯t I make the most of this situation then?¡±

    Concubine Bai was stunned. How can this guy be that shameless? The infant in her arms seemed to have sensed his mother¡¯s predicament and immediately began to wail. She began to panic.

    While Concubine Bai was racking her brains over how to get out of this situation, however, Zu An actually let go. She was shocked. She quickly stood up and gave him a suspicious look.

    Zu Anughed. He had only nned to mess around with her to see if he could obtain some information, so he naturally didn¡¯t press the issue further. ¡°I only acted on impulse just now. If I¡¯ve offended your highness in any way, please don¡¯t take offense and take care of the child first.¡±

    Concubine Bai harrumphed. ¡°You¡¯re really not a good person.¡±

    Even though this fellow had groped around a bit, he still hadn¡¯t done anything to her in the end. As a rule, if one made a terrible first impression at first, it would only be easier to gain favor afterward.

    Zu An didn¡¯t try to justify himself either. He said, ¡°We¡¯re all in the same boat. Your highness has left me quite troubled with your lies too.¡±

    Concubine Bai gently patted the infant in her arms and softly hummed him to sleep. Her soothing voice quickly calmed him down and stopped his wailing. Then, the child began tough.

    Zu An stared at Concubine Bai¡¯s side profile. She was currently radiating a motherly warmth, her figure exceptionally gentle, able to calm even the most agitated of hearts.

    After Concubine Bai calmed down the child, she ced him into a cradle and slowly rocked it back and forth. Then she replied, ¡°When have I lied? You never asked me about those things.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He didn¡¯t want to y these word games with her. He continued to ask, ¡°Does the emperor know about your rtionship with Yun Jianyue?¡±

    ¡°His majesty is more formidable than you can imagine. He knows everything; it¡¯s just that he might not tell you,¡± Concubine Bai said in a profound manner.

    Zu An sneered. There¡¯s no need to try and make that guy seem more mysterious. At the very least, he doesn¡¯t know what I did with the empress. The emperor might be able to remain calm on the surface, but there was no way he could avoid Zu An¡¯s Rage system.

    ¡°Since he knows your identity, why would he let you do as you please, and furthermore treat you so well?¡± Zu An asked out of curiosity.

    Concubine Bai¡¯s gazended on the child in the cradle. ¡°What do you think?¡±

    Zu An was shocked. ¡°He wasn¡¯t the imperial grandson, but a prince after all!¡±

    Concubine Bai smiled and didn¡¯t say anything. She squatted down by the cradle and gently stroked the child inside. ¡°I only wish for him to grow up safely. It¡¯s fine if the emperor remains strong, and it¡¯s fine if the Holy Sectes out on top. None of it has anything to do with me.¡±

    Zu An frowned. There was a huge sh of power going on right now. How could it be that easy to survive on her own?

    ¡°Why would his majesty make you the crown prince¡¯s concubine and make his son be his grandson instead?¡± Zu An asked.

    He finally understood why Bi Linglong despised Concubine Bai so much. After living with the crown prince for so long, she obviously knew that that stupid fatty had no way of producing a child. That meant this woman and her child¡¯s situation was already abundantly clear.

    She was worried that the child might endanger the crown prince¡¯s position one day, yet she needed his status as the imperial grandson. In her opinion, getting rid of Concubine Bai would solve both problems.

    As for Concubine Bai, she had probably been thinking simr thoughts. No wonder thatst scandal had almost destroyed the crown princess.

    Concubine Bai shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know either. His majesty probably has his own considerations. I don¡¯t dare to ask too much about things he¡¯s decided on.¡±

    Zu An became quiet. All kinds of possibilities appeared in his head, but he still couldn''t figure it out in the end.

    Concubine Bai removed a spice bag from her waist and said, ¡°This should be what you need. While you wear it, it can conceal your aura and prevent your ki fluctuations from exceeding the sixth rank.¡±

    Zu An epted it. It was quite the exquisite spice bag, its material simr to silk, yet not quite. There was a small flower embroidered on the surface, alongside the character for ¡®Bai¡¯.

    ¡°Is this yours?¡± Zu An asked, shocked.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°His majesty bestowed it to me in the past. It was able to conceal my cultivation,¡± Concubine Bai replied. ¡°Take it; I need to breastfeed my child. I don¡¯t believe Sir Zu will want to stay here and watch.¡±

    Zu An gave her heavy chest a look, and then his face turned red. He quickly shifted his gaze and asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t there wet nurses in the pce? Why does your highness need to do it yourself?¡±

    ¡°Because having swollen breasts is ufortable.¡± Concubine Bai blushed slightly. She looked at him with an ambiguous smile. ¡°Does Sir Zu really wish to continue having this girl talk with me?¡±

    Zu An was still too embarrassed in the end. He quickly received the spice bag and left.

    Concubine Bai picked up the child. When she saw Zu An leave flustered, she couldn''t help but chuckle. Then, she said quietly, ¡°My little darling, you must be careful of women in the future. The prettier the girl, the better they are at lying.¡±

    ¡­

    Time quickly passed. A day before the exam, Bi Linglong brought Zu An into the eastern pce. She quietly stared at him without saying anything.

    Even though looking at a beautiful youngdy face to face was enjoyable in a way, Zu An still couldn''t suppress his curiosity in the end and asked, ¡°Crown princess, why are you looking at me like that?¡±

    Bi Linglong pursed her lips. In the end, she quietly asked, ¡°Can I trust you?¡±

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°Why would you suddenly ask that?¡±

    Bi Linglong said, ¡°I can only try to send in one person whose cultivation level is a bit higher than the limit. The n actually has another candidate, and I was the one who stood my ground to choose you. However, I¡¯m a bit nervous, because I don¡¯t know if I should trust you.¡± The first reason was that she wasn¡¯t sure if he was strong enough to take care of this exam. The second was that she wasn¡¯t sure if he would help her wholeheartedly.

    Normally, Bi Linglong intentionally spoke with a dignified air, but right now, she sounded weaker than ever before. Zu An knew that the crown prince¡¯s exam wouldn¡¯t only concern her own fate; it was also rted to her n¡¯s glory. That was why she was in such a dilemma right now. As such, he put away his usual frivolousness and said seriously, ¡°Of course you can!¡±

    Bi Linglong¡¯s deeply furrowed brows instantly rxed when she heard his reply. Her smile was as beautiful as a flower. ¡°Alright.¡±

    Zu An asked, ¡°Have you decided on who will enter the dungeon tomorrow?¡±

    Bi Linglong replied, ¡°From the Eastern Pce, it will be the two of us, as well as Guard Piao, Guard Jiao, and the others. Apart from that, there will be disciples from King Liang Manor, the Bi n, the Liu n, the Meng n, and the Pei n. Each n has only sent people at the sixth rank and below.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but smile, saying, ¡°Then that¡¯s almost a hundred people in total. I¡¯m sure that¡¯s enough to get rid of any serpent.¡±

    Bi Linglong smiled as well. ¡°Ruizhi is the crown prince after all, so it isn¡¯t going too far to have all of these people apany him. King Qi¡¯s side can¡¯t say too much about it either.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but ask, ¡°If all of the elites of the younger generation are heading inside this time, if something happened in the dungeon, or if King Qi messed around inside, then wouldn¡¯t the crown prince¡¯s younger faction be practically wiped out?¡±

    Bi Linglong shook her head. ¡°The ones that are being sent inside aren¡¯t going to be the heirs, precisely to prevent that. However, there¡¯s no need for you to worry about them being too weak, because even if they aren¡¯t the strongest heirs, they were carefully selected. All of them are the best among the younger generation.¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t agree. No matter how outstanding they were, how could theypare to him? He asked, ¡°Right, who did the Pei n you spoke of send?¡±

 Chapter 801: Before and After

    <h4>Chapter 801: Before and After</h4>

    Bi Linglong replied, ¡°The Director of the Imperial Secretariat Pei Ming has two sons, Pei Zuo and Pei You. The one who they sent was Pei You. He¡¯s always been sharp, and he¡¯s also a well-known figure among the Pei n¡¯s younger generation.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, The ones who areing aren''t the best after all. Looks like the crown prince¡¯s faction did think this through. He thought that it might have been Big Manman, but it seemed he might have been overthinking it.

    ¡°What is it? You seem to be a bit disappointed,¡± Bi Linglong asked out of curiosity.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Zu An obviously wouldn¡¯t be so stupid as to mention another woman in front of the girl in front of him. ¡°Right, are you guys close to the Pei n?¡± he asked. Why did he seem to recall Pei Mianman saying that their n was part of King Qi¡¯s faction?

    Bi Linglong shook her head. ¡°It¡¯ll take a while to exin our rtionship. To put it simply, the Pei n is split into two parties. The first belongs to the Waterfront Duke, Chief Attendant Pei Zheng. He has many children and they¡¯re connected to King Liang, the Liu n, the Jiang n, and other powers in marriage. They appear to not be under anyone¡¯s faction, but I know that he supports King Qi more.¡±

    Zu An nodded. That seemed to be the party Big Manman had been talking about.

    Bi Linglong continued, ¡°As for Pei You, hees from the Greatdeer Duke, Director of the Imperial Secretariat Pei Ming. Because he¡¯s also a member of the Imperial Secretariat, he doesn¡¯t really get along with my father¡­¡±

    Zu An was surprised. ¡°Why would you let his grandson participate in this exam if they don¡¯t get along?¡±

    Bi Linglong exined, ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s because you don¡¯t understand our ns¡¯ unwritten rules. A n isn¡¯t necessarily all stuck together. There are bound to be different opinions. Even though Pei Ming doesn¡¯t get along with my father, his second son Pei You is close friends with my older brother. Furthermore, Pei Ming¡¯s wife is extremely close to my sister. With these rtionships, that¡¯s why we obviously wouldn¡¯t refuse Pei You¡¯s participation.¡±

    Zu An sighed. These ns were all joined in marriage, so even ns that were part of different factions could remain close. He smiled and said, ¡°If Pei You¡¯s grandmother and your mother are close, shouldn¡¯t he call you auntie?¡±

    Bi Linglong blushed. ¡°That¡¯s only if you look at family seniority. In terms of age, we¡¯re about the same.¡±

    Zu An was about to tease her a bit when he suddenly thought of a problem. Pei Zheng and Pei Ming are n brothers, while Big Manman is Pei Zheng¡¯s granddaughter. Doesn¡¯t this mean that Big Manman needs to call Bi Linglong auntie as well? Then isn¡¯t she also my aunt¡­

    Zu An¡¯s smile froze on his face when he realized that. Pah! I¡¯ll just mind my own business. This stuff has nothing to do with me.

    Bi Linglong said, ¡°Because of the existence of the Pei n¡¯s other faction, I suspect that Pei You approached my brother precisely for infiltration purposes. That¡¯s why I have no choice but to be on guard against their people. This time, our attention will mainly be focused on Pei You in preparation for any sinister plots.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Zu An nodded. This woman was rational, not letting friendship cloud her judgment. She was a natural politician.

    Bi Linglong continued, ¡°Apart from him, the Liu n sent in Liu Xian. He¡¯s General Liu Yao¡¯s second son, a hedonistic child. He¡¯s only barely reached the fifth rank despite being well into his thirties. It really is embarrassing.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°The crown prince¡¯s exam is extremely important. Why would you bring in a straw bag idiot like him?¡±

    To be honest, the fifth rank wasn¡¯t low at all. In some rural areas, five ranks already represented an incredible existence. But this was the capital where geniuses were everywhere. That was why he paled inparison.

    Most importantly, he was already in his thirties. The fifth rank students of Brightmoon City were geniuses, and they were only in their teens. A fifth rank in their thirties, furthermore one that had reached that level due to endless resources, really could be called a good-for-nothing straw bag.

    Bi Linglong said with a bitter smile, ¡°There¡¯s nothing we can do. This exam is too important, so the different ns are all sending some of their children to make it look as if they care. After all, in the eyes of most people, this exam will probably be filled with dangers. If they could somehow ovee this trial with the crown prince andplete this mission, that would be a tremendous contribution. Everyone has their own goals, and as their ally, I have to pay attention to the interests of all of these ns. I can¡¯t refuse his addition.

    ¡°But the Liu n understands the importance of this trial. Apart from sending in Liu Xian, this spoiled young master, they also sent in his sister¡¯s outstanding son. He¡¯s much more capable. He¡¯s roughly the same age as Liu Xian, but he¡¯s already reached the peak of the sixth rank. Furthermore, his steadfast nature is reassuring.¡±

    Zu An smiled and remarked, ¡°Looks like the Liu n aren¡¯t all idiots.¡±

    Honestly speaking, even that old fart Liu Yao was quite mediocre, so it wasn¡¯t surprising that he had produced a son like that. Zu An thought, Out of everyone in the Liu n that I¡¯ve met so far, it¡¯s still the empress who¡¯s the most formidable, both on and off the bed¡­

    Bi Linglong rolled her eyes. ¡°It¡¯s fine if you say that in front of me, but don¡¯t think you¡¯ll be able to get away unscathed if the empress or other important ministers hear you.¡±

    Zu An smiled and replied, ¡°I¡¯m only saying this in front of you because you¡¯re no stranger.¡±

    Bi Linglong blushed. Was this fellow using this chance to take advantage of her? She instinctively wanted to criticize him, but she was also worried that she would end up hurting his feelings. She still had to rely on him for the uing examination.

    Furthermore, after she thought about it, those words didn¡¯t seem to be too disrespectful either, so she just let it go. She changed the topic and said, ¡°By the way, the Meng n sent their second young master Meng Pan. This person is a bit more formidable than Liu Xian and has already reached the sixth rank.¡±

    After having spent so long in the capital already, Zu An knew about the Meng n. The Meng n¡¯s elder was one of the empire¡¯s eight dukes, Minister of Works Meng Jing. However, he was already old, so the acting n leader was actually his son Meng Yi. Meng Yi was the Central Secretariat Supervisor and had many sons. Furthermore, his youngest daughter was a king¡¯s wife.

    ¡°King Liang Manor¡¯s forces will be led by King Liang¡¯s son Zhao Xi. Zhao Xi is also a talented individual,¡± Bi Linglong continued.

    She then exined, ¡°The Bi n will be led by my older brother¡¯s trusted aides, Gu Heng and Gu Xing. These two are from the Bi n¡¯s branch, the Gu n. They studied and grew up together with the Bi n¡¯s children, so they¡¯re part of our core forces. These two brothers are hardworking and diligent, and their aptitudes aren¡¯t bad. They¡¯ve both broken through to the sixth rank.¡±

    Zu An had a weird look on his face as he asked, ¡°Oh? Childhood sweethearts?¡±

    Bi Linglong quickly replied, ¡°Don¡¯t think such random things. They¡¯re only like family to us.¡± She was stunned even as she replied. Why am I exining this to him?

    She was worried that he might pick up on something and quickly said, ¡°And as for you, I¡¯ve already added you to the list through my father¡¯s connections. Even though your cultivation has surpassed the seventh rank, it doesn¡¯t go too far above, so it shouldn¡¯t be a problem. Rest up well today; we¡¯re entering the secret dungeon together tomorrow.¡±

    Zu An smiled. He thought to himself, Thisss is still using her own n¡¯s power and has no idea that the emperor already put everything together. However, he didn¡¯t say anything and only replied in the affirmative.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡­

    The next morning, Bi Linglong woke up early and got dressed. Since today was an important day, she hadn¡¯t gotten much sleep the night before. Fortunately, she was a cultivator, so it didn¡¯t affect her too much.

    Her maid Rong Mo, who was helping her with her hair, sighed from time to time. ¡°Your highness, you should sleep a bit more if you didn¡¯t sleep well. Why are you getting up so early, and moreover putting on your makeup so carefully? You weren¡¯t even this meticulous when you were getting married back then.¡±

    ¡°What does a brat like you know?¡± Bi Linglong blushed. She looked at her reflection in the mirror. She looked even more beautiful than usual, leaving even herself shocked. Why was she doing this? Was it because she was going to meet that person? Her heart rate quickened. She quickly exined, ¡°This matter is rted to the crown prince¡¯s prospects, so of course I need to appear at my best. Not only is this war against King Qi¡¯s faction, it will also inspire our own men.¡±

    Rong Mo smiled and said, ¡°Your highness is so pretty, those men will definitely fall over themselves for your favor.¡±

    Bi Linglong harrumphed. ¡°How can you say nonsense like that?¡±

    ¡°The crown prince isn¡¯t here anyway.¡± Rong Mo didn¡¯t seem bothered. ¡°Honestly, recently, your highness¡¯ mental state has be much better than before.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Bi Linglong was stunned. She hadn¡¯t even noticed that herself.

    ¡°Of course.¡± Rong Mo chattered continuously. ¡°Your highness was always shrouded in worry whenever you woke up in the past, but now, there¡¯s even an uncontroble smile between your brows.¡±

    ¡°Nonsense! How could I have changed that much?¡± Bi Linglong was startled and immediately criticized her. Then, she looked at the stunning woman in the mirror. She reached out her hand to gently caress her own face. Could it be¡­ because of him?

 Chapter 802: Childhood Friends

    <h4>Chapter 802: Childhood Friends</h4>

    A whileter, a maid outside reported that someone had arrived at the Eastern Pce.

    ¡°Is that so? Hurry and let them in,¡± Bi Linglong said as she stood up. Just as she was about to head outside, she suddenly stopped and turned around to check herself in the mirror onest time, making sure there weren¡¯t any blemishes. Then, she lifted her dress to rush out.

    Rong Mo was incredibly shocked. What¡¯s up with the crown princess? Is there really a need to be that excited when you¡¯re greeting a subordinate?

    The crown princess stopped her little sprint when she reached the guest room. She sorted out her dress, which had be a bit messy from running, and recovered her usual calm and graceful appearance. Then, she lightly cleared her throat and said, ¡°Why did youe so early, sir¡­¡±

    She froze halfway through her sentence, because she saw the people in the hall. It wasn¡¯t the person she was expecting.

    The two young men in the hall were seated and sipping on tea. Even though their appearances were a bit simr, their bearings were entirely different. The one with the beard was sitting upright in his chair, his figure giving off a feeling of steadiness. The other had one leg crossed over the other, and his feet were fidgeting constantly. There was a frivolous expression on his face as well.

    When they heard the door open and saw that it was Bi Linglong, they immediately stood up and walked over.

    ¡°I greet the crown princess!¡±

    ¡°Sister Linglong!¡±

    ¡°So it was you guys.¡± Bi Linglong felt a bit disappointed. The two in front of her were Gu Heng and Gu Xing, these two brothers who she cultivated with from childhood. The steady one with the beard was the older brother Gu Heng, while the slightly sloppy-looking one was the younger brother Gu Xing.

    ¡°Who did sister Linglong think it was?¡± Gu Xing asked with a smile.

    Bi Linglong¡¯s good mood faded, reced by the formal smile of someone of high status. She said, ¡°I was waiting for you two. It has been a while.¡±

    Gu Heng sighed as he looked at her. ¡°Indeed, ever since you joined the pce as the crown princess, we have never seen you since.¡± There was deep sentiment and regret in his eyes.

    Gu Xing was much more direct. ¡°Long time no see. Linglong has grown more and more pretty.¡±

    Gu Heng frowned. ¡°Brother, she has already be the crown princess. Our ranks are different, we cannot address her like we used to anymore.¡±

    Bi Linglong said with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s fine; all of us grew up together, so there¡¯s no need to be such strangers. Please sit down.¡±

    Gu Xing remarked to Gu Heng with a smile, ¡°Big bro, what did I say? Linglong won¡¯t change; she¡¯s still just as good at understanding others as before.¡±

    Bi Linglong had a gentle smile on her face as she sat down in the highest position. The friendly regard in their eyes didn¡¯t escape her gaze. She had been sharp ever since she was little, so how could she not know that these two liked her?

    But she didn¡¯t expose them. She had always pretended that she didn¡¯t notice anything. In her opinion, after she became the crown princess, these two would have given up on those thoughts. Furthermore, there wasn¡¯t anything wrong with these two liking her. As someone of high status, she was capable of making use of their adoration. It made it easier to control her subordinates.

    ¡°Hm? Why don¡¯t I see the crown prince anywhere?¡± Gu Heng looked around out of curiosity.

    Bi Linglong replied, ¡°He¡¯s still in bed.¡±

    ¡°The crown prince really has a vast breadth of mind, not being worried at all.¡± Even though Gu Heng was praising him on the surface, there was a bit of disdain in his eyes.

    Gu Heng¡¯s tone was also sour. ¡°The crown prince really is blessed¡­ He¡¯s probably so tired that he has to sleep more.¡±

    When he thought about how that stupid pig tormented his goddess night after night, and that was why he was so tired, he was about to go mad from jealousy. But what can I do? He¡¯s the crown prince.

    Bi Linglong was able to sense their resentment. Even though she was extremely dissatisfied with the crown prince, there was no way she would end up with these two. She wouldn¡¯t berate them before heading into battle for fear of harming morale. Her eyes subconsciously drifted to the door. Why wasn¡¯t that person here yet?

    The Gu n brothers were extremely excited to see Bi Linglong again and had endless things to say. They brought up one childhood memory after another.

    Bi Linglong replied at first, but when she saw that the two were getting more and more excited, she couldn''t help but frown. Even though they had grown up together, there was etiquette that had to be followed. As such, she took the initiative to shift the topic to the secret dungeon task.

    Gu Xing immediately patted his chest with a big smile. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Linglong. We will take care of the crown prince¡¯s exam! We will take care of everything.¡±

    Gu Heng also said, ¡°Absolutely! I collected a lot of information about the Moon Jade Serpent, and I¡¯ve also practiced how to take it down with my warriors. Nothing will go wrong!¡±

    A sincere smile finally appeared on Bi Linglong¡¯s face. ¡°Then I¡¯ll really have to thank the two of you ahead of time.¡±

    Gu Xingughed and said, ¡°Linglong, you are too polite. There¡¯s no need for any of that; are you treating us as outsiders¡­?¡±

    Bi Linglong smiled, but she didn¡¯t reply. There were no identifiable ws in her etiquette.

    Even though the two brothers sensed a bit of estrangement, they simply felt it was natural. She was the glorious crown princess now after all, so this type of bearing was within their expectations.

    They discussed all kinds of scenarios that might happen in the dungeon, and time unwittingly passed. Even the crown prince was woken up under the eunuchs¡¯ care. However, Zu An still hadn¡¯t arrived.

    The Gu n brothers also sensed that something was off. Gu Heng couldn''t help but ask, ¡°Is the crown princess waiting for someone?¡±

    Bi Linglong nodded. ¡°I am waiting for the crown prince¡¯s chambein, Sir Zu An.¡±

    ¡°Oh, Brightmoon City Chu n¡¯s drafted son-inw,¡± Gu Xing sneered. His voice carried a bit of contempt.

    Bi Linglong frowned inwardly, but she didn¡¯t say anything.

    Gu Heng coughed and said, ¡°Brother, speak properly. Sir Zu is now the crown prince¡¯s chambein.¡±

    Gu Xing grumbled, ¡°But wasn¡¯t he originally from Brightmoon City? And he is the Chu n¡¯s drafted son-inw. Am I wrong?¡±

    Bi Linglong calmly said, ¡°He no longer has any connection with the Chu n. Do not use words like ¡®drafted son-inw¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Ah, I remember. I think he was rejected by the Chu n,¡± Gu Xing said. ¡°But that¡¯s a good thing, or else we¡¯d really feel injustice for Chu First Miss. How could someone like her be with a rat off the streets?¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Bi Linglong frowned inwardly again. The contempt in his tone was somethingmon among influential ns toward those of lesser backgrounds. After some hesitation, she decided that it wasn¡¯t convenient for her to defend Zu An with her status.

    Gu Heng also asked, ¡°How about we head to the academy first? Sir Zu will naturally head thereter.¡±

    Bi Linglong shook her head. ¡°I will just wait for him here. I told him yesterday that we would set off from here.¡±

    Gu Heng and his little brother exchanged a look. It seemed this Zu An was someone special to the crown princess. No wonder he could be the crown prince¡¯s chambein in such a short amount of time.

    Both of them felt a sense of danger, but they didn¡¯t pay too much attention to it. After all, no matter how much the crown princess cared about him, he would be nothing more than a subject. However, it¡¯s different for us brothers; we grew up and cultivated together with the crown princess. We¡¯re childhood friends.

    Gu Xing was about to say something else, but Gu Heng stopped him and said with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s not that early anymore. It won¡¯t matter even if we wait a bit for Sir Zu.¡± Gu Xing frowned, but he didn¡¯t say anything in the end.

    Bi Linglong felt that waiting around like this wasn¡¯t a solution either, so she brought the two of them to see the crown prince. At the same time, she had the maids bring in some food.

    Even though the brothers had already eaten before they came, having a meal at the Eastern Pce was a huge honor. All of them had smiles on their faces and continued toplement Bi Linglong. They even praised that fat pig of a crown prince they looked down on.

    ¡­

    After a joyous and harmonious meal, Bi Linglong continued to nce toward the door. Unfortunately, that person never appeared. That made even her frown. Why wasn¡¯t he here yet? Did he oversleep? But that doesn¡¯t make any sense! This is such an important matter, so how could he have made such a huge mistake?

    Or maybe something unexpected happened along the way? Did King Qi¡¯s people ambush him? But she should have received news about that by now if something did happen!

    ¡­

    While Bi Linglong was lost in her concern, Gu Xing finallymented unhappily, ¡°Is that guy named Zu or something going toe or not? So many of us are waiting for him. Don¡¯t tell me he got cold feet because he¡¯s scared of death?¡±

    The crown prince had been sipping on some soup. When he heard Gu Xing, his face jiggled. ¡°Death? Is this trip going to be dangerous?¡±

    Bi Linglong immediately consoled him. ¡°Crown prince, don¡¯t worry. We won¡¯t be in any danger.¡±

    Gu Heng gave his brother a look. He quickly said, ¡°My brother has misspoken. I hope the crown prince will not mind.¡±

    At the same time, he felt more and more disdain. How could this damn pig be the crown prince? And his goddess Linglong had actually ended up being married to him? Sigh, apart from his background, how is he better than me in any way? Is this fate?

 Chapter 803: Clear and Logical

    <h4>Chapter 803: Clear and Logical</h4>

    Just like that, their group waited for a bit longer. However, Zu An still didn¡¯t appear. Bi Linglong¡¯s originally high spirits gradually died down.

    Gu Xing said in dissatisfaction, ¡°Linglong, I think that guy is too scared and won¡¯te. But you don¡¯t have to worry; with us brothers here to protect you, there won¡¯t be any problem at all with this mission.¡±

    Bi Linglong forced a smile and said, ¡°One more person is an additional share of strength.¡±

    Gu Heng also spoke up. ¡°It sounds as though the crown princess favors this Sir Zu quite a bit.¡±

    Rong Mo pouted and said with strong resentment, ¡°That¡¯s exactly what it is! There was supposed to be one seventh ranked cultivator who could enter. The crown princess didn¡¯t take me and insisted on choosing him.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t speak frivolously. This is the conclusion everyone reached after a discussion.¡± Bi Linglong shot her a look. This girl was getting more and more out of hand.

    The Gu n brothers exchanged a look, both of them seeing shock in each other¡¯s eyes. Judging from all their experience with the Bi n, they knew just how important Rong Mo was.

    Even though this woman looked young, she actually wasn¡¯t young at all. Otherwise, how could she have cultivated beyond the seventh rank? It was just that she had been raised by the Bi n since she was little and forced to cultivate away from the rest of the world, which had caused her psychological age to be a bit lower than her real age. That was why she had been assigned to Bi Linglong as her maid. From that, it was also clear to see just how much the Bi n and Bi Linglong trusted her.

    And yet the crown prince¡¯s exam was such an important matter, but Bi Linglong actually wasn¡¯t going to bring her and had instead chosen Zu An. The implication behind that was obvious. Either Zu An¡¯s cultivation was far beyond Rong Mo¡¯s, or he was more important to her.

    Rong Mo was already at the seventh rank, while Zu An was young and had grown up amoner, nor did he have any special cultivation education. How could he possibly surpass her?

    In their opinion, it was thetter. Both of them felt a strong sense of danger when they thought of that.

    Gu Heng thought for a bit, and then said, ¡°Crown princess, if Sir Zu still does note in the end, will we just continue to wait here forever? It is not a problem for us brothers to wait, but it is improper for the crown prince to wait here like this. Furthermore, it will be bad if we do not enter the dungeon and it closes.¡±

    Gu Xing nodded in admiration. His big brother¡¯s thoughts were in line with his own, but he was able to hide his real objective behind some high-sounding reasons. He had always felt that that was too hypocritical, but he now felt his big brother was much more likeable.

    The fatty also became noisy when he heard that. ¡°Exactly, exactly! It¡¯s so boring just sitting here.¡±

    Gu Heng and Gu Xing silently exchanged a look when they saw the crown prince¡¯s reaction. A small smirk appeared on their lips.

    A look of disappointment shed through Bi Linglong¡¯s eyes when she saw how the crown prince was making a scene, his behavior unlike how a crown prince should act at all. She said quietly, ¡°Momo, all of you should escort the crown prince to the academy first. I will pay Sir Zu¡¯s home a visit.¡±

    ¡°Yay! We¡¯re going to y at the academy!¡± the crown prince eximed, running off excitedly.

    Rong Mo didn¡¯t even have time to say anything. She quickly rushed out to escort the crown prince. Many guards from the Eastern Pce quickly followed behind them.

    The Gu n brothers didn¡¯t move. They said, ¡°In that case, we will remain here to ensure the crown princess¡¯ safety. We want to see just what kind of hero this Sir Zu is as well.¡±

    Bi Linglong was actually going to personally pay his home a visit? Both of them felt incredible jealousy. They obviously wanted to follow along to take a look for themselves.

    The crown princess frowned. She could sense their hostility toward Zu An. It wasn¡¯t a good idea to bring them with her.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    However, after thinking about it, she felt that it might be beneficial for them to meet each other now, since they would be spending some time together in the dungeonter on. As such, she nodded and called over Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun from outside. After all, she had never been to Zu An¡¯s home before.

    ¡­

    Zu An¡¯s residence was inside the city. They quickly arrived outside. Bi Linglong didn¡¯t have anyone else send a message, and instead walked straight toward the house.

    When the servants saw the crown princess, they panicked and greeted her. Bi Linglong didn¡¯t see Zu An anywhere after looking around, asking, ¡°Where is Sir Zu?¡±

    ¡°Sir Zu left early in the morning,¡± a maid replied.

    ¡°He left?¡± Bi Linglong was stunned. Why hadn¡¯t she seen him yet, then? Then did something really happen to him along the way?

    After having that thought, she quickly asked Piao Duandiao, ¡°Guard Piao, did any fights happen in the city today?¡±

    Piao Duandiao shook his head. ¡°I didn¡¯t receive any information of the sort.¡±

    Bi Linglong frowned. Then where is that guy? This was inside the city, after all. With Zu An¡¯s cultivation, there was no way he could have been kidnapped without anyone knowing.

    Gu Xing remarked with a smile, ¡°Maybe he found out about how dangerous a secret dungeon was, so he was too scared and ran away?¡± The crown prince wasn¡¯t here, so he didn¡¯t have to worry about that anymore.

    Jiao Sigun harrumphed and said, ¡°Sir Zu isn¡¯t that type of person.¡± He was already extremely pissed off from hearing these two talk badly about Zu An on the way here.

    ¡°It¡¯s possible to know someone for a long time without understanding his true nature. You can see the situation for yourself right now. He didn¡¯t show up at the agreed upon time, did he?¡± Gu Xing remarked with a shrug.

    ¡°Sir Zu might be held up by some other matter.¡± Piao Duandiao also spoke up.

    Gu Heng frowned. Looks like this Zu An is quite popr in the Eastern Pce¡­ Even these two lesser guards were speaking out for him.

    Gu Xing burst outughing. ¡°What could possibly be more important than the crown prince¡¯s exam today?¡±

    Piao Duandiao was at a loss for words. He didn¡¯t know how to reply.

    Gu Xing gave the house a look. ¡°Maybe Sir Zu only pretended to leave, but he¡¯s just hiding inside.¡± He walked straight in after speaking. Because the crown princess was here, none of the servants dared to stop him. They could only anxiously follow behind him.

    After some hesitation, Bi Linglong didn¡¯t stop Gu Xing in the end. She was actually starting to get angry as well. Zu An had clearly promised her, yet he was actuallyte for such an important appointment. She had gotten up early and done her makeup for nothing. She also wanted to see what the heck was going on.

    You have sessfully trolled Bi Linglong for +233 +233 +233¡­

    This courtyard wasn¡¯t that big. Gu Xing quickly searched through the entire ce, but he didn¡¯t see any sign of Zu An. Heughed and said, ¡°Looks like he¡¯s hiding outside.¡±

    Gu Heng coughed. ¡°Brother, please do not jump to conclusions. Sir Zu might already be at the Eastern Pce.¡±

    Gu Xing sneered. ¡°How is that possible? We just came from the Eastern Pce, yet we didn¡¯t see any sign of him. Sigh, I guess we can¡¯t expect much from a kid off the streets after all. It¡¯s fine in normal situations, but when pushes to shove, his cowardly and pathetic nature bes apparent.¡±

    ¡°Nonsense!¡± Jiao Sigun argued, ¡°Sir Zu even dared to face the eighth ranked King Qi¡¯s heir head on, and even defeated him! He fought on par with the ninth ranked expert Han Fengqiu, so why would he be scared of a secret dungeon?¡±

    Gu Heng said, ¡°That battle has indeed roused up the entire capital, but we investigated the matter afterward. There was actually a powerful expert in hiding, and he secretly summoned the water element when King Qi¡¯s heir used his ultimate lightning move. That was why he was mysteriously defeated.¡±

    ¡°Exactly! Sir Zu was born on the streets after all. If he really were a talented genius, why would he let himself be a drafted son-inw?¡± Gu Xing felt a bit guilty when he said that, because he had seen Chu Chuyan¡¯s beauty from afar in the past. If a goddess like her was going to take a drafted son-inw, even he himself would be willing. ¡°Ahem, he¡¯s only around the fifth or sixth rank in cultivation. Maybe the seventh rank at most. How could he possibly win against the eighth ranked King Qi¡¯s heir? Or fight on equal grounds with Han Fengqiu or whatever? That¡¯s even more ridiculous.¡±

    He continued, ¡°What kind of strength does someone like Han Fengqiu represent? Everyone in the capital knows that he¡¯s at the peak of the ninth rank. Someone like that could easily crush someone at the seventh or eighth rank with just a single finger; how could a youngster possibly go toe to toe with him? It was probably because Han Fengqiu was on guard against that mysterious expert, but that ended up spreading falsehoods of Zu An having some kind of aplishment. This really is absurd!¡±

    Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun opened their mouths, but they didn¡¯t know how to retort. After all, to them, someone at the peak of the ninth rank really was someone who was impossible to defeat for someone of lower rank. They looked around in frustration and helplessness. Big bro Zu, where are you?

 Chapter 804: Implicit Meaning

    <h4>Chapter 804: Implicit Meaning</h4>

    Zu An was currently inside the Royal Academy. As it turned out, Jiang Luofu had sent someone to tell him to head over to the academy first. He was initially suspicious, because her n did have King Qi backing them. He worried that it might be some trap.

    However, he quickly gave up on that thought. If he even had to doubt Jiang Luofu, then living in this world really would be too tiring. He knew that Jiang Luofu wouldn¡¯t cause him trouble at such a crucial time, so he didn¡¯t hesitate and headed straight to the academy first. Either way, the dungeon where the crown prince¡¯s test was going to be held was there, so it wouldn¡¯t interfere with official matters.

    Jiang Luofu was dressed in a dark blue dress. Her ck stockings were visible through the slit in the side of the dress. Zu An sighed in admiration when he saw her. ¡°Big sis, are there really no men who chased after you these past few years?¡±

    ¡°Of course there were,¡± Jiang Luofu said with a smile. ¡°Viting a woman through force, coercion, or other methods, or forcing them to do sexual acts, counts as rape. Thew punishes these actions with three to ten years of prison time.¡±

    Zu An gave her stunning legs a look, and then said, ¡°I¡¯m sure many men wouldn¡¯t mind spending three years in prison for you.¡±

    Jiang Luofu said calmly, ¡°Don¡¯t forget that ording to the Great Zhou Dynasty, the victims have authority over the punishment. I¡¯ve always been a kind person, so I wouldn¡¯t go so far as to take their lives. However, the tools used for the crime should be confiscated, no?¡±

    ¡°Confiscate the tools?¡± Zu An felt a chill run through his legs. This woman had just said something extremely terrifying in a nonchnt manner.

    Jiang Luofu continued, ¡°Since I¡¯m awyer, then everything I do is backed by thew. You don¡¯t need to wonder if my actions are rational and legal.¡±

    Zu An said with a sigh, ¡°Thew you¡¯re speaking of seems to describe only women as the victims. Then what if a man were¡­ humiliated? Then what would happen?¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Jiang Luofu was momentarily distracted. ¡°You¡¯ve stumped me. Even though that would still be rape ording to logic, ording to thew, there¡¯s no way to convict the perpetrator of rape¡­ Hm, this issue you¡¯ve brought up is quite constructive. I¡¯ll find a way to bring it up to the court and have thew amended.¡±

    Zu An was speechless and said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to take my words that seriously, haha. I was just joking around.¡±

    Jiang Luofu shook her head. ¡°It might be a joke to you, but for legalists, we have the responsibility of making thew moreplete so that fewer innocent people will be wronged without any hope of justice.¡±

    Zu An felt great respect when he saw the steadfast expression in her eyes and the dignified look on her face. The bit of frivolousness within him also disappeared. ¡°Then I¡¯ll thank you in ce of all of my malepatriots.¡±

    ¡°This is my job; what is there to thank me for?¡± Jiang Luofu chuckled. Her expression suddenly became distant. ¡°Right, why did you suddenly think of such a rare situation? Don¡¯t tell me that you¡­¡±

    ¡°Screw that!¡± Zu An immediately jumped in fright. ¡°How is that possible? I¡¯ve only bullied others; no one has ever bullied me like this.¡±

    A dangerous glint shed through Jiang Luofu¡¯s eyes. ¡°I advise you not to break thew in front of me, or else this big sis won¡¯t show mercy just because of our friendship.¡±

    Zu An smiled awkwardly. ¡°I¡¯m an upright person; how could I possibly do those illegal things? By the way, big sis, what did you call me here for today?¡±

    ¡°There was something I needed to talk to you about.¡± Jiang Luofu opened the cupboard beside her and took out a roll of silk. There were all sorts of diagrams on it. Some areas had red exmation marks on them. ¡°This is a map of the academy¡¯s dungeon. It records the various terrain and vicious beasts in detail.¡±

    Zu An was shocked. ¡°You guys even have a map?¡±

    Jiang Luofu rolled her eyes. ¡°Of course. This is the academy¡¯s secret dungeon, and it opens up once every few years for the students to train in. Thest time it was opened was three years ago¡­ As an academy teacher, of course I know about the situation inside. I believe the various powers know the details of the dungeon as well, just that their maps definitely aren¡¯t as detailed as this one.¡± She continued, ¡°You should stay as far away from these red exmation marks as possible. You absolutely can¡¯t get close to them. These ces are too dangerous for you.¡±

    Zu An felt warm inside. ¡°You¡¯ve helped me ever since I was in Brightmoon City, and now you¡¯ve prepared all of this for my safety. There¡¯s really nothing I can do for you to repay all of the favors¡­ How about I pay you with my body?¡±

    Jiang Luofu was pretty moved when she heard what he said at first. But when she heard thest part, she immediately shouted at him, ¡°Get lost! You even dare to flirt with me?!¡±

    After they joked around for a bit, Jiang Luofu suddenly said seriously, ¡°Once you enter the dungeon, no matter what happens, your first priority should be your own life. Don¡¯t try to show off and be brave. You have to remember how many people are waiting for you outside.¡±

    Zu An blurted out, ¡°Are you included among those people?¡±

    Jiang Luofu was stunned. There was a dangerous smile in her eyes. ¡°Oh? It seems you¡¯ve really grown up now. You dare to even tease this big sis so easily.¡±

    ¡°I was never little anyway.¡± Zu An harrumphed.

    Jiang Luofu didn¡¯t catch the other meaning of Zu An¡¯s words. ¡°You¡¯re my little brother, so of course I want you toe out safely.¡±

    Zu An looked at her cool and elegant face. She was clearly being serious here, and she was giving off a powerful presence, yet he could only think of those officedy videos. The mood became rather strange for him.

    He quickly got rid of those messy thoughts and asked seriously, ¡°Big sis, is there something you¡¯re not telling me?¡±

    Jiang Luofu shook her head. ¡°I¡¯ve already told you everything I should tell you. As for the rest, I don¡¯t know either. Just remember that your safety is the first priority.¡±

    Seeing that she wasn¡¯t willing to say it, Zu An didn¡¯t pressure her either. However, many possibilities appeared in his mind.

    Jiang Luofu got up and said, ¡°Follow me.¡±

    ¡°Where to?¡± Zu An asked.

    Jiang Luofu didn¡¯t say anything and only led the way. Zu An followed behind her. Even though he was confused, admiring her stunning curves and long legs from behind was still a wonderful thing.

    Jiang Luofu suddenly stopped moving. A faint red blush appeared on her neck. She harrumphed and said, ¡°Walk in front of me.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He said, ¡°I don¡¯t even know where we¡¯re going, though.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll give you directions,¡± Jiang Luofu replied.

    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Zu An¡¯s spirits fell. Who are you even on guard against? Who was the one bbering about how you didn¡¯t care if others stared at you, that being looked at was the best praise? Looks like girls are all liars after all.

    The two of them went through several turns and quickly arrived at a secluded courtyard. Judging from the alternating ck and white tiles on the ground, Zu An could tell that he had arrived at Hei Baizi¡¯s ce without even asking.

    A handsome man with dark circles under his eyes was holding a game record book and trying to memorize it in a daze. When he saw the two of them, he eximed, almost in tears, ¡°Ms. Jiang, Ah Zu!¡±

    ¡°Why do you look like that?¡± Zu An jumped in fright. Was this still the Xie young master who was even prettier than a girl? His face was wan and sallow, as if his skin had been sucked dry. His hair looked a bit oily and probably hadn¡¯t been washed for several days.

    ¡°Teacher wants me to y Go with him every day, and I¡¯m tormented by him day and night. Whenever he¡¯s satisfied, he just goes back and sleeps, while I have to continue to memorize these Go games. It¡¯s been so many days since I¡¯ve had some proper sleep¡­¡± Xie Xiu grumbled. Suddenly, a chess piece smacked the back of his head.

    Hei Baizi¡¯szy voice called out, ¡°You¡¯re talking smack behind your teacher¡¯s back again? Then add a hundred Go games as punishment.¡±

    Xie Xiu became depressed, and tears even began to gather in his eyes.

    Jiang Luofu said with a consoling smile, ¡°Your teacher is doing this for your sake. In this way, your mind will be tempered and broadened, and your memory and calctive ability will improve. Then, you¡¯ll be able to properly cultivate their Go school¡¯s technique.¡±

    Xie Xiu was stunned. He clearly hadn¡¯t realized that yet.

    ¡°Eighth sister, why are you telling that to someone like him? I also intended to work on his temperament. This brat has no discipline at all! Telling him that won¡¯t help him.¡± Hei Baizi walked out and spoke discontentedly.

    However, when he saw Zu An, his strict expression immediately became polite. He quickly walked over and eximed, ¡°So it was Sir Zu! I¡¯m honored by your presence. Come,e inside. Let¡¯s have a chat. I already discovered a way to win against the situation fromst time. Little Xie, what are you staring stupidly for? Get us some tea!¡±

    Xie Xiu wanted to cry. He was also a human, yet why was he treated so differently? He really couldn''t associate this bootlicker with his usually strict teacher. After all, he had been drinking and chatting merrily with Zu An a day ago. He had even given him some advice! But who would have thought that things would change so quickly?

    Zu An immediately said, ¡°I still need to enter the dungeon together with the crown prince, so I fear we won¡¯t have enough time to y a game.¡±

    ¡°What crown prince whatever? How can it be more important than chess?¡± Hei Baizi asked indifferently.

    Zu An waspletely speechless. The people in the academy don¡¯t seem to treat the royal family with much importance at all¡­

    Jiang Luofu coughed and said, ¡°Senior brother, the reason we came today is because we wish to ask for something from you.¡±

 Chapter 805: Last Breath

    <h4>Chapter 805: Last Breath</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Hei Baizi harrumphed and said, ¡°Nope.¡±

    Jiang Luofu was surprised. ¡°I didn¡¯t even say what it was I needed.¡±

    Hei Baizi said, ¡°You never visited me that often these past few years. I was wondering why you were bing friendly all of a sudden. I knew it wasn¡¯t anything good.¡±

    Jiang Luofu replied with a smile, ¡°Don¡¯t be so stingy, fifth senior. I¡¯m not asking for myself, but rather, I wanted to ask for a sacrificial piece from you.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Sacrificial piece?¡± Zu An was stunned. What is that?

    Hei Baizi frowned. He was clearly a bit hesitant.

    Jiang Luofu added, ¡°Ah Zu will definitely be in danger when he enters the dungeon this time. If something happens, no one will be able to y chess with you anymore. Furthermore, you¡¯ll never be able to get your revenge after losing to him.¡±

    Hei Baizi harrumphed. ¡°Am I that kind of sore loser? Hmph, you¡¯re using every way you can to get something from me for him. It¡¯s almost as if you¡¯re lovers.¡±

    Jiang Luofu frowned. ¡°What kind of nonsense are you saying? He¡¯s my little brother.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t all guys and girls y those sibling games? Do you think I don¡¯t know?¡± Hei Baizi muttered. He tossed out two chess pieces from his sleeves to Zu An. ¡°In a moment of danger, ce the white piece in front of you and the ck piece on someone else. That way, the damage you would take will be transferred to someone else. It¡¯s a sacrificial piece, so it¡¯ll be consumed after a single use. That¡¯s why you have to save it for a crucial moment.¡±

    Zu An was shocked. ¡°There¡¯s actually something so miraculous in this world?¡±

    Hei Baizi stroked his beard. He couldn''t hide the pride on his face. ¡°This is the result of my lifetime of devotion; it contains the chess school¡¯s principles. I¡¯ve only managed to refine three sets in all these years. These things are too special, so it would be quite bad if they ended up in the hands of others. That¡¯s why normally speaking, I wouldn¡¯t give this to anyone else. However, Sir Zu is of noble and lofty character, so I don¡¯t need to worry about that.¡±

    Zu An received the chess pieces with a serious expression. ¡°Thank you, fifth senior!¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for thanks; just y a few more rounds with me once youe out.¡± Hei Baizi chuckled. ¡°Right, I almost forgot to remind you that you absolutely can¡¯t get the order wrong with the ck and white pieces. Otherwise, you¡¯ll end up bing someone else¡¯s sacrifice.¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°I reckon I¡¯m not that stupid.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± Hei Baizi said with a smile. He then tried to chat with Zu An about things rted to chess.

    However, Jiang Luofu took a step forward and pulled Zu An back. ¡°Fifth senior, I still need to bring him to other ces. The two of you can chat some more when there¡¯s some leisure time.¡±

    Hei Baizi couldn''t help but curse as he watched her leave. ¡°Women only abandon you once they get what they want after all; they¡¯re all swindlers¡­ Xie Xiu, stay away from women in the future. I get annoyed whenever I see them.¡±

    Xie Xiu had a weird look on his face. Aren¡¯t you basically asking me for my life if you tell me not to associate with women anymore? However, he didn¡¯t dare voice such thoughts and instead continuously expressed his acknowledgment.

    ¡­

    Elsewhere, Zu An asked Jiang Luofu, ¡°Big sis, who are we going to meet next?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll know once we get there,¡± Jiang Luofu said with a mysterious smile.

    Zu An began to think to himself. She had brought him there to get the sacrificial piece for him. That meant this trip was going to be much more dangerous than he had imagined!

    Soon afterward, they arrived by a pond. Unlike the usual clear colors one would expect to see, this one was pitch ck.

    Zu An was astonished. ¡°Big sis, be careful not to be poisoned.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine; this is just ink.¡± Jiang Luofu smiled. Then, she walked toward the pavilion by thekeside.

    ¡°Ink?¡± Only now did Zu An notice that there were tworge, white geese swimming on the surface. If there really was poison, then they would have died a long time ago. Just how much ink was needed to dye an entire pond ck, though?

    Hm? Wait, if it¡¯s ink, then why are these two geese¡¯s feathers so white? He looked carefully and saw that there was blue light swirling across the surface of the tworge white geese¡¯s bodies. This was definitely the power of a formation.

    Once they passed a covered walkway, the area ahead of him suddenly became spacious and well-lit. A youngdy who seemed to have a graceful and subdued temperament sat in a gazebo. She was copying a stone tablet. Together with the inverted image of the pitch-ck water, her presence formed a noble and elegant scene.

    The youngdy was focused on her drawing. The wind blew away the hair around her temples, revealing a beautiful and familiar face.

    ¡°Lady Xie!¡± Zu An eximed. He had only met Xie Daoyun once ever since she came to the capital with her younger brother. Meanwhile, he had met Xie Xiu several times already.

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s body clearly trembled when she heard his voice. Then, a drop of ink dropped from her brush, ruining the calligraphy she was copying.

    Zu An felt rather apologetic. ¡°Sorry, I ended up ruining your work.¡±

    Xie Daoyun lowered her brush and slowly shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s not your fault. I¡¯m the one who hasn¡¯t reached that pure state of meditation the teacher spoke of yet.¡±

    Zu An sighed in amazement. They hadn¡¯t met each other for a while; now there seemed to be a bit of a gentle and refined aura around her, as if she were a hermit who stood aloof from worldly matters.

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Jiang Luofu chuckled. ¡°Your mind was quite calm when I was standing next to you just now, yet as soon as Ah Zu spoke, your mind was no longer so?¡±

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s graceful and aloof appearance was instantly shattered. She even blushed slightly. She couldn''t help but exim in annoyance, ¡°Ms. Jiang!¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright, let¡¯s talk about important matters.¡± Jiang Luofu smiled and asked, ¡°Did you prepare what I asked you forst time?¡±

    Xie Daoyun voiced her acknowledgment. She took out an apricot yellow talisman from the case next to her. On it was aplicated rune drawn in cinnabar. She handed it to Zu An. ¡°Big brother Zu, I heard you were going to enter the secret dungeon, and that it was going to be dangerous. Unfortunately, I cannot help you by your side, so I prepared a talisman for you. I hope it can help you during a moment of trouble.¡±

    Jiang Luofu smiled and exined, ¡°This is great senior¡¯s Last Breath Talisman. When you ce it in front of you, it can negate twenty percent of damage and leave you with onest breath of life. That¡¯s why it¡¯s called the Last Breath Talisman. This is great senior¡¯s treasure, something even I might not be able to obtain if I asked. It¡¯s only because Daoyun is his precious disciple that she managed to get one from that miserly fe.¡±

    At the same time, she transmitted to Zu An through ki, ¡°Brat, you better be grateful. Even though that scale little Yu¡¯er gave youst time is incredible, it actually has a limit to the damage it can negate. Once that limit is passed, not even little Yu¡¯er¡¯s talisman can preserve your life. However, this Last Breath Talisman is something great senior poured his heart into. It condenses all of his understanding of runes. It uses the damage caused by the attack as its energy source, and then converts that into the power that protects you. That¡¯s why no matter how high the other party¡¯s cultivation is, it can reduce twenty percent of damage. This means that even if it were the emperor who attacked you, it would still reduce twenty percent of the damage.

    ¡°As for whether you can keep your life or not after reducing the damage by twenty percent, that depends on your luck. That¡¯s why it¡¯s called the Last Breath Talisman.

    ¡°Furthermore, it will reflect twenty percent of the damage back at the aggressor. It really is an incredible item.¡±

    Zu An was finally shaken up when he heard her exnation. This really was an extraordinary item! He immediately bowed toward Xie Daoyun. ¡°Miss Xie, the dungeon will indeed be full of dangers this time, so I won¡¯t pretentiously refuse. However, this talisman is incredibly precious, and it should¡¯ve been really hard for you to get it to me. I really have no way of paying back such a huge debt¡­¡±

    Jiang Luofu yfully interrupted him. ¡°And what? You¡¯ll repay it with your body?¡±

    ¡°Ms. Jiang, what are you saying?!¡± Xie Daoyun protested.

    Zu An replied with an upright expression, ¡°Why would I say something like that? I¡¯ve deeply engraved this favor in my heart. I¡¯ll never forget it for the rest of my life.¡±

    Xie Daoyun quickly said, ¡°There is no need for that! It¡¯s just a shame that my skills are not great enough and I cannot draw a rune like this myself. In the future¡­ I will draw some more for you.¡±

    Zu An was overjoyed. ¡°Then I really have to thank Miss Xie.¡±

    Jiang Luofu rolled her eyes when she saw how well the two were getting along. This fe was starting his nobleman act again. He wasn¡¯t like that earlier with me at all, hmph.

    When they left Xie Daoyun¡¯s ce, Jiang Luofu brought him to the rear mountain. She pointed at the small path ahead and said, ¡°You¡¯ll reach the secret dungeon if you take this path to the end. The crown prince¡¯s faction and King Qi¡¯s faction are all there, so I won¡¯t join the liveliness. You have to be careful and remember the things I told you.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, big sis!¡± Zu An wanted to say something along the lines of ¡®once Ie back¡¯, but he was scared of setting up some bad gs. As such, he shortened his goodbyes and headed down the path.

    ¡­

    There were people from all different sides at the entrance right now. Since the princess hadn¡¯t seen anyone at Zu An¡¯s home and the situation was getting more and more pressing, she could onlye to the academy. Unfortunately, she still didn¡¯t see him at the entrance. She immediately felt incredible disappointment.

    Gu Xing remarked with a big smile, ¡°Wasn¡¯t I just saying that guy was too scared toe? He¡¯s probably hiding somewhere and wille out once the dungeon is closed, pretending he just missed the timing or something.¡±

 Chapter 806, Part 1: Clamoring

    <h4>Chapter 806, Part 1: moring</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Nonsense! My brother-inw is a true man; why would he do something like that?!¡± a young and clear voice eximed critically.

    Gu Xing turned around. He saw a young man with pretty features staring angrily at him. Next to the man was a tan-skinned youngdy. He said, ¡°So it was young master Chu and Miss Murong.¡±

    The Gu n brothers naturally recognized these two after staying in the capital for so many years. One was the heir of the Brightmoon Duke, while the other was the beloved pearl of the Murong n.

    But Chu Youzhao didn¡¯t n to let him go at all and asked, ¡°Mister Gu, why were you shooting your mouth off here randomly?¡±

    Murong Qinghe couldn''t help but say, ¡°Talking behind another person¡¯s back really isn¡¯t what a nobleman should be doing!¡±

    It was only natural that she wanted to help her big brother Chu. While she had been hanging out with Zu An recently, he had saved her n brother, so she had already developed a good impression of him.

    Gu Xing said, ¡°I would say the same thing even in front of Zu An¡¯s face. Everything I said is the truth, so what¡¯s there to be ashamed of?¡±

    Gu Heng stood up and said, ¡°Young master Chu, if I recall correctly, the Chu n seems to have already banished Zu An from the family, no? Calling him brother-inw will be damaging to your dear sister¡¯s reputation.¡±

    ¡°Our n¡¯s matters are none of your business!¡± Chu Youzhao eximed furiously. ¡°I don¡¯t want to see you all talking badly behind my brother-inw¡¯s back. Believe me when I say I¡¯ll rip your tongues out!¡±

    Gu Heng¡¯s expression sank. ¡°Young master Chu, we respect your opinion, but that is out of courtesy for the Qin n. Do you think that the two of us are afraid of you? This is the crown prince¡¯s territory. It is not a ce where the two of you can start trouble.¡± The Bi n¡¯s warriors stepped forward as soon as he finished speaking.

    Bi Linglong frowned. She felt quite troubled. ording to normal reason, whether it was the Qin n or the Murong n, both were central forces of King Qi¡¯s faction. Meanwhile, she herself would definitely help the Gu n brothers who were part of the crown prince¡¯s faction. However, they were speaking out for Zu An here. That left her embarrassed and troubled.

    ¡°What happened?¡± A group of young men walked in just then. The crown prince and princess were the ones under the spotlight today, so everyone was paying attention to the activity on their side. They came over to see what was happening when they saw the disturbance.

    Bi Linglong could no longer remain indifferent. She showed them a formal smile and said, ¡°Greetings, young masters.¡±

    These people were precisely the disciples from King Liang Manor, the Liu n, the Meng n, and the Peng n, as well as the disciples of the other ns. They were the ones who were joining the crown prince on his mission this time.

    Those people all cried out with a bow, ¡°We greet the crown prince and crown princess!¡±

    King Liang¡¯s son Zhao Xi was a fatty as well, but unlike the crown prince¡¯s fat that jiggled whenever he walked, he was more firm and robust with thick eyebrows and big eyes. His arms were big and his waist round, making him resemble a fierce general from the battlefield.

    He had always had a rather boorish nature. Together with the fact that he was also part of the royal family, he didn¡¯t feel as many misgivings as the others. He asked, ¡°Crown princess, have you only just arrived? We have already been waiting for a long time.¡±

    Before Bi Linglong had time to even reply, Gu Xing immediately said, ¡°The crown princess was waiting for Sir Zu An. She even specially paid a visit to his home, but we still didn¡¯t see him.¡±

    ¡°Zu An?¡± Zhao Xi roared withughter. ¡°That fe who beat Zhao Zhi, that little brat, up to the point that he could only lie in bed all this time? Haha, where is he? I¡¯ve only heard about that person, but was never able to meet him.¡±

    King Liang¡¯s faction had always been close to the emperor¡¯s side and didn¡¯t get along with King Qi. Furthermore, Zhao Xi relied on his own talent, and he was quite arrogant, so he had already been fed up with Zhao Zhi for a while; and yet he just couldn''t beat him. When he heard that Zhao Zhi had been beaten up miserably by Zu An, he roared withughter and held a huge celebration that night.

    Gu Xing didn¡¯t dare to speak rashly when he sensed the other person¡¯s good intentions toward Zu An to prevent drawing unnecessary enmity. It was instead Gu Heng who said, ¡°We have been looking for Sir Zu for the past few hours, yet we still haven¡¯t seen him anywhere.¡±

    ¡°Could it be that something happened?¡± Zhao Xi frowned. ¡°But that shouldn¡¯t be. With his cultivation, who could take him down that easily?¡±

    A feminine voice sneered, ¡°Your head really is all muscle instead of brains after all. Do you really think someone as young as Zu An could really defeat the eighth ranked Zhao Zhi, and furthermore, even fight on par with Han Fengqiu, who¡¯s at the peak of the ninth rank? Our manor¡¯s intelligence already discovered that there was a mysterious expert at the scene of the battle, so Zhao Zhi¡¯s defeat was purely a coincidence.¡±

    The one who spoke was a man with shiny hair and a powdered face. His features were feminine, his triangr eyes treacherous like those of a viper. His lips were colored even redder than those of a woman.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Meng Pan, you¡¯re always going against me. Don¡¯t tell me you like me?¡± Zhao Xi roared withughter.

    The feminine man was precisely the Meng n¡¯s candidate this time, Meng Pan. He immediately clutched his mouth and looked as if he wanted to throw up when he heard what Zhao Xi said. ¡°rgh! Take a look in the mirror first before you speak! Even if I liked men, would I like you? Even if I did like someone, it would be someone like the Chu n¡¯s young master with soft skin and red lips.¡±

    ¡°Ah¡­¡± Chu Youzhao felt goosebumps cover her entire body when she was examined by Meng Pan. Murong Qinghe pulled Chu Youzhao behind her. Both of them had looks of contempt in their eyes.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go back for now, big brother Chu.¡± Murong Qinghe really was scared that Meng Pan might go after her sweetheart. After all, there were rumors of Meng Pan liking men going around. She definitely didn¡¯t dare to get involved with someone like him.

    Chu Youzhao had originally wanted to speak out against the injustice done toward her brother-inw, but Meng Pan¡¯s gaze really was ufortable. Furthermore, these were all the crown prince¡¯s trusted aides, so they didn¡¯t get along. She decided to follow Murong Qinghe.

    Meng Pan licked his lips as he watched Chu Youzhao leave. ¡°That fe is as lovely as a youngdy. It really is quite the stirring sight.¡±

    Someone nearby said with a chuckle, ¡°He¡¯s Brightmoon Duke¡¯s sole sessor. Be careful, or the Brightmoon Duke mighte after you.¡±

    The one who spoke was a man in his thirties. He had rather decent facial features, but the beard he had grown and the smirk on his face just made him seem a bit slimy. He was Liu Yao¡¯s son, Liu Xian, whom Bi Linglong had told Zu An was the spoiled good-for-nothing.

    Next to him was someone who seemed to be about the same age. He had thin lips and narrow eyes. His beard was shaved in a nice and orderly manner, while his hair wasbed meticulously. In contrast to Liu Xian¡¯s frivolousness, his expression was serious, making him look like a responsible person. He was Liu Yao¡¯s nephew Gao Ying.

    Meng Pan couldn''t help but sneer when he heard what Liu Xian said. ¡°Brightmoon Duke? Isn¡¯t he just another setting sun? Why would I be scared of him?¡±

    His grandfather was the Minister of Works, while his father was the head of the Central Secretariat. In terms of status, his family was above the Chu n, so there was no need for him to fear them.

    ¡°Even if you aren¡¯t scared of the Chu n, you should be scared of the Qin n, right?¡± Bi Linglong cleared her throat. After all, Chu Youzhao was Zu An¡¯s little brother-inw, so she didn¡¯t want something to happen to him. Otherwise, Zu An might gopletely mad. Even though she was upset that Zu An hadn¡¯t appeared yet and had gone back on his word, she didn¡¯t lose her reason and still took care of his family.

    Meng Pan chuckled when he heard the words ¡®Qin n¡¯, but he didn¡¯t say anything. He might be able to overlook the Chu n, but the Qin n was definitely not someone they dared to offend for no good reason.

    Liu Xian roared withughter and said, ¡°Let¡¯s talk about something else! Weren¡¯t we chatting about that Zu An just now?¡±

    Gu Xing said with augh, ¡°We were talking about how it was impossible for Zu An to defeat the eighth ranked King Qi¡¯s heir, let alone fight on par with the ninth ranked Han Fengqiu.¡±

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t the truth already discovered a while ago? There was a mysterious expert at the scene of the battle.¡± Another youngster who had remained silent all this time spoke up. He had a gloomy expression, and he was definitely shrewd. That person was the Pei n¡¯s Pei You.

    These youngsters all had their own pride. They refused to believe that that person could defeat someone who was so many ranks higher.

    ¡°Haha, well, we can at least say that Sir Zu¡¯s luck is good. It¡¯s not surprising for the crown princess to care that much about him. With him in the party, our group¡¯s luck will surely improve,¡± Gu Heng said. His words sounded fair, but he was actually pouring all of his hatred out onto Zu An.

    The others learned that the reason the crown princess waste was because she had been waiting for Zu An, and became dissatisfied.

    ¡°There are so many of us here. Is there a need for us to depend on that Zu An?¡±

    ¡°Exactly! Crown princess, please don¡¯t worry. We¡¯re more than enough for this exam.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s so special about that Zu An that the crown princess needs to personally wait for him? Having him won¡¯t make a difference.¡±

    Bi Linglong had already been annoyed. When she heard all the chattering, she finally couldn''t take it anymore and cried, ¡°Enough!¡±

 Chapter 806, Part 2: Clamoring

    <h4>Chapter 806, Part 2: moring</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    The crown prince, who had just been watching everything from the side, jumped in fright. He was clearly reminded of the fear Bi Linglong had instilled in him over the past two years.

    The other ns¡¯ young masters became unhappy. They could clearly sense the crown princess¡¯ rage, but they didn¡¯t know how they had offended her. They thought, Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s all because of that Zu An?

    When she saw the others¡¯ expressions, Bi Linglong realized that she had lost herposure. She quickly said, ¡°They¡¯ve already begun to test people¡¯s cultivations over there, so let¡¯s hurry and head over.¡±

    The emperor¡¯s and King Qi¡¯s factions had reached a tacit agreement. They would allow the crown prince to bring in people with him, but their cultivation ranks couldn''t exceed the seventh rank. For the sake of preventing fraud, there was a ki measuring instrument at the entrance, as opposed to having any one person judge people¡¯s cultivation rank.

    The device was a result of the Royal Academy¡¯s research, consisting of a piece of celestial stone paired withplex and intricate formations. It could quickly test a person¡¯s ki strength, and thus deduce their cultivation level.

    The other warriors had alreadypleted their tests. They were all around the fourth or fifth rank. Only their group was left for this test. There was obviously no need to test the crown prince. Everyone knew what he was like, so there was no point in embarrassing him.

    Then, the crown princess walked over. Bi Linglong stepped onto the stage and looked around, but she still didn¡¯t see that person. She sighed, and then walked forward. Next to the celestial stone stood a youngdy in a witch¡¯s hat and dark blue starry robes. She yawned and said, ¡°Put your hand on it, and then just use your ki.¡±

    The group of young masters¡¯ eyes lit up. Liu Xian couldn''t help but catcall. ¡°Who is this little girl? She¡¯s pretty cute.¡±

    Pei You said coldly, ¡°I advise you to restrain those random thoughts of yours. She¡¯s the libationer¡¯sst disciple Qi Yaoguang, the junior sister the teachers of the rear mountain adore the most. She isn¡¯t someone you can afford to offend.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Liu Xian flipped his hair, and then a charming smile appeared on his face as he said, ¡°Even if those senior brothers dote on her, they can¡¯t stop her from courting love, right? If we really do express sincere love, not even the libationer should be able to stop us.¡±

    Pei You was speechless. Those gathered looked at Liu Xian with strange expressions. This fellow really had some crazy confidence. Next to him, his cousin Gao Ying¡¯s face twitched. He quietly took a few steps away, as if he didn¡¯t know Liu Xian.

    The test taking ce on the stage was alreadyplete. Light was released from the celestial stone as Qi Yaoguang eximed, ¡°Sixth rank!¡±

    Those gathered immediately began to whisper among themselves. The crown princess had only been at the fifth rank not too long ago, yet now, she had already reached the sixth rank. Her cultivation talent was quite exceptional!

    Many people nced toward the simple-minded crown prince and shook their heads inwardly. The difference was just too huge! It really was like a flower growing out of a pile of manure.

    When the crown princess descended, the others all nced around in embarrassment. After all, they were all much older than her, so it was normal for their cultivation levels to be higher. However, with their difference in age, that small gap in cultivation made them all feel ashamed.

    Liu Xian was the first to say, ¡°I¡¯ll head up first!¡± He had always been rather shameless, known as the capital¡¯s publicly acknowledged yboy. He didn¡¯t mind beingughed at by others.

    He didn¡¯t immediately ce his hand on the device to get measured, and instead walked in front of Qi Yaoguang with a smile first. ¡°Little sister Qi, hello. My name is Liu Xian, and my father is a general of the court.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I know that.¡± Qi Yaoguang subconsciously leaned back. What is such a mature man using makeup for?

    Liu Xian was overjoyed, saying, ¡°So little sister Qi knew about me.¡±

    ¡°Only just now, through divination.¡± Qi Yaoguang yawned.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Liu Xian was stupefied.

    Qi Yaoguang harrumphed. ¡°I also divined that you wanted to pick me up. Hmph, you¡¯reing after me when you don¡¯t even know what I do; you really are ignorant and senseless. Are you going to take the test or not? Otherwise, go back down and stop holding up the line.¡± She muttered to herself, ¡°I sensed that I would have some romantic luck, but it ended up being with such a slimy guy. What kind of romantic luck is that? Hmph.¡±

    Liu Xian was momentarily dazed, but he reacted quickly as well. ¡°Little sister Qi¡¯s nature really is straightforward and unruly. I like that a lot.¡±

    He ced his hand on the celestial stone while speaking. He thought to himself that once he came out of the dungeon, he was going to try to hook up with her. This wasn¡¯t the first time he had encountered a little hot pepper like her, yet hadn¡¯t they still ended up moaning under him?

    The celestial stone produced a faintyer of light. Qi Yaoguang gave it a look. ¡°Fifth rank? Even many of my students are higher rank than you. Have you lived your entire life so far like a dog or something?¡±

    Liu Xian finally couldn''t take it anymore. However, this was the Royal Academy, so he couldn''t start anything. He could only leave the stage with an ashen expression.

    Underneath the stage, Bi Linglong held back an urge tough. She was more familiar with these academy teachers. She knew that Qi Yaoguang was famous for her low emotional intelligence, yet this Liu Xian had actually dared to try to court her. He really wasn¡¯t the brightest.

    Then, the other disciples headed up one after another. After learning from Liu Xian¡¯s experience, none of them dared to speak rudely to Qi Yaoguang.

    The results quickly came out. Liang King Manor¡¯s Zhao Xi and the Liu n¡¯s Gao Ying¡¯s cultivations were the highest, both at the peak of the sixth rank. The others were either at the middle or initial stage of the sixth rank. The others began to congratte Zhao Xi and Gao Ying. Gao Ying was a bit calmer, while Zhao Xi couldn''t help but feel proud.

    The Gu n brothers used the opportunity to say, ¡°With the young king and brother Gao here, we¡¯re sure that sess is already guaranteed. Why do we need that Zu An or whatever? Crown princess, you don¡¯t need to be worried at all.¡±

    Bi Linglong felt sad inside. She wondered why Zu An hadn¡¯te. On one hand, she was worried that something had happened to him, yet on the other hand, if nothing happened and he had just gone back on his word, that meant he didn¡¯t care about her at all. When she recalled how Zu An had said to trust him, how she had been moved back then, all of it seemed extremelyughable now.

    Suddenly, a familiar voice said, ¡°Sorry, sorry, I¡¯mte.¡±

    Bi Linglong turned around with surprise and happiness. She finally saw that figure she had waited so many hours for. At that moment, she wanted to smile, yet she also wanted to cry. However, she quickly caught herself, because in the end, she was the crown princess. She quicklyposed herself and asked, ¡°Why did you onlye now?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Bi Linglong for +55 +55 +55¡­

    ¡°There were some things that held me up, sorry,¡± Zu An said apologetically.

    Meng Pan asked with a snicker, ¡°What can possibly be more important than the crown prince¡¯s exam?¡±

    Gu Xing felt refreshed inwardly. Finally, he didn¡¯t have to step in himself.

    Zu An replied, ¡°It¡¯s precisely because the crown prince¡¯s exam is important that I¡¯ll exin the exact situation to the crown princesster.¡± There were many people from King Qi¡¯s faction here. He didn¡¯t want to expose Jiang Luofu, so he could only give that vague exnation.

    Qi Yaoguang spoke from the stage. ¡°Mister Zu, are you going to test yourself or not?!¡±

    Bi Linglong said, ¡°You should get tested first. Everyone who¡¯s going to enter the dungeon needs to be tested.¡±

    The Gu n brothers were happy to see Zu An in a hard spot. They thought to themselves, The crown princess kept praising this fe, but his cultivation doesn¡¯t seem to be all that to us.

    If it was over the seventh rank, then he couldn¡¯t even go in. Out of sight, out of mind. If he hadn¡¯t even reached the seventh rank¡­ Heh, just wait and see how we¡¯ll deal with you then.

    Even the young masters from the other ns craned their necks. After all, Zu An¡¯s aplishments were just too outstanding. Even though there had been some spections that exined what had happened, what if this person really was just that formidable?

    Zu An walked onto the stage. He suddenly felt a bit apprehensive. Hadn¡¯t there been a simr ball-like thing when he tested his aptitude in Brightmoon Academy? Back then, that ball had erupted with light and exploded.

    Thankfully, Jiang Luofu had helped him cover up that matter back then. However, there were so many powerful experts here, and all of them were experienced. It wouldn¡¯t be so easy to deceive them.

    Qi Yaoguang¡¯s voice said by his ear, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, this thing tests cultivation and not anything else.¡±

    Zu An gave her a look. He saw that she didn¡¯t open her mouth and only gestured toward him with her eyes. She had said those words just now through ki transmission.

    ¡°Eighth sister wanted me to remind you of that. Do you have some secret no one can know or something?¡± Qi Yaoguang asked. ¡°This is so annoying; I still can''t see through your fate or future.¡±

    ¡°There are no secrets.¡± Zu An smiled. At the same time, he felt warm inside. Jiang Luofu had even taken this into consideration, on top of giving him a map and helping him obtain some defensive treasures. She really was meticulous. This type of person would probably be a boss¡¯ most trustworthy secretary, right¡­

    He ced his hand on the celestial stone. At the same time, he stroked the spice bag he had gotten from Concubine Bai. He was actually feeling quite nervous, because he wasn¡¯t sure if it would be enough to let him through.

    The celestial stone soon shone. Everyone present cried out in rm.

 Chapter 807, Part 1: Destined to Fail

    <h4>Chapter 807, Part 1: Destined to Fail</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    It wasn¡¯t because Zu An¡¯s cultivation was too high, but rather because the tested result was too low. He was only shown to be at the sixth rank.

    In many people¡¯s eyes, the reason why he won against King Qi¡¯s heir was that there was a mysterious expert who had helped him. However, the fact that he hadsted so long in that fight meant that he had to either be at the seventh rank, or the peak of the sixth rank. And yet, he was actually just at the sixth rank.

    King Qi¡¯s officials immediately called the result into question, feeling that there were problems with the test. They didn¡¯t want the crown prince to obtain a helper that was too powerful in the dungeon.

    The crown prince¡¯s faction was already well prepared. Many officials immediately engaged them in a war of words, fending them off. The two sides argued intensely.

    At that time, Qi Yaoguang harrumphed and asked, ¡°Are you all suspecting that our Royal Academy is siding with Zu An?¡± Even though her voice wasn¡¯t loud, it was able to prate through everything else. The ce quickly calmed down.

    King Qi¡¯s faction members smiled and replied, ¡°Lady Qi has misunderstood; how could we question the academy¡¯s standpoint? Since Zu An was tested to be at the sixth rank, he is at the sixth rank.¡±

    They didn¡¯t want to offend the Royal Academy and push this neutral faction towards the crown prince¡¯s side. Furthermore, they had actually already discussed this among themselves before. A single person around the seventh rank wouldn¡¯t make too much of a difference. What had happened just now was a pretense so that the crown prince¡¯s faction wouldn¡¯t go too far.

    Bi Linglong¡¯s father Bi Qi¡¯s voice said by her ear, ¡°Linglong, did you give him an artifact that can conceal his cultivation?¡±

    Bi Linglong was also confused. ¡°I didn¡¯t. Where would I get something that amazing?¡±

    ¡°Then is he really at the sixth rank? Is it only some random tricks that make him much more formidable than others at his level?¡± Bi Qi asked, his voice full of suspicion.

    ¡°It might be.¡± Bi Linglong bit her lip. She thought to herself, This fe really is only at the sixth rank? Then it seems this trip is really going to be dangerous¡­ However, when she remembered the solemn vow Zu An had given her the previous night, she suddenly felt at peace again.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Bi Qi said, ¡°King Qi will only approve of us sending in one person at the seventh rank, but you ended up choosing him instead of Rong Mo. Is he really worth it?¡±

    Bi Linglong took a deep breath and replied, ¡°I trust him!¡±

    Bi Qi frowned, but he knew that his daughter waspetent and had good insight. Since she was persisting with her decision like this, that meant that he didn¡¯t have to say anything further.

    While the father and daughter were talking to each other, Gu Xing was instead overjoyed at the turn of events. ¡°After hearing Linglong¡¯s praises, I thought he was some amazing fe, yet he¡¯s only barely at the sixth rank. Hah, our cultivation might even be higher than his.¡±

    Liu Xian coughed, indicating that he was offended by these words.

    Gu Heng didn¡¯t express his opinion as openly and instead said to Bi Linglong, ¡°Crown princess, you have always been rather kind, so you might not be aware of how treacherous those born from the streets are. I believe you might have been fooled by him.¡±

    Bi Linglong said with a frown, ¡°His real strength is definitely higher than the sixth rank.¡±

    However, she lost confidence soon afterward. There had never been an issue with the academy¡¯s testing device. Everyone could see that his cultivation really had ended up being at the sixth rank!

    Gu Xing chuckled and asked, ¡°Linglong, what makes you so sure? In my opinion, some people just don¡¯t focus on cultivation and instead have people constantly brag about how strong they are. He might not have been exposed if not for the academy¡¯s test today.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not entirely impossible.¡± Meng Pan chuckled. ¡°There were all sorts of rumors surrounding him in the capital recently. I refuse to believe that no one tried to spread those things deliberately.¡±

    King Liang Manor¡¯s Zhao Xi harrumphed. ¡°Hmph, I actually admired him a bit. Turns out he was only at that level.¡±

    Liu Xian instead said disapprovingly, ¡°Even if we don¡¯t talk about his cultivation, his skills with girls are the real deal. I really have to find a chance to talk to him and see how he got Chu First Miss¡¯ favor with such an ordinary face.¡±

    While the others were discussing this with each other, Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun were furious. Unfortunately, there was just too great of a difference in their statuses, and the test result really was the sixth rank. They didn¡¯t know what to say either.

    Bi Linglong was also starting to get affected. When she looked at the figure on the stage, her expression was a bitplicated. She didn¡¯t doubt his potential, but potential needed time. If there was even a single mistake in the crown prince¡¯s exam, there wouldn¡¯t be any time.

    The topic shifted because of what Liu Xian had said. Zhao Xi teased, ¡°What, so you¡¯re interested in Chu First Miss now? You were even going after Qi Yaoguang just now.¡±

    Liu Xian stroked his small beard. ¡°Of course not; going after other people¡¯s wives isn¡¯t my style. I like those who are obedient and especially pure. You know what, I¡¯ve already made my decision! Lady Qi will be my next target. I¡¯m going to study in the Royal Academy and attend her ss, to admire her beauty up close.¡±

    Meng Pan clicked his tongue. ¡°Just give up. The Royal Academy¡¯s students are all talented, and Lady Qi is the libationer¡¯s core disciple. They key is that she¡¯s even capable of divination, making her way too powerful and mysterious.¡±

    ¡°Divination?¡± Liu Xian realized something. ¡°No wonder she knew what I wanted to do ahead of time. Haha, this kind of woman is even more worth subduing.¡±

    The others rolled their eyes. They didn¡¯t feel like paying attention to his delusions anymore. All of them began to chat among themselves.

    ¡°Once I leave this dungeon, I¡¯m going to study some more in the Royal Academy. I only studied carelessly for two years back then. Now, I feel a bit regretful that I didn¡¯t study the most important things from the academy.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I heard that there¡¯ll be a selection examing up soon in the academy¡¯s rear mountains. With our background, we should be able to sign up for it directly. Only after one gets into the rear mountain can you learn the most important techniques from the libationer¡¯s direct disciples.¡±

    ¡°Which teacher do you all want to be the students of? I like ying Go more, so Hei Baizi¡¯s chess dao seems the most interesting.¡±

    ¡°I hope I can be a student of Mr. Shen Xuzi instead. After all, pills be extremely important once you reachter ranks of cultivation. I heard that he¡¯s even able to control golems in battle. If I had a few golems behind me, wouldn¡¯t I immediately be several times stronger?¡±

    ¡°As for me, I like Ms. Jiang. She has carefully studied thew, and her cultivation is profound. I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll be able to improve a lot by following her.¡±

    ¡°Tsk, do you really want to study thew? We almost don¡¯t even want to expose you.¡±

    ¡°But Ms. Jiang¡¯s ck stockings really are incredible; who wouldn¡¯t want to learn from her?¡±

    ¡­

    Even though they had lowered their voices, Bi Linglong could still hear everything clearly since they were so close to each other. She waspletely speechless when she saw the Gu n brothers join in with suspicious smiles. These damn men were all good-for-nothing perverts!

    Pei You said with a sneer, ¡°Look at you all, being so picky. The selection exam for the rear mountain is extremely strict. All who pass are extraordinary talents. You should be happy if any of the teachers are willing to take you in.¡±

    ¡°I guess you¡¯re right. I don¡¯t even know if I¡¯ll pass that selection exam.¡±

    ¡°Ah, heavens, please help me! I¡¯ll be eternally grateful to the world if I''m epted!¡±

    All of them immediately became much more humble when they realized the difficulty of entering the rear mountain. They were no longer in such high spirits as before.

    Someone with sharp eyes said, ¡°Huh? Aren¡¯t those the teachers of the academy¡¯s rear mountain?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right! Those are Shen Xuzi, Hei Baizi, Wang Shuyang, Yin Shi, and wow, those legs in ck stockings definitely belong to Jiang Luofu!¡±

    ¡°Huh? Why would all of the teacherse out? It¡¯s been so long since such a thing happened.¡±

    Gu Xing was quick on his feet and immediately spoke out in praise. ¡°Of course it¡¯s because the crown prince and princess are setting out on a mission, so the academy had theme out to see them off.¡±

    Even though the others knew that the academy had always held a neutral position, that they shouldn¡¯t do anything that would clearly show partiality toward the crown prince, they couldn''t think of any other possibility, so they supported Gu Xing¡¯s opinion.

    At the same time, they sorted out their clothes and held their heads high. They thought to themselves that their luck this time really was good, for them to be able to share in the limelight of the crown prince and princess. When the teachers came over to greet the crown prince and princess, they had to behave well. Who knew, they might catch the eye of one of the teachers and be taken in as a disciple right there and then.

    Zu An had already gotten down from the tform. He walked over to Bi Linglong and nodded toward her with a smile.

    Bi Linglong thought to herself, This fe seems surprisingly rxed. She hoped that he would continue to hold the same attitude once they went inside the dungeon.

    Even though the young masters of the other ns didn¡¯t think too highly of Zu An, their attentions werepletely diverted. Not even the Gu n brothers said anything else. All of them stuck out their chests and had polite expressions on their faces as they faced the rear mountain teachers.

    Gu Xing was the quickest of them all. He rushed out and greeted them. ¡°Teachers, did youe to see the crown prince and princess off? They¡¯re over there; I¡¯ll lead you guys.¡±

    The others cursed Gu Xing¡¯s craftiness. They rushed over one after another to curry favor. However, the teachers remained cold and aloof, not paying them any attention.

 Chapter 807, Part 2: Destined to Fail

    <h4>Chapter 807, Part 2: Destined to Fail</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    However, the young masters didn¡¯t feel dissatisfied at all, but rather felt that this was how it should be. After all, the Royal Academy had never built rtionships with any influential ns and only cared about talent. The direct disciples of the libationer in the rear mountain, in particr, were aloof and arrogant. Forget about juniors like them, these teachers might even treat their fathers coldly if they were here in their ce.

    The group of teachers led by Shen Xuzi arrived in front of the crown prince and princess. They cupped their hands and exchanged some greetings. Then, their attention shifted to Zu An. Their cold expressions immediately changed and were instead reced with eager attentiveness.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Sir Zu, why didn¡¯t you tell us that you arrived at the academy? I¡¯m already carrying out experiments on the steam engine you speak of, and I feel like I¡¯m on the verge of an incredible breakthrough!¡±

    ¡°Old fourth, stop trying to hog him to yourself, move out of the way¡­ Sir Zu, I already have some insights regarding the male infertility problem I was stumped on; perhaps I¡¯ll have already found the solution once you guyse out of the dungeon. I¡¯ll need your guidance on the follow-up work afterwards.¡±

    ¡°Tsk, all of you, get out of the way. Sir Zu already promised me that he would y chess with me first once he gets out.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the point of ying chess? It¡¯s more fun to have an intellectual conversation. Only then can we discern the truth of the universe.¡±

    ¡­

    The teachers began to argue among themselves. Zu An used this chance to walk over to Jiang Luofu¡¯s side, asking, ¡°Big sis, why did youe here? I¡¯m worried that this might affect your n¡¯s rtionship with King Qi.¡±

    Jiang Luofu smiled and replied, ¡°I was a bit worried, but it doesn¡¯t matter if Ie together with the others.¡±

    ¡°That makes sense.¡± Zu Anughed.

    ¡°Eighth sister, you have to be careful! This guy is a yboy through and through, you can¡¯t let him trick you! What if he leaves behind his seed, but then leaves in secret or something?¡± Qi Yaoguang suddenly came up with such a thought somehow.

    Jiang Luofu¡¯s forehead darkened. ¡°Don¡¯t try to sound smart if you have no idea what you¡¯re talking about. Just take care of yourself! You¡¯re the one who¡¯s in a daze all the time; you¡¯re the one who might get tricked by him without even realizing what happened.¡±

    ¡°Ah! You¡¯re telling me dirty things when I¡¯m still little! I¡¯m going to tell on you to master,¡± Qi Yaoguang replied, leaving Jiang Luofu speechless.

    The Gu n brothers and the other noble children were stunned. What the hell was going on right now? Why did these proud and noble figures suddenly seem to have bepletely different? They weren¡¯t just friendly with Zu An; it seemed they were¡­ ttering him?

    Bi Linglong couldn''t help but smile when she saw all of them in a daze. For some reason, she felt even more refreshed from seeing that than venting and criticizing them herself. Hmph, they¡¯re all just a group of opinionated fools.

    ¡­

    In the distance, in King Qi¡¯s camp, Chu Youzhao saw Jiang Luofu and Qi Yaoguang stand around Zu An. Her eyes couldn''t help but be drawn to those long, ck stocking-covered legs.

    Murong Qinghe sighed in admiration. ¡°Ms. Jiang¡¯s legs are long and beautiful. Even a girl like me can¡¯t help but adore them.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, she¡¯s just a vixen. My big sister¡¯s legs are also beautiful; it¡¯s just that she doesn¡¯t expose them like this,¡± Chu Youzhao harrumphed.

    Murong Qinghe¡¯s expression became a bit strange. There was actually a man who didn¡¯t like Jiang Luofu¡¯s long legs? But she didn¡¯t think too much about it either. She just thought of it as him defending his sister.

    Chu Youzhao said, ¡°Let¡¯s go; follow me there.¡± Murong Qinghe didn¡¯t know why he would say that, but she still followed him over.

    Before Chu Youzhao even got close to Zu An, she shouted loudly, ¡°Brother-inw, you¡¯re finally here!¡±

    Zu An turned around. When he saw that it was her, he couldn''t help but smile. ¡°So it was Youzhao.¡±

    Chu Youzhao walked over, unwittingly arriving next to Jiang Luofu and Qi Yaoguang. Then, she took out a bag, bringing out many things from it and shoving them toward Zu An. ¡°Brother-inw, these are some things I got for you. I hope they can help you in the dungeon. These are some cakes; you might not be able to find food in the dungeon. These are bug repellents so you don¡¯t get bothered by mosquitoes, this is fever medicine for if you get a fever, and these are healing medicines for both internal and external wounds. You¡¯ll definitely have to fight a lot inside, so it¡¯s better to have some medicine just in case. These are poison resistance medicines that can prevent you from being afflicted by poisonous bugs and nts¡­¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Youzhao.¡± Zu An became a bit dizzy when he saw all the things she fished out. Ji Xiaoxi had also given him this and that when he was back in Brightmoon Academy, and they really had saved his life in the end.

    ¡°Don¡¯t treat me like an outsider, brother-inw! Big sis told me to take good care of you before she left, remember?¡± Chu Youzhao replied, shooting Jiang Luofu and Qi Yaoguang a pointed look. She had to protect her brother-inw, or else he might be bullied by these vixens.

    The King Qi faction¡¯s people began to whisper among themselves when they saw the situation.

    Murong Tong walked over to Qin Zheng¡¯s side and said with a chuckle, ¡°Daughters really are only good for squandering wealth, and the granddaughters your daughters gave birth to aren¡¯t loyal at all either. Chu Chuyan has already divorced Zu An, yet Youzhao still calls him brother-inw so enthusiastically and gives him so many things. Doesn¡¯t this mean that Chuyan¡¯s rtionship with him is still excellent?¡±

    Qin Zheng¡¯s face darkened. ¡°Youzhao really is outrageous. Even his big sister¡¯s reputation is going to be done in by him.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Zheng for +358 +358 +358¡­

    Murong Tong was all smiles. Nothing had been going well for him these days, but seeing his old friend¡¯s daughters being all friendly with the other faction allowed him to finally find a sliver of joy.

    Just then, Murong Qinghe also handed Zu An a bag. ¡°Big brother Zu, I don¡¯t have much here, so I¡¯ll give you this storage sack. It can hold many things, and you can carry everything big brother Chu gave you earlier. It¡¯ll be easier to carry it all.¡±

    Zu An felt warm inside. ¡°Thank you, little sister Qinghe.¡±

    Even though he had the Brilliant ss Bead with its massive storage space, it wasn¡¯t convenient for him to bring that thing out and use it. With this pouch she had given him, he could store and take things out in broad daylight.

    Murong Qinghe blushed. ¡°Big brother Zu is too polite. I still have to thank you for all your care and help recently.¡±

    In the distance, Murong Tong¡¯s smile immediately froze on his face. Qin Zheng¡¯s gloominess instantly vanished without a trace. He stroked his beard and roared withughter. ¡°Indeed, daughters are nothing but liabilities.¡±

    Murong Tong was speechless. How could he have anticipated that the tides would turn so quickly?

    You have sessfully trolled Murong Tong for +399 +399 +399¡­

    It soon became time to enter the dungeon. No matter what King Qi¡¯s subjects really thought, they still had to wish the crown prince the best. Bi Linglong knew that the crown prince didn¡¯t know how to reply properly, so she did it in his ce.

    After both sides exchanged fake conversation, King Qi¡¯s eyesnded on Zu An as he said, ¡°Sir Zu, I¡¯ll have to entrust this secret dungeon mission to you.¡±

    When they heard those words, all of the young nobles, including the Gu n brothers, were furious. By what qualifications?! He¡¯s just a trifling sixth rank! Why would we need to depend on him?

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Xi for +477 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled Meng Pan for +477 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled Pei You for +477 Rage points!

    ¡­

    There was nock of intelligent people among them. They quickly realized something. Why was King Qi paying so much attention to him?

    Even though they belonged to different camps, they still acknowledged King Qi¡¯s terrifying strength. Furthermore, this was the boss of the other faction, someone who could stand on equal footing against the emperor¡¯ someone who their fathers, and even grandfathers, had to lower their heads to. Yet such a person was that concerned with Zu An?

    As someone who was also part of the imperial pce, Bi Linglong knew that King Qi and Zu An had already faced each other several times, yet King Qi had never gotten what he wanted. It waspletely reasonable for him to have such respect for Zu An.

    Zu An wasn¡¯t fazed at all when he saw the iing Rage pints. He didn¡¯t regard these people as any threat at all, saying, ¡°King Qi, don¡¯t worry. I will definitely ensure that the crown prince passes this test.¡±

    King Qi¡¯s eyes narrowed. After a moment of silence, he said in a profound manner, ¡°It¡¯s good for the young to be ambitious. However, if you¡¯re too arrogant, you just might meet a premature end.¡±

 Chapter 807, Part 3: Destined to Fail

    <h4>Chapter 807, Part 3: Destined to Fail</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°Apart from me, there are so many children from great ns. How difficult can it be to kill a Jade Moon Serpent? It seems King Qi isn¡¯t so optimistic about this trip. Perhaps you made some arrangements that would cause us to meet premature ends?¡±

    Zhao Xi and the others stuck out their chests when they heard Zu An¡¯s praise. They thought that this fellow at least knew how to talk well.

    But who could have thought that he would say that King Qi wasying a trap for them right afterwards? Their expressions all changed. Did this idiot even know the ways of the court? Even though the two factions were already at a point where they couldn¡¯t coexist, they were still friendly on the surface. Someone who just spoke whatever they thought really was just amoner from the streets.

    All of them looked down on Zu An. At the same time, they were worried that King Qi might be hostile. If that happened, all of them would be caught up in the disaster.

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Xi for +222 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled Meng Pan for +222 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled Pei You for +222 Rage points!

    ¡­

    However, what was surprising was that King Qi didn¡¯t get mad. Instead, there was a refreshing smile on his face. ¡°Sir Zu, you¡¯re worrying too much. This king only wished to give you a reminder. I once again wish everyone a smooth journey.¡±

    Even Bi Linglong, who hated the man bitterly, had to admit that it was no wonder that King Qi had such prestige both inside and outside the court. This kind of presence and temperament wasn¡¯t something just anyone could have.

    Soon afterward, Zhuxie Chixin walked over, as if worried that King Qi would do something to them. The emperor hadn¡¯t arrived today and had only sent Meng Yi, Bi Qi, Zhuxie Chixin, and other trusted aides over. However, there was no need to worry about King Qi¡¯s faction doing anything with these individuals guarding the entrance.

    Qi Yaoguang slowly walked onto the stage. Her drowsy eyes became deep like the cosmos. She mumbled to herself as she held a star diagram in her hands. Soon afterward, the air seemed to ripple around them. Those who had higher cultivation levels could sense that the ki in the area was undergoing an intense transformation. Even space and time seemed to be reconstructing themselves.

    The small-bearded Liu Xian¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Wasn¡¯t the libationer the one who was going to open up the dungeon? Miss Qi¡­ Is she enough for this?¡±

    He wasn¡¯t the only one who had such thoughts. Qi Yaoguang looked just too young, almost like a loli. She looked like those daughters of great ns who didn¡¯t know anything. It really was hard to imagine that someone like her was going to manage something so major like controlling the secret dungeon.

    Bi Linglong was the crown princess, so she had more information at her disposal. When she heard those words, she exined, ¡°Qi Yaoguang is the libationer¡¯sst disciple, and what she researches is astrology, fate, and other such profound things. That¡¯s why you shouldn¡¯t judge her by her appearance.

    ¡°Furthermore, the secret dungeon opens up once every four years. The academy has already had centuries of experience in its operation. There¡¯s naturally no need for Sir Libationer to do the deed himself.¡±

    Liu Xian revealed his trademark smirk. ¡°I¡¯m bing more and more interested in Miss Qi now. I definitely have to use my masculine charm topletely subdue her once we¡¯re back from this dungeon.¡±

    The people around him rolled their eyes. The stocky Zhao Xi was the most straightforward of them all. He shot back, ¡°Can you shut up about that already? My breakfast mighte out if I listen to any more of this.¡±

    Liu Xian harrumphed. ¡°How can a boorish man like you understand the thoughts of a youngdy? Talking to you is like ying a lute to a cow.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°What did you say?!¡± Zhao Xi was furious when he heard those words. He pulled up his sleeves and walked toward Liu Xian.

    Liu Xian reacted quickly as well, quickly hiding behind his cousin. Gao Ying was left with no choice but to stand in front of Zhao Xi.

    Zhao Xi frowned. Forget about Gao Ying¡¯s respectable reputation; the test had just revealed that he was at the peak of the sixth rank. If there really was conflict, it might not do him any good. Yet if he let things go just like that, how could he swallow this down? He was trapped between a rock and a hard ce.

    Meng Pan had never gotten along with Zhao Xi anyway. He was more than happy to see them start a fight, to the point that he was even tempted to cheer the other party on.

    Pei You held his sword in his arms in the distance, remainingpletely indifferent.

    The Gu n brothers were excited. They wanted to see these youngsters from top ns duke it out. Only then could backups like them truly shine!

    Bi Linglong finally couldn''t take it anymore. She remarked in annoyance, ¡°What are you all doing? Are the crown prince and I nothing in your eyes? Are we going to start some internal strife before we even go inside?¡±

    Zhao Xi, Liu Xian, and the others took the opportunity to back down. They all expressed their apologies to her.

    Zu An didn¡¯t care about this small episode, but was rather preupied with another issue. Just now, it had been mentioned that the dungeon opened once every four years, yet Jiang Luofu had said that thest time it was opened was three years ago. That meant it wasn¡¯t time for the dungeon to open yet. It seems they¡¯re opening it up a year earlier for the crown prince¡¯s exam. But are there really no issues with doing that?

    After all, to a certain degree, dungeons were spatial rifts that connected independent worlds. If an ident happened, these people would have no hope of ever returning.

    However, Zu An saw that the academy¡¯s people didn¡¯t seem to be too concerned about that. Furthermore, if an issue came up, there was no way the emperor would just ignore it. That meant it was probably fine¡­ Right?

    Soon afterward, a wormhole-like entrance appeared in front of the group. Bi Linglong waved her hand. Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun led the Eastern Pce¡¯s guards inside first to take a look at the situation. Zhao Xi and the others gestured with their hands as well, sending some of their people in as support.

    A whileter, Piao Duandiao and the others said from the other side, ¡°Everything is normal.¡±

    Bi Linglong nodded, and then gestured for a group of guards to escort the crown prince inside. The Gu n brothers took the chance to move over to her side, as if they were going to protect her. Zhao Xi, Meng Pan, and the others simrly approached the crown prince. These were the two most important people in this mission, so their safety should obviously be prioritized.

    Zu An chuckled when he saw how eager everyone was to head inside. He didn¡¯t feel the need to do that at all and nned to hold up the rear.

    But who could have expected that Bi Linglong would turn around and gesture toward him? She asked, ¡°Sir Zu, why aren¡¯t youing over yet? My and the crown prince¡¯s safety is in your hands!¡±

    The others, who were all doing their best to get closer to the crown prince and princess, immediately shot him looks of jealousy. Why did the crown princess trust him that much? Could it be that it really was because his face was a bit more handsome than average? That was the case for Chu First Miss, and now the crown princess was the same. Hmph, women are all superficial after all!

    Zu An had an awkward smile on his face when he saw endless Rage points flowing in. Was this woman trying to get him killed?

    But he knew what she was thinking as well. It was hard to predict what kind of dangers they would face in the dungeon this time, and worst of all, they didn¡¯t know what King Qi was up to. That was why they had to act cautiously every step of the way. That was why she would only feel safe when she had the ones she trusted closest to her.

    Chu Youzhao¡¯s expression became strange when she watched everyone enter one after the other. ¡°Does the crown princess have feelings for my brother-inw or something?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡± Murong Qinghe jumped in fright. She quickly warned Chu Youzhao to change to ki transmissions. ¡°There was a huge scandal between the crown princess and big brother Zu. She should be avoiding him if something happened, in order to further prove her clear conscience. Also, she¡¯s the glorious crown princess; you¡¯re the only one who puts your brother-inw on a pedestal all the time, as if everyone were out to steal him away or something.¡±

    Chu Youzhao became upset right away. ¡°What, is my brother-inw not awesome enough?¡±

    ¡°Big brother Zu is pretty cool.¡± Murong Qinghe secretly gave Chu Youzhao a look. When she saw how pretty he was, she couldn''t help but blush. She added inwardly, But to me, you¡¯re the best.

    ¡­

    On the other side of the portal, Zu An¡¯s group had entered the secret dungeon. Their party was made up of carefully selected elites from all sorts of different ns, and all of them had experienced other secret dungeons before. That was why the distribution of roles went smoothly, and they quickly formed a well-knit formation.

    Some scouts were quickly sent out to find a safe path. The outer ring was made up of warriors from the different ns, while the ones in the middle were the Eastern Pce guards led by Piao Duandiao. The ones at the very center of the group were the crown prince, crown princess, and Zu An.

    They had done their homework ahead of time, so they quickly arrived at Cold Jade Pond. That was the ce where the Jade Moon Serpent resided. They were all especially nervous, and they were prepared for a bloody battle. However, no matter how much they scouted thiece, there was no activity from the waters at all.

    Then, the group directed elemental attacks at the Cold Jade Pond to try and draw the Serpent out. But there was still no response. In the end, they sent some deathsworn knights in to look around. However, they still didn¡¯t find any trace of the Jade Moon Serpent.

    ¡°That fe isn¡¯t here; I don¡¯t sense its aura at all.¡± Zu An wasn¡¯t convinced and squatted down by the side of the pond. He withdrew his hand after testing it for a while.

    He used the jade badge to try to control the fish inside. However, there wasn¡¯t even a single shrimp inside. Fortunately, he had the Blue Mard ability, granting him powerful affinity with water. He sensed the movements of the water element inside the Cold Jade Pond and deduced that there was no Jade Moon Serpent here.

    Meng Pan muttered to himself, ¡°Look at you showing off. The deathsworn knights already looked around; do we need you to tell us that it¡¯s not here?¡±

    Zu An just chuckled and didn¡¯t argue with him.

    ¡°Then what do we do?¡± Bi Linglong frowned. The crown prince¡¯s task was to kill the Jade Moon Serpent, yet their objective wasn¡¯t even here. Didn¡¯t that mean the exam was a failure?

 Chapter 808: Divided

    <h4>Chapter 808: Divided</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°If the Jade Moon Serpent isn¡¯t here, then should we just go back and report the situation to his majesty? We can change the exam then.¡± Zu An recalled Jiang Luofu¡¯s warning before he had left, as well as the various red-marked dangerous areas. On top of all of that, he had no idea what kind of sinister schemes King Qi had waiting for them. He felt a strange sense of unease.

    The others immediatelyined about Zu An¡¯s suggestion.

    ¡°Are you kidding me? Are we going to return in defeat after just setting out? How humiliating is that?¡±

    ¡°Exactly! If we went back, wouldn¡¯t that mean we failed? How can we stand that?¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯re scared, you can go back first.¡±

    ¡­

    The others spoke while shooting Zu An looks of disdain. The crown princess trusted him so much, yet he had ended up being a good-for-nothing coward.

    Zu An didn¡¯t pay them any attention and looked at Bi Linglong, asking, ¡°Crown princess, what do you think?¡±

    Bi Linglong shook her head. ¡°We can¡¯t go back. The crown prince¡¯s exam was in the works for a long time, and we used too many resources. Returning in defeat would be too great of a loss. Furthermore, there¡¯s no guarantee that King Qi¡¯s faction won¡¯t harass us if we return withoutpleting the mission. Our crown prince¡¯s side would be in a hard spot then.¡±

    ¡°Exactly, exactly!¡± The Gu n brothers straightened their backs and stuck out their chests. ¡°Who knows, perhaps the Jade Moon Serpent not being here might also be part of the crown prince¡¯s test. Otherwise, wouldn¡¯t this mission be too easy if the Jade Moon Serpent were killed so quickly? After all, this is the crown prince¡¯s great exam; it¡¯s rted to the imperial throne. How can it be that easy of a task?¡±

    ¡°Indeed, the Gu n brothers make sense.¡± The others quickly voiced their agreement. It was clear that they were thinking the same thing.

    Zu An said sternly, ¡°But the Jade Moon Serpent isn¡¯t here, and we don¡¯t even know if the creature exists in this secret dungeon anymore. If we can¡¯t find it and leaveter, it¡¯ll only make us look even worse. Furthermore, this dungeon isn¡¯t as safe as you might think. There are vicious beasts everywhere.¡±

    Meng Pan harrumphed and said, ¡°It¡¯s just a trifling beast. We have so many people on our side; we can easily overwhelm something like that.¡±

    Zu An said calmly, ¡°If we really run into any formidable beasts, I reckon all of you might not even be enough to get stuck in the gaps of their teeth.¡±

    ¡°What did you say?!¡± Meng Pan erupted into fury. ¡°You can throw away your own life if you want to; don¡¯t think everyone else is as much of a wuss as you!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Meng Pan for +311 +311 +311¡­

    These young masters were all born from distinguished backgrounds. They had hardly ever encountered any setbacks and were insufferably arrogant. That was why they all agreed with what Meng Pan said.

    Pei You spoke up and said, ¡°We don¡¯t need to worry about the Jade Moon Serpent¡¯s whereabouts; I have a way to track it. I¡¯ve just examined our surroundings. It most likely took residence deep in the mountains.¡±

    ¡°Then what are we waiting for? Let¡¯s hurry and chase after it! Otherwise, all of the clues will disappear if we keep waiting!¡± the others eximed noisily. Everyone looked toward the crown princess. They all knew that the crown prince was only here to eat and defecate.

    Bi Linglong remained silent for a moment. In the end, she said, ¡°Alright. Most of the troops will continue towards the mountains to search for the Jade Moon Serpent. Also, just in case, we¡¯ll send someone to the dungeon entrance to let the others know what¡¯s happening inside.¡±

    Everyone felt deep admiration. The reason why a pig like the crown prince could even face King Qi all these years was because of the crown princess after all. She always considered the bigger picture.

    Zu An nodded in approval inwardly. What Bi Linglong had proposed was indeed the best choice at the moment. He hoped he was just worrying too much.

    Their group continued on their mission. Pei You searched for the Jade Moon Serpent¡¯s traces at the forefront of the group.

    Bi Linglong took the chance to move over to Zu An¡¯s side, asking, ¡°You¡¯re not mad that I didn¡¯t listen to your opinion, right?¡±

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not that petty.¡±

    Bi Linglong smiled as well. She asked with a hushed voice, ¡°Is this secret dungeon really that dangerous?¡±

    Zu An nodded. He gave her a rough recount of the map Jiang Luofu had shown him. ¡°The closer we get to the mountain, the more dangerous it bes. In the past, the students of the academy only trained in the area around. Only rarely would they head into the mountain depths.¡±

    Bi Linglong¡¯s expression changed. She gave Pei You, who was at the very front, a look. ¡°I¡¯ve always been worried about one thing. Do you still remember what I told you before?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re worried about the Pei n being a neutral faction?¡± Zu An followed her gaze and looked at the taciturn Pei You.

    Bi Linglong said, ¡°I¡¯m a bit worried that he might be taking us to a dangerous ce¡­ No, this won¡¯t do; I have to take some precautions.¡±

    She didn¡¯t wait for Zu An to reply and called everyone back. Then, she said seriously, ¡°This mission is extremely important, so we can¡¯t be careless at all. That¡¯s why we all need to be on guard. The secret dungeon¡¯s mountains are full of dangers, so you must obey orders and not act on your own. So, I¡¯m going to officially introduce this person to everyone. This is the Eastern Pce¡¯s Chambein Sir Zu An. He¡¯s familiar with this dungeon, and he also has abundant experience in dangerous ces. During the remainder of our time here, everyone needs to listen to his arrangements.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An was stunned. He hadn¡¯t expected her to give him such an important task. However, when he thought of the unknown dangers they were about to face, he didn¡¯t reject it either.

    However, how could the others willingly ept that?

    ¡°What right does he have to tell us what to do?¡±

    ¡°What ability is he going tomand us with?¡±

    ¡°There are so many people with higher cultivation ranks than him. Why do we have to listen to his opinion?¡±

    ¡­

    Bi Linglong harrumphed. ¡°Silence! What is this? Do this crown princess¡¯ words not mean anything?¡±

    Those who had objected immediately expressed that they didn¡¯t dare.

    Bi Linglong then said, ¡°This matter is decided; we won¡¯t discuss it any longer! I understand Sir Zu¡¯s cultivation and skills well. You¡¯ll alle to understand during the rest of this journey, so I won¡¯t say anything else. We¡¯re setting out!¡±

    Only then did the group¡¯s thoughts return to the trip. The crown princess had already said those things, so they could only respect her wishes.

    When Pei You and the other ns¡¯ scouts decided on a path, they asked for Zu An¡¯s opinion. Zu An saw that the area was still considered the outer region of the mountain, and that it was still quite far from those truly dangerous areas, so he didn¡¯t tell them to stop. As such, their original ns didn¡¯t change.

    After that process repeated a few times, the group developed contempt for him. They had expected some good opinions, yet he wasn¡¯t doing anything.

    Zu An could sense how these people were feeling, but he didn¡¯t care at all. He only needed to protect Bi Linglong and the crown prince. As for the Jade Moon Serpent, with his current cultivation, facing it alone wasn¡¯t an issue at all. He didn¡¯t need these people to be in the way. On the contrary, what he was more concerned about was whether there were any traitors among them.

    After all, everyone had been watching when the dungeon was opened. There were countless pairs of eyes watching, and King Qi hadn¡¯t sent anyone in at all. That was why they were the only ones who hade inside. What could King Qi even do?

    The biggest possibility was that there might be a mole in their party. However, these individuals were all important figures in their respective ns and had been carefully selected. That was why he wasn¡¯t sure whether his suspicions were correct or not.

    He didn¡¯t care about his rtionship with these people, but Bi Linglong couldn''t do the same. When she sensed their resentment, she approached Zu An and quietly said, ¡°Sir Zu, these people are all from distinguished ns, so they¡¯re a bit proud and not too willing to submit to others. It¡¯s not that they harbor any bad thoughts against you, so please don¡¯t take it to heart.¡±

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t use my public duty to avenge any private wrongs.¡±

    Bi Linglong thus gave Zu An an introduction to each person and their personalities, including their interpersonal rtionships, cultivations, and other information. Too many things had happened on their way here, so she hadn¡¯t had the time to tell him all of those things yet.

    In the distance, those young masters all felt terrible when they saw how close Zu An and the crown princess seemed as they chatted andughed with each other.

    The Gu n brothers were even more enraged. They had grown up with Bi Linglong, so they keenly sensed that the way she treated Zu An was entirely different from how she treated others. Even though such suspicion was a bit too outrageous, they still didn¡¯t lower their guard.

    Gu Xing moved over to his brother, saying, ¡°Big bro, hurry and think of something! I don¡¯t know what the heck that Zu An fe did to Linglong for her to be so friendly with him.¡±

    A flicker of light passed through Gu Heng¡¯s eyes. He quickly came up with an idea. He found a chance to move over to the crown prince¡¯s side and said, ¡°Crown prince, Sir Zu and the crown princess seem to be a bit too close to each other. This really seems to go against what an official should be like. Furthermore, this would easily harm the crown princess¡¯ reputation. Crown prince, are you not going to do anything about it?¡±

    In his opinion, no man could tolerate another man approaching his wife, let alone being that close to each other. This crown prince might be stupid in other ways, but he definitely had a strong sense of protectiveness for his own things.

    The Gu n brothers exchanged a look when they saw the crown prince look in Zu An and Bi Linglong¡¯s direction. They smirked. Let¡¯s see how you deal with this one, Zu An!

    But they could never have expected that what the crown prince would say after looking for a while was, ¡°In my opinion, they¡¯re not that close to each other.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not even close?¡± The Gu n brothers were shocked. The two were shoulder to shoulder, and they even bumped into each other from time to time!

    ¡°What¡¯s the big deal? Zu An has even carried Linglong before.¡± The crown prince quickly lost interest. He continued to chew on the spiced pig trotters the eunuchs had given him.

 Chapter 809: Dead

    <h4>Chapter 809: Dead</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°What?!¡± When they heard that Zu An had even carried Bi Linglong before, the Gu n brothers were shocked and furious.

    After all, they were childhood friends. These two brothers actually liked their beautiful little sister. Unfortunately, there was a difference in status between their ns, and she had even be the crown princess afterwards=. Their past affection had finally begun to fizzle out, but it was only buried in their hearts and had neverpletely disappeared.

    They had grown up together, and yet had never even touched her finger. However, this Zu An had even hugged her?

    You have sessfully trolled Gu Heng for +888 +888 +888¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Gu Xing for +888 +888 +888¡­

    Zu An was startled. What the heck was up with these two? Why would they suddenly give him so many Rage points? The Gu n brothers weren¡¯t looking at him, but rather staring stupidly at the crown prince in a daze. What kind of freaking reaction was this?

    Your wife is so close to another man, and you¡¯re even adding that this man held your wife before? Can someone really live so simple-mindedly for that long? Or maybe this fe has some other weird type of fetish?

    The Gu brothers¡¯ breathing immediately became hurried when they had such a thought. Their originally calm hearts began to stir. Then didn¡¯t that mean the two of them could also¡­?

    When they saw that the crown prince didn¡¯t care, they quietly withdrew for fear that Bi Linglong would notice the strangeness in their reactions. As they looked at Bi Linglong¡¯s graceful and fair figure, their eyes began to burn with desire.

    Suddenly, a disturbance appeared up ahead. Various elemental skills flew outward before the area became calm again. As it turned out, a group of vicious beasts had just arrived. There was a great deal of tension in the group¡¯s minds, so they immediately attacked with everything they had. They quickly dealt with the beasts.

    Zu An couldn''t help but chuckle. These were a group of old friends¡ªa pack of Assrip Wolves. Back then, he had really been put in a difficult spot from these damn wolves, and he had only gotten away by relying on his wit. Now, he didn¡¯t even have to lift a finger; there were others who easily dealt with them.

    But that made sense as well. Assrip Wolves were only around the third rank in strength. They were only hard to deal with because they usually moved in a pack. The crown prince¡¯s exam consisted of a group of fifth and sixth rank experts, and there were quite a few of them. A one-sided massacre was unavoidable.

    They ran into some more beasts along the way, but they were all small-scale threats. They weren¡¯t that much trouble and were easily dealt with by Zhao Xi. The young masters immediately received a huge morale boost. They felt the ce wasn¡¯t as dangerous as Zu An had said, and that it wasn¡¯t a big deal at all.

    Meng Pan sneered. ¡°That fe is only barely at the sixth rank. Of course these situations would seem dangerous to him.¡±

    ¡°Indeed, we didn¡¯t even need Zu An for this mission,¡± Pei You said unhappily. He could clearly track the Jade Moon Serpent¡¯s whereabouts, so he should have been in charge of their itinerary. However, he still had to ask Zu An for his opinion on everything. Later on, during the awarding ceremony, wouldn¡¯t Zu An be awarded the most when he hadn¡¯t even done anything?

    The Liu n rtive Gao Ying couldn''t help but say, ¡°But the crown princess said that Zu An¡¯s real strength is far above this level. Furthermore, you saw how well those teachers from the rear mountain treated him. At the very least, we can¡¯t deny that happened, right?¡±

    Liu Xian chuckled and said, ¡°Who knows; maybe he paid off those teachers to act that out. The Chu n has their salt and iron businesses, so they have more than enough money.¡±

    ¡°That isn¡¯t possible!¡± the others eximed, united for the first time. ¡°Those teachers from the Royal Academy all have extraordinary status and aren¡¯t people who can be bought through wealth. Even King Qi tried before, and yet he failed, so how could a single Zu An do it?¡±

    ¡°But the respect and adoration they showed Zu An was truly there. So what¡¯s going on here?¡± Liu Xian asked in confusion.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Meng Pan said, ¡°ording to what I know, those teachers from the rear mountain are all extremely formidable. They¡¯re all at the forefront of their respective fields. For example, Hei Baizi is good at Go, Yin Shi at debates, Wang Weiyang at farming¡­ Since Zu An came from the streets, he probably dipped his feet in different things that seemed to perfectly suit their tastes. That¡¯s why they regarded him so highly.¡±

    ¡°I think that¡¯s it! Meng brat, who would¡¯ve thought that you would say something good for once?¡± Zhao Xi pped his hands andughed heartily.

    ¡°Uncouth.¡± Meng Pan harrumphed.

    Gao Ying frowned. ¡°Those teachers don¡¯t even have enough time to research their own fields of specialty; why does Zu An know about so many things?¡±

    ¡°Jack of all trades and master of none.¡± Pei You sneered. ¡°That¡¯s why his cultivation is so ordinary.¡±

    The others nodded. They figured that was probably the case. Their misgivings toward Zu An because of the academy teachers and Bi Linglong¡¯s serious statement gradually disappeared.

    A whileter, night gradually descended. It wasmon knowledge that the mountains became more dangerous at night. As such, they didn¡¯t continue their advance and instead set up camp. They would continue the journey once the sky became bright again.

    Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun were Eastern Pce guards who had experienced strict training. That was why Zu An had them arrange for the ns¡¯ experts to be stationed on alert around them.

    As for the young masters, they obviously didn¡¯t need to do such grunt work. They surrounded the crown prince and princess, bbering away about how they easily defeated the beasts they had encountered during the day. The crown prince was excited by their stories and said that they had to catch a vicious beast tomorrow for him to kill it himself.

    The Gu n brothers both used this chance to bring a carefully roasted chicken to Bi Linglong.

    ¡°Linglong, you must be tired after everything that happened today. Please enjoy this chicken.¡±

    When they saw the roasted chicken in each others¡¯ hands, their eyelids couldn''t help but twitch. These brothers really were on the same wavelength!

    ¡°Thank you!¡± Bi Linglong replied. Compared to the crown prince, who was amazed by all the stories andpletely carefree, she was far from being so rxed. She received the roasted chickens and handed one of them to Zu An. ¡°You must be hungry too. Here.¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t refuse her and began to eat. He cultivated the Primordial Origin Sutra, which granted his body greater toughness and regeneration than a normal person, but also increased the amount of food he consumed. He needed to constantly replenish his energy. These two brothers might be annoying, but their skill at roasting chicken didn¡¯t seem half bad.

    Bi Linglong smiled when she saw Zu An enjoy it that much, saying, ¡°Eat slowly, there¡¯s still more. You can have this one too.¡±

    The Gu n brothers werepletely speechless. They wanted to cry. The two of us worked so hard on those chickens for you!

    Zu An couldn''t help but chuckle. This scene made him remember a post from his past world, where a guy had lived frugally for several months to buy a precious gift for the girl of his dreams to see her smile, only for her to immediately give his gift to the guy she liked. Sure enough, no matter what world it was, there was no future for bootlickers.

    When he recalled all of the things these brothers had said about him along the way, he wouldn¡¯t be Zu An if he didn¡¯t use this chance to get some revenge. He picked up the chicken bones and waved them in front of the two of them, saying, ¡°Your skills aren¡¯t bad at all! How about you roast two more for me? I¡¯m afraid these two aren¡¯t enough for my appetite.¡±

    ¡°Do you think we¡¯re chefs?¡± The Gu n brothers stormed off in a huff.

    You have sessfully trolled Gu Heng for +666 +666 +666¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Gu Xing for +666 +666 +666¡­

    Bi Linglong rolled her eyes, saying, ¡°You just had to annoy them on purpose.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s so bad about chasing away two flies?¡± Zu An replied with a chuckle.

    Bi Linglong blushed. This guy was getting more and more brave! She thought to herself that she had to find a chance to teach him a lesson.

    As time went on, the night deepened. One after another, the young masters returned to their tents to rest. As for the crown prince, after he ate his fill, he had already been snoring loudly in his tent.

    Bi Linglong thus sat down with Zu An to discuss the details of the next few days. However, she had barely gotten any sleep the previous night, so drowsiness was starting to overtake her. Her head unwittingly leaned against Zu An¡¯s shoulder, and she fell asleep.

    When he smelled the faint fragranceing from the youngdy¡¯s body, Zu An began to focus on his cultivation. His cultivation had quickly jumped two ranks and urgently needed consolidation.

    Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun had just finished their patrol and were about toe back to chat with Zu An. They returned with smiles on their faces, but when they saw the scene, their smiles immediately froze on their faces. They gave each other a look, and then quickly withdrew outside.

    Piao Duandiao broke out into cold sweat. ¡°Oh no, we¡¯re done for. What do we do now?¡±

    Jiao Sigun¡¯s face was deathly pale as well, but he wasparatively more calm. ¡°What do you mean done for? It¡¯s not as if anything really happened between the two of them.¡±

    ¡°This doesn¡¯t even count? If someone else finds out, then forget about big bro Zu, not even the crown princess wille out unscathed!¡± Piao Duandiao muttered to himself, ¡°What is big bro Zu thinking? How can he touch the crown princess?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s as serious as you¡¯re making it out to be,¡± Jiao Sigun replied. ¡°I think it¡¯s because they were just too tired and fell asleep unconsciously.¡±

    ¡°You really believe that?¡± Piao Duandiao gave him a look.

    Jiao Sigun forced a smile. ¡°We have to believe it even if we don¡¯t. Once this gets out, big bro Zu will be done for.¡±

    Piao Duandiao hesitated. ¡°But if we know the truth and don¡¯t report it, that¡¯s a crime big enough to have our families executed!¡±

    ¡°Big bro Zu treated us so well, so how can we harm him? How about this? Nothing happened between them anyway, so we¡¯ll just pretend that this never happened. We¡¯ll try to advise him again afterward,¡± Jiao Sigun said.

    ¡°That¡¯s all we can do.¡± Piao Duandiao thought for a bit, and then got up. ¡°I¡¯ll transfer the guards a bit further away. You should continue to stand guard here to prevent anyone else from seeing anything.¡±

    ¡°Okay!¡±

    The two of them spent the night in utter fear.

    The next morning, the rays of dawn scattered across the mountains and trees. Suddenly, a terrified scream echoed through the camp. ¡°There¡¯s a dead body!¡±

 Chapter 810: Panic

    <h4>Chapter 810: Panic</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    Amotion filled the entire camp when they heard that bitter scream. They thought there was an intruder, so they grabbed their weapons and charged over right away.

    Bi Linglong and Zu An woke up immediately as well. Bi Linglong discovered that she had leaned against Zu An all night. Her face instantly became as red as an apple. But she was the crown princess after all, and wasn¡¯t easily flustered like a little girl.

    She quickly realized the importance of the situation, so she stood up to head toward the source of the voice. Unfortunately, the awkward posture in which she had slept made her body a bit rigid. As she suddenly stood up, she felt a wave of dizziness and fell.

    Zu An quickly supported her. He had to admit that this woman¡¯s body really was soft. But he quickly calmed himself down and said, ¡°The voice seems to being from outside our camp.¡±

    Piao Duandiao quickly rushed in to make a report. ¡°Reporting to the crown princess! We discovered a corpse outside. It seems to be Bi Chang.¡±

    His eyes moved to Zu An¡¯s hand, which was holding Bi Linglong¡¯s waist. He immediately felt his scalp turn numb. What the heck is up with the crown princess? Why isn¡¯t she showing the slightest bit of resistance? The crown prince is in the tent right next door! Are you two out of your minds?!

    Despite that, he didn¡¯t really have a good opinion of the crown prince. The guards all privately liked this beautiful and elegant crown princess more, feeling that the fact she was married to him was like a flower growing out of a pile of sh*t.

    But that sh*t is the crown prince! Don¡¯t tell me the crown princess doesn¡¯t know the consequences of doing this?

    Forget it, there are too many filthy things that happen in the royal family; what¡¯s the big deal with this? I¡¯ll just pretend I didn¡¯t see anything.

    He had already talked it out with Jiao Sigun yesterday. Whether it was because of their rtionship with Zu An or because of their own interests, pretending they hadn¡¯t seen anything was the best choice.

    Otherwise, once this was uncovered, the crown princess and the Bi n would easily be in danger. Even if they were punished for that, out of consideration for the royal family, the emperor would very likely get rid of guards like them too.

    In the end, they were just nobodies who didn¡¯t have any control over their own fate. That was why it would be best if they did their best not to get involved in things like this.

    Bi Linglong quickly shifted to the side and naturally freed herself from Zu An¡¯s hand. However, her expression changed at once when she heard the name. ¡°What?!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Zu An asked curiously. The name seemed to belong to someone from the Bi n. Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s one of her rtives?

    Bi Linglong¡¯s expression darkened as she replied, ¡°The one I sent yesterday to report the situation to the entrance was Bi Chang!¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression became grave as well. The messenger they¡¯d sent was actually dead?

    Bi Linglong clearly realized the implications as well. A chill ran down her back.

    Their group quickly arrived at the scene of the crime. Zhao Xi and the others were already there. They quickly greeted Bi Linglong when they saw the two arrive. ¡°We greet the crown princess.¡± As for Zu An, they ignored him.

    Zu An calmly looked at the corpse, which was high up in the air. It looked a bit familiar. Sure enough, it was the messenger who had been sent previously to report back to the gate.

    His body was impaled on a tree branch. His face was warped, his eyeballs bulging outward. Tears of blood slid down his face, and his corpse was deathly pale. He looked like a ghost from a horror movie. No wonder the one who had seen his body screamed so loudly.

    ¡°Who killed him?!¡± Liu Xian eximed, his voice trembling. He subconsciously moved closer to his cousin Gao Ying.

    Meng Pan tapped his toes. He leaped onto the branch, lithe as a swallow. He examined the corpse and said gravely, ¡°Judging from the color of the blood on his chest, this isn¡¯t where the murder happened. He was killed, and then ced here.¡±

    Zu An was amazed when he saw the other person examine the corpse with a calm expression. It seemed these young masters weren¡¯t all good-for-nothing idiots. No wonder they had been chosen to participate in this important mission. They still had skill in their fields of specialty.

    ¡°What I¡¯m more concerned about is why his corpse is here. He went in the opposite direction yesterday, so he shouldn¡¯t have appeared in front of us.¡± Zhao Xi immediately voiced what Zu An and the others were wondering.

    ¡°Could it be that he got lost? Maybe he thought he was going back to the entrance, but he ended up going the wrong way?¡± Pei You voiced his analysis.

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible,¡± The Gu n brothers both blurted out. ¡°These are scouts that were chosen carefully. Their cultivation levels might not be the best, but they have a lot of experience in scouting and are individuals who survived countless battlefields. How could he have possibly gotten lost?¡±

    Zhao Xi nodded and said, ¡°Indeed, we didn¡¯t see any maze-like terrain on our way here.¡±

    ¡°Then could it be a beast? I heard there¡¯s a type of Butcher Bird that loves to hang their prey on branches like this,¡± Liu Xian said. Even though his cultivation was ordinary, he had read all sorts of random books.

    Meng Pan shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s not possible. If it were a Butcher Bird, then his body would have signs of being punctured by sharp ws or a beak. However, even though his body is quite heavily wounded, there aren¡¯t any wounds like that. Furthermore, I don¡¯t see any mortal wounds on his body.¡±

    ¡°If there are no mortal wounds, then how did he die?¡±

    ¡°Was it a ghost?¡±

    ¡­

    The ce became filled with noise. Those gathered all felt chills run down their backs.

    Zu An spoke up. ¡°It¡¯s not that there are no mortal wounds; it¡¯s that his mortal wound was hidden. I believe he had his meridians sted apart. The reason he¡¯s impaled on the branch is to hide the wounds on his heart¡¯s vessels. The other wounds are merely a diversionary tactic.¡±

    As someone who had served as an Embroidered Envoy, he at least had this amount of deduction ability.

    Meng Pan was shocked. He quickly examined the body again, saying, ¡°Indeed, his heart vessels suffered severe damage. It seems his life was taken by a single blow.¡±

    The others were actually a bit amazed that Zu An wasn¡¯t as ipetent as they thought. They were all shocked when they heard those words. ¡°A single blow?¡±

    Bi Linglong said in a dismal tone, ¡°Bi Chang was at the fifth rank, and he¡¯s always been a sharp person. Furthermore, he excelled at stealth and self-preservation. Someone who could take his life in a single blow would have to be at least a rank higher than him.¡±

    She had chosen Bi Chang because sending back a message was extremely important. She hadn¡¯t expected this to happen.

    ¡°Hm?¡± The others¡¯ expressions became extremely strange when they heard the crown princess¡¯ analysis. They were the only ones who were at the sixth rank in this mission. Didn¡¯t that mean the murderer was one of them?

    Bi Linglong keenly sensed the change in mood. She continued, ¡°Please don¡¯t think random thoughts. The murderer might be an outsider, or one of the indigenous people of this dungeon.¡±

    ¡°But ording to our sources, there are no natives in this dungeon. Furthermore, with Sir Bi and the others watching, there should be no way anyone from outside could havee in.¡± Zhao Xi showed a surprisingly meticulous side as he spoke.

    Bi Linglong said, ¡°Let¡¯s not be overly suspicious when we don¡¯t have any proof, to avoid sinking into internal strife.¡±

    Pei You asked, ¡°Then should we send someone else to report back on the situation? I just feel as if something isn¡¯t quite right.¡±

    Bi Linglong gave him a deep look, and then she looked at Zu An. ¡°Sir Zu, what do you think?¡±

    Zu An knew that she was implying something. She had always suspected the Pei n¡¯s motives, and she had mentioned her suspicion towards Pei You several times the previous night. As such, he replied, ¡°The other party deliberately left the victim¡¯s corpse in such a horrifying state precisely to establish panic among us. In the current situation, we have two choices. We can either withdraw with most of our people, which would signify failure, or we can continue to send people back to make a report. Thetter will only further the enemy¡¯s schemes, as the one hiding in the shadows can whittle down our strength bit by bit.¡±

    ¡°But if we don¡¯t send the news back and something does end up happening to us here, then those outside will never know about what happened here.¡± Pei You frowned.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An said, ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about that. Since the enemy chose this type of fear tactic to divide us, that means they aren¡¯t strong to face us head-on. That¡¯s why they did something like this. We just need to be more careful from here on out.¡±

    The disturbance gradually calmed down when the others heard Zu An¡¯s analysis. Afterward, their group continued to advance, but their spirits were no longer as high as before. All of them had grave expressions. Thankfully, nothing else happened in the next few days, and the group gradually sighed in relief.

    However, Zu An became more and more serious, because they had already entered the mountain¡¯s depths. They were getting closer and closer to the red-marked danger zone on the map Jiang Luofu had shown him. As such, he began to change their itinerary to avoid those red areas as much as possible.

    Since they made detours, they had to spend two to three days to reach ces that normally would have taken half a day if they went in a straight line. When had these young masters ever experienced such bitterness? They all voiced theirints along the way. Quite a few of them went to the crown prince and princess to tell on Zu An.

    The straightforward Zhao Xi asked in dissatisfaction, ¡°Crown princess, isn¡¯t Zu An making too much of a fuss?¡±

    ¡°Exactly! He keeps saying that this ce is dangerous, but have we encountered any danger along the way?¡± Gu Xing added fuel to the me.

    ¡°When will we find the Jade Moon Serpent if we keep making detours like this? When will we be able toplete this mission?¡± Meng Pan grumbled.

    ¡°Sigh, I miss the soft beds of the capital already¡­ My back is starting to get stiff from sleeping in tents day after day,¡± Liu Xian said while massaging his shoulder.

    ¡­

    ¡°That¡¯s enough; everyone needs to trust Sir Zu. It''s because he¡¯s been leading us that we haven¡¯t encountered any danger.¡± Bi Linglong did her best to appease everyone.

    However, a change suddenly urred in the situation. The scouts they had sent out vanished!

 Chapter 811: Vanished

    <h4>Chapter 811: Vanished</h4>

    Trantor: Pika

    ¡°Vanished?¡± Bi Linglong was extremely shocked when she heard that word. ¡°What do you mean by vanished?¡±

    ¡°They just vanished,¡± Piao Duandiao replied. ¡°They never came back after a long time, and we can¡¯t contact them. We didn¡¯t find their corpses either.¡±

    Bi Linglong and Zu An exchanged a look. They could see the seriousness in each others¡¯ eyes.

    The group headed out to investigate, but they didn¡¯t find any useful clues. Finding the Jade Moon Serpent was the top priority, so they could only set aside the matter for now. However, there was now a shadow looming over their hearts.

    Bi Linglong ordered everyone to move together from that point on to avoid any ambushes. Even so, scouts disappeared every day for the next few days. Sometimes it was two, and sometimes three.

    The young masters of the different ns were all rmed and panicked. A few dayster, they finally couldn''t take it any longer and got together to discuss the matter.

    ¡°We don¡¯t even know who the enemy is now!¡± Liu Xian felt as if he were about to go mad. He had pretty maids serving him every day in the capital, and he even frequently wandered the brothels to enjoy the singing and instruments of the courtesans. Why the hell had he listened to his n¡¯s elders ande to this damn ce for some bet or whatever?

    This was a bet? He even had to call his cousin over when he needed to use the restroom! After all, between that Bi Chang who had been killed first and the other scouts who had disappeared, many of those people had cultivation ranks higher than his! That was why he was always extremely tense. He couldn''t help but feel that he was next on the chopping board.

    ¡°Is it possible that it¡¯s a vicious beast?¡± Gao Ying mused as he analyzed the situation. ¡°What happened recently is different from what happened to Bi Chang. Could it be that those scouts that went missing have been captured by a lurking vicious beast, and then eaten as food? Maybe that¡¯s why we can¡¯t find them?¡±

    Liu Xian became more frightened when he heard Gao Ying¡¯s spection. ¡°I shiver all over whenever I think that those scouts were eaten by beasts and turned to sh*t.¡±

    The remaining scouts nearby all red at him. Those scouts were theirrades, yet this person had actually described them like this.

    Gao Ying was also speechless. His cousin really had crossed the line. He was aplete idiot, yet he loved to talk and shoot off that damn mouth of his. But because of his status, a rtive of the Liu n like him couldn''t really say anything.

    ¡°There¡¯s no chance of it being a beast.¡± Gu Heng voiced his analysis. ¡°If it were a beast, then there should be traces of blood left behind, or the bones left behind after being devoured. There¡¯s no way there wouldn¡¯t be a single thing left behind.¡±

    Pei You said coldly, ¡°That¡¯s why the attacker is definitely human, and furthermore definitely among us! We¡¯re the only ones who entered this dungeon, so it¡¯s an obvious conclusion. Even though no one is saying it, I¡¯m sure all of you already have simr thoughts. We were worried about harming morale before, but there¡¯s no choice now.¡±

    Bi Linglong¡¯s eyes narrowed as she replied, ¡°Then does young master Pei have any ideas regarding who the perpetrator is?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s actually quite simple to find out who the murderer is.¡± Pei You paused deliberately. His eyes scanned over those present.

    The others listened carefully when they heard Pei You speak, waiting for his next words.

    Zhao Xi said impatiently, ¡°Hurry up and speak if you have something to say! Why are you suddenly stopping in the middle of your sh*t halfway like Meng Pan?¡±

    Meng Pan roared furiously, ¡°What the hell are you trying to say?!¡±

    Zhao Xi harrumphed. He turned around and ignored him.

    Pei You also felt grossed out, and only after a while did he recover hisposure. He gave Zhao Xi a look and said, ¡°It¡¯s simple enough. After something happened to Bi Chang, the crown princess asked all of us to move together. The crown princess¡¯ intention was for all of us to watch out for each other, but that ended up producing another result, which was that none of us could secretly leave and kill on our own.

    ¡°Meanwhile, the only one who can move independently apart from the crown prince and princess is Sir Zu.¡±

    He didn¡¯t continue speaking afterward. All those present knew what he was implying. There was no way the crown prince and princess were the murderers, which meant that Zu An was the only one left.

    Zu An chuckled when he saw the others look at him. ¡°You¡¯re suspecting me?¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Pei You said indifferently, ¡°I merely made a rational statement.¡±

    Bi Linglong¡¯s expression changed several times. As she looked at Zu An, her eyes were full of worry, hesitation, fear, and all sorts of other emotions.

    The others surreptitiously kept some distance between Zu An and themselves. Only Piao Duandiao, Jiao Sigun, and a few others continued to stand by his side.

    Zu An shrugged. ¡°There has to be a motive behind every action. As the crown prince¡¯s chambein, I¡¯m the embodiment of the crown princess¡¯ trust. Why would I do something like this?¡±

    Meng Pan chuckled and said, ¡°That¡¯s easy enough. You¡¯re from the Chu n, and everyone knows that the Chu n is close to the Qin n. The Chu n¡¯s heir even gifted you so many things before you entered, and the Murong n¡¯s young miss even gave you a storage pouch. How could something this precious be randomly given out like that? The Qin n and Murong n¡¯s rtionship with King Qi is something I don¡¯t need to talk about, right?¡±

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°You think I¡¯m working for King Qi?¡±

    Jiao Sigun shouted angrily, ¡°How is that possible!? Everyone knows that Sir Zu and King Qi don¡¯t get along. He¡¯s made King Qi¡¯s faction suffer severe losses ever since he came to the capital! The Security Officer and Left Guard General, even such important roles were lost because of Sir Zu. How could he possibly be working for King Qi?!¡±

    Gu Xing stepped forward and said, ¡°That¡¯s simple enough. Isn¡¯t it just injuring yourself to gain the enemy''s confidence? Otherwise, everyone would suspect him.¡±

    Piao Duandiao harrumphed. ¡°Even King Qi¡¯s heir¡¯s reputation hit rock bottom because of him. If that were the case, wouldn¡¯t the losses be a bit too severe?¡±

    Gu Xing was left at a loss for words, but Gu Heng stepped forward and said, ¡°If he were trying to fool ordinary people like us, dealing with Murong Tong and Cheng Xiong beforehand would already be enough. However, if he wanted to deceive such intelligent people as his majesty, the crown prince, and the crown princess, Murong Tong and Cheng Xiong alone would be far from enough. That¡¯s why they didn¡¯t hesitate to give up King Qi¡¯s heir to make him look better.

    ¡°All of you, think about it carefully. King Qi¡¯s heir has eight ranks of cultivation, while even Han Fengqiu, a ninth rank cultivator, was there to oversee the situation. How could they possibly lose to Zu An?

    ¡°That¡¯s why there¡¯s a saying that goes ¡®too far is just as bad as not enough¡¯. It can instead produce a hole in one¡¯s n.¡±

    The others nodded in agreement, feeling that such an assessment was extremely reasonable. They had thought that King Qi¡¯s heir might have been defeated because of a mysterious water element expert, but even with their powerful intelligenceworks, they hadn¡¯t managed to find out who that mysterious expert was.

    But everything made sense if it was just an act King Qi¡¯s heir set up with Zu An. As such, when they looked at Zu An, their eyes became filled with hostility.

    Zu An burst outughing. ¡°Why are you all looking at me like that? Not even his majesty saw anything; do you think you¡¯re more formidable than the emperor?¡±

    Gu Heng¡¯s breathing stopped. ¡°Of course I can¡¯tpare to his majesty. Perhaps his majesty has other ns by not exposing you, and deliberately used a long line to catch a bigger fish. It¡¯s just that no one expected for you to reveal a hole in your behavior ahead of time in this dungeon!¡±

    Zhao Xi¡¯s personality was the most explosive. ¡°You bastard, you¡¯ve killed so many of our people! It¡¯s time for you to pay with your life!¡±

    The young masters drew their weapons and surrounded Zu An when Zhao Xi finished speaking.

    Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun were at their wits¡¯ end as they stood by Zu An¡¯s side. They both looked towards Bi Linglong to see what she would do.

    Zu An also looked toward her, asking, ¡°Crown princess, what do you think?¡±

    Bi Linglong sighed and said, ¡°You should just leave.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Zu An asked, confused.

    Bi Linglong said indifferently, ¡°Out of consideration for everything you¡¯ve done, I won¡¯t trouble you. You can leave on your own. Your life and death will depend on yourself.¡±

    ¡°Crown princess!¡± the young masters all cried out. ¡°How can you let a murderer leave just like that?!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve already made my decision; this matter is settled.¡± Bi Linglong stormed off alone, her lonely figure receding into the distance.

    ¡°I¡¯ve done so much for you and the crown prince, yet you still chose to trust them and not me?¡± Zu An shouted angrily.

    Bi Linglong¡¯s figure paused for a moment, but she still didn¡¯t stop.

    Gu Xing jumped in front of him and eximed, ¡°You bastard, what are you yelling about? Why aren¡¯t you getting lost yet? If you continue to provoke the crown princess, you might not be able to leave even if you want to.¡±

    Zu Anpletely ignored his barking and instead said seriously, ¡°Bi Linglong, you¡¯ll regret your decision soon. From here on out, all ties between us will be broken!¡±

    ¡°Brazen! You dare call the crown princess by her name?!¡± Gu Xing was incredibly annoyed when he saw Zu Anpletely ignore him. He immediately made a big fuss.

    You have sessfully trolled Gu Xing for +444 Rage points!

    The others quickly surrounded Zu An. The atmosphere quickly became extremely tense.

    ¡°I already said to let him leave,¡± Bi Linglong said in an ice-cold voice.

    The others could only open up a path. Zu An swung his sleeves and left with an ashen expression.

    ¡°Big bro Zu!¡± Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun rushed over. As they looked at him, their eyes were full of worry. Zu An shook his head and didn¡¯t say anything to them. His lonesome figure headed into the forest depths alone.

    ¡°Hmph, letting him leave like this really is letting him off too easily,¡± Meng Pan said through gritted teeth.

    Zhao Xi chuckled. ¡°If you¡¯re that upset, then why don¡¯t you secretly chase after him and kill him? We promise we won¡¯t report to the crown princess about this.¡±

    Meng Pan harrumphed. ¡°Like hell I¡¯ll believe you.¡± He returned to his tent after speaking.

    The other young masters had conflicted expressions. They all returned to their own tents while deep in thought.

 Chapter 812, Part 1: Who Will You Choose?

    <h4>Chapter 812, Part 1: Who Will You Choose?</h4>

    When Zu An left, the Gu n brothers immediately ran over to Bi Linglong¡¯s side to be at her beck and call. Unfortunately, Bi Linglong¡¯s mood was clearly not great because of the matter of Zu An.

    Gu Xing said, ¡°Linglong, I know that you don¡¯t feel great right now because you trusted the wrong person, but things will now take a turn for the better! Now that we¡¯ve gotten rid of the troublemaker, we¡¯ll have much more confidence inpleting the crown prince¡¯s great exam.¡±

    Gu Heng nodded and also said, ¡°Indeed. As long as the young masters unite together, with our strength, losing one Zu An won¡¯t matter at all. Furthermore, we brothers will always stand at the crown princess¡¯ side.¡±

    Bi Linglong forced a smile. ¡°Thank you. I¡¯ll really have to depend on you guys from now on. The young masters of the different ns are all proud and arrogant. They might show respect for me on the surface, but I fear that in a moment of danger, they might not be so reliable in this dungeon. Now that Zu An has left, you two are the only ones I can trust.¡±

    The Gu n brothers were overjoyed. ¡°We are willing to go through anything for the crown princess without hesitation!¡±

    Bi Linglong¡¯s mood finally improved a bit. Then, she spoke a few more words to them and gave them some encouragement.

    The two brothers looked at the elegant and graceful crown princess in front of them as they chatted. This really was a blissful moment. They were quite close to each other, so they could smell her body¡¯s fragrance. They couldn''t help but be worked up. Their eyes also began to wander towards her chest, waist, and other sensitive areas in a rather unrestrained manner. The desires within them began to brew as well.

    I only thought that Linglong was beautiful and elegant before. I didn¡¯t expect her figure to be so amazing too¡­

    She¡¯s slender, yet has amazing curves. What the hell did that damn pig of a crown prince do to be so blessed?

    Hm¡­ The crown princess didn¡¯t seem to mind that Zu An hugged her. Does the crown prince have this kind of fetish, or does he not know what that means? Regardless of which one it is, it seems we have a chance!

    ¡­

    In the following days, no scouts went missing anymore. The group sighed in relief.

    Zhao Xiughed heartily. ¡°Looks like the murderer was indeed that Zu An! All of those annoyances seem to have disappeared once he left!¡±

    Gu Xing said in agreement, ¡°Indeed. He even made us take meaningless detours and kept saying confidently that it was for avoiding danger or something. In my opinion, he was acting on King Qi¡¯s orders and came to interfere with our n. The detours instead made it easier for him to get rid of our people.¡±

    Gu Heng cupped his hands toward Pei You. ¡°We have to thank young master Pei for this. If it wasn¡¯t for you uncovering his sinister plot, we might not have had any idea what to do as more and more people died.¡±

    Pei You said indifferently, ¡°I only gave the most reasonable deduction. I wasn¡¯t trying to target anyone.¡± After saying so, he left bearing his sword in his arms in an aloof manner.

    Bi Linglong had a pensive expression as she watched him leave.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡­

    Their party¡¯s rxed mood didn¡¯t continue for long, because they quickly encountered danger.

    They unknowingly entered the territory of some Giant White Wolves and werepletely surrounded. Fortunately, all of them had powerful skills and tools, which allowed them to barely escape from the wolves¡¯ territory.

    But before they could even celebrate, they barged into the territory of some Demon-Faced Greenfire Spiders. Only now did they realize why the Giant White Wolves hadn¡¯t continued to chase after them.

    Many of the warriors were wrapped in the spiderwebs, then instantly sucked dry by the Demon-Faced Greenfire Spiders. Some of them got some of the spiders¡¯ green mes on them, and their entire bodies instantly became surrounded by a green me. They couldn''t put out the fire no matter what they did and were burned to ashes in the span of a few seconds.

    When they finally managed to get away somehow, they encountered the attacks of a cksteel Thundersnake. As the name implied, their bodies were as tough as steel, making the attacks of the various ns¡¯ warriors ineffective, and they could even use the power of electricity. Those who faced it experienced a taste of what it felt like to be struck by thunder.

    Fortunately, Bi Linglong¡¯smands were excellent, so their group was finally able to escape to a safer ce.

    But after suffering from three disasters in session, only a third of their previously grand troop was left. The remaining party members were wounded and covered in grime. Even Bi Linglong¡¯s clothes were torn. The only one who waspletely unharmed was the crown prince, as he was the top priority for protection. No one dared to let him suffer in the slightest.

    It now seemed that there was no way for their group to continue their bold advance. When they were certain that there was no more danger around them, the survivors set up camp and began to treat their injuries.

    However, after everything that had happened, the higher-ranking individuals had to hold a meeting. They reported on their casualties, and discussed among themselves what they should do from then on. Their fighting spirit had already dropped considerablypared to before. All of them sighed deeply.

    The young masters who normally spoke with confidence all seemed to have been humbled. It was instead the habitually silent Gao Ying who spoke first. ¡°Is there something wrong with this dungeon? Why are the beasts we¡¯ve encountered all much more formidable than what our intelligence said?¡±

    ¡°Indeed, ording to our intelligence, whether it¡¯s the Giant White Wolves or the Demon-Faced Greenfire Spiders, even though they¡¯re dangerous for us, we have the numbers advantage on our side, and our preparations were ample. There should have been no reason for us to suffer such severe losses,¡± Meng Pan said.

    Zhao Xi frowned. ¡°Did the academy deliberately fool us and lie to us about their cultivation?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡± Bi Linglong immediately refuted his suspicion. ¡°The academy has always been neutral; they would never help King Qi ensnare us. Furthermore, the academy¡¯s people aren¡¯t the only ones who have entered this dungeon before; we¡¯ve sent people in before as well. The intelligence they provided us with is identical to the academy¡¯s.¡±

    ¡°Then why are these beasts so much stronger?¡± Meng Pan asked, his expression dark.

    They couldn''t figure the situation out no matter how they thought about it. Piao Duandiao suddenly said, ¡°Looks like big bro Zu was making us take detours precisely to avoid these dangerous beasts. If he were still here, we wouldn¡¯t have suffered such serious losses.¡±

    Jiao Sigun added, ¡°Exactly. Everyone thought that he was holding up our mission for no reason, but now, it looks as if we actually misunderstood him.¡±

    The others felt their faces heat up. They all felt embarrassed. After all, they all had a part in chasing Zu An away. Some of them really did feel regret. However, there were also people who disagreed.

    ¡°Zu An was still the most suspicious suspect after all. We might have been able to avoid these beasts by traveling with him, but if he killed some of our people every day, then our casualties would only be worse as time goes on.¡± Pei You harrumphed. He was the one who had led the usations against Zu An, so he had to stand his ground here.

    Jiao Sigun asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t this too groundless? Those people might not have been killed by Zu An.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right, I feel it¡¯s quite strange as well.¡± Gu Heng suddenly spoke up. Jiao Sigun and Piao Duandiao were stunned. This guy was one of the ones who hated Zu An the most; why had he suddenly spoken in Zu An¡¯s favor?

    Gu Heng continued, ¡°We were misled by that scoundrel and chased Sir Zu away. Unfortunately, it¡¯s now toote for regrets.¡±

    Pei You frowned. ¡°What are you trying to say?¡±

    Gu Heng said sternly, ¡°Who was the one who chose the path this time?¡±

    The others were shocked. They all looked at Pei You.

    Pei You¡¯s expression changed. ¡°I merely followed the trail left by the Jade Moon Serpent; how could I possibly know that there were so many beast nests here?¡±

    ¡°Did you really not know or are you just pretending?¡± Gu Xing asked. ¡°Sir Zu changed your itinerary several times before to avoid those beasts, so your n was ruined. That¡¯s why you tried to chase him away. Afterward, you were finally able to lead us into those traps.¡±

    Liu Xian wiped at the grime covering his face and cursed. ¡°Hmph, I never liked how you talked all this time anyway, I knew there was something wrong with you. Who would¡¯ve thought that you really were this evil!?¡±

    Zhao Xi stood up just then as well, surrounding Pei You with the others. ¡°Mister Pei, I trusted you back then, yet we only ended up misunderstanding Zu An. Speak, who sent you here?!¡±

    Pei You held his sword close to him. ¡°Absolute nonsense! What motive do I have for harming you all?!¡±

    Meng Pan replied darkly, ¡°How could you not have a motive? Your Pei n has two branches, one of which firmly supports King Qi¡¯s faction. Your grandfather doesn¡¯t get along with Sir Bi either; it¡¯s just your father who gets along with Bi Ziang. It really is strange now that I think about it. It was probably the Pei n who sent you to infiltrate the Bi n. Now, their n is finally working.¡±

    It was clear that Bi Linglong wasn¡¯t the only one who had suspected Pei You.

    Pei You¡¯s expression changed several times. ¡°It¡¯s normal for a n to belong to several factions; even father and son can belong to different parties. It¡¯s amon urrence in history. What¡¯s so strange about that?¡±

    ¡°It might not be strange if that were all, but if we think about how you chased Zu An away, and then deliberately led us into the beasts¡¯ territory, isn¡¯t that too much of a coincidence?¡± Gu Heng sneered.

    Pei Youughed in distress when he saw the others¡¯ suspicious looks. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect all of you to have harbored such ill feelings toward our Pei n. It looks like my father¡¯s decision back then really was wrong, and moreover ridiculously wrong!¡± As soon as he finished speaking, he drew his sword. A gorgeous sh of sword brilliance struck out at the group.

    ¡°Protect the crown prince and princess!¡± The others immediately became rmed. They felt that the sword strike was aimed at them, and became a hundred and twenty percent vignt.

    But in the end, Pei You¡¯s strike was just a feint. He didn¡¯t actually attack and used the chance to quickly run. He was fast, disappearing into the forest after just a few leaps.

 Chapter 812, Part 2: Who Will You Choose?

    <h4>Chapter 812, Part 2: Who Will You Choose?</h4>

    ¡°Motherfucker, that bastard was hiding his real strength! He had evil designs after all!¡± Zhao Xi tried to run after him, but he couldn''t catch up. Spittle flew everywhere as he cursed out.

    ¡°Don¡¯t chase after him. The mountain depths are full of dangers. It¡¯ll be bad if he guides us into another beast¡¯s territory.¡± Bi Linglong gave the order, ¡°Lock up all the Pei n¡¯s people first.¡±

    The Pei n¡¯s warriors were rmed. While facing the encirclement of the other ns, all of them looked as if they were going to fight to the death.

    Fortunately, Bi Linglong said, ¡°I believe that you didn¡¯t know about the matter of Pei You. As long as you lower your weapons, I guarantee your safety on my name. Once we leave this dungeon, you will be tried by the court.¡±

    The Pei n¡¯s warriors looked at each other in dismay. In the end, they gave up their resistance out of respect for the crown princess¡¯ usual prestige. After all, now that the Pei n¡¯s young master had fled, they were without a leader. They would undoubtedly die if they really fought and would only be able to drag some people down with them at most. Since the crown princess had already given them this promise, they wanted to keep their lives as well.

    After the Pei n¡¯s people were locked up, the other young masters went to the crown prince¡¯s tent to discuss what to do.

    ¡°It¡¯s really just one disaster after another.¡± Liu Xian fanned himself with his already somewhat tattered fan. He released a heavy sigh.

    Gao Xing also said with a frown, ¡°There¡¯s another matter that¡¯s more important. In our group, only Pei You alone had a way of tracking the Jade Moon Serpent. There¡¯s no way any of us could find it in such a huge mountain, so how can we evenplete this mission?¡±

    Gu Heng asked, ¡°How about we find Sir Zu again? Since he could urately avoid these beasts¡¯ nests, he¡¯s probably familiar with this mountain. He should have a way.¡±

    When they heard Gu Heng, the others looked at him with raised eyebrows. Even Bi Linglong gave him a few odd looks.

    Gu Heng¡¯s face heated up. ¡°I was indeed a bit dissatisfied with Sir Zu before, and jealous that he was able to obtain the crown princess¡¯ trust. But now that I know he really has the skill, and this trip is rted to the crown prince¡¯s great exam, how can I let my own private grievances affect the greater situation?¡±

    Bi Linglong couldn''t help but say, ¡°Big brother Gu, thank you!¡±

    Gu Heng¡¯s entire body seemed to weaken when he heard her call him ¡®big brother Gu¡¯. She had only called him that when they were still young. It had already been a long time since he had heard her call him that.

    ¡°We don¡¯t dare to receive gratitude for doing our job in helping the crown princess.¡± Gu Xing quickly spoke up. He couldn''t just let his big brother take all the spotlight.

    The group discussed things a bit longer, and then decided to act when the sky brightened again. It was too dangerous to move at night in the mountains. They would send some people to look for Zu An during the day.

    Then, they returned to their tents to rest. After multiple sessive days of great battles, all of them were wounded. Loud snoring quickly echoed through the tents.

    Even though Bi Linglong was tired, she was worried about the results of the mission, so she couldn''t sleep at all.

    Suddenly she heard footsteps outside her tent. She turned around and asked, ¡°Who is it?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s us.¡± The Gu brothers both spoke simultaneously.

    ¡°Is there something you need?¡± Bi Linglong frowned.

    ¡°We have something to report to the crown princess,¡± Gu Heng said.

    Bi Linglong tightened her cor and said sternly, ¡°It¡¯s alreadyte. Let¡¯s talk about it tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°This matter is rted to everyone¡¯s safety. It¡¯ll be toote if we talk about it tomorrow,¡± Gu Xing said.

    After some hesitation, Bi Linglong picked up the cloak next to her, and then wrapped it around herself. ¡°Come in then.¡±

    The Gu n brothers quickly entered. When they went inside, they immediately looked around. They saw that Bi Linglong was the only one inside.

    ¡°The crown prince doesn¡¯t sleep here?¡± Gu Xing eximed, shocked.

    After all, Bi Linglong and the crown prince sleeping separately was a secret that only a few in the Eastern Pce knew about. In order to prevent others from knowing their secret, she had always pretended to sleep in the same tent as the crown prince.

    Bi Linglong¡¯s expression turned cold as she said, ¡°That¡¯s not something you should be asking about.¡±

    ¡°Of course, of course. I was too rude,¡± Gu Xing said with a chuckle.

    Bi Linglong didn¡¯t want to continue talking about that subject and instead asked, ¡°What did you want to tell me?¡±

    Gu Heng asked, ¡°Does the crown princess feel that the main culprit this time really was Pei You?¡±

    ¡°Why would you suddenly say that now?¡± Bi Linglong¡¯s beautiful brows furrowed.

    Gu Xing said, ¡°Let me exin. When us brothers went back and discussed this matter, we felt that the situation was too strange. Zu An was chased away, and all of the proof pointed at him back then, yet we ended up wronging him. That means we might have made the same mistake with Pei You today. It looks like he¡¯s the mastermind, but it might very well be someone else.¡±

    He secretly sized up Bi Linglong while speaking. This was the first time he had seen her in her ¡®inner chambers¡¯. Even though she had a cloak wrapped around her, he could still vaguely see her clothes underneath. It looked as if she didn¡¯t even have time to change. Her clothes had been damaged during the battles, so there were areas that exposed her fair skin.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Bi Linglong hesitated and said, ¡°But Pei You has a motive, and there were suspicious actions. He even left with a guilty conscience¡­¡±

    Gu Heng asked, ¡°Wasn¡¯t Zu An the same before?¡±

    Bi Linglong asked seriously, ¡°Then who do you two think is the real perpetrator?¡±

    ¡°We suspect Meng Pan. That fe has always been targeting Zu An, and he took part in chasing away Pei You too. It¡¯s hard to not suspect his motives.¡±

    ¡°Meng Pan?¡± Bi Linglong began to think to herself.

    Gu Heng used this chance to examine her up close. Her slightly furrowed brows really tugged at his heart. Sigh, that fat pig of a crown prince is really neglecting a woman as stunning as her? The desire in his eyes burned stronger and stronger.

    Bi Linglong seemed to have sensed something. Her bright red lips opened and she said, ¡°I understand. You two can go back first. I¡¯ll think this matter over.¡±

    The Gu n brothers exchanged a look, and then they quickly asked, ¡°How about we call over Gao Ying and King Liang¡¯s people to detain Meng Pan first?¡±

    Bi Linglong calmly replied, ¡°I still need to think over this matter. The two of you should go back for now. It¡¯s already quitete.¡±

    The Gu n brothers eximed, ¡°But the situation is pressing. We should act now!¡±

    Bi Linglong¡¯s voice grew cold. ¡°Are you two trying to teach me how to make decisions? Truth be told, even though Meng Pan is suspicious, the two of you aren¡¯tpletely free from suspicion either. The two of you took part in chasing away Zu An, as well as Pei You.¡±

    Gu Heng¡¯s expression changed. ¡°The crown princess actually suspects us?¡±

    Bi Linglong said, ¡°I obviously don¡¯t suspect you; it¡¯s just that it is alreadyte. It¡¯s not proper for the two of you to be here. If there¡¯s anything else, we should talk about it tomorrow.¡±

    A conflicted expression flickered across Gu Heng¡¯s face. He was clearly hesitating over something.

    Gu Xing snickered and asked, ¡°Big bro, aren¡¯t you a bit too indecisive? You want to taste flesh, yet you still want to seem honorable doing it? Once we go back, I guarantee that she¡¯ll immediately order the others to arrest us.¡±

    Gu Heng sighed. ¡°If not because there was no other choice, I wouldn¡¯t want it to be like this either.¡±

    Bi Linglong was rmed. ¡°What are you two saying?¡±

    Gu Xing chuckled. ¡°Linglong, you¡¯ve always been rather smart ever since you were little. We know that as well. That¡¯s why there¡¯s no need for you to pretend in front of us.¡±

    Bi Linglong finally dropped the pretense and quickly shouted, ¡°Guards! Hurry ande in!¡± Unfortunately, not a single one of the guards that should have been standing outside heeded her call.

 Chapter 813: How About Doing It Together?

    <h4>Chapter 813: How About Doing It Together?</h4>

    Bi Linglong was so angry her entire body was shaking. ¡°Absolutely outrageous! You two dare to have such thoughts about me?¡±

    Gu Xing rolled his eyes. ¡°Linglong, soon you won¡¯t be the crown princess anymore. What¡¯s the point in trying to intimidate us at this point? Honestly speaking, don¡¯t tell me that being with us really would be worse than being with that idiotic crown prince? That guy ispletely mentally retarded. I reckon he never even let you feel a woman¡¯s true happiness yet.¡±

    Bi Linglong¡¯s expression was dismal. ¡°It looks like you¡¯re already certain, or else you wouldn¡¯t dare to say these things to me!¡±

    Gu Heng gave his younger brother a look. ¡°Brother, Linglong is a sister we grew up with after all. Be more courteous with your speech.¡±

    Gu Xing sneered, ¡°Bro, what¡¯s the point in trying to act like a gentleman now? Judging from what we¡¯ve seen so far, it¡¯s obvious that Linglong likes that Zu An a lot. That fe is a ruffian from the streets. There isn¡¯t a trace of a gentleman in his bones.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t this mean that Linglong likes those ruffians more? To be honest, my personality is a bit closer to Zu An¡¯s. Big bro, looks like you¡¯re out of luck.¡±

    Gu Heng immediately began to panic. ¡°Nonsense; Linglong likes an upright and modest nobleman. After growing up together, that¡¯s something I know well. How can she possibly like a ruffian like him?¡±

    Bi Linglong harrumphed. ¡°Gu Xing, you darepare yourself to Zu An? Even someone like you?¡±

    She was actually quite confused herself. It really was as Gu Heng said; she would prefer the dignified and steadfast young master of a distinguished n. She had used to hate the hoodlum type like Zu An, yet why did she view him so much more favorably?

    Gu Xing¡¯s face turned cold when he heard her ridicule. ¡°Zu An is nothing. His cultivation is beneath mine, his background is beneath mine, and even his looks aren¡¯t as good as mine. It should be him who has no right to bepared to me.¡±

    Bi Linglongughed mockingly. ¡°I never realized this before. You¡¯re clearly ordinary, yet you seem to have so much confidence for no reason.¡±

    Gu Xing was furious. Gu Heng quickly advised him to stop, and then looked at Bi Linglong. ¡°No matter how great Zu An is, you chased him away. It¡¯s meaningless to talk about these things now. I advise you to instead hurry and pick one of us.¡±

    He was more and more certain that his younger brother had already lost all favor in Bi Linglong¡¯s eyes. That was why he had the advantage right now.

    ¡°Fine, I choose Gu Xing,¡± Bi Linglong said.

    ¡°What?¡± Gu Heng eximed. Even though her voice wasn¡¯t loud, it was like thunder to his ears.

    Gu Xing instead went wild with joy. ¡°Haha, Linglong, I knew you loved me!¡±

    He rushed over to hug her as soon as he finished speaking. However, Gu Heng stopped him. Gu Xing frowned and said, ¡°Big bro, we already agreed on this. What are you trying to do?¡±

    Gu Heng said, ¡°Don¡¯t you feel that she¡¯s choosing a bit too quickly? Judging from what happened so far and the words she just said to you, do you really think she likes you?¡±

    ¡°What does it matter if she really likes me or not? Her body is already enough for me.¡± Gu Xing looked unfazed.

    Bi Linglong and Gu Heng were both speechless.

    Gu Xing chuckled sinisterly and continued, ¡°Furthermore, who knows? She might just end up liking me if we do it a few times. Girls always cherish their first man a lot. ording to the rumors we got from the pce, Linglong should still be a virgin.¡±

    Bi Linglong looked away. She was blushing a bit, as if she were embarrassed. She clearly didn¡¯t want to reply to such a personal question.

    Gu Heng was instead about to go crazy from jealousy. It was fine when the two of them had just been secretly in love, since neither of them could obtain her. They could even console each other. Now, his little brother was about to take his goddess to bed, yet he couldn''t do a thing about it.

    The worst part was that he had thought that everything was already within his grasp, yet the next second, she had chosen his younger brother. The feeling of dropping straight from cloud nine into dirt was so horrible it made him want to vomit blood.

    ¡°Big bro, move aside.¡± Gu Xing was getting impatient.

    However, Gu Heng still didn¡¯t budge an inch. ¡°I finally understand what¡¯s happening. Linglong chose you on purpose precisely to start an internal conflict between us, or even for us to kill each other. Only then would she even have a chance of making it out of this situation.¡±

    Bi Linglong said indifferently, ¡°You were the one who told me to choose, yet you¡¯re saying all of this now after I chose someone. Then do I have to choose you in order for you two to not start a fight?¡±

    She was indeed using this as a chance to get the two brothers to fight against each other. If it were anyone else, they would most likely choose Gu Heng, feeling as if Gu Xing would be more rash, thus causing friction.

    But Bi Linglong knew that if she chose Gu Heng, Gu Xing was much slower than his brother and wouldn¡¯t be able to win in an argument. Furthermore, his cultivation was also a bit weaker, so he¡¯d easily get done in.

    However, if she chose Gu Xing, Gu Heng could use all sorts of excuses to his advantage. He could find all types of high-sounding reasons to stop his younger brother. Furthermore, after pretending to be a nobleman for so many years, once his repressed true nature finally erupted, it would be even harder to control.

    Reality showed that her choice was correct. Sparks of conflict flew out as they stared daggers at each other.

    Gu Xing also said in agreement, ¡°Exactly! Does she have to choose you then? Hurry and get out of the way. Big bro, helps us keep watch outside the tent, yeah?¡±

    When Gu Heng heard that he was to stand outside and just listen to another man pound away at the woman of his dreams, he finally exploded. ¡°You idiot, you can¡¯t even see through such a simple attempt to divide us!¡±

    ¡°Like I care if she wants to drive a wedge or whatever. She chose me, so get out of the way!¡± Gu Xing was getting impatient as well. He drew his de.

    It was like a fire that lit a fuse. Gu Heng roared out, and then charged with his de. The two immediately exchanged several dozen blows. Even though his cultivation was a bit higher than his younger brother¡¯s, there was no way he would win without delivering another two hundred to three hundred blows.

    Bi Linglong also became nervous. She obviously wasn¡¯t worried about the pair¡¯s safety, but was rather searching for a chance to kill them both.

    Suddenly, the two exchanged a palm, and then separated. Gu Heng quickly said, ¡°Hmph, fighting like this isn¡¯t a solution either. We¡¯ll definitely both be weakened, and Linglong is also at the sixth rank. We might not be able to restrain her if only one of us is left.¡±

    Gu Xing wasn¡¯t aplete fool either. Furthermore, he knew that if they really fought, he wouldn¡¯t even be able to win against his brother. He asked, ¡°Then what should we do?¡±

    Gu Heng gave Bi Linglong a look. He quickly came up with an idea. ¡°We¡¯re brothers born from the same mother, and we¡¯ve shared many things. That¡¯s why women are naturally no exception.¡±

    Gu Xing¡¯s expression changed several times. After a moment of silence, he nodded. ¡°Fine!¡±

    Bi Linglong was speechless. She had never expected that there were such shameless people in this world, and two of them no less!

    Gu Heng walked forward and said, ¡°In that case, since I¡¯m the big brother, I¡¯ll go first.¡±

    ¡°No way, she chose me just now, so she¡¯s supposed to be mine. Sharing her with you is already a hugepromise. I have to be the first to break her in.¡± Gu Xing didn¡¯t step aside at all.

    Gu Heng remained silent. Seeing that they were going to fight again, he suggested, ¡°Then, how about doing it together?¡±

    Gu Xing was convinced. ¡°Fine!¡±

    ¡°Utterly disgraceful!¡± Bi Linglong finally couldn''t hold herself back anymore. She drew her sword and thrusted it at the two of them.

    However, her attack was easily blocked by them. Gu Heng no longer hid the desire in his eyes. Heughed loudly and said, ¡°Linglong, didn¡¯t you just break through into the sixth rank? We¡¯ve already been at the sixth rank for many years, so how can you be our match? Just obediently serve us. We will treasure you properly.¡±

    Hatred filled Bi Linglong¡¯s eyes. ¡°Disgusting!¡± She didn¡¯t say anything else and focused on facing the pair. Unfortunately, her cultivation was beneath theirs to begin with, and it was two against oneHer sword was quickly knocked away.

    Gu Xing excitedly pounced on her to try to grab her. That way, she wouldn¡¯t be able to resist anymore.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Right at that moment, a streak of sword light shot in from outside the tent. Gu Heng quickly pulled his younger brother back. Even so, a corner of his clothes was cut off.

    Both of them turned around with serious expressions as a lone figure slowly walked in.

    ¡°Why are you here?¡± The Gu n brothers cried out in rm when they saw who it was.

 Chapter 814: Filthy Souls

    <h4>Chapter 814: Filthy Souls</h4>

    The one who entered was cold and gloomy. It was Pei You, who had been chased away earlier. Even Bi Linglong was surprised. She hadn¡¯t expected it to be him.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you run away? You dare toe back?!¡± The Gu n brothers were shocked and furious.

    Pei You harrumphed. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I dare toe back? Even though all of you turned against me with all of your false usations, I know I¡¯m innocent. Furthermore, when I realized that Zu An was chased away as well, I knew someone in this party might be targeting us. I knew that in that situation, it didn¡¯t matter what I said, so I decided that I might as well leave and watch from afar. I knew that since the mastermind wanted to chase us away, that meant they would definitely eventually make a move. And sure enough, I noticed that the two of you secretly sprayed drugs into the bonfire.¡±

    Bi Linglong asked unhappily, ¡°In that case, why didn¡¯t you expose them on the spot?¡±

    Pei You said indifferently, ¡°Would you all believe me if I said anything? The others might instead turn around and take a bite out of me instead. I wouldn¡¯t be able to justify myself even if I had all the mouths in the world, so it would be better to wait until they revealed their evil schemes.¡±

    Gu Xing roared withughter. ¡°Pei You, Pei You, I didn¡¯t expect you to be such a shrewd fe. However, you¡¯re alone, and Linglong is injured. Even if she weren¡¯t injured, the two of you aren¡¯t our match.¡±

    The Gu n brothers were born from the same mother. Even though they often disapproved of each other, they still understood each other. When they worked together, they became much stronger than simply adding them together.

    Just then, another voice spoke up. ¡°Then what if I¡¯m included as well?¡±

    The Gu n brothers trembled. They turned around in disbelief, eximing, ¡°Why are you here too?!¡±

    This person was serious, his gaze resolute. His hair wasbed meticulously. Who else could it be but the Liu n¡¯s Gao Ying?

    ¡°I should be unconscious, right?¡± Gao Ying sneered. ¡°I didn¡¯t feel that anything was strange when Zu An was chased out, but when Pei You was chased out, I felt something was fishy. Unfortunately, at the time, I was suspicious of everyone, so I didn¡¯t say anything and just watched carefully. I¡¯ve finally caught the two of you in the act, but I didn¡¯t dare to warn the others, or else it wouldn¡¯t just be me alone here.¡±

    Gu Heng¡¯s conflicted expression changed several times. The two of them had been blinded by lust. They should have dealt with the other young masters first, yet in the end, they were so infatuated they couldn''t hold themselves back. They should have anticipated that someone as meticulous and earnest as Gao Ying would carry some suspicion.

    Gu Xing harrumphed. ¡°Aren¡¯t you a bit too confident? If the other young masters were here, we might bepletely helpless, but unfortunately, you were too careful. You¡¯re alone, and even if you have Pei You to help you, we brothers are still not afraid of you.¡±

    ¡°I alone am enough!¡± As soon as Gao Ying finished speaking, the powerful cry of a sword being drawn rang out. His figure vanished from his original location.

    The Gu n brothers were shocked and instinctively protected themselves with their weapons. Sparks flew from the friction between their des. Both of them staggered, but they still blocked the attack.

    Gao Ying was surprised. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect the two of you to actually be hiding your cultivation.¡±

    Gu Heng said coldly, ¡°Do you think that only your first rate ns¡¯ disciples work hard? We second-rate ns can only work even harder from birth to have a chance of defeating you all who had a head start.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Bi Linglong said coldly, ¡°Don¡¯t insult the words ¡®work hard¡¯. Shameless and despicable people like you two can only be more dangerous to society the harder you try.¡±

    Gu Heng¡¯s usual character hadpletely shattered now after being criticized so harshly by the one he loved. ¡°Who decides what¡¯s just and what¡¯s evil? Why is our effort harmful to society? In my opinion, it¡¯s merely the victor who decides the rules. Once we help King Qi rise to the throne, we¡¯ll be the subjects of the rightful ruler, and everything we¡¯ve done will be viewed as righteous by the government¡­¡±

    ¡°Noisy!¡± Gao Ying didn¡¯t have the patience to listen to his speech. A sh of cold light shot straight at Gu Heng¡¯s tongue.

    Gu Heng was already prepared. When he saw the attack, he raised his de to block it. Gu Xing also surreptitiously counterattacked from the side.

    Pei You also made his move. Even though Gao Ying sounded confident, there was no way he would really let the other party face these two alone. If any mishap happened, they would be throwing away such a favorable advantage.

    The four of them began to fight. Gao Ying¡¯s cultivation was higher than that of the two brothers, but he couldn''t make much progress against their excellent teamwork.

    However, a whileter, Pei You snorted coldly. He clearly didn¡¯t want to hold back anymore either. His sword erupted with brilliance. Many wounds appeared on the Gu n brothers¡¯ bodies in almost an instant. Even though they weren¡¯t serious, their defeat was already decided.

    ¡°Run!¡± Gu Heng quickly eximed. At the same time, he tried to rush out. They had some trusted aides among their subordinates, and the warriors loyal to the crown princess were already unconscious. If they could get those warriors to join them, they could reverse the situation.

    Gao Ying clearly saw through their thoughts. ¡°You want to run?!¡± He immediately cut them off. The sword in his hands appeared in their path, as if it were waiting for them to run into it.

    But just then, something suddenly happened. A palm suddenly reached in from outside and silently pressed against Gao Ying¡¯s back. A mouthful of blood gushed out from Gao Ying¡¯s mouth. His face turned incredibly pale and his body crashed into the ground like a broken sack. He tried to stand up, but he couldn''t, even after trying several times.

    Pei You became more vignt at once. He quickly backed up, but he was toote. That dark figure rushed out like lightning, their speed several times greater than his. A palm mmed straight into his chest. Pei You immediately used his most powerful sword technique to protect himself, his defenses seamless. As long as he was given even a moment of a breather, he would have a chance to increase the distance between them. Then, he could slowly whittle down their enemy with the crown princess.

    Unfortunately, his enemy¡¯s palm easily tore through his defenses. A brittle noise sounded, and then Pei You¡¯s precious sword snapped into several pieces. That palm gently pressed against his chest. Pei You¡¯s chest clearly caved in by several inches. Blood poured out of his mouth as hey on the ground. He could only exhale, and he couldn''t breathe at all. It was hard to say if he would even survive.

    The crown princess¡¯ side had originally had the advantage, but the situation had suddenly reversed.

    Only now did Bi Linglong see who it was clearly. This person¡¯s appearance waspletely ordinary. He was dressed in the most ordinary uniform of a Bi n warrior. But she didn¡¯t dare to look down on him. Both the powerful aura rippling out from his body and his intimidating presence clearly dered that this was an expert that was far stronger than the others.

    ¡°Peak of the eighth rank!¡± Gao Ying eximed, instantly feeling despair.

    ¡°Who are you really?¡± Bi Linglong¡¯s expression was overcast as she stared straight at him. This person was definitely not a warrior of the Bi n.

    Gao Ying and Pei You stared at him as well. Even if they were going to die, they wanted to understand why.

    That person chuckled and removed his mask. ¡°As expected of the crown princess. You can remain calm even in this kind of situation.¡±

    ¡°Shi Tong!¡± The others already recognized who this person was. This was the one with the highest cultivation among the Shi n¡¯s younger generation. He had previously assumed the post of Fire Cry Officer. However, he had been stripped of his post after the matter of the Shi n framing Zu An and the crown princess was exposed.

    ¡°Why are you here!?¡± Bi Linglong cried out in rm. After all, this person should have been in the imperial prison right now!

    ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to King Qi who gave me another chance. Otherwise, how would I be able to get revenge for the Shi n?¡± Shi Tong¡¯s face warped as he spoke. ¡°You whore, our Shi n was originally a brilliant and glorious n, a first-rate n in the capital. It was all because of you that my sixth brother was mistakenly killed, so we had no choice but to carry this death grudge against the Eastern Pce. We suffered failure again and again, and now, even though his majesty hasn¡¯tpletely dealt with our Shi n, that¡¯s only because of our death pardoning token. However, all of us understand that his majesty definitely won¡¯t spare the Shi n. All of this was because of you!¡±

    Bi Linglong eximed coldly, ¡°What a bogus usation! It was your Shi n who tried to frame me with your crafty plots, and it¡¯s now my fault? You¡¯re all only suffering the consequences of your own actions.¡±

    ¡°Hah, look at how clever this little mouth is. I¡¯m going to strip you clean and jam this thing in. Let¡¯s see if you can still act all haughty then.¡± Shi Tong¡¯s voice was incredibly cold.

    The Gu n brothers immediately panicked. ¡°General Shi, King Qi already agreed that Linglong would be ours!¡±

    Shi Tong snorted. ¡°It¡¯s your fault for not being able to deal with her on your own. Don¡¯t worry, once I¡¯m done venting out my frustrations on her, I¡¯ll return her to you two.¡±

    ¡°You¡­!¡± The Gu n brothers were shocked and furious. However, when Shi Tong red at them, they immediately felt a chill run down their backs. They didn¡¯t dare say another thing out of fear of the other party¡¯s cultivation.

    ¡°Despicable!¡± Bi Linglong blushed. These young masters were normally all clean and noble, yet under that mask, they were all such vile and filthy souls.

    Shi Tong¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°It really is strange. I haven¡¯t sensed any fear from you all this time. Just where do you get your confidence from?¡±

    Bi Linglong took a deep breath and eximed, ¡°Mister Zu, how much longer are you just going to sit and watch this drama for?!¡±

 Chapter 815: Where Do You Get Your Confidence From?

    <h4>Chapter 815: Where Do You Get Your Confidence From?</h4>

    The others were shocked when they heard the crown princess¡¯ words. Gao Ying and Pei You¡¯s eyes lit up. If Zu An came, everyone would have a chance of surviving.

    However, their expressions quickly darkened again. After all, in their opinion, even though Zu An might have been hiding his strength somewhat, it would only be around their level at most. It wouldn¡¯t make any difference against someone like Shi Tong who was at the peak of the eighth rank. There was still no chance of victory. He could crush Zu An with a single hand.

    A clear and bright voice rang out. ¡°What can I say? I didn¡¯t expect this drama to be so interesting! Of course I should take the time to watch it properly.¡±

    ¡°Zu An!¡± Shi Tong turned around with gritted teeth when he heard this voice. mes were almost erupting from his eyes.

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Tong for +444 +444 +444¡­

    It was precisely this person who had caused their Shi n to be destitute and ruined. How could he not hate him?

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°Oh? I didn¡¯t expect to receive such a warm wee here. The women are calling out to me, and the men are calling out to me too.¡±

    Shi Tong and Bi Linglong were speechless. Why did this brat always sound as if he really deserved a good beating?

    Zu An used this chance to arrive at Bi Linglong¡¯s side and help her up into a seated position. ¡°How are your injuries?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not too bad.¡± Bi Linglong felt warm inside.

    Gao Ying and Pei You felt resentful. The crown princess¡¯ injuries are obviously the lightest! Can¡¯t you tell that we¡¯re on the verge of dying here?

    But at this point, it didn¡¯t matter. Before someone at the peak of the eighth rank, it was only a matter of dying a bit sooner rather thanter.

    When they saw how close Zu An was with Bi Linglong, the Gu n brothers went mad with jealousy. ¡°You bastard, let Linglong go!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Gu Heng for +233 +233 +233¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Gu Xing for +233 +233 +233¡­

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°Weren¡¯t the two of you both yes-men when Shi Tong was bullying her? Look at how aggressive you two are acting against me now. Honestly, if the two of you had made a stand against Shi Tong earlier, maybe my opinion of you two might¡¯ve improved a bit.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The two of them immediately felt tremendous shame when they heard those words. They were indeed terrified under Shi Tong¡¯s pressure.

    Gu Heng found it harder and harder to ept when he saw the disdain in Bi Linglong¡¯s eyes. ¡°Who do you think you are? You darepare yourself to General Shi? Furthermore, why do we brothers need yourmentary when we do things?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Gu Heng for +582 +582 +582¡­

    Zu Anughed in ridicule. He didn¡¯t feel like wasting his breath on Gu Heng and turned to look at Shi Tong, asking, ¡°How did you even get inside? Didn¡¯t they test everyone¡¯s cultivation before we entered this dungeon?¡±

    Shi Tong said coldly, ¡°King Qi has an aura concealing artifact, so it wasn¡¯t hard to get in. As for the mask, we just needed to kill that Bi n warrior and peel off his skin.¡±

    Bi Linglong red at the Gu n brothers when she heard those words. ¡°The two of you actually colluded with outsiders to harm our Bi n¡¯s warriors!¡±

    The brothers were a bit embarrassed, but Gu Xing reacted quickly and said, ¡°You make it sound as if you treated us as your own in the first ce.¡±

    ¡°Indeed, it looks like you already made arrangements with Zu An ahead of time. Chasing him away before was just an act to fool us,¡± Gu Heng said hatefully. ¡°The one you trusted the most was this lowly person after all.¡±

    Bi Linglong said coldly, ¡°Thank goodness the one I trusted was him and not you two, or else I would¡¯ve already met a tragic end.¡±

    When the scouts had mysteriously disappeared a few days before, she had discussed it with Zu An in private. They were certain that the perpetrator was in their group.

    Unfortunately, the enemy was too crafty and didn¡¯t show any openings. As such, they decided to bait the enemy in. Sure enough, the true masterminds began to show themselves bit by bit.

    ¡°Look at how cocky all of you are getting.¡± Shi Tong snickered. ¡°But in my opinion, nothing has changed at all! I was going to hunt Zu An down after I dealt with you all, but now, he¡¯s decided to waddle right back, saving me some time. I can just get rid of all of you together.¡±

    Bi Linglong immediately felt her spirits dampen. Even though Zu An had told her to trust him before, Shi Tong was at the peak of the eighth rank! Furthermore, he was a general of one of the empire¡¯s six great armies. This was absolutely not filth raised purely through the abuse of resources. His real fighting strength was definitely top notch as well. It seemed as if everything was now pointing at disaster.

    She said in an overcast voice, ¡°Ah Zu, I¡¯ll stall him, so you should get away from here. If you can, please bring the crown prince with you. If you really can¡¯t, then just run away yourself. Once you get out of the dungeon, report everything that happened to his majesty.¡±

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°How can I leave you behind in a moment of danger and run off alone by myself?¡±

    Bi Linglong¡¯s reason told her that if they both stayed here, then they would all die. But when she heard that Zu An was willing to stay here with her, she instead felt incredibly moved.

    Gao Ying and Pei You had strange looks on their faces. Are we seeing things? Why do the two of them seem like lovers?

    The Gu n brothers were already seething with rage. ¡°Bastard, you say some pretty words. But with General Shi here, what difference can you make by staying here?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Gu Heng for +788 +788 +788 Rage points¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Gu Xing for +788 +788 +788 Rage points¡­

    Shi Tong was quite satisfied with their tactfulness. He smiled and said, ¡°Indeed. You can all end your delusional thoughts. None of you will get away today.¡± He took a step forward after speaking. His aura at the peak of the eighth rank erupted forth. The faces of those nearby turned pale, and even breathing became a bit difficult.

    Bi Linglong grabbed Zu An¡¯s sleeves tightly. She had already prepared herself for death. She was going to go all out together with Zu An, and as soon as the situation looked impossible, she would immediately end her own life to avoid being defiled by these filthy men.

    Zu An patted her shoulder, telling her to calm down. Then, he looked at Shi Tong. ¡°Do your Shi n¡¯s people all have such blind confidence? Just who gave you so much confidence that you think everything is already decided?¡±

    Shi Tong was unfazed. ¡°I have to admit that you have some skill. Back then, even sixth brother lost to you. Honestly, sixth brother has had it a bit too easy growing up, so that was why he was so disappointing. However, before absolute strength, it¡¯s meaningless no matter how many tricks you have.¡±

    Zu An sighed. ¡°Are fights won through words nowadays? I actually don¡¯t mind fighting with my lips with a pretty girl, bute on, you¡¯re a grown man. I have to politely decline.¡±

    Bi Linglong scoffed inwardly. Just what kind of situation was this? Yet this fellow was still so indecent.

    ¡°Are you trying to taunt me to find an opening?¡± Shi Tong remained unconcerned. ¡°Unfortunately, you have no idea what kind of concept the eighth rank is. We can borrow the power of heaven and earth. All tricks are meaningless. Make your move, or else you won¡¯t have another chance.¡± He stood there with his arms behind his back.

    Together with the pressure Shi Tong was releasing, the Gu n brothers behind him were both fully convinced of his strength. They thought to themselves, How amazing would it be if we could reach this level one day!?

    ¡°Then don¡¯t regret it afterward!¡± Zu Anughed. His smile was extremely dazzling.

    Shi Tong gave him a faint look. ¡°Stop speaking nonsense and treasure this chance I¡¯m giving you¡­¡±

    Zu An had already moved halfway through Shi Tong¡¯s sentence, closing the gap almost instantly.

    How is he so fast?! Shi Tong felt a chill and quickly thought of raising his hands to stop the other party. Unfortunately, he was a step toote. Zu An¡¯s fist had already mmed straight into his face. In that instant, the flesh on his face felt mushy and his entire face warped. As his body flew through the air, he screamed miserably. A line of blood decorated the sky, as well as some broken teeth.

    Zu An pulled back his fist, wiping away the blood on it disdainfully. ¡°Keep bragging, let¡¯s see what that gets you.¡±

    The others were stupefied. What the hell was going on? Shi Tong was sted flying? They had expected Zu An to try all sorts of tricks, while Shi Tong would remainpletely unfazed. That was the most reasonable result!

    Even Bi Linglong, who trusted Zu An the most, was shocked. Even though she had known that Zu An was hiding his real strength, she had only expected Zu An to have some chance against Shi Tong. However, the scene she had just seenpletely shattered her entire worldview.

    The Gu n brothers were so shocked their jaws almost dropped to the floor. They quickly ran out to help Shi Tong, asking, ¡°General Shi, what are you going to do now?¡±

    ¡°Get lost!¡± Shi Tong flung the two of them away in annoyance. Then, he quickly stood back up and red at Zu An.

    But his nose was now a bit crooked, and his face was covered in blood. Because of the loss of a few teeth, his mouth also looked a bit sunken. His current appearance was asical as it could get.

 Chapter 816: How Can It Be So Great?

    <h4>Chapter 816: How Can It Be So Great?</h4>

    ¡°You¡¯re at the eighth rank?¡± Shi Tong was a bit apprehensive as he looked at Zu An. If Zu An had been beneath the eighth rank, then Zu An wouldn¡¯t be able to do a thing to him even if he were standing still. Yet that tremendous force had almost sted his brain out of his head. It should have been impossible to possess such tremendous strength unless one could borrow the power of the world.

    As for Zu An being at the ninth rank, that was something he absolutely wouldn¡¯t believe. Zu An was so young, and the intelligence had stated that he was just amoner from the streets who didn¡¯t have an ounce of cultivation a year or two before. If he hadn¡¯t experienced it himself, he wouldn¡¯t dare to believe that the other party was already at the eighth rank, let alone at the ninth rank that even he couldn¡¯t reach.

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°What do you think?¡±

    Shi Tong harrumphed. ¡°What happened just now was only because I was careless. Seeing how smug you¡¯re getting, sure enough, you¡¯re just a nobody who¡¯s happy with your petty aplishments.¡±

    He wasn¡¯t worried at all, since it was mainly because he had been careless earlier, and Zu An had moved too quickly. He probably had some type of special movement skill. However, as an eighth ranked expert, he knew that this type of movement skill couldn¡¯t be used endlessly. It would be fine as long as he was more careful.

    Zu An sighed. ¡°You should just admit your defeat if you lose. Only the weak use all sorts of excuses.¡±

    Shi Tong roared in rage, ¡°Then I¡¯ll make you understand just how strong I am!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Tong for +444 +444 +444¡­

    As soon as he finished speaking, he rushed at Zu An like an artillery shell.

    The Gu n brothers sighed in relief when they felt the attack¡¯s powerful pressure. General Shi was finally bing serious. He had already remained at the peak of the eighth rank for a long time; he was definitely much stronger than someone like Zu An who had only recently reached the eighth rank. Even so, they felt conflicted inwardly. How could this Zu An that they had looked down on all this time be at the eighth rank?

    We need to get him to confess his cultivation secrets after Shi Tong apprehends him. If we can also reach the eighth rank¡­ Their eyes burned with desire. They began to cheer on Shi Tong from the bottom of their heart.

    Of course, if the two of them could take each other out, that would be the best result. They didn¡¯t forget how Shi Tong had wanted to toy with Bi Linglong first. They liked her so much, so of course they didn¡¯t want to see that happen.

    While their minds were wandering, Zu An and Shi Tong had already collided once more. It was a simple back and forth with punches and kicks. There were no techniques or tricks involved.

    Gao Ying and Pei You¡¯s eyes widened in shock. Zu An wasn¡¯t at a disadvantage at all even when he fought against Shi Tong head-on! The two of them finally understood that Zu An had defeated King Qi¡¯s heir fair and square. There was no mysterious expert at all!

    At first, the two of them could still keep up with thebatants¡¯ movements, but as the fight went on, their attacks grew faster and faster,pletely exceeding the limits of the onlookers¡¯ sight. They could only vaguely see two figures darting back and forth, as well as the st waves of blows being exchanged.

    Bi Linglong¡¯s bright red lips also hung wide open. She had thought that she was already giving him too much credit, but she hadn¡¯t expected to have still underestimated Zu An in the end.

    He was at the eighth rank at such a young age. This was something that waspletely unheard of! Furthermore, he hadn¡¯t even been cultivating for that long¡­

    For some reason, Bi Linglong began to gradually blush a bit.

    ¡°Is that all?!¡± Shi Tong suddenlyughed in contempt. He hadn¡¯t dared to act arrogantly at first, but after going at it for a round, he discovered that even though his opponent was strong, it was still within his expectations. Furthermore, it didn¡¯t seem as if his skills were that proficient. ¡°I¡¯m not going to y around with you anymore. Just die!¡±

    Bi Linglong¡¯s face turned deathly pale when she heard those words. Was Zu An going to lose?

    Suddenly, a huge noise resounded. A body flew outward and mmed into the ground.

    ¡°Ah Zu¡­¡± Bi Linglong was in utter panic. She was about to rush over, but she froze after taking a single step. The one who had crashed into the ground wasn¡¯t Zu An, but rather Shi Tong.

    What was going on?

    Forget about her, even the Gu n brothers who had been about to cheer out were stupefied. Even Shi Tong was in disbelief as he eximed, ¡°How can this be?!¡±

    Zu An slowly walked out from the smoke and dust. ¡°I didn¡¯t even go all out and you¡¯re already down on the ground. Just who was ying around with whom?¡±

    He was already at the ninth rank. Furthermore, he had all sorts of powerful skills, so his real strength was far greater than others of the same rank, let alone someone at the peak of the eighth rank.

    The reason why their battle had previously seemed even was because Zu An had jumped two cultivation ranks in session. He felt that his foundation was a bit unsteady, so he¡¯d wanted to use this chance to solidify it. After all, it wasn¡¯t easy to find a sparring partner at the peak of the eighth rank. How could he not make use of one if he came knocking on his own?

    His understanding toward the power of the world and his higher cultivation rank improved greatly from their sh of strength. Now that Shi Tong¡¯s job as a sparring partner wasplete, there was no need to keep up the act.

    But who could have thought that Shi Tong would take things so seriously? He had actually said all that conceited nonsense. In that case, Zu An decided to let him have a taste of why roses were so red.

    ¡°You bastard, why is your cultivation so high?!¡± Shi Tong slowly crawled up from the ground. It had to be said that the body of someone at the peak of the eighth rank was quite extraordinary.

    The same question was on the minds of all the onlookers. Zu An had such powerful cultivation at such a young age. Furthermore, the ki density surrounding him seemed to even be above that of Shi Tong, who was at the peak of the eighth rank.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you beg me if you want to know?¡± Zu An replied with a smile.

    Shi Tong and the others were left speechless. Why was this guy so despicable?

    You have trolled everyone for +666 +666 +666¡­

    Shi Tong finally responded with a sneer, ¡°Hmph, so what if you¡¯re strong? I¡¯ll teach you what it means to be an eighth ranked cultivator!¡±

    After suffering a crushing defeat just now, he had already decided that he wouldn¡¯t fight in closebat with Zu An anymore. He changed his tactics to elemental skills. The other party might have been able to reach the eighth rank, but there was no way his control over elemental skills couldpare. A wind de condensed in front of him. It was extremely fast and arrived in front of Zu An almost instantly.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    But for Zu An¡¯s current self¡­

    He just took a step to the side, effortlessly avoiding the attack.

    Shi Tong coldly remarked, ¡°You can avoid one, but can you avoid thousands upon thousands of them?¡±

    Innumerable wind des hacked out at Zu An, cutting off all avenues of evasion. Shi Tong smirked. These were wind des formed by borrowing the power of the world, so it didn¡¯t exhaust too much ki. On the contrary, if his opponent wanted to block these wind des, he would have to use up a lot of ki. As time went on, this attack wouldpletely wear him down.

    Zu An didn¡¯t dodge when he saw the endless wind des. Instead, he reached out his hand and drew a circle. It was as if a ck hole had appeared in his palm. The endless wind des were all sucked into the ck hole, and then ultimately vanished into his palm.

    He sucked away the ki attached to the wind des with his Heaven Devouring Sutra. Then, with his understanding of the power of the world, he turned those wind des back into the natural wind element. If the other party continued to fire attacks, it would only be giving him ki.

    ¡°What kind of skill is that?¡± Shi Tong¡¯s jaw dropped.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you beg me if you want to know?¡± Zu An repeated the same sentence he had uttered earlier.

    ¡°Screw you!¡± Shi Tong roared. His body began to rotate rapidly, forming a spiral vortex, and then he charged at Zu An.

    In response, Zu An reached out in front of him with a hand.

    Boom!

    Zu An was blown back several steps. He frowned as he realized that applying rotational force made the wind element several times more powerful. He had to admit that the way someone at the peak of the eighth rank used his abilities was worth learning from.

    When Shi Tong charged at him again, he tapped his feet against the ground and used the Sunflower Phantasm, easily avoiding it.

    ¡°I want to see just how long you can keep dodging for!¡± Shi Tong¡¯s body spun rapidly, quickly forming a small-scale tornado. The powerful wind tore the entire tent to pieces.

    Bi Linglong quickly quickly grabbed Gao Ying and Pei You¡¯s clothes and brought them to a safer ce. The Gu n brothers hurriedly ran as well.

    Zu An actually wanted to use this chance to experience his opponent¡¯s ultimate move himself, but there were too many people in this camp who were unconscious. If the terrifying tornado really formedpletely, many of them would lose their lives.

    He sighed and said, ¡°Let¡¯s end this.¡±

    Shi Tong sneered. Whether or not things will end isn¡¯t for you to decide. Once my tornado forms, not a single de of grass will remain within a range of a dozen li.

    However, his expression suddenly froze, because he discovered that he seemed to have lost his connection with the wind element. Furthermore, he felt extremely cold.

    Why are there snowkes? Shi Tong was stunned when he saw snowkes fall. Why would it snow in the dungeon during this season?

    But his expression changed the next second. He quickly reacted, eximing, ¡°Snowke Sword!¡±

    Unfortunately, it was already toote. The small-scale tornado seemed to have been frozen still by the cold. There was ayer of frost that covered his body as well.

    Then, a sh of cold light flickered. He heard a crack, as if something had shattered. Then, he saw a headless body standing nearby like a sculpture. Huh? Why do those clothes look a bit familiar?

    Soon afterward, he realized what had happened. Then, darkness filled his consciousness. Thest thought in his mind was, How can the Snowke Sword¡¯s power be so great¡­?

 Chapter 817: Death

    <h4>Chapter 817: Death</h4>

    Bi Linglong realized what had just happened as well.

    The beautiful sword skill that filled the sky with snowkes was Chu First Miss¡¯ extreme art, the Snowke Sword. If Chu Chuyan had even taught him her n guarding skill, then it was obvious that their rtionship was not just one of nominal husband and wife as everyone had thought.

    For some reason, she just didn¡¯t feel great when she saw Zu An use another woman¡¯s skill. But that feeling was soon reced with shock, because she saw that Shi Tong¡¯s ultimate skill waspletely frozen. Then, a sad and beautiful sh flickered out, and Shi Tong¡¯s head tumbled away.

    At that moment, her thoughts were the same as Shi Tong¡¯s. How could Chu Chuyan¡¯s Snowke Sword be this powerful? Even though she had never faced Chu Chuyan before, she had seen her before. She had also heard some things about the other woman¡¯s cultivation. Even though the Snowke Sword was miraculous, it shouldn¡¯t be this powerful, right?

    Only Zu An knew that he wasn¡¯t only using the Snowke Sword, but also his Snow Phoenix. The two skillsplemented each other, and that was why the power they disyed was far greater than what Chu Chuyan could normally use.

    However, Bi Linglong quickly became vignt. She wanted to dodge sideways, but her entire body went limp. The major acupoint on her back was sealed.

    ¡°It¡¯s you two!¡± When she saw the Gu n brothers she had grown up with, Bi Linglong had never felt such loathing and revulsion in her life.

    The Gu n brothers couldn¡¯t be bothered to reply to her and instead stared at the distant Zu An in rm. Their voices were even shaking a bit as they eximed ¡°Zu bastard, freeze!¡±

    They had already been frightened when they saw Shi Tong and Zu An fighting on equal footing, so they nned to seize Bi Linglong and use her as a hostage. They hadn¡¯t expected Shi Tong to lose so quickly, and were actually proud of their preparations.

    Because of Bi Linglong¡¯s excessive shock, she couldn¡¯t guard against their approach. By the time they rushed over, it was already toote.

    Zu An turned around and saw that Bi Linglong had been captured by the pair. He couldn¡¯t help but frown. ¡°The two of you really perfectly define what it means to be shameless and contemptible.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear any nonsense!¡± Gu Heng felt a bit ashamed. ¡°If you don¡¯t want anything to happen to her, then cut off your right arm!¡±

    Zu An harrumphed. ¡°The two of you still have the nerve to say you love her? Look at you now, using her safety to threaten someone else. What kind of love is that?¡±

    Gu Xing harrumphed and said, ¡°Stop trying to lecture us. When you can¡¯t win against someone, you obviously need to do anything you can to outwit them. Otherwise, you¡¯ll be nothing more than a useless brute.¡±

    ¡°Contemptible scum shouldn¡¯t try to make themselves sound honorable,¡± Bi Linglong said coldly.

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Gu Heng¡¯s face was entirely red. The de in his hand pressed tighter against her neck. ¡°Bastard, stop saying useless things! If you don¡¯t cut off your right hand, I¡¯m going to kill her.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me, just kill these two disgusting filth!¡± Bi Linglong quickly exined.

    Zu An gave the two of them a look. ¡°You two won¡¯t be able to live even if you kill her.¡±

    Gu Xingughed. ¡°How can we worry about that much at this point? Furthermore, having Linglong apany us to the grave is something we can already be satisfied with.¡±

    ¡°Shameless!¡± Bi Linglong was so angry her entire body was shaking.

    Gu Heng looked at Zu An. ¡°Bastard Zu, there is a limit to our patience. You can either cut off your own right arm, or you can watch as we brothers end our lives with Linglong. If you choose thetter, living this life of ours would still be worth it.¡±

    He knew fully well that it was extremely easy for Zu An to end them even if he did cut off one of his arms. However, asking him to cut off both of his arms wasn¡¯t too realistic. That is why they had to go through this roundabout method to slowly drag him down bit by bit.

    If he chopped off one of his arms, they would then immediately demand for him to chop off his other arm. If he had already paid a huge price, the chances of him agreeing would increase. Once he really cut off both of his arms, the two brothers would either fight or run. They would be the ones who had the advantage then.

    Zu An shrugged. ¡°She¡¯s not even my wife; aren¡¯t you threatening the wrong person with her? I¡¯m just a part-timer here to earn a bit of money. Why would I go so far as to throw away my life and prospects for her sake?¡±

    Gu Heng sneered. ¡°Do you think his majesty would let you go once you left this dungeon if something happened to her?¡±

    ¡°I have no idea if he¡¯ll let me go, but he definitely won¡¯t let your Gu n go.¡± Zu An lookedpletely unconcerned.

    Gu Heng¡¯s expression sank. He had originally thought that after this dungeon, he would rise up to be a dragon among men. He had never expected things to fail at the veryst step, and they had even ended up dragging down the entire n.

    It was instead Gu Xing who wasparatively calmer. ¡°Do you really think we don¡¯t know your rtionship? Linglong trusts you so much, which means you¡¯re definitely not just a normal subordinate. I really can¡¯t believe that there¡¯s nothing going on between the two of you.¡±

    He looked at Bi Linglong after saying that, continuing, ¡°Linglong, oh Linglong. You¡¯ve trusted him so much and showed him so much sincerity, but what did you obtain in the end? For the sake of saving you, forget about giving up his life, he¡¯s not even willing to give up an arm.¡±

    Gao Ying and Pei You, who were watching this drama y out, looked away as if they hadn¡¯t heard anything.

    Bi Linglong sneered. ¡°Are you taking me for an idiot or do you take him for an idiot? Who would agree to such an idiotic condition? Mister Zu, if you really agreed, I would¡¯ve really questioned your intelligence.¡±

    Even though she said those words, she still felt sad inwardly. Rationality was one thing, while her emotions were something else. She had actually been hoping to see just how far the other party was willing to go for her, to see just how much she meant to him.

    However, she quickly realized something. At the same time, she sneered inwardly. What kind of situation were they in now? Yet she was actually acting like those foolish young women.

    When he saw that Zu An still hadn¡¯t replied, Gu Xing became impatient. ¡°I¡¯ll count to three. If you still don¡¯t cut off your arm, I¡¯ll cut her face. If you don¡¯t cut off your arm by the time I reach ten, I¡¯ll kill her. We¡¯ll all just die here! One¡­¡±

    Bi Linglong finally began to panic when she heard that he was going to cut her face. She actually didn¡¯t fear death. However, which girl didn¡¯t care about their appearance? She didn¡¯t want her face to be damaged. As the numbers counted down, her heart seemed to be shoved up all the way to her throat. What she wanted to know right now was how Zu An was going to deal with this situation.

    Zu An sighed and began, ¡°I have a friend¡­¡±

    The others were confused. Why the hell are you suddenly talking about your friend?

    They only heard him continue, ¡°He¡¯s always kept his promises. As long as he agrees to something, he won¡¯t go back on his word. That¡¯s why as long as you all let Linglong go, my friend can let bygones be bygones and let you two leave safely.¡±

    Gao Ying and Pei You exchanged a look. They didn¡¯t understand why Zu An was saying this, and even Linglong was confused. She thought to herself, If these two believed you after just listening to this, then wouldn¡¯t they be way too stupid?

    But somethingpletely shocking happened. After listening to those words, the Gu n brothers let go of the de pressed against her neck and began to step backward. ¡°You said it; we are letting her go right now.¡±

    Gao Ying, Pei You, and Bi Linglong were all speechless.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An rushed over to Bi Linglong¡¯s side and wrapped his arm around her waist, protecting her. At the same time, he raised his finger. Two sts of wind fired out.

    How could the Gu n brothers avoid the attacks of someone at the ninth rank? Blood erupted from their chest as they fell to the ground. They were shocked and furious, saying, ¡°You just promised us that you would let us go!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Gu Heng for +555 +555 +555¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Gu Xing for +555 +555 +555¡­

    Zu An sighed. ¡°Not only are you two bad people, you¡¯re also extremely stupid. All I said was that I had a friend who kept his word and would let you go; when did I ever agree that I would let you two go?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re despicable!¡± The Gu n brothers almost fainted on the spot. Only now did they realize that he seemed to be talking about his friend. Why did we suddenly believe him for some reason?

    You have sessfully trolled the Gu n brothers for +888 +888 +888¡­

    Zu An had used the ability ¡®I Have a Friend¡¯. It would make the target subconsciously think that the friend he was talking about was himself. How could the Gu n brothers know about that? They were easily affected.

    ¡°In terms of being despicable, is there anyone worse than the two of you? You colluded with outsiders and sold out your master,¡± Zu An sneered. ¡°Linglong, I¡¯ll leave the two of them to you to deal with.¡±

    Only now did Bi Linglong realize that she was still in his embrace. She quickly pushed him away, blushing red. This guy actually dares to call me by my name! There are still people watching¡­

    In order to hide her embarrassment, she picked up her sword and walked over to the Gu n brothers, saying, ¡°The two of you were so proud of yourselves earlier. You didn¡¯t expect your fate to change so quickly, right?¡±

    When he sensed the killing intent in her eyes, Gu Heng felt as if his soul had left his body. Heughed and said, ¡°Hahaha, we brothers know that we¡¯re undoubtedly dead, but you all shouldn¡¯t be happy so early. Do you think you can win? We¡¯re only heading into the afterlife ahead of you all. We¡¯ll meet again soon.¡±

    The two of them slit their own throats as soon as Gu Heng finished speaking. The reason they were so decisive was because they knew that they would undoubtedly be dead. As such, rather than being tortured and interrogated, they would rather have an easier death.

 Chapter 818: Do You Have Any Shame at All?

    <h4>Chapter 818: Do You Have Any Shame at All?</h4>

    Bi Linglong was stunned. She hadn¡¯t expected the two of them to be so decisive. She sighed. They had grown up together after all. Even if there was no love, there was still some basic affection. This was a result that no one could have seening.

    However, she quickly snapped out of her daze and looked at Zu An. ¡°What did they mean with their final words?¡± Zu An began to think to himself.

    Gao Ying said, ¡°It might be just a curse out of resentment. There were only so many people who came with us this time. Shi Tong and the others have already exposed themselves; King Qi shouldn¡¯t have been able to send in another expert, right? Otherwise, the rest of us might as well just slit our own throats and just end it all.¡±

    Bi Linglong nodded. ¡°Indeed. Everyone involved in this trip was selected carefully, and all of them have undergone strict background checks. The fact that Shi Tong was able to get in was already something extremely unlikely; it should have been impossible for anyone else to sneak in. After all, something that can deceive the cultivation measuring device isn¡¯t that easy to find.¡±

    Zu An nodded and said, ¡°I hope it¡¯s as you all say.¡±

    What they said made sense. The emperor and the other experts of the crown prince¡¯s faction weren¡¯t idiots. How could they possibly leave such a huge gap to exploit in their ns?

    Gao Ying revealed a rare smile. ¡°Also, even if there¡¯s a problem, with Sir Zu here, it¡¯ll be easily solved.¡±

    Even Shi Tong, who was at the peak of the eighth rank, had easily been killed by Zu An. Gao Ying really couldn¡¯t imagine what kind of danger he couldn¡¯t deal with.

    Bi Linglong shared simr thoughts. She looked at Zu An and said, ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Zu An chuckled, ¡°Now you know that you didn¡¯t trust the wrong person, right?¡±

    Bi Linglong blushed. This was a secret only the two of them shared. Back then, she had asked him if she could trust him, and he had said that she could. However, she had never felt too much confidence back then, and she had been sure that he could sense as much too.

    The two of them looked at each other just like that. The mood gradually became a bit strange.

    ¡°Ahem¡­¡± Gao Ying coughed lightly. ¡°Brother Pei might not be able to hold on much longer.¡±

    He actually wanted to say that he himself might not be able to hold on much longer. The two of you are looking at each other so passionately; do we not exist anymore to you two?

    Bi Linglong immediately snapped out of her daze. She rushed over to check on Pei You, her face red.

    Zu An also followed her. Pei You had suffered Shi Tong¡¯s blow just now, and even his chest had caved in; he had clearly suffered a serious injury. The fact that he could hold on until now was a reflection of his powerful will.

    Bi Linglong quickly took out a few pills and fed them to Pei You. Hisplexion became a bit better, but his injury still didn¡¯t show any signs of recovering.

    ¡°His injuries are too serious; I fear¡­¡± Bi Linglong couldn¡¯t help but be sad. This person was in this state because he had tried to save her, and she had even doubted his loyalty earlier.

    Unfortunately, he hadn¡¯t reached the seventh rank yet. Otherwise, seventh rank cultivators would at least be able to survive with their regenerative ability.

    Zu An knelt down by Pei You¡¯s side and suddenly asked, ¡°You¡¯re from the Pei n. Do you know Pei Mianman?¡±

    Pei You was stunned, but he weakly replied, ¡°I do¡­ sShe is¡­ my younger cousin. When we were little¡­ I even taught her a few skills¡­¡±

    He didn¡¯t know why Zu An would suddenly ask him that. If it weren¡¯t because the other party had heroically defeated Shi Tong, he wouldn¡¯t even bother replying to this weird question as hey dying.

    Zu An nodded. He then took out a pill from his inner pocket and said, ¡°Give this pill a try.¡±

    Bi Linglong couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°I already gave him the imperial hospital¡¯s best medicine¡­¡±

    Her implications were clear. As the crown princess, she obviously had the royal family¡¯s best medicines. If not even her medicines would work, there was even less of a chance that someone else¡¯s medicine would do anything.

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°Just give it a try.¡±

    He fed Pei You the pill, and then infused his ki into the other party¡¯s body to help him absorb the medicine¡¯s effects, and also to treat his wounded internal organs, bones, and other parts.

    Pei You circted the remaining ki in his body together with Zu An. A whileter, his eyes widened in shock. ¡°I think it¡¯s working. Sir Zu, isn¡¯t your medicine a bit too incredible?¡±

    Bi Linglong was shocked. She quickly checked Pei You¡¯s pulse and sensed that his injuries had actually stabilized. Furthermore, judging from his recovery speed, as long as this treatment continued, his life was practically guaranteed.

    ¡°It¡¯s good that it worked.¡± Zu An sighed in relief. This was the Soul Return Pill he had gotten from Ji Dengtu back then. It was known to be able to bring even the dead back to life. He had tried it himself a few times. He felt it was second only to the Faith in Brother Spring he could get from the keyboard system.

    He had gotten twelve of these miraculous pills from Ji Dengtu back then. He only had six left now, so he obviously couldn¡¯t use them randomly. That was why he had asked about Pei You¡¯s rtionship with Pei Mianman. If the two had a bad rtionship, then he could only apologize.

    He actually had one more Faith in Brother Spring. As long as the patient had even a single breath left in them, it could bring them back no matter how severe their injuries. However, he wasn¡¯t willing to use that on someone he didn¡¯t share much friendship with.

    Then, he arrived at Gao Xing¡¯s side. Comparatively speaking, his injuries were a bit lighter. As such, Zu An brought out some medicine Chu Youzhao had given him earlier and had Gao Ying take it.

    ¡°Thanks.¡± Gao Ying quickly sat down to meditate. His aura gradually stabilized as well.

    Bi Linglong arrived in front of Zu An. She gave him a curious look and asked, ¡°Where did you get your medicine from? It seems to be even better than the imperial hospital¡¯s.¡±

    ¡°From a perverted middle-aged doctor.¡± Zu An was actually quite shocked as well. He had thought that Ji Dengtu was only a divine physician in Brightmoon City. He hadn¡¯t expected that fellow to be better than even the imperial pce¡¯s doctors. That meant his background was worth pondering over.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Bi Linglong had a strange look on her face. Birds of a feather really fly together. When she heard that it was a perverted middle-aged doctor, she quickly lost interest.

    Then, she rushed over to wake everyone up. These people had been knocked unconscious because of the Gu n brothers¡¯ drug, so they wouldn¡¯t wake up from a normal call. However, she was quite prepared for this trip and had all sorts of antidotes. She woke up the Eastern Pce¡¯s guards first, and then had them wake up everyone else.

    Soon afterward, Zhao Xi, Meng Pan, Liu Xian, and the others woke up. They were shocked when they saw Pei You. All of them prepared to battle. However, they were stopped by someone. Pei You was seriously injured and had no chance of stopping their attacks.

    ¡°Zu An?¡± They became more shocked when they saw who it was.

    Bi Linglong promptly appeared and stopped the group¡¯s attacks. She gave them a recount of everything that had happened.

    ¡°I was just saying that the Gu n brothers were shifty-eyed. I knew they were nothing good,¡± Zhao Xi mumbled.

    Meng Pan sneered. ¡°When did you ever say that? Did you forget that you doubted Sir Zu?¡±

    Zhao Xi became annoyed. ¡°Weren¡¯t you the leader in chasing Sir Zu out?¡±

    Seeing that the two were about to fight, Bi Linglong harrumphed. ¡°Do you two not see what kind of situation we are in right now? Despite that, you¡¯re still trying to start internal strife? If Sir Zu hadn¡¯t promptly arrived, we would¡¯ve all been killed by the Gu n brothers and Shi Tong.¡±

    ¡°Shi Tong? He¡¯s here?¡± The others were shocked. They immediately looked around as if they were facing a great enemy. Who in the capital didn¡¯t know that Shi Tong was an expert at the peak of the eighth rank? That wasn¡¯t someone they could face.

    Piao Duandiao carried Shi Tong¡¯s corpse over and asked, ¡°Crown princess, what do we do with Shi Tong¡¯s corpse?¡±

    ¡°Toss it into the wilderness to feed the wild dogs,¡± Bi Linglong said coldly. It was clear that what had happened left her feeling extremely disgusted.

    The others were petrified when they saw Shi Tong¡¯s corpse. They asked with trembling voices, ¡°Who killed Shi Tong?¡±

    Bi Linglong looked at Zu An. Her expression was extremely gentle.

    Gao Ying¡¯s injuries had improved considerably. He opened his eyes and said, ¡°Sir Zu, of course¡­¡±

    Then, he gave a rough recount of Zu An¡¯s great victory over Shi Tong. He, who was usually quite stingy with words, managed to make the story vivid and realistic, to the extent where he made Zu An seem even more formidable than he really was back then.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Really?¡± The others¡¯ jaws dropped to the ground. They were even more shocked after hearing how formidable Zu An was than when they heard that Shi Tong had been killed. Shi Tong had already remained at the peak of the eighth rank for many years. Then what rank was Zu An at?

    It was Liu Xian whose attitude changed the fastest. He immediately said, ¡°From the first time I saw Sir Zu, I immediately felt that he was incredibly suave and majestic, extraordinary and mighty. Now, it seems you are unfathomable after all! My respect for Sir Zu gushes forth like the relentless tides of the river!¡±

    Zhao Xi and Meng Pan were speechless. Motherfucker, do you even have any sense of shame at all?!

 Chapter 819: Jade Moon Serpent

    <h4>Chapter 819: Jade Moon Serpent</h4>

    Weren¡¯t you one of the first ones out to criticize Zu An just a few days ago? Yet now, you¡¯re changing so quickly?

    Zhao Xi¡¯s personality was the most direct. He first apologized to Zu An. ¡°Sir Zu, I¡¯m a crude person who believes there¡¯s rain when I hear wind. I¡¯ve offended you considerably in the past few days, so I solemnly apologize. I hope that your distinguished self won¡¯t remember the offenses of someone so petty like me.¡±

    Meng Pan continued to curse inwardly. What do you mean, ¡®believes there¡¯s rain when you hear wind¡¯? Who¡¯s the wind and who¡¯s the rain? Aren¡¯t you throwing shade at me right now?!

    He quickly said, ¡°This one is also blind despite having eyes. I was misled by the Gu n brothers, and that was why I doubted Sir Zu. This humble one was only doing everything for the sake of public good and not to target Sir Zu, so I offer my apologies. The only reason the rest of us were able to survive is because of your distinguished self¡¯s grace. Please receive three kowtows from this humble Meng.¡±

    Zhao Xi¡¯s face twitched. In terms of shamelessness, it seemed he couldn¡¯t win against this bastard Meng.

    Then, all of the other young masters apologized one after another. The group of people offered the precious gifts they had on them to Zu An to express their apology.

    There was no other choice. When they learned that Zu An had just killed an expert at the peak of the eighth rank, the six ranks of cultivation that they had originally been immensely proud of seemedpletely worthless. When they remembered how badly they had all offended him earlier, they could only give him gifts to feel a bit more at ease.

    Zu An was going to refuse, but Bi Linglong secretly warned him that he should take the gifts to appease them, or else something bad might happenter.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An had to admit that Bi Linglong was naturally suited to be someone of high status. She indeed understood human nature better than him. However, he wasn¡¯t too fond of these two-faced people who changed so quickly, so he told Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun to help him receive the gifts.

    When they saw that the crown princess didn¡¯t mind Zu An using public servants toplete these personal acts, they were even more convinced, and their attitudes toward Zu An became even more respectful. Furthermore, with how these two guards had spoken up for Zu An earlier, they knew that the guards¡¯ rtionship with him was extremely good, and thus didn¡¯t dare to look down on them either.

    Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun both stuck out their chests. They had been mocked by everyone earlier when they spoke up for Zu An, but now these arrogant young masters were trying to curry favor with them with smiles. Such a feeling was incredibly refreshing.

    ¡°You guys are so noisy it woke me up.¡± The crown prince yawned as he came out of his tentzily,pletely aware that his life had almost ended just now.

    Bi Linglong had to show him respect in front of so many people. She walked up and reported everything that had happened to him.

    The crown prince continuously sighed when he heard the report. ¡°The two of them died? Sigh, I don¡¯t have anyone to catch rabbits with me in the future.¡±

    For the sake of getting closer to Bi Linglong, the two brothers had spent quite the time buttering up the crown prince. They had done all sorts of fun things with him. When had the crown prince, who was usually locked up in the pce, ever seen these new and exciting things? He had quickly befriended them.

    That was also one of the reasons why Bi Linglong hadn¡¯t suspected the Gu n brothers before. If they really had traitorous thoughts, why would they exert themselves so much to serve the crown prince?

    All of the ns¡¯ young masters felt incredibly conflicted when they heard what the crown prince said. This kind of simple-minded crown prince really was¡­

    Unfortunately, their fates were already tied together. They could only brace themselves and walk this path down to its end.

    After a night of rest, Gao Ying and Pei You¡¯s conditions gradually improved. The next day, their group continued their advance into the mountain.

    Pei You told everyone how to track the Jade Moon Serpent¡¯s aura. Someone from the Meng n had entered the dungeon before and ended up obtaining one of the Jade Moon Serpent¡¯s scales. Then, they had a rune master turn it into a magic artifact. The scale could be used to track down the original owner.

    With this magic artifact in hand, the group slowly advanced toward the mountain depths. There were many dangerous beast nests along the way, but because of Zu An¡¯s warnings, they avoided practically all of them.

    No one voiced any objections this time. On the contrary, all of them praised him in a cringeworthy manner.

    Zu An sighed. The same words had been met with mockery and ridicule, yet now, these same people who had previously mocked him were eager to lick his boots. This society really was something.

    The group continued advancing for three days in a row. Pei You¡¯s expression became grave as he said, ¡°We¡¯re almost there!¡±

    Zu An had already sensed a strong water elemental power even before Pei You said anything.

    The group walked out of the jungle. An open and clear view suddenly stretched before their eyes. Arge waterfall flowed into a massive pool, causing water to ssh everywhere. As rays of sunlight scattered down, even faint rainbows that could be seen.

    Zhao Xi said with a smile, ¡°This serpent really knows how to enjoy itself; no wonder it changed homes. This ce¡¯s scenery is far better than that Cold Jade Pond.¡±

    Gao Ying said with a frown, ¡°Something¡¯s not right. There are formidable beasts everywhere in this mountain, and they¡¯re quite protective of their own territories. This ce might be better than that Cold Jade Pond, but the Jade Moon Serpent is a seventh ranked beast. Does it have the qualifications to upy a territory like this?¡±

    Zu An nodded in agreement. The Gu n¡¯s rebellion had been seen through by Gao Ying. Even though this person was habitually silent, he was meticulous in thought and quite the talent. No wonder the Liu n was willing to send their second son here. It was because he had enough to make up for his shorings.

    Meng Pan asked, ¡°Could it be that there are no other water element beasts here, so it just happened to have found its niche?¡±

    Gao Ying hesitated. ¡°That¡¯s not entirely impossible.¡±

    Bi Linglong remained quiet for a bit, and then said, ¡°Since we¡¯re here and still can¡¯t figure those things out, let¡¯s prepare for battle.¡±

    The young masters moved in a methodical and thorough manner. After all, these were the ns¡¯ elites. Even though they had almost been killed by the Gu n brothers before, they were prepared this time. They all disyed high levels of skill.

    Bi Linglong kept the crown prince at the very back. No one dared to let him run around at the front, because if something happened to him, no one would be able to shoulder the responsibility.

    Gao Ying and Pei You had been wounded. Even though they had managed to recover a bit, they were still in no shape to engage in intensivebat. That was why they were kept by the crown prince¡¯s side.

    For added security, Bi Linglong had Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun bring the Eastern Pce¡¯s guards over as well. She remained with Zu An and led the young masters as they began to encircle the waterfall.

    ¡°Linglong, good luck!¡± the crown prince eximed as he sat on arge rock. He ate the fruits the guards prepared for him while cheering happily. For him, this was nothing more than a sightseeing journey. He had no idea what kind of dangers they were going to face and merely treated it as a performance.

    Bi Linglong sighed inwardly. She quickly focused and brought their group to the pond beneath the waterfall. The pond was full of mist. Together with the rippling surface of the water, she couldn¡¯t see inside at all.

    Soon afterward, someone tossed bait that had been previously prepared into the pond. The water gradually turned red, and then a voice roared furiously. ¡°Who dares to contaminate my dwelling?!¡±

    The pond water instantly surged. Then, a towering figure several dozen zhang tall rushed out, floating in the air. Its shining eyes stared at everyone furiously. Its brown vertical pupils were intimidating, making all who saw them shiver.

    ¡°You¡¯re all sure that this thing is at the seventh rank?¡± Liu Xian¡¯s voice shook when he saw this massive creature.

    Zhao Xi gulped. ¡°Why is it so big? ording to the intelligence we had, it shouldn¡¯t have been that big.¡±

    Meng Pan couldn¡¯t help but take a step back too. ¡°Its pressure is also a lot greater than what the information stated.¡±

    Bi Linglong¡¯s voice turned cold. ¡°Wait, it can speak. This is the sign of a creature at the eighth ranked at the very least¡­¡±

    Zu An corrected her. ¡°It¡¯s not at the eighth rank, but rather the ninth rank.¡±

    Bi Linglong¡¯s expression changed. She quickly ordered, ¡°Retreat!¡±

    Everyone knew that a beast was much stronger than a human at the same level. Zu An might be able to defeat a person at the peak of the eighth rank, but there was almost no chance of sess against a beast at the ninth rank.

    They quickly retreated. Bi Linglong was incredibly confused as she wondered, ¡°Why is it so much stronger than what the information said?¡±

    Her first reaction was that King Qi had colluded with the libationer. However, she recalled that the beasts they ran into along the way had all been stronger than what their information stated. This dungeon wasn¡¯t exclusive to the academy; there were others who visited it before. Their ns had also entered it three years ago, so they had an idea regarding these beasts¡¯ strength. There was no way King Qi had the ability to make so many powerful beasts be stronger.

    ¡°You want to escape? Do you think it¡¯ll be that easy?!¡± the serpent roared. Waves of water rushed out, forming a transparent curtain that blocked off their path of retreat.

 Chapter 820: Does It Like to Eat Skinny or Fat People?

    <h4>Chapter 820: Does It Like to Eat Skinny or Fat People?</h4>

    The crown prince was munching on a melon. When he saw what was happening, his eyes widened, and he didn¡¯t even notice when his melon dropped to the ground. He eximed in bewilderment, ¡°We can¡¯t even see anything from here! Should we get closer?¡±

    Gao Ying and Pei You quickly tried to stop him. ¡°Your highness, you absolutely mustn¡¯t! That ce is extremely dangerous, you can¡¯t go closer!¡±

    Both of them had witnessed the Jade Moon Serpent¡¯s size and power just now. They were both quite experienced and knowledgeable, reacting to the situation even faster than Zhao Xi and the others. What were they still doing here when their target had changed from the seventh to ninth rank?

    Pei You quickly said, ¡°Hurry and bring the crown prince out of here, or else he might be in danger.¡± He knew fully well that with the appearance of this ninth ranked beast, the mission was destined to fail. Everything pointed at disaster for the people inside. Staying here would only result in death.

    Piao Duandiao and the others panicked. He said, ¡°The crown princess, Sir Zu, and the others are still inside. How can we just abandon them?¡±

    Gao Ying sighed. ¡°Everyone, please don¡¯t let your emotions affect your decisions. This serpent is now a ninth ranked beast. Even if we joined in, we would only be throwing our lives away. The top priority right now is to ensure the crown prince¡¯s safety. Once we leave the dungeon and report on the situation inside, it might not count as the crown prince¡¯s failure. If they canst long enough, we can ask the people outside to send us some reinforcements.¡±

    Jiao Sigun said unhappily, ¡°Sir Zu even saved your lives, and the crown princess has treated your two ns extremely well. Aren¡¯t your actions here a bit too cold?¡±

    Gao Ying¡¯s face turned red. ¡°Do you think we want to be so weak and useless? My uncle¡¯s beloved son Liu Xian is still inside. I haven¡¯t even managed to protect him, so there won¡¯t be a good ending waiting for me back at the Liu n. However, I know fully well that heading over will just be throwing my life away. If we ask for reinforcements, there might instead be a chance at survival.¡±

    Despite those words, he knew just how formidable a ninth rank beast was. No matter how formidable Zu An was, he would only be able to barely hold on with everyone else for a day or two at best. But they had taken more than a week to get here from the dungeon entrance. There was no way they wouldst until reinforcements arrived.

    Even so, he was a rational person. He knew what the most sensible choice he could make in this type of situation was.

    Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun could only look pleadingly at the crown prince. ¡°Should we save the crown princess? Your majesty the crown prince, please give us instructions.¡±

    They yed a trick and didn¡¯t say they were going to save Zu An, but rather used Bi Linglong¡¯s title. After all, the crown prince had been under the crown princess¡¯ care all these years, and he liked her a lot normally too.

    The fat crown prince remained quiet for a moment, and then asked, ¡°Does that serpent eat people?¡±

    Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun had never expected him to ask them this question, but they didn¡¯t dare to hide it from him. ¡°It does.¡±

    ¡°Then does it like to eat skinny people or fat people?¡± the crown prince asked.

    Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun were bewildered. How the hell would we know what it likes?

    Gao Ying immediately understood his intentions. He quickly answered, ¡°Beasts all love to eat things with more fat, as that has more energy content. That¡¯s why the Jade Moon Serpent will most likely like eating fatter people more.¡±

    The crown prince¡¯s face trembled. He backed up in a panic. ¡°I¡¯m not watching anymore! Hurry and bring me back to the pce, hurry up!¡± Then, he began to run in the opposite direction. The other Eastern Pce guards quickly followed him.

    Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun¡¯s expressions changed several times. In the end, they didn¡¯t dare to go against orders and could only follow him.

    Pei You said to the two of them, ¡°Sir Zu is formidable, so who knows? There might be a miracle. The two of you don¡¯t need to feelplete despair.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re only offering insincere constion!¡± Piao Duandiao sneered and didn¡¯t ept hisfort.

    Jiao Sigun also eximed, ¡°Fake!¡±

    Pei You¡¯s expression was gloomy. He gripped his sword, and then turned around to walk towards the pond¡¯s direction.

    Gao Ying was shocked. ¡°What are you going to do?¡±

    ¡°I owe Sir Zu a life. Of course I need to return it,¡± Pei You said calmly.

    Gao Ying¡¯s expression changed several times. However, he still grabbed Pei You. ¡°I also owe Sir Zu a life, but now isn¡¯t the time to be brave. There are too many dangers along the way. They alone won¡¯t necessarily be able to ensure the crown prince¡¯s safety. That¡¯s why we have the responsibility to safely escort the crown prince back.¡± When he saw that Pei You was stillpletely unconvinced, he could only add, ¡°If something happens to the crown prince, our ns will be destroyed.¡±

    If something happened to the crown prince, King Qi would rise to the throne. It was easy to imagine what consequences that would have for the ns that supported the crown prince.

    Pei You¡¯s expression finally changed. He could give up his life for Zu An, but he couldn¡¯t gamble with his entire n¡¯s life. He gave the pond a look, and then he turned around to protect the crown prince.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, by the pond, those present were fleeing in panic. However, even though the water barrier looked fragile, when Zhao Xi, who ran the fastest, smashed into it, he bounced right off.

    ¡°Ow!¡± Zhao Xi cried out in rm. His ki and blood were all over the ce from the impact, and he almost threw up a mouthful of blood. He wasn¡¯t convinced and concentrated all of the ki in his body into his weapon, bringing it hacking down on the barrier. Unfortunately, his strength seemed to sink into ayer of cotton. A strange force neutralized his attack.

    The others also began to attack the barrier as well. Unfortunately, light flickered across its surface, and their attacks werepletely disregarded.

    ¡°We¡¯re done for!¡± Meng Pan¡¯s face was even paler than normal as he cried out in despair.

    Being trapped here by a beast of the ninth rank meant that there was no hope of a single one of them surviving this ce.

    He wasn¡¯t the only one left in despair. The others¡¯ faces were pale from fright. They had still been in high spirits a second before, yet now, they had all changed from the hunters to the prey.

    ¡°Hahaha! Puny and cowardly humans, you all just love to bully the weak and fear the strong. I really enjoyed watching your shameful performance.¡± The Jade Moon Serpent in the sky wasn¡¯t in a rush to attack and instead looked at all of them with an expression of ridicule. The more terrified they were, the more it enjoyed itself.

    Zu Anughed in ridicule. Had this Jade Moon Serpent been bullied by humans before or something? Otherwise, why would it carry such strong resentment against them?

    That seemed more and more likely. After all, this dungeon was the academy¡¯s property, and students were often sent in for training. If the Jade Moon Serpent had been at the seventh rank, that was a level that wasn¡¯t too high or too low. It was perfect for many people to train with.

    It was the first creature that had been suggested when the contents of the crown prince exam¡¯s were discussed. This was clearly because they were most familiar with it. They knew it wasn¡¯t a target that was too dangerous for this mission.

    Tsk tsk tsk, seems like it really was tormented badly over the years in this dungeon.

    If the royal family had imed that this beast was at the seventh rank, there shouldn¡¯t have been a mistake. Why had its cultivation realm increased so much in such a short amount of time?

    Bi Linglong eximed loudly, ¡°Everyone, don¡¯t panic! We¡¯ve made ample preparations for this mission. Since things have already turned out this way, then prepare for battle! There might still be a chance at victory!¡±

    Zu An felt admiration inwardly. There were so many men here, yet the one who remained the most calm was instead this woman.

    Zhao Xi and the others grumbled. They had prepared a lot for this mission, but they had prepared for a seventh ranked Jade Moon Serpent, not this ninth ranked one in front of them! However, they were elites selected from various distinguished ns. They knew that in such a situation, they could only stake it all.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    They quickly gathered at Bi Linglong¡¯s side and entered a battle formation. Then they fired many crossbow bolts at the serpent in the sky. These weren¡¯t ordinary crossbow bolts, but rather armor prating bolts reinforced through formations. They were enough to st through the defenses of a seventh ranked beast.

    Unfortunately, this was now a ninth ranked beast they were facing. When they made contact with its body, the crossbow bolts only released nking noises, merely leaving behind faint white marks at most. They couldn¡¯t wound it at all.

    However, the Jade Moon Serpent was angered. ¡°You ants dare to offend this king?!¡± it roared furiously,unching four orbs of water from its mouth.

    The flickering water spheres smashed into the ground. Then, the group saw that every single sphere seemed to have beasts wrapped inside it. However, these beasts¡¯ expressions were filled with pain and resentment.

    ¡°Golden War Ox, Giant Frost Bear, Hard Bristle ck Boar, Lightning Devouring Tiger!¡± Bi Linglong¡¯s expression changed. ¡°They¡¯re all seventh ranked beasts that it¡¯s devoured in the past, and now, their souls have been refined into its own water puppets! These puppets retain arge portion of their strength from when they were still alive. Everyone, be careful!¡±

    She had studied a lot about the Jade Moon Serpent¡¯s characteristics precisely for this mission. She had originally expected it to use some sixth rank puppets, but now, they were actually all at the seventh rank! The difficulty was exponentially harder.

 Chapter 821: Undaunted By Perils

    <h4>Chapter 821: Undaunted By Perils</h4>

    The water spheres ruptured, and then the water puppets trapped inside woke up. They charged over when they sensed the auras of living beings. The group could sense the creatures¡¯ powerful resentment even from far, far away. Those with lower cultivations couldn¡¯t help but shiver all over.

    ¡°Everyone, get into position. Crossbow shooters, fire at your targets; scouts, prepare the traps; everyone else, prepare for close quartersbat¡­¡± Even though Bi Linglong¡¯s face was a bit pale, she still firmly gave out orders one after another. Her steady voice began to affect everyone else. Their formation, which had been starting to be a bit disorderly, also stabilized.

    Whoosh!

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    A barrage of bolts shot upward. Their surfaces flickered with white light,ing from special ice element formations carved by rune masters. They could turn ki into the ice element.

    This was the crown prince¡¯s great exam, so the royal family had given them abundant resources. The Jade Moon Serpent could devour other beasts and turn their souls into water puppets. That was why they had specially prepared ice element bolts.

    The marksmen were all the ns¡¯ elites. Soon afterward, many ice element arrows hit their targets. The water element puppets were quickly covered in chunks of ice.

    If these puppets had only been at the sixth rank, they might have already turned into frozen sculptures after being hit by so many of the special arrows. Unfortunately, these were seventh ranked beasts before they had been killed. The arrows were able to cover them in chunks of ice, but it wasn¡¯t enough topletely freeze them.

    What remained of the beast souls¡¯ fighting spirits made them furious at their injuries. They roared and charged at the group. With how close they were, there was already no time to fire a second round of bolts.

    The scout troops, however, had already finished setting a trap in the path these water puppets had to take. Many lights flickered as the traps activated.

    The four water puppets trembled all over, as if they were screaming miserably. Even their bodies began to grow dim. However, in the end, they still broke through the traps and charged into the group¡¯s formation.

    The warriors, who had already been waiting for this moment, charged forward. They surrounded their respective targets ording to the prearranged n.

    Bi Linglong didn¡¯t move and instead gave out instructions from the center. She transferred men over whenever she saw that one side was struggling. At the same time, she directed all kinds of attacks and defenses.

    Some warriors screamed from their wounds, or even lost their lives. However, under Bi Linglong¡¯smand, the formation didn¡¯t copse. On the contrary, everyone seemed to have been inspired by her, all of them charging at their enemy without any thought for personal safety.

    Someone had his stomach ripped apart by the Golden War Ox¡¯s horns, his intestines strewn across the ground. However, with thest of his strength, he thrust the weapon in his hand into the ox¡¯s neck, doing his best to exhaust the water element power in its body.

    Another person was mmed in the waist by the Lightning Devouring Tiger. His body was instantly blown into two pieces. However, his upper body continued to cling to its rear leg, doing what he could to at least slow its speed down a bit.

    There was another whose entire body was bloody from the Hard Bristle ck Boar¡¯s bristles. When he saw that there was no hope of survival, he threw himself at its body, using his body as a shield for his allies.

    One person saw his allies easily ripped in half by the Giant Frost Bear, yet instead of backing up, he charged forward with reddened eyes.

    ¡­

    Because of that, the four seventh rank puppets¡¯ overwhelming advantage was actually being held off by these people.

    Zu An felt deep respect for the group. Previously, because of how the young masters behaved, he couldn¡¯t help but feel contempt for these warriors as well. But now, he finally understood that these were all individuals who had been carefully selected. No wonder the emperor was okay with these people apanying the crown prince. It was because these were indeed the best from their ns.

    He didn¡¯t make a move, because his opponent wasn¡¯t these water puppets, but rather that several dozen meter long ninth ranked serpent in the skies.

    That Jade Moon Serpent had already locked onto his aura not long ago. The ninth ranked beast¡¯s instincts immediately told it that he was the one that posed the greatest threat out of everyone here.

    Zu An was also looking for an opening. A ninth ranked beast had an incredibly tough body and all sorts of innate skills. Its real strength wasparable to a human at the master rank.

    There was no hope of victory for a normal human ninth rank cultivator. Even someone like Han Fengqiu, who was at the peak of the ninth rank, would only be able to run away at most.

    Zu An was now at the ninth rank¡¯s fourth step. Because of his various miraculous skills, his ki amount and density were much greater than that of others at the same level. However,pared to the master rank, he didn¡¯t have much of a chance of sess. But with all of his strange and miraculous skills, it wasn¡¯t as if it werepletely hopeless.

    That was why the two faced each other, both parties looking for an opening to exploit.

    The Jade Moon Serpent was also watching the battlefield. When it saw that its water puppets were actually fighting on even footing with those puny humans, it felt anger inside. It opened its mouth and spat out another water sphere, which instantly turned into a strange bird.

    ¡°It¡¯s the ckfeather Hawk!¡± Bi Linglong¡¯s voice carried a hint of despair. It was because this was an eighth ranked beast!

    This Jade Moon Serpent had actually devoured an eighth ranked beast! No wonder it was able to rise up to the ninth rank. However, fighting against those four seventh ranked puppets was already their limit. How could they possibly defeat an eighth ranked beast?

    But Bi Linglong bit her lip. She wouldn¡¯t give up until the absolute final moment. She gave themand for everyone to get into formation again.

    Then, the marksmen that had been preparing to fire at the four seventh ranked puppets raised their bolts toward the ckfeather Hawk in the sky. Countless bolts screamed out.

    However, with a wave of the ckfeather Hawk¡¯s wings, water element bubbles filled the air. The vicious barrage of bolts was instantly trapped when they made contact with the bubbles. The ice element power they carried was also neutralized at once.

    Then, the remaining bubblesnded on the Eastern Pce¡¯s formation. The warriors felt as if they were trapped in a swamp as they were imprisoned in the water bubbles. They struggled frantically, trying to free themselves. Unfortunately, they were like drowning people who didn¡¯t know how to swim. They were just wasting their strength, as it was futile

    The ckfeather Hawk raised its neck and released a silent roar. Then, it pulled in its wings and dove down. Its body transformed into a stream of light and smashed into the formation. sts of blood erupted from the chests of those who weren¡¯t trapped in the bubbles. Huge holes appeared in their chests.

    The ckfeather Hawk¡¯s charge was terrifyingly powerful, almost like the flying sword of a ninth ranked expert. Meanwhile, these people were only at the sixth rank at most. How could they possibly withstand this type of power?

    Zu An made his move. The Jade Moon Serpent had actually revealed an opening earlier, but if he wanted to make use of that opportunity, the time it would take to take the serpent¡¯s life might be enough for everyone below to die ten times over.

    He had been filled with endless admiration when he witnessed the others¡¯ bravery earlier. He really couldn¡¯t find it within himself to use their lives to buy him more time.

    He used his Grandgale ability to instantly arrive in front of a stunned warrior, pushing him away. Then, he raised the Tai¡¯e Sword and blocked in front of him.

    ng!

    A shrill and ear-splitting sound erupted. The ckfeather Hawk¡¯s beak that had torn through the chests of countless people mmed into the Tai¡¯e Sword. The tremendous impact made even the Tai¡¯e Sword bend a bit.

    ¡°It¡¯s so freaking noisy!¡± Mi Li¡¯s annoyed voice eximed from inside the sword. Then, a terrifying pressure rushed out. The ckfeather Hawk trembled and stopped attacking.

    How could Zu An let such a great opportunity go? His sword flickered, directly cleaving it in half. Originally, with the ckfeather Hawk¡¯s strength, even though he could win, it wouldn¡¯t have been so clean and efficient. He hadn¡¯t expected to receive Mi Li¡¯s help.

    ¡°Big sis empress, you¡¯re awake.¡± Zu An was happy and surprised as he secretly talked to her.

    ¡°Don¡¯t get distracted, that damn bird won¡¯t die so easily,¡± Mi Li said coldly.

    Zu An lowered his head and saw the two lumps continue to wriggle about, as if they wanted to rbine with each other.

    These were existences that used the souls of beasts the Jade Moon Serpent had devoured as their foundation, and then had bodies created through the water element. Water was a formless substance and possessed a powerful regenerative ability to begin with.

    When Zu An saw that, he immediately used the Snowke Sword. The two wriggling blobs of water were frozen into chunks of ice. Then he channeled his ki, smashing them to pieces with a kick. The ckfeather Hawk was nowpletely destroyed.

    At the same time, the bubbles that had trapped all of the warriors froze and shattered from the cold ki. Those inside were free again.

    ¡°This king only refined the ckfeather Hawk after great difficulty, yet you actually destroyed it. So I¡¯ll devour you and turn you into my new puppet!¡± The Jade Moon Serpent in the sky roared furiously.

 Chapter 823, (1): Mutual Selfless Sacrifice

    <h4>Chapter 823, (1): Mutual Selfless Sacrifice</h4>

    But suddenly, something happened on the battlefield. Zu Anpletely released his ice barrier, allowing the water arrows to fly toward him.

    Bi Linglong cried out in rm. However, she discovered that Zu An was unfazed. The water arrows couldn¡¯t hit him and instead brushed right past his body. She thought, What is going on?

    It wasn¡¯t just her. When it saw that every shot missed, the Jade Moon Serpent waspletely baffled as well. Was it because it was angry that its aim had be a bit off? As such, it summoned more water arrows and fired them at Zu An from all sorts of different angles.

    But even though those arrows had clearly been aimed well in the beginning, once they reached within three feet of Zu An, they would mysteriously shift an inch or two to the side. Even though it wasn¡¯t much, it was still enough for Zu An to avoid them.

    The others also noticed this strange phenomenon. They began to cheer one after another.

    ¡°Sir Zu is mighty!¡±

    ¡°With Sir Zu on our side, everything bes easy!¡±

    ¡°Sir Zu, have my child!¡±

    Bi Linglong frowned. These n disciples really had no filter. You want to give birth to Sir Zu¡¯s child? Do you have the ability? I¡¯m probably the only one here who can¡­

    Ah, pah pah. What the hell am I thinking?

    But as she watched Zu An leisurely walk amid the rain of arrows, easily avoiding those deadly attacks, she couldn¡¯t help but think to herself, I guess he is pretty handsome when he¡¯s being serious.

    She quickly refocused her thoughts on the battle. With things the way they were, she had already given out all the orders she could. The others were working together in a methodical manner. The seventh ranked puppets were already dead, so their strength couldn¡¯tpare to when they were still alive. They were already near the point of copse. She joined the fray so that she could end the battle quickly, and then lead everyone over to help Zu An.

    ¡°Petty human, what kind of weird magic are you using?¡± The Jade Moon Serpent¡¯s eyes widened. Its expression was full of disbelief.

    ¡°Ugly loach, who do you think you¡¯re talking to?¡± Zu An was stunned. You haven¡¯t even evolved into a dragon yet, so why do you already have their annoying arrogance?

    Even if you were one, it¡¯s not as if I haven¡¯t killed dragons before. What¡¯s a stupid serpent like you acting all cocky for?

    ¡°Ugly loach?¡± The Jade Moon Serpent was stunned. It reacted to what Zu An said, its entire body shaking with rage. ¡°This king is going to y your skin and rip out your tendons! I¡¯ll let you know the consequences of angering me.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled the Jade Moon Serpent for +888 +888 +888¡­

    Seeing that the water arrows couldn¡¯t injure Zu An, it decided to just give up on water arrows. Instead, it spat out a bubble that flew over slowly. Zu An tapped his feet against the ground and avoided it.

    ¡°This thing might be able to deal with those of lower cultivation, yet you¡¯re trying to use it against a high level cultivator?¡± Zu An asked, confused. This serpent shouldn¡¯t be that stupid, right?

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    But the Jade Moon Serpent didn¡¯t give him a chance to think about that as it swung its massive tail.

    Zu An was rmed. This thing relied on its thick skin and tough flesh, so he¡¯d give it a taste of the Poisonous Prick.

    Mi Li spoke up again. ¡°Don¡¯t keep relying on that Poisonous Prick of yours. It will limit your progress. One day, you will meet someone who¡¯s protected against your dagger, so what will you do then? Your cultivation has grown too quickly and your foundation isn¡¯t stable. This is a rare chance for you to train yourself and fight it fair and square!¡±

    With how strongly the winds around him were stirring, Zu An didn¡¯t dare to take it head-on. He used the Sunflower Phantasm to evade. The tail mmed into a boulder by the pond. The boulder, which was the size of a small house, was instantly crushed into powder. The power of the Serpent¡¯s strike was just too terrifying.

    The young masters in the distance were horrified. They felt more and more admiration for Zu An. He could actually fight against this kind of monster!

    Meanwhile, Zu An was secretly talking to Mi Li. ¡°But if I fight fair and square against it, that will take too much time! Many of those young masters might perish.¡±

    ¡°When did you be such a saint?¡± Mi Li snorted. ¡°The path of cultivation will always rely on you alone. This is something all cultivators must realize. If they need others to save them every time, what meaning is there left in bitter cultivation? You can save them this time, but can you save them every time?¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t agree. ¡°I don¡¯t care about the future, but I have to care about the present.¡±

    Mi Li¡¯s voice actually carried a bit of praise as she said, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect your will to actually be so firm. However, you don¡¯t need to worry. Those water puppets have been wounded by my soul attack. That crown princess is decent atmand, so victory is already guaranteed. They¡¯ll only get a bit injured at most and their lives aren¡¯t really in danger. That¡¯s why you can just focus on your fight.¡±

    Zu An sighed in relief. But just then, the Jade Moon Serpent¡¯s massive w swung over. Even though it hadn¡¯t evolved into a dragon yet, it was starting to possess a dragon¡¯s powerful body. Its entire body could be used as a weapon.

    Zu An dodged while looking for a chance. Since he wasn¡¯t going to use the Poisonous Prick, random injuries were meaningless. He wasn¡¯t going to attack unless he could deal significant damage.

    Snakes had their seven joints, and dragons had their reverse scales. Serpents probably weren¡¯t too different, either. He quickly noticed one scale that was a bit lighter than the other scales around its neck.

    The Jade Moon Serpentunched another round of attacks, but Zu An easily avoided them. He was just about to strike, but he suddenly went on alert. He noticed that there was something shiny next to him. It was the bubble the Jade Moon Serpent had created earlier!

    Unfortunately, it was already toote, and he waspletely trapped in the bubble. This bubble was many times stronger than the ones that had trapped the warriors below. He tried to struggle, yet he felt as if he were trapped in a swamp and unable to gain any footing. Even his breathing became difficult.

    At that moment, he finally realized that the Serpent¡¯s vicious attacks with its body were merely feints. It had continued to release these types of bubbles around it, and they were the trap it was really baiting him into. He had been mocking these bubbles for being slow just now, but he hadn¡¯t thought about how they would continue to bounce around and change directions!

    As if she could read his mind, Mi Li jeered, ¡°Now do you know what the price of underestimating your enemy is?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face heated up, but he didn¡¯t reply. He used his Snowke Sword and the bubbles gradually became covered in frost, losing their original flexibility. He then used this chance to break out of the ice.

    A massive water arrow passed through where he had just been a split secondter. It turned out that the Jade Moon Serpent hadunched a vicious attack the moment he was trapped. It hadn¡¯t expected him to avoid it at thest moment.

    The Jade Moon Serpent was extremely annoyed. ¡°Puny human, do you only know how to hide?¡±

    ¡°Ugly loach, aren¡¯t you always hiding too? If you have the skills, then how about you take one strike from me?¡± Zu An replied mockingly.

    The Jade Moon Serpent was clearly a water element beast, yet right now, it seemed as if mes wereing out of its eyes. ¡°Lowly human, you¡¯ve now truly offended this king. You can keep dodging, but this king wants to see if yourpanions can dodge just like you.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled the Jade Moon Serpent for +999 +999 +999¡­

    After it spoke, it aimed its mouth at where most of the group was. A sphere of light flickered around its mouth, growingrger andrger as it charged its attack. Its destructive aura filled every inch of the ce.

    ¡°Everyone, be careful! It¡¯s about tounch its attack!¡± Bi Linglong was horrified and quickly warned the others. They immediately brought out their small shields and entered a special formation.

    ording to the different intelligence reports, the Jade Moon Serpent could release an absurdly powerful ball of water element energy that would obliterate all life around it. They had prepared special shields for this attack, and they had been training in a new formation to neutralize such attacks for the past few days.

    Unfortunately, all of that was built on the premise that they were facing a seventh ranked creature. Even if the opponent were at the eighth rank, they might be able to barely hold on. Unfortunately, the enemy was a ninth ranked vicious beast, its strength already far above theirs. It wasn¡¯t something they could handle at all.

    Despair flickered through the group¡¯s eyes. Bi Linglong once again reached for the flower mark on her forehead.

 Chapter 823, (2): Mutual Selfless Sacrifice

    <h4>Chapter 823, (2): Mutual Selfless Sacrifice</h4>

    At that moment, a figure appeared in front of her. Compared to the massive serpent in the skies, that body looked extremely insignificant. However, at that moment, she felt as if his figure were extremely mighty and tall.

    Zu An sighed. His tone was full of ridicule. ¡°Ugly loach, not even a real dragon dares to brag in front of me. You actually want to use a breath attack?¡±

    The Jade Moon Serpent was feeling cocky. A beast like it had intelligence that wasn¡¯t lower than a human¡¯s; perhaps it was even a bit smarter. It keenly sensed that Zu An wasn¡¯t easy to catch, but hispanions couldn¡¯t escape. In that case, it would just use them as hostages to see if he would save them.

    If he saved them, he would have to take this breath directly. The berserk water element would rip him to shreds. If he didn¡¯t save them, the breath would wipe out hispanions and save its puppets. At the same time, Zu An would lose all support. Regardless of which result it was, it would be good.

    But it ended up hearing the other party¡¯s ridicule while it was feeling all arrogant. It was furious. This lowly human was deliberately angering this king to get me to stop my breath attack!

    You have sessfully trolled the Jade Moon Serpent for +379 +379 +379¡­

    Hmph, why would a proud serpent like me fall for such petty tactics? I want to see all of you struggle and cry out in agony once my breath attack is done! Then, I¡¯ll properly take my time tough at all of you!

    The Jade Moon Serpent finished its preparations. But when it was about to fire its attack, it suddenly heard a devil-like voice asking, ¡°Why are your eyes wide open like that? What are you looking at?¡±

    The Serpent was stunned. It knew it shouldn¡¯t be replying right now, yet an uncontroble urge surged through its entire body as it answered, ¡°I¡¯m looking at you, sh*thead!¡±

    Because it spoke, all of the destructive energy that had gathered in that ball of water exploded in its mouth. No matter how tough its body was, and even despite the fact that it was a water element beast, the recoil made its head ring and blood trickle out from its eyes. A few of its fangs even fell off.

    Forget about the Jade Moon Serpent, the entire group was stunned. They never would have thought that it would make such a rudimentary mistake! To think it would actually talk at such a time and hurt itself.

    ¡°Beasts are just beasts after all; their intelligence is too low!¡±

    ¡°We should¡¯ve provoked it more if we knew that things would be like this! We shouldn¡¯t have fought it from the front like this.¡±

    ¡°Are you stupid? Do you think you¡¯re Sir Zu? There¡¯s such a huge difference in strength; if we angered it, we¡¯d only die even faster!¡±

    ¡­

    Only Bi Linglong alone remained silent. She remembered that such a situation had happened before as well. Could it be that Zu An possesses an ability simr to Dragon Soulspeak?

    The Jade Moon Serpent screamed and cursed bitterly in anger. Zu An didn¡¯t know if it was serpent tongue, but even though he didn¡¯t know thenguage it spoke, he could understand the meaning. After all, the Rage points he received from the system proved that these were probably curse words.

    You have sessfully trolled the Jade Moon Serpent for +999 +999 +999¡­

    Zu An didn¡¯t waste this rare chance. He used Grandgale to instantly move behind its back.

    The Jade Moon Serpent also sensed danger. It continued to m its body around to throw Zu An off. Unfortunately, Zu An grabbed onto its scales firmly, so it couldn¡¯t throw him off at all.

    The Serpent was starting to get nervous. It threw itself toward the pool, hoping to use the huge impact to throw Zu An off. Unfortunately, it didn¡¯t know that Zu An¡¯s body had experienced the tempering of the Primordial Origin Sutra, so it was just as tough as its own.

    The Serpent was starting to get dizzy from all of its smashing around. Not only did it not manage to shake off Zu An, but he was also getting closer and closer to its reverse scale! It was now really panicking. It quickly dove toward the bottom of the pond to try and see if it could drown that hateful human. After all, there was also the tremendous water pressure below!

    As if sensing their master¡¯s fear, the puppets all turned around and charged towards the pool, as if they were going to head over to help.

    ¡°No!¡± Bi Linglong tried to stop them, but the puppets were made of the water element and had no real substance. If they wanted to run, the group couldn¡¯t stop them at all. She quickly rushed over to the poolside. Unfortunately, the only thing she could see was the surging pool surface; she couldn¡¯t see the situation inside at all.

    Meng Pan moved over to her side and said urgently, ¡°Crown princess, let¡¯s hurry and retreat. Otherwise, it¡¯ll be toote and we won¡¯t be able to get away anymore.¡± The barrier that stopped them from leaving had also vanished along with the beast souls. It was as if the serpent didn¡¯t want to waste even a bit of energy on them anymore. That was why they were no longer trapped and could now leave this ce.

    Zhao Xi rubbed the blood off his face. ¡°Pah, bastard Meng, I knew you were no good from the start. If it weren¡¯t because of Sir Zu, the two of us would already be in that serpent¡¯s belly. Yet now, Sir Zu is still fighting for his life, but you already want to run?¡±

    Meng Pan became anxious. ¡°I¡¯m not a heartless person, but you saw how fast that Jade Moon Serpent rushed into the water. Did you see that huge ssh? Just the power that rippled out alone would be enough to destroy every bone in our bodies. Sir Zu suffered the brunt of the attack. I fear that¡­¡±

    Bi Linglong¡¯splexion paled a bit when she heard what Meng Pan said. She replied, ¡°Sir Zu¡¯s cultivation is profound. Even though we¡¯re no match, he might have been able to withstand it.¡± She didn¡¯t know if she was saying such a thing for the sake of arguing against Meng Pan, or to console herself.

    Meng Pan continued, ¡°But even if Sir Zu could handle it, he¡¯s been dragged to the bottom of the pool by that Jade Moon Serpent. That¡¯s its home field, a ce where we humans can¡¯t even breathe, let alone fight against a ninth ranked beast.¡±

    Bi Linglong bit her lip. She knew Meng Pan spoke the truth. Even though high level cultivators could use their ki to provide themselves with a bit of air, and they could use ki to breathe for a while, that was only enough to swim stealthily underwater. This kind of intense battle underwater would quickly make one suffocate.

    Seeing that she remained silent, Meng Pan cried out in concern, ¡°Crown princess, if we don¡¯t leave now, we won¡¯t be able to once that Jade Moon Serpent catches up! We can¡¯t let Sir Zu¡¯s sacrifice be in vain. Furthermore, we have no idea where the crown prince is right now. The mountains are full of danger; we need to find him as quickly as possible.¡±

    As for killing the Jade Moon Serpent, he didn¡¯t even dare to think about it. But since it was at the ninth rank, they would have a justifiable reason to give the emperor once they left. It wouldn¡¯t be aplete failure.

    Zhao Xi wanted to say something, but when the crown prince¡¯s safety was mentioned, he swallowed his words. The crown prince was just too important! If they stayed behind to help Zu An, and yet something happened to the crown prince, King Liang Manor wouldn¡¯t be able to bear the consequences!

    Bi Linglong was biting down on her lip so hard that blood was almost about toe out. ¡°You all leave to look for the crown prince. I¡¯ll head down to take a look!¡±

    Meng Pan and Zhao Xi exchanged a look. Both of them saw shock in the other¡¯s eyes. The crown princess seemed to care a bit too much about Zu An. When they associated that with the scandal that happened previously, could it be that it had been real? They felt chills run down their backs. They didn¡¯t dare to voice these thoughts and quickly snapped out of their daze.

    ¡°Crown princess, you must reconsider! You won¡¯t be of help even if you stay behind.¡±

    ¡°Exactly! We should reunite with the crown prince and the others first, and then we¡¯ll think over what to do together.¡±

    Losing the crown prince was a huge crime; losing the crown princess would simrly be a crime punishable by death!

    ¡°Who says I won¡¯t be of any help?¡± Bi Linglong touched the flower diagram on her forehead, a poignant smile on her face. Then, she jumped toward the pool.

    Meng Pan and Zhao Xi had thought that she was just going to make a gesture; how could they have expected that she would really jump? She was also just a sixth rank cultivator, and they were caught off guard. It was already toote for them to stop it. They could only watch as she jumped into the water.

    But a secondter, the incredibly deep waters suddenly surged powerfully. Then, a striking trace of red shot out, gradually dyeing the waters red. The warriors who were near the pool were all horrified. Had something happened to the crown princess?

    ¡°The Jade Moon Serpent is about toe out! Everyone, run!¡± Meng Pan screamed in panic and ran outward.

    The others seemed to have been infected by his mood. The same people who had been willing to fight dauntlessly with Bi Linglong as their leader all subconsciously ran away too with the terrified Meng Pan in charge.

    The waters split open a secondter, and a massive body flew out. The group was overwhelmed with despair when they saw that it was the Jade Moon Serpent.

    But a strange voice suddenly began to speak just then. ¡°What are you all running for?¡±

    ¡°Sir¡­ Sir Zu? Is that you?¡± Zhao Xi turned around. His voice was full of uncertainty.

    ¡°Who else could it be?¡± Zu An asked with a smile.

    Only now did Zhao Xi see that the Jade Moon Serpent¡¯s eyes were alreadypletely dark. Its massive body was also limp. There was a massive wound by its neck, and blood continued to pour out from the opening.

    Meanwhile, Zu An was below that serpent. He had carried the Jade Moon Serpent¡¯s corpse and flown out!

    The group had been so scared, they hadn¡¯t looked carefully. They had thought that it was the Jade Moon Serpent that hade back out to hunt the rest of them down.

    ¡°It¡¯s Sir Zu! Sir Zu killed the Jade Moon Serpent!¡± Zhao Xi shouted joyfully.

    Meng Pan cursed, ¡°Bastard Zhao, look at what kind of situation we are in, yet you¡¯re still busy kissing up to him? Do you want the rest of us to die?¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    But he suddenly discovered that everyone else had stopped, and they were all cheering as well. He turned around in shock and saw that the Jade Moon Serpent¡¯s corpse had been tossed onto the ground. A huge crater had formed from the impact.

    ¡°He actually killed a ninth ranked Jade Moon Serpent?¡± Meng Pan was incredibly shocked. He also unconsciously followed everyone else.

    ¡°Sir Zu is unrivaled!¡±

    ¡°Long live Sir Zu!¡±

    ¡­

    There were some who even shouted some disgraceful things. However, no one thought that those words were inappropriate. Instead, they felt that only these words could fully express what they were feeling right now.

    Zu An looked all around him and asked, ¡°Huh? Where is the crown princess?¡±

    Only now did Zhao Xi and Meng Pan realize that she was missing. ¡°Sir Zu, you didn¡¯t see the crown princess? She jumped into the water after you, saying that she was going to save you.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed. This pool wasn¡¯t an ordinary, harmless pool. The giant waterfall caused all sorts of vortexes and undercurrents, and he had just fought intensely against the Jade Moon Serpent, so the waters were in even greater chaos. The water streams wereparable to a frenzied sea.

    He jumped back in without a moment of hesitation.

 Chapter 824: A World for Only Two

    <h4>Chapter 824: A World for Only Two</h4>

    The Jade Moon Serpent had wanted to try to drown him to death. Unfortunately, it had made the wrong choice.

    If it were any other human, even if it were a master rank cultivator, they would be in quite the tough spot once they were dragged to the pool¡¯s depths Whether it was breathing or fighting, humans would be at a disadvantage. But Zu An had the Blue Mard skill, granting him powerful water affinity. The water was like a second home for him.

    How could the Jade Moon Serpent have known about this? It had seen that not only was Zu An not affected, he had instead be stronger and stronger. That huge psychological blow made it panic. Together with Zu An constantly approaching its weak point, it was ultimately killed by Zu An after a long battle.

    Zu An jumped back into the pool. With Blue Mard protecting him, it was as if he were walking on smooth ground. He quickly searched the area.

    Because of the waterfall and the intense battle, the water was rippling so greatly that it was hard to see. However, that didn¡¯t block Zu An from sensing what he needed to see. He could sense the situation through his affinity with the water element and didn¡¯t need to use his eyes.

    He suddenly thought of something and quickly dove down like a fish. Soon, he noticed Bi Linglong. She was struggling frantically in the water, her face entirely red. She had ended up being caught within several undercurrents and couldn¡¯t break free no matter what she did.

    Sixth rank cultivators could form a ki barrier around themselves, and that would provide them with some air underwater. However, Bi Linglong had clearly already run out of oxygen. She was now suffocating and couldn¡¯t even maintain the ki barrier. She had already drunk a lot of water. A hint of despair shed through her eyes. She hadn¡¯t expected that not only would she fail to save anyone, but she herself might also drown here.

    Suddenly, the figure of a familiar man came into view. Bi Linglong felt a bit dizzy. It was rumored that people would see things when they were about to die. Could it be that even though she was going to die, she didn¡¯t see her parents, didn¡¯t see the crown prince, but instead saw him?

    Suddenly, she felt a strong arm pull her in, and then a steady voice spoke in her ears. ¡°It¡¯s alright now!¡± She felt a sense of relief overtake her. She no longer tried to hold on and immediately fainted.

    Zu An hadn¡¯t expected her to faint. He raised his head and looked around. This was close to the bottom of the pool, so it would take some time before they would reach the surface. She might not be able to hold out for that long.

    Suddenly, a light caught his eye. He turned around and saw a giant aquatic cave. This was probably the Jade Moon Serpent¡¯s dwelling! It had probably used its water abilities to set up an energy barrier in the vicinity, opening up a space there. There were formations set up nearby because the nest was right there. The whirlpool that had trapped Bi Linglong just now had been formed because of one of the formations.

    Zu An didn¡¯t dare to waste time and quickly carried Bi Linglong to the transparent barrier. It clearly contained a restriction, but it didn¡¯t stop him, as he had a strong affinity with the water element. When he reached out his hand, the barrier and the water element resonated. Then, he went inside with Bi Linglong.

    Past the barrier was a dry world. Apart from the bit of water on the ground, the rest of the space contained oxygen.

    Zu An carried Bi Linglong to a gazebo inside the barrier and called, ¡°Linglong, wake up!¡±

    But Bi Linglong was still unconscious and didn¡¯t respond at all. Zu An saw that her belly was swelling a bit. He realized that she had drunk too much water, and so he quickly moved to apply CPR.

    His palms crossed over her chest and continuously pressed down. He suddenly remembered that when he had first crossed over, this was how he had saved Snow as well, and Chu Chuyan had just happened to catch him doing that. There won¡¯t be some weird misunderstanding this time as well, right?

    After performingpressions for a while, his expression grew serious. Even though Bi Linglonghad already spat out a lot of water, she still hadn¡¯t woken up. Furthermore, her breathing was bing increasingly weak, like a candle me in the wind that might go out at any time.

    Zu An quickly stooped down to provide her with oxygen. After the procedure continued for a long time, Bi Linglong finally slowly opened her eyes with a few coughs.

    Zu An sighed in relief, saying, ¡°You¡¯re finally awake. Looks like I didn¡¯t learn CPR in my past world for nothing.¡±

    ¡°Ah Zu¡­¡± Bi Linglong¡¯s vision was blurry. She didn¡¯t dare to believe what she was seeing. ¡°Did I already die, and are we meeting in the afterlife?¡±

    ¡°Pah pah pah! We¡¯re both perfectly fine, okay? What do you mean dead?¡± Zu An quickly corrected her.

    Bi Linglong snapped out of her daze. She asked with shock and pleasant surprise, ¡°Did you save me?¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡± Zu An said confidently. ¡°I¡¯ve been pressing on you for so long that even my hands are¡­ numb.¡± He suddenly realized that something wasn¡¯t quite right. Such a rescue treatment didn¡¯t seem to exist in this world.

    Sure enough, Bi Linglong lowered her head and saw that his hands were still pressed against her chest. Her face instantly turned bright red. Her instincts as a youngdy subconsciously made her swing her palm at his face, eximing, ¡°Shameless!¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    You have sessfully trolled Bi Linglong for +55 +55 +55¡­

    Zu An jumped backward, eximing, ¡°Hey, you better not bite the hand that fed you. I was saving you earlier, okay? If I hadn¡¯t continued thosepressions, how could I remove all the water you drank? You would have been dead a long time ago.¡±

    Bi Linglong sat up and crossed her arms tightly around her chest. ¡°Couldn¡¯t you have just hit my acupoints and infused your ki to release the water inside me? Why did you have to press my¡­ chest?¡±

    Zu An was stunned. Only now did he remember that back then, Chu Chuyan seemed to have done the same to help the drowning Snow. He couldn¡¯t help but chuckle in embarrassment. ¡°This is what people in my hometown do, and I already got used to it, haha¡­ I forgot I could use ki to do the same thing.¡±

    Bi Linglong was speechless. However, her eyes suddenly shifted to his lips. There was a bit of color stuck there, and it was a bit familiar. She subconsciously touched her lips, and then her palm smacked toward Zu An again. ¡°You dare use this chance to take advantage of me?!¡±

    Right now, she was actually feeling more disappointment than anger. She hadn¡¯t expected this man to take advantage of her in that situation and do something so shameful.

    Zu An dodged while eximing as if he had been wronged, ¡°That was to save you! Your breathing almost stopped; my hometown calls this artificial respiration! We do this every time for those who have almost drowned!¡±

    Bi Linglong ran after him while feeling embarrassed and angry. ¡°Nonsense! There¡¯s no such thing in Brightmoon City! How are drowning girls supposed to even continue living even if they¡¯re saved?¡±

    Zu An was starting to feel a headache. He really didn¡¯t know how to exin himself. After all, everyone thought that Brightmoon City was his hometown, and he couldn¡¯t say that he was a transmigrator, that his hometown was Earth, right?

    Mi Li snickered in his head. ¡°Serves you right!¡± She was sitting nearby, watching the situation with amusement. After all, Bi Linglong couldn¡¯t see her as long as she didn¡¯t want her to.

    When she saw Zu An remain silent, Bi Linglong became more and more embarrassed. ¡°See? You¡¯re not saying anything because you¡¯re guilty, right?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Bi Linglong for +77 +77 +77¡­

    Zu An was getting annoyed as well. It doesn¡¯t matter how I exin myself here, right? He decided to just not dodge anymore. ¡°Are you done yet? What part of your body haven¡¯t I touched before anyway? Do I have to take advantage of you this way?¡±

    Bi Linglong¡¯s face turned beet red as she eximed, ¡°You¡­!¡±

    But she had to admit that there was some reason behind his words. Back then, the two of them had been tightly embracing each other without a single piece of clothing. He truly didn¡¯t need to take advantage of her like this.

    Furthermore, judging from their time together, she didn¡¯t think he was that kind of person. She was only acting the way she did because she was still a youngdy. Now, she gradually calmed down and slowly began to believe him.

    After all, she wasn¡¯t a normal girl. She calmed down after taking a deep breath, saying, ¡°Sorry, my emotions were a bit worked up just now because of the situation. Thank you for saving me.¡±

    Zu An was quite shocked. He hadn¡¯t expected her to be so reasonable. He felt a newfound level of respect for her. He said, ¡°I¡¯m discovering that I¡¯m starting to like you more and more.¡±

    ¡°Who wants you to like them, hmph!¡± Bi Linglong harrumphed and took a step back apprehensively. ¡°You can¡¯t say these things outside, or else you¡¯ll really die.¡±

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help butugh. ¡°Are you worried about me? I can¡¯t say this in front of others, and I can only say this when it¡¯s just the two of us?¡±

    Mi Li, who was watching from a distance, sneered. ¡°Pah, yboy. Deceiving another innocent girl.¡± However, she knew that this was a crown princess who was knowledgeable and experienced. She wasn¡¯t some naive and innocent girl.

    ¡°You can¡¯t say it even when it¡¯s just the two of us.¡± Bi Linglong was starting to panic. Her heart was pounding crazily. She liked to be in control, yet she was clearly losing it right now.

    ¡°But I think I heard them say that when you saw that I was in danger, you jumped in without any hesitation to save me?¡± Zu An looked at the beautiful and stunning woman with passionate eyes.

 Chapter 825: King Qinâ€™s Mirror of Souls

    <h4>Chapter 825: King Qin¡¯s Mirror of Souls</h4>

    Bi Linglong waspletely drenched. Her hair was messy and there wasn¡¯t as much of a noble air around her as usual, instead being reced with a bit of loveliness. Because her clothes were damp, they stuck to her skin. That gave her a feminine charm she had never possessed before.

    Zu An suddenly thought of the phrase ¡®innocent temptation¡¯.

    Bi Linglong was the crown princess, so she had to make sure she presented herself as a noble and dignified person. She paid close attention to her bearing and didn¡¯t show any elements of sex appeal. But it was different right now. She really disyed both innocence and seduction perfectly.

    Bi Linglong was getting more and more flustered from his gaze. ¡°Why are you staring at me like that? You better not have any weird thoughts! I just want this mission to bepleted; I would¡¯ve jumped in if it were someone else too.¡±

    She immediately became embarrassed when she thought of that. She had clearlye to save him, yet she ended up being the one who had been saved instead. She had lost control as soon as she entered the water, and then powerlessly sank to the bottom. If Zu An hadn¡¯t hurried over, she might have already been sleeping with the fishes.

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Zu An chuckled. ¡°But why do I feel as if you wouldn¡¯t sacrifice yourself like this if this happened to anyone else?¡±

    Bi Linglong jerked her head unnaturally to the side. ¡°It¡¯s because your cultivation is the highest. Only with your cooperation could I even have a chance ofpleting the mission of defeating the Jade Moon Serpent. That¡¯s why you shouldn¡¯t overthink it; this was just for the sake ofpleting this mission.¡±

    Zu An sighed and said ¡°I thought I was already someone special to you. So it was just because of that.¡±

    Bi Linglong felt a bit sorry when she sensed the dejection in his voice. However, she understood their statuses clearly. She hardened her heart and changed the topic, asking, ¡°Right, you¡¯re okay now, but what about that Jade Moon Serpent? We should hurry outside, right? The others have no chance of defeating it!¡±

    Her eyes were full of worry as she spoke. The Jade Moon Serpent was at the ninth rank, so they had a justifiable reason even to abandon this mission. However, if all of the young masters who followed her perished, that would be a huge loss.

    ¡°Ah, that loach? I already killed it,¡± Zu An said while waving his hands casually.

    Bi Linglong looked at him in shock, speechless.

    ¡°Even though that loach was pretty tough, it couldn¡¯t hold itself back from talking while it was charging its dragon breath, so its attack exploded in its own mouth. I used that chance to close in on its reverse scale and kill it,¡± Zu An said. ¡°Then, when I dragged its corpse out, I learned that you jumped down to save me, so I came down to find you.¡±

    Bi Linglong gave him a serious look. ¡°You actually single-handedly killed a ninth ranked beast. Everyone in this world has underestimated you¡­ Just how many secrets are you hiding?¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°My greatest secret is precisely the fact that I spent a night with the stunning crown princess naked in my arms.¡±

    Bi Linglong¡¯s face turned red. She panicked and eximed, ¡°Didn¡¯t I say you weren¡¯t allowed to mention that again?¡±

    ¡°What are you so scared of? There¡¯s no one else here,¡± Zu An said nonchntly.

    ¡°Am I not a person?¡± Mi Li remarked in dissatisfaction.

    ¡°You¡¯re not even an outsider anyway.¡± Zu An quickly tried to justify himself. He began to sweat as he muttered, ¡°Why are you still here?¡±

    He had forgotten that Mi Li was still watching everything from a corner. He immediately felt embarrassed and ashamed when he recalled everything he had just done.

    ¡°How would I learn how a yboy ys around with the heart of a youngdy if I didn¡¯te out and watch?¡± Mi Li stretched as she continued, ¡°But to be honest, I¡¯m still a bit disappointed. If you ended up doing her, my opinion of you would¡¯ve improved a bit. But even after ying around all this time, this is it?¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    Bi Linglong suddenly said, ¡°I¡¯m going to get mad if you keep doing that¡­ Huh? What are these things?¡±

    Zu An followed Bi Linglong¡¯s gaze when he heard her voice. He saw a pile of sparkling goods. He had been so busy rescuing her that he didn¡¯t even notice them. He replied, ¡°This is the Jade Moon Serpent¡¯s nest. The dragon race loves to hoard all sorts of shiny objects. Even though that serpent isn¡¯t a dragon, it¡¯s still a rtive of the dragon species and has their habits. These are probably the treasures it¡¯s collected over the years.¡±

    There were all kinds of sparkling treasures, as well as many ki stones.

    ¡°Oh.¡± Bi Linglong wasn¡¯t all that interested. As the daughter of a distinguished n, and now the crown princess, these things didn¡¯t hold much meaning for her. She was more concerned with something else right now. ¡°Let¡¯s hurry and go back to the shore then. Otherwise, the others still won¡¯t know if I¡¯m okay. They might send some people to look for me.¡±

    Her words also clearly implied that there would be some damage to her reputation if she stayed with another man alone for too long and got caught. Furthermore, she had even jumped into the waters to save him earlier. She felt a huge headache when she thought of that, wondering how she was going to exin the situation to everyone else.

    When he saw her stare absentmindedly toward the surface, Zu An used the Brilliant ss Bead to store everything. Bi Linglong didn¡¯t care about money, but he still needed it.

    He actually had quite a bit of wealth saved up, and normally, it would already be enough for him to use for the rest of his life. But that simple pill refinementst time had already used up twenty thousand taels of silver, and that was just the cost of an upgrade and didn¡¯t include the price of the medicines.

    He needed to refine more things in the future, so his consumption would only increase. He had seen for himself just how poor that Shen Xuzi was; the profession of alchemy was absolutely one that burned money.

    Suddenly, Mi Li voiced her surprise. She stared at something in a daze. ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Zu An was rmed. With Mi Li¡¯s background and experience, there weren¡¯t many things that could draw her interest. He followed her gaze and saw that after the treasures had been taken away, there were some scattered things left in the corner.

    One of those things was a small and exquisite bronze mirror. It was square, and the surface was made of a special material that seemed like bronze, yet wasn¡¯t. It looked more like a type of gemstone. Both sides shone, yet when Zu An picked it up, it couldn¡¯t reflect an image at all.

    A mirror that doesn¡¯t reflect¡­ Zu An turned to Mi Li and asked, ¡°What¡¯s up with this mirror?¡±

    Mi Li reached out her hand and took it from him. Her fair, slender fingers were trembling a bit. ¡°It¡¯s been so many years¡­ I didn¡¯t expect to see it again.¡±

    Zu An was shocked as he asked, ¡°This is yours?¡±

    Mi Li shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s not mine, but rather Ying Zheng¡¯s.¡±

    ¡°The first emperor!¡± Zu An eximed, shocked. He had never expected to find the first emperor¡¯s belongings in a serpent¡¯s nest within a dungeon.

    Mi Li¡¯s fingers passed over the mirror¡¯s surface. A nostalgic expression appeared on her face. ¡°This item is called King Qin¡¯s Mirror of Souls. It¡¯s four feet wide and five feet nine inches tall; it¡¯s a spiritual item inside and out. When shone upon people, their shadows emerge. When one¡¯s hand covers one¡¯s heart, the internal viscera of the body will be revealed. If one is sick, covering up one¡¯s heart will reveal the illness. If a woman has nefarious intent, the truth wille to light. The first emperor often shone this mirror on everyone in the pce, and all those with impure motives were killed without exception¡­¡±

    Zu An was doubtful. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re talking about this thing? This little thing isn¡¯t anywhere as big as that four feet wide, five feet nine inches tall item you¡¯re talking about?¡±

    Mi Li shook her head. ¡°There¡¯s no mistake. I can sense its aura. There must be a reason that caused it to shrink in size.

    ¡°Back then, Ying Zheng, the first emperor, was a mistrustful person by nature. He liked to shine this mirror on everyone in the pce. Whether it was the princes, dukes, concubines, or maids, as long as they were disloyal, they wouldn¡¯t be able to escape from this mirror. Once he found out, Ying Zheng would look for a chance to execute them.¡±

    ¡°It has this kind of use?¡± Zu An was stunned. He hadn¡¯t noticed anything special about it all this time. ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem that special to me¡­ By the way, did Ying Zheng use this mirror on you back then?¡±

    Mi Li sighed. ¡°Why else do you think I was sealed up?¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    ¡°Put it away; that thing should be of use to you in the future.¡± Mi Li¡¯s gaze was a bit distant. She thought to herself that she had always felt a bit uneasy ever since they came inside this dungeon. Could it be that it was because she had mysteriously sensed this thing?n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

 Chapter 826: Tacit Understanding

    <h4>Chapter 826: Tacit Understanding</h4>

    Zu An didn¡¯t know what Mi Li was thinking. He was just surprised that he had actually found something so awesome just from killing a stinky loach. Mi Li didn¡¯t reply even after he called out a few times, so he put away the Brilliant ss Bead and arrived at Bi Linglong¡¯s side, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, this ce is too deep, and the Jade Moon Serpent has set up all kinds of formations. They won¡¯t be able toe here.¡±

    Bi Linglong bit her lip and replied, ¡°Even if they can¡¯te down, we still have to return to the surface eventually. It¡¯s not good for us to stay down here for too long anyway.¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°Then I¡¯ll just bring you back up.¡±

    Bi Linglong¡¯s expression finally eased a bit. ¡°Thanks.¡±

    When Zu An had pretty much looted the entire nest, he called out to Mi Li. This time, Mi Li didn¡¯t joke around with him and silently returned to the Tai¡¯e Sword.

    Why is she so gloomy all of a sudden? Zu An was a bit puzzled. However, there was no way for him to know unless Mi Li talked about it. He collected his thoughts before arriving at Bi Linglong¡¯s side, wrapping his arm around her waist.

    Bi Linglong jumped in fright and leaped backward like a startled rabbit, asking, ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    Zu An rolled his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m gonna carry you up, of course. With your cultivation, you can¡¯t withstand the current at all. How else are we going to return if I don¡¯t do this?¡±

    Bi Linglong felt troubled. ¡°But our statuses are special and there are countless eyes watching. We can¡¯t afford to make any mistakes!¡±

    Zu An was speechless. ¡°It¡¯s not as if I haven¡¯t hugged you before. What are you getting all flustered for?¡±

    Bi Linglong began to panic. ¡°But the problem is that there are many people watching outside¡­¡±

    Zu An immediately chuckled when he heard what she said. ¡°So you didn¡¯t mind us hugging in private, but you just didn¡¯t want others to see us?¡±

    Bi Linglong looked away. ¡°You better not let your imagination run wild. That¡¯s not what I meant.¡±

    Zu An moved over to her side and pulled in her slender waist. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll let you go before we leave the surface.¡±

    Bi Linglong opened her mouth, but she didn¡¯t say anything in the end. A light blush appeared on her neck. Zu An had to admit that even though this woman normally acted tough, her body really was soft.

    When she saw that they still weren¡¯t moving, Bi Linglong said with a voice that was as soft as a mosquito¡¯s buzz, ¡°Can we¡­ leave?¡±

    ¡°Hold on tight.¡± Zu An focused his attention and bent down slightly. Then, he kicked off the ground and the two of them shot out like a rocket, rushing straight out of the Jade Moon Serpent¡¯s nest and toward the surface.

    Bi Linglong held on nervously. She had already used ki to store a bit of oxygen around herself. Even so, it was barely enough. Unfortunately, they were just too deep in the water right now. This was a ce where even the massive Jade Moon Serpent could swim freely, so it was easy to imagine just how deep the pool was.

    Bi Linglong could still barely hold on at first, but her expression became grave soon afterward. She could feel that she was about to faint. She had underestimated how deep they were. The oxygen around her was already getting thin before they even reached the surface, and it was getting hard to breathe.

    This deep down, the berserk water element attacked a cultivator¡¯s ki viciously. A cultivator might be able tost an hour underwater normally, but here, they would only be able to hold on for a few minutes.

    However, she clenched her teeth and held on. Her small hands grabbed the man beside her. She only felt a bit more at ease when she felt the warmthing from his arm. Perhaps because this feeling really was awful, even though not much time had passed, she felt as if it had taken several years.

    A whileter, she could vaguely see light above her. She knew they were about to reach the water surface. She felt a sense of ease, but then she could no longer hold on. Theck of oxygen made her mind a bit hazy, causing her to identally drink several gulps of water. She subconsciously began to struggle.

    Suddenly, a pair of soft lips pressed against hers and she felt a burst of fresh oxygen enter her body. Bi Linglong greedily took in the oxygen, and then her mind gradually calmed down again. Her beautiful eyes immediately widened. Only now did she realize that the two of them were kissing.

    It was as if an explosion had gone in her head, and then everything went nk. Even at this age, she had never kissed another man yet, even though she had already gotten married.

    As a daughter of a distinguished n, she had been trained in all types of etiquette ever since she was little. The youngdies of nobility had to follow many rules. They had to present themselves as wise and virtuous women. When she was chosen to be the crown princess, that part of her life became even more strict.

    Whether it was the royal family or the Bi n, they had both protected her, making sure that no men would approach her. Bi Linglong had always fulfilled this part of her responsibility. Until now, she had always been a perfect noble daughter, a perfect crown princess.

    Until she met Zu An¡­

    Back then, when the two of them had been right next to each other without a stitch of clothing, she had already be a bit different. However, her powerful rationality had warned her that this was a scheme by the enemy, so it didn¡¯t count.

    But what about this? She had been kissed while she was conscious by a man!

    What left her at an even greater loss was that right now, she wasn¡¯t as ufortable or annoyed as she had imagined. She didn¡¯t even instinctively push him away.

    He¡¯s only doing this to save me¡­ Yeah, that¡¯s it. Bi Linglong continuously consoled herself, and then she slowly closed her eyes.

    Zu An almostughed when he saw her. He had originally only been feeding her some oxygen. Yet now, she looked as if she werepletely willing to do this. He wasn¡¯t some unromantic brute, so obviously, he continued to kiss her gently.

    Bi Linglong¡¯s entire body trembled. He actually¡­ He actually¡­

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    But she didn¡¯t know what to do either. She could only close her eyes tightly, as if pretending she didn¡¯t know anything.

    A whileter, a gentle voice spoke next to her. ¡°We¡¯re almost at the surface.¡±

    Only then did Bi Linglong react and open her eyes. She could vaguely see nervous figures by the shore. She was extremely embarrassed and quickly pushed Zu An away, leaping out of the waters on her own.

    ¡°Crown princess!¡±

    The many young masters that were waiting by the shore flocked around her.

    However, another figure that even faster, fishing out a cloak from who knew where and wrapping it around her body. It covered her entirely drenched, seductive figure.

    The crown princess felt warm inside. Looks like this guy did care about me after all. However, when she saw the others¡¯ expressions, she immediately coughed lightly and said, ¡°Thank you for saving me, Sir Zu.¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°Crown princess, you¡¯re too polite. If not for the fact that the crown princess dove down and diverted some of the Jade Moon Serpent¡¯s attention, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to kill it so easily.¡±

    The two of them had called each other Linglong and Ah Zu underwater, but in front of everyone else, they tacitly agreed to return to their usual rtionship.

    Bi Linglong¡¯s cheeks blushed when she heard what Zu An said. She obviously knew he had said that to help her out. Otherwise, if the others found out that not only had she not offered any help, but she had also almost drowned after diving in, that would really be way too embarrassing.

    She gave him a grateful look, and then used the chance to say, ¡°It¡¯s still thanks to Sir Zu having the strength to face the Jade Moon Serpent that I had a chance to offer some help. In that kind of situation, I could only take a gamble. Thankfully, Sir Zu was able to sessfully take down that evil serpent.¡±

    The group shouted out in praise, ¡°Sir Zu is formidable, but crown princess, you¡¯re even more incredible!¡±

    ¡°You truly are a woman who¡¯s even more courageous than men!¡±

    ¡°We were all shaking in our boots, yet only the crown princess dared to jump in!¡±

    ¡­

    Bi Linglong sighed in relief when she heard the group¡¯s praise. She had been worried about how she was going to exin her action of diving into the waters, but Zu An downying his contributions allowed her to easily solve this troublesome problem.

    She pursed her lips and looked at Zu An. He was currently smiling toward her. For some reason, her eyes couldn¡¯t help but drift towards his mouth. She immediately became rattled and turned her face away.

    Suddenly, a voice cried out from the distance. ¡°Linglong, save me, Linglong!¡±

    Everyone turned around and saw a fatty running while gasping for air. A group of giant wolves were chasing after him. The Eastern Pce guards were all drenched in blood as they tried to fend off the wolves.

    ¡°It¡¯s the crown prince!¡±

    ¡°Hurry and save him!¡±

    The group frantically rushed over with their weapons. When the wolves saw that there were so many people there, they stopped at once. After circling them a few times, they reluctantly withdrew into the forest.

    Bi Linglong had her subordinates treat their wounds while asking out of curiosity, ¡°What happened? Why were you all being chased by the Giant White Wolves?¡±

 Chapter 827: Dungeon Barbarians

    <h4>Chapter 827: Dungeon Barbarians</h4>

    The crown prince said, ¡°Of course I ran when I heard that the weird snake likes to eat fat people! But for some reason, I kept running into all sorts of beasts. Linglong, I¡¯m never going to leave you again! All of them tricked me; it¡¯s only safe at your side.¡±

    The others had strange looks on their faces. This crown prince really was worthless.

    Gao Ying couldn¡¯t continue listening to this and exined after a cough, ¡°At the time, all of you were trapped by the Jade Moon Serpent and we had no way to help you. That was why we wanted to hurry back and ask for reinforcements.¡±

    There were many elites from powerful ns there. They obviously knew what the others had really been thinking. Saying that they were going to ask for reinforcements was just to make it sound a bit better. But they also understood why the others had done what they did. If they had been in that position, they would most likely have chosen to bring the crown prince out first as well.

    ¡°Right, where¡­ is that Jade Moon Serpent?¡± Pei You asked out of curiosity. But his eyes suddenly shifted to the massive serpent corpse, leaving him dumbstruck.

    Zhao Xi roared withughter. ¡°You guys weren¡¯t here to see how Sir Zu heroically and single-handedly fought against the Jade Moon Serpent. Then, he heroically dove into the pool to end its life!¡±

    Meng Pan immediately added, ¡°It was also thanks to the crown princess¡¯ help, or else it would¡¯ve been difficult for Sir Zu to kill that ninth rank beast alone.¡±

    Zhao Xi¡¯s breathing stopped at once. He cursed Meng Pan for being a bootlicker inwardly, but at the same time felt regret. This damn mouth of his¡­ Why hadn¡¯t he thought of that? It would be really bad if he ended up offending the crown princess because of this!

    With Liu Xian in the lead, the others began to recount the battle together. Even though they were all wounded and they hadn¡¯t even washed the blood off of their faces yet, they were all excited.

    ¡°A ninth ranked beast was killed?¡± Gao Ying and Pei You looked toward Zu An with shock. They knew that the crown princess¡¯ cultivation was inferior to theirs, yet if they faced a ninth ranked beast, they would only be delivering themselves as food. That was why it was probably Zu An who had taken down the Jade Moon Serpent alone.

    What kind of concept was this?! From then on, the capital would have another stunning genius! No longer would people feel that his past aplishments were a fluke, and the great ns would definitely try to rope him in.

    I heard that the Chu n has already ended their rtionship with him. I should contact my uncleter and have him find a suitable young miss to arrange a marriage with him, Gao Ying thought, but he quickly became troubled. The Liu n¡¯s two most beautiful women had already been taken into the pce. The others all seemed to still be a bit too young.

    Pei You was thinking simr thoughts. Which of the Pei n¡¯s girls are of marrying age¡­ Hm, he seems to have asked me about Little Man, and neither her looks or talent are inferior to Chu Chuyan. She seems to be a good candidate. But I seem to have heard my uncle say that a marriage has already been arranged for her? I need to go back and ask about this properly.

    Meanwhile, Liu Xian was thinking about inviting Zu An to Heavenly Abode once they returned to the capital, wishing to introduce some courtesans to him. Even though their appearances might not beparable to Chu First Miss, in terms of understanding and serving men, those distinguished daughters couldn¡¯tpare at all. That¡¯s precisely why this is one of the three bonds of brotherhood. To run away together, to fight together, and to go to broth¡­ Hahaha, I¡¯m really a genius!

    While the others were wondering how they were going to rope him in, Zu An was examining Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun¡¯s injuries. The two of them were the crown prince¡¯s personal guards. Their bodies were covered in injuries, but thankfully, none of them were fatal.

    Unfortunately, the other guards weren¡¯t so lucky. After a rough count, he saw that while twenty or so of the crown prince¡¯s personal guards hade inside, now there were fewer than ten. The lives of the others had probably been lost to those beasts.

    He took out the medicines Chu Youzhao gave him and treated them. Then he asked, ¡°Why did you guyse back if you already left?¡±

    Piao Duandiao said with a bitter smile, ¡°I don¡¯t know why, but we were just incredibly unlucky. We were already extremely careful when we left. Our group already ran into many beast nests on the way here, so we had that experience, yet for some reason, we kept running into them this time.¡±

    ¡°It really is weird. The beast nests in the mountains are really strange. Not only were they stronger than what the intelligence said, none of the beasts were in their original territories and were instead roaming all over the ce,¡± Jiao Sigun said. ¡°We were chased until there was no way out, so we could only run back here and see if we could borrow the Jade Moon Serpent¡¯s intimidation to scare the Giant White Wolves away.¡±

    Piao Duandiao exined, ¡°Big bro Zu, we wanted to help you, but¡­¡± He snuck a nce at the crown prince and the others. He wanted to say something, but stopped.

    Zu An patted his shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t take it to heart. I know how hard you guys have it; you two had no choice.¡±

    When they heard Zu An¡¯s words, the two of them felt relief. ¡°Big bro Zu, you really are incredible. You even managed to kill a ninth ranked beast.¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°I was just lucky. Furthermore, it was thanks to everyone fighting bitterly together and taking off some of the pressure.¡±

    The young masters from the different ns all felt warm inside when they heard those words. They were extremely grateful when they looked at Zu An. Sir Zu is so handsome and he speaks so nicely; we love him!

    Zu An told the rest of them to get some proper rest, and then arrived at Bi Linglong¡¯s side, asking, ¡°How is the situation looking?¡±

    Bi Linglong felt a bit strange when she looked at him. However, she didn¡¯t let it show in front of so many people and quickly replied, ¡°Everyone has suffered heavy casualties from the battle against the Jade Moon Serpent. A third of our group has died in battle, while another third are seriously wounded. The remainder all have some wounds as well.¡±

    Meng Pan said in an aloof manner, ¡°Crown princess, don¡¯t worry. We joined this mission for the sake of our ns¡¯ glory. Each and every one of us has already resolved to die in battle. Furthermore, regardless of what happened, we managed toplete this mission in the end, and the enemy was even at the ninth rank. King Qi¡¯s side has no excuses this time.¡±

    Zhao Xi also smiled and said, ¡°Indeed. Once we get out, the crown prince¡¯s position as heir apparent to the throne will be solidified. I offer my congrattions to our future empress ahead of time.¡±

    Bi Linglong might have been more than happy to hear these words before, as this was the dream she had always been chasing. But when she heard them now, her first reaction was to look at Zu An nervously. She quickly said, ¡°Please be careful not to say such things. They¡¯re a bit inappropriate.¡±

    Zhao Xiughed and said, ¡°You¡¯re right. Then I¡¯ll congratte you againter.¡±

    Bi Linglong didn¡¯t wish to continue the topic and quickly said, ¡°Let¡¯s remove the Jade Moon Serpent¡¯s tendons, and then we¡¯ll return to make a report on the mission¡¯spletion. Danger lurks everywhere in these mountains, so we should leave as soon as possible.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t suitable for them to transport such a massive serpent corpse back. They couldn¡¯t just make Zu An haul it all the way back, right?

    ¡°The crown princess is most wise for considering the bigger picture. You aren¡¯t as small-minded as some of us,¡± Meng Pan added.

    Zhao Xi was infuriated. ¡°Say whatever you want, but why are you looking at me?¡±

    Meng Pan rolled his eyes. ¡°They¡¯re my eyes; I can look at whomever I want. What does that have to do with you?¡±

    Bi Linglong felt a huge headacheing on. Could these two buffoons stop arguing for even a single day?

    The warriors of the different ns headed over to remove the tendons. But suddenly, a group of barbarians charged over.

    ¡°Ji ri gu!¡±

    ¡°Abu cha cha!¡±

    ¡°Gai Gai ja!¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡­

    The barbarians¡¯ upper bodies were naked, while their lower bodies were covered in beast skin. Their bodies had all sorts of stripes and diagrams smeared on them, while crowns of different colored feathers covered their heads.

    The different ns¡¯ warriors all prepared for battle when they saw the barbarians¡¯ des and arrows. ¡°Protect the crown prince and princess!¡±

    Zu An was baffled. ¡°This dungeon even has native barbarians?¡±

    Bi Linglong was also bewildered. ¡°I didn¡¯t know that either. There have never been any reports of people living in the dungeon.¡±

    Arge and tall man who seemed to be the leader of the barbarians stepped forward from the group. He jumped over to the Jade Moon Serpent¡¯s head, pointed at it and said in a crude manner, ¡°This! Ours¡­ All you, leave!¡±

    Liu Xian rubbed his eyes. He moved closer and gave the leader a look. Suddenly, heughed and said, ¡°I was wondering who it was. Isn¡¯t this King Qi Manor¡¯s Guardian Wei? When did you be a barbarian?¡±

    The others¡¯ expressions changed when they heard these words.

 Chapter 828: After Working So Hard

    <h4>Chapter 828: After Working So Hard</h4>

    The crown prince¡¯s side was furious when they saw that the barbarians were trying to steal away the Jade Moon Serpent.

    ¡°You bastard, we were the ones who killed the Jade Moon Serpent! Why should we give it to you?¡±

    ¡°If you have the skill, why don¡¯t you hunt one yourself!?¡±

    ¡°We worked hard to kill it, yet you guys came over to steal the fruit of our efforts! Do you all have no sense of shame?¡±

    ¡­

    Bi Linglong¡¯s face darkened when she heard her subordinates¡¯ curses. The Serpent¡¯s tendons were supposed to serve as proof of its defeat; how could they possibly give them to anyone else?

    Meng Pan eximed coldly, ¡°These barbarians think they can do whatever they want! If they don¡¯t listen, just kill them all.¡±

    Zhao Xi¡¯s fists clenched so tightly they cracked. ¡°I was already pissed off that we had to fight a ninth ranked Jade Moon Serpent. I can just use these barbarians to vent my anger.¡±

    Zu An arrived at Bi Linglong¡¯s side and said, ¡°Be careful. I feel like something¡¯s not right.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Bi Linglong asked. She didn¡¯t dare ignore any of Zu An¡¯s opinions now.

    Zu An said with a frown, ¡°I feel like these barbarians aren¡¯t as simple as they seem.¡±

    Bi Linglong also became quiet. So many of the academy¡¯s students hade into the dungeon over the years, yet no one had ever discovered any barbarians before. Their appearance was indeed quite strange.

    But she hadn¡¯t felt too much suspicion at first, because the dungeon was quite big, so the academy hadn¡¯tpletely explored it. It wasn¡¯t entirely impossible for barbarians to appear here.

    After all, the human race didn¡¯t know too much about dungeons. They only knew that these ces that seemed toe out of nowhere were full of mysteries and dangers. They had no idea how they formed.

    Suddenly, Liu Xian took a few steps forward to size up the barbarian leader. He suddenlyughed out loud and said, ¡°Isn¡¯t this King Qi Manor¡¯s Guardian Wei? When did you be a barbarian?¡±

    The others¡¯ expressions changed when they heard those words. Bi Linglong suddenly looked toward the barbarians. This was actually someone from King Qi Manor?

    King Qi Manor had many powerful cultivators under itswork. They had five great guardians: Lu Xiao, Wei Pingyang, He Li, Mu Ping, as well as Han Fengqiu whom Zu An was familiar with.

    Han Fengqiu was ranked fourth out of the five guardians. Even the worst of these nine individuals was at the mid stage of the ninth rank. Lu Xiao was even at the mid stage of the master rank!

    The ¡®Guardian Wei¡¯ Liu Xian spoke of was probably Wei Pingyang, ranked number two. He was at the initial stage of the master rank!

    Zu An was quite shocked. How had King Qi Manor sent one of their men in? Were the people from the crown prince¡¯s faction who were watching the entrance of the dungeon blind?

    The expression of the barbarian leader changed. ¡°What guardian? I have no idea what you¡¯re saying. This serpent corpse is ours! You¡¯d all better scram!¡±

    Liu Xianughed out loud. ¡°Who are you trying to fool? The two of us even made a trip to Heavenly Abode together back in the day. I let that Lady Xiang I wanted go with you out of respect for your cultivation, but look at you pretending you don¡¯t know me now!¡±

    Zu An was speechless. This fe might not be so great at anything else, but he really is a master at whoring.

    Bi Linglong¡¯s expression changed greatly as she eximed, ¡°This is bad!¡±

    The ¡®barbarian leader¡¯ threw away his previous crude ent and spoke normally. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to expose my identity before for fear of any of you getting away and telling the outside world. You would¡¯ve had your prey mysteriously stolen by barbarians, resulting in the failure of the exam, but at least you would all live. We didn¡¯t want to take the risk of silencing everyone, because isn¡¯t it fine for all of us to be alive and well? But since a fool like you insisted on exposing me, there¡¯s no other choice. All of you will die here!¡±

    As soon as he finished speaking, more of his subordinates who were dressed simrly emerged from the woods. All of them had des in their hands, their eyes flickering with light. They were clearly all high level cultivators.

    Zhao Xi and Meng Pan red angrily at Liu Xian. They really were going to die because of this idiot! However, they soon realized that King Qi¡¯s side didn¡¯t want to go all the way either, and their job was just to ruin their mission. They didn¡¯t want to take the risk of incurring the wrath of the emperor.

    But now that they had been exposed by Liu Xian, they had no choice but to silence everyone here. Otherwise, with so many eyes watching, they wouldn¡¯t be able to cover this up. The emperor would have a proper reason to go after King Qi then.

    After all, Guardian Wei was at the master rank! Furthermore, his subordinates didn¡¯t look weak either. The group couldn¡¯t defeat these people even if they were at their prime, let alone right now after they had just fought against the Jade Moon Serpent and were severely wounded.

    Bi Linglong wasparatively moreposed. She did her best to calm herself down. She raised her head proudly toward the enemy leader and asked, ¡°How did you all enter the dungeon? There¡¯s no way the emperor or my father would have let you all in.¡±

    That was also what everyone present was confused about. Zu An remembered the Gu n brothers¡¯ ¡®curse¡¯ before they died. Back then, they had just thought that was just their resentment before death, but it seemed as if King Qi really did have more cards to y after all. But the key was, how had these people gotten in? This didn¡¯t make any sense!

    Guardian Weiughed and said, ¡°Indeed, with all of you guarding the entrance, there would be no way for us to get in. But just because we couldn¡¯t have entered at this time doesn¡¯t mean we couldn¡¯t have entered at any other time!¡±

    Bi Linglong was shocked and blurted out, ¡°Then three years ago, you¡­¡±

    ¡°Correct!¡± Wei Pingyang stroked his beard. ¡°Three years ago when the academy dungeon opened, King Qi found a way to bring us in. That time didn¡¯t involve the crown prince¡¯s great exam, so the examination wasn¡¯t as strict. Do you know how we spent these years? We only had beasts to keep uspany day after day, and we almost went mad. Fortunately, you guys finally arrived, ha ha ha!¡±

    Zu An was stupefied. King Qi really was a deeply scheming man; he had actually nned for this three years ago! King Qi Manor had looked like it was at a disadvantage, but perhaps they had looked weak on purpose precisely for the emperor to agree to this great exam! What a crafty old bastard!

    When Zu An realized that this was the type of person he had offended, a chill ran down his back. It was probably only because most of King Qi¡¯s attention was on the emperor and crown prince that he hadn¡¯t gone after Zu An yet. Once this test was over, things would be really troublesome once King Qi really decided to target him.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but look down on the emperor. Was having the title of ¡®world¡¯s number one¡¯ behind him really all that? The emperor waspletely being toyed with in the palm of King Qi¡¯s hand.

    Judging from King Qi¡¯s schemes, he was clearly someone who nned things far in advance. Who knew just how many traps he had lying in wait? Comparatively speaking, the emperor was vastly inferior. Ever since they had entered the dungeon, their group had been led around by the nose the entire time.

    If not for me, the Gu n brothers and Shi Tong alone would¡¯ve already been enough to wipe out the entire group.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Wait¡­ The emperor didn¡¯t do absolutely nothing. I guess he sent a golden token envoy like me inside to protect the crown prince and princess.

    Originally, his cultivation would already have been enough to settle this situation. But the emperor hadn¡¯t expected King Qi to have nned this far ahead either, to have actually arranged for these experts toe in three years ago.

    Bi Linglong said in a clear voice, ¡°Wei Pingyang, you have quite the nerve. Do you think his majesty won¡¯t be able to find out what happened just because you killed our people here? All things will inevitably leave behind a trail.¡±

    The others felt admiration. No wonder she was the crown princess chosen by his majesty! The natural presence she possessed was definitely not something a normal girl couldpare to.

    Whether it was when they had faced the ninth ranked Jade Moon Serpent or now, when she was facing a master rank expert, she had always remained the calmest and bravest out of all of them, silently granting everyone courage.

    Wei Pingyangughed and said, ¡°Crown princess, there¡¯s no need for you to scare me. Why would King Qi not know about this? All those here with me are warriors who were recorded to have died in battle over the years. They¡¯re people who shouldn¡¯t exist anymore. How will his majesty find out then?¡±

    Bi Linglong frowned. King Qi really was thorough! Who knew how many years of preparation this kind of thing had taken? She looked at him coldly. ¡°They might not exist in the records anymore, but what about you? There¡¯s no way you can just be ¡®missing¡¯ or dead, right?¡±

    Wei Pingyang¡¯s smile faded. ¡°That¡¯s not something you need to worry about. Once I kill all of you, naturally, no one will know about my existence anymore.¡±

    ] Pika¡¯s ThoughtsThe beginning of this chapter is recapping previous events in more detail, which is why it seems to repeat the end of the previous chapter.

 Chapter 829: Do You Dare to Fight Against Me?

    <h4>Chapter 829: Do You Dare to Fight Against Me?</h4>

    Bi Linglong¡¯s face paled, but she still held her head high. ¡°Do you think you¡¯ve already won? We were even able to kill a ninth ranked beast just now; it¡¯s hard to say who woulde out on top if we fought. I advise you not to make that huge mistake. If we really fight, we might not be your match, but letting one or two people escape won¡¯t be too difficult. Once we leave the dungeon, King Qi¡¯s schemes will be known to the world and his majesty will have enough reason to end him. Then, all of your prospects will be finished as well.

    ¡°So why don¡¯t you renounce the darkness and seek the light? If you surrender to us, I¡¯ll not only let bygones be bygones, but also consider you the greatest contributor to bringing down King Qi. Whether it¡¯s time, authority, wealth, or cultivation resources, all of it will be yours. That has to be better than just being a follower of King Qi Manor, and then falling together with him, right?¡±

    Wei Pingyang was surprised. ¡°I have to say, crown princess, your words are quite tempting. Even I¡¯m a bit moved.¡±

    Bi Linglong didn¡¯t feel happy hearing those words at all, because his words implied that he would still refuse her proposal.

    ¡°If I really let you all go, killing you and the crown prince will indeed lose meaning. However, since King Qi set up this kind of n, how could he not have made other preparations?¡± Wei Pingyang sighed. ¡°Crown princess, are you rambling on here because you want to stall for some time, so your subordinates can recover a bit? But since I¡¯ve seen through your schemes, why do you think I¡¯m still chatting here with you?¡±

    Bi Linglong¡¯s expression finally changed. Don¡¯t tell me¡­

    Wei Pingyang cracked a grin, revealing his yellow teeth. ¡°The crown prince already ran away earlier. Say, why do you think he returned?¡±

    Gao Ying was shocked. ¡°Then don¡¯t tell me the sudden appearance of those beasts was because of you?!¡±

    ¡°Of course. We secretly chased those beasts to where you would have to go.¡± Wei Pingyang looked rather proud of what he¡¯d done. ¡°We wanted those beasts to just finish you all off, but I didn¡¯t expect your group to have some skill, fighting fearlessly the entire time. In that case, I had no choice but to intervene personally.¡±

    The group¡¯s spirits sank to rock bottom when they heard Wei Pingyang¡¯s words. They couldn¡¯t even win against these people in front of them. Judging from what he was saying, there were even more people¡­

    Suddenly, a figure quickly rushed out of the encirclement with a scream. The Meng n¡¯s camp was in chaos, because the one who was running was their own young master, Meng Pan! They were currentlypletely trapped. The ns¡¯ warriors were supposed to act in coordination with their own young masters, but the crown prince and princess were here. If Meng Pan ran, wouldn¡¯t that make him a deserter?

    ¡°Bastard Meng, do you have any sense of shame?!¡± Zhao Xi eximed furiously, pointing at Meng Pan and cursing.

    They were already at a disadvantage, and Meng Pan was one of their strongest members. But he was running? Unfortunately, they had to concentrate on Wei Pingyang and the others¡¯ attack right now and didn¡¯t dare to chase after him. Otherwise, their formation would be disorderly and everything would copse. They could only hope that Wei Pingyang¡¯s men would stop Meng Pan now. For better or for worse, that might exhaust some of the enemy¡¯s men.

    Bi Linglong felt dispirited. She wasn¡¯t all that upset, because at this point, having Meng Pan with them or not didn¡¯t make much of a difference. On the contrary, if he really managed to escape and talked about the things that had happened here, leading his majesty to take revenge, that would be worth it.

    That was why she instead looked expectantly in the direction Meng Pan was running in. She had to admit that for a sixth rank cultivator, Meng Pan was quite fast. He had rushed out of the ¡®barbarian¡¯ encirclement in just a few moments.

    But what was strange was that no one from Wei Pingyang¡¯s side tried to stop him. His subordinates didn¡¯t seem to see Meng Pan at all and only focused on the remaining people.

    Meng Pan was overjoyed. He had carefully chosen this moment to run because he knew that King Qi Manor¡¯s people would have to deal with the crown prince and princess first. Those who hade to assist the crown prince were all the best warriors of the different ns. Even though they had just fought a great battle, they still retained some strength. Furthermore, with someone as powerful as Zu An here, even if Wei Pingyang was at the master rank, it wouldn¡¯t be that easy for him to win.

    That was why he figured they probably wouldn¡¯t have the time to bother with him. As for whether or not his escape would affect their morale, that was already none of his business.

    Hmph, at the very least, the Meng n¡¯s warriors are staying behind to help. He continued to console himself. He had already begun to think about how he was going to exin things to his majesty once he escaped alone.

    Suddenly, his eyes bulged out and he frantically clutched his throat, his legs kicking from side to side. It seemed as if there were an invisible hand clutching his throat.

    Wei Pingyang revealed a rxed smile, saying, ¡°You¡¯re finally here.¡±

    A voice slowly said, ¡°If I hadn¡¯te, you would have let a living mouth get away.¡±

    A tall figure slowly walked out of the woods. He was dressed in white robes, his long beard flowing in front of him. He gave off an aloof and majestic presence.

    Bi Linglong¡¯s entire body trembled. There was a bit of despair in her voice as she eximed, ¡°Lu Xiao!¡±

    The one in front of them was the head of King Qi Manor¡¯s guardians, the one who was rumored to have reached the mid stage of the master rank, Lu Xiao!

    Two more individuals appeared from other directions just then. One of them had a huge red mark on his face; his appearance was sinister and ugly. With such distinctive traits, he could naturally be none other than King Qi Manor¡¯s fifth guardian, the mid stage ninth ranked Mu Ping. The other one had a big head and had a mischievous expression on his face. This was King Qi Manor¡¯s third guardian, the peak stage ninth ranked He Li.

    Bi Linglongughed in distress. ¡°Four of King Qi Manor¡¯s five guardians were sent out at the same time? Looks like King Qi really is showing us quite a bit of respect here.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t just the four powerful guardians; there were many strong warriors here as well. In reality, such an army alongside any one of the guardians would have been enough topletely wipe out the group, let alone this powerful lineup!

    Lu Xiao smiled. ¡°King Qi never fights battles he doesn¡¯t have confidence in winning. Our king always holds back until there¡¯s a chance to strike, making t hat the fatal blow. This old one originally thought he was being a bit excessive, but after witnessing the crown princess¡¯ courageousmand, I had to praise King Qi¡¯s foresight once again.¡±

    Bi Linglong had a bitter smile on her face. ¡°I¡¯m but a young junior; I don¡¯t deserve such praise from a powerful master.¡±

    At the same time, she transmitted her voice to Zu An. ¡°Ah Zu, you should find a chance to run. Inform his majesty about the things that happened here. You¡¯re the only one out of all of us who has a chance of aplishing this.¡±

    Zu An said with a serious expression, ¡°I¡¯ll bring you with me!¡± He couldn¡¯t be bothered with everyone else. Furthermore, he didn¡¯t have a high chance of getting away, even if he just took Bi Linglong alone. There were two master ranks, two ninth ranks, and a whole army. If Mi Li helped him here, there might still be a chance, but she didn¡¯t pay him any attention even when he tried to talk to her.

    Bi Linglong shook her head. ¡°The crown prince is here, and all of my men are here. How can I run by myself?¡±

    Suddenly, there was a resounding crack. The struggling Meng Pan was crushed into a lump, and then flung into the air,nding at Bi Linglong¡¯s feet.

    Lu Xiao said indifferently, ¡°I¡¯ve always despised these cowardly people the most, so I¡¯ll return him to the crown princess out of my respect for you.¡±

    Zu An shivered inwardly. Lu Xiao¡¯s hands had been behind him the entire time, yet the mid stage sixth ranked Meng Pan had been grabbed by a pair of invisible hands. He hadn¡¯t had the slightest bit of strength to resist.

    Killing a sixth rank expert was even easier for Lu Xiao than ughtering a chicken; he didn¡¯t even have to use his hands. Was this the power of a master rank expert?

    Bi Linglong said coldly, ¡°I was the one who gave young master Meng the order to escape and make a report to his majesty. How could he be someone greedy for life? On the contrary, you killed a loyal official. This is a crime deserving of a thousand deaths.¡±

    She knew the other party was saying that on purpose to lower the Meng n soldiers¡¯ morale. After all, if even their master was cowardly, then what were they even supposed to fight for as subordinates? That was why she quickly deflected the usations toward Meng Pan and immediately steadied their hearts.

    Sure enough, the dispirited Meng n warriors were immediately filled with fighting spirit. Their eyes burned with anger as they stared at Lu Xiao. This person had killed and ndered the Meng n¡¯s young master!

    Lu Xiao was stunned, but then he chuckled and said, ¡°The crown princess is wise as expected. Unfortunately, all tricks are meaningless before absolute strength.¡±

    ¡°Absolute strength?¡± Bi Linglong had a strange expression on her face. ¡°Since your distinguished self believes that you possess absolute strength, do you dare fight against me in a fair battle?¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

 Chapter 830: The Bride with White Hair

    <h4>Chapter 830: The Bride with White Hair</h4>

    Everyone from King Qi Manorughed when they heard what Bi Linglong said. What kind of joke was this? Lu Xiao was King Qi Manor¡¯s number one expert, a mid stage master rank! He was one of the best even in the capital.

    Even though Bi Linglong wasn¡¯t bad for her age, she was still too young. She wasn¡¯t someone of the same level as Lu Xiao at all. To put it a bit more bluntly, any random disciple of Lu Xiao¡¯s would be enough to take out Bi Linglong.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Lu Xiaoughed. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that the crown princess is smart and quick-witted. Today, I didn¡¯t expect to find out that you were even better at telling jokes.¡±

    His smile faded as he said, ¡°You don¡¯t possess the qualifications to fight against me.¡± His tone was calm without any anger, as if he were talking about something that couldn¡¯t be simpler.

    Everyone from the Eastern Pce was baffled as well. They couldn¡¯t figure out why the crown princess would make such a demand. After all, Meng Pan¡¯s cultivation was above the crown princess¡¯, but Lu Xiao hadn¡¯t even had to use his hands to kill him. Wasn¡¯t the crown princess just throwing her life away here?

    Zu An looked at Bi Linglong with a frown. However, he didn¡¯t say anything, because he knew she wasn¡¯t the type to speak without thinking.

    Sure enough, Bi Linglong stepped forward and looked coldly at Lu Xiao. ¡°I¡¯ll only strike once with my sword. Let¡¯s talk about qualifications if you can survive.¡±

    After she spoke, she pointed at the flower mark between her brows, and a burst of golden light erupted from it. Then, her figure slowly rose into the air. Her meticulouslybed hairpletely dispersed. Her fine ck hair fluttered in the wind, making her look like a goddess that had descended from the heavens to rain down punishment.

    ¡°Ninth rank? Or maybe master rank?¡± Wei Pingyang and the others from King Qi Manor were horrified. Everyone knew only those at the ninth rank could fly like this. Could it be that the crown princess was actually at the ninth rank or higher? How was that possible?

    But reality forced them to believe it, because they could feel Bi Linglong¡¯s aura bing more powerful. A terrifying pressure descended. The people nearest to her were already shivering uncontrobly and kneeling on the ground. Even Zu An found it a bit hard to handle with his cultivation, and he subconsciously took a few steps back.

    ¡°The emperor¡¯s aura?¡± Zu An eximed, looking at Bi Linglong in horror. This aura was too familiar! When the Embroidered Envoy had used the imperial decree in Brightmoon City, the emperor¡¯s power had left him with a deep psychological shadow.

    Zu An had seen the flower mark between Bi Linglong¡¯s brows many times. Back then, he had only taken it to be some decoration. After all, many of the court beauties had simr decorations, so he hadn¡¯t thought too much about it. How could he have known that it would be a seal that hid a formidable ultimate move?

    The smile on Lu Xiao¡¯s face instantly froze, and he could no longer remain calm. He quickly raised his hands and a transparent energy barrier appeared, surrounding him. He didn¡¯t rx at all afterward, however. He knew that he had already been targeted by that terrifying aura. Every cell in his body was telling him that the situation was incredibly dangerous.

    He didn¡¯t dare to treat it lightly, so he drew on all of his cultivation. Soon afterward, sevenyers of protection formed around him, as well as a sword that floated above his head. This was a magic weapon he was soulbound to, one he had pledged to live and die with.

    At that moment, Bi Linglong opened her eyes. Her gaze was filled with emptiness, as if she were an empress who ruled over all. Behind her was a faintly visible golden figure.

    ¡°Your majesty!¡± Even though that figure was blurry, the onlookers could still vaguely make out who it was. Furthermore, with that distinctive aura, everyone from King Qi Manor finally realized what was going on.

    In that instant, all of them were scared witless. The emperor¡¯s might as the most powerful cultivator in the world was deeply embedded within their hearts. No one dared to fight against the emperor, even if they were already at the master rank.

    ¡°Linglong is so awesome! Kill them all!¡± the crown prince cheered excitedly. The others from the Eastern Pce also encouraged her. They no longer despaired as they had before.

    It turned out that the emperor still had this trump card to y! With the emperor here, everyone else was insignificant!

    Zu An was the only one who was still extremely worried. Would Bi Linglong be able to handle the power needed for such a strong move? She had only recently broken through into the sixth rank, after all!

    The decrees of the Embroidered Envoy were different. Back then, they had used the intricate runes on the decree tomunicate with the power of the world, and then used that to bring down the emperor¡¯s divine will.

    But Bi Linglong¡¯s move was different. The dungeon was a world of its own, and not even the emperor¡¯s divine will could cross worlds. As such, this had to have been something the emperor left for Bi Linglong. However, how could there not be a price to pay if the flesh were used to release such great power?

    Just then, Bi Linglong finally moved. She raised the sword in her hand and gently swung it in Lu Xiao¡¯s direction. At the same time, the projection behind her also shed out. A giant wave of sword ki rushed out, seemingly transcending the concept of space and time to appear in front of Lu Xiao.

    The sevenyers of protection Lu Xiao had set up melted like paper. Then, the sword light cleaved into the sword above his head. His sword managed to hold on for a second, and then it broke apart inch by inch.

    With his soulbound sword in pieces, blood gushed out from Lu Xiao¡¯s mouth. His originally rosyplexion instantly became as white as snow. However, he didn¡¯t have any time to steady his breathing and instead raised his hands to try and stop the wave of sword ki.

    Boom!

    With a loud explosion, dust flew everywhere.

    A groove several dozen meters long appeared where Lu Xiao had been. The nearby trees and rocks were all turned to powder from the attack. As for the King Qi Manor experts who were next to Lu Xiao, they directly vanished from the face of the world.

    The others merely watched in horror. The power of this sword was actually that terrifying!?

    Wei Pingyang and the others subconsciously backed up. Not even Lu Xiao could take this sword, so what were the rest of them supposed to do?

    Just then, the golden light in the sky grew dim. Then, with a groan, a figure fell from the sky.

    ¡°Linglong!¡± Zu An had been watching silently the entire time. When he saw her fall, he immediately flew over to catch her. However, he immediately jumped in fright when he saw her condition.

    Her hair had been a fine ck a second ago, yet now, her glossy and soft hair hadpletely turned white. Her skin that had sparkled like jade was now dull in color. The attack just then had clearly used up a lot of her life essence.

    Bi Linglong slowly opened her eyes when she heard Zu An rushed breathing. When she saw that it was Zu An who was holding her, she felt a bit more at ease. However, she remembered something and quickly asked, ¡°Am I old and ugly now?¡±

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°You¡¯re just as pretty as before; no, you¡¯re even prettier right now.¡±

    Bi Linglong sighed deeply. ¡°You love to trick others, just as always. When he gave me this flower mark, his majesty told me that it was powerful, but I shouldn¡¯t use it unless absolutely necessary. Otherwise, the lightest consequence would be to age greatly; the more serious one would be to die immediately.¡±

    Zu An cursed inwardly. That damn emperor, why are you giving someone something with such huge side effects? Aren¡¯t you scamming them here? When he sensed the sadness in her eyes, he quickly said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Even though your body is weak right now, you won¡¯t lose your life. You¡¯ll recover if you rest a bit.¡±

    ¡°With my beauty already faded, what meaning is there left even if I recover?¡± Bi Linglong¡¯s voice was quiet and sad as she touched her white hair.

    Zu An knew that the more beautiful the woman, the more they cared about their looks, let alone Bi Linglong who had married into the royal family. What her appearance represented went without saying.

    He consoled her with a smile. ¡°You don¡¯t have to feel so bad. Forget about whether or not your white hair can recover; even if it doesn¡¯t, so what? Doesn¡¯t it look pretty good? I¡¯ll tell you the story of ¡®The Bride with White Hair¡¯ next time. I really like that story¡¯s main character.¡±

    Bi Linglong blushed. ¡°What am I going to do with you? Your tastes are so weird.¡±

    The others were still in shock from the power of that strike, and many of them still hadn¡¯t recovered from their daze, so they didn¡¯t notice Zu An and Bi Linglong¡¯s interaction.

    Suddenly, a voice eximed with a bitterugh, ¡°Hahaha! I¡¯m still alive! I¡¯m still alive!¡±

    Bi Linglong¡¯s expression changed. She quickly turned to look in the direction of the sound. She saw a bloody man crawl out from the deep gorge with almost no part of his skin intact. His left arm was nowhere to be seen. However, he still wasn¡¯t dead.

    ¡°Brother Lu!¡± Wei Pingyang and the others from King Qi Manor all cheered.

    Lu Xiao red at Bi Linglong, his eyes filled with resentment. ¡°What a pity, what a pity! Your cultivation was too low and you couldn¡¯t bring out the full power of that sword. Furthermore, this dungeon is its own world, severing your connection with the emperor. That¡¯s why I survived! However, you ended up destroying my soulbound sword, and I¡¯ll never be able to recover my severed arm. I¡¯ll make sure to properly take my revenge for this on your body!¡±

    Normally speaking, after the seventh rank, cultivators would obtain the power of self-regeneration. As long as key areas like the head were unharmed, they could still slowly recover. Regrowing a severed arm wasn¡¯t anything too difficult either. However, his arm had been severed by the emperor¡¯s aura. Unless he couldpletely expel the emperor¡¯s aura from his body, there was no hope for him to ever regrow that arm back.

    But if he wanted to remove the emperor¡¯s aura, who in this world had such an ability?

 Chapter 831: Whatâ€™s Wrong with Lending My Wife?

    <h4>Chapter 831: What¡¯s Wrong with Lending My Wife?</h4>

    Lu Xiao was no longer as aloof and indifferent as he had been. His eyes were filled with resentment. However, no one could still remain calm after experiencing what he had just experienced.

    When they saw that Lu Xiao was still alive, everyone from the Eastern Pce felt as if they had dropped down from heaven straight to hell.

    Bi Linglong quickly said to Zu An, ¡°You should hurry and run; don¡¯t worry about us¡­ Huh?¡± Suddenly, she noticed that Zu An was no longer at her side. With the sh of an afterimage, Zu An was already in front of Lu Xiao.

    The others were in despair, but he wasn¡¯t. He keenly sensed that even though Lu Xiao was still alive, he was currently seriously wounded and had no way of fighting back at the moment. The longer Zu An waited, the more troublesome it would be once Lu Xiao recovered.

    Lu Xiao hadn¡¯t expected Zu An to be so fast either. His expression was filled with rm as he backed up in panic. Normally speaking, with his cultivation, avoiding such an attack was extremely easy. However, he was seriously injured. The fact that he could survive had been a miracle in itself. How could he possibly block the attack just then?

    Zu An¡¯s sword was about to cut through Lu Xiao¡¯s throat, but just then, a streak of light shed past. With a ¡®Ding!¡¯, the sword that would have taken Lu Xiao¡¯s life was knocked aside.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An felt a huge force ripple through his de, and almost lost his grip on the Tai¡¯e Sword. However, he didn¡¯t hesitate and continued to stab at Lu Xiao. He wanted to use this excellent opportunity to kill a master rank cultivator. He gave up on using the Snowke Sword¡¯s techniques and instead changed to the Bixie Swordy. He wanted to kill his target as quickly as possible.

    Zu An¡¯s body turned into a whirl of afterimages that continuously hacked at Lu Xiao¡¯s vitals. Unfortunately, his attacks were always stopped by that streak of light. No matter what kinds of crazy angles he attacked from, what kinds of tricks he used, that streak of light always intercepted his attack.

    Zu An stopped moving, giving up on his offense. He realized that his attacks were all futile.

    Just then, a person slowly floated over. That streak of light returned to his side, screaming as it cut through the air. It was a flying sword.

    Mi Li¡¯s voice said, ¡°Those at the master rank begin cultivating the soul. Their divine will covers the entire battlefield, so none of your moves can escape his detection. That¡¯s why he was able to block all of your attacks ahead of time.¡±

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but sigh in relief when he heard her familiar voice. ¡°Big sis empress, you¡¯re finally awake.¡±

    Mi Li merely grunted in response. She became silent again, as if she were thinking to herself. However, Zu An couldn¡¯t be bothered with that. He hurriedly asked, ¡°Do I have a chance at winning?¡±

    ¡°Nope,¡± Mi Li said without any trace of politeness.

    Zu An was speechless. ¡°Even with all of my abilities?¡± he added, not willing to give up.

    ¡°It¡¯s because of your abilities that you might be able to barely run. Otherwise, you¡¯d be dead several times over.¡± Mi Li harrumphed. ¡°This time, your enemy is different from before. There¡¯s a fundamental difference between the master rank and the ninth rank. There¡¯s nowhere for you to run under the coverage of their divine will, so all of your attacks and evasion will be meaningless. If it were just a single master rank, with your ridiculous abilities, you would have a shot. But there are two right now, as well as two at the ninth rank and a group of seventh and eighth ranked warriors. What are you going to even fight all of them with?

    ¡°I advise you to start running while Lu Xiao still hasn¡¯t recovered yet. You might be able to keep your life then. Otherwise, once he recovers, you won¡¯t even be able to run away.¡±

    Zu An turned around and gave the distant Bi Linglong, as well as his friends Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun from the Eastern Pce, a look. He fell silent.

    Lu Xiao and Wei Pingyang also began to chat with each other. ¡°I would already be a corpse if you waited any longer,¡± Lu Xiao said, his voice full of resentment. He had clearly been scared quite badly just then.

    ¡°Brother Lu, please don¡¯t be upset. Didn¡¯t I hurry over in time?¡± Wei Pingyang replied with a smile. At the same time, his gaze moved to Lu Xiao¡¯s missing arm. He said with a sigh, ¡°The emperor only left a bit of his aura on her, yet it was still so powerful. It truly is frightening.¡±

    Lu Xiao nodded, still feeling lingering fear. ¡°Thankfully, this dungeon has been a bit strange recently. It seems to have been able to cut off that strand of the emperor¡¯s aura from the outside world. If we were in the outside world, I wouldn¡¯t have just lost an arm.¡±

    ¡°Looks like the heavens are on King Qi¡¯s side,¡± Wei Pingyang said with a smile. ¡°Brother Lu, how long do you need to recover?¡±

    ¡°An hour. I¡¯ll be able to fight again in an hour. However¡­¡± Lu Xiao looked at his bare left shoulder. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to recover this left arm.¡±

    High rank cultivators all had powerful regeneration abilities. At the master rank, the speed of their recovery would be even faster. Even though his wounds looked terrifying, the only things he had lost were his soulbound sword and his arm. Recovering from his other injuries wasn¡¯t too difficult.

    Wei Pingyang was actually secretly happy to see that. Lu Xiao had always been above him all these years, but after what had just happened today, even if Lu Xiao recovered, his cultivation rank would fall a bit. The position of King Qi Manor¡¯s number one guardian might fall to him.

    King Qi had always strictly forbidden internal conflict. With so many people watching, he had no choice but to save Lu Xiao. Otherwise, he would have been more than happy to see him die.

    ¡°Alright, you just rest up well, Brother Lu. I¡¯ll protect you.¡± He stood at Lu Xiao¡¯s side. Then, he waved his hands, indicating for his subordinates to surround the other party.

    ¡°Crown princess, why don¡¯t you let this humble Wei experience your sword too?¡± Wei Pingyang¡¯s voice carried a bit of ridicule. He clearly knew that Bi Linglong definitely couldn¡¯t use her sword again in her current state.

    Bi Linglong was upset, but she wasn¡¯t in the mood to retort either. Instead, she calmly looked at her subordinates and said, ¡°Everyone, we¡¯ll most likely die here. I¡¯m alright with all of you defecting to King Qi Manor. Linglong won¡¯t feel any resentment toward your choice.¡±

    Zhao Xi roared withughter. ¡°What is the crown princess saying? We¡¯re all courageous men who were selected to participate in this mission by our ns. How can we bow and bend our knees here? Furthermore, what happened today is so big; how can it not leak out? Rather than surrendering and dying in such a sullen manner, we might as well fight to our heart¡¯s content to the end.¡±

    Zu An nodded inwardly. Even though Zhao Xi looked like he was rather boorish, there was a good side to him.

    There were actually many people who had been tempted just then. However, when they heard what Zhao Xi said, all of them threw away those thoughts and roared out, ¡°We¡¯ll fight to the death! To the death!¡±

    Wei Pingyang sneered. ¡°You deserve praise for your courage. It¡¯s a pity that it¡¯s all meaningless.¡± He gestured with his hand and coldly ordered, ¡°Don¡¯t leave even a single one alive!¡±

    Arrows rained down and King Qi Manor¡¯s deathsworn soldiers roared as they charged forward, ¡°ughter them all!¡±

    ¡°Maintain the formation!¡± Bi Linglong was extremely weak at the moment, to the extent where she could only barely stand by leaning against Zu An. However, she still continued tomand her people.

    These were the elites of different ns. When they grouped up together, they would still be strong. But if the formation became disorderly, they would really be sheep awaiting ughter.

    The crown princess was practically lying on another man¡¯s body, yet no one from the Eastern Pce voiced any objections. Instead, it was as if this were how it should be. They maintained their formation to stop King Qi Manor¡¯s charge.

    It was instead Wei Pingyang whomented, ¡°Zhao Ruizhi, Zhao Ruizhi, your wife is lying in the arms of another man, yet you don¡¯t seem the least bit concerned? For you to be the crown prince really is the shame of the royal n. I¡¯d advise you to just abdicate your position and let King Qi take your ce.¡±

    The crown prince was stunned. He raised his head to look at the floating Wei Pingyang, asking, ¡°Your wife can¡¯t be in the arms of another man?¡±

    Wei Pingyangughed mockingly. ¡°Obviously!¡±

    ¡°Then where is your wife right now?¡± the crown prince asked out of curiosity.

    ¡°My wife is obviously in our home outside.¡± Wei Pingyang harrumphed.

    The crown prince replied, ¡°Didn¡¯t you guys say you were in this dungeon for many years already? You never went home. Maybe your wife is already in the arms of another man.¡±

    ¡°What did you say?!¡± Wei Pingyang¡¯s face immediately became bright red. He had never expected to be embarrassed like this by a fool.

    The crown prince continued, ¡°Big bro Zu has always been good to me, and he saved my life several times; he¡¯s my good friend. What¡¯s wrong with lending him my wife for a bit? It¡¯s instead you who keeps bullying me and Linglong. Once this crown prince leaves, I¡¯ll definitely eradicate your entire n and make your wife lie in the arms of other men!¡±

    ¡°Puahaha!¡± Even some people from King Qi Manor couldn¡¯t help butugh.

    ¡°You dare to anger me?¡± Wei Pingyang was so angry smoke wasing out from his ears. ¡°Damn fatty, are you tired of living?¡±

    A streak of light flew at the crown prince¡¯s chest as soon as he finished speaking.

 Chapter 832, (1): Inevitable Death

    <h4>Chapter 832, (1): Inevitable Death</h4>

    What the hell does ¡®lending for a bit¡¯ mean? Bi Linglong was so angry she almost fainted. Even wives can be lent out? Even though she didn¡¯t really mind if it was Zu An, it really was too embarrassing in front of all of these people. Before she even had a chance to scold him, however, a streak of light flew at the crown prince¡¯s chest. She cried out in rm.

    Zu An reacted even faster than her. His figure shed and reappeared by the crown prince¡¯s side as he blocked the attack with the Tai¡¯e Sword. He shook his hand to ease the soreness. The flying sword of a master rank cultivator really was hard to block. His hand was even going numb.

    The crown prince pped his hands and shouted, ¡°Big bro Zu is so awesome! Beat that bad guy to death!¡±

    Zu An forced a bitter smile. How could it be that easy to take out someone at the master rank?

    Wei Pingyang roared withughter. ¡°This is the first time I¡¯ve seen a husband so close to his wife¡¯s boyfriend. You guys have really widened my world view.¡±

    Bi Linglong was so angry her entire body was shuddering. ¡°Wei Pingyang, you¡¯re still a master rank for better or for worse. Why is your mouth so foul? You¡¯re just like a scoundrel from the streets.¡±

    Wei Pingyang coldly replied, ¡°What can I say? I had to lower myself to you juniors¡¯ level. Kill them; leave none alive!¡±

    He gestured for the other two guardians He Li and Mu Ping, as well as their subordinates, to make their move. He stopped attacking the crown prince as well and focused on the shield formation.

    The shields were special, with an exquisite protection formation on them. However, under the attacks of a master rank cultivator, they became as weak as paper-mache. The Eastern Pce¡¯s formation cracked apart, and a wide hole instantly opened. King Qi¡¯s deathsworn soldiers roared as they charged at the opening.

    The men from both sides engaged each other inbat, and flesh and blood immediately flew in all directions.

    Zu An didn¡¯t dare to act carelessly. He quickly rushed over to stop Wei Pingyang¡¯s flying sword in order to stop him from damaging their formation further. If the formation broke down, there really would be no point in continuing this battle.

    On the other side, King Qi¡¯s deathsworn soldiers were led by He Li and Mu Ping, two ninth ranked experts. They cleaved through the crown prince¡¯s men like tigers among a flock of sheep.

    Zhao Xi roared furiously, ¡°Our King Liang Manor isn¡¯t so easily bullied!¡± He crushed a jade pendant and his aura became much stronger, actually shooting up to around the eighth rank.

    His father King Liang was at the master rank. He had given his son a protection treasure before sending him into the dungeon, telling him to use it in a dire situation. They were now in just such a situation.

    The habitually silent Gao Ying roared furiously. His eyes shone with red light and his aura also began to grow stronger.

    Pei Youughed indifferently. ¡°Are you going to burn up your blood essence? I know how to do that as well!¡±

    He stretched out his palm in front of him, and then drew his sword across it. His palm became covered in blood. He struck his own chest with his hand, and countless runes flickered. Hisplexion had been pale to begin with, but now, it was already deathly white like a ghost from theherworld. However, his aura instead simrly rose to the eighth rank. Even though it was extremely unsteady, he was now at the eighth rank!

    With the three of them joining hands, they barely managed to hold off the two powerful cultivators, He Li and Mu Ping.

    Zu An watched the events out of the corner of his eye, feeling a great sense of gloom. Back then, in Brightmoon City¡¯s Ursae Dungeon, Chu Chuyan had used simr forbidden arts. These were probably the trump cards of the different ns, which could temporarily raise the users¡¯ strength.

    However, the side effects were great too. After Chu Chuyan used her skill, all of her meridians had been destroyed, and she had be aplete cripple. Even though he didn¡¯t know what Zhao Xi and the others¡¯ forbidden arts were, the consequences were probably not much better.

    They hadn¡¯t even used those arts when they faced the ninth ranked Jade Moon Serpent. It seemed they had all realized that they were already at the brink of death.

    After the two ninth ranked cultivators were stopped, the pressure the Eastern Pce¡¯s warriors faced immediately decreased considerably.

    However, King Qi Manor had prepared abundantly. The deathsworn soldiers were all trained well. Furthermore, there were a few at the seventh and eighth rank. The Eastern Pce¡¯s warriors were still at a disadvantage. If not for Bi Linglong giving themmands, ying to their strengths, it might have already been a one-sided massacre.

    But tactics could only make up for a bit of the difference in strength. They couldn¡¯t change the huge gap in strength. Soon afterward, the Eastern Pce¡¯s men began to fall one after another.

    An Eastern Pce guard¡¯s chest was pierced by a spear. However, he clung bitterly to the spear shaft, enduring the intense pain and continuing to walk forward, allowing it to pass through his body. He tried to close the distance and brandish his de, wishing to bring down his enemy with him.

    The warrior on the other side was rmed. He couldn¡¯t pull out his spear no matter what he did. However, he was a seasoned soldier as well. When his opponent approached, he kicked at his stomach and sent him flying back.

    After suffering two serious blows, the Eastern Pce guard¡¯s life was finally finished. In his final moment before death, his eyes were wide open and filled with reluctance, as if he had died with remaining grievances because he couldn¡¯t drag his opponent down with him.

    ¡°Jing Yanbao!¡± Piao Duandiao felt as if his eye sockets were splitting. This person was his subordinate, and they usually went drinking and whoring together. They were more like intimate friends.

    His face was covered in blood, and it was unknown whether it was his or his enemy¡¯s. He charged over with a roar, his de sending the deathsworn soldier¡¯s head flying. But at the same time, several of King Qi¡¯s warriors cut into his body. If not for the fact he was the Eastern Pce¡¯s guard leader, so his armor was higher quality, he might have already been chopped into pieces.

    Jiao Sigun quickly rushed over. The two faced their enemies back to back. However, there were just too many enemies. Their bodies were cut here and stabbed there. They grew weaker and weaker, eventually reaching a point where they almost couldn¡¯t even raise their own weapons anymore.

    Just then, one of King Qi¡¯s deathsworn soldiers leapt out. The de in his hands flickered with radiance and hacked at the pair¡¯s necks. He clearly wished to get revenge for hispanion, to let them have a taste of what being beheaded felt like.

    Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun saw the de from the corners of their eyes, but they no longer had the strength to evade. They decided to just not worry about it and use all of their remaining strength on the enemies closest to them.

    But at that moment, a flicker of sword light appeared. The warrior had already lost his life in the middle of his leap. Then, a chill spread outward. The dozen or so deathsworn soldiers that surrounded them were turned into frozen sculptures.

    ¡°Big bro Zu!¡± The two of them were shocked and overjoyed. As they looked at Zu An, they felt as if they were looking at a war god. He had said that he would protect them before they entered the dungeon. Now, sure enough, he didn¡¯t go back on his word.

    Although¡­ How many times had he protected them already since they had entered the dungeon? Unfortunately, both of them knew that with how things were right now, there wasn¡¯t going to be a next time. The two of them quickly said, ¡°Big bro Zu, don¡¯t waste your strength on protecting us; hurry and save the crown prince and princess.¡±

    Zu An quickly supported them when he saw that they couldn¡¯t even stand steadily anymore. Then, he carried them to Bi Linglong¡¯s side. He used Grandgale to then rush to Zhao Xi and the others, helping them fend off the two ninth ranked experts before bringing all of them back to the center of the formation.

    ¡°All of you, bring the crown prince and princess out of here! I¡¯ll hold the rear!¡±

    Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun both shook their heads. ¡°Big bro Zu, you should be the one to bring the crown prince and the others out of here. We¡¯ll hold the rear!¡±

    ¡°Indeed, I definitely don¡¯t want to be a deserter in this mission.¡± Pei You normally didn¡¯t care much about appearances. Now, he even wiped off the blood from his face using his clothes.

    Zhao Xi gasped for breath as he said with a chuckle, ¡°I¡¯m not as cowardly as that damn Meng Pan.¡±

    Even though Gao Ying didn¡¯t say anything, the resolute expression in his eyes exined everything.

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°None of you can even stand still anymore. Even if you stay behind, you won¡¯tst much longer. Let me hold the rear, as I can buy you guys more time. You all need to do what you can to run, run as far as you can. If you really can¡¯t escape, just hide in this mountain. As long as you survive, those outside wille inside and investigate.¡±

    ¡°Ah Zu¡­¡± Bi Linglong¡¯s face was filled with grief. She knew what holding up the rear meant.

    The others wanted to say something, but Zu An barked fiercely, ¡°Stop wasting time! Otherwise, no one will be able to escape!¡±

    Gao Ying said seriously, ¡°I¡¯ll stay behind here with you. You might not be able to stop them alone, and we still need tomand these warriors.¡±

    The silent Liu Xian suddenly said, ¡°Cousin, you should leave as well. It¡¯s enough if I stay here.¡±

    ¡°You?¡± The others were shocked when they saw that it was Liu Xian.

    ¡°Why, can¡¯t I?¡± Liu Xian¡¯s face was entirely red. Being looked down on just then was clearly an extremely ufortable feeling. His usual frivolousness was nowhere to be seen, and he said with a serious expression, ¡°I was the one who caused this disaster, so I¡¯ll take responsibility in settling it.¡±

    Afterward, he looked at Gao Ying and said, ¡°I know that in the eyes of the capital¡¯s young masters, I¡¯m a joke, to the extent that they use me as a bad example when educating their kids. I also know I¡¯m not very useful. But cousin, you¡¯re different. Our Liu n doesn¡¯t have many geniuses in the younger generation, so in the future, we¡¯ll need to rely on you to support the Liu n. You can¡¯t die here. Cousin, you¡¯ve always taken good care of me all this time. Now, it¡¯s my turn to take care of you.¡±

    Without another word, he charged back into the battlefield. He eximed, ¡°As a son of the Liu n, burning up blood essence is something I can do as well!¡± His eyes turned entirely red as he spoke. His hair rose on end, and his aura rose as well. Only, it came to a screeching halt halfway. Unlike the others who had reached the eighth rank, his aura stopped at the peak of the sixth rank. It didn¡¯t even reach the seventh rank.

    However, no one presentughed at him. Instead, their eyes were brimming with tears as they looked at his back. In this moment, this prodigal young master whom everyone looked down upon before instead seemed strong and mighty.

    Wei Pingyang sneered. ¡°There¡¯s no need for you all to feel conflicted. No one will be able to leave today!¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed. He reached out his hand and pushed. A huge wave of strength sent Bi Linglong and the others several dozen li away. He stayed behind to stop Wei Pingyang and the others.

    Wei Pingyang sneered. ¡°Mister Zu, you can¡¯t even win against me alone, yet you want to stop all of us? Where do you get your courage from?¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°How would I know that I can¡¯t stop you if I don¡¯t try?¡± Zu An stood there alone with his sword, facing the three guardians of King Qi Manor, Wei Pingyang, He Li, and Mu Ping.

 Chapter 832, (2): Inevitable Death

    <h4>Chapter 832, (2): Inevitable Death</h4>

    Bi Linglong turned around and gave Zu An a deep look. Her fingernails were about to dig into her skin.

    If anything happens to you, I¡¯ll do my best to survive and get revenge for you! I¡¯ll make sure that there is not even a single living soul left in all of King Qi Manor! There was a resolute expression full of hatred in her eyes. Even if Madam Qi was her rtive¡­

    Even so, at that moment, she was praying inwardly, Ah Zu, you have to survive!

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An was being cursed at by Mi Li. ¡°What are you ying the hero for? You can barely get away while Lu Xiao is still powerless. Why would you stay behind and throw your life away?¡±

    Zu An sighed when he saw the different ns¡¯ warriors fighting bravely; even that spoiled Liu Xian was charging courageously through King Qi Manor¡¯s formation. ¡°Big sis empress, what do you think cultivation is?¡±

    ¡°To be stronger, of course.¡± Mi Li didn¡¯t understand why he would suddenly ask such a question.

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°No, in my opinion, cultivation is done so that you can pay back gratitude and vengeance, to defeat those you want to defeat and protect the people you want to protect. These warriors will undoubtedly die, yet they still chose to stay here. If I ran as soon as I faced danger, I would be even less than these warriors who are weaker than me. What meaning would there be left in cultivation for me?¡±

    ¡°But you really might die if you stay!¡± Mi Li understood what he was saying, but her voice became extremely grave.

    Zu An said with augh, ¡°Life will inevitably result in death, so you can either live until a death as heavy as Mt. Tai, or one as light as a goose feather¡­ Furthermore, I¡¯ve always been lucky, so I just might not die here.¡±

    Mi Li was quite shocked when she sensed his strong fighting spirit and desire to survive. She had thought that he was nning to throw his life away out of hot-headedness and never expected him to have thought things out so clearly. Sigh¡­ This guy wants to look cool and be a hero, yet he doesn¡¯t want to make any sacrifices. A win-win situation like this doesn¡¯t exist!

    Zu An was already fighting against the two guardians, He Li and Mu Ping. These two were both ninth ranked cultivators, one at the peak of the ninth rank and one at the mid stage. They didn¡¯t treat Zu An as a big deal at all.

    They thought he was a nobody that they could easily crush, but Zu An¡¯s movement technique was extremely strange, and he knew all sorts of skills and techniques. The two of them were having quite a hard time, and only by working together could they barely hold on.

    The two of them were horrified. Just how old was this kid? Why was his cultivation so formidable? This should have been impossible, even if he had cultivated ever since he came out of his mother¡¯s womb!

    Wei Pingyang had originally nned to chase after Bi Linglong and the others, but he discovered that hispanions actually couldn¡¯t take down Zu An. He stopped out of shock, ordering them, ¡°You two, chase after the crown prince and the others. Leave this one to me.¡±

    He was worried that something might happen if he left these two with Zu An, so he decided to just face him himself. The crown prince¡¯s group was already seriously injured, so two ninth ranked experts should be more than enough to hunt them down.

    The two guardians¡¯ faces turned red. They couldn¡¯t defeat a junior even after fighting all this time! It really was shameful. However, they knew how important this matter was, so they didn¡¯t dare to waste time and let side issues keep growing. Furthermore, if they took out the crown prince and princess, that would be a huge contribution in itself. That was why they only hesitated for a moment before agreeing with Wei Pingyang¡¯s arrangements. They both headed in the direction the crown prince¡¯s group had run toward.

    ¡°The two of you are fighting me!¡± Zu An eximed, using Grandgale to intercept the two of them.

    Wei Pingyang¡¯s face darkened. ¡°No, your opponent is me!¡± The flying sword in front of him turned into a streak of light. It was so fast the sword itself became a blur. It continued to attack Zu An from all sorts of different angles.

    Zu An used the Sunflower Phantasm to dodge left and right. Unfortunately, he was still a bit too slow. Blood sshed out from his body again and again, as he was actually struck several times.

    Wei Pingyang eximed indifferently, ¡°How can a petty firefly¡¯s light dare topare to the splendor of the moon?! You don¡¯t understand what the concept of the master rank is! Even someone with trifling cultivation like you wants to fight against me?¡±

    Even though Zu An¡¯s cultivation was already quite excellent, what did it matter? As long as he hadn¡¯t reached the master rank, he didn¡¯t pose Wei Pingyang any threat. He was only a stronger ant.

    Zu An¡¯s face darkened. ¡°Why are you acting so cocky just because you¡¯re at the master rank? I¡¯ve even fought against grandmasters, yet they never acted as smug as you.¡±

    Whether it was Mi Li or Yun Jianyue, both of them were stronger than this guy. It was just that back then, for various reasons, they couldn¡¯t use their full strength. However, they were genuine grandmasters. Mi Li¡¯s cultivation might even be higher.

    ¡°Grandmaster?¡± Wei Pingyang felt as if he¡¯d heard something hrious. ¡°You can¡¯t even defeat me, yet you want to fight against a grandmaster? A brat like you really knows how to let things get to your head.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Wei Pingyang for +222 +222 +222¡­

    A streak of light shed out. Zu An quickly blocked, holding his sword in front of his chest. With a loud ng, his fingers went numb and the Tai¡¯e Sword almost fell out of his grip.

    Mi Li sighed. ¡°The further down the path of cultivation one is, the greater the difference between cultivation ranks bes. If you were at thete stage of the ninth rank, with your ki density, there would be a chance for you to win. Unfortunately, you¡¯re only at the initial stage of the ninth rank.¡±

    ¡°Even though there¡¯s a big difference, it¡¯s not at the level of despair.¡± Zu An gritted his teeth and charged at his opponent. The power of that flying sword was too great. He would never win if he was always forced to defend. He decided to get closer and see if he could scrape out a victory with his Poisonous Prick.

    Wei Pingyang stood there with his hands behind him, looking calm and rxed. His flying sword formed an imprable around him. He waspletely unfazed no matter how Zu An attacked. He even had the leisure to look toward his twopanions and remark, ¡°What are you two staring stupidly for? Get going already and chase after the crown prince.¡±

    The two of them seemed to snap out of their daze. They were just about to leave when suddenly, a sweet fragrance filled the air, and a gorgeous beauty appeared in front of them.

    This bitter battlefield came to a momentary halt due to her appearance, because she was just too beautiful. Her beauty seemed to possess both a pure innocence and a deadly charm, two entirely different styles at once. Any man would feel his go numb if she gave him just a single nce.

    ¡°What a gorgeous woman!¡± Even Lu Xiao, who was busy treating his wounds, couldn¡¯t help but exim. He was already quite old and was already past the age where he would be engrossed in women, but his heart that had long remained still seemed to have started rippling.

    Wei Pingyang felt the same. His flying sword momentarily halted. Zu An seized the chance to draw closer, and then thrust his Poisonous Prick at Wei Pingyang¡¯s body. This battle would be decided if he could even lightly nick Wei Pingyang.

    He had deliberately summoned Daji, firstly to stop those two guardians and secondly to create this opening. His n seeded, as the Poisonous Prick left a cut across Wei Pingyang¡¯s body.

    However, Zu An didn¡¯t smile at all, because he heard a metallic noise.

    Wei Pingyang brought out a cracked jade pendant from his inner pocket. His expression gradually became warped and sinister as he eximed, ¡°You actually destroyed my life-saving treasure?! Only if I hack your body into a thousand pieces can I let go of this resentment!¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    You have sessfully trolled Wei Pingyang for +444 +444 +444¡­

    Zu An sighed in pity. This was a master rank, so as expected, he had some life saving treasures. Now that his attack had failed, there probably wouldn¡¯t be a second chance.

    Sure enough, Wei Pingyang¡¯s gaze shifted to Zu An¡¯s dagger. ¡°That ck dagger could actually instantly break through my defenses? I actually felt the threat of death just now. Looks like it¡¯s a divine weapon. I¡¯ll take it topensate for the loss of my pendant.¡±

    A terrifying aura shrouded Zu An as Wei Pingyang spoke, making him feel as if his entire body were stuck in a swamp. Even just moving became extremely difficult.

 Chapter 833, (1): Hunter and Prey

    <h4>Chapter 833, (1): Hunter and Prey</h4>

    A malicious grin appeared on Wei Pingyang¡¯s face when he saw Zu An wrapped within his technique. ¡°Just go to hell!¡± he eximed.

    The flying sword in his hands vibrated with noise, and white mist suddenly emerged from behind it. Immediately afterward, an ear-splitting boom followed. This was a result of the flying sword breaking the sound barrier!

    Furthermore, Zu An was currently trapped in his technique right now. Wei Pingyang smirked. Once this guy died, he didn¡¯t have to worry about anyone else on the crown prince¡¯s side. Even though he had lost a life saving treasure, that pitch-ck dagger was definitely more than enoughpensation.

    Suddenly, a terrifying pressure surged from Zu An¡¯s position. Even Lu Xiao, who was focused on recovering, couldn¡¯t help but open his eyes in shock as he looked in Zu An¡¯s direction. How could there be such a terrifying pressure? Even he felt an urge to kneel.

    As the main target of the pressure, Wei Pingyang was affected even more. His entire body turned deathly pale, and he began to shake uncontrobly. His knees buckled, and then he dropped from the sky, kneeling on the ground.

    This was the Tai¡¯e Sword¡¯s Domain of Power!

    Zu An felt the pressure around him immediately lessen. He didn¡¯t hesitate and charged straight at Wei Pingyang. He could only use the Domain of Power once, as it had a long cooldown. He obviously couldn¡¯t waste this opportunity.

    However, a figure flickered in front of Wei Pingyang, blocking Zu An¡¯s strike of inevitable death for him.

    Zu An was stunned. This person was another of King Qi Manor¡¯s guardians, Mu Ping. Why would he step out just then to block this de for Wei Pingyang? Were the guardians that close to each other? He should have hesitated for a moment even if Wei Pingyang were his own father, right?

    While Zu An was confused, Mu Ping didn¡¯t look at him. Instead, he turned to look at Wei Pingyang, murmuring, ¡°You¡­¡±

    Unfortunately, the Poisonous Prick¡¯s curse had already activated. Mu Ping¡¯s entire body was covered in ck runes and he perished.

    Meanwhile, Wei Pingyang finally recovered given the opportunity. He was a master rank cultivator, after all. Even something like the Domain of Power could only make him lose hisposure for a moment. He controlled his flying sword, sending it at Zu An¡¯s wrist.

    Zu An quickly pulled back. Unfortunately, he was still a bit toote. He felt a sharp pain from his left hand, and then he could no longer hold onto his Poisonous Prick.

    ¡°Hahaha, your wrist¡¯s tendons have been cut!¡± Wei Pingyang eximed, still feeling some lingering fear. He had never expected that a glorious master rank cultivator like him could have almost died twice because of this opponent.

    Zu An clutched his wrist and remained silent. If it were anyone else, that entire hand would have been lost after being struck by the flying sword. However, his body was tough enough that it hadn¡¯t crippled him. But he didn¡¯t expose that fact and instead nned to use it to fool his opponent. He was going to use it to give Wei Pingyang a surpriseter.

    What he couldn¡¯t understand was why Mu Ping would block that de for Wei Pingyang. Otherwise, Wei Pingyang would already be dead.

    Fortunately, Lu Xiao helped clear up Zu An¡¯s doubts by eximing, ¡°Wei Pingyang, you actually set up a puppet curse on Mu Ping?¡±

    He Li stayed far away, his eyes full of anger and fear as he looked at Wei Pingyang.

    A puppet curse, as the name stated, would turn someone into one¡¯s puppet. Nothing strange could be detected normally, but if their master¡¯s life were in danger, they would immediately prioritize saving their master over everything else.

    The skill was incredibly vicious, and its conditions were also harsh. That was why it had always been denounced by the world. Those who practiced this technique had practically all been wiped out. No one had expected King Qi Manor¡¯s guardian Wei Pingyang to possess such a malicious skill.

    Wei Pingyang said indifferently, ¡°If I hadn¡¯t just happened to pick up this skill, I would¡¯ve already been done in by that brat. If I died, Brother Lu, you wouldn¡¯t have any chance of living either.¡±

    His vignce had increased greatly when his life saving pendant broke. He had been worried that the opponent might have some other unpredictable skills, so he¡¯d decided to use the puppet curse on Mu Ping, who was closest to him.

    Among the guardians, his rtionship with Mu Ping was quite good, and he understood the other person¡¯s cultivation the best. Mu Ping didn¡¯t have any reservations against him either, making the curse easier to apply. If he had used the puppet curse on anyone else, unless their cultivation was as high as Mu Ping¡¯s, the effects definitely wouldn¡¯t have been as good.

    Lu Xiao didn¡¯t say anything in response when he heard those words. He was at a key point in his recovery. If Zu An had killed Wei Pingyang and then attacked him, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to stop him at all.

    Wei Pingyang continued, ¡°With things already as they are, it¡¯s meaningless even if you me me. We need to kill this little bastard first, thenplete the mission our king gave us.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Lu Xiao nodded. ¡°You¡¯re right. Completing the king¡¯s mission is top priority right now. He Li, what are you dilly-dallying for? Why aren¡¯t you dealing with that woman and chasing after the crown prince?!¡±

    He Li was quite troubled. Even though the woman was only at the sixth rank, which man would be able to resolve to kill someone like her?

    But when Lu Xiao spoke King Qi¡¯s name, he couldn¡¯t argue against it. He could only harrumph and say, ¡°I¡¯ve got it already.¡±

    He was an expert at the peak of the ninth rank. Once he became serious, Daji would be in great danger. If not for her beauty that naturally made men hold back, she would have already died many times over.

    Zu An knew that keeping Daji here wasn¡¯t a solution and quickly gave her an order. She brought out a pipa and gently plucked the strings. Voice of the Devil¡¯s music spread outward.

    Those from King Qi Manor who had lower cultivation suddenly turned their spears on theirrades. The battlefield quickly became chaotic.

    Meanwhile, arge group of beasts suddenly appeared in their surroundings. Even though the strongest were only beasts on the level of Giant White Wolves, their numbers were too great. They immediately charged at the people there, sending blood and flesh flying everywhere.

    ¡°What the hell is going on?¡± Those from King Qi Manor were rmed. Even Lu Xiao and Wei Pingyang were confused.

    They were able to understand why theirpanions had suddenly gone crazy; that was probably because the ridiculously beautiful woman had used a charming technique. But what about these beasts? Why had they run out?

    They obviously couldn¡¯t have known that it was the result of Zu An using his jade badge to control some nearby creatures to disturb the nests of vicious beasts and bring them over. Unfortunately, there was a limit to what his jade badge could control. Otherwise, he might even have been able to win against these people from King Qi Manor if he could control a huge army of beasts.

    As he was helpless to do anything about the situation, He Li couldn¡¯t be bothered with Daji. He had to calm the disturbance first, or else they might not have enough men to hunt down the crown prince¡¯s people afterward.

    He had thought that he could defeat Zu An, but even the master rank Wei Pingyang had almost died twice. He shivered when he thought about that. He decided to just leave the little monster for a master rank cultivator to deal with.

    ¡°Damn, kid, I have to admit that I underestimated you. You were able to pressure us this far with your insect-like cultivation! However, all of this ends here.¡± Wei Pingyang stared at Zu An with his sinister eyes. With a raise of his hand, the Poisonous Prick that had fallen to the ground was sucked into his hand. ¡°This thing is mine now. I want to see just what other tricks you have left.¡±

    ¡°Idiot.¡± Zu An sneered. With just a thought, the Poisonous Prick returned to his keyboard space. He felt a bit of regret that he couldn¡¯t control the Poisonous Prick like a flying sword, or else this battle would have already been finished if he could make a cut in Wei Pingyang¡¯s hand.

    Wei Pingyang didn¡¯t be upset when he saw the dagger disappear into thin air, and instead felt even happier. He eximed, ¡°So it¡¯s a treasure that¡¯s bound to a master! It is a divine weapon after all, hahaha! As long as I kill you, the dagger will be mine!¡± After he finished speaking, he no longer stood there calmly. Instead, he used his hand as a sword and charged at Zu An.

    ¡°Fast!¡± Zu An felt a chill. He quickly evaded, but even though he used the Sunflower Phantasm and split into three identical copies that ran in three different directions, Wei Pingyang still easily saw through it.

    Wei Pingyang roared withughter. ¡°Those tricks are useless before the divine will of a master!¡± As he spoke, the flying sword attacked Zu An from all sorts of different directions, as if two master rank cultivators were attacking at the same time.

    How could Zu An possibly stop them? His body was soon covered in blood.

    ¡°Oh? Your body seems to be quite sturdy. You can still hold on even after taking so much damage.¡± Wei Pingyang sneered. ¡°But it¡¯s all over now. Let¡¯s see if you can still continue fighting after having your heart pierced through.¡±

    His speed suddenly increased as he stabbed toward Zu An¡¯s chest.

    At that instant, Zu An felt as if no matter which direction he dodged in, this sword would still hit his heart.

 Chapter 833, (2): Hunter and Prey

    <h4>Chapter 833, (2): Hunter and Prey</h4>

    As such, he decisively used Keyboard Come, yelling, ¡°Your pants fell!¡±

    Wei Pingyang was feeling smug due to the speed and timing of his attack, when suddenly, he felt a chill run through his legs. When he lowered his head, he saw that his shriveled little fe was dangling in the wind.

    Wei Pingyang, Lu Xiao, and He Li were left speechless.

    ¡°Damn brat, I¡¯m going to cut you up into a thousand pieces!¡± Wei Pingyang felt as if his mind would copse. He had beenpletely exposed in front of so many people¡¯s eyes!

    You have sessfully trolled Wei Pingyang for +999 +999 +999¡­

    Zu An cried out pitifully. He had nned to use this chance to counterattack, but the soul of a master rank was too powerful and could see through his every move. Even if Wei Pingyang held up his pants with one hand, his other hand would still stab into Zu An.

    ¡°Your pants dropped again!¡± Zu An used the same skill again when he sensed Wei Pingyang¡¯s killing intent. Unfortunately, it didn¡¯t do much. A sh of light flickered around Wei Pingyang¡¯s body, and his pants remained in ce.

    Wei Pingyang smiled maliciously. ¡°Just a trifling Soulspeak ability!¡±

    Mi Li¡¯s voice said, ¡°Once you reach the master rank, it¡¯s possible to establish a soul domain around oneself that can resist some Soulspeak abilities. The dragon race would¡¯ve already dominated the world if there were no weaknesses at all to Soulspeak.¡±

    Zu An evaded Wei Pingyang¡¯s attack with great difficulty while replying with a forcedugh, ¡°Can you fix your issue of constantly disconnecting? This is actually really scary, you know?¡±

    Mi Li said indifferently, ¡°I already told you not to rely on me. I won¡¯t help you.¡±

    ¡°You won¡¯t help me even if I¡¯m doomed to die?¡± Zu An eximed. ¡°If I die, you won¡¯t live either!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t try to threaten me. You were the one who created this situation. You insisted on ying the hero, so you should be prepared for the consequences,¡± Mi Li replied.

    Zu An was getting annoyed. ¡°I refuse to believe I won¡¯t survive.¡± He didn¡¯t feel like talking to Mi Li anymore and charged toward King Qi Manor¡¯s deathsworn soldiers.

    Wei Pingyang asked with a sneer, ¡°Are you trying to use King Qi Manor¡¯s people as a cover to make me hold back? It¡¯s meaningless. I can clearly distinguish my enemies through my soul.¡± His flying sword chased after Zu An.

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°Who said I was going to use them as a shield? I just didn¡¯t want to waste my ultimate move. A sword? I have one too.¡±

    As he finished speaking, he called out the Blue Luan. A loud and clear cry echoed through the air as a blue bird soared into the skies. Then, a massive sword projection descended. That sword turned into endless sword energy, surrounding the entire ce.

    ¡°Aaaah!¡±

    Waves of miserable cries followed. Many of King Qi Manor¡¯s deathsworn soldiers immediately lost their lives under the vicious sword energy. After the rain of sword energy, only a few people several dozen zhang away could barely stand. However, all of them were wounded.

    The deathsworn soldiers even farther out looked in their direction with faces full of horror. There were so many people from King Qi Manor, yet over half of them had instantly been killed by a single person!

    ¡°Fuck yeah! Get them, Sir Zu!¡± Liu Xian cheered weakly from nearby.

    He had three arrows in his back, and there was half of a de stuck in his shoulder. There was a long gash across his stomach, and even his internal organs were about to spill out. Only by holding his stomach with a single hand could he keep them in ce. It was clear that he was already at the end of his rope.

    His cultivation hadn¡¯t been that high to begin with. Even igniting his blood essence had only brought him to the peak of the sixth rank. There were quite a few individuals from King Qi Manor who were also at his level. Together with their numbers, even though the Liu n¡¯s warriors had frantically tried to protect him, his wounds had only grown more and more numerous.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Eventually, one after another, the Liu n¡¯s warriors had fallen. His eyes werepletely bloodshot from ughter as well. Even though they had killed many enemies as well, his wounds were growing more and more serious.

    The Eastern Pce¡¯s side had been at an absolute disadvantage to begin with. After a bitter battle, they were almostpletely wiped out. Only he and a few other warriors were left.

    When he saw more and more enemies close in, he had prepared to close his eyes. However, Zu An had descended like a war deity, erasing over half of King Qi¡¯s deathsworn soldiers. The enemy had killed far too many of their warriors, so they felt as if some of their resentment had been released after seeing the enemy ughtered.

    However, after the resentment left, Liu Xian could no longer hold on and fell to the ground.

    Zu An quickly ran over to support him. When he saw that Liu An¡¯s life force was already almost gone, he couldn¡¯t help but feel apologetic. ¡°Sorry, I can¡¯t save you all.¡±

    He couldn¡¯t afford to be distracted when he had faced Wei Pingyang and He Li earlier. There were several times where he had almost lost his life. By the time he could rush over, there already weren¡¯t many from the Eastern Pce left.

    ¡°We resolved to give up our lives here to begin with. Why do we need you to save us?¡± Liu Xian chuckled. His usual greasy smile now seemed exceptionally courageous and carefree.

    ¡°Is there anything you want me to pass on?¡± Zu An asked gravely.

    ¡°Of course, there are so many things.¡± Liu Xian¡¯s expression began to scatter, and his voice became quieter and quieter. ¡°I know that everyone in the capital looks down on me, but I don¡¯t have the talent, so what can I do?

    ¡°If you can leave this ce alive, tell my father that I know he¡¯s been mocked these years because of me. However, at the very least, this time, he can stick out his chest proudly. His son isn¡¯t trash who only knows how to y with women!¡±

    Zu An said seriously, ¡°It won¡¯t just be your father. Everyone in the capital will know about this.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± A smile appeared on Liu Xian¡¯s face. ¡°Right, I raised some concubines back home. Please help me secretly release them, or else the Liu n might make them die together with me. I can¡¯t bring harm to them just because they decided to follow me.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to die in a foreignnd either¡­ If there¡¯s a chance, please have the Liu n¡¯s peoplee in and bring out my corpse. I don¡¯t want to be buried in the Liu n¡¯s ancestral shrine either, or else I might piss off those ancestors.¡±

    ¡°My death is a bit too pitiful; it¡¯s really going to tarnish my reputation as a handsome and confident man, so just burn me to ashes. Then, scatter my ashes across the river next to Heavenly Abode. Whenever those Heavenly Abode girls watch the river waters ripple, they¡¯ll know that I¡¯m sending them my greetings.

    ¡°Sigh, I have so many regrets¡­ I originally nned to subdue the academy¡¯s Lady Qi with my absolute charm once we left this dungeon¡­¡±

    ¡­

    Liu Xian¡¯s voice grew softer and softer, eventually bing silent. Even in death, his eyes were still wide open. He still had many cherished desires that he hadn¡¯t fulfilled yet.

    Zu An gently helped him close his eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll definitely help youplete all of these things.¡±

    ¡°You won¡¯t even be able to survive yourself, yet you want to help anotherplete their wishes?¡± A figure stood back up while trembling, his body covered in bloody scars. There were only scraps left of his clothes as well. He looked like a beggar. However, his eyes were still sharp. His injuries were clearly not as serious as they looked.

    Wei Pingyang said hatefully, ¡°I have to admit that you have some skill, brat. You actually pushed us this far. That attack just now was brilliant as well. Unfortunately, it wasn¡¯t enough to kill me.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s heart sank. That had already pretty much been his most powerful attack, yet it still couldn¡¯t take out his opponent. As expected, you couldn¡¯t defeat someone at the master rank unless you were a master as well.

    ¡°Everyone still alive is to chase after the crown prince and princess! Leave this guy to me.¡± Wei Pingyang ordered. The Eastern Pce¡¯s warriors had practically all been wiped out, but their own losses were simrly heavy.

    They had faced these people with an overwhelming advantage, yet they had still lost over half of their men. He had no idea how he was going to exin this to King Qiter. The greatest casualties had been caused precisely by this fellow in front of him!

    The other guardian He Li, who was at the peak of the ninth rank, had already woken up the ones who were controlled by Daji. At the same time, he had ughtered the chaotic beasts. When he was done with that, he saw Zu An¡¯s sword energy that covered everything. He shivered in fear. If that attack had been targeted at me, then I might have already been dead. I think staying farther away from that monster is a good idea.

    He didn¡¯t object at all when he heard Wei Pingyang¡¯s arrangements. He quickly led the remaining deathsworn soldiers in the direction Bi Linglong and the others had run toward¡­

    The crown prince¡¯s escorts were all badly wounded. Catching up to them wasn¡¯t anything difficult.

    Zu An also realized that. He wanted to stop them, but Wei Pingyang blocked his path, not giving him a chance at all.

    If they caught up, then Liu Xian¡¯s sacrifice would have beenpletely meaningless. Zu An sighed, thinking he shouldn¡¯t have acted on impulse.

 Chapter 833, (3): Hunter and Prey

    <h4>Chapter 833, (3): Hunter and Prey</h4>

    Even though Zu An thought that, his expression became progressively more firm. He raised his head toward He Li and the others and used his Fragrant Barf skill.

    At that instant, all of them turned around to re at Zu An in anger. They became so enraged it was as if Zu An had killed their family. All of them only had a single voice echoing in their heads eximing, Kill him! Kill him!

    Even He Li, who had been quite scared just a moment ago, had all sorts of thoughts. That kid is already so strong at his age; what about when he grows up? We have to use this chance to nip this talent in the bud before he grows out of control.

    After Zu An used the skill, he used Grandgale to run in the opposite direction from where Bi Linglong and the others had escaped. He wasn¡¯t stubbornly throwing his life away; rather, he had some confidence. As long as he entered the mountain, he could use the terrifying beasts inside to deal with these people by using Jiang Luofu¡¯s map and the jade badge¡¯s skill.

    Zu An ran for his life. Just as he was about to enter the forest, however, a flying sword attacked him, piercing straight through the middle of his back. His body trembled. Blood burst out from his chest. Then, he dropped powerlessly into theke below.

    Lu Xiao, who had been sitting still the entire time, slowly stood up. That flowing light returned to his side, returning to the form of an iron sword.

    Wei Pingyang, He Li, and the others were shocked. Wei Pingyang asked, ¡°Brother Lu, you¡¯ve already recovered?¡±

    Lu Xiao said coldly, ¡°You had so many people on your side, but all of you were beaten up so badly by a junior. Wouldn¡¯t he have gotten away if I hadn¡¯t recovered earlier?¡±

    He Li¡¯s face heated up. Wei Pingyang said with a smile, ¡°Brother Lu is formidable after all. You originally needed an hour of time to recover from these injuries, yet you recovered in just over half an hour.¡±

    Lu Xiao smiled. ¡°It¡¯s thanks to the medicine King Qi bestowed upon me back then. That was why I recovered faster than expected.¡±

    Wei Pingyang and He Li were both envious. ¡°Brother Lu truly has received King Qi¡¯s favor.¡±

    Wei Pingyang cursed inwardly. Lu Xiao, you cunning bastard. You clearly could have recovered in just half an hour, yet you didn¡¯t tell me the truth and instead kept me in the dark. You probably did that on purpose, fearing that I might turn against you. I have to be more careful when dealing with you in the future.

    He Li¡¯s eyesnded on the iron sword that revolved around Lu Xiao. ¡°Brother Lu, wasn¡¯t your soulbound sword destroyed? I didn¡¯t expect you to have refined another iron sword so quickly. Your skills really are unfathomable!¡±

    Lu Xiao gently stroked the sword, saying, ¡°This sword was what I used in my earlier years. I nned to get rid of it, but it grew on me after I used it for so long, so I always kept it at my side. I didn¡¯t expect it to be so useful this time. I guess people should cherish memories after all.¡±

    It would have been hard for him to refine another sword to this level of proficiency so quickly. Furthermore, it would have been difficult to strike down Zu An at that moment.

    ¡°That little scoundrel indeed had some skill. He has such powerful cultivation at his age. We wouldn¡¯t have been his match even if all of us fought him together at his age,¡± Wei Pingyang couldn¡¯t help but say with deep sentiment.

    Lu Xiao remarked indifferently, ¡°Has this world evercked stunning geniuses? But if they aren¡¯t allowed to grow up, even the greatest talent bes meaningless.¡±

    He Li arrived by theke. He saw that it was already dyed red with blood and asked, ¡°Is that guy really dead?¡±

    Wei Pingyang looked around as he said, ¡°We haven¡¯t seen a corpse yet. I¡¯ll head down and take a look.¡±

    ¡°What, you two doubt my judgment?¡± Lu Xiao harrumphed. ¡°That sword of mine already crushed all of his meridians. Not even an asura or immortal can save him.¡±

    When the others heard him speak, the Fragrant Barf that Zu An had used on them finally disappeared. The crazy killing intent they felt disappeared. They were even confused themselves, not knowing why they had suddenly acted like that.

    Wei Pingyangughed in embarrassment. ¡°Of course not; it¡¯s not that I doubt Brother Lu. But this matter is rted to King Qi¡¯s future. We absolutely can¡¯t let anyone live to tell of what happened here. It¡¯s best if we check and confirm it.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to threaten me with the king. Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re thinking.¡± Lu Xiao harrumphed. ¡°You merely want that kid¡¯s dagger and want to use this chance to snag it.¡±

    Wei Pingyang¡¯s expression changed. Are you going to fight me over it?

    He was just about to say something when Lu Xiao said, ¡°The most important mission this time is to capture the crown prince and princess. They¡¯ve already escaped, so we should be chasing after them. As for everything else, you can juste back for it once youplete the mission.¡±

    ¡°What Brother Lu says is correct.¡± Wei Pingyang couldn¡¯t say anything since Lu Xiao had already said such a thing. The most important part was that Lu Xiao¡¯s cultivation was higher than his, so he could only agree.

    He thought to himself, It¡¯d better not be because this guy also wants that dagger. He had to keep an eye on Lu XIao to make sure he didn¡¯t secretlye back and steal away that treasure.

    Then, Lu Xiao took the lead to run in the direction Bi Linglong and the others had disappeared into. Wei Pingyang and He Li followed close behind. Trailing behind them were the rest of King Qi Manor¡¯s experts.

    Soon afterward, they arrived at a fork in the road. After King Qi Manor¡¯s deathsworn soldiers looked around, they came back and reported, ¡°They split up into two groups and ran in different directions.¡±

    ¡°Brother Lu, what do we do?¡± Wei Pingyang asked.

    Lu Xiao harrumphed. ¡°It¡¯s just a small trick of that girl Bi Linglong; they just want us to split up. Unfortunately, they only have so many people, and we have a huge advantage in both cultivation rank and numbers. So what if they split up? You two go to the left; I¡¯ll be in charge of the right. Don¡¯t leave any of them alive.¡±

    ¡°Fine!¡± Their group also split up into two groups, one with Lu Xiao, and one with Wei Pingyang and He Li. As the pursuers, they all had confident smiles on their faces. After all, victory was within their sight. Once they got rid of the crown prince and princess, King Qi¡¯s rise would be practically guaranteed. Wouldn¡¯t they be the right hand men of the very emperor then? Being granted dukedoms wasn¡¯t out of the question. They could establish ns and legacies of their own!

    But their moods soon turned sour, because both sides quickly discovered that there was another fork in the road. Those people had split up again.

    ¡°She really is a crafty woman!¡± Both Lu Xiao and Wei Pingyang cursed inwardly. Only Bi Linglong could have thought of something like this.

    ¡°Hmph, it¡¯s all useless!¡± He Li eximed with augh to boost his men¡¯s morale. They had the absolute advantage. If their target split up, then they obviously could as well. They still had the advantage no matter how they split up.

    Just like that, there were several more forks in the road. Even Wei Pingyang and He Li separated from each other. Wei Pingyang had been thinking about Zu An¡¯s pitch-ck dagger the entire time, that dagger that had made him feel the fear of death.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Lu Xiao, that bastard, he won¡¯t use this chance to secretly seize that dagger, right? Otherwise, why would he have stopped me from jumping into the water?

    Hmph, that fe has always been on his guard towards me, worried that I¡¯ll surpass him in cultivation and affect his position. King Qi even gave him a life saving medicine, but didn¡¯t give me anything! It¡¯s only because he¡¯s the first guardian. I need to take his ce.

    All kinds of thoughts rushed through his head. He found it harder and harder to hold himself back. As such, he chose a moment when he was apart from his subordinates to head back the way they hade

    Flight was possible once one reached the master rank. As such, he just flew back and quickly arrived at the previous battlefield. The bloody scene had drawn many beasts, but they didn¡¯t pose a threat at all to a master rank like him.

    Then, he arrived at theke and jumped into the water where Zu An had fallen. As a master rank cultivator, his mastery over the power of the world wasn¡¯t something a normal cultivator couldpare to. A triflingke obviously wouldn¡¯t stop him. He didn¡¯t even need to create a protective formation around him; he could just use ki tomunicate with the water element, allowing him to breathe underwater.

    He swam deeper and deeper. The world around him also grew darker and darker. But this didn¡¯t affect him too much. He released his divine senses to scan the surroundings and didn¡¯t need to use his eyes to see at all.

    ¡°Found you!¡± Wei Pingyang eximed joyfully. Then, he quickly dove down, rushing toward his target.

    Soon, he ¡®saw¡¯ the submerged Zu An. His skin was as pale as a corpse, and there was a huge hole in front of his chest left behind by Lu Xiao¡¯s flying sword. He had already stopped breathing, but Wei Pingyang didn¡¯t find that strange. It had already been some time, so all of the blood had probably already left his body.

    He didn¡¯t waste any time. He reached his hand into Zu An¡¯s clothes and groped around, trying to find that mysterious ck dagger.

    ¡°Huh? Is this guy a donkey?¡± Wei Pingyang felt a huge explosion go off in his head when he touched something. He remembered the Soulspeak ability this brat had used that made his pants fall, exposing him in front of everyone. It was as if he could sense the ridicule in the eyes of his subordinates the entire time along the way. He really was incredibly embarrassed when he thought of that.

    The moment he was distracted, the ¡®corpse¡¯ suddenly moved, wrapping tightly around him like an octopus.

    ¡°This guy hasn¡¯t died yet?!¡± Wei Pingyang was horrified. But how was that possible? That was Lu Xiao¡¯s full powered attack, something not even he would be able to take! Why had this young brat been able to withstand it?!

    But it didn¡¯t matter. He¡¯d just finish the job here. He began to gather strength to kill Zu An. However, as soon as his strength gathered, it was as if it were sucked dry by a powerful force.

    ¡°What the hell?¡± Wei Pingyang was baffled. In that instant, he felt as if every inch of the person wrapped around him was like a ck hole that continued to suck at everything he had. It was as if a dam had burst, as the ki within him instantly rushed out.

    ¡°Noooo!¡± Wei Pingyang¡¯s expression was no longer as calm as before, and he struggled frantically.

 Chapter 834, (1): Emperorâ€™s Trump Card

    <h4>Chapter 834, (1): Emperor¡¯s Trump Card</h4>

    Unfortunately, Wei Pingyang¡¯s yelling didn¡¯t do anything. Instead, it only made Zu An more excited.

    Wei Pingyang finally realized what was happening. He asked in a trembling voice, ¡°Zu An, you didn¡¯t die?¡±

    Zu An sneered. ¡°How could I afford to die when you¡¯re not dead yet?¡±

    ¡°Impossible!¡± Wei Pingyang¡¯s entire body shook in fear and shock. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be alive after having your meridians destroyed by Lu Xiao¡¯s flying sword!¡±

    Forget about Zu An, not even the emperor or King Qi would be able to live if they let go of their defense and just let Lu Xiao¡¯s sword strike them.

    Zu An sighed. ¡°Just because you had a life saving treasure, did you think I didn¡¯t have one?¡±

    He recalled how before he had entered this dungeon, Jiang Luofu had brought him to see Xie Daoyun in the academy¡¯s rear mountain. Back then, Xie Daoyun had given him a Last Breath Talisman.

    The talisman would block twenty percent of the damage when the user suffered a lethal attack. As for whether or not one could survive after blocking that twenty percent, that would depend on one¡¯s luck. That was why it was called a Last Breath Talisman.

    Fortunately, Zu An¡¯s body was incredibly tough because of the Primordial Origin Sutra. After the damage was negated, the sword couldn¡¯t fully destroy his heart. Even so, if someone had dove into the water to check his corpse, he would still have been dead. But thanks to Lu Xiao¡¯s sense of urgency toward the crown prince and princess, his pursuers had left, giving him some time to catch his breath.

    Furthermore, cultivators above the seventh rank naturally had powerful regeneration abilities; it was just that his current injuries were at a level that would need the better half of a year to heal from. However, the Primordial Origin Sutra¡¯s healing ability was far greater than that of an ordinary cultivator, allowing him to recover seventy to eighty percent in a short amount of time. At the very least, he could fight again.

    Wei Pingyang never could have predicted this. While his guard was down, he ended up being trapped by Zu An¡¯s Heaven Devouring Sutra. When he heard what Zu An said, he felt despair. He knew he could no longer struggle free when he saw his own arms gradually shrivel up. However, a decisive look shed through his eyes.

    ¡°Damn brat, even if I die, I won¡¯t let you take advantage of me!¡± he eximed, using all of his remaining strength to destroy his blood vessels.

    He was a master rank cultivator after all, an outstanding genius himself. He naturally knew some special methods. Furthermore, Zu An was seriously injured right now, so he couldn¡¯t control the Heaven Devouring Sutra as well as he normally could. As such, Wei Pingyang sessfully ended his own life.

    Zu An let him go, a bit of admiration appearing in his eyes as he remarked, ¡°He was a surprisingly decisive person.¡±

    Back then, it was precisely because Mosquito Daoist had had a strong desire to live that she¡¯d ended up not only failing to survive, but also donating all of her cultivation to Zu An.

    Zu An had Blue Mard, which allowed him to be underwater for as long as he wanted, so he wasn¡¯t in a rush to leave the water at all. Instead, he inspected his own state first. His ki was abundant. Even though the wound in his chest still remained, he was starting to recover. His fighting strength was already back in peak form.

    After Zu An checked himself, he discovered that eight of his ninth rank formations were already lit up. He was now only missing onest formation. He cried out pitifully. He had sucked out roughly half of Wei Pingyang¡¯s cultivation; if he had sucked itpletely dry, he might have already broken into the master rank.

    ¡°What the hell are you thinking?¡± Mi Li harrumphed. ¡°Do you think it¡¯s that easy to break through from the ninth rank into the master rank? It¡¯s not something you can reach purely through umting ki.¡±

    Zu An chuckled in embarrassment. ¡°I was just kidding. By the way, why do I feel like the effects of absorbing other people are much worse than when I absorbed Old Mi¡¯s cultivation?¡±

    ¡°But of course.¡± Mi Li exined, ¡°Old Mi thought he could swallow you up, which was why he willingly poured his cultivation into you. Furthermore, he cultivated the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra as well, so his ki came from the same source as yours. It¡¯s a no-brainer that the effects would be better than the Heaven Devouring Sutra.¡±

    ¡°So that was it.¡± Zu An nodded as he rushed out past the water¡¯s surface. A whirlpool surged around him, and then he shot into the sky. He felt the ki inside of him rage. When he moved his arms, the water around him produced massive waves.

    As he adjusted the energies inside of him, Zu An looked at his palm and happily said, ¡°I feel like I can now win even if I fight against a master rank.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t get overconfident.¡± Mi Li rolled her eyes. ¡°You only have a chance now, and you won¡¯t be as sorry as before. It wouldn¡¯t be too bad if you fought someone who just reached the master rank, but if you fought veteran master rank cultivators, you would have a much greater chance of losing than winning.¡±

    ¡°Haha, that¡¯s already enough,¡± Zu An said with a chuckle.

    Mi Li didn¡¯t retort against him. This guy was always winning from a disadvantageous position. He had managed to w his way out of impossible situations time and time again. His real fighting abilities were indeed exceptional.

    When she saw him look in the direction Bi Linglong and the others had left toward, she couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°You¡¯re still going?¡±

    Zu An nodded. ¡°We¡¯ve already made it this far. How can I give up now?¡±

    Mi Li was starting to get a bit worried. ¡°You¡¯ve already gone far enough for that woman; you even almost threw your life away! Is that not enough yet? Even though your cultivation has risen a bit, Lu Xiao is a cultivator at the mid stage of the master rank. You can¡¯t win against him!¡±

    It wasn¡¯t impossible for some geniuses to defeat opponents who were higher ranked than them, but the further they went, the greater the gaps in each stage in cultivation became, let alone entire cultivation ranks. Skipping cultivation ranks and winning was practically impossible.

    Only a monster like Zu An with all sorts of ridiculous abilities could barely do it, but there was still a limit to that. The mid stage master rank Lu Xiao had already exceeded this limit.

    Zu An looked at Mi Li and asked, ¡°Tell me honestly. What are my odds of winning against Lu Xiao?¡±

    Mi Li replied, ¡°Twenty percent, thirty at most. That¡¯s as much credit as I can give you.¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°That¡¯s already enough. If we fight to the death, he¡¯ll definitely be the one to die.¡±

    Mi Li wanted to say something, but when she thought back to how this kid had dared to fight her when he was just around the fifth rank, she felt admiration. ¡°As expected of the one I¡¯ve taken a fancy to.¡±

    When she had that thought, she didn¡¯t try to dissuade him anymore and instead said, ¡°Whatever. If you want to go, then just go. You have a heart that doesn¡¯t fear a challenge. Even though this might very well cause you to die prematurely, if you¡¯re allowed to grow up, then your future is limitless.¡±

    Zu An said with a chuckle, ¡°A rare instance of praise, I see.¡±

    Mi Li rolled her eyes. ¡°If you keep talking, that princess of yours might already be dead.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An didn¡¯t want to waste any more time, so he quickly rushed into the mountains. With his current cultivation, he had also be capable of extended flight. He didn¡¯t need to waste Grandgale¡¯s skill to move quickly.

    However, he quickly reached a fork in the road. He immediately understood that this was one of Bi Linglong¡¯s tactics. While he was feeling a headache trying to decide which direction he should rush toward, he detected sudden waves of ki explosions in the forest.

    ¡°Lu Xiao?¡± Zu An eximed. He couldn¡¯t be more familiar with the aura of the sword that had prated his chest. As such, he quickly rushed in that direction. As he drew near, he dropped from the sky and re-equipped the spice bag he had gotten from Concubine Bai. At the same time, he used Mirror Mirage to hide his own aura.

    Even though he wasn¡¯t scared of his opponent, he would be an idiot to charge at this guy head-on. The world of cultivators was incredibly harsh. Anyone who insisted on fighting like that wouldn¡¯t live long.

    If he wanted to win against someone stronger than him, he had to use strategy. As such, he quietly approached, nning to catch Lu Xiao unprepared and deliver him a surprise. He wanted to decide this battle as quickly as possible, because a prolonged battle would only be beneficial to the mid stage master rank Lu Xiao.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, several dozen zhang out, Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun weren¡¯t doing well at all. They were covered in wounds, and only by leaning against their swords could they even barely stand upright. The other Eastern Pce guards had practically all copsed on the ground, either already dead or close to it.

    They stared at the man floating in the air. Even though one of his arms was missing, his aura was incredibly powerful. He looked at them as if he were a deity looking at ants.

    ¡°You all think you¡¯re smart, but with a pig like Zhao Ruizhi, your footprints became a bit deeper than those of the others. As soon as I focused on that fact, I was easily able to find you,¡± Lu Xiao said with a smile, his tone rxed and carefree. Seeing this mission that had been in the works for several years on the verge ofpletion put him in an exceptionally good mood.

    ¡°Outrageous! You dare treat the crown prince with disrespect?!¡± Piao Duandiao roared angrily.

    ¡°Look at the situation you¡¯re in. You¡¯re all still treating him like a crown prince?¡± Lu Xiao brushed the dust off of his clothes. He had been seriously wounded by Bi Linglong¡¯s sword earlier, so he had already changed into a new set of clothes. ¡°I have to admit that you all have quite the strong wills. You were actually able to hold on until now. However, everything ends here.¡±

    As Lu Xiao¡¯s voice lowered, an invisible wave of energy surged, smashing into the two guards. Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun flew away like kites with their strings cut. They smashed into a tree nearby, blood gushing out of their mouths. Then, they copsed onto the ground and no longer moved.

 Chapter 834, (2): Emperorâ€™s Trump Card

    <h4>Chapter 834, (2): Emperor¡¯s Trump Card</h4>

    Zu An just happened to arrive at that moment. His gaze immediately turned cold, but he didn¡¯t act rashly and instead continued to remain hidden, waiting for the best opportunity to strike.

    Mi Li nodded as she watched him. This kid was growing up. He was clearly furious, yet he didn¡¯t act impulsively.

    Lu Xiao dropped from the sky and looked at the fat crown prince. ¡°Hm? You¡¯re actually not that scared even in this situation? You really are an idiot after all.¡±

    ¡°Why do I have to be scared?¡± The crown prince looked at him with a strange expression.

    Zu An was shocked as he remained in hiding. His attention had originally beenpletely focused on Lu Xiao in order to find a chance to take him down, but now, he couldn¡¯t help but take a look at the crown prince. It was the same face; however, it seemed extremely unfamiliar. He didn¡¯t know if it was because the crown prince¡¯s usual stupid smile was no longer there.

    Lu Xiao also frowned, having sensed the same strangeness. ¡°Because you¡¯re about to die¡­ Sigh, I actually have to exin this to an idiot.¡±

    Seeing Lu Xiao¡¯s annoyance, the crown prince replied, ¡°Do you think you¡¯re really smart then?¡±

    ¡°At least smarter than you,¡± Lu Xiao subconsciously replied. Then, he frowned. ¡°Do you understand your situation? Stop trying to show off already. Do you really think that you have any qualities of an emperor?¡±

    The crown prince sighed. ¡°Zhao Jing¡¯s subordinates are getting more and more out of hand.¡±

    Zu An felt a chill run down his back. He didn¡¯t know exactly why either, but all of his fine hairs were standing on end.

    Mi Li¡¯s voice said in his head, ¡°Be careful, something isn¡¯t right with this crown prince.¡± Her tone was extremely serious, as if she had also noticed something.

    ¡°You scoundrel, you dare utter King Qi¡¯s taboo name?¡± Lu Xiao eximed. However, he suddenly frowned and stared at the crown prince halfway through his sentence, asking, ¡°You aren¡¯t an idiot?¡±

    The crown princeughed. ¡°Who said I was an idiot?¡±

    Zu An felt his mind explode when he heard what the crown prince said and saw how he was speaking. He had thought that he was surrounded by old foxes in the capital; he hadn¡¯t expected the trickiest one to have been right next to him! Wait, if he isn¡¯t a fool, doesn¡¯t that mean that everything he did with Bi Linglong¡­

    Lu Xiao was also quite shocked. ¡°Wow, I never expected this! You actually fooled everyone in the capital for so long.¡±

    The crown prince didn¡¯t reply, and only continued to stare at him indifferently.

    Lu Xiao really didn¡¯t like being looked at that way. He should be the one looking at others as if they were ants, not the one being looked at that way. ¡°Damn fatty, you¡¯ve hidden it quite well all this time, huh? You even tricked King Qi. However, it¡¯s all meaningless. You¡¯ll still die here.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure I¡¯ll die?¡± A mocking smile appeared on the fatty¡¯s face. His smile would normally have only seemedical, but now, it instead caused a strange sense of fear.

    Lu Xiao didn¡¯t know why he was getting scared. He quickly suppressed his emotions and looked at the other party. ¡°Crown prince, you¡¯ve really hidden this well. But it¡¯s still meaningless! You¡¯re still too young. Even if you cultivated ever since you were born, what level could you reach? Do you think everyone¡¯s a monster like Zu An?!¡±

    Zu An cursed inwardly. If you¡¯re going to talk, then just talk; why the hell are you dragging me in too? Right now, every single one of his cells was on alert. He really wanted to teach Lu Xiao a lesson, but he didn¡¯t dare to make any moves and instead focused on hiding his aura.

    ¡°Zu An?¡± the crown prince muttered to himself. ¡°That fe is indeed a bit strange.¡±

    Lu Xiao frowned. He just felt that something wasn¡¯t right, yet he couldn¡¯t really put his finger on it. However, he quickly calmed down again. He was a powerful expert at the mid stage of the master rank. Even in the capital where powerful cultivators were everywhere, he was still among the very best. Why was he being scared by a damn fatty here?

    He snorted. ¡°I don¡¯t feel like wasting any time on you anymore. Once I kill you, I¡¯m going to go after the crown princess and the others.¡±

    As he spoke, he kicked outward. A de that hadnded on the ground next to the guards shot out like a cannonball. It had enough power to st apart every blood vessel in the crown prince¡¯s body, then nail his corpse to the tree. Lu Xiao then nned to lure vicious beasts over to devour the crown prince¡¯s entire corpse until there wasn¡¯t even a single bone left. This way, the emperor wouldn¡¯t find a single trace even if he sent people inside to investigateter.

    The crown prince didn¡¯t evade at all; he didn¡¯t even move. Lu Xiao initially thought that he had been scared stiff. But his smile quickly froze, because the de suddenly stopped cold, floating three feet in front of the crown prince.

    Lu Xiao subconsciously took a step back, eximing, ¡°What¡¯s your real cultivation?!¡± He couldn¡¯t even sense how the other party had neutralized his ferocious attack.

    The fatty had a strange smile on his face. ¡°It¡¯s already been many years since anyone dared to attack me. This kind of feeling really brings back memories.¡±

    Lu Xiao¡¯s expression changed as his entire body went on high alert. As a mid stage master rank, he was capable of anticipating danger ahead of time. He didn¡¯t hesitate at all and rushed into the sky. The only thing in his mind right now was to fly as fast as he could, the faster, the better. He had to get out of here.

    But as soon as he began his ascent, he suddenly felt lighter. Then, he lost his center of gravity and crashed into the ground. He lowered his head and discovered that his legs had been cut off at the knees. Just then, intense pain finally spread through his body. He screamed in pain as he clutched his legs, rolling on the ground in agony. The cocky and arrogant Lu Xiao from just a moment before was nowhere to be seen.

    Zu An felt a chill run down his back. He stared at the ordinary guard¡¯s de in front of the crown prince. It was actually still three feet in front of him, as if it had never moved. However, the drop of blood that slowly trickled down the de dered that it was precisely that de that had cleaved through Lu Xiao¡¯s legs.

    It¡¯s over just like that? Zu An was horrified. He hadn¡¯t seen how the de attacked either. If that de had been aimed at him, he probably wouldn¡¯t have been able to evade it either.

    ¡°Who exactly are you?¡± Lu Xiao stared at the distant crown prince in horror. Theughable fatty had now be utterly terrifying.

    ¡°Who do you think I am?¡± The crown prince cracked a grin.

    Lu Xiao gritted his teeth. He formed a sword seal with his hand, and the iron sword he had used in his younger years appeared next to him. He was a mid stage master rank cultivator, after all. Even though his legs were crippled, he could control a flying sword without them.

    The iron sword screamed as Lu Xiao pointed at the crown prince, eximing, ¡°Swiftly!¡±

    The flying sword transformed into aet, moving twice as quickly as Wei Pingyang¡¯s sword! This was Lu Xiao¡¯s most powerful attack, his pride, the umtion of a lifetime of cultivation. Whether he won or lost would depend on this attack.

    The crown prince finally made his move. He slowly raised his hand. His fingers clearly appeared to move slowly in Lu Xiao and Zu An¡¯s eyes, yet they moved faster than the flying sword. His two chubby fingers mped down on that lightning-fast flying sword.

    ¡°What?!¡± Lu Xiao eximed.

    Zu An and Lu Xiao¡¯s eyes were about to pop out of their sockets. This was a scene neither of them had expected.

    Lu Xiao¡¯s entire body trembled as he sensed the threat of death. He struggled to maintain his sword technique, trying to regain control over the flying sword. If a normal person had tried to mp down on the flying sword like this, or even an ordinary master rank cultivator, he could just spur on the flying sword and slice those fingers to pieces. Under his control, the flying sword vibrated with noise, struggling intensely as it tried to free itself from the crown prince¡¯s fingers.

    The crown prince gave it a look, and his fingers crossed. The flying sword broke apart inch by inch, and then turned to dust in the wind!

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Pfft!¡± Blood spurted out of Lu Xiao¡¯s mouth. His expression instantly became haggard, his hair turning gray.

    Not only had the flying sword been smashed; the attack also continued to crush his soul! This was only something a grandmaster could do! No, not even a grandmaster could do something like this so easily.

    He thought about the aura he had felt, and finally realized something. He looked at the fatty in horror, saying hoarsely, ¡°Your majesty, it was actually your majesty¡­¡±

 Chapter 835: Discovered

    <h4>Chapter 835: Discovered</h4>

    A look of mockery shed through the crown prince¡¯s eyes. ¡°You only realized that now? Isn¡¯t it a bit toote?¡±

    With that acknowledgement, forget about Lu Xiao, even Zu An was incredibly shocked as he remained in hiding. Even though he¡¯d had simr suspicions, he still found it a bit hard to believe until everything became clear.

    Zu An had actually always felt that something was strange. The emperor had arranged for him to protect their party from the dark. Putting aside whether he even stood a chance against King Qi Manor¡¯s people, even if he did, why would the emperor trust him so much?

    When he had entered the dungeon and seen King Qi¡¯s various schemes, he¡¯d felt both admiration for King Qi and contempt for the emperor. He¡¯d felt that the reason why the emperor couldn¡¯t win against King Qi all these years was because his level of scheming was far inferior. But he was now the one who truly looked like a clown!

    Even so, why was the crown prince the emperor? Zu An really couldn¡¯t associate that stupid fatty with this powerful and dignified crown prince.

    Lu Xiao was also confused. He cried out, ¡°Impossible¡­ Impossible! How can you be the emperor?!¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The crown prince looked at him with a sneer, seemingly having no intention of exining.

    Lu Xiao suddenly realized something. ¡°I know what¡¯s going on! You used a possession technique! You had Mi Lianying look for the method of immortality. He failed several times, but thenter on, he brought back a possession technique. He was even punished for that, but you actually ended up secretly practicing that possession technique!¡±

    Possession? Zu An shivered. He was too familiar with this process. Old Mi had wanted to take over his body too. Judging from what Lu Xiao was saying, the reason why Old Mi had known this possession technique was because he had searched for it in the emperor¡¯s name!

    Lu Xiao continued, ¡°Back then, the crown prince wasn¡¯t stupid. But after experiencing a great illness, he suddenly became slow-witted. Everyone in the capital thought it was because of King Qi, and they were baffled by his actions, but we know it wasn¡¯t because of King Qi. Now if I connect the dots, it¡¯s clear that you used the possession technique on the crown prince back then and ended up wounding his soul! That was why he became slower than an ordinary person.¡±

    A look of praise appeared in the crown prince¡¯s eyes. ¡°You¡¯re quite sharp. No wonder you were able to be Zhao Jing¡¯s first guardian. Unfortunately, you realized this toote and joined the wrong camp.¡±

    Lu Xiaoughed bitterly. ¡°Being able to receive your majesty¡¯s praise has made this humble Lu¡¯s life worth living anyway. But there is something I don¡¯t understand. Since you¡¯ve already possessed him, why can your majesty and the crown prince both coexist?¡±

    The crown prince¡¯s expression eased a bit when he heard Lu Xiao¡¯s praise. His mood was clearly quite good. ¡°This emperor can help clear up your confusion, but you need to reply to some key questions about King Qi first.¡±

    Lu Xiao hesitated, but he still nodded in the end and said, ¡°Please ask, your majesty.¡±

    He already realized that King Qi was doomed to be finished after learning that the crown prince was the emperor. Whether or not he spoke wouldn¡¯t change that reality, so he might as well die knowing the truth.

    ¡°Did the libationer take part in this secret dungeon¡¯s affairs?¡± The crown prince¡¯s gaze became incredibly prating. He had originally trusted the libationer, but King Qi had brought in so many people. There was no way the academy waspletely uninvolved here.

    Lu Xiao shook his head. ¡°If the libationer had been willing to work with King Qi, why would King Qi even need to use all of these schemes?

    ¡°Three years ago, when the academy dungeon was opened, the one in charge of the dungeon entrance was Sir Eleven, Yin Shi.¡± Even though he didn¡¯t speak in too much detail, it was already enough.

    ¡°Yin Shi!¡± The crown prince was speechless, clearly already having decided on that person¡¯s death penalty.

    Zu An sighed inwardly. He had actually been quite worried when he first heard that the academy might be rted to this matter. Jiang Luofu, Qi Yaoguang, and the others were all teachers from the rear mountain. Furthermore, the Jiang n was part of King Qi¡¯s faction, so he was worried that it might have been Jiang Luofu who was responsible. If that had been the case, then even he had no idea how he would have saved her.

    Even if it weren¡¯t Jiang Luofu, but rather the seniors Wang Shuyang or Hei Baizi, he would also be troubled. These individuals had treated him well. Thankfully, it was that annoying debater Yin Shi.

    Zu An knew that his thoughts just then weren¡¯t all that good, but what could he do in such a situation?

    ¡°Apart from sending you all in, does Zhao Jing have any other schemes this time?¡± the crown prince asked¡­

    Lu Xiao shook his head. ¡°There are no more. With our strength, we thought it would already be more than enough to wipe out the crown prince¡¯s party. We actually had some criticism of this n at first, thinking that any random guardian would¡¯ve been enough for this mission, but the king insisted on this n. Later on, only when we encountered that Zu An did I feel admiration for King Qi¡¯s foresight. But even with all of his nning, he still never expected to fall into your majesty¡¯s trap in the end.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face was ashen. The emperor had always been in their party, yet he had just watched as the people protecting him sacrificed themselves one after another, never making a single move. Even though it hadn¡¯t been exined clearly, he could understand the emperor¡¯s schemes quite well.

    The first point was that the emperor absolutely couldn¡¯t reveal the fact that the crown prince¡¯s body was possessed, and the second was that King Qi had always had an honorable reputation, someone held in high esteem all throughout the court. The emperor had to have irond proof to use him. Now, he had ughtered these young masters and publicly schemed against the crown prince and princess. Once news of this got out, all of King Qi¡¯s prestige and reputation would bepletely destroyed. Once that happened, no one would help him.

    This really was the n of a mastermind!

    Those young masters who had heroically sacrificed themselves before death had no idea that the target of their protection had actually wished for them to die as miserably as possible. Just how ironic was that?

    The crown prince asked Lu Xiao a few more questions, and Lu Xiao answered them all one by one. Then, he asked timidly, ¡°Your highness, I¡¯ve already told you everything you wanted to know. Can you help me ease my confusion now?¡±

    The crown prince sneered when he saw Lu Xiao¡¯s expectant and fearful expression. ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry; why would this emperor do something like going back on my promises?¡±

    Zu Anughed inwardly when he heard these words. Hah! Who knows how many people you¡¯ve fooled with those words?

    The crown prince slowly said, ¡°Back then, this emperor had Mi Lianying lead a group in search of a method for immortality. After decades of searching, he finally found a possession technique. At first, I wasn¡¯t too happy, but Mi Lianying was never able to find the method for immortality. My time wasing as well, so I had no choice but to look into this possession technique.

    ¡°Possession goes against the natural course of this world, and the chances of sess are low. There are only two ways to increase the chances of sess. One is to cultivate the same cultivation technique, and the other is to be rted by blood. That¡¯s why Ruizhi was the best candidate.¡± The crown prince had a reminiscent expression on his face. ¡°But Zhao Jing has always been watching carefully, so I had to keep him in check. I couldn¡¯t carry out the possession too early, yet I didn¡¯t dare put it off as a final hope. After all, if it failed, everything would be over. I thought of a perfect solution for that, which was to first send in a bit of my soul into Ruizhi¡¯s body.

    ¡°People have three immortal souls and seven mortal forms. The seven mortal forms represent happiness, anger, grief, fear, love, hatred, and desire. The three immortal souls are the heaven, earth, and fate souls.

    ¡°The results of the experiment went well. One portion of my soul sessfully entered Ruizhi¡¯s body, recing his fate soul. However, there¡¯s no way I can constantly control his body, so I remain in hiding most of the time. The fate soul is in charge of thought and intelligence. The reason why he normally looks so slow is because that part was damaged.

    ¡°I knew there would be some great scheme during the crown prince¡¯s exam, yet I couldn¡¯t figure out what it was. That was why I granted Linglong some energy and had her use it as protection at a crucial time. That way, once she used it, this portion of my soul would smoothly awaken. Once that happened, no matter what kind of schemes Zhao Jing had, I could easily deal with it.¡±

    Zu An waspletely stupefied when he heard the exnation. This was a crafty old fox after all! What he had bestowed Bi Linglong wasn¡¯t some protection method, but rather an ¡®rm¡¯ that would wake him up! Bi Linglong had been keptpletely in the dark the entire time.

    Lu Xiao sighed in praise. ¡°Thank you, your majesty, for clearing up my confusion.¡±

    The crown prince stood with his hands behind his back, a satisfied smile on his face. ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to thank me. It¡¯s just that I was never able to share my great n with anyone all this time, which was quite the tragedy. Having someone listen to it is a sort of joy as well.¡±

    Lu Xiao¡¯s expression changed. He knew that he was already dead for sure now. Just as he was about to say something to see if he could change his fate, the other party raised his finger. A bloody hole instantly appeared between his brows, and he lost his life.

    After killing Lu Xiao, the crown prince arrived at Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun¡¯s side. ¡°Hm? They¡¯re actually not dead yet.¡± He raised his hand after speaking, clearly about to silence them forever.

    Zu An¡¯s heart couldn¡¯t help but pound as he watched. Right at that moment, the crown prince turned around to look in his direction, saying, ¡°Show yourself.¡±

 Chapter 836: Beyond Disrespect

    <h4>Chapter 836: Beyond Disrespect</h4>

    Zu An felt all of his fine hairs stand on end when he saw the crown prince walk over.

    However, the more dangerous the situation, the calmer he became. He didn¡¯t immediately rush out or move. He understood well that even if he had made great progress with his cultivation, even if he used Grandgale, he still wouldn¡¯t be able to escape. He saw something out of the corner of his eyes and couldn¡¯t help but be overjoyed, quickly using the jade badge tomunicate with it.

    The crown prince got closer and closer. But just then, a ck figure suddenly jumped out of the underbrush. He casually reached out and the dark figure entered his hands, squealing as it struggled.

    The crown prince¡¯s expression eased as he muttered, ¡°It was just a Bright Fur Mouse.¡± As he spoke, he twisted his hands, wringing the mouse¡¯s neck.

    You have sessfully trolled the Bright Fur Mouse for +1 +1 +1¡­

    What the hell did I do to deserve this? thought the mouse.

    The crown prince¡¯s aura swept around, then his eyes returned to Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun. He reached out his hand toward their heads, but then he stopped. He muttered to himself, ¡°No, I have to leave two people alive as witnesses.¡±

    He confirmed that the two of them really had fainted. Then, he picked up one in each arm and rushed into the sky before disappearing.

    Zu An was worried that the emperor might not be really gone yet, so he didn¡¯t dare to budge an inch. But a whileter, he sighed in relief. ¡°Thank goodness I was able to remain calm. Otherwise, I would¡¯ve already been on my way to meet my maker.¡±

    ¡°Heh.¡± Mi Li sneered. ¡°If not because I helped you hide your aura just now, do you think you really could¡¯ve escaped his detection?¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He couldn¡¯t help but smile and remark, ¡°Big sis empress, so you do still love me after all.¡±

    Mi Li¡¯s expression immediately changed. ¡°What did you say?¡±

    Zu An exined, ¡°It¡¯s just amon saying from my hometown. I¡¯m saying that even though you¡¯re always talking about how you won¡¯t help me, you still won¡¯t remain indifferent when it counts.¡±

    Mi Li harrumphed. ¡°I wasn¡¯t helping you, just saving myself. That was an enemy you had zero chance of winning against.¡±

    Zu An smiled. This woman really was tough on the outside, but soft on the inside.

    But his focus quickly returned to the emperor. He said with a sigh, ¡°I should¡¯ve realized that something was off earlier. No wonder the emperor didn¡¯t seem to care that much about the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra. It was because he already had his own method of immortality. He even fooled me and said he was seeking some sort of immortality through historical famey. Call me naive and innocent, I actually trusted his damn words. How could an emperor like him possibly be satisfied with just leaving behind a name?¡±

    Mi Li also nodded sympathetically. ¡°This Zhao Han¡¯s shrewdness and grasp of politics has already reached the pinnacle of emperors. He would even have a chance against the first emperor Ying Zheng.¡±

    Even though Zu An sighed, he was also secretly d. The emperor¡¯s soul must have been dormant most of the time, or else he might have known about the time Zu An had controlled the crown prince with the jade badge.

    Huh? Wait¡­ Zu An remembered Concubine Bai¡¯s warning. ¡®His majesty is more formidable than you imagine. He knows everything; it¡¯s just that he hasn¡¯t said anything yet.¡¯ Those words reappeared in his memory. He quickly asked Mi Li, ¡°Do you think the emperor already knew about these things?¡±

    Mi Li shook her head. ¡°The price of awakening his possession each time would be huge. The crown prince wasn¡¯t in any danger back then, so I don¡¯t think controlling the crown prince for a short time with the jade badge did anything.¡±

    Zu An sighed in relief. ¡°That¡¯s good, that¡¯s good.¡±

    Mi Li sneered, ¡°Aren¡¯t you feeling happy a bit too early? Even if the emperor doesn¡¯t know, he¡¯ll probably find out about everything that happened in the dungeon. You¡¯ve disyed tremendous strength this time. You¡¯re growing too quickly. As an emperor, he definitely wouldn¡¯t let a variable like you continue to exist. I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll suspect you and wonder why your cultivation speed is so fast, as well as whether the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra you gave him was real or fake.¡±

    Zu An wanted to curse just then. Why the hell had he worked himself like this? Wasn¡¯t it for that stupid crown prince? Yet he had ended up exposing himself because of that. What the heck was this?

    ¡°He should¡¯ve seen how close you were with the crown princess all this time as well,¡± Mi Li said, her tone seemingly indicating she was actually happy to see him in this situation.

    Zu An froze up. He remembered how back then, when he had saved Bi Linglong, not only was the emperor not grateful, he had instead be angry just because he hugged Bi Linglong once. He had demanded that Zu An cut off one of his arms.

    He¡¯d thought that the emperor was just temperamental, but he now knew that the reason for the emperor¡¯s fury was because Bi Linglong was not only his daughter-inw, but also the future wife he had arranged for himself. No wonder he had shown no interest in the fact that the crown princess was a virgin the entire time. That was probably a present he had kept wrapped for himself in the future.

    Zu An had not only slept with the emperor¡¯s current wife; even his rtionship with the emperor¡¯s future wife wasn¡¯t clear. This was already beyond disrespect!

    Zu An asked with a sullen look, ¡°Then what do I do now?¡±

    Mi Li said, ¡°What¡¯s inside the crown prince right now is a portion of the emperor¡¯s soul. Normally speaking, the two¡¯s thoughts should be connected, but we¡¯re inside the dungeon right now. The dungeon is a world of its own, so not even Zhao Han canmunicate between his souls across worlds. That¡¯s why there¡¯s something you can try, which is to erase this part of his will in the dungeon. That way, the emperor won¡¯t know about what happened inside. With your wit, you should be able to survive this ordeal.¡±

    Zu An could onlyugh in self-mockery when he heard this proposal. He was going to erase the emperor¡¯s soul in this dungeon? He couldn¡¯t even take two hits from the mid stage master ranked Lu Xiao!

    ¡°Sigh, I think it¡¯s better if I start thinking about how I¡¯m going to run once I leave this dungeon.¡± Zu An even began to think about where he was going to hide once he left. Brightmoon City was definitely unsuitable and would only bring danger to the Chu n.

    I guess there¡¯s no choice but to go to the fiend races¡¯ territory. I can pay Qiao Xueying a visit along the way.

    Sigh¡­ Goodbye, this lively capital; goodbye, my beauties¡­

    Mi Li fell silent for a moment before saying, ¡°Whatever; it would indeed be quite hard to eliminate that soul of his. But if you want to run, it¡¯ll be best if you leave the dungeon now. Otherwise, once the emperor finds you, it¡¯ll be toote for you to run then.¡±

    Zu An voiced his agreement and ran in the direction of the dungeon entrance. He was worried that he might be discovered by the emperor, so he didn¡¯t fly and instead moved stealthily

    As for Bi Linglong, the emperor was here, so she should be fine. He¡¯d find a chance to leave her a message and tell her the truthter. His thoughts were quite grave at the moment, so he couldn¡¯t be bothered to think about it too much.

    Suddenly, a rumble erupted, causing birds to leave the distant forest. Many beasts ran for their lives. It was as if an earthquake had happened.

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s something strange about this dungeon.¡± Mi Li hesitated for a moment and didn¡¯t say too much.

    ¡°But that shouldn¡¯t be the case! This is the Royal Academy¡¯s territory. This dungeon should be extremely stable!¡± Zu An eximed, confused.

    Mi Li said, ¡°Humans know too little about dungeons. All sorts of things can happen in these spatial cracks. I think it¡¯s best if we leave as quickly as possible.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± At that point, Zu An was in quite the predicament himself, so he couldn¡¯t be bothered to think about what was happening.

    Zu An turned around to run toward the dungeon entrance, but a whileter, he heard sounds of fighting ahead. His expression changed. ¡°This is just too much to be a coincidence, right?¡± He decisively changed directions, nning to take a detour. He didn¡¯t dare to meddle in the fight.

    Just then, however, a charming female voice screamed. Zu An suddenly froze.

    Mi Li said mockingly, ¡°The two of you really were brought together by fate.¡±

    The female voice was clearly Bi Linglong¡¯s. Judging from the sound of her scream, she was already in extreme danger at that moment.

    Mi Li didn¡¯t try to dissuade Zu An from helping. After sticking around him for so long, she knew he wasn¡¯t that type of person. Even though she always mocked him for making such unwise decisions, if Zu An really had been the type of person who was willing to do anything to achieve his goals, she would instead dislike that more.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Bi Linglong sat on the ground in despair as she looked at the three deathsworn soldiers that surrounded her.

    Her n had been sessful, drawing away the troops that were chasing after her. She had been about to run away, but she had ended up being surrounded by several of King Qi Manor¡¯s deathsworn soldiers.

    As they had split up, she no longer had any guards around her. Furthermore, after she had used her secret technique, she had been drained of strength. She wasn¡¯t a match for these three deathsworn soldiers.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    When they saw Bi Linglong¡¯s fair white arm exposed through her torn sleeves, the deathsworn soldiers¡¯ eyes burned hotly.

    One of them gulped and said, ¡°Screw it, I¡¯ve already been holding myself back for three years! There hasn¡¯t been a single woman here; my hand has even been getting calluses from all the rubbing! I have to enjoy myself today no matter what!¡±

    One of the other soldiers had some misgivings. ¡°She is the crown princess after all. This doesn¡¯t seem too good.¡±

    ¡°Like hell I care if she¡¯s the crown princess! She¡¯s about to be a corpse anyway.¡± The third person harrumphed. ¡°We¡¯re going to kill her anyway, but if we kill her immediately, that¡¯d be such a waste. We might as well have some fun first.¡±

    The second soldier felt a strange sense of desire when he heard those words. They were deathsworn soldiers without any future anyway. Furthermore, they had lived such deste lives alongside beasts for three whole years. It was enough to turn any human into a wild beast.

    ¡°It¡¯s just a pity, her hair is a bit too white¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s been three years already! I¡¯ll even fuck a pig, let alone this chick who was hot to begin with.¡±

    ¡°Who¡¯s going first?¡±

    Bi Linglong was embarrassed and furious as she listened to their filthy words. She had never expected to end up in this state. Unfortunately, her acupoints had been sealed, so she couldn¡¯t evenmit suicide.

    When she thought about how the purity she had protected for so long was going to be destroyed, she felt regret. If she had known it was going to be like this, she would have just given herself to Zu An.

    King Qi Manor¡¯s experts had chased after them, so Zu An, who had been holding up the rear, was probably already dead. She felt great pain when she thought of that. She could no longer hold herself back, and pearl-like tears trickled down her cheeks.

 Chapter 837: Iâ€™m Toast

    <h4>Chapter 837: I¡¯m Toast</h4>

    ¡°Hmph, these girls usually act all high and mighty, but we¡¯ll be able to press one of them under us and do whatever we want! Heh, just the thought alone is about to make me go crazy.¡±

    ¡°I still can¡¯t believe I¡¯ll actually get to y around with the crown princess in this life.¡±

    ¡°Beautiful miss, big brother ising! I¡¯m pretty big, so you have to hold on, alright?¡±

    The three deathsworn soldiers¡¯ eyes turned red when they saw the crown princess sitting there, weak and powerless. How could they still hold back? They charged over with a roar.

    Bi Linglong tried to bite her own tongue to end her life, but her body was sealed and she couldn¡¯t move at all. She could only close her eyes in despair.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    But the foul-bodied soldiers didn¡¯t pounce on her the way she had expected. She sensed a gust of wind around her, and the screams of several men followed. She quickly opened her eyes. Those deathsworn soldiersy copsed on the ground, their eyes filled with horror. They were already dead.

    A familiar figure stood behind them, saying with a sigh, ¡°I guess you guys weren¡¯t that lucky, to have met me here after all.¡±

    Bi Linglong was happy and surprised to hear that familiar voice. She looked toward that person in disbelief. ¡°Ah Zu!¡±

    Zu An turned around and said with a smile, ¡°Howe you¡¯re always looking so haggard whenever I¡¯m not at your side?¡± He walked over and undid her seals.

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡± Bi Linglong could no longer hold herself back. She jumped into his arms and sobbed.

    There were just too many things that had happened today. She had lingered on the border of life and death several times. Just now, she had almost been defiled too. The worst part was that she¡¯d thought Zu An had already died, yet he was standing alive and well in front of her. Even someone like her, who paid a lot of attention to her bearing, couldn¡¯t hold back all of the emotions she was feeling right now.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine; everything is over now.¡± Zu An consoled Bi Linglong when he saw how she was shaking. At the same time, he quickly said, ¡°We need to leave as soon as possible. This ce is dangerous.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s dangerous?¡± came a voice from behind him.

    Zu An felt all of his fine hairs stand on end when he heard the voice. He looked behind him stiffly, and saw that the fatty Zhao Ruizhi was nearby, watching the two of them. He no longer had that slow-witted smile, but rather stared at the two of them with sharp eyes.

    I¡¯m done for! Zu An cried out inwardly. Big sis empress, why didn¡¯t you warn me?

    Mi Li harrumphed. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t have been able to get away even if I warned you, so we might as well let nature run its course.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. Fuck nature running its course! His daughter-inw and future wife is in my freaking arms right now! He was actually quite surprised that he could still joke around about that even in such a situation.

    Bi Linglong also saw the crown prince. Her face turned red and she instinctively pushed Zu An away. ¡°Ruizhi? so you were okay.¡± Even though the crown prince was stupid, he was her husband. She couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit guilty embracing another man in front of him.

    Zhao Ruizhi harrumphed in annoyance. ¡°Were you hoping that something had happened to me?¡±

    ¡°Not at all!¡± Bi Linglong felt strangely guilty after having been seen by her husband, and didn¡¯t immediately react to the crown prince¡¯s strange behavior. ¡°I remember that we ran in different directions, so why are you here alone? Where are Guard Piao and Guard Jiao?¡± She looked around while she spoke. Unfortunately, she didn¡¯t see any sign of them.

    ¡°You deliberately pushed me away because you wanted to meet him in private, hm?¡± Zhao Ruizhi remarked coldly.

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Han for +222 +222 +222¡­

    Zu An began to feel a bit numb when he saw these Rage points. All sorts of methods to save himself rushed through his mind, but no matter what he came up with, with their cultivation difference, he would still inevitably die.

    But still, he wouldn¡¯t give up. He¡¯d just fight a grand battle to the death if push came to shove. He had to find a way to survive.

    ¡°What did you say?!¡± Bi Linglong became a bit angry when she heard what the crown prince said. When had this fellow dared to speak like this to her? He didn¡¯t even dare to raise his voice normally. ¡°I only just got here too, but then I was almost taken by those King Qi Manor deathsworn soldiers¡­ But thankfully, Sir Zu saved me in time.¡±

    Zhao Ruizhi said indifferently, ¡°You need to pay attention to your identity. You¡¯re the crown princess. You shouldn¡¯t express any closeness with another man, even if he saves you.¡±

    Bi Linglong was stunned and stared at him nkly. She finally realized that this crown prince seemed to be a bit different from usual.

    ¡°Why are you still noting over here?¡± Zhao Ruizhi frowned. He was clearly unhappy to see that she had still been standing next to Zu An all this time.

    Bi Linglong shivered. She seemed to have finally sensed the other party¡¯s prestige and pressure. This damn fatty is actually giving off a feeling of pressure?

    She felt an extreme sense of absurdity. However, the other party¡¯s words made some sense. She was the crown princess, after all. Being too close to another subject in front of the crown prince was indeed inappropriate.

    She walked towards the crown prince while feeling a bit guilty. At the same time, she sensed that something wasn¡¯t quite right and subconsciously spoke out in favor of Zu An. ¡°Ruizhi, Sir Zu¡¯s contributions during this exam were extremely great. If not because he fought with his life on the line, we would have already died several times. He saved us many times, so we should be thanking him and not treating him coldly over such minor details.¡±

    ¡°Are you teaching me how to do things?¡± Zhao Ruizhi harrumphed. ¡°He saved me? What a joke!¡±

    Bi Linglong stopped. Her brows furrowed deeply as she asked, ¡°Ruizhi, what is wrong with you today?¡±

    Normally, even though she was full ofints toward him, she had already gotten used to dealing with the slow crown prince after being around him all these years. Sometimes, she even found his foolishness a bit cute. But now, his usual foolishness was nowhere to be seen. She had actually hoped that the crown prince could one day look like this, yet when the day really came, she felt a mix of estrangement and fear instead.

    Zhao Ruizhi didn¡¯t pay her any attention and looked at Zu An, asking, ¡°Were you hiding nearby before?¡±

    Zu An shivered. But worrying that the other party might be trying to trap him, he replied with a smile, ¡°Crown prince, what are you saying? I really don¡¯t understand you.¡±

    ¡°Look at how sharp you are.¡± Zhao Ruizhi smirked mockingly. ¡°It¡¯s a pity, however; your spice bag gave you away. I smelled it back then, but I didn¡¯t react quickly enough. It¡¯s quite strange, actually. How did you avoid my detection?¡±

    Zu An knew that he really had been exposed now. He said, ¡°Sigh, if I really were smart, I wouldn¡¯t have been fooled by you.¡±

    Bi Linglong was extremely confused. She couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°What are you two saying? We should use this chance to leave as quickly as possible, or else King Qi Manor¡¯s men will catch up!¡±

    ¡°We should?¡± Zhao Ruizhi sneered. ¡°The ¡®we¡¯ you¡¯re speaking of refers to you and Zu An, right? My appearance seems unnecessary to you.¡±

    Bi Linglong frowned. ¡°What are you saying? Sir Zu saved us, so what¡¯s wrong with me treating him a bit better? Besides, we still need him to protect us.¡±

    ¡°Silence, you whore!¡± Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s expression suddenly became sinister. ¡°Don¡¯t think that I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re thinking inside! Day after day, you stick around him like a lover. You don¡¯t see me as your husband at all!¡±

    ¡°What kind of nonsense are you saying? Sir Zu and I are both innocent! You can¡¯t nder us like this!¡± Bi Linglong became angry as well.

    ¡°Innocent?¡± Zhao Ruizhi roared withughter. ¡°Who were the ones who werepletely naked together back then? Later on, who were the ones who kept meeting in private in the Eastern Pce? When Zu An fell into the water with that serpent, who was the one that jumped in after him? You dare im you¡¯re innocent?¡±

    Bi Linglong¡¯s face paled. ¡°The events in the pce have already been cleared up by his majesty and the libationer; don¡¯t listen to those rumors. As for everything else, that¡¯s even more baseless. I didn¡¯t jump in to save him, but rather toplete this mission¡­¡±

    But she suddenly realized something halfway through her sentence. She looked at him in shock, saying, ¡°You aren¡¯t Ruizhi. Who exactly are you?¡±

 Chapter 838: My Luck Is Just Too Good

    <h4>Chapter 838: My Luck Is Just Too Good</h4>

    Zu An said with a bitter smile, ¡°Crown princess, you¡¯re normally pretty smart. Why did you only realize this now?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Bi Linglong was full of shock. She instinctively backed up away from Zhao Ruizhi, instead feeling safer by Zu An¡¯s side.

    Zu An sighed. ¡°He isn¡¯t the crown prince, but rather his majesty. Uh¡­ I shouldn¡¯t call him his majesty, because his majesty is also the crown prince.¡±

    Bi Linglong was stupefied. ¡°What¡­ do you mean?¡±

    Zu An stared at Zhao Ruizhi, on guard against a sudden attack, while quickly exining, ¡°For the sake of pursuing immortality, he used a possession technique on the crown prince when he was little, sending a portion of his own soul into the crown prince¡¯s body to rece his fate soul. This soul portion usually stays asleep. The crown prince is stupid because hecks his fate soul. However, when needed, the emperor¡¯s fate soul can awaken at any time.¡±

    Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°You know everything, as expected. Looks like I can¡¯t keep you alive.¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°You make it sound like you were nning to spare me in the first ce.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re his majesty?¡± Bi Linglong looked at Zhao Ruizhi in shock. Her husband had suddenly be her father-inw, her father-inw had be her husband¡­ She remained in a daze for a long time. But she had always been smart. After putting together all of the things she had heard in the pce for years, she quickly understood the emperor¡¯s ns.

    ¡°You whore, your heart already belongs to him.¡± Zhao Ruizhi watched as the two of them got closer and closer to each other. ¡°You didn¡¯te to your husband¡¯s side in a moment of danger, and instead instinctively moved closer to another man. I¡¯ve given you a chance, but unfortunately, you didn¡¯t cherish it.¡±

    Bi Linglong¡¯s face paled. The killing intent in the other party¡¯s voice was clear.

    Zu An remarked, ¡°Can you please stop ttering yourself? You never nned to allow anyone to leave this ce alive.¡±

    Zhao Ruizhi harrumphed. ¡°A ve like you surprisingly understands me well. You were quite useful at first, but you¡¯re truly brazen, daring to even flirt with this emperor¡¯s woman. You¡¯re simply courting death.¡±

    Zu An thought inwardly, It¡¯s not just flirting. Your empress was calling me ¡®daddy¡¯ all night in bed just the other day. If it had just been the two of them, he wouldn¡¯t mind saying that to anger him further. He was dead either way, so he might as well let it all out and piss the emperor off more.

    But Bi Linglong was next to him right now. Forget it, I won¡¯t be that shameless.

    Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s eyesnded on Bi Linglong. ¡°If you had only treated him as a servant, and remained faithful, then this emperor could have forgiven you. Unfortunately, your performance just now was just too disappointing. Besides, with your aged appearance, you¡¯re already no longer suitable to be the crown princess. You can just remain in this dungeon forever.¡±

    Zu An rolled his eyes. Is there something wrong with these ancient people¡¯s standards of beauty? Isn¡¯t it just her hair that¡¯s white? What part of her appearance is old?

    It clearly makes her look even better, like the white-haired bride, or the white haired sister of the sky. Don¡¯t they look stunning in their own way?

    Bi Linglong had already calmed down from her initial shock. ¡°The crown prince can¡¯t get rid of the crown princess without good reason, so are you nning to kill me in this dungeon? But if you do that, you¡¯ll lose the support of the Bi n, and the Bi n might defect to King Qi. After all, my older sister is Madam Qi. Will you be able to bear the consequences?¡±

    Zu An felt admiration. This woman was a politician through and through after all! She understood the benefits and interests of the political field clearly.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it fine as long as no one inside the dungeon finds out?¡± Zhao Ruizhi didn¡¯t seem that concerned. ¡°The Bi n will only think that King Qi sent people to kill you; they¡¯ll only be even more united toward this emperor¡¯s mission. Of course, just in case, I¡¯ll choose another youngdy from the Bi n to bring into the Eastern Pce.¡±

    Bi Linglong was disheartened. The emperor had already thought things out so clearly. It seemed he really nned to kill them here.

    ¡°Your soul has always been sleeping in the crown prince¡¯s body. Does that mean you know about everything that happened in the Eastern Pce?¡± Zu An asked. He wanted to stall for a bit of time and see if any opportunities would appear.

    ¡°But of course!¡± Zhao Ruizhi eximed proudly.

    ¡°Then even though Linglong and I were flirting with each other all the time, why didn¡¯t you ever do anything?¡± Zu An asked with a smile.

    Bi Linglong gave him a look. When did I ever flirt with you in the Eastern Pce? But there was no point in clearing things up, or else it would seem as if she were begging the emperor for forgiveness.

    Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s breathing stopped and he stared hatefully at the two of them. ¡°If not for the fact that Linglong¡¯s chastity remained, I would¡¯ve already killed the two of you a long time ago!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Han for +345 +345 +345¡­

    Zhao Ruizhi suddenly paused in shock. ¡°Huh? With my nature, I should¡¯ve killed you a long time ago. Why did I tolerate this for so long?¡±

    Zu An suddenly realized what had happened. It was probably because of the Hat of Forgiveness he had made the emperor wear back then, which had increased the other party¡¯s tolerance toward him.

    Unfortunately, the Hat of Forgiveness only worked once. Now, it was probably already useless.

    ¡°You two should be thankful that you were able to understand these things before you died.¡± Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s expression turned cold. ¡°Now it¡¯s time for you two to die.¡±

    Zu Anughed out loud as he held Bi Linglong¡¯s ice-cold hand. ¡°Being able to die together with Linglong can be considered passing on happily as lovebirds; the trip across the yellow springs won¡¯t be too lonely. Meanwhile, it¡¯s someone all alone like you who seems more pathetic.¡±

    ¡°Passing on as lovebirds?¡± Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s face jiggled. ¡°Do you think I¡¯ll let your ashes remain in the same ce? I¡¯ll scatter one of you across a snowy peak, and the other into the sea! Neither of you will be able to meet even after you reincarnate! Let¡¯s see what kind of lovers¡¯ death you¡¯ll have then!¡±

    As powerful killing intent surrounded them, Bi Linglong felt as if she were trapped in a frozen cer. She began to tremble all over. But just then, warmth spread from the palm of the man next to her, helping her calm down a bit. She tightly grabbed his hand.

    Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s pupils contracted when he saw their fingers interlock. How many years had it been since he had been this angered? He could remain indifferent in front of others, yet he always felt anger whenever he looked at Zu An.

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Han for +444 +444 +444¡­

    A figure descended from the distance as soon as Zhao Ruizhi finished speaking. Then, King Qi Manor¡¯s experts surrounded the area one after another. The one in the lead was thest guardian of King Qi Manor, the peak stage ninth rank He Li!

    He was overjoyed when he saw the crown prince and princess. He thought to himself that even though Lu Xiao and Wei Pingyang¡¯s cultivation had been higher, they weren¡¯t as lucky as him! He was going to enjoy all of the contributions.

    But he quickly noticed Zu An, making the smile on his face freeze. ¡°Why are you still alive?¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    This was Zu An¡¯s chance! He grabbed Linglong, crying, ¡°Run!¡±

    He used Grandgale to instantly rush several hundred zhang away. With his increased cultivation, skills like Grandgale had also improved greatly.

    Zhao Ruizhi hadn¡¯t expected Zu An to be that fast. Just as he was about to move, He Li and the others moved in front of him.

    He Li asked, ¡°Crown prince, where do you think you¡¯re going?¡± However, he felt d inwardly. Thank goodness that disaster Zu An ran, or else I really wouldn¡¯t have much confidence in taking him down. I¡¯ll wait until Lu Xiao and Wei Pingyange back so we can chase him down together.

    Zhao Ruizhi barked coldly, ¡°Move!¡±

    ¡°Oh? Our stupid fatty is getting all upset!¡± He Li roared withughter. ¡°How does it feel to see your own wife abandon you and run off with another man? Wait, no, I remember something. Didn¡¯t someone say they didn¡¯t mind lending their wife to Zu An not too long ago?¡±

    Forget about the deathsworn soldiers, even powerful cultivators like them were on the brink of madness after staying in the dungeon for three years. All of that was because of the stupid crown prince in front of them. How could he not use this chance to vent out some of their resentment?

    Ah, my luck today is just too good!

 Chapter 839: Ghost Dungeon

    <h4>Chapter 839: Ghost Dungeon</h4>

    ¡°Huh? A damn fatty like you dares to re at me?¡± He Li didn¡¯t like it at all when he saw how Zhao Ruizhi looked at him. Normally, he always had to suffer under Lu Xiao and Wei Pingyang¡¯s pressure, and today, he couldn¡¯t even teach that brat Zu An a lesson. He was already filled with resentment. Even if I can¡¯t deal with them, that doesn¡¯t mean I can¡¯t deal with a damn fatty like you!

    Zhao Ruizhi said coldly, ¡°The fact you were able to live for so long is a miracle in itself.¡± He wasn¡¯t in a rush to chase after Zu An. Either way, the two of them wouldn¡¯t be able to leave the range of his divine will.

    ¡°You dare speak to this old one like this? Do you think you¡¯re the emperor or something?¡± He Li felt a strangeck of confidence under the other party¡¯s disdainful look. But it was precisely that fear that made him feel even worse. He was actually scared of this stupid fatty? If Lu Xiao and the others learned of this, how would he even survive in King Qi Manor in the future? Wouldn¡¯t they make fun of him every day?

    He became angrier and angrier as he had those thoughts. He walked over and sent a palm flying at the fatty¡¯s face, yelling, ¡°Here¡¯s the face you want!¡±

    ¡°¡­Huh?¡± He Li was shocked to discover that his neck was already in the crown prince¡¯s hands. Then, the crown prince lifted his body up. His legs iled around, but his toes couldn¡¯t even touch the floor.

    He Li wanted to scare the crown prince with his cultivation, but as soon as he gathered his strength, it was scattered by a mysterious force. Suddenly, he felt weaker than if he had spent three days and three nights at a brothel.

    The other experts from King Qi Manor also sensed that something was off. They all drew their des and charged over.

    But Zhao Ruizhi only gave them a cold look. An iparable power rippled out from him, and the deathsworn soldiers felt all of their courage disappear. One after another, they all knelt down, shaking in fear.

    ¡°This aura¡­ You¡¯re the emperor!¡± He Li was at the peak of the ninth rank, after all, so he was full of experience. He quickly realized what was going on. He was so scared tears began to flow. ¡°Your majesty, this petty one deserves death! I didn¡¯t mean to offend your majesty; I¡¯m willing to serve you! From today on, I¡¯ll be willing to do anything for you¡­ Your majesty, please give me a chance, your majesty¡­¡± There wasn¡¯t a trace of arrogance left in his voice as he begged and pleaded.

    Normally, he wouldn¡¯t dare to oppose the emperor. The only reason he usually acted the way he did was because King Qi had been shielding him from above. He had never had to face the emperor himself, and had instead only faced only his subordinates, whom he obviously didn¡¯t have to fear at all. Only now that he faced the emperor did he learn true despair.

    ¡°You deserve ten thousand deaths for your crimes!¡± Zhao Ruizhi eximed coldly. Just as he was about to kill He Li, the earth rumbled. The ground beneath them began to rise and fall like waves, and no one could stand steadily.

    A rumble came from underground. In the distant forest, waves of deep and mysterious cries emerged, as if some kind of demonic creature were crying out.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Zhao Ruizhi eximed, having floated into the air ahead of time. King Qi¡¯s meny copsed all over the ground. He flew higher into the air and looked into the distance, muttering to himself, ¡°The space here is starting to be unstable. Something isn¡¯t right with this dungeon.¡±

    Zhao Ruizhi retracted his gaze. He saw that He Li, who was still in his hands, was already so terrified that his face waspletely pale, his body limp like soggy noodles. He suddenly frowned, because he could smell urine. He gave He Li¡¯s wet pants a look and an expression of revulsion shed through his eyes. ¡°Disgusting!¡±

    Zhao Ruizhi threw He Li to the ground. He Li felt only happiness, rather than anger. He continued to kowtow on the ground. ¡°Thank you, your majesty, for not killing me! Thank you, your majesty!¡±

    The other deathsworn soldiers also began to plead for their lives. Even though they had all been strictly trained, any desire to fight had already beenpletely crushed by the emperor¡¯s terrifying presence. They no longer had any desire to resist.

    Zhao Ruizhi said indifferently, ¡°Something big is about to happen in this dungeon, and you all might be of some use. All of you had better prove your value.¡±

    ¡°Of course! Absolutely!¡± He Li¡¯s entire body was shaking as he sighed in relief.

    ¡°Where is Wei Pingyang?¡± Zhao Ruizhi asked.

    ¡°This humble one took different paths to chase our targets in different directions. He should be chasing after the others from the Eastern Pce right now.¡± He Li had wanted to reply that he didn¡¯t know, but he feared that would make him seem useless, so he quickly changed what he wanted to say. He threw a bit of dirt at Wei Pingyang too, soter on, that guy might not even be able to change sides.

    Zhao Ruizhi closed his eyes and his divine will spread outward.

    He Li felt as if something swept past his soul. While he felt nervous, he also felt admiration. King Qi had always said that the entire imperial pce was under the emperor¡¯s divine will; that if something happened, it would be hard to escape his detection. Everyone had disapproved of that back then, but now, he understood what King Qi had been saying. Sigh, even though King Qi is formidable, he¡¯s stillckingpared to the emperor.

    He didn¡¯t dare ask why the crown prince had be the emperor. He knew that the less he knew, the more chances he had of staying alive. But he also knew that King Qi¡¯s great n had actuallypletely been within the emperor¡¯s control. Defeat was already inevitable. Changing sides now had been a sensible decision.

    A whileter, Zhao Ruizhi opened his eyes, saying, ¡°I don¡¯t sense the auras of any other master rank cultivators. Wei Pingyang is probably dead.¡±

    ¡°Dead?¡± He Li was stunned. Who else in this dungeon could kill the master ranked Wei Pingyang? ¡°Don¡¯t tell me it was Zu An? That brat really is a bit scary.¡±

    Zhao Ruizhi gave He Li a cold look, and he felt goosebumps cover his body. This damn mouth of mine! Zu An just left with the crown princess, yet I¡¯m praising him right now? Am I tired of living? He quickly changed his tone. ¡°That little bastard is full of schemes. Wei Pingyang probably fell prey to one of his plots.¡± Is the crown princess the emperor¡¯s daughter-inw or woman? The royal family really is getting messed up now¡­

    Zhao Ruizhi harrumphed and pointed to the west. ¡°All of you are to chase in that direction and capture Zu An. Contact me as soon as there are any developments.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± He Li was overjoyed. The fact that he had received a mission meant that he could remain alive for a while longer. He quickly brought his subordinates toward the forest.

    He suddenly thought of something after taking a few steps, however. Why had his majesty only asked about Wei Pingyang and not Lu Xiao?

    Unless¡­

    He couldn¡¯t help but turn around when he had that thought.

    He only saw Zhao Ruizhi standing with his hands behind him, somewhat absentmindedly staring at the distant mountain. He didn¡¯t dare to stare at the emperor for too long and quickly left.

    Zhao Ruizhi stood there while feeling all kinds of emotions. After enjoying his great status for so long, he felt it was beneath him to do something like capturing someone himself. Furthermore, he had a more pressing issue. There had already been strange urrences in the dungeon several times. When he recalled how the beasts in the dungeon all seemed to have be stronger than they should have been, he immediately realized that the world was changing.

    ¡°A ghost dungeon?¡± His eyes shone brilliantly. He stared into the sky, seeing ki surging there. Some buildings that were entirely different from what he was used to were barely visible in the distance, as if they were just a mirage.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The so-called ¡®ghost dungeons¡¯ manifested when two dungeons ended up intersecting spatially due to various coincidences. Normally, only a single dungeon would appear, but during certain times, when special conditions were met, another hidden dungeon might appear in ce of the main dungeon. However, it wouldn¡¯t remain for long. If this chance were missed, it might be a few centuries or even millennia before another ghost dungeon would appear next.

    Even with the knowledge and experiences of an emperor, he had only seen something simr in an ancient record. Such a dungeon signified tremendous opportunities.

    It was a concept that was easy to understand. Most dungeons had already been explored many times. If there were any treasures or inheritances inside, they would have already been taken out. A dungeon that appeared once every few thousand years signified an entirely new, mysterious, and dangerous world, but also one full of opportunities.

    With the emperor¡¯s cultivation, he didn¡¯t actually need any inheritances or opportunities. However, there was something he still wanted, which was eternal life. This possession was something he had done because he had no choice. If one had a chance, who wouldn¡¯t want their original body to continue living forever?

    This kind of ghost dungeon that only existed in legends could very well possess the secrets to immortality.

    Could it be that this world understands this emperor¡¯s ambitions, that it decided to give me this chance? Ha ha ha, the strong are blessed after all! Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s eyes began to burn fiercely when he had those thoughts.

 Chapter 840: World Splitting

    <h4>Chapter 840: World Splitting</h4>

    Elsewhere, Zu An ran as fast as he could with Bi Linglong. But when he sensed the sudden strangeness, he also stopped.

    Let alone now, when Bi Linglong was extremely weak, even if she were in her best condition, she still wouldn¡¯t be able to stand still on this quaking ground. She cried out in rm and fell into Zu An¡¯s warm embrace.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Zu An caught her and flew into the air. He didn¡¯t dare to fly too high and only remained several meters above the ground. Otherwise, the emperor would be able to see them from a distance.

    ¡°I¡¯m alright.¡± Bi Linglong blushed from the hug. Her youngdy side made her want to subconsciously push him aside.

    But the two of them were currently in midair! She would drop if she pushed him away. The ground below rose and fell like waves, and it was quite terrifying. To ease her embarrassment, she quickly asked, ¡°What happened?¡±

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I feel like something¡¯s changed in this dungeon. The spatial element here has be extremely unstable. Something major might happen to this ce soon.¡±

    Bi Linglong was always dignified and proud when she acted as the crown princess, but wasn¡¯t she still soft and lovely in his arms? As expected, even the toughest women were soft when hugged.

    Zu An sighed in amazement when he smelled the noble fragranceing from her clothes. There had always been a saying that dying for the sake of a woman was also a romantic thing. He hadn¡¯t expected it to happen to himself. He would be confident in his chances of fighting the emperor if he were given a few more years. But right now, the difference between them was just too great¡­

    ¡°Hah, look at you using what I taught you to flirt with a girl. Do you feel good about yourself?¡± Mi Li remarked in dissatisfaction, interrupting Zu An¡¯s thoughts.

    ¡°We¡¯re so close already, so what¡¯s the point of distinguishing between the two of us? What¡¯s mine is yours, and what¡¯s yours is obviously mine too,¡± Zu An replied with a smile.

    ¡°Who wants to be close to you?¡± Mi Li harrumphed. ¡°You¡¯re full of cunning plots, and you¡¯re not all that respectful towards me normally either. I can¡¯t let that continue! You¡¯re not allowed to call me big sis or whatever; we¡¯ll be master and disciple.¡±

    ¡°Master and disciple?¡± Zu An replied with a strange expression.

    ¡°What, are you unwilling?¡± Mi Li¡¯s voice rose higher. ¡°If you hadn¡¯t received my pointers, do you think you¡¯d have been able to grow to where you are today? You have no idea how many people tried to be my disciple, and yet I didn¡¯t even give them a single look. Why are you still making up excuses when I¡¯m the one saying I¡¯ll take you in as my disciple?¡±

    ¡°Of course I¡¯m willing.¡± Zu An chuckled. After being around her for so long, the two of them were already no longer on guard against each other the way they¡¯d been before, and instead trusted each other. The things she¡¯d taught him had brought him huge benefits, especially her knowledge that transcended ages. ¡°But isn¡¯t it pretty good being siblings? Why do you suddenly want me to call you master?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that.¡± Mi Li cleared her throat. ¡°Are you willing or not?¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± Zu An didn¡¯t ask too much when he sensed that something was off with her. ¡°But I can¡¯t really kowtow to you as my master, the way things are right now.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for all of that. You just have to call me master,¡± Mi Li said.

    ¡°Mas¡­ ter¡­¡± Zu An was still a bit embarrassed at first. But when he did say it, it didn¡¯t seem like that big of a deal either.

    ¡°Good disciple.¡± Mi Li had a gentle smile on her usually dignified and beautiful face.

    Zu An was speechless. He¡¯d thought that perhaps it was for something important. Why did he now feel that she was only doing this to take advantage of him? Still, it didn¡¯t matter. Whether he called her master or not made no difference.

    Bi Linglong suddenly spoke. ¡°There¡¯s something strange going on with this world? Sigh, our situation is already so grim. When it rains, it really pours¡­¡±

    When he heard the despair in her voice, Zu An consoled her. ¡°It¡¯s actually the opposite. It¡¯s because of this sudden variable that we might have a chance to survive.¡±

    Bi Linglong was stunned. She was a smart person too, so she quickly realized what he was saying. She couldn¡¯t help but sigh in praise. ¡°Even though you¡¯re always goofing around usually, you¡¯re more cool-headed than anyone else would be in critical situations.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped; it¡¯s just a habit I ended up having after constantly being on the brink of death.¡± Zu An chuckled.

    Bi Linglong realized something she had never thought about. Indeed, ever since she had first received information on him, she¡¯d found that ever since Zu An was in Brightmoon City, he had always walked on the precipice between life and death! She felt both sympathy and admiration.

    Zu An was a bit apologetic as he said, ¡°Sorry, I ended up getting you caught up in my mess. You could have continued to be the crown princess normally.¡±

    Bi Linglong shook her head. ¡°Ever since what happened between us at Concubine Bai¡¯s ce, there was already no way he would tolerate my existence. Sigh, I really never expected Ruizhi to have been possessed by his majesty.¡±

    Even though she didn¡¯t feel much love toward the crown prince, they had lived together as husband and wife for so many years. It was normal to develop feelings for even a cat or dog one kept around all the time. She couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit awful when she learned that he had been possessed by his father.

    ¡°You¡¯re right, no one expected it,¡± Zu An said. ¡°The emperor has had his position for so long, his desire for immortality has be too strong. He¡¯s willing to try anything for the sake of his objective.¡±

    ¡°What should we do now?¡± Bi Linglong had already lost her usual shrewdness and decisiveness. She was still a youngdy after all. Anyone would be confused after going through so much in a single day.

    The thought that her husband was actually her father-inw was so horrifying it made her want to puke. WIth how powerful the emperor¡¯s cultivation was, where could she possibly escape to?

    ¡°Let¡¯s leave this dungeon first,¡± Zu An said. ¡°If pushes to shove, I¡¯ll bring you to the north¡¯s fiend races. No matter how powerful the emperor is, his influence can¡¯t reach that ce.¡±

    ¡°The fiend races?¡± Bi Linglong was stunned and shook her head. ¡°I can¡¯t do that. I still have my family behind me. My status would cause a huge controversy among the fiend races. Countless people from my family would die because of me.¡±

    Chu Chuyan, Zheng Dan, and the others had already shown Zu An the sense of responsibility the women of this world had toward their families. He quickly said, ¡°I¡¯m not asking you to announce your identity to the world. We can just live there in seclusion. We don¡¯t have to worry about those things then.¡±

    ¡°Live in seclusion¡­¡± Bi Linglong¡¯s face turned a bit red. It almost sounded as if she would be eloping with him. Her heart rate began to speed up. But soon afterward, she thought of the capital, about her ambitions and her years of effort going up in smoke. She felt disheartened again.

    Just then, a voice said in the distance, ¡°Heh, you two are still thinking of eloping?¡±

    Zu An and Bi Linglong¡¯s expressions changed. It was the emperor¡¯s voice! Just as Zu An attempted to flee with Bi Linglong, the air and ki around him seemingly solidified. He couldn¡¯t move at all.

    Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s fat figure appeared on the horizon. He took a light step, and in the next second, he was already standing in front of them.

    ¡°They¡¯re over there!¡± He Li eximed with pleasant surprise. He ran over excitedly with his men, but when he saw that the emperor had arrived before them, he broke out into a cold sweat. He quickly said in praise, ¡°Your majesty is all powerful after all. You arrived first even though you left after us! This humble one is overwhelmed with admiration.¡±

    Zu An and Bi Linglong both frowned. These people had already defected to the emperor? What the hell were they still fighting for then? It wouldn¡¯t be easy even if they were just facing these King Qi Manor experts, let alone if the emperor were also there.

    Zu An¡¯s heart sank to rock bottom. However, he didn¡¯t give up, as he felt great resentment inside. At worst, he would just try to bluff it out with Keyboard Come and try to drag down the emperor with him.

    As if sensing his thoughts, Mi Li said, ¡°Don¡¯t act rashly. It¡¯s not that sort of time yet.¡±

    Zu An asked happily, ¡°Are you going to help?¡±

    Mi Li shook her head. ¡°I might be able to if I recover, but I¡¯m not his match either right now.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He said, ¡°I can¡¯t even move right now under his aura¡¯s pressure. How the hell am I supposed to fight him then?¡±

    Mi Li said, ¡°This is probably his domain. To put it simply, he¡¯s using his powerful cultivation to redefine the kiws of a set space, and that¡¯s why you can¡¯t move. Wait a second. Once I deconstruct thesews, you should be able to move freely again.¡±

    Zu An smiled bitterly. This woman really was giving him a lot of credit. Even if he could move, he still didn¡¯t stand a chance at all! However, he tossed that thought out as soon as it emerged. He¡¯d just fight to the death if he had to. A man could lose his life, but not his pride!

    As if sensing his fighting spirit, a startled expression shed through the emperor¡¯s eyes. ¡°Hm? A lowly servant like you surprisingly has a bit of a spine. You aren¡¯t willing to bow down to another after all. You can¡¯t be left alive.¡±

    As he finished speaking, he raised his finger. He didn¡¯t want to waste any more words on Zu An and nned to directly kill him. But just then, his expression suddenly changed and he lowered his head.

    An intense rumble emerged from the depths of the earth. The noise was louder than before, and it didn¡¯t show any signs of stopping. The ground began to crack apart, revealing several bottomless crevices. Some of King Qi Manor¡¯s deathsworn soldiers couldn¡¯t dodge in time and fell in, screaming miserably as they dropped.

    Zu An suddenly noticed that he could move. He quickly flew into the sky with Bi Linglong, evading the giant cracks that had appeared in the ground.

    ¡°Big sis¡­ Master, did you break through his domain?¡± Zu An asked excitedly.

    Mi Li shook her head. ¡°No. Thews of this world have changed. The emperor¡¯s domain can¡¯tpare to the true power of a world.¡±

    When he saw Zu An¡¯s arm wrap around Bi Linglong¡¯s slender waist, and Bi Linglong also wrapping her arms tightly around his body, Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s eyes released powerful killing intent.

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Han for +777 +777 +777¡­

 Chapter 841: End of the World

    <h4>Chapter 841: End of the World</h4>

    Zu An felt his heart thud when he received the emperor¡¯s Rage points. He knew that the other party¡¯s tolerance had already reached its limit.

    He searched through every skill he had, but no matter what he tried, it would only change whether he died sooner rather thanter. His arm tightened around Bi Linglong¡¯s waist when he realized that, pressing her body tightly against his. Would this at least make his death seem a bit more honorable?

    Bi Linglong was stunned, but she was extremely intelligent. She quickly realized what he was doing and immediately blushed. Her clothes had been thin to begin with. With their bodies pressed against each other like this, she could clearly sense the warmth from his skin.

    The scene in the Hundred Flower Pce couldn¡¯t help but appear in her mind. The two of them had been together without a single strand of clothing. She felt her soul tremble, and most of her body grew weak.

    She raised her head to look at the distant Zhao Ruizhi. If this had actually been Zhao Ruizhi himself, she probably wouldn¡¯t have allowed Zu An to hold her intimately like this. After all, no matter how stupid he was, he was still her real husband. Her upbringing as the daughter of a distinguished n prevented her from ever doing something like being this close to another man in front of her husband.

    But the current Zhao Ruizhi wasn¡¯t the real Zhao Ruizhi. To a certain degree, her husband was already dead, and the murderer was the one controlling her husband¡¯s body.

    Furthermore, the emperor had already nned to kill her from the very start. When she thought of how powerful the emperor was, she felt despair. Forget about getting revenge for her husband, even just surviving would be impossible.

    In her despair, most of the reservations and apprehension she had felt disappeared. Since she was going to die anyway, she might as well piss off this person before she died. Not only did she not resist Zu An¡¯s actions, she instead nestled her soft body into Zu An¡¯s arms in a lovely and helpless manner.

    Zu An was stunned. He hadn¡¯t expected her to y along like this. He smiled knowingly, and pulled her a bit closer.

    He Li felt his scalp go numb when he saw them. Even though he had used the two of them ofmitting adultery, he had only said that as an usation to offend them. The crown princess¡¯ character in previous years was something he understood well. Who didn¡¯t know that she was proud and dignified in public? That was why his thoughts hadn¡¯t gone in such a direction at all.

    Yet how could he have known that the two of them really did have an affair? The key was that they were even acting like this in front of the emperor! Were these two tired of living? He noticed the emperor¡¯s dark expression and quickly stepped backwards. He didn¡¯t want to get caught up in the mes.

    Zhao Ruizhi looked at the two of them with sinister eyes. ¡°Very good; you two have sessfully angered me.¡± After he spoke, he raised his hand. A streak of golden light flew between Zu An and Bi Linglong, clearly intending to separate them.

    With Bi Linglong¡¯s cultivation, she couldn¡¯t resist at all. She could only watch as the golden light got closer and closer.

    Normally, even though his cultivation had increased drastically, Zu An still would have been pressured by the other party¡¯s domain until he couldn¡¯t breathe. He would also have been unable to react.

    But now that two dungeons were merging together, the elements of the world had be chaotic. They had damaged the emperor¡¯s domain, so it couldn¡¯tpletely imprison Zu An.

    Zu An used Grandgale to quickly pull Bi Linglong aside. However, before he had time to catch his breath, the golden light suddenly changed directions, continuing to fly at them. He didn¡¯t dare to make a blunder here and quickly used the Sunflower Phantasm to send clones in four different directions. But sure enough, that golden light didn¡¯t chase after the fake clones and only continued to chase after him.

    ¡°A guided missile?¡± Zu An eximed, seeing that he couldn¡¯t get away no matter how he dodged.

    ¡°What guided missile? His divine will has already locked onto you, so of course you can¡¯t escape,¡± Mi Li said in his head.

    Bi Linglong also said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about me. It¡¯ll be faster if you run alone.¡±

    Mi Li was shocked. ¡°This woman is surprisingly considerate.¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°How can I abandon you and run on my own? We¡¯ll just die together as lovers if we have to.¡±

    Bi Linglong¡¯s mind trembled. The oaths of undying love other men made didn¡¯t mean much to her normally, as their true hearts could only be seen in moments of life and death like these. When she saw that he wasn¡¯t willing to abandon her even at such a time, her expression became gentler.

    Zhao Ruizhi looked incredibly irritated. ¡°Die as lovers? I¡¯ll chop off all five of your limbs! Let¡¯s see how you die together then!¡± His hand brushed out, and another streak of golden light flew toward the two of them.

    A single streak of golden light had been enough to push Zu An into a desperate situation. He immediately called out to Mi Li when he saw the second streak. ¡°Big sis¡­ Master, what do we do now?!¡±

    Mi Li harrumphed. ¡°Weren¡¯t you busy having fun with that crown princess just now? You finally remembered me now?¡±

    Zu An knew that she was probably upset because he hadn¡¯t replied to her earlier. He quickly said, ¡°I¡¯ll listen to all of your scoldings when we survive this disaster! I really need your help right now!¡±

    He had already done everything he could, and yet that golden light had already cut off several pieces of his clothes. The most horrifying part was that the golden light was aiming at his little guy down there. If he didn¡¯t react fast enough, he might be Eunuch Wen¡¯s younger brother! He had been quite proud of that aspect before, but only now did he realize that there were pros and cons to it. It made dodging a bit harder.

    Mi Li sneered when she saw how tough of a spot he was in. Then she quickly said, ¡°You can¡¯t run after being targeted by his divine will. Furthermore, this golden light can continue to absorb the surrounding force of the world. The longer itsts, the greater its power and speed will be. That¡¯s why your best n is to just stop and face it directly.¡±

    ¡°Face it directly?¡± Zu An frowned. With their difference in cultivation, wasn¡¯t facing it head-on just suicide?

    But the two golden lights had already cut off all paths of retreat. He didn¡¯t have any time to think too much about it and drew his sword.

    He used the Snow Phoenix, and an ice sword hacked at the two streaks of golden light. He didn¡¯t hesitate and immediately followed up by using Fire Phoenix, using the me de. A scorching hot me de attacked at the same time.

    Even though the power of the Blue Luan¡¯s sword ki was great, he didn¡¯t have a wood element technique to use with it. Furthermore, the golden lights wereing too fast, so he didn¡¯t have the time to charge it up at all.

    Comparatively speaking, he had high level fighting skills for the ice and fire elements. He didn¡¯t dare hold back at such a time and used both of his skills.

    He Li¡¯s eyes widened when he saw the scene. This brat actually had ess to two elements? This haspletely toppled themon sense of the world of cultivation! No wonder he¡¯s already so ridiculously strong at his age! If he¡¯s allowed to grow up, just how exaggerated will his strength be?

    Sigh, it¡¯s a pity that he¡¯s facing the emperor. He¡¯s already dead for sure. So what if you¡¯re a genius? It¡¯s still a talent like me who can adapt to circumstances that wille out on top.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zhao Ruizhi clearly saw the ice sword and me de as well. His brows furrowed slightly. This kid was actually this talented?

    But there had already been instances of those who had awakened two types of elemental affinities, so he didn¡¯t find it all that surprising. It only further solidified his resolution to kill Zu An.

    ¡°You¡¯re overestimating yourself!¡± he harrumphed. Even though the sword and de were both outstanding, they were stillcking if Zu An wanted to intercept his attack.

    Sure enough, the ice sword and me de lookedrger than the two golden lights, but they instantly scattered upon contact. Even so, they weren¡¯tpletely useless. The two golden lights had clearly be much dimmer.

    Zu An felt despair. Was the difference between them really just that great?

    ¡°Take out the Nine Cauldron!¡± Mi Li eximed, seemingly panicking as well.

    Zu An didn¡¯t have any time to think about Mi Li¡¯s words. He instinctively summoned the Nine Cauldron in front of him. The two golden lights seemed to smash into it the moment it appeared, crashing against the Nine Cauldron.

    Boom!

    A heavy, but muffled noise rippled outward. King Qi Manor¡¯s deathsworn soldiers all clutched their ears, their faces turning pale. Blood gushed out of the ears and noses of those with lower cultivations.

    Zu An, who was closest to the impact, felt awful as his blood and ki stirred within him. However, those two golden lights had already disappeared.

    The green cauldron released a low drone. There were two faint marks on its surface, and a faint crack could even be seen on it, clearly caused by the two golden lights.

    Zu An was extremely brokenhearted to see what had happened. Mi Li said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you can repair it once you learn how to refine artifacts. Hmph, if not for the fact that the Nine Cauldron is iplete, not even that guy¡¯s full powered attack would be able to cause any damage to it.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± The emperor saw that the small green cauldron had actually been able to block his attack and remain intact. It was clearly a treasure. In terms of grade, it had to be at least at the immortal grade. No, it might be at the legendary deity grade!

    With his cultivation and status, the emperor no longer cared too much about immortal grade treasures. But if it were a legendary deity grade, that was something he absolutely had to obtain. He reached out, and an invisible hand seized the green cauldron.

    Zu An was frightened. He had already sensed that the Nine Cauldron was about to leave him before that hand even arrived.

    Suddenly, a streak of purple light descended from above, perfectly striking the terrifying invisible hand and sting it apart.

    Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s eyes narrowed as he suddenly raised his head. The sky had already changed colors before anyone noticed. A red crack cut across the horizon, as if it were a massive eye.

    Innumerable blinding streaks of lightning crashed down from the heavens with a horrifying aura. This scene was like the very end of the world!

 Chapter 842: World Upside Down

    <h4>Chapter 842: World Upside Down</h4>

    Zu An raised his head toward the sky. A massive streak of lightning descended and branched off into several streaks. The once overcast sky immediately became as bright as day.

    If Zu An had seen this in his past world, he might have just posted on the forums ¡®which dao brother is going through tribtion right now¡¯. But now that he was in the middle of it himself, he had no such thoughts.

    After cultivating beyond the eighth rank, one could borrow the power of the world. Zu An already possessed such an ability, butpared to the true power of the world, it was still far off.

    At that point, the power of the world was chaotic and berserk. The emperor¡¯s attack had caused the surrounding ki to be disorderly, drawing over the lightning that had originally been aimed elsewhere. That was why it had just happened to scatter his attack.

    Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s gaze conveyed his displeasure as he looked up. He had clearly realized that as well. If he continued to attack Zu An, with his cultivation, it would incur the wrath of the world. But if he deliberately held back, he might not be able to injure Zu An.

    He felt annoyed. Having power in this situation was meaningless, so he had no choice but to let the brat live for a bit longer. But seeing the two of them in each other¡¯s arms made him feel beyond annoyed. Zu An was the first person who had been able to act smug in front of him without him being able to do anything about it.

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Han for +444 +444 +444¡­

    Bi Linglong¡¯s eyes had been closed the entire time, as if she were awaiting death. However, she had never expected Zu An to actually have avoided the emperor¡¯s attacks. She was shocked and overjoyed. She couldn¡¯t help but look at the man she was hugging. He had already shocked her enough when she saw him kill Shi Tong, and then he had even killed the Jade Moon Serpent. She hadn¡¯t thought this man could actually survive two attacks from the emperor! Just how many people in this world were capable of such a thing?

    At that moment, Zu An was looking at the sky. That apocalyptic feeling made him feel quite uneasy, as the lightning had really left him quite shaken. Some arcs of lightning hadnded not too far from where he was. If he hadn¡¯t dodged fast enough, he might already be a charred corpse.

    ¡°Big sis em¡­ Master, what the heck is going on?¡± Even though Zu An¡¯s cultivation had grown quickly, he was still quitecking in the breadth of his knowledge.

    Mi Li also sounded quite conflicted. ¡°I feel something familiar, but it¡¯s a kind of familiar feeling that makes me feel disgusted.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He quickly asked her to borate, but she didn¡¯t reply no matter how he asked. Then, he gave the distant Zhao Ruizhi an apprehensive look. The emperor was also looking into the sky, not intending to attack him again for some time. Zu An sighed in relief.

    Suddenly, several strange developments took ce. Countless birds flew out from the forest in a ck expanse, their cries echoing through the jungle. No one had expected this forest to be the home of so many birds! Of course, more of them were weaker beasts who were lower on the food chain. Right now, none of them had any intention of fighting. By chance, they had all agreed to run for their lives.

    ¡°Something big is probably about to happen,¡± Zu An said gravely.

    Even Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s expression changed. It was clear that he had never seen anything like this before.

    With a sudden rumble, the massive mountain in the distance began to break apart. Dust rushed into the sky, then surged like andslide. The frantically fleeing beasts were annihted almost instantly.

    The onlookers were horrified by the sight. However, Zhao Ruizhi was the first to fly into the sky. Zu An also took Bi Linglong with him into the air. For some reason, he felt as if he couldn¡¯t fly too steadily. On several asions, he almost fell down, but he only attributed that to using up too much energy in his fight against the emperor and didn¡¯t pay it too much attention.

    The deathsworn soldiers from King Qi Manor all ran for their lives as well. Zhao Ruizhi harrumphed. With a brush of his sleeves, a gentle force swept them all toward arge tree nearby. All of them frantically clutched onto the branches for their lives, their faces deathly pale.

    ¡°Thank you, your majesty!¡± He Li and everyone from King Qi Manor expressed their gratitude, yet Zhao Ruizhi didn¡¯t even give them a look. He instead looked toward the sky with a pensive expression.

    Zu An wanted to use this chance to escape, but he was also scared of rming the emperor and drawing more attacks toward himself. He was momentarily stuck in a dilemma.

    Mi Li said, ¡°The world is about to change greatly. Get ready.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Zu An was stunned. Just as he was about to ask more questions, the entire world shook. Even though he was in the air, he still felt the urge to throw up.

    An earthquake?! That was Zu An¡¯s first reaction, but he quickly refuted his own guess. With his current cultivation, and the fact that he was in the air right now, not even the greatest earthquake should have been able to make him feel like this, right?

    Suddenly, King Qi Manor¡¯s deathsworn soldiers asked with trembling voices, ¡°The sky¡­ Is the sky cracking apart?¡±

    Zu An raised his head and just happened to see a bright arc of lightning sh past. The red mark that was like a starry stream became much wider than it had been before, and it was still widening at a visible rate.

    ¡°The sky is splitting?¡± he eximed, stupefied. This situation waspletely beyond anything he knew. He wanted to ask Mi Li about what was happening, but she never responded. Zu An felt extremely annoyed. This woman¡¯s habit of going offline whenever she wanted was really freaking annoying! He had to find a chance to properly teach her a lessonter.

    The red crack started widening exponentially faster. Then a giant, pitch-ck crack appeared. The ground cracked open in several different areas as well. The originally sturdy ground seemed to have be a stormy sea, rising and falling unpredictably. All kinds of massive cracks appeared and magma even spurted out from some areas.

    Howling winds tore through the skies. Not even Zu An, with his current cultivation, could hold on, and he was blown from side to side. Fortunately, he managed to grab onto arge tree and barely held on. But with the changes happening on the ground, he didn¡¯t know how long the tree could hold on either.

    Those present were all battered and exhausted; only Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s figure floated in the sky, unfazed by the crazy wind and rain.

    Zu An even felt a bit of admiration. That guy really is strong. He urgently asked Mi Li, ¡°Master empress, I feel like this dungeon is about to copse! Why isn¡¯t he using this chance to run and instead insists on staying here? If this world really copses, his life will be over even with his cultivation, right?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just ¡®master¡¯, what the heck is a ¡®master empress¡¯?!¡± Mi Li was a bit unsatisfied with Zu An¡¯s form of address. ¡°The reason he isn¡¯t leaving is because he¡¯s recognized that two dungeons are merging right now. This represents a tremendous opportunity, so how can he miss out on this chance?¡±

    Zu An wanted to ask more, but the world around him suddenly spun and he was instantly flipped upside down. ¡°What the hell is going on?!¡± he eximed, horrified. He heard the surrounding deathsworn soldiers scream miserably. Many people fell from the tree they were clinging to because they were caught unprepared.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    It really was strange. Normally speaking, one would fall to the ground if one dropped from a tree, they were falling toward the sky! However, the sky and earth both became distorted. The sky was now below them, and the ground above.

    This sudden change left even the seemingly unperturbed Zhao Ruizhi in a sorry state. There were several times where he couldn¡¯t remain still, and everyone around him saw him that way. Just as he was about to erupt in anger, his expression changed. He noticed that he could no longer remain flying, as he began to fall toward the sky beneath his feet. Those from King Qi Manor were even worse off. They screamed as they fell toward the sky.

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed. He had one arm around Bi Linglong, his other arm doing everything it could to cling to the tree next to him. Unfortunately, that tree wasn¡¯t able tost much longer and was uprooted. The entire tree fell toward the sky together with the dirt attached to it.

 Chapter 843: Happy and Unhappy Clans

    <h4>Chapter 843: Happy and Unhappy ns</h4>

    The libationer, who was currently secluded in his residence in the academy¡¯s rear mountain, suddenly opened his eyes. A look of shock appeared on his usually calm face. ¡°Heaven and earth have reversed, and the world has inverted?¡± He stood up and took a step forward. The next second, he was in front of the dungeon entrance.

    The libationer rarely showed himself. Whenever he did appear, it would cause a hugemotion among the people around him.

    But Qi Yaoguang didn¡¯t have such misgivings. She skipped over to the Libationer¡¯s side and asked, ¡°Teacher, what are you doing here?¡± She was in charge of opening and closing this dungeon, so she had to remain present the entire time.

    ¡°Teacher!¡± Jiang Luofu was also present. She had spent the past few days chatting with Qi Yaoguang to relieve her boredom.

    After some hesitation, the libationer said, ¡°I¡¯ve sensed a great change in the dungeon.¡±

    Qi Yaoguang was shocked. She quickly brought out her divination wheel, and her fingers drew patterns in the air. The divination wheel¡¯s star spun quickly. A momentter, she eximed, ¡°It¡¯s really bad!¡±

    Jiang Luofu cried out in rm. ¡°What does that mean?¡±

    Qi Yaoguang exined, ¡°I sense that the space in the dungeon is extremely unstable, as if it¡¯s about to copse!¡± Even though she was the closest to the dungeon entrance, her cultivation wasn¡¯t as great as the libationer¡¯s. Only now did she sense that something was off.

    ¡°What? My brother-inw is still inside!¡± Chu Youzhao cried in rm as she ran over. She had often visited over the past few days in order to find out what was happening to Zu An.

    If the number of days that had passed were tallied up, those inside should have alreadypleted their mission, yet no one hade out. She¡¯d had an ominous premonition, and so she came here every day to wait for new information.

    And yet today, she¡¯d heard such devastating news as soon as she arrived. Chu Youzhao panicked. If something happened to her brother-inw, wouldn¡¯t her big sister be heartbroken? Furthermore, when she thought of how good her brother-inw was to her, she suddenly felt as if the world were ending.

    But she was stopped when she rushed up to the entrance. The guards said, ¡°The dungeon¡¯s entrance has been sealed. For the sake of fairness, no one else is allowed inside until those insidee out!¡±

    Chu Youzhao panicked. ¡°Something so major has happened in the dungeon! Why are you all just standing around here?!¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Unfortunately, the guards all remained expressionless no matter what she said, not moving out of the way at all.

    Murong Qinghe, who was by her side, tried to dissuade her by saying, ¡°Big brother Chu, don¡¯t be so nervous. Big bro Zu is so formidable. Even if something happened, he¡¯ll still be able to take advantage of it.¡±

    Chu Youzhao was a bit absent-minded at that moment, but she seemed to have foundfort when she heard Murong Qinghe¡¯s words. She instinctively agreed. ¡°You¡¯re right, he¡¯s so amazing. I¡¯m sure he¡¯s fine.¡±

    But the activity still rmed many people. Whether it was King Qi Manor or the crown prince¡¯s faction, they all walked toward the libationer and asked, ¡°Sir Libationer, what¡¯s happening inside?¡±

    The libationer looked at the dungeon entrance. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯ve only sensed that the elements in the dungeon seem to have be chaotic, to the point where the world inside has reversed. But how can this be¡­?¡±

    Even he was a bit puzzled. Not even someone with his level of knowledge had ever experienced something like this before. It was to the extent where he wondered if there was a mistake in his own deduction.

    Eventually, Zhuxie Chixin arrived as well. He had always been in the surroundings to prevent anyone from King Qi Manor from sneaking inside. At first, he had only watched when he noticed the activity. He¡¯d thought that it might have been one of the King Qi faction¡¯s schemes, but didn¡¯t dare to leave his position without permission. But when he heard the libationer speak so seriously, he finally couldn¡¯t sit still anymore and quickly walked over to inquire about what was happening.

    The libationer shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know what is happening inside either. We can only find out if we send some people inside to investigate.¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin was quite troubled when he heard the response, worried that the libationer might be colluding with King Qi, thinking that he wanted to go inside and ruin the crown prince¡¯s exam.

    Suddenly, a great shockwave erupted from the dungeon entrance. The nearest guards swayed from side to side; all of them were horrified as they looked at the dungeon entrance. The disturbance inside was so great that the berserk spatial force had even spilled out. It was easy to imagine just how bad things were inside.

    Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s expression changed. He couldn¡¯t hold himself back and rushed at the dungeon entrance, nning to look into it himself.

    However, the King Qi faction¡¯s officials all stopped him. One of them said, ¡°Fairness is absolutely crucial for this exam, so the crown prince must rely on himself to clear this trial! If Chief Commander enters, even if the crown prince brings out the Jade Moon Serpent¡¯s tendons, how will we know that it wasn¡¯t because of Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s help? After all, with Commander Zhuxie¡¯s cultivation, you could easily kill the Jade Moon Serpent.¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin was enraged. ¡°Are all of you blind? Which one of you can shoulder the consequences if something happens to the crown prince and princess?!¡±

    ¡°Chief Commander, please don¡¯t speak such rming words. Those who went inside with the crown prince are all carefully selected elites. How could anything happen?¡± The one who spoke was the Chief Attendant, Waterfront Duke Pei Zheng.

    King Qi¡¯s faction had sent him over to keep an eye on things. Zhuxie Chixin was worried that King Qi¡¯s people might disrupt the crown prince¡¯s exam, while they were simrly worried that King Qi¡¯s n would be ruined because someone else from the crown prince¡¯s side entered.

    Zhuxie Chixin coldly said, ¡°Something has clearly happened inside, and both the crown prince and princess are in danger. However, it looks as if the Waterfront Duke is trying to stop me. Are you plotting a rebellion?¡±

    Pei Zheng wasn¡¯t intimidated in the slightest. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that when Commander Zhuxie handles a matter, he doesn¡¯t need proof. Today, it looks as though you¡¯re indeed quite domineering! This old one only cares about maintaining fairness for this exam. What¡¯s Commander Zhuxie trying to do by referring to me that way?¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin sneered. ¡°Everyone knows where your true thoughts lie.¡±

    Pei Zheng harrumphed. ¡°Fine, if you want to go, this old one won¡¯t stop you. But if you bring him out and he hasn¡¯tpleted the task, should we just call it a failure?¡±

    ¡°You scoundrel, the entire world inside the dungeon is changing; of course it¡¯s not suitable for the crown prince¡¯s exam any longer! We¡¯ll obviously need to find another time to redo the test,¡± Zhuxie Chixin said.

    Pei Zheng¡¯s expression turned grave. ¡°This exam is for the sake of selecting our empire¡¯s next ruler. The results, to a certain degree, are the heavens¡¯ will. If something has happened in this dungeon, it means that the heavens have made their choice. Is there a need for further examination?¡±

    Qi Yaoguang spoke just then. ¡°Stop arguing already. The spatial elements in the dungeon are extremely messy, so you guys can¡¯t even go inside. Anyone who enters will be ripped to pieces by the berserk spatial storm.¡± She had been researching the dungeon entrance the entire time, and gave her conclusion when she heard them arguing.

    ¡°What?¡± Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s face paled. He couldn¡¯t be bothered to argue with Pei Zheng anymore. He removed a de from a guard next to him, inserted it through the dungeon entrance, and quickly pulled it back. The weapon¡¯s de was already nowhere to be seen, the cut extremely smooth. It wasn¡¯t something any known weapon could cause.

    ¡°A spatial storm!¡±

    The expressions of those present changed. There were many secret dungeons in this world, but not all secret dungeons were suitable for people to enter. Most of them had harsh environments that ripped one to pieces the moment they entered. That lesson had been learned through countless bloody experiences. Could the academy¡¯s dungeon also have be that way?

    Some ns were happy, while others became dejected. King Qi Manor¡¯s people were obviously ted. They wouldn¡¯t mind even if the entire dungeon were destroyed, as that would mean the crown prince could nevere back out. Once that happened, King Qi would be the sole worthy sessor to the emperor.

    But everyone from the crown prince¡¯s faction was worried. There were even many from the academy who had dispirited looks. After all, the dungeon represented endless resources, a ce where they trained their disciples for many years. Without it, the academy would lose a lot of its strength and resources.

    A sh of golden light suddenly appeared in the skies, and the emperor¡¯s image condensed in the clouds. He asked in a dignified voice, ¡°What happened?¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin quickly reported the events that had transpired to the emperor.

    ¡°The world has inverted?¡± The emperor looked at the libationer. ¡°Will this dungeon bepletely destroyed?¡±

    The libationer shook his head. ¡°Even though the elements of the world inside are chaotic, I can sense a new set ofws within everything. I don¡¯t believe that it will be destroyed.¡±

    ¡°Then we¡¯ll just continue to wait!¡± The emperor¡¯s figure in the clouds scattered after he spoke, leaving Zhuxie Chixin and the others in dismay. What in the world did the emperor mean by that? Was he not worried for the crown prince¡¯s safety at all?

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, inside the imperial pce, the emperor opened his eyes. There was a portion of his soul in the crown prince, so it was fine as long as the world wasn¡¯t destroyed. He trusted that his other self could deal with any situation. This was the perfect chance to inform the world that the crown prince was blessed by the heavens.

    But how could he have imagined that his other self was in such a sorry state inside the dungeon? Zhao Ruizhi couldn¡¯t even float steadily in the air. As he fell toward the sky, his limbs faced the opposite direction.

    The same thing was happening to Zu An. Since the world had inverted and even thews of the world had changed, he couldn¡¯t fly anymore. He could only watch as he continued to plummet. That giant red crack in the sky below was like a giant mouth, waiting to devour everything.

    He had previously seen online that some new skydivers might die from shock. Weren¡¯t they going through the same thing right now? He was being tossed and turned to the point where his intestines were about to fall out. If it weren¡¯t for his special aptitude, he might¡¯ve already fainted.

    He suddenly saw that there was a small ind next to him that wasn¡¯t falling as quickly, but rather floating in the sky. He quickly used Grandgale. Fortunately, that technique worked. He carried Bi Linglong with him, quickly moving onto the ind. The two of them had never expected that having level ground to stand on would actually be such a blessing.

 Chapter 844: Canâ€™t Catch Me

    <h4>Chapter 844: Can¡¯t Catch Me</h4>

    ¡°Will we fall again from here?¡± Bi Linglong¡¯s face was incredibly pale. She definitely didn¡¯t want to go through that again.

    ¡°I think we¡¯re okay for now.¡± Zu An looked at the floating ind around him. It wasn¡¯t thatrge, only a thousand square meters or so in size. There were rocks and trees present, and the whole ind floated in midair.

    He had seen simrndforms in the games he yed, so he didn¡¯t find it all that strange. He just couldn¡¯t figure out how it was floating in the sky. Everything else was clearly falling downward.

    Meanwhile, the skies below had already turned into a thickyer of ck clouds. The red crack was already starting to be unclear. Lightning shed and thunder rolled within the ck clouds. A lot of electricity seemed to be surging through them.

    ¡°The clouds are growingrger andrger¡­ I think they¡¯re actually rising upward?¡± Bi Linglong mused, but she was interrupted as a giant ming meteor suddenly fell down from above them.

    ¡°Be careful!¡± Zu An quickly pulled her behind him.

    The giant ball of mes brushed past the edge of their floating ind. Even though it only touched the edge, the areas they had just been standing on broke apart. Nearly half of the floating ind broke off and fell into the clouds.

    The entire ind trembled, as if it might crumble at a moment¡¯s notice. Sensing that it was bing unstable, Zu An quickly brought Bi Linglong to the center of the ind.

    ¡°Are we going to die?¡± Bi Linglong held tightly onto his arm. Judging from how the ind was shaking, she knew that once it broke apart and they dropped down, there would be no hope of survival left.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. My fortune teller told me I¡¯ll have ten wives. I¡¯m still far from that. How can we die that easily?¡± Zu An replied with a consoling smile.

    ¡°Hmph, that fortune teller is no good.¡± Bi Linglong harrumphed with a blush. This guy really was a pervert. What kind of situation were they in now? Despite that, he was still in the mood to joke around!

    But she also felt admiration for him. For some reason, that dazzling smile of his made her calm down. She was quite confident in her willpower, but she still seemedckingpared to this man. His optimism really was infectious.

    At that moment, a voice that was clearly holding back great anger yelled from the distance, ¡°How long do you two n on holding each other for?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Han for +433 +433 +433¡­

    The two of them turned around. They saw that Zhao Ruizhi was currently standing on another floating ind, mes rushing out of his eyes as he red at the two of them. He hadn¡¯t fallen into the ¡®sky abyss¡¯ below just then, and had instead also found a floating ind. The floating ind he was on was farrger than the one Zu An and Bi Linglong were on; itsndmass resembled a small mountain. He Li and the remaining King Qi Manor servants were practically all on that ind. They could even vaguely make out quite a few beasts in the forest. However, the beasts were all looking around in rm, not in any mood for fighting.

    Bi Linglong¡¯s face paled when she saw those murderous eyes. The emperor¡¯s power had already left an inextinguishable shadow in her heart after all these years. Knowing that they really might not make it this time, she got on her tiptoes and gave Zu An a kiss, not knowing where she got the courage to do so from.

    Zu An was stunned. He never would have thought that she would do something like this. The ones in the distance were also stunned, thinking What is the crown princess¡­

    Only He Li cried out to stir up more drama, and then he secretly moved backward. He hadn¡¯t died even after experiencing that world upheaval, so he definitely didn¡¯t want to die now just because he got caught up in the emperor¡¯s wrath.

    ¡°Very good, you¡¯ve done very well!¡± Zhao Ruizhi was so angry heughed instead. ¡°Die!¡± He flew over as soon as he spoke. Even though they were a couple hundred zhang from each other, that much distance wasn¡¯t a big deal for him at all.

    Bi Linglong felt despair. She tightly hugged the man next to her, as if only then could she feel a bit more at ease.

    Zu An¡¯s entire body was covered in goosebumps. Even though he knew he was no match, giving up wasn¡¯t his style.

    Just then, a dozen blinding purple arcs of lightning struck down from the clouds. Every streak of lightning was as thick as a massive dragon, but their power was far greater than that of a dragon. The streaks of lightning instantly locked onto the iing Zhao Ruizhi, sting his body.

    Zu An was overjoyed. Was the emperor going to die from this? His luck had really turned around today! He was definitely going to thank the god of thunderter.

    Now that he thought about it, the reason he had transmigrated in the first ce was because he was struck by lightning. That trauma had even made him a bit scared whenever he saw lightning. But today, he suddenly became much fonder of that same lightning and thunder.

    But he was quickly disappointed. Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s entire body shone with golden light, forming an eggshell-like golden barrier that forcibly blocked the terrifying streaks of lightning.

    ¡°Are you even freaking human anymore?!¡± Zu An¡¯s eyes were wide. No matter how steady his will was, he couldn¡¯t help but feel an overwhelming sense of powerlessness against such an opponent.

    But fortunately, Zhao Ruizhi didn¡¯t have as easy a time as Zu An thought. After resisting the dozen streaks of lightning, his golden barrier was also covered in fine cracks. It then shattered into pieces.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The clouds below surged, and endless lightning seemed to converge. Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s expression changed and he quickly returned to the ind he was previously on. The clouds gradually calmed again once they lost their target.

    As he stood at the edge of his ind and looked at the dark clouds, Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s expression turned grave. But when he saw the couple on the other side, fury raged within him again. He raised his hand and fired a golden beam from his finger at them. Since he couldn¡¯t cross over, he¡¯d just kill them with a ranged attack all the same!

    But several streaks of terrifying lightning appeared as soon as the golden ki left his ind, directly scattering it.

    ¡°Master empress, what in the world is going on?¡± Zu An¡¯s eyes were about to pop out of their sockets.

    ¡°Hmph, you were so busy chatting with your crown princess a moment ago. You finally remembered me?¡± Mi Li replied in dissatisfaction. However, she still exined, ¡°A new dungeon has appeared, so thews of the world are currently being recreated. The elements of the world are in an extremely unstable state. Trying to use one¡¯s power recklessly here will only draw over these berserk elements. That emperor¡¯s cultivation is so high that anything he does will incur the highest level of this world¡¯s power. Normally, his attacks would be incredibly powerful, but in this unstable environment, he will instead be rejected by the world.¡±

    Zu An became more and more excited. ¡°Doesn¡¯t that mean the emperor can¡¯t do a thing?¡±

    ¡°More or less. The greater the power he uses, the greater the rebound from this world. That¡¯s why you should be safe for now.¡± Mi Li was about to say something else to him, but she saw that Zu An was already standing at the edge of the ind.

    Zu An began to dance and wave his arms around in front of Zhao Ruizhi, taunting, ¡°You can¡¯t catch me, I guess I¡¯m just too strong. What a loser,l~¡±

    Mi Li, Bi Linglong, and Zhao Ruizhi were all left speechless. Even Mi Li felt this brat really needed a good beating, let alone the emperor.

    Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s eyes becamepletely red, smoke evening out from his nose. He stared daggers at Zu An. His figure flickered as he rushed over again, this time even faster than thest. Unfortunately, it only made the rebound of the force of this world even more terrifying.

    Several dozen streaks of lightning wove into a around him. The electricity was different from what one would normally see; it instead resembled a pure purple liquid. The borders of the inds even began to crystallize from a distance, so it was easy to imagine just how powerful the lightning was.

    Not even the emperor could endure such power. The golden barrier around him quickly broke apart. The rings on his finger flickered with golden light, helping him block the iing arcs of lightning.

    Bi Linglong stared at the gemstone rings on his fingers in shock. She had always seen them on his hand, but she¡¯d thought that these rings were just decorations the empress had given him out of love to her son. It turned out that all of them were actually magic artifacts! Any artifact that could block such terrifying lightning was definitely top tier.

    Unfortunately, the power of heaven and earth wasn¡¯t so easily blocked. Soon afterwards, the rings continuously flickered with light, but every single one shattered after holding on for only a second or two. Even so, they already bought Zhao Ruizhi enough time to return to the ind he was previously on.

    He could no longer remain as calm and confident as he had been before. His hair had been sted into a mess, and there were several scorched ck marks on his face. His arms were shaking in his sleeves. The damage he had experienced definitely wasn¡¯t light¡­

    Zu An cried out piteously. When he¡¯d heard Mi Li¡¯s exnation, he had used Fragrant Barf without hesitation, forcing the emperor to attack him on the spot. He¡¯d wanted to use the power of the world to get rid of this huge headache. Unfortunately, the emperor was so powerful that not even the terrifying sea of lightning could take his life.

    Zhao Ruizhi gave Zu An a look from the other ind, and the redness in his eyes slowly withdrew. Then, he turned around to walk toward the mountain behind him.

    Zu An was stunned. What the hell? Fragrant Barf lost its effectiveness? Didn¡¯t the exnation say its effects won¡¯t end unless one of us dies?

 Chapter 845: Deadly Misunderstanding

    <h4>Chapter 845: Deadly Misunderstanding</h4>

    Zu An quickly asked Mi Li about what was happening. Mi Li thought to herself and replied, ¡°There are three possibilities. The first is that the world is still in chaos, so thews of the world are still being created. A lot of the energies that could normally be used can¡¯t be used, and that skill of yours has been affected as well. The second is the power of lightning we just saw. Lightning is the purest form of the world. It eliminates all things evil¡­¡±

    Zu An was annoyed. ¡°Are you calling my skill evil?¡±

    Mi Liughed. ¡°That skill of yours is indeed quite sinister. It¡¯s likely a type of curse that affects the soul. It¡¯s not too surprising that the powerful lightning cleansed it away.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. Mi Li continued, ¡°The third possibility is that the emperor is too powerful; that his soul has already reached an unimaginable level. He¡¯s able to retain a level of rationality even after being affected by your skill. After his previous experience, he believes that trying to kill you now would only put himself in danger, so he¡¯s decided to kill you after the world has calmed down.¡±

    Zu An sulked and muttered, ¡°That¡¯s the worst possibility.¡± He had always thought that the Keyboard System¡¯s abilities were of the highest level. If even these abilities were useless against the emperor, wasn¡¯t he practically invincible?

    Zu An wasn¡¯t convinced. He decided to provoke the other party again. As such, he raised his voice and shouted, ¡°Hey! Damn fatty!¡±

    Zhao Ruizhi, who was seated underneath a tree in meditation, suddenly raised his head. He Li couldn¡¯t help but look at Zu An as well. This kid really was vicious! When other people offended the emperor, they would want to be as far away as possible, yet this guy was actually taunting the emperor? Was this kid going to do something strange again?

    Bi Linglong also looked at him in puzzlement. She didn¡¯t understand why he was doing this. Suddenly, Zu An lowered his head and kissed her red lips in front of everyone. Her lips were extremely soft and carried a sweet fragrance. Bi Linglong¡¯s head went nk, as if an explosion had gone off.

    King Qi Manor¡¯s deathsworn soldiers and He Li were speechless. He Li thought, What the hell? This kid is going too far! Even I can¡¯t take it anymore, let alone the emperor! He quickly turned to look in Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s reaction. He saw that the emperor¡¯s eyes were entirely red, and a terrifying pressure was spreading outward.

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Han for +777 +777 +777¡­

    But what He Li was most surprised about was that the emperor quickly closed his eyes, as if nothing had happened in front of him. He couldn¡¯t help but feel admiration. This level of self-restraint wasn¡¯t something just anyone could have.

    Zu An was also surprised. The emperor could even endure this? Still, he had already confirmed something, which was that Fragrant Barf was indeed ineffective. That was because Rage points earned during Fragrant Barf didn¡¯t count. Seeing that the emperor could still remain calm, he wanted to bring out the line ¡®your wife is amazing¡¯ to make him go insane. But out of respect for Bi Linglong, he discarded that thought.

    Bi Linglong finally snapped out of her daze. She pushed him away in embarrassment, then ran into the trees behind them in rm. What she had just done was already challenging her years of education and training on etiquette! So many people were watching too. How could she stand this?

    Zu An gave Zhao Ruizhi a look, then quickly chased after Bi Linglong.

    He Li and the others were already growing numb. The two of them were rushing into the trees, one man and one woman, so who knew what would happen!? Would his majesty really just watch this happen? They saw that Zhao Ruizhi continued to remain quiet, but his face twitched from time to time. He Li decisively chose not to cause a disaster for no reason.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An caught up to Bi Linglong. He asked with a gentle voice, ¡°Why are you running?¡±

    ¡°Are you really asking me that right now? You did¡­ that to me in front of all of those people.¡± Bi Linglong looked at him, embarrassed.

    Zu An looked wronged as he asked, ¡°Weren¡¯t you the one who kissed me first?¡±

    ¡°I did that just to¡­ anger that person. It wasn¡¯t because I really¡­ felt anything for you. You better not think any weird thoughts.¡± Bi Linglong sounded flustered. Then, she strangely added, ¡°Moreover, even if¡­ Even if there is something, don¡¯t think I¡¯m that kind of easy woman.¡±

    Zu Anughed. ¡°You don¡¯t need to think too much about it either. I did that just now to anger the emperor too, hoping he¡¯d lose his cool and try to get revenge. That way, I could use the world¡¯s power to defeat him. Unfortunately, I didn¡¯t expect him to be able to remain so calm.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ good.¡± For some reason, Bi Linglong felt a bit disappointed when she heard Zu An¡¯s response. She turned around and didn¡¯t want to look at him anymore.

    When he looked at her snow-white hair, Zu An thought for a bit, then handed her some pills. ¡°Right, your life force was damaged when you used that secret technique earlier. Here, I have some pills that can help you recover some ki. I¡¯ll help you absorb the medicine after you take it.¡±

    He had bought quite a few medicines from Ji Dengtu back then. Furthermore, he had also received a lot of medicine from Chu Youzhao before he came inside, and some among them helped stabilize one¡¯s ki. He took all of them out now.

    Bi Linglong felt her heart soften. He had actually remembered her current condition. She was a bit embarrassed to receive such help after she had thrown that little tantrum.

    However, when she saw her white hair, she still reached out her hand. ¡°Thank you!¡± What girl didn¡¯t care about their appearance? She wouldn¡¯t have dared to take any medicine another man offered her, but this time, she didn¡¯t hesitate at all. She ate the pill and sat down to channel the nearly exhausted ki inside her body.

    Zu An sat down before Bi Linglong He reached out and ced his hand against her major acupoint, infusing arge amount of ki into her. He couldn¡¯t help but sigh when he did so. When the main leads of those dramas treated women, they would always remove her clothes. Compared to them, I really am an innocent and honest man!

    Bi Linglong obviously didn¡¯t know what he was thinking. She began to digest the medicinal force inside of her with his help. A wave of warmth spread through her body and herplexion became rosier. Even though these medicines were far from enough topensate for her lost life force, they still nourished her weakened body.

    Zu An noticed the effects as well. After thinking for a while, he took out arge spiritual root, saying, ¡°This thousand year root contains abundant life energy. If you ingest it, it should be of some help to your body.¡±

    Bi Linglong¡¯s eyes widened in shock. ¡°Wasn¡¯t this something I gave you before?¡±

    She was a bit flustered. Back then, she had been a high and mighty crown princess. She had only given it to him to win him over as apetent subordinate. How could she have anticipated that so many things would happen between her and that subordinate back then?

    Zu An waspletely unaffected and remarked loftily, ¡°Doesn¡¯t this mean that we were brought together by fate? Perhaps the will of heaven is working in our midst.¡±

    Bi Linglong¡¯s heart pounded when she heard those words. Could they really be brought together by fate? Women would always feel a strange sense of trust in such mysterious things.

    Mi Li scoffed as she watched out of boredom. This kid really was something else. He was using a gift the girl had given him to chase after her. The worst part of it all was that it had worked!

    Zu An tore off a piece of the root and fed it to Bi Linglong. ¡°There¡¯s only so much we can do right now, so please eat it.¡±

    Normally speaking, the spiritual root would be better used as an ingredient in preparing pills, but Zu An only had Ki Condensation Pills. If he tried to refine different pills, he might just end up wasting this precious ingredient if he failed, so he would rather have her just directly ingest it now.

    Bi Linglong voiced her agreement and took the spiritual root. Her red lips opened slightly as she sucked on it.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, on the other ind, Zhao Ruizhi was waiting for the world to stabilize so that he could teach Zu An a lesson. However, the world didn¡¯t show any sign of stabilizing even after a long time, leaving him more and more vexed.

    He hadn¡¯t nned to check on what the two were doing; out of sight, out of mind. With his understanding of Bi Linglong, he knew she would never really do anything that would shame her identity. But he was a bit bored and annoyed, so he decided to pay some attention to the other ind.

    He Li wanted to eavesdrop on them as well. With his cultivation, a distance of a hundred zhang wasn¡¯t difficult at all. Unfortunately, crazy winds roared around them, and with how chaotic the elements were, he couldn¡¯t really hear anything.

    But just then, the storms seemed to weaken a bit. Bi Linglong¡¯s soft and weak voice emerged. ¡°It¡¯s too big, I can¡¯t take it all¡­¡±

    He Li was stunned. What the hell are the two of them doing? They actually went that far? He gave Zhao Ruizhi a look and saw that the fat on his face was jiggling all over the ce.

    Zhao Ruizhi roared angrily toward the sky. ¡°Zu An, I will hack your corpse into a thousand pieces!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Han for +999 +999 +999¡­

 Chapter 846: Great Beginning

    <h4>Chapter 846: Great Beginning</h4>

    On the other ind, Zu An jumped in fright. ¡°What the heck is wrong with him?¡±

    Bi Linglong was also baffled. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°Then whatever, just ignore him. Let¡¯s continue.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Bi Linglong thought for a bit before saying, ¡°Don¡¯t push so hard next time; I really can¡¯t handle it.¡±

    She had just digested the medicine Zu An gave her. Now that she had eaten the spiritual root, she was full of medicinal power. If the ki transmitted by the hand on her back was too strong, she really wouldn¡¯t be able to take it.

    Zu An nodded and replied, ¡°Okay.¡±

    The two of them quickly continued the treatment. But they had no idea what these words sounded like to those on the other ind.

    He Li was already so terrified he didn¡¯t dare to look at Zhao Ruizhi. He only quietly widened the distance between them, cursing Zu An and Bi Linglong to death inwardly. Can¡¯t you guys go y quietly in the corner or something? Why do you have to do all of that¡­ The worst part was that the emperor couldn¡¯t head over to get revenge right now. People like him on the same side were instead the ones in danger.

    Zhao Ruizhi charged forward angrily, but unfortunately, he was sent right back after being struck miserably by the berserk lightning. Perhaps because he had challenged the world again and again, the world seemed to have be enraged. All manner of lightning struck down toward the ind he was on. At the same time, the world above their heads began to break apart as well, and several ming chunks of rock descended.

    Perhaps Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s ind had been causing too much of amotion, so many of the ming meteors fell that way. His expression turned grim. If this ind were destroyed by these ¡®meteors¡¯, they would be done for. As such, he quickly moved to block them. Unfortunately, there were just too many of them. Even with his powerful cultivation, he couldn¡¯t stop all of them. Some smaller ones fell through the gap.

    He Li and the other deathsworn soldiers quickly stopped the smaller meteors. They were all incredibly depressed. What the hell is this? Zu An is enjoying himself on the other side, yet we have to deal with all of this?

    ¡­

    On the other hand, Zu An didn¡¯t have the leisure to keep ¡®enjoying himself¡¯. Most of those meteors had fallen toward Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s ind, but there were still some that came after them. He had no choice but to get up and deal with them. He had been a bit upset that the ind he had chosen ended up being so small, but he changed his mind now. It was because the ind was small that he didn¡¯t have so much to worry about, allowing him to protect it.

    Those present thought that the ¡®meteors¡¯ were just temporary. However, even after it continued for a while, the meteor shower showed no sign of ending at all, and it continued for three days. Zu An and Zhao Ruizhi, as well as King Qi Manor¡¯s people, all fought against the meteor shower. Fortunately, cultivators weren¡¯t like ordinary people; they could go half a month without eating or sleeping.

    But there was still a limit to that. Many deathsworn soldiers perished from exhaustion or from being crushed by the meteors. The others didn¡¯t have it easy either. Only Zhao Ruizhi alone seemed to be fine. His hair, which had been scorched by the lightning earlier, had already been fixed again.

    Even though Zu An was dealing with the situation alone, the amount ofnd he had to protect was smaller, so he had aparatively easier time. But he was still fighting alone. Even though Bi Linglong¡¯s condition was improving and she could help, at her cultivation level, she could only take care of some small meteors.

    Zu An was starting to feel drained after the meteor shower continued for three days. What left him feeling even more powerless was that he had no idea how much longer it would continue for. He asked Mi Li for advice.

    Mi Li replied, ¡°The world above us is currently breaking down. It¡¯s such a massive world, so I don¡¯t think this will end for some time.¡± Zu An felt even more despair when he heard her reply.

    Two more days passed. Forget about Zu An, the other group was struggling to hold on too. Zhao Ruizhi was still standing upright, but many people from King Qi Manor couldn¡¯t take it. They were powerless to continue protecting themselves. ring holes were forming in their defenses.

    Suddenly, a roar emerged from the forest behind them as a python flew out to help them block an iing meteor. This python was several dozen zhang in length, its aura not inferior to that Jade Moon Serpent Zu An¡¯s group had fought previously at all. Several other powerful beasts came out to protect the ind as well.

    When beasts reached a higher level, they would develop sentience. They knew that if the ind was destroyed, they would all be done for as well. They hadn¡¯t dared to show themselves earlier out of fear toward Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s aura. But now that the situation was looking dire, they couldn¡¯t be bothered to worry about him anymore.

    They were even stronger than the deathsworn soldiers. Zhao Ruizhi immediately felt the pressure lessen. He couldn¡¯t help but give the other ind a look, smirking when he saw how much Zu An was struggling.

    Zhao Ruizhi couldn¡¯t cross over, but even so, the brat appeared to already be on the verge of copse. If Zu An died under the power of the world, that could serve to vent his resentment. It was just a pity that he couldn¡¯t seize the kid himself and skin him alive.

    ¡­

    On the other hand, Zu An¡¯s situation really wasn¡¯t great. The ind he was on was quite small, so he could see everything on it from where he was standing. There weren¡¯t any powerful beasts there to help him. Bi Linglong had lost too much of her life force earlier, and had only recovered a little bit, so she couldn¡¯t help him much.

    He hadn¡¯t gotten a wink of sleep, struggling against the meteors from morning to evening. He really was starting to break down after fighting for so long. Looking at the seemingless boundlessndmass above them, he had no idea how many months and years it would continue to crumble. He told Mi Li with a bitter smile, ¡°Master empress, I¡¯m about to kick the bucket. I¡¯m sorry that you have to die with me.¡±

    They wouldn¡¯t be able tost until the meteors disappeared even if Mi Li helped. After all, the continent above them was just toorge.

    Mi Li said, ¡°I¡¯ve been observing the situation this entire time, but the elements of this world show no signs of stabilizing. However, I¡¯ve noticed something interesting, which is that because thews of the world are chaotic, the primordial ki here is abundant.¡±

    Zu An hadn¡¯t had the leisure of noticing such things at all. What he usually focused on was the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, because normally, primordial ki was just too rare and precious. He quickly sensed his surroundings when he heard those words, however. He was shocked to discover that there was primordial ki everywhere! Every cell in his body seemed to be cheering with joy.

    ¡°In the very beginning, the world wasn¡¯t distinctly separated into heaven and earth, but rather took the form of primal chaos.¡± Mi Li looked at the changing world around her. ¡°This current situation shares some simrities to the beginning of the world, which is why there¡¯s so much of this rare primordial ki. You should use this chance to operate the Primordial Origin Sutra and temper your body. If you do that, it should help you survive this trial.¡±

    Zu An had already realized that before Mi Li said anything. He used the Primordial Origin Sutra to the fullest extent. The primordial ki around him rushed toward his body crazily, entering him and continuously tempering his body.

    Zu An felt all of his fatigue vanish in an instant. Instead, he felt as if he were in the best condition of his life. He roared out excitedly and smashed the descending meteors one after another with his fists, using them topliment the Primordial Origin Sutra¡¯s body tempering.

    When Zhao Ruizhi on the other side saw Zu An¡¯s actions, he couldn¡¯t help but sneer. ¡°Nothing more than a final mad struggle.¡± With his sight, he had already deduced that with Zu An¡¯s cultivation, wantonly wasting strength would only speed up his death.

    He Li saw Bi Linglong look at Zu An with eyes full of admiration. He sighed and remarked, ¡°Is this youth? They don¡¯t know how to pace themselves and only know how to blindly throw their lives away. He¡¯s in his current situation all because of a woman. Nevertheless, the crown princess is so beautiful, so dying with a beauty like that by his side isn¡¯t too bad of an ending.¡±

    But what surprised both him and the emperor was that not only did Zu An not copse after continuing for an entire day, he instead seemed to be getting stronger and stronger. His fists smashed the descending meteors with no sign of stopping.

    Zhao Ruizhi frowned. However, he figured that it was probably because of some forbidden technique and didn¡¯t worry too much. But after another three days, Zu An¡¯s valiant figure was still fighting, finally making him worry.

    ¡°What kind of monstrous stamina does that brat have?¡± Zhao Ruizhi was incredibly shocked. He was even starting to admire the kid. If not because he dared to even defile Linglong¡­ But he quickly threw that thought away. This brat was definitely not the type who would ever yield. As an emperor, he couldn¡¯t tolerate the existence of such a person.

    ¡­

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    On the other hand, at first, Bi Linglong felt admiration toward Zu An¡¯s bravery, but she gradually began to feel worry that he might not be able to hold on for much longer. ¡°Ah Zu, you won¡¯t be able tost like this. How about you rest and let me take your ce for a bit?¡± She would be happy if she could buy him even a few seconds of reprieve.

    Zu An smacked his own chest and eximed with augh, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m feeling great! Right now, my body is even harder than these meteors!¡±

    Bi Linglong¡¯s face turned red. She harrumphed. This fellow really is a pervert.

 Chapter 847: Three Sacred Mountains

    <h4>Chapter 847: Three Sacred Mountains</h4>

    Zu An obviously didn¡¯t know that Bi Linglong was thinking weird things. After he answered her, he focused on absorbing primordial ki.

    In reality, most of the primordial ki was used to stop the neverending meteors. However, the primordial ki used for that wasn¡¯t wasted, as it served to continuously temper his flesh and bones. He could clearly feel every inch of his skin bing sturdier. It didn¡¯t be as hard as a rock, but rather had a powerful stic strength.

    After his skin was refined, he then used the primordial ki to temper his muscles, bones, vessels, and internal organs. He felt that after this process wasplete, his body would be several times stronger than before; the attacks of normal cultivators wouldn¡¯t be able to do much to him even if he didn¡¯t bother using ki to defend.

    Zu An remembered Yun Jianyue mocking him, saying that the bodies of grandmasters were different from normal people and that only a powerful man could prate those at her level. But he was confident that right now, forget about a grandmaster, he was now tough enough to even do an earth immortal!

    But the only earth immortal in this world was the emperor, so he immediately wanted to throw up when he thought of that.

    Half a month passed just like that. Zu An had alreadypletely tempered his body three times over. He had never felt so strong before; every single cell in his body was full of explosive power.

    Bi Linglong couldn¡¯t help but move over. She touched his skin with a fingertip, asking, ¡°Why do I feel like your skin tone has be lighter?¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Zu An was a bit surprised. Could it be that he was born to be a pretty boy?

    ¡°I¡¯m sure.¡± Bi Linglong was a bit envious. ¡°And your skin is so amazing! It¡¯s even prettier than a girl¡¯s.¡±

    Zu An realized that the tempering process had made him continuously shed and create new skin. That was why his skin had be whiter than before. ¡°Being touched one-sidedly like this feels like I¡¯m being taken advantage of! How about I touch you a bit too, to make it fair?¡± he cried out.

    Bi Linglong harrumphed. She took a step back, blushing. ¡°Per-vert!¡± She turned around and ignored him afterward.

    Zu An sulked. Why is it fine when she touches me, but I¡¯m a pervert if I want to touch her?

    Mi Li coughed and said, ¡°Stop flirting with the crown princess already. Whatyer has your Primordial Origin Sutra reached?¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°I actually already finished the thirdyer a while ago. But I don¡¯t have the Primordial Origin Sutra¡¯s second half, so I can¡¯t go any further. It¡¯d be a waste if I let all of this primordial ki go, so I tempered my body three more times.¡±

    ¡°Three more times?¡± Mi Li¡¯s eyes widened and she couldn¡¯t help but reach out to touch him. ¡°This really is a tremendous opportunity for you. Even though the sessive generations of Qin¡¯s kings were outstanding talents, they were only able toplete a single refinement to perfection. Who knows how tough your body will be when youpletely cultivate this technique!¡±

    Zu An smiled bitterly. ¡°I only did this because I had no choice. I don¡¯t even have the second half of this technique, so I can only keep refining my body over and over again.¡±

    Mi Li shook her head. ¡°To a certain degree, this will actually take you to apletely different level. I¡¯m quite curious what kind of state you¡¯ll reach once you fully cultivate the Primordial Origin Sutra.¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°But I have no idea where thattter half is¡­ I might not even be able to find that mysterious Westhound Tomb in my lifetime.¡±

    In the dungeon, the Qin King¡¯s remnant soul had told him to search for Westhound Tomb if he wanted the other half of this sutra. Unfortunately, he had searched everywhere, and even essed the Embroidered Envoy¡¯s informationwork, but he hadn¡¯t found a thing. He could only give up as a result.

    Mi Li¡¯s expression turned strange. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll find it soon.¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t notice the strangeness in her voice. He raised his head and asked, ¡°Master empress, did you notice that the meteors seem to have decreased? The chaotic elements seem to have calmed down quite a bit too.¡±

    Mi Li nodded. ¡°I believe the new dungeon willpletely make its appearance soon.¡±

    Zu An wasn¡¯t too concerned about a new dungeon, and instead became worried. ¡°Won¡¯t the emperore to kill us if the elements stabilize?¡±

    Mi Li replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the new world¡¯sws are different from before. He won¡¯t be able to cross over that quickly.¡±

    ¡­

    Zhao Ruizhi observed them from his side. After a bit of hesitation, he decided not to make any rash moves. It was clear that with his cultivation, he was able to sense that the new world¡¯sws weren¡¯t as calm as they seemed on the surface.

    His prior actions had already made him lose a lot of face again and again without achieving anything, making him seem as if he only knew how to disy his anger powerlessly. That was why he decided that he would only make his move when he had a hundred percent certainty.

    He wanted tough when he thought of that. It had already been many years since hest felt such a thing. With his cultivation and status, when did he not have absolute confidence when he did anything?

    Even when he was facing King Qi out in the open, he still felt everything was in his control. Yet here, a brat like Zu An had been beyond his control several times. However, the more things were like this, the more he would make Zu An payter.

    Suddenly, a rumble came from above as the entire world began to slowly descend.

    Those from King Qi Manor turned pale, their eyes full of despair. Even the alwaysposed Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s expression changed. Even though his cultivation was high, it wasn¡¯t at a level where he could hold up an entire continent!

    Even though arge portion of thatndmass had already broken apart from half a month of meteor showers, it was still an entire continent in the end! If it crashed down on them like this, forget about an earth immortal, even a true immortal would be pulverized!

    When she saw the descendingndmass, Bi Linglong subconsciously moved closer to Zu An. It seemed as if only then could the ice-cold despair in her heart be broken by a sliver of warmth.

    Even though Zu An was extremely nervous as well, he still held her hand to console her. Bi Linglong trembled. Normally, she would definitely have pulled her hand back bashfully. But in this situation, she didn¡¯t want those interlocked fingers to separate instead.

    ¡°Big sis empress, what do we do? Are we really going to all die here?¡± Zu An called out frantically to Mi Li.

    ¡°What are you panicking for? Just keep watching.¡± Mi Li harrumphed. She raised her head to look at the continent, a hint of grief shing through her stunning face.

    Zu An was confused. Ever since they had entered this dungeon, he¡¯d felt that her reactions had always been a bit strange.

    ¡°It stopped, it stopped!¡± King Qi Manor¡¯s people cheered joyfully. Thendmass above them had stopped when it reached several hundred zhang above their heads. Even Zhao Ruizhi let out a sigh of relief.

    Suddenly, they could hear the sound of cracking. They quickly raised their heads and saw that several visible massive cracks had appeared in the continent. Those cracks grewrger andrger until eventually, the entire continent was split up into three chunks.

    Scattered rocks, dirt, trees, and other such things rained down from above. Zu An and everyone else began a new round of ind protection. But those things didn¡¯t fall for long. Soon afterward, a ray of light descended, putting the long period of darkness to an end.

    A gust of wind swept past. The smoke and dust that had surged because of the splitting earth scattered. Those present looked up, seeing threerge inds floating above them. Every single ind was many timesrger than the ind Zhao Ruizhi was standing on. Rather than calling them floating inds, it would be better to call them floating continents.

    ¡°I think I see a blue sky!¡±

    ¡°Sunlight, I can see sunlight!¡±

    After half a month of bitter struggle, King Qi Manor¡¯s people had survived by the skin of their teeth. They all wept tears of joy.

    ¡°What is that over there? Is that an immortal pce?¡± Someone suddenly pointed at the continent that was directly above them. The originalndmass had been divided into three parts, and they just happened to be under the middle continent, so they could already make out some things on it.

    They saw all manner of decorations and buildings. What seemed like pces towered one after another into the sky. Every single room seemed as if it were made from gold, silver, and jade.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

 Chapter 848: Encroaching Danger

    <h4>Chapter 848: Encroaching Danger</h4>

    Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s gaze was filled with excitement. When he thought about the immortality he could potentially obtain, he almost stopped caring about Zu An. Possession was, after all, just ast resort. If he really could obtain immortality, he would absolutely use his own body.

    He walked over to the edge of the floating ind, deciding to fly toward the three inds. Even though they were several hundred zhang apart, it wasn¡¯t too great a distance for him. However, he suddenly stopped. After some hesitation, he ordered He Li, ¡°Fly up and take a look around first.¡±

    He Li¡¯s face instantly paled. Even though he was curious about what kinds of things these immortal mountains were hiding, he was usually timid and cautious in nature. He immediately understood that the emperor wanted him to use him as a guinea pig. They had just experienced more than half a month of hell. Even though the scenery looked peaceful, who knew what kind of dangers there were?

    Unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t defy the emperor¡¯s orders. However, he suddenly had an idea. He ordered some of King Qi Manor¡¯s experts to lead the way. At the same time, he promised that if they found anything good up there, it would be theirs.

    These fellows were usually rather submissive and easy to sway. Sure enough, their breathing became hurried when they heard that condition. These immortal mountains were just too amazing to look at. Theypletely fit the description of a legendary immortal dwelling! If they could head up first, they might encounter some miraculous opportunities.

    Even if they didn¡¯t find anything else, they could see some fruits that were clearly extraordinary. If they ate a few of them, even if they didn¡¯t go through aplete rebirth, making significant progress in their cultivation wouldn¡¯t be an issue. As such, they agreed excitedly.

    Zhao Ruizhi smiled. This He Li was quite the talent. Either way, he just needed people to scout out the situation. He didn¡¯t care who it was that went up there. As for whether or not they really found anything, it didn¡¯t matter if it didn¡¯t catch his interest. If it did, why would he let them have it?

    The experts from King Qi Manor weren¡¯t at the ninth rank yet and couldn¡¯t fly. But now that the world stabilized, there were floating inds all around them. The distance between each ind wasn¡¯t too great, so with their cultivation, jumping up wasn¡¯t too difficult.

    He Li even helped them out a bit. With his cultivation at the peak of the ninth rank, even a rock he threw would reach those three sacred mountains. The experts borrowed the force of his pushes tond on the closest floating ind. They were worried that they might be outdone by their peers, so all of them went all out. But their expressions suddenly changed midway.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± someone cried out in rm, because they discovered that all of their strength had suddenly disappeared!

    Then, the experts began to fall back down like lumps of iron. They were like drowning people, frantically waving their arms around to try and grab something, but they were in midair! What could they possibly grab? Soon afterward, they dropped from the sky one after another, screaming in rm and horror. Those remaining paled in fright as they watched.

    The ck mist below them was already rising higher and higher. It was already close to the small inds. Butpared to its initial pitch-ck color, now that sunlight had scattered down again, the ck mist became pink. It was now as beautiful as a sunset glow.

    The experts fell into the mist clouds, and their miserable screams came to a grunting halt.

    ¡°Huh?¡± They had created such a huge disturbance, so it was hard for Zu An not to notice it.

    Thews of the world had clearly already stabilized, so why had they fallen? Furthermore, even those massive inds could float in the sky, so why had these people, who were small inparison, dropped like that?

    He quickly asked Mi Li, but realized that he was already depending on her too much. It was just like the famous saying: ¡®If you don¡¯t know about something outside of China, Google it; if you don¡¯t know about something inside China, Baidu it; if you don¡¯t know something about sex¡­ Ahem¡­¡¯ He felt as if Mi Li were bing his Google and Baidu.

    Mi Li exined, ¡°Every world has its ownws. Thesews can be all sorts of strange things, and you have no choice but to ept it. Once cultivators reach the grandmaster or earth immortal level, they can create domains of their own, which are equivalent to extremely small worlds. Thews are set by them, so they can usews that are unfavorable for any opponents that invade their domains. Any enemies who are unaware of that might end up suffering greatly.¡±

    Zu An remembered what it had been like when he faced Zhao Ruizhi. He couldn¡¯t move an inch inside the other party¡¯s domain. If not for the fact that the world¡¯s elements had been in chaos, destroying the emperor¡¯s domain, he might already be dead.

    Mi Li continued, ¡°This dungeon is simr; I believe it prevents flight. As for why those giant inds can continue to fly in the air, while people can¡¯t, there¡¯s no need to think about it further. You only need to know that thews exist and how they operate. You might encounterws that are even stranger and more oundish.¡±

    Zu An half-understood what she said. How badass would it be if he could create a world of his own? If he had the ability to set a world¡¯sws in the future, he would definitely make beaches everywhere. Bikinis would fill the streets, and only tank tops and booty shorts would be the limit, no more clothes beyond that¡­

    Mi Li spoke again. ¡°What you need to pay attention to is the pink mist. We clearly can¡¯t see any more lightning, but why did those people be silent the moment they fell into the mist clouds?¡±

    Zu An asked in confusion, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s poisonous?¡±

    ¡°If it¡¯s poison, then you should be happy because of your poison immunity.¡± Mi Li frowned. ¡°But not even a strong poison should be able to instantly kill off those cultivators. Furthermore, the mist is still rising. Even though it isn¡¯t moving quickly, it will reach this ce sooner orter.

    On the other ind, the deathsworn soldiers didn¡¯t dare to continue trying when they saw theirpanions die so miserably. He Li was also getting a headache. I¡¯m finished! What if the emperor asks me to go first?

    Fortunately, Zhao Ruizhi wasn¡¯t in the mood to pay him any attention. Instead, he stood by the edge of the ind and observed the mist below. Suddenly, he reached out his hand, seizing the tail of a massive python from the forest. With a startled roar, the python struggled frantically. It tried to wrap itself around Zhao Ruizhi, its mouth widening and biting down on him.

    Zhao Ruizhi harrumphed. With a flick of his wrist, the python¡¯s body rippled like a wave. With that, all of its bones became disjointed, its body bing as limp as a noodle, unable to resist at all. Even though its cultivation had reached its current level, it wasn¡¯t able to free itself from the weakness of being a snake.

    The beasts in the forest hid themselves in rm, as if they could only feel a bit safer if they got further away from the emperor.

    The onlookers gulped. They could only sigh in admiration toward the power of the emperor. Even a beast this terrifying had been so easily subdued.

    Zhao Ruizhi lowered the python into the cloud mist. Due to the ridiculous length of its body, it could barely touch the edge of the mist. After a moment, he quickly frowned and pulled the python back up.

    The onlookers were startled, because half of the python¡¯s head was now missing! The front half was nowhere to be seen, and not a single drop of blood fell from the clean cut. They had no idea what kind of thing had sealed that area.

    They finally knew why those individuals had be silent upon making contact. They were already just like this snake, devoured by an unknown and mysterious power! They all felt despair when they saw the mist rising higher and higher.

    Zu An sighed. ¡°That guy really is vicious¡­ That python helped him protect that ind for almost an entire month, so it should have been arade for better or for worse, yet he turned on it so quickly.¡±

    Bi Linglong also turned pale. ¡°The emperor is the most ruthless one of all.¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    That was something she had always understood. It was just that she had been the crown princess, and the emperor had always backed the crown prince. He had always targeted enemies with his vicious methods, so she¡¯d only felt admiration, and even a bit of adoration. But only now that the emperor had be her enemy did she understand how frightening such a person was.

    Zu An patted her arm gently tofort her. Zhao Ruizhi said coldly from the other ind, ¡°Stop flirting already. Why don¡¯t you think of a way to head on up?¡±

    Even with the emperor¡¯s ability, he was still a bit stumped. The new domain was suppressing him considerably; otherwise, a trifling few hundred zhang of distance wouldn¡¯t be a big deal at all. He hated Zu An bitterly, but he had to admit that the kid was sharp, and he had a bunch of strange and bizarre skills as well. He might very well have a solution to this situation.

    The mist below was getting closer and closer. Even though the mist might not be able to kill him with his cultivation, he couldn¡¯tst forever, let alone the fact that he still wanted to chase after immortality.

    Zu An chuckled when he heard what Zhao Ruizhi said. ¡°I see, you¡¯re begging me. But why do I feel your attitude isn¡¯t right? Maybe I¡¯ll feel a bit more motivated if you speak nicely.¡±

 Chapter 849: What If I Tell You to Die?

    <h4>Chapter 849: What If I Tell You to Die?</h4>

    Zhao Ruizhi was speechless.

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Han for +482 +482 +482¡­

    With a shake of his hand, the pythonshed out like a whip as he struck out of anger. With the sturdiness of the python¡¯s body, the winds that rushed forth as a result could be felt from far away. Even a mountain might be leveled if hit by such an attack.

    Zu An remained unfazed. The roaring python swept past him, but it missed him by a few dozen zhang. He suggested with a chuckle, ¡°Maybe you should stand a bit closer?¡±

    The reason he was able to remain so calm was that they were several hundred zhang away from each other, and the snake clearly wasn¡¯t that long. Half of the python¡¯s head had gone missing in the mist earlier, so he obviously didn¡¯t have to be scared.

    He even took a step forward after speaking. At first, he wanted to copy Hail the Judge¡¯s Fang Tangjing and say ¡®I¡¯m jumping in and out,e on, hit me!¡¯ to earn more Rage points. But Bi Linglong was still watching, so that would be a bit too shameless¡­

    Even so, Zhao Ruizhi was angered badly. He stared hatefully at Zu An, and his outreached hand shook. The several dozen zhang long python instantly exploded into a bloody mist. He couldn¡¯t do anything to Zu An, so he could only vent out his anger on the pitiful python.

    He Li was horrified. The emperor¡¯s strength was so great, they didn¡¯t dare to rebel in the slightest! Why the hell was that Zu An angering the emperor? Was that guy sick in the head?

    Bi Linglong had simr thoughts. ¡°Ah Zu, his majesty is giving you a rare chance to cooperate and ease tensions. Why are you angering him on purpose?¡±

    Zu An said with a sigh, ¡°With the things I¡¯ve done, he won¡¯t let me go even if I kneel for forgiveness, so why should I bow down? I might as well curse him a few times to feel better.¡±

    Bi Linglong suddenly realized he was right. ¡°You¡¯re still smarter than me in this situation. I almost forgot.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to feel that way.¡± Zu An continued, ¡°Besides, if he really needs me, no matter how much I¡¯ve angered him, he¡¯ll endure it no matter what¡¯s happened thus far.¡±

    Bi Linglong had aplicated expression. ¡°The emperor has never experienced such frustration in his life. You¡¯re the first to make him feel this way.¡± She was filled with shock and admiration. This man really was different from normal people. After all, when others faced the emperor, even speaking was difficult, yet he was so calm and collected.

    Just then, several cries could be heard in the distance. Some small inds had risen from below, each one of them roughly a square meter or so in size. Those floating inds would sometimes rise, sometimes fall, sometimes stopping in midair. They seemed to be moving in a rhythmic pattern.

    What was even more important was that the floating inds they were on and those massive floating continents were surrounded by the rising and falling inds. They seemed to be forming a bridge that led to the ¡®sacred mountains¡¯.

    Zhao Ruizhi roared withughter, ¡°Heaven never bars my way after all!¡±

    A dungeon like this wouldn¡¯t produce an impossible situation after all. There was likely an ¡®inheritance¡¯ waiting for those fated to obtain it up ahead after all.

    He suddenly gave Zu An¡¯s ind a look. Even though there were a few scattered inds in between, it wasn¡¯t enough for him to head over there. That was why he could only endure his rage and head up to the sacred mountain above first. Even so, he remained careful. He didn¡¯t go himself and instead looked toward He Li. ¡°You, go up first.¡±

    He Li¡¯s scalp became numb. He finally understood why the other party had kept him alive. It turned out that it was so that the emperor could use him as a tool in this new dungeon after all! But he didn¡¯t dare to refuse. He could only agree with a smile.

    Then, he looked at King Qi Manor¡¯s subordinates. When they saw him look at them, they all shrunk back. At the same time, they looked toward the sky, pretending they hadn¡¯t seen anything. They weren¡¯t going to be so easily fooled after seeing what had just happened to theirpanions!

    ¡°Cowardly bastards,¡± He Li cursed. Even these guys were worthy of being called deathsworn soldiers?

    Helpless to do anything about it, he could only brace himself and go up. He took a deep breath, then stepped onto the closest of the newly-formed floating tforms. Every muscle in his body was taut. He would immediately back up if there was something even slightly wrong. For a cultivator at the peak of the ninth rank like him, he at least had confidence to do that much.

    Nothing strange happened even when he stood on that floating ind for a long time. He couldn¡¯t help but beam with joy. ¡°It¡¯s fine; there¡¯s nothing wrong with these floating tforms!¡±

    He was about to step off when Zhao Ruizhi stopped him,manding, ¡°Continue forward!¡±

    He Li¡¯s face fell, but he still felt helpless. He continued to the next floating tform. This one moved as soon as he stepped on it, slowly rising up. He was incredibly nervous, but he calmed down when he saw that the other floating tforms were also rising and falling in rhythm.

    After he rose a few zhang, a new floating tform appeared in front of him. He knew that the tform he was on was going to start descending soon. He couldn¡¯t help but look toward Zhao Ruizhi, hoping he would be allowed to return first.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    But even though Zhao Ruizhi didn¡¯t say a word, his grave and stern gaze expressed his intent for He Li to continue.

    He Li gulped and quickly jumped to the third floating tform. That tform also slowly carried him up. He sighed in relief when he saw that the tforms were all fine, and his thoughts began to move normally again. The emperor is too cautious, which gives me a great opportunity instead. If I arrive on those sacred mountains first, won¡¯t I have the best chance of obtaining miraculous opportunities? I can break free from the emperor¡¯s control then¡­

    Anyone who could cultivate to the peak of the ninth rank was no idiot. He understood clearly that the reason why the emperor hadn¡¯t killed him yet was because he had some use in this new dungeon. Once they left this dungeon, it would be hard for someone like him to keep his life. That was why, if he could obtain some tremendous opportunity in this sacred mountain, it would give him a sliver of a chance at survival.

    His footsteps became lighter when he thought of that, and he was no longer as scared as before. But he couldn¡¯t have expected that just as he stepped on the fifth floating tform, it began to descend the moment he actually stood on it, even though it had clearly been about to go up!

    He Li was rmed. He wanted to return to the fourth floating tform. With his cultivation, he could still jump at least that far. However, the previous tform quickly rose up, instantly widening the distance enough to leave him in despair.

    Just then, a vine flew out and wrapped around He Li¡¯s arm, dragging him back. He recovered from his horror when he saw he was standing on solid ground again. He saw the vine in Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s hand and immediately bowed. ¡°Thank you, your majesty, for saving my life.¡±

    Zhao Ruizhi said indifferently, ¡°Just keep going. I¡¯ll bring you back if there is any danger.¡±

    He gestured toward the vine in his hands. He had gotten a sh of inspiration while swinging the python around, and torn off a long vine from the forest nearby. Unfortunately, it was difficult for these vines to reach a hundred zhang in length, or else he would have swung them at that damn kid on the other ind.

    The gratitude He Li felt immediately disappeared. He cursed inwardly. Your damn vine isn¡¯t even long enough! It might be enough in the beginning, but you can¡¯t even save meter on! But despite those thoughts, he could only brace himself and continue.

    Since there were several paths that could be taken along the floating tforms, Zhao Ruizhi chose a few deathsworn soldiers to speed up the process. He watched from behind them, and whenever one of them fell, he would catch them and send another up.

    After having been the emperor for so long, he naturally understood the importance of rotating through his men. If he continued to make the same people take risks, they would definitely be resentful. If they ended up doing something irrational out of despair, that might end up ruining all of his ns. That was why, if he rotated through them, not only would they still show their enthusiasm, they would also have hope. As for He Li, however, that fellow was too cunning and scared of death. He needed to be pressured a bit.

    As he watched, Zu An saw that even though this process was slow, it was quite effective. They were already getting closer and closer to the sacred mountain.

    He frowned. There were so many people on the other side, so they could experiment in such a way, but he couldn¡¯t! There weren¡¯t any vines like that on his ind, and if he did try to experiment like that, with her cultivation, Bi Linglong wouldn¡¯t be able to bring him back in time. However, he really didn¡¯t want to send the weak Bi Linglong ahead either.

    But he couldn¡¯t have expected that Bi Linglong would take the initiative to scout out a path. She keenly sensed the importance of finding one. She said, ¡°As for the vine¡­ I have a lot of clothes in my storage. You can rip them up and use them as a rope.¡±

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s too far. Even if we take off all of our clothes and make a rope, it still won¡¯t be enough. Those on the other side are nning to sacrifice lives to achieve their purpose. How can we use the same method?¡±

    Bi Linglong¡¯s face paled. ¡°Then what do we do? Are we supposed to just wait here for our death?¡±

    The pink mist was currently rising. It was clear that it wouldpletely drown out the ind after just a few days.

    Zu An asked Mi Li if there was something they could do. Mi Li didn¡¯t answer and instead asked, ¡°Do you trust me?¡±

    ¡°Of course I do.¡± Zu An chuckled. ¡°I¡¯ll follow whatever master empress says.¡±

    ¡°Then¡­¡± After a pause, Mi Li asked, ¡°What if I told you to die?¡±

 Chapter 850: Westhound Tomb

    <h4>Chapter 850: Westhound Tomb</h4>

    Zu An was stunned. He said with a chuckle, ¡°Then I probably wouldn¡¯t die. Life is so amazing, and I have so many beauties waiting for me to be with them. I haven¡¯t had enough of living yet.¡±

    Mi Li was speechless. She looked at him silently. But in the end, she scoffed, ¡°What else was I expecting from you?¡±

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Master empress, what¡¯s up with you? You¡¯ve been acting a bit strange ever since we entered this dungeon. You¡¯re always preupied about something, and you suddenly asked me to be your disciple. And now, you¡¯re asking me these strange things?¡±

    Mi Li shook her head. ¡°Now isn¡¯t yet the time. You¡¯ll know when it is.¡± Zu An wanted to continue asking her, but Mi Li asked impatiently, ¡°Are you done? The other party is getting closer and closer to the floating continents. Are you going to head out or not?¡±

    ¡°Head out?¡± Zu An gave the floating tforms a troubled look. ¡°But we don¡¯t have the privilege of testing out the tforms one by one¡­¡±

    ¡°Who said we have to test them out? Also, do they really think they¡¯ll seed purely through brute force?¡± Mi Li harrumphed. Her voice was full of disdain.

    As if to prove her words, miserable screams filled the air as she spoke. Many of the deathsworn soldiers fell from the sky, and even with the emperor¡¯s abilities, he couldn¡¯t save all of them. Two deathsworn soldiers fell into the mist.

    There was an uproar on the other ind. Zu An looked over and saw that many of the deathsworn soldiers were stuck at a certain point. They couldn¡¯t make it past that point no matter what they tried.

    They were all incredibly anxious. Some of them were scared by theirpanions falling and were in a hurry toe back, while some were thinking about the patterns of the floating tforms.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Mi Li paused for a moment, then added, ¡°Make sure you immediately go wherever I tell you to. You can¡¯t show any hesitation.¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright, I get it already.¡± Zu An grabbed Bi Linglong¡¯s hand and said to her, ¡°Let¡¯s go as well.¡±

    Bi Linglong was a bit hesitant. ¡°They have so many people, but they still haven¡¯t seeded. If it¡¯s just the two of us¡­¡±

    Zu An replied seriously, ¡°Trust me!¡±

    Mi Li continuously rolled her eyes. This brat always used the things she taught him to court girls. It really was irritating.

    When she saw how calm Zu An was, Bi Linglong gently bit her lip. She voiced her agreement, then followed him while holding his hand.

    When he saw his subordinates¡¯ confused behavior, Zhao Ruizhi felt a headache. He noticed movement on the other side and saw that Zu An and Bi Linglong were about to give it a try. He sneered, having already watched the situation for a while. The floating tforms on either end moved in different patterns. Trying to imitate their side¡¯s trials would simply be courting death.

    When he pictured Zu An taking a step but falling from the sky, Zhao Ruizhi grinned. That hateful brat was finally going to die. But when his hand shifted to the two individuals¡¯ interlocked fingers, that bit of joy immediately vanished.

    He had already served as an emperor for so many years. What kind of beauty hadn¡¯t he met in his life? He obviously wouldn¡¯t feel something like love for Bi Linglong. However, to a certain degree, Bi Linglong was his woman, his exclusive property. Only he alone in this world was allowed to touch her. Yet another man actually dared to be so affectionate with her in front of him! His masculine desire to dominate filled him with burning mes of jealousy.

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Han for +365 +365 +365¡­

    When Zu An saw the Rage points, he reached out his arm and pulled Bi Linglong into his embrace. Then, he shot Zhao Ruizhi a provocative look.

    Zhao Ruizhi nearly exploded with anger. He could only look away expressionlessly.

    Bi Linglong blushed, but she knew what Zu An was thinking. If it had been any other time, she would definitely have gotten angry. However, the two of them could die at any moment. She sighed and let him do what he wanted. She had no idea that another woman was helping her reprimand Zu An at that moment.

    Mi Li said with a cold expression, ¡°Put away those damn thoughts of yours and focus on what I¡¯m telling you! We¡¯re all doomed if you take even a single wrong step!¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Zu An didn¡¯t dare to act carelessly either. He pricked up his ears and listened.

    ¡°From guimei to wuwang, wuwang to dayou, dayou to gutongren¡­¡± Mi Li said slowly.

    ¡°Stop, stop, stop!¡± Zu An quickly eximed. ¡°Please speak human!¡±

    Mi Li was speechless. When he saw how she was almost steaming with anger, Zu An quickly exined, ¡°I know you taught me a simr chant when you changed my movement technique, but I really don¡¯t know much about these divinatory trigrams. That means I¡¯ll have to spend some time thinking about which way to go. Didn¡¯t you say we don¡¯t have any room for hesitation or dy, that a single misstep will ruin everything? That¡¯s why you should just tell me whether to go forward, backward, left, or right.¡±

    Mi Li stared at him. A whileter, she sighed deeply. ¡°If it were any other time, I would¡¯ve made sure to beat the crap out of you.¡± Even so, she changed her way of speaking, giving him simple directions of forward, backward, left, and right.

    Zu An quickly climbed up with Bi Linglong. Sometimes, he would step on several floating tforms in a row; sometimes he would make a huge detour in another direction. Sometimes, he would advance three steps and take two steps back.

    Bi Linglong still trembled with fear at first, worried that they would fall like King Qi Manor¡¯s people, yet Zu An was always able to bring them to a safe and correct direction. She couldn¡¯t help but look at the man at her side. He really was bing more and more mysterious.

    A breeze blew past, and Zu An seemed like an immortal that moved amidst clouds. He looked confident and graceful. Bi Linglong blushed.

    ¡­

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The other party also noticed what was happening on Zu An¡¯s side. Zhao Ruizhi and the others had been waiting for him to fall, yet Zu An didn¡¯t encounter any troubles at all.

    Zhao Ruizhi was angry at first, but he quickly suppressed such useless emotions. Then, he carefully studied Zu An¡¯s movements. ¡°Huh? That seems to be the five elements eight trigrams[1] path¡­¡±

    He began to think to himself. Even though the rise and fall of the tforms was different for each side, with his knowledge and resourcefulness, finding out the solution with that piece of enlightenment wasn¡¯t too hard.

    ¡°But something isn¡¯t right. If you follow this movement path, you¡¯ll run out of ces to go soon.¡± Zhao Ruizhi immediately noticed a problem.

    On the other hand, Zu An quickly faced an important choice. ¡°Take three steps to the left!¡± Mi Li said coldly.

    Zu An was rmed, because there was nothing there. Below that empty space was the dangerous pink mist. He wondered if Mi Li had made a mistake, but Mi Li urgently insisted, ¡°Hurry, there¡¯s no time!¡±

    Zu An¡¯s mind moved quickly. He suddenly recalled how Mi Li had asked him if he was willing if she asked him to die. Even though his reply back then had been that he wasn¡¯t willing, he suddenly understood why she had asked him that. In that instant, he rushed three steps to the left.

    Bi Linglong cried out in rm. She grabbed tightly onto Zu An, as if she wanted to stop him from ending his own life. However, how could shepare to Zu An in strength? She was instead dragged along too. She closed her eyes and awaited death.

    But then, she was shocked to discover that the two of them hadn¡¯t continued to fall, but instead stood firmly in midair. No, she could sense that she was stepping on something solid.

    Is this¡­ a floating tform? She quickly realized what was happening. Then, she looked at Zu An in amazement. How did he know about this?

    Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s eyes narrowed. Then, they lit up. ¡°So that was it! Aha!¡±

    He was starting to even admire Zu An. That kid really was a talent. Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t have the heart of a true subject within him, so he couldn¡¯t be used.

    ¡­

    Up in the air, the Zu An everyone was admiring was currently showering Mi Li in praise. ¡°Master empress, you really are OP! You¡¯re the light, you¡¯re the way, you¡¯re an evesting legend¡­¡±

    Mi Li felt a strange chill when she heard all those cheesypliments. ¡°Enough, enough already. Just keep going.¡± Even so, her grin gave away her joy. It wasn¡¯t really because of the praise, but rather that he had chosen to trust her in that moment of crisis.

    Just like that, under her instructions, Zu An climbed up one step after another. He arrived on the nearest floating continent soon afterward.

    ¡°It¡¯s so beautiful!¡± Bi Linglong cried out in amazement. After all, the world below was full of death, while this was a world of pleasant meadows and fragrant flowers. There was even immortal mist lingering in the area. Under the rays of the sun, the distant golden pce and the white jade pirs looked grand and magnificent. It felt as if they had arrived in an absolute wondend.

    When he saw such a fantasy scene, which had previously only existed in dramas and games, before him, Zu An couldn¡¯t help but ask Mi Li, ¡°Master empress, are there really daoist immortals in this world?¡±

    Mi Li floated over. She raised her head toward the grand pce. Her eyes were full of mysterious sorrow as she answered, ¡°The universe is boundless. Who dares to im that there are no immortals in this world? But all of this is nothing more than a fabrication.¡±

    ¡°Fabrication?¡± Zu An was confused.

    ¡°Do you know where we are?¡± Mi Li asked.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it a new dungeon?¡± Zu An asked probingly. ¡°From the looks of it, it seems like some sacred mountain from the legends.¡±

    Mi Li shook her head. ¡°This is the Qin people¡¯s ancestral court, Westhound Tomb.¡±

    . Bagua ?

 Chapter 851: Gate of Immortality

    <h4>Chapter 851: Gate of Immortality</h4>

    ¡°Westhound Tomb?¡± Zu An eximed, shocked. He couldn¡¯t be more familiar with this name. Back then, the ruined soul of the Qin Emperor had told him to find Westhound Tomb as quickly as possible. However, he couldn¡¯t find any clues no matter how he searched. Who could have thought that it would actually be right here?

    He quickly realized something and said to Mi Li, ¡°No wonder you were always a bit distracted recently. So it was because we¡¯re revisiting an old haunt?¡±

    A reminiscent expression shed through Mi Li¡¯s eyes. ¡°I saw some familiar things and couldn¡¯t help but remember some unpleasant memories.¡±

    Zu An remembered that she had been sealed by the Qin Emperor back then. A major conflict had definitely happened between the two of them. On one hand, seeing a familiar ce would make her recall the past fondly. However, once she remembered the Qin Emperor, she wouldn¡¯t be able to help but produce negative emotions.

    ¡°Have you been here before? Doesn¡¯t this mean that I¡¯ll be unstoppable soon?¡± Zu An asked with a chuckle.

    Mi Li rolled her eyes. ¡°Keep dreaming. This is a ce sessive generations of Qin Kings built through great effort. Only Qin Kings can enter and leave this ce; not even the empress or the crown prince can do so. I only know what I know because I was the empress, and I read some information about this ce from the library, but it¡¯s limited. The fact that we cracked the code to get on this floating continent is already a coincidence. We might not be so lucky going forward.¡±

    Despite those words, she still felt a bit better. After being around each other for so long, how could she not know that Zu An was only saying so to cheer her up? She was quite moved, but she also felt that this kid really was a brat. Forget about his enemies, there were times when she even wanted to give him a beating herself.

    ¡°Having you as my guide will always be better than me blindly groping around, right?¡± Zu An chuckled. Then, he continued forward with Bi Linglong. Suddenly, he picked up an exotic fragrance and the two of them headed in the direction of the smell.

    When they reached the edge of a cliff, the view suddenly opened up. A clear and crystallineke stretched out before them. Theke surface was enchanting like a massive sapphire, the most beautiful blue color he had ever seen in his life.

    Flowers were in full bloom around theke. There were many fruit trees, most of them bearing peaches. Every single peach tree was filled with heavy white peaches that carried a pink blush. They were several timesrger than normal juicy peaches, and their sweet aroma could be smelled even from far away.

    ¡°Are these the legendary Jade Lake and the Peaches of Immortality?¡± Bi Linglong¡¯s heart pounded. She subconsciously walked forward. The emperor¡¯s power that she¡¯d used earlier had drained her life force, so it was hard for her to resist her body¡¯s instinctive desire.

    Zu An frowned. He felt that something wasn¡¯t quite right, but he couldn¡¯t really put his finger on it. Suddenly, a sinisterugh came from behind him. ¡°Little bastard, I¡¯ve finally caught you!¡±

    Zu An immediately felt his fine hairs stand on end. Even Bi Linglong, who had been walking forward, trembled and quickly turned around. The fear she felt from that voice overwhelmed everything else.

    Zhao Ruizhi was standing not too far from them with a sneer on his face. He hadn¡¯t ambushed them, because with his identity and status, something like that would be too lowly. What he wanted was to torment Zu An, to make him feel true fear and remorse. He wanted to see Zu An beg for forgiveness tearfully.

    He Li followed behind Zhao Ruizhi, looking as if he were about to see something fun. This adulterous couple¡¯s public disy of affection had already left everyone incredibly annoyed. He wanted to see how Zu An was going to be finished off in person.

    Zu An stood in front of Bi Linglong to protect her. He asked with an overcast voice, ¡°How did you all get up here?¡± The tforms around the floating inds moved differently, which was why he hadn¡¯t been worried about them copying him back then.

    ¡°It¡¯s just a trifling eight trigrams path; you can figure it out after adding a bit of spection. How can something like that stop me?¡± Zhao Ruizhi eximed proudly.

    Mi Li couldn¡¯t help but say with a sigh, ¡°This damn emperor really is a crazy genius. No wonder he was able to be this world¡¯s number one.¡±

    She alone knew just how mysterious andplex the Book of Changes¡¯ eight trigrams were, and yet this man had been able to decipher them in such a short time, then even apply them to the floating path. Not even she had expected this.

    Suddenly, King Qi Manor¡¯s deathsworn soldiers cried out. ¡°Peaches of Immortality! It¡¯s the legendary peaches!¡±

    They had clearly noticed the peach trees as well. When they connected the fruits with the legends, their eyes turned red. Greedpletely took over, overwhelming their fear toward the emperor, and all of them rushed out towards theke, picking peaches and shoving them into their mouths.

    Zhao Ruizhi had also smelled the fragrance in the air, but he was currently preupied with his hatred and wrath toward Zu An. As such, he hadn¡¯t noticed the beautifulke and the peach trees yet. But when he did notice them, his breathing sped up.

    If it were anything else, he might not even give it a second look. However, the legendary Peaches of Immortality could grant one eternal life! He had some reservations too, but the more death encroached, the stronger the fear of death would be, eventually overtaking everything. He wouldn¡¯t let any chance for immortality go.

    Zhao Ruizhi was a bit upset when he saw the deathsworn soldiers frantically eating those peaches. These were all his; how could he let others waste them?! He ignored Zu An for the time being. He thought to himself that they were all already on the ind anyway, so killing him would be easy enough. It was better to focus on immortality first.

    As such, he instantly appeared on thergest of the peach trees with a single step. This peach tree had a massive trunk and was clearly an extraordinary existence. He leapt to the top, picked thergest peach, and ate it.

    ¡°Hm¡­¡± As an emperor, he had enjoyed all sorts of exotic delicacies in the past. But at that moment, he felt as if every pore in his body were cheering with joy! This thing is just too delicious! Furthermore, there was a warm stream flowing through him that made him feel vigorous and full of life.

    ¡°It really can grant eternal life!¡± Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s pupils narrowed. He felt incredibly moved. Just how many years had it been; how bitterly had he searched? He had sent so many experts to explore the mountains and seas, yet none of them hade back with anything significant. However, he had never given up. Today, he had finally found the method of immortality!

    When he saw all of them go mad over the peaches, Zu An grabbed Bi Linglong and ran. ¡°We¡¯re leaving!¡± He used Grandgale to rush out of the area and run away.

    Their movements didn¡¯t escape Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s detection, but he waspletely focused on immortality just then and didn¡¯t care about anything else. As long as he could achieve immortality, forget about a mere woman, he didn¡¯t care if he had to give away all of his wives and concubines.

    Zu An continued to run, choosing to run toward the forest so it would be easier to conceal their whereabouts. After running for a long time and seeing that Zhao Ruizhi didn¡¯t chase after them, he sighed in relief.

    Bi Linglong couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°Looks like those really were the legendary Peaches of Immortality, and they could grant eternal life. Otherwise, there¡¯s no way he would¡¯ve let us leave just like that.¡±

    Zu Anughed and replied, ¡°Who cares if those are the Peaches of Immortality or whatever? Our survival is the most important.¡±

    ¡°I guess you¡¯re right.¡± Bi Linglong chuckled. If there really were a way to gain eternal life, but they were killed right when they found out, that would really be too depressing. But even so, she was still a bit confused. ¡°Ah Zu, I really am starting to admire you. Even the emperor couldn¡¯t help but be tempted when faced with immortality, but you didn¡¯t care at all. I don¡¯t think there are many in this world who could make that kind of choice.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°I¡¯m different from normal people.¡± Zu An didn¡¯t know how to exin himself. He cultivated the Primordial Origin Sutra, which not only made his body tough, but also immune to diseases and illnesses. Qiao Xueying had even shared half of her elven lifespan with him. Together with the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, he could obtain immortality once he fully cultivated it anyway. That was why he wasn¡¯t all that tempted by such immortality.

    However, he quickly realized that even though he didn¡¯t need it, he still had so many sweethearts, so he should have picked some for them. He felt a bit of regret when he realized that

    Mi Li sneered. ¡°Do you really think those are the rumored Peaches of Immortality?¡±

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°Are they not?¡±

    ¡°Of course not.¡± Mi Li harrumphed. ¡°Not even the Qin Emperor was able to obtain immortality despite searching for it his entire life. If he found the so-called Jade Lake and Peaches of Immortality, he would definitely still be alive. If that were the case, I would already be done for.¡±

    Zu An realized that as well. The Qin Emperor was already dead, so that meant that he hadn¡¯t found any immortal medicine. Then, what were those immortal peaches?

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, by thekeside Zu An had just left, after Zhao Ruizhi ate three of thergest peaches in session, he felt that there were three flowers slowly blossoming on his head. He was delighted. Was this the legendary Three Flower Congregation Crown? Three flowers above one¡¯s head was the mark of a daoist immortal.

    Heavenly music emerged from the sky just then. Waves of magnificent light flickered in the clouds above as a grand immortal gate slowly opened. Countless immortaldies and children waved toward him. A mysterious voice told him that as long as he entered the gate, then he would formally join the ranks of immortals. He would then never die; he would be a true immortal!

    Zhao Ruizhi gulped. He subconsciously walked toward the immortal gate. Whenever he took a step, a floating cloud would appear beneath his feet, as if the immortal gate were guiding him towards it. He continued up the cloud stairs, arriving in front of the immortal gate soon afterward. He was just about to cross over, but suddenly, he froze up.

 Chapter 852: Strange Temple

    <h4>Chapter 852: Strange Temple</h4>

    Zhao Ruizhi thought to himself that if he crossed through the immortal gate, wouldn¡¯t it be his son¡¯s body that obtained immortality? What he wanted the most was to achieve immortality with his original body. Even if it were his own son, he still didn¡¯t want him to obtain that chance instead. However, he quickly realized that the opportunity was fleeting. There might not be a chance for his original self to achieve immortality if he waited.

    He decided to grant this body immortality first. He¡¯d see if he could make his main body immortal with some peaches after he left the dungeon. When he thought of that, he suddenly lowered his head to look at the deathsworn soldiers. What right do these ants have to achieve immortality with me?! Even filth like them?

    When he thought about how there were many who had eaten the peaches before him, he was worried that they might achieve immortality first. If he didn¡¯t stop them, it would be toote. As such, he decided to postpone crossing through the gate of immortality and instead turned around to kill them first.

    But when he turned around, everything before his eyes changed. The beautiful scene filled with fragrant fruits vanished. The surroundings suddenly darkened, and King Qi Manor¡¯s deathsworn soldiers weren¡¯t carryingrge and pretty peaches, but rather strange fruits that resembled skeletons.

    Some of King Qi Manor¡¯s soldiers began to walk toward theke with strange smiles on their faces. Thatke that had originally appeared sapphire blue was no longer the same, but rather pitch-ck. Ghost faces floated across the water surface.

    The robust body of the first soldier who entered theke first began to shrivel up, but he seemed to bepletely unaware of that. There was an infatuated smile on his face, making the whole ce seem stranger and stranger¡­

    ¡°What the hell is this?!¡± Zhao Ruizhi broke out into a cold sweat. He realized that something was off right away. When he turned around, he didn¡¯t see any immortal gate. He had almost walked to the edge of theke himself.

    He ignited all of his ki to its peak. Then, a powerful aura spread out, instantly scattering the surrounding illusion. Suddenly, he sensed that something was off with his body. There was a ck hole within him that was crazily absorbing his energy.

    He frowned. He quickly used his powerful cultivation to stop the absorption process, and then he examined his own body. He discovered that three ugly flowers had grown in his stomach, every single flower like a skull that crazily sucked at his internal ki. Countless roots extended toward his internal organs. Every single root was secreting some kind of liquid. It seemed as if it was precisely that substance that had numbed his mind and brought him the illusion of immortality he desired.

    ¡°Damn it all!¡± Zhao Ruizhi harrumphed. He unleashed his power and every inch of his skin surged with golden light. The three skull-like flowers screamed miserably, and the roots twisted about frantically. They released ck energy to fight back. However, what kind of cultivation did the emperor have? They only managed to persist for a few seconds before they were burned away by the golden light.

    Then, Zhao Ruizhi beckoned toward the deathsworn soldiers, dragging them out from theke. He used true speech andmanded, ¡°Wake up!¡± These guys still had their use in a strange dungeon like this. At the very least, he could use them to test things out first.

    The soldiers trembled all over, feeling as if there were a huge bell ringing in their ears. The trembling in their souls made their entire bodies shiver, as all of them woke up one after another.

    ¡°What happened?¡±

    ¡°I think I was about to achieve immortality just now!¡±

    ¡°Huh? Why did theke turn ck?¡±

    ¡°What the hell is this thing?¡±

    Many people saw that they were holding skull-shaped fruits, and tossed them away in fright. What was scarier than holding a skull-shaped fruit, however? Holding half of one¡­

    He Li saw that the remaining half of the skeleton fruit in his hands had many familiar teeth marks. His stomach churned and he quickly began to vomit. Unfortunately, what could he even throw up at that point?

    Zhao Ruizhi spoke. ¡°We were trapped in an illusion earlier. Theke and peach trees were all fake. I¡¯ve already woken you up, so you¡¯re fine now.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, your majesty!¡± The warriors all shed tears of gratitude. At the same time, they cursed the illusions.

    But He Li was gloomy instead. With his cultivation, he had already examined his condition. He saw that there was an ugly skull-like flower inside of him, and its growth was only temporarily stopped by a streak of golden light.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    That golden light was probably because of what the emperor had just done, but he knew that such suppression was only temporary. Once the time limit was up, the golden light would weaken. The skull flower would then grow crazily within him.

    He tried to force the flower out on his own, but he failed no matter what he tried. This flower seemed to have already merged with his very flesh and blood. Unless he discarded this body, there would be no way of eliminating this flower. He Li quickly understood the emperor¡¯s ns, yet he didn¡¯t dare expose him. He could only look at his excitedpanions sullenly. Sometimes, ignorance really was bliss.

    Zhao Ruizhi walked over to theke. He pressed his palm downward emotionlessly and a golden palm appeared in the skies. Theke water instantly boiled, and soon afterward, it evaporated into steam and revealed what was at theke bottom.

    It was full of withered bones, some human, some belonging to all sorts of beasts. Some of the skeletons had strange smiles of both satisfaction and suffering, simr to what King Qi Manor¡¯s soldiers had had on their faces before.

    Chills ran down their backs; even Zhao Ruizhi was no exception. If not because he had just happened to turn around, by the time he reacted to what was going on, those strange flowers might have already finished maturing in his body. Eliminating them then would be even more difficult.

    He quickly spread out his divine awareness, and his brows immediately furrowed. Normally, his divine senses could surround the entire capital whenever he wished, but now, it only reached a few dozen zhang out. He was clearly being suppressed by this world¡¯s specialws.

    ¡°We¡¯ll advance and continue with our search!¡± Zhao Ruizhi didn¡¯t sense the existence of any mysterious creatures nearby, so he gave up on searching the ce. The top priority right now was the highest sacred mountain. There was a grand pce that was obviously the centerpiece of these three sacred mountains. If there were any secret treasures, that was most likely where they would be.

    But after experiencing everything that had happened here, his previous high spirits were now shrouded in sullen gloom. It seemed this ce might not have any medicines of immortality. If he¡¯d known that this would be the case, he would have gotten rid of that little bastard Zu An first!

    He was enraged. It was all these strange peach trees¡¯ fault. With a brush of his sleeves, a strand of golden light flew out. The strange peach trees immediately began to burn fiercely, and all manner of strange ghost faces screamed miserably. The others turned pale with fright as they watched.

    The peach forest looked dense, but for Zhao Ruizhi, destroying it was extremely easy. The entire ce was burned to ashes in just a few seconds. He harrumphed, then turned around to walk in the direction Zu An had fled toward. King Qi Manor¡¯s people quickly followed behind him.

    But they stopped soon afterward. The flourishing scenery was nowhere to be seen, having been reced with a desert that stretched out endlessly.

    ¡°Could it be another illusion?¡± He Li asked with a gulp.

    Zhao Ruizhi shook his head. ¡°I sensed some intense ki vibrations in the air just now. The space here has just undergone a transformation, so what¡¯s in front of us isn¡¯t an illusion, but a real desert.¡± He frowned inwardly. If this really were the case, the ce Zu An had gone to might not even be the same space he had entered. Hunting down that kid was going to be troublesome.

    ¡°Let¡¯s head toward that pce at the very top first.¡± Zhao Ruizhi quickly made his decision. They were all on an ind anyway, so Zu An had no way of escaping. Once he finished investigating this dungeon and obtained its inheritance, he would then slowly find that little bastard.

    ¡­

    ¡°Achoo!¡± Zu An rubbed his nose. ¡°I¡¯m sure a beauty is missing me to death.¡±

    Mi Li rolled her eyes. ¡°Wishing you were dead sounds more urate.¡±

    Zu An smiled in embarrassment. He had to admit that really might be a possibility. After all, he still received Rage points from the emperor from time to time.

    ¡°Huh? There seems to be some weird temple up ahead,¡± Bi Linglong said.

    Zu An raised his head and saw a giant temple a hundred zhang out. But the temple was rather strange in architecture. It wasn¡¯t like any other temple he had ever seen. Itcked the slightest trace of holiness and solemnity, but instead looked like a resting monster.

 Chapter 853: Mountains in Gloom

    <h4>Chapter 853: Mountains in Gloom</h4>

    ¡°This temple looks like a weird fish.¡± After looking at it for a while, Bi Linglong couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°But are there really fish that big in this world?¡±

    ¡°There are, like great whales.¡± Zu An looked at the strange temple. He felt it wasrger than even the blue whales of his old world.

    ¡°Huh? Could it be¡­¡± Mi Li trailed off, puzzled.

    Zu An quickly asked, ¡°Master empress, when did you get into the habit of stopping halfway through your sentence? What is this thing?¡±

    Mi Li shook her head. ¡°Let¡¯s take a look around first. I want to make sure it really is what I suspect it to be.¡±

    Zu An wanted to ask her for more information, but Bi Linglong suddenly cried out in rm. A zombie-like arm had shot out of the ground and gripped her ankle!

    However, Bi Linglong did have six levels of cultivation. She quickly sliced it off after her initial rm. At almost the same time, more hands reached out to grab at her feet. Furthermore, the ground around them became viscous like a swamp. Her center of gravity became unsteady and she began to fall. Fortunately, Zu An¡¯s reactions were fast. He picked her up and chopped off the hands around her feet before leaping back to solid ground.

    ¡°What in the world was that?¡± Bi Linglong¡¯s heart was still pounding as she stared at where they had just been.

    The ground had be incredibly muddy. It turned out not to be solid ground at all, but rather a swamp! Countless arms reached out from the swamp and grabbed frantically toward the air, as if they wanted to drag anything living into the abyss. Herplexion paled when she saw the scene. Girls had a natural rejection toward such creepy things.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know; they look like moving corpses,¡± Zu An said with a grim look.

    Bi Linglong was about to say something else when she suddenly frowned. She bent down and clutched her calf, breaking out into a cold sweat. Zu An squatted down next to her. He raised her dress slightly and saw that her smooth and fair calf had several scorched ck handprints on them. At first, Bi Linglong was embarrassed when a man raised her skirt, but she was startled when she saw the ck handprints.

    ¡°These were caused by the evil ki of the world. This evil ki devours living things. Even just a touch can cause great harm.¡± Zu An passed on what Mi Li told him.

    ¡°Ah! Then how are we going to cross over?¡± Bi Linglong was rmed. This swamp would have been hard to cross to begin with. How were they going to get to the other side with so many vengeful spirits there?

    She wasn¡¯t too worried about the marks that were on her body, because the harm wasn¡¯t too great and she could hold on. But right now, they couldn¡¯t proceed, and yet they couldn¡¯t go back either. If the emperor caught up, the only thing waiting for the two of them would be death.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡­

    Bi Linglong had no idea that Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s group had already taken an entirely different path, and that just then, they were also in quite the predicament.

    There was a huge desert in front of them. However, Zhao Ruizhi didn¡¯t hesitate at all and led their group inside. This huge desert might be off-limits for a normal person, but it wasn¡¯t a big deal for cultivators like them.

    But once they reached the desert¡¯s depths, several problems manifested. There were rustling sounds all around them. They happened on and off at first, so the group didn¡¯t pay too much attention to them. But eventually, the sound grew louder and louder. Furthermore, a lot of the sounds came from underneath their feet.

    He Li was already incredibly vexed because he had that skull flower inside him. When he saw that, he decided to just m his palm into the ground. The sounds immediately became softer. Some deathsworn soldiers dug out some sand and discovered many ck scorpions that had died from the impact. They all felt admiration toward the power of He Li¡¯s palm.

    But Zhao Ruizhi frowned, staring at the scorpions. These scorpions were different from any known scorpions. They were three to four timesrger, and they were entirely a strange, shiny ck color.

    A few momentster, the ck scorpion corpses disappeared into ck smoke. King Qi Manor¡¯s warriors were all stunned. What was going on?

    ¡°Be careful!¡± Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s expression suddenly changed, because more rustling noises surrounded them. Furthermore, they were even louder than before. The surrounding sand began to churn, as if there were something wriggling around inside.

    Those from King Qi Manor drew their weapons. They were all frightened badly by the unknown danger. Sand suddenly flew into the air around them, quickly piling up. Then, with a muffled noise, countless ck scorpions crawled out and frantically swarmed at the group.

    Those from King Qi Manor were rmed. They brandished their weapons in defense, and all sorts of elemental skills flew out. For cultivators like them, dealing with a swarm of scorpions shouldn¡¯t have been difficult at all, but these scorpions were way too strange. They seemed to possess an immunity against many elemental attacks. With their numbers, they soon managed to sting a cultivator. That person immediately screamed miserably and began to roll on the ground in pain.

    These were all elite deathsworn soldiers. Normally, they wouldn¡¯t even frown from their injuries, and yet the soldier was screaming so bitterly. It was easy to imagine just how painful the stings were.

    Zhao Ruizhi harrumphed. A wave of golden light rippled out from his spot at the center of the group. The ck scorpions instantly vanished into ck smoke the instant they made contact with the light. The numerous ck scorpions all around them were actually wiped clean in an instant!

    He Li widened his eyes. He thought to himself, The emperor¡¯s power is great enough to even surprise me again and again. If I were a woman, I might just fall in love with him. What in the world is wrong with that crown princess? She actually followed that pretty boy instead?

    Zhao Ruizhi said indifferently, ¡°Treat his injuries. We¡¯re continuing.¡± His first impulse was to just throw that person away to avoid being tied down. However, as a leader, he knew that once he lost the soldiers¡¯ morale, it would be meaningless to bring any of them along.

    They had already been wavering a bit when many of them died from the floating tforms experiment. If such a thing happened again, they would definitely be resentful. That was why he had to use some methods of appeasement at suitable times.

    He Li immediately snapped out of his daze when he heard those words. As a ninth ranked expert, he obviously had some great medicines. He normally wouldn¡¯t be willing to use them on others at all, but since the emperor had spoken up, he could only treat the injured person while feeling aggrieved inside. Hmph, I take back my words. That guy is so stingy; he only knows how to squeeze everyst drop out of us. No wonder his woman left him for another man!

    Their group continued into the desert. On several asions, the emperor had to intervene to get rid of the scorpions. The scorpions were bing progressively more numerous, and they seemed to be getting stronger and stronger as well. Even he was starting to feel the pressure.

    ¡°I believe these ck scorpions were created from evil ki. They rely on this world for their existence. Unless wepletely destroy this world, they¡¯ll neverpletely disappear.¡± Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s brows furrowed deeply. But soon afterward, he felt much better. ¡°Hmph, if even I¡¯m experiencing such a headache, that bastard Zu An will inevitably die if he faces a simr disaster.¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°Achoo!¡± Zu An couldn¡¯t help but sneeze again. ¡°Just who is thinking about me?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s up with you? Did you get sick?¡± Bi Linglong was a bit worried. Normally speaking, after reaching a certain level, cultivators wouldn¡¯t get sick. If they did get sick, it meant that things were really serious.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Zu An shook his head. Then, he reached down toward her ankle. The feeling of her skin was smooth and soft, as expected of someone who has been pampered as a crown princess for many years.

    Bi Linglong blushed when she felt his hand¡¯s warmth. Why is he touching me right now? Should I reject him or pretend that I didn¡¯t feel anything¡­ She was feeling conflicted when suddenly, a warm current brushed past her ankle. The stinging pain instantly disappeared, and even the ck handprint was gone.

    ¡°How did you do that?¡± Bi Linglong was shocked and happy. Only now did she realize that she had been overthinking things.

    Zu An chuckled and didn¡¯t answer her question. ¡°Let¡¯s hurry and keep moving.¡± After saying so, he brought her toward the marsh.

    Bi Linglong was frightened. ¡°There are vengeful spirits¡­¡± But she froze up midway through her sentence. She was shocked to discover that the vengeful spirits¡¯ arms wanted to reach toward the two of them, yet for some reason, they suddenly shrank back in fear and stayed far away. It was almost as if they were the ones who had seen a ghost and were frightened instead¡­

    Whenever Zu An took a step, all of the mushy swampnd within a few meters of him was covered in ayer of ice, making it as if they were walking on solid ground.

    ¡°This is the Snowke Sword? But I never heard that the Snowke Sword had evil warding effects!¡± Bi Linglong was quite puzzled.

    Zu An had a rxed smile on his face. How many times had he entered such dungeons already? He was already a master of dealing with these departed spirits. Once he had cultivated the Primordial Origin Sutra to the secondyer, he had gained the ability to oppress all sinister deceased existences. He had alreadypleted the third level now. The vengeful spirits underneath felt an instinctive threat, so they naturally wanted to stay as far away as possible.

    Soon afterward, the two of them crossed that swamp and arrived in front of the strange temple. It was already quite worn down. There were no signboards, and even one of the double doors was missing. The one that remained had been pushed slightly inward, its surface covered in cobwebs. It looked as if it might fall apart at a moment¡¯s notice.

    There were two vague lines carved on the sides of the door. Mi Li read out, ¡°¡®The mountains are in gloom, the monster unseen in its dwelling¡¯¡­ Sigh, it was him after all.¡±

 Chapter 854: Ten Thousand Year Turtle for the Supreme Sovereign

    <h4>Chapter 854: Ten Thousand Year Turtle for the Supreme Sovereign</h4>

    ¡°Who are you talking about?¡± Zu An was stunned. ¡°Is it about a man or woman?¡±

    For some reason, he couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit unhappy when he saw Mi Li mention someone else. He wouldn¡¯t care if it were another girl, but if it were a man, then¡­

    Mi Li didn¡¯t know what he was thinking, or else she might have grabbed the closest object and started whacking him with it. She asked, ¡°Have you heard of Xu Fu?¡±

    ¡°You mean the Xu Fu who searched the seas with three thousand men to find the medicine of immortality?¡± Zu An chuckled. ¡°It¡¯d be pretty hard to not know about him.¡±

    ¡°Indeed, that¡¯s him.¡± Mi Li gave the two rows of words a look. ¡°These two lines are talking about Xu Fu. I already had my suspicions when I saw the shape of this temple. Now, they¡¯ve been confirmed.

    ¡°After Ying Zheng unified the world, he no longer had any rivals left to face. He was a man with great ambitions, unting himself as even greater than the three sovereigns and five emperors. He obviously didn¡¯t want to ultimately return to the soil like those other rulers, so he began to pursue the path of immortality.

    ¡°Many outstanding individuals stepped forward when news of this got out; the most famous ones among them were Lu Sheng, Han Zhong, Xu Fu, and Hou Sheng. The most well known out of them was naturally Xu Fu.

    ¡°Twenty-eight years after the empire was established, Xu Fu imed that there were three sacred mountains in the sea where immortals resided: Peni, Fangzhang, and Yingzhou. As such, Ying Zheng sent him out with several thousand men, as well as three years of rations, clothing, medicines, and tools to reach those ces, investing a lot of resources there. However, Xu Fu was never able to reach the sacred mountains even after setting out to sea for several years. Thirty-seven years after the empire was established, Ying Zheng asked the reason for their failure, and Xu Fu said that there was a strange, giant fish obstructing them from advancing and he needed help to defeat it. Ying Zheng permitted this, dispatching powerful individuals from the pce and killing that fish.¡±

    Mi Li paused at that point. She gave the temple in front of her a look. ¡°If my suspicions aren¡¯t mistaken, this temple was made using that weird fish¡¯s bones.¡±

    Zu An cried out in rm. ¡°This massive temple was actually made out of a fish? Just how big was that fish?!¡±

    Mi Li rolled her eyes. ¡°Do you think any random fish would¡¯ve been enough to convince Ying Zheng that it was the reason behind Xu Fu¡¯s obstruction, and furthermore to make him dispatch all those powerful individuals to take it down? If I were to make a rough guess, that fish was around this world¡¯s grandmaster rank.¡±

    ¡°Grandmaster¡­¡± Zu An gulped. If there had been a giant fish at the grandmaster rank, then it had definitely been the overlord of a region in the sea. Who was even disturbing whom here?

    ¡°It interfered with Ying Zheng¡¯s path to immortality, so that weird fish corpse was hauled out. Ying Zheng even examined it himself. However, there are no more recordings about the matter after that. I didn¡¯t expect these bones to have been left here!¡± Mi Li eximed.

    ¡°Then what about after that? Did Xu Fu find that immortal medicine?¡± Zu An couldn¡¯t help but ask. Even though he had already heard the story before, the history of this world wasn¡¯t the exact same as his other world, but rather an exaggerated fairytale version. That was why he wasn¡¯t confident if what happened afterward matched his memories.

    ¡°Once that strange, powerful fish was killed, Xu Fu crossed the seas again. However, I don¡¯t know what happened afterward, because I was sealed up soon afterward.¡± Mi Liughed in self-ridicule. ¡°But I reckon he failed; otherwise, how could the Qin Dynasty have been destroyed?¡±

    Zu An frowned. ¡°Something¡¯s not right. You said earlier that twenty-eight years after the empire¡¯s founding, Xu Fu offered up the petition, and then it was thirty-seven years after that this powerful fish was killed. You were there for all of that. But the first emperor had already sat on the throne for thirty-seven years, so he should have at least been in his fifties, and you were Ying Zheng¡¯s empress¡­ How old were you then?¡±

    He remembered that the moment he had undone Mi Li¡¯s seal, she clearly looked like a youngdy. Even though cultivators could hide their age, there weren¡¯t any traces of age. It was hard for him to associate her with an old woman at all.

    Mi Li harrumphed. ¡°Asking a girl for her age isn¡¯t polite.¡±

    Zu An chuckled in embarrassment. ¡°Come on, we¡¯re so close already. What can¡¯t we talk about with each other?¡±

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t even his original partner¡­¡± Mi Li became annoyed halfway through her sentence. ¡°Regardless of whether I was eighteen or eighty, I¡¯m already past eight thousand, eight hundred and eighty now! That¡¯s more than enough to be your ancestor, hmph!¡±

    Zu An was speechless. Girls were at their prime in their third year of college. What about someone who was eight thousand, eight hundred and eighty then?

    He could only continuouslyfort himself. Things in a world of cultivation couldn¡¯t be viewed through his previous concept of age. Those immortal goddesses of the legends easily reached tens of thousands of years. If he used that as aparison, wasn¡¯t Mi Li still young?

    Bi Linglong suddenly asked, ¡°Ah Zu, what are you muttering about to yourself?¡±

    Zu An snapped out of his daze. ¡°No¡­ Nothing.¡± Communication through the soul was extremely fast. Even though he and Mi Li had already exchanged a lot of words, not much time had passed in the real world at all.

    ¡°Hurry ande over to look! What are these sculptures?¡± Bi Linglong trembled as she looked at two rows of dark sculptures. The ce was extremely strange.

    The lighting in the temple was too dark, so Zu An used his me de to light some nearby torches and candles. Surprisingly, they lit up even after so much time had passed. The temple brightened up. The two of them could finally see the interior clearly. There were eight sculptures in total on either side. Their appearances were all strange and sinister.

    ¡°This temple seems to worship many evil gods.¡± Bi Linglong felt a chill run down her back. She subconsciously leaned toward Zu An. Regardless of whether it was the outer appearance of this temple, what they¡¯d experienced on the way here, or these malicious looking sculptures, they all pointed at bad signs.

    Mi Li sneered. ¡°Ignorant. These are General Thunder, Mother Lightning, Wind Deity, Rain Deity, Yaksha, and other such beings. What evil gods?¡±

    Zu An was confused. ¡°Then why did they consecrate these images here?¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°I reckon that since Xu Fu and the others were heading out to sea for a long time, they built these statues to wish for safety against storms and other natural disasters,¡± exined Mi Li.

    Zu An nodded. The cultivators of this world might have been stronger than the ordinary people of his previous world, but simrly, the disasters and power of the world were also much greater than the natural disasters of his previous world. There were many times where not even powerful cultivators could defy them. They could only construct temples and pray for safety.

    ¡°Then the one that¡¯s being worshipped at the highest position should be the Ocean Deity.¡± Mi Li floated forward as she spoke. She saw that there was a sculpture up ahead, but her expression immediately went nk when she saw it up close.

    Zu An took the chance to console Bi Linglong a bit. He brought her up to where Mi Li was. He saw a sculpture that was double the size of the others, seated on a giant rock turtle. Compared to General Thunder, Yaksha, and the other statues, this one looked much kinder. He looked human, and even a bit handsome.

    But Zu An couldn¡¯t help but frown. He just felt that there was something strange about the statue. How could he describe it? Those with strong and powerful bodies usually looked fierce, right? Then why did this man give off an entirely different kind of feeling? These two different styles didn¡¯t match at all.

    ¡°Hm? There seem to be words carved into the base.¡± Bi Linglong frowned. She was quite well-read, but she didn¡¯t recognize any of these characters.

    Zu An recognized them as lesser seals, a form of Chinese characters standardized by the Qin Dynasty. After experiencing several dungeons, he had already learned most of their characters. He wiped off the dust and read out, ¡°A thousand year fish for the beams, a ten thousand year turtle for the supreme sovereign¡­¡±

    Mi Li snorted coldly. ¡°Utterly arrogant!¡± Zu An was startled and looked at her. He didn¡¯t know why she would suddenly be upset. Mi Li pointed at the statue and asked, ¡°Do you know who he is?¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that the Ocean Deity?¡± Zu An was stunned.

    ¡°It should be the Ocean Deity, but the portrait sculpted is another man.¡± Mi Li paused for a moment. Her voice became somewhat cold. ¡°Xu Fu, you dare im yourself to be a supreme sovereign?!¡±

 Chapter 855: Receive Eternal Life

    <h4>Chapter 855: Receive Eternal Life</h4>

    As Mi Li¡¯s voice lowered, sobbing noises suddenly emerged all around them, as if something were crying.

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed. He quickly rushed over to the window to look outside. He saw overgrown weeds everywhere, and the wind was blowing so hard their giant leaves were swaying violently. Some of the wooden nks covering the dpidated windows were rattling with noise.

    ¡°Ah Zu, I feel a bit cold.¡± Bi Linglong¡¯s face was a bit too white. She subconsciously grabbed his hand. Her hand was ice-cold.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An consoled her, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it should just be the wind. This temple¡¯s construction is pretty special too, with holes everywhere, so there¡¯s bound to be such ghost whimpering voices when there¡¯s wind.¡± Bi Linglong voiced her agreement, leaning against him and falling silent.

    Zu An said to Mi Li, ¡°Master empress, this doesn¡¯t make any sense. Shouldn¡¯t the creator of this ce be the Qin Emperor? With how arrogant and dominant his personality is, how could he possibly create a statue for Xu Fu, let alone let him inscribe those characters? Don¡¯t tell me that it was Xu Fu who made this temple?¡±

    Mi Li frowned. ¡°You¡¯re right, it wouldn¡¯t be too likely for Ying Zheng to make a statue like this for someone else. As for Xu Fu¡­ This ce has been the resting ce of sessive generations of Qin Emperors, so how could he possibly have a chance to build something here?¡±

    ¡°What you¡¯re saying makes sense.¡± Zu An nodded. ¡°But that only makes it even stranger. Since there is no way it can be the Qin Emperor, nor was it Xu Fu who made this ce, then who in the world was it?¡± The two of them began to think to themselves.

    Bi Linglong suddenly cried out in fright. ¡°No!¡±

    Zu An jumped in fright. He then noticed that Bi Linglong had actually fallen asleep while leaning against him. She was probably just too tired. She had suffered such a severe loss of ki, and her mind had always been tense all this time.

    Zu An didn¡¯t wake her up and let her sleep soundly. He carried her over to a rock and sat down, gently patting her tofort her. Her body trembled from time to time, as she seemingly had an unknown nightmare.

    He was about to continue his discussion with Mi Li when Bi Linglong suddenly spoke again. ¡°It hurts¡­¡± It wasn¡¯t her usual proud andpetent tone, but rather a weak and helpless one.

    Zu An called out to her a few times, but she didn¡¯t show any signs of waking up. He could only gently press his palm against her back and send a warm flow of ki into her, nourishing her body that way. He hoped the warmth could help ease her nightmares.

    But soon afterward, Bi Linglong suddenly eximed while sobbing, ¡°It hurts! Please be gentler, Ah Zu¡­¡±

    Zu An was speechless. Mi Li also turned around when she heard those words. She said with a smirk, ¡°That woman is dreaming that you¡¯re doing something to her.¡±

    Before Zu An could reply, Bi Linglong slowly opened her eyes. When she first looked at Zu An, her expression was nk, then tears seemed about toe out of her beautiful eyes. She continued to twist around in Zu An¡¯s arms. Her fair white hands gently caressed Zu An¡¯s face, and then continued down. They passed along his neck, then his chest¡­

    ¡°Is this woman in heat?¡± Mi Li harrumphed. She turned around and appeared to be focusing on this temple¡¯s strangeness. She wasn¡¯t in the mood to pay attention to their random drama.

    Zu An felt his throat go dry from the shocking feeling in his arms. He quickly shifted his attention and asked, ¡°You¡¯re awake?¡±

    Bi Linglong voiced her agreement. Her voice was incredibly tender. ¡°You did all that to me in my dreams. You have the nerve to ask me that right now?¡±

    Zu An was speechless. What the hell do your dreams have to do with me?!

    He had to admit that women were natural seductresses. Even someone who was always earnest like Bi Linglong had ended up being so powerful when she tempted him. Thoserge, misty eyes, her incredibly soft and wonderful body, her gentle voice¡­ Every single part served as a deadly invitation.

    Zu An had just tempered his body three times over with the Primordial Origin Sutra, so his yang energy was already at its peak. He immediately became hard when he was tempted that way.

    When she felt his suffocating pressure, Bi Linglong blushed. She said softly, ¡°Ah Zu, I¡¯ve already thought things through. The emperor wants us dead. We might be able to get away for now, but we¡¯ll be caught eventually. Rather than running in fright day and night without rest just to eventually die, we should instead choose to seize happiness every day.¡±

    Zu An gulped with difficulty. ¡°What are you trying to say?¡±

    Bi Linglong looked at him with her beautiful eyes, and Zu An felt as if his soul had been gripped. She continued, ¡°Do you think I don¡¯t know what you¡¯ve been thinking? You even used me to anger him on purpose earlier. Those words were your real thoughts too, right?¡±

    Being exposed made Zu An unable to help but feel embarrassed. Bi Linglong¡¯s moist red lips moved closer. ¡°Even though we can¡¯t beat him, we can get revenge, right?¡±

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in the desert, Zhao Ruizhi sneezed. Then, he looked upward and asked, ¡°He Li, do you see a hint of green up there?¡±

    Their group had continued into the desert while fighting against the evil ck scorpion spirits, and they had identally fallen into a quicksand whirlpool.

    With Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s cultivation, he obviously wouldn¡¯t be caught by some trifling sand. However, while King Qi Manor¡¯s soldiers were struggling, they ended up exposing some city walls in the sand. That made him realize there were ancient city remains buried under the sand.

    The endless sand had finally be a bit different. He had a feeling that this ce had what he needed. He thus brought everyone into the underground city¡¯s remains.

    However, they encountered trouble as soon as they entered. A sea of mes rushed out when the scouts opened the city gates. Fortunately, Zhao Ruizhi quickly extinguished the mes, but the two scouts had already been burned to ashes.

    Afterward, the survivors raised their vignce to a hundred and twenty percent.

    They encountered all sorts of traps and mechanisms in the ruins afterward. However, these people had been well trained soldiers to begin with. Together with Zhao Ruizhi overseeing things, they were able to pass by more frightened than hurt.

    Their group ultimately entered a spacious hall and found some things, but those things were useless to Zhao Ruizhi. When he realized they had failed to find any clues rted to immortality, he became vexed. He raised his head and saw some green above him. For some reason, he suddenly felt a wave of annoyance.

    Even though He Li said he didn¡¯t see any green, Zhao Ruizhi still didn¡¯t feel relieved. As such, he sent out a palm strike above him. It sted a shining green stone b to pieces, and sand rushed into the room. The group quickly moved out of the way.

    Just then, someone suddenly shouted, ¡°Come quick, there¡¯s a stele here!¡±

    Zhao Ruizhi also noticed that a massive stele had fallen together with the quicksand. His figure flickered, and he appeared right next to the stele. The quicksand falling above him was blocked by a wave of invisible ki. He gave He Li a look, saying, ¡°Go plug up that hole.¡± The entire pce could be flooded by sand if nothing were done about it.

    He Li sulked. You were the one who made that hole, but you want me to fix it. Why am I so unlucky¡­ But he didn¡¯t dare voice anyints and quickly flew up, pressing his back against the hole. He grabbed the sides of the ceiling with his arms, using his body to block the quicksand.

    Endless sand poured down. The tremendous pressure was difficult to withstand even for a peak stage ninth rank cultivator like him. He could only hope that the emperor would finish up quickly, then bring everyone out of here.

    Zhao Ruizhi looked at the stele in front of him. He didn¡¯t recognize its material. It was entirely green in color. Many of the characters on it were already illegible, and only a few sentences were left.

    The characters were extremely strange. However, Zhao Ruizhi was incredibly well-studied. He had seen simr characters from some ancient records. He slowly read to himself, ¡°Above chaos rests dark clouds; the Heavenly Gate opens wide. The great sun returns to the Golden Pce; the Southern Star moves around the Alioth. The Imperial Canopy lies in purple; elegant music enters Zheng. Those who understand shall receive eternal life¡­¡±

    ¡°Eternal life!¡± His breathing quickly became hurried when he read thest two words.

 Chapter 856: All Will Die

    <h4>Chapter 856: All Will Die</h4>

    Zhao Ruizhi had been starting to lose hope after what had happened with the fake peach trees. However, now that he saw another path, he immediately felt energetic again.

    He quickly reviewed what he had just read. ¡®Above chaos rests dark clouds; the Heavenly Gate opens wide¡¯ probably meant that arge gate had opened within the dark clouds. He recalled the scene of the world itself being destroyed, how heaven and earth had flipped. There had been dark clouds that flickered with lightning, then three sacred mountains appeared. These words were most likely referring to that scene.

    But what in the world did ¡®The great sun returns to the Golden Pce; the Southern Star moves around the Alioth. The Imperial Canopy lies in purple; elegant music enters Zheng. Those who understand shall receive eternal life¡¯ mean?

    He vaguely recalled an ancient record mentioning the term ¡®Alioth¡¯; it seemed to be the name of a star. Even though he didn¡¯t really understand what was going on, he could tell that a certain astronomical phenomenon was being described. Did certain celestial patterns have to align for him to obtain eternal life?

    Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s expression changed several times. He had believed that he was unmatched in this world, that there was nothing too hard for him. He had remained calm even when the world itself was being destroyed previously. But now, he really was starting to feel a bit of despair.

    If a certain celestial pattern was needed, how was he supposed to influence the stars above? ording to what he knew, many of these celestial patterns only happened once in a long time. The shortest intervals took a few decades, while the longer ones took thousands or even tens of thousands of years. They were definitely not things human strength could control.

    He Li felt a wave of berserk energy ripple out while blocking that hole in the ceiling. The emperor¡¯s mood had clearly be a bit unstable. He was rmed, but his mind moved quickly and he said, ¡°Congrattions, your majesty!¡±

    Zhao Ruizhi gave him a cold look. ¡°There¡¯s nothing worth celebrating.¡±

    When Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s eyes passed over He Li, He Li felt as if his entire body had frozen over. He didn¡¯t doubt for a second that if he couldn¡¯t show his value, the other party would immediately eliminate him.

    He gulped, and then quickly said, ¡°This dungeon in the academy¡¯s rear mountain hasn¡¯t changed at all in so many years, and yet the entire world flipped when your majesty entered and a new dungeon appeared. It¡¯s clearly because your majesty is the one this new dungeon is destined for! Isn¡¯t ¡®Dark clouds surround my weary self, a gate of heaven opens wide¡¯ describing what we just experienced? Since the preceding words have already been confirmed, the celestial phenomena will most likely be confirmed soon as well. Your majesty, you came at the perfect time; this dao of eternal life was waiting for you!¡±

    He heard what Zhao Ruizhi had read earlier. As someone at the peak of the ninth rank, he wasn¡¯t stupid. He could deduce the rough meanings of the characters after a simple analysis. Even though he couldn¡¯tpletely decipher those words, it was more than enough for ttery.

    Zhao Ruizhi became happy when he heard what He Li said. He roared withughter. ¡°Indeed, indeed! The astrological signs these characters describe are most likely talking about the present! Ha ha ha¡­¡±

    He Li, who was still up on the ceiling, smiled as well. But inside, he was cold and ruthless. Even though the celestial pattern has been confirmed, it¡¯s hard to say who¡¯s going to receive this opportunity! After all, many of us came into this dungeon together¡­

    Zhao Ruizhi became excited. ¡°Since we¡¯ve already explored all of the secrets of this ce, we¡¯re moving on!¡± They left the ancient city¡¯s remains afterward, returning to the desert. He wondered what Zu An and Bi Linglong were doing right now. Hmph, they were probably done in by those vengeful spirits or traps. They should be grateful that they were able to die so painlessly.

    ¡­

    Zu An had no idea whether he should do it or not. Bi Linglong was like a little kitten in heat. She continued to kiss him on both cheeks. Zu An¡¯s entire body felt as if it were about to explode when he smelled her fragrance.

    But he wasn¡¯t an inexperienced kid anymore. Even though his body¡¯s reaction was there, he felt hesitation. He gave Mi Li a pleading look. ¡°Master empress, can you help me check if there¡¯s something wrong with her?¡±

    Mi Li, who had been pretending to look for clues but was actually eavesdropping on them, grinned. However, she quickly covered her expression up and remarked, ¡°Tsk tsk, you only realized that something was off with her now?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Zu An pushed the beauty in his arms away while looking at Mi Li. However, the amazing feeling in his arms almost made his rationality copse several times.

    Mi Li shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know, but judging from her condition, she¡¯s probably been poisoned. You¡¯re only fine because you¡¯ve cultivated the Primordial Origin Sutra and you have poison immunity.¡±

    ¡°Poison?¡± Zu An reviewed everything that had happened after entering this temple. There didn¡¯t seem to be any toxins, so why would she get poisoned?

    Wait! He suddenly realized something and looked up toward the torches and candles. He saw faint wisps of smokeing from the burning candlesticks.

    It was too dark inside, so he had used his me de skill to light these candles. Back then, he was surprised that such a ruined temple had candles that could still be lit. But now, he realized that they were probably the source of the main issue. As such, he quickly took Bi Linglong into the air, breaking open a hole in the roof and flying out. Horrifying sounds of ghostly weeping surrounded them again.

    ¡°Who¡¯s trying to y the ghost here? Show yourself!¡± Zu An roared as he scanned his surroundings. Unfortunately, apart from the violently swaying grass, he didn¡¯t see any people.

    Zu An frowned. He used the jade badge¡¯s ability, nning to search the surroundings with the help of some small creatures. But he was shocked to discover that there weren¡¯t any small creatures to control! Forget about birds or mice, there weren¡¯t even any insects.

    His expression became grave. It was to be expected that ake full of vengeful spirits wouldn¡¯t have any living creatures, but this was a ce where nt life flourished! However, there still wasn¡¯t a single living being apart from the two of them. This was way too strange.

    ¡°Why are we outside?¡± After breathing in the fresh air and hearing Zu An¡¯s ferocious roar, Bi Linglong trembled. A bit of confusion appeared in her eyes.

    Zu An took the chance to feed her a Heart Calming Pill and help her digest it. ¡°You were poisoned inside that temple.¡±

    As the medicine¡¯s effects spread through her body, Bi Linglong¡¯s eyes became clear again. ¡°Poisoned?¡± Her small face was already red from all of her previous movements. Now that she had be clear-headed again, it burned up even more.

    Even though she was poisoned, she hadn¡¯t forgotten what happened. When she recalled how she had been seducing him a moment ago, she was so embarrassed that she wanted to run away and hide forever.

    Do I have no shame? What in the world is wrong with me?! She was going crazy. She really wanted to scratch her hair in frustration, but her rationality stopped her. She took a deep breath and pretended to be calm. ¡°What happened after I was poisoned? I¡­ didn¡¯t do anything, right?¡±

    Zu An knew what she was like. He knew she would be way too embarrassed if he told her what happened, so how could he bring himself to tell her the truth? ¡°Nothing much. I brought you out here when I realized that you were poisoned.¡±

    Mi Li rolled her eyes as she watched the drama as a bystander. ¡°This woman really knows how to act.¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Zu An asked, confused.

    Mi Li said with a smile, ¡°If she really didn¡¯t know what happened just now, her first reaction should have been asking if you did anything to her, and yet she asked if she did anything to you. How interesting.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. The prettier the girl, the better they are at lying! Furthermore, those who understand pretty women best are naturally other pretty women.

    The ghostly whimpering became louder and louder. They could even vaguely make out human voices.

    ¡°Dead¡­ They¡¯re all dead¡­ Too cruel, cruel, cruel, cruel¡­¡± The voice was rough and crude, as if it had been many years since it hadst spoken to anyone. Its pronunciation was also a bit strange. If not for Zu An¡¯s quick reactions, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to understand it at all.

    When the voice spoke, the weeds on the ground grew even taller. They had only been as tall as a person before, and yet they reached the top of the temple in just a few moments. They reached toward Zu An and Bi Linglong like countless tentacles.

 Chapter 857: Manifestation

    <h4>Chapter 857: Manifestation</h4>

    ¡°What the hell?¡± Zu An eximed, startled. Even though he asionally ¡®partook¡¯ in the tentacle y category, it wasn¡¯t so fun when he became the target instead.

    He kicked outward, quickly bringing Bi Linglong aside to evade the round of tentacles¡­ Wait, no, crazily growing weeds. But there were weeds everywhere, and the weeds were still growing. The two of them had nowhere to escape to at all.

    Bi Linglong drew her sword and shed at the weeds as well. A sword fit for a crown princess was naturally exceptionally sharp, quickly chopping through the many weeds. However, it didn¡¯t stop their growth at all. They were growing way too fast, so fast that they were outpacing the rate at which they were being cut!

    Bi Linglong¡¯s attacks became slower and slower as she faced the endless weeds. Eventually, two weeds from one side wrapped around her wrist. She slowed down further, and during that dy, her other arm and both legs were bound by more weeds.

    She cried out in rm, having already lost her center of gravity. The weeds swung her into the air, spreading her limbs out into a humiliating spread-eagled position. Even more weeds rushed over, wriggling up her legs and quickly reaching her thighs. Still others wound around her arms up to her neck. They were already about to reach her face.

    The strange weeds wrapped around her body tightly. She normally wore reserved clothing, so they revealed a strangely seductive side of her. When had Bi Linglong ever experienced such a thing? She was embarrassed and scared, and her head went nk.

    Zu An was furious when he saw what was happening. Even if we¡¯re going to do this, I have to be the one doing it to her!

    A me de shed outward, severing the weeds that wrapped around Bi Linglong. The mes continued to eat at the weeds, instantly burning away all of the weeds tangled around her body.

    These weeds weren¡¯t actually living things and shouldn¡¯t have feared mes, but his mes had been created with the Fire Phoenix¡¯ powers. How could they possibly withstand the power of pure phoenix mes?

    Miserable screams filled the air, as if the weeds were in scorching pain. Their crazy growth paused for a moment, then they quickly withdrew into the ground.

    Bi Linglong dropped from above. Zu An kicked off the ground and flew over to catch her. ¡°Are you okay?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ okay.¡± Bi Linglong felt as if she had been embarrassed more times that day than in her entire life up to that point. Being yed with by those despicable weeds was just too humiliating. She couldn¡¯t even face Zu An.

    Zu An consoled her. ¡°It¡¯s fine; it was actually pretty nice to look at.¡±

    Bi Linglong wanted to bite him when she heard that. But thinking back, he had already seen everything anyway, so hanging up there like that didn¡¯t seem to be that big of a deal¡­

    Zu An had already turned around to look in a different direction. ¡°I¡¯ll deal with those monsters that bullied you in revenge!¡±

    A giant me de appeared in his palm and cleaved outward as he finished speaking. He had already noticed that the weeds were shrinking back in a single direction. With a loud explosion, the massive me de sted open a huge groove in the ground! A dark figure leaped out from underneath, patting away the embers on its body.

    ¡°An elf? A dryad?¡± Zu An eximed, shocked. He saw that the creature resembled a human.

    Back then, Snow could grow vines from her head as well. The two skills resembled each other. But Snow was so pretty; who was this ugly fellow in front of him? It was hard to call it a humanoid creature. Its entire body was covered in green fur, and he could only barely make out a torso and four limbs.

    ¡°Huff huff huff¡­¡± After it put out the mes on its body, it gave Zu An a look of resentment.

    You have sessfully trolled Han Zhong for +111 +111 +111¡­

    ¡°Han Zhong?¡± Zu An was startled when he saw the name. It really was a person!

    ¡°What? Did you just call him Han Zhong?¡± Mi Li knew Zu An¡¯s system could collect the soul force created from anger, and that it would never make a mistake.

    ¡°Yeah. What¡¯s wrong?¡± Zu An¡¯s expression became strange when he saw how startled Mi Li was. He asked, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you recognize this monster too?¡±

    Mi Li had a conflicted expression as she replied, ¡°Did you forget that I told you that all kinds of formidable individuals responded to the call when Ying Zheng dered that he was pursuing immortality? There were four who were the most outstanding among them. Apart from Xu Fu, there was also Lu Sheng, Hou Sheng, and¡­ Han Zhong.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He really was surprised this time. Why was Han Zhong here? And how had he survived until now?

    ¡°Was Han Zhong a fiend race individual, or some other type of weird creature?¡± Zu An really found it hard to associate the monster in front of him with a human.

    ¡°No,¡± Mi Li shook her head, ¡°He¡¯s human. But Han Zhong¡¯s behavior back then was quite strange. I heard that he ingested sweet sedge for thirty years, and then grew green hair all over his body. After that, he obtained a highly retentive memory and became invulnerable against fire and water.¡±

    ¡°Even if he grew green hair all over his body, it shouldn¡¯t be able to grow that long, right?¡± Zu An recalled the weeds everywhere. He had already burned up so much of them with his phoenix fire, yet there was still so much covering Han Zhong. Just how ridiculous was that?

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t this long back then. It¡¯s probably because a lot of time has passed since then.¡± Mi Li gave the long-haired monster a look. Her expression was extremely conflicted.

    Zu An was horrified. You grew green hair all over your body?

    Mi Li said, ¡°I know what kind of poison that girl was poisoned by. Han Zhong always ate sweet sedge, and that nt is toxic. There¡¯s a lot of sweet sedge among these weeds. If you were to get poisoned, you would experience powerful hallucinations. But, it doesn¡¯t actually have aphrodisiac properties. If that girl ended up like that just because of some hallucinations, it looks like that¡¯s really what she believes inside. It was just magnified by the illusion.¡±

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but give Bi Linglong a look. He hadn¡¯t been able to tell at all! She usually looked cold and arrogant. She actually lusted after my body deep down?

    ¡°Why are you looking at me like that?¡± Bi Linglong¡¯s female intuition immediately made her realize that something was off.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Zu An chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s just that if you ever miss me, just tell me. You don¡¯t have to hide it like that.¡±

    Bi Linglong was speechless.

    Han Zhong rushed over with a roar. He swung his palm with power not inferior to that of a master rank cultivator. Zu An¡¯s expression changed. He reached out his hand and blocked the attack. With a loud noise, he was forced back by one zhang. Han Zhong also tumbled backward.

    Zu An was shocked when he sensed the numbness in his arm. This guy really wasn¡¯t going to be easy to deal with. It would be really bad if their fight drew the emperor¡¯s attention. As such, he shouted, ¡°Han Zhong! Why don¡¯t we have a chat first?¡±

    The other person crawled to his feet and prepared to pounce again. However, he instantly froze when he heard his name. ¡°Han¡­ Zhong¡­¡± he began. His speech was quite inept, as if it had been far too long since he hadst spoken, making him forget how to speak.

    He grabbed his head in pain. ¡°Han¡­ Zhong, who is that? Who am I? Ahhhh¡­¡± He shook his head from side to side madly, hitting it with his fist. His head was soon covered in blood. Then, he looked up. ¡°Eternal life¡­ No, all dead, all will die¡­¡± After speaking those words, he charged furiously.

    Zu An became sullen. They still had to fight in the end! Since the other party clearly had the wood attribute, he used his me de. Sure enough, he had a natural advantage.

    After the fight went on for a bit, Mi Li voiced her surprise. ¡°Something¡¯s not right. It seems he only has his battle instincts left and isn¡¯t using any battle skills or anything of the sort. Otherwise, there¡¯s no way you would be able to fight him if he had cultivated all this time.¡±

    Zu An had also realized as much. Han Zhong was fighting like a wild beast, perhaps even beneath the level of a beast. At least beasts had their innate skills.

    Mi Li suddenly floated over. Her fair finger reached out, striking the monster in the lower rib acupoint. Han Zhong roared in unwillingness. Then, he copsed to the ground.

    Zu An looked at Mi Li in shock, eximing, ¡°You actually helped me!¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t do this to help you, but rather because I had some things to ask him,¡± Mi Li said. Then, she appeared in front of Han Zhong and asked ¡°Han Zhong, do you recognize who I am?¡±

    Bi Linglong was confused about why that monster had suddenly fallen, but then, a ridiculously beautiful red-clothed woman appeared out of thin air. Her eyes widened in shock.

 Chapter 858: No One Will Survive

    <h4>Chapter 858: No One Will Survive</h4>

    Originally, with Han Zhong¡¯s strength, it wouldn¡¯t have been that easy for Mi Li to restrain him at all. But she was in soul form, so Han Zhong hadn¡¯t been aware of her existence at all. Furthermore, all of his attention had been on Zu An.

    When she saw Mi Li¡¯s sudden appearance, Bi Linglong was shocked. Her first reaction was that there was a female ghost residing in the area. But were there any ghosts that were so pretty?

    Furthermore, the woman exuded a feeling of elegance and pride with every action, leaving her inplete admiration. That was what she had strived for ever since she was young. She¡¯d thought that she had already reached that level, but after encountering all sorts of things in this dungeon, her unstable mental state proved that she was still far off.

    She subconsciously leaned closer to Zu An. ¡°Ah Zu, be careful. I¡¯d heard that red clothed ghosts are the most powerful and the most vicious.¡±

    Mi Li turned around. ¡°Damn brat, trust me when I say I might just turn you into a ghost myself!¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Bi Linglong jumped in fright. She hadn¡¯t expected the ghost to be capable of speech! From what she knew, ghosts like these often possessed incredible cultivations. This ce was full of vengeful spirits, and it even had that long-haired monster. Now, there was even a powerful ghost. She felt goosebumps all over.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but chuckle. He said in constion, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, she¡¯s one of us.¡±

    ¡°One of us?¡± Bi Linglong¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°You¡¯ve even slept with a ghost before?¡±

    Her impression of Zu An was that of a total womanizer. He had so many pretty girls at his side! When she heard him call the ridiculously beautiful red-clothed ghost one of his own people, she instinctively thought they had ¡®that¡¯ type of rtionship.

    ¡°Ahem¡­¡± Zu An quickly covered her mouth with his hands. He ¡®saw¡¯ ck smokee out of Mi Li and told Bi Linglong, ¡°Watch what you say, she¡¯s just my good friend¡­¡± He quickly changed his tone when he sensed Mi Li¡¯s vicious re. ¡°Uh¡­ Actually, she can be considered my master.¡±

    Mi Li harrumphed. ¡°A master is a master; what do you mean ¡®considered¡¯?¡±

    ¡°Master?¡± Bi Linglong realized that she had misunderstood and felt embarrassed. As such, she bowed guiltily. ¡°Greetings, master. I offended you earlier; I hope master can look past it.¡±

    Mi Li rolled her eyes. ¡°You¡¯re not even married yet; don¡¯t copy whatever he does.¡±

    Bi Linglong stood there nkly. She was overwhelmed by embarrassment. Why the heck had she called the ghost master too? Ahhhhh, this is way too embarrassing!

    Zu An chuckled, taking Bi Linglong¡¯s hand to calm her down. Bi Linglong wanted to pull her hand back. She didn¡¯t even know if it was because of her personality or if she was just embarrassed.

    Mi Li had already turned back around to look at Han Zhong. When she saw his muddled eyes, she frowned. ¡°Speak!¡±

    Han Zhong raised his head to look at her. He didn¡¯t have much of a reaction at first, but he seemed to have remembered something soon afterward. His expression became one of horror. ¡°A ghost! A ghost!¡± If not because his key acupoint had been sealed, he might have already run for his life.

    Mi Li was speechless. What the hell is going on today? Why the hell is everyone treating me like a ghost today?! Even though her current form was a bit like a ghost, it wasn¡¯t nice at all to treat others this way!

    She squatted down and moved her face closer to him. ¡°You already recognize me, right?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re the empress¡­ Wait, the empress has already died, you aren¡¯t¡­ Ah¡­ Everyone is going to die¡­ Ahhhhh¡­¡± Han Zhong looked as if he had gone mad and clutched his head in pain.

    ¡°Empress?¡± Bi Linglong was surprised when she heard those words. She quietly moved closer to Zu An and asked, ¡°Your master is an empress?¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°Which country¡¯s empress is she? What kind of country has an empress with her level of grace?¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­ This is a bit hard to exin. It¡¯s not one of the countries you know about.¡±

    ¡°Then why would she suddenly appear here?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s actually always been by my side; it¡¯s just that she usually doesn¡¯t like to meet strangers. That¡¯s why she didn¡¯t show herself.¡±

    ¡°Always been by your side? Then doesn¡¯t that mean she saw everything between us?!¡± Bi Linglong was horrified. She¡¯d thought that what had happened was just their secret, but now that she knew that someone had been watching the entire time, the overwhelming shame made her want to disappear forever.

    ¡°Oh, just shut up already. It¡¯s not like you two really slept together, so what are you being all shy about?¡± Mi Li turned around to shoot the two of them a look, seemingly annoyed that she had been distracted. Then, she turned back around to continue questioning Han Zhong. Unfortunately, he only mumbled indistinctly and couldn¡¯t offer any meaningful replies.

    Bi Linglong was speechless. She really wanted to retort, but she felt that what Mi Li had said actually made sense. She actually couldn¡¯t respond. Just then, Zu An moved close and asked, ¡°Then should we just do it so she has nothing to say anymore?¡±

    ¡°Get lost!¡± Bi Linglong harrumphed. She knew that Zu An was saying those things to help her out, but why did she really want to hit him right now?

    Zu An realized that there were more important things going on. He moved to Mi Li¡¯s side and said, ¡°He¡¯s already lost his rationality. I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll be able to get much out of him.¡±

    Mi Li frowned. Her hands quickly formed aplex but beautiful seal. Then, aplicated and profound rune appeared, sticking to Han Zhong¡¯s head. It entered his skin and disappeared.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°A rune master?¡± Bi Linglong was shocked. After all, even though there were quite a few cultivators in the Great Zhou Dynasty, rune masters were quite rare. That was especially the case with high level rune masters, and every single one of them was considered a national treasure.

    The speed at which the woman produced a rune, as well as the intricacy and profundity of that rune, seemed to be superior to any rune master she had ever seen before! Bi Linglong didn¡¯t even know if the head researchers at the academy couldpare to the woman¡­

    Han Zhong ceased his wild beast-like roars, and his expression gradually became clear. He raised his head to look at Mi Li, saying weakly, ¡°Thank you, your highness the empress.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to thank me. This rune is called a Dying sh Rune. Your life will quickly reach its end,¡± Mi Li said indifferently.

    Zu An was rmed. Tsk, big sis empress, you really are fierce and decisive! But I don¡¯t really mind that part about you¡­

    Han Zhong slowly shook his head. ¡°Continuing on in that half-ghost, half-human state can¡¯t be considered truly living either. I thank your highness for setting me free as well.¡±

    Mi Li voiced her acknowledgment. She clearly didn¡¯t care too much about such things, as there was a more pressing matter. She asked, ¡°Why were you able to stay alive for so long?¡±

    ¡°Our group was searching for immortal medicine for his majesty. After searching for many years, I found a holy medicine from the legendary elf race that had been refined into a pill. Unfortunately, his majesty was suspicious and had me take it first. It was alright at first, but soon afterward, green hair grew all over my body, and my mind began to deteriorate. No matter what I tried, I couldn¡¯t slow down the process. In the end, I turned into that freakish creature andpletely lost my mind, bing a monster¡­¡± Han Zhong¡¯s tone was extremely calm, as if he were narrating something that didn¡¯t have anything to do with him. It was clear that after experiencing the endless passage of time, he didn¡¯t care much about life and death any longer.

    Zu An noticed that Han Zhong had mentioned the elf race. He hadn¡¯t expected elves to have existed even back then! It seemed this world really wasn¡¯t the one he came from.

    In reality, Han Zhong¡¯s decision to find the elf race hadn¡¯t been incorrect. Qiao Xueying had given Zu An half of her lifespan, so if the first emperor had found a group of elves to share their lifespans with him, he could at least have lived for a few more millennia.

    But Zu An quickly changed his mind. The ability to share half their lifespan was the elves¡¯ greatest secret. There weren¡¯t many elves who had used the ability throughout history, and those outside the n didn¡¯t even know they could do such a thing. Otherwise, the entire n would be finished.

    He felt warm inside when he thought of that. Snow really did care about him. To be honest, it had been so long that he really was starting to miss her.

    Mi Li continued to ask, ¡°Then why are you here?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know; I¡¯ve already lost many of my memories¡­¡± Han Zhong shook his head helplessly.

    ¡°Then what about Ying Zheng? Did he end up finding the panacea of immortality?¡± Mi Li asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but at the very least, he shouldn¡¯t have before I lost my mind.¡± Han Zhong sighed deeply. ¡°How can there be eternal life in this world? My method was already extremely close, yet the end result was just a monster that lost all rationality. Even if you could live that way, how could that be considered immortality¡­¡±

    His expression suddenly changed as he spoke. His eyes filled with horror when he looked at Mi Li. ¡°Your highness, why did you¡­¡±

    Mi Li cut him off. ¡°I¡¯m the one asking you questions right now, not the other way around. Right, this empress noticed that the statue consecrated in the master position inside that whale bone temple was actually Xu Fu. Why would he be there? Furthermore, why does the stele call him the supreme sovereign?¡±

    ¡°Xu Fu? Xu Fu!¡± Han Zhong had a nk look on his face, but then he suddenly clutched his head in pain. ¡°I don¡¯t know, I don¡¯t know¡­ Ha ha ha! All of you are going to die¡­ You¡¯ll all die¡­ No one will survive¡­¡±

    Mi Li¡¯s expression changed. She was just about to ask more questions when the other party¡¯s voice came to a screeching halt. When she examined him up close, she saw that he had already taken hisst breath. A look of fear had frozen on his face before he died, as if he had faced something extremely terrifying.

 Chapter 859: 4,560 Years

    <h4>Chapter 859: 4,560 Years</h4>

    With Han Zhong¡¯s death, the surrounding lush green grasnd instantly withered up. Only a pile of dry yellow dust remained. Even though none of those present were strangers to death, it was still a bleak sight.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t hold himself back. ¡°That Han Zhong really is a good-for-nothing. All he did was scare us with all of his bbering; he didn¡¯t even give us any useful information.¡±

    Mi Li also frowned. Han Zhong¡¯s words had left herpletely confused as well.

    Bi Linglong took the chance to examine Mi Li. She was just too curious about the mysterious woman who had suddenly appeared. She had endless things to ask Zu An, but she just couldn¡¯t bring herself to do it right in front of her face.

    Right at that moment, rumbling sounds of copse suddenly came from the temple. The group quickly went inside to take a look and saw that many of the sculptures had been knocked over, and the master position where the biggest statue should have been now had a huge hole in its ce. The statue had fallen straight through.

    ¡°Han Zhong¡¯s sweet sedge weeds already grew all over, even digging beneath this temple¡¯s foundation. Now that he¡¯s dead, his strange weeds have all withered away, so they could no longer support the statue¡¯s weight. That¡¯s why everything copsed,¡± Mi Li said, analyzing the situation.

    ¡°Huh? There¡¯s something shiny below.¡± Bi Linglong had sharp eyes. She pointed at the hole below in rm.

    The group looked in that direction. The statue had already broken into two pieces. The heady off to the side, as if it were staring at them coldly. It was quite frightening. But that wasn¡¯t what anyone was paying attention to at the moment. They instead looked toward the shining spot.

    The giant turtle mount had also fallen down, and its shell had cracked open. A ring of light shone from the sides of the turtle shell.

    Mi Li gave Zu An a look and said, ¡°Go and take a look.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°Can¡¯t you easily split that rock turtle open with your cultivation?¡±

    ¡°The disciple should take care of the master¡¯s needs!¡± Mi Li harrumphed. ¡°Furthermore, your body has already be so tough. You should use some of that strength instead ofzing around and letting your mind wander.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An was speechless. Bi Linglong also blushed. Even though she had been poisoned, she hadn¡¯t lost her rationality. She still remembered his exaggerated reaction when she had teased him.

    What could Zu An do? He could only head down and pry open the rock turtle shell. Even though the material was tough, his body was already at an entirely different level. He didn¡¯t even need to use ki. Just his strength alone was enough to break open the shell along the crack.

    The shell¡¯s interior was lined with many smooth, round, luminescent pearls. Every single one was massive, and difficult to even hold with a single hand. Even though Bi Linglong was used to seeing treasures in the pce, she had never seen so many top-grade luminescent pearls together. Furthermore, she could feel a strange auraing from them. They were clearly extraordinary goods.

    Zu An picked one up and gave it a feel. ¡°They don¡¯t have any ki inside, but rather a strange kind of energy. I have no idea what they can be used for.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, how disappointing.¡± Mi Li harrumphed. ¡°Your master will teach you a lesson today. The dragon had nine sons, and one of them was the Tuolong[1]. Its skin was able to act like a drum¡¯s surface, sending its voice out over a hundred li. After living for ten thousand years, it shed its skin and became a dragon. This shell has eighty-one ribs, corrting to the ¡®nine nines return to one¡¯ pattern. Every single rib has arge pearl at the center.

    ¡°These pearls are extremely hard to produce. If the ribs hadn¡¯t fully matured, the molting wouldn¡¯t be possible and the Tuolong wouldn¡¯t be able to be a dragon. If it were captured and skinned, the ribs wouldn¡¯t produce any pearls either. Only if all eighty-one ribspletely developed and the pearls reached perfection could it shed everything and be a dragon.

    ¡°Those characters mentioned a ten thousand year old turtle¡¯s essence. I didn¡¯t expect it to be real.¡±

    Bi Linglong counted the pearls. Sure enough, there were eighty-one pearls there! She looked at Mi Li in amazement. She hadn¡¯t really liked the red-clothed woman at first, feeling that she was way too aggressive and that she wasn¡¯t all that nice. However, she had never heard of those legends Mi Li had spoken of just now. Furthermore, Bi Linglong suddenly felt great admiration for the confidence andposure Mi Li had when she spoke.

    ¡°Tuolong?¡± Zu An was rather surprised. This thing could live for ten thousand years? I don¡¯t even think the dragons of this world can live for that long¡­ He asked, ¡°What can these pearls be used for then? Are they some incredible natural treasure?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Mi Li shook her head. ¡°The Tuolong is only a legend after all; no one has truly seen it before. There¡¯s no way of knowing what these pearls are used for. Just store them away for now; perhaps there¡¯ll be a chance to use them in this dungeonter.¡±

    Zu An nodded. He collected the eighty-one pearls into his storage space. He thought to himself, She made these things sound amazing, but they¡¯re still far inferior to my Brilliant ss Bead!

    Suddenly, Bi Linglong cried out in rm. ¡°There¡¯s a stele over here!¡±

    Zu An and Mi Li turned around. Sure enough, they saw a crooked stone stele in the corner. Some written characters could vaguely be made out on its surface.

    ¡°Look at this girl; you¡¯re quite the lucky star, hm? You¡¯re always the first to discover useful things.¡± Mi Li smiled in her direction. Then, she moved over to the stele.

    Bi Linglong blushed. She really had no other choice. She had experienced so much in that time, to the point where her former pride had already beenpletely shattered. When she saw how formidable Mi Li was, she felt a mysterious sense of threat. That was why she wouldn¡¯t give up any chance to disy her worth.

    Zu An also walked over to the stele, but many of the characters were impossible to read. He could only make out a single line: ¡°¡­left, Azure Dragon First Monarch, 51st year; right, White Tiger War General, 21st year; up, Vermilion Bird Light of Tombs, 31st year; down, ck Tortoise Holder of Wisdom, first year; the noble lunar moon at the center¡­

    ¡°Huh? What does this mean?¡± He felt as if he had returned to the ssroom in his old world when he had first been exposed to analog electronics and engineering. It wentpletely over his head.

    Mi Li was surprised. ¡°So that was it! I see, I see.¡±

    ¡°Exin it already¡­¡± Zu An gave her an annoyed look.

    ¡°Hmph, you should address your teacher properly first!¡± Mi Li eximed. However, she still exined, ¡°The midnight of the first night of the 51st year is the winter solstice, as well as an eclipse. ording to the sr and lunar cycle used by the Qin Dynasty, those of the calendar system department believed that to be a phenomenon that only urred once every 4,560 years. No wonder this dungeon¡¯s appearance was so sudden; it turns out we just happened to have hit that very date!¡±

    ¡°4,500 years¡­¡± Zu An gulped. ¡°Holy moly¡­ Isn¡¯t our luck a bit too crazy, if it only happens once every 4,560 years?¡±

    Bi Linglong¡¯s face paled. ¡°Are there any consequences if we can¡¯t leave this dungeon in time?¡±

    Mi Li gave her a look of praise. ¡°You¡¯re sharp. This dungeon won¡¯t remain open for long. If we can¡¯t leave before it closes, it will only reopen again after another 4,560 years.¡±

    Zu An waspletely speechless. What the hell? If Chuyan, Manman and the others were all here, I wouldn¡¯t mind spending this time with them. But I definitely don¡¯t want to be locked up here for 4,000 years like this.

    ¡°Then what do the other parts say?¡± He became more focused and didn¡¯t dare to waste any more time.

    ¡°Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and ck Tortoise are the four aspects that represent the four ster domains of the cosmos. The Azure Dragon is also known as the First Monarch, the White Tiger as the War General, the Vermilion Bird as the Light of Tombs, and the ck Tortoise the Holder of Wisdom. These sentences refer to the corresponding time and positions¡­ Hm, but as for what they¡¯re being paired up with, it¡¯s too hard to say as the stele iscking information. We don¡¯t have enough information to make any deductions.¡±

    Zu An said seriously, ¡°Then we should keep moving to see if we can get more information from other ces.¡±

    ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s try to reach that highest sacred peak from earlier. I believe the pce hides a great secret, and the key to leaving this ce should also be there.¡± Mi Li raised her head toward the faintly discernible, but majestic pce. The same strange expression appeared on her face again.

    Zu An moved over and nudged her shoulder with his. ¡°Is there something you¡¯re too embarrassed to talk about? You shouldn¡¯t keep that stuff bottled up; maybe I can help you out if you talk about it. I¡¯m pretty amazing, you know?¡±

    He had seen so many of those melodramatic dramas. He obviously wanted to remove as many bad gs as possible after seeing how Mi Li was acting.

    . The Tuolong is an antagonist in the ssic Chinese novel Journey to the West, published in 1592 by Wu Cheng¡¯en. The Tuolong is the ninth son of the Dragon King of the Jing River, and was found in ck River in Hengyang Valley. ?

 Chapter 860: F***** Up

    <h4>Chapter 860: F***** Up</h4>

    Mi Li rolled her eyes. ¡°Why would I need a disciple¡¯s help? Your master is someone who can dominate the entire world; why would I end up needing your help? Just take care of yourself.¡±

    Zu An knew there was no point in asking any more if she didn¡¯t want to talk about it. He could only say, ¡°Regardless, you should understand that now, in any situation, you aren¡¯t alone; I¡¯m here too.¡±

    Mi Li waved her hand dismissively. ¡°I get it, I get it. When did you suddenly begin to nag like a granny?¡±

    Bi Linglong watched their interactions with a weird expression. For some reason, she felt as if these two really weren¡¯t like master and disciple, but more like¡­ Forget it, how is that possible? I¡¯m overthinking.

    Their group continued onward. Bi Linglong looked behind her from time to time. ¡°Ah Zu, I feel uneasy. Shouldn¡¯t the emperor already have caught up after how much time we spent here?¡±

    Mi Li responded, ¡°They were trapped by that immortal peach illusion. They might even have already all died there. Of course they won¡¯t catch up to us.¡±

    ¡°Immortal peach illusion?¡± Bi Linglong was confused. She had seen thoserge and juicy peaches herself back then, and all of them had smelled incredible. She¡¯d thought that they were definitely precious fruits.

    ¡°The ce we were in before, of course. Those ugly skull-like fruits, those blood-sucking things¡­ Not only would you not be able to prolong your life if you ate them, you might be sucked dry on the spot,¡± Mi Li replied.

    Bi Linglong was horrified. She had already been in total awe toward Mi Li¡¯s knowledge because of their interactions over their short time together so far. She trusted Mi Li¡¯s words. When she thought about how she had beenpletely infatuated by those peaches back then, if not because Zu An had brought her away, she might have already eaten those poisonous fruits.

    She looked at Zu An in surprise after having those thoughts. This guy was incredibly greedy, and yet he had actually been able to retain hisposure unlike everyone else. Which side of him was the real Zu An?

    Zu An said, ¡°I trust that with the emperor¡¯s cultivation and temperament, he would be able to break free even if he were temporarily trapped by those peaches. That¡¯s why we shouldn¡¯t ce our hopes on the immortal peaches really having killed him.¡±

    Mi Li nodded in praise. ¡°You¡¯re surprisingly cautious. Not bad, not bad. This will allow you to live longer.¡± Then, she yawned and said, ¡°I¡¯ve already been outside for too long, so I¡¯m going to sleep. Call me if there¡¯s anything.¡± She disappeared into a wisp of smoke and entered the Tai¡¯e Sword.

    Bi Linglong stared, dazed. She looked at Zu An¡¯s sword and asked, ¡°Your master is usually inside of that?¡±

    ¡°Mmhm.¡± Zu An gently caressed the sword. ¡°She¡¯s my master, but also my friend. She¡¯s probably one of the people I trust the most in the world.¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    It seemed that it was still extremely draining for Mi Li to be out for too long. He had to help her make another body. Speaking of, was the premonition she had mentioned about obtaining one of the materials talking about this dungeon?

    ¡°Brat, stop touching it randomly like that!¡± Mi Li¡¯s unhappy voice suddenly rang out from inside the Tai¡¯e Sword.

    Zu An pulled his fingers back from the sword guiltily. ¡°I was touching the sword; it¡¯s not like I was touching you.¡±

    ¡°Whatever; you¡¯re not allowed to do that. You¡¯re way too cunning, so who knows what you¡¯re actually thinking about?¡± Mi Li harrumphed.

    Zu An was speechless. Bi Linglong couldn¡¯t help butugh,menting, ¡°Your rtionship really is quite special.¡±

    Zu An replied with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s different from other master and disciple rtionships.¡±

    Bi Linglong asked out of curiosity, ¡°How did you two meet? Why is she inside your sword?¡±

    What she really wanted to ask was if Mi Li knew about the things that had happened between her and Zu An, but she was too embarrassed to ask about that. As such, she could only ask in a roundabout way.

    Zu Anughed and said, ¡°That¡¯s a really long story¡­¡±

    ¡­

    The two of them chatted for a while, and time passed quickly. Eventually, they stopped just before a cliff¡¯s edge before they realized it. They were already practically at the end of the first floating continent. The second floating continent was just a hundred zhang in front of them.

    Zu An tried to see if he could move across. Jumping a short distance was fine, but any further and flight would obviously be restricted. He looked down from the edge of the cliff. There were no floating tforms like those they had taken on the way up.

    ¡°How do we get up there?¡± he mused, feeling a huge headache.

    Just then, Bi Linglong spoke. ¡°Ah Zu, hurry ande take a look over here.¡±

    Zu An walked over when he heard her. He saw Bi Linglong crouching, pulling at some weeds. He used the Fire Phoenix to burn away all of the weeds, exposing arge array of stone bs.

    ¡°This ce is¡­¡± Zu An was surprised. The stone bs¡¯ material was extremely special, not suffering any damage even aftering into contact with his mes. They were made of a shiny, dark material that resembled ck jade. Ayer of light flickered across their surface. They were definitely something extraordinary.

    Some of the stone bs had some circr holes in them, but Zu An and Bi Linglong had no idea what they were supposed to be used for. Many of the smaller bs had some fine lines on them, and it almost seemed as if there were some type of pattern to it all, but they couldn¡¯t really figure it out. Some bs had designs on them, but they looked as if they had been scrambled up.

    ¡°A puzzle?¡± Zu An¡¯s eyes lit up.

    ¡°Oh? This seems to be a star as.¡± Neither of them noticed that Mi Li had alreadye out of the Tai¡¯e Sword. Bi Linglong jumped in fright, but Zu An was already used to her unpredictable appearances.

    ¡°Star as?¡± Zu An hurriedly asked.

    ¡°Do you still remember the words on that stele we found underneath that weird fish temple?¡± Mi Li said.

    ¡°¡­left, Azure Dragon First Monarch, 51st year; right, White Tiger War General, 21st year; up, Vermilion Bird Light of Tombs, 31st year; down, ck Tortoise Holder of Wisdom, first year; the noble lunar moon at the center¡­¡± Those words appeared in Zu An¡¯s head. His eyes widened in understanding when he looked at the stone bs before him again. ¡°I see!¡±

    Just as Zu An was about to move the stone bs, Mi Li frowned. ¡°Careful, we havepany.¡± Even as she spoke, she had already turned invisible.

    Zu An quickly turned around. If it were any normal person, Mi Li definitely wouldn¡¯t have been so apprehensive. She would just silence them if she had to. That meant there was only one possibility as to who it might be¡­

    Sure enough, loudughter echoed through the ce as a voice eximed, ¡°What a surprise! Sometimes, you can do your best to look for something and not find it, but it¡¯ll show up right in front of you when you stop looking!¡±

    The nearby tree leaves rustled from the sounds ofughter. Bi Linglong¡¯s face paled. She grabbed Zu An¡¯s sleeve and said with a shaking voice, ¡°Ah Zu, let¡¯s just jump if there¡¯s no other choice. We can at least pass on painlessly that way.¡±

    As a part of the royal family, she understood just how vicious the emperor could be. With everything that had happened between the two of them, there was no way they would have an easy death if they ended up in the emperor¡¯s hands.

    Zu An gently patted her hand. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯re not at that point yet.¡±

    Bi Linglong was stunned. She really couldn¡¯t figure out why he could still remain calm in this situation, but hisposed voice had a strange calming ability. Her pounding heart also gradually rxed a bit.

    A bright yellow figure vaguely appeared on the horizon. Then, with a flicker and a streak of afterimages, he instantly appeared in front of the two of them.

    Zu An sighed inwardly. This level of speed was something the emperor had even after this world had suppressed him. His crazy cultivation really was enough to leave Zu An in despair¡­

    ¡°Didn¡¯t the two of you wish to die together as lovers? Too bad, that¡¯s no longer your decision.¡± Zhao Ruizhi looked coldly at Bi Linglong¡¯s hand. Their conversation earlier hadn¡¯t escaped his ears. Now that he was close enough, the emperor believed that the lives of the pair were already in his grasp.

    ¡°Does your majesty n to kill us?¡± Zu An sighed.

    ¡°Kill you?¡± Zhao Ruizhi sneered. ¡°Letting you die just like that would be letting you off too easily. I¡¯m going to castrate you and bring you back to the pce, then make you scrub thetrines day and night. Then, each year, I¡¯ll chop off a part of your body to make you fully experience the fear of death. Finally, when your four limbs and five sensory organs are gone, I¡¯ll throw you into the feces pit and keep you alive through medicine. Then, you can experience the pce eunuchs¡¯ urine day after day¡­¡±

    Bi Linglong¡¯s knuckles turned white from how tight her fists were clenched. At several points, she wanted to throw up. She regretted not having decided to die earlier, because she couldn¡¯t even choose to die now.

    Zu An was also speechless. This bastard really is something else. Is this type of punishment something a human can think up? With how things were, there was no point in trying to converse politely. He said coldly, ¡°Unfortunately, not only can you not do that to me, you must beg me.¡±

    ¡°Me? Beg you?¡± Zhao Ruizhi roared withughter, as if he had heard the world¡¯s greatest joke.

    He Li and the others finally caught up while gasping for breath. They all looked at Zu An sympathetically when they heard hisughable words. Was this guy scared so badly that he had already gone crazy?

    Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s smile faded as he coldly said, ¡°What an absurd joke. I¡¯m going to castrate you right now. I want to see what you¡¯ll do about it.¡±

    Zu An had just been about to say something, but with just a clench of the emperor¡¯s hand, it was hard to even breathe, let alone speak.

    ¡°I know you¡¯re good at speaking, and you might actually have some strange idea to save your life, so I don¡¯t want to hear anything.¡± Zhao Ruizhi snorted.

    Zu An was speechless. Damn it all, I fucked up!

 Chapter 861: The Stele Inscriptionsâ€™ Secrets

    <h4>Chapter 861: The Stele Inscriptions¡¯ Secrets</h4>

    How could Zu An have predicted that the emperor would do such a thing? He couldn¡¯t even say a thing. His entire n had fallen through. He immediately panicked when he saw that the emperor¡¯s hand was going to drop like a guillotine. You can cut off my head, but not my little head!

    He quickly called out to Mi Li, ¡°Master empress, save me!¡±

    Mi Li harrumphed. ¡°Hmph, let¡¯s see if you¡¯ll ever think yourself clever again.¡±

    She had just been about to lend Zu An a helping hand. Even though each time she used her strength it would eat up a severe amount of soul power, and even though the emperor¡¯s cultivation was so ridiculous, she couldn¡¯t just watch Zu An throw his life away.

    Fortunately, Bi Linglong spoke up just then. ¡°You can¡¯t kill him!¡±

    Zhao Ruizhi was so annoyed he insteadughed. ¡°Oh? Are you going to plead in his ce?¡±

    He Li nodded in agreement. The crown princess was usually so sharp; why had she suddenly be so stupid? Anyone else could speak out for Zu An¡¯s sake right now, except you! Isn¡¯t pleading for your male adulterer just adding fuel to the fire?

    Bi Linglong¡¯s face paled when she sensed the pressure in the emperor¡¯s eyes. Despite that, she still straightened her back and said, ¡°Because only he alone knows how to reach the pce over there. You¡¯ve sought out immortality your entire life; there¡¯s no way you would let this chance go.¡±

    Even though she didn¡¯t know that the other group had also obtained some ancient text, after spending so many years in the pce, she understood how the emperor thought. She had always been a smart girl, so she immediately realized that only immortality could temporarily hold back the wrath Zhao Ruizhi felt toward Zu An. Sure enough, it worked.

    Even though Zhao Ruizhi was indeed convinced, he wasn¡¯t willing to admit it. ¡°Hah, do you think I need someone like him to get up there?¡± Despite those words, his hand stopped, and he instead threw Zu An off to the side.

    He raised his head and looked at the floating pce. With a tap of his toes, he instantly vanished, dashing over. Even though that highest peak was a few hundred zhang from the ind they were on, for someone with his cultivation, it wasn¡¯t hard to reach at all.

    However, his figure suddenly began to plummet shortly afterward. His expression changed. He grabbed toward the ind he had taken off from. An invisible w of air grabbed the edge of the floating continent. A momentter, he instantly returned to his original location.

    ¡°Flight is still restricted,¡± Zhao Ruizhi muttered with a gloomy expression. Fortunately, he had been prepared for this, or else he really might not have been able toe back.

    ¡°Your majesty, there seems to be a mechanism here. It might be the solution to crossing over.¡± He Li quickly came over to earn brownie points when he noticed that the emperor didn¡¯t seem to be too happy. He pointed at the stone bs on the ground.

    Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s eyes lit up as he walked over to the stone bs. However, even with all of his knowledge, he was stillpletely lost. ¡°This could be a diagram of the heavens, but why is it so messy? Could it be that it needs to be pieced together in a certain way¡­?¡±

    All sorts of ideas entered his head, but in the end, he rejected every single one of them. He suddenly turned around to look at Zu An and asked, ¡°Can you solve this mechanism?¡±

    Zu An rubbed his neck and replied indifferently, ¡°I can, but you¡¯ll kill me as soon as I do so. Why would I bother?¡±

    Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Are you threatening me?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not threatening you, I¡¯m just telling the truth.¡± Zu An was wondering just how the emperor had incapacitated him so quickly. Why couldn¡¯t he do anything in return? It really was a pain.

    Mi Li¡¯s voice said in his head, ¡°His cultivation is indeed profound. After the master rank, every single rank is a huge transformation. He¡¯s already at the earth immortal rank now, so many of his attacks are already beyond your understanding. It¡¯s only natural that you couldn¡¯t retaliate at all.¡±

    Zu An sighed. ¡°This kind of powerlessness really sucks.¡±

    Mi Li said, ¡°Since you¡¯ve already called me your master, I should obviously take responsibility as your master. I¡¯ll try to exin themonly used methods people in his realm use in terms you can understandter. How much of it you can understand will depend on you. But with your aptitude, at the very least, you won¡¯t be as helpless as you were just now.¡±

    Zu An asked wryly, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you teach me a bit earlier then?¡±

    ¡°If you went up against people at his level, whether or not I taught you these things wouldn¡¯t make a huge difference. It would just be about whether you died sooner orter. That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t think it made a difference whether I taught you or not.¡± Mi Li harrumphed. ¡°Are you going to learn or not?¡±

    ¡°I will, I will!¡± Zu An immediately eximed apologetically. ¡°Thank you, gorgeous master!¡±

    Mi Li¡¯s brows rose. ¡°What did you call me?¡±

    Zu An exined, ¡°You know what happened between me and Zhao Han¡¯s wife. She¡¯s an empress too, so I think about her whenever I think of the word empress. Wouldn¡¯t it be a bit disrespectful if I called you that? That¡¯s why I changed it a bit. Master is gorgeous anyway, so I¡¯m being honest when I call you that.¡±

    The corners of Mi Li¡¯s lips couldn¡¯t help but tilt upward. ¡°It¡¯s just master; you¡¯re not allowed to add any other words.¡±

    ¡°Yes, gorgeous master.¡± Zu An lookedpletely sincere. Mi Li was left speechless.

    Zhao Ruizhi said just then, ¡°If you can grant me eternal life, our past grudges will bepletely meaningless. I won¡¯t care about them anymore and will instead let you live. If you don¡¯t believe me, I can make a vow.¡±

    He sneered. Chopping off your limbs and turning you into human swine is still letting you live, no? That won¡¯t count as viting the vow.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°A single word from your majesty is worth nine sacred cauldrons. Of course I believe them!¡± Zu An was overjoyed on the surface, but he sneered inwardly. I¡¯d be an idiot if I believed your damn words.

    But since both sides had ulterior motives, they came to an agreement in the end.

    Zu An walked over to the stone b array. ¡°These describe the stars in the sky. As long as they¡¯re arranged in the correct pattern, it should work.¡± He quickly moved around the stone bs while speaking. Sure enough, the stone bs could slide up, down, left, and right.

    ¡°¡­left, Azure Dragon First Monarch, 51st year; right, White Tiger War General, 21st year; up, Vermilion Bird Light of Tombs, 31st year; down, ck Tortoise Holder of Wisdom, first year; the noble lunar moon at the center¡­¡± He recalled the characters from the stele and gradually matched the stone b puzzle to the corresponding shapes.

    When he put thest b in order, a clear sound of something starting up followed. The b mechanism, and even the ground beneath it, quaked. Those present looked around, but after the slight tremble, there weren¡¯t any other changes.

    He Li remarked with a snicker, ¡°Sir Zu, is this the so-called mechanism that solves our problems?¡±

    Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s gaze became fierce when he looked at Zu An.

    However, Zu An didn¡¯t pay them any attention. He carefully observed the bs on the ground. His eyes shifted to the circr depression at the center of each stone b. He thought of something, then took out the eighty-one pearls and arranged them into the depressions. Sure enough, they were a perfect fit.

    Cracking noises emerged from underground. The stone bs continued to rise and fall. Then, some of the stone bs sank into the ground, while some other bs slowly rose up. In the end, they formed several rectangr pirs. The new stone pirs had different diagrams on them, some resembling beasts, some resembling astrological signs. Eventually, the rumbling finally stopped, and the mechanism became still again.

    Zu An frowned. Is the mechanism still not fully activated? He tried to move the pirs, but discovered that even though they couldn¡¯t be moved at all, they could be rotated. Furthermore, when one was rotated, it would also make some of the other pirs rotate as well.

    ¡°So that was it¡­¡± Zu An realized what was happening, but he frowned soon afterward. Even though he had a rough idea of the solution, he didn¡¯t know what kind of conditions the pirs had to satisfy. Many of the characters on the stele had already been missing.

    Zhao Ruizhi suddenlyughed loudly. ¡°So that was it! The heavens are on my side after all! Little bastard, you¡¯ve already lost your value to me!¡± He gave Zu An a malicious look, as if he would attack at a moment¡¯s notice. He hadn¡¯t even made that vow anyway, so he didn¡¯t have anything to worry about.

    Zu An remainedpletely calm, as if he had expected as much. ¡°I advise you not to burn your bridges so quickly. Even if you know the correct pattern, you can¡¯t open this mechanism without me.¡± He had already realized that since he had found part of the solution on his way here, how could those people not have found anything? They had definitely found their own answers.

    Zhao Ruizhi hesitated. He didn¡¯t immediately take action and instead ordered He Li, ¡°Match the diagrams based on the stele inscriptions we found in those ruins.¡± He had already made his decision to castrate Zu An as soon as He Li solved the mechanism.

 Chapter 862: Confessing Love

    <h4>Chapter 862: Confessing Love</h4>

    ¡°Absolutely!¡± How could He Li give up such a great chance to make some contributions? He quickly rushed over and recalled the inscriptions on the stele. ¡°Above chaos rests dark clouds; the Heavenly Gate opens wide. The great sun returns to the Golden Pce; the Southern Star moves around the Alioth. The Imperial Canopy lies in purple; elegant music enters Zheng. Those who understand shall receive eternal life¡­¡±

    Sure enough, there were dark clouds, a heavenly gate, a great sun, a golden pce, and other such diagrams. He just had to match up the diagrams. Unfortunately, whenever he matched up two of them and tried to match more, the ones matched already would start rotating and mess up the order. He tried all sorts of different things, but unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t figure it out at all. He broke out into a cold sweat.

    Zhao Ruizhi, having seen He Li fail, walked over and pushed him aside. ¡°Trash. You couldn¡¯t even take care of something so easy.¡±

    After saying so, he began to rotate the pirs himself. Four of them were soon matched, as he paid close attention the entire time. But when he worked on thest two, he discovered that no matter what he did, it would ruin the other pirs that he had already correctly matched. He frowned. He tried a few more times, but he just couldn¡¯t match all six. He also ended up quite helpless.

    He Li had to hold back his smile. He thought to himself, What are you cursing at me for? I thought you were formidable or something, but this is it? Of course, there was no way he would ever say these things out loud.

    Zhao Ruizhi couldn¡¯t keep up his calm exterior anymore. He turned around and looked at Zu An. ¡°You said earlier that you could activate this mechanism?¡±

    ¡°But of course,¡± Zu An said proudly.

    Zhao Ruizhi harrumphed. ¡°In that case, you do it. If you can¡¯t do it, I¡¯ll immediately make you understand what regret means.¡±

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°You¡¯ll immediately kill me if I help you with this mechanism. I¡¯m not that stupid.¡±

    Zhao Ruizhi said seriously, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, there are so many here to serve as witnesses. I promise I won¡¯t kill you as long as you activate this mechanism.¡±

    ¡°Your word is as good as a fart. You were just about tosh out a moment ago.¡± Zu An sneered.

    Zhao Ruizhi was angered by Zu An¡¯s words. It had already been a long time since anyone had dared to speak to him like this.

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Han for +444!

    But for the sake of obtaining what he really wanted, he endured his anger and said, ¡°I can make a vow if you don¡¯t trust me.¡±

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°This dungeon¡¯s elements are unstable. A vow might not work.¡±

    Zhao Ruizhi was shocked. After all, only someone like him could sense the abnormalities in the world. How had this fellow noticed that? ¡°You¡¯re refusing this and that, so what do you want?¡± he snapped, annoyed.

    Zu An said, ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about oaths, but rather interest. There will be all sorts of mechanisms to solve in this dungeon, and you¡¯ll need me to solve almost every one of them. We¡¯ve only finished the first floating continent; there are two more toe. That grand pce will definitely have all sorts of even moreplex puzzles. If you injured me beforehand and I couldn¡¯t help you with any of the mechanisms toe, causing you to fail to obtain the immortality you¡¯ve sought out for so long, wouldn¡¯t that be your life¡¯s greatest regret?¡±

    He obviously wouldn¡¯t trust the emperor that easily, but he had to temporarily appease him. Simrly, he also wanted to reach the highest pce, find the first emperor¡¯s secrets, and obtain thetter half of the Primordial Origin Sutra. With Mi Li¡¯s help, he would practically be fighting in his home territory. He could use the pce¡¯syout to have a chance against the emperor.

    ¡°But this is an exchange of mutual interest. Since I¡¯m helping you obtain eternal life, what can you offer me?¡± Zu An asked.

    Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s face darkened. ¡°Didn¡¯t I promise to let you live? I¡¯ve already given you that, yet you want more?¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this life of mine a bit too insignificantpared to eternal life?¡± Zu An looked as if he didn¡¯t care at all. ¡°I¡¯m not interested in getting scammed like that. We can all just die here if you want.¡±

    He Li was starting to even feel some admiration. This kid really was something! He was gambling with his very life here! He wished he could negotiate with the emperor as well, but he would lose confidence whenever they faced each other.

    Bi Linglong bit her lips tightly. Even though her rationality told her that the emperor would probably agree because of his obsession with immortality, she was still worried. She was extremely curious what Zu An would ask for.

    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll just treat you leniently then. What do you want?¡± Zhao Ruizhi nned to appease this fellow first, to have him help with acquiring immortality. Then, he would slowly settle things afterward.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An pointed toward Bi Linglong. ¡°I want her!¡±

    Zhao Ruizhi erupted with rage. ¡°You¡¯re courting death!¡± A ferocious aura erupted from him.+ However, Zu An continued to stand in ce, staring right back at him without a sliver of fear.

    He Li was already beyond amazed. This kid really is amazing! Even I would kneel! Zu An and the crown princess have already done so many things to anger the emperor, and yet the emperor couldn¡¯t cross the floating inds and do anything about it. Now, Zu An is asking for the crown princess right in front of the emperor¡¯s face? He was extremely curious as to how the emperor would reply.

    Bi Linglong had been worried about Zu An¡¯s safety, but how could she have predicted that he would ask for such a thing? She blushed immediately. What am I going to do with you¡­

    She couldn¡¯t even describe how she was feeling right now. She didn¡¯t know why he would demand something like that! Wasn¡¯t he poking at the emperor¡¯s Achilles heel? But rationality was one thing, and emotions were another; moreover, more women were emotional.

    Zu An was taking such a huge risk to ¡®confess his love¡¯ to her. Her heart pounded as she thought, Does he really care about me? As for Zu An¡¯s safety, she instead stopped worrying about that. As someone from the royal family, she knew what the emperor was like.

    As long as he had a chance at obtaining immortality, what did a trifling woman count for? Furthermore, it was only a vocal promise. Any politician would always be prepared to go back on their word at any time. As for bringing shame to the royal family, that didn¡¯t matter either, because he just had to silence everyone present. That way, no one would ever know that he made such an embarrassing promise.

    Zu An calmly said, ¡°You want eternal life, so I¡¯ll help you. After you obtain eternal life, you¡¯ll have endless women, so why do you have to cling to her? If you really aren¡¯t willing, just kill us now. You can seek that fleeting eternal life yourself then.¡±

    Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s expression changed several times. In the end, he coldly said, ¡°Fine, but that¡¯s based on the premise that you really can help me.¡±

    He had already made his decision. Once Zu An helped him enter that pce, he would instantly st that guy to smithereens to vent out his resentment. He was no longer in the mood to slowly torment Zu An anymore.

    He Li and the other soldiers had been waiting for the emperor to rip Zu An apart. They hadn¡¯t expected to hear such a reply. The royal family¡¯s moral principles really werecking! You can even give away your own wife? Wait, is this your wife or your daughter-inw¡­

    ¡°As expected, your majesty is generous!¡± Zu Anughed out loud. Then, he turned around and grabbed Bi Linglong¡¯s hand. ¡°From now on, you¡¯re mine.¡±

    Bi Linglong was getting a bit dizzy. It all felt like an illusion, and yet it was all real. Her face waspletely red. She opened her mouth, but she didn¡¯t know what to say.

    Should she face him with a look of happiness? Her bashfulness as ady made it impossible for her to do that in front of so many people. But she might hurt Zu An if she said anything else. That was why she decided to just say nothing.

    Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s eyelids twitched. ¡°Solve this mechanism first! Or else I¡¯ll kill both of you right now!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Han for +766 +766 +766¡­

    Zu An said with augh, ¡°Rx, it¡¯s easy enough.¡±

    He jogged over to the pirs and spun them around. He took mental notes of which pirs would rotate when he spun one pir, and he spun all of them a few times. After testing out all of them, he wrote down a series of digits on the ground.

    Zhao Ruizhi was getting impatient. ¡°What the hell are you doing?¡±

    Zu An shot right back, ¡°What the hell do you know? This is called linear algebra! This is the culmination of a certain world¡¯s wisdom.¡±

 Chapter 863: The Secret of King Qinâ€™s Mirror of Souls

    <h4>Chapter 863: The Secret of King Qin¡¯s Mirror of Souls</h4>

    ¡°Linear algebra?¡± Zhao Ruizhi frowned. He didn¡¯t even have time to feel anger. He thought, What kind of secret manual is this? Why haven¡¯t I heard of it before?

    Forget about him, even Mi Li, who had read through the entire Qin Royal Family¡¯s library, was stumped. What the hell is linear algebra? Why don¡¯t I know what this is?

    Only Bi Linglong seemed to have picked up on something. She recalled that ording to Zu An¡¯s information, he seemed to have been Brightmoon Academy¡¯s mathematics teacher. Furthermore, when he had made a trip through the Royal Academy, even those revered teachers had been left in awe of his knowledge. This ¡®linear algebra¡¯ was probably one of the special skills he had.

    Zu An confirmed the stele inscriptions with Zhao Ruizhi one more time, and then he muttered to himself, ¡°¡®Dark clouds¡¯ should be matched with ¡®Heavenly Gate¡¯; this describes our situation when we first arrived on this ind¡­¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    But thetter parts involved ancient astrology, so Zu An didn¡¯t understand it too well. Still, for better or for worse, he had a well-read granny with him. He asked Mi Li for help. That way, he gained a rough idea of the steles¡¯ secrets.

    The ¡®Heavenly Gate¡¯ was located in the corner of the twenty-eight constetions; the ¡®great sun¡¯ was naturally the sun itself. The ¡®Golden Pce¡¯ historically referred to the pce courtyard where heaven and earth resided, while the Purple Forbidden Enclosure of the ancient celestial bodies was a residence within heaven and earth.

    Ancient astrology divided the heavens into three enclosures and twenty-eight constetions. Those twenty-eight constetions were arranged in groups of seven, and those groups were divided into north, south, east, and west through the Azure Dragon, Vermilion Bird, White Tiger, and ck Tortoise.

    The ¡®Southern Star¡¯ most likely referred to the Sagittarius star; the Southern Star moving around the Alioth should have been quite the rare phenomenon ording to normal astrology, and that was what had left the emperor in despair earlier. But these bs corresponded to the heavens, and he just had to match them all up. They didn¡¯t really need the specific astrological phenomena.

    The ¡®Imperial Canopy¡¯ referred to the Purple Forbidden Enclosure¡¯s Imperial Canopy star; ¡®purple¡¯ referred to the Emperor star.

    ¡®Elegant music¡¯ in ancient times referred to Xia music, and the Xia people were descendants of Xuanyuan. That meant it referred to the Xuanyuan star. ¡®Zheng¡¯ referred to the Heavenly Market Enclosure¡¯s Zheng star.

    With Mi Li¡¯s help, Zu An quickly cracked the secrets of the inscriptions. He just had to match them up to their proper positions.

    This type of pir rotating puzzle wouldn¡¯t be too difficult to brute force if it were a simple one, but a mechanism asplex as the stele inscriptions made random testing pointless. But even though the ancient puzzle was quite profound, it wasn¡¯t too difficult for someone like him who had a college education. It was merely a linear algebra problem.

    He gave each pir a number, then recorded how the others spun ording to the first pir¡¯s rotation. For example, if the second pir didn¡¯t spin, it would be 0. If the third spun once, it would be 1. If the fourth spun twice, it would be 2, and so on. He could then remember it as d1=[1,0,1,2¡­]t.

    Then, if he turned the first pir x1 times, the pir would be x1*d1. If he spun the second pir x2 times, the pir would be x2*d2. From there, the final pir would be x1*d1*d2+x3*d3+¡­=b. b would be a constant; since they had the exact final positions from the stele inscriptions, he could deduce the final state of the pirs and how many times each pir had to be rotated.

    The sequence would then produce a homogeneous linear equation, and x1, x2, x3¡­ could all be solved. These would tell him how many times he had to spin each pir, thus granting him the final state the stele inscriptions presented.

    Zhao Ruizhi waspletely lost as he watched Zu An write out symbols he had never seen before on the ground. He couldn¡¯t help but give the others a few nces. He saw that whether it was Bi Linglong, He Li, or anyone else, they all appeared stupefied, making him feel a lot better.

    A whileter, He Li couldn¡¯t help but sneak a look at the emperor. He saw that the emperor was nodding slightly as he watched Zu An draw those weird symbols, as if it were making sense to him. He immediately felt admiration. His majesty is his majesty after all; he can even understand these things!

    Zu An finally stood up after a while. ¡°It¡¯s done!¡± Then, he walked over to the stone bs, spinning the pirs ording to the answers he had calcted. Sure enough, all of the diagrams matched after he rotated them in order!

    Another rumble emerged from underground as the mechanism began to activate. The stone b mechanism lit up. Then, the light rose, illuminating the luminescent pearls Zu An had ced in the holes before. Rays of light shot out from the luminescent pearls, striking certain parts of the stone bs. Those bs then tilted slightly.

    But nothing much happened even after those present waited for a while. Zhao Ruizhi frowned. ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡±

    He wasn¡¯t in a rush to criticize Zu An, because various signs had proven that Zu An¡¯s method was the right one. Were they stillcking something? He couldn¡¯t think of anything, so he looked at Zu An. As an emperor, he didn¡¯t have to do everything himself. He could just hand over his headaches for his subordinates to think about.

    Zu An was also confused. Hadn¡¯t he already done everything properly? Why hadn¡¯t anything happened?

    Mi Li suddenly thought of something. ¡°Do you still remember thest line on that stele we saw?¡±

    ¡°The noble lunar moon at the center¡­¡± Zu An silently mouthed those words. He saw a slight depression where the beam of light struck the b. The depression¡¯s shape resembled a mirror. He thought of something, and took out King Qin¡¯s Mirror of Souls, something he had obtained from the Jade Moon Serpent. Sure enough, the shape matched perfectly.

    Zu An had tried all sorts of methods to activate it ever since he obtained the mirror, but it had never reacted to anything. But now, when the light hit the mirror, it seemed toe alive. It lit up like a small sun, bing so dazzling no one could look straight at it. A streak of brilliant light shot out from the mirror, firing through the clouds andnding somewhere on the third sacred mountain.

    Then, something shocking happened. An extremely wide, bright yellow light slowly descended from the sacred mountain. It unfurled like a carpet, and soon reached the second sacred mountain. Afterward, a simr carpet of bright yellow light emerged from the second mountain, traveling toward where the group was. It quickly stopped near the stone b array, forming a transparent bridge of light between the inds.

    After the bridge formed, the lighting from the luminescent pearls in the stone bs gradually disappeared. King Qin¡¯s Mirror of Souls also returned to normal. Zu An quickly put it away, as it was an absolute treasure he couldn¡¯t afford to lose.

    Zhao Ruizhi gave him a look. He could tell that the mirror was special too. He had just been about to take it and eliminate Zu An, but he remembered what Zu An had said earlier. He had even witnessed Zu An¡¯s skills with those weird symbols, so the brat might really be skilled with such puzzles. As such, he decided to wait for the time being, because in the future, there really might be situations where he needed Zu An.

    After calming down his killing intent, Zhao Ruizhi was the first to step onto the bridge of light. He was careful at first, but he soon discovered that even though the bridge looked transparent and terrifying, it was like walking on sturdy ground. There was no need to worry about falling off.

    ¡°Is this one of the so-called methods of an immortal?¡± Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s eyes burned with passion as he stared at the distant pce. His figure turned into a blur and he quickly arrived on the second ind. He Li and the others quickly followed behind him. After all, there might be tremendous opportunities rted to immortals up ahead. Who didn¡¯t want a share in that?

    Zu An cried out pitifully inside. He had wanted to try and see if he could use the bridge of light to kill the emperor, but whether it was the pearls or the pirs, they were all firmly set in ce. He couldn¡¯t move them at all. ¡°Forget it, I¡¯ll look for other opportunities,¡± he muttered as he brought Bi Linglong onto the bridge as well.

    Bi Linglong was incredibly shocked. She looked around excitedly as she walked on the bridge of light. However, Zu An had already seen simr scenes in the shows and games he had yed, so it wasn¡¯t all that special to him.

    He silently brought out the Mirror of Souls. It seemed to have been activated earlier. Does it have any abilities now? he thought. But unfortunately, it remained lifeless the entire time. He didn¡¯t notice anything special about it. ¡°Did I just misunderstand?¡± he muttered, frowning.

    While Zu An was holding the mirror, Bi Linglong just happened to be standing behind him, looking at him in puzzlement.

    Zu An lowered his head to look at the mirror, and blood immediately trickled out from his nose.

 Chapter 864: Deathly Stillness

    <h4>Chapter 864: Deathly Stillness</h4>

    The mirror reflected a shining white scene. Bi Linglong¡¯s fair corbones, her smooth and round shoulders, and all the rest of her delicate and gentle features were on full disy.

    Even though the two of them had slept together butt-naked in the Hundred Flower Pce, Zu An had spent most of that period unconscious. Once he had woken up, everything had happened too suddenly, so he hadn¡¯t had any time to appreciate this view.

    Bi Linglong saw Zu An suddenly stare nkly at the mirror, two lines of blooding out of his nose. She quickly brought out a handkerchief to help him wipe the blood away, her voice nervous and worried. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Were you wounded or poisoned?¡± But that only made Zu An¡¯s nose bleed even more profusely.

    ¡°Ah Zu, don¡¯t scare me like that!¡± Bi Linglong¡¯s face paled. She quickly rushed over to see what was happening to him. Suddenly, her eyes flickered to the mirror in his hands.

    Her expression was nk at first, but then she screamed. Her hands blocked of her chest, her charming face bing entirely red. She stared at him in embarrassment and irritation.

    Zu An finally snapped out of his daze. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect this to happen, I really didn¡¯t¡­ I didn¡¯t know that this thing would have such an effect!¡±

    ¡°Stop aiming that mirror at me!¡± Bi Linglong was already about to cry. Her instinctive reservations as a youngdy had made her mind go nk. She had no idea what to do.

    Zu An quickly put the mirror away. ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t react fast enough.¡± Bi Linglong bit her red lips lightly. She stared rigidly at him, as if she were about to bite him.

    Zu An mumbled quietly, ¡°It¡¯s not like I haven¡¯t seen you before¡­¡±

    ¡°What did you say?¡± Bi Linglong¡¯s eyes widened.

    ¡°Nothing, haha.¡± Zu An handed over King Qin¡¯s Mirror of Souls. ¡°Do you want to look at me too? That way, we¡¯d be even?¡±

    Bi Linglong had been about to shower him with scolding, but she was stunned when she heard those words. She couldn¡¯t help butugh, but she then looked away. ¡°Who wants to look at you?¡±

    ¡°Take it or leave it; if you miss this chance, this offer will nevere back.¡± Zu An handed the mirror over again.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want it!¡± Bi Linglong was even starting to admire this guy. How was he so shameless? She wanted to flip out, and yet she found it really hard to get truly angry. Just what the heck did this guy do to me?!

    With a cold snort, a voice snapped, ¡°Are you two done flirting yet? Get over here already.¡±

    Both of them looked up and saw that Zhao Ruizhi was standing at the edge of the second sacred mountain, coldly looking at the two of them. His prating gaze seemed as if he were looking at pigs he was trying to drive into cages.

    Bi Linglong blushed. She didn¡¯t really know what to do. But Zu An stood in front of her calmly, helping her block some of the pressure. ¡°We¡¯reing, we¡¯reing. Why are you rushing us like this?¡±

    When she saw the wide shoulders of the man in front of her, Bi Linglong felt warm inside. She alone had always been the one who controlled everything that happened in the Eastern Pce, shielding the foolish crown prince from everything on the outside. Now, she finally knew just how great it was to have someone else who could take care of her.

    The two of them walked across the bridge of light, one after the other. Bi Linglong was a bit embarrassed because of what had just happened. As such, she walked a few steps behind him on purpose. Zu An called out to her several times, but she ignored him, so he could only give up.

    Mi Li really couldn¡¯t keep watching and remarked, ¡°How could she bring herself to talk to you after you just saw her buck naked?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not like I haven¡¯t seen it all before. Why does she have to be so bashful?¡± Zu An was a bit confused.

    ¡°Looks like you still don¡¯t really understand women.¡± Mi Li rolled her eyes. She didn¡¯t feel like paying him any more attention.

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t even doing it on purpose. How could I know that damn mirror was so lowly?¡± Zu An eximed indignantly.

    ¡°Lowly? Then what¡¯s with that smirk on your lips?¡± Mi Li ruthlessly exposed him.

    Zu An¡¯s face heated up. He immediately tried to shift the me and said, ¡°It¡¯s you guys¡¯ damn mirror¡¯s fault for having that stupid function. Wait, the Qin Emperor shone this mirror on you back then¡­¡±

    Mi Li cut him off right away. ¡°Hmph, do you think everyone is like you? That mirror was used to reflect one¡¯s inner organs, to see if they harbored any disloyalty. It probably hasn¡¯t fully recovered its power yet and can¡¯t pass through the body, only through clothes. Haven¡¯t you heard before that what a treasure is like depends on its master? This mirror was always an honorable treasure in the hands of sessive Qin emperors, and yet it became so indecent when it fell into your hands.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He had to admit, however, that he liked the function of seeing through clothes much better than seeing one¡¯s inner organs. Hmph, I shouldn¡¯t let it upgrade even if there¡¯s a chance to in the future¡­ Wait, what happens if I shine it on Mi Li?

    But he might just be beaten to death if he tried that, so he decisively cut short the tempting thought.

    ¡­

    The two of them quickly crossed the bridge of light, arriving on the second floating continent.

    Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s skin bristled when he saw Bi Linglong¡¯s blush. When had this woman ever shown him this side of her? He took a deep breath, forcefully subduing his killing intent. He had witnessed how Zu An had solved the mechanism earlier; this kid was still useful to him. He¡¯d make his decision after he obtained the method of immortality.

    The group continued toward the other bridge of light. The scenery was greatly different from the floating continent they had just been on. The previous continent had been full of fruit scents, a world vibrant with greenery and life. The second floating continent had many trees too, but the deeper they went, the bleaker their surroundings became. The environment was one filled with rock and sand. There was even a faint red tint on many of the rocks that resembled coagted blood.

    ¡°Be careful, everyone. There might be danger lurking.¡± He Li had felt a sense of danger when he witnessed Zu An¡¯s performance. He had to prove his own worth; only then would he not be so easily thrown away by the emperor. All of the deathsworn soldiers shifted their hands to their weapons. They looked all around them cautiously.

    Perhaps because she sensed the sudden tension, Bi Linglong subconsciously leaned closer to Zu An¡¯s side. However, she couldn¡¯t get too close after what had just happened. Zu An held her hand tofort her. She bit her red lips, but in the end, she didn¡¯t pull her hand back.

    Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s sensory range was expanded, so he naturally detected their small movements. His expression darkened, but since he had already agreed to hand Bi Linglong over to Zu An, he couldn¡¯t really say anything. He couldn¡¯t punish Zu An even if heshed out, and it would instead destroy his image in front of everyone else. He might as well feign ignorance now and eventually settle the debt with Zu An once he obtained immortality.

    Suddenly, the scout ahead brought back an update. ¡°Something¡¯se up!¡± His voice was full of rm, as if he had seen something terrifying.

    The group looked in the direction of the voice. They saw a massive ck expanse of human figures, all of them with weapons in hand. Most importantly, they even saw the outlines of some cavalry and war chariots. This was an entire army!

    Zhao Ruizhi harrumphed. ¡°What are you all panicking about? They¡¯re nothing but some statues.¡±

    Only then did the others see that those dark figures weren¡¯t really people, but rather y figures. It was just that they had the same proportions as real people and held real weapons.

    Zu An actually found the scene familiar. Isn¡¯t this a Terracotta Army? He had seen them before in Xi¡¯an, and had even fought against them in a dungeon. Now that he was looking at them like this again, he actually found them quite adorable.

    ¡°Don¡¯t panic, don¡¯t panic, everyone! I already checked and made sure they aren¡¯t living beings.¡± He Li quickly tried to cate his men.

    They continued onward. Even though they knew that the statues were fake, because the terracotta soldiers were divided into two groups on either side of the road, it looked as if their eyes were following the groups movements. But on closer inspection, it was merely an illusion created by the light and shadow reflecting off them. The group still felt a bit scared, as the sculptures were so lifelike. The statues truly were creepy.

    The one who was most at ease apart from Zu An had to be Zhao Ruizhi. His eyes were full of praise as he examined the statues. He wondered if they were statues of elite troops, because they really were impressive to look at.

    Zu An said to Mi Li, ¡°I remembered that scene from when I first met you again.¡±

    Mi Li harrumphed. ¡°I really should¡¯ve just smacked you to death back then¡­¡± Her expression suddenly changed midway through her sentence. ¡°Something¡¯s not right with these statues; be careful!¡±

    Suddenly, a terracotta soldier that had beenpletely lifeless a moment before swung its de down! It was incredibly fast, and together with the fact that the group had their guard down, it was incredibly hard to defend against.

    Fortunately, Zu An¡¯s cultivation was already exceptional, and with Mi Li¡¯s reminder, he quickly protected Bi Linglong and evaded the attack. Even so, a corner was still cut off his clothes.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    King Qi Manor¡¯s deathsworn soldiers weren¡¯t so fortunate. Miserable screams rose and fell. Almost half of them were already riddled with holes from swords and spears.

 Chapter 865: Descent of the Reaper

    <h4>Chapter 865: Descent of the Reaper</h4>

    Even though King Qi Manor¡¯s soldiers were all carefully selected elites, He Li had just examined those terracotta warriors himself and promised that they were lifeless statues. They hadn¡¯t expected the statues to suddenlye to life at all!

    Furthermore, the terracotta warriors¡¯ attacks were sharp and lethal, their coordination excellent. They were just like a well-trained army. It was to the extent that the deathsworn might be able to avoid one or two strikes, but they couldn¡¯t avoid the spears and halberds attacking from other directions.

    All of them cursed He Li to hell as they died. It was all because of this damn pig of arade!

    When he saw that half of his subordinates had been killed so quickly, Zhao Ruizhi erupted in rage. ¡°Preposterous!¡±

    A st of power spread outward. At the same time, a streak of golden light suddenly appeared. Before anyone could even see what was going on, all the terracotta warriors within a dozen zhang had already copsed into pieces.

    ¡°I have to admit that this fe is quite strong,¡± Mi Li¡¯s voice said by Zu An¡¯s ear. He could clearly sense the graveness in her voice.

    Zu An forced augh. ¡°Auntie, did you only realize this now? I already knew that a long time ago.¡± Mi Li harrumphed and ignored him.

    All of the remaining King Qi Manor soldiers rushed over to Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s side. Even though they knew that the emperor might not necessarily let them go, that was something they would worry aboutter. The terracotta warriors could take their lives right then and there. As for theirpanions¡¯ corpses, they couldn¡¯t be bothered at all at the moment. Even Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s expression was grave as he stared at the distant, dark expanse of terracotta warriors.

    Only Zu An didn¡¯t seem that fazed. After all, he was already well acquainted with them. His eyes shifted to King Qi¡¯s deathsworn soldiers, and he couldn¡¯t help but ask in confusion, ¡°Gorgeous master, don¡¯t you feel like they¡¯re not bleeding as much as they should?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right. It¡¯s almost as if the blood is quickly absorbed by the ground as soon as it drips out,¡± Mi Li said, confused. ¡°But isn¡¯t itmon for such dry ground to do something like this?¡±

    ¡°I hope I¡¯m overthinking things too.¡± Zu An¡¯s expression darkened.

    A rumble suddenly erupted in the distance. Those present were shocked, because they could tell that it was the sound of an army marching. A march this orderly was the trademark sign of a powerful army. Furthermore, the footsteps seemed to even harmonize with the very world, proving that they had received the acknowledgment of heaven and earth.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Even Zhao Ruizhi subconsciously backed up. No matter how strong he was, defeating an entire massive army was beyond his power.

    Right at that moment, a group within the dark expanse of terracotta warriors stopped. Then, they drew back their bows. A split secondter, a storm of arrows plummeted from the heavens. The shrill noises of tearing air echoed through the sky. It was easy to see just how powerful they were!

    Zhao Ruizhi didn¡¯t dare underestimate them. He raised his hands above his head, then slowly spread them. A golden barrier of light took form above his head, surrounding the group within. He still had more uses for Zu An and Bi Linglong. As for the others from King Qi Manor, he might need them as cannon fodder in the dungeon, so he didn¡¯t n to lose them here.

    Of course, he wasn¡¯t so stupid as to endanger himself to protect them. He would decisively shrink the barrier for increased effectiveness the moment he sensed that the circumstances weren¡¯t right.

    The endless barrage of arrows bounced right off the golden barrier. Meanwhile, Mi Li said, ¡°Pay attention to what he¡¯s doing. He isn¡¯t taking the impact of these arrows straight on; instead, he¡¯s using the least amount of force needed to alter the arrows¡¯ trajectory and deflect them to the side. This will allow him to save a lot of his strength. Apart from a difference of cultivation between those of higher and lower ranks, their use of power is also a big difference. The rest of you waste way too much of your power.¡±

    ¡°I understand.¡± Zu An nodded.

    ¡°You understood it that easily?¡± Mi Li was baffled. She¡¯d thought that she would use this chance to make him understand that she was the master here, and yet this brat didn¡¯t y along at all! She waspletely caught off guard.

    ¡°Of course. I read about things like this all the time in those webnovels,¡± Zu An replied.

    Mi Li was speechless. After being around him for so long, she obviously knew that Zu An¡¯s way of thinking was greatly different from most people of this world. He would always say some words she had never heard of before. Hmph, I¡¯ll ask him what webnovels areter.

    The rain of arrows was deflected by Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s barrier. When he saw that there were only some sparse arrows left, he snorted. ¡°Is that all?¡±

    Mi Li sneered when she heard him speak. ¡°This fe only knows how to act tough.¡±

    She continued, ¡°It¡¯s extremely difficult for a cultivator to face an entire army by himself. An army consists of countless cultivators, and they have formations that can greatly increase their defensive force. If it were some other grandmaster who had faced that barrage of arrows, they might have already been turned into a porcupine. Even though the emperor sessfully blocked those arrows, it wasn¡¯t that easy for him at all. Did you notice that the barrier of light around us has already be much dimmer in color?¡±

    Zu An saw that that really was the case. Furthermore, he even noticed that there were some fine cracks in certain areas. It was just that the others had been so busy praising the emperor for his power, he hadn¡¯t noticed those details until now.

    Just then, a terracotta warrior who was clearlyrger and taller than the others leapt onto a carriage. Then, he raised the massive bow in his hands. The arrow in his hand flickered with a pitch-ck radiance, then transformed into an arc of ck lightning. In the blink of an eye, that massive pitch-ck arrow instantly hit the golden barrier straight in the center!

    Tzzzzz!

    A shrill, earsplitting noise screamed. It sounded as if two rough chunks of metal were grinding against each other.

    The pitch-ck arrow spun frantically, and the golden barrier began to visibly cave in. Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s face turned red. Then, his hands crossed in front of his chest, forming a sphere of golden energy that slowly pushed the arrow back out.

    The madly spinning arrow finally lost its momentum and fractured into pieces with a loud noise. Those pieces then exploded into fine powder from the recoil. But as soon as the group sighed in relief, another pitch-ck arrow roared down, hitting the barrier in the exact same spot as thest. Even the other soldiers finally noticed that there were cracks forming in the golden barrier around them.

    Zu An clicked his tongue. ¡°What is going on with that terracotta warrior? He¡¯s able to pressure the emperor that much with just arrows?¡±

    Mi Li was a bit stupefied when she looked in the direction of the attacks. When she heard Zu An¡¯s question, she replied with aplicated expression, ¡°That¡¯s Wang Jian, the one who helped the Great Qin Dynasty eradicate six nations and unite the world¡­¡±

    ¡°Wang Jian?¡± Zu An eximed, shocked. How could he not know about such an incredible figure? ¡°What kind of state is he in right now? Is he in soul form, or is he some living corpse?¡±

    Mi Li shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Either way, I know Wang Jian¡¯s cultivation when he was alive wasn¡¯t inferior to Zhao Han¡¯s. However, his current aura seems to be a bit weaker than when he was at his strongest.¡±

    A third arrow flew over just then, hitting the second arrow. The second arrow exploded, but then the third arrow continued the previous arrow¡¯s momentum. The barrier, which had already been on the verge of copse, was instantly blown apart.

    Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s hands joined together, mping down on the ck light. Then, he exerted force through his palms to break the arrow in half. On the surface, it didn¡¯t seem too hard for him at all. However, Zu An noticed that his hands were trembling a bit in his sleeves.

    Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s eyes flickered when he saw that the enemy general was going to fire again. Then, he charged forward like an artillery shell. He obviously knew the principle behind taking down the enemy leader first. If he continued to remain passive forever, he would only be slowly whittled down to death.

    In the world of cultivators, it wasmon knowledge that those who excelled at long-range attacks weren¡¯t as good at close quartersbat. As long as he closed the gap, he had confidence in taking the other party down. The rest of the strange army might very well copse once he took down the main general.

    When they saw Zhao Ruizhi charge forward, many terracotta soldiers rushed out to protect Wang Jian. Their defenses were rock solid, but unfortunately, they were facing a falling meteorite!

    ¡°Get lost!¡± Zhao Ruizhi roared. He didn¡¯t show any mercy, and all those standing in his path were blown apart.

    The general on the carriage aimed his bow and fired again. But now, Zhao Ruizhi didn¡¯t have to face the arrows directly. He became quite difficult to hit because of his movement skill. Three arrows missed in a row, and Wang Jian didn¡¯t have the time to fire a fourth.

    Zhao Ruizhi grinned maliciously. His hand mmed toward Wang Jian¡¯s head. At that distance, he was confident he could defeat his opponent within a few moves.

    But right at that moment, the air next to him suddenly cracked open. A pitch-ck sickle appeared out of thin air, cleaving at his neck.

 Chapter 866: Iâ€™ll Stop Playing Around Now

    <h4>Chapter 866: I¡¯ll Stop ying Around Now</h4>

    Zhao Ruizhi felt goosebumps and quickly grew vignt. How long had it been since he felt the threat of death, ever since he became the most powerful cultivator in the world? He couldn''t be bothered with the archer general at all, and quickly shifted his arms to the side to defend himself.

    Golden and ck lights shed, causing a powerful shockwave. The tough terracotta warriors didn¡¯t stand a chance. Those that stood nearby exploded into pieces one after another, while those further out were left leaning unsteadily from side to side.

    Zhao Ruizhi was blown back arge distance, blood trickling from his palms. How many years had it already been since he was injured? He had already forgotten that feeling. But at that moment, his attention wasn¡¯t on his injury. Instead, he stared rigidly at the one who had wounded him.

    That individual¡¯s entire body was shrouded in ck mist, so Zhao Ruizhi couldn''t see his face at all. However, his outline made him appear to be dressed in armor. He was likely a general as well. He had a long halberd in hand; however, its speartip wasn¡¯t straight like a normal halberd, but rather curved. Furthermore, it was much longer than a normal halberd, making it resemble a reaper¡¯s scythe.

    He had another, even more distinctive trait; his entire body was shrouded in dense killing intent. Even Zu An and the others could sense a thick wave of bloodiness, as if the general had just crawled out from a mountain of corpses.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Zhao Ruizhi asked. ¡°Anyone who¡¯s capable of injuring me can¡¯t possibly be nameless.¡±

    Unfortunately, the other party didn¡¯t reply to him. Instead, the ck mist around his entire body surged, and he charged while brandishing his scythe again.

    Zhao Ruizhi shivered. He didn¡¯t dare underestimate his opponent when he faced the attack. The two of them exchanged several moves in an instant, at speeds far greater than the spectators¡¯ wildest imaginations. Those from King Qi Manor couldn''t even see their movements.

    Even Zu An could only make out a few afterimages with his full concentration. He could only ask, ¡°Gorgeous master, who is this ridiculously strong fe?¡±

    His de had almost removed the emperor¡¯s head! Such strength really was ridiculous.

    Mi Li¡¯s expression was strange. ¡°The Great Qin¡­ No, it¡¯s more urate to call him the Warring States period¡¯s number one general, the Human Butcher Bai Qi.¡±

    Zu An was rmed. He turned around to stare at that figure. This was the renowned Bai Qi?

    Bai Qi had led the Battle of Yique. With his army, he had taken down the Wei and Han alliance¡¯s strongholds one after another; the battle had ended with the enemy suffering 240,000 casualties. In the war against the Chu state, he had taken down their capital city. In the battle of Changping, more than four hundred thousand Zhao soldiers had been buried alive on his orders¡­ His existence represented the deaths of countless people, and thus, he was given the title of ¡®Human Butcher¡¯.

    ¡°I know what they are,¡± Mi Li said with a conflicted tone. ¡°This is Westhound Tomb, the ancestral court of the Qin royal family. Not only are the sessive generations of Qin Emperors consecrated here; there are also outstanding ministers from the Qin Dynasty, just like an ancestral shrine. Wang Jian and Bai Qi are heroic spirits of the ancestral shrine.¡±

    The different dynasties simrly had their own honored minister chambers. Simr to the Western Han Dynasty¡¯s Qilin Chamber, Eastern Han¡¯s Cloud Altar of Eighty Generals, and the Tang Dynasty¡¯s Lingyan Chamber, the other dynasties had also granted some ministers the honor of being buried together with the Qin Emperors, representing tremendous glory for these subjects.

    Once, Zhang Tingyu, a senior minister who had served three sessive emperors, was granted that privilege when Yongzheng died. However, for the sake of that honor, Zhang Tingyu had been so scared of making a mistake that right before he died, he had that right stripped away by Qianlong. It was an absolute tragedy.

    Zu An couldn''t help but be interested, asking, ¡°Then isn¡¯t Zhao Han dead for sure?¡± All this time, he had been worried about how he was going to deal with the emperor, but now, the situation hadpletely solved itself!

    Mi Li shook her head. ¡°If they had been as powerful as when they were alive, Wang Jian and Zhao Han would be almost on par in strength, while Bai Qi would be even stronger than them. But now, they¡¯re nothing more than soul fragments that have continued to exist in this special world. They¡¯re much weaker than before. It would be extremely difficult for them to take down Zhao Han.¡±

    Sure enough, the battlefield situation had already begun to change by the time Mi Li finished speaking.

    Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s fist smashed into the dark figure and arge amount of the ck mist scattered. It clearly suffered great damage from his strike. He sneered. ¡°I don¡¯t care what kind of thing you are. Die!¡±

    His other fist mmed toward the figure¡¯s head. It wasn¡¯t surrounded by golden light like the previous one, but instead had turnedpletely golden, as if his hand were made of gold.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    At that moment, Wang Jian raised his bow, firing at the emperor¡¯s back. A bit of hesitation filled Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s eyes, and in the end, he chose not to take the risk. He turned around, using his fist to smash the arrow to pieces.Bai Qi raised his sickle and attacked again.

    This was a fearsome duo, with one excelling in ranged attacks and one in frontalbat; even Zhao Ruizhi found himself in a difficult situation. The pair alsomanded their subordinates to attack from time to time as well. They were both illustrious generals; even though they were just soul fragments,manding the battlefield had already be an instinct. Under theirmands, the army¡¯s strength seemingly multiplied. Eventually, Bai Qi didn¡¯t even have to face Zhao Ruizhi directly and only had to offer some support from time to time.

    No matter how strong Zhao Ruizhi was, he was gradually drowned out by the sea of troops. He felt an incredible sense of danger. He knew that continuing like this would only slowly bring him closer and closer to defeat, and he could even die. As such, he decisively seized an opening to rush out, and vanished into the distance.

    When Bai Qi and Wang Jian saw him flee, they quicklymanded their army to pursue him. Normally, ordinary war chariots and cavalry had no chances of catching up to cultivators, but for some reason, these war chariots and cavalry were exceptionally fast. They could actually catch up to Zhao Ruizhi from a distance.

    Those from King Qi Manor were stupefied. He Li rubbed his eyes in disbelief, murmuring, ¡°His majesty¡­ ran away?¡±

    It might not have been that big of a deal for Zu An, but for residents of the capital like them, the emperor was the symbol of invincible power! His actions in the dungeon so far had only further proven that point. But now, he was actually forced to flee for his life! In that instant, all of them suddenly felt as if something within them broke.

    But they didn¡¯t have any time to ponder such thoughts. The ones that had chased after Zhao Ruizhi were the war chariots and cavalry; there were still many ordinary troops left. The terracotta warriors turned around, aiming their weapons toward the cultivators, and charged.

    ¡°Damn it all!¡± Even though He Li was at the peak of the ninth rank, he had already lost all of his confidence after all that had happened in the dungeon. He didn¡¯t have any will to fight anymore! When he saw the terracotta warriors charging over, he immediately chose to run for his life.

    Again and again, he told himself that it was fine even if he couldn''t outrun the y soldiers; he just had to outrun hispanions! They could buy him some time; in that case, he might even be able to escape and obtain some tremendous immortal encounter.

    The other cultivators fled in confusion when they saw He Li run, all heading in different directions. But there were more and more terracotta soldiers gathering around them. King Qi Manor¡¯s soldiers were soonpletely surrounded. Even though they fought back with everything they had, the enemy¡¯s numbers were just too great. They were almost instantly cut down.

    ¡°We¡¯re leaving!¡± Zu An grabbed Bi Linglong and sprinted toward the distant bridge of light.

    When she heard miserable screams fill the air around them again and again, Bi Linglong¡¯s face paled. These strange y soldiers were all around them; was it even possible to escape?

    Along the way, she brandished her sword against the warriors several times. They weren¡¯t weak at all. She could defeat one or two of them with her six ranks of cultivation, but the soldiers coordinated with each other far too well. She would have no choice but to run if there were five or six of them grouped together, and she might not even be able to get away.

    Fortunately, Zu An was fast enough. They were always able to somehow barely slip past the hordes of terracotta warriors and break out of their enclosure.

    As time passed, Bi Linglong couldn''t see those from King Qi Manor anymore. Even though they were her enemies, they were still people after all. Furthermore, after having been around each other for so long, she found them far more pleasing than the lifeless y soldiers.

    However, Bi Linglong¡¯s face suddenly paled when she saw a row of y soldiers appear in front of her. These guys even knew about nking tactics! She felt despair. Even the invincible emperor had no choice but to run, so how could they defeat this endless army of soldiers?

    She gathered her resolve and turned to Zu An, saying, ¡°Ah Zu, you should run. Don¡¯t worry about me; I¡¯ll help you hold them off. You might have a chance to get away if you¡¯re by yourself.¡±

    Zu An gave her a look of surprise. ¡°You have it backward; how can you hold them off with your bit of cultivation? Even if someone had to do it, that would be me.¡±

    Bi Linglong shook her head. ¡°My cultivation is too low, I won¡¯t even be able to get very far even if you try to hold them here. But you¡¯re different. With your cultivation, there¡¯s still a good chance for you to escape.¡±

    She suddenly got up on her tiptoes and kissed him when she saw that Zu An was about to say something. ¡°Ah Zu, you don¡¯t have to say anything else. Thank you for everything you¡¯ve done for me along the way; it¡¯s now my turn to do something for you. Even though this journey has been dangerous, I¡¯ve actually been extremely happy¡­ happy that I got to meet you¡­ There¡¯s not much time left. You need to hurry, or both of us will die here meaninglessly.¡±

    Bi Linglong really began to panic as she saw those troops get closer and closer. She repeatedly urged Zu An to leave.

    ¡°Who said we were going to die?¡± Zu An had a strange look on his face. Then, he looked at the vicious soldiers. ¡°I wanted to fight you fair and square, but you guys really are going too far. Whatever, I¡¯ll stop ying around now.¡±

    A draconic roar filled the air as he drew his sword and raised it above his head. He focused all of his attention on using the Primordial Origin Sutra,manding, ¡°The Qin Emperor is here! All subjects shall obey!¡±

 Chapter 867: Immortal Palaceâ€™s Gate

    <h4>Chapter 867: Immortal Pce¡¯s Gate</h4>

    Bi Linglong was stupefied. What the hell was this idiot doing?! If these soldiers had any intelligence, wouldn¡¯t they only get even angrier that someone was impersonating their emperor?

    But something shocking happened. Thoe soldiers didn¡¯t charge at them and cut them to pieces; rather, they calmly looked at Zu An. Confusion could even be seen on their faces, as if they were hesitating.

    Zu An was actually quite nervous. Even though the Tai¡¯e Sword was King Qin¡¯s personal sword, and the Primordial Origin Sutra King Qin¡¯s cultivation method, the terracotta soldiers might not be able to recognize those things. If he really had no choice, he would just purify them all with the Primordial Origin Sutra.

    That was why Zu An had never been scared at all. This wasn¡¯t even his first time dealing with such things. His Primordial Origin Sutra¡¯s secondyer granted him the ability to restrain all kinds of deceased existences.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Mi Li slowly took form by Zu An¡¯s side. She stared coldly at the soldiers with her dignified gaze.

    At first, the soldiers had only been a bit confused, because while the man¡¯s sword and aura resembled the Qin Emperor greatly, he didn¡¯t look like him at all! They had been wondering if something was wrong with their memories, causing them to end up hesitating. However, when they saw the past empress standing at his side, their confusion was instantly dispelled. They lowered their weapons and knelt down, bowing respectfully to the two of them.

    Zu An gave the cool and elegant Mi Li a look. Having her pose as his wife really did make him feel pretty good. But he quickly focused and said, ¡°Pass on this emperor¡¯s orders. You must take down that fat bastard who was shining with yellow light, no matter the cost!¡± He was worried that the soldiers might not know who Zhao Ruizhi was, so he gave them more details about the emperor¡¯s appearance.

    The soldiers couldn''t speak, but they all saluted with their fists in front of their chests, offering their respect to Zu An¡¯s group again. Then, they rushed in the direction Zhao Ruizhi had disappeared toward with their weapons in hand.

    When she saw the ferocious y soldiers all leave, Bi Linglong¡¯s mouth fell open in shock. ¡°How did you do that?¡±

    Zu An proudly replied, ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear what I said? I am the Qin Emperor¡¯s reincarnation!¡±

    But he screamed miserably a secondter. ¡°Ah! Let go, it hurts, it hurts¡­¡±

    Mi Li twisted his ear. ¡°Damn brat, you dare to even take advantage of your master?¡±

    Bi Linglong gave the elegant red-clothed woman a look of shock when she saw the two of them bicker. Don¡¯t tell me she¡­

    Their group continued toward the bridge of light, but they didn¡¯t run into anything else dangerous along the way. They even encountered other y soldiers many times; but not only did the soldiers not show them hostility, they even greeted the group respectfully.

    ¡­

    As He Li was being chased miserably, he saw them from a distance. He began to question life. ¡°Why are they only chasing me and not them?!¡±

    ¡°Is it just because he was born with a handsome face?¡±

    ¡°Save meeee!¡±

    He wanted to run toward Zu An¡¯s side, but they were already far from each other. There was no way he could close the distance, so he could only continue to run in a panic.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An and Bi Linglong had safely arrived at the edge of the bridge of light. They continued toward the third sacred mountain. Now that they were looking at the majestic pce up close, Bi Linglong couldn''t help but say with a sigh, ¡°As expected of the home of an immortal. This pce is far grander than even our imperial pce!¡±

    They had only been able to see the pce from far away. Only now that they were up close did they discover that there were three tforms beneath it. Each one was incredibly broad and wide, likely able to hold ten thousand people at the very least. Between the tform levels were white marble stairs, and past over a hundred flights of steps was the pce gate.

    ¡°Look at you bumpkins,¡± Mi Li said. Despite that, there was a grin on her lips. The praise was actually to her liking. She tookrge strides with her long legs and walked up the stairs. However, she was actually bing a bit emotional. Just how long had it been since she hadst walked simr steps¡­?

    Zu An couldn''t help but ask, ¡°Gorgeous master, are you familiar with this pce?¡±

    ¡°How can I not be?¡± Mi Li sighed. ¡°This ce is practically identical to the past Qin Imperial Pce. There are even many influences from the Epang Pce.¡±

    The Qin Imperial Pce was the pce of the Great Qin Dynasty. Later on, there had been new additions made after the first emperor unified the world, one of which was the Epang Pce. Unfortunately, the Epang Pce was toorge of a project, and so it had never been finished even when he passed on.

    Bi Linglong asked Zu An quietly, ¡°Just what kind of country is this Qin State you¡¯re both talking about? Why haven¡¯t I ever heard of it before?¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°It¡¯s a country from ancient times. A lot of ancient records were lost over time, so it¡¯s natural that the people of this age don¡¯t know about them.¡±

    ¡°Ancient times¡­¡± Bi Linglong¡¯s eyes lit up. From what she knew, many dungeons were remains from the ancient era. They were filled with all sorts of powerful inheritances and opportunities. Even if they didn¡¯t contain methods of immortality, they were definitely extremely valuable.

    The three of them quickly crossed the steps, arriving in front of a massive pce gate. Zu An thought there might be some mechanism he would have to solve, but Mi Li simply walked over and opened it. Stuffy air rushed out, reflecting the passage of time.

    Zu An was a bit puzzled. ¡°Hm? Even though the air is a bit stuffy, there¡¯s still oxygen.¡±

    Mi Li said, ¡°The pce¡¯s construction is special, with venttion openings in many hidden ces. Those inside obviously wouldn¡¯t suffocate to death.¡± She took the initiative to walk in after speaking/. Revisiting a ce that brought so many memories filled her with emotions. She began eagerly looking all around her.

    Zu An and Bi Linglong followed behind her, but the two of them suddenly felt a great force. They were pulled to the pce door! Zu An reacted right away, quickly struggling free from the door and pulling Bi Linglong away too.

    He examined the surroundings vigntly, but he didn¡¯t see any mechanisms or abnormalities at all. But even so, the two of them still felt waves of suction force pulling them toward the main entrance.

    Mi Li chuckled. ¡°There¡¯s no need to be nervous. The door was made using maite. The Qin Emperor ordered the pce door to be made out of a massive piece of maite. Anyone who entered with metal weapons would be pulled toward the door.¡±

    Zu An thought, So that was it. He and Bi Linglong both had swords and artifacts on them, many of them made of metal. That was why they had been pulled over.

    He said mockingly, ¡°The Qin Emperor really had no sense of security. He used a Mirror of Souls to check his subjects, and he even created a door like this.¡±

    Mi Li sighed. ¡°The various countries were in conflict. For the sake of victory, theymitted every crime imaginable. He obviously had no choice but to increase his precautions.¡±

    The three of them had already entered through the pce gate while they were chatting. They arrived at the main hall, which was decorated splendidly. On a high tform in the distance was an imperial dragon throne that flickered with golden light.

    Mi Li walked forward. She caressed the dragon throne, looking behind a pearl curtain that hung behind the throne. ¡°Back then, I would sit behind this ce during grand celebrations.¡±

    Bi Linglong was extremely shocked. Mi Li was someone from the ancient era? How had she managed to live for that long? Was there really an elixir of immortality in this world?

    For some reason, Zu An felt annoyed. He just didn¡¯t feel great when he saw Mi Li reminiscing fondly about her past. But he soonughed in self-mockery. Being homesick was something natural. Why the hell was he getting jealous over that?

    Suddenly, a roar ofughter filled the air. A voice eximed, ¡°I still managed to enter the pce in the end!¡±

    Zu An turned around with a grave expression, and saw Zhao Ruizhi standing by the main entrance.

    The emperor wasn¡¯t in the best state. His body was covered in blood, and his chest had a massive wound on it. There were vague wisps of ck smokeing out of it; Zu An could already tell it was a wound inflicted by Bai Qi. The emperor¡¯s aura was extremely unstable as well. He Li and three deathsworn soldiers were by his side; they were all wounded as well, and looked even more miserable than Zhao Ruizhi.

    ¡°This immortal pce doesn¡¯t seem all that different from an emperor¡¯s pce, hm?¡± Zhao Ruizhi frowned. Even though the aura of the ce was grand, it didn¡¯t go beyond the level of what was achievable by mortals. He was a bit disappointed.

    Zu An asked, ¡°Why are you the only ones here? Where are the others?¡± He was extremely disappointed. He had ordered the soldiers to kill Zhao Ruizhi no matter the cost, but it seemed they had failed.

    ¡°They¡¯re all dead. They were killed by those weird y things,¡± He Li said. He couldn''t help but give Zhao Ruizhi a look.

    The others had all been running toward the bridge, and they had just happened to meet up together. They had thought that with the emperor on their side, they were safe for sure; and yet the emperor had snatched a few of them and thrown them into the enemy as cannon fodder to hold up the two terrifying generals. Only then were they able to escape onto the bridge of light.

    The terracotta warriors seemed to have some kind of restriction ced on them. They couldn''t continue onto the bridge and chase after the cultivators. That was why the group had been able to barely survive.

    Even though the soldiers had known that the emperor only kept them alive to use them, they were still upset when they witnessed that scene. Unfortunately, no matter how much resentment they carried, they didn¡¯t dare to show it at all. They could only focus on staying alive for as long as possible.

    Zhao Ruizhi began tough madly. ¡°What immortal pce? What immortality? Judging from everything we¡¯ve seen and experienced, this is clearly just the grave of an emperor! Since it¡¯s a tomb, how could there possibly be any elixirs of immortality?¡±

    He suddenly turned toward Zu An. ¡°Since there¡¯s no elixir of immortality, there¡¯s no value in keeping you alive any longer. Die!¡±

 Chapter 868: Coffin

    <h4>Chapter 868: Coffin</h4>

    Bi Linglong¡¯s face paled, but she still gripped her sword tightly. The emperor had once been the absolute symbol of unrivaled power, so she couldn¡¯t even produce a single thought of rebellion.

    And yet, her time together with Zu An seemed to have had an influence on her. She had gradually discovered that the emperor wasn¡¯t all that terrifying after all. He got angry, and there were times where he would fly into a fit of rage, and yet was powerless to do anything. He got injured just like everyone else, and bled like everyone else¡­

    She suddenly realized that the emperor was still only human! She was curious how Zu An was going to reply, but she knew for sure that he wouldn¡¯t be scared.

    Zu An didn¡¯t disappoint her. He raised his Tai¡¯e Sword confidently and said, ¡°You don¡¯t look so good right now. Maybe not even at half of your usual strength, I reckon?¡±

    Zhao Ruizhi harrumphed. ¡°You¡¯re right. I¡¯ll give you credit for your courage, but even if I only have half my strength left, killing you will just be too easy.¡±

    But he suddenly frowned and asked, ¡°Who¡¯s that red-clothed woman behind you? Is she an immortal from this pce?¡±

    He had been extremely disappointed when he found that the pce was just another construct built by mortals. But the instant he saw Mi Li, his emotions were stirred up.This woman was beautiful and graceful. That look in her eyes, of seemingly looking down on everything, suited his tastes perfectly. Only someone like this had the right to be his empress! He didn¡¯t care if she was some female immortal. He would find a way to obtain her.

    Mi Liughed lightly. ¡°Fine, since you¡¯ve spoken so nicely, I¡¯ll spare your life today.¡± She twisted a dragon head knob on the imperial throne, and the ground atop the tform suddenly opened up. Zu An¡¯s group fell straight through.

    Zhao Ruizhi was rmed. He rushed forward, but the ground had already closed up again. He mmed his fist down. With his strength, forget about the floor, not even a mountain would be able to handle his full-strength strike! Unfortunately, the ground surface was still smooth and unbroken. He could feel his strength dissipating in every direction.

    Suddenly, the entire pce rumbled.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Zhao Ruizhi suddenly noticed that the entire pce seemed to have be one body through a myriad of rune formations. That was why brute force would never be able to destroy the mechanism.

    That phenomenon put him on guard. This was definitely not an ordinary pce; otherwise, it wouldn¡¯t be too difficult for him to destroy the entire thing if he really wanted to. But now, his fist didn¡¯t even leave a mark.

    Zhao Ruizhi repeated what Mi Li had done, twisting the dragon head knob on the throne. Unfortunately, there was no reaction at all. His expression darkened, He waved his sleeves, gesturing for He Li and the others to start searching for any hidden mechanisms. He had to find Zu An no matter what.

    At the same time, there was something else that he was even more hesitant about. The red clothed beauty carried a strange aura, unlike that of a still-living person. Was she someone from this immortal pce? Things would be really troublesome if Zu An obtained her acknowledgment and obtained the elixir of immortality before he did.

    Even though his reason told him that the chances of the dungeon having an elixir of immortality were extremely low, he refused to let anyone else have an edge over him no matter how low the chances were.

    ¡­

    While Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s group was busy looking for hidden mechanisms, Zu An¡¯s group slid through a long secret passage. Eventually, they appeared in apletely new room. Mi Li walked over to the wall and twisted something that resembled a light fixture. This room immediately lit up.

    ¡°You were acting all tough earlier, but you ran away. How embarrassing,¡± Zu An said sarcastically.

    Mi Li gave him a sidelong stare. ¡°Wasn¡¯t it for your sake? Even though he¡¯s injured, there¡¯s still no way in hell you could win. Even though I could deal with him, that would waste up too much of my soul power. The poison in my body could re out again if we really fought, so why the heck would I fight him?¡±

    Bi Linglong¡¯s eyes widened. It sounded as if the red-clothed woman could actually defeat the emperor, but she chose not to, solely because she didn¡¯t want to waste her power. Was she really that formidable?

    ¡°Haha, my master is absolutely brilliant!¡± Zu An eximed. ¡°Wait, is this a luminescent pearl?¡± He saw a pearl that was giving off warm light on the wall. He reached out to grab it, but Mi Li smacked his hand away.

    ¡°Things like oilmps aren¡¯t very convenient in these sealed spaces. Of course we¡¯d use luminescent pearls,¡± Mi Li exined while slowly walking forward.

    Zu An followed her and asked, ¡°Are you familiar with all of these mechanisms?¡±

    Bi Linglong looked at her fearfully. This woman was someone from the ancient era after all! Could it be that she came from this ce? She was incredibly confused, but now wasn¡¯t the time to ask such questions. She could only quietly follow along, staying by Zu An¡¯s side. She felt a strange sense of ease while she was at his side.

    Mi Li replied indifferently, ¡°I already told you that theyout of this ce is pretty much the same as the Qin Imperial Pce. The Qin Emperor created that secret escape tunnel out of fear of a rebellion happening.¡±

    ¡°This ce is more like an underground pce for the deceased. What if this sort of thing hadn¡¯t been made? They¡¯re already dead anyway, so why would they fear something like assassination?¡± Zu An said with augh.

    ¡°You¡¯re still too young and haven¡¯t experienced the inevitability of death,¡± Mi Li said calmly. ¡°Whether it was the emperor or themon people, they believed in life after death. They believed that the way one lived before should be maintained even after death, because a new world awaited them after death; just that they would live through a different method.

    ¡°It¡¯s just that it would be hard for an ordinary person to achieve something like that, but an emperor is different. An emperor really could replicate everything from when they were still alive, like an army or an imperial pce. In that case, why would they skimp on something like the imperial pce¡¯s emergency escape tunnel? You need to understand that for people who treasure life to that extent, they worry that they might be assassinated even after they die.¡±

    Zu An replied mockingly, ¡°Wasn¡¯t the Qin Emperor really formidable anyway? Did he have such little confidence in his own cultivation? Did he really have to be worried about any assassinations?¡±

    Mi Li turned around and gave him a look. ¡°Even for the smallest chance, he would still prepare just in case. Someone like him wouldn¡¯t let the slightest possibility go. Take that Zhao Han outside, for example. He clearly knows there¡¯s no chance of this ce having the elixir of immortality, but it was because he wasn¡¯t willing to give up on even the slightest possibility that you led him right by the nose the entire time.¡±

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but say with a sigh, ¡°Your distinguished self really is long-winded.¡±[1]

    Bi Linglong could barely hold in herughter. Mi Li rolled her eyes. She was already used to Zu An¡¯s weird style of speaking.

    Suddenly, a loud rumble erupted, and the three of them almost lost their footing.

    ¡°What the hell? Is there an earthquake?¡± Zu An eximed as he grabbed Bi Linglong and Mi Li.

    Mi Li flung his hand away and rose into the air. She frowned, saying, ¡°I can sense that our surroundings are changing.¡±

    Sand and dust began to fall from above as she spoke. Then, the walls around them began to quickly rise, fall, and slide horizontally. The room continuously moved and shifted. The entire pce around them began to change quickly like a rapidly changing Rubik¡¯s cube, while they seemed to be the small square at the very center.

    The entire room had ended up lying on one side. Zu An could only hold on by grabbing a candlestick. He quickly turned to Mi Li and asked, ¡°Was your pce this crazy too?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on either. The Imperial Pce obviously didn¡¯t do this.¡± Mi Li¡¯s figure became a bit unstable. For fear that the changing room might separate them, she chose to float a bit closer to Zu An.

    The rumbling continued for roughly fifteen minutes before the surroundings gradually calmed down.

    The group jumped off the wall¡­ No, it was now the ceiling. Then, they walked through a newly formed door.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Mi Li frowned. ¡°Theyout has changedpletely. I don¡¯t even recognize anything now.¡±

    Zu Anughed and replied, ¡°Who cares? Let¡¯s just go straight ahead. I¡¯ve always been pretty lucky.¡±

    But his smile quickly froze as they arrived in a giant room. The interior was wide and spacious, but there was a grand and imposing bronze coffin floating in the center. There wererge chains binding the coffin, their ends extending toward the walls all around them.

    Zu An felt his heart thud. ¡°Did we somehow end up stumbling into the Qin Emperor¡¯s tomb?¡±

    . This is actually an interesting pun/ng phrase in Chinese. There¡¯s a phrase that goes ¡®a sentence from the ruler saves you ten years of reading¡¯, but here, it says ¡®a sentence from the ruler only saves you a sentence¡¯, meaning it saves nothing. In other words, ¡®you¡¯re wasting time¡¯. ?

 Chapter 869: Why Is He Here?!

    <h4>Chapter 869: Why Is He Here?!</h4>

    Zu An voiced his shocking suspicion out loud, but Mi Li shook her head and said, ¡°That¡¯s not too likely. Even though this tomb is quite grand, it¡¯s still too far from the standard for an emperor¡¯s tomb.¡± But she was also confused, as she remarked, ¡°Hm? This is the Qin Emperors¡¯ ancestralnd. Apart from the sessive generations of Qin Emperors, who else has the right to be buried here?¡±

    Bi Linglong cried, ¡°You guys,e look! There¡¯s a picture over here.¡±

    Zu An and Mi Li turned around. Sure enough, they saw that there were several pictures on the wall. After their previous experiences, they knew that tombs would often have murals on the wall to record important events during the inhabitants¡¯ lives. That was why they began to carefully examine the images.

    The first two paintings were of a general taking down many cities, clearly a representation of brilliant military service. The third painting was of himmanding a great army in the construction of a long wall. The final painting was one where he was surrounded by several officials, and he had no choice but to take a drug and end his own life.

    Bi Linglong couldn¡¯t help but sigh. ¡°This general lived a glorious life, and yet this was his conclusion. The bow is put away when the birds are all gone, a worthy person is discharged when he has served his purpose¡­¡±

    ¡°Could this person be Qin General Meng Tian?¡± Zu An couldn¡¯t help but remark.

    Mi Li was quite shocked. ¡°How did you know?¡±

    Zu An pointed at the third picture. ¡°Isn¡¯t this the construction of the Great Wall? There are historical recordings of Meng Tianmanding an army of three hundred thousand to construct the wall.¡±

    Mi Li sighed. ¡°Indeed, the ancestor of the Meng n was someone from the Qi State of the Warring States. Later on, they came to the Qin state and produced many outstanding generals, bing one of the Great Qin Dynasty¡¯s greatest ns. He had a brother, Meng Yi, and with these two brothers working, one out on the battlefield and one in internal affairs, their n rose to power. Unfortunately, because the one they supported was Fu Su, they must¡¯ve met miserable ends.¡±

    She had already heard what had happened to the Qin State from being around Zu An all this time. She obviously knew that Fu Su and the Meng n brothers hadmitted suicide on the ruler¡¯s orderster on.

    Zu An had a strange look on his face. He asked, ¡°Was Fu Su your son?¡±

    Mi Li¡¯s brows rose. But now that they were already so close, she decided not to hide things from him. ¡°Fu Su was my older sister¡¯s son. My older sister passed away too early, so I entered the pce to be the new empress. I just never expected the Qin State would begin to attack the other six states, and so when they faced the Chu State on the battlefield, members of the royal family like us who had married in from the Chu State were obviously no longer wee. Because Fu Su carried the Chu State¡¯s blood, I don¡¯t believe Ying Zheng would ever have allowed him to seed the throne.¡±

    Bi Linglong was shaken from what she had just heard. Her suspicions were now confirmed! This woman was someone from the ancient era after all, and furthermore a glorious empress! No wonder her bearing is so noble and elegant. However, the Qin they spoke of wasn¡¯t some dynasty, was it? I have to ask Ah Zu moreter.

    ¡°That¡¯s good then, that¡¯s good.¡± Zu An sighed. For some reason, he felt strangely happy when he learned that Mi Li hadn¡¯t given birth to a child yet.

    ¡°What do you mean ¡®that¡¯s good¡¯?¡± Mi Li shot back in annoyance. She definitely didn¡¯t think of it as anything good. She raised her head toward that coffin in the air and frowned. ¡°Why is the coffin wrapped in chains? It¡¯s almost as if it¡¯s holding something back. Did the emperor hate him so much that his resentment didn¡¯t end even after this man died?¡±

    Bi Linglong spoke up and asked, ¡°Do you two feel that the elements in this space are a bit strange?¡±

    Mi Li and Zu An had both overlooked that fact because they were overthinking things. When they sensed their surroundings, they both said, ¡°The earth element here is much more active and richer than usual.¡±

    Mi Li paced around the room while looking around. She squatted down and brushed the floor with her sleeves. The dust on the ground was swept away, revealing all kinds of strange runes. She frowned. ¡°Hm? This is a formation, and it seems to carry a certain sinister aura¡­¡±

    ¡°Can you tell what kind of formation it is?¡± Zu An asked.

    Mi Li shook her head. ¡°There¡¯s not enough information. Besides, we can¡¯t see the entire formation from where we are right now. We need to check other ces.¡±

    Just then, the ground suddenly began to rise and fall. The entire room began to quake!

    ¡°Are all the rooms going to change again like earlier?¡± Bi Linglong quickly moved toward Zu An¡¯s side. She was worried that they might be separated into different rooms. If that happened, she might really fall into true despair.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± Mi Li said. She stared at the space beneath the coffin. The ground there suddenly ruptured.

    Then, a mound slowly rose from it, growing taller and taller. The mound continued to twist about, eventually bing a giant bear-like structure. It was a good thing that the room was big enough, or else it wouldn¡¯t have been able to stand up straight. It didn¡¯t have eyes, but itsrge head still ¡®looked¡¯ at Zu An¡¯s party. It roared and charged at them.

    Mi Li quickly said, ¡°Some elements form elemental spirits when the element is abnormally dense or active. I¡¯ll leave it to you.¡±

    ¡°I got this!¡± Zu An knew that she couldn¡¯t afford to waste her power here, so he naturally didn¡¯t object. ¡°Real men should just do it¡­ Pah pah pah, I mean they should just face their enemies head on!¡± He roared and charged forward.[1]

    Bi Linglong was a little worried. She quickly warned him, ¡°This monster is called a Giant Earth Bear. It¡¯s extremely violent and strong, and it also possesses strong defensive prowess! It¡¯s hard to defeat¡­?¡±

    Zu An charged head-on, letting this bear hit him all it wanted. However, the bear¡¯s attack didn¡¯t even tickle him. His fist hit the Giant Earth Bear in the head.

    Boom!

    The bear¡¯s head exploded, and its giant body came crashing down.

    Bi Linglong quickly rushed over to Zu An¡¯s side, asking, ¡°Are you okay?¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± Zu An said with augh.

    ¡°But you were clearly hit by the Giant Earth Bear¡¯s fist¡­¡± Bi Linglong looked worried. Even though she had never fought a Giant Earth Bear, she had read about it in books. Its punch carried a thousand pounds of force. Even a master rank cultivator would be seriously injured if they were hit directly!

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, this kid might not be good in other ways, but his body is pretty hard. A Giant Earth Bear isn¡¯t enough to wound him.¡± Mi Li harrumphed. Zu An had just reforged his body three times over with the Primordial Origin Sutra, so his body was already at an unheard-of level. There was no way he would be injured by that attack.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°What do you mean, I¡¯m not good in other ways?¡± Zu An became upset. He was just about tosh out, but he suddenly heard strange soundsing from behind him. He turned around and saw that the Giant Earth Bear¡¯s headless body was moving. The scattered earth condensed into another head. Then, after groping around on the ground, the bear reced its head.

    Mi Li said, ¡°The reason this thing is hard to deal with is because as long as it has ess to the earth element, it will regenerate endlessly.¡±

    That Giant Earth Bear roared and charged at Zu An again. Zu An¡¯s attack had already made it angry.

    However, Zu An came up with an idea and summoned his Fire Phoenix. The phoenix mes quickly surrounded the monster. The extreme temperature evaporated all of the water in its body, causing its surface to develop visible cracks. There were even signs of crystallization.

    Then, he quickly withdrew the phoenix fire and changed to the Snow Phoenix. The room quickly turned into a frozen world, rapidly cooling the Giant Earth Bear¡¯s body. Its body could no longer hold on after being exposed to both heat and cold so quickly, and it crumbled into countless earth chunks.

    With a wave of Zu An¡¯s hand, ayer of frost covered the chunks, freezing them and preventing them from gathering together again.

    ¡°Learn the sciences and you have nothing to fear; the saying was true after all.¡± Zu An patted his hands. He thought to himself that if he had enough time, he could even burn the pile of dirt into pottery.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here before the ice melts and keep looking around.¡± Zu An wouldn¡¯t be stupid enough to keep fighting something that wouldn¡¯t die. Who knew where the emperor was right now? He might even be ahead of them.

    Mi Li and Bi Linglong had no objections. The group traversed a long path and arrived in a new room. Unlike the previous space, the room was full of life, with green grass everywhere. It felt as if they had entered a primitive forest.

    ¡°Those vines look like they¡¯re wrapped around something!¡± Bi Linglong pointed at the tightly coiled vines at the center of the room.

    Zu An and Mi Li were both strong cultivators, so they walked over fearlessly to examine it. Even though many vines blocked their way, a path was quickly carved open by the sharp Tai¡¯e Sword.

    ¡°It¡¯s another coffin,¡± Zu An remarked gravely.

    ¡°Bring it up; I want to see who¡¯s buried inside.¡± Mi Li could ept Meng Tian being buried here, because he had brought the Qin State tremendous contributions. He barely had the qualifications to be buried here. But she had no idea who was buried in the second coffin. There were no murals describing the owner¡¯s identity.

    Zu An was also curious, so he raised the coffin lid. With his current strength, it wasn¡¯t difficult at all. However, when he saw what was inside, he felt his scalp go numb. A chill ran down his back. ¡°Why is he here?!¡±

    . The Chinese character he used for ¡®do¡¯ can also mean ¡®fuck¡¯ ?

 Chapter 870: Reunion

    <h4>Chapter 870: Reunion</h4>

    Mi Li¡¯s expression became serious when she saw who was inside as well. Bi Linglong cried out in rm. They reacted that way because the figure was someone who shouldn¡¯t have been there at all: Han Zhong!

    They had met Han Zhong on the first sacred mountain, but they were now already on the third sacred mountain. Furthermore, they had seen Han Zhong die with their own eyes not too long ago. With their cultivation and knowledge, they knew his death wasn¡¯t fake. But the weed monster who had died on the first sacred mountain had actually arrived here before them, waiting for them in this coffin.

    Bi Linglong pursed her lips and asked with difficulty, ¡°Are we seeing things?¡± Compared to Mi Li, who felt at home here, she instead found the ce eerie and creepy. The earlier she could leave, the better.

    Mi Li frowned. ¡°Could it be that the Han Zhong we saw earlier was fake? Or perhaps this one is fake?¡±

    Zu An reached his hand to feel the corpse. He shook his head and said, ¡°I fought with him earlier, so I can still sense some of my ki on him. Judging from the condition of the corpse, it¡¯s apparent that it hasn¡¯t been long since it died. It would already be dried bones if it had died during the Qin Dynasty.¡±

    ¡°Then why is it here?¡± Bi Linglong wrapped her arms around her knees. She felt a chill run through her body.

    ¡°He might¡¯ve been brought here by those vines.¡± Mi Li gave the vines in the room a look. ¡°This ce is rich with the wood element. It¡¯s definitely an abnormal situation.¡±

    ¡°Then is there a chance of an elemental creature appearing again?¡± Bi Linglong gripped her sword handle. The humiliating stance she had been in before hurt her whenever she thought about it. She really didn¡¯t want to go through that again.

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°I already checked when I first entered this room. Even though this ce is rich with the wood element, there are no signs of any elemental creatures.¡±

    Mi Li exined, ¡°It might be because of Han Zhong¡¯s death, so the density of the wood element here hasn¡¯t umted long enough to create any elemental creatures. Let¡¯s keep looking around.¡±

    ¡°Do you think this pce is being used to activate some kind of sinister formation?¡± Zu An asked Mi Li along the way.

    Mi Li nodded. ¡°There¡¯s a good chance. Ying Zheng was willing to try anything to obtain eternal life. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if he created some sort of evil formation to achieve this. We need to be careful.¡±

    That possibility immediately made the atmosphere somber. None of them could rx when there was such a possibility.

    A whileter, BI Linglong subconsciously tugged at her cor, asking, ¡°Do you two feel hot at all?¡±

    Zu An voiced his agreement. ¡°It is a bit hot.¡± Even he felt the urge to take off his shirt. Wait¡­ isn¡¯t it a good thing that it¡¯s getting hot?

    Mi Li¡¯s expression became serious as she said, ¡°I can sense the fire element stirring. Everyone, be careful.¡±

    Zu An could already see faint red glimmersing out of a room in the distance. That was probably where the feeling of the agitated fire element came from. All of them continued carefully. The closer they got, the hotter they felt. They could clearly feel waves of heat hit them in the face as soon as they opened the door.

    Just like the previous two rooms, there was a coffin at the very center of the room. Beneath the coffin were all kinds ofplex runes that extended out in all directions. The room was much taller than the previous two, and even the coffin and the surrounding funerary objects were simrly taller.

    But something above them drew their attention. Densely packed red lights flickered around on the ceiling, as if countless eyes were opening and closing. Even Zu An, who had seen all sorts of things, felt a chill when he saw them. Someone more ustrophobic might have already passed out from the sight.

    ¡°What is that? Is it some thousand-eyed monster?¡± Zu An asked Mi Li cautiously, for fear of rming the thing.

    ¡°Won¡¯t we know if we give it a try?¡± Mi Li immediately swung her sleeves. A strong gale swept toward the ceiling.

    Zu An was speechless. Why the hell does this woman always have to be so headstrong?!

    The entire room lit up. The flickering red lights all became bright red, as if countless monsters had opened their eyes at the same time. Then, the red eyes rushed toward the party. They could finally see that the creatures weren¡¯t eyes, but rather brightly burning butterflies.

    Bi Linglong seemed to have remembered something when she saw the ming butterflies. ¡°Be careful; those are zing Devil Butterflies! Once, a teacher from the Royal Academy led a group of outstanding students into a small dungeon. In the end, their entire party was wiped out from an encounter with these butterflies! They can burn your body on contact, and you won¡¯t be able to put the fire out no matter what you try; it¡¯ll continue until all of your flesh is burned away¡­¡±

    She suddenly froze, a nk expression on her face. She saw that there were already several embers on Zu An¡¯s body.

    Zu An frowned. Just as he was about to put up some resistance, he saw the mes suddenly begin to tremble. Then, they grew weaker and weaker before extinguishing on their own. Then, as if the zing Devil Butterflies had encountered something terrifying, they quickly shrank back. They attached themselves to the farthest wall and dimmed the mes around them as much as possible, as if they had gone back to sleep.

    ¡°Huh? How did you do that?¡± Forget about Bi Linglong, even Mi Li looked at Zu An in confusion. They hadn¡¯t seen him do anything, so why had those ming butterflies been scared off?

    Zu An took out a me-shaped pendant that hung around his neck. It flickered with a faint radiance as warmth spread out from it.

    This was the pendant Pei Mianman had given him because she was scared that her ck mes would hurt him. He hadn¡¯t expected it to help him again today, that even the zing Devil Butterflies would be scared of the pendant. Even though it was light, it felt extremely heavy in Zu An¡¯s hand. It represented Pei Mianman¡¯s unconditional trust in him, as well as all of her love.

    Mi Li chuckled when she saw his expression. ¡°Hmph, it¡¯s probably a gift from one of your lovers.¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Bi Linglong¡¯s ears pricked up. She wondered who it was that had given him the pendant. She remembered that Zu An had many beauties around him. This man was nothing but a womanizer after all!

    But she soon remembered her identity, which immediately helped her calm down. Even if they did leave this dungeon sessfully, the emperor was still waiting outside. What future did she have left? Such thoughts werepletely meaningless.

    Zu An snapped out of his daze when he saw the Rage points appear. He changed the topic with an embarrassed smile. ¡°Let¡¯s take a look inside the room. Hm? The coffin looks like a crystal coffin. We might be able to look inside.¡± He jumped over to the crystal coffin after he spoke. But when he got up close, he was surprised. ¡°Huh?¡±

    Bi Linglong arrived next to him. She couldn''t help but exim in rm, ¡°Is this person dead or alive?¡±

    There was a young man lying inside. He had handsome features, even though his face was a bit pale. Everything else about him looked fine, and even his eyshes could be seen clearly. It was as if they were looking at a living person! It was no wonder that Bi Linglong had been surprised.

    Zu An was about to ask Mi Li if she recognized him, but he saw that her lips were trembling slightly. Her face was extremely pale. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± he asked out of concern.

    ¡°This is my nephew, our Great Qin¡¯s crown prince, Fu Su¡­¡± Mi Li¡¯s fair fingers caressed the coffin. Her eyes were filled with sorrow.

    ¡°He¡¯s Fu Su?¡± Zu An was shocked. ¡°Just how many years have already passed? Why is his body still perfectly intact?!¡±

 Chapter 871: Someone Has Finally Come

    <h4>Chapter 871: Someone Has Finally Come</h4>

    Bi Linglong shared his confusion, but she was more curious about how Mi Li had been able to survive until now. Of course, she wouldn¡¯t dare to say such things out loud.

    Mi Li exined, ¡°This crystal coffin istes the interior from the world. That,bined with this special formation, is why his body was able tost for so long. But if this coffin is opened even a little, the one inside will instantly turn to ashes. How can the power of time be that easily defied?¡±

    Her voice suddenly became cold. ¡°Ying Zheng, how dare you¡­ Even beasts look after their young, and yet look at you! Forcing Fu Su to end his own life is one thing, but you even kept him here and set up a Five Elements Formation. Was it all for the sake of your delusions about eternal life?¡±

    Zu An was rmed. He had already seen the earth, wood, and fire element rooms. Now that he thought about it, it was indeed a Five Elements Formation! However, could such a formation grant eternal life?

    He turned around with a grave expression and quickly asked, ¡°Master, what are you doing?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll find Ying Zheng¡¯s tomb and crush his bones to dust.¡± Mi Li¡¯s voice was frighteningly cold. Her hatred at that moment was clear.

    Zu An said with a chuckle, ¡°Just leave that to me. My phoenix fire specializes in turning bones to ashes.¡±

    Mi Li gave him a surprised look. ¡°Didn¡¯t you learn the Primordial Origin Sutra from him? Why are you helping me?¡±

    ¡°I almost died several times overst time, and I only got that sutra by relying on my own skills and luck. He didn¡¯t intend to pass it down to me at all. The one who¡¯s been helping me with my cultivation all this time is you.¡± Zu An had never treated the first emperor as his master.

    Mi Li¡¯s expression eased slightly. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Zu Anughed and said, ¡°The disciple will take care of the master¡¯s wishes. There¡¯s no need for thanks.¡±

    Bi Linglong found that she couldn''t really insert herself into the conversation at all. She thought to herself that this master and disciple pair were a surprisingly good match, as if they were always on the same wavelength and everyone else was an outsider. At the same time, she was shocked. What is the Primordial Origin Sutra? Why have I never heard of it before? How many secrets does this man have?

    The group continued through the pce. Even though there were many rooms in the pce and theyout was confusing, they now knew that they were in a Five Elements Formation. Using that knowledge, Mi Li was able to roughly deduce where they were. They quickly arrived at another room.

    They could feel the sharp aura of metal even from far away. Even the lowest rank Bi Linglong detected it quickly. It was most likely the metal element room.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°What kinds of monsters can the metal element usually produce?¡± Zu An asked. It was always better to be prepared beforehand so that they weren¡¯t caught off guard again. They might not be as lucky as before.

    Mi Li shook her head. ¡°The world is full of wonders and mysteries. Elemental existences can manifest in all kinds of forms. Even the slightest change in the environment can produce something else, so it¡¯s hard to predict beforehand. We¡¯ll find out once we go inside.¡±

    She was apetent and strong-willed woman. Together with the rage that filled her at that moment, she didn¡¯t hesitate and walked straight in.

    Zu An and Bi Linglong followed behind her. They suddenly saw a trace of golden light out of the corners of their eyes, and a strong gale blew past their ears. Bi Linglong subconsciously raised her sword, but with a loud, crisp sound, her sword was cut in half!

    As a crown princess, her sword was naturally top notch. Weapons were separated into the mortal, earth, heaven, immortal, and divine grades. Her sword was heaven grade and only beneath the legendary immortal and divine grades. There weren¡¯t many weapons at those two levels in the world.

    Even a heaven grade sword had been easily sliced in half! She waspletely stunned.

    ¡°Be careful!¡± Fortunately, Zu An reacted quickly and quickly pulled Bi Linglong aside. Even so, there was still a cut left on her clothes, revealing fair, alluring skin underneath. A thin, bloody cut was already visible on the surface.

    Bi Linglong covered herself up in a panic while thanking Zu An. ¡°Ah Zu, you saved my life again.¡± She would already have been chopped in half if not for him.

    Zu An patted her head to calm her down. Then, he stared at the creature ahead of him. It was a droning, levitating thing with scorching eyes. The thing was the size of aundry ball. It was wider at the center, resembling a disk. It was like a miniature flying saucer. Ayer of rapidly spinning sawteeth surrounded it, creating waves of golden light that resembled the lights on a UFO.

    ¡°What is this thing? Why didn¡¯t it attack you when you entered?¡± Zu An asked Mi Li while remaining vignt.

    ¡°Maybe it targets those with poor moral character?¡± Mi Li released a rareugh. However, she still exined, ¡°This is the legendary Golden Wheel Disk. It¡¯s known for its unstoppable power that can cut through all metals and jade.¡±

    The levitating disk roared as soon as Mi Li finished speaking. Zu An took out the Tai¡¯e Sword and hacked outward.

    A loud noise erupted! A series of sparks flew out as the Golden Wheel Disk ground against the Tai¡¯e Sword, before it flew outward.

    Zu An¡¯s fingers were sore, but he sighed in relief when he saw that the sword hadn¡¯t suffered any damage. The Tai¡¯e Sword was extraordinary after all!

    The Golden Wheel Disk noticed that Zu An wasn¡¯t someone it should mess with either. It didn¡¯t choose to rashly charge again. Instead, it suddenly shook. Then, countless smaller disks spread out in all directions, every single one like a miniature version of itself, surrounded by sharp sawteeth. They screamed as they attacked from several different directions.

    Even Zu An was given a hard time by their numbers and tricky angles. The key was that he had to protect Bi Linglong too, so he soon found himself in a dilemma. Wounds quickly opened up all over his body. Even though his powerful regeneration ability made it so that such small wounds didn¡¯t matter much, constantly fighting from a passive position didn¡¯t feel good at all.

    He suddenly thought of something. He took out a giant U-shaped weapon from his Brilliant ss Bead and flung it at the small disks. The sharp disks, that had been flying in bizarre and unpredictable patterns around him, were instantly sucked toward the U-shaped weapon, unable to move at all.

    It was the electroma he had used in Brightmoon City to defeat the Yuan n brat during the npetition. He just couldn''t bring himself to throw it away, so he had kept it together with some lightning element ki stones. He hadn¡¯t expected it to actuallye in handy today.

    The Golden Wheel Disk was stunned. It clearly couldn''t process what was going on with its simple intelligence. It became somewhat frustrated and charged at Zu An with a roar, wanting to save its ¡®children¡¯.

    Zu An quickly swung the electroma over to suck it over too, but its body only trembled a bit. It wasn¡¯t too heavily affected and continued to fly forward.

    However, a fair white palm suddenly reached over and gently pressed against its center. The Golden Wheel Disk trembled. It frantically tried to break free, but it just couldn''t escape from the slender hand no matter how it spun and struggled!

    ¡°I don¡¯t have time to deal with you. Just go back to where you came from,¡± Mi Li said indifferently. With a snap of her wrist, the Golden Wheel Disk was flung into the distance, inserting itself deeply into the wall.

    It understood that it would never win. It trembled, then broke down into the metal element. It had decided to temporarily hide in the room and didn¡¯te back out.

    Bi Linglong¡¯s eyes widened in shock. Even though she¡¯d had her suspicions that Mi Li was powerful, this was the first time she had witnessed the woman in action. In front of her, that terrifying murder weapon was nothing more than a toy!

    Mi Li didn¡¯t say anything else and instead walked over to the wall. There were some murals on it; they depicted a group of people kneeling in front of a gate. The one in the lead was dressed like a sorcerer. In the next scene, that sorcerer was conspiring with others in a room, and then the third scene showed him fleeing for his life with many soldiers chasing after him. The fourth picture showed countless people buried in a deep pit, surrounded by soldiers with cold expressions.

    ¡°It was him!¡± Mi Li suddenly realized who the person was.

    A long and drawn-out voice spoke. ¡°It has already been so many years¡­ Someone has finallye.¡±

    Zu An and Bi Linglong shivered. The voice hade from inside the coffin!

 Chapter 872: The Book

    <h4>Chapter 872: The Book</h4>

    Mi Li¡¯s brow rose. ¡°Who the hell is ying the ghost right now?¡± A st of strength rushed out as she swung her sleeves. The coffin¡¯s cover was sent flying with a loud noise. It spun in the air several times before crashing into the ground.

    Zu An thought to himself, This woman really is violent! She destroyed this person¡¯s coffin as soon as she became unhappy!

    Bi Linglong¡¯s eyes shone brightly. She felt great admiration for Mi Li¡¯s way of doing things. Would she ever be able to settle her grudges like this?

    Mi Li floated over, and Zu An and Bi Linglong quickly followed behind her. They saw a ¡®living¡¯ corpse inside the coffin. It was a middle-aged man dressed in green robes and a tall hat. His attire perfectly matched the mural on the wall.

    ¡°It was you after all!¡± Mi Li eximed, surprised. As soon as she spoke, the lifelike and well-preserved body inside began to disappear, quickly turning into scattered ashes. Only a pile of withered bones remained.

    Bi Linglong was a little scared and subconsciously moved a bit closer to Zu An.

    Zu An thought to himself that these coffins were special after all. They could keep the flesh inside intact, but once the coffin was opened and the interior made contact with air, the body would immediately wither away.

    ¡°Master, who was that?¡± he asked out of curiosity. He could understand it if Fu Su¡¯s body had been preserved all this time because he was the crown prince, someone with extraordinary status, but why had this man experienced the same thing?

    ¡°Do you remember what I told you before, about those who enthusiastically sought out immortality for Ying Zheng?¡± Mi Li asked. She continued, ¡°He¡¯s one of them, Lu Sheng.¡±

    She pointed at the mural and exined, ¡°I already had my guesses when I saw the paintings. The first portrays the story of Lu Sheng pleading with Xianmen. Xianmen was a legendary ancient daoist immortal who was connected to the Immortal Sect. That was why Ying Zheng regarded Lu Sheng highly.

    ¡°But unfortunately, he didn¡¯t find the elixir of immortality. He used up a ton of manpower and resources and ended up finding ¡®the Book¡¯. It was rumored to have been written by an immortal, granting one the ability to know the past and future.

    ¡°Ying Zheng asked him what the future of the Qin Empire was. Lu Sheng obtained a single verse from The Book: ¡®Death and destruction awaits Qin¡¯s people.¡¯ When Ying Zheng heard that, he thought that the cause might be the northern nomadic Huns, so he sent a great army of three hundred thousand north to build the Great Wall.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, So that was what happened! Unfortunately, heaven¡¯s ns supersede those of man. The ones who brought about the Qin Empire¡¯s downfall weren''t the Huns, but rather his sessor Hu Hai.

    Bi Linglong looked at the diagrams with curiosity and asked, ¡°What happened afterward?¡±

    Mi Li replied, ¡°I already told you. For the sake of finding the elixir of immortality, Ying Zheng was able to sacrifice anything. But that only made Lu Sheng more and more scared, because after his years of searching, he already knew that such an elixir simply didn¡¯t exist. However, if he couldn''t find it, he would be punished severely by Ying Zheng, so he secretly fled. Ying Zheng was furious when he learned of that. He thought he had treated Lu Sheng extremely well, and yet the man still betrayed him. As such, he searched the world and investigated every sorcerer to see if any of them were close to Lu Sheng. Several hundred were rounded up in total, and all of them were buried alive.¡±

    Zu An was horrified. ¡°Isn¡¯t that ¡®burning the books and burying the Confucian schrs alive¡¯?¡±

    ¡°Confucian schrs?¡± Mi Li frowned. ¡°Confucian beliefs hadn¡¯t fully matured yet at that time. What would that have to do with them?¡±

    Zu An suddenly realized that the dynasties ofter generations had likely exaggerated the first emperor¡¯s infamy to promote themselves.

    A voice suddenly spoke from behind them. ¡°Who would¡¯ve thought that I would still be able to meet the emperor again after so many years¡­¡±

    Zu An turned round and stared at the mural. The voice wasing from its direction. A strand of light vaguely appeared over the image of a sorcerer. It was as if a semi-transparent person were about toe out of the mural.

    Mi Li was also surprised. ¡°Hm? You were able to survive until now too?¡±

    A semi-transparent person came out of the wall soon afterward. Then, his image in the painting disappeared. He said, ¡°This is but a fragment of my soul that was sealed here. I¡¯ve only awakened after sensing the arrival of destined individuals, and will soon fade away. How can this be considered living?¡± The figure was naturally Lu Sheng, but his tone was rather somber.

    However, he suddenly looked at Mi Li with burning eyes and asked, ¡°Empress, why are you still alive? Could it be that there really is an elixir of immortality?¡±

    Mi Li replied indifferently, ¡°How can this world have such a thing? The reason I¡¯m still alive is due to various coincidences. It¡¯s impossible to replicate.¡± She clearly didn¡¯t wish to talk about her experiences in detail.

    Not only did Lu Sheng not feel disappointment when he heard her reply, he instead sighed in relief. ¡°No wonder, no wonder¡­ Looks like my analysis wasn¡¯t wrong all these years.¡±

    ¡°What happened back then? Why would you hide yourself in this mural like this?¡± Mi Li couldn''t help but ask. With her sharp eyes, she could obviously tell that he wasn¡¯t lying. He might have been able tost a few more years if he remained dormant in that painting, but that option had been gone as soon as he chose to wake up.

    Lu Sheng gave the painting a look. He sighed and said, ¡°Everyone believed that I sessfully escaped in the past, and that ended up wronging the lives of hundreds of sorcerers. But how could they have known that I was never able to escape, but was captured instead?¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°You were captured? What do you mean?¡± Mi Li was confused, as that didn¡¯t seem to match her memories.

    Lu Sheng shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m now only a fragment of my soul; many of my memories are missing. I can¡¯t remember what happened.¡±

    Mi Li and Zu An were both speechless. This guy had put on that huge performance and built it up so much, but he didn¡¯t have anything to say at the most crucial part.

    Lu Sheng also knew that his words were hard to believe. He slowly continued, ¡°Your highness knows that I obtained the Book back then, right? I was able to discern a bit of the future through it. It told me that no matter what I did, I was going to die.

    ¡°I really couldn¡¯t understand why, with my cultivation back then, I would leave the world prematurely. But the Book is never wrong, so I decided to separate a strand of my soul as a precaution and to see what exactly happened.¡±

    ¡°Then what happened? Did Ying Zheng kill you himself?¡± Mi Li asked. In her opinion, that was the most likely possibility.

    Lu Sheng shook his head. ¡°Even though I found out the truth back then, I¡¯ve already forgotten it.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. Mi Liughed coldly and retorted, ¡°Are you making a fool out of me?¡±

    Lu Sheng sighed. ¡°Even though I don¡¯t know why I don¡¯t remember, I can deduce that since I found out the truth but don¡¯t remember it, there must be some kind of defensive mechanism in y. My body decisively chose to forget about those things, or else my soul fragment wouldn¡¯t be able to survive. However, I can still recall a feeling of extreme shock and fear. Something that could make my past self feel such emotions would definitely have been something big.¡±

    Mi Li frowned. ¡°Since you don¡¯t even dare to remember it, what meaning is there left in struggling to keep this soul fragment alive?¡±

    Lu Sheng said, ¡°This soul fragment¡¯s purpose was to wait for a destined one to reveal the entire truth of the past, and also to get revenge for my original body. Just now, I sensed the aura of the destined one.¡± He looked straight at Zu An after speaking.

    Zu An said with a sneer, ¡°Do you think I¡¯m three? How am I this ¡®destined one¡¯?¡±

    Lu Sheng replied, ¡°Did you forget The Book I mentioned? I¡¯m capable of limited foresight. It told me that you were precisely the destined one.¡±

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°Why the hell should I help you just because you said I was this destined one? It¡¯s already obvious that your affairs are dangerous, so why should I get involved?¡±

    Lu Sheng revealed a mysterious and strange smile. ¡°That isn¡¯t something for you to decide. You¡¯re already inside the trial.¡±

 Chapter 873: Grave of the Emperor

    <h4>Chapter 873: Grave of the Emperor</h4>

    Zu An frowned. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    Lu Sheng shook his head. ¡°The mysteries of heaven mustn¡¯t be revealed. There are many things you¡¯ll naturally understand when it¡¯s time.¡±

    ¡°I hate people like you who love to blueball others.¡± Zu An clenched his fist. ¡°Since you can predict the future, can you guess whether or not I¡¯ll beat you up?¡±

    Lu Sheng¡¯s face froze. He chuckled in embarrassment and said, ¡°You don¡¯t need to be angry. If you help me with this matter, I¡¯ll reward you with the Book.¡±

    Mi Li¡¯s expression grew serious when she heard him mention the Book. It was apparent that she knew of its value.

    Zu An sneered. ¡°Don¡¯t you know that you¡¯ll only seem even more suspicious if you immediately present a great offer?¡± Ever since Old Mi had tried to possess him, he had developed strong feelings of caution against baseless good intentions. He couldn''t help but feel that this person was trying to scam him.

    Lu Sheng was quite shocked that Zu An was unfazed. ¡°Perhaps you aren¡¯t aware of the Book¡¯s power?¡±

    ¡°So what if it can foretell the future? You still couldn''t change your own fate, and you could only hide here all these years with a fragment of your soul,¡± Zu An said calmly. ¡°Besides, I don¡¯t trust inpletely unreasonable good intentions.¡±

    Lu Sheng was stunned. After a momentary pause, he sighed. ¡°Your worldview is different, as expected. I relied too much on the Book in the past, so I sank into absolute despair when I learned of my fate. I didn¡¯t even have the courage to change it. You are the destined one after all. This book will definitely be much more useful in your hands than in mine.¡± He pointed forward, and a streak of golden lightnded on Zu An¡¯s forehead.

    Zu An was rmed. He quickly backed up and touched his own forehead. ¡°What did you do to me?¡±

    Unfortunately, nothing happened no matter how he rubbed his forehead. He was rmed. After all, he had already experienced the Primordial Origin Sutra¡¯s body tempering three times. His body should have already be incredibly tough and invulnerable against ordinary des and swords. Why wasn¡¯t he able to defend against the golden light at all?

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I merely ced the Book into your sea of consciousness. It won¡¯t bring you any harm,¡± Lu Sheng said weakly. His eyes weren¡¯t even as bright as before, as if his body had be weak.

    Mi Li was surprised. ¡°The Book isn¡¯t actually a book?¡±

    Lu Sheng shook his head. ¡°Of course not. The book I gave his majesty was nothing but a diversionary tactic. This is the Book¡¯s original form. That¡¯s the reason why, thankfully, it didn¡¯t end up in that person¡¯s hands during the great disaster.¡±

    ¡°That person?¡± Mi Li asked with a pensive expression.

    Zu An quickly examined himself. Sure enough, he saw that there was a small golden book in his sea of consciousness. There was an ancient and grand auraing from it; it was the feeling of dao. He didn¡¯t feel happy at all, and instead looked at Mi Li. ¡°Master, am I really okay?¡±

    Mi Li replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, this is an opportunity for you. Brat, your luck really is pretty good.¡±

    Zu An finally felt relief when he heard her say those words. However, he still said with a pitiful expression, ¡°Master, I¡¯m dirty now¡­¡± He felt as if someone had put something inside of him, that his mind had now taken the shape of someone else. It really didn¡¯t feel great.

    Mi Li was speechless. She eximed, ¡°Get lost!¡±

    Lu Sheng looked at her in shock. ¡°So the destined one was your highness¡¯ disciple!¡±

    ¡°Hmph, he¡¯s just a naughty brat I picked up because he kept begging me. I could only barely agree to take him in.¡± Mi Li raised her chin high, her attitude as prideful as could be.

    Zu An was speechless. Who the hell begged whom? But he still let her show off a bit before her own minister.

    ¡°Looks like the Book really didn¡¯t deceive me. With your highness¡¯ help, I believe that my cherished desire should be fulfilled,¡± Lu Sheng said, his body gradually growing dim. He began to scatter into the wind at a visible rate.

    Mi Li fell silent when she saw Lu Sheng fade, a look of sorrow filling her eyes. Seeing her former acquaintances disappear one after another made her once again experience the inexorable power of time.

    ¡­

    The group continued through the pce. Mi Li remained silent the entire time. Bi Linglong asked Zu An out of concern, ¡°Are you alright? That book or something went inside of you¡­¡±

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t feel anything strange right now, but I have no idea what it can be used for. He didn¡¯t even give me a basic introduction.¡± He had tried several times, but regardless of whether it was normal ki or primordial ki, he couldn''t do anything to that small golden book.

    Bi Linglong was worried. ¡°That person foresaw that a great cmity wasing. I can¡¯t help but feel like what we¡¯re about to face will be extremely terrifying.¡±

    Zu Anughed. ¡°The scarier the better. Don¡¯t forget that we still have a terrifying emperor on our tail. How can we hope to survive if the danger ends up being too weak?¡±

    Mi Li nodded. ¡°Kid, even though you¡¯re a little perverted and greedy, your nature is optimistic. Little girl, even though you¡¯re smart, you¡¯re far beneath him in this aspect.¡±

    Bi Linglong didn¡¯t get annoyed, and instead smiled. ¡°I couldn¡¯tpare to him in the first ce.¡± If it had been a month earlier, her prideful self would never have admitted to that. But now, she instead voiced her sincere respect.

    ¡°Hmph, women.¡± Mi Li snorted in contempt.

    ¡°We should be approaching the water element next, right? You knew everyone in those other rooms. Do you have any guesses as to who the one in that room is?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t. I have a rough idea of who was involved back then, but I don¡¯t recall any of them being rted to the water element.¡± Mi Li shook her head.

    ¡°Could it be Xu Fu?¡± Zu An asked out of curiosity.

    Mi Li supported her chin with her hand. ¡°It¡¯s not entirely impossible. Xu Fu spent a great deal of time out at sea.¡± However, five forked paths suddenly appeared before her. She stopped, her eyes filled with puzzlement.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Which path should we take?¡± Zu An asked curiously.

    Mi Li said, ¡°ording to my analysis of the Five Elements Formation, all five of these paths are a possibility.¡±

    Bi Linglong picked up a rock and threw it along one of the paths. A flurry of arrows quickly flew out from within. ¡°It looks like only one of these paths is real, while the others are traps.¡±

    Mi Li said, ¡°Indeed. Unfortunately, those with traps might not be fake, and the one without traps might very well be the real path of death.¡±

    While the two of them were deep in thought, Zu An suddenly realized something. He pointed at the path second from the left and eximed, ¡°It¡¯s this one!¡±

    ¡°How do you know?¡± Bi Linglong asked, confused. That path was the one she had just thrown the rock down, and yet many traps had immediately activated. Even Mi Li was surprised. She looked at Zu An and waited for him to exin himself.

    ¡°The Book told me.¡± Zu An rubbed his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know why, but the scene of the second path suddenly appeared in my head.¡±

    ¡°Then it¡¯s that path.¡± Mi Li was the first to walk forward, as if shepletely trusted the Book. Zu An almost warned her to be careful, but her cultivation was higher than his own. If there really was something, she should be able to deal with it.

    They ran into some traps along the way, but Zu An and Mi Li dealt with them easily. After the first bit of danger, the rest of the path was smooth sailing. The group arrived in front of anotherrge door. It was covered in orderly rows of golden knobs, making it look exceptionally grand.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Mi Li eximed.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Zu An thought there was something wrong when he heard Mi Li¡¯s voice. He observed the surroundings vigntly.

    Mi Li only continued to stare at the gate silently. Bi Linglong said from off to the side, ¡°There are nine rows of nine, totaling up to eighty-one knobs in total. Nine symbolizes the unsurpassed emperor, and only the ruler himself has the right to use this symbol. All others who rashly use this symbol will have their entire ns eradicated in punishment.¡± As someone from the royal family, she was sensitive to such things.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An was shocked. He looked toward Mi Li. ¡°Master, is that true? Is this where Ying Zheng is buried?¡±

 Chapter 874: Ceremony Activation

    <h4>Chapter 874: Ceremony Activation</h4>

    The moment they stepped into the room, they could sense that the water element there was extremely dense. There was mist everywhere, making it hazy and hard to see clearly.

    But what caught their attention even more was that apart from the dense water element, there was an even stronger feeling of resentment. It was enough to send shivers down their spines. There was also a cold chill sweeping through this room. Bi Linglong wrapped her arms around herself, trembling in ce.

    Zu An couldn''t help but ask, ¡°Why is there such a strong aura of resentment here?¡±

    Mi Li frowned slightly as well. ¡°This strong resentment has either been caused by a great injustice, or tremendous hatred. Those who would have the qualifications to be buried here shouldn¡¯t have experienced any of these situations¡­¡±

    Zu An spected, ¡°Could it perhaps be a certain ancestor of the Qin rulers? Or maybe it¡¯s someone like Hu Hai?¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    This was the Qin State royal family ancestral hall. It was natural for some rted people to be buried here as well. After the first emperor fell and Hu Hai rose to the throne, he had trusted the eunuch Zhao Gao greatly. But in the end, the armies of many different ces had risen up in revolt. When the chaos neared its end, Zhao Gao hounded him to death and used him as a scapegoat. As such, it wouldn¡¯t be all that surprising if Hu Hai carried such resentment.

    ¡°There is indeed that possibility,¡± Mi Li replied. After being around Zu An all this time, she had not only learned about what happened after she was sealed in the Qin Dynasty, but also quite a bit about the twenty-four histories that had unfolded afterward. She naturally knew what had happened to Hu Hai.

    ¡°There¡¯s so much resentment here¡­ Is it possible that some kind of malevolent spirits or dangerous elemental creatures might have formed here?¡± Bi Linglong was quite worried. Her personal sword had been destroyed in the metal element room, so she was already utterly terrified.

    ¡°That won¡¯t happen.¡± Mi Li pointed at some different runes in the area. ¡°There are formations set in ce by many experts to prevent such resentment from gathering and developing sentience. It¡¯s merely the purest state of resentment.¡±

    Zu An and Bi Linglong walked over and took a look. There were extremely profound andplex runes everywhere. The two of them didn¡¯t know a thing about runes, but they could tell that they were formidable from theirplexity.

    Mi Li seemed to have thought of something. She looked up and saw that there was an area where the chilliness was richest. There even seemed to be some gleaming reflections there. When the group got closer, they saw that there was actually a pool there. They could make out the vague silhouette of a coffin at the bottom of this pool.

    Mi Li stood by the edge of the pool. After thinking to herself for a moment, she said to Zu An, ¡°Use your Blue Mard to separate the water. Let¡¯s head down and take a look.¡± They had just experienced a series of rooms, a Five Elements Formation, and this emperor-level burial room. She was bing more and more curious about the person¡¯s real identity.

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°Blue Mard can be used that way?¡±

    Mi Li replied, ¡°It might not work for arge river, but this kind of small pool should be possible with your current cultivation. Your Blue Mard increases your affinity with the water element, so this much shouldn¡¯t be an issue. Use your imagination; stop constantly filling your head with ways to chase after girls.¡±

    Zu An was shameless enough that he didn¡¯t really care about the remark, but Bi Linglong really wanted to run away in embarrassment.

    Under Mi Li¡¯s guidance, Zu An sessfully parted the waters and formed a path for them to move through. At the bottom was naturally the coffin. Zu An had to give those of higher cultivation realms credit for their creativity in using and controlling the elements. It wasn¡¯t something that lower rank cultivators could understand. If he hadn¡¯t received pointers from Mi Li, it would have taken him many, many years to slowly grope around and realize such things.

    Mi LI took the initiative to jump down,nding next to the coffin. Zu An and Bi Linglong quickly followed. The resentment grew stronger and stronger the closer they got.

    Zu An sasked, ¡°We don¡¯t need to open the coffin this time, right? What if there¡¯s a crazy monster sealed up inside¡­¡±

    Mi Li had swung her sleeve before he even finished what he was saying. With a loud bang, the coffin lid was blown off.

    Zu An was speechless. Tsk, what¡¯s the point in even saying anything? But he was also curious and looked over. Mi Li had already moved aside the inner coffin¡¯s lid.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Bi Linglong cried out in rm. The one lying inside wasn¡¯t human. To be more precise, her upper half was human, but her lower half was that of a fish.

    What was even more shocking was the host¡¯s beauty. She had long blue hair, and she wore a crown made from coral and pearls. Even though there wasn¡¯t a trace of life force left on her face, it still didn¡¯t stop them from picturing her peerless magnificence when she had been alive. But her brows were tightly furrowed, and her face a bit warped. She had clearly been filled with resentment before she died.

    ¡°A mermaid?¡± Zu An¡¯s eyes widened. He had only seen them on a screen before. Who could have thought that they would really be this beautiful?

    But as the lid was opened and air entered, that exceptional face immediately scattered away into ashes. Only a spotless, white set of bones remained.

    ¡°The remains of a beauty¡­¡± After personally experiencing it himself, the visual shock was too much. Zu An was even worried that it might leave behind some kind of psychological trauma.

    Sigh, even a woman this beautiful ended up bing nothing more than a pile of bones¡­ He couldn''t help but feel a bit down when he thought of that. He hadn¡¯t really cared much about immortality previously, but now, he suddenly felt as if he could understand those who pursued immortality a bit better.

    His eyes suddenly narrowed as something caught his eye. He reached his hand toward the skeleton¡¯s forbidden area.

    Bi Linglong had a weird look on her face. ¡°She¡¯s already dead; isn¡¯t this a bit¡­ disrespectful?¡± But she quickly realized that she had misunderstood. What Zu An had taken out was a sparkling scale. It was as beautiful as a piece of jade.

    ¡°This thing looks a bit familiar,¡± Zu An remarked with a pensive expression.

    Mi Li asked, ¡°What happened?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Zu An smiled. He put the jade-like scale away. ¡°Do you recognize this woman?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t. But judging from her appearance, she was probably an extremely important member of the Mermaid race, perhaps even their empress. No wonder she was able to enjoy such an extravagant burial,¡± Mi Li replied. However, she had lost most of her interest when she saw that it wasn¡¯t someone she knew. She closed the coffin and returned to the surface.

    Zu An was just about to follow her when Bi Linglong gave the coffin¡¯s bottom a conflicted look and said, ¡°I think I sensed a lot of water element power flowing along the formation in a certain direction. Those other rooms were also simr. Have our actions triggered some kind of ceremony?¡±

    Zu An was shocked. He turned toward Mi Li. ¡°Was there really something like that going on?¡± Even though his cultivation was high, his fundamental knowledge of cultivation wasckingpared to someone like Bi Linglong, who had been raised in a great n.

    Mi Li had been examining something on the ground. When she heard the question, she replied indifferently, ¡°Yes, there was.¡±

    Zu An became puzzled as he returned to the surface. ¡°If you already knew about it, why didn¡¯t you take precautions?¡±

    ¡°We didn¡¯t even touch the coffins in the earth and fire element rooms,¡± Mi Li replied. ¡°That means that even if some kind of sinister ceremony was initiated, it wouldn¡¯t beplete, and would thus fail. We could then use that chance to destroy itpletely and prevent something major from happening.¡±

    Zu Anughed and eximed, ¡°Master sees far and wide after all! My respect for you gushes forth like the relentless tides of the river¡­¡±

    ¡°Shut up already.¡± Mi Li rolled her eyes. ¡°Get over here and look at these murals. It seems to talk about Xu Fu¡¯s journey into the seater on. He found the Mermaid Race, and brought back either a princess or queen to offer to Ying Zheng.¡±

    ¡°No wonder she carries so much resentment.¡± Bi Linglong suddenly felt a bit of sympathy for the woman. Her role as the crown princess looked morous from the outside, but she had always served as a chess piece in the hands of another.

    Suddenly, the entire room began to tremble as rumbling came from outside.

    Mi Li¡¯s expression changed. ¡°The five elements are acting up and flooding this entire pce! Has the formation already been activated? But how can that be?¡±

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in the fire element room, the crystal coffin had been turned on its side. The lifelike Fu Su was now only a set of white bones.

    He Li looked around the coffin and brought a pile of funerary objects to the fatty next to him. ¡°Your majesty, I found these treasures.¡±

    Zhao Ruizhi harrumphed. ¡°It¡¯s just a pile of scrap metal. You even call these treasures?¡±

    Things that could serve as a prince¡¯s funerary objects were obviously not scrap metal. But for the emperor, who had the world at his disposal, they weren¡¯t anything special.

    They hadn¡¯t found anything in the earth element room. Zhao Ruizhi had thought that he might have stumbled upon the secret of immortality when he saw the corpse remain intact after so much time had passed, but he felt greatly disappointed by what he had seen.

    A rumble erupted in the distance, and the room began to tremble as well. He Li and the only two deathsworn soldiers who remained were horrified. Were the rooms around them going to reorganize themselves again?

    Zhao Ruizhi had a look of excitement on his face. ¡°Some kind of mechanism has been activated. I can sense the aura of life.¡± He couldn''t wait any longer and rushed out.

    He Li and his twopanions hesitated for a moment, but in the end, they couldn''t suppress their curiosity. They quickly followed the emperor.

 Chapter 875: Everlasting Spring Flower

    <h4>Chapter 875: Evesting Spring Flower</h4>

    Zu An¡¯s group rushed out of the water element room in search of the activated mechanism. However, they didn¡¯t really have to search, because there were visible strands of light moving from the water element room toward a certain direction. That was clearly where most of the water element power was being gathered. Simr scenes were likely urring in the other rooms.

    Zu An couldn''t hold himself back and asked, ¡°Is the first emperor absorbing the power of the five elements to revive or something?¡±

    Mi Li¡¯s expression was grave. ¡°There¡¯s a chance. But I¡¯ve never heard of the Five Elements Formation having the power of revival.¡±

    When he saw how serious she was, Zu An said, ¡°Master, you don¡¯t need to worry. Even if the first emperor revives, you aren¡¯t alone. I¡¯m here with you.¡±

    Mi Li felt warm inside when she saw him acting decently for once. However, her words didn¡¯t reflect that. ¡°Hmph, if Ying Zheng really did revive, a kid like you would be swatted like a fly. How are you going to help me?¡±

    Zu An was speechless, but Bi Linglong almost burst outughing. That guy is always bullying me, but someone else has him on a leash now!

    Perhaps it was because the water room was the closest to the formation, but the group quickly arrived at a spacious tform. This tform was extremelyrge, and it was the size of a few football fields and round in shape.

    ¡°Orchid pond, heaven¡¯s ascension stage, earth¡¯s worship temple¡­¡± Mi Li muttered to herself as she scanned the surroundings.

    Zu An asked, ¡°What does ¡®orchid pond, heaven¡¯s ascension stage, earth¡¯s worship temple¡¯ mean?¡±

    Mi Li exined, ¡°¡®Orchid pond¡¯ is the Qin Imperial Pce garden¡¯s beautiful pond, ¡®heaven¡¯s ascension stage¡¯ is a ce where offerings to the heavens are made, and ¡®earth¡¯s worship temple¡¯ is where sacrifices to the state are made. This ce hasbined features from all of these ces. I recognize many familiar features here.¡±

    Prayer and sacrifice for good weather and abundant crops were the most important things for ancient countries.

    Zu An examined the elevated area before him. He saw a ring of goblets surrounding a giant pond. In the middle was a tower, which seemed to be where offerings to heaven and earth were made. Next to the tower was arge and tall tree. However, its bare branches proved that it had already died a long time ago.

    Several different-colored lights emerged from multiple directions. These were respectively the metal, wood, water, fire, and earth elements. As the elemental power gathered, some formations lit up in five directions surrounding the elevated stage. They flickered with yellow, green, blue, red, and brown lines that reached toward the ancient tree at the very center.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The ancient tree blossomed into brilliant radiance. Then, it seemed to return to the peak of its life in spring. Its branches germinated, and its previously bare branches immediately became lush with leaves. What was even more shocking was that its leaves weren¡¯t green. Or at the very least, they weren¡¯t only that; only a fifth of the leaves were green. The other four-fifths were yellow, blue, red, and brown. They clearly represented the power of the different elements.

    ¡°Come look, that tree has bloomed!¡± Bi Linglong cried out while pointing at the center of the ce.

    Atop the tree, arge flower slowly took form. It resembled a hydrangea, and its petals also had five different colors. Brilliant splendor swirled across its surface. A powerful aura of life could be felt even from far away. It was clearly something extraordinary.

    ¡°Evesting Spring Flower¡­¡± Mi Li had remained unfazed no matter what she encountered, but at that moment, even she became a bit absent-minded.

    Zu An was surprised. ¡°Isn¡¯t this precisely one of the materials you need to recreate your body?¡±

    He had previously heard her mentioning that such a flower needed a thousand years before it even developed branches and leaves, and another few millennia before it would bloom. He had thought that he would never find one in his life, and yet now, it was right before his eyes!

    Mi Li voiced her agreement. But just as Zu An was about to rush over and pick the flower, she held him back.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Zu An was confused. Such a precious material was right before their very eyes! If they missed this chance, there might never be another one!

    Mi Li¡¯s chest rose and fell continuously. She was getting emotional as well. However, she still calmly said, ¡°You need to drill into your head that the prettier something is, the more likely it¡¯s trying to deceive you. Look beneath that tree. What do you see?¡±

    Zu An turned around. Only then did he see that there was a massive coffin underneath the tree. He hadn¡¯t noticed it before because this tree waspletely bare and the surroundings were dim. Now that the tree had bloomed and was flowing with brilliant colors, the surroundings had be bright as well. The coffin was now visible.

    The coffin had a thick outeryer of bronze, and golden dragon decorations were carved on it. Whether in terms of its size or extravagance, it was far grander than any of the coffins they had seen on the way here.

    Mi Li continued, ¡°All of the five elements¡¯ power is flowing in that direction. That¡¯s clearly the eye of the formation. That Evesting Spring Flower is most likely a trap to bait us in.¡±

    ¡°Is that the first emperor¡¯s coffin?¡± Zu An was shocked as well.

    ¡°Indeed, it¡¯s probably him.¡± Mi Li¡¯s expression was conflicted. ¡°He was willing to try anything for the sake of eternal life. This formation gives me a bad feeling. I don''t know where he learned it from, but he probably wants to revive himself by borrowing the formation¡¯s power.¡±

    Zu An thought for a bit before saying with a smile, ¡°The Evesting Spring Flower is so rare that we can¡¯t afford to give up on this opportunity. The promises of a real man are worth a thousand in gold. Since I agreed to help you rebuild your body, what kind of man would I be if I backed down here?¡±

    He quickly told Bi Linglong, ¡°Wait here for me.¡± If there really was danger on the other side, the first emperor might evene back to life. At that point, he wouldn¡¯t even be able to protect himself, let alone her. It would still be safer if she stayed here. He used Grandgale and charged over after speaking.

    Mi Li cursed inside when she saw him rush ahead. You fool! She was worried about his safety and quickly followed him.

    Zu An arrived next to the tree. The closer he got, the greater the pressure he felt from that massive bronze coffin. His heart began to beat faster and faster. But it was already toote to think about the consequences. He jumped onto the tree, and a powerful and refreshing fragrance surrounded him.

    He didn¡¯t know if the flower was poisonous, nor did he know if his poison immunity could resist the effects of such a strange flower that only bloomed once every few millennia. He gritted his teeth and picked it.

    What was surprising was that nothing happened. The giant bronze coffin didn¡¯t move at all. There was no revival, nor was there any activity.

    Mi Li had been watching the coffin vigntly in preparation for something attacking Zu An. She sighed in relief when she saw nothing had happened. But that instead made her curious, and she said, ¡°You should leave first. I¡¯m going to open the coffin and look inside.¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°I¡¯ll go with you. If something really happens, I can at least fight at your side.¡±

    Mi Li opened her mouth, but in the end, she didn¡¯t chase him away. With Zu An¡¯s current cultivation, he indeed had the qualifications to fight at her side now. His body was also now incredibly tough, so he was able to protect himself.

    Mi Li didn¡¯t say anything. She walked over to the giant coffin and slowly pushed aside the heavy lid. Sure enough, the inner coffin was a crystal one; it was just muchrger than Fu Su¡¯s.

    A man dressed in a dragon robey calmly inside. Even though his eyes were closed, his fierce eyshes and high nose bridge, his strong chest, and his dignified aura made it hard for others to look straight at him. As expected, the descriptions of him from historical texts were urate after all.

    This wasn¡¯t the first time Zu An had seen the man. He had met a fragment of the man¡¯s soul back in Brightmoon City¡¯s secret dungeon. That soul fragment¡¯s pressure had been greater than what he felt right now; the real body instead seemed to pale inparison.

    Mi Li couldn''t help but sigh deeply. ¡°In the end, all of your efforts were for nothing. You pursued immortality for so long, but you couldn''t escape death in the end. Instead, I¡¯m the one who¡¯s still alive right now. Fate really does love to toy with us.¡±

    Zu An gave her a worried look, but he saw that there wasn¡¯t any love or affection in her eyes. There wasn¡¯t even any strong hatred left. After so much time had passed, when she looked at the corpse again, even her hatred had already grown faint.

    But at that moment, Zu An suddenly felt rmed. He quickly looked off to the side as a cold voice said from a distance, ¡°Hand over that flower of immortality in your hands to me. Otherwise, I¡¯ll kill her.¡±

    Mi Li also turned around and saw Zhao Ruizhi standing at the entrance with his hand on Bi Linglong¡¯s shoulder. With his cultivation, Bi Linglong would immediately perish if he exerted even a bit of force.

    He Li and the other King Qi Manor soldiers finally caught up while wheezing. When they saw the flower in Zu An¡¯s hands, their eyes lit up. It was swirling with brilliant colors and suffused with rich life energy. They quickly concluded that it was a symbol of immortality.

 Chapter 876: Separated in Life and Death

    <h4>Chapter 876: Separated in Life and Death</h4>

    Zu An had never expected this man to arrive at such a bad time. He also finally understood why the earth and fire rooms¡¯ power had reached this ce.

    The emperor¡¯s demands immediately ced him in a difficult spot. He wouldn¡¯t mind giving anything else away if it could be exchanged for Bi Linglong, but the Evesting Spring Flower was tied to Mi Li¡¯s fate. They might never find another one if they missed this opportunity.

    Mi Li didn¡¯t say anything and instead stared at him with interest, wondering what kind of decision he¡¯d make.

    Zu An decided to appease the other party with words first. ¡°Let her go first; otherwise, what if you go back on your promise? Your cultivation is so high that we won¡¯t have any power to fight back.¡±

    Mi Li raised her brows when she heard Zu An¡¯s words. However, she still didn¡¯t say anything.

    ¡°Stop speaking nonsense. You don¡¯t have a choice right now. Hand that thing over, or else I¡¯ll kill her immediately,¡± Zhao Ruizhi said coldly. With his status and temper, no one had the right to negotiate with him. He obviously understood the advantages of seizing the initiative.

    Bi Linglong screamed, ¡°Ah Zu, don¡¯t worry about me! He won¡¯t let us go even if you give that to him!¡± After having been in the imperial pce for so long, she already knew what kind of person the emperor was. If Zu An didn¡¯t hand it over, she might still have a chance of survival, but they would instead be dead for sure if he did.

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s palm tightened and Bi Linglong felt extreme pain in her shoulder. Her entire body was restricted by a mysterious energy, preventing her from speaking again.

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°Your majesty, could it be that you got something wrong? She¡¯s the crown princess, your daughter-inw. Wait, scratch that; to a certain degree, she was the wife you chose for yourself. Why are you using your own woman to threaten me? That¡¯s absolutely hrious!¡±

    Bi Linglong knew that he was saying those things on purpose; but rationality was one thing, her emotions were another. Her eyes turned red when she heard Zu An¡¯s words, and her expression grew bleak.

    He Li cursed inwardly. So now you remember that she¡¯s the emperor¡¯s daughter-inw? Why didn¡¯t you seem to realize this when the two of you were embracing and hugging each other?!

    Sure enough, fury burned in Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s eyes. ¡°You adulterous couples did things that have let me down. You actually have the nerve to say such things now?¡±

    ¡°But I didn¡¯t do anything¡­? We¡¯repletely innocent. She¡¯s still a virgin,¡± Zu An exined, trying to find a way to save Bi Linglong¡¯s life.

    Bi Linglong¡¯s face was entirely red. Even though she knew what he was trying to do, she was still embarrassed to hear him talk about such a thing in front of everyone.

    Zhao Ruizhi sneered. ¡°Linglong, you¡¯ve now witnessed it for yourself. He might be a smooth talker, but this is what he really thinks when it¡¯s time for him to make a choice. You don¡¯t have any ce in his heart. Do you know how foolish you were now?¡±

    Bi Linglong said indifferently, ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to try and break us apart. While we¡¯re on the topic, shouldn¡¯t the two of us be even closer? And yet, aren¡¯t you simrly using me to threaten him? What right do you have to criticize him?

    ¡°Either way, with how things are, I don¡¯t want to live any longer. If you want to kill me, just do it. Why bother trying to use me to threaten him?¡±

    Zhao Ruizhi had already been furious to begin with. However, his desire for that elixir of immortality made him hold himself back and patiently feign civility. When he saw Bi Linglong continue to stare apologetically at Zu An the entire time, he erupted into a rage. ¡°Do you really think I won¡¯t kill you?¡±

    His palm mmed toward Bi Linglong¡¯s back as he spoke. He had already scanned the area earlier. At such a distance, forcefully seizing that flower of immortality wouldn¡¯t be too difficult, so he quickly calmed down. This woman had dared to go against him, and she even continued to look flirtatiously at another man in front of his face! It would be better to just get rid of her earlier. Then, only by pulverizing Zu An to ashes would he be able to vent out all of his resentment.

    Meanwhile, Zu An was rmed, and even Mi Li¡¯s expression changed. Neither of them had expected the emperor to suddenly deal the fatal blow. With his terrifying cultivation, and the fact that the two of them were so close, there was practically no way to stop him.

    But Zu An wasn¡¯t someone who willingly resigned himself to fate. He tossed the Evesting Spring Flower to Mi Li. Then, with flickers of ck and white light. Bi Linglong suddenly appeared beneath the tree.

    Zu An had taken Bi Linglong¡¯s spot!

    Bi Linglong felt dizzy. Before she even realized what had happened, Mi Li¡¯s expression changed greatly. Even if Zu An¡¯s body had experienced a three-fold tempering, he still wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand an attack from the emperor!

    Zhao Ruizhi was also surprised. There was actually someone who could rescue a person from under his grasp in such a situation? Even so, in the end, he was experienced and knowledgeable. He quickly realized what had happened, his eyes narrowing as he eximed, ¡°The libationer¡¯s Sacrificial Piece?¡±

    With his status, he obviously hadn¡¯t regarded He Baizi and the other disciples with any importance. Such a skill was something he believed had definitely been passed down from the libationer to his disciple.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Bi Linglong snapped out of her daze. As the crown princess and someone who was on good terms with the academy, she would often visit the academy. She obviously knew that Hei Baizi possessed a great treasure called the Sacrificial Piece. It could turn someone else into the sacrifice so that they would take the damage one would have taken instead. But no one had ever used themselves as the Sacrificial Piece before!

    She had known that Zu An¡¯s decision not to exchange the Evesting Spring Flower was the most rational decision, but she still couldn¡¯t help but feel disappointment. She had even begun to wonder what she even meant to this man. But when she saw him use his life to protect hers, tears immediately trickled out of her eyes. ¡°Ah Zu!¡±

    Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s cultivation made him unstoppable. His palm pressed against Zu An¡¯s back, but he didn¡¯t immediately use all of his strength. He said with a sneer, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to actually be willing to save her by sacrificing your own life. You really do invest everything into your girls! In that case, I¡¯ll help you aplish your goal!¡±

    He felt endless hatred for Zu An. This time, he didn¡¯t show any mercy and smashed his palm against Zu An¡¯s back.

    ¡°Pfft!¡± Blood gushed out crazily from Zu An¡¯s mouth. His entire body went limp, and he copsed. He even stopped breathing.

    He Li sighed in amazement. How is even the prettiest woman as important as your own life? Young people really are too reckless¡­

    ¡°No!¡± In that instant, Mi Li had already begun moving. However, she was still toote.

    With the emperor¡¯s cultivation, even if they were at the same cultivation rank, everything within three feet would be his absolute domain. That was before ounting for the fact that he was already pressing down an inch away from Zu An¡¯s vital areas.

    When she saw Zu An fall to the ground, Mi Li¡¯s expression becamepletely cold. Her long ck hair flew chaotically behind her. ¡°Die!¡±

    A streak of red light shed past Zhao Ruizhi, and his eyes immediately narrowed. He quickly raised his hand to defend himself.

    Boom!

    Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s body flew backward through the air. When he finally managed to steady himself again, he felt a movement in his throat. A streak of blood trickled out from the corner of his lips. This woman had actually injured him!

    He knew that he had suffered serious injuries from his battle against the two mysterious generals. He was only half as strong as he would be at his peak. But even so, he had been certain that this entire situation was within his control. And yet, he had ended up being injured by this dainty and weak looking woman!

    Mi Li¡¯s soul body also staggered, visibly growing a bit fainter. Fighting in a frontal sh against the emperor in such a state had really cost her a lot. She couldn¡¯t be bothered to chase after the emperor and instead rushed over to pick Zu An up. ¡°Ah Zu, talk to me!¡±

    Bi Linglong was also sobbing as she ran over. ¡°Ah Zu, why did you have to throw away your life for me? I didn¡¯t have much time left to live anyway; sacrificing yourself for me wasn¡¯t worth it at all¡­¡± She had already used a forbidden technique previously, causing her to lose a huge amount of life essence. In theory, she really couldn¡¯t live for many more years.

    Zu An¡¯splexion was as pale as white paper. Bloodstains were all over his mouth. He smiled when he heard those words and replied, ¡°How could I just watch you get hurt without doing anything? I acted before I could think. Can you give me a kiss before I die?¡±

    Bi Linglong felt her heart crumble. She felt so much grief that no sound came out even as she sobbed. She didn¡¯t feel a shred of hesitation and jumped down to kiss him passionately. Unfortunately, for her, the kiss wasn¡¯t one that filled her with happiness, but rather with heart-wrenching pain.

    He Li and the others sighed. Even though that kid was annoying, he was still an affectionate person to the end.

    As he watched his wife kiss another man, Zhao Ruizhi felt anger boil inside of him. However, he felt reservation toward Mi Li¡¯s strength, so he didn¡¯t immediately rush over.

    Mi Li couldn¡¯t help but curse, ¡°Damn brat, when will you get rid of that skirt-chasing habit of yours? I¡¯m going to be killed because of this one day!¡±

    Even though Bi Linglong was usually a little scared of Mi Li, that went straight out the window at that moment. She red at her and screamed, ¡°Ah Zu is already dying; how can you scold him right now?¡±

    ¡°Like hell he¡¯ll die. This brat is even more persistent than a ghost. How could he die that easily?¡± Mi Li could tell from the very first nce that even though Zu An¡¯s injuries weren¡¯t light, they weren¡¯t fatal. Even though she didn¡¯t understand how he had done it, she knew he wouldn¡¯t die so easily here.

    Zu An took out a broken scale from his inner pocket. He said with an embarrassed smile, ¡°I guess I can¡¯t get anything past you after all.¡±

 Chapter 877: Death Wish

    <h4>Chapter 877: Death Wish</h4>

    Bi Linglong was rmed. She rubbed her teary eyes while examining Zu An¡¯s body. ¡°You¡¯re really okay?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. The reaper decided to give me another chance when he saw how broken-hearted this beauty was.¡± Zu An still felt lingering fear. Thank goodness I asked Bi Linglong to kiss me and not Mi Li. Otherwise, what I experienced would¡¯ve been something else entirely¡­

    Bi Linglong¡¯s expression changed from tearful to smiling. She tapped her fists gently against his chest. ¡°You¡¯re so annoying¡­¡±

    Mi Li rolled her eyes. Men are all liars.

    Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s eyes twitched when he saw the two ying around with each other. However, he was more shocked about something else. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you dead?¡± He hadn¡¯t held back at all on hisst attack. Even though he was far from his best condition, killing Zu An should have been an easy task.

    ¡°I am the one blessed by the mandate of heaven, shielded by the deities and buddhas alike. How could someone like you possibly kill me so easily?¡± Zu An was shooting his mouth off like no tomorrow, but inside, he felt quite guilty.

    The reason he had survived was through a fluke. He had encountered a mermaid in that water room and noticed a familiar scale. It was extremely simr to the one Shang Liuyu had given him back then. He¡¯d had his suspicions back then, so he had taken it with him.

    Who could have thought that it would actually be able to block a fatal attack? Furthermore, its effects were even more powerful than the one Shang Liuyu had given him! It was even able to block the emperor¡¯s attack.

    Of course, it was still thanks to the Primordial Origin Sutra tempering his body three times. Anyone else would still have died from the emperor¡¯s blow even if they had such a thing.

    He Li and the others were dumbstruck when they heard his reply. They all looked at him in a stupor. Is this kid really someone chosen by the heavens?

    After all, he had already done many seemingly impossible things ever since they met in the dungeon. All of those things made no sense. Not even a publicly acknowledged genius could aplish the things he had!

    ¡°You scoundrel, you dare to speak about heaven¡¯s mandate before this emperor?!¡± Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s eyes shifted to the broken scale in Zu An¡¯s hands. He finally realized what had happened and eximed, ¡°The Mermaid Imperial Family¡¯s Heart Protection Scale!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Han for +444 +444 +444¡­

    But inside, he was full of misgivings. What the hell was going on? This kid had so many miraculous abilities, and he even had the libationer¡¯s Sacrificial Piece and the Mermaid Imperial Family¡¯s Heart Protection Scale. The mermaid scale wasn¡¯t from any normal royal family member, because one that could block his full powered attack had to at least be at the empress grade. How did the kid know all of these people?

    But none of those things were important. An unpredictable variable like Zu An needed to be removed as quickly as possible.

    Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s entire body erupted with golden light. ¡°Today, this emperor will teach you what heaven¡¯s mandate means.¡± He reached out his hand and made a gripping motion. A massive golden hand appeared out of thin air and grabbed at Zu An. If the fist closed around him, Zu An would immediately be pulverized into ground meat.

    Mi Li snorted. Her sleeve flew out and a red streak appeared. It tore straight through the golden palm, creating a hole. The giant golden palm deted like a giant balloon, scattering into golden light.

    Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Judging from your use of power, I can tell that you¡¯ve reached the Earth Immortal rank as well. I didn¡¯t expect for someone else to also be at this level, let alone a woman. Just who exactly are you?¡±

    He Li and the others¡¯ eyes widened in shock. It wasn¡¯t just a woman, but a young and beautiful woman! How was this possible? What the hell was wrong with the world all of a sudden?

    Mi Li said indifferently, ¡°Beyond man is the heavens, and beyond the heavens are greater heavens. A frog like you has been stuck at the bottom of your well for too long.¡±

    Even though Zu An hadn¡¯t died, she was still absolutely furious at the emperor. She decided to help Zu An get rid of him while the emperor was still weak. However, the moment she was about to move, she frowned. Her figure began to flicker.

    Zu An immediately noticed her situation. He quickly asked her, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Mi Li told him through ki transmission, ¡°My power is dispersing in all directions. The formation here seems to be absorbing my power.¡±

    Zu An sensed the surroundings. Sure enough, he saw that there was a faint mist scattering out from Mi Li¡¯s body, then seeping into the ground.

    Mi Li quickly applied a seal and adjusted herself. ¡°I can only do my best to stop this formation¡¯s absorption, but that can only slow it down. I might not be able to help you against the emperor soon.¡±

    Zu An said in constion, ¡°Just focus on that. Leave the rest to me.¡±

    Zhao Ruizhi roared withughter. ¡°I thought that you might have been some powerful existence. It turns out you¡¯re nothing but a soul! I¡¯m going to end you today!¡± He noticed what was wrong with Mi Li and quickly deduced the truth from what he saw.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An said seriously, ¡°There¡¯s a Five Elements Formation here, and it¡¯s probably set up to revive a powerful ancient existence. If we fight to the death here, we might only be benefiting someone else. Why don¡¯t we get rid of this evil formation first before we settle our private grudges?¡±

    Zhao Ruizhi eximed proudly, ¡°Who do you think you are? Even someone like you thinks you¡¯re good enough to fight me to the death? I can crush you like an ant first and then deal with that formation. I¡¯ll have more than enough time.¡±

    He had obviously sensed that the formation was quietly working in the background. However, his many years as an unmatched ruler made him sufficiently confident to look down on any terrifying ancient existence. If any showed up, he would just eliminate them.

    On the contrary, if he dealt with that formation first and allowed the red-clothed woman to revive, that would only be even more troublesome. There was no way he would agree to Zu An¡¯s suggestion.

    ¡°That mouth of yours is quite slick, but it¡¯s only good for fooling women. Did you really think you would fool me?¡± Zhao Ruizhi smiled maliciously. ¡°I¡¯ll rip off that mouth of yours soon, then pull out your tongue. Let¡¯s see how you¡¯ll talk then.¡±

    Zu An knew that the emperor had already firmly resolved to erase him from this world, judging from his killing intent. Further talk was meaningless. As such, he said with a smile, ¡°It seems like you believe everything is in your control, and that no one can fool you.¡±

    Zhao Ruizhi proudly said, ¡°There hasn¡¯t been anyone born into this world who was able to fool me. Wasn¡¯t even the self-proimed schemer King Qi just dancing in the palm of my hand the entire time? As for your tricks, I just didn¡¯t feel like paying them any attention. Do you really think I didn¡¯t know about them?¡±

    He Li and the others¡¯ faces werepletely ashen. They had believed that King Qi was heroic and brilliant, and together with so many capable men on their side, seizing the imperial throne shouldn¡¯t have been too difficult. Yet only after what had happened in this time did they realize just howughable all of that was. The emperor was just too terrifying and profound. He wasn¡¯t someone that human strength could hope to oppose. So what if this Zu An can jump around like a pest? In the end, you still can¡¯t escape the emperor, and you¡¯ll only experience a death more miserable than anyone else.

    ¡°No one can fool you?¡± An extremely strange expression appeared on Zu An¡¯s face. ¡°It¡¯s already been many years since youst stayed the night in the Pce of Peace, right?¡±

    Zhao Ruizhi frowned and asked, ¡°What are you trying to say?¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t exin anything. Instead, he said in a meaningful and profound manner, ¡°Your wife really was the best!¡±

    Zhao Ruizhi was speechless.

    He Li had been waiting to witness Zu An¡¯s miserable fall, but what the hell was going on now? Judging from what he was saying, he had an affair with the empress?! It was already ridiculous enough that he had managed to get this close to the crown princess, but he¡¯d even had a thing with the empress?

    He Li had previously had the fortune of seeing the empress from afar. That mature and noble beauty had left him with a deep impression. Is this kid trying to defy the heavens? For a man to have gone this far, even dying at this point would be worth it, right?

    Bi Linglong¡¯s red lips were wide open in shock. Zu An and the empress? Even though the empress wasn¡¯t the crown prince¡¯s mother, so she didn¡¯t have much of a connection with her, this was just too absurd!

    Zhao Ruizhi immediately thought of many things. One night, he had run into Zu An outside the Pce of Peace. His thoughts hadn¡¯t gone in that direction before, but now that Zu An had said what he said, the event became full of suspicions. He erupted into fury. ¡°You have a death wish!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Han for +999 +999 +999¡­

    Zu An¡¯s goal had precisely been to make the emperor emotional. He immediately used his ¡®Knock-You-Up-Eyes¡¯ skill[1].

    . Item description: When wearing this item, you may select whether to activate the item¡¯s effect when you look at a target. As long as the target makes eye contact with you, they will immediately experience pain equal to that of delivering a 10-month-old child. This effect doesn¡¯t discriminate against gender or race. The pain inflicted by this item willst for an hour. ?

 Chapter 878: Tangled

    <h4>Chapter 878: Tangled</h4>

    Zu An had initially had three uses of Knock-You-Up-Eyes. He had already used two, and as for thest one, he had been reluctant to use it all this time. He had been saving it for a situation where he might really die.

    Now was that time. He wouldn¡¯t have another chance to use it if he didn¡¯t use it now. He didn¡¯t hesitate after using it, brandishing his Tai¡¯e Sword and charging at Zhao Ruizhi.

    At first, when he saw Zu An run at him, Zhao Ruizhi was stunned. A sneer appeared on his face. This guy was normally pretty smart, but he was now going to throw his life away like this? Before absolute strength, passion and willpower werepletely useless.

    He slowly raised his leg. He hated Zu An so much that he didn¡¯t even want to use his hands anymore. Instead, he was going to kick him like the damn dog he was in order to finally vent out all of his resentment.

    But he suddenly frowned as soon as he raised his leg. ¡°Hm?¡±

    He felt waves of paining from his stomach. With his cultivation, he would never get sick. How long had it been since he felt a stomachache?

    ¡°Is it a lingering effect from that sickle wielding fellow?¡± Zhao Ruizhi was puzzled. It was only a dull ache at first, but then it quickly became a powerful and intense pain. He had no choice but to lower his leg and grab his stomach.

    He Li and the others were also stunned. What is going on here? Why does the emperor look like he¡¯s in such pain? Are his injuries that bad?

    Zu An¡¯s sword instantly thrust outward. Just as it was about to pierce into Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s body, two fat fingers thrust out, mping down on the Tai¡¯e Sword. No matter how he tried, Zu An couldn''t push his sword forward any further.

    Zhao Ruizhi slowly stood up straight. He said through gritted teeth, ¡°Do you think this bit of pain is enough to stop me? You have no idea how severe my injuries were during the war against the fiend races. I didn¡¯t even utter a single sound¡­ Ugh¡­¡± A gripping pain tore through his stomach before he even finished what he wanted to say. Even with his willpower, he almost copsed with a groan.

    He¡¯d thought that he had already gotten used to the pain, but he couldn¡¯t have known that the pain ofbor wasn¡¯t a sustained and prolonged one, but one that would ease up, and then hit with another intense burst of pain. Each time the pain arrived, it would be worse than thest. It made one think that one had already gotten used to it, only to strike with an even worse round of suffering.

    Zu An used the opening to try and push the Tai¡¯e Sword forward. Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s fingers had loosened up a bit from the intense pain and couldn''t hold the sword in ce.

    But in the end, Zhao Ruizhi was still an emperor who had risen up through a battlefield of blood and mes. Even though he was feeling an unfamiliar intense pain inside, sweat pouring down his forehead inrge droplets, he still caught the sword again. The sword¡¯s tip was now a hair¡¯s distance from his body!

    Zu An obviously wouldn¡¯t ce all of his hopes on being able to kill the emperor with one strike. He decisively let go of the Tai¡¯e Sword, and his palm mmed toward Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s forehead.

    He Li watched the battle, his eyes wide. He was amazed that Zu An had decisively abandoned his sword. No wonder so many of their group had died because of this brat earlier! Hisbat instincts were just too powerful. He would always do things that were unexpected.

    He Li knew fully well that a protector like him, in such a situation where he had just used all of his strength to fend off that sword, would never be able to avoid that palm strike.

    But Zhao Ruizhi had already reigned as this world¡¯s number one for a long time. Hisbat experience was far greater than theirs. His arm curved at a strange angle, and then even though he attacked second, his palm arrived first.

    Crack!

    Zu An¡¯s arm clearly snapped, his joint bending at an unnatural angle. It was as if the onlookers could experience the pain themselves. Zu An¡¯s entire body was blown backward like a beaten sandbag.

    Bi Linglong ran over frantically, her voice filled with panicked sobbing. ¡°Ah Zu!¡±

    Mi Li had been about to say something, but she fell silent when she saw what had happened.

    Zhao Ruizhiughed in ridicule. ¡°Linglong, I¡¯ve always thought of you as a quick-witted girl, but today, I¡¯ve realized that you¡¯re an utter fool! You actually like this brainless moron? He dared to exchange an attack with me directly?¡±

    He was the most powerful man in this world. He had already adapted to thebor pains. Even though there was still paining from his stomach from time to time, he had suppressed it forcefully through ki to a point where it became tolerable.

    Bi Linglong stared at him hatefully. ¡°Unlike someone like you who only knows how to use people like objects, he¡¯s willing to give up anything for me, even his life! That¡¯s something that a selfish man like you will never be able to do.¡±

    When he saw that the woman he had selected for himself was still speaking up for another man, Zhao Ruizhi was furious. ¡°You¡¯re courting death!¡±

    He Li nodded in deep sympathy. These two adulterers are going so far for each other that even ¡®m impressed.

    But no one could have expected that Zu An would roar withughter just then. A st of blood sprayed out from his mouth. With another crack, his broken arm rigidly snapped back into ce. The onlookers broke out in cold sweat as they watched him, and yet Zu An¡¯s expression never changed during the entire process.

    Zu An cultivated the Primordial Origin Sutra, and his reforged body possessed astonishing regeneration powers. Even this level of injury had already pretty much healed up.

    ¡°Did you think I was just ying around when I traded blows with you?¡± Mockery and ridicule filled Zu An¡¯s expression.

    Zhao Ruizhi was stunned. He suddenly felt a bone-chilling cold attack his soul. When he raised his hand, he saw that the surface of his palm was already covered in frost. That frost was even gradually extending along his wrist.

    ¡°Frozen Soul[1]!¡± He had traveled thends and seas, and thus immediately recognized what kind of poison it was.

    Normally speaking, even though Frozen Soul was incredible, it wouldn¡¯t do much against him. But at that point, he had been suppressed by thews of the world, weakening his strength. Furthermore, he had been wounded from the battle against Wang Jian and Bai Qi¡¯s heroic spirits, and had even taken a blow from Mi Li after that. On top of all of that, he felt as if his stomach were about to explode, leaving him in the worst state he had ever been in. That was why the poison had sessfully infiltrated his body.

    But with his cultivation, even though the poison was a bit tricky to deal with, that was the extent of it. He transferred his ki through his body. A trace of golden light appeared, forcefully cutting off the white line on his arm.

    Zu An rushed in again. There was no way he would give his opponent the chance to slowly detoxify himself. He was separated from the Tai¡¯e Sword, so instead, a ck glint flickered in his hand. The Poisonous Prick instantly entered his tight grip, and he thrust it straight at Zhao Ruizhi. He pushed his Sunflower Phantasm to its limit, splitting into several afterimages and attacking from every direction.

    With Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s cultivation, the illusions couldn''t deceive his eyes. However, his current situation was awful. He was wounded, and together with thebor pains and Frozen Soul¡¯s ¡®debuffs¡¯, his movements had be much slower than normal.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Furthermore, Zu An had changed his strategy, refusing to face the emperor from the front. Instead, he continued to use a hit and run tactic, leaving even Zhao Ruizhi momentarily helpless.

    He Li and the others were stupefied. Zu An had exchanged over ten moves with the emperor without being at a disadvantage? If news of this got out, he would be world-famous within a single month!

    How many years had the emperor remained at the absolute peak for? He had barely had to personally interfere in recent years, and whenever he did, it left all others in shock. Even the greatest cultivators of the world believed that they wouldn¡¯t even be able to block a single one of the emperor¡¯s attacks, and yet this Zu An was fighting him on equal footing?

    Bi Linglong clenched her teeth. She was just about to run over to help when Mi Li stopped her. ¡°Your cultivation is too low; you¡¯ll only be causing trouble if you head over. Zu An will be in an even tougher spot if he has to cover for you.¡±

    Bi Linglong wasn¡¯t a stupid girl. She knew that was really the case. But when she saw how intensely they were fighting, she still bit her lip and replied, ¡°But we can¡¯t just watch without doing anything, right?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s exactly what you should do.¡± Mi Li paused for a moment and added, ¡°Trust him.¡±

    ¡­

    Right at that moment, the battle situation changed.

    Zhao Ruizhi eximed with a sinister smile, ¡°I¡¯ve caught you!¡± He grabbed Zu An¡¯s arm through the mirage of afterimages.

    But what no one had expected was that Zu An didn¡¯t panic at all. With a flick of his fingers, the Poisonous Prick in his hands flew at his opponent¡¯s chest.

    1. The poison that belonged to Ma An, the Imperial Hospitalmissioner assistant, that even master rank cultivators can¡¯t resist ?

 Chapter 879: None of You Shall Escape

    <h4>Chapter 879: None of You Shall Escape</h4>

    The sudden development happened far too quickly. Even He Li and the others felt sincere admiration, even though they were in opposite camps. This guy, Zu An, is absolutely insane! Every single action he takes is unexpected. He was even starting to hope that the emperor would be taken down by the attack. Then, their group would also be free.

    However, the ck light suddenly stopped. It was mped firmly between two fingers. Zhao Ruizhi sneered. ¡°I already knew about your strange dagger. Everything you were doing until now was to mislead me and cover up this attack, right?¡±

    The pitch-ck dagger made even him feel a strange fear. He quickly realized how dangerous the thing was, that it might actually possess a tremendous threat. Even though he didn¡¯t know why a dagger would make him feel this way, he wasn¡¯t stupid. He wouldn¡¯t take that risk.

    Sure enough, Zu An had done all of that earlier precisely because he wanted to use the dagger.

    The emperor held the dagger firmly. The feeling ofpletely crushing his opponent¡¯s ns, dominating them with intelligence, made him feel a powerful sense of superiority. And yet for some reason, he didn¡¯t see shock, annoyance, despair, or any other such emotions on Zu An¡¯s face. Instead, Zu An had a weird smile.

    Zhao Ruizhi immediately went on guard. He quickly blew Zu An back with his fist, and dodgedd off to the side. Unfortunately, it was already toote. A nick had been made in the front of his chest. It hadn¡¯t been done by that pitch-ck dagger, but rather by a strangely-shaped throwing knife.

    He saw the throwing knife in Zu An¡¯s other hand, a bit of blood still lingering on its cutting edge. Zhao Ruizhi frowned. He didn¡¯t know why such a tiny knife had been able to cut through his defenses.

    Zu An fell to the ground, unable to crawl back up for a long time. Blood gushed out from his mouth, but there was a big smile on his face. ¡°You didn¡¯t predict this, did you? I wanted to stab you with the Poisonous Prick, and you knew I wanted to do that as well. I knew that you knew I wanted to do that, so that attack was just to cover this attack¡­ You thought that I was thinking five steps ahead, but I was actually ying 4D chess.¡±

    Zhao Ruizhi had thought that he hadpletely established superiority in intelligence just a second ago, but now, he realized that he was the one who had been fooled. Anger filled him, but he still forcefully tried to maintain his appearance. ¡°Hmph, you pulled that huge stunt just to hurt me with that tiny knife? What child¡¯s y.¡±

    Zu An sighed. ¡°Do you really not sense anything wrong?¡±

    ¡°What could possibly be wrong¡­¡± Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s expression suddenly changed halfway through his sentence. He suddenly felt a sharp pain. It wasn¡¯t the pain ofbor from his stomach, but rather a pain from his soul. His soul rippled powerfully, and his head was hurting so much it felt as if it were about to explode!

    Now that his attention had been diverted, the ¡®Frozen Soul¡¯ on his hand and the Knock-You-Up-Eyes¡¯ pain red up. Not even someone with Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s shocking willpower could withstand it anymore. He screamed miserably and fell to the ground, screaming and twitching in pain.

    Bi Linglong instantly reached Zu An¡¯s side. She helped him up and asked, ¡°Ah Zu, are you okay?¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t die.¡± Zu An wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth while trembling. He stared at Zhao Ruizhi while using the Primordial Origin Sutra to recover. What they werepeting in right now was time. Whichever party could recover first would eke out victory.

    The throwing knife he had used had been obtained back then from the Eastern Pce when Shi Kun schemed against him; it was one of the Immortal Beheading Knives. This knife looked ordinary on the surface, but it could wound the soul. It was incredibly treacherous.

    Unfortunately, the Immortal Beheading Knives weren¡¯tplete, and so their greatest strength couldn''t be brought out. Otherwise, that attack alone would have already erased the emperor¡¯s soul.

    He had been left without any options earlier. The emperor had already seen the Poisonous Prick before, so he would already be prepared for it. In that case, he could only use it as the diversion to cover up the Beheading Immortal Knife¡¯s strike. Fortunately, everything had gone smoothly.

    ¡°What happened to him?¡± Bi Linglong had never seen the glorious emperor in such a sorry state. She was overwhelmed with shock.

    Zhao Ruizhi was clutching his head in pain. Golden light flickered around his body from time to time, but at times, chills from the Frozen Soul poison appeared.

    ¡°Don¡¯t ask about so much. We need to kill him first. He shouldn¡¯t be able to move for a bit of time.¡± Zu An urged.

    Bi Linglong¡¯s face paled. The emperor¡¯s power was something deeply imprinted into the minds of those from the Great Zhou Dynasty. Her first instincts when she heard those words were fear and dread.

    But when she saw Zu An¡¯s wounds and remembered how heroically he had fought, her reason won out. She gritted her teeth and picked up a fallen weapon. Then, she walked toward Zhao Ruizhi.

    Zhao Ruizhi snorted. ¡°He Li, kill them.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± He Li instinctively rushed up to Bi Linglong. He was at the peak of the ninth rank, while Bi Linglong was only at the sixth rank. At that point, she was even extremely weak after using a forbidden technique. The difference between them was just too great. Bi Linglong was blown away from a single strike. If not because Bi Linglong was too pretty and he had subconsciously held back, she would already be dead. After seriously injuring Bi Linglong, He Li instinctively wanted to kill Zu An.

    Zu An roared, ¡°Bastard He, did all that time you spent cultivating go up your ass?!¡±

    He Li roared furiously. ¡°I might have had to take it if you acted arrogant at another time, but you dare to speak to me this way now? You have a death wish!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled He Li for +444 +444 +444¡­

    ¡°I¡¯m indeed seriously injured, but isn¡¯t the emperor the same? Why aren¡¯t you using this chance to kill him? If he recovers, won¡¯t that just guarantee your death?¡± Zu An quickly said.

    He Li subconsciously wanted to say something, but he was soon stunned. Wait, you¡¯re making so much sense. I can¡¯t even argue against that. He knew that he was from King Qi¡¯s faction. The reason he had been taken in by the emperor was because he might still be of some use in the dungeon as cannon fodder. But he now knew so many of the emperor¡¯s secrets, as well as how he had been cuckolded. Even if he really became the emperor¡¯s trusted aide, he would still be silenced afterwards.

    He had already unconsciously turned around when he realized those facts and looked at Zhao Ruizhi.

    Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s gaze turned cold. ¡°He Li, Zu An has always been a glib talker. How can you be misled by him so easily?¡±

    He Li chuckled. ¡°Who the hell does Zu An think he is? How could he deceive me? But what he says isn¡¯t entirely without reason. Don¡¯t tell me your majesty will really let me go after the matter?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re King Qi Manor¡¯s trusted aide, so after this matter, I can use you as a spy. That will be greatly helpful to me. Why would I kill you?¡± Zhao Ruizhi quickly said. His tone was steady and possessed a mysterious persuasiveness.

    He Li figured that argument made sense as well. He became a bit conflicted.

    Bi Linglong crawled to her feet while swaying from side to side. She weakly said, ¡°You even know about the crown prince¡¯s possession, as well as all these ugly truths that happened in the dungeon. Why would he let you go so easily?¡±

    He Li suddenly realized that she was right. What was wrong with him? He had actually almost believed the emperor! But he wasn¡¯t willing to admit his faults and red at Bi Linglong. ¡°Do you think I don¡¯t know such obvious things? Do I need you to tell me that?¡±

    Then, he walked closer and closer to Zhao Ruizhi with a de in hand. Even though the emperor looked seriously injured, there was still a powerful pressure emanating from him. He Li was a bit intimidated.

    Zhao Ruizhi frowned and said, ¡°If you don¡¯t believe me, then I can make a vow that I absolutely won¡¯t harm you.¡±

    He Li hesitated again. If his survival was guaranteed, then why wouldn¡¯t he choose to side with someone as powerful as the emperor?

    Zu An roared withughter. ¡°Did you forget something? The elements here are unstable. You can¡¯t even make a vow here.¡±

    He Li felt annoyed at himself again. He had actually almost been fooled by the emperor again!

    When he saw He Li¡¯s hateful gaze, Zhao Ruizhi coldly said, ¡°You need to think things through clearly. If you attack me, it will only be a portion of my soul that dies. However, my real body will remain. Do you dare face my thunderous wrath once you leave this dungeon?¡±

    He Li¡¯s face paled. Right! Even if I kill him now, that¡¯s only a part of his soul! The unmatched emperor will remain. I¡¯ll definitely be killed afterward¡­ As such, he couldn''t help but turn around and walk toward Zu An with his de.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An was speechless. ¡°You won¡¯t believe me if I call you a moron, but this entire dungeon is isted¡­ As long as you kill him before this dungeon opens back up, the emperor outside won¡¯t know a thing about what happened inside!¡±

    He Li was stunned. So that was the case¡­ His understanding toward the soul wasn¡¯t too profound. If not because of Mi Li¡¯s reminder, Zu An simrly wouldn¡¯t have known about that.

    Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s expression changed. He hadn¡¯t expected Zu An to know about that. Looks like this kid nned to kill me from the start.

    Zhao Ruizhi was just about to say something again when He Li roared, ¡°All of you, shut the hell up! My head hurts like hell! Stop arguing; isn¡¯t this problem easily solved if I just kill all of you?¡±

 Chapter 880: Mastermind

    <h4>Chapter 880: Mastermind</h4>

    He Li immediately felt relieved when he got all of that out. Maybe it was his imagination, but he could feel the looks of respect and fear in Zu An and the emperor¡¯s eyes.

    He was a cultivator at the peak of the ninth rank after all, someone who received respect wherever he went. Even in a ce like the capital where cultivators were more widespread, his presence still carried considerable weight.

    And yet it was precisely his arrogant self who had constantly been overshadowed by these two ridiculous existences, turning him into a wretched yes-man. Only now had he recovered his usual dignity.

    He gave the trembling Bi Linglong a look. Even though your hair is a bit too white, your face really is pretty. Your weak appearance right now makes you look moredylike than your usual high and mighty appearance.

    I¡¯ll kill the men and leave this extraordinary beauty alive. Who¡¯ll even be able to find me once I leave and live incognito?

    I¡¯ll just spend some time with the crown princess here in the dungeon if I have to. What should I name the child? Hm¡­ I guess it depends on whether it¡¯s a boy or a girl¡­

    At that moment, he had already thought about many things. He suddenly wasn¡¯t so scared of the emperor anymore when he thought about the beautiful crown princess. The de in his hands flew at Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s neck.

    Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s eyes flickered with light. His hand shot out and tapped He Li¡¯s forehead.

    He Li trembled, and his body fell limp to the ground. A streak of blood trickled out between his brows, his eyes wide in shock. As his world becamepletely dark, he still seemed to be confused.

    Zhao Ruizhi slowly stood up. ¡°Hmph, did you think that I was really begging you when I was talking to you? It was just to buy myself time.¡±

    The two King Qi Manor soldiers, who had be a bit restless, were frightened. They quickly bowed down. ¡°The emperor is powerful and without equal! Long live, long live!¡±

    Zhao Ruizhi roared withughter. He suddenly turned to look at Zu An. ¡°It¡¯s now your turn.¡±

    Zu An remained quiet. He had just recovered a bit of fighting strength too, but he hadn¡¯t expected the emperor to recover even faster. He had only managed to pressure the emperor previously after exhausting everything he had. The emperor was no fool and wouldn¡¯t fall for the same trick twice.

    He felt despair when he thought of that. The emperor was just way too powerful. Whether it was the Knock-You-Up-Eyes, the Immortal Beheading Knives, or the Frozen Soul poison, any one of them would¡¯ve been enough to finish off a powerful opponent. And yet Zhao Ruizhi had managed to recover after being affected by all three.

    But while they were focused on each other, no one noticed that all of the blood they had lost had beenpletely sucked away by the ground.

    Zhao Ruizhi walked toward Zu An one step after another, as if he was doing this to make him fully experience the fear before death.

    To his disappointment, however, Zu An remainedpletely calm, and not even Bi Linglong looked that scared, as if they didn¡¯t care about dying at all. That wasn¡¯t all; they were even looking at each other affectionately.

    Are they ignoring me? Smoke almost came out of Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s head from anger.

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Han for +777 +777 +777¡­

    He decided that he was going to rip out Zu An¡¯s tongue first, then watch him scream in agony. He wanted to see Bi Linglong¡¯s expression of horror and regret.

    Right at that moment, a rumble erupted from beneath them. Not even Zhao Ruizhi could stand steadily. He looked down with a frown and saw that the ground was cracking open down the middle. A huge jagged crevice gradually appeared. The two chunks of separated ground became different in color. One side was bing whiter and whiter, while the other was bing darker and darker.

    Zu An looked at the ground. He suddenly realized something. ¡°Isn¡¯t this a yin yang diagram?!¡±

    Mi Li was confused at first, but then her expression changed to rm. ¡°This isn¡¯t a Five Elements Formation, but rather a Five Elements Yin Yang Formation!¡±

    Zu An was about to ask what the difference was, but their surroundings changed again.

    As the ground ruptured, water gushed out from underneath. The spring water waspletely red in color, as if it were blood that rushed out. When paired with the altar and the current surroundings, it was quite an rming sight.

    Even Zhao Ruizhi stopped. He looked at the scene with a serious expression.

    ¡°Pure yang blood, pure yin body¡­ How many years has it been? I¡¯ve finally collected everything I need,¡± a droning voice suddenly said. It echoed through the ce, making it even harder to tell who the one talking was.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s eyes narrowed, because he noticed that even he couldn''t lock onto the person¡¯s aura. How absurd was that? Ever since he had be the most powerful cultivator in the world, when had anyone escaped his divine senses?

    ¡°Pure yang blood?¡± Mi Li mouthed those words. Then, she gave the yin yang diagram on the ground a look. She suddenly realized what was going on. ¡°So that was it!¡±

    The pool of bloody water that filled the area suddenly boiled like hot water. The blood water surged, slowly forming a human shape. However, it was still rather crude, and its five sensory organs could only vaguely be made out.

    The onlookers were shocked when they saw the strange existence. The two King Qi Manor soldiers who were closest to the blood man immediately turned to run for their lives. However, that blood man raised his hands. They stretched out and gripped the two¡¯s necks, dragging them right back.

    ¡°Your majesty, save us¡­¡± The two King Qi warriors were definitely not ipetent. The fact that they could survive until now proved that they were the best among their peers. However, they couldn''t even put up the slightest struggle against that blood man. They could only look toward Zhao Ruizhi with pleading eyes.

    Zhao Ruizhi remainedpletely indifferent. These two were just cannon fodder; why would he ever save them? But his brows furrowed deeper and deeper. For some reason, he felt threatened by the blood monster.

    The two warriors had been begging for their lives just a moment earlier, but a split secondter, their bodies shrank at a visible rate until they had only skin and bones left. They became two terrifying corpses.

    Bi Linglong instinctively turned around when she saw the scene. Such a situation was way too horrifying.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes twitched. The scene made him recall Mosquito Daoist. That really wasn¡¯t the happiest memory. Meanwhile, the blood man moved again and tossed the two corpses aside. His body rippled, and his facial features gradually became clear. A rough outline of his original appearance formed. but it was still formed from a glob of blood. It was still hard to tell what kind of monster it was.

    ¡°Xu Fu, how could it be you?¡± Mi Li was shocked and furious.

    That blood man slowly opened his eyes and looked at her. ¡°Long time no see, your highness.¡±

    Zu An felt his scalp turn numb when he heard those words. This blood man was Xu Fu? This was the Xu Fu who had supposedly looked for the elixir of immortality to present to the emperor!

    All the time, he had actually thought that thest boss of the formation would be the first emperor. He had worried about such a monstering out, but apletely different person had ended up appearing?

    Zhao Ruizhi waspletely confused. Who is Xu Fu? Why is he calling this woman ¡®her highness¡¯?¡± He remained calm, nning to listen and gather information first. At the same time, he adjusted his ki. This blood monster gave off an extremely dangerous feeling; he needed to recover as quickly as possible.

    The pain in his stomach was already close to disappearing, and only a dull ache remained. It was within his realm of tolerance, however. The Frozen Soul poison was forced back into his hand. He could expel it from his body if he were given a few more seconds of time.

    The most troublesome part was the Immortal Beheading Knife¡¯s injury. He had only possessed the crown prince with a portion of his soul, so the body and soul weren¡¯t in perfect harmony. That damn knife just happened to attack the soul. He couldn''t heal from it without a proper period of recovery and could only temporarily keep the wound down. He¡¯d slowly heal the woundter.

    ¡°Why is it you? Where is Ying Zheng?¡± Mi Li stared at the blood man. She clearly shared Zu An¡¯s sentiments.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t Ying Zheng lying right over there?¡± Xu Fu pointed at the coffin, his tone carrying a hint of ridicule. ¡°Your highness, please don¡¯t fret. Please wait as I deal with this little problem over here first.¡± As soon as he spoke, he turned into a streak of bloody light, shooting at Zhao Ruizhi.

    Zhao Ruizhi had already experienced endless battles and ughter, bing the world¡¯s strongest cultivator. Hisbat experience was abundant. He was already prepared. A sh of golden light blew his opponent back. However, the exchange made his ki and blood stir within him as well.

    He knew that he might not be able to win against the monster in his current condition, so he decided to not carry out a frontal sh for the time being. He wanted to find a ce to recover for a bit first.

    Just as he was about to leave, his entire body sank downward. He lowered his head. Blood had seeped out between the cracks when he wasn¡¯t paying attention. The blood iled outward like arms, wrapping tightly around him.

    Zhao Ruizhi snorted. Golden light flickered, scattering all of the blood arms. But in the time it took to do that, Xu Fu had already pounced over from afar.

    Xu Fu didn¡¯t retain a human form the way Zhao Ruizhi had expected. Midway through his charge, he had already turned into a bloody mist. Then, that blood turned into a giant octopus. Countless tentacles wrapped tightly around Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s entire body.

 Chapter 881: End of the Line

    <h4>Chapter 881: End of the Line</h4>

    Golden light flickered around Zhao Ruizhi, instantly cutting through several tentacles around him. Unfortunately, there were just too many of them. Once those tentacles were cut, new ones quickly took their ce seemingly endlessly.

    Zhao Ruizhi was a bit frightened. If he had been in his best condition, he wouldn¡¯t care about the attack at all, but he was falling behind right now. He felt an increasing need to pull back and withdraw. He raised his arm and fired bursts of golden light. All of the surrounding tentacles were destroyed, and he quickly dashed backward.

    Two extremely thick tentacles suddenly shot out at that moment, wrapping around his arms. He struggled, but those thick tentacles weren¡¯t as easily destroyed as the others. That brief instant was already enough for countless red tentacles to surround him once more. Then, a third thick tentacle rushed out from the massive octopus and flew at his head. If that tentacle made contact, even the powerful emperor would immediately lose his life.

    Zhao Ruizhi roared. His arms closed together, bringing all of the tentacles with them. In a moment of life and death, he managed to catch the iing tentacle. Veins popped on his forehead; he was already using all of his strength. That massive tentacle couldn''t make any progress, leaving both sides stuck in a stalemate.

    The others present were shocked. Bi Linglong couldn''t help but turn around and start retching. Even Mi Li frowned. Women had a natural fear toward such sticky tentacle monsters.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An was a bit better off, since he had already experienced his fair share of that ¡®culture¡¯. But he couldn''t understand something. Why had a proper official like Xu Fu changed into an octopus monster?

    He suddenly remembered Mi Li mentioning that Xu Fuhad spent a long time out at sea, searching for the first emperor¡¯s elixir of immortality. He had killed a giant fish along the way, and he had even brought back the Mermaid Race¡¯s empress, right? He had spent most of his time out at sea, so it wasn¡¯t all that strange for him to have some Ocean Race skills.

    But now wasn¡¯t the time to think about such things. He picked up Bi Linglong in one arm and Mi Li in the other, deciding to leave the ce first. Two monsters were duking it out right now. If he didn¡¯t take the chance to run, was he going to wait until one of them won and came after him afterward?

    Mi Li¡¯s brows furrowed when she felt Zu An¡¯s arm around her waist. However, she knew that it was a rational decision and didn¡¯t act out. On the contrary, she made her soul force a bit more tangible to make herself easier to carry.

    Zu An used Grandgale to flee quickly. The octopus monster seemed to have seen what was happening, but it was busy dealing with Zhao Ruizhi and didn¡¯t have the freedom to stop them. Zu An was happy to see that, as he had already reached the entrance. In a few more seconds, he would already be far away from this ce. At that point, he didn¡¯t care if it was Xu Fu or Zhao Ruizhi; none of them would be able to find him.

    Suddenly, Mi Li groaned. Zu An turned around and saw that her body was flickering. Her expression was full of pain.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Zu An asked, rmed.

    Mi Li frowned. ¡°The formation has me trapped here. I can¡¯t get away. You should take that girl with you and leave first.¡± Even though her cultivation was strong, right now she was still in soul form. That was why there were some things that could restrict her. This Five Elements Yin Yang Formation was clearly one such thing.

    Zu An said gravely, ¡°You¡¯ll die.¡±

    Mi Li was currently being suppressed by the formation. It was hard for her to even move. If she stayed behind, the only thing that awaited her was death. However, she said coldly, ¡°After living for so long, I don¡¯t have much attachment to this world anyway. There are so many old acquaintances here, and there¡¯s a familiar pce. Even if I pass on here, it¡¯s not too bad of a choice.¡±

    Zu An eximed angrily, ¡°Nonsense! Don¡¯t you still have me?!¡±

    Mi Li was stunned. Her expression becameplicated, but she still said, ¡°It¡¯s meaningless for you to stay here. We¡¯ll only die together. Just leave already; there are many people waiting for you outside. Don¡¯t let them down.¡± She knew all about his rtionships after sticking around him for so long.

    Zu An didn¡¯t pay her any more attention. Instead, he took out a bunch of medicine and some of the weapons and artifacts he had stored, giving them to Bi Linglong. ¡°Get out of here first and find a ce to hide. Wait for me; I¡¯ll find youter.¡±

    He paused for a moment before saying, ¡°If I don¡¯te out, this dungeon will reopen one day. You should just try to escape then. You¡¯ll be safe once you reach the academy¡¯s rear mountain.¡±

    Bi Linglong pushed the items back, shaking her head. ¡°I¡¯m not going.¡±

    Zu An was getting even more frustrated. He insisted, ¡°Don¡¯t cause any trouble and leave.¡±

    ¡°You were willing to sacrifice yourself for me, so how can I abandon you now? Let¡¯s just die together if there¡¯s no other choice.¡± Bi Linglong¡¯s voice was quiet, but her tone was firm.

    Zu An said gravely, ¡°But the reason I¡¯m staying behind is because of another woman.¡±

    Bi Linglong blinked. ¡°She¡¯s your master. If you were to just abandon her, you¡¯d be despicable scum! That¡¯s nothing like the¡­ the outstanding man I like.¡±

    Zu An fell silent for a moment. However, he quicklyughed, his voice carefree. ¡°Whatever. If we can¡¯t survive, then we¡¯ll just go down together! It¡¯s not so bad to die with the people you care about.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Han for +666 +666 +666¡­

    The real husband is struggling over here, yet you adulterers are flirting over there?! Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s moment of distraction made him lose his grip on the massive tentacle, and it slowly closed in toward his forehead. He shivered and quickly focused on the attack. Unfortunately, those tentacles were extremely slippery, and he couldn''t get a grip on them again.

    Zu An and the others saw the scene as well. Bi Linglong asked, ¡°Which side should we help?¡±

    Even though the emperor really wasn¡¯t that likable, he was a human at least. What the hell was this blood octopus? But regardless of which side won and which side lost, their group would be dead after the fight was decided. Bi Linglong couldn''t think of a solution no matter how hard she tried and could instead only ask Zu An.

    After some hesitation, Zu An picked up his sword and charged at the giant octopus.

    Bi Linglong nodded inwardly. That was the more viable n. Zhao Ruizhi was already seriously injured, after all. Even if he won, he would barely inch it out. Zu An had a good chance of winning at that point.

    On the contrary, it was this Xu Fu monster who was more frightening. Zu An had no confidence in winning against it at all. If Xu Fu defeated Zhao Ruizhi, it would probably retain most of its strength. That wasn¡¯t an opponent Zu An could beat, let alone the fact that Mi Li was trapped by his strange formation!

    When he saw Zu An charge at the octopus, a look of gratitude appeared in Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s eyes. He even thought to himself that if this kid could help him kill the octopus monster, he might just write off all of their grudges. He didn¡¯t feel any real love for Bi Linglong, only a masculine desire to possess. Giving her to him wasn¡¯t that big of a deal.

    But that thought was ruthlessly erased as soon as it emerged. This kid wasn¡¯t someone who would ever bow down. Once I get rid of this octopus monster, I¡¯ll immediately ambush him when he thinks we¡¯re working together. Otherwise, I might not be able to take him out easily with my condition.

    Even though Zu An¡¯s cultivation wasn¡¯t high, he had way too many unique skills. Even the emperor was bing a bit scared. While he was thinking those thoughts, however, he saw that the octopus monster had reached out with some tentacles to attack Zu An. He sneered. This octopus was really looking down on Zu An¡¯s strength. How could those tentacles stop that kid?

    But Zu An didn¡¯t face the tentacles at all. Instead, his figure flickered before reappearing a good distance away. He struck the yin yang diagram on the ground with all of his strength.

    Zhao Ruizhi was speechless. You motherf*cker!

    This guy had never nned to cooperate with him at all! He was waiting for him to wear down this octopus monster so he could collect all the spoils!

    Zu An had produced a forty meter long de of mes. Unfortunately, after the impact, the yin yang diagram on the ground becamepletely calm after a wave of ripples.

    Xu Fu roared withughter. ¡°It¡¯s useless! Once such a great formation activates, how can it be destroyed by mere mortal power?¡±

    Meanwhile, the thick tentacle advanced ferociously again. Zhao Ruizhi couldn''t take it anymore. He could only watch as the tentacle reached straight into his mouth.

 Chapter 882: Method of Ascension Obtained

    <h4>Chapter 882: Method of Ascension Obtained</h4>

    Zhao Ruizhi was rmed. However, he wasn¡¯t someone who gave up easily, and he bit right back. With his cultivation, his bite possessed enough force to crush even the sturdiest of metals.

    But the tentacle was too slippery. Its viscous surface neutralized arge portion of the force. On the contrary, rather than wounding the octopus monster, the tentacle took the chance to get in a bit further. It was already practically in Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s throat!

    Zhao Ruizhi wanted to vomit. When had he ever been humiliated like this before?! Not only was his life in critical danger, his pride and dignity were being trampled right now! He frantically tried to pull the tentacle out of his mouth, but he felt as if once it had entered his mouth, a portion of it had broken down into liquid form and entered his stomach. Afterward, his strength quickly weakened. He could only watch as the tentacle reached deeper and deeper down his throat.

    ¡­

    Zu An shivered when he saw what was happening in the distance. This really was a terrible way to die¡­ If I were¡­ Ah pah pah! Why am I jinxing myself!

    Xu Fu¡¯sughter emerged from the octopus¡¯ mouth. ¡°Hahaha, turns out you were possessing someone else! What a great opportunity; I¡¯ll just use your soul topensate for my deficiencies after so much time has passed.¡±

    Zhao Ruizhi struggled frantically. Unfortunately, his movements became weaker and weaker, eventually bing still. Then, a soul body that looked like Zhao Han was ripped out of his body, bearing an expression of extreme pain. However, Xu Fu¡¯s tentacle wrapped around him, making him unable to even put up the slightest resistance. His soul grew dimmer and dimmer, eventually shattering with a loud noise. He turned into specks of golden light and was sucked into therge octopus¡¯ mouth.

    ¡°Ah¡­¡± Xu Fu released a moan of pleasure. It was clear that he had just felt something incredible.

    ¡­

    Elsewhere, a certain someone didn¡¯t feel great at all. In the Imperial Pce outside of the dungeon, Zhao Han had been meditating in his study. His expression suddenly changed, and blood sprayed out of his mouth. His face turned as pale as a sheet of paper, and his aura immediately became significantly weaker.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, your highness?¡± Two lesser eunuchs ran over when they heard the activity. They jumped in fright when they saw the emperor¡¯s condition, and were scared badly.

    A glint shed through Zhao Han¡¯s eyes. The two lesser eunuchs felt as if an invisible hand had gripped their necks. Then, with a crack, they fell to the ground lifeless. How could they have known that their concern would instead be the cause of their death? How could the emperor let anyone who could potentially speak about his weakness live?

    Zhao Han didn¡¯t even give the two corpses a look. Instead, he moved over to the window and looked in the direction of the Royal Academy with an awful expression. His split soul had actually been erased! Even though there was a world separating them, so he couldn''t tell what happened, the two of them came from the same source. He had immediately felt it when his split soul disappeared.

    He was incredibly shocked. Until that point, he had believed that everything was within his grasp. No matter what King Qi Manor had nned, even if he didn¡¯t know about some of it, he believed it didn¡¯t matter at all since his soul was in the crown prince¡¯s body. It could just as easily take care of any situation, so why had it died?

    Even though a new dungeon had appeared, he refused to believe that a new dungeon could threaten his split soul. Was it possible that Zhao Jing was also inside the dungeon?

    Zhao Han quickly shouted, ¡°Servant!¡±

    Eunuch Wen came in and asked ¡°What orders does your majesty have for me?¡±

    He didn¡¯t even give those two lesser eunuchs a single nce. He had already served the imperial study for many years; he knew what he should and shouldn¡¯t be asking, and when he should be entering and when he shouldn¡¯t. The two lesser eunuchs were just too young¡­

    Zhao Han had already wiped away the blood on his lips, and his aura returned to normal. He said seropis;y, ¡°Bring in King Qi for an audience¡­ Wait, no, forget it. Have ourwork find out where King Qi is right now no matter the cost!¡±

    He was worried that King Qi would be able to sense his body¡¯s condition if he met him face to face. That would only further increase that man¡¯s confidence and the number of variables.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Eunuch Wen hesitated for a moment. ¡°That might expose thework we ced in King Qi Manor.¡±

    Finding out King Qi¡¯s whereabouts wasn¡¯t something any old intelligence group could aplish. Only the highest level spy in King Qi Manor had a chance of knowing. But once such a person was used, with King Qi Manor¡¯s sharpness, that person would be quickly exposed. That position in King Qi Manor wasn¡¯t easy to obtain. It would be too much of a pity if the spy was lost because of this matter.

    Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s expression turned cold. ¡°This emperor has already said ¡®no matter the cost¡¯.¡±

    ¡°I will obey the emperor¡¯s decree!¡± Eunuch Wen shivered. The emperor clearly didn¡¯t care about that person¡¯s sacrifice at this point.

    Sigh, so what if you were chosen for such an important position? Aren¡¯t you still nothing but a chess piece in the end? I wonder when the same fate will await me¡­

    But he didn¡¯t dare to show any of those thoughts on his face. He slowly withdrew. Before leaving, he brought the two lesser eunuchs¡¯ corpses with him. It was as if nothing had taken ce there.

    Zhao Han nodded in satisfaction. This servant understood tact well and dealt with things properly. But his mood only improved for a split second. Immediately afterward, his expression became ice-cold.

    He stared in the direction of the Royal Academy rear mountain¡¯s dungeon. What had happened inside?! His eternal life project of many years had beenpletely spoiled at thest step!

    ¡­

    Inside the dungeon, Zu An¡¯s mood was simrly grave. He was frantically cursing Zhao Han for being freaking useless inwardly. This guy had always been shooting his mouth off, so why had he been eaten by that octopus so easily today? Not only had he failed to bring the monster down with him, he had even ended up feeding the octopus, making it stronger? What the hell was the point of even having him fight it then?!

    Zu An abandoned all thoughts of attack. Instead, he moved back to Mi Li¡¯s side to protect her. However, he didn¡¯t run. The other party had already absorbed a portion of Zhao Han¡¯s soul, so Zu An wouldn¡¯t be able to get away even if he wanted to.

    The octopus¡¯ body twisted and warped, returning to a humanoid form. Then, the blood liquid seemed to coalesce together. All kinds of cracks covered its body, and a lot of the blood came off, revealing a person inside.

    Compared to the human monster from before with indistinct features, the individual now looked no different from an ordinary person. However, his body¡¯s form still warped from time to time, exposing the fact that he still wasn¡¯t apletely tangible body. Zu An wondered if it was something simr to Mi Li¡¯s soul body or not.

    The figure¡¯s eyes burned with desire as he looked at Zu An, licking his lips. ¡°A pure yang body, and furthermore transcendent grade. The heavens really are on my side today.¡±

    Zu An felt a shiver run through his body under the other party¡¯s gaze. Fuck off, you homosexual pervert!

    Mi Li spoke up. ¡°Xu Fu, you still haven¡¯t answered my question. Why are you here? Also, didn¡¯t you disappear together with the three thousand people you led?¡±

    After absorbing Zhao Han¡¯s soul, Xu Fu was feeling incredible, so he wasn¡¯t in a hurry to kill anyone. On the contrary, not having people to share one¡¯s aplishments with was a type of torture in itself. Now that there was an audience here to listen, he couldn''t be happier.

    ¡°Ying Zheng sent me to bring him the elixir of immortality. I went out into the boundless sea several times in hopes of finding the legendary sacred mountains, but the better question would have been, do immortals even exist? Failure after failure made Ying Zheng lose patience with me. Everyone in the world believed that I wouldn¡¯t seed, but I actually found a potential method of immortality in the east sea.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Forget about Zu An, even Mi Li was shocked. There was a method of immortality in this world?

    Xu Fu chuckled. ¡°It isn¡¯t really the method of immortality all of us were thinking about, but rather a kind of sorcery that can slow down aging. This technique needs arge amount of blood essence topensate for time, and it also needs metal, wood, water, fire, and earth bodies to use as sacrifices. Of course, the most important things I needed were a pure yang body, as well as a pure yin body. With all of that in ce, I would ascend to immortality, achieving an undying and imperishable body.¡±

    He paused for a moment and gave Mi Li a look. ¡°Otherwise, why did you think Ying Zheng chose to take a spoiled brat like you from the Chu State as the empress, even though he was clearly going to attack the Chu state? Did you really think you were seeding your older sister?¡±

    Mi Li¡¯s expression changed. She hadn¡¯t expected there to be such a reason.

    Xu Fu then asked, ¡°Didn¡¯t you find it strange at all that even though Ying Zheng already married you for so many years, he never touched you once? That he chose to leave you as a virgin?¡±

 Chapter 883: Substitution

    <h4>Chapter 883: Substitution</h4>

    Zu An looked at Mi Li in surprise when he heard those words. She was still a virgin even after being an empress for so many years? Doesn¡¯t this make her history¡¯s number one oldest bachelor girl? But why is there a grin on my face?

    A rare blush appeared on Mi Li¡¯s face, but she quickly covered it up. She looked coldly at Xu Fu. ¡°Why do you know about these things?¡±

    That should have been the pce¡¯s secret, and there was no way the emperor would publicly talk about something like that. After all, it was rted to the royal family¡¯s dignity! Xu Fu shouldn¡¯t have known about that. It now seemed that there were many secrets that had remained unknown to everyone.

    Xu Fuughed and replied, ¡°A pure yin body has to be a virgin, no? Ying Zheng desired immortality so much, so how could hepromise on something like that? Of course he wouldn¡¯t choose to touch you.¡±

    Zu An had a strange expression on his face. Didn¡¯t this guy mention that I had a pure yang body? I mean I guess I do have a lot of masculine yang energy, but if the pure body needs to be a virgin, doesn¡¯t the pure yang body have to be a virgin as well? No matter how shameless he was, he couldn''t bring himself to say that he was a virgin.

    The others obviously didn¡¯t know that what he was currently worried about was something so strange. Mi Li said, ¡°So that was why Ying Zheng set up a Yin Yang Five Elements formation here. But even though hepleted everything, he still couldn''t obtain eternal life.¡±

    ¡°The reason he couldn''t obtain eternal life wasn¡¯t because there was an issue with the formation, but rather because of me,¡± Xu Fu said proudly.

    Mi Li¡¯s brows furrowed. ¡°Because of you?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± Xu Fu looked as if he were recounting something he was immensely pleased with. ¡°I spent my entire life looking for Ying Zheng¡¯s method of immortality, squandering away endless years. In the end, the heavens didn¡¯t let me down and allowed me to find it. My first reaction was to offer it to Ying Zheng, but then I suddenly thought, why? Why couldn¡¯t I use this for myself?¡±

    Zu An remained silent throughout the entire speech. This was human nature. Perhaps Xu Fu wouldn¡¯t have dared to betray Ying Zheng, but once he touched upon immortality, who could resist such temptation in this world?

    Mi Li sneered. ¡°I knew you didn¡¯t have any loyalty. But what authority and power did you even have that would let you betray Ying Zheng?¡±

    That was what she was the most confused about. After all, whether it was in terms of cultivation or status, Xu Fu couldn''tpare to Ying Zheng. There were even some other authoritative subjects who had surpassed him in both respects.

    ¡°Indeed, I didn¡¯t have many qualifications back then, and I alone had no chance ofpleting such a great formation,¡± Xu Fu said. ¡°That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t reveal a thing and still reported this immortality method to Ying Zheng. Of course, I made some modifications to this formation so that I could take his ce.¡±

    Mi Li frowned, but she remained quiet. She knew that he had more to say.

    Sure enough, Xu Fu couldn''t stop himself from continuing, ¡°Ying Zheng was overjoyed when he learned that I sessfully obtained the method of immortality, and his trust in me grew. He sent me over to oversee Westhound Tomb and put me in charge of this eternal life formation¡¯s construction.

    ¡°The first problem with this formation was that it needed the blood and ki of tens of thousands of creatures as the foundation. Unfortunately, Ying Zheng was an emperor and couldn''t kill his own people for no reason, as that would easily throw the entire world into chaos. As such, we thought of another method, which was to set out to sea again. Under the pretext of finding the elixir of immortality, we took many experts and three thousand male and female virgins with us.¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t expect that to be what had happened. However, he quickly realized with horror, ¡°Then those three thousand virgins¡­¡±

    ¡°Correct.¡± Xu Fu nodded with a smile, as if he were talking about somethingpletely normal. ¡°I left with those people, but never returned. There were many interpretations of what happened. Some said that we lost our lives at sea, while some said that I fled because I couldn''t find the immortality the emperor wanted, so I just lived out at sea as a king and didn¡¯te back¡­ No one once suspected that the three thousand virgins and the other experts were actually quickly turned into sacrifices.¡± He pointed at the blood that flowed all around the stage. ¡°This pool of blood was made from their blood.¡±

    Zu An felt a chill run down his back. Bi Linglong felt even more repulsed, unable to even look at the pool of blood anymore. She turned her head and threw up.

    Mi Li asked coldly, ¡°Ying Zheng actually still wanted eternal life even aftermitting something so atrocious against the heavens?¡± She was truly angry. All of the education she had experienced growing up made her unable to tolerate the merciless ughter and sacrifice of thousands. Of course, the one who had nted those ideas in Ying Zheng¡¯s head, Xu Fu, was even more hateful.

    Xu Fu curled his lips into a smile. ¡°What¡¯s the big deal? The Xia, Shang, and Zhou Dynasties¡¯ emperors sacrificed who knows how many servants to be buried with the dead.¡± He continued, ¡°Apart from those three thousand virgins, the second difficulty was finding those who matched the five elements. However, even though my actions could deceive most people, I couldn¡¯t deceive other powerful sorcerers. The most brilliant of the sorcerers were Lu Sheng and Han Zhong. Lu Sheng, in particr, possessed the Book, so he was a major threat to me.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s mind stirred. No wonder Han Zhong had lost his mind and immediately panicked when he heard the name Xu Fu. Meanwhile, the danger Lu Sheng had foretold was probably referring to Xu Fu as well. Since Xu Fu had also been hiding in the pce, for the sake of preventing his own soul fragment from being exposed, he had deliberately erased his memories about Xu Fu.

    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t have mattered much if it were anyone else, but if these two saw through my alterations to the formation, Ying Zheng would start doubting me.¡± Xu Fu stood with his arms behind him. Heughed and said, ¡°It really is quite the coincidence, actually. One of them had the metal attribute, the other the wood attribute. They were perfect candidates for the five elements. As such, I secretly reported that to the emperor. Ying Zheng was always harsh and merciless in nature, and he immediately resolved to kill them.

    ¡°Unfortunately, Lu Sheng¡¯s Book was too formidable, warning him about our attack in advance, so he secretly escaped. Ying Zheng was furious and immediately carried out a search. He interrogated every official Lu Sheng came into contact with, ultimately killing hundreds of people he was close to. Finally, he was able to force Lu Sheng out of hiding.¡±

    Zu An was rmed. The same piece of history, from different mouths, could bring entirely different information. They were all talking about the same thing, yet a different perspective would immediately change everything.

    Mi Li said, ¡°Lu Sheng¡¯s Book can bring profound revtions, yet he was still caught by you two in the end.¡±

    ¡°You can know heaven¡¯s will,¡± Xu Fu paused for a moment before continuing, ¡°But defying it is something else entirely.¡± He then added, ¡°I thought that dealing with Han Zhong would be much easier, but somehow, he received some information and our encirclement failed. However, he was seriously injured from that battle. Even though he escaped, he became deranged. Later on, he couldn''t escape from our pursuit and was brought back to Westhound Tomb.¡±

    Zu An figured that Lu Sheng had probably told Han Zhong what he learned from The Book, that he had secretly contacted Han Zhong when he ran. Unfortunately, he was still caught in the end.

    Mi Li asked with a frigid expression, ¡°Then Fu Su¡¯s situation was also because of you?¡± She naturally knew that Fu Su was a candidate for the fire attribute.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Correct. In order to achieve my ultimate n, I had to get rid of Ying Zheng¡¯s helpers. The one who bore the brunt was precisely the crown prince Fu Su, as well as the glorious Meng n.¡± Xu Fu had the smile of a victor on his face as he recalled the past. ¡°I keenly sensed Ying Zheng¡¯s concern toward the Chu State¡¯s power, so I used that to make him set his resolve. Fu Su carried half of the Chu State¡¯s royal blood within him, so how could Ying Zheng, someone who boasted of having unified the world single-handedly, tolerate letting the Chu people inherit half the fruit of his sess?

    ¡°Together with the fact that Fu Su had the fire element, Ying Zheng finally made his decision. Meanwhile, the Meng n was close to the crown prince, and Meng Tian was someone who spent a long time with the crown prince. In order to get rid of Fu Su, they had to first get rid of his faction, led by Meng Tian. Coincidentally, Meng Tian was the perfect candidate for the earth element himself. Ying Zheng didn¡¯t feel a shred of hesitation then.¡±

    ¡°So the main culprit behind all of this was you!¡± Mi Li¡¯s eyes were turning red. After all, Fu Su was her older sister¡¯s son! Furthermore, the entire Chu State had been dragged into this matter as well. Just as she was about to act, however, her body rapidly grew dim. Countless strands of invisible energies firmly restrained her.

    ¡°Your highness, please don¡¯t fret. This formation was created using the souls of so many sacrifices, so dealing with a soul like your current self is far too easy. The more you move, the more vicious the formation will be, and thus the faster your soul will disappear,¡± Xu Fu said with a smile.

    Zu An quickly tried to appease Mi Li for fear that she might just kill herself here. In order to divert some of her attention, he quickly said, ¡°The formation is still missing the water element. Whose body was in that position? Why did she carry so much resentment?¡±

    Xu Fu¡¯s smile disappeared when he heard those words. In the end, a sorrowful smile appeared on his face. ¡°She was the one I loved most in this life.¡±

    Zu An, Mi Li, and Bi Linglong were stunned. None of them could ever have guessed that would be Xu Fu¡¯s response.

 Chapter 884: Betrayal

    <h4>Chapter 884: Betrayal</h4>

    Xu Fu¡¯s voice became somber, as if he had remembered something extremely painful. ¡°When I wandered the great sea in search of that fleeting sacred mountain, I encountered arge fish monster. Ying Zheng sent powerful reinforcements to help me kill it.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself that Xu Fu was probably talking about the fish bone temple they had encountered on the first sacred mountain.

    Xu Fu continued, ¡°But I didn¡¯t expect that fish monster to be the sacred beast of the Mermaid Race. Later on, the Mermaid Race came after me for revenge. After a chain of coincidences, I became acquainted with their empress¡­ After several meetings, we developed positive feelings for each other. We eventually became friends. She was extremely curious about life onnd, and one day, she decided to return with me to Qin State.¡±

    ¡°And then you gave her to Ying Zheng?¡± Mi Li asked coldly. The mural painting in that room told a simr story.

    Xu Fu nodded. ¡°Indeed, I gave her to Ying Zheng.¡±

    ¡°No wonder she¡¯s so resentful. You¡¯replete filth.¡± Zu An couldn''t help but sigh. Did these men have NTR fetishes or something? Why were they always giving away the freaking women they loved?

    ¡°That isn¡¯t the reason for her resentment,¡± Xu Fu replied.

    Even Mi Li was now confused. Don¡¯t tell me that that woman also had some weird preferences?

    Xu Fu exined, ¡°She knew about my goal of betraying the emperor. She wanted to help me in the depths of my misery, so she was willing to go undercover for my sake and stay by Ying Zheng¡¯s side.¡±

    Bi Linglong said with a sigh, ¡°It sounds like she really did love you.¡±

    A woman who was willing to serve another man for his sake¡­ just how strong did her feelings have to be for her to even be willing to do something like that?

    A hint of gentleness appeared on Xu Fu¡¯s face. ¡°She really treated me well.¡±

    Zu An asked with a serious tone, ¡°Then why did she develop so much resentment toward you?¡±

    Xu Fu didn¡¯t answer his question and instead looked toward Mi Li. ¡°I didn¡¯t n to deviate from my n. I wanted to gather the five elements, and then find the pure yang and pure yin bodies. After all, you were still the empress, someone with extraordinary status. We couldn''t act rashly against you, so that was why we were going to leave you for the final step. But perhaps because of Ying Zheng¡¯s ambitions, he actually sealed you up ahead of time and hid you somewhere we didn¡¯t know about.¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Mi Li¡¯s brows twitched. She was clearly unhappy recalling that segment of her past.

    Xu Fu¡¯s voice sped up. ¡°I was rmed and thought that Ying Zheng saw through my entire scheme. That was why I decided to push my ns up. I contacted Prince Hu Hai, Prime Minister Li Si, and Imperial Attendant Zhao Gao. We coborated and rose up in revolt during his outing to the sandy hills.¡±

    Zu An was stupefied. He had never expected there to be such a side to that historical event. So it had all been orchestrated by Xu Fu!

    Mi Li harrumphed. ¡°You three still wouldn¡¯t have been Ying Zheng¡¯s match even if you worked together.¡± Even though she had never consummated her marriage with Ying Zheng, they had still been married all those years. She naturally understood Ying Zheng¡¯s cultivation.

    Xu Fu chuckled. ¡°Indeed. Back then, we couldn''t win against Ying Zheng. However, did your highness forget that there was one more person?¡±

    ¡°That Mermaid Empress?¡± Mi Li asked, startled.

    ¡°Correct. She poisoned Ying Zheng with a sinister poison from the sea, and she also ambushed him, leaving him seriously wounded. That was why we were able to surround and kill him.¡± A hint of fear shed across Xu Fu¡¯s face when he remembered the past. ¡°We were already the strongest in the world after him, but he was still too powerful. Even while poisoned, he made our group suffer severe losses as well.

    ¡°The Mermaid Empress was seriously injured. Li Si became a cripple and lost his cultivation. Hu Hai¡¯s head was badly hurt, so he became a fool, unable to distinguish between a horse and a donkey. I was also seriously injured, without many years left. The only one whose condition wasparatively better was Zhao Gao.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, No wonder Zhao Gao was able to easily take out Li Si even though Li Si was the prime minister, while Hu Hai was deliberately misrepresented and turned into aughingstock. Apart from Xu Fu, the one who had benefited the most from this n was Zhao Gao.

    Mi Li¡¯s expression changed several times. Even someone as powerful as Ying Zheng wouldn¡¯t be able to survive such scheming.

    Sure enough, Xu Fu said, ¡°We paid a great price, but we sessfully killed Ying Zheng eventually. But in the end, Ying Zheng learned the entire story as well. He destroyed all of his meridians so we wouldn¡¯t have a pure yang body.¡± His voice carried anger, as everything had fallen through right when the n was almostplete.

    Mi Li sighed. ¡°So the pure yin body you chose was me, while the pure yang body was him. You really are quite bold.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, No wonder Ying Zheng harbored suspicions. He knew that he was a pure yang body, and when he recalled Mi Li¡¯s yin body, it was easy to guess Xu Fu¡¯s motives. All of his doubts were now cleared up.

    He had been extremely confused back then when he first encountered Mi Li. Why would the first emperor go to such ends to seal her? Wouldn¡¯t killing her have saved him a lot of effort?

    The reason why Ying Zheng had left her alive was to use her for the Yin Yang Five Elements Formation in the future! Once everything else was sessful, Ying Zheng would bring her out and activate the formation, thus obtaining eternal life. If something unexpected happened, then Mi Li would still be hidden, giving him more leverage to work with.

    ¡°How can you ever obtain eternal life if you don¡¯t have guts?¡± Xu Fuughed. ¡°I was seriously wounded and I didn¡¯t have much longer to live. I couldn''t find your highness either. Helpless to do anything else, I could only activate the formation ahead of time. Even though the formation wasn¡¯tplete, it was enough to prolong my lifespan.

    ¡°Unfortunately, in order to activate the formation, four elements were needed at the very least. Han Zhong was nowhere to be found, and was only found and locked up hereter. I didn¡¯t have any other choice. The formation had Lu Sheng for the metal element, Fu Su for fire, and Meng Tian for earth. I was still missing one, so I could only shift my attention to her.¡±

    Mi Li sneered. ¡°You are a cruel and ruthless person after all. That Mermaid Empress really was a moron. You betrayed your very own ruler, and you were even willing to present the woman you loved to another without any hesitation. Why would you cherish her?¡± She didn¡¯t pity that Mermaid Empress at all. After all, she was one of the key reasons why their empire had fallen. If not for her, both she and Ying Zheng would still be fine.

    Bi Linglong tugged at Zu An¡¯s sleeves and quietly remarked, ¡°You can¡¯t be like him, okay?¡± She actually sympathized greatly with that Mermaid Empress. She had given up so much in the name of love, and yet this was the result.

    Zu An couldn''t help butugh. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, there¡¯s no way I¡¯d be willing to do that to you.¡±

    Bi Linglong blushed, but she didn¡¯t know which girl he was talking about. However, she quickly realized that both of them were probably going to die here. What was the point in thinking about all of that now? She gradually calmed down as well.

    Xu Fu said expressionlessly, ¡°That¡¯s right. When I attacked her, she was first shocked, and then she became extremely angry and resentful. It was precisely her endless resentment that I wanted to use toplete the ritual.¡±

    When she heard how emotionless his voice was, Bi Linglong blurted out, ¡°Did you not even feel a twinge of guilt?!¡±

    ¡°Why would I feel guilt?¡± Xu Fu had a confused look on his face. ¡°Am I not doing this for eternal life? I¡¯ll be reborn into this world in apletely new form, and so a portion of her will live on within me. She¡¯ll be forever remembered by the world as a contributor to the world¡¯s first immortal! Isn¡¯t that a kind of immortality on its own?¡±

    ¡°Absolutely absurd! That¡¯s clearly not what she wanted!¡± Bi Linglong was so angry her entire body was shaking, as if she had taken the ce of that Mermaid Empress.

    Xu Fuughed and didn¡¯t pay her any attention. He instead looked at Mi Li. ¡°My body dissolved into this pool of blood, bing one with it and entering a dormant state. I waited for the day you would all arrive, because I knew that Ying Zheng definitely had ns. It now looks as though my guesses were right. All of this has been decreed by fate. The heavens have allowed me to be the world¡¯s first immortal.¡±

    Zu An quickly asked Mi Li, ¡°Master, is there any way to deal with him?¡±

    Mi Li shook her head and didn¡¯t say anything. She had been suppressed by this ce. Zu An alone couldn''t possibly defeat this terrifying monster no matter what they tried.

 Chapter 885: Who Is Number One?

    <h4>Chapter 885: Who Is Number One?</h4>

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve already told you everything about the past, so you can at least die knowing the truth. It¡¯s now time to start the final ritual.¡± Xu Fu had already revealed this past he was greatly pleased with. He already felt enough satisfaction from their expressions of shock. It was now time to take care of important business.

    Bi Linglong grabbed Zu An¡¯s hand and held it tightly. Her body was shaking slightly. Even though she had already mentally prepared herself for death, her body¡¯s instincts refused to listen.

    Zu An patted her hand to console her. Then, he looked toward Xu Fu and asked, ¡°What do you need us to do during this ritual?¡±

    Bi Linglong felt admiration. There were many men who were cocky and arrogant normally, but lost their heads during true moments of crisis. But Zu An was different. Whether he faced the emperor or Xu Fu, he remained perfectlyposed. On top of it all, it wasn¡¯t a feigned calm, but rather true calm. It was as if no concept of life and death existed in his mind.

    ¡°It¡¯s rare to find such a calm sacrifice as you.¡± Xu Fu was also surprised. ¡°Naturally, I need to dissolve you into this pool of blood and collect your pure yin and yang essences. Then, together with the power of the five elements. I¡¯ll obtain eternal life.¡±

    Zu An suddenly felt a bit embarrassed and said, ¡°But I¡¯m not a virgin.¡±

    Bi Linglong was confused. Mi Li was speechless.

    This guy¡¯s train of thought really jumps everywhere! The two of them stared nkly for a while before realizing what had happened. They both scoffed inwardly.

    Xu Fu was also stunned. A momentter, he roared withughter. ¡°Haha! That¡¯s not a problem at all. The pure yang body is different from the pure yin body; remaining a virgin isn¡¯t important. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t have targeted Ying Zheng in the past.¡±

    ¡°Why doesn¡¯t the pure yang body have to be a sexless virgin?¡± Zu An was rather upset. If it had been in his past world, such a theory would be downvoted to hell by femaleizens on the forums.

    ¡°Sexless virgin¡­¡± Xu Fu¡¯s eyelids twitched. Is this person maybe not right in the head?

    Mi Li and Bi Linglong remained unfazed. They were already used to the way Zu An talked.

    Xu Fu said with a snort, ¡°I¡¯m not going to waste my time talking to you. The empress is the empress after all, so she needs to be respected. Let¡¯s start with you first.¡± The blood pool beneath them surged as he spoke, and a tentacle made of blood encircled Zu An.

    Zu An might have sounded as if he¡¯d been talking mindlessly, but he had actually been getting ready. He used Grandgale to close the distance, then hacked out with his longsword.

    Xu Fu¡¯s body flickered, evading to the side. ¡°Hm? So it was King Qin¡¯s sword. You don¡¯t have the right to use this sword. Just hand it over.¡± He grabbed the sword after speaking, and fiercely pulled it downward. A huge force rushed along the sword down to the hilt.

    Zu An¡¯s fingers ached with pain, finding it a bit hard to hold onto the sword. However, he had never nned to hold onto it. A pitch-ck dagger quickly emerged in his hand. It stabbed toward the red tentacle at a tricky angle. He knew that with the other party¡¯s cultivation, it would be hard for him to stab Xu Fu¡¯s true body. However, it would have the same result if the Poisonous Prick stabbed any spot.

    Xu Fu clearly didn¡¯t expect the attack, but he cut off a part of his own tentacle regardless. He frowned as he brought that tentacle in front of himself. ¡°Yourbat senses are unexpectedly high.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Why are you still okay?¡±

    Xu Fu smiled. His eyes shifted to the pitch-ck dagger in Zu An¡¯s hands. ¡°I felt a strong threat of death just now. Others might die on the spot after being stabbed by this dagger, but I¡¯m different. I¡¯ve already abandoned my mortal form and am now one with this blood pool. Your dagger naturally doesn¡¯t pose much of a threat to me.¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t have time to feel annoyed. Instead, he summoned Snow Phoenix and used the Snowke Sword. Ayer of thin ice gradually formed over the blood pool. He didn¡¯t stop afterward, either. He immediately summoned the Fire Phoenix to create a powerful fire and ice reaction. He wanted to see if he could make the pool of blood evaporate.

    The pool of blood began to boil, but it didn¡¯t show any sign of evaporating. Xu Fuughed. ¡°I used a secret method from the sea as the foundation, and used three thousand male and female virgins as well as so many Qin Pce experts. This pool of blood has long be impervious to water and fire, bing imperishable. How can those tricks of yours possibly aplish anything?¡±

    ¡°Why would you covet immortality so strongly if you were already truly imperishable?¡± Zu An refused to give up and attacked again. Unfortunately, the difference in their strength was too great. He was quickly mmed into the ground. But he had the ability to recover quickly. He charged again, and was thrown down again. The cycle repeated itself again and again.

    Bi Linglong ran over when she saw Zu An being mmed into the ground again and again, his body drenched in blood. However, a tentacle snatched her off the ground and smashed her into the ground too. Just that impact alone almost killed her. She couldn''t even crawl back onto her feet. The monster¡¯s cultivation was too great, to the point that she didn¡¯t even have the qualifications to fight him.

    Her eyes began brimming with tears as she watched Zu An¡¯s bitter, yet futile struggle. ¡°Ah Zu, just stop! We can¡¯t win! I¡¯ll die together with you, we don¡¯t have to suffer anymore¡­¡± she said through sobs.

    Zu An coughed out a mouthful of blood and grunted. His expression was firm. ¡°Bodies can be beaten down, but wills cannot. How can I give up without seeing this to the end?¡±

    Mi Li fell silent when she saw the scene. She recalled their first meeting. Back then, Zu An had also been beaten into a blood-soaked figure, but he had never yielded. He had continued to fight¡­

    Xu Fu nodded in admiration. ¡°You have quite the spine, kid. You also seem to have cultivated the Qin Imperial n¡¯s Primordial Origin Sutra. This body of yours isn¡¯t bad. After refining it a bit, it¡¯ll have the qualifications to be my new body.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. What the hell? It would be one thing if those pretty girls wanted my body, but why do these old monsters all want a piece of me? What the hell did I do to deserve this?!

    Mi Li suddenly spoke up. ¡°Ah Zu, you should rest for a bit. You can¡¯t win against him like this, so let me fight against him.¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An was shocked. ¡°You can move again?¡±

    Mi Li didn¡¯t reply and instead said, ¡°Take that girl with you and leave. Run as fast as you can.¡± Then, her body no longer flickered like before, and instead became much brighter. Her aura also surged powerfully.

    Zu An thought that she had already broken free from the restrictions. But before he could feel happy for her, Xu Fu said, ¡°You want to self-destruct and take me down with you? Unfortunately, you¡¯re under the control of my formation! Even if you self-destruct, it won¡¯t do much to me. Instead, your yin energy will be absorbed by this formation even faster!¡±

    Mi Li said, ¡°It¡¯s hard to say if something really will happen without giving it a try first. I learned that from the kid.¡± She gave Zu An a look after saying so. There was a smiling expression in her eyes.

    Zu An was rmed. He knew that Mi Li had already decided to give up her life here, and judging from what Xu Fu said, it didn¡¯t seem as if it would do much. He quickly ran over and stopped her. ¡°Master, don¡¯t be rash! I still have a way!¡±

    ¡°You have a way?¡± Mi Li frowned. The two of them had known each other for a long time, so she already knew about all of Zu An¡¯s abilities. What could he possibly bring out here?

    ¡°Trust me.¡± Zu An held her hand and looked at her with a firm expression.

    Mi Li was stunned. For some reason, his tone had a mysterious persuasive quality to it. As such, she temporarily withdrew her intent to die. Her figure stabilized as well.

    Xu Fu roared withughter. ¡°You have a solution? What kind of solution could you possibly have? Hahaha, the young really do love to shoot their mouths off, even when they¡¯re about to die.¡±

    Zu An ignored him. He looked at Mi Li and asked, ¡°Who is the strongest person in your memories?¡±

    Mi Li didn¡¯t hesitate for a second. She instinctively replied, ¡°Ying Zheng, of course.¡±

    Zu An nodded. Then, he looked at Xu Fu. ¡°What about you? Who do you think is number one?¡±

    Xu Fu harrumphed. ¡°It was indeed Ying Zheng back then. But now, I fear that it¡¯s me.¡±

    Mi Li snickered. She felt he was just talking big.

    ¡°Fine then.¡± Zu An stood up straight. His body released a sort of strange loftiness. Then, he used the skill Keyboard Come[1].

    A dignified voice echoed through the entire ce. ¡°I am Ying Zheng!¡±

    1. Skill description: As a keyboard warrior, ¡®Keyboard,e!¡¯ is your most important skill. Whenever you are unjustly wronged, shout ¡®Keyboard,e!¡¯ loud and proud! Make sure your voice is full of spirit. Let the people know what it means to speak things into existence! Once the skill is activated, all the words you speak will be reality. Special note: The use of this ability consumes soul force, so please refrain from excessive boasting. The more intensely you boast, the greater the bacsh, which will hit you an hourter. Your soul will suffer an intense shock. ?

 Chapter 886: Sacred Sword

    <h4>Chapter 886: Sacred Sword</h4>

    Bi Linglong waspletely baffled. She had no idea what in the world Zu An was doing right now. He had asked them who they thought the strongest was, and then said that he was that person? What does that mean? Don¡¯t tell me he really thinks this will scare Xu Fu away?

    Mi Li was also confused, but she had already stuck around Zu An for so long, so there were almost no secrets between them. She quickly recalled the Keyboard Come skill and was horrified.

    Even though Keyboard Come could speak things into existence, the side-effects were just as crazy! With Zu An¡¯s current soul, he couldn''t use it much at all, and he could only use it for some smaller tricks. And yet right now, he was going to be Ying Zheng? Even if he really managed to kill Xu Fu, he wouldn¡¯t be able to escape the powerful rebound! He might burst into ashes immediately¡­

    She was about to stop him, but she saw that he had already used the skill. Her expression became extremely conflicted. He clearly could have run, but he did this just because he didn¡¯t want me to self-destruct¡­ But does he not know that because of our life and death pact, if he dies, I¡¯ll die too?!

    But she felt relieved soon afterward. Dying like this wasn¡¯t so bad. At the very least, they were going to fight to the death.

    Xu Fu was stunned at first, but he roared withughter immediately afterward. ¡°Is it you who has gone crazy, or is it me? Do you really think that you¡¯ve be Ying Zheng after saying that?¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t reply. Instead, he stared coldly at Xu Fu. Xu Fu was about to mock him again when his expression changed. He sensed the other party¡¯s change in aura.

    A loud explosion suddenly rang out nearby. Those present subconsciously turned around. They saw that the lid of the coffin under the five-colored tree had flown into the air, as if it had been kicked flying by someone.

    Xu Fu frowned. He looked in that direction in utter shock as a faint soul body flew out from within. Mi Li¡¯s eyes widened in shock. Even though its form was blurry, she could still tell that it was precisely what Ying Zheng had looked like in the past.

    Xu Fu didn¡¯t dare to show the slightest bit of carelessness. He quickly waved his hand. Several tentacles took form from the pool of blood and flew toward the soul body. So what if it was Ying Zheng¡¯s soul? His formation specialized in suppressing souls!

    Unfortunately, the soul seemed to bepletely intangible. The tentacles passed right through it. It soon arrived by Zu An¡¯s side and entered his body.

    What the hell was going on? Xu Fu was stunned. He could vaguely sense that an even higher order of power was breaking through thews of the world.

    Zu An finally opened his eyes again. However, the expression in his eyes wasn¡¯t that of his usual yful and unruly self, but rather one of ruthless power.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Xu Fu!¡± Zu An spoke. However, his voice waspletely different from his usual one.

    Bi Linglong subconsciously backed up. Even though this man¡¯s appearance hadn¡¯t changed, she felt an unprecedented feeling of estrangement. In the past, she had always thought that Zu An was a bit too frivolous and indecent. But when she saw the dignified and steadfast man before her, she suddenly felt that the previous Zu An was better.

    Mi Li was also looking at Zu An with aplicated expression. This man¡¯s presence and voice werepletely identical to that man from the past.

    Xu Fu¡¯s heart pounded. He subconsciously backed up, but he quickly felt ashamed. What the hell do I have to be scared of? He straightened his back and stuck out his chest before looking at the other party again. ¡°Ying Zheng?¡±

    Zu An said coldly, ¡°Preposterous. You dare call this emperor by my name?¡±

    Xu Fu roared withughter. ¡°Do you still think you¡¯re the first emperor who unified the world? Wake up; the times have already changed.¡±

    Zu An frowned and looked around him, as if he were trying to recall something. His expression turned cold when he saw Mi Li. ¡°Empress, you¡¯re here as well?¡±

    Mi Li remarked with a snort, ¡°What, you didn¡¯t expect me to escape that seal? Even though I hated you for sealing me before, I¡¯ve always felt respect for you. Who could have thought that you had actually been betrayed by your own people and toyed with like this. To be honest, I have nothing but contempt for you now.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s brows were filled with anger when he heard what she said. However, he looked as if he had remembered something. He didn¡¯t direct his anger at Mi Li and instead turned around to look at Xu Fu again. He was like a tiger eyeing his prey.

    Xu Fu reacted to what had happened too. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that brat to actually be able to summon your soul in this way.¡±

    ¡°Soul summoning?¡± Bi Linglong realized what was happening as well. So Ah Zu summoned Ying Zheng¡¯s soul! My goodness, I thought he became someone else.

    Only Mi Li alone knew that wasn¡¯t the case. But to a certain degree, it was close enough.

    Zu An looked at Xu Fu as if he were looking at an ant. ¡°Speak; have you decided how you want to die yet?¡±

    ¡°Were you expecting me to get on my knees and beg for mercy?¡± It was as if Xu Fu had heard the funniest joke. ¡°I really might have felt fear if it were in the past, but now¡­¡± He paused for a moment. His voice also became cold. ¡°Even though we suffered disastrous losses back then, you lost everything. For fear that we would use your body for this formation, you even destroyed your own body. Your soul has also scattered into nothing.¡±

    Xu Fu frowned as he spoke. Back then, he had even made sure that there was nothing left of Ying Zheng. So what was the deal with this fractured soul? Even so, Ying Zheng¡¯s strength was already iparably weaker than before, so he didn¡¯t mind those details too much as he remarked, ¡°All that¡¯s left is a soul fragment attached to the body of another. You have but a tenth of your past strength. I really want to know where you¡¯re getting your confidence from!¡±

    ¡°It looks like you¡¯re quite confident. Do you feel as if this emperor can¡¯t do anything to you?¡± Zu An retorted mockingly.

    Xu Fu stood with his arms behind him and eximed proudly, ¡°Is this not the case?¡±

    ¡°This emperor was indeed deceived by you back then, but I sensed that something was off toward the end. That was why I sealed up the empress beforehand.¡± Zu An gave Mi Li a look as he spoke, and Mi Li looked away. He continued, ¡°I left behind half of my legacy for someone fated to obtain it in the future, and then I told them to find Westhound Tomb. That was all precisely so that if something unexpected did happen, they could lend this emperor a hand.¡±

    Mi Li suddenly realized what had happened. No wonder there had been so many trials set up, and that soul fragment had urged Zu An to find Westhound Tomb!

    The dangers here weren¡¯t something that could be faced if a mediocre person obtained his legacy. Only someone like Zu An could defy the heavens and change his fate. Unfortunately, hecked the time to grow.

    Xu Fu saw through that point as well. Heughed and said, ¡°What a pity. The one you waited for all this time for wasn¡¯t anything special.¡± He had obviously noticed that Zu An cultivated the Primordial Origin Sutra after facing him all that time. But so what?

    He didn¡¯t want to stall for time anymore. His arms unfolded, and the pool of blood became chaotic. Endless blood tentacles shot out from behind him. ¡°I could kill you back then, so I can naturally kill you a second time now!¡±

    Following his movements, the entire ce became dyed blood red. The terrifying pressure made it difficult to even breathe for someone like Bi Linglong with weaker cultivation.

    But Zu An looked as if he hadn¡¯t even noticed anything happening. He muttered, ¡°His cultivation is a bit lower than I expected, but it¡¯s barely enough.¡± He reached his hand out. ¡°Sword,e!¡±

    The Tai¡¯e Sword that had been dropped earlier vibrated. Then it whizzed over, turning into a streak of light and flying into his hand.

    Xu Fu¡¯s eyes narrowed, but he didn¡¯t pay it too much attention. ¡°The Tai¡¯e Sword is a great treasure, but you¡¯re no longer the same first emperor as before! Your cultivation is far from the past. Forget about a single Tai¡¯e Sword, it wouldn¡¯t make a difference even if you had ten.¡±

    Zu An gently caressed the Tai¡¯e Sword. He looked as if he had reunited with an old partner. ¡°You only understandmon swords that cleave necks and pierce innards, so of course you can¡¯tprehend the true power of this sacred sword.¡±

    He intoned, ¡°The sacred sword divides the clouds above from the earth below. When this sword makes its appearance, all nobles will rise up, and the world will submit.¡± As his fingers caressed the de, the Tai¡¯e Sword¡¯s vibrations became louder and louder. It formed the sound of jubnt cheering!

    He raised the sword high up, and it erupted with blinding radiance. Voices called out, ¡°How can we remain as ghosts past the nine springs? We shall be free from the shackles of soil once more! The soldiers of Great Qin will heed your call!¡±

 Chapter 887: Scatter with the Wind

    <h4>Chapter 887: Scatter with the Wind</h4>

    Xu Fu hadn¡¯t been worried at all before, and had been watching with amusement. But when he saw what was happening, his expression finally changed. The reason why he hadn¡¯t been in a hurry to attack was because he had sensed that Ying Zheng¡¯s strength was less than a tenth of what it had been at his peak. Thus, Ying Zheng didn¡¯t pose any threat to him.

    Whenever he recalled the absolute fear he had felt toward the domineering first emperor, he really wanted to see that fear and rm on Ying Zheng¡¯s face now that their roles were swapped. If he went on his knees and begged, that would be even better!

    Ever since he¡¯d had to offer the woman he loved to Ying Zheng, there had always been a thorn in his heart. Even though his n had seeded, just the fact that that had happened made him feel a feeling of defeat whenever he faced Ying Zheng. He was now going topletely change that.

    He even gave Mi Li a look. He thought to himself, Since you slept with the woman I loved, how about I sleep with yours in revenge? Even though Mi Li was now just a soul, it was still possible to do it, right?

    But the situation had suddenlypletely changed! Ying Zheng had actually called in reinforcements! Even though Xu Fu didn¡¯t believe that the soldiers Ying Zheng had summoned could win against him, he didn¡¯t dare to dy any longer. The endless tentacles in the air turned into a bloody mist and rushed over.

    Bi Linglong could smell the strong, bloody foulness of the mist even from far away. She wanted to vomit. This wasn¡¯t just the smell of blood; it had also been created from the resentment of countless creatures. Those who were affected would also be part of that endless resentment.

    Zu An¡¯s sleeve swept out, and the scene before him suddenlypletely changed. They were no longer in the previous room, but instead on a massive stage. Bi Linglong keenly sensed something. Wasn¡¯t this the za they had passed through before they entered the pce?

    Xu Fu¡¯s attack naturally hit empty air. When he saw where he was now, his brows furrowed deeply. The other party had a mass teleportation ability? No, this is probably one of the hidden mechanisms he set up in this pce beforehand.

    He quickly became vignt and suddenly raised his head. He saw that the originally spacious and open environment had suddenly been filled with ck-armored soldiers. All of them had grave expressions on their faces, their orderly formation exuding a powerful and intimidating killing intent.

    What he was most concerned about were the two generals in front. One wielded a powerful bow, while the other carried a giant sickle de. They were naturally Wang Jian and Bai Qi.

    ¡°The terracotta army!¡± Xu Fu eximed through gritted teeth. Now, he finally understood why the first emperor had spent such a long time building the terracotta army. Many people had gossiped in private that the thought of having the y army protect him underground was aplete delusion. But now, it really had happened!

    ¡°Long live the emperor! Long live, long live!¡± The soldiers gripped their weapons while bending down on one knee in unison. The terracotta army was clearly incapable of speech, and yet the za was filled with roaring voices.

    Mi Li was left a bit absent-minded. She felt as if she were dreaming about her past. During her great wedding, she had also been greeted like this by civil and military officials, as well as countless soldiers.

    Bi Linglong was the crown princess, so she had experienced something simr. However, whether it was in terms of number or grandiosity, what she had experienced couldn''tpare at all. She stared at Zu An¡¯s side profile absentmindedly. I guess he¡¯s pretty handsome when he¡¯s serious¡­

    Xu Fu roared withughter. ¡°I was wondering what kind of trump cards you had. You wanted to win against me with just these y toys?¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Bi Linglong was worried. The soldiers had only managed to seriously injure Zhao Ruizhi when they surrounded him. Xu Fu had already absorbed Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s split soul, so his strength was even greater. These soldiers probably couldn''t¡­

    Zu An remained expressionless. He pointed forward andmanded, ¡°Kill him!¡±

    The Tai¡¯e Sword flickered with specks of light that scattered across the endless soldiers¡¯ bodies. The half kneeling soldiers all got up, then turned toward Xu Fu simultaneously. With the sound of heavy footfalls, they walked forward, striking their shields with their weapons. The noise sounded like the reaper¡¯s war drums, and also like voices that demanded the surrender of lives. An austere aura flooded the world.

    Xu Fu¡¯s expression changed. He could sense that the soldiers were different from before, so he didn¡¯t dare to show any carelessness. He controlled his tentacles as he charged, intending to tear straight through the soldiers¡¯ defenses and eliminate Ying Zheng.

    The warriors standing at the very front were instantly crushed by the tentacles. However, the soldiers behind them immediately got into formation. They continued to swarm toward Xu Fu like an ocean of steel!

    In the beginning, Xu Fu was able to easily tear through the enemy army. Wherever the tentacles went, destruction ensued. The tentacles that had formed from the special blood pool could absorb the essence and souls of living creatures, leaving him in an invincible position. Unfortunately, the terracotta army wasn¡¯t alive. They didn¡¯t have any life essence for him to absorb.

    On the contrary, it was precisely for that reason that they didn¡¯t feel fear like normal human armies. They remained expressionless even as Xu Fu tore through their numbers. They executed the orders of their generals with robotic precision, maintaining their formation like a well-oiled machine.

    Xu Fu gave themanders Bai Qi and Wang Jian a look. As people from the same age, he fully understood just how powerful theirmands were. If it were any other general, there would easily be holes in the army¡¯s defense despite its size. Unfortunately, under themand of the two great generals, the soldiers not only resisted being quickly wiped out, but also continued to maintain their perfect formation as they attacked him.

    Fear gradually grew inside of him. He could no longer continue his brute offense and began to back up. Unfortunately, as soon as he pulled back, it was as if andslide had crashed down on him. He was drowned under an endless sea of soldiers.

    Xu Fu roared, erupting with terrifying energy. He returned to his giant octopus form, clearly about to fight to the death. His giant tentacles took out a huge mass of soldiers wherever they swept. At the same time, many tentacles rushed toward Zu An.

    Bi Linglong¡¯s face paled. She couldn''t help but remember that the insufferably arrogant Zhao Ruizhi had also been devoured by this monstrous form.

    Mi Li consoled her, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. No matter how high an individual¡¯s cultivation is, before an army, only defeat can await them.¡±

    Wang Jian drew his bow and fired as soon as Mi Li spoke. Streaks of light tore through the sky, severing the tentacles one after another. The archers under hismand fired their bows as well, and a storm of arrows poured down on the giant octopus¡¯ body.

    Xu Fu¡¯s body had been too small for them to fire at before, and he had been fast as well. The efficiency of arrows in that situation was too low. Now that he had be a giant octopus, he had thoroughly be a living target.

    The octopus roared and roared. Unfortunately, the arrows weren¡¯t ordinary arrows, and they all had exorcism properties. Xu Fu soon found that he couldn''t take the assault anymore and returned to human form.

    ¡°He was forced back!¡± Bi Linglongughed. When she saw Xu Fu¡¯s sorry state, she finally felt a bit better.

    ¡°Ying Zheng, if you have the guts, then fight me in a fair battle!¡± Xu Fu roared in anger and rm.

    Zu An said expressionlessly, ¡°I have the sacred sword in hand. There is no need for me to fight an ignorant man to prove myself.¡±

    Xu Fu¡¯s breathing stopped. This was the son of heaven he was fighting against; fighting him alone would really be a stupid choice. He sighed at the rise and fall of fortunes. He had plotted for so long, and yet today, it had been repaid several times over.

    But there was no way he was going to just stand there and wait for his death. He turned into a puddle of blood and darted around. No matter how tight the army¡¯s formation was, they couldn¡¯t stop the flow of water!

    At that moment, Bai Qi, who had only been focused onmand the entire time, moved. He turned into ck mist and rushed toward the puddle of blood. Both of them tangled together, and outsiders couldn''t join in on the battle at all.

    Bi Linglong looked worried. ¡°Master, your respected self said that this Bai¡­ Bai Qi¡¯s cultivation is far inferior to when he was alive. He might not be a match if he fights Xu Fu alone, right?¡±

    Mi Li had a strange expression when she heard Bi Linglong call her ¡®master¡¯ just like Zu An, but she still replied, ¡°Xu Fu has already used up a lot of his strength in his battle against the army. Furthermore, for some reason, Bai Qi has already recovered all of his strength. It really is strange.¡±

    A ck figure leapt out not long after she finished speaking. His pitch-ck sickle thrust into the pool of blood, hooking around a soul body that clutched its neck in panic as it was dragged out. Who else could it be but Xu Fu?

    Bai Qi¡¯s sickle de shed, and the soul body¡¯s head tumbled off. Then, it dissipated into thin air. He then walked up to Zu An and said, ¡°Your majesty, I am blessed to have not disappointed you!¡±

    Zu An nodded. ¡°You have allpleted the mission you waited ten thousand years to aplish. Rest in peace.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your favor, your majesty!¡± With Bai Qi as the leader, all of the soldiers knelt down and bowed toward Zu An. Then a breeze blew past, and they turned into yellow sand, scattering with the wind. The za became bleak and calm once more.

    The surroundings warped, returning those present to the room with the altar. Zu An turned around to look at the two girls behind him.

    Bi Linglong asked with a trembling voice, ¡°Ah Zu, is that you?¡± Zu An didn¡¯t reply, and instead looked silently at Mi Li.

    Mi Li sneered. ¡°What, are you going to kill me too now? Are you going to continue to seek eternal life through this Yin Yang Five Elements Formation?¡±

 Chapter 888: Collapse

    <h4>Chapter 888: Copse</h4>

    Zu An remained silent for a time, but he eventually sighed and said, ¡°I was so obsessed with immortality that I let that scoundrel Xu Fu¡¯s n seed. But now that almost ten thousand years have passed, I finally understand that there¡¯s no such thing as immortality in this world.¡±

    Mi Liughed mockingly. ¡°I never expected to hear these wordse out of your mouth.¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t be upset, but instead continued, ¡°This Yin Yang Five Elements Formation Xu Fu created can only increase one¡¯s lifespan by a bit. But even if one can keep living, if one has to be that kind of freak, what meaning is there left in staying alive?¡±

    Mi Li asked, ¡°Didn¡¯t Xu Fu say that your body and soul were destroyed? Why are you still here?¡±

    Zu An exined, ¡°In the battle of the sandy hills, I was betrayed by them. I knew I wouldn¡¯t make it, so I sealed up a portion of my split soul. The requirement for activating this split soul was an existence who had cultivated the Primordial Origin Sutra, so Xu Fu naturally didn¡¯t detect it.¡±

    ¡°So you already nned all of this when you sealed me in that ce?¡± Mi Li frowned. ¡°But since you were able to make all of these preparations beforehand, how could you still let Xu Fu plot against you? How disappointing.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t make those ns to guard against Xu Fu.¡± Zu An sighed. ¡°My main worry was that this formation¡¯s ritual would fail, so I made some arrangements beforehand. That way, someone could find me in the future and assist me in my revival.¡±

    Mi Li¡¯s expression changed, and she quickly reacted. ¡°So that wasn¡¯t an inheritance you intended to pass down, but rather bait! You were using the temptation of the Primordial Origin Sutra¡¯stter half to bring you a sacrifice that would help in your rebirth!¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Bi Linglong was shocked when she heard that. What would Zu An have done if that had really happened?

    Zu An frowned when he sensed the two women¡¯s concern. He asked, ¡°What kind of rtionship does this man have with you?¡±

    Mi Li said calmly, ¡°He¡¯s my disciple.¡±

    Zu An clearly rxed when he heard that reply. ¡°So be it. To a certain extent, he can also be considered my inheritor. Both of us, husband and wife, ended up teaching the same person.¡±

    ¡°You betrayed my older sister, killed Fu Su, and used me as a sacrifice. I¡¯ve already severed all bonds of marriage to you.¡± Mi Li looked calm on the surface, but she clearly didn¡¯t wish to talk about such things with him. ¡°How much longer are you going to stay here for? His body can¡¯t endure your possession for that long.¡±

    Anger appeared on Zu An¡¯s face as his brows furrowed, but they gradually unfolded again. ¡°If someone dared to speak to me this way back then, they would¡¯ve already had their body ripped to pieces.¡±

    Mi Li merely harrumphed.

    Zu An said with a sigh, ¡°I¡¯ve slept for so long before finally waking up again. Anyone in my situation wouldn¡¯t want to leave so soon.¡±

    Mi Li said unhappily, ¡°If you have something to say, then just say it. Stop stalling in his body.¡± She knew about the rebound of Keyboard Come. She was worried that Zu An would suffer more and more damage the longer they waited.

    ¡°You care quite a bit about this disciple.¡± Zu An¡¯s smile faded. ¡°Unfortunately, he¡¯s about to die.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Mi Li and Bi Linglong both cried out when they heard those words.

    Zu An¡¯s expression remained calm. ¡°His body was already close to breaking down from the start. If it wasn¡¯t for my skills repairing his body, he would¡¯ve already scattered into ashes.¡±

    Mi Li thought to herself, So that was the case after all! She sighed and said, ¡°Thank you!¡± She had actually been confused all this time. Why was there nothing wrong with Zu An even though he had used Keyboard Come to do something so absurd? It turned out Ying Zheng had helped him!

    ¡°You¡¯re actually willing to thank me?¡± Zu An was shocked. But he quickly realized that it was for the sake of the man he was currently possessing, making him feel strange. However, that man was Mi Li¡¯s disciple, so he let it go.

    ¡°If not for the fact that his body had already been tempered several times by the Primordial Origin Sutra, he would¡¯ve already copsed.¡± Zu An frowned. ¡°But even so, I can only slow down the rate of this copse. Once I leave, I fear¡­¡±

    Mi Li¡¯s expression changed. She quickly asked, ¡°When are you leaving?¡±

    ¡°Soon¡­¡± Zu An¡¯s voice gradually grew fainter. Then a vague and transparent soul, vaguely recognizable as Ying Zheng, left his body.

    Mi Li panicked and eximed, ¡°How can you be so irresponsible?!¡±

    Ying Zheng felt annoyed. This woman had previously been rushing him to get out, and yet now, she was ming him for leaving too soon. Do you think I don¡¯t want to stay here? The conditions won¡¯t allow me to! His soul was already starting to scatter as his final words echoed through the air. ¡°I¡¯ve already left behind thetter half of the Primordial Origin Sutra in his sea of consciousness¡­¡±

    Even before he could finish his sentence, his soul scatteredpletely. The emperor of an age disappeared from the world forever. Even Mi Li, who had hated him deeply for so long, couldn''t help but feel a bit emotional.

    Zu An suddenly cried out as blood gushed out of his mouth.

    Bi Linglong cried out in rm, quickly moving to support him. ¡°Ah Zu! Ah Zu, are you okay?¡± She could see the cracks covering Zu An¡¯s skin. Some parts of his body seemed to be shattering. His body was frantically trying to recover, but his recovery speed was far inferior to the rate of copse.

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°I thought I might explode to death on the spot. At the very least, though, we killed that stupid octopus.¡±

    When she heard that familiar frivolous voice, Bi Linglong knew that the Zu An she was familiar with was back. ¡°Do you know what kind of situation we¡¯re in? How can you still joke around? Hurry and eat these medicines!¡± She took out all sorts of precious medicines while speaking.

    ¡°It¡¯s useless.¡± Zu An shook his head. He took out a bottle of ¡®Faith in Brother Spring¡¯ from the Brilliant ss Bead. This was the only bottle of full-recovery medicine he had left. He had always been reluctant to use it, but if he didn¡¯t use it now, there wouldn¡¯t be a chanceter.

    He quickly drank the medicine. Sure enough, the mess his body had been left in was nourished. His continuously cracking skin also gradually began to heal. Bu Zu An didn¡¯t feel happy yet, because he knew that this was a ¡®Faith in Brother Spring (small)¡¯. It wasn¡¯t enough topletely heal him.

    Sure enough, his skin cracked apart again, just a little more slowly. But even so, he wouldpletely break apart soon afterward. He said with a sigh, ¡°I guess I¡¯m still dying here.¡±

    ¡°Ah Zu¡­¡± Bi Linglong rushed into his arms, tears pouring down her face. Her strong exterior was already nowhere to be seen.

    Zu An wanted to pat her head to console her, but he couldn''t even do something that simple anymore. He could only hug her with an apologetic smile. He said to Mi Li, ¡°Master, I might be dragging you down with me..¡±

    Mi Li squatted down next to him, her ice-cold hand pressing against his skin to check his pulse. She examined her condition while replying, ¡°I would already be dead if it weren¡¯t for you. Why would I me you?¡±

    Zu An wanted to say something else, but Mi Li stopped him. ¡°Don¡¯t think about anything else right now. Ying Zheng gave you the lower half of the Primordial Origin Sutra, right?¡±

    Zu An voiced his agreement. He couldn''t even nod. He felt a splitting headache, as if his head were going to explode. Blood was alreadying out of his seven apertures.

    Mi Li¡¯s eyes narrowed when she saw that. She quickly said, ¡°Hurry and cultivate the lower half.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯ll be useless even if I cultivate it,¡± Zu An said with a bitterugh. He hadn¡¯t lost consciousness when Ying Zheng took over his body. He could sense that even though Ying Zheng had operated the Primordial Origin Sutra to preserve his body, it still couldn''t stop his body from breaking down.

    Keyboard Come¡¯s rebound was just that powerful, and he had even boasted about something so crazy. Fortunately, a strand of Ying Zheng¡¯s split soul had existed, so he hadn¡¯t really be Ying Zheng out of nothing. That had made the rebound a bit lighter. Otherwise, he would have exploded as soon as he uttered those words. Even so, the rebound wasn¡¯t something he could withstand.

    But even though he said it was useless, giving up wasn¡¯t his style. He did his best to use his primordial ki. Ying Zheng had already used thetter half on his body earlier, and the ki flow remained. Otherwise, he probably wouldn¡¯t be able to cultivate it in his current state.

    Mi Li nodded inwardly, but she still remarked, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say it was useless? Why are you still doing it then?¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m not living for myself. If I live for a minute longer, you can live for a minute longer. I can also look at you for a minute longer.¡±

    Mi Li became absentminded. This rascal even dares to tease his master! Her face heated up a bit as she subconsciously gave Bi Linglong a look. However, she was crying so bitterly that she didn¡¯t notice anything strange. Mi Li sighed in relief.

    Zu An barely managed to circte the Primordial Origin Sutra¡¯s lower half through his entire body once. Then, he said with a shaking voice, ¡°I don¡¯t think I can¡­ hold on any longer, sor¡­¡± He fainted before he could finish.

    Bi Linglong panicked. ¡°Master, why isn¡¯t he getting better?!¡±

    Mi Li sighed. ¡°It looks like cultivating the lower half indeed isn¡¯t enough to heal him.¡±

    ¡°Then doesn¡¯t that mean he¡¯ll die?¡± Bi Linglong looked at Zu An in distress, cradling him in her arms. She was biting down on her lips hard enough to draw blood.

    ¡°There is one other way,¡± Mi Li suddenly said.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Bi Linglong felt as if she had found something to barely hold onto after falling into an endless abyss. She grabbed Mi Li¡¯s hand firmly, but for some reason, that hand felt cold¡­ so cold.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

 Chapter 889: What in the World?

    <h4>Chapter 889: What in the World?</h4>

    When she saw Bi Linglong¡¯s expectant expression, Mi Li hesitated for a moment. Then, she took out a porcin bottle from Zu An¡¯s inner pockets. ¡°Why don¡¯t you take this?¡±

    ¡°What is that?¡± Bi Linglong didn¡¯t suspect her at all now that they were in such a critical situation.

    ¡°This medicine is named ¡®Bull¡¯s Cream¡¯; it¡¯s a powerful¡­ aphrodisiac,¡± Mi Li exined.

    Zu An had obtained three kinds of those substances from various viins. One of the other two was ¡®Eighteen Spring Winds¡¯, which might be too powerful for this situation. She wasn¡¯t scared that Bi Linglong wouldn¡¯t be able to take it, but rather that Zu An wouldn¡¯t. The other was ¡®Worries Be Gone¡¯. It would make others forget about everything that happened in a certain period of time. There was no need to use it right now.

    Bi Linglong¡¯s hand froze next to her mouth when she heard those words. Then, she red at Mi Li silently in embarrassment.

    Mi Li exined, ¡°The cultivation method Zu An cultivates is special. Not only can it temper his body, it can save lives through the exchange of yin and yang. The upper half can save the lives of others through the exchange of yin and yang, while the lower half can save his own life through the same exchange.¡±

    That was what Ying Zheng had meant when he mentioned that he had already passed on the lower half of the Primordial Origin Sutra to Zu An.

    Even though Bi Linglong was a youngdy, as the crown princess, she had some knowledge about that field from her n and the imperial pce. She knew what the exchange of yin and yang meant. Her face was bright red. ¡°How can there be¡­ such a weird and sinister method?¡±

    ¡°There are too many strange things in this world. This technique is rted to the creation of life, so it isn¡¯t that weird and sinister.¡± Mi Li picked up the bottle, nning to just force her to drink it. From her perspective, she didn¡¯t care if Bi Linglong was a crown princess at all. If it would save Zu An, she would do anything.

    Bi Linglong bit her lips. Her chest rose and fell. She was clearly currently carrying out an intense inner battle against herself.

    Mi Li handed over the bottle again. A bit of shame flickered through Bi Linglong¡¯s eyes, but she shook her head in the end, saying, ¡°I don¡¯t need this.¡± She looked at Zu An, her eyes bing warm and gentle. ¡°Ah Zu, you saved me so many times. It¡¯s my turn to save you.¡± After saying that, she slowly undid her waistband.

    Mi Li was stunned. She retracted her hand. Since the girl was willing to do it herself, that was the best scenario. But nevertheless¡­ This kid was always frivolous in behavior and looked as if he really needed a good beating. How did he get so many beautiful girls to like him?

    When Bi Linglong saw that Zu An¡¯s condition was getting worse and worse, she didn¡¯t dare to stall any longer. She took off her clothes, revealing her exquisite corbone and her smooth and fair shoulders. She suddenly thought of something and turned to Mi Li, blushing. ¡°Master, can you¡­ leave, please?¡±

    Even though she was willing to sacrifice herself to save Zu An, she was still a maiden. This was something extremely embarrassing to begin with. If there were someone watching too, just the thought alone would make her die from embarrassment.

    Mi Li thought to herself, Why would I want to watch something like that? She had already watched him do it many times with other girls after being around him for so long. She was already used to it.

    Right, what number is it now? One, two, three¡­ Hmph, he¡¯s a yer after all! She cursed inwardly, but she didn¡¯t trouble the young girl in front of her. She nodded and walked away. ¡°I¡¯ll be over here. Call me if something happens.¡±

    Even though she could choose not to watch, she wouldn¡¯t really go too far away. Otherwise, it would be bad if something really did happen.

    Bi Linglong¡¯s heart was pounding crazily. She actually wanted Mi Li to go a bit farther away, but she couldn''t really say anything else in response to that. At least she has her back to us, so she can¡¯t see anything, right¡­

    She gently caressed Zu An¡¯s cheeks. Everything that had happened between them appeared in her head, especially the things that had happened in this dungeon. She suddenly smiled, as if she had realized something. Her nervousness disappeared. Instead, her attitude was reced with decisiveness.

    ¡°Ah Zu, I like you¡­¡± She leaned down and whispered quietly by his ear, as if she were scared that Mi Li would hear her from a distance.

    When she saw how his entire body was cracked like pottery, she didn¡¯t dare to waste any more time. She quickly removed her extravagant clothes, then embraced him tightly with her warm and slender body.

    A whileter, Mi Li suddenly heard an aggrieved voice. ¡°Master¡­ Can you¡­e here?¡± She was shocked. Why is this girl calling for me now? But she didn¡¯t dare to show any carelessness, considering the state Zu An was in. She rushed over.

    Her eyes narrowed as soon as she stood in front of them. Bi Linglong was covering her chest with her dress, but that only made her exquisite body seem even more seductive. Even someone with as high standards as Mi Li had to admit that Bi Linglong was beautiful.

    This Zu An might not be good at anything else, but he has pretty good taste. She coughed lightly and focused her thoughts. ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°I¡­ I¡­ He¡­ He¡­¡± Bi Linglong opened her mouth, her facepletely red from either panic or shame. She couldn''t find the words to exin the current situation.

    Even though Mi Li had never experienced this herself, she had experienced the education of the royal family. Furthermore, after staying by Zu An¡¯s side for so long, she quickly had an idea of what had happened.

    It turned out that since Zu An was half unconscious at the moment, and his body was gradually breaking down, it wasn¡¯t like before when just a bit of stimtion would get him to react.

    Bi Linglong had already tried her best. She was the crown princess, so her wet nurses had taught her a bit about these things.

    Mi Li almost burst outughing. This was what Zu An was proudest of normally. Who could have thought that he would experience such a thing today? But she quickly noticed the severity of the issue. If she wasted any more time, Zu An might really die.

    The problem was, was this even something someone else could help with? Bi Linglong clearly realized that as well. She was extremely worried.

    Mi Li¡¯s expression flickered several times. Finally, she seemed to have made her decision. ¡°I have a solution. Wait a moment.¡± Then, under Bi Linglong¡¯s startled gaze, she turned into a wisp of smoke, disappearing into Zu An¡¯s body.

    Soon afterward, Zu An¡¯s eyes opened. But unlike his usual frivolous expression, there seemed to be a bit of¡­ seduction in his eyes?

    It was naturally Mi Li who was controlling Zu An¡¯s body. The two of them had already signed a soul contract. Together with the amount of time they had spent together, their souls were marked with each others¡¯ auras. That was why Zu An¡¯s body didn¡¯t reject her.

    Mi Li immediately sensed a heart-wrenching pain when she entered Zu An¡¯s body. Her entire body was in intense pain, and her head felt as if it were going to explode. She had no idea how he could endure such a feeling.

    Mi Li didn¡¯t dare to show any negligence. She quickly used her own power to help heal Zu An¡¯s wounds. Her cultivation was great, so she was able to quickly stabilize Zu An¡¯s condition. But she knew that it was only temporary. Her soul¡¯s power was limited. Once that power was used up, he would still die. As such, she didn¡¯t dare to dy. She reached out her hands and pulled Bi Linglong into her embrace.

    Bi Linglong quickly realized what was happening and subconsciously resisted. ¡°You¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m only helping him out a bit.¡± Zu An opened his mouth, but it was Mi Li¡¯s voice that came out.

    Bi Linglong was so embarrassed she wanted to dig herself a hole to hide in. What in the world was going on? Mi Li also felt that the current situation was cursed, but she endured the ufortable feeling and kissed Bi Linglong.

    ¡­n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    A whileter, Mi Li¡¯s soul left Zu An¡¯s body. She flew into the distance without even turning back around. ¡°The rest is up to you.¡±

    Bi Linglong noticed the redness on Mi Li¡¯s face and was confused. Even a soul can blush? But she didn¡¯t have the time to worry about anything else, because they had now reached the critical point.

    She could clearly hear her pounding heart. However, she still gently pulled Zu An into her embrace. Her beautiful brows furrowed, and her eyes quickly filled with tears. After all, she was only a youngdy who had never done something like this before!

    Before she could even say anything, the half unconscious Zu An cried out first. ¡°It hurts!¡±

    Bi Linglong and Mi Li were speechless.

 Chapter 890: Chosen One

    <h4>Chapter 890: Chosen One</h4>

    The half-unconscious Zu An felt as if his entire body were about to split apart. He felt as if he were in an endless desert, with a scorching sun staring down on him from above. He felt more parched than he had ever felt before, as if he might just drop dead from thirst at any moment.

    But a sweet oasis suddenly seemed to have appeared in front of him, and he instinctively ran over. He really wanted to jump straight in and greedily take in all the water. His Primordial Origin Sutra began to work on its own, and he could feel his body being nourished. The pain and suffering he had been going through gradually disappeared.

    Bi Linglong¡¯s eyes turned red. Tears trickled down the sides of her fair face. However, she still firmly held the man in her arms and embraced him gently.

    Mi Li nodded from a distance. This brat really doesn¡¯t know how to treasure girls. He¡¯d better properly apologize to her once he wakes up.

    Suddenly, mumbling could be heard in the distance. Bi Linglong subconsciously looked in its direction, and saw Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s body, that had been lying copsed on the ground, move. Then he struggled to a seated position.

    Zhao Ruizhi looked around himself in a daze, muttering, ¡°Where am I¡­¡± He looked over in Bi Linglong¡¯s direction while speaking.

    Bi Linglong was horrified. Even though the two of them shared no feelings, nor had they ever consummated their marriage, she was still his wife in name. If he saw this scene, no matter how stupid he was, he would definitely know what had happened!

    Mi Li rushed over and tapped Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s acupoint, and he fell to the ground again. She examined his body and said seriously, ¡°Xu Fu devoured Zhao Han¡¯s split soul. Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s fractured soul might not have been all that useful to Xu Fu, so it managed to survive. That¡¯s why he woke up after some time.¡±

    Bi Linglong¡¯s body shook violently. Her heart had been about to pop out of her chest just now! Even though she found it embarrassing, she still asked quietly, ¡°Then will he be able to return to normal again in the future?¡± Her voice had unconsciously be softer and more charming.

    Fortunately, Mi Li didn¡¯t turn around. Her expression became a bit unnatural, but she still replied, ¡°He can forget about returning to normal. Because of the possession, his soul has suffered a natural deficiency. He¡¯ll only be able to recover to his previous stupid self at most, or maybe he¡¯ll be even stupider. Besides, he¡¯s been injured quite badly. Without the support of Zhao Han, he might not be able to leave this dungeon alive.¡±

    Bi Linglong bit her lip. She took out a bag full of various bottles and containers. ¡°Master, can you help him take these medicines?¡±

    Even though she had never really approved of the crown prince, she felt a strange sense of guilt. She felt as if she had really wronged him. Saving him was the only thing she could do at that moment.

    Mi Li had a rough idea of what she was thinking. She nodded and replied, ¡°Fine!¡± She tapped Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s chin and poured the medicines into his mouth.

    Gently feeding someone medicine was obviously not her style of doing things. The fact that she was even willing to do that much was a favor, in exchange for Bi Linglong saving Zu An. She fed Zhao Ruizhi the medicine while asking Bi Linglong, ¡°So how is it?¡±

    Bi Linglong¡¯s face turned red. She thought to herself, Why are you asking something like that? But she still instinctively replied, teary-eyed, ¡°It hurts¡­¡±

    Mi Li was stunned. She took a deep breath and asked, ¡°I was asking how Zu An¡¯s body is now; if his condition has improved.¡±

    Bi Linglong was speechless. She really wanted to crawl into a hole and hide there forever. However, she replied a bitter, ¡°His body isn¡¯t continuing to break down anymore.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good then. Keep going.¡± Mi Li sighed in relief. It seemed the Primordial Origin Sutra was useful after all.

    She picked up Zhao Ruizhi and flew outside, tossing him out of the room, and didn¡¯t go back inside either. She instead sat down by the entrance and began to adjust her own breathing. But when she thought about all the things that had happened today, all the acquaintances from the past she had encountered, she found it hard to calm down.

    Bi Linglong saw Mi Li bring Zhao Ruizhi outside, and knew that she had done so to help her with her embarrassment. She was extremely grateful inside.

    But her thoughts were quickly interrupted by the man wrapped around her. She couldn¡¯t help but tap his chest with her fists. ¡°You¡¯re really a bad man¡­¡±

    ¡­

    After some time had passed, Bi Linglong was suddenly shocked by something. She felt as if there were a ck hole inside of her body that was frantically absorbing her life essence! She instinctively wanted to push Zu An away, but she soon thought of something and decided not to. Instead, she held him gently and mumbled, ¡°I don¡¯t have many years left to live anyway. It¡¯s okay as long as I can save you.¡±

    She thought that Mi Li had tricked her, that such treatment might actually be a transfer of life essence. But when she saw her own snow-white hair, and remembered that her life force was already almost gone from using that forbidden technique, it didn¡¯t make that much of a difference if she lived for a few more or fewer years. This man had saved her without any regard for his own life, after all!

    As Zu An absorbed her life essence, she felt weaker and weaker. Her skin became dimmer in color, even drying. Her consciousness gradually became blurry. She thought she was already dead for sure.

    However, something unexpected happened soon afterward. She felt a wave of vigorous life essence pour into her body! Then, her withered body and meridians were nourished. Her body recovered, and her skin shone with ayer of sparkling radiance. Even her withered white hair had recovered its previous color. No, her ck hair was now even more beautiful and supple than before!

    ¡°What is¡­¡± Bi Linglong was stunned.

    ¡°His cultivation method is special. Together with his special blood, he can revive even the dying. Back then, Chu¡­ Ahem, restoring your lost life force isn¡¯t an issue.¡± Mi Li had already arrived next to them, unbeknownst to her. She hadn¡¯t felt at ease, and hade over to check on their situation.

    Bi Linglong covered herself with her clothes in embarrassment. Mi Li pretended to not have seen anything and checked Zu An¡¯s aura. She sighed in relief when she saw that his condition had indeed stabilized.

    Bi Linglong watched from the side. When she saw that Mi Li didn¡¯t show the slightest bit of awkwardness while examining Zu An¡¯s body, a strange look appeared on her face. These two really didn¡¯t seem like master and disciple!

    Zu An felt as if he had just experienced a long dream. He had dreamed about too many things. When he opened his eyes, he saw that Mi Li seemed to be looking at him with an ambiguous smile. Meanwhile, Bi Linglong was avoiding eye contact guiltily, but still sneaking looks at him, her expression much gentler than before.

    Zu An quickly rubbed his own body. Then, he circted his ki internally to check his condition. He jumped in excitement, ¡°Hahaha! I, Zu An, am just too tough to die here! I was able to even survive something like this! I¡¯m the chosen one after all!¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Keyboard Come had always made him experience tremendous pain before. He had made such a big boast this time, so he had already been prepared to fade away into ashes. He¡¯d really had no choice back then.

    He hadn¡¯t expected to actually survive. But not only had he survived, his current state was even better than his previous peak! If that didn¡¯t make him the chosen one, who else could be?!

    Mi Li said mockingly, ¡°Stop acting all smug already. Your life was saved by Linglong over here.¡±

    She had always referred to Bi Linglong as ¡®little girl¡¯ or something simr. But this time, she had changed the way she addressed her. After all, this girl had done so much, so she already saw her as her disciple¡¯s wife¡­ or at least one of them. As a senior, she had to at least do that much.

    ¡°Linglong?¡± Zu An was stunned. He thought to himself, How does Linglong have the ability to save me? Then, he suddenly noticed that Bi Linglong¡¯s hair was ck again. He eximed happily, ¡°Your hair has recovered?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Bi Linglong¡¯s pretty face waspletely red. She didn¡¯t know how to exin what had happened.

    It was still Mi Li who couldn¡¯t continue watching the scene in the end. ¡°Damn kid, are you stupid or are you pretending to be? She¡¯s already sacrificed so much for you, but that¡¯s all you have to say?¡±

 Chapter 891, Part 1: New Function Unlocked

    <h4>Chapter 891, Part 1: New Function Unlocked</h4>

    Many memories came rushing back when Zu An heard those words. He hadn¡¯t fully reacted just now. He had felt as if his consciousness had been a bit blurry back then, unsure if what had happened was a dream or an illusion. After Mi Li reminded him, many scenes quickly returned.

    He looked toward Bi Linglong and said, ¡°Linglong, thank you.¡±

    Saying ¡®thank you¡¯ at that moment felt a bit strange, though. He even wanted to smack himself in the mouth. Is my brain still not working properly yet?

    Bi Linglong blushed. ¡°You already saved me so many times before, so I saved you this time. Don¡¯t think too much about it.¡±

    Zu An burst outughing. Mi Li asked in a strange tone, ¡°What are youughing about?¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°I remembered a joke from the past. If a young miss encountered danger in the outside world and was saved by a man, if that man were ugly, she would say, ¡®I¡¯m afraid I cannot repay the young master¡¯s life-saving grace; I will work hard in my next life, in gratitude for your kindness.¡¯ But if that man were as handsome as me, then she would say, ¡®I¡¯m afraid I cannot repay the young master¡¯s life-saving grace; I can only devote myself to you.¡±

    Mi Li and Bi Linglong were speechless.

    Bi Linglong immediately began to cry. ¡°Did you have to say such degrading things¡­¡±

    Mi Li also felt that Zu An had crossed the line.

    Zu An sighed and said, ¡°Linglong, you were the one who saved my life, so I¡¯m that young miss who was saved! You¡¯re that hero, so I only want to tell you right now¡­ I¡¯m afraid that I cannot repay you for saving my life; I can only devote myself to you.¡±

    Bi Linglong¡¯s tears turned intoughter when she heard him praise her that way. ¡°You really are annoying! If I knew it was going to be like this, I should¡¯ve just ordered those guards to beat you down back then when I first met you.¡±

    Women might not remember the men who made themugh, but they would definitely remember the men who made them cry. She really wanted to bite him right now.

    Zu An took her hand with a smile. ¡°You really did have a high and aloof appearance when we first met. I was almost dragged down and beaten several dozen times!¡±

    Bi Linglong blushed when she recalled the past too. Times really changed¡­ Back then, she had only nned to teach him a lesson; but he had never been beaten, and she was instead the one that had been pounded many times by his rod¡­

    Mi Li rolled her eyes when she saw that the two¡¯s hands had already unknowingly linked together. This brat really was a master at coaxing girls. No wonder those ridiculously beautiful girls all loved to be around him! Pah, filthy yboy!

    After Zu An pacified Bi Linglong, he turned around and gave Mi Li a strange look. ¡°Why do I remember that you came inside of my body earlier?¡±

    Suddenly Mi Li¡¯s finger thrust out and knocked Bi Linglong out.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Zu An jumped in fright.

    ¡°What, you already feel sorry for her? Hmph¡­¡± Mi Li paused for a moment. She had wanted to say ¡®Did you already forget about the others because you met a new girl?¡¯ But she had quickly realized that sounded inappropriate. ¡°I don¡¯t want her to hear what I¡¯m about to tell you.¡±

    Zu An calmed down when he heard that. After all, Mi Li¡¯s existence was a secret in itself.

    Mi Li hesitated before saying, ¡°I think it¡¯d be best if we just silenced her. This dungeon trip has been so chaotic. It wouldn¡¯t be strange if she died here too.

    Zu An immediately replied in a panic, ¡°No way, no way! Her identity is special and she¡¯s the crown princess! If she died and I was the only one who returned, the emperor would never let me go!¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that Zhao Ruizhi out there enough?¡± Mi Li rolled her eyes. ¡°Forget it, I already knew you wouldn¡¯t be willing to do that. But with my current state, it would be hard for me to make her forget about my existence. I just can¡¯t really feel at ease.¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Zu An asked out of concern.

    ¡°Your body was about to break down earlier, so I stabilized your condition in your ce.¡± Mi Li blushed. Even though she had always been rather strong-willed, something like that still made her embarrassed. She quickly changed the topic. ¡°It¡¯s honestly all your fault. I always end up using a huge amount of soul force to save you whenever I finally manage to recover a good bit of my strength. I have no choice but to go back to sleeping.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s attention was sessfully diverted. ¡°Is it really bad?¡± he asked.

    ¡°I won¡¯t die, but I¡¯ll have to sleep for a period of time.¡± Mi Li¡¯s tone was rather gloomy.

    The Yin Yang Five Elements Formation hadn¡¯t actually drained too much of her strength; it had mainly been used on Zu An. The rebound of Keyboard Come was too powerful. For the sake of stopping Zu An¡¯s body from breaking down, she had almost lost her own life in the process.

    Now that Zu An had woken up, she felt at ease again. But just as she finally loosened up, a powerful feeling of weakness had attacked her.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me. How do you feel right now?¡± Mi Li was still a bit worried and asked again to confirm Zu An¡¯s status.

    Zu An examined his own body. ¡°Ying Zheng left behind the lower half of the Primordial Origin Sutra in my sea of consciousness. I¡¯ve already reached the fourthyer.¡±

    Mi Li nodded in praise. ¡°Your aptitude is incredibly rare. You were actually able to learn such a profound art so quickly!¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, I didn¡¯t really learn it myself, it was the Keyboard System that asked him if I wanted to learn it. All I had to do was tap yes. Of course, reaching the fourthyer was still due to his own efforts.

    Mi Li continued, ¡°Once the Primordial Origin Sutra reaches the fourthyer, you can send your primordial ki into the bodies of others, helping them treat difficult illnesses. In other words, as long as you want to, you can already be a divine physician.¡±

    ¡°A divine physician?¡± Zu An became excited. Wasn¡¯t that something else he could brag about? Didn¡¯t everyone from the city back home want their sons to be doctors?

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t that mean I can treat others without doing ¡®that¡¯ in the future?¡± Zu An suddenly thought of something. Even though the old treatment method felt amazing, he always felt like a scoundrel whenever he brought it up. Let alone if he ended up running into a man¡­ It was entirely possible for him to have brothers and seniors he would want to save.

    Mi Li shook her head. ¡°The fourthyer of the Primordial Origin Sutra only makes you a doctor; it doesn¡¯t make you a deity. If you really encounter another instance like Chu Chuyan¡¯s situation back then, the fourthyer won¡¯t be enough. You¡¯ll still need to use that method.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s too bad.¡± Zu An sighed.

    ¡°Why do I see a smirk then?¡± Mi Li ruthlessly exposed him.

    ¡°What? Me? I never did that. Don¡¯t say false things.¡± Zu An immediately refuted her several times in a row.

    ¡°Whatever, enough already.¡± Mi Li already understood his nature; she didn¡¯t feel like arguing about such a thing. She asked him about some other things before she finally felt at ease. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m going to get some sleep first. I¡¯ll leave the rest to you.¡± She turned into a wisp of smoke and disappeared into the Tai¡¯e Sword.

    Zu An looked worried. Unfortunately, there wasn¡¯t anything he could do about Mi Li¡¯s current situation. He searched through the Brilliant ss Bead and sighed in relief when he saw that the Eternal Spring Flower was still there. He had to gather the other ingredients as quickly as possible and help Mi Li reforge her body; she wouldn¡¯t have to go through so much then.

    Zu An was about to wake Bi Linglong, but he suddenly thought of something. He sat down and examined his body¡¯s interior. When the Primordial Origin Sutra waspleted, there seemed to have been a reminder that a new system had been activated. Of course, back then, he wasn¡¯t in any state to pay attention to such things.

    He checked the message and learned that the new system unlocked was the ¡®Shop¡¯. The Shop had actually been open before, but it wasn¡¯tplete back then. There had only been a few items avable for purchase.

    The shop was now filled with all sorts of new things, immediately grabbing Zu An¡¯s interest. He skimmed through the avable stock and discovered that the goods were divided into several major categories.

    There were sparkling weapons everywhere. These weapons were practically all heaven grade, and any one of them could serve as the heirloom of a small n. In the realm of warriors, they would be even more illustrious weapons of ughter.

    Butpared to Zu An¡¯s Tai¡¯e Sword, Poisonous Prick, and Immortal Beheading Knives, even though two of them weren¡¯t in their perfect state, the heaven grade weapons were still less valuable. As such, that category wasn¡¯t too interesting for Zu An.

    But fortunately, he noticed a small row of text stating that the equipment there could be used on his valkyries. I guess it¡¯s notpletely useless then, he thought to himself. Daji¡¯s weapon suited her quite well right now, but he might need to get something for a future valkyrie.

    He continued scrolling. Another major category was ¡®Materials¡¯. There were all kinds of strange things, many of which he had never even heard of before.

 Chapter 891, Part 2: New Function Unlocked

    <h4>Chapter 891, Part 2: New Function Unlocked</h4>

    Included among the items were things like Taotie Horns and Dragon Scales.

    Zu An was rmed. So he could have just purchased these things from the Shop! He had been worried that as Daji¡¯s skill rank increased, he would need more and more Ki Condensation Pills, Dragon Scales, Taotie Horns, and silver. Silver wasn¡¯t too big of a problem, but the other things weren¡¯t so readily avable! What if he couldn''t find the materials needed for the ranking up of other valkyries?

    But with the Shop, that problem would easily be solved. He nced over at the Taotie Horn¡¯s selling price. The goods sold here were all purchased through Rage points. He had saved up a good amount since thest time he pulled the lottery system.

    But when he saw the string of 0s behind the price, he cursed, ¡°This is a fucking scam!¡± Do you think it was easy for me to earn these Rage points? Look at the number of 0s behind every single item! Fuck, not even the currency in Zimbabwe was devalued to this extent, right?!

    He became gloomy and skipped straight over that section. The next items in line were some more familiar goods, such as Ki Fruits, Marrow Cleansing Pills, and all kinds of ores.

    Zu An was shocked. In Shang Liuyu¡¯s ss in Brightmoon Academy, he had learned that many ores were actually quite precious. They were essential for the creation of high level weapons. He hadn¡¯t expected the Shop to have them for exchange. However, the amount of Rage points needed to purchase these ores was also considerable.

    He continued to look around. There was only a single item in the fourth category: Tiger Talismans. These were the Tiger Talismans used to pull the Valkyrie System!

    ¡°I can buy Tiger Talismans?!¡± Zu An¡¯s eyes lit up. He wouldn¡¯t have to do a thing in the future if he pulled a few more valkyries! He¡¯d just throw his harem at the enemy. Even if they couldn¡¯t win, they¡¯d defeat the enemy with their beauty.

    He almost drooled when he thought of that. He had only saved up 431,472 Rage points so far, however, which was only enough to buy six Tiger Talismans.

    But the chance of actually pulling a valkyrie was incredibly low. And with just six talismans, he might not get a single thing. Zu An quickly realized that exchanging for anything directly from the Shop was a pretty bad deal for him¡­ It was better to try and obtain the things present, such as the Taotie Horns, Dragon Scales, and Ki Condensation Pills, through other means.

    Zu An¡¯s pounding heart calmed down when he understood that, and he continued scrolling. His eyes widened when he saw thest category. He hadn¡¯t expected it to be titled ¡®Apparel¡¯! There were some smaller characters that exined that the clothing in that category could be used by valkyries.

    Zu An had tried all sorts of things after he obtained Daji. Even though she had carried out all sorts of orders for him, anything intimate was immediately rejected. Not even simple things like holding hands were allowed.

    As for clothing, even touching was out of the question. Back then, Zu An had purchased all kinds of pretty dresses hoping that she would change into them, but she hadpletely ignored him. She had only looked at him as if he were aplete idiot.

    ¡°What the hell? Who the heck would spend that much for a stupid outfit?¡± Zu An sneered. So what if those valkyries would change clothes if he bought these for them? It was just for looks anyway. Furthermore, their original clothing looked pretty good too, and they seemed to have anti-dust runes on them or something. Those clothes never got dirty and could be worn for the rest of their lives.

    The clothes offered in the Shop didn¡¯t even grant any skills or assistance in battle. Only a moron would buy these clothes! Zu An firmly made the decision not to.

    Even so, he was still worried that he might have missed out on something, so he decided to take a look at the clothes first. However, his eyes widened as soon as he checked out the pieces avable. His breathing became rushed as well.

    ¡°Wait¡­ There seems to be much less material used in these outfits¡­

    ¡°Won¡¯t their thighs be showing if they wear this?

    ¡°You should be able to see more of her cleavage with this one, right¡­¡±

    ¡­

    When he saw thest outfit, he was stupefied. It was a ckced bikini!

    ¡°I swear, the creator of this system is a damn pervert!¡±

    Zu An couldn''t take his eyes off of that outfit. He thought to himself, I have to get at least one set of these clothes, right? It¡¯s not that I want to see her in a bikini or anything, I¡¯m just trying to save the keyboard system cloth.

    Hepletely forgot about his firm and decisive choice from a moment before. He clicked the purchase button without any hesitation.

    However, a row of characters immediately showed up on the screen: ¡®Insufficient Rage points!¡¯

    ¡°Damn it!¡± Zu An gritted his teeth. This thing was actually that expensive?!

    Ten, one hundred, one thousand, ten thousand, one hundred thousand, one million¡­ He didn¡¯t even feel like counting the 0s anymore after a certain point.

    ¡°Forget it, everything needs Rage points. I¡¯ll hold off on this for now.¡± Zu An continued to console himself. However, he still nced reluctantly at that outfit in the shop window from time to time, imagining just how amazing Daji would look in it.

    Zu An returned to reality and began to think about the purpose of the shop¡¯s existence. ording to what he had just seen, he noticed that the Shop didn¡¯t have many things that could make him stronger. Its goods seemed to mainly be for the valkyries. ¡°Looks like the valkyries have a lot of potential there¡­ Ahem, potential for growth.¡±

    After understanding that point, he realized that the Shop wasn¡¯t too useful for him at the moment, so he decided not to pay too much attention to it. There was another problem he had to tackle.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An undid the seal on Bi Linglong¡¯s fainting acupoint. The beauty in his arms groaned and slowly opened her eyes. Her red phoenix eyes were usually awe-inspiring and majestic, but now, those eyes looked delicate and charming.

    ¡°I¡­ What happened to me?¡± Bi Linglong saw Zu An looking at her up close as soon as she opened her eyes. Her heart pounded crazily.

    ¡°You might have been too tired.¡± Zu An used a random excuse. Bi Linglong quickly recalled what the two of them had done. Her face flushed bright red.

    Zu An realized the implications behind what he had just said. However, he didn¡¯t n to exin anything and instead said, ¡°Linglong, you¡¯re amazing.¡±

    Bi Linglong couldn¡¯t keep looking at him, and turned her head away. Zu An was used to seeing her proud and mighty appearance. This was a rare bashful side of her. He felt his heart stir, and couldn''t help but lower his head for a kiss.

    Bi Linglong instinctively wanted to evade him, but she immediately remembered that the two of them already had a physical rtionship, so there was no need for her to evade this. As such, she slowly closed her eyes. Her long eyshes fluttered gently, exposing just how hard her heart was pounding.

    Zu An kissed her. He hadn¡¯t expected her lips to be that soft. There was even a bit of sweetness. Bi Linglong moaned while leaning her entire body against him, as soft as cotton. Once her defenses were broken, it was hard for her to resist the man she had given everything to.

    Zu An had acted without thinking just then. Now that he had recovered a bit of his rationality, he immediately wanted to experience ¡®that¡¯ seriously again.

    Bi Linglong¡¯s status was special, and she was rather prideful by nature. When had anyone ever done such a thing to her? She waspletely defeated by Zu An¡¯s proficient skills. She leaned gently into his embrace and looked as if she were ready to let him do anything he wanted.

    Just then, Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s naive and simple voice came from outside. ¡°Linglong? Linglong, where are you? I¡¯m scared¡­¡± His voice sounded wronged and helpless.

    Bi Linglong¡¯s body went rigid. She instinctively sat up and pushed away the man beside her.

    Zu An was a bit unhappy. This damn fatty could have woken up earlier orter; why did he have to wake up just now? He rushed outside the room, and Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s voice stopped.

    When he returned, Bi Linglong couldn''t help but ask, ¡°What did you do to him?¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I just knocked him out for a bit. Why don¡¯t we continue where we left off?¡±

    Bi Linglong¡¯s face turned red. However, she still firmly shook her head. Zu An saw that she had already fixed her messy clothes and knew that there was no chance today. As such, he had some more ¡®nice things¡¯ to say to that damn fatty inwardly.

    ¡°Let¡¯s talk about what we should do now.¡± Bi Linglong looked extremely worried.

    ¡°How about we just get rid of that stupid fatty, and then the two of us will elope?¡± Zu An asked with a smile.

    ¡°I can¡¯t.¡± Bi Linglong quickly shook her head. ¡°Even though I don¡¯t have feelings for him, we¡¯re still husband and wife in name. Just now¡­ I¡¯ve already let him down, so how can I kill him?¡±

    Zu An smiled. How could someone like her, who had been raised with the etiquette of a noble, be able to do what Pan Jinlian and Ximen Qing from their story¡­ Pah pah pah! I¡¯m no Ximen Qing[1]!

    ¡°But things will be tricky if we don¡¯t kill him,¡± Zu An reminded her. He didn¡¯t want to kill Zhao Ruizhi and then go on the run either, though. After all, there were still so many lovely friends waiting for him! But he couldn''t really say that for fear of Bi Linglong feeling that he didn¡¯t care about her, so he could only put on an act.

    Fortunately, Bi Linglong¡¯s reply wasn¡¯t anything unexpected. ¡°If his majesty¡¯s split soul hadn¡¯t perished, I would¡¯ve run as far away as I could. But his split soul has been devoured by that weird octopus, so that gives us some room to work with.¡± She hesitated a bit at first, but she calmed down the more she spoke. She clearly already had some ns.

    She had always been the one managing the Eastern Pce for many years. She felt she was already more than halfway to her goal, and obviously didn¡¯t want to abandon everything she had at the capital.

    ¡°What happened here is easy to exin, but it might not be so easy to deceive the emperor,¡± Zu An said gravely. To be honest, that old and tricky bastard of an emperor was incredibly tough to deal with.¡±

    Bi Linglong moved over to his ear and whispered, ¡°I have a n. Let¡¯s do this¡­¡±

    1. Ximen Qing is a fictional Chinese Song dynasty merchant, womanizer, and murderer in Yanggu County, Shandong. He¡¯s the male protagonist in the novel Jin Ping Mei and a minor character in the novel Water Margin. In both novels, he¡¯s portrayed as ascivious and immoral man who starts a secret affair with Pan Jinlian and helps her poison her husband Wu Dng to death ?

 Chapter 892: I Think You Did That on Purpose!

    <h4>Chapter 892: I Think You Did That on Purpose!</h4>

    Even though there was no one present, Bi Linglong still subconsciously lowered her voice because they were talking about something so important.

    As he felt her breath against his ear, Zu An felt more and more at ease. A youngdy¡¯s aura really is gentle and nice. He turned around and gave her lips a peck. Bi Linglong jumped back like a startled rabbit while clutching her mouth with her hand. She stared at him in annoyance.

    Zu An eximed with augh, ¡°Linglong, you really are incredible! Your n is just way too good.¡±

    Her method was pretty much the same as what he¡¯d had in mind, but it was even more detailed. Many of the finer points were even better thought out than his own n. If they really acted ording to her n, there would actually be a huge chance of making it through this ordeal.

    Bi Linglong forgot about his teasing when she heard Zu An¡¯s praise. She had a big smile on her face. After all, how could she havested this long in the Eastern Pce without any skills?

    ¡°There is another problem, though.¡± Zu An paused for a moment. He looked at her charming face and said, ¡°You¡¯ve already lost your virginity. You won¡¯t be able to escape death if Zhao Han finds out. After all, he¡¯s always seen you as his future wife.¡±

    This world still had many ways of testing one¡¯s virginity if they really wanted to know.

    Bi Linglong blushed. She bit her lip and said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that. I have a way of hiding it.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. You can even hide something like that?

    After Bi Linglong exined the situation, Zu An learned that she actually had a special artifact that could fake a simr state. The reason why no one had noticed that she had never consummated her marriage in the Eastern Pce even after so long was precisely because of that artifact. She could use it for the opposite effect as well, to hide the fact that she had done the deed.

    Afterward, the two of them sorted out some details, then prepared to wake Zhao Ruizhi up to ¡®tell¡¯ him what happened. He was a witness, after all. There would definitely be people who would ask him about what had happened once they went back out.

    However, Zu An suddenly stepped backward, looking Bi Linglong up and down.

    ¡°What?¡± Bi Linglong was a bit embarrassed. She wasn¡¯t used to being looked at like that.

    Zu An moved his hand gently through her smooth and glossy hair. ¡°Your hair is too beautiful right now. Zhao Ruizhi saw that your hair became white, and that you were seriously injured from using that forbidden technique. Zhao Han will be suspicious.¡±

    ¡°But it¡¯s already ck; it¡¯s not easy to change it back to white. Do we have any dyes?¡± Bi Linglong was worried. Furthermore, even if there were a dye to use, it still wouldn¡¯t escape Zhao Han¡¯s eyes.

    Zu An looked at her and asked, ¡°Do you trust me?¡±

    Bi Linglong said impatiently, ¡°Don¡¯t you know that I¡­ I already gave you everything! Why are you still asking me something like that?¡±

    ¡°Then you have to rx and not be nervous. Trust me,¡± Zu An said while holding her hand.

    Bi Linglong¡¯s face turned red. Even though the two of them had already had the most intimate physical rtionship, everything had happened too quickly. She still wasn¡¯t used to it yet.

    She was just about to pull her hands back when she suddenly felt a wave of suction force from Zu An¡¯s hands. She immediately became incredibly weak. She could clearly feel her cultivation and life essence rapidly leaving her.

    She stared at Zu An with wide eyes. In that instant, countless possibilities shed through her mind, but in the end, the only thing that remained was ¡®trust me¡¯.

    A whileter, Zu An let go and asked, ¡°How do you feel?¡±

    ¡°Not great.¡± Bi Linglong¡¯s voice was a bit hoarse. She felt incredibly weak, as if she would fall over at a moment¡¯s notice.

    Zu An said, ¡°I absorbed some of your life essence. It¡¯s normal for you to feel weak.¡±

    Bi Linglong was stunned. She suddenly thought of something and touched her hair. Sure enough, her beautiful ck hair was now already slightly gray. She bit her lip. Tears trickled out from her eyes. What woman didn¡¯t want to be beautiful? Furthermore, losing what she had just regained was just too painful.

    Zu An quickly consoled her. ¡°Linglong, don¡¯t worry. This is only temporary to convince the emperor. I¡¯ll slowly return this life essence back to you. Once you¡¯re back in the Eastern Pce and receive all kinds of medicines and treatment, it won¡¯t be suspicious even if you recoverter.¡±

    Bi Linglong blinked. There were still droplets around her eyshes as she asked, ¡°How are you going to return it?¡±

    Zu An replied with a smile, ¡°Did you forget how your white hair became ck again?¡±

    Bi Linglong was stunned. Then, she became incredibly embarrassed, eximing, ¡°Did you do that on purpose?!¡±

    Zu An cried out, aggrieved. ¡°Of course not! It¡¯s all for the sake of deceiving the emperor!¡±

    Bi Linglong gritted her teeth. Her reason told her that only something like this could deceive the emperor. But when she remembered the way he had healed her, her youngdy side couldn''t ept it.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Forget it, you don¡¯t have to return it. I¡¯ll rest and slowly recover back in the pce.¡± Bi Linglong was still too embarrassed to agree to something so embarrassing in the end.

    Zu An chuckled. He didn¡¯t feel a need to keep bickering over this matter. ¡°Then I¡¯ll go and wake up Zhao Ruizhi now, okay?¡±

    ¡°Okay¡­¡± Bi Linglong saw Zu An begin to mess up his clothes. Then, he found some blood and smeared it on his body, making himself look even more miserable.

    Zu An¡¯s body had actually been covered in wounds before, but he had already recovered from those injuries. That was why he had to use such a disguise.

    Bi Linglong naturally knew why he was doing those things. She sighed in admiration. This man always seemed so frivolous normally, but he was actually so meticulous.

    Zu An brought the now conscious Zhao Ruizhi in. Bi Linglong¡¯s expression couldn''t help but look a bit unnatural when she saw him again, so she let Zu An ¡®recount¡¯ everything that had happened so far. She only added a few things here and there.

    The group decided to look for the way out after giving Zhao Ruizhi the whole story. Zu An actually wanted to loot the ce once more, however, since it was the ancestral court of the Qin Dynasty. There were definitely many treasures present.

    But no one expected the world to start shaking before he even began. Everything began to break apart. After both Xu Fu and Ying Zheng had perished, some important core substance had disappeared from the dungeon. It could no longer remain together and began to break apart. The fact that it hadn¡¯t done so the moment those two died was already a testament to the ce¡¯s excellent engineering.

    Helpless to do anything about it, Zu An could only carry Bi Linglong in one hand and Zhao Ruizhi in the other. He jumped from side to side across floating chunks ofnd to avoid repeating the tragedy of the world¡¯s inversion.

    Fortunately, he already had prior, so it wasn¡¯t too difficult this time. Furthermore, the world didn¡¯t invert itself for too long this time. After half a day or so, Westhound Tombpletely vanished. It was reced with the previous, familiar dungeon again.

    Bi Linglong sighed in amazement when she saw the lush and beautiful scenery around her. ¡°This really is a marvel¡­ I thought it would be doomsday for this world.¡±

    Zu An really couldn''t understand the principles behind it either. Even if this world wasn¡¯t destroyed, shouldn¡¯t it at least be in tatters? Why does it seem as if nothing has happened at all?!

    ¡°I want to go home! I want to go back to the pce!¡± Zhao Ruizhi threw a tantrum. This trip wasn¡¯t fun at all! He could eat good things, and he could sleep and y whenever he wanted back home.

    Zu An and Bi Linglong didn¡¯t want to stay any longer either. The group retraced their steps to the entrance they remembered. Soon afterward, they suddenly saw a group of men rush in their direction. The men clearly saw them as well, and they all cheered.

    A streak of red light shed through the air, and one man instantly appeared in front of Zu An¡¯s group, eximing, ¡°Crown prince, crown princess!¡± He was naturally the Embroidered Envoy Chief Commander, Zhuxie Chixin. Now that the dungeon had recovered, he had rushed in with his men at once.

    This matter was far too important, so he hadn¡¯t let anyone from King Qi Manore in. Even the academy¡¯s people were still outside. All of them had low expectations for the survival of the crown prince¡¯s party. That was why they wouldn¡¯t look for trouble by acting out here. That was also why Zhuxie Chixin was so happy to see the crown prince and princess.

    Just then, Zu An said hoarsely, ¡°Chief Commander, I¡¯m fortunate to not have failed my mission. I was able to bring back the crown prince and princess safely.¡± After saying that, he ¡®fainted¡¯ from weakness. A group of people immediately rushed over to examine him.

    Bi Linglong was amazed deep down. This guy really had a talent for acting! Hmph, how many times was I tricked by this dummy before?

    But jokes were jokes. She still knew what she had to do. She cleared her throat and said promptly, ¡°For the sake of protecting us, Sir Zu ughtered his way through endless enemies and has suffered grave injuries. Provide him with treatment at once!¡±

    If the others viewed Zu An in that light, the following events would be much easier.

    Zhuxie Chixin quickly ordered his subordinates to take care of the matter. However, he suddenly realized something. He looked at Bi Linglong in shock. ¡°Crown princess, why is your hair¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a long story. I need to meet with his majesty,¡± Bi Linglong said. Proactively asking to meet with the emperor waspletely different from being summoned by the emperor. That way, others would subconsciously believe that her loyalty was with the emperor, that they were on the same side.

    Zhuxie Chixin nodded. ¡°His majesty is already waiting in the pce. He ordered us to return immediately if we made any discoveries.¡±

    Bi Linglong took a deep breath. Whether or not they could make it past this trial would depend on the following event.

    The ¡®unconscious¡¯ Zu An¡¯s expression was also grave. Even though the two of them had already predicted all sorts of situations, neither of them knew what would really happen.

 Chapter 893, Part 1: Interrogation

    <h4>Chapter 893, Part 1: Interrogation</h4>

    Zhuxie Chixin nced into the distance. He asked quietly, ¡°Crown princess, are there any other survivors?¡±

    Bi Linglong shook her head. ¡°There¡¯s no one else with us. However, our group scattered earlier, so I¡¯m not too sure.¡±

    ¡°Then it looks like there are none.¡± Zhuxie Chixin nodded. ¡°I only found the Liu n¡¯s Gao Ying, Pei n¡¯s Pei You, and two Eastern Pce guards. For some reason, they were all hanging from trees and heavily injured. We already sent them back to be treated at the imperial hospital.¡±

    Bi Linglong was surprised and replied, ¡°Then I¡¯ve troubled Chief Commander.¡± She wondered if those people knew the truth.

    But when she remembered that they had already separated back then, that they couldn¡¯t know about what had happened afterward, she sighed in relief.

    The ¡®unconscious¡¯ Zu An sighed inwardly. The two Eastern Pce guards had to be Jiao Sigun and Piao Duandiao. Even though their cultivation ranks weren¡¯t high, their luck really wasn¡¯t bad! They had actually survived even after experiencing so much danger!

    But that was definitely a happy thing. He had even been feeling a bit ashamed that he wasn¡¯t able to properly take care of them.

    Zhuxie Chixin left behind some subordinates to search for other survivors, then escorted Bi Linglong¡¯s group out of the dungeon with most of his men. Now that he had found the crown prince and princess, his mission was alreadyplete. As for whether or not he could find the others, he didn¡¯t care that much.

    There was arge group raising their heads and looking around outside the dungeon entrance. Everything boded ill for the crown prince¡¯s party after what had just happened in the dungeon. If his party had been wiped out, that meant that no one would be able topete against King Qi anymore.

    As for the emperor¡¯s other sons, without the status of being the eldest son, they weren¡¯t even worth mentioning in front of King Qi. Many great subjects had egged on the crown prince and showed their support over the years. They couldn''t just switch to a new patron immediately.

    Those from King Qi¡¯s side felt as if the war had already been won, that everything was beautiful. But they were all skilled politicians. Even though they were smiling inwardly, they looked broken-hearted on the surface. They didn¡¯t give their political enemies any weaknesses to exploit.

    However, there were people among therge group who were truly grief-stricken. A handsome young man stared ahead with reddened eyes, tears continuously trickling down his cheeks. Who else could it be but Chu Youzhao?

    ¡°Big brother Chu, please don¡¯t worry too much. Big brother Zu is capable and outstanding; I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll be fine,¡± Murong Qinghe said in constion.

    A nearby person from the Murong n muttered, ¡°Why is he crying for nothing? You¡¯re acting like a girl.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t know anything! This is called being in tune with his emotions; he¡¯s a man full of emotions! He¡¯s nothing like all of you who have muscles for brains!¡± Murong Qinghe shot that person a look as she gently consoled Chu Youzhao.

    Chu Youzhao felt as if her heart had be ice cold. She had always been waiting outside. She had constantly been hearing predictions and analyses about what was happening inside the dungeon, but what all of them had inmon was that a world-destroying cmity had happened inside. No matter how high her brother-inw¡¯s cultivation was, everything pointed to a disaster¡­

    The people from the academy shared her concern. Xie Daoyun asked Jiang Luofu with a look of worry, ¡°Ms. Jiang, do you think big brother Zu is still alive?¡±

    Xie Xie¡¯s mouth widened. If he had seen his big sister like this at any other time, he would have cursed Zu An for not having any sisters, feeling that he was losing out greatly in that respect. But at that moment, he couldn''t even bring himself to think about such things.

    Jiang Luofu was also quite stressed. ¡°You¡¯ve kept asking me these questions these past few days; how am I supposed to know? No one knows more about the dungeon than Ms. Qi. Go and ask her.¡±

    Xie Daoyun looked at Qi Yaoguang anxiously. Qi Yaoguang scratched her hair and said, ¡°The space inside was chaotic, so I couldn''t check what was inside either. But now that the dungeon has been opened again, Commander Zhuxie and the others have already gone in. I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll reach a conclusion soon.¡±

    Even though her impression of Zu An wasn¡¯t bad, that was it. The two of them hadn¡¯t known each other for that long or shared deeper feelings. If he died inside, she would feel a bit of regret, but she¡¯d get over it after a few days. Comparatively speaking, she was more interested in what had happened to the dungeon and what exactly had caused it. She wanted to know if there was anything they could do to prevent this kind of thing from happening in the future, or at least be more prepared for it should it happen again.

    Jiang Luofu patted Xie Daoyun¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. He has the chess piece Hei Baizi gave him, and he even has that Last Breath Talisman you gave him. He should be able toe out ahead even if he does encounter any danger.¡±

    Even though she consoled Xie Daoyun that way, she didn¡¯t have any confidence in that regard either. After all, the entire world inside had been destroyed! What could those things do for him in such a situation?

    Suddenly, the spatial elements by the entrance rippled. Qi Yaoguang stood up and said, ¡°People areing out.¡±

    Those present had been paying close attention to the entrance. When they saw that, they all rushed over. Fortunately, the Embroidered Envoy was present to maintain order, and didn¡¯t allow them to get too close and secretly try anything.

    Zhuxie Chixin and the others came out soon afterward. When they saw a chubby body emerge, those from the crown prince¡¯s faction were stunned at first, but then they all erupted into cheers.

    To be honest, even they had already thought that Zhao Ruizhi had died. After all, something so big had happened inside the dungeon. Even if a master rank cultivator went inside, only death would await them. How could an idiot like the crown prince survive?

    The crown prince¡¯s faction had been left in low spirits. Some of them had even already been considering how to change sides. How could they not be emotional when they saw him return safely?

    Those from King Qi Manor were shocked. The smiles they¡¯d had just a second before froze on their faces as shock overwhelmed them. ¡°How is that possible? How can he still be alive?!¡± There were trusted aides among them who knew more details. Even if the dungeon hadn¡¯t copsed, the crown prince should have died inside. How had hee out alive?

    Even though the crown prince¡¯s face was dirty and his clothes were tattered, and he had many injuries, his life wasn¡¯t in danger. No, not only that, he was throwing a tantrum and shouting that he wanted to eat the capital¡¯s pastries right now.

    Unlike those from King Qi Manor¡¯s faction, who looked as if their family members had just died, those from the crown prince¡¯s faction were beaming and screaming in happiness.

    The Bi n master, Bi Qi, rushed over to his daughter. ¡°Linglong, are you injured? Huh? Your hair¡­¡±

    The crown prince was alive, but if the crown princess had died, the Bi n¡¯s many years of hard work would have only benefited another.

    Bi Linglong shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m fine. I¡¯ll exin things to youter, father.¡±

    Bi Qi wanted to ask more questions, but Chu Youzhao had already shoved her way over, crying, ¡°Where is my brother-inw? Crown princess, where is my brother inw?!¡±

    When she saw how panicked Chu Youzhao was, Bi Linglong thought to herself that Zu An¡¯s rtionship with him really was good. But for some reason, the words ¡®brother-inw¡¯ really stung. Before she could even decide whether to reply or not, however, Chu Youzhao saw Zu An on a stretcher toward the back of the procession.

    ¡°Brother-inw!¡± Chu Youzhao ran over while sobbing. Zu An was lying there, not moving at all. Was he already dead?

    The ¡®unconscious¡¯ Zu An sighed inwardly. This little sister-inw of his wasn¡¯t so bad after all. She was crying to the point that even he was feeling bad. He wanted to tell her that he was fine through ki transmission, but when he remembered that this kid was really bad at acting and couldn''t hide her real thoughts at all, he could only silently apologize to her and abandon that thought.

    Meanwhile, Jiang Luofu and Xie Daoyun also came over. However, they showed much more restraint and didn¡¯t shove their way over while crying like Chu Youzhao. They waited quietly off to the side, waiting for a reply.

    Zhuxie Chixin immediately walked over and stopped everyone. ¡°I¡¯m going to bring them back to the imperial pce first. His majesty has summoned them himself. Before then, those uninvolved aren¡¯t allowed to get close to them.¡±

    Chu Youzhao was stunned. She picked up something from his words and asked, ¡°My brother-inw isn¡¯t dead?¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin didn¡¯t want to reply. He still had his duty, after all. He had to uphold a level of confidentiality before he received further instructions from the emperor.

    It was Bi Linglong who replied instead. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, his life isn¡¯t in danger. He was just wounded quite badly from saving me and the crown prince.¡±

    The eyes of the entire capital were aimed in their direction at that moment. She spoke about Zu An¡¯s contributions again in front of all those present. After having been in the pce for so long, she didn¡¯t even bat an eyelid when telling lies anymore. No one present sensed anything strange.

    Chu Youzhao finally rxed when she heard Bi Linglong¡¯s exnation. But she quickly replied, ¡°My brother-inw is wounded so badly, but you aren¡¯t taking him to see a doctor, and instead bringing him to the imperial pce for an interrogation? You¡¯re all heartless!¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin said with a snort, ¡°This is his majesty¡¯s personal decree. Are you opposing his decree?¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Chu Youzhao wanted to say something else, but Murong Qinghe immediately stopped her, saying, ¡°Big brother Chu, don¡¯t worry. The imperial pce¡¯s doctors are even better.¡±

    Things would be really, really bad if Chu Youzhao ended up saying something disrespectful to his majesty! Everyone in the capital knew that his majesty¡¯s mood hadn¡¯t been too great. Several subjects had made slight mistakes that usually wouldn¡¯t have mattered at all, but because they had incurred the emperor¡¯s anger, they had been punished severely.

    If her big brother Chu angered the emperor, there would be nothing good waiting for her at all. Fortunately, Murong Qinghe was able to convince Chu Youzhao. Chu Youzhao decided not to push the issue any further when she thought about the skill level of the imperial physicians.

    Jiang Luofu, Xie Daoyun, and the others sighed in relief as well. With how things stood, it wasn¡¯t proper for them to step forward and say anything.

    King Liang Zhaoyi roared, ¡°Where is my son, Zhao Xi?!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t see Xian¡¯er either,¡± came Guard General Liu Yao¡¯s voice.

    ¡°My n¡¯s Meng Pan isn¡¯t here either!¡± Central Secretariat Supervisor Meng Yi also cried out in rm.

 Chapter 893, Part 2: Interrogation

    <h4>Chapter 893, Part 2: Interrogation</h4>

    They had seen a group of people leave the dungeon one after another, but they didn¡¯t see any of their own disciples. All of them finally lost theirposure.

    Bi Linglong opened her mouth, but she didn¡¯t say anything in the end. There were too many things that had happened inside;, she couldn''t exin it properly in just a few words. There were many things she couldn¡¯t say here either.

    Fortunately, Zhuxie Chixin stepped forward to stop them. Then, he escorted the party back to the imperial pce with his trusted aides.

    ¡­

    When they arrived at the imperial pce, Zu An and Bi Linglong were separated. After all, Bi Linglong was the only clear-headed person who had survived from this trip. Zhao Ruizhi, that stupid fatty, didn¡¯t count. The emperor would immediately question her about what happened.

    Bi Linglong was a bit frightened at first, but when she walked past Zu An, she received some ki transmissions from him. She gradually calmed down.

    Someone came to check on Zu An¡¯s condition soon after Bi Linglong left. That person sat down next to him and checked his pulse. He was clearly a physician.

    ¡°How is he?¡± the guard Zhuxie Chixin had left behind asked.

    That physician didn¡¯t reply immediately. After studying Zu An¡¯s vitals for a while, he said, ¡°His internal energies are a mess, and his injuries are extremely serious. He needs to rest for a long time. Furthermore, even if he recovers from his injuries, an injury of this level will influence his cultivation. He probably won¡¯t ever be able to recover all of his cultivation.¡±

    Zu An sighed in relief. It seemed he really had managed to deceive the physician after all. With his current cultivation, it wasn¡¯t too difficult to imitate some serious injuries. However, he had still been a bit worried because the doctors from the imperial hospital were highly skilled. There had been a chance for something to go wrong here.

    ¡°It¡¯s that serious?¡± The guard jumped in fright. After all, one¡¯s cultivation was just as important as one¡¯s very life! Furthermore, since the doctor had said that Zu An would never recover up to his previous level of cultivation, that also meant there would be no chance of ever increasing his cultivation from today on.

    Even though this Zu An had his ws, he had an outstanding strong point, which was that he already had such powerful cultivation at such a young age. There was almost no one who couldpare to him among his peers! If he continued to grow, reaching the master rank would just be a matter of time. Once he reached the master rank, and furthermore at such a young age, he might even receive a noble title!

    But now, all of that was already hopeless. The world had nevercked geniuses, but neither did itck geniuses who had been ruined prematurely.

    ¡°I¡¯ll prescribe him some medicine for now. Sir Zu¡¯s current condition absolutely requires rest. He can¡¯t be allowed to fight against anyone for a long time, or else his meridians will break down, turning him into a cripple,¡± the physician warned.

    The guard voiced his affirmation. The room became quiet again. Only the sounds of the physician preparing medicine could be heard.

    A whileter, the door opened with a groan. Zhuxie Chixin asked from the other side, ¡°How is he?¡±

    The guard repeated what the physician had just told him.

    ¡°Then when will he wake up?¡± Zhuxie Chixin asked with a frown.

    ¡°Three days at the earliest. Half a month is to be expected,¡± the physician replied.

    Zhuxie Chixin shook his head. ¡°We can¡¯t wait that long. His majesty is going to ask him some questions soon. Are there any medicines that can wake him up?¡±

    After some hesitation, the doctor said, ¡°There are, but such strong drugs will only worsen his body¡¯s condition. Sir Zu¡¯s condition is also very poor, so it might worsen his injuries. There¡¯s some danger to his life¡­¡±

    ¡°His majesty is currently waiting in the study. Why don¡¯t you exin that to him?¡± Zhuxie Chixin gave him a cold look.

    The physician shivered. He immediately changed his tone. ¡°I¡¯ll prepare the drug immediately. Chief Commander, please wait a moment.¡±

    He had only spoken those words out of his kindness as a doctor. However, he couldn''t throw his life away because of a bit of kindness. Kindness was the most worthless thing in this man-eating imperial pce.

    Zu An cursed inwardly when he heard those words. This Zhuxie Chixin calls me ¡®sworn brother¡¯ normally, and yet he doesn¡¯t even hesitate to throw me under the bus as soon as something like thises up!

    Even though it was the emperor who had pressured him, it wasn¡¯t as if he had no other choice. However, Zhuxie Chixin had chosen the most brute force method. Everyone in the capital imed that Zhuxie Chixin was the emperor¡¯s most loyal dog. Indeed, that seemed to be the case.

    Soon afterward, the physician carried over a bowl of medicine. A servant had already propped Zu An up. The physician poured the drug into his mouth.

    However, when the drug entered Zu An¡¯s body, it was surrounded by ki and slowly refined away. That way, it didn¡¯t harm his body. A whileter, Zu An coughed violently, pretending to wake up from the drug¡¯s stimtion.

    ¡°Where¡­ am I?¡± Zu An began his performance, looking around him nkly.

    Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s cold expression was nowhere to be seen. There was a huge smile on his face as he moved closer, replying, ¡°Brother Zu, this is the imperial pce! How do you feel?¡±

    The guard and that physician looked straight down at the floor. They didn¡¯t utter a single thing.

    Zu An sneered inwardly. If not for the fact that he had been pretending to be unconscious, he might have really been deceived. However, he also yed along. ¡°My entire body hurts. Also, I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on, but my stomach feels as if it¡¯s burning.¡±

    The physician¡¯s lips twitched. However, he immediately stopped after Zhuxie Chixin shot him a fierce look.

    Zhuxie Chixin said, ¡°It might be the aftereffects of your wounds. His majesty is waiting for you in his study. How about we head over first? Afterward, this big bro will find some spiritual medicine for you to nurse your body.¡±

    Zu An forced out a smile. ¡°I¡¯ll have to thank Chief Commander ahead of time then.¡± After saying that, he got out of bed. However, he immediately staggered, as if he might fall at any time.

    Zhuxie Chixin immediately supported him in rm. ¡°You¡¯re hurt too badly to walk properly. Men, carry Sir Zu to the imperial study!¡±

    ¡°Won¡¯t this be discourteous to the pce?¡± Zu An asked, pretending to be worried.

    ¡°It won¡¯t. You saved the crown prince and princess¡¯ lives. His majesty is incredibly happy right now, so why would he mind these details?¡± Zhuxie Chixin replied with a heartyugh.

    Zu An cursed inwardly. So you guys still remembered that I saved their lives! And yet you didn¡¯t even hesitate to force me awake through drugs. Do you even have any conscience?

    ¡­

    Soon afterward, the group brought Zu An to the imperial study. After lowering his stretcher, even Zhuxie Chixin withdrew quietly. Only Zu An and the emperor remained in the room.

    ¡°I greet¡­ greet your majesty.¡± Zu An tottered as he tried to crawl to his feet. However, he failed even after trying several times.

    ¡°You¡¯re seriously wounded right now; there¡¯s no need for excessive formalities.¡± Zhao Han¡¯s expression was overcast. He was more concerned with other things at the moment, so he obviously didn¡¯t care much about these pretenses.

    ¡°Thank you, your majesty,¡± Zu An said ¡®gratefully¡¯. At the same time, he secretly examined the other party.

    The two of them had been at each other¡¯s throats inside the dungeon. In the past, the emperor¡¯s image of unrivaled power had already been starting to grow weaker to Zu An. Now, he already had the boldness and the right to face the emperor head-on.

    Zhao Han frowned. He didn¡¯t really like how Zu An was looking at him. For some reason, after the dungeon, he felt a subconscious dislike for Zu An. But he just wrote that off as his poor mood over losing his split soul and didn¡¯t pursue it further. He cleared his throat and b, ¡°I heard that you saved the crown prince and princess¡¯ lives.¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°I was only doing what I could, but my skills were stillcking. They still ended up being injured,¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°I see. What happened in the dungeon? Tell this emperor everything without skipping any details.¡± The emperor straightened his body on the dragon throne, his gaze scorching as he stared at Zu An.

    Zu An thought to himself, Zhao Han probably just asked Bi Linglong this question. Looks like Bi Linglong didn¡¯t reveal any openings. That girl is reliable in this aspect after all. Now, we just have to make sure that our confessions match up.

    He pretended to think for a moment, then slowly said, ¡°When we entered the dungeon, we didn¡¯t find the Jade Moon Serpent by Cold Jade Pond. We were forced to head deeper into the mountains¡­¡±

    He spoke about the Gu n brothers¡¯ betrayal, how Shi Tong had been mixed into their troop, and what had happened with the other young masters in full detail. There was no need to hide any of those things. Then, he talked about how after they had eliminated the Jade Moon Serpent, King Qi Manor¡¯s experts had suddenly shown up. Then, their group frantically ran for their lives. Just then, the world began to break down¡­

    Ny percent of what he said was the truth. The difference was that he had moved the appearance of Westhound Tomb up earlier. That would then exin how they were able to escape from the pursuit of King Qi Manor¡¯s master rank cultivators, as well as convince the emperor that Zhao Ruizhi hadn¡¯t had to expose his split soul yet.

    Then, he told the emperor about his various encounters in Westhound Tomb, saying he had used the world¡¯s copse to kill off those master rank cultivators. He said that he had only managed to barely stay alive through the use of the Royal Academy¡¯s Sacrificial Piece he had gotten from Hei Baizi, as well as the Last Breath Talisman he had gotten from Xie Daoyun.

    The emperor nodded when he heard that. Bi Linglong hadn¡¯t talked about those details before, and things now made sense. Otherwise, Zu An¡¯s cultivation wouldn¡¯t have been enough to stop the encirclement of so many of King Qi Manor¡¯s experts.

    Then, Zu An told the emperor that when they arrived on the final ind, King Qi Manor¡¯s remaining experts had caught up. While Zu An¡¯s group was left feeling despair, an ancient formation was activated in the dungeon. A blood octopus monster came out and sucked all of King Qi Manor¡¯s experts dry.

    No matter how firm the emperor¡¯s will was, his eyelids still couldn''t help but twitch when he heard that. He asked, ¡°And then?¡±

    The only thing he cared about was how his split soul had died. Of course, all those who knew about the split soul had to die.

 Chapter 894: Video Recording Pendant

    <h4>Chapter 894: Video Recording Pendant</h4>

    Zu An said, ¡°I don¡¯t know what happened afterward.¡±

    The emperor was perplexed. Zu An quickly exined, ¡°When I saw how strong that octopus monster was, I knew I was no match and quickly left while protecting the crown prince and princess. I didn¡¯t expect that octopus monster to chase after us. I did everything I could, but I was still knocked out by a strike from its tentacle. When I woke up, only the crown prince and princess were left, while that octopus monster was nowhere to be seen.¡±

    The emperor fell silent. There were many parts where their stories didn¡¯t line up. However, most of it made sense. He would have actually suspected the two of them of colluding instead if they¡¯d said the exact same thing.

    Bi Linglong had said that after Zu An was knocked out, the octopus monster sent out endless tentacles. As she despaired, she suddenly saw golden light cover Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s entire body. Then, she was knocked out by a powerful shockwave and didn¡¯t know what happened afterward. When she woke up, the crown prince was covered in wounds, and that octopus monster had already disappeared.

    Looks like that split soul died with that octopus monster¡­ the emperor thought to himself. He felt that was the most logical conclusion. He also knew that his split soul¡¯s way of thinking was the same as his. With his nature, he knew that there was no way he would leave Zu An alive if he really had to expose himself.

    On the contrary, if it were Bi Linglong, he could choose to make her faint first to leave her alive. After all, he was actually quite satisfied with this pretty and capable daughter-inw. The rtionships behind the ns were alsoplicated, so changing the crown princess would be a big headache.

    But what kind of octopus monster could take down my split soul with it? Zhao Han felt that was outrageous. He asked a few more details, including information about the formation that had been activated and other such things.

    Zu An replied to the questions one after another. He didn¡¯t tell the exact truth, but rather let the emperor deduce Xu Fu¡¯s identity and connection to the ancient dynasty himself.

    That was just how people were. Anyone would subconsciously be on guard if they heard someone else tell them things, but if they reached the conclusion themselves, they would probably believe it.

    Sure enough, the emperor deduced that the octopus monster had been a powerful ancient figure, and that it was for the sake of eternal life that such a malicious formation had been created.

    No wonder it was able to take me down with it¡­ What a pity it is that the dungeon has been destroyed. Otherwise, I would¡¯ve gone there myself to see just how that monster nned to obtain eternal life. The emperor remained silent for a moment, then asked about many more details. His attention was primarily on the Yin Yang Five Elements Formation.

    Zu An immediately picked up on that, but he didn¡¯t hide anything either. After all, five suitable elemental bodies were hard to find, let alone pure yin and yang bodies. Furthermore, that formation was soplex, and many of its materials were already extinct. The emperor couldn''t recreate it even if he wanted to.

    Eunuch Wen¡¯s voice suddenly emerged. ¡°Your majesty, we¡¯ve brought the item.¡±

    ¡°Come in,¡± The emperor said indifferently.

    Eunuch Wen quickly walked in while carrying a jade pendant. His gaze remained fixed during the entire process, and he didn¡¯t even give Zu An, who was lying on the stretcher, a look.

    Zu An frowned. Why does this jade pendant look a bit familiar?

    The emperor received the pendant. At the same time, he asked, ¡°How is the crown prince?¡±

    Eunuch Wen replied, ¡°He¡¯s injured, but the hospital staff has already treated him. However, he seems to have been scared quite badly. It might take him some time to recover.¡±

    Zu An was rmed. He finally knew why that jade pendant was familiar. This was the pendant the crown prince carried on him! Why had the emperor taken it?

    The emperor said, ¡°Let him rest first and don¡¯t disturb him.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± Eunuch Wen left the room when he saw that the emperor didn¡¯t have anything else to tell him. He even closed the door behind him when he left.

    The emperor fiddled with the pendant, then suddenly said, ¡°This pendant is something this emperor ced around the crown prince. I was hoping that if something happened to him, it could record the identity of the one who injured him. This emperor almost thought that it might nevere in handy, and yet today, it has.¡±

    Zu An immediately felt as if he had sunk into a frozen cer. I¡¯m finished! I never expected something like this! If this pendant recorded what happened back then, there¡¯s no chance of me surviving this!

    He reacted quickly and said, ¡°Your majesty truly has acute foresight. This junior has endless admiration.¡±

    He did his best to suppress his body¡¯s reaction, to the extent that his heart didn¡¯t even beat strangely. He didn¡¯t dare to use any ki during the process, or the emperor would definitely notice something. He could only force himself to calm down through his powerful will.

    In the end, he only seeded because he had experienced too many things already, making his mind incredibly tough. Otherwise, if it were anyone else, they would have already revealed an opening and been caught by the emperor.

    The emperor gave Zu An a look, then slowly said, ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯ll ask you onest thing. Of the things you just told me, did you tell any lies?¡±

    Zu An quickly said, ¡°This humble servant is terrified. I wouldn¡¯t dare to fool your majesty.¡± Like hell I¡¯d admit to something like that!

    The emperor nodded. His eyes moved to the pendant in his hands, as if he were hesitating. A drop of sweat began to form on Zu An¡¯s temples. The emperor immediately sensed something and looked up, remarking, ¡°You seem nervous.¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°My entire body hurts. I don¡¯t know what kind of medicine the doctor just gave me, but my stomach feels horrible. I¡¯ve been worried that I might act improperly because of that.¡±

    The emperor frowned. However, he was familiar with the pce¡¯s methods and quickly reacted. Zu An had probably been given some powerful drug to wake him up. ¡°Then you can withdraw for now,¡± he said with a wave of his hand. When he saw that Zu An was still on the stretcher, he called in two lesser eunuchs.

    ¡°Thank you, your majesty!¡± Zu An eximed as the eunuchs carried him out of the imperial study. He sighed in relief. The reason why he had been sweating was because he had been worried that the emperor would check the pendant in front of him. If that happened, no matter what the pendant revealed, he would immediately be killed.

    As he had been released, that meant the emperor at least trusted his words for now. As long as nothing bad was recorded in the pendant, he would have sessfully passed this trial.

    As long as there¡¯s nothing bad there¡­ He had already done everything he should do. Thus, he could only leave the rest to fate.

    In the imperial study, a bit of golden light appeared on the emperor¡¯s finger as he tapped on the jade pendant. The pendant flew into the air, and like a projector, it disyed a scene.

    A massive octopus monster wrapped itself around Zhao Ruizhi as tentacles covered everything. The emperor could sense a terrifying pressure even though he was just watching a recording. As he withstood the power of those tentacles, Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s entire body shone with golden light. However, when that golden light erupted, the pendant¡¯s recording also ended.

    The emperor was speechless. The ki fluctuations from both sides were probably so powerful that it had prevented the pendant from recording anything further. But the recording was already enough to tell him what he needed. The emperor naturally saw that his split soul had already been forced to use all of his strength.

    ¡°Sigh, heaven¡¯s ns supersede those of man. How could I have predicted that such a small dungeon would actually be hiding such a ridiculous monster?¡± The emperor¡¯s expression changed several times. He suddenly raised his head toward the academy and muttered, ¡°That dungeon is normally operated by the academy. Did the libationer, that old thing, not know about this, or did he n this entire situation?¡±

    Zhao Han had many doubts. Many possibilities had already appeared in his head in that instant. Thus, he gave the order to gather his trusted aides and subjects. He had something he had to discuss with them.

    ¡­

    On the stretcher, Zu An grinned. It was because he already knew that he had made it through this trial. If the emperor had really seen something from that pendant, he would have already been turned to ashes.

    The two lesser eunuchs spoke up.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Sir Zu, his majesty has prepared a guard room in the pce for you to stay in. This is a tremendous favor!¡±

    ¡°Exactly! Just how many outer subjects can even obtain the qualifications to live in the pce? His majesty must have decided this out of empathy, since Sir Zu was seriously injured while saving the crown prince and princess!¡±

    The two lesser eunuchs chattered away. They clearly felt that Zu An had brought back tremendous contributions this time, that he would be someone important to the emperor. In that case, they obviously wanted to get closer to him.

    Zu An sneered inwardly. The emperor was clearly doing this to lock him up in the pce and prevent any information from getting out. But that¡¯s fine too. Staying in the pce has its own perks.

    He pointed to the east and said, ¡°I won¡¯t return to that guard room yet. I want to go to the Eastern Pce.¡±

 Chapter 895: Abrupt Inspection

    <h4>Chapter 895: Abrupt Inspection</h4>

    Zu An cleared his throat when he saw the two lesser eunuchs¡¯ confused expressions, exining, ¡°While my mind is still somewhat clear, I want to pay the crown prince¡­ and crown princess a visit.¡± Even if he was going to go, he had to have a decent reason for it.

    Sure enough, the two lesser eunuchs were shocked. ¡°Sir Zu¡¯s loyalty is truly deserving of praise!¡± The two of them praised him endlessly. They obviously didn¡¯t dare to stop him from doing such a thing, and thus carried him in the Eastern Pce¡¯s direction.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡­

    Bi Linglong sat restlessly in the Eastern Pce. Even though she had survived, she had no idea how Zu An was doing. The emperor had always been extremely suspicious of others. They would all be done for if he found out the truth.

    But then, her subordinate informed her that Zu An was requesting a meeting with her. She couldn''t help but be overjoyed at the good news and subconsciously stood up to wee him.

    However, she immediately noticed the startled look in her maid, Rong Mo¡¯s eyes. She quickly picked up her teacup and sipped on it to hide her embarrassment. She calmed herself down and said, ¡°Let him in.¡±

    She was now no longer that bashful youngdy in the dungeon, and had already returned to being the usual noble and dignified crown princess. Her previously panicked heart also gradually calmed down. The fact that Zu An was here proved that their n had worked.

    Zu An was quickly brought in. Bi Linglong grinned when she saw him lying on the stretcher. This guy really does put on quite the performance.

    However, in front of others, she still had to act the part. She asked him about his injuries, then expressed her and the crown prince¡¯s gratitude toward him for saving their lives. Meanwhile, she had her maid bring the lesser eunuchs out to bring some refreshments, and also to bring out some of the Eastern Pce¡¯s precious medicines to treat Zu An¡¯s wounds.

    When Rong Mo and the two lesser eunuchs left, she asked in a soft voice, ¡°Did you encounter any danger earlier in the imperial study?¡±

    ¡°Is the crown princess worrying about me?¡± Zu An looked at her with a mischievous smile.

    ¡°Hmph!¡± Bi Linglong harrumphed. She looked around nervously, and when she saw that no one was watching, she then warned him quietly, ¡°We¡¯re already back in the pce, so there are ears all around us. We have to be more careful, or others might notice that something isn¡¯t right.¡±

    Zu An chuckled and replied ¡°What is there to be scared of? I¡¯ll just elope with you if ites to that.¡±

    Bi Linglong really wanted to bite him when she saw his carefree attitude. She blurted out, ¡°Then what about Chu First Miss?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s breathing suddenly stopped. This was an impossible question! Even though he wanted to confidently say that he wanted everything, actually saying that out loud might get him beaten to death.

    The room entered a strange state of silence. Zu An quickly changed the topic. ¡°There was something unexpected that happened in the study though¡­¡±

    Bi Linglong was also starting to regret what she had said. As such, she tacitly chose not to continue their previous topic. She was startled when she heard that Zhao Ruizhi had actually worn a recording pendant.

    ¡°But it doesn¡¯t seem like it had anything bad recorded on it. Maybe the energy explosion was too great when Zhao Ruizhi fought against Xu Fu, so it couldn''t record everything like it was supposed to.¡± Zu An had been wondering why they seeded on the way here. That was the most logical conclusion he had reached.

    Bi Linglong was a bit hesitant. ¡°Do you think that the pendant recorded those¡­ those things? That the emperor is only holding in his anger to deal with uster?¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°Do you think that¡¯s possible?¡±

    Bi Linglong was stunned. Then, her expression also eased up. ¡°You¡¯re right, it¡¯s not too likely. With his majesty''s personality, there¡¯s no way he would tolerate that, let alone even you and the empress¡­¡±

    Her body suddenly trembled and her expression became dangerous. ¡°I almost forgot about that matter. I remember you saying that you and the empress¡­¡±

    Zu An quickly cut her off. ¡°I was only saying that back then to piss him off because we were going to die anyway!¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Bi Linglong was still skeptical. She wanted to ask more, but a eunuch¡¯s voice suddenly came from outside.

    ¡°The empress¡¯ carriage has arrived!¡±

    Bi Linglong was stunned momentarily, but she quickly snapped out of her daze. ¡°Speak of the devil.¡±

    She quickly got up and sorted out her attire, then walked out to wee the empress. She just happened to bump into the empress¡¯ procession at the entrance.

    ¡°I greet the empress,¡± Bi Linglong said.

    ¡°Please be at ease, Linglong.¡± The empress helped her back up in an affectionate manner. ¡°Oh my, your hair has turned all white. My heart aches for you. Hurry and go back to get some rest, don¡¯t run around all over the ce¡­¡±

    She supported Bi Linglong and headed inside. Suddenly, she noticed Zu An on the stretcher. She waspletely stunned. Bi Linglong¡¯s eyes drifted between her and Zu An, and her suspicion grew stronger and stronger.

    But the empress was someone who had experienced many things, so she quickly reacted. She said with a smile, ¡°So Sir Zu was here. I heard that Sir Zu has brought back tremendous achievements from the dungeon this time, and that he was seriously injured while trying to protect the crown prince and crown princess.¡±

    When he saw that stunning and mature woman, Zu An couldn''t help but recall that intense, but evenly matched battlefield the two of them had had that night. He felt a bit of heat start to stir inside of him. But he quickly noticed Bi Linglong¡¯s suspicious eyes and snapped out of his daze. He replied seriously, ¡°I don¡¯t deserve your highness¡¯ praise. This is our duty as subjects.¡±

    The empress couldn''t help but pat Bi Linglong¡¯s arm. ¡°Wow, your Eastern Pce¡¯s subjects are starting to even make me jealous. I almost want to steal him for myself.¡±

    Bi Linglong¡¯s expression turned even stranger. If she didn¡¯t know about their rtionship, she wouldn¡¯t have thought anything of it. But now that she knew that they might actually have ¡®that¡¯ going on between them, hearing those words made her extremely suspicious.

    I really suspect the two of them have something going on, but I have no proof¡­ She also replied with a big smile, ¡°Sir Zu is indeed quite excellent. The crown prince likes him as well. After they met, he wasn''t willing to receive instructions from anyone else.¡± She immediately countered the empress¡¯ ambiguous suggestion of wanting him for herself.

    ¡°I only said that on a whim; how can I really take away someone so important to you?¡± The empress¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change much. ¡°Right, this empress came mainly to visit you and the crown prince. I heard that your vitality has suffered, so I came with some nourishing medicines.¡±

    When they received her signal, the maids brought out all kinds of cases. They carried a strong medicinal fragrance that could be smelled even from far away. They were all extraordinary goods.

    ¡°Thank you, your highness, for your care.¡± Bi Linglong thanked the empress while having Rong Mo receive the gifts.

    The empress continued to exchange greetings while pretending to have inadvertently looked at Zu An. ¡°Since Sir Zu is here, it¡¯s actually perfect timing. I just happened to have brought some extra medicines with me that Linglong might not have a chance to use, but with your injuries, you should be able to make use of them. They can be considered my gratitude for protecting the crown prince and princess.¡±

    Zu An felt his throat go dry when he saw her bright red lips. This woman was clearly saying normal things, and yet as her gaze was shifted on him, he felt as if his soul were being tugged on.

    ¡°Ahem.¡± Bi Linglong coughed. ¡°Sir Zu, why aren¡¯t you thanking the empress for her gift?¡± There¡¯s definitely something up with these two! she thought, based on her woman¡¯s intuition.

    ¡°Thank you, your highness!¡± Only then did Zu An react. The young don¡¯t know the benefits of a mature woman; they instead treat youngdies as treasures¡­ Actually, youngdies are pretty good too.

    The empress gave him a smile, but afterward, didn¡¯t look at him again. Instead, she said to Bi Linglong, ¡°By the way, Linglong, apart from visiting you, I came bearing another task. His majesty fears that you might have all suffered from some serious injuries, but it isn¡¯t too proper for the regr physicians to check. That was why he had mee with some older nurses.¡±

    Bi Linglong felt goosebumps all over her body when she heard those words. The empress was making it sound nice by saying it was to check for injuries, but it was actually to inspect if she was still a virgin.

    Zu An cursed inwardly. The emperor was a naturally mistrustful person. Even now, he had still sent someone to check that.

    Bi Linglong forced a smile. ¡°I¡¯m doing okay; it¡¯s just my vitality that has experienced a bit of loss. I¡¯ll be fine if I rest for a while.¡±

    ¡°Sigh.¡± The empress said with a smile, ¡°You¡¯ll regret it for the rest of your life if you develop some hidden illness. Don¡¯t worry, they¡¯re all skilled older nurses; they won¡¯t hurt you. It¡¯ll be hard on them too if they return withoutpleting their task.¡±

    Bi Linglong knew that there was no way out of this now. She panicked and subconsciously nced toward Zu An next to her.

    The empress frowned. Why had Bi Linglong looked at Zu An first, and furthermore with that kind of expression?

 Chapter 896: Trust Ah Zu, Gain Eternal Life

    <h4>Chapter 896: Trust Ah Zu, Gain Eternal Life</h4>

    Zu An cupped his hands and said, ¡°This humble subject isn¡¯t in his best condition, so I¡¯ll withdraw for now.¡± At the same time, he sent a ki transmission to Bi Linglong. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I got this.¡±

    Even though she didn¡¯t know what he could possibly do, this man had done the impossible again and again in the dungeon. Bi Linglong immediately calmed down. ¡°In that case, then, I won¡¯t keep Sir Zu any longer. Please rest well.¡±

    She called in the lesser eunuchs after saying so, and she also sent some men to bring over Zu An¡¯s medicines and gifts.

    The empress figured that this was because Bi Linglong was embarrassed. She didn¡¯t treat Zu An as an outsider, but how could a youngdy like her befortable talking about such things in front of other men?

    Zu An was surprisingly quick-witted as well, and chose to use the situation as an excuse to leave.

    When Zu An left, the empress looked at Bi Linglong with a smile. ¡°There¡¯s no need to be scared; just let those older nurses take a look. It¡¯ll just be for the formality.¡±

    She didn¡¯t think that Bi Linglong would actually do anything that would bring shame to the royal family. After all, everyone had witnessed how she behaved all these years in the pce. She was the definition of a well-bred youngdy, the perfect candidate to be the crown princess. She had never made anyrge errors like that in the past.

    She thought, That emperor really had something wrong with his head when he asked me to do this. He¡¯s way too paranoid. Hm¡­ Looks like I have to be more careful in my dealings with Zu An in the future.

    Bi Linglong forced a smile. She obviously didn¡¯t dare to refuse again to avoid bringing suspicion upon herself. She said, ¡°Then, why doesn¡¯t your highness use this chance to visit the crown prince?¡±

    The empress had just brought up the purpose of her visit, so stalling for a bit of time like this wouldn¡¯t draw any suspicion from her.

    The empress nodded. ¡°I should do that. I reckon that chubby kid has been scared quite badly this time.¡± He was her blood nephew, so it wasn¡¯t inappropriate for her to call him that.

    Bi Linglong replied, ¡°The crown prince has indeed been frightened, and he has many injuries too. He was crying out in pain when the doctor applied medicine earlier.¡±

    The scene of a blood-soaked Zu An fighting Zhao Han¡¯s split soul, as well as his battle against Xu Fu, couldn¡¯t help but appear in her head. That¡¯s what it means to be a real man, not like the way the crown prince is¡­

    ¡°If that brat can cry and scream, that means that he¡¯s fine,¡± the empress said with a smile. She clearly understood the crown prince¡¯s nature well.

    The two of them chatted while walking over to the crown prince¡¯s chambers. His butt was sticking out as he yed cricket and fought with two lesser eunuchs. But when he noticed that people wereing, he immediately jumped back into bed and screamed ¡®ouch, ouch¡¯.

    Bi Linglong and the empress were left speechless.

    The empress was alsopletely stunned when she saw the crown prince try to deceive her. But she couldn¡¯t really expose him in front of everyone. She sat down by the bed and offered her sympathy.

    ¡°Auntie!¡± Zhao Ruizhi began to act cute. Even though he was normally rather slow, he still had such instincts.

    ¡°Hmph, you¡¯re supposed to call me ¡®Your Highness the Empress¡¯ in the pce.¡± Despite the empress¡¯ words, she didn¡¯t seem to be upset at all.

    Bi Linglong heard her asking questions here and there. She knew that this woman was taking the chance to get more information about what had happened in the dungeon.

    But unfortunately, Zhao Ruizhi was too slow. Together with the fact that the emperor¡¯s split soul had reced him during the second half of his dungeon experience, he could only reply ¡®I don¡¯t know¡¯ to everything.

    The empress was instead leftpletely baffled. She gave up when she noticed that she wouldn¡¯t be able to get any useful information. She was already nning to meet with Zu An and ask that guy some questions.

    After warning the maids and eunuchs to take good care of the crown prince, she got up to leave. When she left the room, she stared at Bi Linglong.

    Bi Linglong knew that she couldn¡¯t dodge that topic any longer. She could only say in an embarrassed voice, ¡°The two older nurses over there, please follow me inside.¡±

    The empress nodded and gestured for the two nurses to go in. It was obviously improper for her to be inside when this kind of thing was being done. She would just wait outside.

    Bi Linglong wanted to stall for some more time inside the room, but she was cut off by the two older nurses.

    ¡°Crown princess, please hurry up. We need to report back after we¡¯re done too.¡±

    ¡°You can remove your clothing now.¡±

    Bi Linglong cursed inwardly. No wonder those lesser eunuchs were all scared of these older grannies. They were all fierce and impatient women. Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do. She could only slowly start to take off her clothes.

    She thought of countless possibilities. Could she pretend to faint because of some internal injuries? Or should she just kill these two to silence them? But everything she thought of came with a huge pile of terrible consequences that would only lead to her own end.

    When she took off all of her clothes and only had her underwear left, one of the older nurses said with a chuckle, ¡°Crown princess, your skin is so nice! It¡¯s white and soft like tofu.¡±

    ¡°Wow, look at that waist, that perky bottom. You¡¯ll definitely be able to give birth to a prince.¡±

    ¡°Crown princess, we just need you to sit over there and spread your legs.¡±

    ¡­

    These older nurses were already in theirter years, and they all spoke bluntly. Their status in the pce was special, so they didn¡¯t need to fear the crown princess. That was why they joked around just like women from a marketce.

    Bi Linglong was embarrassed and upset. She really wanted to smack their mouths. At the same time, she began to grumble inwardly about Zu An. That guy had told her not to worry, but where was he now that she was already at this critical juncture?

    When she sat down on the bed, the two older nurses squatted down and moved closer to her. A hint of killing intent shed through Bi Linglong¡¯s eyes. Ki flickered across her palms. Now that things had already reached this point, she had to take a risk.

    Suddenly, a piece of the bed¡¯s wooden frame lifted open. A ck figure darted out, knocking the two older nurses out.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Bi Linglong subconsciously cried out in rm. She had never expected someone to actually jump out from underneath the bed! But she immediately clutched her mouth when she saw that it was Zu An.

    Even so, it was toote. Her cry of rm reached the ears of the empress, who asked, ¡°What happened?¡±

    Bi Linglong reacted quickly and immediately responded, ¡°It¡¯s nothing! It just hurt a bit just now.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± The empress didn¡¯t suspect anything and instead reprimanded the two older nurses. ¡°Nurse Du, Nurse Wang, be more gentle! The crown princess¡¯ body is precious; you two better not be messing around.¡±

    ¡°Of course, of course¡­¡± Zu An pinched his throat and said in an ambiguous voice.

    Bi Linglong was shocked and overjoyed. She asked, ¡°Ah Zu, why are you here?¡±

    Then, she noticed that he was staring at her. She realized that she was only wearing the thinnest underwear, and that most of her skin was in full view. She quickly grabbed her clothes to cover her chest. She gave him an upset look and asked, ¡°Did you not get enough of a look over the past few days yet?¡±

    ¡°Your skin sparkles like jade; it reflects the beauty of nature itself. How can I ever get enough?¡± Zu An sighed in praise.

    Bi Linglong was happy to hear his sincere praise, but her reservation as a youngdy made her too embarrassed to say that out loud. She could only avoid his gaze while blushing.

    Zu An said, ¡°I knew that the two nurses came to examine your body, so I used that as an excuse to leave. Then, I waited for a chance toe back, but there were guards everywhere around the Eastern Pce. I could onlye in through the secret passage we took before. You won¡¯t me me for that, right?¡±

    ¡°Of course not, but¡­¡± Bi Linglong¡¯s expression became strange. ¡°But you can¡¯te into my room through this passage without my permission in the future.¡±

    ¡°Rx, am I that kind of person?¡± Zu An said with an upright expression. However, inwardly, heughed. This was how young girls were. Even though they werepletely willing, they just wouldn¡¯t admit it. He didn¡¯t have to argue with this kind of stuff. When the time came, he¡¯d juste. He¡¯d know how she really felt when he checked to see if the door was locked or not.

    Bi Linglong put on her clothes again in a hurry. Then, she looked at the two older nurses on the ground, asking, ¡°What do we do now?¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    These two older nurses were elders in the pce, the emperor¡¯s trusted aides. They couldn¡¯t be bribed. Did they really have to kill them? But what about afterward?

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Trust Ah Zu, gain eternal life.¡±

    When he said that, he summoned Daji. Bi Linglong felt a fragrance fill the air. Then, she saw a ridiculously beautiful woman dressed in white appear in the room.

    Bi Linglong wasn¡¯t too surprised this time, since she had already seen Daji in the dungeon. However, she still couldn¡¯t help but give her a few looks. This person looked just like a real person. Was she really just a summoned creature? And she¡¯s so pretty too¡­ Did the perverted Zu An do anything weird to her?

    Zu An undid the two older nurses¡¯ acupoints. They were a bit dizzy when they woke up. The first thing they saw were Daji¡¯s deep and beautiful eyes; they were quickly trapped and couldn¡¯t escape.

 Chapter 897: Taunting

    <h4>Chapter 897: Taunting</h4>

    Soon afterward, Zu An patted Bi Linglong¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°It¡¯s done. I¡¯m leaving first so they don¡¯t see me.¡±

    ¡°But they¡­¡± Bi Linglong hesitated when she looked at the two nurses.

    Zu An moved closer to her face and asked with a smile, ¡°What, you can¡¯t bear to see me go?¡±

    ¡°Hmph! Get out, go!¡± Bi Linglong pushed him toward the secret tunnel, blushing as she spoke. When she closed the entrance, she locked it, and then unlocked it, and then locked it again¡­ She was extremely conflicted.

    The empress asked from outside, sounding confused, ¡°Are you still not done?¡±

    Bi Linglong jumped in fright. She quickly fixed the bedding and replied, ¡°It¡¯s already done.¡±

    The two older nurses also recovered, and rushed over to open the doors.

    The empress came in and saw that Bi Linglong¡¯s clothes were back on. Then, she gave the two older nurses a look.

    The older nurses nodded slightly toward her and said with hushed voices, ¡°She is still a virgin.¡±

    Bi Linglong sighed in relief as she listened carefully. She had really been scared badly earlier. That Zu An always managed to change the impossible into the possible somehow.

    Since she had already gotten what she came for, the empress didn¡¯t want to stay here any longer. She exchanged some more pleasantries with Bi Linglong before leaving with the two older nurses. She still had to report the results to the emperor.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An emerged from the secret passage and returned to the guard room the emperor had arranged for him. Even though he had his Embroidered Envoy courtyard in the imperial pce, that was for Sir Eleven to live in. In this situation, where he couldn¡¯t reveal this identity, arranging an imperial guard¡¯s quarters was obviously the most suitable choice.

    He saw that two guards who were wrapped up in bandages like zongzi[1] were knocking on his door.

    ¡°Huh? Why is no one responding? We¡¯ve already knocked for a long time.¡±

    ¡°Is he maybe asleep?¡±

    Judging from their voices, they were clearly Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± asked another voice. Zhuxie Chixin just happened to be passing by, and couldn¡¯t help but ask when he saw the two guards.

    ¡°Nothing¡­?¡± Piao Duandiao subconsciously replied. Then, he grabbed Jiao Sigun and left.

    ¡°We just came out to stretch our bodies out a bit!¡± Jiao Sigun also replied.

    ¡°The two of you were injured quite badly. Get some proper rest instead of running around.¡± Zhuxie Chixin harrumphed. He was just about to leave when he suddenly stopped. He turned toward the door and asked, ¡°Is Sir Zu not inside?¡±

    Piao Duandiao replied, ¡°He¡¯s probably asleep. I heard those lesser eunuchs mention that Sir Zu was injured badly, and that he was already feeling bad when he came back.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Zhuxie Chixin hesitated, but he still knocked afterward. ¡°Brother Zu, brother Zu, are you inside?

    ¡°Let¡¯s go inside and take a look; otherwise, something might have happened to him and no one would know,¡± he said while pushing open the door.

    Inside, Zu An was lying on the bed. He ¡®struggled¡¯ to open his eyes. ¡°Chief¡­ Commander?¡± As he spoke, he began to get up.

    But Zhuxie Chixin quickly said, ¡°There¡¯s no need for excessive formalities. I was just worried that something might have happened to you since you didn¡¯t respond. I was going to call over the doctor for you.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your concern, Chief Commander.¡± Zu An sneered inwardly. This person was clearly suspicious of him. If he didn¡¯te back in time, he might have already been exposed. Honestly, weren¡¯t the two of us on good terms? We were at least drinking friends. Why is he constantly targeting me now?

    Zu An figured that since Zhuxie Chixin was the emperor¡¯s most trusted subordinate, his attitude, to some extent, mirrored the emperor¡¯s attitude. Looks like even though the emperor trusts me, he still doesn¡¯t like me. This bastard Zhuxie Chixin probably wanted to set clear boundaries to avoid drawing any suspicion regarding his loyalty.

    Zhuxie Chixin looked around himself without giving anything away. When he saw that nothing was out of the ordinary, he got up and bid his farewell. ¡°Since brother Zu is okay, then please rest well. I won¡¯t disturb you any longer.¡± Having said that, he headed out.

    Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun both got up to see Zhuxie Chixin out. When he left, they closed the door. Piao Duandiao rushed over to Zu An¡¯s side andined, ¡°The Chief Commander clearly did that on purpose!¡±

    Zu An smiled, but didn¡¯t say anything.

    Piao Duandiao immediately began to chatter on,ining, ¡°We risked everything in the dungeon to protect the crown prince and princess, and we almost lost our lives! And yet when we came back, not only did we not see any rewards, there were only all sorts of interrogations. It really doesn¡¯t feel great.¡±

    Zu An shivered inside. It seemed the emperor had already interrogated everyone involved this time. He should already know about my great battle against all those experts. The emperor must think that he¡¯s nowpletely figured out my hidden strength¡­ Okay, that¡¯s perfect. He¡¯ll think he has everything within his grasp.

    Jiao Sigun snorted and said, ¡°You¡¯re talking too loud. We¡¯ll be in big trouble if someone hears you.¡±

    ¡°Why are you being so annoying? Big bro Zu isn¡¯t a stranger. I¡¯m only saying this here in private, too,¡± Piao Duandiao said resentfully.

    Zu An said in constion, ¡°Something so major happened this time, and so many people died. It¡¯s natural for there to be a serious investigation going on. I¡¯m really happy to be able to see you two again.¡±

    Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun both began to choke on their emotions. ¡°If it weren¡¯t because of brother Zu, we would¡¯ve already died in that dungeon.¡±

    Zu An patted their shoulders. ¡°Don¡¯t treat me like an outsider now. Would you two not save me if I were the one in danger instead?¡±

    The two both blurted out, ¡°Of course we would!¡± But they quickly became dispirited. ¡°But with big bro Zu¡¯s cultivation, why would you ever need us to save you?¡±

    ¡°That may not be so.¡± Zu An remembered how the two of them had immediately covered up their actions when they saw Zhuxie Chixin. He felt warm inside.

    Piao Duandiao wanted to say something, but he hesitated. He wanted to warn Zu An to not go after the crown princess. The two of them had clearly been a bit too close inside the dungeon. But after thinking about it, he decided not to. It was best for them to keep that a secret forever.

    Afterward, the three chatted casually about some things. They reminisced about how they had fought together, and shared in the joy of being able to get out of the situation alive.

    Suddenly, a lesser eunuch cried in a shrill voice, ¡°The empress has arrived!¡±

    Then, avishly dressed madam walked in with a graceful stance. Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun jumped in fright. They quickly stood up to greet her and almost fell down. Only Zu An continued to lie on his bed.

    ¡°All of you are brave soldiers who have done much for our country. There¡¯s no need for excessive formalities.¡± The empress gestured for them to be at ease with a smile. Her beautiful eyes remained on Zu An.

    ¡°Thank you, your highness!¡± Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun were both a bit moved. After all, they were being praised by the dignified empress herself! They suddenly felt as if all of their previous suffering was worth it.

    The empress nodded toward the two of them. ¡°This empress has brought some medicines with me. You two can take some to share with the others.¡±

    Jiao Sigun thought to himself, We were the only guards who survived this trip. Who are we supposed to share with¡­

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Fortunately, Piao Duandiao reacted quickly and pulled him aside, eximing, ¡°Thank you, your highness. Thank you!¡±

    When the two of them left the room, Jiao Sigun was a bit unhappy. ¡°Why are you dragging me out? I still have a lot of things to say to big bro Zu.¡±

    ¡°Are you stupid? Her highness clearly has things to say to Zu An. What are you still sticking around like an eyesore for?¡± Piao Duandiao retorted mockingly.

    ¡°So that¡¯s why! Besides the crown princess, I didn¡¯t expect the empress to favor Sir Zu as well!¡± Jiao Sigun was envious.

    ¡°Shush! Watch your mouth!¡±

    ¡­

    While the two of them were chatting with each other, the empress had Eunuch Lu watch the entrance. Meanwhile, she herself gently touched Zu An¡¯s bandaged wounds, saying, ¡°I couldn¡¯t talk much with you with Linglong there earlier. Does it hurt?¡±

    Zu An breathed in the intoxicating fragrance of the mature woman and said with a smile, ¡°It did hurt before, but now that you¡¯ve touched it, it¡¯s stopped hurting.¡±

    ¡°That slick tongue of yours never changes.¡± The empress scolded him with a smile. ¡°I¡¯ve brought you a bunch of medicines; you can take them when you need to. Don¡¯t leave behind any residual illnesses.¡±

    Zu An said with augh, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, your highness. Even if there are residual effects, the most important part will be fine.¡±

    The empress¡¯ face turned red. She harrumphed. ¡°Hmph, yourplexion is clearly awful, and yet you¡¯re still putting on a front. If you think you¡¯re all that, then juste to the Pce of Peace in the evening.¡±

    . Glutinous rice wrapped in leaves ?

 Chapter 898, Part 1: King Manorâ€™s Secret

    <h4>Chapter 898, Part 1: King Manor¡¯s Secret</h4>

    Zu An felt something stir within him when he saw that she wasn¡¯t her usual prideful and dignified self, but rather acting flirtatiously. He said in a somewhat hoarse voice, ¡°Woman, you¡¯re ying with fire!¡±

    ¡°So what if I am? You¡¯re so weak right now. Don¡¯t tell me you can actually teach me a lesson?¡± the empress said with a giggle.

    Eunuch Lu became a bit absent-minded. How many years had it been since he saw the empress so happy?

    This was how she used to smile at and tease me¡­ But just because I was too passive back then, she was taken by another man¡­

    Sigh, what¡¯s the point of thinking about these things? At this point, I¡¯m happy as long as the empress is happy.

    But why do I feel so awful? This is allpletely useless¡­

    Suddenly, he heard a groan. He turned around and saw that Zu An had pulled the empress into his arms. The empress¡¯ grand phoenix robes were even bing messy from his groping.

    This kid dares?! Eunuch Lu¡¯s eyelids twitched. He really¡­ really wished that the man in her arms was himself. Unfortunately, he could only imagine that. He had to stand guard outside for the two of them right now too, or else someone might see something they weren¡¯t supposed to.

    ¡°I don¡¯t like being teased. Since that¡¯s what you want, then I¡¯ll satisfy you.¡± Zu An fiercely wrapped his arm around the empress¡¯ waist and pulled her toward him. The soft and full waist of a mature woman didn¡¯t provide any resistance,pletely different from the youthful and energetic feeling of a younger girl.

    The empress felt something strange. She lowered her head and immediately blurted out, ¡°How dare you!¡± This fellow had already been injured so badly, and yet he¡­

    Zu Anughed and remarked, ¡°Why don¡¯t you report this to his majesty then?¡±

    The empress looked at him with her vivid eyes. ¡°Why do we need to trouble his majesty about such things? I can just call over two lesser eunuchs and have you flogged.¡±

    ¡°I fear that your highness won¡¯t be willing to see that happen,¡± Zu An said while examining her phoenix robes. Even though the two of them were already quite close to each other, this was the first time he had appreciated those robes so close up. He had to admit that the material was excellent. The phoenix embroidered in golden threads was also beautiful.

    The empress¡¯ heart pounded. She hadn¡¯t expected him to be this daring! She had wanted to control the pace and keep him in check, and yet now, her entire body was growing weak from his groping.

    ¡°There are still guards outside¡­¡± She wanted to get upset, but when she spoke, there wasn¡¯t even an ounce of anger. Her tender voice even gave her a scare.

    Eunuch Lu felt more and more bitter inside. And yet, at the same time, he felt strangely stimted.

    ¡°I know,¡± Zu An said nonchntly. He obviously wouldn¡¯t lose his head because of a woman that way.

    That was primarily because his rtionship with the empress was quite strange. They already had a physical rtionship, and yet both of them knew that there wasn¡¯t the slightest bit of love or affection. It was strictly an exchange of interests. This was a battlefield, and once one side lost the advantage, they would immediately suffer crushing defeat. That was why the two of them were constantly trying to seize the initiative.

    The empress was speechless. What do you mean, you know? What about afterward? She felt as if she were falling into Zu An¡¯s pace. Her reason told her that she had to get out, but this entirely new feeling made her reluctant to do so.

    Suddenly, Eunuch Lu coughed as he stood by the entrance. The empress pushed Zu An away and stood up from his embrace. She quickly sorted out her messy robes. Eunuch Lu wouldn¡¯t signal like this for no reason. He was clearly warning her.

    Sure enough, Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s voice came from outside. ¡°Hm? Why is Eunuch Lu here?¡±

    Eunuch Lu replied with a smile, ¡°This old servant came with her highness to visit a worthy warrior. It turned out Chief Commander was here; you really are everywhere.¡±

    ¡°I just came out of the imperial study, so I decided to walk around this area.¡± Zhuxie Chixin walked toward the entrance as he spoke. He saw the empress inside and immediately greeted her. ¡°I pay my respects to your highness.¡±

    He was a bit shocked. The empress really did look morous today! She had been an incredible beauty to begin with, but it was because her mood hadn¡¯t been great for the past few years that she had be a bit colder in appearance. Recently, her mood seemed to have improved quite a bit. Zhuxie Chixin thought, Looks like she feels at ease again now that the crown prince¡¯s position has stabilized.

    The empress said with a smile, ¡°There¡¯s no need for excessive courtesy, Chief Commander. Since the Chief Commander has returned, then I¡¯ll leave this ce to you.¡±

    Zu An sighed. The pce¡¯s women weren¡¯t easy to deal with after all! That was true for both Bi Linglong and the empress. The fact that they couldn¡¯t fight for the Oscar award was truly a pity.

    ¡°This subject will see your highness out.¡± Zhuxie Chixin followed the empress out.

    The empress raised her eyebrows, but she didn¡¯t say anything. After they walked out into the courtyard, she stopped and asked, ¡°Speak; what did you want to say to me by following me out?¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin began, ¡°Your highness¡¯ sight is grand¡­¡±

    The empress cut him off. ¡°Spit it out.¡± This was the emperor¡¯s loyal dog. She found him annoying to even look at to begin with, let alone the fact that she had been interrupted earlier. She obviously wouldn¡¯t treat him that nicely.

    Zhuxie Chixin had to swallow his words back down. But this was the empress, so he couldn¡¯t act out. He said, ¡°I¡¯ll have to trouble your highness to not talk about the dungeon¡¯s details to anyone. His majesty hasn¡¯t yet thought through how he wants to deal with this matter, so it must remain confidential.¡±

    The empress was stunned at first, but she realized that this person probably thought that she had gone to Zu An¡¯s room to gather intelligence, then contact the Liu n. She asked, ¡°Are you teaching me how to do things?¡± She didn¡¯t bother exining the misunderstanding. On the contrary, this was better.

    Zhuxie Chixin quickly lowered his head in apology. ¡°This subject doesn¡¯t dare. It¡¯s just that his majesty has been a bit troubled over this matter recently¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t try to use his majesty to pressure me. I know what I¡¯m doing,¡± the empress said coldly and turned around to leave.

    Zhuxie Chixin had a bitter smile on his face as he watched her leave. The empress¡¯ temper had been growing stranger and stranger over the years. In the end, it was still because of how his majesty treated her¡­

    He left after exchanging some words with Zu An. Before his majesty made a decision, he still had to keep his distance from these people.

    Then, some guards came to congratte Zu An. The crown princess¡¯ and empress¡¯ rewards made them realize that he was definitely going to rise in status quickly. When Zu An was done dealing with them, hey down and began to think about all types of possibilities. Then, he unwittingly fell asleep.

    ¡­

    All this time, his vignce had been so high that he almost hadn¡¯t had any chance to sleep. Once he fell asleep, time quickly passed.

    Suddenly, he felt something. He rushed out of bed and seized the neck of a ck-clothed individual next to him, pressing them under his body.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± asked a familiar voice from outside. It was Eunuch Lu¡¯s voice.

    Zu An was rmed. He saw the noble yet flirtatious look in the individual¡¯s eyes. Who else could it be but the empress?

    ¡°Nothing, keep watching outside,¡± the empress said when Zu An loosened his grip.

    ¡°Mm.¡± Eunuch Lu gave a vague reply. He was clearly a bit upset.

    Zu An tore off the ck mask, revealing the empress¡¯ mature and stunning face underneath. He was surprised and asked, ¡°Why are you dressed like this?¡±

    ¡°Because someone kept saying that he¡¯de to the Pce of Peace, but never came. That¡¯s why I could onlye here myself.¡± The empressy down on the bed. Her hands were raised casually above her head, putting her impressive figure in full view.

    Zu An saw the ck clothing she wore and he looked outside. It turned out he had slept all the way into the night. After nking out for a moment, he reacted and said, ¡°Your highness seems to have run around all night. Are you not worried that you might have jumped into the wrong bed?¡±

    The empress¡¯ charming eyes narrowed. ¡°You¡¯re on this bed, so I didn¡¯te to the wrong ce.¡±

    Zu An screamed inwardly. If not for Mi Li¡¯s warning that this woman was trying to use his essence for her recovery, he might really have been fooled! He might really have thought that this woman was deeply in love with him.

    ¡°Then I really have to thank your highness for all the love.¡± He loosened his hand and got up from the bed. He walked over and poured a cup of tea.

    The empress was shocked when she saw that this man wasn¡¯t in a hurry to pounce on her. She supported her head with her hand and looked at him. ¡°Everyone in the pce is talking about how you¡¯re at death¡¯s door, but you don¡¯t seem wounded at all. Are you not scared that I¡¯ll report this to his majesty?¡±

    Zu An drained the tea in one gulp. ¡°If you report this, I¡¯ll tell him ¡®your wife really is amazing¡¯.¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

 Chapter 898, Part 2: King Manorâ€™s Secret

    <h4>Chapter 898, Part 2: King Manor¡¯s Secret</h4>

    The empress was speechless. No matter how much she unted her strong will, she almost broke down under those words.

    Zu An thought to himself, Don¡¯t try these tricks with me. If you knew I really said that in front of the emperor not too long ago, you might just faint from shock!

    ¡°Your highness, what¡¯s happened in the capital while I was gone?¡± he asked. He had been brought into the pce and kept there ever since he left the dungeon. He had no idea what was happening outside of the pce.

    Without enough intelligence, it was easy to create errors in judgment. But who knew better about what was happening outside the pce than the empress herself?

    ¡°Is this empress not beautiful enough? You can still afford to think about these matters?¡± The empress harrumphed. However, she still replied, ¡°After you all went into the dungeon, King Qi Manor¡¯s side seemed to be pretty confident, while his majesty¡¯s side was struggling to look calm. Even though I don¡¯t know what kind of trump cards both sides were hiding, I¡¯m more inclined to trust his majesty. Zhao Jing can¡¯t win against him.¡±

    Zu An nodded in deep sympathy. Zhao Han really was an old fox. He had fooled everyone from start to end. If not because they had just happened to encounter Westhound Tomb, Zu An would already be a pile of bones right now.

    The empress said with a cold snort, ¡°Then, something happened to the dungeon. The libationer personally concluded that the elements inside copsed. King Qi Manor¡¯s people appeared to be grieving on the surface, but they actually almost burst outughing in joy.¡± As someone from the crown prince¡¯s very family, she clearly didn¡¯t have a good impression of King Qi.

    ¡°His majesty acted quite weirdly in that period. I¡¯ve never seen him so panicked before. Even though he did everything he could to hide it, he could fool others, but how could he fool me?¡± the empress remarked confidently. After all, the two of them had been married for so many years, so she understood him best.

    ¡°His majesty¡¯s mood has been quite poor. Many of the lesser eunuchs who served him disappeared for some reason. I heard that they were executed because of some small mistakes.¡± The empress frowned. ¡°Only when you all exited the dungeon safely did his mood improve a bit, but even then, it was just a bit. I can still feel the wrath he¡¯s holding in.¡±

    Zu An thought, How can he not be mad? His split soul was destroyed in the dungeon for some reason. His eternal life project failed at the final step!

    ¡°Is there anything else? Did anything major happen in the capital?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°Your return was the biggest event already.¡± The empress didn¡¯t really understand why Zu An was so concerned with that, but after thinking about it for a bit, she said, ¡°Apart from this, there were several times where our men had conflicts with King Qi Manor¡¯s people. Zhuxie Chixin wasn¡¯t there either, so many people died. The Chu n¡¯s little young master kept asking after his brother-inw day and night, as if he were some girl. No wonder the Chu n has declined; all of them are wusses. The previous minister Sang Hong¡¯s n returned to the capital. His majesty used to trust him greatly, and he seems to be summoning him from time to time to discuss some things¡­¡±

    She talked about many of the things that had happened in the capital in the meantime. Many of those things really were insignificantpared to the dungeon¡¯s events.

    Zu An was surprised and remarked, ¡°So Sang Hong came back.¡± A bright and beautiful face suddenly appeared in his mind. Didn¡¯t this mean that Zheng Dan had alsoe back?

    ¡°I almost forgot that the two of you had a bit of a grudge in the past.¡± The empress chuckled. ¡°Sang Hong helped the emperor take care of many dirty things back then. It might be his reputation that he¡¯ll have no sessors. But this might not necessarily be a bad thing. When he was a subject, everyone wanted to get rid of him as quickly as possible. Now that he has no one inheriting his legacy, they don¡¯t think of him as much of a threat. Furthermore, with a pretty daughter and a beautiful daughter-inw, there are quite a few people who are paying more attention to them.¡±

    ¡°Sang Hong is the emperor¡¯s trusted aide, after all. He seems to be making aeback now too. Will those people really dare to act recklessly?¡± Zu An asked with a bit of confusion.

    The empress exined, ¡°A rags to riches n like the Sang n doesn¡¯t have as much backing as the other great ns. After messing up his mission in Brightmoon City, the Sang n suffered a fatal blow. Furthermore, for some reason, the warriors the Sang n raised for all these years disappeared overnight. Without that force, why would those young masters fear the Sang n?

    ¡°Many people in the capital believe that Sang Hong has tacitly agreed to this as well, that he actually wants to marry his daughter off as quickly as possible. This way, he can rebuild the Sang n¡¯s former glory.

    ¡°But those great ns aren¡¯t stupid. Sang Hong¡¯s daughteres from a family that isn¡¯t all that impressive, and the Sang n carries too many grudges with other ns. No one wants to take the Sang n¡¯s young miss in as their main wife. However, she¡¯s just too stunning, so it doesn¡¯t seem right to take her in as a concubine. The reason why so many people are being so careful is because they want to get a buy one get one free deal. After all, the Sang n¡¯s widowed daughter-inw is also a genuine beauty.¡±

    Zu An snorted. ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to try and test me with these things. The Sang n and I were detained together on our way to the capital, and we developed some camaraderie along the way. If I can help them, I¡¯ll naturally help them.¡±

    ¡°Tsk, you¡¯re probably thinking the very same thing as those ns.¡± The empress sneered. Men were all up to no good.

    ¡°You¡¯re overthinking it. How can the Sang n let those people get their way? An upright gentleman like me obviously wouldn¡¯t have those thoughts either,¡± Zu An said with a firm expression.

    ¡°You? An upright gentleman?¡± The empress had a strange look on her face. She really had the urge to spit on Zu An¡¯s face at that instant.

    ¡°Ahem¡­¡± Zu An felt a bit guilty himself. He quickly changed the topic. ¡°Was there anything else that happened?¡±

    The empress slowly said, ¡°There are some other things that happened. Something strange happened in King Qi Manor¡­¡±

    Zu An waited for a long time, but she didn¡¯t say anything else. He couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°And?¡±

    The empress smiled. ¡°Let me tell you a story first.¡±

    Zu An was confused. What kind of story was she going to tell him now? But he still patiently listened.

    ¡°Once upon a time, there was a male dove and a female dove. Underneath them was a young sheep that was eating grass. Soon afterward, a big bad wolf came and ate themb. What do you think the female dove said to the male dove?¡± The empress¡¯ eyes flickered with light. There was a mysterious charm in her expression.

    Zu An vaguely recalled hearing this story from somewhere, but he replied with an unsure tone. ¡°Themb below has died?¡±

    ¡°Yup. Below¡­ themb¡­ died,¡± the empress repeated. However, her tone changed a bit. Sheid down on the bed and hooked her fingers toward Zu An. She looked at him seductively.[1]

    Zu An was speechless. How could he hold himself back, though? He pounced over.

    Eunuch Lu¡¯s eyes twitched as he listened to the moaninging from inside. Then, he released a long sigh, as if something had been satisfied. He silently transferred his ki, sealing off the sounding out of the room to prevent any guards from noticing anything.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in the Eastern Pce, Bi Linglong tossed and turned about in bed. Her personal maid Rong Mo rubbed her drowsy eyes and came inside to check on her. ¡°Crown princess, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, I just can¡¯t sleep for some reason. You should get some rest yourself,¡± Bi Linglong replied.

    Rong Mo replied with an ¡®oh¡¯, then left while yawning.

    Bi Linglong suddenly thought of something. She called out to Rong Mo and said, ¡°Right, you can¡¯te in no matter what you hearter.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Rong Mo was a bit confused. Wasn¡¯t it normal for her to care for the crown princess?

    Bi Linglong blushed. She pretended to be angry and said, ¡°I¡¯m already having trouble sleeping, if you keep running in and out, it¡¯ll be even harder!¡±

    When Rong Mo saw her master get angry, she stuck out her tongue and said, ¡°Alright, alright. I won¡¯t disturb the crown princess anymore.¡±

    Bi Linglong sighed in relief when she saw Rong Mo leave quickly and even close the door behind her. She moved her nkets and looked at the lock. After some hesitation, she still locked it.

    However, after lying on the bed for a while, she suddenly reached out and unlocked it.

    Just like that, sometimes it was open, and sometimes it was closed. She gradually fell asleep during this endless wait.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, the storm seemed to have reached a calm. There were fine beads of sweat hanging from the empress¡¯ temples, and her hair was a bit damp. There was a happy and sweet smile on her face. When she sensed that her damaged meridians had obtained nourishment, that she hSad recovered a bit, her mood became even better.

    ¡°You really don¡¯t know how to treat girls properly at all! I almost feel like I¡¯m bing a tool to vent your frustrations on.¡± Despite having said that, she didn¡¯t sound angry at all.

    ¡°What, you don¡¯t like it?¡± Zu An also felt refreshed. The pressure he had experienced while being chased by the emperor was so suffocating it was hard to even breathe, so he let everything go during this session.

    ¡°You¡¯re really a bad man.¡± The empressughed. ¡°But this empress likes that sort of roughness.¡± A youngdy might like someone who was gentler, but for a mature woman like her, she knew what it was that she needed.

    ¡°What happened in King Qi Manor?¡± Zu An didn¡¯t want to talk about feelings with her for too long and immediately changed the topic.

    ¡°You still haven¡¯t forgotten about that?¡± The empress was a bit unhappy, but she still said, ¡°Whatever. Since you made this empress happy, then I¡¯ll just tell you. Just treat it as your fee.¡±

    Zu An had a strange look on his face. Judging from how proud she looked, he felt as if she were throwing some dor bills at him after getting what she wanted.

    ¡°King Qi¡¯s concubine suddenly lost her footing and fell into a pond a few days ago, drowning to death,¡± the empress said.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°How can that be?¡± Zu An was stunned. ¡°What about the maids that were serving her?¡±

    Even though that woman was a concubine, for better or for worse, she was King Qi¡¯s concubine. Who knew how many people were serving her? Why would something like this happen?

    ¡°That¡¯s what¡¯s strange about it. It was rumored that she ran over to the pond in the middle of the night, so there were no maids to serve her.¡± The empress seemed rather happy about that disaster. ¡°As for her death, there are a few rumors going around the capital. Some say that she really did identally lose her footing; some spected that she was doing something wrong and was caught. Some others say that she saw a secret she shouldn¡¯t have seen and was silenced¡­ What do you think it is?¡±

    ¡°An affair?¡± Zu An asked probingly. She had run out alone in the middle of the night, so he couldn¡¯t help but think of that.

    ¡°That¡¯s what I thought at first too,¡± the empress said with a smile. ¡°But Zhao Jing is pretty handsome and charming, so I really can¡¯t imagine why his woman would look for someone else. Furthermore, who dares to have an affair with King Qi¡¯s concubine in King Qi Manor? There¡¯s definitely something more to this.¡±

    Zu An suddenly had a strange look on his face. ¡°In the eyes of others, I reckon that they would never expect their graceful and dignified empress to be doing what we just did, right?¡±

    ¡°You!¡± The empress was finally defeated. She pounced over and bit him¡­

    . In Chinese, it sounds like ¡®Below¡­ itches¡­ so much.¡¯ ?

 Chapter 899, Part 1: Unexpected Judgment

    <h4>Chapter 899, Part 1: Unexpected Judgment</h4>

    The two of them y-wrestled for a bit, then Zu An grabbed her hands and said, ¡°I want to make a trip out of the pce. Do you have any ideas?¡±

    He had his identity as an Embroidered Envoy too, so it wasn¡¯t impossible for him to leave. However, the emperor knew about all of his identities, so that wouldn¡¯t work.

    ¡°Nope,¡± the empress said without hesitation.

    Zu An became upset. ¡°Come on, you¡¯re a freaking empress! You can¡¯t even send a single person out of the pce?¡±

    ¡°Even if I do have a way, I can¡¯t send you out.¡± The empress harrumphed. ¡°The emperor already made it clear that all of you were to be kept here to prevent information from getting out. It¡¯ll definitely draw too much attention if I try to send you out. Visiting you during the day is already the limit of what I can do as the empress. If I try to help you further, the emperor will definitely suspect our rtionship.¡±

    Zu An figured that made sense as well. The emperor was someone who was always suspicious of others. It would be very bad if he ended up drawing suspicion because of something like this. But he wouldn¡¯t admit to that on the surface and shot back, ¡°Hmph, then what use does an empress like you even have?¡±

    The empress giggled and looked at him provocatively. ¡°What do you think?¡± She was like a honey peach ripe for the picking, sweet and juicy. Not many men could resist her temptation. Zu An was naturally no exception.

    Eunuch Lu was filled with envy as he stood outside. The stamina of youth really was great¡­

    ¡­

    When Zu An woke up again, the beauty he had slept with was already gone. With her status, there was no way she would stay here for a longer time. She had left in the middle of the night. He didn¡¯t feel lonely or anything. He thought that an exchange of benefits between a mature man and woman like this was fine.

    Knock knock knock!

    Someone suddenly knocked on his door. Zu An was stunned. This room of his seemed quite lively. ¡°Come in,¡± he said as hey back down on the bed and continued with his weak and feeble act.

    The door quickly opened. The first thing Zu An saw was a pair of straight and perfect legs. If it were any other time, Zu An would definitely have voiced his praise. But right now, he was the ¡®hero¡¯ of this dungeon trip, so he didn¡¯t really feel like doing any of that.

    ¡°Oh, it was big sis principal.¡± Zu An was surprised, because the one who had arrived was Jiang Luofu. Why had she appeared in the pce?

    ¡°What? It seems like you aren¡¯t that happy to see me,¡± Jiang Luofu said with a smile.

    Zu An replied, ¡°No way. I just didn¡¯t expect you to be able toe inside the pce.¡±

    ¡°My status is special. To a certain extent, I¡¯m representing the Royal Academy, or even the libationer himself. That¡¯s why no one stopped me from entering,¡± Jiang Luofu exined. ¡°I met the crown princess earlier, then decided to drop by afterward to pay you a visit.¡±

    She turned around while speaking and said in a strange tone, ¡°Crown princess, why aren¡¯t youing in?¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He subconsciously looked toward the entrance. Bi Linglong hade too? He saw a beautiful youngdy standing quietly by the entrance. However, the usual ¡®fake smile¡¯ she showed others was nowhere to be seen. Instead, her expression was a bit cold.

    You have sessfully trolled Bi Linglong for +22 +22 +22¡­

    Zu An jumped in fright. When did I offend her? Why are you mad at me so early in the morning?

    ¡°It might be inappropriate for me toe in, so I¡¯ll just stay here,¡± Bi Linglong said indifferently. She didn¡¯t even give Zu An a single look. Jiang Luofu wasn¡¯t too concerned. Their status was special, anding into the room of a subordinate so early in the morning was a bit strange.

    Zu An felt that it was a bit inconvenient to talk while lying down, so he crawled up from the covers. He wanted to get up and lean against the bed. Jiang Luofu quickly supported him when she saw him move, thinking he was seriously injured.

    As he breathed in her fragrance, Zu An thought to himself that Jiang Luofu was also a mature, high-ss woman. But she was very different from the empress. The empress¡¯ smell was rich and extravagant, whileparatively speaking, Jiang Luofu¡¯s smell was a bit more reserved.

    Jiang Luofu wrinkled her nose. ¡°Huh? What is that smell?¡± she asked. Bi Linglong instinctively turned to look at Zu An when she heard those words.

    Zu An began to sweat buckets. He and the empress had tossed and turned all night. He hadn¡¯t had any time to clean this ce up yet. He absolutely couldn¡¯t let them find out!

    Even though he was momentarily rmed, he pretended nothing had happened. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s probably the smell of the medicine from the imperial hospital.¡±

    ¡°Oh, this medicine smells so weird.¡± Jiang Luofu was puzzled, but she didn¡¯t have much knowledge in that field and couldn''t distinguish the smell. She gave Zu An a look, then said, ¡°You were injured quite badly after all. Yourplexion looks awful.¡±

    Bi Linglong looked at Zu An carefully when she heard those words. She saw thick ck circles under his eyes, and noticed that hisplexion was pale. He looked a bit weak.

    ¡°I¡¯m alright; it¡¯s not too much of a problem. I should be able to recover after resting for a bit.¡± Zu An thought to himself, My battle with the empressst night left me pretty exhausted. The empress was at the very peak of maturity. She was absolutely deadly in bed and had taken him for a ride.

    Jiang Luofu didn¡¯t doubt him, but Bi Linglong was confused. She asked through ki, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? You seemed alright yesterday; why do you look like that today?¡±

    Zu An secretly replied, ¡°Didn¡¯t I have to pretend to be unconscious, after which the emperor even asked me all those questions? Zhuxie Chixin made me eat that vicious medicine to force me awake. These are probably the aftereffects.¡± Even he was left admiring his own wit. He had managed to find such good excuses so quickly.

    Bi Linglong felt a bit aggrieved, and also a bit upset. ¡°Are you stupid? How can you eat something like that?¡±

    ¡°Zhuxie Chixin was watching right next to me. I had no choice!¡± Zu An exined. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s not too bad. I¡¯ll be fine if I rest for a few days.¡±

    Bi Linglong felt conflicted. So that¡¯s why he looks like that¡­ He probably suffered a lotst night, yet I was actually¡­ mad at him. She blushed when she thought of that and looked apologetically at Zu An.

    Zu An was a bit confused. Why had her attitude changed so quickly? The thoughts of youngdies really were as fickle as the weather in June. She got angry so suddenly and cooled off just as suddenly.

    Jiang Luofu said, ¡°Even though yourplexion looks pretty bad, it¡¯s better than we imagined. At least there¡¯s no danger to your life. Do you know just how worried that Chu n brat was?¡±

    ¡°Youzhao?¡± Zu An was stunned. ¡°How did he get mixed up with you?¡± he asked. After all, the two of them didn¡¯t get along all that well.

    Jiang Luofu smiled. ¡°He was worried about your safety but couldn''te and visit you, so he could only use me to see how you were doing. Ah, right. These are the gifts he wanted me to bring you.¡±

    She took out a Peace Talisman and gave it to him. ¡°This is a longevity talisman he went to the temple to ask for, to ensure your peace. That Chu n kid is quite meticulous in thought, almost like a girl.¡±

    Zu An panicked. He took a mental note to remind that little sister-ofw of hister. Even though she had an artifact to hide her appearance, there were still gaps in her behavior!

    He put away the Peace Talisman, feeling warm inside. But he instead asked, ¡°Why didn¡¯t he send me something tasty to eat? What¡¯s the point in giving me this kind of thing?¡±

    Jiang Luofu rolled her eyes. ¡°Giving you something like this really is a waste of others¡¯ good intentions. Chu¡¯s young master didn¡¯t only bring you this talisman, he also prepared a bunch of medicines; but I couldn''t bring them into the pce. I only brought in this Thousand Year Ginseng. It should be of some help to your recovery.¡±

    Then, she took out a pill. ¡°This is a Lesser Return Pill Murong Qinghe wanted me to bring you. It¡¯s an excellent pill for treating injuries.¡±

    Bi Linglong also spoke up. ¡°When did Sir Zu suddenly be so close to the Murong n¡¯s young miss? She¡¯s willing to give you such a precious pill?¡± Even though she was smiling on the surface, there was a bit of chilliness in her voice.

    Zu An¡¯s survival instincts were powerful. He immediately said, ¡°That brat¡¯s entire heart is devoted to Chu Youzhao; this is just a gift by association! She¡¯s just doing this to get on her big brother Chu¡¯s good side.¡±

    Bi Linglong¡¯s expression immediately eased up when she heard that. ¡°Hmph, she gave you such a precious gift, and yet look at you, talking badly about her.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. You were mad at me, and now you¡¯re going to scold me about this? Sigh, being a man is so tough. Wait, why do I feel so guilty in front of her then?

    Jiang Luofu gave the two of them a strange look. She just felt that their rtionship was a bit strange. But no matter how powerful her imagination was, there was no way she could know what the two of them had gone through together.

    She took out a sachet and said, ¡°Right, this is what Daoyun wanted me to bring you.¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    When she saw the sachet that was clearly from a girl, Bi Linglong¡¯s expression became chilly once more.

    You have sessfully trolled Bi Linglong for +33 +33 +33¡­

 Chapter 899, Part 2: Unexpected Judgment

    <h4>Chapter 899, Part 2: Unexpected Judgment</h4>

    Zu An received the sachet. There was a faint fragranceing from it. Those girls all had their unique smells, matching well with their personalities.

    ¡°What are you in a daze all of a sudden for?¡± Jiang Luofu reached out and waved her hand in front of his face. ¡°The gift Daoyun gave you is inside.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He saw that what was inside was a talisman as well, but it was different from the talisman Chu Youzhao had received from the temple. It was a talisman created by a real rune master. He felt a frigid aura just from holding it in his hand.

    Jiang Luofu exined, ¡°This is a Calming Talisman Xie Daoyun personally crafted. Whether it¡¯s in your recovery or cultivation, carrying it on you will allow you to be more focused. This will help you to increase your cultivation and recover faster. She was worried that carrying the talisman on you all the time wouldn¡¯t be too convenient, so that was why she used this sachet to store it properly.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll have to trouble big sis principal to thank her for me then.¡± Zu An put the sachet away. Unfortunately, he wasn¡¯t really injured, and his cultivation path was different from most people¡¯s, so the talisman wasn¡¯t all that useful to him. However, he could feel the sincerity, so he naturally had to take care of it well.

    Bi Linglong looked away when she saw him put the sachet away. She didn¡¯t know why she was getting so annoyed either. The two of them shouldn¡¯t have anything to do with each other, and yet she just didn¡¯t feel good at all. It was as if her toy had been ruined by someone else.

    Jiang Luofu said with a smile, ¡°You can just thank herter yourself. I don¡¯t think she wants to hear it from me.¡±

    Bi Linglong pricked up her ears. Didn¡¯t this sound as if there really were something going on between them? Damn this womanizer! Why does he have so many girls around him?

    Zu An quickly changed the topic when he saw another string of Rage points. ¡°Haha, so many people gave me gifts. Big sis, are you not going to give me anything?¡±

    ¡°Is a visit from this big sis not enough as a gift?¡± Jiang Luofu replied with a smile. ¡°Furthermore, they already took care of everything with their gifts; I really can¡¯t think of anything to give you. Let¡¯s just say that I¡¯ll owe you one.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°You make so much sense, I can¡¯t even argue against you.¡±

    Jiang Luofu got up and said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve already paid you a visit, and I¡¯ve already delivered the messages. I won¡¯t disrupt your rest anymore.¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°Actually, I wouldn¡¯t mind chatting for a bit longer, you know?¡± He wasn¡¯t really recovering in the pce, so he was already bored out of his mind.

    Jiang Luofu couldn''t help butugh. ¡°Your status is special. Normally speaking, you can¡¯t take visitors. I¡¯m only here while sharing the crown princess¡¯ spotlight. I can¡¯t trouble her with that. We¡¯ll meet again once you finish recovering.¡± She waved her hand after speaking, then walked out with long strides.

    ¡°Ms. Jiang, I¡¯ll see you out.¡± Bi Linglong followed behind her without even giving Zu An another look.

    Zu An was quite sullen. Even though they couldn''t act too close in front of others, he still felt that the crown princess was going a bit overboard¡­

    ¡­

    While Zu An was bored stiff in his room, the emperor was sitting in the imperial study ying Go with himself.

    Zhuxie Chixin stood to the side without uttering a word, scared that he would disturb the emperor. He felt deep admiration. His majesty had clearly been a bit preupied these past few days, but he now seemed to have already calmed down fully, recovering his former steadiness.

    A whileter, the emperor finally said, ¡°Who has Zu An met with during the past two days?¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin replied, ¡°He visited the Eastern Pce, then when he returned to the guard room, Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun visited him. Then, the empress visited him.¡±

    ¡°The empress?¡± The emperor frowned. The chess piece he had been about to y remained in midair.

    Zhuxie Chixin exined, ¡°The empress didn¡¯t only visit him, but also several of the guards, giving them some medicines as a gift and giving them some encouragement.¡±

    The emperor thus nodded. These people had saved the crown prince. As part of the royal family, it made sense for her to give them her gratitude. But of course, the reason he didn¡¯t suspect anything was because on the surface, Zu An and the empress had nothing to do with each other.

    Zhuxie Chixin continued, ¡°The Royal Academy¡¯s Jiang Luofu paid the crown princess a visit, then the crown princess brought her to meet with Zu An.¡±

    ¡°Jiang Luofu? The Jiang n can be considered neutral. Furthermore, with the libationer¡¯s background, it¡¯s not too big of a deal for her to enter the pce.¡± The emperor thought of something interesting, then grinned. ¡°I seem to recall that Linglong didn¡¯t get along with her, as the first candidate for the crown princess was actually Jiang Luofu. It was only because Jiang Luofu ran away that she was chosen instead. This matter has always bothered Linglong, and yet the two of them actually did something together this time.¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin said, ¡°Those are already things of the past, after all. The crown princess looks at the bigger picture, so why would she let something like this bother her?¡± As the emperor¡¯s trusted aide, he knew that the emperor was very satisfied with this daughter-inw. He obviously had to take the chance to praise her.

    The emperor nodded with a smile. ¡°Indeed, Linglong is slowly developing the traits of the mother of a country. Her performance in the dungeon this time has been excellent.¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin shivered. His majesty¡¯s evaluation was extremely high! He quickly took the chance to add some more praise.

    A bitter, the emperor suddenly said, ¡°Right, did Jiang Luofu ask anything about the dungeon when she visited Zu An?¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin replied, ¡°She didn¡¯¡¯t. She only visited him as a friend, and also delivered some small gifts for Chu Youzhao and Murong Qinghe.¡± There had been so many people in that group, so he had naturally had eyes and ears there.

    The emperor was stunned. ¡°This Zu An is actually that close to so many people? He¡¯s mixed in with all sorts of different sides¡­ Just what is he trying to do?¡± His voice had be extremely cold.

    Zhuxie Chixin gestured fiercely with his hands when he heard those words. ¡°Should this subject use this chance to¡­ Since he¡¯s already seriously injured, and it¡¯s already been announced that his condition is terrible, I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll draw any suspicion.¡±

    Even though he did share friendship with Zu An, as the emperor¡¯s trusted aide, he had already sensed the emperor¡¯s killing intent several times. He naturally had to emphasize his innocence to avoid bringing trouble onto himself.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for now.¡± The emperor stopped him. ¡°That kid still has some other uses.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± Zhuxie Chixin lowered his head. He understood the emperor too well. What he was saying was that once Zu An lost his value, he would then be immediately removed.

    ¡°Enough, you can leave.¡± The emperor waved his hand. He stared at the chess pieces on the table and sank into his thoughts.

    A while after Zhuxie Chixin left, a voice came from the room. ¡°I would rather turn my back on the people than let the people turn their backs on me!¡±

    ¡­

    A few days passed. Zu An wasn¡¯t ill, but he was about to be from boredom. The empress didn¡¯t visit him again. He didn¡¯t know if it was because she was already satisfied, or if she was worried about being exposed.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An had tried to visit Bi Linglong and talk to her, but the secret tunnel was always locked from the other side. Helpless to do anything else, he could only y some games with Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun to pass the time.

    Today, he received news that he could freely leave the pce.

    ¡°But you all need to remember this well; you can¡¯t tell anyone about anything that happened in the dungeon. Especially what happened with King Qi Manor¡¯s experts,¡± Zhuxie Chixin personally warned them.

    ¡°Why?¡± Piao Duandiao couldn''t hold himself back from asking. He and Jiao Sigun were the only two who had survived among all the guards who entered. The others had all died because of King Qi Manor¡¯s deathsworn soldiers. They obviously wanted revenge for their friends.

    ¡°That¡¯s not something you all need to know; you just need to obey. You¡¯ll receive the reward you are due, but!¡± Zhuxie Chixin said coldly, ¡°If I hear any rumors floating about, not only will you die, your families will be buried along with you. The only reason you¡¯re all still alive is because of your service in saving the crown prince and princess¡¯ lives. You¡¯d better get it into your heads; think about what¡¯s good and bad for you.¡±

    Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun exchanged a look. They clearly felt a bitcking in confidence.

    Zu An couldn''t help but ask, ¡°But what if we aren¡¯t the ones to leak it out, but someone else who learned of it from a different channel?¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin said indifferently, ¡°All of you will still die.¡± He left immediately afterward

    Zu An and the others were left speechless. They soon understood why Zhuxie Chixin was so serious, however. News of all kinds of rewards and penalties was already circting through the pce.

    Because of Zu An¡¯s outstanding achievement in protecting the crown prince and princess, he was promoted from a baron to a viscount, and gained a corresponding increase in territory. He was to continue as the crown prince¡¯s chambein, while holding the concurrent post of Armed Escort Division Commander. He was awarded a thousand taels of gold and twenty chests of silk and fabrics.

    Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun respectively rose three ranks, rising up to be the leaders of the Eastern Pce guard. They were awarded a thousand silvers and other assorted things.

    Gao Ying, Pei You, and the others also received corresponding rewards. Even the deceased Zhao Xi, Liu Xian, Meng Pan, and the others were conferred posthumous titles.

    As for the other deceased n members and imperial guards, their names were all recorded andmemorated on a monument.

    The Shi n¡¯s Shi Tong had sneaked into the troop and plotted against the crown prince. The Shi n master Shi Miao had known about but didn¡¯t inform the emperor, so he was used of treason. The Death Pardoning Token was revoked, and their n was searched and eradicated. The branch families were all banished.

    The Gu n brothers Gu Heng and Gu Xing had plotted against the crown prince in search of glory. Nine generations of the Gu n werepletely eradicated.

    But what was unexpected was that King Qi and the deathsworn soldiers were never mentioned from start to finish, as if they had never even appeared in the dungeon.

 Chapter 900: Horrible Title

    <h4>Chapter 900: Horrible Title</h4>

    ¡°Sir Zu, congrattions!¡± Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun looked envious. Even though they had both risen up three ranks themselves, that was only an official position. They hadn¡¯t gone up an order of nobility.

    Zu An had risen from being a baron to a viscount, and he¡¯d even had his territory increased substantially! He now had practically three hundred more households to collect tax from, transforming him from a second-rate noble to a true noble in the social circles.

    For example, the great ns in the capital would never consider amoner for marriage. No matter how high one¡¯s official post was, they wouldn¡¯t even consider a baron. However, a viscount was already enough, let alone one that had climbed up to this position properly.

    Piao Duandiao asked, ¡°Right, what is big bro Zu¡¯s new noble title¡­¡±

    ¡°I think it¡¯s called ¡®Green¡¯¡­¡± Jiao Sigun was about to reply when Zu An cut him off.

    ¡°Enough already, don¡¯t say that name.¡± Zu An¡¯s eyelids twitched. He had given the emperor the Hat of Forgivenessst time. Even though the emperor didn¡¯t know what it signified, he had picked up that Zu An¡¯s expression was a bit off.

    Together with the fact that Zu An had given Sang Qian a green hat as a present, the emperor had felt as if that thing might have some deeper meaning. Now that Zu An was a viscount, he had decided to just give him the title Green Hat.[1]

    Zu An had almost exploded when he heard that name. What the hell? Why does the world keep messing with me like this? This name is even worse than Phoenix Man!

    ¡°I feel like ¡®Phoenix Man¡¯ from before sounded a bit better,¡± Piao Duandiao said sympathetically.

    Jiao Sigun immediately argued, ¡°I feel like ¡®Green Hat¡¯ sounds a bit more majestic. Just like how those Embroidered Envoys are always dressed in red, leaving the people in terror wherever they go, a color can deliver subliminal messages. Big bro Zu will just wear a green hat when he sets out in the future to match this title. That way, everyone will think of big bro Zu as soon as they hear the words ¡®green hat¡¯.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. If that really happens, my reputation will go to shit for all of eternity! He quickly changed the topic when he saw that the two of them weren¡¯t finished yet. ¡°Right, what kind of post is that of Armed Escort Division Commander?¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Apart from being promoted from baron to viscount, he had also been granted the post of Armed Escort Division Commander. The guard system in the pce was extremelyplicated, so he wasn¡¯t too sure what that role was.

    Piao Duandiao exined, ¡°The pce¡¯s imperial guards are separated into many squads. These squads are called divisions, and the Armed Escort Division Commander is the senior officer of the Armed Escort Division. The Armed Escort Division Commander is mainly in charge of defending the various pce gates.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He hadn¡¯t expected the emperor to give him such a vital position!

    After thinking about it for a bit, he guessed at the emperor¡¯s intentions. On the surface, he was an outer subject, so he had to leave the pce promptly every day, but his status as an Embroidered Envoy made it so that he had to remain in the pce. He had to leave the pce first and change into the Embroidered Envoy identity beforeing back in.

    If anyone deliberately investigated that, they might discover some holes. Then, they would deduce his connection to Golden Token Eleven. But now that he had the Armed Escort Division Commander rank, it would be much more convenient for him to enter and exit the pce. He didn¡¯t have to put on that act daily anymore.

    But doesn¡¯t this post also let me pass through the pce gates more easily? That dog emperor gave me the title ¡®Green Hat¡¯ to embarrass me, so I¡¯ll make sure to pay him back properly for this! Zu An had a strange expression as his face heated up. Hmph, I¡¯m an upstanding and upright person; would I do something like that?

    ¡°Big bro Zu, why are you drooling?¡± Jiao Sigun asked curiously.

    ¡°Was I? Haha, I think you¡¯re seeing things.¡± Zu An quickly wiped the corner of his lips and chuckled in embarrassment.

    ¡°Anyways, big bro Zu, I still can¡¯t ept this result!¡± Piao Duandiao couldn''t help but blurt out after some hesitation. ¡°It¡¯s one thing that those King Qi Manor people weren¡¯t exposed, but why was even that Meng Pan given a posthumous title? He was just a shameless bastard who ran in the middle of battle, and yet he¡¯s being recognized as a hero and praised for countless generations?¡±

    Zu An patted Piao Duandiao¡¯s shoulder to console him when he saw how upset he was. ¡°It can¡¯t be helped; he¡¯s the Meng n¡¯s heir. The crown prince still needs the Meng n¡¯s support, so the court can only do this for the greater situation.¡±

    ¡°But it¡¯s not fair! So many of our bravepanions died while sacrificing themselves, and yet they¡¯re being treated the same as that despicable bastard!¡± Piao Duandiao drew his de and hacked at a wooden nk off to the side. He used so much strength that his de snapped. It was easy to see just how angry he was.

    Jiao Sigun said indifferently, ¡°That¡¯s how the world works. Those who understand understand, and those who don¡¯t won¡¯t even if you exin it to them.¡±

    ¡°I understand your fucking mom!¡± Piao Duandiao had already been furious. Now that he was being taunted like this, he couldn''t take it anymore. The two of them began to wrestle with each other.

    Zu An couldn''t help but chuckle. He knew that these two were close, and that little fights like this were normal. As such, he chuckled and left the pce. There were still many more people to meet outside.

    ¡­

    Zu An was stunned when he left through the pce gates, because there wasn¡¯t arge group waiting to wee him the way he had imagined, let alone any pretty girls jumping into his arms while crying. He quickly realized that they had just decided to let him out. Those outside obviously hadn¡¯t known when he would be able to leave.

    He shook his head. He didn¡¯t really mind, and so decided to go home first. It had been so long since he went home that he wondered if the maids and servants had run away. Soon after he returned, he saw that there was a servant sweeping the ground.

    When he saw Zu An, the servant couldn''t help but shout, ¡°The master has returned!¡±

    The entire courtyard became lively soon afterward. The maids, cooks, and boy servants all rushed out and surrounded Zu An excitedly. Even though there weren¡¯t many of them, it filled the courtyard with a feeling of liveliness.

    Zu An felt warm inside. All of this had been brought to him because of Chuyan. All of them had been carefully selected from the Chu n. She hadn¡¯t sent anyone like Cheng Shouping.

    He greeted the servants while heading inside. Suddenly, he stopped and raised his head toward the entrance. He saw a card above the main gate. The card was a lush green color, and written inrge golden characters were the words¡ªGreen Hat Manor.

    Zu An felt the world spin around him. He almost fainted on the spot.

    The little servant boy spoke as if he were presenting a great treasure, ¡°When we learned that master was given the title of viscount, all of us felt that the baron card wasn¡¯t suitable. That¡¯s why we worked through the night to make a new one. What do you think; doesn¡¯t it look great?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes twitched. ¡°Are you Cheng Shouping¡¯s brother?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not¡­?¡± The little servant boy was confused.

    Zu An took a deep breath. ¡°Let¡¯s swap out the card and rece it with just the title of Viscount. Also, I don¡¯t want to see any green colors.¡±

    The servant boy replied, ¡°But that doesn¡¯t make sense! A title makes you more honorable than those inferior nobles; of course we have to write it on the card!¡±

    The others all voiced their agreement. They felt that this was better, and that the title couldn''t be removed. Otherwise, their manor would look much worse.

    Zu An was getting a headache from all of their chattering. He finally couldn''t take it and roared, ¡°Are you all the master or am I the master? Change it, or else I¡¯ll send all of you back to take care of pigs!¡± He stormed off in a huff and mmed the door behind him. He didn¡¯t want to see it anymore.

    F*ck, you really reap what you sow¡­ Zu An was still furious for quite some time. Out of helplessness, he could only use something else to distract himself.

    He had collected a total of 432,022 Rage points, so he could pull the lottery a total of 4,320 times. He hoped that even though the world was disappointing, his gacha results wouldn¡¯t be.

    After praying for a long time, he pressed the pull button. He had already used this lottery system many times, so he didn¡¯t feel like worshiping Buddha and begging the deities like before. He¡¯d just let nature take its course.

    Even though he made that choice, his eyes twitched when he saw the pull results. Out of 4,320 pulls, he had only gotten 349 Ki Fruits. Compared to the usual one to ten ratio, that result was absolutely terrible. That made him think it might be better to just buy things properly from the Shop in the future.

    He continued to scroll through his pulls and saw that he had gotten a single tiger talisman. He had a few more saved up from before, so he would test his luckter to see if he could pull a valkyrie.

    But his attention was quickly drawn to thest pull. The keyboard¡¯s light indicator stopped over the G key. Then, a row of text appeared on the holographic screen.

    Congrattions, you have sessfully won Pin Ru¡¯s Wardrobe!

    1. Green hat = cuckold. ?

 Chapter 901: Pin Ruâ€™s Wardrobe

    <h4>Chapter 901: Pin Ru¡¯s Wardrobe</h4>

    Zu An waspletely stupefied when he saw the skill¡¯s name. He quickly continued to read the description.

    Skill: Pin Ru¡¯s Wardrobe

    Skill description: Legend has it that there was a yboy who had a thing with his wife¡¯s close female friend. Once, during a meeting, that close friend put on his wife¡¯s clothes when she came out of the shower, then said, ¡®Since I¡¯m trying to seduce you, I might as well go all the way.¡¯ Then, the yboy replied with the ssic phrase, ¡®You really are a seductress.¡¯ Because his wife¡¯s name was Pin Ru, her wardrobe was called ¡®Pin Ru¡¯s Wardrobe¡¯.

    Effects: When this skill is used, a wardrobe will be summoned. Female clothes can be stored inside ahead of time, and within the range of the wardrobe, others will mistake the one who wears the clothes for the original owner.

    Note: This will only affect the third party. In the eyes of yourself and the wearer, she will still retain her original appearance. The effects will disappear once the target is more than ten meters from the wardrobe.

    Zu An was stunned for a while after he read through the introduction. Why were all of the skills he got so shitty?

    If you told me that the clothes could turn a girl into someone else once they put on these clothes, then I could at least y around with some cosy, but her appearance won¡¯t change at all in my eyes? It¡¯ll only affect the third party?

    Damn it! What¡¯s the use of having this stupid skill then?n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An used the skill, and a normal wardrobe appeared in front of him. He opened it and saw that it waspletely empty. He checked out its size, and concluded it would be too hard to fit a person inside.

    He shook his head. This skill was really weird. He really couldn''t think of any situations where he would need to use it. He put it away at first, but for some reason, he suddenly decided to open up another wardrobe and store a set of Chu Chuyan¡¯s clothes inside.

    Just then, someone knocked on the door. Zu An jumped in fright and quickly closed the wardrobe, asking, ¡°Who is it?¡±

    ¡°Master, there¡¯s a woman outside who wants to meet with you¡­¡± a maid said from outside.

    ¡°Who is she?¡± Zu An asked out of curiosity. These Chu n workers should have been able to recognize who it was, if it were someone like Chu Youzhao and Murong Qinghe.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Her entire body is cloaked, and she says that she¡¯s your good friend, and you¡¯ll know once you meet her,¡± the maid replied.

    ¡°Invite her in then.¡± Zu An was curious as well. This person hade out in broad daylight anyway, so he didn¡¯t have to be scared of some bad person.

    A woman entirely wrapped in a white cloak walked in. Her hair was also covered with light gauze, hiding her whole body from view. Zu An could only see an excellent figure. He was stunned when he first saw her, but then, a warm smile appeared on his face. He waved his hands toward the maid and said, ¡°You can withdraw for now.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­¡± The maid had originally been vignt and wanted to chase the woman out for Chu First Miss¡¯ sake. But Zu An was the master now. Since the master had spoken, she could only leave reluctantly. When the maid left, Zu An closed the door behind her.

    The woman giggled and asked, ¡°Sir Zu, what are you trying to do? Won¡¯t there be rumors if a man and a woman stay in the same room together?¡±

    Zu An turned around and looked at her, replying, ¡°You¡¯re wrapped up so tightly anyway. No one even knows who you are.¡±

    ¡°Then do you know?¡± The woman had deliberately changed her voice to hide her identity.

    Zu An took her into his arms, replying ¡°How could I not know, my Dan¡¯er?¡±

    The woman removed the cover around her head, revealing her tender and beautiful face. Who else could it be but Zheng Dan? Her eyes were full of joy as she eximed, ¡°I already covered myself up so carefully! How did you know who I was?¡±

    Zu An reached out and touched Zheng Dan¡¯s face. Her skin was still so smooth and fair. ¡°Do we need something like that? We¡¯ve already known each other for so long. I knew it was you from a single nce.¡±

    In reality, it was mainly because of her smell. The smells of the beauties around him were all different. After being around Zheng Dan for so long, how could he forget about her smell? Furthermore, he had just received news that Sang Hong had just returned. It wasn¡¯t hard to make the connection. Of course, only a stiff guy would say something like that at such a time. As the lord of the sea, how could he forget to add in some sweet words?

    ¡°It¡¯s been so long, and yet you¡¯re getting better and better at making girls happy. Tell me honestly, how many new girls have you gotten in this period?¡± Zheng Dan harrumphed. Her tone was extremely crafty, yet lovable.

    ¡°Why would an upright gentleman do something like that? Furthermore, I was in over my head in danger; I didn¡¯t have any time to be with anyone else,¡± Zu An said without batting an eyelid.

    ¡°I guess I¡¯ll believe you.¡± Zheng Dan didn¡¯t suspect him. After all, everyone had known where he was all this time. There was no way he had a thing with the crown princess, right?

    Zu An looked at the beauty in front of him. She wore a white dress, making her look even more lovely and endearing. He couldn''t help but gently caress her face when he saw the signs of hardships between her brows, saying, ¡°Dan¡¯er, you¡¯ve be thinner since west met.¡±

    Zheng Dan looked at him withrge, misty eyes. ¡°I ended up thinner from thinking about you.¡±

    Zu An smiled. This was the Zheng Dan he missed! She looked like a proper wealthy n¡¯s daughter on the outside, but she was passionate and witty in private. He couldn''t hold himself back anymore and kissed her. Zheng Dan cried out and fell into his embrace as if she were about to melt.

    Couples would be like newlyweds after a long time apart. It had already been several months since theyst met. When they kissed, it was as if thunder had struck the earth.

    Suddenly, there was another knock at the door.

    ¡°Master! Master!¡± called the maid again.

    Zu An raised his head, saying unhappily, ¡°Don¡¯t bother me if it¡¯s not anything important.¡±

    ¡°Sir Sang and Sang¡¯s young miss havee to meet you...¡± the maid said, sounding aggrieved.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Zheng Dan began panicking. She pushed Zu An away and sorted out her messy clothes.

    ¡°Hmph, I won¡¯t see them,¡± Zu An replied. He told Zheng Dan, ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about anything.¡±

    Zheng Dan¡¯s face turned red. But in the end, she still couldn''t continue doing what they had just been doing. She replied, ¡°I told them that I was going to check on some of the Zheng n¡¯s businesses. If they find me here, all of us will look bad.¡±

    Zu An was shocked. ¡°The Zheng n¡¯s businesses have reached the capital?¡±

    Zheng Dan rolled her eyes. Was that really what was important right now?

    The maid ran over and spoke again. ¡°Master, Sir Sang said that there¡¯s something important they want to talk to you about. They¡¯ll leave after just a brief meeting.¡±

    Zu An felt a headache when he heard how persistent they were.

    Zheng Dan said with a blush, ¡°I¡¯m leaving first. I¡¯ll find you againter.¡± She opened the window behind her and was about to jump out, but she jumped in fright when she saw that some maids were sweeping the ground in the rear courtyard. Everyone would know that something was wrong if she left just like that!

    Confused voices could be heard from outside.

    ¡°Sir Sang, you can¡¯t barge in like this!¡±

    ¡°Sir Sang, Miss Sang!¡±

    Judging from the noise, the Sang n¡¯s father and daughter duo were clearly approaching the room. Zheng Dan turned pale and asked, ¡°What do we do?¡±

    Even though she had already made her decision to recover her freedom after Sang Qian was buried, she still hadn¡¯t had the time to talk about it. She was still the Sang n¡¯s daughter-inw. It would be really bad if they bumped into each other ahead of time.

    Zu An felt a headache. Suddenly, he thought of something. He looked at the wardrobe and opened it. He handed her the clothes inside, saying, ¡°Change into these clothes.¡±

    After having been in Brightmoon City for so long, Zheng Dan obviously knew that they were Chu Chuyan¡¯s clothes. She was ashamed and anxious, eximing, ¡°Do you know what kind of situation we¡¯re in? And yet you¡¯re still thinking about these things?!¡±

    She wouldn¡¯t mind ying these games with Zu An if it were any other time, but there was a greater emergency right now!

    Zu An said seriously, ¡°Trust me. We¡¯ll make it through this situation if you put these clothes on.¡±

 Chapter 902, Part 1: Alliance

    <h4>Chapter 902, Part 1: Alliance</h4>

    Zheng Dan didn¡¯t understand how wearing Chu Chuyan¡¯s clothes would help them through the situation. But now that things had already reached this point, there was nothing else she could do either. Her mind was already a mess, so she subconsciously listened to Zu An¡¯s instructions.

    But female clothing wasn''t so easy to change into in this world. She couldn¡¯t finish changing even after a long time. She decided to just hide behind a screen.

    Zu An moved to stop the Sang n¡¯s father and daughter duo. The best result would be if they didn¡¯t see anything. After all, he had never tested out ¡®Pin Ru¡¯s Wardrobe¡¯ yet and didn¡¯t know if it would work.

    But the door mmed open as soon as he reached the entrance. A beautiful figure rushed in.

    Zu An stopped her and asked in a serious tone, ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    The figure was rmed. She quickly covered her chest with her arms, staring at him in embarrassment and anger.

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qien for +44 +44 +44¡­

    The youngdy that had barged in was, of course, the Sang n¡¯s young miss Sang Qien. Zu An hadn¡¯t expected that he would just happen to touch some areas he shouldn¡¯t have when he stopped her.

    ¡°What in the world are you doing, hiding inside all day!!¡± Sang Qien was about to cry. It almost looked as if she had been the one throwing herself at him!

    ¡°It¡¯s your fault for barging in like this. I was just about to open the door.¡± Zu An had been nning to criticize her harshly, but with this unexpected situation, his tone couldn''t help but ease a bit.

    ¡°Ahem!¡± Sang Hong eximed from outside. ¡°Sir Zu, please don¡¯t me my daughter. She¡¯s a bit rash in nature and has bumped into Sir Zu. This old one will apologize in her ce.¡±

    Sang Qien became sullen. She had clearly been taken advantage of, and yet her father was apologizing instead? Such a feeling really wasn¡¯t great.

    Zu An had a strange look on his face. I might have believed you if you said that Sang Qian¡¯s temperament was rash, but you¡¯re saying this about the resourceful Sang Qien?

    This old fox was clearly using his daughter to get inside. That way, even if they broke inside, Zu An couldn''t really say much.

    ¡°Master!¡± Several servants rushed in with clubs in hand. They looked at the visitors with unkind expressions. Letting the pair barge in was already hugely neglectful of their duty.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, we¡¯re old friends. You can all withdraw for now.¡± Zu An didn¡¯t want this matter to get out of hand either. He gestured for them to leave for the time being. Then, he looked at the father and daughter and said with a smile, ¡°The two of you burst in like this so fiercely. Others might think that you came to catch an adulterer or something.¡±

    Zheng Dan jumped in fright. This guy really dares to say something like that? Hmph, I want to see what you¡¯ll do once they find out!

    Sang Qien blushed and looked away guiltily. But the old fox Sang Hong was clearly much more shameless. He replied with a smile, ¡°I see that Sir Zu is still as fond of jokes as usual. We heard that you were injured quite badly in the dungeon, but we couldn''t meet with you all this time while you were in the pce. When we learned that you had emerged, we immediately came to see you. Qien¡¯er here was too worried about you and barged in. I¡¯ll have to ask you to forgive her rudeness.¡±

    ¡°Dad¡­¡± Sang Qien stamped her feet. Even though she knew that her father was using her as an excuse, her youngdy¡¯s shyness still couldn''t take it. Sang Hong coughed and pretended to not have seen anything.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An thought of something. He remarked with a smile, ¡°Hm? The two of you came today, but why don¡¯t I see Miss Zheng here?¡±

    Zheng Dan¡¯s heart was about to pop out of her chest. Why does this guy keep talking about our sore spot? He¡¯spletely ying with fire!

    Sang Qien gradually recovered herposure and said, ¡°My sister-inw left earlier. Right, did shee and visit you?¡± She looked around as she spoke.

    Zu An replied with a smile, ¡°Why would your sister-inwe to find me?¡±

    Sang Qien remarked with an ambiguous smile, ¡°Who knows? You and my sister-inw are¡­ very good friends, right?¡±

    Zheng Dan held her head in her arms. This little sister-inw of hers was way too smart! She always felt that this girl actually knew something.

    Zu Anughed and said, ¡°But of course! I was locked up in the same cell with your sister-inw for so long on our way to the capital, so we¡¯ve gone through some stuff together. Of course we¡¯re good friends. I¡¯m also good friends with Miss Qien.¡±

    Zheng Dan blushed when she heard those words. The scene of the two of them sitting together in the carriage resurfaced. This guy really is a little rascal!

    Sang Qien harrumphed. Like hell I¡¯d want to be that kind of good friend with you!

    Sang Hong had his eyes closed, as if he were taking a moment to rest. Suddenly, though, he looked toward the screen and remarked, ¡°So Sir Zu had another guest over right now. I wonder who it is?¡±

    Zheng Dan¡¯s heart pounded quickly. With Sang Hong¡¯s cultivation, he had obviously noticed her.

    Sang Qien suddenly looked toward the screen. Her expression became conflicted. What if it really is sister-inw? What do we do then?

    Zheng Dan was so nervous she almost fainted on the spot. Her head rang with noise. What would she do if her father-inw and sister-inw found out?!

    Even though her entire marriage with Sang Qian now looked like a farce, and it was mainly in name, the key was that she still hadn¡¯t formally broken things off. If she were found out here, it wouldn¡¯t just be her reputation, but the entire Zheng n¡¯s reputation that would be ruined.

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°I couldn''t deceive Sir Sang after all. The one inside is Chu Chuyan. She just came to visit me. The two of us were just about to get intimate when you two came, so she¡¯s a bit embarrassed.¡±

    Sang Qien harrumphed. Who do you think you¡¯re fooling? Chu First Miss is in Brightmoon City right now, why would she be here?

    Sang Hong¡¯s eyes twitched. He obviously didn¡¯t believe that it was Chu Chuyan. It was more likely to be his daughter-inw Zheng Dan. He actually didn¡¯t really mind the two of them having some rtionship in private; since his son was already dead anyway, he could then make full use of his daughter-inw, turning her into the link that tied Zu An to the Sang n.

    But that couldn''t happen out in the open. It would have been crossing the line a bit if Zu An told him that he had been intimate with Zheng Dan just a moment ago.

    When he saw Sang Hong¡¯s change in expression, Zu An replied with a smile, ¡°Then should I call Chu Chuyan out to say hello? We¡¯re all acquaintances already, anyway.¡±

    Sang Hong¡¯s expression changed again. He quickly said, ¡°There¡¯s no need.¡±

    Sang Qien also quickly added, ¡°I¡¯m sorry for bothering you. Should wee back at a different time?¡± She turned to leave after speaking. She really didn¡¯t know what she''d do if Zheng Dan came out at that moment. Her dad was so old already, too. What if he ended up getting a stroke?

    But Zu An wasn¡¯t willing to give up and said, ¡°Sigh, of course we should all say hello! Or else you¡¯ll think your sister-inw is here.¡± He walked over to the screen and pulled Zheng Dan out as he spoke.

    Zheng Dan¡¯s mind wentpletely nk. What is he doing? Why does he want me to meet the two of them? I¡¯mpletely done for¡­ I can¡¯t even go out in public anymore¡­

    But she didn¡¯t disy her anger or mockery. The entire room becamepletely silent. She had been the boss of one of Brightmoon City¡¯s gangs, so her control over her emotions was exceptional. She had to deal with this matter sooner orter, so she¡¯d just do it now.

    But right before she spoke, she saw the Sang n¡¯s father and daughter look at her in shock. Sang Hong eximed, ¡°So it was Chu First Miss! We father and daughter have been really rude just now. We hope you don¡¯t take offense.¡±

    Zheng Dan was stunned. Zu An patted her hand and replied, ¡°We¡¯re all friends here, so why are we treating each other like strangers? Why has Sir Sang visited us today?¡±

    Zheng Dan sat down off to the side, puzzled. Countless possibilities shed through her mind. Why would the Sang n¡¯s father and daughter call me Chu First Miss? Don¡¯t tell me they¡¯re ying along with Zu An just because they really don¡¯t want to create a fuss in public? Ahh, I¡¯m going to die from embarrassment¡­

    ¡°We mainly came to pay you a visit and bring you some medicine.¡± Sang Hong gestured toward his daughter as he spoke.

    Sang Qien snapped out of her daze and quickly handed over the gifts they had prepared, exining, ¡°This bottle of Thousand Year Snow Moon Extract is something my father unintentionally stumbled upon many years ago. It has excellent effects for restoring the body, so we hope it can be of help to big brother Zu.¡± She felt quite strange. Why had Chu First Miss not said anything? Furthermore, her expression seemed a bit different from usual.

    When he saw Sang Qien¡¯s strange expression, Zu An said with a smile, ¡°Little sister Qien¡¯er¡¯s arms are even fairer than this Thousand Year Snow Moon Extract.¡±

    Sang Qien¡¯s face immediately flushed red, and she pulled back her hands at once. Her attention was diverted, as expected.

    You really are a brute¡­ Who wants to be your little sister Qien¡¯er?! Do you think I¡¯m as easy to trick as sister-inw?... Her thoughts continued to go on and on like a broken record.

    Sang Hong had a strange look on his face when he saw the scene. He thought to himself, I already gave away a daughter-inw. Don¡¯t tell me I have to give away my daughter too? He coughed lightly and asked, ¡°Ah Zu, do you know why his majesty didn¡¯t openly me King Qi?¡±

 Chapter 902, Part 2: Alliance

    <h4>Chapter 902, Part 2: Alliance</h4>

    Sang Hong didn¡¯t want to call him ¡®Sir Zu again¡¯, but he didn¡¯t know if he would offend Zu An by calling him a worthy junior. That was why he decided to just call him ¡®Ah Zu¡¯ to pull their rtionship closer together..

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°I don¡¯t understand what Sir Sang is saying. Why would his majesty criticize King Qi?¡±

    Sang Hong chuckled. ¡°I know that you have your misgivings, but you¡¯ve shown tremendous favor to our n. Our Sang n only has gratitude toward you, and we¡¯ve always been wondering how to repay you. We¡¯re now in the capital where the various powers are twisted and intertwined. People like us without much of a background should be sticking together and looking out for each other.¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Even though he didn¡¯t know what exactly had happened in the dungeon, it wasn¡¯t hard to guess that King Qi had definitely done something inside. Furthermore, the ones who hade out in the end were Zu An, the crown prince, and the crown princess. That meant King Qi¡¯s ns had failed.

    Zu An didn¡¯t keep up the act when he saw that Sang Hong was already going so far. ¡°Uncle Sang, please don¡¯t take offense. The capital is extremely dangerous right now, so I have to be careful with every step I make.¡±

    Zheng Dan couldn''t help but roll her eyes when she heard Zu An even call Sang Hong ¡®Uncle Sang¡¯. These two had been at each other¡¯s throats just a few months ago, and yet they were now like family? This world really was strange.

    Sang Hong said, ¡°We don¡¯t have any grudges between us that can¡¯t be resolved. On the contrary, there are many areas in which we can work together andbine our strengths.¡±

    He had always followed the emperor as a loyal subject with absolute devotion. Yet in the end, he had lost his only son due to an unforeseen event. In the end, it was because the emperor hadn¡¯t hesitated to abandon him. He knew that there was no meaning left in remaining a loyal subject, so that was why he changed his mind.

    But he had already offended way too many ns from all the dirty work he had helped the emperor with. There was already practically no ce left in the capital for him.

    However, Zu An was different. He was a rising star, and he had the Chu n behind him as well. Furthermore, even his rtionship with the Royal Academy didn¡¯t seem to be bad. More importantly, the two of them had already shared joys and sorrows on their way to the capital. To a certain degree, they already carried a somewhat sturdy friendship. That was why Zu An was the one most worthy of his investment right now.

    Zheng Dan was quite shocked. The other party was already being sincere, and he was ying along even though he had seen her right here. That meant he had already tacitly approved of her rtionship with Zu An! She was happy, and yet also apologetic inside. She subconsciously looked toward Zu An, her eyes filled with pleading. She hoped that Zu An and the Sang n could retain a good rtionship.

    Zu An thought for a bit, then smiled. ¡°I¡¯ve benefited greatly from uncle¡¯s advice about the capital¡¯s powers on the way to the capital. I¡¯ll definitely need uncle¡¯s help more and more in the future.¡±

    The previously tense Sang Hong sighed in relief. Zu An had already tacitly epted their alliance. That meant things would be much easier now.

    Zu An didn¡¯t hold back anymore and said, ¡°The question uncle raised just now leaves me puzzled as well. Both sides have already fought for so long, and he had a justifiable reason to eliminate King Qi this time. Why would his majesty instead give up such a great opportunity?¡±

    He actually already had his own answer to that question. He wondered if it was because the emperor had lost a portion of his soul, causing his strength to decline greatly and preventing him from winning against King Qi. But he couldn''t tell Sang Hong that and discuss it together with him.

    As for the threat of Zhuxie Chixin, Zu An didn¡¯t really care about him at all anymore.

    Sang Hong said, ¡°It¡¯s to be expected. Do you know that the capital¡¯s situation has always been extremely tense? The armies are all being transferred in private, and the entire capital is like a bucket of gunpowder. With just a single spark, the entire thing will detonate.

    ¡°King Qi has already had many years to n. His power and influence are great, and almost half of the entire court¡¯s civil and military officials are on his side. If his majesty decides to break off all rtions now, everyone rted to King Qi will have no choice but to brace themselves and risk it all. That¡¯s a situation his majesty absolutely doesn¡¯t wish to see.¡±

    Zu An hadn¡¯t expected that the two sides were already on the brink of war!

    ¡°But is he really going to just let it go like this?¡± he asked. ¡°With his majesty¡¯s nature, I don¡¯t believe he¡¯s willing to suffer such a loss.¡±

    Sang Hong smiled, but didn¡¯t reply. Instead, he looked at his daughter with a tense expression and asked, ¡°Qien¡¯er, what do you think?¡±

    Sang Qien was caught off guard, but she still replied, ¡°His majesty obviously wouldn¡¯t let things be. If he¡¯s acting ording to our predictions, he¡¯s trying to avoidrge-scale conflict, but he¡¯ll definitely try to break down the core forces of King Qi¡¯s faction first. Then, he¡¯ll settle the score when there¡¯s an opportune moment.¡±

    She gave Zheng Dan a look, then said, ¡°Furthermore, the part of King Qi¡¯s faction that will bear the brunt of this will be precisely the Qin n. The Qin n¡¯s forces are deeply rooted in the military. The reason why his majesty isn¡¯t willing to make a big fuss is also because of the Qin n.¡±

    Zheng Dan was confused. Why are you looking at me when you¡¯re talking about the Qin n? Don¡¯t tell me you really think I¡¯m Chu Chuyan?

    Zu An quickly asked, ¡°Then how do you think his majesty will act against the Qin n?¡±

    The Qin n was Qin Wanru¡¯s original family after all, and they treated Chu Chuyan and Chu Youzhao well. They would definitely feel bad if something really happened to the n.

    Sang Qien shook her head. ¡°We don¡¯t have enough information right now. However, what I can be sure of is that his majesty¡¯s first target will definitely be the Qin n. Moreover, it won¡¯t be long before he makes his move.¡±

    ¡°Keep going.¡± Zu An sat up straight as well. Sang Qien¡¯s analysis was extremely important. He didn¡¯t want to miss anything.

    ¡°Next will be the Yu n. If the Qin n represents military authority, the wealthy Yu n represents King Qi Manor¡¯s financial power,¡± Sang Qien continued. ¡°Of course, it might be the Pei n. After all, the Pei n has substantial influence in the court¡¯s governmental affairs.¡±

    Yu Yanluo and Pei Mianman appeared in Zu An¡¯s head. He felt a bit of a headache. Why did all of these people he was close to have to be in King Qi¡¯s faction? He shared a huge grudge with that n¡¯s father and son!

    As Sang Qien spoke more about her analysis, Zu An felt that he was benefiting greatly from what she said. He sighed in admiration and said, ¡°Little sister Qien¡¯er really deserves your reputation. You really are a female Zhuge.¡±[1]

    ¡°Who is Zhuge?¡± Sang Qien was confused. She had already corrected him a few times, and yet Zu AN still called her ¡®little sister Qien¡¯er¡¯. She didn¡¯t even feel likementing on it anymore.

    ¡°Um¡­¡± Zu An thought for a bit before exining, ¡°A wickedly intelligent person.¡±

    Sang Qien¡¯s face turned red. She became a bit bashful as she mumbled, ¡°I¡¯m not that great¡­¡±

    ¡°Little sister Qien¡¯er is being too humble.¡± Zu An suddenly found that teasing this girl was pretty fun. She was incredibly mature when it came to political affairs, and yet she was as shy as a youngdy on normal topics.

    Sang Hong coughed and cut short Zu An¡¯s teasing. ¡°Ah Zu, my status is special, so his majesty might start suspecting me if I chat with you for too long. That¡¯s why, if you have anything you need to talk about, please seek out Qien¡¯er. There are many areas in which she isn¡¯t inferior to me.¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± Zu An said with a smile. Chatting with a youngdy was obviously more interesting than talking to an old man.

    But he suddenly felt a small hand pinch his waist. Zheng Dan said in his ear through ki transmission, ¡°Tsk tsk, that old man is trying to give you two a chance to get together in private.¡± She was slowly starting to see Sang Hong¡¯s ns. She felt a bit unhappy. She had clearlye here first!

    After some hesitation, Sang Hong said, ¡°Right, the Zheng n started some businesses in the capital, and Zheng Dan has always been busying herself there. It¡¯s not easy for her all on her own. Ah Zu, if you¡¯re willing, please look after her too.¡±

    Sang Qien looked at her father in shock. Even though she¡¯d had her suspicions, she hadn¡¯t expected her father to actually say that out loud!

    Even though nothing had been said openly, everyone present was intelligent. They knew what those words implied.

    Zheng Dan lowered her head. She was so embarrassed she wanted to run away and hide forever. And yet, she was happy inside too. The mountain weighing down on her mind could now finally be shifted aside.

    Zu An had a strange look on his face. He said, ¡°Um¡­ I¡¯ll do what I can to take care of her.¡±

    Sang Hong nodded, then got up, saying, ¡°Alright, I won¡¯t disturb your reunion with your spouse any longer.¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you stay for a bit longer? You can leave after a meal.¡± Zu An pretended to try to keep them, but how could the father and daughter not know his intentions? They obviously wouldn¡¯t stay.

    ¡­

    When the two left, Sang Qien secretly asked her father, ¡°Dad, why does Chu First Miss seem a bit strange today?¡±

    Sang Hong nodded. ¡°She was indeed acting a bit strange, as if she was scared of us.¡±

    ¡°Hm? Did you say Chu First Miss?¡± asked a curious voice from the side.

    The two gave each other a look, and saw that a pretty young man was looking at them. Next to him was a tan-skinned young beauty.

    ¡°So it was the Chu n¡¯s young master! We just visited Sir Zu earlier, and we met your sister inside,¡± Sang Qien replied with a smile. There was no need to hide it. Because of their rtionship with Zu An, their friendly rtions naturally extended toward the Chu n.

    ¡°My big sis came to the capital?¡± Chu Youzhao¡¯s eyes lit up. She couldn''t be bothered to chat with the two of them anymore and rushed into the house.

    Zu An held onto Zheng Dan¡¯s hand while saying, ¡°Dan¡¯er, your father-inw already gave you to me in public. You don¡¯t have to worry about anything else anymore.¡±

    Zheng Dan harrumphed. ¡°What are you saying? He only asked you to look after me. Stop thinking about such random things.¡± Despite those words, her heart was pounding.

    ¡°Right, something¡¯s really strange. Why didn¡¯t they get upset at all when they saw me? It was almost as if¡­ I really was Chu First Miss.¡± Zheng Dan was confused. This matter was just way too strange.

    Zu An was about to reply when an energetic voice suddenly came from the distance. ¡°Big sis? Big sis?¡±

    1. Zhuge Liang was a Chinese statesman and military strategist. ?

 Chapter 903, Part 1: The Fiend Racesâ€™ Invasion

    <h4>Chapter 903, Part 1: The Fiend Races¡¯ Invasion</h4>

    ¡°So it¡¯s Chu Chuyan¡¯s little brother!¡± Zheng Dan no longer felt as nervous as before. They were all from Brightmoon City, and Chu Chuyan had been her ssmate. She viewed Chu Youzhao just like her own little brother, so she wasn¡¯t anywhere near as nervous as when she had met the Sang n.

    However, Zu An shivered and quickly tugged on Zheng Dan¡¯s clothes. Zheng Dan¡¯s face immediately went red as she eximed, ¡°What are you doing? Chu Youzhao is about toe in!¡±

    Her meaning was apparent. I wouldn¡¯t mind at all if you tried to take off my clothes at a different time, but your little brother-inw is about toe in! This ispletely inappropriate!

    Zu An knew that she had misunderstood him when he saw her strange expression. He quickly eximed, ¡°Your clothes!¡±

    She looked like Chu Chuyan in the eyes of others right now. It was enough to fool the Sang n, but there was no way her own little sister wouldn¡¯t be able to tell. Chu Youzhao was always in contact with her older sister too, and obviously knew that she wasn¡¯t in the capital right now.

    Zheng Dan also reacted to what was happening. She didn¡¯t know why her appearance had changed and just thought that others might question things if she wore Chu Chuyan¡¯s clothes.

    She said with a charming smile, ¡°Let¡¯s do this again next time when no one is watching.¡± She then darted behind the screen to change into her own clothes.

    Zu An felt his heart pound. Zheng Dan really knew how to turn him on! She really knew what men wanted. But he wasn¡¯t in the mood to think about such things right now. He quickly moved over to the entrance to buy Zheng Dan time.

    ¡°Big sis¡­¡± Chu Youzhao had been running too quickly and rammed right into Zu An. She blushed and quickly took a step back, eximing, ¡°Stupid brother-inw, did you do that on purpose?!¡±

    Zu An rubbed her head and said, ¡°It¡¯s your fault for being so impatient.¡± Then, he nodded toward the bright, tanned-skinned youngdy next to her. ¡°It looks like Qinghe came as well.¡±

    That was actually already a no-brainer, because the two of them always stuck together. It would be stranger if she hadn¡¯te with Chu Youzhao.

    ¡°Greetings, big bro Zu.¡± Murong Qinghe smiled bashfully. She was actually a tough little girl in the military, but she couldn''t help but be a bit reserved when she was in front of her big brother Chu¡¯s family.

    ¡°Huh? Where is my big sis?¡± Chu Youzhao got on her tiptoes and looked over Zu An¡¯s shoulders.

    Zu An asked, sounding confused, ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    Chu Youzhao tried to squeeze through beneath his armpits. ¡°I saw the Sang n¡¯s people outside. They said big sis was here!¡±

    Murong Qinghe had been about to subconsciously follow her, but she was too embarrassed to go past another man¡¯s body. She stood in ce with a distressed expression.

    Fortunately, Zu An quickly opened the door. ¡°What big sister, little brother? How could your big sister possibly be here?¡±

    ¡°I guess you¡¯re right.¡± Chu Youzhao had actually also been confused. After all, she knew that her big sister should still be in Brightmoon City, hard-pressed from all the work. Why would she be here? But Sang Hong wasn¡¯t so easily fooled.

    Her eyes suddenly moved toward the screen next to her. There was a light blue dress there. She asked with a smile. ¡°Big sis, is it really you?¡± However, when she ran over and saw who it was, she jumped in rm. ¡°Why are you here?¡± she asked.

    Zheng Dan walked out with a smile, replying, ¡°Who else did young master Chu think it was?¡± She snuck Zu An a look. Hmph, you didn¡¯t even think to stop him? What if I didn¡¯t finish changing yet and was seen by another man? Aren¡¯t you the one who would be suffering a loss then?

    Chu Youzhao¡¯s crossdressing was the Chu n¡¯s greatest secret. Zheng Dan obviously didn¡¯t know about it.

    Chu Youzhao was puzzled. Then, she suddenly realized something. She turned around and looked at the two of them with suspicion, asking, ¡°Why are you here? And why were you hiding all secretly behind the screen like that?¡±

    Zheng Dan said calmly, ¡°I identally spilled some tea on my clothes, which made them wet. That¡¯s why I went behind the screen to sort it out.¡±

    Chu Youzhao¡¯s eyes moved across her body. Her clothes don¡¯t seem to be wet at all¡­ But maybe she already wiped it dry¡­

    She snickered and said, ¡°Miss Zheng¡­ Ah, I mean Madam Sang, you¡¯re already a married woman, but you¡¯re sorting out your clothes in another man¡¯s room. Won¡¯t that create rumors?¡±

    Zheng Dan¡¯s eyes twitched when she heard the words ¡®Madam Sang¡¯. This little brother was just as sharp-tongued as a girl! He really knew how to prick one where it hurt.

    She replied without batting an eyelid, ¡°Who said I was alone? I¡­ came with my father-inw and sister-inw. It was only because I had to clean this up that I stayed for a bit longer. As for those other things, your big sis and I were fellow students, and your brother-inw was my teacher, a well-known upright gentleman. Why would I have to worry about such things?¡±

    Chu Youzhao¡¯s breathing briefly stopped. She had actually been happy when she heard Zheng Dan praise her brother-inw, but then she had called him an upright gentleman¡­ This girl is quite pretty, but it seems she might be a bit blind.

    Zu An coughed and said, ¡°Enough already. Miss Zheng is an old acquaintance from Brightmoon City after all, but you¡¯reing at her like she¡¯s some criminal. Isn¡¯t that a bit rude?¡±

    Even though everything did make sense, Chu Youzhao just felt that something was off. She suddenly pointed at the dress behind the screen, asking, ¡°Then why is my big sis¡¯ dress there?¡±

    Zheng Dan¡¯s expression changed. She really had no exnation for that.

    But fortunately, Zu An¡¯s mind moved quickly. He quickly said seriously, ¡°Your big sis and I have been apart for too long. It was so hard in the dungeon too, and the only thing that kept me going was your older sister. When I came back out, I could only bring out some of her old clothes to reminisce, so it would feel as if she were still at my side.¡±

    ¡°Brother-inw¡­¡± Chu Youzhao¡¯s eyes turned red. She thought to herself, So brother-inw actually loved big sis so deeply¡­ I even suspected him, what¡¯s wrong with me?

    Murong Qinghe had a strange look on her face. She had grown up among soldiers, so she often heard about things they did. She knew that such men were often full of energy, and when they were forced to hold it in for too long, they would have no choice but to settle it themselves. They especially loved to use women¡¯s clothing¡­

    Is that what big brother Zu was doing? Her tanned skin began to turn a bit red when she thought of that.

    When Zu An saw the two little girls blush, one from envy, the other from embarrassment, he felt grateful that his reactions were fast enough.

    You have sessfully trolled Zheng Dan for +55 +55 +55¡­

    However, those Rage points woke Zu An up. His devotion toward Chu Chuyan had ended up offending another woman. He immediately exined quietly, ¡°I only did that to get us out of this sticky situation; I missed you a lot when I was in the dungeon too!¡±

    But Zheng Dan wasn¡¯t so easily fooled. She replied through ki transmission, ¡°Hah, what did you miss about me?¡±

    ¡°Um¡­¡± Zu An immediately replied, ¡°I missed your passionate lips, your soft hands, and¡­¡±

    ¡°Stop, stop, stop!¡± Zheng Dan finally couldn''t take it anymore. Even though she was passionate in private, she still couldn''t help but feel embarrassed when she was in front of others. ¡°Since there¡¯s nothing else, then I¡¯ll leave first. I won¡¯t get in the way of your reunion.¡±

    Zheng Dan quickly left, but she was so awkward it looked as if she were running away.

    Chu Youzhao couldn''t help but mumble when she left, ¡°The Sang n¡¯s people are all so ridiculous. They not only brought their daughter over, they even left their widowed daughter-inw here! What the heck are they trying to do?¡± She was clearly still brooding over Sang Hong fooling her.

    Zu An said with a cough, ¡°Talking about others behind their backs isn¡¯t too fitting for a noble.¡±

    Chu Youzhao harrumphed. ¡°What, are you worried about those vixens just because I said a few things?¡± She felt as if once her big sis had left, the pretty girls had all suddenlye out to dance around Zu An. She had a mission to be the gatekeeper in her big sis¡¯ ce.

    Zu An¡¯s breathing momentarily stopped. He knew that it was useless to reason with her at that point, so he could only use ignorance to defeat ignorance. He cried, ¡°Oh my, it¡¯s been so long! Did you miss your brother-inw to death? Come and give me a hug; let¡¯s see if you¡¯ve grown a bit chubbier since thest time we met!¡±

    Chu Youzhao screamed. Sure enough, her attention was diverted and she hid behind Murong Qinghe, eximing. ¡°Bad brother-inw!¡±

    Zu An had been about to hug her, but he quickly pulled his arms back when he saw Murong Qinghe. He chuckled in embarrassment and remarked, ¡°We¡¯re all men anyway; what¡¯s the big deal with just a hug?¡±

    Murong Qinghe also found it strange, but what she was more worried about was that her big brother Chu had actually put her on the spot! What if his brother-inw ended up hugging me? Whose fault would that be?

    Chu Youzhao¡¯s expression was a bit strange. Stupid brother-inw already knows I¡¯m¡­ But she obviously couldn''t say anything in front of Murong Qinghe. She quickly changed the topic. ¡°Brother-inw, hurry and tell me about what happened in the dungeon!¡±

    Even Murong Qinghe was now staring at him with interest. After all, only the few survivors knew what had really happened in the dungeon! Maybe the n leaders might have picked up some rumors, but juniors like them had absolutely no idea.

    ¡°Ah, about that, it¡¯s a really long story¡­¡± Zu An pulled over a seat and sat down. He slowly told them about his encounters since the trial.

    Of course, he left out the crucial details about King Qi Manor¡¯s deathsworn soldiers and the emperor¡¯s split soul. But the more it became that way, the more twists and turns appeared in the story, the more thrilling it became. The two youngdies were excited and shocked.

    ¡°Brother-inw, I didn¡¯t expect you to have encountered so much danger!¡±

    ¡°The Shi n are really despicable.¡±

    ¡°Those two Gu n brothers are even more hateful.¡±

    ¡­

    Murong Qinghe¡¯s expression was a bit more conflicted. To a certain extent, they were under King Qi¡¯s faction. That was why, whether it was the Shi n or the Gu n, what those ns had done was actually beneficial to them. If not for Zu An, King Qi might have already risen to the throne.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Her big brother Chu had really forgotten about everything now that her brother-inw was here! Sigh, forget it, I¡¯m going to follow big brother Chu wherever he goes.

    Then, Chu Youzhao grabbed Zu An¡¯s arm and pulled him toward the door. ¡°Brother-inw, let¡¯s go! I¡¯m going to treat you to a feast at the Moon Restaurant to congratte you on your safe return!¡±

 Chapter 903, Part 2: Fiend Racesâ€™ Invasion

    <h4>Chapter 903, Part 2: Fiend Races¡¯ Invasion</h4>

    Moon Restaurant was one of the most famous restaurants in the capital. It was rumored that in the past, when the emperor mingled with the people incognito, he would even be pleased when he dined there. It was easy to imagine how high the level of the food inside was.

    Of course, the price was simrly high. But for the heir of the Chu n, the grandson the Qin n doted on, it wasn¡¯t a big deal at all.

    Such an event was something that should have been celebrated at home, but there was no female host there. That made the atmosphere a bit too cheerless, and there weren¡¯t enough preparations. As for the Qin n, they couldn¡¯t even think of that. If they brought Zu An over, the Qin n might just chase him straight out.

    Zu An had no objections at all to dining with two young beauties. He was even wondering if they¡¯d run into ignorant young master viins who would tease the two youngdies, upon which he¡¯de out to save them as their hero.

    Unfortunately, nothing unexpected happened at all. He saw the two back home after they finished their meal.

    ¡°Those web novels are all bullsh*t after all,¡± Zu An cursed as he sat down back home. But after thinking for a bit, he chuckled and felt that he was probably just not as much of an eyesore as those protagonists, not that much of an enmity ma.

    Out of boredom, he took out the Tiger Talismans he had pulled previously. Together with the ones he hadn¡¯t used yet, there were six in total.

    ¡°Who am I going for this time? Xi Shi[1] or Diaochan[2]? Hm, I wouldn¡¯tin if I got someone like Xiaoqiao[3] either¡­¡± Zu An let his fantasies run wild as he began to pull.

    He felt his soul fly out into the cosmos. Then, he saw flickering lights in the distant starry skies. He released his spirit and focused onmunicating with them.

    There was soon a response, and a speck of light quickly flew over.

    ¡°Xi Shi please, Xi Shi¡­¡± Zu An clenched his fists.

    But when the light appeared in front of him, he was stunned. It was a freaking green hat!

    Damn it! Zu An cursed. Then, he continued to pull. He didn¡¯t dare to put on airs or go for someone on the level of Xi Shi. All he hoped for was that he might get something useful.

    ¡­

    After pulling six times, Zu An¡¯s eyes twitched. He was about to go insane from the six green hats in front of him.

    Can you not y with me like this, please? The emperor gave me the title Green Hat Viscount, and now I pulled all green hats?! And they¡¯re all so ordinary, without any special functions¡­

    F*ck, I have to get rid of this title as soon as possible, or else people will start introducing me as the Lord of Green Hats Zu An or something! I¡¯d rather die than have that happen!

    Zu An decided to just use his phoenix fire and burn the ring green hats to ashes.

    I¡¯m going to make everyone else wear these goddamn green hats! Zu An got more and more angry the more he thought about it. Unfortunately, it was already the dead of night and there was no one for him to talk to.

    Helpless to do anything else, he could only summon Daji and talk to her about his woes. Unfortunately, Daji only stared at him with herrge, beautiful eyes during the entire process. She didn¡¯t show even the slightest response.

    ¡°I forgot you didn¡¯t have a soul.¡± Zu An sighed. He thought of something and took out the Ki Fruits he had gotten earlier, feeding them to her.

    She was already at the sixth rank. To reach the seventh rank from the sixth, she needed 800 Ki Fruits. She had already eaten 360 of them, so she was already close to the fifth step of the sixth rank. Her ¡®Fox Charm¡¯ skill scaled proportionately with her cultivation, so the higher rank she became, the higher the rank of the target she could control.

    For the sake of controlling the imperial physician, Zu An had tried all sorts of different methods to raise the ¡®Fox Charm¡¯ skill. He had used a special pill furnace and prepared all sorts of precious materials just to improve the skill¡¯s rank, allowing it to control someone of the same cultivation rank.

    Raising the skill rank really hadn¡¯t helped much, however. It was a much better deal to just raise her cultivation.

    Zu An did a rough calction. Raising Daji¡¯s cultivation was easier at first, but would be much harderter on. After all, judging from the looks of things, Daji¡¯s cultivation seemed as if it could only reach the ninth rank at most. Raising ¡®Fox Charm¡¯ might be more valuable at that point.

    ¡°Another 440 Ki fruits and you can reach the seventh rank, hm?¡± Zu An was looking over the description of her cultivation when he suddenly noticed something else. As her cultivation rose, more information became avable.

    Once Valkyries reached the sixth rank, Ki Fruits alone wouldn¡¯t be enough for them to break through to the next major rank. They also needed some special materials to help them break through.

    For example, for Daji to rise from sixth to seventh rank, she needed five pieces of Wuyang Jade, ten Grey Wolf King Fangs, thirty Blue Earthflowers, and twenty Nine-Headed Pheasant Feathers.

    Those were all names that Zu An had never heard of before. He quickly looked up their corresponding information. Daji was part of the Bluefield Nine-tailed Fox Race, and her hometown was Bluefield Mountain. That was a ce that had both the jade and the earthflowers.

    Wuyang Jade was likely a type of fire element jade, while Blue Earthflowers were probably a type of cold yin nt.

    The greatest enemy of the Bluefield Nine-Tailed Fox n was the Grey Wolf n. When the nine-tailed foxes were still young, they would often be hunted and devoured by the Grey Wolves. That was why, if the nine-tailed foxes wanted to grow up, they had to hunt down the Grey Wolf Kings to prove themselves to their nsmen.

    As the name implied, the Grey Wolf Kings¡¯ fangs were their teeth. Furthermore, it had to be their two sharpest canines. A single pack of wolves would only have a single wolf king, and only two of the fangs could be obtained from that wolf king.

    Zu An was full of regrets. He had encountered a pack of Grey Wolves in the dungeon. If he had known about this earlier, he would have thrown a bunch into his spatial storage!

    He continued reading. The Nine-Headed Pheasant Feathers referred to the single unique feather under the pheasants¡¯ wings. Once the feather was lost, a Nine-Headed Pheasant would lose its ability to fly.

    As for why Daji needed those feathers for her breakthrough, the introduction said that the Nine-Tailed Fox n loved to eat chickens, and that the Nine-Headed Pheasants were one of the most delicious birds.

    Zu An looked at the ridiculously beautiful white-clothed woman in front of him after reading the introduction. He wondered if he should just roast some chickens and put them in front of her, to see if she would eat them.

    But he soon realized that raising her cultivation might not be as easy as he imagined. The special materials were a huge restriction.

    The Grey Wolf Kings¡¯ fangs were still doable; he would pull out a few the next time he had a chance. There were Nine-Tailed Pheasants in the Shop feature he had unlocked earlier. Even though the Rage points needed to purchase them were a bit ridiculous, at least there was hope.

    As for Wuyang Jade and Blue Earthflower, he had never even heard of them before. Even the Shop system didn¡¯t have them.

    ¡°I¡¯ll ask the Imperial Hospital about them tomorrow.¡± Zu An unknowingly fell asleep after thinking about the problem for a while. Meanwhile, the white-clothed Daji continued to look at him silently.

    ¡­

    The next morning, when Zu An got up, there was someone next to him. He jumped in fright. Then, when he saw that it was Daji, he couldn''t help but exim with a smile, ¡°So it was you! Sorry, I forgot to put you away. You must¡¯ve been really bored staying out here all night.¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Daji only continued to stare nkly at him.

    Zu An became a little sad, musing, ¡°How can we bring back your soul? Otherwise, this is just too great of a pity¡­¡±

    Daji blinked as if she had sensed something. But she seemed stunned when she heard what Zu An said. ¡°Once you get your soul back, the first thing I¡¯m going to do is hold you while I sleep.¡±

    Daji was at a loss.

    Zu An went to the imperial pce after washing up. He wanted to ask the Imperial Hospital about Wuyang Jade and Blue Earthflower, and he also wanted to meet Bi Linglong to exchange some affection.

    But when he arrived at the imperial pce, he suddenly sensed a heavy atmosphere. He quickly pulled over some guards to ask about what had happened. They knew that he was a rising star and didn¡¯t hide anything from him, quickly exining.

    ¡°There was an emergency situationst night from the north. The fiend races that have remained dormant for many years suddenly sent their troops south and took out our defensive perimeter. They ughtered and plundered everything in their path, and they even took a city!¡±

    ¡°Those damned fiend races, I just knew that all non-humans were evil! If we knew this was going to happen, his majesty should¡¯ve just wiped them all out.¡±

    ¡°Do you think it¡¯s that easy? The fiend races are still strong. They hid in the extreme north after they were defeated, and we couldn''t do anything to them.¡±

    ¡°Do you think his majesty will personally lead troops into battle?¡±

    ¡°No way; it¡¯s probably the State Duke of Triumph who will lead the army.¡±

    ¡°I think so too. With his prestige in the military, I don¡¯t think anyone else is better for this role.¡±

    ¡­

    Zu An was surprised when he heard their discussion. The State Duke of Triumph was Qin Zheng. Sang Qien had told him earlier that the emperor¡¯s first target would definitely be the Qin n, and now, Qin Zheng was about to be transferred to the border. Was all of this deliberate, or was it purely a coincidence?

    He continued to the hospital. Unfortunately, no one knew about the two materials he needed even after he asked several physicians.

    But one of the physicians suggested, ¡°I don¡¯t know about Blue Earthflowers, but I know someone who might know about Wuyang Jade. The Yu n works with all kinds of jade around the world, and Madam Yu Yanluo is even more so an expert on the jade business. If anyone in this world knows about this Wuyang Jade, it¡¯ll be her.¡±

    Zu An was moved. That devastatingly beautiful figure appeared in his head, and he couldn''t help but smile. This woman and I are tied together by fate after all!

    Now that there had been some progress, Zu An felt much more at ease. He continued toward the Eastern Pce.

    Bi Linglong¡¯s eyes lit up when she saw Zu An, but she quickly calmed down and said indifferently, ¡°Sir Zu has been injured so badly and should be resting. Why did youe to the Eastern Pce so soon?¡±

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°My skin is thick; those wounds aren¡¯t a big deal at all. On the contrary, when I think about how the crown princess has suffered damage to her vitality because of my inadequacy, my wish for the crown princess to be treated properly keeps me up at night.¡±

    Bi Linglong blushed. She obviously knew what kind of ¡®treatment¡¯ he was talking about. This rascal is teasing me in front of so many people!

    1. Xi Shi was, ording to legends, one of the renowned Four Beauties of ancient China. She was said to have lived during the end of the Spring and Autumn period in Zhuji, the capital of the ancient State of Yue. ?

    2. Diaochan was one of the Four Beauties of ancient China. She is best known for her role in the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. ?

    3. Xiaoqiao is the younger of the Two Qiaos. The Two Qiaos of Jiangdong were two sisters of the Qiao family who lived during thete Eastern Han dynasty of China. ?

 Chapter 904: New Mission

    <h4>Chapter 904: New Mission</h4>

    Bi Linglong couldn''t show any of her thoughts and could only say with a smile, ¡°Thank you, Sir Zu, for your concern. I¡¯m fine and I¡¯ll recover after a bit of rest¡­¡±

    Her maid, Rong Mo, was confused as well. ¡°Huh? Crown princess, your hair is bing even whiter. If Sir Zu has a cure, you should hurry and let him treat you¡­¡±

    Bi Linglong shot her a look before she could even finish. ¡°Shut up!¡±

    Rong Mo¡¯s expression immediately became downcast, but she didn¡¯t dare to talk back to the crown princess. She could only re at Zu An while pouting and muttering, ¡°It¡¯s all his fault! He only knows how to say some pretty things¡­ He¡¯s making me look bad.¡±

    ¡°How is the crown prince¡¯s body?¡± Zu An asked, pretending to care. He was in front of everyone else, after all, so it would be strange if he were only concerned about the crown princess.

    ¡°Thanks to all of Sir Zu¡¯s efforts, even though the crown prince has suffered some injuries, his life is in no danger. It is just that he was scared quite badly in the dungeon, so he might have nightmares sometimes. The imperial physician has already prescribed some Calm Focus Pills, so he should recover soon too,¡± Bi Linglong replied in a formal manner. At the same time, she took the chance to praise Zu An¡¯s contribution. Sure enough, the others looked at Zu An with eyes filled with admiration when they heard those words, which obviously made him feel amazing.

    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear.¡± Zu An obviously didn¡¯t really care. He recalled what he had heard from the guards on the way and remarked, ¡°I heard that the fiend races have invaded us?¡±

    ¡°Correct.¡± Bi Linglong¡¯s expression became more serious as well. ¡°We just received this newsst night. The fiend races have broken through our northern defensive line, and they¡¯ve even ughtered everyone in our strategic Mobei City.¡±

    ¡°They massacred everyone and captured the city?¡± Zu An¡¯s expression became strange. He had seen this kind of situation before in history books. He hadn¡¯t expected it to happen so close to him one day.

    ¡°Indeed. They didn¡¯t even spare a single living thing! The fiend races are too hateful!¡± Hatred flickered in Bi Linglong¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°What does the court n to do?¡± Zu An asked.

    Bi Linglong replied, ¡°During the morning court session, there was a huge debate, but the general consensus is that we should dere war. Our Great Zhou Dynasty has never suffered such a huge loss since our founding. Submitting to humiliation isn¡¯t our Great Zhou people¡¯s nature. It¡¯s to the extent where even the students of the Royal Academy came up to our pce gates to petition, stating that they¡¯re willing to fight the fiend races in the front lines. But of course, the court obviously didn¡¯t agree to that. The Royal Academy¡¯s talents are the foundation of our nation; how can we let them die prematurely in battle?¡±

    ¡°I heard that the one chosen to lead the battle this time might be the State Duke of Triumph, right?¡± Zu An asked.

    Bi Linglong¡¯s expression changed. She waved her hands, gesturing for the others to leave. But she had to keep Rong Mo at her side for the sake of dering her innocence. Afterward, she exined, ¡°Indeed. If nothing unexpected happens, then it should be the State Duke of Triumph. There are no candidates more suitable than him in the entire court in terms of qualifications and prestige.¡±

    Zu An tried to find out more information and said, ¡°Having the State Duke of Triumph go might not be the worst situation for the Eastern Pce.¡±

    Bi Linglong shook her head. She gave him a deep look. ¡°It might have been a good thing in the past, but now, it actually might not be.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He quickly realized what she was hinting at. They had actually fought against the emperor in the dungeon, so it was actually now in their best interest for the emperor and King Qi to continue fighting.

    Rong Mo looked back and forth between Zu An and Bi Linglong. She thought to herself, Are they speaking in riddles with each other? Why can¡¯t I understand what they¡¯re saying?

    The three of them all had their own thoughts. The room became strangely quiet.

    A whileter, a maid suddenly entered and reported, ¡°Crown princess, a messenger from the imperial study instructed me to tell you that his majesty has summoned Sir Zu.¡±

    Rong Mo couldn''t help but mutter, ¡°Sir Zu really is appreciated by his majesty, huh? His majesty keeps summoning you again and again.¡± She had served the crown princess diligently for so many years, and yet the emperor almost never summoned her alone.

    Zu An replied, ¡°What can I say? The more capable one is, the greater their responsibility.¡±

    Rong Mo was speechless. She felt as if she were being offended somehow.

    Bi Linglong was worried. Only she alone knew that it might not actually be appreciation. She spoke to Zu An secretly through ki transmission. ¡°Be careful.¡±

    Zu An smiled toward her. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I still need to help you with your treatment. How can I let anything happen to me before that?¡±

    Bi Linglong harrumphed inwardly. A bad man!

    Rong Mo had a strange expression on her face. She had also seen Zu An¡¯s strange smile. She obviously wouldn¡¯t think that Zu An was brazen enough to tease the crown princess, so she subconsciously mistook it for Zu An taunting her. Is this guy trying to hit on me? Hmph, even a toad like you thinks you have a chance?

    ¡­

    Zu An proceeded to the imperial study. He nodded toward Eunuch Wen when he saw him, and Eunuch Wen also smiled in return. However, when he was about to go inside, Eunuch Wen shook his head slightly.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    If even Zhuxie Chixin could sense the emperor¡¯s change in attitude, as the emperor¡¯s trusted aide, how could he not sense the change in his majesty¡¯s attitude toward Zu An?

    ¡°I greet the emperor!¡± When he entered the study, Zu An noticed that the emperor¡¯splexion was absolutely cold. His mood was definitely not good.

    ¡°Sit!¡± The emperormanded while pointing to a chair off to the side.

    Zu An was quite ¡®overwhelmed¡¯ by the sudden favor. He hade to this study so many times, but this was probably the first time he had been invited to sit down, right?

    But he quickly realized that the situation was actually quite strange. He had served as an emperor for many years when he was in Yinxu¡¯s ruins. He quickly realized that this was a tactic a ruler would often use. The emperor might actually want one dead, but they would instead treat one well to lower one¡¯s guard.

    Zu An didn¡¯t really understand. Could it be that the truth of what happened inside the dungeon had been exposed? But that shouldn¡¯t have been the case, because the emperor would have killed him on the spot the moment he found out. Why would he even bother ying these games?

    Thus, his annoyance was most likely due to his instincts as an emperor. He was worried that his split soul would be exposed, so he didn¡¯t want any of the survivors of the dungeon to live. But he needs me right now, so that¡¯s why he¡¯s pretending to be nice.

    ¡°Have you recovered yet?¡± the emperor asked with an amiable tone.

    Zu An replied, ¡°I was fortunate enough to receive the care of many physicians. Even though I haven¡¯t made a full recovery, I can at least move around now.¡± I feel more creeped out from this emperor trying to be nice; I¡¯d rather he just act all imposing and intimidating¡­ Wait, what the heck am I saying?

    ¡°That¡¯s good then.¡± The emperor nodded. ¡°There just happens to be something I need you to take care of.¡±

    Zu An thought, As expected. But he didn¡¯t reveal his thoughts on the surface at all. ¡°I wonder what kind of task it is?¡±

    The emperor said, ¡°Something happened in King Qi Manor a few days ago. King Qi¡¯s concubine drowned in a pond in the middle of the night. There are many points of suspicion in this matter, so investigate this matter to help King Qi uphold justice.¡±

    Zu An had a strange look on his face. What the heck do you mean ¡®help him uphold justice¡¯? When did you two suddenly be caring brothers?

    If she had died in King Qi Manor, if it really wasn¡¯t an ident, it would definitely be rted to King Qi. Investigating this matter would mean clearly opposing King Qi!

    He said in a troubled manner, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t the nine ministers handle this kind of matter? King Qi¡¯s concubine has a special identity, so it isn¡¯t too convenient for us Embroidered Envoys to look into¡­¡±

    He wanted the emperor and King Qi to keep each other in check. Why would he suddenly run into the middle of their conflict?

    The emperor shook his head. ¡°You won¡¯t use your Golden Token Eleven status to investigate this matter, but rather your original identity.¡±

    Zu An was stunned.

    What the hell? I just went through that entire dungeon escapade! Others might not know what happened inside, but King Qi definitely knows that all of his men died inside! Besides, I¡¯m the strongest subject who survived! King Qi¡¯s sword mighte straight for my throat as soon as he sees me¡­ And you want me to investigate King Qi Manor? Do I look like I¡¯m that tired of living?

    The emperor said indifferently, ¡°I asked you to hand King Qi the fake Phoenix Nirvana Sutra. How is your progress?¡±

    Zu An said in a distressed manner, ¡°I haven¡¯t found a good chance to give him the fake manual yet.¡±

    The emperor gave him a look. ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m giving you this chance. There¡¯ll be many chances for you to meet King Qi when you work on this case. You have to quickly hand him the fake manual at the proper time.¡±

    Zu An fell silent. He knew why the emperor was bing so worried. The emperor hadn¡¯t been in such a rush to handle that matter before, but that was because he had been confident in being able topletely overwhelm King Qi. But now, he had lost a split soul in the dungeon. Even though Zu An didn¡¯t know just how badly it had wounded the emperor, it had definitely had a significant impact on his strength. He might not even be a hundred percent certain of defeating King Qi anymore, so that was why he needed the assistance of the fake manual.

    No wonder the emperor hadn¡¯t exposed King Qi Manor¡¯s deeds in the dungeon. So that was one of the reasons.

    The emperor¡¯s brows rose when he saw that Zu An remained silent. ¡°What, is there an issue?¡±

    Zu An raised his head and smiled. ¡°There¡¯s no problem. I¡¯ll do my best toplete this task!¡±

    This is fine as well. I¡¯ll have a chance to approach King Qi. If I want the two sides to keep each other in check, I don¡¯t have enough bargaining chips invested on King Qi¡¯s side. I might even be able to change my rtionship with King Qi this time.

    The emperor frowned. For some reason, he felt that Zu An¡¯s smile was strange. For the first time, he felt as if he couldn''t figure out what Zu An was thinking.

    He shook his head. It¡¯s probably just a misconception. This brat¡¯s entire fate is within my grasp; how can there be that many intricacies? He said, ¡°Alright, you can leave now. Complete the task as soon as possible.¡±

 Chapter 905: Cold Shoulder

    <h4>Chapter 905: Cold Shoulder</h4>

    Eunuch Wen greeted Zu An with a big smile as soon as he walked out. ¡°Sir Zu, I¡¯ve already prepared all of the relevant personnel by the pce entrance. I wonder when you n to investigate the case of King Qi¡¯s concubine?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going right now, of course.¡± Zu An cursed inwardly. Can you stop with the act already? You even prepared all of the relevant people already, and yet you¡¯re putting on this pretense and asking me when I¡¯m going?

    ¡°Then I wish Sir Zu the best of luck.¡± There was a kind smile on Eunuch Wen¡¯s chubby face.

    Zu An cupped his hands, then headed toward the Eastern Pce to tell Bi Linglong about his new mission. After all, she was probably worried, feeling that something might have happened to him.

    Bi Linglong was also confused when she heard Zu An¡¯s exnation. ¡°You¡¯re going to investigate the case of King Qi¡¯s concubine?¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    She couldn''t be bothered with arousing suspicion at that point, even chasing out her personal maid. Then, she said worriedly, ¡°King Qi¡¯s greatest n was destroyed by your very hands. The first thing on his mind right now will probably be to kill you. Won¡¯t you just be throwing your life away if you investigate this case now?¡±

    ¡°Sigh, but if I don¡¯t head over now, the emperor might just kill me on the spot!¡± Zu An eximed. He said with a smile, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m a proper subject assigned by the emperor himself, so King Qi wouldn¡¯t dare to be hostile in public. Even though this assignment is full of dangers, it might also be an opportunity for me. If I use it well, I might even be able to infiltrate King Qi¡¯s side.¡±

    ¡°Infiltrate his side?¡± Bi Linglong immediately became vignt. As a key figure from the crown prince¡¯s faction, she had already opposed King Qi¡¯s faction for many years. Her first reaction when she heard that was rejection.

    Zu Anughed involuntarily. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s just to keep some of his majesty¡¯s methods in check. Of course I¡¯m not going topletely go over to his side. With our rtionship, of course I¡¯ll help you.¡±

    Bi Linglong¡¯s caution eased up a bit when she heard his exnation. But she wouldn¡¯t admit to it on the surface. ¡°Hmph, who wants to have any rtionship with you?¡±

    When Zu An saw her arrogant appearance, he really wanted to give her a good spanking. Unfortunately, they were in the imperial pce right now, so that idea could only remain a thought.

    ¡­

    When he came out of the imperial pce, several guards and eunuchs were already waiting outside. They immediately greeted him when they saw him. ¡°We pay our respects to Sir Zu! Eunuch Wen has asked us to serve you.¡±

    Zu An was already famous in the capital. All of the imperial guards knew who he was. When he saw the guards fervently trying to curry favor, he responded courteously while sighing inwardly. These guys were too low in status and didn¡¯t have ess to any higher level information. They all thought they were getting closer to a rising star, but in reality, Zu An was in an incredibly dangerous situation.

    The group arrived at King Qi Manor. Zu An had a pensive expression. For some reason,pared to thest time he hade, King Qi Manor seemed a bit less extravagant¡­ There were clearly not many changes on the surface, however. He wondered if it was just a figment of his imagination.

    King Qi Manor¡¯s servant had been about to greet them politely when he saw that someone hade to visit. But when he heard that the group was there to investigate the drowning of King Qi¡¯s concubine, his expression immediately changed. ¡°All of you, wait here. I¡¯ll send in a report first.¡± He mmed the door shut loudly without even waiting for their response, leaving Zu An¡¯s party in dismay.

    ¡°King Qi Manor¡¯s people are really rude. Shouldn¡¯t they at least let us wait inside?¡± the guardsined.

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°We¡¯ll just wait here.¡± Then, he sat down by a nearby gazebo and closed his eyes, as if he had juste out for a small outing.

    After Zu An said that, the others naturally couldn''t say anything more. They all waited patiently. But an hour quickly passed and King Qi Manor¡¯s servant still didn¡¯te back out. They clearly nned to refuse the group entrance.

    ¡°These King Qi Manor dogs are going too far!¡± The guards finally couldn''t take it anymore. They were all filled with indignation. After all, they were part of the emperor¡¯s forces, so they felt a natural enmity toward King Qi Manor.

    Zu An frowned. This investigation was just nitpicking to begin with, so it was natural that King Qi Manor¡¯s people weren''t willing to meet with them. But if they didn¡¯t open the door even after such a long time, his group still couldn¡¯t help but feel like fools for waiting outside.

    As such, he had his subordinates knock again. However, that subordinate came back angrily and said, ¡°Sir Zu, they said that King Qi is busy with public affairs, and that the messenger who went to contact him hasn¡¯t been able to meet with him yet. Hmph, they¡¯re clearly ying with us!¡±

    Zu An chuckled. This was actually all within his expectations. He had to perform his due diplomacy before resorting to violence, but he had now already done everything he could. He started to give out orders.

    The guards jumped in fright when they heard Zu An¡¯smands. Their expressions changed. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ not too good, is it?¡±

    Zu An rolled his eyes. These guys had been shooting their mouths off as if they were going to tear the manor apart, but now that he was telling them to be a bit more aggressive, they were suddenly scared? He said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll take responsibility if something happens.¡±

    When they heard that, together with the fact that they had been enraged to begin with, the guards finally made their decision and picked up their equipment. They ran up to King Qi Manor¡¯s gate, and inserted two long strips of yellow paper between the two doors. There was arge ¡®seal¡¯ character on them that was especially eye-grabbing.

    Their activity quickly drew the attention of nearby people. The residences near King Qi Manor were obviously not owned by ordinary civilians. They were practically all owned by court officials. The residences¡¯ servants, and even the officials themselves, came to watch. They whispered among themselves.

    ¡°What is going on?¡±

    ¡°Why has King Qi Manor been sealed up?¡±

    ¡°Heavens, has his majesty finally decided to act against King Qi?¡±

    ¡­

    The onlookers became more and more worked up as they discussed the situation among themselves. After all, many of them were aware of the emperor¡¯s conflict with King Qi.

    King Qi Manor¡¯s people finally couldn''t sit still. The door mmed open, and a group of guards came out in single file. The one in front tore off the paper. He was furious when he saw the character written on it. ¡°You damn ves are impudent! You actually dare to cause trouble at our King Qi Manor?!¡±

    He mmed the paper toward the faces of the two nearest guards as he spoke. The guards wanted to move out of the way, but their bodies seemed to have frozen up in front of his tremendous power. They couldn''t move in the slightest.

    The people watching could feel the threatening energy even from far away. Those with sharp eyes already recognized the person to be one of King Qi¡¯s guardians, the ninth ranked Han Fengqiu. If one were pped by someone like him, even if one¡¯s head didn¡¯t explode like a melon somehow, one¡¯s mouth would definitely be permanently damaged.

    But they all felt that these visitors deserved it. They were the ones who had foolishly decided to cause trouble outside King Qi Manor.

    However, the terrible situation they imagined didn¡¯t happen. A hand blocked the attack heading toward the two guards, grabbing Han Fengqiu¡¯s hand. It couldn''t continue forward at all.

    ¡°Hm?¡± Han Fengqiu was confused. His other hand moved as well. Both sides exchanged two palms, then separated.

    Afterward, the onlookers finally recognized the owner of that other hand.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that the newly risen Green Hat Viscount Zu An?¡±

    ¡°I heard that he fought on equal footing with Han Fengqiu before, but I just thought of it as some crazy rumor. But today, I¡¯ve seen it for myself!¡±

    ¡°Did Han Fengqiu cultivate all those years for shit? That young kid has already caught up to him!¡±

    ¡­

    Han Fengqiu¡¯s face twitched. Thements of the surrounding people cut into him like des. At the same time, he was confused. Zu An had clearly been far inferior to himst time, so why did they suddenly seem to be on the same level now?

    Zu An¡¯s eyes twitched as well. The way the surrounding people had addressed him stabbed straight at a nerve.

    Han Fengqiu finally snapped out of his gaze and said with an unkind expression, ¡°I was wondering who it was. So it was Sir Zu! Even though Sir Zu has brought back tremendous contributions and has be a popr figure in the Eastern Pce,ing all the way here to our King Manor and starting trouble bears the crime of rudeness, no?¡±

    This was a kind of offense that could be major or minor. If it were a situation that didn¡¯t matter, it could just be easily brushed off. But if they wanted to, they could make a huge deal out of it.

    The guards who hade with Zu An immediately felt gloomy and dismayed. If King Qi wanted to pursue the matter, ording to the rules, they might just be banished as punishment.

    Zu An chuckled and replied, ¡°What is Sir Han saying? We¡¯re carrying out an investigation on his majesty¡¯s orders right now. How is this starting trouble?¡±

    Han Fengqiu threw the seal paper to the ground. ¡°You already sealed up the entirety of King Qi Manor, and yet you¡¯re saying you didn¡¯t start trouble? Where in the world do you get your courage from? I don¡¯t think his majesty would give you this kind of order.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression became serious. He replied in a clear voice, ¡°This official came on his majesty¡¯s orders to investigate the case of King Qi¡¯s concubine. Unfortunately, even after we attempted tomunicate several times, King Qi Manor has shirked responsibility and refused to even open the gate. This official suspects that there might be some bad people involved, people who privately wish to obstruct this case. As such, we continued the case ording to thew. Since King Qi Manor is where the crime happened, ording to the rules, it should be temporarily sealed up, and casual entrance and exit must be prohibited to prevent tampering with evidence.¡±

    Han Fengqiu was speechless. He had wanted to give them the cold shoulder then back off when things looked hairy, but he hadn¡¯t expected Zu An to be so vicious! Furthermore, every single action was in ordance with thew, so they couldn''t even say anything in return.

    And yet, if he really let Zu An seal up King Qi Manor, King Qi would really lose all dignity. As such, he quickly squeezed out a smile and said, ¡°Sir Zu has misunderstood. King Qi was just busy dealing with public affairs. King Qi has just received news of Sir Zu¡¯s arrival, so he sent me over to bring you over to the pond where his concubine perished. That is the real scene of the crime.¡±

 Chapter 906: The Living Can Lie, but the Dead Will Not

    <h4>Chapter 906: The Living Can Lie, but the Dead Will Not</h4>

    Zu An looked hesitant. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that be troubling you all? It¡¯s no problem at all; it¡¯ll be the same if I start my investigation from the outside.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not troubling us, it¡¯s not troubling us at all! Sir Zu, pleasee in!¡± Han Fengqiu had a smile on his face, but he was swearing profusely inwardly. Won¡¯t you seal up the whole freaking manor if you investigate the outside?

    Han Fengqiu kept on inviting Zu An inside generously, but Zu An continued to turn him down. He was really about to cry. The gatekeeper could¡¯ve offended anyone else; why did he have to offend this damn little devil?!

    ¡°Fine. I mean, if you guys insist. I wouldn¡¯t be giving brother Han here face if I don¡¯te inside now.¡± Zu An finally agreed.

    Han Fengqiu forced out a smile with great difficulty. ¡°Sir Zu, pleasee in, please!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Han Fengqiu for +233 +233 +233¡­

    Zu An strutted in only after feeling he had gotten a sizable amount of Rage points from the ordeal.

    His subordinates exchanged looks and saw the admiration in each other¡¯s eyes. They had been left helpless just a moment ago by King Qi Manor, and yet now, Sir Zu had easily dealt with the problem! No wonder this man had been able to umte so many contributions so quickly.

    The group was brought to the rear garden. Han Fengqiu pointed toward a certain spot and said, ¡°This is where her highness drowned.¡±

    Zu An noticed that the pond was actually prettyrge. It was actually a smallke! It wasn¡¯t all that shocking that someone had drowned there. He pointed at the railing by the shore and said, ¡°There are so many railings here. Why did King Qi¡¯s concubine drown here?¡±

    Han Fengqiu said, ¡°These railings were newly constructed after the matter as a preventative measure for the future. If Sir Zu looks more closely, you¡¯ll find that the paint on them hasn''t even dried yet.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. ¡°Then doesn¡¯t that mean that the scene of the crime was alreadypletely destroyed by all of you?¡±

    If craftsmen hade and gone to install the railing, even if there were any clues, they would have long been erased.

    ¡°I don¡¯t really understand what Sir Zu is saying,¡± Han Fengqiu replied. ¡°Her highness¡¯ case was clearly an ident. What clues could there possibly be?¡±

    Zu An harrumphed. ¡°Whether it was an ident or not isn¡¯t for you to decide. We¡¯ll only know after the investigation.¡±

    Han Fengqiu wanted to say some things to knock Zu An down a few pegs. What, are you questioning King Qi Manor¡¯s decision about our own matters? Are we supposed to listen to your opinion instead? But he had just been through a horrible experience, so he held it in. Forget it, I won¡¯t argue with this kind of petty person.

    Zu An had his subordinates look around and check to see if there were any clues that had been missed. They had all been specially assigned to this task, so they were experts. If there really were any clues, they wouldn¡¯t escape their eyes.

    But unfortunately, they all shook their heads toward Zu An after searching several times. King Qi Manor had clearly prepared properly in advance. The scene of the crime had already been thoroughly destroyed.

    Zu An didn¡¯t bother with that matter anymore and asked, ¡°Where is the concubine¡¯s pce?¡± Han Fengqiu was a bit hesitant. Zu An asked with a smile, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Is it inconvenient for us to go there?¡±

    Han Fengqiu shivered. He didn¡¯t know what kind of nonsense this kid was going to start next and quickly said, ¡°There¡¯s no real inconvenience.¡±

    ¡­n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Soon afterward, they arrived at a courtyard. It was quite sizable, and the details were also borate and exquisite. This was definitely a concubine that had received quite a bit of favor. But many dried leaves had now fallen onto the floor. Therge courtyard now had a strange aura of neglect.

    Furthermore, there wasn¡¯t even a single person there. As if guessing Zu An¡¯s thoughts, Han Fengqiu exined, ¡°This courtyard was abandoned after what happened to her highness. The servants didn¡¯t dare toe anymore, for fear that it had be haunted.¡±

    Zu An remarked with a smile, ¡°Perhaps haunted by a vengeful spirit?¡±

    Han Fengqiu¡¯s expression changed. ¡°Sir Zu, please don¡¯t say such things! Those ignorant maids are just instinctively scared of things like ghosts; there¡¯s nothing more to it.¡±

    Zu An chuckled and didn¡¯t continue. He went inside and began to look around. Han Fengqiu became expressionless. There was nothing shameful inside, so Zu An could just look all he wanted.

    Zu An gave orders to his subordinates, then entered the concubine¡¯s chambers alone. There was still a faint fragrance in the room. As King Qi¡¯s concubine, the perfumes she wore were all quite extravagant. The scent was deep and refreshing, but unfortunately, the beauty was already deceased.

    He opened up the wardrobe to the side and saw all kinds of pretty dresses. He couldn''t help but say in amazement, ¡°She had so many clothes.¡±

    ¡°She was King Qi¡¯s concubine after all, so he wouldn¡¯t treat her poorly,¡± Han Fengqiu replied.

    Zu An nodded, then asked nonchntly, ¡°What did she wear the night she went out? Did she wear her own clothes or civilian clothes?¡±

    Han Fengqiu replied, ¡°Her own clothes. But I believe they wereparatively iner than usual.¡±

    Zu An gave him a look and remarked, ¡°From the sound of it, she seems to have worn clothing that wasn¡¯t that eye-catching to attend some meeting in the middle of the night¡­?¡±

    Han Fengqiu eximed in rm, ¡°I didn¡¯t say that! Please don¡¯t put words in my mouth! This matter is rted to her highness¡¯ reputation, so Sir Zu must watch what you say!¡±

    ¡°It was just a joke. You don¡¯t have to be so nervous, Sir Han.¡± Zu An patted his shoulder, then escorted him out like that.

    Han Fengqiu¡¯s entire body went rigid. He wasn¡¯t used to having another man¡¯s arm around him like that. He was also worried that he might suddenly be ambushed, as he wouldn¡¯t have any chance of fighting back then. And yet, if he pushed Zu An away, wouldn¡¯t the two of them bepletely hostile? It would be very annoying if Zu An used that as a pretext to make a fuss again.

    After thinking about it for a bit, he decided that there was no reason for Zu An to do something like that in their manor. He thus gradually calmed down. While he was carrying out his internal struggle, however, he didn¡¯t notice that Zu An had picked up a set of King Qi¡¯s concubine¡¯s clothes and stored it into his Brilliant ss Bead.

    When they left the courtyard, Zu An asked, ¡°What about the maids and servants who personally served the concubine?¡±

    Han Fengqiu said with a smile, ¡°I¡¯ve already prepared all of them for Sir Zu.¡± He gestured toward the outside. A group of maids and nurses walked in. This was a king¡¯s concubine, so there was obviously no need for any men to be present.

    Zu An had a pensive expression as he thought, It looks like these guys were already fully prepared. He had his other subordinates talk to the servant girls. Meanwhile, he called the maid whose uniform clearly indicated a higher level into the room to question her alone. Han Fengqiu waited outside, seemingly to avoid suspicion.

    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°Qiu Yue,¡± the girl said with her head lowered.

    ¡°You were the head maid of King Qi¡¯s concubine?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Since you¡¯re the head maid, why didn¡¯t you follow her that night? She ended up drowning without anyone being there to help her.¡± Zu An¡¯s voice became cold.

    The maid replied in rm, ¡°My mistress snuck out in the middle of the night! She didn¡¯t call for us¡­¡±

    Zu An retorted with a sneer, ¡°As her personal maid, you didn¡¯t even know anything when your mistress got up in the middle of the night?¡±

    The maid quickly replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know why either, but I was in a very deep sleep that night. Normally, I¡¯d wake up from even a bit of activity.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Zu An raised his eyebrows. ¡°Then were you perhaps drugged that night, or did someone strike your sleep acupoint?¡±

    The maid said, puzzled, ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but how could there be a bad person who¡¯d do something like that in a ce like King Qi Manor?¡±

    Zu An thought to himself for a moment, then suddenly asked, ¡°Who was your mistress normally close to? That is, apart from King Qi.¡±

    The maid turned pale with fright. ¡°Sir, you really shouldn¡¯t speak so carelessly about such things¡­ My mistress was fully devoted to the king; why would she get close to anyone else?¡±

    Zu An said with a sneer, ¡°I only asked you who she was close to. I didn¡¯t even say whether it was a man or a woman, but your first reaction was to assume it was a man. Aren¡¯t you basically confessing willingly?¡±

    The maid quickly exined, ¡°Sir, even though this king manor can¡¯tpare to the imperial pce, the concubines often struggle for the king¡¯s favor, so maybe¡­ Maybe¡­¡±

    ¡°Are you saying there might be some internalpetition?¡± Zu An was getting annoyed with the way she kept speaking and trailing off.

    The maid¡¯s expression changed. ¡°This servant doesn¡¯t dare to speak rashly about the other concubines¡­ But in this kind of situation, my mistress would never get too close to the other women.¡±

    Zu An then asked, ¡°Who did she not get along with? Who hates her the most in this manor?¡±

    The maid shook her head. ¡°There might be some conflict between the concubines, but it wouldn¡¯t go so far as for them to go after each other¡¯s lives. Even though the king is tolerant, he¡¯s also wise and brilliant. He would never tolerate anyone doing this. That¡¯s why the other concubines wouldn¡¯t take such a risk. Furthermore, my mistress rarely left the residence all these years, and her nature was gentle and kind. Rarely did others dislike her. It¡¯s hard for me to believe that someone wanted to kill her.¡±

    ¡°Then do you also think that her death was an ident?¡± Zu An stared into her eyes.

    ¡°Our king looked into this matter before as well, and he determined that it was an ident. Could it be that there were other ulterior motives?¡± the maid asked in confusion.

    Zu An began to think quietly to himself. A whileter, he gestured for her to leave. When she reached the doorstep, however, he suddenly stopped her. ¡°By the way, did your mistress treat you well?¡±

    ¡°The mistress was gentle and kind in nature, and she always treated her subordinates extremely kindly. She was even more like a sister to me. But¡­ but¡­¡± The maid¡¯s expression was full of grief. She began to sob quietly.

    When he saw that he wouldn¡¯t be able to get anything else out of her, Zu An indicated that she could leave. Then, he walked out. The other guards finished their interrogations shortly afterward. They shook their heads slightly toward him when they saw him. They hadn¡¯t obtained any useful information either. It looked entirely as if the concubine had identally drowned.

    Zu An thought to himself for a while, then left the courtyard. He said to Han Fengqiu, ¡°I¡¯ll have to trouble Sir Han to lead us to her grave. We need to examine her remains.¡±

    The living could lie, but the dead would not.

    Han Fengqiu¡¯s expression instantly changed. ¡°No, absolutely not! Even though she isn¡¯t King Qi¡¯s main wife, she¡¯s still the king¡¯s woman. How can we let others defile her?!¡±

 Chapter 907: I Am a Rough Man

    <h4>Chapter 907: I Am a Rough Man</h4>

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°I¡¯m investigating this case on his majesty¡¯s orders. Of course, I believe King Qi as well¡­ The people in this manor wouldn¡¯t harm the concubine, but there¡¯s no such guarantee for the ordinary people outside. You know how quickly gossip travels, so there might be rumors that King Qi killed his own concubine in just a few days, or that King Qi¡¯s concubine had a lover behind his back, and that was why she was killed. If we can investigate the concubine¡¯s corpse and confirm that she did die from an ident, this case will be enough to convince the masses. I¡¯m considering things from the perspective of King Qi¡¯s reputation and prestige here!¡±

    Han Fengqiu was speechless. King Qi¡¯s reputation among the people was excellent. He was always praised as a sage among kings. Why would anyone criticize him that way? If there were any vile rumors like this, they would probably be started deliberately by a brat like you!

    He knew that Zu An was unpredictable. If he didn¡¯t allow this investigation, Zu An might really start something like that. But how could he agree to something like examining her highness¡¯ remains?

    Both sides quickly began to argue again. Neither side was willing to back off in the slightest.

    Just then, a voice asked in confusion, ¡°What are you all arguing about over here?¡±

    Zu An turned around, and his eyes lit up. He saw that there were several pairs of men and women nearby. Some were dressed in fancy clothing and had excellent features. But the most eye-catching was the beautiful man at the very front¡­ It wasn¡¯t that he swung that way, but that he was just too handsome.

    His skin was like jade, his bearing graceful. Even though he appeared to already be middle-aged, it didn¡¯t decrease his charm at all. On the contrary, it made him look more steadfast. Together with his luxurious, and yet not tacky outfit, he would be the spotlight of any group.

    There was actually someone this handsome in the world? Zu An was incredibly shocked. This man is almost as handsome as me!

    ¡°I greet Princess Changshan, Sir Yu, Sir Lian, and Madam Lian!¡± Han Fengqiu greeted those people.

    Zu An was surprised, but he had already guessed who those people were.

    Princess Changshan was the emperor¡¯s little sister. She had been married off to the Yu n¡¯s young master when she was young. Zu An gave her a look. Her appearance was only ordinary, but the noble aura she gave off added a few points. However, because her cheekbones were a bit too high, it made her look a bit too harsh and fierce. Together with the fact that she resembled the emperor a bit, it was really hard for Zu An to have any good impression of her.

    The ridiculously handsome man was her husband, the Secretariat Assistant Director Yu Nan. The honest-looking man, on the other hand, was probably the Secretariat Director Lian Yu.

    It really was quite strange when Zu An thought about it. Lian Yu was clearly the Secretariat Director, and Yu Nan was supposed to be his subordinate, and yet he allowed Yu Nan to walk in front when they moved together. Apart from Yu Nan¡¯s temperament standing out, it probably had something to do with their family background too.

    Yu Nan was the celebrated eldest son of the Great Zhou Dynasty¡¯s Yu n. His father was the current Imperial Secretariat¡¯s Left Confidential Assistant, Yu Xuanchong. The Yu n even operated thergest ki stone business, making them incredibly rich. Together with the n¡¯s members upying high positions, it made them one of the Zhou Dynasty¡¯s greatest ns.

    As for Lian Yu, even though his background was also distinguished, the Lian n couldn''tpare to the Yu n at all. Furthermore, Lian Yu¡¯s wife was Yu Nan¡¯s younger sister, so he could be considered the Yu n¡¯s son-inw. When he walked together with the eldest son of the Yu n, Yu Nan, he couldn''t help but pale inparison.

    Zu An gave the woman next to Lian Yu a look. So this must be his wife. She looks much more beautiful than Princess Changshan. As expected of a girl from the Yu n. Yu Yanluo¡¯s gorgeous appearance appeared in his mind. The Yu n¡¯s genes are truly amazing¡­ The men are handsome and the women are pretty.

    ¡°Sir Han, what are you all arguing about?¡± Yu Nan took the initiative to ask him. Even though his tone was polite, he had a naturally arrogant bearing.

    But Han Fengqiu didn¡¯t feel that was excessive. Yu Nan¡¯s status gave him the right to act arrogantly. As such, he told them about what happened.

    ¡°So you¡¯re Zu An?¡± Yu Nan asked. The others also turned to look at Zu An when they heard his question. After all, Zu An had been quite the hot character for some time.

    Zu An frowned when he heard the other man speak his name so casually, his tone full of arrogance. ¡°And who are you?¡± he replied. Even though he could guess who they were, they had never met before. It wasn¡¯t surprising for him to not know who Yu Nan was.

    Yu Nan¡¯s breathing stopped. He wanted to tell Zu An who he was, but he felt that would be too low for his status. He was momentarily at a loss for what to do.

    Lian Yu grinned. He¡¯d had to suffer quite a bit because of this brother-inw of his, and seeing him like this now felt pretty good. Of course, he would only think that on the inside; he would never show it on the surface.

    Fortunately, Han Fengqiu was tactful enough to quickly introduce them. Along the way, he even praised them quite a bit. Only then did Yu Nan¡¯s expression ease a bit.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    But Princess Changsan wasn¡¯t too happy when she saw her husband suffer a loss. She remarked, ¡°I heard that the Eastern Pce got quite an uncouth neer, that he was most glib in speech. I can see today that that reputation was fully deserved.¡±

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, Princess Changsan is his majesty¡¯s younger sister, no? You should be quite close to the Eastern Pce. Why is it that not only have you not helped the Eastern Pce, you¡¯re instead criticizing the one who has been helping the Eastern Pce?¡±

    Princess Changsan¡¯s expression immediately changed. Those words really stabbed right at her. She couldn''t just say that she was also King Qi¡¯s younger sister, right? But there was no need for her to speak reasonably with Zu An. She eximed, ¡°Brazen! You dare talk disrespectfully to me?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Princess Changsan for +444 Rage points!

    The guards under Zu An looked at each other in dismay. We messed up now¡­ We ended up offending someone like Princess Changshan! Are our petty lives going to end here?

    Zu An sneered inwardly. Looks like the imperial family and I really are destined to sh!

    ¡°As the princess states, I am indeed just a rough man. That¡¯s true in every way.¡± He paused for a moment and said, ¡°I¡¯m acting under the emperor¡¯s orders, and everything is going through proper procedures. I hope the princess doesn¡¯t take offense, if there¡¯s any way I¡¯ve offended you.¡±

    The guards looked at each other in dismay. They hadn¡¯t expected Sir Zu to be so bullheaded. Was he going to just fight back directly? Just where does he get his confidence from? He clearly doesn¡¯t have any n power backing him. Is he really not scared?

    They obviously had no idea that Zu An had already faced the emperor himself in the dungeon, and that he had chatted happily with the celebrated ancestors inside. This was just a trifling little sister of the emperor; why would he treat her as a big deal?

    It would be one thing for him to just suck it up when he faced the emperor, since he couldn''t win against him, but who did this little sister think she was? Either way, since she was closer to King Qi, the emperor wouldn¡¯t side with her either.

    ¡°You dare use my brother, the emperor¡¯s name against me?!¡± Princess Changshan erupted into rage.

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Xiao for +999 Rage points!

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± called a familiar voice in the distance. King Qi walked over with a group of escorts.

    Han Fengqiu sighed in relief when he saw King Qi. He quickly ran over and whispered some details. King Qi quickly became aware of what had just happened.

    ¡°Second brother, this person¡­¡± Princess Changshan was cut off by King Qi before she could even finish.

    ¡°I came out to take a look when I saw that all of you still hadn¡¯t arrived. I didn¡¯t expect all of you to be here.¡± King Qi smiled toward Yu Nan and the others, then looked at Zu An. ¡°Sir Zu, it¡¯s been a while. Your cultivation has advanced greatly. Your talent is unmatched since ancient times.¡±

    Princess Changshan and the others felt something heavy drop inside of them. Only now did they realize that Zu An¡¯s cultivation seemed to have already reached the ninth rank at his young age. If nothing unexpected happened, someone like him would surely have endless prospects. Even an ordinary ninth ranked cultivator couldn''t be rashly provoked, let alone someone like him.

    Zu An chuckled ¡®bashfully¡¯ and replied, ¡°My aptitude is just ordinary. I was even ced in the lowest ss in Brightmoon City. It¡¯s mainly because my luck has been good. Perhaps it¡¯s a reward for being a good person.¡±

    The others almost vomited blood when they heard him call himself a good person. This guy is utterly shameless!

    But King Qi was thinking on a deeper level. His cultivation aptitude is ordinary, but his cultivation advanced so quickly. Looks like it¡¯s because of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra. That technique really is as wondrous as the legends state!

    His eyes began to burn with passion when he thought of that. ¡°Sir Zu, you came at a perfect time. I¡¯ve prepared some wine over here, so why don¡¯t you join us?¡±

 Chapter 908: Waste of Saliva

    <h4>Chapter 908: Waste of Saliva</h4>

    Yu Nan and the others frowned. As core members of King Qi¡¯s faction, even though they didn¡¯t necessarily know exactly what had happened in the dungeon, they knew that King Qi had definitely invested quite a bit. Yet in the end, everything had failed because of a finalck of effort. It was probably all because of Zu An.

    They thought, This kid already made it clear that he was the emperor and the crown prince¡¯s dog, so why the hell are you inviting him?

    But King Qi¡¯s prestige was great. Even though they didn¡¯t understand it, they wouldn¡¯t actually go against his decision.

    Zu An was overjoyed. The fish took the bait! But he pretended to be troubled on the surface. ¡°A meal might be a bit inappropriate. After all, I still have a case to investigate over here.¡±

    King Qi smiled. ¡°You can just ask me directly about your questions regarding the case. After all, there¡¯s no one more familiar with this case in the entire manor. We can talk about it slowly inside.¡±

    He had been absolutely confident in the cultivators he ced in the dungeon. After all, he had even sent in four of his powerful guardians as a failsafe! Despite that, it had still resulted in failure. He just couldn''t figure out what had happened, but Zu An definitely knew.

    Furthermore, his defeat was just way too bitter. Previously, they had been evenly matched against the emperor, but now, they had already been forced into a passive position with their strategy. No matter how capable those under him were, they still couldn''t think of any ways of turning the situation around. Meanwhile, Zu An was a variable. If he could somehow obtain the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra and raise his strength greatly, he would be able to turn things around.

    Zu An finally reluctantly agreed when he heard those words from King Qi. ¡°Since King Qi has asked with such sincerity, I¡¯ll stay for a meal.¡±

    Those guards under him had originally been shaking in fear. But now, when they blinked, they seemed to have weathered this storm? And King Qi was even acting so politely?

    Yu Yan and the others almost vomited blood. Why the hell does this kid even look reluctant to ept this? Is he trying to step all over us?

    You have sessfully trolled Yu Nan for +333 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled Lian Yu for +333 Rage points!

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Xiao for +333 Rage points!

    ¡­

    King Qi was a bit more shrewd in his thoughts. He wasn¡¯t too affected and gestured for those present toe in. Soon afterward, Zu An and Yu Nan¡¯s party followed King Qi into the manor. As for Zu An¡¯s subordinates, Han Fengqiu took care of them.

    Zu An asked many questions regarding King Qi¡¯s concubine along the way, and King Qi patiently responded to all of them. Even Zu An was amazed at how good his attitude was. Only after sitting down did Zu An realize that even though King Qi had answered his questions, he hadn¡¯t provided any useful information. His ability to dodge questions left even Zu An impressed.

    Just then, Madam Qi also arrived under the escort of a maid. She smiled when she saw Princess Chanshan and Lian Yu¡¯s wife. But when she saw Zu An, her smile instantly froze.

    You have sessfully trolled Bi Fanghua for +458 Rage points!

    She clearly still carried resentment after Zu An beat up her son.

    She quickly looked toward King Qi. King Qi¡¯s lips moved slightly, and he was clearly conversing with her in private through ki. Only then did her expression ease a bit. She sat down in her position and didn¡¯t even give Zu An a single look.

    Yu Nan said with a smile, ¡°Madam, it¡¯s almost your birthday. I wonder how you n to celebrate it?¡± This matter was the reason his group hade over to begin with.

    Madam Qi shook her head. ¡°We¡¯re in troubled times, and there¡¯s just been a death in our manor. It¡¯s not a good time to be arranging festivities.¡±

    Yu Nan and the others fell silent. On the surface, she appeared to be talking about the concubine who had just died, but in reality, she was referring to their troops who had died in the dungeon. It was indeed unsuitable to hold a celebration after King Qi Manor had just suffered such a crushing defeat.

    ¡°The madam is kindhearted after all.¡± Those present ttered Madam Qi, before the topic unknowingly drifted to the dungeon trip.

    Lian Yu raised his head to look in Zu An¡¯s direction, remarking, ¡°Sir Zu has earned tremendous contributions from the dungeon test. Can you tell us a bit about what happened in the dungeon?¡±

    King Qi nodded inwardly. Lian Yu is clever as expected. He said it so I don¡¯t have to.

    ¡°I merely killed some fools with impure motives; it¡¯s not deserving of such praise. It¡¯s really not worth mentioning,¡± Zu An said. Despite those words, he couldn''t stop himself from smiling.

    This presumptuous brat! Those present cursed inwardly.

    You have sessfully trolled everyone for +444 +444 +444¡­

    Lian Yu forced a smile and said, ¡°Sir Zu must be joking. How can someone who earned the title of Green Hat Viscount, personally conferred by his majesty, not have tremendous achievements?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face twitched when he heard the words ¡®green hat¡¯. He felt that it would probably be better if he didn¡¯t work so hard, if things were going to end up like this. He replied, ¡°All of you are important subjects of the court. I believe you already know about what happened in the dungeon. Why is there a need for you to ask me any more?¡±

    Just then, King Qi spoke up. ¡°How can some reportspare to hearing from someone directly involved? I hope Sir Zu can clear our confusion regarding some details in that report.¡±

    ¡°Unfortunately, I¡¯ve been too busy with this case recently, and the matter of inspecting the distinguished concubine¡¯s corpse has been a headache in itself. It¡¯s caused me to forget about many of the details from the dungeon,¡± Zu An said while holding his head, as if he were in pain.

    Yu Nan¡¯s expression changed on the spot. ¡°Ridiculous! You actually dare to threaten King Qi?¡±

    King Qi quickly reached out a hand to stop him. ¡°Brother-inw, you¡¯re speaking too seriously. Sir Zu currently bears the burden of his majesty¡¯s orders, and all of us know what my brother the emperor is like. Sir Zu must have his frustrations with this assignment, with his life probably on the line, so his worry ispletely understandable. Why don¡¯t we do this? If Sir Zu tells us the details of what happened in the dungeon, I can consider agreeing to your corpse inspection.¡±

    The others¡¯ expressions changed. They were going to say something else, but King Qi raised his hand and stopped them.

    Zu An gave Yu Nan a disdainful look. These young masters who had been pampered from birth really are quitecking in temperament. Comparatively speaking, King Qi was much more shrewd. Zu An had just ruined his n that had been prepared for many years, and yet he didn¡¯t let his emotions affect his decisions at all. On the contrary, he had not only sown conflict between Zu An and the emperor, but also tried to rope Zu An in. No wonder he had been able to face the emperor for so long!

    ¡°Since the king wishes to listen, how could I dare not toply?¡± Zu An immediately changed his attitude and slowly told them about what had happened in the dungeon.

    King Qi had a strange expression on his face. Zu An spoke about many details that hadn¡¯t been included in the report, but he still hadn¡¯t said a word about Lu Xiao¡¯s group. He basically received nothing after listening to Zu An talk all day. It was almost as if he had taught Zu An a lesson about doing such things on the way, and the kid really learned quickly.

    After Zu An finished his story, he asked, ¡°May I ask when I can examine her highness the concubine¡¯s remains?¡±

    King Qi chuckled. ¡°I said I would consider it, but after thinking about it, I feel like such a thing isn¡¯t in ordance with the royal n¡¯s etiquette. I¡¯ll have to wait upon his majesty¡¯s decision. If he issues a decree, Sir Zu cane and inspect it.¡±

    Zu An wanted to roll his eyes when he heard those words. The other party¡¯s words werepletely meaningless. Why would the emperor ever write such a decree? Wouldn¡¯t the elders of the royal family all start criticizing him? Furthermore, the emperor didn¡¯t want to bepletely hostile with King Qi at the moment, so he wouldn¡¯t break off rtions with King Qi over this.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Now that the atmosphere had be a bit stiff, Madam Qi stepped up to fulfill her duty. She decided to change to a lighter topic. ¡°Everyone, let¡¯s not end up so busy chatting that we forget about the food. This roast pork over here won¡¯t taste good once it gets cold. Hm? Yu Nan, why did you stop after just trying a piece? Is the food not good? I can tell the cook to change it next time.¡±

    Yu Nan shook his head. ¡°The manor¡¯s chefs are excellent; the problem is with the ingredients.¡±

    ¡°Hm? But the meat is from a carefully chosen month-old pig, so there shouldn¡¯t be any issues¡­¡± Madam Qi replied in confusion.

    Yu Nan prodded the roast pork in front of him. ¡°This kind of little pig isn¡¯t a real young roast pig. True suckling pigs are fed by human milk after they¡¯re born, and are then butchered once they turn a month old. That produces the most tender flesh, and only then can this dish truly justify its name.¡±

    Zu An frowned and asked, ¡°Who in the world would feed pigs with human milk?¡±

    Yu Nan said with an indifferent tone, ¡°Sir Zues from a small ce like Brightmoon City, so it¡¯s understandable if you¡¯ve never experienced this before. There are a dozen suckling nannies who specialize in feeding the pigs in the lower mansion. I¡¯ll send Sir Zu one another day.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed. There are people who live so extravagantly in this world? He isn¡¯t treating those suckling nannies as humans at all!

    Forget about him, even King Qi and the others frowned.

    Lian Yu found it even harder to ept and remarked, ¡°Aren¡¯t you going too far? You¡¯d better be careful, or else there might be people in the court who¡¯lle after you for going too far with extravagance and waste.¡±

    Yu Nan didn¡¯t seem bothered at all. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with me spending my own money? I definitely can¡¯t live as miserly a life as you. Don¡¯t think I didn''t know that back then, when the king heard that your peach trees¡¯ peaches were especially sweet and wanted to try some, you secretly poked holes in them for fear that he might nt some of your peaches in his own garden¡­ Hmph, you might not care about dignity, but my Yu n does! You could even do something like that?!¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but shoot Lian Yu a look. He then noticed that even though thetter¡¯s clothing was appropriate, there were some areas that seemed to have lost color from overwashing. Even his wife¡¯s jewelry was clearly inferior to Princess Changshan and Madam Qi¡¯s. His wife came from the Yu n, so how could sheck jewelry? Wow, I really didn¡¯t expect this honest looking guy to be someone like that¡­

    Lian Yu¡¯s face reddened. He eximed angrily, ¡°What the king wanted from me were peaches, and he didn¡¯t say that he was going to nt them! What¡¯s wrong with me giving him just the peach flesh?¡±

    Yu Nan chuckled. ¡°Your stinginess has nothing to do with me, but please don¡¯t make my little sister suffer with you.¡±

    Zu An had found it a bit strange earlier. The two of them were arguing right in front of him because the older brother felt sorry for his little sister and looked down on her husband. But Lian Yu had never approved of this spoiled inw of his, so they naturally didn¡¯t get along.

    Madam Qi and Madam Lian both tried to ease the situation when they saw the two fighting. But because of the conversation, the mood of the meal had already been soured. On the other hand, Zu An was having a great time. It didn¡¯t seem that King Qi¡¯s faction was all that unified either.

    In the end, Zu An wasn¡¯t able to examine Concubine Qi¡¯s remains. When he left King Qi Manor, he first sent the guards under him back. Even though they were his subordinates, who knew how many of them were actually acting as the emperor¡¯s eyes? He just didn¡¯t feel toofortable with them around.

    He kept walking along the main road. While he was thinking about what he should do next, he suddenly felt something and turned to look. He saw a handsome young man standing in front of him. His build was rather slender. Clearly, he was a crossdressing woman.

    She held up something and brought it in front of Zu An. ¡°Excuse me, fellow brother, did you drop this pendant?¡±

    When Zu An saw the ck object, no matter what angle one looked at it from, it was just apletely ordinary rock. He couldn''t help but remark mockingly, ¡°You¡¯re using just a rock? Why don¡¯t you pick up a brick next time and ask me if I dropped that?¡±

    The youngdy¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°That¡¯s a great idea. I now have another way to start a conversation.¡±

    Zu An rolled his eyes and asked, ¡°What are you doing here?¡±

 Chapter 909: Night Exploration

    <h4>Chapter 909: Night Exploration</h4>

    ¡°What, can I not seek you out by myself? Are you disappointed that it isn¡¯t my sister-inw?¡± the youngdy replied with a big grin.

    Zu An¡¯s breathing almost stopped. He answered in an embarrassed manner, ¡°Come on, how can you say that? Even if you don¡¯t care about your sister-inw¡¯s pure reputation, you have to consider mine!¡±

    The crossdressing youngdy was naturally the Sang n¡¯s young miss, Sang Qien. He really hadn¡¯t expected her to be around King Qi Manor. It was almost as if she had been waiting for him.

    Sang Qien stared nkly for a while. You¡¯re a freaking man; why the hell do you care about purity?

    Zu Anughed and patted her shoulder. ¡°What did youe to visit me for?¡±

    Sang Qien¡¯s entire body stiffened when she sensed his movements. She vigntly dodged off to the side. ¡°What are you doing? Men and women shouldn¡¯t touch each other so easily!¡±

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°You¡¯re dressed as a man right now, so you¡¯re a man in everyone¡¯s eyes. Isn¡¯t it normal for guys to have their arms around each other? If you avoid me like that, it¡¯ll only draw suspicion to yourself. There¡¯re a lot of people who have their eyes on me in the capital, you know?¡±

    Sang Qien knew that what Zu An said was the truth. After all, he was a key survivor of the dungeon. To a certain extent, he had be the focal point of the crown prince and King Qi¡¯s struggle. There were eyes from both sides watching him, and even third parties would watch his actions carefully.

    That was why Sang Qien had to disguise herself when she met Zu An. She didn¡¯t want to expose the Sang n so quickly. It was also why she stopped struggling. Fortunately, Zu An didn¡¯t go further than touching her shoulder and didn¡¯t disrespect her. She sighed in relief.

    ¡°My father said that you might need help, so he sent me over to take a look.¡± Sang Qien blushed. She had never interacted so closely with another man before.

    Zu An couldn''t help butugh. ¡°It seems like Sir Sang really cares about me! I¡¯ve indeed been in quite a tough spot recently.¡±

    He told her about the assignment the emperor had given him. ¡°I don¡¯t understand what this kind of investigation can possibly do. There¡¯s no way King Qi Manor will cooperate, and even if there is an investigation, can¡¯t he just assign anyone else to investigate it? Why did he just have to choose me? I already ruined King Qi¡¯s ns in the dungeon, so I already have a target on my back. They¡¯re itching to get rid of me.¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Sang Qien frowned and thought to herself for a while. Zu An looked at her with curiosity. This girl was pretty, and she was attractive even when she was frowning.

    ¡°I know what¡¯s going on. His majesty must have sent you on this task on purpose¡­¡± Sang Qien¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up. She was just about to say something excitedly, but she came to a sudden stop when she saw Zu An¡¯s scorching gaze.

    Zu Anughed and replied, ¡°When did you pick up the bad habit of stating the obvious? Of course the emperor sent me here on purpose.¡±

    Sang Qien gave him an annoyed look, but she still exined, ¡°What I¡¯m trying to say is that his majesty never intended for you to find out anything. The reason he sent you was just to¡­ annoy King Qi.¡±

    She snuck Zu An a look as she spoke. When she saw that he wasn¡¯t showing much of a reaction, she then continued, ¡°This task is also meant to divert King Qi¡¯s attention. If my suspicions are correct, his majesty is actually nning something against King Qi.¡±

    Zu An raised his eyebrows. He thought that the reason the emperor had sent him was to get closer to King Qi and give him the fake manual. He hadn¡¯t expected the emperor to be hiding more ns.

    ¡°Little sis Qien¡¯er, I have apletely new opinion of you!¡± Zu An¡¯s hand on her shoulder tightened a bit.

    Sang Qien gave him an annoyed look. ¡°Just worry about your case! Even though the emperor isn¡¯t hoping for you to find anything, loitering around King Qi Manor will only put you in great danger. You¡¯re the reason why King Qi is now at a huge disadvantage. If you keep dancing in front of them, even if King Qi can tolerate it, his subordinates won¡¯t.¡±

    Zu An nodded inside. He had already seen that King Qi¡¯s attitude was passable, but the others from King Qi Manor, as well as Yu Nan and the others, all hated him. If he had met them in private, they might¡¯ve already attacked him.

    ¡°Then what else could I do? I can¡¯t investigate the concubine¡¯s corpse, and there¡¯s no trail to go off of.¡± Zu An was quite vexed.

    Sang Qien was actually happy to see Zu An be the frustrated one for once. ¡°I think it¡¯s best if you give up on that thought. Even though she was just a concubine, she was King Qi¡¯s woman. There¡¯s no way he would let you examine her corpse. His majesty would never demand it either.¡±

    Zu An asked, ¡°Are there female coroners in the capital?¡±

    Sang Qien shook her head. ¡°Coroners usually work with heavily dposed corpses, so their job is usually done by men. I¡¯ve never heard of a woman being willing to do something like that.¡±

    Zu An scoffed. ¡°I believe in gender equality. Why the heck are you guys discriminating based on sex in this world?¡±

    ¡°Gender equality?¡± Sang Qien¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°You normally speak a bunch of nonsense, but this is something nice for once. Just because you said that, I guess I can reluctantly help you out this time.¡±

    ¡°You know a female coroner?¡± Zu An asked, confused.

    ¡°I already told you that no woman would want to do something like that. But¡­¡± Sang Qien¡¯s voice changed when she said, ¡°I know a thing or two.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°Why do you know something like that?¡±

    ¡°There was a time when I was bored, so I learned a bit about every profession,¡± Sang Qien said out of embarrassment. After all, ying around with things like corpses wasn¡¯t something a girl was supposed to be proud of. ¡°But even if I know some things, it¡¯s useless. There¡¯s no way King Qi Manor will let us examine her corpse.¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°I have a way!¡±

    ¡­

    When it waste at night, he brought Sang Qien near King Qi Manor. She looked at the tall walls and asked while rolling her eyes, ¡°So this is your solution?¡±

    Zu An prepared the tools they would need while saying, ¡°Since there¡¯s no way they¡¯ll agree to the inspection, we¡¯ll just do it ourselves. Don¡¯t worry, I have some masks here that¡¯ll change your appearance. They won¡¯t give away your real identity even if we get caught.¡±

    Sang Qien couldn''t help but correct him. ¡°They¡¯ll obviously find out that we¡¯re wearing masks if they catch us! What¡¯s the point of that then?!¡±

    ¡°Then just don¡¯t get caught, duh.¡± Zu An helped her put on the mask as he spoke. These were masks he had gotten from the ckwind Stockade¡¯s Chen Xuan. They really were absolutely essential when doing anything bad.

    Sang Qien was really starting to panic when she saw how nonchnt he was. ¡°King Qi Manor¡¯s security is tight, and there are experts everywhere. We¡¯ll definitely be caught if we go in like this.¡±

    She had already made the decision that she¡¯d immediately back out if he insisted on this. After all, she had the Sang n to worry about.

    But Zu An said seriously, ¡°There were many more King Qi Manor experts in the dungeon.¡±

    Sang Qien was momentarily stunned when she saw the firmness and confidence in the other party¡¯s eyes. Even though she had wanted to back out a second ago, she now chose to trust him.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, even if we run into any danger, I¡¯ll save you even if I have to sacrifice my manhood,¡± Zu An said in constion.

    Sang Qien harrumphed. This fellow really couldn''t be serious for more than three seconds.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Zu An grabbed Sang Qien¡¯s hand, then jumped over the wall.

    Even though King Qi Manor had a defensive formation around it, the ki stone consumption would be astronomical if such arge area were protected all time. That was why normally speaking, it would only be focused on some important rooms. The other ces relied more on patrolling guards. That also gave Zu An an opportunity.

    Sang Qien was very nervous. After all, a ce like King Qi Manor had always been like a tiger¡¯s den. Even though her cultivation was top-notch among her peers, she¡¯d be discovered and captured within ten seconds after breaking in.

    And yet, when she entered with Zu An, it was smooth sailing. They would always somehow avoid the guards at thest moment, as if he could foresee the future. It was almost as if they were just going on a stroll through the ce.

    She was just about to ask him how he did it, but she suddenly saw that a troop of guards wereing straight at them. There were also guards behind them whose patrol path intersected with the troops ahead. Their patrol had no blind spots.

    Sang Qien¡¯s face paled, because they had nowhere else to run. They were going to be found out in moments! Then, countless King Qi Manor experts would follow, rushing over after hearing the rm.

 Chapter 910: Trapped Inside

    <h4>Chapter 910: Trapped Inside</h4>

    I can¡¯t believe I let this guy trick me into doing this! Sang Qien was panicking so much that she almost stomped her feet. At the same time, she quickly thought about how they were going to deal with the aftermath.

    With her identity, King Qi probably wouldn¡¯t kill her, but breaking in and conspiring against him was a huge matter that could end really badly. Her father had finally made a bit of aeback, but he might lose his post because of this. After all, her father was definitely someone on the emperor¡¯s side. King Qi could even use this to threaten the Sang n and bring them over to his side. If that happened, the Sang n would be at King Qi¡¯s mercy.

    She even thought about making sure she had the same confession as Zu An, to tell him what to say so they wouldn¡¯t get punished as much. But who could have thought that he would grab her, then jump straight into the pond off to the side?!N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Sang Qien thought to herself, What¡¯s the point? The manor¡¯s security were all experienced personnel. They¡¯d definitely notice if they jumped straight into the water and caused a huge scene.

    But she waspletely surprised. They didn¡¯t make a single sound when they jumped into the water! The water¡¯s surface seemed as if it had been parted by an invisible pair of hands. Then, after they went inside, the water closed up again on its own. There wasn¡¯t even a single ripple.

    What was even more shocking was that she had nned to hold her breath. She had even wondered what she''d doter if Zu An wanted to feed her oxygen¡­ Should she refuse him or not? Such plots always happened in those romantic novels!

    ¡°Why are you staring at my mouth?¡± Zu An asked, confused.

    ¡°Who¡­ Who¡¯s staring at your mouth?!¡± Sang Qien blushed and she quickly looked away.

    But what was shocking was that she didn¡¯t feel as if she were underwater at all. The surroundings were empty, and there was fresh air. It was as if the two of them were in a transparent bubble.

    ¡°What¡­ is going on?¡± Sang Qien was shocked. The patrolling guards were already close by, and she was scared of exposing herself with her voice. She could only move closer to Zu An and whisper into his ear.

    Meanwhile, Zu An was enjoying the whole process. He also moved closer to her and whispered, ¡°Is little sis Qien¡¯er trying to tease me bying so close? I¡¯m a married man, you know?¡±

    Sang Qien was speechless. She pushed him back like a startled rabbit. This idiot can go to hell!

    Only when those guards left did Zu An grab Sang Qien and reappear on the surface.

    Sang Qien couldn''t even be bothered to be angry when she saw that there wasn¡¯t a drop of water on her. She asked quietly, ¡°How did you do that?¡±

    ¡°A secret.¡± Zu An chuckled. It was obviously because of the Blue Mard¡¯s elemental affinity effects, but the intricate use of the element was something Mi Li had taught him. Mi Li had fallen asleep again toward the end of the dungeon test. He wondered how her recovery was going.

    Sang Qien pouted. This guy really made her want to bite him. However, her mood was quickly reced by admiration. Zu An sometimes led her through a casual walk, and sometimes brought her quickly through an area. There were times when they had to sometimes proceed and sometimes go backward¡­ But because of all that, they weren¡¯t noticed by a single guard.

    They quickly arrived at a secluded courtyard. There were whitenterns hanging everywhere, and paper money and dried branches were scattered across the ground. The giant Chinese character at the very center looked especially eerie under the dim lighting.

    Zu An had already had his subordinates look around the area during the day. It was where the concubine¡¯s coffin was.

    ording to this world¡¯s traditional beliefs, departed souls would remain in the world for a period of time and couldn¡¯t be buried immediately. Only on the seventh day after their death would the spirit then return to take a look. Then, it would enter the cycle of reincarnation.

    That meant at least seven days had to pass before they could be buried. Today just happened to be the seventh day after King Qi¡¯s concubine had passed away.

    ¡°Why is there no one in the courtyard?¡± Sang Qien was careful at first, but when she looked around, she saw that there wasn¡¯t a single person present.

    ¡°It¡¯s because today is the seventh day since her death.¡± Zu An used the jade badge to control several little creatures and look around. When he confirmed that there was no one around them, he then sighed in relief.

    Sang Qian immediately understood. Ancient customs said that the departed soul would return home on the seventh day, so they had to prepare a meal in advance for the soul before it returned. Then, they had to stay away from the ce. If the departed soul saw some family or people they knew, it might influence their future reincarnation.

    She couldn''t help but give Zu An a look. Even though this man always seemed so nonchnt and carefree, he had actually thought things through. No wonder he had chosen today to examine the concubine¡¯s remains.

    Zu An walked up to the funeral hall. There was a massive coffin in the center. This was the concubine of a king after all, so they wouldn¡¯t skimp on such details for her. He ced his hand on the coffin and felt the surface. Then, ki rippled out, sending the sealed coffin¡¯s nails flying. The coffin opened up as he said, ¡°Little sis Qien¡¯er, I¡¯ll leave the rest to you.¡±

    A chill swept through the ce when the lid opened up, as if what was inside were an ice cupboard. King Qi¡¯s concubiney inside calmly. Her features were beautiful, and she looked as if she were still alive.

    Zu An immediately understood that the cold was because of a formation¡¯s refrigeration effect, preventing the body from decaying. He had to admit that these nobles¡¯ lives were all quite extravagant.

    Sang Qien gave him a look, clearly criticizing his crudeness. She walked up to the coffin and joined her hands together, saying ¡°Please do not take offense, your highness. We only wish to uncover the truth about your death so you can rest peacefully.¡±

    After apologizing, she then moved next to the coffin and took a look. She sighed the moment she saw the body inside. ¡°This concubine is still so young and beautiful¡­ Beautiful women truly suffer unhappy fates.¡±

    Zu An chuckled and remarked, ¡°But I don¡¯t think she¡¯s as pretty as little sis Qien¡¯er.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, you¡¯re just a smooth talker.¡± Sang Qien harrumphed, but she didn¡¯t get angry at all. Instead, she had a grin on her face. Girls all liked to hear words of praise. Sigh, how could my big brother¡¯s stupid chauvinism win against him? No wonder sister-inw¡­

    She raised the concubine¡¯s arm and began to examine her. ¡°Normally, if someone were to drown, their mind would be extremely tense before death. They would struggle frantically and il their arms. There would be water nts, silt, and other such things trapped in their fingernails. However, there¡¯s nothing in her fingernails. Of course, there¡¯s a chance that the manor¡¯s staff already helped to wash these areas. But I also checked her oral and nasal cavities, and I didn¡¯t find any red suds there. That would be one of the biggest signs of someone who died from drowning.¡±

    She began to undo the concubine¡¯s clothing as she spoke. Halfway through the process, she turned around and gave Zu An a look.

    Zu An quickly turned around. He had no interest in necrophilia and didn¡¯t want to look at a dead person¡¯s body, even if she was still as beautiful as when she was still alive.

    Sang Qien spoke again a whileter. ¡°Even though her palms and soles are a bit wrinkled and pale, it¡¯s not too severe. I don¡¯t think she stayed underwater for that long. Also, I could barely find any dirt in her mouth or nose. That¡¯s why my overall conclusion is that she was just thrown into a pond to fake her drowning.¡±

    ¡°Not surprising at all.¡± Zu An nodded. ¡°Then what¡¯s her real cause of death?¡±

    Sang Qien replied, ¡°I checked her entire body, but there weren¡¯t any external injuries. There aren¡¯t any signs of poisoning either. However, there seemed to be bleeding from her eyes. If I¡¯m not wrong, she suffered damage to her head. But how could a glorious concubine be killed like this in this heavily guarded King Qi Manor?¡±

    Zu An said with a sigh, ¡°The only one who could do something like this is that person.¡± Sang Qien was about to say something when Zu An¡¯s expression suddenly changed and he said, ¡°There are guardsing.¡±

    ¡°Were we discovered?¡± Sang Qien eximed in horror.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡± Zu An shook his head. He saw that Sang Qien was about to jump through a side window. He quickly grabbed her and said, ¡°There¡¯s no time.¡±

    Immediately afterward, he pulled her into the coffin. Those outside came into the room just as the coffin lid closed back up.

 Chapter 911: Night of the Seventh Day

    <h4>Chapter 911: Night of the Seventh Day</h4>

    Sang Qien was caught off guard and pulled into the coffin, her heart pounding. She was even more shocked when she felt Zu An holding her hand. Is he going to use this as a chance to take advantage of me?

    This was such a narrow space that they had been forced to stay close together to begin with. King Qi Manor¡¯s people were outside, so she couldn''t even make a single noise. That was why she couldn''t do a thing if he wanted to do something to her now.

    Just then, she heard him tell her through ki, ¡°Your heart is beating too fast; I¡¯ll help you calm down.¡±

    Sang Qien was stunned. Then, she sensed a wave of warm energy spreading throughout her entire body through his palm. After that, her panicked breathing unknowingly calmed down. She finally realized that Zu An had done so because her heart was beating too fast, for fear that those outside might notice.

    She thought, What the heck was I thinking about just now? Ahhh, this is so embarrassing¡­

    Zu An asked in confusion, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Your heart rate is rising again.¡±

    Sang Qien blushed and quickly shook her head. She turned to look away, but then saw the concubine¡¯s face and almost jumped in fright.

    The coffin was specially made and had cooling properties. Its dark blue formation lines glowed a faint blue. That was why she could still see the concubine inside.

    Even though she knew the skills of a coroner and wasn¡¯t scared of corpses, she had never been in a coffin together with a corpse before. Furthermore, the situation she was in made the icy blue face especially terrifying. She subconsciously leaned closer to Zu An. His body¡¯s warmth mysteriously made her feel more at ease.

    A familiar voice spoke outside the coffin. ¡°Everyone, please move swiftly. Make sure to check the surroundings carefully. That Zu An demanded the inspection of the concubine¡¯s body; we absolutely can¡¯t give him any chances.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± came several orderly replies. Then, the guards dispersed to search the area.

    Sang Qien¡¯s expression changed. She whispered toward Zu An, ¡°Han Fengqiu?¡±

    As someone who also resided in the capital, she was aware of King Qi Manor¡¯s guardian. Her cultivation wasn¡¯t high enough, so she was worried that her existence might be detected by Han Fengqiu¡¯s ninth ranked cultivation. That was why she didn¡¯t dare tomunicate through ki and instead whispered her words. She was worried that Zu An might not know what she was saying, so she drew the words on his chest.

    Zu An subconsciously raised his hand to draw his response on her impressive chest, but he then realized that would be weird. Heughed awkwardly and said through ki, ¡°Yes. He was probably worried that I might break in, so he came here to make sure that absolutely wouldn¡¯t happen.¡±

    Sang Qien blushed, clearly noticing what had happened. But there was nothing she could do about it, so she continued to write her response. ¡°Then what do we do now? Are we going to be discovered?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, these King Qi Manor personnel won¡¯t examine the concubine¡¯s coffin,¡± Zu An replied.

    The two of them were so close to each other. Zu An was also worried that they might be discovered by Han Fengqiu, so he subconsciously moved closer to Sang Qien¡¯s ear.

    Sang Qien¡¯s ears had been sensitive to begin with. She felt a numb sensation ripple through her entire body when she felt the heat from his breath. Her heart rate began to quicken again.

    Suddenly, a guard cried out in rm. ¡°Sir¡­ Sir¡­ Sir Han!¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Han Fengqiu was unhappy to be called by a guard that way.

    The guard stuttered, ¡°The coffin¡­ Over here¡­ Part of the concubine¡¯s clothing is sticking out here!¡±

    The two people inside were rmed. Zu An raised his head and saw that a corner of the concubine¡¯s clothing was sandwiched in the coffin lid. Sang Qien had probably forgotten to fix that area after her inspection. Afterward, they were in too much of a rush when they jumped inside, which was why that spot hadn¡¯tpletely been restored to its usual state.

    Zu An quickly pulled the cloth back in. Han Fengqiu spoke again, but he was clearly closer. ¡°Where? Why don¡¯t I see anything?¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°It was just¡­ just here.¡± The guard pointed at a part of the coffin lid. He sounded more and more scared. ¡°Sir Han, today is the seventh day¡­ Do you think this ce is haunted?¡±

    ¡°Stop saying nonsense! How can there be any ghosts?¡± Han Fengqiu harrumphed. Then, with the sound of footsteps, he instantly appeared next to the coffin. He ced his hand on its lid.

    Sang Qien¡¯s heart was about to jump out of her chest. Her eyes were filled with rm. What do we do? What do we do now?!

    But she waspletely stupefied a moment after. Zu An pulled her right into his arms! Sang Qien¡¯s head wentpletely nk. Do you know what¡¯s happening right now? And yet you¡¯re going to take advantage of me here?

    But she quickly threw out that thought. She already knew that even though Zu An might not be the most upright gentleman, he wasn¡¯t someone who didn¡¯t think before he acted. There was definitely a reason for him to do such a thing.

    Zu An was quite surprised. He had expected her to struggle, but her cooperation saved him quite a bit of effort. As such, he used ¡®Mirror Mirage¡¯ and neutralized their presence into nothing.

    Han Fengqiu remained silent for a while, inspecting the coffin. A whileter, he tried to open up the coffin and said, ¡°No living person can escape my detection. Furthermore, this coffin lid¡­¡± He pushed the lid while speaking, but it didn¡¯t budge. He continued, ¡°See? Isn¡¯t it closed properly? Stop thinking nonsense.¡±

    ¡°But I clearly just¡­¡± The guard was cut off by the other guards¡¯ughter before he even finished his sentence.

    ¡°I know you¡¯ve always been a coward. I think you were just seeing things!¡±

    ¡°Exactly. You were muttering about how it was the seventh day or something, that you were scared of her highness¡¯ souling back.¡±

    ¡°Did you read too many ghost stories?¡±

    ¡­

    The guard¡¯s face turned red when he heard everyone else¡¯sughter. As such, he concluded that he had been mistaken.

    ¡°Enough, enough already. Do you guys not know where we are?! Stop being disrespectful!¡± Han Fengqiu cut off the guards¡¯ughter with a shout. ¡°Go back to your posts outside. Has that Qiu Yue arrived yet?¡±

    Zu An was surprised. Qiu Yue was the concubine¡¯s personal maid.

    ¡°She¡¯s here!¡± Several guards quickly brought in some servant girls.

    Han Fengqiu nodded. He said to Qiu Yue and the others, ¡°Guard this ce for the next few days; don¡¯t let anyone approach, especially that Zu An. Call me if anything happens.¡±

    This was where King Qi¡¯s concubine¡¯s corpse was, after all, and a cold formation had even been used to preserve her appearance. That was why it wasn¡¯t proper for guards like them to stay there. The most qualified people for the job were naturally the maids.

    Qiu Yue gave thergest coffin in the middle of the funeral hall a look. Her face waspletely pale. ¡°Sir Han, today is the seventh day, the day that the soul returns. People she knows shouldn¡¯t be here! Otherwise, she might be reluctant to leave this world peacefully!¡±

    Han Fengqiu said with a frown, ¡°All of that is absolute nonsense. Don¡¯t believe that stuff. There are so many people guarding this ce with you, and there are people patrolling outside. What are you scared of?¡±

    Qiu Yue felt wronged when she heard him berate her that way. But her status was low and she couldn''t really retort. She could only agree reluctantly.

    Han Fengqiu looked around. When he confirmed that there was nothing else strange, he brought the rest of the men with him. It wasn¡¯t that he hadn¡¯t been careful enough, but rather that no one expected the heavily-guarded King Qi Manor to be so easily infiltrated. Their visit was only to guard against anything unexpected.

    When she heard the activity outside, Sang Qien quietly asked, ¡°What do we do now?¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°We¡¯ll stay here tonight.¡±

    Sang Qien was confused. She was about to ask something else, but she saw that Zu An had already closed his eyes and fallen asleep. She had been a sharp person to begin with. She quickly understood what he meant. There were guards everywhere at that moment. Furthermore, after the incident with the concubine¡¯s clothing, it was the most dangerous time.

    But knowing that was one thing. She was going to sleep in a coffin, and furthermore right next to a corpse? That was way too terrifying!

    She turned around and gave the concubine¡¯s remains a look, but in the end, she chose to move a bit closer into Zu An¡¯s arms. The coffin had been a cramped space to begin with. She was now so close to a young man, and she could feel his masculine energy. It was hard for her thoughts to not wander crazily.

    Objectively speaking, Zu An was quite an outstanding man. But he was the Chu n¡¯s young master, and he even seemed to have something going on with her sister-inw. How could the two of them have anything between them? Otherwise, wouldn¡¯t she be letting her big brother down¡­

    But as she thought about such things, she unknowingly fell asleep while nestled up against Zu An.

 Chapter 912, (1): Coincidence

    <h4>Chapter 912, (1): Coincidence</h4>

    After a long time had passed, the drowsy Sang Qien was suddenly roused awake. She felt dizzy, and her entire body was drenched in cold sweat from fright. She had actually fallen asleep in the coffin! But the coffin was airtight, so it would be easy to suffocate to death inside!

    Sang Qien quickly turned around to check on Zu An. However, she saw him looking at her with a smile as soon as she raised her head. She blushed and asked quietly, ¡°When did you wake up?¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°I¡¯ve been awake for a bit already.¡±

    Sang Qien gave him an usatory look. ¡°Then why didn¡¯t you wake me up?¡±

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°I couldn¡¯t bear to do it from how soundly you were sleeping.¡±

    Sang Qien panicked when she heard him say he ¡®couldn¡¯t bear to¡¯. A storm of thoughts rushed through her mind in that instant. She quickly changed the topic to hide her embarrassment. ¡°You really are something. Aren¡¯t you scared that we might just suffocate to death inside the coffin?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I already opened up a crack.¡± Zu An pointed above himself. Sure enough, there was a sliver of lighting through from above. Even though it wasn¡¯t that obvious, it was enough for venttion.

    Then didn¡¯t he wake up a long time ago, and just kept looking at me all night?

    Sang Qien felt a bit light-headed. She didn¡¯t dare think about that subject any more. Instead, she asked, ¡°What¡¯s the situation outside?¡±

    Zu An put away his yful smile. ¡°The guards have already pretty much pulled back. The ones that are left are dozing off as well. There are only a few maids left here, and the other maids have all fallen asleep. Only the concubine¡¯s personal maid Qiu Yue is still burning paper offerings in front of the coffin.¡±

    Sang Qien was rmed. Wouldn¡¯t she hear what they were saying if she was right in front of the coffin?

    Zu An seemed to have seen through her worries and reassured her, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, she isn¡¯t a cultivator.¡±

    Sang Qien sighed in relief. Then, she finally realized that she was still leaning against his chest. They were pressed up against each other so closely she could feel his breath when he spoke.

    Even though she had studied a bit of everything for the sake of moreprehensive knowledge, even knowing a bit about autopsies, she knew absolutely nothing about romance. She had absolutely zero experience. She felt her entire body be a bit weak when she felt the powerful masculine energy around her. It was even a bit hard for her to think normally.

    Fortunately, the maid Qiu Yue spoke outside. ¡°Your highness, please be at ease. You can¡¯t me me for what happened that day; I didn¡¯t know that this would happen either¡­¡±

    Qiu Yue had deliberately lowered her voice. If not because Zu An and Sang Qien were so close, and that they were both cultivators, they wouldn¡¯t be able to hear those words at all.

    Sang Qien was shocked. She quickly looked at Zu An and said, ¡°Looks like there was some ulterior motive behind the concubine¡¯s death after all. This maid is one of the insiders.¡±

    Zu An nodded. He had already known that much.

    He had noticed that Qiu Yue was way too calm when he interrogated her before. After all, the concubine was her master, so their lives were practically tied together. And yet, after the concubine died, she actually didn¡¯t look all that bereaved. When he had asked if the concubine might have been killed, she didn¡¯t directly refute it either.

    Normally speaking, shouldn¡¯t a servant¡¯s first reaction have been to call for help and investigate the truth? He had wanted to make sure that he hadn¡¯t misunderstood her, so he¡¯d asked how the concubine treated the maid normally. She¡¯d said that the concubine treated her like a sister, so her response made even less sense. That was why he had known that there was something wrong with the maid, but he just hadn¡¯t voiced his suspicions yet.

    Zu An listened to the servant mumble for a long time, but she didn¡¯t say anything really useful. He became a bit impatient and pushed open the coffin.

    Qiu Yue raised her head in puzzlement when she heard a noiseing from the coffin. When she saw the coffin¡¯s cover move, she felt her soul leave her body. She was about to scream when a ck figure darted out. Then, she cked out.

    Zu An didn¡¯t stop there. His figure turned into a streak of lightning, instantly tapping the sleeping maids and making sure they werepletely asleep.

    Sang Qien crawled out from the coffin and asked with a bit of hesitation, ¡°How are we going to deal with the aftermath now that we¡¯ve created this huge fuss here?¡±

    Zu An patted her shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t be in such a rush toe out yet.¡±

    Sang Qien was confused. Zu An seemed to have noticed her bewilderment and said with a nod, ¡°Stay in the coffin.¡± He tossed her a set of clothes afterward, saying ¡°Change into these clothes inside the coffin.¡±

    Sang Qien had been wondering why she was going to stay in the coffin, but those clothes drew her attention. The material was soft and sleek, clearly made of precious material. The style was also noble and elegant. It was a beautiful dress.

    But that¡¯s not important right now! She quickly reacted, and asked, ¡°What kind of dress is this? Why should I change into it?¡±

    If not because they had already spent some time together, she would have suspected that he was using this chance to mess with her.

    Zu An replied, ¡°Those are King Qi¡¯s concubine¡¯s clothes.¡±

    Sang Qien was speechless. Even though she wasn¡¯t scared of corpses, this guy had made her sleep in the coffin, and then made her change into the corpse¡¯s clothes? Wasn¡¯t that way too weird?

    ¡°I need you to pretend to be the concubine to get some confessions out of this maid,¡± Zu An exined. That was something Daji could take care of too, but he didn¡¯t want to reveal his trump cards to too many people. Furthermore, King Qi Manor was on high alert at the moment. It would be troublesome if the ki fluctuations caused by Daji¡¯s skill ended up alerting King Qi Manor¡¯s people.

    ¡°Why do you have the concubine¡¯s clothes?¡± Sang Qien¡¯s eyes widened. She looked at him in confusion.

    ¡°I snagged a set during my investigation during the day.¡± Zu An gave the nearby ¡®Pin Ru¡¯s Wardrobe¡¯ a look. He had left that wardrobe in a corner after taking out the clothes.

    ¡°Qiu Yue is the concubine¡¯s personal maid, so she couldn¡¯t be more familiar with her master. Will this really be enough to fool her?¡± Sang Qien was skeptical. Did this guy just want to see her change clothes?

    ¡°She feels guilty to begin with, and it¡¯s the seventh night. If she sees youe out from the coffin, she¡¯ll be absolutely frightened. How could she be bothered with trying to tell you apart?¡± Zu An didn¡¯t tell her about Pin Ru¡¯s Wardrobe and instead exined it in a different way.

    Sang Qien nodded. There would be a good chance if they did that. However, she eximed, ¡°Then you have to turn around! You better not peep!¡± She was a bit distressed. She really waspletely going along with this man¡¯s pace today! He had probably already nned this from the very start!

    While she finished her preparations, Zu An hid in a corner, then unsealed Qiu Yue¡¯s acupoint.

    When she slowly woke up again, Qiu Yue felt that her surroundings were incredibly sinister. A cold chill blew past, and the candle mes in the funeral hall flickered. She wrapped her arms around herself and rubbed them together to create a bit of warmth.

    ¡°Qiu Yue¡­¡± came a faint voice from inside the funeral hall.

    Qiu Yue¡¯s eyes widened in confusion. She looked all around her, but didn¡¯t see anything. She pushed her nearbypanions and asked, ¡°Did you all hear anything?¡±

    But thosepanions werepletely knocked out. They didn¡¯t wake up even when she pushed them.

    ¡°Qiu Yue¡­¡± The cold and eerie voice spoke again.

    Qiu Yue felt more and more scared. She quickly kowtowed to the surroundings. ¡°Is that your highness? You must have returned tonight. I hope you¡¯ve enjoyed your meal and drink, and that you can pass on peacefully¡­¡±

    It was a woman¡¯s voice. Even though it wasn¡¯t too simr to the concubine¡¯s voice, she was utterly terrified and couldn¡¯t tell the difference. Furthermore, the concubine was now a ghost, so it was normal for her voice to have changed.

    Creeeeak!

    Suddenly, a loud creak came from the coffin. Qiu Yue jumped in fright and looked up in rm. She saw that the center coffin¡¯s lid was slowly being pushed open.

    ¡°Your highness¡­¡± Qiu Yue felt her scalp turn numb. She wanted to call out, but it was hard for her to even speak loudly. She wanted to run, but she suddenly went limp. She couldn¡¯t even crawl back up to her feet.

    Zu An, who was watching from the shadows, smirked. This woman has been scared so badly I don¡¯t even have to do a thing.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The coffin lid suddenly stopped. Qiu Yue looked upward in rm. Then, she saw a woman slowly sit up from the coffin.

    The woman wore the concubine¡¯s favorite dress from when she was still alive. Even though Qiu Yue couldn¡¯t see her face from the disheveled hair, how could she not recognize who it was, as her personal maid?

    ¡°I¡¯ve died such a miserable death¡­¡± The woman slowly crawled out of the coffin, then walked toward Qiu Yue step by step.

 Chapter 912, (2): Coincidence

    <h4>Chapter 912, (2): Coincidence</h4>

    Zu An almost burst outughing. This Sang Qien brat¡¯s acting is actually pretty good! I didn¡¯t even teach her what to do, and yet she actually taught herself! She even moved her hair in front of her face! Who wouldn¡¯t want a partner as reliable as this?

    However, Sang Qien didn¡¯t actually have to hide her face, because she was under the effects of Pin Ru¡¯s Wardrobe. To Qiu Yue, she looked just like the concubine.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Your highness, it has nothing to do with me! It has nothing to do with me!¡± Qiu Yue frantically moved backward, but her body was so weak that she only managed to shuffle a few feet away. She could only repeatedly kowtow as tears streamed down her face.

    Sang Qien was quite shocked. Why is this woman so scared? Is my acting that good? But she reacted quickly as well. She quickly took the chance to say, ¡°It was you who caused my death.¡±

    Qiu Yue sobbed as she exined, ¡°It wasn¡¯t me! When I told King Qi about it, I didn¡¯t know he would kill you! Spare me, your highness! Spare me!¡±

    Zu An and Sang Qien were both shocked. They had never expected the killer to be King Qi!

    Sang Qien didn¡¯t need Zu An to tell her anything. She immediately asked about why King Qi would kill her.

    Through Qiu Yue¡¯s stuttering exnation, the two of them finally found out what had happened. It turned out that during that day, King Qi¡¯s concubine had dressed up meticulously. Perhaps because it had been too long since she had met with King Qi, she had ended up meeting him without bringing anyone with her.

    The maid had just happened to run into King Qi in the courtyard, and happily told him that her master was heading over to visit him. King Qi¡¯s expression instantly turned a bit strange. When he heard that, he quickly left.

    Then, something happened to the concubine that very night. Qiu Yue was terrified, but as someone who had spent a long time in this king manor, she knew what she had to do to survive. She didn¡¯t dare to say a thing no matter who asked her, and she pretended to not know anything. That was how she had been able to live until now.

    What she was most worried about at that point, apart from her highnessing back and demanding her life, was that King Qi would choose to silence her. However, King Qi had never done anything, which made her calm down a bit.

    Zu An knocked out Qiu Yue, then said gravely, ¡°A concubine already died. If her personal maid died so soon, anyone would be suspicious. That¡¯s why King Qi probably decided to take the risk of keeping her alive.¡±

    Sang Qien nodded in agreement. ¡°But ording to what she said, we still can¡¯t tell why King Qi would kill her. From what I know, this concubine was beautiful ever since she was young. Ever since she entered the manor a few years ago, she always received King Qi¡¯s favor. Why would he kill her for no reason?¡±

    Zu An recalled the appearance of the woman inside the coffin. She could be called beautiful, or at the very least prettier than King Qi¡¯s other concubines. She was also younger. His expression became strange as he mused, ¡°Did the concubine actuallymit adultery?¡± This was the only reason he could think of as to why a man would kill the woman he adored.

    ¡°That is indeed the most likely possibility.¡± Sang Qien blushed. ¡°But who the hell would be so brave as to mess with King Qi¡¯s woman?¡±

    Zu An also had a strange look on his face. I even slept with the emperor¡¯s women, so is this even that big of a deal? However, he raised his head and looked outside, saying, ¡°The sky is about to brighten again. Let¡¯s leave for now.¡±

    Sang Qien nodded. This was definitely not a ce they wanted to be in for a long time. She was stunned when she saw Zu An pick up Qiu Yue and hoist her up on his shoulders.

    Zu An replied, ¡°This is a key witness. King Qi might kill her at any time if we leave her here. That¡¯s why it¡¯s better for us to bring her away.¡±

    Sang Qien was hesitant. ¡°But a witness alone might not be enough¡­¡± She gave the coffin a look. ¡°I think you should take the concubine¡¯s corpse with you. Only then will you have a chance of convicting King Qi.¡±

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°Kidnapping a maid isn¡¯t a big deal, but taking away a concubine¡¯s corpse is a huge offense. If we fail to convict King Qi, we won¡¯t be able to shoulder the consequences of King Qi¡¯s me. We¡¯re just investigating a case; there¡¯s no need to throw our very lives away.¡±

    Sang Qien was still hesitant. ¡°Why do I feel more as if you don¡¯t want to convict King Qi of a crime?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re overthinking it. Let¡¯s just get out of here.¡± Zu An smiled, but he was shocked inwardly. This woman was just too sharp! He indeed didn¡¯t want the case to get out of hand. If that happened, no one would be able to keep the emperor in check anymore! That would only make things even more difficult for him.

    Of course, there was no way he would share those thoughts with the Sang n. Even though they kept stating that they wanted to form an alliance with him, they had clearly been on the emperor¡¯s side beforehand. Who knew what they were really thinking?

    After what they had already experienced,bined with the fact that at that hour most people were resting, they were able to smoothly leave King Qi Manor.

    Sang Qien looked at Qiu Yue, who was slumped over Zu An¡¯s shoulders, and asked curiously, ¡°Do you have a ce to keep her?¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t reply. He only looked at her with a smile. Sang Qien¡¯s expression changed. ¡°You wanted to leave her with us? No way; absolutely not!¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°You know that there are many eyes watching my manor. If I bring her back, she¡¯ll be easily discovered. I don¡¯t have anywhere else to put her! You¡¯re the only one who can help me. Aren¡¯t we allies?¡±

    Sang Qien refused. ¡°Our n has many people watching us too!¡±

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°That was before. The emperor already used your father¡¯s contributions to pardon his crimes, giving him a position in the Imperial Secretariat Ministry of Transactions. The people monitoring him have already been pulled back. Little sis Qien¡¯er,e on, help me out. Big brother will give you a lollipop next time.¡±

    The Ministry of Transactions was in charge of government revenue statistics and management. It was now one of the five high ministries of the Imperial Secretariat, together with the Ministry of Appointments, Ministry of Receptions, Ministry of Travel, and Ministry of Agriculture, which worked in tandem with the Three Dukes.

    The Zhou Dynasty¡¯s five ministries functioned simrly to the six government ministries of Ancient China, but their authority was much weaker. They were in charge of the Imperial Secretariat¡¯s trivial busy work, underneath the Imperial Secretariat and the Left and Right Confidential Assistants.

    For example, the Yu n¡¯s Yu Xuanchong and Bi Linglong¡¯s father Bi Qi were the ministries¡¯ immediate supervisors.

    ¡°Don¡¯t try to bribe me with a lollipop!¡± Sang Qien¡¯s expression was full of strong emotions. But in the end, she still gave in under his coaxing and pestering. ¡°I¡¯m making it clear right now that this will be the only time; there¡¯s no next time! I¡¯ve really been tricked by you today¡­¡±

    Zu An chuckled and patted her shoulder. ¡°Thanks, little sis Qien¡¯er.¡±

    The two of them had already been so close inside that coffin that Sang Qien had already gotten used to his touch. Furthermore, she was so busy thinking about how to deal with the maid that she didn¡¯t notice that there was anything off.

    The two of them were extremely careful not to alert anyone for fear of exposing their secret as they snuck into the rear courtyard. But they could never have expected that there would suddenly be a soft cough as soon as they went inside.

    ¡°Who is it?¡± came a voice. Then, a shining sword thrust out toward them, but Zu An managed to grabthe sword tip with his fingers at thest moment.

    ¡°Ah Zu?¡± eximed a pleasantly surprised female voice. The two turned around. Who else could the beauty in front of them be, if not Zheng Dan?

    ¡°You haven¡¯t slept yet?¡± Zu An asked. He had almost thought that they were screwed. They had been fine even when they were in the heavily guarded King Qi Manor, so if they had ended up being discovered now, that would be absolutely tragic! The two of them had really ended up dropping their guard after they returned to the Sang n.

    ¡°I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn¡¯t sleep. I suddenly heard some activity outside, so I thought that some people had broken in.¡± Zheng Dan put away her weapon andughed shyly. She had once been a gang boss, so she was much more vignt than an ordinary person. Furthermore, she still had some of her gadgets in the surroundings, so she had noticed them when they passed by.

    She was really happy when she saw Zu An again. She thought that he hade over to look for her, but she noticed Sang Qien next to him. Then, her eyes shifted to the woman on Zu An¡¯s shoulders. Her expression became strange. ¡°You guys¡­¡±

    Sang Qien finally snapped out of her daze. She pushed Zu An away from her and said, ¡°We just came back from investigating a case.¡±

    ¡°Just investigating a case? Your investigation even made you change clothes?¡± Zheng Dan asked with a smile.

    Sang Qien was horrified. The two of them were clearly innocent, and yet what Zheng Dan said made it sound as if something had happened between her and Zu An! She was usually pretty fast and clever in her speech, but she waspletely stumped at that moment. She shoved Zu An and hissed, ¡°Hurry up and say something!¡±

    Zu An thus said, ¡°We were indeed investigating a case in King Qi Manor. This is a girl we brought back from the manor.¡±

    Zheng Dan jumped in fright. ¡°Hurry and go inside! Don¡¯t let anyone see her!¡±

    As they went inside, a light scent of tea wafted through the air. Sang Qien had to admit that her sister-inw was an elegant beauty. She was quite jealous of that side of her.

    Zu An gave her a rough recount of what had happened. Zheng Dan was extremely shocked. ¡°You two really are brave! Both of you would be in huge trouble if King Qi Manor¡¯s people discovered you!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. She only needs to stay here for a single night. I¡¯ll bring her back tomorrow,¡± Zu An replied.

    Sang Qien immediately put up her guard. ¡°Are you saying that you¡¯re staying the night here?¡±

    Zu An got up and bid them farewell, saying, ¡°Of course not. I won¡¯t disturb you all any longer. I¡¯ll return tomorrow.¡±

    Sang Qien¡¯s vignce was justifiable. There weren¡¯t many men in the Sang n at the moment, so it wouldn¡¯t be too good for Zu An to stay there. She sighed in relief, feeling a bit embarrassed instead. ¡°Be careful on the way back. I¡¯m going to find a ce for this maid first.¡±

    Only after Zu An left did she bid her beautiful sister-inw farewell. She hid the maid well inside their residence. Afterward, she quickly asked a servant to prepare some hot water. She had stayed in a coffin for so long and worn the clothes of a dead person, so she really wanted to take a bath and get changed.

    That older woman said with a chuckle, ¡°What a coincidence; both the young miss and the young master¡¯s wife have decided to take a bath in the middle of the night.¡±

    Sang Qien was stunned. ¡°My sister-inw is also nning to take a bath?¡± It¡¯s not as if she stayed with a dead person all night. Why would she take a bath?

    ¡°Indeed. She asked me to prepare a tub of hot water not too long ago,¡± the older woman replied. Then, she quickly left.

    Sang Qien¡¯s expression changed. She suddenly remembered that her sister-inw had only been dressed in pajamas. But even though they had chatted for a while, Zheng Dan hadn¡¯t had the slightest expression of difort, as if she had already gotten used to being in her night wear in front of Zu An. Sang Qien felt a strange feeling of vexation.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡± Sang Qien gripped the sword in her hand tightly as she looked in the direction of Zheng Dan¡¯s room. She walked over with an overcast expression. That rascal, do you think our Sang n is empty or something?!

 Chapter 913: Rare Confusion

    <h4>Chapter 913: Rare Confusion</h4>

    Just as Sang Qien was about to charge over with her sword in hand, a figure suddenly appeared in front of her. She was shocked and quickly put her sword away, eximing, ¡°Dad!¡±

    The elder in front of her was, of course, Sang Hong. In his hands was a teacup that was still hot. He asked, ¡°Where are you going?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing; I was just feeling a bit stuffy and wanted to get some air. Also, I can check to see if anyone breaks in along the way.¡± After a bit of hesitation, Sang Qien decided not to say what she was really thinking. After what had happened to her older brother, her father had already felt incredibly hurt. If he found out what was happening with her sister-inw, he might be even more broken-hearted and angry.

    She felt as if her father had be much older, and that he had already lost much of his former mettle. There seemed to be some issues with his health too. That was why, after considering everything, she chose to keep it a secret.

    Sang Hong chuckled. Although his eyes were already a little unclear, his gaze waspletely indifferent, as if he had seen through everything. He said, ¡°I heard something outside too, so I¡¯lle and take a look with you. Did you bring someone back with you?¡±

    Sang Qien knew that her father was an eighth ranked cultivator. He definitely noticed that she had brought in that maid and hidden her. As such, she told him what had just happened in King Qi Manor.

    Sang Hong nodded. ¡°That Zu An is quite a talent. On top of that, considering that he can enter and leave King Qi Manor freely, you can see just how incredible his cultivation is. His growth really is way too fast.¡±

    This kid had just been an ant a year before, and yet now, Zu An had already grown to this level! His cultivation was even higher than Sang Hong¡¯s own.

    Sang Qien had a strange expression when she saw the praise in her father¡¯s tone. Would you still praise him if you knew about his rtionship with sister-inw?

    Sang Hong asked about some more details regarding their trip inside King Qi Manor. He was extremely thorough, as if he didn¡¯t want to miss a single thing.

    Sang Qien felt rather stressed as she answered her father. If she kept wasting time here, she might not be able to catch that scoundrel in action! When she finally told her father everything that had happened in King Qi Manor, she tried to find a chance to send her father back inside. She didn¡¯t want the matter to get out of hand after all.

    But Sang Hong didn¡¯t seem to have any intention of moving and said, ¡°Qien¡¯er, it¡¯s been a long time since you and I had a heart-to-heart chat, right?¡±

    Sang Qien was confused. She was starting to feel a bit overwhelmed. Dad, why do we have to do this heart-to-heart talk in the middle of the night? But when she saw how serious he was, she couldn¡¯t really put a damper on his spirits. She could only respond while eyeing Zheng Dan¡¯s residence from time to time.

    Sang Hong seemed to have noticed something as well. He turned around and said, ¡°Qien¡¯er, you keep looking toward your sister-inw¡¯s side. Is there something wrong?¡±

    Sang Qien¡¯s expression was a little unnatural as she replied hurriedly, ¡°It¡¯s nothing! I just feel like after big brother passed away, sister-inw has been rather pitiful. Even though they didn¡¯t truly be husband and wife, I think we should find a chance to return her to the Zheng n.¡±

    Those were her sincere thoughts. As a woman, she really sympathized with Zheng Dan¡¯s fate. There had even been an incident during their ritual kneeling, and then her brother had died not long afterward. She hadn¡¯t even had a proper marriage, and yet she had ended up bing a widow.

    But as the younger sister of the groom, she also felt that Zheng Dan was going way too far by doing such things with another man while using the Sang n¡¯ name. She would have already flipped out long beforehand if it were any other man, but it was Zu An, who had helped her and her father a lot. As such, she was left in a predicament.

    However, if Zheng Dan recovered her freedom after leaving the Sang n, she wouldn¡¯t have to worry about it anymore. Sang Qien thought that her father would agree, but Sang Hong shook his head and replied, ¡°Absolutely not!¡±

    Sang Qien was stunned. She hadn¡¯t expected her father to refuse her so directly. She asked, ¡°Why?¡±

    Sang Hong said, ¡°Your older brother has already died, so our Sang n is already finished. She¡¯s your older brother¡¯s widow, so she¡¯s the n¡¯sst hope.¡±

    Sang Qian was stupefied. ¡°But they never consummated their marriage! There¡¯s no chance for her to give birth to his child!¡±

    Sang Hong said indifferently, ¡°But outsiders don¡¯t know that.¡±

    Sang Qien was stunned.

    ¡°Enough; don¡¯t worry about it anymore. You should return and get some rest.¡± Sang Hong got up and patted her shoulder. ¡°By the way, your father was recently carried away by a whim, and drew this work. I¡¯ll just give it to you as a gift.¡± After he finished speaking, he handed Sang Qien an unfurled scroll marked with ink that hadn¡¯t even dried yet. Then, he left in a rxed manner.

    Sang Qien gave the scroll a look. She only saw the two words ¡®rare confusion¡¯ on it. She was stunned at first, but then she had a pensive expression as she thought about things.

    She was a smart person. She had already been suspicious when her father suddenly appeared and stalled her for a long time. When she saw the scroll, paired with what he had just said, she immediately knew what he was saying.

    So father already knew about everything¡­ But even if you¡¯re paying back a debt, you can¡¯t use your daughter-inw, can you?! Isn¡¯t the Sang n stooping a bit too low here¡­?

    Furthermore, even if my sister-inw gets pregnant, everyone will think the child is my big brother¡¯s! But we¡¯ll know that the child has nothing to do with the Sang n. What meaning is there in that?

    Sang Qien¡¯s expression was conflicted. She gave Zheng Dan¡¯s room a look. Several times, she began to move in that direction, but she decided otherwise in the end. She released a deep sigh, then withdrew to her room in defeat.

    Sang Hong watched from a distance without revealing the slightest ripple of emotion. His daughter was indeed intelligent, but she was still too young andcked maturity. She hadn¡¯t understood what he really meant.

    ¡­

    The next morning, Zu An snuck out of the Sang n, reminiscing about the wonderful time he¡¯d hadst night. That girl Zheng Dan really was a charming little witch. But the feeling of being chased out of bed before the sky even brightens again really isn¡¯t the best¡­ It¡¯ll be much better once Zheng Dan regains her freedom.

    As he daydreamed about his beautiful future, he didn¡¯t return to the pce, and instead went to King Qi Manor. He didn¡¯t go in from the main entrance, but rather sneakily jumped over a wall. But unlike the previous night, he deliberately refrained from concealing himself. Sure enough, he was discovered by the guards soon afterward.

    Under their furious gazes, Zu An said calmly, ¡°Bring me to King Qi.¡±

    ¡­

    Inside King Qi¡¯s study, an emotionless King Qi looked at Zu An. He calmly asked, ¡°Do you know what kind of crime breaking into this manor is?¡±

    This world didn¡¯t have electricity, so there wasn¡¯t much of a night life. People typically went to sleep a little earlier, and so they naturally woke up earlier as well.

    King Qi had just finished his shower. He was surprised when he received his subordinates¡¯ report, but he still had them bring Zu An inside in the end.

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°I just didn¡¯t want to go in through the front door and draw unnecessary attention to our meeting.¡±

    ¡°What did you want to talk to me about so early in the morning?¡± King Qi was extremely curious.

    Zu An put away his smile and coldly eximed, ¡°King Qi, you¡¯ve gone too far!¡±

    King Qi was stunned at first, then furious. He eximed, ¡°You scoundrel, did youe here just to waste my time?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Jing for +444 Rage points!

    Zu An waspletely unfazed under the iing pressure. He replied, ¡°I¡¯ve alreadypletely investigated the concubine¡¯s case. She didn¡¯t drown, but was rather hit in the head and then thrown into theke to make it look as if she drowned. As for the killer, I believe you know fully well who it was.¡±

    King Qi fell silent when he heard such a detailed recount. He didn¡¯t argue against it and instead gave Zu An a deep look. ¡°Are you not afraid that you won¡¯t be able to leave after storming into the manor like this?¡±

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°I believe the king is a smart person and won¡¯t do something so unwise. I¡¯m only here to give you a heads up before I report this matter to his majesty.¡±

    King Qi stirred, asking, ¡°You haven¡¯t reported this to his majesty yet?¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°Didn¡¯t I say I was just about to?¡±

    King Qi¡¯s eyes narrowed as he gave Zu An a look, and he immediately realized that this kid hade to inform him on purpose, to give him a bit of time to prepare countermeasures. But why was Zu An doing this? He asked without batting an eyelid, ¡°Why would you tell me beforehand?¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°Since ancient times, the bow is put away when the birds are all gone; a worthy person is discharged when he has served his purpose. Only if your respected self remains alive will I have the most value.¡±

    King Qi sneered. ¡°You actually dare to speak such disgraceful words. Men, drag this man out to be executed!¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

 Chapter 914: Screwed

    <h4>Chapter 914: Screwed</h4>

    Zu An didn¡¯t panic in the slightest. He looked at King Qi with a smile on his face even as a group of vicious guards stormed in to arrest him.

    King Qi frowned. In the end, he gestured for his guards to withdraw, remarking, ¡°You don¡¯t seem to be scared at all.¡±

    Zu An chuckled and replied, ¡°What is there to be scared of? I¡¯m investigating this case on imperial orders. If the king has me executed, you¡¯ll be publicly going against the emperor. If that happens, even the officials who support your respected self will have no choice but to cut ties with you.¡±

    King Qi harrumphed, saying, ¡°I have more than enough ways to kill you if I want to. If I told my brother emperor what you just said, if I said that you were trying to incite disharmony between us brothers, he would kill you.¡±

    Zu An sighed as he said, ¡°I¡¯ll definitely refute it if we aren¡¯t in this room. I¡¯ll tell his majesty that it was because I found out the truth about the concubine case that you framed me; who do you think his majesty will believe? Are your brotherly feelings reliable?¡±

    King Qi was stunned, but then he roared withughter. ¡°Hahaha! You are shameless enough after all! I¡¯m actually in awe.¡±

    Zu An also sighed in relief. Even though he had been confident that King Qi wouldn¡¯t be hostile, who knew if King Qi might do something crazy out of a moment of rashness. He said, ¡°The king is someone intelligent as well, so I won¡¯t beat around the bush. I don¡¯t want to follow in Sang Hong¡¯s footsteps, so that¡¯s why I came to form an alliance with your respected self. We¡¯ll each take what we need, and we¡¯ll both benefit.¡±

    ¡°If you really want to form an alliance, why are you still going back to report on the case to his majesty?¡± King Qi sneered.

    Zu An sighed and said, ¡°I¡¯m sure your respected self knows just how paranoid his majesty is. He has also already issued the ultimatum that if I don¡¯t figure out the truth, I¡¯ll be banished. I really have no choice. But by letting your respected self know, with your knowledge and resources, I believe you¡¯ll naturally have a way of dealing with it.¡±

    ¡°You are a smart person after all. No wonder you were able to live for so long.¡± King Qi sighed in amazement and said, ¡°Fine, I approve of this alliance!¡±

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°I hope we¡¯ll work well together!¡±

    ¡°Likewise!¡± King Qi¡¯s eyes flickered with light, not revealing his true thoughts.

    After Zu An left, Madam Qi walked out of a secret room behind a bookshelf and asked, ¡°My king, why did you trust him so easily?¡±

    King Qi¡¯s smile was already nowhere to be seen. He replied, ¡°Trust? How can it be that easy?¡±

    ¡°Did his majesty send him here to approach us on purpose?¡± Madam Qi frowned and asked, ¡°Should we send someone to leak the information to his majesty to see his reaction?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± King Qi shook his head. ¡°If he really is a double-crosser, then I¡¯ll instead lose a useful chess piece by letting the emperor know.¡±

    ¡°But what if he harbors ulterior motives?¡± Madam Qi asked, concerned.

    King Qi said with a smile, ¡°He¡¯ll have to convince me with more than just words. I¡¯ll eventually make him clearly express his intent. Once there¡¯s a beginning, he¡¯ll slowly fall into the trap bit by bit, until he can¡¯t screw¡­ Ahem, can¡¯t get off that boat anymore.¡±

    Madam Qi sighed in relief, but replied, ¡°But I don¡¯t like him! Just the thought that he might be one of your important ministers in the future gives me an ufortable feeling. Zhi¡¯er¡¯s legs still haven¡¯t healed fully after being smashed by him!¡±

    King Qi coldly said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m merely using him. Once he loses his value, I¡¯ll make him understand the price of his arrogance toward Zhi¡¯er.¡±

    Madam Qi finally smiled and said, ¡°My king is wise and farsighted after all.¡±

    ¡­

    Zu An continued all the way to the imperial pce. His mood was especially good. He had finished the case, and spent a great night with Zheng Dan. He had even officially formed an alliance with King Qi in the morning. Everything was looking good!

    As for whether or not King Qi would really tell the emperor, he wasn¡¯t worried at all. On the contrary, he had a mission to hand King Qi the fake manual. What could the emperor say if he said that he was only getting close to King Qi to give him the manual?

    Zu An didn¡¯t choose topletely trust King Qi either. They were only using each other. The fake manual the emperor had given him was the greatest gift he was going to prepare.

    The emperor had already begun the court session by the time he arrived at the pce. Zu An wouldn¡¯t be so stupid as to wait outside the study, so he went straight to the Eastern Pce. He paid the crown prince a visit first. The crown prince wanted to have some fun with Zu An, and only with great difficulty did Zu An appease him before visiting the crown princess.

    ¡°So it was Sir Zu! It¡¯s been so long, and yet this is the first time you¡¯re visiting our Eastern Pce in some time. It looks like you¡¯ve be incredibly busy after you were promoted to the viscount rank.¡± Bi Linglong sat upright in front of her desk, kneading her sleeves with one hand and writing something on the desk with her other hand. She appeared to be drawing something, and she was so focused that she didn¡¯t even raise her head.

    The maid Rong Mo gave her a look of shock. After all, the crown princess always conducted herself properly, and she spoke to her subordinates with power and grace. She had never publicly acted like this in front of another! Hmph, it must be that this Zu An was too annoying after all.

    Sensing the strong resentment in her voice, Zu An thought to himself, Is she ming me for not being around here these past few days? But he couldn¡¯t really voice those thoughts out loud with so many people watching. He could only exin, ¡°His majesty ordered me to investigate the drowning of King Qi¡¯s concubine¡­¡±

    Bi Linglong cut him off and said, ¡°Oh, I almost forgot. In the emperor¡¯s eyes, Sir Zu is now a rising star.¡±

    Rong Mo also stared at Zu An with wide eyes. This man is actually using his majesty against the crown princess? You really are despicable!

    Zu An was speechless. Come on, they may not know anything, but what are you doing? How could I possibly be in cahoots with the emperor?

    He coughed and said, ¡°Ahem, I wasn¡¯t around because I wanted to be able to help the crown princess again as quickly as possible. I devoted myself to work and didn¡¯t dare to dy it, and in the end, I actually found out some information.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Bi Linglong finally raised her head. Her beautiful eyes carried a hint of curiosity as she asked, ¡°You actually found out something?¡±

    Zu An was about to say something, but then he hesitated. He looked around and said, ¡°This has to do with King Qi, and this matter is confidential¡­¡± His intentions were clear; no one else could listen in on this.

    Bi Linglong waved her hand and said, ¡°Momo, you can all leave for now.¡± She really couldn¡¯t talk with Zu An too much in private normally, but she had a sufficient reason now. It didn¡¯t matter even if the emperor learned of this.

    Rong Mo left while pouting. The crown princess really has changed. Even I, her personal maid, can¡¯t listen to this, and she seems to be a bit closer to Zu An now¡­

    She was suddenly horrified. This bootlicking bastard was actually fighting me for the crown princess¡¯ attention this entire time? She didn¡¯t suspect anything else. After all, just the thought of the crown princess developing romantic feelings for anyone was just too absurd.

    Only when the door closed did Bi Linglong ask, ¡°What exactly hap¡­ Ah¡­¡± Then, she let out a loud and clear noise. Her face waspletely red, and she had to forcefully suppress her cry of rm. She turned around and red at Zu An angrily, eximing ¡°What are you doing?!¡±

    Zu An pulled back his hand. ¡°It¡¯s your fault for making it so hard on me. You knew there was no way the emperor and I¡­¡± They were still in the imperial pce after all, so there were many things he didn¡¯t have to say too explicitly.

    Bi Linglong frowned. ¡°I already said things would go back to normal once we return to the dungeon. You can¡¯t disrespect me like¡­¡± She was pulled into Zu An¡¯s arms before she even finished speaking. Then, her red lips were plugged up. ¡°Mmm¡­ Mmm¡­¡±

    Bi Linglong hadn¡¯t thought he would be so daring! She subconsciously pushed him away, but his hands were like mps. She couldn¡¯t get away even after pushing several times. In the end, she could only give up. He¡¯s too forceful!

    Someone like her who had been born in and molded by all types of etiquette now had apletely new kind of experience. Different memories from the dungeon appeared in her mind. She felt ovee with bliss. She slowly closed her eyes, and gently received him.

    Suddenly, she sniffed. Her eyes opened wide, and she pushed him away. Her expression becamepletely cold as she eximed, ¡°Sir Zu, you came to make fun of me right after you came out of someone else¡¯s bed? Who do you treat me as?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Bi Linglong for +444 +444 +444¡­

 Chapter 915: Shark-Raising Lord of the Sea

    <h4>Chapter 915: Shark-Raising Lord of the Sea</h4>

    Zu An knew that Bi Linglong was really angry from the Rage points that wereing in. He quickly realized that she had smelled Zheng Dan¡¯s scent on him. He immediately screamed ¡®Damn it!¡¯ inwardly. Just how many times had he made this stupid mistake already?

    His brain moved at lightning speed, trying to find a solution to the issue. Taking a shower and changing into a new set of clothes was the safest way, but there were many times where it just wasn¡¯t convenient for him to do those things! Hm¡­ I think I remember a true master of the craft who used mandarin skins to hide these kinds of smells. I¡¯ll have to give that a try next time for sure.

    But he still had this hellish battlefield to deal with. Zu An didn¡¯t panic at all and instead said with a sigh, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to still not trust me even after all the things we went through.¡±

    Bi Linglong felt a bit sorry when she heard his long sigh. After all, he had protected her the entire time by risking his life. She unknowingly felt a bit of a guilty conscience. But she was smart as well, and not so easily fooled. She quickly responded, ¡°Hah, are you going to tell me that the smell on you isn¡¯t from another girl?¡±

    ¡°This is indeed that kind of smell¡­¡± Zu An began, but Bi Linglong¡¯s eyebrows already rose before he even finished his sentence. He quickly changed the topic. ¡°But this is the smell of King Qi¡¯s concubine.¡±

    Bi Linglong was stupefied. Wasn¡¯t King Qi¡¯s concubine dead? Why would he smell like her?

    ¡°When I infiltrated King Qi Manorst night, I snuck into the concubine¡¯s burial site at a crucial moment¡­¡± Zu An thus told her about what had happened the previous night. Of course, he left out Sang Qien to avoid pissing off Bi Linglong even more.

    ¡°You really have guts¡­ King Qi Manor is like a tiger¡¯s den. Were you hurt at all?¡± Bi Linglong¡¯s attention was diverted in the end. She quickly checked his body to see if there were any wounds.

    ¡°There were several times when I was almost discovered. I really did dance around the entrance of hell¡­¡± Zu An said, as if he still felt lingering fear. It hadn¡¯t actually been that dangerous, but he needed to create that kind of atmosphere.

    Sure enough, Bi Linglong couldn''t help but feel conflicted and said, ¡°Sorry, I wasn¡¯t trying to cause trouble out of nothing. I just¡­ just¡­¡±

    Zu An said with great remorse, ¡°I thought that after we experienced all of that in the dungeon, there wouldn¡¯t be any of these kinds of misunderstandings aymore, but I guess it was just my own wishful thinking. You were even doubting me on such a small matter; wouldn¡¯t our enemies be able to break us apart using any random tricks in the future¡­?¡±

    Bi Linglong felt hurt when she saw that there were tears in his eyes. She quickly said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry; I won¡¯t doubt you for no reason in the future! I was just waiting for you day after day, and yet I didn¡¯t see you at all, so that¡¯s why I got angry and¡­ treated you like that.¡±

    With how pridefully she normally acted, she would never talk about these things normally. However, Zu An¡¯s acting was too good, leaving even her flustered. When she saw how sad he was, she felt even more pain. She felt as if she were about to lose something and blurted those words out.

    Zu An looked at her with an ambiguous smile and said, ¡°So, you were waiting for me every night.¡±

    Bi Linglong blushed profusely. ¡°I was talking about daytime, not nighttime!¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it all the same?¡± Zu An chuckled. He picked up a strand of her hair with a look of pity, saying, ¡°It looks like the medicines in the pce weren¡¯t too useful.¡±

    Bi Linglong finally couldn''t sit still anymore. The two of them had already taken off before they even got to know each other properly. She was still shy like a young girl, so how could she handle all of this? She said, ¡°Stop saying nonsense. I keep that door locked at night anyway, so don¡¯te.¡±

    Zu An pulled her into his arms with a smile and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t even say that I was going to treat you or anything. Why are you thinking about that?¡± Bi Linglong was really embarrassed. She hit his chest with her fists.

    Suddenly, Rong Mo said from outside, ¡°Crown princess, his majesty is about to finish the court session. Eunuch Wen has already sent over some men to escort Sir Zu to meet with him.¡±

    An emperor never waited for a subject. It was one thing if the emperor thought of something and needed to bring him in. Today, it was Zu An who had requested the meeting, so why would the emperor wait for him?

    Bi Linglong quickly pushed Zu An away. She sorted out her clothes while warning him, ¡°You have to be careful.¡± After what had happened in the dungeon, every meeting with the emperor ced Zu An¡¯s life on the line.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I still need to stay alive to treat you.¡± Zu An kissed her on the cheek, then left with a smile.

    Bi Linglong held her cheek and harrumphed, thinking, This guy is just way too shameless! She had wanted to keep some distance between them, but she couldn''t stop his aggression at all. She had already ended up letting him do whatever he wanted. But she thought of the treatment he was talking about and felt conflicted again. Should I just unlock that passage¡­

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An arrived at the imperial study. The emperor returned soon afterward and summoned him inside.

    ¡°Why were you in such a rush to meet with me?¡± The emperor picked up his teacup and took a sip. His throat was already a bit dry from the morning court session, so he took the chance to soothe it. There was naturally no subliminal message that he didn¡¯t want to see anyone, even if he sipped on his tea then.

    ¡°Responding to your majesty, I¡¯ve already found out the truth regarding the death of King Qi¡¯s concubine.¡± Zu An maintained some distance between them. I was just hugging the crown princess and even kissed her, but there¡¯s none of her smell on me, is there?

    But men weren¡¯t as sharp in such areas. Combined with the way he and the crown princess didn¡¯t really interact much in private, the emperor was unlikely to be able to differentiate between those smells.

    Zu An thought, Hmph, I have both Zheng Dan and King Qi¡¯s concubine¡¯s smells on me. If he can distinguish Bi Linglong¡¯s from among those, then just kill me already; I don¡¯t care anymore.

    ¡°Your investigation has finished so quickly?¡± The emperor frowned. ¡°Tell me, what happened?¡±

    Zu An shivered inwardly. The other party¡¯s first reaction wasn¡¯t happiness, and he didn¡¯t care about who the killer was at all. Did this mean that he had already known who it was a long time ago? As such, he spoke about his discovery while paying close attention to the emperor¡¯s reactions. Sure enough, there wasn¡¯t the slightest bit of surprise when he heard that the killer was King Qi.

    ¡°How did you discover this so quickly?¡± the emperor asked with a frown.

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°Is it a bad thing that I found out the truth too quickly?¡±

    ¡°Of course it¡¯s bad,¡± the emperor said unhappily. ¡°The reason I assigned you to this case, apart from finding out the truth, was for you to use this chance to get closer to King Qi, then hand him that fake secret manual. What are you going to do about that manual now that you¡¯ve solved the case so quickly?¡±

    Zu An thought, Sure enough, for the emperor, the life and death of a woman really doesn¡¯t matter. What he cares more about are people who threaten his authority. However, he exined, ¡°Please don¡¯t worry, your highness. I¡¯ve already started to gain King Qi¡¯s trust.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± The emperor was now interested. ¡°What do you mean?¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°I paid King Qi Manor a visit before I entered the pce, pretending to rely on King Qi for help¡­¡± Zu An told him half-truths about what had happened that morning. He left out the part about how he had offered to ally with King Qi, while talking about everything else. He even included what King Qi had said.

    That had been his n from the very start. If he was going to wander between both of these big shots, he couldn''t treat them as fools, as they¡¯d notice any tricks he yed eventually. Rather than that, he might as well take the initiative to talk about it.

    Normally speaking, King Qi would definitely think that Zu An would hide things from the emperor, while the emperor would think that he was hiding things from King Qi. Meanwhile, they would have no idea at all that Zu An was thinking the exact opposite. Zu An was the lord of the sea, but while the kingdoms of other sea lords had pretty fish to look at, his fish pond had these two monstrous and vicious sharks.

    Sure enough, the emperor was happy to hear what he said. ¡°You really are quite something, kid!¡±

    He was actually a bit excited and began to pace back and forth in the study. He was clearly digesting the information he had just received. A whileter, he stopped and said, ¡°King Qi won¡¯t trust someone so easily. He¡¯ll definitely arrange some difficult tasks for you toplete.¡±

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°That¡¯s why I might need your majesty to help me when the timees.¡±

    The emperor also smiled. ¡°Kid, you¡¯re as crafty as expected. Zhao Jing probably has no idea that he¡¯s about to be ruined by your hand.¡±

 Chapter 916: Scarlet Invitation

    <h4>Chapter 916: Scarlet Invitation</h4>

    Zu An looked meek and docile on the surface, but he wasughing inwardly. You have no idea just how hard I¡¯m ying you.

    The emperor suddenly noticed that something was off with Zu An¡¯s expression, which made him subconsciously feel a bit unhappy. He always found this kid annoying. One day, he had to make sure to get rid of him.

    But on the surface, the emperor didn¡¯t show anything. He continued, ¡°During the morning court session, we decided that Qin Zheng will lead an expedition north to deal with the invading fiend races.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He didn¡¯t know why the emperor would tell him that right now, but he still replied respectfully, ¡°The State Duke of Triumph is renowned for his achievements, and he is respected in the army. Our troops will definitely return victorious.¡±

    ¡°Respected in the army?¡± The emperor sneered, but he didn¡¯t continue the discussion and changed the subject. ¡°Once Qin Zheng leaves, King Qi will lose one of his arms. That¡¯s why we must make full use of this opportunity.¡±

    Zu An shivered. The emperor was going to start his offense against King Qi after all! It was just as Sang Hong and Sang Qien had anticipated: The emperor wanted to clip King Qi¡¯s wings, then finish him.

    ¡°I heard that you¡¯ve done quite well for yourself in those areas of pleasure,¡± the emperor said, suddenly smiling at Zu An.

    Zu An was stunned. Bro, can you not change topics so quickly like that? He quickly replied with a serious expression, ¡°This subject is an upright person; I don¡¯t frequent those dirty ces.¡±

    Even though visiting brothels wasn¡¯t anything bad in this world, he couldn''t really talk about it in public. He wasn¡¯t sure what the emperor was trying to say and was worried that he might involve Qiu Honglei and the others. That was why he obviously had to refute the statement.

    ¡°Hmph, lying to the ruler is a capital offense.¡± The emperor¡¯s expression sank. ¡°This emperor has heard that there are courtesan queens from both Brightmoon City and the capital¡¯s government brothel that arepletely devoted to you.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He replied, ¡°Perhaps this subject is just a likable person.¡± He felt more and more suspicion. Why was the emperor talking about this right now? Did he know about his rtionship with the Devil Sect?

    The emperor gave him a look, then asked in a seemingly careless manner, ¡°Do you know Secretariat Assistant Director Yu Nan?¡±

    ¡°I have heard a bit about him.¡± Zu An was going to go crazy. This man had just been talking about brothels and courtesans a moment ago, and now he was going to talk about Yu Nan?

    ¡°What¡¯s your impression of him?¡± the emperor asked.

    Zu An almost blurted out that Yu Nan was almost as handsome as him, but his mouth quickly hit the brakes. Instead, he said, ¡°Hees from a prestigious family, and is well-known for his temperament and¡­¡± He thought to himself, For better or for worse, he is the emperor¡¯s brother-inw. I still have to be courteous.

    ¡°Speak honestly!¡± The emperor shot him a look.

    ¡°Um¡­ He indulges a bit too much in luxury.¡± Zu An quickly snapped out of his daze. The Yu n was part of King Qi¡¯s faction. How could the emperor possibly like this person? When he recalled his experiences in King Qi Manor, Yu Nan wanted human-fed pigs for even more tender pork. It really was absurd.

    ¡°It¡¯s not just indulging a bit.¡± The emperor harrumphed, clearly highly dissatisfied with Yu Nan. ¡°I¡¯ll put you in charge of him. Chase him out of the court within a month¡¯s time.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He replied, ¡°Even though I¡¯m quitepetent, isn¡¯t your majesty¡¯s evaluation of me a bit too high? How can I possibly do something like that?¡±

    The Secretariat Assistant Director was already an important position in the court. Furthermore, this was rted to the Yu n. He was the oldest son of such a huge n, and his wife was the emperor¡¯s own sister. With that kind of background, how could he dismiss such a person just because he wanted to?

    ¡°That¡¯s something for you to figure out. Bring King Qi Manor¡¯s maid into the pce, then focus on the Yu Nan task.¡± The emperor picked up his teacup again. His intent to end the meeting there was clear this time.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡­

    Zu An was still dazed when he left the imperial study. If there was a way to go back in time, he definitely wouldn¡¯t have reported about King Qi¡¯s concubine so quickly. Sigh, he is heartless after all. Even ves need time off¡­

    ¡°Why are you sighing, Sir Zu?¡± asked a gentle voice from beside him.

    Zu An turned around and saw that Concubine Bai was standing near him with a smile on her face. She was dressed in a white pce dress with a fiery red cloak draped over her. Compared to her usual weak and gentle nature, there seemed to be a bit more of a charming side to her today.

    ¡°I greet her highness Concubine Bai!¡± Zu An replied in greeting. There were many maids and eunuchs watching, so he had to show her proper respect.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for excessive formalities. You¡¯ve saved the crown prince and princess, and yet I haven¡¯t had a chance to express my gratitude for that yet,¡± Concubine Bai said with a sweet smile.

    That beautiful smile made Zu An momentarily distracted. Was this really a woman who had already given birth to a child? He answered, ¡°Your highness is far too kind! That was merely our duty as subjects. I don¡¯t dare to take credit for that.¡±

    Concubine Bai gestured for her subordinates to stay put. Meanwhile, she herself took the lead to walk toward the gazebo at the center of theke. Zu An followed behind her.

    ¡°Sir Zu still hasn¡¯t told me why you were feeling distressed,¡± Concubine Bai said with a gentle smile, as if she were weing someone home.

    ¡°It¡¯s just some work-rted matters. It¡¯s not really worth mentioning.¡± Zu An wasn¡¯t sure what kind of rtionship this woman had with the emperor yet, so he obviously didn¡¯t dare to tell her everything.

    ¡°With Sir Zu¡¯s ability, I trust that you¡¯ll be able to resolve it quickly.¡± Concubine Bai¡¯s voice was fair and beautiful. Those who heard it would feel as if their ears were being caressed gently. She continued, ¡°Sir Zu hasn¡¯t sought me out even once after you came out of the dungeon. Were you avoiding me?¡±

    Zu An had a strange look on his face as he replied, ¡°I fear that these words might cause some misunderstandings in the pce.¡±

    Zu An would have definitely teased her a bit if it were any other time, but before he entered the dungeon, he had learned that her rtionship with the emperor was actually extremely close. That was why he didn¡¯t dare to make any rash moves.

    ¡°What is Sir Zu thinking? All I meant was that Sir Zu borrowed something that belonged to me, but you haven¡¯t visited me all this time. That¡¯s why I could onlye here personally to ask for it back.¡± Concubine Bai reached out her hand, exposing her fair and beautiful wrist.

    Zu An finally realized what was happening. He took out a spice bag and handed it over, replying, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with my memory? Please don¡¯t take offense, your highness.¡± This thing really was pretty useful. It couldpletely conceal his real cultivation. He almost didn¡¯t want to return it.

    Concubine Bai took the spice bag, then gave Zu An a look of surprise, saying, ¡°Sir Zu¡¯s cultivation is increasing quite fast.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, your highness,¡± Zu An replied stiffly.

    Concubine Bai couldn''t help butugh, remarking, ¡°Why do I feel as if you¡¯ve changed after you came out of the dungeon? You were never such a stickler for rules before.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but fire back, ¡°Then does your highness want me to treat you the way I did before?¡±

    The two of them both thought about what had happened back then. The gazebo suddenly became strangely quiet.

    Eventually, Concubine Bai blushed and got up, saying, ¡°Sir Zu must be busy with your work, so I won¡¯t disturb you any longer.¡± Then, she walked leisurely toward the imperial garden, leaving behind a faint fragrance.

    Zu An had a pensive look on his face as he looked at her departing figure.

    ¡­

    After separating from Concubine Bai, Zu An first went into his Embroidered Envoy courtyard to change into his Golden Token Eleven clothes. Then, he headed toward the Embroidery House. He saw the balding Dai Seventh and ¡®Mediterranean Sea¡¯ Chen Eighth sitting in the courtyard, bored to death.

    When they saw him arrive, they quickly stood up, their eyes filled with joy. ¡°Boss!¡±

    Ever since their previous case, they had already been ced under Golden Token Eleven as his subordinates, and yet their leader had disappeared for a long period of time. The office had bepletely forgotten, and there was nothing to do there at all.

    Zu An nodded toward the two of them with a smile. Then, he told them why he hade. ¡°I need all of the materials we have on the Secretariat Assistant Director, Yu Nan.¡±

    The two of them were shocked. They exchanged a look. Then, they said hesitantly, ¡°I¡¯m not sure if Sir Yu is someone we want to offend. He has Princess Chang backing him, and also the Yu n¡­¡±

    ¡°When has the Embroidered Envoy ever feared a n¡¯s background during our investigations?¡± said a long and drawn-out voice. The silver token envoy Xiao Jianren was sitting inside with all sorts of cases and documents strewn out on the table in front of him. He quickly got up to greet Zu An when he saw him walk in.

    Zu An said in praise, ¡°What Jianren said is correct.¡± Wait, why do I feel like I¡¯m cursing him¡­[1]

    ¡°Understood!¡± Dai Seventh and Chen Eighth immediately understood the importance of the case. They didn¡¯t try to dissuade Zu An any further and ran over to bring over all the relevant information on Yu Nan.

    Zu An saw the files upon files on the table. His brows rose as he asked, ¡°There were actually that many?¡±

    Xiao Jianren replied, ¡°The Yu n is the greatest n in the Zhou Dynasty. Yu Nan is the oldest son of the Yu n as well. Furthermore, he married the princess and assumed the post of Secretariat Assistant Director. It can¡¯t be helped that there are a lot of files about him.¡±

    Zu An flipped through a few of them with a frown. There were many records of various things, but none of it was what he was looking for.

    ¡°What kind of information does sir want? Perhaps I can offer some suggestions,¡± Xiao Jianren said quietly.

    Zu An then remembered that this person was basically the human-shaped library of the Embroidery House archives. As such, he didn¡¯t hide anything and said, ¡°Anything that can take him down.¡±

    Xiao Jianren was shocked. Sir Eleven was actually going to bring down a giant like Yu Nan? But he was intelligent and quickly knew that it was probably due to orders from above. As such, after thinking for a bit, he said, ¡°ording to what I know, the capital¡¯s Scarlet Invitation recently took in a new courtesan queen. Her beauty and arts are both stunning, and yet she refuses to sell her body. This has riled up quite a few of the capital¡¯s heirs, and Yu Nan seems to be precisely one of them.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes widened. He finally understood why the emperor had been asking him about the flower courtesans.

    1. ¡¯Jianren¡¯ sounds like ¡®lowly¡¯, or ¡®despicable person¡¯. ?

 Chapter 917: Prompt Assistance

    <h4>Chapter 917: Prompt Assistance</h4>

    Damn that old bastard¡­ He already thought of a way to take Yu Nan down, yet he didn¡¯t tell me! He just had to tell me in this roundabout way! Zu An thought. But he also understood that the emperor had his dignity to uphold. If news got out that he had to exin everything himself, that would tarnish his reputation.

    Screw you, what about my dignity? Zu An cursed inwardly.

    Scarlet Invitation was the capital¡¯s most famous brothel, on par with the government brothel. The difference was that one was state-run, while the other was privately owned. However, in a ce like the capital where there were important statesmen around every corner, to be on par with the government brothel went to show just how powerful the boss behind this business was.

    Many people had tried to investigate the boss of Scarlet Invitation for a long time, but unfortunately, none of them had been able to find out anything. Not even the Embroidered Envoy had that piece of information.

    Zu An patted Xiao Jianren¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Not bad, Old Xiao. I didn¡¯t expect you to be interested in this field too, that you even know the things that are going on around there that well.¡±

    Xiao Jianren¡¯s face heated up. He replied, ¡°Sir, I have no interest in this field. It¡¯s just that I enjoy sifting through all types of information in the Embroidery House, so I just happened to see this.¡±

    Zu An was momentarily stunned. He recalled how this man had been buried in a huge pile of reading when he just walked in. He thought, This person is a true bookworm! He reminded Xiao Jianren, ¡°You should go out once in a while. You¡¯ll be nearsighted if you stay inside and read books all day.¡±

    ¡°Nearsighted?¡± Xiao Jianren was confused.

    ¡°It means that you can¡¯t see things far away clearly, and only if youe up close can you see things clearly.¡± Zu An wondered if he could get someone to make some sses to sell. The valkyries he was raising were all money-sucking vacuums. Every single upgrade needed money.

    Xiao Jianren nodded. ¡°I might really suffer a bit from that. I have had to move up closer many times to read.¡±

    Zu An smiled. No wonder Xiao Jianren¡¯s eyes were always a bit expressionless. So it was because he was nearsighted. ¡°By the way, what is the name of that courtesan queen?¡± he asked. He¡¯d deal with the sses problemter. The most important thing right now was to deal with this annoying task first.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Wait¡­¡± Xiao Jianren closed his eyes and thought to himself for a while. ¡°I think her name is Nan¡­ Xun. Yes, Nan Xun.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°You¡¯re not going to even check the records? You can even remember the name of a courtesan?¡±

    Xiao Jianren pointed at his head and said with an embarrassed chuckle, ¡°I store all of the things I¡¯ve read in my head, as if there were a library inside. When needed, I can take out what I need. It isn¡¯t much different from a real archive library.¡±

    Zu An was really impressed. This person had actually learned the mental library method! He would definitely be considered an incredible genius in Zu An¡¯s old world!

    ¡°Not bad!¡± Zu An patted his shoulder in encouragement. I should prioritize the production of those sses. I definitely need to rope in a genius like this.

    ¡­

    When he came out of the Embroidery House, Zu An went to pay the Eastern Pce a visit. After all, Bi Linglong was still waiting nervously for him. He went back into his Embroidered Envoy courtyard and changed back into his own clothes. When he was sure that no one was watching, he made a little detour and returned to the Eastern Pce.

    Sigh, changing identities all the time really is a bit tiring¡­ Zu An sighed as he went to Bi Linglong to report about everything that had happened.

    ¡°You have to take down Yu Nan?¡± At first, Bi Linglong was excited to see him return safely. After what had happened in the dungeon, she worried that Zu An might never return again whenever he met the emperor. But when she heard about his newest assignment, she frowned. ¡°Yu Nan is the sessor of the Yu n, and he even married the princess. There¡¯s no way he¡¯ll be easy to take down!¡±

    ¡°We have to take him down even if it seems impossible¡­ His majesty has given me a time limit.¡± After some hesitation, he decided to tell her about the courtesan matter. He was scared that she might be upset again after he had just appeased her with great difficulty beforehand.

    ¡°I¡¯ll try to help you think of something too. I¡¯ll just plead with his majesty myself if I have to. How can we possibly take down someone like Yu Nan in just a month¡¯s time?¡± Bi Linglong was quite agitated.

    Zu An immediately said, ¡°You can¡¯t! You¡¯re the only one who absolutely can¡¯t speak out for me! The emperor is already suspecting our rtionship after what happened in the dungeon. Doing that will just be pouring oil on the mes.¡±

    ¡°Then what do I do?¡± Bi Linglong thought for a bit and said, ¡°I¡¯ll try and see if I can take him down through the Bi n.¡±

    Zu An felt warm inside when he saw how much concern she felt for him. He said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve already found a way.¡±

    ¡°What kind of way?¡± Bi Linglong was curious.

    ¡°It¡¯s still just a hypothesis. I still need to test some things out,¡± Zu An replied without speaking in detail.

    Bi Linglong replied with an ¡®oh¡¯. She didn¡¯t keep asking either. Instead, the two of them chatted about some other things. Unfortunately, they were in the pce and didn¡¯t have much time for leisurely chatting. Every single second was precious.

    Even though it wasn¡¯t easy for them to talk in private, however, Bi Linglong still found an excuse to keep Zu An present. After all, he was now the Eastern Pce¡¯s chambein, so he should have been working there. Of course, the real reason why she kept him for a bit longer was because they had already had ¡®that¡¯ type of rtionship in the dungeon. She wanted to be with him a bit longer.

    ¡­

    It was already almost dusk when Zu An left the pce. He went home to change into a new set of clothes. After all, going to a brothel in his official clothes was just asking for trouble. However, he didn¡¯t expect to see Chu Youzhao and Murong Qinghe waiting for him inside.

    ¡°Brother-inw, brother-inw, my grandfather is going out to war soon!¡± Chu Youzhao eximed excitedly.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but reply, ¡°It would be one thing if you weren¡¯t worried about him going to war, but why do you look happy about it?¡±

    ¡°Tsk, my grandpa is so amazing anyway. He¡¯ll definitely win quickly, so why do I have to worry about him?¡± Chu Youzhao remarked with a chuckle. ¡°But I guess I¡¯m happy that I don¡¯t have to always be restricted by his rules. I can¡¯t even go out whenever I want to! I cane and y with brother-inw all the time now that he¡¯s gone.¡±

    Zu An felt a huge headache. How was he supposed to do anything if he had these kids following him everywhere?

    Murong Qinghe was also confused. Weren¡¯t her big brother Chu and her brother-inw getting along a bit too well? Was it because Chu Youzhao didn¡¯t have many male ymates growing up?

    ¡°Don¡¯t think about ying around all day. If you neglect your cultivation, your big sis will be unhappy with me,¡± Zu An said with a serious expression. Being the senior really was great¡­ It was clearly just that he didn¡¯t want to have these two as hangers-on, and yet he could use that high-sounding reason to fulfill the same objective.

    ¡°You¡¯re so annoying¡­ You sound like an old man.¡± Chu Youzhao pouted unhappily.

    Suddenly, a quiet voice came from the entrance. ¡°Is Sir Zu here?¡±

    Zu An turned around and saw two people standing at the entrance. The older one had a serious looking face, while the other was a gloomy looking youth.

    ¡°So it was brother Gao and brother Pei! Pleasee in,e in.¡± Zu An recognized the two to be the Liu n¡¯s Gao Ying and the Pei n¡¯s Pei You. These two¡¯s lives really were quite tenacious. The entire dungeon had broken apart, and yet they were still able to survive somehow.

    ¡°We don¡¯t deserve such treatment! Sir Zu saved our lives. Just calling us by our names is enough!¡± the two of them quickly replied. Their previous arrogance was already nowhere to be seen.

    ¡°Hey, aren¡¯t you two always cocky and smug normally? Why are you two like this all of a sudden?¡± They were both well-known heirs from their ns. Chu Youzhao and Murong Qinghe instantly recognized them. The two parties belonged to different camps, so they obviously didn¡¯t get along.

    Gao Ying calmly replied, ¡°Sir Zu saved our lives, so we naturally have to treat him respectfully. We came today to invite Sir Zu for a drink and to express our gratitude.¡±

    Chu Youzhao¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°We¡¯re going drinking? I want to go!¡±

    Pei You frowned. Obviously, he normally didn¡¯t like people from King Qi¡¯s faction. But when he considered that Chu Youzhao¡¯s big sister was Zu An¡¯s wife, he didn¡¯t refuse. He said, ¡°You cane, but I fear that it won¡¯t be appropriate for Miss Murong toe.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Murong Qinghe raised her eyebrows. She was a famous little hot pepper in the army. She was only nice and tame around her big brother Chu.

    Pei You harrumphed and didn¡¯t bother exining. It was instead Gao Ying who was more amodating, saying, ¡°It¡¯s because we¡¯re going to Scarlet Invitation. It¡¯s not too appropriate for a girl to go there.¡±

 Chapter 918: A Unique Courtesan Queen

    <h4>Chapter 918: A Unique Courtesan Queen</h4>

    Zu An thought to himself, Is this really just a coincidence? I was wondering what kind of excuse toe up with to visit Scarlet Invitation, because why would an honest person go there for no reason? But these guys came over to invite me; what amazing timing.

    Chu Youzhao was stunned and asked, ¡°What kind of ce is Scarlet Invitation?¡±

    She had always been pure and simple in nature, with her parents and older sister being quite protective of her. She had her grandfather sheltering her in the Qin n as well, so she normally didn¡¯te into contact with these things.

    Murong Qinghe moved over and told her what it was. Chu Youzhao¡¯s face immediately turned red as she eximed, ¡°No! You can¡¯t go to a ce like that!¡±

    ¡°Why not?¡± Pei You was confused. ¡°Visiting ces of romance is an activity of intellectuals; you should go as well. Otherwise, you won¡¯t be able to mingle well in your circles.¡±

    Chu Youzhao¡¯s breathing stopped. I¡¯m a girl; how can I go to some ce like that?! She was about to go crazy from internal conflict. ¡°But I won¡¯t allow it! You two can go, but don¡¯t lead my brother-inw astray!¡±

    ¡°How is this leading anyone astray?¡± Pei You was starting to panic. ¡°Even if your big sister were here, she shouldn¡¯t be interfering with something like this, right? Otherwise, if news of that got out, everyone would think that your big sister was a jealous woman. It wouldn¡¯t be good for her reputation at all! Furthermore, ording to what I know, Sir Zu has already divorced your big sister, so they aren¡¯t even rted anymore. Why are you still stopping him?¡±

    ¡°You¡­¡± Chu Youzhao¡¯s face turned entirely red. This matter had always been a thorn in the Chu n¡¯s hearts. Unfortunately, she didn¡¯t know how to argue against that point. She could only look at Zu An and asked, ¡°Brother-inw, what about you? Are you going or not going?¡±

    ¡°Um¡­¡± Zu An felt a huge headache as well. He obviously had to go, but that little sister-inw of his might just blow up if he insisted on it now. Making her upset wasn¡¯t a big deal, but he was worried that bad rumors might reach the Chu n. After all, Pei You had just brought up his divorce with Chu Chuyan again.

    As if seeing through his conflicted feelings, the more steadfast Gao Ying said, ¡°We¡¯re just going to drink and listen to the music, nothing else. Young master Chu, please don¡¯t worry. Furthermore, the reason we¡¯re gathering today is to thank Sir Zu for saving us in the dungeon. Young master Chu won¡¯t prevent us from having such a chance, right?¡±

    Chu Youzhao was still young and rather thin-skinned. When she heard him say those words, she felt that rejecting them again was a bit too much, so she said, ¡°Fine, but I¡¯m going with you guys!¡±

    She thought to herself, You guys are saying you are only going to listen to music, but who knows what else you¡¯ll do afterwards? I¡¯ll be monitoring all of you so you don¡¯t lead my brother-inw astray!

    Gao Ying and Pei You looked at each other in dismay. After considering how even though he was young, he was still the Chu n¡¯s young master, they realized his rtionship with Zu An was also special. That was why they didn¡¯t refuse Chu Youzhao.

    It was now Murong Qinghe¡¯s turn to panic. She grabbed Chu Youzhao¡¯s arm and said, ¡°Big brother Chu, you can¡¯t go!¡±

    Just the thought of someone spotless and pure like her big brother Chu being defiled in a ce like a brothel¡­ Ugh, big brother Chu is so handsome that those girls will definitely seduce him! Just the thought alone was enough to make her head explode.

    Chu Youzhao also felt a bit guilty. But for the sake of expressing her manly side, she stuck out her chest and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s just normal social interaction! I¡¯ll be there to make sure they don¡¯t lead my brother-inw astray!¡±

    Murong Qinghe thought for a bit, then said, ¡°Then I¡¯m going too.¡± If big brother Chu is going to keep an eye on her brother-inw, then I¡¯m going to keep an eye on big brother Chu!

    Gao Ying and Pei You couldn¡¯t sit still anymore and both waved their hands. ¡°No way, no way! That won¡¯t do, that won¡¯t do.¡±

    It was one thing to bring the Chu n¡¯s young master; what the heck would they be bringing a girl to a brothel for? They¡¯d be the biggestughingstocks of the entire capital the next day! With her grandfather, Murong Tong¡¯s temper, he might just storm in and tear them apart on the spot!

    ¡°Why not? It wasn¡¯t even that big of a deal when I ate and lived with the other guys in the army, so I¡¯m going to go with you guys!¡± Murong Qinghe eximed, unhappily with raised eyebrows. But she lowered her voice the next second and exined to Chu Youzhao, ¡°Big brother Chu, I stayed in a tent by myself when I was in the army; I didn¡¯t live together with those stinky men.¡±

    Zu An almost burst outughing. This girl¡¯s personality really waspletely different depending on the person she talked to. Everyone already knew even if she didn¡¯t say anything that there was no way the Murong n would let her live together with other soldiers.

    When he saw how frustrated Gao Ying and the others were, he realized that it was now time for him to speak up. He pulled Chu Youzhao aside and asked, ¡°What are you getting all worked up for? Just be good and go home.¡±

    ¡°No! I want to go!¡± Chu Youzhao raised her head and looked straight into his eyes without backing down. Stinky brother-inw wants to send me away because he wants to do bad things!

    ¡°Come on, don¡¯t cause trouble now,¡± Zu An said quietly. ¡°Did you forget what happened at the government brothelst time?¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Chu Youzhao¡¯s face turned red. Thest time she had been dragged to a brothel, she had be so drunk her real gender was almost revealed. If not because her brother-inw appeared, she might have even had her purity defiled. She still felt lingering fear even now.

    Sure enough, her tone became a lot weaker when she recalled what had happened back then. She replied, ¡°Fine, I won¡¯t go, but you¡¯re not allowed to do anything that¡¯ll make big sister sad! Otherwise, I¡¯ll definitely find out since news travels fast in the capital.¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright. I¡¯ll definitely have a clear conscience.¡± Zu An patted his chest and gave a guarantee.

    Chu Youzhao smiled. She didn¡¯t notice that Zu An had yed with his words a bit. Murong Qinghe was obviously happy to hear that her big brother Chu wasn¡¯t going. She didn¡¯t insist on going anymore either.

    Gao Ying and Pei You sighed when they saw that those two had finally left. ¡°Brother Zu, your little brother-inw seems protective of you. It¡¯s almost as if he¡¯s a woman.¡±

    ¡°He is trying to help his sister, after all.¡± Zu An was worried that the two might really start to suspect Chu Youzhao¡¯s gender, so he quickly changed the topic. ¡°How are your injuries?¡±

    ¡°The n brought out all sorts of medicines for me. Even though I haven¡¯t recoveredpletely yet, it doesn¡¯t affect my daily life anymore,¡± Gao Ying replied. ¡°If not for the fact that Sir Zu upheld justice and didn¡¯t act on hatred, we would¡¯ve already lost our petty lives.¡±

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°That was just a bit of misunderstanding from the start. Later on, we fought together, and the two of you bravely fought the enemy too. The two of you would¡¯ve definitely saved me too.¡±

    The two of them found Zu An more and more likable when they saw that he didn¡¯t act arrogantly. ¡°Haha, Sir Zu is open-minded after all. We brothers will definitely thank you properly today for your kindness. We will help you experience the capital¡¯s liveliness.¡±

    They were children of the capital¡¯s noble ns, locally born and bred. They obviously wanted to serve as the hosts since it hadn¡¯t been long since Zu An had arrived at the capital.

    Zu An hadn¡¯t expected the two of them to get along so well! But their party had fought together, and together with their simr backgrounds, they had easily be close.

    Zu An pretended to be confused and asked, ¡°Why aren¡¯t we going to the government brothel? Isn¡¯t that kind of ce a bit more rxing?¡±

    After all, most of those girls were from noble ns that hadmitted sins. Those girls obviously seemed higher-ss inparison.

    Gao Ying exined, ¡°Something happened with the Left Guard General in the government brothelst time, and it even ended up involving the Devil Sect. The mood around that ce is a bit inauspicious now, so who would want to go there?¡±

    Zu An had a strange look on his face. He hadn¡¯t expected to be the reason.

    Pei You also added, ¡°Brother Zu, there¡¯s no need to worry about the quality. Scarlet Invitation¡¯s reputation is on par with the government brothel. Furthermore, recently, there has been a new courtesan queen. All those who have seen her im that she is absolutely incredible, that her personality is extraordinary. I heard that she would pick someone brought together by fate to meet with her in private. That was why we came to call you over ande with us.¡±

    Zu An said with a sigh, ¡°It¡¯s just some marketing tactic¡­ She¡¯s clearly a prostitute, and yet she keeps up a noble and virtuous appearance just to inte her value.¡±

    Gao Ying and Pei Youughed. ¡°Sir Zu really draws blood on the first prick[1].¡±

    ¡°No, I only know how to draw blood with my rod,¡± Zu An corrected them. Gao Ying and Pei You were stunned.

    ¡°Right, could you guys tell me some more about that courtesan?¡± Zu An figured that getting some more information wouldn¡¯t hurt. Even though Xiao Jianren knew a bit about her, it was official information. It was probably different from what guests like these two knew.

    Gao Ying and Pei You exchanged a look. Both of them chuckled inwardly. This fe looks like he doesn¡¯t care at all on the surface, but isn¡¯t he still interested now all the same?

    ¡°Her name is Nan Xun, and she¡¯s proficient in all four arts. Her dancing skills are exceptional as well, and it¡¯s at a level where other dancers can¡¯t pick any faults with her. Heh, we all know¡­¡± Pei You¡¯s previous gloomy nature was nowpletely gone, and he instead began to talk non-stop.

    Gao Ying added with a smile, ¡°If it were just that, there wouldn¡¯t be so much excitement. After all, these are skills most courtesan queens have. The most important part is that this person carries a mysterious noble quality, and in her eyes, there¡¯s a¡­ How do I exin this? It¡¯s an aloofness, almost as if she¡¯s looking at trash or ants. That¡¯s formed an itch that¡¯s hard to get rid of in all of the capital¡¯s young masters.¡±

    Zu An burst outughing. ¡°You guys really are something else. You don¡¯t want those gentle girls who wee you with a smile, and instead go for this type?¡±

    The two of themughed as well. ¡°Maybe that¡¯s just human nature! The more unobtainable something is, the more enticing it is.¡±

    ¡°That attitude she has is probably fake. She¡¯s just a prostitute, how refined can she even be?¡± Zu An couldn¡¯t help but remark mockingly.

    ¡°That¡¯s what¡¯s so strange about it. You can say what you want, but these young masters from distinguished ns are all veterans in these pleasure quarters. What kinds of seduction methods haven¡¯t they seen before? But that Nan Xun¡¯s expression doesn¡¯t seem fake. That¡¯s why everyone is going crazy over her,¡± Gao Ying exined.

    Zu An thought to himself, No wonder even someone like Yu Nan couldn¡¯t control himself and often visited Scarlet Invitation. This courtesan is a piece of work. He was growing more and more curious about her.

    . In other words, hit the nail on the head. ?

 Chapter 919, Part 1: Entry Denied

    <h4>Chapter 919, Part 1: Entry Denied</h4>

    Even though they had fought side by side in the dungeon, they hadn¡¯t known each other for that long. They couldn''t help but still be a bit unfamiliar with each other. But now that they were talking about courtesans, they naturally grew closer.

    They quickly set out toward Scarlet Invitation. Gao Ying and Pei You had been nning to head over in avish pnquin, but Zu An was already used to spacious modes of transport like buses and subways, so he really couldn''t get used to the crammed and bumpy pnquins. As such, he suggested going by horse. Gao Ying and Pei You were both cultivators, so they had no objections. There were many others who rode horses, but since they were young masters from distinguished ns, and Zu An was even a rising star in the capital, no one would trouble them.

    As they urged their horses along, Pei You said with a smile, ¡°I wonder who will have the chance to ride the beautiful Nan Xun today? The feeling of that would definitely be much better than these horses.¡±

    Zu An raised his eyebrows when he heard Pei You speak such coarse words. This guy seemed like a gloomy and unsocial youngster, but now, he had immediately be a social butterfly! I guess pretty girls really are the greatest motivation for changing a man. He replied, returning the smile, ¡°Scarlet Invitation will definitely be crowded today. We might not even be able to find a spotter.¡±

    Gao Ying said, ¡°Since the courtesan queen Nan Xun is taking a guest today, the capital¡¯s men will obviously storm over. Even those from themanderies surrounding the capital mighte over. However, most of them will only be able to watch from afar. Scarlet Invitation has only sent out a hundred cards to prevent things from getting too chaotic. Only those with the cards can enter tonight.¡±

    ¡°Only a hundred?¡± Zu An was shocked. Even though that number seemedrge, how many wealthy people were there in the capital? Furthermore, each n often had hundreds to over a thousand people. If one added in the nearbymanderies, then this number wasn¡¯t enough at all!

    ¡°Then doesn¡¯t that mean Scarlet Invitation would only invite high officials from the court?¡± Zu An recalled something simr from his past world. Half of these hundred cards would already have been handed out secretly beforehand, and only a few would actually enter the marketce.

    ¡°That¡¯s actually not the case.¡± Gao Ying chuckled. ¡°After all, this is a ce of romance, and the court¡¯s officials are scared of being used of misconduct by the imperial censors. Out of consideration for their prestige, the elders typically won¡¯t go. Only juniors like us will go and join the liveliness. Perhaps it won¡¯t be appropriate for Sir Zu to go to this kind of ce soon either.¡±

    After all, at first, Zu An hadn¡¯t even been a normal citizen in the capital, but rather a prisoner. And yet, afterward, his career had skyrocketed; he had since be a viscount and a popr person in the Eastern Pce. Most importantly, he was now an existence most powers couldn''t overlook. His rank might shoot up a few more levels in mere days. At that time, it really wouldn¡¯t be too appropriate for him to go to such a ce.

    Zu An thought to himself, So that¡¯s how it is¡­ Those officials¡¯ positions are so high that they can¡¯t even y around with courtesans? How sad is that? But when he thought about it, once one reached that level, one could just take in whatever girl one wanted. One didn¡¯t have to frequent such ces.

    ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to brother Gao¡¯s luck and social connections that he ended up getting an invitation card. I wanted to get one too, but I couldn''t obtain one no matter how hard I tried.¡± Pei You promptly brought up Gao Ying¡¯s contribution, saying that it was because of him that they could alle today.

    ¡°I only found someone who was willing to sell it to me by chance. After all, this courtesan became famous while we were in the dungeon, so we didn¡¯t have any chance to obtain a card normally.¡± Gao Ying returned the favor, exining that it wasn¡¯t because Pei You didn¡¯t have the resources, but rather that their group had been fighting in the dungeon while these tickets were being circted. They hadn¡¯t had a chance to seize any for themselves.

    Zu An thought, No wonder I¡¯ve never heard of this courtesan before. Turns out she only became popr while we were in the dungeon! Just then, however, he thought of something and suddenlyughed. ¡°We guests are always the one who choose the courtesans in the brothels, yet now, it almost looks like the courtesan is choosing us.¡±

    It was like the hostess clubs of his past world; if he didn¡¯t like the girl, he could just ask for another one. Yet now, their roles seemed to have been swapped with this courtesan queen Nan Xun. It was almost as if she were the one choosing her guests!

    Gao Ying and Pei You both couldn''t help but chuckle. ¡°Now that you mention it, that really is the case. But you¡¯ll know once you see herter. She is worth it.¡±

    Pei You continued, ¡°Brother Zu, we already share a bond of life and death, so I¡¯ll be a bit more straightforward. We wanted to give you the courtesan queen as gratitude for saving our lives, but this courtesan queen is a bit special. We can¡¯t even win her over with our n backgrounds, and can only rely on our own skill. If we can¡¯t obtain Nan Xun¡¯s invitation, we''ll give you another courtesan queen. Scarlet Invitation has twenty-four stunning beauties who are known as the twenty-four bridges to the moon. You can y with them to your heart¡¯s satisfaction.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, Like hell I¡¯ll have a bond of life and death with you men. He waved his hands and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I might not have other good points, but I am pretty good with thedies. I feel like this courtesan will definitely choose meter.¡±

    Pei You was speechless. He gave Zu An a look. If it weresn¡¯t because Zu An had saved his life, with his usual personality, he probably would have mocked Zu An for being a cocky nobody.

    After all, this Lady Nan Xun was different from the other courtesan queens. Rumors spread quickly among the capital¡¯s social circles. Not a single person was confident in receiving her invitation.

    Gao Ying was a bit more sophisticated. Heughed out loud to mediate the atmosphere. ¡°Chu First Miss also chose brother Zu out of so many candidates, so brother Zu¡¯s skill is easy to see. Perhaps Lady Nan Xun really will choose you today.¡±

    ¡­

    The group had already unwittingly arrived at Scarlet Invitation while talking andughing.

    Even though Zu An had already made his mental preparations, he was still a bit stunned when he saw the splendid lights and pavilions. The scene before him was like one straight out of ¡®Spirited Away¡¯. It was as if he had returned to his past world¡¯s Chongqing Hongyadong[1].

    The ce was even more magnificent than Immortal Abode in Brightmoon City! The government brothel¡¯s style was lower profile. It couldn''tpare to Scarlet Invitation in that aspect.

    It was equivalent in size to Brightmoon City¡¯s entire red light district! No wonder no one could figure out the boss behind it. How could a ce that could upy so muchnd in the capital have an ordinary background?n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Scarlet Invitation was already extremely lively. Zu An constantly bumped and brushed against other people. He felt as if he had returned to his past world¡¯s train stations during the new year.

    There were some people who were shouting Lady Nan Xun¡¯s name so passionately they passed out. There were even more people who, because they knew they couldn''t get in, screamed out their love for her while waving banners in the air, hoping that Lady Nan Xun could see their literary talent and invite them inside.

    Zu An gave them a look. These people had written all sorts of poetry, but for someone like him who had read through Tang and Song poetry, the level of their writing couldn''t help but seem a bit clumsy. It looked awkward and cringeworthy inparison.

    ¡°Make way; excuse us!¡± Gao Ying and Pei You were sixth ranked experts, so they could make their way across the ground through the release of ki without hurting anyone. The three of them quickly arrived at the entrance.

    Zu An noticed that there was security by the gates to maintain order. There were also many bailiffs standing watch. This really was quite the big deal. A brothel actually had so many people present to maintain public order!

    While he was sighing in admiration, a teasing voice suddenly remarked, ¡°Oh? Isn¡¯t it Little You? Why are you here with someone from the Liu n?¡±

    Zu An turned around. He saw a young master who was escorted by a group of people looking at the three of them with a mocking expression. The young master was decent looking, but there were ck rings under his eyes and hisplexion was extremely pale. He looked like someone who had let women and alcoholpletely destroy his body. He looked to be around twenty-seven or twenty-eight, but there wasn¡¯t the slightest bit of steadiness in his demeanor. There was only an air of frivolousness.

    ¡°Is that any of your business?¡± Pei You sneered. At the same time, he exined quietly to Zu An, ¡°This is my great grandfather¡¯s third branch n¡¯s Pei Xingyan.¡±

    Zu An quickly realized that this was the Waterfront Duke Pei Zheng¡¯s grandson. Even though Waterfront Duke Pei Zheng and Pei You¡¯s grandfather were brothers, their rtionship wasn¡¯t all that good. Pei You and his father¡¯s branch in particr were close to the Bi n, and were closer to the crown prince¡¯s faction. That only made Pei Zheng even more unhappy with them.

    ¡°What a textbook example of a viin.¡± Zu An sighed when he saw the other party¡¯s provocative behavior. He suddenly remembered that Big Manman¡¯s father was Pei Zheng¡¯s fifth son. This guy in front of him was actually her cousin! He decided to just avoid conflict out of consideration for Big Manman.

    But Zu An couldn¡¯t have expected that Pei Xingyan wouldn¡¯t even give him a look, and instead looked toward Gao Ying and acted as if he only recognized him at that moment. ¡°Aren¡¯t you that Liu n¡¯s little cousin? I heard that you were a pretty steady guy, so why did youe to a ce of romance like this? Shouldn¡¯t it be that wastrel Liu Xian from your n whoes here instead? Why isn¡¯t he here?¡± He looked from side to side while speaking, as if he were looking for Liu Xian.

    1. A famous tourist attraction in China¡¯s Chongqing City ?

 Chapter 919, Part 2: Entry Denied

    <h4>Chapter 919, Part 2: Entry Denied</h4>

    Gao Ying¡¯s face sank. Stating that he was a little cousin was already implying that he wasn¡¯t a true heir of the Liu n, which was already irritating. Then, Pei Xingyan had even deliberately brought up Liu Xian.

    He swallowed his anger and said, ¡°Liu Xian has already given up his life in the dungeon to protect the crown prince and princess. This fact has been announced publicly in court. Why are you asking why he didn¡¯te here?¡±

    ¡°Oh my, so he¡¯s dead! I am so, so sorry. I really haven¡¯t been paying much attention to these kinds of news.¡± Pei Xingyan said that he was sorry, but there wasn¡¯t even a trace of embarrassment to be seen from him. ¡°Right, what did you just say just now? How did he die again?¡±

    Gao Ying said coldly, ¡°He took the initiative to hold up the rear, sacrificing himself to protect the crown prince and princess!¡±

    ¡°Liu Xian sacrificed himself to protect another person? He even took the initiative in making that choice? Hahaha!¡± Pei Xingyang seemed as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world. Hispanions roared withughter too. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have been surprised at all if you told me that Liu Xian died while lying on the belly of a woman. A yboy like him actually sacrificed himself to bring up the rear?¡±

    Gao Ying¡¯s expression became colder and colder. He wasn¡¯t a pushover either and immediately retaliated. ¡°This is what the court has pronounced. Are you questioning his majesty¡¯s decision?¡±

    Pei Xinyang obviously understood the trap. He said with a smile, ¡°His majesty is powerful and brilliant, so of course he wouldn¡¯t make the wrong decision. But what his majesty is worried about is the greater situation. A nobody like Liu Xian might not even get a nce from his majesty. I¡¯m not the only one in the capital who is familiar with Liu Xian. If you don¡¯t believe me, then go and ask them if they believe that Liu Xian stayed behind to hold up the rear.¡±

    Hispanions all roared withughter.

    ¡°How could that be? That Liu Xian was the definition of a coward!¡±

    ¡°What else was he good at apart from ying with women? He probably just lost his life in the dungeon because his cultivation was too low. As for how he died, there were only a few people who made it out alive anyway. They could just say whatever they wanted.¡±

    ¡°That may not be the case. I think it¡¯s just that Liu Xian¡¯s cultivation was too low, so he couldn''t even outrun the others. That¡¯s why he was left behind and forced to cut off the rear.¡±

    ¡°Hahaha, what young master Pei says makes a lot of sense! That¡¯s probably what happened.¡±

    ¡­

    Zu An sighed. Big Manman¡¯s older cousin really needs a good beating. Even I¡¯m on the verge of beating the crap out of him.

    ¡°Absolutely disgraceful!¡± Gao Ying couldn''t hold it in anymore and threw a fist out. Pei Xingyan had already prepared, however. He waved his palm to block the strike.

    After the exchange, Gao Ying remained in ce, while Pei Xingyan was forced back several steps. However, hispanions quickly surrounded him, eximing, ¡°What are you doing? Are you trying to restrict our freedom of speech?¡±

    Pei You and Zu An both walked up to Gao Ying¡¯s side. They didn¡¯t want theirrade to lose in this situation.

    There was an unnatural redness in Pei Xingyan¡¯s face. He had clearly suffered a bit from that exchange. He red at Pei You and eximed angrily, ¡°Little You, you dare to help an outsider fight against your own family?¡±

    There were many people in the surroundings who didn¡¯t know what was happening. When they heard that, their expressions immediately turned into looks of disdain when they looked at Pei You. This was a world structured around ns. Pei Xingyan¡¯s usation was actually extremely serious.

    Pei You¡¯s expression changed several times, and he had no idea how to retort. It was clear that if they weren¡¯t talking about matters of the pleasure quarters, he would return to being that isted youngster again.

    Zu An helped him out of his awkwardness and said, ¡°Pei You will help arade who has fought at his side, and not a petty person who gossips and humiliates a warrior who sacrificed his life for our nation.¡±

    What did n affection matter in the face of national duty? Sure enough, the onlookers¡¯ expressions toward Pei You immediately eased up. Pei You gave Zu An a grateful look.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°And who are you?¡± Pei Xingyan gave Zu An a look that seemed as if he were looking at a toad.

    Pei You was grateful to Zu An, so he obviously took the initiative to brag about him. ¡°This is the greatest contributor to the dungeon mission this time, the one whom his majesty personally granted the title of Green Hat Viscount! He is the crown prince¡¯s chambein, the Armed Escort Division Commander, Sir Zu An!¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes twitched when he heard the words ¡®Green Hat Viscount¡¯. But he knew that Pei You had spoken with good intentions, so he couldn''t act out at all.

    ¡°Pah!¡± Pei Xingyang scoffed in disdain. ¡°The two of you really have lost it! Even though your statuses aren¡¯t high in your ns, you¡¯re still young masters from distinguished ns. And yet today, the two of you are ttering a nobody that much? You really are a disgrace to everyone in the capital!¡±

    Pei You and Gao Ying¡¯s expressions changed. But before they could say anything, Zu An said with a sneer, ¡°This young master Xingyan here, did you eat shit before you left your house today?¡±

    Pei Xingyan was stunned. He thought that he had heard incorrectly, but when he saw the others¡¯ expressions, he knew that wasn¡¯t the case. He erupted into rage and eximed, ¡°What did you say?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Pei Xingyan for +588 +588 +588¡­

    ¡°If you haven¡¯t eaten shit, why is that the only thinging out of your mouth?¡± Zu An asked, feigning confusion. ¡°Or maybe your respected self is a poop manufacturing machine?¡±

    He had been a professional troll on the inte forums back in his previous world, so he obviously knew the best ways to break someone¡¯s defenses.

    The civilians, who had been watching to join in the liveliness, roared withughter. They might not know the jokes nobles made, but they all quickly understood poop jokes.

    Pei Xingyan almost fainted from anger, yelling,¡°I¡¯m going to rip out your filthy mouth!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Pei Xingyan for +723 +723 +723¡­

    His palm flew right as he spoke. But just as Pei You and Gao Ying were about to block it, a miserable scream tore through the air. Pei Xingyan was already flying through the sky.

    Zu An said coldly, ¡°I can kill eighth ranked beasts like ughtering chickens. Even someone like you dares to face me? I¡¯ll spare your life out of consideration for an old friend. Get lost.¡± This kid really is a good-for-nothing. You¡¯re already that angry, and yet you can only produce this small amount of Rage point soul fluctuations?

    Gao Ying and Pei You shivered inwardly. They didn¡¯t even see how Zu An had attacked even while being so close. It looks like Zu An¡¯s cultivation improved a lot during this brief period. Of course, they both felt incredibly refreshed when they saw Pei Xingyan¡¯s bitter end. Big bro Zu is formidable after all; he helped us vent out our resentment.

    Pei Xingyan¡¯srades had been about to help, but when they heard those words, they immediately shivered. Only then did they remember the rumors about Zu An. The Jade Moon Serpent was only at the seventh rank. This bastard really knows how to boast!

    They all cursed inwardly, but they knew that they were definitely not his match. They gave up on those thoughts and began to use words. ¡°Preposterous! The capital is a ce that upholds virtue, and yet you¡¯re bullying the weak with your strength? Will no one uphold public justice?¡±

    If they knew that he hadn¡¯t only killed eighth ranked beasts, but even experts at the peak of the ninth rank, they wouldn¡¯t dare to speak such words.

    But the surrounding crowd immediately berated them. ¡°Utterly shameless!¡± They thought, These young masters love to bully the weak, and yet today, they have the shame to say this to someone else?

    But they were just spectators at the moment and weren¡¯t scared of the drama growing bigger. These officials were all terrible people anyway, so it would be the best situation if they killed each other.

    The disturbance drew the attention of the nearby bailiffs who were assigned to keep order. They walked over with des in their hands, asking, ¡°Who¡¯s causing trouble here?¡±

    Pei Xingyan held in the blood he had just vomited from his mouth. He wanted toin to these bailiffs, but his insides were stirring so badly that he couldn''t even speak. Fortunately, he had hisrades. Theyined about Zu An to the bailiffs one after another.

    There was nock of experts among the bailiffs in a ce like the capital. Even though none of them couldpare to Zu An, if Zu An dared to use violence against them, that would be like poking a ho¡¯s nest. The court would never let him go.

    Gao Ying and Pei You also stepped forward to reveal their identities. At the same time, they spoke about what had happened just then. Of course, what they spoke about was how overbearing the other party was.

    The leader of the bailiffs felt a huge headache. They couldn''t afford to offend these young masters either, but they were already experienced in such matters. They shirked responsibility and said, ¡°We¡¯re only in charge of maintaining order outside Scarlet Invitation¡¯s entrance. Please go to the governmental office for any other matter. They have their ways of dealing with these matters.¡±

    Pei Xingyan¡¯s group was speechless.

    Gao Ying and Pei You chuckled and said to Zu An, ¡°Brother Zu, please!¡±

    Pei Xingyan wanted to stop them, but he hesitated when he recalled how he had been sent flying mysteriously just a moment before.

    ¡­

    Zu An¡¯s group walked up to the entrance. Gao Ying brought out his invitation card to be verified. One card could bring in two guests.

    The guard looked it over, then frowned, saying, ¡°The names do not match, so you cannot enter. Next!¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He hadn¡¯t expected to encounter this kind of obstacle.

    Gao Ying eximed, ¡°What is the meaning of this? You aren¡¯t letting in guests you invited yourself?¡±

    Just then, the bailiff from before said, ¡°We received a report from the higher ups that all sorts of reselling urred and ended up inting the price. Many of the tickets ended up in the hands of people with ill will, so for the safety of the gathering and the capital¡¯s order, only those whose surnames were recorded can pass.¡±

    ¡°This ticket was something my n¡¯s rtive gave me. Is even that uneptable?¡± Gao Ying was starting to worry. He had never heard of names being checked after all these years.

    With their respective ns¡¯ statused, obtaining an invitation card wasn¡¯t too difficult of a task. However, they had been in the dungeon, so they obviously couldn''t get the invitation card themselves.

    ¡°No. It must match the name designated in the beginning.¡± The bailiff knew who they were, so for fear of offending them, he added, ¡°These are orders from above. We are also only acting ording to procedures.¡±

    ¡°And the name of that superior is?¡± Pei You asked unhappily. The two of them had invited Zu An over in high spirits, and yet such a thing had ended up happening. Didn¡¯t this make them look really bad?

    ¡°Noment!¡± the bailiff replied. ¡°Please do not hold up the line. Next!¡±

    ¡°Haha¡­ cough¡­ haha!¡± Pei Xingyan managed to stand back up under the support of hisrades. He coughed whileughing. ¡°Absolutely hrious! You ran all the way here to show off, and yet you can¡¯t even go inside¡­¡±

    Zu An gave him an indifferent look. Pei Xingyan immediately swallowed his other words of mockery back down. He could only borrow the bailiff nearby for support. ¡°Ahem, if you don¡¯t have an invitation card, then move out of the way. We have one.¡±

 Chapter 920, Part 1: Big Manmanâ€™s Crisis

    <h4>Chapter 920, Part 1: Big Manman¡¯s Crisis</h4>

    Gao Ying was ashamed and embarrassed. He tried to negotiate with the bailiff leader, but the other party only expressed his powerlessness as well. That was the order he had received from above. Pei You also spoke up, bringing out his n background several times. However, the bailiff leader only expressed his apologies, but couldn¡¯t let him pass.

    The two of them looked toward Zu An in shame and awkwardness. ¡°Brother Zu, we really didn¡¯t expect this to happen¡­¡±

    After all, the entire purpose of this trip had been to thank Zu An for saving their lives. And yet today, they couldn''t even go inside! They felt utterly humiliated and really wanted to hide somewhere in shame.

    Zu An chuckled when he saw their poverty-stricken expressions. He patted their shoulders in constion and said, ¡°It¡¯s fine; let me give it a try.¡±

    Gao Ying and Pei You felt grateful when they saw that he didn¡¯t me them, but they also became even more ashamed. They were respectable figures in the capital themselves, and yet they ended up messing up their role of being hosts so badly! They¡¯d probably be the joke of the entire city by tomorrow.

    As for what Zu An said about giving it a try himself, they didn¡¯t think too much about it. After all, the two of them had already tried everything they could, and not even bringing up the Liu and Pei n had done anything. What else could he do at that point?

    ¡°Excuse me, sir bailiff, may I speak to you for a moment?¡± Zu An gestured for the bailiff to step aside.

    ¡°What? Don¡¯t even think about bribing me!¡± the bailiff warned. But he knew that Zu An was currently a popr individual, so he had to at least allow him the chance to talk.

    Zu An pulled him aside and asked, ¡°May I ask what sir bailiff¡¯s name is?¡±

    ¡°Are you going to use my name to get revenge on me? Well, there¡¯s no harm in me telling you. My name is Bao Ce. Do whatever you want, because I¡¯m carrying out my duty in ordance with thew!¡± the bailiff said fiercely. His expression became a little colder.

    ¡°That¡¯s an excellent name.¡± Zu An thought to himself, So it was actually a decent bailiff who upholds justice! That makes things much easier to deal with. ¡°Bailiff Bao has misunderstood. I have no thoughts of revenge. I only wish to inform you of something¡­¡±

    He used the skill ¡®I have a friend¡¯ while talking. ¡°I have a friend who received a personal invitation from Lady Nan Xun a few days ago, but my invitation was stolen by that person. Then, he found a skilled craftsman to change it into his own name. No one could tell the difference.¡±

    Pei Xingyan saw that the two of them were chatting while gesturing toward him. He was about to act out when he remembered how he had been beaten badly by Zu An not too long ago. He felt a chill run through his body and didn¡¯t dare to offend him anymore.

    ¡°What? How could something like that happen?!¡± The bailiff was furious. His expression became unpleasant when he looked at Pei Xingyan. He hated people who did such things the most.

    He subconsciously thought of Zu An as the friend he had spoken of under the effects of the skill. Furthermore, he subconsciously trusted the im to be true. But he didn¡¯tpletely lose his rationality. He said with a frown, ¡°Even though I sympathize with your situation, I¡¯ve received orders from above today. They say that those without invitation cards can¡¯te in. At most, I can stop Pei Xingyan from going in too.¡±

    When he saw that the other party had loosened up a bit, Zu An said, ¡°That friend of mine is sworn brothers with your master Sir Yi. He¡¯s allowed my friend to go inside and wait for him.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t hard to figure out who the bailiff¡¯s superior was. As the head bailiff in the capital, only the capital¡¯s Magistrate Yi Chun could order them about.

    ¡°Are you and Sir Yi sworn brothers?¡± Bailiff Bao asked, shocked.

    ¡°Shh, it¡¯s my friend, not me,¡± Zu An reminded him quietly.

    ¡°I understand, I understand.¡± Many thoughts passed through Bailiff Bao¡¯s head. Sir Yi usually got along with those from King Qi¡¯s faction, while Zu An was someone from the Eastern Pce. The fact that they were close wasn¡¯t something they should let too many people know about.

    After some hesitation, he said, ¡°Then you guys should enter.¡±

    Even though he was upright, he wasn¡¯t someonepletely oblivious to the ways of the world. Sir Yi treated him extremely well, and he was the one who had given the orders today for Scarlet Invitation. How could he stop Sir Yi¡¯s good friend from entering?

    ¡°Thank you, Sir Bao. My friend will definitely let Sir Yi know about this matter,¡± Zu An said with a smile.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Bailiff Bao said with a firm expression, ¡°There¡¯s no need. It¡¯s not a big deal.¡±

    ¡­

    Zu An returned to Gao Ying and Pei You¡¯s side. He gestured, indicating that he had already settled the situation. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Gao Ying and Pei You thought that they were going somewhere else, but Zu An pulled them inside.

    Oh no, there¡¯s going to be conflict with the bailiff soon! Ah¡­ whatever! If we¡¯re barging in, then so be it! We¡¯ll just ask our ns to help us clean up the aftermath. Both of them thought the same thing. With their backgrounds, this matter wouldn¡¯t be punished too severely anyway. But going against the capital¡¯s police in public was still quite a crime. Even so, now that they were already in this situation, they were already pretty upset, so there was no reason to back down.

    But they didn¡¯t expect that the bailiffs would move aside. The two of them were stunned. What was going on?

    Forget about them, even the others who had been watching their group as if they were seeing a joke were stunned. They all grumbled, ¡°How can they enter without an invitation card?¡±

    Bailiff Bao raised the invitation they had presented earlier and said indifferently, ¡°They have an invitation card; there was just a bit of misunderstanding.¡±

    Those who didn¡¯t know the truth half believed it, but Pei Xingyan definitely wouldn¡¯t. ¡°No way! Open up that invitation and look inside! It¡¯s definitely not their names that are inside!¡±

    The three of them had been inside the dungeon when the invitations were released. How could they possibly have legitimate invitations?

    Pei Xingyan moved forward with hispanions to examine the invitation card, but Bailiff Bao¡¯s expression became unkind. He eximed, ¡°Do the capital¡¯s bailiffs need to exin our actions to you? I just received a report that makes me suspect that you stole another¡¯s invitation card, falsifying it. Men, arrest him!¡±

    Pei Xingyan was stunned, shouting, ¡°You dare touch me? Do you know who my father is?!¡±

    Bailiff Bao had been a strict person to begin with. He became even unhappier when he heard Pei Xingyan¡¯s words. ¡°Save your words for the government office. Men, bring him back.¡±

    The others wanted to stop them, but when they saw the ferocity of the bailiffs, they all cowered back. After all, shing against these officials bore terrifying consequences.

    If Pei Xingyan hadn¡¯t been injured, they might have stood a chance. However, Pei Xingyan didn¡¯t even have any strength to retaliate, so why would the rest of them be willing to get in trouble for nothing? They were only fair-weather friends, after all.

    Gao Ying and Pei You were both stunned when they saw Pei Xingyan curse profusely as he was being captured. They asked, ¡°Brother Zu, just how did you aplish this?¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°Bailiff Bao is a reasonable person. All I needed to do was tell him things clearly.¡±

    Gao Ying and Pei You thought to themselves, Like hell that guy speaks reason! The two of us already talked our throats dry, but we didn¡¯t manage to convince him! But they didn¡¯t continue to press the issue when they saw that Zu An wasn¡¯t going to say anything more. Everyone had their own secrets.

    ¡°By the way, since you guys are rtives, why is your rtionship with each other so bad?¡± Zu An asked out of curiosity.

    Pei You replied, ¡°When a n gets big, you get all kinds of people. Forget about our branches not getting along, even those under the same branch don¡¯t agree with each other.¡±

    Gao Ying said, ¡°Waterfront Duke Pei Zheng¡¯s second son married my uncle¡¯s daughter. Even though both sides are inws, Waterfront Duke has always looked down on my uncle. It might be that Pei Xingyan has sensed Waterfront Duke¡¯s attitude, and that¡¯s why his attitude is so poor. It¡¯smon for the ns of the capital to intermarry and be rted to each other, but those who don¡¯t get along will still have conflicts.¡±

    Zu An nodded in deep understanding. ¡°So that really was the case.¡± Sometimes, rtives weren¡¯t even as good as some like-minded friends.

    ¡°By the way, did something happen to Waterfront Duke¡¯s fifth branch?¡± Zu An took the chance to ask about that. Ever since Pei Mianman had left, he had never received any news about her. He was really worried.

    ¡°Fifth branch?¡± Pei You was confused. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of something happening to them. Why are you suddenly asking about them?¡±

    Zu An hesitated before asking, ¡°Do you remember when I mentioned Pei Mianman in the dungeon?¡±

    Pei You replied with a smile, ¡°Of course I do! She¡¯s our Pei n¡¯s prettiest girl, you know? Wait, brother Zu has mentioned her several times now. Could it be that you want to be my brother-inw?¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t confirm or deny it and said, ¡°The two of us were fellow students in Brightmoon City, and she helped me a lot. For better or worse, we¡¯re friends. But a few months ago, she received a secret message that hinted something had happened by her mother¡¯s side. She had to rush back, and I never heard from her again. As a friend, I can¡¯t help but feel worried.¡±

    After a bit of hesitation, Pei You said in a hushed voice, ¡°I don¡¯t think anything has happened to the fifth branch, but I think I can guess what¡¯s happening.¡±

 Chapter 920, Part 2: Big Manmanâ€™s Crisis

    <h4>Chapter 920, Part 2: Big Manman¡¯s Crisis</h4>

    ¡°Their n always wanted Pei Mianman to marry King Qi¡¯s heir, so they might have used her mother as a pretense to trick her and get her toe back. This is something only a few people in our n know about, so please don¡¯t go telling everyone.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Zu An was rmed. Like hell he could let that happen!

    ¡°I don¡¯t think Pei Mianman is willing, and that¡¯s why she went all the way to Brightmoon City for a n mission. But it looks like the n¡¯s patience has hit its limit over the past few days, so they summoned her back. But they knew she would evade it, so they tricked her by using her mother,¡± Pei You continued.

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed several times. It would be weirder if Big Manman agreed! The two of us already truly became husband and wife a long time ago!

    Gao Ying asked in confusion, ¡°But Pei Mianman¡¯s status shouldn¡¯t be enough for her to be the wife of King Qi¡¯s heir, right?¡±

    Zu An was annoyed. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with her? With her beauty and talent, it¡¯s enough for Zhao Zhi and more to spare¡­¡± Pah pah pah, what do you mean ¡®enough for him¡¯? Like hell Zhao Zhi is good enough for her!

    Gao Ying said with a bitter smile, ¡°Brother Zu has misunderstood. Who in the capital isn¡¯t aware of Miss Pei¡¯s beauty? She¡¯s even a cultivation genius. But marriages within the royal n aren''t so simple. Many times, there¡¯s a requirement for the woman¡¯s n background.

    ¡°Miss Peies from the Pei n. She isn¡¯t from the main branch of the n, but the fifth branch is close enough. However, her mother¡­¡±

    ¡°What about her mother?¡± Zu An frowned.

    Gao Ying exined, ¡°Her mother isn¡¯t an official wife of the fifth branch, so Pei Mianman was born under a concubine.¡±

    Pei You added, ¡°Her mother used to be the main wife, butter on, some things I¡¯m unclear about happened. All I know is that her father took in another youngdy from a prestigious house, so Pei Mianman¡¯s mother was then abandoned.¡±

    Zu An felt pity for her. Big Manman was always smiling in front of him, but he hadn¡¯t expected her to have such a tragic background. This was a world different from his past one. The difference between the first wife and other wives was worlds apart. He could imagine just how much hardship Big Manman had gone through.

    Pei You then said, ¡°It¡¯s because her background isn¡¯t good enough that the Pei n only wishes for her to be a concubine for King Qi¡¯s heir.¡±

    There were things that weren¡¯t talked about, but all of them knew that Pei Zheng wanted to see King Qi be the emperor. This was a political investment. King Qi¡¯s son would be the crown prince, so once he rose to be the emperor, Pei Mianman would then be an imperial concubine. The Pei n¡¯s status would then rise another level.

    But Zu An couldn''t be bothered with so much. When he heard that Big Manman was going to be forced to be someone¡¯s concubine, mes raged within him. He even felt the urge to cripple Zhao Zhi.

    ¡°Brother Zu, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Pei You and Gao Ying both sensed that there was something wrong with Zu An¡¯s emotional state.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Zu An forced a smile. After taking a deep breath to calm himself down, he continued, ¡°Then do you know how far this process has reached? Or perhaps when the wedding day will be?¡±

    He had already decided that no matter what, he wouldn¡¯t let Big Manman¡¯s marriage go through. He wouldn¡¯t even allow a marriage that was only in name.

    Pei You said with a smile, ¡°Both sides only have that intention right now; they haven¡¯t reached an agreement. But actually, this has something to do with you too.¡±

    ¡°It has something to do with me?¡± Zu An was rmed. Doesn¡¯t that mean other people know about my rtionship with Big Manman?

    Pei You exined, ¡°You broke Zhao Zhi¡¯s legs a while ago, so how can King Qi Manor be bothered about wedding matters? The Pei n is waiting for Zhao Zhi to make a full recovery as well.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but smile. Who could have thought it? If he had known that things would turn out like this, he would have broken Zhao Zhi¡¯s third leg back then too. Big Manman, we¡¯re destined to be together after all! His mood suddenly improved greatly. He asked Pei You about a few more things. When he heard that Pei Mianman should be fine in the short term, he felt relieved.

    The group walked up a stairway decorated withnterns and banners. They arrived at the main building with splendid lights all the way at the top.

    There was a scent of cosmetics and fragrances that wafted through the air. Their conversation returned to that of romance.

    In the second floor¡¯s private room, a beautiful man listened to the ttery of people around him with a smile. Suddenly, he heard unrulyughtering from below. He frowned and turned to nce in that direction, and hisplexion immediately fell.

    ¡°Young master Yu, is something wrong?¡± a young master with triangr eyes asked.

    The handsome man was naturally the Secretariat Assistant Director Yu Nan. The reason why he hade to Scarlet Invitation before wasn¡¯t because he wanted to hear his official title. He liked being called young master by others, and those around him obviously knew about that preference too.

    ¡°It¡¯s just that an annoying person has shown up,¡± Yu Nan sipped on his tea and said indifferently. For some reason, even the best wine would be vile and bitter whenever he saw Zu An.

    ¡°That seems to be the new upstart, Green Hat Viscount Zu An.¡± Someone recognized Zu An¡¯s party. They knew about Gao Ying and Pei You, and they had never heard of them having any grudge with Yu Nan. That meant the one he was talking about could only be Zu An. They also felt that Zu An¡¯s frivolous and unruly style was quite annoying to look at.

    The man with the triangr eyes realized something and asked, ¡°Does young master Yu have any conflict with that Zu fellow?¡±

    Those who could share a table with Yu Nan wouldn¡¯t be of low status. He was the son of the capital¡¯s Magistrate Yi Chun, Yi Zhibing. The reason why there were so many bailiffs outside was because he had brought them over through his father¡¯s connections. He had wanted to take the chance to curry favor with Yu Nan. He knew that Yu Nan was interested in the courtesan Nan Xun, but couldn''t really dirty his hands with such things because of his reputation.

    That was why he had used his father¡¯s subordinates to sweep thepetitors clean. Of course, what everyone else had heard was that they were trying to create a safe environment for the courtesan¡¯s performance. Even though Yu Nan didn¡¯t say anything, he would remember the favor.

    ¡°A grudge?¡± Yu Nan sneered. ¡°Why would I go that far for someone like him?¡±

    Yi Zhibing sneered. This guy really knows how to show off. He clearly doesn¡¯t like Zu An, and yet he still makes himself sound so high and mighty.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    But he had to admit that this man was just way too handsome. He had the qualifications to speak such words. If Yi Zhibing had been the one to say those words, it would only make him look like an idiot.

    He said with a smile, ¡°Since young master Yu doesn¡¯t like him, please just wait for me to send him out.¡±

    Yu Nan was tempted, but he still had to be courteous on the surface. He replied, ¡°There¡¯s no need. It is just a trifling little clown.¡±

    Yi Zhibing naturally didn¡¯t treat his courtesy as the real deal. He said with a smile, ¡°Please warm up my drink for me. I¡¯m going to deal with it quickly.¡± He walked out of the private room after speaking, and summoned some subordinates to follow him.

    The others in the private roomughed and said, ¡°Brother Yi carries the style of ancient heroes; perhaps the wine will still be warm when he returns. The tale of chasing out Zu An before his wine even cools off might serve as a great tale on its own.¡±

    Yu Nan smiled. Even though he had never cared much about wealth, he cared a lot about his reputation. If news of Zu An being chased out so quickly spread, his reputation would only soar even higher. After all, Yi Zhibing was so formidable, and yet he was only doing all of this to curry a bit of favor with him.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An, Gao Ying, and Pei You were chatting happily. They were about to find a ce to take a seat when a vulgar looking young master¡­ No, calling him young master would be discrediting the term. He looked just like a rat.

    ¡°Who let you all in?¡± The one who had arrived was naturally Yi Zhibing. He was all smiles around Yu Nan, but his father was the capital¡¯s magistrate, making him a first-rate second generation heir. He had the qualifications to remain prideful in front of others.

    ¡°Yi Zhibing, do we need your approval toe in?¡± Pei You was extremely dissatisfied with the other party¡¯s tone. They were all in the same circles in the capital, so he wasn¡¯t scared at all.

    Gao Ying quietly introduced the person to Zu An. Zu An¡¯s eyes widened when he heard what he said. Just the man¡¯s name alone was quite something.[1]

    Yi Zhibing naturally carried some reservations toward the Liu n and Pei n, but one was just a rtive of the Liu n, while the other wasn¡¯t even a young master from the Pei n¡¯s main branches. That was why he didn¡¯t take them too seriously. ¡°I was wondering who it was. So it was just young master Pei and young master Gao.¡±

    He then changed the topic. He said to the bailiffs next to him, ¡°Double-check their invitations.¡± He then looked at the three of them with a big smile and said, ¡°Everyone, please forgive me. Lady Nan Xun has attracted too much attention tonight, so some crooks might be mixed in with honest folk. That¡¯s why we have to ensure order. Those who don¡¯t have invitation cards must leave.¡±

    ¡°You! What is the meaning of this?¡± Gao Ying and Pei You were furious. His words were courteous, but the meaning was entirely different!

    ¡°There¡¯s no special meaning; we¡¯re treating everyone the same way. Please don¡¯t take offense,¡± Yi Zhibing said with a smile. ¡°Hm? Why are you all acting this way? Don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t have an invitation card? That can¡¯t be. There¡¯s no way, right?¡±

    The disturbance quickly drew the attention of everyone in the ce. Many guests had already been seated. They looked over with curiosity.

    In a private room on the second floor, a young master with pretty features said to hispanion with thick brows and big eyes, ¡°Big bro, that Zu An came as well. It seems like Yi Zhibing is deliberately causing trouble for him. Should we step forward to help him out?¡±

    These two were the Qin n¡¯s young masters. The one with delicate features was Qin Se¡¯s grandson, Qin Yongde, while the one with stronger features was Qin Zheng¡¯s grandson, Qin Guangyuan.

    Qin Guangyuan frowned and replied, ¡°Hmph! He already has Chuyan, and yet he stilles to this kind of ce? Why should we help him? This is perfect for teaching him a lesson.¡±

    1. The name sounds like ¡®sickness¡¯ ?

 Chapter 921, Part 1: Born to Be a Protagonist

    <h4>Chapter 921, Part 1: Born to Be a Protagonist</h4>

    Qin Yongde replied with a chuckle, ¡°You¡¯re right. The Chu n already ended their rtionship with him, so Chuyan has nothing to do with him anymore. Indeed, there¡¯s no reason to help him.¡±

    ¡°Even though he looks frivolous, he actually has some skill.¡± Qin Guangyuan sipped his tea. ¡°I heard grandfather and father mention that he seemed to have done a number on King Qi¡¯s great n. It¡¯ll be best if we keep our distance from him for now.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s really hard to imagine how King Qi and our grandfathers¡¯ ns were ruined because of that youngster.¡± Qin Yongde was surprised. What kind of an existence was King Qi? Also, those from their grandfather¡¯s generation were people whom they didn¡¯t even dare to speak too loudly in front of. They could only bow their heads and listen. However, they actually viewed this brat as a threat, and he had even made them suffer quite dearly? Just how had he done it?

    ¡°It was probably because of his majesty¡¯s other arrangements. He was just the one chosen to carry out the task.¡± Qin Guangyuan was suspicious about the entire situation. That was the conclusion that made the most sense.

    ¡­

    While the two brothers were watching things y out without lifting a finger, another private room was quite lively as well. A group of people were talking to a youngster in the main seat. ¡°Young master Bi, the one below is the newly appointed Green Hat Viscount. I don¡¯t know why, but he seems to have provoked Yi Zhibing. There¡¯s some fun drama to watch now!¡±

    They were surrounding a handsome young man. His nose was tall and straight, but the tip had a bit of a hook to it. Together with his thin lips and narrow eyes, it gave him a somewhat sinister feeling.

    The young man got up and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go and take a look.¡±

    The others were shocked. ¡°Young master Bi, why are we suddenly getting involved?¡±

    The youngster said with a smile, ¡°This Zu An is probably my little sister¡¯s loyal dog. Even if he is a dog, only his master is allowed to beat him, right? Isn¡¯t this Yi Zhibing being too arrogant?¡±

    The others all said with big smiles, ¡°Young master Bi is someone who treats his subordinates well after all! Alright, let¡¯s go and teach that Yi Zhibing a lesson.¡±

    The others were just there as spectators, so they obviously weren¡¯t afraid of things getting out of hand. They got up and drew closer to join in on the fun.

    This young man was Bi Linglong¡¯s older brother, the oldest son of the Bi n, Bi Ziang.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, on the other hand, Gao Ying and Pei You were standing in the bailiffs¡¯ way. Conflict seemed about to break out at any moment.

    What kind of joke was this? They had invited Zu An here, and yet they had ended up only getting inside because of him. They had already been embarrassed enough today, but they were going to be chased out in front of everyone¡¯s eyes now? Their social lives in the capital might really be done for after this!

    Yi Zhibing¡¯s expression grew overcast. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Are you all opposing the bailiffs in public? That is a huge crime, you know?¡±

    Gao Ying and Pei You were incredibly conflicted. They knew just how big of a crime that was too. But with how things were, they couldn''t be bothered by all of that anymore.

    Zu An was about to step forward and say something when he suddenly heardughter nearby. A voice asked, ¡°What¡¯s happening over here? Why is it so lively?¡±

    Yu Nan, who had been watching the scene with pleasure from the second floor, immediately felt his smile freeze.

    Qin Yongde snorted as well. ¡°That Zu An haspletely sided with the crown prince after all. He isn¡¯t allowed through our Qin n¡¯s doors ever again in the future!¡±

    Zu An sized up the other person out of curiosity. This person was quite handsome, but he gave off a rather ufortable aura. He suddenly thought of the phrase ¡®when a wolf looks over its shoulder¡¯. It was precisely that kind of feeling, a look that would put one immediately on guard.

    Yi Zhibing had originally been quite happy with how things were going. After all, he had driven the Liu and Pei n¡¯s two little brats crazy, and yet they were still helpless to do anything. It was as if he had be the focal and main character of this ce.

    But when he saw the one who had arrived, his expression changed. His presence immediately became weaker even as he eximed, ¡°So it was young master Bi! Which wind brought you here today?¡±

    Bi Ziang said with a smile, ¡°You¡¯re troubling my men, so how can I not step forward?¡±

    Zu An raised his eyebrows. When did I be one of your men?n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Yi Zhibing felt a huge headache. If it had been any other time, he would definitely show this young master respect and stop troubling Zu An¡¯s group, but he had already buttered up Yu Nan tonight! How could he just back down like that?

    As such, he could only brace himself and said, ¡°Young master Bi has misunderstood. I¡¯m not deliberately troubling anyone, but rather doing this for the sake of this event¡¯s peace; that¡¯s why I¡¯m asking to have their invitations examined again. We¡¯ll check everyone¡¯s invitation cards, so we aren¡¯t just dealing with them.¡±

    Bi Ziang¡¯s smile instantly vanished when he heard those words. ¡°I still wanted to let you keep your dignity, but since you don¡¯t want it, don¡¯t me this young master. Since you want to reason through thew, I¡¯m going to interrogate you in detail. What is your distinguished self¡¯s rank and post? Were you the one who gave the order to transfer the capital¡¯s bailiffs and maintain order here?¡±

    Yi Zhibing immediately broke out into a cold sweat. ¡°It¡­ It was my father who sent over the bailiffs out of a concern that there would be too many civilians here.¡± He himself didn¡¯t have any power, but by relying on his father¡¯s authority, he could obviously transfer over some bailiffs. But strictly speaking, he was doing things illegally.

    ¡°Oh, so it was Sir Yi! Then may I wonder if what Sir Yi has done today is actually as a result of a report from the court? Do you have the official approval in writing from the court? After all, this is a ce of romance, so if you use bailiffs to maintain order in a brothel, that¡¯s an abuse of government resources for personal reasons.¡± One after another, Bi Ziang fired off questions that hacked straight at Yi Zhibing¡¯s sore spots again and again.

    ¡°I¡­ Um¡­¡± Yi Zhibing wiped at his cold sweat. He had no idea how to respond. He had actedpletely on his own initiative for today¡¯s matters. Even though his father knew about it, he hadn¡¯t paid it too much attention. If someone really looked into it, his actions might even cause his father to lose his job.

    He was full of regret. Why the hell did he have to try and show off today? This Zu An really was a freaking demon after all; anyone who got involved with him ended up in deep trouble!

    While Yi Zhibing was trapped in an impossible situation, Yu Nan said indifferently, ¡°Since even young master Bi has stepped forward to act as his guarantor, there¡¯s naturally nothing wrong with their party. You cane back up.¡±

    Yi Zhibing felt as if he had just received a huge pardon. He quickly gave Bi Ziang an apologetic smile, and left as if he were running away.

    Zu An gave the upper floors a look. Even though he had only gotten a nce, he already recognized who that person was. So everything that had happened today was because of him. The two of them had clearly only met once before, only having shared a meal in King Qi Manor. Is there a need for you to target me like this?

    Human beings were just that strange. Sometimes, even though people had clearly only met once, they might fall in love, or on the flipside, subconsciously loathe the other party. Yu Nan definitely belonged to thetter category.

    The pearl curtains to the private room had already been lowered. It looked as if Yu Nan didn¡¯t even want to give him a second nce.

    Zu An shifted his gaze. He cupped his hands toward Bi Ziang, saying, ¡°Thank you, young master Bi.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for thanks. You¡¯re one of my little sister¡¯s men, so of course I¡¯d shelter you.¡± Bi Ziang gave him a look. ¡°I¡¯ve only heard of your reputation and haven¡¯t seen you in person before. Now that we¡¯ve met, I see that you¡¯re neither servile nor overbearing. Not bad.¡±

    ¡°Young master Bi is too kind with your praise,¡± Zu An replied calmly. There was always a condescending tone in the other party¡¯s voice, but he didn¡¯t really mind it either. That was probably just amon problem among people like them.

    Bi Ziang said with a smile, ¡°Now that we¡¯re on the topic, there are a few friends of mine who were done in by you.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°Is that so?¡± He had offended way too many people as ofte. He couldn''t figure out who the other party was talking about.

    ¡°Shi Kun, then Gu Heng, as well as Gu Xing. I was actually quite close to them.¡± Bi Ziang quickly changed the topic. ¡°But these people bit the hand that fed them, so you did well in getting rid of them.¡±

    Zu An shivered inwardly. He couldn''t help but feel that this young master was a bit unruly.

    The two sides exchanged some more greetings, and Bi Ziang offered an invitation. ¡°I have a private room above. Why don¡¯t you join us?¡±

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°Another time, perhaps. We¡¯ve already chosen our position today.¡±

    Judging from how this young master was surrounded by bootlickers, Zu An could easily imagine that he would have to listen to endless ttery if he went up there. He would much rather drink happily with Gao Ying and Pei You.

    Furthermore, Bi Ziang¡¯s tone and expression always made him feel as if he were being looked down on like a servant. Screw that; I¡¯ve even messed around with raid bosses like Zhao Han and the first emperor. Who the hell does this kid think he is?

    Bi Ziang frowned slightly when he saw that Zu An had refused, but he quickly hid it. ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡± He didn¡¯t say anything else, and his group quickly left.

    Once they left, hispanions muttered, ¡°That guy really doesn¡¯t know how to appreciate favors. He actually refused young master Bi¡¯s invitation!¡±

    Bi Ziang remained expressionless. ¡°Capable people always have a bit of pride. It¡¯s just like raising an eagle; it¡¯ll be obedient if you raise it for a while.¡±

 Chapter 921, Part 2: Born to Be a Protagonist

    <h4>Chapter 921, Part 2: Born to Be a Protagonist</h4>

    Meanwhile, Zu An¡¯s party of three got situated. A maid quickly came with food and drink. They weren¡¯t in one of the private rooms, but it was still a fine spot. It was easy to see that Gao Ying had put a lot of care into this matter.

    But that only made Yi Zhibing seem even more hateful. Scarlet Invitation had clearly prepared all of the spots ording to the invitation, and yet he had sent people to stop them outside.

    ¡°Brother Zu, I¡¯ll drink this toast to you first! What happened today was really embarrassing,¡± Gao Ying said, ashamed.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. It happened because someone was causing trouble behind the scenes.¡± Zu An drained his alcohol in one gulp.

    As they chatted, the atmosphere unwittingly became more carefree and passionate. They talked about all kinds of things. Eventually, they talked about Bi Ziang from before.

    ¡°That guy? He was born to be a protagonist.¡± Gao Ying and Pei You both sighed at the same time.

    Zu An was stunned. What the hell? This was the first time he had ever heard anyone described that way. If Bi Ziang is the protagonist, then what am I?

    Gao Ying seemed to have guessed at what Zu An was thinking when he saw his shocked expression. He exined with a smile, ¡°In the past, the Bi n¡¯s madam dreamed about a Qilin, and she subsequently got pregnant. Everyone in the capital knew that the Bi n had produced a Qilin-like son before he was even born.¡±

    Zu An asked, ¡°Then what if his dad was cucked by a Qilin?¡±

    Gao Ying was speechless. Even though such a phrase didn¡¯t exist in this world, it didn¡¯t stop him from knowing what Zu An was talking about.

    Pei You resisted the urge tough and said, ¡°Brother Zu, it¡¯s alright if you say these things in private with us, but it would cause a huge uproar if it spread outside! Bi Ziang has always been rather prideful. He might fall out with you if he hears that.¡±

    Zu An nodded and asked, ¡°Is that the only reason why he¡¯s known as someone born to be a protagonist?¡±

    ¡°Of course not,¡± Gao Ying continued. ¡°The day he was born, multicolored brilliance filled the skies, and a sweet scent filled the air. ording to what the servants of the Bi n said, the entire Bi n was filled with a different aroma.¡±

    Zu An cursed inwardly. Why does it sound like the appearance of a freaking subus? But out of consideration for the pair¡¯s delicate hearts, he decided not to say that out loud.

    Pei You couldn''t help but add, ¡°Sir Bi had to enter the wilderness to quell beasts when he was still young. He was brought along on a trip. During that trip, he wandered off due to a subordinate¡¯s carelessness. The Bi n entered a frenzy as they searched for him, but they never found him, so they thought that he had died. After all, the wilderness is filled with all sorts of beasts. Even a sixth ranked expert would be in great danger in such a ce.

    ¡°But who could have thought that after three days, Bi Ziang would return on his own? He was even riding on a Zouyu[1].¡±

    ¡°Zouyu?¡± Zu An asked, stunned.

    Pei You exined, ¡°It¡¯s a legendary auspicious beast. It has a tiger body and a lion¡¯s head, nd white fur with ck stripes. Its tail is as long as its body, and it can travel ten thousand li in a single day. It¡¯s rumored to be benevolent in nature, a creature who isn¡¯t even willing to trample on grass. It doesn¡¯t eat anything that didn¡¯t die of natural causes. That¡¯s why those of the world mark it as the symbol of benevolence and righteousness.¡±

    Zu An recalled simr descriptions of the Zouyu from his past world. But the description made it sound like a white tiger!

    ¡°Then, that Zouyu became his mount, the auspicious beast recognizing Bi Ziang as its master. That actually created quite the disturbance.¡± Pei You was full of envy as he described the matter. He really wished that the main character could be him.

    ¡°He is indeed a bit different from everyone else,¡± Zu An thought to himself. Did the Bi n prepare this entire story? But aren¡¯t they scared of the emperor¡¯s interference if they go that far with their campaign?

    ¡°That¡¯s not all,¡± Gao Ying said. ¡°One time, he went out on a trip, but then he unintentionally fell off a cliff. Not only did he not die, he even obtained an ancient inheritance, the ¡®World Creation Sword¡¯. It¡¯s a technique that even the libationer has praised in the past.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, This kid really does seem like a light novel¡¯s protagonist! Other people would perishpletely after falling off of a cliff, but if the main character fell off, not only would they encounter treasures and secret techniques, they might even run into beauties.

    When he was still a middle school brat, he had believed all of those light novels¡¯ nonsense, that cliffs meant opportunities. But of course, as an intellectually sound person, he would never jump off a cliff. Of course, he could still make a detour around the cliff to check if there were any secret manuals.

    The heavens didn¡¯t disappoint. One time, he had found a booklet beneath a cliff, and he had vaguely made out the words ¡®Nine Yang¡¯ on the cover. He had been overjoyed at the time! He had thought that he found the legendary ¡®Nine Yang Divine Art¡¯, but only when he picked it up did he see the words ¡®Nine Yang Soymilk Machine Manufacturer Manual¡¯.

    He never trusted those stupid cliff opportunity stories again after that experience. And yet today, there was actually a lucky bastard who had gotten him all worked up and jealous again.

    ¡°Also, also! I heard that whenever he leaves, he always finds money on the ground.¡± Pei You was feeling more and more aggrieved the more he spoke. Finding money on the ground was every person¡¯s dream, right? One could go to the brothels every day without worrying about money!

    ¡°What the hell? Screw that guy! How much money has he found then, after all these years?¡± Even Zu An was getting jealous.

    ¡°The most ridiculous part is that everyone he doesn¡¯t get along with suffers all sorts of idents. Some end up stepping into shit, some on banana peels; some get hit on the head by a flower pot. Some of them even choke halfway to death while drinking water¡­¡± Gao Ying spoke about all sorts of absurd events one after another. In the end, he said with a sigh, ¡°Eventually, people got scared. They all felt that he was someone blessed by the world, and no one dared to offend him anymore.¡±

    Pei You said worriedly, ¡°You treated him a bit rudely just now, so who knows if something unlucky will happen.¡±

    Gao Ying said, ¡°But you didn¡¯t offend him too badly. Even if there is a bit of misfortune, it shouldn¡¯t be a danger to your life.¡±

    Zu An wanted to curse out loud when he saw how worried these two were. This is absolutely ridiculous! How can Zhao Han allow such an absurd existence to continue existing in the capital? Of course, he didn¡¯t believe those things. He decided to change the topic. ¡°By the way, he mentioned Shi Kun, Gu Xing, and those others earlier. Was his rtionship with them good?¡±

    Gao Ying exined, ¡°It was because of the rumors around his luck that more and more people gradually gathered around him. Among them, there were eighteen individuals whose backgrounds and abilities were the most prominent. They would often gather in Bi Ziang¡¯s private garden, so they were known as the Eighteen Garden Friends. Shi Kun and the Gu n¡¯s brothers were among those members.

    ¡°Of course, Shi Kun was near the front of the ranking, while the Gu n brothers were close to the bottom.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, No wonder that Shi Kun was so crazily arrogant in Brightmoon City. So he learned it from Bi Ziang! The two of them did share a lot of simrities, so it was no wonder they had be such good friends. As for Gu Heng and Gu Xing, heh. It was obvious just what kind of people were in Bi Ziang¡¯s circle of friends.

    Suddenly, a zither melody filled the air. The moring hall immediately quieted down. Those present all looked toward the pavilion at the center of the second floor. However, there wereyers of curtains and pearl beads in the way. They could vaguely make out a silhouette, but they couldn''t see the person''s face at all.

    ¡°Lady Nan Xun is ying her zither!¡± Pei You was so excited that he stood up.

    ¡°This is truly a melody from the heavens.¡± Gao Ying also craned his neck toward the second floor.

    Zu An was the only one who remained indifferent. He had so many stunning beauties at his side, and all of them were courtesan queens too. The Devil Sect¡¯s Saintess Qiu Honglei had also pulled off this ¡®sell arts, not body¡¯ appeal. Wasn¡¯t she much better than the other courtesan queens who tried to do the same thing?

    As for the zither music, it really wasn¡¯t anything special. He had heard all types of Chinese, Japanese, and Western music before. With so many outstanding ssics, the bar had already been raised high. Just the zither alone seemed a bit too nd and didn¡¯t do much for him.

    The reason he hade here was to look for a way to bring down Yu Nan. But he still hadn¡¯t thought of any good ns.

    Meanwhile, another beautiful figure carefully examined the situation from a second floor room. When she saw how worked up all of the men present were, her red lips curved into a mocking smirk. ¡°Hmph, men!¡±

    But she quickly noticed the unfazed Zu An. The other men were all raising their heads and looking around, but he just continued to sit in ce while drinking leisurely. Judging from his expression, it almost seemed as if he found the zither music somewhat boring.

    ¡°Interesting.¡± The girl giggled. She pointed toward him and asked, ¡°Who is that?¡±

    ¡°Replying to master, that¡¯s Green Hat Viscount Zu An, a rising star from the Eastern Pce. He currently holds the post of the crown prince¡¯s chambein, as well as the Armed Escort Division Commander,¡± a maid replied after taking a look.

    ¡°Green Hat Viscount?¡± The girl frowned. ¡°Why are the noble titles of humans so strange-sounding?¡±

    She gave Zu An a look. There was a strange expression on her face as she mused, ¡°Zu An? Why does this name sound familiar? Who was little sister Snow talking about the other day again?¡±

    ¡­

    As the song ended, enthusiastic apuse echoed through the room. All of them strived to be the first to praise Nan Xun¡¯s performance and stand out.

    ¡°Lady Nan Xun¡¯s zither skills are exceptional! Her music truly is resoundingly beautiful!¡± came a more reservedment. The others¡¯ words only grew more and more passionate.

    ¡°After listening to Lady Nan Xun¡¯s music, my entire soul feels as if it has been purified and elevated!¡±

    ¡°Lady Nan Xun¡¯s dao must have been focused on the zither! If your focus were cultivation, your achievements might have been even higher. As long as Lady Nan Xun is willing, this young master is willing to personally teach you, and I¡¯ll give you everything I have!¡±

    ¡­

    Zu An sneered. Your soul was cleansed by just a song from a brothel? Then just how dirty was your soul?

    Also, that kid who said you¡¯d teach her cultivation personally, it¡¯s embarrassing for me to even talk about you. Would it even be cultivation, or did you just want to touch her?

    And the one who said you¡¯d give her everything, what would you even give her? Other people pass on their teachings, but you probably just want to pass on your sauce¡­

    Pei You also hollered out a few sentences before turning around with a look of excitement. ¡°Brother Zu, what do you think?¡±

    ¡°Nothing special. A brothel should be like a brothel, right?¡± Zu An said. Afterward, he shouted loudly, ¡°We came to look for pleasure, not to listen to music. Lady Nan Xun, turn up the excitement here a bit!¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    1. Zouyu ?

 Chapter 922, Part 1: Avoid the Moon

    <h4>Chapter 922, Part 1: Avoid the Moon</h4>

    Those present were shocked when they heard Zu An¡¯s words. All of their attention was drawn to him.

    From his private room above, Yu Nan frowned and eximed coldly, ¡°Vulgar!¡±

    ¡°How humiliating!¡± The Qin n¡¯s brothers were stunned. Even though they had already decided that Zu An had nothing to do with the Qin n anymore, such foolish behavior made them feel incredibly embarrassed as well.

    Bi Ziang remained seated with an ambiguous smile on his face, remarking, ¡°He is surprisingly bold. Interesting¡­¡±

    Meanwhile, in the special room upied by a woman and her maid, the maid said, ¡°That person really is shameless.¡±

    On the contrary, the beautiful womanughed. ¡°He¡¯s merely speaking what everyone else is thinking, but isn¡¯t willing to say out loud. He¡¯s surprisingly honest. People with courage and insight like him are destined to be great.¡±

    The maid muttered, ¡°He¡¯s not as special as you¡¯re making him out to be. Look, everyone below is cursing him.¡±

    Sure enough, when the others heard someone with Yu Nan¡¯s status speak up, they didn¡¯t feel any more misgivings. They all cursed him.

    ¡°How can there be someone this perverted?!¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve offended the beauty! We sincerely apologize!¡±

    ¡°Lady Nan Xun, please don¡¯t let such a vulgar person¡¯s foolery affect you!¡±

    ¡­

    Zu An rolled his eyes. These people really knew how to be fake. They hade all the way to a brothel to visit prostitutes, yet they actually had the nerve to curse another person for being a pervert? All of them were filled with such indignation, but it was only because they wanted to look better in front of the courtesan queen. s, simps had never met good ends throughout all of history.

    But Zu An immediately felt rejuvenated when he saw the flood of Rage points that rushed in. He didn¡¯t even care that they were cursing him.

    Gao Ying and Pei You were also embarrassed. But they had already fought together in such a desperate situation, so they could still tolerate such a level of embarrassment. They stood by Zu An¡¯s side and stared right back at everyone else.

    The woman above them had been paying attention to Zu An the entire time. When she saw how nonchnt he was amid themotion, as if he had turned a deaf ear to all of the iing curses, she couldn''t help but smile. ¡°That person is quite thick-skinned.¡± After thinking to herself for a moment, she quietly asked, ¡°Nan Xun, why don¡¯t you show them something?¡±

    ¡­

    A sweet-sounding voice came from the second floor. ¡°Many fellow young masters have rushed here from all sorts of different paths. Nan Xun is truly grateful toward everyone, so I am willing to perform a dance to express my intentions.¡± She didn¡¯t respond to Zu An¡¯s words; otherwise, it would seem as if Zu An had forced her to dance. That would tarnish her reputation.

    However, all of the guests present were incredibly arrogant young masters. Even though they still appeared to be patient, most of them were hiding a bit of dissatisfaction. But when they heard what Nan Xun said, the rooms immediately erupted into cheers. Some of the more enthusiastic ones even blew whistles.

    Zu An was full of disdain toward those present. Don¡¯t forget the one who dug the well when you¡¯re drinking water! These idiots were cursing me so enthusiastically, but aren¡¯t they enjoying themselves all the same?

    Pei You said excitedly, ¡°Back then when Lady Nan Xun danced for the first time, her skill already shocked the entire audience. Unfortunately, she doesn¡¯t dance very often, and I haven¡¯t even seen her dance in all the times I''ve been here. I¡¯m really sharing brother Zu¡¯s fortune today!¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°Today is such a special event, so this dance is something she has to do. It doesn¡¯t have anything to do with me.¡±

    ¡°Brother Zu is too humble,¡± Pei You replied. But he soon lost any interest in talking, because the curtains above slowly parted, revealing an exquisite figure behind them.

    Nan Xun was dressed in a pink dress. It was somewhat more frivolous than the clothes of a wealthy family¡¯s daughter. Her mature curves were faintly discernible; but even if one thought one could see something, one could stare until one¡¯s eyes turned sore, yet one still wouldn¡¯t see anything.

    What was even more eye-catching was her veil made of glistening tassels, covering half of her face. Only her elegant nose and beautiful eyes could be seen through it, making her look mysterious and charming.

    Her gaze wasn¡¯t as charming and affectionate as that of a normal courtesan, and instead bore an indifference and apathy toward all things in the world. Together with the gorgeous decorations in her hair, she looked less like a courtesan from a brothel than a noble empress.

    Those present became more and more worked up. They shouted the corniest of praises.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Unlike the others who were going crazy, Zu An felt rather strange. For some reason, he felt that the courtesan was a bit familiar. With his current cultivation and mental prowess, how could he forget about someone he had met before?

    He carefully examined the person, trying to make out her appearance through the tassels. Unfortunately, the tassels were specially designed. Under the candle me¡¯s illumination, they flickered with dazzling brilliance. It was virtually impossible to make out her true appearance.

    The maid in the special room said in disdain, ¡°That man has finally shown his true colors! He¡¯s staring so hard at Lady Nan Xun that he¡¯s not even willing to blink! What he did earlier was just a cheap trick to try and get Lady Nan Xun¡¯s attention. He¡¯s the same as all of those other stinky men.¡±

    The beauty next to her said with a smile, ¡°Look at you. You¡¯re still so young, and yet you¡¯re acting as if you already know everything.¡± Despite having said those words, she was also a bit disappointed when she saw Zu An¡¯s behavior. She decided to shift her gaze away from him.

    Zu An asked Pei You, ¡°What does this Nan Xun really look like?¡±

    Pei You shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you a huge fan of hers? How can you not even know what she looks like after following her all this time?¡± It was Zu An¡¯s turn to be shocked.

    ¡°You can tell she¡¯s beautiful even if you can only see half of her face, right? It only makes her seem even more mysterious. I heard you could only see her full appearance if you were invited as a guest. I wonder if I¡¯ll ever have that chance¡­¡± Pei You¡¯s expression was full of longing.

    Zu An was speechless for a long time. You¡¯re really taking simping to a whole new level¡­

    Cheers erupted around them just then. When Zu An looked up, he saw that Nan Xun had already begun to dance. He had been prepared for disappointment at first, because he had once been able to flip through TikToks to choose girls as if he were choosing concubines. What hadn¡¯t he seen before?

    But he knew that he was wrong the moment he first saw her dance. Even though the cute girls on TikTok had performed dances, it was still just some simple swaying of their waists and bottoms; it wasn¡¯t true dancing. Only now did he realize that dancing could actually be this beautiful.

    It had nothing to do with her appearance; it was a charm that originated from her posture and movement. It carried not only the style of a ssical beauty, but also the special passion of the pleasure quarters.

    Between the tension between her movements and the visual shock, everything left Zu An utterly amazed. He sighed. No wonder those capital¡¯s young masters had been so infatuated. It turned out this woman really did have some skill.

    The mood of the ce was starting to reach a climax. Even the quiet Gao Ying couldn''t help but p and cheer.

    As it happened, Nan Xun had reached a part where was going to perform some highly difficult movements. She fully disyed her body¡¯s shocking flexibility. But the key part was that her expression remained aloof and proud the entire time. It was indeed not feigned, but rather her true nature.

    The enchanting and lovely dance made the young masters present feel a strong urge to conquer her. Judging from the reddened faces and quickened breathing of the men around him, Zu An could tell that their minds were already creating all sorts of fantasies.

    Nan Xun bowed afterpleting her dance. The entire hall was dead silent save for the sound of heavy breathing, and the young masters¡¯ eyes had reddened. Only after some time passed did someone p and cheer. Then, those present screamed at the top of their lungs.

    Nan Xun showed them a smile, and the mor eventually quieted down. She said, ¡°Nan Xun cannot thank everyone enough foring today. I will drink this ss in a toast to everyone.¡± A maid walked over, bringing her a cup of wine.

    ¡°Lady Nan Xun is too polite!¡± the young masters responded as they also drained their cups. Their eyes were wide as they watched, because they wanted to see her true appearance under her mask. Unfortunately, she covered her mouth as she drank. It was elegant, but protected her mysteriousness. They could only sigh in regret.

    The atmosphere became lively again. It was now time for the drinking game. The young masters all became alert. They knew that the key moment hade.

    Even though it hadn¡¯t been stated explicitly, they knew. This wasn¡¯t something the courtesan could say openly, because everyone present had special status in the capital. How could a courtesan be the one to pick between all of them?

    But there was only one courtesan, and she couldn''t serve many men. Only one person was going to be able to meet with her in private. There were so many of them present, however. How was she going to pick one?

    Although it was a world where the strong reigned, in a ce like this, knowledge of the arts still prevailed. After all, visiting brothels was something done by refined and elegant people. Fighting in one was definitely uneptable.

    That was why a drinking game was the best solution. As for what game would be yed, there were many options: The finger guessing game, ¡®fill in the phrase¡¯, poetic verses, songs, and all sorts of other things.

    Yu Nan spoke up from his room. ¡°Since Lady Nan Xun¡¯s beauty hides the moon and shames the flowers, how about ''Avoid the Moon''?¡± Hispanions all voiced their agreement. The people he was on good terms with also took the chance to chime in.

    Even those who didn¡¯t get along with Yu Nan had to admit that he was truly good at ttery. Not even the words of praise the others had screamed out added together couldpare to what he had just said.

    The others felt great regret, thinking, Why didn¡¯t we think of that? They had ended up letting that Yu bastard seize the initiative. Lady Nan Xun smiled toward him when she heard his words, so she was definitely happy to hear them

    Yu Nan, with his exceptional appearance and talent, together with the excellent move he had just made, immediately made himself the others¡¯ greatest enemy that night.

    Zu An nudged Pei You with his elbow, asking, ¡°What¡¯s ''Avoid the Moon''?¡±

 Chapter 922, Part 2: Avoid the Moon

    <h4>Chapter 922, Part 2: Avoid the Moon</h4>

    ¡°You don¡¯t even know what ''Avoid the Moon'' is?¡± Pei You was stunned.

    ¡°Is it that weird?¡± Zu An¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change. ¡°Then, do you know TikTok and Youtube?¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Pei You thought to himself for a bit, but he really didn¡¯t know those things. He said with an apologetic smile, ¡°The so-called ''Avoid the Moon'' game is one where everyone takes turns reciting lines of poetry without the word ¡®moon¡¯ in them, but the verse has to describe the moon.¡±

    ¡°So that¡¯s what it was.¡± Zu An was happy to hear that. That¡¯s right up my alley! I didn¡¯t memorize all those damn ssical verses and poems for nothing! But if my literature teacher knew I was using what he taught me to chase after a prostitute, he might just faint from anger¡­ Wait, no, maybe he¡¯d cry from envy, because that was his field of expertise to begin with.

    Lady Nan Xun suggested with a smile, ¡°Since it was young master Yu¡¯s suggestion, how about we start with young master Yu?¡±

    The others all wanted to stamp their feet when they heard those words. Who among them didn¡¯t want to be the first? Was Lady Nan Xun hinting that she already had her heart set on him by asking him to go first?

    Yu Nan didn¡¯t decline the invitation. His usual proud expression remained, as if he considered himself obviously the most suitable choice. He said immediately without needing time to think, ¡°A jade mirror; a silver hook above the evening mountains.¡±

    ¡°Young master Yu is creative and brilliant, as expected. This verse meets the topic well¡­¡± As the one overseeing the drinking game, Lady Nan Xun naturally needed to give somementary. Her voice was pleasant to listen to, and her words carried great praise for Yu Nan. Her eyes seemed to be sparkling. In the others¡¯ eyes, it seemed as if she were staring at Yu Nan with deep affection, as if she were ready to rush into his embrace.

    Like hell is he creative and brilliant! He was the one who suggested this, so of course he already prepared beforehand! They cursed inwardly. All of them were incredibly jealous.

    ¡°Lady Nan is too kind with your praise.¡± Yu Nan didn¡¯t speak with his usual prideful attitude when he was talking to Nan Xun, and instead had a warm smile. He had already been well-known for his looks in the capital to begin with. Now that he had also shown a well-polished smile, he became even more charming. Many of the maids present were overwhelmed.

    ¡°He¡¯s so handsome!¡± The maid in that special room sped her cheeks. She waspletely smitten.

    The exceptional beauty rolled her eyes. ¡°Is there a need to go that far? The elf race doesn¡¯tck beautiful men, and many of them aren¡¯t any worse than him.¡±

    ¡°The young miss doesn¡¯t understand,¡± the maid eximed excitedly. ¡°The men from the elf race are too weak looking! They¡¯re handsome, but they¡¯re a bit too feminine. They don¡¯t have any manliness.

    ¡°And handsomeness is something that has to stand out. There are so many handsome men in the elf race, which makes them all seem ordinary instead. But if you look at this man, he¡¯s like a crane in a flock of chickens. That makes him seem so much more handsome.¡±

    The exceptional beautyughed involuntarily. ¡°What you said makes a bit of sense, but there are others who aren¡¯t bad looking here. For example, there¡¯s that young master Bi, and the one surnamed Zu isn¡¯t too bad¡­¡± She had been to say that Zu An was also quite handsome, but she quickly changed her wording when she recalled his previous behavior.

    ¡°Rather than appearance, I¡¯m more impressed by the human race¡¯s extensive literature and culture. They¡¯re clearly already dominant in battle, so if they excel in this field, will our race ever be able to stand out?¡± A hint of grief appeared on her face.

    The maid quickly eximed, ¡°Young miss, there¡¯s no need to feel so worried! The human race only uses these literary skills in ces of romance; they aren¡¯t used on the greater stage. Isn¡¯t that great news for our race?¡±

    The exceptional beauty was stunned. She gave the maid a surprised look and remarked, ¡°Not bad; I didn¡¯t expect to hear something so deep from you.¡±

    The maid pouted and stomped her feet. ¡°Young miss!¡±

    ¡­

    The ''Avoid the Moon'' game continued, but those who went after Yu Nan weren¡¯t so outstanding. After all, no one had known that this was the drinking game they were going to y. They weren¡¯t as prepared as Yu Nan.

    It would already be decent if they coulde up with something that matched the topic. The elegance of what they said naturally couldn''tpare to Yu Nan¡¯s at all. What was even more frustrating was that they had no choice but to drink, since they couldn''t think of any poetry.

    Nan Xun spoke her gentlementary throughout the entire process. Even if what the guest said wasn¡¯t anything special, they could still hear her praise. Even those guests who weren¡¯t able toe up with anything received her smile and encouragement.

    It was to the extent that, since no one had been made to look bad, their eyes only burned with more and more passion when they looked at Nan Xun. They all wanted her so badly.

    Zu An found the situation utterly hrious. Courtesans were just courtesans. No matter how aloof and proud they acted, their skills were well trained. They knew how to make people feel great. The best hunters often knew how to appear like prey, after all.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Eventually, Bi Ziang¡¯s turn arrived. People¡¯s attention shifted toward him. After all, he was the only one whose family background and presence couldpare to Yu Nan¡¯s. After a moment of silence, he said brightly, ¡°Golden waters ripple beneath the willow, its beauty offset by a fine jade building.¡±

    Just like Yu Nan, Bi Ziang had his henchmen as well. Their voices might have been even louder as they cheered, ¡°Excellent!¡±

    The exceptional beauty in the special room nodded. ¡°This Bi Ziang¡¯s reputation wasn¡¯t in vain after all.¡± Worry soon filled her face. If the human race¡¯s young masters were already so skilled, that wasn¡¯t a good sign for her nsmen at all.

    ¡­

    Outside, Nan Xun had a smile on her face. She expressed great praise for the verse. Compared to the basic courtesy she had shown the others, her praise was much more sincere.

    Pei You felt incredibly dejected. ¡°If I knew that it woulde to this today, I would have studied harder and learned some poetry!¡± He didn¡¯t have any confidence in winning against Yu Nan and Bi Ziang in this field.

    Gao Ying said with a firm expression, ¡°Poetry is nothing special; cultivation is what¡¯s most important. Brother Pei, don¡¯t let a brothel woman sway your dao heart.¡± Even though he was quite fond of this courtesan himself, he had always been someone who clearly separated what was important and what wasn¡¯t. He wouldn¡¯t lose his way over something like this.

    Pei You looked at him in surprise. ¡°Thank you for the reminder, brother Gao!¡±

    Zu An gave the two of them a look of surprise. Gao Ying was mature and earnest, while Pei You had quickly received advice and corrected his attitude. These two were definitely outstanding individuals from their ns, and their future prospects were limitless. But of course, they¡¯re stillckingpared to me, haha!

    Then, the others continued the drinking game. Their level of literary skill was naturally inferior to Bi Ziang¡¯s.

    Even though Nan Xun was outstanding and skilled in reception, she was starting to run out of words of praise. It wasn¡¯t easy to even offer words of encouragement to some people¡¯s answers anymore. She could only shift more and more toward basic courtesy for her replies.

    But these people had already lost their minds with lust, and the only thing in their minds was how Lady Nan Xun had smiled toward them just then.

    Then, the Qin n brothers got their turn. Their family background wasn¡¯t any weaker than those of the Yu n and Bi n. They were viewed as major contenders for the single private meeting with Nan Xun. But the two of them weren¡¯t as skilled in literary talent as Yu Nan and Bi Ziang. Even though they did give their answers, it wasn¡¯t anything special.

    The others were overjoyed to see the result, and even Yu Nan and Bi Ziang sighed in relief.

    Only the exceptional beauty in the special room sighed. She had hoped that these young masters from military backgrounds might have abandoned their cultivation for the literary arts, but it now seemed that wasn¡¯t the case.

    The game finally circled around to Zu An¡¯s table. Pei You and Gao Ying gave their answers to the prompt. They¡¯d had so much time to prepare, so they had at leaste up with something.

    But goingter had its own shorings. Many well-known verses had already been recited by the people before them. The verses they provided only barely met the criteria.

    Zu An grinned. Judging from what he had heard, even though this world¡¯s martial prowess was well developed, people¡¯s literary skills left him less than impressed. Even Yu Nan and Bi Ziang¡¯s verses were enough to be praised so heavily by everyone.

    After Nan Xun gave her praise to Pei You and Gao Ying, her wonderful eyes shifted to Zu An. What this man had said earlier put her in quite the difficult situation, so she remembered him clearly. She said, ¡°Young master Yu was able to provide us with an excellent beginning. If this young master can bring this game to a great conclusion, it might be a great story in itself.¡±

    The others heckled and jeered. These spectators weren¡¯t scared of things getting out of hand. Only Pei You and Gao Ying looked worried. At this point, even just providing a passable reply wasn¡¯t good enough. As long as it wasn¡¯t as good as Yu Nan¡¯s verse, Zu An would easily be aughingstock.

    Zu An cursed inwardly. You guys really know how to hold a grudge, huh? But sorry, you¡¯re doomed to be disappointed here. I have countless great poems from the Tang and Song writers in my arsenal!

 Chapter 923, Part 1: This Humble Zu Occupies Eight Parts

    <h4>Chapter 923, Part 1: This Humble Zu upies Eight Parts</h4>

    ¡°The main character obviously needs to show up at the final decisive moment,¡± Zu An said. His words immediately drew the irritation of those present, and they immediately cursed him for being shameless and cocky. Zu An was on cloud nine when he saw the iing Rage points, so he taunted them a bit more.

    The smile on Lady Nan Xun¡¯s face also stiffened. She couldn''t help but remind him, ¡°May I ask if you have an answer to this prompt?¡±

    Zu An pretended to think for a moment, then said with a clear voice, ¡°The receding sunset clouds overflow with crisp coolness; silently, the starry streams surround a ring of jade.¡±

    The moring audience fell silent. They all began to mutter to themselves. The more they repeated the words, the more profound they seemed.

    The exceptional beauty in the special room eximed in surprise, ¡°That fellow actually possessed such literary talents? I¡¯ve really underestimated him.¡±

    The maid who had been looking down on Zu An all this time asked, confused, ¡°Is this verse really amazing?¡± She couldn''t sense the intricacies behind the words with just her knowledge and experience.

    The exceptional beauty nodded. ¡°It is.¡± Then, she fell silent, clearly not intending to exin herself.

    The maid could only pout and sulk. Is the young miss looking down on me? She¡¯s not even going to exin it to me!

    Bi Ziang revealed an expression of surprise, remarking, ¡°This guy is quite interesting. He¡¯s worth a second look from this young master.¡±

    Those around him immediately said in praise, ¡°He¡¯s still far from young master Bi.¡±

    Bi Ziang said indifferently, ¡°The fact that he can even bepared to me is already something for him to be proud of.¡± Those around him merelyughed and voiced their agreement.

    In the Qin brothers¡¯ room, Qin Yongde couldn''t help but say, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect this man to have some literary talent in him. I was wondering why sister Chuyan chose him back then. It was probably this part of him.¡±

    Qin Guangyuan harrumphed. ¡°Literary skills are just tricks; they aren¡¯t useful for anything. They¡¯re only good for tricking girls.¡±

    Nan Xun also revealed an expression of surprise. Her beautiful eyes swirled with wonder as she spoke. ¡°There are no words like ¡®moonlight¡¯ or ¡®like water¡¯; rather, it uses the words ¡®overflow¡¯ and ¡®crisp coolness¡¯. And yet, they still imply that the moonlight is simr to water. The verse gives off a clear and refreshing feeling. The stars pale inparison to the moon; the words ¡®starry streams¡¯ create an indistinct and distant feeling. ¡®Silently, the starry streams¡¯ seems to convey that the starry streams ought to make sound, yet they be silent because of how distant and remote they are. This gives off a powerful feeling of the vastness of the cosmos. ¡®Ring of jade¡¯ speaks of the moon¡¯s pure and incorruptible beauty; these words not only describe its moving wonder, they also suggest its round shape. Nowhere in the verse does it state that it was the full moon that is being admired, and yet it is clear how pleasing and delightful it is to the writer. Furthermore, as someone¡­¡±

    She had only given courteousments on the other people¡¯s verses, and she¡¯d had to rack her brains to barely enumerate some good points. She had actually been getting quite frustrated. But this was now sincere praise, and the more she spoke about the verse, the more excited she became.

    Zu An was quite shocked. This courtesan really was good at this sort of thing! After all, it wasn¡¯t so easy for schrs to praise each other. Not only did one have to speak words of substance, one also had to make sure to ¡®scratch¡¯ their particr itch. No wonder she¡¯s a courtesan queen! Her level can almostpare to me when I was studying for those literature readingprehension tests!

    The others felt incredibly jealous when they heard Lady Nan Xun¡¯s enthusiastic praise. That Zu An doesn¡¯t look like anything special, but he actually has some skills here¡­

    Then, they looked toward Yu Nan to watch him suffer. Lady Nan Xun had used him as aparison to teach the man with no filter a lesson, but now, Yu Nan had instead been put on the spot. How awkward was that?

    Yu Nan had started off so strong, and considering how handsome he was, they had all thought that he was the one most likely to be invited as Nan Xun¡¯s guest. So now, they were obviously looking forward to seeing his reaction.

    Their opinions of Zu An eased up when they thought of that. They found him more and more likable!n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Sensing the fiery looks all around him, Yu Nan coldly asked, ¡°Who wrote this verse of yours? What¡¯s the title? I¡¯ve studied extensively for many years. Even though I can¡¯t im to know all poetry throughout history by heart, I can still be considered proficient. And yet, I¡¯ve never heard of these verses of yours.¡±

    The others quickly realized the same thing when they heard those words. They whispered to each other, ¡°That¡¯s right! These two lines sounded excellent, but we¡¯ve never heard of them before!¡± Then, they all looked toward Lady Nan Xun. Judging from her analysis, they all knew that she might be the one who possessed the highest literary aplishments in the room.

    Even Nan Xun froze up for a moment. Then, she said, ¡°It might be that I am still ignorant and inexperienced, but I have never heard of them either. However, how vast is literature? It might just be that I have not read it all yet.¡±

    Her response was carefully given and didn¡¯t offend either side. But the more she spoke that way, the more certain people became that the poem didn¡¯t exist. Their attention shifted toward Zu An. At first, their gazes had been full of praise, but now, it had been reced by more ridicule. They wondered just how he had put together the two verses to pretend they came from some famous poet.

    Zu An was about to say that it was from Su Dongpo[1], but he suddenly stopped. After all, that person didn¡¯t exist in this world, so no one would believe him if he said that name. But that didn¡¯t matter; it wasn¡¯t a problem for him at all.

    ¡°You see, those famous verses were practically all used up by the rest of you, so the leftover verses weren¡¯t particrly great. I¡¯d only be defiling Lady Nan Xun¡¯s ears by reciting them, so I brought out a verse I wrote in the past. I hope Lady Nan Xun doesn¡¯t find it ufortable,¡± Zu An said calmly.

    What was a so-called giarist? What was giarizing? If it didn¡¯t exist here in the first ce, it was purely an output of culture! Zu An thought, I¡¯m sure Mister Dongpo would be happy to see his poetry spread into a different world.

    Nan Xun¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°This is a poem that young master Zu created yourself?¡± Her attitude changed quickly. She even began to use the title ¡®young master¡¯.

    ¡°I¡¯ve shown Lady Nan Xun a poor side of me,¡± Zu An replied.

    He suddenly recalled that many of the Tang and Song dynasties¡¯ greatest poems had often been circted among the pleasure quarters. When a group of schrs lingered around brothels, the ones who could create the most outstanding poems would receive the women¡¯s favor.

    After all, all of these poems could be recited with music. The most famous courtesans needed high quality poems to improve their reputation and get their names out. In return, those women would serve such men even more carefully. Not only would they not take money, they would instead choose to lose money.

    The most famous of them all had been Liu Yong. He had been hated so much by the emperor that he was never allowed an official career, so he could only drink his life away in the pleasure quarters. He had never spent a cent, and it was instead the brothels¡¯ women who had raised him.

    Liu Yong had lived a destitute and frustrating life, and he hadn¡¯t even had money for a burial when he died. In the end, the prostitutes of the city had pooled their money together for his burial¡­

    Pah pah pah! I¡¯ll never let myself end up like that! Zu An thought.

    ¡°Young master really is a genius!¡± Nan Xun¡¯s eyes flickered brilliantly. She appeared to be full of tender feelings when she looked at him.

    The onlookers immediately became overwhelmed with jealousy. Even Bi Ziang, who had been reclining leisurely, couldn''t help but sit up. He was about to say something, but he suddenly thought of something else. His attention shifted to Yu Nan, and a smile appeared on his face. With that fellow here, this young master doesn¡¯t even have to step out here.

    Sure enough, Yu Nan said, ¡°You said you were the one who wrote this poem? It wasn¡¯t something giarized from someone else as your own?¡±

    That was what everyone else had been thinking as well. After all, Zu An¡¯s previous performance really had been a bit¡­

    Zu An¡¯s im really was too hard for them to ept, so they subconsciously chose not to believe it.

    Zu An raised his eyebrows. This guy is pretty sharp! But he would never admit to it. Instead, he retorted ¡°If I wasn¡¯t the one who made it, were you the one who wrote it then? If someone else had really written this poem, how could it possibly have been hidden for so long? I¡¯m sure it would already have spread throughout the world a long time ago.¡±

    Those listening felt his exnation made sense as well. If anyone could write something like this, they would have already been famous a long time ago. There was no way they would wait to let someone else giarize them.

    Even Yu Nan became uncertain. But when he saw Zu An¡¯s smug expression, he felt annoyed. He had to obtain Lady Nan Xun today; he was going to get rid of anyone who stood in his way.

    As such, he said coldly, ¡°That¡¯s hard to say. Perhaps some down and out schr gained enlightenment before they passed on, and you just happened to have heard it and took it for yourself.¡±

    Yi Zhibing and the others immediately spoke up to support Yu Nan. They all said his im was reasonable. The others present also nodded, finding the exnation usible.

    Zu An didn¡¯t bother arguing and said with a smile, ¡°In my opinion, you¡¯re just jealous. As expected, jealousy really changes a person.¡±

    Yu Nan¡¯s handsome face became somewhat red. He replied, ¡°This young master is jealous of you? Hmph, since you said the poem is yours, where¡¯s the rest of it? You should know that, no?¡±

    This world¡¯s literary culture hadn¡¯t fully matured yet. In his opinion, these two verses would already have used up all of a schr¡¯s talent. Even if it were the original writer, they probably couldn''t write anything better, let alone a giarist like Zu An.

    A smile returned to his face when Yu Nan saw the strange expression on Zu An¡¯s face. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Are you going to tell me you didn¡¯t have time to write the other verses?¡±

    The maid in the special room remarked excitedly, ¡°Young miss, I was just going to say, how could that Zu guy have any ability? Young master Yu is definitely right.¡±

    ¡°You just think he¡¯s handsome.¡± The exceptional beauty rolled her eyes and directly exposed the maid. However, her attention was also focused on Zu An; she was curious as to how he¡¯d respond.

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°I did indeed only think of only two verses back then, but since young master Yu is putting me on the spot, I just happened to think up the following verses.¡±

    1. Su Shi, courtesy name Zizhan, art name Dongpo, was a Chinese schr-official who was active as a poet, essayist, calligrapher and painter during the Song dynasty. Su Shi is widely regarded as one of the most aplished figures in ssical Chinese literature, having produced some of the most well-known poems, lyrics, prose, and essays in history. ?

 Chapter 923, Part 2: This Humble Zu Occupies Eight Parts

    <h4>Chapter 923, Part 2: This Humble Zu upies Eight Parts</h4>

    Yu Nan¡¯s expression changed. Bi Ziang rejoiced in Yu Nan¡¯s misfortune and added, ¡°Oh? Please, do tell.¡±

    ¡°This night¡¯s beauty I have only admired once in this life; yet next year, where will I go to appreciate such moonlight?¡± Zu An recited while looking at Lady Nan Xun.

    Nan Xun blushed. She thought to herself, Is he saying that he might not be able to meet with me like this next year? Oh my¡­

    The entire room fell silent when those verses were spoken. The more proficient one was in literary arts, the greater the impact of those words would be.

    Even Yu Nan shivered inwardly. He had never treated Zu An as a big deal, but now, he had discovered that Zu An was a formidable opponent.

    ¡°This night¡¯s beauty I have only admired once in this life; yet next year, where will I go to appreciate such moonlight¡­¡± The exceptional beauty in that special room repeated quietly. She suddenly felt as if she were in a different ce. Where would she be next year? Would she even be able to appreciate the moonlight then¡­? She said with a deep sigh, ¡°Ying¡¯er, I miss our home.¡±

    The maid named Ying¡¯er replied with reddened eyes, ¡°Young miss, I do too.¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°Young master has truly written an excellent poem. In just a few words, you have fully portrayed the joys and sorrows of life. I wonder what you will title this verse?¡± Lady Nan Xun asked curiously

    Zu An thought to himself, I¡¯m better at making people wet with my hands. As for the name, hell if I know.[1]

    It was already impressive that he had remembered the poem. The exams back then hadn¡¯t tested one¡¯s knowledge of the title, so of course he wouldn¡¯t have bothered memorizing it.

    Just as he was about to reply, when he saw Nan Xun¡¯s sparkling and expectant eyes, he felt a burst of inspiration and said with a smile, ¡°This poem will be titled Autumn Moon, a present to Nan Xun.¡±

    Nan Xun was left in disbelief. She then eximed, overjoyed, ¡°Thank you, young master, for your present!¡±

    As a brothel¡¯s famous courtesan, she naturally understood the value of an excellent poem. Not only would it make her even more popr in the capital, her reputation would also quickly spread throughout the entire world. More importantly, after centuries and perhaps even a millenniumter, if this poem still existed, everyone would remember her name.

    How many outstanding figures had there been throughout history? And yet, how many of them could actually leave behind their names? People like Yu Nan might be insufferably arrogant, yet his name might not even be known after a few centuries passed. As for girls who worked in pleasure quarters, that was even more of an impossible dream. And yet, Zu An¡¯s poem had aplished such a thing so easily!

    Not only would other girls from the brothels be jealous, the entire world would feel envy, so how could she not feel happy? Her gaze no longer carried its previous indifference when they looked at Zu An; instead, it was filled with tender sentiment.

    The woman in the special room above harrumphed. ¡°Hmph, he seems to be pretty good at picking up girls.¡± Despite that, her tone was yful.

    The others present were much more emotional when they saw what had happened. All of them red at Zu An with envy and hatred. None of them had expected Zu An to take thispletely different approach. He had actually won the affection of the courtesan queen through a poem! A sour feeling of jealousy immediately spread throughout the ce.

    Even Zu An¡¯spanion Pei You was envious. He was thinking to himself, Why don¡¯t I have talent in this field? Otherwise, I could¡¯ve been the one to embrace the beauty¡­

    Of course, Zu An had saved his life, so not only did he not feel any intense jealousy, he instead felt happy for Zu An. After all, he had no chance of obtaining her, so rather than letting the courtesan go to someone like Yu Nan, he would much rather have her go to Zu An. In a sense, they were keeping the goodies among their own people.

    He decided that he was going to walk with his arm around Zu An¡¯s shoulderster. That way, even if he could only smell his goddess¡¯ fragrance, that would be enough.

    Bi Ziang frowned slightly, feeling as if he had messed around a bit too much this time. He had actually ended up helping Zu An get the girl he wanted. He had also wanted Nan Xun no matter what, to the extent that he didn¡¯t even care if Yu Nan stood in his way. And yet now, someone he subconsciously viewed as an underling had suddenly risen up and made him feel threatened.

    How could he let an underling have a woman he wanted? Hmph, if it¡¯s something I want, unless I give it to you, you aren¡¯t allowed to go after it, he thought with an indifferent expression. He gave the nearby Yu Nan a smile and said, ¡°Brother Yu, it¡¯s been quite some time. I didn¡¯t expect you to have suddenly gotten so good at filling a supporting role.¡±

    Yu Nan¡¯s face darkened. How could he not sense the ridicule in Bi Ziang¡¯s words? It now seemed as if everything he had done only made Zu An look even better. He had built up all of that suspense just so Zu An¡¯s reputation could rise even further.

    That fellow clearly has bad intentions. He¡¯s not happy himself, but instead of doing anything, he wants to use me as cannon fodder. Yu Nan wasn¡¯t stupid and quickly realized what Bi Ziang was doing. He decided to calm down and be patient for the time being, to wait and see how long Bi Ziang could endure.

    But who would have thought that Yi Zhibing would notice Yu Nan¡¯s ashen expression and catch onto the fact that he was incredibly displeased from looking bad?

    Earlier, Yi Zhibing had volunteered to chase out Zu An¡¯s group in a confident and smug manner, and yet he had been forced to return all dejected. Even though no one had said anything when he went back to the private room, there had been a bit of ridicule in their expressions.

    He decided to take the chance to help Yu Nan vent his resentment, as well as earn back some dignity for himself. He shouted, ¡°Young master Yu already said that you might have identally stumbled upon this poem from someone else. Who knows if they already finished that poem before they died?!¡±

    Yu Nan cursed Yi Zhibing for being an idiot when he heard those words. This buffoon had no idea what was going on right now!

    But suddenly, the others all had eyes on Yu Nan. In their eyes, everything Yi Zhibing said represented his intentions. If he refuted those words, it would seem as if he were backing down here, which might be unfavorable in his pursuit of Nan Xun. Not even the glorious young master Yu could afford such a loss, so he could only brace himself and tacitly approve.

    He turned around to give Yi Zhibing a look. He wanted to curse this fool to death. If he and Zu An took each other out, the one who would benefit the most would be that Bi n brat!

    But Yi Zhibing misunderstood Yu Nan¡¯s look. He thought that Yu Nan was encouraging him and was giving him a look of praise, so he became even more enthusiastic. He made Zu An sound like a despicable and shameless person who had taken advantage of someone else¡¯s toil for his own.

    Zu An was actually quite amused. Even though this fellow was attacking him without much thought, it was actually pretty much all true. But he felt that the original author probably wouldn¡¯t really mind.

    Lady Nan Xun became somewhat unhappy before Yi Zhibing could even finish speaking and said, ¡°Young master Yi, those are serious usations. May I ask if you have any proof?¡± What kind of joke was this? This was a chance for her name to be left behind in history! How could she let these people ruin such a chance?

    Gao Ying and Pei You immediately chimed in, both denouncing Yi Zhibing. They brought up his grudge with Zu An, and how he was only saying such things to get revenge.

    ¡°Um¡­ Proof¡­ Of course we have proof¡­¡± Yi Zhibing was at a loss for words. He had no idea how to prove what he had said.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Yu Nan frowned. He knew he was already losing. It would be really bad if they continued and he had to suffer another blow to his reputation.

    Bi Ziang cursed Yu Nan for being a good-for-nothing when he saw him remain silent. As such, he gestured toward one of his followers. That person quickly picked up his hints and said loudly, ¡°This is easy to prove. Why don¡¯t we just have young master Zupose a poem right here? As long as it reaches the same level as the previous one, it will prove that young master Zu really is talented.¡±

    Gao Ying couldn''t hold in his anger anymore and eximed, ¡°How is that fair?! These creative works are usually made through a burst of inspiration. Only when the timing and talent line up can an outstanding work be made; how can you make someonee up with something on the spot?!¡±

    He dabbled in the arts as well, and knew that there weren¡¯t many poems throughout all of history that couldpare to what Zu An hade up with. It would already be incredible if one coulde up with a single piece of that level; how could one ask for a second one on demand?

    Above, Qin Yongde said in confusion, ¡°The one who asked the question was someone from Bi Ziang¡¯s side. Isn¡¯t Zu An someone from the Eastern Pce? Why¡­¡±

    Qin Guangyuan said with a sneer, ¡°This really is a great example of a femme fatale. Bi Ziang has always been viewed as a protagonist throughout his life. How could he let someone else touch anything he wants? This is the best situation. They can just fight it out and create friction among themselves.¡±

    Nan Xun said quietly, ¡°Young master Zu, you can refuse¡­¡±

    But before she even finished her sentence, the exceptional beauty in the special room spoke in her head. ¡°Don¡¯t stop him. Let¡¯s see if he¡¯s cheated his way here, or if he really has the skills.¡±

    Nan Xun was surprised. It took all of her willpower to stop herself from looking in the special room¡¯s direction. Why does master care so much about this human?

    Zu An replied with augh, ¡°But what if Ie up with another poem, and you all still continue to bother me like moths? Won¡¯t I get annoyed to death then?¡±

    Seeing that Zu An seemed to have taken the bait, Yi Zhibing was overjoyed and quickly said, ¡°As long as you cane up with a poem of equal level, we¡¯ll all ept it wholeheartedly! We won¡¯t say another word!¡±

    Yu Nan¡¯s expression changed. He could no longer sit still and added, ¡°But it has to be about a prompt of our choosing.¡±

    He was worried that Zu An had picked up more than one poem from who knew what deceased schr. That was why he made it clear that it had to match the subject. That way, even if Zu An had somehow managed to be so lucky as to pick up two excellent poems, there was no way it would just happen to be of the same topic. It would still be useless then.

    Pei You began to panic, eximing, ¡°You¡¯re all deliberately making things hard for him!¡±

    Zu An raised his hand and stopped Pei You, saying nonchntly, ¡°It¡¯s fine. Pick whatever topic you want.¡±

    He had always been so jealous of those protagonists who showed off their poetry skills. He had never had such a chance himself. He couldn''t just grab some guy off the street and ask them topete in poetry reciting, right? And yet today, someone was eager to y along with him. Why wouldn¡¯t he seize the opportunity?

    But those words created a huge uproar when the others present heard them. Many people cursed Zu An under their breath for being cocky.

    After all, every poet had their own field of expertise. They might be able to write good poems in a certain field, but they would be much morecking in another. Now that Zu An had said they could choose any topic, didn¡¯t that mean he was good at all of them? He had the confidence to write something on any topic that would continue to circte throughout the ages?

    The mysterious woman in the special room above smiled. ¡°This man¡¯s boldness and pride are almost on par with our race.¡±

    The maid next to her wrinkled her nose. ¡°I think he¡¯s just shooting his mouth off. I want to see just how he deals with this situation!¡±

    ¡­

    Nan Xun looked worried. She quietly said, ¡°The young master seems to be quite confident.¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± Zu An leisurely reclined into his chair. He raised his wine cup while saying proudly, ¡°If the literary talent of the world is made up of ten parts, this humble Zu upies eight parts, while everyone else divides the remaining two among themselves.¡±

    Since he was going to show off anyway, he might as well go big or go home.

    1. The words ¡®a good poem¡¯ sound like ¡®a hand very wet¡¯ ?

 Chapter 924, Part 1: War Song and Killing Intent

    <h4>Chapter 924, Part 1: War Song and Killing Intent</h4>

    The entire ce erupted into amotion when Zu An spoke those words. Only a few people had felt he was being arrogant before, but after hearing his boast, they all thought he was crazy!

    You upy eighty percent of the world¡¯s literary talent by yourself? The rest of the world throughout history shares the remaining twenty percent?

    Who the hell do you think you are? Not even an emperor would dare speak so arrogantly, right?

    Even Gao Ying and Pei You raised their eyebrows. This guy really needs a good beating! Even we kind of want to beat him up!

    On the second floor, Bi Ziang¡¯s eyes narrowed. Not even all the showing off he had done in his entire life added up together couldpare to what Zu An had just done. How could the capital tolerate someone like this?

    But he had to admit that what Zu An had said sounded quite imposing. I¡¯m sure it would sound even better if I were the one who said it. Hmph, I¡¯ll need to find a chance to steal him from my sister. I¡¯ll put him in charge of writing up things for me to say everyday.

    The Qin n brothers looked at each other in dismay. Only after some time did Qin Guangyuan sigh and say, ¡°Isn¡¯t Chuyan a clever girl? How did she end up picking up someone like him¡­¡±

    Qin Yongde said with a chuckle, ¡°Chuyan shoulde and see just what her man is doing for herself. She might just die from embarrassment.¡±

    Yu Nan wasn¡¯t surprised to hear Zu An¡¯s boast, and felt better instead. After all, what happened so far had really made him look bad, and only made Zu An look even better. And yet, this brat had the nerve to say such crazy words! It was equivalent to throwing everything he had just umted away.

    As expected, give a poor person sudden wealth and they¡¯ll let it get to their heads, he thought. However, it gave him a chance to redeem himself.

    ¡°Those are truly bold words!¡± Yu Nan harrumphed. ¡°I want to see just what kind of incredible poem you canpose for myself¡­¡±

    Just as Yu Nan was about to provide the topic, Zu An cut him off and said, ¡°Since this is a gathering held by Lady Nan Xun, let¡¯s have Lady Nan Xun choose the topic.¡±

    ¡°Huh? Me?¡± Nan Xun was surprised, but also happy. She hadn¡¯t expected him to give this task to her. Regardless of how the situation ended, it would greatly raise her reputation.

    Zu An looked around with a smile, asking, ¡°Does anyone have any objections?¡±

    ¡°Of course not.¡±

    ¡°Lady Nan Xun is talented and gorgeous; I¡¯m sure she can provide an excellent topic.¡±

    ¡°Lady Nan Xun is obviously the best choice for suggesting a topic.¡±

    The others present struggled to force out a smile. They hade for Lady Nan Xun, so how could they not yield to her here? At the same time, they cursed Zu An for his crafty ways of gaining a girl¡¯s favor.

    Zu An then gave Yu Nan a look, asking, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Why isn¡¯t young master Yu saying anything? Could it be that you¡¯re worried, feeling that Lady Nan Xun will help me cheat?¡±

    Yu Nan¡¯s eyes twitched. This bastard didn¡¯t even let go of this chance to provoke me. ¡°You must be joking. Lady Nan Xun is beautiful and pure like the moon in clear skies; why would she help you practice fraud? Lady Nan Xun, please provide us with the topic.¡±

    He had already looked into her background beforehand. She was a courtesan who had risen to fame when Zu An was inside the dungeon. There wasn¡¯t much of a chance that the two sides had any rtionship. He obviously didn¡¯t have to worry about the two of them colluding against him.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Then I will reluctantly ept,¡± Nan Xun said with a bow. She thought to herself for a moment, wondering what kind of topic was suitable for the asion. It had to be a topic that wouldn¡¯t trouble Zu An too much, but which would also disy her own literary talents.

    The lips of the mysterious woman in the special room moved. Nan Xun¡¯s eyes lit up, then she said, ¡°The State Duke of Triumph is leading our great army north to fight the fiend races, so let¡¯s use his expedition as the topic.¡±

    Qin Guangyuan revealed an expression of surprise. He nodded inwardly, muttering, ¡°Not bad. I didn¡¯t expect a prostitute to still harbor patriotic thoughts.¡±

    The others all voiced their approval. They felt that the topic was excellent and perfect for the situation. Once news got out, it would make for a great story too.

    Yu Nan also nodded. The topic wasn¡¯t too difficult, but handling it well was far from easy. There had been simr poems made throughout sessive generations of history, but none of them referred to the current dynasty. He refused to believe that Zu An could surpass the schrs from past dynasties. No matter what kind of poem Zu An came up with, all he had to do was devalue it.

    ¡°So it¡¯s this kind of topic¡­¡± Zu An began to think to himself.

    ¡°Is it a bit too difficult?¡± Nan Xun asked with concern when she saw his change in expression.

    ¡°Of course not. It¡¯s way too easy.¡± Zu An chuckled. He was actually trying to decide which one he should pick.

    After all this time, he shouldn¡¯t have remembered too many of his old world¡¯s poems. But now that he had reached the peak of the ninth rank, even though he hadn¡¯t fully condensed his soul, his mind had be much more powerful than before. He gradually recalled many things he had almost forgotten.

    ¡°Nothing more than a shameless boast!¡± Yu Nan sneered. He didn¡¯t say anything else and just waited for Zu An to make a fool of himself.

    Zu An gave Gao Ying and Pei You a look, asking, ¡°Which one of you is better at calligraphy?¡±

    Of course, it would have been even better if he drew gorgeous calligraphy himself. Unfortunately, he¡­ understood the limitations of his own handwriting.

    The two exchanged a look. Gao Ying said, ¡°Let me do it.¡± He had already guessed Zu An¡¯s thoughts. Even though there was a chance that all of them might experience social death together, this man had saved his life. What did any of that matter?

    Nan Xun gave a maid by her side a look. The maid left and returned with paper and ink.

    The entire ce fell silent as those present looked toward Zu An. Some of them had high expectations, while some of them were merely waiting for him to make a fool of himself.

    ¡°Let¡¯s write the title first.¡± Zu An remained silent for a moment. ¡°Its title will be ¡®The Sword and the Song¡ªSpirited Ode Dedicated to the State Duke of Triumph¡¯.¡±

    The Qin n brothers were shocked and subconsciously stood up. This poem was actually a gift to their grandfather!

    The two of them had been about to make fun of him, but now that they had heard the title, their attitudes suddenly changed. Their expressions turned serious, and they began to hope that Zu An would write something amazing.

    Gao Ying had been getting ready to be a social outcast forever, but when he heard the title, he also regained his focus. Just the title alone sounded extraordinary, so the work itself would probably not be far off.

    Simr thoughts echoed throughout the minds of the others present. Bi Ziang, who had been leaning leisurely in his seat, subconsciously sat up. He even leaned forward slightly so he could hear Zu An¡¯s work better.

    Yu Nan also swallowed with difficulty. He suddenly realized that he might be faced with another miserable failure.

    Zu An¡¯s steady and rhythmic voice resounded through the hall.

    ¡°Intoxicated, I turn up the light to inspect my sword; war horns resound when I wake.

    Roasted meat enjoyed among the soldiers; morale high as powerful instruments echo.

    In autumn, the soldiers prepare for war.

    Warhorses gallop at speeds of top steeds; bows twang like thunder as arrows let fly.

    With whole-hearted devotion toward the monarch¡¯s mission, they aim to reim lostnd; wills set to leave behind a glorious legacy once they pass on.

    Yet sadly, white hair already emerges therefrom.¡±[1]

    At first, there were still some private whispers, but soon, the room fell dead silent as those present looked at the one reciting the poem.

    A stern and serious mood filled the ce. The onlookers¡¯ mouths were open, as if they had many things to say, and yet it was as if there were hands gripping their throats. They didn¡¯t know what to say.

    Those who were cultivators felt the ki within them surge restlessly, while even those who weren¡¯t cultivators felt their blood boil. All of them were ready to go to battle, and didn¡¯t want anyone to stop them from making such a choice!

    Zu An wasn¡¯t surprised to see their reaction. Xin Qiji[2] was one of history¡¯s greatest writers, and ¡®The Sword and the Song¡¯ was known as one of the poems with the greatest warring intent throughout history. It had been considered groundbreaking during the Southern Song Dynasty.

    Even though this world¡¯s martial skills flourished, its literature wascking. Xin Qiji¡¯s poem would definitely leave a world-shaking impact in the field of poetry.

    ¡°Ah Zu, have you been to the battlefield before?¡± Qin Guangyuan gripped the railing as he asked excitedly. After hearing the poem, the way he addressed Zu An even became more intimate.

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°I haven¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°You haven¡¯t?¡± Qin Guangyuan was excited. ¡°Then how can you portray the journey of a general so vividly? It¡¯s almost as if I¡¯ve returned to the days when I followed my father and grandfather on the battlefield!¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, The writer Xin Qiji indeed spent some time on the battlefield, but I definitely can¡¯t pretend to have done so! It¡¯s way too easy to fact check that.

    Qi Yongde eximed in shock, ¡°Then you must bepletely self-taught! Ah Zu, you¡¯re an incredible genius!¡±

    The two couldn''t be med for feeling so excited. When they had heard those words, they felt as if they could hear war horns by their ears, recalling the times they had drawn their swords to cut down their enemies! They had felt as if they were back on the military drill ground, apanying their father and grandfather amid the glorious scene of inspecting their magnificent army! They also seemed to have returned to the tense and fierce battlefield, sounds of arrows screaming and des cutting into flesh all around them.

    Completing the monarch¡¯s mission and earning a glorious reputation that followed one¡¯s death was the ideal of every soldier, but how many could aplish that throughout history?

    What stirred them up even further was thest line ¡®yet sadly, white hair already emerges therefrom¡¯. They recalled how their grandfather was a famous general, and yet because of the battle over the heir, the emperor kept him in the capital to keep an eye on him.

    Their grandfather¡¯s dream had always been to fight on the battlefield! And yet, more than half of his life had been wasted in the capital. Now, he was finally able to fight again, but his hair was already white.

    A somewhat unusual expression appeared in Lady Nan Xun¡¯s cold eyes. She stared at Zu An in a daze. She blinked intensely and even shivered a bit.

    1. Po Zhen Zi: Spirited Ode Dedicated to Chen Tongfu. ?

    2. Xin Qiji (28 May 1140¨C3 Oct 1207) was a Chinese calligrapher, military general, and poet during the Southern Song dynasty (1127¨C1279). ?

 Chapter 924, Part 2: War Song and Killing Intent

    <h4>Chapter 924, Part 2: War Song and Killing Intent</h4>

    Yu Nan was dumbstruck. He had nned to nitpick the poem no matter what Zu An said. After all, literary works were often subjective and didn¡¯t have standard criteria. As long as what he said was logical, he could even make quite a good poem seem worthless.

    But that didn¡¯t include absolutely divine works like this! As long as one weren¡¯t a literary idiot, anyone would be able to see the worth of Zu An¡¯s poem. Forget about the schrs of the current age; none of the famous schrs throughout the ages couldpare.

    If he still insisted on stepping forward, he would only be treated like an utter fool. Someone as proud and arrogant as he would never dare to do such a thing.

    Meanwhile, Bi Ziang¡¯s expression darkened. He could tell from the grandeur of the poem that Zu An was definitely not someone who would be content with serving anyone! He might not be able to subdue this vicious tiger. He had to warn his little sister properly so she wouldn¡¯t end up raising a wild tiger.

    Gao Ying was so moved that his entire body was shaking. He had already nned to go down with Zu An, but instead, he had been able to personally participate in the creation of such an epoch-marking work!

    Even after hundreds of years passed, as long as this poem continued to exist, his name would be mentioned¡­ Wait, they might just say that there was someone who wrote the words on Zu An¡¯s behalf. It might not mention my name, he thought. He lowered his head and wrote with tremendous speed.

    Pei You also shared in Zu An¡¯s spotlight. When he saw the others¡¯ looks of awe, he subconsciously stuck out his chest and really wanted to say ¡®Zu An is my big bro!¡¯. But he was never able to find a suitable time.

    Suddenly, he noticed Gao Ying¡¯s movements. He was confused at first. Isn¡¯t the poem already finished? Why is he still writing? He snuck over and took a look. He saw that Gao Ying had added an annotation stating the date, and that he was the one who had written it in Zu An¡¯s ce!

    ¡°Screw you!¡± Pei You immediately wanted to blow up. This guy is going that far?

    He wanted to scream out of regret. After all, he should have volunteered to be the one who wrote out the poem! Even though his writing wasn¡¯t that pretty, as long as he could leave behind his name in history, it wouldn¡¯t matter! And yet, who could have thought that Gao Ying, this honest looking fellow, would actually be so cunning?!

    The maid in the special room above still wasn¡¯t fully convinced. She muttered, ¡°Young miss, even though this poem isn¡¯t bad, it¡¯s not as great as they¡¯re making it out to be, is it?¡±

    The mysterious woman shook her head. ¡°You don¡¯t understand. The meaning of this poem isn¡¯t only in¡­ Sigh, with how many geniuses the human race produces, when will our race ever be able to revive?¡±

    The maid wanted to ask more, but someone else quickly answered her question. Qin Guangyuan¡¯s gaze scanned over those present as he said, ¡°Even though my humble self doesn¡¯t understand poetry, I understand life in the army. Ah Zu has made me feel as if I were back on the battlefield with just a few words, and reignited my passion. Just this alone already makes this poem extraordinary. If anyone has any objections to this poem, please speak up now.¡±

    Now that he had already spoken up like this, no one else was willing to speak out and make the Qin n look bad. They all offered their praise toward the poem.

    Zu An gave Qin Guangyuan a look of surprise. Wasn¡¯t this rtive¡¯s attitude changing a bit too quickly? Even he was getting thrown off.

    Qin Guangyuan said, ¡°That¡¯s not all. These impassioned lyrics can be turned into a song by a military specialist and greatly raise our soldiers¡¯ morale. One of the most frustrating things to deal with when we fought against the fiend races in the past was their war music. They would make the enemy soldiers enter a frenzy-like state, which sharply raised both theirbat prowess and regenerative ability. We suffered bitterly because of that.

    ¡°Afterward, the court continued to research war songs. Even though the Royal Academy has already obtained a general idea of how they operate, we stillck suitable lyrics, which makes our songs far inferior to those of the fiend races. But now, with Ah Zu¡¯s song, our soldiers¡¯ war songs will match the fiend races¡¯, and perhaps even rise above them! Our army will be able to experience far fewer sacrifices!¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Qin Guangyuan¡¯s eyes were already brimming with tears of excitement. As someone born into a militaristic family, he had a natural sense of empathy for that field.

    Only then did everyone realize that Zu An had actually written a revolutionary masterpiece! Their empire didn¡¯t excel in literary skills, but rather cultivation. That was why, even if anyone had some aplishments in the field, their reputation wouldn¡¯t be that great. But if his poem could be turned into a war song, then this meant somethingpletely different! His importance in the court would skyrocket, and he might even be sheltered as a strategic talent!

    The maid upstairs cried out, ¡°Ah! That guy was this hateful? Should we look for a chance to kill him then? Otherwise, it¡¯ll be really bad if we go to war again!¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s already created the poem. Unless you kill everyone here, this war song will inevitably be created. Let¡¯s keep watching for now.¡± The mysterious woman¡¯s eyes flickered with light. To be honest, even she was a bit shaken. After all, who knew if this fellow would continue to create war songs of this level?

    Zu An was actually quite surprised as well. Even though he had heard of the military having war songs before, that they had effects simr to formations, he didn¡¯t know how the process worked. But now, it seemed quite simple. I know three hundred Tang dynasty poems and so many Song poems. Am I really going to be someone who brings his own BGM wherever he goes?

    ¡°This poem was meant as a gift to the State Duke of Triumph. If it can help the imperial court save our soldiers¡¯ lives, that¡¯s even better.¡± He took the chance to speak up. There was no way he would give up such an amazing opportunity! If his prestige and importance in the military rose, even the emperor and King Qi would feel some hesitation before touching him.

    Qin Guangyuan eximed with a loudugh, ¡°Then I¡¯ll thank you in advance, in ce of my grandfather and the soldiers!¡±

    Gao Ying handed over the written poem upon hearing Qin Guangyuan speak. However, Zu An noticed that Nan Xun¡¯s expression was somewhat unnatural. He asked, ¡°Lady Nan Xun, what¡¯s wrong? Are you alright?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Perhaps young master¡¯s lyrics were so fierce that it was a bit difficult for me to adapt to as a girl,¡± Lady Nan Xun said through a forced smile.

    Just then, an ear-piercing voice shrieked, ¡°Didn¡¯t we tell you to make a poem? Why did you end up making lyrics then?¡±

    Those present raised their heads. The one who had spoken was Yi Zhibing. They subconsciously looked toward Yu Nan, assuming that he was the one who had incited it.

    Yu Nan¡¯s expression was ashen, and he didn¡¯t say anything. Even though Yi Zhibing¡¯s intelligence was a bit low, he seemed to have provided an interesting turn of events.

    Qin Guangyuan was furious. He eximed, ¡°Mister Yi, where did you suddenly get the courage to challenge our Qin n?!¡±

    Those present scoffed. This Qin Guangyuan really was shameless! You seemed to be looking down on Zu An just a moment ago, but just because he gave you some good lyrics, he¡¯s suddenly be a member of your Qin n?

    Yi Zhibing cowered when he saw Qin Guangyuan¡¯s intimidating gaze. He gave Yu Nan a look.

    Yu Nan cursed the idiot inwardly, but he could only brace himself and reply, ¡°When did Zu An be a member of your Qin n? ording to what I know, the Chu n¡¯s young miss has already severed all rtions with him. Furthermore, even if they were still married, Madam Chu¡¯s rtionship with the State Duke of Triumph was also cut off. As such Zu An can¡¯t be considered a member of your Qin n at all.¡±

    Qin Guangyuan frowned. ¡°Yu Nan, even though you have some annoying defects in your personality, I still considered you an open and candid person who would acknowledge your losses. Isn¡¯t twisting your words and logic like this going a bit too far?¡±

    Yu Nan smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯ll step down gracefully in the field of reciting poetry. Young master Zu is indeed exceptional.¡±

    The others nodded inwardly, thinking, Indeed, Yu Nan still has some integrity.

    But Yu Nan¡¯s attitude quickly changed as he continued, ¡°But he just imed to possess eighty percent of the world¡¯s talent, so our requirement for him obviously has to be different. We agreed for him to make a poem, and yet it became a song. I feel this is a bit disappointing, no?¡±

    Those who were friendly with Yu Nan voiced their agreement. The others didn¡¯t care if the drama got out of hand, as they didn¡¯t want to see Zu An bring the beauty back. They also chimed in.

    Qin Guangyuan frowned. But Zu An had indeed boasted a bit too much just now, so he couldn''t even really do much about it. He could only give Zu An a troubled look.

    Zu Anughed and retorted, ¡°Didn¡¯t we already agree that once I created something else, you wouldn¡¯t continue to push the issue? And yet now, there are all these annoying moths flying around. If I make another one, you¡¯ll continue to be picky. When will it ever be over?¡±

    Yu Nan said, ¡°I vow on my family name that as long as you can make another poem of simr level to appease everyone, I won¡¯t dare say another word. Otherwise, I¡¯ll write my surname backward from then on!¡±

    The onlookers¡¯ expressions turned serious when they heard Yu Nan¡¯s vow. Using one¡¯s family name in a vow was noughing matter. If he really did go back on his word afterward, the entire world would turn against him.

    Zu An was also quite startled, but he reacted quickly. The character for Yu in this world was special. Isn¡¯t it the same even if you write it backward?!

    Bi Ziang roared withughter. ¡°Brother Yu, aren¡¯t you troubling him too much? It would already be quite amazing if someone produced just a single work on that level in their lifetime. Isn¡¯t asking him to make another poem of the same level purely causing trouble?¡±

    He sounded as if he were speaking out for Zu An, but in reality, he had ulterior motives. If Zu An really did reject Yu Nan, his im to possess eighty percent of all literary talent in the world would be sphemous speech.

    Zu An sighed, thinking, These future rtives of mine are all tricky to deal with! Wait, why are there so many of these future inws around me?

    He said with a smile, ¡°I didn¡¯t really want to pay certain people any more attention, but the earlier song¡¯s killing intent was a bit too strong and I ended up frightening Lady Nan Xun. In that case, I¡¯ll create another one for Lady Nan Xun.¡±

    The mysterious woman¡¯s expression darkened. She picked up a certain item, and her eyes shed with killing intent. If he made another simr song, her nsmen would really be done for. Even if she had to risk exposing herself here, she had to eliminate this great disaster for her n.

 Chapter 925, Part 1: Goosebumps

    <h4>Chapter 925, Part 1: Goosebumps</h4>

    Pei You rushed over excitedly and reached toward the ink and paper in Gao Ying¡¯s hands. ¡°Let me write it this time!¡±

    He had missed out on a chance to leave his name behind in history, so there was no way he''d let the opportunity slip past again. He and Gao Ying were the ones with the most confidence in Zu An. When he heard Zu An speaking so confidently, he knew Zu An would create something great again.

    Gao Ying quickly pulled back the pen and paper, saying vigntly, ¡°Your writing isn¡¯t anything special, so just let me take care of it. Otherwise, we might end up ruining brother Zu¡¯s extraordinary poem.¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± Pei You¡¯s face turned red. He wanted to retort, but he didn¡¯t know where to even start. As such, he could only remain helpless and annoyed. Suddenly, however, he thought of something. He grabbed the ink b and eximed, ¡°Let me make the ink then!¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Gao Ying was speechless. You really are something else!

    The others were also stupefied. These two aristocrat kids really are buffoons! They¡¯re actually going that far in their bootlicking!

    However, they knew that if they had been in that position, they might also fight for the chance to leave behind their names in history. But unfortunately, they didn¡¯t know Zu An too well, so they couldn''t even offer up their assistance themselves.

    The mysterious woman upstairs frowned. The two men were moving about and standing in her way. There were many powerful cultivators present too, so if she failed on the first attempt, there might not be a second chance.

    After some hesitation, she decided to give up on taking action immediately. It hadn¡¯t been easy for her to get to where she was in the capital. It would obviously be good if she could eliminate this cmity for her race, but if she failed and ended up exposing herself, the gains wouldn¡¯t make up for the losses.

    If push came to shove, she¡¯d just leave the task to Nan Xun.

    Zu An began in a loud and clear voice.

    ¡°The braves who face the fiend barbarians are undaunted by perils; five thousand elites in brocaded robes have perished.

    Their pitiful remains scatter endlessly across the northernke, even as wives dream and await their return.¡±

    He obviously couldn''t use the word ¡®Huns¡¯ from the original poem, so he substituted it with fiend barbarians. As for theke part, there just happened to be a simrly namedke to the north near the fiend race¡¯s borders, so he just used the line as is.

    ¡°Their pitiful remains scatter endlessly across the northernke, even as wives dream and await their return¡­¡± The mysterious woman upstairs mouthed the two verses. She slowly lowered her hand, and the killing intent in her eyes gradually faded.

    The maid next to her was surprised, asking, ¡°Huh? Are you not going to kill him anymore?¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t. He isn¡¯t like ordinary humans,¡± the mysterious woman said slowly. Her eyes were filled with a different expression as she looked at Zu An.

    The entire ce fell dead silent as those present all pondered the poetry verses. A solemn and stirring battlefield appeared before their eyes, in which many of the court¡¯s soldiers pledged their lives to cut down their enemy. In the end, many of them were sacrificed.

    The north was cold, and most soldiers only wore cotton-padded clothes. Only the elites would be dressed in brocaded robes, and yet even they lost five thousand of their men. It was easy to imagine the intensity and bitterness of such a battle.

    What was most shocking were thest two sentences. ¡®Their pitiful remains scatter endlessly across the northernke, even as wives dream and await their return¡¯; the stark contrast was just too intense.

    Those present had previously thought that there could be nothing worse than receiving news that one¡¯s loved ones had died. But now, it seemed that even though receiving news of one¡¯s loved one dying was sorrowful, at least one could hold a memorial service.

    However, the scene Zu An portrayed was one of no news for families back home, all year round. The soldiers¡¯ wives would long for their husbands¡¯ early return in their dreams, and yet they would have no idea that those men had already be withered bones across the northernke. That stark contrast of hope and despair was the true feeling of tragedy.

    Those present felt a powerful feeling surge within them. They wanted to say something, and yet they discovered that anything they could say would seemckluster inparison.

    Lady Nan Xun¡¯s eyes turned red, tears streaming down her face as she looked at Zu An. She said, ¡°Young master, you are too heartless.¡±

    If it had been any other time, Pei You would have been overwhelmed with jealousy after seeing the goddess of his dreams look at another man in that way. But now, he instead epted it wholeheartedly. Big bro Zu is formidable after all!

    But he was more concerned about another thing. He quickly moved over to Gao Ying¡¯s side. Sure enough, Gao Ying had added his own name! Pei You¡¯s eyes widened as he asked, ¡°What about me?¡±

    Gao Ying felt a bit guilty, so he added another line saying, ¡°Ink grinded by Pei You.¡±

    Pei You¡¯s annoyance changed to happiness. He had finally made it onto that paper!

    Bi Ziang¡¯s expression changed several times. That kid was actually this frightening! Thank goodness it¡¯s only in the field of literature. I should still be able to control him¡­ Right? However, he no longer had the same amount of confidence as before.

    On the other hand, Yu Nan¡¯s expression paled. His entire body shook uncontrobly. He had never expected that this kid, whom he had just considered a rascal off the streets, would have such literary prowess! Forget about himself, not even the sessive generations of schrs couldpare to Zu An!

    When he recalled everything he had done today, all of it now seemed as if it had only served to set the stage for Zu An. In the end, he had just be a stepping stone for Zu An¡¯s rise to fame. He closed his eyes bitterly. He could already imagine that after today, he would be the capital¡¯s greatestughingstock. His name might even be left behind in history¡­ but it wasn¡¯t going to be for something good.

    What kind of sted luck was this? He had actually ended up running into a little demon like this?! He was experiencing extreme internal conflict at the moment. Even though he still paid close attention to his etiquette, he still couldn''t help but curse at Zu An inwardly.

    Yi Zhibing suddenly spoke up again. ¡°How brazen! The court¡¯s army has just left for war, and yet you¡¯re cursing them to suffer heavy losses? This is a crime punishable by death!¡±

    Yu Nan gave him a nk look. Even though he knew that Yi Zhibing was deliberately causing trouble, he was like a drowning person who wasn¡¯t even willing to let go of thest straw.

    When they heard Yi Zhibing¡¯s words, many people who were close to him echoed their agreement. Several others felt that the poem was a bit inauspicious.

    Qin Guangyuan harrumphed and said, ¡°What do any of you understand?! What Ah Zu has described is the great battle from thirty years ago! For various reasons, the court¡¯s army suffered severe losses, and there were corpses strewn all across the riverside. Ah Zu is warning us to not repeat that tragedy, that it¡¯s actually something that must be given careful thought!¡±

    Zu An was shocked. He hadn¡¯t expected the poem to match up with history. It seemed his luck wasn¡¯t that bad! The reason he had chosen it was merely to express that he didn¡¯t want war anymore. After all, as an ordinary person, he rted more to the ordinary soldiers.

    Lady Nan Xun¡¯s lips parted slightly as she said softly, ¡°This humble one has gained some understanding from this work. I am not sure if I should voice my thoughts.¡±

    Those present immediately focused their attention on her. ¡°Lady Nan Xun, please speak your mind!¡±

    Look at all these simps! Zu An thought.

    Nan Xun gave Zu An a look and slowly said, ¡°Everyone present is capable and influential, but I am ofmon birth. As such, I sympathize with themon people¡¯s suffering. In war, regardless of who wins or loses, many soldiers lose their lives. They have family and loved ones back home, and yet all this time, no one has spoken of their sorrows. Young master Zu¡¯s poem greatly illustrates their bitter lives. I personally believe that young master Zu is a kindhearted and gentle person, and that apart from the warning that young master Qin has spoken of, the poem should also describe a peaceful and anti-war attitude.¡± As she spoke, she looked at Zu An with an expectant gaze.

    Zu An was quite shocked. This courtesan really did know some stuff! He nodded and said, ¡°Indeed, there was such a message.¡±

    Someone like Zu An who came from a peaceful era really had no interest in war. For flesh and blood to fly, for countless people to lose their lives, all for the sake of the prestige and honor of a few people¡ªwhat meaning was there in something like that?

    The mysterious woman grinned. ¡°As expected!¡± She thought, This man is quite interesting.

    But many others didn¡¯t think the same way. They said with a smile, ¡°He is a schr through and through after all.¡±

    ¡°Lady Nan Xun is too kind. The fiend races are savages. If you don¡¯t kill them, they¡¯ll only kill more of us!¡±

    ¡°Indeed, this battle only began because the fiend races ughtered our city. Speaking of peace with them is just being inflexible in one¡¯s thinking!¡±

    ¡­

    The others present pretty much had simr thoughts. After all, the Zhou Dynasty had been founded on martial might. They had waged war in all directions and defeated enemies from all sides. These men came from prestigious ns, so they would always prioritize gaining achievements. They naturally didn¡¯t sympathize much with ordinary people.

    The mysterious woman harrumphed. ¡°All of them are truly hateful!¡±

    The maid next to her also huffed and eximed, ¡°Exactly! How about we just kill them all?!¡±

    The mysterious woman gave her a look and said, ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll give you a sword. Why don¡¯t you go and do it?¡±

    The maid pouted and said, ¡°There¡¯s no way I could do that¡­¡±

    The mysterious woman chuckled and replied, ¡°So you knew that, hm? Then stop bbering about such unrealistic nonsense.¡±

    ¡­

    Even though the onlookers felt that Zu An was a bit too meek and weak-willed, they had to admit that his poems were excellent.

    Now, they didn¡¯t even feel as if his prior boasting about having eighty percent of the world¡¯s literary talent had been too much. Forget about the entire world in the present, there was no one from past generations who had talentparable to Zu An.

    With the Qin n brothers stepping forward to defend Zu An, and Lady Nan Xun¡¯s praise on top of that, Yu Nan could only stop Yi Zhibing from continuing. With how things were, it would be useless even if they said anything else. It would only serve to tarnish their reputation further.

    Lady Nan Xun¡¯s ears moved slightly, as if she had heard something. She was shocked inwardly, but she didn¡¯t show it on the surface.

 Chapter 925, Part 2: Goosebumps

    <h4>Chapter 925, Part 2: Goosebumps</h4>

    Instead, Nan Xun looked at Zu An with her mystical eyes. Her usually cold and arrogant expression now contained a somewhat mysterious intent. She said, ¡°Young master Zu, I like this poem a lot. Can you give it to me?¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An chuckled and asked, ¡°Then what will thedy give me in return?¡± Agreeing immediately to what a woman asked for wasn¡¯t something a true king of thedies would do.

    The others present cursed inwardly and berated Zu An inwardly for being shameless. Even though they all admired his literary talent, none of them were willing to give up that easily when it involved ¡®their¡¯ woman.

    Nan Xun blushed and replied, ¡°Then¡­ I wonder what the young master wants?¡±

    As someone who worked in the pleasure quarters, she also excelled in song and dance. As such, her response was brilliant. It sounded like an agreement, and yet she didn¡¯t actually agree to anything, putting her in afortable spot to either advance or retreat.

    Zu An looked her in the eyes. There was a mischievous expression on his face as he began, ¡°I want you¡­¡±

    Even Gao Ying and Pei You shot him a sidelong nce when they heard those words. Why does this guy have to be such an asshole?!

    The others found it even harder to ept. They all denounced Zu An for being rude, and they would have thrown eggs at him already if they had any.

    The mysterious woman harrumphed. ¡°He really is a pervert!¡±

    Zu An epted all of their Rage points with a big smile on his face. This was a win-win situation!

    Lady Nan Xun blushed even more, saying, ¡°This humble girl also wishes to agree to young master¡¯s request, but so many guests havee to visit me today. We still have the rest of the evening, so I do not dare make a choice too early¡­¡±

    Zu An praised her for her skills inwardly. This woman was quite formidable at keeping men on the edge. She was just like those girls who had backup guys lined up. They would lead one on with all sorts of excuses and make one think that one had gotten close, but upon trying to take that step one would merely discover that there was actually a huge chasm in the way.

    But he had alreadye prepared, and finished, ¡°I only wanted you to remove the mask covering your face. What was thedy thinking?¡±

    Nan Xun was stunned. Only then did she realize that she had been yed. She shot Zu An an annoyed look. A woman might not remember a man who made herugh, but she would definitely remember a man who made her experience a storm of emotions.

    The others who had been cursing Zu An immediately changed their tune. They began to voice their support toward Zu An, because they wanted to see her without her mask too.

    Nan Xun looked stricken, but she reacted quickly as well. She replied, sounding aggrieved,, ¡°I only nned to show my face to one person alone.¡±

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°I won¡¯t mind if you let the others see.¡±

    Nan Xun was speechless.

    The others thought to themselves, This Zu An really is shameless! Lady Nan Xun was clearly saying that she was going to show herself to the chosen one tonight, and yet you¡¯ve actually put yourself in that spot already?

    Nan Xun seemed to have heard something. A hint of bitterness shed through her eyes, but then she said, ¡°I suppose I have to agree to the young master¡¯s request, then.¡±

    The entire ce erupted into amotion. Many people even whistled at Nan Xun. They had thought that Nan Xun might refuse, and yet she actually agreed! They had really wanted to see her full face, and yet they were worried that she might have really already chosen Zu An to be her personal guest. How could they even describe what they were feeling just then?

    Zu An thought, One time, I saw the username, ¡®want to date but scared to go all the way¡¯. That¡¯s a pretty good description of their current state.

    ¡°But I am only going to show young master alone,¡± Nan Xun said quietly. Then, she undid her veil, revealing the expression of displeasure on her lovable face. Her snow-white skin was spotless, paired with a fine nose and beautiful red lips. Together with her gorgeous face, her entire appearance really was a work of art.

    Gao Ying and Pei You, who had been standing near Zu An, began breathing heavily. Their eyes widened. It wasn¡¯t that they had never met beauties of her level, as the crown princess wasn¡¯t inferior to her at all. However, this courtesan had had so much hype built around her, and the two of them had already dreamed about her for so long. When they saw her, they could only perceive her as even more beautiful than she really was. It was to the extent where she had practically be the most beautiful person they had ever seen.

    They sighed. Unfortunately, she favored big bro Zu. Otherwise, they would be racking their brains on how to take this woman home, even if they had to use their family backgrounds to achieve it.

    Both of them woke up a bit when they thought of that, feeling as if they had bitten down on sour lemons. They couldn''t help but look at Zu An. But they quickly saw that Zu An¡¯s mouth was open even wider than theirs; he looked stupefied. They immediately felt much calmer when they saw him.

    Big bro Zu, you need to work on your willpower, man. How can you end up like that just because you saw someone beautiful?

    Isn¡¯t Chu First Miss, your wife, also an exceptional beauty? Why are you like this right now?

    ¡­

    While the two of them were criticizing Zu An, Zu An was overwhelmed with shock. He finally knew why this woman looked a bit familiar! It was because he had just seen her face two days ago! Moreover, it was a face he had almost been in reach of!

    However, it had been in King Qi Manor, inside King Qi concubine¡¯s coffin! This courtesan looked almost exactly the same as King Qi¡¯s concubine! The biggest difference was that theplexion of the woman in the coffin was pale, while this woman¡¯s face was rosy.

    No wonder I thought she was familiar! Who would associate a popr courtesan in the capital with a dead person? No wonder everyone felt as if she had a noble air to her, and that it wasn¡¯t fake. Of course King Qi¡¯s freaking concubine would seem refined!

    At that moment, countless possibilities flew through Zu An¡¯s brain. He couldn¡¯t believe that two people with such simr faces had absolutely nothing to do with each other. Is this woman that concubine¡¯s twin sister? Or maybe she¡¯s the concubine¡¯s ghost?

    When he thought of that possibility, even though there were bright lights all around him, Zu An felt a chill run down his back. He had been a cultivator for some time, but he had never experienced something so bizarre before.

    He had met ghosts before in dungeons, but they were all monstrous existences. To a certain extent, this woman in front of him was an acquaintance, so it made him feel as if he were going through the plot of one of those horror films.

    The other men also rushed over in his direction. Zu An¡¯s group was seated in an isted corner, and Nan Xun had deliberately turned her back to the rest when she undid her mask, so only their group saw her appearance. The others couldn''t hold back their curiosity and couldn''t be bothered with etiquette. After all, most of them were already bound to fail, so they would be satisfied if they could even get a glimpse of Lady Nan Xun¡¯s face. As such, they all left their seats and rushed over toward Zu An¡¯s table. However, Nan Xun reacted quickly as well and swiftly reced her veil.

    But Zu An¡¯s reaction left her surprised. She asked, ¡°Did my humble appearance frighten the young master?¡± Her voice carried a bit of resentment.

    If it were any other man, they would have immediately felt their bodies go weak and frantically apologized. But Zu An just felt all the hairs on his body stand up. However, he had experienced his fair share of daunting experiences, so he was able to quickly calm himself down. He said with a smile, ¡°Thedy must be joking. If even such beauty qualifies as a humble appearance, can there be any beautiful people left in this world?¡±

    Nan Xun said with a smile, ¡°Young master is too kind with your praise.¡±

    The others weren¡¯t able to see Nan Xun¡¯s true appearance even after rushing over, and they instead saw her giggling at Zu An¡¯s words. It was as if they had been forced to watch a couple engage in PDA. Their gazes were full of jealousy as they red at Zu An.

    But Zu An wasn¡¯t in the mood to pay attention to the iing Rage points. Instead, his thoughts were moving quickly. Was the concubine¡¯s death faked then? But who was the woman in the coffin?

    After all, he hadn¡¯t examined the corpse¡¯s face out of respect for the dead. There was a chance that it wasn¡¯t really her. But no matter how they changed the face, there was no way they could change it so well or so easily! After all, Sang Qien had even examined the body. If there had been something wrong with the corpse¡¯s face, she would have noticed something.

    Zu An was stumped. If the concubine isn¡¯t dead, things really are interesting now. She was a concubine, and yet she¡¯s also a courtesan in this brothel. King Qi really is getting cucked from all kinds of different angles¡­

    He suddenly recalled a piece of news from his past world. There had been a male celebrity who was arrested for sleeping with a prostitute, after which all manner of information about that prostitute suddenly appeared on the inte. Everyone wanted to know just how pretty that prostitute had to be, that even a celebrity wouldn¡¯t be able to hold himself back! The various sources proved that the girl really was pretty, but charged more than a thousand dors a night.

    Then, another scoop from the victim¡¯s side revealed that the girl was actually his friend¡¯s girlfriend! It had originally been a tragic story, but someone had suggested something else. Didn¡¯t that mean the friend who was dating that girl had been making a thousand dors every night?

    With Nan Xun¡¯s reputation in the capital, just how much did King Qi make every night?

    ¡­

    While Zu An was lost in his own thoughts, Lady Nan Xun returned to her stage on the second floor. Then, she yed another round of drinking games.

    But after Zu An¡¯s ridiculous performance, the others¡¯ spirits couldn''t help but wane. After all, if they recited the poetry of others now, not only would they not seem all that special, it would only make Zu An look even better.

    Soon afterward, Nan Xun found an excuse to leave.

    Those present immediately straightened up. They knew that she might have already chosen her special guest. Even though the odds of them being chosen weren¡¯t high, they could still dream. What if Lady Nan Xun decided to make an unexpected choice?

 Chapter 926, Part 1: Bag of Evil

    <h4>Chapter 926, Part 1: Bag of Evil</h4>

    A whileter, a maid came out and dered, ¡°Young master Zu, young master Bi, and young master Yu, pleasee inside for a chat. As for all of the other young masters, we have prepared some people to take care of you¡­¡±

    Amotion broke out as soon as the result was announced. Those present had known that there would be several rounds of selections this time. For example, the invitation card in the beginning was a test of background and wealth, and then the drinking games were the second round of evaluation. After all, no courtesan wanted to choose a crass man; it had to be someone who was a bit more refined. Then, there would be a third round, but none of them knew what was going to be tested.

    Bi Ziang and Zu An being chosen was within the crowd¡¯s expectations. Bi Ziang¡¯s reputation in recent years was just too great. Zu An¡¯s performance earlier had also just been too outstanding. Their selection made sense.

    But why had Yu Nan been chosen? He had practically been pped across the face by Zu An, yet he still had the qualifications to head on inside? Was it just because of his background? Just because he was handsome?

    The maid seemed to have predicted that the announcement would rouse the crowd. She exined with a smile, ¡°Everyone, please calm down. The evaluation criterion was the performance during the drinking game. Young master Yu¡¯s literary skills were remarkable, which was why he was chosen.¡±

    But the implication behind her statement was also clear. Even though Yu Nan had beenpletely humiliated in his contest against Zu An afterward, that hadn¡¯t been taken into consideration for the evaluation.

    Yu Nan also had a group of fans, such as Yi Zhibing and the others. They immediately voiced their support when they heard the announcement. Afterward, Yu Nan got up and patted down his clothes, following the maid into the inner hall expressionlessly.

    But in truth, he was burning with shame inside. Being chosen was originally supposed to be something natural and expected for him; how could he have anticipated all of these annoyances? Now it almost seemed as if his eptance had been out of charity! It¡¯s all Zu An¡¯s fault!

    You have sessfully trolled Yu Nan for +444 +444 +444¡­

    But in his position, there was no need to be rash and storm off out of pride. Since he had made it to the next round, as long as this woman became his in the end, that would fully wash away all of the humiliation he had experienced so far. Rather, he would be a biggerughingstock if he left out of anger.

    On the other hand, Bi Ziang had a broad smile as he walked in confidently. He was actually fully enjoying himself. Yu Nan had been an old adversary of his, yet he had ended up being embarrassed so badly today! Once they were inside, Bi Ziang nned to knock him down another peg.

    Meanwhile, Gao Ying and Pei You saw Zu An off. They both voiced their encouragement.

    Pei You said gravely, ¡°Big bro Zu, I¡¯ll leave my Lady Nan Xun to you. You have to bring her back! Otherwise, I¡¯ll feel terrible if another man gets her.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. When did Nan Xun be yours? Also, this grief and indignation¡­ Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re one of those rumored self-cucks?

    Gao Ying controlled himself much better. Even though he admired Lady Nan Xun, it wasn¡¯t to the point that he waspletely infatuated. Furthermore, he had known that he wouldn¡¯t have much of a chance today anyway. He patted Zu An¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°Brother Zu, do it wellter, for our share too.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. What the hell do you mean, do it for your share? Who could¡¯ve thought this straight-faced bastard had this passionate side to him too¡­

    The Qin n brothers walked over, smiling.

    ¡°Ah Zu, we have high expectations for you.¡±

    ¡°I feel the same way. The Yu and Bi bastards are usually so arrogant, so I really want to see the two of them losing to you.¡±

    The two brothers didn¡¯t have much literary talent. They already knew their limitations after the first round of drinking games. Furthermore, as heirs to a military n, they didn¡¯t have any obsessive infatuation toward Nan Xun either.

    ¡°Haha, I¡¯ll do it with everything I have,¡± Zu An replied with a smile.

    The three of them had been chatting happily, but their smiles suddenly froze. They suddenly recalled Zu An and Chu Chuyan¡¯s rtionship. Were there any big brothers who encouraged their brothers-inw to seek out courtesans? They both looked away when they realized that and made an excuse to leave. They didn¡¯t give Zu An any more encouragement.

    Zu An followed the maid into the inner hall. The inner hall¡¯syout was elegant, and a sweet scent filled the air. The sweet smell wasn¡¯t cloying at all, and was instead a fine fragrance.

    BI Ziang and Yu Nan had arrived in the room before him. They stood in the room, admiring the calligraphy on the wall and the interior decorations. The two of them subconsciously sighed with praise. Lady Nan Xun has quite expensive tastes.

    After all, they came from the best ns in the Zhou Dynasty, so they had rather rich tastes. They could immediately distinguish between fake and real ss. Nan Xun seemed less like a courtesan from a brothel than a concubine in the imperial pce! A strange expression appeared in both of their gazes when that thought emerged. Their desire grew stronger and stronger.

    The maid said with a smile, ¡°Young masters, please take your seats first. Mydy wille out once she changes her outfit.¡±

    There was a small table at the center, with some fine dishes that had been prepared in advance. However, the two definitely hadn¡¯te all the way here to drink and eat. Furthermore, with their status, they were also worried that someone might have messed with the food.

    Zu An was the only one without such misgivings. He sat downfortably and picked up a pair of chopsticks,menting on which dishes were good and which dishes were bad as he went through them.

    Is he not scared of being poisoned? Bi Ziang was surprised. He naturally didn¡¯t know that Zu An had poison immunity, but he also admired this fellow¡¯s boldness. He felt even he wascking a bit in that aspectpared to Zu An.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Just a nobody without any ss. Yu Nan sneered inwardly. Lady Nan Xun might just be observing them right now. Zu An¡¯s behavior would definitely do a number on his image.

    A whileter, Zu An couldn''t help but grumble, ¡°Why does it take that long to change clothes?¡± He cursed inwardly. Don¡¯t tell me Lady Nan Xun wille out in a see-through dress?

    ¡°I¡¯ve made the young masters wait.¡± Apanied by the light clinking of numerous waist decorations, Lady Nan Xun slowly walked out.

    The men¡¯s eyes lit up. She was no longer dressed in the gorgeous, glistening dress she had worn outside, and had instead chosen a simple yet elegant indoor dress. She didn¡¯t carry any of a prostitute¡¯s frivolousness, but rather gave off a distinguished and noble aura.

    ¡°Lady Nan Xun is too hard on herself. Observing your room¡¯s decorations was interesting in itself, and time quickly passed. It wasn¡¯t a difficult wait at all,¡± Yu Nan said calmly, trying to redeem some of the poor impressions Nan Xun might have had about him from before. At the same time, there was a clear unspoken implication that he was different from a boorish man like Zu An.

    Zu An wasn¡¯t someone who would let such a thing slide. Heughed and retorted, ¡°Why are you so interested in theyout of a girl¡¯s personal room? It makes you look like an inexperienced fool.¡±

    ¡°I¡­ You¡¯re talking nonsense!¡± Yu Nan¡¯s face immediately reddened. He hadn¡¯t expected Zu An¡¯s retaliation to be so fierce and ruthless, immediately making him out to be a pervert.

    You have sessfully trolled Yu Nan for +666 Rage points!

    A big smile emerged on Bi Ziang¡¯s face. At the same time, he thanked the heavens that he hadn¡¯t spoken first. He had actually wanted to say something simr to Yu Nan, and if he had, he would have been the onebeled a pervert.

    Nan Xun quickly spoke up to help resolve the dispute. ¡°It is all my fault for taking too long to change my clothes. Everyone, please be seated. I will drink three sses as an apology.¡± Then, she sat down by Zu An¡¯s side. When Bi Ziang saw that, he immediately sat down on her other side.

    Yu Nan was stunned. Lady Nan Xun¡¯s left and right were already taken, so only one spot was left for him. You bastards!

    Zu An didn¡¯t feel like paying him any attention and instead looked at Nan Xun with a curious expression. The veil continued to hide her face. Is that because she¡¯s scared that Yu Nan and Bi Ziang might recognize her as King Qi¡¯s concubine?

    However, based on his investigation, he knew that King Qi¡¯s concubine rarely appeared in public. Almost no one had seen her real appearance before. The one who had received guests was always King Qi¡¯s main wife. The concubine didn¡¯t even have the qualifications to make an appearance.

    Wait, even if they never saw her before, they¡¯re in close contact with King Qi. It would still be safer to wear a mask.

    Now that they were so close to each other, Zu An had to admit that she was an incredible beauty. Her long and fair neck, her thin and slim waist, her voluptuous curves¡­ Bigger is justice!

    Lady Nan Xun said with a smile, ¡°Even though my humble self only has a background from the pleasure quarters, I am still ady. Being stared at by young masters like this still makes me feel a bit embarrassed¡­¡±

    Bi Ziang said with augh, ¡°Ah Zu, you¡¯ve been rude to the beauty. How about you drink a ss as punishment?¡±

    He was worried that it might be awkward if he called Zu An by his full name, so he used the more intimate address. He had already heard the Qin n brothers call him that, and he believed they had a certain rtionship because of his younger sister. As such, he used the nickname to pull their rtionship closer.

    Sure enough, Zu An didn¡¯tsh out the way he had with Yu Nan and instead said with a smile, ¡°Young master Bi is right. I¡¯ll drink a ss then.¡±

    Bi Ziang sighed in relief inwardly. He¡¯s my little sister¡¯s loyal dog after all. I guess I don¡¯t have to worry.

    However, Zu An thought, I have to give this rtive some respect here, right? Otherwise, Linglong might start throwing a tantrum¡­ I¡¯ll be getting myself into a huge mess otherwise¡­

    Yu Nan frowned. It¡¯ll be bad for me if these two team up here.

    Bi Ziang asked, ¡°Lady Nan Xun, we aren¡¯t just going to be drinking here, right?¡±

 Chapter 926, Part 2: Bag of Evil

    <h4>Chapter 926, Part 2: Bag of Evil</h4>

    As Zu An had shown him some courtesy, Bi Ziang became more and more confident. He gradually began to take control of the situation. This time, even Yu Nan¡¯s ears pricked up. They all knew that there was another round of selections, but they didn¡¯t know what was going to be evaluated.

    Lady Nan Xun pped her hands. Two maids came out, each with a tray in hand. She removed arge crystal ball-like object from one of the trays and ced it on the table. Then she said, ¡°Just drinking wouldn¡¯t be much fun, so how about we y a game? This game¡¯s name is ¡®truth or dare¡¯.¡±

    Zu An had a strange look as he remarked, ¡°Every other variable changed, but this remains a constant?¡±

    Nan Xun waspletely confused. The other two individuals also looked at him in confusion. ¡°What is young master Zu talking about?¡± Nan Xun asked, puzzled.

    ¡°Nothing.¡± Zu An chuckled. He almost thought he had somehow managed to cross spacetime to return to his hometown, so he had just thrown that out there to get a reaction. Unfortunately, he got all excited for nothing.

    Nan Xun then exined, ¡°For women like us who have had to experience the harsher sides of life, the rarest thing to find is a sincere heart. That is why I hope I can find someone sincere through this game¡­¡±

    Then, she exined the game¡¯s rules. It was pretty much the same as truth or dare in Zu An¡¯s original world. She pointed at a chest that had been brought over by a maid and said, ¡°Young masters, please take a slip of paper from this chest. There are all kinds of questions written on the slips of paper.¡±

    Then, she pointed at the crystal ball on the table. ¡°This is a magical artifact we purchased from the Royal Academy for a high price. Please ce your hand on the ball when you reply. If you tell a lie, it will shine with red light. If that happens, please drink three sses as punishment.¡±

    Zu An knew that there was something sketchy about her true identity. His first reaction when he heard about the game was that she was taking the chance to get information.

    Sure enough, Yu Nan and Bi Ziang both frowned. Their identities were sensitive, so they subconsciously felt some rejection toward such a game.

    Perhaps Nan Xun sensed their misgivings, as she said with a smile, ¡°Please do not feel too worried. If there are any questions you do not wish to answer, you can just choose to skip them. You can drink, or you can do a dare. As for what the dare is, we will have the one who goes before you decide.

    Yu Nan and Bi Ziang both sighed in relief. They said with a smile, ¡°This game seems quite interesting.¡±

    They both took the chance to shower Nan Xun in praise. Zu An had an ambiguous smile, however. These two probably had no idea what was waiting for them with this game. When Zu An saw that Yu Nan was going after him based on their order, a warm and friendly smile appeared on his face.

    Then, the game quickly began. Bi Ziang was the first to choose a slip. He had always been someone who preferred to be number one in everything to begin with.

    ¡®What are the three things you are most scared of?¡¯

    Bi Ziangughed out loud when he read the slip. He ced his hand on the crystal ball and said, ¡°I have never feared anything.¡±

    The others¡¯ eyes shifted toward the crystal ball, as an rming red light appeared in it.

    Bi Ziang¡¯s expression changed. Don¡¯t tell me there really is something I¡¯m scared of that I¡¯m not even aware of?

    Nan Xun said with a smile, ¡°Young master Bi, you need to drink as punishment.¡± She personally poured out three cups for him.

    ¡°I guess I do need this punishment.¡± Bi Ziangughed. With his nature, he wouldn¡¯t act shamelessly and refuse to acknowledge his failure. He picked up the first ss and drained it in one gulp.

    However, he coughed intensely, his entire face turning red. He looked at the wine ss in shock, eximing, ¡°What kind of alcohol is this?¡±

    Nan Xun said with a smile, ¡°This alcohol is a bit stronger than normal alcohol.¡±

    Meanwhile, Yu Nan said with a big smile, ¡°Brother Bi usually holds your alcohol well, but it seems you¡¯re having some trouble with three cups today?¡±

    ¡°Brother Yu must be joking.¡± Bi Ziang was angry inside, but he didn¡¯t let it show on the surface. He picked up the other two cups and finished each of them in one gulp too. He immediately transferred his ki to get rid of the churning feeling inside his stomach.

    He finally realized that the game might not be so easy. If he continued to drink this kind of alcohol, he really would get drunk quickly. And in order to drink less, he had to speak the truth. He suddenly thought of something, and decided not to tell the other two the true strength of the drink. He wanted to see them suffer too.

    He took a moment to calm down, then gave the courtesan a look. ¡°Lady Nan Xun, how about you join us too? Otherwise, it¡¯s a bit too dull for just men to be ying this together.¡±

    The three men present reached a rare agreement upon hearing Bi Ziang¡¯s suggestion.

    Nan Xun didn¡¯t refuse the suggestion. She took out a slip of paper from the trunk as well.

    ¡®Do you have a hidden premonition regarding how you might die in the future?¡¯

    Her expression changed when she saw the question.

    Yu Nan and Bi Ziang smiled and asked, ¡°Why did Lady Nan Xun prepare a question like this?¡± Only Zu An had an inkling toward the real reason, however.

    Nan Xun quickly sorted out her thoughts and ced her fair hand on the crystal ball, saying, ¡°I have a feeling that I will be killed by a heartless man.¡± The crystal ball didn¡¯t show any reaction during the entire process. That meant what she said was the truth.

    Why does she have such a weird premonition? Bi Ziang and Yu Nan both frowned. The atmosphere had suddenly be a bit serious.

    Nan Xun looked toward Zu An, who was next to her. ¡°Young master Zu, it is your turn now.¡±

    Sure enough, Bi Ziang and Yu Nan¡¯s attention was diverted. They both looked at Zu An to see how he was going to deal with the situation.

    Zu An reached into the chest, not worried at all. He pulled out a strip of paper.

    ¡®How would you describe yourself if you had to use three words?¡¯

    ¡°Tall, rich, and handsome!¡± he blurted out without even thinking. The word limit was too low. If he could use five words, he would have used an idiom that also talked about his gentleness and how he had the stamina of a donkey.

    Bi Ziang and Yu Nan almost burst outughing. Even though it was the first time they had heard of the phrase, they were smart people and picked up on the meaning. Even someone like you dares to im to be such a Mr. Perfect in front of us?

    The two of them looked at the crystal ball with mocking expressions on their faces, ready to see red light. But in the end, the ball didn¡¯t react at all. That meant what Zu An said was the truth! The two of them began to question life. Is this crystal ball broken?

    It was Yu Nan¡¯s turn next. He figured that the two people before him hadn¡¯t gotten hard questions, so he pulled out a paper slip in a rxed manner.

    ¡®What kinds of ¡®unique¡¯ addictions do you have in your day-to-day life?¡¯

    He almost cursed out loud when he saw the question. Why are everyone else¡¯s questions so easy, but mine is so hard?

    Bi Ziang and Zu An were having a great time watching him suffer. You pulled that prompt, so the fault ispletely yours.

    Yu Nan thought for a bit, then said, ¡°I¡¯ll drink.¡± How could he tell them something so humiliating? Rather thaning up with something and still having to drink anyway, he might as well just drink now.

    Nan Xun poured three cups for him with a smile. Yu Nan picked up the first cup and drained it in one gulp. Then, his eyes widened. With a ¡®Pu!¡¯, he sprayed the alcohol all over the ground, eximing, ¡°What kind of alcohol is this? Why is it so strong?!¡±

    Nan Xun replied, ¡°This is a famous wine that was brought back from the northern fiend races. It is called Heaven¡¯s Burn. It is known for its strength.¡±

    Bi Ziangughed out loud. ¡°Young master Yu must be feeling weaktely! You couldn''t even drink such a small cup?¡± Yu Nan had just mocked him moments before, so he could now return the favor several times over.

    Yu Nan shot him a look. He suddenly knew why the other party hadn¡¯t said anything on purpose. Bi Ziang had been waiting to see him make a fool of himself! He forced himself to endure the awful feeling, and drank all three cups. A me burned fiercely inside him, and his mouth felt as if he could breathe fire.

    Afterward, it was Bi Ziang¡¯s turn to pull a paper slip again.

    ¡®If there were a crystal ball that could tell you everything about yourself, life, or the future, what would you want to know?¡¯

    He thought for a bit and said, ¡°Whether immortality really exists.¡±

    The others were quiet when they heard his answer. Even after all these years, there were still so many incredible geniuses who had sought after immortality, yet none of them had ever seeded.

    Nan Xun pulled another slip.

    ¡®Do you have a sweetheart? Who is it?¡¯

    It was now Bi Ziang and Yu Nan¡¯s turn to be interested. Only Zu An seemed to have already realized something.

    ¡°I still do not have one,¡± Nan Xun answered with a smile.

    The two young masters signed in relief when they saw no response from the crystal ball. She still doesn¡¯t have anyone, so our performance from now on is going to be extremely important.

    Zu An picked another question.

    ¡®What is your most memorable experience?¡¯

    He thought for a bit and answered, ¡°The dungeon trip.¡±

    The others subconsciously thought of his answer as being about his experience in the academy¡¯s dungeon. Bi Ziang frowned. Why does he treasure that so much? Don¡¯t tell me that something happened between him and my little sister?

    But he immediately rejected this thought as soon as it appeared. Who was his little sister? Furthermore, she had always been a proud and arrogant person. How could she possibly like someone like Zu An?

    Yu Nan took the chance to ask, ¡°May I ask what kind of wonderful experience you went through inside for you to cherish it so much?¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An smiled and refused toment, saying, ¡°Young master Yu, that¡¯s another question.¡±

    Yu Nan harrumphed when he saw he wouldn¡¯t get an answer. He chose his own question.

    ¡®What is your worst memory?¡¯

    Yu Nan didn¡¯t hesitate to say, ¡°What happened here earlier.¡±

    The others knew that he was talking about what had happened outside. They couldn''t help but smile. Zu An was smiling even more happily than the rest. You¡¯re still too young! Don¡¯t worry, this worst memory will soon be reced.

    With the brief interlude, the mood became more exciting again.

    After a few more rounds, Zu An suggested, ¡°These topics are too vague. How about we stop picking strips and instead ask each other questions?¡±

    Nan Xun¡¯s eyes lit up. She was the first one to agree. ¡°That sounds like a great idea. It will definitely be interesting.¡± She had wanted to take the chance to find out some secrets about the three men. The new version of the game would definitely be even better.

    Bi Ziang and Yu Nan hesitated. If they had started with that, they definitely wouldn¡¯t have agreed. But now that they were a bit tipsy and the atmosphere was intense, neither one of them wanted to look bad in front of their Lady Nan Xun, so they tacitly agreed.

    The mysterious woman, who had been listening in on everything from next door, grinned and remarked, ¡°That guy is probably plotting something, but I want to see what he ns to do too.¡±

 Chapter 927, Part 1: Winner Takes All

    <h4>Chapter 927, Part 1: Winner Takes All</h4>

    This time, Yu Nan was the first one to ask a question. He looked at Bi Ziang and asked after a brief pause, ¡°What is Ziang¡¯s cultivation rank now?¡±

    Bi Ziang had all kinds of dazzling stories surrounding him. After a certain point, no one actually knew what his true cultivation was.

    As someone from the other faction, Yu Nan naturally wanted to take the chance to scout out more information. Even Lady Nan Xun¡¯s eyes lit up. She was also curious about that. Only Zu An alone didn¡¯t really care. Bi Ziang¡¯s cultivation level didn¡¯t matter, since it wouldn¡¯t be higher than his own.

    Bi Ziang¡¯s eyes narrowed. He said with a smile, ¡°Why doesn¡¯t Brother Yu visit me and test it out another day?¡± He clearly didn¡¯t intend to reveal his own trump cards yet.

    Naturally, Yu Nan wasn¡¯t happy with the reply and immediately urged him to drink. Bi Ziang knew that his answer wasckluster, so he didn¡¯t refuse and drank. After he finished the three cups, his fairplexion became somewhat rosier. The alcohol was so strong that even though their cultivation ranks weren¡¯t low, the participants were starting to break down.

    It was Bi Ziang¡¯s turn to ask a question. He looked at the beautiful courtesan while feeling tipsy, saying, ¡°Lady Nan Xun, it¡¯s my turn now¡­¡±

    Nan Xun smiled and said, ¡°Please ask, young master Bi. I will speak without holding anything back.¡±

    Bi Ziang¡¯s haze swept over her body and he asked, ¡°Which part of your body is Lady Nan Xun most satisfied with?¡±

    The mood was getting more and more intense. Between that and the alcohol, his question had also be more aggressive.

    Of course, if the other party had been a girl from a distinguished house, he would never ask such a question. But Nan Xun was a prostitute, so not only was the question not going too far, it would even stir her up a bit. After all, the way he usually carried himself made him a bit aloof and remote, so she might otherwise consider him unapproachable.

    The other men also started to check out Nan Xun¡¯s curves and came up with their own answers.

    Ass!

    Big chests are justice!n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    A light blush appeared on Nan Xun¡¯s face. After thinking for a moment, she said, ¡°It is probably my disposition.¡±

    This answer was clearly not what the men wanted to hear. They immediately voiced theirints.

    But Zu An sighed inwardly. These courtesans were good at singing and dancing, so such an answer waspletely suitable. However, his true feelings were beside the point; he still had to urge her to drink. He wanted to see if the alcohol would make Nan Xun identally reveal any openings.

    After having downed three cups of alcohol, a blush emerged on Nan Xun¡¯s face, making her look even more tender and beautiful. It became Zu An¡¯s turn to be confused. Were his suspicions wrong?

    Nan Xun looked at Zu An with a pensive expression and said, ¡°Young master Zu, it¡¯s my turn to ask you a question now.¡± Hmph, you were the one who urged me to drink the most! The tide has now turned.

    ¡°Please ask away, mydy.¡± Zu An didn¡¯t seem worried at all. He was probably the one who had yed the game the most out of all of them. He refused to believe that with the imagination of the people in this world, they could possibly ask him anything too difficult.

    Nan Xun stared at him with her beautiful eyes and asked, ¡°When was thest time youst kissed a girl, and who did you kiss?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed. I shouldn¡¯t be setting damn gs for myself! He calmly picked up his cup and said, ¡°I¡¯ll drink.¡±

    He finished the three cups one after another. He finally knew why Bi Ziang and Yu Nan had reacted the way they did. This alcohol was indeed strong, stronger than any vodka he had ever drunk in his previous world. It was like pouring straight alcohol down his throat!

    There were too many cultivators in this world, and their constitutions were better than those of ordinary people. The alcohol they brewed would thus naturally be different from his previous world too. This was a drink catered to cultivators.

    The others were confused. This wasn¡¯t a hard question to answer, so why had he refused? After all, it was natural for men in this world to have three wives and four concubines. No one would think of one as trash just for having kissed a girl, and people would instead think of one a charming person.

    The only reason he would choose to drink would be because he couldn''t reveal that woman¡¯s identity. As such, the others began to guess who that woman could possibly be.

    Bi Ziang frowned. It¡¯s not my little sister, is it? But he immediately shook his head and threw away that absurd thought.

    Zu An looked at Yu Nan and said with a chuckle, ¡°You seemed to be smiling a bit too happily just a moment ago¡­¡±

    Yu Nan¡¯s expression changed. ¡°Am I not allowed to smile? I¡¯m only following the rules of the game. You also¡­¡±

    Zu An cut him off. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll y the game by its rules too. For example, it¡¯s now my turn to ask you something¡­¡± He deliberately dragged out his words, his eyes roaming across Yu Nan¡¯s body. Yu Nan was absolutely horrified. He felt as if he were lying on a chopping board, about to be killed.

    ¡°Do you have any birthmarks? If so, where are they, and what kind of shape are they?¡± Zu An asked.

    Yu Nan¡¯s expression immediately changed. He did have a birthmark, but for someone of high status like him, that was something personal and an absolute secret. He couldn''t let anyone know so they could pretend to be him. Even if no one tried to impersonate him, letting someone else know about it was embarrassing on its own.

    Out of helplessness, he could only drink. Three cups of Heaven¡¯s Burn went into his stomach. He felt his line of sight blur. The alcohol was just way too strong.

    Damn you, Zu An! I¡¯m way too unlucky to be sitting right after him! Helpless to do anything about it, he could only direct his anger toward Bi Ziang, asking, ¡°What¡¯s the most embarrassing thing you¡¯ve done in your life?¡±

    Bi Ziang¡¯s expression changed as well. For people like him who cared a lot about their reputation, how could they tell such things to other people? Let alone the fact that after all these years, he had finally created such an amazing story for himself. He couldn''t just let all of that fall apart because of something like this! He could only drink out of helplessness.

    The questions unceasingly rose in intensity, crossing more and more boundaries. The participants also drank more and more.

    They already had to use their cultivations to suppress the alcohol. Unfortunately, the alcohol of this world was made through a special method and was even effective against cultivators. Even though they could suppress a portion of the effects, if they passed the threshold, they would still copse.

    After a few more rounds, it was once again Zu An¡¯s turn.

    Yu Nan¡¯s expression changed when he saw Zu An¡¯s malicious expression. He knew that Zu An was going to ask a question he couldn''t answer at all. But he had already drunk too much. If he drank any more, he might just vomit on the spot! As a handsome young master who had always paid close attention to his image, how could he allow such a thing to happen?

    He suddenly thought of something and said, ¡°Right, I remember that this game is called truth or dare! I won¡¯t choose truth, but rather dare.¡±

    Zu An almost burst outughing. You finally took the bait! He had been trying to lead Yu Nan in that direction, but if he said it out loud, Yu Nan would have been on guard and wouldn¡¯t agree. But it would bepletely different if he chose a dare of his own ord!

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°Since young master Yu has chosen a dare, what if I say something and you refuse to do it?¡±

    Even though Yu Nan knew that Zu An was inciting him, how could he just back down when Nan Xun and Bi Ziang were right there? He said, ¡°Hmph, you can go outside and ask anyone about this. I, Yu Nan, have always been a man of my word.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good then.¡± Zu An gave him a look. ¡°The dare I¡¯m giving you is ¡®go home right now¡¯.¡±

    Yu Nan was speechless. Bi Ziang was stunned for a few seconds, but then he couldn''t help but roar withughter. ¡°Incredible! Absolutely brilliant!¡± Nan Xun couldn''t help but smile as well.

    ¡°You¡¯re going too far!¡± Yu Nan eximed.

    You have sessfully trolled Yu Nan for +333 +333 +333¡­

    The dare seemed easy, but it was extremely humiliating.

    Put another way, the other party was willing to even give up on a chance to make things difficult for one person just to make them go home. Wouldn¡¯t that mean one waspletely unwee? Or that others merely considered one an extra?

    The mysterious woman who had been listening in alsoughed out loud. If not for the special formation set up, she might have exposed her existence right there and then. But she really couldn''t hold it in! That Zu An was just way too treacherous¡­ She could imagine just how furious Yu Nan was.

 Chapter 927, Part 2: Winner Takes All

    <h4>Chapter 927, Part 2: Winner Takes All</h4>

    Nan Xun quickly interfered to resolve the dispute when she saw that a fight was about to break out. She said, ¡°Young master Zu, this request is rather difficult. How about we change it to something else?¡±

    Zu An looked troubled and replied, ¡°But what if we change it, but young master Yu still refuses to do it out of a bad mood?¡±

    Yu Nan harrumphed. ¡°Do you take me for a three-year-old child? I¡¯ll do it as long as it¡¯s not an unreasonable request!¡±

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°But that¡¯s what you just said earlier.¡±

    Yu Nan choked. ¡°You merely said what you said to try and eliminate me. That¡¯s not something a noble man would do. Of course I wouldn¡¯t choose to agree.¡±

    If he really left and went home, that would spell the end of thispetition over Nan Xun for him. Obtaining the courtesan was already secondary. Now, the most important thing was winning. If he could bring the beauty back, he would recover all the dignity he had lost because of Zu An. The only thing others would say about the event would be good things about him. If he lost, especially to Zu An and Bi Ziang, his reputation would be utterly crushed.

    ¡°Fine, then as a favor to Lady Nan Xun, I¡¯ll change the dare. But this time, I have nothing left to say if you still refuse to do it,¡± Zu An said while asking Nan Xun to fetch a paper and pen. Nan Xun thought that he was going to write another poem. Her eyes lit up and she quickly brought them over.

    Zu An wrote something on the paper with long strokes as Nan Xun watched from the side. She couldn''t help but sigh, thinking that even though he was good at writing poems, his handwriting wasn¡¯t anything special. But as she saw what he was writing, her expression grew stranger and stranger. It was as if she were doing her best to hold herself back.

    Yu Nan and Bi Ziang were both curious as to what Zu An had written. However, they both had sensitive statuses, so they couldn''t move over like Nan Xun. They both pretended to be calm.

    ¡°Alright. Young master Yu, please follow these instructions.¡± Zu An handed the paper over once he finished writing.

    Yu Nan pretended to receive it calmly, but once he got it, he impatiently looked at the contents. His entire body began to shake. ¡°You¡­ You¡­¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Yu Nan for +666 +666 +666¡­

    The instructions were for him to sit on Bi Xiang¡¯sp, and then say the following words:

    ¡°Hmph! It¡¯s all your fault! You don¡¯t care about me (??¡¦?¡¦??), I¡¯m really going to cry, you know? I¡¯m going to hit you, you bad guy!!! (£þ^£þ)©gHmph! QAQ, I¡¯m hitting your chest, take that! You¡¯re so annoying (=?w?)? I want a hug~~~¡­ I¡¯m going to hit you with my little fists!!!(?? ¦ä???) I hate you, I¡¯m going to hit you to death(¤Ä§Õ?)!¡±

    Bi Ziang moved over out of curiosity. Yu Nan¡¯s expression changed and he quickly crumpled up the paper. Wouldn¡¯t he die from embarrassment if Bi Ziang saw it?

    Zu An remarked with an ambiguous smile, ¡°Didn¡¯t young master Yu make a solemn vow that you would definitely do it if you could? What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Yu Nan¡¯s expression changed several times. ¡°How can I do something as absurd as this?!¡±

    Zu An¡¯s smile faded as he said, ¡°I¡¯m quite speechless. Would it still be called a dare if it were easy? We might as well just y house then. If young master Yu doesn¡¯t want to participate, you can choose not to.¡±

    Bi Ziang didn¡¯t know what was going on, so he also chimed in and said, ¡°You¡¯re right. Even though brother Yu is normally a nobleman, why do you keep embarrassing yourself today?¡±

    Yu Nan was so angry he almost erupted into curses. Why the hell are you helping him? You¡¯d want to kill him too if you saw that he wanted me to sit on yourp! He shuddered when he imagined that nauseating scene.

    ¡°I¡¯ll drink!¡± Yu Nan¡¯s face was overcast. Even though he was about to pass out, he still chose to drink in the end. He felt his stomach churning after three more cups went down. He felt as if he were going to throw up at any time.

    The game continued. After the previous lesson, no one chose a dare again.

    After a few more rounds, however, Yu Nan finally couldn''t take it anymore. He had no choice but to choose a dare again.

    Zu An picked up the crumpled paper that had been thrown aside with a big smile. It was the same prompt.

    Yu Nan would definitely have refused if it had been earlier, but he really couldn''t keep drinking now. Furthermore, the alcohol was messing with his mind. He was so drunk that he didn¡¯t have much rationality left. Bi Ziang was kicking him while he was down too, so he felt something surge within him. As such, he went for broke.

    ¡°I¡¯ll just do it then! There is nothing that I, Yu Nan, don¡¯t dare to do!¡± As such, he stood up and sat down on Bi Ziang¡¯sp under his shocked gaze. He hit his chest while saying, ¡°Hmph! It¡¯s all your fault! You don¡¯t care about me (??¡¦?¡¦??), I¡¯m really going to cry, you know? I¡¯m going to hit you, you bad guy!!! (£þ^£þ)©gHmph! QAQ, I¡¯m hitting your chest, take that! You¡¯re so annoying (=?w?)? I want a hug~~~¡­ I¡¯m going to hit you with my little fists!!!(?? ¦ä???) I hate you, I¡¯m going to hit you to death(¤Ä§Õ?)!¡±

    Zu An carefully put away the recording stone he had prepared beforehand. At the same time, he was actually impressed. Does this Yu Nan really have such an orientation? This kind of tantrum throwing ¡®aegyo¡¯ really was performed too well.

    Bi Ziang was stunned and speechless. How could he have expected such a thing to happen? It was to the extent that he didn¡¯t even react at first.

    Then, he finally realized what was going on and quickly pushed Yu Nan away. He wanted to curse the other party, but a wave of nausea filled him when he recalled how the two of them had been in each other¡¯s arms a moment ago. He crawled off to the side and began to retch. Yu Nan found it even harder to hold himself back when he saw that. He rushed off to the side and began to vomit too.

    With how close they were to each other, Bi Ziang could smell the vomit. He couldn''t hold himself back anymore and also threw up as the alcohol stirred inside of him.

    Even though the mysterious woman on the other side couldn''t smell anything, she subconsciously fanned herself with her hand. The maid next to her said, ¡°That Zu guy really is disgusting.¡±

    The mysterious woman was curious and amused. She had never expected two of the capital¡¯s most poprdykillers to be in such a sorry state today.

    ¡­

    Suddenly, there was arge ¡®thud¡¯. It turned out Yu Nan had drunk way too much. Due to how angry he was, there were too many emotions running through him. His body¡¯s defense mechanisms made him faint.

    Nan Xun quickly found some maids to bring Yu Nan away to get some rest. She also arranged for some women from the brothel to tend to him.

    No one had expected someone to wash out this way! And yet, Bi Ziang couldn''t bring himself to feel happy at all. His expression was extremely strange as he looked at Zu An. He actually now felt a bit of regret¡­ Now that Yu Nan had been eliminated, that meant he had to face Zu An alone! Who knew what kind of nefarious plots he would have to face?

    They couldn''t keep ying the game now that one person was missing. Nan Xun ordered some people to wrap up the feast and clean up the mess.

    If this had been Zu An¡¯s previous world, it would be really hard for them to clean things up quickly. However, this was a world of cultivators, some of whom had the wind and water elements.. Everything was quickly tidied up.

    Nan Xun said to Zu An and Bi Ziang, ¡°Thank you, young masters, for your great kindness. Normally with my status, I would not have the right to evaluate you, but one girl cannot have two husbands, so I have no choice. I ask for your understanding.¡±

    Bi Ziang said indifferently, ¡°It¡¯s no bother.¡±

    Zu An pointed toward the window and said with a smile, ¡°It would be best if we speed things up. Otherwise, if we use up this much time for each round, the sky will already brighten. Then, we won¡¯t have the time to do anything anymore.¡±

    Bi Ziang cursed Zu An inwardly for being vulgar, but he shared simr thoughts. Now that the selection process had gone on for so long, his patience was wearing thin too.

    Nan Xun blushed and said, ¡°It won¡¯t be long. There will be a result soon.¡± She pped her hands. A new maid came in with a flower basket. There were many beautiful flower petals in the basket.

    Nan Xun received the flower basket and said gently, ¡°In order to thank the two of you for your love, this humble one will dance for the two young masters. These flower petals will be scattered through the air during the process. Whomever states the correct amount of flower petals will win. If neither of you gets the answer correct, the one who is closest will win.

    ¡°Furthermore, in order to prevent the second person who speaks from using the first person¡¯s answer to their advantage, if the answer is the same, the one who said it first will win. Do the two young masters have any objections?¡±

    Bi Ziang said with a smile, ¡°Lady Nan Xun¡¯s test is truly elegant. I naturally have no objections.¡±

    He now knew that the first test was about background and wealth, the second was about literary skills, and the third was about cultivation, which was naturally the most important. That was something he had great confidence in.

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°I don¡¯t have any either.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good. Young masters, please get ready.¡± After speaking, Nan Xun began to dance while carrying the basket.

    They had witnessed her exceptional and stunning dancing before in the main hall. Now that they were watching her closely, they were able to appreciate her gentle and exquisite beauty even further. Her curves were elegant and lithe.

    But Bi Ziang wasn¡¯t in the mood to admire her body. Instead, he stared at the flower basket in her hands.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Sure enough, Nan Xun used a dance movement to raise the flower basket into the air. Flower petals rained down from above, bathing her figure within. She was as stunning and gorgeous as a flower goddess.

    Bi Ziang¡¯s eyes swirled with light. Then, he was the first to give an answer. ¡°There are a total of 2047 petals!¡±

    He didn¡¯t even seek confirmation from Nan Xun and instead looked at Zu An confidently. ¡°Brother Zu, I must apologize. The World Creation Sword stresses thepetence of sight. One of its training exercises is to prate all of the descending petals with a single sword thrust. I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ve had an unfair advantage in this bout.¡±

    There was nothing wrong with his attitude, and he instead seemed even more refined and courteous, as expected of the young master of one of the capital¡¯s greatest ns. But the fact that he hadn¡¯t said that before the bout and instead waited until afterward made him seem a bit insincere.

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°But my answer is different from yours. There are a total of 2048 petals.¡±

    Nan Xun nodded. ¡°Indeed. The correct answer is 2048 petals.¡±

    Bi Ziang¡¯s smile immediately froze. He cried out, ¡°That¡¯s impossible! There¡¯s no way I counted incorrectly!¡± He had absolute confidence in his own sight. He had counted all the petals thatnded on the ground!

    Zu An walked over to Nan Xun¡¯s side and removed a flower petal from inside her beautiful hair, saying, ¡°There¡¯s one more over here. Lady Nan Xun asked us to count all of the flower petals, not the number of petals on the ground.¡±

    Nan Xun was stunned and said, ¡°That is indeed the case. I did my best to avoid the flower petals, but I did not expect one of the petals to havended on me.¡±

    Zu An smiled. He had actually used a strand of ki to send a petal into her hair. He had only done that just in case, but it had ended up being the deciding factor.

    Bi Ziang¡¯s expression changed. He hadn¡¯t expected to actually be defeated because of this!

 Chapter 928: The One Behind the Scenes

    <h4>Chapter 928: The One Behind the Scenes</h4>

    Bi Ziang¡¯s expression changed several times, but it quickly returned to normal. He said with a smile, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect brother Zu to have this kind of skill. I¡¯ll ept this loss.¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    But inside, he was upset. When had he ever failed to get something he wanted in his life? And yet today, he had actually ended up being defeated by this brat? He even began to wonder if Zu An never had the ability to count all of the petals, and thus hid one petal so he could add one on top of whatever answer he gave.

    After all, the cultivation needed to count all of those petals was definitely quite high. Even though Zu An had an outstanding reputation, in terms of cultivation, how could he possiblypare to someone like himself who had grown up in a distinguished n and was blessed with endless opportunities and resources?

    Even with all of that, he had to rely on his World Creation Sword to barely count the number of flower petals. What did Zu An have?

    You have sessfully trolled Bi Ziang for +745 +745 +745¡­

    But being upset was being upset; he didn¡¯t show it on the surface. Even Nan Xun was amazed at his courtesy, saying, ¡°Young master Bi truly is a nobleman. There is already a room prepared in the pleasure quarters for you. There are courtesans for the young master to choose from as well.¡±

    Zu An simply smiled without saying anything. Even though Bi Ziang looked calm on the surface, therge amounts of Rage pointsing in through the back end gave him away.

    Bi Ziang normally didn¡¯t care about other courtesans, but if he just stormed off in a huff, that would tarnish his reputation. As such, he smiled and said with a nod, ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to thank Lady Nan Xun for that.¡± He was brought away by a maid soon afterward.

    Nan Xun turned around and looked at Zu An, saying, ¡°Young master, my humble self is all yours tonight. I hope that you can treat me tenderly.¡±

    Zu An had to admit that these courtesans were too good at what they did. Speaking such gentle words with that aloof and cool elegance of hers was enough to make any man go crazy. Unfortunately, he already knew that there was something odd about her identity. He was just waiting to see what she was going to do.

    ¡°Ten minutes during a spring night is worth a thousand jin in gold. Let¡¯s not waste any time,¡± Zu An said as he pretended to move in to embrace her.

    ¡°Ten minutes during a spring night is worth a thousand jin in gold?¡± The mysterious woman next door mouthed the words. She had to recognize Zu An¡¯s literary talent. Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t use it for more honorable purposes and instead only used it for perverted intentions.

    Nan Xun turned around and avoided his hug. She said with a smile, ¡°Young master, please don¡¯t be in such a rush! I had a maid prepare some hot water. I¡¯ll help the young master bathe first.¡±

    Zu An waved his hands and said, ¡°There¡¯s no need. I took a shower before I came precisely to save time.¡±

    Nan Xun¡¯s smile froze on her face. His reply left even her at a loss for what to do. There was nothing else she could do now that he had rejected the offer to take a bath. She pretended to lie down on the bed, then gave Zu An a weak and pitiful look. ¡°Young master, someone like me doesn¡¯t hope to be able to get married in this life, but I¡¯ve always admired the scene of when a newly wed bride has her veil undone by her husband. Today, this is my first night, so can the young master treat my mask as a veil and remove it for me?¡±

    The request waspletely reasonable. Together with her tender expression and sweet voice, no man could resist. Zu An was naturally no exception. He said, ¡°I¡¯ll be happy to,¡± before bending down and slowly removing her mask. Even though this wasn¡¯t the first time he had seen her face, he was still amazed. She really was an incredible beauty!

    Suddenly, Nan Xun¡¯s red lips parted and a st of white smoke came out and sprayed across Zu An¡¯s face. Zu An¡¯s entire body went rigid, and he fell over on his side on the bed.

    Nan Xun stood up from the bed. After sorting out her somewhat messy clothes, her usual aloof and cold expression returned. She harrumphed mockingly, ¡°Hmph, you foul man. You didn¡¯t expect this, did you?!¡±

    Zu An had always been on guard, so he naturally hadn¡¯t been poisoned. But he didn¡¯t know what the white smoke did, so he was unsure as to whether he should pretend to faint or if he should just pretend to bepletely powerless. When he heard that, he guessed it was probably thetter. He pretended to exim in rm, ¡°What¡¯s going on? Who are you?!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s my turn to ask the questions now. You have no right to ask me anything,¡± Nan Xun said as she looked down on him from above. ¡°You only have your bad luck to me. My original targets were Yu Nan and Bi Ziang, but you just had to join in.¡±

    Zu An quickly asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t they still here? You can still go after them right now!¡±

    ¡°Hmph, I almost thought that you were an outstanding hero from our previous interactions, but I didn¡¯t expect you to be such a craven coward,¡± Nan Xun said with disdain when she saw his reaction. ¡°I won¡¯t be able to visit the two of them tonight, but I have some questions for you to answer.¡±

    Nan Xun was extremely confident. It sounded as if she were doing this to break through Zu An¡¯s will as quickly as possible. She said, ¡°Don¡¯t try to resist it. The substance you just inhaled will make you answer all of my questions.¡±

    Zu An almostughed out loud. He had been wondering how he should pretend to be poisoned, but now, she had spilled all the beans without him doing a thing. As such, his expression ckened, and he began to mumble, ¡°What do you want to ask about?¡±

    ¡°How disappointing!¡± Nan Xun hadn¡¯t expected him to surrender so quickly. She thought to herself, This pervert¡¯s willpower was weak as expected. ¡°What happened when you entered the Royal Academy¡¯s secret dungeon that time?¡±

    Zu An shivered inwardly. Don¡¯t tell me she¡¯s actually someone from King Qi¡¯s side? Was her ¡®death¡¯ just an act she coordinated with King Qi? However, he didn¡¯t dare to show any carelessness. He gave a rough recount of what had happened in the dungeon.

    Nan Xun frowned. She was clearly dissatisfied with his answer and said, ¡°What I want to ask is what really happened, and not what the court told the world.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s really what happened! Don¡¯t tell me King Qi didn¡¯t tell you yet, miss concubine?¡± Zu An replied, suddenly smiling.

    Nan Xun was stunned, and her entire body trembled. She quickly flew backward. Unfortunately, she was too slow. With Zu An¡¯s current cultivation, how could she possibly escape?

    Zu An grabbed her shoulder in an instant. However, just as he was about to strike her major acupoint, he unexpectedly discovered that his hand passed straight through her body. It was almost as if this woman didn¡¯t have a tangible body.

    Nan Xun sneered and said, ¡°Hmph, it¡¯s still far too early for you to try to catch me.¡± Then, she slipped through the door crack. Soon, only the ends of her dress and her feet remained in the room.

    Someone else might have cried out in horror if they saw such a scene. But Zu An was already used to such things. He remarked with a chuckle, ¡°Aren¡¯t you just a ghost? It¡¯s not as if I haven¡¯t encountered any before.¡± He used his true primordial ki, then he reached out and grabbed her ankle. Even though Nan Xun¡¯s body was still incorporeal, he actually grabbed her.

    Nan Xun screamed as she was pulled right back. There was a pitch-ck scorch mark around her ankle, as if she had been burned. She was no longer as arrogant andcent as before. Instead, her eyes were filled with terror. She continued to cower toward the corner of the room, as if there were some terrifying aura around Zu An¡¯s body and she wanted to stay as far away from him as possible.

    Zu An looked at her with an indifferent expression, saying, ¡°I¡¯m sure you also understand that I can turn you into nothing at any time. That¡¯s why now, I¡¯ll ask the questions, and you¡¯ll answer me!¡±

    Just then, the window mmed open. A figure rushed in and attacked Zu An.

    ¡°You¡¯ve finally appeared!¡± Zu An had been able to sense that there was someone secretly watching him even when he was still outside. In that instant, he was even able to keenly sense the killing intent she erupted into.

    He had known that with Nan Xun¡¯s current condition, there definitely had to be someone else controlling her. Now, that person finally showed themselves. He didn¡¯t show any signs of fear or happiness. With his current cultivation andbat experience, he didn¡¯t have to be scared of anyone apart from those old freaks.

    Zu An still had to capture them for interrogation, so there was no technique more suitable than the ¡®Feathersilk Entangling Art¡¯.

    As Zu An¡¯s cultivation climbed, his strength had also increased several fold. The neer wanted to escape with Nan Xun at first, but she discovered that Zu An¡¯s cultivation was even more profound than she had expected. She couldn''t avoid his palm strike. Even her own safety was hard to guarantee. She dodged from side to side, but on several asions, she was almost trapped in his arms.

    She panicked and shouted angrily, ¡°You scoundrel!¡±

 Chapter 929: Green Feather

    <h4>Chapter 929: Green Feather</h4>

    When he heard the other party¡¯s tender and delicate voice, sounding as if she were both pouting yfully and truly angry, Zu An was stunned. He had never heard a more beautiful voice in his entire life!

    It had already been quite some time since he arrived in this world. The girls he met were all incredibly pretty, and their voices were also pretty. But this woman¡¯s voice was melodious and moving. It was bright and beautiful like the song of an oriole! Just her voice alone made him feel as if his ears had just been massaged.

    Even though he knew that she was a woman from their exchange, he hadn¡¯t had the time to pay close attention to her appearance. Now that he looked at her, he saw that she had a tall and slender build. Her pretty face was snow-white, and her expression was as cold as snow. She stared back with clear eyes full of embarrassment and annoyance.

    Nan Xun was already an incredible beauty herself, but when they stood side by side, she waspletely overshadowed by this woman¡¯s beauty. It was a feeling that was hard to describe. Perhaps the neer just carried a kind of aura that made her stand out from everyone else.

    ¡°I¡¯m the scoundrel?¡± Zu An sneered. ¡°You came up with this honey trap to plot and harm others, but I¡¯m the scoundrel here?¡± He didn¡¯t stop attacking while speaking, and grabbed at her body. He wouldn¡¯t hold back just because she was a woman.

    The mysterious woman¡¯s expression changed. She quickly made a profound hand seal, and green light shed in front of her.

    Zu An sensed a dangerous energy, and quickly backed up to avoid the strange attack. He finally saw that the green light was actually a feather. It was green mixed with a little ck. It flickered with a jade-like radiance and was quite pretty.

    Zu An was speechless. What the hell is my luck with green? But this feather really is pretty.

    The mysterious woman tried to take Nan Xun with her after that strike. However, even though she had evaded Zu An, his ki still firmly locked onto the two of them. She knew that things weren¡¯t going to go as she wished, so she said, ¡°Young master Zu has misunderstood. We didn¡¯t have any intention of harming you.¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t have any intention to harm me?¡± Zu An sneered. ¡°Do you take me for a fool? If not because I was still on guard, I might¡¯ve already be a living corpse.¡±

    That mysterious woman said apologetically, ¡°Young master, please don¡¯t be upset. We were only trying to scout out some information. We didn¡¯t n to harm you. Once we asked you some questions, you would only treat it as a dream. We wouldn¡¯t have actually done anything to your body.¡±

    Zu Anughed. The only reason she was talking this way right now was because he had his cultivation. Forget about their vicious battle, just that final move of hers would have already ended his life if he hadn¡¯t been careful. There was no way she would have had the patience to talk to him otherwise.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Zu An asked as he looked at Nan Xun. ¡°Also, are you human or are you a ghost?¡±

    Nan Xun had a look of rm on her face. She instinctively looked toward the mysterious woman, who frowned and asked, ¡°You¡¯re able to see through her?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression turned cold. He said, ¡°I¡¯m asking the questions right now, and not the other way around.¡±

    The mysterious woman fell silent. A whileter, she said apologetically, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, our statuses are too sensitive, so we can¡¯t tell you.¡±

    ¡°Hah!¡± Zu Anughed out loud. He said, ¡°Sure, no problem. Right now, I¡¯m going to go tell King Qi that his little concubine was actually serving other men here in the brothel.¡±

    He had suspected that she was from King Qi¡¯s faction from the very start, but now that he had some time to think about it, even if King Qi wanted to do something, he wouldn¡¯t have sent his concubine all the way to a brothel. Was he really not scared at all that someone might make him wear a green hat?

    Furthermore, once news of such a thing got out, his reputation would be destroyed. With Zu An¡¯s understanding of King Qi, he knew there was no way thetter would take such a huge risk.

    The two women¡¯s expressions changed greatly when they heard him expose Nan Xun¡¯s identity. A sh of killing intent passed through the mysterious woman¡¯s eyes.

    Zu An keenly sensed it and sneered. ¡°What, you still want to kill me? Perhaps I should just detain you two and bring you to the Embroidered Envoy for interrogation.¡± He immediately used the Sunflower Phantasm and vanished, instantly reappearing behind the mysterious woman. His palm mped down on her shoulder.

    The mysterious woman was horrified. Her entire body twisted at an inconceivable angle and she forcibly pulled her arm back. Her clothes couldn''t bear the strong force and were torn apart with an audible rip, exposing her fair arm.

    You have sessfully trolled Kong Nanwu for +444 Rage points!

    There was strong killing intent in the mysterious woman¡¯s eyes. Sheshed out toward Zu An with her other hand that was holding the green feather.

    Green light filled Zu An¡¯s field of view. Countless pairs of eyes appeared in the light, seemingly staring at him. In that instant, he felt a wave of dizziness, seemingly losing his sight. There was only green left in his view, and nothing else.

    Even though he was startled, he didn¡¯t panic. He summoned Hundredwarble, and its cry tore through the air. The mysterious woman groaned, and Zu An¡¯s dizziness disappeared. Most of his sight returned. He didn¡¯t hesitate and grabbed the arm holding the feather. He could feel the threating from the green feather, so he decided to seize it first.

    The mysterious woman harrumphed. She snapped her fingers, and the feather turned into a streak of light. A split secondter, it reappeared behind Zu An¡¯s back.

    In that instant, the soft feather had turned into a sharp flying sword. But right before it was about to stab through Zu An¡¯s back, the mysterious woman showed a moment of hesitation. The feather then shifted three inches to the side, avoiding his vitals.

    Even so, if the attacknded, it would make Zu An lose his fighting strength for some time. But Zu An didn¡¯t avoid it at all. Instead, he reliedpletely on his body¡¯s toughness. The sharp flying sword only entered an inch into his body, and couldn''t prate any further.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The mysterious woman was horrified. Even though she had shown mercy, she knew just how terrifying her weapon was. Just how hard did this man¡¯s body have to be for it to have only made it that far in?

    But she didn¡¯t have the time to think about that right now, because she knew that she was in danger. She quickly retaliated, wishing to take the chance to break free, but Zu An¡¯s hands were like mps. He quickly jerked her arm behind her back, then put pressure on her neck with his other hand.

    In that instant, the woman felt goosebumps run through her entire body. She knew that she had been restrained. As soon as Zu An twisted his hand, then her life would be forfeit. In a moment of crisis, she quickly shouted out a word. ¡°Snow!¡±

    Sure enough, Zu An¡¯s hand froze when he heard that word, and he stopped.

    Just like that, the two of them were holding onto each other. The mysterious woman¡¯s breathing was rushed. Her chest rose and fell intensely. The experience had clearly scared her badly.

    ¡°Let my young miss go!¡± A pretty maid bared her fangs at Zu An from the entrance, standing on all fours. Her sharp teeth told him that she wasn¡¯t human, and a patch of white fur gradually appeared around her ears and neck.

    Zu An¡¯s expression darkened and he eximed, ¡°Fiend race?¡±

    That mysterious woman took a deep breath and said, ¡°Huhu, don¡¯t expose yourself, or else we¡¯ll end up drawing the eyes of the capital¡¯s human experts.¡±

    ¡°But¡­¡± The maid looked at Zu An¡¯s hand on the mysterious woman¡¯s neck.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. He¡¯s little sister Snow¡¯s good friend. He won¡¯t harm me.¡± After her initial rm, the mysterious woman had already calmed down.

    ¡°Oh¡­¡± the maid named Huhu muttered. Then, she stood up, once more looking like a little servant girl. However, she still looked at Zu An with a rather unpleasant expression.

    ¡°Who is this Snow you speak of?¡± Zu An was actually half-convinced. However, for his own safety, he still had to ask for confirmation.

    The mysterious woman said calmly, ¡°There have always been rumors that human men are the most heartless and fickle. I didn¡¯t really believe those rumors, and yet I didn¡¯t expect to meet someone who had already forgotten their past lover so quickly. Snow, Snow, you really are foolish¡­¡±

    There weren¡¯t many people who knew about Zu An''s rtionship with Snow. Only those Snow had told herself would know about this. Zu An loosened his grip when he came to that conclusion. He asked coldly, ¡°Who are you all?¡±

 Chapter 930: Accomplice to the Tiger

    <h4>Chapter 930: Aplice to the Tiger</h4>

    The reason why Zu An let go of her so easily, apart from the fact that he trusted Snow, was that he also noticed that she had held back earlier. It was clear that she carried no malice toward him

    The maid quickly stood in front of the mysterious woman when she saw Zu An let go. She stared vigntly at Zu An while asking her, ¡°Miss, are you alright?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± The mysterious woman massaged her neck. It was obvious that the area was sore from being grabbed.

    Nan Xun also ran over to hide by her side. She looked at Zu An fearfully, still scared after what had just happened.

    The mysterious woman gently pushed the maid aside, then said while looking at Zu An¡¯s back, ¡°I¡¯ll help you treat that wound first.¡± She reached out her hand, and the flying sword-like feather turned into a streak of green light, returning to her hand. It transformed back into a soft feather.

    Zu An was surprised, saying, ¡°That thing of yours is pretty high level. It can change between soft and hard.¡±

    The mysterious woman said with a sigh, ¡°Your body is what¡¯s surprisingly hard.¡± She had thought that the sword could seriously injure him, but it had only prated a bit. Nan Xun couldn¡¯t help but let out augh, and her expression was extremely strange.

    The mysterious woman was stunned. Only then did she realize that there was another meaning to what she said. Her face heated up, and she quickly changed the topic. ¡°Nan Xun, help young master Zu wrap up his wound.¡± Thisss dares tough at me? You deserve to be punished, hmph.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Nan Xun looked conflicted. Her ankle had been burned badly when Zu An grabbed her. She subconsciously felt a little scared. But she couldn¡¯t go against her master¡¯s orders and could only bashfully move over to Zu An¡¯s side. However, the closer she got, the more she felt as if he burned like a sun. Being close to him felt extremely ufortable.

    The mysterious woman was slightly shocked and said, ¡°Young master¡¯s cultivation method is a bit special. You were actually able to restrain someone like Nan Xun.¡±

    Zu An stopped using the Primordial Origin Sutra. Nan Xun immediately felt the ufortable heat disappear. She sighed in relief, and began to help him with his wound.

    This level of injury wasn¡¯t a big deal for Zu An at all. With his body¡¯s strength and regeneration ability, he wouldpletely recover soon anyway. However, he didn¡¯t want to expose that in front of others.

    ¡°You still haven¡¯t answered my question,¡± he said.

    ¡°I¡¯m Kong Nanwu.¡± After some hesitation, the mysterious woman continued, ¡°I believe the young master has also guessed that I¡¯m also, using human terms, part of the fiend race.¡±

    Zu An wasn¡¯t surprised to hear that. He looked at the maid and asked, ¡°What species is she?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s a youngdy from the fox n.¡± Kong Nanwu stroked the maid¡¯s head in a doting manner. She was very satisfied with the loyalty the maid showed toward her master.

    Zu An was surprised. He hadn¡¯t expected this maid to be rted to Daji! He wondered how the maid would react if he let Daji out. He obviously wouldn¡¯t do something so rash, though. He looked at Kong Nanwu and asked, ¡°Is Miss Kong also from the fox n?¡±

    Kong Nanwu shook her head and said, ¡°No, I¡¯m from the feather n.¡±

    ¡°Feather n?¡± Zu An was feeling dizzy. She had brought up the fiend races and the fox n, and now she was saying she¡¯s from the feather n. He suddenly remembered her surname and realized something, eximing, ¡°So you were a peacock!¡±[1]

    Kong Nanwu was speechless. She took a deep breath and calmed herself down, eventually saying, ¡°Even though what you said was correct to a certain extent, it sounds strange for some reason.¡±

    Zu An chuckled awkwardly and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t mean any offense. How do you know Snow?¡± The two women¡¯s rtionship seemed to be pretty good.

    Kong Nanwu replied, ¡°We became close because we¡¯re all affiliated with the feather n.¡±

    Zu An felt a headache and asked, ¡°Just how do you guys divide up the ns? Why does it seem soplicated?¡±

    After a bit of hesitation, Kong Nanwu exined, ¡°This isn¡¯t a secret, so we can tell you. Your human race calls the feather n, beast n, demon n, sea n, dragon n, and others fiend races. Within our ssification, the fiend races are, in a stricter sense, only the feather n, beast n, and a few other simr ns. Calling the demon n, sea n, and dragon n fiend races isn¡¯t actually too suitable. Of course, the human race is so strong that we were forced to unite together. As such, it isn¡¯t too big of a problem to be called that.

    ¡°The feather n and beast ns also respectively branch out into many races¡­¡±

    Zu An nodded in understanding. The cat girl and rabbit girl were both from the beast n, but they were definitely separated into separate races under that bigger ssification.

    Kong Nanwu continued, ¡°The feather race has three great king races; the golden-winged peng, peacock, and elf races. Little sis Snow is from the elf race, which is how we knew each other.¡±

    Zu An eximed, ¡°A peacock! Then was that feather plucked from your tail?¡±

    No wonder it had made him so dizzy! When the green colors had unfolded, he felt as if he were being watched by countless pairs of eyes. Weren¡¯t those precisely a peacock¡¯s tail feathers? But didn¡¯t only male peacocks have pretty tail feathers? Was Kong Nanwu¡­ a guy?

    The little fox race maid red at Zu An and shouted angrily, ¡°Pervert!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Huhu for +215 +215 +215¡­

    Kong Nanwu said calmly, ¡°Please forgive me, young master, for not being able to answer such a personal question.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, Aren¡¯t you also implying some things with your response anyway¡­ But in order to prevent the mood from bing awkward, he changed the topic. ¡°Is Nan Xun also part of your fiend races? I didn¡¯t expect you all to be that amazing, that you could even send her into King Qi Manor as a concubine.¡±

    After all, King Qi was basically the human race¡¯s number two figure. Meanwhile, he had actually shared a bed with someone from the fiend race! Just how much intelligence had she been able to siphon?

    Nan Xun¡¯s expression changed. Zu An knew her real identity after all. However, Kong Nanwu shook her head and said, ¡°No, she isn¡¯t part of the fiend race. She¡¯s a human, but she now exists as a ghost.¡±

    ¡°A ghost?¡± Zu An frowned. He sized up Nan Xun, who was next to him. Powerful human cultivators could keep their souls alive for a period of time, but it wouldn¡¯t be for too long. If they didn¡¯t encounter any extraordinary opportunities, the soul would only be able to exist for a few hours at the shortest, and a few months at the longest. Then, thews of the world wouldpletely erase them.

    That was also why Zhao Han desired immortality so much. Otherwise, if his soul could continue existing forever, why would he be worried about such things at all?

    Even though Nan Xun had some cultivation, it clearly wasn¡¯t high. In theory, her soul should have scattered soon after her body perished, never mind showing herself in public and bing a courtesan.

    As if she saw through Zu An¡¯s puzzlement, Kong Nanwu exined, ¡°To be more precise, she¡¯s the ghost of someone devoured by a tiger. The tiger race has a secret method that can enthrall someone they devour or kill as a ghost, and use them as a servant. These special ghosts are different from normal souls. As long as they¡¯re supplied with energy from time to time, they can continue to exist in this world for a long time.¡±

    Zu An suddenly understood. This was where the idiom ¡®acting as an aplice to the tiger¡¯ came from. In his previous world, the idiom originated from a legend, but this was a world filled with all kinds of monstrous oddities. The idiom had actually be a reality!

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°I just happened to know that secret technique as well,¡± Kong Nanwu said. ¡°When I passed by King Qi Manor previously, I sensed the resentment inside. Her soul was wandering nearby and was about to scatter. I used the secret technique to refine her soul into a tiger-devoured ghost, which was how she was able to survive.¡±

    Nan Xun bowed toward her and said, ¡°Thank you, young miss, for saving me.¡±

    Zu An asked, ¡°Your name is a different one now, right?¡±

    Otherwise, if she used her real name, King Qi would have already known that she was here even if he didn¡¯te to the pleasure quarters.

    ¡°Indeed. In order topletely sever her rtionship with the past, her name was changed after she turned into a special soul,¡± Kong Nanwu replied.

    Zu An looked at Nan Xun and asked, ¡°You really were killed by King Qi?¡± Even though he had alreadye to that conclusion, he obviously had to confirm things with her.

    ¡°Indeed, I was killed by Zhao Jing.¡± Nan Xun¡¯s expression remained calm, as if she were talking about something that waspletely unrted to her.

    ¡°Why did he kill you?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°Because I was a spy nted at his side by his majesty,¡± Nan Xun replied.

    Zu An was stunned.

    . Peacock=Kongque ?

 Chapter 931: A Large Net in the Darkness

    <h4>Chapter 931: A Large Net in the Darkness</h4>

    Nan Xun said, ¡°I was his majesty¡¯s highest level spy. I was able to meet with Zhao Jing before, and he chose me to be his concubine. I was thus able to sessfully infiltrate King Qi Manor.

    ¡°Usually, as King Qi¡¯s concubine, I would secretly send back any information I obtained. Of course, it was to the extent that it would not expose my real identity. Everything was fine at first, that is until after your group came out of the dungeon.¡± She looked at Zu An with a conflicted expression.

    ¡°It was rted to us?¡± Zu An frowned. He had actually already connected a lot of the dots. No wonder Nan Xun had been able to transition from being King Qi¡¯s concubine to bing a courtesan so seamlessly! As a top-level spy, she was naturally skilled at using music and dance to seduce men.

    ¡°Indeed. Back then, the elements in the dungeon became chaotic, and something major seemingly happened. His majesty was fine in the beginning, but one day, he suddenly ordered me to find out if Zhao Jing was still in the manor, regardless of the price.¡± Nan Xun¡¯s voice carried great resentment. ¡°Zhao Jing was cultivating in seclusion, so he did not allow anyone to visit him. But for the sake of the mission, I could only take the risk. With Zhao Jing¡¯s shrewdness, how could I hide the truth from him? In the end, even though I was able to get the information out, I was also killed by Zhao Jing.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself that the reason why the emperor had been so panicked and even insisted on checking if King Qi was still in the manor was probably because he had sensed that his split soul had been eradicated. He probably suspected Zhao Jing to be the perpetrator in the dungeon.

    It wasn¡¯t too big of a deal if it had just been Zhao Jing who messed with the dungeon trip. But if the libationer had actually worked together with King Qi, then how could the emperor not feel rmed? He would obviously want more information so he could n ahead going forward.

    They¡¯re all a bunch of old foxes! Zu An sighed. The emperor hadn¡¯t even given him the slightest hint that the concubine was actually his spy when he put him in charge of the investigation! It was to the extent that the case itself wasn¡¯t even for the sake of bringing justice for Nan Xun, but rather just to distract King Qi and somehow deliver that fake manual.

    He couldn¡¯t help but give Nan Xun a look and said, ¡°I sympathize with your situation, but¡­ Did you really decide to defect to the fiend races just like that?¡±

    ¡°I apologize. Right now, the human race and the fiend races are enemies, after all.¡± It was Kong Nanwu who spoke up. She remained expressionless, however, and Zu An couldn¡¯t see what she was thinking about.

    Nan Xun said with a distressed smile, ¡°I went through cruel training to be a spy ever since I was little; when have I ever made a decision for myself? I already acknowledged my fate, thinking that if I could obtain some vital intelligence and bring down King Qi, that would be the purpose of this life of mine. However, I never expected his majesty to use me for such a trifling purpose, to the extent that he did not even care about my life at all! As a spy, I am not scared of self-sacrifice, but I cannot ept such a meaningless sacrifice. All those years of hard work, all those years of bitterness, they now seem like aplete joke.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, This is what happens when you¡¯re not on the same page¡­ After all, for the emperor back then, knowing whether King Qi was inside the dungeon was extremely important information. But as a ruler, there was no way he would tell his subordinates why he had done that. He couldn¡¯t really tell her the truth just then either, because it was rted to the emperor¡¯s split soul secret. He couldn¡¯t show even a bit of negligence.

    Nan Xun continued, ¡°After I was rescued by Miss Kong, my first thought was that I wanted to save my parents and siblings. For spies like us, our families are always used as hostages. But I never expected that by the time we hurried over, they would already be dead.

    ¡°Hah, I risked my life for that dog emperor, and I even sacrificed myself; and yet, not only did he not take good care of my family, he instead killed them all to silence them! I want revenge. So what if I defected to the fiend races?!¡±

    She had been killed by King Qi, so there was no way she would side with King Qi. The only ones who stood a chance against the emperor and King Qi at that moment were the fiend races. As if sensing her anger and resentment, chilly winds blew through the entire room. Even the candle mes began to flicker, as if they might go out at any time.

    Kong Nan frowned. She felt that Nan Xun had said too much. After all, Zu An was a court official, soining and cursing the emperor wouldn¡¯t lead to any good results.

    Sure enough, Zu An¡¯s brows furrowed. He said, ¡°You¡¯re cursing his majesty in front of my face. Are you treating me as empty air?!¡±

    He had actually felt amazing when he heard her curse the emperor and almost blurted out his approval. But unfortunately, he didn¡¯t know where these individuals stood yet. He couldn¡¯t reveal what he really thought.

    The girl named Huhu immediately eximed angrily, ¡°You humans are all bad after all! All of you have hearts of stone¡­¡±

    ¡°Silence!¡± Kong Nanwu barked sharply. Then, she gave Zu An an apologetic look. ¡°I apologize, young master Zu. Nan Xun spoke some disrespectful words because her family was killed, and she lost her own life as well. I hope the young master won¡¯t take those words to heart.¡±

    Nan Xun also felt some regret. If this man reported what she said to the emperor, forget about her disappearing from this world, not even Kong Nanwu and the others would be able to escape. This was the capital, after all.

    Zu An sighed. ¡°Lady Nan Xun has toiled for another, but received nothing in return. Out of consideration for her experience, it¡¯s hard for me to speak any words of criticism. I¡¯ll just pretend that I heard nothing out of favor for Snow. However, there won¡¯t be a second time.¡±

    Nan Xun was stunned. When she looked at Zu An, her expression became somewhat strange. She bowed gracefully and said, ¡°Thank you, young master, for your generosity.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Baijie-ing right now.¡± Zu An answered with a word there was no way they would know the meaning of. Meanwhile, he began to think over what he should do now.[1]

    Kong Nanwu had a smile on her face, saying, ¡°Young master is different from other humans after all. You have an empathetic heart that transcends race.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t try to give me such a lofty title,¡± Zu An said coldly. ¡°I don¡¯t wish to be used as a traitor who colluded with the enemy. What were you all doing in the capital undercover? Are you paving the way for your fiend races¡¯ southern army?!¡±

    ¡°Young master has misunderstood.¡± Kong Nanwu exined, ¡°The reason we came to the south was firstly out of our curiosity toward the human race¡¯s local customs. We don¡¯t need to hide the second reason from young master either; we came to get information, but it was definitely not for the sake of the southern invasion, but rather for defensive preparations. You need to understand that the humans have sent many spies into our fiend races as well. This is merely a normal exchange.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve put it quite nicely,¡± Zu An sneered, ¡°but your fiend races have just ughtered an entire city, not sparing a single person, regardless of whether they were soldiers or civilians. That doesn¡¯t sound as pleasant as you¡¯re making it out to be.¡±

    Kong Nanwu¡¯s expression changed. ¡°The ughter of an entire city definitely wasn¡¯t done by our fiend races!¡±

    ¡°Who else could it be but your fiend races?¡± Zu An obviously wouldn¡¯t believe her just like that.

    ¡°That I¡¯m not sure about, but there are many suspicious details about the city¡¯s ughter.¡± Kong Nanwu quickly exined, ¡°After all, the fiend races were seriously injured by the humans back then, and we didn¡¯t even have enough time to recover. Why would we start something again so rashly, let alone something that crosses the line as far as ughtering an entire city? Even though I¡¯m not someone of extremely high status in the fiend races, I know a bit about what the higher-ups are thinking. They would never choose to do something so unwise.¡±

    ¡°But it still happened. It doesn¡¯t matter what you say,¡± Zu An said indifferently. ¡°Furthermore, ording to what you just said, the city ughter happened after you arrived at the capital. You weren¡¯t by your nsmen¡¯s side, so how could you know what they were thinking?¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Kong Nanwu¡¯s expression changed. That was indeed what she was worried about. There were many members of the pro-war faction among the fiend races who carried a lot of animosity toward the human race. Furthermore, they were often people with all brawn but no brains. They really might do something of that sort impulsively.

    She took a deep breath and said, ¡°I know that it¡¯s pointless no matter what I say right now, but I¡¯ll definitely do my best to find out the truth as soon as possible, and give you a proper exnation.¡±

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s already meaningless to say these things right now. The court¡¯s army is already headed north. This war can¡¯t be stopped.¡±

    Kong Nanwu fell silent. She knew that what he said was the truth. Zu An didn¡¯t want to continue debating the matter, however. Instead, he asked curiously, ¡°Is Scarlet Invitation owned by your fiend races?¡±

    If that really was the case, wasn¡¯t the fiend races¡¯ influence a bit frightening? They had actually been able to infiltrate so deeply into the court without being discovered!

    Kong Nanwu shook her head. ¡°It isn¡¯t. We have our own channels, but as for what they are, I apologize for not being able to tell you. I hope young master can excuse this.¡±

    Zu An frowned. Could it be that there were powers in the capital who were colluding with the fiend races? He had a feeling that there was arge cast over the entire capital. It was hidden in the darkness, hidden so well that even he wasn¡¯t sure if it even existed. After all, not even the Embroidered Envoy had any information on it.

    And yet, he had always had such a feeling. When Yun Jianyue was still in the pce, she sensed that someone was following him. But even now, they had no idea who it was.

    Kong Nanwu spoke up again. ¡°I wonder how the young master ns on dealing with us?¡±

    Zu An almostughed out loud. This woman really was cunning. After all, her cultivation was profound too. Together with that green feather, it wouldn¡¯t be easy for him to capture them even if he wanted to. But now, she made it seem as if her fate was in his hands. If it were another man, they might have already felt ted.

    But the question of how he should deal with them was indeed a bit troublesome.

    . Baijie is a character who is known to be pure and spotless on the surface, but actually does all kinds of romantic stuff behind the scenes. ?

 Chapter 932: Relationship Between Life and Death

    <h4>Chapter 932: Rtionship Between Life and Death</h4>

    He actually didn¡¯t want to do anything bad to them either, because he was going to turn against the emperor eventually. The enemy of his enemy was his friend. With them present, he would have another source of assistance. But he didn¡¯t want to reveal that fact too soon, or else they might use it to threaten him. Things would be really troublesome then.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Kong Nanwu said, ¡°Young master Zu actually doesn¡¯t need to feel too worried. It isn¡¯t just one or two officials we¡¯re in contact with in the capital. We all take what we need, and having more friends is always better than having more enemies.¡±

    Zu An asked seriously, ¡°I wonder which officials these are?¡±

    Kong Nanwu shook her head. ¡°This is where young master¡¯s questions be a bit improper. How can I possibly tell you about them? Simrly, if someone asked me to give them information about you, I wouldn¡¯t tell them. Even if you don¡¯t trust me, you trust our little sister Snow, right?¡±

    Zu An thus took the chance to say, ¡°Fine. Out of favor for little sis Snow, I won¡¯t bicker over today¡¯s matters. I won¡¯t report you all. However, from today on, let¡¯s not associate with each other anymore.¡± He got up to leave afterward.

    Kong Nanwu got up and stood in front of him, saying, ¡°Young master Zu, it¡¯s a bit unsuitable for you to leave now.¡±

    ¡°Hm? Are you not going to let me leave?¡± Zu An asked emotionlessly.

    ¡°That¡¯s not it,¡± Kong Nanwu said with a faint smile. ¡°Everyone outside knows that you were chosen as Nan Xun¡¯s private guest. If you leave so soon, there might be all kinds of strange rumors going around. Those who are sharp will quickly pick up on something. After all, Nan Xun¡¯s charm is something everyone knows about.¡±

    Zu An was a bit shaken. He knew that what she said was the truth. The young masters might not have even left yet. If he left so early, there would definitely be all sorts of suspicions.

    Seeing that he was being swayed, Kong Nanwu said with a smile, ¡°Young master has passed several trials, so you deserve to have a beauty apany you. Nan Xun can just properly serve you. It won¡¯t be toote if you leave after a good night of rest.¡±

    Zu An gave Nan Xun a look. He was speechless. Eventually, he said, ¡°You have to at least use a real person if you¡¯re going to use a honey trap, right?¡±

    Kong Nanwu exined with a smile, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, young master. A tiger-devoured ghost is different from the ghosts you¡¯re familiar with. Apart from being of the extreme yin attribute, preventing her from giving birth, she isn¡¯t too different from a normal girl.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He had to admit that he was quite tempted now, though. After all, he had always been curious about Ning Caichen and Nie Xiaoqian¡¯s rtionship.[1] But he quickly threw away that thought and eximed, ¡°What kind of person are you treating me as?!¡±

    Kong Nanwu continued, ¡°Nan Xun used to be a concubine of King Qi, and she¡¯s practically no different from when she was still alive. Furthermore, she¡¯s still a virgin. It will be just like King Qi¡¯s concubine serving you. I don¡¯t believe that¡¯s a temptation many men can resist.¡±

    Zu An was rmed. This woman really was a master at ying with one¡¯s heart! She knew how to stir up a man¡¯s most primitive desires. But he still calmly said, ¡°There¡¯s no need. I¡¯ll just rest here for a night; I don¡¯t need anyone to apany me. You don¡¯t need to use those charming tactics anymore.¡±

    Kong Nanwu sighed, asking, ¡°Does the young master think I¡¯m only saying all of this to entice you?¡±

    ¡°Is that not it?¡± Zu An replied,pletely unfazed.

    Kong Nanwu sighed. ¡°Perhaps the young master doesn¡¯t know, but Nan Xun can¡¯t continue to exist in this world in her state. She needs to absorb the energies of men from time to time. The courtesan meeting was also held for this purpose, in the hopes that she could at least choose someone she admired. In the end, after careful selection, she chose you. If the young master isn¡¯t willing, in order to prevent her from disappearing, I can only make her serve other men.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. This woman is way too freaking good at this! She¡¯s attacking both instincts and reason! Now it almost seems as if I¡¯m being a bad guy by not sleeping with Nan Xun!

    Kong Nanwu said, ¡°A normal man¡¯s body would deteriorate if she absorbs their essence, and there might even be danger to their life. However, young master¡¯s cultivation technique is special. You don¡¯t fear the energies of yin, so I hope young master can help Nan Xu here. After all, she was a good person when she was still alive, and she doesn¡¯t truly wish to fall into prostitution and be forced to live a life sleeping with all sorts of different men either.¡±

    Zu An frowned, eximing, ¡°Isn¡¯t it all because your fiend race¡¯s technique is too sinister?!¡±

    Nan Xun said, ¡°I do not me the miss and am instead grateful to her. If not because she saved me, I would have already disappearedpletely.¡±

    Sigh¡­ Even the victim is grateful, so what else can I even say? Zu An thought.

    Kong Nanwu bowed and said, ¡°We won¡¯t disturb the young master¡¯s rest anymore.¡± Then, she didn¡¯t wait for Zu An to say anything and walked away with her maids. She even closed the door behind her.

    Zu An was at a loss. Who do you think I am? Do you think I¡¯ll be a pig just because she¡¯s pretty?

    Nan Xun said quietly, ¡°Young master, I will help you massage your head.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. Which head are you going to massage? he thought. But a pair of soft hands soon rested on his forehead. It was cool, but it also felt really good. Nan Xun¡¯s hands were soft, as if she knew massaging techniques. Zu An¡¯s tense body unknowingly rxed.

    ¡°Hm? You seem to be really good at this,¡± Zu An couldn''t help but say.

    ¡°I used to be a spy, so I had to learn how to service someone well.¡± Nan Xun sounded a bit lonely and dejected.

    Zu An fell silent as well. Anything he said at this point would be pointless. At the same time, he also became a bit jealous of King Qi. He¡¯d had such a great beauty at his side, with such an amazing pair of hands. He wondered just how many times Nan Xun hadforted King Qi before.

    When he thought of that, he couldn''t help but say, ¡°This actually isn¡¯t our first meeting.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Nan Xun was surprised. ¡°The young master has met me before? But that should not be. I was training in secret before and rarely met people. Once I entered King Qi Manor, I always lived inside the manor. There are few people who have seen myplete appearance.¡±

    After some hesitation, Zu An told her a rough summary of his investigation of her death, as well as how he was almost discovered, so he had no choice but to hide in her coffin.

    ¡°No wonder the young master recognized me so quickly!¡± Nan Xun was surprised. Then, she bowed toward him, saying. ¡°Thank you, young master, for bringing my injustice to light.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but say, ¡°Even though I did find out the truth, I might not be able to bring your case to justice.¡±

    ¡°I know.¡± Nan Xun had a sorrowful smile on her face. ¡°His majesty will likely not announce this matter publicly.¡± She was a well trained spy, so she naturally understood how these things worked.

    ¡°But I still wish to thank the young master.¡± Her smile was as beautiful as a flower. She continued, ¡°To a certain extent, we shared a bed when you hid in the coffin.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He felt his entire body be tense. Nan Xun giggled and said, ¡°Young master, do not worry. I ampletely willing to serve you; it is not because I was forced to at all.¡±

    Zu An carried out hisst struggle, saying, ¡°But I can¡¯t help but feel a bit weird about all of this.¡±

    ¡°Young master, there is no need to move. Let me take care of everything.¡± Nan Xun smiled toward him. Then, she moved all of her hair to one side and slowly squatted down, revealing a neck that was fine like jade.

    ¡­

    By the time Zu An left the next morning, Gao Ying and Pei You had already waited outside for a long time. When they saw him, they quickly cornered him. The outwardly cold but inwardly passionate Pei You moved over and asked while winking at him, ¡°So how was it?¡± Even the usually steadfast Gao Ying pricked up his ears. His eyes were full of gossipy intentions.

    ¡°Um¡­ Would you believe me if I said that nothing happened?¡± Zu An had a strange expression on his face. Nothing really had happened the previous night; he wasn¡¯t perverted to that extent. He had merely given Nan Xun a bit of his essence out of good intentions. The only thing was that he hadn¡¯t been able to resist her enthusiasm as she insisted on sucking it out.

    ¡°Only if you¡¯re not a man.¡± The two of them obviously didn¡¯t believe him. They had seen Nan Xun¡¯s charm for themselves. How could anyone possibly resist her charm?

    Zu An thought to himself, I¡¯m actually a man, but your goddess isn¡¯t really human anymore. ¡°Forget it then, if you don¡¯t believe me.¡± He clearly didn¡¯t want to continue talking about that.

    ¡­

    After separating from the two of them, Zu An chose to head into the pce to report what happened the previous night to the emperor. It wasn¡¯t that he was particrly excited about his job, but rather that the information wouldn¡¯t be as effective once the opportunity passed.

    He unexpectedly ran into King Qi, who was about to join the morning court session. The other party said in surprise, ¡°What a coincidence. I heard that Sir Zu was blessed by the spring winds yesterday, so why are you up so early? Did that courtesan not take proper care of you?¡±

    The story of the previous night at Scarlet Invitation had already spread throughout the capital. Even though they both had their own ulterior motives, they were now allies, so their rtionship had be a bit closer. They still had to exchange some conventional greetings.

    Zu An¡¯s expression immediately became strange. After all, Nan Xun had been King Qi¡¯s concubine. She said, ¡°No, she was amazing and great at what she does.¡±

    1. Ning Caichen and Nie Xiaoqian are characters from a Chinese ghost story. ?

 Chapter 933: Feel My Bottomless Longing

    <h4>Chapter 933: Feel My Bottomless Longing</h4>

    King Qi felt that Zu An¡¯s smile was a bit strange, but he couldn''t exactly say how. But at that moment, several other important statesmen walked past. He didn¡¯t want too many people to know about their new rtionship, so he took the chance to leave.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An continued to the imperial study and waited outside. He hadn¡¯t expected to actually be called in before the morning court session. However, the emperor summoned him as soon as he heard about Zu An¡¯s arrival.

    ¡°I heard you had some luckst night in the pleasure quarters. Why are you here so early? Do you have something important to report?¡± the emperor asked after sitting down.

    Zu An shivered. The pce gates never opened at night, and yet the emperor already knew exactly what had happened. ¡°I was forced to sacrifice my purity for the sake ofpleting this mission!¡± he eximed with an ¡®upset¡¯ expression.

    The emperor was speechless. This kid really is shameless! Who in this entire court dares to speak to me like that, apart from him?

    ¡°It sounds like you¡¯vepleted your mission,¡± he said, even though he didn¡¯t think it was too likely. After all, how could Zu Anplete his mission after just a single day? He was already prepared to take the chance to harshly criticize Zu An as a warning to treat the matter more seriously.

    ¡°Indeed, I¡¯ve alreadypleted it,¡± Zu An replied.

    The emperor instinctively nodded and said, ¡°As expected, you need to make sure to¡­¡± He was stunned midway through his sentence. He eximed, ¡°What? You alreadypleted it?¡±

    Zu An felt incredible when he saw the emperor look as if he had just eaten a pile of shit. His recording lens was something he had applied for from the Embroidery House. It was able to record a scene, but it wasn¡¯t like the Chu n¡¯s mirror that could actually hold a video call at any time.

    The emperor¡¯s eyelids twitched when he saw Yu Nan sitting on Bi Ziang¡¯sp, acting all coquettish and cute. He felt his stomach churn. Then, he gave Zu An aplicated look. This brat¡­ Where the hell do youe up with this nonsense? But he had to admit that even though it was disgusting, it was quite useful.

    ¡°Alright, with this, Yu Nan is finished.¡± The emperor turned off the recording; otherwise, he might really throw up his tea from the previous night.

    Zu An asked probingly, ¡°May I ask what your highness ns to use this recording for?¡±

    The emperor frowned slightly. He subconsciously disliked the feeling of a subject questioning his thoughts. But since Zu Anpleted this mission so well, he couldn''t really berate him at the moment. As such, he held his annoyance in and said, ¡°The contents of this recording are too¡­ Too inelegant. It can¡¯t be released through normal means.¡±

    ¡°Then was it all for nothing?¡± Zu An felt a bit disappointed. He wouldn¡¯t be able to see those two¡¯splete social death.

    ¡°Of course not,¡± the emperor said. ¡°The rivalry between you and Yu Nanst night is already enough. However, even though quite a few people know of it, it¡¯s still within a limited circle of people. That¡¯s why we need someone to fan the mes hotter.¡±

    Zu An went on guard. Are you going to throw that job to me too?

    As if he had seen through Zu An¡¯s thoughts, the emperor continued, ¡°Bi Ziang¡¯s eighteen garden friends or whatever have many connections. They¡¯re always talking about useless romantic things. This group seems to have a high reputation among the people, so we¡¯ll just call Bi Ziang over and show him this recording¡¯s contents. He¡¯ll naturally know what to do once he sees it.¡±

    If Bi Ziang didn¡¯t want to be aplete social outcast, he would definitely do everything he could to prevent the recording from getting out. He was a smart person too, so he¡¯d figure out that as long as Yu Nan experienced social death first, the recording would lose all meaning. That was why he had no choice but to act with everything he had.

    Zu An was stupefied. As expected, no one is better at ying dirty than the emperor¡­

    The worst part was that the Bi n even supported the crown prince, and yet the emperor was so quick to use Bi Ziang like this! It was easy to imagine the big fuss that would be caused between the two ns.

    Sure enough, no amount of loyalty was worth anything to the emperor. He was much more interested in keeping others in check. As long as his subjects were fighting among themselves, then he would be free of worries.

    ¡°Your majesty is wise and brilliant!¡± Zu An eximed. This was fine as well, because he had been a bit worried about the Yu n¡¯s retaliation. After all, Yu Yanluo had treated him quite well, so it might get ugly if he personally got into conflict with them.

    The emperor had his morning court session afterward, so Zu An chose to tactfully withdraw.

    As Zu An left, the emperor watched his departing figure with a frown. Rationally speaking, this brat was a subordinate who devoted himself to his work. These missions were so tricky, and yet hepleted his tasks beautifully each time. He should have appreciated such a talented individual. Yet for some reason, he felt a subconscious dislike of Zu An.

    ¡­

    After he left the imperial study, Zu An headed straight for the Eastern Pce. His current post didn¡¯t require him to attend the morning court session, so he had a bit of free time on his hands.

    He suddenly thought of something when he was about to reach the Eastern Pce. He asked a passing maid to bring him some green oranges. Then, he peeled off their skins and rubbed them on his body.

    When he sniffed himself and only smelled oranges, he finally felt at ease. The smells of other women had screwed him over way too many times. He had finally learned his lesson this time, and felt that he really was resourceful.

    When they saw him enter the Eastern Pce, Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun greeted him enthusiastically. Their rtionship had already been good to begin with, and after Zu An had saved their lives in the dungeon, they were just a hair away from being sworn brothers.

    Zu An asked, sounding them out, ¡°You guys don¡¯t have anything you want to ask me, right?¡±

    The two of them were stunned and replied, ¡°Why would we?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Zu An sighed in relief. With how these two were, especially with Piao Duandiao¡¯s gossipy nature, he would definitely have been winking at him and asking how things had gonest night. He might demand even more details than that guy Pei You.

    He could tell that they didn¡¯t know what had happened from their expressions. That meant the news hadn¡¯t reached the Eastern Pce yet. Alright, things won¡¯t be too bad when I see Bi Linglongter.

    Zu An then paid the crown prince a visit. However, it hadn¡¯t been long since the crown prince got out of bed, and he was still drowsy. He wasn¡¯t interested no matter what Zu An said.

    After Zu An finished the trip, he went to see Bi Linglong. Unlike the crown prince, she was already dressed up meticulously in an elegant and beautiful outfit. He eximed, ¡°I greet the crown princess!¡± He had to show her proper etiquette in front of other people, after all.

    ¡°Sir Zu, be at ease,¡± Bi Linglong replied casually. Then, she turned her attention back to the document on the table.

    In order to train the crown prince, the emperor would send some government affairs documents to the Eastern Pce. Of course, they wouldn¡¯t be anything highly urgent. The crown prince didn¡¯t do any work, so it was normally Bi Linglong who took care of all of these things.

    ¡°It hasn¡¯t been long since we came out of the dungeon. Crown princess, you haven¡¯t fully recovered yet, so please don¡¯t work too hard,¡± Zu An said out of concern. Her hair was stillpletely white, serving as a constant reminder of her lost life force.

    Bi Linglong replied with an ¡®oh¡¯, but then didn¡¯t pay him any attention.

    Zu An was stunned. Her attitude seems to be really off. He quietly asked through ki, ¡°Linglong, what¡¯s wrong?¡± But she still didn¡¯t reply.

    He called out a few more times, but she only continued to remainpletely indifferent. On the contrary, a string of Rage points came in from the back end. Zu An was a bit puzzled. His eyes flickered with a new idea, however, and he said, ¡°If you keep this up, I¡¯m going toe over and hug you!¡±

    ¡°You dare?!¡± Sure enough, Bi Linglong suddenly shot him a re when she heard that. Of course, the entire exchange was done through ki.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you see for yourself if I dare or not?¡± Zu An retorted without backing down at all.

    Bi Linglong knew that Zu An had always been bold. She was worried that he might start a hugemotion in the Eastern Pce. She harrumphed and asked, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you rest with that courtesan a bit longer? Why did you run all the way here so early in the morning?¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but smile. So she was doing this out of jealousy! It seemed the crown princess had her own intelligencework. Damn it, I got those oranges for nothing.

    But he reacted quickly and said, ¡°You¡¯ve misunderstood. I went to the brothel to carry out a mission.¡± Then, he gave her a summary of the emperor¡¯s mission to bring down Yu Nan.

    But Bi Linglong wasn¡¯t as easily fooled as someone like Chu Youzhao. She retorted with a sneer, ¡°Was there a need to stay overnight if it was just to investigate a case?¡±

    ¡°I couldn¡¯t just leave and draw everyone¡¯s suspicion, right?¡± Zu An quickly exined. ¡°I vow that I didn¡¯t have a physical rtionship with that courtesanst night the way I did with you. Otherwise, the heavens can strike me down where I stand!¡± He thought, Bi Linglong didn¡¯t help me out in that way before¡­

    Bi Linglong jumped in fright when she saw him make a vow. ¡°Are you mad? You can¡¯t recklessly make those kinds of vows!¡±

    ¡°I have a clear conscience, so it''s not a problem at all,¡± Zu An said with an upright expression.

    Bi Linglong had already been fully convinced a while before, but she couldn''t bring herself to just change her attitude so quickly. She still said coldly, ¡°Then what about that poem you wrote for that courtesan? You wrote all about romance and dreams. Just listening to it makes me sick.¡±

    Zu An thought, So that was the problem! He said with a chuckle, ¡°That was just for the sake of the mission! Right, I have a piece of secret information to give the crown princess.¡± He had the maid bring over some pen and paper.

    Bi Linglong had some idea of what he was thinking. Hmph, do you think I¡¯m that easy to win over? I¡¯m not that courtesan. Do you think you can fool me that easily?

    Zu An finished soon afterward. He handed the paper over, saying, ¡°This is an urgent report. I hope the crown princess canment on it as soon as possible.¡±

    Bi Linglong harrumphed. She quietly unfolded the scroll. However, her face immediately turned red, and her breathing became rushed too.

    There was a poem written on the scroll.

    ¡°I hope my words reach you deeply like a candle lit at the bottom of a well, a rendezvous of two as we share a game of go.

    Like the red beans embedded within exquisite dice, can you feel my bottomless longing?¡±[1]

    1. The word ¡®exquisite¡¯ here is ¡®Linglong¡¯, the same as the characters in ¡®Bi Linglong¡¯. ?

 Chapter 934, Part 1: Lying Through Oneâ€™s Teeth

    <h4>Chapter 934, Part 1: Lying Through One¡¯s Teeth</h4>

    In this world, Go was a game of chess. The first two lines talked about lighting a candle and ying a game of chess with one¡¯s husband. The word ¡®well¡¯ would make Bi Linglong think about the secret tunnel to her bedroom. Then, she would imagine a scene where the two of them lit a candle in the secret passage.

    With her literary background, Bi Linglong would naturally be able to pick up on Zu An¡¯s y on words. She would feel as if he was warning her not to miss such a day. Even though she didn¡¯t know what day he was talking about, it was definitely a rendezvous between lovers.

    Is he hinting for me to wait for him in that tunnel tonight? Her heart began to pound when she thought of that. But what left her even more stirred were thest two lines. Red beans in this world were also called yearning beans. Her own name had even been used in this poem, so she felt as if it had been made just for her.

    Bi Linglong thought, This guy really has no shame! Who¡¯s yearning for you?! But she was starting to lose confidence. In the past few days, she had kept tossing and turning in bed, unable to sleep, her head filled with what had happened in the dungeon.

    Don¡¯t tell me I made it too obvious and he noticed? Ahh¡­ that¡¯s so embarrassing¡­

    ¡°Crown princess, is something wrong?¡± Rong Mo saw that Bi Linglong¡¯s expression kept changing after she looked at that piece of paper, looking like she was embarrassed, but also annoyed. She had never seen the crown princess with such an expression in all the years she had served her. She subconsciously got on her toes in an attempt to see what was written on the paper.

    However, Bi Linglong reacted quickly and folded the piece of paper, saying, ¡°I¡¯ve received Sir Zu¡¯s report. I¡¯ll make the proper arrangements.¡± She didn¡¯t even dare to look him in the eyes after speaking.

    Her thoughts were aplete mess. Where in the world does that guy get his boldness from? He gave me this love letter in front of so many people in the Eastern Pce? After all, if it were exposed, it would be a n-eradicating crime!

    She subconsciously thought about burning the piece of paper in the incense burner, but this thought was rejected as soon as it emerged. How could she throw away a poem that had been written just for her? She decided to find a secret ce to hide it.

    Zu An knew that Bi Linglong was no longer upset, but rather happy, when he saw her response. He sighed in relief. At the same time, he was quite baffled. What did I report to you about?

    However, he just treated it as something she had said to appease the people around them and ignored it, saying, ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to trouble the crown princess.¡±

    Bi Linglong saw the smirk on his face and thought, You must be so pleased with yourself right now, huh? After messing around with me like this¡­

    As such, she harrumphed to express her own dissatisfaction. ¡°But Sir Zu¡¯s handwriting really is ugly. It looks like ants crawling across the paper.¡±

    Rong Mo couldn''t help butugh. She couldn''t help but feel that the crown princess didn¡¯t dote on her as much as before Zu An had arrived. She was obviously happy to see the crown princess scold Zu An.

    ¡°The crown princess¡¯ scolding is deserved.¡± Zu An was also sweating. He was aware of his handwriting skills too.

    Bi Linglong said calmly, ¡°You are the crown prince¡¯s chambein, after all, and so you carry the duty of teaching the crown prince by example. It¡¯s rather uneptable for your handwriting to be that ugly. I¡¯ll have the lesser tutor teach you, so learn how to write properly.¡±

    Zu An felt a huge headache. He hadn¡¯t expected to still be forced to study even after crossing worlds¡­ He cursed inwardly. My chambein job is just a freaking title, what the hell can I even teach the crown prince? Does teaching him what to do in the inner room count?

    Bi Linglong couldn''t help but bite her lip when she saw his irritated expression. Why don¡¯t you look happy at all? Don¡¯t you realize I gave you this responsibility so you can stay in the Eastern Pce and keep mepany a bit longer?

    Of course, she would never say such words out loud. She could only hold them in unhappily.

    ¡­n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Meanwhile, the court session had already wrapped up most important matters. Eunuch Wen shouted, ¡°Present your cases to the emperor if there are more matters; if not, withdraw from the court.¡±

    A bronze-skinned elder stepped forward and said, ¡°This subject has a matter to submit to the king.¡±

    The emperor gave him a look. He didn¡¯t know what Murong Tong had to say to him, but he still nodded and said, ¡°Permitted.¡±

    Murong Tong thus said, ¡°This subject received a new poem before the court session, and I feel that it can be made into a war song. I hope your majesty can approve of it.¡±

    Those present in the court whispered among themselves when they heard Murong Tong¡¯s words. They really couldn''t understand why he would propose something of that sort.

    Don¡¯t tell me one of his kids wrote a poem, and he wants to use this as an opportunity for their promotion?

    But the Murong n was a n that focused on martial talent. Their n was full of thick-skulled muscleheads; even the Murong n¡¯s young miss was a tough tomboy. They had never heard of anyone in that n having any talent in such a field.

    Furthermore, back then, the court had suffered badly because of the fiend races¡¯ war songs. That was why when they came back, they began to research their own war songs. Unfortunately, the results were mediocre at best. This was a world that prioritized cultivation, so the truly talented invested all of their attention into cultivation. There weren¡¯t many who would study something trivial like poetry too extensively, so there had never been any suitable war songs.

    Even so, there were many well-informed people. Many people were able to guess what Murong Tong was going to say.

    Secretariat Assistant Director Yu Nan¡¯s expression darkened. The previous night had been the most humiliating time of his life. He hadn¡¯t wanted to ever recall it, and yet it had been brought up agai.

    ¡°What kind of poem?¡± The emperor¡¯s expression remained calm. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking.

    ¡°This poem is called ¡®The Sword and the Song¡ªSpirited Ode Dedicated to the State Duke of Triumph¡¯,¡± Murong Tong replied. At the same time, he read out in a loud voice, ¡°Intoxicated, I turn up the light to inspect my sword; war horns resound when I wake¡­¡±

    All of the civil and martial officials in the court felt that the song was extraordinary just from the title. The State Duke of Triumph was going off to war, so such a song would definitely be a great omen.

    When they heard all of the lyrics, they all became impassioned. That was especially true for the old subjects who held civilian posts. They all overflowed with tears.

    ¡°What an amazing poem!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s been so many years. We now finally have a war songparable to the fiend races¡¯ war songs!¡±

    ¡°This is a blessing for our Zhou Dynasty, a blessing for the entire human race!¡±

    ¡­

    Murong Tong nodded in satisfaction when he saw the others¡¯ impassioned reactions. The Qin n brothers had delivered the poem early in the morning. He had felt his entire body break out into goosebumps when he read it. He really wanted to raise his spear and return to the battlefield!

    Even though he hadn¡¯t written the poem, he still felt incredibly honored when he saw the others¡¯ expressions of admiration.

    ¡°Sir Murong, were you the one who wrote this poem?¡± a great subject couldn''t help but ask.

    Murong Tong¡¯s face heated up. He coughed lightly to hide his awkwardness and said, ¡°This old one is a crude man; how could I write something like this?¡±

    ¡°Then may I ask which great master wrote it? Could it be that it was a teacher from the Royal Academy? Perhaps the libationer himself?¡±

    ¡°These incredible lyrics can greatly increase our army¡¯s fighting strength! Just this contribution alone is enough to grant a title of nobility!¡±

    Various subjects began to discuss the poem among themselves. The entire court became as noisy as a marketce.

    Yu Nan¡¯s face twitched when he heard those words. Even though no one saw it, he felt as if he were being publicly condemned again.

    On the other hand, Bi Ziang¡¯s expression also changed. Things had always gone his way ever since he was little. The previous night was practically the first time he had failed. His arrogance made him feel extremely awful.

    ¡°Sir Murong, don¡¯t keep us in suspense anymore. Who was it?¡±the other important ministers all asked with impatient expressions.

    Murong Tong said, ¡°It was the new Green Hat Viscount, Zu An.¡± He deliberately avoided the other title of the crown prince¡¯s chambein, because he didn¡¯t want to give the Eastern Pce any more support.

    The smiles of everyone present froze when they heard Zu An¡¯s name. The moring court immediately became dead silent.

 Chapter 934, Part 2: Lying Through Oneâ€™s Teeth

    <h4>Chapter 934, Part 2: Lying Through One¡¯s Teeth</h4>

    Even though Zu An¡¯s rank wasn¡¯t high, and it hadn¡¯t been long since he had arrived in the capital, there was almost no one who didn¡¯t know who he was.

    After all, there were too many people who had been ruined because of him! They were all important figures too. The Murong n, Cheng n, Shi n¡­ Even King Qi had been screwed over by this man. They had all discussed him in private, feeling that he was like a disease, that whoever he touched would be done for.

    Everyone from King Qi¡¯s faction hated him. There were even many from the crown prince¡¯s faction who didn¡¯t like him. Many subjects from King Qi¡¯s faction looked at Murong Tong resentfully. Why did you have to give that Zu An another push?

    The crown prince¡¯s faction was also confused. Don¡¯t tell me that Zu An ended up defecting to King Qi¡¯s side? Why would Murong Tong speak up for his sake?

    An important minister stepped forward and said, ¡°Zu An has just been promoted within the nobility, and he¡¯s still young. Increasing his noble rank again in quick session within such a short amount of time will easily instill arrogance. It might not actually help him.¡±

    That person was naturally someone from King Qi¡¯s faction.Several voices of support immediately followed when those words were spoken.

    The crown prince¡¯s faction immediately felt much better when they heard that, thinking that it was how King Qi¡¯s faction should act after all. They instinctively jumped out to express a different opinion. ¡°We disagree. If there are crimes, punishment must be given, but if there is merit, it deserves reward. This is our policy for those who render service to the court. Furthermore, such an incredible song will greatly improve our army¡¯s strength, which is an extraordinary achievement. He naturally deserves to be rewarded.¡±

    The two sides had already fought each other for so many years. King Qi¡¯s faction immediately retorted, ¡°Zu An has already been rewarded more than enough for his contributions. As a member of the court, serving our nation is his duty. If we gave out rewards that easily, then with so many members of the court, wouldn¡¯t everyone deserve promotions?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s absolute nonsense!¡± Murong Tong listened to the back-and-forth from off to the side. He finally couldn''t take it anymore and eximed, ¡°Is this kind of legendary work something an ordinary official can randomly make? Everyone here knows that Zu An and I share some grudges, and yet I still stepped forward to rmend him here because I recognize the help his poem can bring to our court¡¯s soldiers! A war song with these lyrics can greatly reduce the number of soldiers that will be sacrificed, saving us a huge amount of resources¡­ If you don¡¯t reward this type of contribution, it will make the hearts of our army¡¯s soldiers go cold, and all of the subjects under the sky will criticize us!¡±

    ¡°Sir Murong speaks too seriously. It is just a song; how can you praise it that much?¡± Those people from King Qi¡¯s faction were rather unhappy. Are you on our side or not?

    ¡°If you have the skill to write a song of this level, this old one is willing to fight for your reward too.¡± Murong Tong harrumphed. He was so angry his beard was shaking.

    The court was a ce full of old foxes. Soon, others quoted the ssics to argue against Murong Tong.

    The emperor smiled inwardly when he saw the people below fight among themselves. He hadn¡¯t expected Zu An to be of some use even here, to actually stir up internal conflict in King Qi¡¯s side.

    Just then, Bi Ziang, who had just been listening from the side the entire time, stepped forward and said, ¡°Sir Zu¡¯s lyrics are undoubtedly great, but we still don¡¯t know how well they suit a war song. Why don¡¯t we wait until the practical results of this song return from the front lines, and then reward Sir Zu based on the results? What does everyone think about this?¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    King Qi¡¯s faction felt that they would at least be dying things when they heard what he said. That was something they could ept.

    The crown prince¡¯s faction felt as if Bi Ziang was speaking out in support of Zu An. After all, if they continued to argue, there wouldn¡¯t be any benefits if King Qi faction¡¯s people continued to oppose rewarding Zu An to the end.

    Even Murong Tong felt that was an eptable n. After all, as someone born in a military n, he had absolute confidence in these war lyrics.

    The emperor on the dragon throne spoke in a dignified voice. ¡°In that case, we¡¯ll take some time to decide this matter.¡±

    Bi Ziang¡¯s thoughts might be able to fool others, but not him. Judging from how he suggested a dying of Zu An¡¯s reward, it seemed he didn¡¯t really like Zu An.

    The emperor didn¡¯t feel unhappy about the situation at all, instead feeling a sort of ease. As an emperor, seeing his subjects mutually scheme against each other was the most important thing. If they were all kind and loving toward each other, was there even a need for him to sit on this throne anymore?

    Bi Ziang also smirked inwardly. He keenly sensed that the emperor didn¡¯t seem to like Zu An that much either, or else he definitely wouldn¡¯t have let this matter rest so easily. When he realized that, his gloominess from the previous day finally received some relief.

    Then, he secretly gestured toward a minister nearby. The minister immediately stepped forward and said, ¡°This subject also has something to present to the emperor!¡±

    All of the ministers present shivered inwardly when they saw him step forward. He was someone from the Imperial Censor Bureau. These people were in charge of supervising officials. What they had to present were normally all usations of misconduct carried out by different subjects. They all wondered who the unlucky one was today.

    ¡°Permitted!¡± Eunuch Wen cleared his throat and shouted again after receiving the approval.

    ¡°This subject has just heard Sir Murong bring up this poem. Does everyone know what kind of ce this poem was created in?¡± the imperial censor said.

    The expressions of many people who were in the know changed. They were able to roughly guess what he was about to say.

    The imperial censor felt a bit ufortable when he saw that nobody answered. However, he knew that the civil and military officials of the court didn¡¯t like to have dealings with people like him. As such, he answered his own question. ¡°This poem was createdst night in the capital¡¯srgest brothel, Scarlet Invitation. It was something created in a rivalry between certain officials to please a courtesan.¡±

    He took a deep breath afterward before continuing, ¡°This subject uses the Secretariat Assistant Director Yu Nan of misconduct. As the emperor¡¯s son-inw, he chose to linger in the pleasure quarters and even carry out a love rivalry with another. He has brought shame to the royal family.¡± He spoke each word in an impassioned manner. Every word he said left those present shocked.

    After all, the Censor-in-Chief was none other than Yi Chong. Meanwhile, Yi Chong was the older brother of the Capital Magistrate Yi Chun. Yi Chun was someone under King Qi¡¯s faction and had a great rtionship with the Yu n. After all, the previous day, Yi Chun¡¯s son Yi Zhibing had gone to Scarlet Invitation together with Yu Nan. And yet, someone from the Imperial Censor Bureau had actually stepped forward to impeach Yu Nan?

    Many people began to wonder if the Yi n was also divided. But those of higher status frowned, because they knew that it wasn¡¯t easy for the crown prince¡¯s faction to ce their people in the Imperial Censor Bureau. If they were exposed for being biased, they would definitely pay the priceter.

    For them to use up such an important chess piece here, didn¡¯t it prove how much they wanted this matter to seed?

    Sure enough, Yu Nan realized that as well. His expression changed several times. He quickly stepped forward and got on his knees, eximing, ¡°This subject is guilty!¡±

    As someone who had been mixed into political circles for so long, he knew that it would be over as long as he humbly apologized. He only needed to express a certain attitude. As for everything else, there would naturally be people to speak out for him.

    Sure enough, ministers from King Qi¡¯s faction quickly spoke up. ¡°Our court has never expressly stipted in writing that the visiting of pleasure quarters is prohibited for officials. That is an elegant matter to begin with, so why is there a need for such criticism?¡±

    ¡°As officials of the court, we naturally need to be model examples for the citizens. Furthermore, Yu Nan is the emperor¡¯s son-inw, and he married the royal family¡¯s princess. Lingering in a ce like that shames the royal family¡¯s reputation. Your majesty, please dismiss Yu Nan from his Secretariat Assistant Director position and let the Royal Family Court handle this matter,¡± the imperial censor said again.

    It was an old trick of imperial censors to start with the most severe punishment. People were going to argue back and forth about it afterward anyway. If they were lucky and his majesty ended up disliking that person, it might end up going through! It was not as if such things had never happened before.

    King Qi¡¯s faction became angry as well. They all said, ¡°It¡¯s not only Sir Yu who went to Scarlet Invitation. Sir Bi Ziang, Qin Guangyuan, Qin Yongde, Gao Ying, Pei You¡­ These people all went as well. Why aren¡¯t you punishing all of them too?¡±

    Several people were mentioned in session; they were all either influential figures in the court or well-known individuals from major ns. Those who had been used all stepped forward to defend themselves. Those who didn¡¯t have the qualifications to attend the court session had their seniors step forward to speak up in their ce.

    Nearly half of the court was now involved. Both sides argued against each other viciously until their faces were red. In the end, they began to bring in each other¡¯s n ancestors and women, falling just short of curses.

    The emperor frowned. Eunuch Wen picked up on his change in attitude. He picked up the horsetail whisk and hit the small bell next to him, eximing, ¡°Quiet!¡±

    The officials of the court finally snapped out of their frenzy when they heard the cold bell sound. They all bowed towards the emperor with lowered heads.

    ¡°All of you are out of control¡­¡± The emperor pointed at those present and berated them angrily. In the end, he ordered, ¡°All those involved with Scarlet Invitationst night will forfeit their sry for one year. Return and ponder over your mistakes! This court session has concluded.¡± He stormed off angrily after his promation.

    It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t want to punish Yu Nan, but rather that the Yu n¡¯s influence was too great. Furthermore, together with King Qi faction¡¯s support, both sides were equally matched. There wasn¡¯t enough firepower to strip Yu Nan of his position yet. However, today was just a bit of the backdrop. The interesting show was yet toe.

    Eunuch Wen already knew about the emperor¡¯s intentions. He sent his trusted eunuchs to secretly deliver the recording to Bi Ziang.

    How could the emperor personally do something like threatening a subject? It was to the extent that it wasn¡¯t even convenient for Eunuch Wen to do it himself. To a certain degree, he represented the emperor, so he had to send some trustworthy lesser eunuchs to do the deed.

    Bi Ziang was a smart man too. He would know what to do once he saw the recording.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in the Qin manor, Chu Youzhao was throwing a tantrum. She grumbled, ¡°Stupid brother-inw, stupid brother inw! You said that you were only going to investigate a case, but you ended up investigating a courtesan¡¯s bed!¡±

    News of Scarlet Invitation¡¯s events from the previous night had gradually spread. She had already been paying attention to that matter to begin with, so she obviously knew that Zu An was the one who had obtained the courtesan in the end. He had even stayed the night there!

    The maids inside all kept quiet out of fear. They didn¡¯t know why the young master was so unhappy. An unlucky person earlier had ended up being scolded because he went inside at the wrong time.

    A maid came out with a letter, saying, ¡°Young master, the first master had this servant deliver these lyrics. It is an extraordinary work. He wishes for you to spend some time reflecting on it.¡±

    Chu Youzhao was feeling restless. She gave the letter a random look and said, ¡°What kind of stupid words are these?¡± Then, she crumpled it up and threw it to the side.

    The maid jumped in fright. She stood there off to the side, not knowing what to do.

    Chu Youzhao frowned and asked, ¡°Why did big brother suddenly decide to send me these lyrics? Did he write them?¡± What¡¯s up with big brother? Doesn¡¯t he know that I don¡¯t like reading? Why are you sending me this stuff?

    That maid replied, ¡°It wasn¡¯t the first master who wrote it. It seems someone named Zu An wrote it.¡±

    Chu Youzhao ran over and grabbed the crumpled paper as soon as she heard those words. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say so earlier! Didn¡¯t you know I love poetry?!¡±

    All of the maids were speechless.

 Chapter 935, Part 1: A Day in the Life of a Playboy

    <h4>Chapter 935, Part 1: A Day in the Life of a yboy</h4>

    The maids had all served Chu Youzhao for so many years already. Who didn¡¯t know what their young master was really like? When had he ever liked poetry? But they knew that exposing him now was just asking for trouble. They all held back their urge tough.

    Chu Youzhao unfolded the crumpled paper. The words on the surface were already all messed up. She felt a wave of regret and eximed angrily to the maid, ¡°Stupid maid, why didn¡¯t you tell me earlier?¡±

    ¡°But I did¡­¡± The maid felt extremely wronged. Didn¡¯t I tell you from the very start that it was from the first young master?

    Chu Youzhao didn¡¯t know what to say either, which drove her crazy. She harrumphed and said, ¡°Hurry up and bring me a paperweight.¡±

    The maid quickly handed it over. Chu Youzhao ttened the paper under the paperweight, trying to smooth it out. Meanwhile, she carefully read the poem. She nodded while speaking. ¡°Yes, this poem was really written well!¡±

    The surrounding maids waited for her to praise the poem a few times, upon which they would give her some praise. After all, the happier their master was, the better their days would be here. And yet, after waiting for a long time, that was it. As for how the poem was good, Chu Youzhao couldn''t say a single thing. The maids really were left in a tough spot. They didn¡¯t even know where to begin even if they wanted to praise her.

    Chu Youzhao still couldn''t return the wrinkled paper to its original state even after trying for a long time. She got up in anger and seemed about to hit the maid. ¡°It¡¯s all your fault that I ended up messing up my brother-inw¡¯s authentic work like this!¡±

    The maid dodged while crying out, ¡°This isn¡¯t Sir Zu¡¯s original work! The original is in the first young master¡¯s hands! This is just a copy the first young master had someone make!¡±

    Chu Youzhao¡¯s eyes lit up and she eximed, ¡°Say that earlier!¡± Then, she pushed the maid away and ran over to the main hall to find Qin Guangyuan.

    ¡­

    When Chu Youzhao arrived, she saw Qin Guangyuan admiring the poem with a few others from the n and discussing how great it was. Her eyes became bigger the more she heard. Wow, big bro is really awesome, I couldn''t even say so many good adjectives. But the best one is still my brother-inw! Who would¡¯ve thought that he would be able to write such amazing lyrics?

    She didn¡¯t disturb Qin Guangyuan. She sat down quietly off to the side, her eyes sparkling as she listened to him praising Zu An¡¯s poem. Listening to him praise Zu An felt as if he were praising her.

    ¡°With Zu An¡¯s poem, grandfather¡¯s expedition north will definitely be twice as effective!¡± Qin Guangyuan was bing more and more excited. The more formidable Zu An was, the more he would benefit as his ¡®talent scout¡¯! That was why he subconsciously realized that the more help this war song was to the army, and the greater the boost to their morale, the more benefits it would bring Zu An and himself by association!

    Sure enough, many people realized the same thing as well. They all began to praise Qin Guangyuan for being someone with great insight.

    Chu Youzhao felt as if she had been tricked when she first heard that Zu An stayed the night with a courtesan, but when she heard that he had written this poem for her grandfather, to help him in his expedition north, her resentment immediately vanished. Brother-inw didn¡¯t go to the brothel for girls after all! Isn¡¯t that what I was saying? How could someone like brother-inw have such low-level preferences?

    She suddenly remembered that the Qin n clearly didn¡¯t like her brother-inw, and yet he had still done such a thing. Don¡¯t tell me that it¡¯s for¡­ my sister?¡± She couldn''t help but smile foolishly when she had that thought.

    As Qin Guangyuan¡¯s throat was getting a bit dry from talking too much, he sipped on some tea. Suddenly, Chu Youzhao ran over and rolled up the paper the poem was written on, saying, ¡°Big brother, this poem is mine.¡±

    ¡°Pfft!¡± Qin Guangyuan sprayed the tea he had just sipped out of his mouth. He couldn''t be bothered with the tea anymore and quickly took it back, eximing, ¡°Stop causing trouble and give it back! This is a gift for grandfather.¡±

    Chu Youzhao pouted. ¡°This is my brother-inw¡¯s, so isn¡¯t it natural for me to have it? Can¡¯t you just have someone else make a copy?¡±

    ¡°Nonsense, the copy given to grandfather naturally has to be the original.¡± Qin Guangyuan tried several times, but he failed each time, mainly because he was scared that he might damage the poem. He said urgently, ¡°Furthermore, it wasn¡¯t even Zu An who wrote it himself.¡±

    ¡°Nonsense, this is his poem! I¡¯ve already heard that he created it.¡± Chu Youzhao refused to take the bait. She thought to herself, How could someone as smart as I be tricked so easily?

    ¡°It really wasn¡¯t him who wrote it! If you don¡¯t believe me, you can look at the inscription at the bottom,¡± Qin Guangyuan reminded her.

    Chu Youzhao was stunned. She subsequently opened it, and became angry when she saw the words ¡®written by friend Gao Ying in ce of Zu An¡¯. She eximed, ¡°Gao Ying, that bastard, why is he leaving his name behind on brother-inw¡¯s poem? How shameless!¡±

    Qin Guangyuan took the chance to seize it back from her hands. When he saw that it was still in good condition, he sighed in relief, saying, ¡°That Gao guy is indeed shameless¡­¡±

    After they bothined for a while, Chu Youzhao tried to get the poem back from him. Qin Guangyuan asked in surprise, ¡°Wait, didn¡¯t I already have someone make a copy for you?¡±

    Chu Youzhao¡¯s face heated up. She said, ¡°That careless maid identally ruined it.¡±

    Qin Guangyuan said, ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll have someone make another copy for you. Don¡¯t ruin it this time. Everyone in the n is still waiting in line for a copy.¡±

    ¡°I know that already¡­¡± Chu Youzhao watched excitedly as his subordinate properly made a copy of the poem. Then, she brought it back with her happily. She ordered the maids to hang it in the bedroom. She was going to take good care of it and look at it every day. Either way, everyone thought she was a man. Furthermore, with the Qin n¡¯s military background, no one would find it unsuitable.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Chu Youzhao looked at the words on the wall while thinking to herself, I have to get brother-inw to write me a poem in the future. I¡¯m so jealous of those other guys.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in the Eastern Pce, Zu An rubbed his nose. ¡°Achoo!¡±

    Bi Linglong asked in confusion, ¡°Sir Zu, what¡¯s wrong? Are you not feeling well?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s probably because I¡¯ve been practicing calligraphy for too long,¡± Zu An took the chance to say. He had been forced to stay in the Eastern Pce by Bi Linglong. Time felt as if it crawled on way too slowly¡­

    A look of worry shed across Bi Linglong¡¯s face. ¡°I was too careless. Sir Zu¡¯s injuries haven¡¯t healed yet after all, so you should be using this chance to rest. Sir Zu doesn¡¯t need to stay in the Eastern Pce any longer; you should go back and rest well.¡±

    Rong Mo wrinkled her nose as she stood off to the side. Does he look injured at all? He probably yed around with that courtesan too muchst night. The crown princess is normally so smart. Why can¡¯t she tell that this bastard Zu An is just trying to ck off?

    Zu An felt a bit embarrassed when he sensed Bi Linglong¡¯s concern. He took out something and said, ¡°I¡¯ve noticed that the crown princess has been a bit distracted recently. I have a Calming Talisman here. If you carry it at your side, it¡¯ll help you be at peace, regardless of whether it¡¯s during cultivation or when you¡¯re sleeping.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Sir Zu.¡± Bi Linglong was happy. It wasn¡¯t that she cared too much about the gift, but rather, she was moved by his sincerity. The gift meant that he did care about her, and that was why he had noticed that her mental state hadn¡¯t been the best recently. He was trying to help her solve her problem.

    Rong Mo rushed over to receive the Calming Talisman. She was also a cultivator, and her cultivation wasn¡¯t low. When it entered her hands, she immediately felt a calming sensation. She ran over to hand it to Bi Linglong and said, ¡°Crown princess, this thing really works.¡±

    Her attitude toward Zu An improved as well. After all, she had seen that Bi Linglong was a bit out of it recently too, and knew that she indeed needed such an item.

    Bi Linglong received the talisman with a smile. Suddenly, her pretty brow furrowed and she asked, ¡°Hm? Why does this talisman have a smell?¡±

    Zu An immediately began to sweat. He had once again experienced that women were indeed extremely sensitive to the smells of other women. This Calming Talisman was something Xie Daoyun had personally drawn up for him, so it probably had her smell. With his current cultivation and cultivation techniques, the talisman didn¡¯t have too much use. That was why he might as well give it to someone who needed it more.

    Fortunately, he reacted quickly and exined, ¡°That¡¯s the talisman¡¯s unique smell. It adds to the calming effect.¡± I couldn''t smell anything even after keeping it on me for so long, and yet she noticed it immediately. The noses of women really are terrifying, as expected.

 Chapter 935, Part 2: A Day in the Life of a Playboy

    <h4>Chapter 935, Part 2: A Day in the Life of a yboy</h4>

    Bi Linglong felt relieved and said, ¡°Sir Zu really is considerate.¡± She called over her maid and spoke a few words. Soon afterward, they came out with arge case and a small case.

    ¡°I can¡¯t ept your gift without giving anything in return.¡± Bi Linglong said. ¡°We had to rely on Sir Zu to deal with that Jade Moon Serpent, and its tendons have already served as proof of our sess. There¡¯s no use for us to keep them, so the treasure belongs to the hero who yed it. I hope they can be of use in your recovery and cultivation.¡±

    The tendons of the Jade Moon Serpent were an extraordinary treasure on their own, either in medicine or as a weapon material. They weren¡¯t something money could easily buy.

    Zu An had begun learning how to refine medicine. Together with the way the promotion levels of his valkyries always needed some strange monster parts, the tendons were quite useful for him. He said, ¡°Thank you, crown princess.¡±

    He knew that she was using the situation as a pretext to give him some good stuff. This girl really did treat her lover well. That was why he really didn¡¯t understand what those simps from his past world had been thinking. Do you really need to guess if a girl likes you or not?

    Bi Linglong took out a ssmp from the other case, saying, ¡°This jademp has gone through careful preparations. When you light it at night, it can make a room as bright as day. Sir Zu needs to practice your handwriting at home as well, but your eyesight might get worse if you practice for too long. Sir Zu won¡¯t have to worry as much with thismp¡¯s help.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. Are you giving me a deskmp to prevent my eyes from going bad? I mean, I understand the reasoning, but why do I feel as if you want me to keep practicing even when I¡¯m at home¡­

    Zu An had already suffered his fair share of practicing Pang Zhonghua, Tian Yingzhang, and Wu Yusheng¡¯s stuff[1]¡­ Just the thought of having to do it again alone gave him a huge headache. Practice his handwriting? It wouldn¡¯t get much better even if he practiced for the rest of his life¡­

    Of course, there was no way he was going to grumble, since the other party had good intentions. He even put on a ¡®moved¡¯ expression as he said, ¡°Thank you, crown princess, for your kindness. This subject will definitely strive my utmost to do anything you ask of me!¡±

    He reacted as if he were overwhelmed with favor, but Rong Mo and the others only thought that it was expected. After all, there weren¡¯t many who could receive favor from the crown princess.

    But in Bi Linglong¡¯s ears, she felt there was something strange about what Zu An had said. She thought of something, and her face turned a bit red.

    ¡­

    After Zu An left the imperial pce, he thought to himself for a bit. He didn¡¯t go home, and instead headed to the western part of the city toward Mount Yuquan.

    Regardless of whether it was Jiang Luofu¡¯s map, Xie Daoyun¡¯s Last Breath Talisman, or the sacrificial piece Xie Xiu¡¯s teacher had given him, they were all life-saving treasures. He had to properly thank them.

    He sought out Hei Baizi first. Hei Baizi was fiercely training Xie Xiu, but he was overjoyed when he saw Zu An¡¯s arrival. He pulled him over and insisted on ying a few rounds.

    Zu An felt a huge headache. He didn¡¯t know how to y Go! He couldn''t just let down the other party¡¯s impression of him.

    But fortunately, he had prepared ahead of time. He brought out a Go game chart that was famous in his previous world, called the Blood Vomit Game. In that world, there was a chess master who had suffered such a crushing defeat that he ended up vomiting blood on the spot. Zu An gave the game chart to Hei Baizi as a gift.

    The game had been mentioned in Jin Yong¡¯s novels, and he had been curious about the game record, so he had looked it up online.

    Thankfully, after his cultivation increased, his memory had improved as well. He could remember almost all of the things he had seen in his previous world.

    Sure enough, Hei Baizi¡¯s attention was immediately absorbed by the game. He mumbled to himself, ¡°Brother Zu really is a chess legend¡­ You were able to think up such an extraordinary game. I actually overestimated my capabilities and thought I could have a chat with you as equals; how shameful¡­¡±

    He took out a chess board and began to fiddle with it by himself afterward. He thought to himself, If even just a partial game record he gave me was something I can''t understand, then what right do I have to y a game with him?

    Zu An saw Xie Xiu continuously gesture toward him and asked with a smile, ¡°Can I ask for Xie Xiu to have a small vacation? We were friends even back in Brightmoon City, so I wanted to hold a small gathering.¡±

    Hei Baizi said after some hesitation, ¡°I didn¡¯t n to let him have any rest until he finished memorizing the 128 books I gave him, but since Brother Zu is asking for this favor, he should be able to at least pick up some of your brilliance by being with you. That¡¯s good in its own way.¡± He returned to his chess board and focused on his own studies afterward.

    Xie Xiu felt as if he had just received a huge pardon. He quickly grabbed Zu An and left.

    ¡­

    When they were far away from Hei Baizi¡¯s courtyard, Zu An looked at the pretty boy who used to be romantic and frivolous. He couldn''t help but ask with augh, ¡°Brother Xie, is there a need to be in such a rush?¡±

    ¡°You have no idea! He doesn¡¯t even treat me as a human¡­ After following him as his disciple, I don¡¯t think there have been many days when I actually had proper sleep¡­ I¡¯m forced to memorize all sorts of chess boards day after day. I want to throw up whenever I see one¡­¡± Xie Xiu seemed as if he had finally found someone who understood him. He poured out his suffering to Zu An.

    Zu An asked with a frown, ¡°If it¡¯s really that hard for you, should I pay the academy a visit and help you change your teacher? I still have some say, so I think I can make it happen.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that¡­¡± Xie Xiu had a look of hesitation on his face. ¡°Even though my teacher is strict, I know he¡¯s doing it for my sake. If I do what he says, my mind will be tempered. How can I be such a fool and seek out another teacher?¡±

    Zu An was speechless. This kid was crying for help, and yet refuses to leave. What was the word for these sorts of people? Oh, right, lowly!

    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go out and drink. I heard Scarlet Invitation in the capital wasn¡¯t bad. I¡¯ve been in the capital for so long, but I¡¯ve never had a chance to go there yet. Wasn¡¯t there a girl named Nan Xun who was pretty popr recently? I wonder if she¡¯s better than our Immortal Abode¡¯s Qiu Honglei was back then. We should go and check that ce out.¡± Xie Xiu¡¯s eyes shone. After all, he had been a regr guest of such ces back in Brightmoon City. And yet, after he came to the academy, his teacher kept making him memorize and y Go. He had already almost forgotten the feeling of a girl and the taste of alcohol.

    Zu An looked at him sympathetically. Just how little information does this guy have ess to? I wonder what kind of reaction he¡¯d have if he knew that I just came from Nan Xun¡¯s room this morning. However, he decided not to stir Xie Xiu too much. He said, ¡°I came to thank some people today, so we¡¯ll talk more after I take care of that first.¡±

    They decided to find Jiang Luofu first. However, she wasn¡¯t at the academy!

    ¡°Principal Jiang has always treated you really, really well. I wonder why she likes you so much.¡± Xie Xiu was used to calling Jiang Luofu principal. Meanwhile, he thought, How is her sight so sharp? She made Zu An a teacher back when his reputation wasn¡¯t anything special. Just why did Jiang Luofu favor Zu An so much?

    But he quickly stopped trying to figure it out. Zu An is rather decent looking, but of course, stillcklusterpared to me. Even if Principal Jiang were looking for a man, she should¡¯ve chosen me, right?

    ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± Zu An smacked Xie Xiu¡¯s head, snapping him out of his narcissistic delusions.

    ¡°You can¡¯t touch a man¡¯s head or a woman¡¯s waist, you know? Only lovers can do that!¡± Xie Xiu was upset that Zu An had messed up his head. Then, he winked at a few female students who were passing by. The female students were surprised and quickly left while giggling. However, they couldn''t help but turn around because of how handsome he was.

    Zu An was speechless. This guy really is good at this stuff¡­ He''d definitely be popr if he were a gigolo.

    ¡°Right, has your sister been busy recently?¡± Zu An took the chance to ask for some information. Thest few times he hade to the academy, Xie Daoyun had been drawing talismans every day under her teacher¡¯s instruction. They hadn¡¯t had much time to interact with each other.

    ¡°My sister has it way easier than me! She was good at calligraphy to begin with, and she¡¯s smart too. Drawing talismans isn¡¯t a hard subject for her at all. She was quickly praised by her master and viewed as an excellent disciple. She¡¯s allowed to manage her own time however she wants now,¡± Xie Xiu said enviously. Compared to his sister, he really was miserable¡­

    He suddenly thought of something and shot Zu An a vignt look. ¡°Why are you asking about that?¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°Your older sister gave me a Last Breath Talisman before I went into the dungeon, so I wanted to thank her properly.¡±

    ¡°I guess you have some conscience.¡± Xie Xiu sighed in relief.

    The two of them quickly arrived at the first disciple¡¯s residence. As the libationer¡¯s first disciple, his status was exceptional. His residence wasrger than his fellow disciples¡¯. It was more like an open garden. The pair walked through several long corridors, then finally saw a beautiful figure sitting inside ake gazebo while writing something.

    ¡°Big sis!¡± Xie Xiu ran over and called out, intending to scare her. But Xie Daoyun wasn¡¯t fazed at all. The brush in her hands didn¡¯t even stop. Xie Xiu sighed in amazement, saying, ¡°Big sis¡¯ focus is getting better and better.¡±

    ¡°You always do this kind of stuff. I¡¯m already used to it,¡± Xie Daoyun said indifferently. She asked, ¡°By the way, shouldn¡¯t you be memorizing chess matches with fifth master? Did you sneak out?¡±

    ¡°No way, am I that kind of person?¡± Xie Xiu immediately said defensively, ¡°Brother Zu came over, so I¡¯m tagging along.¡±

    The calm Xie Daoyun trembled when she heard the words ¡®brother Zu¡¯. Then, she turned around and really saw Zu An there. She said in pleasant surprise, ¡°You¡¯re here.¡±

    Xie Xiu became jealous. His big sister hadn¡¯t reacted at all when he tried to scare her, and yet the ink on her brush had even sshed out when she heard him mention Zu An.

    Zu An smiled toward Xie Daoyun and said, ¡°I came to thank you. It was because of your talismans that I was able to stay alive in that dungeon.¡±

    Xie Daoyun smiled, her expression refreshing like willow branches swaying in the wind. She said, ¡°We¡¯re friends, so of course I don¡¯t want to see anything happen to you. As for thanks, there¡¯s no need. After all, you still owe me that song you promised me.¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An immediately broke out into a sweat. He owed her a favor back then in Brightmoon City, so he had randomly promised her a song. He hadn¡¯t expected her to still remember that promise.

    Xie Xiu had been feeling a bit bitter to begin with. When he heard that, he immediately took the chance to beat Zu An while he was down. ¡°Brother Zu, you¡¯re being insincere here! You said you were going to thank my big sis, and yet you didn¡¯t even bring a single gift. I¡¯m disappointed in you.¡±

    Xie Daoyun gave her little brother an annoyed look, saying, ¡°There¡¯s no such thing between friends. Stop saying random things.¡±

    Zu An felt a bit awkward as well. He had been so busy recently; where would he find the time to get something for her?

    He suddenly thought of something. He took out a ssmp and asked, ¡°Who said I didn¡¯t bring anything? Once this jade ssmp is lit, your room will be as bright as day even in the middle of the night. You need to draw a lot of runes, and those runes are extremely detailed. If there isn¡¯t enough lighting, you might damage your eyes. But with thismp, there¡¯ll be no more problems.¡±

    1. This is referring to Chinese calligraphy textbooks. ?

 Chapter 936: Leaves of a Willow Lifted by the Wind

    <h4>Chapter 936: Leaves of a Willow Lifted by the Wind</h4>

    It was obviously the samemp Bi Linglong had given him, but Zu An gave it away to another girl,pletely unfazed.

    After all, there was no way he would continue to practice handwriting at night. He didn¡¯t think it was too likely for Bi Linglong to notice either. She didn¡¯t really know Xie Daoyun, and with Bi Linglong¡¯s status, there was no reason for her toe into his own room to check if it was still there.

    Even in terms of the distant future, if she really did end up in his room and didn¡¯t see themp for some reason, he could just say that he identally dropped it and broke it, or make up some other random excuse. Sigh, why am I so smart?

    Xie Daoyun was happy and excited when she saw themp. She blushed and eximed, ¡°Thank you, big brother Zu!¡±

    This kind of gift was just too useful for her! He probably got it while thinking about me. The usually calm and reserved Xie Daoyun felt her heart rate speed up when she had that thought.

    Xie Xiu¡¯s eyes widened. As someone who had mastered the arts of the yboy himself, how could he not understand the destructive power the gift had on his sister? Damn you, Zu An, are you trying to be my brother-inw?

    As he watched the two of them exchanging ambiguous looks, Xie Xiu walked right in between them to block their line of sight. Then, he looked at Zu An with a big smile, asking, ¡°Brother-in¡­ Ahem, Brother Zu, what about my gift?¡±

    Zu An replied indifferently, ¡°Isn¡¯t saving you from He Baizi the best gift?¡±

    Xie Xiu choked. He wanted to argue back, but he suddenly felt that what Zu An had said really was true. He could only say, ¡°Alright, alright. You¡¯re done now, right? We should go out and have some fun.¡± Of course, having some fun was just a pretense. He wanted to go to the capital¡¯s pleasure quarters and have some lovely girls in his arms.

    Zu An obviously knew what he was thinking, but he didn¡¯t know what Kong Nanwu and the others¡¯ purpose foring to the capital was. He didn¡¯t want to get too involved with them. As such, he said with a smile, ¡°Alright, how about taking Daoyun with us? It¡¯s been so long since we came to the capital, and yet I¡¯ve never treated you guys to a meal. Today¡¯s a good chance for us to go out and rx.¡±

    Xie Xiu looked dejected when he heard that his big sister wasing too. There was no way they could go to the pleasure quarters if she wasing along! Wait, why is he calling her Daoyun as if they¡¯re close?

    Xie Daoyun also noticed the way Zu An addressed her and said, blushing, ¡°Teacher told me to watch his home for him. I can¡¯t just leave like this.¡±

    Xie Xiu was overjoyed to hear that and said, ¡°Right, right, right, we should just go by ourselves.¡±

    However, Xie Daoyun said, ¡°But if you don¡¯t mind, we can hold a small gathering here. I¡¯ll have some servants prepare some food and drink.¡±

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°That¡¯s perfect. It¡¯s too noisy outside; Daoyun¡¯s ce here is much more elegant. Huh? Xiu¡¯er, what kind of expression is that? Why do you look as if you¡¯re about to cry? Isn¡¯t having a meal with your big sister a great thing?¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Xie Xiu was speechless. Screw you! You still want to be my brother-inw with the way you¡¯re acting? If I don¡¯t mess up your rtionship, my surname isn¡¯t Xie!

    Xie Daoyun was really happy when she heard Zu An¡¯s response. Picking up the hems of her dress, she then hurried out to tell the servants to prepare some food.

    Zu An took the chance to wrap his arm around Xie Xiu¡¯s shoulder, asking, ¡°Xiu¡¯er, what¡¯s wrong? Are you upset?¡±

    Xie Xiu harrumphed and pushed Zu An¡¯s arm away, replying, ¡°Don¡¯t touch me. I don¡¯t have a friend like you who¡¯s so disloyal.¡± You can flirt with my big sister, but what about me?

    Zu An sighed and said, ¡°Xiu¡¯er, it seems you had no idea what I was trying to do.¡±

    Xie Xiu thought, What else could you possibly be thinking by doing this? But he hesitated when he heard Zu An¡¯s tone, asking, ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    Zu An asked, ¡°Do you know why your master keeps making you memorize Go games day in and day out?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s to strengthen my soul, of course,¡± Xie Xiu subconsciously replied.

    ¡°Indeed. Normal cultivators need to reach the peak of the ninth rank before they can start using their soul power. However, your master¡¯s chess dao can take a different approach¡­¡± Zu An first praised Xie Xiu¡¯s master Hei Baizi, then shifted his attitude. ¡°But there are many fundamentals of cultivation that can¡¯t be ignored. Your cultivation is still too low, and your body isn¡¯t strong enough. Your soul isn¡¯t as sturdy as that of someone truly strong.

    ¡°You haven¡¯t slept for so long, so your internal energies are deficient. If you go to a brothel now, you¡¯ll be wasting your energy on girls. That will only end up ruining all of the effort you put into cultivating your soul. Your body won¡¯t be able to take it anymore and you¡¯ll end up seriously injured. You might even lose your life!¡±

    Zu An¡¯s cultivation was now much higher. Together with Mi Li¡¯s constant influence, he sounded truly convincing. Xie Xiu was quickly befuddled. His expression changed several times, but then he quickly cupped his hands and said, ¡°I would¡¯ve made a huge mistake if it weren¡¯t for Brother Zu¡¯s warning. I won¡¯t forget this life-saving grace.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re being too serious! We¡¯re all one family,¡± Zu An patted his shoulder and said with a smile.

    Xie Xiu¡¯s expression was strange. When did we be one family? He couldn''t help but reply, ¡°Right, Brother Zu, can you not call me Xiu¡¯er? It sounds weird.¡±

    ¡°Sure, Xiu¡¯er,¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°What are you two talking about?¡± Xie Daoyun asked when she returned, having already finished her preparations. A smile appeared on her face when she saw them hooking their arms around each other; she thought the two seemed to be very close.

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°I was just feeling bad for how Xiu¡¯er has had it recently. Meanwhile, you¡¯re quite rxed here, and you can call over the servants in this courtyard whenever you need them for something. He has to suffer day in and day out with Hei Baizi. The difference is just a bit too much.¡±

    Xie Xiu gave him a grateful look. Zu An hadn¡¯t exposed his intention to go to a brothel.

    Xie Daoyun couldn''t help but grab Xie Xiu¡¯s ear, saying, ¡°It¡¯s this brat¡¯s fault for bing ignorant and ipetent by ying around with girls all day. Look at how formidable your big brother Zu is. He was able to help the crown prince defeat an eighth ranked Moon Jade Serpent while still being so young.¡±

    That was what the court had told everyone. She had always paid close attention to news from that end, so she obviously knew about that. Unfortunately, she had no idea that the enemies Zu An had faced were far above the eighth rank.

    Xie Xiu became a bit gloomy. He thought to himself, Zu An went to the brothels way more than me! He even ended up bringing home the courtesan queen herself from Immortal Abode! Even if we put aside the courtesans, just the beauties at his side alone are more numerous, so why am I suddenly the bad example¡­

    He was about to retort when he suddenly realized that he would only be making himself look worse if he said anything. He could only try his best to calm his sister down so she would let go of his ear.

    ¡­

    Soon afterward, servants brought in a charcoal stove and an assortment of vegetable and meat dishes.

    Xie Daoyun said gently, ¡°A normal meal would take some time to prepare. Since the weather¡¯s quite cold, why don¡¯t we enjoy some hot pot tonight?¡±

    ¡°Sounds good!¡± Xie Xiu¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°I¡¯ve really been starving recently.¡±

    Only then did Zu An realize that it was already wintertime. Ever since he had begun to cultivate, he stopped having to fear the cold. That was why he hadn¡¯t even noticed the change in seasons.

    They cooked themb meat while chatting with each other. To a certain degree, they were from the same hometown, so the gathering felt especially nice.

    A cold wind blew past. Xie Daoyun¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up. She looked outside past the railing excitedly and eximed, ¡°It¡¯s snowing!¡± Brightmoon City was down south, so it was rare to see snow there even during winter. That was why she was particrly excited.

    Zu An was stirred by her gentle and refinedplexion, which was even more beautiful amid the contrast of the fluttering snow and the stove¡¯s fire. He blurted out, ¡°Of what does the fluttering of snow resemble?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect Brother Zu to suddenly have some literary elegance,¡± Xie Xiu said with a smile. He looked at the falling snow, then after muttering to himself for a bit, said, ¡°In my opinion, it¡¯s like salt scattered through the air.¡±

    Xie Daoyun gave her little brother an annoyed look. Her little brother really was a bit ignorant sometimes. This brat was a master at everything rted to girls, but he was dumb as a donkey about anything unrted to girls. For fear of Zu An seeing through their family¡¯s situation, she thought for a bit, then said, ¡°It resembles the leaves of a willow lifted by the wind.¡±

    Zu An felt goosebumps across his entire body. He was momentarily distracted as he looked at her stunning countenance.

 Chapter 937: Zu Anâ€™s Gift to Daoyun

    <h4>Chapter 937: Zu An¡¯s Gift to Daoyun</h4>

    Never could Zu An have imagined that Xie Daoyun woulde up with the exact same poem as a certain talented woman from his previous world¡¯s history. He suddenly felt as if he were trapped in a dream.

    Just how was this world rted to his previous world? What kind of rtionship did the Xie Daoyun of this world have with that other Xie Daoyun?[/ref]The original creator of Xie Daoyun¡¯s reply was someone with the same name from Zu An¡¯s previous world. This interaction was where Zu An got the first half ¡®Of what does the fluttering of snow resemble¡¯ from.[/ref]

    Even after thinking for a bit, he just couldn''t figure it out, so he decided to stop thinking. After all, one had to live in the moment. At the very least, these people in front of him were still alive, so what was the point in thinking about all of that?

    ¡°Sir Zu, was my poem not good?¡± Xie Daoyun asked carefully when she noticed that he had been silent for a long time.

    Xie Xiu became a bit unhappy. His big sister was normally quite proud of her achievements in the literary field, and yet she ended up doubting her own ability in front of Zu An first. As such, he said, ¡°Big sister¡¯s verse was many, many times better than mine.¡±

    Xie Daoyun harrumphed. ¡°Who wants topare with you?¡±

    Xie Xiu was speechless. He felt attacked. After all, this was his big sister¡­

    Zu An snapped out of his daze and said, ¡°Daoyun is too humble. Your verse was exceptional. I just happen to have a poem to present to you as a gift.¡±

    ¡°A gift for me?¡± Xie Daoyun blushed. Her heart was pounding, but she was also expectant as she said, ¡°I¡¯m listening carefully.¡±

    Zu An looked at her beautiful and gentle features, then slowly said, ¡°Breathtaking flowers cast their elegant reflections upon the waters. A pure heart, where can one find amid a world of fluttering snow?¡±

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s face immediately turned red. They were sitting by theke right now, so the water surface reflected their faces. Is he praising me for being beautiful? And what¡¯s going on with thetter half? Is he asking me where my affection belongs?

    ¡°Thank you, big brother Zu. I¡¯ll find some paper and a pen to write it down right now.¡± She had no idea how to respond, so she decided to flee the scene first. Her heart was still pounding by the time she entered her room.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    She fetched some pen and ink. Calligraphy was something she had been good at to begin with. Now, she was practicing how to draw talismans, so her skills had grown even further. Forget about a poem, she could even write out an entire essay quickly.

    ¡°How can he be like this? He already has a wife¡­¡± Xie Daoyun bit her lip. Her rising and falling chest showed that just then, she wasn¡¯t calm at all.

    Wait, Chu First Miss and Zu An seem to have already divorced each other. Doesn¡¯t that mean that to a certain degree, he¡¯s single? But the Chu n¡¯s rtionship with him still appears to be extremely close¡­

    The ink on the brush finally couldn''t take it anymore and dripped onto the paper.

    Ahhhh! This is so annoying! Xie Xiu stared at Zu An in a stupor. If not for the fact that it was his own older sister, he would have given Zu An a huge thumbs up. As a veteran yboy, how could he not see the destructive power of this poem? Judging from his big sister¡¯s hurried footsteps, he could tell she was really panicked. He asked in annoyance, ¡°Brother Zu, do you really not have any older or younger sisters?¡±

    Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°Nope, I¡¯m a single child.¡±

    Xie Xiu could onlyin about his misfortune. He really was losing out badly here¡­ Hm? Wait, even though he doesn¡¯t have a little sister, he has a wife! Doesn¡¯t Chu First Miss have a little sister? But he immediately shivered when he remembered Chu Huanzhao¡¯s Wailing Whip. He quickly threw away that thought.

    ¡°What are you two talking about?¡± Xie Daoyun asked, having just returned. Her expression was back to normal, with just a trace of redness remaining.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing,¡± Zu An said with a smile. Then, his attention shifted to the scroll in her hands. He asked, ¡°Did you finish writing it? Let me take a look.¡± He took the white scroll from her hands and unfolded it. Then, he said with a sigh of admiration, ¡°Daoyun, your calligraphy really is too beautiful.¡±

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s writing was graceful. Anyone who saw the characters would know that they were written by a sweet-tempered and refined beauty. Gao Ying¡¯s calligraphy from before wasn¡¯t bad, but it was quiteckingpared to hers.

    ¡°But of course! My big sister was really famous back when we were in Brightmoon City, you know? There were many people willing to pay good money for her to write something for them!¡± Xie Xiu bragged smugly. But he immediately felt regret after saying that. What the hell was he showing off for? The more he praised his big sister, the more it would make that guy like her!

    ¡°It¡¯s not that exaggerated¡­ Many of those people were only doing that to curry favor with our father.¡± Xie Daoyun said bashfully.

    ¡°Daoyun is too humble. All of us can see just how talented you are.¡± Zu An chuckled. ¡°Right, didn¡¯t I owe you a song? I thought of a suitable song just now.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Xie Daoyun was surprised and excited. She liked such things a lot. Furthermore, she could see that Zu An¡¯s style waspletely different from his previous songs¡­ It made her even more curious.

    ¡°Why would I lie to you?¡± Zu An had been extremely curious about the song ¡®Guangling San¡¯ from ¡®The Smiling Proud Wanderer¡¯, so he had looked it up online. But unfortunately, he had only listened to it as a keyboard warrior; there was no way he could y it.[1]

    There would have been no way he could remember the song score after all this time, but as his cultivation climbed, his memory grew stronger as well. He gradually remembered more things he had seen before.

    Thus, he could give Xie Daoyun the song through the way music was recorded in this world. Xie Daoyun was itching to try it out, so she invited the two of them inside. After all, ying the zither was a graceful thing, so it wasn¡¯t too proper to eat while ying it.

    Xie Xiu had a gloomy look on his face. He gave the copper pot a reluctant look. I didn¡¯t even finish eating yet¡­ But he didn¡¯t want to put a damper on his big sister¡¯s mood, so he could only leave sulkily.

    Xie Daoyun washed her hands first. Then, after drying them with a white cloth, she lit a bit of sandalwood incense before carefully taking out a zither. Her movements throughout the entire process were extremely graceful.

    Zu An was really impressed. This is how you should do stuff like this!

    Zither music filled the air. At first, it was still a bit underripe, but Xie Daoyun¡¯s zither skills were quite excellent. She quickly immersed herself into the song. Xie Xiu wasn¡¯t too into it at first, but his expression quickly changed. His mouth soon hung open wide.

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s chest rose and fell deeply. Her feelings were beingpletely swept away by the zither. She waspletely focused.

    Zu An was the calmest of them all. After all, he had heard the song before. Furthermore, he hadn¡¯t heard too many zither songs, so he couldn''t really tell if it was good or bad. All of his attention was on Xie Daoyun¡¯s chest. He wondered if her chest rested on the table when she was focused on drawing those talismans¡­ Otherwise, wouldn¡¯t it be a bit tiring?

    The song finished, leaving the entire roompletely silent. Xie Daoyun sat in ce, in a stupor. She didn¡¯t get up for a long time.

    Zu An saw that the bit of hair on the back of her neck was standing up, and there were some teardrops in her eyes. He had to admit that she really was someone who loved the zither. She had actually been able to sympathize so much with the song.

    A whileter, Xie Daoyun finally looked at him and asked, ¡°Big brother Zu, does this song have a name?¡±

    ¡°The song¡¯s name is ¡®Guangling San¡¯.¡± Zu An felt a bit of regret after saying that. He should have changed the name, perhaps to ¡®Zu An¡¯s Present to Daoyun¡¯, which would have earned him even more points with her.

    ¡°Guangling San¡­¡± Xie Daoyun silently stored the song¡¯s name in her memory. ¡°By the way, why do I sense grief and killing intent from this song?¡±

    Zu An was stunned. Holy shit, you can even sense that?

    He thought for a bit and exined, ¡°This song actually tells a story. There was a warrior in ancient times whose cultivation was profound. He had a friend who showed him great favor. That friend was framed by a political enemy, and so he called for the warrior several times. Even though he didn¡¯t say why, the warrior knew what his friend needed him for. Yet he never responded, and continued to remain at home to take care of his aged mother. Three yearster, when his mother passed away, he then sought out that friend and agreed to help him with his revenge.

    ¡°As a result, he charged into that political opponent¡¯s territory with only his sword to apany him, and then killed that enemy despite the protection of endless guards. Unfortunately, by the time hepleted his task, he was already surrounded by the soldiers who hade rushing to the scene. The warrior knew that there was no way for him to make it out alive, so he ended his own life. For fear that he would be recognized after he died and involve his older sister back home, he cut up his own face before hemitted suicide.

    ¡°But then,ter on, his older sister went on her own to receive his corpse. She wept because she knew why he had done what he did, yet how could she allow his name to be erased forever¡­¡±

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s eyes were brimming with tears when she heard the story. Xie Xiu¡¯s eyes were red as well, but in order to stop himself from crying, he quickly said, ¡°That man is a true hero! He was filial to his mother, waiting until she passed away before carrying out this task. He gave up his life for the sake of his friend, upholding justice.¡±

    ¡°I was more moved by his rtionship with his sister.¡± Xie Daoyun said with a sigh. ¡°That warrior cut up his own face so he wouldn¡¯t drag down his older sister, and yet his older sister chose to give up her own life for the sake of his reputation. I¡¯m filled with endless admiration just thinking about it.¡±

    Xie Xiu mmed the table and eximed, ¡°This kind of heroic figure really lived a glorious life! I wonder when I could¡­¡±

    Xie Daoyun cut him off before he even finished his sentence. ¡°I would rather you continue living like a yboy than be like him.¡±

    Xie Xiu said with an awkward smile, ¡°I was just saying stuff; I didn¡¯t really mean it. Am I that kind of person?¡± Of course the waists of those youngdies are much more my style.

    These stories were what they were. He wouldn¡¯t do something like that even if he went mad.

    1. ¹ãÁêÉ¢ are the Chinese characters of the song name. A quick Youtube search will bring up the song. ?

 Chapter 938: Horrifying Information

    <h4>Chapter 938: Horrifying Information</h4>

    Xie Daoyun sighed in relief. Then, her attention returned to the music score as she muttered endless praises.

    Zu An nodded while listening. A talented girl really was a talented girl after all. Where did shee up with all these descriptive words anyway? If it were him, he would have just shouted ¡®amazing¡¯, ¡®awesome¡¯, and the like.

    ¡­

    The group returned to thekefront gazebo. Xie Xiu said curiously, ¡°Big sis, you¡¯re usually so gentle and refined. Why do you like a song like this, so full of killing intent, today?¡±

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°Even though Daoyun is sweet-tempered and gentle, it¡¯s still mostly because she had no choice but to act that way. As the daughter of a city lord, she was raised carefully in etiquette. That¡¯s why she obviously seems a bit more reserved. But even though I haven¡¯t spent much time with Daoyun, I can sense a strong passion and longing toward life. I felt she would enjoy a story like this, one of heroes and warriors. That¡¯s why I thought of this song. Sure enough, Daoyun liked it as expected.¡±

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s beautiful figure trembled. She looked at him in disbelief. Even she herself hadn¡¯t realized thatpletely. Only now that Zu An had reminded her did she think, So that was it! She suddenly felt as if she had met an intimate friend who really understood her. But how did he understand her that well? They clearly hadn¡¯t met that many times before!

    Don¡¯t tell me we¡¯re really destined to be soulmates? Big brother Zu really understands me! When she recalled the stories she had read before, her heart began to beat even faster.

    Xie Xiu was about to mock Zu An, thinking, How could my big sister be like that? But when he saw her expression, he instantly realized what had happened. He looked at Zu An in shock. Does this guy know mind-reading or something?

    Meanwhile, Zu An was actually sighing in relief inside. He had just taken a shot in the dark byparing her to the Xie Daoyun in his previous world¡¯s history. He hadn¡¯t actually expected to be right! He became a bit flustered. Eventually, he snapped out of his daze and said, ¡°There¡¯s actually another story associated with this song.¡±

    The Xie n siblings immediately looked toward him. Xie Xiu urged him, ¡°Brother Zu, don¡¯t keep us in suspense like that!¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°During ancient times, there was a group of hermits known as the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove¡­ Among them, one of them was named Ji Kang, who believed in following nature. He usually spent his time ying the zither and reciting poetry in a bamboo grove¡­ Unfortunately, the wife he had taken in his earlier years was a princess of the royal family. Later on, the throne was seized by powerful officials. For fear of his prestige, they continuously tried to enlist him into the court to serve as an official, hoping they could use him to restrain the previous dynasty¡¯s imperial n¡¯s chances of rebellion and bring the world under the control of the new regime.

    ¡°Ji Kang obviously refused. The new high officials hated him, and yet they couldn''t find a way to immediately deal with him due to his prestige. One day, the older brother of one of Ji Kang¡¯s friends acted on his lust. He got his sister-inw drunk and raped her. In order to prevent the matter from being exposed, the older brother seized the initiative to use his younger brother of being unfilial. Because the older brother was a cohort official, he used his connections to throw his younger brother into prison.

    ¡°Ji Kang was furious over this matter, and he immediately cried out for his friend to receive justice. Since the matter now involved court officials, the high officials thought Ji Kang had ulterior motives, so they used the case to condemn both him and that younger brother to execution.

    ¡°When they heard about the matter, three thousand students gathered to petition for justice. However, that only made those high officials feel as if Ji Kang had way too much influence, so their intent to kill him was only strengthened further.

    ¡°Before he was going to pass on, he asked for a guqin zither, then calmly yed this song, Guangling San. Those present couldn''t help but acknowledge his elegance. From that day forth, Guangling San became a song that was passed down through history.¡±

    ¡­

    After hearing the story, Xie Xiu eximed angrily, ¡°What an elegant and heroic man! What a pity it is that he died under the hands of those high officials. That despicable bastard who raped his little brother¡¯s wife is even more hateful. If I ever meet someone like that, I¡¯ll definitely cut off their goddamn head!¡±

    Xie Daoyun was even more moved. ¡°I believe that Ji Kang¡¯s mood was likely very simr to that of the warrior in the poem. It¡¯s just like the warrior when he infiltrated the enemy¡¯s manor to assassinate that political enemy.¡±

    ¡°Daoyun really is a zither master after all. You were able to surmise his mood just from the song alone.¡± Zu An clicked his tongue in wonder. There were many people who knew Ji Kang¡¯s story in his previous world, but there weren¡¯t many who knew why he had insisted on ying ¡®Guangling San¡¯ at that moment. However, Xie Daoyun had been able to sense that just from the zither song! It really was admirable.

    Xie Daoyun suddenly thought of something. Her expression changed. She lowered her voice and asked, ¡°Big brother Zu, where did you hear this story from?¡±

    Zu An was rmed. He didn¡¯t know why she would suddenly ask that question and said, ¡°I read it in an ancient book. What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Xie Daoyun didn¡¯t reply, and instead first gestured with her hands to have the servants withdraw. Then she said, ¡°I suddenly thought of something. When this Zhou Dynasty was first founded, those of high status did some dirty things. They were quite simr to the high officials in your story.¡±

    Zu An was bewildered.

    ¡°Also, that Ji Kang you spoke of made me think of someone.¡± Xie Daoyun¡¯s expression was grave.

    ¡°Who?¡± Zu An asked.

    Xie Daoyun opened her mouth, but she didn¡¯t say anything. Instead, she dipped her finger into her tea, then wrote on the table.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes narrowed when he saw the word she had written, because what it said was ¡®libationer¡¯!

    Xie Xiu¡¯s mouth also widened. He wanted to say something, but he felt as if his brain just couldn''t keep up.

    Xie Daoyun wiped away the mark and said, ¡°This is only something I heard when my teacher was randomly talking about the academy¡¯s history. That person seemed to have had a deep rtionship with the royal family of the previous dynasty. That¡¯s why for the sake of not arousing suspicion, he almost never paid attention to the affairs of the world. He even maintained a neutral attitude toward the academy¡¯s teachers and students.¡±

    Xie Xiu felt his throat be dry. ¡°This dynasty¡¯s ancestral lineage was built through usurping the previous dynasty¡¯s foundation? Why have I never heard about this before?¡±

    Xie Daoyun rolled her eyes. ¡°Your attention is focused on girls day in and day out; of course you wouldn¡¯t know about this if you didn¡¯t study properly. But actually, this is something you might not have known even if you studied history. After all, it¡¯s not something too morous, and the court has always kept it a secret. They destroyed arge amount of books that were unfavorable to their image, and those who did know were told to forget about this piece of history.

    ¡°Furthermore, afterward, our emperor brought back a huge victory against the fiend races, so his prestige increased dramatically. Eventually, no one brought this up again.¡±

    ¡­

    While the two siblings were discussing the matter, Zu An felt all of his fine hairs stand up. At that instant, he seemed to have understood many things. Many of the things he had been confused about before now led to new trails to pursue. But there was still some distance from the final truth.

    ¡°Big brother Zu, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Even though Xie Daoyun was chatting with her little brother, she still nced at Zu An from time to time. She couldn''t help but ask that when she saw he was acting strange.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I was just a bit shocked.¡± Zu An snapped out of his daze.

    Xie Daoyun said in constion, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, as long as we¡¯re careful when talking about these things, nothing bad should happen. It¡¯s already been a long time since this happened, after all.¡±

    Zu An nodded. ¡°Thank you, Daoyun, for your reminder.¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡­

    Zu An got up to bid farewell soon after finishing the meal. Xie Daoyun noticed that he was a bit out of sorts, so she didn¡¯t try to keep him. She only warned him to be careful on the way home.

    When he left the academy, Zu An hurried toward the imperial pce. He had some important things to verify. It was already getting dark, so the pce gates were already closed. However, now that he had his Armed Escort Division Commander identity, he had much more freedom in entering and exiting the pce.

    He changed into his Golden Token Eleven uniform when he entered the pce, then headed straight for the Embroidery House. When he arrived, he just happened to run into Xiao Jianren reading under dim light. Zu An thought, Is this guy trying to ruin his eyes?

    ¡°Sir Eleven!¡± Xiao Jianren quickly got up to greet Zu An when he saw him. At the same time, he was confused as to why he would show up at such a time.

    ¡°Where is the archive room?¡± Zu An asked.

    Xiao Jianren said with a smile, ¡°What does sir wish to investigate? You can just ask me.¡±Even though he didn¡¯t dare to im that he had read through everything in the archives, he could easily answer most questions.

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯ll take a look myself.¡±

    Xiao Jianren shivered. As an Embroidered Envoy, he keenly sensed that the other party didn¡¯t want him to know about whatever he was investigating. He obviously wouldn¡¯t invite trouble onto himself and led the way. ¡°Sir just needs to continue down this way. With your respected self¡¯s golden token identity, you can view most of the archives. There are only some top secret cases that need the chiefmander¡¯s personal clearance.¡±

    Zu An thought that the things that he wanted to know were probably not at that level. He nodded toward Xiao Jianren, then walked toward the archive room.

 Chapter 939: Past Secrets

    <h4>Chapter 939: Past Secrets</h4>

    There were guards in the archive room, but when they saw the golden token in Zu An¡¯s hands, they immediately showed great respect and no longer troubled him. After all, golden token envoys were second only in status to the chiefmander. There were even some who offered to help him search for what he needed, but Zu An refused.

    He entered the archives room on his own. Worrying that someone might notice something, he checked records from several different sections, and only read up on some of the things he really wanted to know in between them.

    After staying for four hours, he finally found out some things.

    What he had wanted information about was naturally the previous dynasty. He wanted to know about what had happened during the transitional period too. As he read through the records, he learned that the previous dynasty had been named Meng. The emperor who had established that dynasty was also a powerful ruler with outstanding sons.

    Unfortunately, having sons who were too outstanding wasn¡¯t always a good thing. The more outstanding they were, the more unwilling they were to just remain as citizens. All of them had wanted to fight for the throne.

    In the end, the crown prince had won, but the fight over the throne had left him with a deep psychological shadow. He had always been on guard against his brothers, continuing to reduce their authority and influence until they eventually all perished in dejection.

    Unfortunately, perhaps because of genes, all of his descendants died young for some reason. It hadn¡¯t even been long since he won the throne when authority and power began to gradually shift into the hands of a high official. That high official was the great ancestor of the current Zhou Dynasty.

    It was easy to imagine what had happened afterward. The Meng Dynasty¡¯s downfall was inevitable, so the throne was tactfully abdicated in favor of the great ancestor of the current Zhou Dynasty.

    ¡°Abdicated¡­¡± Zu An sneered. That was how it was often written in historical records, but almost none of those previous rulers had given up their position willingly. He wanted to know more details about that abdication, but there didn¡¯t seem to be any records on it. Even the abdication itself was only mentioned by a few records. Even so, he still managed to find something rted to it eventually.

    After thest emperor of the Meng Dynasty abdicated, he had been conferred the title of Linzhang King and a poption of ten thousand to manage. His pce had been located in Linzhang Commandary¡¯s Highsun City. He had been allowed to use his ¡®son of heaven¡¯ banner and have five auxiliary carriages to follow him wherever he went. His territory would follow the Meng State¡¯s calendar, and all of the past rituals and ceremonies from the previous Meng Dynasty would be permitted. He wouldn¡¯t be referred to as a subject in letters to the authorities, and he could choose not to bow down to imperial orders.

    Even though these were clearly methods Great Ancestor Zhou had used to bribe the hearts of the people, it had indeed been extremely effective. In the past, even though there had been a lot of criticism toward the great ancestor seizing the throne, people had stillmended their treatment of the previous Meng Dynasty¡¯s royal family.

    That was why the information hadn¡¯t been covered up; it sung the praises of the Zhou Dynasty.

    Zu An also noticed that the Meng State¡¯sst emperor, or the Linzhang King, had still suffered from ack of descendants even after that. His children had all died at a young age. He wanted to find out more information, nut he didn¡¯t find anything useful even after searching the entire archive room.

    As for the most secretive room, Zu An couldn''t go inside. He didn¡¯t want to alert Zhuxie Chixin at the moment, since after all, he was a loyal dog to the emperor. A sudden request to enter would definitely draw the emperor¡¯s suspicion, and things would be troublesome then.

    He returned all of the cases. His mind moved quickly. When he had first transmigrated into this world, there had been something wrong with his body. He had learned from Old Mi that his body had been sealed from a young age by some sinister methods.

    Old Mi had been surprised back then, because such methods were normally only used in the pce. After all, the concubines in the pcemitted all manner of crimes for the sake of receiving more favor.

    Bearing children for the emperor was the publicly epted proof of status in the harem. All of them wanted to give birth to princes, and they didn¡¯t want theirpetitors to give birth to any.

    That meant all of them used all sorts of methods, from poison to scaring the other concubines so they had a miscarriage, to achieve that. There were too many tragic instances of children from the royal family dying young.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The royal family naturally prohibited such actions. Once discovered, the punishment would also be extremely severe. But it was human nature. Even if there were policies from above, there would be countermeasures below. Later on, the harem came up with some new methods. Nothing wrong could be seen on the surface, butter on, their treacherous plots woulde to fruition.

    The seal ced on the original owner of Zu An¡¯s body was precisely one of those methods.

    Zu An finally realized what was going on. He had always found it strange why someone would ce a seal on him rather than simply crippling him. Wouldn¡¯t that be much easier?

    But now he knew that it wasn¡¯t that they hadn¡¯t wanted to, but rather that they couldn''t. Crippling him would have made the symptoms too obvious, and others would eventually find out. They could only use such treacherous methods.

    Something else that had always left him puzzled was why the libationer would help him. Back then, he had been involved in a scandal with the crown princess, and yet the libationer who usually didn¡¯t get involved in worldly affairs had actuallye out to dere his innocence.

    He had still been extremely apprehensive back then, because the libationer¡¯s reputation was quite great. He had been worried that his skills might not be enough to deceive him. And yet, he had never expected that he wouldn¡¯t even have to use any skills. The other party had actually just decided that what Zu An said was the truth.

    Everyone else had believed what he said firmly without a doubt, but Zu An knew that the libationer had actually intentionally helped him. But he couldn''t understand why the libationer would help him. After all, the two of them had had absolutely nothing to do with each other before!

    At first, he had thought that the libationer did it on purpose to hinder the emperor a bit, but that exnation hadn¡¯t seemed too realistic. Only now that Xie Daoyun had mentioned that particr piece of history in the academy had he learned that the libationer had something to do with the previous dynasty¡¯s royal family.

    There weren¡¯t many people in the entire capital who knew about that fact. For some reason, everyone seemed to have forgotten about that segment of history. Xie Daoyun had only ended up knowing about it because she was the disciple of one of the libationer¡¯s great disciples. But even then, she didn¡¯t know exactly what kind of rtionship the libationer had with the previous dynasty¡¯s royal family.

    Zu An¡¯s mind moved quickly. He suddenly thought of something. There¡¯s no way I¡¯m the previous dynasty¡¯s prince, right?

    He had seen so many dramas in his previous world. Simr stories were amon urrence. He had already thought of many plot lines. For example, after the previous dynasty¡¯s emperor had abdicated, the Zhou Dynasty¡¯s great ancestor looked magnanimous on the surface, but had actually been worried in private. As such, he had secretly arranged for some things to be done to the previous emperor¡¯s heirs, thus cutting off his lineage.

    Or perhaps it had been the other way around. The Meng Dynasty¡¯s royal family had known that a high official was plotting something and that their nation was in danger, so they made preparations ahead of time. The first was to have a trusted aide bring away some of the royal family¡¯s bloodline and go into hiding. Then, when something did happen, they would expose themselves and rise up. After that, with the Meng Dynasty¡¯s banners, they would seize back the country. But perhaps that high official¡¯s influence was too great and the Meng Dynasty¡¯s schemes were all seen through, causing them to be chased down, and even though he managed to escape, a seal was still ced on his body¡­

    The libationer had a close rtionship to the previous royal family, so he would obviously know about any such thing. He might have even helped in the escape back then.

    Now that I¡¯ve returned to the capital, he recognized me, and that¡¯s why he chose to help me. The reason why we never came into contact with each other before was probably because it wasn¡¯t the right time yet, or maybe the other party has an even greater n.

    Zu An shivered when he thought of all of that. It turned out he had already be someone else¡¯s chess piece without even knowing it.

    ¡°The only types of mooching I want to do are as a pretty boy with a woman, or living as a wealthy family¡¯s good-for-nothing! There¡¯s no way I would want to bear an entire dynasty¡¯s grudge or something¡­¡± Zu An grumbled. His usually optimistic mood was suddenly ovee with dejection.

    He didn¡¯t really care all that much that the emperor would never let him go once he found out. After all, the two of them were already doomed to be enemies. The worst part was that the entire royal family, all of the nobles, and even the civilian court officials wouldn¡¯t let him go! After all, it had already been many years since the copse of the Meng Dynasty, and Zhao Han¡¯s prestige had skyrocketed after his victory against the fiend races. Who would still cherish the previous dynasty at this point?

    ¡­

    When he came out of the Embroidery House, Zu An continued to tell himself to not worry about it anymore, that none of that imperial heir stuff had anything to do with him. But his mood became worse and worse. Even if he wanted to discard the past, other people wouldn¡¯t let him! For example, the libationer, or even those hidden forces who were still loyal to the past Meng Dynasty¡­

    Then, he couldn''t help but think about the transitional period between the dynasties. He suddenly felt a bit of anger when he thought about how an orphan like him had had his future stolen by that high official. When he thought about Zhao Han, new grudges were added to old hatred.

    He suddenly stopped. He realized that he had unknowingly walked past an old well. Moreover, it was the one that had a secret path connecting to the Eastern Pce.

    After making sure that there was no one around him, he jumped straight in. Then, he activated the mechanisms the way he remembered. When he entered the secret passage, he changed out of his Embroidered Envoy uniform, then walked into the depths.

    After a long time, suddenly, a beautiful figure appeared before his eyes. Perhaps because it was already tevening, Bi Linglong was dressed in rxed clothes, but they were still beautifully designed. She looked extremely charming and elegant under the luminescent stones¡¯ light.

    She was pacing about by the entrance, her expression suggesting she was conflicted about something. When she heard some activity, though, she raised her head. A bit of happiness appeared in her eyes when she saw it was Zu An. Then, she suddenly realized something. Her face immediately turned red and she quickly said, ¡°Don¡¯t misunderstand! I was just checking if this secret passage was still in good condition; I wasn¡¯t waiting for you or anything¡­¡±

    But what she received in response was a big hug. She wanted to say something else, but her lips were forcefully plugged up. At the same time, she could hear the sound of clothes ripping.

 Chapter 940: Vicious and Merciless

    <h4>Chapter 940: Vicious and Merciless</h4>

    Bi Linglong felt wronged and confused, and at the same time, she also felt somewhat angry. She finally seized a moment to breathe and eximed, ¡°What are you doing?!¡±

    But Zu An didn¡¯t reply to her. He looked at her with burning eyes and heavy breathing. The pretty dress Bi Linglong had carefully chosen was quickly ripped to shreds, fluttering around them like butterflies.

    Bi Linglong was rmed. She even wondered if someone else was impersonating Zu An. But she soon realized that he was indeed the one next to her. After all, the two of them had already had a physical rtionship in the dungeon. She was already extremely familiar with him.

    But she felt even more wronged when she realized it was him. I was waiting for him here, and yet this is how he treats me?

    Zu An was full of negative emotions at that moment. His mind was filled with the information he had just investigated. Even though he had told himself that those events of the past had nothing to do with him, he still couldn''t help but think about how Zhao Han and his father had mistreated the Meng Dynasty¡¯s family members.

    As such, he couldn''t help but be filled with resentment. When he thought about how the woman before him was the Zhou Dynasty¡¯s crown princess, he subconsciously felt the urge to make her cry. That was why he was so rough.

    Bi Linglong felt like a small boat that was tossing and turning in a huge sea. She was battered and pounded again and again.

    ¡­

    After a long time had passed, Zu An suddenly felt something cold on his face. Only when he raised his head did he notice that two streaks of tears were falling from Bi Linglong¡¯s eyes.

    Zu An was rmed. What the hell am I doing? Even if there were any enmity, it would be toward Zhao Han and his father. What did it have to do with her? Furthermore, all of that was just spection. Whether or not he was even a descendant of the Meng Dynasty was still uncertain. Why in the world did he suddenly feel as if he had been possessed?

    He gently helped Bi Linglong wipe away the tears from her face. He then said apologetically, ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡±

    ¡°Are you done venting?¡± Bi Linglong gave him a cold look. She could obviously tell that he had only shown lust for her, and not love.

    Zu An didn¡¯t know how to reply to that question. Bi Linglong pushed him away and reached for some clothing to cover herself. But who would have thought that thergest piece was only the size of a palm, so it couldn''t cover up anything?

    Bi Linglong felt her body suddenly be warm as a set of clothes was draped around her shoulders. Zu An helped her put on the clothes, then said apologetically, ¡°I was in the wrong state of mind just now, and I¡¯m sorry for hurting you¡­¡±

    Bi Linglong coldly interrupted him before he even finished his sentence. ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear any of that right now. Leave. I don¡¯t want to see you again.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s mouth opened. He wanted to say something, but Bi Linglong¡¯s cool and elegant brow was already furrowed. ¡°If you still don¡¯t leave, I¡¯m going to holler for help!¡±

    Zu An knew that nothing he could say just then would help. He could only silently turn around to leave. When he was about to turn the corner, however, he suddenly thought of something and quickly said, ¡°I didn¡¯t have time to help you recover your life force yet. You should properly refine what I left inside of you, or else if you leave it untreated for a long time, it might leave somesting problems.¡±

    Bi Linglong was already by the entrance to the passage. Her entire body trembled when she heard that, and a look of embarrassment shed across her face. She eximed, ¡°Get lost!¡±

    When she returned to her room, she suddenly stopped after taking a few steps. Her pretty brow furrowed. She became angrier and angrier. That scoundrel! She only recovered herposure after some time passed. Then, she called in some maids, saying, ¡°Prepare some hot water for me. I want to take a bath and change clothes.¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡± The maid was about to leave when she suddenly voiced her surprise. ¡°Crown princess, why is your hair in such a mess?¡±

    Bi Linglong said indifferently, ¡°It might have gotten messy while I was sleeping just now.¡±

    ¡°To be honest, the crown princess looks even more beautiful after resting than usual¡­¡± the maid said in praise. Suddenly, her eyes shifted to Bi Linglong¡¯s clothes. She was stunned.

    As one of Bi Linglong¡¯s personal maids, she obviously knew that the crown princess was clearly wearing another set of clothes! More importantly, she was familiar with every single set of clothing the crown princess owned, and these didn¡¯t belong to the crown princess.

    As someone who had grown in the pce, she immediately thought of many possibilities. Her eyes narrowed, but she quickly covered it up. She said with a smile, ¡°This servant will prepare a bath for the crown princess now.¡±

    She turned around to leave, but a gust of wind suddenly brushed past her ears. She instinctively tried to dodge, but she was still toote. She slowly fell to the ground with no trace of life force left.

    ¡°Crown princess, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Rong Mo rushed over when she heard the activity. What she saw first was the maid¡¯s corpse. She was stunned. She quickly looked up at Bi Linglong, who was now in bed, and asked, ¡°Are you okay?¡±

    Bi Linglong was lying down in her bed, holding the covers tightly over her body to hide the clothes she was wearing. She said indifferently, ¡°She was plotting something, so I killed her. Clean up the corpse, then investigate her background to see which faction sent her.¡±

    ¡°This servant has neglected my duty and didn¡¯t notice ahead of time.¡± Rong Mo broke out in a cold sweat. If something ended up happening to the crown princess, the consequences really would be too horrible to imagine! She quickly apologized.

    ¡°You can leave. I¡¯m tired.¡± Bi Linglong waved her hand.

    ¡°Understood!¡± Rong Mo quickly brought the corpse away and cleaned up the area.

    Bi Linglong¡¯s expression remained cold. That maid had been acting too calm, and only that moment of hesitation was out of character.

    There was no way an ordinary maid could remain so calm in that kind of situation, and only a well-trained spy could. That was why she hadn¡¯t hesitated to kill her. She couldn''t let anyone know about her current state.

    Of course, even if the maid hadn¡¯t been a spy for someone, she had seen something she shouldn¡¯t have, so she still had to die. As someone from the royal family, there was no way Bi Linglong would show mercy for something like that.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    She wanted to call over someone else to prepare a bath, but she remembered Zu An¡¯s warning. After some hesitation, she sat up on her bed and began to cultivate.

    ¡­

    Soon afterward, she opened her eyes in shock. She sensed that life force was spreading through her entire body. The feeling of weakness she had experienced previously gradually disappeared, instead reced with youthful vitality.

    She reached out her hand and separated a lock of hair. She saw that her snow-white long hair had already begun to recover some of its previous color. Her cheeks gradually became rosy. ¡°That rascal...¡±

    Even though she was scolding him, her tone was no longer as angry as it had been before.

    ¡­

    Zu An paid the Eastern Pce several visits in the following days, but each time, Bi Linglong refused to meet with him, citing various reasons. As the crown princess, it waspletely natural for her to refuse to meet with normal subjects.

    Zu An knew that she was upset, but he didn¡¯t know what else he could do either. He could only y five-in-a-row with the crown prince out of boredom, defeating him so miserably he didn¡¯t want to y anymore.

    However, many things had happened in the capital in those few days.

    The biggest thing was that news of Yu Nan frequenting brothels began to circte among the capital¡¯s civilians. The stories were vivid and lifelike, making one feel as if they were there in person. They spoke not only about how he had tried to gain Nan Xun¡¯s favor, but also how he had been defeated several times by Zu An.

    Themoners had loved such gossip about those of higher status to begin with. As such, those things soon became known to all.

    After they had their fun with the stories, some people began to call the details into question. Wasn¡¯t Yu Nan the Secretariat Assistant Director? Why had he been fighting with another man for a courtesan in a ce like the pleasure quarters? He had even beenpletely embarrassed in that affair. How did Princess Changshan feel about this?

    At first, Princess Changshan held back to protect her husband¡¯s dignity. She couldn''t really say anything either, for the sake of both of their mutual interests. But at that point, the rumors were getting more and more out of hand. There were some that began to criticize the princess for turning a blind eye.

    There were all sorts of rumors. Some said that the princess was very ugly and couldn''t keep her husband¡¯s interest; others said that she had silently agreed to her husband¡¯s affairs. There were even some who said that the princess couldn''t have children¡­ It really was getting more and more ridiculous.

    Even though the Yu n used all sorts of connections to try to keep the rumors down, and they had even caught some of the rumor-spreaders as an example to others, for some reason, not only did it not help, it instead only added oil to the fire.

    Princess Changshan finally couldn''t take it anymore. She stormed into the pce while crying, asking the emperor to bring justice to the matter.

    The emperor then took advantage of the situation to discuss it in court. A group of officials that had already been prepared ahead of time denounced Yu Nan for offending public morals, saying that he had shamed the royal family¡¯s reputation¡­

    In the end, Yu Nan was dismissed from his post, and he was ordered to divorce the princess.

    After the event, the Yu n¡¯s master, Imperial Secretariat¡¯s Left Confidential Assistant Yu Xuanchong, took the initiative to resign as an apology for the offense, and yet he was stopped by the emperor. The emperor indicated that Yu Nan¡¯s offense had nothing to do with him, and that the court still needed someone who could bear responsibility for the nation like him. The emperor did not agree with his resignation, and even punished a few people who used Yu Xuanchong of misconduct.

    ¡­

    Zu An found it rather strange. The emperor clearly wanted to deal with the Yu n, so why had he let such a good chance go?

    Was it for the sake of distracting and numbing them? Even so, it still didn¡¯t make any sense. One would only go that far when dealing with high officials. But with the emperor¡¯s current strength and prestige, as well as the timing, it shouldn¡¯t have been difficult to bring down Yu Xuanchong at all. There was no need to go through such trouble at all.

    But his puzzlement was quickly resolved.

 Chapter 941: Most Blessed and Most Unfortunate Man

    <h4>Chapter 941: Most Blessed and Most Unfortunate Man</h4>

    Zu An sought out Bi Linglong as usual, but she still refused to meet him. There were so many people in the Eastern Pce present, so he couldn''t really cause amotion. He could only leave while feeling dejected.

    Just then, a eunuch came to inform Zu An that his majesty wanted to meet him. The people from the Eastern Pce had been envious of him when they first saw that, but now, they were already used to it. This man was indeed quite favored by his majesty.

    Zu An was startled. Did the emperor realize something from my visits to Bi Linglong these past few days? He saw the emperor as someone he had to defeat, so he would always feel as if he were facing a great enemy whenever he was summoned to the pce.

    After Zu An left, inside the room, Rong Mo gave the absent-minded Bi Linglong a look and asked, ¡°Crown princess, is there something wrong?¡±

    Bi Linglong snapped out of her daze and said, ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Hmph, like I care if that guy dies or not.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An arrived at the imperial study. When he saw the smiling Eunuch Wen, he sighed in relief. Even though using Eunuch Wen¡¯s expression to determine the emperor¡¯s mood wasn¡¯t that reliable of a method, it still helped.

    ¡°I greet your majesty.¡± He quickly gave the emperor a look when he entered. Sure enough, it was still the same dead horse face.

    The emperor lowered his memorial[1], asking, ¡°Did Yu Nan trouble you in any way these past few days?¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°Replying to your majesty, the Yu n and the Bi n have had some small disputes, but they didn¡¯t seek me out.¡±

    The emperor chuckled. ¡°That¡¯s only natural. The entire capital has been filled with rumors and nder over the past few days. Not even the Yu n could suppress them by using their political influence. You¡¯re still not important enough for them to pay attention to.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s thanks to your majesty being heroic and brilliant, or else this subject would¡¯ve been in trouble¡­¡± Zu An showered the emperor in praise.

    The emperor¡¯s expression eased up more and more. He asked, ¡°Do you find it strange why this emperor didn¡¯t choose to remove Yu Xuanchong from his post?¡±

    ¡°Forgive this subject for being slow-witted. I really can¡¯t understand why,¡± Zu An said calmly. At the same time, he was curious. Why was the emperor telling him about these things now? There was no reason for the emperor to exin these things to his subjects, right?

    The emperor stood up and walked over to the bookshelf. He looked at therge map hanging from the wall and calmly said, ¡°The Yu n controls the world¡¯s ki stone business; they have followers in all levels of society. Even though the position of Left Confidential Assistant is a high rank, whether or not Yu Xuanchong upies that position won¡¯t make a huge difference.¡±

    Zu An nodded inwardly. The Yu n¡¯s wealth was equivalent to that of an entire nation. If Yu Xuanzhong resigned, he would rise up again soon afterward. The matter this time was mainly regarding Yu Nan. Even if they made it a big deal, Yu Nan would still be fine, never mind taking down Yu Xuanchong.

    The emperor continued, ¡°The Yu n has always walked closely with King Qi. What this emperor is concerned about isn¡¯t just a trifling Left Confidential Assistant, but rather the Yu n.¡±

    Zu An shivered. The emperor was already starting to gradually remove King Qi¡¯s allies one by one. Once King Qi was all alone, that was when the emperor would strike.

    Judging from the emperor¡¯s intentions, it didn¡¯t seem as if he was satisfied with just removing the Yu n from their official positions, but rather, he was trying to take down the entire Yu n? He shivered all over when he thought of that. The emperor in front of him really was vicious and merciless¡­

    Sure enough, the emperor¡¯s eyes shifted to a piece ofnd to the north. ¡°Cloudcenter¡¯s Yu n. As the name implies, their main headquarters is in Cloudcenter Commandery. That is also where the court¡¯s greatest ki stone mine is. They¡¯ve already upied it for so many years; that should already be enough.¡±

    Zu An observed a moment of silence for the Yu n. Now that they were being targeted by the emperor, their ending was already set in stone. He suddenly recalled a certain person¡¯s exceptional appearance in their carriage. He couldn''t help but mention, ¡°Your majesty, from what I know, Madam Yu seems to be your distinguished self¡¯s good friend.¡±

    Even though he knew mentioning that wouldn¡¯t do anything, Yu Yanluo had helped him out before, so he couldn''t just sit there and not do anything.

    The emperor turned around and gave him an ambiguous smile, saying, ¡°Your rtionship with her doesn¡¯t seem to be bad. She even sought me out for your sake back then.¡±

    Zu An shivered inwardly. He quickly said, ¡°It¡¯s because I acted without thinking back in Brightmoon City and saved her life. I believe she was just returning the favor.¡± He had no idea what the emperor was thinking. He obviously couldn''t make it seem as if they were that close.

    The emperor thus nodded in relief. After all, Yu Yanluo had been a past me of his. There were so many outstanding men, and yet she hadn¡¯t chosen a single one of them. Why would she take interest in an ordinary brat like Zu An? He said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Madam Yu is this emperor¡¯s good friend. I will naturally find a suitable ce for her.¡±

    Zu An cursed inwardly, thinking, Isn¡¯t that suitable ce just your own harem? Even though the emperor pretty much never touched women to extend his life, a beauty like Yu Yanluo was an exception.

    Zu An had thought that he was alreadyplete trash, that he already had enough pretty girls around him. However, these big shots in the capital could have twenty to thirty wives, but still retain a clean image. Compared to them, he was as clean as a little white flower!

    He suddenly became nervous. Why was the emperor telling him these things? Did he have another stupid mission to assign?

    Sure enough, the emperor said, ¡°You should get ready. You¡¯re making a trip to Cloudcenter Commandery in a few days.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. However, the emperor didn¡¯t care about how he felt at all and continued, ¡°The local officials of Cloudcenter Commandery have jointly written up a letter stating that Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s duke has already been missing for a long time. They¡¯re asking the court to reconsider the dukedom position.¡±

    ¡°Hah.¡± He sneered. ¡°Looks like there¡¯s already someone impatient to rise up in this spot.¡±

    Zu An was rmed. Isn¡¯t Cloudcenter Duke Yu Yanluo¡¯s husband? That man might very well have been the world¡¯s most blessed man alive, but now, he had be the most unfortunate man.

    He asked to test the waters, ¡°What exactly is going on with Cloudcenter Duke¡¯s disappearance?¡±

    The emperor replied, ¡°It was about a year ago, I reckon. Cloudcenter Duke suddenly disappeared from the manor. No one knows where he went. At first, no one found it strange, because with his cultivation, it wasn¡¯t too difficult toe and go from the Duke Manor. But he didn¡¯t return even after a long time, so that was how they knew something happened.¡±

    ¡°Did he go somewhere, or was this a plot?¡± Zu An quickly asked.

    The emperor shook his head. ¡°After the event, when the local government office investigated the situation, they found that everything seemed normal. They couldn''t find any traces of harm. The court was still unconvinced and sent more officials to investigate. However, they still didn¡¯t find anything.¡±

    The emperor waspletely calm while speaking, without a trace of grief. Zu An thought to himself, Now that Yu Yanluo doesn¡¯t have a husband anymore, the emperor is probably doing his best not tough out loud. But through the emperor¡¯s reply, he guessed that the disappearance of the Cloudcenter Duke wasn¡¯t something the emperor had done himself.

    The emperor then continued, ¡°You¡¯re to go to Cloudcenter Duke¡¯s territory and find out the truth regarding the duke''s disappearance. Furthermore, don¡¯t shield the Yu n just because of Yu Yanluo, or else I won¡¯t let you off. Do you understand?¡±

    Zu An immediately understood what the emperor was saying. Regardless of what the reason for the mysterious disappearance was, the Yu n had to take the me. The emperor was going to use this chance to deal with the entire Yu n in one go.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    As such, he said respectfully, ¡°This subject is naturally willing to share in your majesty¡¯s burdens, but my injuries from the dungeonst time aren¡¯t light. I haven¡¯t been able to fully recover. Furthermore, I solved the case of King Qi concubine¡¯s murder and even took down Yu Nan. For the sake ofpleting your majesty¡¯s mission as quickly as possible, I had to use up a lot of thought. Now, my mental state is quite weak, and my head hurts whenever I try to think. My body is too weak, and it might affect your majesty¡¯s great ns. That¡¯s why I ask your majesty to find someone more qualified than me.¡±

    Are you kidding me? Who the hell does the emperor think I am? Even if you¡¯re going to employ someone to work from nine to nine, six days a week, you still need to pay them, right? But look at me! You use every chance to intimidate and bully me. I¡¯m not some masochist; why would I resign myself to this?

    Of course, now wasn¡¯t the time topletely break off rtions with the emperor. He brought up his recent contributions, which not only described his toils, but also proved his worth. As long as the emperor still had some use for him, then he couldn''t throw Zu An away yet.

    These were all things he had learned from that old fox Sang Hong from his visits to the Sang n over the past few days. They were essential skills if one wanted to survive among the political circles.

    The emperor¡¯s eyes narrowed when he heard those words. He felt a bit of anger. It hadn¡¯t been long since this little rascal hade to the capital, yet he had already learned how to negotiate with him like those other old foxes in the court!

    He hadn¡¯t liked Zu An to begin with, so he felt angrier and angrier. He felt as if he were being provoked somehow.

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Han for +444 +444 +444¡­

    Zu An was also nervous when he saw the iing Rage points. He had confidence that the emperor wouldn¡¯t be hostile right then and there, because he was a mature ruler, but that wasn¡¯t guaranteed. What if the emperor really went crazy?

    A whileter, the emperor calmly said, ¡°My subject has indeed worked hard during this period. I¡¯ll order Eunuch Wen to get some spirit-recovering medicines from the imperial hospital for you. You can slowly recover on your way to Cloudcenter Commandery. Furthermore, I¡¯ve noticed that you don;t seem to be too fond of your current viscount title, so once youplete the Cloudcenter Commandery task, I¡¯ll raise your noble rank by another level.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, your majesty. This subject will do my utmost,¡± Zu An replied. In this age, rising in noble rank was harder than even rising in official rank. Since the emperor had already said that, Zu An knew when to stop while he was ahead. If he continued to push the issue, he might not be able to leave this ce alive today.

    Furthermore, he really did want to get rid of that damn Green Hat Viscount title¡­

    1. The memorial to the emperor is a document presented by the officials of various ministries in order to request his attention regarding various issues. ?

 Chapter 942: Something Happened

    <h4>Chapter 942: Something Happened</h4>

    The emperor felt a bit more at ease when he saw Zu An¡¯s respectful appearance. He thought for a bit and said, ¡°Use these next few days to make some preparations. Once you¡¯re ready, this emperor will send an imperial envoy to Cloudcenter Commandery so you can make full use of your investigative abilities.¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t actually mind that there was going to be another envoy. After all, his current status and qualifications weren¡¯t enough to convince the masses. He had to investigate the duke¡¯s case as well, so the officials he woulde into contact with would all be of high status. It would actually be more convenient to hide behind the scenes.

    The emperor continued, ¡°Furthermore, this emperor will inform the world that a golden token envoy will apany this group in secret. Thus, on the surface, you can use the identity of the crown prince¡¯s chambein, as well as the Armed Escort Division Commander title, to ensure the safety of the imperial envoy; but in reality, you will also be that golden token envoy. Do you understand?¡±

    Zu An became dejected. The one protecting the imperial envoy out in the open is me, and the one protecting it from the shadows is also me? Then shouldn¡¯t I get paid two sries?

    He quickly said, ¡°Your majesty, how about we send another golden token envoy to move with us? Or maybe some strong general as a bodyguard? I was seriously injured in the dungeon before, so my strength alone might not be¡­¡± For better or for worse, he had the court behind him right now, so he had to use all of his resources. I¡¯d really be stupid if I kept charging into enemy territory alone.

    The emperor¡¯s eyes twitched when he heard Zu An¡¯sints. This brat is bing slicker and slicker¡­ He harrumphed and handed something over.

    Zu An received it and gave it a look. It was an imperial edict! The emperor sent him a voice transmission. ¡°If you encounter any cultivators or situations you can¡¯t deal with, you can open this edict to take care of it. As for how this process works, someone from the Embroidery House will teach you.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, your majesty!¡± Zu An was overjoyed. He had witnessed the power of the imperial edict back when he was in Brightmoon City. When this thing revealed its power, everyone had been left helpless! If he had such a powerful weapon in hand, wouldn¡¯t this trip to Cloudcenter Commandery be a breeze?

    Of course, he still had his misgivings, because there was a pretty long chant before the edict activated. It was easy to interrupt. Back then, Huang Huihong and the others who had escorted him to the capital suffered precisely because of that, so it definitely had its limitations.

    He suddenly thought of something and asked probingly, ¡°Has your majesty already chosen the candidate for the imperial envoy yet?¡±

    ¡°I haven¡¯t¡­¡± The emperor revealed a hint of fatigue. This matter was extremely important, so he had to consider it from several different directions. The first was that he obviously couldn''t use anyone from King Qi¡¯s faction. Furthermore, not even those from his own side were guaranteed to be loyal. After all, the great ns were all connected inplex ways. Two ns might be enemies in terms of political views, but there might be some individuals within them who were close friends, and even some who were married. That was why it wasn¡¯t easy to choose the right candidate at all.

    He suddenly gave Zu An a vignt look and asked, ¡°Why are you asking about this? What, do you have someone to nominate?¡±

    ¡°This subject indeed has someone I wish to nominate,¡± Zu An said.

    ¡°Speak,¡± the emperor said indifferently.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An said, ¡°Vice Minister of Finance Sir Sang Hong isn¡¯t involved in politics and remains devoted to your majesty. He¡¯s also a capable subject. I believe he¡¯s a suitable candidate.¡±

    The emperor¡¯s eyes narrowed. Sang Hong was also one of the candidates he had considered. However, there was a huge difference between his own choice and someone his subject had rmended.

    He replied coldly, ¡°What, so you¡¯ve learned how to make allies now? I heard you and the Sang n¡¯s people are quite close.¡±

    ¡°Your subject is in fear! I had absolutely no selfish intentions when I nominated Sir Sang!¡± Zu An eximed. However, he continued, ¡°No, strictly speaking, I do have some selfish motives. This mission in Cloudcenter Commandery is too important, and the duke¡¯s disappearance is full of suspicion. If things go as I expect, there will definitely be a huge conspiracy involved. The mastermind behind the scenes will be worried and troubled, and perhaps even attack out of desperation. If I had a pig of an ally as the imperial envoy, it would just put me in danger. That¡¯s why I obviously hope that the one who wille with me is someone capable.

    ¡°There are many who are capable in the capital, but I¡¯ve offended quite a few people while carrying out my cases in the capital¡­ In the end, the only one I can think of is Sir Sang. Even though there used to be a grudge between us back then, I trust his character. He would never let his personal feelings get mixed up with the greater situation.¡±

    ¡°Pig of an ally¡­¡± The emperor smiled knowingly. The words this kid came up with were quite interesting. When he heard Zu An admit that he had some selfish intentions, and that he had even had some old grudges with Sang Hong in the past, his serious expression eased a bit. However, he didn¡¯t express any of his feelings and said, ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to worry about the imperial envoy matter. This emperor will make my decision.¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡± Zu An sighed in relief. When he heard the reply, he realized that Sang Hong was probably already the one who would be chosen. His nomination hadn¡¯t been in vain.

    When he left the imperial study, Eunuch Wen brought him to the imperial hospital. He had the staff bring out some spirit-boosting medicinal ingredients while saying with admiration, ¡°Sir Zu, I¡¯ve never seen anyone who has received so much favor from the emperor in all these years I¡¯ve served his majesty!¡±

    ¡°The emperor¡¯s kindness is vast and mighty¡­¡± Zu An replied with a smile, but he was extremely calm inside. Weren¡¯t all of these benefits only present because the emperor still needed him to take care of more things? Furthermore, he had to figure out all of the details himself every time.

    But he was still extremely happy, because he saw that there was actually a Sky Crane Root among the medicines the hospital had given him. It was one of the main ingredients needed to refine Ki Condensation Pills.

    ¡­

    After bidding Eunuch Wen goodbye, Zu An returned to the Eastern Pce. Bi Linglong still refused to see him, so it was obvious that she was still upset about that day.

    After some hesitation, he decided not to tell her that he was going to Cloudcenter Commandery. It might be more effective if he told her a few dayster. Making a trip back there was just to let her know that he had made it out of the imperial study safely. He then found a chance to leave the pce.

    He didn¡¯t return to his own manor, but rather chose to go to the Sang n.

    ¡­

    Sang Hong sighed in amazement when he heard about everything that had happened in the imperial study, saying, ¡°You really made a risky move back there.¡±

    Zu An remainedpletely calm as he replied, ¡°Respected uncle won¡¯t continue to resign from leading posts, right? This Cloudcenter Commandery trip is a good opportunity.¡±

    Even though Sang Hong had an official position again as the Vice Minister of Finance and was nominally in charge of managing the country¡¯s finances, the actual authority was held by those big shots in the Imperial Secretariat. He was nothing more than the one who executed their intentions. In other words, he took care of all the tiresome and trifling things, while the contributions went to others.

    ¡°My worthy junior has gifted me with a great present.¡± Sang Hong was quite moved. Even though he did favor Zu An, he hadn¡¯t expected to get something back in return so soon. ¡°But you¡¯ve really had to take a great risk this time.¡±

    Sang Qien was also in a daze as she looked at Zu An. Back then, when the Sang n had the emperor¡¯s favor, there had been people ttering them everywhere. And yet, when something had ended up happening to the Sang n, she had then witnessed what hypocrisy really was. She finally understood why her father had made the choice to ally with Zu An. It was indeed a wise decision.

    Zu An said with a chuckle, ¡°Respected uncle is too courteous. Even though I did have to take some risks, his majesty cares more about the Yu n¡¯s situation right now, so of course he¡¯d choose the truly capable for this task. That¡¯s why it only looks dangerous.¡±

    Sang Qien felt great admiration as she listened from off to the side. Zu An had still been a bit inexperienced with the political circles not too long before, and yet after receiving a few pointers from her father, Zu An had already learned to be like those old foxes who had been in those circles for several decades. Such talent really was enviable.

    ¡°But this Cloudcenter Commandery matter doesn¡¯t seem to be simple at all¡­¡± They came to a unanimous conclusion after chatting for a bit.

    Of course, it was precisely because it wasn¡¯t an easy task that they had something to work toward. They believed that with their ability, they should be able to take care of the matter. That was why they weren¡¯t too worried either.

    As Sang Hong chatted with Zu An for a while longer, he noticed that Zu An was looking from side to side during their conversation. He thus said to Sang Qien, ¡°Qien¡¯er, take Ah Zu to see your sister-inw. She¡¯s experienced and knowledgeable, so she might have a solution.¡±

    Sang Qien was no longer as conflicted about the matter as before. She happily agreed.

    ¡­

    On the way there, Zu An asked urgently, ¡°Qienqien, did something happen to your sister-inw?¡±

    Sang Qien blushed. Even though she had already known Zu An for a while, she wasn¡¯t used to such a familiar form of address. ¡°We don¡¯t know why, but sister-inw keeps having nightmares. Her mind is growing more and more dispirited, and her body has grown thinner. We¡¯ve invited many doctors to examine her, but none of them could find the reason for her symptoms.¡±

    Zu An jumped in fright. After all, the bodies of cultivators were far better than ordinary people¡¯s! They normally never got sick, so if they did get sick, it was a big deal. Furthermore, if not even those doctors could figure out what was going on, heaven knew what kind of disaster it was. He sped up, eventually walking even faster than Sang Qien. He rushed in and pushed open Zheng Dan¡¯s door.

    Sang Qien¡¯s expression went rigid. Judging from how familiar Zu An was with the path there, he probably went that way pretty often.

    When Zu An pushed open the door, he saw that Zheng Dan was sitting in a chair in a daze. She had always been charming and beautiful before, but now, she was a bit weak and pale. Even her rosy cheeks now seemed a bit sallow.

    Zheng Dan subconsciously turned around. Her originally expressionless eyes erupted with joy. ¡°Ah Zu!¡±

 Chapter 943: Nightmares

    <h4>Chapter 943: Nightmares</h4>

    Zheng Dan instinctively tried to stand up, but she suddenly felt dizzy. Her body rocked back and forth, as if she were going to fall down.

    Zu An quickly moved over to support her and asked ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± She was a sixth rank cultivator, as well as a former female gang boss. When had he ever seen her act so weak before?

    ¡°I¡¯m okay, I just got up a bit too quickly.¡± Zheng Dan leaned against him and forced a smile.

    Sang Qien¡¯s expression was strange. The two of them were so intimate and natural with each other. Are you twopletely ignoring my existence right now? But she was also worried about Zheng Dan¡¯s body, so she couldn''t be bothered with those other things.

    ¡°Why is your body so weak?¡± Zu An frowned. At the same time, he pressed his hand against her pulse point. Even though he wasn¡¯t a doctor, cultivators were all extremely familiar with the human body. He sent in a strand of aura to examine Zheng Dan¡¯s body. Zheng Dan felt something as well, but due to their rtionship, she didn¡¯t resist it, allowing his energy to enter her.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know either. It might be because I haven¡¯t been able to sleep well recently.¡± Zheng Dan retained her forced smile, but herplexion was extremely pale.

    ¡°You can¡¯t sleep?¡± Zu An frowned. The bodies of cultivators were much tougher than those of ordinary people. It wouldn¡¯t matter much even if they didn¡¯t sleep for too long, so why had she ended up so weak?

    His rough checkup told him that apart from her body being a bit weak, there was nothing wrong. It was a pity that Ji Dengtu and Xiaoxi weren¡¯t here; otherwise, they would be able to urately discern what was wrong.

    He even wondered if he could invite some imperial physicians toe and take a look. The imperial physicians didn¡¯t always reside in the pce; they were swapped out as well. While at home, nobles and ministers would often pay them hefty sums to have them treat their people. With his current status, it shouldn¡¯t be too difficult to invite an imperial physician.

    Sang Qien spoke up and said, ¡°We¡¯ve already invited the well-known doctors of the capital to examine her, and we even invited someone from the imperial hospital, but all of them said that there was nothing wrong with sister-inw¡¯s body, and she just needs some rest. They prescribed some rxing medicines, but none of those things helped.¡±

    Zu An was even more shocked when he heard that they had already invited imperial physicians over. Not even the imperial physicians had been able to diagnose what was wrong with Zheng Dan¡¯s body?

    After some hesitation, Sang Qien said, ¡°There were some doctors who suggested that sister-inw¡¯s physical condition is fine, but perhaps she has something preupying her mind.¡± She spoke extremely tactfully. In truth, they had said that Zheng Dan wasn¡¯t sick, and that if she wasn¡¯t faking it, she had some mental issues.

    She immediately recalled Zheng Dan and Zu An¡¯s rtionship. After all, her father had rejected her suggestion to let Zheng Dan leave the Sang n. She and her father were both worried that that was the reason for Zheng Dan¡¯s illness.

    ¡°Nonsense! Those doctors didn¡¯t have the ability to find the root of the illness and are just muddling through with this absurd reasoning.¡± Zu An was furious and criticized the doctors.

    A smile appeared on Zheng Dan¡¯s face. After all, she was no stranger to the arts herself. She naturally sensed the Sang n¡¯s suspicions toward her. It¡¯s Ah Zu who understands me best after all.

    Sang Qien also became a bit embarrassed. She could only exin, ¡°We personally watched as sister-inw¡¯s condition grew worse and worse, her body bing weaker and weaker. We were worried too. That¡¯s why we wanted to see if you had any ways to help her.¡±

    Zu An quickly looked at Zheng Dan and asked, ¡°Is there anything else wrong apart from your body being weak?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. I just can¡¯t sleep at night, and if I try to, I have nightmares,¡± Zheng Dan replied.

    ¡°What kind of nightmares?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°Nightmares are nightmares, alright? All I know is that they¡¯re scary.¡± Zheng Dan¡¯s pale cheeks flushed red. She often dreamed about being locked in passion with Zu An, but then Sang Hong and Sang Qien would barge in. Then, she and Zu An would be dragged through the streets to be criticized and ostracized in public. But how could she say that in front of Sang Qien?

    Zu An asked in a different way, ¡°How long has this problem persisted?¡±

    ¡°I think it started about half a month ago.¡± Zheng Dan tried to remember, but she yawned several times in a row, clearly feeling extremely fatigued.

    ¡°Half a month ago? I remember thest time¡­¡± Zu An gave Sang Qien a look. After a pause, he said, ¡°I don¡¯t remember this being a problem thest time I visited.¡±

    Zheng Dan replied, ¡°There were already times when I woke up in the middle of the night then, but it wasn¡¯t that serious yet. But recently, it¡¯s gotten worse and worse.¡± She sounded extremely worried. After all, she was still young, and there were so many beautiful things left to experience in this world. She didn¡¯t want to die early just like that.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Then did anything special happen half a month ago? Did you encounter anyone special? Or maybe you came into contact with something different?¡± Zu An even began to wonder if she hade into contact with anything radioactive.

    ¡°There wasn¡¯t anything different¡­¡± Zheng Dan was confused. ¡°I was in the manor most of the time, and I would check on the Zheng n¡¯s business in the capital from time to time. There were a few times when I went for a stroll in the capital with Little Qien.¡±

    ¡°Where did you two go?¡± Zu An looked at Sang Qien. She was more familiar with the capital, so asking her would be better.

    ¡°Just some of the more famous scenic spots¡­¡± Sang Qien listed several ces in a row. They were indeed just some of the mostmonly seen ces in the capital. There were many people who passed through those ces every day, so it wasn¡¯t too likely for anything suspicious to have happened there.

    Zu An thought for a bit, then asked, ¡°Then do you have any problems?¡±

    Sang Qien was confused and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t. I feel great.¡±

    Zu An began to think to himself. His first reaction was that the Sang n had discovered his rtionship with Zheng Dan, and so they had harmed Zheng Dan to help their deceased heir vent his anger.

    But he immediately rejected that thought as unlikely. They were in the honeymoon phase of their alliance right now, so how could the Sang n possibly do something so dangerous? If they were exposed, wouldn¡¯t the two parties bepletely hostile? Judging from our meetings, I think the odds of Sang Hong taking the initiative to give me Zheng Dan are much higher than the odds of him hurting her. That meant the issue was with Zheng Dan alone. She spent most of the time in Sang Manor, while there was nothing wrong with the others¡­

    He suddenly thought of something. He looked at Zheng Dan and asked, ¡°What kind of business does your Zheng n have in the capital? Did they get into conflict with anyone?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the silk cloth business, of course,¡± Zheng Dan replied. They obviously couldn''t continue the salt trade in the capital like back in Brightmoon City. ¡°As for conflict, we¡¯re fighting for a market share with the local merchants as neers, so conflict is unavoidable. But even so, it¡¯s only limited to some of the usual methods in the marketce. We dealt with many simr situations back in Brightmoon City.¡±

    Zu An was also perplexed when he heard her say that. He really couldn''t figure out where the problemy. He could only say, ¡°I¡¯ll stay here with you today to see if you can fall asleep or not.¡±

    Sang Qien had an awkward expression as she remarked, ¡°Big brother Zu, that¡¯s a bit inappropriate, right?¡±

    Even though her father already tacitly approved, she still had to cover it up on the surface. After all, the Sang n had servants. If they learned that Zu An had openly stayed behind in the room of a youngdy and started rumors, that would be a huge blow to the Sang n¡¯s reputation. It wouldn¡¯t be good for Zu An¡¯s image either.

    Zu An said impatiently, ¡°I didn¡¯t say I was going to stay the night. Can¡¯t she still sleep during the day?¡± Sang Qien sighed in relief when she heard that he was talking about the daytime. The daytime was much better inparison.

    Zu An said to Sang Qien, ¡°Little Qien, you should leave first. I¡¯ll just watch this ce alone.¡± He had many things to tell Zheng Dan in private. It wasn¡¯t too convenient to talk with a third wheel here.

    Sang Qien was speechless. This is my house! And she¡¯s my sister-inw; aren¡¯t you being a bit too much¡­ She could only say, ¡°I can¡¯t leave right now, or else others would easily gossip if they saw this.¡± If a single man and a single woman were left in the same room, it was easy for gossip to start, even if it was during the daytime. Hmph, if not because I was worried about Zheng Dan¡¯s condition, I would already be fighting you right now!

    Zu An figured that made sense as well. He thus said to Zheng Dan, ¡°You should go to bed first, I¡¯ll be right here. Let¡¯s see if this helps.¡±

    ¡°Okay,¡± Zheng Dan said with a sweet smile. She felt a mysterious sense of peace with Zu An at her side. As for Sang Qien, she already couldn''t be bothered, considering how things were.

    Zheng Dany down on the bed. She could feel Zu An pulling the covers over her. Her smile became increasingly gentle, and she rested on her side, calmly looking at him.

    Zu An looked back at her. He gently patted her shoulder and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry and sleep. I¡¯ll be right here.¡±

    ¡°Mmm.¡± Zheng Dan thus closed her eyes.

    Sang Qien¡¯s expression changed several times. These two adulterers really were getting more and more out of hand! Am I invisible or something? But she could also sense the feelings in their gazes. She sighed. Just what kind of wedding did dad arrange for my big brother? The two of them are already a perfect pair.

    Perhaps it was because she was really tired, or maybe it was because Zu An was right there, but Zheng Dan¡¯s breathing quickly calmed down. She had clearly already entered thend of dreams.

    Sang Qien sighed in relief. She thought to herself, This guy still has some use after all. After some hesitation, she decided that there were still some things she should make clear with Zu An. She was just about to speak when she saw Zu An make a ¡®shush¡¯ motion, however.

    Is he looking down on me for annoying him or something? Sang Qien was about to get a bit upset, but she quickly followed his line of sight. The quietly resting Zheng Dan suddenly frowned, as if she were experiencing something terrifying.

 Chapter 944: Hatred Arts

    <h4>Chapter 944: Hatred Arts</h4>

    Sang Qien was startled. She quickly called out, ¡°Sister-inw, what¡¯s wrong?¡± But Zheng Dan only continued to twist and turn no matter how Sang Qien called out to her, with no signs of waking.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An quickly stopped her. Then, he took Zheng Dan¡¯s hand, slowly sending warm ki into her body. Sang Qien couldn''t be bothered with the two¡¯s skinship at the moment, however. She watched Zheng Dan nervously to see if her condition improved.

    Zu An continued to pour his ki into Zheng Dan, but she didn¡¯t get better at all. His brows furrowed tightly. While he was at a loss for what to do, however, he suddenly sensed a chill run through the other party¡¯s body.

    He was extremely familiar with the ice element because of Chu Chuyan. He quickly discerned that the chill wasn¡¯t the kind associated with the ice element, but rather something familiar; it was something like a departed spirit¡¯s yin energy.

    He¡¯d had encounters with departed spirits several times in his previous dungeon experiences already, even having faced something crazy like Xu Fu who had existed for over ten thousand years. This feeling was almost identical. Of course,pared to those big shots, the yin energy in Zheng Dan¡¯s body was much weaker.

    After he realized that, Zu An quickly used the Primordial Origin Sutra, sending primordial ki into Zheng Dan¡¯s body. Primordial ki was the bane of such sinister existences.

    Sure enough, when it sensed the primordial ki, that sinister energy seemed as if it had encountered something extremely terrifying. It immediately withdrew deeper into Zheng Dan.

    Zu An obviously wouldn¡¯t let it go so easily, however. He seemed to hear a miserable cry as that sinister energypletely disappeared. But he didn¡¯t feel happy about that; he could sense that he couldn''tpletely erase it, and it had instead gotten away.

    That wasn¡¯t his fault either. When he had encountered such sinister things in the past, they had practically all developed bodies. But this thing was extremely weak and intangible, so he couldn''t capture it at all.

    Suddenly, Zheng Dan groaned. She slowly opened her eyes, her forehead covered in fine sweat. Even her back was soaked through with sweat. It was easy to see just how weak her condition was.

    Sang Qien helped her wipe her sweat worriedly, asking, ¡°Sister-inw, do you feel better?¡± Zheng Dan voiced her confirmation. However, she still looked as if she had lingering fears.

    Zu An quickly asked, ¡°What exactly happened just now?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure either.¡± Zheng Dan was in a bit of a daze. ¡°I was able to fall asleep easily with you at my side, but then I suddenly had a scary nightmare¡­ I wanted to open my eyes, but I couldn''t. It was almost as if endless hands were trying to drag me into an abyss.¡±

    ¡°What did you dream about?¡± Zu An didn¡¯t let the details go this time.

    ¡°I dreamt about¡­¡± Zheng Dan¡¯s face turned red. She gave Sang Qien a look. She wanted to say something, but then hesitated.

    Sang Qien almostughed out of frustration. You can¡¯t even tell your own sister-inw, and yet you can tell aplete outsider? She stood there expressionlessly and said, ¡°I¡¯ll let father know. I¡¯ll have to trouble big brother Zu to take care of my sister-inw here.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Zu An had to admire this girl¡¯s ability to understand others.

    ¡­

    When Sang Qien left, Zheng Dan had a worried expression as she said, ¡°Little Qien seems to already know about our rtionship.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t think about those things. It¡¯s alright,¡± Zu An patted her hand and said in constion. He had actually already guessed certain things too, but there were many things that would be ruined if one actually talked about them. He asked, ¡°Hurry and tell me, what was that nightmare about?¡±

    Zheng Dan¡¯s face blushed red. She pouted and said, ¡°Of course, it was about our rtionship being found out¡­ Then, we were put into a cage and brought out in public to be berated. Even the Zheng n ended up suffering because of it¡­¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He eventually asked, ¡°Were there malicious spirits of some sort in your nightmare?¡±

    ¡°How did you know?¡± Zheng Dan cried out in rm. ¡°There were times when we finally managed to break out of the cage, but everyone around us turned into ghosts and chased us down.¡±

    Zu An thought, No wonder. ¡°Then why didn¡¯t you tell us before?¡±

    Zheng Dan said in embarrassment, ¡°How could I say these things to Little Qien? Also, I¡¯ve always thought that things like ghosts were ridiculous, so there¡¯s not really much to even talk about.¡±

    ¡°But that¡¯s most likely where the issue lies,¡± Zu An said with a serious expression.

    Just then, the sound of footsteps came from outside. Sang Hong had alsoe over. As such, Zheng Dan quickly separated herself from Zu An¡¯s arms. After all, she was the Sang n¡¯s daughter-inw at the moment, so she had to at least keep up basic appearances.

    ¡°Ah Zu, what¡¯s going on?¡± Sang Hong didn¡¯te inside to avoid suspicion, instead remaining outside.

    Zu An was a bit embarrassed too at that point. He gestured for Zheng Dan toe out, then gave them a rough summary of what had just happened.

    Sang Hong was rmed when he heard what Zu An said. ¡°It sounds like the work of hatred arts.¡±

    ¡°Hatred arts?¡± Zu An had never heard of the term before.

    Sang Hong exined, ¡°They¡¯re a kind of corrupt practice that can inhibit a person or object through curses.¡± Zu An suddenly understood. It was simr to the witchcraft he knew from his past world.

    ¡°These techniques are incredibly sinister. They used to appear often in the harem chambers¡¯ struggle for favor. The concubinesmitted all manner of crimes. Later on, the techniques were was strictly prohibited by the court. All the people and things rted to these hatred arts were destroyed without exception. That¡¯s why these hatred arts haven¡¯t been seen in the capital for a long time. Why would they appear again now?¡± Sang Hong continued, looking serious.

    ¡°Then is there a cure?¡± Zu An asked urgently.

    Sang Hong shook his head after some hesitation. ¡°They¡¯ve already been gone for so long, so the number of those who know about them are few, let alone those who know how to treat them. The capital is a ce filled with hidden talents, so there might be someone who knows the cure, but it¡¯s a forbidden skill. For fear of the court¡¯s punishment, they wouldn¡¯t dare to admit it even if they did know the cure.¡±

    After hearing what Sang Hong said, Zu An thought the situation might really be a bit hard then. He wondered if there was anyone in the Royal Academy who knew about such things. Based on his friendship with them, he believed that they would help him with this favor.

    ¡°By the way, what kinds of principles are these hatred arts founded on? Does the caster need a part of the target¡¯s body or some personal object?¡± Zu An asked. The curses from his previous world all needed things such as eyshes, fingernails, astrological information, or personal items that they had kept with them for a long time. If these hatred arts worked simrly, it would be much easier to find the culprit.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for those things. Normally speaking, those who practice hatred arts keep some small ghost-like things to use to harm others.¡± Sang Hong¡¯s knowledge was extensive. He quickly exined, ¡°It¡¯s rumored that the hatred arts came from the fiend races. The fiend races have powerful beings who can even kill through dreams.¡±

    ¡°Fiend races?¡± Zu An thought of something. He suddenly remembered that woman from Scarlet Invitation and said, ¡°I have an idea on how to solve this problem.¡±

    Sang Hong and his daughter looked at him in shock. They didn¡¯t understand what kind of solution he had.

    Zu An said, ¡°Danda... Ahem, Miss Zheng should use this chance to rest. I¡¯ve scared that sinister creature quite badly, so I don¡¯t believe it will return for some time. I¡¯m going out for a bit.¡±

    Zheng Dan bit her lip and nodded. If not because the Sang n¡¯s father and daughter were here, she would have tugged on Zu An¡¯s sleeves. After what she just experienced, she really wasn¡¯t willing to remain alone.

    Zu An felt a bit of a headache too. When he saw that, he asked, ¡°Then, why don¡¯t youe with me?¡± Out of respect for the Sang n, he couldn''t just bring her out alone, so he said to Sang Qien, ¡°Little Qien shoulde along too.¡±

    ¡°Sure!¡± Sure enough, Sang Hong and Sang Qien¡¯s expressions improved when they heard Zu An¡¯s suggestion.

    Sang Hong asked, ¡°Worthy junior, do you need this old one¡¯s help in any way?¡±

    Zu An said with an embarrassed chuckle, ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. I¡¯ll seek out respected uncle¡¯s help when the timees.¡± He really couldn''t bring Sang Hong to a ce like that.

    Sang Hong didn¡¯t suspect him either and instead said with a sigh, ¡°Junior has always been reliable when you do things. This old one feels at ease.¡± At the same time, he felt a bit aggrieved. If his son Qian¡¯er had had even half of Zu An¡¯s ability, they wouldn¡¯t have fallen into such a state¡­

    His mood sank. He turned around to leave after exchanging a few more words.

    ¡­

    Only the other three remained. Sang Qien asked curiously, ¡°Where are we going? Let¡¯s leave right now!¡±

    Zu An was insteadpletely calm. ¡°I fear that you two might need to change clothes first.¡±

    Sang Qien was confused when she heard that they had to cross-dress. However, her brain began to move quickly. It¡¯s probably to hide our traces! We can¡¯t let the mastermind find out, and there¡¯ll be all sorts of rumors flying about if my sister-inw is seen with another man.

    Even though I¡¯m not as pretty as my sister-inw, I¡¯m still pretty cute. I¡¯d also draw a lot of attention outside.

    That was why she agreed without much resistance. As for Zheng Dan, all she wanted just then was to stay at Zu An¡¯s side, so she didn¡¯t care if she had to cross-dress at all.

    Sang Qien was about to look for men¡¯s clothes when Zheng Dan said, ¡°I have clothes here.¡± For better or for worse, she had been a gang boss who ruled over arge business. These were all preparations she¡¯d made.

    Sang Qien chased Zu An out. Then, the two girls began to change clothes. When they came out, Zu An¡¯s eyes lit up. He couldn''t help but say with praise, ¡°Your features are so pretty, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll catch the eyes of many girls on the street. They¡¯ll wonder who these stunning young masters are.¡±

    Sang Qien blushed. She was embarrassed after being praised by Zu An. She quickly said, ¡°Let¡¯s set out then.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Zu An had a strange smile on his face, one that gave Sang Qien a strange feeling. However, she soon understood why he was acting so strangely.

    ¡­

    Sang Qien¡¯s entire body trembled as she looked at the Scarlet Invitation signboard overhead. ¡°You brought us to this kind of ce?¡±

 Chapter 945: People From the Capital Really Know How to Play

    <h4>Chapter 945: People From the Capital Really Know How to y</h4>

    Sang Qien was so angry she was shaking all over. She had been curious where Zu An was taking them the entire time. She would never have thought that he would take them to a brothel!

    For girls from distinguished ns like them, if news of this got out, their reputations would bepletely destroyed! No one would ever propose marriage to them after something like this.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    After all, why would any proper girl ever go to that kind of ce? There was nock of people who loved to gossip. Once they got their hands on such information, one might be known as a brothel regr soon afterward.

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qien for +233 +233 +233¡­

    Zu An was rather surprised when he saw the string of Rage points that came in through the backend. He asked, ¡°There¡¯s no need to be that upset, is there?¡±

    ¡°How can I not be angry!? Why would you bring us to this kind of ce?¡± Sang Qien didn¡¯t know how this man could be so shameless and ask something like that.

    ¡°That¡¯s why I told you two to dress up as men.¡± Zu An had a smile on his face when he saw her so angry.

    ¡°But we still might be recognized¡­¡± Sang Qien was nervous. Their cross-dressing wouldn¡¯t escape the eyes of those who were deliberately looking for trouble.

    Zu An gave her chest a look and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, your sister-inw might have a chance of being recognized, but you don¡¯t.¡±

    Sang Qien waspletely dumbstruck. What does he mean?

    When she noticed where Zu An¡¯s gaze was pointed, she subconsciously lowered her head to look at her ordinary and t chest. Then, she gave her sister-inw a look and saw that that area waspletely full. She realized what he was suggesting.

    She had actually been confused back when they were getting dressed. They were clearly roughly the same height, but why were her clothes so much looser? She had felt that her chest area was a bit too spacious.

    ¡°But sister-inw isn¡¯t fat,¡± she blurted out without thinking. Then, she finally realized what he was talking about. She felt as if she had been struck by thunder.

    ¡°You bastard!¡± When she saw the teasing smirk on Zu An¡¯s face, Sang Qien was beyond embarrassed.

    When he saw how she was about to bite his head off, Zu An decided to give them an exnation. ¡°The reason we¡¯reing here is because I have a friend from this ce who might be able to help your sister-inw with her problem. If you still have some misgivings, you can wait outside.¡±

    ¡°No way. I have to protect my sister-inw!¡± Sang Qien was full of suspicion. Who knows what this guy will do!?

    Zheng Dan couldn''t help but smile. This girl was quite interesting.

    ¡­

    Zu An didn¡¯t really mind, and he took the two of them inside Scarlet Invitation.

    ¡°Why do you have friends in Scarlet Invitation?¡± Sang Qien asked in confusion. Even Zheng Dan was now curious.

    ¡°They¡¯re just some friends I just happened to have met.¡± Zu An gave an ambiguous reply.

    Sang Qien harrumphed. They¡¯re definitely not just good friends.

    A staff member greeted them right when they entered. ¡°Young masters, are you here to drink, listen to music, or¡­?¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°I came to meet someone.¡±

    The staff member smiled and said, ¡°Everyone whoes here is looking for someone, but I fear that the young master will be disappointed. All of the girls are resting right now.¡±

    Sang Qien harrumphed. This is a filthy ce after all!

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. I¡¯m looking for Lady Nan Xun,¡± Zu An said.

    Zheng Dan¡¯s ears pricked up. She wondered who this Lady Nan Xun was. She had been tormented by nightmares for some time, so she hadn¡¯t been in any frame of mind to pay attention to outside information.

    However, Sang Qien instead frowned. She seemed to have heard the name before, but she couldn''t remember where.

    The staff member chuckled. ¡°Everyone whoes here wants to meet Lady Nan Xun. She¡¯s the pir of our Scarlet Invitation! But unfortunately, she is not someone you can meet just because you want to.¡±

    Sang Qien finally remembered who Nan Xun was. The capital had recently been filled with amotion precisely because Yu Nan and Zu An had been rivals in love over a brothel madam, and Yu Nan had even lost his post because of it. As the target of their rivalry, Nan Xun¡¯s reputation had naturally grown even greater.

    Zheng Dan was a bit unhappy. This guy, he¡¯s always getting into situations with courtesans wherever he goes! If I remember correctly, wasn¡¯t there a Qiu Honglei in Brightmoon City?

    Zu An obviously knew what the staff member was trying to say. He tossed over a few silvers and said, ¡°Pass on a message to Lady Nan Xun for me. Tell her that Ah Zu is looking for her.¡±

    A ttering smile immediately appeared on the staff member¡¯s face when he saw the silvers. ¡°Young masters, please wait inside here. This humble one will send the message over for your respected selves right now! However, Lady Nan Xun¡¯s status is special, so I cannot guarantee that she will agree to meet you.¡± He had to make things clear, or else these young masters might ask for the silvers back if Lady Nan Xun refused to meet them.

    ¡°That¡¯s fine. She¡¯ll definitely agree to meet with me.¡± Zu An spoke as if it werepletely normal.

    The staff member thought to himself, This man really is full of himself. Who knew how many princes and dukes were lined up just for a chance to meet with Nan Xun? Of course, he would obviously never say something like that to offend a guest. He guided them into a private room with a smile and said, ¡°Please have some tea here. I will be back soon.¡± He quickly rushed to Nan Xun¡¯s courtyard afterward.

    At the same time, he was a bit confused. The two guests next to that guest were a bit too handsome. As someone who worked in these kinds of ces, his eyes were sharp. He wasn¡¯t too sure about the skinnier one, but the other one was definitely a woman.

    Tsk tsk, these young masters from the capital really know how to have fun. They even brought their own women over to y together. This staff member had a look of envy on his face. This wasn¡¯t the first time he was seeing something of the sort, so he naturally didn¡¯t find it all that strange.

    He arrived at a small courtyard soon afterward. With Nan Xun¡¯s status, she naturally had the qualifications to have her own courtyard. The maid at the courtyard immediately refused when she heard his report, however. ¡°Go go go, get out of here. Who do you think our young miss is? Do you think she¡¯ll meet with just anyone?¡±

    The staff member didn¡¯t find the response surprising at all. He was just about to turn around and leave when he suddenly remembered what his guest had told him. Out of respect for the silver he had gotten, he added, ¡°That person said he was Lady Nan Xun¡¯s friend, and he seems to be called Ah Zu or something.¡±

    ¡°Ah Zu?¡± The maid was stunned. She thought to herself, Why have I never heard that name before? But she didn¡¯t dare to treat the matter lightly anymore. Everyone in the capital had wealthy and respected statuses, and it would be bad if the young miss ended up on bad terms with someone because of her. ¡°Wait for a bit, I¡¯ll go and ask.¡± She raised her dress and rushed back inside.

    ¡­

    In the centermost room, the capital¡¯s most popr courtesan was massaging the shoulders of a beautiful woman. She said with a sigh of amazement, ¡°Master, your figure really is enviable.¡±

    The beautiful woman said with a smile, ¡°Yours isn¡¯t bad either.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s still far inferior to master¡¯s,¡± Nan Xun said quietly. Her eyes moved across her master¡¯s body. She actually had a lot of confidence in her own figure and appearance, butpared to this beautiful woman, she was stillcking. Were the figures of the fiend races all this insanely good?

    The beautiful woman was naturally Kong Nanwu. She wasn¡¯t in the mood to talk about such things right now. ¡°Has that Zu An never sought you out after that event? Looks like you didn¡¯t work hard enough that night.¡±

    Nan Xunined, ¡°Of course I did! My mouth was sore for a long time after that night. It¡¯s just that that man is too ungrateful and fickle. Why would he care about people like us?¡±

    As soon as she said that, however, the maid called from outside, ¡°Young miss, young miss! There¡¯s a guest outside who says he¡¯s your friend and wants to meet you.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not meeting him! Stop bringing every random person to me.¡± Nan Xun had been feeling annoyed to begin with. There were many young masters who unted themselves as her friends. Could they not tell that all she had done was show them a polite smile?

    ¡°Oh, that stupid servant boy must¡¯ve taken silver from the guest. He lied to me and said that some ¡®Ah Zu¡¯ is the young miss¡¯ friend. I¡¯m going to make sure he gets itter,¡± the maid mumbled and left.

    ¡°Who did you say that person¡¯s name was again?¡± The door suddenly opened. Nan Xun was already by the entrance and looking at the maid nervously.

    The maid looked at Nan Xun¡¯s fair, bare feet in shock. Why didn¡¯t the young miss even put her shoes on? She replied, ¡°I think it was Ah Zu.¡±

    ¡°Hurry and bring him in!¡± Nan Xun¡¯s breathing quickened. She then changed her mind and said, ¡°No, I¡¯ll meet him personally.¡±

    She sorted out her hair and head ornament after saying that. The maid quickly reminded her, ¡°Young miss, your shoes¡­¡±

    Nan Xun secretly stuck out her tongue. With how she was feeling at the moment, it didn¡¯t make a difference if she wore shoes or not at all, but it would draw unnecessary attention if other people saw that dirt didn¡¯t stick to her feet the way it would to a normal person. She quickly put on her shoes and ran while raising her dress.

    The male staff member who had been about to go back with the news of Nan Xun¡¯s rejection was stupefied. That guest actually does know the courtesan! Furthermore, judging from how she¡¯s acting, what do you mean ¡®close friends¡¯? They¡¯re clearly lovers!

    Meanwhile, Zu An was leisurely drinking tea. Zheng Dan¡¯s condition wasn¡¯t the best, so she was currently leaning against the chair and resting.

    Sang Qien looked around her. Even though she had sounded as if she really looked down on this ce, she was still quite curious about such ces. After all, Scarlet Invitation¡¯s reputation in the capital was quite high.

    She gradually recovered herposure from seeing the dazzling decorations around her. When she smelled the perfume and cosmetics in the air, she asked disdainfully, ¡°Why is there still no news? It¡¯ll be really embarrassing if no onees.¡±

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, she¡¯s my friend.¡±

    Sang Qien said in a sincere and heartfelt manner, ¡°You¡¯re pretty sharp normally, but why do you seem a bit slow today? Did you really think a woman from this ce really liked you just because they told you some nice things?¡± She wasn¡¯t trying to be sarcastic on purpose, but due to her upbringing ever since she was young, she had a subconscious dislike for such ces.

    Before Zu An could even reply, a sweet aroma wafted over. A beautiful figure was standing by the door, saying, ¡°Talking behind someone¡¯s back isn¡¯t something a noble person would do. Could it be that¡­ the youngdy here is jealous?¡±

 Chapter 946: Specter Race

    <h4>Chapter 946: Specter Race</h4>

    The one standing at the entrance was naturally Nan Xun. When she heard Zu An hade to look for her, she was so happy that she almost forgot to even put on shoes. Only now did she notice that he had brought two other guests with him.

    Her first reaction was that he had brought over his friends to show off. After all, that was something that was much toomonly seen among men. She had been quite influenced by the kind of ce she was in after all.

    However, she immediately realized that something wasn¡¯t quite right, because one of his friends¡¯ chests seemed to be a bit too big¡­ Upon closer inspection, she saw that that person¡¯s waist was the tiniest of them all, and their skin was fine. What else could they be but a cross-dressing woman?

    She was shocked. Why would Zu An bring two women to a ce like Scarlet Invitation? However, before she had the time to even think more about it, she heard the other, more t-chested person speak ill of her behind her back. She obviously wouldn¡¯t just take it lying down and immediately fired back.

    Sang Qien was shocked. She hadn¡¯t expected to be found out by the person involved so quickly! She was about to say something, but she took notice of the other woman¡¯s beauty. At first, she had thought that the courtesans of brothels would definitely use a ton of cosmetics and behave coquettishly, but this woman was entirely different. She seemed to be even more elegant than most upper-ss women! She really found it hard to associate Nan Xun with a woman from this kind of ce.

    What dealt an even greater mental blow was, why were these girls¡¯ chests all so big?! Just what the heck did they eat for them to get so massive?!

    She was pretty good at talking normally, and she had quite a few things to say to Nan Xun. However, upon seeing her voluptuous figure, she immediately lost confidence and didn¡¯t want to argue anymore. She harrumphed and looked away to show her displeasure.

    Zheng Dan woke up with a start too. She looked at the woman in front of her. This woman really was stunning, and furthermore, there was a kind of aloof and indifferent expression in her eyes that made her seempletely free from the vulgarity of the world.

    She¡¯s almostparable to Qiu Honglei. Zheng Dan subconsciously straightened her posture. She felt a bit of regret inwardly. Her mental state really was too poor, and she hadn¡¯t even put on any makeup before leaving today. Of course she couldn¡¯tpare to this woman at the moment¡­ But she soon remembered that she was here as a man. She sighed in relief.

    ¡°Nan Xun, meeting with you really isn¡¯t easy at all.¡± Zu An quickly changed the topic when he sensed that the atmosphere had be a bit too serious.

    Nan Xun¡¯s previously cold expression shifted to a smile when Zu An spoke. She replied, ¡°It cannot be helped; there are so many guests who wish to meet me. If I had to meet every one of them, I really would be tired to death. However, young master, please do not worry. I already told those from Scarlet Invitation that if youe back in the future, you can juste right in. You don¡¯t need to let anyone know.¡±

    Sang Qien harrumphed. Is this woman unting her poprity right now? She had previously thought that her own sister-inw was a bit too frivolous, butpared to this woman, her sister-inw was as pure as a little white flower!

    ¡°Do you really need to meet with that many guests?¡± Zu An¡¯s brow subconsciously furrowed.

    ¡°Is the young master jealous?¡± Nan Xun¡¯s smile became bigger. She grabbed Zu An¡¯s arm and said, ¡°I am really happy to hear that, you know?¡±

    ¡°Hmph, just putting on airs,¡± Sang Qien rolled her eyes and murmured quietly.

    Zheng Dan frowned. This woman is a formidable opponent! Hmph, if only Chu Chuyan were here¡­

    Sang Qien and Zheng Dan normally had their differences and looked down on each other in certain ways. But today, they were actually united against amon enemy.

    Nan Xun moved over to Zu An and said quietly by his ear, ¡°Young master, do not worry. I only chat a bit with those other young masters. I have never even taken off my mask around them. I will make sure to preserve my chastity for you.¡± She intentionally blew against Zu An¡¯s ear as she spoke, her voice full of a provocative air.

    Zu An sighed. This woman really knew how to tease him! No wonder even someone like King Qi had beenpletely enchanted by her and couldn''tpletely free himself from her.

    This woman had been a concubine of King Qi, but she was still a virgin? Did it even count as being a virgin anymore or not, if she had the body of a young woman but the mind of a mature woman?

    He finally snapped out of his daze when he sensed the killing intent of the two women behind him and said, ¡°By the way, I came because I had something I needed your help with. I have something to ask Miss Kong.¡±

    ¡°Why is there another woman?¡± Zheng Dan¡¯s ears pricked up.

    Sang Qien was confused too. And who is this Miss Kong? Is there even anyone famous surnamed Kong in the capital?

    Even though there were many things about Zu An she found questionable, she still trusted his judgment in women for the most part. There was no way any random pretty girl could catch his eye. All those who could gain his praise were all ridiculously beautiful. If her surname was Kong, this woman should have been quite famous in the capital.

    Nan Xun pouted and replied, ¡°Young master really is heartless. You never came to see me after that night, and you only came to find me today to meet with another woman.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re even getting jealous of her? Don¡¯t worry, I really have some proper business with her,¡± Zu An said with a smile.

    Nan Xun knew that acting a bit spoiled would gain more favor at certain times, but it was easy for such things to go too far. As such, she sensibly stopped herself and said, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll bring you to see her. She just mentioned you not too long ago.¡±

    ¡°What did she talk about?¡± Zu An was curious. Being talked about by a respected individual from the fiend races wasn¡¯t anything to feel that happy about.

    ¡°About how heartless you are, of course!¡± Nan Xun harrumphed. Her beautiful figure swayed as she began to walk ahead of the group to lead the way. The way she walked made the inexperienced Sang Qien feel scorn and envy.

    Meanwhile, Zheng Dan was also staring at Zu An with an ambiguous expression. Even though she knew that he was a womanizer, she had never expected him to be fickle to this extent. Judging from their tone, it sounded as if this Lady Kong was also one of his close female friends.

    They quickly arrived in a courtyard out in the back. Nan Xun stopped in front of the entrance and said, ¡°Young master, I have to ask for instructions first. You know that her status is a bit¡­¡± She gave Zheng Dan and Sang Qien a look. She didn¡¯t say the following words. Zu An knew about her misgivings, so he didn¡¯t make things too hard on her.

    As Nan Xun went inside, Sang Qien couldn''t help but ask, ¡°Who is that Lady Kong? Why is she acting all mysterious?¡±

    ¡°Her status is indeed a bit special. We¡¯re here to ask for help after all, so we should follow their rules.¡± Zu An didn¡¯t tell them Kong Nanwu¡¯s identity. After all, the words ¡®fiend races¡¯ were too sensitive, especially when the fiend races had just ughtered an entire frontier city not too long ago.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Sang Qien and Zheng Dan exchanged a look. They both saw curiosity in each other¡¯s eyes.

    Nan Xun returned quickly. ¡°Young master, she invites you inside, but I fear that it is not too appropriate for the other two.¡±

    Sang Qien frowned. Where do these courtesans get their confidence from? She was just about to flip out when Zu An stopped her, saying, ¡°Little Qien, wait here for a bit. I¡¯ll bring your sister-inw in to ask about her illness.¡±

    Sang Qien wasn¡¯t too happy at first, but when she heard that it had to do with her sister-inw¡¯s condition, she endured her discontent and replied, ¡°Forget it, this ce is pretty nice anyway, so I won¡¯t go inside. Otherwise, I might just end up getting all of this foxy frivolousness on me.¡± She wanted to say ¡®foul smell¡¯, but she decided not to in the end.

    Zu An thought to himself, You¡¯re actually right, there really is a fox in there. Then, he brought Zheng Dan inside.

    Nan Xun looked hesitant as she said, ¡°Young master, she¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Zu An said, ¡°Have Miss Kong speak through a curtain. My consultation involves her, so I have to bring her in.¡± He had stayed the night before, so he knew theyout inside. After hearing that, Nan Xun didn¡¯t press the issue further. She went in first to let Kong Nanwu know.

    When Zu An and Zheng Dan went in, they could only vaguely make out an elegant figure behind theyers of curtains. They couldn''t really make out her real appearance.

    ¡°Young master, please forgive me. We can only meet in this manner,¡± said a gentle voice from inside. Zheng Dan¡¯s eyes widened. There was actually a voice this nice in this world? She immediately thought of orioles singing and pearls dropping onto a jade te. However, neither of those beautiful sounds could urately portray just how incredible this woman¡¯s voice was!

    Zu An sat down while holding Zheng Dan¡¯s hand and said, ¡°Lady Kong is too polite. I understand your worries, so I¡¯m already thankful that you¡¯re willing to meet with me this way.¡±

    Kong Nanwu replied with a smile, ¡°I wonder what the young master hase here for today?¡±

    ¡°So this is what happened¡­¡± Zu An exined Zheng Dan¡¯s condition to her. ¡°I heard that hatred arts came from the fiend races. Do you know any solutions to this issue?¡±

    Kong Nanwu finally knew why he had sought her out. She replied, ¡°Hatred arts indeed came from the fiend races. The fiend races are numerous. Apart from the races that are better known, there are some more remote and neglected races, like the blood race and specter race. The hatred arts originate from the specter race, but they¡¯ve been modified by humans.¡±

    Zheng Dan thought to herself, This woman really is well-learned! She actually knew so much about the fiend races¡­ No wonder Zu An sought her out.

    Zu An eximed in shock, ¡°There¡¯s actually a specter race in this world?¡±

    If there were really things like departed spirits, why the hell would the emperor even pursue immortality? Wouldn¡¯t it be great to just exist in a ghost form?

    ¡°It¡¯s not what you¡¯re thinking.¡± Kong Nanwu exined, ¡°They¡¯re just freaks who are neither dead or alive with some corpse and soul refining abilities. However, those ghosts don¡¯t have any intelligence and only mechanically obey orders.¡±

    ¡°Then is there a way to cure mypanion?¡± Zu An asked while gesturing toward Zheng Dan. He had actually wondered if Kong Nanwu was the one who had done it. After all, she had soul refinement skills too. Who knew if she had ended up having some kind of a grudge against him? But after he got to talk to her, he realized it didn¡¯t have anything to do with her.

    A momentary silence filled the room. A whileter, Kong Nanwu said, ¡°That might be difficult.¡±

    Zu An was rmed and asked, ¡°Is there no cure?¡±

    ¡°That is not it¡­¡± Kong Nanwu changed to ki transmission. ¡°The young master probably knows that since the other party used this kind of technique, they might have some kind of connection to the fiend races. You know that our fiend races have been discriminated against quite severely by humans recently. We¡¯re all in human territory right now; it¡¯s one thing if we don¡¯tbine our forces, but if we were to interfere with each other, then¡­¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression turned cold as he replied, ¡°Is thedy nning to threaten me? Speak, what do you want?¡± This matter was rted to Zheng Dan, so he couldn''t be bothered to put up with much anymore. He wouldn¡¯t hold back from doing what he had to for her.

    ¡°The young master misunderstands. That¡¯s not what I¡¯m saying. What I said just now were my sincere thoughts.¡± Kong Nanwu¡¯s voice was full of hesitation as she continued, ¡°I guess it¡¯s fine. Since she¡¯s the young master¡¯s friend, I¡¯ll meddle and help her this time.¡±

 Chapter 947: Heart Rending

    <h4>Chapter 947: Heart Rending</h4>

    Zu An sighed in relief when he saw that she had agreed. ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to trouble thedy this time.¡±

    Nan Xun smiled and said, ¡°Young master, Lady Kong normally does not interfere with matters at all. She really has treated the young master with special favor this time.¡±

    ¡°Nan Xun!¡± Kong Nanwu reprimanded her. Nan Xun stuck out her tongue and said nothing else.

    Zheng Dan was surprised. Why does this courtesan queen instead sound like a servant when those two women talk? But this Nan Xun has an incredible reputation¡­ And with her temperament, how could she be willing to serve another? But she quickly tossed that thought to the back of her mind.

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°I¡¯m afraid that there¡¯s no way for me to repay this gratitude properly. If you don¡¯t find it beneath you, I can offer you my body.¡± With how he was now, there was no way he would be swayed so easily by a few words. After all, this master and servant might just be working together to throw him off.

    Zheng Dan smiled. After having known Zu An for so long, she already understood him well. Despite the words he had said, she could hear the mockery in his tone. That was why she wouldn¡¯t feel jealous over such a thing.

    The woman behind the curtains harrumphed when she heard those lowly words,pletely ignoring Zu An. She raised her head to look at Zheng Dan and said, Unfortunately, I only have a smattering of knowledge. If the user¡¯s cultivation is too profound, I might not be able to do much about it either.¡±

    ¡°Lady Kong is too humble. It¡¯s enough as long as you do what you can; I¡¯m not someone who doesn¡¯t know when to stop,¡± Zu An said.

    Kong Nanwu felt relieved. ¡°Then please have this youngdy sleep here. Once that evil spirites to bother her, I¡¯ll see if I can catch it for you.¡±

    ¡°That might be rather difficult¡­¡± Zu An gave her a rough recount of his encounter with that sinister thing. ¡°It might be too scared toe out again for quite some time.¡±

    That was also what had given him the biggest headache. After all, one could be a bandit for a thousand days, but who would be vignt against bandits for a thousand days?

    Furthermore, he was going to Cloudcenter Commandery soon, so he couldn''t stay at Zheng Dan¡¯s side to protect her at all. It would be really troublesome if that evil thing came out while he was gone.

    ¡°The young master is actually proficient in exorcism methods?¡± Kong Nanwu was shocked. After all, this kind of malicious spirit was something sinister and unconventional. Rarely would human cultivatorse into contact with it, let alone be able to deal with it.

    ¡°It was just a coincidence. Furthermore, I wasn¡¯t able to capture it and instead let it get away.¡± Zu An didn¡¯t expose the fact that he knew the Primordial Origin Sutra.

    ¡°That is indeed a bit tricky¡­¡± Kong Nanwu began to think to herself. She also began to consider how to deal with the situation.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zheng Dan felt a headache when she heard those words. A look of disappointment appeared on her face. Zu An gently held her hand to console her. Nan Xun bit her lip when she saw him do so, but she didn¡¯t say anything.

    ¡°I have a solution.¡± Kong Nanwu didn¡¯t continue to speak. Instead, she brought over a sheet of talisman paper. Her hands moved quickly, folding it into a small and exquisite paper crane. Then, she blew against the crane, and it seemed toe alive. It fluttered around, then moved through the curtain and arrived in front of Zheng Dan.

    ¡°This is¡­¡± Zheng Dan was shocked. When had she ever seen such a magical technique?

    ¡°It¡¯s but a small trick.¡± Kong Nanwu said. She didn¡¯t want others to know that she was from the fiend races. ¡°It can sense the aura left behind by the malicious spirit, and it was able to sense that the user isn¡¯t anyone too formidable. It should be able to take you all to the mastermind. However, I fear that I can¡¯t get involved further, so I must apologize to the young master for that.¡±

    Zu An knew about her struggles and said, ¡°Thank you. I¡¯ll remember this favor.¡±

    Kong Nanwu gently chuckled from the other side of the curtain and said, ¡°This sounds much more reliable than the devotion you promised earlier.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face heated up. Not even someone as thick skinned as him knew what to say at that moment. Fortunately, the crane began to move again. After circling Zheng Dan a few times, it spread its wings and flew in a certain direction out the window.

    ¡°Hurry and follow it; don¡¯t lose sight of it. This aura is faint, so we might not be able to track it a second time,¡± Kong Nanwu reminded him from behind the curtains.

    ¡°Thanks!¡± Zu An cupped his hands toward her, then he and Zheng Dan jumped out of the window.

    Sang Qien heard the activity inside and rushed over. When she saw the two jump out, she couldn''t even be bothered that they were holding hands. She asked, ¡°Did something happen?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll exin along the way. Follow that paper crane!¡± Zu An pointed at the paper crane. He actually noticed that it wasn¡¯t a paper crane, but rather a paper peacock. He hadn¡¯t expected Kong Nanwu to be so skilled with her hands, that she could weave such fine origami so quickly.

    When she saw the flying paper peacock, Sang Qien¡¯s beautiful eyes opened wide. Her red lips were so wide open that she might be able to fit an egg inside her mouth.

    ¡°Why are you standing there looking all stupid?¡± Zu An grabbed her hand and chased the paper peacock.

    ¡°You can let go of me now.¡± Sang Qien finally snapped out of her daze a whileter. She felt very ufortable when she sensed the warmth on her wrist. Just what would others think if they saw him holding her and Zheng Dan¡¯s hands in public?

    Zu An obviously wouldn¡¯t do something like take advantage of her. He took t he chance to tell her about what happened just now.

    ¡°What kind of background does this young miss Kong have to be so skilled?¡± Sang Qien was incredibly shocked. Zheng Dan also looked at him curiously.

    ¡°She doesn¡¯t wish for others to know where she¡¯s from, so you two will have to forgive me for not telling you,¡± Zu An said frankly.

    ¡°Just don¡¯t say it then.¡± Sang Qien harrumphed. ¡°But the two of you seem pretty close¡­ She doesn¡¯t want others to know, but she doesn¡¯t mind telling you? Tsk tsk tsk¡­¡± She sneaked a look at Zheng Dan while speaking. She really didn¡¯t mind stirring the drama between them a bit. After all, Zheng Dan is my sister-inw! Even though I know my father has his ns, it hasn¡¯t even been that long since my big brother died, but sister-inw is already following someone else?

    Zheng Dan smiled. ¡°I really am grateful to Miss Kong today. Once this is over, I¡¯ll owe her a life-saving favor. I have to properly thank herter.¡±

    Sang Qien became gloomy when she saw that she had failed to drive a wedge between them. She lost all interest in saying anything else.

    ¡­

    The three quickly followed the paper peacock outside of the city. That was still expected, because the inner city was a ce filled with high officials and nobles. Something sinister like this obviously had toy a bit lower.

    The paper peacock continued to fly through the air. It arrived by a remote street, then stopped near a tattered courtyard after circling it a few times. Itnded on the ground, and the power supporting it ran out.

    ¡°This house seems to be unupied,¡± Sang Qien said while staring at the tattered entrance.

    A passing older woman saw the three of them walking around the house. She quickly came over and warned them quietly, ¡°Did you alle here to buy this house? I advise you to choose a different one. This house is haunted.¡±

    Sang Qien quickly asked her for more information. She learned that the previous owner¡¯s family had died one after another in quick session. It had been inherited by a distant nephew, but he didn¡¯t dare to continue living there. As such, he tried to sell the ce through a middleman. But after it had passed through the hands of several owners, all kinds of strange things had happened. They all sold off the property one after another. Eventually, rumors that the house was haunted began to circte.

    Zu An couldn''t help but smile. It seemed that regardless of which world it was, there were always these warmhearted and gossipy older women.

    Sang Qien wanted to ask more questions, but the older woman was worried that she might catch something from staying for too long and quickly left.

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°If it¡¯s haunted, then we came to the right ce.¡±

    ¡°Is there really a ghost?¡± Sang Qien¡¯splexion paled. She had used to hate having physical contact with Zu An, but now, she unconsciously moved a bit closer to him.

    ¡°You¡¯re a cultivator yourself. For better or for worse, you¡¯re pretty strong. Why are you scared of these things?¡± Zu An found it rather funny.

    ¡°It¡¯s different, okay?¡± Sang Qien gave him a re. This guy is so annoying! He¡¯s still teasing me even now¡­

    ¡°You¡¯ll know if you go in and take a look yourself,¡± Zu An said. The main entrance was locked, so Zu An brought Zheng Dan around the wall.

    Sang Qien stomped her feet. She followed along after some hesitation.

    The inside was extremely run-down, with dried leaves and branches everywhere, as well as some rotting furniture. There was only a single main room and a few empty rooms. The owner of the ce was clearly not that well off either.

    ¡°I don¡¯t see any trace of people living here.¡± Sang Qien didn¡¯t dare to look around herself. Instead, she scanned the ce with her ki. After all, she was at the fifth rank. Unless their cultivation was much higher than hers, it was hard for anyone to escape her detection.

    That immediately gave her much more courage. She ran out and opened several doors in session to regain a bit of dignity after how scared she had been acting a moment before. Sure enough, there was nothing inside.

    ¡°That friend of yours isn¡¯t reliable at all! There¡¯s clearly nothing here,¡± Sang Qien said.

    ¡°Did you check that well yet?¡± Zu An pointed to a dried-up well nearby.

    ¡°What can a well have? Don¡¯t tell me there¡¯s someone living at the bottom of the well?¡± As if to prove her words, Sang Qien walked closer to the well as she said that. Unfortunately, the bottom was pitch ck, so she couldn''t see anything.

    She felt a bit scared. Just as she was about to pull back, however, long and seemingly endless strands of hair flew out from inside the well! They wrapped around her face to pull her down.

    ¡°Ahhhh!¡± A shrill scream tore through the courtyard.

 Chapter 948: Might of the Celestial Drake

    <h4>Chapter 948: Might of the Celestial Drake</h4>

    Sang Qien was dragged down shortly afterward.

    Zu An was shocked. He had just been making a joke at first. After all, in the films of his previous world, old wells were always associated with ghosts and monsters, so it had already be almost an instinct. But how could he have expected that something like this would happen? He would feel regret for the rest of his life if something really ended up happening to Sang Qien here!

    Zu An rushed over. Just then, a st of mes erupted from the bottom of the well. Then, a petite figure rushed out of it with a ¡®whoosh¡¯. Who else could it be but Sang Qien?

    Sang Qien had an expression of rm. When she saw Zu An walk over, she immediately felt as if she had seen her family. She ran over and hid behind him, clinging onto his arm while shaking all over.

    Only now did Zu An remember that the other party was a fire element cultivator. He couldn''t help but chuckle, saying, ¡°Since you can use the fire element, all of that hair would have been burned to ashes on contact. Why are you getting so scared?¡±

    ¡°Stop talking about that already¡­¡± Sang Qien blocked her ears with her hands. Her legs buckled the moment she thought of that scene. I¡¯m finished, I¡¯m finished! I¡¯m probably going to have nightmares every night from now on too¡­

    ¡°Ah Zu, what was that thing earlier?¡± Zheng Dan also subconsciously moved closer to Zu An. As a woman, she was naturally more scared of such things.

    ¡°It¡¯s probably the main culprit we¡¯re looking for,¡± Zu An replied while staring at this well.

    Zheng Dan and Sang Qien both followed his gaze. They moved even closer to him. The pitch-ck hair was starting to reach out from the well like vines, and it continued to grow longer and longer, as if it would never stop.

    When she saw the hair surrounding the three of them, Sang Qien¡¯s face turned incredibly pale. Even though she was scared, however, she wasn¡¯t like other girls. She gathered her courage and used her fire element to burn the hair away.

    But what made her widen her eyes in shock was that the hair didn¡¯t catch fire the way it had before, and instead, the fire she released quickly disappeared. She quickly tugged on Zu An¡¯s sleeves and said, ¡°This hair is a bit strange; there¡¯s some strange sinister energy protecting it. My mes can¡¯t burn it away! Does this thing have the ice element?¡± She had felt a wave of bone-chilling cold from the rebound of her previous attack. Her entire body couldn''t help but break out into a shiver.

    Immediately afterward, she felt a warm feeling spread from the palm of her hand. The chill disappeared and she felt much better. She lowered her hand and saw that Zu An was holding her hand. She blushed, but she didn¡¯t say anything about the skinship this time.

    ¡°What the other party cultivates is something simr to evil yin energy, and not the ice element.¡± Zu An released her hand, then looked at the well. He coldly asked, ¡°What kind of monster are you? Show yourself!¡±

    Jiek jiek jiek~!

    An extremely unpleasant and ear-piercing voice eximed, ¡°Who dares to disturb my slumber?!¡±

    When they sensed a mysterious wave of power sweep over them, Zheng Dan and Sang Qien¡¯s expressions changed. They eximed, ¡°We need to hurry and get away! This thing is too strong!¡±

    However, they didn¡¯t expect Zu An to bepletely unfazed as he said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± His voice had a mysterious calming ability. The two girls gradually calmed down.

    ¡°Hmph, you want to escape? Not a single one of you will leave this ce today.¡± An individual dressed entirely in ck robes slowly rose from the well. His entire body was surrounded by wisps of ck mist.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t this count as ck silk to a certain extent?¡± Zu An remarked. Even he was a bit impressed at his own ability to think up nonsense.[1]

    He was actually a bit annoyed. When he saw the long ck hair, he had thought that he was going to see some beautiful female ghost . At least that was how it was in those television shows. But who could have thought that he would be jebaited like this?

    But unlike Zu An, Zheng Dan and Sang Qien gulped nervously. The pressure this person gave them was really great. That was especially the case when only half of the person¡¯s deathly pale face was exposed. His face was so thin it was more like a skeleton, just skin wrapped around bones. His eye sockets were deeply sunken, and his eyes werepletely different from a normal person¡¯s, glowing with red light. In that instant, it was hard to tell if he was a man or a ghost.

    ¡°Oh my¡­ So it was actually two little beauties. Your blood will definitely be even more delicious and nourishing.¡± The half-man, half-ghost looked at the two girls. Excitement flickered through his eyes.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    He practiced evil arts, so he was extremely sensitive toward yin and yang energies. He immediately recognized that the two of them were cross-dressing women.[2]

    The two girls both broke out into goosebumps when they heard his words.

    Zu An sighed. ¡°There are two great beauties here, but your only desire is to drink their blood? Cultivating these evil arts ended up turning you into something that¡¯s not fully a man or a ghost, and you even lost your basic ability to be a man. Tell me honestly, is there even any meaning left in living?¡±

    Sang Qien and Zheng Dan¡¯s faces heated up. Even though he was praising them for being beautiful, why did it sound so strange?

    ¡°You¡¯re courting death!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Chi Tu for +444 +444 +444¡­

    The ck-d man erupted into a rage. The ck hair on the ground was pulled taut, then shot out like a rain of arrows. A normal person would be stabbed full of holes by such an attack.

    Zheng Dan and Sang Qien tried to join the battle, but Zu An gestured that they didn¡¯t need to do anything. He stood in front of them and a faintly visible wall of ki took form in front of him.

    The ck-d man named Chi Tu sneered. His attack specialized in destroying the ki barriers of cultivators. Not even someone whose cultivation was a level higher than his might be able to stop this attack!

    This kid is so young, so how high can his cultivation be? He even wants to face me head on? He won¡¯t even know how he died. He was even considering whether he should hold back a bit to spare the kid¡¯s life, then slowly suck out the blood of his femalepanions. He would slowly enjoy watching him suffer.

    But his smile quickly froze. When his sharp hair struck the other party¡¯s ki barrier, it was as if it had hit a steel wall, and his hair broke apart into inch-sized chunks. He himself was struck by a powerful recoil that made all of his ki and blood surge chaotically. This feeling was absolutely awful.

    ¡°How?!¡± He stared at the man in front of him in horror. This person was still so young, so why was his cultivation so high? It made absolutely no sense!

    Forget about him, even Sang Qien waspletely shocked. She knew that Zu An¡¯s cultivation was high, butpared to thest time they had met, she really hadn¡¯t expected him to have already grown to this level! After all, the pressure the ck-robed man gave her was at least that of a seventh rank expert! Zu An didn¡¯t even have to move a finger to break down his opponent¡¯s attack?

    Zheng Dan was much moreposed. After all, she had watched Zu An take down that powerful red dragon when Zu An was still extremely weak, so what did this scene count as?

    Chi Tu¡¯s expression warped more and more. I practically gave up on my physical form to obtain all of this power, and yet he didn¡¯t give up a thing. How is his cultivation so far above mine, while he was even born more handsome than me and even has two beauties at his side?! He¡¯s aplete winner! What was all of my hard work even for then?

    His expression became cold. Your cultivation might be higher than mine, but that doesn¡¯t mean you can defend against my unique secret arts. He didn¡¯t hesitate at all and immediately used his secret techniques. A ck thing resembling an evil spirit appeared out of thin air. It looked like a malicious soul summoned straight from hell itself! It threw itself at Zu An.

    Even before it made contact, just that sinister and insidious feeling was already able to affect other parties¡¯ souls. Even though Sang Qien and Zheng Dan were both on guard, they felt fear from within their souls. This was a fear toward an unknown power that they werepletely helpless against.

    We¡¯re finished! The two girls were both the best among their peers. They quickly deduced that it was a soul targeting attack. As long as one hadn¡¯t reached the master rank and properly refined one¡¯s soul, there was a good chance that it was all over for them if they faced such an attack. No matter how high Zu An¡¯s cultivation was, there was no way he was at the master rank!

    The two girls looked at Zu An. However, he was still extremely calm as he said, ¡°Hmph! You think you can show off your insignificant talents in front of a real expert like me? Take this! Might of the Celestial Drake!¡±

    A seal appeared in his hand, and he threw it straight into the terrifying monster¡¯s head. Then, that evil spirit screamed miserably. It instantly vanished like snow before a blistering hot sun.

    ¡°Pfft!¡± Chi Tu vomited a mouthful of greenish blood. Then, he copsed to the ground, paralyzed.

    The ghost was something he had cultivated with his very life. Now that it had been destroyed, even if he managed to prevent himself from dying, his cultivation would immediately drop to less than half of its former peak.

    ¡°It¡¯s you!¡± Chi Tu finally realized what had happened. When he sensed that terrifying power again, he recalled that it was precisely the same power that had wounded one of his ghost puppets earlier.

    ¡°If you want to live, then tell me properly, why did you cast your disgusting skill on my friend?¡± Zu An took a step forward and instantly appeared in front of Chi Tu, speaking while looking down at him.

    1. ck silk usually refers to ck leggings in Chinese. ?

    2. Traditionally, yin is more feminine and yang is more masculine. ?

 Chapter 949: Huge Secret

    <h4>Chapter 949: Huge Secret</h4>

    ¡°Great one, spare me, spare me!¡± The ck-d Chi Tu immediately begged for mercy. In their line of work, strength was everything.

    Sang Qien¡¯s jaw dropped. She looked at Zu An as if she were staring at a legend. Everything had happened way too quickly! The mysterious ck-d man had been incredibly intimidating just a moment ago, yet this enemy they had felt absolute despair toward had been instantly defeated by Zu An?

    Also, what was that move, Might of the Celestial Drake? It looked really majestic, how handsome¡­ She suddenly felt like she understood her sister-inw a bit more now. No wonder Zheng Dan couldn''t stop herself from liking this man! He really was incredibly attractive at certain times.

    Zu An didn¡¯t know that Sang Qien¡¯s impression of him was actually changing. He only continued to stare at Chi Tu and asked, ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±

    ¡°This humble one is called Gui Li,¡± the ck d man replied obsequiously, doing his best to smile, but it only looked even uglier than if he were crying. He didn¡¯t look anything like someone capable and powerful.

    ¡°Hm?¡± Zu An¡¯s expression turned cold. Then, the other party screamed miserably as his arm was snapped in half. Furthermore, Zu An instantly sealed all of his acupoints, preventing him from retaliating in the slightest.

    ¡°Chi Tu, if you dare lie to me again, what I break next won¡¯t just be your hand.¡± Zu An suddenly looked at him.

    Chi Tu was absolutely horrified. There aren¡¯t many people who know my name; how does he know that? He had been scared of the other party¡¯s purification abilities to begin with. Now that his real identity had been exposed, the pressure Zu An gave him became even more profound and mysterious. He didn¡¯t dare to hide a single thing anymore. ¡°Great one, please forgive me, please forgive me! I¡¯ve used Gui Li as an alias for so long that I almost forgot my own name! I didn¡¯t intend to fool you!¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯tment on that and said, ¡°You still haven¡¯t answered my question.¡±

    Chi Tu quickly replied, ¡°This is what happened. A silk merchant sought me out and paid me a hefty sum to target a certain person¡­¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± Zheng Dan cried out in rm and quickly asked, ¡°Was that merchant surnamed Hu?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know his surname; he didn¡¯t want anyone to know his true identity either.¡± Chi Tu noticed that Zu An¡¯s expression had changed, and he quickly added, ¡°But I have seen what he looks like¡­!¡± Then, he gave them a rough description of what the man looked like.

    Zheng Dan¡¯s face fell as she eximed, ¡°It was him after all!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the situation?¡± Zu An asked.

    Zheng Dan exined the situation, and together with Chi Tu¡¯s confession, it wasn¡¯t difficult to determine the truth. Zheng Dan had brought the Zheng n¡¯s business to the capital, which was naturally bad news for the capital¡¯s local silk merchants.

    The other party had used all kinds of methods to try and push out the Zheng n¡¯s merchants, but Zheng Dan was experienced in that field. She had managed the Zheng n¡¯s businesses back in Brightmoon City, and she had even secretly grasped the city¡¯s most powerful gang. It wasn¡¯t anything difficult to solve at all. In the end, she had countered every move they made. Not only were thosepetitors forced to return without achieving anything, she had grown their market sharerger andrger.

    The other side had the capital¡¯s local tyrants backing them, so for better or for worse, they had someone to rely on. As such, some strings had been pulled in court to suppress and restrict Zheng Dan. But no matter how low the Sang n had fallen, they were still powerful officials in court. Sang Qien had felt apologetic toward this sister-inw of hers, as she had been widowed while still so young. That was why they obviously had to help the Zheng n in this business matter.

    Seeing that not even political methods worked, the rival merchants had turned their attention toward nefarious methods and sought out Chi Tu. Such things were a walk in the park for someone like Chi Tu, so he naturally yed along. With his cultivation and methods being mysterious, even if something happened, he thought, it would just be that ghost puppet dying at worst. He himself wouldn¡¯t be caught. How could he have expected that he would be found out so quickly?

    ¡°I¡¯ve already spoken about everything I know! I hope the great one can be generous and let this humble one go, since nothing really happened to this young miss¡­ This humble one will immediately leave the city, and I¡¯ll never harm another person ever again!¡± Chi Tu pleaded. He actually found it truly strange. How did the other party find him so quickly? But unfortunately, everything had changed too quickly, and the pressure Zu An gave off right now was too much. He didn¡¯t dare to say a single protest.

    As for what he said about how he¡¯d never harm anyone ever again, those were empty words. Those who cultivated these kinds of techniques needed blood and corpses. How could they not harm people?

    Zu An obviously knew that as well. He said to Sang Qien, ¡°Little Qien, bring this guy back to the manor. I¡¯ll leave the rest to your Sang n. There should be no issues with that, right?¡± He was going to leave the capital soon, and Zheng Dan was the Sang n¡¯s daughter-inw in name. It was better for them to deal with it.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, our Sang n isn¡¯t so easily bullied!¡± Sang Qien gave Chi Tu a hateful look. She was clearly still upset about being scared before.

    Zu An nodded. There were many who had be destitute and homeless from Sang Hong¡¯s methods under the emperor¡¯s instigation. They were more than skilled in this field of work. Furthermore, the authentic proof was right there. If they couldn''t even deal with something like this, Sang Hong and Sang Qien really wouldn¡¯t deserve their reputation. He intended to bring Zheng Dan away so she could get some proper rest. She had been tormented quite badly for some time and really needed to recover.

    However, Chi Tu screamed, ¡°Don¡¯t send me to the manor! I¡­ I have a huge secret to tell you all!¡± He knew that the court suppressed evil arts. Once discovered, he would immediately suffer the most severe punishment. If he was handed to the government, death would be a better ending.

    ¡°A huge secret?¡± Zu An sneered. He didn¡¯t give it much attention at all. What kind of secret could somebody like this know?

    When he saw that Zu An didn¡¯t believe him, Chi Tu immediately cried out, ¡°It has something to do with Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s duke!¡±

    Zu An had already started walking away, but his footsteps stopped when he heard Chi Tu¡¯s plea. He wouldn¡¯t care that much if it were anyone else, but his mission this time was precisely to investigate the disappearance of Cloudcenter Duke. How could he let this clue go? He turned around and asked, ¡°Oh? Do tell. What happened to the Cloudcenter Duke?¡±

    ¡°You have to agree to let me go first.¡± Chi Tu immediately knew that the other party was interested in his bargaining chip.

    Zu An didn¡¯t yield and sneered. ¡°What kind of person is the Cloudcenter Duke? You only know your evil arts that you can¡¯t even show in public, so how could you have anything to do with him? Little Qien, make sure you deliver him to the officials properly.¡±

    Sang Qien immediately agreed. ¡°Alright.¡± Then, she walked forward to bring him away.

    Chi Tu panicked and eximed, ¡°I really do know! I encountered a seriously injured and dying person, and I learned that he was Cloudcenter Duke¡¯s trusted aide! He came to the capital to issue an usation, but he ended up being attacked midway!¡±

    Zu An was already seventy to eighty percent convinced when he heard those words. ¡°And where is that guard?¡±

    ¡°His injuries were too serious and he already died,¡± Chi Tu said, his expression a bit strange.

    ¡°You probably refined his soul, I reckon.¡± Zu An sneered.

    Chi Tu quickly exined, ¡°Cultivators in my field indeed need human souls, but that guard was already fatally injured and beyond saving. I merely helped free him from his struggles a bit earlier. I only learned about this tremendous secret from his soul.¡±

    Sang Qien and Zheng Dan both shivered. Even your soul would be enved after you died? That really was a life worse than death¡­

    ¡°Speak, what kind of secret is that? If it is important enough, I¡¯ll let you live,¡± Zu An said indifferently.

    ¡°No way, you have to make a vow! Otherwise, what if you go back on your word afterward? I won¡¯t be able to do a thing about that!¡± This matter was rted to his very life, so Chi Tu had no choice but to remain unyielding.

    Zu An fell silent. Sang Qien and Zheng Dan quickly advised him not to make the vow, because this was no joking matter.

    But Zu An had his own ns. He said, ¡°Fine. I, Zhao Zhi, vow that as long as your secret has value, I will spare your life. Otherwise, Zhao Zhi will suffer the wrath of the heavens.¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Sang Qien and Zheng Dan were about to stop him, but their eyes immediately widened when they heard the vow. Zheng Dan bit her lip to prevent herself fromughing. Sang Qien instead scoffed inwardly. This man was always up to no good after all.

    Chi Tu was shocked and eximed, ¡°So you were King Qi¡¯s heir!¡± King Qi¡¯s reputation was well known throughout the world. The name of his son was no secret.

    Zu An sneered. ¡°What, do you think anyone would dare try to impersonate this young master?¡±

    ¡°Not at all! This humble one has no such intention¡­¡± Chi Tu immediately said with an apologetic smile. He thought to himself, No wonder this guy is so powerful even though he¡¯s still so young! He was raised with a sea of resources ever since he was little, so of course it¡¯s not something my petty cultivation canpare to. The two beauties who willingly followed the other man only further convinced him. What man other than King Qi¡¯s heir could have such charm?

    When he saw that Zu An had made such a serious vow, Chi Tu didn¡¯t hesitate any longer. ¡°That guard came to the capital to inform the court that the Cloudcenter Duke didn¡¯t go missing back then, but rather had his life conspired against.¡±

    ¡°By whom?¡± Zu An quickly asked.

    Chi Tu hesitated, but he still answered, ¡°He was harmed by his own younger brother, Jian Taiding.¡±

    Zu An was shocked. Even though everyone had suspected that Cloudcenter Duke¡¯s disappearance was fishy, they would never have expected it to involve his own blood-rted brother. This matter would definitely cause a huge uproar once it was released. He didn¡¯t dare to treat it carelessly and asked, ¡°Do you have proof?¡±

    ¡°That guard seemed to have carried some evidence on him, but it was taken by the assassin,¡± Chi Tu replied.

    Zu An asked for a few more details. Unfortunately, the refined soul had suffered damage to its memory. A lot of the information was fragmented and there wasn¡¯t much that remained useful.

    ¡°Can I leave?¡± Chi Tu gave him a hopeful look.

    Zu Ann didn¡¯t pay him any attention and instead said to Sang Qien, ¡°Bring him back to the Sang n and lock him up. Don¡¯t send him to the court yet.¡±

    Chi Tu¡¯s expression suddenly changed. ¡°Zhao Zhi, you dare to go back on your word? Are you not scared of the wrath of heaven?!¡±

    Zu An replied with a smile, ¡°What does a vow Zhao Zhi made have to do with me?¡±

 Chapter 950: Rigorous Schemes

    <h4>Chapter 950: Rigorous Schemes</h4>

    ¡°What¡­ the hell?¡± Chi Tu was someone who roamed the underworld scene too, so he quickly realized that the one in front of him wasn¡¯t Zhao Zhi. He was shocked and furious, eximing, ¡°You dare to impersonate King Qi¡¯s heir? King Qi would never let you go if he found out!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Chi Tu for +666 +666 +666¡­

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°I¡¯ve already offended King Qi in more ways that you can imagine anyway, so this wonn¡¯t make much of a difference.¡±

    Chi Tu was stunned when he heard that Zu An didn¡¯t even fear King Qi. He quickly added, ¡°But you made a vow! Heavenly dao isn¡¯t something you can disrespect. You¡¯ll suffer retribution for going back on your word!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Tu for +888 +888 +888¡­

    Zu An sighed and said, ¡°I¡¯m seriously amazed. How can someone like you who lives in this kind of world not know that there are loopholes to vows?¡± After collecting a good amount of Rage points, Zu An knocked him out.

    Fuck you! Which one of us is really the evil one here?! Chi Tu thought before he fainted.

    Sang Qien was about to drag Chi Tu back, but she hesitated and stopped midway. Zu An couldn''t help but chuckle when he noticed that, asking, ¡°Little Qien, is there something you want to say?¡±

    Sang Qien then said, ¡°What Chi Tu said was actually true. You can¡¯t mess with heavenly dao. Making a vow to the heavens is something extremely serious. Deliberately making loopholes in your vows like that might incur the rejection of heavenly dao. It¡¯ll be really bad if you end up suffering from retribution as a result.¡±

    Zu Anughed and said, ¡°Little Qien, I didn¡¯t expect you to worry so much about me.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, do whatever you want. I don¡¯t care.¡± Sang Qien harrumphed and left, blushing.

    Zu An then replied, ¡°Perhaps you might see this heavenly dao as a selfless and omniscient existence, but I don¡¯t share that notion. The heavens aren¡¯t kind; they merely view all things as the same. In the eyes of the world, good and evil don''t exist; the heavens are only interested in maintaining the proper operation of the world. They won¡¯t favor someone a bit more just because they followed the rules well, and they likewise won¡¯t punish someone just because they tricked someone evil.¡±

    ¡°The heavens aren¡¯t kind¡­¡± Sang Qien and Zheng Dan were shocked. They both began to think those words over. They felt as if they seemed to have gained something, but that feeling quickly vanished.

    ¡°What you just said seems to be quite profound, but there is one point where I beg to differ on.¡± Sang Qien was a smart girl. She soon thought of something and said, ¡°The virtuous who do good works will often be repaid well in return, while on the contrary, the evil almost always suffer bad endings.¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An exined with a smile, ¡°That¡¯s nothing more than a result of some of society¡¯s customary conventions and rules. It doesn¡¯t say anything about the will of the world itself.¡±

    Sang Qien was stunned. She was just about to say something in return, but she suddenly realized that Zu An¡¯s answer did make some sense.

    Zu An said, ¡°Even though the naturalw of the world is sacred, it will only punish those who clearly vite their vows. I believe that you¡¯ve all had a misunderstanding because you worship and fear the heavenly dao too much, so you haven¡¯t thought about how there¡¯s actually a lot of room for maniption in between. For example, I¡¯ve already encountered many bad people, and this kind of thing has happened all the time. Over time, I¡¯ve picked it up as well.¡±

    When he first picked up on that fact, he even felt as if making a vow in this world was pretty much useless. But when he really thought about it, he figured that if someone who was proficient inw transmigrated, these vows might really be extremely important.

    His previous world was also a society that operated on contracts, but many people would already be thinking about how to break the contract as soon as it was made. Thosewyers¡¯ jobs were precisely to think of ways to plug up all kinds of holes.

    Zu An thought to himself that if he encountered a true professional, he would never dare to falsify a vow.

    Zheng Dan spoke up and said, ¡°Ah Zu, even though what you said makes a bit of sense, no one knows what¡¯s really going on with heavenly dao. If you always walk along the river bank, your shoes will probably get wet. It would be way toote if you slipped up one day and incurred heavenly punishment! After all, there are many people in this world who care about your safety.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. Only now did he realize that his attitude might have be a bit extreme. After all, nothing in the world was a hundred percent guaranteed. He broke out into cold sweat when he thought of that. He quickly thanked Zheng Dan. ¡°Thank you for reminding me¡­ Or else I might really screw myself over one day.¡±

    Zheng Dan had thought that Zu An would persist with his previous attitude at first, but when she heard his agreement, she immediately had a big smile on her face.

    Sang Qien rolled her eyes. These adulterers really are too much! Wasn¡¯t I saying the same thing not too long ago? And yet that idiot didn¡¯t treat it as a big deal at all. But my sister-inw repeats those words and he immediately agrees? Do you really have to go that far to annoy me¡­

    ¡­

    After they returned to the Sang manor, Sang Hong rushed over after hearing the news. When he saw the unconscious ck robed man, he was shocked and asked, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    Sang Qien gave him a rough summary of what happened. Sang Hong¡¯s expression became ashen and he said, ¡°The Hu n has gone too far. Do they think our Sang n is so easily bullied?!¡±

    Zu An knew that half of Sang Hong¡¯s feelings at the moment were true anger, while the other half was for Zheng Dan and her Zheng n to see. Of course, he wouldn¡¯t expose Sang Hong at this point. He said, ¡°Respected uncle, I fear I¡¯ll have to trouble you with the Hu n¡¯s matters after this.¡±

    ¡°But of course. This humble one has bided my time for so long that many people seem to have already forgotten what I¡¯m capable of,¡± Sang Hong said coldly.

    Zu An had personally seen how easily Sang Hong had manipted and suppressed the Chu n¡¯s strength. He obviously didn¡¯t have to worry about a trifling Hu n. He added, ¡°But there is something else that¡¯s troublesome right now, which is that there¡¯s someone iming that Cloudcenter Duke¡¯s younger brother plotted against his older brother. How should we report this to the emperor to get the most out of it?¡±

    Sang Hong remained quiet for some time and said, ¡°In my opinion, it might be better to not report it.¡±

    ¡°Why is that?¡± That was actually what Zu An had been thinking as well, but he hadn¡¯t made his decision yet.

    Sang Hong said seriously, ¡°Do you think that by sending us to investigate Cloudcenter Duke¡¯s case, his majesty is actually interested in knowing the truth?¡±

    Zu An shook his head and replied, ¡°He only wants to borrow this as a pretense to fully bring down the Yu n.¡±

    Sang Qien¡¯s expression changed slightly, but she wasn¡¯t too surprised when she heard Zu An¡¯s analysis. After all, her father and Zu An had mentioned the emperor several times, and yet neither of them were particrly respectful. However, if these words were to be heard by a third party, they would immediately be used of being utterly disgraceful. Looks like father has already decided for the Sang n to fully side with Zu An.

    Sang Hong spoke up and said, ¡°Indeed. So in that case, his majesty will instead be unhappy if we deliver this man¡¯s testimony, and he¡¯ll even get annoyed that we¡¯re being busybodies. Regardless of how he reacts, we¡¯ll be putting ourselves in a bad situation.¡±

    ¡°Then respected uncle¡¯s intention is¡­?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°Cripple any abilities he has and break his limbs. Lock him up in the manor, and both Qien¡¯er and Dan¡¯er will watch over him. Once we return from Cloudcenter Commandery, we¡¯ll make our decision whether to use him or not depending on how the situation ys out,¡± Sang Hong said coldly.

    Zu An inwardly clicked his tongue. Sang Hong was a ruthless man after all! If it were me, I would probably have just decided to give Chi Tu an easy death.

    ¡°Little sister Qien is going to remain in the capital? I was hoping that she¡¯de with us and help us with our work.¡± Zu An was actually a bit disappointed.

    Sang Hong had an ambiguous smile on his face. Does this fe want Little Qien too? But he didn¡¯t expose Zu An and said, ¡°Worthy junior might not know about the court¡¯s rules, but to prevent important subjects from having disloyal hearts, family members must remain in the capital.¡±

    ¡°So that¡¯s why.¡± Zu An looked disappointed.

    Off to the side, Zheng Dan¡¯s face heated up a bit. Even she could tell that Zu An was up to no good.

    Sang Qien rolled her eyes.

    ¡­

    After locking up Chi Tu, Zu An saw that the sky was already getting dark, so he got up to say his goodbyes. However, Sang Hong held him back instead and said that he wanted to share a few drinks.

    A whileter, everyone in the group was starting to be a little buzzed. They somehow ended up talking about Sang Qian, and Sang Hong couldn''t help but weep. After a long time had passed, he said, ¡°I don¡¯t know how long it¡¯ll be before we¡¯ll return from this trip¡­ If Zheng Dan gives birth to Qian¡¯er¡¯s posthumous child, our Sang n will have hope.¡±

    Zu An scoffed inwardly. Did you go crazy? The two of them didn¡¯t even properlyplete their wedding ceremony, so how could they have a child? But he suddenly realized something. This old man was implying something else!

    He was about to ask Sang Hong what he meant, but the other party had already copsed from drinking too much. Sang Hongy on the table, mumbling nonsense.

    ¡°Big brother Zu, pardon my father. He drank too much.¡± Sang Qien¡¯splexion wasn¡¯t so good either, but she still got up to help her father. ¡°I¡¯ll bring him back to his room. Sister-inw, I¡¯ll have to trouble you to apany him for a while,¡± she said, and left with her father afterward.

    Because of the alcohol, Zheng Dan¡¯s cheeks were red. She harrumphed under her breath, ¡°Who makes their sister-inw apany another man? What the heck am I even doing¡­¡±

    The maids had already been chased off by Sang Hong a while before, so it was only the two of them left in the room. Zu An no longer had so many misgivings and moved over, wrapping his arm around her waist. He remarked, ¡°When did I be an outsider?¡±

    Zheng Dan harrumphed and quickly pushed him away. ¡°We¡¯re still in the Sang n! Behave yourself.¡±

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in another room, Sang Qien tossed her father onto a chair in annoyance, asking, ¡°Are you really that impatient, father?¡±

    Sang Hong opened his eyes, but there wasn¡¯t even a trace of drunkenness in his expression. He said, ¡°I have no choice. This trip to Cloudcenter Commandery will take at least half a year. If she got pregnant after that, not even a fool would believe that it was Qian¡¯er¡¯s posthumous child.¡±

    ¡°I just can¡¯t help but feel as if we¡¯re letting my brother down, though.¡± Sang Qien bit her red lips, her expression extremely conflicted.

    Sang Hong harrumphed. ¡°Having no sons is the worst situation. Continuing the Sang n¡¯s legacy is what¡¯s most important.¡±

    Sang Qien began to panic as well. She finally voiced her misgivings. ¡°But even if sister-inw got pregnant, the child would have no blood rtion to the Sang n! In that case, why don¡¯t we adopt a child? It¡¯s better than doing something humiliating like this.¡±

    Sang Hong gave her a calm look. After a momentary pause, he said, ¡°There is a way to make the child have something to do with the Sang n¡­¡±

 Chapter 951: Trap

    <h4>Chapter 951: Trap</h4>

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Sang Qien was confused. Don¡¯t tell me sister-inw or Zu An were actually rted to our Sang n somehow?

    Sang Hong slowly said, ¡°I secretly added some stuff into the wine today.¡±

    ¡°What? You poisoned Zu An?!¡± Sang Qien¡¯s eyes lit up in shock. Did her father still have some grudge against Zu An? But even though that guy was really annoying sometimes, he didn¡¯t deserve to die! He had even helped the Sang n a lot¡­

    She was just about to advise her father to change his mind when Sang Hong continued, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I didn¡¯t poison him, but rather put in a pregnancy-helping pill I acquired by spending a lot of money. The pill is harmless to the body, but it can help a girl get pregnant more easily.¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± Sang Qien cried out in rm. Her cheeks immediately turnedpletely red. ¡°Dad, you didn¡¯t tell me! I drank it too!¡± She didn¡¯t know if it was just the cebo effect, but she felt her entire body starting to burn up.

    Sang Hong gave her a look; the expression in his eye was somewhatplicated. He said, ¡°They might have noticed something if I told you ahead of time, and Zu An would be suspicious. Don¡¯t worry, it won¡¯t harm you at all, and will instead grant you some benefits.¡±

    Regardless, Sang Qien was still an unmarried youngdy. She found such topics a bit embarrassing and quickly eximed, ¡°Dad, you still didn¡¯t answer my question! Even if sister-inw bes pregnant, the child still won¡¯t have anything to do with our Sang n!¡±

    Sang Hong gave her a look and slowly said, ¡°The child your sister-inw gives birth to might not have anything to do with the Sang n, but the one you give birth to will be different.¡±

    Sang Qien was stupefied. She was just about to ask something else when her entire body went weak, and she slowly fell. Someone supported her from behind. When she raised her head and saw who it was, she asked in shock, ¡°Auntie Mu, what are you doing?¡±

    The middle-aged woman, Auntie Mu, served her father. Ever since Sang Qien¡¯s mother had passed away, Auntie Mu had almost always been the one who assisted with her father¡¯s daily life. Even though they had never officially wed each other, everyone in the Sang n had pretty much treated her as Sang Hong¡¯s concubine. They all respected her. Sang Qien had never expected this woman to do such a thing to her!

    Auntie Mu retracted her gaze apologetically and looked at Sang Hong, asking, ¡°Master, do we really have to do this?¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    There was a look of hesitation on Sang Hong¡¯s face, but in the end, he still said, ¡°Qien¡¯er, please don¡¯t me your father. I¡¯m doing this for the sake of the Sang n¡¯s future.¡± Afterward, he gestured for Auntie Mu to continue with the n. If he could still father offspring himself, why would he trouble these juniors? But he really couldn''t anymore.

    Sang Qien had a confused look on her face. She really couldn''t understand why her father would say such a thing. Then, Auntie Mu picked her up. Her steps were quick and light as she quickly traveled across the n estate toward a courtyard. Sang Qien was rmed and eximed, ¡°Auntie Mu, where are you bringing me?!¡±

    Auntie Mu didn¡¯t answer this question and instead said, ¡°Qien¡¯er, don¡¯t me your father. For the sake of the entire n, he had no choice.¡±

    ¡°What are you actually doing?¡± Sang Qien asked. The more vague and mysterious Auntie Mu¡¯s words were, the more scared she became. But what was strange was that there wasn¡¯t a single maid in the courtyard. They had clearly all been sent away ahead of time.

    Auntie Mu didn¡¯t reply, and instead pushed open the door and ced Sang Qien on a bed. At the same time, she began to unfasten Sang Qien¡¯s clothes.

    Sang Qien finally understood her father¡¯s n. She was furious and ashamed, eximing, ¡°What is father thinking?! I want to see father right now; I¡¯ll speak to him myself!¡±

    Auntie Mu sighed. ¡°Your father is quite troubled too, but he can¡¯t just let the Sang n¡¯s lineage end here. He can only wrong you. But Auntie Mu has been observing all of you too. Regardless of whether it¡¯s appearance or ability, that person is a giant among men. If you can adjust your attitude a bit, you won¡¯t feel too wronged.¡±

    Sang Qien was about to cry. ¡°How can you be the one to say whether I feel wronged or not?!¡±

    Auntie Mu¡¯s hands moved proficiently, quickly removing all of Sang Qien¡¯s clothes and exposing her youthful body. She sighed in praise and said, ¡°Qien¡¯er, you really are beautiful.¡±

    Sang Qien didn¡¯t want to say anything else to her. She turned her head to the side and silently wept.

    Auntie Mu sighed. She lowered the bed curtains, then blew out themp in the room. Only then did she close the door and leave.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An saw Sang Hong return with an unsteady gait. He asked, ¡°Respected uncle, didn¡¯t you pass out from drinking too much?¡±

    Zheng Dan blushed. She thought to herself, Thank goodness we stopped quickly! Otherwise, her father-inw would see the two of them together. She¡¯d die from embarrassment then.

    Sang Hong waved his hand and said, ¡°I¡¯m not drunk, so let¡¯s keep drinking.¡±

    Zu An looked around and asked, ¡°Huh? Where is little sister Qien?¡±

    ¡°She doesn¡¯t want to drink with us crude men, so she¡¯s already returned to her room,¡± Sang Hong said in an unconcerned way. He filled Zu An¡¯s cup all the way again.

    Zu An quickly said, ¡°I really can¡¯t drink anymore, or else I won¡¯t even be able to walk anymoreter.¡±

    With his cultivation, he could quickly get rid of his intoxication by using ki. He wouldn¡¯t get drunk at all. But what meaning would there be left in drinking if he did that? That was why most cultivators wouldn¡¯t do such a thing while drinking, and would instead let the alcohol stimte them to give them that nice, tipsy feeling.

    Sang Hongughed and said, ¡°It¡¯s alreadyte, and it¡¯s not too appropriate for you to return. Why don¡¯t you just stay the night in the manor, as long as you don¡¯t find the ce too shabby?¡±

    Zu An though to himself, That¡¯s exactly what I had in mind too. ¡°Then I¡¯ll dly ept.¡± He nced over at Zheng Dan from time to time while talking.

    Zheng Dan knew what he was implying. Her cheeks immediately flushed red. Sang Qien wasn¡¯t present anymore, so it was a bit awkward for her to remain present. As such, she took the chance to leave.

    Zu An didn¡¯t really mind either, and told her to wait for him through ki.

    Zheng Dan¡¯s departing figure staggered. Then, her pace became faster and faster. When she returned to the courtyard, she could only think about Zu An¡¯s provocative expression. That dummy is getting braver and braver! He actually said that in front of my father-inw¡­

    Hm? Why are there no servants in the courtyard? She was about to push open the door when the center of her back suddenly went numb. Then, she fainted.

    Auntie Mu caught her. She sighed and carried Zheng Dan to Sang Qien¡¯s room, cing her on the bed and covering her up.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Sang Hong continued to pressure Zu An to drink. They talked about everything from theyout of the court to the families of many different officials.

    These were all things one wouldn¡¯t hear outside, as they¡¯d easily offend people, and even the emperor himself might be unhappy. Judging from the sincerity in the other party¡¯s voice, Zu An knew that Sang Hong was really treating him as one of his own, so he drank even more cheerfully.

    After they drank for a long time, Sang Hongpletely copsed. Zu An¡¯s eyes were growing blurry too. He thought to himself, This old fe really can drink; he actually drank me to this state!

    A middle-aged woman slowly walked forward then. When she saw Sang Hong¡¯s condition, she said to Zu An, ¡°Young master Zu, I¡¯ll bring you to your ce of rest.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t dare to trouble the madam.¡± Zu An had already been to the Sang n several times, so he naturally recognized this Auntie Mu, who was practically the second master of the n.

    ¡°The young master is too polite. This is something I should do.¡± A hint of happiness appeared between Auntie Mu¡¯s brows when she heard the word ¡®madam¡¯. She thought to herself, This young man is handsome, and he knows how to speak well too. She immediately developed a good impression of him. She personally led him to a side room after saying, ¡°Young master, please rest well. I won¡¯t disturb you anymore.¡± Afterward, she left.

    Zu An was confused. Couldn''t a random maid take care of all of this? Why did she need to personally see me here? But the effects of alcohol were starting to overpower him. He didn¡¯t think too much about it and just treated it as extra consideration. He decided to just enter the room so Auntie Mu would think he had gone in for the night. After she left, he left through a window and snuck over to Zheng Dan¡¯s room.

    His head was throbbing a bit along the way, and the roads in front of him even seemed to have multiplied. He smacked his own head a few times. Why is the Sang n¡¯s alcohol so strong? But all of his blood was rushing downward at the moment, so he didn¡¯t have the time to think about such minor abnormalities.

    He swiftly arrived at Zheng Dan¡¯s room and gently pressed against the window. Sure enough, it wasn¡¯tpletely shut. He was extremely happy to see that Dandan had left an entrance open for him after all.

    He quietly went inside. There were no lights inside the room, and he saw that Zheng Dan was sleeping in bed. Her figure looked even more graceful and gentle through the curtains.

    Zu An didn¡¯t know whether it was because of the feeling of alcohol or something else, but his body felt as if it were burning up. How could he still control himself? He quickly stripped down and made his way into the covers. ¡°Dandan, you must¡¯ve been waiting for a long time already¡­¡±

 Chapter 952 - Old Ginger Is Spicier than Young Ginger

    <h4>Chapter 952 - Old Ginger Is Spicier than Young Ginger</h4>

    When he felt the smooth and youthful sensation underneath the covers, Zu An was stunned at first. Then, he was overjoyed, eximing, ¡°Dandan, so you were already ready and waiting for me!¡±

    Sang Qien was incredibly embarrassed. This cheating couple was already together after all! Even though she had already suspected that before, spection and reality were still two different things.

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qien for +444 +444 +444¡­

    ¡°Huh?¡± Zu An was surprised. He mumbled to himself, ¡°Why is Little Qien angry?¡±

    Sang Qien was confused as to why Zu An could sense her anger. However, she was still happy to see that. Yes, yes, hurry and find out that something isn¡¯t right! She had her acupoints sealed by Auntie Mu, so she couldn''t speak to warn Zu An at all. She could only hope that he¡¯d notice something.

    But soon afterward, she heard him mutter, ¡°That little girl is always unhappy with me. She probably already knows about our rtionship.¡±

    Sang Qien thought to herself, At least this fe knows himself. But she didn¡¯t have any time to think about other things at the moment; she could only pray that he would figure out what was happening sooner.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    But unfortunately, things didn¡¯t go the way she had hoped. Zu An was already drunk from drinking so much, and all of his blood was already flowing through his lower body. How could he still have the mental room to reconsider the situation? Sang Qien soon felt herself being pulled into his embrace like a toy. She knew that there was no escaping her fate and felt despair.

    Zu An noticed that the feeling was a bit off and muttered to himself, ¡°Huh? Dandan, when did you get skinnier?¡±

    Sang Qien was ashamed and embarrassed. Her sister-inw¡¯s build had already given her enough of a confidence blow, but even now, she had to go through another round of psychological attacks from this guy?

    But she suddenly found a trace of hope. Her figure was clearly different from her sister-inw¡¯s, so this guy should be able to tell the difference, right? It wasn¡¯t toote to stop now.

    However, she soon heard Zu An say something else. ¡°Damn those Hu n merchants for harming you and preventing you from sleeping well. You actually became this much skinnier!¡±

    Sang Qien wanted to cry when she heard that. Is this guy really drunk or not? How can you focus all of your reasoning on that?

    But she quickly wasn¡¯t in the mood to think about such things anymore. She sensed how proficiently he moved. Before she could even react, she felt as if she had been prated by a hot iron rod. Two streaks of tears silently slid down her cheeks.

    ¡­

    Auntie Mu, who had been quietly observing from behind arge tree outside, sighed. As she heard the bed groan under the force, she decided to buy a sturdier bed sometime in the future. At the same time, there was a bit of worry between her brows. They had really let Qien¡¯er down this time.

    ¡­

    The next morning, the skies in the east gradually became suffused with white. Zu An was sleeping soundly when he was woken up by quiet sobbing. He was still a bit drowsy. He reached out his hand and pped the bottom of the beauty in his arms, asking, ¡°Dandan, why are you crying so early in the morning?¡± The other party didn¡¯t reply, and only stared at him red-eyed.

    Zu An¡¯s sight gradually cleared. He suddenly saw who it was in his arms. How could it be the charming Zheng Dan? It was the petite and exquisite Sang Qien! Her tearful face was heartbreaking. Zu An quickly rubbed his eyes and mumbled to himself, ¡°Am I dreaming? Why did I end up seeing your sister-inw?¡±

    ¡°Let go!¡± Sang Qien bit her red lip. She pushed the man embracing her away. The previous night, she had felt like a small skiff in a stormy sea, battered and beaten by the winds. In the end, she was so tired she had unconsciously fallen asleep.

    When she woke up the next morning, she had finally recovered her ability to move again. She had instinctively tried to leave, but Zu An had clung to her as if she were his pet, not letting her go at all. She couldn''t free herself even after trying several times.

    When she thought about what had happened, she was overwhelmed with sorrow. She couldn''t help but start crying, thus waking Zu An up.

    Zu An finally realized that none of what had happened was a dream. He immediately jumped back in fright and pulled up the sheets to cover himself, eximing ¡°What did you do to me?¡±

    Sang Qien was speechless. She almost fainted from anger. How could there be someone this lowly in the world? She really wanted to bite him right now!

    When Zu An saw herpletely exposed body and the bright blossom of color on the sheets, he felt as if she were like a wounded little deer. He finally realized what had happened. He wrapped the covers around her and asked, ¡°What really happened?¡±

    When the nkets covered her again, Sang Qien¡¯s ice-cold heart finally felt a shred of warmth. ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡±

    If one asked her if she hated Zu An for stealing her virginity, of course she would say yes. But if one asked her if she med him, she couldn''t say so. After all, what had happened the previous night was way too ridiculous. Not even she, the daughter herself, had expected her father to do something like that. How could she me Zu An?

    But the more she was like that, the more confused Zu An was. He quickly looked around him. There shouldn¡¯t be any mistake, right? This is the same room, the same familiar bed. This should be Zheng Dan¡¯s room¡­? He could only ask probingly, ¡°Did you return to the wrong roomst night?¡±

    Sang Qien took a deep breath. She felt anger surge within her as she said coldly, ¡°Even if I went to the wrong room, this is still my sister-inw¡¯s room!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qien for +233 +233 +233¡­

    Zu An smiled awkwardly, looking a bit embarrassed. Zheng Dan was currently the Sang n¡¯s daughter-inw after all.

    Sang Qien wasn¡¯t in the mood to criticize him even more either. She took a deep breath and said, ¡°Turn around, I¡¯m going to get dressed.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Zu An no longer acted in his usual frivolous manner. He obediently turned around.

    If it were any other girl, he might have teased her a bit. However, he had really only treated her as his little sister after being around her for some time. Now that such a thing had happened, he couldn''t help but feel as if he had sinned.

    What was even more annoying was her identity. He had just formed an alliance with the Sang n. His thing with Zheng Dan was one thing, since the two of them had already been together beforehand, and the Sang n had even tacitly agreed to their rtionship.

    But now, something like this had happened! It was one thing to ask for a daughter-inw, but now he had even harmed their daughter! Zu An asked himself what he would do in this kind of situation. If it had happened to him instead, he would probably explode from anger.

    While Zu An was at a loss for what to do, Sang Qien spoke calmly from behind him. ¡°Alright, you can turn around now.¡±

    Zu An turned around. He saw that Sang Qien was already fully clothed. She was still just as good-looking and delicate as before, just that her hair was a bit messy. There was a bit of a worn-out expression on her face, but it only made her look even more moving.

    ¡°What happened today was just something unexpected. In this world, only the two of us will know about this matter. No one is allowed to mention this matter again. Do you understand?¡± Sang Qien couldn''t look him in the eyes. She lowered her head and calmly said those words.

    She knew her father¡¯s ns, but she really couldn''t bring herself to just cooperate and use her own body as a bargaining chip. The fact that she was still resentful toward her father¡¯s decision meant she especially didn¡¯t want things to go as he wished.

    Zu An was stunned and said, ¡°But that¡¯s not fair for you. I¡¯m not someone who won¡¯t take responsibility¡­¡±

    Even though the two of them didn¡¯t really share any feelings, he knew that the chastity of women in this world was extremely important. Now that such a thing had happened, he couldn''t just pull up his pants and leave.

    Sang Qien interrupted him and said, ¡°I don¡¯t need you to take responsibility.¡± She walked straight out after speaking. However, she stumbled as soon as she took the first step.

    Zu An quickly supported her, asking, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Sang Qien pushed him away. You even have the nerve to ask something like that? Her sister-inw looked all delicate and gentle; just how could she handle this kind of beast?

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qien for +313 +313 +313¡­

    She gave him a hateful look, then hobbled out.

    ¡­

    As he watched her leave, Zu An felt rather ufortable. What the hell was this?

    ¡°Right, what about Dandan?¡± he muttered, startled. He was just about to look for Zheng Dan when he saw her quickly rush over from elsewhere. He was about to call out, but he suddenly realized something. He quickly returned to the room and stored all of the messy bed sheets into his Brilliant ss Bead.

    Zheng Dan arrived soon afterward. She jumped in fright when she saw Zu An, asking, ¡°Why are you here? It¡¯ll be bad if someone in the manor sees you!¡±

    Zu An stared into her eyes, asking, ¡°Why weren¡¯t you in your room? Where did you gost night?¡±

    He even wondered if Zheng Dan was the one who had caused all of this; perhaps she wanted to drag down her sister-inw too, as that would make things much easier for her in the future. With the way she had done things before, that was actually a possibility.

    Zheng Dan rubbed her head and said, ¡°I might have drunk too muchst night, but I actually slept in Little Qien¡¯s room. Ah, right, have you seen Little Qien? I didn¡¯t see her when I woke up.¡±

    ¡°I haven¡¯t,¡± Zu An said rather unnaturally. Since Sang Qien didn¡¯t want what had happened to be exposed, he would respect her wishes.

    He carefully observed Zheng Dan¡¯s expression, and it didn¡¯t seem that she was lying. He then thought about what was happening. The Sang n had already tacitly agreed to their rtionship, so she obviously didn¡¯t need to take such a risk. Then hadst night just been a beautiful mistake?

    ¡°Hurry up and get out of here! The servants are already about to wake up.¡± While Zu An was thinking, Zheng Dan was already pushing him out of the door. It wasn¡¯t that early anymore, so it would be very bad if anyone saw him in her room.

    After Zu An left, Zheng Dan nned to get some rest, but she was suddenly a bit stunned when she saw that there were no sheets. She mused, ¡°Huh? Where did the bed sheets go?¡±

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An returned to his own room. He pretended to look as if he had just gotten out of bed. He just happened to run into Sang Hong, who was doing his morning exercise.

    ¡°How was your sleepst night?¡± Sang Hong asked with a smile.

    ¡°It was¡­ pretty good,¡± Zu An replied, avoiding eye contact with Sang Hong.

    ¡°That¡¯s good. This old one was scared that our treatment was unsatisfactory,¡± Sang Hong said with a smile.

    ¡°It was extremely satisfactory¡­¡± Zu An thought to himself, Maybe it was way too satisfactory. He couldn''t see anything from the other party¡¯s expression either, which only made him more nervous.

    Sang Hong stopped his current stance and invited Zu An, ¡°Since you¡¯re here, why don¡¯t you join me in my morning exercise?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s alright. I suddenly remembered that I have something important to take care of back home.¡± Zu An felt really guilty. How could he bear the shame of staying over when he had just defiled Sang Hong¡¯s daughter? He quickly found a reason to leave.

    Sang Hong couldn''t help but smile when he saw Zu An leave in a flustered manner. Even this fellow is like this sometimes, hm?

    ¡­

    When Zu An left, Auntie Mu walked over from off to the side and asked, ¡°Master, shouldn¡¯t we use this chance to get some information from him?¡±

 Chapter 953: To Suit Her Fancy

    <h4>Chapter 953: To Suit Her Fancy</h4>

    Sang Hong shook his head. ¡°He¡¯s a smart person. What happenedst night was bizarre. He hasn¡¯t taken the time to think about it in depth right now due to the shock, but he¡¯ll wake up sooner orter. If we force him too hard right now, it might instead be worse; we might even end up leaving him with some ill feelings toward us.

    ¡°But if we don¡¯t do anything or tell him anything, even if he finds out the truth, he won¡¯t be able to act out. After all, we¡¯ve never asked him for anything this entire time, and he was instead the one who received tremendous benefits.¡±

    Auntie Mu asked with a worried expression, ¡°But what if he refuses to admit to anything after everything is said and done?¡± She had remained in the n for so long that even though Sang Qien wasn¡¯t her own daughter, she had watched her grow up. Now that she was so old as well, she basically viewed Sang Qien as her own daughter. She was really worried about that.

    ¡°That won¡¯t happen.¡± Sang Hong had a kind smile on his face. ¡°He¡¯s someone who strongly favorsradeship. I almost destroyed the Chu n back in Brightmoon City, and yet he single-handedly saved them. Later on, when something happened to him, he decisively cut off his rtionship with them to avoid bringing them down too. How could someone like that be ungrateful and fickle?¡±

    ¡°Then judging from what the master is saying, he still has some affection for Chu First Miss?¡± Auntie Mu asked.

    ¡°But of course,¡± Sang Hong replied. ¡°Chu Chuyan is a proud and arrogant girl, so how could a girl like that wholeheartedly admire someone who¡¯s fickle? Furthermore, it¡¯s precisely because of their emotions still being there that it might just have the opposite effect if we try to insert Qien¡¯er between them. After all, she hasn¡¯t spent much time with Zu An, and they don¡¯t share too much sentiment.

    ¡°It might be better to leave Zu An with the impression that he took advantage of her first, to have him feel some internal conflict and pity instead.¡±

    Auntie Mu gradually understood what he was saying. She asked, ¡°But if that happens, then wouldn¡¯t Qien¡¯er really be wronged?¡±

    Sang Hong was speechless. Only after a while did he say, ¡°As a father, I¡¯ve indeed truly let her down.¡±

    Auntie Mu asked after some hesitation, ¡°Master, should your respected self perhaps pay her a visit?¡±

    Sang Hong shook his head. ¡°She¡¯s still upset right now; my presence will only be adding fuel to the fire. It might be better to just let time heal her wounds.¡±

    ¡°But I¡¯m scared that Qien¡¯er might do something stupid¡­¡± Auntie Mu looked extremely worried.

    ¡°That won¡¯t happen. Qien¡¯er is a smart and rational child. Even though she¡¯s upset, the event has already happened. She¡¯ll be able to weigh the pros and cons, and won¡¯t do anything stupid.¡± Sang Hong analyzed the situation. After a pause, he continued, ¡°But you can visit her.¡±

    ¡°I was the one who brought her back. If I see her now, I fear¡­¡± Auntie Mu also had an embarrassed expression on her face. She didn¡¯t dare to meet with Sang Qien now either.

    ¡°She knows that you were only acting on orders, so she¡¯ll only hate me. She won¡¯t me you.¡± Sang Hong waved his hand. ¡°Please, just go and check on her.¡±

    Auntie Mu said with a sigh, ¡°Master, even though you sound as if you don¡¯t care, you still care more about Qien¡¯er than anyone else.¡±

    Sang Hong remained silent. In the end, after thinking for a long time, he could only release a sigh.

    ¡­

    After he left the Sang n, Zu An headed straight to the imperial pce for the morning roll call. He was in a daze.

    Even Bi Linglong could tell that something was off. She couldn''t help but remark, ¡°Sir Chambein seems to have encountered some type of trouble?¡±

    Zu An snapped out of his daze and replied, ¡°Thank you, crown princess, for your worries. This subject doesn¡¯t have any major issues.¡±

    He had intended to take the chance to improve their rtionship again, but when she heard that he was fine, Bi Linglong didn¡¯t pay him any more attention. She continued to pay attention to the Eastern Pce¡¯s other subjects as usual.

    In the end, Zu An forced a smile. He wasn¡¯t actually in the mood to coax Bi Linglong at the moment either. After spending the day in the Eastern Pce, going around in a daze, Zu An got off work when he felt it was about time.

    Bi Linglong bit her lip when she looked at his departing figure. In the end, she still couldn''t help but call over Rong Mo, saying, ¡°Help me ask around if anything happened to Zu An recently.¡±

    Rong Mo was shocked and replied, ¡°Crown princess, aren¡¯t you a bit too concerned about him?¡±

    Bi Linglong waspletely calm. She retorted, ¡°What do you understand? He¡¯s an important member of the Eastern Pce now, so I need to make sure that he hasn¡¯t been bribed or threatened by King Qi¡¯s side.¡±

    ¡°Your highness is wise after all!¡± Rong Mo¡¯s suspicion was quickly reced with admiration.

    ¡­

    After Zu An left, he walked around the vicinity of the Sang n¡¯s manor. In the end, he still couldn¡¯t figure out how to deal with the matter and gave up on going inside.

    He turned around and went toward Scarlet Invitation. It wasn¡¯t because he was in a rush to vent his lust, but rather because Kong Nanwu had helped him rescue Zheng Dan before, so he had to at least express his thanks.

    After the previous visit, Nan Xun had already given the servants special instructions. When Zu An arrived, he was quickly brought to a small courtyard inside to see Nan Xun and Kong Nanwu.

    The two women were both cold on the outside but warm on the inside. Both of them were also stunning. When they stood next to each other, the entire room seemed to be a bit brighter.

    ¡°Thank you, Miss Kong, for your helpst time. I was able to find the mastermind.¡± Zu An noticed that Kong Nanwu was carrying a fluffy snowball-like thing. He thought that it was a pillow or something, but upon closer inspection, it was a pretty little fox.

    There was actually such a pretty fox in this world? No wonder so many people from my previous world liked to raise cute pets. Zu An couldn''t help but sigh. But he quickly remembered something. This could only be the second prettiest fox, because his Daji was definitely number one.

    Kong Nanwu stroked the little fox''s soft hair while asking a bit nervously, ¡°May I ask who the mastermind was?¡±

    Zu An knew what she was worried about, so he exined, ¡°Lady Kong need not worry. He wasn¡¯t part of the fiend races, but rather just a human who practiced evil arts.¡±

    Sure enough, Kong Nanwu sighed in relief when she heard that. She had always been worried about whether she had ended up offending one of her fiend racepatriots.

    Then, she asked about a few more details, and Zu An answered everything. Both sides were friendly and amiable.

    Zu An gave the fluffy fox in her embrace several looks. He finally couldn''t help but ask, ¡°Can I pet it?¡± Looks like we humans really have no resistance towards cute furballs.

    But who could have thought that before Kong Nanwu could even reply, the little fox would stand up and bare its fangs at him?

    Kong Nanwu smiled, saying, ¡°Looks like Huhu isn¡¯t okay with it.¡±

    ¡°Huhu?¡± Zu An was shocked. He really couldn''t associate the cute little fox with that feisty little maid.

    ¡°What, is something wrong?¡± the little fox shot back in human speech. She hadn¡¯t really liked Zu An to begin with, so she took the chance to criticize him. ¡°Everyone has always said that you humans are the most hypocritical, and now I can see that that¡¯s indeed the case! You keep saying that you want to thank our young miss, and yet you didn¡¯t even bring any gifts! You¡¯re clearly just saying that. Fake!¡±

    ¡°Huhu!¡± Kong Nanwu gave the little fox a pinch and immediately scolded her. ¡°Young master Zu isn¡¯t a normal person. Our rtionship isn¡¯t one where we care about worldly things.¡±

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°What Lady Kong says is true. I heard from Nan Xun that you don¡¯t care much about things like wealth, so I specially prepared a small gift for you. I hope it¡¯s to your liking.¡±

    Kong Nanwu was a bit surprised, replying, ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to thank the young master.¡±

    ¡°What kind of gift?¡± The little fox couldn''t help but jump impatiently onto the table. It reached out its ws and scratched at Zu An.

    Nan Xun also craned her neck, curious as to what kind of present Zu An had brought.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    When he saw the little fox¡¯s cute appearance, Zu An began to tease it, saying, ¡°I¡¯ll tell you if you let me pet you.¡±

    ¡°Hmph! Rascal¡­¡± The little fox looked scared. It rushed back straight into its master¡¯s arms.

    Kong Nanwu¡¯s expression also became a little strange as she remarked,¡°Young master Zu, Huhu is a girl after all.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. In my eyes, she¡¯s just a furball. He coughed a few times to cover up his embarrassment.

    He took out a book from his inner pocket and said, ¡°I heard Nan Xun say that thedy enjoys reading human books, so I prepared one. I believe this should be one you¡¯ve never read before.¡±

    Kong Nanwu was stunned at first, but then she said with a smile, ¡°The young master is quite considerate. Your human race¡¯s books are indeed quite interesting.¡±

    But she actually felt disappointment inwardly. She had begun to collect human books even when she was still with the fiend races. Once she had entered human territory, she¡¯d had her subordinates look for all kinds of books. She didn¡¯t believe that this book he had given her would be any different. She was just thanking him as a formality.

    Nan Xun and the little fox couldn''t help but move over out of curiosity. The little fox was even more blunt and remarked, ¡°Huh, ¡®Strange Tales¡¯? What kind of dumb name is this?¡±

 Chapter 954: Voice from Afar

    <h4>Chapter 954: Voice from Afar</h4>

    ¡°Huhu, stop being rude!¡± Kong Nanwu gave the little fox an impatient look. Then, she looked toward Zu An apologetically with her beautiful eyes. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, young master Ah Zu, my maid herecks discipline. Right, I believe I¡¯m a well-read person as well, but I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever heard of these ¡®Strange Tales¡¯ before. May I ask where the young master obtained this book?¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t really mind the little fox¡¯s offense. After all, her current form was just way too adorable. He replied, ¡°In my earlier years, I encountered an old sir named Pu Songling[1]. He told me all kinds of strange stories, so I remembered them and recorded them down. I¡¯m now gifting thedy with a copy and hope that it¡¯s to your liking.¡±

    While he had been bored in the Eastern Pce earlier that day, he had already been wondering what kind of gift to give Kong Nanwu to repay her kindness. In the end, he decided on the book ¡®Strange Tales¡¯. ¡®Strange Tales¡¯ was a book filled with all kinds of bizarre and thrilling stories involving ghosts and humans. She was from the fiend races, so he figured it would probably suit their tastes. Since his time had been limited, he had only made a copy of a small portion. As for the rest, that was something he¡¯d think about in the future.

    Kong Nanwu looked pleasantly surprised, eximing ¡°So it was written by the young master personally! This is a rare treasure¡­¡± She picked up the book while speaking. The smile on her face immediately froze, however, because the words were¡­ really ugly.

    Of course, objectively speaking, the handwriting was merely averagepared to others. But for someone of her status, and furthermore for someone who liked to read the words of great masters, Zu An¡¯s handwriting really was quite unbearable.

    Zu An¡¯s face heated up. He coughed awkwardly and said, ¡°Please read it slowly. I still have something to take care of, so I¡¯ll bid my farewell first.¡± Then he left, as if he were running away without even waiting for them to say anything.

    The little fox wrinkled her nose. ¡°At least that guy knows himself. This handwriting really is offensive to the eyes.¡±

    Nan Xun moved over, then covered her mouth and giggled. ¡°It really is a bit ugly.¡±

    ¡°It indeed doesn¡¯t suit his literary grace. No wonder he had someone else write his poem for him earlier.¡± Kong Nanwu couldn''t help but muse. At the same time, she picked up the booklet. As she flipped through the pages, her previously nonchnt expression gave way to mild shock and seriousness. Then, she began to read faster and faster.

    The little fox sorted out her fur that had been messed up by her master¡¯s petting while whispering, ¡°That guy really is a joke. The young miss helped him out so much, and yet he only gave you this stupid book. The handwriting is even so ugly.¡±

    Nan Xun also added in agreement, ¡°Right? I even helped him out, and yet he didn¡¯t give me anything. Men are all fickle in love after all.¡±

    Kong Nanwu burst outughing when she heard Nan Xun¡¯s jealous words. ¡°Who said he didn¡¯t give you any gifts? Wasn¡¯t this story written just for you?¡±

    Nan Xun was stunned. She looked at where Kong Nanwu was pointing and saw the words ¡®Ghost of a Beauty¡¯. She cried out in rm, before quickly starting to read the story. With her current concentration, she could read quickly and she finished it easily. Her face was left red with embarrassment, her insides stirring with emotions.

    Kong Nanwu harrumphed. ¡°But who is this old ck Mountain witch he speaks of? Am I really someone that vicious and hateful in his mind?¡±

    Nan Xun immediately leapt to Zu An¡¯s defense. ¡°Come on, didn¡¯t young master Zu already say he wasn¡¯t the one who wrote this? This is the story an old sir told him.¡±

    ¡°Look at you, weren¡¯t you a King Manor concubine and even a spy trained by the royal family? How can you still be this innocent?¡± Kong Nanwu shot her a look. ¡°Even though I can¡¯t say I¡¯ve read all of the books in existence in the world, I¡¯ve read quite a few. However, I¡¯ve never heard of these Strange Tales before.¡±

    ¡°Maybe that Pu Songling hasn¡¯t made his mark in the world yet, so he isn¡¯t that famous?¡± Nan Xun spected.

    Kong Nanwu shook her head. ¡°That¡¯s impossible. How could someone with the talent to write something like this not be known? Furthermore, the writing style ispletely different from the styles popr in this world. It¡¯s a true breath of fresh air. Apart from someone of his literary talent, who else could write something like this?¡±

    ¡°Young miss, are you saying that this Pu Songling is just young master Zu¡¯s alias?¡± Nan Xun was shocked and overjoyed. ¡°But why does he need to use an alias?¡±

    ¡°In my opinion, many of these stories talk about romance between the fiend races¡¯ creatures and humans, implying admiration and sympathy for the women of the fiend races. It might be because he¡¯s a court official, so he doesn¡¯t wish for this book to make him a public enemy.¡± Kong Nanwu had a bit of joy on her face as she continued.¡°Last time, he wrote the verses ¡®Their pitiful remains scatter endlessly across the northernke, even as wives dream and await their return¡¯, which already told me that he was different from normal humans. If we look at all of this together, we can tell that he doesn¡¯t have any prejudice against our fiend races.¡±

    Nan Xun felt strangely happy when she heard her praise Zu An. She said, ¡°Young master Zu was an incredible man to begin with¡­¡± Then, her face suddenly turned red. Inwardly, she added, ¡®in every way¡¯.

    The little fox pouted and said, ¡°I think that guy has bad intentions. Maybe he wrote about love between the fiend races and humans on purpose to seduce thedy!¡±

    Kong Nanwu was stunned. A pink blush gradually appeared on her cheeks as she replied, ¡°Nonsense. He also wrote about foxes here. Do you think he¡¯s trying to seduce you too?¡±

    ¡°There really was a fox there?¡± The little fox, who had originally been looking at the book disdainfully, jumped up. She ran over to read the book with keen interest.

    Kong Nanwu panicked and eximed, ¡°Ah, wait your turn! I haven¡¯t finished reading it yet.¡±

    ¡°I want to see, I want to see!¡± Nan Xun also moved over. The master and servants quickly began fighting each other over the book.

    ¡­

    Zu An exited Scarlet Invitation. When he returned home, a servant came over to report to him. ¡°Young master, you¡¯ve finally returned! Third young master came looking for you several times already.¡±

    The servants from the manor were pretty much all from the Chu n, which was why they naturally called Chu Youzhao young master.

    ¡°Why was he looking for me?¡± Zu An asked curiously.

    ¡°I think he wanted you to produce a written piece for him. He wasn¡¯t willing to go back even verytest night, and waited for you the entire time. Later on, the Qin n¡¯s people came to bring him back. He even waited here for a long time this morning.¡± The servant replied.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An¡¯s eyelids twitched. His ¡®written piece¡¯ earlier had just been mocked by those girls, so how could he embarrass himself even more and write something that would ruin his reputation further?

    ¡°Got it,¡± he replied. There were just too many headache-inducing things that had happened in the past few days. He really wasn¡¯t in the mood to deal with that kid.

    He was just about to leave when he heard the servant say, ¡°Right, the third young master also mentioned that the first miss entrusted him to pass something on to the young master¡­¡±

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say so earlier?!¡± Zu An glowered. He quickly left again. It had already been a long time since he had received news about Chu Chuyan. He wondered how she was doing now. On his way there, he remembered that Chu Youzhao had waited for so long for him, so she was probably upset. It wasn¡¯t too appropriate for him to show up with nothing.

    Of course, if it were that ¡®written piece¡¯ or something, he¡¯d pass on it. He knew that Chu Youzhao didn¡¯t care too much about written stuff with her personality anyway, and that it was just a momentary interest.

    With her nature of only wanting to y, he bought a bunch of y figures, Chinese rings, bamboo-copters, colorednterns, shadow puppets, and other toys before sprinting over to the Qin n.

    ¡­

    In the past, he would most likely have been refused at the entrance if he arrived, but now, the Qin n treated him like a respected guest. The Qin n brothers greeted him enthusiastically and asked about his well-being, almost as if they were scared of not treating him well enough.

    After finally getting rid of the two brothers, Zu An arrived at Chu Youzhao¡¯s room. Chu Youzhao was a man in everyone¡¯s eyes, so she obviously had to spend more time alone to avoid suspicion.

    Chu Youzhao puffed up her cheeks and ignored him when she first saw him. But when she saw the pile of strange and bizarre little toys he was holding, her attention was immediately sucked in. She was exhrated as she listened to Zu An describe how to y with the toys. After ying with them for a while, her eyes turned red. ¡°Everyone treats me as a boy, so I never got to y with these things. I wanted to y, but I couldn''t tell them. Only brother-inw treats me the best¡­¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He had never expected that even though she appeared to be having fun, her life had actually been quite lonely. He replied, ¡°Come on, don¡¯t feel broken-hearted anymore. If you ever want anything in the future, just tell me! Brother-inw will secretly buy it for you to y with!¡±

    ¡°Brother-inw is the best!¡± Chu Youzhao hugged his arm, her smile making her eyes resemble crescent moons.

    Zu An tactfully freed his arm. This little girl really didn¡¯t know how to hold herself back sometimes¡­

    ¡°Brother-inw, kick this shuttlecock with me! I don¡¯t even dare to ask the maids to y this with me normally,¡± Chu Youzhao invited him.

    Zu An was speechless. I¡¯m a big guy already, what adult man kicks shuttlecocks? He was just about to refuse, but when he saw the glistening tears in her eyes, his heart softened and he agreed.

    ¡°Right, big sis wrote a letter to you! You should read it first, and then you can y with me without worrying about anything!¡± Chu Youzhao tapped her head and quickly stormed off into her room. She quickly returned with a letter.

    Zu An received the letter and gave her a look of suspicion. ¡°You didn¡¯t secretly read it, right?¡±

    ¡°Of course not!¡± Chu Youzhao jumped in fright¡­ and then looked all around her with an unnatural expression.

    Zu An was speechless again. Hey, your expression alreadypletely sold you out. After he opened up the letter, however, his expression suddenly turned serious.

    1. Pu Songling was a Chinese writer who lived in the Qing dynasty, best known as the author of Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio. ?

 Chapter 955: White Jade Sect

    <h4>Chapter 955: White Jade Sect</h4>

    ¡®It has been several months since I have been apart from my lord and gentleman. I wonder if you have been well?¡¯

    Zu An couldn''t help but smile when he saw the beautiful and graceful handwriting. As expected, the words reflected the person, just as beautiful as Chuyan herself. There was a faint fragrance of orchidsing from the letter, which was Chu Chuyan¡¯s unique smell. He could imagine her sitting in front of her table, ttening out a sheet of paper and writing seriously.

    ¡®...the weather recently has abruptly be cold, and it has already begun to snow in Brightmoon City. Huanzhao has never seen snow before, so she has been quite excited, running out into the snow to make a snowman. However, she is unfortunately not too skilled in the arts, so the end product was quite different, to say the least.

    ¡®I was quite curious about what she made. At first, she was too shy to tell me, but I made sure she understood what the phrase ¡®an older sister is like a mother¡¯ meant. She finally gave in¡­¡¯

    Zu An had a smile on his face. Chu Chuyan had a bit of that side to her too after all; that brat Huanzhao had probably been bullied a bit.

    ¡®She said she was making a snowman of you, but she could not do it no matter what she tried¡­ I could not help but want tough when I saw how ugly that snowman was. I really wanted you to see it.

    ¡®Because I cultivated the Snowke Sword, my hands and feet were ice-coldst year. But this year, even though there was such a huge snowfall, my hands and feet were still warm. All of that was because of you¡­¡¯

    Even though he didn¡¯t see the words ¡®I miss you¡¯ at all, Zu An could feel her strong longing for him. He thought to himself that Chu Chuyan¡¯s nature was naturally cold and indifferent, so it wasn¡¯t too likely for her to say anything too cheesy. But when he saw what she wrote afterward, his smile suddenly froze.

    She told him that after she had dealt with the Chu n¡¯s matters, something seemed to have happened back in her sect, so they had called her back. She was quite nervous too. Furthermore, she didn¡¯t know when they would be able to meet again.

    ¡°White Jade Sect?¡± Zu An mouthed the name of the sect she had written. He grabbed Chu Youzhao, who was ying with an assortment of toys, and asked, ¡°Your big sister is from a sect?¡±

    ¡°Of course! Where do you think her Snowke Sword came from? It¡¯s not as if the great art passed down in the Chu n is the Snowke Sword.¡± Chu Youzhao rolled her eyes.

    Zu An thought about her answer. Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru indeed didn¡¯t use the Snowke Sword, and Chu Chuyan had even taught him the Snowke Sword. He had clearly sensed that the technique was profound and mysterious, and it even seemed to have a powerful growth factor. His previous confusion was now finally resolved.

    ¡°But doesn¡¯t this world not really have any sects? Aren¡¯t most people members of the court?¡± Zu An asked out of curiosity. After all, ording to his understanding of this world, cultivation decided how far one could go in an official position, so what sect¡¯s resources couldpete with the court? That meant there shouldn¡¯t have been many people who were willing to stay in a sect.

    ¡°That¡¯s just stuff that happened in thest few decades. Before his majesty unified the world, the different sects were actually flourishing,¡± Chu Youzhao exined. Even though she did like to y, she had still been raised in an influential great n after all. Her knowledge and experiences were beyond those of an ordinary person. ¡°Later on, after his majesty defeated the fiend races and left all the outstanding warriors helpless with his power, the various sects closed their gates and secluded themselves from the world. The small sects didn¡¯t have such strong backing, so they were quickly absorbed by the court. As time passed, the ordinary people have already forgotten that the world still has sects.¡±

    When he heard the pride in Chu Youzhao¡¯s tone, Zu An knew it was something every citizen of the Zhou Dynasty had. After all, the Zhou Dynasty had been founded on martial might, so that kind of domineering and awe-inspiring might was something its citizens were extremely proud of.

    ¡°Then what¡¯s going on with this White Jade Sect?¡± Zu An wanted to know more about his wife¡¯s sect, the more details the better.

    ¡°I only know that the White Jade Sect is just a branch of Dao Gate, and furthermore an extremely influential branch. As for everything else, we really don¡¯t know too much since the White Jade Sect has secluded themselves from the world. Even though my big sis was taken in as a disciple because someone from the White Jade Sect saw her talent, she wasn¡¯t allowed to talk about any of their secrets either. That¡¯s why we don¡¯t really know either,¡± Chu Youzhao replied after thinking about his question.

    ¡°Dao Gate?¡± Zu An frowned. He had heard of the term before in his previous world, but this world¡¯s Dao Gate was clearly not that simr.

    ¡°If there¡¯s a Devil Gate, then there¡¯s naturally a Dao Gate. The Devil Gate seeks to do whatever the heart desires, while the Dao Gate seeks the naturalw, the transcendence of the self,¡± Chu Youzhao answered, looking surprised.

    Zu An had a strange expression on his face. Qiu Honglei seemed to be the saintess of the Devil Sect, and Chu Chuyan was now an inheritor of the Dao Gate? What if it was like something from those TV shows of his previous world, and the inheritors of the two sides had to fight it out? He was sandwiched right in between, so what was he supposed to do then? He was curious as to just why the White Jade Sect had called Chu Chuyan back. Unfortunately, Chu Youzhao had no idea.

    Chu Youzhao was getting annoyed from all the questions too, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t talk about that stuff anymore, and kick this shuttlecock with me.¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An¡¯s expression darkened. He was obviously not in the mood to kick a shuttlecock right now. He suddenly thought of something and asked, ¡°Right, isn¡¯t there still something you haven¡¯t given me?¡±

    ¡°Why would I have something else for you¡­¡± Chu Youzhao tried to avoid eye contact. But in the end, she couldn''t defeat his prating eyes. She took out a letter from her inner pocket and said, ¡°Okay, okay, I¡¯ll give it to you, okay?¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but smile. That¡¯s more like it. I knew that kid Huanzhao wasn¡¯t so heartless. How could she not write me any letters? When he opened up the letter, he saw some crooked chicken scratch. It wasn¡¯t even close to her sister¡¯s handwriting.

    ¡®Number three, if you dare to peek at this, I¡¯m going to beat you up the next time I see you!¡¯

    Zu An had a knowing smile on his face when he saw those words. Chu Huanzhao¡¯s Wailing Whip suddenly appeared in his head. It seemed she knew about her little sister¡¯s bad habits too. After a few more sentences threatening Chu Youzhao, she then got to the main topic.

    ¡®Brother-inw, is the capital fun? I want toe too, but mom and dad won¡¯t let me. It¡¯s so annoying!

    ¡®I¡¯ve been so bored all by myself ever since you left. No one is here to y with me, and you ended up killing my Bootlicker too. The academy is boring; the kids are either scared of me or trying to kiss up to me. There are some kids who are trying to act all mature to get my attention. Hmph,pared to someone as amazing as brother-inw, those brats¡¯ mature act is justughable.¡¯

    Zu An couldn''t help but smile when he saw this. Did that girl forget that she was a brat herself? But ording to the letter¡¯s implications, it seemed she had some pursuers now too. It wasn¡¯t all that surprising. Chu Huanzhao¡¯s family background was great, and she was a beauty in the making. Those academy students would be blind if none of them liked her. Hmph, I should send a letter back when I get a chance, telling mother-inw to keep a closer eye on them. They can¡¯t let any random useless guy approach her.

    He continued reading what Chu Huanzhao had written.

    ¡®Also, that Ji Xiaoxi became my good friend. Hehe, she thinks I don¡¯t know, but she only got closer to me to find out more about you. Hmph, I was upset at first, but those pills of hers were pretty tasty, so I guess I can reluctantly ept her. It¡¯s better for me to be keeping an eye on her than to just let her sneak around secretively.¡¯

    Zu An was speechless. Why are you randomly eating Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s pills? Are you not scared of anything?! But he wasn¡¯t too worried. Ji Xiaoxi was a nice girl, so she would never hurt Huanzhao.

    The shy and pretty youngdy appeared in his mind again, as well as that kiss she had given him to pass on that Fake Death Pill¡­ He couldn''t help but touch his lips. That soft feeling was still fresh in his memory.

    ¡°Huh? What kind of stupid things are you thinking about? Your expression looks lewd!¡± Chu Youzhao cried out.

    Zu An¡¯s face heated up. He shot back, reprimanding her, ¡°Nonsense, what do you know about lewdness?¡±

    Chu Huanzhao talked about some more trivial stuff about her life. Zu An felt warm reading it. In the end, though, she changed the topic again.

    ¡®Stinky brother-inw, I didn¡¯t even see you write me a single letter after all this time! You didn¡¯t even tell big sis to pass any words onto me! Did you forget about our friendship already? Or were you blinded by those seductresses in the capital?! Number three, I know you secretly read this, so you have to remember to help big sis protect brother-inw! Don¡¯t let those vixens get him, got it? If you fail to do that, I¡¯m going to smack your butt with my Wailing Whip the next time I see you!¡¯

    Zu An and Chu Youzhao were left speechless.

 Chapter 956: Defending Purity

    <h4>Chapter 956: Defending Purity</h4>

    Chu Youzhao harrumphed. ¡°Even Big Sis isn¡¯t worried, so what is she getting all worried about? Someone who had no idea might think that brother-inw was her husband instead¡­¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but smile when he heard herint. The two were pretty close in age, so she wasn¡¯t really willing to call Huanzhao her big sister. Of course, with Chu Huanzhao¡¯s temper, she had definitely bullied Youzhao quite a bit back then.

    ¡°Stop reading it already! Kick the shuttlecock with me!¡± Chu Youzhao reached out her hand, about to rip the letter to shreds out of annoyance.

    Fortunately, Zu An put the letter away quickly, saying, ¡°Alright, alright. You better not cry when you lose.¡±

    Chu Youzhao wasn¡¯t stupid either and quickly added, ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to use your cultivation!¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t, I won¡¯t!¡± Zu An said confidently. Do you really think I can¡¯t deal with a brat like you?

    But soon afterward, he was left so regretful his stomach was turning sour. Chu Youzhao was way too flexible and agile, always able to kick the shuttlecock right back at seemingly impossible angles.

    Chu Youzhao¡¯s loud and clearughter echoed throughout the entire courtyard. The maids and servants outside were all whispering among themselves. They had never seen their young master so happy before! But why did their young master¡¯sughter seem a bit like a girl¡¯s¡­

    After ying with Chu Youzhao for a while, Zu An insisted on leaving despite her asking him to stay. Chu Youzhao still hadn¡¯t had enough fun yet, though. She waved at him from the entrance, calling out, ¡°Brother-inw, let¡¯s y again next time!¡±

    When he turned around and saw her big smile, Zu An suddenly felt that it didn¡¯t really matter even if he always lost.

    ¡°Right, remember to reply to my big sisters! They¡¯re both waiting.¡± Chu Youzhao remembered what her big sisters had told her when she saw him wave back at her and quickly warned him.

    ¡°Got it.¡± Zu An felt warm inside. He thought to himself, It really is nice to have people who think about you. Sigh, I didn¡¯t even remember to write them a letter and only focused on my own fun and happiness here. What the heck is wrong with me¡­ I have to change my ways. From today on, I need to live my life as a good man. I need to defend my purity! He continued to warn himself.

    ¡­

    After walking around for a bit, he suddenly noticed a familiar courtyard. After some hesitation, he still decided to walk in that direction. He had to deal with Sang Qien¡¯s situation eventually. He wasn¡¯t someone who would run away after the matter.

    Furthermore, the Sang n was his ally at the moment. It would be much worse if there were some suspicion or negative influence on their rtionshipter on because of that matter.

    ¡­

    When he arrived at the Sang n, Sang Hong and Zheng Dan were both shocked and pleasantly surprised to see him. They both greeted him enthusiastically.

    ¡°What about little¡­ sister Qien?¡± Zu An asked. Why did the way he had always used to call her now sound so strange? He looked from side to side, but he didn¡¯t see Sang Qien anywhere.

    ¡°She isn¡¯t feeling well, so she¡¯s resting back in her room,¡± Sang Hong said with a smile. There was nothing strange that could be seen from his expression.

    Zu An was rmed when he heard that Sang Qien wasn¡¯t feeling well. He obviously knew why she was ufortable. He had thought that she was Zheng Dan and tormented her all night. How could a little girl like her possibly handle something like that? He felt more and more guilty when he thought of that. After some thought, he said, ¡°Respected uncle, there¡¯s something I need to tell you.¡±

    Sang Hong looked a bit shocked. He seemed to have thought of something, but he didn¡¯t show it. ¡°Worthy junior, we¡¯re now allies, so our rtionship is close. Please speak freely.¡±

    Zu An felt guilty when he saw Sang Hong¡¯s amiable smile. After all, Sang Hong had already tacitly agreed to his and Zheng Dan¡¯s rtionship, and yet he had even taken Sang Hong¡¯s daughter. No matter how good their rtionship was, they¡¯d probably still have a falling out, right?

    He was going to get cut either way, whether he extended his head or shrunk back. He took a deep breath, and eventually said, ¡°Respected uncle, so Little Qien and I¡­¡±

    ¡°Dad!¡± A fragile voice interrupted him before he could finish. When those present turned around, they saw Sang Qien standing by the entrance. Herplexion was pale, and there was a hint of fatigue between her brows. Her eyes were red, as if she had just been crying.

    ¡°Qien¡¯er.¡± Sang Hong was a bit surprised to see her. His expression was extremely conflictedd.

    Sang Qien ignored him and walked straight to Zu An, asking, ¡°What are you doing here?¡±

    Zheng Dan had a suspicious look on her face. She just felt that the exchange sounded a bit strange for some reason.

    It was instead Zu An who was the most shameless. He felt a bit guilty under her stare and said, ¡°I came to clear something up. I need to¡­¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing that isn¡¯t clear.¡± Sang Qien cut him off. ¡°Isn¡¯t it fine if we just continue like before? Did youe to discuss your ns in Cloudcenter Commandery?¡±

    ¡°Um¡­ I guess that¡¯s part of it.¡± Zu An was stunned and replied instinctively.

    Just then, Sang Qien said through a ki transmission, ¡°Did you already forget what you promised me? No one is allowed to talk about what happenedst night.¡±

    ¡°But that¡¯s not fair to you at all,¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°There¡¯s no such thing. If you really feel sorry for me, just do what I say. Otherwise, I¡¯ll immediately show you my resolve right here.¡± Sang Qien¡¯s voice was cold.

    ¡°Um¡­ Alright then.¡± Seeing how firm her attitude was, Zu An could only agree.

    ¡°It¡¯s already time for dinner, so big brother Zu should stay here for a meal.¡± Sang Qien concluded their private chat and spoke out loud.

    ¡°Okay.¡± Zu An felt overwhelmed by her favor. What is she thinking though? Why doesn¡¯t she want me to tell the truth? Wouldn¡¯t she be the one at a loss here then?n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    A father understood his daughter best. Seeing her behavior, Sang Hong sighed inwardly. His daughter was probably dissatisfied with what he had done and didn¡¯t want to cooperate with the n to use her as a bargaining chip to threaten Zu An. But how could she know that the more she did that, the better it actually was for the n?

    Then, a maid quickly came over with food and drink. Sang Hong and Zu An chatted happily. There appeared to be nothing strange at all.

    Sang Qien felt awful, but she still forced herself to smile and chat with her sister-inw. Zheng Dan¡¯s eyes darted between the two of them from time to time. She had a pensive look on her face.

    A whileter, Sang Qien got up and said, ¡°I don¡¯t feel too well, so I¡¯m going to head back first to get some rest.¡± Sang Hong and Zu An naturally didn¡¯t try to keep her. They both warned her to take good care of herself.

    Sang Qien stopped after taking a few steps and said, ¡°Big brother Zu may visit our manor more often to discuss what you need with my father. You can just stay here for the night. After all, there¡¯s no one else back home, and it¡¯ll be troublesome to go back.¡±

    Zu An had a strange expression on his face as he said, ¡°Thank you, little sister Qien.¡± What is she trying to say? Is she deliberately keeping me here?

    Sang Hong sighed. He knew what his daughter was thinking. Even though his daughter hated what he did, she had always been a smart girl. She knew that since things had already happened, she would choose to make the greatest use of it. By keeping Zu An near, she clearly wished to increase the odds of pregnancy a bit higher.

    Of course, he knew that his daughter would never have the shame to actually say that to Zu An. She was probably going to leave that task to Zheng Dan. After all, she also knew that if she couldn''t get pregnant fast enough, her father and Zu An would have to go to Cloudcenter Commandery. If Zheng Dan got pregnant after that, no one would believe that it was Qian¡¯er¡¯s posthumous child.

    They all had their own thoughts. This time, Zu An watched himself and didn¡¯t drink too much.

    ¡­

    When the meal was over, Zu An was led to a guest room by Auntie Mu, who said, ¡°Young master Zu, this is where you will stay tonight. In the future, this will be your special room. You may stay here as you wish.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Auntie Mu.¡± Zu An felt her words were quite strange, as if she were implying something.

    In the dead of night, he secretly left the room and went to visit Sang Qien. He obviously knew theyout of their respective rooms after having gone there several times.

    When she heard the knocking, Sang Qien asked vigntly. ¡°Who is it?¡±

    ¡°Little sister Qien, it¡¯s me. I have some things to talk to you about.¡± Zu An really couldn''t tell what she was thinking, so he decided to talk things out first.

    ¡°There¡¯s really nothing to talk about between us.¡± Sang Qien took a deep breath. ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to feel any internal conflict either. Just pretend that nothing happened at all yesterday.¡±

    ¡°How can you pretend something like that never happened?¡± Zu An felt somewhat sad. ¡°What are you really thinking? To be honest, I¡¯m a bit confused.¡±

    ¡°Even the girl here doesn¡¯t mind it, so what is a big man like you acting like a freaking sissy for?!¡± Sang Qien was getting annoyed too. ¡°Or are you saying that you want to use this chance to take advantage of me again? If that really is what you¡¯re thinking, then just barge in and do what you will.¡±

    The door groaned as soon as she finished speaking, having been pushed open from the outside. Sang Qien sat on her bed,pletely stupefied.

 Chapter 957: Schemes Stirring

    <h4>Chapter 957: Schemes Stirring</h4>

    ¡°What are you doing?!¡± Sang Qien cried out in rm. She quickly wrapped her nkets tightly around herself. Even though she was dressed in her nightwear, she couldn''t help but feel as if she were wearing nothing.

    Zu An chuckled and replied, ¡°Didn¡¯t you let me in?¡±

    Sang Qien almost fainted from anger, eximing, ¡°Was that really what I meant?!¡±

    ¡°I was just joking. Come on, don¡¯t get so upset.¡± Zu An didn¡¯t get any closer and instead sat down by the entrance. He didn¡¯t close the door behind him to make her feel more at ease. He continued, ¡°I only came to chat with you, or else there¡¯ll always be some misunderstandings that won¡¯t ever be cleared up.¡±

    Seeing that he didn¡¯t have any intentions of going further, Sang Qien gradually calmed down and asked, ¡°Is it just your confusion over why I¡¯m not asking you to take responsibility?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± That was what Zu An found the hardest to understand. Even though this world was much more open-minded than ancient China, the purity of a woman was still extremely important. For a distinguished daughter to experience something like that, the least of the consequences would be that her lifetime of happiness would be ruined; more importantly, the entire Sang n would be looked down on. At that point, how could one pretend nothing happened?

    Sang Qien¡¯s chest quickly rose and fell. She was clearly struggling with something internally. In the end, she released a long sigh and said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll tell you the reason. It¡¯s because my Sang n needs to continue our bloodline.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. What the heck are you saying? He didn¡¯t react even after a long time.

    Sang Qien had a faint blush on her face. However, since they were already at that point, she couldn''t be too bothered anymore. She continued, ¡°Since my big brother passed away too early, he didn¡¯t leave behind any descendents. Our Sang n is at risk of having no sessors. My father decided that the best n was to make sister-inw pregnant, and then we would tell the world it was big brother¡¯s child. But that way, there would be no blood rtion to the Sang n. As such, my father wanted me to take her ce. The child I gave birth to would be dered my sister-inw¡¯s posthumous child.¡±

    Zu An was really taken for a ride as he listened, his eyes wide. I actually ended up encountering one of those TV drama situations myself? The key was that he hadn¡¯t even lost out on that much himself. Instead, he seemed to have taken advantage of the other party.

    ¡°That¡¯s why you and your father¡­¡± Zu An began, but he was interrupted by an ashamed and angry Sang Qien before he could even finish.

    ¡°I had no idea about this matter before either! I only found outst night. I had my acupoints sealed, and yet a rascal like you couldn''t even tell anyone apart and went in without thinking of anything!¡± Sang Qien¡¯s eyes were red. She felt so hurt that tears began falling again.

    Zu An walked over and gave her his handkerchief. Sang Qien was going to say ¡®don¡¯t touch me¡¯, but when she sensed the pity in his eyes, she still silently took the handkerchief.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me the truth?¡± Zu An finally asked with a sigh.

    Sang Qien was already slowly calming down. She said, ¡°Even though I don¡¯t mind deceiving others, I never expected that I would be deceiving others with my own body.¡±

    There was another reason she hadn¡¯t mentioned. She had always been someone resourceful. Many of the things her father could think of, she was aware of as well. She had known that with Zu An¡¯s sharpness, he would realize everything soon. Rather than letting that happen, she might as well tell him everything from the start as a favor.

    If her father talked about this matter himself, not only would it ruin the Sang n¡¯s image, all of it would also feel calcted. But she, as the victim, was different. By borrowing his current guilty conscience, he wouldn¡¯t feel repulsed when he heard the exnation and she would instead receive his sympathy.

    Sure enough, as a man, no one could reject the moving tears of a girl. Zu An sighed and said, ¡°In this kind of situation¡­ I don¡¯t really know what to say either. You¡¯ve really been wronged.¡± He wanted to say a lot of other things too, like ¡®Why did you try to keep this to yourself?¡¯ I¡¯m more than willing to pay the price and help in any way¡­ But he also knew that now wasn¡¯t the time to talk about such things.

    Sang Qien wiped away her tears and said, ¡°Alright, since you already know what¡¯s going on, you don¡¯t have to feel bad anymore. You don¡¯t have to keep asking me these things anymore either.¡± She stopped him when she saw that he wanted to say something else, adding ¡°If you really feel any remorse, then promise me that you¡¯ll keep this a secret. Don¡¯t let sister-inw or my father know that you already know. Please leave our Sang n with ourst bit of dignity.¡±

    Zu An could imagine how she was feeling from her watery eyes and pleading expression. After all, this wasn¡¯t anything glorious. If news leaked out, it would immediately cause a huge scandal.

    ¡°Okay, I promise you,¡± he promised seriously.

    Sang Qien¡¯s eyshes trembled as she quietly replied, ¡°Thank you.¡±

    ¡°Um, there¡¯s onest question,¡± Zu An added hesitantly.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Sang Qien asked.

    ¡°How can you be sure that you¡¯ll definitely get pregnant just fromst night?¡± Zu An asked.

    Sang Qien¡¯s cheeks turned red. She bit her lip and said, ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡± She was too embarrassed to say that her father had made her take a pregnancy-helping pill.

    Zu An remained quiet for a bit, then suggested, ¡°Should we try a few more times?¡±

    ¡°Get lost!¡± What met him in response was a flying pillow.

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qien for +222 +222 +222¡­

    Zu An left her room with a smile. He naturally didn¡¯t really have such thoughts. However with how gloomy Sang Qien had been over the previous two days, he had been worried that she was feeling really horrible, so he had done that to help her vent a bit.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡­

    Zu An then went to Zheng Dan¡¯s room. The maids were already asleep. With his cultivation, they wouldn¡¯t be alerted either.

    ¡°Who is it?¡± Zheng Dan cried out in rm when he went inside.

    ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± Zu An sighed in relief when he heard Zheng Dan¡¯s voice. He couldn''t make the same mistake again. He made his way into thefortable sheets.

    Zheng Dan grabbed his mischievous arm, her beautiful ck eyes sparkling as she looked at him. She asked, ¡°Something happened between you and Little Qien, right?¡±

    ¡°Not at all.¡± Zu An had just promised not to say anything, so he couldn''t just talk about it on the spot, could he?

    ¡°Really? Then why was her attitude towards you so strange today?¡± Zheng Dan asked in confusion.

    ¡°She¡¯s always found me annoying. She might just be feeling a bit unhappy because of our rtionship,¡± Zu An exined with a smile.

    ¡°Sigh, because of you, it¡¯s going to be so awkward for me in the Sang n.¡± Zheng Dan felt embarrassed.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to feel too bad either. They might actually have already tacitly approved of our rtionship,¡± Zu An said in a meaningful and profound way.

    ¡°I felt as if something was strange between both father and daughter today. Normally speaking, the Sang n doesn¡¯t allow outside men to live here, but they¡¯ve kept inviting you over recently.¡± Zheng Dan said in confusion.

    ¡°They probably want me to help you give birth to a child,¡± Zu An said in an ambiguous manner.

    ¡°Pah!¡± Zheng Dan harrumphed. She definitely wouldn¡¯t believe that. However, it had been a long time since they had been together, so those words stirred something within her. Her cheeks blushed, and she warmly embraced the man next to her.

    ¡­

    A few days passed. The court suddenly gave the order for the Vice Minister of Finance Sang Hong to serve as an imperial envoy. The crown prince¡¯s Chambein Zu An would be in charge of ensuring the safety of the envoy. This envoy was headed out to Cloudcenter Commandery to appoint a new Cloudcenter Duke, and they were also in charge of investigating the case of the duke¡¯s disappearance. The decree caused quite amotion in the capital.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, inside King Qi Manor, Zhao Zhi was a bit unhappy. He asked, ¡°Father, if a daughter from a concubine of the Pei n wants to be affiliated with us, shouldn¡¯t shee to the capital to see me? Why do I have to visit her personally?¡±

    King Qi frowned, a bit of displeasure appearing in his eyes. He said, ¡°Zhi¡¯er, your reply has left me extremely disappointed. With how things stand, you¡¯re actually still concerned with female charms?¡±

    Zhao Zhi was rmed. However, he wasn¡¯t stupid and immediately reacted. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s rted to the imperial envoy this time?¡±

    King Qi nodded. ¡°Indeed. Your visit to Cloudcenter Commandery to propose marriage is merely a pretense to fool the others. In reality, you have another mission. When the timees, this is what you should do¡­¡± Then, he moved over to Zhao Zhi¡¯s ear and whispered some things.

    Zhao Zhi was shocked when he heard King Qi¡¯s words. ¡°Father, something like that actually happened?¡±

 Chapter 958: Amid the Clouds and Mist

    <h4>Chapter 958: Amid the Clouds and Mist</h4>

    King Qi said indifferently, ¡°You need to move carefully, and you can also try to befriend Zu An. That kid has previously expressed intent to form an alliance with me, so you can use this chance to test him and see if he¡¯s being sincere or not.¡±

    ¡°Befriend him?¡± Zhao Zhi¡¯s voice immediately rose an octave. His eyes were filled with anger. ¡°That little bastard humiliated me before. I hate him so much I want to tear him apart and break his bones!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t let a small grievance ruin the greater scheme.¡± King Qi criticized him. ¡°If you can¡¯t even endure something like this, how will you ever aplish something great? We need to make use of him first and foremost right now. Even if he¡¯s an enemy, you have to be good at using enemies. Once the dust settles, you can then slowly decide how you want to make him pay.¡±

    When he heard that his father didn¡¯t actually intend to stop him from getting his revengeter, Zhao Zhi¡¯s expression finally eased a bit and he said, ¡°I have benefited from father¡¯s scoldings.¡±

    ¡°Your father will tell you a bit more about the situation over there now¡­¡± King Qi pulled Zhao Zhi over and told him about some things in Cloudcenter Commandery.

    ¡­

    At the top of Mount Yuquan, a woman with long, stocking-covered legs climbed the stairs and arrived near the lotus pond. The cold had already set in, with snow starting to fall, and yet the lotus flowers were still bright and beautiful. There was ayer of faint energy surrounding everything, as if it were the home of an immortal.

    When she saw the figure of someone angling by theke, Jiang Luofu couldn''t help but remark, ¡°Teacher, these fish are all your beloved pets; why are you fishing for them? Furthermore, I¡¯ve never seen you catch a single one before.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure they find being captive here quite dull. I¡¯m merely keeping thempany and ying with them.¡± The libationer raised the fishing pole as he spoke. The fish ¡®hook¡¯ wasn¡¯t curved, but rather perfectly straight.

    Jiang Luofu couldn''t be bothered with her teacher¡¯s strange tastes and asked, ¡°Teacher, what did you call me over for today?¡±

    ¡°Did Madam Qi previously entrust you to get something from Zu An?¡± The libationer¡¯s attention waspletely on the water¡¯s surface, and he asked the question as if it were just something in passing.

    However, Jiang Luofu was incredibly shocked. She couldn''t help but smile bitterly. ¡°As expected, nothing escapes teacher.¡±

    Her older brothers had all taken wives from either the Pei n or the Yu n. That was why the rtionship between the Jiang n and King Qi¡¯s faction had always been quite good. She herself had always remained on good terms with Madam Qi, and they had been bosom friends for a long time. That was why she had been entrusted with something of that sort.

    ¡°Then why haven¡¯t you done anything yet?¡± the libationer asked with a slight smile.

    Jiang Luofu answered seriously, ¡°Because Zu An is also my friend. I don¡¯t wish to do anything that betrays a friend.¡±

    ¡°This matter might not be as serious as you think. There might even be someone hoping for you to betray him,¡± the libationer said in a profound and meaningful way.

    ¡°What is teacher trying to say?¡± Jiang Luofu was shocked and quickly looked towards the libationer.

    Who could have expected that the libationer wouldn¡¯t reply to the question at all? He instead said, ¡°You should pay Cloudcenter Commadery a visit.¡±

    ¡°Cloudcenter Commandery?¡± Jiang Luofu had one arm under her chest and the other propping up her smooth and beautiful chin. ¡°The court ordered for Sang Hong and Zu An to go to Cloudcenter Commandery to investigate Cloudcenter Duke¡¯s disappearance. Don¡¯t tell me it has something to do with the academy?¡±

    Even though the court¡¯s order was for them to appoint a new Cloudcenter Duke, it was clear that the order was fake, and that the investigation was the real focus. Once the investigators found out that the Cloudcenter Duke¡¯s disappearance wasn¡¯t just something unexpected, this appointment would have to be pushed back.

    ¡°You could say that it has something to do with us, but you could also say that it doesn¡¯t.¡± Some ripples appeared on the surface as the libationer spoke. When he raised the fishing pole, a red fish emerged.

    Jiang Luofu had beenining inwardly, thinking that the libationer¡¯s words were all mysterious for no reason. However, when she saw what had happened, her eyes widened. Even apletely straight fishhook could catch a fish?

    The libationer removed the fish and spread out his palm. The red fish floated in the air above his palm, moving as if it were still swimming in water. However, it couldn¡¯t leave the area above his palm.

    ¡°Sigh¡­ You¡¯re always the most gluttonous one in the pond. You really are going to die because of that mouth of yours one day.¡± The libationer scolded the red fish, then returned it to the pond. Then, he stuck the fishing pole into the ground and moved over to the cliff. He looked at the mist creeping halfway up the mountain and slowly said, ¡°Something major is about to arrive.¡±

    Jiang Luofu frowned. Her teacher always talked in riddles like this. She didn¡¯t ask about it either, because after all these years, she knew that unless her teacher decided to talk about it, asking was just a waste of time. She thought to herself that it would be great if her little sister disciple were here too, to go over and pull that stupid white mustache of his. But unfortunately, the little junior disciple was the only one who could do such a thing.

    ¡°You should go and take the chance to familiarize yourself with what you need to do.¡± The libationer waved his hands, gesturing that she could leave.

    ¡°Understood.¡± Jiang Luofu bowed respectfully, then the loud and clear sounds of her high heels gradually faded into the distance.

    The libationer gazed down on the capital. There was a deep and indescribable expression in his eyes.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in the Imperial Pce, Zu An looked at the maid in front of him. He was starting to get a headache. He had gone over on the premise of wishing the crown princess good health, and subsequently using that as a chance to meet with Bi Linglong; but in the end, Bi Linglong only sent out a maid. The maid passed along a few words, and that was it. He was still unable to meet her.

    ¡°Looks like I really pissed her offst time.¡± Zu An was feeling really frustrated. She knew that he was going to leave soon, and yet she still wasn¡¯t willing to meet him. Was she nning to hate him for the rest of her life?

    Since Bi Linglong wasn¡¯t willing to meet him, then there wasn¡¯t much of a point in him staying in the Eastern Pce anymore. He used a random excuse to leave. Either way, he had his status as the Armed Escort Commander, which allowed him much more freedom.

    ¡°Crown princess, look at how unsightly he¡¯s bing. He really left just like that.¡± Rong Mo obviously wouldn¡¯t let such a good chance to mock Zu An go.

    Bi Linglong remained expressionless and replied, ¡°Sir Zu is busy with official affairs. There is naturally no reason for him to remain in the Eastern Pce.¡±

    Rong Mo rolled her eyes. ¡°That guy is getting more and more disrespectful the further up he goes. His majesty shouldn¡¯t have promoted him.¡±

    ¡°Strike your own mouth. Is his majesty¡¯s decision something you can criticize behind his back?¡± Bi Linglong¡¯s gaze became sharp.

    Rong Mo broke out into a cold sweat. She knew that she had gone too far. ¡°This servant knows that she spoke wrongly. I wouldn¡¯t dare to say such a thing again.¡±

    Bi Linglong calmly asked, ¡°Did you finish the investigation task I gave youst time?¡±

    ¡°Zu An didn¡¯t seem to have many dealings with those from King Qi Manor recently, but I heard that King Qi¡¯s heir also ns to take a trip to the northern border,¡± Rong Mo replied.

    ¡°Why is he going there?¡± Bi Linglong frowned.

    ¡°He seems to be taking in a concubine, so he¡¯s going there to visit her,¡± Rong Mo replied.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Bi Linglong voiced her acknowledgement, then clearly lost interest. ¡°And where has Sir Zu been recently?¡±

    ¡°Him? He keeps going to the Sang n and doesn¡¯t even return to his own house. He even stays the night over there. Hmph, who knows, he might be eyeing their pretty girls. Your highness, you might not know, but the Sang n¡¯s widowed daughter-inw is a rare beauty! There are many heirs from the aristocratic circles who are talking about her,¡± Rong Mo said, sounding agitated.

    Bi Linglong remained expressionless. ¡°The Sang n has always sacrificed themselves for our country; there is no need to talk about them behind their backs. Furthermore, Sang Hong is going to be the envoy we send to Cloudcenter Commandery, so it is to be expected for him to meet with Zu An often.¡± But why do I feel so annoyed right now?

    ¡°Oh.¡± Rong Mo wrinkled her nose. She felt the crown princess had be a bit unhappy, so she tried to control herself.

    ¡­

    Zu An obviously hadn¡¯t left the Eastern Pce to do his duty as the Armed Escort Commander. Instead, he walked toward the Hundred Flower Pce. He was already a regr guest of the pce. Even though it was already bitterly cold, there were still many flowers there. The sweet scent of spring filled the air. He wondered how Concubine Bai had achieved that.

    After the servants contacted their master inside, Zu An was brought in. He could see Concubine Bai sitting gracefully on a swing in the courtyard from afar. She seems to like sitting on a swing quite a bit¡­ He sighed to himself. However, his attention was soon seized by her figure from behind.

    Concubine Bai was dressed in a white knitted dress that was slim-fitted. Perhaps it was because she was sitting on a swing, but her waist seemed even more slender and elegant. But what was even more striking was her tightly wrapped bottom. It really was nice and full, able to make the imagination go wild.

    ¡°I greet Concubine Bai!¡± Zu An still had to greet her respectfully in front of the pce maids.

    ¡°Oh? Sir Zu seems to have the leisure of visiting me today.¡± Concubine Bai naturally carried a gentle and soft aura. Whenever she smiled, others would feel rxed.

 Chapter 959: Generous Invitation

    <h4>Chapter 959: Generous Invitation</h4>

    Zu An noticed that the maids had tactfully withdrawn into the distance. Of course, there was no way they could leavepletely. Apart from the emperor, no other man was allowed to interact with these concubines one on one. He lowered his voice and said with a smile, ¡°I would love toe here every day, but I fear his majesty wouldn¡¯t be too happy about that.¡±

    A blush immediately appeared on Concubine Bai¡¯s cheeks. She harrumphed. ¡°You¡¯re getting bolder and bolder; you even dare to tease me!¡± She was clearly annoyed, but because she was soft-spoken, it was still nice to listen to.

    ¡°Does your highness have some amnesia? We even swung on the swing togetherst time.¡± Zu An wasn¡¯t really saying such things out of perversion, but rather because he wanted to try and see what kind of a rtionship she really had with the emperor. She was working for both the emperor and the Devil Sect, so he had no idea which side she leaned more toward. It was something that would affect many decisions in the future.

    Concubine Bai harrumphed and immediately changed the topic. ¡°Speak, why did youe here today?¡±

    Zu An knew that he should stop before he went too far. He didn¡¯t continue testing her, as he had already confirmed some things. ¡°I want to borrow your highness¡¯ spice bag again.¡±

    Even though he had Mirror Mirage to conceal his aura, he wouldn¡¯t be able to escape the detection of a true expert up close. He had to go as his real self in his trip to Cloudcenter Commandery, but also had to dress up as Golden Token Eleven from time to time. It was easy for there to be gaps for the enemy to detect while he changed between identities.

    The previous time, the spice bag had allowed him to fool even big shots in the capital. It would therefore obviously be enough to deal with anyone from Cloudcenter Commandery.

    Concubine Bai chuckled and said, ¡°It sounds like you¡¯re nning to trick someone again. Fine, hand over his majesty¡¯s decree then.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have a decree. This time, this is just a private request,¡± Zu An said boldly and confidently.

    Concubine Bai frowned. ¡°Mister Zu, where do you get your confidence from?¡±

    Zu An said with a chuckle, ¡°As a friend, your highness should be able to help me out here, right?¡±

    Concubine Bai replied coldly, ¡°You treat an imperial concubine as your friend? If his majesty heard these words, your head would already be tumbling on the ground.¡±

    Zu An feigned shock. ¡°I¡¯m representing the Eastern Pce for this trip, so I¡¯m sharing some of the crown prince¡¯s burdens. As the crown prince¡¯s concubine, isn¡¯t it reasonable for your highness to provide me with some help?¡±

    Concubine Bai¡¯s charming face suddenly broke into a smile. ¡°Your slick tongue never disappoints. Fine, I can give you the spice bag, but you owe me a favor. You¡¯ll have to return this favor in the future.¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°I¡¯ll work like an ox to repay your highness¡¯ kindness.¡± He added inwardly, As long as you feed me enough grass.

    Concubine Baiughed in irritation. ¡°I¡¯m not a farmer; why would I need an ox?¡± She took out the spice bag from her sleeves and handed it over, however. Because she had to reach out her arm, a part of her beautiful wrist was exposed.

    Zu An was about to reach out his hand to take it, but perhaps because she had already learned her lesson, Concubine Bai sent it into his hands with a flick of her finger. There was no chance for any physical contact.

    ¡°Alright, you¡¯ve already got what you wanted, so you can leave now,¡± Concubine Bai said and sat back down on the swing.

    When he sensed the bit of body heat left on the spice bag and looked at Concubine Bai¡¯s wonderful figure, he thought to himself, This woman is clearly already a mother, so why does she still seem as naive as a youngdy?

    Why do I think of the Golden Lotus whenever I see her on that swing¡­ His face heated up, and he repeatedly repented inwardly. He thanked the other party and withdrew respectfully.

    Concubine Bai was surprised. She had thought that Zu An would take the chance to take advantage of her, and yet he had left so obediently today? And why is he walking so weirdly?

    She was from the Devil Sect after all, and she had also been a concubine in the pce for a long time. When she thought about how he had deliberately hunched his back a bit, she suddenly realized something and harrumphed. Her cheeks turnedpletely red. That guy really is ridiculous!

    ¡­

    When Zu An left the Hundred Flower Pce, he finally adjusted himself again. He mumbled to himself, ¡°My little brother¡­ Big bro over here was almostpletely humiliated because of you. You¡¯re an experienced fe too, so why would you disappoint me like that?¡±

    Just then, someone chuckled nearby and remarked, ¡°Sir Zu has a sworn brother? Why have I not heard about that before?¡±

    Zu An turned around and saw several pce maids escorting a woman dressed in a gold-embroidered scarlet phoenix gown and a magnificent phoenix crown. The beautiful middle-aged madam walked over with a deathly pale-faced eunuch at her side. Who else could they be but the empress and Eunuch Lu?

    ¡°I greet your highness the empress!¡± Zu An immediately bowed. He had to admit that the empress was a tremendous beauty. She was clearly not young anymore, and yet she was still just as stunning. Even though shecked the youthfulness of a youngdy like Sang Qien, her mature beauty possessed a kind of unique charm. Together with her noble status, such a distinct style wasn¡¯t something any youngdy couldpare with.

    Of course, the ugly Eunuch Lu also made her look much better. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t seem as gorgeous.

    ¡°I do not believe Sir Zu has responded to my words.¡± There were no ws that could be picked out from the empress¡¯ courtesy at all. Just then, in front of the other eunuchs and maids, she was simply the mother of the world, the master of the harem.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The maids all looked at her enviously. They thought to themselves, Her highness really is graceful and beautiful. When will we ever be able to be like her?

    Also, weren¡¯t there rumors that Sir Zu was arrogant and despotic? He looks respectful and proper in front of her highness, though.

    But how could the maids and servants know that this respectful subject had already privately done all sorts of disrespectful things to their master?

    ¡°Responding to your highness, this subject doesn¡¯t have any sworn brothers. I heard some folklore lines from the streets and was merely repeating them,¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°Oh? This empress hasn¡¯t left the pce in a long time. If Sir Zu doesn¡¯t mind, why don¡¯t you tell me some of those stories?¡± The empress walked toward a nearby gazebo and gestured for Zu An to follow her. She was the master of the imperial harem, and she was Zu An¡¯s senior in age too. That was why she wasn¡¯t as awkward as the other concubines and didn¡¯t need to avoid contact with outside subjects.

    Zu An felt gloomy. That was just an excuse he had made up; how could he have expected that she would keep pursuing the matter? But with so many maids and eunuchs watching, he couldn''t really go against her. Helpless to do anything else, he could only follow.

    He began reciting, ¡°A long time ago, there was an attractive young man whose arms were longer than his knees, a red faced man whose beard was longer than his chest, and a dark-skinned man with a full beard. They were in a peach garden, and all of them were close friends¡­¡± Fortunately, he was a transmigrator, so he knew many things and had plenty of stories. He quickly told the story of the Oath of the Peach Garden.

    The empress had only nned to take the chance to have a longer chat with him and wasn¡¯t all that interested in any stories, but she was more and more engrossed the more she heard. The maids and eunuchs were alsopletely absorbed into this story.

    At the climax, Eunuch Lu couldn''t help but p in praise, eximing, ¡°This Guan Yu is righteous and magnificent!¡± He immediately snapped out of his daze afterward, though, and quickly apologized. ¡°Your highness, I have spoken out of ce. This servant was too invested just now.¡±

    Zu An had a strange look on his face. The eunuchs of his previous world either worshiped Yue Fei or Guan Yu. He hadn¡¯t expected the eunuchs of this world to be so drawn to them as well.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± The empress naturally wouldn¡¯t me Eunuch Lu and instead looked at Zu An with a smile. ¡°This empress is quite curious as to just how incredible that horse Diaochan was for all of the outstanding heroes to want to ride it.¡±

    ¡°Those guys indeed all wanted to ride her¡­¡± Zu An quickly tried to deal with this new situation.[1]

    ¡°And?¡± the empress quickly asked.

    ¡°Um¡­ That¡¯s all I have.¡± Zu An¡¯s mouth felt dry. How could he possibly tell them the entire story of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms on the spot?

    ¡°Then Sir Zu must tell this empress the rest of the story when you hear it. I¡¯ll be waiting impatiently.¡± The empress gave him a charming nce as she spoke.

    Zu An knew that she was inviting him over. However, he replied, ¡°Responding to your highness, this subject is about to depart for Cloudcenter Commandery. The rest will have to wait until I return.¡± I¡¯m not going! Big sis, I¡¯m not going!

    Even though the empress was quite beautiful, the risks were too high. If one kept walking alongside the river, one¡¯s shoes were bound to get wet. How could he let the entire forest be destroyed because of a single tree? Furthermore, he couldn''t help but feel that the empress was using him. Being used really didn¡¯t feel that great, so he decisively refused.

    The empress¡¯ smile instantly faded when she heard his refusal. She remarked, ¡°Sir Zu seems to have just visited Concubine Bai?¡±

    1. Diaochan is one of the four legendary beauties. ?

 Chapter 960: Plan for the Worst

    <h4>Chapter 960: n for the Worst</h4>

    Zu An thought to himself, How can you be like this? You were all smiles a moment ago, but you¡¯re now going to be hostile?

    But he reacted quickly too and said, ¡°This time, by going to Cloudcenter Commandery, I¡¯m representing the crown prince¡¯s Eastern Pce. Because I have to leave for a long time, I still need to pay the crown prince and crown princess my respects and heed their instructions.¡±

    The empress¡¯ breath caught in her throat. She had originally wanted to use the situation as a pretext to make a fuss and discipline him a bit, but how could she have known that he would react so quickly?

    Zu An took the chance to say, ¡°If your highness doesn¡¯t need me for anything else, this subject will leave first. I still need to prepare many things for this trip.¡±

    Seeing that he was using his official duty to evade her, the empress was extremely unhappy. She said sarcastically, ¡°Sir Zu truly is loyal and devoted to our nation, faithful and true to his majesty.¡±

    ¡°Your highness is too kind with your praise. This is merely my duty.¡± Zu An¡¯s face also heated up. He really wasn¡¯t all that devoted to the emperor, which was something the empress knew best.

    The empress was really irritated. She really wanted to retort with ¡®is working this empress¡¯ body diligently also part of your duty?¡¯, but with so many people present, her reason still won out in the end. She said, ¡°His majesty is really fortunate to have a subject like you to share in his worries. You may leave.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Liu Ning for +358 +358 +358¡­

    Zu An clicked his tongue. Sigh, the anger of a lonely young married woman isn¡¯t anything to be messed with. There was no way he would be so stupid as to say something else at that point, though, so he quickly left.

    When she saw Zu An avoid her as if she were some demonic pestilence, the empress wasn¡¯t in the mood for a stroll anymore. She returned to her pce with an ashen expression.

    ¡­

    After chasing away the maids and eunuchs, the empress asked Eunuch Lu in private, ¡°Little Lu, have I already gotten too old and lost my charm?¡±

    Eunuch Lu immediately praised her endlessly. ¡°Your highness is in your prime, your beauty unmatched! If your respected self isn¡¯t charming, no woman in this world can be.¡±

    The empress harrumphed. ¡°Then if that¡¯s the case, why does that brat keep avoiding me? It¡¯s almost as if I¡¯m going to eat him or something.¡±

    Eunuch Lu said, ¡°It might be because Sir Zu has too many misgivings. After all, we¡¯re in the Imperial Pce. He¡¯ll be dead for sure if there are any openings.¡±

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Even this empress isn¡¯t scared, so what is he scared of?¡± The empress was really annoyed.

    Eunuch Lu gave her a resentful look. The empress has never been that proactive of a person. She even had to take the initiative to seek out Zu An again and again¡­ That fe really does have some special talent; even the empress has been experiencing such a feeling. He felt jealousy, but also a different kind of feeling. In the end, he could only continue praising the empress to try and make her a bit happier.

    However, he had never expected the empress to wave her hand impatiently after hearing what he said. ¡°Enough, enough. It¡¯s always been these same words again and again these past few years. Even if you¡¯re not tired of them, I am. Just get lost.¡±

    Eunuch Lu wanted to cry. You still show that Zu An your smile even when he treats you so coldly; and yet I¡¯m over here taking care of you with everything I have, but you treat me like this¡­

    But he had already gotten used to it after serving her for so many years. Even though he felt a moment of anger and felt somewhat wronged, the anger quickly dissipated. He bowed respectfully and quietly withdrew.

    ¡­

    The night before the imperial envoy departed, Zu An remained in the pce. He used the well bottom¡¯s secret passage to go to Bi Linglong¡¯s pce.

    When she heard the clear tapping sound, Bi Linglong grabbed the short sword next to her bed. She got off her bed vigntly. After some hesitation, she still opened up the mechanism and entered the secret room, calling out, ¡°Who is it?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s me!¡± Zu An replied from the other side.

    Bi Linglong sighed when she heard Zu An¡¯s voice. She lowered her short sword, but her voice was still cold. ¡°Do you know that barging into this princess¡¯ private chambers in the middle of the night is a crime punishable by n eradication? Out of gratitude toward your contributions for the crown prince, this princess will give you another chance. Get lost!¡±

    Zu An remained quiet for a moment. This woman really knows how to hold a grudge¡­ She still hasn¡¯t let it go even after such a long time. He could only say, ¡°I¡¯m leaving tomorrow.¡±

    Bi Linglong remained silent. A whileter, she replied, ¡°So what?¡±

    Zu An sighed. ¡°The case of the Cloudcenter Duke¡¯s disappearance is extremelyplicated. Many powers are involved behind the scenes. There will definitely be people who don¡¯t wish for me to seed. The world isrge, and the emperor will be far away, I may not return alive. That¡¯s why I wanted to meet with you onest time before I leave, so I won¡¯t have any more regrets.¡±

    The secret room¡¯s door opened with a groan not long after he finished speaking. Bi Linglong stood in front of him with a cold look, remarking, ¡°Why are you saying something so inauspicious when you¡¯re not even leaving yet?¡±

    Zu An revealed a smile. ¡°Looks like you still care about me.¡±

    ¡°Pah!¡± Bi Linglong harrumphed. ¡°Who cares if you die or not?¡± Then, she turned around and began to close the door again.

    Zu An wasn¡¯t an unromantic fool. How could he let her close the door now? He took a step forward and made his way inside.

    ¡°What are you doing?!¡± Bi Linglong jumped in fright. She took a step back and cried, ¡°I¡¯m going to scream for help if you don¡¯t leave right now!¡±

    Zu An looked into her eyes and said ¡°I still won¡¯t feel a shred of regret if you call someone over and order for me to die by a thousand cuts.¡±

    Bi Linglong was ashamed and panicked due to his mischievous appearance. ¡°Why are you always such a rascal like this?!¡±

    Zu An took the chance to take her into his arms. He replied gently, ¡°You only realized that now?¡±

    ¡°Let go of me!¡± Bi Linglong was panicking. She continued to hit him, trying to push him away.

    Sensing that she wasnt even using ki, Zu An obviously wouldn¡¯t be stupid enough to let her go. Bi Linglong struggled for a bit, but her strikes became weaker and weaker. Their lips grew closer and closer, and in the end, they pressed against each other.

    Zu An was extremely gentle this time. Bi Linglong clearly sensed his love as well. Her body also became softer and softer.

    ¡­

    A whileter, Bi Linglongy in his arms with apletely reddened face. She drew circles on his chest in an innocent manner, saying, ¡°You really are annoying¡­¡± She was no longer cold and arrogant the way she had been before; instead, it was more like the pouting of a spoiled child.

    ¡°But didn¡¯t you like that a lot just now?¡± Zu An had a mischievous smile on his face.

    Bi Linglong was so angry that she bit down on his shoulder. This guy was always embarrassing her like this, and yet she seemed to kind of like it inwardly. She was really annoyed when she thought of that and wanted to vent out her resentment.

    ¡°I was wrong, I was wrong¡­¡± Zu An continued to beg for mercy. Their bodies rubbed against each other, and their breathing soon became heavy.

    ¡°No¡­¡± Bi Linglong was getting flustered. She was still just a youngdy after all, so how could she handle his strong and tempered body?

    Zu Anughed. He gently kissed her cheek and didn¡¯t go further. Instead, he embraced her in a considerate manner, saying, ¡°Linglong, you need to properly refine this essence topensate for the longevity you lost. I¡¯m scared that it might leavesting effects if you wait for too long. I really feel pained when I see your white hair.¡±

    Bi Linglong blushed when she heard what he said, asking, ¡°What kind of weird skill is it anyway? I just feel like it¡¯s indecent.¡±

    ¡°How can something that can save lives be indecent?¡± Zu An replied with a straight face.

    ¡°Then are you going to use this method whenever you save someone in the future?¡± Bi Linglong¡¯s eyes immediately widened.

    ¡°Of course not!¡± Zu An added inwardly, For example, I would never save a man like this.

    Bi Linglong finally calmed down and said, ¡°By the way, you have to be careful in Cloudcenter Commandery this time. The ns in Cloudcenter Province are all extremely powerful, and the Yu n themselves have deep-rooted problems. The disappearance of the previous Cloudcenter Duke is too suspicious; I suspect that it might be the n¡¯s own people who caused it. There¡¯s even a chance that it was the Jian n who colluded with Cloudcenter Duke¡¯s madam in harming him.¡±

    Zu An felt great admiration. Bi Linglong was an outstanding crown princess after all! She had been able to guess at some of the truth just from some clues. As for whether Cloudcenter Duke¡¯s madam had taken part in the collusion, her stunning figure reappeared in his mind and he subconsciously felt that was impossible.

    Seemingly noticing his disapproval, Bi Linglong reminded him with a frown, ¡°The Jian n¡¯s duke is one of our empire¡¯s founding dukes, just like your Brightmoon City¡¯s Chu n. They have a private army. Furthermore, because their status in Cloudcenter Commandery is special, together with the Yu n¡¯s help, the Jian n wasn¡¯t weakened by the court like the Chu n. That¡¯s why, even if you find out something, don¡¯t be hasty in doing anything. Otherwise, you might put their backs against a wall. At that point, your entire envoy might just bepletely eliminated.¡±

    Zu An was rmed and eximed, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me they would actually dare to rebel?¡±

    Bi Linglong replied, ¡°I¡¯ve received some intelligence from Cloudcenter Commandery over the years. The powers there areplicated and tangled. The court¡¯s influence over that area is limited, so anything might happen. For your own safety, you must n for the worst.¡±

 Chapter 961, Part 1: Model for Us All

    <h4>Chapter 961, Part 1: Model for Us All</h4>

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but pull Bi Linglong into his arms when he saw her nervous appearance. ¡°Haha, you care about me after all! You treated me so coldly that even my own heart was going to turn cold.¡±

    Bi Linglong was annoyed again when she heard those words, eximing, ¡°It¡¯s your fault for being like that to mest time!¡±

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t that because you were just too beautiful?¡± Zu An replied with a smile while kissing her.

    Bi Linglong knew that he was praising her in order to change the topic, but she was still happy to hear that. She was soonpletely engrossed in the passionate kiss.

    After some time, her entire body trembled. Then, she hit him a few times with her fists. This guy really was a rascal!n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡­

    A whileter, Bi Linglongzily pushed away the man in her arms, saying, ¡°It¡¯s almost dawn. You need to leave.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not leaving,¡± Zu An mumbled, burying his head into her chest.

    ¡°Don¡¯t cause trouble. The maids are about toe in.¡± Bi Linglong was also reluctant, but she still retained her reason.

    Zu An could only bid her farewell out of helplessness, saying, ¡°I¡¯m going to leave for Cloudcenter Commandery today. It might be a few months before we meet again.¡±

    Bi Linglong¡¯s eyes were filled with a warm expression. She helped him sort out his clothes while warning him, ¡°You have to be careful. Even if you can¡¯t find out the truth, it doesn¡¯t matter. Returning safely is the most important.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, his majesty gave me an imperial decree this time. If there¡¯s a moment of danger, I can use his power to help me,¡± Zu An said reassuringly.

    Bi Linglong sighed in relief. She obviously knew how powerful the imperial decree was. However, she was rather surprised. Normally speaking, the emperor only entrusted his imperial decree to his trusted imperial envoys. He had actually given something like that to Zu An?

    But after thinking about it, she knew that Zu An had already shown enoughpetency in the academy¡¯s dungeon and helped the crown prince pass the great exam, winning his majesty¡¯s trust. Something like that made sense.

    Zu An lowered his head to look at her blushing face. He smiled and remarked, ¡°You really sound like a wife talking to her husband right now, you know?¡±

    Bi Linglong harrumphed. She quickly pushed him into the secret tunnel. She then returned to her bed andy down. When she thought about her current identity, she couldn¡¯t help but release a long and drawn-out sigh.

    ¡­

    A whileter, there was some activity by her door. Rong Mo knocked and said quietly, ¡°Your highness, it¡¯s time to wake up.¡±

    Bi Linglong subconsciously pulled up the covers to hide the hickeys on her neck, but then she realized that she couldn¡¯t be seen. As such, she said with anguid voice, ¡°I feel a bit tired today so I¡¯m going to sleep a bit longer. Don¡¯t disturb me.¡± It¡¯s all that rascal¡¯s fault! We were tossing and turning for most of the night!

    Her entire body felt as if it were about to break apart; there was no way she was getting up now. She was the master of the Eastern Pce after all, so she didn¡¯t have to be on duty like the emperor. That degree of freedom was something she had.

    Rong Mo was surprised. After all, the crown princess had always been extremely diligent. The crown prince never did any work, so it was the crown princess who handled the paperwork in the Eastern Pce. That was why she treated herself strictly. What was wrong with her today?

    But she didn¡¯t say too much either. The crown princess had suffered damage to her vitality in the dungeon, so she was probably not as energetic as before anymore. She thought, It¡¯s all that bastard Zu An¡¯s fault for not properly protecting the crown princess!

    ¡­

    ¡°Achoo!¡± Elsewhere, Zu An released a big sneeze. Which girl is thinking about me now?

    He didn¡¯t have much time to sleep after leaving the Eastern Pce. He reported to the Imperial Pce and left with a hundred armed escorts.

    The Armed Escort Division was a branch of the Court Defense Army. They were all specially trained elites, and the members were practically all at the fifth rank. They might not be a match for some independent warriors, but they were proficient in coordinated warfare. If they fought an equal number of enemies of the same cultivation level, they would almost always bring back an overwhelming victory. They would also have a good chance even if they were to fight some opponents who were far above the fifth rank.

    The number of men present was sufficient as well. In order to defeat a hundred of these Armed Escort Division soldiers, an army several times their number would be required. However, they were representing the imperial envoy this time, so it would constitute a huge rebellion if that happened. If the enemy really intended on rebelling, it wouldn¡¯t make a difference if they sent a hundred or a thousand men.

    Soon afterward, they met Sang Hong¡¯s men by the city outskirts. Even though this world¡¯s cultivation was developed, with all kinds of runes to make transportation more convenient, it still couldn¡¯tpare to the science and technology of Zu An¡¯s previous world, where there were trains and nes.

    After all, rune formations exhausted arge supply of ki stones, making them too expensive. Only a few people could enjoy such luxury, while most people couldn¡¯t. That was why, just like in the olden times of his previous world, traveling by water routes was the most convenient.

    The Great Suidan River stretched several thousand miles from north to south. It just happened to pass by the capital as well. The tributary rivers had been cut wider, forming a convenient and fast system. The capital was an incrediblyrge city that used up a lot of food, wood, ore, and other resources; almost all of these resources came through water transport.

    The diplomatic fleet would follow the Great Suidan River north. They would then get off and head west until they reached Cloudcenter Commandery. After all, the Great Suidan River didn¡¯t pass through Cloudcenter Commandery.

    This time, Sang Hong was acting as the imperial envoy. There were also some officials present, representing the court. The emperor had even sent over some eunuchs to read his decree and make their send-off grander.

    Zu An yawned. Thank goodness he had Sang Hong to help him deal with the formalities. Otherwise, he would really have been annoyed to death.

    Suddenly, he noticed some familiar figures among the crowd. He was happy and surprised, eximing, ¡°Howe you guys are here too?¡±

    The two young men had impressive bearings. Their style was entirely different from everyone else.

    One of them had a square face, giving off an upright and earnest feeling. He looked quite reliable. The other one had more of a gloomy handsomeness, clearly a young man who had some psychological pains.

    The two of them were naturally Gao Ying and Pei You.

    Gao Ying¡¯s serious expression also gave way to a smile. He said, ¡°This trip to Cloudcenter Commandery is a great chance to shine that many ns havepeted over. Many people tried to join it, but the fact that we¡¯re able to be here today is also from sharing your spotlight.¡±

    Pei You didn¡¯t try to keep up his aloof and cool exterior anymore. He lowered his voice and said with a smile, ¡°I heard that all of the girls up north are slender with long legs. I¡¯ve been itching to go there for a long time already, and now I finally have a chance. How can I miss a chance like this?¡±

    Zu An had a strange look on his face. This kid looked like an antisocial recluse, and yet he was actually like this in front of his close friends! Wasn¡¯t there a phrase for someone like this? Right, it was ¡®cold outside but passionate inside¡¯. Many of his fellow students in his previous world were like that. He suddenly felt a strong sense of closeness then.

    ¡°This time, things might not be smooth sailing in Cloudcenter Commandery.¡± Zu An couldn¡¯t tell them too much at the moment, so he could only vaguely warn them.

    Gao Ying replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, brother Zu. The two of us haven¡¯t lived all these years for nothing. At the very least, we won¡¯t hold you back. We might even be of some help.¡±

    Zu An figured that made sense as well. The two were both at the peak of the sixth rank, already the best among their peers. Furthermore, they had the Liu n and Pei n backing them, so they would be powerful assets.

    ¡°Brother-inw, brother-inw!¡± A young man¡¯s melodious voice rang out. The ridiculously handsome man waved toward Zu An.

    Zu An smiled. He quickly greeted her, asking, ¡°Why are you here, Youzhao?¡± When he saw Murong Qinghe next to her, he nodded toward her and added, ¡°Greetings, Qinghe.¡±

    ¡°Greetings, big brother Zu,¡± Murong Qinhe replied naturally. However, her attention quickly returned to Chu Youzhao. Her big brother was so handsome; no other man couldpare to him!

    Gao Ying nudged Pei You, saying, ¡°Tsk tsk tsk, you¡¯re beingpletely outdone here.¡±

    ¡°How much admiration did Chu First Miss draw from the other aristocratic heirs in the capital back then? With such a stunning beauty as his big sister, how can the little brother be inferior?¡± Pei You didn¡¯t really mind. He added, ¡°Furthermore, when did a real man ever have to depend on their face to prevail?¡±

    Gao Ying had a bitter smile on his face. You handsome men might not have such misgivings, but the rest of us with ordinary appearances have to worry about this a lot! But he was an open-minded person and quickly snapped out of those negative emotions.

    Meanwhile, Chu Youzhao had a huge smile on her face. ¡°Brother-inw is going on a long trip, so of course we have toe and see you off! Here, these are the warm clothes I prepared for you. It¡¯s cold up there, so you have to make sure to wear more. These are some pastries from Auspicious Virtue Restaurant for you to nibble on when you get peckish along the way. These are¡­¡±

    Zu An felt warm inside when he saw her give him all kinds of things. It really is nice to have someone care about you.

    ¡°Thank you, but this doesn¡¯t seem to really suit your nature¡­?¡± Zu An still quickly realized something. Even though Chu Youzhao was a girl, she had been raised as a boy, so she was a bit more crass. How could she think things through so meticulously?

    Chu Youzhao¡¯s expression became a bit unnatural, but in the end, she still said truthfully, ¡°Qinghe helped me prepare a lot of these things; for example, your clothing measurements and other stuff¡­¡±

    Murong Qinghe blushed and said, ¡°I was just helping my big brother Chu.¡±

    Zu An was surprised. Murong Qinghe, this little tomboy, actually had such a meticulous side to her! It seemed a girl was a girl after all. Comparatively speaking, Chu Youzhao was much more simple-minded.

    ¡°Thank you guys. I¡¯ll bring you around to have fun once Ie back from Cloudcenter Commandery.¡± Zu An really wanted to smack himself in the mouth as soon as he said that. Why did it sound as if he were setting a g for himself? Pah pah pah, knock on wood¡­

    ¡°Yay!¡± Chu Youzhao became excited. Murong Qinghe didn¡¯t actually care that much, because if her big brother Chu was happy, then she was happy too.

 Chapter 961, Part 2: Model for Us All

    <h4>Chapter 961, Part 2: Model for Us All</h4>

    Meanwhile, Gao Ying was puzzled. He mused, ¡°Didn¡¯t Elder Murong lose his official post because of brother Zu? Why does it seem like the Murong n¡¯s young miss is on really good terms with brother Zu?¡±

    ¡°Brother Zu possesses extraordinary charm. Even someone like Lady Nan Xun, a courtesan queen who left the entire capital shaken, thinks highly of him, so how could a little girl from the Murong n resist?¡± Pei You actually felt incredibly envious as he spoke. They had been witnesses themselves that night. Such a mental blow really was too powerful.

    ¡°I think Murong Qinghe is quite pretty too. Even though her skin is a bit dark, she¡¯s a beauty in the making as well. Give or take a few more years, she might not be worse than Nan Xun.¡± Gao Ying assessed her while stroking his chin.

    In what kind of situation did men grow closer the fastest? It was when they chatted about women. The two of them had experienced life and death in the dungeon together, after which they had gone to a ce like Scarlet Invitation. Now, they really were close friends. They would still never say such things in front of others, but in private, there was no longer any need for them to be as uptight as before.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Pei You rubbed his own arm as if he had goosebumps. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to be that kind of person.¡±

    Gao Ying was stunned at first, but then he was furious. ¡°You bastard, you know that¡¯s not what I meant! I like big breasts and big butts! We even went to Scarlet Invitation a few times together; don¡¯t you know what kind of tastes I have?¡±

    Pei You reminded him, ¡°Lower your voice, or else your reputation will be done for if anyone else heard what you just said.¡±

    Gao Ying looked all around him. Sure enough, there were some people who had looked in their direction when they heard the noise. His face heated up.

    Pei You suddenly blew a long whistle and remarked, ¡°Oh man, who is that babe over there?¡±

    ¡°Where?¡± Gao Ying followed Pei You¡¯s gaze. He saw a woman in a blue dress arrive from a distance. Her hair was tied up in the most elegant and beautiful bun, and there was an aura of gentleness around her.

    Did shee from the Book of Songs or something? For some reason, that thought suddenly appeared in both of their heads.

    The girl was extremely beautiful, but that was all. For young masters like them fromrge ns, they were used to seeing pretty girls in the capital. What was unique about her was the schrly aura around her. It really was a breath of fresh air for the two of them.

    ¡°This is the kind of woman you want to bring back home to serve you as a good wife!¡± Pei You couldn''t help but say with a sigh.

    ¡°Indeed¡­¡± Gao Ying felt deep sympathy. Even though the girls from the brothel were charming and seemed cheerful,pared to this woman, those girls immediately seemed dull.

    ¡°I wonder which n¡¯s young miss she is,¡± Pei You mused. Even though they could tell that her clothes weren¡¯t excessively extravagant, the material was fine. Together with her special temperament, they knew she was definitely not a girl from a peasant family.

    ¡°Why does she look a bit familiar? Have we met her somewhere before?¡± Gao Ying asked, puzzled.

    ¡°I thought I was the only one!¡± Pei You was surprised. ¡°Huh? She¡¯s walking in this direction. Don¡¯t tell me I caught her eye?¡± He straightened his back and sorted out his uniform. They were setting out on a formal diplomatic mission, so he was dressed up properly in his official uniform. He looked much more proper than usual.

    Gao Ying thought to himself, This guy really puts on airs! He knows there¡¯s no chance she is seeking him out, but he just won¡¯t admit it. ¡°Drop the act already. Even if she ising for one of us, she¡¯ll be looking for brother Zu.¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Pei You¡¯s eyes twitched. He was about to fire back, but his eyes soon widened. That woman did walk toward Zu An after all!

    ¡°Big brother Zu~¡± The sweet-tempered woman greeted Zu An warmly.

    ¡°Daoyun, why are you here?¡± Zu An was happy and surprised to see her. The woman was naturally Xie Daoyun.

    Chu Youzhao¡¯s eyebrows furrowed. She didn¡¯t feel the happiness of seeing someone from the same hometown, but rather felt a sense of danger.

    ¡°Big brother Zu is about to go on a long journey, so I asked my teacher for half a day of vacation to see you off. My little brother wanted toe too, but he¡¯s reached a critical period in his cultivation and his teacher won¡¯t allow him to leave, so that¡¯s why I apologize in his ce. I hope big brother Zu won¡¯t take offense.¡± Xie Daoyun¡¯s voice was soothing, like raindrops falling into ake. Those who heard it couldn''t help but feel a sense of peacefulness.

    ¡°Why would I take offense? Cultivation is obviously more important,¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°Right, winter has already arrived. The north is cold, so this little sister prepared¡­¡± Xie Daoyun reached into a storage pouch while speaking. However, her eyes suddenly shifted to the clothes off to the side and she froze up.

    Chu Youzhao cried out, ¡°Oh my, my big sister already prepared so much winter clothing for my brother-inw already! Could it be that Miss Xie has prepared clothes as well?¡±

    Murong Qinghe had a strange expression on her face. Why is he saying this? Does he think this Miss Xie has something going on with his brother-inw? This is just like the second wife and third wife fighting back home, how boring.

    But my big brother Chu is doing this for his big sister! I guess this is fine.

    ¡°That¡¯s not it.¡± Xie Daoyun quickly recovered. Her hand moved in a different direction inside the pouch. She took out something else. ¡°The north is cold, and Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s customs are also tougher than here. If you have this talisman with you, it can serve as an extrayer of protection.¡±

    Zu An recognized that the talisman she was holding was a Last Breath Talisman, just like the previous time. He was overjoyed, eximing, ¡°Thank you, little sister Daoyun! This talisman protected my lifest time in the dungeon. I feel much more at ease with this at my side.¡±

    Chu Youzhao¡¯s enmity immediately lessened when she heard that Xie Daoyun was giving Zu An a life-saving treasure. Instead, she found her much more pleasing.

    Xie Daoyun instead felt a bit apologetic, saying, ¡°It¡¯s a pity that I could only make a single one of these talismans, because the conditions for creating it are extremely strict. Otherwise, it would¡¯ve been better if I could prepare more of them for big brother Zu.¡±

    ¡°Little sister Daoyun, please don¡¯t me yourself. I¡¯m also a cultivator, so I know just how precious these things that can save one¡¯s life are. How could its creation be easy? I¡¯m already endlessly grateful to be able to obtain one of them. I don¡¯t even know how to repay you.¡± Zu An wanted to tease her and say he didn¡¯t mind devoting his entire body to her, but he was worried that he might be rude by saying that with so many people here.

    Xie Daoyun smiled and said, ¡°Big brother Zu¡¯s words are too serious. I really liked the poem and zither song you gave mest time.¡±

    Chu Youzhao immediately erupted into rage when she heard that. Her brother-inw had secretly given another girl a poem?! Even I didn¡¯t even get one yet!

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Youzhao for +288 +288 +288¡­

    Zu An jumped in fright. What is this girl getting all mad for?

    Xie Daoyun said gently, ¡°I¡¯ve already been away for some time and need to return for cultivation. Big brother Zu, please take good care of yourself.¡± There were too many people by the dock, and she wasn¡¯t too used to showing herself in the open.

    ¡°Little sister Daoyun, you need to take care of yourself as well. Don¡¯t tire yourself too much from cultivating.¡± Zu An waved goodbye. Xie Daoyun blushed. She nodded toward him and left.

    ¡°She¡¯s already gone; what are you still looking that way for?¡± Chu Youzhao mumbled bitterly.

    Zu An was about to respond when a sweet fragrance wafted over. A gentle and lovely voice remarked, ¡°That seems to be City Lord Xie¡¯s daughter, right? Truly an old friend in a foreign ce; a pity that she couldn''t stay longer for a chat.¡±

    Gao Ying and Pei You¡¯s eyes were wide open. They eximed, ¡°Why are there two more beauties?¡±

    ¡°They seem to be the Sang n¡¯s people.¡± Gao Ying recalled that the two seemed to havee from Sang Hong¡¯s side.

    ¡°There have always been rumors that the Sang n¡¯s daughter-inw was beautiful. Because she was widowed not long after she got married, there were quite a few young masters from the capital who were interested. Now, I can see that she¡¯s even more beautiful than the rumors state,¡± Pei You couldn''t help but say in praise.

    He couldn''t pick out many ws even with his strict gaze. The woman carried the charms of a girl from the pleasure quarters, and yet also had the dignified aura of a distinguished n¡¯s daughter. He really didn¡¯t know how one person could perfectly blend those two entirely different characteristics.

    But when he recalled her background, he couldn''t help but sigh. ¡°She was widowed at such a young age¡­ It really is tragic.¡±

    ¡°I advise you not to have any thoughts about her,¡± Gao Ying said quietly.

    ¡°I¡¯m just admiring a beauty, okay?¡± Pei You immediately defended himself. But he still couldn''t help but ask, ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Did you not notice that she¡¯s all smiles? Does she look like a widowed woman at all? Furthermore, I heard that she and brother Zu were locked up together when they were brought to the capital, and the two of them even shared a carriage¡­¡± Gao Ying gave him a look.

    ¡°Really?¡± Pei You was shocked.

    ¡°Look at her expression, man. She keeps smiling as she looks at brother Zu.¡± Gao Ying gestured toward them with his head.

    Pei You looked over. Sure enough, Zheng Dan¡¯s eyes were smiling, and she was looking at Zu An most of the time. He said, ¡°You¡¯re right¡­ Huh? Why does Miss Sang¡¯s expression look simr?¡±

    Even Gao Ying was shocked. He looked over, and sure enough, he saw that even though Sang Qien was half hiding behind Zheng Dan, she still looked at Zu An from time to time. There was something different in her expression!

    ¡°Miss Sang is a beauty herself too.¡± Pei You sighed in praise. Unlike Zheng Dan, Sang Qien had an entirely different kind of beauty.

    If Zheng Dan was a charming newlywed wife, Sang Qien was a youthful youngdy. The reason why they had discussed Zheng Dan more before was because there weren¡¯t too many who had been widowed at her age.

    His expression became strange as he said, ¡°So you¡¯re saying that brother Zu got both of them¡­ Amazing!¡±

    Even the usually square Gao Ying couldn''t help but say with a sigh of admiration, ¡°Brother Zu really is a model for us all. We need to properly consult him in this journey toe.¡±

    Of course, the two of them didn¡¯t think that Zu An had any real tangible rtionship with the two. However, the fact that he could receive both girls¡¯ favor was shocking in itself.

    Little did they know that the target of their admiration was currently stuck in a battlefield of asuras. Chu Youzhao pinched Zu An¡¯s waist while saying with a smile, ¡°Brother-inw seems to have many little sisters!¡±

    Zu An felt a huge headache. Fortunately, Sang Hong asked curiously just then, ¡°Huh? Where is Golden Token Sir Eleven? Why hasn¡¯t he arrived yet?¡±

 Chapter 962, Part 1: Luck Talisman

    <h4>Chapter 962, Part 1: Luck Talisman</h4>

    It was a perfect opportunity for Zu An. He said, ¡°I¡¯ll go and take a look.¡± Then, without waiting for the girls to say anything, he quickly ran off into the distance. The best way to deal with this kind of asura battlefield was to run.

    Chu Youzhao huffed and puffed in anger. Brother-inw is so unreliable! She had actually received a warning from her second sister before, but she hadn¡¯t treated it as a huge deal. After all, did she really need a warning about something so simple? But now that she saw all of the girls surrounding Zu An herself, she suddenly realized she had been given an incredibly tough mission.

    Zheng Dan looked at her with a smile and said, ¡°Youzhao, we¡¯re all from Brightmoon City, and I was even schoolmates with your big sister. To a certain degree, I¡¯m your big sister too. Why do I feel as if you don¡¯t like me at all?¡±

    Chu Youzhao¡¯s eyes darted around, but then she thought of something. ¡°Big sister Zheng¡­ Ah, no, I should call you Madam Sang now, right? Your husband died an untimely death, and you¡¯re the one who has to bear the reputation. Sigh¡­¡±

    Zheng Dan¡¯s eyes twitched. Why did this young master Chu seem as sharp mouthed as a girl, his every word attacking her sore spot?

    Sang Qien took a step forward to defend her, saying, ¡°Young master Chu, please speak carefully. These are sharp and unkind words that tarnish the Chu and Qin n¡¯s demeanor.¡± Since the other party had mentioned the Sang n, she naturally couldn''t just watch without doing anything.

    Zheng Dan gave her a grateful look. For the first time, the two of them seemed to be of the same mind. But they both seemed to have thought of something a secondter, which made both of them look away unnaturally.

    Chu Youzhao wanted to say something else, but Murong Qinghe tugged on her sleeves and said quietly, ¡°There are people watching, so it won¡¯t be good if we get into a big argument.¡±

    Murong Qinghe obviously wasn¡¯t all that worried about offending other people. What she was more worried about was that her big brother Chu¡¯s reputation might be damaged in front of so many people. She grumbled inwardly, Chu First Miss really is a bossy shopkeeper. She never does anything herself and makes her big brother Chu take on all of these annoying responsibilities.

    After some hesitation, Chu Youzhao thought continuing might also embarrass her brother-inw, so she harrumphed angrily and looked away. She didn¡¯t say anything else.

    Meanwhile, Zu An arrived at Sang Hong¡¯s side. He asked, ¡°Sir Sang, what¡¯s wrong?¡± It wasn¡¯t too appropriate for him to call Sang Hong ¡®Uncle Hong¡¯ in public. It was better to call him ¡®Sir Sang¡¯.

    Sang Hong said with a worried expression, ¡°Sir Eleven hasn¡¯t arrived yet.¡±

    His concern wasn¡¯t unfounded. After all, the statuses of Embroidered Envoys were special. To a certain degree, they represented the emperor¡¯s power. Furthermore, there was going to be danger lurking on all sides during the trip to Cloudcenter Commandery. Having a golden token envoy traveling with them would give them a bit more confidence. Every single golden token envoy was a powerful asset, regardless of whether it was their intellect or cultivation.

    Zu An said, ¡°I think he¡¯sing soon.¡±

    Three people arrived as soon as he spoke. The one in front blinked hard from time to time. The other two were bald. There was one whose forehead was balding, while the other was balding in the middle. They were quite eye-catching within the Embroidered Envoy group.

    ¡°I greet Sir Sang and Sir Zu. Silver Token Envoy Xiao Jianren reports,¡± the person in front said. They were naturally Golden Token Eleven¡¯s subordinates. The other two were Dai Seventh and Chen Eighth, but they didn¡¯t need to introduce themselves as their ranks were too low.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Greetings, Sir Xiao.¡± Sang Hong also cupped his hands, his tone polite. Even though their official ranks were about the same, Embroidered Envoys were all incredible existences. A silver token envoy was already a high level figure among the Embroidered Envoys, so there was no need to offend this person. He couldn''t help but look around, asking, ¡°Where is Sir Eleven?¡±

    Xiao Jianren replied, ¡°Sir Eleven had us leave first. He will follow us in secret.¡±

    Zu An smiled without saying anything. This was what he had arranged with them beforehand. He really wouldn¡¯t be able to juggle everything properly if he had to apany the fleet with both identities. Fortunately, the Embroidered Envoy had been mysterious to begin with, so these arrangements were eptable.

    Sang Hong frowned. However, when he recalled the various legends of the golden token envoys, he didn¡¯t voice any objections. ¡°This is good as well, having both overt and covert defenses. Our ns will be more flexible too.¡±

    Then, Sang Hong had to arrange for Zu An¡¯s group to get on the boat. He said to Zu An, ¡°I have some things to take care of. Since Little Qien and Zheng Dan came to see us off, please help me take care of them for a bit.¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± Zu An¡¯s expression was a bit strange. Ever since he had found out about their n, he began paying more attention to Sang Hong¡¯s words and actions. Wasn¡¯t Sang Hong already clearly setting him up with them?

    At first, he had looked down on Sang Hong somewhat over the matter, but that gradually changed to admiration. Sang Hong was only acting for the sake of the n. As expected, he was someone who thought of the greater situation. How could an ordinary person be able to do something like this?

    He walked over to where Sang Qien and Zheng Dan were and immediately sensed an unusual mood. But he wasn¡¯t stupid enough to ask what was happening. Instead, he changed the topic, saying, ¡°Little sister Qien, Miss Zheng, I¡¯ll take good care of Sir Sang on this trip.¡±

    Chu Youzhao¡¯s brows furrowed when she heard him call another person ¡®little sister¡¯. However, it didn¡¯t seem as if there were any problems in what they were talking about, so she held herself back from acting out.

    Sang Qien was already used to being called ¡®little sister¡¯, but when she heard it this time, she felt a bit awkward for some reason. She thought to herself, Are there any big brothers who do that kind of thing to their little sisters? But she didn¡¯t show anything in front of everyone else. ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to trouble Zu¡­ big brother Zu. Furthermore, this trip north will definitely be full of danger. You need to take good care of yourself.¡±

    Zu An was a bit surprised to hear that she was actually concerned about him. As such, he smiled and said, ¡°Thank you, little sister Qien, for your care.¡±

    Sang Qien¡¯s face heated up. She avoided his gaze. Who¡¯s worried about you? This is just because I¡¯m worried that in the future¡­ She subconsciously rubbed her stomach. Her expression was extremely conflicted.

    Zheng Dan¡¯s gaze moved between the two of them. Her woman¡¯s intuition told her that something was strange between them, and it seemed to have started from the night Zu An had drunk too much at their manor. Alright, I¡¯m going to try and get some information out of little Qien once we get back.

    She retracted her gaze and took out a parcel, saying, ¡°These are some clothes and rations little Qien and I prepared for my father-inw. We also prepared a portion for you. I¡¯ll have to trouble big brother Zu to give it to my father-inw.¡±

    Such parcels were small-scale storage artifacts. Even though they were expensive, they weren¡¯t too rare. With the Sang n¡¯s status, it wasn¡¯t surprising for them to have such things.

    Chu Youzhao grinded her teeth. What are the Sang n¡¯s women trying to do? You guys can just prepare for your dad; why are you giving stuff to my brother-inw too?! I have to warn my big sis once I go back. Three are many vixens after my brother-inw¡¯s body!

    Zu An knew that she had actually prepared the package just for him, and that she was only using Sang Hong as a pretext. He received it with a smile, saying, ¡°Thank you, Miss Zheng and little sister Qien¡¯er.¡±

    Gao Ying and Pei You, who had been watching all of the drama from a distance, felt incredibly jealous. They thought to themselves that Zu An really had crazy luck with women! There were so many girls who had given him gifts, and all of them were even stunning beauties!

    Pei You nudged Gao Ying and asked, ¡°Look over there; is someone elseing in this direction?¡±

    Gao Ying looked in the direction Pei You was indicating. He saw an extravagant carriage slowly stop nearby. A prating fragrance reached all the way to where they were. Then, a cute little maid got off the carriage and walked toward Zu An.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that Scarlet Invitation¡¯s carriage?¡± Gao Ying asked, his tone uncertain.

    ¡°It is.¡± Pei You went there more often, so he was more familiar with such things. ¡°That seems to be Lady Nan Xun¡¯s personal maid.¡±

    Gao Ying¡¯s eyes widened when he looked at the carriage. He eximed, ¡°Then doesn¡¯t that mean that the one sitting inside is Lady Nan Xun?¡±

    ¡°Who else could it be?¡± Pei You was also filled with endless envy. ¡°It was supposed to just be a happy event without romance, and yet the capital¡¯s most popr courtesan queen actually personally came to see brother Zu off. He really is a model for all men!¡±

    Gao Ying took a deep breath and said, ¡°From now on, brother Zu is my big brother. If we can pick up even just one or two things from him, we¡¯ll benefit tremendously.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right!¡± Pei You nodded in agreement. In reality, with their n backgrounds and status, they didn¡¯tck cultivation resources or techniques at all. That was why no matter how high Zu An¡¯s cultivation was, they would normally only feel respect and not envy. However, his ways with women were skills all men wanted.

    Meanwhile, the maid had arrived. She bowed and said, ¡°Young master Zu, mydy invites you for a chat.¡±

    Chu Youzhao quickly grabbed Zu An¡¯s sleeves, eximing, ¡°Who is herdy? Why isn¡¯t sheing here herself?!¡±

    Even Zheng Dan and Sang Qien looked toward the carriage vigntly. They felt a mysterious sense of danger.

    The maid was a bit troubled. She said, ¡°Mydy¡¯s status makes it difficult for her to show herself in public. She fears that there might be amotion if shees out.¡±

    Zu An knew what she was saying. With Nan Xun¡¯s reputation, she was just like one of his previous world¡¯s most famous stars. Once she appeared, it would be stranger if there weren¡¯t a disturbance.

    He patted Chu Youzhao¡¯s hand to calm her down, saying, ¡°I¡¯ll be back soon.¡± Then, he followed the maid into the carriage.

    Zheng Dan got on her tiptoes and looked in the direction of the carriage. Unfortunately, she couldn''t see inside at all. She thought of something, then said to Chu Youzhao, ¡°Your brother-inw seems to be liked by many girls.¡±

    Chu Youzhao rolled her eyes impatiently and shot back, ¡°That¡¯s none of your business.¡± Aren¡¯t you one of them yourself?

    But Zheng Dan didn¡¯t take offense to her tone. She replied, ¡°Chuyan is all the way in Brightmoon City right now, so as her little brother, you should be keeping an eye on him, right? Otherwise, those vixens might just steal your brother-inw away.¡±

    Chu Youzhao was shocked. Did I misunderstand this girl? Does she have nothing going on with brother-inw, and is she only friends with him because of her friendship with my big sis? Her expression eased a bit and she said, ¡°Of course I know that. Brother-inw and big sis are really close anyway, so he won¡¯t do anything that lets down my big sis.¡±

    Sang Qien and Zheng Dan¡¯s expressions both turned strange when they heard those words. Chu Chuyan is quite intelligent, so why is her little brother so¡­ naive?

    Sang Qien secretly snuck Zheng Dan a look. My sister-inw is a two-faced person after all. She actually knows how to use someone else to do the dirty work, to make Chu Chuyan¡¯s younger brother help her get rid of her rival in love!

    I have to make sure to get on her good side in the future, or else she¡¯ll screw me over without me even realizing it!

    Wait, why am I even fighting against my own sister-inw anyway? What the heck is going on¡­

 Chapter 962, Part 2: Luck Talisman

    <h4>Chapter 962, Part 2: Luck Talisman</h4>

    Meanwhile, just as Zu An entered the carriage, he felt a wave of heat attack him. There was a sweet fragrance inside that would make any man melt.

    A soft and expensive southern-style carpet covered the bottom of the carriage. In the center was a fine and exquisite coffee table, with a chair on each side. The chairs were covered in wool and fur, and there was a heater underneath each one that provided warmth.

    Be careful of carbon monoxide poisoning¡­ Zu An couldn''t help but say inwardly. But when he recalled that the two inside weren¡¯t ordinary people, he didn¡¯t worry too much about that anymore.

    No matter how extravagantly decorated the interior of the carriage was, it still couldn¡¯tpare to the two girls inside at all, though.

    Nan Xun was dressed in a glistening dress that resembled something one would wear to a nightclub of Zu An¡¯s previous world. Her curves were perfectly disyed.

    Kong Nanwu was much more reserved. She wore a simple yet elegant white dress. As she sat there, she looked graceful and charming, giving off the feeling of an aloof immortal goddess.

    Zu An even wondered if Kong Nanwu was originally a peacock or a crane. He looked down to observe her legs underneath the dress. He wanted to see if she wore ck leggings like a red-crowned crane.

    When she sensed his gaze, Kong Nanwu awkwardly adjusted her dress, asking, ¡°What is young master looking at?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re dressed up so properly, I couldn¡¯t see anything even if I wanted to,¡± Zu An replied with a smile.

    Kong Nanwu was speechless.

    She had spent quite a bit of time among humans. Even though she rarely made an appearance, she had still met with some human men due to her various tasks. Those men were always stunned whenever they saw her appearance, and all of them would carefully praise her out of fear of ruining her impression of them. And yet, this fellow waspletely different. He didn¡¯t try to hide his lewdness at all.

    Fortunately, Nan Xun helped her out of her predicament, saying, ¡°Sigh, young master really forgets your old friends once you meet new ones. You hardly ever greet me whenever you see me. Because of you, my mouth was sore for several days for nothing.¡±

    Zu An chuckled. He sat right next to her, causing her to cry out in rm. He took her into his arms, and his hands naturally roamed across her voluptuous body.

    ¡°Young master, you¡¯re so bad¡­ Ah!...¡± Nan Xun¡¯s entire body trembled. There was a hint of an alluring expression in her eyes.

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°But if I act too politely, you¡¯ll me me for ignoring you again.¡±

    At the same time, he sighed in amazement inwardly. The fiend races¡¯ Tiger-Devoured Ghost technique really was incredible! Apart from her body being a bit colder to the touch than usual, she really wasn¡¯t all that different from a living person.

    Kong Nanwu coughed lightly and remarked, ¡°Can the two of you please pay attention to where we are right now? There¡¯s someone else here right now.¡±

    Nan Xun said with a chuckle, ¡°But master isn¡¯t an outsider. Should the young master give you a hug too perhaps?¡±

    A trace of redness appeared and disappeared in a sh on Kong Nanwu¡¯s face. She harrumphed and said, ¡°It seems as though I¡¯ve been treating you so well that you¡¯re now out of control.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to scare my girl like that,¡± Zu An said in dissatisfaction. Nan Xun really was a little demoness who knew how to get him going. The way she had been King Qi¡¯s concubine in the past made him feel even more satisfied.

    Kong Nanwu shifted her gaze so that she didn¡¯t have to look at them anymore. She remarked, ¡°I heard that the young master is about to leave for Cloudcenter Commandery. I wonder what this trip is for?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a court secret I fear I can¡¯t share,¡± Zu An replied with a smile.

    ¡°I understand.¡± Kong Nanwu didn¡¯t get angry. ¡°However, right now, Cloudcenter Commandery isn¡¯t a peaceful ce at all. Young master must be careful.¡±

    Zu An was shocked. ¡°Could it be that thedy knows something?¡±

    Kong Nanwu only smiled silently. She didn¡¯t reply to his question and instead said, ¡°By the way, the Strange Tales the young master wrotest time were quite interesting. I wonder if there¡¯s a sequel?¡±

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t the one who wrote it; it was written by a sir named Pu Songling,¡± Zu An corrected her.

    ¡°Looks like the young master doesn¡¯t wish to let his name be known due to various misgivings. However, Nanwu wishes to thank the young master in the fiend races¡¯ ce. Just like humans, there are good and bad people among the fiend races, but the human race has always viinized us. Only the young master has upheld justice,¡± Kong Nanwu said gratefully.

    Zu An didn¡¯t know how to correct her misunderstanding, so he decided to just remain silent.

    Kong Nanwu handed him a sachet, saying, ¡°The north is dangerous. This is our n¡¯s special Luck Talisman. It might be able to turn misfortune into blessing if the young master has it by his side.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Zu An was surprised. She seemed to be implying something, but there was no need to refuse it when he sensed the good intentions in her voice. He opened up the sachet immediately. Kong Nanwu cried out in rm to stop him, but it was already toote.

    Zu An took out a green feather from the sachet. It was a bit simr to the feather Kong Nanwu had used when they fought, but this feather was much smaller, and also softer. He had a strange look on his face as he asked, ¡°Is this a peacock feather?¡±

    After some hesitation, Kong Nanwu nodded. Zu An already knew that she was from the fiend races anyway, so there wasn¡¯t anything worth hiding. However, his next wordspletely shattered her expectations as he asked, ¡°Did you pluck this out of your own body?¡±

    Nan Xu burst outughing, while Kong Nanwu was even more ashamed and panicked. She reached out her hand and shouted, ¡°Give it back if you don¡¯t want it!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Kong Nanwu for +111 +111 +111¡­

    Zu An was fast, immediately putting it away and saying, ¡°I obviously need to protect something as precious as this; I¡¯m really grateful for your care and love.¡±

    Kong Nanwu grinded her teeth when she saw that she couldn''t get it back. In the end, she looked away and ignored him.

    Nan Xun chuckled and said, ¡°Young master, the young miss has good intentions. That item will be helpful to you if you keep it at your side.¡±

    Zu An was surprised. He had examined the feather with his ki and saw that it wasn¡¯t a magic weapon or anything. He didn¡¯t know what kinds of benefits it would have. But he knew that they weren¡¯t going to tell him due to how secretive they were being.

    He chuckled and said, ¡°Then wait for me toe back. I¡¯ll share the other stories from Sir Pu with the twodies then.¡±

    Kong Nanwu¡¯s expression thus eased a bit. She said, ¡°I¡¯ve troubled the young master. However, please have someone else do the writing next time.¡± She was clearly mocking his handwriting for being horrendous.

    Zu An thought to himself, This girl seems to hold quite a grudge. She didn¡¯t forget to stab me back here.

    Nan Xun smiled inwardly. Only this young master could make my master so flustered. She leaned into Zu An¡¯s embrace and said, ¡°Young master, I really want to go with you¡­ I can even serve you on the way.¡±

    ¡°How will you serve me?¡± Zu An hooked her beautiful chin with a finger and stared at her radiant face. He felt a bit regretful inwardly. Why did I have to pretend to be such an upright gentlemanst time? She¡¯s so willing, so why am I holding back?

    ¡°In any way¡­¡± Nan Xun giggled. Someone as well-trained as she naturally knew how to tease a man. Sure enough, Zu An felt blood rush through his body. Nan Xun immediately felt it herself, and her smile became even more charming.

    Meanwhile, Kong Nanwu really couldn''t stand the pair anymore. She interrupted them with a light cough, saying, ¡°Forget about the fact that you have your reputation to keep in the capital, even if you could go, you¡¯d disappear if you got too far from me.¡±

    Nan Xun replied, ¡°Mydy can go with the young master too!¡±

    Kong Nanwu felt annoyed at that point. She grabbed Nan Xun¡¯s ear and eximed, ¡°Who is your master here?¡±

    Nan Xun smiled apologetically, saying, ¡°I am mydy¡¯s servant, of course. But I also became the young master¡¯s woman not too long ago.¡±

    Kong Nanwu was speechless.

    Zu An voiced his amazement inwardly. This Nan Xun really is quite something! She¡¯s cold and arrogant in front of others, and yet she¡¯s as gentle as a little kitten in front of me¡­ The two sides are way too different; even a hardened lewd veteran like me is having a bit of trouble¡­

    Chu Youzhao called out from outside, ¡°Brother-inw, the ship is about to leave already! Why aren¡¯t youing out yet?¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Kong Nanwu took the chance to chase Zu An out. Otherwise, only heaven knew what kind of crazy things the cutely acting Nan Xun would do.

    ¡­

    When Zu An left, the flirtatious Nan Xun immediately returned to her usual cold and arrogant self. She sat properly down in her seat.

    ¡°What, you¡¯re done acting cute?¡± Kong Nanwu sneered.

    Nan Xun rushed over to help massage her back, replying, ¡°I was just carrying out mydy¡¯s orders, you know? I was doing my best to seduce him.¡±

    ¡°Really? It looked to me as if you were actually having fun,¡± Kong Nanwu said expressionlessly.

    ¡°Of course not! My loyalty to thedy is unbreakable. If I have any disloyalty, I won¡¯t rest easy even if I be a ghost,¡± Nan Xun promised while patting her chest, making that part ripple.

    ¡°You¡¯re already a ghost to begin with!¡± Kong Nanwuughed out of annoyance.

    The two girls bickered for a while longer, but then Kong Nanwu returned to her usual strict self. She said, ¡°Once we return, make a transcription of Strange Tales, then hand it to a bookstore to have it published.¡±

    Nan Xun felt a bit troubled and replied, ¡°I fear there might not be many bookstores who are willing to put their seal on a book like this, no?¡±

    There were stories about all kinds of monsters and ghosts, making it easy for one to associate them with the fiend races. They could create some problems.

    ¡°Are you really not familiar with the ck market at all?¡± Kong Nanwu asked impatiently. ¡°Don¡¯t go through the official channels; circte the book among the lower levelmoners first. We¡¯ll imperceptibly start to influence everyone¡¯s rigid attitudes toward the fiend races.¡±

    ¡°Mydy is wise and brilliant after all¡­¡± Nan Xun immediately showered her with praise. ¡°Then what name should we use as the author? Should I help young master Zu leave behind his name?¡±

    After some hesitation, Kong Nanwu shook her head in the end, saying, ¡°Let¡¯s give up on that idea. This book might cause quite a bit of trouble, and it might have some bad influence on himter on.¡±

    Nan Xun immediately cheered up, eximing, ¡°Looks like mydy cares quite a bit about the young master!¡±

    Kong Nanwu¡¯s expression became a bit dangerous. She said, ¡°Stop with those thoughts. I ordered you to seduce him, and it¡¯s one thing if you like him, but don¡¯t drag me into trouble just because you want to stay at his side.¡±

    Nan Xun immediately sensed waves of stinging pain in her soul. She knew that her life and death could be decided through a single thought from the other party. She couldn''t help but shiver and exim, ¡°Mydy, forgive me!¡±

 Chapter 963: Eleven Golden Token Envoys

    <h4>Chapter 963: Eleven Golden Token Envoys</h4>

    Kong Nanwu stared at Nan Xun for a while. When Nan Xun began to shudder all over, she then retracted her gaze. She sat down leisurely on her soft chair again and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go back.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± Nan Xun replied respectfully. Then, she pushed open the door a bit to give orders to the driver outside. The carriage slowly headed back toward Scarlet Investigation.

    ¡­

    ¡°Brother-inw, you said that you went to Scarlet Invitation to investigate a case, so why did their courtesan queene looking for you?¡± Chu Youzhao looked at the slowly departing carriage and asked with an unkind expression.

    Zu An felt that dealing with this situation was a pain in the ass. Chuyan wasn¡¯t at his side, and yet he still had to exin such things to a silly little girl. It really was too hard! He replied, ¡°What can I say? Your brother-inw is just too likable and has friends everywhere. Everyone likes me regardless of whether they¡¯re men or women. You can look at the two over there if you don¡¯t believe me; they¡¯re men, but aren¡¯t they always greeting me with smiles?¡±

    Sure enough, when Chu Youzhao turned to look in the direction Zu An indicated, Pei You and Gao Ying had brilliant smiles on their faces when they saw Zu An looking over. They thought, Brother Zu must be trying to introduce his little brother-inw to us! Alright, we have to make sure we give off a nicer impression.

    ¡°Weirdos!¡± Chu Youzhao felt something entirely different when she saw their smiles. She pulled at Zu An nervously, saying, ¡°Brother-inw, you shouldn¡¯t get that close to other guys¡­¡±

    There were quite a few high officials who had habits of raising male pets. Chu Youzhao had naturally heard about them before. After thinking about it, she would rather have her brother-inw be a womanizer than someone who messed around with other men! Gross¡­ I¡¯m shaking just from thinking about it.

    ¡°Big brother Zu, that courtesan truly shares deep sentiment with you. A woman like that really is a target of admiration,¡± Zheng Dan said as she walked over with a smile. The taciturn Sang Qien followed behind her.

    ¡°Haha, we¡¯re just normal friends¡­¡± Zu An chuckled. He thought to himself, These beauties are awesome to have around, but when they meet each other, it really is a hellish battlefield!

    Fortunately, something seemed to be happening with the procession. He quickly said, ¡°The ship is leaving soon, so I need to get on. It¡¯s cold outside, so you all should hurry back.¡±

    Now that they were about to separate, the girls couldn''t be bothered with jealousy anymore. Chu Youzhao, Zheng Dan, and the others all waved to bid him farewell. ¡°Take care of yourself!¡±

    Their voices were full of concern. Zheng Dan knew that his trip was most likely going to be full of dangers. Chu Youzhao didn¡¯t know that, but when she thought about how she wasn¡¯t going to see her brother-inw for a long time, she also felt truly worried.

    Zu An nodded, then looked at Sang Qien. ¡°Little sister Qien, I¡¯m leaving soon. Aren¡¯t you going to say anything to me?¡±

    Sang Qien¡¯s small face heated up a bit under the others¡¯ gazes. What do I have to say to someone like you? You really are shameless. But that was merely what she thought inwardly. In the end, she still said, ¡°Big brother Zu, I wish all of you smooth sailing!¡± Regardless of her other thoughts, she didn¡¯t want anything to happen to Zu An either.

    Zu An chuckled and remarked, ¡°With all of you worrying about me, I have no choice but toe back safely.¡±

    While watching him leave with a big smile on his face, Murong Qinghe thought to herself, Even though this brother-inw is a bit shameless, he is indeed quite open-minded.

    After Zu An¡¯s group got onto the boat, it quickly began to move. The diplomatic representatives were all standing on deck, waving goodbyes to those who were seeing them off.

    Gao Ying and Pei You walked over to Zu An¡¯s side. They looked at the youngdies in the distance who were as delicate as flowers. They were incredibly jealous and remarked, ¡°Brother Zu truly is blessed.¡±

    ¡°Sigh, actually, having more girls means more problems too. They almost started fighting with each other. It¡¯s hard for me being stuck in the middle too, you know?¡± Even though Zu An said it was annoying, he was clearly proud.

    Gao Ying and Pei You were speechless.

    Zu Anughed and wrapped his arm around the two of them, asking, ¡°Why didn¡¯t I see your nsmen here to send you guys off?¡±

    Pei You said, ¡°I told them not toe, or else it would be all annoying if they started crying.¡±

    Gao Ying said, ¡°I don¡¯t have too many people I¡¯m close to back in the n. Rather than having theme and act insincerely, it would be better to save everyone the effort.¡±

    ¡°Haha, the two of you are rather open-minded. But having you guys on this trip with me makes it less lonely,¡± Zu An said with a smile. He knew that Pei You was still too young, so he didn¡¯t feel too much about separation. Meanwhile, Gao Ying had a certain status to go with his identity, because even though he was part of the Liu n in name, he was just a distant rtive and not really a direct descendant. That made it so he couldn''t help but feel as if he didn¡¯t really belong.

    The twoughed heartily and replied, ¡°We were just about to inquire about how one could gain the favor of women from brother Zu.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s simple; you just need to be handsome, perform in bed like a donkey, have a ton of money, cherish your girls carefully and gently, be considerate of them, and spend a ton of time with them¡­¡± Zu An began boasting. The two men werepletely stunned and were about to prostrate themselves before Zu An.

    After a while, a guard came to deliver a report. ¡°Young masters, Sir Sang has invited you for a meeting.¡±

    Their smiles quickly faded. They knew that if Sang Hong called them over, it was definitely for something important.

    Sang Hong was the imperial envoy, so his status was the highest among those present. His room was naturally also thergest and most luxurious. It was even divided into a living room, bedroom, study, and the like.

    Golden Token Eleven and Sir Zu¡¯s rooms weren¡¯t bad either, and they weren¡¯t far from Sang Hong¡¯s room. Of course, Golden Token Eleven never made an appearance, and that room was still empty. However, they couldn''t not prepare a room for him either.

    Pei You and Gao Ying had their own rooms too. Even though they had some official rank, they were empty posts without many real responsibilities. The reason they were treated well was mostly out of respect for the ns behind them.

    As for the rest, all of the others were pretty much crammed into the living quarters.

    ¡°Please have a seat, everyone.¡± Sang Hong had a smile on his face when he saw Zu An.

    ¡°We greet Sir Sang,¡± Pei You and Gao Ying mumbled quietly. There had always been rumors that Sang Hong was a fierce and ruthless person who didn¡¯t smile often. And yet today, it seemed those rumors weren¡¯t all that urate.

    ¡°Everyone, there¡¯s no need for excessive formalities. We still need to work together on this trip to Cloudcenter Commandery,¡± Sang Hong replied.

    ¡°We¡¯ll spare no effort in working with Sir Sang,¡± came the reply. These were things the two had to say.

    Sang Hong didn¡¯t think too much about those words either. He said, ¡°I asked everyone toe today because I wanted to discuss some of the issues we might encounter in Cloudcenter Commandery¡­¡±

    Then, he told them about the various points of suspicion and danger regarding the mission, discussing Cloudcenter Duke¡¯s disappearance with the group. Of course, he didn¡¯t mention the piece of information about Cloudcenter Duke¡¯s younger brother he and Zu An had found out previously.

    Even so, it was enough to make both Gao Ying and Pei You¡¯s expressions change. They had thought that this would have been an easy trip to gain merit, but there were actually so many dangers involved!

    However, the two weren¡¯t useless fools and didn¡¯t shrink back. Instead, they felt it was a great chance to gain some achievements. ¡°With Sir Sang managing this situation, brother Zu¡¯s assistance, and even Golden Token Eleven, I believe we¡¯ll definitely seed in this mission.¡±

    They had witnessed Zu An¡¯s ability in the dungeon themselves. Together with that mysterious Embroidered Envoy, there was no need for them to do too much. There was no need for them to feel scared.

    Sang Hong frowned and said, ¡°But Sir Eleven didn¡¯t get on our ship. We won¡¯t be able to coordinate with each other if something really does happen.¡±

    That was what he was most unhappy about. The other party hadn¡¯t even shown himself, so he couldn''t even discuss anything with him. For someone like him who liked to scheme meticulously and think through the situation, that had be the biggest variable.

    Zu An could only force a smile. He couldn''t just keep hiding Golden Token Eleven forever. He¡¯d have to see if he could resolve the matter soon.

    ¡°What are Golden Token Eleven¡¯s strengths? Do any of you know anything?¡± Pei You asked out of curiosity.

    Gao Ying shook his head and said, ¡°Embroidered Envoys are mysterious to begin with, and he¡¯s even a golden token envoy. I previously heard that many of the cases in the capital were solved by him, and some major figures were taken down because of him.¡± Then, he looked toward Sang Hong and asked, ¡°Does Sang Hong know anything else?¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Sang Hong said with an overcast voice, ¡°Embroidered Envoys take orders from his majesty directly. As for golden token envoys, there are only eleven of them in total under the Chief Commander, and every one of them has tremendous responsibilities. There are rumors that the golden token envoys are scattered throughout the country, each of them responsible for an area spanning thousands of li. They¡¯re in charge of collecting intelligence and monitoring the local officials. Since Zhuxie Chixin oversees the capital, there has never been a golden token envoy assigned here. This Golden Token Eleven came out of thin air, so I believe no powers have been able to investigate his background.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself that no wonder, even though he had been in the capital for so long, he still hadn¡¯t met a single other golden token envoy. It turned out all of them were overseeing different areas of the empire!

    That meant the golden token the emperor had given him was just an empty title! There were so many big shots in the capital, and there was even the emperor and Zhuxie Chixin, who were both above him. Compared to his colleagues overseeing different areas, their authority and resources were both on an entirely different level!

    ¡°Then what about their cultivation ranks?¡± Pei You asked. That was what he was more concerned with.

    Sang Hong shook his head and said, ¡°This is a secret in itself. The Embroidered Envoys were mysterious to begin with, and golden token envoys are even more mysterious. No one can say how high their cultivation ranks are exactly. However, we have a rough gauge on the strength of Golden Token Eleven.¡±

    Zu An was shocked. Did I end up revealing something I shouldn¡¯t have? Otherwise, how does he know about this?

    ¡°Sir Sang, please tell us.¡± Pei You and Gao Ying became more interested.

    Sang Hong said, ¡°Several months ago, the Devil Sect invaded the pce and attempted an assassination. Back then, most of the pce security¡¯s attention was drawn toward the Pce of Peace, but their main target was actually the Eastern Pce. The crown prince¡¯s lesser tutor was seriously injured, and the Eastern Pce¡¯s guards suffered severe casualties. It was rumored that at a crucial time, it was Golden Token Eleven who showed up to save the crown prince and princess. There were quite a few people present at the time, and ording to their descriptions, Golden Token Eleven¡¯s cultivation should be at the sixth or seventh rank.¡±

    ¡°What? It¡¯s only at the sixth or seventh rank?¡± Pei You and Gao Ying were both disappointed. They were at the peak of the sixth rank themselves. Not even a legend like a golden token envoy was much better than them?

    ¡°That¡¯s what¡¯s frightening.¡± Sang Hong¡¯s expression became fearful. ¡°He only disyed cultivation at the sixth or seventh rank, and yet he was able to block the full powered strike of the grandmaster rank Devil Sect Master. How many people in this world could aplish such a feat?¡±

    ¡°Scary!¡± Pei You and Gao Ying both gasped. They were from great ns themselves, so they naturally knew how terrifying grandmasters were.

    ¡°There¡¯s no way that¡¯s possible, right?¡± Pei You said with a frown.

    ¡°It was indeed quite unimaginable. After all, this old one believes my own cultivation to be eptable, but I can¡¯t imagine myself blocking the full powered strike of a grandmaster.¡± Sang Hong changed the topic. ¡°But this is reality. It proves that Golden Token Eleven¡¯s true cultivation can only be higher than mine, or perhaps his strength is special and can¡¯t be evaluated through normal cultivation means. But regardless of which one it is, it makes him a powerful expert.¡±

 Chapter 964: Milk of Purple Frost

    <h4>Chapter 964: Milk of Purple Frost</h4>

    Gao Ying added, ¡°Furthermore, golden token envoys don¡¯t excel in their martial prowess, but rather in their insight and schemes.¡±

    Pei Youughed and relied, ¡°Then that means with this Golden Token Eleven to help us, isn¡¯t this trip to Cloudcenter Commandery smooth sailing?¡±

    As he listened to them praise Golden Token Eleven more and more, Zu An really wanted to blurt out ¡®I¡¯m actually not that amazing¡­¡¯ He held himself back from boasting with great difficulty.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Sang Hong was quite shocked and asked, ¡°Ah Zu, why haven¡¯t you said anything all this time?¡±

    Gao Ying and Pei You both looked at him as well. This didn¡¯t match his style!

    Zu An coughed and quickly exined, ¡°I think we shouldn¡¯t rely on that Golden Token Eleven too much. Embroidered Envoys have always been mysterious, and they¡¯re only loyal to his majesty. They might even have a different mission this time, one that¡¯s entirely different from ours. That¡¯s why I think we should try to deal with this matter by ourselves as much as possible.¡±

    What kind of joke was this? He already had enough pressure. If he had to take on the responsibility for Golden Token Eleven too, he really would break down! That was why he quickly said that as a preventative measure.

    Sang Hong nodded and replied, ¡°What you say makes sense. Perhaps Golden Token Eleven didn¡¯t make an appearance precisely to tell us these things. That¡¯s why we should rely on ourselves from now on. We¡¯ll just treat Golden Token Eleven as additional support. We absolutely can¡¯t ce all of our hopes on him.¡±

    Gao Ying and Pei You became serious. They could sense the gravity in Sang Hong¡¯s tone as well. The mission in Cloudcenter Commandery might really not be so easy. They eximed, ¡°Understood!¡±

    When he left Sang Hong¡¯s room, Zu An gazed toward the surging river waters. The outline of the capital was already about to disappear. He was surprised at the fact that the boat seemed to be moving even faster than he imagined.

    He raised his head and saw that the sail had some blue patterns swirling across it. The boat had some formations running through it as well. They were probably wind element runes that were helping the ship move along. Not only did it help to reduce the ship¡¯s weight, it also increased the efficiency of the sails. No wonder the ship was able to move so quickly. Of course, it was only a bit faster than a boat that solely relied on its sails. It was still a bit slower than the steamships of his previous world.

    At first, he enjoyed seeing the coastal area scenery, but the more he watched, the more boring it became. After he chatted a bit more with Gao Ying and Pei You, they all returned to their own rooms.

    Even though Zu AN¡¯s room was a bit smaller than Sang Hong¡¯s, theyout was still quite nice. He could even feel a bit of the breeze through the window. Overall, the ce was simr to his previous world¡¯s business suites. After all, space on this ship had been tight to begin with, so a room like this really was quite good.

    ¡°The lives of nobles in this world really arefortable.¡± Zu Anmented on the indulgent and decadent lifestyles of the aristocrats. Soon afterward, he focused his attention and sat down to begin his cultivation.

    Cultivation was king in this world. Nothing else mattered.

    This mission to Cloudcenter Commandery was going to be dangerous. Both the confession Chi Tu had provided about the scheme of Cloudcenter Duke¡¯s younger brother and Kong Nanwu¡¯s warnings before he left pointed at that fact. Only by increasing his cultivation further would he have the most reliable strength against those dangers.

    He transferred his ki through his body many times, but in the end, he opened his eyes out of helplessness. Ever since his breakthrough in Westhound Tomb¡¯s secret dungeon, his cultivation had been stuck at the ninth rank¡¯s eighth step. He couldn''t sense any sign of another breakthrough.

    At his level, the amount of Ki Fruits needed was already at an astronomical level. That way wasn¡¯t even an option. Was he supposed to rely on getting beaten up? But at his level, he probably couldn¡¯t level up even if he was beaten to death, right?

    Furthermore, he had heard Mi Li mention that the breakthrough from the ninth rank to the master rank was another huge chasm. Many people failed to break through the gap even after an entire lifetime.

    ¡°Big sis empress?¡± Zu An asked. Mi Li had already disappeared for a long time since he came out from the secret dungeon. He really wanted to know how she was doing right now. Unfortunately, there was no response at all no matter how he called out to her.

    He suddenly thought of something. He tried to call out again. ¡°Master?¡±

    Azy voice spoke not long after he called out the word ¡®master¡¯. ¡°What is it?¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He asked, ¡°I called out to you so many times just now. Why did you ignore me?¡±

    Mi Li said, ¡°Because you don¡¯t know any respect.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re closer than that, right?¡± Zu An couldn''t help but say. What he got in return was dead silence. ¡°I¡¯m being ignored again¡­¡± He could only change his tone. ¡°Master, why aren¡¯t you showing yourself? How are your injuries from Westhound Tomb?¡±

    Even just a nce at a beauty like Mi Li would make him feel much better. There was no one around him, and in the past, she would have already shown herself a long time ago. She didn¡¯t really like to hide in the Tai¡¯e Sword, after all.

    But he couldn¡¯t have expected for her to sigh and say, ¡°My soul is unstable. I can¡¯t take physical form anymore.¡±

    Zu An was shocked, asking, ¡°Why is it that serious?¡±

    Not being able to take form was pretty much the same as being about to disappear! But with Mi Li¡¯s cultivation, that shouldn¡¯t have been the case¡­

    Mi Li spoke again. ¡°My injuriesst time in Westhound Tomb were too serious. I¡¯ve tried to recover my soul power all this time, but the injuries I incurredst time were special. With my own power, I can¡¯t recover my soul at all. I finally managed to stabilize my condition and prevent my soul from scattering.¡±

    Zu An felt ashamed. He had been living in a carefree manner all this time and forgot to worry about her.

    His misunderstanding was because Mi Li had always recovered slowly after resting for a while. He was used to that and forgot just how powerful and special the enemy they encountered in Westhound Tomb had been; that enemy had even specialized in harming the soul.

    ¡°Is there anything I can help you with?¡± Zu An immediately asked.

    ¡°There is.¡± Mi Li didn¡¯t try to act polite with him. ¡°I need soul-mending treasures to stabilize my condition and gradually recover.¡±

    Zu An thought of something. He took out a stalk of medicine that overflowed with radiance from his Brilliant ss Bead. The room was soon filled with medicinal fragrance. It was clearly something extraordinary. He said, ¡°Here, I have a Sky Crane Root that can greatly heal a damaged soul.¡±

    The Sky Crane Root was one of the main ingredients of the Ki Condensation Pill. The emperor had given him quite a bit of soul recovery medicine after their negotiations in the past, and the Sky Crane Root was the most precious of them all.

    ¡°Even though the Sky Crane Root has mending effects on the soul, it isn¡¯t even high quality. It won¡¯t do much for my current level of injury,¡± Mi Li replied.

    Zu An was rmed and asked, ¡°Then what about the Five Aggregates Root?¡±

    He had fetched a Five Aggregates Root from the imperial hospital for Yun Jianyue when her soul was injuredst time. Even though he was already on the ship and was quite far from the capital, if it was for Mi Li, he had to make the trip back.

    ¡°If I had a body right now, the Five Aggregates Root would be able to help my soul recover. However, I don¡¯t have a body right now, and my soul¡¯s damage is too severe. It can¡¯t help me,¡± Mi Li replied.

    Zu An¡¯s heart sank. The Great Zhou Dynasty had unified the world, so the imperial hospital had definitely collected all types of treasures. However, the Five Aggregates Root was already the best of what the hospital had. If not even that was useful, what else could they do?

    ¡°Then what do you need?¡± he asked. He knew that Mi Li was well read. She probably knew something.

    Sure enough, Mi Li said, ¡°Even though I know there¡¯s a type of medicine that can repair my soul wounds, in the past, that medicine was the rarest and most precious thing. I don¡¯t even know if it still exists in this world, and the name might have changed too.¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°What are you still beating around the bush for? At this point, even feeding a dead horse medicine is worth it.¡±

    Mi Li¡¯s voice immediately rose a pitch as she eximed, ¡°Are you calling me a horse?!¡±

    ¡°You know that¡¯s not what I meant!¡± Zu An thought to himself, The thoughts of women really change quickly! Despite what kind of situation they were in, she still cared about such things? ¡°Just tell me so we can think about it together. After all, I¡¯m a golden token envoy now, someone who has a lot of resources at his disposal!¡±

    ¡°In the past, the name of the medicine was ¡®Milk of Purple Frost¡¯. I don¡¯t know what it¡¯s called now.¡± Mi Li¡¯s voice was full of hesitation.

    Zu An was stunned and asked, ¡°Is Purple Frost a girl?¡±

    Mi Li was stunned. She realized what he meant and eximed furiously, ¡°What kind of freaking nonsense is in that head of yours?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for +222 +222 +222¡­

    Zu An quickly apologized. ¡°Please don¡¯t get upset! You can¡¯t get emotional in your current state!¡±

    Sure enough, Mi Li immediately felt a wave of weakness. When she finally calmed down, she lowered her voice a bit and said, ¡°Milk of Purple Frost is created after sun and moon essence, as well as natural ki, are collected by Purple Frost Crystals over ten thousand years, after which only three drops are produced. The reason why this medicine is so hard to obtain is that the crystals are rare to begin with, and ten thousand year old crystals are even rarer. Furthermore, it has to be gathered promptly as well, because the elixir trickles out soon after taking form. Once it makes contact with the ground, it bes tainted and loses its medicinal nature.¡±

    Zu An went numb when he heard all of those conditions. How the hell were they supposed to find something like that?

 Chapter 965: Clues

    <h4>Chapter 965: Clues</h4>

    Mi Li sighed and said, ¡°I know that medicine is extremely rare as well. We probably won¡¯t be able to find it. I¡¯ll spend some time on my own, thinking about this matter to see if there are any other ways to recover from my soul¡¯s wounds.¡±

    Zu An felt emotion surge within him when he heard how downcast she was. He blurted out, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll do my best to help you find it even if it¡¯s hard!¡± Mi Li had helped him out so much, and they were master and disciple, brother and sister. How could he just watch without doing anything?

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll really have to thank you for that.¡± Mi Li smiled. She clearly didn¡¯t sound too convinced that Zu An could find something like that. After all, such a thing was just way too rare. Not even the emperor himself would necessarily be able to find something like that.

    Zu An didn¡¯t say anything when he heard the nonchnt tone in her voice. He just made sure to ingrain the name Milk of Purple Frost firmly in his head.

    ¡°Right, you seemed to be confused about how to break through, no?¡± Mi Li spoke again.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve already been stuck here for a long time¡­¡± Zu An told her about his cultivation problems.

    Mi Li replied, ¡°Cultivators normally spend arge amount of time slowly umting their ki. If they have the effects of formations or ki stones, then the process bes much faster. You can use the Heaven Devouring Sutra to suck away the cultivations of others and quickly rise up, but I don¡¯t advise that method. It will cause your foundation to be unstable, and it¡¯s better to just slowly build up your cultivation bit by bit yourself.¡±

    Zu An said, confused, ¡°But the Heaven Devouring Sutra is a method on par with the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra. It shouldn¡¯t cause too many problems in theory, right?¡± It wasn¡¯t the Star Swallowing Art, so why would it have any major ws?

    Mi Li replied, ¡°The universe has yin and yang. All things have pros and cons. The Heaven Devouring Sutra excels in its speed, but because of that speed, it often causes one¡¯s foundation to be unstable. The reason why sessive generations of Shang Emperors didn¡¯t have that problem was because they also chose to increase their strength gradually. They had enough time to digest and absorb the cultivation of others.

    ¡°However, you carry three great techniques within you, and you¡¯ve had miraculous encounters again and again. Your cultivation speed is just way too fast. You¡¯re so young, and yet you¡¯re already close to the peak of the ninth rank. I fear there aren¡¯t many in history who canpare to you. For example, that emperor of yours would¡¯ve already killed you if he didn¡¯t believe that you had only inherited Old Mi¡¯s cultivation and that you had already destroyed all hopes of advancement beyond your current level.¡±

    Zu An shivered. The only one who knew his true cultivation, apart from Mi Li, was the emperor. The others had their suspicions about his cultivation, but because of his Mirror Mirage and the spice bag Concubine Bai had given him, their guesses were far from the truth.

    ¡°Then what do I do now? I can¡¯t just go out there and let myself get beat up, right? With my current cultivation, there¡¯s a limit even if I get beat up every single day, right?¡± he asked.

    Mi Li replied, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t keep relying on the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra to raise your cultivation. That¡¯s nothing more than Old Mi¡¯s short-sighted misconception. In the end, the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra¡¯s boost to your cultivation is merely you breaking through your own limits again and again. The more dangerous the battle, the more injuries you¡¯ll receive, and so the stronger you¡¯ll be once you recover.¡±

    Zu An said self-deprecatingly, ¡°Isn¡¯t that the same as willingly letting yourself get beat up¡­¡±

    Mi Li was speechless. Shepletely ignored what he said and continued, ¡°Your trip to Cloudcenter Commandery will probably be full of dangers, so that will be a good chance for you to gain experience. However, if you want to break through to the master rank, it won¡¯t be that easy. That kind of breakthrough often involves the assistance of a tremendous treasure, or some sort of body cleansing through a natural ki paradise. These aren¡¯t things you can seek out just because you want them. When the time is right, I¡¯ll tell you more in detail.¡±

    ¡°Then should I just work on strengthening my current cultivation, to build up my foundation?¡± Zu An frowned. It wasn¡¯t as if he had never worked on that before, but there was hardly ever any progress. It didn¡¯t seem as if it would do much even if he continued doing it.

    ¡°The reason I told you all of that was because I don¡¯t want you to try and break through using the Heaven Devouring Sutra. In your current situation, you¡¯re more suited to tempering your soul. If you also use this chance to condense the ki inside of you, the effects will be even better,¡± Mi Li replied.

    Zu An was stunned and said, ¡°I thought only those at the master rank could temper their souls? Am I not starting a bit too early?¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Your current cultivation isn¡¯t too far off from other low level master rank cultivators. What youck is just some soul method. Your experiences were different from others. For other cultivators, their bodies might break down if they tried to refine their souls, but for you, that¡¯s not an issue at all,¡± Mi Li exined.

    Zu An was happy to hear that and asked, ¡°Then how can I temper my soul?¡±

    ¡°Through meditation. Rx your entire body and sense the ki of the world. Try to produce a tangible image of your mental strength. Don¡¯t use your eyes and don¡¯t use ki; sense everything around you purely with your mind. Try to touch everything. One day, you¡¯ll be able to use your mental force to move some smaller things. When that happens, you¡¯ll have sessfully tapped into this power,¡± Mi Li exined. ¡°I¡¯ll pass a mnemonic chant which can help you forge your mental force to you. Once you seed in getting ess to this power, I¡¯ll then teach you the method for forging your soul.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, big sis¡­ Master!¡± Zu An was excited. If his mental force could be tangible, didn¡¯t that mean he could learn to use telekinesis?

    As if guessing his intentions, Mi Li warned him, ¡°Right, there¡¯s something else I have to warn you about. Your mental force will still be quite weak at first, so don¡¯t try to touch living things. Otherwise, if that target produces a strong reaction, it¡¯ll easily cause great damage to your mind. In the worst case, you¡¯ll be an idiot.¡±

    Zu An was shocked and asked, ¡°It¡¯s that bad?¡±

    ¡°Of course. Training the mind isn¡¯t something that can be done hastily. Otherwise, your body and soul will easily be destroyed.¡± Mi Li¡¯s voice gradually grew weaker.

    Zu An thought to himself that Mi Li was seriously injured, yet she was still telling him so much. She probably had to exert herself even more. He quickly said, ¡°Right, I just remembered that after cultivating the lower half of the Primordial Origin Sutra, I can heal someone else¡¯s injuries. Can I help you recover your soul this way?¡±

    ¡°Are you trying to take advantage of me?¡± Mi Li immediately raised her voice.

    Zu An was stunned. He then reacted and quickly exined, ¡°That¡¯s not what I was trying to say! My primordial ki can now enter another person¡¯s body and help them recover.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need. It¡¯s useless for me, because I¡¯m a soul body.¡± Mi Li also realized that her reaction was a bit too strong. She coughed lightly and said, ¡°You should cultivate properly on your own. I need to go back to sleep.¡± She became quiet again afterward.

    Zu An called out to her a few times, but there was no reply from Mi Li. He suddenly felt a bit lonely. He thought, I must find the Milk of Purple Frost for her! His gaze became increasingly resolute. He quickly produced an Embroidered Envoy uniform from his Brilliant ss Bead. He changed into it, then left his room in the dark.

    The Silver Token Xiao Jianren was reading books under an oilmp¡¯s light. He suddenly went on alert and picked up his de, pointing it behind him and eximing, ¡°Who?!¡±

    He saw someone sitting nearby in the shadows. He narrowed his eyes and quickly made out the other person¡¯s attire. He quickly put away his de, saying, ¡°I greet Sir Eleven!¡±

    Zu An grunted in response and said, ¡°There¡¯s something I need your help with.¡± With the Embroidered Envoy¡¯s strict hierarchy, there was no need to speak in a roundabout way.

    ¡°Sir, please give me your orders.¡± Xiao Jianren was happy to hear that. The orders he had received were to bring some men and follow Sang Hong. Back then, he had been a bit nervous, but now that he had a task, the pressure he felt immediately lessened.

    ¡°Do you know anything about something called the Milk of Purple Frost?¡± Zu An looked at him nervously. This person was a living encyclopedia, and there probably weren¡¯t many who knew more than him in the Embroidery House. If even he didn¡¯t know, it would probably be really troublesome.

    Xiao Jianren was stunned and asked, ¡°Could it be that some great one¡¯s soul was wounded?¡± He was rather tactful in the way he asked. He actually wanted to ask if Zu An was injured, but he was scared that he might offend the other party.

    Zu An immediately felt happy. It seemed the name of Milk of Purple Frost hadn¡¯t changed. That made things much easier. He replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that. Do you know where it exists?¡±

    Xiao Jianren shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s a divine substance rarely found in the world. If not because Milk of Purple Frost was offered to his majesty in the past, I wouldn¡¯t even know of its existence.¡±

    ¡°His majesty has some?¡± Zu An frowned. That made things much more difficult. But no matter how difficult it was, he now had a goal. It was better than having no clues at all.

    Xiao Jianren had a look of surprise on his face. He almost felt as if Zu An would try to fight for it with the emperor. He quickly said, ¡°His majesty¡¯s soul was seriously injured from his battle against the Fiend Emperor, and it was through the use of the Milk of Purple Frost that he recovered.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why his majesty doesn¡¯t have any more either?¡± Zu An raised his brow. He really wanted to grab the stupid bookworm and beat him up. Why did he always stop after speaking halfway?

    As if sensing his ¡®killing intent¡¯, Xiao Jianren quickly said, ¡°The one who offered Milk of Purple Frost to his majesty was thest generation Cloudcenter Duke. If this medicine can still be found anywhere in this world, Cloudcenter Commandery will be the best ce to start looking.¡±

 Chapter 966: Substitute

    <h4>Chapter 966: Substitute</h4>

    ¡°Cloudcenter Commandery?¡± Zu An¡¯s eyes narrowed. He hadn¡¯t expected such a coincidence. It seemed this trip to Cloudcenter Commandery was one he had to make no matter what.

    Xiao Jianren asked, ¡°Sir Eleven, will your respected self remain on this ship? Sir Sang arranged a boat for you. Should I guide you there?¡±

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°There¡¯s no need. I have another mission, so I won¡¯t be staying on this ship.¡±

    Fortunately, the Embroidered Envoy had been mysterious to begin with. Those of lower ranks couldn''t really question the actions of those of higher ranks. Otherwise, it wouldn¡¯t be so easy to fool others.

    After some hesitation, Xiao Jianren asked, ¡°If something happens, how do we contact sir?¡± He just couldn''t feel peace of mind if the other party was never with them.

    ¡°I¡¯ll return to the ship from time to time to interact with you. You just need to give me a report then. If there really is some emergency, I¡¯l know when to arrive promptly.¡± Zu An replied in a serious tone.

    Xiao Jianren was shocked. Sir Eleven getting on and off the ship at his own convenience is something I can understand, but if something urgent happens, how can he immediately react if he isn¡¯t on the ship?

    But he knew that all golden token envoys had extraordinary methods. Even though he was suspicious, he didn¡¯t think about it too much and replied, ¡°Understood!¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll be leaving first.¡± Zu An was about to leave, but when he noticed the books on the table, he stopped and said, ¡°I advise you to just read during the day. Reading at night will damage your eyes.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your concern, sir.¡± Xiao Jianren bowed. That was something easy to say, but hard to do. Only at night could he have some peace and time to himself. It would be a bit of a waste if he didn¡¯t use that time to read.

    After Zu An left the room, he took a bit of a detour. When he was sure that no one was following him, he then returned to his own room. He changed out of his Golden Token Eleven uniform and began to think carefully to himself. Once or twice like this was fine, but there would easily be problems if he continued to switch ces. After all, whether it was Sang Hong or Xiao Jianren, they were both meticulous people.

    After thinking for a bit, he suddenly thought of something. He summoned Daji.

    Under the quiet moonlight that scattered through the window, it almost seemed as if there were a glistening mist swirling around her. She really was too beautiful for this world. Her long and foxy eyes added a bit of a charming feeling to her otherwise untouchable and aloof aura. It made her look pure, yet also seductive.

    ¡°It¡¯s a pity that you¡¯re like a lotus flower. You can only be admired from afar and not yed with.¡± Zu An felt gloomy. However, that was something he had already epted, so he didn¡¯t dwell on it. He took out a set of clothes and gave it to her, saying, ¡°Change into this.¡±

    Daji gave him an indifferent look with her alluring eyes, but then she decisively ignored him.

    Zu An was speechless. Who¡¯s the real master here? He took a deep breath and put on a kind smile, saying, ¡°You don¡¯t need to take off any clothes. Just wear this over your current outfit.¡±

    After some hesitation, when Daji realized that she didn¡¯t have to take off her clothes, she didn¡¯t have any more feelings of rejection.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°I¡¯ll help you!¡± Zu An eximed, overjoyed. But Daji immediately took a step back and looked at him vigntly.

    Zu An was speechless again. He knew she was rejecting any form of physical touch from him. He thought to himself, I can give you an order through just a thought, so to a certain extent, aren¡¯t we already spiritually linked? Your head is already in my shape, and yet you¡¯re still so on guard against me. Is there really a need for this?

    ¡°Then put it on yourself,¡± he said as he turned around. He pulled over a chair and sat down gloomily. A whileter, the sound of rustling fabric faded. Only then did Zu An turn around. His eyes immediately widened.

    Daji was dressed in a well-ironed uniform, embroidered with meticulous patterns. The feeling she gave off waspletely different. If she had previously been more like a goddess who fell to the human world, or like a seductress who brought down an entire country, that charm had nowpletely changed. Instead, she now looked valiant and formidable, like a female prosecutor or an attractive policewoman¡­ Zu An thought, Ahem, I need to stop right here before I go too far.

    After a while, Zu An took out the Golden Token Eleven mask and put it on Daji. He sighed in amazement, eximing, ¡°Simply perfect!¡±

    At first, he had been worried because she was wearing a dress underneath, and thought it would look a little strange with the Embroidered Envoy uniform over it. He had thought that would easily cause problems.

    He had no idea what Daji¡¯s white dress was made of, but it was almost as if it didn¡¯t exist. The uniform still fit her perfectly well. Her build had been smaller to begin with, but because her chest took up too much space, together with the dress and uniform, her figure seemed more simr to his.

    ¡°Is her chest area a bit too much?¡± Zu An thought while propping up his chin. However, he quickly dispelled that thought. He had already tempered his body several times with primordial ki, so he was quite muscr himself. Even if that area was a bitrger than his, the others weren¡¯t all that familiar with Sir Eleven anyway, so they wouldn¡¯t notice anything strange.

    But Daji¡¯s height was a problem. Even though she was tall, she was still a bit shorter than him. He thought for a bit, then fiddled with the Brilliant ss Bead for a while before tossing over a pair of modified shoes, eximing, ¡°Lord Huang Xiaoming¡¯s shoes of blood, sweat, and tears! Being taller isn¡¯t just a dream!¡±[1]

    Daji looked away. She didn¡¯t know who this Lord Huang was, but she still wore the shoes. Of course, she didn¡¯t take off her own shoes. She just put them on with her own shoes inside.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes twitched. He probably couldn''t wear these shoes again. Fortunately, he didn¡¯tck extra pairs of golden token envoy shoes. However, he nodded in satisfaction when he saw that Daji¡¯s height was about the same as his own now. ¡°Not bad, not bad. Take a few steps around for me.¡±

    Daji wouldn¡¯t refuse such simple orders. She stepped forward with her long legs. However, because of her new shoes, she wasn¡¯t too used to it yet, and she almost fell down.

    ¡°Be careful!¡± Zu An subconsciously moved closer to support her. But unfortunately, Daji reacted faster. Her palm spread out a bit, and she forcefully stabilized herself.

    Zu An withdrew his hand unhappily, saying, ¡°I¡¯m your master; I¡¯m not a wolf. Do you really need to be so apprehensive about me?¡±

    Daji ignored him. She continued to try to walk. She was a powerful cultivator in her own right, and so she quickly found her bnce. She was able to walk in the shoes as if she were walking normally.

    Zu An was happy at first. To a certain degree, the shoes could be considered high heels. As expected, the way she walked was graceful. However, he quickly realized something.

    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t move your butt when you¡¯re walking.

    ¡°Don¡¯t let your waist sway back and forth either.

    ¡°Can you not act so flirty? How am I supposed to face anyone again if someone catches you walking like that?¡±

    ¡­

    Zu An finally fixed some of Daji¡¯s natural habits after great difficulty. The way she walked looked a bit more normal.

    Afterward, he had her change her hairstyle a bit too. He didn¡¯t have to worry about the length, because just like Ancient China, men and women both had long hair. The main issue was Daji¡¯s hairstyle. Letting it flow down naturally the way she did normally was purely a feminine style.

    After another few hours, it was finally passable.

    ¡°Next is your cultivation,¡± Zu An muttered to himself. Even though the world¡¯s impression of his cultivation was around the sixth or seventh rank, his real strength was far above that. However, Daji had just broken through to the sixth rank, so hers was a bit too low.

    When he thought of that, he brought out the Rage point system. It had already been a long time since he pulled the lottery. He had a total of 118,815 Rage points. He frowned in dissatisfaction when he saw that. He really was cking off! He had only earned this little bit?

    Could it be that the higher my cultivation climbs, the more I instinctively refuse to be as shameless?

    I mustn¡¯t forget my roots!

    After praying for a bit, he began to pull the lottery.

    With 118,814 Rage points, he could pull a total of 1188 times. The light indicator continued to flicker around, but it never stopped on the keyboard¡¯s letters. Zu An could only acknowledge his fate there.

    However, while he was feeling gloomy, the final result appeared. His eyes widened. He had pulled a total of 389 Ki Fruits!

    After all, with the average rate, he was only supposed to get a bit over a hundred Ki Fruits. Yet today, he had gotten three times the amount! Wasn¡¯t his luck insanely good this time?

    Zu An fed the Ki Fruits to Daji. Daji sat down to meditate, and her aura quickly became stronger. She went from the bottom of the sixth rank to the fourth step. Even though it was still a bit low, it wasn¡¯t so bad anymore.

    I¡¯ll call her out to use her as Golden Token Eleven one day. I wonder if it¡¯ll be enough to fool everyone.

    1. The celebrity Huang Xiaoming wore a pair of white high-top shoes, and manyizens spected that he wore insoles inside of those shoes too. ?

 Chapter 967: King Yan

    <h4>Chapter 967: King Yan</h4>

    As Daji¡¯s cultivation rose, Zu An began to think about the things he needed to prepare for her breakthrough. After all, he couldn''t suddenly start praying for a miracle when it really was time for her breakthrough already. Once Daji passed the sixth rank, she could no longer break through using just Ki Fruits. She would need all sorts of additional materials for each rank increase after that.

    ¡°The Valkyrie System really is freaking unscrupulous!¡± Zu An cursed the Valkyrie System. It was just like the gacha of his previous world; it was clearly a freaking scam.

    But jokes were just jokes. He still had to try and gather those materials.

    For Daji to break through from the sixth to seventh rank, she needed five pieces of Wuyang Jade, ten Gray Wolf King Fangs, thirty Blue Earthflowers, and twenty Nine-Headed Pheasant Feathers.

    None of the pce¡¯s physicians had ever heard of the Wuyang Jade before. However, he had received some advice that Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s Yu n managed the precious stones business. He could probably discover their whereabouts there. Together with the Milk of Purple Frost Mi Li needed, it now seemed as if he would have had to make a trip there even if the emperor hadn¡¯t assigned him there.

    As for the Gray Wolf King Fangs and other materials, even though they were precious, they weren¡¯t too absurdly rare. He believed he would have the chance to collect them.

    Zu An unknowingly drifted off into sleep while thinking about those things.

    He had actually wanted Daji to sleep with him, because that way, his girl would get used to all of Golden Token Eleven¡¯s behaviors. Her performance would then be even more realistic. He promised again and again that he wouldn¡¯t do a single thing, that they were just going to lie down on the bed. He was even going to put a pillow in between them. After all, Daji was so beautiful, just a single look was already an incredible experience.

    But he hadn¡¯t expected Daji to refuse no matter what. Zu An was quite downcast because of that. Daji clearly didn¡¯t have a soul, but why did she have such a strong rejection toward her master?

    Honestly speaking, even the original Daji herself shouldn¡¯t have defended her chastity so strongly. Isn¡¯t she a master of seduction? Shouldn¡¯t she be trying to tempt me with all of her different ways? Yet why am I now being refused no matter how decently I act?

    ¡­

    Zu An trained Daji every day and night, trying to make her seem more like Golden Token Eleven. The results were getting better and better.

    That day, Pei You and Gao Ying found Zu An. Pei You said, ¡°Brother Zu, we¡¯ll arrive at Yi City in a few days. Should we brothers experience the north¡¯s women together then?¡±

    Even the greatest homebodies would feel a bit suffocated after being on a ship for so long. They all wanted to climb ashore as soon as possible.

    Zu An couldn''t help butugh, saying, ¡°It looks to me as if you¡¯ve only been thinking about those northern girls all this time.¡±

    But of course, the other party was only acting like that because he treated Zu An as his close friend.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Gao Ying said seriously, ¡°Yi City is King Yan¡¯s domain. It¡¯ll be troublesome if we end up getting into some conflict there and offend King Yan.¡±

    ¡°King Yan?¡± Zu An was puzzled. He hadn¡¯t been in this world for that long after all, so he didn¡¯t know about many things that weremon knowledge.

    Gao Ying kindly exined, ¡°King Yan is his majesty¡¯s uncle. His feudal fiefdom is Yi Commandery, and thatmandery is ruled from Yi City. It frequently has trouble with bandits and the Devil Sect, so he¡¯s allowed to train his own army to fend them off. This is a king who has rather great authoritypared to others.¡±

    Zu An had a strange expression. Because of Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei, he already treated the Devil Sect as his own people. As such, he was interested in any information about them.

    ¡°Does that King Yan always gain achievements through wiping outrge numbers of Devil Sect people?¡± Zu An asked to test the waters.

    Gao Ying shook his head. ¡°King Yan has improved the bandit situation a lot over these years, and he¡¯s also captured many people from the Devil Sect. Unfortunately, the Devil Sect¡¯s people are like weeds, growing all over the ce. There are many people in the court who are saying that King Yan is too brutal, that he only knows how to fight and doesn¡¯t know how to conciliate at all. That¡¯s why the Devil Sect and the bandits continue to haunt thisnd.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but feel relieved when he heard that King Yan and the Devil Sect were roughly even in their battles.

    Pei You remarked, ¡°We¡¯re only going for some drinks, so why would we offend King Yan? Brother Gao, you¡¯re worrying about too many things.¡±

    Gao Ying figured that made sense as well, so he didn¡¯t try to dissuade them further. Furthermore, they had been stuck on the ship for so long that he wanted to go out and rx a bit too.

    Zu An remembered the materials Daji needed. As such, he asked, ¡°By the way, have you guys heard of Wuyang Jade, Gray Wolf King Fangs, Blue Earthflower, Nine-Headed Pheasant Feathers, and the like before?¡±

    He wanted to ask Xiao Jianren about those things, but it would be too fishy if he showed up as Golden Token Eleven again so soon. Who knew if Xiao Jianren would turn around and report to Zhuxie Chixin and the emperor?

    Furthermore, Xiao Jianren only knew about the Embroidery House¡¯s archives; he didn¡¯t specialize in medicine. He might remember something about some special treasures, but he might not know much about some ordinary medicines.

    Gao Ying and Pei You were different. They had grown up in great ns, so they had ess to many resources. He might actually obtain some clues from the two of them.

    Sure enough, Pei You replied, ¡°I haven¡¯t heard of Wuyang Jade before, but I¡¯ve heard of the Gray Wolf King Fangs, Blue Earthflower, and Nine-Headed Pheasant Feathers. Gray Wolf King Fang and Nine-Headed Pheasant Feathers aren¡¯t too rare; you can buy those from many ck markets. The Blue Earthflowers are a bit trickier; I heard that they grow in the fiend races¡¯ territory. But you should be able to find them in cities closer to the fiend races¡¯ capital.¡±

    ¡°ck market?¡± Zu An asked, surprised.

    Gao Ying exined with a smile, ¡°Because of the war against the fiend races in the past, the court has restricted normal business with the fiend races and the other organizations around them. But despite that being the case, there¡¯s still a need for a market to exist. That¡¯s why ck markets sprung up to meet the demand. You can find some specialties from various ns. The closer you get to the fiend races, the moremon ck markets be. Eventually, the ck markets began to carry things you would never find on the human side. That¡¯s why they became more and more developed. There were many that formed even back in our empire.¡±

    Zu An asked with a frown, ¡°Why haven¡¯t I seen them in the capital?¡±

    Gao Ying replied, ¡°The capital is a ce of virtue. Furthermore, the Embroidered Envoy¡¯s base is there, so who dares to do these kinds of things right under their eyes? That¡¯s why there are naturally no ck markets in the capital. However, this Yi City is quite a sizable city too, and furthermore a traffic hub. It isn¡¯t too far from the northern frontier. If I¡¯m not mistaken, there¡¯s a good chance that there will be ck markets.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes lit up. He said, ¡°Then we really do have to make a trip around Yi City.¡±

    Pei Youughed and said, ¡°Brother Zu is one of us as expected. Once we reach the brothels there, it¡¯s every man for himself this time! It¡¯ll depend on your own skill to see if you can get the prettiest girl.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. I was saying that I wanted to go to the ck market; when did I say that I wanted to go to the pleasure quarters?

    Gao Ying sighed and asked, ¡°Brother Pei, do you know what part of you I admire the most?¡±

    Pei You was momentarily stunned. He replied, ¡°My cultivation talent? Or my handsome face?¡±

    Gao Ying shook his head with a strange expression as he said, ¡°No, I admire your confidence.¡±

    Pei You wasn¡¯t stupid. He sensed the mockery in Gao Ying¡¯s tone and replied, ¡°Hmph, Yi Commandery is close to the north, so these girls admire warriors. It¡¯s not like the capital where they care so much about literary talent! With my looks, I definitely have a good chance.¡±

    What he said wasn¡¯t entirely false. He was a young master from an influential n, and he was even handsome. He would be quite eye-catching in such a ce.

    Gao Ying replied with a smile, ¡°Yi Commandery¡¯s girls might admire warriors, but do you think you can win against brother Zu?¡±

    Pei You still didn¡¯t fizzle out at all when he heard that. He said, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if I can¡¯t beat brother Zu; I just need to beat you.¡±

    Gao Ying was speechless.

    ¡­

    A few dayster, the ship stopped at Yi City¡¯s port. Gao Ying and the others requested some time off to tour the city.

    The ship needed some time to resupply, as they had traveled on water for so long. Everyone on the ship had already been stifled for too long as well, so Sang Hong was open-minded in that respect. He dly agreed.

    Zu An wanted to invite him to the city for some rest too, but Sang Hong refused. Sang Hong¡¯s status was special, so he didn¡¯t want to interact too much with King Yan and the other officials of Yi Commandery. That was why he remained on the ship.

    ¡°Sir Sang truly is self-disciplined,¡± Gao Ying said in admiration after they left the ship.

    ¡°He wouldn¡¯t have made such a name for himself a few years ago if that weren¡¯t the case. So many officials in the court feared him and secretly called him ¡®Tiger Sang¡¯,¡± Pei You added.

    Zu An thought, As expected. He had experienced Sang Hong¡¯s methods firsthand back in Brightmoon City. This man either held back or struck decisively. If not for the fact that the Chu n had its own army, they would have long since been wiped out.

    He suddenly noticed that their group was walking farther and farther away from the city. He was confused and asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t we going into the city?¡±

    ¡°What kind of fun is there in the city? I¡¯ll bring you guys to a ce that¡¯s actually interesting,¡± Gao Ying said with a mysterious smile.

 Chapter 968: Money-Squandering Establishment

    <h4>Chapter 968: Money-Squandering Establishment</h4>

    Zu An waspletely stunned. Pei You asked exactly what he had been wondering. ¡°What¡¯s fun to do in the outskirts? The city is more lively, right?¡± The northern girls¡¯ beautiful legs were clearly still on his mind.

    Gao Ying exined, ¡°There¡¯s nothing special in the city. The truly good stuff is actually outside. Don¡¯t worry, your big bro here wouldn¡¯t lie to you.¡±

    Pei You knew that Gao Ying had always been a rather prudent guy, and that he never spoke carelessly. That was why he didn¡¯t think too much about it.

    Zu An frowned and said, ¡°I want to make a trip around the ck market first, so I won¡¯t be going with you guys to that kind of ce.¡±

    He didn¡¯t have much interest in brothels. After all, thedies at his side were all the most stunning women in this world. How could brothel girlspare to them? This world didn¡¯t even use condoms or other forms of protection. What if he ended up getting infected by something?

    Wait, with the Primordial Origin Sutra¡¯s purification abilities, I don¡¯t think I have to be worried about any sickness though.

    Pah pah pah, what the hell am I thinking about? My goal today is to see if I can find any materials for Daji¡¯s breakthrough!

    Gao Ying said with a smile, ¡°If brother Zu wishes to go to the ck market, that¡¯s even more reason for you to follow us. Not only does that ce have gorgeous girls, they also have a casino there, as well as thergest ck market within a thousand miles. It¡¯s a well known money-squandering establishment.¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An immediately understood. This was a super entertainmentplex! He hadn¡¯t expected the people of this world to be so good at having fun too. Since it was where the biggest ck market was, there was obviously no reason for him to refuse anymore.

    ¡­

    The group arrived at a small town by the city outskirts. The town didn¡¯t have many people, and as the cold breeze swept through the scattered leaves on the ground, it made the ce seem rather bleak. It was just like the small remote towns Zu An had seen before in his previous world.

    ¡°That huge establishment you were talking about is in this kind of ce?¡± Pei You had a doubtful expression when he saw the scene.

    Gao Ying didn¡¯t bother exining anything as he walked over to a worn out tea hut. There were practically no guests inside, and there were only a few tables. The boss was lying in a chair with his legs casually propped up on the table.

    There were a few cups of tea left behind by previous guests on the table. The teacups were the crudest of y bowls, with many bumps and nicks on them. The leftover tea inside was somewhat yellow and turbid, clearly the lowest grade of tea. Furthermore, there was even a fly swimming inside one of the cups!

    ¡°Absolutely ridiculous!¡± Pei You tugged on Gao Ying¡¯s sleeves. ¡°There¡¯s no way you¡¯re nning to drink tea here, right?¡± He came from a distinguished n and had enjoyed a life of extravagance ever since he was little. Ordinary tea wouldn¡¯t even catch his eye, let alone this kind of tea.

    Gao Ying chuckled and didn¡¯t reply. He chose a table to sit down at, then called out to the resting shop owner, ¡°Boss, you have some guests.¡±

    Pei You¡¯s eyes widened. He quickly whispered to Zu An, ¡°Brother Zu, why aren¡¯t you saying anything? Don¡¯t tell me you want to drink tea in this kind of ce too?¡± Didn¡¯t we agree on checking out the northern babes?!

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°Calm down. Brother Gao has always been reliable, so I believe he isn¡¯t trying to fool us.¡± Then, he sat down as well.

    Pei You gave the mysterious stains on the chairs a look. They were so shiny they almost looked like some kind of sauce¡­ In the end, he didn¡¯t sit down.

    Gao Ying smiled toward him and said, ¡°Look at how calm brother Zu is. You should change that temperament of yours.¡±

    Pei You scowled. When he saw that the boss of the shop still hadn¡¯t budged an inch, he erupted into anger. ¡°Shop owner, we already called out to you several times, so why aren¡¯t you moving? Who does business like this?¡±

    The shop boss finally removed the cloth that was covering his eyes and blocking the sunlight. He replied, ¡°What are you being so noisy for? Are you in that much of a rush to reincarnate?¡±

    Zu An noticed that he looked just like an ordinarymoner, and he couldn''t sense any cultivation fluctuations from the man. Don¡¯t tell me I was wrong? But why would an ordinary civilian do this kind of business?

    Pei You¡¯s expression turned cold. ¡°What did you say?!¡± When had he ever been angered so badly before? He was just about to teach the other party a lesson when Gao Ying stopped him.

    ¡°Boss, we aren¡¯t in a rush to reincarnate, but rather in a rush to drink some of your tea,¡± Gao Ying said.

    That shop owner¡¯s expression eased a bit when he heard that. He asked, ¡°Then where did you alle from? We¡¯re pretty well known for our tea, and people visit from all sorts of different ces.¡±

    Pei You sneered. He was just about to mock the tea for being shoddy when he suddenly realized something. Gao Ying was usually steadfast and didn¡¯t like making too many jokes. That meant he was only saying those words because he had to.

    Furthermore, they were all dressed in fine clothing, and they were cultivators as well. They naturally gave off a certain level of pressure, and yet the peasant-like man wasn¡¯t scared of them at all. The situation was definitely not normal. He calmed down when he realized that. He decided to watch the situation from one side.

    He noticed Zu An¡¯s leisurely expression out of the corner of his eye. He immediately felt ashamed. Brother Zu is a giant among men after all; I really can¡¯tpare to him in this aspect.

    Gao Ying then replied, ¡°May I dare ask the boss what kinds of tea you have here?¡±

    The boss stuck out his chest and said proudly, ¡°We have every kind you would want. It just depends on what our guests would like to purchase.¡±

    Gao Ying replied with a smile, ¡°I would like some After Snow Sparrowtongue Tea.¡±

    The shop owner replied, ¡°Customer, I¡¯m afraid that I must tell you that you¡¯re an amateur. Before Rain Sparrowtongue Tea is top quality stuff, and After Raines second. There¡¯s no such thing as After Snow. Where would you find tea after snow?¡±

    Gao Ying didn¡¯t get upset and continued, ¡°Then I want some Volcanic Blue Gown Tea, and it must be from the mother tree next to the volcanicva stream.¡±

    The shop boss shook his head and replied, ¡°This customer must be joking. The best Blue Gown Teaes from the mother tree on Heaven¡¯s Core Cliff. As for volcanoes andva, I¡¯ve never heard of it before.¡±

    Gao Ying then said, ¡°Then I want some Biluochun Green Tea, and it must be one that has gone through a hundred and eight thousand turns.¡±

    Sparrowtongue, Blue Gown, and Biluochun were all the most well-known teas of this world. Among them, Biluochun Green Tea was the one that required the most work to create. While being stirred in a pot, it needed to be kneaded while it was being roasted. All of the leaves would be kneaded into a small lump, then scattered again. After the process was repeated many times, it would be rolled into long hair-like strands.

    A single jin of those tea leaves needed ten thousand tender shoots, so the grade of the tea depended on the number of turns. The higher the number, the higher the grade.

    That shop owner¡¯s expression darkened when he heard that. ¡°The best Biluochun Green Tea of this world has only experienced sixty-four thousand turns; where would you find one that has undergone a hundred and eight thousand turns? Did youe here to make fun of me?¡±

    Pei You became nervous when he saw the shop owner be angry, ready to offer his help at any time. Meanwhile, Zu An was still calm. He silently memorized the conversation. This really was an entirely new experience! Even though he had crammed to learn quite a bit of this world¡¯s knowledge, it had mainly been focused on matters of cultivation, history, and geography. In such normal lifestyle matters, he couldn¡¯tpare to these young masters at all.

    Gao Ying¡¯s tone also changed. He replied, ¡°You said you would have anything we wanted. I stated a few kinds, and yet you didn¡¯t have a single one of them?¡±

    The shop owner sneered. ¡°You¡¯re clearly just a pretentious snob. My store doesn¡¯t wee you. That Purple Tea Pavilion over there is more suited to people like you. Get out of here, go, go.¡± He chased the three of them out of his tea shop.

    Pei You was shocked. ¡°Brother Gao, this is the result after all of that?¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°I believe brother Gao has already told them all of the keywords.¡±

    Gao Ying said with a smile, ¡°Brother Zu has incredible foresight after all! Indeed, that tea shop is nothing more than a cover. Even though he appeared angry, he knew that we had already said what we needed to say and pointed us to the next ce.¡±

    Pei You sighed in amazement. ¡°No wonder that tea house didn¡¯t seem like it had any business. So it was just there to chase away unwanted customers to avoid trouble.¡±

    The three of them arrived at the Purple Tea Pavilion the other party had spoken of while chatting. The ce looked much nicer, and its owner was dressed like a local moneybags. He immediately greeted them enthusiastically when he saw their arrival. ¡°What do these guests wish to order?¡±

    Pei You clicked his tongue. This person¡¯s enthusiasm was like night and daypared to thest person.

    Gao Ying replied, ¡°I want Sparrowtongue.¡±

    The shopkeeper said with a smile, ¡°We have all kinds of seasons of Sparrowtongue. We even have After Snow Sparrowtongue.¡±

    Gao Ying continued, ¡°I also want Blue Gown.¡±

    ¡°No problem. I¡¯ll prepare some from the volcanic mother tree,¡± the shopkeeper replied.

    Gao Ying continued, ¡°Biluochun as well.¡±

    ¡°Absolutely. We even have some hundred and eight thousand turns Biluochun.¡± The shopkeeper¡¯s eyes were about to be slits from how widely he was smiling.

    ¡°The goods?¡± Gao Ying reached out his hand.

    The shopkeeper revealed an apologetic smile and said, ¡°I apologize, my esteemed guests, but the goods are too precious. I must trouble sirs toe with us to the warehouse.¡± He took out some vouchers while talking. ¡°Please visit the corner of the street and present this voucher. There will be people who will bring you to the warehouse to pick up the goods.¡±

    Gao Ying nodded. He took the vouchers and walked toward the end of the street. Zu An was surprised and asked, ¡°Is there a need to be that careful? It almost feels like some secret service base.¡±

    Gao Ying exined, ¡°This kind of ce isn¡¯t allowed by the court, so they have no choice but to be more careful.¡±

    Zu An nodded. He became more and more curious about the ce. Perhaps he might really be able to get something he needed here.

 Chapter 969: Hub of Freedom

    <h4>Chapter 969: Hub of Freedom</h4>

    The group quickly passed the corner and arrived by the carriage waiting area. What awaited them there was an extremely ordinary and tattered carriage. The driver¡¯s fingernails were filled with dirt, and the smell of horse manure filled the air.

    Pei You subconsciously frowned. He really couldn''t associate such a sloppy ce with the entertainment district Gao Ying had spoken of. However, Gao Ying didn¡¯t pay the driver any attention and went straight in.

    The boss inside was drinking some wine. He didn¡¯t pay them much attention when they came in. But when Gao Ying took out the vouchers he had previously received from Purple Tea Pavilion, the boss immediately became serious and said, ¡°Sirs, this way please.¡±

    He had his subordinates take over for him, then led them to the rear courtyard. In the courtyard were two carriages. Behind them were many trees and even some flowers Zu An didn¡¯t recognize. The air there was much fresher.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The horses were clearly of a higher grade, and their manes werebed nicely and tidily. Their bellies were full, indicating that they were well-fed. These were horses that had been raised carefully,pletely different from the horses outside.

    But the carriages were even more eye-catching. They weren¡¯t like ordinary carriages; they had no windows, and looked more likerge metal pots.

    The boss walked over and said, ¡°Everyone can see that all of our carriages are first-rate, and so the fare will naturally be different as well.¡±

    ¡°I wonder how much that is?¡± Gao Ying asked.

    The boss stretched out three fingers and said, ¡°Three taels of gold, three taels of silver.¡±

    Pei You frowned. This guy is a freaking robber! Not even the best carriages in the capital are this expensive! But he knew that the conversation was probably just another coded message, so he forcefully endured the urge tosh out.

    Zu An had a strange expression as he thought, What kind of rtionship do you have with the Heaven and Earth Society¡­[1]

    Gao Ying shook his head and said, ¡°A carriage as great as this is worth more than that, so we¡¯ll take this carriage. You don¡¯t need to call over any other guests. Every one of us will pay you five taels of gold and five taels of silver.¡±

    The boss immediately gave him a big thumbs up and said, ¡°Our guests today really are outstanding heroes. I wonder what you all do for a living?¡±

    Gao Ying replied, ¡°I rely on the four famous mountains; my friendse from ces with golden and silver mountains. My loyalty to my friends is as sturdy as Mount Ding; a meeting with my friends is like a trip to Mount Liang.¡±

    Mount Ding was a grand and towering mountain in this world. The sacrificial offerings of the court¡¯s officials would often be conducted there. It was simr to Mount Tai in the mythology of Zu An¡¯s previous world.

    As for Mount Liang, it was a ce where great heroes gathered. It was a ce that symbolized loyalty and brotherhood.

    A polite smile immediately appeared on the boss¡¯ face when he heard that. He quickly produced a pile of masks and said to the three of them, ¡°Esteemed guests, please choose a mask to wear.¡±

    Zu An realized that they had already changed from being ¡®guests¡¯ to ¡®esteemed guests¡¯, and the tone the other party used had be much more respectful. The other party had probably already approved of their identities.

    Pei You frowned. ¡°What is the meaning of this?¡±

    The boss exined with a smile, ¡°The ce you¡¯re about to go to is one where it isn¡¯t convenient to show your face around. In order to ensure the safety of all of the guests, everyone wears a mask to hide their identities.¡±

    ¡°Interesting.¡± Zu An chuckled. He picked a fox-shaped mask and put it on. When he thought of Daji, he suddenly felt a strange sense of intimacy with foxes.

    Gao Ying chose a tiger mask. Seeing that the other two had already chosen masks, even though Pei You was still confused, he chose one as well. The one he chose was a white ghost mask.

    Zu An couldn''t help but chuckle. This was an outwardly cold and gloomy, but inwardly passionate young man after all. The mask matched his nature really well.

    After the three of them entered the carriage, there was a loud bang as the door was closed from the outside. Then, a faint light began shining above them. Upon closer inspection, there were actually some small luminescent beads above their heads.

    Pei You said with a sigh of admiration, ¡°How extravagant; they actually used luminescent beads to light up the inside of a carriage!¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°It¡¯s probably because they had no choice. This entire ce is enclosed without letting even a strand of light in. They had to add some luminescent beads in order to not make the guests inside feel as if they were being locked up in a jail cell.¡±

    Pei You couldn''t help but feel surprised. He examined the ce on his own and saw that sure enough, there wasn¡¯t even a single crack. He tried to spread out his senses through ki, but his expression quickly changed. He eximed, ¡°My ki can¡¯t leave this ce; I can¡¯t sense anything outside!¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to worry,¡± Gao Ying exined. ¡°The carriage itself has special sealing runes engraved on it, specially designed to iste the auras of cultivators. It¡¯s to prevent people from finding out the path to the Hub of Freedom.¡±

    A sealed carriage could only block the sight of ordinary people. Cultivators could use their auras to sense their surroundings, so that was why the Hub of Freedom needed such two-fold insurance.

    Zu An tried it out himself. Sure enough, his aura couldn''t pass through the carriage either. He suddenly thought of something and tried to use his jade badge ability. Soon afterward, a strange scene entered his view. Trees fell away rapidly behind them, as well as the ground.

    Zu An was happy. If he wanted to control some creatures of lower intelligence, the best targets were naturally the horses that pulled the carriage. He hadn¡¯t expected the jade badge¡¯s ability to be able to break through the sealed carriage!

    As for the strange scene he saw, it was because of the horse¡¯s point of view. Ever since he had obtained the jade badge, he had seen things from all sorts of different angles, with the most exaggerated being thepound eyes of a fly. There had been countless pocket-sized scenes packed together, carrying enough information to make his head explode.

    ¡°What if they had some bad intentions?¡± Pei You asked worriedly. They were in apletely sealed carriage, so they had no idea what was going on outside. It really was way too dangerous.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, they have their reputation to uphold. Nothing bad will happen,¡± Gao Ying consoled him.

    Zu An said with a chuckle, ¡°Brother Gao, it looks like you¡¯re a veteran in this field. With your nature, I didn¡¯t expect you to be someone who frequented this kind of ce. Why do you know this path so well?¡±

    Gao Ying sighed. ¡°It¡¯s because I came here with Liu Yao in the past. You two know that he was never too interested in cultivation, but he was a master in these areas. I was traveling with him and had to watch over him, so I ended up experiencing some stuff myself.¡±

    Zu An thought, No wonder. However, when the three of them recalled Liu Yao¡¯s sacrifice in the dungeon, the atmosphere in the carriage suddenly became strange.

    The carriage eventually stopped. Pei You was nervous and expectant at the same time, asking, ¡°Are we there?¡±

    ¡°I think there¡¯s still a bit more to go.¡± Gao Ying had experience in the matter.

    Zu An saw the exterior through the horse¡¯s view. They had ended up entering an area filled with unmanaged tombs. Crows flew past from time to time. Together with the will-o¡¯-the-wisps and the fog that filled the ce, the atmosphere was incredibly sinister and frightening.

    He sighed in praise. The ce they had chosen really was great. Ordinary people wouldn¡¯t dare to approach, and the authorities would never expect that someone would build an entertainment district right by an abandoned graveyard.

    The carriage stopped in front of aparativelyrge mound. Then, an opening suddenly appeared in the mound, and the carriage slowly drove forward. After they passed through a long tunnel, the world suddenly lit up. The driver said from the front of the carriage, ¡°Esteemed guests, we have arrived.¡±

    The carriage doors opened with a crash. The three inside exchanged a look, then got off the carriage one after another.

    Soon, several maids came out to greet them. These maids wore masks as well, but their masks only covered their eyes, leaving their noses and enticing red lips exposed.

    The maids were dressed in rather revealing outfits that would make even ordinary brothel women flush red from embarrassment and anger. Their outfits didn¡¯t have much material, and they were transparent as well, only covering the most important areas. The maids¡¯ slender and graceful waists were visible, as well as their long and fair legs.

    Zu An felt a mysterious sense of familiarity. He felt as if he had returned to his previous world, where the girls were all dressed in bunny suits.

    Pei You¡¯s eyes immediately widened when he saw how skimpily the maids were dressed, as well as the flirtatious way they walked. When had he ever seen something like that? ¡°Northern babes have long legs after all! The rumors werepletely true!¡±

    ¡°Young masters, this way, please!¡± The maids greeted them in order, their voices extremely sweet.

    1. The Heaven and Earth Society is the name of a secret fraternal society, but the name is more poprly associated with the Triad gangs in modern China and Hong Kong. ?

 Chapter 970: Most Distinguished Guest

    <h4>Chapter 970: Most Distinguished Guest</h4>

    When he saw the lively and fresh beauties before him, the dissatisfaction Pei You had felt during this journey instantly vanished. He instead showered Gao Ying in praise. ¡°Brother Gao is reliable after all! Following you was the correct choice.¡±

    Gao Ying couldn''t help but say, ¡°You were staring daggers at me the entire time here. Now, you know what I was doing, right?¡±

    Pei You chuckled in embarrassment. ¡°This little brother is still young and naive. I¡¯ve learned a lot today.¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t have much of an interest in the maids. The girls from his previous world wore even less to swimming pools. This was only enough to get those without any experience going. He immediately felt a sense of superiority when he thought of that.

    Since Gao Ying had been there before, and they didn¡¯t want others to hear what they were saying either, they didn¡¯t have any maids apany them.

    The maids couldn''t help but feel a bit disappointed. Even though they all wore masks, they could tell that these young masters were exceptional. Furthermore, the three men were all tall and strong-looking, making them much more appealing than most of the guests they usually received.

    They had all been full of excitement, wondering which one of them would be chosen. Not only would they make quite a bit of service charge, serving such a guest was a kind of pleasure in itself. However, all of them had experienced strict training and didn¡¯t reveal any of their emotions on the surface. They left after a slight bow.

    ¡­

    The group soon arrived at a ce filled with dazzling gold and jade. Everything was brightly lit, the previous dim atmosphere nowhere to be seen. The various shining lights made Zu An feel as if he had arrived at one of those Macau casinos he had seen on tv. As expected, the rich do the same simple things for fun!

    The people on this floor were flushed red with excitement, their eyes all somewhat bloodshot. Zu An could tell it was a casino even without Gao Ying¡¯s introduction.

    Zu An noticed that the chips used on the table were all quite sizable in amount. The lowest value chip was worth a thousand taels of silver. No wonder Gao Ying had said that the ones who yed here were all the wealthiest folk. How could ordinary people withstand this level of squandering?

    Many people present had maids in their arms. The maids yed with their guests with charming smiles on their faces. Pei You¡¯s eyes widened when he saw that, and he eximed, ¡°Rotten, degenerate, simply offending public morals!¡±

    Gao Ying immediately exposed him and remarked, ¡°You¡¯re saying you wish you were them, right?¡±

    Pei You chuckled in embarrassment. ¡°Why would I like something so vulgar? I need someone of courtesan queen level at the very least, right?¡±

    Gao Ying replied, ¡°There¡¯s an Immortal Flower Park upstairs, and every single courtyard there has a girl at the courtesan queen level. Furthermore, there are even youngdies from the fiend races and the southern border. Of course, it¡¯ll depend on whether or not you have the skills to make those girls serve you.¡±

    Pei You raised his head and stuck out his chest, boasting, ¡°What a joke! Girls immediately gopletely weak when they see me.¡± After saying that, he asked Zu An, ¡°Brother Zu, where are you nning to go?¡±

    He was always the center of attention because of his family background and looks. Unfortunately, if there was a freaking superstar like Zu An right next to him, he really couldn¡¯t have as much confidence that those girls would choose him.

    Zu An shook his head with a smile. He wasn¡¯t all that interested in the pleasure quarters.

    ¡°Why doesn¡¯t brother Zu have some fun on the first floor? You can gamble for anything here, and in all kinds of different ways,¡± Gao Ying said with a smile. ¡°I heard that brother Zu won a few million in Brightmoon City with just ten taels of silver; you¡¯re simply the reincarnation of the gambling deity! How about you show them some of your skills here too? The house is made up of good-for-nothings anyway and deserves some losses.¡±

    ¡°You won a few million taels with just ten taels of silver?¡± Pei You¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Brother Gao, you¡¯re joking, right?¡±

    ¡°You can go back and ask Sir Sang if you don¡¯t believe me. He was the governor of that area back then,¡± Gao Ying said.

    Pei You looked at Zu An for confirmation. Zu An said with an apologetic expression, ¡°It¡¯s all exaggerated. I actually started with more than ten taels of silver.¡±

    Pei You was speechless. What the hell are you trying to say? Doesn¡¯t that mean you really did win two million taels of silver? F*ck, I really don¡¯t feel special anymore standing around this guy.

    He had always been the best among his peers growing up. Yet only after he met Zu An did he realize just howrge the world was. If the other party was only a bit better than him, he might feel the motivation to catch up. But the gap between them was so big that it was enough to leave him in despair. He felt nothing but admiration at this point.

    ¡°Brother Zu, why don¡¯t you give it a try? Let us see your incredible style for ourselves.¡± Pei You¡¯s eyes were shining. Even his desire for northern girls was momentarily forgotten.

    Zu An shook his head, saying, ¡°Forget it, I don¡¯t have much interest in these things. I have some other things to take care of today too.¡± He headed straight upstairs afterward. He didn¡¯t have a Luck Pill anymore, so wouldn¡¯t he just be embarrassing himself if he went now?

    However, his words were instead enough to convince his twopanions. He doesn¡¯t even think moneyying around is worth picking up? Just when will I be able to reach this level?

    Even though the two of them were from outstanding ns, even a n like the Chu n had almost suffered a crisis because of money, so who would refuse extra money? Even the smallest gambling chip here was worth a thousand taels, so if one really won, they would win at at least ten million!N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Brother Zu truly is deep and immeasurable.¡± Gao Ying sighed in amazement.

    When can I be like him¡­ Pei You thought to himself that this level of boasting was something he couldn''t learn even if he wanted to.

    The two quickly followed Zu An up to the second floor. Compared to the first floor, the second floor¡¯s lighting was much dimmer. But it was precisely that which created a more charming and gentle atmosphere. The sweet scent in the air and the gorgeously dressed youngdies in front of the different courtyards were difficult for any man to refuse.

    Pei You said with a sigh, ¡°Even the girls by the entrance are so pretty; doesn¡¯t that mean that the girls inside are on a whole different level?¡±

    Unlike the maids below, these girls didn¡¯t cover their faces with masks. They were pretty, and all of them were beauties whom countless men would yearn for day and night in the outside world.

    When he saw that Pei You¡¯s eyes were almost glowing, Zu An said with a smile, ¡°I¡¯ll go upstairs on my own. Brother Gao and brother Pei should have some fun here. After all, we shouldn¡¯t waste our time.¡±

    Gao Ying wanted to go up with him, but after thinking for a bit, he realized the attendants were present and the other party¡¯s cultivation was high. There wasn¡¯t a high chance of anything bad happening. As such, he cupped his hands and said, ¡°Then we¡¯ll meet again tomorrow morning!¡±

    Pei You obviously went to find a northern girl that suited his fancy, while Gao Ying decided to go back down to the first floor to y a bit.

    Zu An continued upward. He was amazed by what he saw. The small mound they had entered shouldn¡¯t be thisrge! Could it be that the mountain in the back had been hollowed out? He really wondered who had built something like this. It was definitely no small project.

    Unlike the three floors below, the third floor had many men standing guard, examining every guest who came and went. Their auras seemed to be around the fifth or sixth rank, but that was already quite something. After all, the normal imperial guards at the capital were only at the fifth rank!

    Zu An was quickly stopped by someone. That person wore a mask, but Zu An could tell he was a middle-aged man. His cultivation was a level higher than the other guards too. The man asked, ¡°I am one of the managers of the third floor. Does our guest wish to y on the third floor?¡±

    ¡°Indeed.¡± Zu An spoke confidently and calmly.

    ¡°Due to the special nature of the third floor, we need some advance payment as a deposit. I hope that sir does not take offense to that.¡± The manager showed Zu An a professional smile.

    ¡°How much?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°A hundred thousand silvers. We take silver notes, and we also take precious items as assets for coteral. We have people specialized in appraisal here,¡± the manager said in a considerate manner. After all, there weren¡¯t many people who brought that much cash with them.

    ¡°A hundred thousand?¡± Zu An thought to himself, No wonder this ce is known as a money squandering ce. They really don¡¯t treat money like money!

    He thought about using silver notes, but when he thought about how he still had to use those notes to buy materials, he changed his mind. He took out a sapphire gemstone the size of a pigeon egg and asked, ¡°Is this enough?¡± It was one of the items he had found in the red dragon¡¯s treasury back in Brightmoon City.

    The manager¡¯s eyes widened when he saw the gemstone in Zu An¡¯s hands. His smile also became more sincere as he replied, ¡°Of course it is. This is a chrysanthemum sapphire only found in the southern inds, and at its size, it can sell for over a hundred thousand silvers at the very least. If you are lucky, you can even sell it for more than two hundred thousand. I wonder if this esteemed guest is willing to have this item auctioned in our humble auction. We have quite a few guests today, so we promise that we can sell it at a price that will satisfy your respected self.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. And asked, ¡°We can even give you things to sell?¡± The red dragon loved to collect all kinds of shiny things. He didn¡¯t expect it to have run all the way south for the sapphire.

    The manager replied, ¡°But of course. The third floor is a secure location for various distinguished guests to conduct business deals. Many guests have precious items they wish to sell, but selling the items in private exchanges would bring many misgivings, and they might not even find something they are really interested in. That is why our Hub of Freedom provides this service. Of course, we will take a small service charge. With so many guests gathered from all kinds of different ces, there is a high chance that everyone will find something they are looking for.¡±

    ¡°Sure, help me auction this thing off then.¡± Zu An didn¡¯t think this kind of gemstone would be too useful to him. It was something some upper-ss women were fond of. He might as well sell it and buy some things he needed for cultivation.

    The manager handed him a jade tile with a big smile; it was marked with the number ¡®333¡¯. He said, ¡°Esteemed guest, please keep this with you. This jade token is provided to the Hub of Freedom¡¯s most distinguished guests. If you see anything in the auction that you are fond of, you can raise this jade token to bid. Furthermore, with this jade token, any other expenses in the Hub of Freedom today will be free of charge. If you visit any other Hub of Freedom locations, you will also enjoy the highest level of treatment.¡±

    An ear-piercing voice spoke up from behind them just then. ¡°I say, isn¡¯t your Hub of Freedom giving out these jade tokens willy-nilly now? I almost thought these jade tiles were pretty rare, but they now seem like something you can pick up off the streets.¡±

 Chapter 971: Too Arrogant

    <h4>Chapter 971: Too Arrogant</h4>

    Zu An looked at the jade token in his hands. It was probably equivalent to the ce¡¯s highest VIP status. Reaching such a level was obviously not easy. Meanwhile, his number was 333, meaning that there weren¡¯t many others of simr status.

    Furthermore, when he heard that from that manager¡¯s tone and how there were other Hub of Freedom locations, he had just been about to sigh in admiration toward their influence and size when he heard the mocking voice ridiculing him.

    When Zu An turned around, he saw a group of people standing on the stairs. The one in the lead was a young man with a sneer on his face. It was such a cold day, yet he had a fan in his hands. This man was definitely a culture snob.

    The worst part was that he didn¡¯t even look all that suave and confident. Even though he had a mask on, Zu An could still see that he had dead fish eyes. They didn¡¯t look all that intelligent, and he was leaning on the railing in a sloppy manner, making his character seem even more wretched.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An sensed his aura roughly with ki. The other individual¡¯s cultivation was only around the fifth rank. As such, he didn¡¯t pay the snob any more attention after a single nce, and instead looked at the elder behind him. The elder¡¯s presence was steady, and the ki fluctuations he radiated were around the seventh rank. He could barely be considered a powerful cultivator.

    As for the followers behind him, they were only around the third or fourth rank, with even some non-cultivators among them. They were clearly servants. These people wouldn¡¯t be anything special in a ce like the capital, but they were already quite the force in these local areas. They would be enough to even wipe out some smaller scale sects.

    When he heard the remark, the manager said politely, ¡°The esteemed guests of the Hub of Freedom are all of an appraised standard. This young master has satisfied the conditions, so he naturally deserves a jade token.¡±

    The dead fish-eyed man snorted coldly. He was about to say something, but the elder whispered something behind him. Then, perhaps out of fear of the Hub of Freedom¡¯s influence, he didn¡¯t say anything else. He turned around and saw Zu An. As if sensing the contempt in Zu An¡¯s eyes, he felt incredibly annoyed. His dead fish eyes widened and he eximed, ¡°What are you looking at?¡±

    Zu Anughed inwardly. He hadn¡¯t expected someone else to use his own skill against him! As such, he gave the appropriate response without any hesitation. ¡°I¡¯m staring at you, shithead!¡±

    The dead fish-eyed man¡¯s chest rose and fell rapidly; he was clearly furious. ¡°Very good¡­ It¡¯s already been a long time since anyone dared to speak to this young master like that.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Sun Ji for +222 +222 +222¡­

    Sun Ji? Zu An racked his brain, because the name seemed a bit familiar. He said, ¡°Hah, I almost thought you were King Yan¡¯s heir or something from how arrogantly you were acting. I wonder where a random beggar like you came from.¡±

    The heir of King Yan would obviously be surnamed Zhao. There was no chance of it being the man in front of him. He had just reflected on hisziness in acquiring Rage points recently. Now was such a good chance, so he obviously had to do some proper farming.

    Sure enough, the dead fish-eyed man immediately erupted with rage. ¡°You¡¯ve sessfully angered this young master! You¡¯ll soon pay the price.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Sun Ji for +444 +444 +444¡­

    The manager had a surprised look on his face. He gave Zu An another look. How does this person know the young master isn¡¯t King Yan¡¯s heir? Everyone is wearing masks! Could it be that he¡¯s close to King Yan¡¯s heir?

    But that¡¯s not right¡­ If he really is close to King Yan, there¡¯s no way he wouldn¡¯t recognize the young master!

    Zu An gave the other party a mocking look. ¡°Did you make it this far in life just by relying on that mouth of yours?¡±

    ¡°You!¡± The dead fish-eyed man pointed at Zu An. The skin around his neck was turning red from anger.

    You have sessfully trolled Sun Ji for +682 +682 +682¡­

    The elder stepped forward just then as well. He remarked sternly, ¡°Youngster, did your parents not teach you that a loose tongue may cause trouble?¡±

    Zu An said indifferently, ¡°Old man, if you¡¯re old, you should stay home and raise your grandson properly. If you hop around blindly outside, any legacy you¡¯ve built up might just get washed away.¡±

    The elder narrowed his eyes. ¡°Reaching six ranks of cultivation at your age is quite excellent, and so you must have lived your life quite arrogantly. Unfortunately, this experienced one will offer you some advice. There will always be someone better than you, so it would be best to not behave too pridefully outside. Ever since ancient times, there has been nock of geniuses who came to a premature end.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Yang Long for +280 +280 +280¡­

    He had clearly observed Zu An¡¯s cultivation beforehand in secret. When he sensed that Zu An¡¯s cultivation was only at the sixth rank, he immediately rxed. The threatening implication behind his words was clear.

    However, even though he was trying to intimidate Zu An, this youngster had been able to reach the sixth rank at such a young age, so he might have some kind of family background. That was why he held back for the time being, settling for warning him to back out of the awkward situation.

    Zu An picked his ear a bit, then flicked the earwax away. ¡°As expected, if the owner is like this, the dog won¡¯t be much different. You¡¯re all too scared to fight and only know how to bark.¡±

    The manager watching from off to the side was speechless. This person looked rather refined and cultured just now; why does he now seem as if he¡¯s really good at starting trouble? The other side is probably about to explode from anger, right?

    The elder named Yang Long turned away, as if to avoid the intangible verbal attack. Hisplexion waspletely ashen.

    Mister dead fish eyes turned around to look at the Hub of Freedom¡¯s manager, asking, ¡°By what qualification was he able to obtain your business¡¯ jade token?¡±

    The manager took out a pigeon-sized sapphire. ¡°This chrysanthemum sapphire is just too rare and precious¡­¡±

    He was cut off by the dead fish-eyed man before he even finished his sentence. ¡°Hah, and here I thought it was someone crazy influential! So it was just an upstart who relied on a shoddy gemstone. Elder Yang, out of respect for the Hub of Freedom, spare his life. It¡¯ll be enough as long as you cut off his tongue.¡±

    Those who were watching from the surroundings shivered. Having one¡¯s tongue cut off might even be worse than death¡­ The worst part was that the man made it sound as if he were being merciful. Even though that youngster¡¯s words were harsh, there was no need for such harsh treatment, right?

    Of course, they all only cursed a bit silently. No one would step out in the name of justice in this kind of situation.

    Zu An was instead a bit surprised. Looks like this dead fish-eyed guy isn¡¯t just apletely ignorant spoiled brat after all! At the very least, he asked the manager about my background first.

    As for the other party¡¯s threat, he didn¡¯t care in the slightest. What kind of crazy schemes and drama hadn¡¯t he experienced before? Small fry like this couldn''t even produce the slightest ripple in his emotions. If it weren¡¯t because he needed to earn Rage points, he wouldn¡¯t have even bothered to say another sentence to them.

    The elder named Yang Long nodded. He took a step forward, and all of his ki fluctuations erupted, locking onto Zu An. ¡°Youngster, if you speak randomly outside your n, you have to pay the price for it.¡±

    The pressure immediately made many people whose cultivations were lower find it hard to breathe. They were all horrified. This was actually a seventh rank expert! It seemed this youngster was done for.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes narrowed. Just then, however, the Hub of Freedom manager stepped forward and stood between the two of them, saying, ¡°Young master Sun, please cease fighting here.¡±

    The observers began to whisper among themselves.

    ¡°Young master Sun? Which young master Sun?¡±

    ¡°How many young master Suns can there even be in Yi Commandery?¡±

    ¡°So it was Sun Xiang¡¯s young master. This youngster¡¯s future might really be finished.¡±

    ¡­

    Even though their whispers were soft, Zu An¡¯s cultivation was already extremely high and he heard everything clearly. He immediately realized who it was.

    The Sun Xiang they spoke of wasn¡¯t actually named Sun Xiang; rather, they were referring to the ¡®Xiang Minister¡¯, Sun Xun, who worked under King Yan. These local kings had their own small official courts, and they had all kinds of officials working in them. Of course, they were much smaller than the central court.

    The position of ¡®Xiang Minister¡¯ was that of second-inmand under King Yan. Sang Hong had already introduced the important officials underneath King Yan on the ship before they arrived, and this Minister Sun Xun was the one of highest importance. He was King Yan¡¯s greatest trusted aide and possessed tremendous status and authority in the area. No wonder his son was so arrogant.

    Mister dead fish eyes spoke up. ¡°What, are you trying to help him right now?¡±

    The manager shook his head. ¡°I am not helping anyone. I do not care what you do outside, but our Hub of Freedom has its own rules. Private conflicts are strictly forbidden here, let alone between fellow jade token-holding guests. If something ended up happening to him inside of our building, our reputation would bepletely ruined.¡±

    The dead fish-eyed man was about to say something else, but elder Yang Long had already withdrawn. He whispered quietly, ¡°Young master, the Hub of Freedom¡¯s background is deep and immeasurable. There is no need whatsoever to publicly engage in conflict with him here. Furthermore, the manager is implying that they will not care what we do once we leave. Why don¡¯t we¡­¡±

    Mister dead fish eyes nodded. ¡°Fine, then we¡¯ll show the Hub of Freedom some respect today.¡± Then, he turned around to give Zu An a sneer. ¡°We¡¯ll let you live a bit longer then.¡±

    However, once they were outside, it wasn¡¯t just going to be a tongue. Even though an ordinary person wouldn¡¯t be able to find out the identity of another masked guest, it was apletely different story with his influence.

    Zu An replied indifferently, ¡°You should be the one thankful that you got to keep your life.¡± He walked straight in afterward. He didn¡¯t feel like paying them any more attention.

    Mister dead fish eyes and the elder were both speechless.

    You have sessfully trolled Sun Ji for +666 +666 +666¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Yang Long for +666 +666 +666¡­

    Forget about them, even those in the surroundings began to whisper among themselves.

    The Hub of Freedom manager also frowned. He¡¯s way too arrogant¡­ Is this youngster already tired of living? He was fortunate enough to keep his life here. Shouldn¡¯t he try to be a bit more low-profile?

 Chapter 972: I Wanted to Hear a Certain Sound

    <h4>Chapter 972: I Wanted to Hear a Certain Sound</h4>

    ¡°I want to kill him!¡± The dead fish-eyed Sun Ji gave the elder a look.

    Elder Yang Long sent a voice transmission. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Our people will naturally find him once we leave the Hub of Freedom.¡±

    Only then did Sun Ji calm down a bit. He led his men inside as well.

    ¡­

    When both sides entered, the Hub of Freedom¡¯s guards gathered at the manager¡¯s side. One asked, ¡°Elder Wei, didn¡¯t you give out that jade token a bit too easily? Even though that piece of chrysanthemum sapphire is precious, I don¡¯t believe it¡¯s enough for the Hub of Freedom to treat him that well.¡± They clearly found it a bit hard to understand. They had ended up offending someone important from Yi Commandery all because of an arrogant youngster.

    The manager replied, ¡°Just a chrysanthemum sapphire alone would naturally not be enough, but such gemstones only exist in the mysterious inds of the southern seas. That is the territory of the ocean races, a ce ordinary people cannot possibly reach. I suspected that he might have an ocean race background, which was why I decided to make an exception and grant him a jade token in the hopes of starting a good rtionship with the ocean races.¡±

    The guard sighed and remarked, ¡°So what if he¡¯s from the ocean races? They might be superior in the sea, but they don¡¯t have much influence on the continents. Now that he¡¯s offended young master Sun, I fear that he might not be able to leave Yi Commandery alive.¡±

    The manager recalled how arrogant Zu An¡¯s words had been previously. He couldn''t help but frown as well. ¡°We have already done what we can. As for what will happen to him afterward, that is none of our Hub of Freedom¡¯s business.¡±

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An entered the gathering ce. Attendants quickly moved to receive him. Their expressions immediately became more respectful when they saw his jade token, and they led him into a private room. One said, ¡°Honored guest, when the auction startster, please raise your jade token if you ever see anything of interest. Our men will be able to see it.¡±

    Zu An gave the ce a look. Theyout was simr to that of a theater from his past world. The center of the ce below was where everyone would gather. The staff members were busily moving around, preparing the things that were going to be auctioned off.

    Many of the seats below had probably been prepared for ordinary guests. The highest level was made up of a row of private rooms, each containing a table and chairs made from precious wood. Soft sheep wool and cotton padding covered the chairs.

    Sandalwood incense burned in the corner. The cups and other chinaware were all on par with those of the imperial pce. Zu An felt more and more surprised by the depth of the business¡¯ background.

    A servant asked with a smile, ¡°Does the honored guest wish to drink tea or alcohol? We have all of the most popr beverages here.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll take a pot of Sparrowtongue then.¡± Zu An recalled the secret signal Gao Ying had used before and randomly ced an order.

    The servant nodded, then handed over another booklet. ¡°Did the honored guest see any girls you liked on the second floor? If you have any needs, you can call them up to service you. Sir is a most distinguished jade token guest, so you can summon any of the second floor courtesans as you wish.¡±

    Zu An took the booklet with a curious expression. He discovered that every single page was filled with pictures of stunning beauties. There were fresh and pure girls, and also lovely and charming girls. There were all sorts of beautiful women.

    The artists of this world were different from Ancient China¡¯s artists, who emphasized bold strokes rather than urate details. The images of the girls were vivid and lifelike, almost like photos. No,pared to photos, they actually looked even more realistic.

    Not only were the girls¡¯ portraits present, it even included more detailed introductions and lists of their unique strengths; for example, if they were good at the Xiao or other musical instruments.

    Zu An sighed in amazement. This ce really did go the extra mile! The soapy massage ces of his previous world would ask if one had a preferred masseur, but how the heck would one even know without even getting to see their face beforehand?

    ¡°There¡¯s no need.¡± Zu An closed the booklet and returned it to the servant. He wasn¡¯t too interested in prostitutes. Also, what if a girl was serving Pei You, but he identally called her up? That friendship would immediately be done for!

    ¡°If honored guest needs anything, please do not hesitate to contact me.¡± The servant didn¡¯t say anything else. He took the booklet and slowly withdrew.

    Zu An walked over to the windowside. He discovered that the design of the ce was quite well thought out. He could see everything clearly, but it was really hard for anyone outside to see inside the room. It provided a different kind of private ce within a public venue.

    His expression became somewhat strange. No wonder the servant had said he could call over any courtesan queen from the second floor. There were probably some people who liked this kind of public stimtion.

    He couldn''t see the situation inside the box clearly. He scanned through the entire ce and noticed that there were quite a few crouching tigers and hidden dragons present. There were many whose cultivation ranks were really high.

    His gazended on a skinny man whose entire body was wrapped in ck robes. That person seemed to have deliberately hidden his ki fluctuations, but with Zu An¡¯s current cultivation, he could still detect some of it. That person was eighth ranked at the very least.

    Apart from that, he even sensed a ninth ranked cultivator, but he couldn''t figure out where that person was. It seems to being from behind me, so it¡¯s probably a staff member of the Hub of Freedom. No wonder they¡¯re able to control this type of ce where crooks are mixed with honest folk.

    Even though Zu An had met his fair share of master rank cultivators, that had been in a turbulent yet flourishing ce like the capital. Where would anyone find master rank cultivators normally? The ninth rank was already the ceiling in the provincial regions. They could do whatever they wanted, wherever they went.

    Soon afterward, a beautiful hostess walked to the center of the auction hall. She was dressed in a tight-fitting dress simr to a cheongsam, and the way she walked was graceful and elegant. Even though there were many guests who had seen many beauties before, they still couldn''t help but give her a few more looks.

    ¡°This Hub of Freedom really knows what they¡¯re doing¡­¡± Zu An chuckled. Even though he didn¡¯t care too much about such girls, a beautiful girl was still something to be admired.

    The beauty introduced some of the auction¡¯s rules and the auction process with a sweet smile. A voice amplification system had probably been set up beforehand, because her normal speaking voice reached every corner of the room.

    The first item¡¯s auction quickly began. The hostess picked up an embroidered te. She undid the silk cloth over it, revealing a beautiful sapphire. She introduced the item. ¡°This top quality itemes from the mysterious inds of the southern seas¡­¡±

    After hearing her flowery description, even the original owner Zu An wasa bit hesitant to sell it. He muttered,¡°This woman would be a crazy TV saleswoman in my previous world!¡±

    Zu An hadn¡¯t expected the first item to be sold to be his own. It seemed the Hub of Freedom valued the gemstone quite highly.

    The starting bid was a hundred thousand taels of silver. Each bid had to be in increments of at least five thousand. Many offers were quickly made. Even though the gemstone wasn¡¯t all that useful to cultivation, itsdy-killing prowess was lethal. It would be extremely useful for courting girls.

    But once the price reached a hundred and fifty thousand, the bids slowed down, eventually bing a bidding war between just two or three people. After all, such a thing was useless for cultivation, and everyone had their own price estimates in mind.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Just then, a snide voice called out, ¡°Two hundred thousand!¡±

    Zu An frowned, because he could tell it was the voice of that dead fish-eyed man.

    The entire ce fell silent after that voice spoke up. This gemstone was precious, but two hundred thousand was clearly too high a price. Furthermore, there were quite a few people who knew the identity of the one who had made the bid, so they obviously didn¡¯t dare topete against him.

    ¡°Whichdy is young master Sun buying this to pursue?¡±

    ¡°I heard young master Sun was pursuing an exceptional beauty surnamed Qiu. I wonder if he¡¯s buying this for her¡­¡±

    ¡°It might not be; maybe he¡¯s just doing this to vent his anger. Just now, by the entrance¡­¡±

    Whispers quickly filled the air. What happened outside previously quickly spread through the crowd. So this was a battle between two jade token holders! Those present chewed on melon seeds with excited expressions as they watched the drama y out.

    Sun Ji was already standing by the window, enjoying the admiration and shocked expressions of those present. He loved the limelight the most, which was why he didn¡¯t mind revealing his identity even in a ce like this, where everyone wore masks to maintain privacy.

    Zu An thought to himself, Is this guy actually stupid? This guy doesn¡¯t get along with me, but he¡¯s giving me free money?

    A servant quickly brought the sapphire to Sun Ji¡¯s private room. Sun Ji fiddled around with the gemstone, then suddenly mmed it against the railing, instantly smashing it to pieces.

    Those present cried out in rm. Those from the Hub of Freedom also panicked and eximed, ¡°Young master, what are you doing?¡±

    Sun Ji replied, ¡°It¡¯s nothing; I bought it just to hear this sound. I¡¯ll still pay the money I need to pay.¡±

    Only when they heard that he was going to pay up did those from the Hub of Freedom sigh in relief. However, the onlookers were shocked. You spent two hundred thousand silver taels just to hear this sound? That¡¯s a bit too much, no?

    Those who didn¡¯t know who Sun Ji was quickly began to ask around.

    Even Elder Long frowned. He moved closer to Sun Ji and whispered quietly, ¡°Young master, this might be too much of a waste. The master might be upset if he hears about this.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine; we¡¯ll just get the money back from him once we leave the Hub of Freedom. I won¡¯t lose anything, and I¡¯ll be right in the limelight instead. Besides, that fellow definitely has a better one if he¡¯s selling this one. He¡¯s clearly a fat sheep waiting to be ughtered, so I¡¯ll just grab an even better one to give to Lady Qiu.¡± Sun Ji was honestly surprised at his own intelligence in this matter.

    Yang Long had a surprised expression. He thought to himself that he had underestimated the young master. Even though the young master was normally arrogant and bossy, he knew who he could and couldn''t offend well.

    For example, this youngster was clearly not someone well known in Yi Commandery. Judging from the gemstone he had brought out, he was most likely from the southern seas. Even if he was a serpent from the ocean races, he would still have to kneel in Yi Commandery.

    Yi Commandery¡¯s people were tough. It had the Devil Sect and bandits everywhere, so stories of rich merchants being plundered weremonce. That was something most of its inhabitants were aware of, but would never talk about. After all, living this kind of extravagant life wasn¡¯t possible with just the court¡¯s sry alone.

    As such, Yang Long didn¡¯t think too much about it and merely treated Zu An as a dead person.

    Sun Ji was bing more and more excited. He shot a provocative look in Zu An¡¯s direction. ¡°Someone seems to think a shoddy rock is enough to be on the same level as this young master. What a pity; your pride isn¡¯t even worth mentioning to me.¡±

    The onlookers had already realized that Sun Ji was purely acting out personal grudge. All of them were waiting to see how the guest in the other private room would respond. However, when they thought about the Sun n¡¯s authority, they all believed that person could only submit to the humiliation. It would already be quite good if he could leave the ce peacefully.

    But no one could have expected that the moment Sun Ji finished his sentence, a streak of dark light flew out, instantly smacking him in the face.

    A loud and clear ¡®Pah!¡¯ filled the air. Then, Sun Ji screamed miserably and fell on his back. By the time he finally managed to crawl to his feet again with great difficulty, his entire mouth was bloody and quite a few of his teeth had fallen out.

    Zu An reappeared at the entrance. He said with a smile, ¡°Sorry, I wanted to hear a certain sound too.¡±

 Chapter 973: Will It Respond If I Call Out to It?

    <h4>Chapter 973: Will It Respond If I Call Out to It?</h4>

    The onlookers were stupefied when they saw that scene. Just how many years had it been since direct conflict had happened in the Hub of Freedom? Furthermore, on one side was Minister Sun¡¯s son! Which outsider dared to face someone like that head on?

    Many people began to feel pity. He had offended Sun Ji in Yi Commandery. Unless one were the heir of King Yan himself, it was the same as lighting antern in a bathroom¡­ He was just tired of living.

    Some elders who were older immediately took the chance to warn their juniors. ¡°A bit of endurance and everything bes tranquil; take a step back and the heavens are clear. That youngster¡¯s actions might seem refreshing on the surface, but he will have to pay the price of his life. All of you should learn from his bad example.¡±

    Sun Ji¡¯s head was ringing as he heard people¡¯s discussions. He didn¡¯t realize what had happened even after some time passed. Only when he saw that there was something wrong with his mouth did he subconsciously spit some things out. Then, he saw some teeth had fallen out, and his hand was covered in blood.

    His first reaction was, ¡°I was hit?¡± He almost didn¡¯t dare to believe it. ¡°I was fucking hit?!¡±

    He finally realized what had happened. He erupted with fury. ¡°Motherf*cker, you¡¯re courting death!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Sun Ji for +799 +799 +799¡­

    He drew the de at his waist and flung it at Zu An with all of his strength. His attack was meant to kill, to end Zu An¡¯s life right there.

    Unfortunately, perhaps his cultivation wasn¡¯t high enough, or there was some invisible ki wall present; when that de approached Zu An¡¯s private room, it suddenly fell down. The people below quickly cried out and tried to move out of the way.

    Is that it? There were many guests who had been watching the drama with great interest, waiting to see some big sparks. And yet in the end, they hadn¡¯t expected Sun Ji to be so disappointing.

    If he hadn¡¯t managed to get his current cultivation because of his dad, he would¡¯ve died a long time ago already, many of the onlookers thought.

    Sun Ji didn¡¯t know what was going on either. Did I end up getting weaker because of my injuries?

    He was ashamed and furious. He knew that the other party was at the sixth rank, so he didn¡¯t dare to charge over by himself. He gave Yang Long a furious re. ¡°What are you staring like an idiot for? I was already hit, but you¡¯re not going to do anything?¡±

    Yang Long was staring at the teacup on the ground in a stupor. He actually hadn¡¯t seen how the teacup had flown over. Don¡¯t tell me this youngster isn¡¯t only at the sixth rank? A bit of confusion appeared within him.

    But he quickly refuted that idea. That youngster is too young; how can anyone at that age have such a level of cultivation? It¡¯s probably because the young master was standing too close to the entrance, and I wasn¡¯t ready for his sudden attack. That¡¯s why the surprise strike worked.

    When he heard Sun Ji¡¯s roar, he finally snapped out of his daze. His foot tapped against the ground, and he shot out toward Zu An¡¯s private room like a great Peng.[1]

    Zu An¡¯s eyes narrowed. These local tyrants really were ignorant and narrow-minded. They thought they were omnipotent just because they had a bit of cultivation. Forget about the Sun n¡¯s young master, even if his father or King Yan came, they would still have to treat him with respect. No matter how great they were, they weren¡¯t greater than King Qi, right?

    He was just about to attack when a figure shot out from the backstage area, exchanging a blow with Yang Long. Then, that figure¡¯s palm pushed forward, and Yang Long was forced to return to Sun Ji¡¯s side. Another figure was already standing steadily near Zu An¡¯s private room.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Only then did those present see that the figure was an elder who wore a smiling buddha mask. His clothes had the Hub of Freedom¡¯s symbol embroidered on them. This was clearly a staff member of the Hub of Freedom.

    ¡°Ninth rank!¡±

    There were quite a few individuals present with powerful cultivations. The eyes of the ck-robed man in particr immediately narrowed. He had already sensed the other person¡¯s cultivation from that brief exchange.

    Yang Long was left in great shock. However, he knew that the other party had already been lenient. Otherwise, he would die on the spot if he exchanged a blow against a ninth ranked expert head on.

    ¡°£¤%*@#¡­¡± Sun Ji pointed at Zu An and screamed as if he were denouncing him. Unfortunately, he had lost so many teeth that his words weren¡¯t being enunciated properly. Those present couldn''t really understand what he was saying.

    Yang Long coughed and tranted for him. ¡°Could it be that your Hub of Freedom intends on defending him?¡±

    Even though the other party was at the ninth rank, Sun Ji had the Sun n and even King Yan behind him. He obviously wouldn¡¯t back down here.

    The elder cupped his hands and said, ¡°The Hub of Freedom strictly prohibits private conflicts. I ask that young master Sun and Sir Yang forgive me.¡±

    He always had a smile on his face as he spoke. His smile was extremely kind. Together with the fact that he was a ninth ranked expert, but was still acting so politely, Sun Ji¡¯s side couldn''t reallyin.

    Sun Ji finally calmed down as well. He pointed at his bloody mouth and asked with a muffled voice, ¡°But why didn¡¯t you do anything when he attacked earlier?¡±

    The elder¡¯s smile froze. He had been caught off guard there. Furthermore, Zu An¡¯s attack had been exceptionally fast, to the point where even he couldn¡¯t react in time. Faced with the Sun n¡¯s criticism, he obviously had to show consideration for that. He looked toward Zu An and asked, ¡°Our honored guest here, why did you hurt someone in our Hub of Freedom?¡±

    Zu An shrugged and said, ¡°You¡¯re ming me unfairly. When did I attack? Maybe some big shot here couldn''t stand that Sun guy¡¯s arrogance, and so secretly attacked to discipline him?¡±

    Sun Ji almost fainted from anger when he heard that. He had always been the one twisting logic and leaving the other party furious, yet helpless. He had never thought that there would be a day when he¡¯d experience such a shameless person!

    You have sessfully trolled Sun Ji for +613 +613 +613¡­

    ¡°Absolutely¡­ Absolutely nonsense!¡± Sun Ji was still leaking air through the gaps in his teeth. He pointed at Zu An and roared, ¡°The teacup was clearly thrown from that direction!¡±

    Zu An spread out his arms and replied nonchntly, ¡°All things need proof, right? Otherwise, I¡¯m going to use you of ndering me. If you don¡¯t trust me, go and ask them. Who saw me throw that cup just now?¡±

    The guests all shook their heads. None of them wanted to join the battlefield between two jade token holders. After all, anyone who could be a jade token holder had already proven their status. No one was willing to provoke them. Furthermore, that Sun Ji really was too arrogant. All of them were actually secretly delighted to see him suffer for once.

    That short and stout elder had seen the cupe from Zu An¡¯s room, but his status made it so he couldn''t act as a witness. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t be impartial at all if he helped one jade token holder deal with another one. Wouldn¡¯t the other guests start fearing for their own safety at that point?

    Yang Long said coldly, ¡°This old one saw it myself!¡±

    Zu An clicked his tongue. ¡°You¡¯re just the Sun n¡¯s hired thug, so of course you¡¯d speak up for your owner. Not even the government office would believe any testimony you spoke.¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± Yang Long¡¯s chest rose and fell rapidly. He was a glorious seventh ranked expert, and even Minister Sun treated him with respect. And yet, this youngster was treating him like some door-watching dog!

    You have sessfully trolled Yang Long for +666 +666 +666¡­

    Sun Ji pushed him away and red furiously at Zu An. ¡°You bastard! You clearly did it, and yet you dare speak nonsense here?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Sun Ji for +459 +459 +459¡­

    Zu An felt refreshed when he saw Sun Ji¡¯s furious yet helpless appearance. He was just in need of Rage points! If I don¡¯t make you mald from anger, I¡¯ll be letting your current level of anger down.[2]

    ¡°Does that teacup have my name on it? How do you know it was mine? I¡¯ll call out to it; do you think it¡¯ll reply to me?¡± He called out to the teacup a few times, but it clearly didn¡¯t react at all.

    Sun Ji, Yang Long, and all of the other guests were speechless.

    They all wondered where this ridiculous person hade from. This level of shamelessness was even higher than Sun Ji¡¯s! As expected, there were devils above demons.

    But some more intelligent people began to think about some things. This person had offended the Sun n without any mercy¡­ Assuming he wasn¡¯t stupid, he had someone backing him. But he didn¡¯t seem to be a match for the Sun n¡¯s bodyguard¡­

    Sun Ji was about to explode from anger. He was just about to release a barrage of curses when Yang Long stopped him. Being a bit older, Yang Long was more cool headed. He gave the short and stout elder a look, asking, ¡°Senior, what will happen if we can prove that he was the one who did this?¡±

    The short and stout elder hesitated for a moment. In the end, he still said, ¡°The Hub of Freedom prohibits private battles. All those who oppose this rule will be asked to leave.¡± For the sake of maintaining order, that was the Hub of Freedom¡¯s irond rule. He couldn''t be biased toward any side under so many prying eyes.

    Yang Long nodded in satisfaction. ¡°Alright then. Senior, please examine his room. Every room has a set number of teacups, and the teacups of the Hub of Freedom are specially made and impossible to mimic by outsiders. As long as there is a cup missing from his room, that will prove he was the one who threw it.¡±

    1. Some trantors trante the word ¡®Peng¡¯ as ¡®roc¡¯. The Peng is a mythological bird creature that is traditionally portrayed as massive with golden wings, and can sometimes turn into a ck Kun fish. The gold and ck cycle between fish and bird is equivalent to the white and ck Taiji of Taoism ?

    2. Mald = mad + bald. ?

 Chapter 974: Immortal Beheading Reunion

    <h4>Chapter 974: Immortal Beheading Reunion</h4>

    The others present were surprised by the Sun n¡¯s wit. They had actually found an area of weakness so quickly.

    This jade token 333 was in trouble now. There was soon going to have irond proof against him. Once he was chased out of the Hub of Freedom, there was no way the Sun n would let him go.

    However, most of them were just there to watch the drama. They felt that jade token 333 had iting for what he had said and done.

    ¡°This kind of thing¡­¡± The Hub of Freedom¡¯s short and stout elder was also hesitant. He really didn¡¯t want to get involved in this kind of thing. After all, Zu An was also a jade token guest. If something serious really did end up happening, it would affect the Hub of Freedom¡¯s prestige.

    But no one could have expected that just then, Zu An would say, ¡°You can check if you want, but what if you don¡¯t find anything? Shouldn¡¯t the two of you give me a proper apology if you don¡¯t find anything?¡±

    The short and stout elder had a strange expression. He knew that the teacup hade from jade token 333¡¯s room, so he really couldn''t understand why he would say that. Just where did he get his confidence from?

    Yang Long and Sun Ji were naturally even more full of confidence. ¡°Hah, how could we possibly not find anything?!¡±

    Zu An said indifferently, ¡°There has never been anything absolute in this world. If you two aren¡¯t willing to apologize if you can¡¯t find anything, I¡¯ll refuse your search. Otherwise, this won¡¯t be fair.¡±

    The short and stout elder had a smile on his face. That person was quite smart; so that had been his n all along.

    Sun Ji was also quite surprised. He pulled Yang Long¡¯s sleeve and asked, ¡°Why is he so calm? Does he actually have some kind of hidden n?¡± Even though he was arrogant, he wasn¡¯t stupid. He immediately realized that something was off.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Yang Long shook his head and said, ¡°I am certain that the teacup came from his room.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Sun Ji was confident in Elder Long¡¯s seven ranks of cultivation. He said to Zu An with a malicious smile, ¡°If we can¡¯t find anything, we¡¯ll apologize. If we find something, you¡¯ll have to get lost from the Hub of Freedom!¡±

    He obviously wouldn¡¯t say anything more than that in front of everyone else. However, once Zu An was kicked out, he would immediately send people to chase the other man down. He was going to make Zu An understand what it meant to wish he were dead instead.

    ¡°I must ask everyone present to serve as witnesses.¡± Zu An cupped his hands toward everyone present. Then, he asked the short and stout elder, ¡°What should I call this sir over here?¡±

    The short and stout elder was a bit unhappy, as the youngster hadn¡¯t even called him senior. Whether it¡¯s age or cultivation, shouldn¡¯t you be showing me more respect? But out of respect for his jade token status, he didn¡¯t show it on the outside. ¡°Those from the Hub of Freedom all call me Chubby Senior.¡±

    Zu An gave his spherical build a look and thought to himself, As expected, there are only wrong given names, no wrong nicknames. ¡°Then I¡¯ll have Chubby Senior examine my room to see if any cups are missing.¡±

    Chubby Senior was a bit confused. Where does this youngster get his confidence from? Don¡¯t tell me he ns to bribe me when I go inside the room? Heh, you¡¯re looking down on me too much.

    ¡°Fine.¡± He agreed indifferently. Then, with a tap of his toes, he rushed into the private room. He had already nned to deal with the matter impartially. It was this kid¡¯s fault for being so rash.

    But his expression immediately stiffened, because there wasn¡¯t a single teacup missing. He was worried that he had been mistaken, and checked them one by one. They were indeed all the Hub of Freedom¡¯s teacups, as they couldn''t be imitated.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Don¡¯t tell me I saw things incorrectly just now? But I¡¯m a ninth ranked cultivator; how could I possibly have seen incorrectly?

    Zu An suddenly asked, ¡°Chubby Senior, have you finished checking the cups yet?¡±

    The other party obviously had no idea that Zu An had used the ¡®Keyboard, Come¡¯ skill to create a cup out of nothing. After all, even something asplex as the Embroidered Envoy¡¯s uniform had been reproduced. Not even the half-grandmaster rank Zhuxie Chixin could find anything wrong with that, let alone a trifling ninth ranked cultivator.

    He already had a bit of experience with the skill after using it a few times. When creating something out of thin air, there was no need to make it exist forever. As long as it existed long enough toplete the inspection, the reboundter would be much lower.

    Furthermore, he had been training his soul bit by bit through the incantation Mi Li had passed onto him. That was why Keyboard Come was now a skill that he could use freely within certain limits.

    ¡°I have.¡± Chubby Senior dered the result hesitantly. Then, a huge uproar broke out.

    ¡°How can that be?!¡± Sun Ji was the first to shout, ¡°Chubby Senior, are you deliberately helping him?¡±

    Chubby Senior glowered. ¡°Are you questioning my impartiality?¡±

    Sun Ji was about to say something else, but Yang Long stopped him. A ninth ranked expert wasn¡¯t someone they could offend at the moment. The Sun n¡¯s men wouldn¡¯t be able to arrive in time if some kind of conflict really broke out on the spot.

    He quickly exined, ¡°It isn¡¯t that I don¡¯t trust in senior¡¯s fairness, but rather that the other party is way too cunning. He might have used some kind of trick to fool all of us. It¡¯s entirely possible that someone upright like senior didn¡¯t see through his trick. As such, may I suggest that I take a look myself?¡±

    Chubby Senior felt much better when he heard all the praise in Sun Ji¡¯s words. At the same time, he didn¡¯t want to offend the Sun n¡¯s people too much either. As such, he nodded and agreed.

    Yang Long was happy to hear that. He quickly brought Sun Ji with him to Zu An¡¯s room. He gave Zu An an unkind re, then barged in to check the inside of the room. Unfortunately, the two of them couldn''t find any issues with those teacups even after spending a long time inside.

    Zu An remarked, with a smile, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Did the two of you personallye to apologize?¡±

    ¡°Apologize your mother!¡± Sun Ji cursed. For some reason, the sarcasm in the other party¡¯s voice made him feel as if he were being treated like an ant. But he screamed miserably as soon as these words came out of his mouth. He had already been sent flying by a kick.

    Yang Long was horrified when he saw that. He quickly went over to check what was happening. He saw that Sun Ji¡¯s face was purple and blood was leaking from his mouth. His injuries were already quite serious. He couldn''t help but erupt with fury. ¡°Scoundrel, you dare?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Sun Ji for +555 +555 +555¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Yang Long for +598 +598 +598¡­

    But out of reservations toward Chubby Senior¡¯s strength, he looked at the other party and eximed, ¡°I hope Chubby Senior can uphold justice!¡±

    Chubby Senior felt a huge headache. He could only look at Zu An and say, ¡°Sir has used violence while I¡¯m here. Aren¡¯t you treating our Hub of Freedom too disrespectfully?¡±

    Zu An replied indifferently, ¡°This dynasty is founded on filial piety. My parents were shamed, and so revenge could be taken even under nationalw. If I didn¡¯t do anything, I would instead be disloyal to those who raised me. Could it be that the Hub of Freedom¡¯s rules are above the nationalw?¡±

    Chubby Senior took in a breath of cold air. Where did this fellowe from? He even dared to say something like that?

    The Hub of Freedom was clearly engaging in underground trade, and yet he was bringing out nationalw! It really wasughable. And yet, the worst part was, he didn¡¯t dare to retort publicly, or else the consequences would be unimaginable. As such, he decided to just watch for the time being. These two could settle their own matters themselves.

    However, Zu An didn¡¯t let the matter go and pressed on. ¡°Chubby Senior, ording to our agreement earlier, it¡¯s their turn to apologize to me.¡±

    Sun Ji finally snapped out of his daze. When he heard that, he almost fainted out of anger. I was freaking hit and I still have to apologize to him?!

    You have sessfully trolled Sun Ji for +888 +888 +888¡­

    He subconsciously wanted to curse again, but when he recalled what had just happened, he immediately swallowed those words back down.

    Zu An gave Chubby Senior another look and said, ¡°Chubby Senior, you were a witness to our earlier agreement.¡±

    Chubby Senior felt that the matter was a huge pain. He could only look at Sun Ji and Elder Long with an overcast expression and say, ¡°If you are willing to bet, you must ept a loss. It is indeed time for the two of you to apologize!¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Sun Ji immediately jumped out. ¡°Do you not know who my father is? I¡­¡±

    He was stopped by Yang Long before he could say anything else. Yang Long said, ¡°I will apologize in the young master¡¯s ce.¡± He was scared that the young master might say something to offend this ninth ranked expert. They would really be done for then.

    Zu An remarked indifferently, ¡°Why are you in such a rush? You cane one at a time. We already agreed before that both of you need to apologize.¡±

    Sun Ji really was about to go mad from anger. Yang Long held him back again and said through ki transmission, ¡°Young master, do not act rashly! A wise man knows better than to fight when the odds are against you! We can get our revenge on him properly once we leave the Hub of Freedom.¡±

    Chubby Senior began to release his ninth ranked aura. Having his prestige challenged again and again was clearly already testing the limits of his patience.

    Sun Ji gave Zu An a resentful look. He was even starting to feel hatred for Chubby Senior. However, he listened to Yang Long¡¯s advice and cupped his hands carefully toward Zu An. His voice was as soft as a mosquito as he said, ¡°Sorry.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Sun Ji for +912 +912 +912¡­

    Zu An picked at his ear and said, ¡°What did you say? I couldn''t hear you.¡±

    ¡°Are you messing with me right now?!¡± Sun Ji¡¯s eyes were about to pop out from anger.

    ¡°You were the one talking so quietly; how am I supposed to hear what you were saying?¡± Zu An replied, indifferently.

    Yang Long secretly tugged at Sun Ji¡¯s sleeves. Sun Ji took a deep breath and said expressionlessly, ¡°Sorry!¡± But he was about to explode inwardly. When had he ever suffered such humiliation before? He was going to repay this a hundredfoldter!

    You have sessfully trolled Sun Ji for +999 +999 +999¡­

    Yang Long also submitted to humiliation and apologized. He felt so wronged that he was about to explode himself. He was a glorious seventh ranked cultivator, and yet he had to apologize to a young junior. He had already decided that he was going to properly teach this youngster a lesson.

    Zu An then smiled and remarked, ¡°How obedient! You two should try to be more low-profile when you go out in the future, or else you might end up offending people you shouldn¡¯t have offended.¡±

    Those words made Chubby Senior raise his eyebrows, and the onlookers had strange expressions on their faces. They felt those words would make more sense if they were spoken to Zu An instead!

    Sun Ji and Yang Long didn¡¯t stay and make fools of themselves any longer. They returned to their own private rooms with a sweep of their sleeves.

    Seeing that the matter was already settled, Chubby Senior sighed in relief. Then, he said clearly, ¡°There was a small disturbance just now, but fortunately, it is over. We will continue with the auctioning of the next item: An Immortal Beheading Knife!¡±

 Chapter 975: You Shouldnâ€™t Repeat the Same Mistake More than Three Times

    <h4>Chapter 975: You Shouldn¡¯t Repeat the Same Mistake More than Three Times</h4>

    Sun Ji and Yang Long, who were in a terrible mood from what had just happened, had been nning to leave before setting up a trap for Zu An outside to get revenge. But when they heard that, they both stopped.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Elder Yang?¡± Sun Ji asked out of curiosity when he saw how Yang Long was acting.

    ¡°A legendary Immortal Beheading Knife¡­¡± Yang Long was stirred up. He didn¡¯t bother replying to Sun Ji and instead stared at the case in the gorgeous hostess¡¯ hands.

    Zu An was stunned. Immortal Beheading Knife? Shi Kun had wanted to use them to turn him into a cripple back then in the Eastern Pce, but he had ended up taking them for himself. He hadn¡¯t expected to run into them again here! If I¡¯m not mistaken, I got four from Shi Kun, right?

    Chubby Senior had already leapt to the center stage. The Immortal Beheading Knives were extremely precious, and after what had just happened, he needed to remain present to prevent any further disorder from happening.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    But there was nock of individuals with extensive knowledge among the audience. ¡°The legendary knives that can cut down even immortals? How can something like that exist in the world? Even if such things did exist, how could your Hub of Freedom be willing to sell them in this auction?¡±

    The gorgeous hostess snapped out of her daze and exined with a smile, ¡°What this guest says is correct. The Immortal Beheading Knives have always been legends, rumored to be able to even kill immortals. However, our Hub of Freedom managed to procure one of them through a trustworthy source. As for everyone¡¯s confusion, I can exin. Aplete set of Immortal Beheading Knives consists of nine des, and only when all ninee together can their legendary power be revealed. Today, only one of the nine is being auctioned.¡±

    She took out a delicate sandalwood case from the hands of a servant. She gently opened the case with her slender and fine fingers, revealing a small and exquisite throwing knife inside. It didn¡¯t look too different from an ordinary throwing knife. Even the de didn¡¯t seem too deadly and threatening, almost as if it hadn¡¯t been sharpened.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t look all that special,¡± someone said mockingly. Many others immediately parroted what he said. They were clearly rather suspicious of the thing as well.

    The gorgeous hostess exined, ¡°Even though this dagger isn¡¯tplete and can¡¯t disy its full power, it still has special properties. It can inflict tremendous harm to the target. Without having any rare medicines to treat those wounds, one might just never recover for the rest of one¡¯s life.¡±

    The mysterious man in the ck robes Zu An had noticed before harrumphed. ¡°An ordinary person wouldn¡¯t be able to hurt a master rank even if they had this thing. As for someone at the master rank, they naturally have their own ways to attack the enemy¡¯s soul. This thing isn¡¯t all that useful at all.¡±

    Those who had been getting excited began to nod inwardly when they heard that reminder. It indeed made sense¡­ Even though this thing seemed great, it wasn¡¯t necessarily all that useful. As for collecting nine of them, that was just a pipe dream. When had anyone ever managed to do something like that in previous centuries and millennia? Just a single one was already rare enough, let alone collecting nine of them.

    Seeing that the auction was proceeding in an unfavorable direction, the gorgeous hostess was starting to panic as well. However, the fact that she had been chosen for had position meant that she was extremely skilled in her own right. She quickly said, ¡°This knife is still useful in dealing with cultivators beneath the master rank. Even though ordinary cultivators cannot condense a soul, the soul will always be closely rted to cultivation. If one is hurt by this dagger, one¡¯s cultivation path might be eternally cut short. One will be unable to make any progress for the rest of one¡¯s life.¡±

    Zu An was amazed by the woman¡¯s extensive knowledge. However, ite was also quite cruel. Wasn¡¯t she implying to everyone present that this was a weapon that couldpletely cripple a cultivator, to prevent one from ever making any more progress?

    Sure enough, the onlookers started breathing heavily.

    ¡°I¡¯ll pay two hundred thousand taels of silver. I want this dagger.¡± Someone spoke up first and raised his sign.

    Zu An saw that the sign was made of iron. The person was probably just an ordinary participant of the auction. He hadn¡¯t expected even the most ordinary member of the auction to be able to so easily dere a price of two hundred thousand! It was easy to see just how deep the Hub of Freedom¡¯s influence ran from that.

    The gorgeous hostess smiled and said, ¡°I apologize, but this dagger¡¯s starting price is five hundred thousand taels of silver. The bid increments will have to be ten thousand at the very least.¡±

    Those present roared withughter when they heard that. The one who had called out that price sat back down in embarrassment.

    Zu An frowned. He had four Immortal Beheading Knives on him at present, so for him, this knife¡¯s significance was much greater than it was for the others. But even the starting price was already five hundred thousand, so who knew how expensive it would be in the end!?

    He had won several million silvers from Silverhook Casino in the past, but that was just a number; he couldn''t collect that debt at all. In the end, he had given the debt note to Brightmoon Academy to be managed by Jiang Luofu. Tsk tsk, that Jiang Luofu got so many benefits from me. I¡¯m going to make sure she gets it if she ever marries someone else!

    He had won around a million silvers from the Zheng n¡¯s casino as well. They still owed him a few hundred thousand too! Forget it; Dandan has alreadypensated me with her body, so I won¡¯t bicker over something like that.

    That was why he¡¯d only had six hundred and fifty thousand taels of silver from Brightmoon City. But after purchasing all sorts of pills and ingredients, he had used up a lot of that. There was also that skill ¡®Befriend a Rich Man¡¯; that skill was just too much of a scam! It had never done much for him whenever he used it, so he had decided he would never use that stupid skill again. Hmph!

    But he had actually obtained quite a few rewards through his service and nobility in the capital. Adding all of that together, he would likely have around four hundred thousand on hand.

    It¡¯s still my honey Linglong who knows how to treasure me the most. She always remembers to reward me with the pce¡¯s wealth whenever she can.

    Oh yeah, I should pay the empress a few more visits. Leaving such a huge sugar mommy alone would really be too much of a waste. I worked so hard before; I can¡¯t just let her get away without any properpensation.

    Together with the two hundred thousand he had just received from selling that chrysanthemum sapphire, he had a total of six hundred thousand at the moment. Of course, he had the red dragon¡¯s treasury from before too. Those items were all worth around two hundred thousand a pop. If he needed them, he could take some out to auction off too.

    But of course, he only had six hundred thousand in cash at the moment. Zu An felt a bit of a headache. He had thought that he actually had some money before, and yet aftering here, he discovered that just that bit of money wasn¡¯t enough at all!

    Someone quickly ced another bid.

    ¡°Five hundred and ten thousand!¡±

    ¡°Five hundred and twenty thousand!¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°This guest has bid five hundred and fifty thousand; are there any more bids? Five hundred and fifty going once, going twice¡­¡± The gorgeous host was getting a bit nervous. After all, she was caught quite off guard by the low bids.

    Unfortunately, no one responded. The bids on the starting items were rather reserved. After all, even though the knife was somewhat useful, it wasn¡¯t anything groundbreaking. A couple hundred thousand was no small number, so they had to consider things carefully before spending a ton of money.

    Furthermore, they had all received rumors that something extremely good was going to appear in the auction that day. If they used up all their money already, things would get troublesometer.

    Zu An was surprised to see that scene. After thinking about it for a bit, he decided to just outright ce a six hundred thousand bid. Otherwise, the price might climb even higher, so he thought it might be better to ce a high bid to scare offpetitors.

    Sure enough, when the others heard his price, they all hesitated. They didn¡¯t decide to ce another bid. The knife was indeed just an interesting toy. Furthermore, that 333 was quite a vicious person. They had personally seen how miserable he had made Sun Ji. There was no need to offend him for no reason.

    The gorgeous hostess¡¯ eyes lit up. Her eyes were shining as she looked toward Zu An and said, ¡°Guest number 333 has ced a bid of six hundred thousand. Does anyone wish to bid higher?¡±

    She thought to herself, Even though this young man is masked, his stature is tall and upright. His entire body gives off a carefree and confident feeling. Compared to these other big-bellied jade token guests, he¡¯s much more charming.

    Faced with the tender-hearted smile of the gorgeous hostess, Zu An smiled in return, but he didn¡¯t think too much about it. He knew fully well that these kinds of women were just too good at acting. He wasn¡¯t some naive little boy, so there was no way he would let himself be swept away by something like that.

    ¡°Six hundred thousand going once, going twice, going three times¡­¡± The gorgeous hostess was all smiles as she looked at Zu An. Suddenly, a voice interrupted her.

    ¡°Six hundred and fifty thousand!¡±

    Those present followed the source of the sound. They saw Sun Ji standing by the window. They immediately knew what was going on. Sun Ji had been humiliated earlier, so he wanted to use this chance to redeem himself.

    Zu An frowned. He said calmly, ¡°Six hundred and sixty thousand.¡±

    ¡°Seven hundred thousand!¡± Sun Ji felt amazing when he saw Zu An¡¯s quiet appearance. You shouldn¡¯t have provoked this young master!

    ¡°Seven hundred and ten thousand,¡± Zu An said expressionlessly.

    ¡°Seven hundred and fifty thousand!¡± Sun Ji thought that Zu An must really want the throwing knife! I¡¯ll be doing my hatred for you an injustice if I don¡¯t raise the price a bit!

    He had already made his decision. He was going to give up after the other party raised the price once more. After all, it already wasn¡¯t a small price to pay. He felt amazing just thinking about how frustrated the other party would be that he had to pay an extra two hundred thousand silvers.

    But Zu An instead said with a smile, ¡°Since young master Sun is so fond of this toy, then I¡¯ll be the mature one and yield to young master Sun.¡±

    Sun Ji was speechless.

    Isn¡¯t the proverb that you shouldn¡¯t repeat the same mistake more than three times? You haven¡¯t done it a third time yet!

 Chapter 976: I Will Bid!

    <h4>Chapter 976: I Will Bid!</h4>

    Those present roared withughter. They clearly noticed that Sun Ji had been yed by guest 333 again.

    When he heard the onlookers¡¯ mockingughter and saw their looks of pity, Sun Ji¡¯s face heated up. Anger raged within him. He gave Zu An a hateful look and eximed, ¡°You little bastard, you dare to y me?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Sun Ji for +444 +444 +444¡­

    Zu An put away his smile when he heard that and replied, ¡°I did y you. What are you going to do about it?¡±

    Sun Ji almost fainted on the spot when he heard that. Had the other party grabbed the wrong script or something? He was always the one who said those kinds of things to other people, so why were the roles reversed today?

    From the center of the auction hall, Chubby Senior gave Zu An another look. He thought to himself, Where in the world does this crazy mane from? He actually seems even more rude and unreasonable inparison.

    The beautiful hostess¡¯ eyes glittered as she looked at Zu An. She became more and more interested in this arrogant and domineering man. Unlike Sun Ji, who relied on his own n¡¯s background and strength, this neer hadpletely relied on his own ability to humiliate Sun Ji.

    Chubby Elder took a step forward and said with a light cough, ¡°Ahem, order needs to be maintained here!¡± His voice was amplified by ki, and those present felt their ears ring with noise. They were all shaken up. Nine ranks of cultivation were terrifying after all!

    Chubby Senior nodded in satisfaction when he saw the reactions of the onlookers. He obviously didn¡¯t want to see a repeat of the previous farce, which would further affect the auction. He gestured for the hostess to continue.

    The beautiful hostess reacted. She continued in her sweet voice, ¡°Seven hundred and fifty thousand going once¡­ Seven hundred and fifty thousand going twice¡­ Seven hundred and fifty thousand going three times¡­ Sold! Congrattions, young master Sun!¡±

    Sun Ji¡¯s eyelids twitched, but he could only swallow this resentment. He forced a smile and nodded, saying, ¡°This isn¡¯t much money at all. It¡¯s worth it if it¡¯s spent on this toy.¡± The onlookers sneered when they saw him try to redeem himself. They didn¡¯t feel like exposing him, though.

    Yang Long walked over to his side and said worriedly, ¡°Young master, money borrowed from the Hub of Freedom has to be repaid. Things will be troublesometer if you keep purchasing things like this¡­¡±

    Sun Ji was bleeding internally, but he said, ¡°It¡¯s fine. We have enough money with us this time.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Sun Ji for +555 +555 +555¡­

    ¡°But the master might criticize you for spending so much money on this item¡­¡± Yang Long was quite upset. Even though he wasn¡¯t the one who had spent the money, he would take on a share of the me as Sun Ji¡¯s guardian as well.

    Sun Ji¡¯s eyes narrowed as he looked in Zu An¡¯s direction. ¡°That fe was willing to pay six hundred thousand to buy this knife, which means he has more than six hundred thousand on him. We can just seize the money back from himter.¡±

    Yang Long nodded. That was the only choice left. Furthermore, that little bastard was utterly hateful. He surged with killing intent when he recalled how he¡¯d had to endure humiliation and apologize.

    You have sessfully trolled Yang Long for +444 +444 +444¡­

    The auction continued. All kinds of weapons, rare treasures, and even fiend race ves were brought out one after another.

    Zu An frowned when he saw the participants bid against each other so eagerly over the ves. He really wasn¡¯t too used to such a thing. However, the fiend races had been defeated back then, and the wealthy ns of the Zhou Dynasty loved to keep fiend race ves. It was already somethingmonce that a single person like him couldn''t do much about.

    ¡°If Kong Nanwu were here, she might just decide to go on a murderous rampage.¡± Zu An sighed. However, he wouldn¡¯t go so far as to try and be some holy mother. After all, if the humans were captured by the fiend races, the result could only be even more cruel.

    Meanwhile, his only role was to annoy Sun Ji. Whenever Sun Ji wanted to buy something, he would raise the price a bit. It made Sun Ji¡¯s teeth ache, but there wasn¡¯t anything he could do about it.

    Unfortunately, Sun Ji had suffered pretty badly over that Immortal Beheading Knife, so he didn¡¯t fancy too many items. After Zu An harvested a few more rounds of Rage points, the other party no longer raised his sign.

    He even deliberately showed interest in some items along the way and bid a few times. Unfortunately, Sun Ji had already been scared badly and didn¡¯t try to fight over things with him anymore. Helpless to do anything else, he could only try to raise the prices for some others. At the same time, he collected arge amount of Rage points from those present.

    The others all red hatefully at Zu An. They had all been chewing on their seeds as they watched him torment Sun Ji. How could they have expected that this person would direct his schemes toward them? This guy is a freaking sack of shit!

    It was instead Sun Ji who had a smile on his face. He instead found Zu An a bit more pleasant than before. After all, he wasn¡¯t the only one who was suffering anymore.

    Even as everyone directed their hatred toward him, Zu An didn¡¯t care at all. Either way, he had a mask on, so they had no idea who he was. Earning Rage points was what was most important after all. Just a bit of work had earned him more than a hundred thousand Rage points. Pissing off a group of people was much more effective than targeting a single person after all!

    Of course, he didn¡¯t only do it for Rage points. He had another objective. As expected, the next item the gorgeous hostess announced was ¡°Gray Wolf King Fangs.¡±

    ¡°These ten fangs are all the sharpest canines of mature Gray Wolf Kings. Arrows made with these materials can prate the ki barriers of cultivators. Of course, they can also be used as medicine¡­ The starting price is fifty thousand silvers, with the bids in increments of a thousand.¡± The beautiful hostess introduced the item rather casually.

    The fangs¡¯ use was more niche than most other items. Even though they had medicinal value, it wasn¡¯t too high. Their best uses were being made into Demonying Arrows. However, archery wasn¡¯t too popr in this world, and these guests were mostly incredibly rich people. It wasn¡¯t going to be a popr item.

    Sure enough, there were only a few bids here and there.

    Zu An saidzily, ¡°Fifty-five thousand.¡±

    He had a small booklet in his room. Apart from the one most mysterious item, there were some descriptions about everything else that was being auctioned off. It was just like an advertising pamphlet.

    Zu An hadn¡¯t noticed it at first, but he had eventually remembered the fangs were one of the materials Daji needed for breakthroughs. That was why he paid close attention to them.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    For fear that Sun Ji or any others might fight him over them and make him pay even more, he had deliberately bid on some things without buying them. It was precisely because he hadn¡¯t wanted people to know about his true objective.

    The gorgeous hostess¡¯ eyes immediately began to glow. She had almost fallen in love with him! It was precisely because he had kept making bids that every single item in the auction had ended up being sold at least twenty to thirty percent above their normal prices. That naturally increased her own cut by quite a bit.

    She was smiling so widely her eyes had almost be slits. She thought to herself that she had to properly thank himter. When she thought about how young and healthy his body was, her own body couldn''t help but be a bit sensitive.

    The others present hadpletely different thoughts. That guy is freaking bidding again¡­

    They weren¡¯t all that interested in the wolf fangs anyway. They were worried about him bidding too, so no one said anything. The wolf fangs ended up being sold for fifty-five thousand silvers.

    ¡°Huh?¡± When he heard that he won the bid, Zu An even showed a bit of annoyance and surprise.

    Everyone else immediately felt much better when they saw that. Keep bidding! You¡¯ve fallen for your own trap this time, huh?

    Sun Ji felt even better. It¡¯s just a pity that he didn¡¯t end up suffering more than this.

    But his opinion quickly changed. That guy¡¯s money will soon be mine anyway. That¡¯s why the less money he ends up spending, the better!

    He felt a bit annoyed when he thought of that. Damn you, why are you spending my money on some stupid useless wolf fangs?!

    You have sessfully trolled Sun Ji for +257 +257 +257¡­

    He ced a few more bids afterward. Zu An continued to put pressure on the prices like before, but he was clearly more careful than before.

    The others sneered. That guy must be still thinking about that mistake!

    The next item quickly came out. The beautiful hostess took out an embroidered case for everyone to see. It was multi-colored and extremely beautiful. She said sweetly, ¡°These are Nine-Headed Pheasant Feathers. They have been collected by hunters from many differentnds with great difficulty. There are fifty in total. They are the best items for making arrows, capable of making them fly more steadily. Of course, they can also be made into clothes and hats. Not only are they beautiful, they can provide a certain amount of defensive power¡­ The bidding will start at fifty thousand taels of silver, with bids in increments of one thousand.¡±

    These items were clearly more popr than the wolf fangs. Such pretty feathers could be bought to gain the favor of girls. The price quickly reached seventy thousand.

    Zu An spoke again, as expected. ¡°Seventy-five thousand.¡±

    That bastard is trying to raise the prices again! The same thought appeared in the others¡¯ minds.

    Then, the enthusiastic bidding suddenly fell silent. No one kept himpany in inting the price. They even wondered if this guy had been sent by the Hub of Freedom to mess with them.

    However, Chubby Senior felt a huge headache. The other party had helped the Hub of Freedom make quite a bit of profits, but whenever he ced a bid, everyone else stopped bidding. It was one thing for these smaller items, but it would be troublesome if this continued for that item they were going to bring outter. At that point, the gains wouldn¡¯t make up for the losses!

    The gorgeous hostess called out three more times, but no one responded. In the end, Zu An bought the Nine-Headed Pheasant Feathers at the price of seventy-five thousand silvers. He had a smile on his face. He had ended up buying what he needed for much cheaper than what he had nned to spend. He had alreadypleted his goals, so how could he not be happy?

    Those present gradually realized what had happened. Don¡¯t tell me he actually did want to buy these feathers? The feeling of being yed made all of them donate another round of Rage points.

    Zu An almost burst outughing. His trip today to the Hub of Freedom really was too timely!

    The gorgeous hostess spoke sweetly once again. ¡°The next item is what everyone has been waiting for this evening¡­¡±

 Chapter 977: A Cherished Item Will Bring Trouble

    <h4>Chapter 977: A Cherished Item Will Bring Trouble</h4>

    The others couldn''t be bothered with Zu An anymore when they heard that. They all turned to look at the center of the stage. They had received rumors that this time, a rare treasure was going to be auctioned. Unfortunately, the booklet didn¡¯t say anything about what the precious item was. It was precisely that feeling of mystery that drew their interest. They all wanted to see just what kind of treasure the Hub of Freedom was going to take out this time.

    The staff brought out an embroidered case. The gorgeous hostess opened the case, upon which the onlookers subconsciously stood up. They all craned their necks one after another.

    The private rooms were above everyone else¡¯s, so Zu An could just calmly nce over. He saw a strangely shaped jade pendant. It was different from a normal jade pendant that prioritized aesthetics and color. It had many patterns on it, but they didn¡¯t have a shred of artistic intent.

    ¡°This pendant¡¯s material doesn¡¯t seem like anything special¡­¡± There were quite a few people present who were experienced and knowledgeable. Someone immediately voiced their doubts.

    The gorgeous hostess exined with a smile, ¡°This pendant looks ordinary, but it contains a tremendous secret. Inscribed on it are the clues to the legendary Milk of Purple Frost.¡±

    Zu An had just been nning to watch the rest of the auction from the sidelines, but when he heard that, his entire body trembled. He had just been searching so bitterly for that mysterious Milk of Purple Frost, and yet he ended up stumbling upon some clues so soon afterward?!

    He had to get it for his big sis empress no matter what. However, he quickly frowned. He had only had around six hundred thousand silvers on him, and after buying the wolf fangs and pheasant feathers, he only had four hundred and seventy thousand left. That was probably not enough to buy the most important item in the Hub of Freedom¡¯s auction.

    The gorgeous hostess already began her introduction. ¡°The Milk of Purple Frost is a legendary medicine. No matter how heavily injured the soul is, as long as it has not fully scattered, it can be restored to its former state. In the past, even his majesty, with his cultivation, suffered severe damage to his soul in his battle against the Fiend Emperor. This was the medicine he used to recover.

    ¡°Of course, apart from treating wounds, it also has tremendous effects in nurturing and condensing the soul. If an ordinary cultivator ingests this medicine, it will grant them the qualification to advance into the master rank. If one at the master rank ingests it, it will be much easier for them to break through into the grandmaster rank. As for someone beyond the grandmaster rank, it has been rumored that it was because his majesty ingested this that he broke through into the earth immortal rank¡­¡±

    Those who were originally not all that interested in the item immediately widened their eyes when they heard that. They immediately wanted to take the item for themselves.

    After all, the path of cultivation became much more difficult after the fifth rank. However, even the difficulty of the fifth to ninth rank added together couldn¡¯t bepared to the bottleneck of the master rank. Many people struggled their entire lives without any hope of crossing that boundary.

    As for going from the master rank to the grandmaster rank, it was even more difficult. The world wasrge and outstanding talents had appeared in abundance, so there were still a good amount of people at the master rank, but there were only a trifling few at the grandmaster rank. There was even less of a need to talk about the even greater earth immortals.

    But those who were more meticulous in thought quickly voiced their misgivings. ¡°Why would something so precious be auctioned? Are you not scared that news might leak out, and the masters and grandmasters woulde to wipe you out?¡±

    Even though the Hub of Freedom was powerful, the item was something that would tempt even grandmasters. How could people like them be able to possess something like that? Sure enough, the others quickly realized that problem as well. They gave the hostess skeptical looks.

    The gorgeous hostess seemed to have already predicted the question. A sweet smile appeared on her face as she exined, ¡°The Hub of Freedom naturally understands that possessing a cherished item may bring trouble, and that is why we have decided to auction it away. Furthermore, we do not have the true Milk of Purple Frost, and these are merely some clues rted to it. I believe that those grandmasters and masters will not trouble our Hub of Freedom over something like this.¡±

    The participants nodded inwardly when they heard that. These were just some clues. Even if they obtained them, they still might not be able to find the actual Milk of Purple Frost. Furthermore, the Hub of Freedom had some influence as well. That was why there was indeed no reason for those powerful cultivators to fight over the item.

    Someone else asked, ¡°But this item had already been in your possession for so long, so the clues must have already been fully researched. Even if we purchase it at a great price, you all already know the information stored inside. What if while we¡¯re fighting over this thing, you¡¯ve already secretly begun to look for this Milk of Purple Frost? Then wouldn¡¯t we just be your scapegoats?¡±

    Zu An nodded inwardly. The people present weren¡¯t stupid after all. Even someone like Sun Ji wasn¡¯tpletely stupid, let alone everyone else.

    The gorgeous hostess replied with a smile, ¡°Everyone need not worry. The clues on this jade pendant are extremely mysterious and profound. We at the Hub of Freedom have already researched it for a long time, yet we have made no progress. We would not even know where to start even if we wanted to get a head start.¡±

    ¡°If not even you were able to find out anything, what will we be able to do with it?¡± the ck robed man Zu An had been paying attention to before said in a low, muffled voice.

    The hostess showed him a professional smile. ¡°The treasures of the world are not necessarily things that can be found through effort. Many times, they belong to those they are destined to be with. If our Hub of Freedom was not able to make any progress, that means we share no karma with this item. However, that does not mean that no one else will be able to find out anything.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself that this woman really was great at appealing to human nature. There were many intelligent people in the world, and they would all feel they were smarter than others, that they were luckier. They would definitely try to obtain the jade pendant.

    Sure enough, there were already some people beginning to urge the bidding on. ¡°Alright already, can we just get on with it and start the bidding?¡±

    The beautiful hostess had a satisfied smile on her face. She slowly said, ¡°This item¡¯s starting price will be one million taels of silver, and will increase in increments of ten thousand.¡±

    The room fell silent immediately. A million wasn¡¯t a small number, after all! It was easy to imagine that the final price was going to be far greater than one million.

    But when the first person ced the bid, those present quickly became worked up. They all raised their signs one after another, and the price climbed higher and higher. The price soon reached one million, five hundred thousand silvers.

    Zu An had a huge headache. The starting price was far greater than the cash he had on hand. But for the sake of Mi Li, he had to brace himself and go for it.

    ¡°Two million!¡± Zu An decided to just raise the price much higher, hoping that he could use the earlier prestige he had umted to scare everyone else off.

    Sure enough, the ce immediately fell silent when they heard the price. Motherf*cking¡­ That person is trying to raise the price again! They all cursed inwardly and contributed a huge wave of Rage points.

    More Rage points poured in, but Zu An didn¡¯t feel happy about it yet. He knew it might not be so easy to purchase the item this time.

    Sure enough, a low voice spoke from another private room. ¡°Two million and ten thousand.¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An¡¯s expression sank. The other jade token guests hadn¡¯t participated in his bickering with Sun Ji, but the fact that they were in private rooms clearly proved their strength. ¡°Two million and twenty thousand.¡± He continued to push the price higher with an overcast expression.

    Increasing the bids by ten thousand was pretty much meaningless at this point, however. He began to sort through the treasures he had. Even though he didn¡¯t have enough silvers on hand, he could probably piece together two million and seven hundred thousand with the treasures he had gotten from the red dragon. For Mi Li, he had to buy the item even if he had to spend everything he had.

    The person in the other private room fell silent when he heard Zu An raise the price again. He was clearly reconsidering his decision.

    The gorgeous hostess below was looking at Zu An with sparkling eyes. This person was not only tall and strong, he was even wealthy at such a young age! He was simply the perfect man! If I can build a rtionship with him, I might not have to spend the rest of my life in a ce like this¡­

    Just then, Sun Ji spoke upzily. ¡°Two million and thirty thousand taels!¡±

    Yang Long was surprised, eximing, ¡°Young master, you cannot let your emotions affect your decision!¡±

    ¡°Fool, do you think I¡¯m only doing this to fight against that guy? Use your brain; I¡¯m going to buy this thing to offer it to King Yan. Just how many benefits will father and I obtain then?¡± Sun Ji sneered.

    Yang Long was stunned. Indeed, King Qi is his majesty¡¯s uncle. He has already been stuck at the grandmaster rank for a long time already. If he can obtain the Milk of Purple Frost, a breakthrough is all but guaranteed!

    The young master does act rather spoiled, but he has rity and insight when it counts!

 Chapter 978: Tang Tianâ€™er

    <h4>Chapter 978: Tang Tian¡¯er</h4>

    When he looked at the jade pendant in the hostess¡¯ hands, Yang Long couldn''t help but feel a bit envious. If he could use the Milk of Purple Frost himself, he might even be able to break through into the master rank within three years! Unfortunately, he had to offer it up to King Yan, which meant that he was doomed to never be able to use it.

    His expression changed several times. In that instant, his eyes even flickered with something else; he thought he should use the chance to actually take it for himself, then secretly look for the Milk of Purple Frost¡¯s whereabouts.

    But in the end, he helplessly threw the idea away. With how powerful King Yan and Sun Xiang were, he still wouldn¡¯t be a match for them even if he became a master rank cultivator.

    Meanwhile, Zu An didn¡¯t get upset and was instead happy to see that. He had been worried that he wouldn¡¯t have enough money to buy the thing, and yet who could have thought that this spendthrift would step in? This kid was giving him everything!

    Zu An looked at Sun Ji fondly, which made Sun Ji shiver. Why is that guy looking at me so weirdly?

    ¡°Two million, three hundred and fifty thousand!¡± A bid was ced from another private room. This amount was no small number. Everyone was bing more and more cautious with their bidding.

    But the only reason the price still remained at that level was because the pendant merely gave some clues about where the Milk of Purple Frost really was, and thus it didn¡¯t guarantee the actual item even if one possessed it. Otherwise, the price would definitely be far greater.

    Zu An thought for a bit, then also ced another bid. ¡°Two million and four hundred thousand!¡± He gave Sun Ji a provocative look after saying that. He was actually quite worried that the other party wouldn¡¯t keep up with him. If that happened, how was he supposed to buy something so precious?

    Sure enough, anger surged inside of Sun Ji when he saw Zu An¡¯s provocative gaze. ¡°Two million and five hundred thousand!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Sun Ji for +222 +222 +222¡­

    He could already tell that Zu An actually wanted the item, so there was no way he could let the other party buy it. Even if he had to lose to someone, he couldn''t lose to that bastard! Let alone the fact that he had been going to buy it for King Yan to begin with. He had to obtain it no matter the price.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An smiled when he saw that Sun Ji had taken the bait. He didn¡¯t pay him any more attention and instead watched how the rest of the auction yed out. There was nock of big shots among the private rooms. The price quickly reached three million. Zu An sighed. This price was already really outside of what he could afford.

    Sun Ji¡¯s eyes twitched as well. After all, three million wasn¡¯t a small amount even for the Sun n. If not for his father¡¯s influence in collecting all sorts of wealth and the plundering of some caravans, how could they possibly gather this much silver?

    Fortunately, after the price was raised to that point, the other private rooms momentarily fell silent. They were clearly considering whether spending three million on some clues that might very well be useless was worth it.

    Sun Ji shot Zu An a hateful look. If that bastard dares to put another bid, I¡¯ll just let him have it! Not only would hepletely redeem all of the dignity he had lost before, he could even steal it from the other man once he left. He wouldn¡¯t even have to spend a cent himself! He felt a bit regretful when he thought of that. If he had realized that sooner, he wouldn¡¯t have been in such a rush to bid early.

    Zu An naturally guessed what Sun Ji was thinking. He wouldn¡¯t give him the chance at all and just gave up on bidding. But just because he gave up didn¡¯t mean that the other local tyrants were willing to. Sure enough, the price quickly climbed higher and higher.

    Sun Ji¡¯s expression became ashen, but he continued to bid no matter how high the price reached. In the end, the price ultimately broke past four million.

    The other big shots in the private rooms couldn''t take it anymore either. Yi Commandery was the Sun n¡¯s domain after all, so they couldn''t reallypare in terms of wealth. Furthermore, the information on the jade pendant might not even be useful. Eventually, those in the other private rooms gave up one after another, and Sun Ji bought the pendant at the price of four million.

    Sun Ji felt as if his heart were bleeding. However, it would still be worth it if he offered the item up to King Yan.

    Chubby Senior personally delivered the pendant to Sun Ji¡¯s private room afterward. He was delivering the item, but alsoing to collect the money.

    Sun Ji took out close to three million in silver notes, then said, ¡°I didn¡¯t bring enough money with me today, I¡¯ll send the rest over to you guys once I return. You can also send people to follow me back to get it.¡± That damn guest 333 had scammed him out of a few hundred thousand silvers, so he really couldn''t take out that much money at the moment.

    Chubby Senior¡¯s face darkened. He said, ¡°Young master Sun, this is not in ordance with the rules.¡±

    Sun Ji said, ¡°Chubby Senior, I¡¯m sure you know my identity. The Sun n can assume this debt, and we have no reason to not pay you back. Furthermore, we didn¡¯t know this item was going to be auctioned, so I didn¡¯t bring enough money. Our Sun n has many businesses in the Yi Commandery; our stores are everywhere. Don¡¯t tell me we don¡¯t have this bit of credibility?¡±

    When he heard the threatening tone in Sun Ji¡¯s voice, Chubby Senior felt quite troubled as well. There was indeed no reason to offend the Sun n, because they had King Yan backing them. If they decided to get revenge out of anger, the Hub of Freedom would be the one with nowhere to run. He finally said, ¡°In that case, then, I will make an exception for the young master. However, the Hub of Freedom has to take on unnecessary risk for this matter, so we will collect a hundred thousand as a service charge. I hope the young master can ept this.¡±

    Sun Ji¡¯s eyes narrowed, but he still agreed. ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡±

    Both sides chatted for a bit, then Sun Ji wrote down a loan agreement and ced his seal on it. He also left behind his folding fan to use as coteral. When Chubby Senior confirmed everything, he handed the jade pendant over.

    ¡­

    After Chubby Senior left, Sun Ji stored the case away, then he got up to leave.

    Yang Long was surprised, asking, ¡°The young master is going to leave now? How about we contact our people from the manor to receive us tomorrow morning?¡±

    Sun Ji nodded and said, ¡°The longer we stay here, the more trouble will arise. It¡¯s best if we deliver this jade pendant to father and King Yan earlier, as I¡¯ll feel more at ease then. As for the issue of safety, with you and the guards escorting me, apart from Chubby Senior, who else can stop us?¡±

    Yang Long nodded. The Hub of Freedom was in Yi Commandery, so they wouldn¡¯t dare to do anything. Apart from that, the Hub of Freedom¡¯s unique way ofing and going prevented any of the other guests from tracking their whereabouts either. That was why it would instead be safer if they left as early as possible. If they dragged things out longer, there might be those with evil designs waiting to ambush them. They might even be able to track them down.

    Sun Ji assigned a few guards to continue guarding his room¡¯s entrance in the Hub of Freedom, making it look as if he were pleasure-seeking inside. Apart from that, he also sent one of his subordinates to tail guest 333 outside of his room.

    ¡°Hmph, I¡¯ll let him live for another night. Once I finish what I need to do and return with my men, he¡¯ll wish he were dead!¡± Sun Ji definitely wouldn¡¯t let this man who had humiliated him several times live. However, he was the son of an influential n, so he was still able to discern what was more important at the moment.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile on his end, Zu An was concentrating on their conversation. Suddenly, there was a knock on his private room¡¯s door. He asked, ¡°Who is it?¡±

    ¡°Young master, it¡¯s me,¡± said a sweet voice.

    ¡°Is there something you need?¡± Zu An frowned. It was that hostess from before. What had shee over for?

    The gorgeous hostess¡¯ smile froze on her face. She hadn¡¯t expected such a reaction at all! Judging from the man¡¯s tone, it didn¡¯t seem as if he had any intention of opening the door. This really is an unromantic and insensitive man!

    But she reacted quickly and said, ¡°I came to deliver the Gray Wolf King Fangs and Nine-Headed Pheasant feathers.¡± There¡¯s no way you¡¯ll refuse now, right? Sure enough, the room door opened.

    Zu An sized up the woman in front of him. He had to admit that she was a first grade beauty. Now that she was up close, he could sense just how fine and impressive her figure was underneath her cheongsam. Together with her bright and seductive red lips, her sweet smile, and her intelligent eyes, it would be hard for anyone to develop a negative impression of her.

    He gave her a look and said, ¡°Judging from how thedy is dressed, I do not believe there are any areas where those things can be stored.¡± She was only here with that flimsy dress of hers. She hadn¡¯t even brought a bag.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you being a bit too distant by calling me dy¡¯? My name is Tang Tian¡¯er; the young master can call me Tian¡¯er,¡± the beautiful hostess said with a big smile. ¡°Is the young master not going to invite me inside for a chat? It would be a bit embarrassing if the other guests see me standing by the door like this¡­¡±

    ¡°Your surname is excellent, and your name is pleasant-sounding. Thedy is as sweet as candy after all,¡± Zu An said. But inside, he was thinking somethingpletely different. This woman was following the script of a high-end green tea bitch perfectly.[1]

    ¡°The young master¡¯s words are also extremely sweet. I wonder what I should call the young master?¡± Seeing that the other party had turned to the side to make way, Tang Tian¡¯er took the chance to walk in. She closed the door behind herself.

    1. In the name ¡®Tang Tian¡¯er¡¯, the surname is actually the ¡®Tang¡¯ of the Tang Dynasty, but the same pronunciation with different characters can mean candy. ¡®Tian¡¯ means sweet. ?

 Chapter 979: Sea Empress

    <h4>Chapter 979: Sea Empress</h4>

    Tian¡¯er couldn''t help but feel proud of herself when she saw that the other party had let her in after all. I can even make a stiff block of wood start burning.

    ¡°I am surnamed An.¡± Zu An obviously wouldn¡¯t tell her his real name. He gave her an ambiguous smile and said, ¡°These private rooms have quite good sound istion. Is thedy not scared that I will do something rude to you if you close the door?¡±

    This was a jade token guest¡¯s room. As long as the windows were closed, almost all noise would be blocked out. The ce had clearly been meticulously designed.

    Tang Tian¡¯er showed him a sweet smile and replied, ¡°How can a noble guest like the young master be that sort of unromantic brute? Of course I have no need to be scared of anything like that.¡±

    Zu An calmly said, ¡°Could it be that you do not know that the more distinguished the guest is, the more strange their preferences and fetishes are?¡±

    Tang Tian¡¯er was speechless. She really didn¡¯t know how to respond after hearing something like that. Wouldn¡¯t someone normally exchange a few flirtatious sentences at that point to make the atmosphere more intense?

    Zu An¡¯s attention was still on Sun Ji and he didn¡¯t have much interest in feigning civility with her. He asked, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you came with the goods? Where are they?¡±

    Tang Tian¡¯er¡¯s smile couldn''t help but freeze. However, she still took out a pouch from her ring, saying, ¡°The items are inside. Young master An, please look through them.¡±

    Zu An gave her ring a look. He had already been in this world for so long, he immediately recognized that it was a spatial artifact. However, most spatial artifacts were in the shape of pouches. Storage systems that could be as small as a ring were all extremely precious. Was this really just an ordinary hostess?

    He had his misgivings, but he didn¡¯t show it on the surface. He took the pouch from her and checked the contents. These things were rted to Daji¡¯s breakthrough, so he treated them carefully.

    After confirming the contents, he took out a stack of silver notes. ¡°Miss Tang, check the amount, please.¡±

    After receiving the money, Tang Tian¡¯er ced it into her ring. ¡°The young master is someone I trust; there is no need to count the money.¡± That made Zu An¡¯s earlier actions seem a bit selfish.

    This woman really is quite petty; she even has to get me back on something small like this, Zu An thought with a bit of ridicule.

    Tang Tian¡¯er said with a curious expression, ¡°The young master is gentle and kind like jade; you are almost an entirely different person from the side you showed everyone outside!¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, Just when did I act gentle and kind like jade? But he still enjoyed the praise all the same. ¡°This only means that thedy does not know enough about me yet.¡±

    Tang Tian¡¯er smiled. She subtly got a bit closer to the other party and replied, ¡°Then will the young master give me a chance to get to know you properly?¡±

    She controlled the space between the two of them extremely well. If she were even a bit closer, she would seem too frivolous; and yet if she went a bit farther, there wouldn¡¯t be that ambiguous mood.

    When he smelled the delicate fragrance she was giving off, Zu An was surprised. Isn¡¯t this woman seducing me? Don¡¯t tell me my charm is already so great that women will throw themselves at me even with a mask on?

    He chuckled and said, ¡°I think it would be better if thedy gave me a chance to understand you.¡±

    ¡°What does the young master wish to know?¡± Tang Tian¡¯er thought to herself, You really are a block of wood. But since they were now interacting atst, she felt that everything was now within her grasp.

    ¡°Of course I want to know you deep inside,¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°The young master is so bad!¡± Tang Tian¡¯er worked in the Hub of Freedom, so she naturally understood the implicit meaning. She hit Zu An¡¯s shoulder with her small fists.

    As an expert socialite, she naturally knew what an appropriate level of body contact was and how to quickly close the distance between them, how to subconsciously make a man think that one thought well of him.

    Despite that, Zu An obviously also knew the game she was ying. But if they were both going to act to the end, who was scared of whom here? He took the chance to wrap his arms around her waist. He had suddenly realized that he might need her as a witnesster.

    But who would have thought that Tang Tian¡¯er would twist her waist away as if she had seen iting ahead of time, avoiding his arm? The smile on her face was reced with worry as she said, ¡°Young master, apart froming here to give you these items, I also came to warn you about something. Young master might have just arrived in Yi Commandery recently, so you might not know the background of the one you offended. His father is Sun Xun, the right hand man of King Yan, and within this region of a thousand li, everyone else is beneath him. He dotes on young master Sun a lot too, which is why no one dares to provoke him no matter how arrogantly he acts in Yi Commandery.

    ¡°You offended him in front of so many people, so with his nature, he will definitely want to get revenge. That is why I advise the young master to be more careful. It might be better if you call over your n¡¯s experts to escort you back. You absolutely must not treat this matter carelessly.¡±

    A rtionship with a man was just like fishing; one had to both push and pull. She used her charm to draw him in and ignite his passion, but if she continued to treat him sweetly and made it too easy for him, she would instead lose a lot of her charm. On the contrary, withholding it from him like this would gradually drive a man crazy.

    Zu An replied, seemingly stunned, ¡°The two of us are merely strangers who have met today by chance; why is thedy treating me so well? If Sun Ji learned of this, it would clearly offend the Sun n.¡±

    He only expressed his gratitude on the surface, but on the inside, he sneered instead. What she said was something he had already discerned seventy to eighty percent of from the auction hall¡¯s discussions. Clearly, she hadn¡¯t actually really given him any important information, and was instead secretly prying at his background.

    If it were any other naive kid, they really might have been moved to bitter tears. Unfortunately, she had ended up encountering someone like him. Sigh, a sea empress like you might like raising all sorts of different fish, but are you not scared that one day you might encounter a shark?n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Tang Tian¡¯er said gently, ¡°As an honored guest of the Hub of Freedom, we obviously do not wish to see anything bad happen to the young master. But out of selfish intentions¡­¡± She paused there and looked at him with a shy expression. Then, she said finely, ¡°When I saw how heroic the young master was, this humble girl began to admire you greatly. I do not want to see anything bad happen to the young master.¡±

    Zu An clicked his tongue. This woman really might win an Oscar if she had been in his previous world¡¯s entertainment industry! Her acting really was on an entirely different level!

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Forget about the Sun n, not even King Yan himself could do anything to me if he personally came.¡± Zu An pretended to be a young master that had beenpletely smitten by her. He patted his chest as if to provide a guarantee.

    A hint of surprise appeared in Tang Tian¡¯er¡¯s eyes when she heard what he said. This man¡¯s background was extraordinary, as expected! But she pretended to look extremely worried and eximed, ¡°Young master, you cannot be careless! King Yan is a grandmaster, and Minister Sun is also rumored to possess grandmaster level strength. Even if your n has some influence, I fear¡­¡± Even though she didn¡¯t finish her sentence, her implications were clear.

    Zu An said indifferently, ¡°It does not matter. King Yan might not necessarily join in my conflict with the Sun n.¡±

    Tang Tian¡¯er thought to herself, As expected, the other party still has some reservations toward the grandmaster level! But he isn¡¯t as scared of a master rank cultivator.

    ¡°But this is the Sun n¡¯s domain. If the Sun n really wishes to scheme against you and the young master is alone, your seniors might not be able toe in time to save you!¡± Tang Tian¡¯er continued to make indirect inquiries.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Yi Commandery is near the Suidan River. Wherever there is water, there is no way they can harm me,¡± Zu An replied proudly.

    Tang Tian¡¯er was rmed. He¡¯s from the ocean races, as expected! As such, she said, ¡°Then I feel much more relieved. I have to say, Yi Commandery is a great ce, but it is just a bit too cold. I like warmer ces like the south. I heard that the southern beaches are still warm like summer right now. Just the thought of the sunlight and sand makes me excited, but I just do not know if that really is true¡­¡±

    ¡°Of course it is.¡± Zu An had guessed her true intentions, so he created an ocean race identity for himself. He used some of the documentaries he watched from his past world to create the image of a mysterious sea. Together with the mermaid princess he had met before in the dungeon, his description only seemed even more realistic.

    Tang Tian¡¯er was now more and more certain that he was definitely from the ocean races. Otherwise, how could he know all of that so clearly? She had just been making some discreet inquiries at first, but she waspletely sucked in by Zu An¡¯s description. Her eyes continued to sparkle as she listened.

    The mood became more and more familiar and fervent. However, Zu An noticed that Sun Ji was already about to leave. He began to feel a bit impatient, so he reached out his arm to hug the woman next to him.

    Tang Tian¡¯er fell into his arms with a lovable smile. Then, she raised her head and slowly moved up to kiss him. Just as their lips were about to touch, a bit of pink mist gently emerged from her bright red lips. Zu An¡¯s entire body trembled, and then he fell weakly to the side.

    Tang Tian¡¯er sat up from his embrace. Her previously flirtatious nature was already nowhere to be seen as she eximed, ¡°Hmph, you want to take advantage of me? Keep dreaming!¡±

 Chapter 980: Seven Li Soulchaser Scent

    <h4>Chapter 980: Seven Li Soulchaser Scent</h4>

    Even after Zu An copsed, Tang Tian¡¯er still didn¡¯t feel at ease. She reached out and struck several of his acupoints, then sighed in relief. Then, she sat down next to Zu An. Her small hands reached into his clothes, but after she groped around for a bit, she muttered to herself in annoyance, ¡°Huh? Where did those things go?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Tang Tian¡¯er for +88 +88 +88¡­

    She wanted to see if Zu An had any precious treasures or identifying things. However, she didn¡¯t find anything apart from some silvers.

    ¡°Where is the pouch I gave him just now?¡± Tang Tian¡¯er didn¡¯t find anything even after a long time. However, she realized he probably had some kind of spatial storage item. Unfortunately, she still didn¡¯t find anything even after looking some more.

    ¡°He is from the ocean race after all; his body is full of mysteries¡­¡± Tang Tian¡¯er stared at his mask, then suddenly thought of something. ¡°I wonder what he looks like?¡±

    She reached out and undid his mask. She waspletely stunned by what she saw. After staring for a while, she suddenly blushed and remarked, ¡°You¡¯re more handsome than I expected. If I knew that earlier, I wouldn¡¯t have moved out of the way, hehe.¡±

    Someone knocked from outside. Tang Tian¡¯er frowned and said, ¡°Stop rushing me, I¡¯ll be out soon.¡± She gently blew a breath of warm air against Zu An¡¯s ear, then quietly whispered, ¡°Sweet dreams. I hope we¡¯re having a wonderful time in your dreams.¡± She turned around and walked away while giggling.

    Chubby Senior was waiting outside when Tang Tian¡¯er opened the door. He looked inside through the door crack. When he saw that Zu An was already asleep, he sighed in relief before asking, ¡°So? Did you find out anything?¡±

    ¡°He really is from the ocean races, and his status is probably quite high,¡± Tang Tian¡¯er closed the door while replying. Someone who didn¡¯t even care that much about King Yan and Sun Xun definitely had a powerful background.

    Chubby Senior nodded and said, ¡°As expected. The Hub of Freedom has never been able to establish a rtionship with the ocean races. Looks like we¡¯ll have to invest in him.¡±

    Tang Tian¡¯er was about to say something when her expression changed a bit. She and Chubby Senior both hid in a nearby corner. The moment their figures disappeared, a shifty-eyed individual appeared nearby. Even though he was trying to hide it, he still looked toward Zu An¡¯s room from time to time, giving away his real objective.

    ¡°Sun Ji¡¯s spy.¡± Tang Tian¡¯er¡¯s pretty brow furrowed.

    ¡°Indeed. Sun Ji has just left in a hurry, most likely to return that jade pendant to his n, but he doesn¡¯t n on letting guest 333 go. That¡¯s why he assigned someone here to keep an eye on him,¡± Chubby Senior exined.

    Tang Tian¡¯er was a bit worried. ¡°Is the Hub of Freedom really not going to do anything about it? Even though young master An is from the ocean races, we¡¯re far from the seas right now. He might end up in big trouble.¡±

    Even though Zu An had had a lot of confidence earlier, she just treated it as a man¡¯s boasting when trying to impress a girl and didn¡¯t take his words seriously.

    Chubby Senior frowned, saying, ¡°The Hub of Freedom has never gotten involved in the private matters of guests¡­¡±

    Tang Tian¡¯er grabbed his sleeve before he even finished what he was saying, eximing, ¡°Chubby uncle, young master An isn¡¯t like other people! We¡¯ve finally established a connection with the ocean races, so we can¡¯t miss this chance. I¡¯m thinking for our establishment¡¯s interests here!¡±

    Chubby Senior rolled his eyes. ¡°Isn¡¯t this because you¡¯ve taken a liking to that kid? Hmph, I guess it¡¯s fine. The Hub of Freedom will ensure his safety, but we can¡¯t interfere too early. We¡¯ll let him suffer a bit under Sun Ji¡¯s men, then help him afterward. He¡¯ll feel more grateful then.¡±

    Tang Tian¡¯er giggled and had a huge smile on her face as she replied, ¡°Chubby uncle is the wisest after all. I really, really admire you.¡±

    ¡°Stop with the ttery already.¡± Chubby Senior harrumphed. ¡°I¡¯m warning you ahead of time. You can y around with him, but don¡¯t end up throwing yourself away in the process.¡±

    Tang Tian¡¯er snorted. ¡°Do I seem like that type of person?¡±

    ¡°I guess you¡¯re right.¡± Chubby Senior couldn''t help but smile. This little girl had toyed with so many young masters over the years, and yet she had never gotten into any real trouble over it.

    ¡­

    Zu An opened his eyes when the two of them left. He had yed nice with Tang Tian¡¯er not because he really was charmed by her beauty, but rather because he was going to use her as a witness. After the matter, she would prove his innocence. After all, this was King Yan and Sun Xun¡¯s territory, so it could get pretty annoying if things got too out of hand.

    But he had previously been annoyed thinking about how he was going to get Tang Tian¡¯er to y along. It would have been easy enough to knock her out, but she would definitely know what happened once she woke up. His intention for her to be his alibi would then be ruined.

    If Tang Tian¡¯er had been a man, he could use Daji to charm her. Tampering with her memory wouldn¡¯t have been too difficult either. But she was a woman, so Daji¡¯s charms wouldn¡¯t work. He had thought about using Keyboard Come, but he never tried memory alternation yet and didn¡¯t know what would happen or how strong the rebound would be.

    Zu An hadn¡¯t expected her to knock him out first! He had almost burst outughing with joy when he saw the mist that sprayed out of her lips.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    He had always been careful, so he hadn¡¯t breathed in the smoke at all. Even though he was already impervious to most poisons, who knew what kind of stuff that mist was made of? What if it hadn¡¯t been a poison, but rather an aphrodisiac? Then things would really be troublesome.

    When he heard Chubby Elder and the others leave, he called out Daji. He covered her in his own clothes and made her wear his mask. Then, he put her back where he had been to pretend that he was asleep.

    He left afterpleting all of his preparations. He quickly sealed the acupoints of the spy Sun Ji had left behind and had Daji use her ¡®Fox Charm¡¯ on him. That meant even Sun Ji¡¯s own subordinates could be used as witnesses. No one would suspect thim then.

    He didn¡¯t contact Gao Ying and Pei You beforehand, and secretly snuck out of the Hub of Freedom. The Hub of Freedom was mainly on guard against outsidersing in. The inspection for leaving wasn¡¯t nearly as strict. He was able to urately pinpoint where Sun Ji¡¯s group was using the jade badge and the surrounding animals.

    An hourter, he finally caught up to Sun Ji¡¯s carriage. He made his way ahead of them and looked for a good chance to strike. After all, this was Yi Commandery, so he had to act quickly, or else it would be troublesome if some new variable popped up.

    He might have ignored Sun Ji if it were just because of their personal grudge. However, he couldn''t be bothered to weigh the consequences because he had to save Mi Li.

    Just then, he had even learned from Sun Ji¡¯s subordinate that Sun Ji had nned to bring back people to kill him right after he delivered that jade pendant. Zu An was no saint, so he obviously naturally wanted a tooth for a tooth.

    When he saw the carriage quickly arrive, he prepared to strike, but suddenly noticed something odd. He looked in a different direction.

    Several dozen pieces of bamboo flew over, tearing through the air with a scream. Close to half of Sun Ji¡¯s subordinates were instantly wiped out.

    A figure shot out from the carriage. It was Sun Ji¡¯s guardian Yang Long. His palms moved together, and a st of energy instantly crushed the iing bamboo strips into small pieces. He eximed, ¡°Which scoundrel dares to attack the Sun n¡¯s carriage?!¡±

    Sun Ji quickly came out from the carriage as well. His guards immediately surrounded him to protect him.

    ¡°You really are quick to bring out the Sun n. What I absolutely loathe the most are idiots like you who rely on your family background to step on ordinary people,¡± said a sinister voice. Then, a ck-robed figure slowly walked out from the bamboo forest.

    ¡°It¡¯s you!¡± Yang Long immediately recognized that the figure was the one who had appeared in the auction hall previously. He even vaguely sensed that the other person¡¯s ki fluctuations were stronger than his own. However, he had a numbers advantage, so no one knew who woulde out on top in the end.

    ¡°Leave your belongings behind, and I can consider sparing your lives.¡± The ck-robed individual¡¯s voice didn¡¯t carry a shred of emotion.

    ¡°How did you find us?¡± Yang Long¡¯s expression was ugly. After all, the identities of every single guest from the Hub of Freedom were a secret. Even though his n¡¯s young master had still clearly expressed his identity, their departure from the Hub of Freedom had been in secret, and only those from the Hub of Freedom had known that they left. There should have been no way any other guest could track them down. Don¡¯t tell me the Hub of Freedom was scheming something?

    ¡°I nted a Seven Li Soulchaser Scent on you. I can find you all even if my eyes are closed,¡± the ck robed man said proudly.

    ¡°Seven Li Soulchaser Scent? It¡¯s you!¡± Yang Long¡¯s expression immediately changed greatly.

 Chapter 981: Made a Scapegoat

    <h4>Chapter 981: Made a Scapegoat</h4>

    The ck-robed manughed sinisterly and said, ¡°Since you know who I am, you should quickly leave behind your belongings. I can still spare your lives.¡±

    Zu An was curious. This person seemed to be pretty famous. He wondered who the man was. The amount of time he had spent in this world was still way too short, and he had been affiliated with the royal court for so long. He didn¡¯t know much about the world of wandering warriors.

    Sun Ji just happened to ask the question Zu An had been wondering about. ¡°Elder Yang, who is he?¡±

    Yang Long didn¡¯t reply. His eyes didn¡¯t leave the ck robed man¡¯s body even for a second as he said, ¡°I might have actually believed the lie if I didn¡¯t know who you were. However, when has the evil way¡¯s infamous Thick-Browed Daoist ever spared anyone?¡±

    ¡°Thick-Browed Daoist?¡± Zu An frowned. He had never heard of such a person. Is this person really formidable? However, he saw the two eyebrows inside of his cloak. They were indeed thick and ck after all, just like his nickname.

    Sun Ji said angrily, ¡°What ¡®thick brows¡¯ or ¡®thin brows¡¯? In a ce like Yi Commandery, if we put King Yan aside, our Sun n has the final say! I advise you to know your ce; perhaps then, our Sun n might still take you in as a follower and present you with a bright future. Otherwise, you¡¯ll die without even knowing how it happened.¡±

    Yang Long frowned. He wanted to tell Sun Ji to stop, but he decided not to. The other party¡¯s vicious reputation was well known; it didn¡¯t make a difference whether Sun Ji provoked him further or not. That was why Yang Long didn¡¯t bother stopping him.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Thick-Browed Daoist roared withughter when he heard that. ¡°Hahaha, what a cultivator trains is their own body; their own insight is everything. What they pursue is a heart of freedom and transcendence. I, Thick-Brows, have no interest in living as a dog for your n.¡±

    Yang Long¡¯s face heated up in embarrassment. The other party clearly treated him like the Sun n¡¯s dog, even though he was also a cultivator and had his own n. He immediately retorted, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with requesting the help of a ruling n in acquiring skill? The path of cultivation needs endless resources; how can one handle this need just by relying on yourself? The so-called freedom you speak of has left your hands covered in blood. You¡¯ve killed other cultivators to steal their resources and cultivation, so how is that any more noble?¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He hadn¡¯t expected Thick-Browed Daoist to also rely on stealing the cultivation of others! Tsk tsk tsk, as expected, such a skill is definitely an evil one in a world of cultivators! I definitely can¡¯t expose my Heaven Devouring Art to others, or else I¡¯ll have everyone after my ass¡­

    Thick-Browed Daoist harrumphed. ¡°Stop trying to stall for time. Die!¡± His ck robes fluttered, and a ck mist swept towards the carriage.

    ¡°Young master, be careful!¡± Yang Long quickly moved to protect Sun Ji.

    The other guards all faced the great enemy, bringing out their most powerful skills to fend off the ck mist. Unfortunately, their skills vanished into the ck mist without aplishing anything. Miserable screams emerged one after another. The guards with lower cultivations were already being pulled toward Thick-Browed Daoist by the ck mist.

    ¡°Hahaha¡­¡± Thick-Browed Daoist reached out his hands and pressed down on those people¡¯s heads. As hisughter echoed through the air, their vitality was quickly sucked away, turning them into dried-up corpses.

    ¡°I feel absolutely fantastic¡­¡± Thick-Browed Daoist tossed the dried corpses aside and licked his lips in reminiscence of the vor. When his eyes swept over the survivors, those from the Sun n gulped with difficulty.

    Zu An frowned. This guy¡¯s killing intent was way too strong! Furthermore, he could tell that even though there were some simrities between his cultivation technique and the Heaven Devouring Art, the two techniques were actually fundamentally different.

    The efficiency of this man¡¯s technique was too low, and he absorbed all kinds of impurities into his body. If this continued for a long time, there would be problems with his body. At the same time, his own temperament would be molded by the victims¡¯ negative emotions. If left unresolved, it would lead to madness or mental disorders. This man was probably already close to such a result. It was no wonder that he seemed a bit neurotic and so bloodthirsty.

    While Zu An was thinking to himself, Thick-Browed Daoist rushed out toward Sun Ji.

    Sun Ji himself had five ranks of cultivation, which was normally enough for him to strut around confidently. But just then, when he was faced with the iing killing intent, he only felt his entire body tremble and go weak. He couldn''t produce a single thought of resistance.

    Yang Long roared out. After all, he was a seventh ranked cultivator. Countless icicles flew at the other party.

    ¡°An ice element cultivator¡­¡± Zu An couldn''t help but think of Chu Chuyan. He wondered if she was already back at that sect of hers.

    Thick-Browed Daoist swept his spacious sleeves outward, and the pitch-ck mist appeared in the center of his palm. The icicles instantly melted and disappeared.

    Yang Long hadn¡¯t expected his attack to be able to stop the other party. A cold glint flickered in the air, and a long spear appeared from behind him and thrust at his opponent. The spear waspletely silver, and its entire body emanated an icy chill.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes widened. Where did this guy get such a long spear from? Wait, I think he got it from behind his butt, right? Hold up¡­

    The spear produced a mirage of afterimages, and Thick-Browed Daoist was quickly trapped within. He soon appeared to have been sealed in a silkworm cocoon-like block of ice.

    Those from the Sun n cheered. Only Yang Long¡¯s brow remained tightly furrowed.

    A malicious voice suddenly spoke from within the ice. ¡°In terms of spear arts, you¡¯ve already attained quite some mastery. Unfortunately, the difference between seven and eight ranks of cultivation isn¡¯t something skill alone can ovee. You don¡¯t understand what it means to borrow the force of the world at all.¡±

    The massive chunk of ice around Thick-Browed Daoist cracked like an eggshell as soon as he said that. Then, shards of ice were sent flying everywhere as a dark figure rushed out from within.

    Yang Long was horrified and screamed out, ¡°Run, young master!¡± He charged with his spear, but the other party didn¡¯t even bother dodging. Thick-Browed Daoist struck Yang Long¡¯s spear with his palm, and the imposing weapon split in half on the spot. Then, another palm mmed into Yang Long¡¯s chest.

    Blood sprayed out from Yang Long¡¯s mouth as he flew in reverse. For better or for worse, he had cultivated for many years, so he was thankfully able to free himself from the other party¡¯s control at a critical moment, avoiding the fate of being sucked dry into a withered corpse. However, that already used up all of his remaining strength. He copsed onto the ground, no longer possessing even a shred of strength.

    Meanwhile, Sun Ji was absolutely horrified. He pushed a subordinate off his horse and got on, urging the animal to run as fast as it could. The other guards took the chance to flee in several different directions.

    Thick-Browed Daoist harrumphed. With a wave of his sleeves, the weapons scattered on the ground fired outward. They urately pierced through the backs of the guards like guided missiles. Not a single one survived. He gave the direction Sun Ji had escaped toward a look. He kicked off, and a split secondter, he instantly appeared in front of Sun Ji.

    ¡°Neigh~!¡± The horse¡¯s front hooves rose in rm. Thick-Browed Daoist harrumphed, smacking the horse in the head. The horse shriveled up at a visible rate, and quickly lost its life.

    Sun Ji was flung right off. He wanted to run, but he discovered that his legs weren¡¯t listening to him today for some reason. He continued to nudge his body backward, running his mouth in a desperate plea. ¡°Great senior, you only want the goods, right? I¡¯ll give it all to you; we don¡¯t have to go as far as killing, right? After all, this is the Yi Commandery, so it¡¯ll still be quite troublesome if you end up carrying a grudge with the Sun n!¡±

    Thick-Browed Daoist nodded and said, ¡°You¡¯re correct. Offending your Sun n in Yi Commandery is an extremely troublesome thing.¡±

    Sun Ji was overjoyed when he heard that. He continued ¡°As long as senior lets me go, I won¡¯t pursue today¡¯s matter at all! Those guards have already died; our Sun n won¡¯t treat it as a big deal! The items are here, senior; please be magnanimous!¡± As he handed over the pouch carrying the auction¡¯s goods, he had a fawning smile on his face.

    Zu An sneered. Those guards had died while trying to protect Sun Ji, and yet all their deaths had managed to do was produce such a scene.

    Thick-Browed Daoist examined the contents. After confirming that there was no mistake, he put the pouch away. There was an amused smile on his face as his palm struck Sun Ji¡¯s head.

    ¡°You¡­¡± Sun Ji only had the time to utter one word before he died. Then, his body fell limply to the ground.

    Thick-Browed Daoist said with a sneer, ¡°Offending your Sun n is annoying, but who will know I was the one who did it if I kill all of you?¡±

    When he heard that, Yang Long released a long sigh and said, ¡°There are no walls that don¡¯t leak wind in this world. The Sun n will definitely find you.¡±

    After saying that, he struck his own forehead and ended his life. He knew he wasn¡¯t going to survive. Rather than letting the other party suck away his cultivation, he decided that it was better for him to just end his own life.

    Thick-Browed Daoist walked over. When he confirmed that Yang Long was indeed dead, he said mockingly, ¡°There¡¯s already a scapegoat ready to take the me, so how could the Sun n ever realize that it was me?¡±

    He cleaned up the scene while saying that. He took out a bottle and scattered the contents on the bodies he had sucked dry. The corpses disappeared at a visible rate, and the ashes were blown away by the cool evening breeze.

    Zu An nodded inwardly. This person was quite cautious. He had gotten rid of the corpses to prevent people from suspecting him.

    Then, Thick-Browed Daoist walked over to Yang Long¡¯s body. He wrote down the number ¡®333¡¯ on the ground next to him. In order to make it look as convincing as possible, he only wrote half of thest 3, then ced Yang Long¡¯s hand over that number.

    Afterpleting all of his preparations, he nodded in satisfaction. He was just about to leave when someone sighed nearby, saying, ¡°Someone like you who dares tomit the deed but won¡¯t take responsibility, instead making an innocent person take the me¡­ Do you have no conscience at all?¡±

 Chapter 982: Face of a Thousand Identities

    <h4>Chapter 982: Face of a Thousand Identities</h4>

    ¡°Who?!¡± Thick-Browed Daoist suddenly turned around and looked toward the source of the sound.

    A single individual walked over; he seemed quite young. Thick-Browed Daoist sighed in relief. He thought he had been discovered by some powerful cultivator. How high could the cultivation of someone so young be anyway?

    Zu An stared at the number 333. He said indifferently, ¡°Truly a botched attempt at framing someone.¡±

    Thick-Browed Daoist¡¯s eyes flickered. He asked, ¡°You¡¯re that 333?¡± No wonder he had felt a strange sense of familiarity when he heard the person¡¯s voice and saw his build. So it was guest 333.

    ¡°Indeed.¡± At this point, there was no need for Zu An to hide anything. ¡°You went out andmitted this crime using my name. Shouldn¡¯t I at least enjoy a share of the benefits?¡±

    ¡°Using your name?¡± Thick-Browed Daoist roared withughter. ¡°How much is your name worth? Who would even hesitate to use it falsely? You¡¯re nothing more than a tool for me to deflect me onto.¡± His palm struck at the other party¡¯s vitals right after he said that. Since this youngster had seen him in the act, he had to be silenced.

    Thick-Browed Daoist had seen how this guest 333 had been bidding in the Hub of Freedom. The highest bid the youngster had ced was close to three million, but he had failed to buy the final item. That meant he had around three million silvers on him, so he was definitely from a wealthy n.

    I didn¡¯t expect the heavens to be so kind to me today, to deliver me such a fat sheep for ughter! These two batches of resources today should be enough for me to break through into the master rank.

    However, his vision blurred. When it cleared, the other party was already somewhere else.

    ¡°Sir, you really are heartless. How can you try to kill someone just over a slight disagreement?¡± Zu An¡®s brow furrowed deeply. If it were anyone else, they would already have been finished.

    Thick-Browed Daoist was a bit surprised. He hadn¡¯t expected the other party to actually avoid his attack. ¡°No wonder you had the courage to challenge the Sun n; so you had this strange movement technique to rely on. A pity, however, that a movement technique without the appropriate cultivation is worthless.¡±

    His speed suddenly increased, his body instantly appearing in front of Zu An. ck mist poured out of Thick-Browed Daoist¡¯s palms and surrounded Zu An. He was confident that the air had already be as viscous as water. This time, the youngster wouldn¡¯t be able to get away no matter how brilliant his movement technique was.

    But to his surprise, Zu An didn¡¯t show the slightest bit of rm. He stood in ce without dodging at all, remarking as his palm rose to greet the other party, ¡°Why are you so confident that I¡¯ll run away for certain?¡±

    Thick-Browed Daoist frowned. His many years of experience in the world of cultivators told him that something wasn¡¯t right. However, no matter how he thought about it, there was no way the other party could be his match. Besides, this kid dares to trade blows with me?

    Not even another cultivator of the same rank would dare to trade palms with me, because a portion of their cultivation might easily be sucked away. This kid is just courting death! A sinister smile shed across his face. He mmed his palm forward, deciding that he was going to suck the other personpletely dry!

    The two palms collided. The ck misting out of Thick-Browed Daoist¡¯s handpletely surrounded the other party as he eximed, ¡°Absorb everything!¡±

    ¡°¡­Huh?¡± Thick-Browed Daoist¡¯s smile quickly froze on his face. He discovered that he couldn¡¯t suck away even the slightest bit of the other party¡¯s cultivation. He didn¡¯t know what was going on, but he finally realized that something wasn¡¯t right. He quickly jumped backward to try and increase the distance.

    Unfortunately, it was already toote. His hand seemed to have been glued in ce. He couldn¡¯t move it in the slightest. The young man across from him had a simple and innocent smile on his face as he asked, ¡°Is the absorption you were talking about something like this?¡±

    A ck hole appeared in his palm as soon as he said that. Thick-Browed Daoist immediately felt all of his cultivation leave his body like a bursting dam. Even his own absorption of other people¡¯s cultivation wasn¡¯t this fast!

    He was horrified, struggling frantically, yet he couldn¡¯t move at all. At first, he was swearing, but eventually, all that remained was begging and pleading. His voice became softer and softer.

    All the way until his death, he couldn¡¯t understand why the other party¡¯s cultivation could be so much higher than his despite being so young. Furthermore, the other party¡¯s skill was also clearly more profound than his own¡­ No, it was worlds apart! That was why he didn¡¯t even bother fighting back.

    Zu An flung Thick-Browed Daoist¡¯s corpse away. He frowned. He could sense the cultivation swirling within him. He had previously been at the eighth step of the ninth rank, and after absorbing all of Thick-Browed Daoist¡¯s cultivation, he was clearly already at the peak of the ninth rank. He was just a hair away from the master rank.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    However, he felt a ruthless bloodiness filling him. He knew that was a result created from Thick-Browed Daoist¡¯s ruthless ughter of other cultivators. No wonder big sis empress told me not to use the Heaven Devouring Art to increase my cultivation. This kind of cultivation absorption is impure and needs a lot of time and energy to properly digest.

    The key was that this person¡¯s cultivation had the resentment, killing intent, and other negative attributes of his victims mixed in. It would only do more harm than good for tempering Zu An¡¯s soul.

    But he couldn¡¯t be bothered with all of that right now. The little creatures he had set around him as guards had already detected a group of people approaching quickly. As such, he grabbed Thick-Browed Daoist¡¯s corpse and left.

    ¡­

    Soon after Zu An left, a group of men arrived at the scene of the crime. The most eye-catching feature of the middle-aged man at the very front were his triangr eyes, identical to Sun Ji¡¯s. It was obvious that they were rted.

    His eyes flickered a bit. They appeared to always be scheming something. He had seen the scene even from far away. rmed, he had immediately leapt over.

    ¡°Ji¡¯er!¡± His howl of grief and anger tore through the entire forest.

    His subordinates rushed over one after another. They were all horrified when they saw the scene. How many years had it been since someone dared to challenge their master? Furthermore, they had killed Minister Sun¡¯s son! This was a grudge that wouldn¡¯t end until one side waspletely wiped out!

    Those investigating the scene reported, ¡°Minister, Sir Yang left behind some clues before he died.¡±

    The middle-aged man with the triangr eyes was naturally Xiang Minister Sun Xun. He walked over to Yang Long¡¯s side and looked at the number 333 written on the ground. He glowered as he eximed, ¡°What is the meaning of this?¡±

    ¡°It might be a guest number from the Hub of Freedom. The young master had just left the Hub of Freedom.¡± There were sharp individuals among the subordinates, and one of them quickly provided his analysis.

    Sun Xun¡¯s expression was icy. ¡°Go! We¡¯re heading to the Hub of Freedom!¡±

    Even though the location of the Hub of Freedom was mysterious, that was only for ordinary guests. He was someone with real authority in Yi Commandery, so how could he not know where the Hub of Freedom was?

    It was just that his rtionship with the Hub of Freedom¡¯s management was quite good, and they had given the higher ups quite a sum. That was why the higher ups just turned a blind eye to everything. But now that his son had been killed, how could he possibly hold back his anger?

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An returned to his room. Daji was still on guard under her covers, but that ended when she saw him. When he saw that, Zu An couldn¡¯t help but remark with a sigh of admiration, ¡°Do you really not have a soul?¡±

    Unfortunately, the other party was still like a machine, staring calmly at him without responding in the slightest.

    Zu An waspletely helpless. He could only take out the pouch he had gotten from Thick-Browed Daoist. As for the corpse itself, he had already dealt with it on the way back. This was an age of cultivators, so any random use of the ice or fire element was enough to destroy any bit of evidence.

    Zu An sighed in relief when he saw the jade pendant. He now had some hope for big sis empress¡¯ Milk of Purple Frost.

    He held the jade pendant in the center of his palm. Its patterns were quite strange, as if it were some kind of abstract map. But if it was a map, with the Hub of Freedom¡¯s resources, why hadn¡¯t they uncovered anything? He couldn¡¯t figure it out no matter how he thought about it. He put the jade pendant away and looked over the other things.

    ¡°Oh, the Immortal Beheading Knife!¡± he eximed. It was an unexpected surprise. Sun Ji had purchased the Immortal Beheading Knife previously, and Thick-Browed Daoist had seized it, but it had ultimately ended up in Zu An¡¯s hands. He now had five of them in total. He wondered what kind of miraculous effects there would be if he pieced together nine of them.

    He then continued to look through the pouch, but he didn¡¯t find what he was looking for. He couldn¡¯t help but curse. ¡°These two don¡¯t even have a single tael of silver added together? Just how freaking poor are you guys?!¡±

    Back in the capital, he hadn¡¯t felt any financial pressure, as most essential expenses, as well as even cultivation resources, had been covered by the court. The money he had saved up from Brightmoon City even made him feel rich.

    But only after that auction experience did he realize how poor he was. The road of cultivation was a bottomless pit¡­

    Soon afterward, however, he realized that Sun Ji had spent everything to buy the Immortal Beheading Knife and the pendant containing the clue about the Milk of Purple Frost. It only made sense that he had nothing left.

    An independent cultivator like Thick-Browed Daoist was used to killing for money. Even if he had any money, he would have already converted it into resources to be used. He had probably already used up all of the cash he had during the trip to the Hub of Freedom, and gone over just to scout out fat sheep for ughter.

    ¡°Why am I so unlucky¡­¡± Zu An muttered. He only found some pills, weapons and other stuff that was pretty valuable in the world of warriors. But for someone like him who was from the empire¡¯s Imperial Pce, he really didn¡¯t care much about such trifling toys.

    ¡°Hm? What is this?¡± He suddenly discovered a yellowed booklet. It gave off an ancient feeling.

    ¡°Face of a Thousand Identities?¡± When he saw the words on the booklet, Zu An immediately knew that it was an extraordinary item. If the paper material was that old, it should have turned to dust at his touch; and yet, when he touched it, it didn¡¯t feel like paper. Instead, it felt like a special material that was unaffected by water or fire.

 Chapter 983: Confrontation

    <h4>Chapter 983: Confrontation</h4>

    ¡°What is this?¡± Zu An was now curious. He opened it up and took a look. He saw eightrge words on the title page: ¡®Thousand identities, one face; one face, thousand identities.¡¯ All sorts of detailed diagrams followed, analyzing the various parts of one¡¯s face, trunk, limbs, and other areas.

    ¡°This seems to be some teaching material for sketching and anatomy.¡± Zu An was stunned. A small scrap of paper fell out from the booklet. He picked it up and took a look. It contained Thick-Browed Daoist¡¯s notes.

    It turned out that because Thick-Browed Daoist¡¯s brows were too conspicuous no matter how he dressed, he would always be recognized on the spot. That only made his reputation worse and worse.

    He didn¡¯t mind too much at first, but he found it harder and harder to deal withter on. He had to invest several times the effort to aplish the same things. That was the consequence of being infamous.

    That was why he always wanted to change his appearance, at the very least when he was about tomit some evil deed. That way, no one would recognize that it was him. Unfortunately, the camouging techniques of the martial world were full of restrictions. Even if he could change his face, they couldn¡¯t cover up his ring eyebrows. The only way to deal with that was to shave them off. And yet, he had been so fond of those brows that he couldn¡¯t bring himself to do it.

    In the end, after searching everywhere, he had ended up encountering the ¡®Thousand Identities¡¯ technique. It was a miraculous secret manual!

    It was clearly a manual that needed a lot of luck and enlightenment to cultivate, and yet it didn¡¯t increase one¡¯s cultivation no matter how much one¡¯s mastery of it increased. However, it could make one able to do something not even master rank cultivators could do¡ªchange one¡¯s appearance at will.

    It was different from the appearance reconstruction techniques that weremon in Yi Commandery. Such techniques often needed medicines or other tools toplement them. Furthermore, it was hard to change one¡¯s appearance to the point of beingpletely identical to someone else.

    ¡®Face of a Thousand Identities¡¯ was different. It didn¡¯t need any medicine or any external help; it only needed one to be skilled in drawing and memorization. That way, one could instantly remember one¡¯s appearance and all sorts of fine details.

    Then, one would modify one¡¯s muscles and even bone structure ording to the ki transfer technique outlined in the manual, making one¡¯s appearance, physique, and other factorspletely identical. Not even those closest to the person one copied would be able to tell the difference.

    Unfortunately, the manual¡¯s cultivation difficulty was extremely high. The memorization part wasn¡¯t too bad, as the minds of cultivators were much more powerful than ordinary people. It wouldn¡¯t be too difficult for them to remember some details in the short term.

    The key was that drawing was something thatpletely depended on talent! It was really hard for normal people to reach the level the Face of a Thousand Identities technique needed.

    There was one other point of difficulty. Face of a Thousand Identities couldn¡¯t raise one¡¯s cultivation at all, but it consumed arge amount of ki. After all, one needed to constantly maintain the modification of their muscles and bone structure, and such things were maintained through ki. Furthermore, in order to change one¡¯s own body as one wished, the demand on both the quality and quantity of one¡¯s ki was absolutely frightening. Either way, Thick-Browed Daoist definitely hadn¡¯t reached that level just yet.

    ¡°No wonder he only used a ck cloak and didn¡¯t sessfully change his appearance.¡± Zu An tossed the booklet into the Brilliant ss Bead. I can turn into a girl now too; that¡¯s way too useful, no matter how you look at it¡­

    He really was incredibly happy with how the day had turned out. He felt fantastic when he thought about his harvest.

    Suddenly, there was arge disturbance outside. The voices of the Hub of Freedom¡¯s staff seemed to be mixed in as well. Zu An quickly unsummoned Daji, theny down himself. Someone barged in as soon as he covered himself.

    ¡°Who¡­?¡± Zu An pretended to have been roused awake. He crawled up in a daze and looked toward the door. It was as if he couldn¡¯t process what was going on.

    Meanwhile, he secretly observed the situation. The cultivation ranks of those who hade in weren¡¯t low. There were several people around Yang Long¡¯s level, and there was another person who was even stronger; his body¡¯s aura was extremely steady. He gave off a deep and immeasurable feeling.

    Master rank?

    The one who entered had clear triangr eyes that were identical to Sun Ji¡¯s. Furthermore, judging from his age, he was probably Sun Ji¡¯s father, the Yi Commandery¡¯s Minister Sun Xun. He looked around as soon as he came in, his gaze incredibly sharp as it quicklynded on Zu An.

    Zu An suddenly seemed to have woken up from his confusion. He roared furiously, ¡°Who are all of you?! All of you better get the hell out!¡±

    Sun Xun¡¯s expression darkened when he heard Zu An¡¯s voice. He remarked, ¡°The young truly don¡¯t fear death.¡±

    The Hub of Freedom¡¯s men also entered just then, led by Chubby Senior. However, he no longer had his earlier pride. Instead, his expression was one full of ttery as he asked, ¡°Minister Sun, which wind brought your respected self here? Could it be that there has been some kind of misunderstanding here?¡±

    Tang Tian¡¯er and the others followed behind him; Tang Tian¡¯er had the same sweet and professional fake smile as always. She snuck a nce at Zu An, a bit of confusion flickering through her eyes. Why was he able to wake up so quickly?

    But after thinking for a bit, she realized that Sun Xun had mmed the door, so how could he not wake up from such a loud disturbance? Furthermore, the constitutions of those from the ocean races were different from humans, so she didn¡¯t think too much about it.

    ¡°A misunderstanding?¡± Sun Xun sneered. ¡°My Ji¡¯er was killed. Are you saying I shouldn¡¯t be looking for the murderer?¡±

    ¡°What?! Something happened to young master Sun?¡± Chubby Senior asked.

    ¡°Did you not know of it?¡± Sun Xun stared at him with sharp eyes. ¡°The whereabouts of guests should be absolutely confidential when they enter and leave the Hub of Freedom. Guests have no way of knowing how other guests leave. You¡¯re the only ones who know how each person has departed from this ce.

    Chubby Senior immediately defended himself. ¡°I am being wronged here, Minister Sun! Our Hub of Freedom has operated for so many years, and we have never done anything contrary to our guests¡¯ interests! This is the basis our establishment is founded on! Furthermore, young master Sun has purchased something from the auction that he has not even fully paid for, so he owes us money. Would we not be losing out on a lot if we harmed him?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Sun Xun¡¯s brow rose. The temperature of the entire room immediately dropped.

    Chubby Senior could only brace himself and hand over the debt note. He gave Sun Xun a rough recount of what happened, then asked, ¡°May I ask if that jade pendant is still with the young master?¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Sun Xun harrumphed and said, ¡°It was already taken away a long time ago.¡± He gave the debt note a nce. Sure enough, it was his son¡¯s handwriting. There was even his own personal seal.

    Sun Ji had already contacted him about that through a special channel. He had rushed over to receive his son when he received the message, but he hadn¡¯t expected to still be a step toote.

    Chubby Senior¡¯s eyes twitched when he saw Sun Xun put away the debt note, but he knew that there was no chance of them getting the money back as well. In that case, he might as well let the money help them avert disaster, or else the other party might just redirect their anger toward the Hub of Freedom.

    Sure enough, after Sun Xun put away the debt note, he didn¡¯t act out against the Hub of Freedom and instead looked at Zu An, asking, ¡°You are that 333?¡±

    ¡°I am,¡± Zu An got up and said indifferently.

    ¡°Arrest him!¡± Sun Xun ordered. A group of people rushed at Zu An.

    Zu An quickly shot Chubby Senior and Tang Tian¡¯er a look, asking, ¡°Is this how the Hub of Freedom treats their guests?¡±

    Chubby Senior was a bit hesitant, but Tang Tian¡¯er spoke up first. ¡°Minister Sun, may I ask why you are arresting him?¡±

    At the same time, she transmitted some words to Chubby Senior through ki, simply stating that there were so many guests watching. If they didn¡¯t do anything, the Hub of Freedom¡¯s reputation would be done for, and they would even lose their connection with the ocean races. Chubby Senior had a huge headache. But what she said made sense, so he quickly rushed out to stop them.

    Sun Xun¡¯s eyes narrowed as he asked, ¡°What, is your Hub of Freedom going to defend the perpetrator who killed my Ji¡¯er?¡±

    Chubby Senior and Tang Tian¡¯er were stunned. Chubby Senior asked, ¡°He is the one who killed young master Sun? There has to be some kind of mistake, no?¡±

    ¡°One of our men wrote that 333 was the killer before his death. What, could it be that you think I would lie about this?¡± Sun Xun snapped impatiently. If not for his reservations toward the one behind the Hub of Freedom, he would have already razed the entire ce to the ground to apany his son to the grave. He wouldn¡¯t have the patience to say so much at all.

    Zu An spoke up just then. ¡°Absolute nonsense. I was in this room the entire time, and Miss Tang can serve as my witness. How could I possibly have gone out and killed someone?¡±

    The eyes of the onlookersnded on Tang Tian¡¯er when they heard that. They were all thinking, The stunning hostess actually kept guest 333pany? Do jade token guests really receive treatment that great?¡± The other jade token guests felt awful. They were also jade token guests, so why didn¡¯t they enjoy such benefits?

    Now that she was being stared at that way, even though Tang Tian¡¯er was usually confident and unrestrained, she still blushed. But as matters stood, she could only say, ¡°Just now¡­ I really was with him.¡±

    She couldn¡¯t say she had knocked him out, right? Doing something like that to a jade token guest would be a tremendous scandal for the Hub of Freedom!

 Chapter 984: How Bold

    <h4>Chapter 984: How Bold</h4>

    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Sighs came from all around them. The expressions of the onlookers were just like those of all Zu An¡¯s ssmates from his previous world as they looked for some drama.

    Tang Tian¡¯er lowered her reddened face, looking incredibly shy. However, inside, she wanted to curse these boorish men to death! She sighed inwardly, feeling as if all of the prestige she had umted over the years was probably gone.

    Zu An saw a string of Rage points enter through the back end. Upon closer inspection, he saw that there were fewer Rage pointsing from the guests and more from the Hub of Freedom¡¯s staff! It seemed Tang Tian¡¯er was actually the Hub of Freedom¡¯s idol.

    Sun Xun harrumphed. ¡°Aren¡¯t you all making a fool of me? This woman was clearly not inside when I opened the doors, and only now did she hurry over from outside. How can she be a witness? Even if your Hub of Freedom intends to defend a criminal, there¡¯s no need to speak such a tant lie, right?¡±

    Zu An feigned a shocked expression as he looked at Tang Tian¡¯er. ¡°Tian¡¯er, you weren¡¯t in the room earlier?¡±

    The Hub of Freedom¡¯s staff members all thought to themselves, That guy is already close enough to call her Tian¡¯er! Sigh, this guest managed to sleep with our prettiest girl so quickly; why are the rest of us so disappointed¡­

    Even whenpared to the beautiful courtesans on the second floor, Tang Tian¡¯er was only superior and not inferior to them in any way. Together with her sweet smile when she spoke, and her friendly vibe, she was extremely popr in the entire ce.

    Tang Tian¡¯er was quite frustrated as well. When did I ever get that close to you?

    However, she quickly realized that it was probably because of the dream he had after he was knocked unconscious, making him think she really had apanied him in various ways. Yet with how things stood, she couldn''t really defend herself. She could only brace herself and admit it. ¡°Ahem, I saw that you were already asleep, so I didn¡¯t wake you up and went out for a bit first.¡±

    Aaah! Now everyone will think I slept with him! But the worst part is that what I¡¯m saying is like tacitly approving it too. How am I even going to show myself in public after this¡­

    The onlookers shot Zu An looks of disdain when they heard what Tang Tian¡¯er said. If we had someone this beautiful apanying us, we might not even be able to sleep all night! And yet this bastard just fell asleep? Are you kidding me?

    They were all men, so Zu An could practically telepathically know what they were thinking. He was left at a loss too. He felt exactly what Tang Tian¡¯er had been feeling earlier. There was no way for him to exin himself¡­

    Sun Xun said darkly, ¡°Even if what Lady Tang says is true, that can only mean she was with number 333 for a short time. He can still use the remaining time to go out andmit the deed.¡±

    After some hesitation, Tang Tian¡¯er insisted, ¡°Your honor, the amount of time I left for was only long enough to drink some tea. There should be no way he could havemitted the crime in such a short time.¡±

    Chubby Senior was getting nervous. Why is she taking responsibility for this matter? She¡¯s already going above and beyondpared to earlier when she spoke up as a witness! Even Zu An gave her a look of surprise. He really couldn''t figure out why she would side with him like this.

    Sun Xun gave Chubby Senior a look, revealing a prating gaze. ¡°Does your Hub of Freedom dare to vouch for the credibility of her words?¡±

    Chubby Senior panicked. This wasn¡¯t something he could just reply to casually! Even though he didn¡¯t feel that guest 333 could have gone out tomit the deed, he didn¡¯t want the Hub of Freedom to get caught up in the matter either. As such, he didn¡¯t reply directly to the question and instead said, ¡°If the minister doesn¡¯t trust us, you can ask the Sun n¡¯s people. I noticed earlier that young master Sun left behind some people to monitor guest 333 before he left.¡±

    Hisses of displeasure filled the air. None of the onlookers were fools; they immediately realized what Sun Ji had nned to do. However, he probably hadn¡¯t expected to not only fail to get revenge on guest number 333, but also toe to ruin himself.

    Sun Xun frowned. He quickly turned around and gave orders to his subordinates. Soon, they brought a guard over. Sun Xun asked, ¡°Did the young master leave you behind to monitor the situation?¡±

    The guard quickly nodded. ¡°Replying to sir, that¡¯s correct.¡±

    ¡°Then, has anything strange happened since then? Did he leave his room or not?¡± Sun Xun asked.

    The guard shook his head. ¡°He didn¡¯t. I was always guarding this spot without a moment of distraction. He didn¡¯te out.¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An suddenly eximed, ¡°Isn¡¯t the whole truth revealed now? I only put up with this nonsense out of respect for your grief toward your son¡¯s death. Isn¡¯t it time for you to apologize to me now?¡±

    Chubby Senior broke out into cold sweat. Kid, are you really not scared of anything? How can you say something like that?!

    Sun Xun gave Chubby Senior a deep look. Then, he gave the window a look. ¡°Is there a chance that he left through here? That way, the guards outside wouldn¡¯t be able to see him.¡±

    Chubby Senior said, ¡°That is impossible. Outside is the auction hall with many people passing by, and there are many powerful cultivators there. If he left through the window, he definitely would have been noticed by someone.¡±

    Zu An sneered. That Sun Ji wanted me to die so badly, but he never would have imagined that the person he left to keep an eye on me would instead be my witness!

    Sun Xun waved his hand, saying, ¡°Drag him back and slowly interrogate himter.¡±

    Tang Tian¡¯er and Chubby Senior¡¯s expressions changed. They quickly asked, ¡°Xiang Minister, why must you do this? His innocence has already been proven!¡±

    ¡°Then why did Yang Long leave his number behind before his death? Even if it wasn¡¯t him who did it, he might have colluded with a criminal outside. Arrest him.¡± Sun Xun clearly didn¡¯t wish to waste any more words on them. He directly gestured for his men to arrest Zu An.

    ¡°Your highness is a glorious court official; do you judge cases without any regard for life like this?¡± Zu An sneered. ¡°Many people saw my conflict with Sun Ji earlier, so if anyone was going to frame me, I would naturally be the most suitable candidate.¡±

    That was also why he hadn¡¯t erased that number. Firstly, he wasn¡¯t the one who had killed them, so he had apletely clear conscience. The second was that everyone knew about his grudge with Sun Ji, so even if he erased it, the other party would still seek him out. In that case, he might as well leave a clear point of contention behind.

    ¡°A brat like you dares to teach this minister how to do things? Drag him back, have him carefully interrogated, and search this room for any stolen property,¡± Sun Xun said expressionlessly. Even if he isn¡¯t the criminal, just the fact that he offended Ji¡¯er like that means I have to make him regret living.

    ¡°Furthermore, not a single one of the guests who participated in today¡¯s auction is allowed to leave. I¡¯ll have people interrogate you one by one,¡± he continued. After saying that, he said to Chubby Senior, ¡°Give me the list of names of everyone who participated in the auction today. I¡¯ll check them one by one.¡±

    The surroundings erupted into amotion when Sun Xun spoke those words. They had just been here to join in on the liveliness, how had they all gotten caught up in this disaster? None of them were having it anymore. They argued noisily, saying that they wanted to leave, and they also publicly denounced the Hub of Freedom for going against its rules.

    Chubby Senior was starting to panic. He quickly pulled Sun Xun aside and said quietly, ¡°Xiang Minister, you must not do this! These guests are all important individuals! If their identities are exposed, we will all lose our dignity. I ask the minister to please be lenient; our Hub of Freedom will definitely cooperate with you as much as we can!¡±

    Sun Xun frowned slightly. He felt a bit of regret after saying what he had just said. Forget about the Hub of Freedom¡¯s hidden background, just these guests alone were likely his colleagues in court or some othermandery¡¯s big shots. If he really offended them, he might be biting off more than he could chew.

    After realizing all of that, he took the chance to say, ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll leave your Hub of Freedom some dignity. However, this person must have his body searched.¡± He clearly still hadn¡¯t given up on his suspicion towards Zu An. At the same time, he wanted to find a reason to bring him away.

    After some hesitation, Chubby Senior still didn¡¯t say anything in the end. Sun Xun was already showing him quite a bit of respect. If he didn¡¯t take a step back andpletely angered the other party, the situation would only be even worse. As for having a connection to the ocean races, he couldn''t be bothered with that. He would just think of some other way to contact them in the future.

    Tang Tian¡¯er wanted to say something, but Chubby Senior stopped her. She could only look at Zu An with worry.

    Zu An didn¡¯t look panicked in the slightest and retorted indifferently, ¡°What, I¡¯m going to get searched just because you say so? Why? Doesn¡¯t that mean that if I tell you to eat two bowls of shit, you have to cut open your stomach to show me you ate them?¡±

    Sun Xun had never heard such a phrase before, but he could hear the mockery behind the other party¡¯s words. He immediately became angry. How many years had it been already since someone dared to speak to him that way? Furthermore, it was from a young junior!

    You have sessfully trolled Sun Xun for +272 +272 +272¡­

    ¡°Why? Because I¡¯m the Yan State¡¯s most senior minister.¡± Sun Xun¡¯s gaze waspletely cold.

    ¡°Even the most senior minister has to obey thew. My innocence has already been proven through all manner of evidence, so why do you still insist on searching me?¡± Zu An replied indifferently.

    Sun Xun finally couldn''t take it anymore and eximed, ¡°Thew? In this ce, I am thew!¡±

    Just then, someone sneered in the distance. ¡°You are thew? How bold!¡±

 Chapter 985: Retaliation

    <h4>Chapter 985: Retaliation</h4>

    The onlookers turned around. They all wondered just what kind of crazy idiot would say such words to Sun Xun in Yi Commandery.

    Sun Xun¡¯s expression waspletely cold. His skin bristled. Killing intent instantly appeared in his eyes. He gave Chubby Senior a look and said with a sneer, ¡°Your Hub of Freedom¡¯s guests really are something.¡±

    Chubby Senior felt even fatter today than usual. Why was everything going wrong today? He gave the one who had spoken a look. This person wore an ordinary mask, and he came from the second floor. He wasn¡¯t one of their most respected jade token guests. Chubby Senior thus said with a sigh, ¡°The two of you, please do not act rashly. The matters here do not have anything to do with you two.¡±

    He had already scanned the two of them with his cultivation. These two only had six ranks of cultivation. Regardless of whether it was Sun Xun or himself, they could crush these two with a single hand. He had no idea where the pair got their confidence from. Then he remembered that number 333. Why was he so confident with just six ranks of cultivation?

    Chubby Senior thought that the two neers would tacitly back off if he intimidated them with his cultivation and gave them the chance to back down. But who could have thought that the two wouldn¡¯t even give him a look and instead walked right up to Sun Xun?

    ¡°Was it you who said you were thew just now?¡± the pair asked.

    Sun Xun frowned. He immediately ordered his subordinates, ¡°What are you all standing around for? Do I have to be the one to speak?¡±

    He was a glorious master rank cultivator, and furthermore the Xiang Minister of this ce. Speaking so much to that number 333 had already ruined his prestige, so he didn¡¯t feel like talking to these two at all.

    When they sensed their master¡¯s dissatisfaction, the guards immediately pounced at those two like wolves..

    Just then, however, the other party took out a golden token and eximed, ¡°Who dares?!¡±

    The guards were all stunned. The entire third floor fell silent.They all saw the words on the golden token: ¡®Imperial Armed Escort¡¯.

    ¡°You came from the Imperial Pce?¡± a guard asked. After all, not everyone had the qualifications to use the word ¡®imperial¡¯.

    Those present quickly realized something. Sp,e who were more familiar with the bureaucratic system immediately reacted. This was the token of the Imperial Pce¡¯s Armed Escort Division. They were in charge of ensuring the pce¡¯s safety. Why were they here?

    The guards looked at Sun Xun for further instructions. Sun Xun¡¯s expression also changed, because he suddenly remembered the intelligence he had received a few days before, that the imperial envoy¡¯s troops seemed to have arrived in Yi Commandery.

    Yi Commandery¡¯s governor and other Yan State officials had even gone to show them a weing reception, and yet even though the imperial envoy had met with them, his attitude had been quite cold and he hadn¡¯t left the ship. Those who had witnessed it immediately knew that the imperial envoy had an important figure who didn¡¯t want to associate with Yi Commandery¡¯s official system.

    That also made those from Yi Commandery sigh in relief. After all, every ce had some shameful things about it. Even though the imperial envoy was rushing toward Cloudcenter Commandery, what if he ended up finding out something about Yi Commandery? Who knew how many people would have to be executed to pay the price?

    Sun Xun had never expected to run into people from the imperial envoy¡¯s group in such a ce. He immediately changed his attitude, an amiable smile appearing on his sinister face as he said, ¡°These two generals havee from afar. Excuse me for not going out to meet you.¡±

    If they had been ordinary guards from the imperial envoy, he naturally wouldn¡¯t have had to act so politely. The main reason was that the Armed Escort Division consisted of the capital¡¯s elites who had umted a lot of merit, and they had the great ns backing them. He didn¡¯t wish to offend the capital¡¯s elders.

    ¡°Sir is too polite! We don¡¯t dare to receive such treatment.¡± The two were naturally Pei You and Gao Ying. The two of them had lost so miserably in the casino on the first floor, so they hade to the second floor to vent out their frustrations. Then, news about the disturbance on the third floor kept bothering them, so they couldn''t focus on their own matters. They could only rush upstairs in annoyance to see what was going on.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    When they saw that Zu An was being troubled by someone, they had immediately be enraged. As such, they had quickly stepped forward to help him out.

    Sun Xun was angered when he heard the mockery in their voices, but he didn¡¯t show anything on the surface. He said, ¡°My son was plotted against and killed by someone today. I am currently investigating this case. I ended up speaking irresponsibly out of an impulse due to the grief, so I hope that the two honored sirs do not treat it too seriously.¡±

    It would be fine if he said such words in Yi Commandery, but if those words reached the capital, it would cause quite a few problems. Even though there was no chance of the court doing something to him over such a small matter, leaving his majesty or the court¡¯s other big shots with a bad impression might have bad effects on future matters.

    ¡°Oh?¡± The two of them didn¡¯t even know what was happening, since they had just gone up in a hurry. As such, they walked up to Zu An and asked him what happened. Zu An gave them a rough summary of what had happened.

    They actually knew each other! Sun Xun¡¯s brows furrowed tightly when he saw that. That made things much trickier¡­

    Chubby Senior¡¯s eyes widened. Then, he gave Tang Tian¡¯er a look. He asked through ki, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say he was from the ocean races?¡±

    Tang Tian¡¯er was also baffled and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on either! Don¡¯t tell me the ocean races have something to do with the court?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not entirely impossible,¡± Chubby Senior said.

    Even so, he couldn''t be bothered with that right now. With the imperial envoy involved, even the imperial guards were going to be implicated. He had been really worried that the situation might have a bad effect on the Hub of Freedom. The higher ups were definitely going to me him for doing a poor job.

    When Pei You and Gao Ying heard Zu An¡¯s exnation, they gave Sun Xun impatient looks. ¡°Sir Sun, since there is already evidence stating that he is innocent, why do you still insist on arresting him?¡±

    Even though Sun Xun¡¯s cultivation was high, he was still a Zhou Dynasty statesman. They were acting on imperial orders at the moment, and the two of them had met their fair share of big shots in the capital. Their ns didn¡¯t evenck experts on the level of Sun Xun, so why would they treat him as a big deal?

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± Sun Xun hesitated, then changed his tone. ¡°...because I made an inconsiderate judgment.¡± The other party was connected to the imperial envoy. With his current authority, that wasn¡¯t something he could mess with.

    Zu An spoke up just then. ¡°Being able to recognize your own mistakes and reforming yourself is incredibly important. Sir Sun needs to genuinely and sincerely work for the people in the future. Be sure not to abuse the authority the court has entrusted you with.¡±

    Sun Xun was speechless. I yielded you some respect, and yet you¡¯re now running with it? But he couldn''t really take it anymore while being berated in front of so many people, asking, ¡°May I ask what your respected self¡¯s official post is?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Sun Xun for +444 +444 +444¡­

    Zu An said indifferently, ¡°I have no official post. What I said are just things everymoner knows. Could it be that Sir Sun doesn¡¯t agree with what I said?¡±

    Sun Xun¡¯s breath caught in his throat. Only after a while did he exhale. ¡°You¡¯re absolutely right.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Sun Xun for +745 +745 +745¡­

    He stormed off with a huff with an ashen expression afterward.

    Those from the Hub of Freedom sighed in relief when they saw that. However, they still looked at Zu An and the others vigntly. After all, this was a gray zone, so these people being from the capital left them feeling really ufortable.

    Chubby Senior quickly came over and said with an apologetic smile, ¡°Pleasee with me, honored guests. We had eyes but could not see before; I hope that sirs do not feel bothered by our poor treatment.¡±

    He wanted to use this chance to build up a good rtionship with the other party. After all, even the imperial envoy was made up of people, so they had the same weaknesses. It wasn¡¯t as if the Hub of Freedom had never entertained imperial envoys before.

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°There¡¯s no need. We have some other matters to tend to, so we won¡¯t disturb you.¡±

    ¡°Young master An is going to leave?¡± Tang Tian¡¯er looked at him reluctantly. If not for the fact that Zu An had already experienced her charming skills before, he might have really thought she felt something for him.

    ¡°I¡¯lle and visit thedy another day.¡± Zu An gave her bottom a light pat, then left whileughing.

    Tang Tian¡¯er blushed as she watched them depart. That fe dares to take advantage of me!

    She suddenly realized that even after all of that, she didn¡¯t even know the other party''s real surname or identity. She had danced and sung at the Hub of Freedom for so many years, toying with so many men in the palm of her hand, and yet today, she suddenly felt she had been the one yed by someone else.

    Was he even charmed by me earlier? Tang Tian¡¯er¡¯s pretty brow furrowed. However, a smile appeared on her face soon afterward. What an interesting man. I like him.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Chubby Senior personally saw Zu An¡¯s group out. He had been worried about how he was going to make them coordinate with the Hub of Freedom¡¯s entry and exit rules, but Zu An agreed to enter a sealed carriage of his own ord. He immediately felt grateful. Because of the matter with Sun Ji, however, he only left after seeing them all the way to the pier.

    ¡°Why did we have to leave so early? I haven''t had enough fun yet.¡± Now that there was no one around them, Pei You finally voiced his misgivings.

    Zu An replied with a smile, ¡°They didn¡¯t even make you pay up; are you not happy enough with that?¡±

    Pei You remarked with a chuckle, ¡°How can Ipare to big bro Zu? You managed to snag the Hub of Freedom¡¯s prettiest girl for yourself in such a short time. I asked around on the second floor, eventually finding out that Tang Tian¡¯er was the Hub of Freedom¡¯s publicly acknowledged number one beauty!¡±

    Gao Ying nodded. ¡°I heard quite a few people mention her on the first floor. She¡¯s famous for being the Hub of Freedom¡¯s stunning socialite. She¡¯s able to associate with all kinds of men with incredible ease. Big bro Zu, you should be careful. It¡¯s okay to satisfy your body, but don¡¯t let your heart get caught up too.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for the warning.¡± Zu An knew he had said that with good intentions, but he had already seen Tang Tian¡¯er¡¯s methods for himself. Those other men had probably all been duped by her, leaving no one able to really get anything from her.

    Gao Ying sighed when he saw that Zu An hadn¡¯t seemed to take his words to heart. Zu An is still young and vigorous; that kind of exceptional beauty really is hard to resist. He didn¡¯t bother trying to advise Zu An further and instead changed the topic. ¡°Brother Zu, was there any deeper meaning behind why you asked us toe back earlier?¡±

    Zu An nodded and said, ¡°Of course. There¡¯s no way that Sun Xun will leave the matter at that.¡±

    Pei You raised a brow. ¡°What, don¡¯t tell me he¡¯ll dare to act against us?¡±

    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t he dare? Isn¡¯t he here already?¡± Zu An sighed as he looked into the distance.

 Chapter 986: Unexpected Hit

    <h4>Chapter 986: Unexpected Hit</h4>

    Pei You and Gao Ying turned toward where Zu An was looking and were shocked. Only now did they realize that there were already quite a few people gathered by the port where the imperial envoy was. The one in the lead was precisely Sun Xun, who had left earlier.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me he actually dares to start trouble with the imperial envoy?¡± Pei You sneered. They hadn¡¯t even been all that scared of him when they were in the Hub of Freedom, let alone here where they were back on home turf.

    Those from the capital¡¯s major ns would always carry a bit of arrogance when meeting those from provincial areas. They were even here on the emperor¡¯s orders and part of the imperial envoy, so there were even fewer reasons for them to have any reservations.

    Gao Ying was a bit calmer. He said in an overcast voice, ¡°Let¡¯s get on the ship from the other side and see what¡¯s going on first.¡±

    Visiting the Hub of Freedom wasn¡¯t anything too glorious. Sun Xun might havee over to start a fuss. None of them had revealed their faces in the Hub of Freedom, though, so they could just refuse to admit anything once they were asked about it.

    They got back on the ship in secret. Only after they changed their clothes did theye back out. By then, Sang Hong had already received the other party. Even though Sang Hong¡¯s official post and cultivation were lower than those of the other party, his status as the imperial envoy forced Sun Xun to treat him carefully.

    ¡°Sir Sang, what is going on?¡± the group walked over and asked.

    Sang Hong said, ¡°Let me introduce everyone. This is Yan State¡¯s Xiang Minister Sir Sun. This is the Eastern Pce¡¯s chambein, the Armed Escort Division Commander Zu An¡­¡±

    After a round of introductions, they all greeted each other in a professional manner. Sun Xun gave them a look, then said with an ambiguous smile, ¡°So it was Sir Zu. I¡¯ve heard of your great reputation. My visit here today was precisely to meet Sir Zu.¡±

    Gao Ying and Pei You were rmed. Did he already see through our identity?

    Only Zu An remained calm as he replied, ¡°Oh? I didn¡¯t expect to have such an honor. I wonder what Minister Sun needs?¡±

    Sun Xun said, ¡°I¡¯ve heard that Sir Zu has solved strange cases in the capital again and again. This time, there is a tricky case I need Sir Zu¡¯s help with.¡±

    Sang Hong frowned and said, ¡°I must ask for Minister Sun to excuse us. We bear the emperor¡¯s orders, so we are only going to be here for a short while. I fear there will not be enough time to help with any local cases.¡± He was even a bit upset, thinking to himself that this Sun Xun really didn¡¯t understand the rules. Did wee here to help you with your cases?

    But Sun Xun instead calmly said, ¡°I really did not want to trouble the imperial envoys, but when we were just about to catch the criminal, we ran into someone iming to be from the Armed Escort Division. That was why some suspects had to be let go, and we could not continue our investigation. That is also why I am asking for your respected selves¡¯ help.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s group exchanged some looks. They thought to themselves, As expected, it was unavoidable.

    Sang Hong had already roughly guessed that this was something Zu An¡¯s group had caused. After all, they had left the ship not too long before. But he was shrewd and sophisticated, not giving the three of them a look at all. On the contrary, he instead asked, ¡°Oh, was there something like that? Did Sir Sun examine their identities? After all, there are many daring individuals in the world now; there are even people who are willing to impersonate anyone.¡± He was a wily old fox in the field of politics. He pushed the matter right back.

    Sun Xun sighed. ¡°Our local men are limited in our knowledge and experience; we do not know how to discern between the real and fake Armed Escort. Furthermore, impersonating the Armed Escort should be a huge crime. I believe Sir Sang has a duty to help with this investigation, right?¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°This¡­¡± Sang Hong was momentarily troubled. If that really had happened, he actually did have an obligation to cooperate. The very first thing he had to investigate was if any members of their envoy were involved.

    While he was feeling troubled, Zu An asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t it just a case? I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll take too long. I¡¯ll handle it.¡± He obviously didn¡¯t want things to get out of hand either. It¡¯d be really annoying if everyone else got dragged into it too. He knew who the main culprit was anyway, so it wouldn¡¯t take much effort at all.

    Sang Hong trusted in Zu An¡¯s ability and agreed, knowing he had his own ns. He thus nodded and said in agreement, ¡°That¡¯s fine as well; let us have Ah Zu help with this case. However, our mission is urgent, so we can only stay here for one more day. After that, regardless of whether there is a result or not, we need to leave. Do you understand?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll do as you bid!¡± Zu An gave him a thumbs up inwardly. As expected, the older the ginger, the hotter it was.

    Sun Xun cursed Sang Hong inwardly for being an old fox. That fellow had said that to Zu An without consulting him at all. It was clearly to leave them a way out. But regardless, as long as they were willing to participate, his objective had been met.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to trouble Sir Zu,¡± he said as he cupped his hands toward the other party.

    ¡°Sir Sun is being too polite.¡± Zu An frowned. He just felt that there was something else that the other party was hiding, so he reminded himself to be careful as he asked, ¡°May I ask what kind of case it is?¡±

    ¡°Let us take a look at the scene of the crime. How about we talk about the details along the way?¡± Sun Xun suggested as he got up..

    ¡°Sure.¡± Zu An wasn¡¯t too worried about the other party doing anything. There were so many people who had seen Sun Xun invite him to help them with the case. If something really did happen, he wouldn¡¯t have anywhere to run at all.

    Sang Hong frowned. He gestured for Gao Ying, Pei You, and some other guards to apany Zu An. He and Zu An were allies, and because of Zu An¡¯s rtionship with his daughter, he saw Zu An as his own junior. He obviously didn¡¯t want to see anything bad happen.

    Gao Ying and Pei You had the same intentions anyway, so they immediately followed behind Zu An with their men. Zu An didn¡¯t refuse them. He had to enjoy his authority, so why would he have to y the hero and take on unnecessary risks?

    Sun Xun didn¡¯t say anything either as he brought everyone to the city outskirts. He had already recognized Pei You and Gao Ying from their auras. As for Zu An, he wasn¡¯t sure. The other party was clearly only at the sixth rank, and yet there was something about his ki that made Sun Xun feel as if he couldn''t see through Zu An at all. It wasn¡¯t quite the same as the prior number 333. But judging from Gao Ying and Pei You¡¯s reactions, he was likely that person.

    Even though he knew that the three of them knew what was going on, Sun Xun still patiently exined Sun Ji¡¯s case. ¡°My son was murdered by someone mercilessly. I hope Sir Zu can help this humble one find the perpetrator!¡±

    Gao Ying and Pei You had worried looks on their faces. The death of Sun Xun¡¯s son was quite the troublesome matter. However, they didn¡¯t know just why their brother Zu would be involved.

    Zu An replied indifferently, ¡°I¡¯ll do my utmost.¡±

    This is quite the performance you¡¯re putting on. Sun Xun sneered.

    You have sessfully trolled Sun Xun for +444 +444 +444¡­

    A whileter, the group arrived at a forest. Sun Xun said with a grieving expression, ¡°This is where my son was harmed. I had my men guard this area, so no one else has entered the scene of the crime yet. I wonder if Sir Zu can help me find anything.¡± He stared at Zu An while saying that, as if he wanted to see if he could discern any panic or internal conflict from the other party¡¯s expression.

    However, he waspletely disappointed. Zu An was extremely calm, and he looked around the scene of the crime as if it were his first time there. Then, he walked over to Sun Ji and the others¡¯ corpses. Sun Xun was stupefied and continued to stare at Zu An to see if he could start something.

    After examining the ce for a bit, Zu An asked, ¡°Who did the young master not get along with normally?¡±

    Sun Xun replied, ¡°My son has always been benevolent and helpful; he had no enemies. If we really have to talk about enemies, then he encountered a guest 333 in the Hub of Freedom today. A lot of conflict happened between the two of them.¡±

    ¡°Oh? What kind of ce is the Hub of Freedom?¡± Zu An asked calmly.

    Gao Ying and Pei You were both left in admiration. As expected of brother Zu! Hisposure really leaves us in shame.

    Sun Xun was angry inside, but he still gave a rough exnation of what had happened.

    You have sessfully trolled Sun Xun for +222 +222 +222¡­

    Zu An asked a few more questions, then said, ¡°Judging from what you¡¯re saying, that number 333 didn¡¯t have the time tomit the crime. He should be innocent.¡±

    Sun Xun was speechless.

    You have sessfully trolled Sun Xun for +666 +666 +666¡­

    Zu An almost burst outughing when he saw how furious Sun Xun was, but continued, ¡°If a murder wasn¡¯t performed out of enmity, it would likely be out of passion. But, ording to what Sir Sun told me, these two causes can be eliminated. That means only a murder of interest is left. When you were talking about the Hub of Freedom just now, it sounded as if he purchased something extremely precious. Is that item still here?¡±

    ¡°Of course not,¡± Sun Xun said impatiently.

    ¡°Then the other party probably went after the item,¡± Zu An concluded.

    Sun Xun was finding it a bit hard to suppress his anger. ¡°Sir Zu, this is the conclusion you have reached after all this time? I have known your great reputation for a long time, but I have to say that I am a bit disappointed today.¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t get upset at all and replied, ¡°What wise opinions does Sir Sun have about this?¡±

    Sun Xun harrumphed. ¡°Even though my son did not offend anyone normally, I am the Xiang Minister of a state. I have to deal with many political matters, so it cannot be helped that I might have offended some people and caused them to seek revenge. They would not dare to act against me, so they woulde after my son. Among them, those who would dare to seek revenge and have the ability to do so could only be from the Devil Sect.¡±

    ¡°The Devil Sect?¡± Zu An was shocked. He had never expected for them to be dragged into the conflict as well.

    ¡°Indeed.¡± Sun Xun said. ¡°I have helped my king fend off the Devil Sect all these years, dyeing my hands with the blood of who knows how many people from the Devil Sect. They all hate me bitterly. It would not be a surprise at all if they wanted to get revenge.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself for a bit. Why would he suddenly say that? Could it be that he really already believes I¡¯m not the killer?

 Chapter 987: Reunion with Old Friends

    <h4>Chapter 987: Reunion with Old Friends</h4>

    Even though he didn¡¯t know Sun Xun¡¯s objective, Zu An didn¡¯t want the Devil Sect to be implicated because of him. After all, whether it was Qiu Honglei or Yun Jianyue, they were both his good friends. As such, he said, ¡°Sir Minister, please don¡¯t be in such a rush toe to a decision. I seem to have noticed something here. It might not have been the Devil Sect who did this.¡±

    Gao Ying and Pei You were stunned. The me was deflected onto the Devil Sect; why the heck are you adding more meddlesome things? Sun Xun was also confused. He didn¡¯t know what Zu An¡¯s motive was.

    Zu An said, ¡°Based on our talk, it seems some of the young master¡¯s guards are missing. Could they have escaped during the chaos?¡±

    Sun Xun shook his head. ¡°That is impossible. The murderer¡¯s cultivation is extremely high, and many guards were taken out in one hit. Those people would not be able to escape. Furthermore, I sent my men out for several dozen li, and we found no traces of anyone fleeing.¡±

    Zu An continued, ¡°Then could it be that they colluded with the enemy, then left with the enemy after the matter?¡±

    ¡°That is also impossible.¡± Sun Xun immediately refuted that. ¡°They were all reliable people who were carefully selected from the Xun n. Furthermore, their families are still in the city, so no one would take the risk of doing something like that.¡± He wouldn¡¯t assign anyone who wasn¡¯t loyal and devoted to his son¡¯s side. Furthermore, with their family members held hostage, how could so many people rebel at the same time?

    ¡°Then the case bes much clearer.¡± Zu An gave the corpses on the ground a look and said, ¡°Those people were also killed, and their corpses were taken by the killer.¡±

    ¡°What is Sir Zu implying?¡± Sun Xun was surprised. Now, he suddenly didn¡¯t feel that Zu An was the killer either. After all, he had only acted against him in the Hub of Freedom to vent his anger. If they really could find the real killer, what did a bit of personal grudge count for?

    Zu An said, ¡°The killer could clearly choose to leave on his own after doing the deed, yet he wasted the effort of bringing away all of those soldiers¡¯ corpses. That means he had a reason that forced him to do that.¡±

    ¡°What kind of reason?¡± Even Gao Ying and Pei You had been sucked in now.

    Zu An gave the two of them a satisfied look. These supporting characters really were doing their part well! He exined, ¡°I gave their corpses a look earlier; they were almost all killed in one strike. That¡¯s why there was no need for the killer to deal with them. However, he had to bring the other corpses with him, which means his identity could be discerned from their corpses.¡±

    ¡°Are you saying his cultivation techniques could be discerned from those people¡¯s bodies?¡± Sun Xun wasn¡¯t stupid. He quickly reacted to what Zu An was saying.

    ¡°Indeed.¡± Zu An pointed at Yang Long. ¡°ording to what you told me, he was a seventh ranked expert. However, his spear was snapped from the front. That means the attacker¡¯s cultivation was much higher. However, I noticed that he didn¡¯t die from being killed; rather, he struck his own skull to end his own life.¡±

    ¡°Why would he do that?¡± That was also what Sun Xun had been confused about. However, he hadn¡¯t had the time to think about it in detail before.

    Zu An exined, ¡°It¡¯s because he knew he was dead for sure. If he didn¡¯t end his own life, it would only lead to more suffering. That means he knew the murderer would torment him. But judging from what you all said, you rushed over not long afterward. That killer definitely didn¡¯t have the time to torture him, so there must¡¯ve been another reason why he had to end his own life. Sir Sun¡¯s cultivation is profound; do you have any ideas?¡±

    Sun Xun¡¯s eyes narrowed. He muttered to himself, ¡°If he didn¡¯t have to worry about being tortured, he had to have been so scared that he would rather be dead than alive. Looking at their situation, the killer didn¡¯t bring poison. Then¡­¡±

    He suddenly thought of something. He said quietly, ¡°There are some sinister cultivators in the martial world who rely on sucking away the cultivations or souls of others to increase their own cultivation. If Yang Long killed himself, it might have been to avoid such a result. However, if the other party needed a soul, it would have been useless even if he ended his own life¡­¡±

    He quickly looked at his subordinates after saying that. He asked if there were any simr experts who hade to Yi Commandery recently. The target¡¯s cultivation was high, at least above the eighth rank, and he could absorb the cultivation of others. There weren¡¯t many who could satisfy those conditions.

    Sure enough, one subordinate said, ¡°There¡¯s a well known evildoer called Thick-Browed Daoist who appeared in Yi Commandery.¡±

    Zu An sighed when he heard that name. The reason he hadn¡¯t said it himself was because people tended to believe the conclusions they reached themselves more.

    Sure enough, Sun Xun quickly said, ¡°Send someone over to immediately ask whether Thick-Browed Daoist joined in the auction today. His brows are too distinctive. One can easily notice them even if he wears a mask.¡±

    He had heard about Thick-Browed Daoist himself. He thought to himself that if it really was him, he was going to skin the man alive and tear out his tendons to vent out his anger.

    ¡°Understood!¡± The subordinate quickly got on a horse and left.

    Sun Xun thus cupped his hands toward Zu An and said, ¡°Sir Zu is a genius at investigating cases after all. We have found some clues so quickly. As for the previous offenses, I hope that Sir Zu does not take them to heart.¡± He felt sincere gratitude. After all, if he could find out the real culprit who had killed his son, then that would make him happier than anything else right now.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Sir Sun is too generous with your praise. I offer my condolences to Sir Sun, that this kind of thing happened.¡± Zu An thought to himself, Yes, you should be thanking me. To a certain extent, I was the one who got revenge for you.

    He suddenly felt the ki within him be unstable. The explosive bloodiness he had absorbed seemed to be uneasy. He calmly suppressed it and told himself that he had to find a good time to properly purify the cultivation he had gotten from Thick-Browed Daoist. Otherwise, the rebound would really be bad for his body.

    ¡°Is Sir Zu ufortable anywhere?¡± Sun Xun was a cultivator after all. He could sense that there was something unnatural about the other party¡¯s ki fluctuations since they were so close.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Zu An forced a smile. He was worried about how to exin the situation.

    Suddenly, there was a loud noise in the distance and the entire sky became as bright as day. The expressions of those present became strange as powerful winds blew against them. Those with lower cultivations couldn''t help but sway unsteadily from side to side.

    ¡°This is¡­ the aura of a grandmaster?¡± Zu An and Sun Xun looked into the distance in shock.

    Two individuals were standing in the skies several dozen li out. One was an elder clothed in official robes that only a king could wear. He was clearly King Yan. Across from him was a ridiculously beautiful woman. Together with her long hair that flowed all the way down to her waist, she gave off a cool, elegant womanly air.

    ¡°Yun Jianyue!¡±

    ¡°The Devil Sect¡¯s sect master!¡±

    Zu An and Sun Xun both recognized her.

    An rm rang out just then. A guard quickly came to report, ¡°Minister Xiang, there seem to be members of the Devil Sect who have invaded the manor to assassinate the king!¡±

    Sun Xun¡¯s expression changed greatly as he eximed, ¡°We¡¯re going back to assist the king immediately!¡± Then, he said to Zu An and the others, ¡°Sirs, please go back for now. Forgive me for not being able to see you off.¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°I''ll go with you.¡± When he saw the other party¡¯s shocked expression, he quickly exined, ¡°As an official of the Zhou Dynasty, I should do my part as well. Furthermore, I¡¯ve faced these Devil Sect evildoers in the capital back then too, so I have a debt to repay.¡±

    He was worried that something would happen to Yun Jianyue or Qiu Honglei. After all, Yi Commandery was King Yan¡¯s domain. King Yan not only had a lot of experts under him, but was also a grandmaster himself.

    He was actually quite puzzled. Yun Jianyue wasn¡¯t someone who acted impulsively, so why had she done something so unwise? But he quickly remembered that she had even dared to invade the Imperial Pce, so what was the big deal with King Yan Manor?

    ¡°Brother Zu!¡± Gao Ying and Pei You quickly advised against him going. This is a grudge between King Yan Manor and the Devil Sect. It has nothing to do with the imperial envoy! Why the hell are you going over to throw your life away for nothing?

    ¡°You guys should head back and report to Sir Sang first. I¡¯ll take a look at the situation. Don¡¯t worry, I know what I¡¯m doing,¡± Zu An replied. Yun Jianyue didn¡¯t recognize these two, so he was worried that it would be bad if they ended up getting in trouble because of him.

    Gao Ying and Pei You knew Zu An always acted with proper thought, so they didn¡¯t try to advise him further. They said, ¡°Alright. We¡¯lle over together after we meet with Sir Sang. You have to remember not to act impulsively at all costs!¡±

    Zu An nodded. Then, he headed toward the city with Sun Xun¡¯s group. He continued to pray inwardly, Big sis Yun, Honglei, please don¡¯t let anything happen to you two¡­

 Chapter 988: Locked Up

    <h4>Chapter 988: Locked Up</h4>

    Zu An and Sun Xun arrived at King Yan Manor soon afterward. Sun Xun was shocked because he had rushed over and and arrived faster than his subordinates, but even though Zu An couldn''t fly, his speed wasn¡¯t much slower than his own.

    Don¡¯t tell me his cultivation is close to mine? That thought shed past Sun Xun¡¯s mind, but he quickly ignored it. How old is Zu An? Even if he cultivated ever since he came out of the womb, there should be no way he couldpare to me!

    After arriving at King Yan Manor, Zu An immediately took in his surroundings. He also used the jade badge¡¯s ability to control the nearby small creatures and have them observe any activity.

    King Yan Manor was clearly inferior to the Imperial Pce, but it was still extremely grand and imposing. Out of all of the manors he had been to, King Qi Manor was probably the only ce that couldpare to this ce. However, King Qi Manor had to conform to all kinds of rules since it was in the capital. That was why generally speaking, it wasn¡¯t as imposing in its manner as King Yan Manor.

    But Zu An didn¡¯t attach too much importance to such things. He quickly began to search for Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei¡¯s whereabouts. However, the battle seemed to have already ended, so he didn¡¯t see anything. There were only aggrieved and wounded guards as well as some other people present.

    Zu An frowned. He set aside his misgivings and looked at Sun Xun, remarking, ¡°Minister Sun, the battle seems to have already ended, no?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s see the king first.¡± Sun Xun didn¡¯t dare to show any negligence just then. He lifted the edges of his robe and quickly headed toward the inner courtyard of the manor. He ran into many guards along the way. But when they saw Sun Xun, they all let him through.

    Many women had gathered in the inner courtyard, weeping endlessly, almost as if they were striving to express their deepest concern more than the ones around them. A furious roar soon came from inside. ¡°I¡¯m not even dead yet; what are you all wailing as if you¡¯re at a funeral for?!¡± Sure enough, the women stopped when they heard the angry roar.

    Sun Xun had just reported his arrival at the entrance. When the guards left, the women began to leave as well. They all greeted Sun Xun as they passed by. Zu An was quite surprised. This Sun Xun really does receive quite the favor in King Yan Manor! Even King Yan¡¯s concubines have to greet him like this.

    The guards came out to invite Sun Xun in soon afterward. Zu An followed Sun Xun and met the so-called King Yan. Hisplexion was pale, and his aura was incredibly weak. What grandmaster aura? He presently seemed more like an ordinary old man who was already nearing the end of the line.

    Sun Xun was rmed and quickly asked, ¡°King, what happened to you?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I was wounded by the Devil Sect¡¯s Yun Jianyue, but she isn¡¯t much better off than me,¡± King Yan replied weakly from his bed. Then, he looked toward Zu An with an expression of confusion.

    Zu An was surprised. Yun Jianyue was also injured? He wondered if her injuries were serious or not.

    Sun Xun introduced him just then. ¡°This is Sir Zu An from the imperial envoy. His current post is the crown prince¡¯s chambein, as well as the Armed Escort Division Commander. He previously solved¡­¡± His string of praises even made Zu An blush. Then, he said, ¡°It was because of his help just now that we discovered the real murderer who killed my son.¡±

    ¡°Something happened to Little Ji?¡± King Yan subconsciously sat up from shock. However, the action clearly made his injuries re up again, and he let out a burst of coughs.

    Sun Xun quickly ran over and helped him lie back down, saying, ¡°I¡¯ve made the king worry. In the end, it was because my son had no ability himself¡­¡± He gave King Yan a rough recount of what had happened to Sun Ji.

    King Yan was furious, eximing, ¡°Nonsense! Someone dared to do such a thing in Yi Commandery?! Pass down my order! Order Thick-Browed Daoist¡¯s arrest. If anyone can capture him, there will be a reward of ten thousand taels of gold and three ranks of promotion. Anyone who provides any useful clues will be awarded a thousand taels of gold.¡±

    Sun Xun immediately knelt down. ¡°Thank you for your care, my king. Ji¡¯er in heaven definitely feels grateful too.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but sneer inwardly as he watched the master and servant pair interact passionately. Just whose kid was Sun Ji really, between these two?

    After King Yan vented his anger, he looked at Zu An and said, ¡°I have to thank Sir Zu for Ji¡¯er¡¯s matter. Sir Zu really is an outstanding youth as the rumors say.¡±

    ¡°The king is too kind with your praise. I was merely carrying out my duty,¡± Zu An replied modestly, then asked about what he really cared about. ¡°By the way, we hurried over when we saw that something happened here in the King Manor. Were you able to execute those Devil Sect evildoers?¡±

    King Yan shook his head. ¡°That witch Yun Jianyue¡¯s cultivation is too high. With her protection, even though they suffered some losses, most of them were able to escape unscathed.¡±

    Zu An sighed inwardly in relief when he heard tha Yun Jianyue and the others were fine. ¡°But why did Yun Jianyue assault the King Manor? The security here is tight, so any attack would be futile. The Devil Sect Master is no fool; why would she make such an unwise decision?¡± That was what he couldn''t figure out. However, with his current identity, he could ask King Yan that question without any misgivings.

    ¡°It¡¯s probably because we¡¯ve been suppressing those Devil Sect evildoers these past few years, so they hate us to the bone,¡± King Yan said angrily. ¡°As for the reason why they came out in full force, it is probably because we captured their Saintess a few days ago.¡±

    King Yan didn¡¯t think too much when he said that, but that piece of information actually left Zu An extremely shocked. What? Qiu Honglei was captured?

    ¡°Zu An, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Sun Xun gave him a skeptical look. Even King Yan noticed how he was acting.

    Zu An reacted quickly and immediately said, ¡°I had some interactions with these evildoers in the capital before. That woman is especially crafty and cunning, and her cultivation skills aren¡¯t weak either. She was even able to escape from the capital, yet the king was able to capture her. I really am left in admiration.¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    King Yan stroked his beard, pleased. A bit of pride couldn''t help but appear in his eyes as he replied, ¡°Sir Zu overpraises us. It waspletely a coincidence that we were able to capture her.¡±

    He didn¡¯t dare to act too proud either, because Qiu Honglei had managed to escape from the Imperial Pce, and yet was captured in King Yan Manor. If someone with ulterior motives wanted to use that as a pretext to start something, saying that King Qi Manor was even more formidable than the Imperial Pce, what then would they be trying to start?

    Zu An chatted with the two of them for a while, then took the chance to ask, ¡°Can I pay that evil woman a visit? I have a friend who waspletely fooled by her. There¡¯s always been some resentment I wanted to vent.¡±

    King Yan and Sun Xun both revealed a knowing smile when they heard Zu An use the ¡®I have a friend¡¯ skill.

    ¡°That¡¯s fine. You should take Sir Zu to see that evil woman,¡± King Yan said. He was injured, so the chat was already getting quite difficult for him.

    ¡°Please rest well, my king.¡± Sun Xun immediately bowed toward King Yan, then said to Zu An, ¡°Sir Zu, this way.¡±

    Zu An bid King Yan his farewell too. He followed Sun Xun out of the room nervously before remarking, ¡°I wonder which expert captured the evildoer? I¡¯ll definitely report this incredible achievement to his majesty so they can be properly rewarded.¡±

    Sun Xun smiled and replied, ¡°The one who captured that evil woman was naturally the king, so any further recognition isn¡¯t needed. It isn¡¯t too suitable with his identity.¡±

    ¡°I see!¡± Zu An looked as if he had suddenly realized what was going on. No wonder Qiu Honglei had ended up in trouble; how could she get away if a grandmaster personally got involved?

    Soon afterward, they arrived at a secluded courtyard. There were clearly more guards there. It was obviously Yan King Manor¡¯s private prison. They went through severalyers of heavy security before arriving at the deepest part of the prison.

    There, a woman dressed in ck sat in the corner with her arms wrapped around her knees; her expression was a bit dispirited and she looked pale. However, that still didn¡¯t conceal her shocking beauty. This stunning woman, who was usually lively and full of tricks, now had something of an innocent beauty to her that would only make those who saw her feel even more moved.

    Zu An immediately felt his mood sink. He had been praying all the way there, hoping the Devil Sect Saintess they had spoken of wasn¡¯t Qiu Honglei. Unfortunately, he was still disappointed in the end.

    Qiu Honglei raised her head when she heard the iing activity. Her stunning features even made Sun Xun feel something. She coldly berated him, saying, ¡°What else do I have to say to someone like you¡­¡± However, when she saw Zu An behind him, her expression froze.

    Sun Xun remarked with a ruminating expression, ¡°You two know each other?¡±

    Zu Anughed and said, ¡°Last time, I was able to get a look, and I couldn''t forget just how incredible and sexy this Devil Sect girl was. Now that we¡¯ve met again, I think she looks much prettier this way. Compared to the past, I like her current state much more.¡±

    Qiu Honglei snorted, eximing, ¡°Wretched court dog!¡±

 Chapter 989: Hot Potato

    <h4>Chapter 989: Hot Potato</h4>

    ¡°And what can you do about it? You can only stay mad.¡± Zu An sneered. Then, he pulled Sun Xun aside and asked quietly, ¡°Minister Sun, can I discuss something with you?¡±

    Sun Xun cupped his hands and replied, ¡°Sir Zu helped me find my son¡¯s real killer, so I feel only gratitude. Please tell me if there¡¯s anything you need. I¡¯ll definitely help you as long as I can.¡±

    Zu An rubbed his hands together. He gave Qiu Honglei a look and deliberately gave Sun Xun a ¡®you know¡¯ expression as he said, ¡°Minister Xiang, that woman really made me suffer quite badlyst time, so I¡¯ve always wanted to find a way to get back at her. Her background is mysterious, and she¡¯s crafty too, so I never thought I would have a chance to get revenge, but the heavens have eyes! God himself has allowed me to meet her again. I wonder if Minister Sun can hand her over to me for a few hours so I can properly return the favor?¡±

    Sun Xun obviously knew exactly what Zu An was implying from his expression. How else would leaving a single man and woman together mean getting revenge? He had a troubled expression as he replied, ¡°Sir Zu, I fear that would be quite troublesome. Her cultivation is extremely high, so you might be in danger if we let you in.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine; my cultivation is still barely enough to restrain her. Furthermore, can¡¯t we just cripple her cultivation?¡± Zu An could sense that her ki fluctuations were still normal, which left him confused. He wanted to take the chance to inquire about that.

    ¡°That would cause a grudge that wouldn¡¯t end until one side waspletely eliminated! Her master is the Devil Sect Master, and also a grandmaster. If she really did seek revenge without any misgivings, then even the king would find it hard to handle,¡± Sun Xun replied. ¡°Sir Zu, we¡¯re all close, so I won¡¯t hide anything from you. If it were anything else, I would definitely agree, but this woman¡¯s status is a bit too sensitive. A single mishap and it might cause huge repercussions. That¡¯s why I ask for Sir Zu¡¯s forgiveness.¡±

    Zu An sighed and said, ¡°Then that¡¯s really a pity. This woman is just too beautiful.¡±

    Sun Xun thought to himself, This kid is a pervert, as expected! He sneered inwardly, but he still had an extremely sincere expression on the surface as he said, ¡°Sir Zu, I¡¯ll have my people make some arrangements for youter. The girls from Yi Commandery are all tall and slender. They aren¡¯t much worse than this evildoer.¡±

    ¡°Forget it, I¡¯ve lost my interest.¡± Zu An directly refused. He walked over to Honglei¡¯s side with a lust-consumed expression. Secretly, however, he sent her a voice transmission. ¡°Honglei, don¡¯t be scared. I¡¯ll teach you how to get out.¡±

    ¡°What are you staring at? I¡¯m going to gouge those eyes out if you keep looking!¡± Qiu Honglei eximed, ring at him hatefully on the surface. However, she replied in private, ¡°No! King Yan Manor is a ce full of powerful cultivators and guards. King Yan is a grandmaster himself. It¡¯s way too dangerous for you to save me! Not only would you fail to save me, you might even end up getting involved too! Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m fine. They wouldn¡¯t dare to do anything to me.¡±

    ¡°Come and gouge them out? Judging from how fair and slender you look, I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll feel good even if you¡¯re gouging out my eyeballs,¡± Zu An responded while saying through voice transmission, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t act recklessly. Of course I¡¯d only do something if I felt confident in its sess.¡±

    Sun Xun rolled his eyes when he heard that. This guy really isn¡¯t good at flirting with girls at all¡­ Did he never meet women in his past life or something? Some guards approached and told him a few things, however. After his initial shock, he walked over to Zu An¡¯s side and said, ¡°Sir Zu, the imperial envoy has arrived. We should head over together.¡±

    When he heard that Sang Hong had arrived, Zu An nodded. Then, he blew Qiu Honglei a kiss, saying, ¡°Wash up and wait for me, babe. You¡¯ll be mine sooner orter.¡±

    Sun Xun had a smile on his face, but he sneered inwardly. This guy really has some crazy confidence.

    Only Qiu Honglei knew what he was really talking about. She blushed slightly and harrumphed. It had already been a long time since theyst met, yet this guy was still the same. But she was also worried. What if he really did something rash? But she had no way of contacting her master¡­

    ¡­

    Zu An and Sun Xun went to King Yan¡¯s bedroom. Sang Hong was already chatting happily with him. He expressed his concern for King Yan¡¯s injuries, while the other side spoke highly of the imperial envoy¡¯s difficult work. Sang Hong then praised the aplishments King Yan had.

    Zu An was incredibly impressed. This kind of official bullshitting ability was something he would never be able to do even if he studied it his entire life. It really was anguage art in itself¡­

    Gao Ying and Pei You, who were behind Sang Hong, sighed in relief when they saw Zu An. They had been worried that Zu An might be in danger if he followed Sun Xun, so they quickly returned to report what happened.

    Sang Hong hadn¡¯t dared to treat the matter lightly when he heard that either. Why would he care about King Yan¡¯s health at all? He hade purely for Zu An.

    King Yan then said, ¡°Right, Sir Sang, this king wants to discuss something with you.¡±

    ¡°The king is too polite; please speak your mind.¡± Sang Hong was hesitant. That was also the reason he hadn¡¯t wanted to go ashore before. He hadn¡¯t wanted any dealings with the local powers.

    King Yan said, ¡°I mentioned to you earlier that we captured the Devil Sect¡¯s Saintess. I heard that this evildoer caused a huge disturbance in the Imperial Pce, so I n to send her to the capital for his majesty to deal with. That would also help the empress, crown prince, and the others vent a bit of their resentment.¡±

    Sang Hong was stunned at first, but he quickly realized that it was because the Devil Sect Saintess¡¯ status was too sensitive, so King Yan didn¡¯t dare to kill her; and yet, he didn¡¯t dare to release her either. That was why they figured they might as well just send her to the capital.

    He obviously didn¡¯t want to get involved in anything like that, saying, ¡°Respected king, we naturally do not wish to shirk out responsibility over something like this, but we already have another task on this trip. We need to hurry to Cloudcenter Commandery as quickly as possible. I fear we cannot let ourselves get distracted and help you deliver this evildoer back to the capital.¡±

    Zu An was nervous. He really wanted to just agree, but he quickly calmed down. Why had the other party proposed a request the imperial envoy had no way of agreeing to?

    Sure enough, King Yan immediately said, ¡°I would not dare to entrust something like this to Sir Imperial Envoy. I only hope that Sir Imperial Envoy can help me pass it on to Yi Commandery¡¯s Governor Zhang and have him escort this evil woman to the capital. We have to fight the Devil Sect battle after battle and really cannot attend to other things right now.¡±

    ¡°I fear that¡­¡± Sang Hong immediately realized that the matter was touching upon the struggle for local authority. King Yan probably wanted to offload that headache to another local official. Not only would it make them feel disgusted, it would also leave them with a difficult problem to deal with.

    If the government manor sessfully delivered her to the capital, that was just something they were supposed to do. Since it was King Yan Manor who had captured the Devil Sect¡¯s Saintess, the reward would be King Yan Manor¡¯s. No one would reward the Governor Manor.

    However, if something happened to the criminals being escorted along the way, that would be a ton of responsibility. When his majesty began to point fingers, even the governor might be forced to lose his position.

    That was why Sang Hong obviously didn¡¯t want to get involved. He was just about to refuse when Zu An spoke up and agreed. ¡°We¡¯re all working for the court, so we shouldn¡¯t shirk our responsibilities with this kind of thing. We¡¯ll tell the governor.¡±

    Sang Hong was surprised. But he knew that Zu An wouldn¡¯t speak without thinking, so he tacitly agreed. They chatted for a while longer, then Sang Hong got up to bid his farewell.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    After seeing them off, Sun Xun returned to King Yan¡¯s room. King Yan had already gotten up from the bed. He didn¡¯t look as weak as before at all.

    ¡°Congrattions, my king. Now, the responsibility ispletely on that Zhang bastard,¡± said Sun Xun.

    King Yan frowned. ¡°I can¡¯t understand why that Zu An looks so enthusiastic about this. Could it be that there are some crafty plots in y?¡±

    Sun Xun exined, ¡°My king is overthinking it. It¡¯s just because he¡¯s lustful¡­¡± Then, he exined what had happened in the prison. ¡°I fear what he wants is merely to bring her out of King Yan Manor to make it easier for him to get closer to her.¡±

    King Yan said with a sneer, ¡°He really overestimates his own abilities. He dares to touch even the treasured disciple of Yun Jianyue? He¡¯ll end up losing his life without even knowing why.¡±

    Sun Xun remained expressionless. Even though that Zu An had helped him find out the real killer, his grudge with Ji¡¯er earlier had been real too. That was why even if something did end up happening to him, it would also be a kind of revenge for Ji¡¯er.

    Just then, King Yan said seriously, ¡°Minister Sun, you¡¯ve had to experience the death of your child, and you still have to deal with all sorts ofplicated matters. I¡¯ve really troubled you.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your concern, my king. Even though this subordinate is grieving, it won¡¯t affect proper matters. After all¡­¡± Sun Xun paused and said, ¡°I don¡¯t just have one son.¡± His voice was a so cold, it could send a chill down the back of anyone who heard it

    King Yan roared withughter and said, ¡°I¡¯ll bestow you a few more beautiful wives and concubines so they can give birth to a few more sons.¡±

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, after Sang Hong¡¯s group left King Yan Manor, he pulled Zu An over and asked quietly, ¡°Why did you agree to that matter?¡±

 Chapter 990: Golden Token Seven

    <h4>Chapter 990: Golden Token Seven</h4>

    Zu An replied seriously, ¡°Respected uncle, I have other ns, but I can¡¯t exin them right now. I hope you can excuse me for this.¡±

    Sang Hong gave him a deep look, then said, ¡°You¡¯re already calling me uncle, so I naturally trust you. Since you¡¯re saying this, I won¡¯t ask you any more.¡± Does this kid think I don¡¯t know? I was the governor of Brightmoon City before! Immortal Abode¡¯s courtesan Qiu Honglei had quite a close rtionship with him. This kid really is fickle, hmph.

    When he thought of his own daughter, Sang Hong suddenly felt a bit unhappy for some reason. He then said, ¡°I¡¯ll pay the Governor Manor a visit now to discuss the matter of escorting the Devil Sect¡¯s evildoer back to the capital. You¡¯ve worked hard just now, so you should return early and rest.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, respected uncle.¡± Zu An sighed when he heard Sang Hong¡¯s agreement.

    Sang Hong called out and stopped him right when he was about to leave, adding, ¡°Ah Zu, let me warn you that adoration in youth is natural, but you should have clear discernment in who you¡¯re messing with. It¡¯s best if you dob;t get too close to these women.¡±

    Zu An immediately began to sweat buckets. Looks like I can¡¯t fool this old man after all. He could only say, ¡°Respected uncle¡¯s words are wise.¡±

    Sang Hong harrumphed in annoyance when he saw that despite Zu An¡¯s words, his expression was still indifferent. He didn¡¯t bother trying to advise Zu An further. Either way, Qien¡¯er was just borrowing this man for a bit; he didn¡¯t really have to be their son-inw. He just needed that grandson.

    Zu An returned to the port when he saw Sang Hong and his men head for the Governor Manor. Gao Ying and Pei You asked him if Sun Xun had made things hard for him at all, and he gave them a rough summary of what had happened. However, he was still worried about Qiu Honglei, so he made an excuse to return to his room for rest. Gao Ying and Pei You had tossed and turned for most of the night themselves, so they were both tired. They both went back to rest.

    Zu An secretly changed into his Embroidered Envoy uniform, then went to Xiao Jianren¡¯s room. Sang Hong, Zu An, and the others had all left, and they had needed someone to guard the ship headquarters. Xiao Jianren was naturally the best candidate.

    Xiao Jianren was reading under the light, his eyes about to touch the table from how close he was to it. His nearsightedness was already incredibly bad. But he was someone who could rise above the other Embroidered Envoys, so even though his eyes weren¡¯t great, his ears were extremely sensitive. He noticed Zu An as soon as he walked into the room, calling out, ¡°Who?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s me!¡± Zu An said in a low muffled voice. ¡°I warned you not to read at night, that your eyes can¡¯t take it. Once we get back, we¡¯ll get you some ss spectacles or a Lasting Lamp.¡±

    Zu An had already inquired about those things before. The libationer¡¯s disciples came up with all kinds of weird inventions. They had things like sses too; however, they didn¡¯t use the ss he was used to, but rather used a ceramic ze. They used special runes to produce results simr to normal sses, which was why they were extremely expensive.

    As for the Lasting Lamps, themp Zu An had given Xie Daoyun was one; it was just a high level and precious one. Even though Zu An sympathized with Xiao Jianren, between a man and a cute girl, he would definitely choose the cute girl.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine; I¡¯ve already gotten used to it after all these years.¡± Xia Jianren ced a bookmark in the ce he had just left off and carefully closed the book as if he were handling a precious treasure. ¡°Both the ss spectacles and the Lasting Lamps from the academy are too expensive. It¡¯s not an expense someone like me can handle.¡±

    Zu An was left speechless as well. As a silver token envoy, his sry wasn¡¯t that low. He could purchase one if he saved up for a few years. However, whenever he saved up even a bit of money, Xiao Jianren would always buy books. Furthermore, he read anything too. He would even enjoy the writing on the wrappings of pastries from certain restaurants for a long time. The purchase of all kinds of books made him the poorest person in the Embroidery House. He obviously wouldn¡¯t be willing to buy the academy¡¯s goods.

    ¡°Right, do you know where the Devil Sect is located in Yi Commandery?¡± Zu An didn¡¯t forget why he hade over and quickly asked. He needed to get into contact with Yun Jianyue as quickly as possible so he could discuss how to rescue Qiu Honglei with her.

    Xiao Jianren couldn''t help but say, ¡°Sir really holds me in too high regard. If the Devil Sect¡¯s headquarters were so easily found, they would¡¯ve already been wiped out by the court a long time ago. However, I can try to contact the local Embroidered Envoy intelligencework to see if I can find any of their locations that aren¡¯t as important. These locations where they gather will have a spy or two there to monitor the situation; otherwise, we¡¯d have to find the Devil Sect¡¯s new location again if we immediately destroyed them. Of course, these locations usually don¡¯t have much value, so I don¡¯t know if they¡¯ll be that useful to sir.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll see after you find them.¡± Zu An had no leads either, so he could only give it a try. If push came to shove, he¡¯d just have to go himself.

    ¡°Understood!¡± Xiao Jianren cupped his hands. He was just about to leave when Zu An reached out his hand to stop him.

    While Xiao Jianren was confused, Zu An called out seriously, ¡°Since your respected self hase, why don¡¯t we meet and greet each other?¡±

    ¡°Is there someone here?¡± Xiao Jianren was horrified. He was a careful person, so he had even set up some small mechanisms nearby. His ears had always been sharp too. Only someone like Sir Eleven could enter his room without his notice; it was extremely difficult for others to escape his detection.

    And now, even with Sir Eleven¡¯s reminder, he couldn''t hear any breathing, nor could he sense any ki fluctuations. Just how high did the other party¡¯s cultivation have to be to achieve that?

    A cold voice spoke from outside just then. ¡°I was already being careful, yet you still found me out. As expected of a golden token envoy.¡±

    A dark figure entered, pushing the window open. Xiao Jianren was about to draw his de when he was suddenly stunned, as the dark figure removed their stealthy clothing and revealed the clothing underneath. The special dragon and cloud patterns on it could only belong to another Embroidered Envoy¡¯s uniform. Furthermore, judging from his gilded cor, it was actually another golden token envoy!

    Xiao Jianren quickly greeted them while carefully asking, ¡°Is this Sir Seven, who¡¯s in charge of this ce¡¯s informationwork?¡± He spent a lot of time in the Embroidery House¡¯s archives, so he naturally knew about such things.

    ¡°Golden Token Seven?¡± Zu An sized up the other party curiously. After all, it had already been a long time since he had been appointed as a golden token, but this was the first time he had met another golden token envoy.

    The other party¡¯s face was covered, so there was no way to see who it was. However, his eyes were bright and expressive. Judging from the few wrinkles exposed around the corners of his eyes, Zu An could roughly discern that he was a middle-aged man. Even though his figure was smaller than average, there was an austere aura around him. It was easy to see just how important this person was from how Xiao Jianren didn¡¯t even dare to breathe too heavily.

    Zu An sensed the other party¡¯s ki fluctuations. This person was roughly at the ninth rank. However, after experiencing all of those things, he also knew that as one¡¯s cultivation climbed higher, ki fluctuations weren¡¯t as urate of a means to measure one¡¯s true cultivation. Unless they used everything they had in a life and death situation, their normal level of ki fluctuations would vary greatly, let alone the fact that there were many artifacts or techniques that could help conceal one¡¯s real aura.

    The small middle-aged man took out a shining golden token and showed it to Zu An, saying, ¡°Identity confirmation, Golden Token Seven.¡±

    Embroidered Envoy items were all standardized. Outsiders couldn¡¯t imitate them at all. That was especially true for the special runes engraved on the tokens, which other Embroidered Envoys could easily differentiate.

    Xiao Jianren quickly took out his silver envoy token, but the other party didn¡¯t even give him a look. He only continued to stare at Zu An. His intentions were clear. This is a conversation between high ranking officers; step off to the side.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An took out his own Golden Token Eleven token to confirm his identity. Golden Token Seven thus sighed in relief. However, his brow quickly furrowed as he asked, ¡°Why is your cultivation so low?¡±

    Zu An had Concubine Bai¡¯s spice bag. Together with the Mirror Mirage technique he cultivated, it was difficult for others to see his true cultivation. He said indifferently, ¡°It¡¯s enough as long as I can defeat those I want to deal with.¡±

    Golden Token Seven couldn''t help but give the other party a look. This fellow only had six levels of cultivation, yet his speech was definitely quite arrogant. But he admired such a temperament. If the other party were a yes-man, it would instead lower the prestige of all of the golden token envoys. If this person¡¯s cultivation was so low, that meant his majesty and the chiefmander valued other aspects of him.

    ¡°I came here to ask you all for help in the investigation of a certain matter.¡± Golden Token Seven slowly exined his purpose foring.

 Chapter 991: A Crafty Escape Plan

    <h4>Chapter 991: A Crafty Escape n</h4>

    ¡°What are you investigating?¡± Zu An¡¯s expression was somewhat serious. After all, even though golden token envoys weren¡¯t forbidden from interacting, they rarely met with each other. If the other party had taken the initiative to meet him, that meant it was definitely not a small matter.

    Unfortunately, he waspletely preupied with Qiu Honglei¡¯s matter at the moment. He wasn¡¯t in the mood to listen to Golden Token Seven¡¯s issue. Of course, since he had brought it up, there was no way he could refuse. He could only listen for the time being. Then, he would just leave Xiao Jianren and the others to follow up, while he himself would deal with it once he had some free time.

    Golden Token Seven opened his mouth. After some hesitation, he said, ¡°I have a suspicion. However, I still don¡¯t have any proof and need to investigate further to know for certain.¡±

    Zu An could sense his hesitation. The other party didn¡¯t fully trust the two of them yet, and the matter might be extremely important. Without more of a guarantee he could trust, he might easily be bringing himself trouble.

    This world wasn¡¯t like his previous world where one could easily cancel someone specifically with just a few tweets. There were too many individuals in this world that couldn''t be offended. Furthermore, it was also expressly stipted that using aristocrats and important ministers without proof was a huge crime. The more serious punishments could even amount to n eradication.

    ¡°Could it be that it involves King Yan?¡± Zu An didn¡¯t want to bother with this matter. But if it did have to do with King Yan, he would try and see if he could use it as a way to save Qiu Honglei.

    Golden Token Seven gave him a look and replied, ¡°No. Don¡¯t make random guesses, or else you¡¯ll be inviting trouble onto yourself.¡±

    ¡°But you¡¯re not even speaking in detail, so how am I supposed to help?¡± Zu An shrugged when he saw how the other party was deliberately mystifying the matter. He already nned to ignore it.

    But Golden Token Seven¡¯s next words almost made Zu An jump in rm. ¡°Help me rescue the Devil Sect¡¯s Saintess.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He was overjoyed to hear that, but on the surface, his expression instead darkened. ¡°What are you saying? Don¡¯t you know that colluding with the Devil Sect is a crime punishable by n eradication?¡± Is this guy testing me?n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Of course I know, but I don¡¯t have anything to do with the Devil Sect, nor am I doing this to save her. Rather, I¡¯m doing this to confirm one thing,¡± Golden Token Seven exined.

    ¡°This matter involves too much, so please forgive me for not joining in on it. But since we¡¯re both golden token envoys, I won¡¯t report this. Please act ordingly on your own.¡± Zu An felt extremely conflicted inside, but he didn¡¯t know what the other party was really thinking and thus couldn¡¯t agree so easily.

    Sure enough, Golden Token Seven also realized that Zu An probably wouldn¡¯t help if he didn¡¯t tell him anything else. He could only say, ¡°Alright, to be honest, I need to catch the Devil Sect¡¯s Saintess to personally ask her something.¡±

    Zu An asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t she currently in King Yan Manor? King Yan¡¯s people have already interrogated her, and she¡¯ll soon be brought to the capital. Why do you need to interrogate her yourself? Could it be¡­ that you don¡¯t trust King Yan?¡±

    Golden Token Seven was a bit surprised. He clearly hadn¡¯t expected Zu An to know so many details already. His opinion of Zu An immediately changed. He said, ¡°Once we interrogate the Devil Sect¡¯s Saintess and prove some of my thoughts, I¡¯ll tell you everything that has happened. This matter will earn tremendous contributions that will be enjoyed by both of us. However, this is also a huge matter that could easily lead to terrible consequences if executed poorly. That¡¯s why I hope for your understanding right now.¡±

    ¡°This¡­¡± Zu An still pretended to refuse. ¡°This matter is too dangerous. There will definitely be heavy security around the Devil Sect¡¯s Saintess.¡±

    Golden Token Seven said, ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about that. I won¡¯t make you take the risk. I¡¯ll face them head on and draw their attention. You¡¯ll take that chance to leave with the Devil Sect¡¯s Saintess.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t be happier. This was simply a gift from the heavens! However, he still couldn¡¯t lower his guard. He asked, ¡°But what if you use this as a chance to frame me?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve never associated with each other before, and the golden token envoys each manage a separate area. We don¡¯t have any sh of interests between us either, so why would I try to frame you?¡± Golden Token Seven gave the shuddering Xiao Jianren a look. ¡°I never made this person leave. Can¡¯t you see I did that to leave behind another witness to help you feel more at ease?¡±

    Xiao Jianren had a bitter expression on his face. He really wished he hadn¡¯t heard a single thing from start to finish. This was a huge matter that even made golden token envoys feel danger, so wouldn¡¯t he die many times over if he got involved?

    Since the other party was already going this far, Zu An nodded and said, ¡°Fine, I can help you.¡± He had nned to save Qiu Honglei himself anyway. He was obviously happy to have another helper.

    Golden Token Seven cupped his hands and said, ¡°Good; I¡¯ll owe you a favor because of this. As long as it¡¯s not something that goes too far, I¡¯ll do everything I can to help you once.¡±

    Xiao Jianren looked surprised. This was a serious promise! Even though the other party hadn¡¯t explicitly said he was willing to break thew, it was obvious that he was willing to help even to that extent.

    It was easy to see just how much this matter bothered Golden Token Seven. He was even willing to make a promise like that. Xiao Jianren began to tremble all over when he thought of that. Was he going to be silenced by these two after the matter was resolved?

    Zu An cupped his hands and said, ¡°Much appreciated. When will we act?¡±

    Golden Token Seven replied, ¡°I still need to look into their escort path. I¡¯ll contact you once I have more information.¡±

    Zu An pointed at Xiao Jianren. ¡°You can just pass on the message to him if you can¡¯t find me.¡±

    Xiao Jianren was immediately overwhelmed by the favor. Sir Eleven really thinks highly of me! He even handed such an important matter to me!

    Golden Token Seven didn¡¯t feel any suspicion. Golden token envoys usually worked in the shadows, so it wasmon for them to not be able to find each other. Having someone act as an intermediary was a good thing. As such, he gave the other two a nod before pushing open the window and disappearing into the darkness without any noise. It was easy to see just how high his cultivation was.

    ¡°Sir Eleven¡­¡± After Golden Token Seven left, Xiao Jianren wanted to say something, but then hesitated.

    Zu An patted his shoulder and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t silence you afterward. I¡¯m not that type of person.¡±

    Xiao Jianren sighed in relief. He had already forgotten when it started, but as an Embroidered Envoy, he was used to mutual deception. And yet, when he heard what Sir Eleven said, he felt a mysterious feeling of trust.

    ¡­

    Zu An secretly left after consoling him. However, he didn¡¯t go back to his room to sleep, and instead went into the city. He found the Devil Sect¡¯s hiding spot ording to the information Xiao Jianren had given him. He couldn''t ce all of his eggs in one basket; thus, he needed to contact Yun Jianyue first.

    This gathering spot was a tavern. It was alreadyte into the night, so of course it was already closed. However, Zu An didn¡¯t have any misgivings and charged straight in. He quickly detained the people inside. Apart from the tavern boss, there were two other assistants. He didn¡¯t waste any time and questioned them separately.

    At first, they refused to talk, but Zu An naturally had his reason for using force. He summoned Daji. These individuals¡¯ cultivation ranks weren¡¯t high; thus, they were quickly knocked out by Daji¡¯s Fox Charm skill.

    But even after all of that, he discovered that they were all small fry. They didn¡¯t know how to contact the Devil Sect¡¯s upper echelon. Every so often, the Devil Sect would contact them to collect some intelligence, but that waspletely a unteral form ofmunication. Furthermore, their actions were extremely secretive. Not even the people from this tavern knew who came to take the information.

    The most important part was that thest time they had collected information was three days prior, and it would be another ten days at the earliest before the Devil Sect woulde back. How could Zu An wait for that long?

    Daji erased their memories of what had just happened and knocked them unconscious. Zu An could only helplessly return to the imperial envoy fleet.

    Sang Hong also came back with his men soon afterward, and sought out Zu An to discuss some things. ¡°I just met with Governor Zhang. He originally wasn¡¯t willing to do this, but because of my appearance, the pressure from King Yan¡¯s side, and the fact that some local officials want this opportunity to umte contributions and thus urged him to ept this mission, he still agreed in the end.

    ¡°He¡¯s worried that the longer they wait, the more variables there will be. Those from the Devil Sect might realize what¡¯s happening. That¡¯s why they¡¯ll escort the prisoner out tomorrow at noon.¡±

    Zu An was shocked. ¡°Tomorrow at noon?¡± Half a day of time really was too rushed for the Governor Manor.

    ¡°Indeed. When the timees, Governor Zhang will march over with his men to visit the sick King Yan, using that chance to move Qiu Honglei from the manor¡¯s prison to his own fleet. This way, when his men leave the city, those from the Devil Sect won¡¯t realize that Qiu Honglei is already no longer in King Yan Manor. By the time they react, the procession will already be a thousand miles away. At that point, it will be toote for the Devil Sect to put together a rescue group.¡± Sang Hong sighed and said, ¡°That Governor Zhang really is quite something. He actually thought of something like this in such a short amount of time.¡±

    ¡°He is indeed formidable.¡± Zu An felt a bit of a headache. Would he really be able to rescue Qiu Honglei with just Golden Token Seven, and without the Devil Sect¡¯s people diverting attention?

    ¡°Who¡¯s in charge of the escort?¡± Zu An wanted to take the chance to get more information. The more he knew, the more assurance he would have.

    ¡°Yi Commandery¡¯s Martial Supervisor Yang Sheng, an expert at the initial stage of the ninth rank. Yi Commandery¡¯s City Lord Liao Ling, a cultivator at the peak of the seventh rank, is also going with him. I don¡¯t know about the other officers and guards.¡± Sang Hong looked at Zu An as he said that, as if warning him to be careful.

    Zu An knew that the governor was the most authoritative figure of amandery, and that the Martial Supervisor was the highest military officer. They were simr to the highest officers of each geographical area ofmand in his previous world. He asked, ¡°Why do these Yi Commandery officials¡¯ cultivation ranks seem much higherpared to simrly ranked officials from othermanderies?¡±

    After all, the governors and martial supervisors of othermanderies were only at the eighth rank. The city lords were usually only at the seventh rank too. Yi Commandery was clearly much different.

    Sang Hong gave the distant King Yan Manor a look and began, ¡°That¡¯s a long story. Yi Commandery, this ce, is a bit special¡­¡±

 Chapter 992: The Early Bird Catches the Worm

    <h4>Chapter 992: The Early Bird Catches the Worm</h4>

    ¡°The north is cold and dry, so that¡¯s why the people of the north are usually tougher than others. There are many cultivators here as well, so a slight dispute will often result in blood being spilled,¡± Sang Hong said.

    Zu An thought to himself, It¡¯s just like the ¡®Whatcha lookin¡¯ at?¡¯ attitude from my previous world.

    ¡°The north¡¯snds aren¡¯t as fertile as those of the south. Because of some historical reasons, many people were forced into exile, thus bing bandits. Then, they discovered that stealing was much easier than farming, so more and more people began to turn to the bandit life. The north is full of mountains, with some that are permanently covered in snow. If the army surrounded them, they¡¯d just hide inside. Once most of the soldiers left, they¡¯de out and start stealing again, giving all of the local governments and the imperial court a huge headache,¡± Sang Hong continued. ¡°The Devil Sect is aparativelyrge branch among them. But unlike the normal bandits, they have their own political structure. Together with their beliefs uniting them, they¡¯re also much stronger than ordinary bandits.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°The Devil Sect emerged in Yi Commandery? Their base of operations is here?¡± When he had passed by the North Order Commandery ruled by King Wu back when he was being escorted to the capital, he had witnessed a battle between the Devil Sect¡¯s army and the official government army. He had thought that was where their main base was.

    Sang Hong shook his head. ¡°The Devil Sect¡¯s teachings are bewitching in nature and are quite popr among the lower level people, to the extent where they¡¯re still extremely prevalent among the masses even after repeated prohibitions. Their people are everywhere. Even though there are a few main bases, no one knows where their true base of operations is. This is also why the Devil Sect is hard to eliminate.

    ¡°Since they have to constantly fight against the Devil Sect and local bandits, local officials are also required to adapt to the situation. However, the Devil Sect is also powerful and impossible to wipe out by just relying on the localmandery¡¯s military. That¡¯s why princes from the royal n are assigned to different ces as kings to oversee the area. These territories vary in size and influence, and King Yan¡¯s territory is one of the greatest of them.

    ¡°King Yan has earned many aplishments over the years. He¡¯s captured and executed many Devil Sect evildoers, but the Devil Sect is incredibly tough and he just can¡¯tpletely eradicate them. Thus, both sides have entered a stalemate. The court was also worried that the local powers would grow too great, so that¡¯s why they¡¯ve assigned local officials to supervise these kings.

    ¡°You saw for yourself that King Yan is a grandmaster, and even Minister Sun is at the master rank. His attendants include experts at the seventh and eighth rank. If the local officials were at the same level as those of othermanderies, how could they possibly keep him in check? That¡¯s why, whether it is the governor, the martial supervisor, or other officials, their cultivations are all much higher than those of officials in othermanderies.¡±

    Zu An was a bit confused, saying, ¡°But even so, they¡¯re still far too weakpared to the grandmaster King Yan and master rank Sun Xun! How can they possibly keep King Yan Manor in check?¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Sang Hong chuckled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t forget that there¡¯s still the imperial court. Unless King Yan rebelled publicly, how could he dare to touch the local officials here? Furthermore, Yi Commandery has its own army as well. Even if King Yan wanted to start a war, with the existence of the regr army, individual strength wouldn¡¯t be as important. Of course, that wouldn¡¯t apply to you if you were really at his majesty¡¯s level, but there¡¯s only one earth immortal in this entire world. Of course, what you said isn¡¯t entirely without reason. I suspect that the court has other cards they¡¯re hiding. For example, the Embroidered Envoy has the responsibility of monitoring the entire world.¡±

    Zu An recalled Golden Token Seven. Could it be that he was ced here just to keep an eye on King Yan? That he was working together with the governor, martial supervisor and other officials, coordinating with them in the shadows?

    But that doesn¡¯t really seem right either. King Yan is the emperor¡¯s uncle, so he isn¡¯t young either. Even if he does have any ambitions, he still can¡¯t be the emperor!

    The royal family had aplete set of inheritance rules. Forget about the emperor, who had the crown prince and other sons; there was also that ridiculous figure, King Qi. Apart from King Qi, there were some other brothers in the same generation. Rather than someone like King Yan who was a distant rtive of the royal family, there were more than a hundred people before him in line to seed the throne. He was unlikely to have any such ambition.

    Sang Hong then said, ¡°I¡¯ll use this chance to stay in Yi Commandery for three days under the pretext of expressing sympathy for King Yan, and of helping Governor Zhang keep the order locally. However, we can¡¯t stay here for too long. No matter what happens after three days, we must continue on our journey.¡±

    Zu An knew that Sang Hong was warning him that if he was going to do something, then he had to do it within those three days. Otherwise, Sang Hong wouldn¡¯t be able to cover for him. Considering Sang Hong¡¯s identity, doing all of that wasn¡¯t easy. He said, ¡°Thank you, respected uncle.¡±

    Sang Hong sipped on his tea and said indifferently, ¡°I¡¯m not doing it for you, but rather¡­ Forget it. You need to be careful.¡±

    ¡­

    Zu An suddenly thought of something soon after he returned to his room. He changed into his Golden Token Eleven outfit and went to Xiao Jianren¡¯s room.

    Golden Token Seven was also there. He was a bit surprised to see Zu An, because he actually hadn¡¯t noticed when he arrived. This person is mysterious as expected. Looks like I can¡¯t evaluate him purely through his cultivation strength.

    He had originally been worried whether Zu An would even be able to really be of help in his mission. He¡¯d had no one else to depend on before, but figured that for better or for worse, the other party was also a golden token envoy. That was why he had braced himself and asked Zu An. When he saw that, he feltpletely at ease.

    ¡°I¡¯ve already received information that the escort fleet will depart from the city¡¯s western main gate at noon. After traveling for a bit, they¡¯ll then turn and head south.¡± Golden Token Seven unfolded a map that had detailed records of the local mountains and other terrain. It was the highest level military map, something normal people would never be able to see. However, with his identity, that was naturally not an issue.

    Zu An thought to himself, This person¡¯s intelligencework really is formidable. Sang Hong had just talked to Governor Zhang!

    Then, Golden Token Seven pointed at a position on the map. ¡°We¡¯ll make our move in Lone Wolf Valley. There are several hundred meters of valley terrain for us to exploit, and it¡¯s a ce that¡¯s difficult for arge army to make use of their advantage. It¡¯s a good chance for us to make a move.¡±

    ¡°Lone Wolf Valley? Do they have any formidable wolf-like beasts?¡± Zu An suddenly thought of some of his earlier encounters. Some strong beasts had always showed up out of nowhere whenever he was on the verge of sess. They were going to be heavily outnumbered in this rescue operation, so it would be easy for things to fall through if such a variable urred.

    ¡°There aren¡¯t. That location is named as such because there¡¯s a massive rock formation shaped like a lone wolf''s head to the side of the valley, at its very peak. Even though there are some beasts roaming the vicinity, they¡¯re all low rank. They won¡¯t affect our operation at all.¡± Golden Token Seven felt more and more appreciation for the other person. In his opinion, cultivation was actually secondary for an Embroidered Envoy. A clear head and prudent nature were the most important things.

    He then gave Zu An a rough summary of the cultivation and skills of the main individuals involved in the escort operation. It was even more detailed than what Sang Hong had exined before. Golden Token Seven even patiently exined many things about the regr soldiers.

    This is what you call being a professional! Zu An thought in praise.

    ¡­

    The two of them chatted for a bit, then Golden Token Seven quietly left. He had to monitor the fleet¡¯s activity, or else the other party might suddenly change their mind at thest minute without him knowing.

    As for Zu An, he rushed to Lone Wolf Valley. He sought out Pei You, Gao Ying, and the others before leaving, telling them that he had recently made some progress in his cultivation and needed some time to cultivate in seclusion. He told them to not let anyone bother him. The two naturally agreed, even congratting him. Sang Hong even implied that he would help Zu An cover things up.

    Afterward, Zu An then secretly headed to Lone Wolf Valley. With his current cultivation, he arrived at his destination without using up much time at all. He observed the area from atop a mountain peak, and subsequently understood why Golden Token Seven had chosen the location. The valley was like a funnel, wider on the outside and narrower the further in one went. The deepest parts were only a few meters wide. The narrowest part was a few hundred meters long, before the path gradually widened again.

    Once one went into such a ce, the power of numbers would be greatly reduced. But even the most ordinarymoner would know it was a strategic location, so how could the army not know? Yi Commandery had set up sentries there, and was always observing the situation in the valley. If they saw something strange, they would immediately use smoke signals to contact the nearby cities.

    Meanwhile, Zu An¡¯s first mission was to figure out a way to deal with those sentry posts, to temporarily remove theirmunication functions. Golden Token Seven had warned him that getting rid of the sentries wasn¡¯t difficult; what was difficult was doing so without alerting anyone.

    Even though there weren¡¯t too many people in charge of overseeing the valley, they were quite scattered, positioned at the valley entrance, inside the valley itself, and even at the far end. Furthermore, there were people monitoring the ce from above the cliff, and every single location could send smoke signals. They would immediately light a fire beacon the moment there was anything strange in any area.

    But that wasn¡¯t the main issue. What was more difficult was that if the escort fleet saw that there was something wrong with the valley sentries, they naturally wouldn¡¯t go inside. That meant they could only eliminate the sentries above and inside the valley. However, if they wanted to enter the valley, they had to pass through either end of the valley.

    Zu An wasn¡¯t too worried himself. If he could even move freely in the Imperial Pce, how difficult could it be to navigate through some local guards? He immediately came up with four possible solutions.

    He rushed to the entrance of the valley, moving quickly. It was daybreak just then. Even though the horizon was starting to glow, the valley was still dark. He borrowed the cover of the darkness, making his figure hard to detect.

    As he approached the first sentry post, he was just about to do something when he suddenly frowned. He smelled a strong bloody odor.

    What¡¯s going on? he thought as he carefully approached the sentry post entrance. He saw that the sentries were already lying in puddles of blood. Every single guard had a fatal wound, clearly unable to respond at all before they died.

 Chapter 993: Why Is He Not Scared of Poison?

    <h4>Chapter 993: Why Is He Not Scared of Poison?</h4>

    Could it be the Devil Sect? Zu An wondered if even Yun Jianyue had arrived. In order to be a sentry in this kind of ce, cultivation was actually secondary, but one¡¯s senses had to be top-notch. Just how powerful would someone have to be to be able to take out all the sentries without even giving them any chance to react?

    However, he immediately rejected that idea because Yun Jianyue had no reason to make such a bloody scene. If she had really done it herself, she would have made sure to do it elegantly.

    Zu An stealthily left the entrance and headed farther inside. As expected, the sentries in the valley had all been dealt with, and there were no figures in sight on the watchtowers above. The sentries there had probably experienced simr fates.

    He was about to go back and investigate what was going on by the entrance when his ears twitched a bit. He heard several footsteps approaching from a distance. He quickly leapt onto a tree, borrowing the cover of the leaves to hide his body.

    Soon afterward, a group of ck-d individuals ran over. They began to sort out the messy clothes, bloodstains, and other visible traces. They scattered some kind of powder, and the bloodstains on the ground quickly disappeared.

    Zu An naturally knew why they had done something like that, but it wouldn¡¯t help! Those sentries were all dead. Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re all going to change into their clothes and pretend to be them?

    As long as the governor¡¯s side wasn¡¯t stupid, they would definitely bring people familiar with the area with them. Those people would immediately recognize that something was off. In that case, what would be the point of taking the risk?

    But what was surprising was that the ck-d group quickly left after cleaning things up. They didn¡¯t impersonate the guards. What was even more surprising was that they actually left the corpses where they were.

    Zu An was stunned. However, the most shocking thing was still toe. Soon afterward, the corpses actually stood up! They rocked back and forth unsteadily at first, but then gained their footing. Eventually, they raised their spears and stood guard again, the only difference being that their faces were much paler than before.

    Zu An felt a chill run down his back. If not for the fact that he had seen them dead himself just then, he would have thought they were still alive.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Insect-controlled corpses?¡± he muttered to himself. This was a world of cultivators, so he naturally wouldn¡¯t believe in the supernatural. He immediately thought of a kind of secret technique he had encountered before. It was a corpse-controlling technique that used insects. The dead would then move as if they were still alive. There has to be a user of that technique nearby!

    Zu An looked around him. The massive valley waspletely quiet, with branches and leaves scattered everywhere. The ck-d individuals he had seen before had alreadypletely vanished; how was anyone supposed to find them now?

    But even though normal people couldn''t find anything, that didn¡¯t mean Zu An couldn''t. He reached out his left hand, and the jade badge diagram flickered. He began to control the valley¡¯s small creatures to help him in his search. Three-dimensional figures gradually took form in his mind. Those ck-d individuals who were hiding in the dark showed up clearly one after another.

    Zu An couldn''t help but appreciate the jade badge¡¯s miraculous abilities. Even though it didn¡¯t have any offensive capabilities, it acted just like a radar, allowing him to see through everything. As such, he quickly found his target.

    Sitting behind the lone wolf-shaped boulder was a shriveled elder. A wave of ck energy surged around him as he sat, and the nearby grass was ck and shriveled.

    ¡°A human-shaped biohazard,¡± Zu An said mockingly. He had already run into several cultivators whose cultivation methods turned them into monsters. What was the point of living at that point? If you tried to get close to a cute girl, you''d already poison her to death before you could even hold her hand, let alone do anything more intimate. You¡¯re already guaranteed to be without any heirs!

    He shook his head and stealthily moved toward the mountaintop. The locations of every single ck-d individual had appeared in his head, so he didn¡¯t alert any of them. With Mirror Mirage to hide his aura, he was able to quickly climb a tree near the ck-d elder.

    With his current cultivation, he could easily end the elder¡¯s life in a single strike. But after some hesitation, Zu An gave up on that thought. First of all, he wasn¡¯t sure if the elder was Yun Jianyue¡¯s subordinate and didn¡¯t want to hurt any of her people. Secondly, he still needed the old man to control the sentries, or else the governor¡¯s fleet would realize that something was strange with the valley and they would choose not to enter it.

    There were a few dozen feet between the two of them. Zu An had sucked away Thick-Browed Daoist¡¯s ruthless and bloody true ki and never had any time to properly digest it. Now that he had some free time, he was going to purify the vicious energies. Otherwise, something bad might happenter on when he had to fight.

    Many hours passed just like that, and the sun reached its zenith. Zu An opened his eyes, feeling the surging true ki within him. He had been at the eighth step of the ninth rank before, and now, he was already at the peak of the ninth rank. He was now really at the doorstep of the master rank.

    ¡°As expected, the further one gets, the harder it is to climb,¡± he remarked. Every single small increase in cultivation needed a tremendous amount of ki. All of Thick-Browed Daoist¡¯s cultivation had only been enough for him to rise one small step.

    Just then, the ck-robed elder opened his eyes. He stood up and hid behind the giant boulder, secretly observing everything that was happening in the valley.

    ¡°They¡¯re here,¡± Zu An muttered. He was also high up, so he could see the situation in the valley.

    A group of people slowly appeared; in the lead was a general with a longnce in his hands. His figure was majestic and awe-inspiring as he sat on the leading steed, his bronze eyes scanning the surroundings vigntly for any dangers.

    He seems quite vigorous and tough; his body carries a killing intent that can onlye from the battlefield. He should be Yi Commandery¡¯s Martial Supervisor Yang Sheng. Zu An sighed inwardly. The imperial court really was full of talents. Even a martial supervisor in a local region had this level of cultivation!

    Zu An swept his gaze over them. There were no prison carriages, only a single airtight carriage. That was probably the governor¡¯s carriage. The Governor Manor was covering up Qiu Honglei¡¯s transfer under the guise of an inspection tour. There weren¡¯t too many guards, only roughly a hundred or so. They had probably done that to fool everyone else.

    After all, if they really did end up alerting the Devil Sect, and the Devil Sect Master herself personally interfered, having a hundred or a thousand people wouldn¡¯t make much of a difference in front of a grandmaster. That was, of course, unless they brought an army capable of casting rune formations.

    He didn¡¯t see the Yi Commandery City Lord Sang Hong had mentioned. Zu An figured that he was probably at the very end to hold up the rear.

    Zu An thought the ck-d individuals would make a move, but they didn¡¯t do a thing the entire time. He frowned. He couldn''t wait any longer, or else it would end up affecting Golden Token Seven¡¯s ns.

    The ck-robed elder suddenly realized that there was danger nearby. ck mist surged all around him and he quickly raised his palm. He began muttering chants as well.

    Even though he was shocked that someone had been able to get so close to him without him noticing, he had confidence in his own poisonous mist. Normal cultivators would turn into white bones on contact. Even those of higher cultivation ranks would find being affected by the ck mist extremely troublesome. They might not even be able topletely get rid of it for an entire year.

    As long as the other party evaded, he would have enough time to summon his puppets. At that point, he would be able to escape whenever he wanted, so the situation would be entirely within his control.

    However, his eyes immediately widened, because he saw a white jade-like hand thrust straight through the thick ck mist and tap his chest. His final thought before he fainted was, Why isn¡¯t this person afraid of my poison at all? Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s already above the master rank?

    Zu An frowned. He tossed the old man aside in disgust. Even though he wasn¡¯t scared of the poison, poisons usually smelled bad. He really hated having such smells on him.

    When the ck-robed elder fell unconscious, the sentry soldiers seemed to lose their souls. All of them copsed onto the ground like noodles. The troops below were rmed, having clearly noticed the abnormalities above.

    Zu An didn¡¯t hesitate and mmed his palm on the boulder in front of him. The several ton boulder rumbled as it smashed down.

    ¡°Enemy attack!¡± a soldier screamed, sounding the rm.

    Yi Commandery¡¯s Martial Supervisor Yang Sheng, at the very front of the procession, was the fastest. With a tap of his toes, he quickly brandished hisnce as he rushed toward the descending boulder. If the boulder hit their group, the casualties would be extremely severe.

    The spear in his hand thrust out like lightning, blocking the giant boulder from below. He didn¡¯t use brute force, but rather redirected it to the side. Even so, the momentum of the several ton giant boulder was massive. Zu An had also sent it flying, so it carried the force of his nine ranks of cultivation. Yang Sheng¡¯snce bent to its limit, looking as if it might break apart at any time.

    ¡°Ahhhh!¡± he roared, forcibly flinging the boulder several feet away. Even though that wasn¡¯t too long a distance, it deviated from its original trajectory, thus buying enough time for the others to react. However, that already made the energies within him stir violently. He could even vaguely sense some internal pain.

    Yang Sheng readjusted his condition while examining the current situation. Suddenly, someone shot out from behind him at lightning speed. His eyes narrowed. In that instant, he had already discerned that the other party¡¯s cultivation wasn¡¯t beneath his own. Furthermore, the other party¡¯s grasp of timing was absolutely vicious. The ambush hade right when he had just expended all of his strength and needed a moment to recover!

 Chapter 994: Beautiful Scene

    <h4>Chapter 994: Beautiful Scene</h4>

    Even so, Yang Sheng was still a ninth ranked expert. At the most crucial moment, his wrist flicked, reversing the downward trajectory of thence and perfectly intercepting the opponent. If his opponent didn¡¯t dodge, thence would tear straight through his intestines.

    He had seen his opponent. That person had a face that couldn''t be more ordinary, a face that wouldn¡¯t even get a second look from him normally. That was also why he hadn¡¯t noticed the person before.

    He noticed that even though the person was moving rapidly, there wasn¡¯t the slightest change in his expression. Martial Supervisor Yang Sheng immediately knew that wasn¡¯t the man¡¯s true appearance, but rather a mask. However, the workmanship needed to produce such a thin and natural looking mask was insane. Anyone who had a mask like that was definitely extraordinary.

    As if to prove his point, that person didn¡¯t even avoid his strike and instead reached out to grab hisnce.

    Yang Sheng thought to himself, Is this person mad? You¡¯re going to grab my de with your bare hands? Won¡¯t your hand bepletely crippled?

    He harrumphed. He slightly adjusted the angle of thence to the side, aiming to stab straight through the other party¡¯s palm. However, he had witnessed just how sinister the timing of the other party¡¯s strike had been, so he didn¡¯t dare to look down on him. He secretly held back a bit.

    The other party¡¯s hands crossed, and his hands mped down on thence like hawk ws; however, they were also like water snakes swimming along hisnce. He almost instantly arrived in front of Yang Sheng.

    Yang Sheng was shocked. He couldn''t be bothered to do anything else and just gave up on hisnce. He used the force to fly backward. He was really thankful that he hadn¡¯t underestimated his opponent just then and saved a bit of strength. Otherwise, his opponent¡¯s arms would have already stabbed through his chest.

    But even though he had pulled back quickly, the force made his internal organs shake violently. In the end, he wasn¡¯t able to use all of his strength. There were even several bloody scars left on his body.

    ¡­

    Zu An watched the entire scene from the peak above. This Golden Token Seven¡¯s w technique is pretty crazy.

    He could also tell that Golden Token Seven had actually held back. Otherwise, with such a great ambush, there was no way Yang Sheng would have been able to get away with just a few bloody scratches!

    Golden Token Seven¡¯s main objective this time was just to confirm some things; it wasn¡¯t to start a rebellion. That was why there was no reason for him to kill anyone.

    ¡­

    Yang Sheng was shocked and furious. After he created some distance, he immediately ordered his troops to get into formation. With their assistance, he finally managed to barely stop Golden Token Seven¡¯s assault. But the valley was already aplete mess.

    Zu An looked at the ces where the ck-d individuals were hiding. He frowned when he saw that they still didn¡¯t have any intention of acting.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    It was almost the time he had agreed on with Golden Token Seven to act. He didn¡¯t want those ck-d individuals to reap the benefits after he interfered.

    He suddenly thought of something and looked toward the ck-robed elder he had tossed aside. How did this guy n to signal his subordinates?

    He searched the elder¡¯s body. Sure enough, there was something resembling a noise arrow on him. As such, Zu An took it and fired it downward. A shrill noise tore through the valley. When the ck d individuals received the signal, all of them charged out murderously.

    Golden Token Seven jumped in fright. He had thought that Golden Token Eleven came to help him, but when he saw those individuals'' outfits and how ruthless they were in their assault, he knew it wasn¡¯t Zu An.

    With the addition of the neers, the escort troop¡¯s formation waspletely ruined. Flesh and blood flew everywhere. Only the sealed carriage remained untouched.

    More than ten ck-d individuals rushed forward soon afterward. The guards around the carriage tried to stop them, but they were clearly outmatched and were cut down.

    The ck-d individuals smashed open the carriage¡¯s door. Just as they were about to say something, however, a vicious wave of sword energy shed out. The ck-d individuals at the very front were instantly chopped into pieces.

    ¡°Sword ki!¡± Golden Token Seven was still paying attention to what was happening. He immediately recognized an attack from Yi Commandery¡¯s City Lord Liao Ling.

    ¡°The previous intelligence stated that he was at the peak of the seventh rank. I didn¡¯t expect him to actually have broken through,¡± he muttered. He was now worried. Even though Golden Token Eleven was cunning, his cultivation was a bit lower than Golden Token Seven¡¯s own. How was he going to seize the saintess from the city lord¡¯s hands?

    He wanted to help, but Yang Sheng was no easy opponent. He was being held up by the Martial Supervisor and his subordinates.

    A middle-aged man slowly walked out of the carriage just then. His features were square and upright, and his figure seemed to exude a grand pressure. His strike was a sword that had been nurtured by the world¡¯s just ki!

    Golden Token Seven felt more and more worried. The man wielded a monarch¡¯s sword, a sword of just ki. Its power was a bit greater than that of other experts! Even he would find it a bit tricky to deal with, so what could Golden Token Eleven possibly do?

    The ck-d individuals near the carriage all held their des up in front of them. They arranged themselves into a simple formation, then charged at their opponent.

    ¡°The Devil Sect¡¯s Five Elements Formation!¡± Golden Token Seven¡¯s expression darkened. Some of his suspicions had now been verified.

    Just then, Liao Ling moved. A cold glint flickered. Countless afterimages covered everything within a zhang of him. Then, the afterimages allbined into one, returning to his original body. It was almost as if he never had moved from his original spot.

    However, the ck-d individuals all clutched their throats as blood flowed out of them uncontrobly. One after another, they copsed powerlessly.

    Liao Ling didn¡¯t even give those people a look and instead looked at Golden Token Seven. He frowned slightly. The other ck-d individuals nearby all began to hesitate, shaken by the city lord¡¯s power.

    ¡°Miss Qiu, your sect seems to have only sent these people here to save you. I fear they were doomed to be disappointed,¡± Liao Ling said. He didn¡¯t assist Yang Sheng and instead stood right in front of the carriage without moving.

    A moving and charming sigh came from inside the carriage. ¡°City Lord Liao, just the fact that you suffered from an ambush here means that things are clearly not that simple.¡±

    Liao Ling remained silent for a bit. A whileter, he said with a bitter expression, ¡°You¡¯re right. We might not be able to keep you here. However, Miss Qiu, please do not rejoice too soon. I will kill you before you are rescued.¡±

    ¡°You dare to kill me?¡± Qiu Honglei¡¯s voice carried a shred of mockery.

    ¡°Correct. King Yan and the others might feel apprehension toward your master, thus being unwilling to kill you, but I am different. What I cultivate is the power of grandeur. As long as my own heart is free of guilt, I will not feel any misgivings.¡±

    Liao Ling¡¯s sword thrust straight at the carriage. He had already known that since the Devil Sect¡¯s people had managed toy an ambush, that meant their original ns were aplete failure. Once the Devil Sect¡¯s experts surrounded them, how could their small numbers possibly do anything?

    In that case, he might as well kill this Devil Sect evildoer. After all, she was rumored to be thest disciple of the witch Yun Jianyue, someone who might even inherit the sect master position. Killing her now was the same as eliminating a great future enemy.

    The expression on Qiu Honglei¡¯s beautiful face changed. Why is this guy acting as soon as he says he will? Is he not going to speak reasonably at all?

    Suddenly, a figure shed in front of her. It was extremely fast, to the extent that even Golden Token Seven, Yang Sheng, and the others who were watching all turned around.

    Did Yun Jianyue herselfe? That was the thought on the minds of those present.

    Only Liao Ling knew it wasn¡¯t her, because he could see who the other person was. There was suddenly another man in the carriage. Even though he had a mask covering his face, Liao Ling could tell he was quite young.

    Hmph, as long as he isn¡¯t Yun Jianyue, he won¡¯t be able to receive this sword! That was the conviction of a sword master in his sword. Within a range of three feet, he was the one who decided all life and death. Even though he didn¡¯t know how the other person had suddenly appeared in the carriage, once his sword thrust out, it wouldn¡¯t stop halfway.

    Since the other party had stopped in front of Qiu Honglei, that meant it was most likely someone from the Devil Sect. His sword strike was enough to nail both of them together.

    ¡°Neigh~!¡± The steeds up ahead struggled restlessly. Even though the sword wasn¡¯t aimed at them, their animal instincts made them feel a strong sense of danger and killing intent.

    Meanwhile, the carriage could no longer handle the devastating power of the sword ki. It was instantly sliced into pieces, exposing the two people inside. The sword¡¯s ki was blinding, and those who were fighting in the distance all covered their eyes.

    Golden Token Seven felt a bit of helplessness. Liao Ling¡¯s grand sword ki was formidable. If he were attacked by that sword from a distance beyond one zhang, he would have eighteen ways to deal with such an attack. If it were within a zhang, he would only have three ways. If it were within three feet, he could only do everything he could to dodge the strike. Even though he was confident he could survive, he would most likely be injured.

    Golden Token Eleven is finished! Golden Token Seven thought, feeling regret. He shouldn¡¯t have involved him and led him to his death.

    Judging from their previous interaction, Golden Token Eleven was clearly a colleague who excelled more in his resourcefulness; cultivation wasn¡¯t his strong point. Someone who could be a golden token envoy purely because of their wit definitely had a bright future.

    Hmph, why am Iparing my own weak points to his strong points? At such a distance, he couldn''t save Zu An even if he wanted to.

    Then, the sword kipletely scattered.

    Golden Token Eleven might already have been hacked to pieces by the sword ki, Golden Token Seven thought.

    We¡¯re finished¡­ Now that Qiu Honglei has died, Yun Jianyue¡¯s wrath will ensure that none of us here will be able to survive. Why is a bookworm like Liao Ling even more of a reckless brute than a soldier like me?! Yang Sheng thought.

    Sigh¡­ Someone that beautiful ended up dying here¡­ the ordinary soldiers thought.

    But soon afterward, their eyes widened in disbelief. The bitter sounds of ughter also came to a standstill. The morous valley entered a strange state of peace as they all looked in the carriage¡¯s direction.

    What they imagined hadn¡¯t happened. A young man sat casually at Qiu Honglei¡¯s side, while Liao Ling¡¯s vicious sword tip had stopped three inches in front of the two of them, sped in ce by that young man¡¯s two fair fingers. The sword couldn¡¯t advance in the slightest.

    Amid the tattered carriage, a beauty in a ck dress stood next to a masked young man in green clothes. It was an unexpectedly beautiful scene.

    Meanwhile, the sword master whose clothes were as white as snow instead became the best backdrop for the scene.

 Chapter 995: True Master of Charm Arts

    <h4>Chapter 995: True Master of Charm Arts</h4>

    Those present were stunned. Everyone from the Governor Manor knew just how strong City Lord Liao Ling was. His grand sword ki was just too powerful; most evildoers weren¡¯t his match at all. The ck-d individuals had fully experienced that.

    But what was going on? Why was the City Lord¡¯s ridiculously powerful sword actually mped between just two fingers? Could the other party be a master rank cultivator? But even though that person was masked, he was clearly a young man. How could there be a master rank cultivator who was that young?

    Martial Supervisor Yang Sheng was incredibly shocked. He and Liao Ling were colleagues, so he couldn''t be more familiar with the other man¡¯s cultivation. Even he would have no choice but to back off if he faced this sword, so how had this young man blocked it so easily?

    Furthermore, he could see that Liao Ling¡¯s face was entirely red. He was obviously not holding back at all,and yet his sword still couldn''t move forward in the slightest. When had the Devil Sect ever had such a formidable young man?n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Golden Token Seven was even more shocked; his eyeballs seemed about to pop out. He had already checked the other party¡¯s cultivation, which was around the sixth rank. He had always thought that Golden Token Eleven was more of the intellectual sort and had even worried about his safety. Yet now, it turned out that the other party was actually this strong!

    The most shocking part was that not even he could block Liao Ling¡¯s sword. Does that mean his cultivation is higher than mine? How can that be?!

    Only Qiu Honglei looked at the man in front of her with a gentle and tender expression. At that moment, there was no one else in her world. Only his familiar back remained. Even though there was a mask on his face, she had immediately recognized his familiar aura. She didn¡¯t really care how high his cultivation was. Regardless of whether his cultivation was high or low, he was the one she loved.

    What moved her the most was that he would always rescue her whenever she was in danger, regardless of what would happen to him. That had been the case in the Imperial Pce, and it was the case here.

    The expression in her charming eyes was extremely gentle. She felt as if her heart would melt.

    Zu An finally made his move. His forefinger flicked out, and a sharp scream emerged from the sword as it vibrated intensely. He took the chance to wrap his arm around Qiu Honglei¡¯s soft waist, then quickly leapt into the distance. He instantly vanished into the forest in the blink of an eye.

    Liao Ling raised his sword up to his eyes. He was disappointed and frustrated. The other party had actually held back, or else that flick would have already made his sword break apart inch by inch.

    That was what he couldn''t figure out the most. Why would someone from the Devil Sect let him go? He cultivated the sword of grandeur, so all of his time and will were concentrated into his sword. If his sword broke, he wouldn¡¯t die, but his foundation would be seriously injured. That would be an injury he would take a few decades to recover from.

    Meanwhile, Qiu Honglei leaned into Zu An¡¯s arms. She reached out her hand and took off his mask. She raised her head to look at the man beside him; her voice was incredibly soft and gentle as she eximed, ¡°Big brother Zu, you¡¯re so great!¡±

    Zu An almost fell from midair. As expected of the Devil Sect¡¯s seductress, with just a few words his masculine instincts almost erupted. ¡°Then why don¡¯t you give me a kiss as a reward?¡± he asked jokingly.

    Who could have thought that Qiu Honglei would immediately agree? She replied, ¡°Sure!¡± Then, her soft lips pressed against him. However, it was just a light peck, like a dragonfly touching the water. When she saw that Zu An was moving in to return the kiss, she avoided him with a giggle.

    Zu An became depressed. ¡°It¡¯s been so long since we met; did we end up drifting apart?¡±

    Qiu Honglei said with a giggle, ¡°Don¡¯t you already know that the ¡®Voice of the Devil¡¯ I cultivate is special? I need to keep myself pure.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He eventually said, ¡°It¡¯s not as if you¡¯ll lose your virginity if I kiss you.¡±

    ¡°If you really could do something like that, you could probably call yourself number one in this entire world.¡± Qiu Honglei wasughing so hard she was shaking. ¡°Actually, it was my master who taught me that men will always cherish what they can never get, but once they do obtain it, they won¡¯t cherish it anymore. I agree with what she says.¡±

    ¡°Big sis Yun did me dirty!¡± Zu An grinded his teeth in annoyance. He really wanted to pick up Yun Jianyue and give her a good spanking. But when he considered their difference in strength, he knew that was something he could only think about.

    ¡°Hmph!¡± Qiu Honglei harrumphed. ¡°Why are you calling my master ¡®big sister¡¯? Do you want me to call you ¡®uncle¡¯ or something?¡±

    ¡°You can call me daddy too,¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°You¡¯re so bad¡­¡± Qiu Honglei¡¯s eyes darted around. As a woman from the Devil Sect, how could she not understand the implied meaning behind his words?

    While the two of them were teasing each other, they had already arrived at a secluded and safe ce. Zu An lowered her to the ground and asked out of curiosity, ¡°Honglei, why were you captured by King Yan?¡±

    That was what he couldn''t understand. Qiu Honglei had always been rather quick-witted, and her cultivation wasn¡¯t low. She had been able to easily execute most of her missions. Yun Jianyue wouldn¡¯t have assigned her to a mission that was outside of her ability either!

    A bit of hesitation flickered across Qiu Honglei¡¯s face, but she still replied, ¡°In recent years, Cloudcenter Commandery keeps iming that the ki stones that they promised to ship out have been plundered by our Holy Sect. Even though we did steal some sometimes, there¡¯s no way we stole as much as they say we did. That¡¯s why we came to see who was impersonating us and doing those kinds of things.

    ¡°Moreover, Yi Commandery is a ce that has dealings with the north. The ki stones Cloudcenter Commandery sends southward always pass through this ce, so I came here to investigate what was going on. But soon after I arrived, King Yan personally came over. We were caught unprepared and suffered severe losses. Not even I was able to get away.¡±

    ¡°Then could it be that King Yan Manor stole the ki stones, then framed you?¡± Zu An mused with a frown. If that was the case, this really was a huge case! If it were reported to the higher-ups, many people would end up losing their lives.

    But he didn¡¯t expect Qiu Honglei to shake her head and say, ¡°Even though I really want it to be him, based on my investigation, something happened to the ki stones from Cloudcenter Commandery even before they arrived in Yi Commandery. Furthermore, ording to our insider sources, it was only because someone contacted King Yan ahead of time that King Yan just happened to ambush us at the perfect time. There¡¯s definitely someone else who wants to borrow King Yan¡¯s strength to get rid of us.¡±

    Zu An was shocked, asking, ¡°Then are you saying that Cloudcenter Commandery caused the deficit, then framed you? Then, they also secretly contacted King Yan Manor to ambush you guys?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have any proof.¡± Qiu Honglei was a bit distressed. ¡°But there is definitely something wrong with Cloudcenter Commandery.¡±

    Zu An began to think to himself. He obviously knew that there was something wrong with Cloudcenter Commandery. At first, he had thought that it was just a struggle within the n for the family property, but now, it seemed the problem was much more serious.

    After all, the amount of ki stones Cloudcenter Commandery had reported as plundered was a huge figure. Where had that huge deficit gone? That amount of resources would be enough to maintain an entire army!

    Qiu Honglei looked at him curiously, saying, ¡°I heard you were going to Cloudcenter Commandery this time.¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Zu An gave her a rough summary of his mission, naturally omitting some things that weren¡¯t suitable for the Devil Sect to know.

    ¡°That Yu Yanluo was the number one beauty in the past. You¡¯d better not let her seduce you or something,¡± Qiu Honglei said with a smile.

    ¡°Do I look like that type of person?¡± Zu An replied in an upright manner.

    ¡°One hundred percent.¡± Qiu Hongleiughed in her beautiful voice. After the two of them teased each other a bit, she said with a serious expression, ¡°I wasn¡¯t joking with you. You really have to be careful of that woman. There¡¯s definitely more to her than meets the eye. She isn¡¯t as gentle and kind as she looks on the surface.¡±

    Zu An was stunned, asking, ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    Qiu Honglei seemed to be thinking of what to say. ¡°You know that the technique my master and I cultivate is one of the charm arts. But even after cultivating it to my current level, the charm I exude can make others immediately think of taking me to bed when they see me. However, Yu Yanluo is different. She¡¯s the kind of woman who can make any man feel love when they see her. The men who see her don¡¯t feel lust, but rather passion.

    ¡°Others might not feel that anything is strange, but we who also cultivate charm arts are especially sensitive to these things. She¡¯s already reached the highest level of charm arts, reaching a level even higher than my master¡¯s.¡±

    ¡°Even higher than big sis Yun?¡± Zu An was shocked. Yun Jianyue was a grandmaster, and she had already reached an extremely high level in ¡®Voice of the Devil¡¯ too.

    ¡°It isn¡¯t tied to cultivation, but rather to her achievements in the charm arts,¡± Qiu Honglei exined. ¡°ording to our investigation, Yu Yanluo seems to have had some secret dealings with the fiend races.¡±

    Zu An became quiet. He really couldn''t associate that goddess-like woman with a scorpion woman. But Qiu Honglei wouldn¡¯t speak without thinking. She was talking about charm arts too, which had been her specialty to begin with.

    Don¡¯t tell me Yu Yanluo is a master of seduction? He was no longer sure either, when he recalled how his heart would pound with eagerness whenever he met her.

    Qiu Honglei sighed. ¡°Big brother Zu, you need to remember something. The prettier the girl, the better they are at lying. You need to be careful.¡±

    Zu An replied with a smile, ¡°Then what about you? Will you lie to me?¡±

    ¡°Well, if you find out that I lied to you, will you hate me?¡± Qiu Honglei stared at him with her sparkling eyes.

 Chapter 996: Dajiâ€™s Anger

    <h4>Chapter 996: Daji¡¯s Anger</h4>

    Zu An was rmed. He didn¡¯t know whether Qiu Honglei was just using Yu Yanluo¡¯s words to tease him, or if she really had lied to him about something. But pursuing that now was meaningless, and he knew the textbook answer to such a question.

    He grabbed her shoulders and looked her in the eyes, saying, ¡°Honglei, I trust that you won¡¯t do anything to harm me. If there really were ever a time where you had to lie to me, it would definitely be because you had no choice, so of course I wouldn¡¯t hate you. If you really do encounter anything that¡¯s hard to deal with, talk to me and we can work it out together.¡±

    ¡°Big brother Zu, you¡¯re the best!¡± Qiu Honglei leapt into his arms and hugged him tightly. She pressed her face against his chest, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I definitely won¡¯t hurt you.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, There really was something after all. But since she wasn¡¯t willing to talk about it, there was no need for him to ask about it. After knowing each other for so long, they shared at least that amount of trust. He reached out his hand and gently caressed her hair in constion, saying, ¡°You don¡¯t need to feel too much pressure. If you ever feel guilty at all, just make it up to me in the future.¡±

    ¡°How do you want me to make it up to you?¡± Qiu Honglei looked at him curiously.

    Zu An moved over to her ear and said quietly, ¡°...Call me daddy.¡±

    Qiu Honglei pouted yfully. But her eyes lit up, then she said in a seductive tone, ¡°Sure~¡±

    Zu An lowered his head and looked at her beautiful face. He raised her pretty chin and gently moved down for a kiss. Qiu Honglei slowly closed her eyes. Her eyshes flickered gently. Her heart was pounding like crazy.

    ¡­

    Suddenly, an arrow screamed out of the distance, and a burst of dazzling fireworks erupted overhead.

    Their lips separated. Qiu Honglei looked in the direction of the fireworks. Her expression immediately changed and she said, ¡°That¡¯s the sect¡¯s emergency order. I need to hurry back. Big brother Zu, I really don¡¯t want to leave you.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but frown, replying, ¡°If we part now, who knows when we¡¯ll be able to meet again?¡±

    ¡°Who knows? It might not be so long.¡± Qiu Honglei blinked charmingly. ¡°Ah! This is bad, this is bad. I finally managed to control my feelings, but now everything is being ruined again. I have to go back and go into seclusion, or else I won¡¯t be able to keep up with you anymore!¡±

    Zu An said seriously, ¡°I don¡¯t care if your cultivation is high or not. I can also protect you.¡±

    ¡°You might not care, but I do! Otherwise, if the other girls end up bullying me, I can¡¯t juste to you, right? Also, only if I perfect my technique can the two of us¡­ the two of us¡­¡± Qiu Honglei suddenly became bashful. She stomped her feet, then turned around and left, almost as if she were running away. She only left behind a faint fragrance in the air.

    Zu An had a knowing smile on his face. However, he became a bit depressed when he remembered Heavenly Devil Temptation¡¯s negative effects. What kind of stupid technique was that Yun Jianyue teaching anyway?

    He suddenly realized something. He sensed that someone was approaching and put on his mask again. Soon afterward, a small figure quickly arrived. It was Golden Token Seven.

    ¡°Where is she?¡± Golden Token Seven asked. He naturally knew it was Golden Token Eleven. However, he didn¡¯t see Qiu Honglei even after looking around.

    ¡°Someone saved her and took her away just now,¡± Zu An said without skipping a heartbeat.

    ¡°That person was able to seize her from you? Don¡¯t tell me it was Yun Jianyue?¡± Golden Token Seven was shocked. He had seen just how terrifying this person¡¯s cultivation was just now.

    Zu An shook his head, saying, ¡°It wasn¡¯t. It was another Devil Sect expert. I couldn''t defeat all of them, and they didn¡¯t continue to fight zealously either. They took her and left.¡±

    Golden Token Seven nodded inwardly. He had only brought up Yun Jianyue as bait. If Golden Token Eleven really had said it was Yun Jianyue, he would instead be suspicious. Yun Jianyue¡¯s status is special. She is a glorious grandmaster, after all! No matter how strong you are, aren¡¯t you still just an ant in front of a grandmaster?

    If you managed to survive an encounter with her, you would either be lying about meeting Yun Jianyue, or you would have known Yun Jianyue beforehand, and thus been colluding with the Devil Sect.

    He sighed and said, ¡°It was as I suspected after all.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Zu An quickly asked. He had always been curious as to what the other man was suspicious about.

    Golden Token Seven shook his head, saying, ¡°It¡¯s a pity that we weren¡¯t able to capture the Devil Sect¡¯s evildoer, or else I would have proof. I can¡¯t tell you my suspicions yet. If something ends up happening to me, tell the chiefmander what happened here over thest few days. He should be able to understand what exactly happened.¡±

    Then, he cupped his hands and left without waiting for Zu An¡¯s reply. ¡°I owe you a favor. I¡¯ll definitely return it when I can,¡± he said. His voice echoed through the valley, but his figure had already disappeared.

    Zu An mocked him inwardly. Why are you setting that kind of g for yourself? Looks like I won¡¯t be getting that favor.

    But he was more worried about Qiu Honglei. The Devil Sect had fired an alert arrow, so the situation was definitely dire. He wondered what exactly had happened. He rushed over, but there was already no one there. He even used the Jade Badge¡¯s ability to look around, but he didn¡¯t find anything either. Helpless to do anything else, Zu An could only return to the envoy ship in heavy spirits.

    ¡­

    By the time Zu An got back, it was already getting dark. He just happened to return as Gao Ying and Pei You knocked on his door. He quickly jumped in through a side window. Daji looked over in rm when she heard the activity. But when she saw that it was him, shepletely rxed.

    ¡°You¡¯ve worked hard,¡± Zu An said. Even though he knew she had no soul, he still gave her a smile before opening the door. Daji¡¯s eyes flickered as she looked at his back, but that glint quickly disappeared.

    Zu An opened the door and deliberately said in a displeased tone, ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you I was cultivating and to not disturb me?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve already cultivated for a whole freaking day!¡± Pei You gestured with his eyes. ¡°Hub of Freedom, youing?¡±

    Zu An waspletely speechless, asking, ¡°Did you not have enough funst night?¡±

    ¡°You even have the nerve to say that?¡± Pei You was now the one who sounded annoyed. ¡°I was at that critical moment when I heard something happened on the third floor. We had to stop halfway because we were worried about you!¡±

    Zu An felt a bit apologetic when he recalled the two¡¯s loyalty the previous night. He said, ¡°I¡¯m really not in the mood today. How about you two go? I¡¯ll pay this time.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need. Just lend us that jade token. I heard we can y for free with it.¡± Pei You finally told him why they hade.

    Zu Anughed and asked, ¡°With your family backgrounds, do you really care about this bit of money?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s different. He still hasn¡¯t experienced what it feels like to y for free. Also, the Hub of Freedom¡¯s jade token isn¡¯t something anyone can have. That¡¯s a symbol of status! He just wants to show off a bit.¡± Gao Ying ruthlessly exposed Pei You¡¯s thoughts.

    Zu An chuckled and tossed the jade token over, saying, ¡°Have fun, but I don¡¯t rmend getting close to that Tang Tian¡¯er. She¡¯s a bit dangerous.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m loyal to my friends!¡± Pei You held the jade token so carefully he looked scared that it might fall. Even Gao Ying couldn''t help but nce over a few times. That legendary thing was something everyone who had ever visited the Hub of Freedom coveted. He said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, that Tang Tian¡¯er is your woman; she¡¯s our sister-inw. How can we go and mess with her?¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help butugh. He had really wanted to tell them that Tang Tian¡¯er was a thorny rose, and that with her wit, she¡¯d immediately be able to tell that they were pretending to be him. That was the real reason why he didn¡¯t want them to approach her. They hadpletely misunderstood what he was saying, but there was no need to exin either.

    Either way, that jade token didn¡¯t matter too much to him. It was only good for buying some special medicines and goods from the auction; he didn¡¯t have any interest in the other services.

    ¡°Right, where is Sir Sang?¡± Zu An looked in the direction of Sang Hong¡¯s room. He had many things he wanted to discuss with him.

    ¡°Sir Sang was invited by the governor manor¡¯s people. I reckon he won¡¯t be back here for a while.¡± That was also the reason why the two of them had suddenly decided to go out again. They left impatiently after telling him that.

    ¡­

    Zu An returned to his room after seeing them out. He saw Daji sitting by the window; the moonlight outside fell on her body, covering her in a silver veil. She really was ridiculously beautiful.

    ¡°Don¡¯t move, I¡¯m going to draw something for you,¡± he said. The first requirement for cultivating ¡®Face of a Thousand Identities¡¯ was to have extraordinary artistic talents. With such a great model in front of him, wouldn¡¯t it be a waste not to practice?

    Daji seemed to be a bit surprised, but she didn¡¯t refuse. She continued to sit there, as if agreeing to his request.

    Zu An picked up a pen and began to move it across the paper. A whileter, he finally lowered the pen, saying, ¡°Alright, I¡¯m done.¡±

    Daji looked towards him, her gaze seemingly expectant.

    Zu An brought the paper over and held it in front of her, remarking, ¡°My drawing is a bit abstract, but that just means that I have a lot of room for growth, right?¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    He chuckled in embarrassment. It was because the drawing on the paper had thick brows, and the eyes were crooked. The facial features looked as if they belonged to someone with Down syndrome. In short, apart from the hair and clothes resembling Daji a bit, everything else was absolutely garbage. One would barely be able to tell the drawing was a woman.

    Daji¡¯s eyes immediately widened. Zu Anughed and eximed, ¡°Your eyes are finally showing some expression!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Daji for +2!

    Zu An was stunned. He had actually got Rage points from her? Don¡¯t tell me she already has a soul?

    He was about to ask when a figure darted in through the window, thrusting a dagger at Zu An.

 Chapter 997: Our Child

    <h4>Chapter 997: Our Child</h4>

    Zu An frowned. He had beenpletely focused on drawing Daji, and this was the imperial envoy¡¯s ship, with guards patrolling everywhere. That was why he had ended up lowering his guard a bit.

    But even if he had lowered his guard, with his cultivation, it shouldn¡¯t have been that easy for ordinary cultivators to approach him at all. And yet, he had only noticed this person after they had already made their move! This person definitely had some special concealment skill.

    Zu An didn¡¯t dare to show any carelessness. His fingers struck the dagger, and while the other party¡¯s fingers were trembling, he rammed right against the person¡¯s chest. However, the other person reacted quickly as well, their body bending at an inconceivable angle to evade his attack.

    Zu An used the Feathersilk Entangling Art to prevent the other person from widening the distance between them. His opponent was also well versed in techniques, countering right back. They exchanged more than ten moves in a row.

    Zu An noticed that the other party¡¯s figure was graceful and their movements ingenious. They used some evasive maneuvers that even left him in admiration. However, the other person¡¯s cultivation was clearly a bit beneath his own.

    That person could still barely keep up at first, but as Zu An began to use his skills, his opponent began to feel pressured. Their figure stopped for a moment. Zu An seized that moment to smash through their defenses, mming a palm into the person¡¯s chest.

    ¡°Ah¡­!¡± the person cried in a sharp and clear voice, mming into a wall like a broken sack.

    ¡°A woman?¡± Zu An eximed. Both the feeling of her chest and her voice pointed to the fact that the other person was a female assassin. However, he didn¡¯t show any mercy just because she was female. Since she hade to kill him, there was no reason for him to hold back.

    He was about to walk forward when he felt as if he had stepped on something. When he lowered his head, he discovered with shock that it was a jade token! The shape of the jade token was quite unique, and he could tell right away that it was from the Hub of Freedom.

    What was more shocking was that the number on the jade token was actually 333! Zu An thought, Why does she have my jade token?

    The jade token seemed to have fallen from the woman¡¯s body. The woman took off her veil and said weakly, ¡°Young master¡­ It¡¯s me¡­¡±

    Tang Tian¡¯er¡¯s usual sweet smile was nowhere to be seen. Now, only her pale face and a trickle of blood seeping out from the corner of her mouth were visible.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Why did you attack me?¡± Even though they were acquaintances, Zu An¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change at all. He continued to look at her coldly.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t¡­¡± Tang Tian¡¯er was about to say something, but her injuries were too severe and she was extremely weak. She fainted before being able to say what she wanted.

    Zu An was worried that she was feigning injury to lower his guard, so he didn¡¯t rx his vignce. But a whileter, he sensed that her ki was extremely faint, so he then squatted down to examine her.

    ¡°She really is seriously injured¡­¡± He knew that even though he hadn¡¯t used all of his strength, his palm strike just then wasn¡¯t something anyone could handle.

    In fact, it was a miracle that Tang Tian¡¯er hadn¡¯t died on the spot. It was probably because of some kind of protective treasure that preserved her life. However, she was still going to die soon if nothing was done.

    Someone knocked on his door. ¡°Sir Zu? Sir Zu?¡± The nearby guards had heard the noise and came over to check on him.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, just a thief who has already been dealt with. You all can withdraw for now.¡± Zu An showed himself at the entrance. The guards thus felt relieved and resumed their patrol after bowing.

    Zu An closed the door and looked at the ck d woman on the ground, muttering, ¡°Should I save her or not?¡±

    The one he was asking was Daji. But unfortunately, Daji stood in ce without moving at all. There wasn¡¯t even a trace of lifeing from her body.

    Zu An sighed. He had thought that she was already starting to obtain a soul, but she still didn¡¯t react no matter what he tested her with.

    ¡°By remaining silent, you¡¯re saying I should save her, right? Fine, I wanted to know why she came to kill me too,¡± Zu An said confidently. Daji only continued to stare at him without any sign of pleasure or displeasure.

    Zu An lifted Tang Tian¡¯er up. Her body was so soft, it was as if she didn¡¯t have any bones. No wonder she had been able to evade in such inconceivable ways. He fed her a pill. He wasn¡¯t willing to feed her a Soul Return Pill; rather, he just used some pills Chu Youzhao had given him before. This person had been trying to kill him, so the fact that he was saving her life was already pretty good.

    Zu An propped her up on the bed. Unfortunately, she couldn''t sit up at all and quickly fell over. He reached out and prodded her body a few times with her finger to keep her in ce. Then, he used his Primordial Origin Ki to help her absorb the medicinal strength, as well as simultaneously treating her injuries.

    His Primordial Origin Sutra had already been cultivated to the fourthyer. As long as it wasn¡¯t a life-threatening injury, he could treat a patient. Strands of true ki left his finger and entered her body.

    Tang Tian¡¯er groaned, already starting to react somewhat. As the primordial ki flowed through her body, her entire body began to heat up. Then, she began to release white steam.

    Just like that, after an hour passed, Tang Tian¡¯er¡¯s brows gently flickered. Zu An retracted his hand and said indifferently, ¡°I know you¡¯re already awake.¡±

    Tang Tian¡¯er thus opened her eyes, saying, ¡°I wanted you to treat me for a while longer¡­ I¡¯m still far from recovered right now.¡± There was another more embarrassing reason that she didn¡¯t want to mention, which was that when his ki moved through her body, it was warm and felt really good. She really didn¡¯t want him to stop.

    ¡°Not dead and still capable of speaking is already pretty good. You still want me to treat you further? Perhaps you don¡¯t understand the current situation?¡± Zu An couldn''t help butugh.

    ¡°The current situation? Isn¡¯t it just you touching my body all over, then making my entire body all wet?¡± Tang Tian¡¯er replied while pulling up her clothes to show him how she waspletely soaked in sweat.

    Zu An was speechless. Can you not use such ambiguous words? Otherwise, other people might think I did something to you!

    Tang Tian¡¯er was blushing, because her sweat had made her clothes a bit transparent. What she had done just then only made her body even more visible. In order to get rid of her awkwardness, she quickly let go of her clothes and looked around her.

    ¡°Huh? Where did that woman from earlier go? I¡¯ve never seen a woman that beautiful before!¡± she eximed. That was a sincere question she had. She hadn¡¯t had much time to look at the woman in detail while they were hiding, but she had been shocked from just that nce. There was actually a woman as beautiful as that in this world? And that woman had been in the same room as Zu An in the middle of the night? She was growing more and more curious about this man.

    Zu An had already recalled Daji. He didn¡¯t feel like replying to her and instead said, ¡°Stop beating around the bush. Tell me why you¡¯re here, and then I¡¯ll decide whether I¡¯ll spare you or not.¡±

    Tang Tian¡¯er¡¯s charming face fell. She could only say, ¡°I heard that guest 333 came to the Hub of Freedom and thought it was you. I went over in high spirits to meet with you, but then I saw that it was two different people. I was so upset I took the jade pendant from them and came to give it back to you.¡±

    Zu An had a strange expression. I wonder how embarrassing it will beter for Pei You when he finds out that he lost his jade token and that this trip won¡¯t be free¡­ But he obviously wouldn¡¯t trust everything she said, and replied, ¡°Do you think I¡¯d believe that?¡±

    Tang Tian¡¯er pursed her lips and said, ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll tell you the truth. I was curious about your identity, so I came to see if it was you or not.¡±

    ¡°So this is how your Hub of Freedom treats your jade token guests, by investigating them?¡± Zu An was getting a bit thirsty from treating her for so long. He left the bed and poured a cup of tea for himself.

    ¡°I want some too!¡± Tang Tian¡¯er had just lost a lot of blood. Together with her injuries, she was extremely thirsty.

    ¡°Answer my question first.¡± Zu An ignored her.

    ¡°Stingy.¡± Tang Tian¡¯er harrumphed. Then she said, ¡°Of course we don¡¯t investigate normal guests, but you¡¯re different! How can I not even know the real identity of a man I spent a night of happiness with? Otherwise, if I get pregnant and my child asks me who the father is, I won¡¯t even know what to tell him.¡±

    Her expression suddenly changed and she eximed, ¡°Oh no, do you think our child died from your palm strike just now?¡±

    Zu An was speechless. What the hell is wrong with this woman? But he really did admire her acting ability. Anyone else might really have been fooled by her.

    ¡°You still have your virginity, so why do you insist on putting on this charming and seductive act?¡± Zu An handed over the tea cup in his hands when he saw her gulp her saliva several times.

    Tang Tian¡¯er had a grateful expression on her face. She immediately took the teacup and drained it in one gulp. ¡°I want more~!¡± she said, raising her head and giving Zu An a pitiful look.

    Zu An didn¡¯t feel like pouring her a cup and just picked up the entire teapot, saying, ¡°Open your mouth!¡±

    ¡°Ah~¡± Tang Tian¡¯er was cooperative too and just opened her mouth, gulping down the tea. But she began to choke on it soon afterward. ¡°Slow down a bit~!¡± She gave Zu An a resentful look.

    Zu Anpletely ignored her and said, ¡°You¡¯ve had your fill now too. Isn¡¯t it time for you to speak?¡±

    Tang Tian¡¯er¡¯s expression becameplicated. She said, ¡°I just wanted to test you a bit. Now, I know you weren¡¯t knocked out back then after all, and that I looked like aplete dummy in your eyes.¡±

    Zu An narrowed his eyes, retorting, ¡°Are you not scared that you¡¯ll be silenced forever after telling me these things?¡±

 Chapter 998: What the Hell?

    <h4>Chapter 998: What the Hell?</h4>

    Tang Tian¡¯er tilted her head to one side and asked, ¡°The only matter someone might have needed to be silenced in was Sun Ji¡¯s death, but we¡¯ve already found Sun Ji¡¯s killer, with even the Sun n¡¯s own people bearing witness. It has nothing to do with you! So why would there be any need to be scared?¡±

    Zu An said indifferently, ¡°Being too smart as a girl isn¡¯t necessarily a good thing. You could die without anyone ever knowing how.¡± Even though he wasn¡¯t the one who had killed Sun Ji, being misunderstood by Sun Xun would be really annoying.

    Tang Tian¡¯er panicked a bit when she sensed his killing intent, asking, ¡°Are you really nning to kill me? For better or worse, we had a close physical rtionship before.¡±

    Zu An declined toment. But the less he said, the more panicked Tang Tian¡¯er became. The man before her waspletely different from the men she had met before! In the past, whether they were young or old, whether their cultivations were low or high, other men had always been toyed with in the palm of her hand. However, she just couldn''t see through this person, and she was instead the one who had been yed with the entire time.

    When she sensed the ice-cold atmosphere in the room, Tang Tian¡¯er bit her red lips and quickly said, ¡°How about this? I can ransom my life with information. You should know how well-informed the Hub of Freedom is. We know many secrets.¡± She thought, I refuse to believe he won¡¯t feel anything from my persuasion! Hmph, I¡¯ll let him have his moment right now, but I¡¯ll melt him down in the future, even if he is a lump of iron.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Zu An gave her a look, then asked, ¡°Then who is the Hub of Freedom¡¯s boss?¡±

    Tang Tian¡¯er¡¯s smile immediately froze. Zu An remarked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Didn¡¯t you say you knew many secrets?¡±

    ¡°Young master, you¡¯re really making things hard for me here! Our boss is so mysterious that few in this world know who he is, and those who do don¡¯t dare to speak his name. Furthermore, how could a nobody like me have any dealings with someone on the boss¡¯ level?¡± Tang Tian¡¯er kneeled down on the bed. She tugged on his clothes in a coquettish manner, asking, ¡°Young master, can you change your question? I promise I can answer it.¡±

    ¡°Then do you know what happened earlier with the Devil Sect? Why was the highest level signal used to summon all of their people?¡± Zu An asked.

    Tang Tian¡¯er¡¯s face fell. She replied, ¡°Young master, you already said it was the Devil Sect¡¯s highest level signal, so how could an outsider like me know? If you give me a few months of time, I might be able to find some clues.¡±

    Zu An harrumphed. ¡°You don¡¯t know this, you don¡¯t know that. What¡¯s the point in keeping you alive then?¡±

    Tang Tian¡¯er felt as if an arc of lightning had passed through her entire body when she sensed the chill in his voice. Her body couldn''t help but tremble. However, she couldn''t be bothered with her body¡¯s reactions and quickly said, ¡°I have some information here that the young master will definitely be interested in.¡±

    ¡°Speak.¡± Zu An leaned against the bedside casually, declining to express an opinion.

    Tang Tian¡¯er spoke quickly. But even so, her voice was still extremely pleasant. ¡°I heard that the young master is going to Cloudcenter Commandery to investigate the disappearance of their duke¡­¡±

    She looked for the other party¡¯s reaction while speaking. When she saw that he hadn¡¯t shown even the slightest reaction, she could only continue, ¡°The young master needs to be careful. The state of affairs there is extremelyplex. Furthermore, as far as I know, there are traces of fiend race activities there.¡±

    ¡°Fiend race?¡± Zu An frowned. After the fiend races¡¯ defeat in their war against the humans, all those who had remained in the Zhou Dynasty were either ves or living in hiding. This was the first time he had heard of any of them stirring up trouble.

    ¡°Indeed. There are people in Cloudcenter Commandery who have colluded with the fiend races. As for who it is, we don¡¯t know.¡± Tang Tian¡¯er gave him a worried look. ¡°I don¡¯t know who the young master is going to investigate by going there, but you must prepare beforehand. There might be fiend race powers behind those you investigate. If they¡¯re driven to desperation, the situation might be unfavorable for the young master.¡±

    Zu An suddenly realized what was happening. No wonder Kong Nanwu gave me one of her feathers before I left the capital¡­ Ahem, no, she gave me a peacock feather. She probably already knew what was happening in Cloudcenter Commandery. Was she worried about the fiend races harming me, or was this a secret signal for the fiend races to eliminate me?

    But after recalling everything that had happened between the two of them, he would rather believe that it was the former.

    ¡°Young master, can you spare my life?¡± Tang Tian¡¯er batted her eyelids. Not many men could resist such an expression.

    ¡°Don¡¯t try to use charm arts on me. I¡¯ve met many who are more skilled than you in this field,¡± Zu An said indifferently.

    Tang Tian¡¯er immediately shrugged and eximed, ¡°I¡¯m not, I¡¯m not! This is a sincere plea! I wouldn¡¯t dare to use any charm arts.¡±

    She was quite troubled too. Even though she had been hard pressed before, it had never been as bad as just now. When she realized the other party might really kill her, she felt strange inside. She hadn¡¯t had time to think more about it back then, but now that she had some time to think about it, she felt incredibly embarrassed. She had actually let those words of his¡­

    She carefully looked at the man¡¯s facial features, which seemed as sharp as if he were sculpted out of marble. She couldn''t help but blush.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An gave her a look. This woman¡¯s expression is a bit strange¡­

    ¡°Young master~¡± Tang Tian¡¯er crawled over. When she was a bit closer to him, she began to act spoiled again.

    Suddenly, a noisy mor filled the corridor outside. ¡°Ah Zu, let me tell you just how stupid today was! We¡¯re never going back to the Hub of¡­¡±

    Pei You and Gao Ying cursed as they walked in, pushing the door open from outside. When they saw the scene inside, they were stunned. ¡°...Freedom again¡­¡±

    From their perspective, Zu An was sitting calmly on the bed while a gorgeous woman was lying at his waist. Even though they couldn''t see what was happening too clearly, they were all men, so how could they not know what was happening? The two of them couldn''t see who the girl was, but just from her slim and graceful back, as well as her small waist, they knew she was an incredible beauty.

    ¡°Sorry for disturbing you¡­¡± The two of them tacitly backed up and even closed the door behind them.

    Zu An glowered and eximed, ¡°Hold on!¡±

    Pei You and Gao Ying¡¯s expressions turned strange. Don¡¯t tell me brother Zu has some weird fetish, that he wants others to watch him when he does this kind of thing?

    Tang Tian¡¯er also raised her head. She naturally moved her messy hair behind her head, then wiped the corners of her mouth bashfully.

    Zu An was speechless. What the hell are you rubbing the corners of your mouth for?!

    ¡°Tang¡­¡± Pei You and Gao Ying widened their eyes. They had already recognized that this was Tang Tian¡¯er. After all, she was the number one beauty of the Hub of Freedom, a girl no one would forget after seeing her even once.

    But why is she servicing Zu An in his room¡­ Even Gao Ying was feeling a bit jealous. Their expressions were a bit sour when they looked at Zu An.

    ¡°Ahem.¡± Zu An didn¡¯t really want to exin the situation to them either He asked, ¡°What happened to you two? Didn¡¯t you go to the Hub of Freedom for some fun? Why did youe back so early?¡±

    ¡°It makes me angry just thinking about it!¡± Pei You said angrily. ¡°When we arrived at the Hub of Freedom, we thought we could have some fun with your jade token and enjoy the treatment of a VIP, but some bastard stole our jade token, and the Hub of Freedom thought we were impersonating you!¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but give Tang Tian¡¯er a look. But the other party looked as if nothing was wrong at all and responded with a big smile.

    Gao Ying couldn''t help but voice his resentment toward Pei You. ¡°It¡¯s all your fault for not being careful enough. You had no idea when that jade token was stolen from you! I ended up being embarrassed together with you.¡±

    ¡°How could I know that the Hub of Freedom had thieves? That thief better not let me catch him, or else I¡¯ll definitely make sure they get it,¡± Pei You said through gritted teeth. He was definitely pissed off. They had gone to show off a bit, and yet not only had they not looked good, they had ended up being treated as a joke by the other guests. What dignity did they have left?

    Zu An was shocked. Pei You was a sixth ranked cultivator for better or for worse, and he was definitely careful. The fact that Tang Tian¡¯er could steal the jade token from him without him noticing a thing meant she was quite the talent in that field.

    ¡°Brother Zu knows how to have it easy, as expected.¡± Pei You and Gao Ying both sighed, their tone full of envy. The two of them couldn''t even have any enjoyment with the jade token and had instead lost it. Instead, they had experienced a huge amount of embarrassment. And yet, Zu An didn¡¯t have to go anywhere. The freaking number one beauty of the Hub of Freedom came here on her own to serve him, what the hell is this?!

    Zu An almost wanted tough out loud. He wondered how they would react if they knew that the main culprit was right there.

    Tang Tian¡¯er sorted out her clothes and got off the bed. She said sweetly, ¡°I am truly sorry; the Hub of Freedom has made the two young masters feel wronged. Please take this. Even though I do not have the qualifications to give out a jade token, with this token, you can still enjoy yourselves without having to pay in our different locations¡­¡± Her previous flirtatiousness was nowhere to be seen. She seemed to have be the dignified andposed auction hostess again.

    Gao Ying and Pei You received the token. They saw that it was a small token made from ss. They cheered up instantly, eximing, ¡°Thank you, Lady Tang!¡±

    Tang Tian¡¯er smiled. Then, she gave Zu An a warm look and said, ¡°The two of you are Big Brother Zu¡¯s friends, so you are naturally Tian¡¯er¡¯s friends too.¡±

    The pair became jealous. They knew they were receiving this because of Zu An. The fact that he had a girl who was so beautiful and so good at understanding others made them so jealous they almost cried.

    ¡°Brother Zu, we won¡¯t disturb you anymore. We¡¯ll head back first.¡± Gao Ying and Pei You looked at each other, then left. They even closed the door behind them.

    When the two of them left, Tang Tian¡¯er knelt down in front of Zu An. She blinked herrge eyes and asked with a pleading look, ¡°Big Brother Zu, I didn¡¯t let you down just now, right?¡±

 Chapter 999: Spy Obtained Through Deceit

    <h4>Chapter 999: Spy Obtained Through Deceit</h4>

    Zu An said indifferently, ¡°You¡¯re very smart; you know that you have to pretend to be my woman while in the presence of others. But do you think this is enough for me to let you go?¡±

    Tang Tian¡¯er immediately felt as if she had lost all motivation. She scowled and said, ¡°Young master, I really didn¡¯te to assassinate you! I just came to test you out a bit to y around¡­ But I didn¡¯t expect your cultivation to be that high! That attack was so strong that I was seriously wounded before I could even exin myself.

    ¡°Young master, you know that I held back too, right? Even though I wasing after you, I didn¡¯t really aim at your vitals. You should have been able to sense that with your high cultivation!¡±

    Zu An harrumphed. ¡°If it weren¡¯t for the fact that I realized thatter, do you think I would¡¯ve bothered to use all that effort to save you?¡±

    Tang Tian¡¯er was overjoyed when she heard his tone soften. She moved closer to him and said sweetly, ¡°Young master, you¡¯re so bad. I really was scared just now, you know?¡±

    ¡°Did youe here on your own ord or are you representing the Hub of Freedom?¡± Zu An asked seriously.

    ¡°Of course it was on my own. Everyone from the Hub of Freedom still thinks that the young master is from the ocean race,¡± Tang Tian¡¯er said gently. ¡°I was curious about the young master, so I came to test things out. But I didn¡¯t expert things to turn out this way.¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°The ocean race¡­¡± Zu An had a general idea of why they thought that.

    Tang Tian¡¯er quickly said, ¡°Young master, please don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m the only one who knows about your identity. I definitely won¡¯t tell anyone else.¡±

    ¡°The mouths of women and the words of men in bed; both of these can¡¯t be trusted,¡± Zu An said with augh.

    ¡°Then what would make the young master believe me?¡± Tang Tian¡¯er suddenly had a bashful expression as she said, ¡°If the young master is willing, I can be the young master¡¯s woman. That way, the young master will trust me, right?¡±

    ¡°Stop trying to test me. If you were willing to use your body as a weapon, you wouldn¡¯t still be a virgin in a ce asplicated as the Hub of Freedom.¡± Zu An immediately exposed her lies.

    Tang Tian¡¯er put away her professional smile and said with a sigh, ¡°I¡¯ve met all kinds of men in my life, but young master is the only one who understands me¡­ These words aren¡¯t praise, but rather my real, sincere thoughts.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t try to tter me.¡± Zu An took out two pills, one red and one blue, saying, ¡°Choose one and eat it. Then, I¡¯ll feel at ease.¡±

    Tang Tian¡¯er¡¯s expression changed a bit. She asked, ¡°What are these?¡±

    Zu An said indifferently, ¡°The red one is called the Brain Parasite Pill, while the other is called the Pill of Alteration.

    ¡°The Brain Parasite Pill is made of three different types of brain parasites. After ingesting it, nothing wrong will happen in one¡¯s body for a while, but at noon on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month afterward, if one doesn¡¯t take an antidote for the brain parasites, they¡¯ll breed and spread throughout the body. If they reach the brain, the one who has ingested the pill will be like a living corpse who will even eat their father, mother, or spouse.¡±

    Tang Tian¡¯er¡¯s expression finally changed. Even though she had guessed that these were poisons, she had never expected them to be such a vile sort. She asked, ¡°Then what about that one?¡± Girls had a natural rejection toward things like bugs and ghosts. Her finger was shaking as she pointed at the blue pill.

    ¡°This one is called the Pill of Alteration,¡± Zu An exined with a mocking expression. ¡°It¡¯s made from leopard fetus, deer fetus, human centa, fur seal kidney, and other rare ingredients. Ingesting this pill will greatly strengthen the body for a year, but if the antidote isn¡¯t taken after a year, several side effects will happen. It can make a fat person suddenly grow by three feet within three months, leaving their skin entirely covered in blood. Alternatively, it can make a thin person be short, turning them into an obese ball of meat. With someone of your build, that would probably be the side effect you¡¯d experience.

    ¡°So? Have you decided which one you want to eat?¡± he finally asked.

    Tang Tian¡¯er¡¯splexion became deathly pale. She asked in a trembling voice, ¡°Can I choose to take neither?¡± With how much detail Zu An had used to exin the medicines¡¯ effects, there was no way he hade up with them on the spot. She was now really panicking.

    Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°You must choose one, or else you¡¯ll die right now.¡±

    Tang Tian¡¯er¡¯s expression flickered several times, and her breathing became rough. She appeared to be experiencing a severe internal struggle.

    ¡°What, are you thinking about putting up onest fight before your death?¡± Zu An asked indifferently.

    Tang Tian¡¯er finally gave up and said, ¡°Your cultivation is far above mine, so I wouldn¡¯t stand a chance.¡±

    After saying this, she picked up the blue pill with a trembling hand. Compared to having parasites inside of her that would devour her brain, that other pill was easier to ept.

    She suddenly looked toward Zu An as she brought it up to her face, asking, ¡°Are you nning to make me your spy in the Hub of Freedom?¡±

    ¡°Lady Tang is very smart.¡± Zu An nodded in praise. ¡°As long as you¡¯re obedient, I¡¯ll give you the antidote every year. That way, you won¡¯t have to worry about anything bad happening to you.¡±

    Tang Tian¡¯er swallowed the ¡®Pill of Alteration¡¯ when she heard Zu An say that, eximing, ¡°You¡¯re satisfied now, right?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Tang Tian¡¯er for +555 +555 +555¡­

    Zu An smiled. Of course he didn¡¯t have any ¡®Brain Parasite Pill¡¯ or ¡®Pill of Alteration¡¯. However, he needed some way to control her, so he had thought of some famous pills from wuxia novels. He hadn¡¯t expected to actually fool her just like that. He was actually feeling a bit sorry now that he saw how she was about to cry.

    ¡°Sit down,¡± he said.

    ¡°Why?¡± Tang Tian¡¯er immediately became a bit defensive. Her previous sweet smile was nowhere to be seen, and she now looked like a demon instead.

    ¡°Your injuries haven¡¯t fully healed yet. Since you¡¯re one of my people now, how can I let you leave with injuries?¡± Zu An replied. He had just yed the bad cop for so long, so he figured there was no harm in being a bit nicer now.

    ¡°Hmph, who¡¯s yours?¡± Tang Tian¡¯er wanted to stick to her pride and refuse. After all, this person was just way too hateful. She had gone all the way over to meet him in the middle of the night like those love stories, and yet this guy had actually done something so infuriating!

    But when she remembered thatfortable feeling from earlier, she couldn''t resist the temptation in the end. She obediently sat down. Zu An reached out his finger and pressed against her back, using his primordial ki to continue treating her injuries.

    ¡°Hnng¡­¡± Tang Tian¡¯er moaned when she felt that familiarfortable feeling again.

    Zu An was speechless. ¡°Can you not make those noises? Those who don¡¯t know anything might think I was doing something to you,¡± he said. This kind of moaning really startled him.

    ¡°Did the young master not do enough to me yet? I¡¯m already about to break,¡± Tang Tian¡¯er said resentfully.

    Zu An was stunned. He said, ¡°If you don¡¯t know how to speak properly, don¡¯t say anything.¡±

    ¡°But am I wrong...?¡± Tang Tian¡¯er gradually calmed down from her earlier anger. ¡°I¡¯ll obey you in the future, so you¡¯ll give me the antidote, right?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± Zu An had a grin on his face. He wondered how she would react if she learned the truth.

    ¡°Then how will I find you in the future? What if something happens to you and I can¡¯t get the antidote? Wouldn¡¯t I feel really wronged then?¡± Tang Tian¡¯er asked worriedly.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll give you the antidote ahead of time. Also, I¡¯ll be in the capital, so it¡¯ll be easy to find me. Instead, it¡¯s someone like you from the Hub of Freedom who¡¯s more mysterious and hard to find.¡± Zu An thought to himself, You only ate a sugar-coated bean; it¡¯d be weirder if some poison really did activate then.

    But he could try to give her a real Pill of Alteration the next time she came for the antidote. Of course, that was based on the premise that he could actually make a pill like that.

    Tang Tian¡¯er obviously didn¡¯t know that she had been schemed against badly. She said, ¡°You have a jade token from the Hub of Freedom now; you can contact me in any of our locations.¡±

    Zu An was surprised. He remarked, ¡°Your status in the Hub of Freedom doesn¡¯t seem as insignificant as you made it sound¡­¡±

    ¡°But of course. I am the flower of the Hub of Freedom¡­¡± Tang Tian¡¯er replied, but her face fell as she continued, ¡°But unfortunately, I still ended up being done in by you.¡±

    ¡°Right, where¡¯s my remuneration?¡± She suddenly reached out her hand.

    ¡°Remuneration?¡± Zu An was stunned. ¡°Stop moving randomly. I¡¯m still treating your injuries.¡±

    Tang Tian¡¯er replied with an ¡®oh¡¯. Then she continued, ¡°Of course I need remuneration! Even though I was forced to obey you and I have to work for you, I might not try as hard if you don¡¯t give me anything! If you only continue to threaten me, even though I won¡¯t go against your orders, I won¡¯t do it that seriously either. I¡¯m only going to do a barely passable job.

    ¡°But remuneration and reward are different. Not only will Iplete the mission, I¡¯ll think about how toplete it in an even better way.¡±

    ¡°What you say makes some sense.¡± Zu An really didn¡¯t know if he should call her optimistic or something else. She shifted her mindset so quickly¡­ He asked, ¡°What kind of remuneration do you want? I have to make it clear that right now, I¡¯m extremely poor.¡±

    Concocting pills, his own cultivation, Daji¡¯s breakthrough, and other things all needed a lot of medicine. These things were all money-burning machines! The Hub of Freedom¡¯s auction house had also made him learn just how broke he was for the first time.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know if you really are poor or not, but you¡¯re definitely stingy.¡± Tang Tian¡¯er rolled her eyes. She had seen him spend extravagantly back in the Hub of Freedom. How could someone like that possibly be poor?

    She began, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I don¡¯t want your money, I only want you¡­¡± Her expression turned a bit red halfway through her sentence. ¡°I only want you to treat me like this once in a while.¡±

    Zu An was stunned.

 Chapter 1000: Primordial Kiâ€™s Side Effect

    <h4>Chapter 1000: Primordial Ki¡¯s Side Effect</h4>

    ¡°What do you mean ¡®like this¡¯?¡± Zu An was stunned. What was going on with her bashful expression? Why did he feel that her ¡®like this¡¯ wasn¡¯t all that honest?

    ¡°Just like this, of course.¡± Tang Tian¡¯er blushed a little. ¡°Help me treat my injuries like this.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He said, ¡°I¡¯m only healing you like this because you''re injured. Do you want me to treat you like this even if you¡¯re fine?¡±

    ¡°You can just beat me up first then,¡± Tang Tian¡¯er said matter-of-factly.

    Zu An was stunned. This girl looks pretty smart normally. Was she actually an M in the making?

    Tang Tian¡¯er knew he had misunderstood when she saw his expression. She quickly said, ¡°It¡¯s not what you¡¯re thinking! It¡¯s just that¡­ This feels really good¡­ I mean reallyforting.¡±

    ¡°Comforting?¡± Zu An almost burst outughing. ¡°Did you suddenly get sick or something? You were beaten up just now, yet you feelforted?¡±

    ¡°Oh my gosh, it¡¯s not about getting hurt, but about healing! When you heal me¡­¡± Tang Tian¡¯er jerked her body around. ¡°My entire body feels warm¡­ I¡¯ve never felt like this before.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He wasn¡¯t a stiff guy who couldn''t figure such a thing out; it was just that he had never thought about that before. When he saw the other party¡¯s reddened face and how she looked as if she had more to say, wasn¡¯t that just like what Chu Chuyan looked like back then? The fourthyer of the Primordial Origin Sutra has this kind of effect too?

    Wasn¡¯t there that blue pill, Viagra, from his previous world that had been created to help with heart disease or something? But instead, it actually made guys have that kind of reaction¡­ Later on, they decided not to use it for heart disease and just put it on the market to rescue arge amount of the male poption.

    Zu An was stupefied. Why didn¡¯t I realize that primordial ki had this kind of effect before?

    Then what if I have to treat guys in the future? He immediately shivered when he imagined those men enjoying themselves.

    Tang Tian¡¯er grabbed his hands and ced them on her body. She said resentfully, ¡°You stopped again.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. Why do I suddenly feel like I¡¯m the one losing out here?

    Suddenly, there was a knock on his door. A voice called out, ¡°Sir Zu, Sir Sang has returned. He has invited you over to talk about some matters.¡±

    With Sang Hong and Zu An¡¯s rtionship, he could juste over and look for Zu An. However, officialdom had its rules, and so many people were watching. Sang Hong¡¯s official rank was higher, so it wasn¡¯t too appropriate for him toe to a subordinate¡¯s room. That would easily cause rumors to spread.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll head over soon,¡± Zu An replied. He then said to Tang Tian¡¯er, ¡°Your injuries are pretty much cured.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to chase me out; I¡¯ll just leave on my own, okay? I don¡¯t really want to meet an imperial envoy or whatever either.¡± Tang Tian¡¯er licked her lips meaningfully. ¡°Don¡¯t forget our promise~¡±

    Zu An was speechless. Tang Tian¡¯er showed him a sweet smile, then leapt through the window, quickly disappearing into the dark night.

    ¡°What an elegant movement skill!¡± Zu An couldn''t help but say in praise. No wonder she had been able to seize Pei You¡¯s jade pendant so easily, and even approach him without him noticing anything.

    ¡­

    After seeing Tang Tian¡¯er out, Zu An headed over to Sang Hong¡¯s room. He had thought that there would be other officials there, but Sang Hong was actually there alone.

    ¡°Help yourself to some tea.¡± Sang Hong didn¡¯t act overly polite with Zu An. He was busy hanging his heavy overcoat on a rack and changing into some inside clothing. It seemed he had called Zu An over immediately after returning.

    Zu An sat down in front of the table and said, ¡°I heard respected uncle paid the Governor Manor a visit.¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Yes. The Governor Manor is in chaos right now.¡± Sang Hong walked over and said, ¡°The fleet escorting the Devil Sect¡¯s Saintess was attacked. Do you know anything about that?¡±

    ¡°I know a bit,¡± Zu An replied humbly.

    ¡°When Yi Commandery¡¯s Martial Supervisor Yang Sheng came back, he mentioned that two experts and arge group of ck-d men came. There was one at the ninth rank whose cultivation was even higher than his, and the other person was even more mysterious. He couldn''t figure out his exact cultivation, but two fingers were enough to stop the full-force sword thrust of Yi Commandery City Lord Liao Ling.¡± Sang Hong gave Zu An a look. ¡°I¡¯ve met that Liao Ling before. He has already broken through into the eighth rank, and he uses a sword nurtured by grand ki. His sword ki is powerful, making him much stronger than other experts at the same level.¡±

    Zu An pretended to be shocked. ¡°There¡¯s actually someone in the world who can stop his sword with just two fingers? Don¡¯t tell me the Devil Sect¡¯s sect master arrived?¡±

    Sang Hong rolled his eyes. He clearly looked down on Zu An¡¯s act. He said, ¡°No, it was a man, and he seemed to be young. Judging from their description¡­¡± Sang Hong paused for a moment and gave Zu An a look, ¡°He seemed to be around your age.¡±

    Zu Anughed and replied, ¡°Being able to stop a sword with two fingers is also my dream too, you know?¡±

    Sang Hong sighed. ¡°Sigh, the youngsters today are really on an entirely different level. It¡¯s really hard to believe. When I was your age, my cultivation was only at the fifth or sixth rank.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to the guidance of seniors like respected uncle,¡± Zu An said humbly.

    Sang Hong chuckled. There were many things that the two of them already knew about, so there was no need to point it out bluntly. He said, ¡°Compared to those two mysterious experts, there¡¯s something else the Governor Manor is paying more attention to. They suspect that there¡¯s a traitor among them.¡±

    ¡°Traitor?¡± Zu An had guessed that was probably the case before too.

    ¡°Correct. The Governor Manor made that n in the middle of the night, and in order to deceive everyone, they even rushed to move the next afternoon. However, the Devil Sect had already prepared an ambush ahead of time. What else could it be but a traitor¡¯s doing?¡± Sang Hong sneered. ¡°They even asked me if I leaked the n to anyone else.¡±

    He gave Zu An a deep look after saying that. ¡°I denied it, of course. Our envoy¡¯s people were all right here, so how could we have created such a disturbance? At the very least, that ninth ranked cultivator couldn''t possibly havee from us.¡±

    Zu Anughed awkwardly. ¡°Respected uncle has prating insight, as expected.¡± Sang Hong obviously knew that he had participated in this matter, but he knew Zu An wasn¡¯t the main force. The matter of leaking out the Governor Manor¡¯s ns was unrted to him too.

    ¡°Then what did the Governor Manor find out so far?¡± Zu An asked curiously.

    Sang Hong shook his head. ¡°They actually found a vice official, but by the time they located him, he had alreadymitted suicide.¡±

    Zu An frowned and said, ¡°He was probably silenced.¡±

    ¡°That is indeed a possibility.¡± Sang Hong¡¯s expression was grave. ¡°The situation here in Yi Commandery is moreplicated than we thought.¡±

    Zu An remembered what Qiu Honglei had told him. He tested the waters and asked, ¡°I heard that ki stones that are supposed to go from Cloudcenter Commandery to the court often go missing in Yi Commandery. Does the court have any ideas about that?¡±

    Sang Hong shook his head. ¡°The court has indeed paid attention to that matter, but his majesty can¡¯t be bothered with that small problem right now. He won¡¯t do anything about it for some time too.¡±

    Zu An thought, As expected. The emperor was currently focused on his battle against King Qi. He might not even have sent anyone to investigate the disappearance of Cloudcenter Duke if it weren¡¯t because he wanted to take down King Qi¡¯s supporters, the Yu n.

    Zu An remembered that Cloudcenter Duke had already gone missing when he first transmigrated into this world. So much time had already passed, yet only now was the case being investigated.

    He then remembered Golden Token Seven¡¯s reminder. He couldn''t help but ask, ¡°Could it be that¡­ There¡¯s something wrong with King Yan?¡±

    ¡°Shhh!¡± Sang Hong¡¯s expression changed. He gave the door a look, then said quietly, ¡°Criticizing the king without reason is a crime punishable by death! If someone uses us of that, things will get extremely troublesome.¡±

    When he saw Zu An¡¯s expression, he then continued, ¡°I have a rough idea of what you¡¯re thinking, but these things have nothing to do with our mission. Yi Commandery¡¯s matters are too muddled andplex; there¡¯s no reason for us to get involved.¡±

    ¡°Respected uncle is correct.¡± Zu An bowed. Whether King Yan was guilty or innocent indeed had nothing to do with him. The only thing he needed to worry about was Qiu Honglei¡¯s side.

    But Qiu Honglei had her master to take care of her. Her capture was something unexpected; if she were captured again¡­ That master and disciple pair weren¡¯t that stupid.

    Sang Hong nodded in satisfaction, saying, ¡°I¡¯m going to restrict anyone from leaving the ship for the next few days. I¡¯ll try to deal with Yi Commandery¡¯s court again tomorrow. We¡¯ll depart the morning after.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± Zu An now knew why Sang Hong didn¡¯t want to have any dealings with Yi Commandery¡¯s court. As expected, it was easy to get caught up when one got involved even a little bit.

    When Zu An left the room, Sang Hong suddenly stopped him, saying, ¡°I heard you have a girl in your room? The young should pay attention to their bodies.¡±

    Zu An began sweating buckets. He felt as if he had been caught by his father-inw in a nightclub or something. He said, ¡°Respected uncle has misunderstood. She just had some matters to discuss and has already left.¡±

    Sang Hong gestured that he could leave with a smile. He didn¡¯t say anything, but his expression showed that he didn¡¯t believe Zu An.

    Zu An felt a huge headache. After all, Sang Hong¡¯s daughter was going to have a kid with him! Even though they didn¡¯t have much of a rtionship, seeking out other women in front of her father was a bit¡­

    But I clearly didn¡¯t do anything!

    The worst part was that he couldn''t even properly exin the matter.

    ¡­

    Zu An returned to his room gloomily. He had been running around for several days and had barely gotten any sleep. He had used up quite a bit of energy treating Tang Tian¡¯er, so he decided to use his leisure time to get some rest.

    But when he got in bed, it was still warm. It smelled strongly of a youngdy, so he couldn''t even fall asleep¡­

 Chapter 1001: An Unexpected Acquaintance

    <h4>Chapter 1001: An Unexpected Acquaintance</h4>

    Over the following two days, Sang Hong visited the Governor Manor and King Yan Manor from time to time to express his concern and sympathy toward his colleagues. But whenever they really did ask him to do anything, he would always refuse in an experienced manner.

    On the third day, the imperial envoy fleet officially set off, continuing on their predetermined path.

    Zu An would summon Daji as his model to train his drawing skills ording to the ¡®Face of a Thousand Identities¡¯ technique whenever he had time. Unfortunately, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn¡¯t obtain any Rage points from her again. It was to the extent where he even wondered if the few points he had gotten from her were just his imagination.

    However, something that was worth being happy over was that his drawing skills were improving visibly. He was a cultivator after all, so his grasp over his power and its use wasn¡¯t something ordinary people couldpare to. Furthermore, his powerful mental strength made learning anything much faster.

    From the Down¡¯s syndrome patient he had initially drawn, his drawing was now seventy to eighty percent urate. But whenever Zu An looked at the real Daji andpared her to his drawing, he would always sigh and think that no matter how great his artistic skills became, it would still fail to truly reflect this woman¡¯s beauty.

    ¡­

    Their ship continued north for a while before the imperial envoy fleet went ashore, changing directions and heading west by horse. Cloudcenter Commandery was in the northwest. There was no waterway that could take them straight there.

    Unlike othermanderies, Cloudcenter Commandery was vast, but sparsely popted. Its size was vast; its area was several timesrger than many of the southernmanderies added together.

    The surrounding scenery waspletely different from what they had seen along the way. They first traveled through arge desert that was so deste, there were only rocks there. Forget about trees, it was difficult for them to even see a single stalk of grass.

    Fortunately, they were all elites from the court, and the bodies of cultivators were tough. They had guides sent by the local officials, so even though the trip was difficult, there wasn''t any danger.

    The only small episode they encountered was a group of ignorant bandits. This ce was so poor that the bandits were forced to take a risk out of desperation. They attacked at night to try and steal some goods.

    In the end, the bandits were no different from ordinary guards. Zu An and Sang Hong didn¡¯t need to lift a finger; Gao Ying and Pei You were able to easily wipe them out with the Armed Escort Army. The two of them actually felt a bit disappointed that the bandits didn¡¯t put up more of a fight. After all, they had traveled with the fleet for so long, and it was finally their turn to do something. All of this was military service they would umte!

    Only Sang Hong alone picked up something strange from the bandits¡¯ weapons. Many of them were government army standard issue.

    After chatting with Zu An for a bit, the conclusion they reached was that either the bandits had robbed a small troop and stolen the weapons, or some people had resold the weapons to them.

    If it was thetter, there were huge problems with Cloudcenter Commandery. But the two of them knew that it was useless even if they worried about such things now. They could only slowly investigate things once they arrived at Cloudcenter Commandery.

    ¡­

    Once they left the desert, the scenery was no longer as bleak. They even passed by some scattered towns along the way. As they continued west, grasnd, mountains, and other such things appeared before them. Of course, since it was winter, the grasnds were dried up and there was snow everywhere.

    The imperial envoy was mostlyposed of people from the capital who had never seen such scenery before. They all found the area novel and interesting. Even Sang Hong often voiced his praise toward the magnificence of the area. He exined to the others the fact that several hundred years before, this ce was still the domain of the fiend races. Later on, as sessive generations of human emperors expanded their territory, they seized thend from the fiend races bit by bit, turning it into the human race¡¯snd. Sang Hong sounded extremely proud when he spoke of that.

    From time to time, Gao Ying and Pei You egged Zu An on to write something new. They had already had a taste of glory, so they were trying to see if they could have their names added onto new works of poetry. If they could, that would be fame throughout the ages!

    Zu An refused without the slightest hesitation. All the people traveling with them were already old acquaintances. Who would he even be trying to show off to here? All of his concentration was on improving his artistic skills. When the others were setting up camp, he would take Daji some distance away to practice his sketching.

    Perhaps it was because of the stunning scenery, or maybe it was just Daji¡¯s devastatingly beautiful self, but he could sense that his artistic skills were advancing by leaps and bounds. It seemed he was going to reach the standard of ¡®Face of a Thousand Identities¡¯ soon.

    ¡­

    Just like that, half a month passed, and the group finally arrived at Cloudcenter Commandery. What they had seen along the way were just some small towns, so when they saw towering city walls, they all found it a bit hard to get used to at first. Cloudcenter City was quite a bitrger than even Yi Commandery!

    But that was understandable. Cloudcenter Commandery producedrge amounts of ki stones, so it was extremely wealthy. Furthermore, it was the political, economic, and military center of the vast northwest region; all of these factors naturally made it flourishing and majestic.

    Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s officials had already received news of their arrival. They greeted the imperial fleet outside the city. ¡°We respectfully wee the imperial envoy!¡±

    There were three people at the very front of the weing group. The one in the center was Cloudcenter Magistrate Zuo Su. One look at his big-bellied figure made Zu An immediately think he was the textbook definition of a corrupt official.

    However, his attention quickly shifted to the man with a neatly trimmed mustache next to him. He was tall, and he had long, sharp brows that gave him a strong and valiant air. However, his meticulous mustache, his fingernails, and eyebrows had all been trimmed carefully. Even though all of that could be considered schrly and elegant, Zu An still felt he was trying too hard and a bit cringey.

    The reason why Zu An was paying attention to him wasn¡¯t because he was interested in the man, but rather because he had seen him before in the valley outside Brightmoon City in the past. He had only known that this was Yu Yanluo¡¯s brother-inw. Only now did he discover the person¡¯s real identity. He was Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s acting Commander-in-Chief Jian Taiding!

    Due to Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s location in the northwest, they would encounter invasions from the fiend races from time to time. It was usually the Martial Supervisor who was in charge of military affairs in othermanderies¡ªfor example, Yi Commandery¡¯s Yang Sheng¡ªbut Cloudcenter Commandery had a higher Military Governor Manor.

    Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s Martial Supervisor position was held by Jian Yanyou. Normally, he was in charge of ensuring the safety of Cloudcenter Commandery, while also fending off the invasions of the fiend races and others in the border.

    After Cloudcenter Duke¡¯s disappearance, his younger brother, the former chief historian of the Military Governor Manor, had temporarily taken his ce.

    Zu An thought to himself, Someone like this actually came all the way to Brightmoon City without alerting anyone. Not even Brightmoon City¡¯s local officials or Brightmoon Duke Chu Zhongtian noticed anything.

    The first time they had met, Zu An¡¯s cultivation was so low that he couldn''t see a thing about the other man. But upon closer examination, the other party¡¯s aura was reserved, and there was a divine glow within his eyes. The other person seemed to already be at the master rank.

    The emperor really thinks way too highly of me¡­ He actually sent me all the way here to deal with the Jian n! Even though Sang Hong is the imperial envoy, he only has eight ranks of cultivation. The imperial envoy¡¯s biggest asset in strength is Golden Token Eleven, and Golden Token Eleven is me!

    Zu An couldn''t help but look down on Chu Zhongtian when he thought of that. He was also a duke, yet look at how impressive this Cloudcenter Dukedom was! Just a little brother was already at the master rank.

    But Chu Chuyan seemed to have told him before that Chu Zhongtian was injured severely in the past, causing his cultivation to drop. Otherwise, there was no way the court would have been able to treat him the way they did.

    With Sang Hong present to take care of all the formalities, there was no need for him to do such tiresome things. He only had to nod and smile.

    But as they introduced themselves to each other, Zu An¡¯s attention shifted to a square-faced, upright-looking middle-aged man. He was Cloudcenter City¡¯s City Lord Pei Shao.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    His official rank was one thing. More importantly, his surname was Pei. Paired with how Pei You was cheerfully chatting with the man, this was probably Pei Mianman¡¯s father, whom Pei You had mentioned before.

    ¡°Big Manman, I can finally see you again.¡± Zu An¡¯s gaze became passionate when he looked at the distant Cloudcenter City. After they had separated thest time, it had already been a long time since he had received any messages from her.

    The imperial envoy fleet was weed inside the city by many officials. They were led in and settled down by people who specialized in that role. As for the other officials, they went their own way. They had to prepare a wee party at the magistrate manor in the evening.

    Soon afterward, Sang Hong called over Zu An in private. He said, ¡°You¡¯ve just met Jian Taiding. What¡¯s your impression of him?¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°He doesn¡¯t seem to be the type to show off his abilities. He¡¯s clearly a master rank, yet he yields to the magistrate. If he doesn¡¯t truly have absolute loyalty and devotion to the court and doesn¡¯t dare to step out of line in the slightest, he¡¯s someone who is harboring a huge disaster.¡±

    ¡°Sigh, that was what I was thinking too.¡± Sang Hong was full of worry. ¡°I wonder if that Golden Token Eleven can deal with him. I just consulted with Xiao Jianren, but he replied to everything with ¡®I don¡¯t know¡¯. He doesn¡¯t even know if Golden Token Eleven has arrived in Cloudcenter Commandery.¡±

    ¡°I think he¡¯s probably arrived,¡± Zu An said with an embarrassed chuckle. He asked, ¡°By the way, can you contact the local golden token envoy? I believe it¡¯ll be much easier to deal with him if we have more people to help us.¡±

    Sang Hong shook his head and replied, ¡°I already asked Xiao Jianren. Cloudcenter Commandery doesn¡¯t have any other Golden Token Envoys. Only kingdoms have golden token envoys overseeing them. Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s situation is special and it doesn¡¯t have any golden token envoys here.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, Looks like the emperor is more worried about the royal family rebelling.

    The two of them chatted for a bit longer. Then, Zu An told Sang Hong that he wanted to take the chance to look around Cloudcenter Commandery and familiarize himself with his environment.

    Sang Hong nodded, saying, ¡°My objective is too great. We¡¯ll work separately in tanden, one overt and one covert. I¡¯ll draw the attention of the major ns over here from our temporary residence, while you¡¯ll investigate in private.¡±

    Zu An had a strange look on his face. He had actually just been nning to meet with Pei Mianman. But because of Sang Qien, he couldn''t just tell Sang Hong that. He could only vaguely agree.

    After leaving the temporary residence, Zu An walked through a remote alley. His appearance quickly became entirely different. After training the entire time on the way, even though he couldn''t change his appearance to be like a specific person, it wasn¡¯t too difficult to use ¡®Face of a Thousand Identities'' to change his appearance a bit. That way, he didn¡¯t have to always wear disguise masks in the future.

    The City Lord Manor was easy to find. Zu An felt a bit moved when he saw the words ¡®Pei Manor¡¯ on the entrance. Of course, with his current identity, he couldn''t enter through the front entrance. He took a detour and snuck inside through a ce with rtively weaker security.

    With the jade badge to observe his surroundings, Mirror Mirage hiding his aura, and Grandgale¡¯s instantaneous movement, even though the security there was tight, it wasn¡¯t too difficult for him to deal with.

    Zu An was looking for Pei Mianman¡¯s room when Pei Shao¡¯s voice suddenly came from a distant corridor. ¡°Young heir hase from afar. I must apologize for not heading out to greet you earlier.¡±

    ¡°Young heir?¡± Zu An¡¯s eyes narrowed. Was this an old acquaintance?

 Chapter 1002: Mysterious Swordsman

    <h4>Chapter 1002: Mysterious Swordsman</h4>

    Zu An kicked off lightly, silently flying through the air andnding atop arge tree off to the side. He looked into the distance through the dense treetop.

    A group of people slowly walked over from the other end of the corridor. The one in the lead was precisely City Lord Pei Shao, whom Zu An had seen earlier. He was talking to a young man about something. Even though he wasn¡¯t engaging in excessive ttery, he had a huge smile on his face and his words were polite. It was clear that he greatly respected the other party¡¯s status.

    Upon closer inspection, Zu An noticed that the young man¡¯s clothing was extravagant, and his cor was embroidered with gold and jade designs. He had a handsome and confident appearance, but there was a kind of indescribable pride in his eyes.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine; you all had to receive the imperial envoy. This young heir doesn¡¯t wish to cause too much of a scene and let too many people know of my arrival.¡± The young man suddenly frowned in the middle of his sentence, subconsciously moving his legs a bit. His gait asionally turned a bit awkward as he walked. Whenever that happened, a gloomy expression flickered through his eyes.

    Pei Shao obviously noticed what was happening. He asked out of concern, ¡°Was the young heir injured? We have many medicines that should be of help to the young heir¡¯s injuries.¡±

    ¡°Do you think my King Qi Manorcks medicines?¡± The young man rolled his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s just the residual effect of a small injury; it won¡¯t hinder anything.¡± Even though that was what he said, he was gritting his teeth in anger. It was obvious that he wasn¡¯t as calm as he was trying to appear.

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Zhi for +444 +444 +444¡­

    Zu An almost burst outughing. It was, of course, King Qi¡¯s heir Zhao Zhi! This guy really is my lucky star, haha! He¡¯s donating so many Rage points right after we meet again.

    As for the awkwardness in Zhao Zhi¡¯s gait, it was because Zu An had broken his legs before. Even though they had already healed, there was still some pain whenever it was too windy or rainy. The weather in the northwest was quite chilly, so that feeling was even more pronounced than before.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes shifted off to the side. An elder was following several feet behind Zhao Zhi. His silver hair wasbed neatly and tidily; his eyes were sharp as he scanned the surroundings, as if on guard against any hidden enemies.

    He was also an old acquaintance: King Qi Manor¡¯s protector, with cultivation at the peak of the ninth rank, Han Fengqiu.

    Zu An thought to himself, Being a protector of King Qi Manor really is a bitter fate. The other famous attendants had all died in Westhound Tomb¡¯s secret dungeon. Now, only Han Fengqiu alone was left. Zu An wondered if he was feeling any pressure deep down.

    Pei Shao immediately realized that the injury was a sore spot King Qi¡¯s heir wasn¡¯t willing to talk about. He felt a bit of regret over his rudeness and naturally didn¡¯t keep asking about it, but said, ¡°With the king and young heir¡¯s ability, even more severe injuries must not be a problem.¡±

    Zhao Zhi gave a few absent-minded replies, then nced over to the side. ¡°By the way, I¡¯ve been hearing about Miss Pei¡¯s beauty for a long time. Why has she not made an appearance yet?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes narrowed when he heard that. This fe actually came for Big Manman? Kid, you¡¯re heading down a road you don¡¯t want to take!

    Pei Shao replied, ¡°I¡¯ve already sent someone for her.¡±

    Suddenly, a maid rushed over and said, ¡°Master, the miss is unwilling toe out. She said she was going into istion and did not wish to meet anyone.¡±

    Pei Shao¡¯s smile froze. He eximed, ¡°You useless thing¡­ Tell her toe out again!¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± The maid felt wronged. However, she didn¡¯t dare to argue with the master when she saw him angry. She quickly turned around and left.

    Pei Shao then exined to Zhao Zhi, ¡°My n¡¯s daughter has been spoiled too much by her mother. The young heir has seen a poor side of us. I hope you do not take offense.¡±

    Zhao Zhi waved his hand and said, ¡°It¡¯s fine. Either way, the main objective of this trip isn¡¯t to meet her¡­¡±

    ¡­n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Even though Zu An really wanted to continue listening in on their discussion, it wasn¡¯t as important as Pei Mianman. When he saw the maid leave, he secretly followed along. Meanwhile, Han Fengqiu sensed something and turned around to look at the tree Zu An had been hiding in earlier.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Zhao Zhi asked out of curiosity when he sensed that Han Fengqiu was acting strange.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Han Fengqiu felt a bit strange too. He seemed to have sensed a figure darting out, but when he looked closer, there was nothing. Am I starting to see things?

    But he soon threw away those suspicions. He had been on guard the entire time. With his cultivation, the number of individuals who could escape his detection in all of Cloudcenter Commandery could be counted on one hand. Furthermore, all of them were important figures; why would theye to Pei Shao¡¯s home to cause trouble? It must be because I¡¯ve been too tense recently.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An followed the maid into the inner courtyard. His brows gradually furrowed. Big Manman is an important member of the n, so why is the ce she lived in so remote? No wonder he couldn''t find it earlier.

    The maid quickly arrived at a small, tattered courtyard. Compared to how splendid the other courtyards in the City Lord Manor were, the ce could indeed be considered tattered. However, it was rather quiet and peaceful, giving off a bit of a transcendent feeling.

    ¡°Young miss, young miss!¡± The maid began to knock on the door, calling out, ¡°The master says that your respected self has to go out at least once!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not going!¡± A familiar voice replied from inside. It was still as lovable as Zu An remembered, but the voice now carried a hint of fatigue.

    ¡°Big Manman!¡± Zu An could no longer hold back his emotions when he heard the familiar voice. He walked over withrge steps.

    ¡°Which scoundrel dares to enter the youngdy¡¯s residence?!¡± a voice called out from off to the side just then, apanied by a cold snort.

    Zu An immediately became alert. He quickly moved several zhang to the side. A vicious longsword instantly stabbed into the spot he had just been standing in.

    He wiped off a handful of cold sweat. If he had been even a moment slower, there might already be a huge hole in his body. He had been able to stop Yi Commandery City Lord¡¯s grand ki sword with just two fingers, but he wouldn¡¯t dare to try the same thing with this sword. His first reaction was to evade.

    ¡°Huh?¡± The other party clearly hadn¡¯t expected Zu An to evade so quickly. However, his sword didn¡¯t stop at all, instead continuing to thrust out precisely and urately.

    Zu An was immediately on high alert when he saw the sword that shot out like shooting stars. He had met his fair share of swordsmen, but the person before him was definitely the best out of all of the sword users he had ever encountered before. He used Grandgale to evade several dozen zhang away while summoning Hundredwarble to carry out a mental attack, disturbing the other party¡¯s next action.

    Hundredwarble¡¯s phantom charged at the person, whoughed out loud and said, ¡°We should live every day as if it were ourst; tomorrow¡¯s worries can wait until tomorrow!¡± He rushed straight through Hundredwarble¡¯s phantom, which exploded into bits of light.

    Zu An¡¯s expression became overcast. This person was a master rank cultivator at the very least, and his soul was far more concentrated than Zu An¡¯s own. That was why Hundredwarble¡¯s mental attack didn¡¯t work at all. Most importantly, the other person¡¯s sword technique was just too brilliant. It always seized the best gaps between his attacks.

    With his current cultivation, his use of Grandgale was pretty much limitless. However, there was a few seconds of cooldown between each use. An ordinary person wouldn¡¯t notice, and together with how fast the instantaneous movement was, even if they did notice, they wouldn''t be able to seize that fleeting opportunity.

    But this person waspletely different. Even though his body was stillgging behind, his sword was faster than his body. It instantly arrived in front of Zu An.

    Is he controlling a flying sword? Zu An didn¡¯t have time to think to himself. He took out the Tai¡¯e Sword and traded more than ten blows with the flying sword. No matter howplex and intricate the flying sword¡¯s attacks were, he blocked every single strike.

    ¡°Hm?¡± It was the other party¡¯s turn to be shocked. Even though he hadn¡¯t gone all out, it was the first time all of his sword attacks had been blocked.

    Zu An got a good look at the other person too. He was a middle-aged man with a long beard, with a few strands of curled hair on his forehead. He had a somewhat sleepy-eyed expression. On his back was a giant green gourd. Zu An could smell the strong smell of alcohol from his body even from far away.

    This ce was bitterly cold, yet the man still only wore a singleyer. His clothes had dark blotches that could have been leftover alcohol or oil. His pants were wide and loose, and a pair of worn-out sandals was on his feet.

    The person¡¯s appearance was as sloppy as sloppy could be. If it were a normal person who looked like that, other people¡¯s first reaction would be to assume he was a dirty and smelly beggar. However, this person was different. Zu An could still see signs that the man had a handsome and heroic past when he was younger. The feeling the man gave off was one of endless loneliness and bleakness.

    While Zu An was examining the man, the other party was also sizing him up. Zu An had had an opening cut in his clothes by sword ki because he was caught unprepared. Even though he wasn¡¯t injured, it still exposed the skin underneath. The sloppy-looking middle-aged man suddenly noticed the me-shaped pendant around Zu An¡¯s neck. His eyes couldn''t help but narrow.

    Just then, a loud voice called out from the distance, ¡°There¡¯s an assassin!¡±

    Their battle had caused such a huge disturbance that the City Lord Manor¡¯s guards would have to be blind to not notice anything. Countless guards stormed over. There were a few who were extremely fast, clearly the elites from the city lord manor. Even the auras of other cultivators from farther out were approaching quickly.

    The sloppy middle-aged man gave Zu An a deep look. Then, he kicked off the ground and disappeared into the distance.

    Zu An frowned slightly. From the looks of things, he clearly couldn''t meet with Big Manman now. With his status, he didn¡¯t want to get into any conflict with the City Lord and the guards either. He decided to leave in another direction.

 Chapter 1003: Sword Immortal

    <h4>Chapter 1003: Sword Immortal</h4>

    Zu An took several turns and detours, using his mysterious movement technique to throw off his pursuers. Then, he returned to Pei Manor. He hadn¡¯t been able to see his Big Manmanst time after being interrupted by that mysterious swordsman, but he wanted to try again.

    But unfortunately, after what had just happened, the City Lord had already strengthened the security. There were guards everywhere. No matter how high his cultivation was, it was impossible to sneak in under broad daylight without being invisible.

    ¡°Who was that sword master?¡± Zu An cursed that mysterious swordsman to death. At the same time, he began to wonder who the man really was.

    He had thought that it was someone from the Pei n at first. But once the manor¡¯s guards were alerted, the mysterious swordsman chose to run and avoid the guards. This made him reject that suspicion.

    But if the man wasn¡¯t from the Pei n, if his cultivation was so high, why would he take up residence near Pei Mianman? Judging from what Zu An had heard, the man seemed to be protecting Big Manman? But he had never heard Big Manman mention someone like that!

    ¡­

    Just then, some noise came from a side door. Zhao Zhi was there, wrapped in an overcoat that could hide his face. Then, he got into a carriage that had been prepared there. Han Fengqiu looked around vigntly. Then, he pulled a hood over his eyes and drove the carriage away.

    Zu An was rmed. He followed them several li out to a residence. From the looks of it, the building was likely the home of a wealthy merchant in the city. Even though the residence wasn¡¯t that special, the security was strict. It was definitely one of King Qi Manor¡¯s secret bases.

    Zu An didn¡¯t want to alert them. After looking around to remember the ce, he quietly left.

    ¡­

    After Zu An returned to the temporary official residence, he changed into his Golden Token Eleven uniform and headed to Xiao Jianren¡¯s room.

    Xiao Jianren sighed in relief when he saw Zu An, saying, ¡°Sir Eleven, it¡¯s been a long time since I received any information from you. We were extremely worried!¡±

    After all, they had traveled through that vast desert, and yet they hadn¡¯t seen Golden Token Eleven. They had even wondered if he arrived in Cloudcenter City. Now they finally felt as if they had a pir to rely on again.

    ¡°I arrived ahead of time to look around a bit. I¡¯ve already found out that King Qi¡¯s heir secretly came to Cloudcenter Commandery; they have a hideout here. Send some people to monitor this location. Contact me as soon as you notice something strange,¡± Zu An said. He warned Xiao Jianren, ¡°Han Fengqiu is here as well, and they¡¯re on high alert. Don¡¯t rm them and scare them away.¡±

    ¡°I understand. Shadowing is the Embroidered Envoy¡¯s specialty.¡± Xiao Jianren had a serious expression as he patted his chest and made a guarantee. Then, he gave Zu An a look of admiration, saying, ¡°Sir truly is deep and immeasurable; you actually found out such important information so quickly.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face heated up. All of that was merely a coincidence. However, when he saw the other party¡¯s look of admiration, he obviously wouldn¡¯t exin it either. He added, ¡°There is one other matter. Are there any well-known sword-using experts in Cloudcenter Commandery at the master rank?¡±

    When he saw how the other party didn¡¯t treat the investigation of King Qi¡¯s heir as a big deal at all, Xiao Jianren thought to himself that the boss really was the boss. Such an attitude wasn¡¯t something people like him could have.

    He quickly proposed a few candidates when he received the question, but then said, ¡°But even though they¡¯re all swordmasters, none of them seem to have reached the master rank¡­ Sir, could it be that the one your respected self is talking about came from elsewhere?¡±

    Zu An thought of something. He quickly gave Xiao Jianren a description of the man¡¯s appearance. At the same time, he recalled, ¡°He seemed to have chanted a line of poetry, something like ¡®we should live every day as if it were ourst; tomorrow¡¯s worries can wait until tomorrow¡¯. I wonder if that¡¯s the name of his sword technique or if it¡¯s just his favorite expression.¡±

    Xiao Jianren¡¯s eyes lit up and he replied, ¡°Now that sir has mentioned that, I¡¯ve thought of someone who seems to match your description.¡±

    ¡°Who is it?¡± Zu An was extremely curious, since it was rted to Big Manman.

    ¡°The libationer¡¯s third disciple, Sword Immortal Xiao Yao,¡± Xiao Jianren replied.

    ¡°He¡¯s the libationer¡¯s third disciple?¡± Zu An had never expected that person to be rted to the libationer! He had heard quite a bit from Jiang Luofu, Xie Daoyun, and the others during their chats.

    The libationer had twelve disciples, and each one of them was a specialist in a certain domain. For example, the senior disciple excelled at drawing talismans, Shen Xuzi at alchemy, Hei Baizi at chess¡­

    There were still some disciples he hadn¡¯t yet met outside of the capital. Among the remaining disciples, some had special statuses that forced them to remain outside. For example, the tenth disciple, who was excellent at military strategy, remained at the border.

    There were some who were even more mysterious, the outside world not even knowing their surnames or backgrounds. There was very little information about those people. For example, the second disciple was a doctor, the sixth an artist, the ninth a singer. However, the exact information about those people, and even whether they were male or female, waspletely unknown.

    Apart from them, the third disciple was also a special existence. Everyone knew his name, Sword Immortal Xiao Yao, but no one knew where he was.

    At the very least, he had never returned to the academy or the capital in the past twenty years. Even if there were any major events in the Royal Academy, they still wouldn¡¯t look for him. It was as if the libationer had never even had such a disciple before.

    Xiao Jianren said with a sigh, ¡°Sword Immortal Xiao Yao really was a stunning talent in the past. He reached the peak of the ninth rank at a young age, so everyone thought he would be the one to break through into the grandmaster rank the earliest. Even the libatoner himself said that he was the one with the most talent among all of his disciples, that bing a grandmaster was but a matter of time.

    ¡°Xiao Yao was also high-spirited, roaming the world with his longsword. He defeated all of the heroes of the world. At the time, it hadn¡¯t been long since the war between humans and fiend races had ended, so there were still many remaining evils from the fiend races. He roamed the world while dealing with them.

    ¡°Later on, no one knew what happened, but he suddenly became dispirited. He even abandoned his cultivation for quite some time. Even the libationer publicly reprimanded him. He got into a huge argument with the libationer, then left the academy¡¯s rear mountain, never returning since.

    ¡°Later on, traces of him were seen throughout the world. He was no longer his confident and handsome sword immortal self; rather, he drowned himself in drink. There were even rumors that he was bullied and beaten up by some smaller sects¡¯ people, and yet never retaliated.

    ¡°From then on, no one seemed to have seen him again. Some thought he had died, others thought he had be crippled. But everyone believed a rising star had already fallen,¡± Xiao Jianren concluded.

    Zu An frowned. ¡°Then why do you think the one I was talking about is Xiao Yao? After all, he was only at the ninth rank. Not only did he drop in cultivation, people all think he¡¯s already given up on himself.¡±

    Xiao Jianren¡¯s voice suddenly became louder as he eximed, ¡°Because I don¡¯t believe that he really abandoned his cultivation!¡±

    Zu An was stunned. It wasn¡¯t every day he saw Xiao Jianren so excited. What was going on?

    Xiao Jianren realized that had lost hisposure. He took a deep breath and exined, ¡°Before I was chosen to be an Embroidered Envoy, I was attacked by mountain bandits. Back then, I wasn¡¯t as skilled as I am now. Just as I was about to lose my life, a white-d swordsman passed by and easily dealt with those bandits.¡± His somewhat turbid, nearsighted eyes began to flicker with brilliance as he continued, ¡°I¡¯ve never forgotten the elegance of that sword even to this day.¡±

    Zu An blinked. He finally realized what was going on and replied, ¡°So you¡¯re his fan?¡±

    Even though Xiao Jianren didn¡¯t know what the word ¡®fan¡¯ meant, he could guess the meaning. He said in embarrassment, ¡°I was also an orphan and I didn¡¯t know my surname. But after I met him, out of admiration for him, I gave myself the surname Xiao.¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t even know what to say at that point. He hadn¡¯t expected this usually steady and cool-headed fellow to actually be such a diehard stan!

    Xiao Jianren continued, ¡°Later on, when I joined the Embroidery House, there were more and more things to deal with, so we never met again. One day, when I learned that something happened to Xiao Yao, I refused to believe that he fell. I even searched all sorts of different channels for information about him. But he really did seem to have vanished from this world.

    ¡°Then, a few years ago, I suddenly read in some archives that someone mentioned a mysterious drunkard swordsman. Even though the one portrayed was very different from the past Xiao Yao, for some reason, I felt it was him.¡±

    Xiao Jianren suddenly looked excited. ¡°Judging from sir¡¯s description, I¡¯ve be more confident in my prediction. May I ask where sir met him? I really want to meet with him again¡­¡±

    Zu An felt a bit awkward when he saw just how big of a fan Xiao Jianren was. After chatting a bit more, he withdrew and went back to his room. He thought, Is that person really the libationer¡¯s third disciple Xiao Yao? But what does Big Manman have to do with him?

    At nightfall, Sang Hong participated in the evening banquet with Zu An, Gao Ying, Pei You, and the others. It wasn¡¯t proper for an Embroidered Envoy like Xiao Jianren to attend, so he stayed behind to watch the residence.

    Sang Hong asked Zu An if he had received any new information. His expression changed a bit when Zu An told him that King Qi¡¯s heir had arrived as well. He said, ¡°King Qi really harbors malice. He was actually willing to send Zhao Zhi here. He is definitely nning something big.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, Aren¡¯t we here to pluck one of King Qi¡¯s wings? It would be weirder if he didn¡¯t care about this at all.

    Sang Hong said with an overcast voice, ¡°Ah Zu, this trip to Cloudcenter Commandery will be full of dangers. We might perish if we take even a single wrong step.¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An said indifferently, ¡°We just need to do what we have to do ording to the situation.¡±

    Sang Hong was stunned at first, but thenughed. ¡°Haha, it seems that the older I get, the more cowardly I be. You are right. We came with such a grand mission, so they should be the ones who are scared.¡±

    He began to admire Zu An more and more. He thought to himself that having Zu An as his son-inw wouldn¡¯t be a bad choice at all. He had to try and foster more chances for Zu An to develop feelings for Qien¡¯er once they went back.

 Chapter 1004: Initial Display of Strength

    <h4>Chapter 1004: Initial Disy of Strength</h4>

    The group arrived at the Civil Affairs Manor soon afterward. Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s officials were all present, and even Jian Taiding had been waiting there ahead of time.

    Normally speaking, both his master rank cultivation and family background were superior to Sang Hong. And yet he hade out to wee them outside the city, and had even waited for them there, truly showing a lot of respect to the imperial envoy. He clearly wanted Sang Hong to scratch his back too afterward, and to promote him to the position of Cloudcenter Duke as early as possible.

    Cloudcenter Magistrate Zuo Su and Jian Taiding greeted Sang Hong¡¯s group and invited them inside. They introduced all the different officials along the way. They had been in too much of a hurry when they were outside of the city, so only a few individuals could introduce themselves.

    ¡°This is Vice Magistrate Sir Xu Yu.¡±

    ¡°I have been looking forward to meeting you.¡±

    ¡­

    Zu An carefully observed the other person. Xu Yu was a middle-aged man with a square face. He looked like a much more proper official than the big-bellied Zuo Su.

    Apart from assisting the Magistrate, the Vice Magistrate also had the responsibility of supervising the Magistrate Manor and the local officials. Since his status was extremely high, he didn¡¯t sit in the same carriage as the Magistrate, but rather in his own carriage.

    ¡°This is Governing Supervisor Sir Yu Xuanqing.¡±

    ¡°So it was actually the Imperial Secretariat¡¯s Left Confidential Assistant¡¯s n brother! It is an honor!¡±

    The Governing Supervisor was the number three figure of amandery, in charge of the selection of officials and other matters. Even though he was a local official, there was no need for Sang Hong to treat someone like him with such importance.

    The reason why Sang Hong remained so courteous was because the elder was someone from the Yu n. The Yu n had two main branches. One served as officials in the imperial court; their n leader was the Imperial Secretariat¡¯s Left Confidential Assistant Yu Xuanchong.

    The other branch remained in Cloudcenter Commandery and was in charge of the ki stone family business. The old man was actually Yu Xuanchong¡¯s n brother. Butpared to Yu Xuanchong, Yu Xuanqing was far inferior in both cultivation and ability.

    Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s n leader had passed away, so the n was currently under the control of the first wife, Yu Yanluo. However, she was still a woman, and she was beautiful too. As such, she couldn''t really make an appearance too often, so many of the n¡¯s matters had to be left to the n uncles. Yu Xuanqing was one of them.

    ¡°This is Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s Military Affairs Manor¡¯s War Minister Yu Xuansu.¡±

    ¡°It is an honor to meet you atst.¡±

    ¡­

    Yu Xuanxu was also one of Yu Yanluo¡¯s n uncles. Zu An began to ponder to himself when he saw the two old men. The Yu n¡¯s influence here really is great¡­ With all of these higher level positions of Cloudcenter Commandery being upied by them, this entire ce is pretty much under their control.

    Zu An looked around. He had originally been looking forward to seeing Yu Yanluo, but he didn¡¯t see the beautiful figure he remembered.

    Sang Hong seemed to be thinking the same thing, as he found an excuse to ask, ¡°Hm? Why do I not see Madam Yu here?¡±

    He obviously wasn¡¯t doing so because he desired her beauty, but rather because Yu Yanluo was the one in control of Cloudcenter¡¯s Yu n. Furthermore, they were investigating the disappearance of her husband, so he wanted to take the chance to ask her about some things.

    Jian Taiding, the man with the mustache, said with a smile, ¡°My sister-inw has recently been affected by the cold weather, so she is not in the proper state to receive guests. I hope Sir Sang can pardon this.¡±

    Sang Hong said with a smile, ¡°Her health is naturally the most important.¡± He then quickly changed the topic. Then, Jian Taiding dragged Sang Hong along to introduce him to some more officials.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The others began to send their greetings to the other members of the imperial envoy. They were most enthusiastic when greeting Gao Ying and Pei You. After all, one had the Liu n behind him, and the other the Pei n. They were both top-level ns in the capital. The local officials obviously wanted to get closer to those influential ns¡¯ disciples.

    As for Zu An, they all ignored him after giving him some polite greetings. In their eyes, an official like him who had wed his way up from a poor and humble background wasn¡¯t worth all that much.

    There was one huge weakness in people who had risen up that way, which was that their statuspletely depended on the emperor¡¯s favor. If they lost the emperor¡¯s favor, they would thenpletely copse.

    But the great influential ns were different. They had countless members in the court serving as officials, so their rtionships were twisted andplicated. Even if the emperor didn¡¯t like them, it was difficult for him to do anything to them.

    ¡°They''re quite honest,¡± Zu An remarked. He obviously wouldn¡¯t take offense because of that. Instead, he took the chance to size up the others, especially Pei Shao. That fellow seemed to be ying matchmaker between King Qi¡¯s heir and his daughter.

    He noticed that a young man with a long face and small, round eyes was next to Pei Shao. Someone like that obviously couldn''t be introduced to Sang Hong. However, judging from the way some lower ranked officials ttered Pei Shao, he learned that the young man seemed to be Pei Shao¡¯s son, Pei Xing.

    Big Manman¡¯s little brother? Zu An frowned. Were they really blood-rted? Big Manman is so beautiful, so why is her little brother so disappointing?

    The group quickly arrived in the main hall. Because of the cold weather, there was a zing bonfire at the very center. There were all kinds of meat hanging above. Under the fire¡¯s illumination, the golden oil on the meat looked especially enticing. An aroma of spices and roasted meat filled the ce.

    ¡°Sir Sang, please have the seat of honor!¡± Jian Taiding eximed, and the group quickly sat down. Sang Hong was the Imperial Envoy, so he naturally had to have the seat of honor.

    Sang Hong looked around. He saw that the people there had arranged for Pei You and Gao Ying to sit next to him, while Zu An was seated farther down. As someone who had held an official appointment for a long time, he obviously knew that the seating arrangement hadn¡¯t been chosen randomly. Rather, it was the result of great ns struggling against each other for hundreds of years; it was the final tacit agreement they reached.

    Even though Gao Ying and Pei You¡¯s official ranks were beneath Zu An¡¯s, their n influence far exceeded the solitary Zu An. Under the support of their n¡¯s resources, Gao Ying and Pei You would have high positions soon. That was why their higher seats were reasonable and appropriate.

    But reasonable was one thing; Sang Hong wasn¡¯t happy about that. The first reason was because he himself had been all alone, creating his current status out of a humble background. He had suffered his fair share of mistreatment because of that. Furthermore, he was now even closer to Zu An than a mere ally, so he didn¡¯t wish for Zu An to feel wronged. As such, he said calmly, ¡°Ah Zu,e and sit next to me.¡±

    Zu An naturally agreed. He sat down confidently at Sang Hong¡¯s side. However, those from Cloudcenter Commandery felt something drop in their stomachs. They seemed to have underestimated Zu An¡¯s worth.

    Zuo Su was a bit worried. He had only arranged for two seats by Sang Hong¡¯s side, one for Gao Ying and one for Pei You. Now that Zu An had taken one of the seats, what could they do about the other person? He knew that such young masters cared a lot about these matters of prestige. They definitely wouldn¡¯t be willing to give it up. What would they do if the young masters began to fight among one another? Regardless of how they arranged things, they were definitely going to offend one side!

    However, he soon rxed again. The position had been taken by Zu An, so even if those young masters felt hatred, they would direct their resentment at the nobody Zu An. If they were more irascible in nature, they might just start a conflict with Zu An. For those great ns, the prestige of their ns was more important than anything else. That fact wouldn¡¯t change even if it was an imperial envoy.

    Many officials there had simr thoughts. They were all waiting to see if there would be a dispute. After all, they were well aware that the envoy was here to investigate them anyway, so they were all hoping there would be internal conflict within the imperial envoy.

    But what was surprising was that neither Gao Ying or Pei You had any intention of fighting with Zu An over the position. They naturally moved to another table, as if Zu An taking that position weren¡¯t anything unusual at all. Jian Taiding¡¯s eyes narrowed when he saw that. He had to re-evaluate this Zu An.

    After the Imperial Envoy sat back down, everyone else also sat down one by one. Just then, however, there was somemotion in the distance. A tough-looking man with a curly beard pointed at an empty position, asking, ¡°Who was this position arranged for?¡±

    Sang Hong was naturally at the very front, in the seat of honor. Then, the two rows next to him were respectively led by Jian Taiding and Zuo Su in ordance with their statuses. There weren¡¯t too many seats arranged in those two rows, with every single spot prepared for a higher-level figure of Cloudcenter Commandery. Past those two rows were a few more tables outside, clearly for those officials who were of lower rank. That was why being able to sit in one of the two rows was also a reflection of status and honor.

    ording to the prior introductions, therge man who looked like a foreigner was amanding officer from the Military Affairs Manor. Even though he couldn''tpare to the Chief Historian or the War Minister, he was a high-level figure of the manor. He was barely qualified to sit in those two rows.

    He was staring at Vice Magistrate Xu Yu angrily as he pointed at the empty space. Clearly, he was upset to have heard that he was assigned to sit in the back. That was why he caused a scene.

    Sang Hong and Zu An exchanged a look. The Military Affairs Manor and Civil Affairs Manor in Cloudcenter Commandery seemed to be at greater conflict with each other than they had imagined.

    Xu Yu said indifferently, ¡°I have an old friend who is paying a visit here today. This seat was prepared for him.¡±

    ¡°May I ask what his position and rank are?¡± therge bearded man responded in a low, muffled voice.

    Xu Yu frowned, but in the end he still said, ¡°He has no official post.¡±

    The bearded man roared withughter. ¡°Since he has no official post, what right does he have to sit here? This seat is mine!¡± Then, he sat straight down and picked up the cup of wine to drink.

    Xu Yu glowered. He gave Jian Taiding a look and said, ¡°Sir Jian, this is a seat belonging to our Civil Affairs Manor. Do we need the approval of your Military Affairs Manor¡¯s people regarding who we prepare it for?¡±

    Jiang Taiding said with a smile, ¡°Sir Xu¡¯s words are not quite right. We are all court officials, so is there a need to distinguish between us? Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s people are tough, and soldiers view glory and reputation as their life. Commander Dian has always been a straightforward man whom I cannot convince otherwise. If you really have been offended in any way, I hope sir can be understanding out of respect for his war contributions.¡±

    Zu An asked Sang Hong through ki transmission out of curiosity, ¡°Respected uncle, even if they have any grudge between them, is there a need for them to put up this kind of disy here? What are they trying to start by showing this in front of the Imperial Envoy?¡±

    Sang Hong replied, ¡°They are doing this on purpose as a disy of strength for me. Yu Xu is an official sent from the central court, so just like me, he represents the court. Jian Taiding is clearly showing his strength as a warning by not showing any leniency. He showed me a friendly side earlier, but now, he is baring his fangs. He is implying that if we tactfully cooperate, he will treat us well, but if we do not, we might experience the same awkward situation as Xu Yu right now.¡±

    ¡°It looks like this Xu Yu was doomed to be disrespected today.¡± Zu An felt a bit of sympathy. Because of what had happened outside Brightmoon City¡¯s outskirts, he subconsciously disliked Jian Taiding.

    Sang Hongughed and said, ¡°That may not necessarily be the case.¡±

 Chapter 1005: You Are Not Qualified for That

    <h4>Chapter 1005: You Are Not Qualified for That</h4>

    Sensing Zu An¡¯s confusion, Sang Hong exined, ¡°Look at Xu Yu; have you seen him really get mad yet?¡±

    Zu An looked over. Sure enough, even though Xu Yu was questioning Jian Taiding, his expression remained extremely calm. The expression he looked at that militarymander with wasn¡¯t one of anger, but rather mockery.

    Xu Yu spoke up again just then. ¡°I was only considering the prestige of your Military Affairs Manor. I fear this seat is not one Commander Dian can sit in. Once you are chased out, it will only be even more embarrassing for you.¡±

    Jian Taiding smiled and just treated those words as a bluff. Meanwhile, Commander Dianughed, his voice ringing in everyone¡¯s ears. ¡°Aren¡¯t I sitting here all fine and dandy? If anyone wants to sit in this seatter, just send him over. We¡¯ll see who can sit here in the end then.¡± Alcohol flowed down his beard as he spoke, further adding to his bold and unrestrained aura.

    Sang Hong said with a suppressed voice, ¡°ording to hisughter just now, this person seems to have seven ranks of cultivation. No wonder he can act so wild.¡±

    Zu An gave the ce a look. Those with higher cultivations than him were all already seated above him. The rest were weaker than him. No wonder Commander Dian seemed so confident.

    The other officials had entirely different expressions when they saw the scene. Some of them looked worried; they were clearly those who were closer to Xu Yu. There were some who were having a great time seeing Xu Yu in a predicament; they were definitely in the other camp. Overall, most of the people present were waiting with a smile, wishing to see Xu Yu be aughingstock.

    Commandery Magistrate Zuo Su looked at Sang Hong, hinting for him to say something.

    Sang Hong frowned. Even though he had arrived representing the court and was in theory supposed to help out Xu Yu, who had also been sent from the court, he had just arrived. If he immediately showed bias toward one side, that would definitely be unfavorable for what he had to doter. But if he refused, he might end up offending the Civil Affairs Manor.

    Fortunately, a disturbance urred nearby just then that helped him out of this predicament.

    ¡°Who is making a racket?¡± Zuo Su looked into the distance unhappily. He saw a group of guards back up step by step in the direction of the gathering.

    ¡°Reporting to sir, this person insists oning in,¡± the guards said with sullen expressions.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zuo Su was furious. Are you all good for nothing but eating? I¡¯ve already looked bad in front of the Imperial Envoy, yet you can¡¯t even stop some random trespasser froming in? Aren¡¯t we going to be a huge joke after this?

    Sure enough, Jian Taiding fiddled with the cup in his hands while looking in the guards¡¯ direction with an ambiguous expression. Next to him, War Minister Yu Xuansu said with augh, ¡°We proposed to hold the banquet in the Military Affairs Manor, but Sir Zuo refused. We were a bit confused back then, but now it all makes sense. How could we have had the chance to see so many interesting things happen if it had been held at our Military Affairs Manor?¡±

    Zuo Su harrumphed. He was about to order his men to attack that person when azy voice called out, ¡°It was your Vice Magistrate who invited me over. Why don¡¯t you believe me?¡±

    The guards berated the other person. ¡°Why would Sir Vice Magistrate invite someone like you?!¡±

    ¡°Hurry and leave already! Offending the Imperial Envoy is a huge offense!¡±

    ¡­

    Just then, Xu Yu spoke up again with his eyes closed. ¡°He is indeed a friend whom I invited. Let him in.¡± He had status on par with the Magistrate. Since he had spoken, those guards naturally couldn¡¯t stop the other person anymore. They quickly stepped aside and made way.

    Those gathered finally saw the appearance of the one who had arrived. He was dressed in tattered clothes, and even though it was the middle of winter, he wore straw sandals. He wasn¡¯t scared of his exposed feet freezing over at all. He didn¡¯t seem to care about his appearance at all, his eyes half-open, as if he were still drowsy. He had a huge wine gourd hanging from his body. The strong smell of alcohol filled the air even from far away.

    All of the officials present frowned. Why did Vice Magistrate Xu have such a friend? However, no one said anything. Anyone who could get to that position wasn¡¯t stupid. How could any normal person be a friend of the Vice Magistrate? Furthermore, judging from how he only wore straw sandals in the middle of winter, and yet there wasn¡¯t a trace of frostbite, they knew the man was no ordinary person. Even Jian Taiding sized up the person with a frown. He felt he couldn''t really see through the other party.

    Zu An was incredibly shocked. He already recognized the other person as the one who had used a sword against him back in Pei Manor. ording to Xiao Jianren¡¯s suspicions, the man could very well be the libationer¡¯s third disciple, the former Sword Immortal Xiao Yao!

    The drunkard seemed to have sensed something. He looked toward Zu An, an expression of confusion flickering through his eyes.

    Zu An thought to himself, Thank goodness I changed my appearance back then. Otherwise, it really would be awkward if this man recognized him here! After all, Pei Mianman¡¯s dad was right there. If it were exposed that Zu An had secretly visited his daughter¡¯s residence, that really would be tough to exin.

    ¡°Brother Xiao, this way.¡± Xu Yu stood up and beckoned toward that drunkard. Zu An was startled. The other person was surnamed Xiao, as expected!

    The drunkard shifted his gaze and walked over to Xu Yu¡¯s side. Xu Yu said apologetically, ¡°I prepared a seat for you, but it ended up being taken by this person.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­¡± the drunkard replied. He turned around and walked toward the back, as if he were going to look for another seat.

    The tough-looking Commander Dian roared withughter and asked, ¡°Vice Magistrate Xu, so this was that friend you cared so much about? Isn¡¯t he nothing more than a good-for-nothing drunkard?¡±

    The drunkard slowly turned around when he heard those words, asking, ¡°Is he your friend?¡± He didn¡¯t even look at Commander Dian and instead looked at Xu Yu.

    After some hesitation, Xu Yu said, ¡°He is merely a colleague in court. We do not have much of a rtionship.¡±

    The drunkard nodded. Then, he walked up to Commander Dian and looked down on him from above, saying, ¡°F*ck off.¡± There wasn¡¯t even a hint of anger in his voice, almost as if he wasn¡¯t even mad, but rather saying something that couldn''t be more normal.

    Commander Dian was stunned. Forget about him, all of the other officials present were stupefied as well. Even though they all had their own fair share of dirt on their hands from dealing with their political enemies, they still had to do it in a roundabout way. Rarely did they ever sh with someone ruthlessly like that.

    Commander Dian finally reacted. He erupted with rage, eximing, ¡°You bastard! What did you say to me?¡±

    He reached toward the other party¡¯s cor as he spoke. At the same time, he mmed arge palm toward the other party¡¯s face. He had seven ranks of cultivation, and he was skilled in wrestling arts. As such, his grab moved at lightning speed.

    Many people felt that the drunkard was in trouble. Being pped in the face wasn¡¯t a big deal, but being embarrassed was much worse.

    Only Zu An inwardly observed a moment of silence for Commander Dian.

    Suddenly, Commander Dian staggered. He hadn¡¯t grabbed anything, as if the other party were made of air. But wasn¡¯t that drunkard right there the whole time?

    Only a few people saw that the drunkard had actually taken half a step back, then took half a step forward, perfectly avoiding the motion. Since his movements were too fast, it looked as if he hadn¡¯t moved at all.

    Jiang Taiding¡¯s eyes narrowed. He immediately said, ¡°Commander Dian, you should back down.¡± He could already tell that Commander Dian was not a match for the mysterious drunkard.

    But Commander Dian was hot-headed in nature. How could he let himself be embarrassed like this in front of everyone? He treated it as his own carelessness. He angrily rolled up his sleeves and red at the other party, eximing, ¡°Draw your sword! Why don¡¯t we go a round? Whomever wins will sit here.¡±

    The drunkard gave him a drowsy-eyed look, then said, ¡°You¡¯re not qualified for that.¡±

    The onlookers all gasped. This person is extremely arrogant!

    Commander Dian was even more furious. He roared as he charged at the drunkard, but this time, he didn¡¯t hold back at all. Ki swirled through his entire body as he charged at the drunkard like a furious bear.

    ¡°Stop!¡± Zuo Su quickly tried to stop him. Considering the force Commander Dian was rushing out with, those with even slightly lower cultivations would suffer serious injuries even from just being brushed. How could he allow someone to die during the banquet?

    But the furious Commander Dian hadn¡¯t even listened to Jian Taiding¡¯s words, so why would he listen to Zuo Su?

    The drunkard didn¡¯t even raise an eyelid toward the ferocious assault, but the sword in his hand suddenly moved a few inches from its scabbard. Even though he made his move after his opponent, the sword hilt mmed into Commander Dian¡¯s body.

    Suddenly, Commander Dian flew backward and only stopped when his body mmed into the rock garden outside. With a rumble, the rock garden was crushed to pieces by the tremendous impact. Commander Dian struggled several times, trying to get back up to his feet, but he couldn''t.

    The drunkard¡¯s sword was already sheathed. It had only moved a few inches within the scabbard the entire time.

    ¡°A seventh rank expert was defeated just like that?¡± The onlookers were shocked by the scene. Only Zu An remained unfazed, because he had personally experienced just how brilliant the other person¡¯s sword technique was.

    The drunkard sat down as if nothing had happened. He didn¡¯t even drink the alcohol on the table, and instead gulped the alcohol in his own gourd.

    The Military Affairs Manor¡¯s people shouted in shock and anger, ¡°How daring! You dare scheme against the life of a court official!¡±

    Xu Yu said with a smile, ¡°Everyone here was a witness. The two of them already agreed that the winner would have this seat. Our Zhou Dynasty is founded on martial might; we have always supported this kind ofpetition.¡±

    The other side retorted, ¡°But Commander Dian is a court official, so he should not have been so ruthless! He has clearly exceeded the level of a proper contest!¡±

    Xu Yu said indifferently, ¡°Commander Dian only appears to be in a sorry state. He has not been injured. What has this Brother Xiao done wrong?¡±

    Those from the Military Affairs Manor were stupefied. They quickly turned around. Commander Dian had already gotten to his feet. It seemed the reason he hadn¡¯t been able to get back on his feet was because his internal energies had been messed up, not because he had been injured. However, he didn¡¯t have the dignity to remain present. He cupped his hands toward the others in embarrassment before quickly covering his face and leaving.

    Sang Hong finally spoke up and said, ¡°Haha, I have just witnessed a stunning battle. I have fully appreciated Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s martial spirit. Our Zhou Dynasty is founded on martial might, and our court needs heroic warriors like these. Let us all drink to the glory of the Zhou Dynasty!¡±

    Now that Sang Hong had said those things, both the Civil Affairs Manor and Military Affairs Manor had to show him respect. Both sides backed down and raised their cups in agreement.

    The people from the Military Affairs Manor intended toin that the drunkard didn¡¯t raise his cup in a toast, as they could use that as a pretext to criticize disrespect. However, surprisingly, the drunkard who seemed indifferent to everything actually also raised his cup.

    When he saw that, Zu An became even more certain. Only someone who hade from the academy, despite being in such a dpidated state, would still retain honor for their country.

    With a cup of alcohol inside them, the originally tense atmosphere gradually became joyous and harmonious. The maids and servants began to distribute barbecued meat to the tables.

    Even though Sang Hong was curious about the drunkard¡¯s background, he was worried that the current mood obtained through great difficulty would be ruined again. As such, he didn¡¯t say anything and instead chatted with several people about bureaucratic matters.

    The officials praised Sang Hong for his past achievements. Zu An even had an entirely new level of respect for Sang Hong when he heard about all of those things. Even though he had known that the other man was formidable, he hadn¡¯t expected him to be so proficient even in matters like economics.

    Sang Hong naturally returned the favor and praised the local officials for the things they were proud of. The mood became more and more enthusiastic. As they chatted with each other, however, the conversation moved to the reason why the Imperial Envoy had ended up arriving a few dayster than expected.

    ¡°It¡¯s all the Devil Sect¡¯s fault.¡± Sang Hong gave them a rough summary of what had happened.

    They all began to discuss how vile the Devil Sect was. Then, they talked about how terrifying the Devil Sect¡¯s Sect Master Yun Jianyue was. Just then, Sang Hong patted Zu An¡¯s shoulder with a smile and said, ¡°Now that you mention it, Ah Zu has faced Yun Jianyue before.¡±

    The originally moring hall immediately became silent when Sang Hong said those words. Even the drunkard who seemed to have fallen asleep gave Zu An a look, a flicker of light passing through his eyes.

 Chapter 1006: Why Should I Care?

    <h4>Chapter 1006: Why Should I Care?</h4>

    Their surprise and silence waspletely justified. What kind of person was Yun Jianyue? She was the Devil Sect¡¯s Sect Master, an expert at the peak of the grandmaster rank! There were untold numbers of experts who had been defeated by her hand over the years. She was already one hundred percent a bloody devil in the hearts of the Zhou Dynasty¡¯s officials!

    Zu An had actually fought against that bloody devil, and was still okay? He didn¡¯t seem to be all that injured either! What kind of notion was that?

    Forget about the others, even Zu An was shocked. Does Sang Hong know about my Embroidered Envoy identity?

    Just then, Sang Hong sent him a voice transmission in secret. ¡°Put on a bit of an act to make yourself look a bit stronger. Since they are giving us an initial show of strength, we cannot just sit here and do nothing.¡±

    Even though he was the Imperial Envoy, he only had eight ranks of cultivation. Furthermore, Golden Token Eleven hadn¡¯t shown up. Cloudcenter Commandery had many experts at the eighth rank, and Jian Taiding was even at the master rank. That gave him a kind of mysterious pressure.

    If their side ended up looking too weak, many things would be more problematicter on. That was why he adopted that n.

    As for whether it was true or not, Zu An worked in the Imperial Pce, so outsiders had no idea about the real situation. Furthermore, as he was part of the imperial envoy, these people couldn''t really test him. That was why it was a lie that wouldn¡¯t be exposed. How could he give up such a good chance?

    Jian Taiding eximed in shock, ¡°Sir Zu has faced Yun Jianyue before?¡± Even though there was no way to test that im, there was still no problem with asking questions.

    Zu An coughed lightly and said, ¡°It couldn¡¯t be considered facing each other; I only received one of her attacks.¡±

    Sang Hong gave Zu An a big thumbs up inwardly. He had originally nned to warn Zu An not to go too far with his boasting, but he hadn¡¯t expected the kid to be so sharp, acting almost as if it were true. Even he began to wonder if Zu An had fought against Yun Jianyue.

    All of the officials present were shocked when they heard that. This person was so young, so there was no way he could have fought against Yun Jianyue. But if it had just been a single move, there was a chance.

    Zuo Su was the Magistrate, so he was on the imperial court¡¯s side. He naturally had to praise the Imperial Envoy. When he heard that, he remarked, ¡°How formidable is that demoness Yun Jianyue? Being able to receive a single move from her is extremely difficult. Sir Zu truly is young and promising, deserving of admiration!¡±

    With him taking the lead, the other officials in Cloudcenter Commandery naturally voiced their agreement. Even though the Military Affairs Manor had some doubts, the other party was the Imperial Envoy after all. They couldn''t just challenge him like they had Vice Magistrate Xu. They could only join in the praise.

    Sang Hong stroked his beard, feeling extremely satisfied with his brilliant idea.

    Gao Ying and Pei You also spoke up.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°That¡¯s not all! For the sake of protecting the crown prince in the secret dungeon, he single-handedly ughtered an evolved Jade Moon Serpent!¡±

    ¡°Some powerful assassins came to kill the crown prince, but all of them were defeated by Sir Zu.¡±

    ¡­

    The two of them really buttered up Zu An like crazy. They were already used to such exchanges of praise, and they really did feel admiration for Zu An. Everything they said was the truth.

    However, when they finished their boasting, there was an awkward silence. Those present had strange expressions. They hadn¡¯t really believed that Zu An could face Yun Jianyue, but they didn¡¯t want to embarrass the Imperial Envoy and had just agreed.

    But now, the boasting was getting more and more ridiculous. They were even saying that Zu An had single-handedly killed some Jade Moon Serpent?

    The Jade Moon Serpent was a seventh ranked beast at the weakest. If it were an evolved one, wouldn¡¯t it be at least the eighth rank?

    Everyone knew that beasts were much stronger than cultivators of the same rank. There were so many experts there who didn¡¯t dare to im that they could single-handedly kill an eighth ranked Jade Moon Serpent, and yet a brat like him could?

    As for the crown prince¡¯s attackers, they just ignored that im. After all, Gao Ying and Pei You only had six ranks of cultivation. Seventh ranked cultivators were probably already experts in their eyes, right?

    Sang Hong gave the two of them an annoyed look. Do you not understand that too much is just as bad as not enough?!

    The atmosphere he had aimed for just then was just right, yet those two had ended up adding a bunch of nonsense, turning his previous move into aplete joke. The onlookers could just start making fun of him for trying to show off.

    Gao Ying and Pei You felt incredibly wronged. They were speaking the truth, so why did no one believe them?

    ¡°Brother Zu, why don¡¯t you say something?¡± The two of them looked toward Zu An with pleading expressions. Zu An chuckled and didn¡¯t try to exin anything.

    Just then, however, azy voice spoke up. ¡°You were able to take a hit from Yun Jianyue? I refuse to believe it.¡±

    Even though that voice wasn¡¯t loud, it still stood out in such a situation. Those present quickly turned around. They saw that the drunkard had his finger hooked around his gourd, looking at Zu An with an ambiguous expression.

    Those from the Military Affairs Manor hadn¡¯t really liked him before because of that situation with Commander Dian. But now, they suddenly found him much more likable. They were all looking forward to seeing how the Imperial Envoy¡¯s group was going to deal with him now.

    Sang Hong¡¯s expression finally changed. He had forgotten to consider that variable in his ns. The worst part was that he had just seen the seventh rank Commander Dian¡¯s miserable defeat. This mysterious man was deep and immeasurable, perhaps already at the master rank. Even though Ah Zu has won against City Lord Liao, against a master rank, I fear¡­

    Vice Magistrate Xu Yu also tugged on the drunkard¡¯s sleeves nervously, saying, ¡°Brother Xiao¡­¡± With his position, he naturally didn¡¯t want to get into conflict with the Imperial Envoy. The drunkard was also his friend, so wouldn¡¯t Sang Hong think he had instigated this?

    However, the drunkard didn¡¯t pay him any attention and instead looked at Zu An in amusement, saying, ¡°I have faced Yun Jianyue in my earlier years, and even I was defeated by her. I understand her cultivation well. I really cannot believe that you could remain unscathed under her attack.¡±

    Those present gasped when they heard that. Even though they had seen the drunkard defeat Commander Dian, they hadn¡¯t thought too much of it. After all, there were many present who could defeat Commander Dian in the room alone. Furthermore, they were all in high positions and had a lot of resources at their disposal. It wasn¡¯t something an independent cultivator couldpare to.

    But now that the other person had said he had faced Yun Jianyue before, even though he hadn¡¯t spoken about it in detail, they could infer that he had actually experienced a huge battle. Even though he said he had lost, to be someone who could escape from Yun Jianyue in one piece, how formidable would one have to be?

    It was different from when Sang Hong had tried to butter up Zu An. Back then, everyone had been full of doubts. Now that the drunkard said the same things, the onlookers subconsciously trusted him.

    Sang Hong felt troubled. How could he have expected that there would be someone there who had actually faced Yun Jianyue before? The situation was now outside of his control.

    Zu An was quite shocked. He hadn¡¯t expected the weak and delicate Yun Jianyue he knew to be so ferocious in the outside world! Why were there victims of hers everywhere? However, he fiddled with the wine cup in his hands and remarked indifferently, ¡°What do I care if you believe me or not?¡±

    The drunkard chuckled. ¡°I fear that¡¯s not up to you to decide.¡± As soon as he said that, he mmed the table. A stream of alcohol shot out from the wine cup. With a flick of his arm, the alcohol fired at Zu An like an arrow.

    ¡°Be careful!¡± someone eximed.

    There were several experts present. All of their expressions changed. They could tell that the stream was no longer alcohol, but rather profound sword intent. It was basically no different from a real sword.

    Sang Hong wanted to stop the drunkard, but he was already toote. The ¡®sword¡¯ was just too fast.

    Xu Yu¡¯s mouth was wide open. He knew that things had be troublesome now.

    Jian Taiding had an ambiguous smile on his face. The sword was too powerful; there was no way that youngster could withstand it. He wondered if the drunkard would show any mercy. If he didn¡¯t and ended up seriously wounding Zu An, or even killing him, that would really be something.

    Even if he did hold back, Zu An would be put in quite a sorry state. How could the imperial envoy still have any prestige left to investigate anything afterward? They would just obediently pass on the dukedom and return to the capital.

    The officials present all had their own thoughts. However, their eyes quickly widened.

    Zu An raised his wine cup in front of him to block the stream. Then, with a flick of his wrist, the sword intent-imbued alcohol entered his cup. He said, ¡°Thank you, sir, for the toast.¡± Then, he drained the cup in one gulp.

    The entire ce became momentarily silent. Against a sword that powerful, forget about a fragile wine cup, even a boulder would be directly prated! Yet this kid had actually received it that easily?

    Their expressions immediately changed when they looked at Zu An. Before, they had only been showing him courtesy out of respect for Sang Hong, but now, they knew that they had greatly underestimated this person. No wonder that old fox Sang Hong cares so much about him! This person is extraordinary after all!

    The drunkard revealed a look of shock. ¡°Your respected self managed to take this sword from me, so I believe receiving a move from Yun Jianyue shouldn¡¯t have been too great of an issue either. I crossed the line earlier and will drink three cups here as an apology.¡±

    After saying that, he raised his alcohol gourd and began to gulp the contents down. But how was it just three cups? It was almost an excuse for him to drink more.

    Zu An was quite shocked at how the other party had responded. He was also curious why the drunkard would be near Pei Mianman¡¯s residence, so he asked to test the waters, ¡°The sword intent I just sensed reminds me of someone. In the past, the libationer¡¯s third disciple was Sword Immortal Xiao Yao, while your surname is Xiao as well. May I ask what kind of rtionship you have with that sword immortal?¡±

 Chapter 1007: The Sword Rides the Wind, Purging Evils Throughout the World

    <h4>Chapter 1007: The Sword Rides the Wind, Purging Evils Throughout the World</h4>

    The onlookers immediately began to whisper among themselves when they heard those words. Many of them wondered who Xiao Yao was. After all, that was already someone from thest generation. Many people had already forgotten about his existence after so many years passed.

    But there were still many people who did remember. They looked toward that drunkard in shock while exining just how stunning the Sword Immortal was in the past.

    Sang Hong looked at Zu An in shock. Even I don¡¯t know who he is; why was Ah Zu able to immediately see through him?

    Sigh, how great would it be if Ah Zu were my son?

    It¡¯s impossible for me to have another son. He still has a chance to be my grandson¡¯s father, though.

    Gao Ying and Pei You were still too young and not too familiar with the name Xiao Yao. They were stillpletely immersed in the earlier scene where Zu An had easily received the drunkard¡¯s sword with his wine cup. Big bro really is big bro; when will I be as outstanding as Brother Zu?

    But the drunkard¡¯s expression was also a bit strange. He hadn¡¯t expected someone to actually recognize him! As if he suddenly began to remember many things, his entire figure entered a strange, almost stupefied state. Only after a while did he say, ¡°The past Sword Immortal Xiao Yao has already died. What¡¯s left is merely a useless drunkard.¡±

    But when they heard that, how could those present not know he had tacitly confirmed the question? Amotion immediately broke out. This was the libationer¡¯s third disciple! Even if his previous achievements weren¡¯t mentioned, just his identity alone was enough for all of them to treat him seriously!

    The officials all quickly began to express goodwill. Unfortunately, Xiao Yao just continued to drink without paying them any attention. Their expressions immediately became unpleasant. What are you putting this act on for? No wonder you wasted away back then.

    The atmosphere had be a bit awkward. Xu Yu quickly moved to smooth things over. ¡°Brother Xiao¡¯s temperament isn¡¯t suited to social interactions, so I must ask for everyone¡¯s forgiveness¡­¡±

    With that, the mood eased up a bit again. They soon found Xiao Yao uninteresting, and the conversation returned to Zu An.

    Compared to their previous courteous respect, they were now all speaking sincerely. For him to have his cultivation at such a young age really was a reflection of extraordinary talent! If nothing unexpected happened, he would definitely be a huge star in the empire in the future! No family background? What did that matter? He could establish a glorious n all on his own!

    Their attitudes changed even more when they learned that he was already a viscount; their expressions became even more eager. There were even some who asked if he was married yet, intending to introduce their daughters to him. That immediately made Sang Hong panic. He became fiercely protective, chasing all of them off.

    ¡°I heard that Sir Zu is not only extremely proficient in cultivation, but your skills in poetry are also exceptional. Some even say that you have something of a poet immortal¡¯s style. You wrote a few masterpieces back in the capital, and there are many ces in Cloudcenter Province that sing your songs. How about you write a poem here too, to give us some experience?¡± Someone took a different route, trying to tter Zu An from a different angle.

    There were people who had looked into the imperial envoy¡¯s information too, and they knew that Zu An excelled in poetry. However, back then, no one had treated him as anyone important. Poetry wasn¡¯t anything they would care about too much either. But now that Zu An was a hot topic, everything was nowpletely different! All of them suddenly seemed to have be poetry enthusiasts.

    Zu An smiled without saying anything. He had already seen what these people were trying to do. He was about to reject them when Sang Hong said with a chuckle, ¡°Ah Zu, since everyone is full of sincerity, you should just make one.¡±

    Meanwhile, he said in secret, ¡°Ah Zu, if you use this chance to make a name for yourself, it will be beneficial to our investigation. We are neers, so there will be many people from Cloudcenter Commandery watching us. The greater your reputation, the more confidence everyone will have in the Imperial Envoy. More local officials will unknowingly side with us. This is what it means to have momentum and influence.¡±

    Zu An felt a bit helpless. However, he trusted Sang Hong¡¯s judgment in such official matters. He was wondering which poem was suitable when he nced over at Xiao Yao, who was drinking out of his huge gourd. His eyes lit up and he said, ¡°I just happen to have suddenly found some inspiration.¡±

    The officials sat up straight when they heard that. They were curious as to just what kind of poem Zu An was going to create.

    Gao Ying quickly called over a servant girl to grab some pen and paper. Pei You thought to himself, Are we doing this again? He immediately told a servant to grab some materials. He had always been the ink grinder or something in the past, which didn¡¯t make him look all that good. Even if his handwriting was ugly, he had to be the one to write it this time.

    Sang Hong stroked his beard. His eyes flickered. He already began to think to himself about what kind of topic he should give. As a court official, his desire to leave his name in history was stronger than most.

    Unfortunately, before Sang Hong could even prepare himself, Zu An began speaking.

    ¡°The sword rides the wind, purging evils throughout the world.

    ¡°With wine to drink I remain free and unfettered; without alcohol I still reign supreme.

    ¡°One sip will empty a river; another and the sun and moon are devoured.

    ¡°A thousand cups and still standing tall; only I alone, Drunken Sword Immortal.¡±

    The onlookers turned to look at Xiao Yao when Zu An spoke those words. Even Xiao Yao himself couldn''t help but lower his wine gourd, stupefied; his entire figure was frozen in ce. He was clearly extremely moved.

    ¡°Wonderful!¡± They all pped their hands in praise. This poem¡¯s contents were just too fitting of Xiao Yao!

    The key was that his name had even been mentioned, and ¡®Drunken Sword Immortal¡¯ was much more suited to his current self than his past ¡®Sword Immortal¡¯ title. It was as if it had been made for him![1]

    They all looked at Xiao Yao, feeling a bit jealous. They thought to themselves that poets really were incredible! This was clearly a good-for-nothing drunkard, and yet it made it sound as if he had reached a whole new realm of enlightenment from drinking or something.

    Sang Hong stared at Zu An, thinking that he had been way too inflexible earlier ining up with a topic. He had to get this kid to write him a poem one day! He could even write a poem for an outsider like Xiao Yao, while Sang Hong had even given him his daughter. It was reasonable to ask for a poem in return, right?

    The onlookers thought that Xiao Yao would be grateful, but he instead seemed to have entered a kind of confused trance. He mumbled to himself, ¡°The sword rides the wind, purging evils throughout the world¡­ Purging evils throughout the world? But what is man, and what is evil¡­¡± Eventually, his voice even seemed to be a bit hoarse. Zu An keenly sensed that there were some sparkling droplets in his eyes.

    ¡°He¡¯s actually crying?¡± Zu An was stupefied. Wasn¡¯t this reaction a bit too much?

    Xiao Yao staggered outside. When he passed by Pei Shao, he suddenly stopped and looked at him with red eyes. Pei Shao was a bit surprised, asking, ¡°Does Sir Third have any guidance for me?¡± As an official, he cared more about Xiao Yao¡¯s identity as the libationer¡¯s disciple.

    Xiao Yao only stared at him silently; a momentter, he walked out while staggering as if drunk. He didn¡¯t say a single thing the entire time.

    Xu Yu didn¡¯t try to hold him back when he saw that. The other party only casually waved his hands before ultimately disappearing from view.

    ¡°What is this?!¡± Pei Shao¡¯s son Pei Xing eximed resentfully.

    Pei Shao stopped his son¡¯sints, saying, ¡°He is not someone you can offend. You should stay away when you see him in the future.¡±

    Pei Xing replied with an ¡®oh¡¯, but he clearly didn¡¯t pay it too much mind. He wouldn¡¯t even have dealings with people like that, so why would he end up offending Xiao Yao?

    That little episode didn¡¯t affect the mood. After all, the main characters were Sang Hong, and now Zu An as well. Everyone drank together happily and the atmosphere quickly became lively again.

    But Zu An couldn''t feel anything sincere when faced with so many hypocritical greetings. He continued to wonder why someone like Xiao Yao would visit such a banquet. He really couldn''t figure it out. As such, he found a chance to ask Xu Yu about it.

    Xu Yu replied, ¡°We just happened to meet each other during a military mission. I¡¯ve really troubled Sir Zu; only now do I know Brother Xiao¡¯s real identity. I didn¡¯t expect him to be the glorious Sword Immortal.¡±

    Seeing as Xu Yu¡¯s expression wasn¡¯t fake, Zu An couldn''t really keep questioning him either.

    ¡­n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    When the banquet ended, the Acting Commander-in-Chief Jian Taiding had some men escort Sang Hong¡¯s party back to their temporary residence.

    Sang Hong called over Zu An, Gao Ying, Pei You, and the others, saying, ¡°I am suspecting that Jian Taiding sent these people not to protect us, but perhaps to monitor or threaten us. You should all pay Yu Manor a visit tomorrow morning. I suspect that Madam Yu has already been put under house arrest.¡±

    ¡°That shouldn¡¯t be, right?¡± Gao Ying and Pei You couldn''t help but exim. ¡°She is a duchess after all, and also the Yu n¡¯s n leader! Jian Taiding can keep her locked up for a day or two, but he can¡¯t keep her under house arrest forever, can he? Otherwise, news would¡¯ve already leaked out a long time ago.¡±

    ¡°We will know once you all go to the Yu n tomorrow morning,¡± Sang Hong said with an overcast expression. ¡°Our forces in Cloudcenter Commandery are a bit too weak. We do not know much about many things here. That is why, just as we unted Ah Zu¡¯s reputation today, we need to at least show our strength and make some neutral factions lean toward our side¡­¡±

    After they discussed things with each other for a while, they all returned to their rooms to rest. Zu An wondered if he should visit the Pei n while it was dark. But when he pushed open the door, he suddenly froze, because he saw someone sitting on his own windowsill.

    The mncholy expression, the beard stubble, the look of hesitation, the green wine gourd, and the eye-catching tattered sandals; all of those things sold out the other party¡¯s identity.

    ¡°Xiao Yao!¡± Zu An eximed, bing vignt. He couldn''t understand why the man would appear in his room in the middle of the night.

    1. ¡¯Xiao Yao¡¯, in different characters, means ¡®free and unfettered¡¯ ?

 Chapter 1008: Letting a Wolf Guard the Sheep

    <h4>Chapter 1008: Letting a Wolf Guard the Sheep</h4>

    Xiao Yao opened his drowsy eyes and gave Zu An a look, saying, ¡°You don¡¯t seem scared.¡±

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°We share no grudges, and we even drank together. Why would I need to be scared?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the real reason.¡± Xiao Yao jumped down from the window and slowly walked toward him, saying, ¡°It¡¯s because we¡¯ve fought before that you have enough confidence.¡±

    ¡°The sword you disyed in the banquet was indeed brilliant. I was instead the one who managed to get by through a fluke,¡± Zu An said humbly. The other party had imbued his sword intent into wine. Wine was mostly made of water, so using the water affinity he had received from Blue Mard, he had been able to receive that attack much more easily than most.

    Xiao Yao shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not talking about our exchange at the banquet, but rather during the day.¡±

    Zu An was rmed, replying, ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re saying.¡±

    Xiao Yao looked at him with an ambiguous smile, saying, ¡°You¡¯ll know once we give it a try.¡± He thrusted outward with his sword as soon as he finished speaking. It was so fast that Zu An couldn''t even see him draw the sword from the scabbard.

    Zu An instantly withdrew by a zhang, evading the lightning fast sword. He was just about to retaliate, but Xiao Yao had already withdrawn his sword, saying, ¡°Your evasion is the same as it was during the day.¡±

    Several auras rushed over just then; the one in the lead was Sang Hong, who asked, ¡°Ah Zu, did something happen?¡± Others quickly rushed over as well. The violent ki fluctuations had clearly startled them.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine; I was just training by myself.¡± Zu An even opened the door to let them see inside, to help dispel their confusion.

    Sang Hong examined the room out of the corners of his eyes. When he saw that there was indeed nothing wrong, he nodded and said, ¡°Then you have to be careful. If there¡¯s anything wrong, just shout out. The guards nearby will immediately rush over.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your concern, respected uncle.¡± Zu An closed the door again after seeing them out.

    Xiao Yao walked back out from behind the bed. He asked out of curiosity, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell them to work together with you to capture me?¡±

    ¡°I can sense that you bear no malice, so why would I capture you?¡± Zu An pulled over a chair and sat down. He gestured for Xiao Yao to do the same.

    Xiao Yao didn¡¯t put on airs and sat down casually, saying, ¡°Your age isn¡¯t great, but you¡¯re surprisingly open-minded.¡±

    Zu An declined toment and instead replied, ¡°Your respected self didn¡¯t seek me out in the middle of the night just to have an ordinary chat, right?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m quite curious. You¡¯re still so young, so why were you able to recognize me? I already disappeared from the martial world so many years ago, and I almost forgot my name myself,¡± Xiao Yao said with a sigh.

    Zu An replied, ¡°It¡¯s actually because I visited the academy a few times, and my rtionship with those teachers is pretty good. I know a bit more than others.¡±

    When he heard Zu An mention Shen Xuzi, Hei Baizi, and the others, a smile appeared on Xiao Yao¡¯s face. He said, ¡°It''s been so many years, but they¡¯re still the same. Sigh, but they¡¯ve already be the best in their respective fields; only a senior brother like me alone has wasted away¡­¡±

    Sensing his bleakness, Zu An said, ¡°Your respected self doesn¡¯t need to undervalue yourself. Everyone says that you¡¯ve already fallen, but in my opinion, your sword dao is a bit more formidable than it was in your past peak. That can only mean the world is mistaken, and the Sword Immortal is still the same Sword Immortal.¡±

    Xiao Yao shook his head in self-mockery, saying, ¡°I¡¯m not. It¡¯s already toote for many things.¡±

    Zu An said seriously, ¡°Even though I don¡¯t know what happened, I know that your deeds have inspired many people. For example, I have a friend who views you as his idol¡­¡± He told Xiao Yao the story of Xiao Jianren, but of course he hid many details to prevent Xiao Yao from guessing that he was Golden Token Eleven.

    Xiao Yao was a bit surprised to hear that there was someone who cared that much about him. He was actually a bit shaken up, clearly recalling his former glory years.

    Zu An thought to himself that if he used this chance to ambush the other party, if he didn¡¯t deal a fatal blow, it would still be a serious injury! Xiao Yao was really shaken up. Zu An wondered just what he had experienced for him to be this way.

    ¡°The fact that I could inspire a young man like that means this life of mine wasn¡¯t lived for nothing. I ought to drink to that.¡± Xiao Yaoughed and undid the gourd, drinking a few more gulps. Then, he asked Zu An if he wanted any.

    Zu An shook his head. This man really was an alcoholic; he always managed to find all sorts of excuses to drink more.

    After closing the wine gourd again, Xiao Yao suddenly put away his smile. His originally drowsy look was reced with a prating gaze as he asked, ¡°Why were you around the Pei n¡¯s inner courtyard?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m friends with Manman.¡± Zu An replied. Then he asked, ¡°So why were you there?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m friends with her mother.¡± A gentle expression appeared in Xiao Yao¡¯s eyes when he mentioned Pei Mianman¡¯s mother.

    Zu An had a strange expression. Isn¡¯t calling her your friend here a bit suspicious?

    ¡°Damn brat, what the hell are you thinking?¡± As if sensing what Zu An was thinking, Xiao Yao gave him an annoyed look.

    Zu An asked probingly, ¡°You aren¡¯t Manman¡¯s real dad, are you?¡± If this was his freaking father-inw, that would really be crazy.

    Xiao Yao¡¯s face turned entirely red. ¡°Stop speaking nonsense! Manman¡¯s mother is as clear as ice and as clean as jade. Don¡¯t insult her purity.¡±

    Zu An could guess what was going on from his reaction. Xiao Yao¡¯s status in his mind plummeted. He had thought that this man might have been lovers with Big Manman¡¯s mother. But now, not only were they not lovers, he seemed to just be a simp¡­

    Xiao Yao gradually calmed down. He looked at Zu An¡¯s neck, saying, ¡°I saw a me-shaped pendant around your neck during the day. Where did you get that from?¡±

    Zu An suddenly realized something. No wonder this person¡¯s killing intent had be much weaker. He took out that unique pendant and said with a warm smile, ¡°Big Manman gave it to me.¡±

    Xiao Yao was momentarily absentminded. His expression was extremelyplicated as he looked at Zu An, muttering, ¡°She actually gave this pendant to you.¡±

    Zu An was surprised, asking, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Xiao Yao shook his head, appearing to be recalling something. A whileter, he said, ¡°This pendant used to be her mother¡¯s, and then she gave it to Manman. This item is what they treasured the most, something they would only give to their most treasured lover.¡±

    Zu An quietly put away the pendant, thinking, Don¡¯t try to steal this from me just because Big Manman¡¯s mom didn¡¯t give you hers.

    Xiao Yao couldn''t help butugh, saying, ¡°Since you and Manman have such a rtionship, I can feel at ease putting her under your protection. I have some matters to take care of and need to make a trip, so I can¡¯t protect her for some time. That¡¯s why I was quite worried.¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°Senior was protecting her, as expected.¡± It was as he had suspected.

    Xiao Yao nodded, exining, ¡°Manman¡¯s mother passed away at an early age, after which her father took the Yu n¡¯s woman as his wife; she gave birth to a little brother, that Pei Xing you met today. Since her mother didn¡¯t have any status, Manman¡¯s status in the n has always been rather difficult.¡±

    Zu An felt a bit pained when he heard that. He hadn¡¯t expected Manman to have had such a life growing up. She¡¯d had a beautiful and enthusiastic personality when he first met her. She had clearly buried all of that deep within her, using her smile as a camouge.

    ¡°The Yu n¡¯s father and son used their status as main wife and first son, as well as the mother¡¯s n background, to make things hard on Manman. Pei Shao, that fellow, is also incredibly prejudiced, so Manman always had a hard time. She rarely spent any time at home and always wandered the world, but she was fine on her own,¡± Xiao Yao said.

    ¡°But this time, after returning to the Pei n, she was kept under house arrest and not allowed to leave as she wished. I wanted to bring her with me, but she wasn¡¯t willing to leave with me no matter what I said.¡± He had a pained expression as he spoke.

    ¡°Why isn¡¯t she willing to go with you?¡± Zu An asked out of curiosity. Big Manman wasn¡¯t the type to let others bully her without doing anything!

    Xiao Yaoughed in self-mockery, saying, ¡°It might be because of her mother that she hates me.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression immediately became strange. You¡¯re still going to say that you and her mother were just normal friends?

    Xiao Yao clearly didn¡¯t want to discuss the topic anymore. He continued, ¡°Later on, through my investigations, I finally found out that Pei Shao wishes to marry her off to King Qi¡¯s heir as a concubine.¡±

    Even though he had already heard Pei You tell him about that, Zu An still erupted in rage when he heard that. ¡°Someone like Zhao Zhi actually thinks he¡¯s worthy?!¡±

    Xiao Yao nodded in deep sympathy when he saw Zu An¡¯s reaction, saying, ¡°Indeed, Manman is a beautiful genius; it would be a waste even if she were the main wife, yet they actually want her to be a concubine? Pei Shao, that pig, has lost his mind!¡±

    Zu An looked toward the Pei n. He thought to himself, There¡¯s absolutely no way I¡¯ll give Big Manman to anyone else.

    ¡°I can¡¯t make Manman leave, so I¡¯ve always remained here to protect her, to prevent others from bullying her. Unfortunately, recently, a matter urred that¡¯s forcing me to leave for a while. I now feel at ease leaving her protection to you,¡± Xiao Yao said gratefully.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry; I¡¯ll take good care of her!¡± Zu An replied seriously.

    Xiao Yao nodded in satisfaction. He took out a toothpick-sized wooden sword and gave it to Zu An, saying, ¡°Your cultivation should be enough to deal with most situations, but keep this with you just in case. This has my sword intent sealed in it. If you encounter any opponents you can¡¯t defeat, use this against them. It¡¯s equivalent to a full-powered attack from me. There aren¡¯t many in all of Cloudcenter Commandery who can withstand such an attack.¡± As he spoke, his voice was full of pride.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Then, he didn¡¯t wait for Zu An to try to keep him. His figure quickly vanished through the window. He called out, ¡°The sword rides the wind, purging evils throughout the world¡­ You¡¯ve given me a poem, and I¡¯ve given you a present. This should be enough to make us even, hahaha!¡±

 Chapter 1009: Abusing What Was Entrusted

    <h4>Chapter 1009: Abusing What Was Entrusted</h4>

    After chatting with Xiao Yao about Pei Mianman just then, Zu An could no longer hold back his thoughts about her. Xiao Yao had just left, so there was no one there to protect her. He didn¡¯t hesitate anymore, changing clothes and quickly disappearing into the night.

    ¡­

    When Zu An arrived at Pei Manor, he immediately checked out the surroundings. Even though the security was strict, it was already much morexpared to earlier that day.

    Zu An figured that it was probably because after they had failed to find anything, and considering how they had to rest for the night, there was no way for them to maintain the same level of security all the time.

    He borrowed the cover of darkness to quietly infiltrate the building. He was much more familiar with the path since he had already been there once during the day. With his cultivation and the jade badge¡¯s radar-like function, he quickly arrived at Pei Mianman¡¯s small courtyard.

    This time, Xiao Yao wasn¡¯t here to guard the ce, so he was able to enter without alerting anyone. The first floor was where the maids lived, so Zu An didn¡¯t want to rm them. He jumped straight into the second floor.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    He was feeling truly moved because he could finally meet with Big Manman again. He wondered what to say to her after all this time, but suddenly, everything in front of him went ck.

    He was rmed, quickly turning to look behind himself. Even though it was nighttime, there were still litnterns all over Pei Manor, so there should still have been some light. But just then, everything was pitch ck. It was nothing like how it had been on his way there! Zu An felt rmed. It was as if he had been swallowed up by an enormous ck beast.

    Suddenly, a strong gale swept over him, and he quickly dodged to the side. The other party didn¡¯t even give him a chance to breathe, immediately delivering another attack. No matter how Zu An attacked, the other party¡¯s attacks continued to tangle around him.

    Since he couldn''t see anything, Zu An¡¯s strength was greatly reduced. He was curious. Don¡¯t tell me the other party isn¡¯t affected at all? Judging from their earlier exchange, his opponent¡¯s movements were quick, and their judgment of his position was extremely urate.

    Wait! He suddenly thought of something. Don¡¯t tell me¡­

    ¡°Manman?¡±

    ¡°Ah Zu?¡±

    Just then, two voices spoke out in unison.

    ¡°It really is you?¡± Zu An was shocked and overjoyed.

    The darkness immediately disappeared, and warm candlelight appeared. They were in an extremely elegantdy¡¯s chambers.

    However, Zu An couldn''t be bothered to look around him. He stared at the girl in front of him. He was focused on her beautiful face and fine skin, looking into her eyes that seemed as if they could speak; she looked back with teary eyes. Who else could it be but Big Manman?

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡± Pei Mianman could no longer hold herself back and jumped into Zu An¡¯s arms when she saw him remove his mask. Her clothes really were forced to bear an unfair pressure that could make one worry about whether the buttons might just explode and shoot out.

    The two sweethearts who had been separated for so long embraced each other tightly, as if they each wanted to take the other right into their bodies.

    As he smelled her familiar scent and felt her soft body, Zu An couldn''t help but say with a chuckle, ¡°Go easy on me; you¡¯re hugging me so tightly it¡¯s a bit hard to breathe.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re so annoying~¡± Pei Mianman hit his chest yfully, then excitedly pulled him over to sit next to her. ¡°I heard my maid tell me that the imperial envoy had someone surnamed Zu who was really outstanding in tonight¡¯s banquet. I was wondering if it was you, but it really was! I¡¯m not dreaming, am I?¡±

    ¡°Of course not. I¡¯m alive and well right in front of you. If you don¡¯t believe me, you can feel my heartbeat.¡± Zu An ced her hand on his chest and looked at her with a gentle expression before saying, ¡°Manman, you¡¯ve lost a lot of weight.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, it¡¯s your fault for leaving me all alone for so long.¡± Pei Mianman was grumbling on the surface, but she still caringly poured him a cup of tea, saying, ¡°Drink some tea to help with the alcohol. You stink of wine right now.¡±

    Zu An received the tea cup and asked with a smile, ¡°Did you find out it was me through the smell of alcohol?¡±

    ¡°Of course. I was wondering just what pervert was so daring he woulde to take advantage of me while drunk! I was going to teach that idiot a lesson, but that dummy turned out to be you.¡± Pei Mianman leaned on the table while speaking. As if she wanted to save her strength, she ced her chest right on the table. Her eyes were gleaming as she looked at him.

    ¡°What was going on with that darkness? Was that Fu Hao¡¯s owl sculpture?¡± Zu An asked curiously.

    ¡°Yup. I got it from the dungeon we enteredst time. It can create a domain of darkness. My opponent can¡¯t see a thing, but I can still see perfectly fine.¡± Pei Mianman reached out her fair white palm. A pocket-sized bronze sculpture slowly spun in it. She had alreadypletely refined it for herself.

    ¡°This thing is indeed formidable. I was almost done in by it.¡± Zu An couldn''t help but remember their experience in Yinxu¡¯s dungeon back then.

    Pei Mianman was reminiscing about the same thing. Her expression became gentler. Suddenly, though, she eximed, ¡°Ah Zu, your cultivation has be higher than ever! You clearly couldn''t see me earlier, so why were you able to avoid all of my attacks?¡±

    ¡°I actually came here earlier during the day.¡± Zu An patted her thigh while speaking.

    Pei Mianman had a knowing smile and moved closer to him, leaning against his body. ¡°So that was you during the day! Did that drunkard hurt you?¡± she asked, realizing what had happened. She began to check his condition with her hands.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m fine.¡± Zu An chuckled. ¡°Do you know Xiao Yao?¡±

    Pei Mianman harrumphed, saying, ¡°He¡¯s nothing more than an annoying drunkard.¡±

    ¡°But he treats you pretty well. He¡¯s always been protecting you,¡± Zu An exined.

    ¡°Who needs his protection? In the end, he¡¯s just doing it out of a guilty conscience.¡± Pei Mianman¡¯s voice was a bit cold.

    ¡°Guilty conscience?¡± Zu An was stunned. He felt he wasn¡¯t getting the same message from her end.

    Pei Mianman¡¯s eyes turned red as she said, ¡°My mom wouldn¡¯t have died if it weren¡¯t for him.¡±

    ¡°He was the one who killed mother-inw?¡± Zu An frowned. A bit of killing intent appeared in his eyes. He had even thought that Xiao Yao was some good person.

    Pei Mianman sighed and said, ¡°My mother wasn¡¯t brought to death by him directly, but she was hurt by him. Her cultivation was ruined, which was why she wasn¡¯t able to protect herself when something serious happened.¡±

    ¡°No wonder you hate him.¡± Zu An understood now. The reason why Xiao Yao was the way he was, his expression that flickered between insanity and guilt, might have been precisely because of that. He could understand why Pei Mianman hadn¡¯t been willing to ept the offer to take her away now.

    Zu An carefully wiped at her tears and asked out of concern, ¡°How did mother-inw pass away?¡±

    Pei Mianman shook her head and said, ¡°I was still too little back then; I don¡¯t remember it all too clearly anymore. Whenever I asked my father, he would always get upset. I asked that drunkard too, but he didn¡¯t tell me anything either.¡±

    Judging from how she was shaking slightly, Zu An knew she was in a bad mood. He held her hand tightly to provide her some warmth. He asked, ¡°Didn¡¯t you receive a letter that had something to do with your mother, which was why you rushed back? Did the Pei n trick you?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not it. My mother¡¯s grave was robbed by someone, and they didn¡¯t find her remains.¡± Pei Mianman bit her lips. ¡°I thought it was because of that stupid drunkard, but he said it wasn¡¯t. I¡¯ve been looking into the matter this whole time.¡±

    ¡°Something like that happened?¡± Zu An was furious. ¡°Don¡¯t worry; I¡¯m now part of the imperial envoy. I can help you get to the bottom of this.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Ah Zu.¡± Pei Mianman leaned gently into his arms. She said, ¡°I¡¯ve been so tired. With you at my side, I feel so much better.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m here, so everything will be better.¡± Zu An gently caressed her soft hair. He then asked, ¡°I heard your father wants to marry you off to King Qi¡¯s heir?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. The Pei n actually had that intention a long time ago, but I ran off to Brightmoon City to avoid it. After a series of idents, I ended up meeting you. I guess it was fate.¡± Pei Mianman had a smile on her face when she recalled how the two of them had met.

    ¡°Zhao Zhi, that brat, dares toe after my wife? I¡¯m going to break his third leg the next time I see him!¡± Zu An eximed. He wanted to talk smack about Pei Shao, but that was her father after all, so he didn¡¯t bring him up in the end.

    ¡°Who¡¯s your wife? Isn¡¯t your wife Chuyan?¡± Pei Mianman harrumphed and wrinkled her nose.

    ¡°Chuyan and I have already divorced each other.¡± Zu An coughed. Sorry, Chuyan; I¡¯ve wronged you¡­ ¡°We already properly performed our ritual kneeling to heaven and earth in Yinxu; we were husband and wife for several lifetimes.¡±

    ¡°You still have the nerve to talk about Yinxu? You didn¡¯t even let me go when I was still so young¡­¡± Pei Mianman looked at him with her beautiful eyes, her stunning features looking even more charming under the candlelight¡¯s illumination. Her red lips had a captivating gloss.

    Zu An couldn''t hold back and kissed her. Pei Mianman moaned, her hands naturally wrapping around her lover¡¯s neck. Unlike the cold and aloof Chuyan, she had always been a passionate person. The two of them had even spent several generations as husband and wife in Yinxu, so they were already beyond intimate with each other.

    The two passionate lovers had been separated for so long. Now that they had been reunited again, they naturally came together. The air and temperature also became scorching hot¡­

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, back in the city, inside King Qi heir¡¯s secret hideout, Han Fengqiu asked Zhao Zhi, ¡°How does the young heir feel about Miss Pei?¡±

    ¡°I was able to get a glimpse of her graceful figure. Even though I was only able to see her side profile, she¡¯s an incredible beauty. I guess she¡¯s worthy of being this young heir¡¯s wife.¡± Zhao Zhi nodded in satisfaction. That beautiful figure continued to appear in his mind. ¡°If it weren¡¯t for the fact that her background is a bit awkward, I wouldn¡¯t even mind having her as my main wife.¡±

 Chapter 1010: My Wife Really Is Adorable

    <h4>Chapter 1010: My Wife Really Is Adorable</h4>

    Zhao Zhi was all smiles. Suddenly, he frowned and said, ¡°But she didn¡¯t seem to want to meet me during the day. Don¡¯t tell me she isn¡¯t willing?¡±

    Han Fengqiu replied, ¡°Which woman in this world doesn¡¯t wish to be a concubine of King Qi Manor? Such an increase in status is something countless people hope for but will never be able to obtain, so why wouldn¡¯t she be willing? She might¡¯ve just been too embarrassed, or maybe she¡¯s deliberately feigning a reserved nature to draw your respected self¡¯s attention.¡±

    ¡°Indeed, this woman has sessfully drawn this young master¡¯s attention.¡± Zhao Zhi¡¯s entire head was filled with that gorgeous figure he had seen during the day. He thought to himself just how great being with that woman would be.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know why, but I just feel a bit anxious.¡± Zhao Zhi suddenly voiced his thoughts. He looked in the Pei n''s direction with a distracted expression.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in Pei Manor, a moan that would make anyone¡¯s bones melt rang out. ¡°It hurts¡­¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Zu An raised his head in puzzlement.

    ¡°Dummy.¡± Pei Mianman giggled when she saw him in a rare state of confusion. However, she looked away in embarrassment and continued, ¡°Did you forget? In Yinxu, only¡­ Only our souls were together.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. Then he realized, ¡°Then doesn¡¯t that mean you¡¯re still¡­¡±

    An ice-cold finger pressed against his mouth. Pei Mianman looked at him with a lovable, yet annoyed expression. ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to say it!¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t, I won¡¯t, haha.¡± Zu An couldn''t help but chuckle. There were no men who wouldn¡¯t be happy in such a situation.

    ¡°You¡¯re a bad man~¡± Pei Mianman was finally a bit annoyed. She bared her fangs and was about to bite him. The two of them quickly tangled around each other.

    After they fought for a bit, Zu An embraced her soft body, saying, ¡°Manman, I missed you so much.¡±

    ¡°Me too.¡± Pei Mianman¡¯s charming gaze was extremely gentle. She looked at him with tender feelings, as if she were silently inviting him in.

    How could Zu An hold himself back? He immediately kissed her. In the secret dungeon, the two of them had been husband and wife for several generations. They had already be extremely intimate.

    ¡°Mmm¡­ It hurts¡­¡±

    ¡­

    A whileter, a maid below suddenly woke up with a start. She heard creakinging from above. She was confused, wondering whether herdy couldn''t sleep. Why was she tossing and turning restlessly in bed?¡±

    Since Pei Mianman usually spent her time cultivating, she didn¡¯t let the maid disturb her. That was why the maid could only feel nervous. She muttered, ¡°I¡¯ll make mydy some soothing medicinal congee to drink and help her sleep better. Right, I should also tell the housekeeper that the bed needs to be changed.¡±

    Even though mydy doesn¡¯t receive much favor, she can¡¯t just sleep on an old bed that groans like this just because she can¡¯t sleep! the maid thought to herself in a daze. Then, she turned around and tried to go back to sleep. For some reason, she also began to feel a bit restless as she listened to the creaking.

    ¡­

    The next morning, Zu An felt a stinging pain. He woke up because someone had bitten him. He grimaced, asking, ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    Pei Mianman¡¯s long hair scattered across his arm. She bared her small canines and eximed, ¡°You baddie, you took my virginity three times!¡±

    Zu An chuckled and took her into his arms, saying, ¡°You baddie, you should be happy about that. Other girls will never have an experience like yours.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re probably the one who¡¯s the happiest!¡± Pei Mianman was really annoyed seeing him so happy. She moved over to bite him again, starting another round of wrestling.

    ¡­

    A whileter, Pei Mianman pushed the man next to her away. There was still a bit of lingering redness on her face as she said, ¡°It¡¯s almost daytime, and the maid wille up soon. You should hurry back.¡±

    Zu An looked a bit gloomy, asking, ¡°Why do we always have to be so secretive? Should I just propose marriage to your father?¡±

    Pei Mianman replied with an ambiguous expression, ¡°Then what about Chuyan?¡±

    Zu An choked Pei Mianmanughed and said, ¡°It¡¯s okay; I¡¯m happy enough just to hear that you had that intention. My n wants to marry me off to King Qi Manor as a concubine, so how could they allow me to marry anyone else?¡±

    ¡°You n¡¯s members really are impossibly stupid. King Qi is already almost finished, and yet they still keep throwing things straight into the fire pit.¡± Zu An naturally knew that the emperor was already targeting King Qi.

    Pei Mianman smiled and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t like anyone else, so who cares if he¡¯s King Qi¡¯s heir or a randommoner? I won¡¯t marry them. I will only marry you alone.¡±

    Zu An was truly moved when he heard that. He immediately pulled her close to him. Pei Mianman was immediately shaken up and said, ¡°I really can¡¯t keep going; let me slowly¡­¡±

    ¡­

    As Zu An was about to leave, he suddenly remembered something and took out the ¡®toothpick¡¯ sword Xiao Yao had given him, saying, ¡°Keep this with you. If you end up facing someone you can¡¯t defeat, just use this against them. It will release an attack on par with the full-forcestrike of a master rank cultivator.¡±

    Xiao Yao didn¡¯t know that Zu An still had other trump cards under his belt. Such a thing wasn¡¯t too useful for him. After all, should he encounter something too hard to deal with, he still had the emperor¡¯s decree at his disposal.

    Meanwhile, even though Pei Mianman¡¯s cultivation wasn¡¯t low, and she even had Fu Hao¡¯s owl statue, it wouldn¡¯t be enough against a true expert. Furthermore, he couldn''t always stay at her side, so such a thing would make Zu An feel a bit more at ease.

    ¡°Did you get that from the drunkard? I don¡¯t want it.¡± Pei Mianman immediately recognized the little sword¡¯s background. She harrumphed and refused.

    ¡°Don¡¯t make a fuss. It¡¯s something I¡¯m giving you now.¡± Zu An tossed it into her clothes. ¡°Cloudcenter Commandery is extremely dangerous, and the Pei n even wants to marry you off. Having more things to protect yourself can only be a good thing. You¡¯re now mine, so you have to protect yourself well for me.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, who¡¯s yours?¡± Pei Mianman scoffed, a pink blush crossing her cheeks.

    Zu An suddenly felt he was in the mood again¡­ but he was chased out in the end.

    ¡­n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    When he returned to his residence, Zu An felt as if all of the stress he experienced from the mission had vanished. When he remembered his gentle and enthusiastic night with Pei Mianman, he immediately felt invigorated.

    Gao Ying and Pei You were washing up. They couldn''t help but ask when they saw how happy he looked, ¡°Brother Zu, what¡¯s caused you to be in such a good mood today?¡±

    Zu An coughed and said, ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I¡¯m just in a good mood.¡±

    Pei You moved over and gave him a sniff. He remarked, ¡°Hm? You smell pretty good. It smells a lot better than the girls from the pleasure quarters. Do all the girls in Cloudcenter Commandery have such noble tastes?

    Gao Ying had an expression of hidden bitterness on his face. He said, ¡°Brother Zu, you didn¡¯t even invite us.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. These two really have be addicted to ying around in those brothels!

    He saw Sang Honge out from his room too. Zu An coughed and said, ¡°We are members of the imperial envoy; we represent the dignity of the court. How can we go to the pleasure quarters? We would end up bing theughingstock of Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s officials.¡±

    Sang Hong nodded in appreciation. Even though Ah Zu did behave a bit frivolously sometimes, he still knew when to act seriously. Qien¡¯er wouldn¡¯t be wronged by following him. Sigh, we¡¯ve been gone for so long already. I wonder if Qien¡¯er was able to get pregnant or not¡­

    Pei You and Gao Ying had strange expressions. They thought to themselves, Who are you talking all fancy like that to? They were just about to mock him when they noticed that Sang Hong was nearby. They immediately changed their tone.

    ¡°Brother Zu¡¯s words are correct.¡±

    ¡°Brother Zu is a model for our generation.¡±

    ¡­

    Zu An was a bit embarrassed when he saw the two grit their teeth. He immediately changed the topic, asking, ¡°Haha, why did you all get up so early? Do you already have ns?¡±

    ¡°We were about to pay Madam Yu a visit. She¡¯s a keyponent of the case this time.¡± Their expressions became somewhat moved. Yu Yanluo had been the number one beauty in the past. Even though they knew someone like that would never have any rtionship with them, as men, who wouldn¡¯t want to admire her beauty from up close?

    Zu An replied, ¡°Oh, then you guys should go; I won¡¯te along with you. I looked aroundst night, so I feel a bit tired right now. I¡¯m going to get some rest.¡± He thought, Big Manman really is a little enchantress. I didn¡¯t get to sleep muchst night at all!

    Gao Ying and Pei You were confused. You¡¯re not even interested in seeing the number one beauty? Are you even a man or not? Still, it was better for them if Zu An didn¡¯t go. Otherwise, he would always end up stealing the spotlight somehow.

    ¡°Ah Zu, rest well. There is no need for you to worry about Yu Yanluo¡¯s matters,¡± Sang Hong said. Even though he was curious as to what Zu An had been investigating the previous night, judging from how tired Zu An looked, he couldn''t really ask about it at the moment. It was more important for Zu An to go back and rest first.

    ¡°Thank you, respected uncle.¡± Zu An¡¯s face heated up, and he quickly returned to his room. When he entered the covers, he fell asleep just a few moments after hitting the bed. He really was too tired after the previous night.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in Pei Manor, Pei Shao was politely receiving King Qi¡¯s heir with his wife.

    Zhao Zhi pointed at the exquisite gift case on the table, saying, ¡°These are special cakes that I purchased from Cassia Moon Restaurant for Miss Pei. I hope they are to the young miss¡¯ taste.¡±

    ¡°The young heir is too kind.¡± Madam Pei had a big smile on her face. She then urged a maid off to the side, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you inviting the young miss over yet?¡±

    The maid left, then came back. She stuttered, ¡°The young miss¡­ The young miss said she was tired, so she was going to sleep some more. She said the master and madam should eat on their own.¡±

    Madam Pei¡¯s smile froze. She eximed, ¡°That damnss! Was sleeping all night not enough? The young heir came all the way here to see her; how can she be so indiscriminate?!¡±

    Zhao Zhi frowned. Pei Mianman is going to be my concubine in the future; how can you talk about her like this?

    Pei Shao seemed to have sensed Zhao Zhi¡¯s change in attitude. He quickly stopped his wife from berating Pei Mianman further, saying, ¡°Ahem, madam, how about you call her over personally? I must ask the heir for your pardon. That child has been spoiled a bit by us, so she has be a bit headstrong.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine; let her sleep for a bit longer. We can just chat on our own.¡± Zhao Zhi smiled. He wanted to leave Pei Mianman with a good impression. A woman as pretty as her ought to throw a bit of a tantrum from time to time.

    Furthermore, she must be a bit shaken that she¡¯s going to be wed to this young master. Her predicament is understandable. I should show her my gentlemanly side. She¡¯ll soon have a favorable opinion of me.

    Pei Mianman¡¯s incredible appearance and voluptuous figure appeared in his mind again. No wonder she has such an amazing figure; it was all from good rest.

    My wife really is adorable.

 Chapter 1011: Doubts Everywhere

    <h4>Chapter 1011: Doubts Everywhere</h4>

    Afterward, Zu An slept all the way until noon. He felt incredible when he got up again.

    The servants of the temporary official residence had prepared fruits and snacks. When he saw the amount of meat, Zu An thought, As expected of the northwest! Even the refreshments are very different in style. Since he wasn¡¯t all that picky about food, he ate some of it.

    A whileter, a sudden disturbance urred outside. It turned out Sang Hong¡¯s group had returned.

    Zu An saw that their expressions weren¡¯t good at all. He asked out of curiosity, ¡°Did things not go well?¡±

    Sang Hong nodded in agreement. Pei You was the first to say, ¡°We went to Yu Manor and waited there for a long time, just to be told that Madam Yu was feeling unwell and wasn¡¯t meeting any guests. I¡¯m so freaking pissed right now!¡±

    They had been looking forward to seeing the number one beauty¡¯s appearance, and they had even wondered about how they were going to leave someone like that with the best impression possible. And yet, after all of that, they had ended up getting the cold shoulder. They were pent up with resentment.

    ¡°Do you think she¡¯s been kept under house arrest by Jian Taiding?¡± Zu An asked. That was also what everyone had suspected before.

    Sang Hong shook his head, saying, ¡°We thought that Yu Yanluo might have moved to the Dukedom Manor, butter on, I learned she had remained in Yu Manor the entire time. She is the one with the most say in Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s Yu n, so who could even keep her under house arrest?¡±

    Gao Ying also said with a bitter smile, ¡°In the end, it¡¯s because she doesn¡¯t want to meet with us. Her status is special and she¡¯s also female. We really can¡¯t do anything aboutit.¡±

    ¡°We can¡¯t investigate the case of the duke¡¯s disappearance if we can¡¯t even meet with Yu Yanluo. There are many things only a duchess like her knows best,¡± Pei You said resentfully.

    Sang Hong¡¯s brows were also tightly locked. He said, ¡°I just cannot understand why she would refuse to meet with us. Unless¡­ She does not want us to find out who the mastermind is?¡±

    Zu An was rmed. He remembered Qiu Honglei¡¯s warning back in Yi Commandery. She had said that Yu Yanluo was definitely not the harmless white flower people all imagined her to be. He thought for a bit, then said with a serious expression, ¡°I¡¯ll give it a try and pay her a visit.¡±

    Pei You put his arm around Zu An and said, ¡°It¡¯s useless. Even Sir Sang was given the cold shoulder.¡±

    ¡°Indeed. There were untold numbers of princes and dukes who wished to meet her in the past due to her fame, and yet they weren¡¯t able to meet with her at all. There were even many young masters who believed themselves to be talented enough and solemnly vowed to see her, and yet in the end, they were also given the cold shoulder.¡± Gao Ying retold the stories he had heard before in the capital.

    Even though Zu An had known Yu Yanluo was popr, he had never expected it to be to that extent. The biggest reason was that people¡¯s impressions of her were that she was arrogant and cold, yet he had never felt that way before. He said, ¡°I feel like she¡¯ll meet with me. I¡¯m pretty close to her.¡±

    Those present fell silent. Gao Ying, Pei You and the others looked at him with strange expressions. Sang Hong wanted to say something several times, but stopped.

    In the end, it was Gao Ying who said with a long sigh, ¡°Brother Zu, we know you have a high affinity with women, but Yu Yanluo isn¡¯t like the other girls. There¡¯s no need to waste your time going again.¡± Pei You also parroted his message.

    Even Sang Hong said seriously, ¡°Since we cannot meet with Yu Yanluo, we can only start our investigation from the Jian n and other such people.¡±

    Even though they all spoke tactfully, what they meant was clear. They all felt that Zu An was bullshitting. Who is Yu Yanluo? When she was popr, you were still sucking on your mom¡¯s breast! Why would she be close to you? However, out of respect for Zu An¡¯s dignity, no one exposed him.

    Zu An replied, ¡°Uh¡­ I¡¯ll give it a try anyway. It¡¯s not like we¡¯d lose out on that much anyway.¡±

    The group assumed he was putting on an act to save face, so they couldn''t convince him otherwise. They thought to themselves, He¡¯ll regret it once he goes through what we went through. At that point, our only job is to make sure we absolutely don¡¯tugh at him because of our friendship.

    ¡­

    Just like that, they parted ways. Sang Hong¡¯s group went to the Jian n to gather intel, while Zu An headed to meet with Yu Yanluo alone.

    The Yu n wasn¡¯t hard to find. The most luxurious and majestic buildings in Cloudcenter Commandery weren¡¯t in the Civil Affairs Manor, the City Lord Manor, or even the Cloudcenter Duke Manor, but rather in the Yu n¡¯s territory, as they had gathered several centuries of wealth. It was rumored that out of the entire Cloudcenter Commandery, half was the Yu n¡¯s property; even though the im was a bit exaggerated, it still told of the Yu n¡¯s power in Cloudcenter Commandery.

    As Zu An arrived in front of a grand residence, he became a bit absentminded. He felt as if he had arrived in front of a small-scale Imperial Pce. No wonder the emperor had so many reservations against the Yu n! This really was a bit too ridiculous.

    Back then, the Chu n had engaged in the salt and iron industries in Brightmoon City, making them extremely wealthy as well. Butpared to the Yu n, they weren¡¯t even on the same order of magnitude.

    When he arrived at the gate, he told the guard at the entrance, ¡°Please help me contact your madam. Tell her that her old friend from Wolf Valley outside Brightmoon City¡¯s outskirts hase to pay her a visit.¡±

    The guard gave him a few looks, then waved his hands casually. He said, ¡°Go, get out of here. Our madam isn¡¯t feeling well and has politely refused to meet with all guests.¡±

    After being a guard for so long, he had already lost count of how many absurd reasons people had given him to get closer to the madam. This kid is so young. How can the madam possibly be his friend?

    All of the Yu n¡¯s guards bore a natural sense of responsibility in protecting their madam. They didn¡¯t want to let any bad people get close to her. That was especially the case after something had ended up happening to Cloudcenter Duke. That feeling became even stronger.

    Zu An stared nkly for a moment. This feels like deja vu¡­ He had been given a hard time by the gatekeeper at Brightmoon City¡¯s Jade n back then. But his attitude was entirely different from before. He didn¡¯t feel a trace of anger as he said, ¡°I¡¯m not speaking lies. I still have a present your madam gave me. You can bring this inside to contact her¡­¡±

    He suddenly froze midway through his sentence. He remembered that back then, in the capital, Yu Yanluo had already taken back the pendant she gave him.

    When he saw Zu An¡¯s expression, the guard said coldly, ¡°Stop wasting your time already. Our madam won¡¯t meet with anyone. She didn¡¯t even meet with the Imperial Envoy when they came earlier. Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re more important than the Imperial Envoy?¡± Zu An frowned.

    Suddenly, someone eximed in shock, ¡°Cheng¡­ Brother Cheng?¡± A bodyguard d entirely in white had been returning to the manor. He had nced over when he saw the disturbance, but then he cried out in rm.

    Zu An turned around. When he saw that person, he felt that the other party was a bit familiar, but he couldn''t recall who it was.

    ¡°Did Brother Cheng forget me? I¡¯m Yu Bin! You saved me back then in Brightmoon City¡¯s outskirts!¡± the bodyguard eximed with a smile.

    ¡°So that was you!¡± Zu An finally remembered who it was. He had beenpletely focused on earning Rage points back then, and that name had only shown up before in the backend. No wonder he hadn¡¯t remembered. As for why the other party had called him Brother Cheng, that was because Zu An had been trying to hide his identity. That was why he¡¯d said his name was Cheng Shouping.

    ¡°Yu Bin, you know this person?¡± The guard was stunned.

    Yu Bin said with a smile, ¡°Of course. He even saved the madam before.¡±

    The guard immediately apologized to Zu An. ¡°I¡¯m truly sorry! I¡¯ve misunderstood the young master¡­ I actually refused someone who saved the madam¡¯s life before. I really deserve death.¡±

    He suddenly raised his de up to his neck, but fortunately, Zu An moved quickly and disarmed him, eximing, ¡°What are you doing?! It wasn¡¯t anything major at all!¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°I¡¯ve let down the madam; I¡¯ve let down the young master¡­¡± The gatekeeper was really shaken up.

    Yu Bin quickly advised him, ¡°Even Brother Cheng isn¡¯t ming you, so of course the madam won¡¯t me you. Why do you need to be like this¡­¡±

    The two of them finally managed to stop the guard from taking his life. Meanwhile, Yu Bin learned the reason for Zu An¡¯s visit and said, ¡°Brother Cheng, I¡¯ll take you inside. However, the madam¡¯s condition and mood have been quite poor recently, and she really hasn¡¯t met with any guests. I can¡¯t say for certain whether she¡¯ll be willing to meet with you or not.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Brother Yu.¡± Zu An followed him into Yu Manor. He sized up the decorations and security along the way while asking, ¡°Why would that person choose to almost take his own life?¡±

    He was rmed when he recalled the previous scene. That person had definitely not been acting. If Zu An had been even a moment slower, he really would have died.

    ¡°The people in the manor truly admire the madam. You were someone who even saved the madam¡¯s life, and yet he made you feel humiliation. That was why he couldn''t get over that fact.¡± Yu Bin sounded as if he were just speaking about amon urrence.

    Zu An frowned. Aren¡¯t the Yu n¡¯s people a bit too crazy about Yu Yanluo? He could tell that these people didn¡¯t have lust or desire for an exceptional beauty in their eyes, but rather only utmost respect. He once again recalled what Qiu Honglei had told him before. His opinion of Yu Yanluo was actually starting to waver. There was definitely a lot more to her than he knew.

    Yu Bin had Zu An rest in the lobby for a while. Then, he quickly left to report. Soon afterward, he ran back and said with an excited expression, ¡°Brother Cheng, the madam has invited you inside. This really is surprising! It¡¯s already been a long time since the madam has met any outsiders.¡±

    ¡°Brother Yu, actually, my name isn¡¯t Cheng Shouping¡­¡± Zu An took the chance to tell him his real identity. ¡°Back then, I was worried that someone would try to get revenge on me, so I used a fake name. I hope Brother Yu can forgive me.¡±

    Yu Bin was a bit startled, but he didn¡¯t really mind it either, saying, ¡°Brother Zu is quite meticulous; it really is admirable. The fact that you¡¯re speaking up about this now speaks even more about your noble character. This way, please!¡± He brought Zu An to a room, then silently withdrew.

    Zu An entered through the main entrance; suddenly, his entire body was enveloped inforting warmth. It was bitterly cold outside, and yet this ce felt like the middle of summer! He subconsciously loosened his cor. ¡°Isn¡¯t the heater turned a bit too high here?¡± he muttered.

    However, the scene before him quickly left him stunned.

 Chapter 1012: Completely Defenseless

    <h4>Chapter 1012: Completely Defenseless</h4>

    Precious incense was being burned inside. The fragrance was a bit stimting, and yet not to the point that it would make one go crazy.

    A mature and graceful beauty was lying on a soft chair, dressed in leisurely indoor clothes. Perhaps because it was a bit inelegant, she also had a white fox fur coat draped over her shoulders. However, her personal wear could still be seen underneath. A fluffy and soft quilt rested over her waist, outlining her incredible waist and bottom. Her body gave off an indescribably soft and supple feeling, as if even the toughest of men would sink straight in.

    She rested her chin on one hand, while her other hand held a delicate heater by her belly. A bit of her fair wrist was exposed, her skin somehow even more tender and fair than that of a youngdy¡¯s. Her hair that had previously always been coiled up elegantly above her head was now scattered across her body, adding a much more leisurely feeling to her current appearance.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An felt as if the room had suddenly be much hotter. But what he was feeling even more at the moment was puzzlement. It was because Yu Yanluo¡¯s appearance was way too casual! It was almost as if she had just gotten out of bed and met with her guest in her sleepwear. His eyes moved to the embroidered covers around her waist and he immediately rejected that thought. She hadn¡¯t even gotten out of bed!

    Even though he had saved her life before, their rtionship wasn¡¯t this good, right? Why would she even let him see such a personal scene? This was something one should only show one¡¯s spouse, right? Some couples that were more reserved might not even see such a side of each other, right? Doesn¡¯t this mean she¡¯s seducing me right now?

    But when he raised his head and looked into her deep, beautiful, and starry eyes, the pure expression in them that didn¡¯t carry a shred of ulterior motive, he knew it was he who was thinking the wrong things.

    ¡°I¡¯m truly sorry; I was still sleeping before.¡± Yu Yanluo¡¯s red lips parted slightly. Her voice was pleasant like a yellow oriole¡¯s cry, yet also carried the grace of an upper-ss woman. ¡°I¡¯ve been extremely tired recently and really don¡¯t wish to get up. I was worried that you might¡¯ve waited for a long time, so I just called you in. I hope you don¡¯t mind.¡±

    ¡°The madam speaks too seriously. The fact that you were willing to make an exception to meet with me already makes me extremely happy. Why would I mind something like that?¡± Zu An now knew why Sang Hong and the others couldn''t meet with her. Her current state really wasn¡¯t suitable for meeting with them; she hadn¡¯t been finding excuses to avoid them.

    Yu Yanluo smiled. There were faintly discernible dimples by the corners of her lips. She said, ¡°I can refuse to meet with others, but you saved my life. How can I refuse you?¡±

    Zu An even became momentarily distracted when he saw the smile on her face. He thought to himself, No wonder she¡¯s regarded as the world¡¯s number one beauty and makes so many men go crazy. He replied, ¡°You saved me once in the capital too, so we¡¯re even.¡±

    ¡°How can life-saving gratitudes be repaid just like that¡­¡± Yu Yanluo gave him a look, and a hint of shock appearing in her eyes. ¡°It¡¯s been a while since west met. Your growth speed seems to be quite shocking! You¡¯ve already grown from that little boy into a real man.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s forehead darkened. He eximed, ¡°When have I ever been a little boy?¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t someone previously say you wanted to be my man?¡± Yu Yanluo teased. ¡°Back then, you weren¡¯t scared of anything, but you¡¯re now more mature and restrained.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face heated up. This wasplete social suicide¡­ As he understood Yu Yanluo more and more, he began to realize just how ridiculously overconfident he had been in the past.

    Fortunately, Yu Yanluo didn¡¯t brood over the subject and instead said out of concern. ¡°If you feel a bit hot, you can just take off your jacket. My room is fairly warm.¡±

    Only then did Zu An realize that not only were there heaters everywhere in the room, there was heating from the floor too. It seemed to be drawing geothermal heat to the room. He once again sighed at the Yu n''s wealth.

    ¡°Right, I noticed that madam seemed to be especially scared of the cold, as if you were afflicted with some cold poison. Even though I¡¯m no physician, I have some knowledge on these matters. Should I help the madam take a look?¡± Zu An asked out of curiosity.

    After all, Chu Chuyan had suffered from the Snowke Sword¡¯s side effects. Her lower abdomen area had always seemed as if it contained a block of ice. Later on, he had used his special zing hot stick technique to warm her uppletely,pletely curing that condition.

    Of course, with his current rtionship with Yu Yanluo, there was no way he could use the same method to cure her. However, he had already reached the fourthyer of the Primordial Origin Sutra. Unless it was some life and death injury, he could just heal her through that technique.

    ¡°You even know something like that? You¡¯re really leaving me more and more surprised.¡± Yu Yanluo chuckled and continued, ¡°But thank you for your good intentions. I don¡¯t have too many issues; it¡¯s just a matter of my constitution. I¡¯ve always been a bit scared of the cold, and it¡¯s always like this during winter.

    ¡°In the past, I could avoid the cold by going south, but things have be a bit different this year. I had no choice but to remain here.¡±

    Zu An had a strange expression. Can you still call this being a bit scared of the cold? But there was nothing else he could say if it was about her constitution.

    Yu Yanluo didn¡¯t wish to continue chatting about the previous topic and casually asked Zu An, ¡°Right, I heard you were a member of the imperial envoy this time?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Zu An replied. ¡°The main reason I came here was to appoint a new Cloudcenter Duke. At the same time, we were going to investigate the case of the Cloudcenter Duke¡¯s disappearance.¡±

    ¡°Then this trip is most likely mainly to investigate the disappearance of the duke.¡± Yu Yanluo sighed.

    ¡°I won¡¯t hide it from the madam. Both of these matters are indeed very important.¡± Zu An carefully examined the other party¡¯s exceptional face. He didn¡¯t sense too much grief in her expression when he mentioned the Cloudcenter Duke¡¯s disappearance. Since they were already on the topic, he took the chance to ask, ¡°By the way, there are some things about Cloudcenter Duke that I wish to consult the madam about.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know too much about his affairs either,¡± Yu Yanluo replied.

    Zu An was confused. He asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t he your husband?¡±

    Yu Yanluo shook her head and said, ¡°We normally don¡¯t live together, so I don¡¯t know a lot about many of his affairs.¡±

    Zu An frowned and said, ¡°How long ago did you two start to live apart from each other? Don¡¯t tell me it was from the very start?¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression turned strange. A whileter, she said, ¡°That question¡¯s too personal, so I don¡¯t wish to answer it.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. There¡¯s definitely something strange with this couple!

    As if realizing her reply was a bit rigid, Yu Yanluo said after thinking for a bit, ¡°You can just ask Gong Pan. He¡¯s Yanyou¡¯s captain of the bodyguards and extremely devoted. He knows many things about Cloudcenter Duke better than me. I¡¯ll have hime to you in a bit.¡±

    Zu An was shocked. He asked, ¡°Someone like that is also in this manor?¡±

    Yu Yanluo nodded, replying, ¡°He decided to follow me after something happened to Yanyou.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression turned strange. Why does this feel like the assets have already been divided or something? As Cloudcenter Duke¡¯s guard leader, had Gong Pan decided to follow the madam after his master passed, or had he been bribed by the madam from the start?

    Seeing that the other party wasn¡¯t all that interested in the various questions he asked about Cloudcenter Duke, Zu An changed the topic. He asked, ¡°Has the madam found out who the evildoer was behind your ambush in Brightmoon City?¡±

    ¡°Ah, that matter¡­¡± Yu Yanluo seemed to be thinking about the past. A whileter, she said with a chuckle, ¡°We found out who it was and already dealt with it.¡±

    When he noticed that she had answered without borating on the details, as if she didn¡¯t n to tell him anything more, Zu An didn¡¯t push the issue. Seeing how the other party wasn¡¯t in the best of spirits and appeared to be pushing herself to speak to him, he then got up and said, ¡°The madam¡¯s condition isn¡¯t the best, so I won¡¯t disturb your rest anymore.¡±

    Yu Yanluo was a bit shocked. Then, she smiled and said, ¡°You¡¯re the first man to ever take the initiative to ask to leave. I won¡¯t act overly courteous then; I indeed feel a bit tired and will continue to rest. Once you leave, someone will bring you to see Gong Pan.¡± She removed the fox fur coat andy back down again, closing her eyes. Her sleeping position was sweet and unrestrained, as if she had already entered dreand again.

    Zu An was stunned. I didn¡¯t see her telling anyone anything about this¡­ How will the people outside know I¡¯m looking for Gong Pan?

    Also, is she really daring enough that she won¡¯t even put up the slightest resistance in front of me? She¡¯s going to fall asleep right in front of me like this?

    Does she not know just how fatal her beauty is for men?!

    Is she not scared that I¡¯ll just pounce on her?

    He had known she wasn¡¯t a cultivator from when he first met her. Wasn¡¯t shepletely lowering her defenses in front of a cultivator? As long as the cultivator wasn¡¯t too weak, if he wanted to do something, none of the guards outside would be able to hear her screams or shouts at all.

    ¡°Only a real gentleman like me would walk away.¡± After shaking his head, he threw away such random thoughts and left. He closed the door behind him.

    When he left, Yu Yanluo¡¯s lips curled up slightly, as if she were currently experiencing a beautiful dream.

 Chapter 1013: A Riddle of Disappearance

    <h4>Chapter 1013: A Riddle of Disappearance</h4>

    Soon after Zu An left the room, someone standing in the distance turned around and walked toward him, saying, ¡°I greet Sir Zu. I am Gong Pan. The madam has said that you have something to ask me.¡±

    ¡°Sir Gong is too polite. There were just some things I wanted to ask about.¡± Zu An carefully examined the middle-aged man in front of him. He had a strong and sturdy build, and his gaze was steady. Zu An could tell that his cultivation was definitely not low. He had thick brows and big eyes, and the first impression he gave Zu An was that of an experienced and knowledgeable person. There was also a knotted scar by his neck, making him look tough.

    Gong Pan subconsciously rubbed his scar when he noticed that Zu An was looking at it. He exined, ¡°I got this back when I fought against a fiend race expert. If this wound had been even half an inch lower, I wouldn¡¯t be in this world right now.¡±

    ¡°Sorry.¡± Zu An felt a bit apologetic. After all, staring at that wound really wasn¡¯t too polite.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Gong Pan had an open-minded smile on his face. ¡°Those who meet me for the first time often look there. This isn¡¯t a disgrace for me, but rather a glorious memory. This wound proves that I fought against the fiend races head-on.¡±

    ¡°The fact that General Gong was able to survive after having a wound like this means that there are great blessings awaiting you after the misfortune.¡± Zu An sighed inwardly as well. Such a wound really was too treacherous.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care if there are blessings or not; I only hope my duke is well.¡± Gong Pan sounded dispirited as he continued, ¡°It was because the duke pulled me an inch to the side that I avoided that fatal blow. Unfortunately, even though I survived, I have no idea how the duke is doing right now.¡±

    Zu An took the chance to ask, ¡°What exactly happened to the duke?¡±

    He had already looked through the corresponding files the local officials provided, and he had even submitted a report to the court. Unfortunately, there were too many details missing, and there were too many contradictions. It was much better to ask those directly involved.

    Gong Pan was a bit hesitant. A whileter, he said, ¡°Since the madam asked for my assistance, that means Sir Zu is someone worthy of trust. Please follow me.¡±

    Afterward, he led Zu An to a spacious courtyard. Only after making sure that no one else was listening in did he say, ¡°The entire matter of the duke¡¯s disappearance is extremely bizarre. Back then, the duke suddenly decided to go into seclusion for a long time. When it was time for him toe out, there was no sign of him. At first, no one treated it as a big deal. After all, cultivators wouldn¡¯t always leave seclusion on time.

    ¡°But after ten days, there was still nothing. Only then did we try to inquire when the duke wasing out. Yet we still didn¡¯t get any response. Then, we noticed that the doors weren¡¯t locked, and that the inside was alreadypletely deserted.

    ¡°At first, we all thought the duke left earlier to go somewhere else. That kind of thing has happened before. But after a few months passed, there was still no sign of the duke¡¯s return. We then realized something was strange.

    ¡°We sent out a lot of people to search in ces the duke might have been in, but we unfortunately didn¡¯t find him. Even though there have been people who imed to have seen the duke appear in themandery from time to time, when we looked into them, we found that they were all just making up nonsense to try and cheat us for a reward.

    ¡°Another half year passed just like that. The duke never appeared. Only then did we realize that something bad might have already happened to him.¡± As Gong Pan spoke, he clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles cracked. He was clearly stirred up by the subject.

    Zu An asked seriously, ¡°Who was thest one to have met the duke and when?¡±

    Gong Pan thought for a bit, then replied, ¡°There were many people there thest time he was seen. At the time, the duke invited the second master for a drink, and there were many maids and servants tending to them. I was also there. We all saw him.¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Were you all there the entire time? And did you personally see him go into seclusion after he finished drinking?¡± Zu An felt that things were a bit strange. Who went into seclusion after drinking?

    ¡°That wasn¡¯t the case,¡± Gong Pan replied. ¡°We were all at their side in the beginning, butter on, the duke wanted to talk about some matters with the second master in secret, so he had us withdraw. Even though we weren¡¯t there, we could still see two silhouettes chatting behind the window. They continued to chat, and we could even hearughter from time to time.

    Zu An frowned. The fact that Gong Pan hadn¡¯t really seen them directly meant there was a lot of room for maniption. There were many simr cases in the detective novels he had read.

    ¡°Could it be that something already happened to the duke then? That the figures you saw and the voices you heard might have actually been imitated by someone else?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡± Gong Pan directly refuted him. ¡°We¡¯re all the duke¡¯s most trusted people; no one knows his build and voice better than us. If someone tried to impersonate him, we would definitely have been able to distinguish between them.¡±

    Zu An frowned. He just felt that sort of judgment was too arbitrary. Someone¡¯s build could look very different through the mirror, and for things like voice¡­ There were a ton of entrics in this world. Surely there was someone good at vocal mimicry out there. The ¡®Face of a Thousand Identities¡¯ alone spoke of how to perfectly imitate the voice of one¡¯s target.

    But after thinking about it, he realized such manuals were probably not toomon either. After all, he was an Embroidered Envoy, but he had never heard of anyone being capable of something like that.

    Gong Pan continued, ¡°Even if we take a thousand steps back, even if that person was an impostor, how could he have possibly aplished something like this? After all, the duke¡¯s cultivation is already at the peak of the master rank; he¡¯s one of the best cultivators in the world. Who could silently assassinate him in such a short amount of time, and under our very eyes no less?¡±

    ¡°What if the second master assisted that person?¡± Zu An stared straight into the other party¡¯s eyes.

    Gong Pan¡¯s expression changed, but he still replied, ¡°That¡¯s impossible. Even though second master¡¯s cultivation is high, he¡¯s stillckingpared to the duke. The duke could even fight him without using one of his hands as a handicap and still win, let alone with all of us waiting outside.¡±

    Zu An remained silent for a moment. He could suspect someone of mimicking the man¡¯s voice, but cultivation wasn¡¯t something so easily replicated.

    If Jian Yanyou hadn¡¯t been on guard at all, there might have been a chance of his younger brother taking him down by surprise. But with his cultivation, there was no way he would be taken out without causing a huge scene. The guards outside would have stormed in as soon as he called out.

    Could it be that I guessed wrong? Zu An remained silent for a bit. Then, he suddenly asked, ¡°What kind of a rtionship does the madam have with the duke?¡±

    ¡°The madam?¡± Gong Pan¡¯s expression suddenly changed. He asked, ¡°You¡¯re not suspecting the madam, are you?¡±

    Zu An waved his hands and said, ¡°I¡¯m your madam¡¯s friend, so how could I suspect her? I¡¯m just asking out of curiosity. I heard her mention that she doesn¡¯t live together with the duke.¡±

    Gong Pan hesitated, but then said, ¡°Indeed, the duke and madam live separately. However, that¡¯s because the madam has to manage the Yu n¡¯s affairs, while the duke needs to take responsibility for Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s safety and fend off the fiend races¡¯ invasions. The two of them rarely met and were more often apart, which was why they lived apart. But their rtionship is good. There¡¯s always been mutual respect between them.¡±

    ¡°So they treat each other with mutual respect.¡± Zu An raised his eyebrows. Those words could be interpreted from two different angles. The first was that the spouses were indeedpatible and harmonious; the second was that there was no real love, but rather, each person merely fulfilled their own obligations¡­

    ¡°This might be a bit bold of me to ask.¡± Zu An looked at Gong Pan and asked curiously, ¡°So why did youe to the Yu n? Normally speaking, you should be someone from the Duke Manor.¡±

    Gong Pan looked somewhat downcast as he exined, ¡°After the duke went missing, everyone was still unified in the beginning. But as time went on, and we couldn''t find where he went no matter how hard we tried, so many things began to change.

    ¡°But that was to be expected too. Many people have families to support. Some people had their future prospects to worry about, and naturally sought out new patrons to rely on.¡±

    Zu An asked to test the waters, ¡°Is the patron you¡¯re talking about the second master?¡±

    Gong Pan nodded and exined,¡°Indeed. He¡¯s the duke¡¯s younger brother, and he was the second most authoritative figure in the Military Affairs Manor as well. He has many trusted aides under him. After something happened to the duke, it only made sense for him to take over. Many people didn¡¯t necessarily want to follow him, but as they worked with him, as time went on, they already unknowingly became his men.

    ¡°But I didn¡¯t have such aspirations and waited for the duke to return all this time. I¡¯d be a bit of an irksome presence if I stayed there, which was why I came over to the madam¡¯s side. After all, she¡¯s the duke''s wife. There were some others who shared my thoughts and came over to the madam¡¯s side as well.¡±

    Zu An nodded. That was something he could understand. Others might rely on Jian Taiding, but Gong Pan was the guard captain of the previous duke and his trusted aide. He wouldn¡¯t be put in an important position even if he went over to the second master, so staying with Yu Yanluo was a sensible choice. At the very least, he would retain a reputation of loyalty.

    ¡°Judging from your tone, it seems you don¡¯t bear any enmity against Second Master Jian, no?¡± Zu An asked curiously.

    Gong Pan looked toward the north and said with a calm expression, ¡°Unless the duke¡¯s disappearance really had something to do with the second master, why would I hate him? It¡¯s only natural for him to have taken in the duke''s former subordinates. Even if I were in his position, I would most likely do the same.

    ¡°Furthermore, the Duke Manor is vital to the safety of Cloudcenter Commandery; we still have to fend off the fiend races who invade the borders. We need a powerful leader to stabilize the situation after the duke¡¯s disappearance. A capable and ambitious leader will always be much better than a mediocre one.¡±

    ¡°General Gong is an upright and righteous person, as expected. Your bearing is admirable.¡± Zu An felt sincere admiration for the other man. Afterward, he asked some more about some matters rted to the dukedom. The other party replied to all of his questions one after another.

    ¡­

    When he was about to leave, Zu An suddenly turned around as if he had just remembered something. He asked, ¡°By the way, would it be possible to give me a list of all of the duke¡¯s personal guards?¡±

 Chapter 1014: In a Hurry to Marry Away

    <h4>Chapter 1014: In a Hurry to Marry Away</h4>

    Even though there were usually a lot of guards assigned to such important individuals, the most trusted personal aides were usually set in stone. It was usually just a small group of people who worked together.

    Those people were carefully selected. Cultivation was actually secondary; the most important thing was for them to have a clear background and for them to be devoted and reliable. But of course, those who were chosen in the end wouldn¡¯t have low cultivation levels.

    After interrogating that nefarious cultivator in the capital¡¯s outskirts, Zu An had learned that there was a guard who had run all the way from Cloudcenter Commandery to the capital to ask for help, but he was intercepted and killed along the way. Even though he had gotten some information about that guard, unfortunately, that evil cultivator had only refined the other party¡¯s fractured soul, and so they didn¡¯t know that guard¡¯splete identity.

    But if his suspicions weren¡¯t wrong, that guard had to be one of Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s personal guards. Regr guards wouldn¡¯t have ess to a secret on that level, nor would they have enough loyalty to devote their life to asking for help.

    ¡°The guards¡¯ names?¡± Gong Pan was stunned. He was clearly curious as to Zu An¡¯s objective, but he still nodded and said, ¡°I¡¯ll write them down for you.¡±

    He fetched some paper and a pen. Then he exined as he wrote, ¡°After something happened to the duke, these people began to disperse as well. After all, no one else would befortable employing them, so they all began to build up their own small groups¡­¡±

    Zu An nodded in understanding. It was just like some of the corporations of his previous world. The rise of the next leader would often result in the disbanding of the previous leader¡¯s cheerleaders. Everything would bepletely reced¡­

    Zu An received the name list. He asked out of curiosity while looking it over, ¡°Where are these people now?¡±

    ¡°A small number of them followed me here to serve the madam, while another group returned home dejectedly to live in seclusion. Some stayed in the Military Affairs Manor, but were then marginalized and assigned to other ces,¡± Gong Pan exined.

    Zu An patted his shoulder in constion. The formerly glorious Duke Manor was now in such a state¡­ It was quite the tragedy.

    Gong Pan suddenly took a knee respectfully, saying, ¡°Sir Zu, please help us find out the truth regarding the duke¡¯s disappearance and bring justice to everyone.¡±

    ¡°Please get back up!¡± Zu An quickly supported him to his feet. ¡°This is my duty, so I¡¯ll definitely do everything I can!¡±

    Whether it was because it was his mission, because of his friendship with Yu Yanluo, or to ease some of his own doubts, he had to find out the truth of the matter.

    ¡­

    Lost in thought about the case, Zu An returned to the temporary residence without realizing it. He discovered that Sang Hong and the others had already returned earlier.

    When he saw Zu An walking silently, Sang Hong said in constion, ¡°Ah Zu, you don¡¯t need to feel too bad about this. We already investigated the Duke Manor. ording to what the people there said, Madam Yu hasn¡¯t received any guests for quite some time already. She isn¡¯t acting against us, so it¡¯spletely normal that she wasn¡¯t willing to meet with you.¡±

    Pei You had rarely seen Zu An so dispirited. He actually felt a bit more confidence as a result. He forced a smile and wrapped his arm around Zu An, saying tofort him, ¡°Brother Zu, we all know that you possess exceptional charisma, but that woman Yu Yanluo just doesn¡¯t let anyone near her¡­¡±

    Zu An shook his head and replied, ¡°Indeed, she didn¡¯t let anyone else in, but I got in.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s natural that you weren¡¯t able to get in; none of us were able to get in either.¡± Pei You subconsciously continued to console Zu An. He then suddenly realized that something wasn¡¯t right. His voice jumped up an octave as he eximed, ¡°You got in?! You¡­ What¡­ How¡­ Where did you go?¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He replied, ¡°To Yu Yanluo, of course. Where else would I be going?¡±

    ¡°No way, right? Madam Yu hasn¡¯t met anyone for several months already, and she even refused to meet with the Substitute Commander-in-Chief Jian Taiding. How could she possibly agree to meet with you?¡± Even Gao Ying was now suspicious. Was Zu An just saying things on purpose so he wouldn¡¯t look bad in front of all of them? After all, none of them could prove that he hadn¡¯t gone inside, as no one could get in at the moment anyway.

    Zu An shrugged and replied, ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you guys she¡¯s my friend? We¡¯re really close.¡±

    Sang Hong was a bit suspicious at first, because he had heard that even the emperor had been given the cold shoulder by Yu Yanluo. How could Zu An meet with someone like this just because he wanted to? However, he then remembered that Zu An wasn¡¯t the type to speak without thinking. He quickly asked, ¡°Ah Zu, you really met with Madam Yu? Did you gain any valuable information?¡±

    ¡°Her condition was indeed quite poor, and she needs a lot of rest. That¡¯s why she hasn¡¯t been meeting with outsiders.¡± Zu An didn¡¯t tell them that she feared the cold. Yu Yanluo had trusted him and showed him that side of her, so he couldn''t just tell people that secret. What if someone with ill intent wanted to use that to harm her?

    ¡°Also, she doesn¡¯t seem to live with Cloudcenter Duke. They usually live apart,¡± he added. He even wondered if there was something wrong with the rtionship between the husband and wife. However, he didn¡¯t voice those suspicions.

    ¡°You even learned something as private as that?¡± The listeners were shocked. They had investigated the duke manor all day. Even though Yu Yanluo hadn¡¯t been there, they had all assumed that she had only returned to the Yu n after Cloudcenter Duke¡¯s disappearance. They hadn¡¯t expected the two of them to have lived separately for so long.

    ¡°Furthermore, a portion of Cloudcenter Duke¡¯s people follow Madam Yu now, while some of them were roped in by Jian Taiding¡­¡± Zu An exined the information he had gotten from Gong Pan.

    Now, no one doubted that he really had met with Yu Yanluo. Gao Ying wanted to say something, but he stopped. Pei You was much more straightforward. He grabbed Zu An and said, ¡°Brother Zu! No, Master! Take me as your disciple, please!¡±

    Sang Hong thought to himself, Didn¡¯t the intelligence say this brat from the Pei n was reserved and introverted? Why is it that whenever Zu An is here, he always seems so¡­ silly?

    However, Ah Zu¡¯s affinity with women really left him shocked. He hadn¡¯t treated it as a big deal previously, but even a woman like Yu Yanluo was close to him? He couldn''t help but worry for his daughter when he thought of that. Even though Qien¡¯er was talented and good-looking, whether it was the Chu n¡¯s first miss or someone like Yu Yanluo, she couldn''tpete against them! Looks like we need Dan¡¯er¡¯s help; only then will we have an unrivaled advantage!

    When he saw so many people ask Zu An for girl advice, Sang Hong finally snapped out of his daze and said with a light cough, ¡°We should talk about important matters first. We visited Jian Yanyou¡¯s butler in the Duke Manor. The information he gave us matched up with what Ah Zu just said, but it was nowhere near as detailed.¡±

    He became a bit dispirited when he thought of that. There was nock of capable people among their group, yet all of the information they had collected together couldn''t evenpare to what Zu An alone had gotten. It really was embarrassing¡­ Looks like I need to learn a bit from Ah Zu in this regard in the future.

    ¡°Sir Sang speaks too seriously. All of you did great work too. Some things can¡¯t be investigated from a single direction to begin with, or else you¡¯ll easily reach a biased conclusion,¡± Zu An replied. The group¡¯s smiles became more sincere when they heard his answer.

    Sang Hong stroked his beard in satisfaction. This kid is so much better than that incapable son of mine. I hope my grandson can inherit these good points from Ah Zu. If that happens, my painstaking efforts will all have been worth it. He asked, ¡°Ah Zu, how do you think we should approach this case from now on?¡±

    Zu An thought for a bit before saying, ¡°I think we can divide ourselves into three groups. One group will investigate Cloudcenter Duke¡¯s ce of seclusion, as well as various parts of the Duke Manor to see if any clues can be found.

    ¡°Another group will interrogate relevant individuals. That means not only the maids, servants, and guards of the Duke Manor, but also the people from the Military Affairs Manor and Civil Affairs Manor. Jian Taiding¡¯s political enemies might provide us with some important information.

    ¡°Lastly, we need to investigate the guard who resolved to bring vital information to the capital, but was intercepted and silenced along the way. Even though he¡¯s already died, people who leave this world inevitably leave behind all kinds of imprints. We¡¯ll start investigating the people and ces he¡¯s been around to see if we can find anything.¡±

    Sang Hong nodded inwardly. Ah Zu¡¯s n was well thought out. He had been able to neatly summarize the confusing matter. As such, Sang Hong replied, ¡°I like this n. Gao Ying and Pei You will be in charge of surveying the scene of the crime. I will interrogate the various people rted. Ah Zu will be in charge of looking into the guard¡¯s information.¡±

    Gao Ying was meticulous in thought, and Pei You was quick-witted. The two of them were perfect for exploring the location of the duke¡¯s disappearance. The second group had to associate with Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s officials, so if anyone other than him took charge of that task, their words wouldn¡¯t possess enough weight. He had to be the one to take charge of that matter. As for the guard who had been silenced, that was something Zu An understood best to begin with.

    He wanted to send some people to keep an eye on King Qi¡¯s heir too, but Zu An told him that he had already sent Xiao Jianren over. He was once again impressed and satisfied with this son-inw, appreciating Zu An more and more.

    ¡­

    In the following days, each group began their investigation and did their respective duty.

    Meanwhile, In Pei Manor, a beautiful youngdy was sitting in front of a table, applying makeup. The maid behind her was helping herb her hair. The maid gave the youngdy¡¯s chest a jealous look and said, ¡°The miss seems to have been really happy recently. Yourplexion has improved a lot too!¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Pei Mianman supported her chin and looked at the beautiful reflection in the mirror. She couldn''t help but chuckle.

    ¡°The miss has always been smiling andughing like this for no reason. You seem really satisfied with King Qi¡¯s heir.¡± The maid thought to herself, The young miss¡¯ hair really is soft. Combing through her hair didn¡¯t take much work at all. It wasn¡¯t anything like her own dry and tied-up hair.

    ¡°Him?¡± Pei Mianman harrumphed. But she didn¡¯t want to exin further, either.

    The maid didn¡¯t sense the disdain in her voice and continued, ¡°That King Qi¡¯s heir seems to be quite fond of the miss. He keeps visiting the manor with all sorts of desserts, makeup products, and jewelry. The miss has given him the cold shoulder for so long already, but isn¡¯t it about time? He is the young heir of a King Manor, after all. It¡¯ll be bad if he bes offended.¡±

    In her opinion, the young miss only refused to meet with King Qi¡¯s heir to captivate the other party¡¯s heart more. But there was a limit to that kind of thing, right? It was already about time to rein it in.

    ¡°I won¡¯t meet with him!¡± Pei Mianman felt a bit annoyed. She thought to herself that after taking advantage of her, that guy hadn¡¯te for several days. Men are all pigs after all! They don¡¯t know how to treasure you anymore after they get what they want.

    ¡°Won¡¯t you end up really offending King Qi¡¯s heir? Furthermore, the master and madam will be quite troubled too,¡± the maid advised her.

    ¡°What does that have to do with me?¡± Pei Mianman¡¯s expression turned cold when she heard the words ¡®master and madam¡¯. She eximed, ¡°What, did you receive some benefits from that heir? Is that why you¡¯re trying to persuade me right now?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t, I didn¡¯t!¡± The maid immediately waved her hands fearfully. ¡°The young miss has treated me so well; Hong Zao wouldn¡¯t dare to go against you!¡±

    Pei Mianman wasn¡¯t the daughter of the first wife, so she hadn¡¯t received much care in the manor during her earlier years. She¡¯d only had a weak and sickly little maid to help her. Since the maid¡¯s condition wasn¡¯t the best, Pei Mianman would always share a portion of her leftover red dates for her. Later on, she decided to just call the maid Hong Zao.[1]n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    As Pei Mianman grew older and became more and more beautiful, Pei Shao began to treat her with more importance. They wanted to give her more maids, but she refused all of them. The two of them had relied on each other for survival for many years. Hong Zao was a grateful maid as well, and always cared for her master.

    Pei Mianman said, ¡°Hong Zao, I know your intentions are good and that you want to help me escape from this wretched ce. King Qi¡¯s heir is indeed an excellent candidate for most girls, but I don¡¯t like him.¡±

    Hong Zao asked worriedly, ¡°Is the young miss still thinking about your lover from Brightmoon City? But both King Qi Manor and the Pei n seem to be pushing for this wedding to happen. I fear¡­¡± As the miss¡¯ personal maid, even though her master never said anything, the changes in her master didn¡¯t escape her eyes.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. I have my own ways.¡± Pei Mianman had a big smile on her face when she remembered that rascal Zu An.

    Hong Zao couldn''t say anything else either when she saw her master like that, so she began to talk about the manor¡¯s affairs. ¡°King Qi¡¯s heir came over again today. They seemed to be talking about the imperial envoy¡¯s matters with the master and madam. When I was passing by, they seemed to n to invite the young miss to leave on a trip for something. The master was a bit hesitant. That young heir really is going a bit too far! The miss hasn¡¯t even married him, and yet he already wants to use you for something¡­¡±

    Pei Mianman had already stood up before Hong Zao even finished speaking. She eximed, ¡°What?! Bring me to the lobby immediately!¡±

    1. ¡¯Hong Zao¡¯ means ¡®red dates¡¯. ?

 Chapter 1015: Familiarity Breeds Fondness

    <h4>Chapter 1015: Familiarity Breeds Fondness</h4>

    ¡°Young miss, young miss! I haven¡¯t even finishedbing your hair yet!¡± Hong Zao ran after her master, but how could she possibly catch up to Pei Mianman?

    ¡°It¡¯s fine!¡± Pei Mianman casually flicked her wrist, and her beautiful hair turned into a pretty bun.

    Hong Zao blinked nkly. The young miss was the young miss after all. If you were pretty, every hairstyle would suit you. But why is the young miss in such a rush to leave? Don¡¯t tell me she changed her opinion of King Qi¡¯s heir?

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in the guest lobby, Pei Shao and his wife were receiving Zhao Zhi.

    ¡°Thank you, young heir, for the care. That little girl is short-sighted and inexperienced; I fear she would be unable to handle something like that.¡± Pei Shao tactfully refused.

    Are you kidding me? King Qi¡¯s heir wants Pei Mianman to investigate the imperial envoy¡¯s progress on the case? I do want to get closer to King Qi, but I don¡¯t want to offend the court!

    What kind of a group is the imperial envoy? They have the authority to decapitate first and reportter!

    Cloudcenter Duke¡¯s disappearance was full of suspicious factors; there was definitely something terrifying going on behind the scenes. Even the slightest involvement might result in horrifying consequences.

    Pei Shao really didn¡¯t want to get involved in something so messy. In his opinion, the best result was to sessfully marry his daughter off to King Qi¡¯s heir as a concubine. He didn¡¯t want his daughter to do anything in public anymore.

    With her personality, it had been fine for that daughter to keep running around before. But now, they were already discussing marriage with King Qi Manor, so it wasn¡¯t proper to have her going around anymore. Otherwise, it would look very badter. Someone might just use that matter to criticize her for dishonoring the royal family, and say she wasn¡¯t suitable to be the young heir¡¯s concubine.

    ¡°Respected uncle is too modest.¡± Zhao Zhi acted quite humbly, showing Pei Shao the greeting of a junior; Pei Shao appreciated that a lot. Zhao Zhi continued, ¡°Miss Pei¡¯s aptitude is high, and her cultivation also ces her among the best of her peers. She is also quick-witted and resourceful. I have heard about her activities in Brightmoon City as well. She really is a woman who is not inferior to a man at all.¡±

    ¡°Not at all, not at all¡­¡± Pei Shao stroked his beard proudly when he heard those praises about his own daughter. He enjoyed hearing them.

    Zhao Zhi continued, ¡°This is all because I failed to bring enough manpower to Cloudcenter Commandery, and I am not too familiar with the lifestyle around here. I want to investigate the Imperial Envoy somehow, but I do not know how to do so. But Miss Pei is different. The Imperial Envoy this time, Sang Hong, previously served as the governor of Brightmoon City, and his assistant Zu An is also from Brightmoon City. Miss Pei and the others have something of a rtionship with them, so it would be much easier for her to take care of many things.¡±

    Madam Pei spoke up in favor of the suggestion as well and said, ¡°Master, the heir has already expressed his sincerity. We should just help him out here, no?¡±

    She began to like King Qi¡¯s heir more and more. Whether it was his appearance or family background, she was extremely satisfied with both. It was just a pity that she had no daughters herself, or else she would have already offered up her own daughter a long time ago.

    Even though that damn brat Pei Mianman didn¡¯t get along with her, the Zhou Dynasty valued filial piety greatly. As long as they could marry her off to King Qi Manor, a first wife like her would also rise in status greatly. Furthermore, she wouldn¡¯t have to see that damn brat in the manor anymore. Just the thought alone made her extremely happy.

    She was probably the one who wanted the marriage to happen the most in the entire Pei Manor. Zhao Zhi had even brought her so many gifts in that time, so how could she not speak up for him?

    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Pei Shao was hesitant.

    However, a pleasant voice eximed from outside, ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll do this!¡±

    Those inside turned around and saw Pei Mianman slowly walk in from outside.

    Zhao Zhi felt as if the oxygen in his lungs had been blown right out. The side profile he saw before had already left him stunned. Now that he could see her from the front, it was even more overwhelming.

    He had thought that the Chu Chuyan he had seen in the past was already the most beautiful woman of the generation. But now, he discovered that Pei Mianman wasn¡¯t inferior to her in any way! In certain aspects, she was even better.

    Forget about him, even Han Fengqiu, who was next to him, gave Pei Mianman a few more looks. His eyes moved up and down, and he wondered whether her massive rack¡¯s buttons would burst.

    Madam Pei harrumphed. This girl is just like her mother, with her fox-like oval face and ridiculous chest.

    ¡°Greetings, Miss Pei. I am Zhao Zhi. I have long heard of the young miss¡¯ reputation.¡± Zhao Zhi got up, his usually arrogant and casual nature nowhere to be seen. He bowed in a refined and courteous manner, and gave her an introduction he thought was proper and confident.

    Pei Mianmanpletely ignored it and instead said, ¡°I can agree to help you investigate the progress of the Imperial Envoy, but you have to agree to a request of mine too.¡±

    ¡°As long as it is something the young miss asks of me, forget about one thing; I am willing to do it even if it is a thousand or ten thousand things.¡± Zhao Zhi treated Pei Mianman with the best attitude. He was too used to concubines who werepletely submissive; instead, this was the kind of woman who drew his interest. When he had first seen her, he had thought that she would be a woman full of charm. Her current attitude instead showed her aloof and reserved side, which only made him feel even more satisfied.

    Pei Mianman frowned. This guy really is too cheesy. My Ah Zu is much more honest and reliable.

    ¡°Don¡¯t agree so quickly, or else everyone here will be embarrassed,¡± Pei Mianman said indifferently. ¡°I can help the young master investigate the Imperial Envoy, but I hope the young master can give up on any thoughts of marriage with the Pei n.¡±

    The Pei n¡¯s master and his wife turned pale with fright. Pei Shao immediately spoke out to stop her. ¡°Manman!¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°What kind of nonsense are you saying? Has this girl gone mad?¡± Madam Pei shot her a hateful re.

    Zhao Zhi frowned. He couldn''t help but feel some rage too. He was a glorious heir of King Qi, so marrying someone from the Pei n was already supposed to be apromise for him. Furthermore, he had already restrained himself greatly and showed extreme devotion. Yet in the end, the other party was so quick to reject everything he did?

    He replied coldly, ¡°Oh? Why is Miss Pei not willing to marry this young heir?¡±

    After a moment of hesitation, Pei Mianman replied, ¡°Because I do not like the young heir.¡± She had to speak with some tact, or else she might end up infuriating the other party and bringing the Pei n a disaster. Of course, she couldn''t bring Ah Zu trouble either. That was why she didn¡¯t mention him at all.

    Zhao Zhi was stunned at first, then roared withughter. ¡°So it was that kind of reason!¡±

    Madam Pei eximed furiously, ¡°Absolute nonsense! King Qi¡¯s heir is so outstanding; who do you think you are to try and be picky?¡±

    Pei Shao also said with a frown, ¡°Marriages have always been carried out with the mother and father acting as matchmaker. When has it ever been up to you to decide?¡±

    Pei Mianman¡¯s expression turned cold. However, Zhao Zhi instead spoke up to stop the two of them, saying, ¡°This is fine. Miss Pei seems to have a unique personality, and I like that.¡±

    ¡°No one is asking you to like them.¡± Pei Mianman rolled her eyes. She thought to herself, Is there something wrong with your head? I¡¯ve already t out rejected you; do you not understand human speech?

    ¡°Girl, you have sessfully drawn my attention.¡± Zhao Zhi gave her a deep look. He really found her more and more pleasing the more he looked at her. This woman was just too stunning. Even when she was mad, she was still so beautiful.

    If I could bring back Chu Chuyan as well, having both of those beauties on either side, just how amazing would that be?

    But that woman, Chu Chuyan, has no self-respect. She actually got married to someone else! Hmph, she¡¯s already unworthy of bing my wife. But with her looks, I wouldn¡¯t mind taking her in as a pet to y around with¡­

    ¡°This is fine; I agree.¡± Zhao Zhi gave Pei Mianman what he thought was an enchanting look.

    Pei Mianman was stunned. She hadn¡¯t expected him to agree so easily. It was instead the Pei n¡¯s master and madam who became worried. They began, ¡°Young heir, how can you¡­¡±

    Zhao Zhi stopped the two of them from continuing, saying, ¡°This is fine. Since Miss Pei does not like me, there is no use in forcing it. It will be a good thing for us to be friends as well. Furthermore,pleting what I came to do first is most important. My own personal affairs can be considered at ater date.¡±

    Didn¡¯t this woman say she didn¡¯t like me? That¡¯s not a problem at all. That¡¯s only because she¡¯s never met me before. If she stays around me a little longer, with how handsome and charming I am, isn¡¯t subduing a girl who¡¯s just experienced her first awakening of love an easy task?

    Feelings? Those are things that need to be developed. After all, there¡¯s a saying that familiarity breeds fondness. After ten days, or half a month, she might bepletely head-over-heels in love with me.

    With the generosity I just showed, she must be incredibly shocked, right? There¡¯s actually a young heir who is this considerate in this world?! She¡¯ll definitely have a good impression of me now. And being curious about a man is often the beginning of a girl¡¯s entrapment.

    As for the promise, once we get along, all of that will be easy to take care of.

    Pei Mianman had a strange expression on her face. She thought to herself, Why is this guy smiling like a freaking idiot?

    I¡¯ve heard everyone say that the crown prince is an idiot. It looks like this heir of King Qi isn¡¯t much better.

    Is there something wrong with the entire royal family¡¯s bloodline? Do they all give birth to these kinds of ¡®prodigies¡¯?

 Chapter 1016: From Now On, You Have Me

    <h4>Chapter 1016: From Now On, You Have Me</h4>

    When he saw Pei Mianman look at him with her head slightly tilted, Zhao Zi interpreted it as her developing interest in him. Heughed confidently and said, ¡°Right, there is something I wish to remind Miss Pei about. There is someone in the imperial envoy named Zu An. That person is a pervert and absolutely shameless. Miss Pei needs to be careful and not let this man take advantage of you.¡±

    Pei Mianman¡¯s expression turned cold. That guy Ah Zu is indeed a pervert, and also a bit shameless, but only I can say that. That¡¯s not for someone like you to say.

    Pei Shao said, ¡°Young heir, do not worry. Manman has always been a trustworthy person. She is reliable in taking care of matters.¡±

    At the same time, he was curious, as he had met Zu Anst time at the banquet. Zu An¡¯s cultivation was high, and he had high achievements in the arts; he didn¡¯t seem to be anything like how King Qi¡¯s heir was describing him at all. Why was the young heir saying those things?

    Zhao Zhiughed and said, ¡°Right, right, I am the one who has had too many misgivings. Miss Pei will definitely be able to take care of this task well.¡±

    Pei Mianman said coldly, ¡°I¡¯ll leave toplete the mission. Please remember your promise.¡± She turned around to leave afterward. She didn¡¯t want to see that face anymore; she worried she might not be able to hold herself back anymore if she stayed for even another moment.

    When he saw her swaying figure, Zhao Zhi felt as if his heart would jump out of his chest. He asked, ¡°Should this young heir walk Miss Pei out?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need!¡± Pei Mianman didn¡¯t even turn around.

    Zhao Zhi didn¡¯t think too much about it and said with a smile, ¡°Then I wish Miss Pei sess.¡±

    Pei Mianman didn¡¯t even react to him. Her figure quickly disappeared into the distance.

    Zhao Zhi narrowed his eyes. This woman has just the right amount of spice! This young heir likes you! Only this kind of woman is worth subduing!

    Han Fengqiu instead frowned slightly. This woman doesn¡¯t seem to like the young heir that much. But the young heir doesn¡¯t seem to have realized that yet. Should I find a chance to remind him?

    But when he saw how excited Zhao Zhi was, he still abandoned that thought. The young master might be unhappy if he poured cold water all over him. Instead, he thought, It might just be the temper tantrum of a youngdy. Her attitude will changeter.

    ¡­

    Since Pei Mianman had already left, Zhao Zhi felt that staying any longer was senseless. After chatting with Pei Shao for a while longer, he got up and bid the couple farewell.

    ¡°Young heir, take care!¡± the couple replied.

    After they escorted Zhao Zhi out, Madam Pei couldn''t help but say resentfully, ¡°Master, what¡¯s wrong with you? Not only did you not stop him, you even helped that damn brat. Now, our wonderful n of marriage is all spoiled!¡± Even if you don¡¯t want to be a father-inw of King Qi Manor, I want to be his mother-inw!

    ¡°Who said it would bepletely spoiled?¡± Pei Shao stroked his beard and said with a mysterious smile. ¡°The key part of this marriage depends on whether the young heir likes her or not. If the young heir doesn¡¯t like her, no amount of nning will do anything. If the young heir likes her, even if the marriage has been canceled on the surface, it won¡¯t really matter.¡±

    Madam Pei¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°If you put it like that, the young heir indeed seems pretty fond of that girl. Hmph, she¡¯s just like her mom, a vixen who naturally seduces men.¡±

    Pei Shao¡¯s face darkened. He harrumphed and stormed off in a huff. Madam Pei sneered as she stared at his back. There was a hint of pride in her smile.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An was leading a horse as he strolled through Cloudcenter City¡¯s streets.

    The northwest had experienced a lot of wind and snowfall. At that point, all of Cloudcenter City was covered in ayer of silver. But even though it was cold, the streets were still extremely lively. Shouts echoed through the ce, many words sounding as if they were in an unfamiliar dialect. Zu An couldn''t understand anything.

    Cloudcenter Commandery was located on a major road in the northwest. Merchants from all around the country passed through it, and there were many fiend race merchants there as well. Even though the fiend races and humans had previously experienced a great war, business was still business, unstoppable like a wildfire.

    The fiend races had many factions. Those who had good rtions with the human race naturally had their ways of obtaining trade permits that allowed them to cross over the borders. That was why there was a much more generous variety of goods avable in Cloudcenter City¡¯s streets than there was in other ces.

    Zu An was, of course, not there just for a stroll. He was investigating the whereabouts of the missing duke¡¯s personal guard.

    There were thirty-six members of Cloudcenter Duke¡¯s personal guard in total. A small group of them had followed Gong Pan to Yu Yanluo. Those individuals had already been carefully investigated and cleared of suspicion.

    Another small portion of those guards had been assigned to different locations. They had been ¡®promoted¡¯ in name, but everyone knew they would never recover their former glory. However, those people¡¯s circumstances didn¡¯t seem to be that terrible; they definitely didn¡¯t have it the worst.

    The worst off were the remaining fifteen guards. Among them, nine of them had been crippled for various reasons and had no choice but to be discharged from military service. The remaining six hadn¡¯t even been able to retain their lives.

    Zu An had just visited those nine who were still alive. He had personally checked in on every one of these individuals. Even though some of their wounds were a little fishy, he didn¡¯t think too much of it. After all, even though they were crippled and wounded, they were still themselves at least. None of them were the one Zu An was searching for.

    Looks like the one I¡¯m looking for is among the six deceased. While Zu An was thinking to himself, he suddenly heard a charming voice next to him.

    ¡°This young master seems to have gotten a bit lost. How about you request a local to show you around?¡±

    Zu An turned around, and his eyes immediately lit up. Pei Mianman was standing nearby, smiling at him. Her beautiful eyes really were intoxicating and enchanting. She waspletely covered in a fiery red overcoat. She looked just like a blossoming flower amid all the snow.

    ¡°How did you find me?¡± Zu An asked, surprised and happy. When he saw her nose was a bit red from the cold, he quickly reached over to touch her cold face, using his hand¡¯s warmth to ease the cold.

    ¡°Hmph, a certain someone got a taste of what they wanted and never came back, so I had no choice but toe to you. How can a woman not find her man? I¡¯m not like some people,¡± Pei Mianman replied. It was so cold that white mist appeared whenever she spoke. Even so, it still wasn¡¯t enough to cover up the grudge she carried.

    Zu An apologized quickly, ¡°I¡¯m really sorry. I¡¯ve been investigating the case of Cloudcenter Duke all this time. I¡¯ve been so busy that I didn¡¯t even have the time to be distracted about other things.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, the proverbs were right after all. Once a man obtains the girl, he won¡¯t think about her at all anymore.¡± Pei Mianman had just been feigning a small tantrum at first, but she really did start to feel stronger emotions the more she talked about it. She began to pout.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Who said I didn¡¯t think about you?¡± Zu An took out a brilliant red tanghulu[1] skewer from behind him. ¡°I was wondering what to give you as a gift while walking through the streets. When I saw this tanghulu, I bought it for you.¡±

    ¡°How did you know I really like tanghulu?¡± Pei Mianman¡¯s eyes lit up. Shepletely forgot about her annoyance. She grabbed the tanghulu and carefully gave it a lick.

    ¡°Because I heard about how you were really happy when your mother bought you some tanghulu when you were little.¡± Zu An stroked her head in a doting manner. Who would think such a stunning woman would have such a childish side to her?

    ¡°You actually remembered.¡± Pei Mianman¡¯s eyes conveyed her smile. There wasn¡¯t even half a trace of her previous unhappiness left.

    If Zhao Zhi were there to see them, he might just vomit blood from anger. Every single day, he hade to Pei Manor with Cloudcenter City¡¯s most expensive pastries and food, but Pei Mianman hadn¡¯t even given any of it a single look before feeding it to her maid. She hadn¡¯t even smiled for him a single time. Yet now, another man had bought her a random tanghulu for just a few coins and she was this happy?

    ¡°Is it good?¡± Zu An looked at her curiously.

    ¡°It tastes good! But it¡¯s a bit too big, mm¡­¡± Pei Mianman had only given it a few licks at first, but she could no longer hold back on the sweetness and put the tanghulu straight into her mouth, leaving her cheeks swelling a bit.

    ¡°Go slowly, or else you might choke on it.¡± Zu An helped her wipe the corner of her lips considerately.

    When she finally finished the tanghulu, Pei Mianman had a satisfied look on her face. She said, ¡°I haven¡¯t eaten any tanghulu ever since my mom passed away, because they always taste bitter whenever I try to eat one. Thank you for bringing this happy feeling back to me.¡±

    Zu An held her hand, feeling heartbroken. He said, ¡°All that is in the past. From now on, you have me.¡± Even though Pei Mianman had never talked about her past, he could imagine just how difficult it was for someone like her, who had lost her mother at a young age.

    Pei Mianman voiced her acknowledgement as she gently leaned against him. The two of them walked through the snow-covered world just like that. She really wished that the road would never end.

    Unfortunately, their moment of peace was quickly interrupted by a burst of hooves. A strong, tough-looking man approached on horseback. When he saw Zu An, he immediately greeted him respectfully and said, ¡°Sir Zu, I have already investigated the things you asked me to look into.¡±

    Only then did he see Pei Mianman at Zu An¡¯s side. He froze uppletely, thinking, How can there be someone this beautiful in this world?

    There was even such a lovely fragranceing from her. It really was enough to make anyone go weak from a single look. The man thought, No wonder Sir Gao and Sir Pei always say they want Zu An to be their master¡­ Sir Zu really is a model for all men!

    Zu An received the paper from his hands and said with a smile, ¡°I¡¯ve troubled you. Please continue investigating the remaining people.¡±

    The robust man cupped his hands. He couldn''t help but sneak another look at Pei Mianman before leaving, however. His gaze just happened to meet her beautiful eyes. Guiltily, he looked away to avoid eye contact, his face red.

    Pei Mianman had already been used to such things ever since she was little, so she didn¡¯t feel any resentment over it and didn¡¯t take it to heart. She turned to Zu An and asked, ¡°Ah Zu, what happened?¡±

    When she saw the contents of the paper in his hands, however, her brow gradually furrowed.

    1. Tanghulu are skewered candied fruits. ?

 Chapter 1017: The Dead Wonâ€™t Lie

    <h4>Chapter 1017: The Dead Won¡¯t Lie</h4>

    Zu An put away the paper strip and said, ¡°Cloudcenter Duke had six personal guards who died in their line of duty. I had my subordinates look into their respective situations.

    ¡°Three of their deaths weren¡¯t suspicious at all, and their remains have already been investigated. However, the other three¡¯s deaths are fishy.¡±

    ¡°How so?¡± Pei Mianman asked curiously.

    Zu An exined, ¡°For example, one was attacked by the fiend races and was beheaded. In the end, his colleagues were only able to bring back a headless corpse.

    ¡°Another guard was investigating a drug smuggling case. In the end, the storeroom he was investigating caught fire. His entire body was burned to a crisp.

    ¡°Thhe third had all of his blood essence sucked away, leaving behind only a shriveled corpse.¡±

    Pei Mianman was intelligent. She quickly reacted, saying, ¡°Themon point between these individuals is that it¡¯s difficult to discern their identities.¡±

    ¡°Indeed.¡± Zu An nodded, continuing, ¡°What I suspect is that others actually reced the real bodies with fakes. These corpses might not be the ones I¡¯m looking for.¡±

    ¡°But how do you investigate something like that?¡± Pei Mianman was a bit worried. ¡°After all, it¡¯s already hard to even discern those people¡¯s identities.¡±

    ¡°Anyone in this world will inevitably leave behind all kinds of traces. Even the most careful murderer will unknowingly leave behind holes they didn¡¯t pay attention to,¡± Zu An said. He paused for a moment, then said, ¡°Furthermore, the living might lie, but the dead won¡¯t.¡±

    Pei Mianman¡¯s expression changed slightly. She began, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡­¡±

    Zu An nodded with a smile and said, ¡°My love, since we have some leisure time, will you join me on a graveyard date?¡±

    ¡°Hmph, what sane person goes on a date in the cemetery?¡± Pei Mianman shot back. After all, she was a girl. She had an instinctive rejection toward those kinds of things.

    Zu An knew it was a bit awkward for her, so he said, ¡°It¡¯s fine; you should go back first. I¡¯ll look for you after I¡¯m done.¡±

    Pei Mianman experienced a bit of an internal struggle, but she still didn¡¯t want to leave her lover. As such, she insisted, ¡°No, I still want to go with you.¡±

    Wasn¡¯t the Pei Manor the same as a graveyard anyway? If she could be with her lover, wasn¡¯t that home wherever she went?

    Zu An was a bit reluctant to leave her. He held her hand and said with a smile, ¡°That¡¯s good too. When husband and wife are of one mind, we can do anything.¡±

    ¡°Who wants to be your wife?¡± Pei Mianman pouted yfully. However, she still let him hold her hand in the end.

    Zu An got on his horse, saying, ¡°The graveyard is outside of the city. It¡¯s still a distance away from here. It¡¯ll be more convenient to go by horse.¡± He patted the spot in front of him, gesturing for her to get on.

    Pei Mianman blushed. If they were in a private ce, she would happily sit there. But right now, they were in the city, where people came and went. Sitting there pressed up against him really would be a bit too bold for her.

    She wasn¡¯t so well known that everyone knew who she was, but with her appearance and her identity as the Pei n¡¯s young miss, many people still recognized her. If someone saw her and the news went back to her parents, things would be a bit troublesome. As such, she kicked off the ground and instead sat behind Zu An.

    ¡°Hold on tight,¡± Zu An reminded her.

    Pei Mianman pursed her lips. If they were in private, forget about holding onto him, she would be willing to do a thousand other things. But holding onto the waist of her man in broad daylight in the streets was still awkward for her as a reserved youngdy.

    But who would¡¯ve thought that Zu An would pull on the reins and cause the horse to sprint forward? He eximed, ¡°Giddyup!¡±

    Pei Mianman lost her center of gravity and almost fell off of the horse. Fortunately, her cultivation was high enough for her to react quickly. She wrapped her arms around Zu An¡¯s waist to steady herself.

    Zu An¡¯s expression became somewhat strange when he felt something press against his back. Big Manman wasn¡¯t Big Manman for nothing!

    ¡°You did that on purpose, right?¡± Pei Mianman beat his back with her fist, but she couldn''t bear to really use any strength.

    Zu Anughed. He swung the reins and they quickly left the city. Riding his steed with a beauty by his side really was an incredibly blissful thing.

    ¡°Ah, slow¡­ Slow down, I can¡¯t take it anymore¡­¡± Pei Mianman was almost thrown off several times. She could only hug the man in front of her tightly.

    ¡°Swiftness and decisiveness are the keys to sess! I¡¯ve already begun to investigate these guards, so the powers that are in hiding might already be on guard. It¡¯ll be troublesome if they end up destroying all of the evidence,¡± Zu An exined.

    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Pei Mianman pressed tightly against Zu An¡¯s body. Even though there were clothes separating them, she could still feel thefortably warm heating from his wide and sturdy back. She suddenly felt an incredible sense of peace and bliss fill her. This was something she had only imagined as a fantasy with her sweetheart before. She had never expected it to reallye true today.

    ¡°Ah Zu, do you know why I looked for you today?¡± Pei Mianman asked, her face pressed tightly against his back. Having someone to block the wind and snow for her really was a great feeling.

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t it because you missed me?¡± Zu An replied with a smile.

    ¡°Hmph, that¡¯s only part of it.¡± Pei Mianman wasn¡¯t too shy this time and said, ¡°It¡¯s also because King Qi¡¯s heir wants me to investigate your Imperial Envoy¡¯s progress.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Zu An¡¯s brow rose. Pei Mianman gave him a rough summary of Zhao Zhi¡¯s visits. Zu An said with a sigh, ¡°There really is something wrong with the heads of men in this world. Why do they always like to send their own fiancees to other men?¡±

    Zu An recalled the situation with Sang Qian. But then again, he had ended up taking advantage of Sang Qian¡¯s younger sister, so he was a bit embarrassed to argue about it. Still, he actually didn¡¯t mind that kind of behavior at all. In fact, the more people he met who were like that in the future, the better. Please don¡¯t pity a delicate flower like me; juste at me! Beautiful women, pleasee and trample all over me!n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Hmph, who¡¯s his fiancee? I¡¯ve never agreed to such a thing.¡± Pei Mianman bit down on Zu An, expressing a bit of resentment.

    ¡°Of course you¡¯re my woman. That toad Zhao Zhi even wants to get together with someone like you? He thinks he¡¯s being smart, but he¡¯s not only going to give away his bride; he¡¯s also going to lose his army on top of it!¡± Zu An eximed whileughing.

    Pei Mianman felt that Zu An¡¯s words sounded strange. But when she heard him loudly proim that she was his woman, she hugged him even tighter and didn¡¯t say anything else.

    Zu An felt as if his entire body were leaning against a ball of cotton the entire time. He thought to himself, No wonder those bikers from my previous world all made their women sit behind them. I actually automatically asked her to sit in the front! I¡¯m still too naive¡­

    Just like that, the two of them were immersed in their own thoughts, neither one of them wishing to interrupt such a beautiful feeling.

    ¡­

    They unwittingly arrived at the city outskirts¡¯ cemetery. Even though the world was big, there were still designated burial areas. One couldn''t just bury someone wherever one wanted to, because thend might not be theirs. There wasn¡¯t even enoughnd for growing crops. A single disaster and one might not be able to pay back one¡¯s loans. Then, one¡¯snd would be seized by anotherndlord.

    The authorities would often assign a piece of wastnd to people who had no other ces for a burial. However, the ones buried there often didn¡¯t have many family members left. After a few generations, there would be no one there to pay their respects anymore. Thus, the ce would turn into an abandoned graveyard over time.

    Cloudcenter Duke¡¯s trusted guards were clearly treated much better than that, however. Cloudcenter Duke had set aside a piece ofnd for the burial of those who had passed away in the line of duty within his ownnd. Even though he had gone missing, the system still continued.

    There were several pine and cypress trees nearby, with an assortment of flowers and nts sprinkled throughout. Of course, there weren¡¯t many flowers in the current cold season.

    The cemetery had gravekeepers who were normally in charge of pruning the flowers and nts, as well as preventing beasts from destroying the graveyard. But at the moment, it was snowing, so all of them were hiding inside and warming themselves by the fire. None of them woulde out to check the graves in such a situation.

    Zu An and Pei Mianman entered the graveyard without any issues. They quickly located the locations of the guards¡¯ graves by following the information Zu An had received from his subordinate.

    ¡°Are we really going to dig up graves?¡± Pei Mianman turned around stiffly. The ride had been too bumpy, and the two of them had been pressed up against each other the entire time. Her body was still feeling numb. She didn¡¯t want Zu An to see such a poor side of her.

    Zu An voiced his confirmation, saying, ¡°You can just stay over there. I can do this alone.¡±

    Pei Mianman opened her mouth and wanted to say she was going to help. But when she thought about what he was going to do, she still gave up on that idea in the end.

    ¡°Courageous heroes, this humble one doesn¡¯t wish to disturb your rest, but I want to bring justice to all of you. After all, there really was someone who harmed you, and I don¡¯t think all of you wanted to die such tragic deaths either¡­¡± Zu An took out several sticks of incense he had prepared beforehand, lighting them and bowing to all the graves. Then, he began to do what he had to do.

    This was a world of cultivators; each cultivator was practically an excavating machine in human form on their own. Digging up a grave wasn¡¯t as difficult as it seemed, and a coffin quickly emerged.

    ¡°This person¡¯s name is Cheng Ba. He was ambushed by the fiend races and beheaded,¡± Zu An exined as he opened the coffin. A wave of stench spread outward.

    ¡°Be careful of the corpse toxins.¡± Pei Mianman pointed with her hand, and a strand of ck me flew over and burned away all of the toxic air.

    ¡°You¡¯re as meticulous as always,¡± Zu An said with a chuckle. Then, he began to examine the corpse inside.

    Only the body was present. The head had been reced by a wooden carving. Even though it had already been several months since the person died, Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s temperature was cold, so the body hadn¡¯tpletely turned into a skeleton yet.

    ¡°There isn¡¯t even a head left; what can you even investigate at this point?¡± Pei Mianman covered her mouth and nose with her handkerchief. She also handed Zu An one. If it weren¡¯t because of her lover, she would never stay in such a ce.

 Chapter 1018: The Trail Has Been Cut Short?

    <h4>Chapter 1018: The Trail Has Been Cut Short?</h4>

    ¡°There are more ways to verify someone¡¯s identity than just looking at their head.¡± Zu An took out a wooden stick and fiddled with the corpse. ¡°This person has at least thirty wounds on his body. Even if he hadn¡¯t been beheaded, he would have died from the blood loss.

    ¡°He fought a bitter battle before he died, and these wounds are curved and strange. They look entirely different from the wounds inflicted by the weapons of the Zhou Dynasty¡¯s cultivators. They look simr to the curved des of the fiend races.¡±

    ¡°Do you think that maybe someone might have secretly used those kinds of curved des to make you think he was killed by the fiend races?¡± Pei Mianman voiced her doubt.

    ¡°There is indeed that possibility. But look over here.¡± Zu An pointed at the space between the remains¡¯ left index finger and thumb. ¡°Even though we can¡¯t see the calluses anymore, his joints are clearly a bitrger than his right hand. He definitely wielded his de with his left hand.

    ¡°This matches with the intelligence my subordinates have provided. Cheng Ba was indeed left-handed.¡±

    ¡°With all of these intense battle scars and details like his left-handedness being urate, the chance of all this just being an imitation is too low. Therefore, this probably isn¡¯t the one I¡¯m looking for.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right¡­¡± Pei Mianman nodded when she heard him say that. She suddenly realized what he was saying and asked, ¡°Then who is the one you¡¯re looking for?¡±

    ¡°There was a guard loyal to Cloudcenter Duke who traveled a vast distance to bring a report to the capital. However, he was silenced along the way.¡± Zu An looked at the tombs. His voice was full of respect as he said, ¡°I came here to confirm his identity, not to find any new clues.¡±

    ¡°That is indeed a loyal guard.¡± Pei Mianman was also moved. She continued, ¡°Right, I said I¡¯d help King Qi¡¯s heir to get information. You already told me everything! Aren¡¯t you scared that I¡¯ll betray you and tell him everything?¡±

    Zu Anughed and replied, ¡°What kind of rtionship do we have? Why would I not trust you?¡±

    Even though Pei Miaman was incredibly happy to hear that, she still had a strict look on her face as she remarked, ¡°What am I going to do with you? You¡¯re going to be deceived by a girl sooner orter.¡±

    ¡°But what if I¡¯m okay with you deceiving me?¡± Zu An looked straight at her as he spoke.

    ¡°You¡¯re so corny¡­¡± Pei Mianman could no longer hold back her smile. She said, ¡°Hurry up and do what you have to do here already. I don¡¯t want to stay here for too long.¡±

    Zu An nodded. He closed the coffin lid and covered the tomb up again. He hade to investigate a case; disturbing these soldiers¡¯ rest was already crossing the line, so how could he just leave the coffin out in the open?

    He quickly dug up the second tomb. Pei Mianman was initially eager to help him burn away the corpse toxins, but when she saw what was inside, her expression changed greatly. She sprinted away and began to retch.

    The only thing left in the coffin was a pitch-ck corpse. Many parts of it were cracked open, revealing the flesh underneath. Perhaps it was because too much time had passed, or due to some other reasons, but the color and shape of his flesh really were beyond words¡­

    Zu An waved his hand to fan away the coffin¡¯s smell. Then he exined, ¡°This person¡¯s name was Chen Zhou. He was investigating an illegal drug smuggling case. Later on, when he found a suspicious warehouse, it suddenly burst into mes and he was burned to death.¡±

    ¡°It was probably the smugglers who wanted to cover all the evidence, and thus burned him to death.¡± Pei Mianman¡¯s pretty brow furrowed.

    ¡°We have to examine the corpse to be sure.¡± Zu An took out a glove he had prepared in advance as he spoke. He took out a dagger and slowly cut into the corpse¡¯s chest cavity.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Pei Mianman¡¯s eyes widened when she saw that. She really couldn''t understand why he would do something like that.

    Zu An carefully cut through the nauseating rotting flesh while exining, ¡°I need to see if he really was burned to death. If he really was burned to death, there should be ashes left in his respiratory tract. There should also be signs of burns. If he had been burned after being silenced, those traces wouldn¡¯t be there.¡±

    ¡°Ah Zu, why do you know all of these things?¡± Pei Mianman was a bit shocked. What he said was easy to understand, but if he hadn¡¯t said it, she really couldn¡¯t have reached such a conclusion.

    Zu An chuckled and replied, ¡°You¡¯d know if you watched a lot of dramas.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Pei Mianman was confused. She clearly didn¡¯t really understand what he was saying.

    Zu An frowned and said, ¡°He really was burned to death.¡± Even though the corpse was rotting a bit, he could still see ashes in the person¡¯s windpipe.

    ¡°Then his death isn¡¯t suspicious?¡± Pei Mianman asked.

    Zu An nodded. Then, he dug up the third grave. He opened up the coffin, revealing a dried corpse with a warped and sinister expression. But this time, Pei Mianman remainedpletely calm. After all, she had already seen simr things many times. She had seen such things a few times when they were in Yinxu.

    ¡°This person was named Yu Li. ording to the records, he had all of his blood essence sucked out by an unknown monster.¡± Zu An looked at the corpse¡¯s warped appearance. He could imagine just how much pain and suffering the man had gone through before he died.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me the monster was like Mosquito Daoist?¡± Mosquito Daoist had left Pei Mianman with a huge psychological shadow back then.

    Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°There aren¡¯t many members of the blood race. Furthermore, if one of them really did do something, it would cause a huge scandal. There¡¯s no way there would only be a single victim.¡± He examined the corpse while speaking. His expression soon became strange and he said, ¡°I know how he died.¡±

    Pei Mianman blinked and looked at him in shock. He had already deduced how this person had died just from fiddling with his corpse a bit?

    ¡°He was probably sucked dry by Thick-Browed Daoist¡­¡± Zu An exined what had happened between him and Thick-Browed Daoist in Yi Commandery. Since he had faced that person before, he immediately sensed traces of the other cultivator that were still left in the corpse. It was indeed Thick-Browed Daoist¡¯s demonic technique.

    Pei Mianman sighed and said, ¡°I¡¯ve heard a bit about this infamous Thick-Browed Daoist. His cultivation was high and his cultivation method was strange. Even if one¡¯s cultivation were higher than his, one would still be fearful of his evil technique. But it was his misfortune to have encountered you instead.¡± The two of them had spent a long time in Yinxu, so of course she knew that Zu An had learned the Heaven Devouring Sutra.

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°I actually hope more of these independent cultivators like Thick-Browed Daoiste for me.¡± The precious materials he had gotten were one thing, but that Face of a Thousand Identities was just incredible! The more he studied it, the more engrossed he became.

    ¡°That Thick-Browed Daoist might be so angered by what you said that he¡¯ll juste back to life.¡± Pei Mianman giggled. Then, a hint of worry appeared on her beautiful cheeks. ¡°You already checked three people, and their causes of death aren¡¯t suspicious. Does that mean the trail has been cut short?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not it.¡± Zu An chuckled. He restored the grave, then led Pei Mianman away from the graveyard.

    ¡°Don¡¯t touch me.¡± When she saw his hand move toward her, Pei Mianman took a step back with a strange expression.

    Zu An was a bit hurt, replying, ¡°I was wearing a glove earlier, and I already washed my hands by the stream¡­¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care.¡± When she recalled how Zu An had dissected those corpses, Pei Mianman¡¯s little face turned pale. Zu An was left speechless.

    ¡°Fine, fine, fine, I won¡¯t touch you. You hold onto me, then.¡± Zu An got back onto the horse and gestured for her to sit behind him.

    When she recalled the amazing experience of riding to the graveyard, Pei Mianman felt her chest tremble a bit. A blush appeared on her tender and beautiful face as she murmured, ¡°You dummy¡­¡±

    But even though that was what she said, she still sat behind him.

    ¡­

    They quickly left the area. Pei Mianman¡¯s beautiful eyes seemed on the verge of tears. She quickly asked something to hide her embarrassment. ¡°Where are we going?¡±

    ¡°To their homes,¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°Their?¡± Pei Mianman asked with a trembling voice. ¡°The ones from just now?¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Zu An said. Pei Mianman was speechless.

    Soon afterward, the two arrived at a small vige on the outskirts. A handful of brick houses were scattered across the vige.

    Zu An walked to a courtyard halfway up the mountain. There was a six or seven-year-old little boy at the gate, riding a bamboo stick horse and waving a wooden sword in his hands. The boy was shouting carelessly, ¡°Charge!¡± He was clearly ying war games.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Pei Mianman had a smile on her face as she remarked, ¡°This child is really cute.¡±

    Zu An moved over to her and whispered, ¡°Our child will definitely be even cuter.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re so annoying! Who wants to have a child with you?¡± Pei Mianman gave him a nudge. But inwardly, she was already starting to look forward to it.

    ¡°Wow! Your horse looks so strong!¡± The little child noticed them and saw the big horse they were riding on. He immediately felt his own bamboo horse wasn¡¯t anything special.

    The pair got off the horse, and Zu An patted the boy''s head, asking, ¡°Little guy, is this Chen Zhou¡¯s home?¡±

    ¡°You guys know my dad?¡± The little guy¡¯s face shone brightly.

    ¡°We¡¯re your dad¡¯s friends,¡± Zu An replied. When he saw the look of suspicion in the child¡¯s eyes, Zu An thought for a bit, then took out a shortsword from his Brilliant ss Bead. ¡°You seem to like ying war games, so this uncle will give you a present.¡±

    There were many weapons and other such things inside. But in order to prevent the child from hurting himself, Zu An gave him a shortsword that was merely ordinary. However, anything he would store in his Brilliant ss Bead was definitely not low quality.

    Sure enough, the little child loved it. He held the short sword close to his chest. After thinking for a moment, he handed over his wooden sword, saying, ¡°My dad told me you can¡¯t carelessly receive kindness. You gave me this sword, so I¡¯ll give you one. That way, we¡¯re even!¡±

    The child was quite naive. How could he have known that the shortsword¡¯s value was high enough to buy hundreds of those wooden toy swords?

    ¡°Little guy, who are you talking to?¡± There was a loud noise as a woman walked out while wiping her wet hands on her apron. Her expression changed a bit when she saw Zu An and Pei Mianman. She rushed forward and took the little child into her arms. She looked at the two vigntly and asked, ¡°Who are you two?¡±

    Zu An quickly examined the other party. Working year-round had made her skin a bit dark, and her arms were rough. She was just like the peasant women he had seen on his way here. Her face was a bit prettier than average, but it wasn¡¯t enough for her to be considered a beauty.

    ¡°They said they were daddy¡¯s friends.¡± The little child wasn¡¯t on guard at all. He even replied right away.

    ¡°Friends?¡± The madam looked at the two of them in suspicion. But suspicion was suspicion. She saw that the man was handsome, and the woman was ridiculously pretty. She suddenly felt a bit ashamed of her own inferiority with the two of them standing in front of her.

    How could her husband possibly have friends of this level?!

 Chapter 1019: The Truth Comes to Light

    <h4>Chapter 1019: The Truth Comes to Light</h4>

    Zu An gave the child a look. He wanted to say something, but he hesitated. The woman patted her son and said, ¡°My son, go and y in the back for a while.¡±

    ¡°Okay!¡± The little child wanted to test out his new weapon anyway. He happily ran toward the back when he heard that.

    ¡°Be careful not to hurt yourself with that sword!¡± Zu An warned him. The other party was still young after all. It would be bad if he ended up identally hurting himself.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine; he¡¯s always secretly yed with his father¡¯s sword ever since he was little. He was already beaten several times for that.¡± The woman¡¯s expression immediately eased a bit when she heard the other party¡¯s sincere concern for her son. ¡°Why have I never heard that my husband had friends like the two of you?¡±

    ¡°Greetings, elder sister. Big Bro Chen saved me once before on a mission, but because of different assignments, we went our separate ways. I wanted to meet with him again after returning to Cloudcenter Commandery and properly thank him for saving my life. But who would¡¯ve thought that I would end up hearing such grievous news about him?¡± Zu An sighed with sorrow.

    Pei Mianman looked at him in rm. Isn¡¯t this guy a bit too good at acting? He¡¯spletely immersed in this role! She had actually been worried before, feeling that he might be deceived by a woman back then, but wasn¡¯t the woman the one beingpletely duped this time?

    But then she heard him say that his name was An Man. Wasn¡¯t that created frombining their names? She immediately felt happy when she thought of that.

    The woman¡¯s eyes turned red when she thought of her husband. She felt broken-hearted as she said, ¡°It¡¯s all because of those smugglers¡­¡±

    ¡°Elder sister, please don¡¯t feel too sad.¡± Zu An took out a hundred taels of fine silver from his Brilliant ss Bead, put them into a wooden case, and handed it over. ¡°This is a bit of my own regard; I hope elder sister will ept it.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t, I can¡¯t, it¡¯s too much¡­¡± The woman was hard-pressed and quickly rejected the offer. She wiped her hands on her dress and didn¡¯t even know where to ce them. A hundred taels of silver wasn¡¯t much for a rich and powerful man, but it was a huge sum of money formon people.

    ¡°How can a life-saving grace be valued by money?¡± Zu An said with an upright expression, ¡°I only hate the fact that I was toote to save Big Bro Chen. The only thing I can do is help him take care of his family a bit.¡±

    Seeing that the woman still wouldn¡¯t take it, Pei Mianman said with a smile, ¡°Elder sister, even if you aren¡¯t thinking for yourself, please consider this for your child. Wouldn¡¯t it be great if your child could have a better environment to grow up in?¡±

    The woman only epted the gift when she heard Pei Mianman mention her son. She thanked the two of them while saying to Pei Mianman, ¡°Thisdy really is beautiful and outstanding. Is she your wife?¡±

    Zu An nodded and held Pei Mianman¡¯s hand, saying, ¡°Yes, she is.¡±

    Pei Mianman¡¯s eyes turned a bit red when she heard him introduce her like that. Because of her rtionship with Chu Chuyan, she had always intentionally avoided naming their rtionship. But back then, her mother had passed away without even properly bing the main wife of the Pei n, so how could she not care about such a thing? When she heard him say that, she felt that everything she had done was worth it.

    ¡°What a blessing; the two of you are definitely a perfect match,¡± the woman said with a sigh. ¡°Chen Zhou unfortunately didn¡¯t have such luck¡­¡± She silently wiped at her eyes after saying that.

    Pei Mianman handed over a handkerchief. However, the woman didn¡¯t take it for fear that she would dirty the pretty snow-white handkerchief. She just casually wiped her tears on the corners of her dress.

    ¡°Elder sister, do you know which smuggler Big Bro Chen was investigating? I want to see if I can avenge him.¡± Zu An took the chance to inquire about the matter.

    The woman shook her head and said, ¡°He never told me anything about his work. Also, his mission was especially secretive, so there was no way he would tell me. As for what he was investigating, only the government authorities would know, right¡­? Brother An, don¡¯t get involved in this matter anymore. Your Big Bro Chen has already lost his life. If you end up losing your life too, we won¡¯t be able to live in peace for the rest of our lives!¡±

    ¡°Elder sister, don¡¯t worry; I¡¯ll be careful and won¡¯t do anything reckless,¡± Zu An reassured her. He then asked, ¡°By the way, after something happened to Big Bro Chen, did the authorities give you anypensatory silver? If not, I can help you urge them a bit. I can¡¯t let my brother¡¯s dedication go unrewarded, after all.¡±

    ¡°They did. Some government officials came by just a few days after something happened to that child¡¯s father. The leader was the previous captain; I think he was surnamed Gong or something¡­¡± The woman couldn''t remember the name on the spot.

    ¡°Gong Pan?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°Exactly! That¡¯s him,¡± the woman said. She continued, ¡°Sir Gong is really a good official! After something happened to that child¡¯s father, I felt as if the skies h ad copsed. Fortunately, I had Sir Gong to help me take care of the funeral arrangements, and only then could we manage to survive this most difficult time.

    ¡°Thepensation was given by Sir Gong too. Onlyter did I learn that it was a bit higher than usual. Sir Gong probably added a bit out of his own pockets.

    ¡°I¡¯ve always wanted to find a chance to return it to him, but I have to take care of my son and can¡¯t leave. Sir Gong is always busy as well, so I¡¯m worried that I¡¯ll disturb him. Brother An, perhaps you could help me bring the silver to Sir Gong?¡±

    Zu An immediately refused, saying, ¡°Elder sister, you¡¯re treating us like outsiders here. That was Sir Gong¡¯s sincerity toward all of you. Wouldn¡¯t you be putting him in a difficult situation by returning it? You should just ept it.¡±

    The woman looked moved. She said, ¡°All of you are great people. Even though that child¡¯s father wasn¡¯t so blessed, he had fellow soldiers like all of you, so he didn¡¯t live his life in vain.¡±

    Zu An chatted a bit more with her. But then, he suddenly said casually, ¡°Right, I heard Brother Chen mention that his leg broke once before, but even though his injury healed, he¡¯d still feel a dull ache when it got too windy or rainy. I bought some jade ointment for that, but it doesn¡¯t have any use now. I¡¯ll just leave it with you.¡± He took out a bottle of ointment while speaking.

    The woman looked stunned. She asked, ¡°Chen Zhou¡¯s leg was injured before? Why have I never heard about it before?¡±

    ¡°It might be because he was scared of worrying you and didn¡¯t tell you.¡± Zu An thought to himself, As expected.

    The madam looked confused. She was clearly recalling her interactions with her husband.

    Zu An had originally wanted to ask if Chen Zhou had left anyst words or possessions, but asking that directly would be too abrupt. As such, he changed his mind and said, ¡°Right, elder sister, since Big Bro Chen¡¯s case has never been solved, I want to see if there are any new clues we can use to bring the criminal to justice. This will help Big Bro Chen rest in peace too.

    ¡°I wonder when it was that elder sisterst saw Big Bro Chen? Did he act strange in any way?¡±

    The two of them had already chatted leisurely for some time, and the other party had even given her so much silver as a gift. When the woman heard that, she replied, ¡°I don¡¯t think he did.¡±

    Zu An felt disappointed at first, but he suddenly heard the woman say, ¡°There was something, but I don¡¯t know if it counts.¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Even the smallest matter might contain some clues,¡± Zu An quickly replied excitedly.

    The married woman began to think to herself, ¡°That day, the child¡¯s father didn¡¯t say anything to me, but he seemed to have a lot on his mind. He even carried our son for a long time. But, he rarely spent time with the child. It almost felt like a kind of premonition toward his own death.¡± She couldn''t hold back her tears again when she said that.

    Zu An and Pei Mianman consoled her for a while. Then, her son rushed out with the short sword while shouting ¡®charge¡¯! Zu An took the chance to pull him aside and ask him what his father had told him that day.

    ¡°I don¡¯t really remember¡­¡± The child scratched his head. A whileter, he said, ¡°Actually, I don¡¯t think he really said anything. He just yed war games with me for a bit.¡±

    Zu An asked him about some more details, but they had really only yed with each other. There hadn¡¯t been any secret messages or anything.

    Pei Mianman also asked, ¡°Elder sister, can we take a look around Big Brother Chen¡¯s room? He might have left behind some clues there.¡±

    Pei Mianman was extremely beautiful. With her smiling eyes, she gave off a natural feeling of closeness. They had chatted with each other all this time, and she had always called the woman ¡®elder sister¡¯, so the woman was naturally extremely happy.

    ¡°Of course you can!¡± The woman pulled on her hands and said in praise, ¡°Sister, you really are outstanding!¡±

    Pei Mianman felt a bit embarrassed. She and Zu An quickly went to examine Chen Zhou¡¯s room. Unfortunately, the two of them didn¡¯t find anything of value even after searching for a long time. There were only some ordinary lifestyle goods inside.

    ¡°Right, the local authorities came before and brought away a lot of things that were rted to his work, saying it was conventional practice and that the items needed to be brought back to be investigated,¡± the woman said from off to the side.

    Zu An thought to himself, No wonder there aren¡¯t many things here. He asked, ¡°Elder sister, do you know the name of the one who took these things away?¡±

    ¡°It was Sir Gong, of course,¡± the woman replied.

    ¡°Hm?¡± Zu An raised his eyebrows. He had a pensive expression on his face.

    The two chatted with the mother for a while longer, then got up to bid her farewell. On the way back, however, Pei Mianman finally couldn''t hold back and asked out of curiosity, ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to investigate the other two¡¯s wives and children? Why did you only go to Chen Zhou¡¯s family?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to visit the other two families,¡± Zu An exined. ¡°I already examined Cheng Ba. The chance that someone could fake a death so seamlessly is too low. The same is true for Yu Li as well. He had his cultivation sucked out by Thick-Browed Daoist, and I myself can verify that. Even though his appearance changed greatly after turning into a dried corpse, as someone who knows a simr technique, there¡¯s no way I would make a mistake there. Therefore, there¡¯s nothing wrong with those two¡¯s identities.

    ¡°As for Chen Zhou, even though he was indeed burned to death, I can¡¯t confirm if it really was him because his face was destroyed. I noticed there was something wrong with that burned corpse¡¯s leg, though. Even though that wound had already healed, there was definitely an old wound there. But when I went over to ask that woman, she told me Chen Zhou had never broken his leg before.

    ¡°That means this corpse isn¡¯t Chen Zhou, and someone used a person who resembled him as a substitute. However, the perpetrator never expected the person they chose to have broken his leg before, which is why they left this opening.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why Chen Zhou is the one who delivered that report to the capital?¡± Pei Mianman was a bit confused. She asked ¡°But why would hee all the way to the capital to report about that? Wouldn¡¯t it be enough as long as he contacted Gong Pan or Madam Yu?¡±

    ¡°There are two possibilities. The first is that he couldn¡¯t contact the two of them back then. The second¡­¡± Zu An paused for a moment, his expression bingplicated. ¡°...is that he couldn''t trust those two.¡±

 Chapter 1020: Concealed

    <h4>Chapter 1020: Concealed</h4>

    Pei Mianman couldn''t help but say, ¡°Cloudcenter Commandery is more than ten thousand li from the capital. The difficulty of contacting the capital far surpasses that of contacting Madam Yu and Gong Pan in Cloudcenter Commandery. So, the second possibility is more likely.¡±

    How could Zu An not know that? It became increasingly suspicious if one considered how Gong Pan could have followed anyone else, yet for some reason, he had insisted on following Yu Yanluo. Yu Yanluo¡¯s smiling face reappeared in his mind. As expected, the prettier the woman, the better they are at lying.

    Back then, Chen Zhou had gone all the way to the capital to deliver the report. After he was silenced, he had clearly said that Jian Taiding was the one who had plotted against him, but he hadn¡¯t dared to drag in Yu Yanluo and Gong Pan. Could it be that those two had been in cahoots with Jian Taiding?

    ¡°Hmph, you¡¯re clearly thinking about a woman.¡± Pei Mianman harrumphed. ¡°What, was that Yu Yanluo so beautiful you can¡¯t bear to turn against her?¡±

    Zu An snapped out of his daze. He took her into his arms and said, ¡°No matter how beautiful she is, she¡¯s still someone else¡¯s wife. How can shepare to you in my heart?¡±

    ¡°You smooth talker~!¡± Even though she knew he was only saying that to make her feel good, Pei Mianman was still extremely happy. ¡°The trail has broken off again, but we didn¡¯t find anything from Chen Zhou¡¯s home. I thought he might have at least left behind some kind of clue.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not as if we didn¡¯t find out anything. At the very least, we confirmed Chen Zhou¡¯s identity and know that some people are suspicious. That gives us an entry point into what we have to do from now on too,¡± Zu An said seriously. ¡°Furthermore, from my chat with his wife, I learned that Chen Zhou was the quiet sort. Someone like that would definitely not do something rash. He definitely knew the trip to the capital would be dangerous, so he would have done a few things to prepare for it. He would have left behind some clues through certain hidden ways.¡±

    ¡°But just now, elder sister said all of his possessions were already seized by Gong Pan,¡± Pei Mianman said with a frown.

    Zu An shook his head and replied, ¡°Since he was a meticulous person, he would definitely anticipate that someone would take his things if something happened to him. The possessions Gong Pan took were most likely useless.¡±

    ¡°But we searched his room too and didn¡¯t find anything.¡± Pei Mianman thought back to the earlier situation. She just couldn''t associate those ordinary objects with any valuable information.

    Chen Zhou hadn¡¯t even said anything to his wife or their son before he left. The two of them had already analyzed everything they had discussed earlier, and none of the family¡¯s interactions seemed to have any deeper meaning.

    ¡°This is strange.¡± Zu An felt a huge headache. He rubbed his temples and said, ¡°For now, we can only return and investigate the things Gong Pan collected. Then, we¡¯ll start investigating Chen Zhou¡¯s interpersonal rtionships from before he passed away.¡±

    They had asked his wife before too, but she was a model housewife who only took care of household duties, and didn¡¯t know anything about Chen Zhou¡¯s work. Chen Zhou¡¯s job had been special too, and he had rarely shared any information about work with his family.

    ¡°You have to be careful. Chen Zhou has already been killed. If you really find anything, the one behind the scenes won¡¯t let you go,¡± Pei Mianman grabbed his arm and said with a worried expression on her face.

    Zu Anughed and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. No matter how dangerous this ce is, can it be more dangerous than Yinxu? No matter how formidable the one behind the scenes is, can he be stronger than the emperor? Furthermore, my cultivation has already soared by leaps and bounds¡­¡±

    ¡°Look at how cocky you¡¯re acting.¡± Pei Mianman recalled many things from the past. She gradually felt more at ease and said, ¡°Right, you didn¡¯t even tell me about what happened after we separated.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s too cold over here. Should we find an inn to stay the night at?¡± Zu An looked around. Cloudcenter Commandery was an extremely lively city, and merchants liked to gather in the northwest. Thus, even though they were in the city outskirts, there were still quite a few inns.

    Pei Mianman blushed. She obviously knew what he was suggesting. She was about to say something when she raised her head and noticed that night was falling. Her expression changed slightly and she eximed, ¡°Oh no, it¡¯s already about to be dark!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, the city gates are probably going to close soon.¡± Zu An suddenly felt that the scene was a bit familiar. Didn¡¯t students from his previous world love to do this kind of thing? They would invite out a female friend on a date, then stay outside on purpose. The school dorms would close, so they would have a pretext to stay at an inn outside.

    ¡°No, I have to go back.¡± Pei Mianman panicked.

    Zu An was stunned. He asked, ¡°It¡¯s already toote, isn¡¯t it? Weren¡¯t you free to move around outside before?¡±

    They were quite a bit of distance from the city gates. The gates would definitely already be closed by the time they rushed back.

    Pei Mianman bit her lip. ¡°Before was before! Right now, my home is here. If I stay out all night, stepmother¡¯s annoying gossiping will never end. I don¡¯t care, but I don¡¯t want to bring down my mother¡¯s reputation.¡±

    Zu An immediately understood. If rumors that they had raised a fickle daughter began to spread, his mother-inw would be unjustly med even in the afterlife.

    ¡°Don¡¯t panic. I just have to bring you back,¡± he said as he got onto the horse. He couldn''t be bothered with making sure she stayed behind him and took her into his arms. Then, he rushed toward the city gates.

    ¡­

    Eventually, they arrived at an inn outside the city gates. Zu An handed the horse over to the shop owner to take care of.

    When he saw Pei Mianman¡¯s confused expression, he exined, ¡°The city gates are definitely already closed. We have to climb the wall, so this horse definitely can¡¯te with us. It¡¯s so cold that the horse might freeze to death if we just leave it outside.¡±

    Pei Mianman turned around and gave the horse a look. Even though it was decent looking, it was still far from being a truly precious steed. It was just a standard horse the local officials had provided the Imperial Envoy with. She sighed and said, ¡°Even though people always say all sorts of bad things about you, only I know that you¡¯re actually a gentle and kind person.¡±

    Zu An replied with augh, ¡°That elder sister already buttered me up with praise; is it your turn now? I¡¯m not as amazing as you¡¯re imagining me to be.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care. In my heart, you¡¯re the best.¡± Pei Mianman clung to his arm and leaned happily against his shoulder.

    The eyes of the men in the tavern widened. When had they ever seen a woman as beautiful as that? Those two mounds in particr¡­ Tsk tsk tsk, that man¡¯s arm is even about to sink in! Even though it was cold, they only felt their blood race when they saw the scene.

    Cloudcenter Commandery was located in the north, and it was often invaded by the fiend races. The local folk were usually tough, and there were always sinister bandits lurking in the surroundings. Many people in the tavern began to think bad thoughts. Those who were brave even swallowed their saliva, then began to walk toward the pair.

    Zu An frowned. However, just then Pei Mianman raised a finger and a ck me rushed out. The men¡¯s conical bamboo hats were instantly set ame. They screamed, quickly throwing their hats to the ground. Even so, arge portion of their hair had been burned.

    ¡°Hahaha~¡± Pei Mianmanughed in her charming voice.

    ¡°It¡¯s notmon to see you be so lenient,¡± Zu An remarked, a bit surprised.

    ¡°Hmph, am I really that sort of merciless person in your heart?¡± Pei Mianman said in displeasure. ¡°My mood is good today, so I don¡¯t want to see any blood.¡± There was actually another reason she hadn¡¯t told him, however. After hearing Zu An say that their child would definitely be even cuter, she subconsciously wanted to avoid these kinds of situations.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The two of them gradually disappeared into the wind and snow. The men in the tavern were disappointed and frustrated, but after what had just happened, they obviously knew that the two were definitely not people they could mess with. But that woman¡¯s stunning appearance was something they might never forget for the rest of their lives. Just who was that man? Why the hell is he so lucky?!

    Zu An couldn''t help but smile when he saw the Rage pointsing through the backend. The ingenious n he hade up with before of having beautiful female friends around him to earn Rage points really was reliable!

    Their mood wasn¡¯t ruined by the previous incident. They quickly arrived outside the city. It was already dark, and the city gates were indeed already locked. However, that wouldn¡¯t stop Zu An. He found a secluded area, then picked up Pei Mianman before stepping onto the city wall and flying over.

    ¡°Ah Zu, be careful! There are guards patrolling around the city gates after nightfall. It would be troublesome if the rm were set off,¡± Pei Mianman warned him. In a ce like Cloudcenter Commandery, once the city defense was rmed, forget about them, even a master rank would feel a huge headache.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine; I already made a cat distract the guards,¡± Zu An replied. Even as he spoke, the pair had already sessfully entered the city.

    Sure enough, after the two of themnded, the soldiers by the city walls returned while cursing to themselves.

    Pei Mianman had a strange expression on her face. She asked, ¡°It¡¯s that jade badge¡¯s ability, right? Sigh, that thing really is amazing for doing adulterous things.¡±

    Zu An coughed lightly in embarrassment, replying, ¡°Am I that kind of person? Your body is the only one I¡¯ve stolen.¡±

    Sure enough, when Zu An fired back, Pei Mianman¡¯s attention shifted. She remarked, ¡°Hmph, we¡¯re lovers. Why are you using a word like ¡®stolen¡¯?¡±

    The two of them teased each other for a bit as they quickly returned to her room in Pei Manor. Pei Mianman grabbed his hand with a blush, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t leave. I¡¯m going to show my face outside, but then I¡¯lle back.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t I still have to tell you about what happened after we separated? I never nned to leave anyway.¡± Zu An looked at her with a smile.

    Pei Mianman¡¯s expression immediately brightened. She got on her tiptoes and gave him a peck. Then, she broke out into a little run and left.

    Zu An looked around her room, thinking, So this is where Big Manman grew up. He couldn''t help but smile when he saw some toys she had yed with before. A cute little girl appeared in his mind. He had seen what Pei Mianman looked like as a little girl.

    Zu An was lost in thought when his expression suddenly changed. He dodged, then made a grab toward the side.

 Chapter 1021: I Am Still a Child

    <h4>Chapter 1021: I Am Still a Child</h4>

    Zu An¡¯s grab smashed a screen to pieces; he found himself gripping a petite figure by the throat. He frowned. He hadn¡¯t expected it to be a little girl who was hiding here. He coldly asked, ¡°Who are you?¡±

    The girl¡¯s face was entirely red. She frantically patted his hand to indicate that he was gripping her too tightly. Zu An didn¡¯t sense any ki fluctuations from her body. She was probably just a normal person. However, he didn¡¯t lower his guard and only loosened his hand slightly, barking, ¡°Speak!¡±

    ¡°I¡­ I am Hong Zao,¡± the little girl said while sobbing.

    ¡°Hong Zao?¡± Zu An frowned. What kind of stupid name was this?[1]

    When she saw him frown, the little girl immediately panicked. She quickly exined, ¡°I am¡­ I am the youngdy¡¯s maid.¡±

    Zu An stared nkly for a moment, then remembered that Pei Mianman had mentioned a little maid before. He harrumphed and asked, ¡°Then why are you hiding here all secretively?¡±

    The little maid whimpered, ¡°I¡­ I wasn¡¯t hiding¡­ I was helping the young miss clean the room, but then I waited¡­ I waited for the young miss toe back, but she never came back, so I ended up falling asleep. Then¡­ Then¡­¡± She trailed off. She wasn¡¯t able to say anything even after a long time.

    ¡°You saw me and your young miss return, so you didn¡¯t dare toe out?¡± Zu An was sharp and quickly guessed what had happened.

    The maid was probably scared when she saw Pei Mianman return with a stranger; furthermore, the two seemed extremely close, and so she didn¡¯t dare to talk about what she had seen. In the end, it was because Zu AN had been careless. He had been so immersed in flirting with Pei Mianman that he hadn¡¯t expected someone else to be in the room.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t see anything¡­ I didn¡¯t hear anything¡­ Don¡¯t kill me¡­ Sniff¡­¡± Hong Zao began to sob.

    Zu An¡¯s forehead darkened. You dumb maid, aren¡¯t you basically saying that you saw and heard everything?

    Things really were quite tricky now. If she had been male, then he could just use Daji to change her memory. But she was a little girl, so there wasn¡¯t much he could do. He usually wouldn¡¯t really care, but it was rted to Pei Mianman¡¯s reputation.

    Even though this world was more open-minded than ancient China, there was still a limit. If a girl from a wealthy family like Pei Mianman was secretly contacting a man outside, and news of it got out, it would cause a huge scandal.

    Furthermore, discussions of marriage with King Qi¡¯s heir were underway. In order to prevent the n from being shamed, there would even be a chance that they would punish her with the highest level of severity.

    While he was hesitating, a nervous voice said, ¡°She¡¯s one of my own people. Ah Zu, let her go.¡± Pei Mianman had just returned from downstairs, her footsteps echoing.

    ¡°But she was hiding over here just now. She saw and heard everything,¡± Zu An said worriedly.

    ¡°Sob¡­¡± Hong Zao felt incredibly wronged. Are my lies that easy to see through?

    Even though that was what Zu An said, he still released his grip. Hong Zao quickly hid behind Pei Mianman. She held her neck and coughed while sneaking fearful looks at Zu An. Pei Mianman held her, gently patting her back and speaking some words offort. Then, she said to Zu An, ¡°Hong Zao and I depended on each other for survival. We grew up together. She wouldn¡¯t do anything to let me down. I trust her.¡±

    They were master and servant in name, but in reality, they were more like sisters.

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°That¡¯s good then. I was feeling a bit troubled.¡±

    ¡°Look at how badly you scared her.¡± Pei Mianman gave him a yful pout.

    Zu An felt a bit embarrassed when he saw that the girl was so scared she didn¡¯t even dare to look at him. After thinking to himself for a moment, he took out a hairpin from his Brilliant ss Bead, saying, ¡°I¡¯m sorry for scaring you earlier. I¡¯ll give you this as an apology gift.¡±

    He had gotten many head ornaments of that sort from the dragon¡¯s cave. They were all shiny and pretty, as the red dragon had really liked that kind of thing.

    ¡°This is too precious! I can¡¯t take such a thing¡­¡± Hong Zao¡¯s hands quickly moved back and forth, and she shook her head just as rapidly.

    ¡°Who gives a girl a hairpin as soon as they meet?¡± Pei Mianman gave Zu An a re. However, she still consoled Hong Zao and said, ¡°Since he gave it to you, you should just take it.¡±

    Only after hearing her master tell her that did Hong Zao receive the hairpin with trembling hands. She didn¡¯t dare to look Zu An in the eyes the entire time. But when she received the hairpin and saw its elegant and gorgeous design, she suddenly froze up. A hairpin this pretty is really mine? I¡¯m just a servant!

    Could it be that something this precious is my¡­ betrothal gift?

    It wasn¡¯t her fault for thinking that way. She was a servant girl who would follow her master. Whomever her master married, she would follow. Not only did she have to serve the youngdy, when the young miss wasn¡¯t ready, she would have to serve the husband in her ce. She would also be fighting for the husband¡¯s favor with her master among the other wives.

    She finally couldn''t help but raise her head and sneak Zu An a look when she thought of that. The man was most likely the husband of her young miss, and therefore her master. Her youngdy¡¯s instincts forced her to at least take a look at his appearance.

    His white clothes were purer than snow, his eyebrows were dark and sharp, his eyes were prettier than gemstones¡­

    Hong Zao blushed as she stared at him. She thought to herself, This man is even a bit more handsome than King Qi¡¯s heir! There was an indescribable calmness and confidenceing from the man. It made him seem more mature than King Qi¡¯s heir. It gave her a greater sense of safety.

    ¡°Hong Zao, is there something wrong?¡± Pei Mianman noticed that the little maid was acting strange.

    ¡°Huh? No, it¡¯s nothing¡­¡± Hong Zao said, panicking. She lowered her head to look at her toes. However, she seemed to have gotten a bit chubbier recently and couldn''t even see the tips of her toes.

    Pei Mianman just assumed Hong Zao had been scared badly and didn¡¯t think too much about it. She said, ¡°Help me prepare some hot water. Later, I¡¯ll need to¡­ Ahem, I¡¯ll need to take a shower and change clothes.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± Hong Zao left in a hurry. But as she was going downstairs, she secretly turned around to sneak a look. She saw that the man seemed to be smiling toward her. Her heart rate sped up and she quickly turned back around. Then, she almost slipped and fell down the stairs.

    ¡°Look at you, going after my personal maid as soon as you meet her,¡± Pei Mianman said in annoyance. However, she didn¡¯t really get mad. After all, Hong Zao was her personal maid, so why would she be jealous? ¡°Are female household essories like that hairpin something you should randomly give out?¡±

    ¡°I couldn''t think of anything else to give her at the time,¡± Zu An exined. ¡°I scared her quite badly just now, and I only did that so we would be closer. Otherwise, I might leave her with a bad impression.¡±

    ¡°She and I are like sisters. Why would you need to give her a gift to rope her in?¡± Pei Mianman harrumphed.

    ¡°That¡¯s where you¡¯re wrong. Her rtionship with you is good, but she doesn¡¯t know anything about me! What if I offend her and she ends up speaking ill of me at your side everyday? Public opinion can be powerful enough to melt metal, you know?¡± Zu An eximed.

    He thought back to his previous world. There had been many bros who chased after girls, but because those girls¡¯ close friends didn¡¯t like them, constantly badmouthing them behind their backs, it would almost always fall through even if the guy and the girl liked each other. With so many predecessors as examples, he definitely didn¡¯t want to make the same mistake.

    ¡°You¡¯re worrying too much. I¡¯ll just give her a good spanking if she dares to speak ill of you,¡± Pei Mianman raised her hand and said with a harrumph.

    Zu Anughed and took her into his arms, saying, ¡°It¡¯s my Manman who is the best.¡±

    Pei Mianman leaned gently into his embrace. The two were passionately in love, wishing they could be together constantly.

    ¡°Young miss¡­¡± Hong Zao began shyly. She looked at Zu An too and didn¡¯t know what to call him.

    Pei Mianman said with a smile, ¡°You can just call him ¡®young master¡¯ in the future.¡±

    ¡°Yes, young¡­ Young master!¡± Hong Zao stuttered. Master and madam don¡¯t know anything, right? The young miss really is brave! The two of them seem to have already pledged to be married¡­ She said, ¡°I prepared the hot water already. I¡¯ll help the young miss take a bath.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need. You just need to prepare the clothes, and then you can get some rest,¡± Pei Mianman said with a blush.

    ¡°Huh? Oh¡­¡± Hong Zao looked at the two of them with a strange expression. Are these two going to take a bath together?

    When she left, Zu An couldn''t help butugh. He asked, ¡°Why does this maid of yours seem a bit slow?¡±

    ¡°She is naturally timid, and her personality is weak. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have been sent to me.¡± Pei Mianman¡¯s expression carried a hint of pity as she said, ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to bully her anymore in the future.¡±

    ¡°Am I the kind of person who would bully others?¡± Zu An protested.

    Pei Mianman retorted, ¡°Don¡¯t touch me and take a bath first.¡± Zu An was stunned. Pei Mianman continued, ¡°You were just digging up graves in the cemetery. You¡¯re not allowed to touch me before you wash yourself.¡±

    ¡°But I already washed up in that river before!¡± Zu An eximed.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t wash your body,¡± Pei Mianman retorted.

    ¡°...¡±

    Seeing that Pei Mianman had gone down first, Zu An suddenly realized something. Wasn¡¯t taking a bath together great? What was he rejecting her for?

    Soon afterward, the water¡¯s surface rippled, and a mist wafted through the air. It was like a spring wind brushing through willow leaves¡­

    Hong Zao didn¡¯t go off to rest, but instead guarded the entrance. As the young miss¡¯ personal maid, she naturally had to consider things from all angles for the young miss. If someone came and ran into the two of them by chance, the young miss would be finished. Thus, she guarded the entrance with 120% vignce, keeping her eyes and ears wide open.

    However, snow was in the air, and it was nighttime. Why would anyone from the manor pass by? The surroundings were quiet, to the extent that she could even hear the sound of snow falling. But what she heard more of wasughter behind the screen, apanied by rising and falling emotions. Her face flushed red.

    ¡°Young miss¡­ Why is the young miss¡­¡± She subconsciously wanted to cover her ears, but she was worried that she wouldn¡¯t be able to hear anyone approaching if she did that. She could only grit her teeth and endure it.

    ¡°I am still a child¡­¡± Hong Zao muttered. Even though she was at the age of marriage, her way of thinking hadn¡¯tpletely reached that level yet. She quietly took out the golden hairpin Zu An had given her, and a blush spread across her pretty face. She felt as if her entire body had been bathed in afortable autumn wind.

    After a long time had passed, though, she suddenly thought of something. She quickly ran to her room and took out arge case of food. King Qi¡¯s heir had always been sending the young miss food over the past few days. The young miss hadn¡¯t even given it a look before giving it all to her.

    She had obviously eaten everything happily. When would she ever have a chance to eat so many expensive kinds of food otherwise? She even felt she had be a lot chubbier because of that. The front of her clothes was getting a bit tight.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    But the young miss had already decided on this future young master. The young master had even given her such an expensive gift. He was handsome too, and his build was good¡­

    Pah pah pah! What kind of nonsense am I thinking?

    Since the young master has already been decided, I can¡¯t take the gifts of other men!

    She couldn''t help but gulp her saliva down when she saw the pastries inside. There was a look of reluctance in her eyes. However, in the end, she bit her lip and threw away all of the food inside.

    When she returned to the room and looked at the screen, she curled her small lips, thinking, Are they still not done?

    I really want to take a bath too¡­

    1. Reminder: ¡®Hong Zao¡¯ means ¡®red dates¡¯, also known as jujubes. ?

 Chapter 1022: I Will Have Nothing to Do with Gambling and Drugs

    <h4>Chapter 1022: I Will Have Nothing to Do with Gambling and Drugs</h4>

    The next morning, Pei Mianman was leaning against the crook of Zu An¡¯s arm. Her finger mischievously drew circles around his chest as she asked, ¡°Ah Zu, do you want me to leak some fake information to King Qi¡¯s heir?¡± The part of her skin that was exposed outside of the covers was even whiter than the snow outside.

    Zu An shook his head, saying, ¡°Not yet. When the time is right, I¡¯ll tell you then.¡± This was a rare double agent he could make use of, so of course he had to use the opportunity at the crucial moment.

    After the two embraced each other for a bit and exchanged some romantic words, they exchanged a look. Then, another intense battlefield ensued.

    Knock knock knock!

    There was a burst of soft knocking, and the door opened with a groan. Hong Zao stuck her head in and said, ¡°Young miss, the manor¡¯s people are starting to wake up.¡± Her unspoken words were clear. It was time for the young master to leave.

    ¡°I got it, you can withdraw for now¡­ Mmm!¡± Pei Mianman replied.

    When Hong Zao heard that tender moan that seemed to be uttered from deep in Pei Mianman¡¯s throat, even as a girl herself, she was greatly flustered. She quickly closed the door to the room.

    She patted her chest. Her heart was beating like crazy. She sat on thedder outside while hugging her knees. She recalled the earlier years when the people of the manor hadn¡¯t treated the young miss that well because of her identity, always gossiping behind her back and talking about how her face was only good for seducing men. Back then, Hong Zao was so mad she had even angrily fought with them.

    But now, weren¡¯t those peoplepletely correct? The young miss really is charming¡­

    When she recalled that intense scene, her face turned red. Also, is the young master not tired? They already went at it for an entire night!

    ¡°What are you mumbling about over there?¡± A soft voice spoke next to Hong Zao¡¯s ear.

    Hong Zao raised her head and saw that a man with starry eyes and long eyebrows was looking at her with a smile. His clothes were purer than snow, truly like a male lead straight out of a novel¡­ Her face turned red and she didn¡¯t dare to look straight at him. She quickly lowered her head, saying, ¡°Young¡­ Young master.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re so cute.¡± Zu An subconsciously rubbed her head. This little girl was quite adorable. He said, ¡°Take good care of your young miss. I¡¯m heading out first.¡±

    ¡°Goodbye, young master,¡± Hong Zao replied. She still didn¡¯t dare to look him in the eyes. She immediately regretted saying those words. Wasn¡¯t she basically inviting him back? Would that make the young miss seem a bit too impatient?[1]

    Furthermore, if he really dide back, it would be just like the previous night where she wouldn¡¯t get any sleep.

    ¡°You worked hardst night. I¡¯ll bring you some tasty treats next time,¡± Zu An said with a chuckle. The entire Pei Manor was starting to wake up, so he couldn''t continue to stay. As such, he quickly left.

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t too hard¡­¡± Hong Zao had a strange look on her face. It was you and the young miss who worked harder, right?

    Only when Zu An retreated into the distance did she dare to raise her head. When she saw his figure quickly fly into the distance, her little mouth opened wide. Young master¡¯s cultivation is so high!

    Pei Mianman saidzily, ¡°Stop coveting your young master already and help me freshen up.¡±

    Every month on this day, Pei Manor would have a small ceremony. That was when everyone would gather in the ancestral hall to hold an offering for their ancestors, and await their ancestors¡¯ instructions. Even though she wasn¡¯t all that interested, she didn¡¯t want to give them any excuses to talk about her.

    When she heard what the young miss said, Hong Zao¡¯s heart that had just finally calmed down began to pound again. ¡°I didn¡¯t¡­¡± She denied it while quickly running inside.

    Pei Mianman had already sat up from her bed. When she saw her master¡¯s wonderful figure, Hong Zao lowered her head to look at her own chest. Sigh, I¡¯m stillckingpared to the young miss.

    She quickly found some clothes for the young miss to dress in. She suddenly wrinkled her brow, asking, ¡°Huh? Why is there a smell of heather flowers? Isn¡¯t it winter right now?¡±

    Pei Mianman trembled, but then she couldn''t help but pinch Hong Zao¡¯s chubby cheek. She remarked, ¡°No wonder they call you a dumb girl. Hmph, you¡¯ll know in the future.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Hong Zao nodded, only half-understanding. While she helped Pei Mianman get dressed, she quietly asked, ¡°Young miss, is the young master the one you met back in Brightmoon City?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Pei Mianman grinned. She felt a sweet sensation whenever she thought about him.

    ¡°But young miss, wouldn¡¯t it be bad to have ¡®illicit¡¯ rtions without a ceremony?¡± Hong Zao asked worriedly.

    Pei Mianman was speechless. She took a deep breath, enduring the urge to give Hong Zao a good beating. She said, ¡°If you don¡¯t know how to use idioms, don¡¯t say them randomly.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t though¡­¡± Hong Zao blinked and looked at Pei Mianman innocently.

    Pei Mianman¡¯s breath caught in her throat. She could only say, ¡°Who said we were doing any of that? Hmph, we already got married properly, and we even had an entire country as witnesses.¡± A hint of loveliness appeared between her brows when she remembered what had happened in Yinxu¡¯s secret dungeon.

    ¡°Ah?¡± Hong Zao looked at her with a strange expression. Did the young miss go crazy? When did she get married to the young master, and even have the entire country as witness?

    You always say I¡¯m dumb, but why do I feel like the young miss is the biggest dummy? You gave away your body all willy-nilly, and even your memory is getting messed up.

    After some hesitation, she thought that even though the young master had given her that precious golden hairpin, she still had to think for the young miss¡¯ sake. She asked, ¡°Young miss, is the young master of the fiend race?¡±

    ¡°Of course not.¡± Pei Mianman was stunned. She turned around to look at Hong Zao, asking, ¡°Why would you ask that?¡±

    ¡°I thought the young master was a male vixen and seduced the young miss or something¡­¡± Hong Zao mumbled.

    ¡°There¡¯s no such thing as a male vixen in this world.¡± Pei Mianman scolded her yfully.

    Hong Zao thought to herself, What do you mean there isn¡¯t? The young master just looked at me once, and I¡­ was already like that.

    ¡°Young miss, will the young mastere to Pei Manor to propose marriage?¡± she asked.

    ¡°He said he was going to, but I stopped him. It¡¯s not a good time right now; we¡¯ll wait untilter.¡± Pei Mianman looked at her own reflection in the mirror, which was bing more and more tender and beautiful. As long as I can be with him, I¡¯ll already be extremely happy.

    Hong Zao looked at Pei Mianman¡¯s back worriedly, thinking, The young miss is pretty intelligent normally, so why does she seem so foolish nowadays? Yet you still say the young master isn¡¯t a male vixen.

    She began, ¡°But King Qi¡¯s heir keeps visiting the manor. He clearly likes the young miss¡­¡±

    ¡°What does that have to do with me? What, you want me to run over and ask him what part of me he likes, so I can then change that part so he doesn¡¯t like me anymore?¡± Pei Mianman shot back.

    Hong Zao burst outughing, saying, ¡°King Qi¡¯s heir might just die from anger if he heard what the young miss said. But King Qi Manor is so powerful! Master and madam want you to marry him as well. What if the rtionship between you and the young master is exposed? That would mean big trouble then!¡±

    ¡°I know already! When did you learn to nag like a granny?¡± Pei Mianman mmed the head ornament she had just picked up onto the table. She felt as if her great mood had suddenly gone up into smoke when she thought about those things.

    Seeing that the young miss was upset, Hong Zao stuck out her tongue, but didn¡¯t say anything else.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An had just returned to his temporary residence when he happened to run into Pei You and Gao Ying doing morning exercises. He nodded inwardly when he saw them. Even though these two were young masters from distinguished ns, the fact that they were able to have their current level of cultivation at such a young age was definitely because of their own diligence.

    The two of them saw him as well. Pei You moved closer and gave him a sniff. He immediately became jealous, eximing, ¡°What a seductive smell! Brother Gao, tell me, we train so bitterly day and night, and yet we can¡¯tpare to someone who enjoys himself every night at all! What the hell is this? How is this fair at all? Where is the virtue? Where is the morality? Where is the address?¡± He moved closer to Zu An when he said thest part.

    ¡°You¡¯re clearly suited to be a Prince Charming, yet you just insist on being aedian.¡± Zu An couldn''t help but chuckle when he saw Pei You¡¯s lewd expression.

    Pei You harrumphed. ¡°I¡¯m only showing you guys this side because I really treat you two as my brothers, yet you¡¯re mocking me! Hurry and tell me the address of the brothel you went to! Only that will repair our little boat of camaraderie.¡±

    ¡°I went to investigate a case,¡± Zu An said helplessly.

    ¡°My ass.¡± Pei You rolled his eyes.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Even Gao Ying had a strange expression. Brother Zu, shouldn¡¯t you at least put some effort into your lie?

    Zu An coughed and said, ¡°Whatever. Actually, I need your help in investigating a brothel girl¡­¡±

    Pei You and Gao Ying¡¯s eyes immediately lit up when they heard that.

    ¡°Ahem!¡± Sang Hong walked past them just then He said in a sincere and meaningful tone, ¡°You are all imperial envoys; you represent the dignity of the imperial court. You absolutely cannot do anything nonsensical.¡±

    Pei You¡¯s expression froze. He replied, ¡°Sir Sang, do not worry. I do not dare to make any promises for these two, but I will have nothing to do with evil things like gambling or drugs.¡±

    Sang Hong was caught off guard by his reply. However, he retorted, ¡°Tsk, you did not mention anything sexual in that vow at all.¡±

    Pei You immediately changed his wording. ¡°As long as the emperor and heavens are above me, I, Pei You, will have nothing to do with evil things like gambling or drugs!¡±[2]

    Sang Hong: w(?§¥?)w[3]

    Zu An: w(?§¥?)w

    Gao Ying: w(?§¥?)w

    1. The Chinese word for ¡®goodbye¡¯ is literally tranted as ¡®meet again¡¯. However, this is what¡¯smonly used for ¡®goodbye¡¯ and the girl is just overthinking. ?

    2. The word for sexual/lewd things is ¡®Huang¡¯, which sounds just like the word for ¡®emperor¡¯. ?

    3. This is an emote. ?

 Chapter 1023: Mysterious Case

    <h4>Chapter 1023: Mysterious Case</h4>

    ¡°Ahem¡­¡± Sang Hong coughed lightly and said, ¡°Do not make a fool of yourselves out here. Follow me to my room; there are some matters to discuss.¡± He led them to his room afterward. He also had the guards remain a bit further out so they couldn¡¯t hear what they were going to talk about.

    ¡°Ah Zu, did you gain any new information?¡± Sang Hong asked as he sat down in the seat of honor. He gestured for them to pour their own tea and to be at ease.

    ¡°I¡¯ve already found out the identity of the one who wanted to deliver a message to the capital¡± Zu An began. He was about to continue, but Sang Hong stopped him.

    Sang Hong looked at Gao Ying and Pei You, saying, ¡°We are acting under the emperor¡¯s will in this mission, so I believe everyone here understands what that signifies. I know that your ns¡¯ rtionships are twisted andplicated, and there are even many rtives of yours here in Cloudcenter Commandery¡­¡±

    Pei You¡¯s expression changed a bit. Sang Hong was clearly talking about his rtionship with Pei Shao.

    Sang Hong continued, ¡°But I still need to ask all of you to discern between what is more important. Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s situation is far more dangerous than you might be imagining. If you take even a single wrong step, we just might all perish here. That is why nothing we discuss here can be spoken of to others.¡±

    Pei You suddenly got up and said, ¡°If Sir Sang does not trust me, I just need to not listen.¡±

    He was just about to leave when Gao Ying quickly grabbed him. He advised Pei You to stay while apologizing to Sang Hong. ¡°Sir Sang, please feel at ease. We are not people who cannot distinguish between what is important. Forget about the fact that those who are here in Cloudcenter Commandery are just distant rtives, even if they were our close rtives, with how matters stand, there is no way we would leak out any information.¡±

    After listening to Gao Ying¡¯s persuasion, Pei You cupped his hands and said, ¡°Sir Sang knows that even though Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s City Lord shares a surname with me, Pei Shao belongs to Waterfront Duke¡¯s faction, while I belong to Greatdeer Duke¡¯s faction. Everyone in the court knows that our two sides are not in agreement. Even though we are not enemies who cannot coexist together, we are like water and fire. How can I sacrifice my own interests and inform Pei Shao¡¯s people?¡±

    Sang Hong nodded inwardly. The Waterfront Duke Pei Zheng was the Chief Attendant, and he was a core figure under King Qi¡¯s faction. Greatdeer Duke Pei Ming was the Director of the Imperial Secretariat. Even though he didn¡¯t get along with the crown princess¡¯ father Bi Qi, his son Pei Yi, or Pei You¡¯s father, was extremely close to the Bi n. Otherwise, Pei You wouldn¡¯t have been chosen as one of the crown prince¡¯s escorts during the crown prince¡¯s exam in the secret dungeon.

    Sang Hong thus said with a smile, ¡°Please understand that I have no choice but to be a bit more careful; I did not say that to target any of you personally. I hope that worthy nephews do not take this to heart.¡±

    Gao Ying and Pei You backed down when they heard that as well. They cupped their hands and said, ¡°You did as you should.¡±

    Sang Hong thus looked at Zu An, continuing, ¡°Ah Zu, please share what you learned with us.¡±

    Zu An nodded. ¡°I found out that the messenger should be Cloucenter Duke¡¯s personal guard Chen Zhou¡­¡± Then, he gave them a rough recount of his discoveries. Of course, he left out Pei Mianman¡¯s presence.

    Sang Hong¡¯s eyes lit up. He replied, ¡°Very good. Now that we have found out his identity, we have an opening to start our investigations. Things will be much easier to take care of now.¡±

    ¡°Did you discover anything from your side?¡± Zu An asked out of curiosity.

    ¡°We have!¡± Gao Ying said seriously, ¡°We found a secret passage in the ce where Cloudcenter Duke went into seclusion.¡±

    Zu An raised his brow, asking, ¡°Didn¡¯t the investigation of the disappearance of the Cloudcenter Duke state that it was an enclosed space?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s a chance that they were trying to hide something, or it might be that they didn¡¯t find anything.¡± Gao Ying exined. ¡°That secret passage¡¯s mechanism was hidden well. If it weren¡¯t because I spent some time studying mechanisms in the past, I might not have found it.¡± A bit of pride appeared on his face when he said that.

    ¡°Then is it possible that someone snuck in through that secret passage and assassinated the Cloudcenter Duke?¡± Zu An asked. He suddenly remembered that he used to secretly meet with Bi Linglong through a secret passage, causing his face to heat up.

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible.¡± Gao Ying shook his head. ¡°This secret passage can only be activated from inside the private room; no one can go in from outside.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, Bi Linglong¡¯s secret passage is also like that. He asked, ¡°Where does the other end of the secret passage lead to?¡±

    ¡°To Jasper Lane, several li out,¡± Gao Ying replied.

    ¡°Jasper Lane?¡± Zu An frowned. Why did that name sound a bit indecent?

    Pei You exined with a big smile, ¡°I already looked into that ce before! Jasper Lane is Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯srgest and liveliest brothel. Every single girl there has arge chest, thin waist, long legs¡­¡±

    ¡°Ahem, let us talk about proper matters. Do not talk about any insignificant matters,¡± Sang Hong reminded him.

    Zu An held back his smile as he asked, ¡°Why is Cloudcenter Duke¡¯s escape path a brothel? Don¡¯t tell me he has some girls he¡¯s close to there?¡±

    He then remembered that Duan Zhengchun, an ancient figure from his previous world, seemed to have ordered his subordinates to dig a tunnel to Gan Baobao and otherdies¡¯ chambers because that would make it easier for him to sneak out for a lovers¡¯ rendezvous at night. Is Cloudcenter Duke also that kind of person?

    ¡°That¡¯s not too likely.¡± Gao Ying shook his head. ¡°Madam Yu is the world¡¯s number one beauty, and not even all of the girls in Jasper Lanebined together canpare to her. With a beauty like her at home, how could he possibly feel anything for girls from the pleasure quarters?¡±

    ¡°That might not necessarily be the case. Even if you eat the most precious abalone every day, you might still want to eat something else once in a while.¡± Zu An thought about how Yu Yanluo usually lived apart from Cloudcenter Duke. It was hard to say whether he had even had a taste of that most precious abalone.

    Everyone else had strange expressions on their faces. After all, Zu An¡¯s wife was a devastatingly beautiful woman! Don¡¯t tell me this is Zu An¡¯s own personal experience?

    Gao Ying then said, ¡°We¡¯ve investigated it on our own. That exit wasn¡¯t in a courtesan¡¯s courtyard, but rather in an abandoned courtyard. Even Jasper Lane¡¯s people rarely went there. That¡¯s why Cloudcenter Duke was probably just using a ce like Jasper Lane with a lot of regr traffic to hide his own traces. If he encountered anything, it would make it easier for him to get away, and it wasn¡¯t that he has any particr rtionship with a courtesan queen from Jasper Lane.¡±

    ¡°Your analysis is correct.¡± Sang Hong had a look of praise in his eyes. He continued, ¡°But be that as it may, we should still send a few people to Jasper House to investigate that ce further. Tread carefully to not alert them.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± Pei You¡¯s eyes lit up, seizing the chance to be the first to agree. How could he pass up that kind of responsibility to someone else? He could visit the pleasure quarters at public expense? Just the thought alone left him in bliss!

    Sang Hong had a strange expression on his face. He thought, It¡¯s still Ah Zu who¡¯s more reliable. Even though he has a lot of beauties at his side, he at least relied on his own charm to court them and didn¡¯t go through a filthy ce like the pleasure quarters.

    ¡°Ahem ahem, I was able to gain some progress on my end as well.¡± Sang Hong continued, ¡°In this time, I have questioned many servants from the Duke Manor, as well as the people from Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s court. There are two noteworthy pieces of information.

    ¡°The first is that everyone calls the manor¡¯s head secretary Uncle Ming. It is rumored that Cloudcenter Duke trusts him greatly, and that almost all of the matters in the Duke Manor are managed by him and Captain Gong Pan. Compared to Gong Pan, his status is even higher.

    ¡°But after something happened to Cloudcenter Duke, he did not head to Yu Yanluo¡¯s side like Gong Pan and instead continued to remain in the Duke Manor to take care of various affairs. Since Jian Taiding has taken over responsibilities as the Substitute Commander-In-Chief, the Duke Manor is practicallypletely under Jian Taiding¡¯s control.¡±

    Zu An frowned. ¡°Looks like this Uncle Ming has already been following Jian Taiding for a long time. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to start working under him so smoothly.¡±

    Sang Hong voiced his agreement. ¡°Regardless of whether he colluded with Jian Taiding beforehand or used the situation to switch allegiances and rely on Jian Taiding, both of those conclusions require further investigation. We are representing the imperial court, so we cannot condemn anyone based on just random suspicions.¡±

    ¡°Sir Sang is right,¡± the group responded. Their expressions became serious.

    Sang Hong continued, ¡°The second thing I learned from my visit to Cloudcenter Civil Affairs Manor was that there are rumors going around that Jian Taiding has special feelings toward his sister-inw.¡±

    Pei You chuckled, saying, ¡°With the world¡¯s number one beauty as your sister-inw, it would be weirder if he didn¡¯t have any strange thoughts.¡± He was still feeling great regret that he hadn''t been able to see that legendary beauty thest time they visited Yu Manor.

    Zu An was paying more attention to another matter. He asked, ¡°Could it be that this is something sir magistrate told you?¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Sang Hong sneered, replying, ¡°That old fox would never say something like that so overtly. It was something I heard from the leisurely chats of the other officials, but they clearly reflect Zuo Su¡¯s own thoughts.¡±

    The group then summarized all of the other details they had collected so far. In the end, Sang Hong distributed the assignments and said, ¡°Gao Ying, you will investigate Chen Zhou¡¯s interpersonal rtionships before he passed away and see if there are any suspicious points. Pei You, investigate Jasper Lane, but make sure that you do not expose your identity. Ah Zu, head to the Yu n and search through Chen Zhou¡¯s belongings. You are the only one who can go there right now.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± They all epted their orders.

    Zu An yawned as he left. Sang Hong reminded him in a meaningful and heartfelt manner, ¡°Even though you are still young and vigorous, you need to pay attention to your body.¡±

    Zu An broke out in cold sweat as he replied, ¡°I was investigating a casete into the night yesterday and haven¡¯t had a chance to rest yet.¡± To some extent, the other party was already his father-inw. He obviously couldn''t tell him what he was really doing.

    ¡°Hah.¡± Sang Hong obviously wouldn¡¯t believe Zu An. However, he didn¡¯t say anything else either.

    In order to prove that his mind was still sharp, Zu An didn¡¯t go back to his room to rest and instead decided to immediately carry out his task.

    ¡­

    After Zu An left the room, he first went to Xiao Jianren¡¯s room, asking, ¡°Sir Xiao, have youpleted the tasks I entrusted with youst time?¡±

    Xiao Jianren cupped his hands, saying, ¡°Sir Zu gave me such detailed instructions. If we couldn''tplete something like this, we wouldn¡¯t be deserving of our title as the Embroidered Envoy.¡± He handed over a case afterward, saying, ¡°There¡¯s an air-isting formation in ce. Sir Zu needs to be careful when using it.¡±

    Zu An received it and gave it a look. In the end, he sighed in relief, saying, ¡°You¡¯ve done well.¡±

    Xiao Jianren said in praise, ¡°It¡¯s Sir Zu who is formidable, able to think of something so ingenious. However, what do you n to use this thing for?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯ll naturally have a great use soon.¡± Zu An chuckled. He put the case away and headed out toward Yu Manor.

 Chapter 1024: Subjects of the Skirt

    <h4>Chapter 1024: Subjects of the Skirt</h4>

    After an entire night of snowfall, the wind and snow finally ceased. Peddlers began putting up their stalls in the streets, and people began a new day of busy life. The streets of Cloudcenter City were gradually filled with ayer of water vapor.

    Zu An ordered a soldier to pick up the horse he had left in the tavern outside the city previously. Meanwhile, he himself went to Yu Manor on foot. Even though a good amount of the snow had already melted, it wasn¡¯t suitable for horse riding.

    He arrived at Yu Manor soon afterward. After his experience the previous time, the guards at Yu Manor¡¯s entrance didn¡¯t stop him this time. When he went in, a pretty maid greeted him. ¡°This must be young master Zu? I have received the madam¡¯s orders toe and receive you. The madam is currently dressing and grooming herself, so I ask that the young master wait for a bit.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine; I dide a bit too early.¡± Zu An returned the greeting. He quickly examined the other party. Her appearance was fine, and her physique was excellent. She was a bit older than normal servant girls, so she gave off something of a mature feeling. He asked, ¡°Are you Madam Yu¡¯s personal maid?¡±

    ¡°The young master need not be so polite. You can just call me Maid Xing,¡± the maid said with a smile. ¡°I am indeed the madam¡¯s personal servant.¡± She continued, ¡°The madam assigned me to take care of some matters before, which is why I have not met the young master yet.¡±

    ¡°That makes sense.¡± Zu An wasn¡¯t so senseless as to ask her what she had been assigned to do. However, he thought to himself that he had never seen this woman outside of Brightmoon City or in the capital during his encounters with Yu Yanluo. Looks like her responsibilities aren¡¯t quite the same as those of normal maids.

    The two of them continued toward the inner hall. Several maids scampered off to the side. They appeared to be doing housework on the surface, but their eyes drifted over from time to time.

    ¡°Look, look! That¡¯s the person the madam¡¯s going to meet!¡±

    ¡°How long has it been since the madam met with an outsider man? She¡¯s actually willing to continuously make exceptions to meet with him!¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s handsome, as expected¡­ No wonder the madam allowed him toe in.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, who do you think the madam is? There¡¯s no way she¡¯d be a star-struck dummy like you.¡±

    ¡°I guess you¡¯re right. Then do you think the madam will arrange some servants to serve him?¡±

    ¡°What, do you want to go?¡±

    ¡°If it¡¯s for this young master, I¡¯m notpletely against it, you know?¡±

    ¡­

    What was Zu An¡¯s cultivation like now? Even though the maids¡¯ voices were low, none of their chatter escaped his ears. He was betweenughter and tears when he heard their whispers. It seemed the Yu Manor had remained female-dominated for too long; even the girls were extremely pure.

    A blush appeared on Maid Xing¡¯s neck just then. Then, she quietly shot the maids a look. Those maids were frightened so badly that they immediately shut their mouths and began to focus on their work again.

    Zu An narrowed his eyes. She could even hear such quiet whispers? This Maid Xing¡¯s cultivation doesn¡¯t seem to be low at all!

    A while afterward, the two of them arrived at a courtyard. Maid Xing stood by the door and bowed slightly toward the interior, saying, ¡°Madam, young master Zu has arrived.¡±

    ¡°Let him in,¡± Yu Yanluo said in her unique voice, sounding tender and gentle. Just her voice alone was enough to make one¡¯s imagination run wild.

    ¡°Young master, please go in. If you need anything, you only need to call for me.¡± Maid Xing bowed, then slowly withdrew.

    Zu An pushed open the door and went in. A familiar heat immediately blew against his face.

    ¡°Were you surprised by the heat again?¡± Yu Yanluo asked with augh.

    Zu An followed the source of the sound. The other party wasn¡¯t lying in bed today; as such, he was momentarily a bit distracted. But his eyes lit up soon afterward. Yu Yanluo was wearing a coat that was even fairer than snow; draped around her shoulders was a fiery red sleeveless jacket. Paired with her brilliant red dress, it made her look even more morous.

    Her beautiful hair was meticulouslybed into an exquisite bun; in her hair was a pretty phoenix hairpin. The tassels on it swayed gently, and any man who saw her would feel as if his heart were swaying along with them.

    Zu An had just spent an entire night with Pei Mianman, so he was still a gentleman. After his initial absentmindedness, his expression became clear as he looked at the other party, saying, ¡°I greet the madam.¡±

    Yu Yanluo was surprised. She had even dressed herself up a bit today. But she didn¡¯t think too much of it and said with a smile, ¡°You came so early; you probably haven¡¯t eaten yet, right? How about we have breakfast together?¡±

    Only then did Zu An notice that there were a few dishes that had already been prepared off to the side. There were all sorts of local dishes, as well as two sets of bowls and chopsticks.

    ¡°Thank you, madam; I am actually a bit hungry.¡± He didn¡¯t act too politely and sat down. His stomach was empty after he had toiled for an entire night.

    A hint of appreciation appeared in Yu Yanluo¡¯s eyes when she saw how straightforward and open-minded Zu An was. She also slowly sat down across from him. She reached out her hand and pushed her dress forward a bit, exposing the shocking curves of her bottom.

    ¡°Young master, please act at ease,¡± Yu Yanluo said with a smile. ¡°These are all local delicacies of Cloudcenter Commandery. The young master hase from afar, and I just happen to be able to act as a host today.¡±

    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re right. I really haven¡¯t tried these before.¡± When he saw the dazzling lineup of food before him, Zu An didn¡¯t know where to start.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    When Yu Yanluo saw that, she began to introduce the dishes to him. ¡°This one is called Aimanke; it tastes really good when dipped in milk tea or meat soup. This one is called Samusa; the outside is made from roasted flour and sesame seeds fried to a golden brown, and the inside is stuffed with the freshestmb meat. These are rice intestines¡­ This one is called Western Soulender.¡±

    ¡°Western Soulender?¡± Zu An was stunned. He looked at the pastry, which had all kinds of nuts preserved in sugar and honey inside.

    Yu Yanluo pursed her lips and said, ¡°That wasn¡¯t the original name. It looks exquisite from the outside, but it¡¯s much heavier than it looks. Even if only a small piece is cut off, the amount weighed on the scale will far exceed what people expect. That¡¯s why everyone calls it the Western Soulender. As time went on, everyone forgot its original name.¡±

    ¡°There was actually a story like that?¡± Zu An had a strange look on his face. He couldn''t help but recall something simr in his previous world[1].

    ¡°Even though this name isn¡¯t so elegant, it tastes pretty good. Furthermore, it carries many of Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s specialties. Come on, have a taste!¡± Yu Yanluo eximed while removing a piece and handing it to him. ¡°Many of the foods in Cloudcenter Commandery require the use of our hands, so please don¡¯t feel offended because my hands are dirty.¡±

    When he looked at her bright and shining skin, as well as her brilliant red painted fingernails, Zu An thought to himself, What man in the world would ever think your hands are dirty?

    Even if your hands were dirty, as long as you gave the word, countless men would be lining up to help you lick them clean. At the very least, that Pei You definitely would.

    ¡°Madam must be joking.¡± Zu An obviously wouldn¡¯t be so rude as to receive it with his mouth. He picked it up and put it into his mouth. His eyes couldn''t help but light up as he said, ¡°It does taste very good.¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s eyes smiled. ¡°If it tastes good, eat some more. There are still other kinds of delicious food here.¡±

    Zu An really was hungry, so he couldn''t be bothered with appearances. He grabbed all sorts of delicious foods and ate them. Soon afterward, there was a satisfied expression on his face.

    ¡°This ce really does have a unique side to it.¡± He released a long sigh of satisfaction. However, he asked, ¡°Why is the madam not eating? It isn¡¯t because I was a bit too crude in my manners, is it?¡±

    Yu Yanluo had only taken a few small pieces here and there with her chopsticks, only doing so to keep himpany. When she heard that, she shook her head and said, ¡°Of course not. It¡¯s just that recently, my appetite hasn¡¯t been great and I can''t eat much.¡±

    ¡°The madam¡¯s appetite isn¡¯t good, yet you¡¯ve prepared so many things for me.¡± Zu An thought for a bit and said, ¡°I¡¯ll prepare something another day. Who knows, it might help change madam¡¯s appetite.¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to thank you for that ahead of time.¡± Yu Yanluo smiled. She clearly didn¡¯t treat it as a big deal. What kind of thing could possibly change her appetite?

    ¡°Is the madam going to leave the manor today?¡± Zu An asked, giving her luxurious outfit a look.

    ¡°That¡¯s not it.¡± Yu Yanluo shook her head. ¡°After sleeping for so long, I should move around once in a while. This manor is quite boring as well, so I decided to put on some makeup. Since you just happened to havee, I didn¡¯t do this for nothing.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. Wasn¡¯t there a bit of ambiguity in what she said? She seemed to have been flirting with him a bit for a while too. Don¡¯t tell me she really does use her charms to subdue the men around her and make them into her ves?

    He felt a bit unhappy when he thought of that, and he didn¡¯t want to engage in any more idle chatter. He went straight to the point and said, ¡°I came today because there¡¯s something I wish to consult the madam about.¡±

    ¡°Please speak your mind, young master. As long as I know anything, I¡¯ll tell you frankly.¡± Yu Yanluo always had a warm expression on her face.

    After some hesitation, Zu An asked, ¡°Does madam know about Wuyang Jade?¡±

    1. He¡¯s thinking of bava: Ayered pastry dessert made of phyllo pastry, filled with chopped nuts and sweetened with syrup or honey. It was one of the most popr sweet pastries in Ottoman cuisine. ?

 Chapter 1025: Warm Darling

    <h4>Chapter 1025: Warm Darling</h4>

    Zu An had originally wanted to directly ask about Chen Zhou¡¯s matter. But seeing how polite she was, he instead felt a bit nervous, so he decided to ask about Wuyang Jade instead.

    Wuyang Jade was one of the essential ingredients for Daji¡¯s breakthrough. He had asked the imperial hospital back when he was in the capital, but not even those experienced physicians had known about that item. They had said that if that item existed in this world, no one would know more about its existence than Yu Yanluo. After all, the Yu n was in control of the world¡¯s precious stone business, and Yu Yanluo was the n head.

    ¡°Wuyang Jade?¡± Yu Yanluo was stunned. Then, her face turned a bit red as she said, ¡°Please wait a moment.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, Why would her face turn red? Yu Yanluo turned around, and some rustling followed. Judging from her movements, she was either adjusting her jacket or dress; but as it turned out, she had actually taken out an object from near her abdomen.

    Yu Yanluo turned back around again. Her usually dignified andposed air was reced with slight shyness as she asked, ¡°Is this what you¡¯re talking about?¡±

    She reached out her hand and spread it open. In the center of her palm was a thin piece of jade. It was entirely snow white, and there seemed to be a red me moving around inside. That white color with a tinge of rosiness looked just like her own skin.

    Zu An took it and looked it over. He could feel the body heat that was left on it, as well as a scent that resembled both the smell of orchids and another natural scent. He didn¡¯t know if it was Yu Yanluo¡¯s smell or the smell of the piece of jade itself.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen it before. I only know that Wuyang Jade is of the fire attribute, and that it¡¯s a rare and precious stone¡­¡± Zu An¡¯s eyes subconsciously drifted toward the other party¡¯s underbelly. She hid this piece of jade over there?

    Apart from still blushing a bit, Yu Yanluo had already recovered her usualposure. She replied, ¡°Then this should be it. This jade carries the essence of fire and is rare and precious. I usually carry this piece of jade on me because I fear the cold. It can continuously give off warmth¡­¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Zu An felt disappointed. His attention shifted to the case off to the side. He said, ¡°Then it seems like I¡¯ve done something unnecessary.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Yu Yanluo looked at the case in puzzlement.

    Zu An took out a rectangr pouch and said, ¡°Thest time I met madam, I learned that the madam feared the cold, so I ended up getting my hands on this thing. This item is called a ¡®Warm Darling¡¯. As the name implies, when worn, it can continuously produce heat. Each piece will retain its heat for twelve hours.¡±

    ¡°Warm Darling? That name is quite adorable.¡± Yu Yanluo received it. She reached out a finger and touched it, eximing, ¡°Hm? I don¡¯t feel any heat.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll soon feel it once you apply it to your body,¡± Zu An exined. Yu Yanluo hesitated, then turned back around.

    Zu An quickly reminded her, ¡°You can¡¯t apply this directly to your skin, or else you might end up burning yourself. It¡¯s best if you keep ayer of personal clothing in between.¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s movements became rigid, as if she had to change something. Only after a while did she turn around. There was a bit of a captivating redness on her face as she said, ¡°Oh, I really do feel the heat. You really are clever; you ended up creating this kind of female personal item.¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­ Actually, it isn¡¯t only for women. Men can use it as well,¡± Zu An exined. He didn¡¯t want to be treated as some pervert.

    ¡°This Warm¡­ Warm Darling onlysts for twelve hours?¡± Yu Yanluo turned away, as if trying to sense the heat all around her.

    Zu An handed over the case, saying, ¡°Yes. It won¡¯t work anymore after twelve hours. Once the time passes, you can switch to a new one. There are twenty sheets here. Because I only had so much time, I could only produce this small amount. Make sure to keep the case closed, or else air and water vapors will make the Warm Darlings inside lose their effectiveness.¡±

    ¡°Thank you. I like this gift a lot. It¡¯s the best gift I¡¯ve received all these years.¡± Yu Yanluo appeared to be in high spirits, as if she were a little girl who had found a beloved toy.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An had a forced smile on his face as he said, ¡°Madam doesn¡¯t need to try to console me. Your Wuyang Jade would be much more convenient than the Warm Darlings. It even has long term effectiveness.¡±

    ¡°Even though the Wuyang Jadests longer, as time goes on, the fire element inside gradually leaves.¡± Yu Yanluo thought for a bit,then asked, ¡°What are your Warm Darlings made out of? How much is the cost of the materials? If you can¡¯t tell me, this question might indeed be a bit rude.¡±

    ¡°Madam is overthinking. This isn¡¯t anything I can¡¯t talk about.¡± Zu An exined. ¡°The things inside are made of iron powder, vermiculite, activated carbon, salt, etcetera. The outside is made from waterproof and airtight cloth. All of the ingredients are rather easy to obtain; the most difficult part instead lies in the cloth used to wrap around the contents.¡±

    ¡°Iron powder, vermiculite, activated carbon¡­¡± Yu Yanluo nodded. ¡°These are indeed not too difficult to acquire. But it seems like the proportion they¡¯re mixed in is the key part. As for the cloth, there are so many cloth shops in this world; I¡¯m sure there are some people who are capable of this level of craftsmanship.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. It seemed he had missed out on a key fact himself. He had been thinking about non-woven fabrics, but even though there weren¡¯t any technology trees in this world, there were many fields where results simr to those of industrial technology could be produced.

    Yu Yanluo continued, ¡°As for what you said about the Wuyang Jade being more convenient, I actually beg to differ. Wuyang Jade is extremely rare, and I was only able to find a few pieces myself. It doesn¡¯t have any extensive uses at all.

    ¡°But your Warm¡­ Warm Darling is different. As long as the craftsmanship reaches a certain level, the production costs can go down even further. Eventually, it can be something even ordinary people can use. Apart from blocking the cold, it can be used for rheumatism and other lower back and joint pains¡­¡± Yu Yanluo¡¯s eyes were shining as she spoke. ¡°This is a huge business in itself!¡±

    She got up and paced around the room, thinking to herself for a bit. Then, she looked excitedly at Zu An, asking, ¡°Can you hand this business over to me? Then, after separating the production costs, we¡¯ll divide the profits seventy-thirty, with you being seventy and me thirty.¡±

    She seemed to have immediately be a different person when she began talking about business. Her previously gentle and weak side was nowhere to be seen, instead reced with apetent and powerful woman.

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°This was a gift to the madam anyway. I¡¯ll give you the prescriptionter, and madam can do whatever you want to do with it. You don¡¯t need to give me any of the profits.¡±

    ¡°That won¡¯t do! Business is business. Even though our rtionship is good, I can¡¯t take advantage of you,¡± Yu Yanluo said with a serious expression. ¡°If you do that, I guess there¡¯s no choice but to give up on this business. Sigh, but what about all of the unfortunate poverty-strickenmon people who suffer from the cold¡­¡±

    Zu An was speechless. What else could he say when the other party had already gone so far? He said, ¡°Um, if madam puts it like this, then I can only agree. But seventy-thirty is a bit unreasonable. I¡¯m not doing anything myself, so it¡¯s enough if you just give me thirty percent. Why would I need seventy percent?¡±

    ¡°You silly child, you have no idea how big of a business opportunity this is!¡± Yu Yanluo gave him a look. ¡°How about this? We¡¯ll just split it fifty-fifty. I won¡¯t take any more than that! Otherwise, I would rather not engage in this business.¡± She did have to use a lot of manpower and resources, so fifty-fifty was still fair.

    Zu An thought about how much money he needed for his own pill refinement, cultivation, and valkyrie breakthrough materials, and how he was in dire need of money at the moment. As such, he didn¡¯t argue anymore and just agreed.

    ¡°Then, let¡¯s celebrate the future sess of our cooperation!¡± Yu Yanluo leisurely walked over to the table and poured two cups of wine, giving one to Zu An. Zu An wasn¡¯t worried that she¡¯d poison his drink. After lightly touching cups to hers, he drained it in one gulp.

    This wine was brewed with honey, a local specialty of Cloudcenter Commandery. The alcohol content was high and it was sweet, making it extremely suitable for women.

    Yu Yanluo covered her lips with her sleeves, then drank the cup of alcohol. Her skin flushed red immediately. She rarely drank normally, and whenever she did, her entire body would turn red. She pursed her lips and said, ¡°Everyone always haggles over everyst cent when doing business. This is the first time I¡¯ve experienced something like this, where you push interests in the other party¡¯s favor.¡±

    ¡°I only came to give you a gift today anyway, and yet I ended up starting a business. This is also a first for me.¡± Zu An was also quite moved.

    ¡°Wait here for a bit,¡± Yu Yanluo said before going into the inner room. A whileter, she came out with a small case, saying, ¡°Apart from that piece, there are two pieces of Wuyang Jade here. I¡¯ll just give them to you together. Either way, with your Warm Darlings, I won¡¯t be needing them anymore.¡±

    ¡°How can I take something this precious?!¡± Zu An eximed. He had already learned how precious these items were from their chat. He obviously wouldn¡¯t have the nerve to take them.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you give me something incredibly precious too? Those Warm Darlings of yours are even more precious than these pieces of Wuyang Jade.¡± Yu Yanluo didn¡¯t allow him to say anything else and pushed them into his arms.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to thank the madam.¡± Zu An put away the pieces of Wuyang Jade. He felt something stir within him when he smelled their faint fragrance.

    Yu Yanluo also shifted her gaze unnaturally. She did feel a bit of regret. She should have only given him the other two pieces, because she had worn that third piece on her very body! But it was already toote to talk about that now. She could only tacitly allow it out of helplessness.

    Zu An put the case away and asked, ¡°May I ask where the madam found this Wuyang Jade?¡±

    ¡°Are these not enough?¡± Yu Yanluo was intelligent. She immediately sensed that something was strange.

    Zu An nodded, saying, ¡°I need them for pill refinement, so I¡¯m still missing a few pieces¡­¡±

    Daji needed five pieces of Wuyang Jade to break through from the sixth to the seventh rank. Later on, she would need even more for each breakthrough.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s brow furrowed. She said, ¡°This is indeed a bit troublesome.¡±

 Chapter 1026: Unexpected

    <h4>Chapter 1026: Unexpected</h4>

    Zu An became nervous, asking, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± If he couldn''t get any more of these things, didn¡¯t that mean that Daji couldn''t break through any more?

    Yu Yanluo exined, ¡°Wuyang Jade grows in the ki stone ore veins, and it must be nourished by Silverme Flowertrees. It only forms after a long time in that kind of environment. The ki stone ore veins are one thing, since our Yu n has them, but Silverme Flowertrees can only be discovered and not sought after.¡±

    ¡°Silverme Flowertrees?¡± Zu An was stunned. He had never heard of that name before.

    ¡°They¡¯re nt creatures simr to wild beasts. They¡¯re simr to flowers, but also like trees. Since they absorb all kinds of natural ki in the ore veins, they develop all kinds of mutations. At the lowest, their strength is at the seventh rank.¡± Yu Yanluo exined. ¡°The most important part is that such things can only be found and not sought after. In all our Yu n¡¯s years of operations of the ore veins, we haven¡¯t encountered them many times. Otherwise, we wouldn¡¯t only have these few pieces of Wuyang Jade.

    ¡°How about this? I¡¯ll tell my people to pay more attention to this. I¡¯ll let you know if we find any Silverme Flowertrees.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, madam.¡± Zu An thought to himself that a seventh ranked vicious beast didn¡¯t pose much of a threat to his current self anymore. It seemed the difficulty was more about how rare the creatures were.

    ¡°Ah Zu, you don¡¯t need to be so formal.¡± Yu Yanluo smiled and sat back down.

    ¡°There¡¯s something else I want to ask the madam about.¡± Zu An took the chance to ask, ¡°Has madam heard about the Milk of Purple Frost before?¡±

    Mi Li¡¯s soul was wounded and she needed that item to recover. He had previously received news that Cloudcenter Duke had offered a portion to the emperor in the past. As Cloudcenter Duke¡¯s wife, she might know a few things.

    But unfortunately, Yu Yanluo shook her head and said, ¡°The Milk of Purple Frost was offered up to his majesty by thest generation Cloudcenter Duke. I don¡¯t know any details about it. If Yanyou were still here, he might know some things, but¡­¡± She didn¡¯t continue her sentence. A hint of grief appeared on her face.

    Zu An was confused. Were these her sincere thoughts, or were they fake? If they were fake, that was way too terrifying!

    ¡°Madam, please feel at ease. We¡¯ll find where the duke went,¡± Zu An said in constion.

    Yu Yanluo sighed. ¡°He¡¯s already been gone for so long already; how can I not know that something has already happened to him? You don¡¯t need to console me like this.¡±

    ¡°Madam and the duke¡¯s feelings for each other seem to be very good¡­?¡± Zu An asked to test the waters.

    Yu Yanluo shook her head. ¡°How can my rtionship with him be considered good? We were just a bit closer than normal people. But we spent so many years as husband and wife after all, so I obviously wouldn¡¯t want to see anything bad happen to him.¡±

    Zu An was a bit confused. He hadn¡¯t expected her to be so frank about that! Normally speaking, shouldn¡¯t she have tried to hide it and say their rtionship was extremely good? However, he threw these thoughts to the back of his mind and continued to ask, ¡°Right, is Gong Pan someone loyal to the madam?¡±

    ¡°They were all old acquaintances from the Duke Manor. Now that something has happened, they have nowhere to go, so it was my duty to take them in as well. If they ever want to leave, I won¡¯t force them to stay either. That¡¯s why there isn¡¯t much loyalty or dedication. I¡¯m not the type to strictly manage my subordinates. How they think is up to them,¡± Yu Yanluo replied ambiguously. Soon afterward, a look of suspicion appeared between her brows. ¡°Why did you suddenly ask about this? Could it be that there¡¯s something wrong with him?¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t want to alert her too much and said with a smile, ¡°That¡¯s not it. I just feel that even though Cloudcenter Commandery looks calm and quiet, there are some things stirring in it. I was worried that something might happen to the madam, which is why I asked about some more things.¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°You¡¯re surprisingly considerate of me.¡± Yu Yanluo smiled sweetly. Even the winter day seemed to have be warm.

    The two of them chatted casually for a while longer. Zu An still had his own task to take care of, so he got up and bid her farewell.

    Yu Yanluo was a bit stunned. Other men were always itching to meet with her even once, so every single one of them wanted to chat with her for a bit longer. Yet this fellow waspletely different. He instead took the initiative to leave first whenever they were chatting happily with each other.

    Is he loosening the reins on purpose so he can grasp them better? Yu Yanluo frowned slightly. But when she saw the other party¡¯s pure expression, she couldn''t help but chuckle. It was probably she who had be a bit too sensitive from being bothered by men for so many years. With her nature, though, she obviously wouldn¡¯t keep him for idle chatter. She had Maid Xing see him out.

    When they left the room, Zu An cupped his hands toward Maid Xing and said, ¡°Big Sister Maid Xing, I wish to meet with General Gong Pan. Would it be convenient to do so?¡±

    Maid Xing¡¯s body bent over fromughing. She replied, ¡°That little mouth of yours is quite sweet; no wonder the madam likes you so much. Please wait here for a bit; this maid will invite General Gong over.¡±

    The other party was a guest of Madam Yu, and Gong Pan wasn¡¯t one of the womenfolk who weren¡¯t supposed to mingle with outsider men too much. That was why there was no need for her to reject his proposal.

    She brought Zu An over to a lounge to rx. Then, she called over a maid to bring Gong Pan. Afterward, she sat down across from Zu An to chat with him. She asked, ¡°How did the young master meet the madam? I have never seen the young master before.¡±

    ¡°We happened to meet each other in Brightmoon City,¡± Zu An replied, a bit surprised. This maid was quite bold! Maid Xing¡¯s fiery eyes looked him up and down, as if she were examining a gigolo or something.

    ¡°Brightmoon City¡­ The Madam seemed to have encountered some danger and was saved by a young man. So that was you!¡± Maid Xing patted herrge chest. ¡°No wonder the madam appreciates you so much. After all, she has basically refused all guests over these past few years.¡±

    Zu An smiled and asked, ¡°How many years has Big Sister Maid Xing been at the madam¡¯s side already?¡±

    ¡°Oh my, I really cannot ept your address of ¡®big sister¡¯,¡± Maid Xing said. Despite those words, she was still all smiles and enjoying herself greatly. ¡°This servant has followed the madam ever since I was young. It has been so long that I do not even remember too clearly anymore.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, Then she really is someone Yu Yanluo absolutely trusts.

    Maid Xing then asked him all sorts of questions.

    ¡°Has the young master gotten married yet?¡±

    ¡°Do you have anyone in mind¡­?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression became strange. He replied, ¡°Why, don¡¯t tell me you n to introduce someone to me?¡±

    Maid Xing shook her head with a smile, saying, ¡°My goodness, I should forget about that. With the kind of a person the young master is, you are not someone a normal girl can be a match for. If the madam had not gotten married, I could introduce her to you, but there is no chance now.¡±

    Zu An was a bit surprised. Isn¡¯t this maid way too bold? She actually put her own master out just like that! But judging from their interaction, he could tell that Yu Yanluo must treat her subordinates extremely well, which was why they were like this.

    ¡­

    As the two of them chatted with each other, Gong Pan came over. Maid Xing bowed and said, ¡°I won¡¯t disturb the two of you then.¡± She withdrew after speaking.

    ¡°So it was young master Zu! May I ask what you sought me out for today?¡± Gong Pan cupped his hands.

    Zu An returned the greeting and asked, ¡°Didn¡¯t I ask you about where Cloudcenter Duke¡¯s personal guards were? I looked into them and found that many of them died in their line of duty. That¡¯s why I wanted to ask you what kind of cases they were investigating back then, as well as take a look at the things they left behind.¡±

    He didn¡¯t want to let the other party know about his true suspicions, so he didn¡¯t ask about Chen Zhou alone, but rather asked about him together with the six other people. The mastermind had gone through such great efforts to make a fake corpse, so they definitely didn¡¯t want him to find out the truth so quickly.

    ¡°Oh? Could it be that there were some issues with their causes of death?¡± Gong Pan asked out of curiosity.

    ¡°It¡¯s just routine business I need to go through,¡± Zu An said without any changes in his expression. ¡°I believe you know that we came to Cloudcenter Duke to appoint a new duke. Before that can happen, we need to properly investigate all things rted to the previous duke.¡±

    ¡°So that was it.¡± Gong Pan felt at ease. He said, ¡°Sigh, those brothers really passed away tragically¡­¡± Then, he gave Zu An a rough summary of the investigations regarding the six individuals.

    Zu An paid the most attention to Chen Zhou¡¯s case. It was initially rumored that he had been investigating a smuggling case involving the Zhenyuan Merchant Group, but he hadter discovered that it was just a misunderstanding. It was another group of smugglers who had bribed one of Zhengyuan Merchant Group¡¯s warehouse managers¡­

    Zhenyuan Merchant Group was one of Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯srgest merchant groups. They brought goods from all over the country to Cloudcenter Commandery for sale, and they also brought various specialty products from the northwest through Cloudcenter Commandery to all other parts of the empire.

    Zu An thought to himself, Chen Zhou was probably already on his way to deliver the message to the capital back then. Investigating Zhenyuan Merchant Group or whatever should just be a pretense. What he cared more about was what Chen Zhou had left behind.

    ¡°What about those soldiers¡¯ belongings? I heard that Sir Gong brought them back,¡± Zu An took the chance to ask Gong Pan with a smile.

    Gong Pan¡¯s expression changed slightly, but he quickly replied, ¡°ording to normal regtions, those who die in the line of duty have their belongings stored up. After all, their cases have not been resolved yet.¡±

    Zu An frowned and asked, ¡°Are those items still in the Military Affairs Manor?¡±

    ¡°That is not the case; they are currently in Yu Manor. I have not had the time to hand them over to the authorities yet,¡± Gong Pan replied. ¡°If Sir Zu wishes to examine them, then please follow me.¡±

    When he saw the other party¡¯s skeptical expression, he exined, ¡°I will not hide this from Sir Zu. Actually, I wanted to see if I could find any clues from their belongings, to see if I could get revenge for these fallen brothers. You should also know that all of us were personal guards of the duke in the past. After something happened to the duke, we were dispatched to other departments to do these tasks.

    ¡°Everyone knows they were leading figures of thest generation, and would not receive the favor of the new authorities. That is why no one would really earnestly examine their cases, and also why I wanted to investigate their cases myself.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Zu An was a bit surprised. He continued, ¡°Then I wonder if General Gong has found out any important information?¡±

 Chapter 1027: Increase the Fee

    <h4>Chapter 1027: Increase the Fee</h4>

    Gong Pan shook his head. He sighed and said, ¡°I only have my own dullness andck of aptitude to me; I was unable to find out anything. I was also unable to get revenge for these brothers who wrongfully died.¡±

    When he saw the man grit his teeth and clench his fists tightly, and how his entire body was shaking a bit as he spoke, Zu An thought to himself, If this person is acting, his acting skills are out of this world. He coughed lightly and reminded the other party, ¡°Then, where are those guards¡¯ belongings located?¡±

    Gong Pan thus woke up from his daze. He took out six pouches from some drawers and said, ¡°The items are stored inside. They were all unfortunate souls who did not leave behind too many belongings.¡±

    Zu An walked over and opened the six pouches one by one. These were the belongings of the six deceased guards. His attention naturally focused on Chen Zhou¡¯s belongings. He chatted leisurely with Gong Pan while secretly examining the belongings in Chen Zhou¡¯s pack. Inside were a scorched personal de, a waist token, a fingernail file, a slightly shriveled canteen, a badly burned book, as well as a few books that were still intact.

    ¡°What is this?¡± Zu An noticed that the other people¡¯s belongings all had the same book. He randomly picked one up and flipped through it.

    ¡°That is something all of us guards have. Recorded in them are their daily patrols and missions. After all, our jobs carry great risk, and we might just disappear from this world one day. To some extent, these can be considered ourst words,¡± Gong Pan exined.

    Zu An felt relieved. The Embroidered Envoy had simr things called Soul Reaping Books. These books recorded their master¡¯s identity, their most recent mission, the people they had encountered, and other such things. That way, even if individual Embroidered Envoys perished, the others could still find various clues through those things.

    His eyesnded on Chen Zhou¡¯s remains. He thought to himself that most of the booklet had probably been burned up in the warehouse, and the others were found and brought out by Gong Pan from his home.

    He couldn''t really examine Chen Zhou¡¯s things in front of Gong Pan, so he said, ¡°General Gong, I want to bring these things back in order to examine them carefully.¡±

    ¡°This¡­¡± Gong Pan looked a bit hesitant.

    Zu An asked with a smile, ¡°Does General Gong not trust me? I represent the imperial court, and I don¡¯t have any rtionship with the various factions of Cloudcenter Commandery.¡±

    Gong Pan immediately bowed and said, ¡°Sir Zu speaks too formally. Cooperating with your investigation is something I ought to do. However, I need Sir Zu to sign a borrowing form.¡±

    ¡°That isn¡¯t an issue.¡± Zu An knew that was a formality of the court, so he naturally wouldn¡¯t refuse.

    ¡­

    Zu An returned to his temporary residence after he signed the form, and Sang Hong came over to look through the belongings. Zu An noticed that most of the items were just some ordinary goods. Soon afterward, their attentionnded on the booklets.

    The book that had been burned looked as if it might crumble as soon as it was touched. Even if one gently flipped through it, the few words that could still be read were pretty much meaningless.

    Furthermore, they knew the scorched corpse might not even be the real Chen Zhou, so the booklet was probably fake too. As such, they both began to look through the books that had been taken from Chen Zhou¡¯s home. Unfortunately, they only had some recordings of his patrols and stationed locations over the years; there wasn¡¯t any useful information.

    ¡°Is the trail going to just end here?¡± Sang Hong¡¯s brow furrowed slightly; he was clearly a bit unwilling to just give up.

    ¡°This was something to be expected. If there really were anything valuable, wouldn¡¯t it already have been erased by Gong Pan or the true mastermind behind the scenes?¡± Zu An replied in constion.

    ¡°Ah Zu, you visited the Yu n again today. Do you think Yu Yanluo and that Gong Pan might be the true masterminds?¡± Sang Hong asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s hard to say.¡± Zu An thought back to the things that had happened earlier with Yu Yanluo and Gong Pan. He became momentarily absent-minded.

    He had originally gone to just sound things out, yet in the end, he had mysteriously started a business. If she really was the true mastermind, wasn¡¯t he being pulled onto her pirate ship?

    After some hesitation, Sang Hong couldn''t help but warn him, ¡°There is definitely more to that woman than meets the eye. So many people have knelt down before her for her favor, and even his majesty in the past¡­ Heh, you should not think of her like those youngdies you have met before. Do not act on impulse just because she is pretty.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face darkened. He replied, ¡°Respected uncle is worrying too much. I haven¡¯t gotten as far as to let beauty affect my judgment.¡±

    At the same time, he was curious. He couldn''t be more familiar with the current emperor. If that person liked a certain girl, how could he let the other party refuse him? Furthermore, Yu Yanluo always acted gentle and timid; she didn¡¯t look like a cultivator at all. She had no power to resist at all.

    Sang Hong wanted to say something else, but Gao Ying suddenly returned. He immediately changed his tone and said, ¡°You were in charge of examining Chen Zhou¡¯s interpersonal rtionships. How goes the investigation?¡±

    Gao Ying replied, ¡°Chen Zhou was a rather reclusive person. He didn¡¯t have many intimate friends. But I learned from his colleagues that he seemed to have begun to smile a bit more. He also seemed a bit younger and happier than before recently.¡±

    ¡°Happier?¡± Zu An and Sang Hong looked at each other in dismay. In their opinion, that should have been when Chen Zhou discovered the truth of Cloudcenter Duke¡¯s disappearance. Shouldn¡¯t he have been rmed and dejected?

    ¡°Indeed. I found it quite strange as well, so I asked his colleagues about it.¡± Gao Ying also looked troubled. ¡°ording to what they were saying, Chen Zhou¡¯s only trouble seemed to be that he had some financial issues, so he actually asked to borrow money from them.¡±

    ¡°Lending some money here and there to colleagues should not be a problem, right?¡± Sang Hong asked, puzzled.

    Gao Ying replied, ¡°The main problem is that these are the Duke Manor¡¯s personal guards, so their sry and bonuses shouldn¡¯t becking. Others mightck money from indulging in drinking and pleasure, but Chen Zhou was always frugal in his spending. In theory, such a thing shouldn¡¯t have happened.¡±

    The room became quiet again. Zu An thought over the clues. ¡®Smile more¡¯, ¡®younger¡¯, ¡®financial issues¡¯... Those key words seemed to be getting closer and closer to some actual truth, and yet he couldn''t figure it out.

    Suddenly, the door was pushed open. Pei You walked over while mumbling something.

    ¡°Oh? We have some progress from Jasper Lane¡¯s side,¡± Zu An said in amusement.

    ¡°I don¡¯t even want to talk about it.¡± Pei You¡¯s expression immediately sank. His hand reached up to his mouth and he released a sigh. Then, he ran over to the firece for some warmth, saying, ¡°Jasper Lane isn¡¯t even open yet.¡±

    He had gotten all excited when he heard he could go to the pleasure quarters on a public assignment. That was why he had been so impatient to rush to Jasper Lane. Unfortunately, ces like Jasper Lane usually only operated at night. After all, the girls needed to rest after working all night.

    As a self-proimed connoisseur of the pleasure quarters, Pei You naturally understood that. He had thought to himself that he¡¯d just goter in the afternoon.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    But who would¡¯ve thought that even as he waited and waited, Jasper Lane had still never opened? In the end, he finally couldn''t take the cold and went out to ask around. He had found out that it was still too early.

    Cloudcenter Commandery was tens of thousands of li northwest of the capital, but Pei You had been waiting for the time the brothels in the capital opened up. However, the sun rose a few hourster into the day than what he was used to, and it would simrly be a few extra hours before it became dark.

    Hence, people¡¯s daily schedules would be shifted a few hoursterpared to the capital. Jasper Lane¡¯s hours naturally shifted a few hours as well.

    But that meant Gao Ying had been sitting indoors and chatting with some tea, and Zu An had been cared for by Yu Yanluo with good food and wine, while he alone had sat outside in the northwestern cold for several hours.

    Pei You had broken down when he realized all of that and sprinted back in shame.

    When they heard the whole story, Zu An and Gao Ying burst outughing. Even Sang Hong couldn''t hold back a smile.

    Pei You was furious. He was just about to say something when he saw the remains on the table. He suddenly voiced his surprise. ¡°I knew it! Brother Zu really did go to Jasper Lane on his own without us!¡±

    Zu An waspletely confused. He asked, ¡°Did you go stupid from the cold? When did I go to Jasper Lane?¡±

    ¡°Are you still going to lie? What is this then?¡± Pei You pointed at an unremarkable fingernail file on the desk. ¡°This is a small present Jasper Lane gives their guests, something polished from jade fragments. Even though it isn¡¯t some precious treasure, it¡¯s definitely not cheap. Normally speaking, only the most respected guests have the qualifications to obtain something like this.¡±

    Zu An and Sang Hong exchanged a look. They thought back to Chen Zhou¡¯s new lease in life, and how he had begun tock money. They immediately blurted out, ¡°Jasper Lane!¡±

    Pei You was stunned. He said, ¡°Yes, I was talking about Jasper Lane.¡±

    Zu An and Sang Hong didn¡¯t bother exining things to him and began to discuss among themselves.

    ¡°Looks like Chen Zhou¡¯s money was spent in Jasper Lane.¡±

    ¡°No wonder he wascking money. Even though the sry for a personal guard is high, it would never be enough in a money squandering establishment.¡±

    ¡°Sigh, I thought he was someone who cared about his family when I met his wife and son. I didn¡¯t expect that honest-seeming fe to be that kind of trash!¡±

    ¡­

    Pei You was stunned. Only when Gao Ying exined did he understand what was happening. ¡°Then what are we still waiting for? Let¡¯s go!¡± he eximed excitedly.

    Sang Hong coughed and said, ¡°I will have to trouble you all to investigate this matter. It is inconvenient for someone of my status to go.¡±

    He was a glorious Imperial Envoy subject. If someone found out that he had gone all the way to Cloudcenter Commandery to visit the pleasure quarters, just the spit flying from the court¡¯sints would be enough to drown him to death.

    ¡°Little You, we obviously have to leave this kind of thing to you. You should head over to Jasper Lane as a spy first. Brother Gao, investigate Chen Zhou¡¯s colleagues a bit more and we¡¯ll attack this issue from different angles. Let¡¯s try to see just which girl had an affair with Chen Zhou,¡± Zu An said while patting the other two individuals¡¯ shoulders.

    ¡°Then what about you?¡± Pei You asked out of curiosity.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be here devising the n, of course, and awaiting your good news,¡± Zu An said with a deadly earnest expression.

    Pei You gave him a look of disdain. However, when he thought about how it wasn¡¯t long before Jasper Lane would open, he didn¡¯t say anything else. After all, going to the pleasure quarters at public expense was just too amazing of a job. Gao Ying was more steadfast in nature, so he naturally didn¡¯t have any objections.

    When the two of them left, Sang Hong looked at Zu An and said out of concern, ¡°You have been investigating thest two nights without any rest, so you should get some rest to preserve your strength. I will watch over things here.¡±

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°Since respected uncle cares so much about me, I¡¯ll return and sleep first.¡±

    While looking at his withdrawing figure, Sang Hong thought to himself, What will my daughter do if you end up ruining yourself from exhaustion?

    ¡­

    After many hours passed, news came back that Pei You had already found out who Chen Zhou had been close to.

    Zu An and Gao Ying arrived at Jasper Lane. Pei You was already waiting there, burning with anxiety. He eximed, ¡°Hurry up, hurry up! Why are you all so slow?¡±

    When he saw the lipstick marks that hadn¡¯t even beenpletely wiped off Pei You¡¯s face, Zu An couldn''t help but say with a smile, ¡°Looks like you¡¯re having a great time here.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, what I¡¯m doing is fully devoting myself to our nation,¡± Pei You stuck out his chest and said proudly.

    ¡°Tsk,¡± the other two replied.

    ¡°The one Chen Zhou was close to ising out.¡± Pei You reminded them just then.

    ¡°Young master Pei, why aren¡¯t youing inside yet?¡± A gorgeously dressed woman walked out. When she saw Zu An and Gao Ying, her expression changed. She continued, ¡°There are this many people? I can¡¯t entertain all of you at the same time¡­¡±

    Pei You quickly advised her, ¡°We came from afar because we¡¯ve heard of your reputation. How can thedy let us leave in disappointment?¡±

    The woman hesitated for a bit. Suddenly, she noticed Zu An¡¯s outstanding appearance and presence. A bashful expression immediately appeared on her face. She said, ¡°It¡¯s not entirely impossible to let this young mastere in as well, but we have to increase the fee!¡±

 Chapter 1028: Dummy and Lady

    <h4>Chapter 1028: Dummy and Lady</h4>

    Zu An was speechless. Hisplexion darkened. This woman really did leave him at a loss for words. He could only sigh and think to himself that Chen Zhou really didn¡¯t know how to pick his girls¡­

    Gao Ying was even more depressed. Even though his appearance couldn''tpare to Zu An and Pei You, wasn¡¯t being outright ignored a bit too much?

    Pei You quickly came out to smooth things over, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll make sure to pay you properly. This is Lady Pink; she¡¯s precisely the¡­ one we were looking for.¡±

    Zu An and Gao Ying yed along and said, ¡°Let¡¯s talk more inside.¡± The things they were going to ask about were private, so they obviously couldn''t let people outside hear anything.

    ¡°Young masters, please follow me inside.¡± Pink enthusiastically moved over to Zu An¡¯s side and rubbed her breasts against his elbow on purpose. She eximed, ¡°This young master is so handsome! Where did youe from?¡±

    Pei You became jealous. Pink had been polite and eagerly attentive when he sought her out previously, and he¡¯d thought he had finally redeemed himself a bit back then. But who would¡¯ve thought that once she saw Brother Zu, her enthusiasm would skyrocket? I¡¯m not any less handsome than Brother Zu! Why is there such a huge difference in my affinity with women?

    Zu An wasn¡¯t as happy as Pei You imagined him to be. When he smelled the gaudy scenting from Pink¡¯s body, he couldn''t help but frown inwardly. He replied coldly, ¡°I came from Yi Commandery.¡±

    ¡°Wow, Yi Commandery is a great ce¡­¡± Pink immediately began to praise Yi Commandery.

    Zu An took the chance to examine Jasper Lane. Its exterior was somewhat cold and deste, with snow covering the eaves. Overall, its colors were dull. But once they went inside, it was as if they had arrived in apletely different world! It was a dazzling sight filled with a hubbub of activity. The scent wafting through the air seemed as if it could tug at one¡¯s soul. The entire ce seemed to be heated by some kind of geothermal heat, making the temperature inside feel like spring or summer.

    There were beautiful girls dressed in light clothing everywhere. Their steps were alluring and seductive, their voices charming and enticing. Not many men could retain their rationality in such an environment.

    Zu An looked around him. What made this ce different from the central continent was that there were many women who specialized in selling alcohol, as well as some fiend race girls. If the furries from his previous world saw such a scene, they might just faint from excitement.

    The liveliness of the ce wasn¡¯t at all inferior to, and perhaps even better than, the Hub of Freedom he had visited before. The Hub of Freedom cared about its artistic mood, so the girls had to be a bit more reserved. Furthermore, they didn¡¯t have as much staff either. This ce was filled with enthusiastic and bold girls.

    The group quickly followed Pink to a room, where she said, ¡°My precious guests, please wait here for a bit. This humble one wille back after I change my clothes.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for all that trouble; let¡¯s just go on with this.¡± Zu An coughed. He obviously hadn¡¯te for a fashion show.

    ¡°Ah? Why is this young master in such a rush?¡± Pink blushed. She secretly gave them a look. She thought to herself that this young master was the most handsome, and she was willing to receive him even if she didn¡¯t take any money from him. The young master Pei who had shown up previously was also pretty good. Inparison to the two of them, the boorish-looking man in the very back was a bit uglier. Sigh, I¡¯ll just keep him in the back if I have toter. I just don¡¯t have to look at his face.

    I definitely have to have this white-clothed young master right in front of meter¡­

    She began to loosen her waistband while acting shy. It was a habit that had been trained ever since she was little, so she was already extremely proficient at it. She could be seen as both enticing and also properly disying the shyness of a girl.

    ¡°Ahem, you don¡¯t need to undress. We just want to ask you about some things.¡± Zu An quickly stopped her.

    Pink immediately pulled her clothes back up when she heard that, replying, ¡°Hmph, did you alle here just to make a joke out of me? You didn¡¯te to Jasper Lane to have fun, but instead just to ask questions?¡±

    She had thought it was going to be a huge business deal at first, and yet they hadn¡¯te to y. She felt that she¡¯d run into bad luck. Even though this white clothed young master is handsome, he can¡¯t just not pay!

    Zu An took out a silver ingot and ced it on the table, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll definitely pay you properly.¡±

    Pink¡¯s eyes lit up when she saw therge ingot. She immediately grabbed it and bit down on a corner. Then, she put it into her chest and said with a smile, ¡°Young masters can ask me anything you want! This humble one will definitely tell you anything you want to know.¡±

    Gao Ying felt a bit of disdain when he saw how quickly she changed her attitude. This really is the best representation of the phrase ¡® prostitute knows no feelings, only money¡¯.

    Zu An didn¡¯t really mind. I don¡¯t care if you love money; what I¡¯d care about would be if you didn¡¯t even love money. He asked, ¡°Do you know someone named Chen Zhou?¡±

    Pink¡¯s smile froze when she heard Chen Zhou¡¯s name. She began, ¡°You are¡­?¡±

    Gao Ying harrumphed impatiently and said, ¡°We¡¯re the ones asking the questions, not the other way around.¡±

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°Miss, don¡¯t worry. We¡¯re decent people, and Chen Zhou is our friend.¡±

    ¡°Wow, you all were actually that heartless man¡¯s friends.¡± Pink seemed to be a bit worked up as she continued, ¡°That fe was so honest looking I thought he was a sincere man. Yet in the end, he was like everyone else. After tricking me and having his way, he didn¡¯t care about a single thing anymore.¡±

    ¡°How did he trick you?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°He said really sweet words, about how he was going to ransom me from this ce, and that he was going to make me his wife! He wanted me to wait for him. Yet more than half a year has already passed, but I haven¡¯t seen a single trace of him. I finally understood then that all men are filthy, and that there isn¡¯t a single good one in this world.¡± Pink was getting more and more worked up. Eventually, she had basically started denouncing all men.

    Zu An sighed and said, ¡°He¡¯s already died.¡±

    ¡°Died and gone where?¡± Pink instinctively replied. Then, she suddenly had a nk look on her face as she asked, ¡°What, he died?¡±

    ¡°Indeed. He died in the line of duty on a mission and was burned to death in a warehouse. I don¡¯t think he was trying to fool you.¡± Zu An obviously couldn''t let this woman hate Chen Zhou, since he wanted information from her.

    ¡°He actually died just like that? He was let off easy.¡± Pink said with augh. However, everyone in Zu An¡¯s group was a powerful cultivator. They keenly sensed that her voice was shaking a bitpared to before, and her eyes had be a bit moist as well. As such, no one disturbed her at that moment.

    A whileter, she regained someposure and continued, ¡°In the past, those fortune-tellers told meI was destined to be without a husband. I didn¡¯t believe them then. Now, it seems best if I stay in the brothel and not think about that nonsense.¡±

    Zu An sighed and said, ¡°Miss, please don¡¯t feel too bad.¡±

    ¡°Feel bad? Why would I feel bad? It¡¯s not as if he was my man.¡± Pink¡¯s voice immediately became louder. As if she were recalling the past, she mumbled to herself, ¡°That guy is an idiot. What kind of ce is Jasper Lane? Everyone whoes here looks for pleasure. Yet the first time he met me, he actually chatted with me the entire night.

    ¡°He was really wooden and slow. He didn¡¯t know what to say to me at all in the beginning, and it was I who always had to find a topic.

    ¡°Then, he asked me why I had to do this kind of work, and he even advised me to marry and leave this job¡­ Advising a girl from a brothel to marry and leave this ce is the dumbest thing ever¡­¡± Pink sounded as if she were mocking him, and yet her words were also tender. ¡°We encounter this kind of thing all the time in the pleasure quarters. The big mamas taught us how to deal with them. I just made up a sad backstory and said my mother is seriously ill, and that I have a younger brother. I said that I had no choice but to do this kind of thing.

    ¡°That dummy actually believed my stupid story.¡± Pink even felt that it wasughable when she remembered that scene. ¡°He even gave me all of the money he had on him at the time.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t even have to entertain a guest, and yet I could get silver, so why would I refuse it? From that day forth, he would find me from time to time and give me money. Later on, he found a medicinal recipe to help my mother¡¯s fictional illness.

    ¡°He even stupidly asked me where my family was, saying that he¡¯d help me take care of my mother and little brother. I obviously couldn''t tell him. Not only did he not feel any suspicion, he instead became extremely worried.

    ¡°He really was a dummy¡­¡±

    As Pink continued, her voice became softer and softer.

    Zu An exchanged a few looks with the others. None of them interrupted her. Even though she was making fun of Chen Zhou, they could sense that there was a different meaning behind her words. Even Gao Ying¡¯s expression was no longer as harsh as before when he looked at her.

    Pink lowered her head and remained silent for a long time. In the end, she suddenly raised her head, her eyes burning with emotions as she asked, ¡°Was he sent to his death by someone?¡±

    Zu An hesitated for a moment. In the end, he nodded.

    ¡°Was it you who harmed him?¡± Pink¡¯s voice was shaking a bit as she continued. She was clearly very scared..

    Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°We came to investigate his cause of death.¡± As he spoke, he took out his imperial court waist token and showed it to her.

    ¡°As if I can tell if that¡¯s real or fake¡­¡± Pink said. Despite that, she still looked at it carefully.

    Zu An let her look at it, then said, ¡°We noticed that there was something strange with Chen Zhou¡¯s death. We wanted to investigate further, but we have no clues. When was thest time you met him? Did he say anything strange to you, or give you anything?¡±

    Pink continued to look at his waist token again and again, then asked about their identities. When she learned that they were part of the imperial envoy, she then said, ¡°I didn¡¯t realize anything before, but now that I think about it, his expression seemed to be a bit fric thest time I met him. He gave me a case to hold onto for safekeeping, and said he¡¯de back for itter.¡±

    ¡°A case?¡± Zu An and the others¡¯ expressions became serious.

    ¡°I opened the case and looked inside before. It was just a shoddy key. I thought it would be some treasure or something,¡± Pink said while fiddling around with her bed area. She took out a case and handed it to the three of them.

    Zu An and the others opened it up. Sure enough, there was only a key inside. Gao Ying even examined the case himself, but he didn¡¯t see anything.

    ¡°I have no idea where the lock is, so what does having a key do for me?¡± Pink eximed angrily, feeling as if she had missed a treasury or something.

    Zu An¡¯s group asked her a few more questions. When they were certain that there wasn¡¯t anything they missed, they got up to leave.

    ¡°Wait!¡± Pink called out after them. She picked up the silver ingot she had ced in her chest earlier, saying, ¡°I¡¯m giving this back to you guys. I don¡¯t want it.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve used up thedy¡¯s time. This is something thedy should ept,¡± Zu An replied.

    Pink shook her head and said, ¡°I owe that dummy way too much. You¡¯re all getting revenge for him, so how can I take your money?¡± She didn¡¯t even wait for them to refuse and threw the silver ingot over. Then, she mmed her door shut.

    Even though there were still shouts of happiness andughter outside, the three with their higher cultivations could vaguely hear sobbing in the room. Zu An exchanged a look with the other two. His mood became heavier.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Gao Ying sighed and said, ¡°Everyone says that actors are heartless and prostitutes have no morals. Today, I¡¯ve learned that there are exceptions.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve misunderstood that Chen Zhou as well,¡± Zu An said quietly.

    Pei You said with a sigh, ¡°A woman like this who is affectionate and true, I definitely have toe and help her out with her business more in the future.¡±

    Zu An and Gao Ying were stunned.

 Chapter 1029: Inevitable Clash

    <h4>Chapter 1029: Inevitable sh</h4>

    The group returned to the temporary residence and reported about the information they had received.

    Sang Hong wasn¡¯t the slightest bit concerned with Chen Zhou and Pink¡¯s story. All of his attention was focused on the key. It was a bitrger than mostmonly seen keys, and its shape was a bit strange. The lock it was designed for was definitely not an ordinary lock.

    Their attention shifted to the small characters engraved on the key: Jia. Zi. 1204.

    ¡°It seems to be a sexagenary cycle[1]. Is it referring to a specific time?¡± Sang Hong stroked his beard as he thought to himself.

    ¡°But it isn¡¯t the year of Jiazi[2]! And what does 1204 mean?¡± Gao Ying voiced his doubts.

    ¡°It seems to be a number. Could it be that it refers to a specific location?¡± Pei You was an outstanding genius from the Pei n. There was more in his head than just matters of the pleasure quarters.

    Zu An thought of something and remarked, ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s the key to a safe deposit box?¡±

    ¡°A safe deposit box?¡± Sang Hong and the others were a bit confused. They had clearly never heard that term before.

    Zu An gave them a rough summary of what the term meant. He had watched so many movies in his previous world depicting Swiss banks, and they all had personal safes for their clients. They always made the process seem all high-end and ssy.

    ¡°There is a chance!¡± Sang Hong¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Hurry and bring Sir Xiao here.¡± During their time together, he had also learned that Xiao Jianren had a bit of knowledge regarding all kinds of crazy and bizarre things.

    Sure enough, Xiao Jianren had an idea after giving it a look. He said,¡°As for the safe deposit box Sir Zu talked about, there should be two possible powers in Cloudcenter Commandery who have enough wealth and authority to have such ces. Thergest is the Zhenyuan Merchant Group, while the other is the Pegasus Merchant Group. Even though thetter can¡¯tpare to Zhenyuan Merchant Group, they should be able to offer such a service.¡±

    ¡°Zhenyuan Merchant Group?¡± Zu An was rmed. This was the second time he was hearing that name. Chen Zhou had been investigating the Zhenyuan Merchant Group before something happened to him.

    ¡°Then we¡¯ll split up into two groups. One group will proceed to the Zhenyuan Merchant Group, and the other to the Pegasus Merchant Group!¡± Sang Hong quickly gave the order.

    His objective was clear. At the moment, many people were paying close attention to their movements, and someone needed to remain present to oversee the temporary residence. That was why he couldn''t move about randomly.

    Zu An¡¯s cultivation was high, so Sang Hong didn¡¯t need to worry too much about him. He could take care of Zhenyuan Merchant Group¡¯s side on his own. Gao Ying and Pei You would work together to take care of Pegasus Merchant Group¡¯s side.

    After they left the temporary residence, the groups went on their assigned paths. They were already used to making detours to avoid attracting attention.

    After making seven or eight turns to throw off their pursuers, Zu An hurried to the Zhenyuan Merchant Group. Even though it hadn¡¯t been long since he came to Cloudcenter Commandery, he had already heard about the Zhenyuan Merchant Group¡¯s great reputation.

    Zhenyuan Merchant Group was thergest merchant group in Cloudcenter Commandery, or even the entire northwest. They were involved in all kinds of matters ranging from food, housing, and transportation. Every single person in Cloudcenter Commandery would use some of Zhenyuan Merchant Group¡¯s services in some way during their day. The influence of Zhenyuan Merchant Group on Cloudcenter Commandery was just like Tencent in Zu An¡¯s previous world. It was easy to imagine just what kind of scale it operated on.

    Zu An followed Xiao Jianren¡¯s instructions straight to Zhenyuan Merchant Group¡¯s general headquarters. That was also where the Zhenyuan Bank was. He didn¡¯t expose his identity and only entered the bank as if he were just a normal client.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡­

    On the bank¡¯s second floor, a beautiful silhouette sat, leisurely sipping on some ck tea. She was dressed in a warm yellow dress, draped in a white fur-trimmed sleeveless jacket. Her sitting posture was graceful and elegant. There wasn¡¯t the slightest w that could be picked out of anything she did.

    A tall and slender middle-aged man stood properly off to the side of the table. Anyone who saw that would definitely feel their jaw drop, because that man was the Head Banker Qian Dong of Zhenyuan Bank.

    Normally, there were many people who wanted to meet with him, and yet wouldn¡¯t get the chance. He was someone who would be treated as an honored guest even in the Civil Affairs Manor. But today, he was standing respectfully next to a youngdy who was leisurely sipping on some tea, and yet both of them felt that waspletely natural and appropriate.

    ¡°First miss, these are thest two years¡¯ ount lists from our bank.¡± Qian Dong handed over a booklet.

    ¡°Alright. Uncle Qian can leave that here; I¡¯ll slowly look over them.¡± The woman showed him a sweet smile.

    Even though he already knew that the youngdy¡¯s smile was a weapon, Qian Dong was still left stunned by that sweet smile. However, he snapped out of his daze after a moment, his face heating up. He coughed and said, ¡°First miss, I should not be saying this, but I still wish to remind your respected self to not y those games. If there were an ident, I would not know how to exin things to the master at all.¡±

    ¡°I know that already! I¡¯m so smart, so how can there be any idents?¡± The youngdy suddenly paused when she said that, because the scene of that man ¡®threatening and tormenting¡¯ her reappeared in her mind. Her pretty face turned red.

    ¡°That scoundrel is the worst. Hmph, he actually tried to scare me? What Brain Parasites Pill and Pill of Alteration? There are no such things in this world!¡± she mumbled to herself. She really had been scared badly that night. She had immediately used all of her resources to search for those two kinds of poisons as soon as she returned. In the end, her uncle hade back to tell her that those two poisons didn¡¯t exist in this world at all.

    With her uncles¡¯ knowledge and experience, if they said the poisons didn¡¯t exist, they didn¡¯t exist. But she still hadn¡¯t felt at ease, so she had asked several of her uncles to check her pulse. They had all said that her body was extremely healthy and that there weren¡¯t any strange poisons inside of her at all. When she learned that truth, she knew she had been duped by that man. She was furious, and yet also found it ridiculous.

    ¡°Damn brat, you better not let me see you again, or else¡­¡± She was mumbling to herself when she saw a familiar figure out of the corner of her eye. Her expression froze. She quickly stood up and looked down. Sure enough, those eyes, those brows, and that faint smile¡­ Who else could it be but the one who had left her with a nightmare all this time?

    The other party seemed to have sensed something and turned around. The youngdy jumped in fright and quickly hid behind the pir behind her.

    Qian Dong was a bit surprised when he saw how she was acting, asking, ¡°Young miss, what is wrong?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I just saw an enemy of mine.¡± The youngdy harrumphed. Why would that guy show up?

    She actually knew that the other party hade to Cloudcenter Commandery. After all, he was part of the imperial envoy; their whereabouts had already been decided ahead of time. Whether she hade to Cloudcenter Commandery for the first time ever because she really wanted to look over the ounts or because of something else, even she herself might not know if one asked her.

    She thought, But why did that guye to the Zhenyuan Merchant Group?

    ¡°An enemy?¡± Qian Dong¡¯s bowed figure immediately straightened up. ¡°Who in the world is so bold as to dare to offend the young miss, and evene here?¡± He was already rolling up his sleeves, prepared to help her with this problem of hers.

    The youngdy was startled. She quickly stopped him. ¡°Stop, stop, stop! That guy is really strong; you¡¯re not a match for him.¡±

    Qian Dong frowned and said, ¡°Even if I am not his match, this is our territory. We can call over as many experts as we want. No matter how formidable that man is, there will only be death awaiting him. Young miss, you need not be scared.¡±

    The youngdy quickly waved her hands and said, ¡°Don¡¯t surround him with cultivators.¡± When she saw the other party¡¯s confused expression, the youngdy realized that she was acting out of character. She coughed lightly and recovered her usual calm demeanor, saying, ¡°I can deal with this person myself.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Qian Dong¡¯s expression became strange. He recalled how the youngdy¡¯s expression didn¡¯t seem right previously. That young man was quite handsome-looking too. Don¡¯t tell me¡­

    A strange expression flickered in the youngdy¡¯s eyes as she said, ¡°You should go and take a look. Why is he here?¡±

    ¡°Yes, young miss!¡± Qian Dong bowed, then quietly left.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An looked upstairs in puzzlement. He seemed to have sensed that someone was spying on him a moment before. But he didn¡¯t see anything when he turned around. He obviously wouldn¡¯t think it was just a misperception. In his cultivation realm, cultivators were especially sensitive in that respect.

    But that spying feeling had already disappeared. As such, he concluded that it was probably the bank¡¯s experts examining the guests who wereing and going.

    A servant quickly came out to wee him, asking, ¡°Has this gueste here to deposit or withdraw silver?¡±

    Zu An took out a key and dangled it in front of him, saying, ¡°I came to take out what was stored here.¡±

    He was a bit nervous. If the other party said they didn¡¯t have anything, he had to immediately deliver the key to Gao Ying.

    Fortunately, the servant smiled when he saw the key, saying, ¡°Respected guest, pleasee inside.¡±

    Zu An soon followed him into a private room inside. After confirming the number on his key, the servant fiddled with the mechanisms on the wall. Soon afterward, gears spun and a case came out from the hole in the wall.

    ¡°Respected guest, please help yourself.¡± The servant left and closed the door afterpleting his task.

    Zu An sighed in amazement at the high level of technology he had witnessed. He quickly opened the case, seeing a booklet inside. It was one of the booklets the guards kept at their side.

    He immediately opened it. When he read the contents inside, his expression changed greatly.

    1. The sexagenary cycle, also known as the ¡®Stems-and-Branches¡¯ or ¡®ganzhi¡¯, is a cycle of sixty terms, each corresponding to one year and thus a total of sixty years for one cycle. It was historically used for recording time in China ?

    2. The Chinese 60-year calendar cycle is based on thebinations of a cycle of ten heavenly stems and twelve earthly branches. Each year is named by a pair of one stem and one branch. The Year of Jiazi (Jia from the heavenly stems and Zi from the earthly branches) is the beginning of the sexagenary cycle. The next Jiazi Year wille 60 yearster. ?

 Chapter 1030: Swift and Decisive

    <h4>Chapter 1030: Swift and Decisive</h4>

    After skimming through it, Zu An put the booklet away and left in a hurry. After he left, Qian Dong reported to the youngdy, ¡°First miss, that man has retrieved a case that was stored here.¡±

    If Zu An were present, he would have discovered that the one Qian Dong was being extremely respectful to was actually the hostess he had met at the Hub of Freedom, Tang Tian¡¯er.

    Tang Tian¡¯er frowned, asking, ¡°He¡¯s someone from here?¡±

    ¡°I do not believe so. We do not require names for items to be stored here. As long as you have the key, anyone can retrieve the contents.¡± Qian Dong thought to himself for a bit. ¡°I do not think this person hase before. I do not have any impression of him.¡±

    ¡°What was in that chest?¡± Tang Tian¡¯er asked out of curiosity.

    Qian Dong looked troubled, saying, ¡°First miss, you should know about our rules. We do not privately examine the items stored here. Otherwise, if news got out that we did, our long-term reputation would bepletely ruined!¡±

    ¡°Then go and check to see who it was that deposited this case here. I want to know why that guy¡¯s investigation would take him all the way over here.¡± Tang Tian¡¯er looked in the direction the other party had left in. There was a bit of worry in her expression as she said, ¡°For some reason, I have a bad feeling about this.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± Qian Dong quickly left. He called over his subordinates to investigate the information about that case.

    ¡­

    After both sides separated, Zu An quickly returned to the temporary residence. He also sent some people to call back Gao Ying and Pei You. They all examined the contents with grave expressions.

    ¡°Is this for real?¡± Pei You gulped. He wasn¡¯t in the mood to visit Jasper Lane anymore either.

    ¡°I fear it most likely is. Every single record is detailed and urate. It includes times, names, locations, and goods.¡± Gao Ying¡¯s voice was grave.

    Zu An sighed. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect this at all¡­ After investigating all this time, you end up finding out that your allies are actually the greatest viins.¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    He couldn''t help but sigh when he saw it. What was written in the booklet was that Magistrate Zuo Su was colluding with the fiend races, that he was the one who had smuggled the ki stones and other goods that were strictly controlled by the court.

    All this time, they had been investigating Jian Taiding, and they had viewed him as their final boss too. But Jian Taiding didn¡¯t get along with Magistrate Zuo Su, so they had all subconsciously treated him as someone on the side of the imperial court. They had even wanted to borrow his power to deal with Jian Taiding at the crucial moment.

    Now, it seemed the greatest viin was instead Zuo Su.

    ¡°But something¡¯s not right.¡± Zu An frowned. He said, ¡°Chen Zhou went to the capital to denounce Jian Taiding. Why is this book instead talking about Zuo Su?¡±

    Sang Hong said seriously, ¡°Jian Taiding is at best fighting with his brother over the seat of dukedom, so in the end, it is only an internal conflict. But for Zuo Su, strictly speaking, he has already betrayed our state and colluded with the enemy. Compared to Jian Taiding, it is better to deal with Zuo Su first.¡±

    ¡°Do you think someone might have used fake information to mislead us?¡± Zu An frowned. He couldn''t help but feel that the matter was a bit strange for some reason.

    ¡°We will know once we look into it.¡± Sang Hong got up and said, ¡°Gao Ying, Pei You, the two of you are to arrest all of the people mentioned and interrogate them strictly. Check to see if everything lines up with what is recorded in this booklet. Ah Zu, you and I will visit the Civil Affairs Manor to arrest Zuo Su.¡±

    Gao Ying was horrified. He eximed, ¡°Sir Sang, you absolutely mustn¡¯t! Zuo Su has already operated his business in Cloudcenter Commandery for many years. He has many disciples and followers, and he even has troops by the city gates. If there were a huge uprising, the consequences would be too horrible to even think about. Why don¡¯t we investigate the other members in the booklet first? If we find out it¡¯s true, it won¡¯t be toote to arrest Zuo Su then.¡±

    Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s military was split up into two groups. The Military Affairs Manor was in charge of the field army. They fought off the invading fiend races or put down revolts. Meanwhile, the Civil Affairs Manor had the troops that oversaw the city gates and bailiffs. They were in charge of defending the city and maintaining public security.

    If they weren¡¯t careful and caused the other party to rebel, none of them would be able to leave this ce alive.

    ¡°No!¡± Sang Hong shook his head and said, ¡°If we investigate the others rted to this matter first, with Zuo Su¡¯s foundation here in Cloudcenter Commandery, this will not escape his ears. If he really has been colluding with the fiend races, that will instead give him a chance to calmly scheme against us. He can transfer overrge amounts of forces to deal with us.

    ¡°If we instead act quickly to take him, the leader, down, to paralyze their entire group and not give them any chance to react, we can then take our time to slowly investigate what has been recorded in that booklet. If it has been proven that we have wronged him, we can let him go then. Nothing major will happen once we exin the entire story.

    ¡°If it is proven that he has colluded with the fiend races, we will have already detained him. Even if there is some uprising, it will not create a huge disturbance.¡±

    When they heard Sang Hong¡¯s reasoning, Gao Ying and the others were convinced. ¡°Sir Sang is wise and has considered this from the bigger picture.¡±

    ¡­

    Sang Hong and the others split up and went their respective ways. They headed to their respective targets.

    When they saw troop after troop of the Armed Escort Army move out, the spies from various parties who had been observing them knew that something major had happened. They all went back to report to their respective masters.

    Sang Hong couldn''t be bothered with them. They were moving out so many people, so there was no way to hide their traces. What was more important right now was seeing who moved faster.

    One group quickly arrived at the Civil Affairs Manor. They didn¡¯t wait for the gatekeeper to inform those inside and charged straight in. They were the imperial envoy, so none of the guards of the Civil Affairs Manor dared to stop them. The guards could only back down one by one and stare at the vicious Armed Escort Army in rm.

    Magistrate Zuo Su rushed over when he heard the news. When he saw what was happening, his heart sank. However, he still forced himself to calm down. He cupped his hands toward Sang Hong and asked, ¡°Sir Sang, may I ask what the meaning of this is?¡±

    ¡°You havemitted a grave crime. Please follow us.¡± Sang Hong remained expressionless. He gestured for someone to remove the other party¡¯s official cap and arrest him.

    Zuo Su¡¯s expression changed. He asked, ¡°Why do you say that, Sir Sang?¡±

    Many guards rushed over to protect him. It was clear that after being the magistrate for so many years, he still had many trusted aides at his side.

    Sang Hong narrowed his eyes and remarked, ¡°Could it be that Sir Zuo ns to go against the Imperial Envoy¡¯s orders?¡±

    ¡°I do not dare.¡± Zuo Su¡¯s fleshy face trembled. He asked, ¡°But Sir Sang needs to at least tell me what happened, right?¡±

    Sang Hong gave him a deep look. He said seriously, ¡°Someone has reported that you have colluded with the fiend races, smuggling ki stones and all kinds of military materials for many years.¡±

    An uproar broke out when those words were spoken. That was a great crime, sufficient to have one¡¯s entire n eradicated! The surrounding guards all turned around to look at Zuo Su, their eyes filled with shock and doubt.

    ¡°nder! This is absolutely nder!¡± Zuo Su¡¯s entire body was shaking intensely as he eximed, ¡°Sir Sang, you must not believe the evil schemes of a vile character!¡±

    Sang Hong said with an indifferent expression, ¡°I have my own discretion and will investigate the truth earnestly. I will not let down the innocent, but I will not let the guilty go either. If Sir Zuo is innocent, we will let Sir Zuo go afterward, and we will offer our humble apology. However, I must trouble Sir Zuo toe with us for now.¡±

    After saying that. he gave Zu An a look. Zu An understood his intent and personally moved along with some men. Zuo Su was a powerful magistrate. If he really rebelled, the other guards wouldn¡¯t be enough to detain him. As such, Zu An walked over to Zuo Su¡¯s side, on guard against any acts of desperation.

    Even though several guards had already subconsciously lowered their des, there were still some trusted aides present. When they saw that, they all stepped forward, as if as long as Zuo Su gave the orders, they would attack.

    Zuo Su waved his hand, gesturing for them to not act recklessly. He said, ¡°Fine; I trust Sir Sang¡¯s integrity, that he is definitely not the kind of person to frame someone. I am willing toe with you and cooperate with your investigation.¡± After speaking, he removed his official cap from his head.

    ¡°I apologize for offending Sir Zuo.¡± Zu An reached out his hand and swiftly sealed several major acupoints, preventing the other party¡¯s ki from flowing. Zuo Su was now no different from a normal person.

    ¡°Sir Zu is still so young. Your cultivation truly leaves me amazed.¡± Zuo Su looked at him in shock. Even though he had given up on resisting, for better or for worse, he was a powerful cultivator himself. Those with lower cultivation couldn''t possibly break through his defenses, let alone instantly seal up his cultivation.

    ¡°Sir Zuo overpraises me. It was because of your cooperation.¡± Zu An smiled.

    Zuo Su¡¯s expression finally eased a bit. At least this fellow knew how to talk and gave him some dignity.

    ¡­

    Sang Hong had Zuo Su brought back to the temporary residence. He also locked up all of the other officials who were rted to the case, as well as Zuo Su¡¯s trusted aides.

    News of the major event in the Civil Affairs Manor quickly spread through all of Cloudcenter City. The officials in the Military Affairs Manor were all incredibly agitated and anxious.

    ¡°Commander-In-Chief, Sang Hong dared to even arrest Zuo Su. Doesn¡¯t this mean he dares to capture you as well?¡±

    Jian Taiding¡¯s expression remained calm. Only after sipping on some tea did he say, ¡°He does not dare. No one needs to worry; everything is still within my grasp.¡±

    ¡­

    In the Yu n, an exceptional beauty sat half-reclined in her seat. She sighed in amazement when she heard what Maid Xing told her, remarking, ¡°That Sang Hong really is someone who either doesn¡¯t act, or acts decisively.¡±

    Maid Xing asked worriedly, ¡°Should we make preparations ahead of time?¡±

    Yu Yanluo shook her head and said, ¡°Let¡¯s just watch the situation calmly for now.¡±

    ¡­

    In King Qi¡¯s hidden courtyard, when Han Fengqiu reported what had happened, Zhao Zhi sneered and said, ¡°That Sang Hong is quite brave. He doesn¡¯t seem to be scared of a revolt at all. Keep an eye on him and see if he might need your help.¡±

    ¡­

    At the Zhenyuan Merchant Group, Qian Dong and several other managers politely greeted Tang Tian¡¯er. Qian Dong asked, ¡°First miss, do you think this matter is actually targeting us?¡±

 Chapter 1031: On the Verge of Eruption

    <h4>Chapter 1031: On the Verge of Eruption</h4>

    ¡°That¡¯s not entirely impossible.¡± Tang Tian¡¯er looked a bit worried. That person hade all the way to get something from their bank, and then had immediately captured the magistrate. He really is the bane of my existence!

    ¡°I am worried that this matter will quickly implicate our Zhenyuan Merchant Group.¡± Qian Dong had also seen Zu An fetch an item from them. He also couldn''t avoid that possibility.

    ¡°Who do you all think is the one making mischief behind the scenes?¡± Tang Tian¡¯er asked with a frown.

    ¡°Could it be Pegasus Merchant Group?¡± Qian Dong mused. ¡°They have always wanted to take our ce.¡±

    ¡°Not even ten Pegasus Merchant Groups couldpare to us. The only one who¡¯s of any threat is the one backing them.¡± Tang Tian¡¯er got up and looked out the window. She asked, ¡°Pegasus Merchant Group¡¯s boss Zhang Che, have you investigated his background yet?¡±

    Qian Dong and the others nodded. ¡°That person¡¯s background is mysterious, and his cultivation is high as well. We were unable to find any concrete proof. However, ording to our analysis, we suspect he might have some kind of a connection with the Devil Sect.¡±

    ¡°The Devil Sect?¡± Tang Tian¡¯er harrumphed. ¡°Those guys aren¡¯t good at anything else, but they sure are good at messing things up. Send some men to keep an eye on the Devil Sect¡¯s operations in Cloudcenter Commandery. Report to me as soon as anything happens.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± Qian Dong quickly left to give out the orders.

    Tang Tian¡¯er then gave the other managers their tasks. When she saw how deeply worried they were, her usual sweet smile returned to her face. She said, ¡°Everyone, please don¡¯t be worried. What kinds of hard times haven¡¯t our Zhenyuan Merchant Group experienced in thest few centuries? Our current situation is nothing.¡±

    The managers all began to smile, replying, ¡°The first miss is right. It has always been us who has bullied others; when has anyone else ever taken advantage of us? It would be one thing if this matter has nothing to do with us, but if they want to frame us, there is no way we can stand that!¡±

    Tang Tian¡¯er smiled and nodded. She waved her hand, indicating that they could all return to their respective posts. However, she remained in the room to think to herself.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Sang Hong brought Zuo Su and the others back to the temporary residence. Then, he personally interrogated them about the smuggling matter.

    Zuo Su obviously denied everything. He imed to have been framed. They were all old foxes, so they naturally knew how to deal with such interrogation tactics.

    They were interrogated for a long time, but Sang Hong didn¡¯t obtain any useful information. He could only suspend the interrogation for the time being. He left the prison cells and went outside to discuss things with Zu An.

    ¡°Does respected uncle think he¡¯s innocent?¡± Zu An asked. Sang Hong¡¯s face darkened and he shook his head. Zu An was surprised, asking, ¡°The interrogation bore results?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Sang Hong replied. ¡°That fellow is incredibly cunning and will not reveal any openings. Unfortunately, that is precisely his biggest w. If he truly were innocent, he would definitely work with me to investigate who the true criminal was, and not seem so worried about some meaningless things.¡±

    Zu An was incredibly impressed. He said, ¡°Respected uncle¡¯s foresight is bright like a torch after all. You¡¯ve already seen through him so quickly.¡±

    ¡°There is no need for ttery. Things are quite difficult now.¡± Sang Hong said with a bitter smile. ¡°I was still hoping that someone really had framed Zuo Su at first, because we would then at least have some people from the court on our side. But seeing as there is something wrong with even him, it proves that Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s court is already rotten to the core. We arepletely on our own here.¡±

    Sang Hong had every reason to feel the way he was feeling. Even though they had brought a several-hundred-men strong Armed Escort Army, a force respectable in its own right, it was nothing before a real army. He had been hoping to cooperate with the Civil Affairs Manor¡¯s troops to keep the Military Affairs Manor in check, but now, not even the Civil Affairs Manor could be relied on.

    ¡°Let¡¯s wait until Gao Ying and Pei You capture the others first. They definitely won¡¯t be as calm as Zuo Su. As long as one person speaks, the rest will be easily dealt with.¡± Zu An consoled him.

    Zuo Su¡¯s identity was special, so they couldn''t use torture, but there were no such restrictions for the others. The Embroidered Envoy specialized in making people speak.

    As long as they had enough proof, they would have a proper reason to punish Zuo Su. Then, they would take the chance to gain military leadership of the Civil Affairs Manor. No one would be able to criticize their actions at that point.

    ¡°I hope things work out that way.¡± Sang Hong knew that was the best result as well. But his brow quickly furrowed. ¡°Why haven¡¯t they returned yet?¡±

    Just then, there was a disturbance outside. Soon afterward, someone reported, ¡°Sir Gao and Sir Pei have returned.¡±

    Sang Hong and Zu An quickly exited. They saw the two dejected individuals and asked in rm, ¡°Where is everyone?¡±

    The two hadn¡¯t returned with suspicious individuals the way they had imagined, but had rather returned with many stretchers. There was white cloth covering many of them. When they saw that, Sang Hong and Zu An¡¯s moods immediately plummeted.

    Gao Ying and Pei You exined with sullen expressions, ¡°We sought them out ording to the list of names, but those people already received news ahead of time and either fled ormitted suicide. We didn¡¯t even find a single living person to interrogate.¡±

    ¡°They were all silenced!¡± Zu An and Sang Hong exchanged a look. They saw shock in each other¡¯s eyes.

    But that didn¡¯t make any sense! After all, they had taken action so swiftly. Why had those people been able to move before them? Wasn¡¯t the one behind the scenes a bit too remarkable?

    While the two of them were shocked by the situation, heavy footsteps suddenly rang out from outside.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°What is that noise?¡± Those present suddenly raised their heads.

    A guard ran over in fear and rm, eximing, ¡°Reporting! Chief Officer Dong Jin is leading a great army in our direction!¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± The group was shocked.

    Sang Hong harrumphed. ¡°How daring!¡± He quickly walked outside with an overcast expression. Gao Ying and Pei You quickly followed. Zu An waved his hands, gesturing for the Armed Escort Army to make their preparations.

    The group arrived outside the entrance. They saw that the entire temporary residence had already beenpletely surrounded.

    ¡°Dong Jin, you have quite the guts!¡± Sang Hong looked at the one in the lead with a furious expression, eximing, ¡°Are you trying to rebel?¡±

    Dong Jin was a tall and strong man. All of them had met each other before during the evening banquet. But back then, his official position hadn¡¯t been as high, so he hadn¡¯t sat in the highest positions.

    ¡°I do not dare!¡± Dong Jin cupped his hands. ¡°We are only here for an exnation. Sir Zuo has acted cautiously and conscientiously over the years in Cloudcenter Commandery, and he has always worked diligently for the court. Yet you all captured him today with baseless usations, and even hounded many Civil Affairs Manor officials to death. Could it be that just because you are the Imperial Envoy, you can act so ruthlessly and willfully?¡±

    Sang Hong said calmly, ¡°As the Imperial Envoy, I am naturally acting in ce of the heavens. I have the authority to punish local officials. Why do I need to exin anything to you?

    ¡°On the contrary, I have just captured someone, and yet you immediately led an army over. How can there be such a coincidence in this world?¡±

    Dong Jin replied, ¡°Cloudcenter Commandery is strategically located, with evildoers spying on us all the time. That is why we will always have troops monitoring the situation. Furthermore, Sir Sang has caused such a scene with your actions that it would be impossible for us to not know about this even if we tried to ignore it.¡±

    ¡°Then what are you trying to say right now? Surrounding the Imperial Envoy¡¯s official residence can already be viewed as rebellion.¡± A sh of killing intent appeared in Sang Hong¡¯s eyes. He had to deal with these situations quickly and decisively, or else those who were watching from the sidelines would start to do the same things.

    But the other party seemed to have anticipated that. He had hidden deep within the enemy force. This situation would be hard to deal with if they couldn''t take him down in one blow.

    ¡°Please do not try to attach that kind of a title to me, Sir Sang. We only came to uphold justice, and not to rebel.¡± Dong Jin¡¯s entire body was taut as he spoke. He gripped the handle of his de tightly.

    ¡°Then what kind of justice do you want?¡± Sang Hong asked expressionlessly.

    ¡°Let Sir Zuo go.¡± As soon as Dong Jin spoke, his subordinates shouted as well. Shouts of ¡®Sir Zuo!¡¯ echoed through the ce.

    Even Zuo Su in the prison heard them. He opened his eyes, but no changes of emotion were visible on his face.

    The soldiers had begun hollering louder and louder, and they looked as if they were about to charge forward. The elite Armed Escort Army raised their spears and assumed a defensive position. When they saw that, the city gate troops also drew their longswords one after another.

    Visible beads of sweat began to trick down Dong Jin¡¯s face. It was easy to see just how nervous he was. The current situation could still be exined, but if they really fought, his actions would be synonymous with a rebellion.

    Sang Hong¡¯s expression was also ashen. He quickly tried to think of how he could immediately capture the other party. Unfortunately, Dong Jin was extremely experienced and had hidden among his troops. No matter how Sang Hong calcted it, the chance of sess wouldn¡¯t exceed fifty percent.

    Both sides knew that a battle might break out at any moment. Once there was the slightest spark, the whole situation would erupt into an uncontroble wildfire.

    Even though both sides were still holding back, if a third party with ulterior motives interfered¡­

    Sure enough, whatever one was most scared of was what would happen. A loud arrow suddenly flew out from the side, and a Cloudcenter Commandery soldier fell.

    Someone from within the troops thus shouted, ¡°They want to kill us all as traitors! Brothers, we have to stake it all!¡±

    Those present all felt extremely tense. With that voice as the fuse, the gathered forces subconsciously followed blindly. Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s soldiers quickly shed with the Armed Escort Army.

    ¡°Motherf*cker!¡± Dong Jin cursed. How could he not tell that someone had incited disharmony? But as matters stood, he couldn''t do anything about it. His subordinates were all in a frenzied state, so he couldn''t stop them even if he wanted to. He had to save Sir Zuo first no matter what.

    Sang Hong also felt a huge headache. Even though he knew both sides had been schemed against, this was an overt plot. No one could stop it anymore. A hint of ruthlessness shed through his eyes. If that was the case, he would execute all of them here as an example to intimidate those who were starting to get restless. With his and Zu An¡¯s cultivation, as well as the elite Armed Escort Army, they definitely wouldn¡¯t lose. However, serious casualties were unavoidable.

    ¡°Ding!¡±

    Just then, the sound of a pipa filled the air. Those present subconsciously turned around. They saw that a figure had appeared on the second story of the temporary official residence, emerging from a window. That person was dressed in gilded embroidered clothes, and on his head was a sinister mask. His presence gave off a mysterious feeling of pressure.

    It was a golden token envoy!

 Chapter 1032: To Capture Evildoers, Capture the Head First

    <h4>Chapter 1032: To Capture Evildoers, Capture the Head First</h4>

    The Embroidered Envoy was a taboo existence in the hearts of most Zhou Dynasty subjects. Often, when children were being disobedient, parents would tell their children that they would be captured by the Embroidered Envoy if they kept crying. Those children wouldn¡¯t dare to cry anymore.

    Even though that example was a bit extreme, the Embroidered Envoys were definitely terrifying existences to most people. And that was just referring to ordinary Embroidered Envoys, let alone one of the legendary golden token envoys.

    ¡°Golden Token Eleven!¡± Sang Hong and the others immediately felt much more at ease when they saw his appearance.

    Zu An raised his head and called out, ¡°Sir Eleven has arrived; Sir Eleven is here!¡±

    The morale of the Armed Escort Army immediately received a huge boost. On the contrary, Dong Jin¡¯s expression became much uglier. But with things already the way they were, he couldn''t just surrender, right?

    ¡°No matter how strong he is, he is just one person!¡± Dong Jin eximed with a cold snort. At the same time, he prepared for a sudden ambush from the other party.

    Just then, Golden Token Eleven seemed to pick up a musical instrument. His hand moved along the strings, letting out a burst of pipa notes. It sounded like the shattering of bottles and the bursting of rivers, and the harsh shing of weapons. Those present felt their heads ring. It was as if a sharp, stabbing pain had entered their heads.

    Sang Hong was rmed. He quickly transferred his ki, and only then did that ufortable feeling go away. Afterward, he quickly looked at the battlefield. Most people were clutching their heads in pain. Only Gao Ying, Pei You, and a few others with cultivation levels that were rtively high could barely hold on.

    ¡°What kind of skill is this?¡± Sang Hong was incredibly shocked. He subconsciously looked at Zu An to see if he was fine. However, he was nowhere to be seen.

    Just then, the air exploded. He quickly turned around. Only then did he see a white-d figure catapulting toward Dong Jin.

    Dong Jin was horrified. The spiritual attack had left him momentarily distracted. His cultivation wasn¡¯t bad, so he had quickly suppressed that ufortable feeling. However, just as he recovered, he saw a figure charging straight at him!

    He drew his de while ordering his subordinates, ¡°Get into formation!¡± Unfortunately, the soldiers were in a state of confusion, so how could they carry out his order? Helpless to do anything else, he could only brandish his de at the other party.

    As someone who often fought against the fiend races and local uprisings in Cloudcenter Commandery, he was a strong and tough individual himself. He immediately discerned that the other party¡¯s cultivation was above his own. As such, he didn¡¯t vainly hope that his sword strike alone could stop his opponent. Instead, he aimed to take the other party down with him.

    He was gambling, gambling that the other party wouldn¡¯t be willing to trade lives in this kind of situation where he clearly had the advantage. As long as the other party showed even the slightest bit of hesitation and evaded, he would have a chance to gain some distance. By then, his subordinates should be able to react in time. It wouldn¡¯t be so easy for the other party to capture him again.

    Even if the other partypletely ignored his move, dragging them down with him wouldn¡¯t be too bad of a result either. After all, he had just broken through into the seventh rank not too long ago. He had absolute confidence in his ability to deliver a lethal blow.

    However, his eyes immediately widened. The other party actually didn¡¯t n to evade at all and instead reached out with a finger.

    Dong Jin felt a sense of absurdity. How could two weak, fleshly fingers possibly contend against his sharp de? His expression grew cold as he brandished the tip of his sword at the other party¡¯s fingers. After fighting constantly in Cloudcenter Commandery in situations of life and death, he knew he shouldn¡¯t hold back. Otherwise, the situation might easily change.

    But soon afterward, his eyes widenedpletely. His ferocious de was actually gently sped between those two fair fingers! He wasn¡¯t willing to give up and twisted his de to try and cut off those fingers, yet the de didn¡¯t move in the slightest! All of his strength seemed to bepletely useless.

    He was horrified. He quickly realized he had offended someone he shouldn¡¯t have. He instinctively decided to abandon his de and back off. But it was already toote. He felt that a suction force seemed to being from his de, preventing him from letting go. Furthermore, his ki seemed to be failing him.

    If someone took the same set of stairs year in and year out, but one day, one flight of stairs was suddenly a bit higher or a bit lower than before, there was a chance that the person might just fall.

    That was even more true for cultivators. They were used to their own ki flow and physical coordination. At the moment when Dong Jin¡¯s ki output changed, it caught him off guard. The energies within him surged chaotically.

    Normally speaking, such a thing wouldn¡¯t be too big of a problem. He wouldpletely recover as long as he was given a momentary breather. Unfortunately, his opponent perfectly seized the moment to press forward, pushing a finger against Dong Jin¡¯s chest.

    At that moment, the back of Dong Jin¡¯s outfit exploded into pieces. He felt as if he had been rammed into by a bull charging at full speed. Blood gushed out of his mouth. He felt all of his internal organs rapidly shift their positions.

    He subconsciously thought to use the force to increase the distance between them. However, the other party¡¯s hand seemed to contain some strange suction force, preventing him from breaking free.

    Then, the other party¡¯s hand pressed down on his shoulder¡¯s major acupoint. His entire body went weak, and he couldn''t resist in the slightest anymore. Only then did he see the other party¡¯s appearance clearly. That person was the most handsome young man from the imperial envoy.

    Even though he had seen him receive Xiao Yao¡¯s sword in the evening banquet, that sword had been made of alcohol. Together with the fact that Xiao Yao was someone who had been invited by the Vice Magistrate, there was a chance that he had been going easy on purpose.

    As such, he had felt that even if the other party¡¯s cultivation was higher than his, it couldn''t be too much higher. After all, he was way too young, and he looked like a pretty boy. It was really hard to associate him with being a powerful cultivator.

    But at that moment, he understood just how badly he had been mistaken. I am an utter fool, truly.

    Zu An picked up Dong Jin. His ki empowered voice echoed through the battlefield as he said, ¡°Dong Jin has already been captured. Out of consideration that you did not know the truth and were coerced, as long as you lower your weapons, we will let bygones be bygones. Otherwise, you will be dealt with as traitors!¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    He was d that Daji¡¯s use of ¡®Voice of the Devil¡¯ had made those with lower cultivation sink into a state of confusion. Afterward, he had been able to take the chance to capture their leader Dong Jin. If these people had sessfully gotten into formation, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to seed so easily.

    Furthermore, he was lucky that the enemy had had to rush over in a hurry, so not all of their equipment had been in order. Otherwise, they could have used war drums to offset the effects of Daji¡¯s ¡®Voice of the Devil¡¯.

    The war drums of the military were all special items with formations engraved into them. They were also extremely loud and full of killing intent. They were a perfect tool for offsetting Daji¡¯s Voice of the Devil.

    Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s soldiers looked at each other in dismay. Their boss was already being carried like a chicken by the other party; what were they even fighting for anymore?

    When they recalled how Zu An had shot out like a specter and instantly subdued Dong Jin, Sir Imperial Envoy¡¯s ferocious gaze, and that mysterious golden token envoy, all of them immediately lost their confidence. They instinctively wanted to lower their weapons.

    Suddenly, however, someone shouted, ¡°Don¡¯t trust him! If you hold onto your weapons, there¡¯s still a chance of survival, but if you let them go, there will only be death awaiting you! Did you all already forget the battles we fought against the fiend races over the years?¡±

    The soldiers shivered. Only then did they recall that in the battles against the fiend race, the other party would also say they wouldn¡¯t kill those who surrendered, but if they really did lower their weapons, they were almost always ughtered in the end.

    Later on, they began treating the fiend races the same way. They would advise the other party to lower their weapons, but would then take that chance to kill them one by one.

    As time went on, no one spoke simr words again.

    Zu An narrowed his eyes. He noticed that it was precisely those people who were adding fuel to the mes. Otherwise, the two sides wouldn¡¯t have ended up fighting. Those people¡¯s cultivations were clearly higher than that of the soldiers around them. The others were still a bit dizzy from Daji¡¯s Voice of the Devil, but they had alreadypletely recovered.

    He tossed Dong Jin toward the Armed Escort Army, while he himself shot at those people. Sang Hong clearly had simr thoughts, rushing toward the instigators.

    ¡°They¡¯re going to kill us! They¡¯re going to kill us!¡± the instigators screamed in rm. They brandished their weapons defensively. Unfortunately, their cultivation levels were far from Dong Jin¡¯s. How could they be a match for Zu An and Sang Hong? They were almost instantly detained.

    Sang Hong was rmed. He only had time to detain one of them, but Zu An had already taken down the other four. Even though he had been a bit farther out, that was a bit too ridiculous, right?

    Just then, Zu An eximed in surprise, ¡°They¡¯re dead?¡±

    Sang Hong quickly checked the one he had captured. ck blood wasing out from the corner of that person¡¯s mouth. He had clearly poisoned himself to death.

    ¡°Deathsworn soldiers!¡± Sang Hong eximed, rmed. Just now, he had clearly already subdued the other party, proving that they had crushed the poisonous pill between their teeth when he and Zu An first rushed at them. To have that level ofposure and bravery¡­ just what kind of power had nurtured them?

    They had originally nned to capture those people to find out who the one behind the scenes was. However, they had failed for want of a final effort.

    The other soldiers had been kept in the dark. They had only seen Zu An and Sang Hong rush at thoserades of theirs, but then the soldiers had quickly died. They had heard the words ¡®They¡¯re going to kill us, they¡¯re going to kill us¡¯, so they subconsciously thought it was Zu An and Sang Hong who were responsible. As such, they instinctively picked up their weapons. Another chaotic battle was on the verge of erupting.

    A panicked voice eximed just then, ¡°All of you, stop, stop!¡±

    A group of people ran over from afar. The one in front was Vice Magistrate Xu Yu. He quickly stopped both sides. When he saw the mess and the seriously wounded Dong Jin, his expression became sullen as he eximed, ¡°What is going on? What the hell is going on?!¡±

    Sang Hong said in an awe-inspiring voice, ¡°Sir Xu hase at the perfect time. Has your Cloudcenter Commandery decided to rebel?¡±

    The situation was alreadypletely within his grasp. As long as the other party¡¯s response was even the slightest bit suspicious, he didn¡¯t mindpletely purging Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s court.

    There was a reason why his colleagues in the imperial court called him the Grim Reaper. He had never been someone lenient.

 Chapter 1033: Mysterious

    <h4>Chapter 1033: Mysterious</h4>

    ¡°Of course not!¡± Xu Yu jumped in fright. He turned around to look at the soldiers, eximing, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you lowering your weapons yet? Hurry up and drop them!¡±

    He was the number two figure in Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s court. Normally, he was on equal footing with Zuo Su as well. He had high prestige. As such, when they heard him speak, all of the soldiers lowered their weapons. They didn¡¯t want to rebel either. After someone took the lead, their weapons fell with a tter, one after another.

    Sang Hong thus said, ¡°Chief Officer Dong Jin has coerced themandery¡¯s troops to attack the Imperial Envoy¡¯s temporary official residence. He ought to be executed on the spot, but out of consideration for the fact that he was worried about Sir Magistrate¡¯s safety, it is pardonable to a certain degree. We will keep him in custody for now. If it has been proven that he has nothing to do with the current case, we will then release him.

    ¡°For the time being, Gao Ying will take his ce as acting Chief Officer to maintain the safety of Cloudcenter Commandery.¡±

    Gao Ying was stunned. However, he reacted quickly. When he heard that, he immediately led an Armed Escort Troop into the center of themandery¡¯s troops, eximing, ¡°This subject will not let you down!¡±

    For someone like him who was the disciple of an influential n, a trifling Chief Officer position naturally didn¡¯t matter. However, they needed to control the military leadership position.

    Sang Hong nodded. Gao Ying was a dependable young man. With him as the Chief Officer, even though they might not be able to control the soldiers in the short term, having someone there would definitely be of useter on.

    Of course, that mission was dangerous. If the middle and upper level military officials had thoughts of rebellion, Gao Ying would be in danger. But they couldn''t be bothered with all of that at the moment.

    He gave Xu Yu a look and asked, ¡°Does Vice Magistrate Xu Have any objections to these arrangements?¡±

    Xu Yu¡¯s expression changed slightly, but he still immediately replied, ¡°Stabilizing the situation is naturally the most important. How could this lowly official have any objections?¡± He then waved his hands toward the soldiers and asked, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you greeting your new Chief Officer yet?¡±

    ¡°We greet Sir Chief Officer.¡± The soldiers greeted Gao Ying in a weak and dispirited manner. All of them were clearly forced to do so, helpless in their situation.

    ¡°Gao Ying, take them back and have them return to their positions. Don¡¯t let those evildoers have any opportunities to exploit,¡± Sang Hongmanded. He wanted the soldiers to leave first to avert crisis.

    As for how they were going to be appeased once they were brought away, that would be up to Gao Ying¡¯s ability. Judging from their interactions so far, he believed Gao Ying had sufficient ability.

    ¡°I have received your orders!¡± Gao Ying bowed. He called over a group of Armed Escort soldiers, then left with the local soldiers.

    ¡­

    Sang Hong looked at Xu Yu after they left, saying, ¡°The timing of Sir Xu¡¯s arrival really is quite the coincidence.¡±

    The man hadn¡¯te too early or toote. He had appeared as soon as they had already calmed down the situation. How could others not find that suspicious?

    Xu Yu said with a forced smile, ¡°I rushed over as soon as I heard the news. Even though I came a bitte, at least things didn¡¯t gopletely out of control. Sir Sang, what exactly happened? Why did you suddenly capture Sir Zuo?¡±

    What he was saying was, ¡®Even though I came a bitter, I helped you take in themandery¡¯s troops. Even if I didn¡¯t do too much, I still helped you here.¡¯

    Sang Hong sensed his implied meaning, so he naturally didn¡¯t act out. He was just about to reply when he heard the sound of hooves rushing in. There were several troops rushing over from afar. The ones in the lead were Jian Taiding, Pei Shao, Yu Xuansu, Yu Xuanqing, and some other officials.

    Jian Taiding¡¯s horse arrived first. He asked coldly, ¡°Sir Sang, why was there such a huge disturbance?¡± A group of soldiers followed behind him. Compared to the city defense soldiers, they were clearly well trained.

    Sang Hong said with a sneer, ¡°Chief Officer Dong Jin surrounded the Imperial Envoy¡¯s temporary official residence. Could it be that Sir Jian wishes to follow in his example?¡±

    Jian Taiding narrowed his eyes, but didn¡¯t reply. A strange silence fell.

    Sang Hong stood in ce proudly. Even though the other party was a master rank cultivator and had more troops, they were the Imperial Envoy. They had the imperial court behind them, as well as Golden Token Eleven there as backup.

    Zu An stood next to Sang Hong. He was worried that Jian Taiding might have shown up to cause trouble. He had to protect this father-inw of his.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Sang Hong felt warm inside when he saw that. As expected, it was one¡¯s own family who would be the most reliable.

    Jian Taidingughed and said, ¡°Sir Sang worries too much. I merely heard that Sir Zuo was captured, so I came to see what exactly happened. That¡¯s all.¡± He jumped off of his horse as he spoke.

    All of the tense officials sighed in relief. They really had been worried that something would have happened out of a moment of rashness. If that happened, who would they as Cloudcenter Commandery officials side with? If they helped Jian Taiding, they would be traitors once the court pursued the matter. If they helped the Imperial Envoy, however, they might not even live to see tomorrow.

    Sang Hong also released a small sigh of relief. He said, ¡°I received a report that Sir Zuo has colluded with the fiend races, and that he was involved in the smuggling of ki stones and the court¡¯s strictly regted strategic resources. That was why we took Sir Zuo into custody. If we investigate the matter and find out that Sir Zuo is innocent, we will naturally uphold justice for him.¡±

    Even though the officials had all heard some rumors, they still couldn''t help but be rmed when they heard Sang Hong confirm it himself.

    ¡°There is definitely a misunderstanding in y here!¡±

    ¡°Sir Zuo has always been cautious and conscientious. Why would he collude with the fiend races?¡±

    ¡°Someone has definitely framed him here!¡±

    ¡­

    Sang Hong¡¯s eyes scanned over the noisy officials and he remarked indifferently, ¡°All of you who are speaking right now, do you dare to ce your own ns on the line to vouch for Sir Zuo?¡±

    Those people¡¯s expressions immediately froze. We were merely speaking out for him a bit as colleagues; you didn¡¯t have to put it like that, did you?

    Since Sang Hong dared to capture Zuo Su, that meant that he definitely had a certain amount of proof. Who dared to vouch for him right now in such a situation? If there really was something wrong with Zuo Su, wouldn¡¯t they all be finished?

    Just then, Jian Taiding remarked, ¡°I wonder who the one who issued that report was? And what kind of proof was it that made Sir Sang immediately carry out arrests?¡±

    Sang Hong remained expressionless and said, ¡°We have the obligation to keep the confidentiality of the one who issued the report, as well as to ensure their safety. As for the proof, please forgive us for not speaking of it before our investigations have beenpleted.¡±

    Seeing how tight-lipped the other party was being, Jian Taiding became a bit annoyed and said, ¡°I heard that quite a few officials lost their lives when they were captured by your men. Even if you are investigating a case, you need to abide by the rules, right? How can you just kill them without properly investigating things?¡±

    As he had spoken out first, the others became restless. They all began to condemn the imperial envoy¡¯s people. They were also Cloudcenter Commandery officials, so who knew if they might be next for such a thing?

    Zu An spoke up just then. ¡°We weren¡¯t the ones who killed them. By the time we found them, they had either fled or already died. In other words, it was the mastermind behind everything who nned all of this. If Sir Jian knows anything, please feel free to share your findings. Who in Cloudcenter Commandery could do something like this?¡±

    Jian Taiding¡¯s expression changed. Zu An¡¯s words were clearly indirectly making insinuations against him. Who else apart from him in Cloudcenter Commandery would be capable of something like that? Even the other officials present couldn''t help but look toward him.

    Jian Taiding was furious inside, but he couldn''t show it. He replied, ¡°Forgive me for being ill-informed and narrow-minded. I did not know there was someone like that in Cloudcenter Commandery.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Jian Taiding for +236 +236 +236¡­

    He didn¡¯t want to continue with the topic and turned to Sang Hong, asking, ¡°Sir Sang, can we meet with Sir Zuo?¡±

    Sang Hong shook his head, saying, ¡°We have notpleted the investigation of the case yet. In order to prevent unwanted exchanges of information, we currently cannot permit Sir Zuo toe into contact with anyone else.¡±

    Jian Taiding¡¯s face darkened. He replied, ¡°Sir Sang¡¯s words are implying that we colluded with Sir Zuo?¡± The other officials also spoke up, unsatisfied that they were being suspected as well.

    Sang Hong said indifferently, ¡°That is not what this official meant. However, the current case is full of oddities, so we must treat it with extreme caution. Our decision was made for everyone¡¯s sake, so we do not end up implicating everyone in this case.

    ¡°If Sir Zuo is innocent, everyone else will not be affected by this case. However, if things really are as the reports stated, I fear that right now is when his aplices would wish to meet with him most urgently.¡±

    He looked at all those present as he spoke.

    Jian Taiding¡¯s breath caught in his throat. Since the other party had already said that, if he continued to insist, wouldn¡¯t that just prove the usation that he was conspiring with Zuo Su? He said before storming off in a huff, ¡°Then I hope that Sir Sang can get to the bottom of this case as quickly as possible so Cloudcenter Commandery does not enter a state of chaos.¡±

    With Jian Taiding¡¯s departure, the others asked to be excused as well. Xu Yu wanted to say something several times, but in the end, he didn¡¯t. In the end, he released a long sigh and left.

    ¡­

    After the officials left, Sang Hong ordered the Armed Escort Army, ¡°Guard the surroundings of the residence. Do not let even a single fly enter!¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡±

    Sang Hong had someone bring Dong Jin into his own cell, not giving him any chance to fabricate a story with Zuo Su.

    Zu An took the chance to ask, ¡°Why did Jian Taiding seem so concerned right after something happened to Zuo Su? After all, I thought the two of them didn¡¯t get along.¡±

    Sang Hong said with a snort, ¡°When has what people in the court said ever really matched up with what they think? He probably wanted to take the chance to express his own innocence in the matter. He might just be grinning from ear to ear right now.¡±

    Pei You said gratefully, ¡°It was a good thing that we had Sir Golden Token Eleven and Brother Zu here just now. Otherwise, if we really fought, we would have suffered endless casualties.¡±

    Sang Hong raised his head toward the second floor, asking, ¡°Where is Sir Eleven? Hurry and invite him over. We need to properly thank him.¡± He also wanted to properly discuss their following ns with him.

    However, the guards quickly returned and reported, ¡°Sir Eleven has disappeared!¡±

    Pei You eximed in admiration, ¡°Sir Eleven really is mysterious.¡±

    Sang Hong instead frowned, saying, ¡°He didn¡¯t evene to discuss things with us even in our current situation.¡±

    Zu An coughed lightly and said, ¡°I believe Sir Eleven definitely has his own reasons. However, he¡¯ll definitely continue to watch over us in the shadows. Let¡¯s try to deal with this matter ourselves first.¡±

 Chapter 1034: Sinister Glint

    <h4>Chapter 1034: Sinister Glint</h4>

    Sang Hong thought about their recent interactions. That Golden Token Eleven was indeed mysterious, so he didn¡¯t force the issue either.

    On the contrary, Pei You was still excited about what had just happened, eximing, ¡°Sir Eleven really is too cool! There were so many soldiers, but he easily took all of them down! Do we even need to fear Jian Taiding¡¯s army in the future?¡±

    ¡°If only things were that simple.¡± Sang Hong was clearly more experienced. ¡°A true army would have measures to deal with such soundwave-type skills.¡± He wasn¡¯t too certain about whether it was a sound attack or a soul attack, however. Back then, he had even felt his own soul tremble.

    ¡°Either way, he was really cool. If I ever get the chance, I definitely have to ask him for some tips. If I could learn anything from him, just how great would that be?¡± Pei You¡¯s eyes were shining. He was already starting to imagine himself knocking out everyone with a single instrument.

    Zu An coughed and said, ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s something you can learn.¡±

    ¡°Tsk, my talent is top-notch among my peers¡­¡± Pei You gave Zu An a look, but then his confidence immediately fell. ¡°Even though I¡¯m not as great as Brother Zu, I¡¯m still pretty good myself. Why can¡¯t I learn something like that?¡±

    Zu An had a strange expression. That was Daji¡¯s unique skill. Forget about the fact that she couldn''t speak, even if she could, she wouldn¡¯t be able to teach it.

    ¡°Enough, enough. It definitely has something to do with cultivation. Your cultivation isn¡¯t high enough right now, so even if you forcibly try to learn it, it might just harm you instead,¡± Sang Hong said with the attitude of a senior.

    Pei You nodded and replied, ¡°Sir Eleven¡¯s cultivation is indeed deep and immeasurable. Just what level has he reached? Maybe he¡¯s already at the master rank?¡±

    Sang Hong shook his head and said, ¡°I cannot see through him either. His cultivation is clearly not that high, yet the strength he has disyed is extremely shocking.¡± Just confusing so many soldiers at the same time was something he himself definitely wasn¡¯t capable of.

    ¡°I was a bit worried at first, but now, I realized just how mistaken I was. Anyone who could be a golden token envoy would definitely be an exceptional expert.¡± Sang Hong sighed in amazement. ¡°Now that we have Golden Token Eleven with us, as well as Ah Zu, there is nothing to fear even if Jian Taiding rebels.¡±

    Zu An was just drinking some tea to moisten his throat, but he almost choked when he heard that. He felt he had to remind the other party, ¡°Um¡­ Even though Sir Eleven is deep and immeasurable, we can¡¯t rely on him too much. After all, his mission might not be the same as ours, or else he wouldn¡¯t have refused to meet with us all this time. Furthermore, he¡¯s hiding in the shadows, so we might not be able to promptly contact him. What if he just happens to be missing if there really is some conflict?¡±

    He was fully aware of Sang Hong¡¯s ability to plot. He worried that Sang Hong might overestimate his strength and make an error in judgment, so he decided to make things clear ahead of time.

    Sang Hong nodded when he heard that, remarking, ¡°It is still Ah Zu who is the most meticulous. What you say is entirely possible. Then from here on out, we will make our ns assuming that he will not be there.¡±

    Zu An took the chance to ask, ¡°Should we interrogate Dong Jin first for now?¡± He had to talk about himself with other people, and even pretend he didn¡¯t know that it was him. It really did feel strange. There would definitely be some holes to exploit if he used Daji to act as Golden Token Eleven, too. He worried that some problems might arise if they continued the topic.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Sang Hong had nned to express his thanks to Sir Eleven first, then discuss the following situation with him. Since Sir Eleven wasn¡¯t present, interrogating Dong Jin was top priority. He added, ¡°Bring Xiao Jianren with us.¡±

    Xiao Jianren was a silver token envoy. Things like investigating cases were his specialty. Since Golden Token Eleven wasn¡¯t there, he was the highest-ranked among the Embroidered Envoys.

    They quickly arrived at the temporary prison cell, where Dong Jin was sitting on the bed dejectedly. The Armed Escort Army had already treated his wounds with medicine. Even though his injuries were severe, there was no danger to his life.

    ¡°Sir Dong, speak. Who sent you to cause trouble here?¡± Sang Hong asked coldly.

    ¡°No one sent me here. I only came to ask for an exnation after Sir Magistrate was captured without reason,¡± Dong Jin replied. At the same time, he gave Zu An a look. That fellow looked weak and delicate. It really was hard to imagine that his body carried such terrifying explosive strength.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°We had just captured him, and yet you immediately rushed over with your men. How could things be that much of a coincidence?¡± Sang Hong harrumphed. ¡°Do not try to use the city watch as an excuse. There is no way you could have moved that quickly even if you had spies among everyone in the city.¡±

    After some hesitation, Dong Jin replied, ¡°It seems I was schemed against by someone. Some subordinates reported to me what happened, and they even said that Sir Magistrate was requesting for help. I did not think too much about it at the time and just rushed over.¡±

    ¡°Who were these subordinates?¡± Xiao Jianren asked. At the same time, he took out a little booklet and began to write in it.

    ¡°Zhang Yong, Wang Hu, Zhao Wei¡­¡± Dong Jin said a few names. Then, he added, ¡°It was precisely the ones who ended their own lives earlier. I did not expect them to be deathsworn soldiers sent by someone else. This humble one has really been done in badly this time.¡±

    Sang Hong sneered. ¡°Are you trying to push all of these things onto the dead? After all, the dead cannot testify.¡±

    ¡°I really am not lying.¡± Dong Jin began panicking. Back then, those people had informed him privately about what had happened, and he didn¡¯t have anyone else to serve as a witness. He frantically tried to think of a way to free himself of guilt. Suddenly, his eyes lit up and he said, ¡°Right, just now, those deathsworn soldiers were trying to make the situation go even more out of hand. If both sides really fought, I would most likely die. Why would I have my own men send me to my death? Furthermore, I am only a Chief Officer. I do not have the ability to raise so many deathsworn soldiers.¡±

    Sang Hong gave the others a look. Then Xiao Jianren said, ¡°Whether or not that is the case is up to us to decide. Tell us those individuals¡¯ family backgrounds, their own history, interpersonal rtionships, and other such things in detail. Do not omit anything.¡±

    ¡°Very well, that is no problem at all.¡± Dong Jin was no longer as nervous as before. He quickly told them the requested information.

    When they saw they couldn''t get any more information out of him, Sang Hong and the others withdrew. ¡°What do you all think?¡± Sang Hong asked with a frown.

    ¡°Dong Jin shouldn¡¯t be lying. These kinds of deathsworn soldiers are something only great ns with powerful backgrounds can raise. I¡¯ve looked through Dong Jin¡¯s background as well. Hees from a humble background and couldn¡¯t possibly have raised them,¡± Pei You said. As someone from a top-level n, he had the qualifications to make such a judgment.

    ¡°Then who exactly is causing all of this trouble?¡± Zu An mused. He agreed with Pei You. A trifling Chief Officer didn¡¯t have that much ability.

    ¡°Even though the current situation isplicated, there is a principle that will allow us to see through the root of the matter,¡± Sang Hong said. ¡°Whomever has the most to benefit from this matter is the most suspicious.¡±

    ¡°Jian Taiding!¡± Zu An and Pei You blurted out at the same time.

    ¡°Indeed. The Civil Affairs Manor and Military Affairs Manor do not get along, with both sides keeping each other in check. Now that Zuo Su has been stripped from his position, and something has happened to the Chief Officer and his other trusted aides, Jian Taiding will be more powerful here than ever before.¡± Sang Hong was full of worry. He felt as if he had been caught in Jian Taiding¡¯s schemes, and yet had no choice but to y along. After all, Zuo Su and his collusion with the fiend races was too big of a matter.

    ¡°I just feel like something isn¡¯t quite right,¡± Zu An said with a frown. However, he couldn''t exactly say what part it was either.

    Just then, Xiao Jianren wrapped up his interrogation and came out of the prison cell. Sang Hong said, ¡°Sir Xiao, I must trouble you to look into the backgrounds of those deathsworn soldiers, to see if there are any clues we can obtain from them.¡± However, since they were deathsworn soldiers, their backgrounds had most likely been forged. He could only hope that there was some mistake or hole to be exploited.

    ¡°Understood!¡± Xiao Jianren replied. He was just about to leave when Zu An stopped him.

    Zu An asked, ¡°Golden Token Eleven informed me that he told you to ask your men to keep an eye on King Qi¡¯s heir earlier. Were there any discoveries?¡±

    ¡°King Qi¡¯s heir has remained inside and rarely goes out. Apart from visiting the Pei n from time to time, the other times he leaves are only to buy some small gifts, food, clothes, and other such things for Miss Pei,¡± Xiao Jianren reported.

    ¡°No one else paid him a visit?¡±

    ¡°No one.¡±

    ¡°How often does he visit the Pei n?¡¯

    ¡°Almost everyday.¡±

    When he saw that Zu An didn¡¯t have any more questions, Xiao Jianren cupped his hands and left to investigate the deathsworn soldiers¡¯ backgrounds.

    Pei You clicked his tongue and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect this King Qi¡¯s heir to be such an affectionate person. He¡¯s actually that enthusiastic about visiting that cousin of mine.¡±

    ¡°Something¡¯s not right!¡± Zu An eximed, suddenly standing up. ¡°Even though that Zhao Zhi is insufferably arrogant and has many ws, he definitely wouldn¡¯t ignore his main mission because of a pretty girl. Furthermore, Big Manman¡­ Ahem, even if Zhao Zhi is sex-crazed, King Qi would never permit such a thing. The Pei n is suspicious!¡±

    ¡°How so?¡± Pei You jumped in fright. Even though Pei Shao wasn¡¯t from the same branch as him, they were both from the Pei n. He was still worried that they might have reallymitted a tremendous crime.

    ¡°It¡¯s hard to say for now. We need to investigate further to know more.¡± Zu An already couldn''t sit still anymore.

    Pei You asked, ¡°Should I go with you? Since I¡¯m also from the Pei n, they might show me a bit of respect.¡±

    ¡°There was no need. It¡¯ll be more convenient for me to move alone,¡± Zu An replied. What kind of joke was that? With Big Manman, the best spy, would he need anyone else?

    ¡°That is alright too. You need to be careful!¡± Sang Hong remarked, entrusting Zu An with that task. Zu An nodded and quickly disappeared into the darkness. Afterward, Sang Hong said to Pei You, ¡°Have more people look over Zuo Su. You cannot let him have any contact with anyone outside.¡±

    ¡°Leave it to me. I¡¯ll guard him personally. Not even a fly will be able to approach him.¡± Pei You epted the task and left.

    ¡­

    Pei You arrived at the prison soon afterward and sat down in meditation. He released his ki to monitor everything in his surroundings.

    In the dead of night, he suddenly opened his eyes. A sinister glow flickered within them.

 Chapter 1035: True Mastermind

    <h4>Chapter 1035: True Mastermind</h4>

    Meanwhile, Zu An rushed toward the Pei n¡¯s vicinity under the cover of night.

    Those who lived along the City Lord Manor street were all high officials and nobles. There were guards patrolling everywhere. The security was sure to be much better than in other ces.

    As such, Zu An didn¡¯t dare to act carelessly. He evaded several patrolling guards, then finally arrived at the wall surrounding Pei Manor. He chose a secluded area and quickly leapt over the wall. He had already visited several times, so he avoided Pei Manor¡¯s guards easily.

    He soon arrived outside of Pei Mianman¡¯s courtyard, and was just about to go in when a figure shot out from within. His expression sank as he thought, There¡¯s actually a little scoundrel here? He kicked off the ground, instantly striking at the other party¡¯s side.

    That person sensed something was strange. Their figure evaded Zu An¡¯s attack like a flexible snake. At the same time, a long leg kicked at his underbelly at an inconceivable angle. Such a level of sticity really was absurd. Zu An quickly defended himself, and the two individuals exchanged several moves in session.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Both sides suddenly felt a sense of familiarity. When he saw the other party¡¯s massive peaks, Zu An quickly gave up and eximed, ¡°Big Manman?¡±

    ¡°Ah Zu?¡± The ck-d figure removed her mask and looked at him with pleasant surprise. Under the faint moonlight, her face looked bright and beautiful. Who else could it be but Pei Mianman?

    ¡°Why are you dressed like this?¡± Zu An removed his mask as well and looked at Pei Mianman curiously. She was actually dressedpletely in ck in her own home! But her getup was quite skintight, fully outlining her seductive curves.

    He couldn''t help but chuckle. Those familiar with Big Manman could tell that it was her just from her figure. Whether or not she had a mask on made no difference.

    Pei Mianman blushed. She was about to reply when she heard guards calling out in the distance, ¡°There seems to be something going on over there. Go check it out.¡±

    ¡°Hurry ande inside with me.¡± Pei Mianman grabbed Zu An¡¯s hand and quickly went back into the small house.

    ¡°Young miss, why did youe back¡­¡± The maid Hong Zao was surprised to see Pei Mianman again. But when she saw Zu An behind her master, she immediately froze. I¡¯m done, I¡¯m done for! I¡¯ll have to stand guard outside all night again!

    Zu An was a bit surprised too, because Hong Zao wasn¡¯t wearing a servant girl outfit, but rather Pei Mianman¡¯s clothes. Even her hair was styled somewhat simrly. What is this master and servant pair doing? Are they changing roles?

    Pei Mianman quickly closed the door and removed her clothes. Zu An¡¯s expression froze. He asked, ¡°Um¡­ We¡¯re not in that much of a rush, right? Hong Zao is still here.¡±

    Pei Mianman rolled her eyes at him and didn¡¯t respond. When he saw the normal clothes she was wearing underneath the ck getup, Zu An immediately knew his thoughts had gone in the wrong direction.

    ¡°Young miss, there seems to be a disturbance in this direction. Is your respected self okay?¡± the guards called out from outside.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Pei Mianman opened the window partially to show her top half and added, ¡°Didn¡¯t I already say that you¡¯re not toe to my courtyard if there¡¯s nothing important?¡±

    ¡°The master is worried about the young miss¡¯ safety, which is why he sent more men to patrol the surroundings recently,¡± the guard immediately lowered his head and replied. Even though it was just a nce, he was still amazed by the young miss¡¯ beauty.

    ¡°Your cultivations are beneath mine, so just who is protecting whom?¡± Pei Mianman harrumphed. ¡°Don¡¯t disturb my rest.¡± She mmed the window shut afterward.

    Those guards didn¡¯t get upset when they heard that. They were just happy they had gotten a chance to even talk to the young miss. Sigh, the young miss really is big¡­

    ¡°Search the surroundings. Don¡¯t let any bad people disturb the young miss.¡± The guards didn¡¯t dare to have any improper thoughts, though. They only subconsciously wanted to do more things for her, to protect her safety.

    Two wild cats suddenly emerged from off to the side, meowing and baring their fangs.

    ¡°So it was just a fight between some cats.¡± The guards sighed in relief. They bowed toward the residence and quietly left.

    Zu An retracted his hand, having used the jade badge to control the wild cats. He looked at Pei Mianman with a smile and said, ¡°They were only doing that out of concern for you. Why were you so mean to them?¡±

    Pei Mianman rolled her eyes and retorted, ¡°Isn¡¯t it because of you? If I had been polite to them, they would keep showing up from time to time. What if they end up bumping into you?¡±

    ¡°I guess you¡¯re right.¡± Zu An couldn''t help but chuckle. Then, he took out a sack of food for Hong Zao, saying, ¡°Here, take this. I said I¡¯d bring some food for youst time.¡±

    ¡°Ah! They¡¯re all the most popr foods from Xu Shop! You can¡¯t get your hands on these even if you line up normally!¡± Hong Zao immediately began to drool when she saw the food. ¡°Thank you, young master!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re wee, Hong Zao.¡± Zu An felt great when he heard her call him young master. These foods were things Yu Yanluo had given him before he left Yu Manor, however. All he¡¯d had to do was pass them onto Hong Zao.

    ¡°Look at you, trying to get closer to my maid as soon as you arrive.¡± Pei Mianman felt a bit jealous. She asked, ¡°Then what kind of gifts did you bring me?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to treat you to my lollipop, of course.¡± Zu An grabbed her hands with a giggle.

    ¡°Hmph!¡± Pei Mianman¡¯s face turned red. She quickly let go of his hands.

    Hong Zao immediately had a craving when she heard that there was something else to eat. She asked, ¡°What¡¯s a lollipop? Can I eat it too?¡±

    Pei Mianman got annoyed and said, ¡°It has nothing to do with you. Go downstairs by yourself and go to sleep.¡± She began to gently push Hong Zao toward the stairs after saying that.

    Hong Zao replied with an ¡®oh¡¯. The young miss really is selfish. If you have a lollipop, you should share! Young master is much nicer, giving me so many things to eat. She had a big smile on her face when she thought of that.

    Pei Mianman red at Zu An and looked downstairs, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t say those random things in front of Hong Zao in the future. She¡¯s still small.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He remarked, ¡°But she¡¯s not small at all?¡±

    Hong Zao¡¯s rather impressive body appeared in his mind. Don¡¯t tell me that because they share the same food and drink, they were raised the same way? Otherwise, why are they both so big?

    Pei Mianman was speechless. Zu An finally reacted when he saw her murderous gaze, however,. He chuckled in embarrassment and changed the topic. ¡°What were you and your maid doing? She wore your clothes, while you changed into an undercover outfit?¡±

    Pei Mianman replied, ¡°Wasn¡¯t there a huge disturbance in the morning? I heard someone led a huge army toward your temporary residence, so I was worried that something might have happened to you. However, my father sealed up all of Pei Manor and wouldn¡¯t allow anyone to leave. Helpless to do anything else, I could only try to sneak out and have Hong Zao pretend to be me just in case. But I never expected to see you as soon as I left.¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An felt warm inside when he heard that. He grabbed her small hands tightly and said, ¡°Manman, you¡¯re really good to me.¡±

    ¡°Are you alright?¡± Even though Zu An was standing perfectly fine in front of her, Pei Mianman still checked his body all over, worrying that he was injured.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine¡­¡± Zu An gave her a rough summary of what had happened.

    ¡°Do you think it might have been Jian Taiding who is causing all of this trouble?¡± Pei Mianman asked as she leaned against him, her beautifulshes fluttering. Her eyes were like the brightest stars in the night sky.

    ¡°He is indeed a bit suspicious, but I can¡¯t help but feel like something¡¯s not right.¡± Zu An frowned and asked, ¡°Oh, by the way, Zhao Zhi visits your n every day, right?¡±

    Pei Mianman blushed and replied, ¡°Don¡¯t think anything of it. I never go out to meet him.¡±

    ¡°But that¡¯s where the issue lies.¡± Zu An pped his thigh and said, ¡°Even though that Zhao Zhi acts like an idiot sometimes, he is King Qi¡¯s heir after all. There¡¯s no way he would fall so low as to be this much of a bootlicker. If he stilles to your n every day, that¡¯s really weird.¡±

    Pei Mianman¡¯s expression changed. She asked, ¡°Are you suspecting my father?¡±

    ¡°It hasn¡¯t reached that level yet.¡± Zu An thought to himself for a bit, then asked, ¡°Who does he meet with whenever hees here?¡±

    ¡°My father and that woman of course.¡± Pei Mianman harrumphed. She really didn¡¯t want to call her ¡®mother¡¯ when she wasn¡¯t out in public. ¡°Right, that woman¡¯s father wille to see his grandson sometimes too.¡±

    ¡°Yu Xuansu?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Pei Mianman replied.

    Zu An frowned. Yu Xuansu was the War Minister of the Military Affairs Manor. In the Military Affairs Manor, apart from the Commander-In-Chief, beneath that were the Chief Historian and War Minister. Chief Historian had been Jian Taiding¡¯s previous position, so Yu Xuansu was already the Military Affairs Manor¡¯s number two figure.

    Don¡¯t tell me this really does have something to do with the Yu n?

    That beautiful and wless face couldn''t help but appear in his mind. He thought to himself that if that woman was the final boss behind the scenes, none of those Oscar winners from his previous world added together couldpare to her.

    ¡°Ah, what is your hand doing? It¡¯s cold¡­¡± Pei Mianman suddenly sensed something. She immediately became embarrassed when she lowered her head.

    ¡°I can¡¯t hold myself back.¡± Zu An smiled, but he didn¡¯t stop.

    Pei Mianman bit her lip and pressed down on his hand. She said, ¡°Not today. I¡¯m on my period. Should I get Hong Zao to apany you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not some brute.¡± Faced with that death sentence question, Zu An obviously wouldn¡¯t take the bait. He added, ¡°It¡¯s fine; that¡¯s its own kind of fun.¡±

    Pei Mianman waspletely puzzled. Suddenly, however, she felt a chill run through her entire body. Her clothes were already being removed.

    ¡­

    ¡°Keep it up on your own.¡±

    ¡°Mmm¡­ And you still say you¡¯re not a¡­ brute¡­¡±

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, by the official residence, Pei You walked into the prison cell. He was the manager of the ce, so those guards naturally didn¡¯t stop him.

    Zuo Su was sitting on the bed cultivating. He opened his eyes when he sensed the activity. He asked, ¡°Are you going to question me again? I already said everything I should be saying. It¡¯s meaningless to ask me anything else.¡±

    Pei You didn¡¯t reply. His eyes flickered with a strange light as he stared calmly at Zuo Su.

    Zuo Su¡¯s expression suddenly changed greatly. He eximed, ¡°It¡¯s you!¡±

 Chapter 1036: Kawaii Waifu Voice Changer

    <h4>Chapter 1036: Kawaii Waifu Voice Changer</h4>

    After his initial shock, Zuo Su gradually calmed down. He looked at the other party and asked, ¡°Did youe to silence me?¡±

    Pei You stood in ce without saying anything, tacitly agreeing. A sh of color filled Zuo Su¡¯s face. His chubby face jiggled; he was clearly furious as he eximed, ¡°But why? I didn¡¯t say a single thing!¡±

    Pei You finally spoke up. ¡°As someone who was able to sit in your current position, why would you ask something so naive? For others, only the dead can be trusted with secrets. If you were in our position, you would have made the same choice.¡±

    Zuo Su fell silent. If it were him, he would definitely have made the same decision.

    ¡°Can you give me a chance?¡± Even though he knew there wasn¡¯t much hope, his survival instincts still made him try one more time. ¡°Since you could enter this ce, you can use this chance to save me¡­¡± His voice became softer and softer, because the other party¡¯s eyes continued to stare at him expressionlessly.

    ¡°I understand.¡± He smiled in distress. ¡°I tried so hard to prevent this situation, but I was still dragged down by you guys in the end. I should¡¯ve realized that this day woulde a long time ago.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve enjoyed yourself plenty over the years. Your life wasn¡¯t lived in vain,¡± Pei You said indifferently.

    ¡°That¡¯s true. You¡¯re all full of different tricks and styles. I was able to enjoy things many people wouldn¡¯t be able to enjoy even if they lived ten lifetimes¡­¡± Zuo Su sighed, as if acknowledging his fate. However, the next second, he suddenly raised his head and hollered, ¡°Help¡­¡±

    But Pei You was already prepared for that. He instantly sealed up Zuo Su¡¯s vocal acupoint, making the man¡¯s voicee to a grunting halt. A hint of disdain appeared in Pei You¡¯s eyes as he remarked, ¡°You¡¯ve shown an unsightly side, Sir Zuo.¡±

    In that instant, Zuo Su¡¯s eyes filled with pleading and horror. Tears even poured out from his eyes. No words could describe his conflicted expression fully.

    Pei You no longer had any interest in chatting further with him. His eyes shone with light, and Zuo Su¡¯s eyes began shining with a simr light.

    The light in Zuo Su¡¯s eyes faded soon afterward. His head also slumped weakly to the side. He had instantly lost his life. Pei You checked to confirm that he had already died, and only then did he turn around and leave.

    Normally speaking, with Zuo Su¡¯s cultivation, killing him would definitely be no easy task. But all of his major acupoints had been sealed, so he couldn''t use any of his ki to protect himself. That was why he had ended up bing the sacrificial sheep.

    ¡­

    The next morning, after Zu An left, Hong Zao came in to check the room. She saw that Pei Mianman was lyingzily in bed as if she didn¡¯t even want to move a single finger.

    ¡°Young miss, are you going to get up?¡± Hong Zao asked. She thought to herself, The young master really is formidable! Whenever he left, the young miss would look as if she werepletely broken.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Stupid girl, aren¡¯t you asking a question you already know the answer to? Stop disturbing me and let me sleep for a while longer.¡± Pei Mianman mumbled. She then turned around, adjusting her body to find a morefortable sleeping posture.

    Hong Zao eximed in surprise, ¡°Huh? Young miss, why is your mouth so swollen?¡±

    Pei Mianman subconsciously covered her lips, her face turning red. However, she pretended to be calm as she said, ¡°I might have caught a cold.¡±

    ¡°Why would a cold make your lips swell?¡± Hong Zao looked at her with a ¡®do you think I¡¯m stupid¡¯ face. She suddenly smacked her own head and said as if she had a sudden realization, ¡°I know now! The young miss must¡¯ve secretly sucked on the young master¡¯s lollipop, but then your lips became like that after eating it too much. You didn¡¯t want to give me any either, so you told me that kind of lie to trick me, right?¡±

    Pei Mianman was ashamed and panicked. She grabbed a pillow and threw it at Hong Zao, eximing, ¡°You stupid maid, eat eat eat, all you know is eating! You¡¯ll definitely be done in by that mouth of yours one day!¡±

    Seeing that the young miss had gotten angry, Hong Zao stuck out her tongue and quickly went downstairs.

    ¡­

    Zu An returned to his temporary residence with a refreshed expression. Big Manman really is incredibly talented, a treasure that men yearn for day and night!

    But he suddenly noticed that something was wrong with the atmosphere. The Armed Escort Army¡¯s expressions were serious, as if they were facing a great enemy. Zu An called some of them over, but they didn¡¯t know what was going on either. They just said they were following Sir Sang¡¯s orders.

    He felt a huge weight drop down in his heart. He quickly went inside withrge strides.

    There were only Sang Hong, Xiao Jianren, Pei You, a few others, and a few guards present. Zu An recognized them as the guards that had been in the prison. What was truly unexpected, however, was that Pei You was tied up and kneeling in the very center.

    Sang Hong paced back and forth nervously, as if he were making an extremely difficult decision.

    Zu An was rmed. He had only left for a single night; why did he feel as if he had left for an entire century? He asked, ¡°What happened here? Why is Brother Pei¡­¡±

    Pei You seemed to have found his savior when he heard Zu An¡¯s voice. He quickly turned around and bawled, ¡°Brother Zu, you¡¯ve finally returned! Sir Sang wants to kill me!¡±

    Zu An turned to Sang Hong in confusion. Sang Hong eximed angrily, ¡°Scoundrel, you still have the nerve to say that? You killed Zuo Su! Do you know the consequences of such a thing?¡±

    ¡°Pei You killed Zuo Su?¡± Zu An blinked nkly. No matter how powerful his imagination was, he still couldn''t understand what was going on.

    ¡°I¡¯m being wronged here. I didn¡¯t!¡± Pei You immediately cried out.

    ¡°You still dare to argue back?¡± Sang Hong mmed the table furiously. Then he pointed at the jailers andmanded them, ¡°Speak! What exactly happenedst night?¡±

    The guards gave Pei You a look. After some hesitation, they said, ¡°Last night, Sir Pei came to guard the prison. Later on, in the middle of the night, Sir Pei suddenly got up and went into the prison, and he even sent us away.

    ¡°We didn¡¯t think too much of it and let Sir Pei in. But early in the morning, we discovered that Sir Zuo had already died inside the prison.¡±

    ¡­

    The guards took turns recounting what had happened the previous night.

    Zu An looked at Pei You with a strange expression, thinking, I didn¡¯t expect this brat to be that kind of person.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t do it!¡± Pei You immediately spoke up to defend himself. ¡°I was always sitting outside in meditation. I never left that spot! You guys are making things up!¡±

    Sang Hong said seriously, ¡°Ah Zu, you can see for yourself that the two sides have continued to stick to their own versions. There were many who saw Pei You enter the prison cell, while he is the only one who ims to not have done such a thing. Tell me, who should I believe?¡±

    Zu An frowned. He pulled Sang Hong aside and asked, ¡°Respected uncle, have you looked into the backgrounds of those Armed Escort Army soldiers?¡±

    ¡°I have. They are all individuals with clean backgrounds without any dealings with the people in Cloudcenter Commandery. Furthermore, I even interrogated them separately and there was nothing wrong with their confessions,¡± Sang Hong replied gravely.

    ¡°Then Pei You is the only one with a problem?¡± Zu An frowned.

    ¡°That is indeed the case right now,¡± Sang Hong said with a sigh.

    ¡°But he doesn¡¯t have any motive, does he?¡± Zu An replied. After he had been around Pei You for so long, they had already established quite a bit of camaraderie. He obviously didn¡¯t want to see anything happen to Pei You.

    ¡°That is something you will have to ask him.¡± Sang Hong gave Pei You a look, his eyes filled with worry. ¡°But judging from how scared he is, he might not speak the truth.¡±

    Zu An thought of something and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I have a way to tell if they¡¯re speaking the truth or not.¡±

    ¡°How so?¡± Sang Hong asked, confused.

    ¡°Prepare an isted room for me and send them in one by one.¡± As insurance, Zu An decided to question the jailers first.

    When he passed by Pei You, he asked quietly, ¡°What rank and what step are your cultivation at exactly? This is rted to your very life, so don¡¯t lie.¡±

    Pei You was really scared badly by the current situation. If he couldn''t prove his innocence, then he really might perish, so how could he dare to hide anything? He replied, ¡°The eighth step of the sixth rank.¡±

    Zu An sighed in relief, thinking, That¡¯s good then; everything is still within my realm of control. As such, he entered the room first and had the jailerse in one after another. Even though Sang Hong didn¡¯t understand what was happening, he trusted Zu An and didn¡¯t ask too many questions.

    When the jailers entered, they saw that there was a devastatingly beautiful white-clothed woman inside. The woman perfectlybined both charm and purity.

    How can there be a woman this beautiful in our imperial envoy? they thought. But the jailers¡¯ expressions became nk the moment that thought arose.

    Zu An used Daji¡¯s Fox Charm skill to control those people. Then, he asked them about what had happened the previous night. Their replies were identical to before, however,

    Zu An became gloomy, thinking, Looks like Pei You really did go inst night.

    After the jailers left, he didn¡¯t call in Pei You and instead summoned his keyboard.

    Daji was only at the fifth step of the sixth rank, and Fox Charm was at the second level. It was enough to control a target at the same level of cultivation as her.

    Meanwhile, Pei You was at the eighth step of the sixth rank. Daji¡¯s skill couldn''t control him just yet, so he had to increase Daji¡¯s cultivation. He had saved up a total of 338,795 Rage points, which was already enough to raise Daji¡¯s cultivation with Ki Fruits.

    The shop¡¯s price for Ki Fruits, at 1000 points per fruit, was too boring for him. Zu An decided he was still going to try his hand at pulling the lottery.

    ¡®Thank you for ying¡¯ messages quickly appeared on the screen. Zu An didn¡¯t panic at all. He had already pulled the lottery many times, so he was already used to it. If he got a new skill each time he pulled the lottery, he might have to start worrying about his own predestined lifespan.

    He quickly earned 340 Ki Fruits.

    Zu An was about to feed them to Daji when his eyes narrowed. He saw that thest pull hadnded on the ¡®S¡¯ key.

    Congrattions for pulling the skill ¡®Kawaii Waifu Voice Changer¡¯!

    Zu An was stunned.

 Chapter 1037: A Painstaking Investigation

    <h4>Chapter 1037: A Painstaking Investigation</h4>

    Zu An was dumbfounded. He had only nned to pull some Ki Fruits to raise Daji¡¯s cultivation. He had never expected to actually pull a skill!

    He quickly read the description the keyboard gave him.

    Kawaii Waifu Voice Changer: In a certain time and ce, there was a man who really liked to pretend to be a girl and y together with other men. That way, he could receive the most consideration from them, and he got better and better at it as time went on. This voice changer is the result of his hard work, allowing him to be a kawaii waifu. He relied on this sweet voice to capture the hearts of many men. Unfortunately, he was unable to keep this up forever. One time, he identally exposed himself. The men who discovered the truth were incredibly furious, and no one knows his pitiful ending. However, this magical artifact was still passed down.

    Usage effects: When the item is used, you can change your voice into any target¡¯s voice. Not even those closest to you will be able to tell the difference. But whenever you want to use this skill, you must make an offering.

    Note: The so-called offering is that the user must first use this item to pretend to be a kawaii waifu, and furthermore sessfully fool a male target.

    Zu An was bbergasted. What the flying f*ck?

    Almost every skill he pulled was sketchy in some way. However, he hadn¡¯t expected this skill to be so horrible.

    He had actually been somewhat happy when he first saw the effects. After all, even though ¡®Face of a Thousand Identities¡¯ could change his appearance with ki, some parts of that secret manual were missing. Currently, he could only achieve seventy to eighty percent simrity. Someone close to the real target would easily see through his disguise. With this voice changer, together with Face of a Thousand Identities, he could sessfully impersonate anyone without giving himself away.

    But when he saw the usage condition, his expression immediately darkened.

    Didn¡¯t the offering condition mean he had to pretend to be a girl each time first? If he just had to crossdress or something, then whatever, he¡¯d change into a girl¡¯s outfit when no one was watching. But this freaking scam needed him to actually fool a male target first! Didn¡¯t that mean he had to pretend to be a girl in front of another guy? That would beplete social suicide if he were exposed! What kind of dignity would he even have left?!

    He was already extremely embarrassed before he even gave it a try.

    ¡°Ah Zu, are you ready?¡± Sang Hong knocked on the door. He was clearly a bit worried that Zu An hadn¡¯t replied for so long.

    ¡°Please wait for a bit longer.¡± Zu An could only suppress his thoughts when he thought about how dire the current situation was. He stored the Kawaii Waifu Voice Changer away into the Brilliant ss Bead for the time being to examer.

    ¡°Come here.¡± He gestured toward Daji, who obediently came over. Her expression looked like a smile, yet if one looked at her closely, it wouldn¡¯t seem as if she were smiling anymore.

    ¡°Even you¡¯reughing at me.¡± Zu An was a bit dejected. ¡°Open your mouth!¡±

    Daji blinked. She leaned her head back slightly and obediently parted her red lips. Zu An threw in the Ki Fruits one after another. Fortunately, they immediately melted when they entered Daji¡¯s mouth. Otherwise, she¡¯d choke to death from eating so many of them.

    During the process, Zu An¡¯s finger couldn''t help but touch her tongue sometimes. He was surprised to discover that the other party didn¡¯t reject him for the first time.

    ¡°She was actually a freaking foodie,¡± Zu An muttered with a strange expression. When this kind of exceptional beauty opened her mouth and waited for food, it really was hard for others to resist the urge to feed her something¡­

    He quickly concentrated and fed all the Ki Fruits to her. Then, he got up and stopped looking at her, saying, ¡°Digest those fruits. I need you to earn your keep soon.¡±

    Daji nodded slightly, as if understanding what he meant. She ate all of the Ki Fruits, and her aura began to steadily climb.

    Sixth step, seventh step, eighth step, ninth step¡­

    In the end, her cultivation stopped at the ninth step of the sixth rank.

    800 Ki Fruits were needed to reach the peak of the sixth rank. She had already eaten 740 fruits, making her extremely close to that level.

    Looks like I need to hurry and find her breakthrough materials, Zu An told himself.

    When Daji¡¯s cultivation stabilized, Zu An signaled the people outside to let Pei You in.

    ¡°Brother Zu, you have to trust me. If even you don¡¯t believe me, then I¡­ I¡­¡± Pei You immediatelyined to Zu An as soon as he saw him. However, halfway through his wailing, he suddenly noticed Daji. There was actually a woman so ridiculously beautiful in this world?

    Even the legendary Yu Yanluo can only be this beautiful and not more so, right?

    ¡°Wow, Brother Zu, you actually had someone like this all to yourself¡­¡± Pei You couldn''t help but say with a sigh.

    Zu An rolled his eyes. This fool was about to lose his life, yet he was still thinking about such things. He didn¡¯t feel like wasting any words on Pei You and immediately had Daji use Fox Charm to control him.

    Pei You¡¯s expression gradually went nk. Zu An took the chance to ask him about what happenedst night. In the end, however, his response was identical to what he had said before.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Zu An eximed. Neither side was lying, so what was going on?

    He remained silent for a moment, but then suddenly thought of something and asked, ¡°Did you notice anything strange while you were sitting outside the prison yesterday?¡±

    ¡°There was nothing strange. Everything waspletely quiet from start to finish. No one came in or left,¡± Pei You replied.

    Zu An frowned, then asked, ¡°How many rotations did you send your ki flow throughst night in meditation?¡±

    Pei You replied, ¡°I first sent my ki through eight small rotations, and then I¡­ I went through five great rotations.¡±

    Zu An then asked him how long he usually took for each rotation, and then asked him when each rotation began. Eventually, he finally realized the problem. Pei You¡¯s cultivation and the time didn¡¯t match up. There was a period of time missing.

    But Pei You couldn''t recall what had happened before, no matter how he tried to rack his brains. He began, ¡°I think I saw a bit of rainbow light, then slept for a bit. But I shouldn¡¯t have fallen asleep¡­¡± He clutched his head with an expression of deep pain. He clearly felt some kind of irritation there.

    Zu An was worried about injuring Pei You¡¯s soul, so he quickly told Daji to stop her skill. Then, while Pei You was still dizzy, he carried him out.

    ¡°Did you find anything out?¡± Sang Hong asked while pacing around in the main lobby. His eyes were filled with hope when he saw the two peoplee out, but he was also worried that he might hear some bad news.

    ¡°Neither side was lying.¡± Zu An said.

    ¡°How is that possible?!¡± Sang Hong¡¯s expression changed.

    Pei You was moved to tears. Zu An really is a good brother! No one believed me, but he believed me.

    Just how many times was I saved by him already?

    I definitely have to set up a memorial arch in his name once I return home and burn incense for him every day.

    Zu An lowered the weak Pei You off to the side, then exined, ¡°Some expert must have temporarily invaded his body, controlling his body to kill Zuo Su.¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Huh¡± Pei You cried out in rm. Wasn¡¯t he still the killer in that case? But he quickly noticed a more severe problem. That mysterious person invaded his brain? Didn¡¯t that mean that guy had gone inside of him?

    I¡¯d be okay with it if it was a beauty, but if it was a freaking man¡­ He had an expression of horror when he realized that. He couldn''t help but start retching off to the side.

    Zu An and Sang Hong gave him a look. They didn¡¯t know why he was acting like that all of a sudden.

    Sang Hong didn¡¯t pay him any attention and said gravely, ¡°There are only some evil cultivators or members of the fiend races who are capable of the kind of mind invasion you are talking about. Furthermore, Pei You is no pushover either. Anyone who could control him without his notice, and then silently kill Zuo Su, might have a cultivation far above mine.¡±

    His brow furrowed deeply as he spoke. This matter really was way too difficult¡­ Just Jian Taiding alone was already outside of their ability to deal with. Now, there was some mysterious expert too? Even someone like him whose mind was tough was starting to waver.

    When he heard what Sang Hong said, Zu An recalled that Daji¡¯s skill seemed to be of the same sort. Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯ll mistake me for an evil cultivator too? He quicklymented, ¡°Ahem, since Zuo Su was suspected to have colluded with the fiend races, then it was most likely a fiend race individual who silenced him.¡±

    ¡°There are definitely others involved, or else the fiend races wouldn¡¯t have silenced him so quickly,¡± Sang Hong swiftly deduced. He mused, ¡°Then is it really Jian Taiding?¡±

    Jian Taiding was the most suitable candidate in Cloudcenter Commandery, with both the strength and backing. But he had great status and authority. His subordinates had a lot of power as well. Their group couldn''t investigate him even if they wanted to!

    ¡°Finding that mysterious fiend race expert is the top priority. Once he¡¯s found, everything else will be much easier.¡± Zu An said.

    ¡°Indeed.¡± Sang Hong got up. He continued, ¡°Furthermore, Zuo Su¡¯s death must remain a secret. No one who knows about it is to leave this residence. Everyone must continue to deliver meals and patrol the area to create the illusion that Zuo Su is still alive.¡±

    They had finally quelled the rebellion of themandery¡¯s soldiers. If those soldiers learned that Zuo Su had died in their temporary official residence, it really would be hard for the Imperial Envoy to escape me. If those with ulterior motives fanned the mes and the city¡¯s troops charged at them again, the entire Imperial Envoy might be wiped out.

    After arranging everything, Sang Hong then brought Zu An to his room to discuss some details. His expression was full of fatigue as he said, ¡°You and I both know that this fiend race expert isn¡¯t someone who would be so easily captured.¡±

    At the moment, the fiend race expert was most likely hiding in Jian Taiding¡¯s Military Affairs Manor. However, security there was strict, and Jian Taiding was a master rank cultivator himself. They couldn''t even try to sneak inside and investigate the matter.

    ¡°I have a way,¡± Zu An said seriously.

 Chapter 1038: I Want Everything

    <h4>Chapter 1038: I Want Everything</h4>

    ¡°What kind of way?¡± Sang Hong quickly asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure yet.¡± Zu An said in a low voice. ¡°I need to make a trip right now.¡±

    ¡°Alright. I will stay here to oversee this ce, or else those Cloudcenter Commandery people mighte here and find out that something happened to Zuo Su.¡± Sang Hong harrumphed. ¡°I want to see for myself who will immediately rush over now that Zuo Su has died.¡±

    Even though he had given the order that no one who knew what happened was allowed to leave the official residence, that obviously didn¡¯t include Zu An.

    ¡°I¡¯ve troubled respected uncle.¡± Zu An cupped his hands, then secretly left through the back door. He made sure to shake off anyone trying to tail him as usual, then headed to the Civil Affairs Manor.

    The Civil Affairs Manor had no leader, so it was quite the mess. Fortunately, Xu Yu was there to watch over things, thus barely maintaining the normal operations of Cloudcenter Commandery. When Xu Yu saw that Zu An hade to visit him, he quickly came out to greet him. Then, he indirectly tried to ask about how their investigation of Zuo Su was going.

    Zu An obviously wouldn¡¯t tell him the truth. He found some excuses to answer the questions with, then told Xu Yu why he hade.

    ¡°Themandery duke¡¯s recorded materials? We do have some. When themandery princess held the heaven offering ceremony, it was recorded with a recording stone. It should be at the government office right now. But why do you need something like that?¡± Xu Yu felt the request was a bit strange.

    Zu An sighed in relief when he heard that. He replied with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s something Sir Sang needs. As for what it will be used for exactly, I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°Could it be rted to Sir Zuo¡¯s case?¡± Xu Yu still didn¡¯t drop the matter and continued asking.

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°Sir Xu worries too much. This is just about investigating the duke¡¯s disappearance.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± Xu Yu nodded, but he was filled with emotions inside. The other party didn¡¯t seem all that interested in Sir Zuo¡¯s case. He was still in the mood to focus on the duke¡¯s disappearance? Perhaps there had already been a conclusion in Sir Zuo¡¯s case?

    Those of the court excelled at reading facial expressions, and they often spected about many things. When he saw Zu An¡¯s mysterious expression, many possibilities appeared in Xu Yu¡¯s mind. Every single one of those possibilities left him trembling in fear.

    Fortunately, the recording stone arrived promptly. He collected his thoughts and handed the recording stone to Zu An, saying, ¡°Even though this item is no great treasure, after the duke''s disappearance, this is the only thing left. I hope Sir Zu can let Sir Sang know to take good care of it. Once he is done with it, please return it to be stored away.¡±

    Zu An received the recording stone and gave it a look. Sure enough, the duke¡¯s image was recorded there. He was overjoyed and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Sir Xu. The jade annulus will be returned to Zhao[1] after we¡¯re finished.¡±

    ¡°Jade annulus to Zhao?¡± Xu Yu was a bit confused. He had never heard of that idiom before, but he could guess what Zu An meant.

    ¡­

    After Zu An left the manor, he made a trip to Gao Ying¡¯s ce. He worried that Gao Ying wouldn¡¯t be able to keep those wild troops under control. But when he arrived, he saw that Gao Ying was actually doing quite well for himself.

    Gao Ying said with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to Sir Xu. He came over several times to help me keep them under control. That¡¯s how I was able to properly maintain this position.

    ¡°Of course, it was also thanks to those Armed Escort Guards of yours. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t be able to convince all of these people through my own strength.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re being too humble. That¡¯s all external help. The reason you were able to keep this position waspletely because of your own ability.¡± Zu An thought, No wonder Xu Yu was able to be friends with Xiao Yao. He¡¯s probably one of the rare members of Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s court faction.

    The two of them chatted for a bit longer. Gao Ying asked about how things were back at the temporary residence. Zu An was worried about information leaking, so he didn¡¯t reveal anything, instead saying. ¡°You only need to worry about properly controlling the troops over here; leave the temporary residence to us. We might very well need your subordinates in the future!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll definitelypletely rope them in soon,¡± Gao Ying said with an upright expression.

    Zu An nodded. After bidding him goodbye, he took the main street back. He thought about what he was going to do next. With Cloudcenter Duke¡¯s recording, he now had an image of what the duke looked like. That way, if he had no choice, he could impersonate him to create a breakthrough in the case.

    He suddenly smelled an aroma just then. When he raised his head, he saw a restaurant that was lively with business. Above the entrance was a card with the words ¡®Cassia Moon Restaurant¡¯ written on it in fancy calligraphy.

    Zu An suddenly recalled something. In the intelligence Xiao Jianren had given him, King Qi¡¯s heir would often go to ces like Cassia Moon Restaurant to buy things for Pei Mianman before he went to the Pei n. He hadn¡¯t thought much of it back then, but what if the purchasing of gifts was just a pretense, and he had actually gone to those ces to meet with people? As such, he went straight in.

    A waiter quickly greeted him. When he saw how impressive looking and well dressed Zu An was, his eyes lit up. He asked, ¡°What does this guest wish to eat? Our Cassia Moon Restaurant is a famous restaurant in Cloudcenter Commandery. As long as there is anything you want to try, we can make it.¡±

    ¡°You guys are that great? Then I¡¯ll have to have a taste,¡± Zu An replied. He hadn¡¯t eaten anything since morning, so he could just settle that in the meantime.

    The waiter guided him upstairs. Zu An chose a private room with a window that could oversee everything. After ordering a few signature dishes, he drank the restaurant¡¯s special Honey ck Tea while secretly observing the people who came and went through the ce.

    Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t see anyone suspicious even after doing so for a long time. When the waiter returned with the food, he casually asked, ¡°Waiter, this ce of yours isn¡¯t bad. How much would it cost to buy this Cassia Moon Restaurant?¡±

    The waiter was rmed. He eximed, ¡°The young master must be joking! Cassia Moon Restaurant has such good business; why would the owner want to sell it?¡±

    ¡°That may not be the case. Many times, the only reason something isn¡¯t sold is because not enough money is offered.¡± Zu An chuckled. He tossed over a silver ingot and asked, ¡°Who¡¯s your boss? If I wanted to buy this ce, who would I approach to ask something like that?¡±

    The waiter had never expected to receive such a huge tip. He happily put it away, and an eager smile appeared on his face as he said, ¡°The young master really is generous. I must secretly tell the young master that it is useless even if you talk to our boss. This is not something he can make a decision on.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Why?¡± Zu An asked, surprised. Looks like this money I spent was worth it.

    ¡°Please do not share what I am about to tell the young master with anyone else.¡± The waiter looked around. When he saw that there was no one, he then moved close to Zu An¡¯s ear and said quietly, ¡°The shopkeeper downstairs is only Cassia Moon Restaurant¡¯s boss in name. The true boss is at thePegasus Merchant Group.¡±

    ¡°Pegasus Merchant Group?¡± Zu An eximed, shocked. Chen Zhou¡¯s case involved the Zhenyuan Merchant Group. He had learned about the Pegasus Merchant Group during his investigation back then.

    The Pegasus Merchant Group was a merchant group as famous as the Zhenyuan Merchant Group. Both sides were constantlypeting with each other. But the Zhenyuan Merchant Group had a longer history, so it operated on a slightlyrger scale.

    The Pegasus Merchant Group was an up-anding power. However, recently, their momentum had been extremely strong, almost as if they were trying to take over the Zhenyuan Merchant Group¡¯s top spot.

    Zu An suddenly voiced his surprise. ¡°How do you know something so ssified?¡±

    The waiter stuck out his chest. ¡°Because the shopkeeper is the son of my grandfather¡¯s second aunt¡¯s niece¡¯s great uncle¡¯s nephew!¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He couldn''t figure out what their rtionship was even after thinking about it for a long time. Either way, it was some kind of distant rtion.

    He remarked, ¡°This little brother seems to have boundless prospects here.¡±

    ¡°The young master overpraises me,¡± the waiter replied.

    ¡­

    After he obtained the information he needed from Cassia Moon Restaurant, Zu An went to the next location. There, a sweet scent spread through the air. It was different from Cassia Moon Restaurant¡¯s smell of food; instead, it was the smell of cosmetics.

    Two graceful words, ¡®Rouge Spice¡¯, were inscribed onto the signboard.

    King Qi¡¯s heir often visited that store before going to the Pei n as well. There were married women and youngdiesing in and out of the store, chatting about the newest products and colors of lipstick.

    When he entered the store, Zu An felt as if he had entered a country of women. Compared to Jasper House, the clothing of the women present was clearly much more reserved.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The madams and young misses all frowned when they saw a man enter. They all wondered where this pervert hade from.

    But when they saw Zu An¡¯s appearance, they were all stunned, and light blushes appeared on their faces. The women who had been about to berate him instead revealed bashful appearances. All of them whispered among themselves, ¡°Which young master is this? He really is handsome.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s probably here to purchase some products for his own woman.¡±

    ¡°Sigh, it really is a waste. She actually sent her own husband to buy products for her. Isn¡¯t this kind of woman a bit toozy?¡±

    ¡°Should we try and start a conversation with him? It¡¯s been so long since I met someone this handsome.¡±

    ¡°Are you crazy? Won¡¯t you be beaten if you¡¯re caught by your man back home?¡±

    ¡°If this young master were the one hitting me, wouldn¡¯t I be more than happy?¡±

    ¡­

    Even though their voices were soft, Zu An¡¯s senses were keen. None of their voices escaped his detection.

    He immediately began to sweat buckets when he heard their discussions. He had heard beforehand that the citizens of Cloudcenter Commandery were fairly open-minded, but wasn¡¯t this a bit too much?

    No wonder the ones who had yed around the most at the office in his previous world had been married young wives. It seemed things were the same no matter which world it was.

    He coughed lightly and quickly sought out the shopkeeper. Even though the shopkeeper was a bit surprised to see a man enter, this wasn¡¯t the first time. He asked, ¡°What does the young master wish to buy?¡±

    ¡°Female makeup products and the like,¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°We have a variety of products. We have facial cleansers, moisturizers, skincare serum, emulsion, skin repair foundation, concealer, face slimming creams¡­¡± the shopkeeper began.

    Zu An was stunned. He waspletely baffled by everything he heard. He had no idea what any of that stuff was. He just eximed, ¡°I want everything!¡±

    The shopkeeper¡¯s eyes lit up. He asked, ¡°May I ask what model number your respected self wants? We have¡­¡±

    Zu An cut him off. He obviously didn¡¯t have the time to think about all of that stuff. He replied, ¡°The most expensive one of each type. Give me, uh¡­ Ten of them.¡±

    He obviously needed to disy his wealth in order to discuss business with the other party. Otherwise, if he immediately said he wanted to purchase the store, who wouldn¡¯t ignore him?

    As for those things, they¡¯d be quite useful. He had so many close female friends at his side. He¡¯d at least have some gifts to give out.

    The youngdies and madams all cried out in surprise. They immediately looked at him with strange expressions.

    ¡°A yboy! He actually bought so many.¡±

    ¡°What do you understand? This is called being charming, okay? Would it be that rare for a young master as wealthy as this to have ten concubines?¡±

    ¡°Exactly! Look at those rich and powerful figures in the city! Which one of them doesn¡¯t have a hundred or so concubines? This young master having ten concubines is already being quite single-minded.¡±

    ¡°And he bought a gift for every one of them, treating all his girls nicely. I¡¯m so jealous!¡±

    ¡°Sigh, unfortunately, I¡¯ve already gotten married. Otherwise, I would even offer myself up.¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you go and give it a try? What if he doesn¡¯t mind having more wives?¡±

    ¡­

    Zu An¡¯s expression darkened. Meanwhile, The shopkeeper put various kinds of skincare and makeup products into fine cases and handed them over, saying, ¡°Young master, these belong to your respective self. May I ask where you live? We can have someone send them over.¡±

    Zu An was about to reply, but a familiar voice spoke up nearby. ¡°Tsk tsk, you really are a womanizer.¡±

    1. An idiom originating in a story from the Qin Dynasty, which means ¡®to return something intact to its rightful owner.¡¯ ?

 Chapter 1039: New Clues

    <h4>Chapter 1039: New Clues</h4>

    Chapter 1039: New Clues

    Zu An turned around. He saw a charming and graceful youngdy standing by the entrance. She had a golden veil over her face, decorated with agates and rubies. It made her look morous and mysterious.

    However, people¡¯s attention was drawn more to the girl herself. Even though there was a veil covering her face, they could still see that her face was beautiful.

    Underneath her simple and elegant brows was a pair of lovely misty eyes. Those who saw them couldn¡¯t help but want to protect her. There seemed to be a faint smile resting on her lips. Those lips were soft and moist, as if they had been blessed by the sparkling dew of dawn, making all who saw them feel their throats go dry.

    As the girl looked around, people would immediately feel the same thing. It was as if she were looking at them with tender feelings, full of friendly regard for them. It was as if she thought of thempletely differently from other people.

    If this were a different ce, countless men would prostrate before her for her favor the moment they saw her. But this was a makeup store. There were only madams and youngdies present.

    ¡°Hmph, what a vixen!¡±

    The madams and youngdies normally didn¡¯t usually like each other all that much. Yet this time, they were surprisingly unified.

    This woman was just too good at seducing others! They knew if their own men back home saw her, those men would definitely abandon them to pursue her. That was why all of them looked at the woman with unkind expressions.

    Zu An was instead pleasantly surprised, eximing, ¡°Honglei!¡±

    He had never expected to run into Qiu Honglei in such a ce! After their separation the previous time in Yi Commandery, he had thought it would be a long time before they would meet again.

    ¡°Ah Zu~¡± Qiu Hongleipletely ignored the jealous eyes around her. She had a big smile on her face.

    ¡°He was a yboy after all!¡±

    ¡°He isn¡¯t even looking away after he sees a pretty girl.¡±

    ¡°What was wrong with me for actually liking him earlier?¡±

    ¡­

    Because of their dislike toward the woman, all of the women in the shop immediately began to dislike Zu An too.

    Zu An suddenly felt as if he had just broken new ground when he saw the continuous stream of Rage points. Not only could he earn Rage points from men by having a pretty girl at his side, he could also make a killing from other women! Once women¡¯s jealousy was stirred, they would be much more terrifying than men.

    ¡°Should we chat somewhere else?¡± Qiu Honglei asked with a smile.

    ¡°Sure.¡± Zu An also felt a bit ufortable from being surrounded and watched.

    He was just about to leave when Qiu Honglei looked back and gestured, asking, ¡°Are you not going to take your things with you?¡±

    Only then did Zu An notice that he hadn¡¯t taken those products he had purchased yet. He smiled awkwardly and quickly went back in.

    ¡°Young master, it isn¡¯t convenient for you to carry all of these things now. We can deliver the goods to you,¡± the shopkeeper reminded him kindly.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need.¡± Zu An chuckled. After paying the bill, he stored everything in his Brilliant ss Bead.

    ¡°A spatial artifact!¡± Those who were knowledgeable quickly realized what had happened. They began to whisper among themselves. Anyone who had such arge spatial storage artifact was definitely no one ordinary.

    Zu An couldn''t be bothered with what they thought, however. He left the store to meet with Qiu Honglei again.

    ¡°Ah Zu, you really are a big spender. You actually bought so many sets in one go,¡± Qiu Honglei said with an ambiguous smile.

    Zu An took out a set and said, ¡°You came at just the right time. This is for you.¡±

    Qiu Honglei rolled her eyes and remarked, ¡°Hmph, are the rest for other girls? I already saw you buy those earlier, so I don¡¯t want it.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He knew that now wasn¡¯t the time to try to reason with her, so he could only change the topic. He asked, ¡°By the way, why are you in Cloudcenter Commandery?¡±

    ¡°How could I have seen that fantastic scene earlier if I hadn¡¯te here?¡± Qiu Honglei was clearly smiling, but there was a hint of danger in her gaze.

    Zu An sighed and said, ¡°After we separatedst time in Yi Commandery, I thought it would be a long time before we would meet again. After we separatedst time, I was held up by the people from the court. After I dealt with them, I went back to where your smoke signal was to see where you were, but I didn¡¯t see anything.¡±

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s expression eased a lot when she heard the concern in his voice. She grabbed his arm and leaned naturally against his shoulder, saying, ¡°But that¡¯s why this is a fated reunion.¡±

    When he felt that incredible sensation against his arm, Zu An didn¡¯t think any strange thoughts and instead only felt warm inside. He asked, ¡°When will you finish cultivating that rubbish technique of yours?¡±

    ¡°The Heavenly Devil Temptation is our Holy Sect¡¯s supreme art. It¡¯s definitely not a rubbish technique.¡± Qiu Honglei was clearly somewhat dissatisfied. Her yfully upset voice was sweet and intimate, drawing eyes all around them.

    When they saw Qiu Honglei¡¯s appearance, the onlookers were incredibly shocked. They immediately aimed envious looks at Zu An.

    ¡°Fine, fine. You still haven¡¯t told me when you and I can have a proper rtionship yet.¡± Zu An touched her nose with a smile. When he saw the Rage points that wereing in, he began performing more of those intimate actions to incite those fellows who could see, but would never be able to obtain someone like Qiu Honglei.

    Sure enough, those people¡¯s faces turned green. Those who were more fiery-tempered even rolled up their sleeves, as if they were going toe over and start some trouble.

    Unfortunately, Qiu Honglei clearly didn¡¯t want their alone time to be disturbed by such side characters. She released her ki aura and scanned them coldly with her gaze. As the Saintess of the Devil Sect, she could even make all of the fierce and tough Devil Sect soldiers docile, let alone such ordinary local ruffians.

    Sure enough, those individuals immediately felt chills run through their bodies, and they all withdrew. When they saw that Zu An hadn¡¯t done a thing, and that it was instead the girl who had stepped forward, they all cursed inwardly, This guy is aplete mooch!

    But why did they feel so envious while cursing Zu An?

    Zu An¡¯s previous overcast mood immediately became much better when he saw another huge wave of Rage pointse in.

    Only then did Qiu Honglei reply, ¡°I don¡¯t know either¡­ I need to wait until I receive my master¡¯s approval.¡±

    ¡°Where is Yun Jianyue? I¡¯ll go and have a talk with her,¡± Zu An said unhappily.

    Qiu Honglei jumped in fright. She quickly reached out her hand and covered his mouth, eximing, ¡°Don¡¯t talk nonsense! If master heard what you said, she¡¯d definitely give you a proper beating.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think she¡¯d do that.¡± When he remembered all of the things that had happened between him and Yun Jianyue back in the Imperial Pce, a gentle smile couldn''t help but appear on Zu An¡¯s face.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Qiu Honglei was confused. She just felt that something wasn¡¯t quite right.

    Zu An coughed lightly out of awkwardness. He said, ¡°Ahem, what I¡¯m saying is that I¡¯m her precious disciple¡¯s lover, so why would she hit me?¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Even if you were her disciple, wouldn¡¯t she still discipline you properly? Let alone the fact that you¡¯re just my lover,¡± Qiu Honglei said. Despite her words, she was still extremely happy.

    The two teased each other for a bit, but then Zu An suddenly remembered the matter of Yi Commandery. He asked, ¡°Right, what happened in your sectst time anyway? Why was there such a rushed signal for all of you to return? I was worried that something major had happened to you guys.¡±

    Qiu Honglei hesitated for a moment, but then she said, ¡°This is actually something we can¡¯t tell outsiders, but you aren¡¯t an outsider. It won¡¯t matter even if I tell you.¡± She continued, ¡°One of our elders was killed by a fiend race expert.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Zu An was somewhat shocked. He had never expected the fiend races and Devil Sect¡¯s rtionship to be bad. He asked, ¡°What level of cultivation did your elder have?¡±

    ¡°Eighth rank, I reckon,¡± Qiu Honglei said with a grave expression. ¡°Most importantly, he died in a rather strange way. He was controlled by a fiend race individual¡¯s evil method, then suddenly attacked his ownpanions in the sect. Fortunately, the sect master arrived promptly, or else our entire base might have beenpletely destroyed.

    ¡°Out of wrath, my master killed that elder. However, that elder woke back up moments before his death. Only then did my master realize that he was being controlled.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed when he heard that. Why did the story sound so simr?

    Wasn¡¯t Pei You also controlled by someone to kill Zuo Su? He quickly asked, ¡°Which fiend race individuals are that powerful?¡±

    Qiu Honglei replied, ¡°Master immediately traced their aura and fought a great battle with that fiend race cultivator. However, that fellow¡¯s cultivation is extremely strange. Even though master was able to injure him, he was still able to escape.¡±

    ¡°Just how high would his cultivation need to be to escape from someone like your master?!¡± Zu An was really shocked.

    Qiu Honglei said quietly, ¡°My master was wounded by that dog emperor thest time we invaded the Imperial Pce. She hasn¡¯t fully recovered since then. Furthermore, she fought against King Yan not too long ago, or else she wouldn¡¯t have let that fiend race bastard escape. The reason I¡¯m here is also because I¡¯m trying to track him down.¡±

    ¡°Oh, do you know any more details about that fiend race cultivator?¡± Zu An quickly asked.

    Qiu Honglei nodded and said, ¡°Master fought against him, and with her experience and methods, it wasn¡¯t difficult to track down his identity at all. That guy¡¯s name is Kong Qing, one of the fiend races¡¯ three fiend kings. He¡¯s one of the most powerful subordinates of the Peacock King. He excels in invading the target¡¯s soul and controlling their body in battle.¡±

    ¡°Kong Qing?¡± Zu An had a weird expression on his face. That fellow¡¯s surname was also Kong! Didn¡¯t that mean he was a fellow nsman of Kong Nanwu?

    No wonder Kong Nanwu had given him a feather. It turned out she had already known that there was an expert from the Peacock Race in Cloudcenter Commandery. She had been worried that he might be targeted by them, which was why she had given him that identifying symbol. He had to admit that the girl was pretty loyal.

    ¡°Then do you know where that Kong Qing is hiding?¡± Zu An urgently asked.

    Qiu Honglei replied, ¡°ording to the most recent news, he seems to have appeared at the Zhenyuan Merchant Group. However, I haven¡¯t had time to investigate that yet.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the Zhenyuan Merchant Group again?¡± Zu An eximed, his eyes widening.

 Chapter 1040: Mysterious Men of the Round Table

    <h4>Chapter 1040: Mysterious Men of the Round Table</h4>

    The first time Zu An had heard of the Zhenyuan Merchant Company was when he was investigating Chen Zhou¡¯s case. He had learned that Chen Zhou was investigating a smuggling case involving the Zhenyuan Merchant Group.

    However, Zu An knew Chen Zhou had died near the capital. He should already have been en route to deliver his report to the capital at the time. There was no way he would be investigating some smuggling case.

    Furthermore, the corpse that had been burned in the warehouse wasn¡¯t Chen Zhou. That was why Zu An hadn¡¯t paid the Zhenyuan Merchant Group too much attention.

    But as the investigation continued, he saw more and more shades of the Zhenyuan Merchant Group. Now, after learning that a fiend race expert might be hiding in the Zhenyuan Merchant Group, he knew there was definitely something wrong with it.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go with you and investigate the Zhenyuan Merchant Group,¡± Zu An said.

    Qiu Honglei was happy but surprised. She asked, ¡°Won¡¯t this interfere with your affairs?¡±

    Zu An shook his head and replied, ¡°It¡¯s fine. I just happen to have some things I need to investigate too.¡±

    Qiu Honglei leaned her head against his arm, saying with smiling eyes, ¡°Ah Zu, you¡¯re always so good to me.¡±

    Zu An patted her head. The two of them began to talk about their lives after they had separated. Soon after, they unknowingly entered the Zhenyuan Merchant Group¡¯s territory. Many of the shops in Cloudcenter City belonged to the Zhenyuan Merchant Group, so the area they upied was extremelyrge.

    But ording to Qiu Honglei¡¯s intelligence, Kong Qing was likely hiding in the merchant group¡¯s general headquarters. The two of them walked around the headquarters like two lovers on a stroll, while scouting out the state of the security and noting things like the shift changes.

    After they looked around, Zu An was shocked. He eximed, ¡°This Zhenyuan Merchant Group is crazy! The security is even tighter than the Civil Affairs Manor¡¯s main building!¡±

    Qiu Honglei replied, ¡°The Zhenyuan Merchant Group¡¯s scale was massive to begin with. Their stores are everywhere around the world. Meanwhile, Cloudcenter Commandery is where their general headquarters is located, so the situation here is naturally pretty exaggerated.¡±

    Zu An was somewhat hesitant. He thought, Would it be better to transfer over some troops first?

    However, bringing troops with him would attract too much attention, and he didn¡¯t have any proof at the moment. If he didn¡¯t find out anything, the aftermath would be much more troublesome. After all, investigating such a huge contributor to the nation¡¯s taxes with troops for no reason would definitely have bad repercussions.

    As such, he decided to look around a bit first.

    ¡­

    The two of them waited until nighttime. Qiu Honglei wanted to go inside, but Zu An stopped her, saying, ¡°Wait outside here. After all, that Kong Qing was even able to escape from your master, so his cultivation is quite high. Furthermore, this Zhenyuan Merchant Group is too big of an organization. They¡¯ll have many powerful cultivators protecting this ce.¡±

    Qiu Honglei harrumphed, sounding clearly dissatisfied. She said, ¡°For better or for worse, I am a proper Holy Sect Saintess. I have the ability to protect myself.¡±

    ¡°It really isn¡¯t the same this time¡­¡± Zu An said seriously, ¡°Not only does this involve the death of your sect¡¯s elder, it involves a huge shift in Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s court. This situation is extremelyplicated, and even I have to treat it with utmost caution. I don¡¯t have the confidence to ensure your safetyter.¡±

    With Honglei¡¯s talent and resources, one day, she could definitely be one of the world¡¯s most powerful cultivators. However, at the moment, she was still too young. She had only cultivated for a decade or so of time. How could shepare to those old freaks who had cultivated for decades, or even more than a century?

    They were facing someone at the master rank this time. Not even Zu An was willing to take risks without understanding the situation inside.

    When she heard the severity in his tone, Qiu Honglei thought for a bit and said, ¡°Alright then. I don¡¯t want to hold you back inside. How about this? I¡¯ll wait outside to help youter. If I sense that you¡¯re in danger at all, I¡¯ll cause a disturbance outside to draw their attention.¡±

    She might just go in if she were alone. But since she was with Zu An, she absolutely didn¡¯t want to drag him down with her.

    Zu An smiled and pinched her cheeks. He was just about to sneak in when Qiu Honglei suddenly grabbed him. In her hand was antern. She said, ¡°Bring this with you. This thing is called the Little Empress Lantern. Once it¡¯s lit, it can lock down everything within a radius of several zhang. Of course, if the target¡¯s cultivation is really high, it won¡¯t be able to stop them, but it can at least slow their movements. You should keep this on you just in case.¡±

    She was about to exin how to use the Little Empress Lantern to Zu An, but he had already pushed it back into her hands. He said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. This item won¡¯t be of much help to me with my current cultivation. This is your trump card, so you should keep it with you to protect yourself. You still need to help me out afterward. What if those experts end up surrounding you? I¡¯ll feel more at ease if you have this thing on you.¡±

    When she heard the confidence in his voice and saw the calmness in his expression, Qiu Honglei smiled and didn¡¯t persist with the matter. She said, ¡°I forgot that your cultivation is already entirely different now. That¡¯s fine too. You need to be careful.¡±

    Zu An nodded. He snuck right in as soon as the guards left. They had observed the guards¡¯ movements during the day, so he was able to easily break through their defenses.

    But the further in he went, the more clearly he could feel the security bing stricter. There were many hidden ces with sentries watching from all directions. They would immediately be alerted if even a de of grass moved a bit strangely.

    ¡°Why does a merchant group need to be so mysterious?¡± Zu An frowned. He felt more and more that there was something wrong with the Zhenyuan Merchant Group. Of course, with his current cultivation, as well as the jade badge¡¯s scouting abilities, it wasn¡¯t too difficult for him to evade all of the guards.

    But there were just too many buildings in the Zhenyuan Merchant Group area. Zu An didn¡¯t aplish much even after searching for a while. He quickly stopped his vain efforts and instead hid in the shadows of a building. At the same time, he increased the range of the jade badge¡¯s effectiveness, controlling all of the small creatures in the Zhenyuan Merchant Group area and having them help him.

    Of course, with those little creatures¡¯ intelligence, it would definitely be extremely difficult for them to find a fiend race expert. However, Zu An didn¡¯t need them to understand anything; he just needed them for their instinctive feelings of fear.

    The other party was a master rank fiend race cultivator. The little creatures were, to a broader sense, also fiend race beings. It was just that they were low intelligence beasts. That was why real fiend race cultivators would exert a natural pressure on such little creatures. If the little creatures entered a certain range, they would feel extreme fear. Then, he would know where his target was.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The small creatures began to scurry around all the different buildings. The manor¡¯s guards were baffled, wondering what kind of strange things were happening. But they didn¡¯t pay it too much mind and just thought that the creatures were too hungry, and hade out to find some food.

    The process continued. After a stick of incense¡¯s time, Zu An finally found a result. He opened his eyes and looked at a building several hundred meters out. That ce was pitch ck, and none of the little creatures dared to approach that area. Even the cats and mice that passed by shuddered in fear.

    ¡°That¡¯s the one!¡± Zu An kicked off the ground. He silently took off like an owl.

    ¡­

    The entire courtyard was deadly still, but Zu An didn¡¯t dare drop his guard. He used Concubine Bai¡¯s spice bag to suppress his aura to the extreme, then used ¡®Mirror Mirage¡¯ topletely hide even the weakest ki fluctuations. Only then did he slowly approach.

    Even though the other party was a master rank cultivator, it wouldn¡¯t be the first time Zu An had faced a master rank. He had even fought against stronger opponents in the past.

    He was already at the peak of the ninth rank. Together with his arsenal of secret manuals and bizarre abilities, he wouldn¡¯t be at a disadvantage even if he really fought against a master rank one on one.

    He carefully examined his surroundings along the way, worrying that there might be other hidden guards. However, he didn¡¯t find a single one even after searching for a long time. He quickly calmed down when he realized that there was no point in having any guards there anyway. The other party was one of the fiend races¡¯ best cultivators. If there had been guards there, it might only expose his identity.

    As such, he quickened his pace and arrived at the center of the room. Suddenly, he heard some whispers.

    Huh? There¡¯s more than one person here. Zu An was surprised and immediately slowed down. He could still deal with it if it were just one fiend race master rank cultivator, but if there were several, that would be much more troublesome.

    But he still couldn''t suppress his own curiosity. Since there were people talking, he might be able to hear some secrets about Zuo Su¡¯s assassination, and he might even be able to undo Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s greatest enigma.

    As for the fact that there were more people present, with his current cultivation, he should at least be able to escape alive. There was no way there would be many master rank cultivators in there, right?

    He moved over to the window, then made a small hole to look through. There was no light inside, making the interior dark. However, with his cultivation, he could still barely make out the scene inside.

    There weren¡¯t any household objects, save for a single round table. The table was extremelyrge, more than ten times the size of an ordinary one.

    However, there weren¡¯t that many people seated there. There were only five people. They were all seated quite far from each other, as if they were on guard against each other. No wonder the table was sorge. Meanwhile, every single one of them was concealed by voluminous ck robes.

    Zu An thought, Those dramas from my world lied to me after all. The characters in those dramas would only have some masks that covered their faces or even just their eyes, at most wearing a pair of sses, but then no one else could recognize them. He had always thought that if he were there, he would definitely have recognized them.

    But Zu An was really stunned, because these people were disguised way too well! He couldn''t see their real appearance at all. He couldn''t even discern their sex! Look at how secretive these fes are. This is clearly an illegal gathering.

    While Zu An was mocking them, someone spoke up. ¡°Why was Zuo Su killed?¡±

 Chapter 1041: Encircled

    <h4>Chapter 1041: Encircled</h4>

    Zu An immediately focused his attention when he heard that. Looks like this trip was worth making after all.

    Unfortunately, the voice was a bit hoarse and strange, as if that person were intentionally altering his voice.

    ¡°Would any of you here be able to feel at ease if Zuo Su weren¡¯t dead?¡± The ck-robed individual sitting farthest out spoke up just then in a slightly mocking tone.

    Zu An frowned. He really couldn''t understand why these individuals would cover themselves up hat way, even modifying their voice. Don¡¯t tell me these people can''t even distinguish between each other here?

    But upon closer inspection, he still saw some differences. Even though they wore ck robes, the patterns on their sleeves and cors were different.

    The decorative designs on the one seated farthest away were white. The designs on the one to his left were orange, and the designs on the person to his left were red. The other two individuals¡¯ decorative designs were blue and yellow.

    What do these colors represent? Zu An wondered.

    But what made his expression be even more grave were those people¡¯s cultivations. Even though it was hard to determine their exact cultivations, there were at least two master rank cultivators, as well as two who were at the peak of the ninth rank. Even the weakest one was around the mid stage of the ninth rank. That was ignoring the fact that all of them had their own unique skills and abilities.

    Had all of Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s most powerful experts gathered today or something?

    Zu An thought sarcastically, I better not set up random gs here, or else I might just end up losing my life here.

    The room entered an awkward silence. It was clear that they were merely showing hypocritical concern toward Zuo Su¡¯s death. They didn¡¯t really care.

    A whileter, the yellow-patterned man who had his back to Zu An spoke out to smooth things over. ¡°Enough, enough. None of us wanted such a thing to happen. Right now, our highest priority should be to think about what we do now that Zuo Su has died. What do we do about the power vacuum in the Civil Affairs Manor?¡±

    The red-patterned man spoke. ¡°Hmph, Xu Yu has now taken control over the Civil Affairs Manor. The power vacuum has long been filled in already.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, Looks like Xu Yu wasn¡¯t with these guys after all. There was at least someone he could trust in Cloudcenter Commandery, at least for now.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. Xu Yu isn¡¯t someone too skilled at social interaction. He doesn¡¯t have many people directly under him either. He isn¡¯t too big of a threat to us,¡± the blue-patterned man said. His voice sounded aged, clearly not belonging to a youngster.

    The orange-patterned man also added, ¡°Xu Yu came from a poor background. He doesn¡¯t have any powers behind him, so there¡¯s no cause for worry.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. That person¡¯s posture was straight and upright, making him seem familiar. However, he couldn''t think of who that person was at all.

    The white-patterned man tapped on the table and said, ¡°Find a chance to try and rope in Xu Yu. It¡¯s best if we can make him one of us.¡±

    The blue-patterned man released a forced chuckle and said, ¡°That guy is smug and self-righteous. It¡¯s not as if we¡¯ve never tried to rope him in before, but unfortunately, it went right over his head.¡±

    ¡°That means the method was wrong. If he¡¯s human, he has a weakness. A more direct method might suit him more. For example, wasn¡¯t Zuo Su also stubborn at first? But in the end, he was convinced by us all the same.¡± The white-patterned man harrumphed.

    ¡°What you say makes sense. I¡¯ll think about it more,¡± The yellow-patterned man replied in a low muffled voice.

    ¡°Compared to roping in Xu Yu, there¡¯s another issue I¡¯m more concerned about.¡± The white-patterned man slowly rotated his body, as if he were looking at everyone present. ¡°Why was Zuo Su captured? Furthermore, the Imperial Envoy clearly didn¡¯t capture him for no reason. They also sent out men to capture some rted officials. Why does the Imperial Envoy know such detailed information?¡±

    After some hesitation, the yellow-patterned man said, ¡°The second inmand of the imperial envoy, Zu An, visited Zhenyuan Bank and fetched a chest someone else stored there previously. Soon afterward, Sang Hong decided to start arresting people. I fear something might have been recorded in that chest.¡±

    The others¡¯ attention turned to him when they heard that. The red-patterned man said sinisterly, ¡°So in the end, it was your people who leaked out this secret?¡±

    Zu An was rmed. He hadn¡¯t expected them to actually talk about him! It seemed this yellow patterned ck robed man was someone from the Zhenyuan Merchant Group. The question now was who. Judging from the current situation, even if he wasn¡¯t the leader, he was definitely one of the highest-ranked members of the merchant group.

    The yellow-patterned man waved his hand and said, ¡°Of course not. If it really had been us who leaked it out, why would I dare to say that here? That chest was something someone stored in our bank a while ago. Our bank¡¯s rules are that we never peek at our customers¡¯ belongings. That¡¯s why this ended up happening.¡±

    ¡°Who was the one who deposited that chest?¡± the orange-patterned man asked.

    ¡°I¡¯ve already sent someone to look into it. It was a little beggar who came to store it with us¡­¡± The yellow-patterned man was cut off by several people before he even finished his sentence.

    ¡°A beggar came to store something precious in your bank and you didn¡¯t even think of it as suspicious?¡± The others stared at him, clearly ming him for what had happened.

    The yellow-patterned man said with a forced smile, ¡°The things that are stored in our bank all more or less have some dark history. It¡¯s amon urrence to have some beggars help people store certain things. After all, we only care about the key, not the person who deposits the items.

    ¡°We¡¯ve looked into it these past two days, and we finally found out who that little beggar was. ording to the descriptions, the one who deposited that chest with us should be Chen Zhou.¡±

    ¡°Chen Zhou!¡± The others released hushed cries of rm. They clearly all knew the person.

    Chen Zhou was just an ordinary guard, and yet so many big shots knew about him. That was something unprecedented.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect him to have left behind this trump card!¡± The white-patterned man mmed the table. He suddenly added, surprised, ¡°The Imperial Envoy was carrying out a bunch of arrests yesterday; the rted individuals were all promptly dealt with. Which one of you did that?¡±

    The others were about to reply when a light suddenly appeared in the center of the round table.

    Zu An thought to himself, Not good!

    It had originally been a cloudy night with low visibility, making it an excellent day to remain undercover. But just then, for some reason, the clouds had ended up scattering, revealing the moon behind them.

    Moonlight scattered down. Zu An worried that his silhouette would be exposed by the window and instinctively crouched down. But everything had happened too suddenly, and he had forgotten that the hole he had secretly made in the window was still there. The moonlight was shining straight through that hole.

    The reason why the people there were acting all mysterious was precisely to avoid having their identities exposed. That was why even though they were already having a meeting indoors, there had been no lights, and they had remained in the darkness. How could they not know what had happened when they saw the streak of light?

    There¡¯s someone here!

    Zu An knew that he couldn''t continue hiding. He kicked off and tried to leave. However, a vicious streak of sword energy flew out, and the window and door instantly shattered into pieces. A flying sword had already begun homing in on his waist.

    ¡°Han Fengqiu!¡± Zu An had fought with that person before and immediately recognized the sword. He brandished his palm, striking the flying sword away. Then, he summoned Grandgale to instantly move arge distance.

    He could deal with a single master rank cultivator, but encountering two master ranks and so many other powerful cultivators together, together with the Zhenyuan Merchant Group¡¯s security that might arrive at any time, was a situation he had no choice but to flee from.

    He debated using the imperial edict to bring forth the emperor¡¯s power and obliterate the group. However, even though the emperor¡¯s imperial edict was powerful, it also took a long time to prepare.

    When he was being escorted to the capital by the Embroidered Envoy, the Embroidered Envoy Huang Huihong had died before he could even use his imperial edict.

    The people in the room were all experts among experts. They definitely wouldn¡¯t give Zu An the time to use the emperor¡¯s power.

    The trees in front of Zu An suddenly grew crazily, turning into thick brambles that rushed upward, blocking his path. He had no choice but to stop. There was a w in his instantaneous movement technique, which was that it couldn''t disregard spatial interruptions.

    The nts and flowers on the ground began to wrap around him. The leaves that were usually smooth and sleek were now full of spiky thorns, stabbing at Zu An¡¯s body. Under the moonlight¡¯s illumination, he could see that the thorns were gleaming blue. They were clearly poisonous.

    Unfortunately, Zu An¡¯s body was tough, and he was immune to poison anyway. He smashed straight through the thorns and charged through.

    Just then, a massive golden brick appeared right in front of him, above his head, mming down with the weight of a mountain. Anyone hit by the brick would be instantly crushed into a bloody paste.

    Zu An quickly evaded off to the side, but a pair of multicolored eyes suddenly appeared in front of him. His body instantly went rigid. It was probably the fiend race cultivator Kong Qing¡¯s work!

    Zu An immediately knew it was a spiritual attack. Pei You had most likely been controlled by the same skill before. Huh? Why is the power not as great as I imagined it to be? he thought. But he still didn¡¯t dare to treat it carelessly. He summoned Hundredwarble to retaliate.

    Meanwhile, the ck-robed person¡¯s eyes shone. He was about to use his power to destroy his target¡¯s mind when he suddenly sensed that the other person¡¯s body had also begun flickering with a multicolored glow.

    ¡°Huh? The lord¡¯s aura?¡± the man eximed. His momentary hesitation made it so that before he could even deliver the killing blow, the other party¡¯s Hundredwarble retaliation arrived. He couldn''t help but groan, cursing, ¡°This brat has no sense of honor!¡±

    The white-patterned man looked at him with a frown, clearly confused as to why he had failed. However, he didn¡¯t dare to dy his own attacks. His hands immediately rose upward.

    Zu An evaded off to the side after using Hundredwarble to retaliate. The giant golden brick instantly crashed down on his previous position. A massive rumbling noise echoed through the ce. All of the Zhenyuan Merchant Group¡¯s houses began to sway back and forth. The golden brick had smashed open a huge crater in the ground.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An was about to leave, but he found that the air around him had suddenly be incredibly cold. Ayer of frost instantly covered his entire body. In the blink of an eye, he was frozen in a block of ice.

 Chapter 1042: Completely Trapped

    <h4>Chapter 1042: Completely Trapped</h4>

    The other ck robed individuals all looked at that white patterned ck robed individual when they saw this scene. After all, everyone else¡¯s methods failed, yet he seeded as soon as he attacked.

    That white patterned ck robed man had his hands behind his back. There was immediately a feeling of proudness that surged within him.

    He was just about to say something when his expression changed a bit. He suddenly raised his head towards that frozen ice chunk.

    A trace of redness suddenly appeared from that entirely white chunk of ice. Then, that ice¡¯s surface began to crack. A zing me erupted from inside, instantly sting that ice to pieces. Then, it shot into the heavens, illuminating the dark night.

    Everyone¡¯s eyes were subconsciously drawn to those mes. However, soon afterwards, they discovered that there was no one within the mes.

    ¡°We were duped!¡±

    Those ck d individuals quickly lowered their heads. They saw that person¡¯s figure disappear around the bend of a distant corner.

    ¡°Chase after him! We cannot let this person escape!¡± The white patterned ck robed man said coldly.

    Their conversation earlier was way too important. Once news of it got out, the consequences would be too horrible to imagine.

    The others understood this and quickly chased after Zu An.

    ¡­

    Zu An ran with everything he had. Unfortunately, his pursuers never left his tail. Those two master rank cultivators in particr flew into the air to survey the entire scene, forcing him to hide his whereabouts with the buildings and preventing him from running crazily at full speed.

    The entire Zhenyuan Merchant Group was now starting to move. Countless guards rushed out from all directions in search of the intruder.

    In this type of situation, the jade badge¡¯s radar didn¡¯t really help much. There were guards everywhere, so it was useless even if he knew they wereing ahead of time.

    Zu An only managed to barely evade the first few waves of guard before he ran into a squad of guards head on. There were still those ck robed experts on his tail behind him.

    He knew that continuing like this wasn¡¯t a solution. He kicked off andnded on the second floor with a flip, charging straight through a window.

    ¡°Little Chan, what is happening outside? Why is it so loud?¡± There was steam everywhere, as well as the smell of petals. Turns out a youngdy was currently bathing here.

    She seemed to have heard the activity and stood up from inside the bath. She wiped herself down with a towel while looking outside.

    As a result, she just happened to stare straight into Zu An¡¯s eyes.

    Zu An was getting a huge headache too. How could he have expected this type of coincidence to happen? That a random room he ran into had a girl taking a bath inside?

    Huh? Why does this girl look a bit familiar?

    But without her clothes on, he couldn''t really recognize her.

    He didn¡¯t have time to think more about it either. If she screamed and drew the guards here, then he was done for.

    His toes tapped against the ground, and then he was already at the youngdy¡¯s side. He covered her mouth with his hand and said, ¡°Don¡¯t scream, I won¡¯t harm you.¡±

    Unfortunately, which girl would trust him in this type of situation?

    She began to struggle frantically.

    You have sessfully trolled Tang Tian¡¯er for +555 +555 +555¡­

    Zu An jumped in fright when he saw this name. He gave her a good look. Since she was taking a bath and her hair was draped over her shoulders, her appearance was a bit different from what he was used to, so he didn¡¯t recognize her immediately.

    Now that he examined her up close and saw her familiar brows and eyes, especially the charming dimple by her lips, he finally reacted. ¡°Miss Tang?¡±

    He quickly removed his mask. ¡°It¡¯s me!¡±

    ¡°Mmm!¡± Tang Tian¡¯er immediately widened her eyes when she saw who it was. However, she still subconsciously stopped her struggle.

    Seeing that she recognized him, Zu An felt a bit embarrassed. ¡°I identally barged in because I was trying to evade my pursuers. I didn¡¯t do it on purpose, I have to ask the miss for forgiveness. Please do not scream when I let go. If you agree, blink your eyes.¡±

    In his opinion, the other party ate his ¡®Pill of Alteration¡¯, so she probably wouldn¡¯t do anything rash.

    But how could he have known that the other party already knew that his pill was a fake?

    Tang Tian¡¯er gave him a wronged look, but she still blinked her eyes in the end.

    Zu An thus let go. Tang Tian¡¯er harrumphed angrily. ¡°Why are you here?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a really long story¡­¡± Zu An was about to exin when his eyes subconsciously scanned her body.

    Um¡­ maybe it¡¯s because she just took a bath, but her skin really is fair with a nice rosy tint.

    When he met her in the Hub of Freedom, the other party was dressed in a chinese dress. Her figure was absolutely enchanting. Only now did he realize that it was her who was beautiful, and not the clothes.

    Tang Tian¡¯er finally snapped out of her daze too. She lowered her head and saw that she was currently standing in her bathtub. Half of her body was already exposed above the water. She almost fainted on the spot.

    She subconsciously opened her mouth to scream, but she remembered something and quickly covered her own mouth.

    Zu An saw that she was about to scream and was about to stop her, but she ended up covering her own mouth. He immediately stopped and said, ¡°Thank you, young miss!¡±

    Tang Tian¡¯er immediately squatted down, immersing herself in the water again. Only her head was exposed above the water.

    ¡°Are you still going to stare?¡± Tang Tian¡¯er thought that she was really going to faint. Did I owe this guy in myst life or something? Why do I keep suffering because of him?! And it¡¯s always in the worst way possible!n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An subconsciously turned around. ¡°Thedy doesn¡¯t need to mind. I actually didn¡¯t see much just now.¡±

    Tang Tian¡¯er was speechless.

    Hello? Is that something a human with a conscience would say?

    You already freaking saw everything! Are you blind?!

    But with things how they were, she could only show that she ¡®trusts¡¯ what he said was the truth.

    She was taken advantage of, yet she still had to y along with his lies?

    What the hell is wrong with the world?!

    You have sessfully trolled Tang Tian¡¯er for +233 +233 +233¡­

    Suddenly, there was a knocking sound that came from outside. ¡°Young miss, young miss, there was a formidable thief who came into our merchant group. The guards are all searching for him right now. You should hurry and finish, or else you might be in dangerter.¡±

    ¡°I got it.¡± Tang Tian¡¯er rolled her eyes. She thought to herself, you¡¯re telling me way toote! I wanted to get out and change into my clothes, but that only allowed him to take advantage of me!

    Suddenly, there was a voice that sounded outside. ¡°Who is inside?¡±

    Zu An was rmed. This was Han Fengqiu¡¯s voice!

    Even though he didn¡¯t fear Han Fengqiu, he wasn¡¯t an opponent he could deal with quickly. If they started fighting and he brought over the other experts, he would have nowhere left to run.

    ¡°It is our young miss.¡± That maid was clearly the ¡®Little Chan¡¯ Tang Tain¡¯er mentioned before.

    ¡°We chased that thief all the way here. He disappeared near this ce, so we need to conduct a search.¡± Han Fengqiu said.

    ¡°You cannot, the first miss is currently bathing!¡± Little Chan immediately panicked. She spread her arms and blocked the entrance.

    The two people inside of the room were also shocked when they heard this. Zu An quickly said to Tang Tian¡¯er, ¡°I¡¯m going to leave first.¡±

    But suddenly, Tang Tian¡¯er grabbed his arm. ¡°Are there many people chasing you?¡±

    Zu An nodded. He began to quickly think about what he was going to do from now on.

    ¡°There are guards everywhere outside, where would you even go?¡± Tang Tian¡¯er bit her lips. ¡°Just hide over here, this is where it is the safest.¡±

    Zu An looked around him. ¡°What if hees in? I have nowhere to hide here.¡±

    There were some wardrobes and screens here, but if the other party really searched this ce thoroughly, these ces wouldn¡¯t be able to hide him at all.

    Tang Tian¡¯er shook her head. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. With me here, they wouldn¡¯t be able toe in.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He couldn''t help but give the other party a look. Judging from her tone, it sounded as if she was some incredible figure or something.

    Isn¡¯t she just the hostess of the Hub of Freedom?

    Why did shee all the way to Zhenyuan Merchant Group?

    What kind of a rtionship does she have with Zhenyuan Merchant Group?

    While he was thinking thee things inside, there were already sounds of dispute outside. Han Fengqiu clearly didn¡¯t want to back off here. ¡°Today¡¯s matter is too important. If we let that thief go, no one will be able to handle the consequences. I do not care who it is inside, I have to search this room!¡±

    ¡°No! Our young miss¡¯ status is special. She is bathing. How can we let stinky men like you all go in?¡± Little Chan stared angrily at the other party.

    The others came when they saw the disturbance here.

    ¡°What is going on?¡± The other ck robed individuals rushed over when they heard themotion.

    ¡°The thief disappeared around here. I want to search this room, but this maid won¡¯t let me.¡± Han Fengqiu looked at the yellow patterned ck robed man. ¡°This is your domain, so say something.¡±

    That person said with an awkward manner, ¡°It is one of my distinguished guests who is staying here. It wouldn¡¯t be too good to disturb her.¡±

    Zu An looked at Tang Tian¡¯er in shock. What the heck is this? Even that yellow patterned ck robed man was calling her a distinguished guest?

    But Tang Tian¡¯er was sitting in the bathtub with her arms wrapped around herself right now, looking really wronged. It was really hard to associate her with someone formidable.

    Another person spoke up. ¡°That person heard too many secrets, we must capture him. Furthermore, since the person inside is a distinguished guest of your merchant group, wouldn¡¯t it be bad if that thief sneaked in and harmed your guest?¡±

    That yellow patterned ck robed man hesitated a bit when he heard him say this. ¡°This¡­¡±

    Another member already pushed open the door. ¡°We¡¯ll take a look inside first.¡±

    Little Chan wanted to stop them, but unfortunately, just a bit of aura from these big shots was enough to prevent her from speaking. How could she possibly stop them?

 Chapter 1043: A Cat Has Nine Lives

    <h4>Chapter 1043: A Cat Has Nine Lives</h4>

    Apart from the white patterned ck robed man who continued to monitor the situation from the air, the other ck robed individuals quickly entered the room.

    But they immediately cried out in rm when they took just a few steps in.

    That yellow patterned ck robed man also saw Tang Tian¡¯er currently bathing. He closed the door in fright and gestured for the others to not go inside.

    ¡°Who let you all in?!¡± Tang Tian¡¯er screamed in fury. She wrapped her arms around her chest tightly, hiding her body underwater. Only her head was exposed as she stared at everyone.

    The yellow patterned ck robed man said with a forced smile, ¡°Young miss, there was a thief who heard too many secrets, so we have to find him. Furthermore, he is currently nearby, so it would be bad if he disturbed the young miss. It¡¯s not a bad idea for us to inspect this ce and make sure that it is safe.¡±

    Tang Tian¡¯er said with a sneer, ¡°I didn¡¯t see any thiefe in here and instead only saw you all.¡±

    The yellow patterned ck robed man replied, ¡°That person excels in stealth. We didn¡¯t even notice him at first. That is why the young miss must not be careless.¡±

    The others already didn¡¯t care about Tang Tian¡¯er at all. They quickly searched the room.

    The room wasn¡¯t toorge. With their cultivation, they quickly examined all of the different areas.

    They shook their heads towards each other, clearly not finding anything.

    Tang Tian¡¯er suddenly felt her body tremble slightly. Her face becamepletely red.

    The blue patterned ck robed man walked closer and said with a low and muffled voice. ¡°Why is your face so red? Why is your heart beating so fast?¡±

    With their cultivation, it wasn¡¯t difficult for them to hear Tang Tian¡¯er¡¯s heartbeat at all.

    ¡°I am taking a bath, yet you idiots barged in. How can my face not be red, how can my heart not be beating fast?!¡± Tang Tian¡¯er immediately screamed out.

    But who would¡¯ve thought that the blue patterned ck robed man didn¡¯t believe her. He instead walked closer to the bath and looked inside.

    But there was ayer of flower petals on the surface, so he couldn''t see inside.

    In order to smell better after their shower, nobledies would often bathe with flower petals sprinkled into the water. However, sprinkling so many of them was a bit too much.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Tang Tian¡¯er became nervous. She moved further and further inside the bath, the water already about to touch her lips.

    That blue patterned ck robed man wore a cloak and a mask. Tang Tian¡¯er couldn''t see the other party¡¯s real appearance at all.

    That blue patterned ck robed man didn¡¯t reply. He instead slowly reached out his hand, as if he was going to brush aside the flower petals.

    Tang Tian¡¯er said with a cold voice. ¡°Is that thief you are talking about male or female?¡±

    The blue patterned elder was stunned, clearly not expecting her to ask this. He subconsciously replied. ¡°Male.¡±

    Tang Tian¡¯er harrumphed. ¡°Then don¡¯t tell me that you think I¡¯ll be hiding a man in the waters with how I am right now, right?¡±

    The blue patterned ck robed man hesitated. This indeed didn¡¯t make sense.

    Tang Tian¡¯er then said, ¡°To me, it looks like you are trying to take advantage of me using this chance. How old are you, yet you are still full of lust? Disgusting!¡±

    The others looked at that blue patterned ck robed man with strange expressions too. This youngdy was currently taking a bath, the flower petals at least hid her body.

    But if there weren¡¯t any flower petals, with their powerful sight, wouldn¡¯t they see everything?

    ¡°Damn brat!¡± The blue patterned ck robed man immediately panicked. He definitely didn¡¯t want this type of reputation associated with him.

    The yellow patterned ck robed man stepped forward and blocked in front of the bathtub. ¡°We¡¯ve already searched this ce. Our top priority should be finding that thief. Let¡¯s not waste any more time here.¡±

    This was the territory of the Zhenyuan Merchant Group after all, so they had to give him at least this level of respect. They quickly walked out, and even the most unwilling blue patterned ck robed man didn¡¯t say anything else.

    ¡°We¡¯ve disturbed you.¡± That yellow patterned ck robed man nodded towards Tang Tian¡¯er, and then he helped her close the door behind him.

    Sounds of them leaving sounded soon afterwards. That maid called Little Chan ran over in in rm.

    ¡°Young miss, young miss, are you okay?¡±

    Tang Tian¡¯er gave her a furious look. ¡°How could I be okay when all those men came in?¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Little Chan was so shocked she began to stutter. ¡°Young miss, they¡­ they¡­¡±

    Tang Tian¡¯er said impatiently, ¡°What are you thinking? I was just a bit startled when so many people barged in while I was taking a bath.¡±

    Her face turned red as she talked more and more. ¡°Get out already and make sure no one elsees in! If anyone elsees in, I¡¯m going to sell you to Jasper Lane!¡±

    ¡°Ah, no, young miss!¡± Little Chan was scared badly.

    ¡°Why are you still standing there?¡± Tang Tian¡¯er shot her a look. If it wasn¡¯t because she heard the maid do her best to stop those individuals, she really might have punished her harshly after what just happened.

    Only when Little Chan went outside, did Tang Tian¡¯er lean backwards a bit. She lowered her head and said, ¡°You cane out now.¡±

    There was a ssh sound, and then Zu An came out from the water. He wiped the water from his face, and then said with his hands cupped, ¡°Thank you, young miss, for saving me.¡±

    Tang Tian¡¯er nudged her head to the side. Her voice was incredibly soft. ¡°If you really are thankful, then stop looking at me already.¡±

    Only now did Zu An react. His face couldn''t help but heat up. He quickly jumped out of the bath and turned around. ¡°Sorry!¡±

    He used his ki as he spoke. He had natural affinity with water by using Blue Mard, so there wasn¡¯t much water that actually touched his body. His clothes were soonpletely dry again.

    It was precisely because of the Blue Mard skill that his sight wasn¡¯t affected at all when he was hiding in the water. He saw everything he should and shouldn¡¯t see.

    The other party¡¯s skin really is fair! It was fair to the point where there wasn¡¯t even the slightest blemish.

    By her lower abdomen was a red design that was a bit like a me, but also like a flower. It was quite exquisite, unknown if it was naturally produced or if it was something imprinted there.

    That scene really was just too shocking. Even though he was always trying to keep it out of his mind, that scene still appeared in his head clearly.

    Sigh, she might just kill me if she knew what I was thinking, right?

    It would be embarrassing for everyone if he talked about it, so he only continued to remain silent.

    Water sshing and rustling noises sounded behind him. This was clearly Tang Tian¡¯er getting dressed.

    For the sake of hiding his awkwardness, he took out a pill and handed it backwards. ¡°This is for you.¡±

    ¡°What is this? Are you trying to feed me poison again?¡± Tang Tian¡¯er said angrily. She was still upset about how he forced her to eat that ¡®Pill of Alteration¡¯.

    ¡°It was my faultst time and I shouldn¡¯t have forced the young miss to ingest poison. I am indebted to you for disregarding your former hatred, so I am giving you the antidote.¡± Zu An said sincerely. The poison was fake, so this antidote was obviously fake too. It was just a normal nourishing medicine.

    However, in order to help the other party feel at ease, he had to give her this antidote.

    ¡°An antidote?¡± Tang Tian¡¯er adjusted her waist while looking at the pill with an ambiguous smile. This guy still doesn¡¯t know that I already know his Pill of Alteration is fake, huh?

    He still wants to trick me?!

    But she didn¡¯t expose him and just stored that pill away. ¡°I guess you at least have some conscience.¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An sighed in relief. When he turned around, he saw that she was dressed in a loose white robe. Since she had just taken a shower, her skin was fair with a rosy tint, her drenched hair casually draped over her shoulders. She really was as beautiful as a lotus flower.

    ¡°Are you still going to keep staring? Haven¡¯t you already seen enough?¡± Tang Tian¡¯er grumbled. She subconsciously tightened her clothes.

    Zu An coughed lightly and quickly changed the topic. ¡°Right, it looks like Zhenyuan Merchant Group¡¯s people respect you quite a bit. Just what kind of status do you really have?¡±

    He absolutely refused to believe that a normal Hub of Freedom hostess could receive this level of treatment.

    Tang Tian¡¯er replied, ¡°They treat me that way because Zhenyuan Merchant Group was started by my family.¡±

    Zu An: ¡°???¡±

    Even though he had his own suspicions, he never expected to hear this type of answer.

    ¡°Your family?¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡±

    Zu An needed a moment topletely digest this information. After all, he seemed to have heard the people here call first miss. Furthermore, that yellow patterned ck robed man¡¯s respect for her was definitely not faked.

    ¡°Then why in the world would you go to the Hub of Freedom to be a hostess?¡± This was what Zu An couldn''t understand the most.

    Tang Tian¡¯er harrumphed. She turned around, letting her dress twirl around her, and then she sat down in a confident manner. ¡°I hate managing my n¡¯s matters, so I like to travel and pretend to be all types of different people, experiencing what life is like for others. Aren¡¯t I amazing?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re pretty amazing.¡± But inside, Zu An thought, you don¡¯t want to live your life as a first miss, but instead want to be a servant somewhere else? Doesn¡¯t that mean that there¡¯s something wrong with your head?

    ¡°What about you? Why are you here?¡± Tang Tian¡¯er picked up some fruits that had been prepared beforehand and ate them. At the same time, she pushed the te of fruits towards Zu An. ¡°ording to what they were saying, you seem to have heard some secrets?¡±

    Zu An was obviously not in the mood to eat anything. After some hesitation, he still said, ¡°I was investigating a case. I received some intelligence that stated the killer might be in Zhenyuan Merchant Group, so I came for a look. I didn¡¯t expect to just happen to run into their meeting. Sure enough, the killer was among them, but there were just too many experts. That was why I had to remain hidden.¡±

    Tang Tian¡¯er smiled. ¡°They really are pretty formidable. The fact that you were able to keep your life under their joint search is quite the rare feat as well.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°You know who they are?¡±

 Chapter 1044: Poisonous

    <h4>Chapter 1044: Poisonous</h4>

    Tang Tian¡¯er shook her head and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t even pay attention to my n¡¯s matters, so I don¡¯t know who they are. But even if I did, of course I wouldn¡¯t tell you.¡±

    Zu An figured that made sense as well. He hadn¡¯t told her the truth when he was at Yi Commandery either. That was why he didn¡¯t pursue the matter either.

    Tang Tian¡¯er continued, ¡°However, I heard some rumors in the n, saying Sir Magistrate was colluding with the fiend races, that he was smuggling ki stones and restricted goods or something. Whether or not Sir Magistrate did those things is something I don¡¯t know about, but our Zhenyuan Merchant Group hasn¡¯t participated in that matter. I hope the young master can understand that.¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t participate in that?¡± Zu An had a strange expression. ¡°Then why did these people gather at the Zhenyuan Merchant Group headquarters? Furthermore, even the perpetrators involved were here.¡±

    Tang Tian¡¯er sighed and replied, ¡°The Zhenyuan Merchant Group wouldn¡¯t have been able to get to where we were today without relying on some people for their protection. That¡¯s an extremelymon arrangement.¡±

    Zu Anughed and said, ¡°For better or for worse, I¡¯m a member of the imperial envoy. Are you not scared that your merchant group will get into trouble if you tell me this?¡±

    Tang Tian¡¯er harrumphed and said, ¡°I trust that you¡¯re not the kind of person to forget favors and vite your authority.¡±

    Zu An remembered how she had helped him out. It would indeed not be too good for him to turn his back on her like that. When he remembered what had just happened, that shocking image reappeared in his mind. He felt his nose heat up.

    Tang Tian¡¯er was confused when she saw him stare at her belly with a strange expression. She asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Zu An¡¯s face heated up and he quickly changed the topic. ¡°Who was the yellow-patterned man who just came in?¡±

    Tang Tian¡¯er replied, ¡°He¡¯s one of my uncles. But as for who he is exactly, forgive me for not being able to tell you.¡±

    Zu An understood. However, he didn¡¯t fully believe what she had told him previously. ording to the conversation he had heard, he could tell that the Zhenyuan Merchant Group was clearly involved in this matter. After all, they were one of the parties in Cloudcenter Commandery who had the most to gain. They were definitely not innocent and pure white lotuses.

    Tang Tian¡¯er asked curiously, ¡°Right, where did you get your information from? That there was a perpetrator in our Zhenyuan Merchant Group?¡±

    ¡°I got the information from a friend. As for who he is, forgive me for not being able to tell you,¡± Zu An quickly replied the same way she had.

    ¡°Actually, I know who it was, even if you won¡¯t tell me.¡± Tang Tian¡¯er smiled. ¡°It was probably the Pegasus Merchant Group¡¯s people who leaked out the information. The Pegasus Merchant Group has always beenpeting with us over these years, trying to overtake us,mitting all manner of crimes. You might just find what you¡¯re looking for if you carry out a public investigation on them.¡±

    Zu An was surprised. He had been investigating Pegasus Merchant Group during the day, discovering that Cassia Moon Restaurant was supported by the Pegasus Merchant Group. Then, when he was investigating Rouge Spice, he had suddenly run into Qiu Honglei. Was that really just a coincidence?

    Suddenly, there was a mor outside. The two of them subconsciously looked outside. They could see arge expanse of dark red even through the window.

    ¡°Little Chan, what¡¯s happening?¡± Tang Tian¡¯er asked.

    The maid replied, ¡°Young miss, I think some parts of the merchant group area have caught on fire, and the mes are hard to control. Everyone is rushing out to put out the fire, and many guards seem to be heading in that direction too.¡±

    Tang Tian¡¯er harrumphed and replied, ¡°We¡¯ve had quite a bit of snowfall these past few days, and there¡¯s snow umted everywhere. How could it be that easy for a building to catch on fire, let alone for the mes to get so big? It¡¯s clearly someone causing trouble.¡±

    Zu An was shocked. He had almost forgotten that Qiu Honglei was still waiting for him outside while he was chatting leisurely inside. She probably saw that something happened inside and realized that I was being chased, so she started that fire to draw their attention.

    Zu An couldn''t sit still any longer when he thought of that. He quickly got up and said, ¡°Thank you, Lady Tang, for helping me out today. I¡¯ll repay this favor another day¡­¡±

    He was interrupted before he could finish his sentence. Tang Tian¡¯er leaned into her seat and looked at him with an ambiguous smile, asking, ¡°And how exactly do you n to repay me?¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He had always been the one teasing others, and yet today, he was instead the one being teased by this youngdy?

    But he reacted quickly too and immediately replied with a smile, ¡°A life saving grace naturally needs to be repaid with my entire body.¡±

    Tang Tian¡¯er harrumphed and said, ¡°Hmph, who wants something like that.¡± She frequently stayed in ces like the Hub of Freedom, so she obviously wouldn¡¯t get angry at that mild provocation.

    ¡°Is the person who started the fire yourpanion?¡± Tang Tian¡¯er looked in the direction of the mes. Zu An nodded. There was no need to hide it.

    ¡°Judging from how much of a rush you are in to leave, it seems yourpanion is a woman.¡± Tang Tian¡¯er narrowed her eyes a bit. Her smile seemed a bit dangerous.

    Zu An gave her a look and asked, ¡°Why is thedy so concerned with this matter? Could it be that you¡¯re jealous?¡±

    ¡°Hmph, why would I be jealous?¡± Tang Tian¡¯er waved her hand and said, ¡°Get out, get out. But you guys burned down so many buildings. That friend of yours has topensate me properly next time.¡±

    Zu An opened the window. Before he left, he turned around and said with a smile, ¡°Next time, I¡¯ll help you treat your injuries a few times.¡± He kicked off after saying that, and he quickly disappeared into the darkness.

    Tang Tian¡¯er¡¯s heart began to beat crazily when she heard the words ¡®treat your injuries¡¯. When she recalled that feeling when Zu An¡¯s strange ki had entered her, she really couldn''t help but want more.

    After her injuries had been treatedst time, their rtionship had be strangely closer. If it weren¡¯t because of that, how could she possibly have let him hide in her bathtub? Forget about hiding there, just the other party seeing her naked was something she would¡¯ve normally ordered an immediate painful execution for.

    ¡°Sigh, I feel like I¡¯ve been cheated somehow.¡± Tang Tian¡¯er covered her face. The more she thought about it, the more embarrassing it was. She grabbed the nket nearby and buried her head in it, then rolled back and forth in bed. Her two smooth legs kicked around in the air.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Qiu Honglei had been waiting anxiously outside the city walls. It was still alright at first, but as time went on, suddenly, she heard loud shoutinging out from inside. Then, a streak of fire had shot into the sky.

    She had seen the me de before when Zu An saved her in the Imperial Pce, so she was familiar with that fire.

    If such a bigmotion had broken out, Zu An had definitely run into some trouble. She had subconsciously thought about going in to help him, but she had immediately sensed terrifying ki fluctuations. The energies were all at least at the ninth rank, with some even at the master rank.

    As a candidate for the Devil Sect¡¯s Saintess, she naturally wasn¡¯t stupid. She quickly deduced that she wouldn¡¯t be able to offer much help even if she went over and would instead just cause more trouble for Zu An.

    She suddenly had another idea. She rushed over to the Zhenyuan Merchant Group¡¯s warehouse to start a fire. Any goods that would be stored in the merchant group¡¯s general headquarters were obviously precious.

    Such a ce would normally be heavily guarded, but after Zu An¡¯s disturbance, many of the guards had rushed over to encircle him. The guards around the warehouse had ended up having a gap in their defense. Together with Qiu Honglei¡¯s cultivation, defeating those individuals was easy.

    The only problem was the recent snowfall. Together with the various fire prevention measures installed, she had to use up a lot of effort to get a fire going. When she thought about how much time she had used up, she worried that something might have already happened on Zu An¡¯s side. As such, she didn¡¯t dare to leave and continued to start more fires, hoping to divert some attention that way.

    As time went on, a furious roar eximed, ¡°Who dares to do such a thing?!¡±

    A massive golden brick smashed down from the heavens in her direction. She felt as if her body had beenpletely locked down by the other party¡¯s aura. She didn¡¯t even know where to evade.

    She bit her red lips tightly and summoned a soft yellowntern above her head, forming a faint barrier of light.

    The iing brick seemed to freeze in midair when it made contact with the barrier. It continued to hum with noise, but it wasn¡¯t able to break through its defenses.

    The yellow-patterned man¡¯s expression changed. He eximed, ¡°The Little Empress Lantern?¡± The golden brick returned into his sleeves with a wave of his hand.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Even though the other party was masked, he had already recognized Qiu Honglei. He didn¡¯t dare to truly kill her. If anything happened to the Saintess and Yun Jianyue went on a rampage, he wouldn¡¯t be able to handle the consequences.

    Suddenly, a teasing voice called out, ¡°Tsk tsk, did your skills be rusty after being a businessman for so long? You can¡¯t even deal with a junior like this?¡± The blue-patterned man appeared on a nearby rooftop as soon as he spoke

    The yellow-patterned man cursed that person inwardly for being a fool. The other party wasn¡¯t someone from the world of warriors; he had never experienced the terror of Yun Jianyue¡¯s wrath. But he didn¡¯t bother exining and decided to let the other party have a taste of bitterness first, saying, ¡°Why don¡¯t you give it a try then, if you¡¯re so capable.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t mind if I do.¡± The blue-patterned man harrumphed. He reached out his hand, and the ground around Qiu Honglei began to quake. Then, massive tree roots tore out from underground. Large thorns covered their surface, quickly forming a prison of thistles and thorns.

    Qiu Honglei was rmed. She was confined again. Even though she did her best to avoid it, she was still pricked by the roots.

    An intense pain tore through her body, and she groaned. Then, she felt numbness and dizziness overtake her. Her expression changed as she eximed, ¡°It¡¯s poisonous!¡±

 Chapter 1045: Like Hell I Care Who You Are

    <h4>Chapter 1045: Like Hell I Care Who You Are</h4>

    A breeze brushed past just then, and the white-patterned man appeared in midair. The yellow-patterned man nced over to the side, but he didn¡¯t see anyone else arrive.

    The white-patterned man spoke up. ¡°That bastard has unknown origins; we don¡¯t know if he has more backup. Red Pattern¡¯s status is special, so I had him leave first. Orange Pattern doesn¡¯t want to get involved too deeply, so he left too.¡±

    The yellow-patterned man frowned. He wasn¡¯t surprised at all that the red-patterned man had left. Things would be really really troublesome if his identity ended up being exposed. But he was a bit peeved that the orange-patterned fellow had left. Why the hell had that guy left so quickly?

    The white-patterned man looked over the situation. He asked gloomily, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you attack that person?¡±

    ¡°That person seems to be Yun Jianyue¡¯s disciple, the Devil Sect¡¯s Saintess.¡± The yellow-patterned man only said a single sentence, but that was already enough to exin his misgivings.

    The white-patterned man also became quiet for a long time when he heard the. A whileter, he said, ¡°Today¡¯s matter is way too important. We have no idea where that bastard ran off to either. This woman was just here to distract us and is probably hisrade. We¡¯ll capture her to force that bastard out. We¡¯ll be fine as long as there¡¯s no danger to her life.¡±

    The yellow-patterned man hesitated and said, ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem too appropriate for us to harm her.¡±

    The martial world had rules.

    If the older generation fought with the older generation, or the juniors fought against other juniors, no one would say anything about victory or defeat. But if a senior targeted someone of the younger generation, it was definitely bullying. No matter how talented a junior was, there was no way they could be better than an old monster who had cultivated for decades, or even more than a century.

    The problem was that if one attacked another junior, one also had one¡¯s own juniors! The other party might just abandon all morals and attack one¡¯s juniors. On top of all of that, everyone in the martial world would approve of and support it.

    He could only say, ¡°Let¡¯s leave it to Blue Pattern then. It should be fine for him.¡±

    They always called each other their code names. They didn¡¯t know the others¡¯ true identities.

    Qiu Honglei was trapped within the prison of thorns. Furthermore, the prison was quickly getting smaller and smaller, making it so she couldn''t move around at all.

    The blue-patterned man smirked. He was about to say something when the woman raised hermp.

    She removed the cover, then blew gently. A wave of mes rushed out and the surrounding thistles and thorns were instantly set aze. The youngdy quickly broke free from the prison.

    The white-patterned man harrumphed. The others were clearly dissatisfied by theirrade¡¯s ipetence. How can you fail to even restrain a little girl?

    He raised his finger, and a streak of frigid light fired at the youngdy. The beam of light was so fast that only a few could even see it clearly. It was a shard of extremely thin ice.

    The yellow-patterned man knew full well that the shard of ice looked as if it might shatter on touch, but it was extremely powerful. If one were hit by the ice shard, one¡¯s ki flow would be ruthlessly interrupted, and one would be frozen solid.

    Of course, the attack wasn¡¯t lethal either. He was still holding back out of apprehension toward Yun Jianyue. Tsk, that guy sounded all smug earlier, but isn¡¯t he holding back too?

    Qiu Honglei had just freed herself from the prison of thorns. She was still poisoned, feeling extremely dizzy. How could she evade the attack of a master rank cultivator? I¡¯m done for! She felt her heart turnpletely cold when the streak of frigid light arrived in front of her. Her only thought, however, was about whether Zu An had managed to escape sessfully.

    However, the pain she expected never came. On the contrary, a clear and sharp sound rang out as the shard of ice was shattered to pieces. Meanwhile, she herself was taken up in a warm embrace.

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡± Qiu Honglei was shocked and overjoyed. She was extremely familiar with his scent and aura. She could recognize him even without opening her eyes.

    Zu An wrapped his arm around her waist and guarded her with his body, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t be scared; I¡¯m here.¡± At the same time, he sighed inwardly. Thank goodness I made it in time.

    The blue-patterned man roared withughter and said, ¡°Looks like they were together after all. We almost let you escape just now. It won¡¯t be so easy this time.¡±

    His palms moved as soon as he spoke. The trees and nts all around him began to rustle. Soon afterward, the leaves began to fall. They rotated rapidly, thenunched themselves at the pair of lovebirds.

    Some birds were alerted by the battle and took flight, ending up in the leaves¡¯ way. They instantly exploded into a st of bloody mist. Just then, every single leaf was like a sharp de. The leaves were everywhere in the sky, creating what resembled arge meat grinder.

    ¡°Please show restraint!¡± The yellow-patterned man was rmed. All of them would probably suffer bitterly if Yun Jianyue¡¯s disciple were chopped up into countless pieces. Unfortunately, those leaves were too fast. They appeared around the pair in a sh. It would be toote even if anyone wanted to interfere.

    Zu An released a cold snort and a loud phoenix cry resounded. A phoenix-shaped me surged, instantly setting the leaves aze. The blue-patterned man couldn''t control them anymore. Zu An took possession of the burning leaves, transforming into a ming meteor and charging forward.

    The yellow-patterned man had only nned to watch everything from the side and see what happened. How could he have expected that the other party would charge at him? He cursed and the golden brick quickly increased in size, smashing toward the other party.

    The white-patterned man in the air also saw the burning leaves surrounding the enemy. But all of a sudden, the leaves shot at him like burning feathers. He harrumphed and said, ¡°You overestimate your abilities.¡± He reached out his hand, and a small scale blizzard formed around him at once. All of the mes were extinguished.

    But he didn¡¯t have any time to feel proud of that. Instead, he voiced his rm. The enemy had disappeared without a trace!

    Goosebumps formed all over his body. He quickly summoned a blizzard to surround his entire body, as if to guard against any possible attacks. Unfortunately, though, the attack he anticipated never came. It was as if the other party had simply vanished into thin air.

    The yellow-patterned man and the others shared the same feeling. The golden brick looked as if it had hit its target, but he didn¡¯t feel as if he had hit anything at all. Such an empty feeling really was bizarre. He also thought that the enemy was using a feint, and immediately increased his vignce toward iing attacks.

    While the other two felt as if they were facing a great enemy, the blue-patterned man instead narrowed his eyes. He sensed broiling mes rushing at him. He quickly crossed his hands in front of his chest, and a massive shield appeared in front of him.

    Even though the shield was made of wood and was naturally countered by the fire element, his defensive skill was special. At the very least, it could hold on for a bit and buy him some time. By then, hispanions would be able toe to his aid. The three of them would then work together, and that would definitely be enough to kill the bastard.

    But when he looked around him out of the corners of his eyes, he saw that the other two also appeared to be facing the me user. He was rmed, eximing, ¡°Why are there three identical enemies?¡±

    Just then, a bloody mist exploded from his chest, and an intense pain came from his back. He knew he had been ambushed by the opponent.

    He didn¡¯t even have time to think about how the other party had gotten behind him. He quickly grabbed backward to seize the hand that thrust at his back. Countless vines tangled around the other party¡¯s body. At the same time, his vines¡¯ sharp thorns stabbed in, pouring their poison into that person.

    ¡°Is that all?¡± Zu An tilted his head a bit. He flexed his muscles, and the vines instantly broke apart inch by inch. Meanwhile, there were only some white spots on his skin. Those thorns couldn''t even prate his skin!n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The blue-patterned man was stunned. Meanwhile, the white and yellow-patterned men finally reacted, and both ughtered their way over.

    Zu An kicked off the ground, and instantly reappeared back at Qiu Hongei¡¯s side. His other hand gripped the blue-patterned elder¡¯s shoulder. He said coldly, ¡°Don¡¯t move, or else yourpanion here will pay the price.¡±

    He secretly rejoiced that the other master rank wasn¡¯t present. Han Fengqiu seemed to have left. Just now, he had used the Sunflower Phantasm to divide into three copies to attack the three at the same time. That was why they had been caught off guard.

    The white and yellow-patterned individuals stopped as expected, clearly second-guessing their actions.

    That blue-patterned man finally reacted and berated him, eximing, ¡°Damn brat, you better know what¡¯s best for you and let me go! Then, perhaps we can spare your life.¡±

    ¡°What if I don¡¯t let you go?¡± Zu An replied calmly.

    The elder roared withughter and said, ¡°Hmph, look how bold you are. With us here, we won¡¯t tolerate the existence of any other outstanding individuals in Cloudcenter Commandery. Do you know who I am¡­¡±

    Zu An¡¯s fingers tightened around the man¡¯s shoulder before he even finished his sentence. A wave of strength immediately erupted from his palm.

    Crack crack!

    ¡°Ahhhh!¡± The blue-patterned man screamed miserably. He had no idea just how many of his bones had just broken. All of his body¡¯s blood vessels were also a mess. Even if he retained his life, he might have to live the rest of his life as a cripple.

    He was shocked and furious. Never had he expected the other party to cross that line! ¡°You little bastard, you actually dare to treat me like this? I¡¯m going to have you chopped into a thous¡­ wurghfdiao¡­¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Yu Xuantao for +888 +888 +888¡­

    He roared at Zu An. Unfortunately, his jaw unhinged halfway through his sentence, so he couldn''t say what he wanted to say anymore. He could only mumble inaudibly.

    ¡°Like hell I care who you are!¡± Zu An eximed indifferently.

    This guy had almost taken advantage of Tang Tian¡¯er just now, and he had attacked Qiu Honglei so viciously. Zu An obviously wouldn¡¯t show him any mercy. He was also someone from the Yu n. As expected, the Yu n was up to no good.

 Chapter 1046: What a Fast Sword!

    <h4>Chapter 1046: What a Fast Sword!</h4>

    The white and yellow-patterned men exchanged a look. They both saw the shock in each other¡¯s eyes. They had never expected the other person to be so decisive!

    ¡°Do you know the repercussions of your actions?¡± the white-patterned man asked icily.

    ¡°The results are that you two can now talk to me properly without any worries.¡± Zu Anughed and shrugged with his hands.

    The white and yellow-patterned men were speechless.

    You have sessfully trolled Jian Taiding for +244 +244 +244¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Zhuang Hetong for +133 +133 +133¡­

    There is actually someone this arrogant in this world?

    Zu An almostughed out loud from joy. He had just been having a headache over the fact that he didn¡¯t know their identities because they were wrapped up in ck robes and masks. Now, their identities had beenpletely revealed!

    He hadn¡¯t expected the white patterned ck robed man to be Jian Taiding! As for Zhuang Hetong, he had to be someone from the Zhenyuan Merchant Group.

    ¡°You¡¯re courting death!¡± Jian Taiding finally couldn''t hold back anymore. He instantly closed the gap and arrived in front of Zu An. In his hand was a longsword. After being tricked just then, he didn¡¯t dare to face his opponent empty-handed.

    Zu An tossed Yu Xuantao toward Qiu Honglei¡¯s feet as if he were a sack of dirt and said, ¡°Help me keep an eye on him.¡± Then, he summoned the Tai¡¯e Sword and thrust it at his opponent.

    The two exchanged more than ten moves. Zu An discovered that no matter how he changed his attacks, the other party would always evade, as if he knew what Zu An was going to do beforehand. Then, he would swiftly counterattack. If not for the fact that Zu An¡¯s movement technique was ingenious, he might have already been done for.

    Don¡¯t tell me this is the master rank¡¯s so-called soul ability? Zu An knew that apart from being able to fly, master rank cultivators also cultivated the soul. When they fought, they almost all had foresight abilities. That was why actuallynding attacks on such cultivators was extremely difficult.

    Jian Taiding was no less shocked than Zu An at all. He could clearly sense that the other party¡¯s cultivation hadn¡¯t reached the master rank yet. Previously, he had almost always easily overwhelmed anyone who wasn¡¯t at the master rank yet. Sometimes, he didn¡¯t even have to really fight. Just his overwhelming power alone wouldpletely dominate his opponents.

    And yet, when he faced this opponent, not only had he not held back at all, he had even attacked with the intent to kill several times. However, the other party¡¯s bizarre movement technique always avoided it somehow.

    Where did this crazy demone from? Jian Taiding thought. He could sense that his opponent¡¯s movement technique was exquisite. He thought to himself, Your cultivation is beneath mine, so that¡¯s why you¡¯re resorting to these kinds of avoidance tactics.

    But who could have expected that when he fought against this opponent in close quarters, the surging and domineering force of the world he gathered, the power that should have been able to seriously injure his opponent, would instead be sucked into what felt like a ck hole, disappearing without a trace?

    When the other party retaliated, the counterattack¡¯s power was much stronger. Its berserk power was clearly the power Jian Taiding had just summoned, now returned to him.

    This guy can absorb my power and use it against me? Jian Taiding was sted by the counterattack¡¯s force until his blood and ki surged inside of him. Only after some time did he readjust his aura.

    ¡°Hmph, I want to see just how much you can absorb!¡± He didn¡¯t dare to fight against the other party in closebat anymore, and he returned to the sky once more. His hands slowly rose upward. The sword in his hands floated in front of him, then began to vibrate with noise. A wave of overwhelming power spread in all directions.

    Zhuang Hetong cursed inwardly. Are you trying topletely destroy our merchant group?! He quickly used his ki to protect the buildings and the merchant group¡¯s staff behind him.

    The air seemed to have be extremely cold. The snow that had previously already stopped seemed to have returned again, this time with frigid winds roaring. The cold winds and snow instantly merged together, forming two massive snowstorms. They rushed at Zu An, one from the left and one from the right.

    Roofs and tiles flew in all directions wherever the snowstorms went. Countless massive trees were crushed to pieces. Even the limestone floors of the merchant group¡¯s area were swept into the air.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zhuang Hetong controlled his golden brick to limit the st waves of the blizzards, not allowing the merchant group¡¯s area to suffer greater damage. Inwardly, however, he was confused.

    The attack was indeed extremely powerful, and it was normally used on the battlefield to deal with a huge army. Wherever it passed, an elite army of a thousand men would bepletely annihted. But there was only a single target, and that target¡¯s movement technique was brilliant. He could dodge quickly too. The attack might not necessarily evennd on him.

    However, his eyes quickly narrowed. He saw that the snowstorms appeared to be aimed at Zu An, but they were actually sweeping toward Qiu Honglei. He immediately realized Jian Taiding¡¯s real n. Since the target was good at evasion, Jian Taiding would attack a target he had to save to prevent him from escaping.

    Such a move really was a bit despicable. Forget about how Jian Taiding was bullying the weak as a senior, he was even using a junior as a hostage.

    But Zhuang Hetong also knew that the move was extremely useful. It was apletely overt plot that had pretty much no countery.

    However, if Qiu Honglei really were done in, wasn¡¯t Jian Taiding scared of Yun Jianyue¡¯s retaliation at all?

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An didn¡¯t have the leisure to think about all of those things. When he saw the target of the snowstorm was Qiu Honglei, there wasn¡¯t even a single ripple of emotion within him. All was fair in war; unscrupulous methods were unavoidable. Even though the other party was his enemy, he actually inwardly praised the brilliance of the move.

    Qiu Honglei also reacted to what was happening. She quickly raised the Little Empress Lantern to protect herself. However, the difference in cultivation between her and Jian Taiding was too great. There was no way it would be able to stop the iing blizzards.

    Zu An¡¯s figure flickered, and he instantly reappeared in front of her. He gripped his sword in both hands. With the sword as the fulcrum, a phoenix-shaped me surged, rushing at the vicious snowstorm.

    The snowstorm and me phoenix released a huge explosion when they met. The surrounding soldiers were knocked off bnce by the st waves. Even Zhuang Hetong found it a bit hard to hold on, continuously backing up to avoid the brunt of the st.

    All of the buildings within a radius of several zhang immediately came crashing down under the violent st waves. If it weren¡¯t because Zhuang Hetong had bitterly tried to protect the ce, close to half of Zhenyuan Merchant Group might have beenpletely destroyed by the attack.

    Zu An, who was at the very center of the explosion, was having an even harder time. After all, he wasn¡¯t a master rank, while Jian Taiding wasn¡¯t someone who had just reached the master rank. How could Jian Taiding¡¯s ultimate move be so easily neutralized?

    That me phoenix quickly grew smaller and smaller, eventually shrinking to just three feet in length. The cold and raw sword energy of the blizzard was already starting to leave behind countless scars on Zu An¡¯s body. However, Zu An still didn¡¯t take even a single step back. He stood firmly in front of Qiu Honglei.

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡± Tears reflected in Qiu Honglei¡¯s eyes. She wanted to help him, but she knew this wasn¡¯t a battle she could interfere with at all. As such, she kicked off the ground, bringing Yu Xuantao with her off to the side. As long as she evaded the attack, Ah Zu wouldn¡¯t have to face the enemy¡¯s ultimate move head-on anymore.

    Zu An sighed in relief. He was about to withdraw when a cold glint suddenly appeared in the blizzard, and Jian Taiding¡¯s longsword thrust out from within. The blizzard obstructed Zu An¡¯s vision, and by the time he saw the attack, it was already toote to evade.

    Spurt!

    The longsword instantly passed through the mes and stabbed into Zu An¡¯s chest.

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡± Qiu Honglei felt as if her eye sockets were splitting when she saw that. Unfortunately, she had just evaded and couldn''t save him.

    Jian Taiding eximed with a snort, ¡°Little bastard, you shouldn¡¯t live too arrogantly!¡±

    But halfway through his sentence, he was stunned. He noticed that there was no look of rm on the other party¡¯s face. Instead, the opponent only looked at him calmly. Furthermore, there was a slight grin on the corners of his lips, as if his n had seeded.

    Jian Taiding¡¯s soul was warning him crazily. The scene of a sword piercing through his body appeared in his mind. He quickly backed up, but the longsword was gripped tightly in the other party¡¯s hand. He couldn''t pull it out at all.

    This person is so seriously injured! Why doesn¡¯t it seem to have affected him at all? Jian Taiding was horrified. He couldn''t be bothered to think too much. He was about to retract his sword, but he suddenly felt a stinging pain in his head. It was as if he had seen a strange big bird charging at his head.

    ¡°Ahhhh!¡± Jian Taiding screamed miserably. Even though his mind didn¡¯t copse from the attack, in that split second, his mind went nk. He knew that something really bad was going to happen. He quickly shifted his body to the side.

    How could Zu An give up such a good chance? His sword shed out.

    Pfft!

    A white magical imprint flickered across Jian Taiding¡¯s body. Some kind of life-saving treasure had clearly been activated.

    But unfortunately, how could it stop Zu An¡¯s well prepared attack?! With a loud crack, Jian Taiding¡¯s magical artifact shattered to pieces.

    Then, arge burst of bloody mist spurted out from Jian Taiding¡¯s chest. The intense pain finally brought him to reality. He immediately used a secret skill to retreat several dozen zhang into the distance. He finished retreating backward faster than the first time he had ever finished in bed!

    There was a giant scar that ran all the way from his shoulder down to his waist. If it weren¡¯t for his life-saving treasure, he might have been cleaved in half.

    Zu An didn¡¯t stop in the slightest. His figure flickered, and he chased after the other party again. He wasn¡¯t going to let his advantage go!

    He was well aware that he wasn¡¯t a master rank cultivator. Even though he was strong, the other party could anticipate his attacks. Furthermore, the other party could just choose to fly through the air. That kind of situation would be much more difficult for Zu An to deal with. That was why he had deliberately left an ¡®opening¡¯, choosing to fight while trading wounds.

    After experiencing the Primordial Origin Sutra¡¯s reforging several times, his body was already incredibly tough. He had powerful regeneration abilities too. That was why the same level of injury wouldn¡¯t affect him too much, but that was definitely not the case for Jian Taiding!

 Chapter 1047: My Fate Is Mine Alone

    <h4>Chapter 1047: My Fate Is Mine Alone</h4>

    Zhuang Hetong was shocked. Just a second ago, his master rankpanion seemed to have been bullying a junior, seizing the absolute advantage.

    But why had the situationpletely reversed in just a split second? Furthermore, from the looks of it, the white-patterned man¡¯s life even seemed to be in danger!n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    He didn¡¯t have the time to think too much about those things. He sent his brick flying toward Zu An¡¯s back. He couldn''t just do nothing and watch hispanion die, could he?

    When he sensed the giant golden brick rushing towards his back, Zu An clenched his teeth and just faced it head on. However, he summoned his Blue Luan above Zhuang Hetong¡¯s head.

    The brick¡¯s power was extremely great. He could withstand a hit or two, but if it continued, even if Zu An didn¡¯t die, he would be seriously injured. That was why he had to seriously wound the other party within the shortest amount of time possible. Only then could he focus on dealing with Jian Taiding. Otherwise, he would be in danger if the two joined forces.

    Zhuang Hetong was brandishing his golden brick when he suddenly felt goosebumps cover his body. At that moment, he sensed the fear of death. He quickly brought back the golden brick. At the same time, he sent all kinds of magical treasures above his head to protect it.

    Endless prating sword ki fell from the sky, rushing down like a rain of arrows. It prated the defensive magical treasurespletely after just a few seconds. Arge amount of the sword ki stabbed into his body.

    ¡°Pfft!¡± Blood trickled out from all over Zhuang Hetong¡¯s body. Fortunately, the golden brick had already made it back in time and floated in front of him, blocking all of the remaining sword ki. Even so, he was still seriously injured. He staggered, then copsed. Several figures rushed out and pulled him back.

    Zu An saw it all through the corner of his eye, and recognized one of them to be Tang Tian¡¯er. After a moment of hesitation, he decided not to attack Zhuang Hetong anymore. He instead focused all of his strength on Jian Taiding.

    Jian Taiding clenched his teeth. His entire body erupted with white light. Then, ice and snow surrounded him, instantly covering his body inyers of thick ice. Usually, he used the move to freeze his enemies into ice sculptures. He had never expected that today, he would have to freeze himself as a protective measure! He felt incredibly sullen and rmed.

    You have sessfully trolled Jian Taiding for +777 +777 +777¡­

    Zu An¡¯s brow furrowed. It really was tricky now that Jian Taiding had shrunk back into his tortoiseshell.

    But he didn¡¯t dare to give him a chance to breathe. The Tai¡¯e Sword erupted with phoenix mes. Then, with a flick of his wrist, the sword rotated rapidly. It mmed into the frozen shell like a drill.

    Even after so many defensive measures, the ice that had originally been as tough as ck steel began to crack apart. The Tai¡¯e Sword pressed forward inch by inch.

    Jian Taiding¡¯s eyes narrowed. Why wasn¡¯t even his most powerful defensive skill enough to defend against the enemy¡¯s sword?! Normally, the mes of any fire element cultivator would be instantly destroyed the moment they made contact with his frigid ice. They wouldn¡¯t be able to injure him at all. And yet this sword was closing in bit by bit! Even though it was extremely slow, it would break through his defense eventually.

    He thought, Just what kind of crazy fire is this?! He couldn''t retreat at all at the moment. He could only continuously use his ki to strengthen his own defenses and see who would break down first.

    Unfortunately, the injury the sword had inflicted on him previously was too great. His flesh had been cleaved apart, and even his bones were visible. Several of his bones had been snapped by the sword ki, and even his internal organs had been seriously injured. His clothes were alreadypletely drenched in blood. Furthermore, because he was frantically using ki, blood continued to trickle out from his wounds.

    Any normal cultivator would have already perished from such a level of injury. However, as a master rank cultivator, the sturdiness of his body and his regeneration abilities were much stronger than those of others.

    But the regeneration speed of cultivators would always have a limit. They had to slowly recover in seclusion, and only after more than half a year would they be able to recover from such an injury. And yet he was still fighting, and with his life on the line no less. In that kind of situation, his regeneration speed might not even be able to keep up with the speed of his blood loss.

    He felt waves of dizziness. For the first time, he felt the threat of death.

    He was a glorious, newly risen duke of Cloudcenter Commandery, the great Commander-In-Chief of the Military Affairs Manor. He possessed all of the authority in the northwest. He was someone who could do almost anything he wanted in Cloudcenter Commandery! And yet he was actually going to die because of this mysterious bastard? Furthermore, the other person wasn¡¯t even at the master rank yet!

    He felt ashamed and perplexed when he thought about all those things. Was there something wrong with the world all of a sudden?

    But his survival instincts forced him to gather what little he had left of his ki to protect himself. Even so, as that fiery red drill got closer and closer, he finally felt despair. He tried to speak up to negotiate with the other party, to advise the other party to stop because of his identity. At the same time, he was willing to pay any price to preserve his life.

    But he was bing weaker and weaker. It was to the point that he didn¡¯t even have the strength to speak anymore. If he spoke, ki would leak out, and his defenses would copse. At that instant, the enemy¡¯s sword would pierce through his heart. What meaning would there be left in pleading for mercy at that point?

    Zu An was just about to send the sword in with ast spurt of strength when an ice crystal suddenly flew from the side, striking his Tai¡¯e Sword. Its speed was so fast, he couldn''t react to it at all.

    ng!

    The sharp sound of a collision, mixed with the vibrations of a sword, rang out. The others present all clutched their ears, feeling the ki and blood within them surge chaotically. The tough frozen shell around Jian Taiding was alsopletely shattered by the high-pitched frequency.

    Meanwhile, Zu An bore the brunt of the force, and almost lost his grip on his longsword. He was blown backward. He felt his insides surge chaotically, and only after spitting out a mouthful of blood did he feel a bit better. Since he hadn¡¯t let go of his sword, his fingers were also drenched in blood.

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡± Qiu Honglei quickly came to Zu An¡¯s side to check his injuries. She also held his hand, sending in her own ki to help him recover.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Zu An said reassuringly. With his body¡¯s toughness and regeneration ability, even though he was injured, there was no threat to his life. He turned to look at the roof, and he saw a white-robed woman there.

    The woman had beautiful features. Her skin was snow-white, and her lips scarlet. Her figure was wonderful, and even as she stood at the very tip of the roof, her posture was elegant.

    As her robes fluttered around, she almost looked as if she hade from beyond the secr world. There wasn¡¯t even a hint of worldliness about her, and just a single nce toward her could make one feel apologetic.

    Her sparkling jadeplexion didn¡¯t carry the slightest blemish, but her expression was a bit too cold. She gave off a natural feeling of pressure.

    ¡°Who is that woman?¡± Zu An was baffled. Judging from her aura, she seemed to be a grandmaster!

    Jian Taiding was clearly moved when he saw the woman. He eximed ¡°Senior sister!¡±

    ¡°Senior sister?¡± Zu An¡¯s expression became strange. This woman was actually Jian Taiding¡¯s senior sister? It seemed he was going to be done for today.

    He had already had to go all out against a master rank and a few others at the peak of the ninth rank. If a grandmaster joined the fray, like hell he was going to keep fighting.

    ¡°Shut up! You are making a fool out of yourself!¡± The daoist nun-like woman released a cold snort. She clearly didn¡¯t treat Jian Taiding with much importance. Jian Taiding lowered his head. There was a hint of resentment in his eyes, but he didn¡¯t dare to retort in the slightest.

    At the moment, Zu An felt an extremely strange sensation. The daoist nun actually gave him an extremely familiar feeling. It wasn¡¯t that she looked familiar, but rather that the auraing out of her made him feel a mysterious sense of familiarity and intimacy. He thought, What is wrong with me? Why am I getting this kind of feeling right now?

    Jian Taiding spoke up again. ¡°Senior sister, this person stole confidential intelligence from us. I must trouble senior sister to help me get rid of him.¡±

    The exceptionally beautiful daoist nun said indifferently, ¡°You are a powerful master rank cultivator, and yet you were almost killed by someone of a lower cultivation rank. Now, you are even asking for my help. Do you have no shame?¡±

    Jian Taiding¡¯s face heated up. He quickly said, ¡°I know that I have brought shame to our sect, but this matter is too important. If news gets out, the sect will also suffer irreparable damage. I hope senior sister can consider the greater situation.¡±

    Zu An was rmed. Don¡¯t tell me Jian Taiding has another huge power backing him up?

    The beautiful nun remained silent for a moment. Then, she turned to look at Zu An, saying, ¡°Youngster, I will only use one move. Whether you live or die will depend on the will of heaven.¡±

    Zu An felt a powerful aura locking down on him when she said that. All of his fine hairs immediately stood on end.

    What kind of a concept was that of a grandmaster rank cultivator? Even though she had said she would only use a single move, the move would definitely possess devastating power!

    But even so, he didn¡¯t feel any fear. He raised his hand in front of him and eximed with a loudugh, ¡°My fate is my own, and does not belong to the heavens. Old nun, it¡¯s still far too early for you to kill me.¡±

    No matter how powerful the other party was, they were still just a grandmaster. He had even stood his ground against an earth immortal in the past, and he had even met people who were on par with the emperor, if not even stronger. There was no way he would be that scared of a grandmaster.

    Furthermore, he had said that deliberately to anger his opponent and check her background.

    Sure enough, even the most aloof and otherworldly woman would be triggered by the title ¡®old nun¡¯.

    ¡°What an arrogant brat! All dao originates from nothingness and the natural; who in this world can im that fate belongs to themselves and not the heavens? Absolutely preposterous!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +122 +122 +122¡­

    Zu An frowned. Yan Xuehen? He had never heard of that name before. He had to ask Xiao Jianren about that nameter. That guy was always around the Embroidered Envoy database and should know something about it.

    Seeing that the daoist nun was about to attack, Qiu Honglei quickly spread her arms and stood in front of Zu An. She eximed, ¡°Sect Master Yan, you are a senior with virtue and prestige. How can you attack a junior?!¡±

 Chapter 1048: Heavens, Please Stop Messing With Me Already!

    <h4>Chapter 1048: Heavens, Please Stop Messing With Me Already!</h4>

    Zu An was stunned. He asked, ¡°You know who she is?¡±

    Qiu Honglei replied. ¡°She¡¯s the sect master of White Jade Sect, a senior among the martial arts circles, a legendary figure. Why would she attack juniors like us?¡± She intentionally raised her voice somewhat, almost as if she wanted all those present to hear it.

    Zu An was stupefied. The White Jade Sect? Then isn¡¯t she Chuyan¡¯s sect master?

    No wonder he had felt a bit strange when he fought against Jian Taiding before, and that mysteriously familiar aura had beening from that daoist nun. It was because it was simr to Chu Chuyan¡¯s aura! No wonder he had subconsciously felt a sense of intimacy.

    He had long since been wondering when the next time he could meet Chu Chuyan again would be. He had wanted to leave her sect master and seniors with a good impression the next time he met them.

    And yet, their first meeting had actually been in such a situation? Not only were they going to fight against each other, but he had even cursed her as an old nun? I really hope she isn¡¯t Chuyan¡¯s master. That way, there would at least still be hope.

    The beautiful daoist nun calmly said, ¡°Qiu Honglei? It is true that you are my junior, but this person has just won against my junior brother. His aura is exceptional. How can he possibly be my junior?¡±

    ¡°Why can¡¯t he be?¡± Qiu Honglei panicked. She quickly grabbed Zu An¡¯s arm, eximing, ¡°His age is around the same as mine, and he¡¯s my lover! Of course he¡¯s your junior!¡±

    ¡°Um¡­¡± When Zu An felt the warm feelinging from his arm, even though it was normally something he found extremelyfortable, he felt really awkward doing so in front of his wife¡¯s senior.

    Thank goodness I¡¯m wearing a mask so no one can recognize me¡­ he thought silently to himself.

    ¡°Oh?¡± The daoist nun named Yan Xuehen looked surprised. She gave Zu An another look and said, ¡°There was actually someone so outstanding in this world?¡±

    If he was around the same age as Qiu Honglei, wouldn¡¯t that make him around twenty years old? And yet, he had been able to beat up a master rank cultivator like a dog at the age of twenty? The disciple she was most proud of was already extremely formidable, butpared to him, she was still far off!

    But she quickly noticed something suspicious. She gave Qiu Honglei a look and asked, ¡°Are you not going to cultivate your Heavenly Devil¡¯s Temptation anymore?¡±

    Qiu Honglei blushed and said, ¡°Of course I am.¡±

    ¡°Then how can you still be in a romantic rtionship with a man?¡± Yan Xuehen seemed to be somewhat upset. ¡°Next year is supposed to be when the deciding match between you and Chuyan will be held. I do not wish for Chuyan to win against a cripple.¡±

    An explosion went off in Zu An¡¯s head. This woman was Chuyan¡¯s master after all! Like hell fate was his own to control; at that moment he was begging the heavens to stop messing with him.

    Qiu Honglei grabbed Zu An¡¯s arm and said, ¡°The master allowed me to leave to experience the ways of the world, then forget about my feelings. Only then can I reach the highest level of Heavenly Devil Temptation. If I didn¡¯t even experience the romance of the secr world, and yet imed to bepletely indifferent, wouldn¡¯t I be way too bold¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s brow furrowed slightly. This girl isn¡¯t trying to lecture me, is she?

    ¡°The Devil Sect¡¯s way of doing things is strange after all.¡± She harrumphed. ¡°Step aside; this is between him and me. Out of respect for your master, I will spare you your life.¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Qiu Honglei was like a hen protecting her chicks, standing right in front of Zu An. ¡°If you hurt him, you¡¯ll regret it!¡±

    This was a grandmaster they were facing! If they really fought, how could Ah Zu possibly stop her?

    ¡°I will regret it?¡± Yan Xuehenughed. She clearly didn¡¯t understand why she would feel any regret. But she wasn¡¯t the type to get too worked up. She didn¡¯t bother arguing.

    ¡°He is Chu¡­ mmm¡­¡± Qiu Honglei panicked. She couldn''t be bothered with the repercussions. She was just about to tell the other party about Zu An¡¯s rtionship with Chu Chuyan. As the other party¡¯s master, this is like a half son-inw of yours, so you probably won¡¯t attack then, right?

    But surprisingly, Zu An covered her mouth and stopped her from saying what she wanted to. He said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I can handle it.¡±

    Are you kidding me? Won¡¯t I be finished for good if this nun knows about my rtionship with Chuyan?

    Not only did I call her an old nun, I¡¯m even all lovey-dovey with another girl! Won¡¯t this grandmaster get so mad that she just rips me to shreds? Her actions would even be justifiable!

    Qiu Honglei blinked. She really couldn''t understand how Zu An was going to face a grandmaster. But since that was what Zu An had said, she chose to trust him.

    Zu An coughed lightly. He raised his head to look at the nun, saying, ¡°Senior, I feel the condition you offered for me to take a single hit is unfair.¡±

    ¡°Are you scared?¡± Yan Xuehen had a mocking sneer as she remarked, ¡°Were you not acting pretty confident just a moment ago?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m confident, but not stupid,¡± Zu An said calmly. ¡°Senior is a grandmaster, and furthermore a well-known figure in the martial world. You¡¯re facing a junior like me, and yet you¡¯re acting first. Isn¡¯t this a bit inappropriate?¡±

    Yan Xuehen remained silent for a moment. To be honest, if it weren¡¯t for Jian Taiding¡¯s request, she wouldn¡¯t have been willing to interfere with this matter at all. Attacking a junior was indeed inglorious.

    ¡°What do you want then?¡± Yan Xuehen looked at him coldly.

    Even though the situation was a bit disgraceful, a grandmaster¡¯s will was steady. There was no way she would be so easily swayed by a few words. She was definitely going to see this through! Still, she could listen to what he had to say first.

    Zu An then said, ¡°I think Sect Master Yan should first take an attack from me, to see if you can receive it.¡±

    ¡°Receive a move from you?¡± Yan Xuehen had a strange expression. It was almost as if she had heard some bad joke.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Could it be that Sect Master Yan is scared?¡± Zu An carefully examined the other party. He had to admit that the woman was indeed pretty. But why did a cultivator need to be so pretty anyway?

    ¡°There is no need for you to provoke me.¡± Yan Xuehen blinked gently and said, ¡°Fine, this one can take an attack from you if that will convince you.¡±

    Zu An was a bit hesitant and said, ¡°But this attack of mine takes a bit of time; if you attack me during the process¡­¡±

    ¡°Hmph, you have no need to worry about that. If I say I will take an attack from you, I will. I will not interrupt you before then.¡± Yan Xuehen had her own pride. She obviously wouldn¡¯t attack beforehand.

    Jian Taiding, who was off to the side, began panicking. He eximed, ¡°Senior sister, this brat is incredibly cunning! Don¡¯t fall for his tricks!¡±

    Yan Xuehen gave him an indifferent look and asked, ¡°Are you saying that I cannot receive a move from him?¡±

    Jian Taiding¡¯s breath stopped. Even though he felt that the mysterious intruder had tricks up his sleeves, no matter what he did, it wouldn¡¯t work against a grandmaster rank cultivator! His mouth opened, but he still didn¡¯t say anything else in the end.

    Yan Xuehen wasn¡¯t stupid either. She obviously knew that Zu An was ying some trick. However, due to her great strength she didn¡¯t need to think about such things at all. Regardless of what the other party did, she would just cut right through it with her sword.

    She turned around and looked at Zu An, saying, ¡°Make your move.¡±

    Zu An raised his sword, but then after performing two shes, he suddenly stopped. He asked, ¡°But what if sect master cannot handle this attack, thenes after me out of anger?¡±

    This is a grandmaster we¡¯re talking about! Things will be really troublesome if she bes dead set oning after me¡­

    Yan Xuehen was speechless.

    The others all had strange expressions on their faces. They had all been waiting to see what would happen already, and yet this brat kept stopping here and there, just refusing to do it. It really was annoying. Even Qiu Honglei felt that Zu An was ying with fire, let alone the others.

    ¡°Are you stalling for time?¡± Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression grew cold.

    ¡°I¡¯m not. But I have to be prepared just in case, right? I don¡¯t want to win against the sect master, but then have youe after me when this is over,¡± Zu An said with a bashful smile.

    Yan Xuehen harrumphed. This junior really overestimates his abilities. He actually vainly wishes to win against me?

    ¡°Do not worry; I am not the type who cannot take a loss. If I really lose, I definitely will not cause trouble for you.¡± She suddenly felt something wasn¡¯t right after she said that, so she added. ¡°However, you cannot continue to stall for time like this. You cannot use any despicable methods either.¡±

    Even though she didn¡¯t think the other party could win against her even if he used any despicable means, she still said so just in case. The brat was quite strange, and not even she felt she could see through him.

    ¡°The sect master must be joking. Your respected self is a goddess-like existence; how could I use despicable methods against you?¡± The other party was Chuyan¡¯s master after all, so Zu An wasn¡¯t too stingy with his praise.

    Yan Xuehen remained expressionless, but she still approved of those words inwardly. She said, ¡°Then just hurry and make your move.¡±

    Zu An nodded. Suddenly, a voice transmission from Tang Tian¡¯er reached his ears. ¡°Young master, can you really handle this? Should I help you out and plead for mercy?¡±

    There was a bit of worry on her face. With her knowledge and experience, she really couldn¡¯t understand how the other party could win against a powerful grandmaster. He was going to bepletely overwhelmed!

    She merely treated his tactics as stalling for time. She worried that he was already at his wit¡¯s end, which was why she couldn''t help but ask.

    Zu Anughed and secretly replied, ¡°Thedy really treats me well.¡±

    Tang Tian¡¯er harrumphed. What kind of situation are you already in? Yet you¡¯re still trying to take advantage of me?

    Zu An put away his smile and replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I can do it.¡± After saying that, he looked towards the roof where Yan Xuehen stood.

    Tang Tian¡¯er was stunned. Zu An¡¯s confident and free smile was infectious. It almost seemed as if he weren¡¯t facing a critical moment of life and death.

    No wonder even the Saintess of the Devil Sect admires him¡­ She gave the worried Qiu Honglei a look, then thought to herself, You better not die here.N?v(el)B\\jnn

 Chapter 1049: Did I Come at a Bad Time?

    <h4>Chapter 1049: Did I Come at a Bad Time?</h4>

    Zu An took out something from inside his clothes just then. Yan Xuehen didn¡¯t think too much of it.

    It waspletely natural for cultivators to have their own personal magic artifacts, such as Zhuang Hetong¡¯s golden brick. By refining it for oneself and engraving special runes, those magic artifacts would be able to disy great strength.

    But Zu An wasn¡¯t even at the master rank. Just then, both he and Jian Taiding had suffered from their battle. What could he possibly do even if he had a magic weapon?

    Just then, Zu An took out the yellow scroll. His expression grew solemn, and he chanted in a clear voice, ¡°I make a dedication to the heavens, epting its mandate. The emperor¡¯s imperial order states¡­¡±

    As his voice rang out, clouds began to gather in the skies above. A mysterious pressure began to vaguely gather.

    Yan Xuehen, Jian Taiding, Qiu Honglei, and Tang Tian¡¯er were stunned. The others present were speechless.

    There were quite a few of them who were experienced and knowledgeable. They obviously knew what an imperial decree was and just how terrifying its power was!

    When she felt the pressure grow stronger and stronger around her, Yan Xuehen subconsciously thought of stopping Zu An¡¯s incantation. However, she quickly remembered her promise to him just a moment before that she wouldn''t stop him. She finally knew why he had brought up so many conditions with her!

    If it had been anyone else, they might have immediately attacked, but she had always been someone who cared a lot about her identity and status. How could she do something as shameful as going back on her word?

    But she didn¡¯t have confidence in just standing there and taking on the emperor¡¯s full-powered attack either. As such, she kicked off, then quickly flew into the distance.

    Meanwhile, Jian Taiding and Yu Xuantao, who had been half beaten to death, were swept up by an icy storm, quickly vanishing into the distance.

    ¡°Damn brat, we can say you got me today!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +666 +666 +666¡­

    When he saw the other party disappear, Zu An put away the imperial decree again. He sighed inwardly in relief.

    He was thankful that Yan Xuehen came from a famous and prestigious sect, and that she was someone who honored her promises too. Otherwise, with her grandmaster rank cultivation, there was no way he would have been able to use the imperial decree. The imperial decree¡¯s ws were extremely obvious. Its power was unmatched, but the cast time was way too long.

    Even so, normally speaking, there would be the Imperial Envoy and guards protecting him while he read the imperial decree. In that kind of situation, he could just read it calmly. It didn¡¯t matter much even if there was a cast time. After all, the emperor hadn¡¯t thought he would use it in this kind of solitary situation either.

    Since the other party had run, there was no need for him to continue summoning the emperor¡¯s power. The thing was like a nuclear weapon; its threat was far greater than its actual use.

    ¡­

    Just then, in the Imperial Pce ten thousand li away, the emperor suddenly opened his eyes. He sensed that someone had been summoning his power, but it seemed to have been canceled. His expression grew dark. He called over Eunuch Wen and ordered, ¡°Go and investigate what exactly happened in Cloudcenter Commandery!¡±

    During the mission in Brightmoon City, Huang Huihong¡¯s group of Embroidered Envoys hadn¡¯t been able to use the imperial decree before they were killed. If something simr happened again, what dignity would the imperial court have left?

    ¡°Understood; this servant will go and investigate right now.¡± Eunuch Wen bowed respectfully when he sensed the other party¡¯s anger.

    The emperor waved his hand. He walked over to the window and looked toward the northwest, and his face darkened.

    ¡­

    Just then, in the Pce of Peace, the beautiful empress called in Eunuch Lu. She asked, ¡°Was there some strange disturbance in the world just now?¡±

    A hint of passion shed through Eunuch Lu¡¯s eyes when he saw her intoxicating curves. However, it quickly disappeared. He lowered his head and replied, ¡°Indeed; someone seemed to have summoned his majesty¡¯s power just now.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± The empress immediately straightened up. Her chest area was so full it looked as if her clothes were going to burst at a moment¡¯s notice. She mused, ¡°Could it be that something happened to Zu An?¡±

    Eunuch Lu was a little jealous. He replied. ¡°Zu An is someone crafty and quick-witted; his cultivation isn¡¯t bad either. Together with his identity as the Imperial Envoy, I don¡¯t think anything will happen to him. Furthermore, his majesty didn¡¯t do anything just now, so I don¡¯t believe the power was truly summoned over in Cloudcenter Commandery.¡±

    The empress sighed and said, ¡°I hope that¡¯s the case.¡±

    Eunuch Lu said enviously, ¡°Your highness seems to care a lot about that Zu An.¡±

    The empress caressed her long, gemstone-embedded fingernail covers. She harrumphed lightly and said, ¡°I¡¯m just worried that there won¡¯t be anyone to treat me if that fellow dies.

    ¡°This empress has spent this time cultivating, and yet even after cultivating for so long, the effects aren¡¯t even as good as a single night with him. It really is infuriating.¡±

    ¡°That guy¡¯s constitution is a bit too strange,¡± Eunuch Lu said. Even though he already knew about that, he still felt upset about it. However, he didn¡¯t show it on the surface and instead said considerately, ¡°Your highness, don¡¯t worry. Once hees back, this old servant will bring him over to treat your injuries.¡±

    ¡°Little Lu, look at how considerate you are.¡± The empress felt her teeth ache when she recalled what had happened thest time she sought Zu An out. ¡°He actually used all sorts of excuses to avoid me thest few times I sought him out! Could it be that this empress isn¡¯t pretty enough, that my status isn¡¯t great enough?¡±

    Eunuch Lu bent down and said with an apologetic smile, ¡°Your highness is worried about too much. You¡¯re the prettiest and most noble woman in the world.¡±

    The empress harrumphed and asked, ¡°Then tell me, why does he keep avoiding me?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s probably scared that his majesty will find out,¡± Eunuch Lu exined.

    The empress thought to herself for a moment. ¡°Then we¡¯ll find some nearby royal family property to stay in for a period of time, then call him over. That way, he can just go at it with leisure, right?¡±

    ¡°Your highness is wise and brilliant.¡± Eunuch Lu felt incredibly jealous, but his breathing quickened as he added,. ¡°If your highness leaves for a few days from time to time, it won¡¯t draw any attentionter even if you leave the pce.¡±

    The empress replied, ¡°It¡¯s still you who considers the bigger picture. I¡¯ll leave these matters for you to handle then.¡±

    She indeed rarely left the pce these years. That was why she had to make some preparations ahead of time.

    ¡°Understood. This servant will definitely take care of this matter.¡± Eunuch Lu slowly withdrew after a bow.

    ¡­

    Inside the Eastern Pce, Bi Linglong stood by her window, staring into the horizon in a daze.

    Her maid Rong Mo quickly brought over a woven wool cloak to cover her, eximing, ¡°Crown princess, it is so cold outside. Be careful, or else you might catch a cold!¡±

    Bi Linglong subconsciously asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t it even colder right now over in Cloudcenter Commandery?¡±

    Rong Mo¡¯s expression was strange. She asked, ¡°Is the crown princess worried about Sir Zu?¡±

    Bi Linglong was surprised; only then did she realize that she had spoken out of ce. However, she reacted quickly. Her expression quickly returned to normal as she said, ¡°Sir Zu represents our Eastern Pce, after all. It would be unfavorable for the crown prince if he failed his mission.¡±

    Rong Mo felt relieved when she heard that. She said, ¡°Crown princess, you don¡¯t need to worry too much. Sir Zu¡¯s cultivation is high, and he also has the Imperial Envoy with him. How could anything happen to him?¡±

    ¡°But I just sensed that something was happening in the sky¡­ Someone was using the imperial decree to summon his majesty¡¯s power, but it didn¡¯t end up going through.¡± Bi Linglong looked a bit worried and added, ¡°I wonder if they gave up on using it or if the enemy interrupted its usage.¡±

    ¡°The crown princess worries too much. Cloudcenter Commandery is part of the court¡¯s domain; who dares to do anything to the Imperial Envoy?¡± Rong Mo replied in constion.

    ¡°I hope that¡¯s the case.¡± Bi Linglong turned around and returned to her bed. She added, ¡°Right, gather some information from the Embroidered Envoy and Imperial Secretariat tomorrow. See if there are any new developments from Cloudcenter Commandery.¡±

    ¡°Understood. Crown princess, please get some rest.¡± Rong Mo helped Bi Linglong pull up her covers. After she withdrew, she thought to herself, Why do I suddenly feel like the crown princess is bigger than before? I¡¯ll have to find a chance to ask her about thatter. I want to make some progress too!

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Bi Linglong was tossing and turning in bed, unable to fall asleep. Zu An, that idiot. He didn¡¯t even send a single letter back after so long!

    Even though their status was sensitive, at least he could write a letter to the crown prince, right? He really is a dummy!

    ¡­

    ¡°Achoo!¡±

    Just then, at the Zhenyuan Merchant Grouppound, Zu An sneezed.

    ¡°Ah Zu, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Qiu Honglei quickly rushed over to support him.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. Maybe someone is thinking about me,¡± Zu An said with a chuckle.

    Qiu Honglei had a worried expression as she looked at his blood-soaked clothes. She replied, ¡°Your injuries are so serious; how can you be fine?¡± She took out some medicine and helped him take it.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Zu An couldn''t help but grab her hand. There was no way he would forget about how she had stood in front of him earlier with her life on the line.

    ¡°Why do we still need to say things like that between us?¡± Qiu Honglei smiled. Then, she carefully helped him bandage up his wounds. Even though she knew his body was special, when she saw that his stab wounds were already about to close, she still jumped in fright.

    ¡°Ahem!¡± Someone coughed lightly nearby.

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s entire body trembled. She quickly turned around and eximed, ¡°Master!¡±

    Zu An was rmed. He followed the source of the sound and saw a beautiful woman with hair that reached all the way down to her waist standing on a treetop. It was already deep into winter, so the trees werepletely bare. The branch she stood on was incredibly thin, to the extent that it would sway back and forth if even a bird were to rest on it. However, as she stood there, the branch didn¡¯t tremble in the slightest.

    With the moon hanging from the sky as an elegant background, she really looked as if she had arrived from the moon.

    ¡°Did Ie at a bad time, disturbing your lovey-dovey time?¡± Even though Yun Jianyue was smiling, there was a dangerous look in her eyes.

    ¡°Not at all¡­¡± Qiu Honglei jumped in fright. She quickly jumped away from Zu An and said, ¡°I just happened to run into Ah Zu.¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Yun Jianyue harrumphed. Then, her gazended on Zu An and she said, ¡°You know the method she cultivates, that she cannot let her emotions cloud her judgment. Why do you still insist on being around her?¡±

    ¡°Um¡­¡± For some reason, now that he was facing Yun Jianyue, Zu An didn¡¯t feel as scared as when he had faced Yan Xuehen. He said, ¡°We only carry feelings for each other and know where to draw the line; we aren¡¯t really tangled around each other.¡±

    Yun Jianyue knew that he was a mischievous person and didn¡¯t bother arguing with him about that. She looked into the distance and said, ¡°I seem to have sensed Yan Xuehen¡¯s aura. Where did she go?¡±

 Chapter 1050: Came at the Perfect Time

    <h4>Chapter 1050: Came at the Perfect Time</h4>

    ¡°Sect Master Yan left,¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°She left?¡± Yun Jianyue was a bit dissatisfied. ¡°Could it be that she knew I wasing? Is that why she ran so quickly?¡±

    Qiu Honglei said, ¡°Ah Zu took out the imperial decree just now and scared her away.¡±

    Yun Jianyue harrumphed. ¡°Hmph, just a trifling imperial decree was enough to scare that hag away? Just the incantation time alone would be enough for her to kill you dozens of times over.¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An chuckled in embarrassment. What she said was indeed the case. If a grandmaster really did insist on attacking him, he wouldn¡¯t have the time to finish the chant at all.

    Qiu Honglei exined, ¡°That was because Ah Zu was incredibly smart, making Sect Master Yan promise that she couldn¡¯t interfere ahead of time¡­¡± She gave her master a rough recount of what had happened.

    Yun Jianyue didn¡¯t approve of what she heard, saying, ¡°Great warriors need to be crafty as well. Only a wooden nk for a brain like her would agree to something so unreasonable.¡±

    Qiu Honglei had a strange expression as she said, ¡°Fortunately, Ah Zu was able to scare off Sect Master Yan. Otherwise, master is still injured, so you might not be able to win against her.¡±

    Yun Jianyue was speechless. She eximed, ¡°Stupid girl, do you have no loyalty toward your master at all?!¡±

    Qiu Honglei shrunk backward and muttered, ¡°I wasn¡¯t being serious¡­¡±

    Yun Jianyue grabbed her cor, then flew into the distance as if she were carrying a small chick. She said, ¡°Follow me back and cultivate well so you don¡¯t get beaten up by that woman¡¯s disciple next year.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He quickly shouted, ¡°Big Sis Yun, are you really going to just take her away like that? What about me?¡±

    Yun Jianyue harrumphed. ¡°Who¡¯s your big sis? I¡¯m going to let you go today because of Honglei. I¡¯m going to break your third leg if I see you hanging around her again in the future.¡± Her voice lingered in the air, but she had already vanished without a trace.

    Zu An was speechless. This woman really was fickle! That wasn¡¯t how she had treated him when they were back in the Imperial Pce at all.

    ¡­

    Off to the side, Tang Tian¡¯er was speechless. His rtionship with the Devil Sect Master is that good? He can even chat with her like that?

    Who was Yun Jianyue? She was a cold-blooded monster, infamous throughout the mountains and rivers! If she saw anyone she didn¡¯t find pleasant, she might just erase them from this world.

    Yet she actually said she¡¯d break Zu An¡¯s third leg¡­

    Why does this sound like a joke between friends?

    Just then, Zu An¡¯s figure rocked unsteadily. Even though his body was tough, his injuries weren¡¯t light. He was feeling quite weak at the moment too. Once Yun Jianyue left, he finally found it a bit hard to keep up his tough facade.

    ¡°Young master, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Tang Tian¡¯er asked as she ran over to support him.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. I just need a moment to catch my breath.¡± Zu An nodded toward her. At the same time, he looked behind her. He didn¡¯t see Zhuang Hetong there anymore.

    Tang Tian¡¯er also realized something. She pleaded weakly, ¡°Young master, can you let my uncle go as a favor to me?¡±

    Zu An had to admit that this woman really was naturally gifted inmunication. She had clearly already hidden Zhuang Hetong beforehand, so he wouldn¡¯t be able to find him even if he wanted to. Furthermore, he was in the Zhenyuan Merchant Grouppound. If there really were any more fighting, it was hard to say who woulde out on top.

    And yet, even in that situation, Tang Tian¡¯er still looked at him with that pleading look, giving him face. She really could hold the hearts of men within her palm.

    Zu An chuckled and replied, ¡°Miss Tang is too polite. You even saved me once earlier, so how can I not do you this favor?¡±

    Suddenly, a burst of densely packed footsteps rang out. Xu Yu and Gao Ying had rushed over with themandery¡¯s troops when they heard the activity.

    Tang Tian¡¯er quickly said, ¡°Young master, it¡¯s not convenient for me to show myself with my identity. I¡¯ll be leaving first.¡± She then quickly sprinted away.

    But after a few steps, she stopped and said with a voice as soft as a mosquito¡¯s buzz, ¡°Just now in that room¡­ If it had been anyone else, there¡¯s no way I would have saved them.¡± With reddened ears, she quickly ran away after saying that.

    Zu An couldn''t help butugh. This woman really was good at pushing her advantages. It was hard for others to tell if her words were real or fake, and yet no one would ever get upset at her over it.

    Xu Yu and the others quickly arrived with their troops. Xu Yu asked, ¡°What happened here? Arge me shot into the heavens just now, and there seemed to be powerful cultivators fighting as well.¡±

    Their expressions couldn''t help but change when they saw the scene that seemed as if it had just experienced a crazy storm. Eventually, their eyes fell onto Zu An.

    Zu An removed his mask and said, ¡°Sir Xu, Brother Gao, it¡¯s me.¡±

    ¡°Sir Zu?¡±

    ¡°Brother Zu!¡±

    Xu Yu and Gao Ying immediately walked over to support him to his feet.

    ¡°Brother Zu, how did you end up like this?¡± Gao Ying asked. Zu An opened his mouth to speak, but in the end, his head tilted to the side, and he fainted in Gao Ying¡¯s arms.

    Naturally, he hadn¡¯t really fainted. He just didn¡¯t want those from Cloudcenter Commandery to know the true state of his wounds.

    After all, he had just fought against a master rank cultivator and several ninth ranked experts. Not only had he seized total victory, he had even scared off a grandmaster! If he weren¡¯t injured in the slightest after all of that, that would be way too shocking. Furthermore, he had another n that was just starting to take form. He needed those ¡®injuries¡¯ to help him cover it up.

    ¡°Brother Zu!¡± Gao Ying obviously didn¡¯t know about all of that. He was rmed when he saw Zu An¡¯s condition and quickly fed him some medicine. At the same time, he had some men call over a physician.

    Xu Yu sealed off the area, then he detained some Zhenyuan Merchant Group members for interrogation.

    However, the battle just then was so intense that those from the merchant group had stayed far away to avoid the st waves. The experts who were aware of what was actually going on had already left in advance under Tang Tian¡¯er¡¯s guidance. That was why even after their questioning, the troops were only able to gain a rough idea of what had happened.

    When he heard that Zu An had fought against a few master rank experts, Xu Yu couldn''t help but be rmed. Even though Zu An¡¯s injuries were extremely severe, such battle aplishments were world-shocking!

    ¡­

    Two hourster, Zu An was brought back to the Imperial Envoy¡¯s temporary residence. Compared to the doctors of the Civil Affairs Manor, Gao Ying trusted the ones at the temporary residence more.

    When he learned of Zu An¡¯s critical condition, Sang Hong rushed over in rm. He was nowhere near as calm as he normally seemed.

    Zu An felt warm inside when he saw that. Looks like ever since that night, he really did start treating me as one of his own.

    When everyone else left, Zu An pretended to have be a bit more clear-headed. Sang Hong, Pei You, and the others quickly rushed over to check up on him, asking, ¡°How do you feel?¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t die. However, I might have to rest for a while,¡± Zu An said ¡®weakly¡¯.

    Sang Hong could no longer suppress his curiosity and urgently asked, ¡°Just what happened? Why did it all end up like this?¡±

    Zu An thus gave them a rough summary of what had just happened in the Zhenyuan Merchant Group area.

    ¡°Absolutely preposterous! Zuo Su was colluding with Jian Taiding after all. Not even death can wipe away their crimes!¡± Sang Hong was enraged. After all, Zuo Su was supposed to be someone from their own side, a capable helper who would assist in bringing down Jian Taiding. But now, they had discovered that all of Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s officials had long since colluded together!

    ¡°Jian Taiding is seriously injured right now. Is there a way to arrest him right now?¡± Zu An asked. He added regretfully, ¡°It¡¯s a pity that he got away just now.¡±

    Pei You said from off to the side, ¡°Brother Zu, you¡¯re just too crazy! You defeated a freaking master rank cultivator, and yet you¡¯re not bragging about it, but are instead sad that you weren¡¯t able to capture him?¡±

    ¡°It was just through a fluke,¡± Zu An said humbly. He didn¡¯t want to reveal too much of his strength.

    ¡°Even if it was just a fluke, that would be shocking in itself.¡± Sang Hong gave him aplicated look. I was still a bit hesitant over tacitly approving of his rtionship with my daughter and daughter-inw. Now, it seems it was definitely worth it.

    My grandson is going to have a man like this as his father! How blessed of a thing is that?

    Sang Hong quickly gathered his thoughts and continued, ¡°Ah Zu, there is no need for you to me yourself too much. Even if you captured Jian Taiding just now, we would have no way of convicting him. On the contrary, his trusted aides back in the Military Affairs Manor might take a risk out of desperation instead and make things even more unfavorable.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Zu An frowned.

    Sang Hong exined, ¡°We do not have any proof right now. The matter of colluding with the fiend races only mentioned Zuo Su. Jian Taiding¡¯s name was not there.

    ¡°Furthermore, the fact that they were the ones who killed Zuo Su is something only you alone heard in person. There is nothing we could do if they refused to admit it.

    ¡°That is, unless you can capture that fiend race master and all of the others together in one go. But with that fiend race master rank individual there, it would be too dangerous for you.¡±

    Zu An agreed with all of that. The reason why he had been able to seriously wound Jian Taiding was also because the other party hadn¡¯t expected his body to be so sturdy, nor had he expected that Zu An would choose to trade blow for blow.

    If that fiend race cultivator had been there as well, Zu An might have been the one who died. After all, the fiend race cultivator wasn¡¯t someone who cared much about virtue like Yan Xuehen. He would justpletely overwhelm Zu An.

    When he thought of that, Zu An couldn''t help but say, ¡°The White Jade Sect seems to be involved here too. With a grandmaster here, I fear this matter is beyond our power.¡±

    Sang Hong shook his head. ¡°In my opinion, White Jade Sect is a top-level sect in the martial world; they have always considered themselves upright. It is unlikely for them to have participated in this collusion with the fiend races. The reason why she interfered was most likely because Jian Taiding was one of their sect members.¡±

    Pei You couldn''t help but say, ¡°In that case, can we ask Sect Master Yan to clean up the actions of her own sect members?¡±

    Sang Hong looked at him as if he were stupid. He replied, ¡°How could it be that easy? The court has acted powerfully over the years, taking in most cultivators to use as national power. This has incurred the dissatisfaction of many sects. The smaller sects¡¯ eradication is one thing, but arge sect like White Jade Sect decided to seal off their mountain. They have already been dissatisfied with the court for a long time; why would they help us with anything, let alone to deal with one of their own members?

    ¡°Furthermore, if I am not mistaken, Jian Taiding must have offered up much wealth and many gifts to the sect. They will definitely keep him alive if it is within their power.¡±

    ¡°Then what do we do now?¡± Zu An was getting a bit of a headache.

    Sang Hong replied seriously, ¡°Have the Civil Affairs Manor order the arrest of the fiend race master Kong Qing immediately. Whether it is the Civil or Martial Affairs Manor, neither of them should have any reason to oppose that. Pei You, you are to lead your men to find the Yu n¡¯s Yu Xuantao. Hmph, we cannot do anything to Jian Taiding, but do you think we cannot do anything to Yu Xuantao?!¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± Pei You left excitedly. He thought to himself, This time, I should be able to finally meet the legendary Yu Yanluo, right?

    Zu An wasn¡¯t so optimistic. He said, ¡°Kong Qing is a powerful master rank cultivator. What will ordering his arrest do for us?¡±

    ¡°It is merely a stance to test the waters.¡± Sang Hong continued, ¡°Furthermore, I will contact the court with the recording mirror tomorrow morning and ask for reinforcements.¡±

    They had naturally brought recording mirrors on a mission as important as this. It was just that each use would consume a lot of materials, so they wouldn¡¯t use them unless they had to. It was already such an essential time.

    ¡°You should take care of yourself first. You do not have to worry about anything else.¡± Sang Hong left in a serious mood after speaking.

    Zu Any in his room, secretly transferring his primordial ki to mend his wounds. Even though his injuries weren¡¯t as serious as they looked, they definitely weren¡¯t light.

    However, he suddenly noticed something and opened his eyes. He saw a white-clothed woman standing quietly by the window, looking at him. Who else could it be but Yan Xuehen?!

 Chapter 1051: Free of Feelings

    <h4>Chapter 1051: Free of Feelings</h4>

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s white clothes fluttered. Her expression was cold, but unlike Chu Chuyan¡¯s cold eyes, there was an awe-imposing and dignified aura emanating from her expression. It was likely the prestige she had gained from managing a top level sect for so long.

    The temperature of the entire room dropped many degrees with her arrival. Zu An¡¯s first reaction was to think that Chu Chuyan had been pretty cold back then too, but her insides had been quite warm. He wondered if it was the same for this woman.

    That thought scared even Zu An himself. He quickly gathered his thoughts. He was thankful that there were no mind reading skills in this world. Otherwise, he would already be dead if the other party knew what he was thinking.

    ¡°There is something wrong with your expression.¡± Yan Xuehen gave Zu An an unhappy frown.

    ¡°Ahem, please pardon my current appearance, as I am still injured. I cannot get up to greet Sect Master Yan.¡± Zu An could only pretend to be weak to change the topic.

    The other party was visiting him in the dead of night. There was no way she was there to talk about romance with him. If she really hade to finish him off, his weak act would throw her off, and he would see if he could find a chance to get away.

    ¡°Sect Master Yan?¡± Yan Xuehen harrumphed. ¡°Considering your rtionship with Chuyan, is it not a bit inappropriate to call me Sect Master Yan?¡±

    Zu An felt his scalp go numb. It seemed he had been found out after all¡­ He could only test the waters and exim, ¡°Master?¡±

    Yan Xuehen was speechless. She retorted, ¡°Who the hell is your master? Stop trying to worm your way in!¡±

    Zu An said with a wronged expression, ¡°You are Chuyan¡¯s master. Chuyan and I are husband and wife, so what else would I call you if not master? I do not want to be someone who disrespects my master and betrays my ancestors!¡±

    Yan Xuehen frowned slightly. She felt the phrase ¡®disrespects my master and betrays my ancestors¡¯ sounded a bit strange, but she just treated it as her own misunderstanding. She didn¡¯t pursue the matter further. She asked, ¡°Since you have this level of a rtionship with Chuyan, why are you so intimate with that Devil Sect witch?¡±[1]n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An felt the situation was a huge pain in the ass. He had anticipated instances where he would be caught between the grudges of his girls, but never had he ever expected to be in such a hellish situation with his lovers¡¯ seniors.

    He could only say, ¡°I was captured by the court in the past and encountered a lot of danger. It was thanks to Lady Qiu who saved me with no regard for her life that I survived. That is something Chu Chuyan knows about as well.¡±

    What he was implying was, Even my wife knows about my rtionship with Qiu Honglei, so what is a master like you interfering for?

    Yan Xuehen was a bit unhappy. ¡°You canpletely repay the life-saving gratitudes of others through other means; did you need to give her your heart? Is it not only because she is pretty that your lustful desires were stirred?¡±

    Zu An replied with an upright expression, ¡°How can feelings between lovers be called lustful desires?¡±

    Yan Xuehen said indifferently, ¡°Look at how well you are twisting my words. I do not feel like arguing with you about these things. Either way, you and Chuyan have already divorced each other, so there will be no rtionship between the two of you in the future. You can be with that Devil Sect witch if you want, or if you want to, you can be with other women. None of it has anything to do with her anymore.¡±

    Zu An began to panic. He said, ¡°The only reason we had to divorce was because that was the only way to protect the Chu n! It was not because we no longer loved each other; our feelings still remain¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Yan Xuehen cut him off before he even finished his sentence. She asked, ¡°In that case, who would you choose between Chuyan and that Devil Sect witch?¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Zu An hesitated. He replied, ¡°Can I have them both?¡± Even though he could say some pretty nonsense to get by, it would only hurt them if news of this reached Qiu Honglei and Yun Jianyue¡¯s ears.

    Furthermore, judging from how Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue didn¡¯t seem to get along, probably¡­ No, she¡¯d definitely pass on his words to piss the other party off.

    Yan Xuehen was stunned.

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +444 +444 +444¡­

    How can this brat be so shameless? He dares to say something so disgraceful in front of my face?

    Her expression grew grim. She said, ¡°I never nned to let you two stay together anyway. That is why it does not matter even if you end up with that Devil Sect witch.¡±

    Zu An said with a frown, ¡°This is a personal matter between me and Chuyan. It is not something you as her master should be interfering with, right?¡±

    ¡°Of course I should,¡± Yan Xuehen said indifferently. ¡°I cultivate the daoist art of clear-mindedness. If she wants to reach the higher levels, she must let go of her worldly emotions. In that case, there will be less pain overall if she stops sooner rather thanter. If you really want the best thing for her, then you should let her go. True love should consider the bigger picture, and not your own selfish intentions.¡±

    Zu An waspletely speechless. What the hell is going on? Why does the Devil Sect¡¯s Heavenly Devil Temptation need the cultivator to remain chaste, and why does White Jade Sect need their cultivators to let go of all of their emotions?! They should all just cultivate the eunuchs¡¯ sunflower secret manual or something.

    He calmly looked at the other party and asked, ¡°Has Sect Master Yan ever experienced romance before?¡±

    Yan Xuehen was stunned. Her eyes swept over Zu An and she said, ¡°Of course not.¡± Her voice waspletely calm, as if she were saying something she didn¡¯t care about at all.

    ¡°Then if you have never experienced love, how can you say that you understand it?¡± Zu An sighed. ¡°Is the sect master¡¯s exnation not a bit too presumptuous? Things like ¡®love means letting go¡¯, ¡®think about the other person¡¯, those are all just fabricated words of endearment that fictional novels churned out to deceive youngdies.¡±

    A slight blush appeared on Yan Xuehen¡¯s fair cheeks. What she said really hade from one of those romance books.

    Her sect¡¯s technique needed her to let go of all emotions. However, she didn¡¯t know anything about feelings, let alone experiencing love! But she saw all men in the world as nothing. There was no way she would experience love with any of them by her own initiative.

    As such, she had thought of a different method. She had secretly purchased most of the romance novels on the market to research the love affairs of those other stupid men and women. Afterward, she thought that she could already understand what love was, and that she could now reach that indifferent ultimate state more easily.

    Among those stories, the one she had liked the most was ¡®Sweet Pampered Wife: Dominating Sword Immortal¡¯s Ny-Nine Days of Searching For Love¡¯. She had even lent it to Chu Chuyan for her to study and read during her leisure.

    But she obviously couldn''t admit to such things! She was so embarrassed from Zu An¡¯s inadvertent exposure that she really wanted to run away and hide in shame.

    Yet in the end, she was a grandmaster after all, so she quickly recovered herposure. ¡°I¡¯m not in the mood to discuss these things with you. I won¡¯t pursue the matter of you plotting against me earlier because of Chuyan.¡±

    Zu An replied with augh, ¡°Didn¡¯t make a proper agreement? What do you mean plotting against you? There were so many people who were witnesses back there!¡±

    Yan Xuehen sneered. ¡°Do you think I¡¯m stupid? Even though I¡¯m not as frivolous as that monster Yun Jianyue, I wouldn¡¯t be so inflexible as to be held back by a few words. Who would know I acted against you if I took your life right here? It¡¯s obviously because of Chuyan that I¡¯m holding back. You should know your ce.¡±

    Zu An frowned. However he knew that he couldn''t convince the other party, so he could only change the topic. He said, ¡°Right, I heard that White Jade Sect has always been an upright sect who considers themselves righteous. Why would you collude with the fiend races and help them smuggle military goods? Hasn¡¯t this harmed the lives of countless humans?¡±

    Yan Xuehen frowned slightly and said, ¡°Nonsense. When has our sect ever participated in these matters?¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that little junior brother of yours doing this? He colluded with Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s Magistrate Zuo Su and turned the entire Cloudcenter court into their own hub of benefits, colluding with the fiend races for their interests,¡± Zu An said coldly. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you didn''t know about any of this?¡±

    Yan Xuehen remained silent for a long time. Then, she slowly said, ¡°I rarely involve myself in matters of the world. I do not know too much about this matter. I will look into it when I return.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but sigh with relief when he learned that their sect wasn¡¯t the real mastermind behind the matter. After all, this was a glorious grandmaster who could take his life at a moment¡¯s notice. The fact that she had held herself back and exined that much was already quite a good result.

    ¡°Then I will have to trouble the sect master for that.¡± Zu An suddenly thought of something. He took out a set of makeup products he had bought from Rouge Spice earlier, saying, ¡°Please help me deliver these goods, sect master.¡±

    Yan Xuehen gave them a look and shook her head, replying, ¡°I do not use these things. There is no need for you to give me gifts to try to get on my good side.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. After some hesitation, he still said, ¡°I am hoping that the sect master can pass these onto Chuyan for me.¡±

    Yan Xuehen was shocked. Her expression sank. ¡°Just now, I already told you that Chuyan would have nothing to do with you anymore in the future, to not disturb her pursuit of the dao!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +233 +233 +233¡­

    She turned around and left with a huff after saying that. Only the faint fragrance that remained proved that she had been just a moment ago.

    Zu An wanted to cry when he saw the dazzling lineup of makeup products on the table. Should I have given her two sets instead? Maybe she would¡¯ve taken them then?

    Sigh, this Rouge Spice stuff really is unlucky. I tried to give it out as gifts to several people, but all of them refused me.

    ¡­

    The next morning, an Embroidered Envoy came to report, ¡°Sir Zu, I¡¯ve already finished investigating the things you asked me to look into yesterday.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the result?¡± Zu An, who had been meditating on his bed, opened his eyes.

    ¡°It was indeed as Sir Zu suspected,¡± the Embroidered Envoy replied.

    ¡°You¡¯ve worked hard.¡± Zu An had the Embroidered Envoy withdraw after speaking a few words of encouragement. He released a deep sigh and muttered, ¡°Turns out it was like this¡­¡±

    Then, he told the others at the temporary residence that he was going into seclusion, and to not bother him if it wasn¡¯t important. He had Daji dress up as him, while he himself changed into different clothes and left secretly.

    1. ¡°Disrespects my master and betrays my ancestors¡± here is actually a four character idiom. Zu An swapped out the word that means ¡®bully/disrespect¡¯ for a word that means ¡®ride¡¯, basically saying he isn¡¯t someone to f*ck his master and betray his ancestors. ?

 Chapter 1052: Invisible Hand

    <h4>Chapter 1052: Invisible Hand</h4>

    Zu An put on a mask to disguise himself as just a passerby, then left after changing his outfit. He avoided the eyes of the surrounding surveince.

    When he was just about to leave, he suddenly noticed that a youngdy with an outstanding figure was pacing back and forth by the entrance. The rippling waves that formed when she walked drew the eyes of everyone who passed by. Who else could it be but Pei Mianman?n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An quickly went over to bring her away. Pei Mianman was rmed when someone grabbed her hand, and a ck me surged from her hand. But that me went out soon after making contact with the other party¡¯s hand.

    She stared nkly for a moment, then realized something. She eximed with pleasant surprise, ¡°Ah Zu?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s me.¡± Zu An suppressed his voice as he brought her over to a nearby alley.

    There were some people who noticed the strange interaction and followed them, but Pei Mianman swept out her hand casually. A ck shadow surrounded those people, and they could no longer see anything. When everything returned to normal, Pei Mianman and Zu An were already nowhere to be seen.

    Were we attacked by ghosts or something?

    Those individuals were horrified and didn¡¯t dare to continue chasing the two.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Pei Mianman and Zu An were already walking along the main street. She couldn''t help but pinch Zu An¡¯s face, saying, ¡°It feels weird when you have that mask on.¡±

    Zu An removed the mask and chuckled, replying, ¡°I wore this because everyone is watching me carefully right now, so I have to at least do something to hide myself. By the way, why were you standing around our residence so early in the morning?¡±

    ¡°How could I do nothing after something so big happenedst night? I only learned you were involved the morning after. I heard you were seriously injured, so of course I had toe to visit you! But who would¡¯ve thought that the guards wouldn¡¯t let me in, and they wouldn¡¯t even deliver a message for me,¡± Pei Mianman said in annoyance. Then, she quickly grabbed Zu An¡¯s arm to check his body, asking, ¡°Where are your injuries? Why are you running around right now instead of properly nursing your injuries?¡±

    ¡°Some things happened back at the temporary residence, so the entire ce is on lockdown. No one is allowed toe in or leave. That¡¯s why you were stopped.¡± When he saw how nervous she was, Zu An felt warm inside. He added, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m fine. They¡¯re just some small injuries.¡±

    ¡°What small injuries? I heard that a sword was stabbed straight through your chest and that you couldn''t even move from your bed, that you were half dead!¡± Pei Mianman¡¯s eyes became misty. She said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to act tough anymore; just rest well and focus on recovering.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve already pretty much recovered.¡± Zu An pulled down his shirt to show her his chest, exining, ¡°I cultivate the Primordial Origin Sutra, which has powerful regeneration abilities. I even reforged my body several times over with primordial ki, so my body is harder than anyone else¡¯s. You should know that better than anyone else, right?¡±

    ¡°Hmph, you¡¯re so indecent.¡± Pei Mianman¡¯s charming face immediately flushed red. She looked even more tender and beautiful than before.

    However, when she examined his body herself, she saw that he really was more or less healed. She thus felt fully at ease. Still, she said, ¡°Even if your body is fine, your injuries haven¡¯t fully healed yet. Why are you leaving so early in the morning?¡±

    ¡°How could I have run into you if I hadn¡¯t left so early in the morning?¡± Zu An chuckled, then said, ¡°The reason I left today was to investigate a matter.¡±

    ¡°What kind of thing is it that¡¯s made you so anxious?¡± Pei Mianman eximed in rm.

    ¡°Someone warned me to be careful of the Pegasus Merchant Group before.¡± Zu An didn¡¯t bring up Tang Tian¡¯er¡¯s name. ¡°I had someone look into themst night after I came back. Rouge Spice is also owned by the Pegasus Merchant Group.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with that?¡± Pei Mianman didn¡¯t really pay much attention to the true owners of such stores. She didn¡¯t understand what Zu An was saying.

    ¡°In these past few days, apart from visiting the Pei n, Zhao Zhi has barely been to any other ces. He only buys some gifts from certain stores, so I visited those stores to see if there was anything wrong with them. I suspected he might have met up with some people there,¡± Zu An exined. ¡°But after looking into them, I discovered that all of those shops had amon trait, which is that they¡¯re all owned by Pegasus Merchant Group!¡±

    Pei Mianman also sensed that something was off. She eximed, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me King Qi is colluding with Pegasus Merchant Group?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know for certain either.¡± Zu An felt a huge headache. Han Fengqiu had appeared in the Zhenyuan Merchant Grouppound the previous night too. Didn¡¯t that mean he should be with Zhenyuan Merchant Group? He said, ¡°That¡¯s why I n to look around the Pegasus Merchant Group.¡±

    There was another reason he hadn¡¯t mentioned. When he had investigated Rouge Spice, he had been taken to the Zhenyuan Merchant Group by Qiu Honglei. Was that a coincidence, or was there a different reason for that?

    ¡°That¡¯s something worth looking into.¡± Pei Mianman¡¯s eyes lit up. She asked, ¡°Do you know where the Pegasus Merchant Group is?¡±

    ¡°No idea. I was just about to ask around. It shouldn¡¯t be too hard to find, right?¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to ask anyone! I¡¯ll take you there.¡± Pei Mianman was a local after all. Furthermore, the Pegasus Merchant Group was also a top merchant group in Cloudcenter Commandery, so its existence was no secret.

    Zu An obviously wouldn¡¯t refuse such a pretty tour guide. Under her guidance, the two quickly arrived at the Pegasus Merchant Group¡¯s location.

    The Zhenyuan Merchant Group¡¯s style was a bit more reserved, while the Pegasus Merchant Group went all out on their decorations, with gold and jade everywhere. It looked even more imposing in style and conveyed a strong sense of a nouveau-riche upstart.

    The two of them found a distant wall and secretly climbed over. The further in they went, however, the more Pei Mianman¡¯s expression changed. She eximed, ¡°It¡¯s just a merchant group; why is the security so tight?!¡±

    Zu An said in a lowered voice, ¡°Looks like there¡¯s something wrong with this ce after all.¡±

    Compared to the previous night¡¯s Zhenyuan Merchant Group, the security wasn¡¯t inferior at all. The two remained extremely careful. Fortunately, Zu An had the jade badge to scout around him. Pei Mianman was one of the best among her generation too, so they avoided all of the security along the way.

    They were about to enter the area where strategic locations like the study were located when suddenly, Zu An felt something. He quickly grabbed Pei Mianman and hid behind a nearby rock garden.

    The opening behind the rock garden was extremely narrow. They had to be pressed up tightly against each other to fit.

    Pei Mianman¡¯s face turned a bit red. However, she didn¡¯t get embarrassed, but instead felt the situation was thrilling. She wrapped her arm around Zu An¡¯s neck and got on her tiptoes, giving him a kiss.

    Zu An felt a soft sensation near his chest. When he saw the naughty expression in the other party¡¯s eyes, he couldn''t help but admit that this woman really was a vixen.

    Several people slowly walked out from around the corner just then.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect Zhenyuan Merchant Group to have White Jade Sect behind them. Things are troublesome now; that hag Yan Xuehen isn¡¯t easy to deal with.¡±

    ¡°Boss Zhang, please don¡¯t worry too much. Yan Xuehen rarely pays attention to worldly matters, so she probably won¡¯t get involved. Furthermore, even if she did, we would have our sect master to deal with her.¡±

    Zu An was startled. He quietly looked out and saw the two middle-aged men in front. One of them was dressed in blue robes and had a stalwart build, his eyes flickering with brilliance. His gait was steady and powerful, giving him the air of a formidable figure.

    Pei Mianman told him through voice transmission, ¡°That man is the Pegasus Merchant Group¡¯s Boss Zhang Che. He¡¯s visited my father often over the years to give us presents. I¡¯ve met him before and have some impression of him.¡±

    ¡°Zhang Che?¡± Zu An had heard a bit about someone with that name. With the Pegasus Merchant Group behind him, he was a big yer in Cloudcenter Commandery as well.

    Pei Mianman voiced her surprise. ¡°Why is that guy here too?¡±

    Her surprise was, however, no surprise to Zu An. There was a big fatty at Zhang Che¡¯s side. He looked like a local wealthyndlord, with a golden abacus in hand. If he hadn¡¯t known that person, Zu An would have thought he was Pegasus Merchant Group¡¯s boss.

    Zu An had met that person before on his way to the capital from Brightmoon City. He was one of the Devil Sect¡¯s Solitary Eight, Solitary Metal! Pei Mianman had seen him back then too, which was why she was so puzzled.

    Zu An¡¯s mood turned serious. As expected, Pegasus Merchant Group had ties with the Devil Sect! Looks like Qiu Honglei really did appear in Rouge Spice to draw me away.

    He suddenly remembered what Qiu Honglei had said before, asking if he would get mad if he found out that she had lied to him. This was probably the matter she had been talking about.

    ¡°Turns out she was the one looking out for me.¡± Zu An recalled how Qiu Honglei had frantically tried to protect him the previous day and sighed. She probably didn¡¯t know there would be so many experts gathered over there.

    Zhang Che and Solitary Metal had already left. Pei Mianman noticed Zu An¡¯s paleplexion and asked out of concern, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Zu An let go of those thoughts. It was easy to see whether Qiu Honglei¡¯s feelings for him were real or fake. Why did he need to feel bad about such things?

    ¡°Who was that Yan Xuehen they mentioned earlier?¡± Pei Mianman became curious again when she saw that he was fine.

    ¡°White Jade Sect¡¯s Sect Master. She¡¯s also Chuyan¡¯s master,¡± Zu An casually replied.

    ¡°Ah? She was that grandmaster fromst night?¡± Pei Mianman jumped in fright. She wasn¡¯t all that surprised by the woman¡¯s cultivation, but rather that she was Chu Chuyan¡¯s master. She bit her lips when she thought of that and asked guiltily, ¡°What if she knows about the two of us? Will she act in Chuyan¡¯s ce?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a possibility.¡± Zu An thought back to the previous night when the other party hade to talk to him about Qiu Honglei. If she knew about his rtionship with Pei Mianman too¡­ Ugh, just the thought alone is scary¡­

    They had already gotten the information they needed, so Zu An and Pei Mianman left the Pegasus Merchant Group.

    ¡­

    After hearing about the matter of Yan Xuehen, Pei Mianman didn¡¯t have much interest in much else. She looked preupied with something. She wasn¡¯t even in the mood to go for a stroll with Zu An anymore. The two of them went their separate ways after they chatted for a while longer.

    Zu An¡¯s mood was also heavy, because he felt as if he had just gotten himself trapped in a huge. It was as if there were an invisible hand guiding him to do certain things.

    But even after spending a long time thinking about it, he just couldn''t figure out where the problemy. He could only return to the temporary official residence for the time being.

    ¡­

    When he got back, the entire residence was surrounded byyers of security.

    The soldiers present were all tough with fierce expressions, their auras suffused with killing intent. They were all battle-hardened warriors. They weren¡¯t the Civil Affairs Manor¡¯s troops, but rather the Military Affairs Manor¡¯s field army!

    Zu An¡¯s expression darkened. Don¡¯t tell me Jian Taiding is taking desperate measures and ns to rebel?

    After looking around for a while, though, he rejected that suspicion. The soldiers seemed to only n on surrounding the temporary residence. They didn¡¯t have any intentions of barging in.

    When he got inside again, he just happened to hear a knock on his door. A voice called out, ¡°Ah Zu, I do not want to disturb your rest either, but there is a serious matter that needs to be discussed!¡±

    Zu An recalled Daji, then went over to open the door.

    ¡°Jian Taiding has moved his troops. The current situation does not look good.¡± Sang Hong didn¡¯t even have time for normal greetings and immediately cut to the chase when he saw Zu An.

 Chapter 1053: Flipping the Table

    <h4>Chapter 1053: Flipping the Table</h4>

    Zu An walked over to the window and looked outside, remarking, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me Jian Taiding really is nning to rebel?¡±

    ¡°That is unlikely. He is not that stupid.¡± Sang Hong also approached the window. He looked at theyers of troops surrounding them and said, ¡°The Military Affairs Manor sent their troops topletely surround our residence. The excuse they are using is that Cloudcenter Commandery has experienced too many instances of violence recently, so they are worried that there might be danger to the Imperial Envoy. That is why they sent their troops over to protect us.

    ¡°But everyone knows that this so-called protection is actually just house arrest, to strictly monitor everyone who enters and exits this ce.

    ¡°Being locked down like this robs our Imperial Envoy of any prestige we have left. Furthermore, we cannot do a single thing now.¡± Sang Hong¡¯s voice was full of anger. ¡°I voiced my doubts, but those troops¡¯ leaders all replied withplete ignorance, saying that they were only obeying their superiors¡¯ orders. I asked to meet with their superiors, but then they told me that Jian Taiding has entered secluded cultivation.¡±

    ¡°What secluded cultivation? He¡¯s clearly nursing his injuries.¡± Zu An harrumphed.

    ¡°We know that, but what else can we do if they y these kinds of tricks?¡± Sang Hong replied with a bitter smile.

    ¡°Then are we just going to let them keep this up?¡± Zu An asked with a frown.

    ¡°This is not necessarily a bad thing, because this kind of damned decision goespletely against the rules. I have already contacted the court, and his majesty will pass down the order to King Yan, to have him lead his troops here to prepare against anything unexpected.¡± Sang Hong looked toward Yi Commandery. ¡°Since Jian Taiding is unwilling to have aplete falling out, we will just wait patiently until King Yan¡¯s army arrives. The situation is now against them.¡±

    He had personally reported the entire sequence of events to the emperor today. What kind of a person was the emperor? He wasn¡¯t someone so pedantic as to demand proof. King Yan from the nearestmandery would bring over his men, and they would swiftly take down Jian Taiding and everyone else. Once the situation stabilized, they could slowly collect all the proof they needed.

    Zu An frowned and said, ¡°But I just feel like this matter is full of oddities, that we¡¯ve gotten ourselves caught up in a huge, invisible, and that we¡¯re being toyed with. There might be someone else behind all of this.¡±

    ¡°Even if that is true, so what?¡± Sang Hong gave Zu An a profound look. ¡°Do not forget our objective. Is it really to investigate the duke¡¯s disappearance? Is it really to uphold righteousness?¡±

    Zu An was startled. Only then did he remember the words the emperor had left him with before he left. The purpose of the mission was to deal with the Yu n, to seize all of Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s ore mines and take down all of their influential ns, and for the court to regain all of its authority.

    Yu Xuantao had been one of the members in that secret meeting, and he was an elder with tremendous status in the Yu n. Even if no one else in the Yu n knew about the matter, the emperor already had enough of an excuse to act against the Yu n. Furthermore, he could even deal with Jian Taiding as well, having a justifiable reason to reim Cloudcenter Duke¡¯s fiefdom. What else could he even wish for?

    As for the so-called plots and conspiracies, the emperor didn¡¯t care at all. He only cared about the result.

    Seeing that Zu An understood, Sang Hong didn¡¯t say anything else. He patted Zu An¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°You do not need to think about anything else for now, just focus on your recovery.¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Pei You came over just then. After unloading all of hisints about the soldiers outside, he then told everyone the results of his investigations, saying, ¡°I went to the Yu n to ask for Yu Xuantao¡¯s cooperation in the investigation, but the Yu n told me that his secluded cultivation went wrongst night, causing his meridians to explode, so he died.¡±

    ¡°The Yu n were surprisingly decisive in eliminating him. But unfortunately, all of that is meaningless.¡± Sang Hong sneered.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s beautiful figure appeared in Zu An¡¯s mind. He really could not associate that graceful and gentle beauty with the idea of a venomous madam.

    Come on, the prettier the girl, the better they are at lying! Why do you keep forgetting this? Zu An warned himself. His expression became steadier too. He needed to get to the bottom of this matter and find out the truth.

    When everyone else left, he took out the recording stone he had gotten from the Civil Affairs Manor and viewed Jian Yanyou¡¯s appearance again and again.

    Zu An slowly closed his eyes after observing it for many hours. Jian Yanyou¡¯s image appeared in his mind from various angles. The duke¡¯s every movement and the way he spoke reyed in Zu An¡¯s mind.

    When he knew all of those things thoroughly, Zu An took out the paper and pen he had already prepared a long time beforehand. Long strokes quickly danced across the surface. Jian Yanyou¡¯s appearance quickly materialized.

    Those who had known Jian Yanyou would immediately feel their eyes pop out, because the portraits of this world cared more about stylized imagery than realism. However, Zu An¡¯s picture looked just like the real Jian Yanyou.

    Then, Zu An sat down in front of the mirror and used the skill ¡®Face of a Thousand Identities¡¯. His face began to change. Eventually, a face simr to Jian Yanyou appeared in the reflection. Hepared it with the drawing he had just made. He then modified some of the details, and only when it was identical did he nod in satisfaction.

    Ever since he had arrived at Cloudcenter Commandery, he had always felt as if there were a pair of invisible hands that had already arranged everything in ce. Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t have enough information and couldn''t find out who the one behind the scenes was.

    The enemy acted in secret, while he acted overtly. If that continued, wouldn¡¯t he be led around right by the nose?

    In that case, I''ll just flip the whole damn table! I¡¯ll make them y by my rules.

    But there was still another problem. He could imitate Jian Yanyou¡¯s face, but not his voice.

    Helpless to do anything else, he could only take out a small butterfly-shaped item and wear it by his cor. It was naturally the Kawaii Waifu Voice Changer he had won from the lottery before.

    He had to sessfully fool a man with a kawaii voice before each use¡­ Zu An¡¯s eyes twitched when he thought about that. It would beplete social suicide if he was found out! But with how things were, he had no other choice but to use it.

    Who should I trick? Several candidates passed through Zu An¡¯s mind. In the end, Pei You appeared in his mind and he thought, Sorry, but I choose you!

    Meanwhile, Pei You was pacing back and forth restlessly inside of his room. He had been detained in the temporary official residence after being involved in Zuo Su¡¯s death. But after he was finally cleared of suspicion, the Military Affairs Manor had surrounded the entire ce with soldiers! He felt as if his little bro down there were about to shrivel up forever.

    ¡°Sigh, I wanted to help out the local girls with their businesses,and yet I can¡¯t even leave this ce! Heavens, is it too hard to ask for just one girl?!¡±

    Just then, a soft and lovable voice called out, ¡°Hey, cutie~¡±

    Pei You immediately felt all of his fine hairs stand on end. It was definitely the voice of a cute girl!

    ¡°Who are you?¡± He eximed. He didn¡¯tpletely drop his guard. The entire temporary residence was under lockdown right now. The sudden appearance of a girl was just way too fishy.

    ¡°I am a servant from this residence. Sir Sang knows that the young master has felt wronged recently, so he told me toe and serve this young master,¡± the ¡®girl¡¯ outside said bashfully.

    Pei You was overjoyed. He eximed, ¡°Sir Sang really is considerate! Miss, please hurry ande in.¡± His previous gloominess immediately vanished without a trace. He quickly opened the door.

    ¡°Huh? Brother Zu? Why is it you? Where is that maid?¡± He was stunned when he saw the one at the entrance. He quickly looked behind Zu An.

    But when he saw Daji, he began breathing rapidly. How can there be someone so beautiful in this world? Don¡¯t tell me she¡¯s that maid who talked to me just now?

    My luck today is crazy good!

    However, just then, Daji¡¯s eyes shone. Pei You¡¯s expression turned into one of confusion.

    Zu An¡¯s expression darkened. Thankfully, he had brought Daji over. Otherwise, his social life would have been finished.

    By the time he had convinced Pei You he was the temporary residence¡¯s maid, the offering to the Kawaii Waifu Voice Changer had already seeded. He had been about to leave, but the other party had opened the door so impatiently, so they had ended up bumping into each other.

    In order to prevent Pei You from suspecting him, he¡¯d had Daji use her ¡®Fox Charm¡¯ to confuse him. Then, he watched as Pei You turned around and walked toward his bed. He took off his clothes while walking, then jumped into bed naked. His legs mped down on a bundle of his nkets, and the bed began to rock back and forth noisily.

    Zu An was stupefied. He looked at Daji, asking, ¡°Just what kind of order did you give him?¡±

    Daji just blinked innocently. Zu An could only close the door, thinking, If I recorded that, Pei You might just decide life wasn¡¯t worth living anymore¡­

    Compared to what Pei You had just gone through, using the Kawaii Waifu Voice Changer didn¡¯t seem to be so hard to ept anymore.

    ¡­

    Zu An chose an area where the soldiers outside were rtively sparse and headed over. Even though his stealth ability was formidable, there were soldiers everywhere outside. There was no way he could sneak past all of them.

    However, there was no need for him to hide himself either. He just walked straight ahead and used Daji¡¯s skill to charm everyone. Once he left, the soldiers would wake up again and forget all about what had just happened.

    When he arrived at Yu Manor, he took out a mirror to examine his new appearance. After he confirmed that there were no ws, he then kicked off and entered secretly.

    ¡­

    Zu An had already entered Yu Manor several times, so he was familiar with theyout and the security. He used the jade badge and Mirror Mirage to avoid the sentries, sessfully arriving at Yu Yanluo¡¯s residence.

    He secretly pushed open the window and entered. Hot air rushed at him from within. He immediately felt relieved, thinking, Looks like Yu Yanluo is here after all, or else this room wouldn¡¯t be so hot.

    Since Yu Yanluo preferred peace and quiet, there was no one else in the room. He could vaguely see a wonderful figure lying down behind the distant red curtains. Even though he couldn''t see her too clearly, just that silhouette was already a stunning scene. When paired with her unique fragrance, it was enough to make any man¡¯s imagination run wild.

    Zu An took a few steps forward, then stopped in front of her bed.

    ¡°Name yourself!¡± Yu Yanluo finally sensed something and suddenly stood up. She grabbed a cloth and covered her chest while looking his way vigntly.

    Zu An said in Jian Yanyou¡¯s voice, ¡°Madam, it is I!¡±

 Chapter 1054: World Ender

    <h4>Chapter 1054: World Ender</h4>

    A surprised voice let out an exmation from behind the curtains. Then, a snow-white arm moved aside the veil, revealing Yu Yanluo¡¯s face. Since she had just been sleeping, she was only wearing her personal garments. Even though she was hiding behind a nket she had pulled over, Zu An could still see her fair and glistening neck.

    They were several feet apart. Zu An quietly examined her, trying to see if he could detect any rm from her expression. But he was disappointed. Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression was a bit confused and lost, but there wasn¡¯t the slightest bit of fear.

    ¡°Please wait for a moment; I will change my clothes.¡± Yu Yanluo bowed slightly to him, then drew the curtains closed.

    She was so beautiful that merely getting dressed was an enchanting sight. She really didn¡¯t let down her reputation as the number one beauty whom Pei You just couldn''t stop thinking about.

    Zu An thus observed that these two were clearly husband and wife, and yet she was going to get dressed outside of his presence. Interesting¡­

    A whileter, the curtains moved aside again. Yu Yanluo left her bed, her clothes now in order. However, she wasn¡¯t wearing socks. Under the weak illumination of the moonlight, her feet seemed to be glowing with a sparkling luster. They were exquisite and perfect. If Shinji Matou saw them, his tongue might just fall off from all the bootlicking.[1]

    Yu Yanluo walked over to the table and lit a candle. The fire illuminated her perfectplexion. She was covered in a white fox fur coat, appearing luxurious yet also delicate. Zu An frowned when he saw her movements. However, he didn¡¯t stop her.

    Just then, Maid Xing asked from outside, ¡°Madam, what¡¯s wrong?¡± She had clearly sensed that Yu Yanluo had lit a candle, realizing that something was strange.

    Zu An calmly looked at Yu Yanluo. He began to secretly store up strength in preparation against an attack.

    But to his surprise, Yu Yanluo didn¡¯t call anyone in. She instead said gently, ¡°It is fine; you can leave for now. Do note closer unless I give you the order to.¡±

    ¡°Yes, madam!¡± Maid Xing bowed. Her footsteps indicated that she was leaving.

    ¡°It has been a long time, madam. Have you missed me?¡± Zu An moved his arms toward her for a hug to see her reaction. He wanted to test out just what kind of a rtionship the husband and wife had.

    Yu Yanluo turned around. Her dress moved as she avoided his arms. Then, she looked at him with a frown, asking, ¡°Who are you?¡±

    Zu An was startled. He hadn¡¯t thought his act had any ws. He thought Yu Yanluo was behaving that way just to test him. As such, he replied seriously, ¡°What? It has been so long that you do not even recognize your own husband anymore?¡±

    ¡°You are not Jian Yanyou.¡± Yu Yanluo looked at him coldly. At the same time, she became inwardly vignt.

    Zu An knew that she wasn¡¯t bluffing when he heard her straightforward tone. She really was sure that he wasn¡¯t Jian Yanyou. He suppressed his curiosity and continued asking, ¡°What? Was it because you colluded with Jian Taiding to kill me that you are sure that I am no longer alive?¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression grew cold. She asked, ¡°Just what kind of evil existence are you? How are you able to look so simr to Jian Yanyou?¡±

    Zu An harrumphed. ¡°Are you trying to change the topic? You know just how terrible this period has been for me. The heavens have given me a chance to return to this world, so I naturally have to get revenge on all of my enemies one by one.¡± After saying that, he pressed forward step by step.

    He had always been confused about something. This woman had been the world¡¯s number one beauty, and yet she didn¡¯t have any cultivation. That alone would be one thing, but she had never been seized by anyone as their exclusive property either.

    That was what was strange. He refused to believe that all of the powerful cultivators in the world cared this much about ceremony, that they were all monks who didn¡¯t care about lust. After all, with Yu Yanluo¡¯s appearance, even the most well-trained monk might return to worldly ways after meeting her.

    That suspicion had be even stronger when he arrived in Cloudcenter Commandery. Its people¡¯s cultivations were all extremely high, and they were allpletely blinded by greed. Just how could Yu Yanluo manage to protect herself in this den of wolves?

    He hadn¡¯t thought much of it back in Brightmoon City¡¯s outskirts when his cultivation was still low. Now, it really was strange to him.

    There had only been a group of third to fourth ranked guards at her side back then. Such guards might be enough to protect some ordinary noble n¡¯s young miss, but she was the former number one beauty of the entire capital! She had even been far away from Cloudcenter Commandery, the Yu n¡¯s territory. How could those other powers be able to resist their desire to go after her?

    He thought back to how she had always had that air of indifference andposure around her. Zu An was more and more certain that Yu Yanluo definitely had some secrets! This was the perfect chance to test her out.

    Sure enough, Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression changed when she saw him approach. Previously, when she had lit a candle, she had stopped in front of a bookshelf. At that moment, she picked up a painting on the table and threw it at Zu An.

    Zu An was stunned. You¡¯re throwing a painting at me? He didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry. Why does this seem like a fight between sweethearts, where the girlfriend is throwing things at the boyfriend?

    However, soon afterward, he couldn''t smile anymore, because he felt the scenery around him changepletely. He was no longer in Yu Yanluo¡¯s chambers. Rather, he was in an entirely different world. The mist around him was so thick he couldn''t see his own fingers even if he brought his hand up in front of him.

    ¡°An illusion?¡± Zu An frowned. He immediately summoned Hundredwarble as a countermeasure, but even following its cry, there was no reaction at all. The mist scattered temporarily where Hundredwarble flew through it, but everything returned to normal soon afterward.

    ¡°Who exactly are you?¡± Yu Yanluo¡¯s voice rang out from the sky just then. It was just as beautiful and moving as before, but it now carried a mysterious feeling of dignity, as if she were a deity speaking from above.

    Zu An frowned. He kicked off and leapt into the sky, rushing toward the source of the sound. He hadn¡¯t reached the master rank yet, so he couldn''t fly through the sky at will. However, short-term flight wasn¡¯t too difficult.

    Unfortunately, there was nothing above him even when he rushed into the air. This world seemed to be limitless. A hazy mist covered everything. Even with his current cultivation, he could still only see about a zhang away.

    Hended on the ground, then used the jade badge to help him observe the surroundings. However, shockingly, there actually wasn¡¯t a single living thing within a range of several li. That meant either this really was apletely barren ce, or that the creatures were all high-leveled and outside the jade badge¡¯s control.

    Zu An soon knew the answer. He became alert and dodged off to the side. A sharp javelin thrust into the spot he had just been standing in.

    But isn¡¯t this javelin a bit too long? he thought. It felt like a long bamboo pole that reached all the way into the mist. He couldn''t see exactly how long it was at all.

    Then, a giant monster slowly appeared from the mist. Zu An observed its appearance. It was long and slender in build, having a total of a dozen legs. Every single leg was like a long bamboo pole. The javelin had actually been one of its legs. It looked just like the stick insects he had seen in his previous world, but its body was countless times bigger.

    It bared its fangs and brandished its long legs, continuing to m them down at Zu An. Even though it wasrge, its movements weren¡¯t slow at all. On the contrary, it was extremely nimble. Its bamboo branch-like legs were even more dangerous than thrownnces.

    Eighth rank!

    Zu An evaded with his Sunflower Phantasm. Then, while the other party was confused, he finally found an opening and sent a fist at its leg.

    The monster¡¯s leg broke apart with a brittle crack. Its entire body staggered after it lost a leg; it had clearly lost its bnce.

    Zu An moved as fast as lightning. He quickly broke its remaining legs as well. The monster finally couldn''t hold on anymore and came crashing down.

    Zu An was just about to leave when his expression changed. He suddenly looked up. The monster staggered back and forth, and its broken legs began to regenerate at a visible rate.

    Zu An was stunned. This thing can regenerate?

    Its regeneration was even more exaggerated than his Primordial Origin Sutra! At the very least, if he lost an arm or a leg, there was no way he would grow another one so quickly.

    Yu Yanluo spoke again. ¡°You cannot kill it.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but reply with a sneer, ¡°This isn¡¯t your body, is it?¡±

    Yu Yanluo was speechless.

    You have sessfully trolled Yu Yanluo for +22 +22 +22¡­

    She was clearly furious that she had been associated with such an ugly thing.

    A me surged in Zu An¡¯s hand just then. While the monster had yet to recover, he tore it into eight pieces. Then, his mes immediately burned the monster to ashes. Even if you can regenerate your limbs, how will you regenerate from ashes?

    ¡°Huh?¡± Yu Yanluo voiced her surprise. She sensed that his mes were special. ¡°Your me seems to be the natural enemy of these monsters. But it does not matter.¡±

    A cool breeze brushed past as soon she spoke. The mist from before vanished without a trace. Zu An suddenly felt the ground beneath him disappear. Then, he fell straight down. Fishy and salty waters surged all around him. He could smell the sea!

    He moved quickly, flying straight into the air. The ground beneath him had already disappeared without a trace, reced with a boundless sea.

    ¡°The terrainpletely changed?¡± Zu An eximed, shocked. How high was that woman¡¯s cultivation? Why was she able to do all of these things?

    Yu Yanluo was still inside her own chambers. She stood in front of the desk with a scroll unrolled in front of her. In her hand was a pen. She added a few strokes to the surface.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An immediately felt the previously mild winds be fierce. The seas below also began to churn, producing violent and intense sshes.

    ¡°I will ask you one more time. Who are you, and why have you impersonated Jian Yanyou? If you still do not speak, I will no longer be polite.¡± Yu Yanluo spoke from above again. Her face was faintly discernible in the sky, just like the appearance of divine beings in the movies of Zu An¡¯s previous world.

    Zu An frowned slightly. What¡¯s going on? Don¡¯t tell me I¡¯ve entered her domain? But no matter how formidable Yu Yanluo was, it shouldn¡¯t have been to this degree, right? Why did she possess such a miraculous domain?

    He roared withughter and eximed, ¡°What do you mean impersonate? I am precisely your one hundred percent guaranteed or your money back husband!¡± He was deliberately trying to anger the other party, to see if it would make her reveal any openings.

    Yu Yanluo harrumphed.

    You have sessfully trolled Yu Yanluo for +233 +233 +233¡­

    The crazy winds around Zu An immediately became stronger, to the extent that he couldn''t even stand still anymore. Suddenly, he saw a white line heading in his direction.

    ¡°What is this now?¡± Zu An became vignt. The white line was extremely fast, arriving almost instantly.

    Zu An¡¯s expression finally changed, because he could see that it wasn¡¯t a white line, but a tsunami that was several hundred meters tall! The closest he had ever been to a tsunami was in theaters when he had seen Interster. That had already been shocking enough back then!

    In his previous world, 2004¡¯s Indian Ocean Tsunami had only reached a height of thirty meters, and yet it had caused three hundred thousand casualties, with more than two million bing homeless.

    The several-hundred-meter tsunami looked as if it intended to end this very world. Zu An¡¯s human instincts made every single one of his fine hairs stand on end.

    ¡°This is your final chance. Who are you?¡± Yu Yanluo¡¯s beautiful voice rang out from above once more.

    1. This is a reference to a character from Fate/stay night. ?

 Chapter 1055: Breakthrough

    <h4>Chapter 1055: Breakthrough</h4>

    ¡°Why are you so sure that I am not your husband? Was it because you saw me die for yourself?¡± Zu An asked with a calm smile. It was almost as if the tremendous ocean waves right in front of him didn¡¯t exist.

    ¡°You just refuse to acknowledge your wrongs!¡± Yu Yanluo¡¯s pretty brow furrowed. Her hand brushed out, and the endless ocean waves came crashing down on Zu An.

    But after a bit of hesitation, her brush moved around again. The endless waters disappeared in the end. Despite that, the first part of the terrifying tsunami had already rushed past. She didn¡¯t see any sign of the other party anymore, only a great, surging sea.

    Yu Yanluo was stunned when she saw that, wondering, ¡°Did he die?¡±

    She hadn¡¯t dared to be too lenient when she saw him fight against that creature, as his cultivation didn¡¯t seem low at all. Now, it seemed that because the other party was of the fire element, he had ended up being countered by the water element.

    That was why she created that huge ocean. But with how strong the other party was, even though those ocean waves were terrifying, they would only be able to seriously injure him and strip him of his fighting prowess. They shouldn¡¯t have taken his life! Why was there no sign of him left?

    She thought to herself for a bit. Then, she picked up her pen and drew a few strokes. The great sea was immediately divided in half, gradually revealing the bottom of the sea.

    Zu An was at the ocean bottom, raising his head toward the sky in puzzlement. He hadn¡¯t expected the other party to be able to part the great sea so easily. That was an ability only characters in fairy tales had!

    The projection of Yu Yanluo¡¯s face looked shocked. She had imagined many possibilities, and what she had been the most worried about was that the ocean waves would kill him, or that he might be seriously injured or unconscious, and thus unable to answer her questions anymore. Never had she expected him to be sitting at the ocean bottom leisurely, and furthermore without a single injury!

    There was a blue transparent bubble around him. Was that the water element? But how could that be? Wasn¡¯t he a fire element cultivator? Yu Yanluo was stupefied. She felt as if what she had assumed to bemon knowledge for so many years had been shattered.

    ¡°Is that a skill or a magical artifact? There is no way you are both a water and fire dual element cultivator, right?¡± Yu Yanluo couldn''t help but ask.

    Zu An obviously wouldn¡¯t tell her that he was using Blue Mard¡¯s water element affinity. He looked at the projection, then remarked, ¡°I should be inside your painting right now, correct?¡±

    Yu Yanluo was even more shocked. She eximed, ¡°You were even able to guess that?¡±

    There were many enemies who had been trapped in her painting before, and they had been unable to guess that they were in a painting even as they lived out the rest of their lives. They hadn¡¯t even realized what had happened upon their deaths, only assuming that they had been sent to some mysterious dungeon or a dangerousnd.

    This was the first person who had been able to tell that he was trapped in a painting while inside the painting.

    But for Zu An, it wasn¡¯t hard for him to make that association at all. For example, ¡®Investiture of the Gods¡¯ had Nuwa¡¯s World Scroll. He hadn¡¯t thought of it at first either. However, after seeing that Yu Yanluo¡¯s abilities in this world had be more and more ridiculous, he finally realized the truth.

    Zu An said, ¡°Even though I am trapped here, it is limited by your own cultivation. It will be hard for you to do anything too threatening to me.¡±

    Yu Yanluo fell silent. A whileter, she said, ¡°Indeed, even though I can draw some things, with the strength you showed, I would not be able to do much to you. But regardless, unless I permit it, you cannot leave this world and you will be trapped here forever. That is why you should tell me your identity and motives as soon as possible. Then, I can consider whether or not I should let you out.¡±

    Zu An frowned. There was no way he would beg her for that. He hade to investigate where Yu Yanluo¡¯s confidencey. If he didn¡¯t find out anything, and the other party instead learned about his secrets, what kind of dignity would he have left? More importantly, even though his rtionship with her was decent, now that he knew her greatest secret, she might not let him off so easily.

    ¡°Your painting is likely not as ridiculous as you are making it out to be. There is definitely a way out. Otherwise, would you not bepletely invincible in this world?¡± Zu An¡¯s mind moved quickly. He immediately realized that point.

    ¡°Correct. There are many formidable individuals who can forcefully break out of my painting. The world in this painting cannot contain their power.¡± Yu Yanluo frankly admitted it. But she immediately shot back, ¡°Even so, you have clearly not reached that level yet.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. Girl, do you have to be that straightforward?

    ¡°In that case, call for me when you have finally thought things through.¡± Yu Yanluo knew he wouldn¡¯t immediately ept his fate when she saw his expression. She believed that he would give in after he suffered a bit more. She left the desk and returned to her bed. Then, she couldn''t help but yawn.

    Who wouldn¡¯t be a bit annoyed if they were sleeping soundly, but were forced awake by a disturbance? She thought to herself that she was going to keep that person there for a few more days even if he begged herter.

    She removed her clothes when she got in bed, then returned to her covers. The heating from underground warmed the bed. She released a groan offort, stretched her bodyzily, then changed into a morefortable position.

    ¡­

    Yu Yanluo might have beenfortable, but Zu An was definitely not. As he saw Yu Yanluo¡¯s figure disappear from the horizon, the force parting the sea seemed to have disappeared as well. The water gathered together again.

    Zu An kicked off the ground and burst out of the ocean¡¯s surface. He moved across the water, quickly traveling dozens of li in an effort to find the edge of the world. How big could a painting be anyway?

    But he soon realized that he was greatly mistaken. Regardless of which direction he went in, there was only an endless sea. There was no limit to the horizon. It was as if the world would extend along with him as he moved.

    Then, Zu An took out the Tai¡¯e Sword. He released all sorts of powerful attacks at the sky above and the sea below. But no matter how ferocious his attacks were, the skies and sea were too great. His power quickly disappeared.

    ¡°Looks like my cultivation hasn¡¯t reached the limits of what this world can tolerate after all.¡± Zu An¡¯s brow furrowed.

    Things would indeed be a bit troublesome if this continued. Even though his Brilliant ss Bead had plenty of assorted goods, there was a limit to that as well. Even if it couldst him for a year and a half, he couldn''t stay inside for that long. There were still so many people waiting for him outside.

    But he didn¡¯t continue to wantonly waste his strength either. As the ocean waves rose and fell, his thoughts moved quickly.

    Suddenly, his eyes lit up. He remembered that back then, when Eunuch Wei Dan had tried to capture Old Mi, he had used a strange kind of footwork when they fought: ¡®Steps of Rising Lotus¡¯. Back then, he had imed that it could break through sealed space.

    Later on, after Wei Dan had died and Old Mi had failed to possess him, instead bing a part of him, Zu An had naturally obtained the technique as well. While he had been interested in that method back then, his cultivation had been too low, so he couldn''t use it.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    By the time his cultivation was high enough, he already had enough techniques. He hadn¡¯t thought he needed it anymore.

    He was currently trapped inside a painting, though. Wasn¡¯t the ¡®Steps of Rising Lotus¡¯ the best skill for getting out?

    Details of the technique began to reappear in his mind. With his current knowledge and experience, he already had a much deeper and more profound understanding of the technique¡¯s domain.

    An hourter, Zu An opened his eyes and looked toward the sky. There wasn¡¯t even a single trace of restlessness left in his expression; instead, it was reced with a confident smile of sess.

    He slowly lifted his feet, then walked toward the sky step by step. Each step left a lotus flower imprint behind. Meanwhile, the surrounding space was different from before, when it hadn¡¯t responded at all no matter what he did. Now, gradually, traces of primal chaos and emptiness began to appear.

    Zu An knew those were the signs of spatial copse. He continued his steps. A powerful force gradually began to concentrate around him. It seemed to be the painting¡¯s world doing its utmost to try and restrain him.

    His expression remained calm as he continued to step forward. When he reached the sixth step, he sensed that there seemed to be a membrane-like object blocking his path. It was probably Yu Yanluo¡¯s finalyer of defense in the painting¡¯s world.

    With the seventh step, he instantly broke through the barrier!

    Zu An felt his entire body be lighter. The next moment, he reappeared in the room he had been in previously.

    There was a painting on the table, but it looked as if someone had poked a hole in that painting and left it strewn on the table. It turned out to be the painting that had trapped Zu An for so long.

    Zu An was d he had the Steps of Rising Lotus. Otherwise, he really might have gambled too much this time. His eyesnded on the bed to the side. He saw that Yu Yanluo was sound asleep. All of his pent-up annoyances surged at that moment. This woman really is sleeping well!

    He walked over to the bedside. Yu Yanluo seemed to have sensed something and opened her eyes in a daze. However, she immediately felt her shoulder go numb. Her acupoints had been sealed.

    Zu An pulled back his fingers and took the chance to sit down by the bed. He eximed, ¡°Huh? You even took off your clothes already? Are you really that rxed?¡±

    Because Yu Yanluo had been about to get up, her covers slid off, exposing a lot of her skin. It was so fair that it was a bit blinding. The undergarments underneath were ck silk, soft and supple. Zu An could tell howfortable they had to feel even without touching them. There were no decorations or embroidery on them, only some openwork patterns around the edges.

    Zu An thought to himself that this woman looked so pure on the outside, and yet she dressed so¡­ passionately? I have to say, the clothes you wear during the day are pretty reserved. I didn¡¯t expect your clothes underneath to be so bold.

    Yu Yanluo clearly sensed his gaze. A sh of rage appeared in her eyes as she asked, ¡°How did you get out?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Yu Yanluo for +444 +444 +444¡­

    ¡°Big¡­ Ahem.¡± Zu An was rmed and almost said something he shouldn¡¯t have. ¡°The madam¡¯s painting is not omnipotent. I told you I could get out, so I did.¡±

    Yu Yanluo was a bit confused. Why had this person almost called her ¡®big madam¡¯? Her surname was clearly Yu.

    But that wasn¡¯t what was important right now. The other man was sitting right by the side of the bed, so close to her. Her expression began to gradually change colors, and her hair began to move around even though there was no wind.

    Zu An noticed that a fineyer of goosebumps had begun to appear on Yu Yanluo¡¯s skin due to the cold. He reached out and covered her up again.

    When she saw his movement, Yu Yanluo thought he was going to treat her with disrespect and the killing intent in her eyes grew stronger. But when she realized that he was only covering her up better, she was stunned. The color in her eyes also gradually faded as she asked, ¡°Who exactly are you?¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t notice those fine changes. He replied, ¡°Madam, you are mistaken about something. I am the one questioning you, and not the other way around. You and Jian Taiding worked together to harm me in the past; do you not feel even a bit of guilt?¡±

    Yu Yanluo harrumphed. ¡°Stop pretending already. I know that you are not Jian Yanyou.¡±

    Zu An sighed and gave up on his final test. He replied, ¡°I thought my disguise was seamless. Where exactly did it fail?¡±

    Face of a Thousand Identities and Kawaii Waifu Voice Changer together had actually failed! He had to find out why, and only then could he make the proper changes in the future.

 Chapter 1056: Sticking Out

    <h4>Chapter 1056: Sticking Out</h4>

    Yu Yanluo stared at him calmly. When she saw that he hadn¡¯t done anything disrespectful to her, she replied, ¡°Your face and your voice really are identical to Jian Yanyou. But even though you managed to copy his appearance, you did not copy his mind.¡±

    Zu An frowned and asked, ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    Yu Yanluo exined, ¡°Let me exin it like this. Others might not be able to notice any ws if you tried to fool them, but for me, there are just too many ws.

    ¡°I have a smattering of knowledge in illustration. In the dao of art, others might think that it is better the more urately you draw the target, but in reality, that is not the case. It is not too difficult for a well trained artist to make a precise imitation of the target. In the domain of art, such an artist can only be considered to have rudimentary skill.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face heated up. He had spent a long time practicing drawing for ¡®Face of a Thousand Identities¡¯ and had thought he was incredible for being able to produce such a lifelike copy, that he had be an art master so quickly. But who could have expected that Yu Yanluo only saw him as a beginner?

    Yu Yanluo continued, ¡°There are also some artists who pursue meaning rather than form. That is why some ordinary people would feel that their art is not simr to the real person at all, and think their skills wereparable to those of some random street peddlers. Those ordinary people are actually greatly mistaken. When these artists draw, they add in their understanding and insights regarding their objective, and they convey unique meaning. It is not something that others can easily imitate.

    ¡°But that is still not the highest level of art. The most profound artists often go back to their roots, attaching importance to both form and meaning. If an ordinary person saw their work, they would only feel that it resembles the original object, and thus be able to appreciate its beauty. Those who knew better would sense the meaning behind the illustration. Not only would itpletely represent the original form, it would also contain the insights of the artist.¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s gazended on Zu An¡¯s face after she said that, and she continued, ¡°The Jian Yanyou you have replicated mimics the form, but not the mind. An ordinary person might not be able to tell the difference, but it is full of ws in my eyes.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. Isn¡¯t she saying that in her eyes, I¡¯m just like a random street peddler artist?

    ¡°Enough. I have already answered your question. Can you tell me who you are now?¡± Yu Yanluo¡¯s eyes stared calmly into Zu An¡¯s as she spoke. They shone like the bright stars of the night sky, beautiful and enchanting.

    Zu An thought for a bit, then said, ¡°No wonder you used that painting to trap me. Looks like you have already achieved profound results in this domain. How high can you rank in this world in terms of art?¡±

    Seeing that he had avoided her question again, Yu Yanluo was initially a bit unhappy. But when she heard he was going to talk about the dao of art, she couldn''t help but blink. She seemed a bit more interested. She thought seriously to herself for a while, then replied, ¡°I should be able to rank number two.¡±

    ¡°The world is sorge; the fact that you can rank number two is already quite incredible.¡± Zu An sighed in praise. Afterward, he then asked, ¡°Then who is number one?¡±

    ¡°I do not know.¡± Yu Yanluo¡¯s voice was soft and moving, as if she didn¡¯t realize that she was in a dangerous situation at all.

    ¡°You do not know?¡± Zu An was confused. ¡°Then how do you know that you are number two?¡±

    ¡°I have not met anyone whose skills are above mine, but there will always be people better than you. Perhaps there is someone who is better than me somewhere in this world, but there are definitely not too many of them. After thinking about it, I decided that number two was a rather fair statement.¡± Yu Yanluo¡¯s tone was serious, as if she were currently discussing an extremely serious matter.

    Zu An was stunned. Are you kidding me?

    He felt another huge mental blow to his confidence. Look at how innocent she looks while bragging about herself¡­ But there really isn¡¯t much you can do about it either¡­.

    He suddenly thought of something and looked the other party in the eyes, saying, ¡°From what I know, the Royal Academy¡¯s libationer has taken in a few disciples, and every single one of them excels in their own respective fields. The one who represents ¡®art¡¯ is extremely mysterious, with almost no one knowing their name. It is not even known if they are male or female. If I am not mistaken, that person should be you, though?¡±

    Yu Yanluo hesitated for a moment, but in the end, she nodded and replied, ¡°Indeed, that person is me. The reason I have concealed my identity is because my status is too special. Neither my teacher nor I wish to bring about any unnecessary troubles, which is why we did not announce it to the world.¡±

    Zu An was immediately stunned. He hadn¡¯t expected Yu Yanluo to be the libationer¡¯s disciple[1]!

    ording to his interactions with the libationer¡¯s other disciples, they were pretty much all pure and innocent individuals. They all had a mysterious bias and fanaticism toward their own domain.

    ¡°If you are the libationer¡¯s direct disciple, why has this beautymitted such wrongs?¡± Zu An couldn''t help but ask with a sigh.

    Yu Yanluo harrumphed. ¡°Someone barged into my bedroom in the middle of the night disguised as my husband. Who exactly is the wrongdoer here?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face heated up. He replied, ¡°Do not try to change the topic. I am talking about the death of Jian Yanyou.¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s voice had a hint of sorrow as she asked, ¡°Has he really died?¡±

    ¡°Do not tell me you did not know about this.¡± Zu An couldn''t help but speak somewhat mockingly.

    ¡°I only know that something has most likely happened to him. I really did not know that he had already died.¡± Yu Yanluo paused for a moment, then asked, ¡°From what you are saying, it seems to be Jian Taiding who has done the deed, no?¡±

    Zu An frowned. Is this woman really innocent or is she acting? If she is, aren¡¯t her acting skills just a bit too terrifying?

    Suddenly, a snow-white arm shot out from under the covers. Zu An was rmed and subconsciously raised his arm to block it, but a strange radiance suddenly fired from Yu Yanluo¡¯s eyes. He immediately felt his body be exceptionally heavy. His movements became a bit slower than usual.

    During that brief opening, the snow-white arm broke through his defenses and struck the major acupoint on his chest. Zu An¡¯s entire body trembled. He sat down rigidly and couldn''t move anymore. He could only ask, ¡°Why were you able to move again?¡±

    He was certain he had sealed up the other party. How had she recovered so quickly?

    ¡°Am I supposed to just lie here and continue letting you do whatever you want?¡± Yu Yanluo replied with a sneer. A proud look shed through her eyes. She sat up. She was about to pick up her clothes off to the side, but when she reached out her hand, she realized that she really was dressed much too sparsely at the moment. She gave Zu An an upset re, then threw her covers over his head to block his sight.

    Her body¡¯s warmth and enchanting fragrance were left on the covers. Zu An suddenly felt his mind wander a bit. He thought back to his previous world where there would always be some freaks who would buy used female stockings on the online forums. Just how much would the covers that carried the smell of the world¡¯s number one beauty go for?

    His view brightened soon afterward. The covers were removed; Yu Yanluo had already gotten dressed again.

    ¡°Why were you able to undo your seal?¡± Zu An asked again. He remembered that there were no errors in his seal. If the other party were a master rank, perhaps he might not be able to seal her, but she clearly wasn¡¯t.

    ¡°I am the one asking you the questions now, and not the other way around.¡± Yu Yanluo suddenly felt a bit of delight. Just then, the other party had treated her exactly the same way. She had actually been able to get revenge so quickly!

    ¡°Who exactly are you?¡± she asked while sizing him up. ¡°You resemble him, you really do¡­ Perhaps only I alone, someone who understands the dao of art, and furthermore someone extremely familiar with Jian Yanyou, could tell the difference.¡±

    She didn¡¯t seem to mind too much that there was no response. She continued, ¡°If you do not want to answer, I will just check for myself.¡± Then, she reached her hand out to his face, looking for a face mask to remove.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Even after searching for a long time, she actually couldn¡¯t find the ce where the mask and the skin met.

    ¡°Can you not be so¡­ Ah¡­¡± Zu An eximed. Yu Yanluo¡¯s hand was cold to the touch. To be honest, there were probably countless men in this world who were willing to be caressed by Yu Yanluo that way, but Zu An wasn¡¯t one of them.

    Yu Yanluo continued to pull at his face because she couldn''t find a mask. Eventually, she used both of her hands. Even though there was no mirror, Zu An could imagine his own face being pulled every which way.

    ¡°There is no mask?¡± Yu Yanluo¡¯s red lips opened wide in shock.

    ¡°I already told you, I am your husband.¡± Zu An tried to remedy the situation.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression grew cold. She said, ¡°I sensed that there was a fiend race auraing from your body. Are you of the Peacock King race? But I have never heard of the Peacock King race having transformation abilities¡­¡± Her voice gradually became softer as she spoke her thoughts out loud.

    Zu An was stunned. Is the fiend race aura she¡¯s talking about the feather Kong Nanwu gave me?

    ¡°Indeed, I am apanion of Kong Qing. As for this transformation technique, it was a skill I picked up.¡± Zu An borrowed the situation to make up an identity. He wanted to take the chance to see if she had any connections with the fiend races.

    Yu Yanluo looked at him coldly and said, ¡°Your Peacock n and I have always minded our own businesses. Why have you crossed the boundary?¡±

    Zu An was rmed. Judging from her tone, it seemed she really didn¡¯t have any rtionship with Kong Qing. After thinking about it, he replied, ¡°There were just some things that I wanted to verify with the madam. If there are any ways in which I have offended you, I ask for the madam¡¯s forgiveness.¡±

    ¡°Forgiveness? You barged into my room in the middle of the night and impersonated my husband. It is obvious that you had filthy designs.¡± Yu Yanluo sneered.

    ¡°I have truly offended you.¡± Zu An didn¡¯t dare to take on that usation. He exined, ¡°I only came to confirm the matter of Jian Yanyou¡¯s death. I did not have any intentions of offending the madam.¡±

    ¡°If not for the fact that you helped me cover myself up again and did not do anything else, you would already be a dead man right now.¡± Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression was cold, as if she were speaking to someone whose life and death werepletely within her control. She asked, ¡°So Jian Yanyou really was killed by his younger brother?¡±

    ¡°I have obtained conclusive intelligence, but there is no proof,¡± Zu An replied ambiguously.

    Yu Yanluo fell silent. A trace of sadness appeared between her brows.

    ¡°The madam seems to be extremely sad. ording to our intelligence, madam and Jian Yanyou did not live together, so your affection for each other seemed to be limited,¡± Zu An said to see if there were any changes in her expression.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°He was my husband in name, and he has treated me well over these years. How can I be happy after hearing about his death?¡± Yu Yanluo sighed.

    Zu An asked, ¡°Can the madam help me with one of my misgivings? How did you break free from my control earlier?¡±

    ¡°My body is different from an ordinary person¡¯s,¡± Yu Yanluo replied casually. ¡°But I am even more curious about something else. Why is your Peacock n looking into his affairs?¡± Her expression suddenly changed when she said that. She said, ¡°No, there is no way you are from the Peacock n. Who exactly are you? Restore your original appearance at once!¡±

    Zu An suddenly moved. Under such close distance, there was no way Yu Yanluo could react at all. He continuously sealed several of her major acupoints. Having learned his lesson, he even took out the Jade Moon Serpent¡¯s tendons, wrapping them around her several times and tying her up.

    Yu Yanluo was ashamed and furious, eximing, ¡°Why are you so lowly and vulgar?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Yu Yanluo for +555 +555 +555¡­

    Zu An¡¯s face heated up. He had never tied up someone before. He hadn¡¯t paid much attention to how he tied her up, and only afterward did he notice that he had tied her up the way his many online teachers from various romance flicks taught him.

    ¡°Ahem, I had to do this to make sure you would not plot against me again.¡± He shifted his gaze a bit unnaturally. After all, being tied up like that really did make certain parts stick out.

    1. This means that in terms of ranking, Yu Yanluo is the libationer¡¯s sixth disciple. ?

 Chapter 1057: Interrogation

    <h4>Chapter 1057: Interrogation</h4>

    Yu Yanluo became emotional. Due to her hurried breathing, her chest rose and fell more and more intensely. That was even more so the case when the strange rope wrapped around her. The way she had been tied up made her feel extremely humiliated.

    ¡°These are the tendons of a serpent?¡± she asked. She managed a great n after all, so her knowledge and experiences were extraordinary. She quickly recognized the item tying her up.

    ¡°Indeed. That is why even if your acupoints have not been sealed, you should not be able to move for a while.¡± Zu An was still a bit nervous. If not because he had refined his body several times through primordial ki, making his body incredibly tough andpletely changing his body¡¯s weak points, the other party¡¯s scheme would actually have seeded.

    Yu Yanluo had put on a weak and delicate appearance, but her acting really worked a bit too well. Zu An thought, As expected, the prettier the girl, the better they are at lying¡­

    Yu Yanluo struggled for a bit, but sure enough, she couldn''t break free. She could only temporarily give up. She asked, ¡°Why were you still able to move even though I sealed your acupoint?¡± She had confidence in her own cultivation as well. There was no way she had hit the wrong spot.

    ¡°Because my body is different from an ordinary person¡¯s,¡± Zu An chuckled, returning her words right back to her.

    Yu Yanluo was speechless. Karmic retribution really happened quickly! Just a moment before, she had been happy that she was able to get payback; and yet now, a momentter, she had been taken down by the other party again.

    Zu An looked her up and down, then asked, ¡°So, why is your body different from normal people?¡±

    He had already noticed that even though he had sealed up several of her major acupoints, she could still move a bit. If not for the Jade Moon Serpent¡¯s tendons, something really might have gone wrong again.

    Yu Yanluo looked away, as if she didn¡¯t want to pay him any attention.

    You have sessfully trolled Yu Yanluo for +55 +55 +55¡­

    Zu An squatted down by her side. He found her angry expression rather cute. He asked, ¡°Also, how did you discern that I might be from the Peacock n?¡±

    Seeing that she was still looking away, he reached out and pulled her chin back toward him, saying, ¡°Answer my question.¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s skin was ice-cold. At the same time, however, it was soft and stic. However, she carried a hint of a dangerous aura as she spat with a cold expression, ¡°Remove your filthy hand.¡±

    ¡°If you had cooperated with my interrogation, I wouldn¡¯t have had to do this.¡± Zu An hadn¡¯t actually intended to take advantage of her either. He naturally withdrew his hand.

    ¡°You tied me up this way, and yet you still want me to cooperate and answer your questions?¡± Yu Yanluo got angry again just from the thought. Across the years, her beauty had drawn the lust of many men, but when had she ever suffered this kind of humiliation?

    You have sessfully trolled Yu Yanluo for +428 +428 +428¡­

    Zu An knew that she really was angry from all of the Rage pointsing in from the backend. But he remained unaffected and said indifferently, ¡°I also treated you with respect at first, but all that brought me in return was an ambush from the madam. That is why I could only do this to feel at ease.¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Yu Yanluo harrumphed and looked away. However, Zu An seemed unconcerned. He continued, ¡°The madam does not seem to understand the current situation. Perhaps your beauty and status might make other men curry favor from you in every way possible, but your life and death can be decided by a single thought from me. It would be best not to anger me.¡±

    Yu Yanluo sneered. ¡°I refuse to believe that you would dare to kill me.¡±

    She had seen that the other party had even helped her cover herself up earlier, so she didn¡¯t think he was someone who would go that far. When she realized that, the other party¡¯s threat was nowhere near as intimidating.

    Zu An frowned when he saw how confident she seemed. He replied, ¡°Indeed, I will not kill the madam. However, please do not forget that you are a woman.¡±

    Yu Yanluo finally looked back at him, her expression changing. ¡°What are you trying to say?¡±

    ¡°Exactly as my words imply.¡± Zu An said calmly. ¡°You are a woman, and moreover the most beautiful woman in the eyes of many men. Meanwhile, I am a man. For a single man and woman to be together in the depths of night, I would not dare to guarantee that absolutely nothing will happen.¡±

    Surprisingly, however, Yu Yanluo instead smiled sweetly when she heard that and said, ¡°No, you will not.¡±

    Zu An was getting a bit annoyed now. He asked, ¡°Are you doubting my ability, or are you doubting your own charm?¡±

    Yu Yanluo said, ¡°I was not even wearing my clothes, and yet you did not use that chance to do anything improper to me. That means you are still a decent person deep down. How could you do something so despicable?¡±

    Zu An was bing depressed. He hadn¡¯t expected to be dealt the good guy card so quickly. He replied, ¡°Do not try to incite me with indirect psychological methods. From now on, each time you do not answer my question, I will remove one article of clothing. Let us see just how many articles of clothing you can stand losing today.¡±

    Yu Yanluo was speechless. She ground her teeth. She really wanted to say ¡®I don¡¯t believe that you would dare to take off my clothes¡¯, but she was conflicted; she felt that she might really incite the other party and didn¡¯t know what to do.

    Seeing that she was still a bit unwilling, Zu An took out three bottles and ced them in front of her.

    ¡°What are those?¡± Yu Yanluo asked vigntly.

    ¡°This one is called ¡®Bull Cream¡¯.¡± Zu An pointed at the left bottle.

    ¡°Why would a bull produce any cream?¡± Yu Yanluo asked.

    ¡°Because this medicine is one that fully unleashes one''s desires, making all the different ces that can produce liquid¡­ ahem, making even bulls able to produce milk. You can imagine just how powerful this medicine is,¡± Zu An said while doing his best to keep a straight face.

    ¡°Despicable!¡± Yu Yanluo finally knew what the item was. Her face reddened, and there was a hint of annoyance between her brows.

    You have sessfully trolled Yu Yanluo for +88 +88 +88¡­

    Zu An continued, pointing at the bottle in the middle. ¡°This one is ¡®Eighteen Spring Winds¡¯. As the name implies, women who are affected by this drug must engage in intercourse with a man, and they must do it eighteen times before the effects will wear off.¡±

    He couldn''t help but recall the past scene with Zheng Dan. If it weren¡¯t because his body was so tough, he really might not have been able to detoxify the drug. A gentle smile couldn''t help bute to his face when he recalled Zheng Dan¡¯s warmth and passion.

    ¡°Your smile is so obscene!¡± Yu Yanluo eximed. ¡°You actually have such despicable drugs! It looks as if I have really overestimated you today.¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°There is still another one I have not introduced yet. This one is called ¡®Worries Be Gone¡¯¡­¡±

    ¡°Enough, enough. Just hurry and ask me what you want to know!¡± Yu Yanluo interrupted him, her face red. These drugs¡¯ effects were getting worse and worse. She didn¡¯t even dare to continue listening to their effects.

    Zu An chuckled. If he had known it would be this way, he would have brought the medicines out earlier. He reiterated, ¡°The first question. Why is your body different from other people¡¯s?¡± That was what he was the most curious about. There was no way she had modified her body through primordial ki, right?

    Yu Yanluo hesitated, but the intimidation had worked. She thus replied, ¡°My constitution is special. In the past, teacher passed on a special technique to me. It allows me to change my build, allowing me to be more flexible and stronger than an ordinary person. When you tried to seal my acupoint earlier, I moved that acupoint away.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s brow furrowed. There was actually such a thing?

    He had to admit that this woman really was much more flexible than normal. Any normal person bound in such a position would already be breaking down from pain, yet she seemed to be perfectly fine. And yet, even so, he felt she wasn¡¯t telling theplete truth.

    But since she had replied, he couldn''t go back on his word. He continued, ¡°Very good. The second question is, how did you know I was not from the Peacock n? Was it because you knew that the Peacock n participated in the scheme against Jian Yanyou?¡±

    ¡°You clearly asked two questions!¡± Yu Yanluo¡¯s eyes widened as she cried out in dissatisfaction.

    Zu An sighed. She was cute even when she threw a tantrum. No wonder so many men had lost their minds over her over the years. He coughed lightly and focused his thoughts, insisting, ¡°Hurry up and answer my question.¡±

    Yu Yanluo gave him a look. She could only say, ¡°Because Kong Qing and Jian Taiding¡¯s rtionship was always rather good, so their nsmen would nevere here to ask me these questions.¡±

    ¡°Are you implying that Jian Taiding and Kong Qing colluded in the scheme against Jian Yanyou?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°I do not know about that.¡± Yu Yanluo shook her head. ¡°I have only heard some rumors that the two sides had some dealings.¡±

    ¡°This matter is rted to the life and death of your husband, and yet you can actually remain this calm?¡± Zu An frowned.

    ¡°Rather than calling me and Yanyou husband and wife, it would be more urate to call us cooperating partners. If something has happened to him, I will grieve for him, but that is all,¡± Yu Yanluo said calmly.

    ¡°His death really has nothing to do with you?¡±

    ¡°Correct!¡±

    ¡°Why should I trust you?¡±

    ¡°Then why are you even asking me anything?¡±

    Zu An was momentarily speechless. This woman really did know how to use logic to her advantage. He could only change his question. ¡°Has Jian Taiding colluded with the fiend races, making arge profit off all manner of illegal smuggling over the years?¡±

    Yu Yanluo was clearly a bit hesitant. However, Zu An picked up a bottle and began to wave it a few times. She clenched her teeth and said, ¡°Indeed, I have heard about Jian Taiding having a rtionship with that side over the years.¡± This guy is too hateful! I really want to bite him right now!

    ¡°Are you not eaving something out? From what I know, the Yu n has participated as well,¡± Zu An said coldly.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s beautiful brow furrowed. She replied, ¡°That is wrong.¡±

    ¡°Then what is going on with Yu Xuantao?¡± Zu An quickly replied. ¡°Yu Xuantao is your uncle, an elder in the Yu n.¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression changed slightly. She said, ¡°You are right in that some troublemakers have appeared in the Yu n, but that was his individual conduct. He does not represent the Yu n.¡±

    ¡°You are not telling me that as the leader of your n, you had no idea that your own nsmen were colluding with the fiend races, are you?¡± Zu An obviously wouldn¡¯t believe her words.

    ¡°Because of some special reasons, I have delegated much of my authority in the past few years. I did not pay attention to some of the details. I did not expect the n to be so daring, to actually dare to do something like this.¡± Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression was overcast; she was clearly a bit upset at those people.

    ¡°Heh,¡± Zu An looked at her mockingly and asked, ¡°Do you think these words are convincing at all?¡±

    Yu Yanluo said indifferently, ¡°Our Yu n operates the ki stone business; our wealth is unsurpassed in this world. Perhaps others have motives for selfish profits, but I am the Yu n¡¯s leader. The entire Yu n is mine; why would I carry out these kinds of smuggling affairs with the fiend races? For the sake of making money?¡±

    Zu An was stunned. What she said made so much sense that he couldn''t even argue back.

    He wanted to ask something else, but Yu Yanluo was already impatient. She eximed, ¡°Zu An, have you asked me enough questions yet? Hurry up and let me go already!¡±

    Zu An was stunned.

 Chapter 1058: Chess Piece

    <h4>Chapter 1058: Chess Piece</h4>

    Zu An reacted quickly. He only lost hisposure for an instant before snapping out of his daze. ¡°Who is Zu An? Could he be the madam¡¯s close friend?¡±

    Yu Yanluo gave him a sidelong nce and replied, ¡°Are you really asking me that to my face? Do you have no sense of shame?¡±

    Zu An began sweating buckets. What the hell is going on? This woman has even more secrets? She actually even knows my real identity?

    Is she trying to trick me?

    But why did she say my name? That¡¯s just too much of a coincidence, right? Or does she have some kind of system that lets her see my true name too?

    As if seeing through his confusion, Yu Yanluo said, ¡°I already had my suspicions from earlier. For some reason, I felt you were somewhat familiar. But because your disguise was too good, I did not immediately realize that it was you.

    ¡°Later on, when you exited the painting, I was not wearing much clothing while sleeping. When you restrained me, you saw that my shoulder was exposed to the air, so you even helped me cover up again. At first, I thought you were a gentleman, which was why I still treated you quite well.¡±

    ¡°Butter on, you¡­ You tied me up like that, and even took out those assorted medicines, so I immediately knew you were definitely no gentleman at your very core. And yet, if you were not such an upright gentleman, there would be no way you could have remainedpletely indifferent to the previous temptation. Even though I am no seductress, I believe I still have some charm. There are not many men who could hold themselves back in a situation where I was not wearing my clothes, but you were clearly not the gentleman I imagined. That left only one possibility: You knew me, and our rtionship was not bad.¡±

    Zu An harrumphed. ¡°But this does not prove that I am that person you are talking about.¡±

    Yu Yanluo had a smile on her face when she heard his attitude. She replied, ¡°With that as the premise, the rest was easy to deduce. Even though I know many people, there are not many who would dare to do something like this. Besides, the way you did things just now was also quite different from the people I am familiar with.

    ¡°Furthermore, you seemed especially concerned with Yanyou¡¯s disappearance, as well as Jian Taiding and the fiend races¡¯ smuggling affair. The ones who are the most interested in these things in all of Cloudcenter Commandery are none other than the Imperial Envoy.

    ¡°Furthermore, only three people would have the ability to infiltrate my room. Sang Hong is already old; this is not his style of doing things. Apart from you, the mysterious Golden Token Eleven was a possibility, but the only one who could tie me up with these Jade Moon Serpent tendons was you alone, Zu An. Back then, you helped the crown prince take down an eighth ranked Jade Moon Serpent during his exam. That is not a secret to those who have looked into the matter.

    ¡°Furthermore, to be so familiar with the Royal Academy¡¯s Rear Mountain, it could be no one else but you.¡±

    When he heard the entire analysis, Zu An was shocked and left inplete admiration. He eximed, ¡°Madam really is the reincarnation of Sherlock Holmes!¡±

    ¡°Who is Sherlock Holmes?¡± Yu Yanluo mouthed the name to herself. She began to think about whether any famous people she knew had that surname.

    ¡°Uh, he¡¯s a detective with legendary reasoning abilities.¡± Zu An gave a vague exnation and quickly changed the topic. Since his identity had already been exposed, there was no point in continuing to deny it. His face changed, gradually returning to his original appearance.

    Yu Yanluo was dumbfounded by the entire process. ¡°What kind of ability is this? You actually transformed yourself!¡±

    She had originally thought that he¡¯d used some kind of miraculous artifact, such as a mysterious face mask. How could she have known that he had actually changed himself? His ability was way too shocking!

    Zu An had a helpless smile on his face as he replied, ¡°It¡¯s my first time using it, but didn¡¯t you still expose me?¡±

    Yu Yanluo said with a serious expression, ¡°The reason why I was able to see through it was because I am skilled in the field of art and saw through that sliver of a w in your disguise. A normal person would be unable to see through it at all.¡± Halfway through her sentence, however, she suddenly felt that something was strange. She couldn''t help but add with a sneer, ¡°How much longer do you n to keep me tied up like this?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll help you out right now,¡± Zu An replied. Seeing that he had already been exposed and couldn''t continue the interrogation, there was no meaning in keeping her tied up anymore. He walked behind her and began to undo the knots.

    He hadn¡¯t noticed it when he was interrogating her, but now that he was up close, when he saw her in such a strange posture and smelled the fragranceing from her, which man¡¯s thoughts wouldn¡¯t run wild?

    He said, ¡°Ahem, I apologize for the offense and ask for the madam¡¯s forgiveness.¡±

    As soon as she got a bit of breathing room, Yu Yanluo¡¯s body moved slightly. Then, like a beautiful snake, she slipped out of the gap.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes widened. This degree of flexibility is a bit too ridiculous, isn¡¯t it?

    ¡°Hmph, weren¡¯t you acting all tough when you were interrogating me before? Why do you lookpletely different now?¡± Yu Yanluo rubbed her wrists and gave Zu An an unhappy re.

    Zu An was a bit embarrassed. He exined, ¡°It was different just then. That was mainly for investigating the case¡­¡±

    ¡°Hah, so is that why you took out aphrodisiacs?¡± Yu Yanluo gave him a strange look. ¡°You barged into a woman¡¯s chambers disguised as her husband, and you even brought all sorts of strange drugs with you. Don¡¯t tell me you actually have that kind of secret hobby?¡±

    ¡°Absolutely not!¡± Zu An wouldn¡¯t dare to shoulder such usations. ¡°This was a skill I just obtained not too long ago, and I just learned it too. You were the first one I used it on.¡±

    Yu Yanluo released a light snort, her cheeks turning a bit red. She said, ¡°You really are daring,ing over here to mess with me for your first time.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m being wronged here! I really was investigating the case! I¡¯ve never thought about using it to do anything despicable.¡± Zu An even felt a bit guilty as he tried to defend himself. After all, he really had barged into a woman¡¯s chambers disguised as her husband in the middle of the night. No matter how one looked at it, his motives definitely seemed impure.

    ¡°That ¡®Eighteen Spring Winds¡¯... Hmph, just saying it dirties my mouth. How do you exin those drugs?¡± Yu Yanluo asked. She obviously wasn¡¯t going to let him off so easily.

    ¡°Back then, there were some people who wanted to harm me and used them on me. Later on, I took them as my spoils,¡± Zu An replied.

    Yu Yanluo was stunned. Her expression became a bit strange when she looked at Zu An. These drugs were used on a man? Was it a man or a woman who used it on him? Just the thought of that scene alone was absurd.

    When he saw Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression, Zu An knew that her thoughts were all over the ce. He eximed, ¡°I really didn¡¯t think any weird thoughts! From start to finish, I never actually did anything to you, right? That¡¯s something you should know clearly.¡±

    ¡°Being tied up like that isn¡¯t considered doing something?¡± There was a bit of anger in Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression.

    In all of these years, she had encountered countless pursuers, and all of them had treated her with utmost respect. They had been scared to leave her with any bad impressions. And yet now, this guy had actually treated her like a maid, humiliating her like that. Just the thought alone¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Yu Yanluo for +69 +69 +69¡­

    ¡°I did that because I panicked. After all, you almost took me down from your surprise attack.¡± Zu An shivered inwardly when he remembered what had happened. The libationer¡¯s disciples were all outstanding after all, with many trump cards and secrets.

    ¡°If not for the fact that you still treated me with respect earlier, do you think I would have had the patience to say all this to you?¡± Yu Yanluo sorted out her clothes, and subconsciously wanted to sit down on her bed. But immediately afterward, she felt that doing so in front of a man in the middle of the night might be suggesting something, especially after the awkward things that had just happened. As such, she changed her mind and sat down by a table off to the side. When she saw the hole in the painting on the desk, she said regretfully, ¡°An excellent painting has been destroyed.¡±

    Zu An said with a sigh of amazement, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect the madam to have hidden it so well. Everyone in the world thinks you¡¯re weak and powerless, but none of them have any idea that you could even hide a dragon in here. Now, my act of saving you when I was only at the third rank in Brightmoon City really seems like a joke.¡±

    A hint of gentleness appeared on Yu Yanluo¡¯s face. She replied, ¡°That is not what I believe at all. A man¡¯s chivalry is more significant if it is disyed when he is weak. Anyone can step forward bravely when they are strong, and only those who still dare to take the risk to save others when they are weak are truly deserving of admiration. Honestly, you were quite cute in the past; you even said you would be my¡­¡±

    Her smile suddenly froze when she said that. The other party¡¯s ¡®bold, visionary words¡¯ had just seemed like the ignorance of a youngster in the past, so she hadn¡¯t thought about it too much. But today, Zu An really had barged in pretending to be her husband! Furthermore, he had even tied up her up like that¡­ Her expression turned strange when she thought of that.

    Zu An¡¯s face heated up when he saw her expression. He immediately said, ¡°You even asked the emperor for mercy for my sake. At first, I thought it was just because you were repaying your gratitude in the past, but now, it seems you wouldn¡¯t have been in any danger at all and it didn¡¯t matter. Why did you make a trip all the way to the capital to help me back then?¡±

    ¡°It was my teacher who entrusted me with the task of helping you. When I heard this request, I was a bit surprised, because I did not understand why you would have any connection with my teacher. However, I did n to save you myself too, because I have always admired you quite a bit. That was why I agreed,¡± Yu Yanluo exined.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°The libationer?¡± Zu An¡¯s expression changed a bit. He had been nothing more than a drafted son-inw back then, the definition of a good-for-nothing in the eyes of most people. How could he possibly have drawn the attention of someone like the libationer?

    Wait, Principal Jiang also took good care of me when I was back in Brightmoon Academy. Jiang Luofu was also the libationer¡¯s disciple¡­

    He felt as if he had always been one of the libationer¡¯s chess pieces. Why did he have such a horrifying feeling?

    Yu Yanluo gave him a look. She smiled and said, ¡°I was also quite confused as to why that elder would pay so much attention to you. At first, I almost thought you were his illegitimate child.¡±

    ¡°And then?¡± Zu An thought to himself that having such an awesome patron behind him wasn¡¯t something he would reject at all¡­

    ¡°But then I felt I was just overthinking things, because you and teacher look nothing alike,¡± Yu Yanluo said with an amused expression. Zu An was speechless.

    The two of them chatted for a while, but then the conversation returned to the main point. Zu An said, ¡°Madam, since you know that Jian Taiding harmed the duke and even colluded with the fiend races, I must ask you to cooperate with us by punishing him.¡±

    Yu Yanluo shook her head and replied, ¡°I fear that I cannot.¡±

    Zu An was surprised, asking, ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Because I have no proof, of course.¡± Yu Yanluo blinked. ¡°Furthermore, the Yu n and Jian n¡¯s rtionship is tangled andplicated; it is not convenient for me to personally step in.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, Looks like the Yu n really was involved.

    Yu Yanluo rested her chin on her hand and looked at him with a smile, saying, ¡°But do not misunderstand; this is also for the sake of your people. Jian Taiding currently controls the Martial Affairs Manor¡¯s troops. If there is no conclusive proof, those troops can easily cause a huge disaster.¡±

    ¡°You won¡¯t even cooperate with us, so where would I go to find proof?¡± Zu An asked dejectedly.

    ¡°Actually, there is something you can do.¡± Yu Yanluoughed. The entire room seemed to brighten a bit thanks to her smile.

 Chapter 1059: Her Smell Is Still There?

    <h4>Chapter 1059: Her Smell Is Still There?</h4>

    Zu An sighed in amazement. This woman was really the perfect definition of what a truly gorgeous woman was. He had always been curious why in his previous world¡¯s history, King You of Zhou would do something so stupid as lighning warning beacons for no reason other than to make his wife Bao Si smile[1], but now, he had a good idea. If it were a beauty as incredible as Yu Yanluo, for the sake of making her smile, men would easily make impulsive decisions.

    He collected his thoughts and asked curiously, ¡°What is that?¡±

    Yu Yanluo gave him a look. Her expression became a bit strange. She replied, ¡°Didn¡¯t you just impersonate my husband? Just continue to pretend to be him. Even though I can see through it, that doesn¡¯t mean others can.¡±

    Zu An realized something. He asked, ¡°You¡¯re saying to just try something and test the waters?¡±

    Yu Yanluo nodded and replied, ¡°Correct. You can return to the Duke Manor as Yanyou and seize back all of the military authority. That way, even if Jian Taiding wants to rebel, he will have no troops to do so.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes lit up. Right now, their greatest threat was Jian Taiding¡¯s military authority, since he could flip the table at any time. Sang Hong had no choice but to call for reinforcements from Yi Commandery.

    Those troops would take time to arrive, and Cloudcenter Commandery was Jian Taiding¡¯s domain. When the time came, it would be hard to hide those troops from him. Who knew what he would do if backed against a wall?

    But if Zu An went disguised as Jian Yanyou, he could control the troops and even use this identity to investigate the entire sequence of events. After all, Jian Yanyou had been led to his death by Jian Taiding. If Jian Taiding saw his older brother who should have been dead appear again, his soul might just leave his very body.

    As the saying went, as soon as there was a little bit of chaos, mistakes would easily follow. Zu An just had to wait for openings to take advantage of and exploit.

    ¡°But many people are familiar with Jian Yanyou. I also don¡¯t know anything about his habits and other things. Even if I look the same, I¡¯ll probably be exposed quickly.¡± Zu An was a bit worried.

    ¡°That is indeed a problem.¡± Yu Yanluo remained quiet for a moment before continuing, ¡°How about this? You should just pretend to have been seriously hurt and lost your memory. That way, you can exin most of the discrepancies.¡±

    ¡°Amnesia?¡± Zu An had a strange expression. This stupid TV drama cliche really is pretty useful¡­ He hadn¡¯t expected her to have even thought of that on her own.

    ¡°Indeed. As for Yanyou¡¯s normal lifestyle habits, I am here. I can teach you.¡± Yu Yanluo¡¯s eyes began to sparkle. She was no longer as calm as before and instead seemed to have found something interesting.

    ¡°You¡¯re familiar with his normal routines?¡± Zu An couldn''t help but ask. He had previously heard that the two of them usually didn¡¯t live together.

    As if seeing through his thoughts, Yu Yanluo smiled and said, ¡°He is my husband after all. Even if we were just putting on an act, we had to do it such that it was convincing for everyone else. I naturally needed to know about some of the details.¡±

    She suddenly felt stunned. Why did she have to exin their real rtionship to him?

    Zu An was incredibly shocked and eximed, ¡°You and the duke were just husband and wife in name?¡± Even though that was what he had suspected, it was the first time he had heard such a conclusive statement.

    Seeing as she had already spoken of it, Yu Yanluo didn¡¯t continue to hide it either. She sighed and said, ¡°Indeed. In the past, I drew way too much attention with this appearance of mine¡­ There were many crazy pursuersing after me. In order to avoid trouble, I decided to find someone to marry. That person had to have enough status, and only then would it stop those¡­ rivals in love. At the same time, he could not be too far from the Yu n. The most important part was that he had to be of good moral character, or else he might treat the fake marriage seriously. That would put me in a tough situation.

    ¡°These conditions would not be too difficult individually, but when put together, there were extremely few candidates. In the end, I chose Yanyou. He perfectly fulfilled his promises to me over the years.

    ¡°To be honest, he is one of my few good friends. It was one thing when I did not know what happened before, but now that I know he was plotted against, I naturally need to help avenge him.¡±

    ¡°Could it be that after all these years, Cloudcenter Duke, he¡­ never asked you for anything more?¡± Zu An felt a bit of disbelief.

    Yu Yanluo shot him an annoyed look and replied, ¡°He is a true gentleman. Do you think he is the same as you?¡±

    Zu An instead sneered inwardly. This Cloudcenter Duke really was something. He had such a devastatingly beautiful woman as his wife, and yet he really hadn¡¯t even taken half a step over the boundaries. Just how had he done it?

    ¡°How about youe over and practice these next few days? I will tell you some details about the Duke Manor so you can sessfully deceive those who serve Yanyou,¡± Yu Yanluo continued.

    Zu An replied, ¡°But it isn¡¯t too convenient during the day¡­ The temporary residence has been surrounded by the Military Affairs Manor¡¯s troops. I actually snuck out today. Everyone outside thinks I¡¯m seriously injured and resting. If someone knew what my current condition was like, it might just cause a huge uproar.¡±

    Yu Yanluo also realized that. ¡°I almost would have forgotten if you had not told me. Judging from how tough and lively you were when you fought against me earlier, you did not seem injured at all! Jian Taiding was wounded so badly that he could not even leave his home, and he is a master rank cultivator!¡± She felt more and more rmed as she spoke. Her enticing red lips were agape for a long time.

    ¡°I was actually injured too. I just forcefully endured it when I fought against you earlier¡­¡± Zu An said humbly.

    Yu Yanluo was speechless. She asked, ¡°You were able to defeat me even while you were injured? Are you trying to shame my cultivation or my intelligence?¡±

    Zu Anughed awkwardly and replied, ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant. I still have some injuries, but my regenerative ability is pretty strong. My body is rather sturdy too.¡±

    ¡°Your body is indeed pretty hard.¡± That was something Yu Yanluo had to admit. In her painting world, she was like a deity. The monster she made had actually been smashed apart by his fist, and he had even managed to survive the terrifying ocean wave. The toughness of his body already surpassed that of any human.

    But her cheeks turned red as soon as she said that. She immediately realized her words were a bit ambiguous and provocative. They really were improper. She secretly gave Zu An a look and saw that his eyes remained clear, his expression still normal. He didn¡¯t seem to have heard anything strange. She sighed inwardly in relief.

    She cleared her throat and quickly changed the topic, asking, ¡°Then when would it be more convenient for you toe?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think the day would work. Let¡¯s just do it at night,¡± Zu An replied after thinking about it.

    ¡°At night?¡± Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression turned strange.

    Zu An also realized his response was inappropriate. He exined awkwardly, ¡°I didn¡¯t have any other meaning.¡±

    ¡°I know.¡± Yu Yanluo smiled warmly. ¡°How about this? It would be inconvenient for you to return for the time being. Either way, everyone else thinks you are cultivating in seclusion, so you should just stay here at my ce. We should use the time we have to train you well. That way, you can quickly go back and stabilize the situation in the Duke Manor.¡±

    ¡°Live with you here?¡± Zu An¡¯s face heated up. He asked, ¡°This is a bit too inconvenient, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°I am not even worried as the woman; what is a man like you scared of?¡± Yu Yanluo frowned slightly. But she quickly realized something. She looked at him with a strange expression and asked, ¡°You did not think I meant you would live in this room, did you?¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Only then did Zu An realize that it was his thoughts that had gone the wrong way.

    Yu Yanluo harrumphed when she saw his expression. ¡°You really know how to daydream. There is a room next door; you will stay over there. The manor¡¯s people normally do not go there, so no one will know you are there.¡±

    Zu An chuckled in embarrassment. However, he realized another problem. If he continued to stay here and something happened back at the temporary residence, what if Big Manman went looking for him?

    ¡°What is it? Is there anything else that is worrying you?¡± Yu Yanluo noticed that he seemed to be deeply troubled by something and asked out of curiosity.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I¡¯ll be troubling the madam then.¡± Zu An decided he was going to exin to Big Manman when he had some time another day. It shouldn¡¯t be too big of an issue.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Yu Yanluo nodded and said, ¡°I will bring you to the room so you can take a look for now.¡± She got up and walked over to the wall. She rotated a button on it, and a door slowly opened.

    Zu An was rmed, eximing, ¡°The two sides are connected?¡±

    Yu Yanluo voiced her confirmation. ¡°The next room is also one of my bedrooms, so I joined them together for the sake of convenience. However, you cannot open this door from your side.¡±

    Zu An said dejectedly, ¡°You make it sound as if I¡¯d sneak my way over in the middle of the night or something.¡±

    Yu Yanluo looked at him calmly and replied, ¡°Is that not what you did today?¡±

    Zu An was speechless. However, he couldn''t help but look at her eyes a few times. Yu Yanluo¡¯s eyes were enchanting like gemstones, and mysterious like the starry skies.

    However, what left him with an even deeper impression was that during that intense fight earlier, her eyes had released that beautiful and sinister light. He really had felt the threat of death back then.

    What the hell was that? A kind of eye technique?

    He had watched Naruto before, so he was no stranger to eye techniques. But that thing was clearly her trump card, so he couldn''t just ask her about it.

    Yu Yanluo pointed at the room and said, ¡°I stay there sometimes as well, so everything you need should be there. See if there is anything missing and let me know. The Yu n has many people with all sorts of different opinions. In order to prevent others from knowing about this, I will have the things you need delivered to my room, then pass them to you.¡±

    Zu An waved his hand casually and said, ¡°There¡¯s no need; just a bed is enough. I¡¯m not that picky.¡±

    Yu Yanluo replied, ¡°Then you should rest for now. I will draw some portraits of people from the Duke Manor who are rather close to Yanyou. That way, you will be able to recognize them.¡±

    ¡°That would be bothering you; that¡¯s way too much work!¡± Zu An eximed, a bit embarrassed.

    Yu Yanluo smiled and said, ¡°It might be a lot of work for ordinary people, but illustration is my field of expertise. It is not that difficult for me at all. It has already gotten dark, so you can get some rest first. I will continue sleeping after I finish the drawings too.¡±

    She closed the door after the two of them said their goodbyes. Zu Any on the bed, his head full of thoughts. He wondered if she was the one who had killed Yu Xuantao.

    Even so, he had gained a lot from his trip thanks to their previous interaction. At the very least, he now knew she wasn¡¯t the final boss he had imagined. Furthermore, together with her help, dealing with Jian Taiding was going to be much easier.

    But what was annoying was that the mission the emperor had given him was to take down the Yu n¡­

    Wait, the emperor is going to be my enemy sooner orter. He wants to deal with the Yu n, but I secretly want to protect them. Isn¡¯t it fine then? He immediately felt much better when he thought of that.

    Suddenly, he smelled a scent that was both reminiscent of orchids, but also of someone¡¯s natural fragrance,ing from the covers. He immediately remembered that Yu Yanluo had told him she would sleep on this side from time to time. The covers carried her smell.

    That distinctive smell still remained after so long! It didn¡¯t seem to be the smell of cosmetic products, either. But he had been to Rouge Spice a few days ago, and had smelled many famous products. None of them smelled that good!

    Suddenly, the door on the wall opened up. Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression wasn¡¯t as calm as before. She sprinted over and snatched the nket covering him away. She said before turning around and leaving quickly, ¡°These covers are old. I had a maid bring over a set of new covers. Wait for a bit.¡±

    Even though she tried her best to sound calm, the trace of redness around her neck sold her out.

    1. It is said that Bao Si did notugh easily. After trying many methods and failing, King You tried to amuse his favorite queen by lighting warning beacons and fooling his nobles into thinking that the Quanrong nomads were about to attack. The nobles arrived at the castle only to find themselvesughed at by Bao Si. Even after King You had impressed Bao Si, he continued to abuse his use of warning beacons and lost the trust of the nobles. -Excerpt from Wikipedia ?

 Chapter 1060: Paper Wives

    <h4>Chapter 1060: Paper Wives</h4>

    ¡°???¡±

    There were a thousand question marks in Zu An¡¯s mind. Isn¡¯t this just a nket you slept in before? Do you have to be that embarrassed? Or was that scent another smell?

    Yu Yanluo had already changed into a nightgown. The silk material was close-fitting, hazily outlining her mature and wonderful figure. But the more it appeared so ambiguous, the more enticing it was. That was especially true for her waist and bottom, which formed simply outrageous arcs. She was the definition of natural womanly charm.

    Soon afterward, Yu Yanluo came back with a brand new set of nkets and said, ¡°Here.¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­ thanks, madam.¡± Zu An really didn¡¯t know what to say. He couldn''t just ask her what that smell was, could he?

    He was just about to say something when his eyes narrowed. Because Yu Yanluo had bent down to arrange the new covers, her cor area waspletely exposed. Together with the fact that she was wearing extremely loose and spacious sleepwear, a beautiful scene was fully revealed when she bent down.

    Zu An was obviously too embarrassed to take advantage of her at that moment, and he looked away stiffly.

    Yu Yanluo helped him rece the covers, but suddenly noticed that he was acting strangely, When she lowered her head, her face immediately reddened. She quickly held her hands in front of her chest and stood back up.

    She had just changed her clothes, but then had been in a rush to change the covers, so she hadn¡¯t immediately reacted. She usually dressed casually that way when she was alone, because there was no way another man would enter her room. That was why she hadn¡¯t noticed anything after she changed her clothes.

    But she didn¡¯t scream and lose her head like a youngdy, instead pretending to be calm and saying, ¡°Since you have not slept yet, juste over and take a look at those people from the Duke Manor.¡±

    Zu An was shocked. He asked, ¡°You already finished drawing them that quickly?¡±

    Yu Yanluo smiled and said, ¡°I have already drawn several of them. You can watch me draw the rest of them.¡±

    Her statement drew Zu An¡¯s interest. He said, ¡°Perfect; I wanted to learn how to draw better.¡±

    ¡°You want to learn how to draw?¡± Yu Yanluo replied, stunned.

    Zu An nodded and said, ¡°It¡¯s because my transformation technique¡¯s basic requirement is mastery of drawing. Only then can I perfectly mimic my target¡¯s details. I already practiced for a long time and thought I was already a master, but you immediately saw through it.¡±

    ¡°So that was what it was.¡± Yu Yanluo realized why Zu An wanted to learn. She said, ¡°Your transformation technique is quite incredible. That¡¯s good too, then. While observing me, you can try to think about which areas you can still improve on. That way, there won¡¯t be any ws when you try to fool others in the future.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, Why does this sound so weird? He immediately got off the bed and followed her out.

    Yu Yanluo had her fur coat draped over her cor. She had clearly already noticed what happened. But talking about such a matter would embarrass them both. It would be better to just just let bygones be bygones.

    She took out several drawings and handed them to Zu An, exining, ¡°The first is the Duke Manor¡¯s butler, Uncle Ming. The manor¡¯s tasks, big and small, are under his management. He has already followed Yanyou for many years, and is someone who is extremely familiar with him. If anyone has a chance of seeing through your disguise, it will be him.¡±

    Zu An received it and gave the paper a look. He saw a man who looked just like one of the butlers he was familiar with. He recognized that person; they had met previously during the investigation of the Duke Manor.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The drawing was just like the other person, as expected. What was even more shocking was that this drawing seemed too lifelike, as if it weren¡¯t just a drawing, but rather a real person.

    Suddenly, it rippled, and a strand of mist slowly rose from the paper. It thennded on the ground. The mist slowly scattered outward, gradually forming a human image. Who else could it be but Uncle Ming?!

    ¡°The young master may call me Uncle Ming. Please ask me if there is anything you need to know about the manor.¡± The person bowed to Zu An. His tone was polite, and yet also carried a bit of distance, exactly the same as when they had met the first time.

    Zu An was surprised. He hadn¡¯t expected the other person to appear. All of the muscles in his body immediately went taut, ready to retaliate at a moment¡¯s notice.

    Yu Yanluo smiled sweetly and said, ¡°There is no need for you to be nervous. He is merely a drawing of mine, he is not real.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s just a drawing?¡± Zu An¡¯s eyes widened. He quickly turned and saw that sure enough, his hand could pass right through the other party¡¯s body. The drawing clearly didn¡¯t have a body.

    ¡°Young master, please do not do that. It will quickly speed up my rate of disappearance,¡± ¡®Uncle Ming¡¯ took a step back and said a bit helplessly.

    ¡°It can even speak?¡± Zu An looked at Yu Yanluo. He was now utterly shocked.

    Yu Yanluo exined, ¡°He is just an existence that has emerged from my drawing. Strictly speaking, he is not really alive. Whenever I finish drawing someone and give them preset designs, they appear vividly like this, bing just like the one I wish to draw. However, they do not have corporeal bodies and scatter after a bit of time.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but sigh. He said, ¡°When I heard the phrase ¡®drawings so vivid they seem alive¡¯ before, I thought it was just a legend, but Madam has really done it, and is even able to make living people.¡±

    He couldn''t help but think back to all those shut-ins with their 2D waifus. If they had Yu Yanluo¡¯s help, wouldn¡¯t their 2D waifus all be real people? Even if it were only for a moment, that would be enough to make them all go wild. It wasn¡¯t just shut-ins, either. If Yu Yanluo drew some celebrities, their fans would also go crazy from excitement.

    The only regretful thing was that the drawings had no real bodies. They could only be seen, not touched¡­

    ¡°This is just the result of a lot of practice,¡± Yu Yanluo said nonchntly, as if she were talking about something extremelymonce. She continued, ¡°Hm? What are you thinking about? Hurry up and use this chance to familiarize yourself with him. This way, there will be no holes in your behavior when you meet him as Yanyouter.¡±

    ¡°Oh, alright.¡± Zu An¡¯s face heated up. What the hell am I thinking about? Why would a shut-in need a real body? Having their two hands to apany them is already enough.

    Yu Yanluo continued, ¡°I have already put everything I know about Uncle Ming into this drawing. He will exin everything to you. You can just chat with him, and he will tell you those things. I will go back to drawing the others.¡±

    She lowered her head and focused on her drawing again. Her pen danced along the paper like a dragon, but perhaps because of what had happened previously, even though she had a fur coat covering her, she still subconsciously used her hand to cover her chest.

    Who are you even on guard against? Am I that kind of person? Zu An was a bit dispirited.

    However, his attention quickly shifted to Uncle Ming. The other party began to discuss things with him, exining all manner of information to him. It included several details about Jian Yanyou¡¯s normal lifestyle.

    Zu An sighed in amazement. It really was much easier interacting with such a ¡®living¡¯ person than reading from a sheet of paper.

    After some time passed, Uncle Ming¡¯s figure began to turn blurry. In the end, he turned into specks of light and vanished.

    Yu Yanluo sensed something. She raised her head and asked, ¡°How much of all of that did you remember? How about I draw another copy for you?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need, I remembered it all.¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°You remembered it all?¡± Yu Yanluo frowned slightly. Because of her beautiful appearance, her pursuers had tried every trick in the book. Many people would keep acting just to get more of her attention. But for some reason, she didn¡¯t want Zu An to be such a person. She couldn''t help but feel a bit of disappointment.

    ¡°I really did remember it all.¡± Zu An pointed at his head and said, ¡°My memory has always been pretty good.¡±

    Ever since he¡¯d had his aptitude improved by the system¡¯s Marrow Cleansing Pills, he could pretty much learn anything after looking at it once.

    Back then, Thick Browed Daoist had had ¡®Face of a Thousand Identities¡¯ for so long, and yet he hadn¡¯t managed to get very far. He was an eighth ranked cultivator, so his aptitude wasn¡¯t low either, meaning ¡®Face of a Thousand Identities'' was a technique that was extremely difficult to understand. However, Zu An had already learned most of it on the way to Cloudcenter Commandery.

    If he¡¯d had such an ability in his previous world, he would have been able to get into any university he wanted!

    ¡°Really?¡± Yu Yanluo was already feeling somewhat unhappy. She continued, ¡°Then let me test you. What are Yanyou¡¯s sleeping habits?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Yu Yanluo for +33 +33 +33¡­

    Zu An was puzzled. Why did she suddenly get upset for no reason?

    But since she had asked him, he answered, ¡°He definitely wouldn¡¯t eat anything a few hours before bed, nor would he drink any tea. Furthermore, he would head to the study to read for a bit.¡±

    ¡°Oh. Then what book does he like the most?¡± Yu Yanluo asked.

    ¡°Previously, he was reading the ¡®Spring and Autumn Annals¡¯,¡± Zu AN replied.

    ¡­

    After she had asked a series of questions, a look of surprise appeared in Yu Yanluo¡¯s eyes. She had thought that Zu An was just boasting at first, but he really did remember every single detail clearly.

    She was finally convinced, and said, ¡°I apologize; I suspected you incorrectly. It seems you really are quite talented.¡± She was someone who had knowledge across many fields. She naturally understood what a highly retentive memory meant.

    ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to madam¡¯s incredible drawing skills.¡± Zu An sighed in amazement.

    Yu Yanluo smiled and said, ¡°I suggest that you change into Yanyou again so it will feel more naturalter.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself that her suggestion made sense. He was training to fool the people close to Jian Yanyou in the Duke Manor, so he naturally needed to use Jian Yanyou¡¯s appearance to get a good feeling for it beforehand. As such, his face began to change, gradually turning into Jian Yanyou¡¯s.

    Yu Yanluo stared at him the entire time. After she witnessed the whole process, she couldn''t help but say, ¡°This skill of yours really ispletely unique. It is almost as if you have stolen one of the crafts of heaven.¡±

    ¡°But I don¡¯t have much confidence in it anymore after madam exposed me,¡± Zu An said with a bitter smile. Having his first attempt seen through really didn¡¯t feel amazing.

    ¡°I will help you perfect itter, so you will not have to worry about being seen through anymore.¡± Yu Yanluo smiled. She pointed at the paper on the table and suggested, ¡°Why not take a look at the next drawing first?¡±

    Zu An nodded. He picked up the new sheet of paper. When he saw it, however, his entire body froze up. He had thought that it would be one of the important guards of the manor, but who could have expected that it would be an incredibly beautiful woman?

    Every beauty really has their own unique charms¡­ Even though she was a bit inferior to his close female friends, she was still a first rate beauty.

    He gave the other papers a look. They were also of other beauties. However, they each had a particrly distinctive trait. Judging from their hairstyles and outfits, they were clearly married women.

    As his eyes passed over them, the beauties all turned into mist that flew out of the paper. When they saw Zu An, they all surrounded him excitedly and eximed, ¡°My lord!¡±

    Zu An was rmed.

 Chapter 1061: Defending Traditions of the Past

    <h4>Chapter 1061: Defending Traditions of the Past</h4>

    Zu An jumped in fright. This was the first time he had felt so flustered while being surrounded by beauties. He quickly moved backward and looked at Yu Yanluo, asking, ¡°Madam, what is going on here?¡±

    Yu Yanluo gave him a look of dissatisfaction, replying, ¡°How can you act like that? People will immediately see that something is off if you do that.¡±

    ¡°But you have to at least tell me who they are, right?¡± Zu An protested. The women chased him again, simultaneously grabbing his arms. They even had him rest his elbows on their chests.

    Even though they didn¡¯t have physical bodies, there was a faint fragrance of cosmeticsing from their bodies. That alone was enough to make one¡¯s mind go wild.

    Yu Yanluo couldn''t help but smile when she saw Zu An¡¯s flustered state. She exined, ¡°They are Yanyou¡¯s wives. The one with therge chest who is pulling on your hand is Liu Ji. The one with the long legs is Zhang Ji. The one with the thin waist is Chu Ji. Once you enter the Duke Manor, you will interact with them sooner orter. You should get used to them, or else that kind of gap in your behavior might appear.¡±

    Zu An could no longer remain calm when he heard her introduction. He eximed, ¡°You¡¯re having your husband¡¯s wives apany another man?¡±

    Even though that was what he said, he had to admit it was an extremely attractive proposal. The women really all had their own charms. Furthermore, as young married women, they were all at their most charming ages, not to mention their appeal as the wives of a duke.

    Why is my little guy not listening to me right now?

    Ah Zu, Ah Zu, how can you have such a nasty preference?

    Hmph, this preference is called defending the traditions of the past!

    Yu Yanluo looked at him with a strange expression and remarked, ¡°What are you thinking about right now? I am only telling you to get used to their skinship. It is not as if I am telling you to sleep with them.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. Are you messing with me right now?

    You clearly suggested all sorts of things, and you even made these girls wear so little clothes. But then¡­ This is it?

    As if sensing his dissatisfaction, Yu Yanluo had a proud look as she said, ¡°I do not care what else you do once you go into the duke manor, but you are not allowed to disturb Yanyou¡¯s inner chamber. He is my friend, after all; I cannot do something so dishonest to him.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but mumble, ¡°The duke already died anyway, so they¡¯d have to be pretty bored¡­¡±

    ¡°What did you say?¡± Yu Yanluo¡¯s pretty brows shot up.

    Zu An coughed and added, ¡°I meant that once this matter is over, we should let them leave the Duke Manor. Those who should remarry should remarry. There¡¯s no need for them to stay there for the rest of their lives.¡±

    Yu Yanluo was a bit surprised and said, ¡°Your way of thinking is quite different from most men in this world. You seem to be much more open-minded.¡±

    Zu An sighed and replied, ¡°It¡¯s not that my thoughts are open-minded, but rather that this world as a whole is too backward in its thinking.¡±

    He couldn''t help but recall his previous world again. He discovered that even though many of his thoughts were still affected by that world, he was already getting more and more used to this world. He didn¡¯t want to go back as badlypared to when he had first arrived.

    Yu Yanluo couldn''t understand what he was trying to say, but she didn¡¯t bother trying either. She said, ¡°Get used to them for now. The things they know are probably things Uncle Ming does not know.¡±

    Zu An was confused.He asked, ¡°How do you know this much about the Duke Manor¡¯s inner chambers?¡± She even knew the secrets Uncle Ming and the concubines of the harem knew.

    Yu Yanluo said with a smile, ¡°I have been managing such arge n, so I naturally have some methods of my own. Previously, when my marriage agreement with Jian Yanyou was made, how could I have not prepared any countermeasures? That is why I ced some of my people there.

    ¡°Furthermore, I could not fulfill all of my obligations as his wife, so he would naturally feel some regret. That was why I helped him find some considerate women.¡±

    ¡°These women are your subordinates?¡± Zu An thought to himself, No wonder she¡¯s so familiar with them.

    ¡°I sent over Liu Ji and Chu Ji. They are not spies the way you might be thinking; I never contacted them again after they were sent to the Duke Manor, nor did I tell them to send me any intelligence to avoid Yanyou¡¯s displeasure. I told them it was enough as long as they served our husband wholeheartedly,¡± Yu Yanluo exined.

    Zu An thought to himself, where would one even find a wife who would help her husband find concubines, and furthermore ones who were so good-looking?

    As those girls apanied him, however, he finally began gradually assuming the role of Jian Yanyou. At the very least, he wouldn¡¯t be at a loss for what to do if he encountered the women in the future.

    When they left, Zu An took the chance to move closer to the drawings. He was really curious as to just how Yu Yanluo had made them. Yu Yanluo guessed his intentions too and didn¡¯t try to hide anything. Instead, she leaned aside so he could see more clearly.

    The way Yu Yanluo put pen to paper was entirely different from the way a normal person would. Before she drew, she closed her eyes and thought for a bit. Then, a faint smile appeared on her face, and her pen started to move.

    She didn¡¯t immediately use the brush, but instead used her ink pen to draw some seemingly messy lines that somehow also vaguely hinted at a pattern. Then, under the maniption of her fingers, the single pen seemed to multiply into many, drawing simultaneously on the paper. The disordered and messy outline was gradually connected together, and a figure started to take form.

    In the end, only the two eye sockets were left nk. She wasn¡¯t in a rush to fill them in and instead turned to look at Zu An, saying, ¡°Your drawing skills do not have many deficiencies; the only w is the eyes. The eyes are windows into the soul, as well as the key in the infusion of the soul. If you want to fully draw out the charm of your target, the eyes are the easiest ce to start¡­¡±

    Then, she exined various things about theprehension of the target¡¯s charms, as well as how to draw them. With such an incredible teacher to teach him, Zu An immediately gained enlightenment into his previous questions.

    ¡­

    The sky outside had already unknowingly brightened. Yu Yanluo¡¯s eyes shone with brilliance as she eximed, ¡°You really are freakishly talented! You managed toprehend so much in a single night. The only thing that is missing is real practice and the umtion of time. After a few more years, your skill in the arts might just surpass mine.¡±

    ¡°The madam is too humble. I am indebted to your teachings, which were the reason why I was able to understand how profound and deep this dao is.¡± Zu An bowed toward her. ¡°Furthermore, I know just how vast the difference between the madam and myself is. I do not believe that I can ever reach your level in this life of mine.¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression became gentler as she said, ¡°Look at how sweet a talker you are. Do not forget that you have transcendent aptitude, so you can learn anything quickly. Surpassing me is not aplete impossibility.¡±

    She yawned after she finished speaking, and she couldn''t help but stretch out her body. Her body¡¯s wonderful curves were perfectly disyed. She said, ¡°No more; I cannot do this anymore. I cannot hold on anymore after doing all of that with you tonight. I normally sleep a lot in this kind of weather, so I need to make up for my sleep right now.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve truly troubled the madam. I¡¯m going to return first then; please rest well.¡± Zu An got up to bid her farewell.

    Yu Yanluo was stunned and asked, ¡°Are you not going to sleep here?¡±

    She suddenly realized that the way she had worded that sentence was strange. She quickly added, ¡°What I meant was, sleep next door.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, What, don¡¯t tell me I can sleep on your bed?

    However, he exined, ¡°I still have some things to take care of outside. I¡¯lle and seek out the madam again to continue this in the evening.¡±

    Yu Yanluo thought for a bit, then took out a jade pendant. She said, ¡°Even though your cultivation is not bad, there is no way you can be that lucky every time. Carry this with you. If you have this with you, many of the manor¡¯s defenses will not target you. You can also move freely through the Yu n then.¡±

    Zu An figured that what she said made sense. It wouldn¡¯t be too good for him to sneak around every time like a thief. He put away the jade pendant and replied, ¡°Thank you, madam!¡±

    The pendant was simr to the one Yu Yanluo had given him back in Brightmoon City. However, the material was a bit better. There was still a hint of Yu Yanluo¡¯s body temperature on it, making it feel more intimate.

    Yu Yanluo felt numb across her body when she saw Zu An caress the pendant with his fingers. It was almost as if his fingers were moving across her own body. Her expression became a bit unnatural and she said, ¡°There is no need for thanks. With your speed of learning, you should be able to go to the Duke Manor in just a few more days. You should hurry and carry on with what you need to take care of. I am going to sleep.¡±

    Zu An cupped his hands toward her. Then, he quickly exited through the window.

    Yu Yanluo stood by the windowsill, watching his disappearing figure in a daze. She stood there for a long time. Only after a while did she caress her own face and wonder to herself absentmindedly, ¡°Why do I feel a bit warm? He is clearly a lot younger than me¡­¡±

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An headed straight back to the temporary residence. There were still troops from the Military Affairs Manor outside, and he used Daji to knock them out again. Then, he went to Sang Hong to inform him about his seclusion.

    ¡°Your condition has worsened?¡± Sang Hong eximed, rmed. He immediately wanted to examine Zu An.

    ¡°It¡¯s not too big of a deal. I just want to make sure there are no hidden illnesses that will affect my future cultivation,¡± Zu An exined.

    ¡°How is that not a big deal? Focus on cultivating; you do not need to worry about Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s affairs anymore. I will not let anyone disturb you.¡± Sang Hong immediately panicked. In this world, cultivation was status and identity. This was a rising star he had favored and entrusted practically all of his family¡¯s hopes to, so how could he let something happen to Zu An?

    ¡°Thank you, respected uncle!¡± Zu An felt a bit guilty for tricking the other party when he saw just how worried Sang Hong was. However, Sang Hong was the Imperial Envoy who had to act against the Yu n, while he didn¡¯t want to antagonize the Yu n. The enemy of one¡¯s enemy was one¡¯s friend, so being friends with Yu Yanluo matched his interests more. As such, Zu An decided not to involve Sang Hong to reduce the variables.

    Then, to make sure he wasn¡¯t disturbed, Sang Hong emptied out all of the rooms around Zu An¡¯s. He even sent the Armed Escort Army to stand guard nearby and strictly prevent anyone from disturbing him.

    Zu An sighed in relief. Now, it didn¡¯t seem as if anyone woulde to disturb him anymore.

    ¡­

    After taking care of those matters, Zu An secretly left the temporary residence and arrived at Pei Manor.

    ¡°Young¡­ Young master,¡± Hong Zao called out bashfully when she saw him. Do I have to pull another all nighter today¡­

    But he always brings me good things to eat, and he is pretty handsome¡­n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    When the young miss isn¡¯t feeling too well in the future, will I have to help out¡­

    Her face immediately turned red when she thought of that. Her heart began to pound fiercely.

    ¡°Hello, Hong Zao. I brought you some peanut-vored snow dango,¡± Zu An said, patting her head dotingly. This girl was pretty cute.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to get fat from all the things the young master brings me,¡± Hong Zao said, beaming with joy. She was already starting to drool as she spoke.

    ¡°Being a bit chubby is also pretty cute.¡± Zu An pinched her cheeks. Then, he went to look for Pei Mianman.

    Hong Zao was a bit conflicted. So the young master likes girls a bit chubby? Should I eat a bit more then¡­

    ¡°You¡¯re teasing Hong Zao as soon as you get here?¡± Pei Mianman remarked, rolling her eyes.

    Zu Anughed and took her into his arms, saying, ¡°I just find that little girl a bit cute; don¡¯t think too much of it. She¡¯s still so little.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean ¡®little¡¯? You¡¯ll soon know that she isn¡¯t little at all! She¡¯s my personal maid, so she¡¯ll be yours sooner orter too.¡± Pei Mianman had a strange look on her face as she asked, ¡°Right, why didn¡¯t youe overst night?¡±

    Zu An then exined the matter of the Yu n to her. He couldn¡¯t hide it from her, or else it would be troublesome if she came to look for him.

    ¡°What? You¡¯re going to live with Yu Yanluo?!¡± Pei Mianman immediately sat up straight.

 Chapter 1062: Toying with the Heart

    <h4>Chapter 1062: Toying with the Heart</h4>

    Zu An quickly corrected her. ¡°I¡¯m not living with her; I¡¯m staying in another room next to hers.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you only separated by a single wall then?¡± Pei Mianman grabbed him as if she wanted to put him behind her protectively. ¡°Even if you weren¡¯t living in the temporary residence, you could¡¯ve just stayed with me! Why did you have to live with her?¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°It¡¯s because I have to pretend to be Jian Yanyou, so there are many details I don¡¯t know about. I need her to teach me. This is the most effective way to save the most amount of time possible.¡±

    ¡°Do you know who Yu Yanluo is? If a meteor were to fall from the sky and hit ten people anywhere in the world, at least one of them would be a fan of hers! Why would a woman like that take the initiative to invite an unfamiliar man to live next door to her?¡± Pei Mianman became vignt, saying, ¡°No way. She probably started lusting after your body after her husband passed away.¡±

    ¡°Lusting after my body?¡± Zu An gave her a strange look. I do have confidence in myself, but isn¡¯t that a bit too much?

    Pei Mianman¡¯s face also turned red. Yu Yanluo¡¯s reputation was so great that it was really hard to imagine that kind of woman desiring the body of a man. But since the words had already left her mouth, she wasn¡¯t willing to concede defeat anymore. She continued, ¡°Why not? You¡¯re handsome, and your cultivation is high. You¡¯re a good person too, and you¡¯re funny and interesting¡­ No matter how pretty she is, Yu Yanluo is still a woman; she still needs a man to love her dearly. After so many years have already passed, how could she not be moved at all? Otherwise, why didn¡¯t she look for another man, but instead let you live next door?¡±

    Seeing that it was getting more and more out of hand the more she spoke, Zu An quickly cut her off, saying, ¡°It was because I saved her before in Brightmoon City. She might just feel a bit more at ease around me because of that.¡±

    ¡°But you just said that her cultivation was really high! Hmph, that woman had the nerve to pretend to be weak and have you save her. What else could it be other than lusting after your body?¡± Pei Mianman finally seemed to have found her argument and spoke with a harrumph.

    Zu An was speechless. Any smart man wouldn¡¯t try to reason with a woman in such a situation. As such, he quickly smiled and said, ¡°Alright, alright, alright, she wants my body. But you have to trust me, I will definitely maintain my purity for you.¡±

    ¡°Trust you?¡± Pei Mianman harrumphed. ¡°Who was the one who even went after his wife¡¯s close friend?¡±

    Zu An was speechless again. He was starting to feel a bit of a headache. He picked her up and put her on hisp, spanking her. ¡°What kind of nonsense are you spouting? Our rtionship is clearly a harmonious one!¡±

    Pei Mianman¡¯s gaze became flirty as she was hit. She turned around to look at him provocatively. She said while looking ¡®rmed¡¯, ¡°No, big brother Zu! I can¡¯t do anything that¡¯ll let down Chuyan!¡±

    Zu An immediately felt himself growing bigger. This woman really was alluring!

    Pei Mianman always liked to y such harem roleying games with him, and her close friend Chuyan was a character who appeared often. If Chuyan were to see them one day, wouldn¡¯t she get so angry she¡¯d draw her sword and kill them?

    But the more it was like that, the more Zu An felt a taboo sensation of stimtion. As such, he quickly got into character as well. He harrumphed and replied, ¡°Your refusal would make things right with Chuyan, but wouldn¡¯t you be letting me down?¡±

    Pei Mianman gave him a wronged look and said, ¡°Then¡­ I guess I can at least¡­ help you out a bit. But you can¡¯t take my purity! That way, it doesn¡¯t count as betraying Chuyan.¡±

    Zu An really was amused now. She was clearly going through her period, and yet she still made her intentions sound so pure.

    ¡°No, wait. I¡¯d still have a guilty conscience after.¡± Pei Mianman quickly pushed him away a whileter. She bit her lip and continued, ¡°How about this? I¡¯ll pretend to be Chuyan, and you can treat me as if I were her. That way, I¡¯ll feel a bit better. Do you have her clothes? Let me borrow some so I can look more like her¡­¡±

    Zu An was stupefied. He couldn''t help but repeat that infamous quote: ¡°You¡¯re such a seductress!¡±[1]

    After who knew how much time had passed, Pei Mianman wiped the corners of her mouth with a reddened face. She didn¡¯t bother putting on her clothes again and leaned gently against his embrace. At the same time, she rubbed her sore cheeks. Hmph, at least he won¡¯t seek out other vixens now; my hard work was worth it.

    Chuyan, you should actually be thanking me for this. I¡¯m doing so much for your man¡¯s purity!

    Zu An caressed her fair skin with his fingers. The two looked into each other¡¯s eyes as they whispered to each other. The conversation unknowingly arrived at the subject of Cloudcenter Commandery.

    ¡°Right, has that fe Zhao Zhi bothered you at all recently?¡± Zu An asked. He was curious about Zhao Zhi¡¯s most recent activities. Han Fengqiu had been at the Zhenyuan Merchant Group gathering. With him there, King Qi Manor¡¯s influence was all but guaranteed.

    Pei Mianman shook her head and replied, ¡°They came to ask about the progress of the investigation on your side. I did as we agreed, just telling them half-truths and half-lies. But recently, they haven¡¯te to ask about it anymore¡­ It really is a bit strange.¡±

    Zu An frowned. For some reason, he felt Zhao Zhi was plotting something bad, but he had more important things to worry about at the moment. He was going to wait until he dealt with the Duke Manor first.

    ¡­

    When he left Pei Manor, Zu An¡¯s legs were still feeling a bit weak. Big Manman really is an alluring woman through and through! Her fighting strength had clearly been reduced by half already, and yet he had still been left in such a state afterward.

    That girl really was ridiculously talented in that field¡­ She¡¯d had Hong Zao bring over a bottle of oils, and Zu An had experienced pleasures he could never experience with a washboard.

    That wasn¡¯t all. Halfway through, she had even called in Hong Zao to serve him too. He¡¯d really had to use thest ounce of rationality he had left to refuse.

    Is that woman trying topletely suck me dry or something? Zu An thought, speechless. He had an idea of what she was thinking, but he felt her worries were groundless. Yu Yanluo wasn¡¯t the kind of person she expected.

    ¡­

    He came back to Yu Manor. With the token that bypassed the Yu Manor¡¯s security, even though it was daytime, it was still easier for him to return to Yu Yanluo¡¯s bedroom than before.

    ¡°You¡¯re here,¡± Yu Yanluo greeted him. She seemed to have just gotten up from bed. She fastened her waistband¡¯s button while nodding toward him with a smile. She actedpletely natural the entire time. She didn¡¯t seem awkward or embarrassed at all.

    It was instead Zu An who felt a bit embarrassed. He replied, ¡°I think it¡¯d be better if I give you a moment to yourself.¡± He turned around after saying that.

    Yu Yanluo smiled and asked, ¡°Are you going to y the gentleman now? You were definitely much more daringst night.¡±

    Now that he was being provoked that way by a mature beauty, Zu An naturally wouldn¡¯t be outdone. He replied, ¡°Then does madam want me to treat you the way I treated youst night?¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s smile immediately froze on her face. Her provocative expression was reced with embarrassment. She replied, ¡°Hmph, I knew you were a scoundrel.¡±

    Just then, someone outside knocked and said, ¡°Madam, your food has arrived.¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression became natural again. She gestured for Zu An to hide behind a screen, and she sorted out her clothes before saying, ¡°Come in.¡±

    Soon afterward, Maid Xing entered with a wooden tray, bearing an assortment of delicious food. She arranged the tes on the desk while saying with a smile, ¡°Madam¡¯s appetite today seems to be exceptionally good; you actually ordered so many things at once.¡±

    Yu Yanluo didn¡¯t reveal any strange behavior. She said, ¡°My mood seems to have improved a lot recently, so my appetite has gotten better as well. I should be able to eat more in the near future.¡±

    ¡°That is good to hear!¡± Maid Xing said happily. If her madam¡¯s condition was good, she would obviously be happy to hear that. Yu Yanluo chatted a bit more with her, but then Maid Xing left, closing the door behind her.

    Zu An walked out from behind the screen. Yu Yanluo gestured toward him and said, ¡°The food has just arrived, soe over and eat.¡±

    Zu An saw that there were many small, fine dishes on the table. He couldn''t help but say with a smile, ¡°I think madam should eat first. My appetite always gets the best of me. If I start now, there might not be much left for madam afterward.¡±

    Yu Yanluo shook her head and said, ¡°My appetite is usually poor around wintertime. These were all things I actually had them prepare for you. I would have called them to bring in more, but everyone knows about my condition. If I suddenly increased the amount by too much at once, that could draw a lot of suspicion, so I apologize in advance.¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An was stunned. He couldn''t help but say with a sigh, ¡°The madam is so considerate that I don¡¯t even know how to repay you!¡±

    Yu Yanluo lifted up her dress and sat down by a small table. ¡°By helping Yanyou get revenge, I will actually be the one who owes you a favor. I should be the one saying that.¡±

    Zu An sighed in admiration. Time hadn¡¯t left a trace on her body, and had instead made her seem even more wise and considerate. No wonder so many outstanding heroes prostrated themselves in devotion to her.

    There was a natural calmness and charm to Yu Yanluo. The longer one spent around her, the more one would be affected.and then he

    ¡°Why are we business partners buttering each other up? Let¡¯s eat.¡± Zu An chuckled, then sat down straightforwardly.

    ¡°Butter each other up?¡± Yu Yanluo was stunned, but she quickly guessed the meaning. She couldn''t help but click her tongue in wonder. The person in front of her really was different from everyone else. He always came up with such new phrases, giving others a fresh sensation.

    ¡°Hm? Why is there only one set of utensils?¡± Zu An didn¡¯t find a second set even after looking around.

    Yu Yanluo said with a smile, ¡°I live alone, so of course there is only a single set of eating utensils. Are you trying to expose us? You can eat; I do not have much of an appetite anyway.¡±

    Zu An said out of curiosity, ¡°Ever since thest time I met the madam, I¡¯ve discovered that you fear the cold and your appetite is poor. Are you wounded somewhere?¡±

    Yu Yanluo shook her head. ¡°That is not it. This is how my body naturally is. Once it is winter, I tend to sleep a lot and lose my appetite. I have already gotten used to it after so many years. It will be fine after this season passes; you do not need to worry.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have an appetite¡­¡± Zu An thought of something and took out a bottle. He scattered a bit of the contents over each dish, then picked up a bit of food with his chopsticks, bringing it up to her mouth. He said, ¡°I prepared a small gift after I met the madamst time. I was so busy I almost forgot. Here, give it a try.¡±

    Yu Yanluo didn¡¯t open her mouth. Her eyesnded on that bottle on the table as she noticed that he had scattered something over the food. She asked with a strange expression, ¡°This isn¡¯t some drug like that ¡®Eighteen Spring Winds¡¯, right?¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He couldn''t help but reply unhappily, ¡°Am I that kind of person in madam¡¯s eyes?¡±

    Yu Yanluo nodded and replied, ¡°Absolutely.¡±

    Zu An was speechless again. As such, he took a bite out of it himself first. ¡°Now you have nothing to worry about, right?¡±

    Yu Yanluo had a crafty smile on her face as she replied, ¡°What if you already took the antidote ahead of time?¡±

    However, she didn¡¯t wait for his response and took the chopsticks, picking something and eating a bit of it. ¡°I am just messing with you. If I really do end up being poisoned, just call me a poor judge of character.¡±

    Her eyes widened before she even finished her sentence, as if she had encountered something extremely shocking.

    1. Reference to Pin Rui¡¯s Wardrobe; this is the famous quote from the TV show. ?

 Chapter 1063: Return

    <h4>Chapter 1063: Return</h4>

    ¡°Just what did you add to this? Why does it taste so good?¡± Yu Yanluo looked at Zu An in shock.

    Zu An chuckled and replied, ¡°I¡¯m d the madam likes it.¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s shock still remained on her beautiful cheeks as she said, ¡°You still have not answered my questions!¡±

    When he saw how she was throwing a yful tantrum, Zu An thought to himself, Pretty girls really are privileged. They¡¯re cute even when they¡¯re annoyed.

    But it wasn¡¯t any secret. Zu An replied, ¡°This thing is called MSG. When I saw the madam and learned that your appetite wasn¡¯t good, I had my subordinates look into it. This is the result of their research. It should be able to improve the madam¡¯s appetite.¡±

    ¡°MSG?¡± Yu Yan licked her lips to savor that previous taste. She said with a sigh, ¡°This thing is miraculous in its ability to make foods tastier. No, that word alone isn¡¯t fitting enough; it makes the food hundreds, even thousands of times better!¡±

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°Madam, please don¡¯t give it too much importance. Even though this thing seems miraculous, it¡¯s actually not hard to make at all. Dry some edible mushrooms in the sun, then grind them into powder. Then, mix in some dried scallops to add in more savory vor. The resulting product will greatly enhance the vors of foods.¡±

    Yu Yanluo blinked. Her expression immediately became extremely strange when she looked at Zu An. She asked, ¡°You are just giving me the recipe?¡±

    Zu An was a bit surprised. He asked, ¡°What¡¯s so special about this? It¡¯s just that I didn¡¯t have much time, so I only managed to make this little bit. I didn¡¯t want the madam to not have anything, so you can just have the recipe. With the Yu n¡¯s ability, making this MSG shouldn¡¯t be too difficult. That way, madam can still eat when her appetite is poor and doesn''t need to be so thin.¡±

    Yu Yanluo couldn''t help but sigh. ¡°Do you know that what you have just told me so carelessly is actually an incredibly profitable business opportunity?¡±

    ¡°I only care about the madam¡¯s daily life being a bit better. I didn¡¯t think about any of that other stuff.¡± Zu An chuckled.

    Yu Yanluo stared at him for a long time. When she saw that he wasn¡¯t acting at all, she sighed in amazement and said, ¡°You really are different from all the other men in this world. You¡¯ve brought me so many surprises in this brief amount of time! Last time, the Warm Darling was already a huge business opportunity, and yetpared to this MSG, it¡¯s not even worth mentioning. Those Warm Darlings are highly practical, but the ones who would make the most use of them would still be people with some financial means.

    ¡°But this MSG is entirely different! ording to the production methods you have mentioned earlier, if it is made on arge scale, the production costs will be nearly negligible. This is something that even ordinary families can use. Even though the individual profit margins will be quite a bit lower than the Warm Darlings, when you take the entire market into consideration, the profits as a whole will far surpass the Warm Darlings.¡±

    Zu An stared nkly when he heard that. In the end, he couldn''t help but say, ¡°Madam really is a business genius. Even any random thing can be turned into such a huge opportunity.¡±

    Yu Yanluo said with a smile, ¡°This is just a habit of mine from being in the profession for so long. The true credit should go to your incredible imagination. How about this? If you do not mind, I will take care of this business as well. We will divide the profits fifty-fifty.¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t act pretentiously. He replied, ¡°I never really had any intentions of doing that, so I¡¯ll leave it all up to the madam. If the madam feels there¡¯s value, please feel free to act ordingly.¡±

    Yu Yanluo sighed in admiration, saying, ¡°I have only met you a few times, and yet you have already gifted me with so many incredible gifts. You might just be my lucky star.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s quite an honor to be able to serve as the madam¡¯s lucky star.¡± Zu An gave her a gentleman¡¯s bow.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s smile grew bigger. She said, ¡°Enough; I will just take it to mean there is no opposition then. I will order my subordinates to follow up on this MSG business.¡±

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°Making money is secondary. As long as the madam¡¯s appetite improves, that¡¯s what I¡¯m looking forward to the most.¡±

    Yu Yanluo blushed slightly. She harrumphed and said, ¡°You really know how to use that mouth of yours; even I am starting to be affected. If you used these tricks to fool ordinary girls, would you not steal all of their hearts?¡±

    Zu An feigned surprise as he replied, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me the madam isn¡¯t a youngdy?¡±

    Yu Yanluo was stunned. Then, sheughed so hard her body rocked back and forth. She couldn''t help but hit his shoulder lightly before saying ¡°You look so honest on the outside, but you are actually so slick-mouthed.¡±

    Zu An said with a sigh, ¡°Madam really doesn¡¯t understand me. I¡¯m clearly the type who looks sleazy on the outside, but is actually honest and sincere deep down.¡±

    Yu Yanluo harrumphed. ¡°If you are honest, there are no honest men in this world.¡± Even though that was what she said, she didn¡¯t actually intend any rebuke toward him at all.

    Women really were strange. They would have high evaluations for what an honest person was, and yet they just couldn¡¯t bring themselves to really like honest people. They¡¯d instead like men who were a little bad.

    Yu Yanluo didn¡¯t know why, but chatting with Zu An was always a joyful thing. It was something she had never experienced with other men before.

    The two of them quickly swept through the food. Yu Yanluo actually didn¡¯t feel fully content at the end. She said, ¡°I have not eaten like this in a long time. You were not able to get enough as a result.¡±

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m pretty tough; I won¡¯t die even if I don¡¯t eat for a day or two, let alone right now where I already ate a lot.¡±

    Yu Yanluo felt a bit of a headache. She asked, ¡°What do we do from now on? I cannot have you going hungry each time.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not a problem. Let¡¯s make a hotpot; I¡¯ll bring some ingredients from outside,¡± Zu An suggested.

    ¡°A hotpot?¡± Yu Yanluo¡¯s pretty brow furrowed. ¡°I am not a huge fan ofmb¡¯s gaminess. I also find hotpot a bit too nd.¡± She would always lose her appetite during the winter. That was why she wasn¡¯t too interested in a light-vored hotpot.

    ¡°That¡¯s no problem at all. We can have some m hotpot.¡± Zu An began to miss the spiciness from his previous world that would make him sweat when he ate it. ¡°Your body fears the cold, so it¡¯s good to eat a bit of spice to dispel the cold.¡±

    ¡°M hotpot?¡± Yu Yanluo¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°That sounds quite interesting. I¡¯ll have to give it a try then.¡± She called over a servant to clean things up, then continued training with Zu An again.

    ¡­

    For some reason, time seemed to pass extremely quickly. Two days passed just like that.

    Yu Yanluo nodded in satisfaction, saying, ¡°Not bad. Your current self should be able to convince those in the Duke Manor now.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to the madam¡¯s careful guidance,¡± Zu An said sincerely. He wouldn¡¯t have felt so grateful if it were just because of his Jian Yanyou disguise, though. The main reason was because he had gained many insights into the field of art from observing Yu Yanluo¡¯s incredible skill.

    Even though he had already been able to replicate the original quite well in his drawings, he hadcked a bit of ¡®soul¡¯ in his art. That was why a true master of art would easily see through his mistakes.

    Now that he had observed Yu Yanluo¡¯s dao, he could borrow her mastery to gain a lot of enlightenment in that field. Now, if he tried to impersonate someone else in the future, there wouldn¡¯t be any holes in his disguise at all.

    ¡°As expected of transcendent aptitude; you learn everything quickly.¡± Yu Yanluo smiled. ¡°I will call over Gong Panter. He was Yanyou¡¯s personal guard captain. If you can fool him, there will be no issues when you head to the Duke Manor. Then, you can have him escort you there.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re moving that quickly?¡± Zu An felt a bit conflicted when he heard what she said.

    Yu Yanluo said with a chuckle, ¡°Do not worry; there is no need for you to lose that much confidence in yourself just because I saw through your first disguise. Your disguise¡¯s level is already extremely high. Furthermore, you have even received my guidance. If I did not already know what happened, I might even be fooled by you.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not worried about the Duke Manor, but rather¡­¡± Zu An was about to say something, but stopped. He asked, ¡°Can the madam call over a servant? Preferably male.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Yu Yanluo was confused. ¡°I do not keep any male servants near my dwelling. Suddenly calling one over would be a bit strange.¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­ I have a use for one.¡± Zu An immediately felt a bit embarrassed. He couldn''t just tell her that he had to pretend to be a girl and fool the servant, right? Damn this Kawaii Waifu Voice Changer!

    Seeing how Zu An was hesitant, Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression became strange. ¡°You do not swing that way¡­ Right?¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    ¡°Of course not!¡± he eximed. He felt a huge headache. The two of them had lived and eaten together for some time, so they had already be close friends. In the end, he decided to exin it to her. ¡°This disguise technique is a bit special. Before changing into the target, I have to¡­ pretend to be a woman and fool another man. Only then can I use it.¡±

    He couldn''t exin the Kawaii Waifu Voice Changer, so he had to say it was part of the transformation skill.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s eyes opened wide. A smile appeared on the corners of her lips, before growing bigger and bigger. In the end, her body was rocking back and forth, unable to contain herughter.

    Sheughed while apologizing. ¡°Sorry! I normally do notugh at other people, unless¡­ I really cannot stop myself, ha ha ha¡­¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression was extremely awful. That technique really wasplete social suicide.

    After she had a goodugh, Yu Yanluo called over a male servant. She personally watched the process of Zu An changing into a cute girl to fool him, thoroughly enjoying the entire process.

    That servant felt so light that it was as if he were floating. The madam never allows any men to approach her room, but I was actually called over today!

    And what¡¯s that sweet sounding girl¡¯s rtionship with the madam? Her voice is so pretty; she must be really cute.

    Also, why was the madamughing the entire time? Even though she was clearly trying to hide it, I could still hear her. Could it be that the madam favors me? After all, she rarely smiles even toward other people.

    My ancestors are definitely blessing me right now! I definitely need to light some incense for them once I get back.

    Zu An had already changed into Jian Yanyou¡¯s appearance. He gave Yu Yanluo an annoyed look, eximing, ¡°Have you had enough yet?¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Yu Yanluo covered her mouth, replying, ¡°But this really is funny.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He coughed lightly and said, ¡°You can call over Gong Pan now.¡±

    Yu Yanluo realized that the matter at hand was more important too. She suppressed her urge tough and sent someone to call in Gong Pan.

    ¡­

    Gong Pan arrived outside the room soon afterward. He said, ¡°I greet the madam. May I ask why you have called me here?¡±

    Yu Yanluo gestured for Zu An to follow her. Then, she slowly opened the door, replying, ¡°Commander Gong, do you see who we have here?¡±

    Gong Pan raised his head. When he saw the man next to her, his eyes were filled with shock. He eximed, ¡°Commandery Duke!¡±

    ¡°It has been a long time.¡± Zu An smiled. He said those words in the tone he had practiced for days.

    ¡°Duke, it really is you!¡± Gong Pan was surprised and overjoyed to hear that familiar voice. He quickly ran over to cling to Zu An; the fully grown man started to bawl out his heart right there and then.

    ¡°Hurry and get back up; how can you cry like this?¡± Zu An quickly supported him to his feet.

    ¡°Duke, you have no idea! Ever since you left, all of us have either scattered apart or passed away¡­¡± Gong Pan rubbed his eyes. ¡°Ah, let us not talk about these things anymore. The duke¡¯s return is the most important and the happiest thing!¡±

    Yu Yanluo said, ¡°Yanyou is seriously injured right now. Not only has his cultivation dropped, he is missing many of his memories too. I will have to trouble Captain Gong to take care of him.¡±

    Gong Pan eximed earnestly, ¡°With me here, anyone who dares to harm the duke will have to walk over my dead body!¡±

    Zu An quickly added a few more words of encouragement.

    ¡­

    Yu Yanluo brought over some members of the Yu n, and they escorted Zu An to the Duke Manor together with Gong Pan.

    After all of the recent disturbances, Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s various factions all had their ears pricked, paying attention to the slightest news. Soon, a piece of shocking news began to sweep through Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s court.

    The missing Cloudcenter Duke had returned!

 Chapter 1064: Whatâ€™s Tolerable and Intolerable

    <h4>Chapter 1064: What¡¯s Tolerable and Intolerable</h4>

    ¡°The duke has returned! The duke has returned!¡± Gong Pan eximed as he escorted Zu An and Yu Yanluo back to the Duke Manor.

    All of the maids and servants were stunned at first, but they soon expressed their incredible shock. Afterward, they all excitedly spread the news through the manor. News of Jian Yanyou¡¯s return quickly traveled everywhere.

    When Jian Taiding, who had been resting in his room, first heard the disturbance, he was furious. He quickly called in his trusted aide from outside, eximing, ¡°Who is making that racket outside without any regard for the rules?¡±

    The guard replied, ¡°Second master, the servants seem to be worked up over some matter. This subordinate will look into it right now.¡±

    Just then, another subordinate quickly rushed over while shouting, ¡°Second master, second master, bad news!¡±

    Jian Taiding¡¯s expression immediately darkened when he heard those words. He said, ¡°Punish yourself with twenty strikes. Do not speak if you are only going to say unlucky things.¡±

    The subordinate realized his mistake and immediately broke out into a cold sweat. He immediately knelt down apologetically while pping his own cheeks.

    Jian Taiding¡¯s mood finally eased a bit when he heard the ps. He said, ¡°Enough. What happened that made you so flustered?¡±

    ¡°The first master¡­ has returned!¡± the subordinate said while trembling.

    Jian Taiding¡¯s expression turned cold. ¡°Are you tired of living? You dare y this kind of trick on me?¡±

    ¡°This subordinate doesn¡¯t dare!¡± The guard quickly exined, ¡°Gong Pan has escorted the master back! Madam Yu came with him as well; many people in the manor have witnessed this! That¡¯s why all of the servants in the manor were in such amotion.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Jian Taiding felt his blood boil. His injuries red out, dyeing his bandages in blood again. He felt as if the world were turning upside down around him. He staggered and fell backward. Fortunately, his personal guard moved quickly, catching him before he hit the ground. The rest called for a physician in rm while treating his injuries.

    Even so, Jian Taiding was still a master rank cultivator. After a momentary breather, he opened his eyes slightly. However, hisplexion was much paler than normal. He eximed, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me something so important sooner?!¡±

    After giving the guard who had reported a kick, he headed out. Even though his injuries were heavy, it wasn¡¯t enough to stop his confusion and curiosity.

    How could that person have returned?!

    The guard who had been kicked vomited blood several times. No matter how injured Jian Taiding was, he was still a master rank cultivator. His enraged kick was definitely no joking matter.

    The guard felt incredibly wronged. I was trying to tell you! It was you who stopped me from saying anything¡­ A bit of resentment appeared in his eyes as he watched Jian Taiding leave.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Jian Taiding rushed over under the escort of his guards. Soon afterward, he saw a group of servants surrounding a few individuals excitedly. When he remembered his subordinates¡¯ report, he roared furiously, ¡°Which scoundrel dares to impersonate my older¡­ older brother?¡±

    Jian Taiding¡¯s prestige in the manor still remained. When they heard his furious shout, the guards immediately scattered in fear, revealing the people behind them.

    When he saw who those people were, Jian Taiding came to a screeching halt. He waspletely frozen in ce. In that instant, it was as if a huge explosion had gone off in his head. He began to question life itself.

    Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?

    It really is my older brother!

    In that instant, regret, fear, shock, and all manner of other emotions appeared in his mind. His entire being was about to break down.

    ¡°My good younger brother, you did not expect to see me again, did you?¡± Zu An looked at him and spoke with heavy insinuations. He and Yu Yanluo had already simted the present scenario several times. That was why there really was no w in his act at all.

    As expected, Jian Taiding¡¯s expression changed. He knew what had happened to Jian Yanyou, so those words almost sounded like a threat of revenge.

    I did that to my older brother; there¡¯s no way he would forgive me. When he thought about how the other party¡¯s cultivation was far above his own, his entire body began to shake uncontrobly.

    Just then, a steady voice spoke up. ¡°Nonsense; there is no way you are the duke!¡± A well-dressed elder was standing nearby with some servants. He stared coldly at Zu An.

    Amotion suddenly broke out. That person was the Duke Manor¡¯s butler, Uncle Ming!

    He was the duke¡¯s right arm, someone who had helped him deal with various matters inside and outside of the manor. He really was a person of virtue and prestige, and he was perhaps the one most familiar with the duke. Now that someone like him had called the duke a fake, those present subconsciously believed him. They kept their distance from Zu An and looked at him vigntly.

    Zu An frowned and replied, ¡°Uncle Ming, have you already forgotten who I am in the time since west saw each other?¡±

    Uncle Ming examined him and replied, ¡°You indeed resemble the duke, but the greatest w is your cultivation. The duke has strengthparable to a grandmaster. Even though you are not weak, you are still far weaker than the duke.¡±

    Only then did Jian Taiding snap out of his daze. Exactly! I know what happened to Jian Yanyou; how could he possibly appear here again?

    What a hateful fake!

    As such, he also said in agreement, ¡°Indeed. Men, arrest this sorcerer of unknown origins!¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir!¡±

    His trusted aide and guards immediately rushed at the other party.

    Gong Pan drew his de when he saw that, guarding Zu An. The guards recognized Gong Pan and felt a bit hesitant.

    Zu An gave Jian Taiding a meaningful look, retorting, ¡°Second brother, are you trying to silence me?¡±

    Jian Taiding knew the other person was fake, so when he heard that, he almost vomited blood. ¡°Hmph, who the hell is your second brother? You could have pretended to be anyone, and yet you just had to impersonate my older brother. The first thing you should have thought of was your cultivation!¡±

    Gong Pan spoke up just then, saying, ¡°Because the duke was seriously injured, his cultivation has temporarily fallen.¡±

    The people present understood what had happened when they heard that. They had been curious what had happened to Cloudcenter Duke when he disappeared. Many of them had suspected that he might have been seriously injured and was resting elsewhere.

    But even as time went on, he had never appeared. They thus began to believe that he had already died. When he said that, those present remembered what had happened before.

    ¡°My older brother¡¯s cultivation is profound and exceptional; how could he have been injured? Gong Pan, where did you get this fraud from? This truly is deplorable and punishable by execution!¡± Jian Taiding berated him angrily.

    Zu An harrumphed and said, ¡°I believe second brother knows exactly why I was injured.¡±

    Jian Taiding¡¯s breath stopped. He was also surprised, because the temperament and bearing of the one in front of him were exactly the same as those of his older brother. Furthermore, he knew what he had done. Could it really be his older brother then?

    But how can that be? I personally¡­

    There¡¯s no way this is a ghost, right?

    The surrounding guards and maids looked at each other in dismay. Judging from what Zu An was saying, didn¡¯t that mean the second master had done something to the first master?

    Uncle Ming spoke up again. ¡°This matter is too fishy. I cannot just let you all say whatever you want. How about this? This old servant has followed at the duke¡¯s side all these years, so I believe I understand him quite well. I will ask some questions to verify his identity.¡±

    Jian Taiding¡¯s eyes lit up. He said, ¡°Indeed, Uncle Ming is publicly acknowledged as the one who understands my older brother best. Your respected self would definitely be able to tell whether he is real or fake.¡±

    The others nodded in agreement. They all trusted Uncle Ming¡¯s status.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An thought to himself that Uncle Ming and Jian Taiding were finishing each other¡¯s sentences. These two had probably already gotten into cahoots a long time ago.

    He had no idea that the one he trusted the most had already betrayed him. Sigh, this Jian Yanyou wasn¡¯t done in by his younger brother for no reason.

    Gong Pan said, ¡°The duke was injured before. Not only has his cultivation temporarily dropped, he has amnesia too.¡±

    Jian Taiding roared withughter when he heard theck of confidence in the other party¡¯s voice. He retorted ¡°I knew that was what you were going to say. I really do not know where you found this counterfeit from. Of course he does not know about my older brother¡¯s affairs! That is why he ended up using this shoddy amnesia excuse.¡±

    The others nodded in agreement. They felt Gong Pan had a guilty conscience.

    Gong Pan¡¯s face turnedpletely red. He was about to refute them when Zu An stopped him, saying, ¡°It is fine. Even though some of my memories are missing, I still remember most things. Uncle Ming, please feel free to ask away.¡±

    Uncle Ming was surprised. As such, he began to ask some random questions. At first, he chose subjects multiple people in the manor knew about, but Zu An was prepared. Soon, Uncle Ming¡¯s questions became trickier and trickier; but no matter what he asked, Zu An always had an answer.

    Those who had just been present to join in on the liveliness felt their suspicions fade away bit by bit; they recovered their initial enthusiasm about seeing their lord again.

    When Jian Taiding saw that the situation wasn¡¯t looking good for him, he quickly protested, ¡°These are all things you could find out if you did a bit of investigation! You dared to impersonate my older brother, so of course you made some preparations. Knowing these things does not prove you are my older brother at all.¡±

    Uncle Ming hesitated, then said with a nod, ¡°Second master¡¯s words are reasonable.¡±

    Jian Taiding¡¯s trusted aides quickly spoke up in agreement. The neutral individuals who had been starting to believe that Zu An was the real duke began to waver again.

    ¡°Then how do you want me to prove my identity?¡± Zu An asked as he looked at Jian Taiding and Uncle Ming. ¡°Do you all truly not believe, or could it be that you did not want me to return?¡±

    There was nock of intelligent people present. They began to pick up on something. Their expressions became stranger as they watched the situation.

    ¡°You are speaking venomous nder!¡± Jian Taiding panicked. He eximed, ¡°I am my older brother¡¯s sibling. How could I not tell whether you are real or fake?¡±

    A pleasant-sounding voice spoke up just then. ¡°Yanyou is my husband. Do you think a woman cannot discern who her husband is?¡±

    Yu Yanluo, who had deliberately waited a bit before showing up, emerged with Maid Xing and the other servants. They slowly walked over from a distance.

    The maids she passed by lowered their heads in shame. Compared to her, even the prettiest maid was like a sparrow before a phoenix.

    The male servants were even more worked up, their hearts pounding crazily. However, they knew their statuses were worlds apart from Yu Yanyou¡¯s. Just being able to see her once already left them extremely satisfied.

    When he saw her exceptional beauty and graceful figure, a hint of infatuation appeared in Jian Taiding¡¯s eyes. However, he was an influential figure himself and quickly snapped out of his daze. He immediately greeted her respectfully. ¡°Greetings, sister-inw!¡±

    Yu Yanluo nodded calmly, but then pretended to be surprised. ¡°Why are second uncle¡¯s injuries so severe?¡±

    Jian Taiding said, ¡°I was ambushed by a few fiend race experts. Even though I suffered some injuries, I made sure that they paid the price and ensured the safety of Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s people.¡±

    Zu An cursed the man for being shameless inside. This fellow had clearly been beaten like a dog by him, and yet he hade up with such an honorable-sounding excuse.

    ¡°Those fiend races are quite hateful,¡± Yu Yanluo calmly responded. She then looked toward Zu An with a ¡®pleasantly surprised smile¡¯. She eximed, ¡°Yanyou, you have returned!¡±

    Zu An spread his arms toward her and answered, ¡°Yes, I have returned!¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression froze momentarily. Then, a blush shed across her cheeks. This guy isn¡¯t doing what we agreed on; he just had to do this¡­ But they were in front of so many people, so she couldn''t just ignore him. She could only quickly walk over and enter his embrace, eximing, ¡°Yanyou, I am not dreaming, am I?¡±

    At the same time, she said through ki transmission, ¡°You were a scoundrel after all, using this chance to take advantage of me.¡±

    Zu An replied with a smile, ¡°Madam could have chosen not to hug me.¡±

    Yu Yanluo ground her teeth in anger. This guy had taken advantage of her, and yet he had actually said something like that!

    Jian Taiding¡¯s eyes widened, and he immediately erupted into rage. The goddess he had admired for so long was someone whose hand he had never even touched, and yet she had entered the embrace of another man!

    How could that be tolerated?

    You have sessfully trolled Jian Taiding for +999 +999 +999¡­

 Chapter 1065: A Way to Authenticate

    <h4>Chapter 1065: A Way to Authenticate</h4>

    Zu An nearly jumped in fright when he received such an exaggerated amount of Rage Points. After all, even though he had already arrived some time prior, even though Jian Taiding had gotten upset a few times, the Rage points had still been within a limited range.

    Now, Jian Taiding clearly wasn¡¯t holding back anymore.

    Zu An thought about why. It seemed to be because he had hugged Yu Yanluo. Tsk tsk tsk, so this fe actually had an unseeming infatuation for his sister-inw!

    He gave Yu Yanluo another hug when he thought of that, then gave Jian Taiding a provocative look.

    Yu Yanluo couldn''t really go against him under the onlookers¡¯ watchful eyes. She could only borrow the cover of their bodies to secretly pinch Zu An¡¯s waist.

    But even though the pinch was hidden well, Jian Taiding¡¯s gaze was incredibly focused, and he naturally noticed something.

    They seemed to be flirting!

    He immediately felt his blood stir within him again. Another mouthful of blood sprayed out of his mouth. His injuries that had finally been stanched with difficulty burst apart again, and his bandages became visibly soaked in blood once more.

    You have sessfully trolled Jian Taiding for +888 +888 +888¡­

    Jian Taidingpletely fainted. He would rather do that than publicly acknowledge Zu An¡¯s identity.

    ¡°Second master has fainted; second master has fainted!¡±

    ¡°Hurry! Bring him back to his room to rest right now.¡±

    ¡°Call for the doctors!¡±

    A group of people shouted in confusion.

    Zu An took the chance to give out orders as the manor lord, ordering for them to bring Jian Taiding back to his room. Uncle Ming wanted to say something, but he hesitated. In the end, he didn¡¯t say anything else.

    A group of servants brought Jian Taiding away. As the ¡®older brother¡¯, Zu An naturally needed to follow behind them to take a look.

    ¡­

    They quickly arrived in front of a courtyard. The expressions of those present became a bit strange as they stopped in front of the entrance.

    Zu An was confused, but Yu Yanluo sent him a message. ¡°This used to be Jian Yanyou¡¯s room.¡±

    Zu An immediately realized what was going on. He couldn''t help but sneer. This fe Jian Taiding really likes to reap what he hasn¡¯t sown. Not only did he kill you, he¡¯s also sleeping in your room and even trying to take your girl.

    Jian Yanyou,e on, man!

    Sigh, since I¡¯m pretending to be you, I might as well help you vent out some of your frustrations.

    As such, Zu An¡¯s expression became overcast. He coughed and eximed, ¡°Why did you all bring him here? Why are you not bringing him to his own room?¡±

    The others kept quiet out of fear. Only Uncle Ming braced himself and said, ¡°Second master has resided here in your absence.¡±

    ¡°Nonsense. Did he think I was dead?¡± Zu An sneered. ¡°Furthermore, these rooms were carefully chosen by a feng shui master in the field. We brothers had our own courtyards designed for us. Going against that would incur great karmic retribution. No wonder he was injured so badly! Hurry and bring him back; this is for his own good.¡±

    Jian Taiding, who was pretending to be unconscious, almost spat out another mouthful of blood. What the hell do you mean it¡¯s for my own good? I¡¯m already injured like this, and yet you¡¯re still dragging me left and right? You still have the shame to say these things?

    Also, does that feng shui shit even work? Weren¡¯t you still done in back then while staying in this room?

    He was suddenly shocked when he thought of that. Wait, maybe there really is something wrong with this room¡¯s feng shui?

    You have sessfully trolled Jian Taiding for +681 +681 +681¡­

    Yu Yanluo resisted her urge tough. She stepped forward and said, ¡°I think the second master should be brought back to his own room. Resting in the ce you are used to staying in will help the recovery process.¡±

    The reason why they couldn''t back down on that matter was because of a crucial issue. It wouldn''t be a big deal for Jian Taiding to live there if Jian Yanyou were absent. However, now that he had returned, if he backed down, it would look as if he were scared of Jian Taiding, or that he had thoughts of giving up his position.

    Regardless of which one it was, those who still supported the duke would lose morale. Those who were still hesitating on who to side with would choose Jian Taiding. That was why, while it might look like a small matter, it was actually not small at all.

    When he heard Yu Yanluo speak out in support of Jian Yanyou, Jian Taiding began to regret choosing to faint. He couldn''t even argue against them now.

    Why is this woman siding with an outsider like this?!

    I¡¯ve always liked her so much and treated her so well. This thankless wretch!

    Meanwhile, Uncle Ming wanted to say something, but it had been Jian Yanyou¡¯s room to begin with. Jian Taiding had moved in with rather illegitimate motives, while he himself was Jian Yanyou¡¯s trusted aide. If he spoke out for Jian Taiding at this point, he might draw unwanted suspicion.

    ¡­N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Even though the two of them were hesitating, everything was still decided. Jian Taiding was brought back to his original room, and the room was given to Zu An to live in. Because many of Jian Taiding¡¯s possessions had been left there, the maids and servants quickly cleaned things up. At the same time, they brought back Jian Yanyou¡¯s original belongings.

    Zu An had Gong Pan stay there and check to see if he could find any secret files in the room. But based on Jian Taiding and Uncle Ming¡¯s reactions, the chances of them seeding in that aspect seemed slim.

    He and Yu Yanluo escorted Jian Taiding back to his room. After all, in everyone¡¯s eyes, they were close brothers, so he had to at least y the part.

    The deathly pale Jian Taiding was ced in bed. Because the physician still hadn¡¯t arrived, Zu An took the chance to sit down next to him. He checked Jian Taiding¡¯s pulse to examine the state of his injuries.

    Once one reached a certain degree of cultivation, using ki to check another¡¯s injuries was basic knowledge. Jian Yanyou¡¯s cultivation had been profound before, so his actions were unsurprising to the bystanders.

    But Jian Taiding¡¯s entire body went rigid, while Uncle Ming¡¯s expression also changed. Both of their bodies tensed up, as if they would immediately retaliate as soon as they sensed something odd.

    Zu An checked Jian Taiding¡¯s body with his ki. Sure enough, hisst attack had seriously wounded the other party. Not only was there a huge flesh wound, the sword ki¡¯s damage had reached the base of his heart.

    Even though such an injury wasn¡¯t lethal for a master rank cultivator like Jian Taiding, his strength wouldn¡¯t return to its peak for quite some time.

    Zu An hesitated. He was currently holding Jian Taiding¡¯s pulse. As long as he used the Heaven Devouring Sutra, there was a good chance that he could suck the other partypletely dry. The dangers of Cloudcenter Commandery would thus be dealt with through brute force.

    But he gave up on that tempting chance in the end. The first reason was that there were too many people watching. If such a sinister technique were exposed, he would be viewed as a public enemy by the entire world. After all, no one wanted the cultivation they had earned through bitter training to be stolen so easily by another.

    The second reason was that Jian Taiding still had a lot of subordinates. There were countless trusted aides of his in the Military Affairs Manor as well. Zu An didn¡¯t want to repeat the disastrous tragedy of his previous world¡¯s vicious Emperor of Northern Wei, who was ultimately captured and killed by his own subordinate.

    The physician rushed over soon after, so Zu An let go of Jian Taiding¡¯s hand then and said,¡°Second master, please rest well. I will take care of the manor¡¯s business; there is no need for you to worry.¡±

    Those present voiced their agreement. Zu An and Yu Yanluo thus returned to the other room.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in the other room, everything was still a mess from having been reced. When Zu An asked Gong Pan if he had found anything, Gong Pan unsurprisingly replied no. Even though there were some secret documents, they were about the Military Affairs Manor¡¯s official business and not matters rted to Jian Yanyou or the fiend races.

    After sending Gong Pan to stand guard outside, Yu Yanluo sighed in clear relief and said, ¡°We have passed the first trial. Your performance was much better than I expected.¡±

    ¡°It was still thanks to the madam¡¯s instructions,¡± Zu An said with a smile.

    Yu Yanluo rolled her eyes and retorted, ¡°I definitely did not teach you to hug me.¡±

    Zu An said with an upright expression, ¡°They were all suspecting my identity. It was a good chance to convince them.¡±

    Yu Yanluo harrumphed. ¡°Hmph, you are just sayingplete nonsense with a straight face.¡±

    Yu Yanluo sounded a bit annoyed, so Zu An checked the Keyboard System¡¯s backend. He actually hadn¡¯t received any Rage points from her! He chuckled inwardly.

    The two chatted for a while, but then someone outside came to report that Sang Hong and the others hade to meet him. Zu An was surprised. He hadn¡¯t expected them to meet him in such a situation.

    Yu Yanluo exined, ¡°You are now the duke. Since the duke has returned, their visit shoulde as no surprise. Do not worry. Not even the people here have noticed anything strange, so there is even less of a chance of them noticing anything. You should just do things as we practiced.¡±

    Zu An nodded and had the Imperial Envoy wait in the guest lounge. Yu Yanluo preferred peace and quiet, so she waited nearby in a guest room and didn¡¯t meet them with him.

    ¡­

    When he arrived at the guest hall, Zu An noticed that not only was Sang Hong there; so were also the Vice Magistrate Xu Yu, the City Lord Pei Shao, and even the Yu n¡¯s people, the brothers Yu Xuanyu and Yu Xuansu. The two brothers were respectively part of the Civil Affairs Manor and Military Affairs Manor, and were each apanied by many of their colleagues.

    They were incredibly shocked when they saw Zu An. They all offered their congrattions, celebrating his safe return. Then, they began to ask where he had gone during his disappearance.

    Zu An shook his head and replied, ¡°After I was seriously injured, I cultivated in seclusion in a hidden cave deep in the mountains. I was fortunately able to keep my life, but some of my previous memories are missing. I cannot remember why I went missing either.¡±

    The officials had their own thoughts when they heard his reply. Those who were rtively slow were simply as to which expert could leave the duke in such a state. Those who were rtively sharp had already begun to ponder whether it really was amnesia, or if he was deliberately concealing what had happened in the past. Regardless of which one it was, there was too much room for one¡¯s imagination to go crazy.

    A good number of them suspected his identity. However, he was exactly the same as the Jian Yanyou they remembered. Even though there were face changing techniques, they were definitely not at this level.

    Sang Hong was even more amazed. Now that Cloudcenter Duke hade back, a lot of the dangers in Cloudcenter Commandery would now be alleviated. They didn¡¯t need King Yan¡¯s army to make a huge fuss anymore. However, it had instead be a bit more difficult to fulfill the emperor¡¯s mission, to strip the Jian and Yu n of their authority.

    Zu An took the chance to understand more about the current military situation. He used the title of Commander-In-Chief to remove the lockdown on the temporary official residence. Doing that would make things much easier for the Imperial Envoy.

    Sang Hong was overjoyed. He quickly expressed his thanks.

    ¡­

    Zu An rejoined Yu Yanluo after sending them off. Yu Yanluo was still worried about Zu An, so she decided to reside in the manor too. As the duchess, she had her own special courtyard in the manor to begin with. As such, her decision didn¡¯t seem too abrupt.

    Then, she had Zu An summon some of Jian Yanyou¡¯s past trusted aides. After all, he waspletely alone at the moment. Dealing with Jian Taiding was still a bit out of his reach and power. However, as long as he controlled the Martial Affairs Manor, Jian Taiding would be within his grasp.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in Jian Taiding¡¯s room, he was sitting in bed. Hisplexion was pale and gloomy.

    ¡°The imposter is currently summoning his former trusted aides,¡± Uncle Ming said, sitting on a stool next to him. As the manor¡¯s general manager, the things that went on wouldn¡¯t escape his notice. ¡°Furthermore, Madam Yu has decided to stay in the manor too. In the past, she has never stayed here overnight. It seems this imposter is someone she found.¡±

    ¡°She is probably worried that we might decide to silence that fellow¡± If it were any other time, Jian Taiding might have just fainted from happiness to hear that his stunning sister-inw was staying in the manor. But at the moment, he had no trace of such feelings. He asked, ¡°How is the investigation going?¡±

    Uncle Ming shook his head. ¡°I have sent over the maids and servants who served him before. The imposter looks exactly the same as the master, and practically everyone in the manor is already convinced.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me my older brother came back to life?¡± Jian Taiding shivered. After all, at least within his knowledge, there were no such miraculous transformation skills. His sister-inw couldn¡¯t have the ability to find such a person even if they existed.

    Uncle Ming gave him a look and asked, ¡°Does the second master feel that is possible? After all, we personally saw¡­¡±

    Jian Taiding nodded and said, ¡°You are right. That guy is definitely an imposter. But we are the only ones who know, so it is useless. After all, there is no way we can reveal the truth. We have to look for other proof.¡±

    Uncle Ming replied with a crafty smile, ¡°Has the second master forgotten that you still have some younger sister-inws? He might be able to imitate some parts, but there is no way he would be able to perform exactly the same in bed, right?¡±

 Chapter 1066: Change of Plans

    <h4>Chapter 1066: Change of ns</h4>

    Jian Taiding frowned slightly, saying, ¡°Liu Ji and Chu Ji were both sent by Madam Yu. Even though they have not contacted each other over the years, and their rtionship with us is good, I still do not feel at ease entrusting this kind of matter to them.¡±

    Uncle Ming replied, ¡°Second master, do not forget that there is still Zhang Ji. Zhang Ji is one of our people.¡±

    ¡°That¡­¡± Jian Taiding hesitated, his expression conflicted. After all, even though the concubines were no Yu Yanluo, they were still cream of the crop beauties. Because they were his sister-inws, it only made that improper desire within him stronger.

    However, he still understood what was important. After all, if he went after his brother¡¯s wives as soon as something happened to Jian Yanyou, his reputation wouldn¡¯t be very good if news of that got out. It wouldn¡¯t be favorable for his inheritance of his brother¡¯s legacy either.

    Furthermore, because of his admiration for Yu Yanluo, he worried that going after those concubines would ruin her impression of him.

    That was why his n had always been topletely bring the Military Affairs Manor and Cloudcenter Commandery under his control. Once he obtained Yu Yanluo, he would then y around with his other spoils.

    The concubines were part of the duke¡¯s harem anyway. There was no way he was going to let them remarry. Once he had them in his own personal harem, wouldn¡¯t he be able to do whatever he wanted with them? Who else would even know anything?

    But the imposter had immediately ruined all of his ns!

    Don¡¯t tell me I have to sacrifice some of my sister-inws whom even I didn¡¯t dare to touch just to test him?

    And the worst part is that we all know that he¡¯s fake!

    It made him feel as if he were personally sending his own women another man¡¯s way¡­ Even though they were his older brother¡¯s concubines, he already considered them his exclusive property.

    Uncle Ming could more or less guess his thoughts. He coughed and said, ¡°Second master, please consider the greater situation. They are just some girls. Once this situation is over and you be the duke, you can have any woman you want.

    ¡°On the contrary, if we allow some mishaps on our part and everyone really doese to trust that fake, we will end up losing everything.¡±

    Jian Taiding had still been hesitant before, but he finally gathered his resolve when he heard that. He replied, ¡°Fine, we will just have that Zhang Ji sound things out then!¡±

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, after Zu An met with and sent off Jian Yanyou¡¯s former trusted aides, he returned to Yu Yanluo¡¯s guest room to discuss what to do next.

    When Zu An told her the results of his discussion and people¡¯s reactions, Yu Yanluo said with a sigh, ¡°There has always been the saying that when people leave, the tea turns cold. That is precisely the situation, as expected.¡±

    Zu An nodded and said, ¡°ording to my observations, even though many of them offered kind words, they were clearly speaking ambiguously. If they were really asked to do something for us, only a fourth of them would be willing to make anymitments. This Jian Yanyou really wasn¡¯t too good at reading people.¡±

    Yu Yanluo shook her head and replied, ¡°That cannot really be med on him. ording to what you have just described, none of them were actually Yanyou¡¯s trusted aides, but rather more neutral individuals. The real trusted aides have either perished, scattered, or been transferred far away. The fact that even a fourth remained is already quite good.

    ¡°Even though those people you just saw previously dered their loyalty to Yanyou, the one who raised them to their current high positions was Jian Taiding. If they were to really make a choice, they would naturally side with Jian Taiding. After all, if the previous group of people regained authority, would they be willing to go back to their previous positions?¡±

    Zu An said with a sigh, ¡°Eliminating outsiders and promoting your own people, that really is human nature. What do we do now, then?¡±

    They had previously nned to use Jian Yanyou¡¯s identity to stabilize the current situation, but even Jian Yanyou¡¯s trusted aides were pretty much gone. He almost felt as if things were slowly slipping out of his control.

    Yu Yanluo added, looking deeply worried, ¡°There is another problem. Judging from today¡¯s circumstances, it seems Uncle Ming and Jian Taiding are definitely working together. With those two working together, we might not be able to find anything even if we stay in the manor.¡±

    Zu An was about to say something when he heard a knock from outside.

    ¡°Who is it?¡± Zu An and Yu Yanluo both called out, tacitly agreeing to temporarily pause their conversation.

    ¡°Master, we heard that you returned safely. We came to see you,¡± several charming-sounding women called out from outside.

    Zu An gave Yu Yanluo a look. The women¡¯s voices were identical to those of the concubines he had practiced on in Yu Manor. He felt admiration for Yu Yanluo¡¯s art skills once again. Not only were her drawings extremely urate, she could even reproduce their voices. He really wondered how she did it.

    When the women received permission to enter, they quickly opened the door. Three lovelydies rushed in, striving to outdo each other. They immediately entered Zu An¡¯s embrace when they came in, sobbing as they spoke of their yearning for him.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An¡¯s expression turned strange. He discovered that he had praised Yu Yanluo a bit too early. Even though Yu Yanluo¡¯s drawings were urate, they didn¡¯t have real bodies. However, the shockingly soft and supple feeling and the smell of cosmetics surrounding him immediately made him feel as if he were frequenting a brothel.

    However, these girls weren¡¯t prostitutes, but rather the wives of a duke. Their statuses were much higher than mere courtesans.

    Yu Yanluo coughed lightly from off to the side. Zu An seemed to snap back to reality. Heposed himself and dealt with the girls the way he had practiced. After some socialization, he finally sent the girls away. He was so tired that he was covered in sweat.

    Yu Yanluo nodded in satisfaction, saying, ¡°Not bad, you reacted quickly. There were several times where you almost exposed yourself, but it is a good thing that your mind is sharp.¡±

    Even though they had practiced a lot beforehand, a n would never keep up with new variables. Furthermore, she didn¡¯t know everything about Jian Yanyou¡¯s concubines either, so there was no way to make a perfect copy. The rest had to depend on Zu An¡¯s own performance.

    Zu An had clearly done quite well.

    ¡°I¡¯ve only managed to deal with them for now; there will definitely be some issues if this persists. They are the true wives, after all, so how can it be that easy to fool them?¡± Zu An gave Yu Yanluo a look as he spoke. If it weren¡¯t because of your extraordinary drawing skills, these concubines might have been even more likely to expose me.

    ¡°That is indeed a problem. Furthermore, earlier, they even talked about serving you.¡± Yu Yanluo¡¯s pretty brows furrowed; she seemed to be thinking about somethingplicated.

    ¡°But I refused them all! How can a gentleman like me take advantage of the situation?¡± Zu An immediately expressed his innocence. Yu Yanluo was so worried that he might end up ying around with Jian Yanyou¡¯s harem, she had even warned him ahead of time.

    ¡°You can refuse them once, but you are not only going to be here for a single day.¡± Yu Yanluo looked as if her head hurt. ¡°I have just received news that Zhang Ji spent a long time by Jian Taiding¡¯s side before he came to see us. She definitely has a mission to test you, and she will not stop until she achieves her objective.¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t I just say I¡¯m still injured? It should be enough to get by for now,¡± Zu An replied. He didn¡¯t know why she was feeling so conflicted. Wasn¡¯t this something the two of them had already decided on beforehand?

    ¡°Not anymore, because the course of events has changed.¡± Yu Yanluo got up and walked over to the window. When she saw that there was no one outside, she continued, ¡°The general manager Uncle Ming and Jian Taiding are definitely working together. That means the chances of you finding any clues in this manor are slim. Furthermore, Yanyou¡¯s trusted aides have practically all been removed from the Martial Affairs Manor. Even if you were to raise a call for action, there might not be many who would listen. That is why the power of your identity will not be as useful as we initially thought.¡±

    ¡°Then what do we do?¡± Zu An was also feeling a bit of a headache. He couldn''t just impersonate Jian Yanyou forever! If they couldn''t find out anything, or control the Martial Affairs Manor, going through so much trouble would be meaningless.

    Yu Yanluo muttered to herself, ¡°Jian Taiding and Uncle Ming definitely know that you are a fake. So why do they still need Zhang Ji to test you¡­¡±

    ¡°To prove to everyone else that I¡¯m a fake,¡± Zu An said as he walked over and stood next to her. While they stood side by side, the two of them really did seem like a good match.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up. She suggested, ¡°How about we try to beat them at their own game? We can make it so that not only will they fail to find any evidence, they will instead start to doubt themselves and think you are real.¡±

    ¡°How are we going to do that?¡± Zu An shook his head. That sounded like aplete fantasy.

    ¡°You just need to make Zhang Jipletely trust that you are Yanyou.¡± Yu Yanluo was getting more and more excited as she continued, ¡°Wait here for a bit. I will be back soon.¡± She then raised her dress and left quickly.

    Zu An was stunned. Considering how close those concubines are to Jian Yanyou, it¡¯d already be pretty good if I can act normally without slipping up. How am I going to make thempletely trust me?

    Yu Yanluo came back soon afterward. Twopletely cloaked individuals were following her. When they entered the room, however, they lowered their hoods. Zu An recognized them to be the 36D bust Liu Ji and A4 waist Chu Ji.

    ¡°Jian Taiding and Uncle Ming have too many pairs of eyes and ears in the manor. We have no choice but to adopt this n,¡± Yu Yanluo exined.

    ¡°Do master and madam have any important things to tell us by bringing us out here?¡± The two girls exchanged a look. They both saw how serious the mood was.

    Before Zu An could say anything, Yu Yanluo said, ¡°He is not your master. Your true master has already died.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

 Chapter 1067: Revenge for Their Husband

    <h4>Chapter 1067: Revenge for Their Husband</h4>

    Zu An waspletely dumbfounded. The two of them had practiced so much to earn the trust of the Duke Manor, and yet now, Yu Yanluo had just told them that he was a fake! What meaning did their previous efforts have left?N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°What?¡± Liu Ji and Chu Ji were both shocked. They turned pale when they looked at Zu An. No matter how they looked at that person, wasn¡¯t he the duke?

    Yu Yanluo sighed and said, ¡°The two of you came from my manor, so I will not lie to you. He is indeed not the duke, because the real duke was schemed against by Jian Taiding and Uncle Ming¡­¡± She then gave them a rough summary of everything that had happened.

    When the two women were convinced she wasn¡¯t joking around, they couldn''t help but start sobbing, ¡°Duke¡­¡±

    After the two of them grieved for a bit, they wiped away their tears and looked at Zu An. They said in astonishment, ¡°But he really is too simr to the duke¡­¡±

    ¡°The two of you know my skills in the arts. I drew the duke¡¯s appearance for him, then used a secret method to hide his real face. That is why he looks just like the duke. However, these methods are temporary. They will lose their effects as time goes on,¡± Yu Yanluo exined in a way that was easier for them to understand than the truth.

    ¡°Madam could have hidden this from us. What do you want us sisters to do by telling us the truth now?¡± Liu Ji asked as she wiped away her tears.

    Neither of the concubines were stupid. They had already realized that they had definitely been called over for a reason.

    ¡°About that¡­¡± Yu Yanluo trailed off.

    A4 waist Chu Ji said gently, ¡°Madam does not need to have any misgivings. Both of us came from your respected self¡¯s manor, so we are naturally loyal to you.¡±

    ¡°I suppose it is fine.¡± Yu Yanluo sighed and said, ¡°I just received news that Jian Taiding has assigned Zhang Ji to investigate. Even though I managed to make him look like the duke on the surface, there is no way to fool one¡¯s partner in bed.¡±

    ¡°Ah¡­¡± The two girls cried out in rm. They had never expected the conversation to be something like that. Even though they were already married, now that they knew Zu An wasn¡¯t the real duke, talking about such things in front of another man was a bit embarrassing.

    36D bust Liu Ji bit her red lips. She secretly gave Zu An a look and said, ¡°Madam, we can teach him some of the duke¡¯s particr characteristics in bed, but that can only take him so far. Zhang Ji has always been rather sharp, so we might not be able to fool her.¡±

    They naturally understood that Yu Yanluo and the duke hadn¡¯t had that kind of rtionship. That was why the responsibility to teach him obviously fell on them.

    Zu An didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry either. How was such a thing something that could just be taught? It was a pity that Daji¡¯s fox charm only worked on men with lower cultivation than her. Otherwise, if she could fool Zhang Ji, or even Jian Taiding, everything would be easily solved.

    Yu Yanluo nodded and said, ¡°Indeed. If you two only teach him through words, Zhang Ji will definitely see through it. That is why I hope you two can personally instruct him.¡±

    Liu Ji and Chu Ji were both speechless.

    Zu An was stunned. He had just been listening from the side, curious as to what kind of incredible n she had. In the end, he had heard such absolutely shocking news. Who was the one who kept warning me that I couldn''t touch Jian Yanyou¡¯s wives, because that would be letting him down?

    He had almost been forced to make a vow because of that. Yu Yanluo had even chosen to stay in the manor with him precisely because she had worried that he would cause trouble in the harem. And yet now, she was actually the first one to suggest something like that?

    Liu Ji and Chu Ji exchanged a look. Their faces were alreadypletely red as they stuttered, ¡°How¡­ How can this be alright¡­¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression waspletely normal. She calmly said, ¡°This was something I could have fooled you two into doing. The two of you would have been tricked, and yet happily done what I asked of you. But after thinking about it, I did not want to do something like that and instead told you the truth. After all, you two have lived together with the duke all these years. Even though you are only concubines in name, you are his real wives. You two have the right to know the truth.

    ¡°Our original n was to use the duke¡¯s identity to make our way in, but we did not expect even Uncle Ming to have colluded with Jian Taiding. Furthermore, the officials in the Martial Affairs Manor have practically all been swapped out, so we no longer have the advantage. The original n will not work, so we can only take risks out of desperation and ask the two of you to do something like this¡­

    ¡°The choice is yours. If you two are unwilling, I will not force it upon you. However, since you know this secret, I will have to ask the two of you to please not leave. Do not worry; I will not silence you. This is just to prevent secrets from leaking out. We will let the two of you go after this matter passes.¡±

    Chu Ji bit down on her red lip and said, ¡°We obviously know what kind of moral character you have, madam. If the madam wanted us to help with something, we would do it without batting an eyelid. But this matter is too¡­ too¡­¡± She wasn¡¯t able to find the words she was looking for even after a long time, but her entirely red face and bashful expression exined everything.

    Yu Yanluo sighed helplessly and replied, ¡°It is fine, this matter is a bit personal. How about this? The two of you can return. I will send someone to keep an eye on you. However, the two of you cannot have contact with anyone outside.¡± A hint of worry appeared between her brows. She was a bit puzzled as to what to do.

    A4 waist Chu Ji had already stood up, but 36D bust Liu Ji didn¡¯t move. There was a bit of hesitation on her face, but in the end, she said, ¡°Madam, I am willing to help.¡±

    Yu Yanluo was shocked. She eximed, ¡°Really?¡± She hadn¡¯t had much hope that the n would work out, because the request really was a bit outrageous.

    ¡°If the duke really was harmed by them, even though I am merely a woman, I still want to help him get revenge.¡± Liu Ji was a bit embarrassed and awkward at first, but her expression became firmer and firmer as she continued, ¡°Actually, even if we did not help this time, we could still imagine our final fate. We would most likely be forced to continue residing in the Duke Manor, until the second master¡­ Ahem, until Jian Taiding became the new duke. When have we ever had any freedom?

    ¡°As women, we are actually quite sensitive to such things. Even though Jian Taiding has hidden it well, I can still sense the desire hidden deep within his eyes. That is why I know we would most likely be forcefully seized by him. Then, we would most likely be canaries trapped deep within his courtyard. What chance would there be left to rebel?¡±

    Chu Ji¡¯s eyes turned red when she heard all of that. She had also thought about those things recently. She couldn''t help but feel broken-hearted when she thought about her dismal fate.

    A resolute expression appeared on Liu Ji¡¯s face. She eximed, ¡°Since I cannot remain faithful to the duke anyway, rather than devoting myself to the one who killed my husband, I would rather use my body to help the duke get revenge!¡±

    ¡°Sister Liu is right. If we can get revenge on the duke, how can I still cling onto something like this!?¡± Chu Ji¡¯s originally weak expression was reced with resolve.

    Yu Yanluo looked conflicted. She looked at the two of them for a long time, but eventually said, ¡°Yanyou was really blessed to have such loyal women at his side. I am sure that he will be grateful even in the afterlife.¡±

    The two concubines could no longer hold back. They wept while hugging each other. Yu Yanluo also felt a bit broken-hearted from the mood. She walked over and took them into her arms, gently patting their shoulders in constion.

    The concubines finally calmed down a whileter. Yu Yanluo turned to look at Zu An and said, ¡°I will leave him to the two of you, then.¡±

    Chu Ji¡¯s face turned red; she was clearly the shyer one of the two. She looked away and couldn''t look straight at Zu An. Liu Ji was clearly the one with the stronger nature, however. She voiced her agreement, saying, ¡°I will definitely do my best to teach him to be¡­ just like the duke.¡±

    Zu An said weakly, ¡°I don¡¯t think anyone has asked me if I¡¯m willing¡­¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s brows shot up. She shot back, ¡°What, you mean to say you are unwilling?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m not willing,¡± Zu An replied somewhat ufortably. ¡°It¡¯s mainly because everything has changed way too quickly. I still haven¡¯t properly taken everything in yet.¡±

    Yu Yanluo harrumphed and retorted, ¡°Even we are willing; what is a grown man like you being all embarrassed for? These are outstanding women who are willing to step forward and get revenge for their husband; are you not bringing disgrace to their sincerity?¡±

    Then, she pushed the two girls into his arms and said, ¡°You should head to the inner room. I will stand guard outside, and no let anyone disturb you all. Make sure you focus and do not think any strange thoughts.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. How can you tell someone doing this kind of thing to not have any strange thoughts?

 Chapter 1068: Teaching by Example

    <h4>Chapter 1068: Teaching by Example</h4>

    When Zu An entered the inner room and saw Liu Ji and Chu Ji, he couldn''t help but feel awkward. He began, ¡°The two of you¡­¡±

    However, Liu Ji stopped him and said, ¡°Do not use someone else¡¯s voice. You are the duke right now. This will make it a bit easier for us too.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He couldn''t even use a different voice in his current state even if he wanted to. After using the Kawaii Waifu Voice Changer, if he changed his voice, he would have to pretend to be a cute girl again. He really didn¡¯t want to do that kind of thing more than he had to.

    He coughed and said, ¡°I have made the two madams worry in the time I¡¯ve been away.¡± With things already the way they were, being shy about it was already meaningless. He needed to seize the moment to not waste their sincerity.

    The two women¡¯s eyes lit up when they heard him speak. A hint of bewilderment appeared in Chu Ji¡¯s eyes and she muttered to herself, ¡°You really are just like him, almost exactly the same as the duke¡­¡±

    Liu Ji tugged on her sleeve and remarked, ¡°What do you mean, he is just like the duke? He is the duke.¡±

    Chu Ji¡¯s pretty face turned red. She knew that Liu Ji was reminding her to y the part. After all, the man before them was exactly the same as their husband. As long as they didn¡¯t suspect him of being someone else, it would make the following events much easier to ept.

    Zu An sighed in amazement when he saw their entirely different reactions. Chu Ji was just like a bashful young married officedy from his previous world. Even though she was already married, she would still be embarrassed if one joked with her even a little bit.

    Liu Ji was more like a passionate and unrestrained mature sister. After getting married, she had be passionate and begun taking the initiative. She would instead be the one who made younger colleagues at the office blush.

    Liu Ji said, ¡°Your voice is the same, but the way you refer to us is wrong. The duke would not call us madam. Madam is a title only she uses.¡± She looked in Yu Yanluo¡¯s direction, her gaze filled with envy.

    ¡°Oh. Then what should I call you?¡± Zu An asked. He figured that made sense as well. How could any outsiders know how the duke addressed his concubines in private?

    When she heard what he said, Liu Ji blushed for the first time. After some hesitation, she said, ¡°You should call me ¡®precious¡¯.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression turned strange. He wanted tough, but he held himself back. However, that was still a normal term of endearment between husband and wife.

    Chu Ji voiced her surprise, then said softly, ¡°He normally calls me ¡®darling¡¯¡­¡±

    Liu Ji¡¯s expression also turned strange. After all, their nicknames were simr, but also entirely different.

    Darling is darling, precious is precious¡­ Zu An thought to himself, This duke really knows how to y around.

    ¡°I really don¡¯t know what to call Zhang Ji then,¡± Zu An said. He was getting a headache. Judging from how the other two were acting, Zhang Ji definitely had her own unique nickname.

    ¡°I know her nickname,¡± Chu Ji said weakly.

    Now, even Liu Ji was surprised. She really didn¡¯t know how Chu Ji knew something she didn¡¯t.

    When she saw their curious expressions, Chu Ji sounded a bit flustered. She said, ¡°The duke calls Zhang Ji ¡®my beloved¡¯. Zhang Ji bragged about it in front of me before, so I ended up knowing about it.¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Beloved¡­¡± Liu Ji immediately felt a little jealous. ¡°Why does she get to have a nickname that is slightly different?¡±

    Zu An was stupefied. This duke seems a bit like a yboy!

    After the interruption, the two girls gradually forgot about their initial embarrassment and slowly calmed down. They began to teach him how to address them, the tone he should use when calling out to them, and other such things, gradually correcting his behavior.

    Zu An was bing more and more like the real deal. Together with his appearance being identical to the duke¡¯s, they began to look more and more infatuated. It was almost as if the real duke were right beside them.

    However, a strange silence eventually descended on the room. They had taught him everything he should say, but how could words alone fool Zhang Ji? An ambiguous mood filled the ce.

    Chu Ji¡¯s face became entirely red. She stared at her toes. It was almost as if she were trying to find a hole to hide herself in.

    In the end, it was Liu Ji who broke the silence. She took a deep breath, and a dazzling smile appeared on her face as she said, ¡°The duke has worked hard today. Let this humble one serve the duke before you sleep.¡± She walked over to Zu An¡¯s side tenderly, and began to help him undo his clothes.

    Zu An¡¯s entire body went rigid when he felt Liu Ji¡¯s touch. He had never experienced such a thing before. At that moment, he felt the situation was a bit absurd.

    Liu Ji chuckled when she sensed his nervousness. If the other party had been a sex-hungry pervert in a rush to take advantage of her, even though she was doing this for revenge, she wouldn¡¯t feel very good about it. But since the other party had gotten nervous first, she instead gathered some courage. She even felt like teasing him, saying, ¡°We¡¯ve been apart for so long, but the duke doesn¡¯t seem to be all that excited.¡±

    Chu Ji couldn''t help but raise her head. Her misty eyes were wide open. Big Sister Liu is so amazing¡­ I¡¯m about to die from embarrassment, but she can still joke around.

    Zu An sighed. He gathered his thoughts, then yed along. ¡°We¡¯ve been apart for so long that I¡¯ve missed my precious to death.¡±

    When she heard the familiar way of address and saw the other party¡¯s identical appearance, Liu Ji couldn''t help but be stupefied. It was as if nothing had happened, and that things were the same as before when she used to often spend time with the duke.

    But everything had already changed. There was no going back. She quietly wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes and pulled herself together. She helped him remove his clothes while saying, ¡°Little sister Chu also misses the duke a lot. Why are you still staying over there, little sister?¡±

    ¡°Ah? I¡­¡± Chu Ji nodded in a daze. Her head waspletely nk. She could only instinctively obey Liu Ji.

    Liu Ji secretly moved over to Zu An¡¯s ear and said, ¡°Even the duke never experienced this kind of treatment before. You¡¯re really lucky today.¡±

    Zu An felt something stir within him. She really was an alluring woman who knew how to tease him!

    The world was just that strange. Someone with Liu Ji¡¯s personality, in theory, should have already been in cahoots with Jian Taiding, and yet she wasn¡¯t. Instead, she had firmly made her decision to get revenge for her husband.

    Zu An felt deep admiration for her. The only thing he could do was to cooperate and be as much like the duke as possible, so as to not let them down.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Yu Yanluo was still standing outside. She began to mutter to herself, ¡°Yanyou, will you me me for doing this? But we are all trying to get revenge for you. If you are going to me anyone, then me me alone. Please do not me them.¡±

    After she thought things through, her expression turned resolute as well. She was no longer conflicted over the morality of the matter.

    However, her ears couldn''t help but prick up after she calmed herself down. She was curious about how things were going inside. She could still hear what was happening inside at first, butter on, their voices clearly became softer.

    For some reason, although she was usually calm, was starting to feel a bit ill at ease. She didn¡¯t know why she was feeling so annoyed either. She paced back and forth around the room restlessly.

    A cry of rm suddenly emerged from inside the room. Her expression changed a bit. Was Zu An starting to pressure them forcibly? That rascal!

    She was about to go inside to take a look, but Liu Ji suddenly ran out while covering her chest, her clothes messed up. She was rmed. Even the optimistic and cheerful Liu Ji had such a reaction¡­

    Yu Yanluo quickly stopped her and asked, ¡°What happened? Did that guy do anything to you two?¡±

    Liu Ji shook her head and replied, ¡°That is not it¡­ but I really cannot teach him anymore!¡±

    Yu Yanluo waspletely confused. Didn¡¯t you agree just now? How can you suddenly go back on your word? But she still respected Liu Ji¡¯s decision. ¡°Since you are no longer willing, I will not force you anymore. You two should hurry back to your rooms.¡±

    However, she was also confused. Why hadn¡¯t Chu Jie out yet?

    ¡°It is not that we are unwilling, but that we really cannot teach him¡­¡± When she saw Yu Yanluo¡¯s confusion, Liu Ji felt a bit conflicted. In the end, she moved over to Yu Yanluo¡¯s ear and said, ¡°It is because he is too¡­ As long as Zhang Ji is not blind, she will immediately be able to tell that he is not the duke. That is why it is meaningless whether we teach him or not.¡±

    Yu Yanluo was speechless. Her face becamepletely red. Even with all of her calctions, she had never expected that to be the reason.

    Even though she was the duchess in name, she had never experienced a normal, passionate romance. How could she have foreseen those details? She couldn''t help but feel a bit embarrassed. That guy looks pretty refined and cultured with his clothes on, but why is he like a donkey down there?

    ¡°Call over Chu Ji and go back then,¡± Yu Yanluo said. She had alreadypletely given up on the n. It seemed she had to think of another way.

    Chu Ji left the room just then. Liu Ji quickly repeated the madam¡¯s words to her.

    However, Chu Ji didn¡¯t follow her and instead tugged on her sleeves. Her expression was strange, and her voice was shaking a bit as she said, ¡°He said he has a secret skill called the ¡®Wukong Staff¡¯. I do not know what that means either¡­ but he seems to be able to control its size¡­¡±

    Chu Ji could only be more straightforward when she saw that Liu Ji didn¡¯t understand. ¡°You should go in and take a look. It is now already¡­ the same as the duke¡¯s.¡±

    Liu Ji and Yu Yanluo were speechless.

    Chu Ji didn¡¯t know where she had gotten the courage either, but she pulled Liu Ji back. She almost tried to bring in Yu Yanluo too, but she pulled her hand back after reaching out halfway. She felt it was a bit inappropriate.

    After the two of them left, another cry of rm followed. Chu Ji¡¯s shock was even greater than before.

    Even Yu Yanluo was a bit rmed when she heard it. She almost couldn''t hold back the urge to take a look herself. But although her feet moved a few times, in the end, she didn¡¯t go inside.

    She waited for the people inside to give her an exnation, but even as she waited and waited, no one came out. On the contrary, she heard some hushed voices, sounding almost as if they were about to cry.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression changed at first; she thought Zu An was bullying the girls. However, she wasn¡¯t some naive little girl. Even though those sounds left her a bit flustered, she quickly reacted.

    She harrumphed and took out a paintbrush. The brush rushed quickly across the page, filling up the scroll. She extended her hand and that scroll extended on its own, quickly forming an incorporeal screen that separated the inside and outside of the courtyard. That way, no one outside could hear anything they shouldn¡¯t hear.

    ¡­

    After a long time passed, Zu An finally came out.

    Yu Yanluo looked behind him, but didn¡¯t see Liu Ji or Chu Ji at all. She frowned and asked, ¡°what are the results?¡±

    Zu An nodded and replied, ¡°The two little madams were righteous and honorable, teaching by example. I have confidence in fooling Zhang Ji and Jian Taiding now. He will definitely think that his older brother hase back to life.¡±

    Yu Yanluo sighed in relief and said, ¡°That is good then. I hope you do not let down their efforts.¡±

 Chapter 1069: Liven Things Up

    <h4>Chapter 1069: Liven Things Up</h4>

    Meanwhile, Jian Taiding had just heard his subordinate¡¯s report. He immediately frowned and asked, ¡°Yu Yanluo brought two people to that imposter¡¯s room, and they only came back out after a long time? Do you know who the two of them are?¡±

    ¡°We do not. Those two were cloaked the entire time, so we could not see who they were. We were not even able to discern their gender.¡± That subordinate said.

    ¡°Useless! You cannot even find out something like that in my manor? What is the use in even keeping you all around?!¡± Jian Taiding was furious.

    He normally wasn¡¯t so irritable. However, he had been severely injured a few days before. If it were just that, it would be fine since he could regainplete control of the manor once he healed. But today, a freaking imposter had shown up,pletely ruining all of his grand dreams. How could he not be restless?

    The subordinate lowered his head apologetically. It was instead Uncle Ming who advised Jian Taiding, ¡°Second master, there is no need to trouble him. Madam Yu is the Yu n leader. She has always been a mysterious person. How could this subordinate know their identities if she wanted to hide them?¡± He gestured toward the subordinate, saying, ¡°You can withdraw for now.¡±

    The subordinate had a grateful expression. He bowed toward the two of them before quickly leaving.

    Jian Taiding didn¡¯t say anything. Only when that subordinate left did he say to Uncle Ming, ¡°I really cannot understand this sister-inw of mine. She has clearly always responded well to my concern for her. She always wees me with a smile as well. No matter what I say to her, she always has a kind and warm expression, which is why I never really pressured her to do anything. But now, it seems she has been ying me as if I were some monkey! I have no idea where she found this feral man to ruin all of my ns!¡±

    His anger wasn¡¯tpletely unfounded. He had alreadypletely seen Yu Yanluo as his personal property; and yet, not only had Yu Yanluo brought in this imposter duke to oppose him, she had even acted like that with him in front of everyone! It was almost as if she had done so to disgust him!

    Uncle Ming sighed and said, ¡°In the past, Madam Yu was known as the world¡¯s number one beauty. Untold numbers of outstanding heroes have proposed marriage to her. It is rumored that even his majesty felt something for her, but he still had no way to get close in the end. That means she definitely has her own methods. Second master might have underestimated her previously.¡± He actually spoke rather tactfully. He could have said that Jian Taiding was so blinded by infatuation that he had be aplete bootlicker.

    Jian Taiding¡¯s face heated up as he said, ¡°I indeed underestimated her a bit before. That woman is too formidable. She suddenly came up with this new scheme¡­ I really have no idea where she found this ridiculously simr imposter. If we did not know the truth, we might have been fooled too.¡±

    ¡°That is why it will all depend on Zhang Ji now,¡± Uncle Ming said with a calm expression. ¡°As long as she finds proof, we will immediately inform everyone and make sure the imposter ispletely doomed. We might even be able to use this as a pretext to act against the Yu n.¡±

    ¡°You are absolutely right!¡± A fierce and determined expression shed through Jian Taiding¡¯s eyes. Hmph, they dare challenge me, the overlord of Cloudcenter Commandery?! I need to teach them a painful lesson so the rest of this world knows who the real master of Cloudcenter Commandery is.

    The two of them discussed some more details. However, as he saw Uncle Ming out, for some reason, Jian Taiding suddenly said, ¡°Uncle Ming, do you think it is possible¡­ I am just saying, but what if¡­ my older brother did not die? That person is just too simr, after all!¡±

    Uncle Ming¡¯s expression turned serious as he replied, ¡°Second master, what you are feeling is a bit of paranoia. How could the duke still be alive? Both of us saw that with our own two eyes¡­ Hmph, furthermore, even if he really is alive, so what? Cloudcenter Commandery has already changed. Even the truth can be changed into lies.¡±

    He couldn''t help but feel a bit disappointed. He had previously found the second master more ambitious and formidable than the first master, thinking he could achieve something great. But now, the other party was already so flustered by something so small. Really¡­ Could his will have gotten weaker because he was injured?

    Jian Taiding was rmed, but his expression also became steadier as he replied, ¡°Thank you for the reminder, Uncle Ming!¡±

    ¡­

    Afterward, the two waited for news from Zhang Ji. Unfortunately, the imposter didn¡¯t have Zhang Ji serve him during the first day. That was within their expectations, however. If this person was a fake, there was no way he would dare to have intimate rtions with Zhang Ji. He would dy it for as long as he could.

    In the following days, they began to secretly instigate some trouble. Some rumors and nder began to spread through the Duke Manor and even Cloudcenter Commandery, saying Cloudcenter Duke was a fake because he didn¡¯t dare to share a bed with his wives, that he was scared of being exposed.

    People justughed it off at first. But as time went on, the returned duke continued to refuse interactions with the concubines. Their attitudes gradually changed.

    Don¡¯t tell us that fe really is fake?

    ¡­

    Zu An, who was at the center of everything, obviously knew it was all just gossip. He felt admiration for Yu Yanluo¡¯s ns.

    The enemy had already prepared everything, and they had made him look as if he had a guilty conscience, preventing him from interacting with Zhang Ji. Now, forget about the entire Duke Manor, even the rest of Cloudcenter Commandery was paying attention to the matter. People were all waiting for the answer to the riddle.

    But the more they doubted him at present, the more confident they would be that he was real afterward. Jian Taiding thought the situation was perfectly within his grasp, thinking he had them by the reins, and yet he had no idea that he was ying right into Yu Yanluo¡¯s ns.

    In people¡¯s eyes, Zu An had already been pressured into an impossible situation; thus, he would have no choice but to agree to Zhang Ji¡¯s service, to see if he could somehow bluff his way through.

    ¡­

    Jian Taiding and Uncle Ming were secretly watching outside the courtyard, waiting for Zhang Ji to rush out through the door.

    After all, Zhang Ji had special status herself, being the duke¡¯s concubine. Jian Taiding could only ask her to check whether the duke was real or fake, but not for her to really apany that imposter in bed.

    Jian Taiding and Uncle Ming were already lying in wait surrounded by trusted aides, however. Once they received confirmation, they would immediately act ording to their ns. They would first arrest the imposter, but also simultaneously detain Yu Yanluo. Then, news would reach outside the manor, ensuring people all knew what was happening.

    In reality, it wasn¡¯t just Jian Taiding. There were many powers who had nted spies in the manor, or had people stand guard nearby. They were all waiting for the result of the private meeting.

    Jian Taiding stroked his goatee as he stared at a bright light in the distance, muttering, ¡°That is the light I told Zhang Ji to leave on ahead of time, so the imposter could not try to turn off the light and bluff his way out.¡±

    ¡°Second master is wise!¡± Uncle Ming also smiled. It seemed that although Jian Taiding slipped up sometimes, he was still a good candidate overall.

    They had nned things out for so long already. Now, the dust was finally going to settle. However¡­

    ¡°Why hasn''t shee out yet?¡± They were getting more and more nervous. Even Uncle Ming couldn''t help but be a bit anxious, as he couldn¡¯t see anything happening.

    But Jian Taiding, who had seemed a bit irritable recently, instead became extremely calm. He poured a cup of tea for Uncle Ming andmented with a smile, ¡°Uncle Ming, why are you losing your cool? Do not panic. Everything is within our grasp. How about I y a song on the xiao[1] for you to help you rx?¡±

    He took out an elegant jade xiao afterward and brought it up to his lips. He yed it as he looked toward the nearby courtyard. The xiao music was actually the secret signal he had agreed on with Zhang Ji, telling her to hurry up. Otherwise, if something unexpected happened, she was supposed to give the signal for them toe to her aid.

    The trusted aides smiled when they saw Jian Taiding y his xiao under the moonlight. He looked confident and at ease, just like an elegant man in a world of chaos. His graceful bearing really was enviable. All of them thought to themselves that if they could have even a tenth of their second master¡¯s elegant style, wouldn¡¯t they be able to get any girl they wanted?

    Only Uncle Ming frowned inwardly. He felt that Jian Taiding was trying too hard to appear artistic and intellectual. This was just some useless popr trick young masters from influential ns would learn.

    As the xiao music spread through the entire Duke Manor, even the leaders of the different powers outside were moved. Jian Taiding must have been fully prepared. It was clearly a message from Jian Taiding to everyone in Cloudcenter Commandery, telling them he was still the ruler!

    But as time went on, Jian Taiding¡¯s smile also gradually froze. His lips were starting to turn dry from blowing the xiao. Why hadn¡¯t Zhang Jie back out yet?

    He forced a smile when he saw Uncle Ming¡¯s confused expression, saying, ¡°This is fine. I suppose she was just dyed by some minor things. After all, that man really does look pretty simr to my older brother. How about I switch to a different song?¡±

    And yet, even after Jian Taiding¡¯s next song ended, Zhang Ji still didn¡¯te out.

    Jian Taiding could no longer remain calm. He wanted to redeem himself somehow, and yet he didn¡¯t know what to say. He continued to wait with an overcast expression. There was no way he could still be in the mood to y songs! He stared rigidly at the courtyard¡¯s entrance.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    As they continued to wait, the horizon began to pale, and yet Zhang Ji still didn¡¯te out.

    Damn this adulterous couple; don¡¯t tell me they ended up using my songs as their backdrop to y harder?

    Even the chickens were starting to crow. Jian Taiding finally broke down. How could he continue to wait? He stormed off with an ashen expression.

    A long time after the sky brightened, Zhang Ji finally came out from the courtyard. Herplexion waspletely rosy. Her resentment from being left alone for the past year was nowhere to be seen. Instead, she had a sweet and satisfied smile. Those watching knew the result even without asking.

    News quickly spread throughout Cloudcenter Commandery: Zhang Ji had personally tested the duke out. He was the authentic Cloudcenter Duke!

    Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s entire court was shaken up by the news.

    But the story that spread among ordinary people was something else entirely. It was said that the duke and his wives had been separated for so long that when they met again, it was like dry firewood meeting a raging inferno. Meanwhile, his second brother Jian Taiding had stayed outside the window the entire night, ying his xiao to liven things up.

    1. The xiao is a Chinese vertical end-blown flute. It is generally made of bamboo. ?

 Chapter 1070: Suspicion and Paranoia

    <h4>Chapter 1070: Suspicion and Paranoia</h4>

    ¡°He really cares a lot about his older brother and sister-inw. As a younger brother, he actually went to y the xiao for them? Their rtionship really is great!¡±

    ¡°Nonsense! Is that something an ordinary person would do? He clearly likes his sister-inw.¡±

    ¡°You have a point. Hey, he was even ying the xiao toward their window. I really wonder how he felt as he watched the girl he likes do that with his older brother¡­¡±

    ¡°If he hadn¡¯t been a weirdo to begin with, would he have been ying that xiao right outside?¡±

    ¡­

    Jian Taiding had the entire Military Affairs Manor under his control, so his authority in Cloudcenter Commandery was almost limitless. He naturally had his own efficient information channels.

    When he heard the random rumors going around, he almost exploded from anger. He sent all of the teacups and vases in his room smashing into the ground, not leaving a single one intact.

    ¡°Disgraceful, absolutely disgraceful!¡± Jian Taiding¡¯s face was about to turn purple from anger. He had wanted to show off a bit the previous night; and yet, not only had he failed, he had instead be theughingstock of the entiremandery.

    He had already built the event up quite a bit, and the previous night, he had even told everyone to witness the exposure of the imposter. And yet, in the end, all that had done was make him seem like a little clown.

    How could he, a proud and arrogant man, tolerate that?!

    Uncle Ming¡¯s face twitched. He couldn''t figure out what had gone wrong either. All of their arrangements had been made properly, so why had such a ridiculous mistake happened?

    ¡°Is Zhang Ji still not here?¡± Uncle Ming asked. The key issue was Zhang Ji. He wanted to find out just what exactly had happenedst night in that room.

    ¡°She seems to have arrived. She¡¯s waiting outside of the room right now,¡± a subordinate reported.

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you bringing her in yet?!¡± Jian Taiding cursed. He had previously thought that his subordinates were quitepetent, so why did they all seem as slow as pigs now?

    Zhang Ji was quickly invited inside. Unlike Jian Taiding and Uncle Ming, whose expressions were overcast, she was radiating happiness.

    ¡°Second uncle!¡± She immediately bowed respectfully to Jian Taiding. She wasn¡¯t the main wife, after all, and she was someone who had been raised by Jian Taiding. She carried herself humbly before him, not believing that he would really treat her as his sister-inw.

    When he heard the words ¡®second uncle¡¯, Jian Taiding¡¯s eyes twitched. Normally, he would secretly admire her long legs, but now, all he could think of was of these long legs being ravaged by another man.

    However, he endured his rage and put on a pleasant expression, asking, ¡°What happenedst night? Why have you only returned in the morning?¡±

    Zhang Ji blushed and replied, ¡°Second uncle, do you not already know the answer to that? The duke told me to serve him, so how could I not do my job properly?¡±

    Even though he¡¯d already had his suspicions, Jian Taiding still felt as if thunder were crashing in his mind. He could no longer hold back the rage within him. His voice rose as he eximed, ¡°Did I not tell you he was an imposter?! Would you sleep with any random wild man who told you to sleep with him?¡±

    Zhang Ji looked somewhat unhappy. Even though she had been raised by Jian Taiding, she had already been part of the duke¡¯s harem for so long. In the past, Jian Taiding would have had to treat her with respect and gifts. When had he ever suddenly be hostile like this?

    She might have just swallowed her anger if the duke were still missing, but now that the duke had already returned, she had someone to support her. There was no way she would act as cautiously as before. She shot back, her face entirely red, ¡°Second uncle, please conduct yourself properly. I have always carried out my duties as the duke¡¯s wife properly. Apart from the duke, I have never had another man. I do not even converse with other men normally. Second uncle cannot nder me with such words.¡±

    ¡°You¡­!¡± Jian Taiding was furious. This woman really thinks she ispletely independent and grown up now! Does she not know who the true lord of Cloudcenter Commandery is?

    Uncle Ming quickly got up to stop Jian Taiding from losing hisposure further. After all, they still had to rely on Zhang Ji for many things. As such, he said to Zhang Ji in an amicable manner, ¡°Third madam, we have our sources that tell us this man is fake. Why do you think he is real?¡±

    ¡°Fake?¡± Zhang Ji frowned and replied, ¡°That is impossible. Do you think I would not even recognize my own man? He is the duke through and through.¡±

    ¡°But how is that possible?!¡± Jian Taiding obviously didn¡¯t believe that. He even began to suspect that she had already been bought out by Yu Yanluo beforehand, and that they were working together to fool him.

    Uncle Ming thought more meticulously. He asked, ¡°How did the third madam confirm that he was the duke?¡±

    ¡°How else¡­¡± Zhang Ji trailed off as she blushed, looking bashful.

    Uncle Ming could only change the topic a little, asking, ¡°Can you tell us some more details? For example, some secret lovers¡¯ words between husband and wife that only the two of you know of?¡±

    ¡°Of course we have those. Only the two of us know what the duke calls me. There are all kinds of other details too. He is exactly the same as before,¡± Zhang Ji replied.

    ¡°Do you think that secret name he used for you could identally have been revealed to someone else?¡± Jian Taiding asked. He was also starting to calm down. Compared to raging helplessly, it was more important to understand where the problemy.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Of course not. Why would I randomly talk about our private affairs to other people?¡± Zhang Ji began to panic too. She began to worry about whether she looked like a gossip in the eyes of others.

    Jian Taiding frowned. If this woman is telling the truth, what the hell went wrong? It seemed as if this woman were colluding with that imposter, no matter how one looked at it.

    Uncle Ming asked, ¡°Apart from your nickname, is there any other proof? For example, certain traits of his body?¡±

    Zhang Ji replied with a strange expression, ¡°His body was the same as the duke¡¯s. He has a few moles on his body, and they are all exactly the same.¡±

    ¡°Those would be easy to mimic. I am talking about some things he cannot copy.¡± Uncle Ming was a bit embarrassed, but with how things were, he couldn''t make too much of a fuss. He continued, ¡°For example, his¡­ size. Also, his degree of intimacy. There is no way he could have imitated those things, right?¡±

    ¡°Those things were all exactly the same.¡± Zhang Ji¡¯s face reddened. If not for Uncle Ming leading the discussion, she would already have be upset long before if she had been asked those things. ¡°It is not just his body¡¯s¡­ traits. How he bes intimate, and even how long hests before he¡­es, it is all exactly the same. You are worrying too much. He is the duke; why do you two keep calling him fake? Do you think I could not tell who my man is and would sleep with anyone?¡±

    Zhang Ji was starting to feel embarrassed. She had clearly confirmed his identity, so why were they still insisting the duke was a fake? Don¡¯t tell me they don¡¯t want the duke toe back, and instead want to continue dominating the Duke and Military Affairs Manor¡­ As someone who had resided in such a ce for so long, she wasn¡¯t stupid either. When she realized those things, her face paled and her happy expression faded.

    Jian Taiding and Uncle Ming exchanged a look, seeing the shock in each others¡¯ eyes.

    ¡°Were you perhaps drugged?¡± Uncle Ming asked with a frown.

    ¡°What drugs? Did you not keep warning me over and over yesterday? I did not eat anything after I went in, nor did I drink anything. There were no strange smells inside either. How could I have been drugged?¡± Zhang Ji blushed. She had gone inside the previous day as if she were facing a prisoner, acting incredibly fussy. Fortunately, the duke was generous and hadn¡¯t med her too much. When she remembered his generosity and warmth, as well as that hot feeling, she felt her heart begin to pound.

    ¡°If you were not drugged, could he have used some kind of illusion?¡± Jian Taiding muttered to himself. Zhang Ji wasn¡¯t a normal woman; she was trained in espionage skills too. Normal drugs wouldn¡¯t escape her notice.

    Uncle Ming¡¯s eyes lit up. That was indeed a possibility. He quickly asked Zhang Ji some probing questions, but she was sober and calm. Furthermore, she remembered all of the details from the previous night clearly. There wasn¡¯t any chance she had been mesmerized. Even the most powerful illusion arts left some traces; there was no way such techniques could have no ws.

    Zhang Ji¡¯s expression turned cold when she finished exining everything to them. She turned around to leave. After all, she was sure the other man was her husband, and yet the two men continued to say he wasn¡¯t.

    Would she really let herself be fooled by an unfamiliar man? It wasn¡¯t as if she was blind.

    Everything from the previous night had been so real. When she recalled what had happened then, she felt her legs suddenly be weak, and her body felt somewhat ufortably sticky too. She left to take a bath and change her clothes before seeking out the duke again.

    ¡­

    After Zhang Ji left, Jian Taiding and Uncle Ming looked at each other in dismay.

    ¡°What does second master think?¡±

    ¡°Do you think she was bribed by Yu Yanluo?¡±

    ¡°That is impossible. We know everything about Zhang Ji, and she has always remained under our control in this time, so when would Madam Yu even have a chance to contact her? Furthermore, if she really had been bribed, she definitely would not have said such stupid words in front of us.¡± Uncle Ming shook his head after thinking to himself for a bit.

    ¡°What you say makes sense.¡± Jian Taiding¡¯s expression suddenly changed. He continued, ¡°If what Zhang Ji says is true, this person¡¯s appearance, behavior, and even bedroom preferences are exactly the same as those of my older brother. Do you think there is a chance that he really is my older brother?¡±

    Uncle Ming harrumphed and replied,. ¡°What are you getting all flustered for? He has clearly already died.¡±

    ¡°But he had such high cultivation. What if he had some trump card? Perhaps some miraculous revival is notpletely impossible¡­ Otherwise, how do you exin this man in our manor right now?¡± Jian Taiding asked, swallowing with great difficulty.

    Uncle Ming¡¯s expression was also overcast. He didn¡¯t object as firmly as he had before.

    ¡°How about we go and investigate this ourselves?¡± Jian Taiding suggested. Even his voice was starting to tremble.

    Uncle Ming remained silent for a while. In the end, he nodded and replied, ¡°Fine!¡±

 Chapter 1071: Great Snowy Mountains

    <h4>Chapter 1071: Great Snowy Mountains</h4>

    That evening, Zu An was starting to have a huge headache. Zhang Ji hade looking for him again, and he really couldn''t resist thoserge and misty eyes. Objectively speaking, no man could refuse such a thing, but he knew he wasn¡¯t the real duke. He could only find a random excuse to send her off.

    Fortunately, he had already survived the major trial. However, he had no idea what he was going to do about those thingster.

    Even Liu Ji and Chu Ji¡¯s expressions toward him were bing a bit strange recently. The Duke Manor was only so big, and with his return, for the sake of winning the hearts of the people, he had to show himself. Thus, they were always around each other.

    Chu Ji would lower her head while blushing whenever they met. Liu Ji always looked away when they made eye contact too, no longer disying her usual enthusiastic and bold nature.

    On several asions, the two women had wanted to say something to him. In the end, their mouths would open, and yet they would always look away afterward while blushing.

    Zu An knew they were feeling conflicted at the moment. So was he. If he stayed in the manor for a long time, wouldn¡¯t he have to endure such torment every single day?

    While he was distracted, a knock suddenly came from outside. He was rmed. However, he thought, People always say only widows fear knocking in the middle of the night; what am I so scared and on the edge for?

    ¡°Who is it?¡± he called out.

    ¡°Me,¡± came the reply. The voice was gentle and sweet-sounding, like a willow tree swaying in spring winds, and like sweet and glistening honey.

    Zu An quickly felt his restlessness calming. He sighed and quickly opened the door.

    Yu Yanluo was standing outside, wearing a white cloak. The shaggy snow-white cape around her neck added an air of loveliness to her usual noble and elegant demeanor. ¡°What is wrong? Why do you look as if you are about to face a great enemy or something?¡± she asked, smiling when she saw his expression.

    Zu An gave her a look and replied, ¡°You still have the nerve to smile? I really can¡¯t stay in the current Duke Manor anymore¡­¡±

    ¡°The fact that you think that way proves you are a gentleman. Otherwise, you would be enjoying this kind of life,¡± Yu Yanluo replied as she went inside and casually closed the door behind her. At the same time, she blew into her palms, as if doing so would bring her a bit more warmth.

    Zu An couldn''t really say any more when he saw how much she feared the cold. He asked, ¡°Are you wearing the Warm Darlings I gave you before?¡±

    There was some snow outside at the moment. Yu Yanluo usually stayed inside and slept during such weather, and yet she had braved the cold and actually gone all the way to visit Zu An. Zu An wondered what she needed to tell him.

    Yu Yanluo definitely feared the cold more than anyone. Even Chuyan¡¯s condition after she had used her forbidden technique in the past didn¡¯t seem that bad inparison. Zu An thought, But everything else about her seems fine; she¡¯s not wounded either. It really is weird.

    ¡°I have a few inside my clothes, on my lower abdomen¡­¡± Yu Yanluo subconsciously replied, but her expression turned rigid halfway through. Why am I telling him something so personal? ¡°Ahem, today, I came to tell you that you did well. You have already sessfully confused Uncle Ming. Those two were hiding in their rooms and talking to each other for a long time. If my suspicions are correct, they will soon act the way we anticipated.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good then,¡± Zu An replied with a smile.

    It was actually understandable. After all, the one they had sent to death hade back to life, and no matter how much they had tried to test him, they had failed. Anyone in that situation would be scared badly.

    Zu An¡¯s smile suddenly froze on his face. When she noticed the change, Yu Yanluo asked him, ¡°What is wrong?¡±

    ¡°Speak of the devil. I didn¡¯t expect them to be this impatient. They seem to have already set off,¡± Zu An said with a serious expression.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Yu Yanluo had never heard of that phrase, but it wasn¡¯t the time to focus on those details. She quickly pushed open the window and looked in the direction of Jian Taiding¡¯s courtyard. However, she didn¡¯t see anything. She asked, ¡°How do you know that?¡±

    She had spies watching that area as well. She hadn¡¯t even received any news yet; how had Zu An found out first?

    ¡°I have my ways; there¡¯s no time to exin. They¡¯ve already left the Duke Manor¡¯s courtyard wall. Should we get some men to chase after them?¡± Zu An suggested. Using the jade badge, he had gathered arge group of small creatures around the Duke Manor. No matter how careful Jian Taiding¡¯s forces were, how could they have known that the nearby small creatures were all surveince cameras?

    Even though Yu Yanluo was beautiful, Zu An wasn¡¯t the kind of person who would lose his head over a pretty girl. He still had to hide his trump cards, so he didn¡¯t exin further.

    ¡°It is toote for that. Once they get in contact with their partners, they will already be gone.¡± Yu Yanluo shook her head. She continued, ¡°Furthermore, their cultivation levels are so high, it would be easy to startle them. If they knew our objective, they would be on guard the next time around.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, then. Just the two of us. They can¡¯t use it as proof even if they see anything,¡± Zu An said.

    He wasn¡¯t too worried about the other side¡¯sbat strength. Even though Jian Taiding was a master rank cultivator, Zu An¡¯s real fighting strength was no weaker than his. He could probably even hold back a bit and still win. As for Uncle Ming, he wasn¡¯t weak either, but he wouldn¡¯t be able to do much to change the situation. He still had Yu Yanluo with him too, and her world art skills had almost done him in previously..

    ¡°That is not a concern either; I have this,¡± Yu Yanluo said as she took out a rock that was as glossy as a mirror. ¡°With this recording stone, we can record everything that happens. They can keep refusing to admit things all they want.¡±

    Zu An felt relieved. Even though the recording stone was rare and precious, Yu Yanluo¡¯s n managed the ki stone business to begin with. It would be stranger if she didn¡¯t have something like that.

    Thus, the two of them quickly chased after Jian Taiding and Uncle Ming.

    It wasn¡¯t too convenient for Yu Yanluo to move with the cloak on, and it would make her easy to recognize. As such, she left the cloak in Zu An¡¯s room. Her outfit resembled both a dress and a coat, and yet was neither.

    However, even though the cold had made her wear moreyers, it still couldn¡¯t conceal her impressive figure.That was especially true when it came to her incredible waist, her voluptuous chest, and her full bottom. Her curves looked almost like a work of art.

    Back at the manor, Liu Ji¡¯s chest had already been quiterge, and Chu Ji¡¯s waist was slender, while Zhang Ji had well-proportioned legs. All of them were top-level beauties, and they had their respective outstanding traits. But not even the three of thembined together couldpare to Yu Yanluo. They didn¡¯t have her natural charm and grace.

    No wonder Cloudcenter Duke had never been able to forget about Yu Yanluo. When Zu An had been together with Zhang Ji, she had exposed the fact that Jian Yanyou would often have her dress like Yu Yanluo when they were together. Fortunately, Zu An was no naive boy and had quickly reacted in that situation, which was why Zhang Ji hadn¡¯t noticed any gaps in his behavior.

    Those were things Chu Ji and Liu Ji hadn¡¯t taught him. It was probably because the two girls had been brought over from the Yu Manor, and Jian Yanyou had worried that news might reach Yu Yanluo¡¯s ears, ruining the gentlemanly image he had maintained for many years.

    Zu An actually understood that well. Even a monk trained in self-discipline might leave his monastic life if he met a stunning beauty like Yu Yanluo, let alone a mere gentleman.

    The pair cautiously left the Duke Manor. Zu An followed Jian Taiding and Uncle Ming using the little creatures¡¯ eyes.

    After several turns, Yu Yanluo finally saw Jian Taiding and Uncle Ming. She couldn''t hold back her curiosity and asked, ¡°How do you always know where they are going?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a secret.¡± Zu Anughed and didn¡¯t exin.

    ¡°Stingy.¡± Yu Yanluo harrumphed. But she was stunned soon afterward. Why had she been starting to act like a youngdy recently?

    A cold wind brushed past just then, making her shiver. She had always feared the cold to begin with. Now that she was rushing through the snow without her coat, not even the Warm Darlings she was wearing were enough.

    A pair ofrge, warm hands sped Yu Yanluo¡¯s hand, startling her. Because of her beauty, she was constantly surrounded by all sorts of men. She was exceptionally sensitive about protecting herself and subconsciously tried to pull her hand back; she was also about to criticize Zu An for being rude.

    However, warm heat entered through her palm. She then realized Zu An had done so to keep her warm. She looked at him and saw that his gaze was clear and genuine. In the end, she didn¡¯t pull back her hand. Her cheeks reddened as she quietly said, ¡°Thank you.¡±

    ¡°Your constitution wasn¡¯t suited to this cold weather to begin with. Why don¡¯t you just go back? I¡¯ll chase them on my own,¡± Zu An said. Even though he didn¡¯t know why Yu Yanluo was so terrible with cold weather, this was a snowstorm they were traveling through. She definitely couldn¡¯t feel good at the moment.

    Yu Yanluo shook her head and replied, ¡°I want to personally witness the truth about Yanyou, or else it will be hard for me to be at peace. Furthermore, those two are no pushovers either. I am worried that something might happen to you.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Jian Taiding is seriously injured, and Uncle Ming isn¡¯t anything special either. I can deal with them,¡± Zu An replied. However, he was startled. Even though he had poured in so much heat for her, her hand was still freezing cold without a hint of warmth. Don¡¯t tell me she really has the so-called ¡®flesh of ice and bones of jade¡¯?

    ¡°Do not worry; I am a cultivator after all. Even though I fear the cold, this bit of snow is still tolerable.¡± Yu Yanluo moved her scattered hair behind her ear and showed Zu An a bright and beautiful smile. Seeing as she had already made her decision, Zu An didn¡¯t try to dissuade her any further.

    The two followed Jian Taiding and Uncle Ming from a good distance behind. They left the city and entered the Great Snowy Mountains¡¯ wilderness.

    ¡­

    After tailing them like that for a long time, Yu Yanluo couldn''t help but lean against Zu An. Her voice was shaking a bit too as she remarked, ¡°Do you not feel that the temperature here is abnormally cold?¡±

    Zu An nodded and said, ¡°The temperature has been getting lower and lower the deeper we go, ever since we started approaching this ce. The change is beyond what normal wind and snow could achieve.¡±

 Chapter 1072: Cold Pool

    <h4>Chapter 1072: Cold Pool</h4>

    The Great Snowy Mountains weren¡¯t called that because of the present snowstorm; that was what the towering and precipitous ridges were actually called. The elevation was high, the conditions were vile, and the mountains were permanently covered in snow; that was why they were called the Great Snowy Mountains.

    The highest peak of the Great Snowy Mountains was called the Great Snowy Peak. Not only was it covered in snow year-round; at sunrise, only that peak alone would be bathed in sunlight and glow with dazzling golden brilliance. That was why the native tribes and fiend races all viewed the Great Snowy Peak as a sacred mountain.

    There had been many legends rted to the ce since ancient times. For example, there were some tribes that believed a deity had been born there; some tribes¡¯ saints were believed to have received enlightenment there; some believed their god had descended there when they entered the mortal world¡­

    There were many such legends and rumors.

    Even though the cultivators of this world were much stronger than ordinary humans, the Great Snowy Mountains¡¯ biting cold blizzards were still not an environment humans could live in.

    Together with the various beasts that roamed the area and the presence of certain mysterious forbidden regions, even though there were still some who wished to make a pilgrimage to Great Snowy Peak, very few returned alive.

    The two of them had already been climbing the mountain for a while, but they were still only in the outer region of the Great Snowy Mountains. They hadn''t reached the forbidden regions yet.

    ¡°I cannot help but feel that this ce is a bit strange. We need to be careful.¡± Yu Yanluo looked around and warned Zu An. The Great Snowy Mountains had too many mysteries surrounding them, so she didn¡¯t dare to treat the ce lightly.

    Zu An said reassuringly, ¡°The fact that it is strange means we came to the right ce. It seems we are getting closer to the truth.¡±

    Yu Yanluo was stunned. Then, she smiled and said, ¡°You are surprisingly optimistic.¡±

    ¡­

    The two of them chatted as they looked around. In the end, they stopped at a cave. Zu An remarked, ¡°This was where they disappeared just now. This should be the ce.¡±

    All that remained so high up in the Great Snowy Mountains were blizzards and snowstorms. It was difficult for Zu An to even find any smaller creatures to control. Fortunately, there were some faint footprints leading toward the cave, so it was likely the right ce.

    Yu Yanluo agreed, saying, ¡°Be careful.¡±

    Even though they had the cover of the snowstorm, Jian Taiding and Uncle Ming were crafty individuals. It was hard to say whether they had noticed that they were being tailed, and thus set up an ambush inside.

    Zu An nodded. He exercised full vignce as he and Yu Yanluo snuck into the cave.

    The howling wind and snow outside disappeared as soon as they entered. It was shockingly silent inside, as if they had entered another world. The stone walls of the cave were bluish-white like jade, but also like ice.

    Yu Yanluo couldn''t help but shiver. She hugged herself, grabbing her own shoulders tightly. Zu An couldn''t hold her hands in that position, so he pressed his hand against her back. A stream of warmth entered her body.

    A sh of redness entered Yu Yanluo¡¯s face. She had covered her chest before on purpose because she was worried that Zu An would see she was cold, then grab her hand to transmit heat again. Even though their rtionship wasn¡¯t bad, old habits weren¡¯t so easily shaken. She still wasn¡¯t too used to physical contact with other men.

    However, she hadn¡¯t expected him to still be so enthusiastic, putting his hand against her back. Still, Zu An had done it out of good intentions, and her back wasn¡¯t a sensitive and private ce, so she couldn''t really me him.

    She spoke to him through ki transmission in order to hide her embarrassment. ¡°The strange cold we felt earlier should being from here. But this is so strange; I have resided in Cloudcenter Commandery for so many years, and yet I have never heard of this kind of cave existing here.¡±

    ¡°The Great Snowy Mountains are sorge; it¡¯s unsurprising that madam doesn¡¯t know about it.¡± Zu An replied seriously. ¡°This ce is strange; there might be trouble ahead. Be careful.¡±

    Yu Yanluo nodded slightly, then took the lead. That way, she could free herself from the palm that had left her embarrassed. Zu An quickly followed along.

    The further in they went, the colder it became. Yu Yanluo wanted to stay a bit further away from Zu An at first, but as time went on, even her longshes were starting to be covered in ayer of frost. She found herself unknowingly leaning against him.

    Zu An couldn''t help but smile. This woman¡¯s body is surprisingly honest. He held her soft hand again, sending in heat. A bit of color quickly returned to Yu Yanluo¡¯s pale cheeks, making her already gorgeous face look even more tender and beautiful.

    Just then, they heard a burst of intense coughing in the distance. It was followed by Jian Taiding¡¯s faint curses. ¡°Damn it all! Why is this ce so cold?!¡±

    He was a master rank cultivator, so he should have been able to resist such cold. But he had been seriously injured not too long before, making it somewhat difficult for him to tolerate the ce in his current state.

    Zu An and Yu Yanluo¡¯s eyes lit up. They had found their targets after all.

    ¡°The duke insisted on returning here while at death¡¯s door. I have always found this ce a bit strange. Second master, be careful.¡± Uncle Ming clearly sounded cautious.

    ¡­

    Zu An was startled when he heard that. It seemed this was where Cloudcenter Duke had been buried after all! With Yu Yanluo¡¯s support, his act really had fooled them! He looked at Yu Yanluo excitedly, but saw that she looked dispirited. There was a hint of sadness between her brows.

    Only then did Zu An remember that Jian Yanyou had been her husband. Even though it was only in name, they had worked together for so long that they were good friends. Now that it was confirmed that her missing friend had died, she would obviously feel grief.

    Zu An patted Yu Yanluo¡¯s hand in constion, and she snapped out of her daze. She collected her thoughts and continued forward.

    ¡­

    They passed through what seemed like a tunnel. The opening at the other end led to a spacious area. The voice hade from there.

    Zu An felt conflicted. If they went in immediately without knowing the details of what was inside, they might be discovered by Jian Taiding and Uncle Ming. However, he wouldn¡¯t know what happened inside if he didn''t go in. He tried to use the jade badge to look for little creatures, but once again, there were no such creatures present.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Yu Yanluo took out a sparkling and translucent stone. It was the recording stone from before. She gestured for Zu An to hide in a corner with her, then carefully extended the recording stone. It wasn¡¯t big at all, so unless the two viins focused on their direction, they wouldn¡¯t notice anything.

    Then, she took out another recording stone carved with someplicated runes. She arranged the two pieces in a special manner, and a soft beam of light emerged from them and hit the wall on the other side.

    The image disyed a clear scene. It was a spacious area the size of several ser fields. Because of the surrounding light blue ice, there was good visibility in the cave.

    Sharp icicles that were several meters long hung overhead. Some fell from time to time, dropping from several dozen meters above. Even a cultivator might be impaled to death if they were caught off guard. However, when the dangerous icicles hit the ground, they exploded into endless shards of ice, but the floor below took no damage at all.

    The ground was somewhat rugged, with strange stones everywhere. However, there was a pool deep inside the area. Above the pool hung a giant icicle that was several dozen meters long.

    Calling it an icicle wasn¡¯t all that suitable, however, because it looked more like one of the stctites from the karst caves in the south. But the area was bitterly cold, so how could there be stctites? The icicle was muchrger than the others, weighing down on the area like Mt. Tai. It almost felt as if the entire ce would be destroyed if it fell.

    However, Zu An and Yu Yanluo were more curious about something else. How could there be a pool in such a cold ce? It should have frozen over a long time ago.

    Meanwhile, Jian Taiding and Uncle Ming were standing in front of the pool, staring at it in a daze.

    ¡°I really did not want toe back here again.¡± Jian Taiding¡¯s voice was shaking a bit; perhaps it was because of the cold, or because of his guilt.

    ¡°I did not want to either,¡± Uncle Ming added after having remained silent for some time. ¡°But we have no choice because of that imposter.¡±

    ¡°Then I will have to trouble you to go down. I am still injured, so I might not be able to endure the cold pool¡¯s power,¡± Jian Taiding said as he looked toward the pool; he was clearly a bit apprehensive.

    Uncle Ming was a bit hesitant, but he still nodded and replied, ¡°Fine!¡±

    He made some preparations, and after warming himself up, he jumped straight into the pool. A whileter, he returned with arge chunk of ice. He was dripping wet, and the water began to freeze at a visible rate as soon as he climbed ashore.

    He immediately used his ki while moving toward a bonfire that had already been prepared beforehand. Only then did he snap out of his daze and ecim, ¡°Second master, the duke¡¯s corpse is still here. That man was an imposter after all!¡±

 Chapter 1073: Unrequited Love

    <h4>Chapter 1073: Unrequited Love</h4>

    ¡°A corpse!¡± Zu An and Yu Yanluo eximed as they exchanged a look. Zu An saw the bitterness in her eyes. They had finally found her husband¡¯s whereabouts, but he was already an ice-cold corpse.

    Comparatively speaking, Zu An was a bit happier to hear that news. He hadn¡¯t been all that friendly with Cloudcenter Duke. Now that they had found out the truth, Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s situation had been decided. His mission could be consideredplete.

    The two of them looked at the chunk of ice Uncle Ming had dragged out of the water. It was about the size of a person, and there was a man lying inside, sealed in thickyers of ice. However, the ice was clear and translucent, so one could still vaguely make out the face of the one inside. Hisplexion was pale, but his brows were thick and his face was broad. The hint of prestige he still gave off spoke of the brilliance he¡¯d had when he was still alive.

    It was the person Zu An had been impersonating, so how could he not recognize the man? It was Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s Jian Yanyou!

    ¡°Why is he frozen?¡± Jian Taiding looked at the frozen sculpture before him in confusion. He even reached out his hand to touch it, but he immediately pulled his hand back after he felt its bone-chilling cold.

    ¡°This cold pool is extremely cold. It is not all that strange for him to have frozen over.¡± Uncle Ming leaned against the fire, shivering as he spoke.

    ¡°But the cold pool itself has not frozen over¡­¡± Jian Taiding still couldn¡¯t dispel his doubts. It would be one thing if the corpse had frozen over when it left the waters, but it was far too strange for ayer of ice to have formed while it was inside the water.

    ¡°Do you think it might be due to the residual effects of Frozen Soul?¡± Uncle Ming remarked. He was practically touching the fire at that point. Only then did he feel a bit of warmth as his body slowly began to recover.

    Zu An was rmed when he heard that name. He had personally experienced Frozen Soul.

    Previously, the Imperial Hospital¡¯s Commissioner Assistant Ma An had used that poison to scheme against him. At the time, he had been extremely confident, saying he could poison even master rank cultivators. Did the Frozen Soul their targets were talking about about have anything to do with Ma An?

    When he had interrogated Ma An, he had learned that the other party seemed to be someone from the Shadow Group. Were Jian Taiding and Uncle Ming connected to the Shadow Group?

    Zu An sneered in ridicule inwardly. The power of this world¡¯s court had tremendous authority, and they had squeezed out most of the world¡¯s sects. But even though there were no more sects on the surface, there were still many organizations in the underground world!

    For example, the Shadow Group and the Hub of Freedom were both extremely mysterious.

    Just then, Jian Taiding¡¯s voice pulled Zu An out of his thoughts. ¡°That is indeed a possibility. To be honest, that ¡®Frozen Soul¡¯ really is powerful. If we had not had the help of that poison, even all of usbined would not have been a match for my older brother.¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Uncle Ming reminded him, ¡°Second master, you need to be more careful. Since that person could give us the Frozen Soul to act against the master, there is a good chance that he will use the same poison against you too.¡±

    Zu An was confused. He thought, That person? Who is Uncle Ming talking about?

    Judging from what they were saying, it seemed there was someone else hiding behind the scenes. Was it the same person as the true mastermind he had sensed before?

    ¡°Hmph; of course I know the danger of Hu Moupi¡¯s schemes. But as long as I can fully seize this duke position, I will be the emperor in Cloudcenter Commandery. What can he even do to me?¡±

    ¡°You will not have that chance!¡± a voice eximed coldly. Yu Yanluo was already walking over with a frigid expression.

    How could she still hold herself back? The corpse of the one who had been her husband in name, but had actually been her good friend, was right before her; and yet, the killer was shooting his mouth off.

    Zu An didn¡¯t feel that there was anything wrong with Yu Yanluo¡¯s actions either. They had already gathered the proof they needed. Hiding further was meaningless. It was already time to bring the two to justice.

    Either way, Jian Taiding was seriously injured, while Uncle Ming only had eight ranks of cultivation. Having Yu Yanluo by his side would be more than enough to subdue them.

    Zu An was about to offer his support when Yu Yanluo gestured toward him, indicating for him to not act too rashly. Zu An immediately understood what she meant. It seemed she wanted to see whether she could get more information out of them.

    Jian Taiding and Uncle Ming jumped in fright. When they saw that it was only Yu Yanluo, however, they both sighed in relief.

    ¡°Sister-inw, why are you here?¡± Jian Taiding greeted her with a smile. At the same time, he hid the ice chunk behind his own body. ¡°Did youe here alone? It is extremely cold here, which is not good for your condition. What are Maid Xing and the others doing?!¡±

    Yu Yanluo sneered and replied, ¡°It seems you are worried that there might be others here with me.¡±

    Jian Taiding chuckled in embarrassment, saying, ¡°Sister-inw misunderstands me. I really am just worried about you.¡±

    ¡°It is pointless for you to keep trying to hide things. I heard everything you said earlier. I did not expect you to have really been deranged enough to harm your own older brother.¡± Yu Yanluo berated him ruthlessly. ¡°Yanyou treated you so well over the years. Not only did you not feel grateful; you even harmed him instead. Do you have no conscience at all?¡±

    When he heard her response, Jian Taiding naturally didn¡¯t feel the need to keep up the act anymore. He said, ¡°My older brother treated me extremely well, but unfortunately, he did not give me what I wanted. What I wanted, he could not give me either.¡±

    Yu Yanluo frowned and said, ¡°ThImpossible. Yanyou took care of you in many different ways and had already turned you into someone powerful and influential in Cloudcenter Commandery. So many people are jealous of your position. What else could he have given you?¡±

    ¡°He could have given me you, sister-inw!¡± As he looked at Yu Yanluo¡¯s exceptional appearance, Jian Taiding¡¯s expression gave way to madness.

    ¡°Me?¡± Yu Yanluo eximed, momentarily stunned.

    Jian Taiding gave his older brother¡¯s corpse on the ground a look, then suddenly felt the urge to talk. ¡°My older brother could have given me anything else, but there was no way he could give you, his wife, to me. Sister-inw, from the very first day Iid eyes on you, I had already fallen for you. I did not know there could actually be a woman so beautiful in this world. Not even the most gorgeous words can fully describe your beauty. Back then, I already vowed that I had to have you!¡±

    Zu An was speechless as he watched. A famous quote from a movie in his previous world appeared in his mind. What the fuck? You love your sister-inw?

    Even Uncle Ming shook his head inwardly, muttering to himself, ¡°A femme fatale, a true femme fatale!¡±

    Yu Yanluo had suspected that was the case, but she was still so angry her entire body was shaking when she heard the wordse out of Jian Taiding¡¯s mouth. She eximed, ¡°You despicable being; I am your sister-inw!¡±

    ¡°I know that!¡± Jian Taiding¡¯s beard moved slightly. His expression was somewhat warped. ¡°It is precisely because I knew I could not obtain you through other means that I could only use force.

    ¡°But after I decided I had to have you, I realized just how powerless I was. I knew I was not strong enough, and so I could only watch as the woman I admired entered the arms of another.¡±

    Yu Yanluo was speechless.

    ¡°From that day forth, I studied with everything I had. Whether it was cultivation or politics, I soaked up everything I could get my hands on like a sponge.¡± Jian Taiding¡¯s tone was grim as he spoke of his bitterness over the years.

    Yu Yanluo sighed and said, ¡°Yanyou was excited when he told me you were making progress to do better. You were clearly talented, and yet you remained a hedonistic son. Your older brother was so excited to see you return to the proper path, so of course he helped you without holding back at all. But who could have thought that you had such motives from the very start?!¡±

    Zu An also cursed silently when he heard all of that. As expected, women were the driving force for change in men.

    ¡°What is wrong with me liking you? It was just that I met you after my older brother did!¡± Jian Taiding looked pained as he continued, ¡°Do you know how it feels to see the woman you cherish to end up with another man?¡±

    Zu An was stupefied. Jian Taiding really knew how to twist words around¡­ You¡¯re clearly lusting after someone else¡¯s wife, so why does it suddenly sound as if that wasn¡¯t what you were doing?

    Jian Taiding¡¯s attitude shifted just then. He looked excited as he continued, ¡°Then,ter on, when I went drinking with my older brother, he told me the two of you had not actually consummated your marriage. Do you know just how happy I was when I heard that? I almost jumped with joy! From that day forth, I became even more certain that the heavens still favored me. You were waiting for me! That is why I was only motivated by grief.¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression only turned even colder. She spat, ¡°Did you think I would feel moved if I heard that? No, I only feel that you are disgusting. You are a freak! Yanyou was blind to have been so devoted to you. You havepletely let him down!¡±

    Jian Taiding¡¯s eager and hopeful expression immediately froze and gradually turned grim. He eximed, ¡°I have let him down, but you have not?¡±

    ¡°What are you trying to say?¡± Yu Yanluo replied with a frown.

    ¡°Hmph, you have been married to him for so long, but have you evenpleted your duties as his wife?¡± Jian Taiding sneered. ¡°Everyone was jealous of his fortune. They all thought that if they could have been the ones to marry the world¡¯s number one beauty, they might never even want to get out of bed. How could they have known that he had not even touched a single finger of yours, that he was nothing more than a shield to stop the endless masses?¡±

    ¡°Your older brother and I were good friends. He was willing to help me. That is not something you should be concerned with,¡± Yu Yanluo said indifferently.

    ¡°Hah, I could turn those words right back at you. My older brother was so devoted to you; are your actions not letting him down?¡± Jian Taiding sneered. ¡°Not only did you not fulfill your responsibility as his wife, you have even brought in some crazy stranger to impersonate him and let him sleep with my brother¡¯s wives. Are you bringing any honor to him?!¡±

    Right at that moment, unbeknownst to anyone, Jian Yanyou¡¯s eyebrows trembled slightly.

 Chapter 1074: I Donâ€™t Agree

    <h4>Chapter 1074: I Don¡¯t Agree</h4>

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression darkened when Jian Taiding brought up that matter. She said indifferently, ¡°I have indeed let down Yanyou by doing this, but the reason I did so was to find out the truth about the scheme against him. I told Liu Ji and Chu Ji the truth back then, and when they learned what had happened, they were willing to get revenge for their husband¡­¡±

    ¡°Hah, you make it sound good. Are you going to say all of this was because of me?¡± Jian Taiding interrupted her. ¡°Liu Ji and Chu Ji are your people, so of course they would listen to anything you told them. But what about Zhang Ji? She was kept in the dark the entire time. She thought the one she was serving was her own husband, and did her best every day. And yet, she has no idea that it was a random man you took in who defiled her purity.¡±

    He continued, ¡°Zhang Ji has been smiling from ear to ear these days, so I am sure that random man you brought in has taken quite good care of her.¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s face turned entirely red as she replied, ¡°You keep calling him a random man, but my rtionship with him is pure. Everything we did was for the sake of finding out the truth, to help Yanyou take revenge.¡±

    Even though her personality was generally refined and calm, she was still someone who managed a great n. She had witnessed countless filthy methods, so there was no way she would let mere words shake her conviction so easily.

    ¡°Oh? It sounds as if you care quite a bit about this random man. You are protecting him when I only said a few things?¡± Jian Taiding¡¯s expression turned sinister as he eximed, ¡°Who exactly is that random man?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Jian Taiding for +444 +444 +444¡­

    Zu An was amused. The Rage points system collected soul power after all! Even though they weren¡¯t facing each other, he could still collect Rage points as long as he was within the vicinity.

    Yu Yanluo said indifferently, ¡°You will know soon enough.¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°I will know soon enough?¡± Jian Taiding was momentarily stunned, but he broke out intoughter immediately afterward, saying, ¡°It does not matter. Either way, I have to take care of myself first. That fellow isn¡¯t anything to be scared of.¡±

    ¡°Take care of yourself?¡± Yu Yanluo had a strange expression.

    ¡°Indeed. I treated you too well before, and yet you did not cherish it at all! In that case, do not me me for using force.¡± Jian Taiding seemed to have thought about something extremely wonderful. He looked delighted as he said, ¡°I have decided to obtain you first, then nurture things such as feelings afterward. Either way, familiarity breeds fondness, right? Hahaha¡­ My older brother really was good in every other aspect, but he was just too indecisive. He worshiped you like a goddess, and yet never obtained a thing in the end.¡±

    Yu Yanluo sneered, replying, ¡°You seem sure that sess is within your grasp.¡±

    Jian Taiding¡¯s expression turned serious as well. ¡°Others believe sister-inw is not a cultivator, that you arepletely weak and helpless, but that is not what I believe. Anyone who can manage a n as great as the Yu n, and furthermore make so many men dance within her palm, is definitely mysterious and unfathomable. Today, I want to test sister-inw properly!¡±

    As he finished speaking, he rushed toward Yu Yanluo. However, because of his serious injuries, he was much slower than he would have been at his strongest. Yu Yanluo kicked off the ground lightly and her body floated aside.

    Jian Taiding calmed down, remarking, ¡°Is sister-inw not going to pretend anymore? You were a cultivator after all, hahaha! How could a girl I like not be outstanding?¡±

    ¡°Stop calling me sister-inw; it makes me nauseated,¡± Yu Yanluo retorted.

    Suddenly, a sinister gale rushed toward her side. Uncle Ming had made his move as well! Jian Taiding had said so much to her and even seized the advantage precisely to hide Uncle Ming¡¯s ambush.

    Uncle Ming¡¯s eighth rank cultivation was actually quite high. Such a vicious attack from him was difficult to defend against. At that instant, his killing intent even exceeded that of many ninth ranked cultivators.

    His attacks were strange. If the other party backed up at all, they would suffer an endless flurry of continuous strikes. His attacks would also be more powerful over time. If they didn¡¯t back up, his stored power would still catch his opponent off guard. Even opponents whose cultivations were higher than his might suffer bitterly.

    Jian Taiding was waiting for an opportunity to attack too. As long as Yu Yanluo got injured, no matter how much she was hiding, she would still lose to the two of them.

    However, Yu Yanluo didn¡¯t evade at all, nor did she choose to face them head on. With a wave of her sleeves, a scroll unfolded before her.

    Uncle Ming stared nkly. Don¡¯t tell me even this flimsy scroll can act as a shield?

    Still, he knew there was definitely something strange about it. However, he still had great confidence in his attacks. His killing intent and momentum had both reached their peak, so there was no reason for him to avoid the scroll.

    He roared, his aura surging again. Because he didn¡¯t know what she was hiding, he didn¡¯t dare to hold back at all. However, he knew she definitely possessed some hidden strength. His attack would only seriously injure her at worst; the chances of him killing her weren¡¯t that high.

    Afterward¡­ There was no afterward. The vicious and ferocious Uncle Ming instantly vanished without a trace. It was as if he had never been there to begin with.

    Jian Taiding was stupefied. He had wanted to call out to Uncle Ming and tell him to go easy on her, that he absolutely couldn¡¯t kill her; and yet, a secondter, Uncle Ming hadpletely disappeared without a trace. He looked at the exceptionally gorgeous Yu Yanluo in rm, eximing, ¡°What kind of sorcery is this?¡±

    Yu Yanluo looked back at him and remarked, ¡°The two of you are quite coordinated; that did not look like the first time. Was this how you plotted against your older brother, too?¡± She continued, ¡°Uncle Ming seems to know the Shadow Group¡¯s assassination methods. Is he from the Shadow Group?¡±

    ¡­

    Zu An was shocked. The Shadow Group again?

    What exactly was going on with that mysterious organization? Why did it keep showing up? What was the Shadow Group¡¯s purpose anyway? Why did they keep appearing around him?

    Just the clues he had been exposed to so far were enough to make him feel apprehensive.

    ¡­

    Jian Taiding snapped out of his daze. He asked, ¡°Was that technique of yours the ¡®World Within the Sleeve¡¯? No, you aren¡¯t at that level. You used a painting scroll earlier, so you probably created a world within a painting through some secret method, and Uncle Ming must be trapped inside right now. Huh? Could you have something to do with the libationer¡¯s mysterious sixth disciple?¡±

    He was a master rank cultivator, after all, and furthermore, he was in charge of the Martial Affairs Manor. He knew more than most people.

    Yu Yanluo didn¡¯t answer the question, instead replying, ¡°Are you going to give in now, or are you still going to fight? You are seriously injured right now and not my match.¡±

    Jian Taidingughed out loud and retorted. ¡°Your cultivation was indeed surprising, but I have already seen through your methods. Even though that world painting is rather incredible, his real cultivation is only around the eighth rank. Even though I am wounded, I am not someone a trifling eighth rank can defeat.¡±

    A longsword appeared in Jian Taiding¡¯s hands after he spoke, and he thrust it at Yu Yanluo. However, Yu Yanluo remainedpletelyposed, and a painting scroll blocked the strike.

    Having learned from Uncle Ming¡¯s example, there was no way Jian Taiding would charge forward stupidly. His figure flickered and he instantaneously changed directions.

    Yu Yanluo quickly changed the direction of the scroll. Unfortunately, she was slightly slower than Jian Taiding, missing him narrowly.

    She began to feel somewhat vexed and took out a paintbrush, beginning to draw in the air. With just a few strokes, she formed a cage. However, Jian Taiding still managed to evade it by a hair¡¯s breadth.

    ¡°You are not at the master rank, so you do not understand how powerful the divine sense of a master rank is. You cannot target me properly, so there is no way you can drag me into that painting world,¡± Jian Taiding remarked as he looked down at his chest. Because of his intense movements, there was a bit of blooding out of his wounds. He continued, ¡°But in my current state, capturing you will not be too easy either.¡±

    After a moment, he continued, ¡°Forget it. I was somewhat hesitant before, but there is no need to hold back now.¡± He took out a pill and ate it. Then, hisplexion became rosier at a visible rate.

    ¡°What is that?¡± Yu Yanluo asked, feeling a bit shaken.

    ¡°This pill is called the Powerful Strength Pill. Even if one is seriously injured, one can quickly recover using it.¡± Jian Taiding spread out his arms as he spoke, taking in a rxed breath. ¡°I am back! I can feel everythinging back to me.¡±

    Yu Yanluo frowned and remarked, ¡°Is that not a fierce drug that will prevent you from reaching the next cultivation rank?¡±

    That medicine was indeed miraculous, allowing one to quickly recover from their injuries. However, the price was great too. Henceforth, all future cultivation prospects would be sealed off, so it was something only those with no other choice would use.

    ¡°I understand my own aptitude well. Breaking through into the master rank is already my limit; there is no chance for me to reach the grandmaster rank. Compared to an illusory future, is it not better to instead grasp the present?¡± Jian Taiding replied. When he looked at Yu Yanluo, his eyes began to burn even more fiercely as he dered, ¡°Sister-inw, I will definitely obtain you today. We are in the Great Snowy Mountains right now, a ce where no one will disturb us; it will be a perfect ce to serve as a bridal room. My older brother is here as well, so he can be the witness to our bond.¡±

    In front of my older brother¡­ He discovered that he was bing even more excited when he thought of that.

    ¡°Shameless!¡± Yu Yanluo eximed. Her entire body was shaking. Her paintbrush quickly moved around. She wanted to restrain him before his strengthpletely recovered.

    Jian Taiding didn¡¯t panic at all. Instead, he evaded leisurely while saying, ¡°Sister-inw, this time, you have bitten off more than you can chew. Even though your abilities are quite miraculous, you did not expect me to have such a rare pill.

    ¡°Sister-inw, please do not throw a tantrum anymore. There is no one else here in the Great Snowy Mountains. No one wille to save you even if you shout yourself hoarse. Rather than being forced to do it, why not just happily ept it? Would it not be a much more wonderful thing if we joined together in harmony?¡±

    He took out his xiao and was about to y a song. However, the painful lesson he had learned the previous time stopped him.

    ¡°Pah!¡± Yu Yanluo scoffed. She didn¡¯t pay him any more attention and instead focused on attacking.

    ¡°Sister-inw, why do you have to be like this? I have already said I want you today, so not even the heavens above can save you now!¡± Jian Taiding eximed, beginning to breathe more rapidly. He was so impatient he hadn¡¯t even waited for his strength topletely recover before charging over.

    But a secondter, he felt rmed and sensed an attack. He quickly dodged to the side, but the other party was too fast. Even though his soul had given him a warning beforehand, his strength hadn¡¯t fully recovered yet, making him just a bit toote.

    Spurt!

    Blood sprayed out from Jian Taiding¡¯s mouth as he was struck in the mid-back, sustaining a serious injury. He then fell to the ground in ruin. He stared at the person behind him in horror.

    ¡°What, did you really think you¡¯d have her just because you said so?¡± Zu An gave him an indifferent look. ¡°I don¡¯t agree!¡±

 Chapter 1075: Marriage Due to Unintended Pregnancy

    <h4>Chapter 1075: Marriage Due to Unintended Pregnancy</h4>

    ¡°It¡¯s you!¡± Jian Taiding eximed, feeling horrified when he saw who it was.

    Jian Yanyou¡¯s corpse was still there, so there was no need for Zu An to pretend anymore. As such, he had returned to his previous appearance. Even though he hadn¡¯t revealed his identity back then in the battle at the Zhenyuan Merchant Group, he had brought out the imperial edict, so it wasn¡¯t hard to guess who he was.

    Jian Taiding hadn¡¯t believed he wasn¡¯t strong enough at the time; rather, he believed he had lost because Zu An was too cunning. And yet this time, he had once again suffered badly at Zu An¡¯s hands, and it was once again from a surprise attack. He almost vomited blood when he thought about how he had almost been done in twice in a row, and furthermore in the same way.

    You have sessfully trolled Jian Taiding for +666 +666 +666¡­

    Zu An pretended to have just recognized him, feigning surprise as he eximed, ¡°Isn¡¯t this Second Master Jian over here? Why are you fighting with your sister-inw?¡±

    Jian Taiding stopped breathing for a moment, but he still endured his rage and asked, ¡°There was a bit of a misunderstanding between me and my sister-inw. We were just exchanging some pointers, we weren¡¯t really fighting. Right, when did Sir Zu arrive?¡±

    ¡°Oh, I¡¯ve been here for a little while already. I heard everything you guys said just now.¡± Zu An seemed as if he were talking about somethingpletely insignificant.

    Jian Taiding was stunned. His face darkened as he eximed, ¡°Are you messing with me?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Jian Taiding for +233 +233 +233¡­

    Zu An¡¯s smile faded as he replied, ¡°Clearly, you were the one messing with me first.¡±

    ¡°Since you already arrived a while ago, why did you not interfere earlier? Why did you wait until I took the pill before you attacked?¡± Jian Taiding looked gloomy. If he had known it was going to be like this, he wouldn¡¯t even have eaten that pill! He had ended up ruining his cultivation prospects for nothing. When he realized that, he was furious.

    You have sessfully trolled Jian Taiding for +888 +888 +888¡­

    ¡°How could I have witnessed such an amusing situation if I interfered earlier?¡± Zu An replied with a shrug. ¡°I might have kept watching for a bit longer if you didn¡¯t eat that powerful whatever pill.¡±

    Jian Taiding coughed intensely, spitting out quite a bit of blood. He knew everything was already over. When he realized that, however, his mind actually cleared up somewhat. He looked at thepletely unsurprised Yu Yanluo and realized something, asking, ¡°Sister-inw, he arrived together with you, no?¡±

    Yu Yanluo didn¡¯t reply, but she didn¡¯t refute Jian Taiding either. Seeing that, Jian Taiding thought things over for a while, then asked, ¡°He is that imposter, right?¡±

    Yu Yanluo opened her mouth, but she didn¡¯t know how to reply. However, Jian Taiding already had his answer even without her response. His expression turned strange when he looked at Zu An. He asked, ¡°How do those sisters-inw of mine taste?¡±

    Zu An frowned and replied, ¡°They¡¯re your sisters-inw. Aren¡¯t you being really weird by talking about them with that kind of tone?¡±

    ¡°I am the weird one?¡± Jian Taiding roared withughter. ¡°You are right; I have always desired them, but those were only thoughts. I did not act on them. The one who really did that was you, so why am I the weirdo?¡±

    Zu An sighed and said, ¡°You killed your brother and wanted to possess your sisters-inw; is that not weird enough?¡±

    Jian Taiding looked as if he had gone mad. He retorted, ¡°So what if I possess them? My older brother is my blood brother; is it not normal for the younger brother to seed the older brother when he passes?!¡±

    Yu Yanluo finally couldn''t take it any longer. She berated him, ¡°So you still remember that he is your blood brother? You killed your own older brother, and yet you still have the nerve to say you are seeding him?¡±

    ¡°So what? The same blood flows through our veins. Even if I helped my sisters-inw bear children, the blood that flows through them would be the blood of our Jian n. Meanwhile, this man is merely an outsider; they would all end up as random mutts!¡± Jian Taiding roared, ¡°If my older brother¡¯s spirit were still here, he would definitely rather ept me than some random man from outside the n!¡±

    Yu Yanluo waspletely stupefied by those words. She said with a frown, ¡°He has already gonepletely mad.¡±

    ¡°I have not. My mind is clearer than ever before now.¡± Jian Taiding waved his hands in frustration; he seemed extremely unhappy to hear Yu Yanluo¡¯s remark. He continued, ¡°This random man has defiled those three sisters-inw; I am sure you will not be able to escape his clutches soon either! Honestly, I am really jealous of him. He ended up doing everything I wanted to do.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. Are you praising me or are you mocking me?

    Suddenly, he seemed to see Jian Yanyou¡¯s fingers twitch in the block of ice out of the corner of his eye. And yet, when he stared at it, there was nothing strange at all.

    Was it a trick of the light? Zu An thought. He was confused, but he assumed he had just been seeing things. The two of them weren¡¯t that far from each other, and he couldn''t sense even a trace of aura from Jian Yanyou.

    Furthermore, Jian Taiding and Uncle Ming had poisoned Jian Yanyou before, and he had been submerged in the cold pool for so long. How could someone in that condition still be alive?

    Yu Yanluo said, ¡°You should give up on trying to drive a wedge between us. We have proof of your scheme against your older brother, so I will now escort you back and leave you to the Imperial Envoy to deal with.¡±

    ¡°You are going to hand me over to the Imperial Envoy? Are you not scared that all of these scandals are going to bepletely revealed?¡± Jian Taiding retorted with augh.

    Yu Yanluo frowned. Even though she didn¡¯t regret doing the things she had done with Zu An, there was a high chance that ordinary folk would start spreading all sorts of rumors and gossip.

    Zu An suddenly eximed, ¡°Be careful!¡± He grabbed Yu Yanluo¡¯s waist and dropped to the ground as soon as he spoke.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s entire body went taut. She quickly took out her magic weapon ¡®World Painting¡¯ to protect her. With their current rtionship, she wouldn¡¯t misunderstand Zu An as taking advantage of her. The reason she had taken the painting out was to protect herself against the unknown enemy.

    Sure enough, a dark shadow appeared where the two of them had been. Someone holding a long, narrow sword slowly appeared from the shadows.

    ¡°A dark elf!¡± Zu An blurted out. He had encountered those natural-born assassins back in King Wu Manor. Their ability to move through shadows had left him with a deep impression.

    ¡°Shadow Group?¡± Yu Yanluo eximed.

    ¡°Madam Yu¡¯s knowledge is admirable, as expected,¡± a voice called out with augh. ¡°Many dark elves have been turned into assassins by the Shadow Group, but not all dark elves belong to the Shadow Group.¡±

    Zu An and Yu Yanluo followed the source of the sound. Several people slowly emerged from the entrance.

    The middle-aged man in the lead wore a feathered crest; his body was draped in a green cloak that glittered with multicolored light under the reflective ice walls. He was riding on a giant gray wolf, several times the size of the Amur tigers of Zu An¡¯s previous world.

    The wolf¡¯s killing intent and the sharpness of its fangs were obvious even from far away. It released a suppressed growl, and wisps of smoke emerged from its mouth.

    ¡°Gray Wolf King!¡± Zu An eximed.

    He was no stranger to those beasts. He had been purchasing Gray Wolf King Fangs for some time to use them for Daji¡¯s breakthrough. He had also fought against a pack of such wolves during the crown prince¡¯s exam as well, so he had a deep impression of them. Even though the Gray Wolf King wasn¡¯t small at all, it couldn''tpare to the ones he had met before. However, its aura was definitely more powerful than any Gray Wolf King he had met before.

    ¡°Kong Qing!¡± Yu Yanluo eximed as she looked at the man on tha Gray Wolf King¡¯s back vigntly. She secretly warned Zu An, ¡°He is at thete stage of the master rank at the very least, but he has never used all of his strength. I believe no one knows how strong he really is. Also, you have to be careful not to look into his eyes. He excels in eye techniques.¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Eye techniques¡­¡± Zu An wouldn¡¯t dare to lower his guard even without Yu Yanluo¡¯s reminder. The two of them had met before at the Zhenyuan Merchant Group. Back then, when he had run into Kong Qing and Jian Taiding, the two master ranks, as well as a group of ninth ranked cultivators, he had already been forced to flee for his life.

    As the Gray Wolf King entered the cave, it revealed two of Kong Qing¡¯spanions who had been hidden behind its massive body.

    One was a charming youngdy who was dressed in red wedding clothes. She was clearly quite pretty, and yet the sensation she gave off was strange. Her figure was as light as a feather, as if even just a gentle breeze would knock her down. She was holding a child¡¯s hand; the child appeared to be around five or six years old. She was swinging her arm back and forth with an innocent and naive expression.

    Zu An couldn''t help but ask, ¡°Are you in a rush to get married or something? No, wait, you guys must be getting married because you identally got her pregnant!¡±

    Kong Qing initially had a calm and refined expression, but when he heard this, his smile couldn''t help but freeze on his face.

 Chapter 1076: Overexerting Myself for the Lord

    <h4>Chapter 1076: Overexerting Myself for the Lord</h4>

    Kong Qing gave Zu An a look, then said in a profound and meaningful voice, ¡°Sir Zu is young and outstanding after all. As expected, as expected.¡±

    Zu An had a confused expression. Why did Kong Qing¡¯s expression look so weird? Or was it his supposed eye technique?

    Yu Yanluo was a bit surprised. She knew Kong Qing was famous among the fiend races for his fierce reputation. She had worried that Zu An had angered him just then, and that he would immediatelysh out. She had even prepared to help him if that happened.

    However, the other party had only replied in such a low-key manner, and there even seemed to be a hint of praise in his voice!

    Jian Taiding was overjoyed, as if he had seen his savior. He eximed, ¡°Sir Kong, you came at the perfect time! These two know our secret! Hurry and kill that bastard Zu! My sister-inw is the n leader of the Yu n, so the consequences of killing her would be too great. It will be enough as long as you subdue her.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help butugh when he heard that. He remarked, ¡°Even now, you can¡¯t stop thinking about your sister-inw.¡±

    Yu Yanluo blushed and shot Zu An a re, clearly intending to chastise him for speaking so willfully. But in Jian Taiding¡¯s eyes, her expression looked more like flirtation. When had his sister-inw ever looked at him like that? He felt envy and hatred toward Zu An.

    You have sessfully trolled Jian Taiding for +233 +233 +233¡­

    Kong Qing looked at Jian Taiding. He couldn''t help but shake his head as he asked, ¡°Commander-in-Chief Jian, how did you end up in such a sorry state?¡± His tone carried sympathy, disappointment, and some other indeterminate feelings.

    ¡°Hmph, I was injured to begin with. Then, that lowly person schemed against me,¡± Jian Taiding said. Despite that, he still felt great regret inside.

    In the end, it was still because he had been so shaken up by the imposter that he had to enter the cave to confirm things himself. But that matter was top secret, so he obviously didn¡¯t want anyone else to know about it. That was why Zu An had been given such an opportunity to exploit. Otherwise, he had a lot of subordinates in the Martial Affairs Manor, and he had great strength. He could have gotten rid of Zu An without lifting a finger himself.

    ¡°Right, why did you suddenly show up here?¡± Jian Taiding asked, suddenly on his guard.

    Kong Qing chuckled and replied, ¡°Why else? We heard that Cloudcenter Duke had suddenly returned, and people all said he was just like the real thing. I was so curious that I just had to take a look, but I never expected to see such a spectacr scene.¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s eyes narrowed. She asked, ¡°Were you involved in the scheme against Yanyou too?¡±

    ¡°Commander-in-Chief Jian indeed requested my assistance, but their n was so meticulously thought out that everything had already been decided before I had to do anything,¡± Kong Qing replied. He got off the Gray Wolf King and looked at Jian Yanyou¡¯s body in the ice. A hint of surprise appeared in his eyes, but he didn¡¯t think too much about it as he said, ¡°I am not saying these things as an excuse. Cloudcenter Duke was unwilling to adapt to the times, and there were too many people who wanted him dead. If needed, I would have done the deed without hesitation.¡±

    Zu An retorted coldly, ¡°All of this was just because Cloudcenter Duke wasn¡¯t willing to be corrupt along with the rest of you? That was why you eliminated him and reced him with Jian Taiding, who was willing to cooperate with the fiend races¡¯ smuggling?¡±

    Kong Qing gave him a look, saying, ¡°You know quite a lot, but do you really think Jian Yanyou was that clean and pure? He was the first one to work with us.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Zu An eximed. This was the first time he had heard about such a thing. He had always assumed that Jian Yanyou had refused to cooperate with the fiend races, and that it was out of lust toward Yu Yanluo that Jian Taiding¡¯s ambition had grown.

    Zu An had thought that Jian Taiding was the one who had sought out the fiend races and eliminated Jian Yanyou. Now, it seemed Jian Yanyou had been the first one to collude with the fiend races!

    ¡°Indeed. However, he made enough money over the years. After he obtained sess and recognition, he wanted to wash his hands clean and cut things off.¡± Kong Qing sneered and continued, ¡°But how can something so convenient exist in this world? There could be no going back after heading down this path. He wanted to go back, so we did him a favor and finished him off.¡±

    ¡°Why are you exining all these things to him? Hurry up and get rid of him!¡± Jian Taiding eximed, dissatisfied.

    Even Yu Yanluo found it a bit strange. She just felt that Kong Qing¡¯s attitude toward Zu An was somewhat unusual. However, she still spoke up for her husband. ¡°Ah Zu, do not be misled by him. I was aware of what Yanyou was doing for the past few years. He did have some dealings with the fiend races back then, but it was within a controble degree. All of the world¡¯s major ns have done underhanded things. If we really looked into them, we would be able to find something no matter which n we looked into.

    ¡°Butter on, the fiend races¡¯ appetites only grew stronger. The smuggling reached a shocking scale, and evenrge amounts of military goods were leaving. Yanyou was worried that something bad would happen, which was why he ended the cooperation with them.¡±

    Zu An frowned. Before he could say anything, however, Kong Qing smiled and remarked, ¡°Sir Zu, I do not believe Madam Yu has told you about these things before, right?¡±

    Zu An felt somewhat disappointed. Yu Yanluo indeed hadn¡¯t said anything. He had even asked her before about that. Back then, when Yu Yanluo had been confronted on the subject of colluding with the fiend races, she had expressed extreme shock and astonishment. Now, it seemed her acting really had just been quite good.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Yu Yanluo was about to exin, but in the end, she didn¡¯t say anything. Even though her rtionship with Zu An was pretty good, it wasn¡¯t on such a level that she would share all sorts of n secrets. Furthermore, Zu An was a member of the Imperial Envoy, and he hade to Cloudcenter Commandery to investigate a case. How could she just tell him those things?

    However, it would bepletely meaningless to exin those things now. It would only cause more misunderstandings. She sighed inwardly, a hint of worry appearing between her brows.

    Jian Taiding had been watching her the whole time, so he keenly sensed the changes in her thoughts. He was overwhelmed with jealousy. When has my sister-inw, the number one beauty in this entire world, ever felt so conflicted over another man?

    She has never even treated me like that before!

    You have sessfully trolled Jian Taiding for +546 +546 +546¡­

    Zu An suddenly asked, ¡°Sir Kong, are you trying to drive a wedge between us? You aren¡¯t really doing a very good job. Madam Yu and I weren¡¯t even that close back then, and even now, I have many secrets I haven¡¯t shared with her. How can you me her for something like that?¡±

    Yu Yanluo had been extremely worried, but when she heard that, a knowing smile appeared on her face. In that instant, she was so beautiful, it seemed as if it would melt the frigid cave.

    Forget about the dumbstruck Jian Taiding, even Kong Qing was stunned. This woman really is ridiculously beautiful; I do not know if the n lord can win against her.

    Kong Qing had misunderstood, assuming Zu An had a rtionship with Kong Nanwu because of the peacock feather he had sensed on Zu An¡¯s body. It was perfectly reasonable. He had never seen his n lord give a keepsake to anyone else, and it was a human man who was so handsome and confident, nheless.

    But he wasn¡¯t someone who easily lost hisposure, and he quickly snapped out of his daze. He asked, ¡°Then does Sir Zu know that this one at your side has also had some business dealings with us?¡±

    Sigh, I¡¯m really going the extra mile here for the n lord¡­ She had better properly thank me the next time we meet.

    Zu An was surprised. He quickly looked at Yu Yanluo. Yu Yanluo nodded and replied, ¡°We indeed had some business dealings, but they were just for some necessary goods and medicines, and the quantity was strictly controlled. There were no military goods involved.¡±

    She couldn''t properly exin the previous matter, but this matter was extremely important and she had to exin it clearly. She was also starting to feel somewhat annoyed. What was going on with Kong Qing today? It felt as if he kept speaking poorly about her. Was he trying to drive the two of them apart?

    Zu An fell silent for a moment. He didn¡¯t know why Yu Yanluo had had to engage in any smuggling with the fiend races.

    For money? But just the ki stone business alone is enough to make them the wealthiest n in this world! There¡¯s no need to take that kind of risk at all¡­

    Jian Taiding was ecstatic when he saw that Zu An had stopped talking. He eximed, ¡°Sister-inw, do you see now? You and I are on the same side! That bastard is nothing more than a dog raised by the court; how can he truly be of one mind with you?¡±

    Zu An immediately retorted mockingly, ¡°Aren¡¯t you a court official yourself? You can be a dog by yourself if you really want to; don¡¯t drag me down with you.¡±

    He then gave Jian Taiding a pointed look and said clearly, ¡°The lives of humans are lives; are the lives of fiend race beings not lives too? As long as everyone can live better, who wants to keep fighting forever? The fiend races aren¡¯t all bad people; the human race has nock of filth too.¡±

    Jian Taiding was speechless. What the hell?

    You have sessfully trolled Jian Taiding for +110 +110 +110¡­

    In the end, Zu An wasn¡¯t a native of this world, so he didn¡¯t carry the centuries-old grudge between the human and fiend races. He subconsciously felt that all life was equal. Furthermore, he knew Qiao Xueying and several others¡­ Weren¡¯t they all from the fiend races?

    Then, he said to Yu Yanluo with a smile, ¡°Even though I don¡¯t know why you did what you did, after our interactions, I believe you had no choice but to do it.¡±

    Yu Yanluo covered her mouth in disbelief. Her pretty eyes flickered with brilliant colors. She had thought that Zu An might be hostile, and that he might even be a bit bitter even if he let the matter pass for the greater situation.

    However, Zu An had actually spoken such sincere words! She had met all sorts of people over the years. She had a good grasp of when others were speaking truth or lies.

    Kong Qing was stunned when he heard that. He thought, No wonder the n lord views him favorably. This man really is different.

    But he still coughed and said, ¡°Do you know that what you have said today would be absolutely disgraceful if it reached outside ears? The slightest mistake, and you might not have any ce left in human society.¡±

 Chapter 1077: Paper Bride

    <h4>Chapter 1077: Paper Bride</h4>

    Zu An was stunned, asking, ¡°Is it really that serious?¡±

    Yu Yanluo nodded and exined, ¡°The human race and the fiend races have fought for so many years. The grudge they have established has been deeply entrenched within them by a sea of blood and bitterness. It is already too hard to say who is right and who is wrong. If you spoke these words publicly, not only would the court attack you as a political opponent, the people themselves would reject you. Saying good things about the humans to the fiend races would have simr results.¡±

    Zu An momentarily fell silent, but he still said, ¡°I¡¯m not so arrogant as to vainly try to dissolve the hatred; all I seek is merely a clear conscience. Those who see me as a friend, I¡¯ll greet with good wine. Those who see me as an enemy, I¡¯ll see them off with violence. Like hell I care if they¡¯re humans or fiends.¡±

    Kong Qing nodded inwardly when he heard that. ording to Zu An¡¯s words, he could tell that Zu An¡¯s definition of ¡®friend¡¯ didn¡¯t discriminate. As long as someone from the fiend races could get along with him, they could be his friend as well. No wonder the n lord favors this man; he isn¡¯t as stubborn or narrow-minded as most humans.

    Yu Yanluo gave Zu An a few looks, as if she were getting to know him for the first time again. There was a hint of happiness in her eyes, but it was apanied by worry. Such a nature was too easy for those with bad ulterior motives to exploit! Should the worst happen, he¡¯d have no ce left to stay among either the humans or the fiend races.

    Kong Qing asked, ¡°Then what is the issue here? Madam Yu has done business with the fiend races in the past, while this Brother Zu has no prejudice toward the fiend races, unlike most humans. There is no conflict between us at all. We should not be enemies and should instead cooperate as friends.¡±

    Zu An chuckled and replied, ¡°You¡¯re trying to persuade the court¡¯s Imperial Envoy to do dirty things with you. Aren¡¯t you being a bit too optimistic?¡±

    Yu Yanluo also said, ¡°Those who walk different paths cannot make ns together. I will never work with you.¡±

    Kong Qing¡¯s face darkened and he remarked, ¡°That makes things a lot harder.¡±

    Jian Taiding, who was off to the side, finally couldn''t take it anymore. ¡°Brother Kong, why do you keep chatting away with them as if you are their friend? Hurry up and get rid of them already; otherwise, the longer we stall, the more variables will be added to the mix. Who knows if they arranged for more reinforcements toe here?¡±

    He had been seriously injured before, but the Powerful Strength Pill had helped him recover to his former strength. After that, however, he had been seriously injured again. Not only had he eaten the Powerful Strength Pill for nothing; the drug¡¯s vicious side effects, together with his serious injuries, had also made him weaker than ever before. He obviously didn¡¯t want to stay in this sted ce any longer than he had to.

    When he saw that Kong Qing was even suggesting cooperation, his soul almost left his body. What if the two of them had agreed? What was he supposed to do then?

    But he waspletely powerless to change anything at the moment. Only by returning to Cloudcenter Commandery would he have resources at his disposal to use. Once that happened, he would have the confidence to cooperate with Kong Qing. That was why he urged Kong Qing to finish the two off sooner.

    Zu An took the chance to send Yu Yanluo a voice transmission. ¡°Madam, help me stall for some time; I will use the emperor¡¯s power to deal with them.¡±

    This Kong Qing was deep and immeasurable, and the ones who followed him also had mysterious and profound auras. Apart from the child, their cultivations were all higher than Uncle Ming¡¯s. With such a lineup, he and Yu Yanluo were definitely not their match. That was why he wanted to subdue them all in one go using a single move.

    Yu Yanluo replied, ¡°Alright; I will do my best. You should hurry.¡±

    Her pretty brows furrowed, and she felt a bit distressed. None of their opponents seemed to be weaker than her, and she still had Kong Qing, thete-stage master rank cultivator, to worry about.Even though she had her exceptional ¡®World Painting¡¯ magical weapon and her unique skill, she didn¡¯t know whether it could stop the attacks of so many powerful cultivators. She suspected she could only stall for three breaths of time if they attacked at full force. Unless¡­

    Kong Qing suspected that the two of them weremunicating when he saw their lips move slightly. As such, he suggested, ¡°Brother Zu, how about we make an agreement? I will not attack you, and you will not use that imperial edict. What do you say?¡±

    Even though he had left ahead of time back at Zhenyuan Merchant Group, the summoning of the imperial edict had caused a hugemotion, so he had naturally sensed it. Later on, it was easy enough for him to find out what had happened.

    Zu An was stunned. He had never expected Kong Qing to propose such a request.

    Jian Taiding shouted, ¡°Brother Kong, have you gone mad? Why would you make that kind of agreement?!¡± As a master rank cultivator, he naturally knew the power of the imperial edict well.

    However, the precondition was that it took a long time to charge. For someone like Kong Qing, who was at thete stage of the master rank, the time it took to summon the imperial edict would already be enough for him to kill Zu An several times over. That was why the agreement waspletely unnecessary.

    Yu Yanluo was quite surprised too. She had felt Kong Qing¡¯s attitude towards Zu An was strange from the very start. Now, she was even more certain of that.

    When he saw the others¡¯ surprised expressions, Kong Qing smiled and said, ¡°Brother Zu, you are a good friend of our n lord, and I do not want to ruin our rtionship over something like this. If you do not use the imperial edict,I will not attack. If you can win against these subordinates of mine, I will immediately leave. If you lose, you will have to agree to work with us. What do you say?¡±

    Jian Taiding was shocked and furious. He eximed, ¡°Hah, so it turns out this little bastard was already colluding with the fiend races! And yet, he kept shouting and denouncing me. Do you have no sense of shame?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Jian Taiding for +574 +574 +574¡­

    He felt terribly wronged. He had always had to work with the fiend races in secret before, and these people had always criticized him from atop their high horses.

    And yet after all of that, it turned out they had been working with the fiend races too?! And it was even with someone as high up as their freaking n leader?!

    What the hell is this?!

    Yu Yanluo also gave Zu An a strange look. She muttered to herself, ¡°n lord?¡± Never could she have imagined that this fellow would actually have something to do with the n lord of a fiend race n!

    But ever since she had first met him, he¡¯d always had all kinds of beautiful girls around him. Ji Xiaoxi by Brightmoon City¡¯s city outskirts, Chu First Miss¡­ Now, even a n lord of the fiend races seemed to be close to him! Even her own rtionship with him was much closer than her rtionship with other men.

    Was he born for courting girls?

    Zu An was a bit confused, but he quickly realized that Kong Qing was talking about Kong Nanwu. Kong QIng had probably sensed the peacock feather he carried when theyst met. No wonder he seems so different today. Wait, is he misunderstanding something?

    Kong Qing didn¡¯t pay any attention to Jian Taiding¡¯s moring and continued to look at Zu An, saying, ¡°You are the n lord¡¯s good friend, so we naturally cannot treat you like amoner. Even if you lose and you have to cooperate with us, it will not be anything too terrible.¡±

    Zu An was still thinking to himself, but Yu Yanluo instead spoke up and said, ¡°Fine, we agree.¡±

    ¡°Madam!¡± Zu An eximed in rm. How can you casually agree to this kind of thing?

    Yu Yanluo shook her head and spoke to him through ki transmission. ¡°The imperial edict would take too long. I might not be able to stop them long enough for you to use it. If Kong Qing does not get involved, we will still have a fighting chance. We need to get through this crisis first.¡±

    ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll go with madam¡¯s suggestion,¡± Zu An replied with a smile.

    Yu Yanluo blushed a bit. No wonder this guy has such good luck with women. He really is good at teasing.

    But with her appearance and reputation, it wasn¡¯t as if she hadn¡¯t seen even more brilliant methods. And yet, those methods had only made her feel awkward and guarded, and only this man could make her feel the way she felt at the moment.

    ¡°Hahaha!¡± Kong Qingughed and said, ¡°Madam Yu is a decisive woman after all. Please do be careful, however. Mypanions are quite extraordinary in their own right. You two might not necessarily be able to win against them.¡±

    Thet Gray Wolf King released a low, throaty and began to approach them, its eyes flickering with murderous intent.

    The dark elf raised his long and slender sword. He licked it with his scarlet tongue, killing intent oozing out from his presence.

    Meanwhile, the woman dressed in red wedding clothes first led the child to a corner to wait there. Then, she leisurely walked over to herpanions¡¯ side.

    Zu An and Yu Yanluo stood side by side too.

    ¡°Be careful!¡±

    ¡°Be careful!¡±

    Both of them warned each other at the same time. They couldn''t help but smile when they realized that.

    Damn these adulterers! Jian Taiding ground his teeth in anger. However, his thoughts were preupied. What exactly is Kong Qing trying to do here? Don¡¯t tell me he ns to abandon me?n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Both sides stood some distance apart for a long time. The dark elf was the first to grow impatient, however, eximing, ¡°I will go first!¡±

    Then, he disappeared into the shadow of the Gray Wolf King. He appeared next to Yu Yanluo a secondter, thrusting his sword at her waist at a sinister angle without a shred of mercy for the fairer sex.

    Yu Yanluo didn¡¯t panic at all, and instead took out her World Painting to protect herself. It immediately enveloped the dark elf, absorbing him into the painting. However, she didn¡¯t seem happy about that at all and instead voiced her surprise.

    ¡°Be careful!¡± Zu An suddenly grabbed her waist and evaded off to the side. At the same time, his finger thrust out, flicking away the slender sword as it came from a different direction.

    Yu Yanluo quickly looked at her own drawing. There was a dark elf inside, but that figure¡¯s body began to ripple, eventually turning into a paper cutout.

    Jian Taiding watched as the sister-inw he was obsessed with let her waist be taken by another man¡¯s arm, without even being offended in the slightest, almost as if she had already gotten used to that level of bodily contact. He immediately vomited blood from anger.

    However, he was still a formidable person in his own right and quickly set aside his jealousy. Instead, he looked at the woman in the red dress on the other side. Even though he was seriously injured, his sight as a master rank still remained. He could immediately tell that the woman had made that move just now.

    ¡°Familiars crafted through paper, and such a unique outfit¡­ Could you perhaps be the rumored ¡®Paper Bride¡¯?¡± Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression turned extremely serious when she looked at that woman in the bridal clothes.

 Chapter 1078: Heart Carved Out

    <h4>Chapter 1078: Heart Carved Out</h4>

    ¡°Paper Bride?¡± Zu An eximed, stunned. Even though he had spent quite some time in this world, he still didn¡¯t know too much about many of its outstanding talents.

    Seeing that Paper Bride wasn¡¯t in a rush to make another move, Yu Yanluo exined, ¡°Paper Bride is an infamous killer who practices evil methods. It is rumored that on the fifteenth of each month, she finds another man to marry, then sucks his masculine energies dry. Many cultivators from the righteous faction tried to eliminate her in the name of public justice, but even though they had clearly killed her several times, news of her devastating men would reappear soon after.

    ¡°At first, people all thought it was just someone impersonating her, but they eventually discovered that it really was her. News of her being unkible gradually spread, and people thus became more and more scared of her.

    ¡°Onlyter did they realize that she had a rather bizarre technique; she could use soldiers made of paper. The ones they had killed were just her paper substitutes, which was where her unkible legend came from. However, she disappeared some years ago; I never would have expected her to have actually be a subordinate of the Peacock King n.

    ¡°You have to be careful. Her technique is extremely strange, so it is rumored that she has strengthparable to a master rank.¡±

    Even though Yu Yanluo spoke quickly, her voice was still melodious and gentle, her words clear and mellow. Listening to her voice really was a kind of enjoyment on its own.

    Paper Brideughed charmingly and said, ¡°This pretty big sister really does know me well. Sigh, how great would it be if I looked like big sister? I wouldn¡¯t have to find so many men to marry, I¡¯m sure there would be countless men who would willingly throw themselves at me.¡±

    Her voice was full of envy, as if she felt some self-pity. But even though she wasn¡¯t some incredible beauty, she was still attractive. However, her strange outfit made her appearance seem somewhat eerie.

    Yu Yanluo harrumphed. She clearly didn¡¯t want to bepared to someone like Paper Bride.

    The Gray Wolf King roared angrily just then, already impatient from waiting. It charged at Yu Yanluo and Zu An.

    Yu Yanluo wanted to trap the vicious beast in the World Painting, but unfortunately, several paper cutouts fluttered around, flying in front of the Gray Wolf King and entering the painting in its ce.

    Seeing that the World Painting had been countered by Paper Bride¡¯s technique, Zu An stood in front of Yu Yanluo to block the Gray Wolf King. However, the Gray Wolf King¡¯s momentum made him stagger even with his cultivation.

    This beast was definitely stronger than the Jade Moon Serpent he had met during the crown prince¡¯s examination. Where did the fiend races even find such creatures?

    The dark elf moved, appearing from the shadows again. Hepletely ignored Zu An and went straight for Yu Yanluo. He was clearly a bit upset that he had almost been sucked into Yu Yanluo¡¯s painting not too long ago.

    As Paper Bride continued to use her techniques, Yu Yanluo decided to just abandon her World Painting. Instead, she took out a fine brush to face her opponent. Zu An gave her a worried look, but her brush moved skillfully. She quickly drew a magical diagram that blocked the dark elf¡¯s vicious attack.

    Her clothes were as white as snow, her long hair fluttering behind her. Even while evading, her figure was graceful. Whenever she brandished her brush, she looked elegant and unhurried. She really looked like a beautiful woman who hade straight out of a painting, and even like a fairy from another world.

    Even Kong Qing was a bit moved. This woman really was an exceptional beauty! No wonder she had driven so many men crazy over the years.

    Jian Taiding¡¯s eyes were even wider as he was stuck in a stupor. My sister-inw is a goddess after all¡­

    This woman should have been mine! She should have been mine! Everything is that person¡¯s fault!

    He looked at Zu An with an extremely malicious expression. It was because of that guy¡¯s appearance that everything had changed. He had lost his sisters-inw, and the worst part was that Yu Yanluo¡¯s rtionship with Zu An was also unclear. Now, everything he had in Cloudcenter Commandery was also about to slip away.

    You have sessfully trolled Jian Taiding for +798 +798 +798¡­

    He really wanted the others to kill Zu An as quickly as possible. As such, when he saw that Paper Bride was only standing in ce, watching without doing anything, he couldn''t help but feel irritated. He eximed, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you doing anything?!¡±

    Paper Bride gave him a look of disdain. This guy looks like he¡¯s already had his entire body hollowed out; there isn¡¯t even much masculine energy left in him. She wasn¡¯t interested in him at all.

    Comparatively speaking, the young man who was fighting at the moment was flourishing with masculine energy. In her eyes, he was just like a zing sun; just looking at him made her entire body go soft. She really wanted to take him into her embrace and bite down on him to suck out his life force.

    As such, she didn¡¯t pay Jian Taiding any attention and instead fixed her stare on Zu An. Apletely infatuated smile appeared on her face.

    Jian Taiding was stunned. His authority in Cloudcenter Commandery had previously been unrivaled, and he was a glorious master rank cultivator. When had he ever been ignored like this before?!

    The worst part was that she was ignoring him, but seemed much more interested in Zu An. Wasn¡¯t that equivalent to another woman thinking he was inferior to that bastard Zu? Is this woman f*cking blind?!

    Seeing how furious he was, Kong Qing exined with a smile, ¡°She is a powerful cultivator who is known for both her technique and her personality. She naturally has her own pride and will not gang up on one person. Second master, please feel at ease. If those two cannot win, Paper Bride will definitely interfere.¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    They had still worked together for a long time, so he didn¡¯t want to offend him for no reason either. Even though Jian Taiding was in quite the sorry state at the moment he still had many resources at his disposal in Cloudcenter Commandery. Perhaps they would still have to work together again in the future.

    Jian Taiding¡¯s expression eased a bit when Kong Qing personally exined the situation to him. He cupped his hands and said, ¡°Then I shall wait and see.¡±

    Inwardly, however, he cursed them. The fiend races all loved to show off. Kong Qing wasn¡¯t doing anything, and even his subordinate looked incredibly arrogant. If he didn¡¯t know any better, he would have mistaken them for grandmasters from the righteous faction. Hello? Aren¡¯t you all from the evil and nefarious factions? Aren¡¯t you guys supposed to be the ones who bully others with unscrupulous methods?

    But he was seriously injured at the moment, so he had to act humble and bottle all of his resentment up inside. He looked back toward the battlefield and began to pray that the Gray Wolf King would bite that bastard Zu to death. At the very least, bite off his thing so he can¡¯t mess with my sister-inws anymore.

    With his master rank sight, he knew the Gray Wolf King was around the ninth rank. Furthermore, beasts of the same rank were known to be more powerful than their human cultivator counterparts.

    Even though this Zu An has some skills, he is only at the ninth rank. I was seriously injured because he schemed against me. I was hurtst time because I did not expect his body to be so hard¡­

    His expression immediately stiffened as he had that thought. The rosy expressions of Zhang Ji, as well as Liu Ji and Chu Ji, appeared in his mind. Those women had definitely experienced that fact personally.

    Suddenly, he imagined Madam Yu¡¯s soft body being ravaged by Zu An¡¯s iron-hard body, her entire face red as she moaned¡­

    Aaaahhhh! Stop thinking about these things! It feels as if my heart is being carved out, f*ck!

    He looked as if he had just eaten manure; his expression was incredibly warped and twisted.

    As if receiving Jian Taiding¡¯s prayers, the Gray Wolf King roared. It continuously swiped its ws toward Zu An. It was extremely fast. Only a few streaks of light blue w marks shing through the air were visible as it attacked.

    Even though Zu An¡¯s body was tough, he wasn¡¯t stupid enough to face his opponent head on. He quickly evaded the attacks with his Sunflower Phantasm.

    Fragments of ice flew chaotically across the floors and walls. The cave was extremely cold, making the ice in it many times tougher than normal ice. And yet, under the power of the Gray Wolf King, it was no different from tofu.

    Even though Zu An¡¯s movement skill was extraordinary, the Gray Wolf King was too nimble. When he looked down, he saw that a faint mark had already been left on his clothes, right over his chest. His skin was also stinging somewhat.

    He realized it wasn¡¯t the time to be holding back. He split up into several copies and rushed at his opponent. Every single Zu An looked exactly the same, and those watching couldn''t tell the difference at all.

    Kong Qing was astonished. Not even a master rank cultivator like him could see through the principles of such a profound movement technique. I wonder where he learned something like that from¡­

    No wonder the n lord views this human male so favorably.

    Jian Taiding was momentarily distracted too. He realized that hatred hadpletely clouded his mind, and that he had underestimated this fellow. He is definitely not just thick-skinned; just this mystical movement technique alone makes him much stronger than other cultivators of his level.

    The Gray Wolf King changed its previous leaping stance and instead spun its body several times. The powerful winds created by the force of its ws were no weaker than sharp sword ki. Its attacks struck everything around it; no matter which one was Zu An, it would just destroy them all.

    Jian Taiding was happy to see that. The fighting instincts of high-level beasts made them more formidable than humans after all! The Gray Wolf King had easily dealt with its opponent¡¯s mysterious movement ability.

    However, his smile quickly froze. Even though the illusions had been ripped to shreds by its sharp ws, there was no blood to be seen. None of them were real?

    ¡°Be careful!¡± Jian Taiding eximed as he suddenly noticed something and looked toward the ceiling. If it had been any other time, he couldn''t care less if the Gray Wolf King lived or died. But at the moment, it was his best hope of killing Zu An, which was why he had to warn it.

    By the time Jian Taiding spoke, Zu An was already dropping down on the Gray Wolf King from above, his fist smashing toward its head. Since Kong Qing had no ns to fight to the death, he didn¡¯t want to take out the Poisonous Prick. Otherwise, he might really end up creating a grudge between them.

    ¡°Awoooo!¡± The Gray Wolf King cried out in pain.

    However, Zu An didn¡¯t have any time to admire his own attack. The wolf had turned into an ice sculpture, and his fist was freezing over at a visible rate too.

    A foul smell swept over him. The ice sculpture was still there, but the Gray Wolf King appeared next to it. Its ferocious mouth was wide open, about to mp down on him.

 Chapter 1079: Desiring My Body

    <h4>Chapter 1079: Desiring My Body</h4>

    Yu Yanluo had been paying attention to the battle the whole time. She cried out in rm as soon as she saw that Zu An was in danger. ¡°Watch out!¡±

    She wanted to help save him, but that dark elf didn¡¯t give her the chance at all. His sword strikes were crafty and vicious, almost seriously wounding her due to her momentary distraction.

    Zu An was also surprised. He quickly realized that in that instant, the Gray Wolf King had used the ice sculpture as a substitute, and had even used its ice powers to restrain him. The Gray Wolf King was an ice element beast; the frigid cave was the perfect ce for it to disy a hundred and twenty percent of its power.

    Raging mes surged from Zu An¡¯s hand. The ice sculpture quickly began to melt, but it still took time. The Gray Wolf King¡¯s mouth was already almost within reach.

    Jian Taiding was ecstatic. He clenched his fists and craned his neck, his eyes wide. Bite that bastard¡¯s damn head off!

    Zu An¡¯s eyes narrowed. The Gray Wolf King¡¯s body suddenly froze, stopping for a moment. Zu An took the chance to melt all the ice around him before the Gray Wolf King freed itself from its momentary stupor. Both sides exchanged a blow, and were both blown back.

    Jian Taiding was furious. Stupid dog! What the hell were you staring stupidly for? Just bite that f*cker to death! Why did you give up such a great opportunity?

    Kong Qing frowned, however. At that instant, he had felt a strange yet familiar spiritual pressure. When he had used his eye technique at the Zhenyuan Merchant Group, he had been stopped by a strange technique. He guessed it was probably a soul technique the other party was proficient in, and that was what he had used to stop the Gray Wolf King¡¯s advance.

    The Gray Wolf King was definitely getting annoyed that its various attempts had failed again and again. It raised its head toward the ceiling and roared.

    Its howls echoed through the cave, shaking the mountain walls. Then, cold winds swept through the entire cave. The previously dazzling cave suddenly became a lot darker. The icicles hanging above also snapped one after another, crashing down on those present.

    Jian Taiding cursed and quickly dodged to the side. Just how tragic would it be if he ended up dying from one of the icicles? He might even beughed at by the entire world. The master rank who had been killed by a falling icicle¡­ That wasn¡¯t a title he could afford to have.

    However, his eyes quickly widened, because not a single one of the icicles had been aimed toward him. Previously, the icicles had been evenly distributed throughout the cave; therefore, some of them should have fallen where he had been. However, the icicles all seemed to have eyes, flying toward Zu An as if they had wills of their own.

    He realized it was probably due to the Gray Wolf King¡¯s skill. He sighed in admiration. No wonder beasts of the same cultivation rank are stronger than humans! It would even be hard for me to face it at my full strength.

    Furthermore, he could sense that the icicles that had fallen were definitely not ordinary icicles. They carried the piercing cold killing intent of the Gray Wolf King. Anyone hit by them would be hurt quite badly.

    However, Jian Taiding soon gritted his teeth in anger. Zu An didn¡¯t panic at all, and instead moved leisurely through the cave; the icicles were always just a split second toote to hit him. The shower of icicles had only served to make Zu An look better instead. Even though he hated Zu An, Jian Taiding had to admit that the fellow still had some skills.

    Paper Bride¡¯s eyes shone even brighter when she looked at Zu An. She looked at Kong Qing with a big smile, asking, ¡°Sir Kong, can you give this one to me to y with?¡±

    Kong Qing¡¯s smile froze on his face. He obviously knew what Paper Bride wanted. He coughed and said, ¡°Ahem, he is someone the n lord favors.¡±

    ¡°He has so much masculine yang energy within him; it¡¯s not as if I¡¯ll break him.¡± Paper Bride licked her lips as she spoke, as if she hadn¡¯t heard what Kong Qing had said at all. Even though she was Kong Qing¡¯s subordinate in name, she was strong, so she didn¡¯t really fear him either.

    Kong Qing¡¯s expression turned strange. Is this Zu An a human-shaped aphrodisiac or something? Why do these girls all keep falling for him whenever they see him? The always refined Yu Yanluo has been acting this way too, and so has the n lord. Now, even Paper Bride is itching to get her hands on him as soon as they¡¯ve met.

    Even though he had to admit that Zu An was quite a handsome young man, he couldn''t figure out why so many women would act that way. Don¡¯t tell me his charm is something only girls can sense?

    At that moment, however, Zu An was concentrating all of his attention on his surroundings. After the icicles had fallen, clouds of white smoke had surged all over the ce. The temperature had also rapidly dropped. The Gray Wolf King was hiding in the mist, and Zu An could hear its footsteps all around him.

    Suddenly, the wolf leaped out from a strange angle. Zu An leaned to the side, perfectly evading its attack. He was just about to retaliate when it vanished into the mist again, however.

    An ordinary person could only follow the sound of the wolf¡¯s footsteps to guard against its attacks. There were still icicles falling, however, so it would be easy to be confused and disoriented. As long as there was even a slight hole in one¡¯s defenses, one would be caught by the wolf.

    But Zu An wasn¡¯t an ordinary person. After thinking to himself for a bit, he decided to do more than just passively protect himself. Instead, he suddenly shouted, ¡°Whatcha lookin¡¯ at?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m looking at you, shithead!¡± A cryptic reply quickly came from a certain direction in the mist. Its pitch was extremely strange,pletely unlike that of a human.

    High-level beasts had their own wills and couldmunicate with humans. The Gray Wolf King just hadn¡¯t felt like speaking with the humans earlier. But now that Zu An had used ¡®Whatcha lookin¡¯ at¡¯, it had no choice but to speak. It was stunned, not understanding why it would suddenly speak those words.

    ¡°I found you!¡± While the wolf was momentarily distracted, Zu An instantly locked onto his target. He used Grandgale to close the gap, andunched a barrage of fists at its chin.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Bang bang bang!

    The sound of fists smashing into flesh made the onlookers grit their teeth in sympathy.

    Why does he keep hitting its head? Those watching, including Yu Yanluo, were confused.

    After all, it wasmon knowledge that a wolf¡¯s skull and bones were hard as steel, but its waist was weak like tofu. This guy wasn¡¯t hitting its waist, its weakest part, and instead just continued to strike its hard head.

    The Gray Wolf King was initially happy to see that, because its skull was incredibly tough from all of its training, having be exceptionally hard. An ordinary human cultivator might just break their own fists from hitting it.

    However, things turned out entirely different from its expectations. With each hit, its skull rang, as if a huge bell were leaning against its head and a hammer had repeatedly struck that bell.

    The wolf roared in fury and frantically tried to retaliate. However, it had already lost the initiative. Any ki it managed to gather simply scattered again as Zu An¡¯s fists ruthlessly smashed into it.

    When he saw the Gray Wolf King pressed against the ground, beaten until blood trickled out of its mouth, Jian Taiding swallowed with difficulty. Is he still human? How can he even be stronger than a freaking high-level beast?

    He couldn''t help but feel somewhat d. Even though he had been seriously wounded by the man twice, at least it wasn¡¯t as miserable as the scene before him.

    Kong Qing couldn''t keep watching and said with a cough, ¡°Brother Zu, please stop. It has acknowledged its defeat.¡±

    The worst part was that Zu An had never nned to kill it either, so he couldn''t just stand there without saying anything. He could only speak up at that point. As such, he stopped when he heard Kong Qing and replied, ¡°Sorry, I went a bit too hard just now. Oh my, it even lost some of its teeth.¡±

    He picked up four Gray Wolf King Fangs with an apologetic look, and yet he didn¡¯t have any intention of returning them. The four Gray Wolf King Fangs were of much higher quality than the ones he had gotten before. A single one was worth several normal fangs.

    The Gray Wolf King gave him a resentful look. At its level, its intelligence wasn¡¯t low. It obviously recognized that the reason why Zu An had kept hitting its head was for those fangs. Bro, couldn''t you have just told me earlier if you wanted them? I would¡¯ve just pulled them out and given them to you.

    Kong Qing caressed its head and said, ¡°I will give you some spiritual medicines to help you recover when we return. Your teeth will grow back soon.¡±

    The Gray Wolf King was on the verge of tears. It rubbed its head against Kong Qing¡¯s leg in an intimate manner while whimpering, as if it were a husky who had just been mistreated. It might as well be shaking its tail too.

    Paper Bride¡¯s figure swayed back and forth as she walked over and said, ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem as if the two of them over there will be done anytime soon, so the result will likely fall to the two of us.¡±

    Zu An recalled Yu Yanluo¡¯s warning and became inwardly vignt. But on the surface, he had a calm smile. He said, ¡°Thedy¡¯s clothes are really pretty. Which silk shop did you purchase them from? I should go and buy a few sets for my friend too.¡±

    Yu Yanluo couldn''t help but shoot him a look even as she continued fighting. Like hell I¡¯d wear such eerie looking clothes.

    Jian Taiding felt even more dejected. Those are wedding clothes! He wants to just give them away willfully? Hmph, he is a womanizer after all. Why is sister-inw not getting upset when she hears that, though?

    Kong Qing was worried. This guy is clearly someone who does not know limits and cannot just have one girl at his side. The n lord might be in for quite the headache dealing with him.

    Paper Brideughed so hard her entire body was rocking back and forth. She remarked, ¡°Cute little brother, your mouth really is sweet. Come here and let big sis give you a taste.¡±

    After she spoke, she let out a terrifyingugh. She then turned into a red shadow before instantly reappearing next to Zu An. She pursed her lips and kissed him.

 Chapter 1080: Wedding Ceremony

    <h4>Chapter 1080: Wedding Ceremony</h4>

    The onlookers¡¯ eyeballs were about to pop out when they saw that scene. Is this motherf*cker fighting or flirting?!

    Yu Yanluo harrumphed inwardly. Hmph, what a witch! She had known of Paper Bride¡¯s infamous reputation, but she still hadn¡¯t expected the other party to be so¡­ so wanton and unrestrained.

    Zu An was surprised, but it only showed through his eyes. Paper Bride¡¯s line was something he might say to tease youngdies, so why had the roles been reversed? Even though he was no monk, that kind of preference was a bit too much.

    Even though they were both monsters, the capital¡¯s courtesan Nan Xun was clearly gentler and more beautiful. Paper Bride¡¯s entire being radiated a sense of eeriness, like the scary movies of his previous world.

    Wait, could it be because Nan Xun used to be King Qi¡¯s concubine¡­

    Even though he was a bit distracted, Zu An still quickly moved to evade the kiss and replied, ¡°Paper Bride, I¡¯m sorry, but I''m rather reserved in nature and I¡¯m a slow starter. How about we chat a bit to get closer first?¡±

    Yu Yanluo nodded in satisfaction when she saw that Zu An hadn¡¯t let the other party kiss him. But when she remembered how they had been flirting mere moments before, she still couldn''t help but feel a bit unhappy.

    Jian Taiding cursed Zu An for his shamelessness. You, reserved? A slow starter? You?!

    You have only been in the Duke Manor for a few days, and yet several of my sisters-inw have already be your shape inside! How the hell are you slow?

    You have sessfully trolled Jian Taiding for +236 +236 +236¡­

    When Paper Bride saw Zu An move out of the way, she giggled and said, ¡°How naughty~¡± She sped up even more and only a red shadow remained, making the atmosphere seem even more sinister and eerie.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An wasn¡¯t slow either. The twopeted in speed and exchanged more than ten moves.

    Paper Bride¡¯s strength was quite strange. Compared to a master rank cultivator, she didn¡¯t have the mental insight that let them anticipate attacks ahead of time. And yet,pared to a ninth rank cultivator, her speed and skills were far above theirs.

    ¡°Oh my, how heartless of you. Am I not just asking for a kiss? Why are you treating me so violently?¡± Paper Bride eximed with a hint of resentment. The two of them exchanged a palm, but then Paper Bride quickly jumped back to widen the gap between them.

    Yu Yanluo felt goosebumps cover her body when she heard that. Her pretty brow furrowed and she wanted to help Zu An first. The dark elf who kept jumping between shadows was just much too annoying, though.

    However, after fighting for so long, she had alreadye up with a n. Her brush casually moved around, and a delicate and refinedntern appeared out of thin air.

    ¡°You¡¯ve already tried this several times. It¡¯s useless.¡± The dark elfughed sinisterly. It wasn¡¯t the first time Yu Yanluo had drawn antern to fight him. But even the brightestmp couldn''t erase all the shadows. As the saying went, when there was light, there was shadow.

    He moved quickly and entered the shadows again, quickly reappearing behind Yu Yanluo. He gripped his sword with an evil grin, bringing it toward her bottom. Even though he wasn¡¯t someone who cared that much about lust, he didn¡¯t mind ying around a bit.

    However, his smile quickly froze, because he discovered he couldn''t move at all. Half of his body was stuck in the shadow, while the other half couldn''te out. He eximed, horrified, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    A sweet scent swept over the dark elf as Yu Yanluo instantly appeared right next to him. Her fingers struck his major acupoint. A mouthful of blood gushed out of his mouth. His entire body became limp; he had clearly been seriously injured.

    Yu Yanluo hadn¡¯t only sealed off his acupoint; she had also taken the chance to cripple his strength. As the n leader of a great n, there was no way she would entrust her and Zu An¡¯s safety to the other party¡¯s proposed agreement. What if the two sides engaged in conflict again? Having one less enemy was always a good thing.

    Kong Qing frowned, feeling that Yu Yanluo was going a bit too far. However, his own subordinate was quite ruthless as well, and his final attack had been quite underhanded. Being taught a lesson that way was still reasonable.

    Instead, his eyes narrowed when he saw thentern floating overhead. He eximed, ¡°The Devil Sect Master¡¯s Empress Lantern?¡±

    Thentern had already begun disappearing by the time Kong Qing spoke. Yu Yanluo¡¯splexion was pale as she exined, ¡°No, it is merely an imitation. It cannotpare to the real Empress Lantern.¡±

    Kong Qing was greatly shocked, eximing, ¡°Madam can paint these magic weapons that function as if they are the real thing? This ability is just way too miraculous. Even I want to learn how to paint now.¡±

    Yu Yanluo revealed a faint smile. When no one was watching, however, she secretly wiped away blood from a corner of her lips.

    It was clear that such a technique wasn¡¯t something she could use at will. The rebound for painting something so miraculous had taken quite the toll on her. Her very soul might be destroyed if she tried to do so a few more times.

    Of course, that wasn¡¯t something she could just tell the other side. The situation was still unclear, so it wasn¡¯t a bad idea to intimidate them a bit.

    Her attention quickly shifted to Zu An. She was worried that he might be wounded by Paper Bride, so she prepared to offer her assistance at any time.

    Paper Bride¡¯s movements were just far too strange. Together with her bright red wedding clothes, the sinister red shadows darting around her could easily leave her opponents disoriented and dizzy without even realizing it.

    Fortunately, Zu An¡¯s movement technique was fast, so he was always able to just barely evade her attacks.

    As he watched the exchange, Jian Taiding became more and more nervous. He really wanted to take Paper Bride¡¯s ce, but unfortunately, he was seriously injured and couldn''t do anything. He could only speak up to helpe up with ideas.

    ¡°Attack him from behind!¡±

    ¡°Get him from below; give that area a nice surprise!¡±

    ¡­

    The trash Gray Wolf King hadn¡¯t been reliable at all, so Jian Taiding had to ce all of his hopes on Paper Bride. As such, he carefully watched how she moved. The woman¡¯s cultivation rank was a bit strange; she definitely wasn¡¯t just at the peak of the ninth rank.

    It almost seems as if¡­ she dropped from the master rank?

    But with the strength she is showing, she does not seem to be any weaker than me at my prime. Furthermore, with so much ghastly energy lingering around her, her opponents would easily be corroded by it.

    Once affected, her opponent would only be able to use seventy percent of their true cultivation. With such a disadvantage, it would be even harder to win against her, let alone if she used her mysterious and unpredictable methods.

    He finally felt a little relief when he had those thoughts. That bastard Zu An has finally met his match.

    Paper Bride, suck this guy dry! Once we return to Cloudcenter City, I will give you ten¡­ no, a hundred strong men to express my gratitude.

    However, he was seriously injured and couldn''t send her a voice transmission. And if he said that out loud¡­ So many people were watching. He still cared about his reputation.

    While Jian Taiding was feeling anxious, Paper Bride suddenly screamed miserably and moved away from Zu An. Her palms flew back frantically, as if she had touched something that burned her.

    Jian Taiding was stunned, thinking, What is going on?

    Why are things going differently from what I expected? Should Zu An have not been corroded by her ghastly energy? Why does it instead seem as if Paper Bride is the one being affected by Zu An?

    Kong Qing didn¡¯t understand it either. He knew Paper Bride¡¯s cultivation better than anyone else. It should have been enough to spare in order to defeat Zu An. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have been so confident in making his gamble.

    But why was it that in this exchange of palms, a simple and direct exchange without any tricks, Paper Bride was the one at a disadvantage?

    Paper Bride¡¯s miserable screams didn¡¯t end. Her palm was initially just scorched ck at first, but then it began to produce smoke and eventually burst into me.

    The mes grew frantically, quickly spreading across her entire body, bing a raging ze. The me was an unusual color, too; it was a sinister green. In just the blink of an eye, Paper Bride burned to ashes.

    Jian Taiding blinked. Just moments before, Paper Bride had had the advantage; why had she been burned to ashes a secondter? He couldn''t help but doubt his own cultivation. Why had he made the wrong deductions so many times in a row? What self-respect did a master rank cultivator like him have left?

    Yu Yanluo looked away, feeling disturbed. Even though Paper Bride was a little too flirtatious, such a death was still too tragic.

    However, Kong Qing remained calm. Zu An also looked in another direction, where a small ice tformy.

    Terrifyingughter rang out from that direction, and a voice called out, ¡°Little yboy, why are you so heartless? I went so easy on you, and yet you treated me so aggressively.¡± A woman in red appeared on the frozen tform. She sat there with her embroidered shoes swaying lightly in the air.

    Zu An chuckled and replied, ¡°Didn¡¯t you want to get to know me better? How could I not properly test out your depths? Of course I have to go all out.¡±

    Just then, he had used the Primordial Origin Sutra. Its secondyer had natural restraining effects on things such as evil spirits. He had encountered many such entities in the secret dungeons, and was thus extremely experienced against them.

    Previously, he had felt that Paper Bride¡¯s entire body was full of ghastly energy, so he had imbued primordial ki into his attacks. Sure enough, the other party¡¯s body had been like snow before a blistering sun, quickly melting away.

    But now, it seemed the one Zu An had fought against was just a paper puppet.

    Paper Brideughed out loud and said, ¡°Little yboy, your mouth is sweet like honey. This big sister likes you.¡±

    Yu Yanluo frowned. Why did their conversation sound so weird?

    ¡°Ah, I can¡¯t resist anymore. This big sis has to give your little mouth a kiss today!¡± Paper Bride¡¯s clothes fluttered around, and the surrounding environment instantly changed.

    The snow-white cave vanished without a trace. It was reced by a scene of rednterns and red cloth all around!

 Chapter 1081: Clash of Red and White

    <h4>Chapter 1081: sh of Red and White</h4>

    Yu Yanluo had been watching Zu An fight against Paper Bride. But suddenly, a burst of red light had shed, and the two of them had vanished without a trace. It left her quite shaken. She quickly looked around, reaching out to sense the environment with ki. However, she didn¡¯t sense Zu An¡¯s aura at all, and even Paper Bride had disappeared.

    She looked at Kong Qing and asked, ¡°What did you do to him?¡±

    Kong Qing replied seriously, ¡°He was dragged into Paper Bride¡¯s special space. They will probably note out for quite some time.¡±

    In the corner, Jian Taiding was ted when he heard that. The heavens do have eyes! That meddlesome bastard has finally disappeared!

    He had heard about Paper Bride before. Countless experts had died because of her. They seemed to have been trapped within her personal fantasynd; once they were trapped, their very souls had been sucked dry, leaving behind only a hollow shell.

    At that moment, he was praying that she would suck Zu Anpletely dry. That way, there will still be a chance between sister-inw and me.

    While Jian Taiding was in high spirits, Yu Yanluo was deeply worried. Her beautiful brows rose when she heard Kong Qing¡¯s exnation. She said, ¡°I do not believe you. How can she possibly form her own domain with her cultivation?¡±

    If it were just an illusion, Zu An¡¯s body should have still been present. And yet, his body hadpletely vanished! That meant he had been dragged into another space. Normally speaking, however, that was something only a grandmaster could do. The space was called a domain, and in their domain, they were the ruler.

    To a certain degree, Yu Yanluo¡¯s World Painting was also the beginning of a domain. However, her situation was special. Together with the libationer¡¯s help, it was because of the World Painting treasure she had encountered in her earlier years that she had been able to create her own space. Even though it was miraculous, it was many times weaker than the domain of a grandmaster.

    How had Paper Bride aplished such a thing? How could she possibly have the qualifications to make a domain of her own?

    Kong Qing shook his head and replied, ¡°It is not a domain; rather, her skills are extremely special. That, along with some special encounters she had, is why she is able to create such a strange space of her own.¡±

    The reason why Paper Bride didn¡¯t fear Kong Qing, even though she was his subordinate, was precisely because she had that trump card. Even he felt some fear and restraint toward it.

    Even though he was a fiend, Yu Yanluo was just too beautiful. When he saw her anger and worry, he couldn''t help but say in constion, ¡°Madam Yu, please feel at ease. Brother Zu is the n lord¡¯s friend, and Paper Bride heard that earlier as well. I do not believe she will truly harm him.¡±

    ¡°If something really does happen to him, all of you will be buried along with him.¡± Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression turned cold as she spoke with a frigid tone. Kong Qing frowned, but he didn¡¯t say anything.

    The dark elf couldn''t help but scoff mockingly, ¡°Well, aren¡¯t you arrogant.¡±

    At the moment, Kong Qing had the advantage without even doing a thing himself. The dark elf thought, Where does this woman get the courage to say these kinds of things? Are pretty women all so unreasonable?

    Yu Yanluo closed her eyes, not paying the dark elf any attention.

    Jian Taiding¡¯s expression waspletely ashen. He had still clung to his fantasy previously, but now, he waspletely certain. His goddess-like sister-inw, who showed disdain beyond contempt toward all men, did care a lot about that bastard Zu.

    If she cared this much about me, even dying would be worth it. Jian Taiding leaned against the frozen wall, downcast. The colding from the wall made his body feel numb, but he felt even more numb inside. It was to the extent that he even forgot about his anger toward Zu An.

    ¡­

    Zu An obviously had no idea what was happening outside. He discovered that he was in a forest. There was red cloth draped across the trees, as if some n were holding a wedding.

    However, it was a barren wilderness. The red cloth seemedpletely out of ce amid the withered trees and the dead bamboo. A thickyer of dried yellow leaves covered the ground, and a faint mist covered the forest. There even seemed to be some tombstones in the forest depths. The pitch-ck crows on the trees cawed, making the ce seem even more deste and eerie.

    Zu An frowned. What the hell is going on? Wasn¡¯t I inside a frozen cave just now? Where is Yu Yanluo?

    Right, I was fighting with Paper Bride just now¡­

    He pinched his thigh, feeling a sharp pain. His flesh was clearly still there. He frowned. Don¡¯t tell me this is a domain?

    No, it can¡¯t be. If this is a domain, wouldn¡¯t that mean Paper Bride has grandmaster rank cultivation? She would¡¯ve been able to crush me with just a single finger; why would she go to such an extent?

    Suddenly, he heard musical instruments ying in the distance. Upon closer inspection, it seemed to be the music of a wedding celebration. However, the music¡¯s pitch was unusual. Not only did it carry no sense of jubtion, it instead conveyed a sense of strangeness.

    A thick clump of mist surged out from a path leading to the east. There seemed to be several red figures bouncing around inside the mist.

    As the music grew closer and closer, Zu An gradually saw more clearly that the figures were an escort for the bride. Some of the escort soldiers raised boards, while some yed instruments, as they slowly escorted a marriage sedan. From their clothes down to their shoes, and even their hats, every single person in the troop waspletely d in red. It was quite the eye-catching sight.

    Is Paper Bride sitting in that sedan? Zu An thought, remaining on guard.

    Just then, shrill waves of Chinese oboe music beganing from the west as well.

    The Chinese oboe really was a powerful instrument. No other instrument could overpower its sound. Zu An was no stranger to the instrument; he had often heard it in his previous world¡¯s vige funerals.

    It was honestly quiteughable. Why did the bridal escort also have a Chinese oboe? They really did treat it as an instrument that could carry one from birth to death.

    However, Zu An couldn''t bring himself tough at all. He stared directly at the western path.

    As the mist surged outward, the funeral procession slowly arrived. They were all dressed in mourning clothes, looking downcast and dejected as they carried a pitch-ck coffin.

    The ones at the front had a strange gait. Their bodies moved left and right as if they were holding some kind of soul-summoning ceremony.

    Zu An turned around to look at the bridal escort. The ones at the front were singing and dancing in a festive manner. To some degree, their dance carried a shocking resemnce to the other group¡¯s. Neither side seemed to have seen the other, and they didn¡¯t show any intention of stopping as they moved toward the same spot.

    Zu An felt his scalp go numb from the strange music. He had seen a simr scene before in ¡®Mr. Vampire¡¯. He had already been covered in goosebumps back then, and yet today, he had actually personally experienced it. The stark contrast was simply exponentially greater than it had been that time!

    He quickly moved to the side of the road. He had always mocked movie characters for being stupid. Why did they always stand stupidly in the middle of the road, waitinguntil both sides met? As such, he sensibly chose to hide off to the side.

    However, he quickly discovered that he was still too naive. He felt his eyes blur, and saw that the two groups were actually both slowly moving straight toward him. He looked at his feet, and saw that he was once again in the center of the road.

    Huh? Zu An jumped to the side again, but his eyes blurred once more and he returned to the center of the road. What the hell?

    Zu An¡¯s expression turned grim. He kicked off with his toes and flew into a nearby tree. I¡¯m not even on the road anymore; let¡¯s see what you¡¯ll do now.

    However, his eyes quickly widened in disbelief, because he suddenly saw that the red and white processions had actually reappeared in midair. They were stepping on empty air as they marched toward him.

    Furthermore, after he had tried dodging back and forth, the two groups had already gotten closer. He could even smell the incense and candle burning of the funeral procession and the cosmetics of the bridal escort from where he was standing.

    The white-clothed individuals and red-clothed individuals seemed to be half-jumping, half-walking. Their figures gradually became blurry and indistinct.

    The hair-raising music continued as well. Zu An couldn''t help but hold his forehead, feeling a bit dizzy.

    Damn it, this dance is a confusion formation! Zu An suddenly realized, bing rmed. He summoned Hundredwarble at once. With a burst of shrill cries, the processions¡¯ instruments all exploded. The vexing music also disappeared without a trace.

    He felt relieved. The strange dance, the music, and even the incense and cosmetics had seemed harmless, so it had been difficult for him to be on guard against them. But added together, they would be a formidable bewitching formation. Once those trapped inside reacted, it would already be toote. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that he had poison immunity, which had made thest part of the meticulous trap fail, he probably would have already been caught.

    When the funeral procession and bridal escort saw that, they all charged toward him.

    Zu An sneered, and mes erupted from his hands. These were clearly Paper Bride¡¯s subordinates. Since they were paper, they would fear mes. As for the more precious primordial ki, he would save it for Paper Bride herself.

    Sure enough, as the me de in his hands grew, the white-clothed and red-clothed individuals lost their heads. They were quickly burned away without a trace.

    ¡°Paper Bride, why haven¡¯t you shown yourself yet?¡± Zu An called out. He had been on guard the entire time. However, Paper Bride still hadn¡¯t ambushed him. As such, his eyesnded on the sedan chair at the very center.

    However, no one came out from within. Zu An obviously wouldn¡¯t be so rash as to raise the curtains himself, though. Instead, he slowly raised his me de and brought it down on the pnquin.

    Suddenly, the coffin behind him moved, and the cover flew at him ferociously.

    Zu An turned his de around. However, the coffin lid was made of an unknown material; it was actually not cut in half, and instead flew backward.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The coffin flew over to join with its lid again. Then, the pitch-ck coffin opened up like arge mouth, as if it would swallow Zu An whole.

 Chapter 1082: Breaking Out

    <h4>Chapter 1082: Breaking Out</h4>

    Zu An snorted coldly and used primordial ki to send the coffin flying back.

    The coffin was sted to pieces with a loud noise, smoke and dust rushing in all directions. It could have been stone powder, or something like bone ashes.

    Zu An didn¡¯t know whether the thing was poisonous either¡­ Even though he was immune to most poisons, he wouldn¡¯t be so stupid as to stick his head in to give it a taste. He used the recoil force to back up some distance.

    However, the marriage sedan was waiting behind him and took the chance to pull him inside.

    Zu An stored up his power, intending to have a final showdown with Paper Bride. However, the marriage sedan waspletely empty. It was just him inside. Everything around him was red. Unsurprisingly, he couldn''t push the windows or curtains open.

    He already had experience dealing with such things, so he used his primordial ki and charged straight through the sedan¡¯s roof. However, he was stunned to discover that the sedan was nowhere to be seen, and the coffin was gone. Furthermore, the forest was also gone.

    He found himself in a peasant home; it was a small courtyard with a hedge around it, and it had a few simple and crude rooms. At the moment, however, the ce was decorated withnterns and colored banners. The words ¡®double happiness¡¯ were stered everywhere. There was clearly a marriage ceremony ongoing.

    There were more than ten dishes arranged on the table, with people of many different ages seated around it. Judging from their outfits, they looked like the neighboring residents of the vige.

    Zu An frowned. The people were probably more clones made from paper. Seeing that Paper Bride didn¡¯t n to attack him, he didn¡¯t feel like attacking them either, however. He instead looked around for the main viin instead.

    ¡°The auspicious time has arrived. Pleasee out, bride and groom!¡± the master of ceremonies in the main hall called out after clearing his throat.

    A burst of intense coughing followed. It sounded as if the person¡¯s heart were splitting and his lungs were cracking apart, as if he might cough them out at any time.

    Zu An followed the source of the noise and saw someone dressed like the groom walk over. No, he didn¡¯te over on his own, but was rather being supported by two other individuals. His entire body was weak; his legs moved feebly. If not for the fact that he had two people supporting him, he might have already fallen to the ground.

    That¡¯s the groom? Zu An frowned. The groom wore makeup and was dressed up, but even so, hisplexion was still pale like a sheet of paper, as if he didn¡¯t have much life force left at all.

    You¡¯re already about to die, and yet you¡¯re still getting married?

    The fellow vigers whispered among themselves.

    ¡°The Cai n¡¯s kid looks as if he¡¯s already about to kick the bucket. Why is he getting married now?¡±

    ¡°Haven¡¯t you heard? The Cai n purchased a child bride for their son precisely because of his illness. They originally nned to get married after a few years, but this son doesn¡¯t seem as if he can hold on for much longer anymore. That¡¯s why they¡¯re holding this marriage celebration now to see if it can save their son¡¯s life.¡±

    ¡°Sigh, the Dou n¡¯s girl really is unfortunate. She¡¯s pretty, and she¡¯s diligent in her work, but she had to marry this sickly guy. She might be a widow soon after she gets married.¡±

    ¡°Shush, you came for the food and drink, right? You¡¯ll get chased out if you say such unlucky things!¡±

    ¡°What are you so scared of? The Cai n¡¯s master has already died. The only man in that n is this sickly son; who¡¯s even going to do anything to me?¡±

    ¡­

    Suddenly, there was a cry of rm as the new bride emerged.

    ¡°Even though her face is covered, just her figure alone doesn¡¯t look bad at all.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve been away for a while, so you haven¡¯t seen her. She¡¯s definitely this entire region¡¯s flower!¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Sigh, what a pity¡­¡±

    ¡­

    Zu An¡¯s eyes couldn''t help but narrow when he saw the bride who had emerged wearing bright red wedding clothes. The clothes she wore were exactly the same as Paper Bride¡¯s. Unfortunately, her head was veiled, so he couldn''t see her face.

    Zu An was getting a bit impatient from waiting. He prepared to rush out and seize Paper Bride.

    But just when he was about to rush out, the vigers turned pale with fright and held him back, eximing, ¡°Young master, you can¡¯t! The bride¡¯s cover can only be undone by the groom, or else it¡¯ll bring much bad luck!¡±

    Zu An was speechless. Are you all blind? Why are you treating me like some young thug who wants to tease the new bride?

    He was just about to exin himself when a disturbance suddenly filled the main hall. The groom had vomited a mouthful of blood after an intense burst of coughing. Then, he had fallen to the ground.

    Because they had been about to carry out the ritual kneeling, the groom¡¯s helpers had temporarily let go of him. However, they hadn¡¯t expected something to happen in that brief period of time. The two quickly dropped down to support him, but their expressions turned deathly pale. They said with trembling voices, ¡°Brother Cai¡­ is already gone!¡±

    Madam Cai threw herself over to the body when she saw that and began to sob. ¡°My son¡­!¡±

    The entire ce was filled with noise. In the end, the wedding became a funeral. The red cloth and words of celebration were torn off, reced with white cloth and words of peace.

    Zu An realized something. No wonder he had ended up encountering both a bride escort and a funeral procession at the same time, and the two had run into each other. It seemed they had been referring to this moment.

    The bride also changed into new clothes,ing back out in mourning clothes. She didn¡¯t wear a red cover this time, so Zu An finally saw her appearance.

    Who else could it be but Paper Bride? However, she looked much younger. The hint of bashfulness between her brows would make it difficult for others to associate her with Paper Bride.

    Zu An eximed with a snort, ¡°Paper Bride, what the hell are you trying to do here? Did you think I wouldn¡¯t recognize you just because you changed your appearance a bit?¡±

    Zu An rushed forward to grab her, but the girl shrunk back in fear. He felt everything before his eyes blur, and the scene quickly changed.

    There were no more visitors in the courtyard. The funeral cloth strips were also gone. Instead, Zu An witnessed the lives of Paper Bride and Madam Cai, who had be mutually dependent on each other for survival. They would burn incense for the deceased son and husband every day.

    But for some reason, Zu An felt there was something strange about the ce. However, if one were to ask him how, he wouldn''t exactly be able to say.

    Zu An was just about to confront Paper Bride, but he ran into a father and son pair instead. The father and son resembled each other; they seemed to be surnamed Zhang. They were the local tyrants of the vige. The Cai n didn¡¯t have any men left, so they had set their eyes on the twodies.

    Madam Cai couldn''t withstand the pressure, so she ended up giving herself to Elder Zhang. However, Paper Bride was unyielding. She refused to submit to Young Master Zhang. She was quick-witted. Furthermore, seeing as Madam Cai had be Young Master Zhang¡¯s stepmother, she made use of that status to protect herself.

    But Young Master Zhang was furious, causing malice to grow within him. He sought out a poison. One day, when Madam Cai fell ill and wanted some sparerib soup, Paper Bride helped her make some. Along the way, young master Zhang poisoned the soup.

    His original n was to have Paper Bride poison Madam Cai to death, because with that, he would have all the leverage in the situation. Furthermore, without the protection of Madam Cai, Paper Bride alone wouldn¡¯t be able to prevent him from possessing her.

    However, never could he have imagined that he had poisoned the wrong soup, instead causing Elder Zhang¡¯s death. News quickly grew out of hand. For fear that the investigation would be traced back to him, Young Master Zhang framed Paper Bride as the one who had poisoned his father to death.

    Young Master Zhang bribed the county governor to torture Paper Bride into a confession. She was quickly escorted to the execution grounds.

    Paper Bride suffered incredible injustice, swearing her grievances to the heavens. Six months passed after her death, as she harbored three years of resentment¡­

    Zu An began to ponder to himself when he saw that scene. Why does this seem so simr to the ¡®Injustice to Dou E[1]¡¯? He even seemed to have heard someone call Paper Bride Lady Dou before. Don¡¯t tell me this Paper Bride is really Dou E?

    Suddenly, everything before his eyes blurred. Paper Bride, dressed in prisoner clothes and locked up in shackles, appeared in front of him. She stared at him with pitiful eyes and asked, ¡°Young master, do you think Young Master Zhang should have died or not?¡±

    ¡°Of course he¡­¡± Zu An began. Even though Paper Bride was his enemy, after seeing her backstory, anyone would feel sympathy. However, he stopped halfway and suddenly became vignt.

    He had felt as if something wasn¡¯t right for some time. Now, he finally realized why. In the n residence, and even in the main hallter on, he had never seen a mirror from start to finish! How could a normal family not have such a thing? No wonder he had always felt that something wasn¡¯t right.

    A terrifying suspicion appeared in his mind. He quickly took out King Qi¡¯s Mirror of Souls and held it in front of himself. At that moment, he looked exactly the same as Young Master Zhang!

    He immediately understood and replied to Paper Bride with a sneer, ¡°This was your n, wasn¡¯t it? You were going to show me your past, then use my feelings of pity to help you kill Young Master Zhang. And yet, those who entered this world would have no idea that they¡¯d already unknowingly be Young Master Zhang. If they said Young Master Zhang deserved death, that would satisfy certain principles of this world. Then, you would be able to kill them.¡±

    No wonder those fellow vigers had stopped him. They had known that Young Master Zhang coveted the bride¡¯s beauty, because he was the one who wanted to remove the wedding cover.

    The scene around him shattered when he said that, and he once again returned to the frozen cave.

    The gentle Lady Dou was nowhere to be seen; instead, the flirtatious and sinister Paper Bride was in front of him again. At the moment, there was blood trickling out from the corner of her mouth; she had clearly suffered from an intense rebound.

    ¡°It¡¯s been so many years, and yet you were the only one who was able to see through the illusion.¡± Paper Bride had a reluctant expression on her face as she stared rigidly at him. ¡°There have been countless experts with cultivation greater than mine, but in the end, they still fell inside that world. Just how did you see through it?¡±

    1. Dou E Yuan,monly tranted as The Injustice to Dou E, and also known as Snow in Midsummer, is a Chinese y written by Guan Hanqing (c. 1241¨C1320) during the Yuan dynasty. The full Chinese title of the y is Gan Tian Dong Di Dou E Yuan, which roughly trantes to The Injustice to Dou E that Touched Heaven and Earth. The story follows a child bride-turned-widow, Dou E, who is wrongly convicted of crimes by a corrupt court official for actions perpetrated by a rejected suitor, Zhang the mule. After her execution, three prophesied phenomena ur to prove her innocence, including blood raining from the sky, snow in June, and a three-year drought. After a visit from the ghost of Dou E, her father eventually brings the corrupt court official, a doctor, and Mule Zhang to justice, thereby vindicating his daughter. Today, the phrase "snowing in June" is still widely used among Chinese speakers as a metaphor for a miscarriage of justice. The story was repeatedly used and modified byter dramatists and remains one of Guan''s most popr works. ?

 Chapter 1083: Venom Child

    <h4>Chapter 1083: Venom Child</h4>

    Yu Yanluo was shocked and happy when she saw Zu An reappear. She quickly rushed forward to check his condition, asking, ¡°Are you okay?¡±

    Zu An smiled when he saw how concerned she was, replying, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m fine.¡±

    Jian Taiding was beyond jealous when he saw his sister-inw grabbing Zu An¡¯s hands and the two exchanging a knowing smile. That Paper Bride isplete trash!

    Paper Bride couldn''t take her eyes off of Zu An as she eximed, ¡°Answer me! How did you see through that situation?!¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°You probably use your target¡¯s most unjust memory to create an illusion. That way, they¡¯d feel even stronger emotions. But for me, that kind of mysterious feeling only became suspicious.

    ¡°It¡¯s because that story wasn¡¯t something I experienced, but rather my previous¡­ Ahem, a story I read in a book. I refuse to believe there could be such a coincidence in this world.¡±

    Even though he had seen many famous people from his previous world in this one, such as Qin Shihuang, Zhang Han, Mi Li, and the like, this Paper Bride carried too much of a ghost story-like air. She didn¡¯t seem like Dou E at all.

    Paper Bride had a bitter smile as she said, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that to be the reason for my failure. However, I have to admit that your will is firmer than most people¡¯s. Even though many who werepetent in ability and wisdom entered that ce, even if they were suspicious, they were still ensnared in the end.¡±

    Zu An wasn¡¯t in the mood to listen to her praise. He calmly asked, ¡°Do you still want to continue this battle?¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯ve already lost.¡± Paper Bride shook her head. She didn¡¯t wait for herpanions to say anything and limped toward the exit of the cave. Along the way, however, she seemed to have thought of something sad. She secretly wiped away tears from the corners of her lips.

    Zu An became suspicious. Were the things that had happened in that illusion really just fictional?

    Suddenly, the child in the corner began to cry, ¡°Mom, mom! Don¡¯t leave me behind!¡± He clumsily ran after Paper Bride, but he was still too young, still learning how to walk. He fell to the ground after just a few steps.

    He could only reach out toward Paper Bride with tears in his eyes. Unfortunately, Paper Bride¡¯s mood was grim, and she didn¡¯t seem to have heard anything. She didn¡¯t turn around at all.

    Yu Yanluo frowned. She gave Kong Qing and the others a look, but saw that they remained indifferent. They didn¡¯t seem as if they intended to do anything. She couldn''t help but sigh. These fiends really are callous.

    Her heart softened when she looked at the cute child, and she walked over to carry him. She said, ¡°Be good; don¡¯t cry anymore. How about I bring you to look for your mommy?¡±

    Now that the battle was over, with his status, Kong Qing likely wouldn¡¯t go back on his word. She was going to return the child to Paper Bride first. Surprisingly, however, her constion didn¡¯t seem to matter at all.

    Instead, the baby cried even harder. ¡°I¡¯m hungry, I want milk!¡± His eyes began to move toward Yu Yanluo¡¯s impressive chest, his little mouth also inching closer.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Even though Yu Yanluo was a married woman in name, she was actuallypletely pure. Deep down, she was more like a young girl. How could she stand something so embarrassing? She subconsciously pushed the child away and said in embarrassment, ¡°Auntie doesn¡¯t¡­ doesn¡¯t have any of that. I¡¯m going to bring you to find your mommy.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care! I don¡¯t care! I want to drink milk! Waaaah¡­¡± The child began to bawl even louder. He began to shake his rattle, as if only then could he calm down a bit.

    As Yu Yanluo listened to his bawling and rattling, she felt a wave of dizziness. Her eyes seemed to half-close, as if she had entered aplete dilemma.

    Zu An frowned. Which mother would forget about their own child? Even if they forgot for a moment, they would definitely snap out of their daze when they heard their child cry. But Paper Bride had never turned her head around the entire time. Furthermore, the Paper Bride in the illusion hadn¡¯t seemed to have a child either.

    Zu An felt that something wasn¡¯t right. He quickly rushed in Yu Yanluo¡¯s direction, eximing, ¡°Madam, be careful!¡±

    Once she heard his voice, Yu Yanluo became clear-headed again. She was a n leader, after all, and quickly realized that something wasn¡¯t right. She quickly pushed the child away.

    However, the child¡¯s hands gripped her wrist tightly like eagle ws. She couldn''t break free at all. The child¡¯s naive and innocent appearance faded. His expression became mature and sinister.

    He was about to go further when he saw Zu An approach rapidly. A hint of regret and annoyance appeared in his eyes. Out of helplessness, he could only avoid Zu An¡¯s attack. White smoke surged from his hand, and he quickly jumped back to safety.

    Zu An quickly got in front of Yu Yanluo to protect her, worrying about her safety. However, he didn¡¯t chase after the child and instead jumped back with Yu Yanluo. ¡°Madam, are you alright?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. I just inhaled a bit of that white powder, but not too much of it. It shouldn¡¯t be too big of a problem.¡± Yu Yanluo quickly examined herself with ki and saw that she wasn¡¯t poisoned. She then sighed in relief.

    Zu An looked at the distant child. The child¡¯s face was incredibly malicious; it was clearly that of a fiend who had lived for a long time, not an innocent child at all.

    Gu Long¡¯s words couldn''t be ignored after all. There were four types of people one must be careful of when roaming the world of warriors, children being precisely one of those types.[1]

    The child chuckled and remarked, ¡°Madam is a woman, so how can you not have milk? After taking in my drug, even a bull would produce milk, let alone a woman.¡±

    Yu Yanluo was stunned, eximing, ¡°This poison is ¡®Bull Cream¡¯?¡±

    The child was a bit startled. He replied, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect the madam to even know of the drug¡¯s name. Your knowledge really is impressive.¡±

    Yu Yanluo instead subconsciously gave Zu An a look, a blush fluttering across her face. She had learned about it from him when he used it to threaten her. She hadn¡¯t expected to encounter it again so soon. Zu An released a dry cough, clearly a bit embarrassed by her look.

    Jian Taiding¡¯s heartpletely hit rock bottom when he saw that. He had thought that his sister-inw was still pure, that she was only a little closer to this man than most.

    But now, it seemed as if the two of them already had a physical rtionship! They weren¡¯t even satisfied with a normal rtionship, instead using such a vicious drug to add to the excitement!

    Sister-inw, sister-inw¡­ I did not expect you to have this kind of hardcore preference¡­ You do not deserve to be the goddess I thought you to be all this time!

    She was a woman he couldn''t even touch a finger of, and yet Zu An had already ravaged his goddess like that, even using a drug like that. This is absolutely ridiculous, preposterous!

    You have sessfully trolled Jian Taiding for +745 +745 +745¡­

    Zu An gave him a confused look. What the hell is this guy going all crazy for?

    Yu Yanluo suddenly groaned. Her body trembled, and she clutched her forehead, as if she were about to fall down. Zu An quickly supported her back up and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Because Yu Yanluo feared the cold, her skin normally was ice-cold and extremely pale. And yet, at that moment, her skin instead flushed red she was burning up.

    Yu Yanluo shrank back from him as if she had just felt an electric shock, replying, ¡°I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m fine. Don¡¯t¡­ Don¡¯t touch me.¡±

    The childughed cruelly and remarked, ¡°How can someone afflicted by the ¡®Bull Cream¡¯ I, Venom Child, have created be fine? Don¡¯t you feel as if your entire body is heating up, that there¡¯s something stirring within you? Your entire body will soon be dripping with sweat, and you¡¯ll feel like a mountain torrent that¡¯s about to erupt. Eventually, even virgins would be able to produce milk! I said I wanted to drink the madam¡¯s milk, so I¡¯ll naturally get my way.¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s entire body was shaking as she eximed, ¡°Shameless!¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An suddenly looked at Kong Qing, saying. ¡°Sir Kong, thispetition has ended. Could it be that you all do not wish to honor this agreement?¡±

    Kong Qing was also cursing Venom Child¡¯s viciousness inwardly, but since it was rted to victory and defeat, he couldn''t just give up. He said with a smile, ¡°I told you two just now that if you could defeat my subordinates, you would win. At the time, I remember telling you they were all my subordinates. It was you two who ended up overlooking Venom Child, so how can you me me for not honoring my agreement?¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    Kong Qing smiled and added, ¡°How about this? If you admit your loss and agree to our cooperation, I will have Venom Child give Madam Yu the antidote. What do you think?¡±

    1. Gu Long is a Taiwanese wuxia novelist and screenwriter. ?

 Chapter 1084: Prescription

    <h4>Chapter 1084: Prescription</h4>

    Zu An¡¯s expression grew grim. Things really were tricky now. There was no way they were going to admit defeat, but he couldn''t just watch as Yu Yanluo fell victim to the drug. Ah¡­ what a headache.

    ¡°Don¡¯t do it!¡± Yu Yanluo quickly shouted. ¡°Don¡¯t concede!¡±

    Zu An was stunned. The others¡¯ eyes also darted between the two of them.

    Only then did Yu Yanluo realize that her words had double meanings. It sounded almost as if she didn¡¯t want the antidote. Her face flushed red as she quickly exined, ¡°Cooperating with them is not in our favor. We might receive some benefits in the short term, but the court will find out eventually. When that happens, the entire Yu n will be finished!¡±

    The Yu n¡¯s ki stone business already made them incredibly wealthy. There was no need for them to take such a risk at all.

    Kong Qing smiled and said, ¡°So that was what madam was worried about. You do not need to worry about that. Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s skies are high, and the emperor is far away. The second master from the Martial Affairs Manor here is also one of us. When the timees, even if the court interferes, they will not find out a thing. If the situation really is bad, we will just throw out a scapegoat or two. Madam will not be endangered at all.¡±

    Yu Yanluo didn¡¯t pay him any attention and instead looked at Zu An. She pursed her red lips, and her voice was trembling a little as she said, ¡°Hurry and bring me out of this ce.¡± She could already sense that her body was feeling strange. Waves of warmth were running wild through her, leaving her rattled and flustered.

    There were too many fiends present, and there was that freak Venom Child too. She obviously didn¡¯t want to remain in the cave after being poisoned, or else the consequences would be too horrible to contemte.

    ¡°Okay,¡± Zu An replied. He knew they couldn''t stay either. He went over to support Yu Yanluo, and her entire body trembled when she felt his physical contact.

    Suddenly, Venom Child leaped in front of them and asked with a cruelugh, ¡°Why are you in such a rush? We haven¡¯t even finished ourpetition yet.¡± He gave Yu Yanluo¡¯s breasts a greedy look, as if he really wanted to drink from them.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s entire body broke out into goosebumps. She immediately hid behind Zu An, as if only then could she feel a bit better.

    ¡°Get lost!¡± Zu An eximed grimly.

    ¡°Oh my, I¡¯m so scared.¡± Venom Child jumped backward, shaking his rattle as he patted his chest with a startled look on his face.

    Kong Qing coughed and said, ¡°Brother Zu, please do not fret. However, since thepetition has not ended yet, it will be hard for me to exin things to the others back home if we let you go just like this.¡±

    Zu An frowned. He gave Venom Child a look and asked, ¡°Then all I need to do is to defeat that guy?¡±

    Kong Qing nodded and replied, ¡°Indeed.¡±

    Yu Yanluo had already lost her fighting strength after being afflicted by the poison. Zu An had fought multiple great battles in session, so he was quite exhausted as well. Meanwhile, Venom Child was also a well-known cultivator of the evil dao, and his cultivation was high. He also excelled in poison, something that inspired fear in many experts.

    ¡°Fine. A fight it is,¡± Zu An said. He turned around to console Yu Yanluo afterward, saying, ¡°Madam, please feel at ease. I¡¯ll deal with this situation quickly.¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Venom Childughed and remarked, ¡°Oh? Kid, you seem to be quite confident.¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t pay him any attention. He helped Yu Yanluo sit down first, propping her back up against the frozen wall. He wanted to make use of the cold to at least slightly suppress the drug¡¯s effects.

    However, Yu Yanluo¡¯s entire body trembled when she made contact with the frozen wall. She immediately nudged forward a bit. Her fear of the cold made it so that even in that state, she wasn¡¯t willing to touch the ice.

    When Zu An saw that, he stared at Venom Child and yelled, ¡°You¡¯re courting death!¡± As soon as he finished speaking, he instantly appeared next to Venom Child.

    Venom Child was rmed. Even though he had already been on guard because he had seen Zu An fight before, he was still startled when he experienced it himself. His rattle moved, then flew at Zu An while shaking.

    Jian Taiding nodded, thinking, This brat at least has some skills. His control over that rattle is almost at the level of a master rank¡¯s flying sword.

    Furthermore, he keenly sensed that as the two small spheres inside the rattle collided, waves of sound scattered, delivering a mental attack that would make opponents react sluggishly. Even he was getting a bit dizzy from listening to it, and he was already at the master rank. Although he was seriously injured, his soul had already fully formed, and yet he was still affected so badly; it was easy to imagine just how great the pressure Zu An faced was.

    But he was also a bit hesitant. Zu An had somehow managed to survive all of the other opponents one after another. If Zu An really does lose to that Venom Brat, now that my sister-inw had been affected by that vicious poison, will Venom Brat really go over and suck on her breasts?

    Jian Taiding¡¯s face darkened when he imagined that perverted midget crawling all over Yu Yanluo¡¯s body. Compared to that guy, it would still be easier for Jian Taiding to ept Zu An in such a situation.

    Pah pah pah! How can I have these kinds of thoughts? Once Venom Child wins, I will discuss things with Kong Qing to see if he can leave Yu Yanluo to me.

    They had worked together for so long after all, and Kong Qing still had to rely on him for their business in Cloudcenter Commandery. He had to at least give him that much of a favor.

    Sister-inw always rejected me before. But this time, she cannot reject me anymore, right? He couldn''t help but swallow when he thought of that wonderful situation.

    However, his smile quickly froze. A draconic cry rang out as Zu An seemed to draw a sword from the void, and a vicious glint shed. The rattle shattered on the spot.

    Shatter¡­ Shattered? Jian Taiding thought, stunned.

    After all, that rattle was definitely a magic weapon. Furthermore, something that could serve as Venom Child¡¯s weapon would definitely at least be earth-grade, maybe even heaven-grade, right? How had it been destroyed so quickly?

    His eyesnded on Zu An¡¯s longsword. Wasn¡¯t that the sword I was wounded byst time too? No wonder that wound was so hard to recover from. Is that sword an immortal-grade weapon?

    Zu An didn¡¯t notice the lustful glint in Jian Taiding¡¯s gaze. There was only one thing in his mind at the moment, which was to get rid of the filthy bastard Venom Child.

    When he saw his weapon shattering instantly, Venom Child was horrified. He quickly scattered a dark blue powder.

    Zu An harrumphed. A wave of powerful ki spread out, instantly sending the powder flying back.

    Venom Child hadn¡¯t expected Zu An¡¯s ki to be that much stronger than his own. He didn¡¯t dare to face the drug head-on himself, so he quickly dropped to the ground and rolled to evade it.

    However, Zu An changed techniques extremely quickly. He didn¡¯t stubbornly persist with sword techniques and instead sent a palm at Venom Child¡¯s head.

    Venom Child was starting to be angry. He was infamous in the outside world; when had he ever been put in such a miserable state before? This time, he didn¡¯t dodge or evade, instead raising his hands to meet Zu An¡¯s palm. A burst of pitch-ck energy surged from his palm, clearly containing strong poison. Hmph! You can disperse my poison powder with ki, but what about my Viper Palm?

    To his surprise, Zu An didn¡¯t avoid the blow at all, instead facing him head-on. Venom Child was delighted, thinking, Doesn¡¯t this mean you¡¯ll be poisoned?

    When their palms met, however, his smile instantly froze. He could feel that his poison hadn¡¯t done a thing to Zu An. Instead, there was a mountainous pressure weighing down on his head.

    How could his stubby arms and legs hold on? His knees immediately buckled, followed by the sound of two cracks. Spiderweb-like cracks extended out from the ice beneath his feet. He screamed miserably. His knees felt limp; they had clearly been shattered.

    Kong Qing was shocked and quickly rushed forward, eximing, ¡°Please be lenient!¡±

    But Zu An remained indifferent. He demanded, ¡°The antidote!¡±

    Venom Child was shocked and furious, eximing, ¡°Why weren¡¯t you poisoned?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Venom Child for +467 +467 +467¡­

    Whether it was his poisonous palm, or even at that moment when he was silently releasing all kinds of poisons, Zu An seemedpletely unfazed!

    Zu An didn¡¯t reply to him. His hand pressed down with even greater strength as he said, ¡°I¡¯m the one asking the questions right now.¡±

    Crack.

    Venom Child became a few inches shorter again. Many of his leg bones snapped.

    Yu Yanluo had rarely seen Zu An act so domineering. She knew he was probably acting that way to help her vent out her frustration. Her expression couldn''t help but be somewhat gentler when she looked at him.

    Venom Child said through clenched teeth, ¡°Let me go first and I¡¯ll give you the antidote.¡±

    Zu An replied coldly, ¡°Are you still haggling with me?¡± His Tai¡¯e Sword was already moving toward Venom Child¡¯s head; he was clearly wondering whether he should cut off the midget¡¯s ears or nose first.

    Venom Child was a well-known viin. Even though he was scared, he still said, ¡°If I give you the antidote first, you might just kill me afterward to curry favor with that woman. Since I¡¯m going to die anyway, we might as well all die together! Having the world¡¯s number one beauty go down with me doesn¡¯t sound too bad at all.¡±

    Zu An frowned and replied, ¡°Are you threatening me?¡±

    He was just about to attack when Kong Qing quickly said, ¡°Brother Zu, please wait a moment. We have already lost thispetition. Let him go; I will vouch that he will definitely give you the antidote.¡±

    Jian Taiding was rmed. He protested, ¡°Sir Kong, how can you give up that easily? Sister-inw is poisoned right now, so no one can help him! As long as you interfere, there is no chance for him to use the imperial edict at all!¡±

    Kong Qing said indifferently, ¡°I have always kept my promises. Since I have lost, I must face the consequences. How can I go back on my word?¡±

    He didn¡¯t pay Jian Taiding any more attention after saying that and instead looked at Zu An. ¡°Brother Zu, honestly, I might not have done things the same way if it were anyone else, but you are the n lord¡¯s good friend. That is why I am treating you with such courtesy. Please do not force me to do something I do not want to do.¡±

    Just then, Yu Yanluo spoke up in a trembling voice, ¡°Just let him go for now.¡±

    Seeing that she had agreed, Zu An pushed casually with his hand, throwing Venom Child over. Kong Qing¡¯s sleeves swept out, receiving Venom Child with a gentle force.

    Zu An said seriously, ¡°I¡¯ve let him go. Now where is the antidote?¡±

    Kong Qing gave Venom Child a look. He said with a sneer, ¡°The antidote is quite simple. Swelling and thirst, two dried orange peels. Through them, one long dragon bone to cure all fever and difort.¡±

 Chapter 1085: Unexpected

    <h4>Chapter 1085: Unexpected</h4>

    Those in the cave were all well-versed in various fields. They quickly reacted after their initial shock. Yu Yanluo¡¯s cheeks burned up and she harrumphed.

    Zu An¡¯s expression grew grim. He stared at Venom Child and eximed, ¡°Are you messing with me?¡±

    Venom Child took out some medicine to apply to his legs while replying, ¡°Hmph, we¡¯re all men here; what¡¯s so hard to understand? What the hell is the purpose of using Bull¡¯s Cream? To make girls horny and want to reproduce, duh. You clearly could¡¯ve used yourself to help her. Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯d make an antidote to miss out on the chance to be with a beauty?¡±

    Zu An was speechless. Even though Venom Child¡¯s argument waspletely preposterous, he couldn''t even object to that.

    A meaningful smile appeared on Venom Child¡¯s face. He said, ¡°You can drop the act already. That¡¯s the world¡¯s number one beauty; which man in this world wouldn¡¯t be tempted? I even gave you such a great chance, so you should be thanking me instead. By the way, be sure to tell me what the milk of the world¡¯s number one beauty tastes like.¡±

    Venom Child felt a bit annoyed when he thought of that. He had ended up doing all that work only to help another man reap the benefits. Not only had he not gotten any benefits for doing that, he had even gotten beaten up; furthermore, he had even gotten his knees shattered!

    The expressions of those present turned strange. This fellow already brought up sucking on breasts several times earlier. Does he have some kind of obsession with them? But when they saw his childlike body, that seemed understandable too.

    Kong Qing frowned. Is this guy courting death? Maybe it is my fault for not exining things clearly enough. Does he not know the rtionship between the n lord and this man?

    Sigh, he is trying to set up the one the n lord favors with another woman! I wonder just how angry the n lord will be in the future.

    But with how things were, there was nothing he could do. He could only take things one step at a time.

    Jian Taiding was shocked and furious. He eximed, ¡°You bastard, how can you make a poison without making an antidote?! You are clearly wishing for the entire world to be in chaos!¡±

    He was the one who didn¡¯t want to see that scene the most. Even though he thought his sister-inw had already slept in the same bed as that man a couple of times, how could he let them do it again right in front of him?

    Venom Child became unhappy. When he heard that, he sneered, ¡°I¡¯d advise you to mind your own business. Do a talented man and beautiful woman need your opinions? You¡¯re probably the one who wants to cure this beauty yourself, right? But look at how pathetic you seem right now, as if you could cure anything.¡±

    Jian Taiding almost vomited blood on the spot. He eximed, ¡°Non¡­ Nonsense!¡± Indeed, he obviously wanted to be the one to ¡®cure¡¯ his sister-inw. But there was no way he would have a chance in the current situation.

    Venom Child wanted to vent out some more of his frustrations on Jian Taiding, but Zu An couldn''t take it anymore. He snapped, ¡°Shut up. I¡¯m not as despicable as you¡¯re making me out to be. A woman I want naturally needs to be willing as well. Why would I use something so filthy?¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes, yes, you¡¯re noble and virtuous, you¡¯re an incredible person. I already told you how to get rid of the poison, so it¡¯s up to you now. Don¡¯t me me for not telling you. She¡¯s already been poisoned quite badly. If you can¡¯t get rid of the effects soon, she¡¯ll just burn up to death,¡± Venom Child spat resentfully. He had worked hard all this time; and yet, forget about having a taste of the meat, he wouldn¡¯t even get to drink a sip of the soup. He was even being portrayed as a viin! We¡¯re all men here; the hell are you still keeping up that act for?!

    Afterward, he supported himself with his arms, then hopped out toward the cave entrance like a ball. He clearly didn¡¯t want to stay in such a depressing ce for even a moment longer.

    Kong Qing also coughed and said, ¡°Since thepetition is over, we will also bid our goodbyes.¡±

    Kong Qing was about to leave when Jian Taiding began to panic. He eximed, ¡°Sir Kong, how can you just leave? What about our cooperation in the future?¡±

    ¡°Second Master Jian, the fiend races only work with the strong. We do not work with the defeated,¡± Kong Qing said coldly before leaving with his subordinates.

    Even though the business in Cloudcenter Commandery would be a bit troublesome without Jian Taiding watching over it, it wouldn¡¯t be too hard to find a recement. Furthermore, he had established good rtions with an imperial envoy like Zu An. With his rtionship with the n lord, I refuse to believe that he really will not do a thing for uster.

    The group left one after another. The previously lively frozen cave now seemed a bit cold and lonely.

    Just then, a moan rang out in a charming and sweet voice that was enough to make any man¡¯s heartbeat elerate and their blood race.

    Jian Taiding tried to move over to Yu Yanluo, but he was unfortunately injured. Together with the side effects of the ferocious drug he had taken, he fell back down as soon as he got up. He hit the ice-cold floor.

    He wanted to cry, and yet there were no tears. Even if Yu Yanluo wanted him to help her get rid of the poisonous effects, he would still be powerless to do so.

    Zu An didn¡¯t pay him any attention and quickly moved over to Yu Yanluo¡¯s side, asking, ¡°Madam, are you alright?¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s entire body trembled. She shrank backward, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t¡­ Don¡¯t touch me.¡± Her beautiful hair was already all over the ce, covering her stunning features. However, her face being half-covered somehow made her look even more enticing.

    ¡°Alright, I won¡¯t touch you,¡± Zu An said as he quickly took a step back. He raised his hands to express that he didn¡¯t have any intention of offending her.

    As if realizing that her tone had been a bit too stiff, Yu Yanluo¡¯s voice became a bit gentler as she asked, ¡°Bring me back to Yu Manor.¡± Even though she tried to control herself, her trembling voice still revealed just how ufortable she felt.

    Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°The poison has seeped in too deeply. You won¡¯t make it in time if we go back now.¡± Venom Child¡¯s warning was still fresh in his mind.

    Yu Yanluo vigntly brought her arms up to her chest. She asked, ¡°What are you thinking of doing?¡±

    Jian Taiding was in iparable pain. It seemed that what was inevitable was going to happen after all. Maybe it¡¯s better for me to just die instead. But I¡¯ll still wait for a bit longer. Maybe I can at least get a glimpse of sister-inw¡¯s body before I die.

    This was something he had dreamed about day and night, but he had never expected it to be in such a situation, that it would be while another man possessed her.

    Zu An knew that Yu Yanluo had misunderstood from her strong reaction. After thinking for a bit, he took out a pill and said, ¡°Eat this for now.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Yu Yanluo asked somewhat hesitantly.

    In her opinion, now that she had already been affected by such a drug, there was no reason for him to want to drug her further. Even so, she had been surrounded by flocks of wolves over the years. Her reserved nature made her still have some precautions against such a mysterious pill. Furthermore, this guy was definitely no angel. He had so many strange drugs on him.

    ¡°This is a Heart Calming Pill, something Ji Xiaoxi gave me. It can help one calm down, and it can neutralize this kind of drug to a certain degree,¡± Zu An exined.

    Yu Yanluo sighed in relief when she recalled Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s pure and innocent face. She didn¡¯t feel any more doubt and took the pill.

    Jian Taiding was disappointed, and yet also grateful. He felt extremely conflicted at that moment.

    ¡°How do you feel?¡± Zu An asked while looking at Yu Yanluo worriedly.

    ¡°It seems to be of some help. There is a wave of ice-cold energy dispersing the heat inside me,¡± Yu Yanluo said, beginning to use her ki to neutralize the poison¡¯s effects.

    Zu An sighed in relief, replying, ¡°That¡¯s good then; that¡¯s good.¡±

    Perhaps it was because things were taking a turn for the better that Yu Yanluo¡¯s mood improved. She blinked mischievously and replied, ¡°Why do I sense a bit of disappointment in your voice?¡±

    Zu An replied honestly, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be a man if I weren¡¯t disappointed. But I am really curious. If I hadn¡¯t just happened to have this pill, madam¡­ What would you have done?¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s face turned red. She harrumphed and said, ¡°I would return to the Yu n of course. Even if I died along the way, so be it. What¡­ Was I supposed to have you save me?¡±

    Zu An sighed and responded, ¡°In order to save madam, at that point, I fear I wouldn¡¯t be able to worry about whether the madam was willing or not anymore.¡±

    ¡°Pah, scoundrel.¡± Yu Yanluo looked away. She felt her heart pounding crazily. For some reason, she only felt that he was being more honest when he said that. It wasn¡¯t like the pretentious hypocrites who had all been itching to rip her clothes to shreds, and yet insisted on pretending to be upright and noble, not perverted at all.

    ¡°Look at the two of you flirting with each other. Did you forget that there was still someone else here?¡± Jian Taiding snapped.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    When he had initially heard what they said, he had nearly gone wild with joy. After all, judging from their conversation, it sounded as if they hadn¡¯t taken that step yet. However, he quickly sensed the changes in Yu Yanluo¡¯s attitude. Now, it seemed that even if they hadn¡¯t done it before, it wouldn¡¯t be too far off with how things were progressing. At the same time, he was a bit regretful. That meant he would never have the chance to see his sister-inw¡¯s body.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression turned cold. She eximed, ¡°You still have the nerve to say that? Isn¡¯t all of this because of you? I¡­¡± She was about to say something more, but suddenly, she was stunned. An unnatural blush appeared on her face.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Zu An quickly asked.

    ¡°Your medicine¡­ seems to have stopped working,¡± Yu Yanluo replied, half-sobbing.

 Chapter 1086: Detoxification

    <h4>Chapter 1086: Detoxification</h4>

    ¡°It stopped working? How can that be?¡± Zu An asked with a frown. After all, Qin Wanru had also suffered from a simr drug, and it was precisely the Heart Calming Pill she had used to cure herself.

    The drug wasn¡¯t a poison; it only greatly magnified the desires buried within one¡¯s heart. The Heart Calming Pill, which dispelled evil thoughts, was a perfect countermeasure.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I feel¡­ as if that drug is starting to retaliate, and it¡¯s even stronger than before. Mmm¡­¡± Yu Yanluo suddenly couldn''t control herself anymore and moaned.

    Her voice was extremely sweet, and yet also charming and seductive. It carried a hint of suggestiveness and desire that would make any gentleman fall off their high horse, and drag any monk back into the secr world.

    Jian Taiding stiffened. He was about to cry. What the hell is going on? Why do the heavens keep toying with my heart today?

    He had originally already epted his fate of having to watch his sister-inw be ravaged by another man, and yet to his surprise, an antidote had suddenly appeared. As soon as he sighed in relief, however,, it turned out his sister-inw still needed help with getting rid of the poison. He felt as if he were experiencing a mental rollercoaster.

    Zu An walked over and grabbed Yu Yanluo¡¯s wrist, infusing his ki to examine her body. Yu Yanluo¡¯s body trembled when they made physical contact. Tears seemed about toe out from her misty eyes. This time, she didn¡¯t immediately pull her arm back like before.

    Zu An was rmed. He quickly shifted his gaze, not daring to look at her, or else he might not be able to hold himself back. He examined her condition through ki, discovering that her ki was surging chaotically. Inside her was a wave of restless heat, squirming randomly in every direction.

    Zu An was a bit rmed. He spected, ¡°This Venom Child is the creator of Bull Cream. The version he made is a bit different from the drug circling around. His drug is much more vicious, so the Heart Calming Pill alone isn¡¯t enough.¡±

    Yu Yanluo groaned, unable to help but lean closer to him. She asked, ¡°Then what do you think we should do now?¡±

    When Zu An had touched Yu Yanluo before, her body was always ice-cold. But now, it was burning hot.

    Zu An was about to reply when Yu Yanluo tugged on her cor, saying, ¡°I¡¯m so hot right now; it¡¯s so ufortable. Hurry and think of something.¡±

    Then, her arms couldn''t help but wrap around his. Herrge misty eyes stared into his; her breath was sweet like orchids. ¡°What do you think I should do, what do you think I should do¡­¡±

    Her sweet voice seemed to possess a kind of mysterious charm, and a fatal suggestion. Her entire body was soft, as if she didn¡¯t have a single bone in her body. Most of her body was leaning into Zu An¡¯s arms.

    Zu An wasn¡¯t like the Imperial Pce¡¯s Eunuch Lu; how could he not react at all? He instinctively held her tightly.

    A flustered and exasperated voice eximed just then. ¡°You adulterers! Are you really going to do this right here? In front of my older brother too? Sister-inw, aren¡¯t you letting my older brother down? Aren¡¯t you letting me down?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Jian Taiding for +999 +999 +999¡­

    Yu Yanluo finally recovered a shred of rity. She cried out and quickly pushed Zu An away, then quickly sorted out her clothing. She was frightened, embarrassed, and experiencing many other emotions at the same time.

    Zu An couldn''t help butugh out of annoyance. He replied, ¡°Mister Jian, I can understand what you said about your older brother, but who do you think you are? Why the hell would we be letting you down?¡±

    Jian Taiding roared furiously, ¡°Bastard Zu, if you never freaking appeared, sister-inw would have been mine! My sister-inw and I are an ideal couple; we already had very good impressions of each other¡­¡±

    Zu An rolled his eyes. This guy really waspletely crazy. His confidence was already at an illogical level.

    Yu Yanluo stood up. Her head was lowered, and her aura was all over the ce as she said, ¡°I¡¯m leaving first.¡±

    She didn¡¯t wait for Zu An to reply and was about to leave. Fortunately, Zu An acted quickly and grabbed her.

    Worry and disappointment filled Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression as she asked, ¡°Are you really going to use this chance to bully me?¡±

    Zu An sighed, saying, ¡°The poison has already seeped in too deeply; you won¡¯t make it back in time. Where would you even go? What if you encounter some other men like Venom Child along the way? What will you do then?¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression changed when she thought of that. Compared to that despicable midget, it was a bit easier to ept Zu An¡­ Aaah! What am I thinking about right now?!n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An asked, ¡°Madam, do you trust me?¡±

    Yu Yanluo bit her lip. In the end, however, she still nodded. Zu An walked over and picked her up by the crook of her legs. Yu Yanluo was shocked, but in the end, she sighed. She acknowledged her fate and closed her eyes.

    She wasn¡¯t a youngdy anymore. As a n leader, she obviously wouldn¡¯t give up her life over preserving her purity. Compared to someone else, Zu An was still rather outstanding in various aspects. It wasn¡¯t that hard for her to ept him.

    But there was no way she wouldn¡¯t have any ill feelings toward doing it where they were. After the matter, the two of them would beplete strangers. She would never meet with him again.

    Jian Taiding was about to explode when he saw Zu An carry his sister-inw that way. He eximed, ¡°Bastard Zu, what are you trying to do?!¡± In the end, this bastard was still going to go after his goddess!

    Zu An really was annoyed badly by Jian Taiding, but he didn¡¯t have the time to deal with him right now. Instead, he deliberately incited him and gave him a sinister smile, eximing, ¡°What do you think?¡±

    Jian Taiding was speechless. He obviously knew what Zu An was trying to do. He had originally still had some delusions, but now, he was alreadypletely exposed.

    You have sessfully trolled Jian Taiding for +1024 +1024 +1024¡­

    Yu Yanluo, still leaning against Zu An¡¯s arms, was incredibly embarrassed. This guy really is a rascal¡­ She wanted to bite him, but she was also worried that might instead make him misunderstand something.

    While she was conflicted, she discovered that Zu An had instead brought her over to the cold pool.

    Does he want to do it in there?! Yu Yanluo thought, stunned. But she thought to herself, That¡¯s not too bad either; at least it won¡¯t be in front of Yanyou. Even though the two of them were only husband and wife in name, he was still her husband, after all. She couldn''t help but feel strange doing such a thing with another man in front of him.

    As for Jian Taiding, she felt an even stronger rejection toward letting him see her body. Doing it in the water was indeed not a bad method.

    But how are we going to breathe? Our cultivation ranks aren¡¯t low, but inside the water¡­

    What if we forget to hold our breaths at the peak of it, and choke on water?!

    All kinds of random thoughts filled her head. Yu Yanluo felt as if she were about to faint.

    Forget it; I¡¯m not going to think about it anymore. I¡¯ll just leave it up to him¡­

    Suddenly, Zu An jumped straight into the water with her in his arms.

    Uncle Ming¡¯s entire body had frozen over when he jumped out from inside earlier. It was easy to see just how cold it was. Yu Yanluo naturally feared the cold, so she subconsciously leaned closer to Zu An. At the same time, she held her breath, waiting for the frozen water to surround her mouth and nose.

    Even after a while, however, she didn¡¯t feel the cold pool¡¯s water touch her. She couldn''t help but open her eyes. Her beautiful eyes immediately widened. She saw that they seemed to be in a transparent bubble that pushed all of the water away.

    The dark blue waters undted, giving off a strange and beautiful sensation. She could vaguely make out a few silvery white fish swimming around. They seemed to be drawn to the bubble the two of them were in, continuously swimming around it. From time to time, they even moved over to nibble at the bubble.

    Yu Yanluo was rmed. At that moment, she had actually forgotten about her poison. She reached out her hand out of curiosity to gently touch the bubble. It was soft, and yet also extremely stic.

    The small fish were rmed and quickly swam into the water depths. However, when they saw that Yu Yanluo wasn¡¯t chasing after them, they stopped out of curiosity, once again swimming around the bubble.

    ¡°How are you doing this?¡± Yu Yanluo asked as she raised her head to look at the man beside her. Her beautiful eyes shone brilliantly.

    Zu An was a bit stunned. Looks like women don¡¯t have much resistance against these kinds of scenes after all. Bi Linglong was also extremely excitedst time.

    Sigh, the entertainment in this world really iscking. Even people at the top of this world like her are so amazed.

    In his previous world, evenmon people could go to an ocean museum to see what the seabed looked like.

    When he sensed the heating from the body of the beauty in his arms, Zu An said urgently, ¡°Madam, now isn¡¯t the time to be worrying about this.¡±

    Only then did Yu Yanluo realize what kind of situation they were in. She blushed and didn¡¯t dare to look at him again, instead turning away. Her beautiful eyshes were trembling as she said, ¡°You can begin.¡±

    Zu An nodded and said, ¡°I might have to remove madam¡¯s clothing first.¡±

    Yu Yanluo was ashamed and embarrassed. Why do you still have to ask about that? How can I reply to something like this? She could only vaguely mumble her agreement.

    Only when Zu An saw her reaction did he help her undo her clothes. Yu Yanluo sighed inwardly when she sensed his care. However, she knew that in this kind of situation, there was no way she would ept another man.

    In this instant, Zu An finally understood what the saying ¡®skin fine like jade¡¯ meant. The beauty before him was aplete work of art.

    Because she had been poisoned, there was a hint of a red blush coloring Yu Yanluo¡¯s normally icy cold skin. Not only did it not tarnish her beauty, it instead seemed to bring the previously unreachable goddess down into the world of mortals, giving her some worldly charm.

    Yu Yanluo waited for that moment to arrive. However, nothing happened even after she closed her eyes for a long time. Instead, her body cooled down, and it felt as if she were soaking in water.

    She couldn''t help but open her eyes out of curiosity. She discovered that the bubble was now half-filled with water, and she was lying in it. Her neck and legs were being supported, which was why she wasn¡¯t sinking. At the same time, she noticed that even though most of her skin was exposed, her most personal pieces of clothing remained.

    The piercing cold water made her entire body tremble. She looked at Zu An in confusion and asked, ¡°There¡¯s¡­ water leaking in?¡±

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I brought that water in on purpose.¡±

    The bubble still had arger half that wasn¡¯t filled with water, which was why there was no need to worry about them running out of oxygen.

    It was as if Yu Yanluo were in a bathtub, but it wasn¡¯t asfortable as a warm bath. She had a strange expression as she thought, Does this guy really want to do it in water? However, when she saw the clear expression in his eyes, she knew she was the one who had been overthinking things.

    Zu An said seriously ¡°Madam, your poison is extremely serious right now. I n to use the cold water together with the help of the Heart Calming Pill to deal with it. I¡¯ll also infuse my special ki to help you dissolve the poison. This process might be a bit ufortable, so I hope madam can endure it.¡±

    Yu Yanluo felt momentarily absent-minded. She stared at him as if she were meeting him for the first time again.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, outside of the cold pond, Jian Taiding was furious and panicking. Unfortunately, his acupoints had been sealed by Zu An, so he couldn''t do a thing. He felt as if his heart were being cut out as he imagined the goddess sister-inw he had admired for so long being devastated by another man.

    He couldn''t help but feel a bit of sympathy when he saw the corpse of his older brother next to him. He began to bawl, ¡°Big brother, if your spirit still lives on, take a look at sister-inw! She is actually doing that type of thing right in front of you!

    ¡°Also, that Zu An impersonated you and returned to the Duke Manor; the entire ce is in chaos! My little sisters-inw Liu Ji, Chu Ji, and Zhang Ji have all been ruined by him!

    ¡°Those little sisters-inw are radiant with happiness. That Zhang Ji especially struggles to even close her legs properly when she is walking! But they arepletely in the dark; they all think that the one they are serving is you! They are doing their utmost to fawn over him day after day¡­

    ¡°You have not even been able to touch sister-inw, but she might have already been trampled and ravaged by that brute today¡­¡±

 Chapter 1087: Return of the Dead?

    <h4>Chapter 1087: Return of the Dead?</h4>

    Jian Taiding didn¡¯t know why he was howling that way to begin with. His older brother was clearly already dead. But he felt incredibly awful being in the cave all by himself. He had no other ways to vent out his frustrations, and his older brother¡¯s remains were the only thing left in the room.

    When he saw his older brother¡¯s appearance and recalled how well Jian Yanyou had treated him in the past, he couldn''t help but feel sad. Everything he had done was for the sake of his sister-inw, but his sister-inw was currently being ravaged under the body of another man. What meaning was there left in everything he had done?

    It would have been a bit easier for him to ept it if Yu Yanluo had at least shown the tiniest bit of unwillingness. He would just hate Zu An alone. But Yu Yanluo had looked as if she really wanted it! Her ¡®do what you want¡¯ attitude made his heartpletely break down.

    She clearly wanted it!

    However much love he¡¯d had for Yu Yanluo before, that was how much hatred he had now. That was why what he said about her was also warped and smeared.

    Of course, for him, those words weren¡¯t distorted at all. Rather, from his perspective, that was exactly how he felt. He was only instinctively choosing a target to vent out his frustrations to. His expression was absent-minded as he babbled nonsense.

    He didn¡¯t notice that the ice around Jian Yanyou seemed to have fine cracks around it.

    Meanwhile, in the cold pool, Yu Yanluo cried out in rm. She subconsciously covered her chest, her entire face turningpletely red.

    Zu An was speechless, saying, ¡°Madam was actingposed a moment ago. Why are you suddenly getting embarrassed?¡±

    Yu Yanluo thought to herself, Is that the same thing? She had already acknowledged her fate earlier, bing willing to let Zu An get rid of her poison. After the matter, neither one of them would talk to each other again, so it wouldn¡¯t matter anymore.

    But now that Zu An was using such a method to cure her, she was extremely moved, and at the same time knew there was no way she could break all ties with him over such a thing. That was why she couldn''t help but feel embarrassed.

    ¡°Be good; spread out your arms.¡± Zu An just treated it as her mind bing a bit befuddled from the poison, so he consoled her.

    Yu Yanluo was speechless. I am not a little girl who wants a lollipop to suck on; do you need to talk to me like that? But even though she thought that inwardly, she still instinctively listened to Zu An and loosened her arms.

    Ah¡­ This is so embarrassing! It almost felt as if she were nowpletely exposing her body to him. Even though she had socialized with the most outstanding individuals in this world, making her a knowledgeable and experienced person with a powerful will, at that point, she was still extremely embarrassed.

    Zu An didn¡¯t dare to have any dys either. He was worried that he really might not be able to hold himself back if he stared at her any longer. As such, his fingers moved at lightning speed, quickly striking several of her acupoints.

    At the fourthyer, the Primordial Origin Sutra could be used to heal others. Even though Yu Yanluo wasn¡¯t injured, her current problem was rted to an injury of sorts.

    All of that was because Venom Child¡¯s personally concocted ¡®Bull Cream¡¯ was too vicious, making even the ¡®Heart Calming Pill¡¯ ineffective. Zu An was using the cold pool to suppress the unstable heat within her, then infusing his own primordial ki into her body. His primordial ki guided the Heart Calming Pill¡¯s medicinal effects, concentrating the unstable heat within her into one spot. Then, he used the primordial ki¡¯s treatment effects topletely expel the unstable heat out of her body.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s entire body was burning up and ufortable from Bull Cream, and the pool was too cold as well. The sensation of ice and fire simultaneously was utterly horrible. As Zu An¡¯s fingers tapped her body and strands of warm ki entered her, she felt as if she had finally gotten a sip of water while parched. She couldn''t help but moan in pleasure.

    Zu An was speechless. He trembled when he heard the sweet and charming sound, and his ki almost went to the wrong ce instead.

    ¡°Heart as clear as eyes, calm even if the heavens fall¡­¡± He immediately focused his mind with a chant, continuing to help her expel the poison.

    Yu Yanluo couldn''t help butugh when she heard him chant such strange incantations. This guy really is a dummy. I was clearly already okay with it, and yet he still chose to save me like this.

    Is he really a dummy, or is he a gentleman?

    As Yu Yanluo looked at Zu An¡¯s face that appeared as if it had been sculpted out of marble, her expression became gentler and gentler.

    ¡­

    After a long time had passed, Yu Yanluo was already dripping with sweat. She was no longer as cool-headed as before.

    She felt as if waves of power were repeatedly battering her body. Inside her were the cold pool¡¯s frigidity, the Heart Calming Pill¡¯s medicinal effects, the Bull Cream¡¯s heat, and also Zu An¡¯s special ki.

    The other three types of power were all extremely ufortable. Only Zu An¡¯s strange ki was extremelyfortable. Such an intense contrast made it even harder for her to hold back her moans.

    At first, she was embarrassed, so she tried her best to endure it. But as time went on, her willpower gradually broke down. He is focused on treating me right now and I m just quietly groaning; he probably cannot hear me, right?

    As such, she secretly opened her eyes a crack to look at his expression. At the same time, she suppressed her voice and released a groan from her throat. Sure enough, Zu An didn¡¯t notice anything. She gradually sighed in relief. However, that kind of feeling quickly returned, so she could only do it again.

    That cycle repeated again and again, but she escaped notice each time. Eventually, she became braver, and her voice became louder and louder. Normally speaking, she would realize there was no way he couldn''t hear her. But in this kind of situation, how could she still think properly?

    Eventually, Yu Yanluo got so out of control, Zu An finally couldn''t take it anymore. His voice was extremely hoarse and cryptic, as if there were a fire burning in his throat. He asked, ¡°Madam, can you please stop moaning like that? Not even a saint can hold back if you keep doing that! I really don¡¯t want to fail at thest second.¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Huh?¡± Yu Yanluo finally realized what was happening. So he heard everything from the very start? She was beyond embarrassed now. She buried her head in the water, then gave Zu An a fierce bite.

    Zu An sucked in air through the gaps in his teeth. The woman¡¯s small mouth normally seemed elegant and gentle, and yet it hurt this much when she bit down on him. He was worried that moving may worsen her condition, so he tried his best not to, just letting her bite down on him. He instead focused on treating her condition.

    Sensing his consideration, Yu Yanluo felt a bit apologetic after biting him for a while. After sorting out her thoughts, she let go and surfaced above the water again. She gave him an annoyed look, eximing, ¡°You really are a bad guy!¡±

    At the same time, she rubbed her cheeks that felt a bit sore. Why is this guy¡¯s body so hard?

    She was so embarrassed just then that she had actually bitten down with all of her strength. With her cultivation, even though it wouldn¡¯t be able to crush metal, she should at least have been able to create a bloody mess. But in the end, only her teeth had hurt, while his skin only had some light marks.

    Zu An felt a bit unhappy, remarking, ¡°I¡¯m treating your poison out of kindness and have treated you respectfully the entire time. How am I the bad person here?¡±

    ¡°You took off all of my clothes, and your hands are touching me all over the ce. Is that what you call respect?¡± Yu Yanluo eximed angrily.

    Zu An pointed at her underwear and retorted, ¡°Aren¡¯t you still wearing some? In my hometown, bikinis are even more revealing than what you¡¯re wearing right now. Also, I¡¯m treating your injuries; a doctor doesn¡¯t distinguish between genders.¡±

    ¡°Oh? If a doctor does not distinguish between genders, then why does Divine Physician Ji Dengtu like to collect women¡¯s underwear?¡± Yu Yanluo remarked with a sneer.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes widened as he thought, This woman even knows about that? He could only exin, ¡°Ji Dengtu is Ji Dengtu. I¡¯m myself.¡±

    Yu Yanluo blushed and said, ¡°You are even worse than Ji Dengtu. That ki of yours is so strange. It is even more ufortable than Bull Cream!¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, You call that ufortable? You¡¯re clearly feeling so good you can¡¯t even hold yourself back from screaming in pleasure.

    But he was stunned. Last time, when he had been treating Tang Tian¡¯er, she had also seemed as if she couldn''t stop herself from wanting more. Don¡¯t tell me primordial ki actually makes the one being treated feel ecstasy?

    But that shouldn¡¯t be! I¡¯ve never heard the first emperor say that before, and Mi Li never mentioned it either. If that really is a thing, there should be no way she doesn¡¯t know about it.

    ¡°You have nothing else to say, right? Hmph,¡± Yu Yanluo said. However, she felt a bit guilty after reprimanding him. She knew that she was speaking nonsense as well, but she had just been too embarrassed earlier. It is not that I wanted to moan¡­ Yes, it must be that rascal¡¯s strange ki! It¡¯s definitely nothing good.

    Zu An could only say, ¡°Alright, alright, I was wrong. Please keep enduring; we just need to make it past this final bit.¡±

    Then, his ki suddenly became stronger. Yu Yanluo released an ¡®ah¡¯, then used her entire body¡¯s strength to grip him while shaking. Zu An sighed in relief and said, ¡°Most of the poison¡¯s effects are already gone. You should be fine as long as you take your time to rest and recover.¡±

    Yu Yanluo gave him a look of resentment. Now that she had shown him such a humiliating side, how was she even supposed to face him in the future? After shaking for a long time, she finally calmed down. She quietly pushed him aside. The water inside the bubble had already been pushed away by Zu An. She sighed inwardly. He saw nothing, right?

    Because the poison had already been removed, the restless heat within her was already gone. But her cold-fearing body made her shiver soon afterward. She instinctively covered her shoulders with her hands.

    ¡°Your clothes are wet, so change into these clean ones,¡± Zu An said. He had prepared many lifestyle goods in his Brilliant ss Bead. He had Chuyan and Manman¡¯s clothes too.

    But only an idiot would give Yu Yanluo another woman¡¯s clothes in such a situation. That was why he gave her a set of his own clothes to drape around herself.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s mind was nk for a moment. She subconsciously replied when she felt the warmth from his clothes, ¡°Thank you¡­¡±

    The two quickly fell silent. There was a strangely charming and gentle feeling inside the water bubble. Eventually, Yu Yanluo¡¯s red lips opened slightly and she said, ¡°Ah Zu, just now, the two of us¡­¡±

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°We had no choice because there was no time. I only did it to save you. Madam, please don¡¯t take it to heart.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± Yu Yanluo clearly wanted to say something simr, and yet for some reason, when Zu An said that as if nothing had happened at all, Yu Yanluo instead felt a bit disappointed.

    Is he thinking about his own wife?

    Brightmoon Duke¡¯s daughter was¡­ Chu Chuyan, right? The two of them seem to be really close.

    She couldn''t help but feel a bit annoyed when she thought of that.

    You have sessfully trolled Yu Yanluo for +222 +222 +222¡­

    Zu An was stunned. He thought to himself, Why is she getting angry?

    Suddenly, a furious roar came from above. ¡°Damn adulterers down there, get the hell out here right now!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Jian Yanyou for +999 +999 +999¡­

 Chapter 1088: Life and Death Trial

    <h4>Chapter 1088: Life and Death Trial</h4>

    ¡°Jian Yanyou?¡± Zu An eximed, rubbing his eyes. Then, he confirmed the words of the backend message. It really was Jian Yanyou! But how is that possible? Isn¡¯t he dead?

    Yu Yanluo was also shocked. She muttered to herself, ¡°Yanyou?¡± She clearly recognized his voice too, but she didn¡¯t dare to believe it.

    ¡°Let¡¯s head out and take a look,¡± Zu An said,pletely baffled as well. He wanted to take a look to see what was going on.

    Yu Yanluo was also curious, so she naturally didn¡¯t refuse. Even though most of the poison was already gone, she couldn''t move as effortlessly as Zu An with his Blue Mard skill. As such, Zu An carried her to the surface.

    The two quickly rushed out of the water surface and climbed ashore. When they saw the scene outside, they were both stunned. The huge ice chunk was gone, with only fragments remaining all over the ground. There was a man standing in the center, staring rigidly at the pool.

    After having used Face of a Thousand Identities, Zu An couldn''t be more familiar with the man. Who else could it be but Jian Yanyou?!

    Meanwhile, Jian Taiding was sitting stupidly to the side. When he saw his older brother, his jaw had almost dropped to the ground. He never would have expected such a thing either. His ¡®funeral wailing¡¯ had actually brought his older brother back from the dead?

    Who am I? Where am I right now? Jian Taiding thought. Too many outrageous things had happened throughout the day. At that moment, he felt as if he were dreaming.

    ¡°Yanyou, you are still alive?¡± Yu Yanluo eximed, shocked and happy when she saw him. Jian Yanyou was her husband in name, but he was actually her friend of many years. How could she not be happy after seeing her good friende back to life?

    She was about to greet him when Zu An pulled her back. He warned her through ki, ¡°Be careful. His current state doesn¡¯t seem right somehow.¡±

    Yu Yanluo was stunned. Only then did she notice that ck smoke lingered around Jian Yanyou. There were some ck patterns around his face as well. He lookedpletely different from his usual graceful and gentle self, instead looking more sinister and malevolent.

    ¡°Heh, of course you were wishing that I had died. That way, you two adulterers would be free to elope,¡± Jian Yanyou sneered.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s pretty brows furrowed. She felt extremely ufortable under his look of contempt, replying, ¡°You have misunderstood. The two of us arepletely clean; nothing happened between us.¡±

    ¡°Hah, clean? The two of you?!¡± Jian Yanyou roared toward the sky, hisughter making the entire mountain rustle. Even the ice that had originally been firmly attached to the stone walls began to fall.

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed. His cultivation is extremely high; he seems to be just a hair away from grandmaster rank.

    After his outburst ofughter, Jian Yanyou¡¯s gaze returned to Yu Yanluo. He said through gritted teeth. ¡°Do you take me for a fool? You were afflicted by an aphrodisiac, then stayed down there for so long with another man. You are telling me that nothing happened?¡±

    Jian Taiding also snapped out of his daze. Only now did he realize that his goddess had already been trampled all over by that beast. His lips trembled. He almost didn¡¯t even dare to look at Yu Yanluo anymore, or else he would see her as a fallen woman.

    But he still couldn''t hold himself back in the end. He looked at her, and then he felt as if he were struck by lightning. Even her clothes are different!

    Yu Yanluo was covered in male clothes at that moment. Who else could those clothes belong to? Just then, he felt like a man who had gotten out of bed and seen a woman dressed in a man¡¯s shirt. That kind of intensely shing sight was simply iparable to anything else.

    Yu Yanluo really was beautiful. Her current outfit magnified her gentle femininity and enticement severalfold. But Jian Taiding wasn¡¯t in the mood to admire her at all. He felt even more distress.

    What else needed to be said? He couldpletely imagine what had happened. The two of them had definitely gone so crazy down there that their clothes had ended up getting wet. That was why his sister-inw had changed into men¡¯s clothes. She hadn¡¯t even had enough time to put on her clothes properly and rushed out.

    Her clothes were too spacious, so he could vaguely make out her fair and exquisite corbone and faint pink undergarments.

    Jian Taiding had only ever dreamed of seeing such a personal side of Yu Yanluo. Never had he expected it to be in such a situation. Even though he had beenpletely infatuated with Yu Yanluo over the years, he had never taken any wives in order to pursue her. But as someone of high authority, he¡¯d naturally had many girls in private. He immediately knew what the youthful expression and the blush on her cheeks meant.

    Her satisfied expression was enough for him to recreate the scene of his most beloved being ravaged by that brute. That was especially true when he saw Yu Yanluo¡¯s body half-leaning against Zu An. That meant she didn¡¯t reject him at all.

    Sister-inw has obviously already been dominated by that man! When he thought of that, he felt as if the entire world were falling down around him.

    Yu Yanluo obviously didn¡¯t know Jian Taiding was thinking such filthy thoughts. Instead, she said to Jian Yanyou, ¡°It is not what you think. Just now, he used a special way to help me get rid of the poison. We arepletely cl¡­ We have not done any of those illicit things.¡±

    Even though he wasn¡¯t her real husband, he had helped her stop many pursuers over the years, which had helped her a lot. She felt there was a need to exin those things to him.

    She wanted to say her rtionship with Zu An was clean, but when she recalled what had just happened, how even her clothes had been stripped and his hands had touched every inch of her body, it did seem a bit unreasonable to say that their rtionship waspletely clean.

    That was why she changed her mind and said that they hadn¡¯t done anything illicit. That was something she could say without any guilt.

    Jian Yanyou harrumphed. ¡°Do you take me for a three-year-old child? Do you think I would believe that?¡±

    Yu Yanluo frowned and said, ¡°I have already exined what I should exin. There¡¯s nothing I can do if you want to indulge in your flights of fancy.¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    She wouldn¡¯t even bother exining it if it were anyone else. Jian Yanyou was someone who had been her good friend for so many years. However, someone like that suspected her even after she exined. How could she not feel upset?

    Jian Yanyou¡¯s expression darkened. He shot back, ¡°What are you getting all flustered for? Perhaps it is because of your guilty conscience?¡± The dark patterns on his face became even more apparent.

    ¡°The innocent know that they are,¡± Yu Yanluo replied indifferently. However, she suddenly frowned and asked, ¡°What happened to your face? Why did youe back after dying?¡±

    Jian Taiding¡¯s attention had been drawn over too. He had clearly schemed against his older brother, so why had Jian Yanyou suddenlye back to life?

    ¡°You never expected me to revive and ruin your great ns, hm?¡± Jian Yanyou sneered, but he still exined, ¡°It is because the technique I cultivate is special. It is called the Golden Silkworm Art. It is rumored that once you reach the highest level, you must die once. If you can break through and be reborn, you can enter the grandmaster rank. There is even a chance of reaching the earth immortal level.¡±

    ¡°The Golden Silkworm Art?¡± Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression changed. She was well versed in many subjects, and she seemed to have heard rumors about such a technique. It seemed that once the technique was cultivated to its greatest level, one experienced a life and death trial. At that moment, one¡¯s entire body would turn into a cocoon. If the one inside could sessfully transform into a butterfly, they would undergo a tremendous transformation.

    But the chances of sess were extremely low. She had never heard of anyone seeding in the technique since ancient times. And yet, it turned out to have been the technique Jian Yanyou cultivated! Then, the ice sculpture from before had probably been his frozen cocoon lying inside the pool.

    ¡°Indeed. Those who have practiced this art have neverpleted the transformation. That is why even though I was already at the final juncture, I was never able to set my resolve to attempt this obstacle,¡± Jian Yanyou said. He then turned around to look at Jian Taiding, continuing, ¡°In the end, I must thank my good younger brother. If it were not for his rapacious designs to poison me, and even setting up a scheme to surround and kill me, I would not have been able to make the decision to challenge this bottleneck.¡±

    Jian Taiding¡¯s expression changed. He eximed, ¡°I clearly checked your body back then. You had no trace of life force left! Why could I not sense that you were still alive back then?¡±

    He was a master rank cultivator himself. If he couldn''t even tell if someone had really died or if they were faking it, what did he have his cultivation for?

    Jian Yanyou said with a sneer, ¡°That is because the Golden Silkworm Art needs one to really die. Whether or not one can revive depends on their fate. That is why no one has been able to revive in all of history. Even with all of your scheming and plotting, you never expected this, so of course you did not notice anything.¡±

    ¡°You ran here with everything you had back then so the cold pool could preserve your remains and hide the cocoon around you, right?¡± Jian Taiding asked, forcing himself to calm down. He was an outstanding cultivator himself. Even though he was defeated, he still wanted to know how he had failed.

    ¡°That is only one of the reasons,¡± Jian Yanyou said, raising his head to look at the iparably massive icicle. ¡°The Golden Silkworm Art¡¯s final trial is too difficult. Untold numbers of outstanding heroes have failed at this point. Even though my aptitude is not bad, I never believed I could surpass all of my predecessors.

    ¡°In order to make it through this trial, I had to somehow increase my odds of sess. Do you remember in the past, when his majesty and the Fiend Emperor fought bitterly? It was through relying on our n¡¯s Milk of Purple Frost that he was able to recover!¡±

    Zu An had just been watching the drama from off to the side at first. He was startled when he heard the words ¡®Milk of Purple Frost¡¯.

    His greatest objective ining to Cloudcenter Commandery this time had been precisely to find the Milk of Purple Frost to treat Mi Li. When he had learned that itsst appearance was rted to Cloudcenter Duke Manor, he had immediately started secretly investigating it in the manor. Unfortunately, Cloudcenter Duke had already perished, and no one knew those private details.

    He had been ready to give up, and yet now, there was suddenly a glimmer of hope.

 Chapter 1089: Tragic End

    <h4>Chapter 1089: Tragic End</h4>

    ¡°The Milk of Purple Frost!¡± Jian Taiding eximed. He was also shocked. He obviously had an impression of something as amazing as that!

    Unfortunately, back then, he had been so busy scheming against his older brother that there was no time to get the secret out from his mouth. He had thought that the knowledge would go with his older brother to the grave.

    His majesty was able to recover even after suffering such severe injuries. Does that not mean I have a chance now? Jian Taiding thought. After all, he had been injured, and then injured again. Together with the rebound of the fierce Powerful Strength Pill, his meridians were already aplete mess.

    Even if Zu An didn¡¯t kill him and he was able to return and slowly recover, he wouldn¡¯t be a cripple, but he would still never reach his former glory. Forget about grandmaster rank, he might not even be able to keep fifth or sixth rank cultivation. Furthermore, he would never have any hope of having a higher cultivation for the rest of his life.

    For someone who had stood at the very top like him, there was no difference between a sixth rank cultivator and a cripple. Any random one of his subordinates would be stronger than him. How could he possibly still keep them under his control?

    Just his family background? There was no way that would be enough to keep him in that seat of authority. He might just be quietly assassinated a few dayster and thrown into some random sewer.

    But now, with the Milk of Purple Frost, everything could be different. Not only would he have a chance of recovering, he might even be able to rise higher! His eyes burned intensely with passion as he eximed, ¡°So the reason you came here is because the Milk of Purple Frost is here?¡±

    Zu An suddenly looked toward the massive icicle after hearing the conversation. He had felt that the icicle was a bit strange ever since he first saw it. It didn¡¯t blend in with its surrounding environment at all.

    Furthermore, the cave was exceptionally cold, far colder even than a snowstorm. There had been all kinds of runes protecting it from the outside, but when they had entered earlier, the runes seemed to have already been broken through. They had probably been destroyed when Jian Taiding and hispanions chased the poisoned and wounded Jian Yanyou to the cave.

    Everything pointed at the fact that the cave was strange. Never had Zu An expected it to hide something so extraordinary, however. He had heard that Milk of Purple Frost came from a special kind of stctite; it seemed the icicle that was clearly different from the others was its carrier.

    ¡°Indeed. Only a single drop of the Milk of Purple Frost forms every ten thousand years. When my father first discovered this cave, he unexpectedly discovered two drops. One quickly formed, while one would form several decadester,¡± Jian Yanyou said, beginning to reminisce about the past. ¡°Even though several decades is a long time, for something that might easily take tens of thousands of years, it is but a fleeting moment.

    ¡°Father offered the first drop to the emperor, and waited patiently for the second drop. Considering the time, I believe it will form soon.¡± Jian Yanyou harrumphed. ¡°I was a bit hesitant at first, because even though the Milk of Purple Frost is miraculous, going through a trial of death was too dangerous. I was also the duke at the time, making me the emperor within Cloudcenter Commandery. Furthermore, I had the world¡¯s number one beauty as my bride¡­¡±

    He gave the improperly dressed Yu Yanluo a look as he spoke and snorted. ¡°My life was already quite perfect, so there was indeed no need for me to take such risks. However, never did I expect my younger brother to be so fantastic.¡±

    Jian Taiding chucked in embarrassment, saying, ¡°Big bro, I was wrong. But is the end result not good? If this had not happened, how could you have reached a level none of your predecessors could?¡±

    He gained some confidence when he saw his older brother¡¯s expression ease up a bit. His older brother had always doted on him. No matter what kinds of wrongs hemitted, he would always be forgiven. Even though he had done some terrible things this time, Jian Yanyou hadn¡¯t died. It didn¡¯t seem as if Yanyou would punish him too badly.

    As such, he tested the waters and asked, ¡°Then did big bro wake up to use the Milk of Purple Frost?¡± He prayed repeatedly to himself, Please say no, please say no! That¡¯s my only hope left!

    Jian Yanyou frowned. He suddenly clutched his head, eximing, ¡°Why did I awaken? Why did I awaken? I shouldn''t have. The Milk of Purple Frost hasn¡¯t fully formed yet; I shouldn¡¯t have awoken now!¡±

    Jian Taiding¡¯s eyes lit up when he saw Jian Yanyou clutch his head in pain. Yes! The Milk of Purple Frost is still here! That means there is still hope for me to recover!

    Zu An was also happy to hear that. Regardless, he had saved this man¡¯s wife, and he had been working so hard to find out the truth for his sake, even getting revenge for him. He had done quite a lot, so he was going to see if he could get the Milk of Purple Frost from him.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Even if he had to pay a huge price for it, he wouldn¡¯t hold back. If the other party absolutely refused, it was rted to Mi Li¡¯s life, so he would fight for it if he had to.

    Yu Yanluo was the only one who was concerned about Jian Yanyou. She asked, ¡°Yanyou, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Jian Yanyou¡¯s appearance really was somewhat sinister, making her feel a strange sense of fear. She instinctively remained by Zu An¡¯s side, as he gave her the greatest feeling of security.

    Jian Yanyou suddenly raised his head, his eyes full of madness and malice. A trace of ck seemed to be spreading from his pupils as well, gradually turning his eyeballspletely ck. He stared fiercely at Jian Taiding, growling, ¡°I remember. Wasn¡¯t the reason I woke up because you were howling next to me like a freaking wolf?¡±

    Jian Yanyou¡¯s eyes had turned pitch-ck. There was no longer any trace of his former doting gaze; instead, there was only vicious killing intent.

    Jian Taiding gulped, feeling iparable fear. However, he reacted quickly as well and redirected the me. He pointed at Zu An and Yu Yanluo, eximing, ¡°Big bro, I was just crying out for your injustice! You worshiped that woman like your ancestor. Forget about her hand, she has never even let you touch a single corner of her clothes! Then, not long after you died, she immediately got together with another man, and he even did something so improper right in front of you!¡±

    ¡°Shut your mouth! It is nothing like what you are saying,¡± Yu Yanluo snapped. She was so angry that her entire face was red. Unfortunately, she knew just how powerless she was to exin herself right now. She couldn''t just call in a wet nurse to check if she was still a virgin, right?

    Jian Taiding was happy when he saw that his older brother¡¯s attention had been redirected toward the other two. His words were effective after all! As such, he added fuel to the fire and said, ¡°Big bro, not only did that woman do those illicit things with that man, for the sake of currying favor with him, she even gave him several of your concubines to y with! He has been pretending to be you for several days in the Duke Manor, while those sisters-inw know nothing! They are humiliated by him several times every day, and even the way they walk is a bit different¡­¡±

    As much as he had once loved Yu Yanluo, that was how much hatred he felt after she had given her body to Zu An. Furthermore, Zu An was the one who had wounded him, so he had hated the other man to begin with. If his older brother eliminated them for him, that would be a form of revenge in itself.

    But Zu An¡¯s cultivation seemed to be quite good, and his sister-inw had some trump cards too. If they and his older brother ended up destroying each other, that would be the absolute best result.

    He added fuel to the mes while secretly looking at the giant icicle above the pool. There seemed to be a drop gathered on its surface. Could that be the Milk of Purple Frost?

    Once they start fighting, I have to find a chance to seize it! Once I recover my former strength, I will no longer be in this state¡­

    He felt his entire body lighten before he evenpleted that thought. Then, he felt the entire world spin around him. He was looking at everything from a different angle. His older brother, the damned adulterous couple, and a headless corpse. There was blood gushing out from its neck.

    Huh? I don¡¯t recall there being any corpses left behind when Kong Qing and the others left.

    Wait, why do those clothes look so familiar?

    By the time he realized the horrifying result, his entire world sank into darkness.

    ¡­

    ¡°Ah!¡± Yu Yanluo jumped in fright. Even though she did indeed hate Jian Taiding, it was still mainly because he had harmed Jian Yanyou and nned everything that followed.

    But they had known each other for so long, and he had always greeted her and treated her extremely politely. The two of them had reached a level where they were like friends. As such, she was still momentarily rmed when she saw him die in such a miserable way.

    She felt a bit unwell when she saw such a bloody scene. She subconsciously learned toward Zu An, and only then did she feel a sliver of warmth.

    Just then, Jian Yanyou leaned down toward Jian Taiding¡¯s severed neck, then gulped down the spurting blood. As he drank the blood, he had a rapturous expression.

    Forget about Yu Yanluo, even Zu An¡¯s scalp felt a bit numb. They held each other¡¯s hands tightly.

    Yu Yanluo calmed down a bit, then looked vigntly at the other party, eximing, ¡°You are not Jian Yanyou. Who exactly are you?!¡±

 Chapter 1090: Bright Blackeye Parasite

    <h4>Chapter 1090: Bright ckeye Parasite</h4>

    Jian Yanyou stood up from Jian Taiding¡¯s headless corpse. He licked away the blood on his lips and replied, ¡°Who am I? I¡¯m Jian Yanyou, of course, your husband.¡±

    His eyes had long be pitch-ck like ink, and his face was covered in ck patterns. Because he had just drunk blood straight out of Jian Taiding¡¯s decapitated corpse, he looked extremely sinister and dangerous.

    Yu Yanluo shook her head and replied, ¡°No, you are definitely not him. Yanyou is honest and generous in nature. He would never wantonly kill the innocent.¡±

    ¡°The innocent? He was the one who almost killed me, and he lusted after his own sister-inw. How is he innocent at all?¡± Jian Yanyou sneered.

    Yu Yanluo said coldly, ¡°That is why you cannot be the true Jian Yanyou. You do not know just how much he doted on his younger brother. He would give him whatever he wanted. Other than giving him me, his wife, he pretty much gave him everything else. Furthermore, no matter what kinds of mistakes his younger brother made, he would at most lecture him a few times, but would always forgive him in the end.

    ¡°Furthermore, you even came back to life. His schemes to harm you did not result in any severe consequences. With your usual nature, you would at most scare him again, then issue him some small punishments. There would be no danger to his life.¡±

    Jian Yanyou gave the headless Jian Taiding a look. He grinned and said with a chuckle, ¡°Humans always change. Besides, I¡¯ve even walked along the borders of life and death.¡±

    Yu Yanluo immediately cut him off. ¡°No matter how much you changed, you would not change into a mad, bloodthirsty demon. Not only did you kill your own younger brother so cruelly, you even drank his blood. The look of enjoyment on your face is not fake at all. Speak, what kind of monster are you?¡±

    Jian Yanyouughed cruelly, his voice horrifying. It didn¡¯t seem like a voice humans could make. He remarked, ¡°Madam, should I praise you for being smart or stupid?¡±

    Zu An stood in front of Yu Yanluo when he heard Jian Yanyou¡¯s voice. It was strange, clearly not belonging to the true Jian Yanyou anymore. The pressureing from the other party was just a bit too strong, almost at the level Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen had exerted in the past. He was also worried that the other party would suddenly attack Yu Yanluo.

    Fortunately, Jian Yanyou didn¡¯t seem to have any intention of making a move immediately. Instead, he continued with a sigh, ¡°Madam, wouldn¡¯t it have been great if you yed the fool? Why did you just have to keep fretting over trifles? The two of us could have peacefully continued being husband and wife, but aren¡¯t things much more difficult now?¡±

    ¡°This sound, this voice¡­¡± Yu Yanluo was rmed, eximing, ¡°You¡¯re Uncle Ming?¡±

    ¡°Madam¡¯s insight is indeed sharp. You were even able to recognize that?¡± Jian Yanyou eximed, a bit surprised. He no longer had any intention of hiding.

    ¡°How is this possible?¡± Yu Yanluo and Zu An eximed, both shocked. Hadn¡¯t Yu Yanluo already taken Uncle Ming into her World Painting? All those present had almost forgotten about his existence after everything else that had happened.

    Zu An thought, After all of this, he was the real final boss?

    Yu Yanluo took out her World Painting and took a look. Uncle Ming was clearly still inside, but he was already a corpse.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Only then did Yu Yanluo realize that something wasn¡¯t right. She had only taken him into her world, and hadn¡¯t nned to kill him. Normally speaking, with Uncle Ming¡¯s cultivation, he shouldn¡¯t have died inside. She suddenly looked up at the other party and asked, ¡°How did you escape?¡±

    Jian Yanyou¡­ no, it was Uncle Ming now, smiled proudly. He said, ¡°I never went inside. What you took into your painting was just an empty shell.¡±

    ¡°An empty shell?¡± Yu Yanluo thought back to the prior scene. It did seem as if she had detained him a bit too easily.

    Zu An was startled. He asked, ¡°Did you enter his body when he went into the pool to bring out Jian Yanyou¡¯s remains?¡±

    Uncle Ming gave him a look of surprise and replied, ¡°Sir Zu¡¯s perception and thinking are meticulous, as expected. No wonder you were able to find out the truth of the plot against Jian Yanyou.¡±

    Zu An muttered to himself, ¡°To possess someone so easily, and then abandon the flesh so conveniently¡­ There¡¯s such an absurd technique in this world? Doesn¡¯t that mean you have eternal life?¡±

    He had experienced the dangers of possession personally. Old Mi had wanted his body. But even that hadn¡¯t been as ridiculous as this! You can get rid of your body whenever you want, and you can change hosts whenever you want too?

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s red lips moved as she exined, ¡°I remember that there is an obscure branch of the Fiend race, the Parasite race. That race cany their offspring in the bodies of their prey. During their growth period, they ingest the internal organs of the prey¡¯s body as food, and once theypletely mature, they emerge from the body. The most powerful of the Parasites can even steal a target¡¯s flesh and take their ce.¡± She asked Uncle Ming, ¡°Are you from the Parasite race?¡±

    Uncle Ming was truly shocked and replied, ¡°Madam actually knows so much about even the remote ns of the fiend races? Not even the other fiend races know about our race!¡±

    ¡°Are you admitting to it?¡± Yu Yanluo asked, looking serious.

    ¡°Indeed, I¡¯m from the Parasite race. Furthermore, I¡¯m the most prestigious Bright ckeye Parasite,¡± Uncle Ming said proudly. He didn¡¯t have any intentions of hiding anymore, clearly believing that everything was already under his control.

    ¡°No wonder you call yourself Uncle Ming,¡± Zu An said with a sigh. This world really was quite mysterious. He had run into the bloodsucking Mosquito Daoist earlier, and now, he had encountered a Parasite that lived off another body. Both of them had ridiculous cultivations too.

    ¡°Did you already n to earn the trust of the duke all those years ago?¡± Yu Yanluo frowned and said, ¡°You¡¯ve been quite cautious and conscientious. Your acting has been quite good.¡±

    ¡°Why would I ever do something that stupid, to serve that fool for several decades?¡± Uncle Ming sneered. ¡°Of course I found a chance to scheme against Uncle Ming, then took over his body. Then, I returned to the Duke Manor in his body.¡±

    Yu Yanluo nodded. She had found it strange the moment she learned that Uncle Ming was working with Jian Taiding. After all, it wasn¡¯t that easy to change one¡¯s character after so many years.

    Jian Yanyou had been able to reach such a high level of cultivation, and furthermore upy such a high position. There could be no way he hadn¡¯t at least had a sufficient level of insight to discover the plot. Now, they had finally obtained an exnation.

    Zu An thought to himself, This Uncle Ming really is pitiful. He devoted his entire life to service, and yet all he got in return was having his body possessed by a parasite.

    As a human, death wasn¡¯t all that scary. What was scarier was being treated as food by something else, or even having a parasite turn one into a being that wasn¡¯t alive or dead.

    Uncle Ming couldn''t help but sigh as he gave Zu An a look. ¡°When I saw you appear in the Duke Manor in Jian Yanyou¡¯s form, and furthermore without any gaps in behavior, I thought there was another one of my kind who had simr motives. Fortunately, I didn¡¯t sense any familiar energy from your body, or else all of my hard work over the years would¡¯ve been just for the benefit of another.¡±

    ¡°Since you knew I wasn¡¯t one of your kind, why did you still have toe with Jian Taiding all the way here to investigate?¡± Zu An asked grimly.

    ¡°Because you were just too simr,¡± Uncle Ming replied, giving him a deep look. ¡°I even began to wonder if Jian Yanyou had revived ahead of time and was going to ruin my ns.¡±

    Yu Yanluo was stunned when she heard that, eximing, ¡°So Yanyou really was still alive?¡±

    ¡°Indeed. Actually, I already knew he possessed the Golden Silkworm Art a while ago. If he hadn¡¯t attempted this trial, I really wouldn¡¯t have been able to do much to him with his cultivation,¡± Uncle Ming replied.

    Yu Yanluo quickly exined to Zu An, ¡°Even though the Parasite race is bizarre, they are actually extremely weak. They can only scheme from the dark.¡±

    ¡°Resourcefulness and strategies are a kind of strength,¡± Uncle Ming replied, not too happy with her assessment. He harrumphed, ¡°I was always lying in wait for Jian Yanyou to challenge this trial. But that guy was full of lingering attachments, and he had already enjoyed his high position and wealth for too long. He actually gave up on the chance to improve himself!N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Out of helplessness, I could only seek out Jian Taiding. That fellow just happened to have coveted you, his beautiful sister-inw, so we quickly hit it off. You two know what happened afterward as well. Jian Yanyou was at the end of his rope, and I deliberately gave him the chance to flee here. He didn¡¯t have any other choice, so he could only attack his final trial. By then, everything was already moving ording to my ns.¡±

    Yu Yanluo sighed and remarked, ¡°The lowest level, lowest intelligence parasites love silkworms the most. Yanyou just happened to have cultivated the Golden Silkworm Art too. He really ended up facing his natural enemy.¡±

    ¡°Indeed. When he turned into a cocoon, I infused a seed of my soul into the cocoon. Once he broke through the final trial and his strength greatly increased, I could then smoothly take over everything. His body, his cultivation, his identity, even his women,¡± Uncle Ming said confidently. It was a n he¡¯d had to keep a secret for so long, so he really needed to have at least someone hear it now.

    However, his expression quickly darkened. He stared at Zu An and said, ¡°But I never expected you to have experienced everything that should¡¯ve been mine ahead of time.¡±

 Chapter 1091: Tacit Understanding

    <h4>Chapter 1091: Tacit Understanding</h4>

    Zu An was speechless. Why was he always pissing off so many big shots no matter what he did?

    That Jian Yanyou really was pitiful. His own younger brother had wanted to inherit his wife and authority, and even his trusted aide had had simr thoughts.

    I even spent a few days in the Duke Manor with his identity¡­

    Pah! I¡¯m not deranged like those two fiends!

    Yu Yanluo felt ashamed and embarrassed when she heard Uncle Ming¡¯s exnation. She eximed, ¡°You rascal, you actually had such filthy thoughts!¡± Jian Yanyou¡¯s younger brother wanted her, and now, even Yanyou¡¯s servant wanted her? Was there no end to it?

    ¡°Hmph, you were nothing more than a bonus reward. Jian Yanyou and his brother might have worshiped you like a goddess, but for me, you might not even be able topare to a beautiful parasite,¡± Uncle Ming said with a sneer.

    Yu Yanluo and Zu An were speechless. A beast is a beast after all; even their tastes are strange.

    Yu Yanluo took a deep breath to calm herself down. She then asked, ¡°Then what about Yanyou? Are you suppressing him right now?¡±

    Uncle Ming snorted and replied,¡°The original n was to wake him up after waiting a bit longer when the Milk of Purple Frost fully formed, then use that to temper his body and allow for aplete rebirth. He would then undergo aplete transformation, with even the earth immortal rank bing imminent.

    ¡°But I never expected the two of you to hide in the cold pool and do those illicit things¡­¡±

    A blush crossed Yu Yanluo¡¯s pretty face when she heard those words. She initially wanted to say that they hadn¡¯t, but after thinking about it, there was no need to exin all of that to such a freak. As such, she didn¡¯t say anything in return.

    Uncle Ming continued, ¡°Furthermore, in his despair, that trash Jian Taiding kept bbering about how Zu An messed up the inner chamber¡¯s harem. It was already close to Jian Yanyou¡¯s waking time, and his consciousness was starting to wake. With that stimtion, he woke up ahead of time.

    ¡°And yet in the end, he didn¡¯t even freaking break through to the grandmaster rank!¡± Uncle Ming eximed furiously. He stepped on Jian Taiding¡¯s decapitated head and ground it viciously under his feet. ¡°This guy really isn¡¯t good at anything but messing things up!¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, No wonder Jian Taiding was ughtered so ruthlessly just now. So that was where the resentment came from.

    Even though Jian Yanyou had been just a hair away from the grandmaster rank, he still wasn¡¯t a true grandmaster. That was a bottleneck most people in the world would never break through in their entire lifetime.

    Yu Yanluo frowned and said, ¡°Enough; he is already dead. Why is there a need to humiliate him further?¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°If it weren¡¯t because there are still more uses for his corpse, I would¡¯ve already trampled his head like a melon underneath my feet!¡± Uncle Ming spat at Jian Taiding¡¯s corpse, then continued, ¡°Because Jian Yanyou¡¯s spirit was starting to ripple intensely, and was about to wake up, I was forced to push through with the possession ahead of time.¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression changed. She asked, ¡°So the one that woke up at first was indeed Yanyou?¡±

    ¡°It was just a fragment of his damaged soul.¡± Uncle Ming sneered. ¡°My seed had already been nted inside of his body, so he couldn¡¯t resist my possession at all. It was only because his early rising disrupted my ns, that a fragment of his soul even leaked out in the first ce. Now, his soul has long since be nourishment for me, hahaha!¡±

    ¡°You¡­!¡± Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression turned extremely cold. Her World Painting swept out, lengthening with the wind. It was as if it really had be a world with mountains and seas, and it seemed about to capture Uncle Ming. Furthermore, lightning and thunder was wreaking havoc in its world. It was clear that Yu Yanluo¡¯s killing intent had been stirred.

    Uncle Mingughed disdainfully and said, ¡°I might¡¯ve been a bit scared of your tricks when I was in that old man¡¯s body, but now¡­¡±

    His sleeves swept out. The unfolding world seemed to be surrounded by an invisible power, and gradually folded up again. In the end, it turned back into a scroll, appearing in his hand.

    Uncle Ming fiddled with the World Painting. He clicked his tongue in wonder, eximing, ¡°You clearly haven¡¯t even reached the master rank, and yet you can still create a domain like the ones grandmasters can release. It really is quite a marvel! All of that is probably due to the power of this item. But this treasure will be mine from now on.¡±

    ¡°Pff!¡± A mouthful of blood sprayed out of Yu Yanluo¡¯s mouth. Having her treasure seized dealt her severe injuries.

    At that very moment, an arc of electricity flickered. The Tai¡¯e Sword in Zu An¡¯s hand turned into a streak of lightning as it stabbed toward Uncle Ming¡¯s vitals. He didn¡¯t even give Yu Yanluo a single look to avoid losing out on such a rare opportunity.

    Uncle Ming¡¯s expression changed slightly. He quickly raised his palms to face his opponent. Even though they were flesh, they were as tough as metal. They collided with the Tai¡¯e Sword, releasing the sound of shing des.

    After the exchange, Uncle Ming reappeared several zhang away. He raised his hand and looked at his ripped sleeves. He couldn''t help but exim in surprise. He said, ¡°Brat, there really is more to you than meets the eye. No wonder Jian Taiding was defeated.

    ¡°I¡¯ve underestimated you, but that won¡¯t happen anymore,¡± he continued. As soon as he finished speaking, he rushed over ferociously.

    At that instant, Zu An felt as if the very air around him had be viscous. He felt a mountainous pressure pushing against him from all directions. Even so, he had faced cultivators of the highest level before. He didn¡¯t panic and responded ordingly.

    His movement technique was treacherous, able to create three or four identical copies each time. But before someone with near-grandmaster level strength, such tricks wouldn¡¯t be of too much use. Uncle Ming could easily locate his real body.

    However, Zu An didn¡¯t entrust all of his hopes on those mirages. Rather, he used all sorts of techniques to disorient Uncle Ming. For a moment, the two sides were actually on equal footing.

    Unfortunately, the cultivation gap between the two of them was just too great. Zu An was constantly forced to go on the defense, and that would only lead to eventual defeat. If it weren¡¯t because his body had already been tempered by primordial ki several times, he might have already been crushed into a bloody paste by Uncle Ming¡¯s palm.

    But he didn¡¯t panic. Instead, he was prepared for such a scenario. The Poisonous Prick stabbed toward his opponent¡¯s body.

    Unfortunately, to his disappointment, his opponent seized the dagger even though it approached at a tricky angle. Zu An¡¯s expression changed.

    Meanwhile, Uncle Ming said with a sinister smile, ¡°Your body is as tough as expected. Jian Taiding was defeated because he didn¡¯t expect you to trade blow for blow. Do you think I would make the same mistake?

    ¡°What¡¯s going on with this dagger? It actually makes even my current self feel the threat of death. I didn¡¯t expect you to have this divine weapon too, on top of that other sword you had.¡± Uncle Ming clicked his tongue in amazement. ¡°But the more treasures you have on you, the better. You¡¯re merely giving me free equipment!¡±

    He was about to seize the Poisonous Prick for himself when suddenly, Zu An activated the Tai¡¯e Sword¡¯s Domain of Power. Uncle Ming¡¯s expression changed and he was momentarily distracted. Zu An took the chance to thrust out with his Poisonous Prick.

    However, Uncle Ming¡¯s body instantly dispersed, turning into countless ck wasps. After a moment, the swarm of ck wasps gathered again nearby, reforming into Jian Yanyou.

    ¡°You¡¯ve actually forced me to use my life-saving trump card¡­¡± Uncle Ming eximed, still feeling some lingering fear. He asked, ¡°What was that just now? How could you possess such powerful pressure?¡±

    ¡°What do you think?¡± Zu An shot back. Inwardly, he felt incredible regret. He even managed to dodge that?

    Uncle Ming snorted coldly. However, Zu An was just way too strange. Together with his apprehension toward the Poisonous Prick and Zu An¡¯s closebat abilities, he became reluctant to approach. As such, his hands spread out. Endless white silk shot out everywhere, flying toward his opponents.

    Zu An was actually a fan of white silk. But as he saw white silk cover everything, he worried that he might develop some trauma from it.

    He didn¡¯t dare to get careless, however. He immediately activated his me de when he saw the attack, bringing it down ferociously at the silk.

    Uncle Ming roared withughter, boasting, ¡°This is the silk used for the Golden Silkworm Art¡¯s transformation! Do you really think it fears the elements like normal silk?¡± However, he paused and eximed, ¡°Wait, your me is a bit strange¡­ It can actually burn through?!¡±

    But Zu An wasn¡¯t having as easy a time as the other party made it sound. Even after hacking at it several times, he was only able to cut some of the silk. He couldn¡¯t burn everything down the way he had imagined. There was just way too much white silking at him, covering everything.

    Soon, the entire cave seemed to have be a world of silk. Both he and Yu Yanluo were pressured into a corner with no more room to evade.

    Just then, Yu Yanluo¡¯s brush moved. Soon, the Empress Lantern appeared above her. The silk immediately stopped as gentle light surrounded them. She eximed, ¡°Ah Zu, hurry!¡±

    Zu An tacitly understood what she was trying to say. He took out the imperial edict and intoned, ¡°I make an offering to the heavens, epting the Mandate of Heaven to speak his majesty¡¯s imperial order¡­¡±

 Chapter 1092: Annihilated

    <h4>Chapter 1092: Annihted</h4>

    Uncle Ming¡¯s expression changed. Only then did he remember that Zu An still had such a ridiculous trump card at his disposal. He instantly charged over.

    The Empress Lantern slowly rose, bathing him in its radiance, making his body freeze. However, he sneered and remarked, ¡°Do you really think a fake Empress Lantern can trap me?¡±

    As he spoke, he swept one of his sleeves outward. Endless silk rushed out, instantly wrapping up thentern. Not even a bit of light could prate it. Then, he reached out his hand. The silk tightened, and thentern was instantly crushed to pieces.

    Yu Yanluo groaned. A strand of blood trickled out from the corner of her mouth. Creating such a treasure through art would bring about a huge rebound to begin with, let alone now that it had actually been destroyed.

    Uncle Ming smiled maliciously and pounced at his two opponents. Powerful winds swept over them and made it difficult for them to even breathe.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed greatly. He knew that, as Uncle Ming¡¯s strength was nowparable to a grandmaster¡¯s, there was no way he could finish chanting the rest of the imperial edict in such a short amount of time.

    He was about to grab Yu Yanluo and evade when he suddenly saw Yu Yanluo¡¯s hair bun disperse. Her ck hair moved around her. A terrifying aura surged through the entire cave.

    Because Yu Yanluo was in front of Zu An, with her back to him, he didn¡¯t see that a dark red light had suddenly appeared in her eyes.

    ¡°You¡¯re¡­¡± Uncle Ming began as his eyes rapidly narrowed. However, his voice came to a screeching halt. He felt as if his entire body had be incredibly heavy, and the surface of his skin had even begun to harden. He was horrified. He quickly used his own ki to dispel the strange transformation and didn¡¯t have any time to waste on speaking.

    Fortunately, Yu Yanluo¡¯s cultivation and strength weren¡¯t great enough. Otherwise, he would have been instantly petrified. The Golden Feathersilk Art surrounded his entire body, and he struggled free from the technique in a split second.

    ¡°Hahaha, I never expected this! I didn¡¯t think I''d make this kind of discovery today! You¡¯re mine; everything that belongs to you is mine!¡±

    He rushed forward as if he had gone crazy. His ki seemed to have reached the absolute peak, and he didn¡¯t hold back in the slightest when he attacked.

    But because Yu Yanluo had bought him time, Zu An managed to finish the imperial edict¡¯s chant. A terrifying wave of aura condensed in the cave, and a golden face that vaguely resembled the current emperor appeared overhead.

    ¡°Noooo!¡± Uncle Ming screamed in horror. He couldn''t be bothered with the two of them anymore and immediately turned tail to run. At the same time, endless silk surged outward, creatingyer afteryer of defenses behind him.

    The golden figure in the air moved. He slowly opened his eyes, and two streaks of golden light fired outward. The silk that seemed impervious to all elements seemed like white snow before a blistering sun, instantly melting away.

    No matter how fast Uncle Ming was, he couldn''t move faster than the speed of light. He was instantly struck by the streak of golden light. He screamed miserably, and his entire body erupted into mes. As his body was ovee by a raging ze, he turned into a ball of fire, screaming miserably.

    Suddenly, however, a ck mist flew out from inside the fireball. Upon closer inspection, it wasn¡¯t a ck mist, but rather a cloud of ck wasps. The parasites didn¡¯t gather together and instead dispersed in every direction.

    ¡°No! That¡¯s the Parasite race¡¯s life-saving skill! If even one gets away, there will be a chance for his return!¡± Yu Yanluo eximed worriedly.

    There were just far too many wasps, and they all flew in different directions. They had already flown far away in the blink of an eye. The pair couldn''t stop them even if they wanted to.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, his majesty wouldn¡¯t be worthy of his title of the most powerful if he really did let him get away,¡± Zu An said in constion.

    Sure enough, before he even finished his sentence, the golden face in midair became blurry. Then, it turned into the form of a sun, and countless golden rays fired outward. There wasn¡¯t a single ce to hide from its radiance.

    The parasites screamed miserably. At almost the same instant, smoke came out of every single one, and they were all lit aze. They were burned to dust in just a few breaths of time.

    A powerful cultivator of an age had beenpletely annihted in just a few seconds.

    The golden face in midair gradually dissipated after the attack concluded, and its terrifying pressure also gradually faded.

    Even though Zu An had fought against the emperor¡¯s split soul in the dungeon, he still couldn''t help but gulp down saliva when he saw such a scene.

    ¡°This Uncle Ming was full of schemes, but he actually met his end in such a way,¡± Zu An said with a great sigh.

    ¡°It¡¯s a pity that Yanyou¡¯s remains were destroyed though,¡± Yu Yanluo said, her eyes full of grief when she saw the ashes on the ground. She wanted to say something else, but suddenly staggered and copsed.

    Fortunately, Zu An moved quickly, supporting her and preventing her perfect face from hitting the floor. He asked, ¡°Madam, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯splexion was extremely pale, without a shred of color. But she didn¡¯t respond no matter how Zu An hollered at her. Sensing how faint her ki was, Zu An jumped in fright. Why were her injuries so serious?

    There was no time to return to Cloudcenter City. He took out some medicine and fed it to her. Then, he infused his ki into her to treat her injuries. Fortunately, although her injuries were serious, there was no danger to her life. It wasn¡¯t anything close to a hopeless situation.

    Zu An¡¯s fourthyer of the Primordial Origin Sutra was perfect for treating injuries. He didn¡¯t waste any time and sat down to open up Yu Yanluo¡¯s meridians, guiding the medicinal effects through them.

    But it would be a problem to keep her seated in the cave. He knew that her body naturally rejected the cold. Furthermore, because of the Bull¡¯s Cream, the process of expelling the drug had made her condition much weaker than usual too.

    If she were to sit on the ground, the cold would invade her wounded body very quickly. It might even leave behind some irreparable conditions.

    It had been a simr situation when Chu Chuyan was suffering from her own cold condition. If it weren¡¯t because of his diligence day after day, she might have long since perished. He couldn''t just use that method to save Yu Yanluo, though, could he?

    Forget about whether she was willing or not, he wasn¡¯t the kind of person to take advantage of someone in such a situation. He wouldn¡¯t leave behind any hidden illnesses just so he could use them as a pretext to obtain her body.

    But for some reason, the cave was incredibly cold. He couldn''t even find a single spot in it that was closer to a normal temperature.

    Helpless to do anything else, Zu An could only sit down on the frozen surface and take her into his embrace, using his own legs to support her. One hand pressed against the center of her body, while the other pressed against her belly. He began to use the Primordial Origin Sutra, sending in an endless amount of ki to treat her.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in the faraway Imperial Pce, inside the Imperial Study, the emperor opened his eyes. He looked toward the northwest and muttered, ¡°It seems Cloudcenter¡¯s situation is about to be settled.¡±

    He thought for a bit, then summoned Eunuch Wen and ordered, ¡°Pass down my decree. Order Yi Commandery¡¯s troops to immediately return to their station. They are not allowed to enter Cloudcenter Commandery.

    ¡°Furthermore, issue a secret decree reprimanding Sang Hong and saying that he is not to willfully transfer the troops of a king.¡±

    The emperor continued to issue several decrees. When Eunuch Wen left, a lesser eunuch came to report, ¡°Your majesty, the crown princess seeks a meeting with you.¡±

    The emperor frowned. After all, he had always quite liked that ¡®daughter-inw¡¯ of his. She was pretty, and she had the demeanor of someone befitting her status. She was also the next empress candidate he had chosen for himself.

    But ever since his split soul had perished in the dungeon, he felt a bit uneasy when he looked at her. He didn¡¯t know whether he should continue to see her as his future wife, or if he should see her as his daughter-inw.

    ¡°Your majesty, the crown princess seeks an audience with you.¡± Seeing that the emperor was absentminded and hadn¡¯t replied for a long time, the lesser eunuch thought the emperor hadn¡¯t heard him, so he carefully repeated his report.

    The emperor snapped out of his daze and waved his hand, indicating that he had heard what the eunuch said. Hemanded, ¡°Call her in.¡±

    Soon afterward, the splendidly-dressed Bi Linglong walked in. She greeted him in a natural and proper manner.

    The emperor nodded inwardly. The crown princess really did exude grace with every movement. There weren¡¯t any problems that could be picked out of her behavior. His expression eased a bit as he thought that, and he asked, ¡°Why has Linglonge here tonight?¡±

    Bi Linglong said with a smile, ¡°Replying to Father Emperor. Just now, I sensed that there was a disturbance in the world; it seems someone has used the imperial edict to summon Father Emperor¡¯s power. The power of each use of the imperial edict is no small matter. Is there a chance that something unexpected happened to our Imperial Envoy in Cloudcenter Commandery?¡±

    The emperor¡¯s eyes narrowed. His expression became somewhat dangerous, and he asked coldly, ¡°Are you worried about the Imperial Envoy, or are you worried about Zu An?¡±

 Chapter 1093: Share Your Highnessâ€™ Burdens

    <h4>Chapter 1093: Share Your Highness¡¯ Burdens</h4>

    Bi Linglong replied calmly, ¡°I am indeed a bit worried about Sir Zu.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± The Emperor hadn¡¯t expected her to actually admit to it. He was actually momentarily stunned. He asked, ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°After all that has happened, Sir Zu has already be a key figure of the crown prince¡¯s Eastern Pce. At the very least, in the eyes of outsiders, to a certain degree, he already represents the Eastern Pce,¡± Bi Linglong replied. Even though she was nervous, she had enough political wit to know that avoiding the answer forever wasn¡¯t a solution, so she had instead chosen to calmly admit to it. She continued, ¡°That is why, if something were to happen to him, the crown prince would lose a great general. The Eastern Pce would immediately suffer a huge blow to our prestige and influence.

    ¡°Of course, apart from Sir Zu, I am also worried about the Imperial Envoy¡¯s situation. King Qi¡¯s faction continues to pressure us, so we are already at a point where we cannot give up anything more.¡± Bi Linglong clenched her fist. Her expression turned somewhat cold as she continued, ¡°If my suspicions are not wrong, Father Emperor has sent Sir Sang to take drastic measures against the Yu n, to clip King Qi¡¯s wings. That is why I naturally do not wish for anything unexpected to happen to the Imperial Envoy.¡±

    The Emperor raised his brows, a smile returning to his cold face. He replied, ¡°Not bad, not bad. You are worthy of the title I have given you. Ruizhi is destined for greatness with a good wife such as yourself.¡±

    ¡°All of this was because of Father Emperor¡¯s protection and guidance,¡± BI Linglong said. She bowed with a smile, but inwardly, she feltpletely cold. If it weren¡¯t because she had seen his true face inside the dungeon already, she might have just been moved to tears.

    She felt overwhelming nausea and disgust when she thought about how her father-inw actually lusted after her.

    No, it¡¯s not lusting after me. With the emperor¡¯s status, there¡¯s no need for him to lust after me. He merely arranged for something that couldn¡¯t be opposed.

    But the more she thought that, the more disgust she felt.

    Considering how powerful the emperor was, there were countless women who admired him. With Bi Linglong¡¯s nature, even if he had taken her in as his concubine in the past, she might not even have been so against it. For the sake of her n and her lifetime of ambition, she might even have done everything she could to support the idea.

    But once she recalled how the emperor had possessed the crown prince, and even wanted to seize his own daughter-inw forcefully afterward, she only found that nauseating.

    The Emperor didn¡¯t know that the gracefully smiling crown princess actually hated him that much. As he heard the way she didn¡¯t im credit for herself or speak arrogantly, instead thanking him for his kindness and protection first, he became more and more satisfied. He said, ¡°Linglong, there is no need for you to worry. The situation in Cloudcenter Commandery will stabilize soon.

    ¡°As for that brat Zu An, I gave him the imperial edict. Since he managed to sessfully use it, I have already destroyed the enemies, no matter how powerful they are. There is naturally no need to worry.¡±

    Bi Linglong was happy to hear that Zu An was fine. However, she instead praised the emperor. ¡°Father Emperor is wise and brilliant after all¡­¡±

    Even though the emperor was already immune to most subjects¡¯ praises, who could reject the gentle praise of a charming daughter-inw? He quickly felt pleased. Together with the fact that everything had been settled in Cloudcenter Commandery, he was so happy he gave the crown prince and princess ample rewards.

    Bi Linglong subsequently left after expressing her gratitude.

    ¡­

    There were no walls that the wind couldn¡¯t pass through. News of what had happened quickly reached the Pce of Peace.

    ¡°The Crown Princess left the Imperial Study with a happy expression¡­¡± Eunuch Lu stooped down as he exined the situation to the empress.

    The voluptuous empress was lying on her side. Because of her posture, her exaggerated curves were even more alluring. When Eunuch Lu saw her, he couldn''t help but feel envious of that brat Zu An. To ride on such rich and fertilends, just how wonderful of a thing was that?

    The empress didn¡¯t expose his greedy expression, but instead felt quite proud of herself. She loved showing off her feminine charms in front of him. Whenever she saw his bitterness over being able to see, but unable to partake, she always felt amazing.

    ¡°Zu An is quite popr with that brat he follows. Since she is happy, it seems there has been good news in Cloudcenter Commandery.¡± There was a hint of excitement in the empress¡¯ expression as she spoke.

    Eunuch Lu knew why she felt that way. He felt incredibly jealous, but his lips didn¡¯t sell him out as he said, ¡°Congrattions, your highness, congrattions. Once that child returns, your highness will be able to receive his treatment again.¡±

    The empress didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry as she looked at him. She asked, ¡°Are you sincerely congratting me, or are you just jealous?¡±

    Eunuch Lu said respectfully, ¡°It is sincere, of course. This old servant is incapable and cannot share in your highness¡¯ worries. Since Sir Zu is so capable, I naturally wish for your highness¡¯ happiness.¡±

    ¡°Tsk, not a trace of manliness in you.¡± The empress harrumphed, but she began to reminisce to herself. She continued, ¡°But you are quite right. Since Sir Zu is so ¡®capable¡¯ in certain ways, this empress has indeed begun to miss him a bit.¡±

    Eunuch Lu felt dejected when he heard her emphasize a certain part. That Zu An¡¯s ancestors must be blessing him from the afterworld! Just what did he do to deserve such a blessing?

    Although the empress teased him for a bit, she lost her interest when she saw that he wasn¡¯t producing much of a reaction. She instead asked, ¡°Right, how is that thing I had you prepare going?¡±

    ¡°Please do not worry, your highness. I have already contacted the temple. Everything is already in order. I have found a quiet room within the temple as well. As long as you do not stay inside for too long, it will not draw any attention. I have already found someone else to arrange the temporary residence outside as well. As long as we avoid the guards at night, there will not be too much of a problem,¡± Eunuch Lu said with his head lowered.

    ¡°Look at you. Is this empress someone who has no self control? Why would I need a quiet room in a temple?¡± the empress berated him. The main issue was that religious activities mostly happened during the daytime, and several guards and maids would be present to follow her. It would be far too easy for her to be exposed.

    Eunuch Lu exined, ¡°Even though it is somewhat dangerous, that kind of situation will be even more stimting. In my opinion, even though Sir Zu looks civil and proper on the outside, he definitely has a rebellious nature deep down. Did we not fail to invite him before? I believe he will instead be tempted if we do something like this.¡±

    ¡°Is the Empress a woman who needs to sell herself like this? Do I need to stoop to such lowly practices?¡± the empress replied unhappily. But after thinking about it, doing it in broad daylight with guards and servants everywhere waiting outside, having an intense battle in such a situation, seemed¡­ somewhat interesting?

    She coughed lightly when she thought of that. She asked, ¡°Is that private room of yours reliable? Do the people inside know the truth?¡±

    Seeing that she had been tempted, Eunuch Lu revealed a satisfied expression. He replied, ¡°Does your highness not trust this servant in taking care of matters? That private room is definitely safe. The temple only believes that it was prepared for a rich and powerful individual. They would not associate it with the pce at all.¡±

    ¡°That is good, then.¡± The empress nodded in satisfaction. At the same time, she gave him a strange look and asked, ¡°Little Lu, where did you learn these things from anyway? You are clearly a eunuch, and yet you seem to know quite a bit.¡±

    Eunuch Lu had a ttering smile on his face as he replied, ¡°As long as the Empress is happy, this servant will always be happy.¡±

    The Empress harrumphed and said, ¡°Go and arrange those things then. I can stay the night over there a few times. We just have to wait for Sir Zu toe back.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± Eunuch Lu lowered his head. He felt extremely conflicted inside. On one hand, he didn¡¯t really want Zu An toe back that quickly, and yet he was also strangely looking forward to this.

    ¡­

    At that point, however, Zu An waspletely focused on treating Yu Yanluo in the frozen cave. He found the situation somewhat strange. Was the rebound of letting the Empress Lantern you drew get destroyed really that great?

    The situation inside Yu Yanluo¡¯s body was an absolute mess. If it weren¡¯t because Zu An just happened to have the ability to treat others with the fourthyer of the Primordial Origin Sutra, she might not have recovered for several years. There could even be permanent lingering aftereffects!

    Right, her hair seemed to have scattered in midair, and her power seemed to have increased drastically for a moment. What¡¯s up with that?

    Uncle Ming clearly could have interrupted my chant, but he seemed to have frozen in ce for a moment for some reason.

    And he seemed to have said ¡®You¡¯re¡­¡¯ What did he want to say?

    While Zu An was confused, he heard a sudden groan. Yu Yanluo was gradually beginning to wake up. Zu An¡¯s treatment using his ki had clearly been effective.

    Yu Yanluo discovered that she was in the arms of another man as soon as she woke up. Her expression immediately changed. She was just about to struggle when she heard a voice next to her ear. ¡°Don¡¯t move randomly. Your injuries are severe; I definitely don¡¯t want all of my efforts to be for nothing.¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s entire body rxed when she heard that it was Zu An¡¯s voice. She blushed and said, ¡°Thank you. You have saved me again.¡±

    ¡°It was also thanks to your help earlier that we won,¡± Zu An said with a smile.

    By then, Yu Yanluo had fully awoken. She quickly examined herself, discovering that her wounds were indeed extremely serious. It looks as if the choice I made earlier¡­ was really pushing my limits.

    She felt grateful for Zu An¡¯s prompt rescue. But she still couldn''t help but ask quietly, ¡°But why do we have to be like this?¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°Your injuries were too severe at the time, and for some reason, it¡¯s exceedingly cold here. The cold would easily enter your body if you sat on the ground. That would leave behind permanent damage, so I had to do this¡­¡±

    He couldn''t help but tease her a bit after he finished his exnation. ¡°Is madam embarrassed?¡±

    Yu Yanluo looked away and didn¡¯t respond to him.

    Zu An said, ¡°We were even more intimate than this when we were in the cold pond. This shouldn¡¯t be a problem, right?¡±

    Yu Yanluo harrumphed. ¡°Hmph! If you were going to exin it like this, you might as well not have exined!¡±

 Chapter 1094: Milk of Purple Frost

    <h4>Chapter 1094: Milk of Purple Frost</h4>

    ¡°I don¡¯t feel any guilt; let heaven and earth serve as witnesses. Madam, please don¡¯t misunderstand,¡± Zu An said with a strange expression.

    Yu Yanluo harrumphed and replied, ¡°Are you not scared of being hacked apart by heavenly judgment?¡±

    Who is the one¡­ the one prodding me with your sword? she thought. Of course, she was too embarrassed to say these words.

    Zu An noticed that as well. He said with a bit of embarrassment, ¡°My heart is clear, but my body¡¯s reactions are my instincts; it¡¯s not something I can control. I really apologize for offending the madam.¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s cheeks burned up. This guy is being such a rascal; how am I even supposed to respond here? She decided not to say anything in the end.

    Fortunately, Zu An did act rather respectfully, not moving his hands or feet randomly. He only helped her transfer her ki.

    The two tacitly chose not to say anything. A hint of warmth entered the frigid cave.

    But Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression quickly changed, because there she sensed a familiar pounding within her. She bit her teeth and harrumphed, eximing, ¡°Are you messing with me on purpose?¡±

    Zu An was stunned, asking, ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    Seeing that his reaction hadn¡¯t been faked, Yu Yanluo pursed her lips and replied, ¡°Your ki always makes me feel really strange.¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°Ah, I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on either. I haven¡¯t treated many people with this method yet¡­¡±

    Yu Yanluo interrupted him, asking, ¡°Have you treated another woman with this technique before?¡±

    Several figures appeared in Zu An¡¯s head. However, Chuyan hadn¡¯t been treated with the fourthyer of the Primordial Origin Sutra. Strictly speaking, only Tang Tian¡¯er had been treated the same way before, and she seemed to have had a simr reaction.

    However, he wouldn¡¯t be so unromantic as to speak the truth. He quickly said, ¡°The madam is obviously the first. That¡¯s why I don¡¯t know why it¡¯s like this. Perhaps the madam¡¯s constitution is especially sensitive?¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s eyebrows curved when she heard she was the first one. A hint of a smile crept into her expression.

    However, her face heated up when she thought of that. She wasn¡¯t sure if it really was because of her, because her body was indeed very special. The feeling only became stranger and stranger. She didn¡¯t want a repeat of what happened in the cold pool and quickly changed the topic. ¡°I really didn¡¯t expect the main instigator behind all of this to be that Bright ckeye Parasite! Without his instigation, Jian Taiding wouldn¡¯t have been so daring.¡±

    Zu An said with a sigh, ¡°I can¡¯t help but feel that you and his brother spoiled him a bit too much, and that was why he got so out of control. Always satisfying and pampering him wasn¡¯t good for him; it instead harmed him.¡±

    ¡°You are right, but I still have a guilty conscience. If it were not for my appearance, the two brothers might not have fought to that state.¡± Yu Yanluo sighed. She felt a bit like a femme fatale.

    ¡°Men¡¯s desire will always be endless. Even without you, with Jian Taiding¡¯s nature, he would still have wanted to take Jian Yanyou¡¯s ce in the end. Furthermore, with Uncle Ming egging him on, regardless of whether you were there or not, the conclusion wouldn¡¯t change,¡± Zu An said in constion.

    ¡°I know that you are consoling me, but I must still thank you,¡± Yu Yanluo said gently. However, she still felt great grief when she looked at the pile of ashes in the distance. She continued, ¡°But Yanyou still died in the end, and he met such a miserable ending.¡±

    ¡°In reality, the conclusion was already decided when he was targeted by the Bright ckeye Parasite. Even with the Golden Silkworm Art, he ended up encountering the Parasite n, his natural enemy.¡± Zu An sighed with great regret. He wondered, ¡°But how do we wrap up this situation? Should we dere the entire truth to the world?¡±

    Yu Yanluo also began to think to herself. After a long time had passed, she said, ¡°Many of the scenes we recorded cannot be shown to the world. Let us just push all of the crimes onto that Bright ckeye Parasite, saying that he was the one who bewitched Jian Taiding and conspired against the duke. Either way, since the Imperial Edict has defeated him, no one will suspect his identity.¡±

    ¡°But wouldn¡¯t that be letting Jian Taiding off too easily?¡± Zu An replied with a frown.

    Yu Yanluo replied, ¡°He has already died a tragic death, so that can be considered a proper punishment. Furthermore, he already promoted many of his own trusted aides in the Martial Affairs Manor. If he were dered as the chief culprit, his subordinates would feel that they were in danger. Who knows what a group of cornered dogs will do? It would instead make the situation trickier to deal with.¡±

    Zu An nodded inwardly. In his previous world, if it weren¡¯t because the emperor of the Han Dynasty had ordered Dong Zhuo, a top general ofte Han, to ughter everyone down to the veryst man, it wouldn¡¯t have stirred up so many grievances that Western Liang¡¯s legions would ughter their way back to the capital, making the entireter Han dynasty¡¯s situation be irremediable.

    ¡°Madam really does have prating insight after all. I¡¯m left in admiration for your wisdom.¡± Zu An sighed in amazement. This woman looked as if she didn¡¯t really get involved in many different matters, but she was still a n leader after all. If she had just been a pretty flower vase, she would have long since been devoured by the starving wolves of this world.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    A strange sound emerged from Yu Yanluo¡¯s throat. However, she quickly changed the topic, continuing, ¡°That is why you cannot publicly dere the news of his death; otherwise, Jian Taiding¡¯s crimes would still be too great, and that would be more difficult to take care ofter. Using Yanyou¡¯s reputation, all of Cloudcenter Commandery will instead quickly stabilize. Furthermore¡­¡± She turned to give Zu An a look and didn¡¯t finish her sentence.

    ¡°What?¡± Zu An asked curiously. The next part seemed to have something to do with him.

    ¡°If we dered that Yanyou had already been plotted against by the two of them, how would we exin the duke having returned to the manor in the past few days? I even personally dered that there was no way I would not recognize my own husband. Liu Ji and the others have also helped you so much.¡± Yu Yanluo took a deep breath and continued, ¡°It would be one thing for me, since I was independent to begin with. No one can do much to me. But what would we do about Liu Ji, Chu Ji, even Zhang Ji and the others? Everyone would know that they had stayed with a fake duke, and that they were no longer pure. How would they continue living then?¡±

    ¡°Um¡­¡± Zu An sighed and said, ¡°I¡¯ve let them down.¡±

    ¡°Both of us have let them down,¡± Yu Yanluo added. ¡°That is why I need you to remain as the duke for a period of time, at least until things settle a bit.¡±

    Zu An said with a frown, ¡°I won¡¯t shirk my responsibility to help them deal with the aftermath, but in the end, I¡¯m also a part of the imperial envoy and need to return to the capital. There¡¯s no way I can stay here for too long.¡±

    With his identity, there was no way he could remain as the duke forever. He had only done that before because he had no choice.

    Yu Yanluo exined. ¡°I do not think it will take too long. Once things stabilize a bit, you can inform the world that you are resting in seclusion. Then, you will not have to see anyone for a long time. After a while, once we have reced Jian Taiding¡¯s subordinates with our own people and the situation is within our grasp again, you can dere that the duke was unable to recover from his injuries and passed away. At that point, everything will have already settled and it would not have much of an effect on anything. That should be enough time for Liu Ji and the others to n ordingly.¡±

    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll do what I can,¡± Zu An replied, nodding.

    At the same time, he was thinking about something else. The one he had offended was the emperor. Should they end up bing hostile, Cloudcenter Commandery could very well be a base where he would have resources at his disposal. As such, there was no harm in setting such things up beforehand.

    ¡°That is good then¡­ Mmm¡­¡± Yu Yanluo let out a soft and silky moan. As she made that sound, however, her skin began to feel as if it were burning. She immediately jumped out of Zu An¡¯s embrace.

    However, because she was weak and seriously injured, she almost copsed right onto the ground. Zu An jumped in fright and quickly supported her.

    Yu Yanluo quickly backed up while pushing him away. ¡°You had better note over!¡±

    Zu An was confused, asking, ¡°Why are you acting like this, madam?¡±

    ¡°You still have the nerve to say that?!¡± Yu Yanluo eximed, ring at him angrily. ¡°Forget it; I do not want you to treat me anymore. Your ki is just far too strange.¡±

    ¡°But you haven¡¯t healed from your injuries yet!¡± Zu An protested worriedly.

    ¡°Your treatment has already helped me recover a bit. I will just slowly nurse myselfter.¡± Yu Yanluo felt lingering fear and didn¡¯t dare to let him even touch her again.

    ¡°Alright then.¡± Zu An couldn''t really persist after she had said that. Otherwise, it would seem as if he were taking advantage of her because of the situation. Meanwhile, Yu Yanluo sighed in relief when she saw that he didn¡¯t insist on continuing.

    Suddenly, a strong wave of spiritual energy filled the cave. When the two breathed it in, they found that it was fragrant and sweet, making every pore in their bodies rx as if cheering for joy.

    Zu An and Yu Yanluo exchanged a look, eximing, ¡°The Milk of Purple Frost!¡±

 Chapter 1095: Imminent Peril

    <h4>Chapter 1095: Imminent Peril</h4>

    ¡°We need to hurry!¡± Yu Yanluo eximed, pointing at the giant icicle hanging above the cold pond. Some mist swirled across the surface of the icicle. Then, it slowly condensed, forming a drop of milky white liquid at the very tip. The water droplet was extremely small at first, but it grew at a visible rate.

    The spiritual essence in the frozen cave became denser and denser. At that point, even an absolute fool could tell that the drop of liquid was a rare treasure.

    The droplet at the very tip of the icicle grewrger andrger. Eventually, it began to wobble, as if it might fall at any time.

    Zu An quickly rushed forward to collect it, but Yu Yanluo stopped him and said, ¡°The Milk of Purple Frost is a miraculous and divine substance. It must be fully mature in order to provide the greatest effects. If we try to collect it beforehand, it will not be much different from other ordinary liquids. It will only be a little stronger than the world¡¯s natural spiritual essence.¡±

    ¡°Then we can only collect it once it drops?¡± Zu An asked. He hadn¡¯t spent too much time in this world, so he didn¡¯t know as much about such secrets as the n leader Yu Yanluo.

    Yu Yanluo nodded and replied, ¡°Indeed. You must wait until itpletely matures and falls from its host, but the timing is important. After all, this substance will dissolve into water and disperse into the earth. It must be collected the moment before it falls into the cold pool.¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An nodded. Even though the amount of time it would take for the droplet to fall from the icicle into the cold pool was extremely short, it wasn¡¯t too big of an issue for cultivators. With his current cultivation, forget about a single drop, he could catch every single drop even if several hundred droplets fell at the same time.

    ¡°It is not as simple as you think,¡± Yu Yanluo warned him. ¡°You really want this, right?¡±

    Zu An answered frankly, ¡°Indeed. There¡¯s someone extremely important to me who¡¯s seriously injured and in imminent peril. That person must have this to save their life. That¡¯s why I must have this Milk of Purple Frost. However, this was something I discovered with the madam, so in theory, we should be splitting this in half¡­ But I have no choice. I can onlypensate for madam¡¯s loss some other way. I hope madam can forgive me.¡±

    Yu Yanluo smiled and replied, ¡°You have saved my life several times. Compared to what you have done for me, what is a trifling Milk of Purple Frost? Furthermore, I do not even need this thing. You can just take it; you do not need to repay me at all.¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t refuse out of politeness and said, ¡°Thank you for your help, madam. I¡¯ll never forget madam¡¯s kindness for the rest of my life!¡± He knew there was no way Yu Yanluo could have absolutely no interest in something like the Milk of Purple Frost. This was a favor he would definitely keep in mind.

    Yu Yanluo blushed and replied, ¡°What are you even talking about? Who wants your gratitude¡­ Here, take this. Use this thing to collect the Milk of Purple Frost.¡±

    She handed over a soft and smooth bottle. It was clearly made from the highest level jade.

    ¡°What is this?¡± Zu An asked as he received it.

    Yu Yanluo exined, ¡°The Milk of Purple Frost is not an ordinary object; it cannot be stored in other containers, and will instead through and turn into nothingness. Only a vessel like jade can store it safely. That is something I deduced from the records I found when the previous Cloudcenter Duke offered the Milk of Purple Frost to his majesty.¡±

    Zu An was overjoyed when he heard that, saying, ¡°Then I really have to thank the madam. Otherwise, I would just have to watch as this once in a lifetime chance passed by.¡±

    Yu Yanluo smiled and said, ¡°You should get ready. It seems as if it will fall any time now.¡±

    Zu An nodded and becamepletely focused on the drop of Milk of Purple Frost. The drop becamerger andrger, wobbling at the very edge of the icicle. After a few more minutes, it finally fell. Zu An rushed out like a streak of lightning when he saw that, quickly appearing below the icicle. He readied the jade bottle right where it was going to fall.

    As the droplet was about to enter the jade bottle, Zu An and Yu Yanluo both smiled. However, their smiles quickly froze on their faces.

    The drop of Milk of Purple Frost actually passed straight through the jade bottle and continued to fall!

    Zu An was horrified when he saw that. He immediately dropped down to try and collect the droplet with the bottle, and yet after trying two more times, the result was the same as before!

    ¡°Madam, did you make some mistake?!¡± he eximed.

    Yu Yanluo was also shocked, replying, ¡°There should be no mistake! It should be this jade bottle that can collect it! How could it be like this?¡±

    Zu An quickly took out all sorts of other vessels from his Brilliant ss Bead to test them out. However, the drop of Milk of Purple Frost seemed as if it were invisible, passing straight through. Not a single vessel could store it.

    ¡°What the hell is going on?!¡± Zu An eximed, breaking out into a cold sweat. If he really missed out on this chance to collect the Milk of Purple Frost, he probably wouldn¡¯t have another chance to find a second droplet.

    Don¡¯t tell me I just have to watch as Mi Li dies?

    But he had already tried everything he could, and yet he couldn''t store that drop of Milk of Purple Frost at all! The drop of liquid was now only a foot away from the cold pool. It was probably going topletely disappear a secondter.

    ¡°What do I do?!¡± Zu An¡¯s entire body turned cold.

    Wait. I can¡¯t take that droplet even though I¡¯m still able to move, but Jian Yanyou was dying. Why was he so certain he could obtain the Milk of Purple Frost?

    After all, there was no way Jian Yanyou could have been certain that he could wake up in time when the Milk of Purple Frost fell. ording to what Uncle Ming had said, it seemed he would only have been able to wake up once he received the nurturing of the Milk of Purple Frost.

    However, Jian Yanyou hadn¡¯t even woken up, nor could he move. How would he obtain it then?

    Could it be that the Milk of Purple Frost would fall into the pool, and then nourish his body?

    No, Yu Yanluo mentioned before that water would quickly dissolve the droplet.

    Perhaps it was because he had already been on the brink of death too many times, but the more critical the situation was, the calmer he became and the quicker his mind moved.

    Wait¡­ He looked down to examine the cold pool. Because of Blue Mard, his perception toward the water element was powerful. He just felt that the pool was a little strange.

    ¡°It¡¯s all over¡­¡± Yu Yanluo watched as the drop of Milk of Purple Frost reached just a hair away from the surface of the pool, and yet Zu An still hadn¡¯t found a solution. She was incredibly anxious, and also med herself greatly.

    Zu An already said he needed this to save an extremely important friend of his, and yet now, because I didn¡¯t find the right information, we are going to lose out on this once-in-ten-thousand-years miracle¡­

    Even if he does not me me, I cannot take this myself¡­

    She was wondering how to console Zu An when she suddenly saw him move. He reached out his hand, creating arge gap in the water¡¯s surface.

    Is he trying to prolong the time before the droplet hits something else? Yu Yanluo thought. She had to admit that was a good decision. But if they couldn''t find a way to store the droplet, it would at most buy a bit of time. In the end, it would still be meaningless.

    Her eyes suddenly widened. She saw Zu An hold the jade bottle upside down above the water surface, and the drop of liquid suffused with spiritual essence flew straight into the bottle. As he closed the lid, the spiritual essence that filled the frozen cave immediately became weaker. Even the cold that was spreading in all directions vanished without a trace. The cold pool also began shrinking at a visible rate.

    ¡°We¡¯ve¡­ seeded?¡± Yu Yanluo eximed in disbelief.

    Zu An kicked off with his toes, then returned while treading on the surface of the pool. He said, ¡°It was thanks to madam¡¯s guidance that I was finally able to collect the Milk of Purple Frost.¡±

    Yu Yanluo replied in surprise, ¡°But why did you keep failing before? Andter on, it almost felt as if the Milk of Purple Frost flew upward from below!¡±

    Zu An gave the icicle a look and said, ¡°It¡¯s because that¡¯s just a pretense. The legend of the Milk of Purple Frost is well known, so people would subconsciously think ites from this frozen stctite. Uncle Ming even gave it a look on purpose, but that was actually to mislead us.¡±

    ¡°But why did we clearly see the droplet condense overhead?¡± Yu Yanluo asked, still confused.

    ¡°That was just an inverted image made by the water as it cast its reflection toward the icicle. In other words, the true Milk of Purple Frost is formed from a stgmite at the bottom of the cold pool, then floats upward,¡± Zu An exined. ¡°I thought it was strange from the very start. Jian Yanyou was already in a half-dead state, so how was he going to receive the Milk of Purple Frost? I remembered that his remains just happened to be under the icicle, so I suddenly realized he had ced his body in the spot where the Milk of Purple Frost would definitely appear. He would have received the nourishment of the droplet without even needing to move at all.¡±

    ¡°But wasn¡¯t the Milk of Purple Frost rumored to dissolve in water? How could it exist in water?¡± Yu Yanluo asked, having realized another problem. That was why she had never suspected it woulde from underwater.

    ¡°That¡¯s because it was surrounded by rich essence, isting it from the pool¡¯s water. However, as it rose, the essence protecting it would quickly scatter. If I hadn¡¯t promptly parted the waters, it might have already dispersed away.¡± Zu An said, sounding relieved.

    ¡°People say that divine things choose their own owners. It seems this thing really was fated to be yours.¡± Yu Yanluo sighed in relief. She patted her chest, still feeling some lingering fear.

    Zu An was about to say something when he suddenly heard noisy footsteps in the distance.

    ¡°Why did that strong spiritual essence suddenly disappear?¡±

    ¡°Huh? There¡¯s a cave over here. Let¡¯s take a look.¡±

 Chapter 1096: Proof

    <h4>Chapter 1096: Proof</h4>

    Inside the cave, Zu An and Yu Yanluo¡¯s expressions changed. Yu Yanluo quickly said, ¡°They seem to be people from Cloudcenter Commandery.¡±

    Zu An nodded and added, ¡°There are also people from the imperial envoy.¡± He recognized some familiar voices.

    ¡°What do we do now? Should we use your real identity or the duke¡¯s?¡± Yu Yanluo tidied up the cave a little as she spoke.

    Zu An thought for a moment and replied, ¡°Let¡¯s use the duke¡¯s identity. Otherwise, it¡¯ll be hard to exin why I¡¯m here with you, and also where the duke has been all this time.¡±

    Yu Yanluo was still a bit worried, asking, ¡°But how will we exin the imperial edict then? Everyone knows that is something only you possess.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I have a solution for that,¡± Zu An said while changing his appearance into Jian Yanyou¡¯s. Even though it wasn¡¯t the first time, Yu Yanluo was still incredibly shocked by the process.

    At almost the instant Zu Anpleted his transformation, the footsteps reached the cave entrance.

    A group of people appeared in the cave soon afterward. Those in front included Sang Hong, Xu Yu, and Pei Shao, who were all big shots in Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s court. The previous battle had clearly caused quite themotion, so they had all rushed over to see what was going on.

    ¡°Duke! Madam!¡± Sang Hong sighed in relief when he saw the two of them. He was happy to see them.

    But the expressions of the other Cloudcenter officials were strange. It was hard to say whether they were expressing happiness or grief.

    Yu Yanluo was rmed. She knew that Zu An had to first pretend to be a girl and fool a man in order to get the voice right. How was he going to get through the current situation? She reacted quickly and said before Zu An said anything. ¡°Greetings, everyone.¡±

    ¡°May I ask why the two of you are here?¡± Sang Hong asked.

    Yu Yanluo gave Zu An a look and was the first to reply, ¡°The duke was injured, and a surge of ki and blood harmed his throat. He cannot speak right now. I will speak in his ce to prevent his condition from worsening.¡±

    Zu An nodded inwardly. Yu Yanluo was sharp, saving him a lot of time and effort.

    The onlookers were shocked, and someone eximed. ¡°Duke, your wounds were actually that serious?¡±

    Meanwhile, Sang Hong was looking all over the ce for Zu An. But of course, he didn¡¯t find him. When he had sensed the eruption of the imperial edict¡¯s power, he had immediately rushed to Zu An¡¯s room in rm.

    Even though Zu An had said not to disturb him, that matter was too important for Sang Hong to ignore. However, there had been no response even after he called out for a long time. He couldn''t find Zu An even when he barged in. As such, he had been worried that something had happened to Zu An.

    Yu Yanluo sighed and said, ¡°It seems misfortune has struck our n.¡±

    As she was incredibly beautiful, the worry in her sigh naturally drew pity from those present. They immediately felt a desire to protect her, eximing, ¡°Madam, please speak your mind. We will definitely help you!¡±

    Of course, there was nock of intelligent people present. As Yu Yanluo had mentioned the n, was she referring to Jian Taiding?

    Yu Yanluo thus said, ¡°Because the duke returned suddenly, some people did certain shameful things. Out of guilt, they returned to where everything had happened. Yanyou and I secretly followed them¡­¡±

    Then, she slowly recounted the story she had prepared beforehand. Uncle Ming had deceived Jian Taiding, and they had schemed against Jian Yanyou together. However, Jian Yanyou had actually cultivated the Golden Silkworm Art, allowing him to revive himself. Uncle Ming and Jian Taiding had investigated the cave in rm, but they had ended up being exposed, so both sides had begun a great battle.

    Jian Taiding had realized that he had been tricked, so at thest moment, he had turned to help his older brother defeat Uncle Ming. However, they hadn¡¯t expected Uncle Ming to be a Bright ckeye Parasite. Uncle Ming¡¯s cultivation was extremely high, and because Jian Taiding had been seriously injured to begin with, he had been ruthlessly killed by the enraged Uncle Ming¡­

    She pointed toward a certain direction. Only then did the others see the headless corpse of JIan Taiding. They were all rmed.

    Many of them had been in the court with Jian Taiding for many years. They hadn¡¯t expected him to meet such a tragic ending and couldn''t help but feel some pity. Some thought that with Jian Taiding¡¯s death, all of Cloudcenter Commandery was going to change. Finally, there were also some who stared at the two suspiciously, wondering if this was a plot they had set up. Perhaps they had fooled Uncle Ming and Jian Taiding intoing over, then brutally ughtered them.

    Those present all had their own spections. That was why, apart from the few officials who had been close to Yu Yanluo and Jian Yanyou to begin with, the others all remained quiet.

    In the end, Pei Shao said, ¡°Madam Yu, since you said that Bright ckeye Parasite was so formidable, how did you two survive?¡±

    Sang Hong also said in agreement, ¡°Indeed. I sensed his majesty¡¯s aura just now. If my suspicions are not wrong, I believe someone used the imperial edict. Where is he?¡±

    What he was most worried about at the moment was Zu An. He had immediately rushed over when he sensed the aura of the imperial edict. With Zu An¡¯s cultivation, he wouldn¡¯t use the imperial edict unless he faced an enemy he absolutely couldn¡¯t defeat.

    He had rushed all the way over, and yet couldn¡¯t even see any sign of him. He had reason to suspect that Zu An had been framed by these two. Considering the fact that Jian Yanyou was seriously injured and couldn¡¯t speak, could that have been Zu An¡¯s final retaliation? His expression immediately became unkind when he thought about how Ah Zu might have already died.

    Yu Yanluo was shocked. That question was what she had been the most worried about. Zu An had said he had a solution. But he couldn''t speak at the moment, so Yu Yanluo had absolutely no idea what he was going to do!

    Suddenly, her ears moved slightly and she heard a familiar voice. She remained calm, enduring the urge to turn around to look at Zu An. She knew he wasmunicating through ki.

    ¡°Madam?¡± Sang Hong began to panic when he saw that Yu Yanluo didn¡¯t reply.

    Yu Yanluo said in response, ¡°I do not know how to exin this. I was in a life and death crisis, but then a mysterious person suddenly appeared. He was the one who killed Uncle Ming.¡±

    ¡°What mysterious person would be that formidable?¡± Pei Shao asked, obviously not believing her exnation.

    Yu Yanluo gestured with her hands and exined, ¡°He wears a mask and is dressed in embroidered clothes. He was probably an Embroidered Envoy. Furthermore, the cloud designs on his clothes were embroidered with golden silk.¡±

    ¡°A Golden Token Envoy?¡± Pei Shao and the others eximed, shocked.

    ¡°Golden Token Eleven!¡± Sang Hong obviously knew who it was.

    The mysterious Golden Token Eleven who hade with them never showed himself. They hadn¡¯t expected him to suddenly appear here. He was his majesty¡¯s trusted aide, so it waspletely expected for him to carry an imperial edict.

    Sang Hong quickly asked, ¡°Then has the madam seen Sir Zu at all?¡±

    ¡°I have not. Is he here too?¡± Yu Yanluo didn¡¯t reveal any gaps in her exnation. At the same time, she found the situation strange. She had heard rumors that Sang Hong was ruthless, and that he always acted alone in the court as well, not getting along with anyone. And yet, his concern for Zu An didn¡¯t seem faked at all. Is that guy really so charismatic that even someone as rock-hard in nature as Sang Hong was convinced?n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Sang Hong sighed in relief when he heard that Zu An hadn¡¯t shown up. Meanwhile, when the others heard that Golden Token Eleven was the one who had acted, and paired that with the pile of ashes on the ground, they all sighed in admiration toward his majesty¡¯s power.

    But some remained suspicious. Pei Shao voiced one of his own suspicions. ¡°Madam Yu, all of this is merely your one-sided story. Do you have any proof?¡±

    The officials who were close to the Yu n immediately objected. ¡°The duke and Madam Yu are both here, and there is even a Golden Token Envoy to serve as witness. How can this still be fake?¡±

    Sang Hong frowned. The biggest headache had previously been Jian Taiding. Now that he was dead, Cloudcenter Commander would quickly stabilize. On the contrary, he still hadn¡¯tpleted the mission to cripple the Yu n. Should I make use of this opportunity?

    For some reason, Xu Yu remained quiet the entire time.

    When he saw the tacit agreement of the two elders, however, Pei Shao felt more and more certain that he was correct. ¡°Madam Yu, why are you not saying anything?¡±

    Suddenly, Zu An coughed intensely and looked as if he were about to copse. Yu Yanluo quickly supported him. She was sharp, quickly ying along and saying, ¡°If you want proof, I obviously have it. But the duke is seriously injured right now and urgently needs treatment. Let us bring him back first.¡±

    Her recording mirror was irond proof, but there were some parts that were unsuitable for public distribution. That was why she needed time to return and process it. Fortunately, Zu An was quick on his feet, or else she really wouldn¡¯t have known what to do.

    Sang Hong and the others wanted to check his pulse, but Yu Yanluo firmly refused. No one was too suspicious, however, because the court and Cloudcenter Commandery didn¡¯t get along too well to begin with. Not even the locals would want the Imperial Envoy checking the pulse of their duke.

    Jian Yanyou was still the duke, after all. Now that he was seriously injured, the top priority was his treatment. With such a proper reason, they couldn''t say anything else. As such, their group escorted Zu An back to the Duke Manor.

    ¡­

    The entire Duke Manor entered an uproar. They sought out doctors and began to prepare medicine.

    Zhang Ji and the others weeped endlessly, begging to visit the duke. Zu An felt his scalp turn numb when he saw so many women acting like that.

    Fortunately, Yu Yanluo stopped them for him and personally watched over the duke¡¯s quarters. With her status as the main wife, no one could say anything. They could only wait outside.

    After the door was closed, Yu Yanluo quickly took out the recording mirror from before. Then, she took out a few other recording stones. She drew some formations, then began to work quickly.

    Zu An was stunned when he saw the scenes fly around. This world even had video editing?

    However, his thoughts quickly returned to the Milk of Purple Frost. He wanted to call Mi Li out, but he was also worried that it might be unsuitable with Yu Yanluo present. As such, he got up and said, ¡°Madam, since I don¡¯t need to be here right now, I¡¯m going out for a bit.¡±

    Yu Yanluo frowned and eximed, ¡°No, you cannot leave right now!¡±

 Chapter 1097: Request

    <h4>Chapter 1097: Request</h4>

    Worried that Zu An might be unhappy, Yu Yanluo quickly exined, ¡°There are so many people waiting outside. What if they suddenly burst in and you are not here? What will I do then?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. This is the Duke Manor, after all. Gong Pan, Maid Xing, and the others have alreadye to watch the surroundings. Those Cloudcenter officials can¡¯te in,¡± Zu An replied. ¡°The main reason is because, judging from Sir Sang¡¯s words, I can assume that he¡¯s already noticed that I am not in my room. If I don¡¯t show myself, he might blow the situation up more than necessary out of concern for me. It¡¯ll be bad if he associates my disappearance with Cloudcenter Duke.¡±

    Yu Yanluo had a strange look on her face. ¡°Is this Sang Hong not a bit too concerned about you? It almost seems as if you are his son-inw or something¡­ But I have heard of some rumors about you and the Sang n¡¯s daughter-inw. Would it not make more sense for him to hate you?¡±

    Zu An was rmed. Women¡¯s sixth sense truly was terrifying. He really was a bit speechless. He just decided to change the topic, saying, ¡°Well, there are even rumors that the two of us have a thing.¡±

    Yu Yanluo harrumphed. She blushed and said, ¡°Hmph, no good words can be expected from a scoundrel.¡±

    Zu An coughed lightly and said, ¡°Apart from my worries that Sir Sang is looking for me, I need to fool a man too.¡± He pointed at his throat, indicating that he wasn¡¯t using Jian Yanyou¡¯s voice at the moment.

    Yu Yanluo immediately burst outughing. ¡°Your technique is far too strange. A grown man has to pretend to be a girl? If news of this got out, you might just be too embarrassed to see anyone in public ever again.¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t tell anyone and I don¡¯t tell anyone, who will know?¡± Zu An replied, looking at her with a smile.

    Yu Yanluo couldn''t help but feel rmed. She shifted her gaze and asked, ¡°Can you not make us sound like some illicit couple? Hurry and go then.¡±

    Zu An was confused. What¡¯s going on? Why are you suddenly getting embarrassed? But time was pressing, so he didn¡¯t dy. He secretly left through a hidden passage.

    Jian Yanyou¡¯s room led to Jasper Lane in the city. There were many people there, and it was quite lively, so it was easy for him to move undercover.

    Zu An quickly returned to the official residence. He saw that Sang Hong had already returned as well, and was currently asking Pei You and Xiao Jianren nervously, ¡°Has there been any news regarding Sir Zu¡¯s whereabouts?!¡±

    Zu An felt warm inside. This man really did see him as his own.

    ¡°There isn¡¯t. We¡¯ve already searched everywhere, but we didn¡¯t find him,¡± Pei You said worriedly.

    Xiao Jianren was a bit calmer. He said, ¡°Sir Sang, please do not worry. Sir Zu¡¯s cultivation is high, and he is intelligent too. He must be taking care of some urgent matter if we cannot find him right now.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Sang Hong was a bit worked up because of his concern. With that, he remembered some things and began to think to himself. ¡°Ah Zu disappeared, and Golden Token Eleven appeared. The missing Cloudcenter Duke has also returned¡­¡±

    Zu An was rmed, worried that he might really make the connection. He quickly showed himself, eximing, ¡°I¡¯ve made Sir Sang worry!¡±

    Sang Hong was shocked and happy to see him. He asked, ¡°Are you alright?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Zu An nodded.

    ¡°Where have you been all this time?¡± Pei You grumbled. He had been having a great time in Jasper Lane, but he had had to leave that wonderful ce to look all over for Zu An.

    ¡°Being inside all the time was too stuffy, so I went out to get some medicine to clear up my mood. Just now, I seem to have sensed that someone used an imperial edict, so I quickly went back to take a look. Just what is going on?¡± Zu An replied, pretending to not know a thing.

    Sang Hong was half convinced, half skeptical as he said, ¡°Jian Taiding has died; Sir Eleven interfered¡­¡± He gave a rough recount of all the information he had just received. He then asked, ¡°Ah Zu, what do you think about all this?¡±

    When he saw Sang Hong¡¯s changes in expression, Zu An mumbled to himself for a bit before saying, ¡°This Yu Yanluo seems to be hiding something.¡±

    ¡°Indeed, that is what I am thinking too. I just feel that she is hiding something.¡± Sang Hong nodded.

    Pei You felt endless regret. If he had known he would be able to see Yu Yanluo this time, like hell he would still go to some Jasper Lane! No matter how pretty the girls at Jasper Lane were, how could theypare to Yu Yanluo?

    But he quickly changed his mind. No matter how pretty Yu Yanluo is, he couldn''t touch her. That made him feel that the Jasper Lane girls were much more friendly and understanding.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An instead frowned inwardly. Sang Hong really is an old fox after all¡­ He immediately noticed the gap in our story.

    Worried that Sang Hong might still be suspicious, he deliberately tested the waters and said, ¡°I feel as if there¡¯s something suspicious about that Cloudcenter Duke too.¡±

    ¡°Indeed. He did not say anything the entire time; it was always Yu Yanluo who spoke. Even though she said that the duke was injured and could not speak, I could not help but feel that something was not right.¡± Sang Hong continued, ¡°I just discussed things with Xu Yu and the others, and they agree that this Cloudcenter Duke might be fake, and that he is a puppet Yu Yanluo found.¡±

    Zu An was rmed, but he didn¡¯t show it on the surface. He said, ¡°Indeed. If he doesn¡¯t speak, it might be because they¡¯re hiding something. We¡¯ll know the truth once we make him speak.¡±

    ¡°Indeed. Yu Yanluo might be able to use his injuries as an excuse today, but there is no way the duke will still be unable to speak tomorrow, right? We shall see how she deals with this when the timees.¡± Sang Hong harrumphed.

    Zu An sighed in relief. Thank goodness I came out here today, or else everything would¡¯ve been over by tomorrow.

    The two chatted for a while, and Zu An returned to his room again. When he closed the door, he looked around and frowned. A beautiful figure entered through the window. Surprisingly, it was Daji.

    Zu An sighed in relief and said, ¡°Thank goodness you¡¯re still here. I thought you went missing.¡±

    Daji blinked, looking somewhat wronged. Even though she didn¡¯t say anything, Zu An still smiled and said, ¡°Alright, I know it¡¯s not your fault. They barged in, so you obviously couldn¡¯t continue to pretend you were me. Leaving was the right choice, or else it would have be more troublesome if they saw you.¡±

    Daji smiled when she heard him say that, as if she were bing a bit excited. But when Zu An looked at her more closely, her expression had returned to normal, as if it had never changed before.

    Zu An didn¡¯t pay too much attention to that and instead thought of something more important. He called out Mi Li and eximed, ¡°Big sis empress, big sis empress?¡±

    A whileter, the red-clothed Mi Li appeared on the bed. She gave him an annoyed look and shot back, ¡°You¡¯re bing more and more undisciplined. Call me master!¡±

    Her appearance wasn¡¯t inferior to Yu Yanluo¡¯s at all. There was also a valiant and formidable air between her brows. She gave off the prestige of a queen.

    ¡°Sure, big s¡­ Ahem, master.¡± Zu An quickly changed his tone when Mi Li red at him. However, he quickly asked out of concern, ¡°What happened to your projection? You¡¯ve be so much smaller.¡±

    Mi Li¡¯s brows shot up. She eximed, ¡°What did you say to me?¡±

    ¡°I said your figure seems to have be a bit smaller, and your outline seems to be much blurrier.¡± Zu An frowned. Mi Li looked as if she might scatter if even a slight breeze blew against her.

    Mi Li fell silent. Only after some time passed did she say with a sigh, ¡°My soul has been severely damaged. In the future, our meetings will be finite.¡±

    She had often boasted about not fearing death, but for some reason, she suddenly felt a little reluctance. She wasn¡¯t even sure what exactly it was she was reluctant about.

    Her lonely expression made Zu An feel pained inside. He had originally nned to tease her a bit, but he wasn¡¯t in the mood anymore. He quickly took out the jade bottle he had prepared beforehand, saying, ¡°Master, I¡¯ve already found the Milk of Purple Frost for you.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Mi Li had just beenzily reclining in his bed, her eyes half-closed. She immediately sat up straight when she heard that.

    Zu An didn¡¯t waste any time and just handed her the bottle. At the same time, he released his ki to form a protective screen around them; otherwise, the spiritual essence would leak out and be sensed by the others in the temporary residence.

    Mi Li was shocked and overjoyed when she smelled the rich spiritual essence. She eximed, ¡°It really is the Milk of Purple Frost! How did you manage to find something so incredible?¡±

    The Milk of Purple Frost had been something exceedingly rare even in her time, let alone in this age where natural ki had already declined so much.

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s a long story. Master, hurry and treat your injuries and don¡¯t waste any more time. I¡¯ll tell you all about itter.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± MI Li received the Milk of Purple Frost. At the same time, her expression was somewhat troubled. A whileter, she said, ¡°This empress has always separated gratitudes and grudges clearly; I hate to owe others favors. Since you¡¯ve found something so precious for me, it¡¯s equivalent to saving my life¡­ How about this? I¡¯ll agree to one of your requests as reciprocation.¡±

    ¡°Is any kind of request okay?¡± Zu An¡¯s face lit up.

 Chapter 1098: Invitation

    <h4>Chapter 1098: Invitation</h4>

    Mi Li raised a brow, her expression bing somewhat dangerous as she replied, ¡°What kind of request are you thinking of?¡±

    Zu Anughed in embarrassment and said, ¡°I haven¡¯t thought of it yet¡­ Ahem, isn¡¯t it right and proper to treat your own master¡¯s injuries? Talking about this makes us seem like strangers, doesn¡¯t it?¡±

    Mi Li¡¯s expression finally eased somewhat. She said, ¡°At least you have some filial piety. But this empress never owes favors. If I said I¡¯ll agree to something, I¡¯ll agree to it. If you haven¡¯t thought it through yet, you can bring it up in the future when you¡¯ve decided on it. As long as this empress can do it, I¡¯ll definitely give my consent.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression turned strange. How can you make a promise like this? Don¡¯t you know that there are some people whose filial piety ispletely warped¡­

    Mi Li opened up the jade bottle and brought it to her lips. She then licked the contents with her small tongue. Afterward, she closed her eyes to adjust her breathing and transfer her ki.

    Zu An was a bit puzzled, asking, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you directly ingesting the Milk of Purple Frost?¡±

    Even though there was only a single drop, just licking a bit of it would make him feel like a penny-pincher not willing to eat the meat he had bought.

    Mi Li harrumphed and replied, ¡°What do you know? The Milk of Purple Frost is a divine substance that contains the essence of heaven and earth. If I directly ingest the drop, in my current state, arge amount of the essence will be wasted. That¡¯s why I need to repair my soul bit by bit using it.¡±

    ¡°Then doesn¡¯t that mean the process will take a long time?¡± Zu An replied with a frown.

    ¡°What, is that too inconvenient for you?¡± Mi Li shot back, lookingpletely calm.

    Zu Anughed and replied, ¡°What is master saying? Why would I find that inconvenient? I just wanted you to heal up faster.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s more like it.¡± Mi Li nodded in satisfaction. ¡°But I was almost gone for good, so a quick recovery isn¡¯t too likely. I need some time to rest and recover. It will take three months at the earliest, and half a year at thetest. I should be able to return to my former state by then.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s actually going to take that long?¡± Zu An eximed. Even though Mi Li had already given him a heads up ahead of time, he still hadn¡¯t expected it to take that long.

    Mi Li said with a serious expression, ¡°An injury to one¡¯s soul is no small matter. Furthermore, I was almostpletely killed from my wounds. Just the fact that I¡¯ll be able to recover within a few months is already proof of the power of the Milk of Purple Frost.¡±

    ¡°Alright then. You should focus on your recovery. I¡¯m about to wrap up the Cloudcenter Commandery situation on my own too,¡± Zu An added. He suddenly recalled that Yun Jianyue¡¯s soul had also been injured by the emperor¡¯s attack. Even though she had been able to recover a bit from the Imperial Hospital¡¯s medicines, judging from what Mi Li was saying, she probably hadn¡¯t fully recovered yet.

    Mi Li gave him a look. A hint of praise appeared in her eyes and she remarked, ¡°Even though you look all sloppy and lustful, you¡¯re pretty good at taking care of things. You haven¡¯t let down the title of my disciple.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. This woman always has to give me a pinch in the balls whenever shepliments me. I guess that¡¯s just how she is¡­

    Mi Li reached out her hand and checked his pulse. Then, she nodded and said, ¡°Not bad; you haven¡¯t been so obsessed with women you forgot to cultivate. Your soul is already taking shape from practicing what I told you before. It isn¡¯t far from fully forming now. Tsk, brat, your cultivation speed is pretty ridiculous, as expected of my disciple.¡±

    Zu An sighed and replied, ¡°Cultivation hasn¡¯t been easy these days.¡±

    ¡°Oh? How do you cultivate every day?¡± Mi Li asked, immediately taking an interest. She had been focused on her recovery to prevent her soul¡¯s copse, and obviously didn¡¯t know what Zu An had been doing.

    ¡°I meditate for an hour when I wake up, and I meditate for an hour before I sleep no matter how tired I am,¡± Zu An replied. He thought about the times when even though he had just had an intimate session with Big Manman, leaving himpletely exhausted, he had still forced himself to cultivate. Of course, he didn¡¯t dare to share that pain with Mi Li, or else she¡¯d immediately make fun of him.

    ¡°And then?¡± Mi Li replied with a frown.

    ¡°And then?¡± Zu An repeated, stunned. He thought for a bit and added, ¡°Oh, I meditate a bit if I have some free time. There¡¯s just been too many things that have happened recently in Cloudcenter Commandery. I¡¯ve been so caught up in things, and yet I still remembered to cultivate. I¡¯ve worked hard, right?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± Mi Li remarked with a strange expression.

    ¡°Were you expecting anything else?¡± Zu An asked, confused. ¡°Master, don¡¯t tell me you worked even harder than me when you tempered your soul in the past?¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± Mi Li felt as if she were going to vomit blood. However, she said unnaturally with a rigid expression, ¡°Of course I didn¡¯t work that hard back then. Your master was an incredible genius; I didn¡¯t need to spend time meditating at all! Just sleeping was enough.¡±

    ¡°Ah! Master, hurry and teach me how you did it!¡± Zu An eximed excitedly. He really did care about that, because which man wanted to still cultivate after they had just embraced their girl? That was supposed to be the most rxing andfortable time, after all.

    Mi Li¡¯s face heated up. Like hell she knew how to meditate while she was sleeping. Her talent might have been good, but when she had tempered her soul in the past, even with endless resources, she had still spent an entire year of time.

    Yet this guy had only spent so little time, an amount that waspletely negligible in her opinion. He had actually reached such a level of soul cultivation in just a month or two! The worst part was that he still acted as if he were extremely hard-working. It really was infuriating.

    There was no way the usually prideful Mi Li would admit the truth. She could onlye up with a lie to fumble her way through, saying, ¡°If your mind is clear and without distracting thoughts, then you can enter meditation when you sleep.¡±

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll give it a try,¡± Zu An said, a look of longing on his face.

    Mi Li thought to herself, Knowing this guy, don¡¯t tell me he¡¯ll really manage to figure out sleep meditation? But she immediately threw that thought away as soon as it appeared in her head. That¡¯s impossible!

    After thinking for a bit, she tapped Zu An¡¯s body, and Zu An immediately felt a wave of powerful energy surging within him.

    ¡°This is¡­¡± Zu An was shocked as the wave of familiar energy passed through him.

    ¡°These are Old Mi¡¯s past cultivation and the soul fragments that were previously sealed inside you. Use this chance topletely digest everything. It should be enough for your soul to fully condense,¡± Mi Li said.

    Zu An eximed in surprise, ¡°Huh? I thought I was going to use this cultivation to help me break through into the master rank!¡±

    Mi Li shook her head and said, ¡°Your cultivation methods are strange. Whether in terms of quality or quantity, they¡¯re far above that of others at the same level. That¡¯s why you were able to face master ranks while only being at the ninth rank.

    ¡°That¡¯s also why you need a tremendous amount of ki to break through the master rank bottleneck. I¡¯ve already unsealed arge amount of Old Mi¡¯s cultivation; there¡¯s only about half of it left. This amount isn¡¯t enough for you to break through. However, because some of his soul fragments still remain, it¡¯s perfect for the construction of your soul.¡±

    Zu An knew that with her cultivation and knowledge, Mi Li wouldn¡¯t make the wrong decision. He said, ¡°Thank you for your guidance, master.¡±

    Mi Li smiled and said, ¡°I can¡¯t have you calling me master for nothing. Teaching you is what I should do. Right, even though Old Mi¡¯s soul has already dispersed and there¡¯s no risk of being possessed, he was still a master rank cultivator in the end. His soul fragments carry some pieces of fragmented will. Be careful and don¡¯t let your mind be corrupted.¡±

    Zu An nodded and became much more cautious. After all, the subject of the soul was no small matter. He didn¡¯t dare to show any carelessness.

    Seeing that Zu An didn¡¯t underestimate the matter, Mi Li praised him inwardly. She said in constion, ¡°However, you don¡¯t need to be too worried. As long as you¡¯re careful, they¡¯ll only be nourishment for your own soul.¡±

    Then, she taught him how to construct his soul before once again disappearing into the Tai¡¯e Sword to focus on her own recovery.

    Zu An put his room in order, then secretly left again. Before leaving, he visited Pei You and fooled him with the Kawaii Waifu Voice Changer again.

    Good bros have to be loyal to each other. Who else would I look for to do this kind of thing but you?

    ¡­

    When Zu An returned to the Duke Manor, Yu Yanluo sighed in relief, her eyes red as she said, ¡°You are finally back.¡±

    ¡°Did anything happen?¡± Zu An asked, surprised.

    ¡°No, but I was worried that something might have happened to you outside.¡± Yu Yanluo sorted out her somewhat messy hair and continued, ¡°I just cannot feel at ease without you at my side.¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    She immediately realized that those words were unsuitable when she said them. Her face reddened and she quickly added, ¡°I was scared that the people outside might insist on barging in. We would have been exposed if you had still not returned.¡±

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯ve made madam worry. But I¡¯m already back. Madam has already worked all day, and you¡¯re still seriously injured. You should take the chance to get some rest for now.¡±

    Yu Yanluo felt a wave of fatigue overtake her when Zu An reminded her how tired she was. Her injuries had been quite severe to begin with, and she had just spent a long time focusing on the scenes in the recording stone. Indeed, she couldn''t hold on for much longer, and she rocked back and forth.

    Zu An quickly moved to support her, picking her up and cing her on the bed. Yu Yanluo¡¯s body froze up a bit when she felt his touch, but she didn¡¯t say anything. Only when he helped her cover up did she feel a bit relieved. I really am overthinking things. He is a gentleman.

    When he saw her paleplexion, Zu An asked in a concerned tone, ¡°Madam, do you need me to treat your injuries?¡±

    Yu Yanluo trembled from deep within. She immediately pulled her covers closer and eximed, ¡°I do not!¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but chuckle when he saw how rmed she was. He replied, ¡°Then madam should rest well.¡±

    ¡°Where are you going?¡± Yu Yanluo asked as soon as she saw him turn around.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not going anywhere. I¡¯ll just be meditating here,¡± Zu An replied.

    Yu Yanluo bit her lips when she saw how worn out Zu An was. She had a conflicted expression, but in the end, she still quietly said, ¡°You should sleep in the bed too.¡±

 Chapter 1099: Cultivating in His Sleep

    <h4>Chapter 1099: Cultivating in His Sleep</h4>

    Zu An was stunned. The capital¡¯s former number one beauty was lying within the covers, and she was calling him over bashfully to sleep with her. Which man in this world could resist such a temptation?

    Yu Yanluo quickly exined when she saw his strange expression, ¡°Do not think any random thoughts. I am only saying this because you have worked hard for an entire day, and you are still injured too. You have also used up so much energy helping me, so you need to rest. Sleeping on the bed would at least allow you to rest a bit better.¡±

    Only then did Zu An sigh in relief. Even though he was narcissistic, it wasn¡¯t to the point that he believed others would throw themselves at him just like that. He chuckled, then began to strip down, saying, ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to thank the madam.¡±

    Yu Yanluo began to panic when she saw him remove his clothing near the window. At the same time, she was regretting her decision. Why did I have to invite him over just now? Her voice trembled as she murmured, ¡°Why did you not refuse even once¡­¡± If he had refused her, she could still use that chance to take back her invitation.

    ¡°Refuse?¡± Zu An eximed, stunned. ¡°Could it be that madam doesn¡¯t actually want me to agree?¡±

    Yu Yanluo was a bit at a loss for words. Zu An had saved her several times, and he was only so exhausted and worn out because he had worked so hard to treat her. How could she just let him sit on a chair for the entire night? She bit her lip, then gently shook her head in the end, saying, ¡°Of course not.¡±

    Zu An smiled and didn¡¯t say anything. He then took off his pants too.

    Yu Yanluo looked away as she blushed. Good thing he is not going to go so far as to take everything off. Zu An was about to get in bed, but she quickly stopped him. Under his shocked gaze, she hesitated and said, ¡°You should recover your original appearance, or else I will feel really awkward.¡±

    Zu Anughed and said, ¡°I changed into the duke¡¯s appearance because I was worried that the people from the manor might find out.¡± As he spoke, however, he returned to his original appearance. Yu Yanluo sighed with relief, and also retracted her hand.

    Zu An had a strange expression as he thought, This woman wouldn¡¯t let me get in bed with the appearance of her husband, and instead let me in. Why does this feel so weird?

    The bed sank a bit, and Yu Yanluo knew that Zu An had gotten on the bed. She moved aside to give him some space, but said, ¡°Just to make this clear, you cannot do anything disrespectful at night. Also, you have to find your own covers.¡± She immediately wrapped the entire nket around herself, scared that Zu An might just get into her covers.

    Zu An was starting to get a headache. He asked, ¡°How am I supposed to get covers in this kind of situation? Do you want me to go outside and ask for them? Won¡¯t that justpletely expose our rtionship?¡±

    Yu Yanluo turned around. There was an ambiguous smile in her eyes as she said, ¡°You are a bad person; I do not trust you.¡±

    Zu An was dissatisfied as he replied, ¡°I¡¯m a bad person? Then I wouldn¡¯t have gone through all that effort to help you get rid of the poison¡¯s effects and would instead have used my body to do it.¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s face turned red when she remembered the intimacy of that process. It was not even that different from really doing it¡­ But she had to give him credit for that. She said, ¡°You were indeed a gentleman in that matter, but you are thinking naughty things right now.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. Yu Yanluo sighed and said, ¡°You even have clothes in your storage pouch, and you told me that you had prepared all types of essential goods. I refuse to believe that you do not have covers.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. Why the hell did I kick myself in the foot?! I wouldn¡¯t have bragged about that to her if I knew it would be like this.

    He was about to deny it, but when he saw the clear expression in her eyes, he was too embarrassed to lie. He could only take out some covers and lie down, looking depressed. Yu Yanluo grinned when she saw his dejected state, feeling quite proud of herself.

    Zu Any down. His ears were a bit itchy for some reason. When he turned around, he saw that Yu Yanluo¡¯s hair had scattered off to the side. Her hair was soft and sleek, giving off a faint fragrance. Zu An couldn''t help but reach out and twirl a bundle of her hair.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s breath quickened. She said in rm, ¡°I am too tired, so I am going to sleep. You should rest early too.¡± She closed her eyes and pretended to sleep, but her trembling eyshes sold her out.

    Zu An chuckled. This woman was always surrounded by all sorts of men, and had fooled all of them. She always gave off a calm and unhurried demeanor, making them feel as if she were neither close nor distant. But now, she didn¡¯t seem all that unreachable anymore.

    From the dating sims he had yed, he knew it was the best time to farm points with her. If he was too impatient and crossed the line, it would instead make her attitude toward him plummet.

    He had his own affairs to take care of, so heughed and said with a smile, ¡°Goodnight, madam.¡±

    He closed his eyes and began to cultivate using the method Mi Li had passed onto him. He thought, Right, Mi Li seemed to have said that she could cultivate even in her sleep. If she can do it, there¡¯s no reason why I can¡¯t!

    As such, he began to try her method. Unfortunately, the more he rxed and cleared his mind, the more random thoughts came in, disturbing his meditation. All of his attempts ended in failure. Out of helplessness, he could only give up. Is my aptitude really inferior to hers? I guess it makes sense. There were probably many people with transcendent aptitude back in her age.

    He didn¡¯t let it bother him too much and stopped thinking about it. Seeing as his thoughts were messy, he didn¡¯t force himself to cultivate. Instead, he began to count sheep.

    One sheep, two sheep, three sheep¡­

    He didn¡¯t count them in a simple way, but rather clearly visualized every single sheep that passed by. Some were cute little sheep, and some were mischievous big ck sheep.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Whenever he counted a sheep, it would then return to its pen. The big ck sheep that were naughty were put in another pen, and he gave them a kick.

    Sure enough, by the time he counted up to seventy or eighty, he unknowingly fell asleep.

    ¡­

    Huh? I¡¯m asleep, right?

    But why is my consciousness still clear?

    There was nothing else for him to do, so he tried to meditate. He was pleasantly surprised to discover that his soul really did start to slowly grow stronger.

    My aptitude wasn¡¯t inferior after all! The next time I see her, I¡¯ll be sure to tell her that her method really is great.

    If Mi Li had been awake, she would bepletely bbergasted by such a thing. She didn¡¯t even know such a sleep meditation method herself. She had just said what she said to show off. Never would she have thought that with Zu An¡¯s transcendent aptitude, he would actually somehow seed!

    After doing it for some time, Zu An got used to the meditation method, but he wasn¡¯t satisfied with it alone.

    Didn¡¯t Mi Li release Old Mi¡¯s leftover cultivation and soul fragments? I¡¯ll just use this chance to refine it all away.

    If other cultivators knew what he was doing, they might just curse him for courting death. After all, tempering the soul was something only those at the master rank could do. Only when the body was strong enough could it protect the weak soul. Trying to cultivate the soul before reaching the master rank was equivalent to courting death for most cultivators.

    Zu An was relying on his strong body and ki reserves that far surpassed others of his level in order to barely be able to train his soul. But he hadn¡¯t reached the proper cultivation rank, so he was still taking a huge risk.

    And yet, he wasn¡¯t using a seclusion room to do so, and no one was watching over him. Instead, he was choosing to condense his own soul in his sleep? And he chose to do it while sleeping in the same bed as the capital¡¯s number one beauty?

    How could any normal man resist such a tremendous temptation? Wasn¡¯t this just willingly letting himself be destroyed? The final trial of soul condensation wasn¡¯t something that permitted the slightest bit of distraction!

    But Zu An wasn¡¯t someone from this world. He didn¡¯t know a lot ofmon cultivation knowledge. As such, he decided to just try it.

    Yu Yanluo had thought that Zu An would find a reason to get closer to her. She had been a bit distressed, wondering how she was going to refuse him. If it were anyone else, she wouldn¡¯t feel such a headache at all. She was more than proficient in rejecting men.

    But this guy waspletely different from other men. She didn¡¯t want him to feel hurt or discouraged from her rejection, worrying that it might ruin their rtionship. Of course, if it had been any other man, there was no way she would have let anyone else sleep in the same bed as her anyway.

    But even though she was conflicted for so long, Zu An didn¡¯t do a thing. She couldn''t help but secretly open her eyes a crack, looking at the man beside her.

    ¡°He fell asleep?¡± Yu Yanluo eximed, stunned. After all, she had experienced too many underhanded methods from other men, so her first thought was that he was pretending to fall asleep, that he was doing so to gain her favor.

    But she was a cultivator. She quickly discerned that he really was asleep. Now, it was her turn to question life. She subconsciously rubbed her own cheeks, thinking, Do not tell me I am so worn out I have already lost all of my charm?

    But she quicklyughed at her own behavior. When had she suddenly be like a youngdy, worrying about such things?

    She turned around to face Zu An. This was the first time she¡¯d had a chance to carefully examine his face. She looked at his handsome face that looked as if it had been carved out of stone. This brat is pretty handsome.

    She recalled the young man she had met back then on Brightmoon City¡¯s outskirts. At the time, he had vowed that he was going to be her man. Of course, he had still been so weak back then, so she hadn¡¯t treated such ¡®bold and visionary¡¯ words as a big deal.

    But the whims of fate loved to toy with people. Now, she had actually ended up sleeping with that young man in the same bed. When she realized that, a blush filled her cheeks, making her look even more charming and moving.

    Suddenly, Zu An appeared to be having a nightmare. He suddenly groaned in pain.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Yu Yanluo eximed, jumping in fright. She quickly moved over to check his condition.

    She had never expected Zu An would reach out and grab her.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Yu Yanluo¡¯s bashful and angry cry echoed through the room.

 Chapter 1100: Secrets of the Previous Dynasty

    <h4>Chapter 1100: Secrets of the Previous Dynasty</h4>

    Chapter 1100: Secrets of the Previous Dynasty

    Zu An began absorbing Old Mi¡¯s cultivation, using it to temper his own soul. When he felt that the preparation work was done, he began to absorb the soul fragments.

    Only then did he realize just how deep and unmeasurable Old Mi had been. He had been quite the powerful individual even among master rank cultivators. Even though he had already perished, every single soul fragment still carried traces of his former power.

    Any normal person would immediately go insane and die. However, Zu An¡¯s soul foundation was already firm. Together with the absorption method Mi Li had passed onto him, he could greatly reduce the dangers.

    But Mi Li had warned him before that he had to be careful, and that he couldn''t let Old Mi¡¯s lingering will corrupt him. Even though there was no danger of possession, there was still a chance for his mind to suffer a powerful bacsh.

    There was no way Zu An would go into the process recklessly. He didn¡¯t dare to absorb too much at once either, and instead tried to just absorb a single fragment first.

    Then, he felt his vision blur. Manyplicated scenes appeared in his mind, seemingly recounting the life of a young man. Zu An knew they were memories of Old Mi¡¯s youth. However, everything he saw was blurry, so he wasn¡¯t affected too much. He simply watched with the eyes of a bystander.

    But the scenes quickly became clearer, and it was as if he were there experiencing those moments himself. He saw that Old Mi had been so poor he couldn''t even survive on his own, and had had no choice but to sell himself into the Imperial Pce. Entering the pce in that way meant one had to be a eunuch.

    Then, Old Mi had been sent to the legendary castration room. The interior was extremely hot, and miserable screams filled the air from time to time. One after another, eunuchs were being created. When he had seen the strange smiles of the old eunuchs around him, Old Mi panicked, beginning to struggle.

    It was all too real. Zu An had clearly been watching Old Mi¡¯s suffering, and yet a secondter, it felt as if he were the one to experience it himself! It was like a first person virtual reality experience¡­

    His arms and legs were bound to the bed. Then, an old eunuch holding a shining trowel turned toward him, a sinister smile on his face. After that, a group of lesser eunuchs hurriedly removed his pants. The old eunuch slowly walked over with the sharp tool. Zu An could feel the sharpness of the de even from far away. It seemed as if it could easily slice through flesh and bone.

    Even though he knew what Old Mi had gone through, the first person view still made Zu An shiver. He had originally felt that his mind was already tough enough to endure any kind of pain and suffering. But never had he expected to encounter such a trial.

    ¡°Noooo!¡±

    As the old eunuch approached closer and closer, he could even feel the chilliness of the de on his exposed skin. Zu An instinctively began to struggle. He waspletely immersed in the memory. He couldn''t even tell what was real and what was fake anymore.

    His limbs were still bound to the bed. It was as if he were dreaming. He had forgotten all of his cultivation. At that moment, he was as powerless as a normal person.

    As his pants were undone and the de crept closer to his thighs, the ice-cold sensation made all of his fine hairs stand on end.

    He didn¡¯t know where he had gotten the strength, but he finally managed to free one hand. He frantically reached out to stop the other party.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Huh? Why does it feel so soft?

    He instinctively moved around. The thing in his hand seemed a bit too soft and flexible. However, he couldn¡¯t be bothered to think about it too much. The only thing he was focused on was escaping the absolute tragedy he was facing.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Yu Yanluo looked at the man next to her. For some reason, the longer she stared at him, the more pleasing she found him. After some time, however, she suddenly realized that something wasn¡¯t right. He seemed to be in pain, as if he were experiencing something terrifying.

    ¡°Ah Zu, what is going on?¡± she called out, quickly moving over to take a look.

    However, she couldn¡¯t have expected that he would suddenly raise his hand. She was so startled that she couldn''t even evade it, and so the handnded straight on target.

    Her mind instantly went nk. She didn¡¯t even know what to think anymore. But what was happening to her finally snapped her out of her daze. This scoundrel dares to even fondle that?

    You have sessfully trolled Yu Yanluo for +555 +555 +555¡­

    She instinctively raised her palm to p him. But she quickly noticed that his eyes were still closed, and he was in pain.

    ¡°Has his cultivation deviated?¡± she murmured, rmed. As a cultivator, she naturally knew the dangers of such a thing. If she struck him in that situation, the consequences would be devastating.

    She finally became clear-headed again. She had spent a lot of time with him so far, and he had always been a gentleman through and through. His sudden rude action was definitely unintended.

    She felt relieved when she thought of that and didn¡¯t feel as angry as before. At the same time, she tried to think of ways to help him.

    She wanted to help him infuse ki, but she didn¡¯t know what he was experiencing, so it could make things worse instead. But if she tried to call out to him, she could disturb him at a crucial point.

    In the end, she was disappointed to discover that all she could do for him was to wait helplessly by his side and not disturb him.

    But his hand is surprisingly honest, not holding back in the slightest.

    You have sessfully trolled Yu Yanluo for +33 +33 +33¡­

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, inside the illusion, Zu An¡¯s hands and feet had been bound again. He felt despair as the shining de descended.

    Suddenly, a string of Rage points entered his mind.

    Huh?

    Yu Yanluo, Rage points¡­

    Who am I? Where am I?

    At that instant, arge amount of information returned to his mind. His eyes quickly cleared up again.

    The one being tormented is Old Mi, not me!

    The moment he realized that, it was as if all of his cultivation had returned. He shook off the lesser eunuchs, then kicked the old eunuch with the de, sending him flying.

    Then, he became clear-headed again and the scene disappeared. He hadpletely absorbed the soul fragment.

    Zu An sighed in relief. He hadn¡¯t expected the process to be so dangerous! Even though the de might not have dealt any true physiological damage to him, it might very well have left an indelible trauma. He definitely didn¡¯t want to personally go through what Old Mi had experienced.

    Then, he began to absorb the second piece. After his previous experience, the second went much more smoothly.

    Huh? Wait, what was that soft sensation earlier?

    A steamed bun?

    Why would Old Mi remember something like that?

    A veteran like him obviously knew what else it could be, but a eunuch like Old Mi definitely wouldn¡¯t have such an experience. As such, he abandoned the thought.

    Old Mi had probably worked some odd jobs around the Imperial Pce at first. He might have had to knead dough in the kitchen. That was probably his happiest memory, or else Zu An wouldn¡¯t have felt any happiness.

    Sigh, this Old Mi really didn¡¯t have any prospects. The happiest thing he did in his entire life was just kneading some dough in the kitchen?

    He collected his thoughts and continued to absorb the other soul fragments. Subsequently, he saw all kinds of scenes. The Imperial Pce was quite different from the one he was used to. At first, he thought it was a different Imperial Pce. But some parts of it were identical, so he realized it was the same pce.

    Huh? Did the Imperial Pce really change that much over the years?

    Then, various maids, concubines, and even the emperor appeared one after another. The most shocking thing was that the emperor wasn¡¯t the one he was used to.

    Is this the former emperor?

    No, that¡¯s not it.

    His expression changed, because he saw that the emperor¡¯s robes werepletely different from the current emperor¡¯s.

    During his time in the Imperial Pce, he had learned that there were strict regtions for each person¡¯s uniform. There was no way the difference would be sorge.

    Then, he heard some indistinct terms of address and finally realized what was happening. This was before the Zhou Dynasty; he was seeing the Meng Dynasty¡¯s emperor!

    The current government had always kept all records of the Meng Dynasty confidential. But Zu An had be part of the upper echelon, so he had gained much more authority than a regr person. He knew that the emperor of his own dynasty had seized power from the Meng Dynasty, and the way he had done so wasn¡¯t the most honorable. But not even someone like him knew any more details than that.

    ¡°Huh? This Old Mi seems to have lived through several emperors,¡± Zu An remarked, feeling somewhat shocked as he watched the scenes go past.

    However, he was confused as he watched the scene unfold. Other than the first emperor, the others all seemed to be quite young. It seemed all of the first emperor¡¯s children had died prematurely. Later on, he himself had been seriously injured and afflicted by an illness, so the threat of having no sessors had be extremely real. As such, the first emperor could only choose his sessor from the royal family.

    The empress wasn¡¯t his first wife, but rather someone he had raised out of his concern for her. She was quite young. If they chose a fully grown member of the royal family, the young empress would be left in quite the awkward position. As such, they had ended up choosing a young nephew as their adopted son.

    Zu An was confused. Shouldn¡¯t these have been Old Mi¡¯s most unforgettable memories? Only the most powerful lingering will could be left behind as fragments after the original owner passed on. For example, the scene of being castrated was somethingpletely understandable. But why was Old Mi¡¯s memory of this scene so clear?

    Several more scenes surrounded him. He saw a young emperor lead a group of eunuchs and maids, brandishing his weapon as he charged at an important minister. The minister was cold and detached, and didn¡¯t need to do anything as his subordinates killed all of the eunuchs and maids. Even the young emperor died in the battle.

    Zu An was rmed, because he saw that the important minister¡¯s appearance was somewhat familiar. He had seen a picture of him before in the Imperial Pce.

    The minister was the founding emperor of the Zhou Dynasty!

    No wonder Old Mi had recalled the scene of the Meng Dynasty so clearly. So that was what had happened!

    ¡­

    He absorbed the soul fragments piece by piece. In the end, there was only one piece left. Just as he started absorbing thest fragment, however, endless mes surged before him. A terrifying pressure descended, and a massive phoenix surrounded in zing mes appeared in the darkness.

 Chapter 1101: Soul Condensed

    <h4>Chapter 1101: Soul Condensed</h4>

    Old Mi felt fear and trepidation, but Zu An instead felt a sense of intimacy. He realized something. The technique he had learned was the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra. As the name implied, it had something to do with a phoenix. Was this it?

    The feelings of fear and intimacybined together, giving Zu An an extremely strange and inexplicable sensation.

    The scene changed just then. The phoenix seemed to be angry. It waved its wings, raining down fireballs from the skies. The dark space was immediately engulfed in a sea ofva. Many of Old Mi¡¯spanions went up in mes, screaming as they fell into theva, never to be heard from again. Even though all the members of their group werepetent individuals with their own special skills, no matter what they tried, they still couldn''t deal with the phoenix¡¯srge-scale attack.

    In the end, only Old Mi and a few others could escape. However, most of them were injured. And yet, none of them felt a sense of defeat; they instead became excited. They all looked toward a book bound in golden silk.

    Even though the scene was indistinct, Zu An immediately recognized the book. It was the first secret text that hadpletely altered his fate, the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra!

    What followed were things Zu An had expected. Old Mi had felt a sudden wave of greed overwhelm him and suddenly attacked the survivors. After killing all of them, he took the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra with him and escaped far away.

    ¡­

    ¡°So that was what happened!¡± Zu An thought to himself. These were indeed the most unforgettable moments in Old Mi¡¯s memory.

    Of course, one other thing was definitely hard to forget; it was the moment when Zu An had retaliated and killed him instead. But that had happened too suddenly, and Old Mi had passed away before that memory even solidified.

    Zu An digested the memories while fully absorbing the soul power within the fragments. His soul finally began to condense and take form ording to the method Mi Li had passed onto him. In the process, he experienced several attacks on his mind. But after what had happened previously, they were child¡¯s y to deal with.

    Soon afterward, his soul gradually took form. His soul was no longer something imaginary; rather, it gradually became tangible. A miniature person appeared inside him, looking exactly the same as him.

    Mi Li didn¡¯t have a flesh body and always interacted with him in her soul body form. That was what she relied on.

    But why is my soul so little?

    Mi Li¡¯s is a perfect replica of her real self, but mine is like a freaking infant¡­

    I¡¯m too embarrassed to even show it to Mi Li.

    At the same time, however, he discovered that his own perception was gradually bing clearer. Before, he had needed to use the jade badge to sense most of his surroundings. But after, he could clearly sense the movements of every tree and every de of grass around the courtyard.

    Maid Xing and Gong Pan were standing guard at the entrance, as well as various guards and maids. There were also people from several different factions waiting outside. He even had a feeling that as long as he wanted it, the very lives of everyone around him would be within his control.

    He sighed in amazement. No wonder those at the master rank felt a natural superiority toward those who were beneath that rank. It wasn¡¯t just the strength that came from their level of cultivation; the experience of being at that level simply beyond the imaginations of all those who hadn¡¯t reached it yet.

    If one¡¯s every action and movement could be perceived by the opponent, they could already sense what one was going to do as soon as one thought of it, long since anticipating the attack. What would be the point of fighting in that case?

    When he had fought against Jian Taiding previously, even though he had all sorts of miraculous skills, and his cultivation wasn¡¯t even truly inferior, it was precisely because of that sense that he had always been at a disadvantage during their battle. Fortunately, he had used his own body as bait. Meanwhile, Jian Taiding had never expected his body to be that tough. That was why Zu An had been able to turn things around.

    Now that his soul had already been condensed, even though no one had taught him how to properly use it yet, he could start figuring out most of it himself. That meant he didn¡¯t have to be scared of any opponents anticipating his attacks beforehand anymore. Of course, the side with the stronger soul would definitely have an advantage, but it wouldn¡¯t be as exaggerated as before. The battle would depend more on his own skills.

    He now understood why Mi Li had been so set on focusing on his soul, and why she hadn¡¯t rushed him into breaking through to the master rank, making him condense his soul instead.

    Even if he broke through into the master rank, he would still have to condense his soul bit by bit. He would still have just as much trouble if he faced a veteran master rank opponent then. But now that he had condensed his soul first, even if he faced someone at thete stage of the master rank, he wouldn¡¯t be fighting a losing battle from the start.

    He had an advantage in cultivation because of the secret manuals he cultivated to begin with. Every bit of progress required a sea of ki, so the amount of ki he had umted so far was no joke. As such, he wouldn¡¯t be inferior to a master rank cultivator at all.

    Forget about the fact that he had already condensed his soul ahead of time, once he did break through into the master rank,pared to other cultivators, his future would be limitless.

    The miniature copy of him began floating around, as if it were about to leave him.

    Mi Li had previously told him that once the soul formed, it could leave the body for a short period of time. It wouldn¡¯t be too dangerous as long as it didn¡¯t go too far. Of course, to remain in soul form for a long time the way she did was something only a grandmaster could hope to do.

    Zu An tried to let the copy go. Sure enough, the soul left his body through his head. Seeing himself from a third person perspective really was a strange feeling. It was like watching a soul leave a corpse¡­

    Pah pah pah! What the hell am I thinking?

    ¡°I wonder if Yu Yanluo is asleep yet,¡± Zu An muttered, looking toward her out of curiosity.

    Suddenly, his eyes narrowed; he was so scared that he almost passed out. He saw that his hand was right in front of her chest, her eyes werepletely red, and she was about to cry. She was clearly in pain from his grip. But she was just biting down on her lip, not uttering a single sound. She remained quiet, clearly having felt wronged the entire time.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    What is going on?

    Zu An finally realized that the softness he had felt wasn¡¯t Old Mi¡¯s memory; rather, he had been groping Yu Yanluo!

    Who knew how many men in this world wanted to do something like that? And yet, only he alone had the honor of doing such a thing. If other men were to see him, just the Rage points alone would have been enough to drown him to death.

    But he was a bit surprised. Why hadn¡¯t Yu Yanluo resisted? ording to their interactions, he knew she was definitely no weak bunny rabbit.

    When he saw the look of worry in her beautiful eyes, however, he immediately realized what was happening. She had probably done so because he was at a crucial stage of cultivation, worrying that his cultivation might deviate if she did anything. Zu An felt warm inside when he realized that.

    Suddenly, a wave of dizziness came over him. He felt his entire body start to be weak and powerless. Countless sharp, tearing pains attacked his body. Only then did he discover that he was already unknowingly floating back into his own head. It was clear that with his current cultivation, his soul couldn''t move too far from his body yet.

    After such an experience, he couldn''t help but admire the truly powerful cultivators Mi Li had spoken of, and how their souls could wander tens of thousands of li in a single night. He was still too far off from that.

    As such, he didn¡¯t dare to act carelessly at all. He quickly used the method Mi Li taught him to guide his soul back into his body.

    Yu Yanluo had been paying close attention to his condition, so she immediately sensed the change and eximed, ¡°You have awoken?¡±

    Zu An pretended to have a headache and reached toward his forehead as soon as he opened his eyes, groaning, ¡°Ah, my head hurts.¡±

    Seeing that Zu An had retracted his naughty hand, Yu Yanluo sighed in relief. She asked with a blush, ¡°How do you feel?¡±

    ¡°I was cultivating my soul just now and experienced a bit of a bacsh,¡± Zu An said as he opened his eyes.

    ¡°What?! You are actually starting to cultivate the soul? That is too dangerous!¡± Yu Yanluo jumped in fright. She quickly warned him not to be so reckless and impatient, or else his body and spirit might scatter.

    ¡°Thank you, madam, for your concern.¡± Zu An couldn''t really exin the situation to her, so he could only change the topic. He asked, ¡°Did anything happen just now?¡±

    Yu Yanluo pursed her red lips and decisively said, ¡°Not at all.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He had thought that she might criticize him, but she actually just pretended that nothing had happened. He felt both moved and conflicted when he realized that.

    Yu Yanluo continued, ¡°I have heard that cultivating the soul could easily lead to heart deviation, and that you would see all kinds of illusions. If you were to make even a single mistake, you might be trapped inside forever. Just what kind of illusion did you see?¡±

    Zu An felt extremely moved. When he heard that, he instinctively replied, ¡°Soft steamed bun.¡±

    Yu Yanluo was stunned.

    Zu An screamed inwardly, ¡®I screwed up!¡¯ He quickly said, ¡°Ahem, I was sent to do odd jobs around the kitchen in the illusion and was constantly harassed by the head chef. I was forced to knead buns from morning until night. My hands felt as if they were about to fall off from how sore they were.¡±

    ¡°Why would you experience such a strange illusion?¡± Yu Yanluo ground her teeth. The one who is sore is clearly me, okay?!

 Chapter 1102: Predicament

    <h4>Chapter 1102: Predicament</h4>

    Zu An¡¯s expression stiffened. When he saw Yu Yanluo¡¯s look of suspicion, his mind moved faster than ever before. He said, ¡°It might¡¯ve been because I was just too poor when I was little, so I had no choice but to help out in the local restaurant. I didn¡¯t expect my resentment from my childhood to be so strong and be a vice.¡±

    Yu Yanluo had also looked into Zu An¡¯s background, so she knew that he had been without parents growing up. He and his aunt and uncle had been mutually dependent on each other for survival. Not long afterwards, even those rtives had passed away. His childhood really had been bitter and difficult.

    She was filled with a motherly impulse and subconsciously wanted to take him into her arms to hug him. But she knew it was inappropriate as soon as she raised her arms, and pulled back awkwardly. Instead, she said, ¡°Those unhappy memories are already in the past. Everything will be better.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, madam, forforting me.¡± Zu An felt a bit guilty as he replied. He hadn¡¯t expected her to believe him so easily.

    ¡°Since there is nothing else, you should hurry and rest. It is not early anymore.¡± Yu Yanluo covered her mouth and yawned. She had been seriously injured to begin with. After spending so long about Zu An, she had used up a lot of mental fortitude and felt extremely tired.

    ¡°Okay. Goodnight, madam,¡± Zu An replied with a nod.

    Yu Yanluoy down again, facing away from Zu An. Then, she secretly rubbed her chest under the covers. This brat really is unreasonably strong.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An¡¯s soul had already formed, so her secret movements didn¡¯t escape his detection. He couldn''t help but feel utterly embarrassed.

    Meanwhile, Yu Yanluo really was tired. She was still a bit tense at first, but she fell soundly asleep soon afterward.

    But Zu An wasn¡¯t so lucky. There was a faint lingering aroma, and the covers didn¡¯t do much to hide Yu Yanluo¡¯s stunning figure. He couldn''t fall asleep no matter what he did¡­

    ¡­

    The next morning, Yu Yanluo woke up. She jumped in fright. When had she fallen asleepst night? She lowered her head to look at her clothes. She sighed in relief when she saw that everything was still in order.

    She pursed her lips. She had actually shared the bed with another man, and she had fallen asleep? Just a few days prior, that would have been something unimaginable for her.

    She secretly turned around to look at Zu An. However, what she saw was a pair of reddened eyes. She jumped in fright and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Why are your eyes so red?¡±

    ¡°I couldn''t sleep at all¡­¡± Zu An sighed. This woman really is unguarded. She just slept right next to me. Is she trying to test me?

    ¡°Huh? Why couldn''t you sleep?¡± Yu Yanluo asked, puzzled.

    ¡°The world¡¯s number one beauty was lying down next to me. I don¡¯t think any man in this world could fall asleep in that situation.¡± Zu An sighed.

    Yu Yanluo blushed. She harrumphed. ¡°Look at you¡­ If I had known it would be like this, I wouldn¡¯t have called you over to sleep in this bed.¡± She started to get up, but she immediatelyy back down with a startled cry.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Zu An eximed, rmed. He thought she had been hurt somewhere.

    Yu Yanluo gave him a resentful look and replied, ¡°You¡¯re on my hair!¡±

    Zu An was rmed and immediately moved aside.

    ¡­

    Maid Xing was outside, but she could hear the activity inside. She was about to enter, and ask if the madam needed help getting dressed and cleaned up, but she heard ¡®You¡¯re on my hair!¡¯ and jumped in rm. The madam and the duke slept together?

    As Yu Yanluo¡¯s personal maid, she obviously knew that the madam and the duke were only husband and wife in name. Why had they suddenly slept in the same bed?

    Could it be that the madam¡¯s feelings changed with the duke¡¯s return, and she decided to sincerely ept him?

    But that cannot be! I have already served the madam for so long. The madam should have no romantic feelings for the duke!

    She didn¡¯t know what was happening inside. After a bit of hesitation, she decided to stay outside to prevent any awkwardness

    ¡­

    A whileter, the door opened from inside, and Yu Yanluo emerged alone. Maid Xing quickly greeted her when she saw her.

    Suddenly, all of the officials who had been waiting outside swarmed over. They all cried out, saying they wished to meet with the duke. At first, Maid Xing and Gong Pan could still hold them back. However, as Sang Hong, Xu Yu, Pei Shao, and the others rushed over, the situation quickly grew out of control.

    ¡°Madam Yu, we didn¡¯t pressure the duke because he was injured. But after a night to rest and recover, is the duke still unable to speak?¡± Pei Shao harrumphed. ¡°Is he really unable to talk because of his injuries, or did you tell him not to speak? Or was he an imposter to begin with?¡±

    The other officials began to whisper among themselves when they heard what he said. When they looked at Yu Yanluo, their gazes were full of rm and suspicion.

    While Yu Yanluo was at a loss for what to do, Zu An walked out and called out, ¡°Who wishes to meet with me?¡±

    Zu An had already used Face of a Thousand Identities to regain Jian Yanyou¡¯s appearance. The onlookers were shocked when they saw him. They hadn¡¯t expected it to really be the duke!

    The officials who were closer to the Yu n immediately began to greet him. Pei Shao and the others were still suspicious, asking, ¡°Are you really the duke?¡±

    Zu Anughed and retorted, ¡°If I am not, could it be that you are?¡±

    A wave of aura swept out, and those present felt a powerful divine will sweep over them. They immediately trembled in fear.

    The onlookers were all intelligent. They quickly realized that was a power only master ranked cultivators could have. They were all horrified, convinced that the person before them really was the duke. Even though he was injured and his strength had regressed a bit, the pressure that originated from his soul still remained.

    Pei Shao obviously didn¡¯t dare to question him anymore, but Sang Hong wasn¡¯t convinced. He spoke out again. ¡°Last night, Madam Yu said that it was Uncle Ming who incited Jian Taiding to do those things. Does the duke acknowledge what she said?¡±

    Zu An sighed and replied, ¡°Indeed. It is just a pity that Taiding was fooled by a viin. Fortunately, he was able to return to the right path at thest minute, fighting together with us. He is worthy of his status as a member of the Jian n, worthy of being my younger brother¡­¡± As he spoke, he sounded incredibly emotional, as if he were filled with grief.

    Yu Yanluo was shocked. This brat¡¯s acting skills really are something else! Was he also just tricking me before? But when she remembered all of the things that had happened, she still discarded that thought.

    Now that they had confirmed the identity of ¡®Jian Yanyou¡¯, and that his brotherly affection for Jian Taiding wasn¡¯t fake, those gathered were fully convinced. Even those who hade to criticize Jian Taiding didn¡¯t suspect anything anymore, only cursing Uncle Ming.

    After all, as far as they could tell, Jian Taiding had been quite close to Uncle Ming for some time. However, It turned out Uncle Ming was a deceiver who was concealing malice.

    Then, Yu Yanluo took out the edited recording stone for the others to see. When they saw Uncle Ming¡¯s confessions, theirst hints of suspicion alsopletely disappeared.

    ¡­

    All that was left was for Yu Yanluo to deal with assorted details of the aftermath.

    Zu An excused himself, saying that he was injured and was entering seclusion. He didn¡¯t draw much suspicion. However, being left alone all of a sudden made him feel like he had nothing to do. For some reason, though, he just felt that he had forgotten something.

    What did I forget?

    He couldn''t think of what he had forgotten even after a long time. Everything was taking a turn for the better, so he didn¡¯t think too much about it either. He found a chance to change his appearance and secretly return to the imperial residence.

    It just so happened that Sang Hong knocked on his door, looking for him not long after he had just snuck back in. When Zu An opened the door, Sang Hong said somewhat apologetically, ¡°Ah Zu, it isn¡¯t that I want to disturb your rest, but rather that I really have some things I need to discuss with you.¡±

    ¡°Respected uncle is too courteous. Hurry,e in,¡± Zu An replied. They naturally had to address each other a bit more intimately when it was just the two of them.

    Sang Hong sighed several times after he came in. He seemed about to say something, but couldn¡¯t bring himself to speak. Zu An chuckled when he saw that and said, ¡°Respected uncle, just tell me if you have anything to say. With our rtionship, there¡¯s no need to feel any reservations.¡±

    Sang Hong felt warm inside when he heard that. He said, ¡°Ah Zu, you aren¡¯t an outsider, so I won¡¯t beat around the bush. I¡¯ve just received a decree from the capital.¡±

    ¡°Oh? What did his majesty say?¡± Zu An asked. He knew that there was a way for the capital and the Imperial Envoy to quicklymunicate with each other.

    Sang Hong sighed and replied, ¡°His majesty berated me quite ruthlessly, telling me to focus on my own mission.¡±

    ¡°Why would he berate you?¡± Zu An asked with a frown.

    ¡°Even though his majesty didn¡¯t say it outright, ording to all of the information I¡¯ve gathered, King Yan¡¯s troops have already stopped in Yi Commandery. I reckon his majesty wasn¡¯t happy that I privately transferred a king¡¯s troops,¡± Sang Hong said with a bitter smile.

    Zu An felt some injustice on Sang Hong¡¯s behalf. He remarked, ¡°His majesty is just being an armchair expert right now. The tension in Cloudcenter Commandery was at its worst and on the verge of erupting, and was at its most dangerous. That was why respected uncle transferred over King Yan¡¯s troops. Who could have known that things would be settled afterward like this?¡±

    Sang Hongughed in self-mockery and replied, ¡°His majesty doesn¡¯t care about that very much; he only cares about the results. What can we do as subjects? Of course we can only endure the criticism.

    ¡°The key is that our mission still hasn''t beenpleted yet. What his majesty wanted was to reim the Yu n¡¯s authority and clip one of King Qi¡¯s wings. But now that Jian Taiding has already died and Cloudcenter Commandery has stabilized, I can¡¯t do anything to the Yu n even if I want to,¡± he continued. That was what he was the most distressed about. The reason why he had called over King Yan¡¯s troops was because he had nned to take out the Yu n at the same time. However, his ns couldn''t keep up with reality.

    Zu An knew that Sang Hong had always been on the emperor¡¯s side. Even though Sang Hong had felt a bit of dissatisfaction and had certain thoughts after Sang Qian¡¯s death, it wasn¡¯t to the point that he would fully betray the emperor. That was why Zu An couldn''t tell him to just spare the Yu n.

    But he couldn''tpletely ignore the matter either. After all, Sang Hong had been acting as the Imperial Envoy to redeem his past sins through achievements in the first ce. If he messed things up, the Sang n would most likely be done for once he returned. And whether it came to Zheng Dan or Sang Qien, the downfall of the Sang n wouldn¡¯t bring Zu An any benefits.

    Zu An remained quiet for a while. Then, he said, ¡°I have a solution!¡±

 Chapter 1103: Horrifying Discovery

    <h4>Chapter 1103: Horrifying Discovery</h4>

    Sang Hong¡¯s eyes lit up and he asked, ¡°What solution?¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t directly respond to what he was saying and instead asked, ¡°Respected uncle, what do you think of what Madam Yu said? That Jian Taiding wasn¡¯t the main culprit, but rather that Uncle Ming was the main instigator?¡±

    Sang Hong remained silent for a moment, then said, ¡°From what I¡¯ve seen, Jian Taiding was arrogant and despotic. He hid the truth from the masses in Cloudcenter Commandery. There¡¯s no way he was forced to do anything. I believe the reason why Madam Yu said what she said was because she was worried that Jian Taiding¡¯s faction would do something desperate in rm. She said those things to convince the masses.¡±

    Zu An sighed in admiration. Sang Hong was a crafty old fox in politics after all. He had immediately seen through the most important points.

    He said seriously, ¡°Indeed, that¡¯s what I think too. But even if they can avoid capital punishment, they won¡¯t escape punishment. Madam Yu and¡­ ahem, and Cloudcenter Duke will definitely deal with Jian Taiding¡¯s surviving faction members. Even if they don¡¯t carry out a great purge, they¡¯ll rece some vital positions. For example, as far as I know, the Yu n¡¯s elder Yu Xuanqing was extremely close to Jian Taiding. He definitely yed a huge part in the smuggling deal with the fiend races.

    ¡°And from what I¡¯ve seen in my short time in the Yu n, Yu Yanluo probably doesn¡¯t know about these matters, or perhaps turned a blind eye to everything. She¡¯s definitely not the main culprit. As such, Yu Yanluo will probably go against a double-crosser like that too.

    ¡°Judging from the current situation, it wouldn¡¯t be too realistic to deal with Yu Yanluo either. However, if we act against Yu Xuanqing, someone who¡¯s in the top three positions of the Yu n, it should also weaken the Yu n to some extent. Once we return to the capital, that result will be satisfactory for his majesty. What does respected uncle think?¡±

    Sang Hong was immensely pleased when he heard Zu An¡¯s analysis. He replied, ¡°Ah Zu, I really have a whole new level of respect for you! Even though I knew you were quite intelligent before, I never expected your insight in the field of politics to also be so sharp. You actually carved a new path through this tough situation! We have a way out of this predicament now.¡±

    Yu Xuanqing wasn¡¯t only the third-ranked figure of Cloudcenter¡¯s Yu n; he was also an important figure in Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s court. His official post was only below Magistrate Zuo Su and Vice Magistrate Xu Yu. He was in charge of important matters like promotion.

    If such a person were overthrown, it would definitely deal a huge blow to the Yu n. At the same time, it would affect King Qi¡¯s influence. At the very least, it would be more than enough to take care of his majesty¡¯s assignment for them.

    ¡°Respected uncle overpraises me.¡± Zu An waved his hands humbly, but he sighed inwardly. It wasn¡¯t that he had sharp and vicious insight in the field, but rather that he had the intelligence from both the Imperial Envoy and Yu Yanluo¡¯s side. By working together with the two sides, he had been able to figure out a solution more easily than others.

    The people of this world weren¡¯t stupid. If they had his level of information, most of them woulde to rational and proper conclusions. But unfortunately, not everyone had ess to aplete set of information. They were often misled by one-sided perspectives instead.

    Sang Hong discussed some more details with Zu An, then rushed out excitedly. Zu An wondered if he should take the chance to seek out Big Manman. She must have been extremely worried for some time.

    Suddenly, a figure snuck in. Once he entered, he even secretly checked if anyone tailed him. Only then did he lock the door again.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    When he saw that it was Pei You, Zu An scolded him yfully. ¡°What the hell are you doing? Why are you acting all sneaky like this?¡±

    Pei You carefully moved over to Zu An¡¯s side and said in a hushed tone, ¡°I won¡¯t hide anything from you since we¡¯re bros, but I think I¡¯m being haunted by a ghost¡­¡±

    Zu An was speechless. Pei You opened his mouth several times, but he didn¡¯t know how to really describe it. ¡°I think I¡¯ve been haunted by a female ghost¡­¡±

    ¡°A female ghost?¡± Zu An suddenly realized something. Don¡¯t tell me¡­

    Once he began to talk about it, it became easier for Pei You to talk about the rest. ¡°Yeah, I think I¡¯ve been dreaming or something, but I always hear a sweet girl talking to me. Whenever I reply enthusiastically, I find out that it¡¯s just a dream.¡±

    ¡°Are you just hearing things?¡± Zu An¡¯s expression was somewhat unnatural as he replied.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know either. I can even almost make out the girl¡¯s appearance¡­ Even though it¡¯s not clear, the feeling she gives off is that she really is pretty. I¡¯m sure that not even Yu Yanluo canpare to her¡­¡± Pei You had a stupid infatuated look on his face, as if he were recalling something wonderful.

    Zu An thought to himself, Daji is indeed extremely beautiful, but saying that Yu Yanluo can¡¯tpare to her might be a bit too much. The two are clearly on the same level.

    Pei You grabbed his arm and said, ¡°What¡¯s even harder to forget is that the girl¡¯s voice is just too beautiful! How can someone have such a beautiful voice in this world? Her personality is definitely gentle and sweet¡­¡± He subconsciously rubbed something with his hand as he spoke.

    Zu An shivered and pulled his arm away, replying, ¡°Didn¡¯t you already say you thought you were dreaming? Don¡¯t think about all of that rubbish.¡±

    Pei You scowled and replied, ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m wondering if I was possessed by a female ghost! After all, I¡¯ve never met her in person, and there¡¯s no way her voice can be that pretty.¡±

    Zu An forcefully endured his urge tough. How will he react if he finds out that the ¡®sweet girl¡¯ was actually me?

    Even though he really wanted to see Pei You break down, he still decided against it in the end. After all, that would also decide his own social suicide. He coughed twice and quickly changed the topic. ¡°Maybe you¡¯ve been too tired recently and you¡¯re starting to hallucinate. Like hell there are female ghosts in this world.¡±

    ¡°Maybe,¡± Pei You replied. He still felt a bit dejected.

    Zu An said with a chuckle, ¡°I heard you¡¯ve been visiting Jasper Lane quite frequently recently; you¡¯ve probably been working at it quite hard. How can you still have the mental room to think about any sweet female ghost?¡±

    Pei You grumbled, ¡°Remember that Ms. Pink I really liked thest time we went to Jasper Lane together? I was helping her out with her business pretty often. I tried to see her several times after that, but then I heard that she had already left Jasper Lane. It was really a pity, so I had to look for other girls in Jasper Lane. However, none of them were quite as good as Pink.¡±

    Zu An had nned to just enjoy the story at first, but then his smile gradually froze. He asked seriously, ¡°That Pink you¡¯re talking about isn¡¯t there anymore? What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°That she¡¯s not there anymore, of course,¡± Pei You said. ¡°She seemed to have ransomed herself and said she was going to return home. The brothel keeper was grumbling about how she had no conscience, that she had actually hidden so many private funds. Hmph, in my opinion, that brothel keeper is just greedy and doesn¡¯t want to let a moneymaker like her go.¡±

    ¡°F*ck!¡± Zu An suddenly got up. He finally realized what he had forgotten about. He suddenly felt a chill.

    When he saw how Zu An was acting, Pei You became nervous as well, asking, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s head to Jasper Lane for now. I¡¯ll fill you in along the way.¡± Zu An took the lead and rushed out.

    ¡°Stop scaring me like that! What¡¯s going on?¡± Pei You asked as he quickly followed along. Why did it seem as if his random visits to Jasper Lane had actually created some huge problem?

    Zu An sorted out his thoughts while saying, ¡°Why were we able to find out that Zuo Su and Jian Taiding were the ringleaders of the smuggling deal with the fiend races so quickly?¡±

    ¡°Because we found the proof Chen Zhou left behind,¡± Pei You subconsciously replied.

    ¡°Did he give us the proof?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°Of course not. He previously had it stored in the Zhenyuan Merchant Group.¡± Pei You was stunned. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you think the Zhenyuan Merchant Group secretly gave us the wrong item?¡±

    Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°No. I have connections with the higher-ups of the Zhenyuan Merchant Group. They seemed to not have even been aware of this book¡¯s existence, just treating it as something an ordinary guest stored with them. There are so many guests that enter and exit the Zhenyuan Merchant Group. If Chen Zhou deliberately concealed his identity, then it would be difficult for their staff to know.¡±

    ¡°Who could it be, if not Zhenyuan Merchant Group¡­¡± Pei You¡¯s expression suddenly changed halfway through his sentence. ¡°Are you suspecting Pink? That¡¯s impossible!¡±

    ¡°How is it impossible?¡± Zu An replied coldly. ¡°So far, everything we¡¯ve investigated has been informed by her. If there¡¯s something wrong with her, doesn¡¯t that mean our entire investigation was wed? The fact that she suddenly vanished is probably because she has a guilty conscience.

    ¡°I should¡¯ve guessed that a long time ago! The secret passage where Cloudcenter Duke disappeared led to Jasper Lane. Pink was in Jasper Lane. How could this world have such a great coincidence?!¡±

 Chapter 1104: Accidental Meeting

    <h4>Chapter 1104: idental Meeting</h4>

    Pei You waspletely stupefied when he heard that. He asked in disbelief, ¡°Her feelings for Chen Zhou were so strong; don¡¯t tell me all of that was fake?¡±

    Zu An sighed and replied, ¡°It¡¯s precisely because her acting was so good; otherwise, we wouldn¡¯t have been fooled so easily.¡±

    If Pink had remained there, he wouldn¡¯t have thought anything more of it. But she just happened to have left just then. That definitely pointed at a guilty conscience!

    Pei You was still unconvinced. He replied, ¡°But Cloudcenter Duke has already returned safely. Can¡¯t we just ask him about anything we need to know?¡±

    When it came to why there was a secret passage from the Duke Manor to Jasper Lane, wouldn¡¯t the duke know best?

    Zu An¡¯s expression stiffened. He replied, ¡°The duke is currently nursing his injuries and won¡¯t meet outsiders. Furthermore, he might not even tell us the truth if we ask him.¡±

    I am the freaking duke right now! How would I ask myself?

    ¡­

    As they chatted, they quickly arrived at Jasper Lane. Zu An sought out the brothel¡¯s madamand asked about Pink.

    The madam had thought that the two had arrived to y at first, so she was a bit aloof. But Zu An didn¡¯t waste any time and showed her his status as an Imperial Envoy. The madam¡¯s expression immediately changed and she replied, ¡°Sirs, I was just going to say that there was something wrong with Pink! That girl¡¯s business wasn¡¯t even that great; how could she have enough money to ransom herself?¡±

    ¡°When did shee to Jasper Lane?¡± Zu An asked.

    Under the madam¡¯s guidance, the two of them arrived at Pink¡¯s room. It was a familiar scene. Though the things remained the same, the people had already changed.

    ¡°That girl¡­ I think she came from the neighboringmandery two years ago. We normally don¡¯t take such people, but she had such a sob story, and she was quite pretty too. Since we wouldn¡¯t be losing money by taking her in, we agreed.¡± The madam observed the state of the room and exined, ¡°We were nning to give this room to another girl. We haven¡¯t had the time to clean it up properly yet.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, she probably bribed you to let her in.¡± Pei You was a veteran of the ce. He knew a ce like the brothel normally wouldn¡¯t randomly take in a mature girl from outside.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The madamughed awkwardly and said, ¡°That girl Pink knew how things worked around these parts, so how could we refuse her?¡±

    ¡°Two years ago¡­¡± Zu An began to think to himself. The incident with Jian Yanyou had happened more than a year prior. It seemed Pink had arrived ahead of time to arrange things. He continued, asking, ¡°Whichmandery was that neighboringmandery you mentioned?¡±

    ¡°Yi Commandery, of course,¡± the madam replied.

    ¡°Yi Commandery?¡± Zu An stopped cold. Even Pei You realized that something was strange.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with Yi Commandery?¡± the madam asked in confusion.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Zu An didn¡¯t want her to know too much. He looked through the room and noticed that many clothes had been left behind. He frowned and asked, ¡°Pink didn¡¯t bring all of these clothes with her?¡±

    The madam replied, ¡°That¡¯spletely normal. In our line of trade, those who want to leave often don¡¯t wish to be burdened by their past and won¡¯t bring these clothes back with them. After all, who would dare to wear this kind of revealing clothing in public?¡±

    ¡°Did Pink return to her hometown? Where is that hometown?¡± Pei You asked. He was quite pissed now that he found out that the girl he cared so much about had actually fooled him.

    ¡°I think she¡¯s from Yi Commandery¡¯s Qianshui City,¡± the madam added.

    ¡°It¡¯s Yi Commandery again?¡± Pei You frowned.

    That wasn¡¯t what Zu An was paying attention to, however. Even if it were a normal brothel girl, they might not even reveal their true hometown, let alone someone who had arrived on a mission.

    Zu An gave the madam a look and asked, ¡°Who is your boss? Bring h¡­ Bring us to meet with him.¡± He wanted to ask her to bring him over, but he was worried that news of their arrival would leak out, so he decided to head over personally.

    The madam didn¡¯t dare to disobey him. She quickly brought him to the rear courtyard.

    Soon afterward, a man who seemed like andlord weed them. Zu An observed the man; he seemed to just be an ordinary merchant who wouldn¡¯t have any information he needed.

    However, Zu An suddenly thought of something before leaving and asked, ¡°Has the duke ever had anyone he was close to in Jasper Lane?¡±

    The boss replied with an apologetic smile, ¡°Sir, your respected self must be joking! The duke¡¯s concubines are all stunning beauties, and he even has a goddess like Madam Yu as his wife. Why would he possibly favor a mundane ce like our Jasper Lane?¡±

    Zu An thought, You have no idea that this number one beauty you¡¯re talking about wasn¡¯t someone the duke could even touch. He only worshiped her one-sidedly, so Jian Yanyou still has a motive.

    But he couldn''t just tell the man that for various reasons, so he could only say to Pei You, ¡°Once we get back, look into Jasper Lane¡¯s background. There¡¯s no way a business this big wouldn¡¯t have any kind of background. Check and see who the one behind them is.

    ¡°Also, assign someone to investigate Pink¡¯s whereabouts. Look into the hometown she mentioned and any other possible ces,¡± he added. Even though there wasn¡¯t too much hope, he still didn¡¯t want to abandon any possibility.

    Suddenly, a clear female voice called out, ¡°Young master Zu?¡±

    Zu An turned around and saw a youngdy with dimples wearing yellow. She had a sweet smile on her face as she waved toward him. Zu An¡¯s eyes lit up. He walked over and greeted her, asking, ¡°What are you doing here?¡±

    Pei You was confused, but then he suddenly realized something and pointed at the youngdy, eximing, ¡°Aren¡¯t you¡­ Aren¡¯t you the Hub of Freedom¡¯s¡­¡±

    Tang Tian¡¯er gave him a bow and replied, ¡°Greetings, young master Pei. I didn¡¯t expect the young master to still remember me.¡±

    Pei You thought to himself, Who would forget someone this pretty? Moreover, someone who did ¡®that¡¯ with Brother Zu in the private room¡­ He quickly pulled Zu An aside and asked, ¡°Brother Zu, why would she follow you all the way over here? Don¡¯t tell me the Hub of Freedom is involved here?¡±

    Zu An patted his shoulder and replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry; she¡¯s my friend. You can go back for now, but look into the things I¡¯ve told you about. I have some things to take care of, so I¡¯lle back in a bit.¡±

    Pei You was bitter as he watched the two leave while chatting happily with each other. He muttered, ¡°Hmph, no loyalty when ites to love. He has a date with a beauty, while I have to break my back working¡­¡±

    Even though he wasn¡¯t too happy about it, considering their friendship, he wouldn¡¯t really take it to heart. He quickly returned to the temporary residence to take care of his assigned tasks.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Tang Tian¡¯er teased Zu An. ¡°Young master Zu, it¡¯s still broad daylight, but you¡¯re going to a ce like that. Isn¡¯t that a bit too¡­ much?¡±

    ¡°I was just investigating some things,¡± Zu An said with a smile. He didn¡¯t bother exining too much.

    Tang Tian¡¯er moved over to his side and got on her tiptoes, giving his shoulders and chest a sniff. Then, she smiled and said, ¡°There¡¯s no smell of other girls. Looks like the young master really is a gentleman.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s mood couldn''t help but improve when he saw her brilliant and sweet smile. He asked, ¡°Why has Miss Tange to a brothel? There¡¯s no way you came here to y, right?¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it because someone I know left without saying anything after getting what he wanted? You never even came to see me, so I went for a stroll to see if I could find that heartless rat,¡± Tang Tian¡¯er replied. She yed with her hair as she looked at Zu An with a smile. ¡°Young master Zu is so amazing, after all; won¡¯t you help me look for that heartless rat?¡±

    The scene of Zu An hiding in her bathtub reappeared in his mind. Tang Tian¡¯er¡¯s skin had been smooth and glowing like jade, and there had been that bright design on her skin. He couldn''t help but cough awkwardly a few times and say, ¡°Apologies, Miss Tang; I¡¯ve really been too busy these days. I had to recover from my injuries, which was why I didn¡¯t visit you.¡±

    ¡°Hmph! You don¡¯t have a shred of sincerity. If you really cared, you would definitely have found a way to at least send me a message.¡± Tang Tian¡¯er harrumphed. However, her expression brightened up soon afterward and she said, ¡°But someone like me wouldn¡¯t be so petty. A meeting isn¡¯t as good as a chance encounter, after all; so why don¡¯t you keep mepany on a stroll today?¡±

    Zu An hesitated and replied, ¡°Um¡­ I still have important matters to take care of. I fear¡­¡±

    ¡°Treat me well, and who knows, I might just have an answer for what you¡¯re most worried about,¡± Tang Tian¡¯er said with a wink.

    Zu An happily began, ¡°Do you know¡­¡±

    Tang Tian¡¯er pressed her finger against his lips before he even finished his sentence, saying, ¡°You haven¡¯t kept mepany yet, so you¡¯re not allowed to ask anything.¡±

    Zu An knew that her status was special. She might actually know something. He was just about to agree when a soft and lovable voice called out. ¡°Look at these two lovebirds. Did Ie at a bad time?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s entire body trembled as he quickly turned around.

    A youngdy dressed in red and ck was standing nearby. Her oval face was tender and beautiful, an ambiguous smile hanging from her red lips. A great ripple moved across her chest as soon as she began to walk. The eyes of all the passing men were immediately drawn to her.

    How can there be a woman so charming in this world? Don¡¯t tell me this is that brothel¡¯s best?

    If she really is, then I have to give her a try even if I have to squander away my entire family fortune!

    Next to the charming youngdy was a cute maid with chubby cheeks. At that moment, she was staring at Zu An and Tang Tian¡¯er with a re and a pout.

    You have sessfully trolled Hong Zao for +55 +55 +55¡­

    Who else could they be but Big Manman and her servant?

 Chapter 1105: Male Honey Trap

    <h4>Chapter 1105: Male Honey Trap</h4>

    ¡°What a coincidence.¡± Zu An chuckled in embarrassment. Only then did he notice that Tang Tian¡¯er finger was still on his lips, however, He quickly took a step back.

    He really was depressed. Why am I experiencing one of those clich?d romantic drama scenes?!

    ¡°Exactly! What a coincidence. I was just on a stroll, and yet I ended up seeing young master Zu flirting with another beauty.¡± Pei Mianman had a big smile on her face. There wasn¡¯t the slightest bit of anger in her expression. But Zu An knew she was getting angrier and angrier by the second, because the amount of Rage pointsing in through the backend was rising exponentially.

    Tang Tian¡¯er raised a brow. Her sixth sense immediately told her that there was more to these two than met the eye. As such, she grabbed Zu An¡¯s arm and asked, ¡°Big brother Zu, who is this girl?¡± In reality, though, judging from the woman¡¯s beauty and her distinct way of dressing, she already had a good guess as to who she was. She just pretended to not know anything.

    Zu An coughed and said, ¡°Ahem, this is Miss Pei, my good friend.¡±

    He wasn¡¯t scared of being honest about their rtionship, but Pei Mianman had requested for him to keep it a secret. This world was a bit more open-minded than ancient China, but there was still a limit. Sleeping together before marriage would definitely have an effect on the girl. Meanwhile, the Pei n wasn¡¯t a small n, so they would care about such things even more.

    Even though Pei Mianman knew about their arrangement too, she still couldn''t hold back her rage when she saw Zu An acting like this with another girl.

    ¡°Could this be young master Zu¡¯s newest concubine?¡± she remarked as she walked over with a smile. Next to her, Hong Zao was still fuming. She couldn''t understand why her master hadn''t be hostile yet.

    Tang Tian¡¯er heard the sarcasm in Pei Mianman¡¯s voice, directed toward her physical contact with Zu An. But she didn¡¯t mind, and instead looked even more amused. These two¡­ are interesting.

    Zu An began to sweat buckets when he sensed the jealousy in their voices. He eximed, ¡°Manman, you¡¯re misunderstanding! She¡¯s Zhenyuan Merchant Group¡¯s Miss Tang, and we¡¯re investigating a case! I have some things to ask her.¡±

    ¡°What are you exining that to me for? Young master Zu can just do whatever you want.¡± Pei Mianman said emotionlessly.

    Zu An was speechless. Didn¡¯t you ask me who she was?n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Tang Tian¡¯er exined softly, ¡°Miss Pei, Big Brother Zu and I really have nothing between us.¡±

    Pei Mianman¡¯s heart leaped. You¡¯re even calling him Big Brother Zu, and yet you say there¡¯s nothing going on between the two of you?

    Hmph, you¡¯re pretending to look all weak and pitiful. Are you trying to make me look like an intimidating viin who doesn¡¯t understand?

    Women were naturally sensitive toward the green tea bitch[1] behaviors of other girls. But even though she could see through all of that, she couldn''t just be hostile on the spot. Otherwise people might look down on her. still, the more that was the case, the angrier she got.

    You have sessfully trolled Pei Mianman for +233 +233 +233¡­

    Suddenly, Zu An sent her a ki transmission. ¡°Manman, this woman is clearly trying to drive a wedge between us. Don¡¯t fall for her tricks.¡±

    Pei Mianman grinned when she heard his exnation. Hmph, at least this guy isn¡¯t too stupid. She knew that he was on her side, so most of her anger disappeared. But she still fired back through ki transmission, ¡°I don¡¯t care if you¡¯re investigating a case, but do you have to kiss her finger? Do you have to hold onto her that tightly?¡±

    Zu An was speechless. Even though it was just a coincidence, those things had still happened. It really was a bit hard to exin¡­

    Pei Mianman then began to rx. She began to size up Tang Tian¡¯er with amusement. ¡°Your legs are quite nice, but your chest is a bit small. Hmm, I guess you¡¯re pretty enough; not too bad to keep around as a bed warmer. If you want to join his harem, you¡¯ll have to get Chuyan¡¯s personal approval first.¡±

    Now it was Tang Tian¡¯er¡¯s turn to be speechless. Why the hell is this woman talking to me like a main wife talking to a concubine? But she reacted quickly as well, replying, ¡°Is Miss Pei talking about Chu First Miss? But if I recall correctly, she has already divorced Big Brother Zu, right?¡±

    ¡°That was only done to fool others. The two of them are closer than ever.¡± Pei Mianman had only nned to amuse herself with the situation, but she couldn''t help but feel a bit sour when she said that.

    Tang Tian¡¯er¡¯s eyes shone as she continued, ¡°But why does it feel as if Miss Pei is even more enthusiastic than Miss Chu?¡±

    Pei Mianman obviously picked up on the mockery in her voice. Tang Tian¡¯er was implying that the main wife hadn¡¯t even said anything yet, so what kind of a rtionship did a girl from the Pei n have with Zu An, for her to speak out like this?

    Because of Zu An¡¯s exnation, however, she didn¡¯t get angry. She instead replied with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s because Chuyan is my good friend, of course. She isn¡¯t here, so I have to keep an eye on her husband. Otherwise, some vixens might juste after him.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression darkened. He had discovered that Pei Mianman really liked ying the role of Chu Chuyan¡¯s close friend. It seemed to always bring her a sense of stimtion without fail.

    Tang Tian¡¯er was also left at a loss for words. Never had she expected this woman¡¯s mental fortitude to be so great, and for her retaliation to be so vicious.

    She was wondering what she should say when Pei Mianman said with a smile, ¡°I still have to do my shopping, so the two of you can slowly enjoy your stroll. I won¡¯t disturb you any longer.¡±

    She bowed toward the two of them, then turned around to leave. When she walked past Zu An, she gave him an ambiguous smile. Zu An forced a smile in return. Even though Pei Mianman hadn¡¯t said anything, her intentions were already clear enough.

    ¡­

    When the master and servant left, Hong Zao finally couldn''t hold herself back anymore. She asked, ¡°Young miss, why did you leave just like that?¡±

    ¡°What, was I supposed to throw a tantrum and make a scene?¡± Pei Mianman replied with a chuckle.

    ¡°Young miss, how can you stillugh? That Tang girl is all over the young master, and she¡­ even pressed her chest up against the young master¡¯s arm! How shameless.¡± Hong Zao angrily voiced indignation for her master. She just felt as if her precious master had been tainted somehow. She continued, ¡°The young master really is to me too; he actually didn¡¯t push her away.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s investigating a case. It¡¯s natural for him to use a male honey trap,¡± Pei Mianman replied; she didn¡¯t seem to mind. She continued, ¡°I¡¯m already relieved now that I¡¯ve seen that he¡¯s safe and sound.¡±

    ¡°So it was a honey trap! I was going to say, the young master is so great, so why would he be that kind of man?¡± Hong Zao nodded as if she suddenly understood.

    Pei Mianman rolled her eyes. Looks like Zu An¡¯s constantly feeding her is now doing work. Why do I have such a dummy for a maid? She even believed some random excuse I made up?

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Tang Tian¡¯er had a pensive look on her face as she watched Pei Mianman and Hong Zao leave. She remarked, ¡°Young master Zu, your rtionship with Miss Pei seems to be quite good.¡±

    ¡°We were fellow students back in Brightmoon City, so we¡¯re indeed quite close.¡± Zu An¡¯s expression turned serious and he asked, ¡°Miss Tang, why did you have to act like that earlier?¡±

    Tang Tian¡¯er naturally knew that he was unhappy. As such, she put on a sweet smile and began to act cute. ¡°You know, I only did that because I like the young master too much. I got a bit jealous¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh? You like me?¡± Zu An replied, looking at her with scorching eyes.

    Tang Tian¡¯er¡¯s heart skipped a beat, but she still maintained her smile and replied, ¡°Of course I do.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good then.¡± Zu An reached out and grabbed her waist, saying, ¡°Let¡¯s reserve a Jasper Lane room and properly get to know each other.¡± Then, he headed towards Jasper Lane.

    Sure enough, Tang Tian¡¯er began to panic. As someone who worked in a ce like the Hub of Freedom, she obviously knew what Zu An meant. She leaped away and pleaded, ¡°Young master Zu, I was wrong! I won¡¯t do that again in the future¡­¡±

    Zu An gave her an indifferent look, replying, ¡°I don¡¯t want to see a repeat of what just happened in the future.¡±

    Tang Tian¡¯er pursed her lips. In the end, she could only helplessly voice her agreement. However, Zu An finally revealed a smile and replied, ¡°That¡¯s better. We¡¯re already friends, so isn¡¯t it better to be a bit more sincere with each other?¡±

    ¡°Am I not sincere enough to you yet¡­¡± Tang Tian¡¯er mumbled. She had already shown him everything in that bathtub. Of course, there was no way she would say that out loud.

    Zu An had obviously thought of the same thing. His expression softened a bit when he looked at her, and he asked, ¡°Alright, where do you want to go?¡±

    Tang Tian¡¯er¡¯s eyes lit up. The cute dimples returned to her face as she replied, ¡°Anywhere is okay, as long as it¡¯s with you.¡±

    Zu An frowned. He just felt that Tang Tian¡¯er was acting a bit too close, but that she probably had an ulterior motive. But when he recalled how she had saved himst time, he felt that she had sacrificed a bit too much to have really done so all because of some ulterior motive.

    ¡­

    Zu An apanied Tang Tian¡¯er around Cloudcenter City just like that, touring nearly half of the city.

    Eventually, Tang Tian¡¯er said meaningfully, ¡°I feel really happy today. I¡¯ve never felt so carefree in all these years.¡±

    Zu An realized that whether it was the Hub of Freedom or the Zhenyuan Merchant Group, Tang Tian¡¯er indeed didn¡¯t have many opportunities to rx. He couldn''t help but feel a bit of a soft spot for her. At her age, she would still be a carefree student in Zu An¡¯s previous world. He said, ¡°I¡¯ll keep youpany again in the future if there¡¯s a chance.¡±

    Tang Tian¡¯er shook her head. She said somewhat emotionally, ¡°There might not be a next time.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He was just about to ask why when Tang Tian¡¯er spoke up again. ¡°Alright, alright. I know you¡¯ve wanted answers for a while now. You¡¯ve been a bit absent-minded while you were around me, so I¡¯ll just tell you. Jasper Lane¡¯s boss is nothing but a figurehead. The real boss is the Pegasus Merchant Group.¡±

    ¡°The Pegasus Merchant Group?¡± Zu An had a strange expression as he spoke. These two merchant groups really were arch-enemies! They immediately threw dirt at each other whenever they had the chance.

    Tang Tian¡¯er sighed and replied, ¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking, but I¡¯m really not speaking out of a personal grudge, and I really am trying to help you.¡± She continued, ¡°Right, Pegasus Merchant Group¡¯s background is quite formidable too, so you have to be careful.¡± Afterward, she gave him a wave and showed him a sweet smile. Then, she quickly disappeared into the street.

    Zu An began to ponder to himself. He had investigated the Pegasus Merchant Group before, and they seemed to be quite connected to the Devil Sect.

    Sigh, don¡¯t tell me I have to antagonize Qiu Honglei, Yu Jianyue and the others¡­

    1. Green tea bitch ?

 Chapter 1106: One Behind the Scenes

    <h4>Chapter 1106: One Behind the Scenes</h4>

    He decided to first seek out Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei to find out what was going on. Unfortunately, even though he looked for them for a long time where they would usually be in Cloudcenter City, he didn¡¯t find either one of them.

    He looked around the city for a bit longer without having much luck. He sighed. The Devil Sect¡¯s people really are hard to track down¡­

    When he returned to the temporary residence, Sang Hong sought him out, saying, ¡°I brought some people over today to arrest Yu Xuanqing.¡±

    ¡°Oh, Madam Yu didn¡¯t interfere?¡± Zu An asked.

    Sang Hong shook his head and replied, ¡°She did not. However, when we found Yu Xuanqing, he had alreadymitted suicide to escape punishment.¡±

    ¡°Suicide? Was he forced tomit suicide?¡± Zu An frowned.

    ¡°ording to the current situation, it does look like a suicide.¡± Sang Hong harrumphed. ¡°But Yu Xuantao also died when we were trying to arrest him. For two such instances to happen consecutively, how can there be such a coincidence? I suspect that Madam Yu is actuallypletely different in private, and that side is definitely not honorable.¡±

    Zu An recalled Yu Yanluo¡¯s exceptional beauty. From their time together, Zu An knew that she was a proper n leader. She wasn¡¯t as harmless as she seemed in public. But if one were to say that she was the one who had silenced Yu Xuanqing, then he wouldn¡¯t be too convinced.

    ¡°Right, we also found some evidence in Yu Xuanqing¡¯s residence. Now, it seems Zuo Su and Uncle Ming carried out the smuggling deal with the fiend races through him. All transportation of the goods was entrusted to the Pegasus Merchant Group. I am about to lead a group to arrest the Pegasus Merchant Group¡¯s people and bring them back for interrogation, to verify if that is the truth,¡± Sang Hong said seriously.

    ¡°The Pegasus Merchant Group¡­¡± Zu An was shocked. Never had he expected their Imperial Envoy to be acting against the Pegasus Merchant Group so soon. But as the Imperial Envoy, their decision was reasonable and he couldn''t stop them. As such, he said, ¡°Then why don¡¯t I go with respected uncle?¡±

    He was worried that Qiu Honglei would suddenly appear and save the Pegasus Merchant Group¡¯s people. It would be really bad if she ended up getting hurt then. If Yun Jianyue made an appearance, on the other hand, he would be worried about Sang Hong instead. However, with him to mediate things, he could at least prevent the worst from happening.

    Sang Hong was a bit hesitant, replying, ¡°But you are still injured¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine as long as I don¡¯t do any fighting. It¡¯s just a merchant group; the Armed Escort is enough to deal with them,¡± Zu An exined.

    Sang Hong thought that made sense as well, replying, ¡°That is fine then. When the timees, stay close to me so that no evildoers can harm you.¡±

    Zu An felt warm inside when he sensed his concern. The world was just unpredictable that way. The two of them had been irreconcble back in Brightmoon City, and yet now, the Sang n already pretty much considered him family.

    ¡­

    Sang Hong thus led a group of people to the Pegasus Merchant Group. For extra protection, he even transferred over some of the Civil Affairs Manor¡¯s troops. Gao Ying was currently the officer who presided over them, so it wasn¡¯t too hard to transfer those troops to their control.

    The Pegasus Merchant Group hadn¡¯t realized what had happened yet. At first, the one in charge outside shouted aggressively, screaming ¡®Do you even know what kind of ce this is¡¯. However, he was quickly taught a lesson on how to behave by the Armed Escort.

    Sang Hong didn¡¯t waste any time speaking to him and instead had his subordinates rush in. They intended to seize all the people there and the proof they needed. As such, the soldiers stormed in like a pack of wolves.

    The Pegasus Merchant Group had quite a few guards and warriors inside. They were ready to fight, expecting some scoundrels who had arrived to start trouble. But when they saw that it was the court¡¯s officials and even the Imperial Envoy, they all immediately lost confidence. They were just here to make a living; none of them had any thoughts of rebelling against the court!

    Sang Hong wasn¡¯t the kind of person to wantonly ughter the innocent for no reason either. He quickly stepped forward and said that the Pegasus Merchant Group was involved in the scheme against the duke and smuggling goods to the fiend races. Those who didn¡¯t know about the matter were to drop their weapons and surrender, and the court wouldn¡¯t pursue them afterward.

    His words quickly broke down the will of most of the guards. None of them dared to receive such a criminal title! They quickly dropped their weapons and surrendered.

    But that wasn¡¯t all. Some of the Pegasus Merchant Group¡¯s important individuals saw that the situation was unfavorable and tried to escape. Soon, the sounds of intense fighting broke out from inside.

    Sang Hong harrumphed and rushed straight toward the rear courtyard. Zu An worried that it was Qiu Honglei and the others, so he quickly followed along as well.

    ¡­

    Zu An sighed in relief when he arrived at the rear courtyard. He saw that the Armed Escort were surrounding a dozen or so of the Pegasus Merchant Group¡¯s men, and they were fighting fiercely. The ones who were surrounded were all men; he didn¡¯t see Qiu Honglei.

    The Pegasus Merchant Group¡¯s people weren¡¯t weak. But the Armed Escort had the advantage of numbers and formations, so they were evenly matched.

    Zu An noticed that there were two familiar people in the group. One was a chubby man dressed in dark yellow clothes who looked like a rich local tyrant. He was brandishing the abacus in his hands fiercely. The other had green hair. From time to time, several thistles and thorns rushed out to disrupt the Armed Escort¡¯s formations.

    If they hadn¡¯t been present, the entire group might already have been subdued by the Armed Escort a long time ago.

    ¡°Solitary Gold and Solitary Wood,¡± Sang Hong said with a snort.

    He recognized the two people as well. The two had been part of the group that had attacked his party while they were being escorted to the capital in the past. He couldn''t help but recall his son¡¯s tragic death when he saw them, and a look of displeasure quickly crossed his face.

    Solitary Gold reached out a hand and struck the abacus. Its beads immediately flew toward the Armed Escort like scattered flower petals.

    The Armed Escort screamed miserably, and many of them copsed. Fortunately, their armor contained special formations that greatly improved their defense. But even though there was no danger to their lives, they still lost their fighting strength for some time.

    Solitary Wood also reached out just then, wing at the air. The trees in the courtyard rustled and their leaves flew outward, shooting toward the Armed Escort like sharp des.

    Sang Hong released a cold snort. He rushed forward powerfully, and with a sweep of his sleeves, he collected all the leaves in them. He then flung his sleeves outward again, crushing the leaves to powder.

    Sang Hong didn¡¯t stop at all. He rushed quickly toward the center of the battlefield like a streak of lightning. He took down Solitary Gold and Solitary Wood with just a few moves. Then, the Armed Escort swarmed around the two, pressing their des against their necks. The others became discouraged when they saw that, so they were also quickly detained.

    Zu An was amazed. He was so used to seeing master rank opponents that he had forgotten Sang Hong¡¯s cultivation was also top-tier among people in the martial world.

    The Armed Escort then searched through the merchant group. They discovered that all of the ounts were gone; it was impossible to tell whether they just happened to not be there, or if they had been brought away ahead of time because the Pegasus Merchant Group had received news of the Armed Escort¡¯s arrival.

    There were too many people and too much material evidence to seize, so Sang Hong didn¡¯t waste any time. He began his interrogation right there at the merchant group.

    ¡­

    Zu An wasn¡¯t too used to the sight of torture, so he didn¡¯t participate in the questioning. Instead, he found an empty room and began to meditate.

    Soon afterward, Sang Hong approached him with a grave expression, saying, ¡°Ah Zu, things are troublesome now.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Zu An asked. He knew Sang Hong wasn¡¯t someone who would be shaken up so easily. Anything that could leave him so distressed definitely wasn¡¯t a small matter.

    Sang Hong said with an overcast voice, ¡°Even though many remained stubborn and refused to assist in the earlier investigation, some didn¡¯tst. The Pegasus Merchant Group is actually acting under King Yan.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Zu An eximed, shocked. Doesn¡¯t this mean Qiu Honglei and King Yan are actually in cahoots with each other?N?v(el)B\\jnn

    But Qiu Honglei was clearly caught by King Yan back in Yi Commandery!

    ¡°We found some letters, ount books, and Yi Commandery government documents in the rooms. Even though there is no concrete evidence, that is most likely the case.¡± Sang Hong lowered his voice and continued, ¡°King Yan and the Devil Sect are actually working together. They are also involved in the smuggling case with the fiend races.¡±

    Zu An said with a frown, ¡°But King Yan and the Devil Sect have continuously fought wars over the years. They¡¯re supposed to hate each other bitterly¡­¡±

    ¡°They have just been doing all of that for show.¡± Sang Hong sneered. ¡°Hmph, King Yan is surprisingly sharp. He used that as an excuse to continuously request for resources from the court, but was simultaneously doing this to strengthen himself and his army.¡±

    Zu An was rmed. No wonder even though Qiu Honglei had been caught, she didn¡¯t seem to have suffered any real mistreatment.

    He had wanted to bring it up, but stopped when Qiu Honglei had asked what he would do if she lied to him, and whether he would me her. He had thought she had meant something else before. Now, it seemed this was what she had been talking about.

    No wonder they had been intercepted by the Devil Sect right there and then, the moment the criminal escort fleet had left Yi Commandery.

    Golden Token Seven had long been investigating that matter, and yet he hadn¡¯t dared to say it outright. That might have been precisely what he was looking into. After all, it involved a king figure. Without proper proof, making such an usation would only lead to his own execution.

    Sang Hong said gravely, ¡°This matter is too important. King Yan has powerful troops on his side. If he decides to rebel, even if we manage to survive and escape to the capital, we will still be executed by his majesty.¡±

    He understood the emperor¡¯s political methods too well. What the emperor cared about wasn¡¯t who was right or wrong, but rather the potential effects on his own imperial authority. For the sake of pacifying King Yan, he might even just decide to silence their group of ¡®liars who have misled the public¡¯ to quell King Yan¡¯s wrath.

    Zu An naturally knew that as well. At the moment, the emperor¡¯s enemy was King Qi. He definitely didn¡¯t want more side issues to keep growing. He sighed and asked, ¡°Then what do we do from now on?¡±

    The country looked rich and powerful on the surface, but there were dangers lurking around every corner. As such, just a single spark might lead to a huge disaster.

    ¡°We cannot continue investigating this case. We will just proim that the Pegasus Merchant Group has colluded with Uncle Ming and helped the fiend races with their illegal smuggling. At the same time, we will im that the one behind the scenes was the Devil Sect. Either way, they have more than enough dirt directed at them, and they were indeed involved in the matter.¡± Sang Hong¡¯s expression was extremely cold as he spoke.

    Zu An felt a huge headache. He knew the proposed method was their best option. The problem was that he was close to Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei.

 Chapter 1107: Aiming for His Life

    <h4>Chapter 1107: Aiming for His Life</h4>

    Sang Hong had to remain at the Pegasus Merchant group to deal with the aftermath. Zu An didn¡¯t want to be held up by all theplicated matters, so he found a random excuse to leave. Sang Hong thought he was still injured, so he didn¡¯t keep him.

    When Zu An left Pegasus Merchant Group, he didn¡¯t return to the temporary residence and instead headed to Yu Manor.

    Following Jian Taiding and Uncle Ming¡¯s death, the situation in the Duke Manor had already mostly been settled. There was no need for Yu Yanluo to continue staying in Jian Manor. She was a woman, and she feared the cold. Her home was naturally morefortable.

    Zu An and Yu Yanluo were already close friends, and the maids and servants in the manor were familiar with him too, so there was no need to ry any messages when Zu An entered and exited. When he entered Yu Yanluo¡¯s room, he saw that she was lying on her side as usual, her eyes half-open. Her posture was incredibly moving, and a faint fragrance wafted through the room. She was just like a goddess from a painting.

    Zu An was somewhat curious. He had noticed that Yu Yanluo liked that position. At first, he thought she was sleeping, but upon closer observation, she was taking in and releasing ki through her lips, which meant she was cultivating.

    Cultivators usually meditated while sitting. Only that position would allow for the best exchange of ki between their bodies and the surrounding environment. Why did Yu Yanluo find such a position the mostfortable while cultivating?

    ¡°You¡¯re here.¡± Yu Yanluo sounded calm and natural, as if she were talking to her own husband. She asked, ¡°Did something happen?¡± She knew that with how things were at the moment, Zu An shouldn¡¯t have been in the Duke Manor, but instead with the Imperial Envoy. There should have been no reason for him to suddenly seek her out.

    Zu An poured a cup of tea for himself in a familiar manner. Yu Yanluo¡¯s red lips opened. That was the cup she usually drank from; she had never let anyone else use it. But in the end, she didn¡¯t say anything and instead reminded him, ¡°Drink slowly.¡±

    Zu An drank three cups of tea before finally saying, ¡°I just came back from the Pegasus Merchant Group¡­¡± Then, he gave her a rough summary of everything that happened. He asked, ¡°Why would Jian Taiding work with King Yan? I thought he was working together with the Zhenyuan Merchant Group.¡±

    Zu An refused to believe that the Yu n didn¡¯t know about the Pegasus Merchant Group¡¯s connection to King Yan. Sure enough, Yu Yanluo wasn¡¯t surprised at all, replying, ¡°That is because top-level ns never ce all of their eggs in one basket.¡±

    Zu An frowned. He couldn''t help but feel that she seemed to be implying something, and yet he couldn''t really figure it out. Yu Yanluo continued, ¡°I just did not expect King Yan¡¯s ambitions to be so great. He was unsatisfied with just transporting the goods, and instead wanted topletely take the Zhenyuan Merchant Group¡¯s ce.¡±

    Zu An gave her a strange look and said, ¡°I thought you might have been kept in the dark at first, that you were just a harmless and timid little bunny rabbit. But now, it seems you actually knew many things.¡±

    ¡°A harmless and timid little bunny rabbit?¡± Yu Yanluo couldn''t help butugh. She continued, ¡°Anyone who remained a little bunny rabbit in a position like mine would already have been devoured a long time ago. But please do not think of me so highly. There are actually many things I do not know about; it was only through your help that I gradually reached the truth.¡±

    Zu An remained silent, seemingly trying to separate truth from lies in what she said. Yu Yanluo continued, ¡°Your rtionship with the Devil Sect seems to be quite good.¡±

    Zu An hesitated, but in the end, he nodded. Whether it was about Yun Jianyue¡¯s appearance or the matter of Qiu Honglei, he might be able to fool normal people, but it wouldn¡¯t be hard for someone like Yu Yanluo to figure out the truth.

    Yu Yanluo said, ¡°Then I will do you a favor here. Most of King Yan¡¯s cooperation with the Devil Sect has just been King Yan taking advantage of what he could. For example, the smuggling of court goods over the years has been med on the Devil Sect.¡±

    Zu An recalled what Qiu Honglei had mentioned to him back then. He replied, ¡°You¡¯re right. All these years, the Devil Sect has been wondering who¡¯s been making them take on so much me and hatred.¡±

    Yu Yanluo smiled and said, ¡°King Yan knew who it was, but he did not tell the Devil Sect, instead using them to help him deal with the Zhenyuan Merchant Group. Meanwhile, he himself was focused on gainingplete control over the smugglingwork between Jian Taiding and the fiend races.¡±

    Zu An was shocked, asking, ¡°Just who exactly was that person?¡±

    Yu Yanluo gave him a look. There was a somewhatplicated expression in her beautiful eyes. She said, ¡°I could tell you that I do not know, but I do not want to deceive you. I know who it is, but I cannot tell you.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s brows furrowed as Yu Yanluo continued, ¡°Please do not get angry. Every n has their own principles. I cannot damage the n because of my personal rtionship with you. After all, there are endless people under the Yu n who are relying on my protection.¡±

    Zu An instead smiled optimistically and said, ¡°I¡¯m already grateful that madam can tell me these things. Why would I be so ungrateful and get upset at you?¡± He knew that if it weren¡¯t because of everything they had gone through together, there was no way she would tell him so many things.

    Yu Yanluo had been expecting him to me her. When she heard what he said, she was stunned. Then, a smile filled her gaze. This man really understood her well, making her feel increasingly intimate with him.

    She was about to say something when Zu An¡¯s expression suddenly changed. He summoned Grandgale, instantly arriving next to Yu Yanluo and grabbing her. The two tumbled off the bedside.

    Yu Yanluo had been feeling moved moments before, but then she had felt shocked and disappointed a split secondter. However, she also quickly realized that Zu An might have had a reason for doing what he did.

    Sure enough, a masked woman in white appeared where they had originally been. Her ck hair fluttered around; her skin was fair and her eyes were sharp. Even though there was a mask covering her face, anyone could tell that she was an incredible beauty. However, there was a hint of chilliness and arrogance in her expression, which would make it hard for anyone to feel any sense of intimacy.

    ¡°Huh?¡± The white-d woman clearly hadn¡¯t expected Zu An to react so quickly; he had actually been able to seize her target ahead of time.

    ¡°So it was Sect Leader Yan. Arriving uninvited andunching a sudden ambush like this doesn¡¯t seem to really match your style,¡± Yu Yanluo remarked, having recognized her as well. She knew that Zu An had just saved her, and gave him a grateful look. Then, she looked coldly at the white-d woman.

    The white-d woman was the sect master of the White Jade Sect and Chu Chuyan¡¯s master, Yan Xuehen. She retracted her hand and said indifferently, ¡°I only nned to detain you to ask you some questions.¡±

    ¡°Who asks questions this way?¡± Yu Yanluo replied coldly; she was clearly extremely dissatisfied.

    Yan Xuehen ignored her and continued, ¡°How did Jian Taiding die?¡±

    Zu An was rmed. It seemed she was here to get revenge for her junior brother.

    Yu Yanluo replied indifferently, ¡°I have already exined his death. With Sect Master Yan¡¯s ability, I believe you have already been informed. Why is there a need to ask any further?¡±

    ¡°I do not believe you,¡± Yan Xuehen said simply. Her eyes stared daggers into Yu Yanluo. She believed his death had something to do with the woman. After all, she was a survivor from the incident.

    ¡°There is not much I can do if you do not believe me,¡± Yu Yanluo replied, equally unhappily.

    Zu An thought to himself, You¡¯re facing a freaking grandmaster! How can you just sh with her head-on like this?

    Don¡¯t tell me beauties are naturally ipatible? How the hell am I going to convince my harem in the future then¡­

    Just then, Yan Xuehen¡¯s gaze fell onto Zu An. She asked, ¡°Does she feel good in your arms?¡±

    Only then did Zu An realize that because he had been looking at Yan Xuehen the entire time, he had never let go due to his excessive shock.

    Yu Yanluo was in the same situation. Perhaps because they had already engaged in intimate contact before, she hadn¡¯t instinctively reacted like before. With that reminder, she quickly moved away. There was a faint blush on her sparkling skin.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s gaze wandered between the two suspiciously. She just felt that the two of them were acting a little strange. A suspicion appeared in her mind and she asked, ¡°Are you the one who colluded with her in killing my junior brother?¡±

    Zu An cried out indignantly, ¡°What does this have to do with me?!¡±

    Yu Yanluo also spoke up for him, saying, ¡°He was not at the scene of the crime; it has nothing to do with him.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Yan Xuehen only felt even more suspicious of Zu An¡¯s behavior. She said, ¡°It should be easy enough to test.¡±

    Her figure flickered, and she thrust her slender, jade-like finger at Zu An¡¯s forehead. At that instant, a powerful pressure surrounded him, simultaneously cutting off all routes of escape.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An was rmed. His forehead was a vital point; he wouldn¡¯t dare to let her strike it. He immediately kicked off and moved a zhang backward.

    ¡°Hm?¡± Yan Xuehen was shocked. She eximed, ¡°You have already broken through into the master rank? But that should not be¡­¡±

    Normally speaking, any cultivator under the master rank would have no chance of evading the attacks of a grandmaster like herself. At that instant, she had felt Zu An¡¯s soul neutralizing a portion of her own ki field.

    But he clearly hasn¡¯t reached the master rank yet!

    Zu An chuckled and replied, ¡°Sect Master Yan, aren¡¯t I pretty talented? You should just approve of my rtionship with Chuyan.¡±

    ¡°Mischievous and deceptive; you do not seem like a good person,¡± Yan Xuehen replied with a cold look. As someone from the righteous faction, she naturally disliked someone frivolous like Zu An. As such, she didn¡¯t hold back at all in her next move.

    Zu An immediately felt the pressure increase drastically. Thanks to the soul he condensed before, he had avoided being put in apletely passive situation. It was to the extent that he could even retaliate a bit. Butpared to a grandmaster, he was still at an absolute disadvantage. It was only a matter of time before he was overwhelmed.

    He was rmed. Why did this woman always act so ruthlessly? It even seemed as if she wanted him dead!

 Chapter 1108: Sect Master Yanâ€™s Anger

    <h4>Chapter 1108: Sect Master Yan¡¯s Anger</h4>

    When Zu An had fought against Mi Li before, he had had the Heiress Ball of Delights. He had been extremely weak at the time, so Mi Li hadn¡¯t gone all out.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Yan Xuehen waspletely different, however. Perhaps because of Zu An¡¯s increase in cultivation, she didn¡¯t hold back at all. Zu An was forced to use everything he had, and only then could he barely hold on. But he knew that he wouldn¡¯tst long if things continued.

    Yu Yanluo quickly summoned the World Painting when she saw that. She knew it wouldn¡¯t be able to stop a grandmaster, so she didn¡¯t try to capture Yan Xuehen. Instead, she only used it to provide Zu An with support.

    At the same time, her brush quickly moved through the air. Zu An immediately felt the pressure around him decrease greatly. It was as if at that moment, he had been given several buffs.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s beautiful brows furrowed when she saw that. She remarked, ¡°Hmph, your rtionship is definitely strange.¡±

    Even though Yu Yanluo looked gentle and soft on the outside and carried herself gracefully, she was actually a cold person deep down. She wouldn¡¯t treat another person with such care. And yet, the worry and anxiety in her eyes at that moment were definitely genuine.

    Yu Yanluo harrumphed. ¡°Your respected self attacked my guest without proper reason. How can I just watch from the side without doing anything?¡±

    Yan Xuehen snorted, clearly not believing Yu Yanluo.

    With Yu Yanluo¡¯s help, Zu An gained some breathing room. He took the chance to say, ¡°Sect Master Yan, we¡¯re all close already. Is there a need for us to fight like this?¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression turned cold as she eximed, ¡°Who is close to you?¡± Afterward, she attacked even more viciously.

    She was extremely confused, however. In theory, a grandmaster should have had an overwhelming advantage against cultivators of lower levels, and yet this fellow was just way too strange. His strength was far above that of others at his level. The bag of tricks he had also gave her a huge headache.

    But that was as far as it went. Such a vast cultivation gap was like the difference between heaven and earth.

    Yan Xuehen swung her sleeves outward. Yu Yanluo groaned, the World Painting dropping from the air as she lost control over it. The buffs she had provided Zu An disappeared as well.

    Yu Yanluo knew Yan Xuehen was being lenient. Otherwise, even if she hadn¡¯t died, she would still have been seriously injured by the attack. The other party still felt some reservations toward her status as the Yu n¡¯s master; that was her way of telling her not to get involved any further.

    She tried to raise her brush, but her entire body suddenly went limp. Only then did she notice that her acupoints had already been sealed. She was horrified. Yan Xuehen¡¯s casual attack had simultaneously restrained her. Such an insane level of cultivation made her feel more and more worried about Zu An¡¯s safety.

    Without Yu Yanluo¡¯s support, Zu An immediately felt the pressure around him increase tremendously. He struggled to fend Yan Xuehen off while shouting, ¡°Your disciple is going to end up a widow if we keep fighting! Do you want her to me you for the rest of her life?¡±

    Yan Xuehen waspletely unaffected and replied, ¡°Hmph, if you die, that will be for the best. That way, Chuyan¡¯s will can no longer be swayed. Even if she mes me in the beginning, once sheprehends the true essence behind the oneness of heaven and humanity, she will appreciate it as her master¡¯s consideration.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. This woman really did seem as if she intended to kill him! He didn¡¯t have any more reservations when he realized that, and fired a round of curses straight at her. ¡°Hmph, old nun, you must think you¡¯re pretty good looking, but you can¡¯tpare to Madam Yu! You couldn¡¯t stand that her rtionship with me is good and got jealous, so that¡¯s why you¡¯re attacking me with more and more anger! Even if you can¡¯t get what you want, why are you stopping others from obtaining it?¡±

    At first, Zu An had been worried since she was Chu Chuyan¡¯s master, so he hadn¡¯t used any of his most dangerous methods. But since Yan Xuehen wanted to kill him, he couldn¡¯t be bothered to care about that anymore. The difference in strength was apparent. If he wanted a chance at aeback, he had to first infuriate her and see if she slipped up at all.

    ¡°Old nun?¡± Yan Xuehen started breathing quickly when she heard that form of address.

    The White Jade Pce was a sect of the daoist school. Furthermore, she looked young and beautiful, but she was the master of an entire sect. She was a senior who had been famous in the martial world for many years. As such, the title wasn¡¯tpletely inappropriate.

    But she was a woman in the end. How could she not care about such a thing?

    Furthermore, because of her status and exceptional appearance, she would be treated with respect wherever she went. There were some who even called her a goddess. Even though she remained humble on the surface and told them there was no need for them to call her that, she would still feel happy inside.

    Yet now, she had been cursed as an ¡®old nun¡¯ by a young brat, and he had even said that she was acting out of jealousy toward Yu Yanluo! It was absolutely preposterous.

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +222 +222 +222¡­

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression was strange. She thought to herself, Zu An really is daring! He actually dares to lecture a grandmaster this way! A hint of worry appeared on her face as she thought to herself, Won¡¯t he be in even more danger now?

    Sure enough, Yan Xuehen became a bit faster. On several asions, Zu An couldn¡¯t evade in time, and he was soon covered in wounds. Fortunately, his body was tough, so he didn¡¯t lose all his fighting strength.

    Zu An wasn¡¯t startled; instead, he was happy. However, just that level of rage wasn¡¯t enough. A suitable amount of rage would increase one¡¯s strength, but an excessive amount would cause them to easily make mistakes.

    As such, he added to the heat, shouting as he dodged, ¡°I get it now! Old nun over here is in a bad mood because of her period, her menopause syndrome! That¡¯s why you¡¯re jealous that your disciple found such a good husband while you¡¯re just an old spinster. That¡¯s why your heart and mind are so abnormal right now!

    ¡°You want your disciple to feel your pain too! You can¡¯t ept that your disciple will be happier than you! Are you even human?!

    ¡°If you¡¯re jealous, just admit it! I can help you experience what it feels like to have a rtionship as a favor for Chuyan. Why do you have to kill over this?¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°Period? Menopause syndrome¡­¡± Yan Xuehen almost fainted on the spot. Why is this little rascal so shameless and hateful? Is Chuyan blind?

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +999 +999 +999¡­

    ¡°Shameless scoundrel, die!¡± Yan Xuehen didn¡¯t hold back at all anymore. Her entire body rose into the air. Her ck hair flew all around her, and a frigid domain began to spread in all directions.

    Zu An¡¯s expression was grim. He began to prepare his own trump cards, and also prepared to deal the fatal blow with his Poisonous Prick.

    Yu Yanluo bit her red lip tightly. A resolute look appeared in her eyes. Her pupils began to change color as well. If one were to look at her, they would find that her pupils were starting to be slender and deep.

    Suddenly, someone snickered from off to the side. ¡°Tsk tsk tsk. You¡¯re a glorious grandmaster, and yet you¡¯re releasing your domain against the younger generation. Do you really have no sense of shame?¡±

    Still floating in midair, Yan Xuehen frowned when she heard that voice. She restrained her domain and didn¡¯t continue to attack. Instead, she turned around to look at a woman leaning against the window.

    An exceptional beauty was looking at Yan Xuehen with an ambiguous smile. Her long hair reached all the way to her bottom.

    ¡°Yun Jianyue!¡± Yan Xuehen harrumphed. She knew that if she continued to act against Zu An, her arch-enemy might just ambush her. She eximed, ¡°Why are you here?¡±

    ¡°Even you¡¯re here, so why can¡¯t I be?¡± Yun Jianyue chuckled and remarked, ¡°Did you build Cloudcenter Commandery?¡±

    Yan Xuehen frowned and said, ¡°We will settle our matters on a different day. I have to clean up some matters of my sect first; do not interfere.¡±

    ¡°Cleaning up some matters? Little Ah Zu over there is my good friend. When did he be part of your sect?¡± Yun Jianyue remarked in dissatisfaction, while giving Zu An a look. She almost gave him a huge thumbs up right at that moment. This kid really knows how to curse someone! No wonder even the usually aloof and indifferent Yan Xuehen was about to explode from anger.

    Yu Yanluo had already lowered her head to hide the changes that were taking ce in her eyes. At the same time, she was shocked. This Zu An has so many friends! And they¡¯re all incredible beauties?

    ¡°This shameless man is your friend?¡± Yan Xuehen eximed. She seemed to have heard a joke. She really couldn''t imagine a demoness like Yun Jianyue being friends with a young junior like Zu An.

    ¡°Not only are we friends, he is also the sweetheart of my beloved disciple.¡± Yun Jianyue jumped down from the window, casually stepping into Yan Xuehen¡¯s domain as she said, ¡°Our Holy Sect isn¡¯t so self-righteous and ignorant that we have to break up couples that form. I¡¯m actually quite satisfied with the husband my disciple chose.¡±

 Chapter 1109: Man Stolen

    <h4>Chapter 1109: Man Stolen</h4>

    ¡°What?!¡± Yan Xuehen¡¯s brows shot up when she heard what Yun Jianyue said. She eximed toward Zu An, ¡°You¡¯re still not satisfied with Chuyan? You¡¯re still seducing women outside?¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s eyes widened. She couldn''t help but feel that this woman was suggesting something else.

    But she was also shocked. The Devil Sect¡¯s disciple was their saintess. It was rumored that she had to maintain a virgin body. Zu An had even managed to fool around with such a woman? What was even more shocking was that Yun Jianyue, the Devil Sect master, didn¡¯t seem to object to it at all!

    Is there something wrong with this world?

    Yun Jianyue looked calmly at Zu An, watching the scene like a drama that had nothing to do with her.

    Zu An felt his scalp turn numb. He obviously knew that she was waiting for him to state his own opinion. If he didn¡¯t admit to it, Qiu Honglei might be hurt if news of this matter reached her ears. As such, he braced himself and said, ¡°Honglei and I have gone through life and death together several times; we are each other¡¯s joy. Chuyan has known for a while, and she¡¯s even mentioned taking her in.¡±

    Yan Xuehen was so angry sheughed, retorting, ¡°Do you mean you actually want to have both of them?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +444 +444 +444¡­

    Yu Yanluo thought to herself, What do you mean, ¡®both¡¯? From what I know, this brat is definitely not just limiting himself to those two.

    ¡°You deserve praise for your courage; you didn¡¯t let down Honglei¡¯s affection for you.¡± Yun Jianyue nodded in praise. Then, she gave Yan Xuehen a look of disdain and said, ¡°What do you mean both? That disciple of yours suffered a huge catastrophe, and under the emperor¡¯s pressure, she already divorced him. The two of them have nothing to do with each other anymore. Of course, if our rtionship improved, I wouldn¡¯t mind letting Honglei agree to her bing a concubine.¡±

    ¡°A concubine? Are you dreaming?!¡± Yan Xuehen eximed in utter fury. ¡°Chuyan has alreadypleted the ritual kneeling with him to be the main wife; she has spoken to me about the divorce too. That was only something both of them agreed on to protect the Chu n, and not a true divorce!¡±

    She didn¡¯t like Zu An, and she didn¡¯t want her disciple to be bound by her feelings either. But the fact that she didn¡¯t like it was one thing; the man being stolen by someone else was another.

    If it were anyone else, she might not have gotten upset. She might even take advantage of the situation for her own benefit. But Yun Jianyue was different. The White Jade Sect and Devil Sect opposed each other. The two sects and the two sect masters had already fought each other for so many years. She could lose to anyone but Yun Jianyue.

    Her disciple was going to be a concubine, while Yun Jianyue¡¯s disciple was going to be the main wife? Even someone like her who was usually emotionless felt incredibly annoyed.

    Zu An¡¯s expression was strange. Why are these two now acknowledging their disciples¡¯ rtionships?

    Yun Jianyue clicked her tongue and remarked, ¡°Who would¡¯ve thought that the White Jade Sect the people have admired for so long was a sect that stole men! What an eye-opener.¡±

    ¡°What did you say?!¡± Yan Xuehen eximed. Her expression turned cold and her aura instantly surged. The room that had previously been quite warm because of the heating instantly began to freeze.

    Yun Jianyue also summoned her Wheel of the Crescent Moon. She remarked with a smile, ¡°What, now that I¡¯ve exposed you, you¡¯re nning to silence me?¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression gradually faded. She calmly said, ¡°Yun Jianyue, angering me is not a smart decision. You are still wounded. If we fight to the death, you will definitely not be my match.¡±

    Yun Jianyue didn¡¯t refute her and instead said, ¡°Indeed, I can¡¯t defeat you in my current state. But what if I work together with my precious disciple son-inw?¡±

    ¡°Disciple son-inw?¡± Zu An eximed, speechless. What kind of a mess of a title was that?

    Yan Xuehen was stunned and couldn''t help but give Zu An a look. She had to admit that even though he couldn¡¯tpare to her, he was strong enough to interfere in her battle against Yun Jianyue.

    Yun Jianyue continued, ¡°Furthermore, with Madam Yu¡¯s help¡­ This is the Yu n, after all. You cut off any aura from leaking out earlier, which was why the manor¡¯s guards didn¡¯t react. But if we fight, will you be able to still fool them? If the Yu n¡¯s experts rush in, you might even die here.¡±

    Now that Yu Yanluo had be involved, she said impatiently, ¡°Your personal grudge has nothing to do with me. Do not drag me into this.¡±

    Even though she didn¡¯t like Yan Xuehen, she didn¡¯t have a good opinion of Yun Jianyue either. The woman¡¯s ambiguous smiles, and how she treated Zu An as if he were unquestionably her disciple son-inw, made her a bit ufortable.

    Of course, she rationalized it as being because she didn¡¯t want to be rted to the Devil Sect in any way.

    Yun Jianyue seemed to have seen through her thoughts. She said with a giggle, ¡°It¡¯s to be expected that you won¡¯t help me, but once we do start fighting, will you choose to not help Zu An?¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Yu Yanluo was stunned. Indeed, she couldn''t just watch without doing anything at that point.

    Yun Jianyue said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry; I¡¯m not as domineering as these White Jade Sect people. As a favor for your loyalty to little Ah Zu here, I¡¯ll permit Honglei to allow you into the harem too.¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s face suddenly reddened. She protested, ¡°What kind of nonsense are you saying¡­¡±

    Zu An felt a huge headache. Yun Jianyue was from the Devil Sect, so she didn¡¯t feel many misgivings in anything she did. She just wanted to see the entire world in chaos.

    Yan Xuehen also reacted just then. ¡°Why do I feel as if you sound like some great madam? Are you the one helping your junior choose his partners, or are you choosing your own sisters?¡±

    The entire room became quiet after Yan Xuehen spoke those words. Yu Yanluo gave Yun Jianyue a suspicious look. Zu An waspletely stupefied.

    Yan Xuehen was from the orthodox sects, so why was her retaliation so fierce? Her words really were vicious!

    Sure enough, a bit of annoyance flickered through Yun Jianyue¡¯s eyes. But she reacted quickly too, suppressing her rage and saying with a smile, ¡°So what if that¡¯s the case? For our Holy Sect, what we care about the most is strength and talent. We¡¯re extremely satisfied with Ah Zu, so I¡¯m treating him as one of our own. Rather than pleasing another man, Ah Zu would be a better choice.

    ¡°Miss stone cold heart, why don¡¯t youe and be one of these sisters too? Master and disciple ying together would be quite fun, you know? There¡¯s no way we would allow an ordinary person into the Zu n, but even though you¡¯re a bit old, you still have some looks and barely qualify. As a favor for our friendship, I¡¯ll just let you in as a concubine.¡±

    Forget about Yu Yanluo, even Zu An was stupefied. He thought to himself, Big sis, are you being serious right now?

    Yan Xuehen was already so angry her entire body was shaking. She eximed, ¡°You¡¯re a Devil Sect subus after all! You can even say something like that so naturally?!¡± She couldn''t hold herself back anymore. Her flying sword left its scabbard and rushed toward Yun Jianyue.

    Yun Jianyueughed and continued, ¡°What, you want to be the eldest sister in the harem? Sorry, but that won¡¯t do.¡± Even though she was smiling, however, she didn¡¯t show any carelessness. Her Wheel of the Crescent Moon rushed out.

    The flying sword and crescent wheel shed more than ten times, sword ki flying in all directions. The room couldn¡¯t endure the sh between two grandmasters; it began to break apart and copse.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression changed. It was difficult for her to evade at the moment because Yan Xuehen had previously sealed her acupoints.

    A figure rushed toward Yu Yanluo to protect her. Ordinary pirs and debris were one thing; the shockwaves of a battle between grandmasters weren¡¯t so easy to defend against. Blood immediately sshed across Zu An¡¯s back. He groaned, blood spilling out from the corner of his lips too.

    Yu Yanluo stared at the man in front of her in a stupor. She felt brokenhearted when she saw the blooding out from his mouth. She quickly took out a handkerchief to wipe away the blood.

    Suddenly, Yun Jianyue called out, ¡°Alright, stop. I don¡¯t want to fight anymore.¡±

    As a grandmaster, she naturally sensed the things that had just taken ce. The two of them were fighting to the death, while they were helping another woman steal that man? Such a feeling really wasn¡¯t great.

    When Yan Xuehen saw the Yu n¡¯s experts approaching from a distance, she clearly didn¡¯t n to continue fighting anymore either. She only gave Zu An a deep look and said, ¡°It was you that night after all.¡±

    Yun Jianyue raised her eyebrows. Her desire for gossip burned fiercely within her.

    That night?

    Don¡¯t tell me this stone cold woman also has a thing with this damn brat?

 Chapter 1110: A Gift

    <h4>Chapter 1110: A Gift</h4>

    Yu Yanluo waved outward, gesturing that the Yu n¡¯s experts weren¡¯t permitted to approach. At the same time, her expression became strange when she looked at Zu An. Does this guy have some strange power over women? Why does even someone like Yan Xuehen have something to do with him?

    Zu An was also confused. He called out, ¡°Sect Leader Yan, the two of us know each other, but that¡¯s it! You can¡¯t talk like that and make others think strange things! When did we ever stay together for a night?¡±

    With Yun Jianyue there, he obviously didn¡¯t need to fight to the death anymore. There was also no need to anger Yan Xuehen more by calling her an old nun either.

    ¡°What kind of nonsense¡­¡± Yan Xuehen¡¯s pretty brows furrowed together. Only when she saw Yun Jianyue and Yu Yanluo¡¯s strange expressions did she realize the ambiguous meanings in what she had just said.

    A blush appeared on her fair cheeks. Fortunately, there was a veil over her face, so it was hidden from view. She harrumphed and said in annoyance, ¡°I meant that that night, it was you who interfered at the Great Snowy Mountain.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +146 +146 +146¡­

    ¡°Sect Leader Yan must be joking! ording to what I know, it was Golden Token Eleven who helped Madam Yu and the duke,¡± Zu An replied, rmed. Did she already guess that Golden Token Eleven was me?

    ¡°Indeed. I was there at the time, and the duke can testify as well. I do not know what the sect master is saying.¡± Yu Yanluo naturally spoke up to help him.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Your rtionship is definitely strange, almost like a couple defending each other.¡± Yan Xuehen harrumphed. ¡°Only the most foolish would believe everything they hear. People like us naturally need toe to our own conclusions.

    ¡°I did not hold back much just now. There were several times when that brat¡¯s life hung by a thread. And yet, in such a dangerous situation, he did not use the Imperial Edict. That means he has already used up his Imperial Edict.¡± Yan Xuehen paused before continuing, ¡°And recently, the only time an Edict was used was in Great Snowy Mountain. That is something everyone knows.¡±

    She stared rigidly at the two of them and eximed, ¡°Speak! Why are you pushing this onto Golden Token Eleven? What are you all hiding?¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression became dangerous as well. From their time in the Imperial Pce, she obviously knew that Zu An was Golden Token Eleven. But she had thought that was a secret shared only between them. Back then, even though she hadn¡¯t said anything when he shared such a great secret with her, she had been quite moved.

    But now, it seemed other women also knew about that identity! Is this kid using this to chase after girls? Her expression became a bit unkind when she thought of that.

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +248 +248 +248¡­

    Zu An gave Yun Jianyue a surprised look. He didn¡¯t understand why she was suddenly getting angry. But the top priority was still resolving Yan Xuehen¡¯s suspicions, so he said, ¡°The situation back then was rted to the deaths of several important individuals in Cloudcenter Commandery. If I used my identity, the consequences would spiral out of control.

    ¡°But Golden Token Eleven never showed himself, and I was worried that if the fact that I had used up my Imperial Edict were exposed, some people might no longer feel any misgivings and attack us. That¡¯s why I borrowed Golden Token Eleven¡¯s name to make others think I still have an Imperial Edict on me.¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression eased up a bit when she heard Zu An¡¯s exnation. It seemed he hadn''t told anyone else about his status as Golden Token Eleven.

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Yan Xuehen replied. She was still skeptical, but his exnation made sense. She then looked at Yu Yanluo and said, ¡°Your rtionship with Madam Yu is quite good. Does the duke know about this?¡±

    Yu Yanluo was rmed. She naturally sensed the implications behind what Yan Xuehen was saying. She calmly replied, ¡°This was something we already discussed with the duke beforehand. We considered everything in terms of the bigger picture.¡±

    Seeing that Yan Xuehen intended to ask more questions, Zu An was worried that the duke being a fake would be exposed. He quickly said, ¡°Sect Master Yan, your junior disciple¡¯s remains are still intact. You can personally examine them. With senior¡¯s cultivation, I believe you will be able to tell who killed him.¡±

    ¡°Hmph! I will obviously look into it myself.¡± Yan Xuehen sneered. ¡°You were calling me an old nun just now; I do not think I can ept the address of ¡®senior¡¯ from you.¡±

    Zu An immediately said with an upright expression, ¡°Senior is so beautiful and outstanding. If we were to walk side by side along the streets, people might be surprised if I called you my big sister and would think you were younger. Which rascal would call you an old nun?¡±

    Yu Yanluo and Yun Jianyue were speechless.

    Yan Xuehen was also a bit embarrassed. She brushed her sleeves and stormed off, eximing, ¡°Why does Chuyan like a shameless brat like you?!¡±

    Zu An immediately waved toward her receding figure and called out, ¡°Take care, big sis master! Tell my Chuyan I¡¯lle and see her soon!¡±

    Yan Xuehen staggered and almost dropped out of the sky.

    ¡®Old nun¡¯ had be ¡®Sect Master Yan¡¯, and now it had be ¡®big sis master¡¯?

    How is this guy so shameless?!

    She worried that she might hear something even more ridiculous if she stayed, so she left without even turning around.

    ¡­

    Zu An sighed when he saw Yan Xuehen really leave. The pressure a grandmaster gave off really was no joke. With this frozen mountain standing between me and Chuyan, it seems our rtionship won¡¯t be that easy¡­

    While standing a short distance away, Yun Jianyue beckoned to Zu An with a finger, saying, ¡°Ah Zu,e with me, darling. This one has something to say to you.¡±

    Zu An gave Yu Yanluo a ¡®don¡¯t worry¡¯ look, then quickly rushed over to Yun Jianyue.

    Judging from what had just happened, Yu Yanluo naturally knew that the two of them were friends and not enemies. Furthermore, they even seemed a bit closer than normal friends.

    She had heard how Yun Jianyue seemed to have been injured during the Devil Sect¡¯s invasion of the Imperial Pce. Does this mean Zu An frantically searched for the Milk of Purple Frost for her? She felt a bit ufortable when she thought that.

    The servants who came to clean up the ruined area saw Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression turn cold. They just assumed that she was upset that her room had been destroyed, so they kept quiet for fear that they might suffer her wrath.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An looked at the long-haired beauty before him. A sincere smile appeared on his face as he said, ¡°Big sis sect master, I trust that you¡¯ve been well since west met.¡±

    ¡°You seem to call quite a few people ¡®big sis¡¯, hm? You have a ¡®big sis master¡¯ over here, and now it¡¯s ¡®big sis sect master¡¯.¡± Yun Jianyue turned around. Her expression was no longer as flirtatious and enthusiastic as when she had been in front of Yan Xuehen, instead reced with a hint of intimidating fearlessness.

    Zu An gulped. No wonder everyone in the martial world fears this woman. She really is pretty scary when she¡¯s not smiling. He said, ¡°Yan Xuehen is Chuyan¡¯s master, after all, so I didn¡¯t want things to be too awkward. I was cursing her a bit too heavily, so I had to find a chance to repair our rtionship a bit.¡±

    ¡°What kind of a person is that stone cold woman? Why would she be appeased by a few words from you?¡± Yun Jianyue harrumphed. ¡°But you are pretty brazen. You actually dared to curse her.¡±

    Zu An had a strange look on his face. Stone cold woman? That¡¯s is a pretty fitting description. But why are you calling her a stone woman¡­[1]

    Yun Jianyue finally revealed a smile, remarking, ¡°But your curses have made me quite pleased. That stone cold woman has always acted like some high-up immortal, being kissed up to by everyone everywhere she goes. It¡¯s absolutely nauseating. But brat, you are worthy of being my¡­ disciple¡¯s love interest.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, You¡¯re probably just pissed that she¡¯s being received well everywhere while you¡¯re being cursed by everyone. However, he said, ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to big sis sect master arriving quickly, or else I might really have been done for.¡±

    Yun Jianyue replied with a smirk, ¡°At least you have some conscience. By the way, I heard that your people recentlyunched an assault on the Pegasus Merchant Group?¡±

    Zu An thought, As expected, this question was unavoidable. He replied, ¡°Yes. They colluded with the fiend races in the smuggling plot, so Sir Imperial Envoy went to carry out arrests. I was worried about you and Honglei so I rushed over, but fortunately, neither of you were there.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, how could those good-for-nothings hurt me?¡± Yun Jianyue waved her hand, and a person appeared as she said, ¡°I have a gift for you.¡±

    1. The characters for ¡®stone¡¯ and ¡®woman¡¯ together refers to someone suffering the absence or atresia of the vagina as a birth defect. ?

 Chapter 1111: Instigator Behind the Scenes

    <h4>Chapter 1111: Instigator Behind the Scenes</h4>

    That person didn¡¯t walk in on her own; rather, she was brought in through Yun Jianyue¡¯s ki. Even though Yun Jianyue didn¡¯t just throw the person onto the ground, it was definitely not a smooth ride.

    Zu An was shocked when he saw who it was, eximing, ¡°Pink!¡±

    The woman before him was actually that missing courtesan from Jasper Lane! Pei You hadn¡¯t able to find her the entire time, and yet now, Yun Jianyue had actually captured her!

    ¡°Big sis sect master, this is¡­¡± Zu An began. He noticed that Pink seemed to have her acupoints sealed. Her expression was full of rm.

    Yun Jianyue said indifferently, ¡°I heard that your group made some arrests at the Pegasus Merchant Group. I¡¯m using her as our bargaining chip. Let those who should go, go.¡±

    Zu An only hesitated slightly, but he quickly agreed. ¡°Fine!¡±

    It was Yun Jianyue¡¯s turn to be surprised. She said, ¡°Those who are captured by the Imperial Envoy aren¡¯t so easily released. Are you sure you should be agreeing so quickly?¡±

    Zu An gave the incredible long-haired beauty a look. It really was hard for him to associate her with the demoness the world made her out to be. He said, ¡°Big sis sect master has already asked me for this favor, so I¡¯d do my best to help no matter how difficult it was, let alone in this situation where you¡¯ve brought me a gift in exchange.¡±

    Yun Jianyue harrumphed. ¡°Smooth talker.¡± Even though she sounded reproachful, there was a smile on her face.

    ¡°Right, I made Honglei go back into secluded training. Her mental state is always disturbed whenever she meets you. She has to fight against that stone cold woman¡¯s disciple next year, so now isn¡¯t the time for her to make any mistakes.¡± She paused for a moment before giving Zu An a look, saying, ¡°I¡¯m forcefully intruding between you two. You won¡¯t me me, will you?¡±

    ¡°I would be lying if I said I didn¡¯t feel anything. I always have to be apart from Honglei for a long time again as soon as we meet.¡± Zu An sighed. He continued, ¡°But I can¡¯t be so selfish as to affect Honglei¡¯s prospects. Big sis sect master is doing the right thing, so how can I me you?¡±

    Yun Jianyue nodded in satisfaction and said, ¡°Very good. You aren¡¯t as hypocritical as those so-called gentlemen. I¡¯ll allow you two to meet again if there¡¯s a chance in the future. Now that things are done here, I need to leave. I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll meet again.¡±

    She was just about to leave when Zu An called out to her. Seeing her confused expression, he lowered his voice and asked, ¡°Big sis sect master, are you guys secretly working with King Yan?¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression changed a bit. After some hesitation, she nodded and said, ¡°Indeed.¡±

    Since he had suddenly asked the question out of the blue and investigated the Pegasus Merchant Group, that meant he knew something. That was why there was no need to hide anything.

    Zu An said, ¡°Big sis sect master, you need to be careful. King Yan is just using you guys! For example, he¡¯s clearly abusing your rtionship to seize the court¡¯s resources, making you take all the me. Not only is he not telling you anything, he¡¯s instead using your help to seize Zhenyuan Merchant Group¡¯s market share in this ce.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fully aware that King Yan is using us; do you think we aren¡¯t using him too?¡± Yun Jianyue chuckled. ¡°But you¡¯ve told me something important today. You haven¡¯t let down Honglei¡¯s kindness toward you.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but say, ¡°I¡¯m not doing this only for Honglei. Sect master, you¡¯ve treated me really well too!¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression turned dangerous. She retorted, ¡°Do you have no more attachments to this world? Are you really going after both master and disciple?¡±

    Sensing an overwhelming pressure, Zu An quickly exined, ¡°Big sis sect master, please don¡¯t misunderstand. We know our boundaries. Honglei calls you master; I call you big sis. I¡¯m really only treating you as my friend.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s more like it.¡± Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression eased up a bit and she said, ¡°I¡¯m going.¡± She kicked off lightly against the ground, then disappeared into the distance.

    ¡­

    Zu An secretly wiped the cold sweat on his forehead. What is going on with this woman? She said all of those things in front of Yan Xuehen, and yet now, she got angry because of that?

    ¡°What happened just now? Why was she angry?¡± Yu Yanluo called out. She sensed Yun Jianyue¡¯s sudden release of pressure and quickly came over to check on Zu An.

    ¡°Maybe that¡¯s just how the Devil Sect does things. They¡¯re a moody bunch.¡± Zu An obviously couldn''t tell her the real reason. The worst part was that he really was innocent!

    ¡°That makes sense.¡± Yu Yanluo didn¡¯t suspect anything and instead looked at Pink, asking, ¡°This is¡­?¡±

    Her first reaction was to think Pink was another one of Zu An¡¯s girls. But upon closer inspection, she saw that even though the girl wasn¡¯t ugly, she couldn''t evenpare to some of Yu Manor¡¯s prettier maids. Furthermore, she seemed to be quite involved in the secr world, which didn¡¯t seem to match Zu An¡¯s tastes at all.

    Zu An exined Pink¡¯s background to her and said, ¡°I¡¯m going to bring her back for interrogation, so I¡¯ll have to bid you farewell for now.¡±

    Yu Yanluo nodded and said, ¡°Proper matterse first.¡±

    She froze up momentarily when she said that. It was almost as if the two of them being together wasn¡¯t something proper. She couldn''t help but feel that their current rtionship was a bit strange.

    Zu An gave the ruins around them an apologetic look, saying, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Your entire room ended up getting destroyed.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine; it¡¯ll all be rebuilt soon.¡± Yu Yanluo gave the room a somewhat reluctant look. It was obvious that after all these years, she had developed some attachment to the ce.

    ¡­

    After exchanging a few more words of constion, Zu An left Yu Manor and quickly returned to the temporary residence. Along the way, he interrogated Pink, asking her who had ordered her to do the things she did. However, she kept avoiding the question.

    Eventually, Zu An didn¡¯t even feel like asking any more questions. He simply handed her over to Xiao Jianren. Special situations had to be left to specialists, after all. The Embroidered Envoy were the best of the best at interrogating criminals.

    Zu An went to see Sang Hong. With their current rtionship, there was no need to hide anything. He asked Sang Hong to free Solitary Gold, Solitary Wood, and the others.

    ¡°Qiu Honglei sought you out?¡± Sang Hong asked. He knew that Zu An¡¯s rtionship with her was different from the time when all of them had been escorted to the capital.

    Zu An gave him an ambiguous reply. He couldn''t just tell Sang Hong that it was Yun Jianyue, could he? After all, in theory, he shouldn¡¯t have had any interactions with Yun Jianyue. The only chance when they could have met each other was during the attack on the Imperial Pce. Zu An didn¡¯t want to bring that up and bring up more unnecessary drama.

    Sang Hong frowned and said, ¡°I know that witch is pretty, but the women from the Devil Sect are up to no good! She is the saintess of the Devil Sect. If you keep sticking around her, you will end up in trouble sooner orter.¡±

    Zu An exined, ¡°She risked her life to save me back then. I can¡¯t be so ungrateful, can I?¡±

    This time, Sang Hong surprisingly didn¡¯t say anything. If Zu An really were someone so disloyal, Sang Hong wouldn¡¯t have dared to form an alliance with him.

    Seeing that Sang Hong remained quiet, Zu An knew he was hesitating. As such, he continued, ¡°The Devil Sect Master, Yun Jianyue, appeared in the city not too long ago. Things will be disastrous if we aren¡¯t careful and get her involved. Our mission is to deal with Cloudcenter Commandery. There¡¯s no need to create new problems with the Devil Sect too.¡±

    Sang Hong¡¯s expression changed. He nodded and said, ¡°Alright. Since we haven¡¯t reported anything yet, you should find a chance to let them go. The best situation is to create a hole in our security and have them run away themselves, lest our enemies find something to use against us.¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An thought, As expected of an old fox of politics; his thinking is soprehensive. He replied, ¡°Thank you, respected uncle.¡±

    ¡°You should do your best to distance yourself from the Devil Sect¡­¡± Sang Hong intended to dissuade Zu An, when suddenly, Xiao Jianren sent news that Pink had confessed.

    ¡­

    ¡°Speak! Who made you do all this?¡± Sang Hong arrived at the secret room and eximed seriously.

    There was a distressed smile on Pink¡¯s face as she replied, ¡°I can tell you, but do you have the stomach to hear me out?¡±

    Sang Hong¡¯s expression changed. He gestured with one hand, having everyone else back down until it was just him, Zu An, Pei You, and Xiao Jianren present.

    ¡°Stop ying games and tell us!¡± Pei You eximed, a bit annoyed. He had really been toyed with by Pink for some time, so he was naturally upset.

    Pink clenched her teeth and said, ¡°I need you all to promise my safety first. Otherwise, I¡¯ll still die even if I speak.¡±

    ¡°I am the Imperial Envoy, so please say what you wish to say,¡± Sang Hong said coldly.

    ¡°Imperial Envoy¡­¡± There was a hint of mockery in Pink¡¯s expression. But she knew that she had no choice in the current situation. She then said a name. ¡°If I said it was King Qi who would want me dead, would you still be able to ensure my safety?¡±

 Chapter 1112: Revenge

    <h4>Chapter 1112: Revenge</h4>

    Sang Hong eximed furiously, ¡°Do you know what kind of a crime blindly using a king is?!¡±

    Pink sighed and replied, ¡°See? You¡¯re already so scared just from me saying a single name. Why are you in such a rush to hear any confessions then?¡±

    Sang Hong¡¯s expression changed several times. It seemed he was debating something internally. Pei You and Zu An exchanged a look. No one got angry, unlike before. A strange silence descended on the room.

    Zu An was the only one who remained rtively calm. He asked, ¡°Was it King Qi who personally assigned you here, or was it one of his subordinates?¡±

    Pink replied, ¡°King Qi is so great; why would he personally carry out something like this? Of course it was one of his subordinates.¡±

    ¡°Then how do you know it wasn¡¯t someone who was just falsely using King Qi¡¯s name?¡± Zu An asked seriously.

    Pink harrumphed. ¡°Do you think we spies wouldn¡¯t even know who we are loyal to?¡±

    ¡°In that case, why are you willing to betray him so quickly?¡± Zu An asked calmly. Even though the Embroidered Envoy did specialize in interrogation, they shouldn¡¯t have been able to make a spy like her croak so easily.

    Pink replied hatefully, ¡°Do you know why I was captured by Yun Jianyue?¡± She continued before Zu An could reply, ¡°Because after Ipleted my mission here, King Qi¡¯s subordinates came to silence me. Fortunately, I had some things that I prepared beforehand and escaped. Then, I just happened to run into Yun Jianyue and was captured by her.¡±

    The group exchanged a look. This girl is pretty quick-witted.

    Pei You said, ¡°You told us that sob story of your rtionship with Chen Zhou thest time we met at Jasper Lane. Was that the real you or the fake you?¡±

    Pink sneered. ¡°With things how they are, is there even any difference between what¡¯s real and what¡¯s fake?¡±

    Pei You said quietly, ¡°Of course there is.¡±

    Faced with Pei You¡¯s scorching gaze, Pink fell silent. A whileter, she said, ¡°I was trained as a spy ever since I was young. Everything I experienced was cruel and cold. Even the asional favor from my superior was nothing more than a maniptive tool. Only Chen Zhou brought me sincerity and warmth. Even though he was clumsy and slow of speech, I really did like him.¡±

    Zu An said emotionlessly, ¡°But he died because of you.¡±

    Pink smiled dejectedly and replied, ¡°Indeed, he died because of me. I knew that was his fate from the moment I heard that he had been discovered by my superiors. Unfortunately, I didn¡¯t really understand what I was feeling at the time. Together with the fear of what the organization would do if I betrayed them, I didn¡¯t think too much about it.

    ¡°Only when I received news of his death and felt daggers dig into my heart did I realize that I was wrong. But at that point, it was already toote for regrets.¡±

    ¡°But you still continued to act under King Qi as if nothing happened. You even used Chen Zhou to mislead us in this case,¡± Zu An said grimly.

    Pink lowered her head. ¡°What could I have done? My very life is at the mercy of another man. Am I supposed to tell you something else? How could you high and mighty people understand the sorrow of a nobody like me?¡±

    Zu An fell silent. He knew that what she said was the truth.

    This woman most likely had shared feelings with Chen Zhou. Unfortunately, she hadn¡¯t had the courage to betray King Qi, and so she had constantly been torn between inner conflict and pain.

    ¡°Did the Zhenyuan Merchant Group modify the ount book?¡± Sang Hong asked. He was already quite well along in years and had experienced all sorts of different things. His heart was already tough like steel, and he didn¡¯t care about the romance of youth at all. He only cared about the most important things.

    Pink voiced an affirmation. ¡°I wasn¡¯t involved, but someone disguised themselves and fetched the real ount book, recing it with the modified one. I don¡¯t know what parts they changed exactly.¡±

    ¡°Who were you in contact with? How can we find them?¡± Sang Hong asked.

    ¡°West of the city, Peace Apothecary¡¯s Boss Ma. Jasper Lane¡¯s girls often need physicians to look after their illnesses, which is why he cane in and out without drawing any attention,¡± Pink replied.

    Sang Hong exchanged a look with Xiao Jianren, who understood his intentions and quickly left with his subordinates to make the arrest.

    ¡°Do you have any other proof?¡± Sang Hong asked.

    Pink shook her head and replied, ¡°Everyone in our line of work has to be extremely careful. We wouldn¡¯t leave behind any other proof.¡±

    Sang Hong frowned. He asked more questions, but he wasn¡¯t able to obtain any more useful information. As such, he had Pei You stay behind to continue the questioning while pulling Zu An aside to discuss things.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Should we hide this as well?¡± Zu An asked out of curiosity.

    Sang Hong shook his head and replied, ¡°King Yan wasn¡¯t his majesty¡¯s target, so if we targeted him, his majesty would only me us. But King Qi is the one his majesty wanted to deal with to begin with, so there are no such misgivings.¡±

    ¡°But we only have a single person¡¯s confession; there¡¯s no material substance,¡± Zu An said worriedly. After all, King Qi was incredibly powerful, so Pink¡¯s confession alone wouldn¡¯t do much.

    Sang Hong sighed as well, saying, ¡°Indeed. It¡¯ll now depend on whether Sir Xiao can find anything on his end. However, I¡¯m not too optimistic.¡±

    Zu An also agreed with that sentiment. Why would an old fox like King Qi leave behind an obvious opening after Pink escaped?

    He was also a bit hesitant. He had had some dealings with King Qi in the capital, and they had even formed some kind of ¡®alliance¡¯. Even though they both knew it wasn¡¯t all that reliable, Zu An still had to help King Qi deal with the emperor somewhat. The best result would be for both of them to destroy each other. If King Qi were killed, it would instead go against his best interests.

    Xiao Jianren returned soon afterward. He had returned so quickly because Peace Apothecary had already been emptied out, leaving only some servants who didn¡¯t know anything.

    ¡°It was as we predicted.¡± Sang Hong had a bitter smile as he spoke. He began to hesitate as to whether or not he should hand over Pink to the superiors.

    Even though he didn¡¯t share many interests with King Qi, what he was more worried about was something else. The criminal charge he would take on was definitely no joke. If this case was brought up and he had no proof on his end, King Qi would survive. Meanwhile, with the emperor¡¯s cold nature, he might just use the Sang n as a scapegoat.

    He had already paid a bitter price thest time. He definitely didn¡¯t want to repeat that a second time.

    Just then, a subordinate came in and reported, ¡°Arge fire has broken out in a city outskirts vige.¡±

    Sang Hong harrumphed. ¡°Why are you telling me something like that? Do you think we do not have enough on our hands already or something?¡±

    The soldier exined, ¡°It was the vige where Chen Zhou¡¯s widow resided.¡±

    Zu An had investigated that area, so the Imperial Envoy had stationed some people there to keep an eye on the vige. They hadn¡¯t expected to end up receiving such grievous news.

    ¡°What?!¡± Zu An was shocked, and quickly asked for the details.

    The soldier replied, ¡°The exact details are unclear. It seems to have started in the middle of the night. Because everyone was sleeping, the fire spread quickly. Not a single one of the vige¡¯s 36 inhabitants survived.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression became iparably cold. He said, ¡°It snowed for several days in a row not too long ago. How could it be that easy for a fire to start? And how could there not even be a single survivor?!¡±

    ¡°They were all silenced!¡± Sang Hong eximed,ing to a simr conclusion.

    ¡­

    Zu An and Sang Hong quickly brought their men to the city outskirts to investigate the scene of the crime.

    There were already bailiffs present arranging the corpses. There was an extremely foul smell in the air. It looked just like hell on earth. Many of the bailiffs couldn''t help but retch.

    Zu An remained expressionless. He walked over to Chen Zhou¡¯s wife. When he thought about how the woman¡¯s yful son was now just a chunk of coal, he felt anger burn madly within him.

    Even though he had already known that for bigwigs, the lives ofmoners were worth as little as grass, he hadn¡¯t expected it to be this bad. They hadn¡¯t even let such young children go.

    A government official came over to report, ¡°We have already started to examine the corpses. There wererge amounts of ashes in the deceased¡¯s lungs; they burned to death. For now, we can eliminate the possibility that they were murdered.¡±

    Zu An gave him a cold look and asked, ¡°How do the corpses¡¯ conditions look?¡±

    The person replied, ¡°They look to be at peace. They were probably burned to death in their sleep.¡±

    Zu An harrumphed. ¡°No matter how well they were sleeping, do you think they wouldn¡¯t react at all with the fire zing like this? Someone clearly struck their acupoints, then set fire to this entire ce!¡±

    ¡°Wha¡­ Who would do such a deranged thing?!¡± The government official was horrified.

    Zu An didn¡¯t reply to him and picked up the young remains. He said gloomily ¡°There¡¯s no need to bring these two back to the government office. I¡¯m going to bury them and let them rest here.¡±

    Since he knew the killer, there was no need to have those two corpses disyed in the government office. With Zu An¡¯s cultivation, he was able to quickly dig up a huge pit. Then, he hacked apart some trees to form a simple coffin, burying the mother and child within. He remained silent throughout the entire process.

    Sang Hong said in constion, ¡°Ah Zu, please do not me yourself too much. This is unrted to you.¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t reply. Instead, he silently took out the wooden sword the child had given him back then and called out, ¡°I vow with this sword that I will definitely get revenge for you, lest I meet the same fate as this sword!¡±

    His cultivation rippled outward, and the wooden sword snapped in two. He was about to stab the sword into the grave when his eyes suddenly narrowed.

 Chapter 1113: Blood for Blood

    <h4>Chapter 1113: Blood for Blood</h4>

    The sword had a rolled-up piece of paper in its center. The paper was made of a special kind of material that granted it some resistance against water and fire.

    Zu An unfolded the paper and gave it a look. His expression was grim and conflicted.

    Sang Hong noticed his expression and asked curiously, ¡°What is it?¡±

    Zu An had already had his subordinates withdraw earlier. He replied quietly, ¡°Chen Zhou left behind the proof we''ve been looking for all this time here.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Sang Hong eximed. He quickly took the paper from Zu An and gave it a look.

    The paper was a simple ount book. The records matched up with the ones they had taken from the Zhenyuan Merchant Group before. The only difference was that this ount also included arge amount of smuggling between King Qi and the fiend races.

    No wonder King Qi hadn¡¯t let the entire vige go. He had been worried about Chen Zhou leaving behind some proof, and yet they couldn''t find it. That was why they had decided to just burn everything down. That way, the evidence would also go up in mes.

    But they had never expected Chen Zhou to hide the evidence in his son¡¯s toy wooden sword, and that wooden sword had just happened to be given to Zu An as a gift. Otherwise, it wouldn¡¯t have been able to escape the mes either.

    Sometimes, it was just like that. The will of heaven worked in mysterious ways.

    Sang Hong said, ¡°Ah Zu, I am going to seize all of these people on this list. Why note with me?¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The ount book was just an ount book. They needed the real people named in the evidence to have irond proof.

    Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°Please go on your own, respected uncle. I have more important matters to tend to.¡± He looked toward a certain section of Cloudcenter City.

    Sang Hong guessed what Zu An was thinking and said worriedly, ¡°Ah Zu, do not act rashly. We should take our time with our decisions.¡±

    Zu An said with a heavy voice, ¡°What is cultivation? If I can¡¯t get proper revenge, it will be hard to find peace.¡± He didn¡¯t wait for Sang Hong¡¯s response. With just a few steps, he vanished into the distance.

    Sang Hong looked sullen. He waved at his subordinates to call them back to the city. The best thing he could do for Zu An now was to settle all of the evidence as quickly as possible.

    Meanwhile, Zu An moved quickly and arrived outside a residence in the city. He roared thunderously, ¡°Zhao Zhi, get the f*ck out here right now!¡±

    ¡­

    The people inside the residence ate and drank happily. The silver-haired Han Fengqiu touched cups with some burly men, eximing, ¡°All of you have worked hard!¡±

    One of them had some yellow and ck patterns on his face; his voice was naturally loud. He replied, ¡°How can this be called hard work? They were merely some vigers; it didn¡¯t take much effort at all. The only thing I¡¯m puzzled about is why we had to act against those ordinary people.¡±

    Han Fengqiu said with a chuckle, ¡°It¡¯s mainly because some treacherous things have been happening around Cloudcenter Commandery recently. If we didn¡¯t deal with this situation as soon as possible, it would be quite bad if everything failed in the end because of a small mistake.¡±

    Therge man nodded. He said with a bit of regret, ¡°Then maybe we should¡¯ve just eaten them. That way, nothing would¡¯ve been left behind.¡±

    Han Fengqiu cursed the man inwardly for being stupid, but he still said in an amiable tone, ¡°But that way, your identities might have been exposed. It would have made it harder to take care of thingster.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, I can go wherever I please in Cloudcenter Commandery. Who can stop me?¡± therge man retorted with a snort.

    Han Fengqiu thought to himself, These fiend races really are barbarians. Interacting with them really is exhausting¡­

    Just then, Zu An¡¯s furious roar rang out. Those who were in the room were angered and quickly rushed out.

    ¡°I was wondering which bastard was so confident. So it was Sir Zu.¡± Han Fengqiu sneered when he saw who had arrived.

    Zu An noticed therge man at his side. He had a round face, and the ck and yellow patterns he bore were especially striking. Zu An frowned and remarked, ¡°The Tiger n?¡± The patterns were too simr to tiger stripes. It was hard to not make that association.

    Han Fengqiu felt regret. That muscle-brained idiot had actuallye out with him! But he med himself too, for being too worked up and forgetting to stop them.

    But with things how they were, there was no point in hiding anything. He said indifferently, ¡°These are my new bodyguards. The court doesn¡¯t forbid employing them, does it?¡±

    Because of their defeat in the war back then, many of the fiend races had remained in the human territory to serve as ves. Many nobles raised fiend race ves, and eventually, that had even be a way to size up the power of a n.

    Zu An obviously wasn¡¯t there to talk about that. He asked coldly, ¡°Where is Zhao Zhi? Why don¡¯t I see him?¡±

    Han Fengqiu frowned and replied, ¡°Isn¡¯t Sir Zu¡¯s address a bit improper? If we really pursue this, your actions will be punishable.¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t pay him any attention and instead asked, ¡°Chen Zhou¡¯s wife and son¡ªwas it you who ordered their death?¡±

    The robust fiend race man¡¯s eyes narrowed. However, he knew it wasn¡¯t the time for him to speak either.

    Han Fengqiu sneered. ¡°What is Sir Zu saying? Who were the ones we sent to kill? I don¡¯t even know who ¡®Chen Zhou¡¯ is. We¡¯re all court officials; we need proof when we say things. Otherwise, I could go and write up quite a bit about you, leaving you with more than you knew what to do with.¡±

    Zu An gave him an indifferent look and asked, ¡°Do you think I¡¯m here to investigate a case? That I¡¯m here to slowly show you some proof?¡±

    ¡°The Great Zhou I live in is one ruled byw. Could it be that Sir Zu came here not to use me of a crime, and instead to punish me?¡± Han Fengqiu crossed his arms and retorted contemptuously.

    ¡°Congrattions, you¡¯re correct.¡± Zu An instantly rushed out as soon as he spoke, reappearing in front of Han Fengqiu. His fist smashed outward.

    Despite what Han Fengqiu had said, there was no way he could have expected Zu An to really attack, and so decisively at that! He frantically drew his longsword, but he wasn¡¯t fast enough. Zu An¡¯s palm mmed against the sword, and the de was pushed back until it pressed against Han Fengqiu¡¯s chest.

    Pff!

    A mouthful of blood gushed out of Han Fengqiu¡¯s mouth. He felt as if several of his ribs had broken, and he was blown back like a broken sack.

    Zu An frowned. Han Fengqiu¡¯s injuries weren¡¯t as serious as he had expected them to be. He seemed to be carrying some kind of protective treasure.

    Suddenly, the tiger-patterned man charged over, letting out a furious roar.

    Zu An immediately understood why tigers were so famous for their roars. He could see visible sound waves rush at him. Even with his current cultivation, his entire body trembled, and he was briefly dazed.

    It was clearly the Tiger n¡¯s innate skill, and didn¡¯t seem to have too much of a connection to cultivation.

    The tiger-patterned man sent his massive fist flying toward Zu An¡¯s waist. Judging from the sound barrier-shattering white light around his fist, it could easily crush one¡¯s innards. Disturbing the enemy with his roar, then seriously wounding his opponent with his powerful fist, was the fatalbo that had won him victory time and time again.

    But shockingly, his opponent woke up earlier than he had expected. Zu An¡¯s fist arrived earlier even though it had begun movingter, blocking his fist.

    Both sides backed up as a loud boom rang out. Gusts of wind swept out in all directions. All of the flowers, grass, and trees in a circle around them werepletely destroyed.

    Only then did Zu An discover that he had underestimated his opponent. The Tiger n expert seemed to have reached the peak of the ninth rank. His body was tough, and together with his innate skills, he was much stronger than cultivators of the same level.

    Just then, a draconic cry rang out, and an extremely sharp wave of sword ki stabbed toward Zu An¡¯s his throat. However, Zu An flicked his finger casually, easily deflecting the flying sword.

    The flying sword quickly returned to Han Fengqiu¡¯s hands as blood trickled out from his mouth. He got up from the ground and eximed, ¡°Mister Zu, have you gone mad?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Han Fengqiu for +433 +433 +433¡­

    Han Fengqiu felt awful. This kid had clearly been inferior to him when they faced each other in the capital, and yet he couldn''t take him down back then. Instead, the young heir had been injured, and people all thought he had lost to Zu An.

    The worst part was that the reason he had acted the way he did was out of reservation toward the Yu n¡¯s expert. He hadn¡¯t gone all out. As such, he had always felt resentful.

    And yet now, not only had he been unable to wash away his past shame, he had instead been wounded in their first exchange! If news of that got out, what kind of self-respect would he have left?

    The worst part was that he had suffered badly in both battles because his opponent had yed dirty!

    Zu An said coldly, ¡°The blood grudge of Chen Zhou¡¯s wife and son, as well as the other innocent lives in the vige, needs to be repaid with blood!¡±

 Chapter 1114: The Three Slashes

    <h4>Chapter 1114: The Three shes</h4>

    Han Fengqiu¡¯s expression changed. He hadn¡¯t expected Zu An to have known about the n.

    But the Tiger n warrior couldn''t take it anymore and boasted, ¡°Hahaha! How daring! I was the one who killed them! What are you going to do about it? They were just some ordinary people. The fact that they were able to die to an expert like me is an absolute honor!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Hu Xin for +398 +398 +398¡­

    Zu An was carrying the spice bag Concubine Bai had given him, so he only seemed to be around the sixth rank to outsiders.

    Even though Hu Xin was confused as to why Zu An had been able to take his previous blow, he just assumed it was because of some treasure. He didn¡¯t take Zu An too seriously. With his irascible nature, how could he tolerate the cockiness of a sixth ranked expert? Of course he couldn''t sit still anymore.

    ¡°So you¡¯re Hu Xin,¡± Zu An said, shooting him a cold look.

    For some reason, when he looked into Zu An¡¯s deep and emotionless eyes, Hu Xin trembled inwardly. But he quickly flew into a rage out of shame. Why do I have to be scared of this brat? I¡¯ve really be overcautious for nothing after hanging around human society.

    ¡°You¡¯ve heard of this one before? If you kneel, kowtow, and confess your wrongs, I might just spare your life!¡± Hu Xin called out.

    Zu An said indifferently, ¡°I just wanted to make sure I could tell the ones who were wronged the name of their killer when I bring your head to their graves.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re courting death!¡± Hu Xin erupted into a rage.

    You have sessfully trolled Hu Xin for +444 +444 +444¡­

    ¡°Brother Hu, please calm down. There¡¯s something strange with this brat.¡± Han Fengqiu walked forward to stop him and waved his hand.

    Arge group of masked soldiers suddenly appeared around the courtyard. Based on their austere presence and bloodthirsty gazes, they were clearly well-trained deathsworn soldiers.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Kill him!¡± Han Fengqiu ordered. Even though Zu An¡¯s status was special, he couldn''t be left alive now that he knew King Qi¡¯s secret. He¡¯d just raze the ce to the ground afterward. Who would know how Zu An died then?

    The deathsworn soldiers didn¡¯t show the slightest bit of hesitation. They all drew their des and charged forward.

    Han Fengqiu was quite proud, thinking, Hmph, this is the power of high status. Why is there a need to fight like barbarians in the martial world?

    Among the deathsworn soldiers, one was at the seventh rank, three were at the sixth rank, and the rest were all around the fourth and fifth rank. They weren¡¯t inferior to elite imperial guards at all. Furthermore, they excelled at assassination.

    Even though the soldiers might not be able to take down Zu An, they could wear him down. Furthermore, Han Fengqiu could use the chance to see what kind of tricks Zu An had. The kid had always been extremely strange, with all sorts of unpredictable methods.

    As for the lives of the deathsworn soldiers, Han Fengqiu was someone of high status, so he obviously didn¡¯t care about them. Even if they died, he¡¯d just bring in a new batch.

    The deathsworn soldiers rushed at Zu An fearlessly. However, Zu An raised his foot, then took a step forward. An invisible wave of pressure rippled out. The deathsworn soldiers were horrified by the pressure, and couldn''t even move.

    Hu Xin had been nning to just watch the amusing scene from afar, but his eyes quickly widened. What? How the hell is this kid only sixth rank?!

    The seventh and sixth ranked cultivators began to use their ki, barely recovering their ability to move. They brandished their swords at Zu An¡¯s vitals.

    They were deathsworn soldiers, trained in all kinds of killing techniques ever since they were little. They might not win against other cultivators in a friendly one on onepetition, but in a battle of life and death, they could all take down cultivators stronger than themselves.

    The strength Zu An had disyed was quite shocking, but they weren¡¯t scared. Their eyes flickered with excitement. If they killed such a powerful opponent, their reward would be unimaginable.

    Zu An casually waved his hand against the soldiers. The longswordsing at him from several different directions were pulled together by an invisible force. Then, he turned his wrist, twisting the swords into a lump of metal he casually tossed aside.

    The deathsworn soldiers clutched their throats in disbelief, gurgling as blood spilled out continuously. Unfortunately, they couldn''t say anything else anymore.

    Hu Xin¡¯s entire body trembled. He didn¡¯t dare to face Zu An with contempt anymore and became serious.

    Han Fengqiu¡¯s eyes widened. He had fought against Zu An before. Even though Zu An had been strong at the time, if they were to fight seriously, he had believed he could deal with that brat with just a single hand. Even if Zu An had made some progress since then, it should have at least been within the realm of possibility, right?

    He thought he had already overestimated Zu An enough. He had been so careful that he even sent out his subordinates first to test him out. But he hadn¡¯t expected them to be taken out in an instant! He thought, Am I still asleep?

    Zu An looked at Hu Xin and coldly said, ¡°I¡¯ve heard that the fiend races were supposedly brave, but you only know how to hide behind someone else. You don¡¯t seem like a tiger to me, and more like a cowardly turtle.¡±

    ¡°You bastard! I¡¯m going to rip you to pieces!¡± Hu Xin yelled furiously. All of his clothes exploded into shreds.

    You have sessfully trolled Hu Xin for +882 +882 +882¡­

    Then, he transformed into a ferocious tiger¡­ No, he was simply returning to his original form. His body was about a zhangrge. Powerful winds swept around him, making it hard for the ordinary soldiers to even stand still. Some of them were blown back, hitting the walls behind them, and blood spurted out from their mouths.

    Dragons emerged from the clouds; tigers emerged from the wind!

    Fiend race individuals were often much stronger in their original form. After seeing Zu An¡¯s power, Hu Xin didn¡¯t dare to show any carelessness. He had revealed his majestic body hoping to see a bit of fear in the other party¡¯s eyes.

    Unfortunately, Zu An only looked at Hu Xin as if he were looking at a corpse. That made Hu Xin feel terrible. He didn¡¯t waste any time with words, roaring and charging at Zu An.

    Now that he was in his original form, Hu Xin¡¯s roar was several times more powerful than his previous roar. He decided he had to seize the chance while his opponent was distracted to tear Zu An to shreds, and thus eliminate his grudge.

    Shockingly, however, Zu An actually seemedpletely unfazed before the visible sound waves. While Hu Xin was ovee with shock, a shrill bird cry tore through his mind. He seemed to have seen a strange,rge bird.

    ¡°AHHHH!¡± Hu Xin clutched his head, roaring in pain. Just then, a cold glint shed before his eyes, and he felt his body turn cold.

    Two bloody tiger paws had appeared on the ground. Hu Xin was stunned for a long time before finally realizing that they were his own two front paws.

    Zu An said indifferently, ¡°That sh was dedicated to Madam Chen.¡±

    ¡°Despicable human!¡± Hu Xin roared. After all, the bodies of the fiend races were tough to begin with, and considering the level it had reached, how could it be so easily hurt by weapons? Just what did he use to instantly cut through my paws?

    But he didn¡¯t have time to think about the answer. He turned around, and the air around them exploded audibly as he swung his tail at Zu An.

    He had specially trained his tail, making it one of his trump cards. If his attacknded, even a ninth ranked cultivator would be cleaved in two at the waist.

    Unleashing his attack angrily, he didn¡¯t hold back at all. As he saw his tailnd, a smile began to appear on his face, but his expression froze soon after.

    His tail had only struck an afterimage.

    He actually avoided my perception? Hu Xin thought. He became vignt, dodging to one side. Unfortunately, he felt a cold sensation across his bottom. The tail he had trained with for decades had instantly been severed

    As the Tai¡¯e Sword dripped with blood in his hands, Zu An said indifferently, ¡°This sh is for that child, Chen Hu.¡±

    At that point, Hu Xin obviously knew Zu An was doing this just to humiliate him. After all, if Zu An had gone after his vitals during either of those times, he would definitely already be dead.

    He couldn''t understand why the human was so powerful. Zu An clearly wasn¡¯t at the master rank! But since I have my innate talents as a fiend race cultivator, doesn¡¯t that mean I should be able to win easily?

    However, he didn¡¯t have time to think about that anymore. He limped over toward Han Fengqiu with his two hind legs and cried, ¡°Sir Han, save me!¡±

 Chapter 1115: Even You?

    <h4>Chapter 1115: Even You?</h4>

    Han Fengqiu also felt chills run down his back. He almost blurted out ¡®Don¡¯t touch me!¡¯ when he saw the tiger running at him. But he had been a cultivator for many years already, so his will was incredibly tough. He knew it definitely wasn¡¯t the time to panic.

    The longsword in his hand turned into a streak of sword ki, flying toward Zu An¡¯s acupoint. If Zu An continued to chase after Hu Xin, he would definitely be severely injured by the attack. If Han Fengqiu managed to save Hu Xin, however, even though the tiger¡¯s front ws had been removed, he was still a cultivator at the peak of the ninth rank. They would still have a good chance if they worked together.

    When he saw the iing sword, Zu An took a step forward. It was almost as if he had warped through spacetime, instantly reappearing in front of Hu Xin. Before the tiger¡¯s disbelieving eyes, Zu An¡¯s sword removed his head.

    Zu An looked gloomy as he said, ¡°And that sword was justice for the thirty-six souls who died unjustly.¡±

    Only then did Han Fengqiu¡¯s longsword arrive. Zu An flicked his finger outward, easily deflecting it.

    Han Fengqiu called the flying sword back to his side. Hisplexion was extremely ugly. Never had he expected Zu An¡¯s cultivation to be so ridiculously high. Zu An had actually killed an opponent of the same level before his very eyes!

    The other deathsworn soldiers also lost all confidence when they saw what had happened. Even though they didn¡¯t fear death, that applied against opponents who weren¡¯t too far above them. If the difference were as great as heaven and earth, being fearless would be nothing short of suicide. Seeing that Zu An¡¯s attention waspletely focused on Han Fengqiu, they all quickly fled for their lives.

    Han Fengqiu¡¯s expression was cold. The flying sword in his hand turned into a cold blur, moving through the crowd. Bursts of blood exploded outward, one after another. All of the deathsworn soldiers had been killed, without exception.

    Zu An frowned and remarked, ¡°You¡¯d even kill your own people?¡±

    Han Fengqiu sneered. ¡°Fleeing from battle is a crime punishable by death!¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t seem to be as scared as before, huh?¡± Zu Anmented, surprised. Han Fengqiu was getting bolder and bolder, and he had begun growing bigger at a visible rate.

    ¡°What¡¯s there to fear? The reason why you were able to take down Hu Xin was mainly because you were able to restrain his natural talents. You must have been using some mental attack. Together with that strange movement skill of yours, Hu Xin ended up bing terrified, and that was how you killed him,¡± Han Fengqiu said analytically.

    He was one of King Qi Manor¡¯s guardians, and he had even gone out on a long trip with the heir. King Qi had obviously granted him many treasures. For example, he had the Heart Guard Mirror that had saved him previously, as well as a jade pendant that specialized in dealing with mental attacks. As such, he had calmed down after figuring out how Zu An had won against Hu Xin.

    As a powerful swordsman, he had great confidence in his own swordsmanship. Furthermore, his sword was named the Abelios Sword, and it had a demonic nature. He had always subdued that trait because of his misgivings.

    But now that it was a matter of life or death, he obviously didn¡¯t care as much anymore. The reason why his flying sword had killed the deathsworn soldiers wasn¡¯t because he really cared about the rules, but rather to feed the sword more blood. The higher the cultivation of those it killed, the more blood it drank, the greater the sword¡¯s power would be.

    Zu An clearly realized that the sword was gradually starting to glow red. He said, ¡°I see. To have raised it to this level, you must have fed quite a few lives to it.¡±

    He was no longer a neer to this world. He had witnessed all kinds of vile and despicable techniques. As such, he was able to quickly guess the essence of the sword.

    Han Fengqiu said proudly, ¡°The strong prey on the weak; that¡¯s always been thew of the world. The fact that they could be nourishment for this sword is their honor.

    ¡°And you, your death will mark the 1000th death tribute for the Abelios Sword. Your cultivation, your blood, will be enough for it to evolve. I won¡¯t have to fear even master ranks in the future, hahaha!¡± He brandished his sword as he spoke, and endless sword ki rushed toward Zu An.

    The Abelios Sword¡¯s demonic nature had a confusing effect, distorting one¡¯s sight and judgment. The sword was hidden within endless shining, shing swords that hid the sky. He was confident that he could severely wound Zu An with his attack.

    The strength Zu An had disyed was way too shocking. Han Fengqiu had thought that Zu An merely had tricks, and that it would be no effort at all for him to take care of this youngster.

    And yet, just how much time had passed? Now, he couldn''t even see through Zu An. If Zu An were given time to grow, his face would be dragged across the ground as soon as they met in the future. Once he realized that, he didn¡¯t hold back at all. He was going to end all his future worries with this one strike.

    But his eyes suddenly widened, because he noticed an even more vicious sword ki descending from above, enveloping his entire body within. His own sword ki withered away like snow before a scorching sun, quickly dissipating.

    It was at that moment that he saw Zu An swing his own sword at him.

    Instead of being afraid, he felt happy. He might be at a disadvantage in terms of sword ki, but if they were to sh head-on, he would have a huge advantage. The Abelios Sword was a heaven-grade treasure! It had just had its fill of blood, reaching its most powerful state. It could slice through steel as if it were mud!

    ¡°You refuse to take the easy path and insist on destroying yourself!¡± Han Fengqiu cried, releasing a malicious smirk. He swung his sword outward.

    Crack!

    Han Fengqiu¡¯s smile didn¡¯t even have time to disappear yet, but his eyes were filled with shock as he heard a brittle crack.

    He looked at the remaining half of the Abelios Sword in his hands, and then at the sword that had pierced through his body. He was in absolute disbelief.

    ¡°Even you are worthy of the sword?¡± Zu An remarked as he slowly withdrew the Tai¡¯e Sword.

    Han Fengqiu was furious and panicky. Blood gushed out of his mouth, and he copsed to the ground in ruin. Even though the sword hadn¡¯t taken his life, it had crippled most of his cultivation. All that was left was only enough to prevent him from dying from such a serious wound.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°But how is this possible? Don¡¯t tell me your sword is immortal-grade?¡± he eximed as he stared at the ordinary-looking longsword in Zu An¡¯s hands. Never could he have expected that his own Abelios Sword would actually be destroyed!

    ¡°I¡¯m the one asking the questions, and you only need to answer,¡± Zu An said, dismissing the question. He asked, ¡°Where is Zhao Zhi?¡±

    Han Fengqiu looked away, expressing his stance with silence. Zu An sneered. ¡°Hm? It seems you¡¯re still being stubborn. Do you think I don¡¯t know how to torture people?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve already lost, and my cultivation has beenpletely crippled. Just kill me already; why is there a need for so many words?¡± Han Fengqiu retorted. He already knew he was dead, so there was no point in fearing death.

    Zu An said indifferently, ¡°You should know that many things in this world are more terrifying than death.¡± He took out the Tai¡¯e Sword and ran it across his fingers as he spoke.

    Han Fengqiu¡¯s eyes twitched, but he still braced himself and asked, ¡°Are you thinking of cutting off my fingers? I¡¯m already a cripple anyway; what difference is there whether I have fingers or not? Just cut them off then! Even if you chop them off one by one, I won¡¯t even frown!¡±

    ¡°Cutting them off one by one? You wish!¡± Zu Anughed. ¡°In my hometown, there was a story about an evil tyrant. When he passed a child, he would smack them in the ear, and when he saw an earthworm, he would cut it in half lengthwise. I¡¯ve always been curious about his vertical cutting method. HWhy don¡¯t we test it out on your fingers? Don¡¯t worry, after your ten fingers, you still have your ten toes. I can slowly test them out one by one and see how long you¡¯llst.¡±

    He raised Han Fengqiu¡¯s finger vertically, then lightly dragged the de along the line where he was going to cut.

    Han Fengqiu really was horrified now. He could just endure the momentary pain if his fingers were removed. But if his fingers were to be cut vertically, just the thought alone was painful.

    He also knew he could endure the tremendous pain through sheer willpower for a few fingers, but he would definitely break down toward the end. If he still had to talk after all of that, why would he have had to go through all of that pain?

    He could only ept his fate and say with a sigh, ¡°You win. I¡¯ll speak.¡±

    Zu An gave him an indifferent look, but didn¡¯t remove the sword. Han Fengqiu could only quickly say, ¡°Since the situation is already over, the young heir has already gone back.¡±

    ¡°He left so early?¡± Zu An asked. He couldn¡¯t fully believe it.

    ¡°Cloudcenter¡¯s bitter cold can¡¯tpare to the capital¡¯s liveliness. Furthermore, this ce is full of dangers, so the young heir obviously didn¡¯t wish to stay here much longer,¡± Han Fengqiu replied.

    ¡°Your side felt that things were over just because Jian Taiding died and the Pegasus Merchant Group was investigated?¡± Zu An eximed with a frown. ¡°What are you all really plotting?!¡±

 Chapter 1116: For Them

    <h4>Chapter 1116: For Them</h4>

    Han Fengqiu hesitated a bit, but Zu An¡¯s sword began pressing downward.

    How sharp was the Tai¡¯e Sword? Han Fengqiu¡¯s finger was instantly cut open, and blood spurted everywhere.

    ¡°Stop, stop, stop! I¡¯ll talk!¡± Han Fengqiu quickly eximed. This guy really is cutting my finger vertically! Sensing how ruthless Zu An was, he didn¡¯t dare to hold back at all and exined, ¡°King Qi was working with Jian Yanyou before, but Jian Yanyou was too cowardly. We noticed that his younger brother Jian Taiding had greater ambitions, so we supported his rise to power.

    ¡°But Jian Taiding rose up faster than we expected, so we decided to just work with him. Even so, once he became the acting Commander-in-Chief, he became cocky and defensive toward the king. He wasn¡¯t willing to leave all of his bargaining chips with us anymore. He secretly roped in King Yan and tried to use his strength to keep us in check.

    ¡°The king obviously wouldn¡¯t allow something like that to happen. That¡¯s why he sent the young heir here to deal with things.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°We changed the ount book and led you to discover it. Then, we were going to use the power of the Imperial Envoy to investigate Zuo Su and Jian Taiding, thus smoothly eliminating our two greatest stumbling blocks.¡±

    ¡­

    Zu An frowned and remarked, ¡°That Zhao Zhi was actually this skilled?¡±

    They had carried out such an insane series of schemes in Cloudcenter Commandery. If not because he had just happened to discover the truth, he might just have beenpletely fooled.

    Meanwhile, even though Zhao Zhi had some talent in terms of cultivation aptitude, he was too egotistical and domineering. He hadn¡¯t seemed like the type to create such a scheme. If the n really was his work, Zu An would definitely feel a need to be more guarded against him.

    ¡°This was the n the King Manor¡¯s aides and advisors came up with together after discussing things with each other, and the king approved it. The heir¡¯s only purpose here was his identity, allowing us to effectively gather the forces we need,¡± Han Fengqiu continued. He stared at the sword edge pressing against his fingertip, really scared that Zu An might cut his finger open vertically out of anger.

    Zu An said, ¡°You¡¯ve eliminated Jian Taiding and Zuo Su, but Jian Yanyou has returned. Doesn¡¯t that mean everything is back to normal?¡± Even though he knew Jian Yanyou was dead, that didn¡¯t mean others did.

    Han Fengqiu replied, ¡°In the two years since Jian Yanyou has disappeared, almost all of his trusted aides have been eliminated. Even though he¡¯s returned, he¡¯spletely cut off from support. He¡¯s even seriously injured right now, and his cultivation is far weaker than when he was at his strongest, making him even less of a threat.

    ¡°But he¡¯s still the duke. Too many things have happened recently in Cloudcenter Commandery too, which is why we¡¯re allowing him to live a bit longer. Once your Imperial Envoy leaves Cloudcenter Commandery and themotion passes, we¡¯ll then secretly deal with him. We¡¯ll eventually announce to the world that he passed away from his injuries. There won¡¯t be too great of amotion then.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes widened when he heard that, realizing that Yu Yanluo hade up with the same n. The way people with authority thought was surprisingly simr. As he had that thought, however, the sword in his hand pressed down.

    ¡°Ahhhh!¡± Han Fengqiu¡¯s miserable scream tore through the air. He looked at the two halves of his finger that had been sliced vertically, eximing in pain and fear, ¡°What are you doing?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Han Fengqiu for +777 +777 +777¡­

    Zu An said indifferently, ¡°It¡¯s your fault for not being honest. You only reply when I ask you something, and I don¡¯t have the patience to y this kind of game. Tell me everything you know. My sword slices through steel like butter, so I¡¯m sure it didn¡¯t hurt that much when I cut down on your finger just now. I can switch to a dull de to slowly hack away at your finger if you prefer that instead.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re an absolute demon!¡± Han Fengqiu wanted to curse again, but he was terrified when he met Zu An¡¯s gaze. He quickly said, ¡°Once Jian Taiding and Zuo Su were taken down, we would have sent in our own men to take charge. The leader would naturally be Pei Shao. The Pei n and King Qi Manor¡¯s rtions run deep. One of the major reasons the young heir came here was to be bound to them in marriage.

    ¡°The king didn¡¯t wish to sacrifice the young heir¡¯s happiness either, agreeing to allow him to see her for himself and decide if he wanted to be married to the Pei n. The young heir was a bit unwilling at first, but when he saw the Pei n¡¯s young miss, his soul almost left his body. Unfortunately, the Pei n¡¯s young miss remained cold and indifferent. The young heir felt that the young miss was bashful because their marriage hadn¡¯t been decided yet, so that was why he was in such a rush to leave. He wants to quickly return and settle the marriage, because then, he can have a proper wedding with Miss Pei.¡±

    Zu An was furious. This Zhao Zhi bastard thinks he can do whatever he wants!

    Faced with Zu An¡¯s unkind expression, Han Fengqiu was worried that another one of his fingers would be cleaved down the middle. He quickly continued, ¡°Apart from Pei Shao, the Martial Affairs Manor¡¯s Yu Xuansu is also one of our people. He shed greatly against Yu Xuanqing within the n. Yu Xuanqing didn¡¯t know what was good for him and decided to sidepletely with Jian Taiding. The king is currently supporting Yu Xuansu in taking his ce.

    ¡°With those two officials nted among the local officials and Military Affairs Manor, and so many of the lower officials being followers of the king, taking control of Cloudcenter Commandery from then on wouldn¡¯t be too difficult at all.¡±

    ¡­

    Zu An thought back to when he had been at the Pei n. I think Manman mentioned that her stepmother was someone from the Yu n.

    Back then, Yu Xuansu had even made several appearances in Pei Manor. Zu An had only thought that he was there to see his daughter and hadn¡¯t paid too much attention to it. Now, it seemed that all of them had been colluding together.

    His gazended on Hu Xin and he asked, ¡°Then what¡¯s going on with the Tiger race?¡± He was more familiar with Kong Qing¡¯s group. This fellow hadn¡¯t appeared on Kong Qing¡¯s side before.

    Han Fengqiu shivered. Fearing that Zu An would start cutting again, he hurriedly replied, ¡°We relied on the Jian n and the fiend races to keep the business going. The Jian n and Peacock King race have good rtions. In order to fully grasp those channels, my king wanted to bypass the Peacock King race. It just so happened that the fiend races weren¡¯t too inflexible. The Tiger race has never been too happy under the Peacock King race¡¯s rule and hoped to take their ce, so our two sides clicked together easily. The Tiger race will help the king establish a newwork of exchange with the fiend races, while the king will help them rise up in status.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why so many prohibited goods have gone to the fiend races?¡± Zu An sneered. ¡°For the sake of his ambitions, King Qi actually disregarded the safety of the human race. He isn¡¯t worthy of his reputation.¡±

    Han Fengqiu felt some hesitation, but in the end, he still said, ¡°The world isn¡¯t so ck and white. Even the higher-ups in the church only make decisions based on their own benefit. Isn¡¯t Yu Yanluo, that woman you¡¯re close to, also doing business with and aligned with the fiend races? Even the former emperor did simr things in the past.¡±

    ¡°What did the former emperor do?¡± Zu An asked with a frown. Such behind-the-scenes stories weren¡¯t recorded in the information archives. He could only hear them from elders who had experienced those times.

    Han Fengqiu replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know too much about the exact details either, but I previously heard the king mention that the reason the former emperor rose up to the throne was through the help of the fiend races.¡±

    Zu An was shocked. The information he hade into contact with, both from the court andmon people, all described how several generations of emperors had led the human race in a great battle against the fiend races. Only after they had defeated the fiend races and drove them into the deste bordends was the human race able to live in peace.

    The people worshiped those generations of emperors as saints, and yet now, it seemed that hidden behind their glorious and imposing figures was an untouchable darkness.

    Han Fengqiu carefully gave Zu An a look. He didn¡¯t dare to stop and continued to tell him what he knew. ¡°King Yan¡¯s subordinate Zhang Che vanished from this side of the world, but we¡¯ve recently discovered that he¡¯s managed to obtain an elder position in the Devil Sect. He even established the Pegasus Merchant Company, providing King Yan with mary support.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, No wonder when I entered the Pegasus Merchant Group, I saw the Devil Sect¡¯s Solitary Eight among them. Qiu Honglei had also led him away from his investigation of the Pegasus Merchant Group several times. However, that silly girl had beenpletely fooled by King Yan and had had no idea.

    ¡°They wanted to take the ce of the Zhenyuan Merchant Group this time, topletely seize trade channels with the fiend races. There¡¯s obviously no way we would permit something like that to happen. The king¡¯s strategies are wonderful and divine. He first sent Pink as a spy, cing her in the Pegasus Merchant Group¡¯s Jasper Lane. That way, she would be able to easily lead the Imperial Envoy to King Yan¡¯s forces with just a bit of guidance.¡±

    ¡­

    After listening to all that, Zu An was even starting to admire King Qi a bit. His ns and strategies had taken all of Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s powers into ount.

    Han Fengqiu said to test the waters, ¡°I¡¯ve already told you everything I was supposed to tell you about. Can you let me go now?¡±

    At first, he still had the courage to face death. But after so much time had passed, he suddenly didn¡¯t really want to die anymore. Even though his cultivation had been crippled, living was still better than dying.

    Zu An said seriously, ¡°Sincerely apologize to Chen Zhou¡¯s wife and son, and beg for their forgiveness. Then, I¡¯ll let you go.¡±

    They hadn¡¯t had time to bury anyone else in the vige yet. Only the mother and son had graves at that moment.

    Han Fengqiu was overjoyed, eximing, ¡°Yes, yes, yes! I¡¯ll definitely apologize sincerely. Even though they didn¡¯t die at my hands, I still carry some responsibility.¡±

    Zu An could tell that Han Fengqiu was deflecting me, but he didn¡¯t say anything about it.

    ¡­

    Zu An quickly brought Hu Xin¡¯s head and Han Fengqiu back to the Chen family¡¯s tomb on the city¡¯s outskirts. He quietly ced Hu Xin¡¯s head in front of the tomb. Then, he lit three sticks of incense and kowtowed.

    Even though he had endless thoughts running through his mind, he didn¡¯t say anything. Anything he said at that point would be meaningless.

    Seeing how serious Zu An was, Han Fengqiu felt a bit unhappy. These are just some ant-like peasants. Do you have to be that serious toward them?

    But for the sake of survival, he didn¡¯t dare to reveal any of his real thoughts. Instead, he apologized while weeping bitter tears. However, Zu An didn¡¯t show any reaction. Han Fengqiu clenched his teeth, then even knelt down and knocked his head against the tombstone.

    Inside, he was angry. He was definitely going to repay the humiliation he had experienced today a hundredfold. Even though his cultivation had been crippled, he could slowly absorb the blood of cultivators through the Abelios Sword to cultivate again. With enough time, it wouldn¡¯t even be an impossibility for him to recover his strength.

    Seeing that Han Fengqiu¡¯s head was even turning red from pounding against the stone, Zu An nodded slightly, seemingly very satisfied with the disy.

    Han Fengqiu was ted. He thought to himself that he had finally made it through his final trial. This kid seems vicious, but he¡¯s nothing more than a soft-hearted idealist.

    He was about to stand up when a sh of light suddenly appeared before his eyes. Then, a head flew into the sky.

    ¡°You¡­¡± Han Fengqiu was both shocked and furious, looking as if he were cursing Zu An for not keeping his word.

    Zu An gently wiped away the blood from his de, seemingly as if he were looking down on it for being filthy. While wiping his de, he calmly said, ¡°Whether or not you¡¯re forgiven will depend on the mother and son. My job is merely to send you to them.¡±

 Chapter 1117: The Fate of the Commandery

    <h4>Chapter 1117: The Fate of the Commandery</h4>

    Zu An had been wondering whether to hand Han Fengqiu to Sang Hong as proof. But now that he was in front of the grave of Chen Zhou¡¯s wife and son, and he thought about all the lives of the vigers that had been lost, he decisively gave up on that thought.

    He didn¡¯t think he had the right to decide whether the perpetrators deserved to be forgiven or not. All he could do was to send the killers over and let the victims decide for themselves in the afterlife.

    As for dealing with King Qi, having Han Fengqiu as proof wouldn¡¯t make much of a differencepared to not having him.

    ¡­

    After paying his respects, Zu An returned to the temporary official residence. When he got back, he saw that the Armed Escort had already made quite a few arrests.

    Sang Hong was nervously busying himself with tasks. He had to interrogate the criminals, look over the ount book, and do several other things.

    Zu An finally found a chance to talk to him. He asked, ¡°Respected uncle, is there something wrong with the ount book we got?¡±

    ¡°There are some parts that do not line up. King Qi¡¯s forces have definitely done some things to cover up the truth all this time, but I am confident that after some careful investigation, we¡¯ll be able to quickly find out the truth.¡± A smile appeared on Sang Hong¡¯s face as he continued, ¡°King Qi is the one who will be trying to get himself out of trouble this time. Right, I heard that a battle took ce in a courtyard inside the city and that quite a few deathsworn soldiers passed away.¡±

    Zu An naturally knew what he was referring to. He nodded and replied, ¡°There were some who had to pay the price for the ughter of the innocent.¡±

    Sang Hong left it at that, saying, ¡°I will entrust the investigation to the officials. Since they were deathsworn soldiers, it was probably a battle for revenge in the martial world. The case will probably be wrapped up quickly.¡±

    Zu An felt warm inside. He knew that Sang Hong was helping him deal with the aftermath. He said, ¡°Thank you, respected uncle.¡±

    ¡°This matter has nothing to do with you; why are you thanking me?¡± Sang Hong had a slight smile on his face as he replied.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡­

    The two of them discussed some more details regarding King Qi¡¯s case. Then, Sang Hong continued his investigation of the rted personnel, while Zu An used some free time to visit Pei Manor.

    When it came to the Pei n¡¯s guards and buildingyout, they no longer posed any threat to him. He quickly arrived at Pei Mianman¡¯s small courtyard, and bumped into Hong Zao in front. He pinched her chubby cheeks, then gave her some snacks he brought.

    In the past, Hong Zao¡¯s eyes would always light up when she saw the snacks, and she would even call Zu An ¡®young master¡¯ sweetly, but this time, she instead harrumphed. She turned around and went back to doing what she was doing, as if she hadn¡¯t even seen him.

    Zu An was confused. When he went upstairs, he saw a wonderful figure ying the zither by the window. Her dress was fiery red, making her seem even more stunning. Her waist and back were perfectly straight, and her posture was dignified and rxed.

    But unlike other distinguished daughters, as if to ease the burden on her body, she was resting her heavy chest on the table. Her curvaceous chest was absolutely rming; anyone who saw it wouldn¡¯t be able to look away.

    Zu An didn¡¯t bother her. He calmly listened to the rest of the piece, then said in praise, ¡°The music is beautiful; the person even more so.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Our young master Zu probably uses these sweet words to fool other girls, right?¡± Pei Mianman had already known of Zu An¡¯s arrival for some time. Her fingers gently moved across the strings and she didn¡¯t even turn around.

    Zu An knew what was going on when he heard her tone. He moved over and sat down next to her, asking with a smile, ¡°What, are you jealous?¡± No wonder Hong Zao had given him the cold shoulder too. He had been so busy recently that he forgot he had been caught with Tang Tian¡¯er wrapped around his arm previously.

    ¡°How could I dare? You have so many beauties at your side. If I were jealous of all of them, wouldn¡¯t I die from jealousy?¡± Pei Mianman replied. However, she still didn¡¯t look at him and instead seemed to be focused on ying the zither.

    Zu An said, ¡°I really was investigating a casest time. Only through Lady Tang did I learn that the owners of Jasper Lane were actually the Pegasus Merchant Group. So, we then went to investigate the Pegasus Merchant Group. Then, we discovered that the Pegasus Merchant Group was rted to the Devil Sect and King Yan¡­ After that, the deeper we went, the moreplicated things turned out to be. It was all actually a scheme King Qi created¡­¡±

    Pei Mianman harrumphed when she heard him mention Tang Tian¡¯er, but as she listened, her attention quickly shifted. When she heard everything that had happened, her little mouth was left wide open. How could she still remember her slight jealousy? She eximed, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect King Yan and the Devil Sect to actually be working together! King Qi really has rigorous schemes and deep foresight, to have yed all of us.¡±

    Zu An sighed and said, ¡°What I¡¯m more worried about right now is you. One of the representative King Qi chose for Cloudcenter Commandery is your father, but the emperor is determined to get rid of King Qi. Furthermore, the Imperial Envoy has already gathered enough proof. King Qi likely doesn¡¯t have many good days left, and at that time, your father will be involved too.¡±

    Pei Mianman harrumphed. ¡°Since he likes to kiss up, he can just go down with the rest of them.¡±

    Zu An advised her, ¡°He is still your father. And if he¡¯s punished, the me will definitely carry over to you.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s only my father in name. Has he ever treated me like his own daughter all these years? Furthermore, how did he treat my mother back then?¡± Pei Mianman¡¯s expression was cold. She definitely carried great bitterness inside.

    Zu An obviously knew what kind of a childhood Pei Mianman had gone through. It was only because she had be more and more beautiful as she grew up that the Pei n had taken interest in her again, wishing to use her for marriage. That was why she had begun to be treated a little bit better.

    But all they had done was give her a sickly maid and the manor¡¯s most ordinary and shabbiest courtyard. Forget about the treatment of a city lord¡¯s distinguished daughter, even an ordinary family¡¯s young miss might have been treated far better than that.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care whether he lives or dies, but I¡¯m scared that something will happen to you,¡± Zu An said as he held her hand.

    The jealousy Pei Mianman had felt was alreadypletely gone when she felt his concern. She leaned into his embrace naturally, saying, ¡°Based on what you told me, King Qi has also chosen Yu Xuansu as a representative. He¡¯s my stepmother¡¯s father. I understand that woman¡¯s nature well. With that level of rtionship, my father wouldn¡¯t be able to back out even if he wanted to.

    ¡°I know you¡¯re doing this for me, but if we let him know, it will instead put you in a dangerous position. After all, that father and daughter pair, as well as King Qi, have definitely made precautions. They might even act against you.¡±

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°People say a woman is born to leave her family. It seems that really is the case. My Big Manman cares more about her lover after all.¡±

    ¡°You really are a rascal!¡± Pei Mianman eximed, biting down on his shoulder in annoyance.

    Hong Zao covered her ears when she heardughing and teasing upstairs. She mumbled, ¡°The young miss really doesn¡¯t have a moral backbone! How can she get along with the young master again so quickly?¡±

    She turned her eyes toward the snacks Zu An had brought and couldn''t help but swallow her saliva. She said to herself, ¡°Hmph, this isn¡¯t my fault anymore! If even the young miss has forgiven the young master, what can a maid like me do?¡±

    Afterward, the burden she had carried seemed to disappear. She quickly opened up the case and began to gorge herself, eximing, ¡°Mmm, it tastes so good! Young master is the best!¡±

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, after Zu An and Pei Mianman exchanged their affection, he still went to see Pei Shao in the end.

    Even though Pei Mianman hadn¡¯t said it outright, Zu An knew that she still cared about her family. Even if they couldn¡¯t stop Pei Shao¡¯s ambitions, they had to prevent him from getting on the same war chariot as King Qi.

    ¡°Sir Zu, which wind carried you here today?¡± Pei Shao asked, a bit surprised to see Zu An. The most important part was that Zu An hadn¡¯te through the main gate and hadn¡¯t contacted him ahead of time. It was apletely abrupt visit. He said, ¡°Servants, bring in some tea.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need. I have some things I wish to discuss with the city lord in private,¡± Zu An said, stopping him.

    ¡°May I ask what kind of guidance Sir Zu has for me?¡± Pei Shao could tell that Zu An didn¡¯t want anyone else present. He couldn''t help but feel shocked. This guy is not here to assassinate me, is he?

    He had heard quite a few rumors about this young man recently. He didn¡¯t have any confidence in defeating Zu An one on one.

    ¡°City Lord should have already heard that many people were arrested today, I believe?¡± Zu An asked, getting straight to the point.

    ¡°Indeed. But Sir Sang has maintained secrecy about the entire matter, so I do not know what kind of crime these officials havemitted,¡± Pei Shao replied.

    ¡°Does the city lord really not know, or are you pretending not to know?¡± Zu An asked with an ambiguous smile.

    Pei Shao¡¯s expression changed. He eximed, ¡°What is Sir Zu trying to say?!¡±

    Zu An chuckled and remarked, ¡°I heard that Sir City Lord has been nning to be joined to King Qi in marriage.¡±

    Pei Shao said with an embarrassed chuckle, ¡°Sir Zu must be joking. What kind of a person is King Qi¡¯s heir? We would not dare to think so highly of ourselves.¡±

    Seeing that he was still ying dumb at that point, Zu An sneered. ¡°Sir City Lord is a smart person; you should be able to guess what the capture of those people signifies. With the Pei n¡¯s status and background, you can choose to stand on the sidelines and watch first before you make your decision. If you join hands with someone too early and something really does end up happening, it will be toote to state your innocence then.¡±

    Pei Shao¡¯s expression changed several times. He had already been losing confidence and having second thoughts, but then he heard that everyone who had been arrested had something to do with King Qi. When he heard what Zu An said, he immediately thought of a potential regret. He asked grimly, ¡°Why is Sir Zu telling me these things? Are you¡­ acting as a messenger for someone?¡±

    Zu An chuckled and replied, ¡°City Lord thinks too highly of yourself. His majesty is all powerful; I fear he wouldn¡¯t have the time to show the city lord such consideration.¡±

    Pei Shao¡¯s expression was unpleasant, but he knew what Zu An said was the truth.

    Zu An sighed and said, ¡°It¡¯s mainly because Miss Pei helped me out a lot back in Brightmoon City, so I owe her a favor. City Lord is a smart person, so I¡¯ll leave the ultimate choice to you.¡± He didn¡¯t wait for a reply and disappeared through the window.

    Pei Shao quickly called over a servant, saying, ¡°Call over the madam and contact my father-inw. Tell them there is something urgent to discuss!¡± However, just as the servant was about to leave, Pei Shao instead called him back and said, ¡°Forget it; there is no need to call them.¡±

    Pei Shao¡¯s subordinate looked at him with a dumbstruck expression. He remained silent for a while, then ordered, ¡°Have the manor¡¯s people postpone purchasing the dowry and tell them to wait for further orders.¡±

    ¡­

    Zu An paid close attention to the Pei Manor¡¯s activities. When he learned that Pei Shao had dyed the dowry purchase and seemed to have even fought with the madam over it, he sighed in relief. He knew what he had done had worked.

    Pei Mianman felt a huge pressure disappear from her chest when she learned she wouldn¡¯t have to marry King Qi¡¯s heir anymore. She was very grateful toward Zu An and fully expressed it.

    Unfortunately, Hong Zao alone had to listen to their noise day after day and couldn''t sleep. She always had huge ck rings around her eyes then.

    ¡­

    After a few days of blissful life, the Vice Magistrate Xu Yu suddenly informed all of Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s higher officials that something rted to the very fate of Cloudcenter Commandery needed to be discussed.

    Zu An and Sang Hong werepletely baffled. They didn¡¯t know what had happened even after checking their information sources. But judging from how grave Xu Yu sounded, they could only brace themselves and ept the invitation.

 Chapter 1118: Trouble

    <h4>Chapter 1118: Trouble</h4>

    However, the two of them weren¡¯tpletely unprepared. They told Pei You to remain vignt with the Armed Escort Army, and they instructed Gao Ying to immediately bring over his men if something strange happened.

    The two of them arrived at the Civil Affairs Manor. Because Zuo Su had died, the various affairs of the ce were being managed by Vice Magistrate Xu Yu instead.

    Once inside the manor, Zu An discovered that most of Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s higher level figures had arrived. Butpared to the weing banquet when the Imperial Envoy had first arrived, there were now much fewer people in attendance.

    It wasmonly known that the duke ¡®Jian Yanyou¡¯ was resting from his serious injuries. He naturally didn¡¯t make an appearance.

    Magistrate Zuo Su had died. Governing Supervisor Yu Xuanqing had been involved in the illegal smuggling between Jian Taiding and the fiend races, so he had been locked up by Sang Hong a few days prior.

    The Martial Affairs Manor wasn¡¯t much better off either. Jian Taiding was dead, so his core supporters and trusted aides had all lost their former privileges. Surprisingly, not even the Martial Affairs Manor¡¯s Yu Xuansu hade.

    Zu An frowned. He thought to himself, Is it because everyone Sang Hong arrested was rted to King Qi, so they didn¡¯t dare toe anymore?

    But this was clearly something arranged by Xu Yu!

    The only other person he was acquainted with who was present, apart from Xu Yu, was City Lord Pei Shao.

    ¡°City Lord Pei seems to have grown thin since thest time I saw you,¡± Zu An said as he walked over with a smile.

    Pei Shao thought to himself, That¡¯s thanks to what you told me before. I haven¡¯t been able to sleep well at all these days and I¡¯m constantly anxious.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    But he was an old fox in politics, so he lookedpletely natural on the outside. He said, ¡°Too many things have happened in Cloudcenter Commandery recently, so I have been quite preupied with governmental affairs. Sir Zu seems to be glowing with health.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps my mood has been rather good recently,¡± Zu An replied. He thought to himself, I¡¯ve had Pei Mianman¡¯s warmpany every night, so how can my mood not be good?

    For some reason, Pei Shao couldn''t help but feel that he was losing out on a lot whenever he looked at Zu An. But he couldn''t figure out just how even after thinking about it, so he could only conclude that he was overthinking things.

    Chatting with Zu An just felt awkward somehow, though. As such, after saying a few more things, he returned to his own circle. As he heard the ttery of his surrounding colleagues, he felt a bit better again.

    Zu An quietly sized up everyone around him. Because so many members of Cloudcenter Commandery had been purged recently, many new people hade in to take their ces. Some of them were people he had promoted with the identity of Jian Yanyou, while many others had been promoted by Xu Yu.

    ¡°That fe didn¡¯t do a thing, and yet he ended up gaining the most benefits in the end,¡± Zu An remarked, sighing to himself.

    Suddenly, exmations of rm filled the air. People all stopped chatting and looked toward the entrance. Shock and eagerness flickered in their eyes. Zu An turned around and saw Yu Yanluo slowly walk in.

    She was wearing a silver dress, with a fiery red fur coat draped over her shoulders. It made her seem even more morous than usual. Her brows were a beautiful umber-ck, and herplexion was pink. Her long and slender neck made her look elegant and refined. Her gracefully tied hair bun further added a hint of mature style.

    Those present were all high-level figures of Cloudcenter¡¯s officialdom. They were all experienced individuals, and their cultivations weren¡¯t low. In theory, their willpower should have been quite firm. But when they saw the dazzling Yu Yanluo, many of them secretly gulped down their saliva. Even though they were all trying to hide it, it was as clear as day to those with high cultivations.

    Yu Yanluo was already used to such scenes. She naturally greeted all of the officials present. For someone like her, she didn¡¯t need to fawn over people. Just a faint smile was enough to make them feel incredibly refreshed.

    Zu An sighed. The position of number one beauty was no joke! Even without any techniques, beauty alone would invite packs of ravenous wolves.

    Yu Yanluo treated everyone else with simple courtesy. Only when she faced Zu An did she disy a hint of a truly gentle and soft smile. But there were too many people present, so she felt a bit guilty, not daring to let anyone know about their true rtionship. She quickly pulled back her gaze.

    Maids quickly arrived with tea and refreshments. The officials began to chat within their own circles of three to four people.

    Sang Hong and Xu Yu had many officials around them. After all, one was the Imperial Envoy, while the other had be the head of the Civil Affairs Manor. But even the two of them added together couldn''tpare to the number of people surrounding Yu Yanluo. Those people were all doing their best to leave their best impression within the shortest amount of time possible.

    ¡°Not many things in this world are so beautiful. An evening autumn breeze across the river, and madam¡¯s irresistible smile.¡±

    ¡°Stars that fill the skies? You are the only one I see.¡±

    ¡°I want you to know that I know just how busy you are, so madam only needs to hear the first three words of this sentence.¡±

    ¡­

    Zu An waspletely stupefied. Aren¡¯t these guys simping way too much?

    For better or for worse, you¡¯re all at least important court officials! How can you all be so unreliable?

    But that was where Zu An was wrong. This world was quite open-minded, and there were quite a few who openly expressed their feelings.

    Furthermore, these people wouldn¡¯t have many chances to meet Yu Yanluo to begin with. They obviously couldn''t meet with her as often as Zu An did and gain some degree of immunity to her charms.

    Those present all had some tea and refreshments. Seeing that things were getting more and more ridiculous, Xu Yu couldn''t keep watching anymore either. He coughed and indicated that the meeting was going to start. The others thus began to gradually calm down.

    Then, Xu Yu began to exin everything that had happened in Cloudcenter Commandery recently, saying that they were in for troubled times. Thus, they all had to abandon the past and push forward to ovee hardships and difficulties.

    The other officials naturally voiced their agreement. But Zu An frowned instead. You called over everyone on such short notice just to tell us this?

    Sure enough, Sang Hong said in a deep voice, ¡°Sir called us over to discuss something rted to the very fate of Cloudcenter Commandery. It cannot just be this, can it?¡±

    He had a lot of work to do to verify the contents of the ount book from the toy wooden sword. He wasn¡¯t in the mood to listen to such superfluous words.

    Xu Yu thus said, ¡°There is indeed another important thing.¡±

    Those present all knew that the most important moment hade. They all straightened up in their seats as Xu Yu said slowly, ¡°We all know that all of the things that have happened thus far have been rted to the fiend races. There are many members of Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s higher court who have been influenced by the fiend races.

    ¡°Everyone should know about the grudge between the humans and the fiend races. They have ughtered far too many of ourpatriots.

    ¡°Normally speaking, the fiend races are immediately cursed at and beaten if theye over to our human side of the world. That is why I have always been curious as to why the fiend races seem to have be so powerful, that they could permeate so deeply into Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s officialdom.¡±

    Those present looked at each other in dismay when they heard that. They didn¡¯t know what Xu Yu was really getting at. Was he going to carry out another great cleansing?

    Xu Yu continued, ¡°You might all think that I am merely giving advice in hindsight, but I have already suspected that something was wrong for many years, and I have already looked into this matter before. But each time, the trail of clues always ended for various reasons. Only after recent discoveries did I finally understand where the problemsy.¡±

    Some officials couldn''t take it anymore, calling out ¡°Sir Xu, please don¡¯t keep us in suspense anymore. What did you find out? Please tell us!¡±

    Xu Yu¡¯s eyes swept across the room. This time, he slowly asked, ¡°Have you noticed that every single case rted to the fiend races seems to have the Yu n¡¯s shadow behind it?¡±

    The crowd erupted into an uproar when they heard that. Zu An was also shocked. Don¡¯t tell me the purpose of this meeting is to deal with the Yu n? Where does this guy get his confidence from?

    Sang Hong also frowned. He couldn''t really figure out what Xu Yu¡¯s intentions were. The Imperial Envoy hade on orders from the emperor to deal with the Yu n, but they didn¡¯t have a great way ofpleting that task at the moment. Who was Xu Yu representing?

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression remained calm. She didn¡¯t even have to speak up. There were already many of her admirers speaking up in her ce.

    ¡°It was Yu Xuanqing and Yu Xuantao who were extremely daring. They were the ones who colluded with the fiend races!¡±

    ¡°Exactly! What does it have to do with Madam Yu?¡±

    ¡°Madam Yu is a goddess-like existence; why would she take part in this filthy affair?¡±

    ¡­

    Suddenly, Xu Yu¡¯s cold voice echoed through the ce. He called out, ¡°What if she is a fiend race individual herself?¡±

 Chapter 1119: An Old Story

    <h4>Chapter 1119: An Old Story</h4>

    The room fell silent when Xu Yu spoke out. Then, refutations suddenly erupted from the crowd.

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible! How can Madam Yu be a fiend race individual?!¡±

    ¡°Exactly! The fiend races are all ugly and vicious. Madam Yu is so beautiful, how can she possibly be one of them?¡±

    ¡°Sir Xu, is there a mistake here?!¡±

    ¡­

    Those present were worried that they might never be able to leave Madam Yu with a good impression. How could they let go of such a great chance?

    Zu An¡¯s brows furrowed deeply. He also had some suspicions toward Yu Yanluo¡¯s identity. After all, judging from their interactions, her body really did seem to be a bit different from those of ordinary people.

    Xu Yu was definitely not the kind of person who would speak blindly without thinking. Since he had said that, he most likely had evidence to back up his im. Madam Yu could be in danger today.

    Sure enough, no matter how the others spoke up in indignation, Xu Yu remained calm throughout it all. After they all mored for a bit, they gradually realized that something wasn¡¯t right. They began to quiet down.

    Sang Hong cleared his throat and said, ¡°Sir Xu, the Yu n is a great n that has yed a critical role for our Great Zhou Dynasty. Madam Yu is the n leader. She is not someone who can be randomly used.¡±

    When it came to him personally, he shouldered the emperor¡¯s mission first and foremost. He would be more than happy to see something happen to the Yu n. But if Xu Yu didn¡¯t have proof and was just recklessly pointing fingers, he wouldn¡¯t mind stepping forward to uphold justice.

    Sang Hong¡¯s status was different, so Xu Yu couldn''t disregard him like the others. He finally spoke up and said, ¡°I¡¯m not saying that there is something wrong with the Yu n, of course, but rather saying that there is something wrong with Madam Yu specifically.

    ¡°ording to what I know, she isn¡¯t a human, but rather from the fiend races¡¯ Snake race. Not only that, she¡¯s from the Snake race¡¯s King race, a Medusa!¡±

    ¡°Medusa!¡±

    The others gasped when they heard that name.

    There were many branches within the Snake race, with every singlemunity having their own king. The differentmunities refused to bow down to each other, so battles constantly took ce year-round. Every few generations, however, the Snake race would produce a Medusa that would reign over all others, and the entire Snake race would serve her sincerely.

    It was rumored that the Medusa was incredibly toxic. A single drop of her blood would be enough to turn an entire prairie into a desert. She would also take lives without a second thought, being vicious and merciless. Wherever she went, all that would follow was cmity and turmoil. Of course, her most distinctive feature was that wherever she looked, she could turn all living things into lifeless sculptures.

    ¡­

    All the officials¡¯ expressions changed as they recalled the legends of the Medusa.

    Medusas had especially vicious poison. However, they all possessed iparable beauty. Considering Yu Yanluo¡¯s ridiculous beauty, quite a few people were starting to waver.

    Zu An thought back to the Great Snowy Mountain cave; when Uncle Ming attacked him, he seemed to have frozen for a moment for some reason. That was why he had obtained the chance to use the Imperial Edict. At the time, he had sensed that Yu Yanluo¡¯s aura had changed a bit. Could that be her natural Medusa skill?

    But as a transmigrator, he didn¡¯t have a deeply ingrained fear toward the Medusas like the natives of this world. Let alone the fact that Yu Yanluo was his friend; there was no way he would be hostile because of her real identity. He had more than a few fiends and demons he was close to.

    As such, he spoke up and said, ¡°Sir Xu, from what I know, Madam Yu had a nickname in her earlier years; she was the capital¡¯s number one beauty. She made a trip to the capital in her earlier years and captured the hearts of many princes and nobles. Back then, many heroes gathered in the capital, and all of them admired her. His majesty was also one of them.¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression had been turning pale, but when she heard those words, a light blush appeared on her face. Those words, when spoken by anyone else, wouldn¡¯t produce the slightest reaction in her; and yet when Zu An said them, she couldn''t help but be embarrassed.

    Zu An continued, ¡°Back then, not even all of those powerful and capable individuals thought that Madam Yu was a fiend race individual, not even his majesty, and yet Sir Xu has noticed something? It is really hard to believe.¡± Even though he didn¡¯t say it directly, his words impliedplete disdain.

    The others seemed to have woken up from their daze. They all voiced their agreement. ¡°Exactly! The capital is a ce filled with talented individuals. Even they didn¡¯t notice anything! Madam Yu is clearly innocent.¡±

    Xu Yu gave Zu An a deep look and replied, ¡°This humble official obviously wouldn¡¯t dare to ce myself on equal footing with his majesty. However, ording to my investigation, the Medusa bloodline doesn¡¯t immediately show itself, and it instead manifests at a certain age. Madam Yu was still young when she arrived at the capital, so her blood hadn''t awakened yet. It¡¯s natural that those in the capital didn¡¯t sense anything.¡±

    Zu An harrumphed and said, ¡°But Madam Yu even paid the capital a trip not too long ago, and she even met with his majesty. She¡¯s met many individuals from powerful ns as well. Why did they not sense anything then either?¡±

    Xu Yu said with a serious voice, ¡°Once it awakens, the growth of the Medusa bloodline is rapid. Once Madam Yu¡¯s cultivation became profound, she naturally gained a way to seal off the bloodline so no outsiders could notice anything.¡±

    Zu An roared withughter and replied, ¡°Isn¡¯t what Sir Xu is saying taking things a bit too far? If you aren¡¯t even willing to consider the other side, what¡¯s the point of discussing anything?¡±

    Many fans of Yu Yanluo voiced their agreement. However, they weren¡¯t as confident and loud as before.

    Those present weren¡¯t stupid; they already knew that Xu Yu had gathered everyone today precisely to act against Yu Yanluo. They were worried that they might be dragged into a mess too, so they were starting to set their own boundaries.

    At the same time, Xu Yu¡¯s trusted aides obviously spoke out for Xu Yu. As time went on, both sides reached a stalemate.

    Sang Hong coughed and said, ¡°Sir Xu, all things require evidence. Furthermore, Madam Yu¡¯s status is special too. A bit of negligence in this matter might have huge consequences.¡±

    He obviously recognized Zu An¡¯s intent to protect Yu Yanluo. Even though their mission was to act against the Yu n this time, he couldn''t let Zu An be dragged into this mess too.

    Sigh, youngsters just can¡¯t retain their cool. They can¡¯t help but be blinded by beauty.

    Are those two back home not enough?

    ¡°Of course I have evidence.¡± Xu Yu looked outside as he spoke. ¡°I reckon he¡¯ll be here soon.¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Suddenly, azy voice called out, ¡°Live every day as if it were yourst; tomorrow will take care of tomorrow¡¯s worries.¡± His voice seemed to still be far away as he spoke the first word, but as he finished speaking, a cool breeze brushed through the hall and a figure appeared inside.

    His beard was messy, and there were a few strands of curled hair in front of his forehead. He looked drowsy-eyed. On his back was a giant green gourd, and others could sense his drunkenness even from far away.

    His clothes were dark; no one could tell if it was because they were stained by alcohol year-round, or because of grease. His trousers were loose and ck, and on his feet were a pair of shabby straw sandals. He was as sloppy as sloppy could be,pletely different from the well-dressed officials present.

    ¡°Xiao Yao!¡± an official called out, quickly recognizing him.

    Xiao Yao had left too deep of an impression back during the evening banquet. Even so, he was the libationer¡¯s third disciple, the renowned Sword Immortal! But his drunken tramp¡¯s appearance was too big of a contrast with that former image.

    Xu Yu eximed happily, eagerly weing him, ¡°Brother Xiao, you¡¯ve returned! Did everything go smoothly?¡±

    Xiao Yao nodded. Then, he looked at Yu Yanluo, who was sitting upright nearby. His gaze became sharp as she said, ¡°I was quite shocked when I heard what Sir Xu said back then, so I made a trip to the fiend race territories to confirm things.¡±

    The others were shocked. They knew something huge was going to happen.

    Xiao Yao raised his gourd and took a sip of the alcohol. He sat down on a chair casually. He didn¡¯t provide evidence of Yu Yanluo¡¯s identity and instead spoke of a different matter, saying, ¡°The former Medusa Empress was absolutely stunning. Her cultivation was powerful, and even in a ce like the fiend race territories where cultivators are numerous, she was one of the most powerful. The Snake race she led grew more and more powerful over time. Unfortunately, that unavoidably brought her many enemies as well.¡±

    ¡°One time, when she was cultivating in seclusion, several fiend race and human experts ughtered their way in. She was seriously injured after that battle and fled. Along the way, she ended up being saved by a wandering human youngster¡­¡±

    Zu An cursed inwardly when he heard Xiao Yao talk about the past. He quickly transmitted a message secretly through ki. ¡°Brother Xiao, do you know that Yu Yanluo is your junior sister, that she¡¯s also the libationer¡¯s disciple? Her specialty is drawing!¡±

 Chapter 1120: Snake Race Ceremony

    <h4>Chapter 1120: Snake Race Ceremony</h4>

    Xiao Yao was clearly stunned. He gave Zu An a look, then looked at Yu Yanluo with confusion.

    Zu An thought to himself, This guy really didn¡¯t know Yu Yanluo was the libationer¡¯s disciple?

    What the hell is wrong with the libationer? He takes in disciples without telling anyone, and many of them don¡¯t even know who their fellow students are.

    Seeing that Xiao Yao had suddenly fallen silent, the other officials thought he was at a loss for words. They began to speak out for Yu Yanluo again.

    Xu Yu also became somewhat nervous and quickly tugged on Xiao Yao¡¯s sleeves. ¡°Brother Xiao?¡±

    Only then did Xiao Yao seem to wake up from a daze. He paused for a moment, then slowly said, ¡°Even though that youngster wasn¡¯t strong, he was incredibly handsome. Even though the Snake race is a different species from humans, beauty is universal, and our appreciation for aesthetics isn''t too different. Even the fiend races felt that the young man was extremely handsome. At the time, another female fiend race expert had been pursuing that young man, but she let him go when she saw how handsome he was.¡±

    The others stopped whispering, sneaking looks toward Yu Yanluo from time to time. After all, it wasn¡¯t easy to reach that degree of handsomeness, and yet the Yu n¡¯s men and women were all incredibly attractive.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s father was known for his handsomeness. Even though Xiao Yao hadn¡¯t spoken of that young man¡¯s identity, the others had already reached their own conclusions.

    Zu An thought to himself, This is really bad! It didn¡¯t seem as if Xiao Yao had any ns of stopping.

    But why? Is it because of what he experienced in the past? Did he develop hatred toward his fellow disciples and the libationer? Is that why he doesn¡¯t feel any sympathy for them?

    He wanted to stop Xiao Yao, but too many people were watching. He could only continue to listen to what Xiao Yao had to say.

    ¡°Once that powerful female cultivator left, the young man left with the well-hidden Medusa Empress. They continued to flee. She had been saved by a human while she was weak, and they had experienced a lot together, so the Medusa Empress unwittingly fell in love with the young human man.¡±

    Many people cursed inwardly when they heard Xiao Yao¡¯s introduction. It was probably because that young man was handsome too, right? If he had been ugly, the Medusa wouldn¡¯t have felt anything!

    Xiao Yao continued, ¡°Because the fiend races¡¯ territory was too dangerous, the young man brought the Medusa Empress into the human world, settling her down in his own hometown. The Medusa Empress was severely wounded from that great battle, and she liked that young man, so she agreed.

    ¡°Over time, the two grew fonder and fonder of each other. In the end, they got married and even gave birth to a daughter.¡±

    The others looked toward Yu Yanluo. After all, Xiao Yao¡¯s story was too detailed. Even Yu Yanluo¡¯s supporters were starting to waver.

    It turned out this beautiful woman was a sinister Medusa!

    Rumors of the fiend races¡¯ brutality were already deeply ingrained within them. Meanwhile, the word ¡®¡¯Medusa¡¯ was synonymous with disaster and death. No matter how perverted they were, they still felt as if they had been doused by cold water. In their eyes, Yu Yanluo¡¯s beauty now seemed like a treacherous trap, one that hid a bloody mouth waiting to devour them.

    Xiao Yao then continued, ¡°The two of them lived in bliss for a few years. If nothing unexpected happened, they might have just continued to live in bliss.

    ¡°Unfortunately,ter on, news arrived from the fiend races¡¯ side that because the Medusa Empress was missing, the Snake race ended up bing divided. At the same time, their enemies began to enve and ughter them. The Medusa, as the leader of the Snake race, returned to fight for her nsmen.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°But by then, the young man had already be middle-aged, bing a n leader. He was shouldering the responsibility of a n, so he couldn''t leave.¡±

    When they heard the words ¡®n leader¡¯, the others knew for certain that Xiao Yao was referring to Yu Yanluo¡¯s father, the former n head Yu Xuanfeng.

    Back then, Yu Xuanfeng had been known for his handsomeness. Paired with the fact that he was the young heir of the Yu n, there had been countless ns who wanted to marry their daughters to him. But he had remained unfazed throughout it all and instead preferred to wander the world alone.

    Later on, on one of his journeys, he had brought back an extremely beautiful woman. Then, the two of them had quickly gotten married. Many unmarried daughters had sighed in pity, and many ns secretly investigated to see which n¡¯s daughter he was marrying. And yet, no matter how they searched, they couldn''t find out that girl¡¯s background.

    Meanwhile, that woman rarely went out in public. Not even the Yu n¡¯s people saw her often. As time went on, others had gradually forgotten about her existence.

    Only when they heard Xiao Yao¡¯s story did some elders recall things about the past. They began to realize that many details were suspicious. If she had been the Medusa, that would exin many things.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s posture was upright and graceful, but her expression was incredibly conflicted. She wasn¡¯t scared, nor did she feel fear. It was another kind of feeling that was hard to describe.

    Xiao Yao continued, ¡°The husband and wife were separated just like that. Many yearster, the young man finallypleted his duties back in the n and wanted to help the Medusa. However, he then learned that the Medusa had passed away.

    ¡°That man left the n as if he had gone mad, charging straight into the fiend races¡¯ domain. Unfortunately, the fiend races were too chaotic back then, and no more news of him followed. Some people said that he had died, and some said that he had ended up siding with the fiend races. Some said that a fiend race woman had taken a liking to him and raised him as her exclusive property¡­¡±

    Many people¡¯s expressions became strange when they heard that. They thought to themselves, Being handsome really allows you to do whatever you please¡­ You can even rely on a female demoness to raise you!

    This Yu Xuanfeng is a real man! Not only was he able to live as a wandering hero for many years, he even managed to seize a demoness for himself¡­

    Xiao Yao¡¯s gaze finallynded on Yu Yanluo again. He continued, ¡°Their daughter¡¯s bloodline gradually took form, and she also learned about her history. Because of the Medusa¡¯s bloodline, she took pity on the Snake race that was experiencing dire times, using the n¡¯s power to secretly form a rtionship with them. She sentrge quantities of medications and living necessities. At the same time, the Snake race returned the favor, sending overrge amounts of precious goods from the Snake race.

    ¡°That was why, even though she knew that her subordinates were colluding with the fiend races, that they were working with Jian Taiding and the other fiend races in illicit business deals, she turned a blind eye to it. Instead, she borrowed their deception to secretly work with the Snake race. Am I right, Yu Yanluo?¡± Xiao Yao finished. His gaze became incredibly sharp, seemingly even containing a hint of killing intent.

    Zu An frowned. He hadn¡¯t spent much time with Xiao Yao, but this man shouldn¡¯t have been such a person.

    The past Xiao Yao had indeed been someone who had taken it upon himself to purge fiends. But Zu An had heard thatter, a huge mistake had urred, and his conviction had taken a huge blow. That was how he had ended up falling into his current state.

    If he were still the kind of person who hated the fiend races bitterly, why would he have fallen into his current state? Furthermore, he now knew that Yu Yanluo was the libationer¡¯s disciple, and yet had still chosen to continue. It was almost as if the two of them shared a deep grudge.

    Yu Yanluo finally spoke up. ¡°Sir, all things require evidence. In the end, all of these are merely your own assumptions. A simr story could be created if any skilled storyteller were hired to write it. Wouldn¡¯t that mean anyone could easily be framed?¡±

    Those who were close to the Yu n all spoke up one after another. At this point, it wasn¡¯t about what was right or wrong anymore, but rather that their interests were already too interlinked with the Yu n¡¯s.

    Zu An nodded. As expected of a n leader. Even if Yu Yanluo really was the Medusa, she definitely couldn¡¯t admit to it right there. As long as she insisted she wasn¡¯t, there wasn¡¯t much others could do about her. But he still didn¡¯t feel too optimistic. Would Xu Yu act out this way if he didn¡¯t have proof?

    Sure enough, Xiao Yao replied indifferently, ¡°Evidence? Of course I have something like that.¡±

    Zu An felt his heart sink as he saw Xiao Yao take out a recording stone. Xiao Yao said, ¡°This is something I recorded when I infiltrated the Snake race. Once you see the contents, you¡¯ll know that what I¡¯ve said is the truth.¡±

    The stone projected a screen of light in midair, and on it, a vige appeared. It was entirely different from a human vige. Every single house was like an earthen hole, which could make one wonder whether it could even resist wind and rain.

    The vigers who were moving along the streets had snake bodies from the waist down, while their upper halves were not much different from human bodies. However, their eyes clearly had vertical pupils.

    There were also ordinary snakes moving around along the ground. Together with the strange murals carved on the walls, the vige gave off a chilling impression.

    There was a giant sculpture in the vige center that had a human head and a snake body. In ce of hair, the sculpture had numerous small snakes. Many Snake race vigers were worshiping that giant sculpture, as if they were carrying out a grand ceremony. A ring of dark green torches was burning in a ring around them, which could make one wonder if they had poison mixed in.

    The Snake race vigers were all muttering prayers as they knelt down on the ground. Their expressions were all full of grief and despair. There were some who were weeping bitter tears¡­

    Yu Yanluo couldn''t help but stand up from her chair when she saw that scene.

    As the scene drew closer to the sculpture, those gathered finally saw its face. It was an extremely beautiful woman, so beautiful that it could shake one to one¡¯s very core.

    But the others all subconsciously looked toward Yu Yanluo, because the face in that image seemed to have been sculpted with her as the model!

 Chapter 1121: Pressured Into a Corner

    <h4>Chapter 1121: Pressured Into a Corner</h4>

    Chairs ground against the floor as many officials got up and backed away. Arge space opened up around Yu Yanluo. It was clear that after seeing the striking resemnce between Yu Yanluo and the Medusa Empress, the others already believed what Xu Yu and Xiao Yao had said.

    Zu An had also examined the sculpture in that scene carefully. At first nce, the sculpture did seem to greatly resemble Yu Yanluo, but upon closer inspection, there seemed to be quite a few differences.

    The sculpture¡¯s age and temperament made her seem a bit more mature, and a sort of bewitching and dignified presence emanated from her. It made one feel as if they were looking at a powerful and dignified fiend deity, one who looked over all of the world¡¯s suffering. Her eyes in particr looked beautiful and dangerous. Even looking at them through the screen had made the spectators¡¯ fine hairs stand up.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s presence, on the other hand, made people feelfortable and rxed. Perhaps because she had inherited her father¡¯s outstanding genes, her face was more delicate and gentle. Comparatively speaking, she was a bit prettier.

    Just then, Xiao Yao said, ¡°This is the sculpture the Snake race built for thest generation¡¯s Medusa. All you need is one look to understand that everything I said was true.¡±

    Even the officials who were closest to the Yu n looked at Yu Yanluo in shock. They didn¡¯t dare speak another word for Yu Yanluo.

    Yu Yanluo didn¡¯t retort, and instead stared at the stone sculpture in a daze. There even seemed to be some tears flickering in her eyes.

    Zu An sighed. Come on, I know you¡¯re moved because you¡¯re seeing your mother, but you can¡¯t give it all away now, can you? Helpless to do anything else, he could only get up and say, ¡°Using a recording mirror alone to prove Madam Yu is the Medusa is stretching it a bit, don¡¯t you think? After all, it¡¯s possible to falsify a recording too.¡±

    He had just seen Yu Yanluo tamper with a recording stone herself. How the tides had turned.

    Whenever he had spoken up for Yu Yanluo before, some officials had voiced their agreement, but this time, there were none. Even though there was no conclusive proof, they had all realized what was going on when they saw the statue¡¯s appearance.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Xiao Yao shook his head. Xu Yu asked, ¡°Sir Zu, are you saying that Brother Xiao forged the recording stone? Brother Xiao might behave a bit wanton and unrestrained normally, but he¡¯s an upright person. Everyone knows his deeds from his earlier years. Why would someone like him produce something like a forgery?¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°Madam Yu has always been gentle and kind. Why are all of you so certain that she¡¯s from the fiend races?¡±

    Xu Yu¡¯s breath caught briefly. But as someone who upied such an important position, his reactions were fast too. He replied, ¡°This humble official knows that Sir Zu has always been quite close to Madam Yu, so you aren¡¯t willing to believe this matter. If Sir Zu still doesn¡¯t believe me, we can have a specialist examine this recording stone to check for signs of forgery.¡±

    Zu An sighed in admiration inwardly. Xu Yu had made it sound as if he had only spoken up because of his rtionship with Yu Yanluo and not for public justice, which greatly reduced the credibility of his future statement.

    ¡°Whether or not the recording stone is real or fake, naturally, it needs to be sent back to the capital to be examined by a specialist.¡± He did his best to stall for time, continuing, ¡°Let¡¯s not discuss whether it¡¯s real for now. Nothing is too bizarre in this world; two people being unrted by blood, and yet bearing remarkably simr appearances, is something that¡¯s happened before. Are you going to im Madam Yu is the Medusa just because she looks like this stone statue?¡±

    Xu Yu calmly said, ¡°The world is indeedrge, but everyone, please think back to the past. There were only rumors about how those two met back then; no one truly saw any of it. But now, Madam Yu looks identical to the female Medusa. Furthermore, the Yu n has covered up their trade with the fiend races. This is already enough proof.¡±

    The other officials who were close to Xu Yu all voiced their agreement. Many people even began to criticize Zu An, using him of defending Yu Yanluo out of lust.

    Zu An eximed furiously, ¡°Who were the ones who were frantically trying to curry favor with Madam Yu earlier? And yet all of you are now calling me the one who covets beauty?!¡±

    His cultivation had been growing more and more profound. Furthermore, now that his soul had formed, his rage-filled re had a powerful intimidation effect. Many of the officials mumbledints, but they didn¡¯t dare to maintain eye contact with him.

    Yu Yanluo finally snapped out of her daze and said, ¡°This humble one will not im to have strived to my utmost, but I have done many good things for Cloudcenter Commandery, and even the world¡¯s people. I have never performed any outrageous acts. If the reason Sir Xu has called me over today is only for such senseless things, then pardon me for not keeping everyonepany any longer.¡±

    She was a n leader, and between that and her bloodline, she wasn¡¯t as weak as an ordinary woman. Staying further would prove disadvantageous for her, so her first priority was to return to her base camp first. She would gather the forces loyal to her, then respond.

    ¡°You want to leave?¡± Xiao Yao retorted with a cold expression. He drew his sword and blocked her path.

    Yu Yanluo didn¡¯t feel any fear. With a wave of her hand, the World Painting emerged to protect her. She said, ¡°Could it be that you all wish to condemn me without proof¡­¡±

    However, her expression suddenly changed halfway through her sentence. The World Painting fell to the ground, and she also fell backward weakly.

    Zu An moved quickly to support her, asking, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯splexion was pale. She stared at the teacup on the table and eximed, ¡°I was poisoned!¡±

    Because of her shocking beauty, many people had targeted her with ulterior motives. She was normally always careful whenever she ate or drank. But this time, since it was a gathering of the high-level figures of Cloudcenter Commandery, and even Zu An and the Imperial Envoy were present, she hadn¡¯t expected someone to poison her in such a situation. That was how she had fallen prey to the plot.

    Zu An red at Xu Yu and called out, ¡°Mister Xu, you dare feed us poison? What exactly are you nning?¡±

    The other officials were rmed. They began to transfer their ki to examine their own conditions. Xu Yu reached out his hand to appease them, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, everyone. Only Yu Yanluo¡¯s tea had Hundred Flora Powder added to it.¡±

    Xiao Yao frowned and asked, ¡°Xu Yu, what is the meaning of this?¡± As a proud and aloof individual, he naturally couldn''t bear to see such treacherous behavior.

    Xu Yu exined, ¡°Brother Xiao, I know your sword skills are great, but if you really fought, it would be bad regardless of which side was injured. That¡¯s why I sought out this drug to first restrain the suspect. Once we¡¯ve reported things to the court, his majesty wille to a decision. Brother Xiao, please don¡¯t worry. This drug temporarily prevents one from using ki; it isn¡¯t a highly toxic drug.¡±

    Even though Xiao Yao was discontent, there wasn¡¯t much he could say. Instead, Zu An said coldly, ¡°Sir Xu, the Imperial Envoy is here, and yet you didn¡¯t discuss things with him and instead acted on your own. Furthermore, you¡¯ve used an underhanded method. Do you have no respect for the court¡¯sws?¡±

    Xu Yu cupped his hands toward Sang Hong and exined ¡°The reason why I didn¡¯t contact Sir Sang ahead of time is mainly because Yu Yanluo¡¯s status is too important. A slight mishap would throw all of Cloudcenter Commandery into turmoil and cmity. Furthermore, it¡¯s clear to see that Sir Zu and Yu Yanluo are close friends. For fear that someone might act on impulse, I had to act first. I hope Sir Sang can forgive me.¡±

    The expressions of those present turned strange, because things really had turned out as Xu Yu had expected. Zu An had long been protecting Yu Yanluo. If they had told him ahead of time, Yu Yanluo might already have been prepared for this situation.

    Zu An was about to speak when Sang Hong interrupted, saying, ¡°Sir Xu was indeed considering the bigger picture.¡± Then, he looked at Zu An and continued, ¡°Sir Zu, Madam Yu has saved you before, so it is only natural that you are worried about her. However, this case is rted to the human and fiend races¡¯ thousand-year grudge; it is not something to treat lightly. We will investigate the truth. If Madam Yu was wrongly med, we will naturally uphold justice for her.¡±

    Xu Yu felt deep admiration. This Sang Hong was an old fox after all. He had downyed Zu An¡¯s act of saving Yu Yanluo as just a repayment of gratitude, which made it seem that he wasn¡¯t coveting beauty or acting against the court. Not even his majesty could punish Zu An over the matter in the future. Furthermore, Sang Hong had inserted himself into the investigation. Even if more intelligence arrived, he could no longer hide it from Sang Hong.

    Sang Hong spoke to Zu An through ki, sounding a bit anxious. ¡°Ah Zu, the humans and fiends have a deep grudge of blood; it¡¯s not something anyone can resolve. Don¡¯t involve yourself. Even if you aren¡¯t worried about yourself, you have to think about the people waiting for you back at the capital!¡±

    He knew that Zu An normally acted carefree, but he actually had a stubborn side to him deep down. If Zu An really did fall for this situation, the consequences would be difficult to fix. He didn¡¯t want his own daughter to be a widow before she even married, or for his grandson to lose a father before he was even born.

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed several times. He was clearly carrying out an intense internal struggle.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s lips moved slightly as she said softly, ¡°Sir Zu, lower your head. I have something to say to you.¡±

    Zu An knew she couldn''t use her ki normally and couldn''tmunicate in private through ki. He lowered his head and moved over. Yu Yanluo gestured towards him, saying in a gentle and soft voice, ¡°Move a bit closer.¡±

    Even thought Sang Hong didn¡¯t feel much for the other sex anymore, he was still a bit shaken up when he heard that. This woman really is a seductive fox after all! No wonder Zu An was smitten by her. For the sake of his own daughter, he was naturally unhappy to see a rival as powerful as Yu Yanluo.

    The other officials felt great jealousy. Yu Yanluo looked as if she were about to bite down on Zu An¡¯s ear as her lips moved slightly. Even though they knew she was the Medusa and felt a bit of fear, this woman was still just too beautiful!

    There were countless people who had fantasized about this woman speaking words of endearment to them. They had never expected to see her act so intimate with another man that way. Many people even regretted not speaking out for her earlier. So what if she was a Medusa? Wasn¡¯t her father also a human who had married a Medusa?

 Chapter 1122: Reason for Her Death

    <h4>Chapter 1122: Reason for Her Death</h4>

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s ki was sealed, so she couldn''t send a ki transmission. There were many cultivators present as well, so even if she spoke quietly, they could still hear her. That was why her lips were almost pressed up against Zu An¡¯s ear.

    The physical contact between his ear and her lips made the onlookers¡¯ hearts beat rapidly. The surrounding men were all incredibly envious. But as the one directly involved, Zu An couldn''t bring himself to feel any sense of romance at all.

    ¡°Ah Zu, there is already nothing we can do about this. It will be futile no matter how much you argue for my sake. There is no need for you to waste your energy anymore.¡± Yu Yanluo¡¯s breath had the fragrance of orchids, and her voice was gentle.

    Zu An said through ki, ¡°At worst, I¡¯ll just break you out of here.¡±

    Yu Yanluo felt her heart throb. She secretly sized up the man, a light blush crossing her pale cheeks. However, in the end, she still said, ¡°You cannot act recklessly like that. There are so many officials here, and all of them are powerful cultivators. The master rank cultivator Xiao Yao is here as well. You cannot ruin your own future because of me.¡±

    Official ranks in this world corrted with one¡¯s cultivation. Those present were all among Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s higher level figures. Their cultivation wasn¡¯t low. Most of them were far inferior to Zu An, but added all together, he wasn¡¯t their match.

    Seeing that he was going to refuse, Yu Yanluo sighed and added quietly, ¡°I know that you are really strong, but even if you save me, how will you deal with the aftermath?

    ¡°Would helping me in front of the Imperial Envoy and all of these court officials not be the same as rebelling against the court? Then, would you not be a wanted criminal? I do not want you to end up like that.¡±

    Zu An replied seriously, ¡°There are many things in this world that can¡¯t be weighed based on interests. We¡¯re friends who have experienced life and death together. You¡¯ve saved my life too. How can I just watch as something happens to you?¡±

    Yu Yanluo was stunned. She asked with aplicated expression, ¡°Would you still be my friend if I really were the Medusa?¡±

    She obviously knew just how great of a grudge the human race felt towards the fiend races after remaining in human society for so long, as well as what kind of existence the Medusa was to them.

    Zu An chuckled and replied, ¡°There are good and bad humans, and the same is true for the fiend races. Even if you are the Medusa, you¡¯re probably a nice Medusa, and furthermore my friend. I¡¯ve always been someone who judges individuals myself; it doesn¡¯t matter if that person is a human or a fiend. There¡¯s no harm in telling you that I actually have several fiend race friends.¡±

    Yu Yanluo felt warm inside when she sensed the sincerity in his voice. She bit her lip and said quietly, ¡°Ah Zu, if you really want to help me, contact Maid Xing about what happened here, and have her get into contact with Uncle Fu. Tell them to bring¡­ bring our nsmen back home first.¡±

    The ones she was talking about were clearly not the Yu n, but rather the Snake race. There was no point in hiding things from Zu An anymore. There wouldn¡¯t be any immediate danger to her life even if she were caught, due to her status, but her nsmen would definitely be assaulted viciously. She naturally had to help them evacuate.

    ¡°I got it.¡± Zu An thought to himself, Maid Xing is probably part of the Snake race too. He was nning to discuss things with her and see if there was any way to save Yu Yanluo.

    Uncle Fu¡¯s cultivation wasn¡¯t bad either. Back then, when Zu An had fought against King Qi in the capital, it was precisely because Han Fengqiu was apprehensive toward Uncle Fu that he hadn¡¯t gone all out against Zu An.

    But Zu An hadn¡¯t seen the man at all aftering to Cloudcenter Commandery. He didn¡¯t know where Uncle Fu had gone.

    ¡­

    All of the surrounding officials were filled with jealousy when they saw the two of them whisper toward each other like lovers.

    How was this an arrest? It was more like a couple flirting!

    But for fear of Zu An¡¯s identity and the intimidating aura he had just disyed, no one dared to say anything. They all red at Xu Yu, hinting that it was time for him to do something.

    Xu Yu coughed and said, ¡°Sir Zu and Madam Yu¡¯s rtionship seems to be quite good.¡± He wouldn¡¯t act all jealous like those other officials, of course. That way, there would still be a bit of face left for everyone.

    Yu Yanluo sat up and said calmly, ¡°Sir Zu is a close friend of mine. He was worried that I was framed by someone, which is why we talked for a bit. Sir Zu told me that there will be a fair trial awaiting me in the court, and I felt that what Sir Zu said was reasonable. That is why I am willing to cooperate with your investigation.¡°

    Sang Hong was surprised. Yu Yanluo hadpletely left Zu An out of being implicated! Even if news of what had happened reached the ears of the capital¡¯s court, the nobles wouldn¡¯t be able to me Zu An at all. Instead, they would feel that he had done his duty by convincing Yu Yanluo.

    How does Ah Zu, this kid, always manage to receive sincere treatment from women?

    Even the renowned Yu Yanluo is acting like this¡­ I guess Zheng Dan and the others¡¯ reactions are understandable.

    Sigh, how great would it be if Qian¡¯er had been like this?

    I can only ce my hopes on Qien¡¯er¡¯s son¡­

    Someone quickly escorted Yu Yanluo out. With her status, there was no way she would be shackled. Instead, an expert sealed her acupoints, making sure she couldn''t move even after the drug she ingested wore off.

    Furthermore, a specially made room had been prepared as her prison. Xu Yu and the Imperial Envoy¡¯s men would both watch over the ce to prevent either side from crossing the line.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡­

    Zu An took the chance to pull Xiao Yao aside. He asked, ¡°Brother Xiao, don¡¯t tell me you didn¡¯t hear the ki transmission I sent you?¡±

    ¡°I did,¡± Xiao Yao replied. He was surprisingly quiet and still. His expression was extremely grave.

    ¡°You knew she was your junior sister, but you still ended up doing that to her?¡± Zu An asked, confused. ¡°Are you still bitter about what the libationer did to you back then, to the point that you¡¯d feel hatred for anyone from the academy?¡±

    ¡°Of course not. I respect my master a lot. It was my own unworthiness that cut my prospects short and humiliated that elder. How can I me my teacher?¡± Xiao Yao replied, sounding moved.

    ¡°Then why aren¡¯t you protecting your fellow disciple? Why are you doing this to Yu Yanluo?¡± Zu An asked with a frown.

    Xiao Yao had a look of grief on his face, as if he were immersed in th past. Only after a long time had passed did he ask, ¡°Do you know how Manman¡¯s mother died?¡±

    Zu An was surprised, replying, ¡°I heard her injuries caused her to lose her cultivation. Later on, she ran into danger again and couldn''t protect herself¡­¡±

    ¡°The one who hurt her back then was me, because¡­¡± Xiao Yao stopped. Only after a while did he say with a sigh, ¡°In short, due to various coincidences of fate, she ended up being injured by me. Most of her cultivation was lost. However, the real reason for her death was because of poison.¡±

    ¡°Poison?¡± Zu An felt a weight drop in his stomach. He¡¯s suddenly bringing this up? Don¡¯t tell me¡­

    ¡°Indeed, it was the Medusa¡¯s poison!¡± Hatred flickered through Xiao Yao¡¯s eyes as he spoke.

    Zu An was speechless. This is really bad! We¡¯re done for! Manman¡¯s mom was killed by the Medusa, so how could she live in harmony with someone like Yu Yanluo?

    And now that he knew the truth, he couldn''t just act as if he didn¡¯t!

    Xiao Yao continued, ¡°The Medusas have the ability to petrify others with their eyes. They can make anything they look at turn into stone. However, they can¡¯t always use their eyes every time, so they use their blood to create a kind of poison. That poison can make the bodies of those afflicted slowly turn to stone, leaving no choice but to watch as they slowly die.

    ¡°The reason why Manman¡¯s mother lost all of her cultivation was only partly because I injured her severely. The other reason was because she was poisoned by the Medusa. She could only exhaust all of her cultivation to slow down the effects of the poison. Even if that ident hadn¡¯t happened, she would still have been doomed.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been searching for the Medusa¡¯s whereabouts all this time, and I finally found some clues. How can I forget the promise I made to her in the past just because of sympathy for a fellow disciple?¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, Isn¡¯t it because you liked Manman¡¯s mom¡­

    However, he finally realized an important point, replying, ¡°But Yu Yanluo is still too young. She shouldn¡¯t have anything to do with the death of Manman¡¯s mother, right?¡±

    But Xiao Yao sneered and replied, ¡°How old do you think Yu Yanluo is?¡±

    ¡°Uh, eighteen? Twenty-eight?¡±

    ¡­

    After having several guesses refuted, Zu An¡¯s expression changed. He eximed , ¡°You¡¯re not saying she¡¯s eighty, are you?¡±

    Even though he knew this was a world of cultivation and both humans and fiend races lived longer than people in his previous world, and that they also had ways to maintain their appearance, it was still horrifying to think that such a breathtaking woman was so old.

 Chapter 1123: Shelter

    <h4>Chapter 1123: Shelter</h4>

    Xiao Yao¡¯s breath caught. He said, ¡°Let¡¯s not go that far. Her real age is a mystery, but she was already famous in the capital decades ago. She¡¯s definitely not in her twenties; she¡¯s at the very least from the same generation as Manman¡¯s mother. That makes her a likely suspect as the source of the poison.¡±

    Zu An said seriously, ¡°Judging from my time spent with her, I know that even though she does have some cards up her sleeves, her nature is kind. She shouldn¡¯t be the type who would inflict harm and evil on others.¡±

    ¡°How long have you even known her? You can know someone for some time without knowing their true nature,¡± Xiao Yao replied. He was still unconvinced and looked at Zu An, saying, ¡°Little brother, lust can lead to bitter consequences. Don¡¯t lose yourself over beauty.¡±

    Zu An cursed inwardly. If you hadn¡¯t lost yourself over Manman¡¯s mother, why would a tremendous genius like you be a stinky drunkard now? However, he replied, ¡°Brother Xiao, you can question my attentiveness, but don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t even trust the libationer¡¯s insight?¡±

    Xiao Yao became quiet for a moment. A whileter, he said, ¡°I¡¯ll personally confirm things with master once I return. But until then, she needs to be detained so she doesn¡¯t bring chaos to the world.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. Seeing how stubborn Xiao Yao was, he gave up on persuasion. Instead, he said, ¡°She¡¯s your junior sister, so out of respect for your fellow disciple, I hope you can ensure her safety during the trip to the capital and not let those with different intentions harm her.¡±

    He was worried about Yu Yanluo, since she was trapped in that room all alone. Even though Sang Hong was going to be watching over her, it was hard to say what Xu Yu¡¯s intentions and objectives were. Zu An felt as if there were arge rock weighing down on his thoughts.

    Yu Yanluo was also too beautiful. It had still been okay when she had her n¡¯s experts and her own cultivation to protect her, but now, she waspletely restrained. It was hard to say whether anyone would have other thoughts.

    Xiao Yao nodded and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. With me there, no one will be able to harm her.¡±

    Zu An naturally trusted Xiao Yao¡¯s moral character. Now that he had received such a promise, he left, relieved.

    ¡­

    Zu An quickly rushed over to the Yu n¡¯s territory, but he discovered that Yu Manor had been devastated. The carefully trimmed trees and nts were a terrible mess. Many tables and chairs had been cruelly overturned. The maids were sobbing, while the servant boys were all furious.

    Zu An quickly found someone and asked what was happening. Because he often came and went through Yu Manor, many people recognized him. When they saw him, they immediately began to sob and cry out, ¡°Sir Zu, will you save our madam?¡±

    ¡°What happened? Where are Gong Pan and the others?¡± Zu An asked, looking around. He didn¡¯t see the familiar guard captain.

    ¡°All of them were captured¡­¡± Several people spoke up at once.

    Zu An finally found out what had happened after a long time had passed. After Yu Yanluo was invited to the Civil Affairs Manor, Xu Yu had already sent over troops to arrest everyone rted to the Yu n.

    The pretext he had used for that was that there had been people in the Yu n colluding with the fiend races, so Yu Xuansu and many others were going to be brought back for investigation. Gong Pan had been listed as one of them too.

    Since Yu Yanluo wasn¡¯t there, the entire Yu n had been left without a leader. They didn¡¯t dare to go against the court¡¯s troops. Furthermore, the assault had happened too suddenly, and Yu Xuansu had gotten a guilty conscience. That was why the Yu n hadn¡¯t been able to mobilize in time, and were only able to watch helplessly as those people were dragged away.

    ¡°Where is Maid Xing?¡± Zu An asked. He thought to himself, Xu Yu really is a shrewd schemer. He didn¡¯t even give the others a chance to be rescued and dragged all of them away.

    ¡°Big sister Maid Xing fought back and fled, retaliating and wounding many soldiers. Will she be wanted by the court?¡± a lesser maid asked in a shy and scared voice. She knew just how great of a crime it was to publicly go against the court.

    Zu An wasn¡¯t in the mood to exin the young girl¡¯s doubts and hurriedly asked, ¡°Which direction did she escape in?¡±

    ¡°Over there. There are many soldiers chasing after her.¡± The lesser maid pointed in a direction. As soon as she finished speaking, Zu An instantly vanished.

    The lesser maids looked at each other in dismay. They began to talk among each other in confusion.

    ¡°Is SIr Zu going to save big sister Maid Xing?¡±

    ¡°Probably¡­¡±

    ¡°But isn¡¯t he a court official?¡±

    ¡°But he has a good rtionship with the madam. I trust him.¡±

    ¡­

    Zu An ran quickly. Because it had already been some time since Maid Xing¡¯s escape, he both released his soul and used the jade badge to search for clues.

    A whileter, he found some traces ofbat and continued to follow the trail. Eventually, he saw a group of soldiers looking around. He thought of something and showed himself.

    ¡°Sir Zu!¡± a soldier called out. Zu An was already quite a well-known person in Cloudcenter Commandery. Some officers had quickly recognized him.

    ¡°What are all of you doing?¡± Zu An asked despite already knowing the answer.

    ¡°We¡¯re chasing after a major criminal who fled,¡± the soldier replied.

    ¡°Did you catch that person yet?¡± Zu An looked around. He sighed in relief when he didn¡¯t see Maid Xing.

    ¡°We haven¡¯t. That criminal is extremely cunning, and her cultivation is high too. We ended up letting her get away. However, the city gates have already been sealed. She won¡¯t be able to hide for long if we keep searching,¡± the soldier vowed.

    Zu An secretly rejoiced. He patted the soldier¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°You¡¯ve done well. Find that female criminal as soon as possible.¡±

    The soldier quickly became happy when he heard praise from an important official. The Imperial Envoy¡¯s minister patted my shoulder! He must think highly of me! Doesn¡¯t this mean I¡¯ll soon be enjoying the peak of my life?

    Zu An was obviously not in the mood to wonder what the soldiers were thinking. He walked along the street while thinking, Yu Yanluo told me to contact Maid Xing, but what do I do now that I can¡¯t even find her?

    Cloudcenter Commandery is sorge, where would I even go to find her?

    He suddenly realized something and thought, Where would I go right now if I were Maid Xing?

    She would probably have been in a safe ce that had been prepared ahead of time, but that was usually the greatest secret of a n, something he would only know if he asked Yu Yanluo.

    But Yu Yanluo¡¯s arrest was a huge matter. The entire city would probably know about it soon. Even if Xu Yu kept the information confidential, Maid Xing would know that Yu Yanluo¡¯s Snake race identity had been exposed.

    Yu Yanluo trusted her quite a bit, so Maid Xing probably wouldn¡¯t be hiding in that safe ce. Instead, she would be trying to think of a way to save Yu Yanluo and her nsmen. However, her strength alone definitely wouldn¡¯t be enough. Thus, she would have to seek external help.

    Then, who would she choose to request help from first?

    Zu An¡¯s first reaction was himself, but he quickly rejected that thought. Maid Xing might not have known about his true rtionship with Yu Yanluo, and he was a member of the Imperial Envoy as well. Yu Yanluo had even been captured by court officials, with soldiers looking everywhere for Maid Xing. The risk would be way too high if she tried to seek him out. But who else would she reach out to?

    Zu An thought of something. He quickly rushed toward the Duke Manor.

    Jian Yanyou was Yu Yanluo¡¯s husband. Even though the two had never consummated their marriage, their rtionship had always been good. Their many years of coboration were something Maid Xing should have known clearly. Furthermore, Jian Yanyou was the glorious duke. He would have the strength to help Yu Yanluo.

    Zu An suddenly heard sounds of fighting in a remote alley through his keen soul senses, some distance away from the Duke Manor. He quickly looked over. He saw Maid Xing currently surrounded by a group of troops.

    Maid Xing¡¯s entire body was drenched in blood, and she was full of resentment. If not because she had been severely injured while breaking out of the Yu n¡¯s encirclement, why would she be suffering at the hands of such ordinary soldiers?

    Sensing her strength gradually wane, she knew she was probably finished. She felt a wave of despair. Originally, she had thought that everything would be okay once the madam returned, but then she had received news that the madam had been caught.

    It was obvious that the truth of the Snake race had been exposed. Not only had she failed to save the madam, she hadn''t saved her nsmen either. Do the heavens really wish for the end of my n?

    Suddenly, a ck figure darted out, and the surrounding soldiers all copsed. Maid Xing was rmed and was about to face the new enemy when she heard a gentle voice saying, ¡°Don¡¯t be scared. It¡¯s me. The madam told me toe and save you.¡±

    ¡°Young master Zu!¡± Maid Xing eximed, overjoyed to see him. As Yu Yanluo¡¯s personal maid, she knew her master treated the man quite well.

    The reason why she hadn¡¯t sought him out in the temporary official residence was because she had been worried that the security there would be too tight, and that she would be walking straight into a trap. But now that Zu An had proactively helped her, she thought that the madam¡¯s judgment hadn¡¯t been mistaken after all.

    Because of her excessive blood loss, as her mind eased up, her body became weak. She staggered and almost fell. However, Zu An supported her and fed her a Soul Return Pill.

    Maid Xing was shocked when she sensed the medicinal effects quickly dissolving and spreading within her. She even recovered a good amount of her strength. She cried, ¡°Young master Zu, you actually wasted such precious medicine on me!¡±

    ¡°Your injuries were too severe, so ordinary medicines won¡¯t be of much help. Even the most precious medicines aren¡¯t as precious as one¡¯s life,¡± Zu An said seriously. ¡°Let¡¯s not worry about the medicine for now. Madam Yu told me to seek you out and have you contact Uncle Fu, then for the two of you to escort your nsmen to safety.¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Maid Xing stared at him nkly. Endless thoughts went through her head. In all her years in human society, she had learned clearly how they viewed the fiend races. However, Zu An knew their identity, and yet he was still helping them. He had even fed such a precious medicine to a maid. No wonder the madam treated him so well; this man was different from most men to begin with.

    Suddenly, a mass of footsteps rang out. Several people had rushed over when they heard the news, calling out, ¡°There¡¯s been news that the criminal was found just now. Hurry!¡±

    Maid Xing worried that Zu An might not be able to win against them. Zu An was also a court official. If he fought against them, there would be no way to hide the truth. At that point, there would be no ce left for him in this world.

 Chapter 1124: I Am the Law!

    <h4>Chapter 1124: I Am the Law!</h4>

    ¡°Young master Zu, you need not worry about me. Please save the madam.¡± At that moment, Maid Xing made a decision to sacrifice herself. She didn¡¯t want to be a burden and drag Zu An down.

    Zu An didn¡¯t reply and instead grabbed her shoulder. With a few leaps, theynded a few streets away. But he quickly frowned, because more and more people rushed over after hearing the news. The encirclement became more and more dangerous. It was bing extremely difficult for him to hide with someone else in broad daylight.

    He only felt an instant of hesitation. He took Maid Xing with him in a different direction, quickly arriving outside the Duke Manor. Maid Xing was overjoyed, eximing, ¡°We can seek out the duke for help!¡±

    Zu An thought, I wonder what kind of an expression she¡¯ll have if she finds out I¡¯m the duke. He didn¡¯t reply and instead jumped straight over the courtyard walls with her.

    Maid Xing was shocked. She watched as Zu An proficiently avoided the patrols along the way, almost as if he were in his own home.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    When they finally gained a bit of a breather, Zu An asked, ¡°Are Liu Ji and Chu Ji trustworthy?¡± He needed someone to help him take care of the wounded Maid Xing.

    Maid Xing said, ¡°Let us seek out Chu Ji. She is one of our nsmen.¡± Her words implied that Liu Ji was a human.

    Zu An was stunned. So he had already unknowingly be someone like ¡®that¡¯? No wonder Chu Ji¡¯s waist was so slender, and she knew how to use her hips¡­

    But it wasn¡¯t the time to think about all that. He quickly brought Maid Xing to Chu Ji¡¯s residence. However, Maid Xing asked in confusion, ¡°Huh? Why does young master Zu know where Chu Ji lives?¡±

    She had every reason to be confused. The location of wives and children in a manor was confidential to the outside world. Even inside the Duke Manor, only the maids who worked in the courtyard would know such information. No one else would.

    Zu An was speechless. What could he even say? That he had been there quite often before?

    He ced Maid Xing down outside Chu Ji¡¯s room and said, ¡°You should talk to her. I¡¯ll take care of some of our pursuers.¡±

    He couldn''t meet with Chu Ji in his current state. He didn¡¯t want their rtionship to be tooplicated. He quickly disappeared outside the courtyard after knocking on the door, and watched from afar. He only left in relief after Chu Ji emerged and took Maid Xing inside.

    Outside, many soldiers were moring noisily. They clearly wanted to storm in and investigate.

    Zu An used ¡®Face of a Thousand Identities¡¯ to change into Jian Yanyou¡¯s appearance. Then, he found a random servant to use the Kawaii Waifu Voice Changer. Afterward, he went to his ce of seclusion, pretending to have juste out.

    ¡°What happened? Why is it so noisy outside?¡± Zu An asked in a dignified manner using Jian Yanyou¡¯s voice.

    ¡°Duke, you¡¯vee out?¡± a lesser servant outside immediately replied. He continued angrily, ¡°Some soldiers im to have chased a criminal all the way here. They want to enter to carry out an investigation. Just where did they get the courage to demand something so preposterous?!¡± As a member of the Duke Manor, he wasn¡¯t happy at all to see someone disturb them like this.

    Zu An didn¡¯t say anything and walked straight toward the entrance. Even from afar, he could see that the manor¡¯s guards were already confronting the troops. He called out, ¡°Do you have no idea what kind of ce this is? Is the Duke Manor even a ce you can search as you please?!¡±

    A military officer from the soldiers¡¯ side said haughtily, ¡°We are trying to arrest a fiend race criminal. Someone saw her run in this direction, which is why we want to investigate inside. You keeping up with all sorts of excuses. Are you shielding a fiend race criminal?!¡±

    The guards immediately lost some confidence when they heard the incident was rted to the fiend races. They didn¡¯t dare to bear such an usation.

    Zu An gave the surroundings a rough scan with his soul. There were quite a few soldiers present. But as for the random excuse they used, saying they had seen a criminal run inside, Zu An had personally escorted Maid Xing. If he couldn''t even discern whether those soldiers had seen them or not, he would have cultivated to his current level for nothing.

    These people had clearly prepared in advance. Xu Yu knew about Yu Yanluo and Jian Yanyou¡¯s rtionship and had suspected that Maid Xing would escape toward the Duke Manor. That was why he had sent people over to search the area; it also served as a warning to Jian Yanyou not to interfere.

    ¡°Move aside already. If you let that fiend race criminal escape, all of your ns will be eradicated!¡± the officer roared aggressively.

    The guards didn¡¯t know what to do, and felt incredibly wronged. Who would have dared to strut around in front of the Duke Manor that way before? But recently, Second Master Jian, Uncle Ming, and several others had passed away one after another. The duke had disappeared for a long time as well, and he had gone into long-term seclusion after returning. The entire manor seemed to have lost its pirs of support. Faced with the overbearing soldiers, none of the guards dared to take on the usation of sheltering people from the fiend races.

    Just then, someone let out a cold snort and said, ¡°How bold. All of you actually dare to behave so atrociously in my manor.¡±

    All of the guards were pleasantly surprised when they heard that voice. The officer¡¯s expression changed.

    ¡°Commandery Duke!¡± Many guards bowed down toward Zu An in greeting. Even many of the soldiers did the same.

    Zu An looked at the officer who had still been acting haughtily a moment before and asked coldly, ¡°Who are you?¡±

    ¡°I am the Martial Affairs Manor¡¯s Assistant Regional Commander Fei Xun,¡± the officer quickly replied.

    ¡°Fei Xun? Why have I never heard that name before?¡± Zu An replied with a frown. He and Yu Yanluo had reviewed all of the Martial Affairs Manor¡¯s important officers previously, when they had been fighting over control of the Martial Affairs Manor. However, he had absolutely no impression of Fei Xun.

    ¡°I was recently promoted by Sir Xu,¡± Fei Xun quickly said. The pressure of facing the duke was a bit too great, but when he mentioned Xu Yu, he immediately felt more confident again.

    ¡°Xu Yu¡­¡± Zu An sneered. As expected, dogs who bite don¡¯t bark¡­ He had been fighting so bitterly against Jian Taiding before, and yet now, it turned out this fellow Xu Yu had secretly nted many of his own trusted aides in various key positions.

    ¡°Was the duke not training in seclusion? Why did you emerge so quickly?¡± Fei Xun asked to test the waters.

    ¡°So it was because you saw that I was in seclusion that you wanted to take the chance to show off your strength,¡± Zu An said, his expression darkening. ¡°If I were not here, does that mean you would have taken apart this entire Duke Manor?¡±

    Fei Xun¡¯s expression changed and he said in embarrassment, ¡°This humble official would not dare! It is only because we are here to capture a fiend race criminal that we are here. I hope that you can forgive us if we have offended the duke in any way.¡±

    ¡°If you are chasing a fiend race criminal, go and chase them. Why are you causing trouble in the manor?¡± Zu An berated him.

    Fei Xun said grimly, ¡°Because we saw that fiend race criminal escape into the Duke Manor.¡±

    ¡°Who saw it? Have theme out and speak clearly.¡± Zu An knew Fei Xun was speaking drivel, just throwing out a shot in the dark.

    Fei Xun secretly gave a few of his subordinates a look. Those people felt guilty and lowered their heads, not willing to look him in the eye. Trash! he cursed inwardly. With things the way they were, he could only step forward and say, ¡°Replying to the duke, I saw it!¡±

    He knew he had personally been promoted by Xu Yu. The reason for that was because he listened to instructions and was bold. If he disappointed Sir Xu here, his prospects would also be finished.

    Either way, Yu Yanluo was a fiend race individual, so the Yu n was already doomed. Jian Taiding was already dead, too. The Jian n¡¯s smuggling deal with the fiend races had already been confirmed. The Jian n would most likely be finished as well after the follow-up investigation.

    Furthermore, Jian Yanyou had disappeared for so long. Cloudcenter Commandery had alreadypletely changed. Even though he hade back, he had been seriously injured, and Xu Yu¡¯s people had heard that he would need to remain in seclusion for a long time to keep his life.

    In that case, what did he have to fear? Fortune favored the bold!

    If he could face the duke head-on without backing down here, his prestige would rise. Once the Jian n and Yu n¡¯s positions of authority opened up, he would be able to climb up the ranks easily.

    ¡°You saw it?¡± Zu An asked as his expression grew cold. He obviously knew Fei Xun was lying.

    ¡°Indeed, I saw it. I must ask the duke to step aside and let us search for the fiend race criminal. Otherwise, if they escape, the manor will be unable to escape me. I believe that the duke does not wish for such trouble either.¡± Fei Xun understood what kind of situation he was in. He straightened his waist.

    He was a glorious court official, and the Imperial Envoy was still stationed in the city. Even if the duke was unhappy, he didn¡¯t believe the duke would really do anything to him. That would be publicly going against the court!

    The Jian n was already tottering on the verge of copse. Jian Yanyou couldn''t even protect himself; how could he make such an unwise choice? Fei Xun became more and more excited the more he thought about that. Soon, news of him publicly shaming the duke would spread throughout the entirety of Cloudcenter Commandery.

    Times had changed; it was now time for people like him to rise up.

    The soldiers were bing more and more eager over time. When he saw the bloodthirsty glint in their eyes, Zu An immediately knew what they were all thinking.

    ¡°Guards, send someone to break this man¡¯s legs. Cloudcenter Commandery does not permit the existence of someone this bold and domineering,¡± Zu An ordered.

    The guards were stunned. Then, they immediately rushed toward Fei Xun. They had all been furious at how arrogantly this guy had been acting, and now, the tides were finally changing.

    Fei Xun was stunned. He clearly hadn¡¯t expected to hear such an order. He felt shocked and furious, eximing, ¡°We are carrying out our duty, and yet you dare attack us? Are you looking down on thew?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Fei Xun for +253 +253 +253¡­

    His subordinates drew their des one after another. It looked as if a battle might happen at any time.

    The Duke Manor¡¯s guards felt troubled. There were so many soldiers on the other side. If they really fought, there would definitely be great casualties. Things would really get out of hand then.

    Zu An harrumphed. He swung his hands outward, and a powerful force swept toward Fei Xun¡¯s legs.

    With a brittle crack, Fei Xun¡¯s legs broke, and his entire body came crashing down, bringing him to his knees.

    Zu An remarked coldly, ¡°What kind of ce is Cloudcenter Commandery? Here, I am thew!¡±

 Chapter 1125: Important Person

    <h4>Chapter 1125: Important Person</h4>

    Zu An had clearly acted so forcefully as a deliberate show of strength. Xu Yu¡¯s men were trying to step all over the Duke Manor. If he didn¡¯t do anything, his subordinates would immediately lose morale. At that point, the other party would only press forward bit by bit.

    Those were words he had often heard the arrogant viins in TV shows say. He had always wanted to try it himself. He hadn¡¯t expected to actually get a chance to do so.

    I have to admit, it does feel pretty freaking good.

    No wonder all those viins loved saying these things!

    As for the consequences, he couldn''t care less. Xu Yu had been scheming and using underhanded tricks against him. With his current cultivation, if the court criticized him, the fact that the other party had offended the Duke Manor in the first ce would be a huge crime, let alone the fact that the Imperial Envoy consisted of his own people anyway. They had absolutely no chance.

    Huh? Wait, why do I sound more and more like a viin now?

    At first, he thought the other party might resist or shout aggressively. He had already made ns for what to do then. Surprisingly, however, no one disagreed with his actions, as if they had beenpletely expected.

    Fei Xun endured the intense pain and cupped his hands apologetically, saying, ¡°This lowly one has acted too impetuously today and offended the duke. I hope the duke can overlook this matter.¡±

    There would obviously be no need to fear a seriously injured and dying cripple of a duke. But the cultivation the duke had disyed in that instant made it seem as if he hadn¡¯t been injured at all!

    Fei Xun had been incited a bit by his superiors, but he wasn¡¯t stupid. How could he continue to sh with the other side in such a situation? He quickly called back his subordinates and left, looking like a sorry sight. As for the arrest of the fiend race criminal, he didn¡¯t dare to say even a single word about that

    After the soldiers left, the servants and maids in the manor all rushed toward Zu An, crying, ¡°Duke!¡±

    Their fears and glory werepletely tied to their master. The more powerful their duke was, the greater the glory they would feel. Otherwise, they would bepletely helpless if random scoundrels tried to take advantage of them.

    Someone quickly reported to him about what had happened to Yu Yanluo. Zu An said, ¡°I understand. Summon General Wang, General Li, General Chen ¡­ to the manor for a discussion.¡±

    The people he named were all of Jian Yanyou¡¯s remaining trusted aides in the Duke Manor. There were also some people who had good rtionships with the Yu n.

    ¡­

    After giving out his orders, Zu An then went to the inner courtyard to find Chu Ji. There, Chu Ji was sobbing as she chatted with Maid Xing. She quickly got up and kneeled down when she saw him, crying, ¡°Please save the madam, my duke!¡±

    Zu An supported her back up and said, ¡°I have heard everything that has happened. Do not cry anymore.¡± Then, he gave Maid Xing a look and asked, ¡°Where are your nsmen hiding? I will first arrange for all of you to leave the city.¡±

    Maid Xing was a bit rmed. For some reason, she felt as if the other person was somewhat familiar when he talked to her. She was just about to reply when she hesitated. If the duke was deliberately currying favor with her, her nsmen would be in danger.

    As Yu Yanluo¡¯s personal maid, she obviously knew that the two of them were only husband and wife in name. Only once before, and quite recently, did the two seem to have slept together. She had asked Yu Yanluo about it after the fact, and she had said that nothing of the sort had happened between them. As such, she worried that the duke might betray them at the most crucial moment.

    Chu Ji spoke up just then, saying, ¡°Big Sis Maid Xing, the duke ispletely trustworthy.¡±

    Others might not know, but she understood their rtionship the best. The madam had even taken the man in to impersonate the duke, so he was definitely trustworthy. She and Liu Ji had made guesses as to his real identity in private, but they had tacitly agreed not to explore it further.

    Maid Xing was incredibly shocked. But when she thought about how Chu Ji was the duke¡¯s spouse, there likely weren¡¯t too many problems with what she said. Besides, she really didn¡¯t have many others to ask for help at the moment. As such, she replied, ¡°Recently, life for our nsmen in the north has been too difficult. That was why the madam arranged some work for them on the other side.

    ¡°The local products there were used to exchange for daily necessities like food and medicines, but it had to be done in absolute secrecy. Things would be very bad if even the slightest leak urred. That is why we carefully chose some quick-witted nsmen toe into Cloudcenter Commandery and work in certain businesses. At the same time, we took in some talented nsmen to study human society. That way, they could use their knowledge to improve their hometown.

    ¡°The madam was worried that there might be danger, so she did not have our nsmen remain in the Yu n, instead arranging them in hidden ces throughout the city. Now, it seems the madam really had deep foresight.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, Yu Yanluo was probably also extremely conflicted back then. On one hand, she would have wanted to do everything she could to take care of her nsmen. On the other hand, the fiend races and humans had fought for a millennium, so she would have been worried that it would end up harming her father¡¯s Yu n.

    ¡°Right, where is Uncle Fu? Are you able to contact him?¡± he asked. The elder who had driven Yu Yanluo¡¯s carriage in the past appeared in his mind. Uncle Fu¡¯s cultivation was quite formidable. With his help, Yu Yanluo wouldn¡¯t have been captured so easily.

    ¡°The madam arranged for him to deal with some goods that were stolen in the neighboringmandery. It should be about time for him to return. As long as we can leave the city, I have ways to contact him,¡± Maid Xing replied.

    Chu Ji said, ¡°But the entire city is locked down right now, so it will be difficult to leave the city. Furthermore, the duke is also someone who is being watched carefully. He will also be in great danger if he uses his name to bring all of you out of the city.¡±

    Maid Xing felt conflicted and quickly said, ¡°I would not dare to have the duke take such a risk. Whether or not we can leave the city is a small matter. However, I earnestly request for the duke to save the madam.¡±

    Zu An thought for a bit, then replied, ¡°Do not panic. I will save the madam, and I will try to find a way to send all of you out as well. You should first contact the nsmen left in the city so they do not end up exposing themselves in their rm. It would be much more difficult to save them then. Maid Xing, you should not show yourself since everyone is searching for you right now.¡±

    Chu Ji said, ¡°Then I will contact them.¡±

    Zu An gave her a look and replied, ¡°Be careful. I am sure that there are people watching our Duke Manor right now.¡±

    Chu Ji blushed when she sensed his concern. She lowered her head in embarrassment and said, ¡°Do not worry. I have been trained in these matters before; it should be okay.¡±

    Zu An nodded. After they exchanged a few more words, someone arrived to report to Zu An that the generals were already rushing over.

    ¡°They have already started moving that quickly?¡± Zu An was surprised. Soon afterward, however, he found out that after something had happened to Yu Yanluo, many had subconsciously chosen to consult with him, so they had ended up bumping into each other over the same matter.

    ¡­

    Zu An thus carried out a discussion with the generals in a private room. Soon afterward, a group of people left with grave expressions. A short timeter, several armies gathered outside the city domineeringly.

    In order to keep the other force in check, the main forces of the Martial Affairs Manor were practically all stationed on the city outskirts. The city guards were all nervous, guarding the gates carefully. At the same time, they issued reports to Xu Yu.

    But Xu Yu wasn¡¯t in the mood to deal with those matters right now. ¡®Jian Yanyou¡¯ and his generals had arrived with their respective personal troops.

    Xu Yu had his subordinates make preparations, while he himself greeted the party at the entrance with a smile. He remarked, ¡°Is the duke not supposed to be resting? I did not expect you to have recovered so quickly.¡±

    Xiao Yao also stood next to him while holding his sword, clearly on guard against any sudden attacks. Sang Hong had also rushed over when he heard the news.

    Zu An¡¯s gaze scanned over those present and he said coldly, ¡°This world might already have been flipped on its head if I had still not made an appearance.¡±

    Xu Yu shook his head and replied, ¡°In the end, this world is the Great Zhou Dynasty and his majesty¡¯s world. It cannot be changed.¡±

    Zu An knew Xu Yu was saying that on purpose to pressure him using the court and the emperor. He said indifferently, ¡°I, Jian Yanyou, consider myself to have lived cautiously and conscientiously all these years. Even though I do not im to have made heroic contributions to the court, I have done my fair share. However, why is Sir Xu unable to distinguish between right and wrong, arresting my very own wife?!¡±

    Xu Yu replied, ¡°The duke misunderstands. This official has no intention of going against the duke. The reason why we must capture Yu Yanluo is only because she is the Medusa, a fiend race individual who has been hiding in human society!¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The ordinary soldiers on Zu An¡¯s side looked at each other in dismay when they heard that. They had only known that Yu Yanluo had been captured previously, but hadn¡¯t known the exact reason. When they heard she was the Medusa, they all had confused expressions.

    The generals frowned. They hadn¡¯t really believed the rumors they had heard previously. They hadn¡¯t expected that to really be the reason.

    ¡°A bunch of nonsense!¡± Zu An roared. ¡°Do you think I could not even distinguish whether my wife was a human or a fiend for myself? Would I need an outsider to tell me?¡±

    His subordinates all nodded when they heard that. The small disturbance quickly fell silent. In their opinion, those usations had just been made arbitrarily by Xu Yu.

    Xu Yu replied, ¡°The fiend races have always been crafty; it is not strange at all to have been deceived. To be honest, I am ashamed to have been fooled by Madam Yu¡¯s beauty myself, and only recently did I discover the truth. The duke does not need to concern yourself over such things. Bring out the proof for the duke to see.¡±

    Zu An obviously knew what the proof was. If he allowed it to be shown, his troops¡¯ morale would drop. He raised his hand and stopped Xu Yu, replying, ¡°There is no need! From the years we have spent together, I know what kind of person my own wife is. She normally would not even harm a chicken; she would shed tears if an ant were identally trampled. She is such a kindhearted woman, and yet you all use her of being a fiend race individual? What a joke! Even if there is any proof, it was definitely forged!¡±

    When all the soldiers recalled Yu Yanluo¡¯s unmatched grace and the warmth she treated others with, all of them voiced their grievances. Let alone the ordinary soldiers, even the generals refused to believe that Yu Yanluo was some Medusa.

    Xu Yu frowned and said, ¡°ording to what I know, the duke and the madam are only husband and wife in name; the two of you do not live together. It is natural for you to not know her true self.¡±

    Many people immediately began to whisper among each other. Only a few people had known Jian Yanyou and Yu Yanluo¡¯s true rtionship. When the others found out that the two were only husband and wife in name, many of them were extremely shocked.

    Some of the officials even began to breathe harder. These two weren¡¯t even really husband and wife? Then didn¡¯t that mean Yu Yanluo was still a virgin? Didn¡¯t that mean they still had a chance? However, they all felt worried when they thought about how Yu Yanluo might be the Medusa.

    ¡°Hmph, you should stop trying to sow dissent regarding our rtionship,¡± Zu An replied. ¡°The reason why we have lived apart is because we are both leaders of our ns, and we have many things to take care of. That has never affected our feelings for each other, and we meet in private often. I definitely know more about her than Sir Xu.¡±

    Since both sides were sticking to their own story, Zu An¡¯s subordinates obviously trusted what the duke said. Meanwhile, Xu Yu¡¯s faction believed in him more. Both sides were stuck at an impasse.

    Xu Yu¡¯s face darkened. He replied, ¡°Commandery Duke, could it be that you are insisting on shielding a fiend race individual?¡±

    ¡°Do not try to attack me with random usations. I am merely trying to save my innocent wife!¡± Zu An eximed, appearing behind him. The guards behind him drew their longswords. A harsh and austere mood rapidly swept through the ce. ¡°I am going to bring the madam back today. If anyone stands in my way, do not me me for being merciless!¡±

 Chapter 1126: Do Whatever They Please

    <h4>Chapter 1126: Do Whatever They Please</h4>

    Xu Yu¡¯s expression changed and he asked, ¡°Duke, do you know that you are rebelling right now?¡±

    Zu An said indifferently, ¡°I only know that I am saving my wife. Since she has not harmed the people or disrespected the royal family, and you alone are ming her, how is this considered a rebellion?¡±

    Xu Yu said, ¡°All the other officials have seen the proof already. They know the entire sequence of events. But since the duke refuses to see the proof, there is not much I can do.¡±

    Zu An cut him off and replied, ¡°If his majesty has not looked over the matter, and if the court¡¯s three ministers have not held a joint hearing, there is naturally no crime. With her status and identity, how can she be someone you can punish and arrest just because of your personal beliefs?¡± He continued, ¡°Go and ask if the Yu n¡¯s people agree, if the Jian n¡¯s people agree, and even if the people of Cloudcenter Commandery agree!¡±

    His subordinates roared when they heard that, their voices louder than ever.

    The expressions of all the officials present changed. Even Sang Hong began to think to himself. The Jian and Yu ns¡¯ influence is great. Even though many important figures from both ns were removed from their positions, it isn¡¯t enough to affect the bnce of power too much.

    Furthermore, the Jian and Yu n had always had good reputations among the people. Yu Yanluo in particr had the greatest poprity among the people. If there really were a conflict, there would be some risk of Cloudcenter Commandery being split apart.

    Sang Hong was about to step forward to act as a mediator, when Xu Yu suddenly waved his hand and a yellow item appeared in his hands. He said, ¡°Who says his majesty does not know about this? This is an Imperial Edict his majesty gave me. He gave me the authority to deal with the matter of Yu Yanluo¡¯s fiend race identity!¡±

    The others cried out in rm when they saw the yellow edict. Even the Jian and Yu n¡¯s people looked at each other in dismay as a mor broke out.

    Zu An¡¯s expression darkened. He had had a simr edict before, so he obviously knew this one was real. He had always been curious as to who the one behind Xu Yu was. Now, it turned out to have actually been the emperor.

    Who would¡¯ve thought, who would¡¯ve thought¡­ It looked as if he had sent me and Sang Hong here as the Imperial Envoy to deal with the Yu n, but he had already arranged for Xu Yu to deal the fatal blow at the crucial time, he thought. He had to admit the emperor¡¯s decision was formidable. It hadpletely caught him off guard.

    Xu Yu raised the Imperial Edict for everyone to see. Then, he looked at Zu An, saying, ¡°Duke, please do not make this huge mistake all because of a woman.¡±

    Before Zu An even had time to reply, his subordinate generals had already stepped forward to whisper to him, worried that he might make a rash decision.

    ¡°Duke, please keep yourposure!¡±

    ¡°Exactly! Since his majesty has already issued an edict, there might really be something wrong with Madam Yu.¡±

    ¡°There is no need for us to ruin the Jian n as well because of the Yu n¡¯s affairs¡­¡±

    ¡­

    Zu An looked at his subordinates. None of them were as confident as before. Fear flickered in their eyes. Even the people from the Yu n had lost all courage, clearly bing devoid of morale.

    It seemed the emperor''s power had already been deeply ingrained in the hearts of the people. They had all immediately lost their confidence when they realized they were facing the emperor.

    He was just about to tell them that he¡¯d shoulder all of the responsibility when a chill suddenly swept through the air, followed by a faint fragrance. That scent was extremely graceful. It wasn¡¯t the scent of any of the fragrances one could buy off the streets; rather, it resembled a natural fragrance.

    Zu An frowned, thinking, Why did she show up?

    The smell was extremely familiar; it belonged to White Jade Sect Master Yan Xuehen. That old spinster was always trying to break him and Chu Chuyan apart, and on several asions they had almost faced each other as enemies. That was why he didn¡¯t have much of a good impression toward her.

    But that wasn¡¯t how the others felt. They all voiced their surprise, their eyes filled with amazement.

    Even though there was a veil covering her face, just her fair white skin and moving eyes were enough to prove that she was an exceptional beauty. Her entire figure looked even more stunning because she was floating in midair. Her white clothes fluttered behind her, making her look like a goddess.

    Many ordinary soldiers really did call her a goddess. Even many officials who were no strangers to women were inwardly surprised that there was actually someone else who wasparable to Yu Yanluo. Even Zu An had to admit that even though this stone cold woman was a bit annoying, she was quite pretty.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    In terms of appearance, Yun Jianyue wasn¡¯t inferior to her, but Yun Jianyue was the Devil Sect Master. She carried a somewhat more vicious aura, making her more unapproachable. Yan Xuehen¡¯s aura was ephemeral, and yet somehow more approachable, making ordinary people worship her like a goddess, while Yun Jianyue¡¯s aura wasn¡¯t.

    ¡°Sect Master Yan!¡± Xu Yu eximed. He was one of Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s authorities, so he knew who Yan Xuehen was.

    Even Sang Hong greeted her. Even though Yan Xuehen didn¡¯t have any rank or post, her grandmaster rank cultivation made her far too important.

    Xiao Yao¡¯s eyes that were usually turbid from drinking lit up, as if he were eager to try challenging her. It seemed almost as if he couldn''t hold his sword back and was about to have a taste of a grandmaster¡¯s skills himself.

    Yan Xuehen remained indifferent. She didn¡¯t respond to his provocative expression at all, looking at him no differently from an ordinary person. Then, she nodded slightly to the others as a courtesy before saying, ¡°I heard that something major happened here, so I wanted toe and take a look. I have heard most of the story along the way. In order to prevent Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯smon people from being caught up in chaos, can both sides stop here as a favor for me?¡± Then, she looked at both parties with her beautiful eyes.

    Xu Yu frowned. Even though he was holding the Imperial Edict in his hands, he didn¡¯t have the confidence to really go against a grandmaster. With her cultivation, she could easily end his life before he could finish chanting the Imperial Edict.

    Even if he took a thousand steps back and assumed he could manage to use the Imperial Edict, his majesty would definitely me him afterward. After all, he would have offended a grandmaster and the powerful sect behind her. He would be med for doing a poor job no matter what.

    Furthermore, the Jian and Yu n¡¯s forces couldn''t be ignored. If they really did fight against each other, the situation would easily go beyond his control.

    He instantly understood all of that. Thus, he smiled and said, ¡°Sect Master Yan is apassionate person, and a model for our generation. How can this official disregard the safety of themoners and raise arms? However, I am not alone in this matter, so I cannot make the decision here.¡±

    Zu An praised Xu Yu inwardly. This old fox immediately threw a thorn at me, making it so that if I persist in this matter, it¡¯ll seem as if I don¡¯t care about themon people.

    Yan Xuehen also gave him a look and asked, ¡°What does the duke think?¡±

    With things the way they were, Zu An knew that using force was already impossible. Forget about the imperial decree, just Yan Xuehen alone wasn¡¯t someone he could defeat. He thought for a bit, then said, ¡°I am not someone who likes to make trouble without reason. However, the events that transpired today are a bit too excessive; everything has been presented one-sidedly by Sir Xu. At the very least, I should be allowed to meet my wife to hear the whole story.¡±

    Zu An wouldn¡¯t be Zu An if he didn¡¯t take advantage of Yan Xuehen¡¯s presence.

    Xu Yu frowned. He obviously didn¡¯t want Jian Yanyou to meet Yu Yanluo. His first impulse was to reject the request.

    But Yan Xuehen said, ¡°Indeed, I have some things I wish to inquire about with Madam Yu as well. You shoulde with me.¡±

    Xu Yu¡¯s breath caught for a moment, and he immediately felt a stomach full of anger. At first, Yan Xuehen had at least looked as if she were discussing things with him. And yet now, she hadn¡¯t even asked him and had instead just made a decision for him.

    Do all grandmasters just do whatever they please?

    I have an Imperial Edict, you know?!

    But those were grievances he could only bottle up. He obviously couldn''t afford to offend a grandmaster at this stage of the n. Thus, he said, ¡°There will be no problem at all for the two of you to meet with Yu Yanluo. However, we cannot permit any other followers.¡±

    He was scared that Jian Yanyou would take the chance to grab Yu Yanluo and run. If it were just Jian Yanyou alone, it would be easier for him to keep the situation under control. After all, even though Jian Yanyou¡¯s cultivation was high, he was injured.

    Zu An obviously had no objections. Thus, he walked over alongside Yan Xuehen. Yan Xuehen didn¡¯t want to be monitored by anyone, so Xu Yu and the others could only wait outside.

    Seeing that there was no one around them, Zu An looked at the figure in white beside her. How old is this woman? Her experience and prestige are greater than Yu Yanluo¡¯s. But she can¡¯t be that old, can she?

    ¡°What are you looking at?¡± Yan Xuehen snapped, suddenly turning around and looking at him coldly. The senses of a grandmaster were extremely sharp. It was as if she had eyes in the back of her head.

    Zu An said, ¡°I am just curious as to why the sect master would help me.¡± He had realized that Yan Xuehen had appeared to be neutral, but she had actually slightly favored his side.

    Yan Xuehen gave him a look and replied, ¡°Why would you ask something like that? The White Jade Sect and the Jian n have worked together for so many years. Who would I help, if not you?¡±

 Chapter 1127: Who Would You Choose?

    <h4>Chapter 1127: Who Would You Choose?</h4>

    Zu An was rmed. Only then did he remember that Jian Taiding had been Yan Xuehen¡¯s junior brother, an important figure in the White Jade Sect. Their rtionship was obviously special. He quickly yawned and said, ¡°There have been too many things that happened recently, so I was worried that it might have affected our rtionship.¡±

    ¡°You are nervous?¡± Yan Xuehen asked suspiciously. The physiological changes in Jian Yanyou didn¡¯t escape her perception.

    Zu An thought, Women really are sharp. Any man who marries her won¡¯t be able to do anything secretly. He reacted quickly and said, ¡°I publicly challenged the court, and Xu Yu even took out the Imperial Edict. That means his majesty already nned to deal with our two ns beforehand. How could I not be nervous?¡±

    Yan Xuehen nodded, clearly acknowledging his exnation. But she didn¡¯tment on it at all. It was obvious that she wanted to maintain White Jade Sect¡¯s current situation and didn¡¯t want to get involved in the court¡¯s conflict.

    The two continued forward. Because of what had just happened, Yan Xuehen just felt that it was a bit strange having the duke walking behind her. As such, she waited for him to walk past before catching up to him again.

    The two walked into the prison side by side. However, Zu An felt somewhat confused. They had been enemies whenever they met before, and yet now, they were actually able to walk so close to each other.

    I wonder if this stone cold woman would want to rip me to shreds out of embarrassment if she found out who I was¡­

    Soon afterward, the two of them arrived at the room where Yu Yanluo had been locked up. Zu An suddenly realized they¡¯d be done for if Yu Yanluo acted strangely and Yan Xuehen caught that slip-up, however.

    There¡¯s no way she cultivated to grandmaster level just for decoration, right?

    But he had learned his lesson previously, and deliberately controlled his heart rate so that Yan Xuehen wouldn¡¯t notice anything.

    When Yu Yanluo saw the two of them, she looked shocked for a moment. It was clear that she would never have expected the two to arrive together. But she reacted quickly and bowed toward the two of them, saying, ¡°Sect Master Yan, Yanyou, I did not expect the two of you to see me in such a sorry state today.¡±

    Yan Xuehen was somewhat shocked, replying, ¡°Madam Yu¡¯s prowess in self-restraint leaves even me in admiration. You are in such a dire situation, and yet you do not seem to be rmed in the slightest.¡±

    ¡°Life and death are ruled by fate,¡± Yu Yanluo said with a smile. ¡°Furthermore, I believe that there are people who will prove my innocence.¡±

    Yan Xuehen harrumphed. ¡°Madam, I do not advise you to have high hopes for the emperor. Zhao Han liked you before, but he is a ruthless ruler. He has clearly schemed against you this time, so your hopes for him to return your innocence will most likely lead to disappointment.¡±

    Yu Yanluo chuckled. She didn¡¯t say anything. She wasn¡¯t talking about the emperor, but rather¡­

    She subconsciously looked at Zu An. A hint of a gentle expression appeared in her eyes.

    How sharp was a grandmaster¡¯s perception? Yan Xuehen was confused. ording to her sources, the two should only have been husband and wife in name! Why did it seem as if the two of them actually shared some feelings? And just now, Jian Yanyou had almost acted impulsively for this woman.

    But unfortunately, those thoughts could only remain suspicions. She just assumed too many things had happened recently, resulting in both sides ending up getting closer. After all, it was difficult to imagine someone being able to be exactly like another person in this world. Not even a grandmaster like her was able to notice any ws.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    She wasn¡¯t interested in their affairs at all, as long as it didn¡¯t involve Zu An. Hmph, Yu Yanluo and that brat Zu An¡¯s rtionship seemed to be pretty good. I even felt a bit of pity for my disciple.

    Chuyan is a very single-minded person. She has not had the time to manage that brat during her time in the White Jade Sect, and yet now, this kid is flirting with all of these women? He does not have the integrity of a man at all!

    I will have to tell Chuyan everything that happened once I return. This brat, Zu An, has been following Yu Yanluo¡¯s every beck and call, and she even fell in love with him!

    Letting your cultivation path be affected because of someone like this is not worth it.

    Yan Xuehen always grew furious whenever she saw that man and his mischievous behavior.

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +55 +55 +55¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An couldn''t help but look at the frozen goddess. She looked so high and noble on the outside, but she was actually angry? This woman didn¡¯t seem to be as calm and indifferent as she looked; instead, she held quite the grudge.

    If Yan Xuehen were to know that she had been seen through by the man next to her, she might just kill him to silence him forever on the spot.

    She collected her thoughts and looked at Yu Yanluo, saying, ¡°I only came today to verify one matter.¡±

    Zu An coughed and added, ¡°I was only able toe here because of Sect Master Yan¡¯s help¡­¡±

    He then gave Yu Yanluo a rough recap of everything that had happened. The main reason for that was because he didn¡¯t want Yu Yanluo to offend Yan Xuehen without knowing anything. They really couldn''t afford to have a grandmaster added to their list of opponents.

    Yu Yanluo gestured to indicate that she understood, then showed Yan Xuehen a kind smile. She said, ¡°Please feel free to ask me anything you wish, Sect Master Yan.¡±

    Yan Xuehen didn¡¯t ask Zu An to leave and asked, ¡°After ourst meeting, I inspected my junior brother¡¯s remains. He indeed died because of the Parasite n. I initially thought it had nothing to do with you, but then I heard that you were the Medusa. Could it be that you were already colluding secretly with Uncle Ming secretly to begin with, scheming with the fiend races?¡± Her voice became increasingly cold toward the end, and her eyes began to shine with a clear light.

    Zu An was stunned, thinking, Is this another eye technique?

    Yu Yanluo shook her head and said, ¡°I did not know that Uncle Ming was actually just a parasite impostor, so how could I have colluded with him? Over the years, I have not done anything to harm the human race. If the sect master does not trust me, please feel free to look into it.¡±

    ¡°There is no need,¡± Yan Xuehen said, and her eyes returned to normal. Then, she gave Zu An a look and said, ¡°I have already finished. If you have anything else to ask, hurry up.¡±

    Zu An was shocked, but he said, ¡°I have some personal things to say to my wife. Could the sect master give us some privacy?¡±

    Yan Xuehen was speechless. I didn¡¯t even ask you to leave when I asked about ¡®that¡¯ before, but now you¡¯re the one turning your back on me instead? But even though she wasn¡¯t too happy about it, seeing how they were husband and wife, she didn¡¯t actually want to listen to such things either.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll be going first,¡± she said coldly before walking outside.

    Zu An quickly reminded her, ¡°Sect master, you cannot eavesdrop now!¡±

    The senses of a grandmaster were too frightening. Even if she went outside, she could still easily hear their conversation.

    Yan Xuehen staggered and almost fell over. Her chest rose and fell deeply several times, and she said while glowering, ¡°Do you take me for someone that shameless?!¡±

    When did Jian Yanyou be so simr to that Zu An? Ahh, so annoying!

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +365 +365 +365¡­

    When Zu An saw the Rage points, he thought to himself, What White Jade Sect¡¯s ¡®free of all emotions¡¯ doctrine? This woman is all cool and indifferent normally, but she¡¯s actually pretty fiery inside!

    When she left, he quickly sent a ki transmission, telling Yu Yanluo about what had happened in the Yu n, including how he had already saved Maid Xing and other such things. Even though Yan Xuehen most likely wouldn¡¯t eavesdrop, he couldn''t take the risk.

    ¡°It seems the emperor was determined to deal with our two ns after all.¡± Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression was cold as she spoke. The n to capture her and attack the n at the same time indicated that the other side had clearly been scheming against them for a long time already. She told Zu An, ¡°Thank you for everything you have done. Otherwise, we might really have been finished this time.¡±

    ¡°How can I do nothing while all this is happening?¡± Zu An replied. He continued, ¡°The question now is, now that Xu Yu has the Imperial Edict, and I can¡¯t use the Jian or Yu n¡¯s power to save you, what do I do?¡±

    Yu Yanluo blushed when she heard that. She replied, ¡°I will definitely be guarded heavily here. Help me save Maid Xing and the others first, or they might be exposed as time goes on.¡±

    ¡°Okay,¡± Zu An agreed. However, he fell silent.

    ¡°What is wrong?¡± Yu Yanluo asked curiously when she saw how Zu An seemed to be preupied with many thoughts.

    Zu An said, ¡°I have a question to ask you. I heard Xiao Yao mention¡­¡±

    He told her about Pei Mianman¡¯s mother and how she had died from a Medusa¡¯s poison. Then, he carefully looked at Yu Yanluo and asked, ¡°Does this matter have anything to do with you?¡±

    Yu Yanluo didn¡¯t reply directly. Instead, she looked at him with a simrly strange expression and asked, ¡°If I told you I was rted, who¡­ would you choose to help?¡±

 Chapter 1128: Business Deal

    <h4>Chapter 1128: Business Deal</h4>

    Zu An frowned. He had never expected such a result. He had really never imagined that the death of Big Manman¡¯s mother would really have something to do with Yu Yanluo! But if that really was the case, he couldn''t let down Manman here.

    Suddenly, Yu Yanluo smiled and said, ¡°Look at how scared you are. Miss Pei must be quite important to you. Do not worry; her mother¡¯s death has nothing to do with me. Furthermore, I believe it has nothing to do with my mother either.¡±

    Zu An was confused. He asked, ¡°Then why would you say that just now?¡±

    Yu Yanluo looked at him with aplicated expression, replying, ¡°Can I not tease you once in a while? But the result leaves me a bit brokenhearted.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He realized that Yu Yanluo knew what he had decided from his change in expression.

    Fortunately, Yu Yanluo broke the silence at a critical time. ¡°ording to what you are saying, the poison her mother suffered from was exclusive to the Medusa King race. That was what I was confused about at first. But thinking about it, I never harmed her mother, and there is even less of a chance that my mother would have had any dealings with her.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good then.¡± Zu An sighed in relief. He continued, ¡°Then what I¡¯m the most worried about now is how I am going to save you.¡±

    Yu Yanluo shook her head and replied, ¡°I have already received your good intentions. However, the way things are, it would be far too dangerous for you to save me. The fact that you can help my nsmen escape this city already leaves me endlessly grateful; how can I make you take that kind of risk?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s mood was extremely heavy. He replied, ¡°Then I¡¯ll bring Maid Xing and the others to safety first before thinking about anything else.¡±

    They both exchanged some information, then Zu An bid her goodbye. After all, the longer Maid Xing and the others remained in the city, the more dangerous it would be for them.

    ¡°My husband!¡± Yu Yanluo suddenly called out to him emotionally after he had just taken a few steps.

    Zu An turned around in shock. Yu Yanluo¡¯s face was entirely red, her fingers sticking through the cell bars. She was worried that Yan Xuehen might hear her, which was why she didn¡¯t dare to call him by his real name. Even so, the incredibly sweet voice she had called out with just then was shocking.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Yu Yanluo said. Her eyshes trembled slightly. She was too embarrassed to even meet Zu An¡¯s gaze.

    Zu Anughed straightforwardly and replied, ¡°Just how many times have you thanked me already? You do not have to do that, because I am your man, hahaha¡­¡± He disappeared through the entrance, leaving behind a trail ofughter.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s face heated up. She could almost hear the sound of her own heart pounding.

    She couldn''t help but recall that young man she had met back on Brightmoon City¡¯s outskirts. He had just been like a newborn calf back then, shouting noisily about how he was going to be her man. She had only treated it as a joke back then.

    Now, however, when she heard simr words, even though he had done so using Jian Yanyou¡¯s identity so that Yan Xuehen wouldn¡¯t think anything was strange, why did she feel so embarrassed?

    As Zu An exited the prison, Yan Xuehen was standing outside expressionlessly. Even though she did her best to maintain her calm and collected appearance, Zu An still saw the discontent between her brows. He smiled in her direction, saying, ¡°I have troubled the sect master.¡±

    Yan Xuehen was speechless. She felt terrible. She wanted to say something, and yet she felt thatmenting would ruin her image in front of other people, so she just swallowed her words back down. She only forced out a cold grunt before turning around and leaving.

    Xu Yu was waiting outside anxiously. He sighed in relief when he saw the two of theme out. Yan Xuehen gave him a nod and said, ¡°I have already asked what I needed to ask. I hope you can all consider Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s ordinary people when you express opinions, and to not rashly resort to arms.¡±

    She rose into the air and disappeared into the horizon after she finished speaking, not waiting for any responses from anyone. Her long hair fluttered around, her white dress pure as snow. She was too beautiful; the onlookers sighed in amazement as they watched her leave.

    Farther out, themoners even thought they had seen a goddess. Some even kneeled down excitedly to pray toward the direction she was flying in.

    Zu An raised his head and stared in Yan Xuehen¡¯s direction for a bit. He frowned, thinking, This woman¡¯s taste is really questionable¡­ She actually wears pants under her dress? What¡¯s the point in even wearing a dress at that point?

    Yan Xuehen sensed something and instinctively brought her legs closer together. She turned around to look beneath her in confusion, but she didn¡¯t know what was wrong either, so she could only speed up and leave as soon as possible.

    Zu An jumped in fright when he saw her turn around. Are the senses of a grandmaster really that ridiculous?! Looks like I have to be more careful next time I make fun of her.

    Xu Yu¡¯s voice interrupted his thoughts. ¡°I believe that the duke is at ease now, yes? We have treated Madam Yu with great courtesy and without any negligence.¡±

    Zu An harrumphed. ¡°I hope to treat Sir Xu with such courtesy in our Duke Manor one day too.¡±

    Xu Yu didn¡¯t get upset and replied, ¡°I will definitely pay the duke a visit next time.¡±

    Since the other party wasn¡¯t slipping up at all, Zu An couldn''t really act out either. He said, ¡°Sir Xu, do not me me for bing hostile if even a single hair is missing from Yanluo¡¯s head.¡±

    Xu Yu knew that there was no danger left. He said with a smile, ¡°Even if the duke does not trust me, you should trust Sir Sang. He will be watching over her as well.¡±

    Sang Hong cursed inwardly. This old fox is clearly trying to drag me into the water too! But with the way things were, he could only step forward and say, ¡°Indeed, I will definitely ensure Madam Yu¡¯s safety.¡±

    Only then did Zu An harrumph and storm off as if he were upset.

    The Military Affairs Manor¡¯s generals and the Jian n¡¯s people sighed in relief. They had been worried that there might really be conflict and that they would have to fight against each other. They would really be in a bad situation then. The Yu n people wereparatively more disappointed, but they couldn''t bring themselves to publicly go against the court and the emperor either.

    ¡­

    Once they returned to the Duke Manor, a group of people went over to dissuade Zu An from acting again. They even brought up the time when Brightmoon Duke¡¯s army had been suppressed by the Imperial Edict. They were worried that their duke would act on impulse and lead troops over to attack the Martial Affairs Manor again. If that happened, it would be hard to ensure the safety of their people back home. The entiremandery would be in chaos.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An knew that those subordinates had been scared badly by the Imperial Edict. He wasn¡¯t in the mood to talk to them, so he had them leave after saying a few things.

    By the time he returned to the rear courtyard, Chu Ji had already returned. Zu An told the two women what had just happened. The two women immediately felt despair when they learned that Xu Yu had an Imperial Edict.

    However, Zu An consoled them and said, ¡°There is no need for you to worry. Saving your nsmen is the most important thing right now. That was what the madam was most worried about as well.¡±

    Chu Ji told him that she had already contacted her nsmen and told them not to act recklessly. They were all preparing to leave the city. At the same time, she mentioned that there were troops looking everywhere for them, and they wouldn¡¯t be able to hide forever if that continued.

    Looks like we need to move quickly. The longer we drag things out, the more dangerous it will be, Zu An thought to himself.

    Maid Xing said worriedly, ¡°Xu Yu will definitely have his men watch the Duke Manor. Your respected self will be in trouble if you show yourself like this!¡±

    If Zu An escorted the Snake race out of the city and was caught doing so, that would be absolute proof of collusion with the fiend races. At that time, forget about saving Yu Yanluo, even a duke like him would be put behind bars.

    ¡°Exactly! I only noticed it just now when I came back. There are a lot more soldiers in the surroundings,¡± Chu Ji also said worriedly.

    ¡°There is someone who can help us. You should all rest for now; I am going to make a trip,¡± Zu An said, then got up to leave.

    ¡­

    Zu An left through the secret passage to avoid prying eyes. Then, he found a chance to change his appearance. Soon afterward, he arrived at a residence.

    When he arrived, servants quickly brought him in, taking him to see a woman with a charming appearance. She wasn¡¯t surprised to see him at all, instead giggling as she said, ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for you for soooo long already! Why did it take you that long?¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He asked, ¡°You knew I wasing?¡±

    The woman was none other than Tang Tian¡¯er, the young miss of the Zhenyuan Merchant Group.

    ¡°Something happened to Yu Yanluo, and you¡¯re her little sweetheart. How can you not be worried?¡± Tang Tian¡¯er replied as she leisurely prepared some tea.

    Zu An¡¯s face darkened. He shot back, ¡°What ¡®little sweetheart¡¯? We¡¯re only friends.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Tang Tian¡¯er didn¡¯t express her opinion as she poured some hot water over tea leaves. She tossed away the first batch, then added some things from different containers. Only then did she bring a cup over to Zu An. She said, ¡°You should try a bit of our Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s specialty, Honey Mint Tea. How is it?¡±

    Zu An wasn¡¯t scared of poison anyway, so he raised the cup and took a sip. He immediately sighed in amazement, saying,¡°The style is totally different from that of the Central ins, but it¡¯s full of fragrance. Its taste is just as sweet as thedy''s.¡±

    Seeing that he drank what she had given him without any hesitation, Tang Tian¡¯er had a big smile on her face. She said, ¡°The young master always knows how to make a youngdy happy. No wonder Madam Yu treats you differently from other men. Unfortunately, this cup of tea tastes sour to me.¡±

    ¡°Sour?¡± Zu An frowned. He gave it another taste, and yet he couldn''t taste the slightest bit of sourness.

    Tang Tian¡¯er sighed and remarked, ¡°The young master doesn¡¯t even think about me at all, and he¡¯s only seeking me out because of another woman. How can I not feel sour at heart?¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He eximed, ¡°Are you getting lost in your own lies? When have the two of us ever had anything?¡±

    ¡°Oh my, I¡¯ll feel brokenhearted if you say that, you know?¡± Tang Tian¡¯er replied, looking as if she were about to cry.

    Zu An felt his scalp go numb. He asked, ¡°Can you talk properly, please?¡±

    ¡°Hmph, what a heartless man. Since you don¡¯t cherish old feelings, we¡¯ll just treat this like official business,¡± Tang Tian¡¯er replied, then returned to her usual appearance. There weren¡¯t any signs of her previousughter and tears as she continued, ¡°You want me to help you, but I have to make it clear that first of all, I don¡¯t have the ability to save Yu Yanluo.¡±

    Zu An said seriously, ¡°I obviously wouldn¡¯t make you take risks like that. I just wanted to send some goods out of the city through your merchant group¡¯s channels.¡±

    ¡°Are they goods or people?¡± Tang Tian¡¯er asked with an ambiguous smile. However, she didn¡¯t wait for him to answer and continued, ¡°That¡¯s not impossible, but what¡¯s in it for me?¡±

 Chapter 1129: You Owe Me

    <h4>Chapter 1129: You Owe Me</h4>

    Zu An asked seriously, ¡°What kinds of benefits does thedy want? As long as I can do it, I won¡¯t shirk responsibility.¡±

    ¡°Tsk, you don¡¯t even have a shred of sincerity.¡± Tang Tian¡¯er harrumphed. ¡°Forget it; I haven¡¯t thought of what I want, so I¡¯ll tell you in the future when I think of something. You¡¯d better not go back on your word!¡±

    Zu An frowned. Such conditions that weren¡¯t clearly established were the most troublesome. Who knew what she would ask forter? But seeing that she had agreed, he still sighed in relief and said, ¡°Thank you, Miss Tang.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re asking me for help because of another girl! Just the thought makes me annoyed¡­¡± Tang Tian¡¯er pursed her lips and spoke as if she were angry. She said, ¡°Treat my injuries first. We¡¯ll consider this interest.¡±

    ¡°Injuries?¡± Zu An asked, surprised. ¡°Thedy is injured?¡±

    Seeing his nervous reaction, Tang Tian¡¯er finally felt a bit better. She replied, ¡°I¡¯m not. But that ki of yours feels pretty good, so I¡¯m just treating it as a massage.¡±

    Only then did Zu An remember that she had had a strange reaction when he treated her the first time. Back then, he had used a fake drug to threaten her, and yet she hadn¡¯t seemed to care much about it. She had instead asked for that treatment as a reward instead.

    He had been a bit confused at first, butter on, when he treated Yu Yanluo, her reaction had been simr to Tang Tian¡¯er¡¯s. That made Zu An realize that Tang Tian¡¯er¡¯s reaction wasn¡¯t an exception.

    Since when did my ki have that kind of function? he thought. But the time he hadst spent with Mi Li had been too short. He hadn¡¯t had time to ask her whether the Primordial Origin Sutra had that function or not.

    ¡°Since you¡¯re not injured, I¡¯ll give you a massage. You can treat it as my thanks,¡± Zu An said, not thinking too much of it. He thought to himself that there were simps from his past world who had gone much further to be with pretty girls.

    Tang Tian¡¯er became vignt, replying, ¡°I already said this was just interest! You¡¯d better not think this is enough to pay me back already.¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes, yes,¡± Zu An replied. He couldn''t help butugh when he saw her miserly appearance. The girl was still pretty cute sometimes.

    He moved behind Tang Tian¡¯er, then ced his hands on her shoulders. Then, he began to gently massage her. Her shoulders were slender and soft, and her corbone looked exquisite and pretty from that angle. As expected of someone who could even make a bunch of experienced perverts from the Hub of Freedom go crazy for her.

    ¡°Ah, go softer; you¡¯re hurting me,¡± Tang Tian¡¯er said as her body went taut.

    ¡°Okay,¡± Zu An replied. Only then did he realize that as his cultivation had risen, he was still too strong even though he had intentionally held back.

    But wasn¡¯t Tang Tian¡¯er¡¯s body a bit too weak? For better or for worse, she was also a cultivator.

    Zu An reined in his strength a bit more, and only then did Tang Tian¡¯er nod in satisfaction. She closed her eyes, and her entire body gradually softened.

    A whileter, Tang Tian¡¯er looked backward at Zu An,menting, ¡°Huh? Why don¡¯t I feel that feeling from before? Are you not trying hard enough?¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He had wanted to see just where the problemy, which was why he hadn¡¯t used his ki. Now, it seemed that it wasn¡¯t mere physical contact that had created that feeling; it was ki after all.

    He was surprised. This time, he didn¡¯t use the Primordial Origin Sutra and instead used his Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, infusing a bit of true ki into her body.

    ¡°Mmm¡­¡± Tang Tian¡¯er released a sweet moan. A blissful smile appeared on her face. She closed her eyes in satisfaction, saying, ¡°That¡¯s it.¡±

    Zu An was confused. He had thought that it was the Primordial Origin Sutra, but now, it seemed as if the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra had a simr effect? He wasn¡¯t convinced and switched to the Heaven Devouring Stura. He didn¡¯t suck away her cultivation, but still used the technique¡¯s ki.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Tang Tian¡¯er inadvertently twisted her body around. Zu An asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? You don¡¯t feel anything anymore?¡±

    ¡°No¡­¡± Tang Tian¡¯er replied, blushing. One of her calves moved up a bit as she continued, ¡°It¡¯s just that the feeling is a bit different from before; it¡¯s a different feeling of happiness.

    ¡°How do I say this? It¡¯s like¡­ I like watermelons, but I also like grapes. Even though they¡¯re different, I still like them.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. What the hell is going on? These entirely different types of ki can achieve simr results?

    Then does that mean it¡¯s me? Is it because of the transcendent aptitude?

    The gorgeous principal previously told me that my blood essence was an extraordinary elixir for the people of this world, that it was like the flesh of Xuanzang from Journey to the West.

    Sure, it can treat injuries, but this kind of thing has never happened before, right?

    Don¡¯t tell me this only happens after reaching a certain level of cultivation?

    ¡­

    All kinds of possibilities appeared in his head. Unfortunately, there was no way for him to confirm any of those thoughts. It would have to wait until Mi Li recovered and could exin everything to him.

    But his moment of distraction came at a cost for Tang Tian¡¯er. Because he hadn¡¯t focused on controlling himself, several types of ki entered her body at the same time. At that instant, she felt as if she had been battered again and again. The feeling was already way more intense than she could endure, but she couldn''t bring herself to stop him either.

    Just like that, her entire body jerked back and forth repeatedly. She had been sitting in a dignified posture at first, but her legs began to cross and intersect. She changed her sitting posture many times in a row.

    Her personal maid Little Chan was about to bring in some refreshments, but she heard some embarrassing moans from outside the door. She jumped in rm; her first reaction was that the young miss was being abused.

    She was just about toe to Tang Tian¡¯er¡¯s rescue when she heard her master say, ¡°Please¡­ A bit slower¡­¡± She immediately stopped, her expression bing extremely strange.

    The young miss seems to be willing¡­

    Heavens! There have been so many people who have tried to approach the young miss because of her status over the years, but even though she faced them all with a smile, she has always ruthlessly rejected them.

    Little Chan had viewed the young miss as her idol, someone who had the men of this world within the palm of her hand. But what in the world was happening now? She thought back to that guy named Zu An. She had snuck some looks at him back then and thought he was pretty handsome and confident. No wonder the young miss liked him.

    But wasn¡¯t the young miss changing her mind a bit too quickly? That man had almost been within her grasp, and yet she didn¡¯t seem to cherish that rtionship at all.

    As someone who worked at the Zhenyuan Merchant Group with people from all sorts of backgrounds, and someone who had experience in the Hub of Freedom, Little Chan obviously knew what kind of natural disposition men had. She just felt that the young miss¡¯ decision was a bit too sloppy.

    But in the end, Tang Tian¡¯er was her master. Since she had made the decision, what could a maid like her do?

    Little Chan was a bit curious at first and wanted to peep in. However, she knew the young miss¡¯ nature. If her master were pissed off badly, Tang Tian¡¯er might just marry her off to some scary bandit.

    Thus, she could only quietly back off. She blushed when she heard certain sounds on and off, muttering. ¡°They¡¯re making so much noise; is the young miss not embarrassed?¡±

    For fear of the young miss¡¯ reputation being tarnished, Little Chan quickly went out and made sure none of the servants could approach the ce.

    Her movements didn¡¯t escape Zu An¡¯s detection. He was quite curious. Why was the maid acting all secretively? Because of that moment of distraction, however, he unknowingly used a bit more force.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Tang Tian¡¯er cried out in rm. Then, her entire body trembled. She quickly pushed Zu An away, then her legs curled up on the chair, her arms wrapping around her knees. She seemed as if she were enduring a lot of pain.

    Zu An jumped in fright. He eximed, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Did I hurt you?¡±

    ¡°N¡­ No. You can go back for now. I¡¯ll take care of what I promised you.¡± Tang Tian¡¯er buried her head in her knees. Her beautiful hair was scattered everywhere.

    ¡°Are you really okay?¡± Zu An asked, still in doubt.

    ¡°I already told you I¡¯m fine! Just go already.¡± Tang Tian¡¯er seemed to be sobbing a bit.

    Zu An thought to himself, The thoughts of a youngdy really are fickle. They had been fine just a moment before, and yet now they were already falling out with each other. He said as he left, ¡°Then you should get some proper rest.¡±

    Tang Tian¡¯er sighed in relief when she heard him leave. She raised her head and held her cheeks in her palms. Her face was boiling hot. She mumbled to himself, ¡°Tang Tian¡¯er, Tang Tian¡¯er, have you gone mad? How could you let him¡­¡±

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An left the Zhenyuan Merchant Group. Now that he had dealt with the matter of Maid Xing, the only thing left was the matter of saving Yu Yanluo.

    Suddenly, however, someone he had never expected to see blocked his way.

 Chapter 1130: Not a Single One Is Normal

    <h4>Chapter 1130: Not a Single One Is Normal</h4>

    Even though it had recently stopped snowing in Cloudcenter Commandery, it was still incredibly cold. The peopleing and going were almost all wrapped up tightly in heavy clothes.

    And yet, the woman standing in front of Zu An was dressed lightly. Her long and straight legs were only covered in ck stockings, drawing the attention of all the men walking by. Even though she was clearly extremely beautiful, people¡¯s eyes still couldn''t help but be drawn toward those legs. Her snow-white skin formed a powerful contrast with her ck stockings¡¯ce border. Just a single nce would make it hard to shift one¡¯s gaze away.

    If anyone else dressed like that, they might easily appear flirtatious and seductive. And yet, when she wore them, it carried no such worldly feeling at all. That, paired with her slender and elegant neck, as well as her delicate hair bun, made her seem even more noble and refined.

    Zu An was surprised and happy to see her. He asked, ¡°Big sis principal, why are you here?¡±

    Considering those distinct stockings and those long and beautiful legs, who else could it be but Jiang Luofu?

    ¡°What, are you not happy to see me?¡± Jiang Luofu replied with a smile.

    ¡°Of course I am! I¡¯m so happy that I can¡¯t believe what I¡¯m seeing,¡± Zu An said as he walked over, feeling extremely moved.

    ¡°That mouth of yours is just as sweet as usual,¡± Jiang Luofu remarked, turning to stand shoulder to shoulder with him. She asked, ¡°Should we find a ce to sit down first?¡±

    ¡°Okay,¡± Zu An replied. There were too many eyes and ears watching the temporary residence. She clearly had something to say to him. As such, he brought her to a nearby teahouse.

    The teahouse was bustling with people, who were all chatting happily at their respective tables. When Jiang Luofu entered, however, the entire building fell silent. None of the customers¡¯ eyes could leave her legs.

    Jiang Luofu was already used to such sights. She walked past them naturally, her high heels tapping against the ground. The sounds those high heels made seemed as if they were pounding down on the onlookers¡¯ very hearts, making their heartbeats pound just as fiercely.

    Zu An sighed in amazement. Only someone with Jiang Luofu¡¯s powerful presence could properly intimidate the masses. If it were anyone else, a bunch of perverts would already have surrounded a woman as pretty as her.

    As those beautiful legs disappeared step by step into the second floor, waves of sighs followed. Then, all the conversations changed as people tried to guess which n this woman was from. They all began trying to figure out her family background.

    ¡°You seem to beughing at me,¡± Jiang Luofu remarked, looking at Zu An with an ambiguous smile when they arrived in a private room upstairs.

    ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯mughing at you, but that I¡¯m worried you might be cold,¡± Zu An replied. He had seen that even though there was a fur coat covering the upper half of Jiang Luofu¡¯s body, her lower half was only covered by a skirt and ck silk stockings. He felt as if even his own legs were bing cold just from looking at her.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t beautiful things meant to be appreciated?¡± Jiang Luofu replied naturally with a chuckle.

    Zu An really wanted to drag Yan Xuehen over and have her hear that. Wearing pants under a dress, is that something a human would do?

    ¡°Furthermore, an ordinary person might feel cold if they were dressed like this, but we¡¯re cultivators, so what is there to worry about?¡± Jiang Luofu crossed her legs in a different posture as she spoke.

    Zu An was stunned. Onlythen did he realize that he had only subconsciously felt that Jiang Luofu might be cold because Yu Yanluo feared the cold.

    Right, we¡¯re all cultivators. Who cares about a bit of cold?

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s cultivation is so high, so the fact that she¡¯s scared of the cold is strange in itself.

    Now that he thought about it, that was probably a characteristic of the Medusas. The Snake race preferred hotter climates rather than colder ones to begin with. They would go into hibernation as soon as winter hit. Even though the Medusas were higher-level and didn¡¯t need to go into hibernation, winters would definitely be ufortable for them.

    ¡°Transcendent aptitude really is frightening. When I had just known you, you had just begun to cultivate. And yet now, just how much time has passed? Your cultivation has already surpassed mine,¡± Jiang Luofu said with a sigh. She felt as if all of that were a dream or something. If she hadn¡¯t experienced it herself, it really would be hard for her to imagine someone¡¯s cultivation speed being so fast.

    Zu An thought to himself that he hadn¡¯t reached his current level by only relying on his transcendent level aptitude, but he couldn''t really exin those details to her. He said, ¡°Big sis principal is being too humble. I haven¡¯t caught up to you yet; you¡¯ve made great progress in your cultivation as well.¡±

    Jiang Luofu rolled her eyes and said, ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to tter me. I¡¯m not the type to be envious of others. The stronger you are, the happier I¡¯ll be.¡±

    Zu An chuckled. He poured a cup of tea for her and asked, ¡°When did big sis principal get here?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s already been a while. I know about quite a few of your feats,¡± Jiang Luofu replied. She raised the teacup to her lips, a hint of a smile appearing in her eyes.

    Zu An was rmed. Why did she sound all secretive? He quickly said, ¡°It¡¯s a good thing that big sis came; your fellow junior sister is in trouble¡­¡± He gave her a rough summary of Yu Yanluo¡¯s identity and their experiences.

    ¡°That was the same matter I wanted to talk to you about this time,¡± Jiang Luofu said in a deeply moved manner. ¡°At first, I was confused as to why my teacher sent me to Cloudcenter Commandery, but it turns out it was because of that. I didn¡¯t know that Yu Yanluo was precisely our mysterious sixth sister.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. The libationer¡¯s deep and profound appearance emerged in his mind. What in the world is he thinking? If you knew something was going to happen here, why didn¡¯t you try to stop it beforehand?

    ¡°That third brother of yours really is too unreasonable! He even did something like this to his own fellow junior sister,¡± he couldn''t help but say disdainfully.

    ¡°Third brother experienced some things in the past. I was even convinced that he had passed on. But now, not only is he alive, his cultivation has even climbed up a notch. Even though he looks slovenly and drunk all day, his sword dao is still something few can match,¡± Jiang Luofu said, feeling deeply moved. ¡°The reason third brother acted that way is probably because of what happened back then.¡±

    ¡°Just how are he and Manman¡¯s mother rted?¡± Zu An asked curiously. He couldn''t help but feel that their rtionship was strange somehow. He definitely didn¡¯t want to gain some weird father-inw out of nowhere.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Jiang Luofu hesitated, but in the end, she said, ¡°You¡¯re not an outsider anymore, so there¡¯s no harm in telling you these things. Still, you can¡¯t tell anyone about this, or else it might bring great harm to Pei Mianman.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. Judging from how she was talking about the subject, it seemed there was a huge drama surrounding it. ¡°Of course.¡±

    Jiang Luofu then said, ¡°Third brother possessed powerfulprehension prowess. At a young age, he had already fully inherited teacher¡¯s sword. Teacher had personally evaluated him back then, stating that he was destined to break through into the grandmaster rank.¡±

    Zu An already knew that even though there were many cultivators in this world, there were extremely few who could be grandmasters. There were countless stunning talents who failed to pass that great trial. For Xiao Yao to have received such an evaluation at his young age, it was easy to see just how high hisprehension prowess was.

    Jiang Luofu began to recount the events of the past. ¡°For fear that he would be proud and arrogant, which would actually be unfavorable for his cultivation, teacher sent him into the world of warriors to train himself. Third brother relied on his sword to carve out a reputation for himself. There were even some who called him the Sword Immortal. His natural disposition was to hate evil, taking it upon himself to eliminate demons. Back then, there were still many fiend race individuals left in the human side of the world who brought cmity. That was why he single-handedly wiped out many of them.¡±

    ¡°That continued until he met Pei Mianman¡¯s mother.¡± Jiang Luofu paused. She looked at Zu An with her beautiful eyes and asked, ¡°Do you believe in love at first sight?¡±

    Zu An chuckle and replied, ¡°You mean when I saw big sis principal for the first time as I entered your office?¡±

    Jiang Luofu¡¯s cheeks turned a bit red. She harrumphed. ¡°You really are slick-tongued.¡± Even though that was what she said, she didn¡¯t get upset and continued, ¡°That was the case when third brother first saw Pei Mianman¡¯s mother. However, their identities doomed them to forever be apart. In the end, third brother decided to remain true to his own dao and attacked Pei Mianman¡¯s mother.¡±

    ¡°Wait.¡± Zu An frowned. ¡°Wasn¡¯t his dao eliminating evil? Why would he attack Pei Mianman¡¯s mother? Unless¡­¡±

    ¡°Indeed.¡± Jiang Luofu sighed. ¡°Pei Mianman¡¯s mother was from the Demon Race. Didn¡¯t you find Pei Mianman¡¯s fire element extremely strange? It¡¯s a pitch-ck me. That¡¯s an ability that came from the Demon Race, and furthermore an extremely rare ability.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    Heavens, please stop messing with me! It was Yu Yanluo earlier, and now it¡¯s Pei Mianman?

    Can I not have a single normal girl around me?

 Chapter 1131: Right Up to His Door

    <h4>Chapter 1131: Right Up to His Door</h4>

    Jiang Luofu had been staring at Zu An as she spoke. She only saw that he was a bit startled at first, but then his expression calmed down. She couldn''t help but feel a bit surprised, asking, ¡°You don¡¯t seem to be worried or scared¡­?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s there to be worried or scared about? Either way, I¡¯ve already seen this kind of thing happen many times,¡± Zu An replied. He thought back to how Qiao Xueying was from the Elf Race, and Kong Nanwu was also a fiend race individual. He was already used to it.

    Jiang Luofu thought he was just talking about Yu Yanluo, so she didn¡¯t feel too much suspicion and continued, ¡°Third brother chased after her, then sessfully seriously injured her. Butter on, by coincidence, he learned that she had never harmed anyone before and instead saved many people. Furthermore, because of the feelings he harbored, he couldn''t kill her and instead let her go.

    ¡°After that battle, he developed doubts toward his own convictions. The reason why his sword had been unrivaled was precisely because of his unwavering faith. After his principle of ying all evil was shaken, his sword was no longer as sharp anymore.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression became strange. He recalled a popr phrase from his previous world¡¯s web: ¡®Only a girl will affect my speed of unsheathing.¡¯ He hadn¡¯t expected that to really be the case in reality¡­

    ¡°At first, that wouldn¡¯t have been too big of an issue. With third brother¡¯s aptitude, he would be fine after spending some time to steady his mind again.¡± Jiang Luofu lowered her teacup and sighed, continuing, ¡°Unfortunately, something happened afterward¡­

    ¡°Because of her injuries, Pei Mianman¡¯s mother wasn¡¯t able to protect herself. She was seriously injured while being pursued by an enemy. Even though third brother rushed over promptly, it was already toote. She was poisoned and beyond saving, passing away soon afterward.

    ¡°Third brother believes he was the reason for her death, so he¡¯s always felt torn up inside. Furthermore, because it was the death of someone he loved, it became a two-fold blow. His mental statepletely copsed, and he sank into depravity for many years. People all thought he had already died, and only recently did he show himself again.¡±

    Zu An quickly asked, ¡°Just who was it that harmed Manman¡¯s mother?¡±

    Jiang Luofu shook her head and replied, ¡°That person¡¯s origins were unclear. Furthermore, it happened so long ago. I don¡¯t know who that person was either.¡±

    Zu An began to think to himself. Was it the humans who were pursuing her, or was it the fiend races who wanted to eliminate her? The key issue was, why had she married Pei Shao? Pei Shao hadn¡¯t known her identity as a Demon race person either¡­

    ¡°Hm?¡± Zu An suddenly realized something. He asked, ¡°By the way, after she was injured, how much time passed before she gave birth to Manman? I feel as if the time doesn¡¯t really match up somehow.¡±

    Jiang Luofu replied, ¡°She gave birth before she was injured, of course. She was injured by third brother not long after Manman was born.¡±

    Zu An was stupefied.

    If I¡¯m not mistaken, didn¡¯t Xiao Yao like Manman¡¯s mom? She had already given birth at that point?!

    He liked married women, and those who already had kids, at that?

    That Xiao Yao seemed like an honest guy, but he was actually that kind of person!

    But jokes were jokes. He still had to solve the problem. He said, ¡°Even so, he clearly knows Yu Yanluo is his junior sister, and yet he still did this. Is he not scared of his past regret repeating itself?¡±

    Jiang Luofu sighed and said, ¡°The events of the past have always been his inner demon. He won¡¯t back down here.¡±

    ¡°Then what are you going to do? You can¡¯t just leave your junior sister to die, right?¡± Zu An asked. He thought, There¡¯s no way that old fox libationer didn¡¯t n a single thing, right?

    Jiang Luofu hesitated, then said, ¡°I can help you, but I need you to give me something.¡±

    Zu An was shocked. He replied, ¡°What the heck is this? She¡¯s your junior sister, not mine. Why does it suddenly seem as if I¡¯m the only one who wants to save her?¡±

    Jiang Luofu showed him a crafty smile and said, ¡°By now, you should understand well that the master takes in disciples of all different ages and backgrounds. There are many whom even I don¡¯t know the real identities of, let alone having met them. Yu Yanluo is precisely one of them. We¡¯re fellow disciples, but we don¡¯t share any real affection. Our rtionship is definitely not as close as yours. I¡¯ve been wandering around Cloudcenter Commandery these days, and I¡¯ve heard quite the rumors about you two.¡±

    She sounded shocked too when she said that. Yu Yanluo¡¯s beauty had stunned the entire world for many years. Even his majesty had been one of her admirers, and yet she had never truly gotten close to anyone. Even though she had always greeted others with warm smiles, anyone with a discerning eye could tell how estranged she actually was.

    Only this guy, Zu An, seemed to be closer to her. There had even started to be gossip about the two of them in the street stalls.

    Even though some people had noticed that ever since the duke hade back, the married couple seemed to have grown closer, for mostmoners, that waspletely normal behavior between a husband and wife. It was instead a third party like Zu An that drew the most attention. Such secret adulterous rtionships were the most stimting.

    Zu An¡¯s forehead creased when he heard that. The libationer¡¯s disciples really were each more abnormal than the next. Even Jiang Luofu waspletely indifferent; no wonder Xiao Yao didn¡¯t feel any misgivings even after finding out Yu Yanluo was his junior sister. He asked, ¡°What do you want?¡±

    Jiang Luofu looked at him with a cool and elegant gaze. After a while, she spoke. ¡°The Phoenix Nirvana Sutra.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Zu An eximed. No matter how firm his will was, his expression still couldn''t help but change greatly.

    Jiang Luofu sighed and said, ¡°I know you¡¯re shocked right now. I¡¯ll be honest with you, I¡¯m asking this because of someone else. They want the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra from you.¡±

    ¡°King Qi?¡± Zu An asked quietly.

    ¡°Madam Qi. But that¡¯s no different from King Qi asking for it,¡± Jiang Luofu said. ¡°They know about our rtionship in Brightmoon City, so they wanted to somehow get the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra from you through trickery. I¡¯ve always been quite distressed over this matter.

    ¡°But after thinking about it, I really didn¡¯t want to fool you, so I just decided to tell you directly. That way, regardless of what the result is, you won¡¯t me me too much in the future.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help butugh. He replied, ¡°Big sis principal, do you know what the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra signifies? How could it be something that can be randomly stolen?¡±

    ¡°Of course I know that, and many people do too. Otherwise, someone like you who had obtained such a powerful cultivation in just a year or two of time, ranking up from an ordinary person that way, would¡¯ve already been captured and locked up for research a long time ago,¡± Jiang Luofu said. She leaned backward, her legs changing positions again. ¡°But the more that¡¯s the case, the more people covet the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra. It¡¯s only because of their fear of the emperor that King Qi alone is able to act on such thoughts.

    ¡°Ah Zu, you¡¯re an intelligent person. You should understand that treasuring a jade ring can be a crime. I don¡¯t know why his majesty would let you go, but with his majesty¡¯s nature, his tolerance will soon run out.

    ¡°Rather than facing his majesty alone, you should let King Qi face him. King Qi has already schemed for many years; the only difference is his individual cultivation. If he could obtain the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, he could then fully face his majesty. At that time, they would be evenly matched, and you would be safer. Your value would also climb higher.¡±

    Zu An asked indifferently, ¡°Are you speaking as a mouthpiece for King Qi right now?¡±

    Jiang Luofu shook her head and replied, ¡°Even though the Jiang n has always been on good terms with King Qi, we haven¡¯tpletely sided with them. Everything I am saying right now is solely from the perspective of your friend. Your situation right now is too dangerous. Whether it¡¯s the emperor or King Qi, neither side is likely to let you go. That¡¯s why you need to have a n of your own.¡±

    She continued, ¡°You can choose to refuse me; I just need to report that to Madam Qi.¡± She looked worried as she said, ¡°But if you choose to do that, King Qi will view you as a thorn in his side. You¡¯ve caused him to lose a lot of the resources he¡¯s umted over the years too. If it weren¡¯t for this, he might have alreadye after you. His majesty could also find a justification to use King Qi to get rid of you, as that wouldn¡¯t tarnish his reputation then.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but say with a sigh, ¡°Big sis principal, you are the academy¡¯swyer after all. You¡¯re able toe up with all kinds of reasons one after another. Now, it almost sounds as if it¡¯s in my best interest to hand the secret text over.¡±

    Jiang Luofu leaned forward and said, ¡°Regardless of whether you believe me or not, I¡¯m considering things from your perspective. Actually, this is a mission I received a long time ago, but I¡¯ve never done anything about it. Only recently did I realize that this was in your best interest.

    ¡°I know my request will definitely make you feel extremely disappointed¡­ Forget it, I¡¯ll just refuse her. However, you really need to be careful. Whether it¡¯s his majesty or King Qi, neither side is a kind sort. They¡¯ll act against you soon.¡± She got up to leave after speaking. However, Zu An grabbed her and stopped her from leaving.

    Jiang Luofu turned around. When she saw Zu An grabbing her arm, she was a bit confused.

    However, Zu An said calmly, ¡°Why are you in such a rush to leave? I didn¡¯t even say I wouldn¡¯t agree.¡± He took out a book and handed it to her, saying, ¡°This is what you¡¯re looking for.¡±

    Jiang Luofu was shocked. She replied, ¡°You actually agree to it?¡±

    She hadn¡¯t had high hopes for the idea to begin with. Even though she had indeed been considering things for Zu An¡¯s sake, she knew that such an exceptional secret manual was something no one would be willing to give up.

    Zu An smiled. ¡°If it were anyone else, no matter how reasonable and fair their words, I would still only spit in their face. But big sis principal is different. As long as you want it, I¡¯ll give it all.¡±

    He had been wondering just how he was going to give the fake Phoenix Nirvana Sutra to King Qi. And yet now, a solution hade right up to his door!n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Jiang Luofu was stunned at first. Her expression that had remained serious and ice-cold for so long because of her role as the academy principal now turned visibly red.

 Chapter 1132: Ambush

    <h4>Chapter 1132: Ambush</h4>

    Jiang Luofu couldn''t help but scoff, remarking, ¡°Do you ther your mouth in honey everyday or something? No wonder you have so many girls around you all the time.¡±

    Zu An pretended to be shocked as he replied, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me big sis principal had a taste without me knowing? You even know that my lips are sweet.¡±

    Jiang Luofu finally couldn''t take it anymore. She said, ¡°Hmph, you¡¯re clearly doing all of this to save Yu Yanluo, and yet you¡¯re making it sound as if you¡¯re doing it for me.¡±

    Zu An said seriously, ¡°If it weren¡¯t you, even if I wanted to save someone, I wouldn¡¯t have handed over the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra for it.¡±

    Jiang Luofu¡¯s heartbeat sped up when she saw his scorching gaze. She had only treated this guy as a naughty and underripe junior when he first entered the academy, and yet now, he was already so mature¡­

    She lowered her gaze slightly, then said with an ambiguous smile, ¡°You¡¯ve been holding onto me all this time without letting go. Do you know that such an action would already be enough to be considered sexual harrassment if it were done toward a married woman?¡±

    Zu An said with an upright expression, ¡°Big sis principal, that¡¯s where you¡¯re mistaken. You haven¡¯t even gotten married yet, so how can this be considered harassing a married woman?¡±

    Jiang Luofu said seriously, ¡°ording to the Zhou Dynasty¡¯sws, all women who havepleted maidenhood are referred to as married women in the legal texts.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. Only then did he recall that Jiang Luofu was ranked number eight in the academy, and her specialty wasw. No wonder her entire presence changed as soon as she talked about such things! What was he even doing trying to mess around in her field of specialization?

    Jiang Luofu retracted her hand and put the secret manual away. She said, ¡°I¡¯ll store this manual away and hand it to Madam Qi. No one else will see it. Of course, even I won¡¯t look at it myself.¡±

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°I don¡¯t mind big sis principal looking, but this technique is harmful for women. That¡¯s why it¡¯s best if you don¡¯t look at it.¡±

    The manual was the fake Phoenix Nirvana Sutra the emperor had modified. Cultivating it was definitely extremely dangerous, byt he couldn''t tell her directly. As such, he could only warn her that way.

    Jiang Luofu chuckled. She didn¡¯t say too much and stored the manual in a case right in front of him. Then, she ced a seal on it.

    The seal was created by the academy, and was often used to transport military and court documents. If it were ever undone, others would immediately know.

    She had done so to show that she wouldn¡¯t secretly read it. After doing all that, she then put the case in her storage pouch.

    Zu An retracted his gaze. He asked curiously, ¡°I¡¯ve already given you everything, but how are we going to save Yu Yanluo?¡±

    Jiang Luofu replied in a direct and efficient manner. ¡°Jailbreak.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. Do I need you to tell me such a simple and crude method?

    Jiang Luofu exined, ¡°Right now, Yu Yanluo is being heavily guarded by Xu Yu and the Imperial Envoy¡¯s people. Xu Yu is someone meticulous in thought, and Sang Hong is an old fox as well. Trying to pull a fast one over them is like trying to scale the heavens. We might as well break her out through brute force.¡±

    Zu An frowned. And said,¡°Xu Yu has the Imperial Edict, and he has tons of troops at his side. Xiao Yao, the Sword Immortal, is even standing guard. How would we even go about breaking her out? And most importantly, how would we deal with the aftermath of breaking her out?¡±

    He wasn¡¯t ready to be a wanted criminal yet. If he were chased by the court and bore the usation of colluding with the fiend races, everything he had gathered up until then through all of his hard work wouldpletely copse. The worst part was that there would be no future for him; there wouldn¡¯t be any ce left for him in this world!

    ¡°That¡¯s where Ie in,¡± Jiang Luofu said. She leaned backward into her chair, fully disying her elegant curves. Her mood was quite good since everything had gone smoothly. She continued, ¡°But I need to make some preparations first. I¡¯ll contact you in a few days.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Zu An needed some time to send Yu Yanluo¡¯s nsmen away first, anyway

    If it were someone else who had made such a bold promise, Zu An definitely wouldn¡¯t trust them. However, Jiang Luofu was different; he trusted that she wouldn¡¯t lie to him.

    ¡­

    When he watched as Jiang Luofu left, Zu An sank into his own thoughts.

    At first, he had nned to ally himself with King Qi to defeat the emperor. However, ording to the series of events that had taken ce in Cloudcenter Commandery, there was no way their two sides would fight on the same front. Even if they looked friendly on the outside, it was impossible.

    King Qi¡¯s forces that had been carefully nted here had beenpletely swept away by him. One he returned to the capital, no, even before he returned to the capital, King Qi¡¯s revenge would already begin.

    If he pretended to not know anything at the final reckoning, there would be a chance of avoiding all that. However, he couldn''t bring himself to ignore the ruthless killing of the innocent vigers, including the murder of Chen Zhou¡¯s wife and son.

    Cultivation¡­ Even though it brought many superhuman powers, if that power made one even forget about basic human decency, what meaning would be in cultivation?

    He couldn''t just watch as King Qi Manor and the Pei n became tied in marriage either. Thus, he would just borrow the fake Phoenix Nirvana Sutra to solve everything.

    No matter how powerful the emperor was, he couldn''t defeat time. He wasn¡¯t far from his absolute limit. At worst, Zu An could just hide for a few years. But King Qi was in the prime of his life. If he really won against Zhao Hao and seized the imperial throne, Zu An¡¯s own circumstances would be dire.

    He smiled when he thought through all those things. He left behind some money for the tea before leaving.

    ¡­

    Zu An changed into Jian Yanyou with ¡®Face of a Thousand Identities¡¯ again. When he returned to the Duke Manor, he quickly issued all kinds of orders. He gathered arge number of carriages, as if he were going to carry out a huge business transaction.

    Now, even Zhang Ji was rmed. She ran over and asked with a worried expression, ¡°Duke, what is your respected self going to do?¡±

    ¡°Too many things have happened recently, so many goods that should have been dealt with have umted. Since the situation has stabilized a bit, we should send them out to where they should go.¡± Zu An exined.

    Zhang Ji sighed in relief and said, ¡°My duke, even though I do not understand these things, I know that your mood is not great since the madam has just been arrested. How can you be in the mood to take care of backed up businesses? If even I do not believe that, others will definitely not believe it either.¡±

    Seeing that he had remained silent, a distressed smile appeared on her face. She said, ¡°My duke, I know I was brought in by the second master before. That thing happened between the second master and your respected self¡­ That is why you do not trust me as much as you trust Liu Ji and Chu Ji.

    ¡°But regardless of whether the duke believes me or not, this concubine is wholeheartedly devoted to you. Only if everything goes well for you can I follow in your glory.

    ¡°You have often visited Chu Ji¡¯s courtyard as if you were discussing something with her. But regardless of what it is, the disturbance that has been created will not escape the eyes of those who are watching us. If something does happen, not only will the duke fail to help the madam, you will also be in danger yourself!¡±

    Zu An sighed inwardly. These women weren¡¯t easy to deal with after all. Even though they hadn¡¯t said it directly, they had clearly guessed something was up. He could only say, ¡°Do not worry; I know what I am doing.¡±

    Seeing as he still hadn¡¯t told her the truth in the end, Zhang Ji opened her mouth several times. However, in the end, she didn¡¯t say anything and left dejectedly.

    Zu An felt a bit of a headache when he saw her leave in distress. He had originally nned to meet with them as little as possible, yet now, because something had happened to Yu Yanluo, he had no choice but to frequently make appearances in the Duke Manor. It really was a pain to deal with.

    Over the following two days, he sessively arranged for some ordinary goods to leave the city. His subordinates reported that each batch was strictly inspected, but he didn¡¯t care too much.

    On the third day, he suddenly increased the amount of goods that left the city. He arranged for arge number of carriages, and they left the city from different directions.

    It was clear that the city guards hadn¡¯t expected such a situation. All of the city gates became a flurry of activity.

    Zu An changed his outfit and personally escorted one of the carriages out.

    The Jian n had operated in Cloudcenter Commandery for many years, so they naturally had their own trusted aides. The general who guarded one of the exits in the west was one of their people.

    Zu An had never made use of that asset before, and only used it at such a crucial conjecture. The general secretly let Zu An¡¯s group out of the city by borrowing the chaos.

    Those from the Jian n sighed in relief. But before they could feel happy, several troops swarmed in from all directions, surrounding them.

    ¡°Should the duke not be resting at home? Why are you in such a rush to leave the city? Are you trying to transport some important goods?¡± Xu Yu asked. He rode his horse out of his fleet, and on his face was an ¡®I¡¯ve been waiting for a long time already¡¯ expression.N?v(el)B\\jnn

 Chapter 1133: Luring the Tiger Away from Its Domain

    <h4>Chapter 1133: Luring the Tiger Away from Its Domain</h4>

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed. He asked, ¡°Sir Xu, why are you still here?¡±

    Xu Yu felt inwardly refreshed when he saw that expression. But as a shrewd person, he restrained his smile from showing. He replied, ¡°I am here after receiving a tip-off that there have been some Fiend race individuals who are using this chance to stir up havoc; that is why I brought some men here to look around. Duke, you need to be careful! You absolutely cannot let yourself be connected to these Fiend races.¡±

    Even though he was warning Zu An while sounding concerned, both sides knew why he was there. He might as well just outright use Zu An of colluding with the Fiend races, and say that he should follow them back to be interrogated.

    But Zu An remained calm, saying, ¡°This duke has already overseen Cloudcenter Commandery for many years. I have fought countless battles against the Fiend races and they hate me bitterly. Why would any of them be at my side?¡±

    Xu Yu thought to himself, Your acting skills are pretty good. He said, ¡°The duke really is formidable. Right, we need to carry out a routine inspection, so I hope that the duke does not mind.¡± Hmph, let¡¯s see how you¡¯ll deal with this situation now!

    He gestured with his eyes. His subordinates were already prepared for the situation. They ran towards the carriage, intending to examine what was inside every single carriage.

    Zu An quickly roared, ¡°What are you all trying to do?!¡±

    The Duke Manor¡¯s guards brandished their weapons along with the soldiers. A battle was on the verge of breaking out.

    Xu Yu chuckled and said, ¡°Please do not misunderstand, duke. In order to prevent the fiend races from harming themon people, we have to strictly inspect every single carriage that enters and leaves the city, no matter whether they are ordinary people or high officials. Even people like us need to set an example, no?¡±

    There were somemoners watching in the surroundings. When they heard that, they all began to mor among themselves. It seemed as if, if Zu An didn¡¯t let them inspect his carriages, he would be abusing his authority.

    Xu Yu smiled when he saw the crowd¡¯s reaction. That was precisely the reason why he hadn¡¯t chased away themoners. He took the chance to move closer to Zu An and quietly said, ¡°There is no need for you to worry, duke. We are only going through the motions a bit to convince them.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, Like hell I¡¯ll believe that. But he had to admit that he was starting to admire these court officials more and more. They were lying through their teeth, and yet there wasn¡¯t even a single opening to exploit.

    He replied coldly, ¡°Then what if you do your inspection, but Sir Xu does not find what you are looking for?¡±

    Xu Yu said with a serious expression, ¡°What is the duke saying? I am just carrying out a routine inspection. Why would there be something I am trying to find?¡±

    Zu An harrumphed. ¡°Is that so? But in my opinion, Sir Xu seems to have your heart set on this.¡±

    Xu Yu said apologetically, ¡°I know that this is a bit disrespectful toward you. How about this? If there is nothing wrong, I will offer a formal apology to your manor if there is nothing wrong at all.¡±

    But he was just saying that to say it. If the investigation were carried out and they found those Snake race people, Jian Yanyou¡¯s guilt would be set in stone. Even though he wouldn¡¯t be killed because of his status, his title of duke would definitely be gone. At that point, why would he need to still give an apology?

    ¡°I hope that Sir Xu does not regret your choice then,¡± Zu An said with a sneer.

    Xu Yu chuckled and didn¡¯t reply. Instead, he gestured toward his subordinates with his eyes to begin. He also secretly went on guard against a sudden assault from the other party.

    He had been investigating with his men for some time, and was certain that this man was transporting the Snake race. Now that he had caught Jian Yanyou red-handed, he worried that the duke might act out of desperation. That was why he secretly held the Imperial Edict, ready to use it to subdue the other party at a moment¡¯s notice.

    His subordinates investigated the carriage in an extremely crude manner. They even stabbed their weapons into the piles of goods.

    Zu An frowned and remarked, ¡°Is there a need to be so rough? What if you end up damaging the goods?¡±

    Xu Yu thought to himself, You¡¯re just worried that those Snake race individuals will die, right? But instead, he said, ¡°The duke is right; I will talk to them.¡±

    He moved over to the carriages and berated his subordinates for acting roughly. Meanwhile, he reached out his hand and ced it on the carriage, sending ki inside.

    However, the smile on his face quickly froze. There were no living things in the carriage. His subordinates also quickly returned, indicating with their eyes that they didn¡¯t find anything.

    How can this be? Xu Yu was shocked. He ran over and tore away the covers of the carriages. Sure enough, there were all sorts of goods, but there wasn¡¯t a single Snake race person.

    He suddenly turned around to look at Zu An, but instead saw him staring back with a smile. Zu An asked, ¡°Sir Xu, have you finished your investigation?¡±

    Xu Yu knew that he had been done in by Zu An¡¯s plot. However, he was still unconvinced. He walked toward thergest carriage. He ignored the people who tried to stop him and flung away the curtains.

    Two cries of rm followed. Two pretty young married women looked back at him in rm. They were dressed in extravagant jewelry. Upon seeing their pretty faces, even the ordinary people watching from a distance cried out in rm.

    Xu Yu obviously recognized that the two were Cloudcenter Duke¡¯s favorite concubines. He quickly lowered the carriage curtains, saying, ¡°I¡¯ve treated all of you irreverently. I ask the madams for your forgiveness.¡±

    Zu An quickly walked over and roared furiously, ¡°Sir Xu, what are you looking for exactly? To actually forget even your court manners¡­¡± He used this chance to berate the man viciously.

    Xu Yu felt incredibly wronged while being berated that way, but he had beenpletely defeated and couldn''t say anything. He could only continuously apologize.

    Zu An said coldly, ¡°We will do things the way Sir Xu said before; go and make a formal apology. I will call upon the otherster to confirm it.¡±

    Xu Yu¡¯s expression changed. Anger raged within him too. I¡¯m clearly the one investigating you, but now I¡¯m the one being troubled by you?

    You have sessfully trolled Xu Yu for +316 +316 +316¡­

    But he had said he would do so himself, and the other party¡¯s status was higher than his. He couldn''t even retort against it.

    ¡­

    Zu An continued to mock him for a bit, then boarded the carriage and left.

    The surrounding soldiers looked at each other in dismay, but they didn¡¯t find it too strange. The other party had captured the duke¡¯s wife, and now had even run all the way over to investigate him. It would be stranger if the duke treated him nicely.

    When Zu An entered the carriage, Chu Ji and Liu Ji leaned over with worried expressions, asking, ¡°Will that Xu Yu not be very angry this time since you treated him so ruthlessly? What if he decides to keep eyeing us?¡±

    Zu An chuckled and replied, ¡°I¡¯m more worried that he won¡¯t be distracted by us.¡± He saw through the jade badge that sure enough, Xu Yu was still following them from afar, clearly wishing to find out what exactly he wanted to do.

    Chu Ji couldn''t help but pat her chest, saying, ¡°I was so scared. I thought we were exposed just now! Where are you hiding them, really?¡±

    Zu An smiled and didn¡¯t say anything. I¡¯m sending them out through Tang Tian¡¯er¡¯s people, of course.

    A sly individual had more than one n to fall back on. The Zhenyuan Merchant Group was so big, there could be no way they hadn¡¯t made rainy day preparations. They no doubt had secret channels that took them out of the city. The matter of transporting the Fiend race people out was a big deal, so they wouldn¡¯t dare to take any risks. As such, they were using those secret channels to bring Maid Xing and the others out.

    But Xu Yu had been on high alert the entire time, which was why Zu An sent out so many carriages. It had looked as if he were attempting to use the number of carriages to confuse everyone, then use one of them to bring the Snake race people out.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Xu Yu thought that he had seen through the n, and yet he hadn¡¯t realized that it was all just to draw his attention.

    ¡°Where are we going now?¡± Liu Ji asked curiously.

    ¡°You should all keep going and pretend that I¡¯m still in the carriage. When you reach the neighboringmandery, stay there for a while,¡± Zu An replied as he changed his appearance. He had obviously caused such a disturbance not just to cover for Tang Tian¡¯er as she brought the Snake race people out, but also to use chance to lure the enemy away from their territory. He had created a chance to save Yu Yanluo.

    Liu Ji and Chu Ji blushed. Even though they had already had a physical rtionship, they knew this person wasn¡¯t the real duke. They had their guesses as to his real identity, but neither of them chose to see his true appearance. Only then could they convince themselves that it was okay¡­

    ¡­

    Soon afterward, Zu An took the chance when the carriage stopped to resupply to leave secretly. The fleet was sorge that with his current cultivation, no one noticed anything amiss.

    He sprinted back to Cloudcenter City and arrived at the ce Jiang Luofu had been staying at. There was no one in the room, only a specially sealed letter.

    He took out the keepsake Jiang Luofu had given him before and pressed it against the seal. Both sides matched up, and the letter flickered with radiance. They converged into a string of characters in the air:

    ¡°I¡¯ve already drawn the drunkard away; you have two hours of time¡­¡±

 Chapter 1134: Hoodwink

    <h4>Chapter 1134: Hoodwink</h4>

    Jiang Luofu had been cautious, not even using any real names. The drunkard she was talking about was obviously Xiao Yao. He had his wine gourd behind him all the time, and was constantly intoxicated. The term couldn''t be any more fitting.

    ¡°I found a chance to enter the prison, and left behind a little toy inside. It should be able to help you¡­¡±

    Then, a chess piece fell out from a ring of light. Zu An reached out his hand and caught it, discovering that it was quite simr to the Sacrificial Piece he had gotten from Hei Baizi before.

    ¡°This is the newest toy fifth brother has researched. Its name is Hoodwink. Two pieces make up a pair. Using one piece as a coordinate, as long as you aren¡¯t too far away, while holding the other piece you can immediately reappear next to the matching piece.¡±

    Zu An was incredibly shocked. Those academy people were alwaysing up with the strangest things. The most important part was that they were even extremely useful!

    With the Hoodwink to help him, he could infiltrate the prison, saving him the time needed to break in. If he charged in from outside, the guards would have more time to prepare against an attack. At that point, both Xiao Yao and Xu Yu would immediately rush back once they received news. Things would be troublesome then.

    Of course, he could also set the coordinate to be outside. As long as he could sneak into the prison, he could bring Yu Yanluo out without anyone noticing. Unfortunately, Xu Yu¡¯s thoughts were meticulous. The security around Yu Yanluo was extremely tight, making it impossible to sneak in.

    He could change his appearance to sneak in, but if someone investigated after the fact, his Face of a Thousand Identities skill would be exposed. That would draw more suspicion toward Jian Yanyou, and the chain reaction that ensued would be a price too great to pay.

    That was why he decided to sneak in with the Hoodwink piece. Once he saved Yu Yanluo, the two of them would use their strength to break out.

    Sigh, why didn¡¯t you make a second set of these chess pieces? We wouldn¡¯t have to go through all this trouble then.

    Of course, he knew that such a thing was definitely precious. A single set was already hard enough to obtain; hoping for two was just wishful thinking.

    He silently memorized the method Jiang Luofu had provided to activate it. Then, he put on a human skin mask before leaving. He couldn''t expose his Face of a Thousand Identities skill, so he had to put the masks he had gotten from Chen Xuan in the past to use again.

    When he arrived near the residence Yu Yanluo had been locked up in and saw the patrolling soldiers, he had to admit that even though Xu Yu was rather treacherous, he was quite talented. His arrangements really were seamless.

    He went to a hidden ce and took out the white piece. He used it the way Jiang Luofu had told him to, smashing it with his hand. Then, everything around him rippled. A few secondster, he instantly vanished from where he had been standing.

    ¡­

    Inside the courtyard, a few guards were chatting.

    ¡°I was finally able to take a look at Madam Yu today. She really is pretty!¡±

    ¡°Hmph. What are you making such a big fuss for? I¡¯ve already seen her a few times. She even smiled toward mest time.¡±

    ¡°Say, do you guys think a woman this beautiful could really be from the fiend races?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s hard to say. The fiend races are the best at deception. Her beautiful exterior might just be fake.¡±

    ¡°No way, right? Don¡¯t tell me her pretty appearance could really be fake?¡±

    ¡°Who knows. But if she looks like that, I couldn''t care less if it¡¯s real or fake. I¡¯d still hit it.¡±

    ¡°Keep dreaming, punk.¡±

    ¡­

    The men released vulgarughs, their voices growing more and more lively as they chatted. They began to look at the inner courtyard. They really wanted to go inside and sneak a few more looks. Even if they couldn¡¯t really do anything, just appreciating her beauty felt as if it could even lengthen their lifespan by a few years.

    But there was a seal made by the Embroidered Envoy inside. That was something Sang Hong and Xu Yu had both arranged in order to keep each other in check, and also to ensure Yu Yanluo¡¯s safety.

    While the guards felt disappointed, they didn¡¯t notice a ck chess piece resting on a nearby table beam crumbling into fine powder. Then, the nearby air began to ripple. A figure appeared in the room out of thin air.

    The people who had been assigned to guard the ce were the elites of the Vice Magistrate. They immediately sensed that something was wrong and moved their hands to the weapons at their waists. One of them reached out his hand to pull the rm next to him. None of them acted foolishly; instead, the first thing on their mind was to contact the others in the manor. That way, they couldplete their mission.

    Xu Yu¡¯s arrangements really were formidable. If it were someone else who had barged in, forget about whether or not they could win against such powerful guards; even if they won, they wouldn¡¯t be able to stop the guards from setting off the rm.

    Unfortunately, Zu An had long been studying the defenses of the ce. With his status, it hadn¡¯t been too difficult to learn theyout. As such, he immediately charged at the one who moved to pull the rm as soon as he appeared.

    His soul had already taken form, so every single movement the guards made was within his perception. He was able to even predict how every single one of them was going to move. All the guards felt everything before their eyes blur, and they lost sight of their target.

    Meanwhile, the one who had tried to sound the rm found that he couldn''t move the hammer in his hands even half an inch further. He raised his head in shock and discovered that the mysterious intruder was already in front of him. He subconsciously tried to retaliate with his other hand, but the enemy mped down on his acupoint. A strange force poured in, and everything before his eyes darkened.

    The others intended toe to his aid, but they found that their eyes couldn''t keep up with the intruder¡¯s speed at all. One by one, their vision darkened, and they copsed onto the ground. Zu An supported them before they fell, then gently ced them onto the ground to prevent any sound from alerting those outside. He didn¡¯t stop and charged straight into the inner courtyard.

    Yu Yanluo was still a woman, and furthermore an extremely beautiful woman. That was why there were no guards arranged inside the small courtyard. Instead, there were only two maids there to tend to her.

    The two maids were both ordinary people. They normally resided in a side room, and were easily subdued by Zu An.

    Only after doing all that did he arrive at the room deepest inside. There was a seal left by the Embroidered Envoy on the door; if Zu An wasn¡¯t mistaken, it was the work of Xiao Jianren. Such seals were difficult for outsiders to break through, and an rm would go off if anyone else tried to undo them. Any others in the manor would immediately rush over.

    Xu Yu had nned against an attack from Zu An, but he had thought that even though the Embroidered Envoy was also a part of the Imperial Envoy procession, their status was special. They were absolutely loyal to the emperor and definitely wouldn¡¯t collude with Zu An for such a thing.

    What he had thought was indeed the case. For Embroidered Envoys like Xiao Jianren, forget about Zu An, they couldn''t even be bought over by a powerful official like Sang Hong.

    But no matter how crazy Xu Yu¡¯s imagination was, he definitely wouldn¡¯t have been able to predict that Zu An had another identity as one of this world¡¯s few golden token envoys. The seal established by the silver token envoy Xiao Jianren waspletely useless against a higher-leveled golden token envoy!

    Zu An took out his Embroidered Envoy golden token and ced it against the seal. The seal let out a noise like a lock opening as it was undone.

    ¡°Who?¡± a voice shouted from within. Yu Yanluo had been thrown into prison, so her vignce was at its highest level. Even though her cultivation had been sealed, her powerful instincts warned her that something was off.

    ¡°It¡¯s me,¡± Zu An replied as he closed the door behind him and removed his mask.

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡± Yu Yanluo had beenpletely on guard, but when she saw him her hands immediately dropped. She was filled with shock and happiness as she asked, ¡°How¡­ How did you get in?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no time for that right now. Hurry and strip down,¡± Zu An quickly said.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s smile immediately froze. She was speechless.

    Zu An took out another set of clothes and said, ¡°Change into these.¡±

    Only then did Yu Yanluo realize that it was one of the guards¡¯ uniforms, seemingly identical to the ones who were standing guard outside. Then, she realized that she had misunderstood him. Her face turned red. She quickly asked a question to cover her embarrassment. ¡°What is going on? If you save me, there will not be a single ce in this empire where you will be safe anymore!¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but feel warm inside when he heard the concern in her voice. She was saying that because she was thinking about him, and was scared that she would be dragging him down with her.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve already made some arrangements. If everything goes smoothly, I won¡¯t be exposed,¡± he replied. Seeing that she had more questions, heughed and said, ¡°If you keep asking questions and stalling, it might not go smoothly anymore.¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Alright!¡± Yu Yanluo replied. She wasn¡¯t an unreasonable woman. She didn¡¯t dy any longer, picking up the uniform and beginning to undo her clothes.

 Chapter 1135: Medusaâ€™s Gaze

    <h4>Chapter 1135: Medusa¡¯s Gaze</h4>

    Zu An was surprised. He asked, ¡°You¡¯re going to change just like that?¡± With me right here?

    Only then did Yu Yanluo realize what was going on. She requested, ¡°Can you please turn around?¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He could only say, ¡°I¡¯ll wait for you outside.¡± Even though he really wanted to tease her and ask why he couldn¡¯t just look at her, time was pressing.

    ¡°There is no need for all of that. Just turn around. I trust you,¡± Yu Yanluo said, her face reddening. When they had been in that frozen cave and he had treated her, never mind looking at her; he had already touched her in ces he shouldn¡¯t have touched. She obviously didn¡¯t feel as guarded against him as she would with other people.

    Zu An was a bit surprised. But he didn¡¯t think too much about it and turned around. Then, he heard rustling from behind him. With how close they were, he could even smell the faint fragrance in the air.

    He couldn''t help but recall a certain choice from the ssical scriptures of his world: To be a beast, or to be worse than a beast. He hadn¡¯t expected he would really experience that for himself one day.

    Yu Yanluo asked from behind him, ¡°How are Maid Xing and the others?¡±

    Zu An knew she was worried about the safety of her nsmen. He said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry; I¡¯ve already sent them out of the city¡­¡±

    He took the chance to give her a rough summary of how he had drawn Xu Yu¡¯s attention elsewhere, and how the Zhenyuan Merchant Group had escorted them out.

    Yu Yanluo was incredibly shocked. She eximed, ¡°You are just too incredible! You have managed toe up with this ¡®one stone, three birds¡¯ tactic¡­ But what I am more curious about is why the Zhenyuan Merchant Group¡¯s Miss Tang would take such a risk for you, and why she would help you at such a crucial juncture.¡±

    Colluding with the fiend races was something incredibly dangerous. A single slip-up and the entire merchant group might be done for. There was no way Tang Tian¡¯er would help unless their rtionship was really special.

    Zu An replied a bit absent-mindedly, ¡°Because she is my good friend.¡±

    He was actually quite puzzled too. His rtionship with Tang Tian¡¯er really was too strange. If one were to say that she really did like him, there was no way he would believe that. After all, they had known each other for way too short a time.

    And yet, he couldn''t exin her attitude toward him otherwise. He couldn''t just say that she was really just doing it because of the happiness she felt when he treated her, right? In the end, he could only attribute it to her deliberately getting close to him, and that she hadn¡¯t even hesitated to make it look as if she liked him to achieve such a result. But he couldn''t figure out her real objective at the moment.

    ¡°A good friend?¡± Yu Yanluo asked. Her movements had clearly stopped. Then, a hint of worry appeared between her brows. She continued, ¡°Like our rtionship?¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An subconsciously replied, ¡°Of course it¡¯s not on our level.¡± He really couldn''t feel at ease before figuring out Tang Tian¡¯er¡¯s intentions.

    A smile unknowingly appeared on Yu Yanluo¡¯s sullen face when she heard that, like the first melting of snow, or a flower in full bloom. Unfortunately, Zu An had his back to her and couldn''t see it. She replied, ¡°You should not say that. She has helped us so much and is taking such a risk. You have to properly thank her once all of this is over.¡±

    ¡°Got it,¡± Zu An replied, stunned. He thought to himself, Why was her tone so different before and after? It was almost as if she had been a good friend of Tang Tian¡¯er for many years.

    A sweet scent brushed past him, then Yu Yanluo appeared in front of him, saying, ¡°I¡¯m done.¡± She even did a little turn in front of him afterward, as if she were asking him how her outfit was.

    Zu An propped his chin on one hand and sized her up, saying, ¡°Your pectoral muscles are a bit exaggerated¡­¡±

    ¡°Pah, pervert!¡± Yu Yanluo scoffed, blushing. However, she continued, sounding wronged, ¡°I already did my best to bind them with cloth; I cannot bind them any tighter¡­¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, This woman really is astonishing¡­ Just the thought alone was hard for him to endure. He coughed and quickly said, ¡°I¡¯ll undo your body¡¯s seals first. Once you recover, you should be able to change your form a bit. Right, have you gotten rid of that poison you were affected byst time yet?¡±

    ¡°That poison lost its effectiveness a few days after, but the Embroidered Envoy set a special seal on me. This seal might not be so easily undone.¡± Yu Yanluo sighed. The Embroidered Envoy were known for their Soul Reaping Chains. Once bound, there were some who were never able to use their cultivation again for the rest of their lives.

    For some people of special status, being bound by those Soul Reaping Chains wasn¡¯t the prettiest sight, so the Embroidered Envoy would instead use a higher-level seal. Those seals had an even stronger restrictive effect than the chains.

    ¡°The Embroidered Envoy¡­¡± Zu An muttered with a strange expression. His finger shot out like lightning, striking several of her body¡¯s acupoints. He said, ¡°This should do the trick.¡±

    Yu Yanluo was confused, but her expression quickly changed. She could sense that her sealed acupoints had begun to recover their usual flow!

    ¡°Why do you even know how to undo the Embroidered Envoy¡¯s seals?¡± she eximed. She really was shocked now. After all, the Embroidered Envoy was different from the other branches; they were the emperor¡¯s loyal hounds. No one else could influence them in any way.

    This man is way too mysterious.

    ¡°Shush!¡± Zu An covered her mouth and said through ki, ¡°They¡¯re changing the watch now. We have to restrain them immediately and can¡¯t let the people outside hear anything. Be careful; none of these people are weak.¡±

    Yu Yanluo was also extremely intelligent. She immediately understood why he had made her change into a guard¡¯s uniform. But the hot sensationing from his hand made her expressionplicated. No one else would ever have a chance of covering her mouth, and yet he had done it. She clearly didn¡¯t feel the slightest bit of rejection toward him. Don¡¯t tell me I¡¯m already used to his touch?

    But in order to hide her embarrassment, she quickly said through ki, ¡°Leave them to me.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He clearly hadn¡¯t expected her to say that. Yu Yanluo moved his hand away with reddened lips. Then, she kicked off the ground lightly andnded in the guard room outside.

    Zu An quickly followed along, but he saw that her expression had already returned to normal. Instead, there was a mysterious, awe-inspiring sensation in the air.

    ¡°Do not look into my eyes,¡± Yu Yanluo warned him.

    Zu An was rmed. Don¡¯t tell me¡­

    The guards pushed open the door and entered. When they saw the situation inside, however, their expressions changed greatly. Some drew their des, and others prepared to sound the rm. But when they saw Yu Yanluo¡¯s eyes, all their movements stopped.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s normally beautiful eyes now carried a hint of harsh intent. Waves of yellow light flickered in her eyes. Then, the guards began to visibly petrify, turning to stone a momentter.

    Even though he had had his suspicions, Zu An still sighed inwardly when he saw it for himself.

    Yu Yanluo retracted her gaze. When she opened her eyes again, they were once again clear. When she saw Zu An¡¯splicated expression, she quickly exined, ¡°I only petrified them temporarily. They will return to normal in an hour, but they will be sick for a few days.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He asked, ¡°You can even control the power of your skill?¡±

    Yu Yanluo nodded. ¡°I still have human blood within me, after all. I do not want to kill people either.¡± However, she looked at him nervously and asked, ¡°Do you not feel disgust now that you have seen me use the Medusa¡¯s ability?¡± After all, in this world, the Medusa was synonymous with the word ¡®wicked¡¯.

    Zu An subconsciously replied, ¡°Why would I? It¡¯s pretty stimting, actually.¡±

    Yu Yanluo was stunned.

    Zu An¡¯s face heated up and he said, ¡°I¡¯m saying that I¡¯m different from other people. I don¡¯t care about what others think when I make friends with someone; I instead look at one¡¯s character. Even if they¡¯re of a different race, we can still be friends. Otherwise, if their character is vile, they¡¯ll be my enemies even if they¡¯re human.¡±

    Yu Yanluo wasn¡¯t stupid; she obviously wouldn¡¯t be fooled by his exnation. She said with a strange expression, ¡°Why do I feel as if you are only incredibly daring because of your perversion?¡±

    Zu An said with an upright expression, ¡°You¡¯re misunderstanding! I¡¯m just face blind; I can¡¯t tell what is pretty and what isn¡¯t. For example, my wife was clearly Brightmoon City¡¯s number one beauty, but I didn¡¯t stay with her just because I thought she was pretty. I just didn¡¯t know if she was pretty or not!¡±

 Chapter 1136: Wait

    <h4>Chapter 1136: Wait</h4>

    Yu Yanluo was speechless. If anyone else had said such a thing, she would definitely have spat in their face. But she couldn''t really object because Zu An was saying it. She just thought of it as Zu An hiding his embarrassment.

    She kindly changed the topic, asking, ¡°So what do we do now? Even though we have changed into these guards¡¯ uniforms and are just two people, there is no way for us to escape under everyone¡¯s prying eyes.¡±

    Zu An replied with a smile, ¡°That¡¯s not too difficult at all.¡± He summoned Daji afterward, then woke up the guards he had knocked unconscious previously.

    Yu Yanluo was shocked when she saw someone appear out of thin air. Is this some spatial summoning ability? Zu An¡¯s cultivation was already at this level?

    But her attention was quickly drawn to Daji herself. Daji¡¯s devastatingly beautiful features made even a woman like her skip a heartbeat. She thought to herself that if her future husband had a mistress like this, she might not even be able to feel any thoughts of jealousy.

    Daji was dressed in a moon-white gown, giving off an otherworldly and aloof air. But there was also a hint of seduction in her expression that seemed as if it could turn the entire world upside down.

    Previously, Yu Yanluo could never have imagined that those two entirely different temperaments could exist in the same body, and furthermore blend them in such a natural and harmonious way. It really created apletely unique kind of charm.

    Yu Yanluo had long been the publicly-proimed number one beauty of the capital. She had absolute confidence in her own appearance. And yet, when she saw the foxy yet also pure woman before her, she immediately felt a sort of danger.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The guards were already waking up one by one. When they saw the situation, they were all shocked. They were just about to fight back when Daji¡¯s eyes targeted them.

    Those eyes were just too beautiful, like the brightest stars flickering in the night sky, or the most precious gemstones in the world. If the Medusa¡¯s eyes were beautiful and dangerous, these eyes were so charming one wouldn¡¯t be able to stop themselves.

    The guards¡¯ eyes quickly grew vacant. Their wary expressions were nowhere to be seen, having been reced with a bewitched smile.

    ¡°Stand over there,¡± Zu An ordered. He and Daji were already mentally linked, so she would immediately repeat his orders.

    Sure enough, the guards obediently gathered their belongings and lined up by the entrance, looking as if they were about to get off of work.

    Yu Yanluo was stupefied. She was knowledgeable about many things and quickly reacted. ¡°Is this a kind of mind-controlling eye technique?¡±

    ¡°Indeed,¡± Zu An replied with a nod. Even though Daji¡¯s fighting ability wasn¡¯t great, her mind-controlling ability was way too useful.

    The higher her cultivation became, the more people she could control. He had to level her up as quickly as possible. Daji was already at the peak of the sixth rank; he had already prepared most of the other breakthrough materials, and onlycked two things.

    He had entrusted the Hub of Freedom to help him look for the Blue Earthflower. A few days prior, Tang Tian¡¯er had told him that they already gained some idea of its whereabouts and would likely be able to obtain them very soon.

    The remaining item was the Wuyang Jade. He had initially wanted Yu Yanluo to help him look for it, but she was in trouble herself, so it didn¡¯t seem as if he¡¯d be able to get his hands on it anytime soon.

    Yu Yanluo was even more shocked when she received his confirmation. She asked, ¡°Is this woman also a fiend race individual?¡±

    Eye techniques were innate skills of the fiend races. Different races had different eye techniques. The eyes were the human race¡¯s weakest part; it would be difficult for humans to produce any powerful eye techniques on their own.

    Daji didn¡¯t reply to her and instead only calmly stared at Zu An, as if she would only follow him blindly.

    Zu An thought for a bit, then replied, ¡°I guess she could be considered a fiend race individual, to a certain degree.¡±

    Daji wasn¡¯t a creature of this world, but her original form was a nine-tailed fox. Using this world¡¯s ssification, she was indeed part of the fiend races.

    ¡°May I ask what thedy¡¯s esteemed surname is? What race do you belong to?¡± Yu Yanluo asked. She immediately felt a sense of intimacy when she heard that Daji was a fiend race individual. But Daji still ignored her no matter how enthusiastic she was.

    Yu Yanluo didn¡¯t get angry, because she sensed that the way Daji looked at Zu An was extremely strange. It didn¡¯t seem like ordinary friendship, but rather a far more intimate attachment, to the point that it resembled the look of a servant toward a master.

    Seeing her confusion, Zu An replied, ¡°She¡¯s named Daji; you could say she¡¯s my maid. She¡¯s quite introverted and doesn¡¯t like to speak, so please don¡¯t mind it too much.¡±

    The stunning empress of an entire generation had been called an introverted and quiet young maid? Zu An could clearly sense the discontent in her eyes. But what else was he supposed to say? That she was mute?

    ¡°A maid¡­¡± Yu Yanluo immediately felt a huge mental blow. A gorgeous beauty like this, whose appearance wasn¡¯t inferior to hers at all, was actually just a maid? Furthermore, it didn¡¯t look as if she were being forced to do anything either. Instead, it was as if Zu An being her master were something dictated by heaven¡¯sw.

    If such a woman showed herself in public, just how many kings and princes would kneel down and propose marriage to her? How many young heroes would bend their backs for her sake? Yet she was just fine being Zu An¡¯s maid!

    Just what kind of charm does this man have?

    While she was feeling shocked, she suddenly remembered how he had said that he was face blind, and that he didn¡¯t care about how pretty a girl was at all. Back then, she had thought that he was just being shameless.

    But now that she had seen Daji, she was suddenly somewhat convinced. If he even had such a beautiful woman as a maid, how could he be someone who would act rashly because of beauty?

    Sigh, I have reallymitted an offense¡­ I have been wondering if he has only been so nice to me because I am pretty. I have really been evaluating a true gentleman¡¯s behavior as the attitude of a lowly person¡­

    He is the first one who does not care about my appearance. It looks as if it really was because our souls werepatible that we became such good friends.

    Ah Zu really is a wonderful man!

    She had always felt burdened by her beautiful appearance, thinking that if she were a bit more ordinary, her life would be a bit easier. But now, for the first time, she became worried that she wasn¡¯t pretty enough. Ah Zu was face blind, so she was probably no different from other girls in his eyes. What did she have to do to make herself stand outpared to others in his eyes?

    ¡°Put this on. We need to be careful not to be recognizedter,¡± Zu An said as he put on a face mask and gave Yu Yanluo one too.

    When she received the thin mask, Yu Yanluo obviously knew what kind of item it was, as well as how precious it was. Butpared to the shocking things that had just happened, something rare and precious like it instead became ordinary.

    The two of them quickly merged into the group and headed toward the outside of the manor. There were guards patrolling everywhere. There were many hidden guards that the two only noticed after passing by them. Zu An and Yu Yanluo were incredibly shocked. Xu Yu really did go all out here¡­ The security here is greater than in most areas in the Imperial Pce!

    After all, the Imperial Pce was sorge; there was no way every inch of it would be guarded 24/7. But the manor had managed to aplish that. There wasn¡¯t a single corner that was neglected! Not even a fly could sneak in.

    Yu Yanluo sighed in amazement. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that Zu An was just too incredible, the two of them might already be fighting a bitter battle at that moment.

    Since it was around the time the guards usually switched shifts, they didn¡¯t notice anything out of the ordinary. Those who were close by even greeted Zu An¡¯s group. The guards under Daji¡¯s control replied stiffly. Zu An and Yu Yanluo lowered their heads, hiding within the group.

    On several asions, they were almost exposed. Some guards couldn''t help but turn around to look at Yu Yanluo¡¯s bottom. They couldn''t help but feel that the guard¡¯s rear was somewhat seductive, that they almost wanted to take him into their arms¡­

    They jumped in fright as soon as that thought emerged. They were scared that they might be starting to swing that way, so none of them dared to say anything. That was how Zu An and Yu Yanluo got away.

    Zu An started to rx a bit when he saw the gate grow closer and closer. He said through ki, ¡°You really are way too charming! You¡¯ve made so many people turn around even while crossdressing.¡±

    Yu Yanluo harrumphed and said, ¡°What a pity that someone is face blind, unable to tell whether I am even pretty or not.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He hadn¡¯t expected those words toe back and bite him.

    When they left through the exit, the two of them sighed in relief. But just then, a mounted troop came over, calling out, ¡°Wait!¡±

 Chapter 1137: On the Verge of Being Exposed

    <h4>Chapter 1137: On the Verge of Being Exposed</h4>

    Zu An was rmed, because he could tell it was Sang Hong¡¯s voice. Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression changed. A failure at the final juncture really would be hard to swallow.

    But both of them knew what Sang Hong was thinking. They worried that he might notice something, so they both lowered their heads.

    Sang Hong quickly led a group of men over and asked, ¡°How is Madam Yu doing?¡± Zu An had entrusted her to his care, so he obviously didn¡¯t want anything to happen to Yu Yanluo.

    ¡°Everything is fine,¡± the guard leader replied. He was still brainwashed by Daji and had forgotten everything that had just happened. For him, he had just finished work as usual.

    Yu Yanluo was full of admiration. That mysterious woman really was formidable! Even though her own eye technique possessed devastating power, there were many situations where it wasn¡¯t as useful as Daji¡¯s skill.

    Sang Hong nodded. He then turned around and headed toward his courtyard. Zu An and Yu Yanluo sighed in relief, thinking they had managed to get through.

    But Sang Hong suddenly stopped after taking a single step. He turned around and shouted, ¡°Wait! The two of you in the middle, raise your heads. Why have I not seen either of you before?¡±

    Zu An cursed inwardly. He really hadn¡¯t expected Sang Hong¡¯s thoughts to be so meticulous, to the point that he even remembered the appearance of every single guard. Sigh, if I knew it was going to be like this, I wouldn¡¯t have asked him to look after Yu Yanluo.

    ¡°We¡¯re new¡­¡± Zu An said. However, he knew such an exnation wouldn¡¯t work against Sang Hong. He tugged on Yu Yanluo¡¯s arm, preparing to run.

    ¡°Arrest them!¡± Sang Hongmanded. He had always been a cautious person. He signaled for his men to get ready as soon as he spoke.

    The guards fired several crossbows at the two as soon as they charged outward. The military crossbows the academy had created could pierce through the fiend races¡¯ leather armor, and they could even prate the elemental barriers of cultivators. They were normally only supplied to the most elite troops in the army. Zu An hadn¡¯t expected Xu Yu to invest so much into this matter, having actually transferred over so many military crossbows.

    Zu An brandished the de at his waist, deflecting all the arrows. Even with his current cultivation, his fingers were a bit sore afterward. It was easy to imagine just how shocking the crossbows were.

    At that instant, Sang Hong quickly arrived in front of the two of them, blocking their path. The guards behind him also drew their des.

    The defensive perimeter Xu Yu had created immediately moved. rms rang out inside the manor. A chaotic array of sounds quickly spread throughout the entire Cloudcenter City.

    At the same time, fireworks flew up from the highest point of the manor as a form of insurance. It warned all those nearby, summoning any avable forces near and far for assistance.

    ¡­

    South of the city, themoners who walked past White Cloud Lake nced toward a gazebo by theke from time to time. Inside was an incredible beauty; her ck silk-covered legs were especially striking. Many people even thought that if they were stepped on by those legs, it would definitely feel amazing¡­

    But they could only think about it. There were some perverts who had such ambitions, but they were all tossed into theke by the foul-smelling drunkard with the beauty. In such a cold ce, being tossed into the river would leave one half-dead.

    Sigh, why would that beauty with those incredible long legs end up favoring a sloppy drunkard like that?

    Many people sighed in pity. Why did pretty women all seem to be blind?

    Xiao Yao had an ugly expression on his face. He remarked, ¡°These fes¡¯ mouths are too vulgar. I¡¯m going to go and teach them a lesson.¡±

    Across from him, Jiang Luofu stopped him with a smile. She said, ¡°Even I¡¯m not upset by their curses, so why is senior brother getting angry?¡±

    Xiao Yao harrumphed in annoyance, his expression unhappy. However, Jiang Luofu continued, ¡°So? What do you think about paying your respects to teacher again and bing his disciple?¡±

    Xiao Yao fell silent. A whileter, he said, ¡°I hold the utmost respect for teacher, and I also miss those days I spent in the academy. However, there are still things I have to do. If I return now and be an academy disciple again, it might instead make those things more difficult to do.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Furthermore, my actions might easily implicate the academy and teacher. That¡¯s why I think I should stay like this for now. The world can continue to think that the past Xiao Yao has already died.¡±

    Jiang Luofu sighed and replied, ¡°Senior brother, aren¡¯t you looking down on teacher too much? With his cultivation and status, why would he be scared of being implicated by you?¡±

    Xiao Yao said seriously, ¡°Of course teacher isn¡¯t scared, but as a disciple, I¡¯ve already been unworthy. I cannot bring more trouble to him.¡±

    Jiang Luofu was about to continue persuading him when the faint ringing of bells echoed in the distance.

    Xiao Yao¡¯s expression changed. He said, ¡°Damn, something has happened over there.¡± As soon as he spoke, the sword at his waist flew outward. He stood on the sword and took flight, vanishing into the distance as a ck speck.

    ¡°Hey!¡± Jiang Luofu reached out her hand, but lowered it in the end. She muttered to herself, ¡°I wanted to buy him some more time, but who would¡¯ve thought that senior brother would be that fast? Ah Zu, did you seed or not?¡±

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Xu Yu had been secretly following the Duke Manor¡¯s carriage, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper. The carriage had stopped several times, acting extremely secretively. He had secretly continued his investigation, but he hadn¡¯t found anything. Eventually, he had even begun to think that the other party was just bringing his concubines on a leisure trip.

    Suddenly, he sensed something. He turned around and looked toward Cloudcenter City, seeing fireworks rising into the sky. His expression quickly changed greatly. He cursed, ¡°F*cking hell! They were just luring me away¡±

    He turned his horse around and sped back toward Cloudcenter City. After what had just happened, he couldn''t be bothered with Jian Yanyou¡¯s carriage anymore.

    Because he had followed the carriage the entire time, it had created a blind spot in his thinking. He had believed that there was no way Jian Yanyou could have left under his watch. Instead, he had been worried that if he tried to inquire about it, he would be held up by Jian Yanyou.

    inside the carriage ahead, Liu Ji and Chu Ji sensed the activity from the city. They were both worried, and inadvertently both spoke at the same time.

    ¡°I wonder if the duke (he) seeded.¡±

    The two girls were stunned when they heard each others¡¯ voices. They both sensed the concern in the other¡¯s voice, but they knew that person wasn¡¯t the duke. They both felt awkward when they realized that.

    ¡­

    Zu An was in the middle of a chaotic battle. He obviously knew that if he was surrounded and kept in one spot, more and more powerful cultivators would show up. Eventually, he and Yu Yanluo would be crushed.

    The worst part was that if his identity was exposed, the consequences would be tremendous. That was a situation he couldn¡¯t afford to let happen. As such, when he saw Sang Hong stand in his way, he didn¡¯t dare to continue fighting. He sent the other party flying with a palm strike. Then, he took Yu Yanluo and quickly disappeared beyond the walls.

    Sang Hong crawled back up in a sorry state. He felt several energies running amok within him. He almost couldn''t stand still and was forced to quickly readjust his internal ki. He was horrified. That person¡¯s cultivation was actually so terrifying?

    But his expression quickly turned strange, because he keenly sensed that the other party had had a chance to injure him seriously, and yet he had used a kind of gentle force, as if he had been scared of harming him.

    That person had the motive to save Yu Yanluo, his cultivation was high, and he didn''t want to hurt me¡­ Sang Hong was rmed, thinking, Don¡¯t tell me that was Ah Zu?

    The other guards had already surrounded him, asking, ¡°Sir Sang, are you okay?¡±

    ¡°I am fine. Help me examine Madam Yu¡¯s situation first. Everyone else, continue chasing after those two who escaped,¡± Sang Hong said. He thought to himself, I can only secretly help him like this. I can¡¯t just tell them to stop chasing the intruders, right?

    He quickly entered the courtyard. He saw guards lying everywhere on the ground, and sure enough, Yu Yanluo was nowhere to be seen. He was extremely worried. A single mistake and Ah Zu would bepletely done for!

    With a loud sonic boom, Xiao Yao appeared in the room and asked, ¡°What happened?¡±

    ¡°Someone broke Madam Yu out.¡± Sang Hong harrumphed. ¡°Sir Xiao, why were you not in the manor at such a crucial time?¡± He knew how great Xiao Yao¡¯s cultivation was. He was worried for Zu An¡¯s safety and did his best to stall the man.

    Xiao Yao¡¯s expression changed. Jiang Luofu appeared in his mind, and she had just happened to pick this day to chat with him¡­ But she was his junior sister, and she wasn¡¯t a Medusa like Yu Yanluo. He obviously didn¡¯t want to involve her. He eximed, ¡°Where did that bastard go?!¡±

    Sang Hong wanted to stop him, but someone quickly pointed in the direction Zu An had left in. Xiao Yao¡¯s figure flickered, and he instantly flew out again on his sword.

    Sang Hong¡¯s brows furrowed deeply. He hadn¡¯t been able to stall Xiao Yao at all. After thinking about it, he quickly followed along.

    Xu Yu also returned alone soon afterward. He couldn''t be bothered to gather all of his forces first, instead using his movement technique to travel faster. He quickly ordered various troops to intercept the two who had fled. At the same time, he asked the people at the manor about the situation regarding Yu Yanluo¡¯s rescue.

    He was inplete disbelief when he heard about what had happened. The well fortified defensive line he had created had actually silently been broken through?

    Just who in all of Cloudcenter City had such ability? He suddenly thought of someone.

    ¡°Follow me!¡± he called out, then gathered his subordinates and rushed toward the temporary residence.

 Chapter 1138: To Hide

    <h4>Chapter 1138: To Hide</h4>

    Xu Yu quickly brought a group of people to the temporary residence. Pei You¡¯s Armed Escort troop stopped them, asking, ¡°Excuse me, what is Sir Xu trying to do?¡±

    The other party had a vicious expression on his face, and he hade with so many subordinates. He clearly hadn¡¯te with good intentions.

    Xu Yu asked indifferently, ¡°Where is Sir Zu?¡±

    Pei You frowned. He didn¡¯t like Xu Yu¡¯s overbearing appearance, but the other party had the Imperial Edict in hand, and he was pretty much the person with the most authority in Cloudcenter Commandery at that point, so Pei You didn¡¯t want to offend him. He could only reply, ¡°Sir Zu was injured a few days ago, so he is resting inside.¡±

    ¡°Bring me to meet him then.¡± Xu Yu pressed forward as he spoke.

    Pei You panicked and eximed, ¡°Ah, Sir Xu! Sir Zu is seriously injured and recovering in seclusion. He warned us to not let anyone disturb him, or else his cultivation might deviate!¡±

    ¡°He is recovering in seclusion?¡± Xu Yu sneered. ¡°He even participated in the meeting a few days ago, looking as lively as could be. I really couldn''t tell that he needed rest.¡±

    Pei You exined, ¡°Sir Zu ended up overexerting himself then, causing his wounds from when he fought against Jian Taiding to worsen. He had no choice but to enter seclusion again.¡±

    His excuse was reasonable, but Xu Yu obviously wouldn¡¯t believe it. He replied, ¡°Oh? That means I have some responsibility for Sir Zu¡¯s injuries too, so there¡¯s even more of a need for me to visit him.¡±

    Pei You wasn¡¯t stupid. Even though he didn¡¯t know why, he could sense that Xu Yu wasn¡¯t there with good intentions. He worried that Zu An¡¯s recovery would really be disturbed and quickly tried to think of ways to stop Xu Yu. Unfortunately, Xu Yu¡¯s ranking was higher than his, and his cultivation was greater too. He even had the Imperial Edict in hand, so Pei You couldn''t stop him even if he wanted to.

    As they got closer and closer to Zu An¡¯s room, Pei You finally couldn''t take it anymore and braced himself. He stood in front of the door and said, ¡°Sir Xu is a cultivator as well; you should understand what kind of consequences there are when you disturb someone¡¯s seclusion. I hope that Sir Xu won¡¯t force us to do things we don¡¯t want to do.¡±

    Xu Yu replied with a chuckle, ¡°Of course I do. I don¡¯t wish for anyone to be disturbed in this matter either. However, something just happened by the prison and someone broke Yu Yanluo out. We still have no idea who it was. I heard Sir Zu An¡¯s investigative abilities were incredible, so I came to ask for some guidance.¡±

    ¡°Someone broke out Madam Yu?¡± Pei You replied, sounding incredibly shocked. He had noticed the disturbance taking ce in the distance too, with tolling bells and fireworks everywhere. He had thought that there might have been an attack, but he never would have expected the intruder to have really seeded! After all, the security over there was basically an inescapable! Just who had the ability to rescue her?

    Madam Yu really was devastatingly beautiful. The instant Pei You learned that she had escaped, he didn¡¯t know whether to feel happy or disappointed.

    Xu Yu said, ¡°I understand that you¡¯re scared that I might be disturbing Sir Zu. How about this? I¡¯ll just exchange some words with him through this door, and I¡¯ll leave after I ask for his opinion. Is that okay?¡±

    ¡°Um¡­¡± Pei You hesitated. He didn¡¯t know if Zu An had gone to save Yu Yanluo either. The other party was here to catch him in the act. But seeing as Xu Yu¡¯s suggestion was reasonable, Pei You didn¡¯t know how to refuse either.

    Seeing that Pei You¡¯s attitude was no longer as resolute, Xu Yu sneered. Then, he prepared to holler from outside.

    Just then, however, a voice interrupted him. ¡°What is Sir Xu trying to do here?¡± It was Sang Hong, having suddenly arrived with a group of people.

    Xu Yu was stunned. He then repeated his exnation again.

    Sang Hong was obviously not so easily fooled. He replied with a smile, ¡°Sir Xu came at such a great time. I just chatted with Sir Zu not too long ago. He cannot take any visitors right now because of his injuries, so I fear that he will not be able to hear your voice outside. If you enter and disturb him, it will easily cause his cultivation to deviate.¡±

    ¡°You chatted with Sir Zu just now?¡± Xu Yu¡¯s voice rose when he heard that. His expression was full of suspicion.

    ¡°Indeed. Didn¡¯t something happen where Madam Yu was being held? My first thought was the same as Sir Xu¡¯s; I went to ask for Sir Zu¡¯s opinion.¡± Sang Hong seemed to be recalling what had happened. ¡°But before I was able to ask him about it, he mentioned that his injuries had worsened and he needed to rest. He entrusted me with the task of allowing no one to disturb him. Out of concern that he might be distracted, I did not tell him about the matter of Madam Yu being broken out.¡±

    Xu Yu¡¯s expression darkened. He asked, ¡°Sir Sang, do you know what your words represent right now?¡±

    Sang Hong replied, sounding shocked, ¡°What is Sir Xu trying to say? Could it be that you are doubting the words of this humble official?¡±

    Xu Yu and Sang Hong exchanged a look. Then, a smile appeared on Xu Yu¡¯s serious face and he said, ¡°Haha, Sir Sang must be joking. You are an honorable Imperial Envoy; how could you publicly say false things to shelter others? After all, if that were the case, you would be in deep trouble too.¡±

    Sang Hong remained unfazed, replying, ¡°What is Sir Xu saying? I do not understand.¡±

    Even Pei You could sense that something wasn¡¯t right. He secretly moved his hand to his de handle. At the same time, he gave the Armed Escort some nces, telling them to get ready. They were all members of the Imperial Envoy, so they would obviously stand on Sang Hong¡¯s side.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Xu Yu also sensed their movements. He said with a smile, ¡°Forget it. It is a pity that I cannot speak with Sir Zu, so I will go and chase after the criminal now.¡±

    Sang Hong said with a fake smile, ¡°Seeing that Sir Xu is here right now, I thought that you had already captured the criminal. It turns out you have not yet done so.¡±

    Both sides had attacked each other from various angles, cursing each other for being old foxes.

    When Xu Yu left the temporary residence, Sang Hong¡¯s smile immediately vanished. He ordered his subordinates, ¡°Watch the surroundings and record every single person who enters and leaves. Pay attention to Zu An in particr. If anything happens, issue me a report immediately!¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± His trusted aides understood what he meant. They quickly left to convey hismands.

    ¡­

    Xu Yu asked his subordinates, ¡°Has Sect Master Yan left Cloudcenter City yet?¡±

    ¡°She has not. She is currently in a cold and cheerless monastery,¡± a subordinate said.

    ¡°Alright. Come with me to ask for Sect Master Yan¡¯s help,¡± Xu Yu said seriously.

    ¡°Hero Xiao has already chased after the intruders. Could it be that sir is worried that Hero Xiao isn¡¯t enough?¡± a trusted aide asked.

    Xu Yu looked worried as he replied, ¡°Judging from the description given by the manor¡¯s people, that person¡¯s cultivation is deep and profound. If Yu Yanluo and the Snake race¡¯s other experts get involved, Xiao Yao alone might not be enough.¡± As he spoke, he mounted a horse, heading toward the monastery Yan Xuehen was staying at.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An and Yu Yanluo borrowed the city walls and other obstacles to quickly shake off the pursuers. He intended to bring Yu Yanluo to the Duke Manor to hide her there for a while, but an iparably sharp wave of sword ki rushed in their direction.

    ¡°Xiao Yao!¡± Zu An eximed. He had faced him before. The other party¡¯s distinctive traits were too clear and easy to recognize.

    ¡°You should leave the city first, or else it might affect your identity as ¡®Jian Yanyou¡¯,¡± Yu Yanluo suggested. With the speed at which Xiao Yao wasing after them, they might be caught the moment their toes touched the Duke Manor¡¯s gates.

    They could borrow physical structures to throw off ordinary soldiers, but it was different if a master rank targeted them. Even though they were still far away and the attack¡¯s precision wasn¡¯t the greatest, it had still urately tracked their general location.

    If the story of Jian Yanyou¡¯s return they had crafted with such difficulty were exposed here, the consequences would be too severe. Zu An knew how important it was. He didn¡¯t hesitate at all and took Yu Yanluo in another direction.

    As she saw the buildings and trees rush past them, Yu Yanluo was amazed. He is way too fast, not slower than a master rank at all! But there should be no way he could be this fast at his current level¡­

    A whileter, she slowly realized something. It wasn¡¯t that Zu An had always been so fast; many times, he had used instantaneous movement skills before slowing down for a while. However, he would then quickly follow up with another instantaneous movement. She had seen him fight a few times before, and knew that his movement technique was special. She thought to herself that even if she exerted herself with everything she had, she still wouldn¡¯t even be close to his speed.

    Even so, the two couldn''tpletely shake off Xiao Yao. No matter how they changed directions, he continued to remain on their tail.

    Yu Yanluo frowned and remarked, ¡°Is this drunkard tired of living? If the two of us join hands, there will be no chance for him to survive if we stake it all.¡±

    She had had too many misgivings before because she didn¡¯t want to expose her identity. But if she really were forced to that point, just her alone, using the Medusa¡¯s eyes at full power, was something even Xiao Yao might not be able to deal with; let alone in the current situation where she had Zu An¡¯s help.

    She was still a n leader, after all, and she had the Medusa¡¯s blood within her. She was full of vexation from being locked up for so long. Now, she was being chased relentlessly, leaving her incredibly annoyed.

    Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°Xiao Yao¡¯s character is still worthy of respect. Unless absolutely necessary, I don¡¯t wish to fight against him. Besides, he¡¯s the libationer¡¯s disciple. For better or for worse, offending the academy and the libationer isn¡¯t a wise choice. Furthermore, his sword skills are brilliant, and I don¡¯t have any way to take him down quickly. If the army from the city arrives, we¡¯ll be in a difficult spot.¡±

    Apart from that, because of Xiao Yao¡¯s rtionship with Manman¡¯s mother, as well as how he had secretly protected Manman for so many years, there was no way Zu An would ever choose to kill him.

    ¡°Then what do we do?¡± Yu Yanluo asked, slowly calming down.

    Zu An suddenly noticed a splendid building in the distance: Jasper Lane. He thought of something, saying, ¡°I have an idea!¡±

    His figure appeared to split into many that headed in different directions at the same time. He jumped off the eaves, then took out two sets of clothes to cover both of them. Then, he snuck into Jasper Lane.

 Chapter 1139: Teamwork

    <h4>Chapter 1139: Teamwork</h4>

    Whenever Zu An had used the Sunflower Phantasm before, even though his clones had the same aura as the original, those at the master rank and above didn¡¯t look only with their eyes, but rather sensed everything with their souls. That made it difficult to fool them with such tricks.

    But now, Zu An¡¯s soul had been condensed. He could send a strand of his soul into the clones too. That way, it would be very difficult for even master rank cultivators to notice any differences. Furthermore, there had been some distance between Xiao Yao and himself so far anyway, further limiting Xiao Yao¡¯s senses.

    As soon as Xiao Yao reached the spot where Zu An had vanished, he sensed the other party¡¯s aura in several different directions. He frowned. He didn¡¯t rush off blindly in one direction, but instead quietly sensed the differences in each direction.

    Soon afterward, a smile appeared on his face. He muttered, ¡°Hmph, you have some skills. If it were just you alone, I really might have been fooled, but you still have Yu Yanluo with you!¡±

    Zu An could change his own aura to be the same, but there was no way he could do the same so seamlessly for Yu Yanluo. As one of the most brilliant swordsmen of the past, someone even the libationer had praised, how could Xiao Yao be someone that easy to fool? He quickly jumped down from the eaves and walked straight toward Jasper Lane.

    ¡°Oh my, has this mastere to y?¡± the brothel keeper asked. It was already evening, when Jasper Lane¡¯s business was at its best. The keeper stood by the entrance, trying to attract guests with all types of gorgeously dressed women.

    As soon as she saw Xiao Yao, she had subconsciously moved closer to entice him. But when she sensed the strong smell of alcohol and saw his sloppy appearance, clearly not that of someone with money, she immediately lost interest and said, ¡°Go, go away. Where did this drunkarde from?¡±

    Xiao Yao asked indifferently, ¡°Did anyone enter just now while dressed in guard uniforms?¡± ording to earlier intelligence, the two had been impersonating guards when they fled.

    The keeper rolled her eyes and replied, ¡°If you¡¯re going to beg, go somewhere else. Stop disturbing our business.¡±

    Xiao Yao¡¯s reply was direct; the longsword at his waist shot out and pressed against her neck. He said, ¡°I don¡¯t want to have to ask you again.¡± He didn¡¯t need his longsword to defeat a trifling ordinary person. Just a bit of pressure from his master rank cultivation was already enough.

    The keeper quickly pleaded, ¡°Great warrior, please spare my life! I didn¡¯t see any guards go in! Who would dare toe here in their uniforms? That wouldn¡¯t do them any favors! They alle here dressed casually!¡±

    Xiao Yao frowned. He figured that made sense, so he changed his tone. He asked, ¡°Which guests entered in thest fifteen minutes or so? Bring me over to see them.¡±

    ¡°Absolutely no problem at all. Great warrior, can you move your sword a bit? You might cut this poor girl¡¯s neck if you¡¯re not careful.¡± The keeper carefully walked forward.

    Xiao Yao harrumphed, and his longsword returned to his waist. It wasn¡¯t his style to threaten ordinary people, anyway. Since she was willing to cooperate, there was no reason to trouble her further.

    ¡°There are eight guests who have just arrived,¡± the keeper exined with an apologetic smile. In this line of work, recognizing people and a strong memory were essential, or else one wouldn¡¯t even recognize familiar guests. That would result in easily offending people.

    ¡°How many people came in as a pair?¡± Xiao Yao asked as he looked around. The cosmetics and perfumes made him frown. Comparatively speaking, he liked the smell of alcohol more.

    ¡°Great warrior, almost all of those whoe here are withpanions. Few peoplee alone,¡± the keeper hurriedly exined.

    ¡°Then bring me to every single room,¡± Xiao Yao said. He sent his ki into his surroundings while he spoke. Unfortunately, there were just too many people. The ce was too chaotic. Furthermore, there was a lot of obscene music in the background that interfered with his spiritual senses to some degree. He could vaguely sense that the two he was pursuing were nearby, but he couldn''t tell exactly where.

    ¡°Yes, yes, yes.¡± The keeper didn¡¯t dare to refuse and quickly called over her colleagues, asking them where those people had gone. She was usually outside attracting customers, so there was no way she would know which guests had sought out which girl.

    She quickly brought Xiao Yao to the rooms one after another. Screams of rm and curses quickly followed. Xiao Yao¡¯s eyes twitched, as the scenes he saw really were a bit offensive to the eyes. He didn¡¯t find his target even after searching the rooms one after another, however.

    Soon enough, there was only one room left. His hand was already resting on his hilt, and he was ready to attack at a moment¡¯s notice. But when he saw the scene inside, he was still stunned.

    The woman on the bed was lying down, while the man behind her was grabbing her hair and plowing away. Even though both of them were covered by a nket, he could vaguely see her fair, snow white shoulders. And judging from the clothes that had been tossed all over the ce and the red underwear, it was clear that neither of them were wearing anything.

    The woman screamed when she saw Xiao Yao. She grabbed the obscene piece of clothing next to her and covered her face. However, the man was so scared he trembled all over. He turned around and cursed, ¡°What the hell are you all doing? Get the f*ck out!¡±

    XIao Yao turned around expressionlessly. Even though the woman¡¯s movement had been quick, he had still seen what she looked like in that instant. It wasn¡¯t Yu Yanluo. The most important part was that he didn¡¯t think Yu Yanluo would take off all of her clothes and do that kind of thing beneath another man.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Don¡¯t tell me the two of them have already left this ce? Xiao Yao thought as his brows locked together. He quickly leapt on his sword and searched in another direction.

    ¡°Master, please take your time and enjoy yourself. We apologize for disturbing you. The alcohol will be on the house today; we hope that can help you calm down.¡± The brothel keeper gave the people inside an apologetic smile, then closed the door considerately behind her.

    But she was a bit confused, thinking, Is this a new girl? Why does she look a bit unfamiliar? But Jasper Lane was quite big, with new girlsing in every day. She didn¡¯t know every single one of them.

    When the others left, the room entered a strange state of silence.

    The man jumped out from under the covers. What was strange was that even though his upper body was naked, he was wearing pants. He said apologetically toward the woman, ¡°Sorry, I¡¯ve offended you.¡±

    The woman also removed the covers. Her upper body was wrapped in tight cloth, which was why she had only revealed her shoulders to give off the illusion that she was naked. She said, ¡°It¡¯s fine. We managed to fool Xiao Yao without even having to fight. This was the simplest and most efficient choice.¡± She calmly put on her clothes. However, the faint rednessing from her skin showed that she definitely wasn¡¯t as calm as she sounded.

    The two were obviously Zu An and Yu Yanluo. Zu An had known that there was no way he could fool Xiao Yao with just the clones, and had thuse up with a n to buy him a bit of time. Once he entered Jasper Lane, he had taken out two sets of clothing from the Brilliant ss Bead, and he had even changed their masks. That was why they had been able to fool Xiao Yao.

    To hide her embarrassment, Yu Yanluo said, ¡°It was thanks to your quick wit, or else we really might have been in trouble.¡±

    Zu An shook his head and replied, ¡°The one I should thank is you. The reason why Xiao Yao was fooled so easily is because he didn¡¯t expect that you would allow yourself to be underneath a man.¡±

    Yu Yanluo was speechless. This guy really was poking her sore spot! But she had to admit that if it were someone else, she would rather fight to the death than use such a trick. But with Zu An, she didn¡¯t seem to reject it that much. Still, his acting had been a bit too much; she even felt a bit sore.

    ¡°What do we do now? Should we leave?¡±she asked with a frown. She felt extremely ufortable hearing the sounds of pleasureing from their neighbors.

    Zu An thought for a bit, then said, ¡°Xiao Yao should still be nearby. Without the cover of Jasper Lane¡¯s activity, we¡¯ll easily be discovered¡­ Ah, I thought of something. Follow me.¡±

    Then, he grabbed her hand and jumped through the window. Yu Yanluo looked at her own wrist, but after a bit of hesitation, she didn¡¯t struggle free. His palm was warm, giving her a mysterious sense of peace.

    Soon afterward, the two of them arrived at a dried-up well. Yu Yanluo¡¯s eyes lit up, knowing what he was nning. It was the Duke Manor¡¯s secret tunnel, so they could clearly use it to approach the Duke Manor. It would be extremely difficult for Xiao Yao to find them if they used the tunnel as cover.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in a monastery on the city outskirts, an ice-cold beauty garbed in white looked at Xu Yu emotionlessly and asked, ¡°Why do I have to help you?¡±

    Over the past few days, Xu Yu had been acting domineeringly in Cloudcenter Commandery, but he remained respectful in front of the woman. He said, ¡°Sect Master Yan, White Jade Sect and the court have always had friendly rtions. His majesty cares a lot about this case as well. It would be best if nothing happened to influence the court¡¯s opinion of the White Jade Sect.¡±

    He thought inwardly in praise that this woman wasn¡¯t inferior to Yu Yanluo at all; it was just that her presence was a bit more cold and aloof, and she wasn¡¯t as warm and approachable as Yu Yanluo. However, her cultivation was high, and she had her own pride. He wondered just what kind of man would be able to subdue her in the future.

    The white-d beauty was naturally Yan Xuehen. When she heard his words, her expression turned cold and she replied, ¡°Are you threatening me?¡±

 Chapter 1140: Alone and Dejected

    <h4>Chapter 1140: Alone and Dejected</h4>

    The biting cold pressure made Xu Yu feel like an ordinary person stuck in a raging snowstorm. He immediately replied, ¡°Sect Master Yan, please do not misunderstand! All I meant was that the court and the White Jade Sect have always mutually benefited¡­¡±

    However, even after such polite phrases, the other party was still unfazed. He could only change his strategy and say, ¡°ording to this humble official¡¯s sources, the White Jade Sect and the Jian n have partnered in a lot of businesses over thest few years.¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s eyes narrowed and she retorted, ¡°What? Are you going to investigate that? All of our businesses are proper. We have never feared the court¡¯s investigation.¡±

    ¡°They may be proper, but that does not mean they follow thews. The scale of your business far exceeds that of what the court allows¡­¡± Xu Yu began. Seeing that the other party¡¯s expression was turning unpleasant, he changed the topic again. ¡°There is no need for the sect master to be worried. Now that something has happened to Jian Taiding, as well as Madam Yu¡¯s matter, the Jian n¡¯s downfall is inevitable. Your business obligations will notst for long.

    ¡°Should things go as expected, this humble official will still be in Cloudcenter Commandery and remain in charge of political matters. I can continue to permit this business.¡±

    Yan Xuehen added coldly, ¡°Are you not scared of his majesty finding out about this?¡±

    Xu Yu cupped his hands and said, ¡°His majesty is brilliant and wise; he will naturally be able to empathize with our hardships. I do not think he will be too critical.¡±

    Yan Xuehen was feeling extremely vexed. If she acted on her usual temper, she would already have sent this old fox of an official flying with a wave of her sleeves. But she wasn¡¯t alone; she had a massive sect behind her. Cultivation required a tremendous amount of resources. Forget about cultivation resources, just the basic necessities like food, drink, and other lifestyle goods totaled up to a huge figure.

    Seeing that her expression had eased up a bit, Xu Yu quickly said, ¡°Sect Master Yan, ording to what I know, your junior brother died because of the fiend races in the great war between the humans and fiend races back then. The fiend races have already infiltrated the human world this time; this is a big deal! If Yu Yanluo is allowed to return to the fiend races, who knows how many of our secrets she will take with her, and how many innocent lives it will affect as a result?¡±

    Sure enough, Yan Xuehen was shaken when she heard that. Those from the righteous faction like her viewed the elimination of evil as their responsibility, not to mention that there really was a great blood feud between them and the fiend races.

    She finally nodded after thinking about the situation, saying, ¡°Fine, I will make an exception and personally interfere this once.¡±

    As soon as she spoke, she quickly headed out of the monastery. She seemed to be walking on thin air, disappearing into the horizon step by step.

    Xu Yu exited as well. When he saw her beautiful white-d figure disappear, he couldn''t help but say with a sigh, ¡°Just like a goddess¡­¡±

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An and Yu Yanluo had returned to Jian Yanyou¡¯s secluded room through the secret passage. The secret room had a special seal arranged around it, so they didn¡¯t have to worry about anyone else using it.

    Zu An said, ¡°Madam must have felt quite rmed these past few days. You should rest in the manor for a bit.¡±

    But to his surprise, Yu Yanluo instead shook her head and said, ¡°I cannot. Xu Yu¡¯s men are searching for me; their investigation will bring them here eventually. I cannot involve you in this too.¡±

    Zu Anughed and replied, ¡°You¡¯re treating me like an outsider here. Why would I be scared of getting involved with you?¡±

    Yu Yanluo looked at him in a daze. A blush crossed her pretty face as she said, ¡°The Yu n has already fallen. Your duke status is the only chance we have of aeback. That is why I cannot drag you into this.¡±

    Zu An figured that what she had just said made sense. The Yu n was definitely going to take a huge blow. Many of their properties might be swallowed up by greedy bullies. As long as he remained the duke, he could at least help them a bit.

    ¡°I will only be a source of danger for you if I stay here, so it would be best if I leave for now. Furthermore, I am worried about my nsmen too.¡± Yu Yanluo continued.

    ¡°Where would you go? The fiend race territories?¡± Zu An asked.

    Yu Yanluo replied, ¡°Even though I do not want to go there, the way things are, there is no other choice.¡±

    Zu An noticed that she had subconsciously wrapped her arms around herself, seeming somewhat cold. He knew she wasn¡¯t lying.

    It was winter at the moment. Cloudcenter Commandery was already so cold, let alone the fiend race territories even further north. Meanwhile, the Snake race was known to fear the cold. Yu Yanluo had to stay inside a geothermally heated room everyday, so Zu An could imagine what it would be like in the fiend race territories.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll help you leave the city. I don¡¯t think the defenses havepletely closed up yet,¡± Zu An replied, looking in the city gate¡¯s direction. There had been too many Snake race people before, so there was no way he could break them all out himself. But if it were just one person, it wasn¡¯t too difficult to break through the city defenses.

    Yu Yanluo was about to instinctively refuse, but when she looked at his face, for some reason, she didn¡¯t. She thought, Sigh, I actually don¡¯t want to be separated from him so soon¡­

    The two of them secretly left the Duke Manor. Even though the city walls¡¯ defenses were rather tight, Cloudcenter City was toorge. There was no way Xu Yu could have made its borders airtight like the residence Yu Yanluo had previously been locked up in. With their cultivations, and because Yu Yanluo¡¯s cultivation had been unsealed, they quickly found an opportunity to slip past.

    However, they sensed a sharp sword intent roaming the skies soon after they left.

    Zu An couldn''t help but curse, remarking, ¡°Does that guy not know when to stop?¡±

    Yu Yanluo said quietly, ¡°He probably lost track of us and continued to investigate around the city walls, waiting for us to walk straight into a trap. But we were quite lucky and he didn¡¯t notice us when we emerged.¡±

    Zu An was still worried. He said, ¡°We should get out of here as quickly as possible. A master rank cultivator¡¯s soul is extremely powerful. We won¡¯t be able to get away once his aura locks onto us.¡±

    ¡°Okay,¡± Yu Yanluo replied. Her cheeks turned red. The scene from Jasper Lane appeared in her mind. There was no way she would be doing that again.

    ¡­

    Yu Yanluo led Zu An all the way north. Zu An sighed when he saw the majestic mountains in the distance, asking, ¡°Are we going to the Great Snowy Mountain?¡±

    Yu Yanluo shook her head, replying, ¡°No, we are going to one of the Yu n¡¯s ore veins. There is a small path that leads to the fiend race territories inside. My nsmen should be there right now.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed. The fiend races actually had passages that led straight into the humans¡¯ territory?

    As if she had guessed what he was thinking, Yu Yanluo said, ¡°The fiend races do not know about this secret tunnel, and I have set up a special seal. WIthout the key, the entire secret passage will copse on itself if anyone tries to open it. I have human blood within me too, so I do not want to see this side of the world in chaos either.¡±

    Even though she had never admitted to it in public, there was no reason for her to hide her Medusa side when just the two of them were alone.

    Zu An also rxed a bit now that they were out of danger. He said mischievously, ¡°I¡¯m really curious what your original form is like. For example, if you drink some realgar wine[1], will you return to your normal form?¡± He nced toward her bottom when he said that, as if he were checking to see if she had a tail.

    Yu Yanluo was speechless. She replied impatiently, ¡°There is no way that could be the case. I have always had a human body. Only when I use my Medusa¡¯s Eye at full power does my hair manifest some small snakes. But ording to the Snake race¡¯s ancient texts, if my power bes stronger and my bloodline¡¯s strength gradually awakens, when I use all of my power, my legs might turn into a snake tail¡­¡±

    She became worried as she spoke, continuing, ¡°I do not want to be like that; I would feel so ugly. Would you avoid me then?¡±

    ¡°Of course not,¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°Really?¡± Yu Yanluo was a bit confused as she said, ¡°But from what I know, other humans are quite scared of such a form.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s normal people; I¡¯m different. I¡¯ve already met Zhao Ling¡¯er, Lady Bai, the Medusa Queen¡­ They¡¯re all incredibly beautiful,¡± Zu An replied, as several ssic silhouettes emerged in his mind.

    ¡°Who are Zhao Ling¡¯er and Lady Bai?¡± Yu Yanluo asked, confused. She continued, ¡°And you¡¯ve met my mother?¡± She clearly thought that the ¡®Medusa Queen¡¯ Zu An had mentioned was her mother.

    ¡°Ahem, you¡¯ve misunderstood. I wasn¡¯t talking about your mother, but rather a story from my hometown,¡± Zu An said. ¡°If you want to hear the story, I can tell you about it along the way.¡±

    ¡°Sure, I want to hear Zhao Ling¡¯er and Lady Bai¡¯s stories too,¡± Yu Yanluo replied, and her eyes flickered like gemstones.

    ¡­

    The two of them headed toward the ore veins. Zu An told her about the stories of ¡®Chinese Pdin¡¯, ¡®Legend of the White Snake¡¯, and ¡®Battle Through the Heavens¡¯.

    ¡°Zhao Ling¡¯er is just too pitiful. Is that Li Xiaoyao not just a despicable yer?¡±

    ¡°Uh, he lost his memory.¡±

    ¡°But that is not okay even if you lose your memory! And that name keeps reminding me of that stupid drunkard. I don¡¯t like him.¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°And what is with that Xu Xian? Lady Bai was so good to him, and yet he colluded with Fahai to harm her. He really is a fickle-minded and shameless person.¡±

    ¡°Um¡­ I agree with that one. But Xu Xian is just a normal person, so you can¡¯t have too high expectations of him.¡±

    ¡°Also, that Xiao Yan, is he not just taking advantage of their difficulties?¡±

    ¡°Huh? But they were a pretty good match at the tie¡­¡±

    ¡°Why is it that no matter how stunning these Snake race women are in these stories, they all end up with such despicable yboys? Is this our fate or something?¡± Yu Yanluo lowered her head as she spoke. The faint moonlight scattered down across her cheeks, making her look incredibly sad and lonely.

    When Zu An saw that the stories had actually brought her down, he quickly said in constion, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m different from them!¡±

    Yu Yanluo raised her head and looked at him in a daze. Her cheeks gradually reddened. In the stories Zu An had spoken of, the male and female leads were either married couples or had physical rtionships. Was he hinting at something?

    ¡­

    Yan Xuehen floated over Cloudcenter City. She scanned the city that was full of splendid lights with her powerful divine will.

    1. Realgar is an arsenic sulfidepound known for its toxicity, used as a repellent for snakes and insects and thus seen as an antidote against venom in traditional Chinese medicine; wine mixed with realgar is traditionally consumed during the Dragon Boat Festival. ?

 Chapter 1141: Great Danger

    <h4>Chapter 1141: Great Danger</h4>

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s pretty brows furrowed. She didn¡¯t sense Yu Yanluo¡¯s aura. She had already faced Yu Yanluo several times, and so naturally knew her aura¡¯s distinct characteristics.

    Of course, there was a chance of Cloudcenter City being too noisy. She wasn¡¯t sure if she was overlooking anything. After thinking to herself for a moment, she took out a divination circle. Then, her fingers formed a hand seal. The divination circle shone, then began to slowly spin. Then, a strand of light emerged, stretching out in multiple directions. In the end, it formed arger divination circle in the air.

    The circle quickly drew the attention of the people in the city. When they saw the floating figure in white and the sparkling radiance surrounding her, many people cried out, ¡°The descent of a goddess!¡±

    Even Xiao Yao, who was near the city walls, looked in her direction in a daze. Of course, he didn¡¯t covet her beauty like themon people and instead muttered to himself, ¡°White Jade Sect¡¯s Natural Change Art?¡±

    This White Jade Sect technique was renowned. Forget about just being able to discern good or bad luck, it could even calcte one¡¯s dao path.

    Xiao Yao could sense a wave of incredibly profound energy even from far away. He sighed in amazement. That technique had a well-deserved reputation after all. He felt a bit of inspiration toward enlightenment even from so far away.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Yan Xuehen¡¯s mood waspletely serious. The cries of rming from ordinary people and the expressions of worship from cultivators didn¡¯t affect her in the slightest.

    Her eyes followed the trail of light passing through the divination circle in midair. In the end, she looked outside the city, muttering, ¡°She is to the north?¡±

    But then, her expression changed, because the divination circle became impossible to interpret.

    ¡°A great danger?¡± Yan Xuehen eximed, confused.

    The Natural Change Art has never acted like this before. It was actually difficult to read? If it weren¡¯t for her proficiency in the skill, she might even have suspected that her calctions were wrong. She really couldn''t figure out what else in this world could threaten her. Uness the emperor Zhao Han himself descended or the Fiend Emperor came personally, how could such a thing be possible?

    After thinking for a bit, her figure vanished from midair as if she had never been present in the first ce.

    All of themon folk who had been admiring her rubbed their eyes. ¡°A daoist immortal really is holy after all¡­¡±

    Xiao Yao¡¯s brows furrowed tightly. He had already secretly locked onto Yan Xuehen¡¯s aura just then, intending to use her to show him the way and chase after the escaped Yu Yanluo. Unfortunately, it made no difference. The instant Yan Xuehen vanished, he couldn''t find a trace of her aura no matter what he tried. It was as if everything had just been an illusion.

    Xiao Yao was speechless. Looks like the distance to the grandmaster rank is further than I thought¡­

    After that experience, he no longer felt his previous desire to face her in battle.

    ¡­

    Several dozen li away, a white figure reappeared out of thin air. Yan Xuehen¡¯s white dress fluttered as she floated in midair. She spread her divine sense and began to search nearby.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Even though the divinatory art was miraculous, it still probed the mysteries of heaven. There was no way it could show an exact location. But that was already enough. With her grandmaster ability, it wouldn''t take her too long to search the entire ce anyway.

    That was especially true where she was, outside of the city in the wilderness. It wasn¡¯t as noisy, so it was much easier to find what she was looking for.

    ¡­

    Under Yu Yanluo¡¯s lead, the pair had already arrived at a canyon at the foot of Great Snowy Mountain. There were guards patrolling the canyon, and all of them were Yu n members.

    Yu Yanluo said, ¡°Farther in is the Yu n¡¯s ore vein. Let us go in secretly; I do not want to involve them.¡±

    She held iparable prestige and poprity in the Yu n. If Xu Yu¡¯s people came to interrogate themter, these people might not reveal where she is, but they would still experience a harsh trial, or even torture. Rather than that, she would rather not let any of them know anything to begin with.

    Zu An chuckled and remarked, ¡°Everyone else only knows the Medusa¡¯s cruelty, they don¡¯t know just how kindhearted you are.¡±

    ¡°My mother wasn¡¯t evil either. Even though I didn¡¯t spend much time with her, I still have a bit of an impression,¡± Yu Yanluo said, somewhat unhappy about the Medusa¡¯s reputation.

    ¡°Every race has good and bad people,¡± Zu An said with a nod. ¡°It was probably because of the Medusa''s eyes that could petrify all who saw her that made everyone so scared of her. That was why they created such a terrifying image of her.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing that can be done about that,¡± Yu Yanluo said. She had already lived in human society for so long, she obviously knew just how deeply ingrained into people¡¯s bones that thought was. Changing something like that was really difficult.

    She felt a deep sense of powerlessness when she thought of that. She turned around and gave Cloudcenter Commandery a look, and there was a great sense of reluctance in her expression.

    Zu An guessed what she was thinking and tried to console her, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll definitely find a way to bring you back.¡±

    Yu Yanluo smiled and replied, ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Since she had always had a worried frown the entire time, her sudden smile created a powerful visual sh. Even Zu An, who had already seen his fair share of beauties, was still stunned. He said, ¡°You were able to be the most beautiful in the human world. Now, you might stun all of the fiend races with your beauty, bing the first to achieve both.¡±

    Yu Yanluo hit him lightly with her fists,ining, ¡°Come on, do you know what kind of situation we are in? And yet you are still teasing me¡­¡±

    The two chatted happily as they entered deeper. The outside world was bitterly cold, and the ce was far out and remote. It waste at night as well. Even though there were guards, there was no way the security would be particrly rigid.

    With their cultivation, sneaking in wasn¡¯t too difficult. The two of them headed inside. Zu An noticed many wooden houses off to the sides, and he could see that there were fires going on inside. The fragrance of food also wafted through the air.

    ¡°There¡¯s a vige here?¡± he asked curiously.

    Yu Yanluo exined, ¡°Mining ore not only requires the miner, but also arge number of people to work on the logistics. This is also a ce where all kinds of goods are collected for distribution. At first, people built some temporary homes, butter on, the Yu n built several houses here. The people who live here are the miners and various other workers.¡±

    Zu An looked all around him. He saw that there were giant wooden arms everywhere, simr to the cranes found in construction sites in his previous world.

    ¡°These are all things researched by the academy. They can lift some things from a lower position to a higher one. They are really useful,¡± Yu Yanluo exined, sounding quite proud of her n¡¯s industry.

    Zu An said with a sigh, ¡°The academy¡¯s research is much more helpful for themon folk than what cultivators have done for them.¡±

    ¡­

    They continued inside. Zu An suddenly noticed two familiar strips of metal. There were even some carts on them, and he could vaguely make out some ores on the carts.

    Yu Yanluo exined, ¡°The Yu n¡¯s ore veins do not only produce ki stones; most of the mining is for ordinary mineral resources like iron and copper.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not what I was surprised about. You actually have rail tracks?¡± Zu An asked, having been paying attention to something else. He pointed at the two strips on the ground.

    ¡°That was something a miner came up with in the past to help the miners transport goods. We discovered that they were extremely useful, so we spread them throughout the mines,¡± Yu Yanluo replied.

    ¡°Where is that miner now?¡± Zu An asked curiously. Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s a transmigrator too?

    ¡°He seemed to have lost his lifeter on in a mining ident.¡± Yu Yanluo grew a bit emotional. ¡°No matter how many security measures one puts into ce, mining disasters still happen from time to time. That is why these ores are excavated through the blood and sweat of these miners. Unfortunately, those bigwigs in the court do not care about such things at all.¡±

    Zu An fell silent. It wasn¡¯t just in this world; that was the case no matter which world he thought of. It was just a pity that the miner who hade up with the rails had passed away. If he hadn¡¯t, he might havee up with even more useful things. If he had been a transmigrator too, that was an even more unfortunate thing.

    ¡­

    They continued, but after a while, they both stopped. Zu An was speechless when he saw a massive pit before them, eximing, ¡°This is the Yu n¡¯s mine?¡±

    The pit was several thousand meters wide. A pathway wound down it oneyer after another. It was easy to imagine just how great the scale of such an engineering project was. It was also pitch-ck; even with Zu An¡¯s sight, he couldn''t see what was inside at all. It was like the mouth of a massive beast, waiting for him to jump in.

    ¡°Indeed, the mines are all underground, and the roads lead in all directions. Please watch your step; even many seasoned miners have lost their way inside,¡± Yu Yanluo replied.

    Zu An nodded, saying, ¡°Now we don¡¯t have to worry even if Xiao Yao chases us here.¡±

    ¡°Follow me,¡± Yu Yanluo said as she kicked off. She didn¡¯t follow the winding miner paths along the walls, but rather jumped straight down. But every so often, she still used the wall to stop. She didn¡¯t dare to jump straight into the pitch-ck pit.

    Zu An also followed her down. As he fell, the light around him grew dimmer and dimmer. Eventually, he couldn''t even see his own fingers in front of him.

    Yu Yanluo moved next to him and quietly said, ¡°No open fires can be used inside the mines. You absolutely cannot use anything like a torch.¡± She took out a luminescent pearl afterward. The soft radiance scattered down across her body, making her skin look even more moving and beautiful.

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°I know. There are all sorts of natural gases in the mines. There would be an explosion if they made contact with fire.¡±

    A terrifying roar emerged from the depths of the pit just then. Then, the entire mine began to shake.

 Chapter 1142: Black Fog

    <h4>Chapter 1142: ck Fog</h4>

    ¡°What kind of sound is this?¡± Yu Yanluo eximed as her face turned extremely pale. She subconsciously moved closer to Zu An, as if only then could she feel a bit more at ease.

    Zu An frowned. He had never heard such a sound before. It was practically a soul-shaking noise. He wasn¡¯t even sure whether it was the roar of a beast, or something created by the wind blowing through such a massive cave. However, he replied, ¡°This is your Yu n¡¯s cave; why are you asking me?¡±

    Yu Yanluo was a bit embarrassed. After thinking for a bit, she said, ¡°I do not know too much about this ce, but from what I do know, this kind of thing should not have happened before.¡±

    ¡°Then we have to be careful.¡± Zu An¡¯s expression turned strange as he spoke. ¡°In my opinion, something isn¡¯t right. I have strengthparable to a master rank now, and you¡¯re the infamous monster Medusa. If there really is something strange, it should be scared of us.¡±

    ¡°What you say makes sense,¡± Yu Yanluo replied, subconsciously nodding. But she immediately pinched him out of embarrassment, retorting, ¡°You are the infamous monster; that sounds so awful!¡±

    Zu An chuckled. He wrapped his arm around her waist, then jumped down. He had to admit that the woman¡¯s waist was slender and fine. It was narrower than those of basically all the other girls he knew. It was also much more supple. Because Yu Yanluo was half fiend race, her waist was more slender than those of other humans.

    ¡°Hm? Something is not right,¡± Yu Yanluo suddenly said.

    Zu An grew vignt, asking, ¡°What is it?¡±

    Yu Yanluo stared at the pit below and said, ¡°The miners should still be working at this time, but I cannot sense a single person. It is far too strange.¡±

    Zu An was shocked, remarking, ¡°It¡¯s already sote at night, but you still make them work? What a heartless capitalist¡­¡±

    Yu Yanluo said in annoyance, ¡°There is no day or night down there; there is no difference whether they go in during the day or night. Of course, we do not make them work day and night, but rather have them work in different shifts.¡±

    Zu An realized that his own thoughts had been off. He replied, ¡°If you put it like that, something is indeed wrong. Did something happen down there?¡±

    ¡°Apart from these miners, I am more worried about Maid Xing and the others. I had them escape down there, but if something really has ended up happening, they may be in danger,¡± Yu Yanluo said worriedly.

    ¡°Let¡¯s take a look first,¡± Zu An replied. The two had already arrived at the bottom while they were talking.

    ¡­

    The air at the bottom wasparatively heavier than the air up top. But it wasn¡¯t too big of a deal for cultivators.

    Everything around the two was pitch-ck. By borrowing the luminescent pearl¡¯s radiance, they could see many simple and crude wooden houses wherever they looked. There were many tools and miner¡¯s carts all over the ce.

    ¡°This is the mine¡¯s supply station, which distributes the goods from the surface to different supply points farther down. At the same time, the ores that are excavated can be picked up and brought back to the surface¡­. There should be a lot of guards watching this ce. It seems as if something happened here after all,¡± Yu Yanluo exined as she looked around them. She didn¡¯t see any signs of people present.

    ¡°There¡¯s an announcement post here,¡± Zu An said, pointing at a board off to the side.

    Yu Yanluo walked over and read, ¡°The vibrations below are abnormal and several unexpected events have taken ce. Out of consideration for everyone¡¯s safety, all personnel are to evacuate to the surface and wait until the n sends an investigation squad before continuing¡­¡± She was shocked when she read that, eximing, ¡°Why have I heard nothing about this?¡±

    Zu An investigated his surroundings a bit and said, ¡°Judging from these traces, they probably evacuated recently. Furthermore, you were locked up by Xu Yu for a while, and the Yu n¡¯s elders were arrested too. The n has no leader right now, so it¡¯s natural that you don¡¯t know what happened.¡±

    ¡°Something major definitely happened,¡± Yu Yanluo said, looking worried. ¡°In all these years, these mines have never stopped. Furthermore, these workers stopped without permission from the n. The workers must have realized that they absolutely had to stop working, or else no one would have dared to issue this kind of order.¡±

    ¡°Judging from how there are tools scattered everywhere, they clearly left in a hurry. The situation was probably pressing,¡± Zu An remarked as he looked at the tools scattered all over the ground and the overturned mine carts. There were even several ki stones that hadn¡¯t been collected in time, scattered across the ground like discarded scrap.

    He stood up again and asked, ¡°Should we ask the people stationed outside? There seemed to still be people guarding this ce when we entered before.¡±

    Yu Yanluo thought for a bit, then shook her head. She replied, ¡°It would be way too troublesome to go back up, and I do not want to trouble them either. Based on the current circumstances, they probably experienced something like an earthquake copse. Let us look for Maid Xing and the others first. We can think about the rest after we find them.¡±

    ¡°That works too,¡± Zu An replied. He had thought that the earthquake and strange noise were pretty scary. It made sense for ordinary miners to be scared, but the two of them were already powerful individuals in this world. They naturally didn¡¯t have quite as many misgivings.

    ¡°Ah Zu, follow me closely. This mine has many side roads, and we cannot see too well. It is easy to get lost,¡± Yu Yanluo reminded him.

    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s that dangerous? Then I guess I have to stay closer to you,¡± Zu An replied. He looked worried and quickly moved closer. He naturally grabbed her hand.

    Yu Yanluo was speechless. Her heart pounded, a red blush crossing her cheeks in the darkness. However, she didn¡¯t shake him off and instead said, ¡°Mm, holding my hand is fine too. That way, we will not be easily separated.¡±

    ¡­

    At first, the tunnel was quite spacious, but the further in they went, the narrower the road became. Many ces were only the height of a single person. But since it was a tunnel used to transport ore, the width was fine.

    Zu An hadpletely calmed down now that he had Yu Yanluo¡¯s soft little hand in his. The surrounding darkness even seemed to have be bright and beautiful.

    Yu Yanluo was a mature woman. After her initial rm, she had a relieved smile on her face too. Her fair fingers wrapped around his, and she even unknowingly moved a bit closer to him. The two of them headed deeper into the mine just like that.

    ¡­

    This eerie and silent cave was even starting to feel warm and charming. Yu Yanluo had begun hoping that the path wouldn¡¯t end that quickly. Unfortunately, happier times always ended quickly. She suddenly stopped, eximing, ¡°Huh?¡±

    Zu An knew why she was shocked. There was a strange ck fog in front of them. Even though the surroundings were pitch-ck, their cultivations were powerful. The lighting from the luminescent pearl was already enough.

    ¡°This ck mist is a bit strange,¡± Zu An said, looking at the beauty beside him.

    Yu Yanluo knew what he wanted to ask. She replied, ¡°This fog has never appeared before in the mines.¡±

    Zu An tried to sense it with his soul, but discovered that his soul actually couldn''t prate the ck fog.

    That was somethingpletely unprecedented. Ever since his soul had been condensed, every single de of grass within a range of several dozen zhang had been within his perception. And yet now, he couldn''t even sense something a few meters away!

    He wasn¡¯t willing to give up and used the jade badge, trying to summon any surrounding little creatures. He figured there had to be a lot of rats in ces like the mines. But he was bitterly disappointed. There wasn¡¯t a single living thing nearby!

    ¡°Looks like the evacuation of those miners has something to do with this ck fog,¡± Yu Yanluo said. She began walking into the ck mist, intending to personally look around.

    Zu An quickly stopped her and said, ¡°Let me go first!¡±

    Yu Yanluo smiled sweetly and replied, ¡°Do you really think I am a weak and helpless girl? For better or worse, I still have the Medusa¡¯s bloodline within me; my body is much sturdier than those of ordinary humans. Furthermore, I have some resistance to poison, or at least more than you.¡±

    Zu An still grabbed her and said, ¡°In terms of sturdiness, not even a dragon might be able topare to me. If you¡¯re talking about poison immunity, if you really are that formidable, why were you poisoned by Xu Yu¡¯s tea?¡±

    Yu Yanluo was hard pressed to respond, but said, ¡°That was specially made to target me! It is not a normal poison at all.¡±

    Zu An chuckled. And said, ¡°Just let me go first. My body is already poison immune. At the very least, it¡¯s stronger than yours.¡±

    ¡°Poison immune?¡± Yu Yanluo eximed, feeling shocked. What kind of special constitution was that?n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°You don¡¯t believe me? Why don¡¯t you bite me and give me a try?¡± Zu An asked as he brought his hand over to her mouth.

    Yu Yanluo flung his hand away with an annoyedugh, replying, ¡°I am not a venomous snake!¡±

    The two teased each other for a bit, then Zu An gently touched her cheek with his hand. His voice was unquestionable. ¡°I don¡¯t want your beautiful skin to be ruined by poison. Wait here for me.¡± He walked into the ck fog as soon as he spoke.

    As she watched his figure disappear into the ck fog, Yu Yanluo¡¯s heart pounded crazily. She called out to him, asking, ¡°Are you alright?¡±

    But there was no response.

 Chapter 1143: Accidental Meeting

    <h4>Chapter 1143: idental Meeting</h4>

    ¡°Ah Zu?¡± Yu Yanluo called out several times, but there was no response. She sounded as if she were half-sobbing. She couldn''t wait any longer. She took out her World Painting and covered her head. Then, her eyes flickered with red light, her hair flying around as she seemed about to transform into her most powerful state.

    She was just about to go in when a figure appeared, calling out, ¡°Don¡¯t go in, don¡¯t go in!¡±

    Yu Yanluo quickly closed her eyes when she heard Zu An¡¯s familiar voice. When she opened her eyes again, they were back to their original color. She asked, ¡°You¡¯re¡­ you¡¯re fine, right?¡± She grabbed his arm and looked around. She saw that there were already several tears around his clothes, asking, ¡°You¡¯re wounded?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Zu An replied with a chuckle. He brought up his ruined sleeves for her to see. ¡°My skin underneath is still just as soft as usual.¡±

    Yu Yanluo wiped her tears and tugged on him gently, replying, ¡°What kind of situation are we in already? And yet you¡¯re still in the mood to joke around?¡±

    Zu An put away his mischievous smile and became serious, exining, ¡°This ck fog is indeed strange. It can iste one¡¯s senses, and it has a certain level of corrosiveness. However, cultivators above the sixth rank can defend against the ck fog with their elemental ki barriers. Of course, one can¡¯t remain inside forever. This ck fog also corrodes elemental barriers. Those with lower cultivation levels definitely wouldn¡¯tst for a long time.¡±

    ¡°Even with your cultivation, you onlysted for that short time?¡± Yu Yanluo asked, shocked. She looked at his tattered clothes.

    ¡°Of course I canst longer. But I restrained my elemental barrier to test the strength of the ck fog,¡± Zu An replied.

    Yu Yanluo bit her lip. She said, ¡°You¡¯re not cherishing your body at all. What if something happened?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. The technique I cultivate is a bit special. My body has been tempered several fold as well, making me stronger than a dragon. This ck fog can¡¯t do much to me,¡± Zu An said tofort her.

    ¡°I fear that Maid Xing and the others weren¡¯t so lucky.¡± Yu Yanluo looked at the ck mist before her. ¡°Many of them haven¡¯t reached the sixth rank. They might not be able to see through the ck mist.¡±

    Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°It would be useless even if they had reached the sixth rank. I gave it a try just now. The cave entrance has been plugged up. I don¡¯t think Maid Xing and the others were able to cross over.¡±

    ¡°Could it have copsed after it caved in?¡± Yu Yanluo asked.

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible.¡± Zu An exined what he had heard and seen in the cave. ¡°The copse doesn¡¯t seem new at all; it should already have been several days. There are many tools scattered all over too, even things like shoes and hats. They were clearly left behind when the miners were running away in panic. Judging from what we saw on that announcement at the supply station, all of that happened a few days ago. Maid Xing¡¯s party only came here a bit earlier today.¡±

    ¡°Then they changed directions and tried the other tunnels, trying to move around this cave-in,¡± Yu Yanluo said, continuing to think to herself. ¡°These underground mines are essible from different directions; there are definitely other paths they can take. But unfortunately, she would not know which one to take.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s look around. We might be able to find some traces that they might have left behind. Maid Xing is smart; she would probably have anticipated that we would follow her and left behind something for us.¡± Zu An looked behind himself as he spoke.

    He arrived at a spacious fork in the road and saw something. ¡°Huh? Is this it?¡± he wondered. He saw a strange marking by another entrance that looked like a little coiled snake.

    Yu Yanluo walked over and said, ¡°Indeed, this is our n¡¯s special symbol.¡±

    Zu An said teasingly, ¡°Isn¡¯t this a bit too much? It¡¯s clearly your Snake race¡¯s marking. Other people might follow it and pursue them.¡±

    Yu Yanluo shook her head and said, ¡°This is a marking only we understand. Leaving it by the cave does not mean people went inside. In truth,, the number of coils and the direction of the head and tail all mean different things¡­ Mm, this is the way they went.¡±

    Zu An was amazed, thinking, You can¡¯t look down on outstanding people after all. At the same time, he was moved that she hadn¡¯t hesitated to tell him her Snake race¡¯s secrets at all.

    ¡­

    The two of them walked toward the cave Maid Xing and the others had gone through. Yu Yanluo turned around and looked at the ck fog by the other entrance, asking, ¡°Right, does the ck fog block sound?¡±

    ¡°Block sound?¡± Zu An replied, stunned. He answered, ¡°I don¡¯t think so?¡±

    ¡°Then why didn¡¯t you reply when I called out to you before?¡± Yu Yanluo asked, looking at him in puzzlement.

    Zu An reached out a finger and gently wiped away the teardrops that hadn¡¯t fully dried next to her eyes yet. He said, ¡°I wanted to see if you would shed tears for me.¡±

    Yu Yanluo was stunned. She was so angry she grabbed his arm and bit down on it, eximing, ¡°You scoundrel!¡±

    A girl might not remember someone who had made herugh, but she would never forget someone who had made her cry. Zu An begged for mercy, and the two of them fought yfully like that for a while. Yu Yanluo finally vented her anger after leaving behind several bite marks on his arm.

    Yu Yanluo was just about to let him go when an ice-cold voice called out from beside them, ¡°I was wondering who was so extraordinary that they could save Yu Yanluo. So it was you.¡±

    Yu Yanluo shivered and quickly turned around. Zu An felt goosebumps all over his body, because the voice couldn''t be more familiar. Who else could it be but Yan Xuehen?N?v(el)B\\jnn

    As expected of a grandmaster¡­ I didn¡¯t notice a thing even when she was this close.

    ¡°So it was big sis goddess.¡± Zu An greeted her with an awkward smile, trying to close the gap between them.

    ¡°Big sis goddess?¡± Yan Xuehen was confused about the title.

    Zu An said, ¡°Whenever I meet you, thosemon folk always privately call you a goddess. I think that term is pretty fitting. Only a phrase like that can fully describe how outstanding big sis is.¡±

    He tried to confuse her while thinking of a way to run. She clearly hadn¡¯t arrived with good intentions. If they really fought, with her grandmaster cultivation, it would be hard for him to win.

    Yan Xuehen was speechless. She sneered and replied, ¡°Hmph, if my memory serves me right, didn¡¯t you curse mest time? What did you call me again?¡± For some reason, she didn¡¯t care at all if someone else praised her, and yet when this guy had said that, she instead felt a bit happy. Of course, she wasn¡¯t stupid. There was no way she would suddenly be flustered because of a few words of praise.

    ¡°No way; big sis is so outstanding and refined. Which rascal would dare curse you?¡± Zu An replied with a straight face.

    Yan Xuehen remained expressionless and retorted, ¡°If you have the guts, would you dare say that in front of that woman Yun Jianyue?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s breath caught for a moment. Uh oh, big sis sect master ended up getting dragged into this.

    Yan Xuehen harrumphed. ¡°Is this how you conned the beautiful Medusa next to you? Through those smooth lips of yours?¡±

    Yu Yanluo said unhappily, ¡°Please conduct yourself with dignity, Sect Master Yan.¡±

    Yan Xuehen ignored her. Instead, she looked at Zu An and said, ¡°I never thought that you were a good match for Chuyan. Now, that indeed turned out to be the case. You are a court official, and yet out of your greed for beauty, you selfishly broke out a criminal and colluded with the fiend races. If this were exposed, the entire world would reject you. How did Chuyan end up favoring a perverted man like you?¡±

    Zu An put away his smile and said, ¡°Sect Master Yan, I originally thought that since you were an honorable sect master, your knowledge and experiences would reach far. Today, I unexpectedly learned that you¡¯re no different from ordinary people.¡±

    ¡°Are you lecturing me?¡± Yan Xuehen shot back, her eyes turning cold.

    ¡°I¡¯m merely trying to discuss reason with the sect master.¡± Zu An replied/ ¡°There are good people among humans, but there are bad people as well. Simrly, the fiend races have good and bad folk too. Yu Yanluo has remained in Cloudcenter Commandery for so many years; when has she done anything to harm the human race in the slightest? On the contrary, she¡¯s helped countless poverty-stricken civilians.

    ¡°Sect master didn¡¯t direct your anger at the heartless officials who prey on the people, and yet instead came here to target the kindhearted Yu Yanluo. Just what are you even cultivating for, then?¡±

    There was no meaning left in refuting Yu Yanluo¡¯s identity in front of Yan Xuehen. He could only y his hand using that angle.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s brows shot upward. She scolded him, retorting, ¡°What does a brat like you know? You never experienced the war between the humans and the fiend races in the past; you know nothing about the evils the fiend races havemitted. Our White Jade Sect takes it upon ourselves to protect the human race, so there is no way we would let our path be shaken by a few words from you.¡±

    ¡°Sure, since you¡¯re protecting the human race,¡± Zu An said, pointing at Yu Yanluo. ¡°Her father is human, so she¡¯s half human. Why aren¡¯t you protecting her? She¡¯s lived in the human world ever since she was little, and she experienced a human upbringing. When has she acted like a fiend in the slightest?¡±

    Yan Xuehen frowned and said, ¡°You have cultivated to your current level already, and yet you are still so attached to appearances? Fiend races often inherit power through their bloodlines. Once her bloodline awakens one day, it will naturally be her fiend nature that takes over.¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°The fiend races do inherit their power through their bloodlines, but the humans inherit knowledge. Yu Yanluo has experienced so many years of human education and upbringing; don¡¯t tell me that can¡¯tpare to a fiend race¡¯s bloodline? If that¡¯s the case, why did the fiend race lose to the humans back then?¡±

    ¡°You are just twisting words however you want!¡± Yan Xuehen eximed unhappily. ¡°In the end, was it not because you lusted after her beauty? If she were not so pretty, why would you have taken such huge risks to save her?¡±

    Now, even Yu Yanluo looked at Zu An out of curiosity, wondering how he was going to reply.

 Chapter 1144: Medusaâ€™s Eye

    <h4>Chapter 1144: Medusa¡¯s Eye</h4>

    Zu An had imed to not be able to distinguish beauty, and Yu Yanluo had felt moved at the time, but she had already realized that he was just teasing her. That was why she really wanted to know how he felt about her appearance.

    Yan Xuehen waited for his reply, clearly amused. Her words had the will of a grandmaster infused into them, which would make one subconsciously choose to reply with the truth.

    Hmph, let¡¯s see how Yu Yanluo will act once she finds out that this kid really was coveting her beauty. She could then tell her disciple what had happened to show her the true face of this man.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An said with a firm expression, ¡°I saved Yu Yanluo because she helped me when I was in danger in the past. A true man pays back grudges, and also returns gratitude.¡±

    ¡°Is it really only gratitude¡­¡± Yu Yanluo murmured, lowering her head. No one could see her current expression.

    Yan Xuehen asked, ¡°Is it really just repaying a debt of gratitude? Is that enough for you to squander away your prospects, or maybe even your life? From what I know, even though Yu Yanluo has helped you before, she did not really sacrifice anything back then. You are repaying her several times over in return, and yet you are still saying that you do not covet her beauty?¡± Even though Yu Yanluo was a fiend race individual, Yan Xuehen had to admit that she was an exceptional beauty. Even she was a bit moved, let alone this perverted fellow.

    ¡°Gratitude isn¡¯t something like a business deal; how can it be weighed in terms like that? Sect Master Yan, you¡¯ve made an error here,¡± Zu An replied, giving her a strange look.

    Yan Xuehen nodded slightly. She wasn¡¯t someone truly unreasonable. She realized that there were ws in what she had said as well.

    Zu An continued, ¡°Besides, there are too many pretty girls in this world. For example, Sect Master Yan, you¡¯re a beauty who isn¡¯t inferior to Yu Yanluo in any way. Would I risk my life to save you, though?¡±

    Yan Xuehen was stunned. Meanwhile, Yu Yanluo covered her mouth and secretlyughed. This guy! He¡¯s clearly mocking her, yet he also snuck in a bit of praise. No wonder he¡¯s always so charming.

    ¡°You rascal, I am an honorable grandmaster. Would I need a junior like you to save me?¡± Yan Xuehen replied with a snort. The temperature in the cave dropped a few degrees.

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +222 +222 +222¡­

    Zu An said, ¡°Sect master, please don¡¯t set up gs randomly like that. The world is variable and fickle, no one knows if this day will one daye.¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression remained still as she replied, ¡°Worry not. If that really happened, I would rather die than be saved by you. Furthermore, in a situation that would put me in that much danger, you would already have departed from this world long before me.¡±

    Zu An shrugged and said, ¡°I¡¯m merely exining that the reason I¡¯m saving Yu Yanluo, apart from our past gratitude, is more importantly because of how well we get along. We¡¯re close friends who connect with each other. Why wouldn¡¯t I be willing to go so far for a friend like that?¡±

    A smile finally appeared on Yu Yanluo¡¯s face. We¡¯re not just close friends, but rather¡­

    Yan Xuehen quickly interjected, cutting her thoughts short. ¡°Out of consideration for the bit of loyalty you have, I will spare your life. However, step aside and let me bring this Snake race criminal back.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed. He stood in front of Yu Yanluo protectively, replying, ¡°Sect Master Yan, only death awaits her if she¡¯s brought back. I hope that the sect leader can be generous in this matter.¡±

    Yan Xuehen said coldly, ¡°I am only acting like this to erase a hidden danger to the human race. If you insist on going about things the wrong way, I will not mind acting in the heavens¡¯ ce to remove one of Chuyan¡¯s inner demons.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. Isn¡¯t thatst bit going a bit too far?

    This old nun really is doing everything she can to break me and Chuyan up!

    He was about to say something, but Yu Yanluo had already stood in front of him, saying, ¡°I have already received young master¡¯s kindness. I am really grateful that you have helped me so much, so I cannot be a burden on you any longer. Please step aside. I will deal with the rest myself.¡±

    She knew that there was no way they could defeat a grandmaster even if the two of them worked together. Rather than both of them going down, it would be better if one of them made it through the situation.

    Zu An said with a frown, ¡°I¡¯m not that scared for my life. If I let you die after everything I went through to save you, what meaning would be left in everything I did before?¡±

    Yu Yanluo looked at him quietly through her beautiful eyes. She said through ki, ¡°I know you have good intentions, but what else can we do? If we continue like this, you will just be throwing away your life in vain. If you really still feel that strongly, then please help me search for Maid Xing and the others, and escort them to my hometown safely. I will repay the young master¡¯s gratitude in the next life.¡±

    Zu An shook his head and replied, ¡°Please don¡¯t talk like that anymore. I won¡¯t abandon you here.¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s eyes glittered with tears. She was about to say something else, but Yan Xuehen was growing impatient. She snapped, ¡°Are you two done with your mumbling yet? Are you two disying your affection to me right now or something?¡± She thought, This guy really is a piece of work. He knows that I am Chuyan¡¯s master, yet he is still flirting with another woman in front of my eyes.

    Yu Yanluo blushed, but she didn¡¯t try to persuade Zu An further. Instead, she pushed him aside, then looked up at Yan Xuehen. She didn¡¯t use the World Painting, though. Against a grandmaster, that was no different from a toy. As such, she immediately went with her most powerful skill, knowing that she only had one chance.

    Her beautiful gemstone-like eyes flickered with red fiendish radiance, and the entire cave filled with bitter and harsh energy. She slowly rose into the air. Her hair fluttered around, turning into small snakes. Every single snake¡¯s eyes glowed with a faint red light.

    All the red lights surrounded Yan Xuehen¡¯s body, and she began to petrify at a visible rate. In just a few breaths of time, her entire body rapidly turned into a stone statue.

    Zu An eximed in shock, ¡°You killed her?¡±

    He was shocked not only because this was the first time Yu Yanluo had used the power of Medusa¡¯s Eye, but also because Yan Xuehen was Chuyan¡¯s master. How was he going to exin things to Chuyan if she really did die here?

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s body grew weak in midair. She seemed to have used up all of her strength, dropping from the sky. Zu An quickly caught her to prevent her from hitting the ground.

    The little snakes that had reced Yu Yanluo¡¯s hair had already closed their eyes, while her own eyes had also returned to their normal color. At that moment, herplexion was pale. She asked, ¡°Do I look really ugly right now?¡±

    Zu An was speechless. What kind of situation were they in right now? And yet, she was still concerned about such things? Hadn¡¯t he already made it clear that her appearance didn¡¯t matter?

    ¡°These little snakes are pretty cute,¡± he said in amusement as he gently lifted a strand of hair.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s entire body trembled, as if she could clearly feel him touching the small snake. She blushed and exined, ¡°I have never used the Medusa¡¯s Eye at full strength before, so I do not know how strong it is. In the end, she is still a grandmaster, so I did not dare to hold back. I am truly sorry; I did not want to do this either.¡± Only then did she remember that Yan Xuehen was the master of Zu An¡¯s wife.

    Zu An sighed and said, ¡°Things have already turned out this way, so just bring her remains to the surface. We¡¯ll find a way to send her back to the White Jade Sect. We can¡¯t just leave her in a ce like this that won¡¯t ever see the light of day.¡±

    He hadn¡¯t expected the Medusa¡¯s Eye to be that powerful either. Based on his understanding, the skill was a sort of reason-defying weapon. It wasn¡¯t something that could be evaluated through normal means.

    Yan Xuehen had underestimated Yu Yanluo too much and faced the Medusa¡¯s Eye head-on. Zu An carefully walked up to her, scared that she might shatter if he used too much strength.

    A cold voice suddenly called out, ¡°At least you have a bit of conscience.¡±

    Zu An jumped in rm, because the voice hade from the stone statue. He was rmed. He was just about to take Yu Yanluo and run, but a terrifying pressure surrounded him. He felt a bone-piercing chill attack him, making him feel as if every single cell had been frozen still.

    Meanwhile, ayer of frost began to visibly cover the surroundings. This entire cave seemed to have turned into a world of ice and snow.

    So this is what a domain is? Zu An realized something. He had sensed a simr thing in Brightmoon City before. Back then, Chu Chuyan had used a forbidden technique to defeat Shi Kun, who had been several cultivation ranks above her. However, the technique¡¯s power from back then couldn''tpare to the one right now at all.

    Suddenly, the stone statue cracked loudly. Then, its surface broke down inch by inch, ultimately crashing down and revealing Yan Xuehen¡¯s real appearance. Her skin that was normally fair like snow had turned an unnaturally dark red. She said, ¡°I was indeed careless just now. If you were allowed to grow for a bit longer, I might really have beenpletely petrified. Unfortunately, you will never have that chance.¡± She took a step forward, clearly about to make a move.

    Zu An panicked. He used his Fire Phoenix power to counteract the cold around him. He stood right in front of Yu Yanluo, calling out, ¡°Yanluo, hurry and run!¡±

    A frown spread across Yan Xuehen¡¯s pretty face when she saw his choice. She said, ¡°I nned to spare you before because you still had some filial piety, but it seems you cannot distinguish between right and wrong. In that case, do not me me for being rude.¡±

    She raised her hand after speaking. At that moment, however, her movements seemed to be apanied by brittle cracks. She looked down in shock, seeing that her clothes looked like butterflies, scattering into the air piece by piece.

 Chapter 1145: Call It Even

    <h4>Chapter 1145: Call It Even</h4>

    A snow-white burst erupted into the air, revealing a graceful and wonderful figure that was like the finest white jade, its surface flowing with sparkling radiance. It carried a clean and cold aura, a certain unique charm manifesting in its pure holiness.

    Zu An and Yu Yanluo were speechless. Never could they have expected things to develop in such a direction.

    Yan Xuehen was stunned for a moment, but eventually snapped out of it. Just then, Yu Yanluo¡¯s Medusa¡¯s Eye had petrified her. Such skills were difficult to defend against, as their power wasn¡¯t something that could be measured strictly through cultivation.

    Fortunately, she was already at the grandmaster rank. Grandmasters all had unique domains. In a moment of imminent peril, she had used her own domain of absolute cold, redefining the principles of the surroundings to benefit her. Only then had she managed to fend off the Medusa¡¯s Eye skill, which seemed to be a kind of reason-defying ability.

    But the power created from the sh of two differentws was just too great. Furthermore, petrification usually made things brittle and prone to cracking easily. Yan Xuehen could protect her own body, but she had forgotten about her clothes. That was why after experiencing all of that, her clothes shattered from even the smallest movement.

    Even though she had already cultivated for so many years and reached a level of mental control sufficient to let go of most emotions, at that moment, she still couldn''t help but scream. Soon afterward, a snowstorm appeared around her, covering her exposed body.

    Zu An felt a huge headache, but he still subconsciously said, ¡°I have some clothes on me. They¡¯re Chuyan¡¯s. Do you want them?¡±

    It would have been one thing if he hadn¡¯t said anything, but since he had, Yan Xuehen immediately realized that her disciple¡¯s man had actually seen everything! What the hell is this?!

    ¡°Get lost!¡± she cried. A wave of air swept outward, sending Zu An flying.

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +702 +702 +702¡­

    Zu An fell right by Yu Yanluo¡¯s side. He supported her back up, crying, ¡°Run!¡± Remaining where they were was definitely not a smart decision.

    ¡°Are you alright?¡± Yu Yanluo asked, examining his body worriedly.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Zu An replied. He picked up Yu Yanluo and rushed into a cave off to the side. Yan Xuehen had acted impulsively just then, while his body was extremely tough. Thus, even though his internal energies had been stirred a bit, he had quickly recovered.

    Soon after they left, the wind and snow that had surrounded Yan Xuehen gradually disappeared. She walked out, dressed once more. For someone of her status, it was only natural for her to have a storage pouch on her. Changing into a new set of clothes wasn¡¯t particrly difficult.

    When she thought about how close Zu An had been, as well as about how he had seen everything, her expression changed several times. Killing intent erupted in her gaze.

    Previously, even though she had spoken aggressively, she had only intended to teach him a bit of a lesson. She hadn¡¯t really nned to kill him. After all, he was her disciple¡¯s husband. She hadn¡¯t wanted her rtionship with her disciple to fall apart over such a thing.

    But now, things were different. If she didn¡¯t kill this man who had seen her body, the indifferent and emotionless state she had maintained for many years would be wed. At that point, falling from her current cultivation would be the least of her worries. If it got out of hand, she might be seriously wounded. Whether it was for personal reasons or the White Jade Sect¡¯s interests, she couldn''t permit something like that to happen.

    She looked in the direction the two of them had disappeared toward, and vanished.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Yu Yanlou said worriedly, ¡°Ah Zu, you should run on your own; do not worry about me anymore. Otherwise, both of us will die here!¡± As a woman, she knew that there was no way Yan Xuehen would let Zu An go after what had just happened.

    She had just used the Medusa¡¯s Eye against a grandmaster at full power. The rebound her body had suffered was powerful. She was already wounded quite badly. As such, she had already resolved to buy some time for Zu An.

    Zu An could roughly guess her intentions from her expression. He replied, ¡°Don¡¯t do anything stupid. I¡¯ve worked so hard to save you, and I don¡¯t want everything to fail at the very end. Things aren¡¯t that bad yet. We can use the ck fog to cut off her perception. The cave¡¯s paths are confusing, so she might not be able to find us.¡±

    Afterward, he took her straight into the ck fog. Their elemental barriers immediately began to sizzle noisily, corroded by the fog. Fortunately, their cultivations were rather profound; furthermore, the ck fog wasn¡¯t everywhere, but rather gathered in clouds. That was why they were able to hold on.

    After they ran for a long time, things finally calmed down. They couldn''t feel Yan Xuehen¡¯s icy cold aura anymore.

    ¡°We should be alright for now,¡± Zu An looked behind him and said with a sigh of relief.

    I really am unlucky¡­ Who could have expected that Yan Xuehen would suddenly be buck naked?

    No wonder big sis sect master calls her a stone cold woman. Her entire body is like a chunk of ice.

    With how close they had been, he had even sensed cold seeping out from her skin.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Yu Yanluo said with a sigh, ¡°Ah Zu, I always sense a vigorous will to live from you. No matter what kind of situation you are in, you always remain optimistic, and you always manage to find a solution.¡±

    Zu An chuckled and replied, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Did you unknowingly fall in love with me?¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s face turned red. She said, ¡°We are already in this kind of situation, and yet you still remember to tease me.¡± Since they were no longer in danger, she also felt a bit naughty, asking, ¡°So? Is Sect Master Yan¡­ pretty?¡±

    Zu An was speechless. Are girls all this gossipy? He replied, ¡°Didn¡¯t you see her yourself too? Why are you asking me?¡±

    Yu Yanluo smiled and replied, ¡°Most of her body was covered by you, so I did not see much. Come on, tell me.¡±

    Zu An thought back to that splendid scene. He subconsciously said, ¡°Her figure is pretty decent¡­¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +809 +809 +809¡­

    Zu An jumped in fright when he received the string of Rage points. He quickly changed his answer. ¡°Uhh, actually, I didn¡¯t see either¡­ Huh, Sect Master Yan, why are you here?¡±

    Yu Yanluo was also shocked. She quickly turned around and saw Yan Xuehen with a sword in hand, standing there with apletely cold expression.

    Yan Xuehen had already changed into white clothes. She was no longer wearing a dress like before, but instead had a daoist robe on.

    Perhaps she had subconsciously chosen to dress a bit more conservatively, but the more that was the case, when he thought back to the scene he had seen before, Zu An couldn''t help but think ¡®innocent and sexy¡¯.

    Damn it, why the hell am I thinking about this old nun that way?

    ¡°Did you two really think you could shake me off by relying on that strange ck fog?¡± Yan Xuehen put away her divination circle and remarked coldly.

    ¡°Not even that ck fog is an issue for the sect master? Your cultivation really is deep and profound,¡± Zu An said while thinking about the thing she had just put away. This woman knows fortune-telling?

    This was a world of cultivation, so he obviously wasn¡¯t thinking of the scamming technique. There were many powerful individuals who really could probe the mysteries of the heavens.

    Sigh, that makes things really annoying. We can¡¯t get rid of her even if we want to!

    ¡°If it were not, I would not have been able to hear you two talk behind my back,¡± Yan Xuehen replied with a terrible expression.

    Yu Yanluo was rmed, feeling deep regret. Her gossipy heart really had ended up harming Zu An now.

    ¡°But I didn¡¯t say anything bad about you!¡± Zu An eximed, seeing Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression. He continued, ¡°Ah, is sect master talking about what just happened? I saw a sh of sacred light before me. Maybe it was because of the Medusa¡¯s Eye or your own domain, but my eyes were hurt and I couldn''t see anything for a while. Right, what just happened? I¡¯m still confused about that.¡±

    ¡°Are you taking me for a fool?¡± Yan Xuehen shot back. She was starting to really respect this kid. Even now, he had still managed to create a ¡®logical¡¯ pretext. If it were any other matter, she might even just let it go.

    But there was no way she could forget about what had happened.

    Zu An knew that well too. ying the fool hadn¡¯t worked, so he could only say with a sigh, ¡°It¡¯s notas if I wanted to disrespect you. It was you who ran up to me, and then made your clothes explode. I¡¯mpletely innocent here! If you feel that you¡¯re losing out here, why don¡¯t I just take off my clothes for you too? We¡¯ll call it even?¡±

    As he spoke, he used his ki and began to make his own clothes explode too.

 Chapter 1146: Can You Let Me Look Again?

    <h4>Chapter 1146: Can You Let Me Look Again?</h4>

    Yan Xuehen was stunned. She was about to faint from anger. Even something like this can make things even?

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +233 +233 +233¡­

    The worst part was that this guy really had intended to do it! He had turned around after speaking, and all of his clothes had exploded!

    A blush spread across her face, and she quickly turned around. She yelled, ¡°Damn brat, what are you doing?!¡±

    Yan Xuehen had experienced her fair share of things over the years. She obviously wasn¡¯t a little girl anymore. If Zu An had only exposed his upper body, she wouldn¡¯t even have batted an eyelid. But she recalled how previously, her dress had even¡­

    If he wanted to ¡®make things even¡¯, his pants had to explode too¡­ Right?

    Even though she had already let go of most of her emotions, she was still a woman, after all. The situation was way too embarrassing for her.

    Then, she heard a loud noise. She quickly turned around and saw that Zu An had taken Yu Yanluo through a cave in the corner. Even though his upper body was bare, his pants were still on. He had clearly never intended to take them off for her to begin with.

    Hmph! He clearly did that to confuse me!

    ¡°You little bastard!¡± Yan Xuehen cursed, gritting her teeth. She immediately chased after them.

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +444 +444 +444¡­

    Just after turning the corner, she suddenly grew vignt and quickly came to a stop. A strange red light appeared in front of her eyes: Medusa¡¯s Eye.

    Yan Xuehen sneered. ¡°Nothing more than ast-ditch effort!¡±

    Yu Yanluo had already used up all of her strength. The attack¡¯s power this time would definitely be greatly reduced. Yan Xuehen didn¡¯t even need to use her domain to counteract it, intercepting it with just her usual skills. Her body¡¯s flexibility seemed to decrease a bit, though.

    Even so, she didn¡¯t lower her guard at all, because her keen grandmaster senses told her that Zu An was rushing at her from the shadows with a sword. Even though she really wanted to rip him apart because of what had just happened, as a grandmaster, she couldn''t help but praise him a bit for his sensible choice.

    If the two of them had run, they definitely wouldn¡¯t have been able to outrun her. Rather than being chased until they werepletely exhausted, it would be better to retaliate while they were still in better condition.

    Such a sudden ambush would catch many powerful individuals off guard. Unfortunately, Zu An had still underestimated a grandmaster¡¯s abilities. The difference between a grandmaster and weaker cultivators was like heaven and earth.

    Zu An¡¯s movements were extremely fast, and he had arrived in almost an instant; but in Yan Xuehen¡¯s eyes, he still appeared to be moving in slow motion. She raised her sword. Her movements looked slow, and yet her attack arrived first, striking at his vitals.

    Such swordy that was close to the dao wasn¡¯t something anyone under the grandmaster rank could understand. They could only see the result. Even at the moment of their death, they wouldn¡¯t understand why even though the sword looked slow, and still seemed far away, it had still hit them.

    Right at that moment, Yan Xuehen heard a shrill bird cry. She vaguely saw a strange bird rushing at her. Then, she felt as if her soul had been pricked.

    Unfortunately, her expression didn¡¯t change at all. She coldly asked, ¡°Is this your trump card?¡±

    How powerful was the soul of a grandmaster, let alone one like her who had already been a grandmaster for so long?

    Even though Hundredwarble was a miraculous skill, its power still depended on Zu An¡¯s strength. At his level, it still couldn''t harm Yan Xuehen, and she seemedpletely unaffected. Zu An looked shocked as her longsword stabbed into his chest and blood gushed out.

    Just then, Yan Xuehen felt a hint of hesitation. Am I going too far here?

    Chuyan seems to have feelings for him. If I, as her master, kill her lover, our rtionship might be poor.

    Furthermore, strictly speaking, what happened was not Zu An¡¯s fault¡­

    But she had already lived while casting aside her emotions for a long time. The ripples in her heart quickly calmed down. For a grandmaster, all others beneath them were ants. He shielded a fiend race person and disrespected me. He deserved to die.

    As for Chuyan, she will hate me at first, but she will be able to understand the reasons behind what I did in the future. Once she attains a selfless state, she will understand just how senseless love is, and how it is just a waste of time.

    Her expression became cold, like an eternally frozen mountain. She no longer hesitated to strike with her sword either. But she couldn¡¯t have expected that Zu An wouldn¡¯t show pain or rm when the sword stabbed through him. He instead grabbed her sword, then pushed forward.

    This guy¡¯s body is pretty hard¡­?

    Still, her longsword was the White Jade Sect¡¯s supreme treasure. It had apanied her for so many years as well, harmonizing with her aura. It could even easily cut through a giant dragon¡¯s body. As such, it pierced through Zu An easily.

    His brows didn¡¯t even furrow. At least he has some traits of a real man, Yan Xuehen thought. She was used to seeing his mischievous side, but when she saw his courageous side, she felt it was somewhat praiseworthy. If not for what had just happened, she might even have felt a bit of pity and reluctance for someone with that level of mental fortitude.

    Her slender fingers gently sped Zu An¡¯s Tai¡¯e Sword. Normally speaking, with a grandmaster¡¯s cultivation, a snap of her fingers should have been enough to break a longsword. However, the sword instead released a shrill noise and wasn¡¯t damaged at all.

    ¡°Hm?¡± She hadn¡¯t expected such an unremarkable looking sword to be a powerful weapon. At that moment, however, she noticed a faint smile on the corner of Zu An¡¯s lips. She felt a hint of rm.

    A pitch-ck dagger shot out from Zu An¡¯s sleeve. The ck runes on it seemed to carry profound and mysterious principles within them. Not even she could see through it. But she knew that the dagger was extremely dangerous, and frighteningly so. Even as a grandmaster, she knew that there might be danger to her life if she were wounded by it.

    She finally understood that he had risked taking a serious injury to approach her. That had been his true n.

    ng!

    A loud and sharp noise rang out. A divination circle appeared out of thin air, blocking the pitch-ck dagger¡¯s path. The dagger fell to the ground as it was neutralized.

    When Zu An saw that his attack had failed, he quickly backed up, widening the gap between them.

    Yan Xuehen still felt lingering fear, however. At that kind of distance, forget about another ordinary cultivator, even a grandmaster like her had almost been in danger! If not because she had previously divined that there was danger and still remained vignt, she really might have died.

    Yu Yanluo saw that Zu An was seriously injured. She rushed over to support him, taking out all sorts of precious medicines and crying, ¡°Hurry and eat this!¡±

    Zu An shook his head. He gently pushed her away, saying, ¡°I¡¯m afraid I won¡¯t have the chance to make use of these.¡±

    Yan Xuehen was already approaching them step by step. She said, ¡°You haven¡¯t even reached the master rank, and yet you¡¯ve put me in such a sorry state. If news of this got out, it would be enough to shake up the entire world.¡±

    Zu An said indifferently, ¡°My name has already spread throughout the world.¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s breath caught briefly. Even though this person¡¯s cultivation was ordinary, what he said seemed to be true. He seemed to have been involved in all of the recent major events that had urred.

    Whether it was the time the emperor had personally ordered his arrest, or the great cases he had solved in the capital one after another, or how he had helped the crown prince stabilize his position on the throne through the exam¡­ There weren¡¯t many powers in the world who didn¡¯t know about him.

    Wait, even though his cultivation isn¡¯t much before a grandmaster, just how old is he? Having his level of cultivation at his age is already absolutely horrifying!

    Not even the disciple she was so proud of couldpare to him. In all of human history, there had never been someone so young with such high cultivation.

    She said emotionlessly, ¡°I will give you one final chance. Kill that Snake race fiend and take me as your master. Make a vow to abandon all emotions and focus on cultivation, and that you will no longer disturb Chuyan. I can then spare your life.¡± She had decided to be lenient, out of consideration for his talent.

    Zu An was shocked, replying, ¡°You don¡¯t care that I just saw you buck naked anymore?¡±

    Yan Xuehen was speechless. Why are you touching this sore spot now? I have finally decided to give you a chance, and yet you are not going to cherish it?

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +111 +111 +111¡­

    She took a deep breath and said, ¡°I have lived for much longer than you. If you take me on as your master, you will be my junior. Twenty years ago, you were merely in swaddling clothes. It is not a big deal to be seen by someone like that in your own family.¡±

    Zu An voiced his surprise. ¡°Since it doesn¡¯t matter, can you let me look again?¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Yan Xuehen was stunned.

 Chapter 1147: No Way Out

    <h4>Chapter 1147: No Way Out</h4>

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s first reaction was that she had misheard something. However, since she had grandmaster rank cultivation, she reacted quickly. How could she have possibly misheard?

    As such, her expression turned cold and she retorted, ¡°Are you mocking me?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +444 +444 +444¡­

    Zu An sighed and replied, ¡°Is sect master not directing the very same mockery at me? I only had a simple request for you, and yet you disagreed. Now, you¡¯ve made so many requests of me, none of which I would ever agree to.¡±

    Both separating from Chuyan and abandoning Yu Yanluo were conditions he would never agree to. The only one that wasn¡¯t too big of a deal was calling her master¡­

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression turned cold. She said, ¡°It looks as if you have decided to go about things the wrong way. Do not me me for being impolite then.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +109 +109 +109¡­

    She felt she had already been benevolent enough. She had given him many chances, but unfortunately, he hadn¡¯t treasured them and had even harassed her verbally.

    Sheshed out with her palm as she finished speaking. She didn¡¯t move at all, only casually waving her hand. The air instantly condensed into a faint palm, striking toward Zu An¡¯s face. It was so fast that not even Yu Yanluo had time to react.

    With things being the way they were, Yan Xuehen didn¡¯t hold back. The strike of a grandmaster definitely wasn¡¯t something Zu An could handle at his current cultivation level. It should have been enough to cut his life force short right there and then.

    It was just unfortunate that a cultivation genius was going to fall here. Zu An had been infatuated by the Medusa¡¯s beauty, and he carriedpassion for the fiend races. If the fiend races roped him into their faction, with his talent, he would definitely be a disaster for the human race in the future. As such, Yan Xuehen felt that it would be better to just nip this cmity in the bud.

    But her expression quickly changed. She saw Zu An raise his hands, and something that resembled a ck hole seemed to appear in front of him. When the terrifying force of Yan Xuehen¡¯s palm arrived, it was continuously sucked into the ck hole and quickly dissipated into nothingness.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Yan Xuehen eximed in confusion. She wasn¡¯t too sure what had happened, so she instantly drew closer to try attacking again.

    Zu An frantically evaded her with the Sunflower Phantasm, turning into several clones and darting in different directions. However, Yan Xuehen said, ¡°Your movement technique is indeed mysterious; every clone is identical to your original body in aura. It would be hard for even a master rank cultivator to tell the difference. Unfortunately, you ran into me.¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Her longsword instantly struck Zu An¡¯s sword as soon as she spoke. Intense pain shot through Zu An¡¯s fingers, and he almost lost his grip on his weapon. He quickly used the Heaven Devouring Sutra to disperse his opponent¡¯s powerful strike.

    The ki of a grandmaster wasn¡¯t so easily absorbed, however. Every single strand carried a trace of her soul imprint, which meant that there would easily be issues if he took it into his body.

    But Zu An was a smart person. He recalled that in ¡®The Smiling, Proud Wanderer¡¯, Xiang Wentian hadn¡¯t learned the real ¡®Star Swallowing Art¡¯, but rather had learned the ¡®Ground Redirection Method¡¯, which transmitted the opponent¡¯s force into the ground. As such, he just copied that technique, only sucking out the power but not absorbing it. To a certain degree, that evened the ying field.

    Yan Xuehen was also greatly rmed. After all, a grandmaster could plow through master rank cultivators. Zu An wasn¡¯t even at the master rank, however. Normally speaking, as long as the two faced each other with des or fists in a frontal sh, Zu An should immediately have been severely injured.

    No matter how strong an ant was, how could it withstand the stomp of an elephant? And yet, Zu An just happened to make such a miracle a reality.

    Zu An took the chance to go on the offensive. Unfortunately, grandmasters could even fight while their attention was divided. Yan Xuehen easily stopped his attack, asking, ¡°The Snowke Sword? Where did you secretly learn that from?¡±

    ¡°My wife taught me, of course,¡± Zu An replied while searching for anything else that could get him out of this emergency. Unfortunately, he couldn''t find anything even after thinking for a long time. A grandmaster really was way too strong, let alone Yan Xuehen who wasn¡¯t merely an ordinary grandmaster. It was a pity that he didn¡¯t have the Heiress Ball of Delights anymore, or else he would teach her that even a gigolo had his pride.

    ¡°I was the one who taught Chuyan that sword technique, and yet you are actually using this skill to face me? Hmph, you are simply showing off your meager skills before a master,¡± Yan Xuehen remarked, a bit annoyed. That girl Chuyan actually taught our secret manual to someone else! I am definitely going to discipline her once I get back.

    Yu Yanluo cried out, ¡°Sect Master Yan, you are a senior. It would be one thing if you acted against a junior once or twice, but how many times have you attacked already? Furthermore, Zu An is even seriously injured, and yet you are taking advantage of his difficulties. Is this how your orthodox sects do things?¡±

    After using Medusa¡¯s Eye twice, she had already reached her limit. She could only use her brush to continuously draw diagrams in the air, providing Zu An with a supportive halo. But she knew that against a grandmaster, it wouldn¡¯t be enough at all.

    She was already indignant about the fact that Yan Xuehen¡¯s sword had pierced Zu An¡¯s body. It would be dangerous even if an ordinary person stabbed one in the chest, let alone if it were a grandmaster¡¯s sword strike.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s eyes shifted to Zu An¡¯s chest. She was inwardly surprised. He can still fight as if nothing is wrong, even after taking my sword? Is this still the body of a human?

    But her expression immediately turned cold as she replied, ¡°Do not try to incite me with words. This is not apetition of martial arts, but rather a matter concerning the eradication of evil. I originally thought that Zu An was bewitched by your beauty, but now, it seems that he already fell into depravity. What he cultivates is actually an evil art that absorbs others¡¯ cultivation.¡±

    She was experienced and knowledgeable. Based on their brief interaction, she had already deduced that what Zu An had used to neutralize her attacks was some unknown evil art. Any methods that could absorb another¡¯s skills were known as evil arts.

    No wonder his cultivation is so high at his age. So it was because of this evil art. Just how many cultivators did he cruelly absorb to reach his current level?

    The more it was like that, the more she had to get rid of him as soon as possible. He might be a great demon if he were allowed to grow up. At that point, no one would be able to keep him in check anymore.

    She no longer held back and unleashed her domain when she realized that.

    Absolute Cold!

    The temperature instantly dropped. The surrounding cave walls began to quickly freeze at a visible rate. Snowkes even began to float in the air.

    Yu Yanluo had always feared the cold to begin with, and now, her entire body was shivering. However, she didn¡¯t have time to think about such things and instead looked nervously at Zu An. She could clearly sense the pressure even from where she was, and yet Zu An had taken it head on. How could he possibly endure?

    Zu An¡¯s entire body turned ice-cold as his limbs began to quickly freeze over. He immediately used Fire Phoenix, producing a raging me around him. Only then did the ice around him melt. But that was it. The Fire Phoenix ability was only enough to prevent him from being frozen into a sculpture. Under the tremendous power of the domain, he still couldn¡¯t move at all.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Yan Xuehen eximed in surprise. She had seen him use an ice element ability before, the Snowke Sword. But now, he was using the fire element. He cultivated both ice and fire!

    She was well-informed and knew that there were a select few possessed dual elements. She immediately felt even more regret that she was going to kill such an incredible genius. But since he had already gone down the evil path, she had to eliminate him as soon as possible. She definitely couldn¡¯t let him escape.

    Her sword flew out. Once it returned, it would take his head with it.

    When he faced the iing killing intent, Zu An suddenly thought of something. He quickly summoned the Tai¡¯e Sword¡¯s Domain of Power. It wouldn¡¯t do too much against a grandmaster, but since it was called a domain too, it might have its ownws and principles.

    Sure enough, the Tai¡¯e Sword released a draconic roar. The domain of power spread out, and the Absolute Cold domain around him shrank back a few feet. When Zu An recovered the ability to move, he dropped and rolled, avoiding Yan Xuehen¡¯s lethal strike.

    ¡°Huh, a domain?¡± Yan Xuehen remarked. She had cultivated for so many years. She was already at a level where few things could surprise her. But today, this brat had brought her surprise after surprise. Just what level of cultivation is he at? He actually managed to create a domain of his own?

    After her initial shock, her gazended on Zu An¡¯s longsword and she thought, The aura¡¯s domain seems to have originated from this sword¡­ She hadn¡¯t even been able to snap the sword earlier, so it was definitely a divine weapon. Furthermore, it seemed she had even underestimated its grade previously.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s Flying Snow Sword returned to her side, and she took it in hand. She wouldn¡¯t give him any more chances. Her entire figure turned into a streak of light, shooting at Zu An.

    Every single cell in Zu An¡¯s body was screaming that the situation was bad. He knew that no matter how strong his body was, he probably wouldn¡¯t survive such an attack. Yan Xuehen was now dead set on killing him. He wanted to dodge, but he could sense that her divine will was already locked onto him. He knew that no matter how he tried to evade, his body would be pierced through a momentter.

    What do I do? What do I do?!

    As the threat of death enveloped him, Zu An¡¯s thoughts moved quickly. He thought about all of the skills he had, but none of them could save him. He even secretly called out to Mi Li, but she didn¡¯t respond. She was clearly at a critical stage of repairing her soul and couldn''t sense what was happening outside.

    Am I really going to die here today?

 Chapter 1148: Live to See Another Day

    <h4>Chapter 1148: Live to See Another Day</h4>

    ¡°Ah!¡± Yu Yanluo screamed. She was a powerful cultivator in her own right, and knew many things. But no matter how she racked her brains, she couldn''t think of any ways in which Zu An could survive. She wanted to help him, but the Absolute Cold domain was too powerful. She couldn''t even move her body.

    Her beautiful eyes had begun to turn red. After all, Medusa¡¯s Eye wasn¡¯t a skill that could be used limitlessly. Each use would consume a tremendous amount of her body¡¯s energy. Her bloodline hadn¡¯t evenpletely awakened yet, so the cost of each use was great. She had already been left on the verge of breaking down from two uses of the skill; now, the only choice left was to burn her own life force. However, using Medusa¡¯s Eye at half strength wouldn¡¯t do anything to a grandmaster. She had to use it at full strength, but that might just exhaust the rest of her lifespan.

    But she couldn''t be bothered with all of that. Her only thought was to save Zu An.

    Yan Xuehen also noticed something unusual about Yu Yanluo¡¯s behavior, and set aside a bit of strength in reserve to deal with her. In any event, she was within her Absolute Cold domain, which could offset the Medusa¡¯s Eye to a certain degree. She had confidence that she could first deal with Zu An, then turn around to finish off Yu Yanluo.

    The moment she was about to stab Zu An, however, she suddenly heard a loud and clear phoenix cry. Then, a golden phoenix appeared before her. She was startled, but she just attributed it to another one of his strange abilities.

    Light flickered around her. Even if another grandmaster attacked her at that point, she could still block it. However, that golden phoenix seemed like an intangible object. It passed through her splendid defenses and flew into her body.

    Yan Xuehen was confused and rmed, quickly examining her body. However, she discovered that there wasn¡¯t anything wrong with her. As a grandmaster, she had absolute knowledge over her body¡¯s condition; since she didn¡¯t sense anything strange, she had to be fine. But what was that golden phoenix? It couldn''t have just been an illusion, could it?

    It wasn¡¯t the time to be worrying about those things, though. She nned to get rid of Zu An first, then slowly examine what was going on. But when her sword was just a hair away from Zu An¡¯s forehead, she suddenly noticed the wound in his chest.

    That was the wound she had inflicted earlier!

    For some reason, she suddenly felt distress and remorse. She felt as if hurting him would be harder to bear than if she were injured herself.

    All kinds of memories about him appeared in her mind. Before, she had only seen his ws: How he was affecting the cultivation prospects of her disciple, and how he was slick-tongued and perverted. He colluded with the fiend races, and he cultivated evil arts¡­

    But now, she suddenly realized that Chuyan had never seemed to be willing to cut things off with him. He was incredibly talented, and they might even be able to help each other by cultivating together. It might not be a bad thing for her cultivation.

    Even though he seemed like a smooth talker, he was actually firm and unwavering. Even while facing death, he wasn¡¯t willing to bow down. As for his perverted side, which sane man wouldn¡¯t like an incredible beauty like Yu Yanluo?

    Furthermore, Yu Yanluo was an experienced woman herself. There were so many outstanding men constantly flocking around her, and yet Yan Xuehen had never heard of her caring much about any of them. Now, she was actually willing to give up her life for Zu An. That meant the two of them really had an affinity for each other, and it wasn¡¯t just something superficial like infatuation.

    As for colluding with the fiend races, since Yu Yanluo had saved him before, shielding her waspletely understandable. If he ran as soon as he encountered danger, wouldn¡¯t that make him utterly shameless?

    As for cultivating some evil art, she had never heard of Zu An ruthlessly killing any honorable cultivators. Instead, there were many evil faction experts who had died under his hands.

    Was she really going to kill such a loyal and steadfast man?

    ¡­

    If one¡¯s opinion of someone changed, one could look at the same matter from apletely different perspective.

    After thinking to herself for a moment, Yan Xuehen slowly lowered her sword. Her vicious expression became gentle too, and the killing intent within her eyes gradually faded.

    Yu Yanluo quickly stopped her Medusa¡¯s Eye when she saw that. She didn¡¯t know why Yan Xuehen would suddenly show mercy, but it was obviously a good thing. She was worried that taking any action would make Yan Xuehen change her mind, so she didn¡¯t even dare to breathe too loudly.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression was also extremely strange, containing a hint of embarrassment and vexation. She wondered to herself whether, judging from the way she had treated Zu An, would he hate her? He definitely will. How can Ipare to Yu Yanluo, who is warm and considerate?

    She frowned for a moment, but then her brows unfolded. Zu An looked so frightened he didn¡¯t dare say a thing for fear of identally offending her.

    I think I¡¯m going to survive¡­ Zu An¡¯s expression was also extremely strange. Just moments before, death had seemed imminent for him. However, he had suddenly remembered that there was one skill he had never used. That was the Gold Phoenix ability he had awakened after he broke through. ording to the Gold Phoenix¡¯ skill description, it would make a girl love him if it were used.

    Back then, Zu An had thought that the skill really wasn¡¯t anything useful. He was so handsome and charming, he could get any girl he wanted. He hadn¡¯t needed such a skill to get all the pretty girls around him at all. Furthermore, every single one of them was a goddess-level beauty in others¡¯ eyes.

    He didn¡¯t like the ability that much either. In a rtionship, it was important for the feelings to be mutual, and for both parties to have affinity for each other. What would be the point of using such a skill? Wouldn¡¯t it make him no different from those lowlives who used aphrodisiacs?

    That was why he had always kept the skill on the backburner, having never used it. However, this was a life or death situation, so his survival instincts had made him go for broke.

    If he died, Yu Yanluo woulde to a bitter end. Furthermore, there was Chuyan, Manman, Zheng Dan¡­ They were all still waiting for his return. He definitely couldn''t just willingly ept such a conclusion without trying everything he had.

    But he hadn¡¯t had any confidence in the ability. The first reason was that he had never used it before and hadn¡¯t known what its effects would be. The second reason was that his opponent was a grandmaster, and so it might not be effective. Even if it did, it might not stop her from killing him¡­

    Fortunately, at least for the time being, it seemed as if the results had been good.

    Yan Xuehen fished out a bottle of medicine and said, ¡°These are the White Jade Sect¡¯s Ice Heart Pills. Take one orally, and crush one to apply over your wounds. They should help with your injuries.¡±

    Yu Yanluo had been extremely nervous the entire time. When she saw that, her eyes almost popped out. Did I hear wrongly? What do you mean, it should help?

    In the past, many powerful cultivators had tried to show off in front of her. One of them had mentioned the White Jade Sect¡¯s Ice Heart Pill. It was rumored to even be able to revive the dead, and to be among the very best sacred medicines in this world. Since the materials needed to create it were priceless, every single pill was invaluable. The expert had been a bit sad that he hadn¡¯t had the fortune of obtaining one. Otherwise, it would be equivalent to a second life.

    And yet, Yan Xuehen hadn¡¯t even hesitated to give Zu An a medicine so precious? Additionally, she had even given him another one to apply externally? If that expert were to hear of such a thing, he might just begin cursing, right? He might even just vomit blood on the spot.

    Mere seconds prior, Yan Xuehen had still been after Zu An¡¯s life, so why was she suddenly treating his injuries now? Furthermore, her tone just then was no longer as arrogant and cold as before, but instead carried a trace of gentleness. There was even a hint of fear in her voice, as if she had done something wrong, and yet was too embarrassed to admit it because of her pride.

    Yu Yanluo also saw that Yan Xuehen had deliberately looked away, but kept sneaking looks at Zu An from time to time. Her gaze was nothing like before, when it had beenpletely ice-cold, but rather¡­ carried tender feelings?

    She jumped in fright as soon as that thought appeared. How could that be possible?! She immediately dismissed that guess. Rather, perhaps Yan Xuehen felt misgivings about Zu An¡¯s rtionship with her disciple, or maybe she felt pity for a talented genius¡­N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡­

    While Yu Yanluo¡¯s thoughts were running wild, Zu An swallowed with difficulty. He couldn''t help but feel a bit scared when a tigress kept eyeing him. The worst part was that he didn''t know how long the Gold Phoenix¡¯s skill wouldst, or to what extent it would go.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need, my body¡¯s recovery ability¡­¡± he began, about to refuse. However, he suddenly saw her brows raise sharply, as if Yan Xuehen might be upset. He was startled and immediately changed his tone, saying, ¡°Thank you, sect master.¡±

    He took the bottle, touching her hand in the process. It really was cold like ice, but also smooth like fine jade.

    Yan Xuehen pulled her hand back, as if an electric current had just run through her body. A light blush appeared around her neck. She was a bit taken aback. She had never felt such a thing before in all her years of cultivation. Why is my heart beating so hard?

    When Zu An ingested the Ice Heart Pill, all of the ki and blood within his body came alive. All of the internal injuries he had obtained from that intense battle recovered at a visible rate. He was greatly shocked. This medicine¡¯s effects were almost at the level of Faith in Brother Spring! Even though the pill was a bit slower, as his cultivation rose, it had be hard for those red bottles topletely heal him anyway. They would only heal him around halfway.

    But the Ice Heart Pill didn¡¯t have such limitations. It was full of medicinal power, making him feel as if it could even heal a grandmaster if they were wounded. Even Ji Dengtu¡¯s Soul Return Pill was a bit inferior to it.

    Zu An took the chance to say, ¡°I¡¯ll repay the sect master for this medicine in the future. I have something to tend to for now, so I¡¯ll be saying my goodbyes first.¡± He was worried that she might change her mind, so he quickly picked up Yu Yanluo and disappeared into the distant cave.

    A bit of displeasure appeared in Yan Xuehen¡¯s eyes when she saw the two of them together. She felt an urge to break the two of them apart. She was horrified as soon as that thought emerged, however. She stood in ce for a long time, looking confused. She muttered to herself, ¡°What is wrong with me?¡±

 Chapter 1149: Revenge

    <h4>Chapter 1149: Revenge</h4>

    As a grandmaster, how sharp were her senses? Yan Xuehen quickly realized that something wasn¡¯t right about her current state. She had clearly wanted to kill Zu An before, so why did she not want to kill him at all anymore?

    She even felt worried about his injuries, fearing that he might encounter some more danger. She was even more worried that he might be seduced by that beautiful woman. Yu Yanluo was so beautiful, and not even she as a woman could resist her charms, let alone a man.

    Different events that had happened after she met Zu An appeared in her mind. A faint smile appeared on her originally ice-cold face.

    The man¡¯s talents were one thing; what really mattered were his bravery and loyalty. He wouldn¡¯t give up even in a situation of absolute despair, and always managed toe up with all sorts of ways to survive.

    She had seen her fair share of strong individuals. They could maintain their calm exterior while things were going smoothly, but if things went south, they broke down, bing quite the sorry sight. Comparatively speaking, Zu An was way better than those people.

    As she thought about those things, Zu An¡¯s naughty smile appeared in her mind. Her heart quickly began to pound, and she muttered, ¡°I didn¡¯t notice it before, but he is pretty handsome.¡±

    Her face suddenly turned white. She thought about Chuyan. This guy was her disciple¡¯s man!

    How am I going to face my disciple in the future?

    She was horrified as soon as that thought emerged.

    Why am I having these kinds of thoughts?

    I seem to like that guy¡­?n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s face turnedpletely pale when she realized that. Even though she had been hit by the Gold Phoenix¡¯s ability, liking Zu An didn¡¯t mean something was wrong with her mind, and yet she quickly noticed that something wasn¡¯t right.

    How could she possibly suddenly like him? She recalled the golden phoenix that had rushed at her. Was it because of that thing?

    She then thought about the strange bird that had been summoned when Zu An used Hundredwarble. His cultivation technique seemed to be able to produce all sorts of bird images.

    She quickly sat down and used her ki to examine her own condition. Unfortunately, she didn¡¯t detect any traces of the Gold Phoenix no matter what she did. There weren¡¯t any abnormalities she could sense.

    ¡°Damn brat, what kind of trick did you use on me?¡± Yan Xuehen muttered, biting her lip. She was about to chase after him to find out, but she suddenly grew vignt. She turned around and looked at the shadows behind her.

    ¡°Oh my, you really are on guard. I didn¡¯t expect to be noticed by you even like this,¡± said a woman with hair reaching all the way down her back, as she slowly walked out from the shadows. There was a big smile on her stunning face, but the look in her eyes waspletely cold.

    ¡°Yun Jianyue, were you nning on ambushing me just now?¡± Yan Xuehen asked, setting aside her young maiden-like thoughts. Her tone toward her old adversary was unkind.

    ¡°Ambush? You make it sound so bad. It¡¯s just been a while since west met, so I wanted to surprise you a bit,¡± Yun Jianyue said with a smile, even as she secretly examined Yan Xuehen. She seemed to be wounded; her aura was a bit weaker than when she was at her strongest.

    Yan Xuehen obviously knew what Yun Jianyue was thinking. She had previously had absolute confidence because Yun Jianyue had been wounded by the emperor during the invasion of the Imperial Pce, and had never fully recovered since then. But she had just been injured by Medusa¡¯s Eye. Later, Zu An had left her in a sorry state with his various skills. Her current strength was indeed considerably lower than her peak. If the two of them really fought, it would be hard to say who woulde out on top in the end.

    A sweet smile appeared on her face when she thought of Zu An, but she immediately caught herself. What the hell did that rascal do to me?

    She was well informed, and had once heard of an Affection Gu bug from the south used to make two individuals be an affectionate couple. Could it be that the Golden Phoenix from before had been a kind of Gu bug art? But in theory, with her cultivation, none of those techniques should have worked.

    Yun Jianyue looked at her somewhat strangely. This ice-cold woman always had a deadpan expression; why did there seem to be a bit of a gentle smile on her face today? She looked almost like a young maiden in love.

    She erased those thoughts as soon as they emerged. If this stone cold woman could feel maidenly emotions, I might as well get married at that point.

    ¡°Why are you here?¡± Yan Xuehen asked, suppressing the doubt within her. Dealing with the current problem was a top priority.

    Yun Jianyue casually paced around. As her long hair rhythmically tapped against her bottom, even Yan Xuehen couldn''t help but give it another look, thinking to herself, This witch¡¯s bottom is quiterge.

    Her cheeks heated up a bit as soon as she thought of that. She focused on being indifferent to everything normally, so she wouldn¡¯t notice such things at all. What was up with her today?

    Yun Jianyue gave her a strange look. She just felt that Yan Xuehen was a bit different from usual, but she couldn''t exactly say how. She replied, ¡°Hmph, why else? Someone made such a shy scene in the air, so I was curious about what happened. I followed your aura and came here.¡±

    She felt a bit annoyed as she spoke. Themon people and even officials back at Cloudcenter City had all been praising Yan Xuehen. Only the other party¡¯s indifferent and aloof temperament could create such a reputation.

    Even though Yun Jianyue¡¯s appearance wasn¡¯t inferior at all, themon people would only fear her, and not love and adore her the way they did Yan Xuehen. That was an innate w of the Devil Sect.

    ¡°This ce is a bit strange. My divine senses don¡¯t reach very far in it. A huge battle seemed to have taken ce, and yet I couldn''t even find you,¡± Yun Jianyue said while looking all around her. She asked, ¡°Hm? Who were you fighting against just now?¡±

    Yan Xuehen said indifferently, ¡°I came here to catch Yu Yanluo.¡±

    ¡°Yu Yanluo?¡± Yun Jianyue eximed, a bit shocked. ¡°I heard that the former number one beauty was actually a Medusa. I wonder how many men¡¯s hearts will be crushed once they learn of this.¡±

    Yan Xuehen declined toment on that. Yu Yanluo was indeed extremely pretty, pretty to the point that even other women felt something. When she thought about how Zu An had been with such a beauty, and that they had been willing to sacrifice themselves for each other earlier, she felt incredibly vexed.

    ¡°Something¡¯s not right! Even if that woman does have the Medusa bloodline, she shouldn¡¯t be a match for you. Why was there such a huge disturbance?¡± Yun Jianyue muttered, still confused.

    ¡°There was the one who saved her too,¡± Yan Xuehen replied. She hesitated for a moment, but in the end, she didn¡¯t speak Zu An¡¯s name. After all, Yu Yanluo was a fiend race individual and a criminal. The one who saved her would definitely be a criminal too, and that would make things in the future extremely troublesome.

    ¡°Someone who could save her from the security in Cloudcenter City and even create such a disturbance while fighting against you¡­ Don¡¯t tell me some fiend race powerful figure came to save her?¡± Yun Jianyue remarked in amusement. However, her expression suddenly changed and she continued, ¡°Wait, it¡¯s not that brat, is it?¡±

    Yan Xuehen gave her a look of surprise. How had she guessed that?

    Yun Jianyue wrinkled her nose, as if she were smelling something. She remarked, ¡°I seem to be able to smell Zu An¡¯s scent. Is it him?¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression became even stranger as she asked, ¡°Why can you tell what he smells like?¡± What kind of a rtionship do these two have?

    Previously, she wouldn¡¯t have thought anything more of it. After all, there was no way a demoness like Yun Jianyue would have any rtionship with a junior. But she had just seen an incredible beauty like Yu Yanluo, who had been famous for so many years, fall for that guy; and now, even she herself¡­

    That fellow seemed to have a strange sort of charm. All sorts of outstanding girls couldn''t help but get close to him.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression became a bit unnatural. She had hidden in Zu An¡¯s room before, and the two had lived together for a long time. She couldn''t be more familiar with his scent and aura. But she couldn''t just exin those things, so she changed the topic. ¡°Where is he?¡±

    Yan Xuehen worried that her old adversary would notice something because of her abnormal sensitivity toward Zu An. She said indifferently, ¡°He is dead.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s dead?¡± Yun Jianyue eximed in rm. ¡°How can that be? Where are their corpses?¡±

    Yan Xuehen said expressionlessly, ¡°That fellow¡¯s cultivation was too strange, so I had no choice but to fight with all my strength. How could there be any corpse left under the full power of a grandmaster?¡±

    Yun Jianyue obviously understood what the full power of a grandmaster represented. Furthermore, when she heard Yan Xuehen say that Zu An¡¯s cultivation was strange, and she had no choice but to go all out, that left her even more convinced. She had spent so much time with Zu An previously, so she naturally knew that Zu An¡¯s strength couldn''t be evaluated like other cultivators.

    ¡°You actually killed him? You dare to kill him?!¡± Yun Jianyue eximed. Her ck hair flew around, her expression turning ice-cold. A crescent moon appeared out of thin air. She instantly transformed into the demoness from the past who had inspired fear and awe throughout the entire world.

 Chapter 1150: Strange Roar

    <h4>Chapter 1150: Strange Roar</h4>

    Yan Xuehen jumped in fright when she sensed Yun Jianyue¡¯s killing intent. She eximed, ¡°Are you mad? You are injured, but you are still going to fight against me?¡±

    She was more interested in finding Zu An and finding out what had happened. She obviously didn¡¯t want to waste any more time. Furthermore, in a fight between two grandmasters, unless absolutely necessary, neither side would want to fight to the death. Regardless of who won and lost, they would suffer serious injuries that were difficult to recover from.

    Yun Jianyue retorted coldly, ¡°Aren¡¯t you injured too? We¡¯re in the same situation. Are you trying to scare me off or something?¡±

    ¡°What kind of a rtionship does that person have with you? You are actually willing to even fight me to the death for him?¡± Yan Xuehen asked as she summoned her Flying Snow Sword to defend against Yun Jianyue¡¯s attack.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression was dangerous as she said, ¡°He¡¯s shown me kindness, and he¡¯s my friend. I couldn''t do much to repay him. Since you killed him, I¡¯ll get revenge in his ce!¡±

    ¡°Friend?¡± Yan Xuehen thought to herself, This demoness actually called Zu An her friend! That was something that had never happened before.

    For so many years, the sect master of the Devil Sect had been used to stop children from crying at night. She had always kept to herself. When had she ever had any friends? And yet now, she actually called a junior her friend, and she was even willing to fight against a grandmaster while disregarding everything!

    She recalled how the other woman previously seemed to have appeared several times to help Zu An as well. It would be even stranger if there were nothing fishy going on between these two!

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression turned cold. The two had clearly known each other longer than she had known Zu An. For some reason, that made her feel extremely unhappy. And because they had faced each other for so many years, she didn¡¯t want to tell the truth. Otherwise, she might seem scared of Yun Jianyue.

    ¡°Eliminating evil has always been our responsibility to begin with. It is that man¡¯s fault for being infatuated by lust and going astray,¡± she said. She knew they could easily avoid fighting if she backed down even a bit, but she had always been a proud woman. How could she show any weakness in front of her old adversary?

    ¡°Then die!¡± Yun Jianyue eximed. She could no longer sit still, brandishing her crescent disk and attacking. Yan Xuehen gripped the Flying Snow Sword tightly and faced her.

    What kind of matter was a battle between grandmasters? The surrounding cave quaked, and the nearby tunnels copsed. However, the falling dirt and rocks didn¡¯t prevent the two from using their skills at all.

    One side was eager to get revenge, while the other was proud and stubborn. Just like that, the two fought an incredibly intense battle.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An, who had been rushing through the underground paths with Yu Yanluo, sensed the terrifying power in the distance. He couldn''t help but stop.

    Yu Yanluo also sensed it, wondering, ¡°Who is Yan Xuehen fighting?¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°Who cares who she¡¯s fighting. Her cultivation is so high. Who could even hurt her unless the emperor himself came?¡±

    Yu Yanluo nodded. That was indeed the case. Both she and Zu An were already quite strong, and yet they couldn''t do much to Yan Xuehen at all. If Zu An hadn¡¯t managed to think of a way out, both of them might already have left this world. She couldn''t help but be curious when she thought of that, however. She asked, ¡°Just how did you make Yan Xuehen let us go?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face heated up. That method really was a bit despicable, so how could he say it out loud? He could only reply ambiguously, ¡°Her conscience might have finally kicked in, and she could have been worried that killing me might affect her rtionship with her disciple.¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°But there was no reason for her to let me go, was there?¡± Yu Yanluo had guessed that as well, but she didn¡¯t understand why she had been allowed to escape as well.

    Zu An said, ¡°Maybe she did that out of consideration for how you¡¯ve never harmed anyone all these years, and have instead saved many people. Or maybe she thought you were so pretty that even as a woman, she was captivated by your beauty. She couldn''t bring herself to ruin a natural work of art the heavens created.¡±

    Yu Yanluo blushed. She said with yful annoyance, ¡°You are always teasing me.¡± But she still felt happy whenever she heard him praise her for being pretty.

    In truth, many people had used even prettier words than Zu An in describing her beauty, such as calling her the most splendid flower. However, even though she always replied with a smile, she usually didn¡¯t feel anything inside. It had reached a point where she had even been a bit unhappy with her appearance, because it brought her too many unnecessary troubles and difficulties.

    But now, when she heard Zu An praise her, she instead felt a bit shy for the very first time. She had been an incredible beauty to begin with, but now that she was showing her bashful side, she was even more charming. Even Zu An, who had his fair share of experiences, was a bit stupefied.

    Yu Yanluo also noticed his scorching hot gaze. While she felt shy, she also felt a hint of happiness. She said, ¡°Am I pretty?¡±

    Zu An nodded and said with a smile, ¡°You are.¡± He wanted to use some fancier words to describe her, but when their eyes met, he instead felt that they were all unnecessary. It was instead the purest and truest feelings that were best.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s smile seemed to make the entire ck cavern be a bit brighter. She said, ¡°You can look at me as long as you want in the future.¡±

    She wasn¡¯t a little maiden who didn¡¯t know about worldly matters. She didn¡¯t have to mince words and hide her own thoughts. She had had favorable feelings for him to begin with. Furthermore, the two of them had fled through the mine together. When faced with Yan Xuehen¡¯s pursuit, both of them had been willing to give up their lives for each other. Since they had already faced life and death together, their rtionship had also naturally advanced.

    Zu An didn¡¯t notice her implication and instead replied jokingly, ¡°I can look at you for as long as I want? Then can I look at you whenever I want?¡±

    ¡°When do you want to look?¡± Yu Yanluo¡¯s eyes swirled, and her voice even became a bit softer.

    ¡°For example, at night?¡± Zu An replied. He had gradually sensed that something wasn¡¯t right, but his thoughts hadn¡¯t gone in that direction.

    Yu Yanluo replied, ¡°Okay.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. What the hell?

    When she saw his stupefied expression, Yu Yanluo giggled and said, ¡°Dummy.¡± After she spoke, she quickly ced her arms around Zu An¡¯s neck, kissing him with her red lips.

    Zu An¡¯s entire body went rigid. He subconsciously held her waist while thinking, I let Yu Yanluo take the first kiss?

    For so many years, there had always been so many men at her side, but none of them could get closer to her. And yet today, she actually took the initiative to kiss a man! Even if this matter got out, not a single person would believe it.

    ¡­

    After a while, their lips separated again. Zu An only remembered that her lips were extremely soft, and also extremely sweet.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s face was alreadypletely red, but she still said with a shy smile, ¡°You¡¯re always such a smooth talker normally, so I thought you were some yer. Turns out you¡¯re also a stiff and pure man.¡±

    What?! Are you kidding me right now? Zu An thought. How could he still hold back? He grabbed her wrist and pushed her against the wall next to them. Then, he lowered his head and kissed her.

    When she felt the masculine pressure from Zu An¡¯s rough actions, Yu Yanluo was stunned at first. However, she reacted soon afterward, feeling that her words must have incited him. Her heart pounded crazily. She didn¡¯t get upset and instead slowly closed her eyes, letting him do what he wanted.

    No matter how mature she was, she had still never done it before. How could she be a match for the seasoned Zu An? Under his ministrations, her entire body quickly softened like melted candy.

    Zu An felt himself be incredibly hard when he sensed how soft she had be. He was soon no longer satisfied with just kissing. Yu Yanluo¡¯s breath quickened more and more when she sensed him invade her personal space further. However, she only opened her eyes and gave him a resentful look, but didn¡¯t stop him.

    Zu An embraced her waist. He was just about to go a step further when a strange, ominous roar rang out. The cave around them rocked back and forth, and chunks of rock began to fall from above.

    The two of them were shocked. That sound had emerged from the distance. They saw some ck fog gradually closing in from the long, pitch-ck tunnel, obscuring everything in its path.

    ¡°I think something was crying out just now,¡± Yu Yanluo said. Her entire face was red. She was leaning against Zu An as if she didn¡¯t have a bone in her body. If Zu An hadn¡¯t been holding her, she might have fallen to the ground.

    ¡°We heard that when we first jumped down here too,¡± Zu An said, his expression serious. He had thought that it might have been the wind or an earthquake, and that it had only be so loud after being amplified by the huge mine pit.

    Now that they were farther inside, he realized it was a living creature¡¯s roar. Its voice carried a terrifying pressure that made both of them feel as if they were facing a great enemy.

 Chapter 1151: Itâ€™s Everywhere

    <h4>Chapter 1151: It¡¯s Everywhere</h4>

    Meanwhile, Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue¡¯s battle was reaching its climax. But when they heard the terrifying noise, both of them agreed to stop.

    ¡°What¡¯s that sound?¡± Yun Jianyue remarked with a frown. As a grandmaster, she could tell that the entity that had made the noise wasn¡¯t something they should provoke.

    ¡°I do not know. I heard it earlier when I was descending into the mines. It is probably a kind of beast,¡± Yan Xuehen replied. At the same time, her brows furrowed slightly. Zu An didn¡¯t run into that terrifying creature, did he?

    Huh? Why am I worried about him?

    Yun Jianyue frowned, remarking, ¡°What kind of beast has this kind of terrifying pressure?¡±

    ¡°The world is big; nothing is too bizarre. We should treat it with reverence,¡± Yan Xuehen said. ¡°How about we just end things here? That creature is no weaker than us. If we fought until both of us were exhausted, it would be bad if the creature took advantage of our weakness then.¡±

    She recalled the result of ¡®great danger¡¯ when she had used her divination circle earlier. Back then, she had been quite curious as to how, even with her incredible cultivation, there could be anything that dangerous to her.

    At first, she had thought that it was Zu An¡¯s pitch-ck dagger, but now, she realized that the great danger probably came from Yun Jianyue or that unknown terrifying creature. She obviously didn¡¯t want to keep fighting at that point.

    Yun Jianyue sneered and replied, ¡°It¡¯s just a trifling unknown creature, and yet it¡¯s already made our honorable White Jade Sect Master scared? In that case, just hand over your life sooner!¡±

    She came from the Devil Sect, and her presence carried a natural ferocity. She immediately surged with power when she sensed Yan Xuehen¡¯s intent to withdraw. This is the perfect chance to get revenge for Ah Zu!

    When she recalled Zu An¡¯s appearance, her aura became even more vicious. She took out the Empress Lantern, and the dark cave immediately became enveloped in golden light.

    ¡°Crazy woman!¡± Yan Xuehen eximed. She obviously knew how powerful the Empress Lantern was! She didn¡¯t dare to underestimate it and quickly used her domain of Absolute Cold.

    Both of them had been adversaries for many years. Even after all those years, a victory had never been determined. Now, however, she keenly sensed Yun Jianyue¡¯s killing intent, realizing that there was something wrong with her mood. If the situation continued, she really might suffer grievously. As such, she no longer held back and nned to deal with the woman before her first. Even though the wounds from her battle against Zu An and Yu Yanluo weren¡¯t light, Yun Jianyue was also wounded. There was no reason for her to be scared.

    The two grandmasters¡¯ domains began to sh. The interferingws caused areas to explode one after another. The entire mine began to tremble as if a huge earthquake had urred. But neither of them could be bothered to worry about that. They now fought seriously, neither side holding back at all. At their level, whichever side held back would be seriously injured.

    Meanwhile, Zu An and Yu Yanluo sensed the mines shaking slightly, and the rumbling continued. They couldn''t help but look at each other in dismay.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me Yan Xuehen and that roaring beast are fighting?¡± Zu An remarked somewhat uneasily. He didn¡¯t know where the mysterious creature hade from.

    Would Yan Xuehen be in danger? She was Chuyan¡¯s master after all, and he had used the Gold Phoenix ability on her. He just felt a bit sorry for her somehow.

    But he quicklyughed that thought off. She was a powerful grandmaster, someone who could freely roam the world unworried. She was a human-shaped T-rex. The mysterious creature might even be scared if it saw her.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go and find Maid Xing¡¯s group first. I can¡¯t help but feel a bit uneasy about this,¡± Yu Yanluo said while blushing, emerging from his embrace and sorting out her messy clothes.

    ¡°Okay,¡± Zu An replied. However, cursed that mysterious creature to death inwardly. Can¡¯t you shout some other time? I was almost there!

    The mood had already been right there, with both of them unable to hold back their emotions anymore, and yet they were suddenly interrupted. The mood was nowpletely gone and they obviously couldn''t continue.

    The two entered the pitch-ck cave. Because of what had just happened, Yu Yanluo¡¯s face was red and she spoke much less. Even though she was a mature woman, she was as pure as a white sheet of paper. She had almost lost her chastity just then out of a moment of muddle-headedness. Although she was feeling embarrassed, she was also a bit worried about her personal gains and losses. Will he think I¡¯m an easy woman because I agreed to him so easily?

    Zu An noticed that there was something off about her. He sighed on purpose and remarked, ¡°Sigh, what a pity.¡±

    Yu Yanluo jumped in fright, asking, ¡°What¡¯s a pity?¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°It¡¯s a pity that there were no spectators. Otherwise, I would have been able to enjoy their jealousy.¡± After all, considering Yu Yanluo¡¯s identity and her countless pursuers, who knew just how many Rage points he would have been able to farm from them.

    Yu Yanluo replied in annoyance, ¡°You freak, how could you let someone else see something like that?!¡±

    ¡°Of course I would only let them see me hug and kiss you. Did you think I was talking about something else?¡± Zu An replied with a strange expression.

    Yu Yanluo was really embarrassed. She quickly swung her fist to hit him. As they fought yfully, the previous awkwardnesspletely faded.

    Zu An suddenly noticed something, however. He eximed, ¡°Huh? There seems to be something over there.¡± He quickly walked over and picked up an item that resembled a palm-sized notebook.

    Yu Yanluo followed him over. She cried out in rm, ¡°This is the memo book of a Yu n guard!¡±

    Zu An was stunned, saying, ¡°Your n¡¯s guards really are schrly too.¡±

    Yu Yanluo exined, ¡°The reason they carry these is because the Yu n¡¯s guards often need to work in these mines. The mines are full of dangers, and unexpected things happen every day. If the cave copsed, there might not necessarily be anyone who could provide aid immediately.

    ¡°That¡¯s why every single Yu n guard was eventually assigned a memo book. They would write about their usual missions, and if something happened, it would serve as a keepsake for their ns.¡±

    Her expression became somewhat grim as she spoke. Such things had clearly happened quite often over the years. Each time, she had personally delivered the leftover items to their families. However, even though she always gave them generouspensation, whenever she saw an elderly couple who had lost their son, a young wife who had lost her husband, or a younger child wailing in despair after being orphaned, she felt truly awful.

    Zu An had already opened up the booklet. There were quite a few things written inside, but the oldest entries just described ordinary missions. There wasn¡¯t anything really worth paying attention to in them.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    But when he read the most recent recordings, he discovered some useful information. He read out, ¡°...The cave seemed to be shaking, but then everything quickly returned to normal. No one treated it as a big deal¡­ A strange ck fog has appeared. We don¡¯t know where it came from, but it¡¯s all over the mines¡­ We couldn''t get rid of it even after using all sorts of methods¡­

    ¡°The ck fog has corrosive properties. Normal soldiers¡¯ bodies begin rotting on contact, and not even we, the guards, can hold on. However, it seems that some senior officers with higher cultivation ranks can hold on for a short amount of time.

    ¡°We quickly discovered that the ck fog has hallucinogenic effects. Many workers and guards who went into the ck fog started to hallucinate. They all became crazier and crazier.

    ¡°The work in the mines clearly can¡¯t continue. We¡¯ve contacted all of the miners to move toward the surface¡­ But this ck fog is everywhere, so we aren¡¯t sure whether everyone has evacuated sessfully.

    ¡°Our mission is to search for anyone who might still be down here. A long time ago, the madam said we couldn¡¯t abandon anyone trapped in the mines, so we can¡¯t bring shame to the madam and the Yu n.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but give Yu Yanluo a look when he saw that. Yu Yanluo didn¡¯t feel proud at all, and her expression was filled with grief. Zu An held her ice-cold hand, then continued reading. Theter entries became more and more illegible and intermittent.

    ¡°...Bad news today. ck fog has appeared in the middle of our path. We can¡¯t return¡­

    ¡°But we can¡¯t give up on our mission. We¡¯re going to look around first and gather all the trapped workers. Captain Ding told us that Cloudcenter City has already been informed about what happened here. Madam will send people to save us. The Yu n won¡¯t abandon a single person; I trust the madam¡­

    ¡°The madam really is beautiful. If we could personally meet the madam, I wouldn¡¯t even care about a reward. Just being able to see the madam up close would already be a blissful thing.¡±

    Zu An felt some grief when he saw that. The guard had still been fantasizing about his achievements allowing him to receive a reward from Yu Yanluo. Unfortunately, he hadn¡¯t known that something major had happened in Cloudcenter City. Yu Yanluo had been used of being a fiend race person, while Yu Xuansu and any others who could help the people in the mine had also been arrested. The Yu n was aplete mess, so none of them had known that something had happened at the mine. How could they send anyone to rescue the trapped people? The miners had been waiting for nothing.

    Anger appeared in Yu Yanluo¡¯s eyes when she saw that. She no longer seemed as gentle as before. She was a n leader, and thus carried responsibility for the entire n. Because of what Xu Yu had done to her, the people at the mine had been left in a difficult situation. She obviously med him.

    The two of them quickly kept reading. The reports were getting sloppier and sloppier. The writer¡¯s hands had definitely been shaking badly while he was writing.

    ¡°People are disappearing every day. Mypanions grow fewer and fewer¡­

    ¡°Even the captain has disappeared! He¡¯s our leader, and the one with the highest cultivation rank among us!

    ¡°There¡¯s something even more terrifying than the ck fog, and it¡¯s everywhere. What exactly is that thing?!¡±

 Chapter 1152: Strange and Life-Threatening

    <h4>Chapter 1152: Strange and Life-Threatening</h4>

    Zu An and Yu Yanluo could both sense the guard¡¯s fear conveyed through the distorted writing. The two of them exchanged a look, their expressions turning serious. They quickly continued reading to find out more information.

    Unfortunately, there was nothing. There were no more recordings.

    Zu An wondered seriously, ¡°Could that thing he was talking about be the creature releasing those roars?¡±

    ¡°It probably is,¡± Yu Yanluo said, taking the book from him. Her expression was grim as she continued, ¡°In private, the other guards call these items death ounts. These books prove the guards¡¯ statuses and record their dying words, so they usually keep them close. Since it¡¯s been left here, that means he¡¯s already encountered something unexpected¡­¡±

    Zu An fell silent. The pressure the mysterious creature gave off could even make them somewhat fearful, so how could it be something an ordinary guard could deal with?

    Yu Yanluo closed the notebook. The owner¡¯s name was engraved on the cover: Peace. She felt pained when she saw that name, which carried his parents¡¯ blessings.

    She didn¡¯t have any impression of his name. The Yu n had many subordinates. As the n leader, there was no way she could know every single person. And yet, it was precisely such an ordinary member who, despite being in danger himself, had first decided to help the missing miners before anything else.

    ¡°It was I, the n leader, who failed to protect them¡­¡± Yu Yanluo¡¯s eyes became moist.

    Zu An wrapped his arm around her shoulder and said in constion, ¡°It¡¯s not your fault. No one could¡¯ve anticipated that all of this would happen when you were imprisoned.¡±

    Yu Yanluo gritted her teeth and said, ¡°Xu Yu is a senior official in Cloudcenter City. Don¡¯t tell me he never noticed the abnormalities that were taking ce in this mine?!¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, Xu Yu carries the emperor¡¯s Imperial Edict. Taking down the Yu n is the only thing on his mind. He couldn''t be happier to see the Yu n suffer a serious blow like this.

    But saying all that would bepletely meaningless. He looked around him and said, ¡°ording to what we read in that book, this mine might have other survivors. Let¡¯s look around and see if we can find anyone.¡±

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s do that!¡± Yu Yanluo replied, calmly putting the book away. A resolute expression appeared in her eyes. Now she was thinking not only about the Snake race, but also about dealing with this problem first.

    Zu An sighed inwardly. Judging from the information he had received, those left inside were probably ordinary miners and some guards. But whether it was the ck fog or that mysterious beast, neither were things they could deal with. Now that so many days had already passed, they were probably already¡­

    Of course, he couldn''t say that out loud, or else it would affect Yu Yanluo.

    The two of them quickly began to search through the mine paths. At the same time, they were vignt against any danger. ording to the guard¡¯s recordings, apart from the ck fog, there were other, even more terrifying existences inside.

    But Zu An was still confused. Judging from the strength the mysterious beast had shown, if it made an appearance, just its power alone would have been enough to leave all the guards speechless, and evenpletely wipe all of them out. Why had they disappeared one by one?

    Unfortunately, the two didn¡¯t have much information at all. There was no way for them to make an urate judgment.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡­

    The two walked for a long time. Apart from the ck fog, they didn¡¯t encounter any other dangers.

    Suddenly, however, Yu Yanluo squatted down by a corner. The dirt there was somewhat dark red; it would be hard to notice in the pitch-ck cave if they weren¡¯t looking carefully.

    Zu An squatted down and kneaded a bit of it between his fingers. Then, he sniffed it and eximed, ¡°Blood!¡± Furthermore, it was human blood.

    Yu Yanluo nodded, looking upset. Soon afterward, the two of them found a broken sword nearby. It was a standard-issue Yu n sword. She said in shock, ¡°This seems to have been someone who apanied me.¡±

    Zu An was confused. Yu Yanluo exined, ¡°The sword hilt¡¯s decoration is different. The guards who stay at my side have all taken the Yu surname.¡±

    She pointed at the sword hilt. There was the character ¡®Yu¡¯ engraved there. She picked up the broken sword and examined the damage. ¡°Even though these guards¡¯ weapons aren¡¯t divine weapons, their quality is definitely excellent. It¡¯s not so easy to break them.¡±

    Zu An gave it a look and said, ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem to have been artificially broken, or broken by another weapon¡­ The surface is covered in fine sawtooth marks that are easy to overlook if you don¡¯t check carefully.¡±

    ¡°If the sword remains, so does the owner. If the sword is ruined¡­¡± Yu Yanluo mumbled to herself. At the same time, she seemed to be looking around for something. Suddenly, her eyes widened. She ran over to an area nearby and saw a booklet embedded in the wall. Their attention had previously been focused on the ground, which was why they hadn¡¯t noticed it.

    She removed the booklet from the wall. When she saw the name on the leather cover, her expression darkened as she said, ¡°It¡¯s Yu Bin.¡±

    Zu An asked in rm, ¡°Yu Bin?¡±

    Back in Brightmoon City¡¯s outskirts, Yu Bin had been one of the guards protecting Yu Yanluo. When Zu An hade to Cloudcenter City and visited the Yu n for the first time, Yu Bin had been the one who passed by and helped him out too. That bright and radiant youngster appeared in Zu An¡¯s mind, and he sighed inwardly.

    Yu Yanluo opened the booklet, but her hand immediately stiffened. Many parts of the book were covered in blood that had already congealed.

    Zu An worried that she might be struggling with the reality of what had happened. He took the book from her and helped her flip through it. The first half just consisted of normal, routine recordings, although there was quite a bit of admiration and reverence for Yu Yanluo mixed in.

    Zu An was already used to that. Yu Yanluo¡¯s prestige in the Yu n was iparable; that wasn¡¯t something that could be achieved purely through beauty. He could sense that they all felt the most sincere respect for Yu Yanluo, who definitely treated them quite well. He could tell from the ordinary recordings that Yu Yanluo wouldn¡¯t abandon even a single person who encountered trouble in the mines. All of them had believed that she woulde for them¡­

    As he continued to flip through the pages, he quickly found the most recent recording.

    ¡°There has been news from the Civil Affairs Manor, that the madam seems to have been imprisoned. There are even rumors that the madam is the Medusa? How is that possible?!

    ¡°The elders were also arrested by the Vice Magistrate. The soldiers carried the court¡¯s arrest orders, so those left have no idea what to do either.

    ¡°...The Yu n is a mess; I do not know where Maid Xing went either¡­ I want to discuss things with Sir Zu. He is a member of the Imperial Envoy, he should have a solution¡­ But those Armed Escort soldiers all say that he is recovering in seclusion and will not receive guests.

    Zu An¡¯s brows furrowed tightly. Never had he imagined that this guy woulde looking for him. Unfortunately, he had been busy looking for a way to save Yu Yanluo andpletely overlooked such things.

    ¡°Right, the duke definitely has a solution.¡±

    ¡°...I heard that the duke personally went to demand the madam¡¯s freedom. I also went with many of mypanions. However, Sir Vice Magistrate had an Imperial Edict, so the duke also backed off¡­

    Zu An sighed and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect him to have been there back then too.¡±

    Yu Yanluo pursed her lips and didn¡¯t say anything. She obviously heard about what had happened when Zu An went as Jian Yanyou.

    ¡°...More and more information is saying that the madam really is the Medusa¡­ How could the beautiful and elegant madam be an evil and vicious Medusa?

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression darkened. She muttered, ¡°It seems ordinary people really can¡¯t ept something like this after all.¡± Even her guard couldn''t ept it, let alone someone else.

    Zu An continued to flip through the pages.

    ¡°...Even if the madam is a Medusa, so what? I know about the things she has done over all of these years better than anyone. Even if she is a Medusa, she is definitely a good Medusa. She will forever be our madam!

    Yu Yanluo was stunned when she saw that. Her eyes also began to shine a bit.

    ¡°...Maybe it is because Sir Vice Magistrate was worried that we might do something, so that was why they transferred us to the mines. We wanted to go against those orders, but¡­

    ¡°Oh my goodness, something so big actually happened in the mines! I wanted to go back and report this to the city, but the Vice Magistrate¡¯s people stopped me. Those bastards!¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression grew cold when she saw that report. So Xu Yu knew about what was happening and had sealed off the information!

    Even Zu An began to curse Xu Yu. At first, he had still felt some admiration for the man as a capable subject, thinking that what had happened was only because they belonged to different factions. His methods were also formidable.

    But now, after something bad had happened in the mines, Xu Yu had deliberately sealed up information in order to act against the Yu n. There was no way Zu An could forgive his decision to harm the lives of so many people.

    ¡°He met Maid Xing!¡± Yu Yanluo cried out in rm when she saw what Yu Bin had written afterward.

    Zu An immediately looked at the entry, and only then did he find out that Maid Xing had brought her nsmen near this ce,but was almost noticed by Xu Yu¡¯s men. Fortunately, Yu Bin had been present too and hade to their aid.

    When he found out that Maid Xing had arrived with those people on the madam¡¯s orders, Yu Bin had hesitated at first, but had still decided to help escort them in the end. Because of the things that had happened recently, and because he had seen that Maid Xing was injured, he had been worried about their safety. In his opinion, that was the only thing he could do to help the madam.

    There were a few other guards who had shared his thoughts. However, worried about raising suspicion, they hadn¡¯t let too many others know. Only the closest guards had escorted Maid Xing¡¯s group.

    Later on, they had encountered the ck fog, so they¡¯d had no choice but to move around. Suddenly, an earthquake had urred and the mine passage copsed. He had rushed out to save the others, but had gotten stuck behind fallen rocks himself.

    He had wanted to go through a different path and meet up with Maid Xing¡¯s group again, but then, soon afterward, he had heard a strange and life-threatening voice.

 Chapter 1153: A Ghost Around the Corner?

    <h4>Chapter 1153: A Ghost Around the Corner?</h4>

    ¡°At first, it was a ¡®scratch scratch¡¯ noise, like that of a fingernail scraping against metal. Later on, the voice became extremely strange and terrifying, and hard to describe with words. Right, it was a bit like the sound of that waterphone instrument the merchants from the west brought and yed at the manor.¡±

    Zu An was a bit surprised when he saw that. He hadn¡¯t expected this world to actually have a waterphone. Most of the terrifying sounds from the horror movies of his previous world had been made using a waterphone.

    ¡°I heard from my colleagues that whenever that strange noise went through the mines, apanion would go missing. Not even their corpse could be found¡­

    ¡°I suspect that the sounds are made by a certain monster.

    ¡°Also, the ck fog is probably left behind when that monster moves around.

    ¡°I am really scared¡­ but as the Yu n¡¯s guard, I have to remember my n¡¯s glory. I cannot bring shame to my uniform¡­

    ¡°I cannot let anything happen to Maid Xing¡¯s group, so I am trying to find a way to draw this monster in the other direction.

    ¡°I do not know how long I will be able tost.

    ¡°It is a pity that I will never be able to meet the madam again. I hope that she can at least make it through these troubled times.¡±

    ¡­

    A tear trickled down Yu Yanluo¡¯s cheek when she saw those words. She learned her forehead against Zu An¡¯s chest. Her body was shaking slightly, and she was clearly filled with emotion.

    Zu An patted her shoulder tofort her. At the same time, he continued to flip through the pages. There had been a line or two recordedter on, but unfortunately, it was too hard to read through all the bloodstains. Then, the recordings came to a sudden stop. When he connected that fact to the broken sword, Zu An realized that everything pointed at disaster.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    He analyzed the situation and said, ¡°This notebook was previously embedded into the wall. He probably threw it here with all of his strength when he was in danger. He probably wanted to leave this behind so others would know what happened.¡±

    ¡°If he threw it at that time, considering the angle and direction¡­¡± He looked around the area. Soon afterward, he arrived near a section of the ck fog. He reached out his hand and pressed against the wall, saying, ¡°The earth here is softer than the rest. The walls of a mine should be reinforced to prevent cave-ins; there¡¯s no way it should be this loose. Something probably rushed out suddenly from here and ambushed Yu Bin.¡±

    Yu Yanluo also surrounded herself with her elemental barrier and walked over. She examined the wall and said, ¡°But even though the earth here is loose, there are no traces of a cave here. If a monster really emerged from inside, it would have left a huge hole behind, right?¡±

    Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°It¡¯s probably an earth element monster, one that can move freely underground. It wouldn¡¯t really need to make a hole. It¡¯s only because the earth here was affected by the earth element that the dirt here i a bit different.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right. Looks like we have to be careful of something suddenlying out of the walls,¡± Yu Yanluo said, her expression carrying a hint of grief. She said, ¡°All of this was information Yu Bin left behind at the cost of his life.¡±

    Zu An patted her shoulder. Anything he said at that point would pale inparison. After Yu Yanluo calmed down a bit, however, he said, ¡°The first priority is to rescue the survivors and to prevent a repeat of this tragedy. Since Yu Bin intentionally drew that beast here, Maid Xing and the others should be on the other side.¡±

    Yu Bin had been cut off from Maid Xing¡¯s group because of the copsed passage, but with the pair¡¯s cultivations, that wasn¡¯t too big of a problem. They could just break through. They had finally gotten some clues about Maid Xing¡¯s group, so they naturally had to take a look.

    Yu Yanluo nodded. She didn¡¯t even know how terrible she would feel if something simr had happened to Maid Xing¡¯s group too. She put away Yu Bin¡¯s booklet and said seriously, ¡°Once I return, I¡¯ll establish a monument for these brave soldiers who have sacrificed themselves. Even though they¡¯ve died, I must let their wills live on, to continue existing in the hearts of the Yu n¡¯s people.¡±

    Zu An instead felt a bit worried. Now that Yu Yanluo¡¯s Medusa identity had been exposed, she might not be able to return to Cloudcenter City¡¯s Yu n anymore¡­

    Of course, he wouldn¡¯t bring up something like that while she was grieving.

    ¡­

    The two of them then headed in the opposite direction. Along the way, they found some traces that had most likely been left behind by Yu Bin.

    Eventually, they arrived at a copsed area. Zu An looked at the wall in front of him and reached out a hand. After sensing it for a bit, he opened his eyes and said, ¡°This path is being blocked by around a dozen meters of rock. We should be able to dig our way through.¡±

    ¡°Sounds good!¡± Yu Yanluo replied. She had already rolled up her sleeves, prepared to take action.

    Zu An couldn''t help butugh, saying, ¡°Just leave this to me. You¡¯re injured and should use this chance to catch your breath a bit.¡±

    Yu Yanluo looked at his chest worriedly, saying, ¡°Your injuries were even more serious than mine. If it were anyone else, they might already have died from a wound like that. I think you should rest and let me do this.¡±

    Zu An pulled aside his clothes and moved closer to her. He was worried that she might not be able to see clearly, so he ced the hand she was holding up on his chest, saying, ¡°I told you my body was tough, right? I even ate Yan Xuehen¡¯s pill, so the wound has already healed. Look, it¡¯s already formed a scab.¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s finger gently caressed his wound and discovered that it really had closed up. She eximed, ¡°It really healed that fast? White Jade Sect¡¯s Ice Heart Pill really is as miraculous as the legends state¡­¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but chuckle. It seemed it was really hard for ordinary people to understand his body¡¯s toughness. They always subconsciously thought his recovery speed was because of medicine.

    ¡°Sigh, it really is amazing. How could Yan Xuehen be willing to give you such an important medicine?¡± Yu Yanluo mused, her expression strange. She just felt that the matter was way too absurd.

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because I¡¯m handsome and she ended up liking me,¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°Look at you!¡± Yu Yanluo rolled her eyes and shot back, ¡°If Sect Master Yan heard that, she might just skin you alive.¡±

    Zu An sighed and said, ¡°I¡¯m telling you the truth, but you don¡¯t believe me.¡±

    He quickly approached the copsed area. His hand pressed against the surface, and he slowly began digging through the wall. However, he didn¡¯t smash into it with his fist. They were underground, after all, so he was worried about causing a second copse.

    Instead, he used a weaker force to slowly soften the earth through vibration. At the same time, he protected the surroundings with his ki. That way, he slowly drew out the dirt; in time, a long, circr tunnel appeared before them.

    ¡°You¡¯repletely covered in sweat from all that work,¡± Yu Yanluo said. She took out her handkerchief to help Zu An wipe away the sweat on his forehead.

    When he saw her shockingly beautiful face up close, Zu An couldn''t help but raise her chin and kiss her. Yu Yanluo was caught off guard. At first, she hit him lightly with her fists, but eventually, she returned the affection.

    ¡°You really are beautiful¡­¡± Zu An said with sincere admiration when their lips separated again a while afterward.

    ¡°You¡¯re also really handsome,¡± Yu Yanluo replied, her eyes sparkling. They really were like the most beautiful gemstones in the world.

    ¡°Let¡¯s take care of more important matters first,¡± Zu An said. He knew that Yu Yanluo had just experienced several tragedies, so she was definitely broken-hearted. He didn¡¯t want to take advantage of her at such a time. He said as he crawled into the tunnel, ¡°I¡¯ll take the lead. You have to be careful.¡±

    Yu Yanluo giggled when she saw his bottom stick out clumsily. She was an intelligent woman; how could she not tell that he was doing that on purpose to cheer her up? She immediately felt warm inside. When she looked at him, her expression became even gentler.

    The two crawled through the long and narrow tunnel. They weren¡¯t scared of dirt covering their bodies because of the protection of their elemental barriers. Soon, they arrived on the other side. After they took just a few steps, a few more paths appeared in front of them.

    ¡°This way,¡± Yu Yanluo said, having quickly detected a code Maid Xing had left behind. The two of them followed the marked path.

    The paths gradually grew growing wider and wider. Judging from their previous experiences, there would be an underground miner resting station nearby. Such ces were usually where the ore went through rough processing, and were also where goods were gathered. That was why such areas were usually a bit more spacious.

    Yu Yanluo was about to say something when Zu An¡¯s expression changed, and he pointed into the distance. He whispered, ¡°Shh! There seems to be someone there.¡± ck fog filled the paths, so his spiritual senses weren¡¯t as sharp as usual.

    ¡°Is it Maid Xing¡¯s group?¡± Yu Yanluo asked with pleasant surprise.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. This ce is way too strange, so we need to move carefully,¡± Zu An said, standing in front of her protectively. The two of them moved forward quietly. He intended to secretly head over first to examine the situation.

    Right at that moment, a wave of sound rang out. Both of them immediately felt a stinging pain in their minds. A long and slender sword shot out at Zu An like a viper.

 Chapter 1154: Old Acquaintances

    <h4>Chapter 1154: Old Acquaintances</h4>

    Zu An was shocked. At first, he had only nned to secretly investigate them, but now it seemed as if he had fallen into their trap.

    Fortunately, he had already condensed his soul. He instantly recovered from the stinging pain, and his finger shot out to deflect the thin and narrow sword. He was just about to retaliate when the attacker disappeared into the shadows.

    Endless yellow and white paper strips descended from above. While initially soft, those paper strips soon became incredibly sharp, leaving deep gashes in the nearby walls.

    Yu Yanluo reacted swiftly to the attack. She took out her World Painting and covered her head, sucking in all the descending paper. Suddenly, a thin sword stabbed toward her neck from the shadows.

    Zu An¡¯s soul had be incredibly perceptive. He quickly grabbed the sword, not giving the owner a chance to run away. He pulled the attacker toward him and unleashed a palm strike.

    ¡°Please be lenient!¡± someone cried in rm.

    At the same time, several figures flew over. Zu An frowned when he saw who those people were. He redirected his strike toward the attacker¡¯s chest instead of their head.

    Spurt!N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The shadow vomited blood, then withdrew.

    Just then, several daoist figures appeared. They were all people Zu An knew. In the lead was the Fiend race¡¯s master rank cultivator Kong Qing; next to him was a little child with a rattle-drum in hand.

    However, Zu An and Yu Yanluo both knew he wasn¡¯t a child, but rather just a midget. It was the infamous Venom Child. The stinging pain that had appeared in their heads had been caused by the sound waves emanating from Venom Child¡¯s rattle.

    On the other side stood a woman dressed in bridal clothes; it was Paper Bride. The flying strips that had descended from above were her work. She had trapped Zu An for some time in their previous encounter. That experience was still fresh in his memory.

    As for the unfortunate man who was vomiting blood in the corner, he was a dark elf. However, he seemed to be a bit different from the one Zu An had met previously. At that moment, he looked at Zu An resentfully.

    Zu An ignored him and remarked, ¡°So it was Sir Kong. I really didn¡¯t expect us to meet here.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to meet little friend here either,¡± Kong Qing replied with a smile. However, he gave the dark elf a look, then said with a frown, ¡°It¡¯s just that little friend isn¡¯t too kind. You clearly recognized us, and yet you still acted so fiercely.¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°Your side attacked me first, okay? This fe kept striking at our vitals too. If it hadn¡¯t been because I recognized you and went easy on him, he would already be in the afterworld right now.¡±

    He actually hadn¡¯t had to hurt the dark elf, but he had been annoyed at how vicious the elf¡¯s attacks were. Furthermore, it was hard to say whether Kong Qing was a friend or foe, so weakening one of his subordinates was definitely a good thing.

    ¡°This is called being merciful?¡± the dark elf spat, coughing out another mouthful of blood. All of his blood and ki was surging, and his entire body felt as if it were about to copse. He would need around half a month to recover from his injuries.

    Paper Bride said with a cuteugh, ¡°You should be grateful. If that young master Zu hadn¡¯t held back, he would¡¯ve smashed your head open like a melon with a single palm. You wouldn¡¯t even be able to say a thing right now.¡±

    Even though the dark elf knew that was the truth, he was still unhappy. He shot back, ¡°Damn woman, whose side are you on?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just speaking the truth.¡± Paper Bride walked over to his side, her hips swaying from side to side seductively. Her red fingernails gently moved across his face as she continued, ¡°Also, please be a bit more careful when you speak. It wouldn¡¯t be very hard for me to end your life in your current state at all.¡±

    That dark elf didn¡¯t have any thoughts of admiring Paper Bride¡¯s seductive posture, instead, he was so scared he trembled. He quickly shrank back, not saying anything else.

    Venom Child remarked mockingly, ¡°Paper Bride, don¡¯t tell me you ended up liking that pretty boy?¡± He was obviously unhappy that he had suffered a loss to Zu Anst time, and thus took the chance to throw out a snide remark.

    ¡°Young master Zu is handsome, and his cultivation is high. His character isn¡¯t bad either. He¡¯s much better than you all. It shouldn¡¯t be surprising that I admire him,¡± Paper Bride replied, deliberately giving Zu An a flirtatious look.

    Zu An said with a slight smile, ¡°Paper Bride¡¯s charm must¡¯ve won over the hearts of countless young men; what can I do¡­¡±

    Yu Yanluo thought to herself that these people from the sinister faction really acted however they wanted, but she hadn¡¯t expected Zu An to actually tease them right back. She secretly gave him a pinch on the waist.

    You have sessfully trolled Yu Yanluo for +7 +7 +7¡­

    Zu An couldn''t help butugh. He hadn¡¯t thought the remark would make the beauty by his side jealous. However, not only did he not get angry, he instead felt happy. He secretly reached for her hand.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s face turned red. She was a bit embarrassed in front of so many people and quickly pulled her hand back.

    Zu An tried to grab her hand again. The two went back and forth that way yfully. Fortunately, they were quite close and their bodies hid their movements. The cave was dark too, so no one else noticed such small movements.

    ¡°Hahaha~¡± Paper Bride covered her mouth, her body rocking back and forth as sheughed. She continued, ¡°Receiving the young master¡¯spliment really makes me happy~

    ¡°But I know my limits. In terms of charm and grace, how can Ipare to Madam Yu, who¡¯s already at your side?¡±

    Yu Yanluo actually felt a bit embarrassed when she heard Paper Bride¡¯s praise, which almost made it seem as if she were being selfish. Huh? I¡¯m not like this normally. Why am I acting like this?

    Kong Qing coughed. He couldn''t take Paper Bride¡¯s flirting anymore either. He looked at Zu An and said in shock, ¡°Hm? It has only been a few days since west met, but the young master¡¯s cultivation seems to have advanced considerably again.¡±

    After all, upon reaching theter stages of cultivation, every single bit of improvement would be tens or even hundreds of times more difficult. Just how many days had it been since theyst met? And yet, Zu An had improved again.

    ¡°I¡¯ll have to thank all of you for thebat experience fromst time,¡± Zu An replied ambiguously. He noticed something and remarked, ¡°Hm? Sir Kong seems to be wounded.¡±

    He hadn¡¯t noticed anything at first, but after Kong Qing had spoken, he could tell the other man¡¯s inner ki wasn¡¯t as stable as before. Even though Kong Qing had been hiding it, Zu An¡¯s soul had be extremely perceptive.

    Kong Qing was a bit surprised. He hadn¡¯t expected Zu An to have noticed his condition. As such, there was no point in refuting it. He replied, ¡°Indeed, I was injured a bit.¡±

    Zu An was surprised. He asked, ¡°Just who could possibly have hurt Brother Kong?¡±

    Kong Qing was a peakte-stage master rank cultivator and one of the fiend races. He had a group of cultivators around him too. Could he have run into Yan Xuehen?

    ¡°Just a minor mishap,¡± Kong Qing replied. He clearly didn¡¯t want to talk about it in detail, and instead asked, ¡°Why are the two of you here?¡±

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°This is the Yu n¡¯s mine; isn¡¯t it natural for the two of us to be here? I should be the one asking why you¡¯re all here.¡±

    Kong Qing said with an embarrassed expression, ¡°We have been hearing about the reputation of the Yu n¡¯s mines for some time, so we decided to take a look in passing.¡±

    ¡°I suspect you are here to steal ki stones, while also investigating the secret passage to the fiend race territories. Is that right?¡± Yu Yanluo sneered. As the Yu n¡¯s leader and the head of the Snake race, she had ess to a lot of intelligence.

    Kong Qing¡¯s expression changed. He asked, ¡°There really was a secret passage to the fiend race territories here?¡±

    Yu Yanluo shook her head and replied, ¡°Of course not. I do not know where those rumors came from.¡± She obviously couldn''t tell him the truth.

    Kong Qing frowned, not trusting Yu Yanluo¡¯s answer. The two of them stared at each other, making the atmosphere a bit awkward.

    Paper Bride stepped forward to mediate things, saying, ¡°The two of you must¡¯vee here because you sensed something was strange with the mine and came here to investigate, right?¡±

    Zu An exchanged a look with Yu Yanluo and asked, ¡°How long have you been here?¡±

    ¡°A few days,¡± Paper Bride replied with a sigh. ¡°I really want to see the outside world again¡­ I feel as if I might turn into mining g if I continue to stay here.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, Could it be that they don¡¯t know what happened to Yu Yanluo? ¡°You¡¯ve all already been here for so long. Have any of you noticed anything strange, or encountered any formidable creatures?¡±

    The others¡¯ expressions changed. In the end, it was Kong Qing who spoke. ¡°At this point, there is no point in hiding it. Has the young master noticed that someone among our party is missing?¡±

    Zu An looked around and said, ¡°I felt that there was something off earlier. Where¡¯s the Gray Wolf King?¡±

    Kong Qing said with a pained expression, ¡°The Gray Wolf King was eaten by that monster.¡±

 Chapter 1155: Surrounded

    <h4>Chapter 1155: Surrounded</h4>

    ¡°What?!¡± Zu An and Yu Yanluo both eximed in shock. After all, they had fought against the Gray Wolf King before. It was at the ninth rank, and its body was massive. It would be difficult even for a human master ranked cultivator to defeat such a creature, and yet such a powerful vicious beast had actually been eaten?

    Kong Qing frowned as he continued, ¡°My injuries were also caused by that beast.¡±

    Zu An and Yu Yanluo were even more shocked. After all, the Gray Wolf King had been Kong Qing¡¯s mount, which meant the creature would have had to face two powerful experts. Even the infamous but powerful cultivators Paper Bride and Venom Child had been there to help them. And yet, the creature had actually wounded Kong Qing and eaten the Gray Wolf King?

    ¡°Just what kind of thing is it?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Kong Qing said through gritted teeth.

    ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± Zu An eximed in disbelief.

    He wouldn¡¯t even have been too shocked even if he had been told it was the Emperor, Zhao Han himself; and yet, the reply was actually that they didn¡¯t know? Kong Qing was a master rank cultivator. There were so many powerful experts present, and yet they hadn¡¯t even seen what had attacked them?

    Kong Qing¡¯s group looked a bit embarrassed when they sensed Zu An¡¯s strange expression. Paper Bride exined, ¡°There¡¯s always a ck fog surrounding that creature when ites and goes, so we couldn¡¯t see its full appearance at all. Furthermore, that ck fog is extremely corrosive. Not even spiritual sense can prate it.¡±

    ¡°That is why we were caught off guard when we were ambushed,¡± Kong Qing exined, a hint of fear flickering through his eyes. As a master rank cultivator, he could usually clearly perceive his surroundings. He never could have expected there to be something lurking nearby that he couldn¡¯t sense at all. He continued, ¡°It suddenly emerged from underground, ughtering the Gray Wolf King in an instant. The wolf didn¡¯t even have time to retaliate.¡±

    ¡°The creature killed it instantly?¡± Zu An asked, exchanging a look with Yu Yanluo. Just how terrifying did it have to be to instantly ughter a ninth-ranked Gray Wolf King?

    ¡°Did you not have a chance to retaliate?¡± Yu Yanluo asked curiously. Those present were all top-ranked cultivators. With the Gray Wolf King as their meat shield, they should at least have been able to react, right?

    ¡°We did, but our attacks didn¡¯t seem to be effective against it.¡± Paper Bride said with a miserable expression.

    ¡°Nothing at all?¡± Zu An replied with a frown. Even if it were Yan Xuehen who had to face these experts¡¯bined attacks, she would still have to pay a bit of a price, right?

    Kong Qing was the one present with the highest cultivation. He said seriously, ¡°That is what I have been thinking over all this time. It is a bit strange indeed. After thinking about it, it is probably because most of us excel in spiritual attacks, but that monster seems to be immune to them. That was why our attacks werepletely useless against it.¡±

    Only then did Zu An realize that Kong Qing, Paper Bride, and Venom Child all specialized in spiritual attacks. They would definitely use their most powerful skills as soon as they sensed danger. How could they have expected that their opponent would be immune to such attacks? Meanwhile, the dark elf was proficient in physical attacks, but his cultivation was a bit lower. It would have been difficult for him to harm that creature by himself.

    He suddenly recalled Yu Bin¡¯s recording and asked, ¡°Did you all hear some strange, terrifying noise before it attacked?¡±

    ¡°Strange, terrifying noise?¡± Kong Qing replied with a frown. ¡°We didn¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t?¡± Zu An asked in confusion. Wasn¡¯t that different from what Yu Bin had written?

    Venom Child said in a sinister tone, ¡°I did hear some strange noise like what you described, but when we were ambushed, everything around us was quiet.¡±

    Zu An nodded. It seemed the monster fell silent when it was hunting for prey, making it even harder to defend against.

    Kong Qing asked, ¡°Do you have a map of this mine? We want to return to the surface, but we have been trapped here for the past few days.¡± His face heated up when he thought of that. He was a master rank cultivator with so many powerful subordinates, and yet he had actually gotten lost in the mine.

    It wasn¡¯t his fault, though. The cave paths were convoluted and dimly lit, making it easy to get lost. They had also needed to flee for their lives when they were ambushed by the monster, not knowing where they were going while running away. In addition, they had been surrounded by the ck fog, preventing their senses from reaching too far. That was how they had gottenpletely lost.

    Even though such experts all had spatial storages, which meant the supply of food and normal goods wasn¡¯t a problem, there was a powerful creature in hiding that was ready to prey on them at a moment¡¯s notice. Their mental states were left on the verge of copse.

    Yu Yanluo didn¡¯t respond directly and instead asked, ¡°Did any of you encounter my subordinates along the way?¡±

    Kong Qing¡¯s group shook their heads as he replied, ¡°We did not see a single other soul these past few days, or else we would not have gotten lost.¡±

    Zu An and Yu Yanluo concluded that made sense as well. If Kong Qing¡¯s group had seen Maid Xing and the others, why would they asked for a map?

    ¡°Are you all nning to leave just like that? You don¡¯t want to get revenge for the Gray Wolf King?¡± Yu Yanluo asked with a frown.

    To her surprise, Kong Qing said, ¡°The weak are prey for the strong; that is the basicw of the world. It was weaker than its opponent, so it is natural that it was eaten. What is more important is to preserve the rest of our strength. If we lose morepanions for the sake of revenge, the losses will not make up for the gains.¡±

    The others all treated his response aspletely natural. They didn¡¯t feel that there was anything wrong with what he said.

    Yu Yanluo was speechless. She couldn''t help but give Zu An a look, saying to him through ki, ¡°I really can¡¯t understand how the fiend races think, nor can I ept their actions.¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°That means your way of thinking is still biased in favor of humans, and you acknowledge humans more. That bastard Xu Yu really is insane for treating you as a fiend race individual.¡±

    Yu Yanluo replied sadly, ¡°I won¡¯t be able to go back to the human world anymore, and I can¡¯t stay in the fiend race territories either.¡±

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°You can just stay with me. I¡¯ll always wee you.¡±

    Yu Yanluo felt warm inside and couldn''t help but smile.

    Kong Qing saw the two of them look at each other, but he only assumed they were discussing things with each other. How could he have guessed what the two of them were really talking about?

    As the two didn¡¯t agree to his request even after a long time, he gritted his teeth and said, ¡°Coming down here without permission is our fault. We will offer Madam Yupensation for this in the future. Furthermore, if the two of you can offer us a way to leave this ce, we will owe you a favor. You will also obtain the friendship of our Peacock race.¡±

    Zu An thought about how Yu Yanluo was about to return to the fiend race territories. The Peacocks were kings among the fiend races as well, so having them take care of her would be a good choice.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Either way, there would be no meaning in forcing them to stay and face the monster. These fierce individuals would never agree to that. Considering their naturally malicious tendencies, who knew what kind of things they would do to save their own skins in a real critical situation? Perhaps they might even scheme against Zu An and Yu Yanluo, taking advantage of them to escape¡­

    As such, Zu An nodded and agreed to the request, saying, ¡°Sir Kong is too polite. Having another friend is always better than having another enemy in this world.¡±

    Kong Qing was happy to see him agree, but he still wasn¡¯t too sure. He quickly looked at Yu Yanluo. She was the true master of the mine, and she hadn¡¯t spoken yet.

    Yu Yanluo nodded and added, ¡°I agree with what Zu An said as well.¡±

    ¡°Thank you!¡± Kong Qing replied, but he found it a bit strange. Why did Yu Yanluo sound like a wife speaking up in support of her spouse?

    But no matter how he racked his brains, he never would have thought that the Madam Yu who kept her distance no matter which individual approached her now shared feelings with this young man.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s brush moved through the air quickly, and streaks of light swirled around. A simple map quickly appeared in the air. Naturally, she didn¡¯t give them the entire map, instead only drawing out a small portion. She exined, ¡°This is where we are right now. If you head down this direction, you will be able to return to the surface.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Madam Yu!¡± Kong Qing replied. Those present were all experts; being widely-read and knowledgeable was the bare minimum. They immediately memorized the map in the air, so there was no need for a physical copy.

    Kong Qing and the others were about to leave when they heard scratching in the cave. It was extremely ufortable, resembling fingernails scraping against a ckboard.

    The group¡¯s expressions all changed; the noise was very close, almost as if it werepletely surrounding them.

    Kong Qing and the others became vignt. Zu An noticed that even though they were in a group, they still kept their distance from each other, clearly not daring to trust their backs to anyone. They had to be on guard against theirpanions too.

    Zu An didn¡¯t criticize their behavior. They were all elites from the underground world, after all; blindly trusting theirpanions would be stupid. However, he and Yu Yanluo didn¡¯t have such misgivings. They trusted each other and just warned each other to be careful.

    Suddenly, strange noises filled the air. Zu An broke out into goosebumps. It sounded just like the background tracks from his previous world¡¯s horror movies.

    He tried to pinpoint where the sounds wereing from, but because of the mine¡¯s special terrain, there were cavities everywhere. Every single opening seemed like a horn, resonating and amplifying the noise. It was impossible to identify where they came from. He then tried to sense the surroundings with his soul, but he discovered that there were several clouds of ck mist in the surroundings, cutting off his soul¡¯s senses.

    Powerful cultivators were used to scanning their surroundings first, but at that moment, it felt as if they had be blind and deaf, so all those present felt extremely ufortable.

    Suddenly, the terrifying sounds ceased, and an eerie calm fell on the area.

    Zu An thought back to Kong Qing¡¯s description. It seemed that the monster was already preparing to attack!

 Chapter 1156: Emergence

    <h4>Chapter 1156: Emergence</h4>

    ¡°Yanluo, be careful,¡± Zu An said, gently touching the beauty behind him. At the same time, he maintained the utmost vignce.

    Yu Yanluo replied, ¡°We have to be especially careful of the ground, walls, and the like.¡±

    They had learned that from the experiences Yu Bin left behind with his blood as the price.

    As she spoke, Yu Yanluo took out the World Painting to protect them. At the same time, she drew some diagrams on the ground. That way, if some creature actually tunneled through the ground, it might be slowed down for a moment, at least buying them some time.

    Zu An thought to himself that he and Yu Yanluo didn¡¯t specialize in spiritual attacks, so they were less likely to be countered as badly by the monster as the others.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, the fiend race group was absolutely horrified. They had already gone through this once, so the fear they felt was magnified.

    They were all thinking the same thing: It¡¯s fine if one of the others die, as long as I survive. They each hoped that it would go after one of theirpanions so they could take the chance to run. Either way, they all knew the way out now. They would nevere back to this sted ce again.

    Still, they all looked worried. The spiritual attacks they were most proficient in were ineffective against the monster. They weren¡¯t sure if their abilities would be enough to help them survive its attack.

    The dark elf would normally have been much better off, as he excelled at physical attacks and his movement technique was fast and tricky, making him much safer than the others. But because he had been wounded by Zu An, he was now in the greatest danger instead. He gave Zu An a resentful look. If he had a chance, he would definitely personally send Zu An into the monster¡¯s mouth.

    Suddenly, the sound of a rattle echoed through the cave. The others all thought, Venom Child, are you an idiot? Are you worried that the monster doesn¡¯t know where you are and want to help it out?

    They all looked toward him. However, Venom Child rushed forth like a streak of lightning. As he passed by Zu An and Yu Yanluo, he waved his hand. The rattle flew over to the two of them and continued to shake, releasing an ear-splitting noise.

    Zu An instantly realized what Venom Child was trying to do. He was deliberately leading the trouble over to the two of them, to have that monster attack him and Yu Yanluo. Meanwhile, he would take the chance to run. It was obvious that he still had a grudge against the two of them from what had happenedst time. Even now, he remembered to take his revenge.

    Zu An was speechless. This fe really is going all out here! That rattle was Venom Child¡¯s magic weapon, something he had refined personally for who knew how many years; and yet now, he was just abandoning it.

    Zu An and Yu Yanluo were shocked and furious. They wanted to destroy the rattle to silence it, but the rattle flew in a strange pattern. Venom Child was definitely still controlling it from the shadows. The two of them couldn''t even spare the effort to curse him at that point; as such, they endured the annoying rattling while being on guard against a possible attack.

    The dark elf¡¯s eyes flickered. A malicious smile appeared at the corners of his lips; he clearly also harbored bad intentions.

    Paper Bride gave the two of them a sympathetic look. But with how things were, her own safety was the most important.

    Kong Qing looked hesitant. This man was the one the n lord cared about. Should he save them if they were endangered?

    At that instant, Venom Child appeared near the entrance. He made a ¡®bye-bye¡¯ gesture toward Zu An, and was about to turn around and continue flying. Suddenly, however, the wall next to him closed in on itself, swallowing him uppletely.

    It happened so quickly that even with Zu An¡¯s cultivation, he couldn''t see what exactly had happened.

    Two sharp, sickle-like teeth emerged from the walls. They instantly enveloped Venom Child, mping down on him. But what kind of vicious beast had such long canines, and ones that grew at such a wide angle?

    Venom Child screamed miserably and struggled frantically. Still, he was a well-known criminal with decent cultivation. He grabbed the wall surface, trying to pull himself free. Unfortunately, he had already been seriously injured in that instant. His vitals were being squeezed from both sides, so he couldn''t even gather any strength. He remained stuck in the wall no matter how he struggled.

    He coughed out a mouthful of ck blood. His internal organs were clearly seriously injured. However, with a wave of his hand, arge cloud of glistening blue powder flew toward the wall.

    Venom Child was known for his poisons, so he definitely had some extremely formidable ones in his arsenal. Yu Yanluo had personally experienced that before. He was in a desperate situation, so there was no reason for him to hold back. As such, he used his most dangerous poison.

    Unfortunately, when the toxins entered the wall, they seemed to vanish into nothing. The monster inside didn¡¯t seem to be affected at all.

    Instead, Venom Child¡¯s arms grew more and more powerless. His bloody coughs had even begun to include pieces of his internal organs. He reached out his hand toward Kong Qing and the others in despair, his voice growing weaker and weaker as he begged, ¡°Save¡­Save me¡­¡±

    The others gulped, but no one did a thing. They had only been together because their interests aligned to begin with. In such a situation, why would they put themselves in danger for another?

    Zu An and Yu Yanluo were even more indifferent. This fellow had gotten what he deserved.

    Venom Child¡¯s expression grew weaker and weaker. Eventually, the creature inside tugged backward, and his body disappeared into the wall.

    Zu An asked the others with ki, ¡°Did you all see what that thing looked like?¡±

    ¡°No. I only saw tworge mp-like things.¡± Paper Bride replied.

    The dark elf gripped his sword even more tightly. He had initially wanted to seize the opportunity to leave while Venom Child was trapped, but the path was too narrow. He had been worried that he might alert the monster and that he would be attacked instead. It was necessary to go through the opening to leave this ce, so he felt conflicted.

    Kong Qing eximed in confusion, ¡°Hm? That terrifying pressure seems to be gone now.¡±

    Zu An was about to ask something when he was alerted by something. He grabbed Yu Yanluo and leaped aside.

    A massive, sinister mouth ferociously closed over the spot where they had just been. The two sharp teeth flickered like a pair of shears. Yu Yanluo¡¯s defensive preparations had been instantly crushed.

    The monster clearly realized that the attack it thought would definitely seed had failed. It moved forward slightly, then shot at the two of them like a bolt of lightning.

    When he saw the monster attack Zu An, the dark elf wasn¡¯t rmed; instead, he was happy. He quickly rushed toward the direction Venom Child had escaped in. He wanted to take the chance to get out of here.

    Zu An didn¡¯t have time to pay attention to the other group at all. However, he finally saw what the monster looked like after it lunged at him.

    It was like a giant centipede, its entire body flickering with a metallic luster. It was hard to tell where its brain was. It had two pincer-like teeth in front of its jaws, and its mouth was wide open, revealing countless rows of saw-like teeth inside. It looked like a bobbit worm from Zu An¡¯s previous world, but it was countless timesrger.

    Being bitten by that kind of mouth might really be a new kind of suffering¡­ Zu An even began thinking about how much pain Venom Child must have been in when he was bitten.

    A st of ck fog flooded out of the strange bug¡¯s mouth. It clearly wanted to use the fog to poison the two of them.

    Yu Yanluo opened up the World Painting and sucked all of the ck fog inside. She had initially nned to try to capture the bug, but it wasn¡¯t affected at all. She couldn''t suck it in.

    Her eyes shone as she began to use the Medusa¡¯s Eye. After the short period of rest she¡¯d had and the medicines she had taken, she had recovered a bit of ki. That at least allowed her to muster a bit of strength.

    The strange bug¡¯s body rapidly stiffened when it was caught in her gaze, but it wasn¡¯t petrified and quickly recovered.

    However, that moment was already enough. Zu An¡¯s longsword left its scabbard as he stabbed it into the monster¡¯s ¡®head¡¯. Green liquid spurted out. The centipede struggled frantically, seemingly wanting to shrink back into the ground.

    The tremendous recoil running along his sword made Zu An stagger, and he was almost dragged into the dirt. However, he quickly stamped downward with his feet, carving two deep grooves into the ground.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Yu Yanluo quickly pulled him backward when she saw that. Even with the two of them working together, it still hadn¡¯t been enough.

    Just then, Paper Bride made a move. Countless strips of paper shot toward the monster¡¯s body. Unfortunately, they only left sparks across the monster¡¯s outer shell and were unable to harm it at all.

    Kong Qing¡¯s eyes narrowed. A three-colored divine light shed, and with a loud spurt, green liquid gushed out of the worm¡¯s body.

 Chapter 1157: Real Body

    <h4>Chapter 1157: Real Body</h4>

    When it was wounded, the centipede-like monster fully revealed its vicious nature. Its body jerked around intensely, causing the ground to undte like ocean waves. The cave opening also began to rock back and forth, cracks appearing all over the ceiling. Sandy soil crumbled downward, making it seem as if the ce might cave in at any time.

    Because of the centipede¡¯s strange, frenzied movements, Yu Yanluo couldn''t even hold on anymore and was flung away. However, Zu An seized the opportunity to summon the Poisonous Prick, stabbing it into the monster.

    The shell surrounding the strange bug seemed as tough as armor. The fact that Paper Bride¡¯s attacks had only produced some sparks proved that. But even the toughest shell couldn''t stop the sharp edge of the Poisonous Prick, which sliced through it like tofu.

    The centipede had been unleashing world-shaking movements mere moments before, but a secondter, it twitched and its entire body went limp, falling to the ground.

    Kong Qing was shocked. He knew that even though his attack had been able to wound the monster, it hadn¡¯t done enough to seriously injure the creature, let alone take its life. Just how had that kid Zu An aplished such a feat?

    Suddenly, a miserable scream rang out. Those present turned their heads and saw that the dark elf had tried to use the opportunity to run. However, after he reached the entrance, another strange bug had suddenlye out of the walls and bitten down on him.

    Even though that all took a long time to describe, in reality, from the moment the first bug had attacked Zu An and Yu Yanluo to the moment Zu An had killed it with his Poisonous Prick, only a few breaths of time had passed. Meanwhile, the dark elf had been running carefully toward the entrance, just happening to reach it at the same time.

    ¡°There¡¯s another one?¡± Zu An eximed, greatly shaken. He quickly ran over to Yu Yanluo¡¯s side to prevent her from being attacked again. Meanwhile, Yu Yanluo¡¯s face paled. She looked at the dark elf nervously.

    Compared to Venom Child, who had been bitten without being able to put up a bit of resistance, the dark elf had always been vignt, even dodging to the side at thest second. Unfortunately, he had been seriously injured, making him a bit slower than usual.

    Still, because the dark elf had evaded, the bug was only able to bite his right arm instead of engulfing his torso. He struggled frantically. However, because of the enemy¡¯s mp-like mandibles, his right arm was torn offpletely.

    The strange bug¡¯s body squirmed as it devoured his arm in one gulp. But with a body thatrge, a single arm couldn''t satisfy its appetite at all. It moved forward to bite down on the dark elf¡¯s entire body. It moved as fast as lightning, not giving him any time to escape.

    The others wondered whether, if they had been in that situation, they would be able to escape that quickly.

    However, the strange bug missed its target. Its terrifying mandibles smashed into each other fiercely with a metallic ng.

    Meanwhile, the dark elf quickly entered the shadows. A split secondter, he reappeared inside the cave. He didn¡¯t dare to try escaping on his own anymore; the path ahead was full of unknown dangers. He could only feel safe next to the other cultivators.

    He quickly sealed the acupoint of his right arm to stop the bleeding. Compared to losing his life, losing a single arm wasn¡¯t much at all. Then, he looked up toward where the strange bug had been. He wanted to see just what the thing that had almost ended his life was. However, the bug was already nowhere to be seen.

    ¡°Be careful!¡± Zu An suddenly called out in rm.

    The dark elf immediately felt his fine hairs stand on end. Even though they were enemies, he didn¡¯t dare to doubt the warning at all. He quickly tried to enter the shadows again, but he was still half a step toote.

    The dark elf screamed miserably as the bug¡¯s mandibles mped down on his waist, almost instantly biting him in half. His lower body remained inside the bug¡¯s mouth, while his upper body fell to the ground. However, he still frantically wed at the ground, doing his best to crawl away from the bug.

    The scene was just way too cruel. Even Kong Qing and Paper Bride subconsciously took a few steps back.

    Zu An moved just then. However, he worried that Yu Yanluo would be attacked after he rushed forth, so he decided to take her with him. He wasn¡¯t trying to save the dark elf because he was Mother Teresa or anything, though; he was just worried that if the bug went back underground, it would be hard to find it again.

    Judging from the monster¡¯s brief battle against the dark elf, he could tell that it seemed to be able to move through the earth almost instantly. Between that and the way it spent most of its time in the earth, it was really much too difficult to defend against the bug¡¯s unpredictable appearances. Rather than passively defending when the time came, it would be better to take the chance to defeat it while it was attacking.

    When Zu An moved, Kong Qing acted as well. It was clear that he nned to cooperate. With someone taking the lead, Paper Bride also joined in, as did Yu Yanluo. Several attacks rushed toward the strange bug at the same time.

    They were all powerful experts. After being so terrified and rmed for so long, why would they hold back? They beat the strange bug until green liquid sttered everywhere. It staggered around gradually before eventually crashing to the ground, clearly having lost its life force.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Kong Qing and the others¡¯ expressions grew strange. They hadn¡¯t expected they would kill it so quickly.

    The dark elf called out weakly, ¡°Boss Kong, save¡­ Save¡­¡± He died before he could finish his sentence. His eyes were wide as he perished with many remaining grievances.

    Kong Qing squatted down to inspect the corpse. He saw pitch-ck blood seeping out of the dark elf¡¯s waist, and that even his internal organs were ck. He said seriously, ¡°With his cultivation, he should still have been able to keep his life even if he were bisected at the waist. But that strange bug had poison in its mouth, so he could not be saved.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, No wonder Venom Child seemed to havested a bit longer. Apart from his cultivation, Venom Child specialized in poison himself, and had a certain amount of resistance to poison.

    Zu An walked over to the strange bug¡¯s side. Only then did he see its full appearance. It had two mandibles that were several meters long, and its mouth contained helical rings of saw-teeth. However, it didn¡¯t have any visible eyes. He didn¡¯t even know whether it had a head.

    Apart from the sharp mandibles, the bug had seven long feelers. They were likely used to detect any nearby scents and movements, and even scan the surroundings the way a master rank cultivator would.

    The strange bug¡¯s body had been left in chunks. Every single segment seemed to be covered in hard, armor-like scales. That was likely why the sound of scraping preceded its appearance; Its scales produced sound when they rubbed against the sand and dirt. What was striking was that the bug¡¯s scales were brightly colored and rather pretty. It was hard to associate them with the vicious beast they had just faced.

    Zu An reached out his hand, but Yu Yanluo jumped in rm and quickly pulled him back. He patted her small hand and said reassuringly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s already dead. I¡¯ll be careful too.¡±

    Kong Qing had a strange expression, having noticed their intimate actions. Madam Yu really does seem to have a different kind of rtionship with him. The n lord might not be able to win against her¡­

    Zu An grabbed one scale and slowly tore it off the strange bug. In the end, the whole scale was over ten meters long. The rest of the bug¡¯s body was nearly identical to the parts of the first one that had been exposed; both its head and tail were the same. The only major difference was in their sharp mandibles.

    Zu An dragged the first one that had attacked him over. It was over twenty meters long, and its body was a third thicker than the second bug. No wonder it had seemed harder to defeat.

    ¡°Is this thing a dragon or a snake?¡± Paper Bride asked in shock as she walked over.

    ¡°Either way, it¡¯s definitely not a snake,¡± Yu Yanluo remarked, feeling a bit unhappy that Paper Bride had called it a snake.

    ¡°It¡¯s not a dragon either,¡± Kong Qing said. After all, he was from the fiend races, and was quite familiar with the Dragon race. He said, ¡°It seems to be some kind of bug.¡±

    ¡°Bobbit worm!¡± Zu An blurted out. When he saw the others¡¯ confused expressions, he said with an embarrassed smile, ¡°That¡¯s what we call a strange bug from my hometown, but this thing is tens, no, a hundred times bigger.¡±

    Afterward, he looked at Kong Qing with confusion and said, ¡°Even though this thing is formidable, it shouldn¡¯t have been able to swallow up the Gray Wolf King and even seriously injure all of you, right?¡±

    He recalled the previous encounter. These insects¡¯ biggest advantagey in their unpredictable attacks that were hard to guard against. Furthermore, their mandibles could instantly rob their target of fighting strength.

    But Venom Child and the dark elf were both humanoid, and rtively small at that. It would have been difficult for them to survive if they were bitten by those mandibles. However, the Gray Wolf King hadn¡¯t been much smaller than the strange bugs. How could it have been bitten and swallowed?

    Kong Qing¡¯s expression turned somewhat ugly as he said,¡°Even though they are simr, the one we encountered was probably not these two. The one we faced was a hundred times more terrifying.¡±

    As if to prove his point, strange cries that could shake one¡¯s very soul emerged in the distance. Those present all felt their fine hairs stand on end.

    ¡°It is¡­ It is that thing!¡± Kong Qing eximed. His voice was starting to shake a bit.

    Zu An¡¯s expression turned grave. Indeed, it was precisely that creature that gave off a pressure even greater than that of a grandmaster. Furthermore,pared to what they had heard before, its cries now seemed to convey extreme anger and hatred.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me these strange bugs have some way tomunicate with each other? Does it know that we killed its subordinates?¡± Zu An eximed in shock.

    Kong Qing¡¯s expression was ugly as he replied, ¡°I fear that they were not just its subordinates. Based on the knowledge of the fiend races, they might be its children!¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

 Chapter 1158: Exposed

    <h4>Chapter 1158: Exposed</h4>

    Zu An was speechless. If the children alone were already so tough to deal with, just how terrifying was the real deal? His first thought was, Is this like the difference between an alien queen and normal aliens?

    How had they ended up killing the children of such a terrifying monster? It seemed they really were unlucky today¡­

    Kong Qing said, his voice trembling, ¡°We cannot stay here. It has probably sensed what happened and will rush over.¡± He didn¡¯t dare to dy. He cupped his hands, then ran toward the cave entrance.

    After Venom Child and the dark elf¡¯s experiences, there were no more strange bugs left nearby. Furthermore, as long as they didn¡¯t run into the terrifying mother creature, Kong Qing was confident he could deal with the regr bugs anyway.

    Even though the bugs were strong, that was mainly because their long bodies moved through the dirt. They relied on the power of the earth to draw out their full strength. As long as he could guard against their sudden attacks, dealing with them wouldn¡¯t be as difficult as it had seemed at first.

    Paper Bride also gave Zu An an apologetic smile and quickly followed behind Kong Qing.

    After the two left fearfully, Yu Yanluo said gently, ¡°Ah Zu, you should hurry and go back too. You shouldn¡¯t get involved in this matter.¡±

    There were still many Yu n disciples and people from her race in the mine. Her n¡¯s doctrine had always been that they wouldn¡¯t abandon or give up on anyone. Even though she was scared, she wouldn¡¯t cower in such a situation. But Zu An was different; he wasn¡¯t from the Yu n. She didn¡¯t want to drag him down with her.

    Zu An couldn''t help butugh. He gently held her arm and said, ¡°Our rtionship is already like this; why are you still acting so polite? How can I leave you alone in this kind of situation? Besides, I was the one who sent Maid Xing and the others here, so I have a responsibility to ensure their safety.¡±

    Yu Yanluo knew that he was saying those things for her sake. Even though she was moved, she said worriedly, ¡°But it¡¯s too dangerous right now¡­ If we run into that mother worm, we might end up losing our lives here.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. This cave is sorge. It won¡¯t be that easy to run into it as long as we¡¯re careful,¡± Zu An said, but he almost pped himself in the mouth. Why the hell did I set up that g? I¡¯ve watched so many characters die in all those TV shows; did I not learn a thing?

    Yu Yanluo hesitated, but in the end, she said, ¡°Alright. Then, let¡¯s leave this ce as quickly as possible. Who knows if more of those things will rush over by following the two bugs¡¯ auras.¡±

    ¡°One sec!¡± Zu An eximed before running over to the two bug corpses. They were so strange, their bodies might have some kind of use as materials.

    Yu Yanluo knew what he was thinking. She frowned and remarked, ¡°These two bugs are toorge. We can only bring some scales and see if we can gather some blood¡­¡± She looked for some bottles as she spoke.

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°There¡¯s no need to go through that trouble. I want everything.¡± He used the Brilliant ss Bead to suck up the two bug corpses afterward. The Brilliant ss Bead really was an amazing thing; the interior kept its contents in stasis, so he didn¡¯t have to worry about rotting and other such problems.

    Yu Yanluo eximed in shock, ¡°A storage treasure? How is yours thatrge?¡±

    It waspletely beyond her understanding. Normally speaking, spatial artifacts were extremely precious, and their space was limited too. Having one or two cubic meters of space would already be incredible. Just how much space would one need to store the two strange bugs that were at least twenty meters long?

    Zu An almost choked. He could only say with a strange expression, ¡°Your man has a lot of secrets. You¡¯ll find out as you get to know him better in the future.¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s face turned red when Zu An referred to himself as her man. She shot back, ¡°You¡¯re clearly just a little boy, and yet you¡¯re trying to show off your maturity in front of me! Twenty years ago, you were still in swaddling clothes, drinking milk.¡±

    ¡°Right, I¡¯ve always been curious. Just how old are you?¡± Zu An couldn''t help but ask.

    ¡°I¡¯m not telling you,¡± Yu Yanluo replied. She raised her head, then turned around and walked away. Inwardly, however, she was panicking, thinking, Ah¡­ Why did I have to talk about age with him? Will he find me too old¡­

    Suddenly, however, Zu An grabbed her and pushed her down. He reached out his hand and covered her mouth, even covering the luminescent pearl with his hands.

    Yu Yanluo jumped in fright. Don¡¯t tell me he wants to¡­

    But they had just experienced a great battle of life and death. The terrifying mother worm might rush over at any time, too. Wouldn¡¯t doing it on the spot be a bit too rushed¡­ But I¡¯ve heard that after some people experience life and death situations, they end up in a state of extreme stimtion. They need a woman to vent their¡­

    Her face turned red. What in the world am I thinking? She knew that Zu An definitely wasn¡¯t that kind of person. There had to be a reason for his actions.

    Sure enough, she immediately sensed something that made her blood run cold. She heard an extremely strange noise, and thick ck fog covered the entire cave. That ck fog was stronger than any of the fog they had encountered along the way.

    Then, the ground suddenly bulged. After that, a strange bug that was several times thicker than the ones they had seen previously emerged. Its long mandibles almost made it seem like a massive dragon that could cleave anything in half. Its scales weren¡¯t multicolored, but rather pitch-ck like ink. ck fog surrounded its entire body, and it emanated a terrifying power.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s eyes widened. The pressure she felt from it was even greater than Yan Xuehen¡¯s. It wasn¡¯t that the creature was far stronger than Yan Xuehen, per se, but rather that its massive size and monstrous appearance felt overwhelming.

    A small part of the bug¡¯s body emerged from the ground. It moved around, then stopped near that pool of green blood. Its mouth opened wide and its rows of saw-teeth moved around, flickering with a vicious glint. Even though it didn¡¯t have a head or a face, the two could sense its absolute fury permeating the very atmosphere.

    You have sessfully trolled the Scaled Deathworm for +444 +444 +444¡­

    Zu An jumped in fright when he received the string of Rage points. So this thing was called the Scaled Deathworm! The fact that he could receive its Rage points proved that it wasn¡¯t a simple beast, but rather had intelligence. From the looks of things, its intelligence wasn¡¯t low either.

    The Scaled Deathworm looked around but didn¡¯t find its offspring¡¯s corpses. It had a confused ¡®expression¡¯, and began to look through the cave.

    Zu An and Yu Yanluo didn¡¯t even dare to breathe too hard. Zu An used Mirror Mirage topletely hide his aura. Meanwhile, as a n leader, Yu Yanluo had her own methods. She took out several talismans and stuck them onto her body, and her aurapletely vanished.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The Scaled Deathworm moved around the cave. Whenever its massive body slid across the ground, it was apanied by scalp-numbingly loud grinding. Its body only continued to emerge from the ground, almost as if it were endlessly long.

    Should I use this chance to strike it with the Poisonous Prick? Zu An thought briefly, but he quickly dismissed the idea. The monster gave off pressure even greater than a grandmaster¡¯s. He probably wouldn¡¯t even be able to approach its body.

    The Scaled Deathworm didn¡¯t notice anything, so it slowly left through a tunnel. Its massive body seemed to fill the entire mine tunnel. Zu An and Yu Yanluo both sighed in relief when they saw that they had escaped a cmity.

    Suddenly, however, Yu Yanluo¡¯s Medusa blood began to surge. As it was a top-ranked beast lineage in its own right, and of one of the most intelligent fiend races at that, the pride of her bloodline reacted to the pressure of the Scaled Deathworm.

    Yu Yanluo cried out ¡®not good¡¯ inwardly and quickly tried to quell her surging blood. But it was already toote. The Scaled Deathworm immediately returned, raising its head and looking around.

    Then, Zu An felt an incredibly cold sensation, as if he had touched something ice-cold and sticky. Herealized that the Scaled Deathworm was using its own method of searching the surroundings, the same way a grandmaster would scan their surroundings with their soul.

    ¡°Run!¡± he cried. He knew that their current state could only fool a grandmaster¡¯s ordinary senses. If they knew there was someone there, finding that person wouldn¡¯t be difficult at all. That was true for humans, so how could they escape something with senses as sharp as the Scaled Deathworm¡¯s?!

    He didn¡¯t hesitate for even a moment, quickly grabbing Yu Yanluo and charging in the opposite direction. However, he could hear a loud rumbling behind him. The Scaled Deathworm was already chasing after them!

 Chapter 1159: Silverflame Flowertree

    <h4>Chapter 1159: Silverme Flowertree</h4>

    Zu An continuously summoned Grandgale to quickly move around. Yu Yanluo used her paintbrush to draw a ring of light around the two of them. They rushed through the cave more quickly than ever before

    But unfortunately, no matter how fast they ran, they couldn''t throw off the Scaled Deathworm. Instead, it drew closer and closer. Judging from the way the walls behind them were quickly warping, it was obvious that the worm was moving through the earth quickly.

    The two of them were already going as fast as they could, but the creature was far too nimble inside the earth. Furthermore, it could cut straight through the earth instead of taking winding paths, unlike the two of them. It would catch up in under three breaths of time.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Ah Zu, I¡¯m dragging you down. You should go first.¡± A decisive look shed through Yu Yanluo¡¯s eyes.

    She intended to stay behind to hold it off, to try to buy Zu An a chance at life. Otherwise, both of them would die together. After all, no matter how she thought about it, there was no way the two of them would be a match for the terrifying worm.

    Her eyes flickered with a red light as she decided to ignite all of her Medusa blood without holding back at all. Even though it wouldn¡¯t be enough to kill the strange bug, it should be able to hold the monster back temporarily.

    She was about to push Zu An away, but he instead grabbed her hand firmly. He said, shaking his head, ¡°Stop being foolish.¡±

    Yu Yanluo panicked. That meant they would both die! However, she suddenly heard Zu An say, ¡°Drift, drift, drift away if you must¡­ Through the mine paths, silently you go¡­¡±

    The rhythm of Zu An¡¯s words was extremely strange. It was as if he were singing, and yet Yu Yanluo had never heard such a song before even with all of her knowledge. Despite its strangeness, it was extremely moving.

    Immediately afterward, they suddenly elerated, bing many times faster than before. The mine tunnels were no longer obstacles to ovee, but rather became their shelter. The change made no sense whatsoever. If they had been running through the mines before, now they were drifting.

    They lost the Scaled Deathworm in a mere few seconds. Zu An took Yu Yanluo and went into hiding again.

    A whileter, they heard rustling nearby. The earth nearby began to change rapidly as the Scaled Deathworm passed by. But it didn¡¯t stop, instead continuing into the distance.

    When she sensed that the terrifying aura had gradually disappeared, only then did Yu Yanluo sigh in relief. She couldn''t help but ask Zu An, ¡°Ah Zu, what kind of skill was that just now? It sounded a bit like the beastmen¡¯s war songs¡­ Huh? Ah Zu, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Zu An was drenched in sweat, his entire body incredibly pale. Even his aura was somewhat unsteady. He forced a smile as he said, ¡°It¡¯s nothing, just a slight side effect.¡±

    They had been in a crisis just then, so he had decisively used Keyboard Come. After using it a few times, he knew that he had to be moderate with its usage, however. He absolutely couldn¡¯t boast too crazily, or he would immediately die before he even achieved his objective.

    His first instinct had been to use Fei Yuqing¡¯s song/ ¡®Thousand Miles Distant¡¯/ to send the strange bug away, but he had quickly realized he wouldn¡¯t be able to handle the consequences of that. As such, he had changed it to Jay Chou¡¯s song/ ¡®Drifting¡¯/ to see if he could handle the rebound of the skill.

    He didn¡¯t know why he had decided to sing, however. Perhaps moving through the mines was a feeling simr to drifting to him?

    ¡°What side effects? How can you say you¡¯re fine even after sweating that much?¡± Yu Yanluo replied, helping him wipe his sweat while suddenly realizing what had happened. She asked, ¡°Did you use the Dragon race¡¯s Soulspeak?¡±

    ¡°Something like that,¡± Zu An said with a nod. In the past, assuming he didn¡¯t faint on the spot, he usually felt incredibly nauseated and wanted to throw up after using Keyboard Come. Now that his soul had condensed, he could use a bit of his spiritual force to endure the recoil. His condition was much better than it would have been previously. At the very least, he could still fight.

    Yu Yanluo said worriedly, ¡°The Dragon Race¡¯s Soulspeak has always been a forbidden technique! Even though it has great power, ites at a cost, often burning up the target¡¯s very lifespan! Only the Dragon Race can y with something like that, while you¡¯re a human¡­ The lifespan of a human¡­¡±

    She couldn''t help but shed tears toward the end. This man hadn¡¯t even hesitated to burn up his own lifespan for her¡­

    Zu An couldn''t help but chuckle, saying, ¡°I didn¡¯t have any choice just now. If you feel guilty, give me a kiss. A kiss from you should allow me to live a dayter¡­¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s lips were already pressed up against his before he even finished, leaving Zu An stunned. It made him feel warm inside. Ever since they had first met, Yu Yanluo had always been gentle and refined; he had never seen her lose herposure like this. Yu Yanluo was full of knowledge and experience, so of course she would know that the kiss wouldn¡¯t increase his lifespan at all. However, she had still ignored all of that and believed¡­

    Zu An suddenly felt his actions just then really were a bit trashy. He quickly held her and exined, ¡°Actually, I didn¡¯t need to use up my lifespan¡­¡±

    Because of how they were pressing up against each other, he subconsciously leaned back against the wall behind him. Suddenly, it copsed.

    Zu An was horrified. His first thought was that a Scaled Deathworm had suddenly attacked from behind him. However, he quickly realized that it was only because there was a secret passage of some sort behind the wall. The two tumbled down into the opening.

    The Scaled Deathworm that had been heading off into the distance suddenly stopped. It turned around to look toward where the two had been. It was about to rush back when it sensed an intense ripple of energy surging in the distance. It was as if two powerful existences were carrying out a final sh of life and death.

    Compared to those two ants, such powerful energy was far more attractive to the worm. As such, it moved quickly, its body disappearing into the earth. It hurried toward the direction from which the energy had erupted.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An held Yu Yanluo tightly as they made their way through the narrow tunnel.

    ¡°Are you alright?¡± Zu An asked while vigntly examining his new surroundings.

    Unlike the artificial mine tunnels, they seemed to be in naturally formed caves. In theory, this ce should have been even darker due to its depth; and yet there was some faint red light diffused throughout the area, as if there were torches around them.

    ¡°How could anything have happened to me with how well you protected me?¡± Yu Yanluo replied, patting off the dirt from his body with care. Suddenly, however, she noticed that Zu An wasn¡¯t saying anything. She inadvertently looked up, and was instantly stupefied.

    Before them was something that resembled a tree, but also a flower. It was entirely red, and almost seemed as if mes covered its surface. It waspletely surrounded by glittering ki stone ore, and near the tree itself, a special kind of jade flickered with a sparkling and translucent luster.

    ¡°Wuyang Jade!¡± Zu An eximed excitedly. He had previously gotten a few pieces from Yu Yanluo. He wanted to upgrade Daji¡¯s skill, but hecked the materials to do so.

    ¡°This is a Silverme Flowertree!¡± Yu Yanluo said in surprise. She exined, ¡°We only discovered a few in the mines. I didn¡¯t expect there to actually be one here.¡±

    ¡°We even managed to profit from this disaster,¡± Zu An said.

    He was about to go and pick them, but Yu Yanluo stopped him, calling out, ¡°Be careful!¡±

 Chapter 1160: A Deal

    <h4>Chapter 1160: A Deal</h4>

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Zu An asked, confused.

    Yu Yanluo exined, ¡°The Silverme Flowertree normally lives in ces abundant in ki, gathering the essence of the world. Even though it isn¡¯t a vicious beast, it still has a certain degree of fighting strength. It¡¯s extremely territorial. If you get close, it will attack. In the past, some of our miners were injured by trees just like this one.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s that strong?¡± Zu An asked, giving the red tree a look. He could feel the heating from it. This thing should be fire-elemental, right?

    ¡°I don¡¯t know about that. The strength of each tree varies greatly depending on its age and size,¡± Yu Yanluo said. ¡°The tree in front of us looks thick and sturdy, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s weak.¡±

    ¡°But there¡¯s no way it¡¯s as strong as those Scaled Deathworms, right?¡± Zu An replied with a chuckle. Either way, he had to obtain the Wuyang Jade, so there was no way he would cower now.

    ¡°Scaled Deathworm?¡± Yu Yanluo asked in surprise. ¡°How do you know the name of those strange bugs?¡±

    ¡°I just randomly came up with a name based on its appearance,¡± Zu An said. He couldn''t really exin it, so he came up with an excuse.

    Yu Yanluo recalled the strange bug¡¯s characteristics and said, ¡°It is pretty fitting.¡±

    Zu An let go of her hand and slowly walked toward the tree. Despite being called a tree, however, it was more like arge flowering shrub. Ruby-like patterns ran along its body, making its surface flow with sparkling luster. It was as if mes rushed along its surface.

    There were many fine silvery-white flowers on the branches. However, upon closer inspection, they weren¡¯t white flowers, but rather mes! Their temperature was so high that they had be pure white!

    Zu An thought to himself, No wonder I¡¯ve felt a bit lightheaded ever since I came here. All the oxygen here has been nearly burned up.

    He finally understood why Wuyang Jade was so rare. First of all, the Silverme Flowertrees were hard to find; second of all, even if they were discovered, forget about mining the jade, an ordinary person would suffocate just by getting close.

    The space wasn¡¯t thatrge, however, and there were no air vents leading outside. How did the mes continue burning without going out? Additionally, wasn¡¯t there a rule that no one could light any fires in the mine? Shouldn¡¯t the tree have blown up the entire mine?

    Seemingly sensing his approach, the Silverme Flowertree reacted. Its branches rustled as it moved, the cluster of flowers rising high into the air. It became several meters taller, but narrower at the base. It had be a tree with thick roots! No wonder it was called both a tree and a flower.

    A giant red flower suddenly appeared at the very top of the tree, somewhat resembling a sunflower. For some reason, Zu An got the impression that the flower was the tree¡¯s brain. He thought, What kind of creature is this?!

    Still, this was a world of cultivation, and so he was used to seeing all sorts of strange things. Seeing as it seemed to be waiting for him, he tiptoed forward carefully. He cupped his hands and said somewhat awkwardly, ¡°Brother tree, this humble one wants to borrow the Wuyang Jade around you. I won¡¯t hurt you, so I¡¯m hoping you can be generous.¡±

    Yu Yanluo giggled, thinking, This guy really is interesting. He¡¯s actually talking to a tree.

    But her eyes soon widened, because the tree began speaking. Even though its voice was somewhat obscured, they could make out the words, ¡°I won¡¯t lend it to you!¡±

    Yu Yanluo was stunned, thinking, Even trees can talk? Even though she had heard of ents before, they were just creatures of legend. Just how many years had it been since theyst appeared?

    Zu An jumped in fright. He wanted to say something else, but the Silverme Flowertree was already growing impatient. Its long and slender branchesshed out at him. There were fine silver mes running along their surface, making them resemble whips of me. Being hit by them definitely wouldn¡¯t feel very good. As such, Zu An dodged to one side.

    When the Silverme Flowertree saw him move, all of its branches began to thrash around, forming a densely woven of fire. Zu An raised the Tai¡¯e Sword to protect himself, quickly cutting down several branches.

    The Silverme Flowertree recoiled in pain, quickly pulling its branches back. It was scared of Zu An¡¯s divine weapon and didn¡¯t dare to attack head-on with its branches anymore. Instead, it shook its body and the silver flowers detached from it, flying at Zu An. At first, they were just small embers; but as they moved along with the wind, they turned into zing fireballs.

    The raging mes¡¯ extreme temperature was something not even high-level cultivators could face directly. Even Yu Yanluo couldn''t help but take a few steps back even though she was farther away. She cried out to warn Zu An, ¡°Ah Zu, be careful!¡±

    Zu An found it a bit strange, because he only felt a hint of warmth. To him, the fireballs weren¡¯t as threatening as they looked at all.

    Suddenly, however, he felt the pendant around his neck turn somewhat warm. He realized it was the me-shaped pendant Big Manman had given him in the past because she was worried that he would be hurt by her special ck mes. It seemed the pendant not only provided him immunity to Big Manman¡¯s mes, but also granted some resistance to other mes.

    Sigh, I left in too much of a hurry this time. I didn¡¯t even have time to bid her goodbye. I wonder if she¡¯s worried.

    Even though his mind wandered, his hands didn¡¯t. He used the Snowke Sword, making the surrounding temperature plummet. Snowkes fluttered through the air, wrapping around the fireballs. The ferocious mes all sizzled into nothing.

    Ice was usually at a disadvantage against fire, but in the end, the result would depend on power. The Snow Phoenix¡¯ ability made Zu An¡¯s ice different from normal ice, which was why it had such a powerful effect.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s beautiful eyes were sparkling as she watched the scene. When she saw the carefree and confident figure before her, she thought to herself, Ah Zu really is handsome.

    Zu An quickly found an opening. He broke through the barrage of mes and thrust his sword at the other party¡¯s trunk.

    ¡°Stop, stop, stop! I¡¯ll lend it to you! Is that not enough?¡± The Silverme Flowertree no longer sounded as valiant as before, and immediately shrank back.

    Its trunk shriveled up and softened, then fell forward as if it were prostrating on its knees. It ced its two thickest branches in front of its head like arms, looking as if it were begging for mercy.

    Zu An and Yu Yanluo were speechless.

    It would be one thing for a tree to be able to talk, but this one could even beg for mercy? The worst part was that it made absolutely no sense. They didn¡¯t know who it could even have learned the gesture from.

    Zu An asked calmly, ¡°Why are you willing to lend it to me now?¡±

    The Silverme Flowertree replied, ¡°I can¡¯t beat you, of course, so there¡¯s no point even if we keep fighting.¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An replied seriously, ¡°If my cultivation were a bit weaker,I might already have been burned to nothing. You still have the nerve to beg for mercy?¡±

    The Silverme Flowertree said in a strange tone, ¡°The strong prey on the weak, so you should acknowledge your fate if you lose. Isn¡¯t that the most naturalw of the world?¡±

    Zu An was speechless. This fe really did make some sense.

    Yu Yanluo asked, ¡°Why are you able to speak?¡±

    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I be able to speak?¡± the Silverme Flowertree asked matter-of-factly.

    Yu Yanluo was speechless.

    Zu Anughed out of annoyance, saying, ¡°You don¡¯t seem to have any awareness of your current situation.¡± He raised his Tai¡¯e Sword and gestured with it.

    ¡°No, stop, stop! Your sword is really strong! It hurts every time you cut me.¡± The Silverme Flowertree immediately backed up, as if trying to avoid the de. Then, it quickly exined, ¡°I couldn''t speak at first either, but after staying here for a long time, I often heard those miners chatting with each other, so I learned how to.¡±

    ¡°How long have you been here?¡± Zu An asked curiously.

    ¡°Five hundred years¡­ Or is it a thousand¡­ It¡¯s been a really long time. I don¡¯t even know how long it¡¯s been anymore. Time doesn¡¯t have much meaning for me,¡± the Silverme Flowertree said.

    Zu An and Yu Yanluo exchanged a look. This fe really had gained sentience!

    Yu Yanluo put on an expression of displeasure and asked, ¡°Since you know that the strong prey on the weak, then why should we let you go?¡±

    The Silverme Flowertree replied, ¡°I¡¯ll allow you to take the stuff over here! These things are very precious for you humans.¡±

    Zu An sneered. ¡°I could take them even without your permission. Why should I spare your life?¡±

    Yu Yanluo felt sweet warmth inside. Ah Zu and I really arepatible. It¡¯s almost as if we¡¯re husband and wife¡­

    ¡°Ah, that makes things a lot more troublesome¡­¡± The Silverme Flowertree scratched its head with its branches. It continued, ¡°Right, if you let me go, I can continue to produce this jade for you. It has to grow beside me to be like this.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself that he still needed Wuyang Jade whenever Daji broke through, and the requirements would only increase. There were only a dozen or so pieces of Wuyang Jade present, which was definitely not enough.

    ¡°How long does it take to make this Wuyang Jade?¡± Yu Yanluo asked, quickly getting to a critical point.

    ¡°Around a hundred years, I reckon.¡± the Silverme Flowertree replied.

    ¡°A hundred years?¡± Zu An sneered. ¡°Are you messing with me?¡±

    Even though the lives of humans in this world were longer than in his previous world, a hundred years was still too long. It would already be way toote by then.

    ¡°If you prepare some top-quality jade around me and I work hard, it should be ten years¡­¡± The Silverme Flowertree seemed to be observing his reaction as it spoke. When it noticed his frown, it immediately changed its answer. ¡°No, one year, one year! But I really can¡¯t go any faster! I should be able to seed in one year.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself that one year was still eptable. However, he wanted to take the chance to scare it one more time. ¡°Do you have any hidden in storage? Hand it all over.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just a tree! Why would I hide anything?¡± The Silverme Flowertree turned itsrge coro, looking as if it were giving Zu An a sidelong nce. It almost seemed to be remarking, ¡®Why would you ask such a stupid question?¡¯

 Chapter 1161: Gacha God

    <h4>Chapter 1161: Gacha God</h4>

    Zu An was speechless. Am I being looked down on by a tree right now?

    Seemingly sensing something wrong with his expression, the Silverme Flowertree said quickly, ¡°Wait¡­ Don¡¯t do anything strange. If you don¡¯t ept my condition, I¡¯ll just fight until both of us die!¡±

    Zu An almostughed out loud, retorting, ¡°You think you¡¯re even capable of taking me down with you?¡±

    Seeing that Zu An wasn¡¯t convinced in the slightest, that Silverme Flowertree replied, ¡°This is a mine, and those miners always talk about how this ce is full of explosive gases, and that mes can¡¯t be brought down here. If you push me too far, then I¡¯ll just blow up this entire mine! You guys won¡¯t be able to live either.¡±

    Zu An and Yu Yanluo¡¯s expressions changed. Yu Yanluo was especially frightened, because the mine was part of the Yu n¡¯s foundation. How could she let it be destroyed?

    ¡°Then why hasn¡¯t there been an explosion yet, even though you¡¯ve always been burning here?¡± Zu An asked suspiciously.

    ¡°I can absorb those gases and let them burn slowly, not letting them explode¡­ If you keep pressuring me, I won¡¯t care anymore! I¡¯ll just make this whole ce explode!¡± the Silverme Flowertree cried.

    Zu An was at a loss. He eventually remarked, ¡°You¡¯re pretty good at talking, aren¡¯t you? I almost wonder whether there¡¯s a human hiding in there.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just a flower, but after staying here for so long and listening to the miners for so long, I learned things from them,¡± the Silverme Flowertree said with a shrug.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you were a tree just a second ago?¡± Zu An¡¯s forehead darkened as he spoke. But he was worried that it might really do something stupid, so he offered, ¡°How about this? If you answer another question from me, I¡¯ll let you go.¡±

    ¡°Sure, sure. Ask away.¡± When it heard that it could live, the Silverme Flowertree immediately focused. Its body stood up a bit taller than before.

    ¡°Where did that Scaled Deathworm undergrounde from? When did it appear?¡± Zu An asked. Since the tree had already been here for a long time, it had to know something.

    ¡°Bro, you asked two questions,¡± the Silverme Flowertreeined. It rested its arms on its waist, seeming a bit unhappy.

    Zu An didn¡¯t say anything, and only moved the Tai¡¯e Sword in his hand.

    The Silverme Flowertree sensibly changed its tone and exined, ¡°You¡¯re talking about that ugly bug with the ck fog all around it, right? I never saw it in all the years I spent here. It seemed to have appeared around half a month ago. A spatial rift opened up in the depths of the mine, and it crawled out from inside.¡±

    ¡°A spatial rift?¡± Zu An eximed in surprise. Did this weird buge from another world?

    To a certain degree, secret dungeons were also different worlds, but they were usually strange worlds that people from this world entered. It was rare to hear of beasts entering this world from one.

    ¡°That makes things much more troublesome. If an endless swarm of those strange bugs rushes in, the people of this world will be in great danger,¡± Yu Yanluo said worriedly. This was Cloudcenter Commandery, as well as their Yu n¡¯s ore mines. She naturally had some attachment to the area after staying in it for so long.

    The Silverme Flowertree exined, ¡°The spatial rift isn¡¯t too stable. Something as powerful as that creatureing through is already its limit. There shouldn¡¯t be anything else of that scale that can cross over for some time. However, when that spatial rift stabilizes over time, it¡¯ll be hard to say.¡±

    Zu An gave it a doubtful look and asked, ¡°Are you really just a tree?¡±

    The Silverme Flowertree stood up and replied, ¡°I¡¯ve lived for so long already; of course I know a bit more than others.¡±

    Yu Yanluo asked out of curiosity, ¡°Then why has that strange bug nevere to eat you?¡±

    ¡°Are you really asking me that? That weird bug isn¡¯t a vegetarian, and it likes the darkness, not this kind of bright environment. We just mind our own business,¡± the Silverme Flowertree replied.

    Zu Anughed in annoyance and remarked, ¡°You really do like to act cocky.¡±

    Even though the Silverme Flowertree wasn¡¯t weak, it was still iparable to the strange worm. Zu An thought, You¡¯re still saying both of you mind your own business? That¡¯s like me saying I¡¯d give Kobe Bryant a run for his money.

    The Silverme Flowertree turned its coro andpletely ignored what he said.

    Zu An put away his mischievous side and asked, ¡°Where is that spatial rift?¡±

    ¡°Just how many questions have you asked already?¡± The Silverme Flowertree felt really dissatisfied. But when Zu An gave it a re, it could only reply, ¡°I don¡¯t really know exactly, but I can sense its direction. It should be around twenty li in that direction if I use your human species¡¯ calction method¡­¡±

    Zu An shot Yu Yanluo a look and said, ¡°We should find a chance to locate that spatial rift.¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Yu Yanluo shared his thoughts, but she said with a frown, ¡°But that Scaled Deathworm is too strong for us to deal with at all. We¡¯ll just be throwing our lives away if we go there.¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°Did you forget that we have someone else?¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s eyes lit up. She asked, ¡°Are you talking about Yan Xuehen?¡± However, her expression quickly grew dark and she said, ¡°But she¡¯ll probably kill us first if she sees us.¡±

    ¡°She won¡¯t kill us,¡± Zu An said with a strange expression. He didn¡¯t know how long his Gold Phoenix wouldst, but it shouldn¡¯t have worn off so quickly, right? ¡°Besides, since she¡¯s the head of the orthodox faction, she has to ensure the safety of themon people. She won¡¯t be able to ignore it if we share what we know with her.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Yu Yanluo approved of Zu An¡¯s reasoning too. Even though Yan Xuehen was a bit too fierce, Yu Yanluo had no doubts regarding her character.

    Suddenly, the two of them noticed that something strange was happening. When they looked up, they saw that the Silverme Flowertree had crawled out of the ground. Its dense roots had split into two parts, bing like a pair of legs. It had already begun running into the distance.

    Seeing that it had been discovered by the two of them, the tree screamed while running, ¡°Don¡¯t chase after me, or else I¡¯m going to take you all down with me!¡± It even raised its mes as it spoke. Mere momentster, it disappeared into the distance.

    Zu An and Yu Yanluo were speechless.

    Their horizons really had been widened today. Meeting a talking tree was one thing, but this fe could actually run?!

    ¡°Was there something wrong with my eyes?¡± Yu Yanluo asked in disbelief.

    ¡°We were scammed by that damn tree.,¡± Zu An said gloomily. It had already run away, so the matter of the Wuyang Jade they had agreed on before was obviously not going to happen.

    Yu Yanluo covered her mouth and giggled, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, even if it runs, it¡¯ll still be in these mines. It needs arge mine like this to survive. We can just take the time to find it againter.

    Zu An nodded and said, ¡°You¡¯re right. At the very least, it provided us with a lot of useful information. Let¡¯s make some preparations first, then look for Yan Xuehen.¡±

    He began to collect the Wuyang Jade around him; there were neen pieces in total. He now had more than enough for Daji¡¯s seventh rank breakthrough. After doing that, he didn¡¯t immediately leave, but instead said to Yu Yanluo, ¡°I have something to do first. Can you watch my surroundings for me?¡±

    Yu Yanluo just assumed he needed a break to readjust his condition. She didn¡¯t hesitate and said, ¡°No problem.¡± She took out the World Painting and used it to protect their surroundings, remaining on guard against any potential dangers that might show up.

    Zu An sat down and began to calcte the Rage points he had collected since the previous time.

    He had experienced many dangerous situations in this mine, making him use all of his trump cards. Now, he needed something to help him defeat the Scaled Deathworm. He couldn''t give up any opportunities to increase his own strength. Even if he couldn''t get a skill, another bottle of red medicine would still be good.

    He had collected a total of 294,499 Rage points! That was enough for him to pull almost 3000 times.

    He secretly carried out some prayers. If there is some god in this world, spare me a bit of blessing and protection, please. I¡¯m trying to save the world here, so you can¡¯t just watch without doing anything!

    He then began to pull the lottery. The shining indicator quickly flew across the keyboard.

    ¡®Thank you for ying¡¯ messages continued to repeat. Ki Fruits also appeared one after another. Suddenly, however, his breath caught in his throat. The shining indicator had stopped on the Z key!

    I got a skill!

    Zu An was in disbelief. He had already been mentally prepared to only get a few bottles of medicine. He hadn¡¯t expected to actually get his hands on a precious skill this time!

    He was about to check to see what kind of skill it was when the light indicator suddenly continued moving through the lottery.

    Ding!

    Soon afterward, it actually stopped on the H key.

    Two jackpots back to back?!

    Zu An never would have expected to actually pull two skills at the same time! Apart from his initial round of beginner¡¯s luck, he had never had such good fortune again.

    He quickly checked to see what skills he had won. He checked the Z key¡¯s skill first.

    Congrattions for winning the skill ¡®John Doe¡¯s Nemesis¡¯.

    Skill description: At a certain point in spacetime, there was a crazy bastard named John Doe who existed outside thew. He always managed to find loopholes aroundws. There was an almighty judge who finally couldn''t take it anymore and wanted to bring him to justice. After endless trials and tribtions, he finally seeded. For the first time in history, John Doe was convicted. However, John Doe quickly found a new loophole and recovered his freedom once more. The almighty judge continued to look for ways to convict him, but John Doe continued to escape me, and that process continued again and again¡­ That is why the almighty judge obtained the title ¡®John Doe¡¯s Nemesis¡¯.

    Skill effects: Upon use, anyone named John Doe will be confined for one second. After one second, the target will return to normal.

    What the f*ck? Did this reallye from the Z key?

    Zu An was stunned.

    This is absolute horsesh*t! What kind of use does this damn skill even have?!

 Chapter 1162: Only Benefiting a Third Party

    <h4>Chapter 1162: Only Benefiting a Third Party</h4>

    Ordinarily, one second would be nothing, but for high-level cultivators, one second would be enough to do many things.

    But the skill was only useful against people named John Doe? That was freaking useless!

    How many people were even named John Doe in this world? Zu An hadn¡¯t encountered a single one yet.

    Even if he did, they might not even be his enemy. Even if they were his enemy, Zu An could probably deal with them through his strength alone.

    To encounter someone named John Doe, whom Zu An couldn''t defeat with his current strength¡­ The chances of that happening were utterly abysmal, no?

    He probably wouldn¡¯t encounter such a thing in his entire lifetime.

    Zu An glowered, shifting his gaze to the other skill.

    Congrattions on winning the skill ¡®Hidden in the Dark¡¯!

    Zu An¡¯s eyes lit up. This skill sounds pretty good¡­ At the very least, it seems more reliable than John Doe¡¯s Nemesis.

    Skill description: At a certain point in spacetime, there was a socially anxious shut-in otaku scientist. He dreamed of being able to interact with the opposite sex, yet he didn¡¯t dare to even speak to them in real life. As such, he decided that even if he could only hide and sneak a peek, that would be good enough. That way, the other party wouldn¡¯t see him, and he could admire their beauty without disturbing them.

    As such, he devoted his entire life to the art of stealth. He called it Hidden in the Dark.

    But by the time he developed the skill, he was already old and dying, and the thoughts he had when he was younger had already grown weak. But for fear of wasting a lifetime of devotion and hard work, he decided to use it.

    Unfortunately, the goddess of his youth had already passed on, so he sought out her granddaughter. She looked exactly the same as his former goddess. He was so excited when he sessfully snuck into her room in the middle of the night; and yet, he saw the goddess of his dreams being plowed furiously under the body of another man. He was mentally ruined. Furthermore, because he was old, he took hisst breath there and then¡­

    Zu An was speechless when he saw the description. This guy¡¯s experience¡­ It¡¯s way too tragic, right?

    Both tragic and perverted!

    Judging from the introduction of the two skills, he realized that the keyboard¡¯s skills all originated from different parts of spacetime. However, they all had onemon trait, which was that their creators were all bizarre and twisted individuals.

    Recalling that the skills all had various faults, he immediately continued reading.

    Skill effects: In a ce without any light, you canpletely hide yourself. You will not be detected by touch, taste, smell, hearing, sight, spiritual senses, or any other means of perception. However, if you attack, the effects will disappear. At the same time, this skill will not work in ces with even a bit of light.

    Zu An was speechless.

    This thing sounded great, but it was simr to the shlight he had won before. The shlight could only be used in bright ces, and it wouldn¡¯t shine in dark ces. This skill was the opposite. He couldn''t hide in bright ces, and he would only vanish in darkness.

    If it werepletely dark, wouldn¡¯t he already be hidden anyway? Like hell he would still need this skill at that point!

    He continued reading with a gloomy expression. In the end, perhaps because he had pulled two skills, he only obtained 250 Ki Fruits, a bit lower than the average. He didn¡¯t get anything else either.

    250¡­

    Zu An¡¯s eyes twitched. He couldn''t help but feel as if he were being mocked when he saw the number.[1]

    He put away the Ki Fruits. Daji stillcked the Blue Earthflowers, so it was pointless to feed her the fruits at the moment.

    ¡°Are you done?¡± Yu Yanluo asked out of concern when she saw him get up.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Zu An said with a smile. ¡°Let¡¯s look for Yan Xuehen.¡±

    Suddenly, they sensed a terrifying undtion outside. It was much more intense than before, shaking the entire mine. The cave they were in also began to copse.

    Zu An quickly grabbed Yu Yanluo¡¯s hand and returned to the main mine. Dirt and rubblepletely buried the ce they had been in just a few moments after they rushed out of it.

    Yu Yanluo still felt lingering fear, wondering, ¡°Could it be that Yan Xuehen already met that strange bug?¡±

    Zu An nodded and replied, ¡°Judging from the activity, they seem to be fighting a fierce battle right now.¡±

    Yu Yanluo suggested, ¡°Why don¡¯t we use this chance to look for that spatial rift while that monster isn¡¯t here? Let¡¯s see if there¡¯s a chance to destroy it.¡±

    Zu An remained silent for a moment, saying, ¡°Let¡¯s check on that battle first.¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Yu Yanluo asked with a bit of hesitation, ¡°Are you worried about her?¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but chuckle. He replied, ¡°Are you jealous? I just realized that we don¡¯t know how to seal up that rift, and we¡¯d probably need Yan Xuehen¡¯s strength to do it.

    ¡°That Scaled Deathworm is a bit too strong. If Yan Xuehen can¡¯t defeat it and ends up being eaten, it¡¯ll be even harder for us. We might as well use this chance to see if we can be of any help.¡±

    ¡°Why would you think I was jealous?¡± Yu Yanluo asked with a strange expression. ¡°Unless there¡¯s actually something between you and Yan Xuehen?¡±

    In her experience, Yan Xuehen had been a senior of the martial world, as well as one of the most powerful cultivators, for as long as she could remember. She even seemed to practically be the leader of the orthodox faction. She was known for being free from emotions. How could someone like that develop feelings for a young man, and her disciple¡¯s man at that?

    Even though Yu Yanluo thought Zu An was outstanding, her thoughts couldn¡¯t go in that direction no matter how great her imagination was.

    Zu An¡¯s face heated up. He was naturally too embarrassed to exin the Gold Phoenix¡¯s skill. Fortunately, Yu Yanluo didn¡¯t think too much of it either. She said, ¡°That makes sense. Let¡¯s go and see if we can help her. Even if Yan Xuehen doesn¡¯t let me go then, I¡¯ll acknowledge my fate.¡±

    The entire mine would be destroyed if the Scaled Deathworm were left in it. At that point, forget about the Yu n, all themon people of Cloudcenter Commandery would be massacred by it. Inparison, her own safety wasn¡¯t that important.

    Zu An held her hand and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, that won¡¯t happen.¡±

    The two of them quickly hurried in the direction of the battle.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen both gasped for breath.They no longer looked as graceful and elegant as before. Both of them were in a sorry state; even their hair was inplete disarray.

    Yan Xuehen eximed angrily, ¡°This is all your fault, you crazy woman! Look! Now we¡¯re both going to die here.¡± There were spots of blood on her white dress. Her injuries definitely weren¡¯t light.

    On the other hand, Yun Jianyue retorted with a foul expression, ¡°It¡¯s this stone cold woman here who insists on willfully ughtering the innocent.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t even kill Zu An!¡± Yan Xuehen eximed, feeling somewhat regretful. If not for her pride keeping her from exining things to her old rival, they wouldn¡¯t have put each other in such a state, potentially letting the strange worm that had appeared take advantage of their current situation.

    ¡°Hmph, I didn¡¯t expect the glorious White Jade Sect¡¯s master to still speak lies even in a moment of life and death,¡± Yun Jianyue shot back. She wasn¡¯t convinced at all. As far as she knew, Yan Xuehen was incredibly stubborn and had always wanted to ruin Zu An¡¯s rtionship with her disciple. It would be strange if she had chosen not to do anything using the situation with Yu Yanluo as a pretext.

    ¡°Why would I lie to you at this point?¡± Yan Xuehen replied, looking at the terrifying worm that towered before them with a wry smile of distress.

    She couldn¡¯t have expected to have ended up in such a situation after dominating this world for so many years. In truth, she didn¡¯t actually fear death. However, it was a bit hard for her to ept being eaten by the disgusting worm before her.

    Yun Jianyue was stunned. She couldn''t help but curse, ¡°Then why didn¡¯t you tell me you didn¡¯t kill him to begin with?!¡±

    ¡°It was you who insisted on fighting¡­¡± Yan Xuehen said weakly, but she seemed to be losing confidence midway. She immediately stuck out her chest and straightened her back, eximing, ¡°Why do I need to exin any of my actions to you?!¡± She was going to die soon anyway, so she might as well die with a bit of dignity.

    Yun Jianyue was dumbstruck. But she was from the Devil Sect, so there was no need to go through hell for the sake of appearances. She quickly said, ¡°What about that incredible Ice Heart Pill of your White Jade Sect? I know you usually carry two on you. Hurry up and take them out! We¡¯ll take one apiece. With our strength, we might even be able to escape from this brute.¡±

    She was seriously injured, so not even the best medicines would allow her to recover quickly. Her medicines weren¡¯t even as good as Yan Xuehen¡¯s; the Ice Heart Pill could quickly help them recover some strength. If the two of them worked together, they might be able to defeat this strange worm.

    But Yan Xuehen¡¯s face turned red and she eximed, ¡°I don¡¯t have any!¡±

    How could she tell her that she had given her precious medicines to Zu An? How would she even exin that? She would rather die than admit to that when she thought of Yu Yanluo¡¯s gossipy expression.

    1. In the past, 500 taels of silver were referred to as one ¡®feng¡¯, while 250 taels was referred to as a ¡®half feng¡¯. ¡®Feng¡¯ is pronounced the same way as the word for mad/crazy. Over time, people began to use ¡®250¡¯ to describe stupid, rude, and impetuous people. ?

 Chapter 1163: Courting Disaster

    <h4>Chapter 1163: Courting Disaster</h4>

    ¡°How is that possible? We¡¯ve fought for so many years. Do you think I don¡¯t know what you do and don¡¯t have?¡± Yun Jianyue responded in a panic. She only thought Yan Xuehen was unwilling to share medicine with her. ¡°You¡¯re not still trying to act tough even at this point, are you?¡±

    Yan Xuehen didn¡¯t know how to exin herself. She said with a cold expression, ¡°If I don¡¯t have it, I don¡¯t have it. There¡¯s no reason.¡±

    Yun Jianyue felt her teeth grow sore. She said through gritted teeth ¡°Look at you¡­ I don¡¯t care if you don¡¯t give me one, but at least take one yourself and get rid of this disgusting worm first!¡±

    They were still grandmasters, and both of them were extremely powerful. Even though they had been ambushed while they were seriously injured, with all of their ultimate trump cards, they could still injure the worm.

    But as time dragged on, the Scaled Deathworm began slowly raising its head. It was already starting to recover, and began another round of attacks.

    By then, the two were already at their limit, unable to fight back at all. As such, Yun Jianyue took a step back. Rather than being eaten by a disgusting worm, she would rather end up falling at Yan Xuehen¡¯s hand. But Yan Xuehen only had a hesitant expression, and in the end, she didn¡¯t move at all.

    Yun Jianyue was stupefied. She eximed, ¡°You really don¡¯t have them?¡±

    Yan Xuehen said angrily, ¡°I already told you I didn¡¯t have any several times!¡±

    She was in a terrible mood. She had given her own life-saving medicine to Zu An, while that guy had probably already gone far away with that other woman. They must have been really happy together¡­ How would he have any idea how great her sacrifice was?

    She jumped in fright as soon as that thought emerged. She put on a straight face, thinking, I save whomever I want to save; who wants him to know?!

    Seeing Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression change several times, Yun Jianyue asked curiously, ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of you getting injured in the past few years. Furthermore, with your cultivation, you wouldn¡¯t need something like that¡­ Did you actually end up giving them to some lover of yours?¡±

    Yan Xuehen felt as if she had been seen throughpletely. She quickly eximed, ¡°No, I didn¡¯t! Don¡¯t say random things!¡±

    Yun Jianyue had only thrown out that remark for fun. After all, this old rival of hers was a stone cold woman. Yan Xuehen wasn¡¯t capable of feeling anything like emotions or love! And yet, judging from her flustered reaction, which made her sound just like her lovestruck disciple, Yun Jianyue immediately thought, This woman really does have someone?

    ¡°Tell me, tell me! Which miracle man managed to melt our stone cold woman¡¯s heart? I really never would have expected to hear something so interesting while on the brink of death! This death of mine won¡¯t even be so sad anymore,¡± Yun Jianyue said teasingly. She knew that the two of them were dead for sure, and had alreadye to terms with it. The only thing she was curious about was who Yan Xuehen¡¯s man was.

    ¡°Nonsense! There¡¯s no such miracle man!¡± Yan Xuehen retorted, but Zu An instantly appeared in her mind. She felt ashamed and embarrassed as she thought, What kind of witchcraft did that guy use on me to make me like this?!

    The Scaled Deathworm was a bit apprehensive of the two women, as they had injured it quite badly. It was somewhat confused when it saw the two of them seemingly joking with each other, suspecting that they were deliberately baiting it in to attack them. As such, it was hesitant, not daring to attack.

    But when it recalled how its attack should have seriously injured the two of them, it could no longer hold itself back after some time. After all, even if it didn¡¯t attack itself, it could make its subordinates attack.

    The worm let out a strange cry. In response, the ground and walls swelled up in several different ces, and several smaller Scaled Deathworms emerged from the earth. The massive mother worm cried out, seemingly giving them orders. It then leaned toward Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen, and the smaller worms reentered the earth to attack the two women.

    Although the other worms were smaller, that was only inparison to the mother worm. They were all between ten to twenty meters in length, and their sharp mandibles could crush anything to pieces.

    The two women¡¯s expressions changed. They both took out their respective weapons, but they then realized their injuries were way too serious. They couldn''t even use their own weapons properly. They sighed. They were both prideful, respected by many, dignified, and powerful; and yet they were going to fall here.

    Suddenly, two Scaled Deathworms emerged rapidly from underground, snapping their mandibles closed. The two women barely managed to evade the fatal attack with thest bit of their cultivation. However, several more worms burst out from the walls and the ceiling above them. The two had no more strength left, and could only wait for death in despair.

    But the pain they anticipated never came. Instead, they sensed waves of sharp sword ki. Soon after, the heads of the Scaled Deathworms around them left their bodies. The worms¡¯ corpses iled wildly, and green liquid continuously spurted out of the severed stumps.

    The two women were stunned. They both looked at each other, thinking that the other person must have still had some strength left, but they only saw shock in each other¡¯s eyes. They knew then that they had been mistaken.

    The two strange worms that had attacked first emerged once more from underground and tried to bite them again. The two women wanted to evade the attack, but although they could normally have eliminated such enemies with just a thought, they could no longer even muster enough strength to move a finger. The worms¡¯ ugly rings of teeth and the foul stenching from their mouths made the expressions of the two women, who had resigned themselves to their fate, change.

    But they weren¡¯t bitten by the two Scaled Deathworms; instead, they entered a very warm embrace. When they raised their heads, they saw a handsome and resolute face.

    ¡°It¡¯s you!¡± both of them cried out. Even though they said the same thing, however, what they felt was entirely different.

    Yun Jianyue was really happy to see him, because she had thought he¡¯d died not too long ago. But now, not only had she met him again, she had even been saved by him. What else could she feel besides joy?

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s feelings were much moreplicated. Her first reaction was also happiness, but she quickly realized that she was being hugged at that moment. For countless years, forget about being hugged by a man, not even one of her fingers had been touched by one.

    While she was mainly embarrassed, she also felt extremely guilty. She was worried that Yun Jianyue would notice something and quickly eximed, ¡°Let go of me!¡±

    Yun Jianyue rolled her eyes and remarked, ¡°We¡¯re in this kind of situation, and yet you still care about that? It¡¯s not as if you¡¯ll get pregnant from a hug.¡± She clearly thought that Yan Xuehen was just acting cold as usual and didn¡¯t want to be hugged by a man.

    When it saw its children being killed, the mother Scaled Deathworm roared in anger. Having confirmed that the two powerful human women had already lost their fighting strength, it quickly charged forth over like a hurricane.

    The worm¡¯s speed already exceeded Zu An¡¯s imagination. He was carrying two women who couldn''t move by themselves. As such, he couldn''t escape the Scaled Deathworm¡¯s pursuit even if he used Grandgale.

    Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen had even sharper senses, so how could they have not realized that? They both cried, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about us anymore!¡±

    If he still tried to save the two of them, let alone saving neither one, he would even end up throwing his own life away. As such, it would be better for him to just let go of the two women. While the strange worm ate them, he might have enough time to escape.

    But Zu An didn¡¯t have any intention of letting go. He quickly called out, ¡°We¡¯re five li away!¡±

    As soon as he said those words, the three of them instantly vanished, and the Scaled Deathworm bit down on empty air. It opened and closed its mandibles a few times, but didn¡¯t sense the presence of flesh between its jaws. It looked around in confusion, but there was no one to be seen.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, somewhere in the distance, Zu An and the two women opened their eyes, finding themselves underwater.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An was still fine, because those who had reached a certain level of cultivation could breathe internally. However, Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue weren¡¯t so fortunate. Normally, they wouldn¡¯t have any problems underwater, but they had been seriously injured, and so they werepletely caught off guard by the sudden water. They almost immediately began to suffocate, their faces turning red.

    At that moment, the two of them were no different from ordinary people who were drowning. They both instinctively reached for their sole lifeline: Zu An.

    The normally proud and aloof, ice-cold sect master, as well as the domineering Devil Sect Master, were both weak and delicate, their red lips carrying an unusual sort of fatal charm.

    Zu An subconsciously moved closer to them. Scenes from several movies he had seen in the past appeared in his mind. Didn¡¯t people in those scenes always use their mouths to transfer oxygen?

 Chapter 1164: Awkward

    <h4>Chapter 1164: Awkward</h4>

    Yan Xuehen blushed furiously when she saw Zu An move closer, perhaps because of bashfulness or rm. She began to struggle frantically, not knowing where she was suddenly getting the strength to do so from.

    Zu An was conflicted over the blissful question of who to give oxygen to first. After a moment, though, he realized something in rm. What the heck am I thinking?! They¡¯re Chuyan and Honglei¡¯s masters!

    What the hell possessed me just now?!

    Men are all pigs after all!

    Zu An cursed himself inwardly. He quickly used Blue Mard to form an air bubble for the three of them. As the bubble formed, Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue began frantically breathing in oxygen. Only then did they gradually begin to recover.

    They both looked at Zu An. Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression was extremely conflicted. On one hand, she was furious that he had used some witchcraft on her, but on the other hand, she had to admit that he had saved her life. Furthermore, when he had appeared in their moment of crisis, her heart had begun beating in a way it never had before; it was an unfamiliar feeling.

    The bubble wasn¡¯t too small for them, but it was still a bit cramped for all three people. Zu An felt as if he had returned to the experience of mornings in his previous world, where he had been crammed into a train with many other passengers. But unlike the big and smelly uncles who had surrounded him, he instead had two stunning beauties next to him, making the experience worlds apart.

    Yan Xuehen could sense Zu An¡¯s body¡¯s heat through her clothes, which made her feel extremely ufortable. She subconsciously moved backward, but that just made the water bubble shake intensely.

    ¡°Stone cold woman, can you not move, please? You¡¯ll break this bubble and we¡¯ll all be food for the fishes,¡± Yun Jianyue remarked, shooting her a re.

    Yan Xuehen knew that she was in the wrong as well. She looked away with a harrumph, not arguing against her adversary for the first time.

    Only then did Yun Jianyue give Zu An a look, a hint of gentleness appearing in her eyes. She said, ¡°Damn kid, you were actually alive and kicking. I worried about you all this time for nothing.¡±

    Yan Xuehen was just about to shoot back a sarcastic reply, but considering what had just happened, wouldn¡¯t that only make Zu An feel even more grateful toward Yun Jianyue? As such, she swallowed those words back down.

    ¡°Big sis sect master, why are you here?¡± Zu An asked. He had never thought that he would see her here.

    ¡°That¡¯s a long story¡­¡± Yun Jianyue replied. Even though she was from the Devil Sect, she didn¡¯t want to exin in detail either; as such, she just said with a smile, ¡°Not even the emperor Zhao Han would dare to have me and Yan Xuehen surrounding him, one in each arm, and yet a brat like you achieved it. How does it feel?¡±

    Yan Xuehen gave her an usatory look. This witch¡­ We¡¯re in this kind of situation, and yet you can still say something like that?

    Zu An was sweating buckets. He almost choked on water and quickly exined, ¡°Uh, I can only make the bubble this big. Any bigger and it¡¯ll break.¡±

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t ming you, so what are you getting all nervous for? Sigh, my body really is weak right now. Lend me a shoulder,¡± Yun Jianyue said. She shifted into a morefortable posture and leaned against him, letting out a light sigh offort.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s eyes went wide. What is going on with these two? Why does all of this seem so natural? No wonder Yun Jianyue almost fought me to the death when she heard me say I killed Zu An.

    She had faced Yun Jianyue for many years. The other woman understood her, so how could she not understand as well?

    Even though Yun Jianyue was from the Devil Sect, she had always maintained her purity. For so many years, even though there were untold numbers of experts who had fallen under her hands, she had never had any kind of rtionship with any man, let alone acting so intimate.

    Just what strange powers does this brat have? Yan Xuehen thought. She was suddenly horrified. Don¡¯t tell me Yun Jianyue was also affected by his strange magic?

    Her expression became unpleasant as she thought, This guy is way too despicable. At the same time, she felt a bit of sympathy for her old adversary Yun Jianyue.

    ¡°What are you staring at? This is my little brother. Why can¡¯t I use his shoulder to rest for a bit?¡± Yun Jianyue remarked. She had noticed Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression and just thought that the other woman was curious about their rtionship.

    ¡°Your little brother or your little lover?¡± Yan Xuehen couldn''t help but shoot back, thinking that the other woman was usually pretty sharp, and yet she was actuallypletely unaware that she had already been afflicted by this man¡¯s witchcraft.

    ¡°When did a woman like you be so sharp-tongued too?¡± Yun Jianyue replied, a bit surprised. But she suddenly thought of something. She looked at Zu An with an ambiguous smile and asked, ¡°I almost forgot, but just now, didn¡¯t you want to use that chance to kiss us?¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression turned unnatural when she heard that. Meanwhile, Zu An¡¯s face heated up as he replied, ¡°What are you talking about? I saw that you two were drowning, so I quickly used my skill to make a water bubble.¡±

    Yan Xuehen became a bit embarrassed, thinking that she had misunderstood him. At the time, she was struggling intensely¡­ Just the thought alone made her feel a bit embarrassed.

    But Yun Jianyue said, ¡°Ah, what a pity. I was already prepared to kiss you. I¡¯ve lived for so many years, and yet I¡¯ve never even been able to experience what it feels like to be kissed by a man.¡±

    Yan Xuehen said coldly, ¡°A demoness is nothing but a demoness after all. You have no sense of shame.¡±

    ¡°He was going to do that to save my life. What is there to be embarrassed about in that kind of situation?¡± Yun Jianyue retorted mockingly. ¡°It¡¯s someone else here who, because they¡¯re filthy inside, sees everything in a filthy way. Do you think Zu An wanted to kiss you? You¡¯re just a chunk of ice; what is there to even kiss? He¡¯s not even rted to you in any way. Even if he did kiss someone, he would kiss me first.¡±

    Yan Xuehen began breathing heavily. She subconsciously wanted to retort that her rtionship with Zu An wasn¡¯t any worse than Yun Jianyue¡¯s, but she was held back by her reasoning. She swallowed her words back down and looked away sharply, starting to sulk.

    Yun Jianyue liked seeing Yan Xuehen looking wronged. She giggled and said, ¡°Right, you were struggling like a woman clinging onto her chastity. Was that to preserve your purity for the one you like?¡±

    ¡°The one she likes?¡± Zu An eximed in shock. Even a woman like Yan Xuehen has someone she likes?

    Yan Xuehen subconsciously gave Zu An a look, but she immediately shifted her gaze unnaturally, retorting, ¡°What kind of nonsense are you speaking in front of a junior?¡±

    ¡°Shameless woman,¡± Yun Jianyue said, curling her lips. But her mood was so good from having survived their ordeal that she didn¡¯t even bother arguing.

    Yan Xuehen wanted to change the topic too. She looked at Zu An with eyes that were as pure as a snowy mountain, asking, ¡°How did you instantly move us here? Was it Soulspeak?¡± She was a sect master, so her experiences were extraordinary. She quickly recovered her usual temperament when the conversation returned to cultivation.

    ¡°Idiot. Ah Zu isn¡¯t even from the Dragon Race, so how could he know Soulspeak?¡± Yun Jianyue remarked without a trace of politeness. Yan Xuehen frowned, but she didn¡¯t retort. That really didn¡¯t seem too likely, after all.

    Zu An thought to himself, Were these two women enemies in theirst lives or something? They¡¯ve been arguing from the moment I saw them. However, he replied, ¡°It¡¯s actually more or less the same; the principles are simr.¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Yun Jianyue sighed with amazement and said, ¡°Thank goodness we ended up in the water. If we had appeared in the earth, we might have just suffocated to death.¡±

    Zu an said with a smile, ¡°I wouldn''t have suffocated to death, but I wouldn¡¯t have been able to produce this kind of water bubble to give you two air then.¡±

    Yan Xuehen blushed, while a dangerous glint shed through Yun Jianyue¡¯s eyes as she replied, ¡°You damn brat, you really were nning to feed us oxygen through a kiss?¡±

    ¡°What else could I have done then?¡± Zu An replied, surprisingly straightforwardly. ¡°Would I just have to watch you two die?¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression became somewhat strange as she replied, ¡°What you said makes some sense. But you would only have needed to help me. Don¡¯t tell me you were going to kiss this stone cold woman too?¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression changed and she eximed, ¡°Why would I want him to save me?!¡±

    Zu An replied impatiently, ¡°Didn¡¯t I just save you? If I hadn¡¯t arrived just in time, you would already have been sliced in half by that Deathworm. At that point, the goddess of Cloudcenter Commandery would have had her inner organs strewn everywhere, and even that wouldter have turned into the Deathworm¡¯s poop.¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Yan Xuehen eximed, blushing furiously. Smoke almost seemed about toe out of her head as she cried, ¡°Wasn¡¯t all of this your fault to begin with?!¡±

    If it hadn¡¯t been for this scoundrel, would she even havee here in the first ce? Would she have fought against Yun Jianyue like that? That damn worm obviously wouldn¡¯t have mattered.

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +411 +411 +411¡­

    ¡°What does this have to do with me?¡± Zu An replied,pletely confused.

    Meanwhile, Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression also became a bit unpleasant as she asked, ¡°Can you not be so gross?¡± After all, that had almost happened to her too.

    ¡°Alright, alright, I was wrong,¡± Zu An replied, chuckling in embarrassment. While they were speaking, however, the bubble had already reached the surface. With one of the women in each arm, he kicked off and headed for shore.

    When she felt his hand¡¯s warmth, Yan Xuehen¡¯s entire body stiffened. Even Yun Jianyue, who had been focused on adjusting her condition, felt a bit ufortable.

    Because they had been underwater, their clothes had already been drenched. It hadn¡¯t been that obvious while they were in the water bubble, but now that they had returned to the surface, their clothes now stuck to their skin, bing see-through.

    Such a thing would never happen normally. Their cultivation levels were so incredible that their bodies normally wouldn¡¯t be tainted by even a single speck of filth, let alone water. Even if something did get on them somehow, just a bit of ki would make thempletely dry again. But the two women couldn''t do that right now!

 Chapter 1165: Shock

    <h4>Chapter 1165: Shock</h4>

    Even though Yan Xuehen was furious, she had too many doubts, and didn¡¯t really know what to say. Instead, Yun Jianyue couldn''t take it anymore and cried, ¡°Brat, close your eyes!¡±

    Zu An hadn¡¯t noticed anything at first, but only now that he had been reminded did he notice the two women¡¯s current state. He was stupefied. The women¡¯s figures were graceful, lovely, and absolutely enchanting; more importantly, they were both well-known individuals in this world!

    Yun Jianyue was someone who incited fear throughout the world, her prestige born of dominance. She was someone many parents used to make their children stop crying at night. There was even less need to talk about Yan Xuehen. She was a goddess in the eyes of many people, revered by countless individuals.

    The two were both absolutely stunning, and yet no one dared to have such thoughts, or even discuss their appearance for that matter. That was because they were both just too powerful. They were almost like almighty deities that others could normally only look up to, not daring to have any sphemous thoughts.

    And yet, this side of the two women that no one else had seen was actually right in front of Zu An. Considering the huge disparity in status, who could resist such stimtion?

    ¡°You¡¯re still staring?¡± Yun Jianyue snapped. She was still the Devil Sect¡¯s master; her brows stood on end, killing intent surging within her. Even though she was seriously injured at that moment, her killing intent was still real.

    ¡°Um¡­ If I don¡¯t watch the way, I might fall back into the water,¡± Zu An subconsciously replied.

    Yan Xuehen said with a sneer, ¡°With your cultivation, you should be able to clearly sense the way even with your eyes closed. How could you possibly fall back into the water?¡±

    With their knowledge, such a crude excuse was instantly exposed.

    Zu An sighed and replied, ¡°Since I can sense my surroundings even if I close my eyes,what difference is there whether I leave my eyes open or close them?¡±

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue were speechless.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Fine, fine, fine., I¡¯ll just close my eyes.¡± Even after dancing on the brink of death like an absolute madman, Zu An still obeyed. He moved toward the shore, and after putting the two women down, he turned around and asked, ¡°I have some clothes here; do you want any?¡±

    When she saw him turn around, Yan Xuehen nodded inwardly. Even though this brat spoke rather frivolously, he actually had a gentlemanly side to him. Meanwhile, Yun Jianyue said in shock, ¡°You actually have female clothes on you? Are you a pervert?¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He could only say, ¡°They¡¯re all Chuyan¡¯s clothes. I carry some for her in my storage pouch.¡± In truth, he didn¡¯t only have Chuyan¡¯s clothes; he had clothes from his other sweethearts too. But he wasn¡¯t in a position to exin such a thing.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s heart skipped a beat when she heard the name ¡®Chuyan¡¯. She began feeling vexed, thinking, He is my disciple¡¯s man! Just what the hell have I been thinking recently?!

    But she quickly concluded that she was probably still being affected by his sorcery. She felt even more annoyed when she realized that.

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +109 +109 +109¡­

    Zu An jumped in fright. He didn¡¯t know how he had offended her. It seemed he shouldn¡¯t have mentioned Chuyan¡¯s name after all¡­

    On the other hand, Yun Jianyue sneered. She asked, ¡°Why do you only have that Chu Chuyan¡¯s clothes? You don¡¯t have any of our Honglei¡¯s? You really don¡¯t deserve that girl.¡±

    Zu An said sulkily ¡°When ites to why I don¡¯t have her clothes, does big sis sect master really have no idea?¡±

    Only then did Yun Jianyue realize she had tried to break them up several times. Her expression became a bit awkward. Suddenly, she felt some doubts. Was her choice to break them up correct?

    Even though Honglei might be able to cultivate the Heavenly Devil Temptation to an even higher level, if her man ended up being stolen by that Chu girl, she would still be the loser in the end¡­

    If it were another girl, Yun Jianyue wouldn¡¯t have cared at all. But Chuyan was Yan Xuehen¡¯s disciple. If her disciple lost to Yan Xuehen¡¯s disciple, wouldn¡¯t that be like having lost herself, in a certain sense?

    Yan Xuehen felt hesitant. At first, she had thought that Yun Jianyue was also affected by Zu An¡¯s sorcery, but judging from their conversation just then, that didn¡¯t seem to be the case.

    Don¡¯t tell me that after he used that witchcraft on me, I really ended up liking him without realizing it? She was stupefied when she thought of that possibility.

    Yun Jianyue couldn''t help but give Yan Xuehen a few more looks. She just felt that this old rival of hers was really acting a bit strange today. But she couldn''t figure out what was going on, so she said to Zu An, ¡°It¡¯s really hard for us to change our clothes in our current state.¡±

    Zu An was rmed. As if she had seen through his thoughts, Yun Jianyue remarked, ¡°What, you thought I would ask you to help us get dressed?¡±

    Zu An almost choked on his own saliva. He spluttered, ¡°Of course not! I was going to say that I could use my skills to dry your clothes.¡±

    Yun Jianyue then nodded in satisfaction, saying, ¡°That¡¯s more like it. You can use the fire element, so it¡¯s suitable for drying clothes.¡±

    Yan Xuehen had seen Zu AN use fire and ice before. She once again sighed in amazement, thinking, This kid really is a ridiculous genius, someone any sect would fight over.

    Maybe I should just make an exception and take him into our White Jade Sect. With his cultivation and aptitude, the other elders won¡¯t have much to say either. I can see him more often too¡­

    Her expression changed as soon as that thought emerged. She quickly warned herself that her cultivation technique focused on being free from emotions, so she definitely couldn''t bring him back! That would greatly affect Chuyan¡¯s future.

    Meanwhile, Zu An¡¯s palm was already pressing against Yan Xuehen¡¯s back. Her entire body went rigid when she felt the heat from his palm.

    In the past, she definitely wouldn¡¯t have let another person ce their hand in such a vital area. But now, she discovered that she wasn¡¯t worried about him hurting her at all, even though she had clearly been after his life not too long before.

    Zu An suddenly said, ¡°Ma¡¯ams, don¡¯t worry; my eyes are closed.¡±

    Yun Jianyue said jokingly, ¡°If you dare to open your eyes halfway, I¡¯ll definitely gouge them out after this is done.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help butugh. He replied, ¡°Big sis sect master, you don¡¯t seem to understand this current situation! You two can¡¯t do a thing to retaliate right now. If you piss me off too much, aren¡¯t you scared that I¡¯ll do things to you, and then kill you afterwards?¡±

    Yan Xuehen was horrified. Even though she didn¡¯t care about her appearance, after so many years, she had sensed how much other people around her cared. She knew just what kind of appeal her appearance had to men. Even though Yun Jianyue had faced her for several years, she also had to admit that the demoness was also extremely beautiful.

    Normally, no one would dare to do anything to them, but now, they werepletely defenseless. Furthermore, their special status and appearance would only give a man even greater stimtion¡­

    While Yan Xuehen was feeling restless, she heard Yun Jianyue reply with a sneer, ¡°Would I have treated you as my friend if I didn¡¯t know about your character? Would I have done all that when I heard you¡­ Ahem, anyways. I know you¡¯re not that kind of person.¡±

    Zu An protested, ¡°So honest people deserve to be bullied?¡±

    Yun Jianyue giggled and said, ¡°Alright, enough. Stop chattering already. That monster is still here, so help us dry our clothes first.¡±

    Yan Xuehen remained silent. She had discovered that she knew far less about Zu An than Yun Jianyue did. That made her feel extremely unhappy. However, a warm feeling quickly spread through her entire body. The clothes on her body gradually began drying, emitting a cloud of steam.

    She nodded. Even though Zu An¡¯s grasp over the fire element was still a bit immature in the eyes of a grandmaster, it had already exceeded the understanding of many experts in this world. It wasn¡¯t something someone of his age should have been able to achieve.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression stiffened when she realized that she had just praised him again inwardly. She quickly shifted her attention and asked, ¡°What about Yu Yanluo? Why don¡¯t I see her with you?¡±

    Zu An smacked his head and cried, ¡°Ah, I forgot about her while saving you two!¡±

    Since the Scaled Deathworm was too powerful and Yu Yanluo was still recovering, he had made her wait in a safe ce far away from him. But he still hadn¡¯t looked for her after so much time. She was probably worried to death, right?

    He suddenly turned around and said, ¡°Your clothes are already pretty much dry. Rest here for a bit; I¡¯ll be back after I get her.¡±

    ¡°Yu Yanluo, the capital¡¯s number one beauty. Tsk tsk, you really are a cunning bastard, not even letting a Medusa go,¡± Yun Jianyue remarked. She naturally knew what had happened recently. She had been extremely unhappy to hear that the two of them were together.

    Zu An¡¯s forehead darkened and he asked, ¡°Can you not describe me with such words, please?¡±

    ¡°What will we do if you leave? What if another one of those strange bugses? We¡¯d be dead for sure.¡± Yun Jianyue said with a frown. Yan Xuehen gave her a look of astonishment. Why did she feel as if the other woman was acting jealous?

    Still, what Yun Jianyue had said made sense. The terrifying bug had summoned more subordinates, showing that there were definitely many more of its kind in the mines. If the bugs made their way over, the two women would be done for.

    Zu An used Blue Mard to create an air bubble, then ced the two women inside, saying, ¡°Those strange bugs move through the earth. You two should be safe in the water.¡±

    He was about to leave when he suddenly thought of something. He took out a pill and said, ¡°Sect Master Yan, this is the Ice Heart Pill you gave me. It should be useful for your injuries.¡± While he was talking, however, he suddenly saw Yun Jianyue¡¯s jaw drop as she stared at Yan Xuehen.

 Chapter 1166: Caught Red-Handed

    <h4>Chapter 1166: Caught Red-Handed</h4>

    Yan Xuehen had already gotten a bad feeling when she saw him moving to take out an item. Now, though, it was already toote to stop him. A red blush rushed across her snow-white skin when she sensed Yun Jianyue¡¯s surprised and gossipy expression. She was so embarrassed she really wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear.

    When he sensed the strange atmosphere in the air, Zu An couldn¡¯t help but stop as well. He asked in confusion, ¡°Big sis sect master, why are you two acting like this?¡±

    ¡°She gave you that?¡± Yun Jianyue asked in absolute disbelief.

    ¡°Yup.¡± Zu An nodded instinctively. He exined, ¡°I was injured before and she gave me two of them. But I already ate one¡­¡±

    He suddenly realized there was a big problem. There was only a single pill left! How were they going to share it? It had been Yan Xuehen¡¯s medicine to begin with, so of course she should use it. But he and Yun Jianyue were close. Giving it to another woman in front of her really didn¡¯t seem too good.

    Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t have any more bottles of Faith in Brother Spring. Otherwise, he could give Yun Jianyue one. But even if he had Faith in Brother Spring, it would only have been the small version. It wasn¡¯t even enough to help himpletely recover, so its effects might be negligible for grandmasters.

    ¡°She gave you both pills?¡± Yun Jianyue''s voice rose an octave, shock written all over her face.

    ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Zu An replied.

    He wanted to say something else, but Yan Xuehen quickly stopped him in shame and embarrassment, saying, ¡°Enough, enough. Hurry and save that little lover of yours already, or else you¡¯ll be in tears after finding out she was eaten by those strange worms.¡± She was worried that Yun Jianyue¡¯s next words would make it hard for her to still conduct herself with dignity. She obviously had to chase Zu An away ahead of time.

    Zu An figured that made sense as well. Yu Yanluo¡¯s safety was still the most important. He couldn''t be bothered with anything else at the moment. He searched his robes again and took out a Soul Return Pill, saying, ¡°This pill is the famous Soul Return Pill made by Divine Physician Ji. It should help at least a little with your injuries.¡± He didn¡¯t wait for the two of them to say anything else and quickly left.

    ¡­

    Zu An was going to let the two split the goods themselves. He would offend the other party if he gave it to either one of them.

    ¡°This damn brat!¡± Yun Jianyue gritted her teeth so hard she felt them ache when she saw him make his getaway. However, she wasn¡¯t in the mood to divide the pills at all. Instead, she gave Yan Xuehen a look and said, ¡°Tsk tsk tsk, no wonder you weren¡¯t willing to hand over the pills no matter how I asked. So you gave them to him!¡±

    Yan Xuehen really wanted to jump into the water and end it all at that moment. That way, she wouldn¡¯t have to experience such mockery. But considering how that would only further confirm their rtionship, ndering her sect, she took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. She said, ¡°Considering his and Chuyan¡¯s rtionship, I obviously could not just see him die and let it affect my rtionship with my disciple.¡±

    Even though she was pure and dignified like the snow on a mountain¡¯s summit, she was first and foremost a sect master. She wouldn¡¯t have been able to sit in her position if she didn¡¯t have a few tricks of her own. She quickly found a good excuse.

    ¡°Give me a break. Do you think I¡¯m a three year old child?¡± Yun Jianyue sneered. ¡°If my memory serves me correctly, you were about to kill him, right? You must already have made your decision then. With your personality, how could you possibly change your mind and save him?¡±

    Yan Xuehen said calmly, ¡°I indeed wanted to kill him at first. I thought he was just lusting after beauty and that he had colluded with the fiend races. But when I saw him risk his life to protect the Medusa, I decided that he had some loyalty, and that he was not a shameless man who only acted out of perversion. I felt a bit of appreciation, so my killing intent dissipated a bit.¡±

    She continued, ¡°Afterward, I was shocked by the cultivation he had at his age. What was even more remarkable was that he did not give up in the face of adversity, and he always found a solution somehow. Such aptitude, paired with that kind of nature, would result in immeasurable future prospects. I cherished his talent and wished to take him in as a disciple.¡±

    ¡°Take him in as a disciple?¡± Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression turned strange. She asked, ¡°Doesn¡¯t your White Jade Sect focus on being unmoved by emotions? You¡¯ve long been trying to break up his rtionship with your disciple too. Aren¡¯t you scared that the Chu girl won¡¯t be able to achieve that state if you make them fellow disciples?¡±

    Yan Xuehen said seriously, ¡°I have thought this through. If I forcefully separate them, it will only create regret in Chuyan¡¯s heart. Rather than that, I might as well allow them to be close to each other, and let her seek a true state of emotionlessness that way. I believe that with her aptitude and nature, she will be able to achieve this sooner orter.¡±

    Yun Jianyue replied with augh, ¡°That Chu girl might be able to, but how could that crazy brat Zu An achieve that kind of mental state?¡±

    Yan Xuehen was also stunned. She thought back to how, ever since she had learned about her disciple¡¯s encounter, she had sent some people to look into Zu An. She had learned that he had all sorts of beauties around him and almost passed out from anger. Now, it seemed that taking him in as a disciple really wasn¡¯t too realistic.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s smile faded as she said, ¡°He¡¯s my little brother and also Honglei¡¯s good friend. If he¡¯s going to be anyone¡¯s disciple, he should be mine. There¡¯s no ce for a stone cold woman like you.¡±

    ¡°Do you really have to fight against me over everything?¡± Yan Xuehen shot back, sitting up straight and giving the other woman an angry look.

    ¡°Your state of indifference doesn¡¯t suit him. He definitely won¡¯t choose you either,¡± Yun Jianyue said. She had great confidence in that point.

    ¡°That might not necessarily be the case.¡± Yan Xuehen harrumphed. ¡°The White Jade Sect has many secret methods. He doesn¡¯t need to cultivate the dao of emotionlessness.¡±

    Yun Jianyue was shocked. She replied, ¡°You usually brag about your emotionless state to people like a madwoman, telling them all to learn it, and yet you¡¯re actually willing to let someone learn something else today?¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s face heated up. She replied, ¡°Am I really as stubborn as you make me out to be? One obviously needs to teach in line with the student¡¯s ability.¡±

    ¡°This is strange!¡± Yun Jianyue remarked suspiciously. ¡°Your Ice Heart Pill is one of your White Jade Sect¡¯s greatest treasures; how could you just give it out like that? Not only that, you gave two of them in one go? He¡¯s not even your disciple yet! And when I asked you about it before, you were stuttering and mumbling. Why didn¡¯t you just tell me then?¡±

    ¡°What, do you think I like him or something?¡± Yan Xuehen shot back. She switched tactics, going from passive to aggressive. However, her heart was pounding, fearing that the other woman might notice something.

    Yun Jianyue was actually somewhat stunned. That had only been a small suspicion, after all. However, after fighting against Yan Xuehen for so many years, she knew the woman better than anyone. How could this stone cold woman possibly like Zu An? Let alone the fact that he was her disciple¡¯s man¡­ Even our Devil Sect¡¯s women aren¡¯t that unrestrained.

    ¡°Enough, enough. Just take the medicine already. Recover some strength as soon as possible,¡± Yan Xuehen said, feeling a bit happier when she saw the other woman¡¯s stunned expression.

    ¡°Since there¡¯s only one, you should just take it,¡± Yun Jianyue said. She didn¡¯t wait for the other woman to retort and picked up the Soul Return Pill, ingesting it. She was proud and didn¡¯t want to fight with Yan Xuehen over a pill; she still had her dignity.

    Yan Xuehen gave Yun Jianyue a long look. She felt a bit of admiration for her adversary¡¯s decisiveness, so she didn¡¯t put on airs either and took the Ice Heart Pill, saying, ¡°Alright. Even if I recover a bit faster because of this, I won¡¯t trouble you in this mine.¡±

    Yun Jianyue sneered. ¡°You¡¯re making it sound as if you¡¯ll really recover faster than me or something.¡±

    Yan Xuehen knew that she was acting tough and didn¡¯t expose her. The two sat down in the bubble and began to adjust their breathing.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Yu Yanluo had been nervously pacing about in a hidden cave. When she saw Zu An, she couldn''t hold her emotions back and rushed at him, crying, ¡°Ah! I thought something had happened to you! I wanted to find you, but I was scared that you¡¯de back and miss me¡­¡±

    Zu An felt conflicted when he felt her lightly trembling body. He said, ¡°It was my fault; I came back toote.¡±

    After a while, Yu Yanluo finally began to calm down. She noticed her current state and left his embrace in embarrassment. She wiped her tears while asking, ¡°What happened over there? Why was there so much noise? Did you find Sect Master Yan?¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An had a strange expression on his face as he replied, ¡°It isn¡¯t just Sect Master Yan; Sect Master Yun was also there.¡±

    Yu Yanluo was stunned. Then, however, she felt overjoyed as she eximed, ¡°Doesn¡¯t that mean it¡¯ll be even easier to defeat that Scaled Deathworm?!¡± In her opinion, even though the two were in different factions, they were both humans. They could work together to solve the problem, right?

    Zu An had a bitter smile as he said, ¡°I fear that it¡¯s not that easy¡­ It¡¯s hard to exin all of this right now. You¡¯ll understand once I bring you over.¡±

    Suddenly, the two of them shivered. They saw a giant worm slowly moving toward them. What else could it be but the mother worm?!

 Chapter 1167: Three Women Are Enough for a Drama

    <h4>Chapter 1167: Three Women Are Enough for a Drama</h4>

    Screeeeeech¡­

    A strange and terrifying noise filled the air. It was without a doubt the Scaled Deathworm¡¯s armor grinding against the sand and stones again.

    Zu An felt an extremely eerie and cold divine will scan through the surroundings. They had already been discovered! He knew full well that considering the Scaled Deathworm¡¯s strength, together with the wind sweeping through the dirt, even if he went all out, he might still be caught quickly by it. Only if he instantly moved over arge distance like before would he be able to shake it off.

    He thought of using Keyboard Come again, but his soul ached. It was clear that using it twice in a row just then had already taxed his soul greatly. If he forcefully used it again, he might just die even without the worm¡¯s help.

    What do I do, what do I do¡­

    Zu An had a particr good trait, which was that the more dire the situation was, the calmer he became. His thoughts even became a bit sharper than usual. He quickly thought of something.

    He urged Yu Yanluo, ¡°Hurry and enter your World Painting!¡± His Brilliant ss Bead couldn''t store people in it, but Yu Yanluo¡¯s magical artifact could form a world of its own. He had been sucked in himself.

    Yu Yanluo was puzzled, but she roughly guessed what he was thinking. However, even if it could suck them in, the World Painting would still be present. It might be able to fool ordinary worms, but the powerful mother worm would definitely sense that she was inside the paintiing. At that point, if it devoured the painting, the world inside of it would also experience a cmity. The people inside would still be dead for sure.

    Even so, she knew that the situation was dire. She didn¡¯t have time to ask anything, but she still chose to trust him without holding back at all. Her figure flickered, and she was quickly sucked into the painting. She was about to pull Zu An in too, but he instead rolled up the painting.

    ¡°Huh?¡± she eximed. If it were anyone else, they definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to use her scroll this easily. But when Zu An did it, she didn¡¯t resist at all, letting him roll it up just like that.

    ¡°Ah Zu, what are you doing?¡± she cried, suddenly panicking. She was worried that he would sacrifice himself to save her.

    ¡°Shh! Don¡¯t speak!¡± Zu An replied as he collected the scroll and put away the luminescent pearl he held. Then, he used the skill he had just unlocked, ¡®Hidden in the Dark¡¯.

    At that instant, the Scaled Deathworm¡¯srge mouth snapped closed, biting the area the two had just been in. Its two massive mandibles nged together with a tooth-rattling noise. It raised part of its body in confusion, clearly realizing that it had missed. It looked all around itself to try to find its target.

    It was technically incorrect to say the worm was looking around, because it didn¡¯t have eyes. It relied on its six feelers to sense the small vibrations in the air around it. At the same time, it used its sense of smell, as well as releasing its grandmaster rank divine will. Even though its surroundings were pitch ck, that didn¡¯t hinder its senses at all.

    But it didn¡¯t sense anything even after searching for some time. It released an ear-splitting cry, clearly in a terrible mood. Its prey had suddenly disappeared right before its eyes several times already that day, but it couldn''t figure out why at all. It was a bit unwilling to ept that, and continued to search its surroundings.

    In truth, Zu An was very close by. From up close, he could clearly sense just how terrifying it was. The power it gave off even surpassed the domain of a grandmaster. Perhaps it was due to his instincts as a living creature, or because he just didn¡¯t want to end up as food, but all of his fine hairs were standing on end.

    At first, he had still been a bit worried that the monster would notice him. After all, it was just way too powerful. But after some time, he had noticed that it was just mming its body from side to side like a headless fly, unable to find him at all. He sighed in relief. It seemed the keyboard¡¯s skills were still quite reliable.

    After making sure of his own safety, Zu An looked at the worm that was moving around in the distance. He was itching to give it a try. If he attacked with the Poisonous Prick, would he have a chance of killing it?

    Eager to attempt it after the thought appeared in his mind, he secretly took out the Poisonous Prick. However, the Scaled Deathworm suddenly turned around to ¡®look¡¯ in his direction. He was so frightened he quickly put the Poisonous Prick away. The Scaled Deathworm moved back over to where he was hiding; it looked around but didn¡¯t find anything. Only then did it disappear back underground.

    Only then did Zu An discover that his entire body waspletely drenched. It seemed that considering the Scaled Deathworm¡¯s strength, just a hint of killing intent would be enough for it to detect him.

    He recalled the ¡®Hidden in the Dark¡¯ skill¡¯s description. If he attacked, the stealth effects would instantly vanish. Considering the Scaled Deathworm¡¯s terrifying strength, it would instantly react. He wondered how he could get rid of it while releasing Yu Yanluo.

    ¡°Ah Zu, how did you do that?¡± Yu Yanluo asked, sounding incredibly shocked. In her perception, the two of them had always been there; and yet, even after that worm had moved around them several times, it hadn¡¯t noticed a thing.

    ¡°I have a skill that can allow me to hide myself,¡± Zu An exined. He said, ¡°Let¡¯s rendezvous with Sect Masters Yun and Yan first.¡±

    ¡­

    The two of them quickly arrived by the pool where Zu An had left the other two women again. Zu An sighed in relief when he saw that the bubble was still intact. He really would have regretted it forever if he came back and saw that the two women had been devoured by some strange beast.

    Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen had been meditating and adjusting their condition in the water bubble. When they sensed the water bubble slowly rising, they both opened their eyes.

    Yun Jianyue was happy to see Zu An return safely. Even Yan Xuehen¡¯s ice-cold expression softened somewhat. But when they saw Yu Yanluo behind him, both of their smiles quickly disappeared.

    ¡°Greetings, Sect Master Yan and Sect Master Yun! I¡¯ve admired both of you for a long time, but I didn¡¯t expect to meet in this kind of situation.¡± Yu Yanluo was free and unrestrained. She greeted the two of them naturally.

    Even though her cultivation was inferior to theirs, it wasn¡¯t low either. Furthermore, as the Yu n¡¯s leader, and considering her incredible reputation, she wasn¡¯t inferior to them at all. There was naturally no need for her to be too humble.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression was a bit unnatural. After all, she had tried to kill Yu Yanluo not too long ago.

    Yu Yanluo was acting so friendly, and Zu An was right there too, so Yun Jianyue couldn''t just treat them too coldly. She said, ¡°I¡¯ve heard of the great reputation of the capital¡¯s number one beauty as well. Now that we¡¯ve met, your beauty even leaves me moved.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t their first meeting at all. But this was the first time they¡¯d had a proper face-to-face conversation.

    Yu Yanluo smiled and replied, ¡°Sect Master Yun is too kind with your praise. In terms of appearance, the sect master is superior to this little sister.¡±

    Even though she knew that those words were just ttery, Yun Jianyue still liked hearing them. After all, the other woman had been publicly acknowledged as the number one beauty. She couldn''t help but give Yan Xuehen a smug look as if to say, ¡®Do you see that? She told me I was prettier than her, but she didn¡¯t say the same about you. Your appearance is clearly inferior to mine.¡¯n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Yan Xuehen had fought Yun Jianyue for so long, so how could she not guess the other woman¡¯s intentions? She looked away, ignoring those senselesspetitive statements.

    Zu An coughed and said, ¡°Enough, enough. Stop with all the polite talk already. The most important situation right now is dealing with that Scaled Deathworm.¡±

    He then shared what he had learned from the Silverme Flowertree with them. Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue¡¯s expressions grew serious when they heard the exnation.

    ¡°I have never heard of this Scaled Deathworm before.¡±

    ¡°It seems to havee from a different world after all.¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°I want to get rid of it as quickly as possible. What do you two think?¡±

    Yan Xuehen nodded and said, ¡°Eliminating evil is my way, and the responsibility of my people. I will not shirk this responsibility.¡± She nodded inwardly. Even though this kid was a bit of a pervert and a bit shameless, he still acted properly at critical moments.

    Yun Jianyue remarked unhappily, ¡°What do you mean eliminating evil? We¡¯re just chasing out an outsider. Even though you call my faction part of the evil path, for one thing, this matter involves me too. I don¡¯t want to see the people suffer either.¡±

    Yu Yanluo showed both of them a respectful bow and said, ¡°I thank the two of you in ce of all of Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯smon people.¡±

    Yun Jianyueughed and said teasingly, ¡°We have a fiend and a demoness here. We¡¯re always being chased and hunted by the orthodox faction, and yet at critical moments, we still defend the peace of this world dutifully. I wonder what a certain member of the orthodox faction has to say about that?¡±

    Yan Xuehen frowned. Indeed, for the first time she couldn¡¯t think of a retort. She began to wonder if all of her past actions had been based on seeing the world as too ck and white.

    Seeing Yan Xuehen fall silent, Yun Jianyue felt a bit bored. She said, ¡°But we have another problem right now. I fought against this stone cold woman for too long and injured my foundations. Even though I¡¯ve recovered a bit of movement ability with that medicine, I¡¯m far from being at the level where I can face that Scaled Deathworm.¡±

    ¡°Indeed. In our current state, even if all four of us work together, we will still not be a match for it,¡± Yan Xuehen said, looking worried. She gave Yun Jianyue a hateful re. It was all this madwoman¡¯s fault for insisting on fighting her, leaving two glorious grandmasters in their current state.

    Yun Jianyue became upset, snapping, ¡°Stone cold woman, if it weren¡¯t because you insisted on being all prideful and saying you killed Zu An, how would all of this have happened?!¡±

    Zu An was stunned. So these two were fighting because of me!

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression turned strange. She could never have expected that these two legendary women would actually fight because of Zu An. When she recalled how Yan Xuehen had given Zu An such precious medicines¡­

    She jumped in fright. These two won¡¯t be my rivals in love, will they?

 Chapter 1168: Investing a Lot

    <h4>Chapter 1168: Investing a Lot</h4>

    Zu An felt moved as he looked at Yun Jianyue and eximed, ¡°Big sis sect master, so you fought against her because you thought I had died!¡±

    Yan Xuehen felt sore inside. She must have be a viin in his eyes. But she quickly realized that there was something wrong with her mood, and only felt more and more vexed.

    Yun Jianyue cleared her throat and said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to be too thankful. You are Honglei¡¯s¡­ good friend, after all. Even I owe you, so how could I just watch without doing anything?¡± She suddenly realized something and said, ¡°How about this? If you¡¯re grateful to me, then just ept me as your master.¡±

    Zu An and Yu Yanluo were speechless. Zu An thought, Why is another woman wanting to take me as a disciple? Am I a hotmodity or something?

    Yan Xuehen began to panic. She eximed, ¡°Demoness, you are shameless! I was clearly the one who decided on that first!¡±

    ¡°He didn¡¯t even agree to join you,¡± Yun Jianyue remarked, rolling her eyes. She said to Zu An, ¡°If you make me your master, you¡¯ll be Honglei¡¯s junior brother. It¡¯ll be easier for you two to be around each other.

    ¡°Furthermore, in our Holy Sect, Honglei is the saintess. But as a preventive measure, we actually have many saintess candidates, and all of them are stunning beauties. If you like any of them, you can take them as yourpanion and do whatever you like.¡±

    Zu An and Yu Yanluo were speechless once again.

    Fortunately, Yan Xuehen was the first one to blurt out, ¡°Miss Yun, do you even have any sense of shame left? Are you looking for a disciple, or are you¡­ Are you¡­¡± She was too embarrassed to even finish her sentence.

    Yun Jianyue gave her an indifferent look and said, ¡°Considering Zu An¡¯s aptitude, strength, appearance, and his status as my disciple, those saintess candidates would be fighting for the chance to be hispanion. What would there be to feel unhappy about?¡±

    Yan Xuehen was really getting annoyed. She shot back, ¡°That really is something only the Devil Sect would do. Utterly shameless!¡±

    Yun Jianyue said coldly, ¡°The way our Holy Sect does things is actually practical and realistic. You clearly want to take him in as a disciple, and yet you¡¯re acting like a petnt child. How fake!¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Yan Xuehen didn¡¯t know how to retort. She definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to make a simr offer. Forget about the fact that she had never intended anything like that; even if she did, the others in the sect wouldn¡¯t agree. That would shake the very principles of the White Jade Sect.

    She took a deep breath and looked at Zu An, asking, ¡°What do you think?¡± She figured that even though this man was a bit perverted, he already had so many beauties at his side. Furthermore, he actually had a bit of a chivalrous side to him deep down. Yun Jianyue¡¯s temptation might not necessarily work.

    Zu An thought to himself, Do you even need to ask? Of course big sis sect master¡¯s offer shows more sincerity.

    He was just about to speak, but when he saw her expression that was as clear as water and full of expectations, he changed his wording just as the response left his lips. ¡°Only a child would answer that multiple-choice question. A mature person would obviously¡­ want it all!¡±

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue were speechless.

    Zu An coughed and said, ¡°The two of you are both extraordinary legends. If I could take both of you on as my masters, I would definitely be able to learn even more formidable things.¡± As for Master Empress, he¡¯d just coax her a bit afterward. She probably wouldn¡¯t mind letting a few more little sisters teach him.

    Yun Jianyue was so annoyed sheughed, saying, ¡°Kid, your appetite is surprisingly big, hm? If it were anyone else, I would already have smacked them to death. But you are quite something. I like this domineering side of yours.¡±

    Even though Yan Xuehen wasn¡¯t happy to hear that, she didn¡¯t refuse it either. Her own conditions were far inferior to Yun Jianyue¡¯s, and yet the other party still wanted to take her as his master. Didn¡¯t that mean that to some extent, she had actually won against Yun Jianyue?

    Yu Yanluo couldn''t keep watching the scene. She said, ¡°Ahem, everyone. Isn¡¯t the more important matter now how to deal with that Scaled Deathworm?¡±

    The two women¡¯s eyes were practically turning green from greed. Where had their grandmaster attitudes gone? It was as if they were trying to fight over a man or something! Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue immediately realized how they were acting and felt somewhat embarrassed.

    Zu An said, ¡°Actually, I had a chance to kill it, but it noticed me ahead of time¡­¡± Then, he gave them a rough recount of what had just happened.

    Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen were both shocked, eximing, ¡°You ran into that worm again?¡± They looked at each other when they realized they had blurted out the same thing.

    Yan Xuehen quickly asked, ¡°Just what kind of skill was that, if it allowed you to avoid its spiritual senses?¡±

    ¡°Exactly! Why did I not know that you had such a formidable skill?¡± Yun Jianyue also expressed her disbelief.

    After all, even the two of them wouldn¡¯t have been confident in their ability to escape its perception even when they were at their strongest. Just how had Zu An done it?

    ¡°It¡¯s a new skill.¡± Zu An chuckled in embarrassment. ¡°I can hide myself in absolute darkness, but as soon as there¡¯s a bit of light, or if I attack, it¡¯ll lose its effectiveness.¡±

    They had to work together to defeat the terrifying monster in the future, so he didn¡¯t hide such a crucial piece of information. Otherwise, the consequences might be really terrible if there were any slip-ups.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression became a bit conflicted. Previously, she had realized that Zu An and Yan Jianyue had already known each other for a long time, and that their rtionship was special. Otherwise, Yun Jianyue wouldn¡¯t have gone crazy when she heard that I had killed Zu An.

    I was trying to kill him not too long ago, and yet he¡¯s actually telling me the ws of this skill so easily. He is a true gentleman after all¡­

    She couldn''t help but ask, ¡°Did you n on using that pitch-ck dagger, then?¡±

    Zu An hesitated. He took out the Poisonous Prick and said, ¡°Indeed. This thing has something simr to a curse. Once injured by it, the target will immediately lose their life.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s something so magical in this world?¡± Yun Jianyue eximed in incredible shock. ¡°This thing might be deity-grade! Brat, how do you have so many secrets?¡±

    Yan Xuehen was also extremely moved. With her and Yun Jianyue¡¯s status, they had seen all sorts of deity-grade weapons. However, it was the first time she had seen one like this. Even they were a bit tempted. She said with a serious expression, ¡°Don¡¯t tell anyone about this item in the future. Possessing a treasure will arouse the envy of others; you might incite the jealousy of the powerful in this world.¡±

    Yu Yanluo had been about to say that herself. When she heard Yan Xuehen say it, she sighed in relief.

    Zu An chuckled and replied, ¡°You aren¡¯t outsiders, and we¡¯re stuck in the same boat right now. I can¡¯t hide such important information from you.¡±

    Not outsiders¡­ Yan Xuehen¡¯s heart skipped a beat. Her expression was also a bit unnatural; she wasn¡¯t willing to look into his eyes again.

    ¡°With this thing, there¡¯s indeed a chance to kill that worm,¡± Yun Jianyue said. ¡°But at the grandmaster level, we be extremely sensitive to killing intent. That worm isn¡¯t any weaker than me or this stone cold woman. Between that and its animal instincts, it can only be even more sensitive than us. It can hide underground at any time. So even if you lurk beside it, once you decide to attack, your stealth will disappear, and it¡¯ll sense your killing intent. It could easily kill you instead.¡±

    ¡°I have a solution to that,¡± Yan Xuehen said. ¡°I¡¯ll pass the ¡®Unshaken Daoist Manual¡¯ onto you. It can help you restrain your killing intent. As long as you attack while you¡¯re close enough, it shouldn¡¯t be able to sense anything.¡±

    Yun Jianyue asked in surprise, ¡°You¡¯re even teaching him something like that?¡±

    Yan Xuehen said indifferently, ¡°This matter is rted to the safety of the human race. He is risking his life for the people, so how can I cling onto a trifling technique? Furthermore, he was already willing to take me on as his master, so it would not go against the rules for me to teach him this.¡±

    Yun Jianyue sighed and said, ¡°Look at you. Normally, you¡¯re all rigid and inflexible, a bit temperamental, and kind of annoying too¡­ but today, I¡¯m even feeling a bit of admiration for you.¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s eyes twitched when she heard the string of adjectives. She shot back, ¡°I suppose I should be thankful for that?¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Yu Yanluo said through ki, ¡°Ah Zu, you¡¯re really fortunate! The ¡®Unshaken Daoist Manual¡¯ is White Jade Sect¡¯s supreme treasure text. Yan Xuehen relied on that art to reach the level she has today.¡± She felt a strong sense of danger when she said that. These women really were going all out for Ah Zu!

    But Zu An instead sounded a bit hesitant as he replied, ¡°Um¡­ I¡¯m just a normal person; I like to experience feelings of love. Will I lose my emotions if I learn your technique and be a daoist, heartless and emotionless? If that¡¯s true, I don¡¯t want to learn it¡­¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s body rocked back and forth withughter when she heard that. She remarked, ¡°Stone cold woman, I didn¡¯t expect you would even go through something like this today!¡±

    Yan Xuehen was speechless.

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +574 +574 +574¡­

 Chapter 1169: Supreme Skills of Two Masters

    <h4>Chapter 1169: Supreme Skills of Two Masters</h4>

    Yan Xuehen immediately felt the urge to beat this damn kid up.

    The Unshaken Daoist Manual was White Jade Sect¡¯s supreme treasure. There were countless people in this world who wanted to learn it, and yet would never have the chance. This was such a huge opportunity, but he was worried that he wouldn¡¯t be as good at ying around with girls because of it?

    He¡¯s just a stupid and perverted man after all!

    Yu Yanluo covered her mouth and giggled, thinking, Ah Zu really is interesting. In the past, she had always been surrounded by hypocrites. Zu An¡¯s straightforward side was a pleasant change of pace.

    Yun Jianyue was even more delighted, saying, ¡°Brat, big sis over here really likes this side of yours.¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression turned ice-cold. She gritted her teeth and said, ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about that. This technique will only help you restrain your killing intent. There''s no way just a trifling few lines will be enough to make you reach the indomitable state free of emotions that countless geniuses from our sect have been unable to reach.¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Yun Jianyue also chuckled and said, ¡°You really are overthinking it. The Unshaken Daoist Manual is so boundless and mysterious. There¡¯s no way she can teach you the entire thing in such a short amount of time. You can just rx and learn whatever she teaches you.¡±

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll give it a try then,¡± Zu An said, finally nodding in the end.

    Seeing how unwilling he was, Yan Xuehen felt irritation boil within her. However, she was suddenly frightened. She had cultivated her unshaken state for so long; her mental state should have been free of any ripples. Why was it that after she had met him, she had begun feeling all sorts of strong emotions?

    She couldn''t vent her frustrations out on him, but she wasn¡¯t so polite toward Yun Jianyue. She said, ¡°I¡¯m going to pass him the chant now.¡±

    Yun Jianyue clicked her tongue and asked, ¡°Do you think I¡¯d be interested in a technique that prevents interpersonal rtionships?¡± She walked some distance away and sat down cross-legged to meditate.

    Yu Yanluo obviously knew that Yan Xuehen definitely didn¡¯t want her to hear the technique either. She gave them a smile, then walked off to one side to nurse her own injuries.

    Yan Xuehen felt somewhat amazed. As expected of an incredible beauty like her; no wonder this guy was willing to risk his own life to protect her.

    Sensing that her current mindset wasn¡¯t quite right, she quickly took a deep breath. She gave Zu An a cold look and said, ¡°Before I pass the Unshaken Daoist Manual to you, I need to ask you something.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Zu An asked with a smile. ¡°As long as sect master is the one asking me, this humble one won¡¯t withhold anything.¡±

    ¡°Smooth talker.¡± Yan Xuehen harrumphed. ¡°Did you use¡­ some strange kind of technique against me?¡±

    Zu An was rmed. She probably noticed the effects of Gold Phoenix¡¯s ¡®Love is More Solid Than Gold¡¯.

    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t. Why would the sect master ask something like that?¡± he replied, pretending to be puzzled. Only an idiot would admit to that in the current situation. Otherwise, considering Yan Xuehen¡¯s nature, she would definitely be hostile. If that happened, how were they supposed to work together to deal with that Scaled Deathworm? Even if he decided to tell her, he had to tell her in private if they had an opportunity in the future.

    Yan Xuehen carefully looked into Zu An¡¯s eyes. She thought to herself, Was I just overthinking things?

    Could it be that it wasn¡¯t some kind of sorcery, but rather that she had actually be attracted to his outstanding characteristics after fighting against him¡­

    Her heart beat crazily. She didn¡¯t dare to continue thinking about it and instead tried to sound emotionless as she said, ¡°It is nothing; just a random question. I am going to pass you the Unshaken Taoist Manual. You cannot share this with anyone else, or else I wille to eliminate you no matter what corner of the world you flee to.¡±

    Zu An sighed in relief and said, ¡°If you¡¯re going to be the one going after me, there¡¯s no problem.¡±

    Yan Xuehen was stunned. Zu An coughed and quickly exined, ¡°What I meant was that seeing you would definitely be a happier thing than seeing some old men. Of course, I would never leak this to anyone else.¡±

    Yan Xuehen gave him a re and shot back, ¡°I am your master now; you are not allowed to speak nonsense anymore!¡± Despite saying that, however, she still enjoyed the praise about her beauty.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t even formally be your disciple yet¡­¡± Zu An mumbled.

    ¡°Focus and memorize the mental cultivation portion,¡± Yan Xuehen said. She calmed herself down before slowly continuing, ¡°Unmoved against all emotions, cast aside feelings; remain unshaken and undisturbed. From the heavens to the self, let this reign supreme. One¡¯s fate lies in the breath. The dead find root in the living; the living find root in the dead¡­¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes lit up. As Yan Xuehen spoke, the energies around him began to move, as if extremely profoundws were swirling around him. He quickly collected his thoughts and memorized the whole thing. At the same time, he carefully anal;yzed the experience,paring and contrasting it with everything he already knew. He gradually felt as if he were obtaining a kind of enlightenment.

    Yan Xuehen knew that Zu An was gaining a lot of understanding from his appearance. She felt great admiration for him. This fellow¡¯s talent really is exceptional. Eventually, she said, ¡°That piece was the Unshaken Daoist Manual¡¯s introduction. Remember it and spend some time thinking about it. It will be of great benefit to your future cultivation.¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t agree with that. Even though the manual was profound and mysterious, if one studied it every day and you ended up bing all cold and emotionless, what meaning would there be in life anymore? Of course, he didn¡¯t dare vocalize any of those thoughts.

    Yan Xuehen continued, ¡°Your talent is incredibly high, and you have alreadyprehended the basics of the Unshaken Daoist Manual. Now, I will teach you how to restrain your killing intent through this foundation.¡±

    Then, she started another chant. ¡°Calm above impatience, cold above heat, peace and quiet as a principle. Seek a peace like the void; be absolutely empty¡­¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s hair fluttered around. Her clothes were purer than snow. She looked as pure as ceramic, her presence filled with the air of an immortal.

    Zu An felt an icy cold emerge within him as Yan Xuehen chanted the sutra. Even his restlessness calmed down a bit.

    ¡°Focus!¡± Yan Xuehen noticed that he was fixing his stare on her, and a blush covered her cheeks. She nced over at Yun Jianyue guiltily, and then sighed in relief when she saw that no one was paying attention to what was happening between them.

    Suddenly, Zu An coughed and said, ¡°I think I¡¯ve already pretty much learned it.¡±

    ¡°You already learned it?¡± Yan Xuehen eximed in shock. She said, ¡°Then pick up a sword and try to stab me.¡±

    ¡°Won¡¯t I hurt you?¡± Zu An replied somewhat hesitantly.

    Yan Xuehen rolled her eyes and said ¡°I am not asking you to stab me with that Poisonous Prick.¡± Even though she hadn¡¯t reached her peak condition, her sight and spiritual senses still remained. It wouldn¡¯t be too difficult to evade Zu An¡¯s sword.

    ¡°Okay.¡± Zu An didn¡¯t act too politely. He took out an ordinary sword from his Brilliant ss Bead and said, ¡°I¡¯m starting.¡±

    Yan Xuehen felt a bit warm inside when she saw him take out an ordinary sword, clearly for fear of hurting her. She replied, ¡°All right. Keep the technique I just taught you in mind.¡±

    The chants Zu An had just heard appeared in his mind. The expression in his eyes began to turn empty as he slowly thrusted his sword outward.

    ¡°Even though it is much better than before, it still asionally lets out a strand of killing intent. Try it again,¡± Yan Xuehen remarked after easily avoiding the sword.

    Zu An thrusted his sword outward again.

    ¡°Even though no killing intent leaked out at all that time, it is still too slow. If you want to defeat that Scaled Deathworm, the slower you act, the more variables might appear. Again!¡± Yan Xuehen said. She was a famous master, after all. She easily noticed where the problemy.

    Just like that, Zu An¡¯s sword thrusted outward again and again. Yan Xuehen continued to point out his weaknesses.

    ¡°Thrust at me again!¡±

    ¡°Use more strength!¡±

    ¡°Like that; don¡¯t stop!¡±

    ¡­

    Yun Jianyue felt strange when she heard all those things. She asked, ¡°Why does it sound as if the two of you are doing something dirty?¡±

    Yan Xuehen was stunned. Only then did she realize the double meanings behind what she had just said. Her ice-cold face turned as red as an apple. She shot back angrily, ¡°You witch, what kind of nonsense are you saying?¡±

    She grabbed her sword and tried to attack Yun Jianyue. However, Yun Jianyue evaded it with a smile, saying, ¡°You¡¯re the one saying strange things, so why are you telling me to be quiet?¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s forehead darkened. She thought to herself, Why are these two grandmasters fighting like two little girls? She took the chance to ask, ¡°Ah Zu, how is the training going?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fortunate to have Sect Master Yan here to teach me carefully. It should be fine now,¡± Zu An said.

    Yan Xuehen finally calmed down a bit. She recovered her usual capable appearance and said, ¡°Mm, his aptitude is quite good. He was able to keep his killing intent from showing. However, there is another problem right now. That Scaled Deathworm is almost entirely covered in armor. It is also ridiculously strong, and there seems to be something like a ki barrier protecting it. Even though his Poisonous Prick is sharp, even if he manages to stab it, it might not produce an injury.¡±

    That was another reason why simrly-ranked beasts were stronger than human cultivators. Their bodies were just too powerful. With their two-fold protection, they could endure many more attacks.

    Zu An felt a bit worried when he heard that. Even though the Poisonous Prick was extremely sharp and had sessfully killed several Scaled Deathworms, none of them had been the mother worm. They had been much weaker.

    Yan Xuehen and the mother worm had fought before. If she was saying that, it meant that she didn¡¯t feel that his Poisonous Prick could break through the monster¡¯s two-fold defense.

    Yun Jianyue suddenly harrumphed and said, ¡°Stone cold woman, you don¡¯t have to incite me like that. Even a miser like you taught him your best skill; do you think I¡¯d hold back, considering our rtionship?

    ¡°Ah Zu, I¡¯m going to pass an exceptional skill onto you, the Star Shattering Imprint. It can instantly increase your offensive power by ten times. With your current cultivation, forget about the Scaled Deathworm, even that damn emperor wouldn¡¯t be unscathed if he took your attack without dodging!¡±

 Chapter 1170: Star Shattering Imprint

    <h4>Chapter 1170: Star Shattering Imprint</h4>

    Zu An was shocked to hear that im. What did it mean to be able to increase one¡¯s strength tenfold? His greatest advantage was that the Primordial Origin Sutra could strengthen his body and regenerative ability. With the Heaven Devouring Sutra, he could neutralize the attacks of those of higher cultivation than himself. However, his offense wasparatively verycking.

    There had been many times when he couldn''t even break through his opponent¡¯s defenses. He could only use the Poisonous Prick and some other skills to make up for hisck of power in those cases. However, those skills all had their own respective weaknesses. They might not necessarily work against the most powerful opponents.

    If he could increase his strength tenfold even temporarily, with proper timing, he would have absolute control over the battlefield!

    Of course, it was possible for him to achieve a simr effect through Keyboard Come. However, the terrifying rebound meant that if he used that skill, it would be hard for him to keep his life.

    Yan Xuehen felt unhappy when she saw the zing passion in his eyes. The Unshaken Daoist Manual she had just taught him wasn¡¯t inferior to the Star Shattering Imprint, and yet this fellow didn¡¯t seem that interested at all. Didn¡¯t that mean she was inferior to the other woman?

    She gave Yun Jianyue a cold look and said, ¡°Stop bragging already. You did not even see the emperor¡¯s face when you carried out that attack on the capital, and yet you were beaten up so badly. You still have the nerve to say such things?¡±

    Yun Jianyue blushed. She was a bit embarrassed for the first time. She shot back, ¡°That¡¯s different! If he didn¡¯t dodge at all and let me attack him, I swear I could st his brains out!¡±

    ¡°Hah¡­¡± Yan Xuehen merelyughed with folded arms, clearly showing disdain.

    Yun Jianyue said in annoyance, ¡°Ah Zu, don¡¯t listen to that stone cold woman. The emperor is an Earth Immortal. His cultivation realm isn¡¯t something we can understand. There¡¯s no way he would stand in ce and let others hit him anyway. What we need to focus on right now is killing this Scaled Deathworm.¡±

    Seeing that she was getting embarrassed, Zu An obviously wouldn¡¯t be so tactless as to pursue the matter. He replied, ¡°Of course!¡±

    But inwardly, he felt a bit of regret. Even grandmasters like Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen had no confidence in their ability to fight the emperor. What was he supposed to do against the emperor if things really went south?

    Yun Jianyue gave Yan Xuehen a resentful look and asked, ¡°What, are you going to just stand here? Are you trying to steal my skill or something?¡±

    ¡°Who would be interested in something like that?¡± Yan Xuehen sneered and left.

    Yu Yanluo gave Zu An a look and told him, ¡°Ah Zu, Sect Master Yun¡¯s reputation throughout these years has been incredible precisely because of this one-of-a-kind technique, allowing her to remain undefeated among her peers. Back then, countless experts from all sorts of different sects arrived under the court¡¯s lead to surround her, yet they were all killed one by one. Blood flowed like streams. Even the emperor himself admired her unparalleled offensive dao. You need to make good use of this chance.¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°Thank you for the reminder. The dao of art you taught me before is also unmatched and I benefited a lot from that. You need to be careful while I¡¯m learning, too.¡± Without her art dao, his ¡®Face of a Thousand Identities¡¯ wouldn¡¯t have be sessful.

    Hm? Doesn¡¯t this mean he¡¯s gone down all our paths¡­

    Yu Yanluo blushed, her eyes full of emotion as she looked at him. She had felt somewhat bad when she saw Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue pass down such incredible ultimate techniques, having a sense of inferiority and thinking she couldn''t do a thing. And yet, he had sensed how she was feeling and said that tofort her.

    He really is a gentle and considerate man¡­ Why do the people of the world think he¡¯s a disrespectful phnderer?

    Hmph, they¡¯re all blind!

    Her mood immediately became much better. She left while humming a small tune.

    ¡­

    Yun Jianyue pinched Zu An¡¯s ear when Yu Yanluo left, remarking, ¡°Stupid brat, do you know what kind of situation we¡¯re in? And yet, you¡¯re still flirting with her?¡±

    At the same time, she sighed in amazement. Yu Yanluo really deserved her reputation as the number one beauty. The smile she had shown in that instant really was too shocking. Not even the most charming girls from her Holy Sect couldpare!

    Zu An cried out in protest. ¡°I was just warning her to be a bit more careful so she wouldn¡¯t get ambushed by those worms.¡±

    Yun Jianyue said indifferently, ¡°With me and that stone cold woman here, we¡¯d immediately sense it if that strange worm got too close. You should just focus on learning the Star Shattering Imprint.¡±

    Zu An grumbled, ¡°Weren¡¯t you two seriously injured because of the mother worm¡¯s ambush?¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s eyebrows shot up as she eximed, ¡°What did you say?¡±

    ¡°Nothing! I said I would be the best student in the entire world!¡± Zu An replied, immediately straightening his back.

    ¡°That¡¯s more like it,¡± Yun Jianyue said, her demeanor turning strict as she exined, ¡°As the name implies, the Star Shattering Imprint, when cultivated to its peak, can even shatter a star in a single hit.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He asked, ¡°Is it really that crazy?¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression became somewhat unnatural as she replied, ¡°I obviously can¡¯t do it, but that was what the ancestors passed on¡­ Ah! Stop asking questions and listen carefully!¡±

    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am!¡± Zu An replied. Seeing that she sounded angry, he didn¡¯t dare to provoke her anymore.

    Yun Jianyue continued, ¡°Even though this technique is powerful, it has quite the rebound. You have to keep that in mind, or else it mighte back to bite you.¡±

    Zu An nodded. It wouldn¡¯t make sense for such a formidable skill to not have any downsides.

    ¡°Even if you cultivate this technique to its highest state, you still won¡¯t be able to use it sessfully every time,¡± Yun Jianyue said.

    ¡°What is the sess rate?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°Only around half,¡± Yun Jianyue said with a serious expression.

    Zu An was stunned, eximing, ¡°It¡¯s that high?!¡± He had thought that it would only have around a ten percent sess rate. Fifty percent wasn¡¯t that low at all.

    ¡°Is it?¡± Yun Jianyue sneered. ¡°After all, when two experts meet, life and death are usually decided by the slightest bit of superiority. If your winning blow didn¡¯t seed, wouldn¡¯t that mean the tides could immediately turn against you?¡±

    Zu An realized that was true. If that kind of situation did happen, he would most likely be killed.

    Yun Jianyue continued, ¡°There¡¯s another problem, too. Fifty percent sess rate doesn¡¯t mean you¡¯ll seed if you use it twice. If your luck is bad, you won¡¯t seed even once when you use it ten times in a row. That¡¯s a lesson we learned by paying the price of blood throughout many generations.¡±

    ¡°I understand. Is it really that random, or is there some kind of mechanism behind it?¡± Zu An asked. He remembered how statistics teachers in his previous world would ask students to do something like flipping a coin a hundred times and record the results. Then, when the teachers checked the students¡¯ homework, the results that had many heads and tails in a row pretty much all belonged to those who had done their homework properly. The ones that alternated regrly, on the other hand, tended to be made out.

    ¡°Is it really random?¡± Yun Jianyue repeated. She wasn¡¯t too used to the term, but she felt that it made sense. ¡°Correct. It¡¯s more or less like that. That¡¯s why you need to be mentally prepared. You need to think of a way out whenever you n to use it. That way, you can still salvage the situation if you fail.¡±

    ¡°Then, how long will it take before I can use it again?¡± Zu An asked while paying close attention.

    ¡°This technique¡¯s burden on the body is great. Several hours after using this technique, your condition will worsen,¡± Yun Jianyue said. ¡°Furthermore, you need a stick of incense¡¯s time before you can use it again. Moreover, you can¡¯t use it more than three times in a single day. Otherwise, your body won¡¯t be able to handle it and will explode.¡±

    ¡°What the hell?!¡± Zu An eximed. Still, he thought that because his body was tougher than most, he should be able to use it a few more times.

    ¡°How can something this ridiculous have no price?¡± Yun Jianyue sneered. ¡°Watch carefully. How much you learn will depend on you.¡± She began to exin while demonstrating.

    All sorts of dao phenomena began to emerge around them. Zu An felt as if he were being dragged into a world filled with ughter and death. All around them were mountains of corpses and seas of blood; broken weapons were scattered across the ground. Overhead hung a moon¡­ no, a blood moon!

    ¡°Is this her domain¡­¡± Zu An murmured in shock. Just how many bloody battles would one have to go through to produce such a world?

    ¡°Concentrate! Pay close attention!¡± Yun Jianyue called out in a dignified voice.

    Zu An shivered inwardly. He quickly immersed himself, focusing on her as she disyed unrivaled offensive strength. It was as if he were following her as she faced the experts who had surrounded her¡­

 Chapter 1171: Situation Reversed

    <h4>Chapter 1171: Situation Reversed</h4>

    After around a stick of incense¡¯s worth of time, Yun Jianyue reappeared in front of Zu An and asked, ¡°How much have you learned?¡±

    Before Zu An had a chance to reply, however, she continued, ¡°The Star Shattering Imprint is extremely profound and mysterious. It would be difficult for a beginner student to understand its essence within a short amount of time. Based on what we¡¯ve seen from sessive generations of cultivators, those with outstanding aptitude can reach roughly a threefold increase in power, while stunning talents can reach a fivefold increase in power. There are a select few who can quickly reach a sevenfold increase.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°With your aptitude, you should be able to produce a fivefold increase¡­ Yes, for that deathworm, that should barely be enough. After all, you haven¡¯t had much time with the technique. As you spend more time working on it, you¡¯ll slowly be able to reach a tenfold increase in power.¡±

    She spoke for a long time, but when she saw that Zu An wasn¡¯t answering her, she couldn''t help but frown. She asked, ¡°You haven¡¯t even reached fivefold? Um¡­ You weren¡¯t given much time, I guess, so there¡¯s no need to feel bad¡­ You should at least be able to disy three times the power, right?¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t say anything. He took a deep breath, then circted all his ki through a special pattern. Then, his fist smashed outward. At that instant, the friction between his fist and the air produced a blinding white radiance. A seemingly bottomless crater appeared before him, stretching out endlessly.

    The entire blood moon domain trembled intensely. Yun Jianyue had to withdraw several dozen zhang to avoid the attack. Then, she returned with a strange expression, eximing, ¡°You didn¡¯t say a single thing before you attacked! My domain was almost destroyed by your punch¡­¡±

    Within their own world, a grandmaster was like a founding deity. They could set variousws and principles within their own space. No matter how strong the people inside were, they still wouldn¡¯t be able to do much to the domain. That was, unless someone of equal or higher level unleashed their own domain. The two domains would then mutually offset each others¡¯ power. And yet, Zu An had almost destroyed her domain, relying only on his own brute force?

    But Yun Jianyue didn¡¯t get angry at all. She instead felt somewhat happy as she asked, ¡°You can reach a tenfold increase in power?¡±

    Zu An said seriously, ¡°I was scared that I might hurt you and held back a bit. I should be able to achieve a tenfold increase in power.¡±

    Yun Jianyue was speechless. A glorious Devil Sect Master like her had actually been shown mercy by a junior¡­

    Of course, she knew that it was because she was seriously injured at the moment, and that he really was worried about her.

    ¡°How did you manage to get to such a high level with the Star Shattering Imprint, reaching a tenfold increase in power immediately?¡± she asked, practically in shock.

    ¡°Is this that hard?¡± Zu An asked in confusion. ¡°How much of an increase was big sis sect master able to reach in the beginning when you first learned it?¡±

    ¡°Of course¡­ ten times. You¡¯re right; it isn¡¯t that hard. Even though there haven¡¯t been too many of them, there have still been some who could reach this level from the beginning throughout our many generations,¡± Yun Jianyue replied, although her cheeks heated up a bit.

    She had actually only been able to achieve a sevenfold increase when she first learned the technique, and she was actually already an absolutely stunning figure, a rare talent that had only shown up once in thousands and thousands of years of her Holy Sect¡¯s existence. And yet today, this little monster was even more ridiculous.

    But she cared about face, so how could she show weakness in front of someone from the younger generation?

    ¡°Huh? Just now, didn¡¯t I hear you say that only a few geniuses could reach a sevenfold increase in power?¡± Zu An asked, somewhat confused.

    ¡°Ahem¡­¡± Yun Jianyue looked away, her expression somewhat unnatural as she said, ¡°I said that because I was worried that you¡¯d be overambitious, so I didn¡¯t tell you the truth. If I knew you had talent like this, I wouldn¡¯t have hidden it from you.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Zu An didn¡¯t think too much about it either.

    Yun Jianyue felt a bit guilty. She was worried that he might keep asking questions, so she quickly dispelled her domain.

    Yan Xuehen and Yu Yanluo had already rushed over when they heard the noise. They asked, ¡°How is the lesson going?¡±

    Yun Jianyue felt a bit ufortable and nervous for some reason. Only after some time did she say, ¡°It¡¯s going very well!¡±

    A hint of gentleness appeared in Yan Xuehen¡¯s cold and clear eyes. She remarked, ¡°His talent really is quite good.¡±

    Suddenly, a rumble shook the cave around them. They could hear the worm¡¯s terrifying noises in the distance again.

    ¡°It seems to have found us, and it is showing us how angry it is,¡± Yu Yanluo saidworriedly. ¡°We need to hurry; it would be very bad if the worm caused this mine to copse.¡±

    She was the Yu n¡¯s leader, and these mines were the Yu n¡¯s very foundation. She naturally didn¡¯t want anything happening to them. The others, on the other hand, were worried that even more creatures might enter through the spatial rift if they waited any longer.

    They quickly began to discuss the details of the n. In the end, they decided that Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue would draw the Scaled Deathworm¡¯s attention from the front to allow Zu An to secretly approach. Then, Zu An would deliver the fatal blow.

    They were both grandmasters, and their souls were powerful. They could sense their surroundings even in absolute darkness. Theck of light wouldn¡¯t affect their movements at all.

    Yu Yanluo would keep watch from a distance, helping them guard against the sudden ambushes of any smaller worms and making sure that they had a way out.

    Having decided on a strategy, they ventured deeper into the mines. They were rtively small, so it would be for the Scaled Deathworm to find them. However, the mother worm screamed from time to time. Furthermore, the closer they got, the thicker the ck mist all around them grew, making it extremely easy to find.

    Soon, they all got into position. The Scaled Deathworm didn¡¯t crawl along the ground like an ordinary worm; rather, it hid underground almostpletely. Only a small portion of its body would be exposed above the surface.

    Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen quickly began to attack it with their respective skills. Of course, they made sure not to release any light in the process.

    On the other hand, the Scaled Deathworm didn¡¯t have any eyes. The area it was in waspletely dark too.

    Screeeeeeeech¡­

    With more scalp-numbingly loud grinding, half of the Scaled Deathworm rushed out of the ground. It was clearly angered. These despicable humans¡­ It had already given up on troubling them, and yet they actually dared to provoke it now?

    It opened its mouth, firing a thick torrent of ck fog at the two women.

    But the two of them knew how formidable the attack was and didn¡¯t dare to face it head-on. Both of them dodged to one side.

    The beam of ck fog struck a wall, immediately corroding it and leaving arge crater. It was easy to imagine how if the attack had hit, even if the two were in their strongest states, they might not have been able to endure such a blow.

    They didn¡¯t run and instead moved around the worm, allowing Zu An to approach the enemy more easily.

    The Scaled Deathworm suddenly fired something simr to a pair of flying swords from its mouth, which quickly chased after the two women. The pair of des had been refined from therge mandibles the worm had shed over the years. They were even stronger than some human cultivators¡¯ flying swords.

    Normally, Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen would have several ways of dealing with the two weapons. However, they were seriously injured and could only flee in panic. On several asions, they were surrounded by danger.

    Because of the difference in quality of the pills they had consumed, Yun Jianyue clearly hadn¡¯t recovered as much as Yan Xuehen. After dodging a few times, she was powerless to do so anymore. She thought of blocking an attack with a non-essential part of her body, but she worried about whether she could withstand the enemy¡¯s frightening poison.

    Suddenly, Yan Xuehen rushed over and grabbed her, narrowly avoiding the Scaled Deathworm¡¯s attack by a hair.

    Yun Jianyue was a bit surprised. The two had faced each other for so many years, both wishing to end each other¡¯s lives. She had never expected the other woman to save her here. Still, although she was grateful, she remarked, ¡°Who wanted you to save me? It¡¯s not as if I couldn''t have avoided that!¡±

    Even as she spoke, she used her Star Shattering Imprint to smash away one of the long, venomous des aimed at Yan Xuehen¡¯s back.

    ¡°Keep dreaming! Who was trying to save you? I wanted to kill you myself; I did not want you to die to a monster like this before that.¡± Yan Xuehen didn¡¯t mince words either.

    When she heard the two women arguing against each other, Yu Yanluo¡¯s face darkened. If anyone else saw this, their eyeballs might just pop out, right? Two grandmasters who can dominate this world are actually fighting here like sisters!

    She didn¡¯t just stand there doing nothing either. She drew continuously in the air, granting the two of them all sorts of blessing halos.

    Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen immediately felt their bodies grow lighter. Their speed, regeneration, and other abilities all increased considerably. They were knowledgeable in their own right and quickly realized that these were blessings conferred by the academy¡¯s dao of art.

    If it were any other time, the blessing halos wouldn¡¯t really help them at all, perhaps even having the opposite effect. After all, grandmasters needed absolute control over their own bodies. If something else interfered with them, it could end up causing their judgment to deviate. But in their weakened state, those kinds of buffs were extremely useful. At the very least, they no longer had to struggle as much against the Scaled Deathworm¡¯s flying mandibles.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to end up owing this woman a favor¡­¡± Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen both felt rather strange. It was easier for the two of them to ept favors from each other, because they were just too familiar with each other after fighting for so many years. But now, they actually owed Yu Yanluo a favor¡­

    Her ridiculous beauty made both women feel considerable danger. Between her close rtionship with Zu An and her identity as a Medusa¡­ The two women didn¡¯t know why, but they subconsciously didn¡¯t want to owe her anything.

    But they didn¡¯t have the time to worry about such things at that moment either, because they noticed that the mother worm had begun diving underground periodically before bursting out of the surface. It had clearly decided to lurk underground, searching for a good opportunity to inflict a fatal blow on the two of them. It was biding its time, waiting to take them out in a single move!

    The two women began to sweat. With their judgment, they both knew with absolute certainty that they wouldn¡¯t be able to dodge anymore after another three seconds passed!

    Just then, a pitch-ck glint suddenly flickered by the Scaled Deathworm¡¯s side. Zu An appeared, thrusting a de outward like a thunderbolt!

    The Scaled Deathworm was rmed. Its senses, both physical and spiritual, were extremely well-developed. Not a single thing within this dark area should have escaped its perception! But where had this persone from? Only when he struck had it sensed his presence! Now, it was already toote to evade or counterattack!

    Its bestial instincts told it that the dagger was dangerous. ck light swirled around it as it frantically gathered power around its entire body to defend against that attack.

    Unfortunately, it didn¡¯t have much time and couldn''t put up a perfect defense. The dagger arrived with absolutely ferocious momentum, cutting straight through its energy barrier that hadn¡¯t fully solidified yet. Then, it smashed against the worm¡¯s scales with an ear-piercing, metallic screech, sparks flying in all directions.

    The Scaled Deathworm¡¯s defenses were actually that tough!

    Yun Jianyue felt dejected. She was familiar with the Star Shattering Imprint, so she had obviously realized that at that instant, the Star Shattering Imprint¡¯s fifty percent sess rate hadn¡¯t worked!

 Chapter 1172: Little Bastards Dont Fight with Honor

    <h4>Chapter 1172: Little Bastards Don''t Fight with Honor</h4>

    Yun Jianyue shivered in horror, thinking, It¡¯s all over!

    The exact scenario she had feared the most had happened, but there was nothing she could have done other than to risk it all. Despite that, she had lost the gamble.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    It was easy to imagine that Zu An would quickly be killed by the enemy. The three of them wouldn¡¯t be able to escape either.

    Even taking a thousand steps back and assuming that some of them managed to escape, the Scaled Deathworm wouldn¡¯t be fooled so easily a second time. As long as it hid underground, who could even do anything to it?

    From then on, it would just bide its time underground, only attacking when there were good opportunities. They would only be able to passively defend at that point as it attacked again and again. By then, a single slip-up would make them food.

    Yan Xuehen clearly realized that as well. She shot Yun Jianyue a re and cried, ¡°The stuff you taught him is way too unreliable! You ended up sending Zu An to death!¡±

    When faced with such criticism from her old enemy, for the first time, Yun Jianyue didn¡¯t retort. Instead, she only looked nervously in Zu An¡¯s direction.

    Just then, the Scaled Deathworm moved. It suddenly turned around, biting down on the ce where Zu An had just been

    But Zu An had already used Grandgale to move several zhang away. He left behind a pile of assorted bottles and containers in his original location. The Scaled Deathworm just happened to bite down on that spot, swallowing up those containers.

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue frowned. Did Zu An n to poison it? They obviously knew that the worm had been venomous to begin with. It had extremely high poison tolerance. There probably weren¡¯t any poisons that could injure it, right?

    Yu Yanluo was even more worried because she had personally seen Venom Child being chewed to death by a Scaled Deathworm. Back then, when Venom Child was on the verge of death, not even his best poisons had been able to do anything against that worm. Venom Child was extremely skilled in the use of poisons, and the worm that had bitten him was nothing more than an ordinary worm, and yet his poisons didn¡¯t do anything. There was even less of a need to talk about the more formidable mother worm.

    It was no wonder that even though the Scaled Deathworm had clearly sensed the medicine bottles, it still hadn¡¯t avoided them at all and had just swallowed them. These drugs were probably nothing more than nourishment for it.

    Just then, Zu An appeared next to the women. He grabbed their hands and ran frantically, crying, ¡°What are you all staring for? Run!¡±

    Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen were both stunned. A slight blush appeared on their faces. Fortunately, none of them could see each other because it was pitch-ck. They quickly flung aside Zu An¡¯s hand. The two of them had already recovered a bit of cultivation. They were grandmasters, after all, so they weren¡¯t much slower than him.

    Zu An didn¡¯t pay too much attention to that. He had been worrying about how he was going to bring Yu Yanluo with him anyway. By the time he reached her, his hands were empty, so he grabbed her and ran.

    Yan Xuehen noticed that and suddenly felt a bit of regret. However, she quickly snapped out of her daze and called out, ¡°We won¡¯t be able to escape that deathworm¡¯s pursuit with our current speed!¡±

    Suddenly, however, she was stunned. She saw that the deathworm didn¡¯t chase them, and instead began to jerk wildly back and forth in ce.

    Only after they reached a safe spot did all of them stop. Yan Xuehen asked, ¡°Just what kind of poison did you feed that strange worm? Why did it look as if it had been poisoned?¡±

    Yu Yanluo brought up what had happened with Venom Child previously as well. The three women were all curious. Unfortunately, Zu An didn¡¯t give them any details no matter how they asked.

    Eventually, even Yun Jianyue began to sound angry as she said, ¡°Ah Zu, we¡¯re all in the same boat here. We haven¡¯t withheld anything from you, so why are you hiding this from us?¡±

    For the first time, Yan Xuehen stood on the same side as her. The two had already taught him their very best techniques, and yet he still wouldn¡¯t tell them the truth.

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +100 +100 +100¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +100 +100 +100¡­

    Yu Yanluo spoke up for Zu An and said, ¡°Seniors, please do not misunderstand! Ah Zu is not that type of person. There is definitely something too embarrassing for him to talk about.¡±

    When she heard that, Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression grew even colder. Yun Jianyue also harrumphed. ¡°You¡¯re the only good guy here, and the rest of us are viins?¡±

    Yu Yanluo felt wronged too. She subconsciously trusted Zu An, so she had spoken up for fear that he would misunderstand. But in the end, these two had interpreted it as her scheming.

    Seeing that the situation was getting a bit out of control, Zu An could only say, ¡°I can tell you all, but you can¡¯t get angry.¡±

    ¡°Your drug worked against that worm, so why would we get angry?¡± Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen asked, somewhat confused.

    ¡°Alright then,¡± Zu An said. ¡°Because the things I tossed into its mouth were ¡®Bull¡¯s Cream¡¯, ¡®Eighteen Spring Winds¡¯, ¡®Worries Be Gone¡¯...¡±

    Yu Yanluo cried out in rm. Her cheeks flushed red, because she had been a direct victim of Bull¡¯s Cream! When she remembered what had happened, she wanted to crawl into a hole and hide forever.

    Yan Xuehen was baffled. She asked, ¡°What kind of drugs are those?¡± Considering her status and the reputation she had of being an ice queen, who would dare to bring up such drugs to her?

    On the other hand, Yun Jianyue, despite being of high status, came from the Devil Sect and had heard all sorts of rumors. She harrumphed and said, ¡°They¡¯re all lowlife aphrodisiacs!¡±

    ¡°Ah?!¡± Yan Xuehen was stupefied. A faintyer of redness appeared on her sparkling skin.

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +198 +198 +198¡­

    Zu An became depressed when he saw her furious expression.

    Yun Jianyue spoke again. ¡°Actually, calling them ¡®lowlife¡¯ isn¡¯t quite right; they¡¯re all the best of the best in their field. Their effects are hundreds to thousands of times stronger than other drugs in their category¡­ Damn kid, how do you have so much of this stuff? You really are a womanizer!¡±

    She was actually quite d. Previously, she had heartlessly tried to break up Zu An and Qiu Honglei. Now, that seemed to have been a good choice, or else Honglei might have suffered from his drugs.

    Zu An looked extremely wronged. He protested, ¡°I¡¯m the victim here! There were viins who used these drugs to harm others, but then I heroically stepped forward to save their victims! These drugs were all just spoils of war obtained from those people¡­¡±

    Yun Jianyue had an ambiguous smile on her lips as she remarked, ¡°Oh, what a hero you are¡­¡±

    Yan Xuehen didn¡¯t notice her implication and only coldly said, ¡°If you truly had no bad thoughts, why would you keep these things on you? A gentleman would have destroyed them all!¡±

    Zu An said with a resolute expression, ¡°Sect master is an honorable grandmaster; how can you ask such a childish question? Let me ask you: Your Snowke Sword and the techniques used by those bad people can both take lives, so how can you decide which ones are good or evil?¡±

    Yan Xuehen subconsciously replied, ¡°Based on the user, obviously. Considering their different motives, you can tell whether they are good or evil.¡±

    ¡°Right, so ultimately, it depends on the one using it,¡± Zu An replied. ¡°Drugs can be used to harm others, but they can be used to save people too.¡±

    Yan Xuehen harrumphed. ¡°How can filthy drugs like these be used to save people?!¡±

    Zu An gave her a strange look and shot back, ¡°Didn¡¯t I just use them to save you?¡±

    Yan Xuehen was left at a loss for words. She knew Zu An was engaging in sophistry, and yet she couldn''t really find any words to argue against him.

    Yu Yanluo asked curiously, ¡°Ah Zu, Venom Child used all sorts of poisons against that worm, and yet none of them worked. Why did these drugs of yours work?¡±

    ¡°It;s probably because these items aren¡¯t poisons, but rather magnify one¡¯s primal desires a thousandfold,¡± Zu An exined with a smile. ¡°Venom Child¡¯s life was hanging by a thread at the time, so he naturally subconsciously chose to use poison. He wouldn¡¯t realize that it was this kind of drug that would be incredibly effective.

    ¡°I recalled that the Scaled Deathworm was female. In that case, I thought, these drugs might be of some use. After I gave it a try, sure enough, they were effective.¡±

    Yun Jianyue said with a sigh, ¡°Brat, you¡¯re pretty sharp. I thought you were done for, but you actually found this damn way out of that dire situation.¡±

    Zu An gave her a look and said, ¡°I¡¯m actually really thankful to you. It was you who told me that I needed to be mentally prepared for the Star Shattering Imprint¡¯s chance of failure. That was why I had a backup n.¡±

    Yun Jianyue opened her mouth, looking extremely conflicted. She had actually just said that without too much thought, but Zu An had actually really taken it to heart.

    It¡¯s no wonder that even though his cultivation wasn¡¯t high before, he managed to escape from all sorts of dangerous situations, even bing more and more powerful. Honglei¡¯s eyes are quite good, but this stone cold woman¡¯s disciple managed to act first! Ah¡­ I¡¯m so angry!

    Several strange screams emerged from the distance, apanied by the sounds of activity.

    Zu An said, ¡°The effects will probably wear off soon. Let¡¯s head over and take a look. Those drugs might notst very long against its enormous body!¡±

    The women all blushed. If it were a human, they probably wouldn¡¯t agree to head over. But because it was a worm, there was no reason for them to refuse.

    ¡­

    The group quickly followed the sounds to a massive cave. When they saw the scene before them, all of them were stupefied.

    There were several smaller deathworms gathered there. They were all winding around the mother worm, seemingly giving everything they had. Several deathwormsy on the ground nearby; they were allpletely still, as if they had been sucked dry.

    Under the dim light, their scales reflected multicolored radiance, making the atmosphere look even stranger¡­

 Chapter 1173: Two Grandmasters Admit Defeat

    <h4>Chapter 1173: Two Grandmasters Admit Defeat</h4>

    Zu An had been worrying about how he would get rid of those deathworms. After all, they came and went freely underground, making them pretty much impossible to track. The mother worm was easier to locate, but the small worms were extremely troublesome to find. Now, they seemed to have saved him quite a bit of time.

    The mother worm seemed to have called over its subordinates to help it get rid of the poison. Of course, because of the huge disparity in strength and difference in their body size, one or two ordinary worms couldn''t do much at all. That was why the mother worm had releasedrge amounts of pheromones.

    The worms scattered throughout the mine had sensed the pheromones and rushed over wildly in a frenzy. They didn¡¯t care how many of theirpanions were there at all, and still did their best to cram their way inside.

    ¡­

    Zu An¡¯s group felt their scalps go numb when they saw the endless worms. They were even starting to feel a bit ustrophobic.

    As he watched the worms mating furiously, Zu An¡¯s expression was strange. Were these worms its subordinates or its offspring? If they were its offspring, then¡­

    But the world of bugs had always been pretty messy to begin with, and that kind of thing wasn¡¯t all that strange. He wasn¡¯t in the mood to think about any ethical issues involving these strange bugs, and instead noticed that the worms lying off to the side weren''t moving at all.

    ¡°Sucked dry?¡± Zu An had a strange expression. This mother worm really is vicious! After mating, she even sucked their essence dry.

    The mother worm didn¡¯t seem to have any intention of stopping, even after having sucked so many of the smaller worms dry already. The ordinary worms continued to throw themselves at her one after the other, seemingly not scared at all. It was as if sharing in her burden was the highest honor.

    However, that was fine as well. It saved the group the trouble of eliminating the worms one by one.

    Zu An had originally worried that the drugs would be ineffective. He hadn¡¯t expected them to actually be so deadly while mixed together. If a human ingested all of them, what would happen then? I have to do some researchter and see just what ratio I should mix them in to magnify the effects to the greatest degree¡­

    Ahem, this is purely for the sake of science!n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Even though the ce was extremely dark, they were all experts. They could still piece together the scene in their minds.

    ¡°Use this chance to attack it!¡± Yan Xuehen eximed. Her expression was a bit unnatural. The scene had clearly delivered a huge blow to her usually incorruptible self.

    Zu An said quietly, ¡°Let¡¯s wait a bit longer.¡±

    Yan Xuehen was stunned. This guy really is shameless! He even wants to watch a group of worms mate?

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +37 +37 +37¡­

    Forget about her, even Yun Jianyue and Yu Yanluo looked at him with raised eyebrows, their expressions strange.

    Zu An quickly noticed that their thoughts were going in the wrong direction. He exined, ¡°Have you all not noticed that those ordinary bugs die after being sucked dry? We should use this to get rid of the worms hidden all over the mines. Otherwise, if we get rid of the mother worm and those other worms go into hiding, we might not be able to find them anymore. After some time passes, they might reproduce on their own, and a new mother worm might appear.¡±

    Yan Xuehen, Yun Jianyue, and Yu Yanluo weren¡¯t stupid. They quickly realized that waiting a bit longer was the best choice.

    ¡°What if there are other female worms that haven¡¯t crossed over? After all¡­ After all¡­¡± Yan Xuehen trailed off, too embarrassed to continue.

    Yu Yanluo said with a smile, ¡°Sect Master Yan, for species like them, oftentimes, only the leader is female. As long as the leader remains, there is no chance of their race producing a second female. Only when the female is gone do the other worms fight against each other. One of them then changes sexes and bes the new mother worm. That is why Ah Zu¡¯s concern is reasonable. If we do not use this chance to get all of the worms in one ce, they will multiply and be a huge poption again.¡±

    She understood this kind of thing a bit better than humans would. She had the Medusa bloodline within her, after all.

    ¡°So that was it. Then let us wait for a bit longer,¡± Yan Xuehen said. Even though she wasn''t used to such scenes, she still acknowledged their exnations.

    Yun Jianyue said with a sneer, ¡°What are you acting all innocent for? It¡¯s just some worms in heat, and yet you already look as if you can¡¯t take it.¡±

    Yan Xuehen shot back in annoyance, ¡°Demoness, do you always have to go against me?¡±

    Yun Jianyue harrumphed. ¡°It¡¯s your fault for always looking all pure and spotless. I don¡¯t like it.¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Yan Xuehen¡¯s look turned cold. Her hand was already on her sword hilt.

    Zu An quickly stood between them and asked ¡°Can you two not fight right now? What if you end up alerting that mother worm? Everything will be over then!¡±

    In any other situation, they would already have been discovered by that mother worm. But because it was overwhelmed with pleasure, its concentration had be much weaker. That was why their group could just watch leisurely from one side.

    Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen naturally knew how critical the situation was. They both harrumphed and looked away, both of them thinking, Out of sight, out of mind.

    ¡­

    Just like that, they continued to silently observe the scene. In order to avoid being noticed, they hid behind a dirt mound and only peeked out slightly to see what was happening on the other side.

    They were all close together, so Zu An felt several soft sensations and incredible fragrances around him.

    The zing hot, slightly dangerous sensation clearly belonged to Yun Jianyue. The sweet scent, like that of orchids within a valley brought over by a gentle breeze, was Yan Xuehen¡¯s. The faint, elegant, and yet dignified fragrance was Yu Yanluo¡¯s.

    Zu An might have been the only one in history who could enjoy their scents so close up. He was even starting to admire himself. He had actually managed to recognize every single one of them through his nose alone. Was this the legendary skill of female scent detection?

    But he noticed that the women around him were all breathing somewhat heavily. He wasn¡¯t sure if it was because of the worms copting in the distance, or because they noticed that he had been sniffing softly. But what was unexpected was that not a single one of them spoke out to criticize him.

    As he was surrounded by softness and several wonderful scents, he felt that waiting for a bit wasn¡¯t so bad at all¡­

    ¡­

    Two hours passed.

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t they finished yet?!¡± Yan Xuehen eximed. Her face was entirely red. No one would dare to bring up such things before her normally, let alone disy it in front of her! She had already endured the embarrassment for a long time, and her eyes were about to turn sore. And yet, there were no signs of the situation ending at all!

    The worst part was that the person next to her was just way too close. Even though his hands remained where they should, he sniffed from time to time, clearly taking in her scent. It made her feel as if she were being vited, even though such a thing had clearly never happened.

    The worst part was that she realized that she didn¡¯t even seem to be too against it¡­ For those reasons, her entire body had be more and more sensitive, until she finally couldn''t take it anymore.

    Yun Jianyue gave Zu An a look of confusion and asked, ¡°That drug of yours actually has a prolonged effect?¡±

    Even though she came from the Devil Sect and had heard of these things, she had never personally experienced anything of the sort. That was why her knowledge of them really wasn¡¯t all that much better than Yan Xuehen¡¯s.

    She had obviously noticed what Zu An was doing with his nose. Even though she was a bit embarrassed, she merely thought of it as the effect of her own charm. At the same time, she thought to herself that she¡¯d have to look for a good chance to properly teach this brat a lesson. He actually dares to even have such thoughts about me! But in front of the other women, she decided to leave him with a bit of dignity.

    Zu An was sweating buckets. He had no idea how to exin himself.

    Suddenly, Yu Yanluo spoke up. ¡°It¡¯s actually quite normal. Many species¡­ do those things for quite long. For example, when the Snake race coptes, they can often continue for many hours on end.¡±

    When she finished speaking, she was stunned. She discovered that the others had all turned to look at her, their expressions extremely strange. Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue were especially shocked, looning as if they were ashamed of their inferiority.

    Yu Yanluo immediately realized what was going on. Her face turned entirely red. ¡°I¡¯m not talking about myself¡­ Just ordinary Snake race individuals¡­ I have mostly human blood inside me¡­¡±

    But the more she tried to exin, the more she panicked. She was on the verge of tears when suddenly, a gentle palm took her hand. When she felt Zu An¡¯sforting touch, she felt even more embarrassed. Did I scare him away¡­

    Back then, wasn¡¯t mother a full Medusa? And yet father still married her¡­

    But she couldn''t really exin such things. Her entire face became red, and she looked almost as if smoke were about to emerge from the top of her head.

    The others¡¯ expressions were strange as their thoughts went in all sorts of directions. They continued to hide and observe the situation, however.

    ¡­

    Another two hours passed, and they were all on alert.

    It¡¯s almost time!

    There were deathworm corpses everywhere. Only a few worms were left tangling around the mother worm.

    Zu An said quietly, ¡°Wait here. I¡¯m going to head over, and wille back soon.¡± He intended to try an ambush. The mother worm was still ovee by lingering pleasure, so its vignce would be much lower than usual. He didn¡¯t need them to distract it.

    ¡°Be careful!¡± The women all spoke up in unison. Then, they looked at each other with unnatural expressions. Why did they suddenly feel like sisters sending off their husband?

    Yu Yanluo didn¡¯t mind too much. She had already confirmed her rtionship with Zu An.

    Yan Xuehen, on the other hand, was vexed by her own changing feelings. She was starting to wonder whether she really had been done in by his strange method or if she really had identally ended up liking him.

    Yun Jianyue also felt extremely ufortable. What is wrong with me? Why do I feel so awkward?

    ¡­

    Zu An thus used ¡®Hidden in the Dark¡¯ to quickly approach the massive mother worm.As soon as he approached, a nauseating smell filled his nostrils. However, he remained unfazed, his resolute expressionpletely unchanging as he arrived next to the mother worm.

    He even personally examined the deathworm corpses scattered all over. There were some whose mandibles and feelers were still trembling a bit, but their essence had already been sucked dry. They weren¡¯t going to survive.

    Only when he was closer did he notice that the mother worm¡¯s stomach was several timesrger than before. Its body also squirmed continuously.

    Just then, eggs slowly came out of it one after another. Every single one was around the size of a basketball, and they were covered in viscous liquid. The eggs quickly piled up like a small mountain.

    ¡­

    In the distance, the women were all shocked. Isn¡¯t this a bit too fast?

    It just had intercourse with all of those worms, right? And yet it already got pregnant and gave birth?

    When she saw Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue turn toward her with strange expressions, Yu Yanluo was embarrassed and annoyed. She protested, ¡°Why are you all looking at me?!¡±

 Chapter 1174: Sacrifice

    <h4>Chapter 1174: Sacrifice</h4>

    The two women were embarrassed. It was just that when they recalled Yu Yanluo¡¯s previous analogy, they had subconsciously thought of the fact that she was a Medusa. The Snake race actually seemed quite simr to the deathworms, so they had ended up unwittingly making that connection.

    However, they both knew that wasn¡¯t actually the case, so they quickly looked elsewhere. They wanted to see if Zu An would seed this time.

    Yu Yanluo couldn''t be bothered to me them. She also moved close to them to see what was happening. Unfortunately, apart from the deathworms, she didn¡¯t sense anything. She was worried, so she quickly asked the grandmasters at her side, ¡°Where did Ah Zu go?¡± Their cultivations were higher than hers, so their senses might be a bit sharper as well.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°I don¡¯t know either,¡± Yan Xuehen replied, embarrassed.

    Yu Yanluo was speechless. You don¡¯t know, but you¡¯re still so focused?

    Yun Jianyue said with a sigh of admiration, ¡°Ah Zu¡¯s stealth technique is way too formidable! There are many techniques to hide one¡¯s aura in this world, but almost all of them have some ws, and would struggle to escape the detection of a grandmaster.¡±

    For example, the Devil Sect¡¯s Mirror Mirage could also conceal one¡¯s aura. However, if the user were seen, they¡¯d still be exposed. Besides, it wouldn¡¯t help them avoid detection by high-level cultivators capable of sensing with their soul.

    But Zu An¡¯s skillpletely hid himself from all detection through both the senses and the soul. Even though they knew he was right there, they still couldn''t sense where he was at all.

    ¡°He should¡­ be able to seed this time, right?¡± Yu Yanluo asked, clenching her hands nervously. They had barely managed to escapest time by relying on the drugs. They wouldn¡¯t have another chance. After all, the mother worm¡­ had already released everything just now.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Yun Jianyue replied worriedly. Even though the Star Shattering Imprint was powerful, its weaknesses were apparent. There was no way of ensuring whether the next attack would seed or not.

    ¡°The most important part is that the Star Shattering Imprint can only be used three times every day. If that¡¯s exceeded, the physical body will break down,¡± Yun Jianyue said with a serious expression. ¡°He already used it once during practice. Between that and the time he failed earlier, he only has onest chance.¡±

    ¡°What kind of shoddy technique did you end up teaching him? It does not even work at the most important time,¡± Yan Xuehen remarked, feeling extremely unsatisfied. She was really worried about Zu An¡¯s safety, but she couldn''t show it, so she already had a lot of irritation bottled up.

    Yun Jianyue was also starting to feel annoyed. She snapped, ¡°Why don¡¯t you do it then, if you¡¯re so amazing?!¡±

    ¡°What I taught has a hundred percent sess rate, unlike a certain someone¡¯s technique,¡± Yan Xuehen said with a snort.

    Yun Jianyue harrumphed. ¡°What use is there in just hiding killing intent? What we need now is offensive power.¡±

    ¡°Please stop fighting¡­¡± Yu Yanluo pleaded, panicking internally. Her mental image of the two grandmasters had already beenpletely destroyed. Whenever it involved each other, the two would be like little girls. ¡°It¡¯ll be bad if we alert the mother worm and put Ah Zu in danger!¡±

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue were just getting started, but when they heard that, both of them shut their mouths.

    ¡­

    Just then, Zu An approached the mother worm. He used the Unshaken Daoist Manual to hide his killing intent as he slowly approached its abdomen with the dagger. Then, he used the Star Shattering Imprint, stabbing forward!

    ng!

    The dagger was blocked by the monster¡¯s armor again!

    Yun Jianyue cried out in rm, ¡°No, it failed again!¡±

    Yan Xuehen was even more discouraged. ording to what Yun Jianyue had said, this was already thest time. They could only try again the next day. But the mother worm would already recover by then! If it hid underground again and went on guard, they might not have another chance to ambush it.

    ¡°Zu An,e back!¡± Yan Xuehen cried out in rm. At that moment, the best n was to leave the mines first. Once they recovered, they would try again, and possibly ask for help from other powerful humans.

    Of course, she knew that if they did that, these worms would already proliferate like crazy. The surrounding Cloudcenter civilians might end up in trouble then

    Yun Jianyue was shocked when she saw Yan Xuehen fly over to help, thinking, Doesn¡¯t this stone cold woman usually strongly dislike Zu An? Why does she seem to care more about him than me now? However, she didn¡¯t dare to hesitate either, also rushing forth to help Zu An.

    Yu Yanluo didn¡¯t blindly charge forward. She knew she was at a disadvantage in terms of cultivationpared to them. If she went there, Zu An might be distracted by having to take care of her too. As such, she simply used her painting brush to assist them from a distance.

    The Scaled Deathworm sensed the attack and was instantly enraged. This human ant had challenged it again and again! And he had actually disturbed it at such a time, no less. Absolutely preposterous!

    You have sessfully trolled the Scaled Deathworm for +999 +999 +999¡­

    Its normallyrge and ponderous body twisted around, then swept at Zu An like a whip of lightning.

    Zu An felt as if a fire truck had rammed into him. It was as if all of the bones in his body were about to break apart.

    The rational choice would be to use the recoil force to quickly leave the ce and reconsider the situation. However, he felt that this was a really precious opportunity that had been created after much difficulty, and it might not reappear again.

    Even though he was no Mother Teresa, he was a flesh and blood human. He still felt that he had some responsibility when he thought about how all of Cloudcenter Commandery would be overrun by the worms and be left in absolute chaos.

    He clenched his teeth and forcefully endured his injuries. He activated Grandgale, instantly appearing in front of the mother worm and stabbing outward with the Poisonous Prick again.

    Because of the huge disparity between them, even with his speed, he wouldn¡¯t be able to hit it. That was why he used the Star Shattering Imprint again! Only if his speed and power were increased tenfold would he be able to hit the monster.

    As long as it could create even the tiniest of injuries on the mother worm, it would be a sess!

    Pfft!

    Failed again? What kind of sted RNG is this?! Zu An thought. He was about to curse out loud! He was going to grab Yun Jianyue and give her a good spanking the first chance he had in the future!

    But he probably wouldn¡¯t have another chance, because the mother worm had already opened itsrge, sinister mouth and was about to bite down again.

    Zu An had just used up all of his strength. Furthermore, because he had forcefully used the Star Shattering Imprint again above the daily use limit, all of the meridians within his body were being ripped apart. He didn¡¯t have a chance of evading the attack at all.

    Suddenly, antern flew above him, casting a yellow radiance. It was the Empress Lantern!

    The mother worm¡¯s body froze for a moment under its light. However, it resumed moving a secondter.

    The Empress Lantern grew dim, falling to the ground. Yun Jianyue¡¯s entire body trembled, and she coughed out a mouthful of blood. If not for the buffs Yu Yanluo had given her, she might not even have been able to use the Empress Lantern in her current state.

    But even so, forcefully using thentern still wasn¡¯t enough to truly stop the mother worm.

    Fortunately, Yan Xuehen had already arrived at Zu An¡¯s side. One hand wrapped around his waist, while the other held a sword, thrusting it toward the sky. She used the Snowke Sword!

    Ayer of frost quickly appeared all over the mother worm. Yan Xuehen took the chance to kick off the ground in an attempt to bring Zu An away.

    But the mother worm only slowed down for a split second.It shook off the frost covering its body, firing a st of ck light outward.

    Yan Xuehen groaned, coughing out a mouthful of blood. She had been hit in the back and could no longer continue flying. She dropped out of the sky carrying Zu An.

    Fortunately, Zu An had already caught his breath, and he caught her instead. If it were any other time, he wouldn¡¯t mind staring into her eyes as they slowly spiraled down through the air like in the movies. However, he knew that at that moment, they no longer had any chance of getting away.

    Right at that moment, the aura of a primal beast filled the entire ce!

    Zu An and Yan Xuehen were both rmed. They were both extremely familiar with that aura. It was the pressure released by the Medusa¡¯s Eye when Yu Yanluo used it with all her strength!

    Yu Yanluo slowly rose into the air. Her long hair fluttered around wildly, and the vague sound of snakes hissing even filled the air. Her eyes were bing a light brown color, the color of mother earth!

    Has she gone mad?!

    Yu Yanluo had already used the technique several times before, so she was already seriously injured. If she used it again without holding back at all, no matter what happened afterward, her life would probably be over.

    Yan Xuehen was horrified. Even a fiend race individual could be so loyal and true? She obviously knew that Yu Yanluo was doing it because of Zu An. However, the fact that Yu Yanluo was saving her too was an undeniable fact.

    Yan Xuehen had always been after Yu Yanluo¡¯s life, and yet now, she was the one being saved. Just how ironic was that?

    The mother worm¡¯s skin was beginning to be petrified. However, Yu Yanluo had already reached her limit, and she fell from the air. Soon afterward, the mother worm went berserk, releasing a wave of terrifying force. The petrification began to disappear.

    Zu An didn¡¯t pay Yu Yanluo any attention, nor did he have time to catch her. There was only one thing on his mind at that moment: He needed to kill the mother worm! Only then would they have a chance at survival.

    He didn¡¯t waste the moment Yu Yanluo had bought him. He quickly appeared next to the mother worm.

    Star Shattering Imprint! Activate!

    ¡°You¡¯ll die!¡± Yun Jianyue on the ground cried out in horror when she saw that. She could only use it three times, and yet how many times had Zu An used it already? Even if he seeded, his body would break downpletely! He was clearly doing so because he nned to sacrifice himself to save them.

    She was a glorious Devil Sect Master, a demoness who left the entire world in fear and awe. Ever since she was five, she had never cried once. Yet now, her eyes were blurry from tears.

 Chapter 1175: Exploit a Weakness

    <h4>Chapter 1175: Exploit a Weakness</h4>

    Boom!

    Zu An seemingly turned into a stream of light. After failing several times in a row, the Star Shattering Imprint had finally seeded!

    The mother worm wanted to evade and then retaliate. It was confident it could make sure that this human ant never had a chance to dodge again. But it quickly discovered that it couldn''t keep up with the human¡¯s speed. It could only watch as the pitch-ck dagger stabbed toward its body.

    The very air around it began to warp and ripple as it tried to repel his attack. With its current strength, the human should have been sted into a pile of mincemeat before he could even approach. But he actually didn¡¯t seem affected at all; its terrifying power didn¡¯t seem to do a thing to him.

    Then, the human¡¯s dagger sliced through its ki barrier like paper. However, it didn¡¯t panic. It still had its scaled armor that was as hard as metal. It had managed to stop this human¡¯s attacks several times already, after all.

    But it never would have expected that its incredibly tough scales were cut apart instantly by the dagger! Suddenly, it felt intense pain.

    But it doesn¡¯t matter!

    There¡¯s only so much damage such a small dagger can inflict upon me. Watch how I shred your body in half with a single bite afterward!

    The pain stirred up its vicious nature, and it charged at Zu An in indignation. Suddenly, however, its entire body trembled. Then, all of its scales lost their luster, and its massive body crashed heavily into the ground. Rubble began to fall from the ceiling, causing dust to fly everywhere.

    Zu An fell from the sky like a kite with its strings cut. Quickly, a white figure darted forward.

    Unexpectedly, Yan Xuehen had flown over to catch him. When Zu An saw that it was her, he showed her a weak smile and murmured, ¡°I¡¯m d I didn¡¯t let everyone down.¡± His mind weakened the moment he finished speaking, and his head lolled to one side as he fainted into her chest.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s cheeks flushed red. Normally, if anyone dared to do such a thing to her, she would already have frozen them into a chunk of ice. But when she saw how weak Zu An was and how expressionless his face was, she couldn''t bring herself to push him away.

    She walked over to the worm. She summoned her divination circle and mmed it down on the corpse, as if venting out her anger. Unfortunately, although sparks flew, her attack only left an extremely faint white imprint on its scales. She was too weak at the moment and couldn''t use the divination circle at its full power; as such, she couldn''t ovee the scales¡¯ defense at all.

    Suddenly, she saw faint movement in the surroundings. Some of the eggs had begun to move a bit, as if something were about toe out.

    ¡°We cannot let them break out of their shells!¡± Yan Xuehen cried out in rm. She wanted to attack the eggs, but she groaned as soon as she raised her hand. Then, she copsed to the ground powerlessly. But even though she fell, she still clung tightly onto Zu An, using her own body to break his fall.

    Her beautiful brows furrowed as soon as she hit the ground. Ayer of faint sweat covered her forehead. However, she didn¡¯t cry out and instead gave Zu An a look. She sighed in relief when she saw that he was fine.

    Then, she looked at the pile of eggs in the distance. She could vaguely see some small bugs squirming around inside, as if they might break out of their shells at any time.

    If even a single worm emerged, all of their hard work would have been for nothing.

    Yun Jianyue gritted her teeth, then unleashed the Empress Lantern¡¯s radiance. With a gentle exhtion from her red lips, she sent out some sparks. Theynded on the pile of eggs and created a raging ze upon contact.

    Miserable screams emerged from within. However, the worms weren¡¯t even able to break out of the shells, so how could they resist those mes? They were all quickly burnt to ashes.

    A mouthful of blood burst out of Yun Jianyue¡¯s mouth, and she swayed unsteadily from side to side. It was clear that using the Empress Lantern in her current state had left her with severe internal injuries.

    ¡°Are you alright?¡± Yan Xuehen quickly asked. Never would she have expected that she might actually worry about her nemesis¡¯ safety.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for disappointing you, but I won¡¯t die,¡± Yun Jianyue said, wiping away the blood on her lips. She looked at Zu An and asked, ¡°How is he?¡±

    Yan Xuehen was annoyed when she heard Yun Jianyue¡¯s first words, but when she heard the next question, a worried look appeared on her face. She replied, ¡°It doesn¡¯t look good. His breath is weak, as if it might stop at any time.¡±

    ¡°The Star Shattering Imprint can only be used three times a day at most, and yet he used it five times through brute force. If it were anyone else, their body would¡¯ve exploded already,¡± Yun Jianyue said as she moved toward the two of them. ¡°But this fe¡¯s body seems to be extraordinarily tough. The fact that he¡¯s still breathing means that there might be a chance to save him.¡±

    She suddenly frowned and asked, ¡°Stone cold woman, did you turn over a new leaf or something? Why are you shoving his head into your chest?¡±

    Yan Xuehen seemed almost as if she had been struck by lightning. She quickly pushed Zu An away, eximing, ¡°That was how he fell before! How could I pay attention to such a thing in a moment of danger? Only a witch like you would actually think about that at a time like this!¡±

    ¡°What are you doing?!¡± Yun Jianyue eximed, jumping in fright. She quickly rushed over to support Zu An. Unfortunately, her injuries were too severe, and her body was extremely weak. Even though she caught him, she staggered from his weight and rolled along the ground.

    Meanwhile, Zu An¡¯s head sank into her chest. Fortunately, that area was soft enough that he didn¡¯t suffer any more injuries.

    Yan Xuehen briefly felt regret when she saw that Zu An had been about to fall because of her. But when she saw that, she sneered. ¡°I was wondering why you sounded a bit jealous just now. It turned out you wanted to do that yourself!¡±

    Yun Jianyue could feel Zu An¡¯s heavy weight, and she could even feel his shockingly low body temperature. Meanwhile, her heart was beating crazily. Even though she came from the Devil Sect, which gave her knowledge in various fields, experiencing it herself was something different entirely. She was both embarrassed and rmed to have a man touch such a sensitive spot.

    But when she heard what Yan Xuehen said, she instead calmed down and said, ¡°He didn¡¯t hesitate to risk his life, and he knew that only by gambling everything would we have a chance of survival. If this were a story out of literature, it would only be natural for us to devote ourselves to him. This isn¡¯t a big deal at all.¡± She thought that as long as she didn¡¯t let herself feel embarrassed, only the other person would be embarrassed.

    Sure enough,pared to Yun Jianyue, who was from the Devil Sect, Yan Xuehen was more easily embarrassed. She was frightened when she heard that, saying, ¡°You can devote yourself to him if you want; don¡¯t drag me into it.¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Yun Jianyue sighed in relief when she saw her rival¡¯s rm. I made the correct choice after all.

    She harrumphed, then ignored the other party. She took out a pill and fed it to Zu An. As a sect master, she naturally had some medicines on her. Even though they couldn''tpare to the Ice Heart Pill, their effects weren¡¯t bad either.

    However, she suddenly felt a headache. Because Zu An was seriously injured at that moment, he couldn''t ingest the medicine on his own at all. After a moment of hesitation, Yun Jianyue ced the pill into her own mouth. Then, she lowered her head. Her lips joined together, and she opened his teeth with her tongue. That way, she passed along the pill.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s eyes widened. Her voice began to shake as she eximed, ¡°He¡­ He is your disciple¡¯s man! Are you even going to fight her for him? Do you have any sense of shame?!¡±

    She had personally investigated Zu An for her precious disciple¡¯s sake, so she obviously knew about his and Qiu Honglei¡¯s rtionship. At that instant, she was filled with shock, anger, and confusion. She felt as if her treasured toy had been stolen by someone else.

    Yun Jianyue raised her head, feeling the leftover heat on her lips. Her stunning features only seemed even more alluring. In truth, she was just as embarrassed as Yan Xuehen, but how could she show that in front of her old rival?

    ¡°I was just trying to save him; what in the world are you thinking?¡± she retorted, shooting her rival a look. ¡°Honestly, aren¡¯t you the one who cultivates some emotion-free technique or whatever? Why do you seem like some jealous little girl now? What, did you end up liking your disciple¡¯s man?¡±

    ¡°No way! You¡¯re speaking nonsense!¡± Yan Xuehen cried in a panic.

    Yun Jianyue immediately felt much better when she saw Yan Xuehen¡¯s rm. She had never seen her rival in such a sorry state in all of the years they had interacted with each other. Looks like I chose the right path.

    This is how you exploit a weakness!

 Chapter 1176: Are You Going to Do It, Or Am I?

    <h4>Chapter 1176: Are You Going to Do It, Or Am I?</h4>

    ¡°Wait,¡± Yun Jianyue suddenly said, feeling confused. ¡°Did we forget something?¡±

    Yan Xuehen was stunned. She replied, ¡°Did we?¡±

    Both of their expressions changed immediately afterward and they eximed, ¡°Yu Yanluo!¡±

    All of their attention had been focused on Zu An¡¯s safety. Besides, Yu Yanluo had been some distance behind them, so the two had actually ended up forgetting about her. But she had also done everything she could to save the two of them! They felt apologetic and quickly ran toward where Yu Yanluoy.

    Even though Yun Jianyue was seriously injured, she was still a grandmaster. She took a pill from her sect and managed to recover a bit of strength. She supported Zu An with her shoulder and walked toward Yu Yanluo. After some time, however, she turned around and shot Yan Xuehen a look, asking, ¡°What are you doing? You¡¯re empty handed, but you¡¯re slower than me?¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    She really needed the other woman to help her carry Yu Yanluo too. After all, she was extremely weak at the moment. It really would be quite tiring if she had to carry both of them. But with her pride, how could she possibly bring herself to beg for that?

    She had initially expected Yan Xuehen to suggest that, while she would refuse once. Afterward, she would reluctantly agree. But this woman didn¡¯t seem to get it at all. She hadn¡¯t offered to help at all even after so much time. She couldn¡¯t help but feel upset when she saw the other woman was moving so slowly.

    ¡°None of your business. Just take care of yourself,¡± Yan Xuehen shot back, her expression cold.

    ¡°What the hell is wrong with you?!¡± Yun Jianyue eximed angrily, thinking, Even if this stone cold woman loves arguing against me, can¡¯t she pick a better time to do this? She didn¡¯t feel like paying the other woman any more attention, and just continued to walk toward Yu Yanluo while carrying Zu An.

    Only then did Yan Xuehen stop hiding her hand. It was covered in blood that was starting to turn ck, and she was holding a dagger-shaped tooth. The ck light fired from the Scaled Deathworm¡¯s mouth when she tried to save Zu An had been that very tooth.

    She hadn¡¯t been able to evade the worm¡¯s attack and could only forcibly block it with her own body. However, instead of announcing her injury, she had used ki to seal the acupoint on her back to prevent the poison from spreading.

    After taking some White Jade Sect medicines, she quickly followed along, and soon arrived next to the others. It was difficult to tell whether Yu Yanluo was alive or dead. Herplexion was as pale as paper, her ck hair dull. There wasn¡¯t a trace of her previously devastating beauty.

    ¡°What happened to her?¡± Yan Xuehen asked Yun Jianyue, who had arrived before her. Zu An had already been set down on the ground next to arge rock.

    ¡°Her situation is a bit more severe than even Zu An¡¯s,¡± Yun Jianyue said, letting go of Yu Yanluo¡¯s hand after checking her pulse. She pointed at the other woman¡¯s skin and continued, ¡°The surface of her skin is already showing signs of petrification. It looks like a side-effect of forcefully activating the Medusa¡¯s Bloodline.¡±

    ¡°But this is really strange¡­ With her cultivation, even after using that kind of power just now, the effects shouldn¡¯t have been so severe,¡± Yun Jianyue muttered, her brows furrowing tightly.

    Yan Xuehen sighed and exined, ¡°I was chasing after them previously. She has already used her Medusa skill twice.¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s eyes widened and she cried, ¡°Miss Yan, you really love screwing everything up!¡±

    Surprisingly, Yan Xuehen didn¡¯t argue. This entire situation had indeed been caused by her. If she hadn¡¯t insisted on chasing after Zu An and Yu Yanluo, they would all still be in good health. Instead, she took out a pill and said, ¡°Feed this to her. Even though it is not the Ice Heart Pill, its effects are not bad¡­¡±

    Yun Jianyue rolled her eyes and retorted, ¡°Do you think Ick medicine? She probably wouldn¡¯t even want to eat any medicine from you at this point.¡±

    She didn¡¯t take the pill, and instead took one out herself before trying to feed it to Yu Yanluo. But her expression quickly froze. Yu Yanluo¡¯s mouth was closed, and she couldn¡¯t be fed the medicine. Damn it, why do I have to do the same thing for her as for Zu An?!

    She turned around to look at Yan Xuehen and asked, ¡°Do you want to do it?¡±

    Yan Xuehen blushed and looked away, saying, ¡°Since you want to help her, you should do all of it.¡±

    Yun Jianyue was speechless. Still, she didn¡¯t think too much of it. Seeing as she had even kissed Zu An already, she didn¡¯t mind kissing another person. Either way, Yu Yanluo was a woman.

    She put the pill in her mouth, then lowered her head to feed Yu Yanluo the pill. Afterward, she quickly got back up. As if to hide her embarrassment, she said with a sigh, ¡°As expected of the capital¡¯s number one beauty, her lips are soft and sweet. I was able to achieve something so many men yearn for in this world, but will never get to experience, haha¡­ Hahaha.¡±

    But after a few moments ofughter, she noticed that Yan Xuehen was looking at her as if she were an idiot. She felt somewhat embarrassed.

    Just then, they heard a sudden groan. Yu Yanluo¡¯s eyshes moved slightly, and she slowly opened her eyes.

    ¡°You¡¯re awake?¡± both Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen asked out of concern.

    ¡°Where is Ah Zu?¡± Yu Yanluo asked. Her first reaction was to look in the direction of the deathworm.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. That bug has already been destroyed. Zu An ended up getting hurt a bit, but he¡¯s over there,¡± Yun Jianyue exined somewhat ambiguously. She was worried that Yu Yanluo¡¯s condition would worsen if she learned about Zu An¡¯s condition.

    Yu Yanluo looked visibly relieved when she saw Zu An, saying, ¡°I can feel at ease then.¡± She closed her eyes and fainted again immediately after.

    Yun Jianyue checked her condition again. She said with a grave expression, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect the medicine to only allow her to remain conscious for that bit of time. She¡­ might not make it.¡±

    Yan Xuehen was silent. At any other time, the two of them might have been able to rely on their astonishing cultivation to treat Yu Yanluo together using ki, to see if that would help. But at that moment, it was hard to say if they would even recover fully themselves, so what else could they possibly do?

    ¡°Ah, this is so damn frustrating! I, Yun Jianyue, have never owed anyone any favors, and yet not only won¡¯t I be able to return this favor, cough cough¡­¡± Yun Jianyue trailed off, beginning to cough intensely. Her speaking had ended up making her injuries worse.

    Yan Xuehen suddenly cried out in rm, ¡°He¡­ Why is he bleeding?!¡±

    Yun Jianyue turned around and saw that fine cracks had begun to cover Zu An¡¯s body, leaking out small droplets of blood. He was soon covered in blood due to the sheer number of those wounds. She eximed in horror, ¡°He used the Star Shattering Imprint too many times. His body can¡¯t take it and is starting to break down!¡±

    ¡°What do we do?¡± Yan Xuehen asked. She had never panicked so much in all the years she had been alive. She felt as helpless as a new cultivator.

    ¡°There¡¯s no cure!¡± Yun Jianyue cried, her expression downcast.

    There were many before her who had cultivated this technique, and quite a few of them had used it more times than the limit. All of them had ended up passing away without exception. Otherwise, the technique¡¯s secret manual wouldn¡¯t have warned against it so strictly. This was a lesson learned through blood. However, Zu An had used it five times. The fact that he hadn¡¯t exploded into a bloody mist on the spot already spoke volumes of his ridiculous talent.

    Yan Xuehen suddenly asked, ¡°Is his life force breaking down? Could he be saved as long as his life force was replenished?¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s eyes widened. She began, ¡°Are you saying¡­¡±

    Yan Xuehen nodded and exined, ¡°The techniques we cultivate probably both have intertwining cultivation techniques. When yin and yang intersect, life force flourishes; the cosmos harmonizes and brings forth natural luck. The area would be suffused with the great daows of the universe. With our cultivation rank, we should be able to supply him with the life force he needs.¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s jaw was about to hit the ground. She obviously knew that there were intertwining cultivation techniques; when daopanions cultivated them together, they would help each other improve, leading to even greater results. But with their status and cultivation, they hadn¡¯t had any interest in seeking out any daopanions.

    When she heard Yan Xuehen¡¯s exnation, her first thought was to be rmed. But she was knowledgeable, and after thinking about it, she concluded that such a n did have a chance of sess. But she still said seriously, ¡°There¡¯s too much of a cultivation gap between us and him. If we really carry out such intertwined cultivation, our own cultivation might suffer. Besides, there¡¯s only a chance of sess, and it might not necessarily work.

    ¡°Of course, he¡¯s only in his current state because he was trying to save us. It¡¯s fine to lose a bit of cultivation to give it a try. But the biggest problem is that his rtionship with us is too awkward!¡±

    If it were any other man, she might just decide to go through with it. Even though she had remained a virgin her entire life, that was only because she hadn¡¯t found someone she liked. She didn¡¯t have too great of an attachment to something like that.

    Zu An wasn¡¯t a bad choice, but he was their disciples¡¯ man! What the hell was this situation?!

    Unbelievably, however, Yan Xuehen acted as if she hadn¡¯t heard a thing. She said coldly, ¡°Are you going to do it, or am I?¡±

    Yun Jianyue: ¡°???¡±

 Chapter 1177: Regret

    <h4>Chapter 1177: Regret</h4>

    ¡°Are you kidding me?¡± Yun Jianyue protested. She was starting to feel a bit dizzy. The Yan Xuehen she knew would have immediately gotten offended and argued back at any other time. Why had she still taken the initiative to propose intertwined cultivation? And it was with her disciple¡¯s man, no less!

    Yan Xuehen looked at her coldly and shot back, ¡°Do I look as if I am joking?¡±

    Yun Jianyue fell silent. She felt extremely conflicted. If she were alone and there was no choice, then if she had to save him, she''d just save him. At worst, she¡¯d just pretend that nothing had happened once Zu An woke up, to save her from the trouble.

    But at the moment, there were other people present. There was no way to keep such a thing a secret. Besides, her cultivation would drop substantially afterward. That woman Yan Xuehen would definitely be annoying as hell once she found out.

    But she couldn''t just ignore Zu An. Her expression was overcast. In the end, she took a deep breath and said, ¡°If we have to save him, let¡¯s save him together!¡±

    That way, neither of them would have an advantage over the other, and neither one would speak of it. Furthermore, both of their cultivations would drop. Neither one would be bullied by the other, as they would still be on the same level.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression was a bit strange; she was clearly shocked by the suggestion. She couldn''t help but sneer. ¡°This brat really is something. Is this not letting him have it too easy? Forget it. I know you have some misgivings, so I will do it.¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s eyes widened. She cried, ¡°Are you still that same stone cold woman I know?¡± She reached out to check Yan Xuehen¡¯s forehead, as if to see whether she was confused from a fever or something.

    Yan Xuehen smacked her hand away, her expression somewhat downcast. She retorted, ¡°Stop speaking nonsense. Or are you going to do it?¡±

    Yun Jianyue was speechless. The two of them doing it together was her bottom line. If she did it alone, that would be too big of a sacrifice. She really wasn¡¯t too willing.

    Yan Xuehen sneered. ¡°This entire tragedy was because I chased after them. He has already saved me several times, so I owe him. He has also saved countless civilians in Cloudcenter Commandery. A hero like this cannot be allowed to fall here. What does my personal purity matter?¡±

    The numb feeling in her back was getting stronger and stronger. She was seriously injured and no longer had the strength to force the poison out. The worst part was that the deathworms¡¯ poison was unusual. It had merged with her internal injuries and quickly tangled around all of her meridians. Even if her cultivation recovered in the future, she still couldn''t rely on her own strength to force it out.

    Furthermore, if she borrowed an external force, it would definitely harm her meridians and internal organs. That was, unless all of her meridians and internal organs were swapped out. But before something like that could be done, she would already have died several times over.

    She knew it might be the end for her. Rather than dying helplessly, she would rather use her body to see if she could save Zu An. That way, she would make up for what she owed him.

    If it were another man, she definitely wouldn¡¯t have such thoughts. But at that moment, she had extremely strange feelings about Zu An. That scene just then, of him fearlessly saving the world, was deeply ingrained in her mind. She suddenly felt that engaging in such intertwined cultivation wasn¡¯t something she couldn''t ept.

    ¡°Did something happen to you?¡± Yun Jianyue asked. She understood Yan Xuehen too well. She really couldn''t understand why she would do something like that.

    At any other time, she would definitely have made fun of Yan Xuehen for doing such a thing, and she would even tell the entire world. But they had just fought together, and the other woman would be doing it to save Zu An too. Her pride wouldn¡¯t allow her to do something like that.

    ¡°No,¡± Yan Xuehen replied. She didn¡¯t want to exin anything to her rival either. ¡°Are you going to keep staring?¡±

    Yun Jianyue blushed. The two were going to engage in intimate intertwined cultivation¡­ Indeed, she couldn''t bring herself to watch. But the thought of leaving on the spot also felt frustrating somehow. There were too many thoughts going through her mind and she didn¡¯t know what to do.

    Suddenly, Zu An groaned in pain, and began to show signs of waking up.

    Both women cried out in rm. ¡°You¡¯re awake?¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s face turned entirely red. She would have been willing to engage in intertwined cultivation if Zu An didn¡¯t know what was happening, but that didn¡¯t mean she would be okay with it if he was awake.

    Furthermore, he had woken up at the worst possible time. Had he heard what they were saying? If he had, how was she supposed to keep living from now on?

    Zu An chuckled and replied, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you two want me to sleep forever?¡±

    Seeing how he was smiling despite his wounds, even though he was clearly in so much pain that he had to grit his teeth, Yun Jianyue couldn''t help but grumble. ¡°Do you know what kind of state you¡¯re in right now? And yet you¡¯re still in the mood to think such thoughts.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s better than crying, right?¡± Zu An replied, sounding surprisingly optimistic. ¡°Hm? What were you two discussing just now?¡±

    ¡°We were¡­¡± Yun Jianyue trailed off and subconsciously gave Yan Xuehen a look.

    Yan Xuehen quickly cut her off. ¡°Nothing. We were just wondering how to treat your condition.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°Take a look at yourself. What do you mean you¡¯re fine? Don¡¯t try to show off and let the stone cold woman save you,¡± Yun Jianyue quickly said.

    Yan Xuehen blushed. Just the thought of having to perform intertwined cultivation with him while he was conscious made her want to faint from embarrassment.

    Zu An lowered his head and took a look. The blood all over his body was a bit frightening, but his body had experienced the Primordial Origin Sutra¡¯s tempering several times. Combined with his powerful regeneration abilities and the fact that his soul had been fully condensed, even though the Star Shattering Imprint had indeed almost made his body break apart, now that some time had passed, he was already slowly starting to heal.

    ¡°I really am fine,¡± Zu An insisted. Suddenly, he realized something and was stunned. He looked at Yan Xuehen, asking, ¡°How was Sect Master Yan going to save me? Don¡¯t tell me you have medical skills?¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression grew even more unnatural. She looked away and said, ¡°Do not listen to what that witch is saying. I know no such thing.¡±

    Yun Jianyue was starting to panic. She cried, ¡°Do you know what kind of situation we¡¯re in? What are you still being all embarrassed for? If you don¡¯t save him now, it¡¯ll be toote!¡±

    Yan Xuehen was also hesitant. She had been poisoned, after all. If she dyed any longer, she might not even have any strength left to do it. But to do ¡®that¡¯ with him while he was conscious¡­ Her disciple Chuyan¡¯s face continued to appear in her mind. She felt as if she were about to go crazy. She shot back, ¡°I am not going to save him anymore! You save him!¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression became unnatural. She replied, ¡°What? Didn¡¯t we already agree? Why are you suddenly changing your mind? I already told you, if I¡¯m going to save him, you have to join too. Otherwise¡­ Otherwise I¡¯m not doing it¡­¡±

    Yan Xuehen was so nervous she almost stomped her feet. She asked, ¡°How can we do that kind of thing together?¡±

    Zu An replied, puzzled, ¡°What kind of weird riddle are you all ying at?¡±

    The two women tacitly agreed to shut their mouths. Neither one of them wanted to tell him the truth.

    Zu An quickly looked around and asked, ¡°Right, where is Yu Yanluo? She seems to have forcefully activated her Medusa¡¯s Eye just now¡­¡±

    As he spoke, however, he saw Yu Yanluo. He quickly got up to check her condition. Even though his movements were sluggish, he didn¡¯t look like a dying person. The two women were both stunned.

    Yun Jianyue was the first to react. She sighed and said, ¡°Her condition is even worse than yours. She might not make it.¡±

    Zu An noticed that Yu Yanluo¡¯s eyes were closed, and herplexion was deathly pale. Her aura was incredibly weak, as if it might disappear at any time. He immediately felt downcast.

    Yan Xuehen felt a bit conflicted and said, ¡°Sorry, we really are powerless. All we could do was to try and see if we could save you.¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t seem to have heard anything. All of his attention was on examining Yu Yanluo¡¯s condition. Several forced activations of Medusa¡¯s Eye against those whose cultivation ranks were far above hers had already pushed her life force to its limit. Even if he were to recover to his strongest, there would be no way for him to treat her externally.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    There¡¯s only one way left!

    He wasn¡¯t the indecisive type. He quickly made his decision and held Yu Yanluo, saying, ¡°I¡¯ll save her. Please wait over here for a bit.¡±

    That kind of method would easily cause misunderstandings. He didn¡¯t want these two to think that he was some brute who would take advantage of others¡¯ difficulties.

    ¡°She can still be saved?¡± Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen eximed, both stunned. They were experienced and knowledgeable. Both of them had already concluded that she was beyond saving, and they were already confident of her fate. And yet, even in such a state, Zu An thought she could still be saved?

    Zu An didn¡¯t pay the two of them any attention. He carried Yu Yanluo back to theke. However, he turned and looked at the two of them with a forced smile and asked, ¡°Why are you two following me?¡±

    ¡°We are worried about you,¡± Yan Xuehen said, her face pale. In their eyes, Zu An himself was about to die, so how could they dare to leave him alone?

    Zu An was a bit surprised. The woman¡¯s voice was full of concern. He asked, ¡°Thank you, but I¡¯m going to take Yu Yanluo down to treat her. I¡¯ll have to ask the two of you to watch the surroundings for me.¡±

    He couldn''t exin the situation, so he could only use that as an excuse to appease them. Fortunately, theke water could hide him and Yu Yanluo, which would save them a lot of awkwardness.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me this pond has healing properties?¡± Yun Jianyue asked skeptically.

    Yan Xuehen recalled how she had been pressed up tightly against Zu An underwater. Even her clothes had beenpletely soaked then.

    ¡°I¡¯ll exin everything once it¡¯s over. Saving her is more important right now,¡± Zu An said. He was worried that Yu Yanluo wouldn¡¯t be able to hold on. He jumped into the water with her in his arms as soon as he finished speaking.

    ¡°That damn brat doesn¡¯t look like he¡¯s nning to die,¡± Yun Jianyue muttered. She gave Yan Xuehen a look, searching for a confirmation.

    Yan Xuehen frowned and replied, ¡°You¡¯re right.¡±

    ¡°Then I guess you don¡¯t have to give up your purity to save him anymore,¡± Yun Jianyue said with a smile.

    Yan Xuehen was embarrassed. She quickly clutched her mouth, scared that Zu An would hear. At the same time, she felt a bit disappointed, as if she now had a great regret before death¡­

 Chapter 1178: One Line Prophecy Fulfilled

    <h4>Chapter 1178: One Line Prophecy Fulfilled</h4>

    Meanwhile, Zu An carried Yu Yanluo and slowly entered the water. Blue Mard¡¯s ability created a water bubble so she wouldn¡¯t suffocate.

    Zu An began to transfer ki throughout his body to adjust his condition. Even though his wounds were also quite serious, his condition was still passable. As such, he began to use the Primordial Origin Sutra, sending a strand of primordial ki into Yu Yanluo¡¯s body.

    Seemingly sensing the warm stream that entered her body, Yu Yanluo groaned and gradually began to wake. However, she was so weak that even opening her eyes was a bit strenuous. When she finally realized that it was Zu An, a faint smile appeared between her brows. She asked, ¡°Ah Zu, you¡¯ve already recovered? I¡¯m not dreaming?¡±

    Normally, herplexion was so beautiful that many men would feel ashamed of their own inferiority and wouldn¡¯t even dare to look straight at her. But now, she was extremely wan and sallow, like a porcin doll that would shatter if handled carelessly.

    Zu An felt extremely pained. He held her hand and ced it against his own cheek, replying, ¡°Yanluo, can you feel my warmth? Why would you be dreaming?¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s lips curled into a faint smile when she felt those firm lines. She said, ¡°You¡¯re okay¡­ That¡¯s good. Unfortunately, I won¡¯t be able to stay with you.¡±

    She was an expert herself. She had known just what kind of consequences forcefully using the Medusa¡¯s Eye several times would produce. However, she felt no regret. If she were given another chance, she would still make the same choice.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°No, you can,¡± Zu An said with certainty.

    Yu Yanluo just assumed he was consoling her. She said weakly, ¡°I can only exchange a few words with you; this is all the time I have left¡­ I feel a bit cold. Can you hold me a bit closer?¡±

    Only then did Zu An realize that Yu Yanluo hadn¡¯t liked the cold to begin with. Now, she was seriously injured, her life¡¯s me about to go out. As they were at the very bottom of theke, it was extremely cold. Naturally, she couldn''t take it. Thus, he quickly transferred his ki.

    Waves of warmth entered Yu Yanluo¡¯s trembling body, and she finally felt a bit of relief. She smiled and said, ¡°I remember how you gave me some Warm Darlings when you first met me and saw that I was cold. Now, I¡¯ve discovered that you¡¯re the best warm darling.¡±

    This was the capital¡¯s number one beauty. Even if she just stood there without doing a thing, even if she didn¡¯t say anything¡­ For many men in this world, they didn¡¯t even have to see her; just hearing her name alone would leave thempletely captivated. And yet at that moment, she was lying right in Zu An¡¯s embrace, whispering sweet words to him.

    But Zu An didn¡¯t think of any of those things at all. He only felt endless tenderness and worry. Thus, he told her, ¡°We¡¯ll have more than enough time to talk in the future. Try to preserve as much strength as possible. I have a way to save you.¡±

    Yu Yanluo had a distressed smile as she replied, ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to trick me. I know my condition the best.¡±

    Zu An said with an honest expression, ¡°I really do have a way. The method I cultivate is extremely special. Not only does it have powerful regenerative abilities, it can even treat many injuries that touch upon one¡¯s foundation. Look, even though I forcefully exceeded the limits and used the Star Shattering Imprint just now, aren¡¯t I still slowly recovering?¡±

    Yu Yanluo was stunned. She recalled that Zu An had seemed about to die, and yet now, he was still fine. His condition was clearly much better.

    Zu An said, ¡°But the method to save you is a bit¡­ special. I¡¯m worried that you won¡¯t be willing to receive it.¡±

    Yu Yanluo smiled and replied, ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I be willing to receive your treatment?¡±

    Zu An moved closer and whispered into her ear. Yu Yanluo¡¯s pale cheeks immediately turned slightly red. She pursed her lips, but in the end, she replied quietly, ¡°Okay.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He hadn¡¯t expected her to agree so decisively. He asked, ¡°You¡¯re not doubting me at all? That I might be taking advantage of you?¡±

    Yu Yanluo shook her head. Her gemstone-like eyes were full of gentleness as she said, ¡°Since I chose you, of course I trust you. Besides, either way, I¡¯m already yours.¡±

    ¡°Yanluo¡­¡± Zu An trailed off, feeling incredibly touched. He took her firmly into his embrace.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s cheeks heated up as she said, ¡°I heard that in the past, Chu First Miss had her foundation damaged in that secret dungeon. Everyone from Brightmoon City thought she was going to die. But she not only recovered; she even improved further. Was it because¡­ You saved her like this?¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Zu An replied. He was a bit embarrassed to be talking about another woman, but for the sake of granting her more confidence, he still admitted it. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have expected you to even know about what happened back then in Brightmoon City.¡±

    Yu Yanluo leaned against his chest, her eyes almost sparkling. She said, ¡°Back then, I was saved by a young man, so I began to pay more attention to him. However, that was only out of gratitude. I didn¡¯t expect that young man to be my man in the end.¡±

    Zu An thought back to their first meeting and replied with a smile, ¡°You didn¡¯t think I was just joking around when I said I was going to be your man back then, did you?¡±

    Yu Yanluo looked a bit embarrassed as she replied, ¡°How could I have known that, when you were just a little rascal back then?¡± She had just treated his bold words as a joke back then, and had had no idea that he was being serious.

    When he saw the loveliness in her yful pout, Zu An couldn''t help but press his lips against hers. Yu Yanluo moaned, closing her eyes and taking him in. Her long eyshes cast shadows across her jade-like cheeks, fluttering ever so slightly.

    Soon, Zu An raised his head. Saving her was the most important thing at the moment, and yet he was worried that he would wrong her.

    Yu Yanluo seemed to have guessed his suspicions. She said gently, ¡°I don¡¯t even have the strength to raise my arm. My clothes¡­ You need to take them off.¡±

    She didn¡¯t dare look him in the eyes after she said that. She was clearly already utterly embarrassed. At that moment, her decision to give herself fully to her man really made her too beautiful and alluring.

    Zu An continuously warned himself that saving her was the most important thing, and that he couldn''t be distracted at all. As such, he didn¡¯t hesitate any longer and instead gently undid the band around her waist. Yu Yanluo¡¯s skin was just as smooth and sleek as before; all her clothes came off without him even having to use much strength.

    Ever since Zu An had entered the mine, the surrounding environment had beenpletely dark. However, at that moment, there was a dazzling and sparkling expanse of white before his eyes. Even the invaluable luminescent pearls now seemed to pale inparison.

    ¡­

    A whileter, Yu Yanluo raised her hand to stop him. Then, she said bashfully, ¡°You should put my clothes underneath me.¡±

    Zu An was momentarily stunned, but then he replied with a smile, ¡°There¡¯s no need.¡±

    But Yu Yanluo¡¯s attitude was firm. She said, ¡°I¡¯ve been married before, after all. I don¡¯t care what others think, but I care about what you think. Even though I told you that the duke and I were only a couple in name, words are unreliable. I don¡¯t want you to have any doubts about us.¡±

    Zu An knew that he couldn''t persuade her, so he could only ce the pure white dress underneath her.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s breath soon quickened. Her beautiful eyes looked at the manly man before her with endless gentleness. Her red lips parted as she cried, ¡°Ah Zu, I love you~¡±

    Those simple words were more effective than any medicine Venom Child could create.

    Under Yu Yanluo¡¯s love-filled gaze, Zu Anpletely became one with her. Soon, with a groan, Yu Yanluo almost fainted. Her entire body immediately tensed.

    Fortunately, a wave of warmth created from the foundation of the cosmos entered her body, nourishing the meridians and internal organs that had been withered and damaged. This was something she had never experienced before! Yu Yanluo felt even more amazing than when she had broken through to her current cultivation realm. At that moment, she felt as if she were within the great emptiness before the world was created. She sensed opportunities for life emerge around her, and the dao changing and evolving.

    She rxedpletely and held onto her beloved tightly.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, by the shore, Yan Xuehen was seated in meditation, trying to remove the poison. Even if she didn¡¯t seed, she could at least stop her condition from worsening.

    Yun Jianyue wasn¡¯t in the mood to try to recover. She knew her condition wouldn¡¯t improve for some time, so she paced around by the shore. She felt extremely restless at that moment.

    Suddenly, she gave Yan Xuehen a curious look and asked, ¡°Stone cold woman, why is your hair turning a bit green? Are you okay?¡±

    ¡°I think your face is the one that is bing a bit green,¡± Yan Xuehen shot back, but she was actually a bit nervous. Has the poison inside me already spread throughout my entire body?

 Chapter 1179: Keep a Secret

    <h4>Chapter 1179: Keep a Secret</h4>

    ¡°Can you stay still, please? You are making me all annoyed from pacing back and forth,¡± Yan Xuehen snapped. For some reason, she just felt a bit fidgety.

    But not only did Yun Jianyue not stop when she heard that, she even deliberately walked over to pace around Yan Xuehen. She said tauntingly, ¡°I¡¯m going to pace around right in front of you. What are you going to do about it? Are you going to bite me?¡±

    Yan Xuehen was speechless. She cried, ¡°You damn witch, how did you end up bing just as shameless as Zu An?¡±

    Yun Jianyue was stunned. Her actions were indeed a bit simr to that damn brat¡¯s. She thought, Don¡¯t tell me I¡¯ve already unknowingly be affected by him? She blushed and quickly tried to hide it, retorting, ¡°Shameless woman, aren¡¯t you always bragging about how emotionless you are? Why is it so easy to make you angry then?¡±

    Yan Xuehen was momentarily distracted. It seemed as if ever since she had met Zu An, ripples had begun affecting her previously calm mind. When she thought of that, a mouthful of blood suddenly filled her throat.

    Yun Jianyue jumped in fright, shouting, ¡°What¡¯s up with you?!¡±

    ¡°Nothing,¡± Yan Xuehen replied, wiping the corners of her lips with a grave expression. Her Unshaken Daoist Manual could quickly increase her cultivation, but strong emotions were taboo. She could already feel her cultivation bing a bit unstable.

    Yun Jianyue was about to say something, but she suddenly stopped. She turned to one side and listened carefully, asking, ¡°Do you hear something?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Yan Xuehen replied, snapping out of her daze and thinking, Did some worms manage to get away? But instead of the rustling noises from before, she heard some faintly audible moans.

    Even though they were seriously injured, they were still grandmasters. Their gazes quickly turned to thekeside.

    Yun Jianyue eximed in annoyance, ¡°That damn brat! He told us to wait here while he went down there to enjoy himself?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +666 +666 +666¡­

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s cheeks also turned red. Even though she remained pure, she had lived for a long time. She naturally guessed what was happening below. It made her feel extremely strange, though. ording to the original n, she was supposed to have been the one who engaged in intertwined cultivation with him. Yet now, it had be him and Yu Yanluo! Why do I feel so strange?

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +666 +666 +666¡­

    Yun Jianyue managed to recover more quickly. She said, ¡°Even though that guy is perverted, he wouldn¡¯t go so far as to take advantage of others. Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s treating Yu Yanluo right now?¡±

    Regardless of which one it was, she really had to protect Honglei better. This fe really does take the purity of women as if it¡¯s nothing! He even dared to do this kind of thing in front of two grandmasters.

    Yan Xuehen thought back to everything that had happened. She nodded as well, saying, ¡°He is indeed not that kind of person.¡±

    Yun Jianyue was a bit surprised, saying, ¡°I¡¯m surprised you¡¯re speaking up for him.¡±

    ¡°I am just speaking the truth,¡± Yan Xuehen said indifferently. ¡°But I did not expect him to actually know an intertwined cultivation method.¡±

    Yun Jianyue was a bit worried too. She said, ¡°His body is on the verge of copse, so how can he save someone else? Furthermore, Yu Yanluo was about to give out too¡­ There¡¯s no way she could be saved just by relying on intertwined cultivation!¡±

    Their injuries were different. Even though Zu An had been seriously injured, he still had a bit of vigorous life force within him. On the contrary, Yu Yanluo¡¯s life force was on the verge of fading at any moment.

    With their strength, they would have at least fifty percent chance of sessfully healing the wounded Zu An. But even if they were male and in their best condition, the chances of them saving Yu Yanluo would have been infinitely close to zero.

    ¡°It might just be their final exchange of feelings before they pass away,¡± Yun Jianyue said. After thinking for a long time, she could only think of that reason. ¡°But Yu Yanluo is already in that kind of state; how can she handle such tossing and turning? That brat really is a rascal.¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression was also strange. She thought back to the couple¡¯s previous intimate interactions and said, ¡°But Yu Yanluo should be willing.¡±

    Yun Jianyue sat down next to her and said, ¡°Sigh, the two of us really are quite the troubled sisters here. We actually ended up guarding another couple¡¯s bedroom.¡±

    Yan Xuehen was speechless. She could only reply, ¡°You can think that if you want. I am going to focus on my wounds; do not bother me.¡± She closed her eyes to rest after saying that. However, when she recalled what the two of them were doing down there, she couldn¡¯t calm down at all.

    Yun Jianyue began feeling bored, but she didn¡¯t want to meditate and focus on her injuries either. As such, she propped up her chin with her hand and eavesdropped on the rhythm below. Her finger tapped against a stone wall as she suddenly said with a sigh of amazement, ¡°That guy would definitely be really popr as a gigolo.¡±

    A whileter, she cried out in rm, ¡°That Yu Yanluo looks all soft and delicate, but she has quite a bit of endurance!¡±

    ¡­

    Yan Xuehen finally couldn''t stand it after listening to Yun Jianyue¡¯s endlessmentary for some time. Her eyes widened as she red at the other woman, snapping, ¡°No one will think that you are mute if you stop talking!¡±

    Yun Jianyue wrinkled her nose and said, ¡°I was talking to myself. Who said you could eavesdrop on me?¡±

    ¡°Your voice is so loud; is it really my fault for listening?¡± Yan Xuehen replied with an icy expression.

    Yun Jianyue said with a smile, ¡°Are you taking me for a fool? With our cultivation levels, if we really wanted to focus, would we be bothered by these sounds? That means you¡¯re not calm, and that you wanted to listen to what I was saying.¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s face heated up. She replied, ¡°I just thought that since you were so close, you might suddenly attack me.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not that despicable, alright? Even if I want to win, I¡¯ll do it properly,¡± Yun Jianyue replied, seemingly offended.

    Yan Xuehen suddenly frowned and said, ¡°But this really is a bit strange. Are they not taking far too long? It has almost been two hours already.¡±

    Yun Jianyue sneered and said, ¡°Did you forget what Yu Yanluo just said? When the Snake Race does those things, they often continue for several hours. Honestly, I feel as if it¡¯s that brat that¡¯ll give in first.¡±

    Yan Xuehen gave her a look and asked, ¡°Did you forget that Yu Yanluo was wounded?¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s smile froze. She quickly turned back to look at the pond. Right¡­ With her condition, there¡¯s no way she canst that long! With that intensity, she should already have beenpletely destroyed!

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me Zu An¡¯s treatment really worked?¡± both women blurted out at the same time.

    Yun Jianyue suddenly thought of something and said, ¡°Right, I once heard Honglei mention that your disciple was injured so severely that she was going to be a cripple, and it was hard to say whether she¡¯d even survive, right?¡±

    ¡°Indeed, that seems to have happened, but when I asked her, she did not go into detail and said that it was Divine Physician Ji who saved her. Since her body was fine, I did not ask too much either,¡± Yan Xuehen replied after a bit of thought. Suddenly, she was shocked. Don¡¯t tell me¡­

    Yun Jianyue was clearly thinking the same thing. She said, ¡°It sounds as if she was saved by that brat Zu An too, and it was precisely through that kind of method!¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression changed. It was no wonder that no matter how she asked, Chuyan had still remained hell-bent on staying with him. It turned out there was a deeper reason!

    ¡°Alright. If Yu Yanluo can be saved, that¡¯s a good thing too.¡± Yun Jianyue sighed in relief. She began to wonder how Zu An knew that kind of skill.

    Could this be a special effect of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra?

    No wonder even the emperor seems to want it.

    That kid Honglei is so useless. I taught her the perfect charm technique, yet she was still outdone by someone else in Brightmoon City.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s brows furrowed deeply. With how vigorous Zu An seemed, he was probably fine. Yu Yanluo was probably going to be saved too. Even though Yun Jianyue¡¯s injuries were serious, one day in the future, she would recover.

    Only I might die over here.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    I can¡¯t have that fellow Zu An, use that method to save me, right¡­?

    She jumped in fright as soon as that thought emerged. She quickly tossed it away. Yet the more she tried to do that, the easier it became for all sorts of scenes to appear in her mind.

    Just like that, the two women fell silent.

    ¡­

    Some time passed, and the noise below only became more and more intense. Yun Jianyue¡¯s eyes twitched. She finally couldn''t take it anymore and roared at the pond, ¡°Damn brat, are you freaking done yet? How much longer are you going to keep going?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +777 +777 +777¡­

    Silence fell for a moment. Zu An¡¯s guilty voice called out from below, ¡°Almost, almost¡­¡±

    Yan Xuehen covered her mouth and smiled. This was the first time she had found her adversary Yun Jianyue so refreshing.

    Some more time passed. The waters finally parted, and Zu An brought Yu Yanluo out. Zu An appeared to bepletely at ease, while Yu Yanluo was hiding behind him, not daring to look at the two women at all.

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue¡¯s eyes widened. Yu Yanluo could actually stand on her own! Even though the way she walked was a bit strange, she could move on her own. And yet, she had looked as if she might pass away at any time previously!

    This kid Zu An really is that awesome?

    Yu Yanluo pinched Zu An¡¯s waist when she saw the two¡¯s vicious gazes. It¡¯s all this guy¡¯s fault! He just kept going again and again. I¡¯m so embarrassed¡­

    Zu An crossed his arms and looked at the two grandmasters vigntly, asking, ¡°What are you two doing¡­?¡±

    Yan Xuehen awkwardly shifted her gaze, her cheeks turning a bit pink. Meanwhile, Yun Jianyue said with a sigh, ¡°So you were actually a human-shaped spiritual medicine, brat? If news of this got out, people would probably squeeze you dry.¡±

    Zu An said with an embarrassed smile, ¡°My constitution and the technique I cultivate are a bit special. I can save women who are injured externally or internally. I hope you big sisters can protect this secret of mine.¡±

    But Yun Jianyue refused, replying, ¡°No way, unless you agree to a condition of mine!¡±

 Chapter 1180: Trapped

    <h4>Chapter 1180: Trapped</h4>

    ¡°What kind of condition?¡± Zu An asked, suddenly feeling a little strange.

    In all the stories he had read, it was usually the men who had the women¡¯s weaknesses in their grasp, and they would use those weaknesses as leverage in various ways. Why was it now the other way around?

    Yun Jianyue forced herself to maintain a smile when she saw how nervous he was. ¡°Of course, that¡¯s for you to be mine.¡±

    ¡°No, he is mine!¡± Yan Xuehen cried in panic.

    Zu An was confused. Yu Yanluo¡¯s lips parted slightly, her expression filled with shock. Even though they had indeed shared a heavenly experience, how had these two found out? Besides, weren¡¯t they both grandmasters? Was it really appropriate for them to be fighting over someone so shamelessly like this?

    Yu Yanluo suddenly felt as if she had to step forward and voice her own opinion.

    Yun Jianyue noticed their expressions. After a moment of shock, she cried, ¡°You damn brat, what are you thinking of? I was talking about taking me as your master!¡±

    Yan Xuehen also realized that there were several meanings to what they had just said. Her cheeks flushed red, and she shot Zu An a resentful look.

    It¡¯s your fault for not saying things that clearly¡­ Zu An thought with a downcast expression. He coughed lightly and said, ¡°Actually, I have a master. I have to listen to her opinion first, right?¡±

    He actually didn¡¯t mind taking on a master, but these two were fighting with each other at the moment. It would feel weird for him to reject either one of them.

    If he said he wanted both of them, deciding on the one he would choose to take as his master first would also be a problem. As such, he nned to use Mi Li as an excuse to just get by for the time being. Then, he¡¯d find a chance to deal with them one by one.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Who is your master?¡± Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue both asked, looking at him. Anyone who could produce such a formidable disciple was definitely an extraordinary master. The two of them might even just acknowledge that master.

    ¡°I promised her that I wouldn¡¯t expose her identity to anyone,¡± Zu An replied, feeling a bit troubled.

    The two women understood that kind of thing. There were many entrics who had such preferences. But that only made them even more curious about this master.

    Zu An changed the topic, saying, ¡°Let¡¯s deal with the spatial rift here first. It would be really bad if some more creatures cross over from a different world.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue replied. They didn¡¯t have any objections.

    However, as soon as Yu Yanluo took a single step, her legs buckled and she almost fell to the ground. When they saw that, Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue¡¯s expressions became extremely strange. Their gazes screamed ¡®brute¡¯ when they looked at Zu An.

    Zu An was also a bit embarrassed. He reached out his hand to support Yu Yanluo, but she was way too embarrassed and quickly pushed his hands away. Her cheeks were red as she said, ¡°I¡¯m okay.¡±

    Then, the group headed deeper into the cave.

    ¡­

    With the two grandmasters Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue leading their party using their extremely sharp spiritual senses, finding the spatial rift wasn¡¯t too difficult at all.

    They quickly arrived near where they had fought the intense battle with the deathworm. When he saw the corpse on the ground, Zu An walked over to it and said, ¡°Hold on.¡±

    Yun Jianyue nodded and remarked, ¡°Smart decision. That thing should have quite a few treasures on its body. Its scales are a little tougher than even dragon scales, and its fangs are excellent materials for forging weapons. Even its poison is useful¡­ But its body is extremely tough, so it might not be that easy to break¡­ down?¡±

    Then, her eyes widened, because the mother worm¡¯s corpse abruptly vanished!

    ¡°Huh?¡± Yan Xuehen eximed,pletely stunned. ¡°Was that because of your storage treasure?¡±

    ¡°Something like that,¡± Zu An replied. He thought back to how, even though he had killed many Gray Wolf Kings during the crown prince¡¯s exam, he had never collected their corpses. He didn¡¯t want to make the same mistake again.

    ¡°Why is it so big?¡± Yan Xuehen asked in shock.

    Yun Jianyue also found that inconceivable. Due to her cultivation and status, her storage artifact was already quite extraordinary. However, there would be no way she could store such a massive mother worm¡¯s corpse!

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s face turned red. She was just as shocked as the others.

    ¡°Maybe my luck is just good, haha¡­¡± Zu An trailed off, as thunderous noises erupted in the distance. How could there be thunder underground?

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression changed. She cried, ¡°Oh no, the spatial rift!¡±

    The group was rmed, and they quickly headed in the direction of the noise.

    ¡­

    Soon afterward, an open space appeared before them. There, a pitch-ck rift floated in midair. It was shaped almost like an eye that was rotated ny degrees, narrow on either end and wider in the bottom.

    The spatial rift was simr to a wormhole out of a science fiction movie. In its vicinity, thunder rumbled and lightning shed. It was clearly extremely unstable. In addition, several terrifying silhouettes deep within appeared to be trying to break through the lightning and rush out of the spatial rift.

    ¡°As expected, without that mother worm asserting its dominance, the other creatures now want a slice of the pie too,¡± Yun Jianyue said, her expression grave.

    Just then, Zu An summoned the Fire Phoenix. He unleashed a me de that was several dozen meters long directly at the pitch-ck rift. However, when it approached the rift, the enormous me de became incredibly small, immediately disappearing into the space within the rift.

    ¡°It¡¯s useless. The space within the spatial rift is folded in on itself. You cannot damage it,¡± Yan Xuehen said, shaking her head.

    ¡°Then what do we do?¡± Zu An asked, feeling dejected.

    ¡°It would be great if senior brother were here¡­¡± Yu Yanluo said. ¡°His achievements in the field runes are extremely profound. He would be able to neutralize the spatial force here.¡±

    Zu An was briefly stunned. Then, he realized that she was talking about Xie Daoyun¡¯s master, the libationer¡¯s first disciple.

    ¡°Yan Xiangu is indeed an incredible genius. I¡¯ve heard that his knowledge in runes has already reached an incredible level,¡± Yun Jianyue remarked. She had naturally heard about such people, who were at the top of their fields. She continued, ¡°But there¡¯s nothing to worry about. He might not be here, but this woman has a way.¡± She pointed at Yan Xuehen and said, ¡°The White Jade Sect¡¯s knowledge regarding runes is on the same level as Yan Xiangu¡¯s.¡±

    ¡°Yan Xiangu is without equal in the field of runes. However, we only need to deal with this spatial rift, so I can give it a try,¡± Yan Xuehen said as she walked forward. She raised her Flying Snow Sword, then began drawing strange and profound runes in the air.

    At first, she drew runes at a normal speed, but over time, she slowed down greatly. Furthermore, her body began to shake visibly.

    ¡°What¡¯s up with you?¡± Yun Jianyue asked in confusion.

    ¡°Nothing,¡± Yan Xuehen replied. She took a deep breath, then continued to draw. When she finished the final stroke, the rift trembled and began to change.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯splexion was pale as she said weakly, ¡°Hurry, attack it with all your strength. You should be able to destroy it directly now.¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t dare to hesitate. He once again summoned the massive me de, and he also used the Blue Luan Sword Formation. He used everything he had against the spatial rift.

    Yun Jianyue didn¡¯t show any negligence either. She gathered the strength she had recovered over time,shing out with a palm.

    Even Yu Yanluo attacked with all her power.

    Several streaks of light collided with the rift. They were no longer absorbed by the mysterious space as before, but rather made proper contact with the edges of the rift.

    With a huge explosion, the thunder and lightning inside the rift ran amok. Waves of destructive aura gushed out of it. The terrifying figures inside screamed miserably, then all turned into ashes. The spatial rift closed like an eye, instantly disappearing into nothingness.

    Afterward, the entire mine began to rock back and forth. It was far more intense than the previous shaking. The ground was quaking so hard that it was hard to stand still. Rocks tumbled down from the ceiling with no signs of stopping.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression changed. She cried, ¡°No! This entire mine is about to copse¡­¡± A deafening noise erupted in the distance as soon as she spoke.

    Yun Jianyue let out a forcedugh and said, ¡°That noise seems to being from the cave entrance. It¡¯s already copsed, and we¡¯re trapped here.¡±

 Chapter 1181: Misunderstanding

    <h4>Chapter 1181: Misunderstanding</h4>

    ¡°What?!¡± Yu Yanluo eximed. Herplexion waspletely pale. This mine was the Yu n¡¯s foundation. If it really did copse, that would be a fatal blow to the Yu n.

    Who knew how much manpower and resources would be needed to clean up such a mine? The worst part was that it would take a lot of time. They might not be able to resume operations within ten years. The Yu n was already breaking apart. How much longer would they even be able to hold on?

    Zu An quickly said, ¡°Let¡¯s hurry and find a safe ce so we don¡¯t end up getting buried alive here.¡±

    There was rubble falling all around them. The ce wouldn¡¯tst for much longer.

    ¡°This way!¡± Yu Yanluo called out. She quickly calmed down, as she was the one who was the most familiar with the ce.

    Zu An began to follow her, but suddenly felt that something wasn¡¯t right. When he turned around, he saw that Yan Xuehen hadn¡¯t moved. Instead, she staggered a bit and fell to the ground. Zu An jumped in fright and used Grandgale to rush over and catch her, asking, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Yan Xuehen opened her eyes slightly. When she saw that it was him, she pushed him away in embarrassment, snapping, ¡°I am fine! Let go of me already!¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t even stand still! What do you mean you¡¯re fine?¡± Zu An shot back. He naturally didn¡¯t let go of her. He carried her and quickly returned to Yu Yanluo, avoiding several chunks of earth and rocks crashing down from above along the way. Several times, falling debris brushed against their clothes. They might already have been buried underground if they had moved any more slowly.

    Yan Xuehen raised her head to look at the man who was carrying her. She was suddenly a bit absentminded as she watched him go through the ordeal in such a sorry state.

    Her cultivation was extraordinary, so she had always been the one to protect others. When had anyone else evere to protect her? This was the first time she had experienced being protected by someone else, and furthermore a man. It really was a strange feeling.

    Her cheeks turned a bit red when she thought of that. She looked away awkwardly to avoid seeing him anymore.

    ¡­

    The group continued for several dozen li. Only then did the shaking gradually weaken.

    The cave behind them had already been buried by rocks, but they still felt lingering fear. If they had been a bit slower, they might have beenpletely buried underneath. If they were at their strongest, Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen might have been able to survive. But in their present condition, being buried like that would be nothing short of a death sentence.

    ¡°Stone cold woman, how did you end up bing so weak and delicate?¡± Yun Jianyue remarked. She noticed that the way out had already beenpletely sealed. It was hard to say whether they would even be able to return to the surface, so her mood was obviously terrible.

    Yan Xuehen was about to reply, but when she opened her small mouth, she suddenly coughed out blood.

    Yun Jianyue had been feeling a hint of happiness from seeing her suffer, but when she saw that the blood was ck, her expression changed. She asked, ¡°You¡¯ve been poisoned?¡±

    ¡°Just a bit of poison; it is not a big deal¡­¡± Yan Xuehen began. Before she could finish her sentence, however, Yun Jianyue had already grabbed her wrist. At any other time, Yan Xuehen definitely wouldn¡¯t let her nemesis check her own pulse. But at that point, she was so weak that she waspletely powerless to resist.

    Yun Jianyue checked her pulse, and her expression instantly became grave. She cried, ¡°Not a big deal? You¡¯re already half a step away from the gates of hell!¡±

    Zu An and Yu Yanluo jumped in fright, asking, ¡°What¡¯s going on here?!¡±

    Zu An felt that his hands were a bit mmy. He quickly lifted Yan Xuehen up, then lifted his hands to check them. His hands were covered in strangely ck-tinged blood. Meanwhile, Yan Xuehen¡¯s once spotlessly white clothes were also covered in bloodstains.

    Zu An suddenly recalled how she had saved him from that deathworm. He asked, ¡°Were you hit by the dark light fired from the worm¡¯s mouth?¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s lips were already turning pale. She said indifferently, ¡°Things ended up like this because I was injured. At any other time, that attack would not have hit me no matter how hard it tried.¡±

    Yun Jianyue sneered. ¡°You¡¯re already on the verge of death, and yet you¡¯re still putting on this act. Does everyone from your White Jade Sect care about appearances this much?¡±

    Yan Xuehen wanted to retort, but she didn¡¯t even have enough strength to do that anymore.

    ¡°Sigh, it¡¯s all my fault in the end. You were acting weird, but I didn¡¯t notice in time,¡± Yun Jianyue said, her voice suddenly softening. She didn¡¯t continue arguing either.

    Yan Xuehen was a bit surprised. She replied, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you be happy if I die?¡±

    ¡°Hmph, of course I¡¯d be happy if I killed you in a proper match. What¡¯s there to be happy about seeing you die like this?¡± Yun Jianyue retorted. She fished out a pill and brought it up to Yan Xuehen¡¯s mouth, saying, ¡°This is an antidote. But that deathworm¡¯s poison has already seeped into your meridians and inner organs. This pill can only buy you a bit more time.¡±

    Yan Xuehen shook her head and said, ¡°Why is there a need to feel happy about birth or fear death? I have already resigned myself and do not fear death, so why should I owe you a favor before I pass on?¡±

    ¡°Stone cold woman, why are you always so pig-headed?¡± Yan Xuehen gritted her teeth. She really had the urge to grab the woman¡¯s head and m it against the ground.

    Zu An said weakly, ¡°Actually¡­ I can heal you.¡±

    Yan Xuehen didn¡¯t know where she got the strength to do so, but when she heard that, she cried, ¡°No way!¡±

    Yun Jianyue was stunned at first. Then, she rubbed her palms together and eximed, ¡°Right! That¡¯s what we should do!¡±

    Didn¡¯t this stone cold woman love to act as if she didn¡¯t feel a thing for the opposite sex? The worst part was that men all believed that! What if they found out that their ice queen goddess had already had her virginity taken by another man, and furthermore the same man who belonged to her disciple?! Her reputation would be done for if such news got out! White Jade Sect¡¯s great prestige would bepletely destroyed in an instant.

    Yun Jianyue almostughed out loud when she thought of that scene. This ice-cold woman has fought against me for so many years. I¡¯ve finally won in the end!

    Huh? But why do I suddenly not feel that happy at all?

    Yan Xuehen immediately knew what Yun Jianyue was thinking when she saw her rival¡¯s strange expression. She was so embarrassed she wanted to die. She really wouldn¡¯t know how to keep living if she were saved by Zu An through that kind of method.

    ¡°I do not want you to save me. Hurry and let go of me,¡± Yan Xuehen said, panicking. She immediately began to struggle, but she was too weak. As a result, her struggles just looked like yful fighting between lovers.

    Zu An quickly said, ¡°Don¡¯t get too stirred up, or else the poison might reach your heart.¡±

    ¡°I want the poison to reach my heart!¡± Yan Xuehen snapped. Her only intention was to die sooner. Otherwise, if Zu An saved her through that method, she would be way too ashamed to continue living!

    Zu An was speechless.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression was strange. She asked, ¡°Ah Zu, you¡­ can still keep going?¡±

    The two of them had been together for so long. She really was a bit worried about his body. She couldn''t help but feel that the situation was a bit strange too; it seemed she would have to share her man with other women. But she discovered that she didn¡¯t have any reason to object. After all, he would be doing it to save someone. Furthermore, Yan Xuehen had been seriously injured for Zu An¡¯s sake.

    ¡°I¡¯m okay,¡± Zu An replied, feeling a bit confused as to why she would ask that.

    Yan Xuehen was even more embarrassed when she heard what they were saying.

    Yun Jianyue patted Zu An¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°You really are lucky. Take good care of our great beauty Yan.¡± Normally, she would have been watching with amusement. But for some reason, she discovered that she wasn¡¯t as happy as she would have expected.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s face was entirely red, as if smoke might juste out of the top of her head. Unfortunately, as her insides stirred ufortably, her vision grew blurry. She couldn''t even say anything in protest. Her insides felt ice-cold. Could it be that she really couldn¡¯t escape such afate?

    Yun Jianyue said unhappily, ¡°Stone cold woman, do you really have to make that kind of an expression? Weren¡¯t you willing just earlier?¡± Weren¡¯t you the one who suggested that in the first ce before? Why are you evenining?

    Yan Xuehen felt incredibly sullen. She had thought she was about to die anyway, so she would save Zu An before she did. That way, the one who had just saved the world wouldn¡¯t die just like that. But now, it turned out that Zu An knew some strange technique. After recovering, he could even heal her!

    She had been willing to do that before because she thought she would die, which would just end all her worries. But now, she would still have to face the opinions, of the rest of the world afterward. The thought alone made her shiver.

    Zu An said in a strange tone, ¡°Did you all misunderstand something? I said I could save her, but I didn¡¯t say we needed to have a physical rtionship.¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

 Chapter 1182: The Frozen Mountain Melts

    <h4>Chapter 1182: The Frozen Mountain Melts</h4>

    Yun Jianyue, Yu Yanluo, and Yan Xuehen were all stupefied.

    When he saw their expressions, Zu An exined, ¡°I¡¯m actually at least half a doctor. I can use my ki to detoxify a patient. There¡¯s no need to do that¡­¡±

    A fierce pain came from his waist before he even finished speaking. It turned out Yu Yanluo was pinching him really hard, blushing furiously in embarrassment.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    You have sessfully trolled Yu Yanluo for +111 +111 +111¡­

    Only then did Zu An realize that he had ended up causing a huge disaster. He quickly exined, ¡°That situation was different! Your life force was fading so we had to do that, but that¡¯s not true for Sect Master Yan. That¡¯s why we don¡¯t need to do that¡­¡±

    Yu Yanluo felt a bit more at ease when she heard that. Why didn¡¯t this rascal say that sooner? I ended up making a fool of myself again¡­

    Yan Xuehen visibly rxed after hearing Zu An¡¯s exnation, saying, ¡°Then¡­ Then I will have to trouble you.¡±

    She still had an instinctive desire to survive, so of course she didn¡¯t want to die. At the same time, she gave Zu An a look. She didn¡¯t expect to have misunderstood him. So he was actually that kind of gentleman!

    Yun Jianyue smacked Zu An on the head in annoyance, remarking, ¡°Dumb kid, why didn¡¯t you seize such a good opportunity?¡± Despite that, for some reason, she felt a hint of happiness.

    ¡°Hurry and save her then. If you wait any longer, she might just kick the bucket,¡± she added. Now that she felt more rxed, her mischievous side resurfaced.

    Yu Yanluo also got up and said, ¡°The situation here has already improved a lot, and there shouldn¡¯t be any more danger. We¡¯ll look around and watch the surroundings in the meantime.¡±

    Yun Jianyue didn¡¯t refuse. After all, it wasn¡¯t good for a doctor to be disrupted during treatment. Even though she had fought against Yan Xuehen her entire life, she didn¡¯t want to take advantage of her in this kind of situation.

    ¡­

    When the other two left, Yan Xuehen asked weakly, ¡°Can you move me a bit?¡±

    Zu An had been carrying her the entire time, his body full of masculine strength. She had always avoided contact with anyone, so she really wasn¡¯t used to being so close to a man, let alone this man who was extremely special to her.

    Zu An naturally didn¡¯t say anything and ced her in a seated position in front of him. Then, he pressed his palms against hers. But because Yan Xuehen was too weak, she couldn''t even remain upright. She subconsciously began to fall.

    Zu An quickly wrapped his fingers around hers. The action seemed a bit too intimate, almost as if he were viting her a bit.

    Traces of an unnatural blush appeared on Yan Xuehen¡¯s face. A verse suddenly appeared in her mind: Hands sped together are a life spent together. She jumped in fright as soon as that thought appeared, and subconsciously wanted to pull her palms back.

    Zu An said with a serious expression, ¡°Focus. I¡¯m going to start treating your wounds.¡±

    When she saw the clear look in his eyes, Yan Xuehen realized he was only doing so to keep her still, and didn¡¯t have any disrespectful thoughts. She was one of the most powerful individuals in the world, so she quickly calmed herself down, letting go of her emotions.

    After calming down, she felt that her previous state was somewhatughable. Compared to the great dao of the universe, what did the feelings between a man and woman matter? Let alone the fact that the other person was already her disciple¡¯s man, which meant nothing would evere of it.

    A sword of wisdom appeared between her brows. It severed the thread of emotion that had been indistinct to begin with, and she quickly rxed. A pure white, divine radiance began to shine around her, as if the great dao itself were praising her.

    She felt tion as two waves of warmth entered her through her palms, and soon wanted to figure out what was going on with Zu An¡¯s skill. How could there be such an incredible technique in this world? Not only did it grant him incredible regenerative prowess, it even allowed him to treat others¡¯ critical conditions.

    ¡°This energy seems to be the purest intent from the very creation of the world¡­¡± Yan Xuehen murmured, incredibly shocked. Wasn¡¯t this man only at the ninth rank? And yet, he could produce such pure ki? Even she could only asionally grasp a small wisp of this kind of energy! She could feel his ki moving within her. She was amazed at the profoundness of the technique, because not even she could see through it.

    Why do I feel a bit hot? she thought.

    As a cultivator of the Unshaken Daoist Manual, she was most familiar with its Ice Heart Sutra. Between that and the Snowke Sword, she really did resemble the phrase ¡®ice flesh and jade bones¡¯. Her body temperature was somewhat cooler than a normal person¡¯s, and even on a blistering summer day, she still wouldn¡¯t feel any heat. However, she just assumed her injuries were too severe and that she couldn''t maintain her usual cultivation realm. As such, she didn¡¯t pay too much attention to it.

    A whileter, she discovered that her heart had begun beating very quickly. The two warm streams had spread out into several finer ones that filled her entire body, nourishing her meridians and helping her remove the poison. Wherever they went, the sensation that followed was numbing, and yet somehow silky. It was a strange but pleasant feeling. She had thought that because she was so heavily injured, the treatment would be extremely painful too. And yet, it actually felt quite nice and rxing.

    Because she was so rxed, she suddenly opened her eyes and looked at the man whose fingers were wrapped around hers. Zu An¡¯s eyes werepletely shut; he seemed to be focusing on controlling the endless stream of ki to nourish her meridians and internal organs. His face looked as if it were sculpted out of marble. His usual frivolousness was nowhere to be seen, insteadpletely reced with a sense of steadiness.

    Who would have thought that this brat would be pretty handsome when he¡¯s serious¡­

    When she saw the fine sweat covering his forehead, Yan Xuehen thought to herself that it was all because of her that he had ended up that way. She suddenly felt an urge to help him wipe away his sweat. But then, she realized she couldn''t move her hands.

    She could only watch as the fine sweat gathered bit by bit, forming into bigger droplets that slid down his face. As they slid down his skin, they gave off a bizarrely charming luster.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s fair neck moved forward slightly. The reaction made her jump in fright. What is going on with me? She quickly closed her eyes, not daring to look at him again.

    At the same time, she was incredibly confused. Hadn¡¯t she severed the strand of emotion with the sword of wisdom? Why was she still like this?

    Countless streams of heat suddenly surged through her body, feeling like a stream of electric shocks. They weren¡¯t caused by the ki Zu An was transmitting through her body, but rather a natural reaction of her body.

    Her face turned entirely red. What is happening?! She tried to calm herself down and suppress the strange feeling.

    Zu An noticed the movements of the ki within Yan Xuehen and quickly said, ¡°Don¡¯t reject it. Completely rx your body and mind, or else all of this will have been for nothing!¡±

    Yan Xuehen bit her lip, but she still listened in the end. She felt as if even her ice-cold body seemed to be melting. The only thing she could do was to clench her teeth and endure.

    At first, it was as if a snowy mountain had experienced the first ray of sunlight. The shallowyer of snow covering the mountain began to melt into water.

    As the sun gradually rose higher and higher, the snow¡¯s surface melted bit by bit and gradually turned into countless streams.

    Then, when the zing sun was right overhead, the streams gathered together, creating a great river that led to the sea!

    Yan Xuehen finally couldn''t hold it in anymore, releasing a moan from her throat.

    At that instant, it was as if a phoenix had cried out in her mind. The strand of emotion that had been severed produced countless fine threads that then tangled together, forming an inextricably linked web that flickered with countless great dao symbols.

    She opened her eyes and saw that Zu An had also opened his eyes. They stared at each other for a moment. Her face waspletely red as she yelled, ¡°What exactly did you do to me!?¡±

    Zu An said with a bitter smile, ¡°I was treating you, of course. I didn¡¯t do anything else.¡±

    ¡°Then why do I have this strange feeling if you didn¡¯t do anything?!¡± Yan Xuehen retorted. Naturally, she wasn¡¯t so easily fooled.

    ¡°I really didn¡¯t. I don¡¯t know why either, but whenever I treat others, it makes them a bit restless¡­¡± Zu An replied, sweating buckets. He had actually forgotten about that and only realized what had happened when Yan Xuehen released a sweet-sounding moan. Seeing that she still didn¡¯t believe him, he quickly said, ¡°You can go and ask Yu Yanluo. I treated her injuries before too, and her reactions were even more extreme than yours¡­¡±

    Of course, those words weren¡¯t entirely true. He had discovered that even though Yan Xuehen was usually cold as ice, once she erupted, her reactions even seemed to exceed Yu Yanluo¡¯s.

    Yan Xuehen couldn¡¯t hold back her frustration and humiliation. She cried, ¡°How am I supposed to ask such an embarrassing question?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +134 +134 +134¡­

 Chapter 1183: His Blood Inside Me

    <h4>Chapter 1183: His Blood Inside Me</h4>

    ¡°Let go of me!¡± Yan Xuehen yelled, trying to struggle free, but Zu An¡¯s fingers were firmly intertwined around hers. She felt more and more embarrassed.

    Zu An didn¡¯tpromise and said seriously, ¡°We¡¯re at the most crucial part of the treatment. We absolutely can¡¯t let everything fail now.¡±

    How could Yan Xuehen not know that? She had already felt the poison was gradually leaving her body. Her internal injuries were also recovering at a steady rate. If they ended the treatment here, however, the poison and internal injuries woulde rushing back. Her condition would be even worse than before, perhaps even ending her life right there and then.

    Yan Xuehen still shouldered her entire sect¡¯s glory, so she couldn''t just let things end here. Even so, when she thought of that embarrassing feeling, she couldn''t help but ask bitterly, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me this treatment caused such a strange feeling earlier?¡±

    Zu An exined, ¡°The situation was too urgent just then, and I forgot about it. Besides, I didn¡¯t know whether that was an exception or if it really was a side effect of my treatment.¡±

    ¡°You must know now then, right?!¡± Yan Xuehen grumbled resentfully.

    Zu An chuckled in embarrassment. He also found it really strange, but he now had more proof that his ki had that strange side-effect. But it clearly hadn¡¯t happened when he was treating Chuyan before¡­ Why was that?

    Yan Xuehen bit down on her lips so hard that they turned a bit pale. She cried, ¡°Are you messing with me on purpose?¡±

    Zu An said seriously, ¡°I can make a vow that I never had such intentions. Or¡­¡±

    Yan Xuehen quickly cut him off, saying, ¡°It¡¯s fine. Don¡¯t randomly make vows for no reason.¡± For some reason, she really was worried that he might be struck down by heavenly judgment on the spot.

    ¡°Then you trust me?¡± Zu An replied happily.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if I trust you or not. You did save my life, so I wouldn¡¯t be so ungrateful,¡± Yan Xuehen replied. After all, she wasn¡¯t an ordinary person. After taking a deep breath, she calmed down again and said, ¡°Let¡¯s continue.¡±

    ¡°Okay, hold on.¡± Zu An replied. He calmed down, then continued to treat her poison and wounds.

    The same strange feeling once again battered Yan Xuehen with wave after wave. She quickly closed her eyes, mouthing the mind-calming chants from the Unshaken Daoist Manual. These chants normally easily helped her calm down, preventing her from being affected by unnecessary thoughts.

    But this time, those thoughts weren¡¯ting from outside, but rather from inside! She felt her body be hotter and hotter, growing softer and softer. She felt the urge to scream, but she endured with tremendous willpower. She bit down on her lips so hard that wisps of blood were visible.

    Zu An said,. ¡°Don¡¯t forcefully endure it; it¡¯s not good for your body. If your internal energies surge like this, it¡¯ll be much more difficult for me.¡±

    Yan Xuehen shot him a hateful look. How could she scream out loud? What if Yun Jianyue and Yu Yanluo heard her? She would never be able to raise her head again for the rest of her life! At that point, she might as well just die.

    Only then did Zu An guess what she was thinking. He quickly said, ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to worry. I¡¯ll make a soundproof barrier around us, so the sound won¡¯t get out.¡±

    Of course, normally, that wouldn¡¯t be able to stop a grandmaster like Yun Jianyue from hearing him, but she was seriously injured and weak, and wouldn¡¯t be able to hear anything then.

    Yan Xuehen was tempted when she heard the suggestion. If Yun Jianyue can''t hear anything, then it¡¯s not as if I can¡¯t¡­

    But she quickly realized that even if Yun Jianyue couldn''t hear anything, the man before her could. As such, her expression turned ice-cold. She continued to grit her teeth and endure.

    Zu An said with a bitter smile, ¡°There¡¯s really no need for you to be like this¡­ I¡¯m your doctor. Doctors don¡¯t distinguish between male or female; you don¡¯t have to have such misgivings.¡±

    Yan Xuehen was speechless. She felt that what he said made some sense, but she still stubbornly endured.

    Zu An said again, ¡°Actually it doesn¡¯t matter even if you make noise. I¡¯ve already heard it before anyway, so it¡¯ll make no difference whether I hear it again.¡±

    ¡°You¡­ Shut your mouth!¡± Yan Xuehen shot him a look. She felt as if he were deliberately breaking down her defenses. But he was like a demon, whispering endless temptations. Her will, which had already been unsteady to begin with, began to waver.

    Suddenly, countless waves of warm ki rushed through her at the same time. Her body was already extremely sensitive, so how could she still hold on? Caught off guard, she instinctively released an extremely sweet groan.

    Her previously icy cheeks now gave off a red sunset glow. As she looked at the man across from her, she was both embarrassed and annoyed. She cried, ¡°You did that on purpose!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +233 +233 +233¡­

    Zu An said bluntly, ¡°It¡¯s because you¡¯ve been holding it in for so long that my treatment is taking way too long, so I can only take it a step further. Don¡¯t worry, the soundproof barrier is already in ce.¡±

    Yan Xuehen hadn¡¯t expected him to actually be so direct, so she had to swallow the response she had intended to make. Only after a while did she exim, ¡°How are you so shameless?!¡± However, her eyes were watery, and her voice was sweet and charming. There was nothing intimidating about her demeanor.

    Zu An chuckled and replied, ¡°You¡¯re right. I¡¯s all my fault; everything is my fault. I was the one who caused all of this, so don¡¯t feel bad about it and just let things take their course.¡±

    Yan Xuehen was stunned. She now felt a bit embarrassed that he was taking all of the me on himself. She wasn¡¯t apletely unreasonable person and knew that he was doing this to save her. Even though his actions just then had been a bit provocative, it was only so she could rx for the treatment. How could she me him to that extent?

    She had so many things to say, but in the end, only two words came out. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. Then, a radiant smile appeared on his face. He suddenly said, ¡°Open your mouth.¡±

    Yan Xuehen was puzzled. However, Zu An exined, ¡°The deathworm¡¯s poison is too strange, and it¡¯s tangled around every portion of your body. To make sure there are no aftereffects, you also need to take some medicine.¡±

    Yan Xuehen was about to ask what kind of medicine Zu An was talking about when he suddenly cut open a gash on his arm. The wound quickly became drenched in blood.

    Then, Zu An moved the wound close to her lips and said, ¡°My blood has detoxifying properties. Drink up.¡± He was already immune to poison, so his blood essence also had that property. But he couldn''t have just started with that, right?

    Yan Xuehen felt conflicted. She said, ¡°You don¡¯t need to be like this¡­¡±

    Zu An propped up her chin and made it easier for her to drink, saying, ¡°If you really feel grateful, just drink more. This¡¯ll save me some effort.¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s heart was pounding fiercely. How in the world am I going to repay this favor in the future?

    But an incredibly pure and fragrant sensation spread through her mouth. Her starry eyes quickly widened. So he had transcendent aptitude!

    No wonder he reached his cultivation realm at such a young age! So it was the legendary transcendent aptitude!n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    As a grandmaster, she obviously knew what that kind of constitution meant, and just how much danger it represented toward his growth. And yet, he had still used his blood to save her without a second thought. With her knowledge, she obviously knew that he might be exposed by doing so, but he had still done it¡­

    Meanwhile, she was still conflicted by the fact that they were of opposite sexes. She really did view this nobleman with a narrow-minded gaze!

    As the treatment continued, it seemed she was slowly beginning to ept it somewhat. Even though she still tried to control herself at first, eventually, she couldn''t help but secretly loosen her throat. She tried her best to keep it down at first, but eventually, she didn¡¯t even have the strength to control herself anymore.

    She was quickly drenched in sweat, and sweet and irresistible moans echoed through the space inside the barrier as she eventually decided to just give in. Still, she didn¡¯t dare to look at Zu An.

    ¡­

    After a long time passed, Yan Xuehen was leftpletely limp in Zu An¡¯s embrace.

    A line of tears couldn''t help but slide down from the corners of her eyes. Ever since she had be a grandmaster many years back, she hadn¡¯t cried no matter what kind of situation she ended up encountering; and yet now, she couldn''t hold back at all. She didn¡¯t know why she was crying, but she just couldn''t stop the tears from flowing.

    Just then, Zu An spoke up. ¡°Your poison has pretty much been removed now, and your damaged meridians and internal organs have been repaired. You should be able to use your own ki to recover. After resting for a bit, you should be as good as normal again.¡±

    Yan Xuehen instinctively checked her condition. She discovered that she couldn¡¯t feel any threat to her life anymore, and that only powerful vitality remained. The ki within her had returned to its normal flow. Even though she still felt extremely weak, she knew she would slowly recover after some rest. She said, ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Yan Xuehen noticed that Zu An¡¯s expression was clear as he spoke, without any dirty thoughts. She realized that he had spoken up to make her feel a bit less embarrassed. She was lyingpletely powerless in his embrace, so his body¡¯s natural physiological reaction couldn¡¯t escape her perception. Even so, he was still doing his best to keep his expression clear. It had to be quite difficult for him, right¡­

    But with how considerate Zu An was, Yan Xuehen was still grateful and didn¡¯t expose him.

    Zu An noticed the tears on her cheeks. Her delicate and pitiful appearance made him instinctively reach out his hand to help her wipe them away. But he quickly cried out ¡®Oh no!¡¯ inwardly. He expected the woman tosh out at him, because such an action was a bit too intimate.

    However, Yan Xuehen only looked at him in a daze. Surprisingly, she didn¡¯t criticize him at all and instead showed him a trace of bashfulness.

 Chapter 1184: Hell Battlefield

    <h4>Chapter 1184: Hell Battlefield</h4>

    Just then, Yun Jianyue and Yu Yanluo walked over. Yan Xuehen quickly looked away when she saw them. Zu An tacitly pulled his hand back while removing the soundproof barrier around them.

    ¡°So? What are the results?¡± Yun Jianyue asked.

    ¡°Not too bad,¡± Yan Xuehen replied somewhat unnaturally. Pfft, not too bad? I never want to go through something like that ever again.

    ¡°What does ¡®not too bad¡¯ mean?¡± Yun Jianyue asked. She looked at the other woman¡¯s rosyplexion and thought, Even this stone cold woman has such a charming side to her? But she just assumed it was because of the heat that came from the treatment and didn¡¯t think too much about it. She continued, ¡°Ah Zu, how are the effects?¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°The poison should already have been removed from her meridians and inner organs, and her internal injuries have been treated. It should bepletely fine with a few more treatments.¡±

    ¡°There is still more?¡± Yan Xuehen cried, jumping in fright. Her face was beet red.

    ¡°What are you acting all crazy for?¡± Yun Jianyue asked, shooting her a look. ¡°He¡¯s going so far to heal you, and yet you don¡¯t even want it.¡±

    ¡°I was just¡­¡± Yan Xuehen trailed off, turning red again. But for various reasons, she couldn''t exin it either.

    Yu Yanluo had a pensive expression. After all, she had personally experienced what it was like to be treated by Zu An. Could it be¡­ And yet, they hadn¡¯t heard anything despite not being too far away.

    Zu An coughed lightly and said, ¡°Actually, Sect Master Yan can just rest for a while on her own, then use her own ki to treat her injuries. She doesn¡¯t necessarily need my help.¡±

    Yan Xuehen sighed in relief when she heard him say that. She shot him an expression of extreme gratitude

    Meanwhile, Yu Yanluo¡¯s attention was focused on her sweetheart. She suddenly cried out in rm and asked, ¡°Ah Zu, what happened to your arm?¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression became unnatural. She seemed to have left some lip marks on his arm.

    Zu An pulled his arm back and said with augh, ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Earlier, Sect Master Yan¡¯s poisoning was too severe, so I fed her a bit of my blood to aid in the detoxification.¡±

    Yu Yanluo couldn''t me Yan Xuehen, so she could only help Zu An wrap his injury in a distressed manner. When she saw the faint lip mark, she was stunned, but she didn¡¯t say anything about it.

    Zu An replied, ¡°It¡¯s really fine! My body can regenerate pretty quickly. The wound is already pretty much healed.¡±

    Yun Jianyue asked curiously, ¡°Your blood even has detoxification properties? If others found out about this, who knows how many old monsters would want to use your blood to refine medicines!¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯re all our own people. News won¡¯t get out.¡±

    ¡°Our own people¡­¡± The three goddesses were all stunned when they heard that.

    Yun Jianyue patted Yan Xuehen¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°You have his blood inside you now, so I guess you really are one of us.¡±

    ¡°What kind of nonsense are you saying?!¡± Yan Xuehen cried, staring at her old rival with shame and anger. What do you mean I have his blood? You¡¯re making it sound as if I gave birth to his child or something!

    ¡°You drank his blood, so don¡¯t you have his blood inside you? Did I say something wrong?¡± Yun Jianyue snorted. Then, she looked at Zu An with a strange expression, saying, ¡°Damn, kid, you really do go all out. You¡¯re not really trying to court this stone cold woman, are you?¡±

    Yan Xuehen really wanted to dig a hole to hide herself in. This witch was always shooting her mouth off; there wasn¡¯t a trace of a dignified senior in her appearance!

    Zu Anughed in embarrassment, saying, ¡°Big sis sect master must be joking. She¡¯s Chuyan¡¯s master, so of course I should be doing what I can to help her. Even if it were you who was injured instead, there¡¯s no way I would just watch without doing anything.¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression finally eased up a bit. She replied, ¡°Hmph, at least you know how to speak well.¡±

    She had just been teasing Yan Xuehen randomly, after all. Because she had faced Yan Xuehen for so many years and knew her well, she knew her rival couldn¡¯t possibly be tangled up in feelings with a man. How could she have known that her teasing had actuallye close to the truth?

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s face was incredibly pale, and she looked dejected. Is it really only because I¡¯m Chuyan¡¯s master?

    Sigh, what kind of random nonsense am I even thinking? He¡¯s Chuyan¡¯s husband! Even though she continued to tell herself that, it was still hard for her to hide her disappointment. She waspletely stunned when she realized that. Don¡¯t tell me I really do like my disciple¡¯s man?

    She heard Yun Jianyue continuing to chatter next to her. She felt incredibly annoyed and snapped, ¡°If you¡¯re so jealous, have Zu An treat you then!¡±

    Yun Jianyue was startled, replying, ¡°Why would I be jealous of you? Besides, what¡¯s there to be jealous about?¡±

    Yan Xuehen said, ¡°You are injured, so of course you should be treated.¡±

    She couldn''t be the only one to go through that! She wanted Yun Jianyue to go through that embarrassing experience, so they would all be even. Hmph, let¡¯s see if she¡¯ll still make fun of me then!

    ¡°Forget it. Even though I¡¯m injured, I can still use my ki and recover on my own. There¡¯s no need to trouble Ah Zu,¡± Yun Jianyue said after seeing the fine sweat on Zu An¡¯s forehead.

    Yan Xuehen felt a bit of regret as soon as she spoke up. She knew just how difficult the treatment process was. Zu An had used up so much ki and energy, and might not be able tost if he did it again. Besides, for some reason, she didn¡¯t really want Yun Jianyue to go through that experience either. That was a secret only she and Zu An shared.

    Zu An knew that even though Yun Jianyue¡¯s injuries were serious, her foundation wasn¡¯t injured and there was no danger to her life. That was why he didn¡¯t push the issue either. If he made her undergo that embarrassing experience too, this ce might turn into a hellish battlefield.

    Just then, Yu Yanluo said, ¡°I looked around just now and found a path that might lead to where the Snake race people are. The entrance has already been sealed, so why not all follow me to my people and return to the human world from there?¡±

    Yan Xuehen frowned. In the past, she definitely wouldn¡¯t have agreed and might have just killed the Snake race people as soon as she discovered their existence. But due to her time with Yu Yanluo, and the fact that the other woman had even saved her, she was really far too embarrassed to act like that.

    Yun Jianyue agreed straightforwardly. ¡°I¡¯ve always wanted to give the fiend race territories a look myself, so this is a good chance.¡±

    Zu An obviously didn¡¯t have any objections. Thus, the group¡¯s itinerary was set.

    They then set out. However, they quickly noticed something troublesome. Even though Yan Xuehen¡¯s poison had been removed, she was extremely weak and couldn''t walk.

    Yun Jianyue and Yu Yanluo were both injured as well. It was hard for them to move on their own, so they naturally couldn''t carry anyone. So in the end, that job fell to Zu An.

    In the past, Yan Xuehen probably would have just refused. But now, she gave Zu An a look, then nodded ever so slightly, saying, ¡°I¡¯ll have to trouble you.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re making me sound like too much of a stranger here,¡± Zu An replied with a chuckle. He walked forward to carry her.

    Yan Xuehen blushed and quickly asked, ¡°Can you carry me on your back?¡± Being carried like a princess was a bit too intimate. The worst part was that Yun Jianyue and Yu Yanluo were still watching them. She really couldn''t bring herself to do that.

    Zu An was a bit stunned, but he didn¡¯t refuse. He squatted in front of her and patted her back, gesturing for her to get on.

    After some hesitation, Yan Xuehen eventually crawled onto his back. When Zu An hoisted up her thighs, she felt the heating from his hands. Her entire body went rigid. Fortunately, he didn¡¯t move his hands wantonly, so he calmed down a bit.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Then, Yu Yanluo led the way. Zu An carried Yan Xuehen on his back, while Yun Jianyue walked next to him.

    Yan Xuehen was so embarrassed that she didn¡¯t want to press her chest against Zu An¡¯s back. As such, she pushed against his back with her hands, doing her best to avoid contact. Zu An obviously noticed that, but he chuckled silently and didn¡¯t say anything.

    But just then, a loud ¡®Pa!¡¯ rang out through the cave.

    Yan Xuehen turned around to stare at Yun Jianyue in shame and embarrassment. She cried, ¡°Witch, what are you doing?!¡±

    ¡°Nothing, I just wanted to smack you.¡± Yun Jianyue admitted directly. ¡°I¡¯ve already waited for this day for too long.¡± She pped Yan Xuehen¡¯s bottom once again and said, ¡°This feeling really isn¡¯t bad.¡±

    Yan Xuehen almost fainted from anger. But in her current state, she couldn''t do anything to resist. She could only yell angrily, ¡°Witch, I never took advantage of you before when I recovered faster than you did; how can you forget favors and vite justice like this?!¡± She had previously eaten the Ice Heart Pill, which was more effective than the Soul Return Pill her rival had consumed.

    Yun Jianyue obviously remembered that. Sheughed and said, ¡°Even though you agreed not to bully me, I never promised to not bully you.¡±

    Yan Xuehen was so angry her entire body was shaking. She cried, ¡°You¡¯re a Devil Sect demoness after all!¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but advise Yun Jianyue, ¡°Big sis sect master, she¡¯s a bit weak right now, so don¡¯t bully her anymore.¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s face sank. ¡°Wow, so you¡¯ve forgotten about your old friends now that you¡¯ve made a new one? Who was the first one to acknowledge you? Between us, who treated you better?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +654 +654 +654¡­

    She had already fought against Yan Xuehen for many years. Their cultivation, ability, and even appearance were around the same level. However, Yan Xuehen had always been treated like an honored guest by the public. Even though Yun Jianyue wasn¡¯t cursed at and beaten by people, the fear and estrangement they showed her was still something she could feel.

    It was one thing if others felt like that; she really didn¡¯t care. But Zu An had only known this stone cold woman for how long, and yet he was already acting like this? How could she not feel hurt?

 Chapter 1185: Escaped

    <h4>Chapter 1185: Escaped</h4>

    Zu An felt a thud go off in his head. Oh no, I¡¯ve stepped on andmine.

    Why the hell am I getting involved with these two sworn enemies?!

    Before he could even say anything, Yan Xuehen couldn''t stand it anymore and cried, ¡°He is only speaking out for public justice! What are you getting mad at him for?!¡±

    Yun Jianyuepletely ignored her and looked at Zu An with an unkind expression, as if she were waiting for his reply.

    ¡°I¡­¡± Zu An was about to speak, but he suddenly vomited a mouthful of blood and rocked back and forth.

    Yun Jianyue jumped in fright and quickly supported him, asking, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Yu Yanluo noticed what was happening and rushed back, crying, ¡°Ah Zu!¡±

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°It¡¯s nothing,.I just used up a bit more strength than I expected just now. My body couldn''t really handle it. I¡¯ll be fine if I take a small breather.¡±

    ¡°Then hurry and adjust your breathing,¡± Yan Xuehen said. She quickly got off his back and sat down.

    ¡°Okay,¡± Zu An replied. He closed his eyes and began to circte his ki.

    Seeing that his aura was gradually bing normal again, Yun Jianyue sighed in relief. Then, she gave Yan Xuehen a resentful look and said, ¡°It¡¯s all for the sake of saving this stone cold woman here that he used up so much of his energy. He even had to carry you afterward. Look at you, a high and mighty grandmaster, now fallen to this state. You might as well let a piece of tofu smash you to death.¡±

    Yan Xuehen also felt conflicted inside, but she still couldn''t take this from her arch-nemesis. She replied, ¡°Wasn¡¯t it because you were mean to him just now, and you were even picking a fight with him, that his internal energies were stirred up from anger? You still have the nerve to talk about me?!¡±

    ¡­

    Neither woman was willing to give an inch. They both argued noisily.

    While trying to adjust his breathing, Zu An sighed. What injury? He hadn¡¯t known what to do just then, so he had just pretended to be injured. Now, it seemed to have worked quite well.

    Suddenly, loud and clear smacks rang out. Zu An secretly opened his eyes to take a look, and saw that Yun Jianyue already had Yan Xuehen lying on her knees, spanking her full bottom again and again.

    Yan Xuehen struggled frantically, but her injuries were worse and she was very weak. She couldn''t struggle free at all. Yun Jianyue struck her until her bottom was jiggling around.

    Is that area really that squishy¡­ Zu An thought in absolute amazement. But he had learned his lesson and didn¡¯t get involved this time.

    Fortunately, Yu Yanluo walked over and called out, ¡°Stop fighting, both of you! You¡¯re disturbing Ah Zu¡¯s healing.¡±

    Only when she heard that did Yun Jianyue stop. She was quite proud of herself, her expression seeming to say ¡®If you have the skills,e at me!¡¯

    Meanwhile, Yan Xuehen clutched her bottom, her expression full of humiliation and anger. She was so angry that she gritted her teeth. However, there was nothing she could do.

    A whileter, Zu An felt that it was about time. He then stopped pretending to recover and opened his eyes, saying, ¡°I¡¯m alright now. Let¡¯s continue.¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s cheeks were a bit red. She was clearly still embarrassed from being hit by Yun Jianyue, but still said, ¡°I can walk on my own. You can get some rest.¡±

    Zu An chuckled and replied, ¡°It¡¯s fine; my body is as tough as a bull¡¯s. That was just a bit of an unexpected hup, but I¡¯ve already recovered.¡± He didn¡¯t wait for her to agree and squatted down, picking her up.

    ¡°Ah¡­¡± Yan Xuehen couldn''t help but cry out in rm when his hands touched her thighs.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Zu An asked, stunned.

    ¡°Nothing,¡± Yan Xuehen replied, her face turning a bit red. How could she tell him that her bottom still hurt from Yun Jianyue¡¯s spanking?

    The group continued forward. At first, Yan Xuehen was still trying not to let her body press against his, but she eventually grew weaker and weaker. She couldn''t help but gently loosen her hand and press against him. Zu An noticed what she was doing andughed involuntarily. He didn¡¯t say anything and continued to carry her.

    But soon afterward, Yan Xuehen became annoyed, because she discovered that their posture made them touch in various ambiguous ces. After that happened a few times, she noticed her body reacting strangely. She couldn''t help but feel more and more embarrassed. Helpless to do anything else, she could only put her arms tightly around Zu An¡¯s neck and press against his back. Only then could she prevent those areas from rubbing from time to time.

    She was still a bit embarrassed at first when she felt the heat from his wide back. However, when she saw that he wasn¡¯t doing anything, she sighed in relief.

    Zu An¡¯s expression was quite strange. Never had he expected Yan Xuehen to actually be so blessed in ¡®that¡¯ area, even though she normally seemed so light and dainty. The heavy pressure really did stir something in him.

    She¡¯s Chuyan¡¯s master! he quickly warned himself. Only then did he calm down.

    Yan Xuehen also slowly calmed down. Then, she began to feel that his back was wide and warm, giving her a mysterious sense of safety.

    The feeling of fatigue gradually overcame her; between her serious injuries and the treatment exhausting a lot of her energy, she unknowingly slipped into thend of dreams. The faint smile hanging from the edge of her lips was no longer that ice-cold, and instead seemed gentle and sweet.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Yun Jianyue harrumphed. This woman really did always put on an act. No wonder all the major powers treated her like some sort of immortal fairy.

    ¡­

    After some time had passed, Yu Yanluo suddenly said happily, ¡°I found a marking Maid Xing left behind.¡±

    ¡°Looks like they¡¯re fine,¡± Zu An remarked, sighing in relief. The two of them hade here to save Maid Xing and the Snake race people to begin with. They had been starting to lose hope when they saw so many deathworms. Now, when they saw traces left by Maid Xing again, they finally calmed down a bit.

    ¡°Yup!¡± Yu Yanluo eximed excitedly. Her entire body was filled with energy.

    The group¡¯s pace quickened. As they moved through theplicated mines, the paths became wider and wider.

    ¡°We¡¯re almost at the exit,¡± Yu Yanluo said excitedly as they arrived at a stone gate. She found a mechanism in the gate, then took out a jade pendant, inserting it into an indentation. Then, the assorted mechanisms spun at different angles.

    Kacha!

    Eventually, the stone door slowly opened.

    Yu Yanluo turned around to call everyone. She was about to leave when several arrows suddenly flew at the group. Before she had time to react, however, Zu An quickly took a lightning step forward, striking down the arrows.

    Soon after, several figures holding weapons attacked them. Zu An was about to counterattack when a pleasantly surprised voice called out from nearby, ¡°All of you, stop! That is the madam and young master Zu!¡±

    A fine-figured individual rushed over then. Who else could it be but Maid Xing?!

    Meanwhile, the others were clearly the Snake race people who had been rescued from Cloudcenter Commandery. They were men and women who didn¡¯t look much different from humans. Of course, upon closer inspection, one would find that their pupils were all vertical slits.

    ¡°Maid Xing!¡± Yu Yanluo cried. After seeing that they were all safe, she feltpletely rxed.

    ¡°Madam!¡± Maid Xing eximed. She and the others were even more shocked and overjoyed upon seeing Yu Yanluo.

    Amid the moving reunion, Yan Xuehen woke up and asked, ¡°What happened?¡±

    Yun Jianyue said mockingly, ¡°Look how soundly you were sleeping. I didn¡¯t expect the White Jade Sect¡¯s immortal goddess would actually drool. How shameless.¡±

    Only then did Yan Xuehen notice that Zu An¡¯s back was wet. She quickly wiped her own lips and mumbled, ¡°So¡­ Sorry.¡± She had blushed more times today than she ever had in her entire life.

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°It¡¯s fine. You¡¯re really weak right now, so this kind of thing is normal. It¡¯ll all go away once you recover.¡±

    Yan Xuehen felt warm inside when she heard hisforting words. Her awkwardness eased a bit.

    ¡°Damn brat, you really are good at making a girl happy,¡± Yun Jianyue remarked unhappily. But she didn¡¯t say any more, worrying that she would make his injuries worsen.

    Zu An chuckled awkwardly. He quickly introduced Maid Xing and the others to the two of them. As for Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen¡¯s identity, he didn¡¯t have to say anything. Instead, he just said that they were his good friends. After all, both of them had extraordinary statuses, and many people were rted to them. It would be bad if news that the Snake race was allied with either of their factions got out.

    The two women were both grateful. This fellow normally acted mischievously and frivolously, but he was actually quite the meticulous thinker. He knew when to make considerations for others.

    After hearing that the two were Zu An¡¯s friends, Maid Xing was extremely friendly. Seeing that they were injured, she even had the subordinates prepare a ¡®carriage¡¯ for them to rest in. However, the creatures that pulled the carriages weren¡¯t horses, but rather lizard-like creatures.

    Yu Yanluo exined, ¡°There¡¯s a Snake race supply point outside the cave on this side. It¡¯s been waiting to receive us all this time.¡±

    Maid Xing apologized and said, ¡°Madam, young master Zu, I¡¯m really sorry for attacking you all just now. Everyone was a bit on edge because strange, terrifying bugs were following us.¡±

    Yu Yanluo quickly asked, ¡°There were so many deathworms; how did you all escape?¡±

 Chapter 1186: Private Worries

    <h4>Chapter 1186: Private Worries</h4>

    Maid Xing had her subordinates prepare some fresh water and towels for the group. Then, they draped a wool carpet across the carriages.

    All sorts of fine desserts and fruits were arranged on a table, and the tableware seemed to be made of jade or ivory. All sorts of precious, fragrant incense filled the area with a simple and elegant aroma. Just one whiff could make one feel full of ki; they were clearly beneficial to cultivation.

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue secretly exchanged a look. This Yu Yanluo¡¯s usual lifestyle really was quite extravagant! Even though the two of them had high statuses, one came from a dao sect, and the other came from the Devil Sect. Neither one paid much attention to their normal day to day affairs. Compared to Yu Yanluo, the two women almost felt like country bumpkins.

    But they also noticed that Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression was the same as usual, and she wasn¡¯t showing off in front of the two of them on purpose. They then felt a bit more relieved.

    Just then, Yu Yanluo asked Maid Xing a question; the maid gave Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue a troubled look.

    Yu Yanluo said, ¡°They¡¯re our own people; it¡¯s okay to speak your mind.¡±

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue¡¯s expressions were strange. If they had heard that the previous day, both women might have spoken up in protest. But after they had fought alongside each other, and considering their rtionship with Zu An, that description didn¡¯t seem wrong.

    Maid Xing looked at Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue in surprise. As Yu Yanluo¡¯s personal maid, she obviously knew who Yu Yanluo usually spent her time around. These two were so beautiful and stunning. If Yu Yanluo had friends like these, how could she not know about them?n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    That meant they could only be Zu An¡¯s friends. She secretly asked, ¡°Are these two young master Zu¡¯s lovers?¡±

    At the same time, she really felt incredible admiration. Young master Zu really is formidable; he actually has so many beauties of this level at his side! The most important part was that the madam didn¡¯t even look unhappy about it. Who would believe it even if news of such a thing got out?

    Yu Yanluo jumped in fright. Fortunately, Maid Xing was speaking through ki transmission. She quickly warned the maid, ¡°You are not permitted to speak such nonsense. You are not to offend these two in the future, do you understand?¡±

    These two definitely weren¡¯t easy to deal with. Meanwhile, even though one was the leader of the orthodox faction, the memory of being hunted down was still fresh in her mind. There was even less of a need to talk about the other one; she was a famous butcher from the evil dao. Not even Yu Yanluo would be able to do anything if her own nsmen ended up offending the two.

    Maid Xing stuck out her tongue yfully, then began to discuss the matter at hand. ¡°After we left the city, we went straight to the mines, but we did not expect so many things to have happened here. However, there was nothing we could do about it and could only brace ourselves. Along the way, we received Yu Bin and the others¡¯ help, but they went missing while protecting us¡­¡±

    Zu An and Yu Yanluo exchanged a look. They couldn''t help but sigh. Yu Yanluo then took out Yu Bin¡¯s blood-soaked notebook and said emotionally, ¡°I fear that they might have already passed away.¡± She gave them a rough summary of what had happened.

    ¡°What?!¡± Maid Xing eximed in horror. She couldn''t help but start sobbing.

    Yan Xuehen remained silent for a long time. She had stubbornly insisted on distinguishing between man and fiend, but Yu Bin and the other humans alongside him had risked their lives to protect the Snake race people. Now, when the Snake race survivors heard news of their passing, their grief was clearly real.

    Could it be that the beliefs I obstinately clung to have been wrong all along?

    Yun Jianyue was thinking about something else. The Yu n¡¯s people all had strong morale and camaraderie. With such cohesiveness, even if the Yu n temporarily copsed, they would rise again soon afterward. The Holy Sect would benefit a lot if they were to help Yu Yanluo while she was down and out.

    Yu Yanluo stroked Maid Xing¡¯s head and said, ¡°Let us take good care of their families once we return. I will also build a monument of heroes for these brave warriors, so the Yu n¡¯s people will remember their sacrifices.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, madam,¡± Maid Xing said while wiping away her tears.

    Yu Yanluo sighed and said, ¡°This is what I owe them; why do you need to thank me?¡±

    ¡­

    After the two exchanged some more emotions, Maid Xing then continued, ¡°Later on, we encountered the attacks of those strange worms, and suffered many casualties. We tried our best and managed to kill one, but that seemingly poked the ho¡¯s nest. More and more of the strange worms rushed at us. But on the brink of despair, we heard an extremely frightening roar. The strange worms seemed to have been summoned by something, and all of them pulled back. That was how we managed to survive by the skin of our teeth.¡±

    The other three women all looked at Zu An with annoyed expressions when Maid Xing said that; their gazes were filled with a mix of reproach and embarrassment. They all knew that the reason why those worms had withdrawn was because the mother worm had been fed those disgusting drugs by Zu An. They had all rushed back to ¡®devote their bodies¡¯.

    Zu Anughed awkwardly and remarked, ¡°Even though the process was a bit of a mess, the result was still good overall, right? Maid Xing, the mine has copsed, so we n to visit the Snake race, then take a detour back to the human world from that side. Is there anything we should pay attention to?¡±

    Maid Xing was a bit surprised. She gave Yu Yanluo a look, but seeing that she had no signs of stopping Zu An, she said, ¡°The fiend race territory and human territory are separated by the Great Snowy Mountain, which is a ce full of endless dangers. If you enter, it will mean almost guaranteed death. That is why other methods must be relied on to travel between them.

    ¡°There are some secret passages between the territories: For example, the underground transport formation between the Snake race and the Yu n in the mines. However, such passages are all hidden with absolute secrecy.¡±

    Zu An was a bit shocked when he heard the exnation. No wonder that passage had felt a bit different from walking through a normal mine tunnel. So he had ended up walking through something like a wormhole!

    He gave Yun Jianyue and Yu Yanluo a look. He saw that their expressions were unaffected, as if they already knew that. Zu An felt a bit ashamed; he had been focused on the heavy pressure behind him and hadn¡¯t carefully sensed his surroundings.

    Maid Xing continued, ¡°Apart from those secret passages, the fiend and human races¡¯ public intersection is Deste City.¡±

    ¡°Deste City?¡± Zu An asked curiously. He had spent some time cramming knowledge about the Great Zhou Dynasty into his mind, but his knowledge regarding the fiend races was quite vague. He hadn¡¯t heard of the name before.

    Yu Yanluo helped him by exining, ¡°Deste City is to the southeast of the fiend races¡¯ territory, a buffer zone between them and humans. Of course, it is also a well-known unregted area. If the fiend or the human races want to enter each other¡¯s respective areas, they all pass through Deste City. It is a ce where crooks are mixed in with honest folk, and extremely dangerous.¡±

    Yun Jianyue added, ¡°That¡¯s not a big deal. What¡¯s more troublesome is how we¡¯re supposed to get to Deste City from the Snake race territory. It seems we¡¯ll have to pass through the Fiend King Court.¡±

    With her and Yan Xuehen¡¯s cultivation, even if they were injured, they would recover a bit of strength by the time they reached Deste City. They naturally weren¡¯t scared of the city¡¯s dangers.

    But if they had to pass through Fiend King Court, that was a ce that contained many powerful beings. For example, the Fiend Emperor was a cultivator on par with Zhao Han They wouldn¡¯t be able to win against him even if they were at their strongest. Passing through that area was just way too dangerous.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s brows furrowed; she was clearly thinking the same thing.

    Maid Xing didn¡¯t understand. She asked, ¡°Why would it be troublesome to pass through the Fiend King Court? In my opinion, the most troublesome ce would be the Snake race territory.¡±

    ¡°Inside the Snake race territory?¡± Forget about Zu An, even Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue were now curious. Wasn¡¯t Yu Yanluo the n leader? Why would there be any issues?

    Maid Xing exined worriedly, ¡°Even though madam has the Medusa bloodline within her and is the n leader in name, she has always preferred to stay on the human side. Rarely does shee here. She only helps transport some lifestyle goods that are in short supply over to the Snake race. Meanwhile, the Snake race¡¯s important affairs are decided by some other elders with prestige. As time has passed, madam¡¯s title no longer carries any real weight, and all of the authority among the Snake race actually belongs to those elders.

    ¡°Among the elders, the ones with the greatest influence are Elder White and Elder Blue. They have always been quite ambitious. In the past, they might have acted somewhat subservient because they needed to rely on the madam for a supply of goods, but now that the madam has gone through all of that in Cloudcenter City, if she returns to the Snake race, they might start to harbor wicked thoughts.¡±

    Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen were both individuals who controlled their own ns. They immediately understood how tricky dealing with such a situation was. Yu Yanluo had already had all of her authority snatched out from under her.

    Zu An had been getting excited when he heard that there were two leaders, but he immediately lost interest when he heard that they were two old men.

    ¡°There is nothing else to be done; let us return to the n first and cross that bridge once we get there,¡± Yu Yanluo replied with extreme calm. After confirming her rtionship with Zu An, she was in her honeymoon phase. As long as she was with him, all other annoyances didn¡¯t seem to be that big of a deal anymore.

 Chapter 1187: White and Blue Ladies

    <h4>Chapter 1187: White and Blue Ladies</h4>

    After Maid Xing exchanged some more information with Yu Yanluo, she offered to provide her with a separate lizard carriage.

    Yu Yanluo refused. Her nsmen had fought against the deathworms in the cave, and many of them were injured. The wounded needed the carriage more, so it was fine for them to just all stay in one carriage.

    Seeing how firm her attitude was on the matter, Maid Xing didn¡¯t try to persuade her further. She bowed toward the group and excused herself.

    The group quickly set out. Soon afterward, they saw bright lighting from outside the carriage window.

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue both raised the carriage curtains. When they saw the shining sunlight, they subconsciously covered their eyes for a moment. They had been in the dark cave for a long time, so their eyes took some time to adjust after seeing the light again.

    Zu An also moved over to take a closer look. Yan Xuehen blushed and moved a little to the side to increase the distance between them. However, Yun Jianyue remarked mockingly, ¡°The two of you were hugging and touching each other, so why do you have to put on this act now?¡±

    She actually felt rather strange. Considering Yan Xuehen¡¯s nature, normally, she would already have gotten angry. And yet instead, she had only moved aside a bit and didn¡¯t show any other reactions.

    ¡°No one will take you for a mute if you don¡¯t speak,¡± Yan Xuehen retorted, blushing slightly. She shot the other woman an angry re.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Stone cold woman, are you looking for another spanking?!¡± Yun Jianyue snapped, raising her hand.

    ¡°You!¡± Yan Xuehen recalled beingid across the other woman¡¯s knees and spanked. She was embarrassed and annoyed.

    Zu An didn¡¯t dare to intrude. He knew he couldn''t get involved in their argument and just continued to stare at the scenery around him.

    ¡­

    They had left Cloudcenter Mines through a transport formation, but the surroundings on the other side had still looked like mine tunnels. As they continued to move, Zu An saw that they had been inside the belly of a mountain.

    Outside, there were dried yellow trees all around, and not much snow. The temperature even seemed to be a bit warmer than in Cloudcenter Commandery. Zu An was surprised. In theory, the Snake race¡¯s territory was supposed to be to the north of Great Snowy Mountain. Even Cloudcenter Commandery was covered in snow, so shouldn¡¯t this ce have been full of snow too?

    There were just too many unknown mysteries in the world of cultivation.

    ¡°Hiss¡­ Hiss¡­¡±

    Strange hisses surrounded them. Only then did Zu An realize that there were many Snake race people moving around through the dried leaves below and the tree branches above. Even though they wouldn¡¯t pose much of a threat to him at his current cultivation level, he still felt a bit shaken up by memories from his previous world.

    But he unexpectedly discovered that the densely-packed snakes didn¡¯t have any intention of rushing forward and attacking. Instead, as the carriage passed, they withdrew on their own.

    Yu Yanluo exined in a gentle voice, ¡°This is the Snake race¡¯s restricted area. They normally do not allow any outsiders in, so that is why there are so many snakes here. To some extent, they can be considered guards. Our carriage has special tiles that these snakes can sense, so that is why they do not trouble us.¡±

    Zu An nodded. This area was probably a forbidden zone because the transport formation leading to Cloudcenter Commandery was inside the mountain.

    Suddenly, the carriage fleet stopped. Looking through the window, Zu An saw that there seemed to be arge group standing in their way. Were they enemies?

    Maid Xing emerged from her carriage and said, ¡°Madam, Elders White and Blue have sent people toe and wee your respected self.¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s pretty brows drew together in a frown. She asked, ¡°They did note themselves?¡±

    For better or for worse, she was the publicly acknowledged n leader. The two elders had only sent their subordinates, which meant they didn¡¯t treat her with much respect at all.

    Maid Xing sounded angry as she replied, ¡°No. They only sent their own grandchildren.¡±

    Even the elders¡¯ own direct grandchildren were just juniors. They couldn''tpare to Yu Yanluo¡¯s status.

    Yu Yanluo began to think to herself. She hadn¡¯t really paid much attention to the Snake race¡¯s side of things and had allowed Elders White and Blue to do as they wished. But now, since she wasing back, she had to treat the situation seriously. After managing the Yu n for so many years, she was obviously not as weak as she appeared on the surface.

    ¡°Let us go and see these elders¡¯ emissaries, then,¡± Yu Yanluo said as she got up.

    Maid Xing was shocked. She asked, ¡°Madam, are you not going to give them the cold shoulder? Furthermore, even if they are going to meet your respected self, they should be the ones called over. How can you greet them personally?¡±

    Yu Yanluo said with a light chuckle, ¡°Apart from venting a bit of frustration, giving them the cold shoulder ispletely useless. On the contrary, it will instead expose our hostility too early. Furthermore, it has been a long time since Ist returned to the Snake race. Those from the tribe do not know much about me, so I should use this chance to get closer to the people. Otherwise, who knows what would happen if the elders found someone to impersonate me? The people of the Snake race might not even know what happened.¡±

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue exchanged a look. There¡¯s more to this woman than meets the eye. But they also felt a bit of disapproval toward her methods. The two women were both individuals who had established their sects through power. They didn¡¯t have any interest in studying such methods.

    Yu Yanluo arrived at the carriage entrance and waved toward Zu An, saying, ¡°Ah Zu, pleasee with me.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He replied, ¡°This isn¡¯t too good¡­ Is it? You¡¯re a n leader, so I might end up influencing your prestigious reputation.¡±

    Even though he didn¡¯t know much about the Fiend races, judging from their previous attitude, it was apparent that they all worshiped her like a spiritual idol. If they knew that Yu Yanluo had a man, they would definitely feel disappointment. It would end up affecting the people¡¯s morale.

    If her position had been stable, it would be fine. But ording to what Maid Xing had said, her position as the n leader was full of lurking dangers.

    Yu Yanluo smiled sweetly and said, ¡°It is fine. You are my man; there is nothing that I cannot admit.¡±

    Maid Xing¡¯s jaw almost dropped to the ground. Even though she knew that Yu Yanluo¡¯s rtionship with him was good, and they had seemed to be much closer this time, she hadn¡¯t expected the two to have already reached this level!

    Young master Zu is handsome, and he is also outstanding among his peers, but there are too many people who have pursued the madam over the years. There have been many who were even more outstanding than him, yet the madam has never felt anything. But this time, she actually fell in love!

    If news of that got out, it might just cause a huge uproar throughout the world!

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s brows subconsciously furrowed. For some reason, when she heard Yu Yanluo call Zu An that, she felt ufortable, as if something that was precious to her had been stolen.

    After the others left, only Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue were left in the carriage.

    Yan Xuehen was sulking, but she suddenly sensed something. She raised her head and saw that Yun Jianyue was looking at her with a strange expression. She was rmed and asked, ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    Yun Jianyue rubbed her palm and said indifferently, ¡°My mood isn¡¯t too great right now. Why don¡¯t you help me vent out some frustration?¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression changed, and she tried to run. However, Yun Jianyue grabbed her and ced her on her knees, starting to smack her bottom again. Yan Xuehen felt as if she would go mad with shame, crying, ¡°You demoness, I will definitely hack your corpse into ten thousand pieces once I recover!¡±

    ¡°Oh, thanks for reminding me. Then I guess I should make use of this opportunity to properly bully you while you¡¯re weak,¡± Yun Jianyue remarked.

    When he heard the loud and clear ps and the sounds of resistance, Zu An silently sweated for Yan Xuehen¡¯s sake. Of course, he only felt some sympathy at most. He didn¡¯t want to get involved in their dispute.

    Soon afterward, he followed Yu Yanluo to the carriage. A group of snakes kneeled down around her and called out, ¡°We greet the n leader!¡±

    Zu An noticed that these snake people¡¯s appearances were very different from the ones Yu Yanluo had brought out from Cloudcenter City. Their eyes had vertically-slitted pupils, and their expressions were much fiercer. However, the most striking feature was that their mouths were all quiterge. While they spoke, the corners of their mouths looked as if they might reach their ears.

    He noticed that there were two women at the very front of the group, one in white and one in blue. Their figures were elegant and graceful. The white-d woman was tall and slender, while the blue-d one was lovable and petite. The white-d woman¡¯s long hair fluttered behind her, making her look like a wise and virtuous woman. There was a hint of ssical beauty to her appearance. Meanwhile, the blue-d woman had her hair in cute braids.

    Zu An was a bit stunned. When he saw the braids, he couldn''t help but remember Snow. He wondered if he was going to be able to meet her now that he was in the fiend races¡¯ territory.

 Chapter 1188: King Court Emissary

    <h4>Chapter 1188: King Court Emissary</h4>

    Because the white and blue-d women¡¯s heads were lowered, Zu An couldn''t see their appearances clearly. He sighed. Their figures were incredible, but no matter how incredible they were, all of the Snake race people present had giant mouths. No matter how great their bodies were, their faces were still too frightening.

    Yu Yanluo said gently, ¡°There is no need for excessive formalities, everyone. Please hurry and rise.¡±

    All of the Snake race people got up. The white and blue-d women also raised their heads. Zu An was stunned. Not only did they not have the same giant mouths, they instead had delicate, ruby-lipped mouths. They were also pretty and full of life. Even though they couldn''tpare to Yu Yanluo¡¯s devastating beauty, they were still beautiful in their own right. The feeling of youth and tendernessing from them made it hard for anyone to feel ill will towards them.

    The white and blue-d women also looked at him curiously. They were normally confident in their beauty, and so they hadn¡¯t been convinced when they heard their nsmen talk about how stunning the n leader was. They hadn¡¯t believed it at first, but now that they saw her themselves, they felt that she was even prettier than the rumors. They now epted it wholeheartedly.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    At the same time, they were wondering to themselves, Who is this person next to the n leader? Judging from how closely he was standing to the n leader, it seemed their rtionship was quite close. But based on his clothing, he seemed to be a human. Still, he did look pretty handsome; not a single one of the young men from the Snake Race couldpare to him¡­

    The white-d youngdy snapped out of her daze first and said, ¡°We greet the n leader. We came to respectfully wee the n leader home.¡±

    Yu Yanluo nodded and replied, ¡°I will have to trouble the twodies.¡±

    Maid Xing said angrily, ¡°Elder White and Elder Blue really are growing older and more inflexible. Meeting with them seems to be quite difficult!¡±

    Yu Yanluo shot her a look and called out, ¡°Maid Xing!¡± Even though she stopped her maid on the surface, she didn¡¯t actually have any intentions of actually ming her. It was merely a good cop, bad cop act.

    The youngdy who was called Little White said, ¡°Replying to the sect leader, our grandfathers were nning to attend themselves at first, but unfortunately, the Fiend King Court sent an emissary, so they had no choice but to remain in the n to receive them. I hope that the n leader does not take offense.¡±

    Zu An was a bit shocked. From the start, these people¡¯s attitudes had been extremely respectful without the slightest bit of domineering air. They didn¡¯t seem like ambitious subjects at all. They didn¡¯t seem to match up with what Maid Xing had said before.

    Yu Yanluo asked curiously, ¡°The Fiend King Court¡¯s emissary? What is this matter about?¡±

    The Fiend races and the Zhou Dynasty didn¡¯t work quite the same way. The various races all imed to bow down to the Fiend Emperor, but the Fiend King Court didn¡¯t have much control over the different areas. Such visits from an emissary might not even happen once every few decades.

    ¡°We don¡¯t know the exact details, but that emissary is quite arrogant.¡± The other youngdy, who was named Little Blue, wrinkled her fine nose; she was clearly quite dissatisfied.

    Yu Yanluo also frowned. She had too little information and couldn''t make an urate assessment. She said, ¡°Let us return to the n first for now then.¡±

    Little Blue said with a big smile, ¡°Alright! We¡¯ll show the n leader the way¡­ n leader, you¡¯re really pretty¡­ n leader, your skin is so soft! How do you keep it that way?¡±

    Yu Yanluo was betweenughter and tears from all of the random questions along the way. However, she was also affected by the girl¡¯s lively nature, so it was hard for her to feel annoyed at her.

    Zu An marveled at the way the girl really did seem to embody the opposite of social anxiety. Little White¡¯s quiet beauty was more reassuring as she stayed off to one side.

    But who would have thought that Little White would turn around and look at him in confusion, asking, ¡°Are you a human?¡±

    ¡°I am,¡± Zu An replied with a smile.

    ¡°Our Snake race rarely meets humans. I¡¯ve seen some human ves in auction houses while shopping with my grandfather before. None of them look as handsome as you,¡± Little White said with a sigh.

    Zu An¡¯s face darkened. He replied, ¡°Whatever, I¡¯ll just take that as you praising me.¡±

    Little White snuck a look at Yu Yanluo, then lowered her voice and moved closer to him. She asked, ¡°What kind of a rtionship do you and the n leader have? The two of you seem to be really close.¡±

    Zu An thought back to how Yu Yanluo didn¡¯t care about their rtionship being exposed. He thought to himself that having Little White spread the news wouldn¡¯t be bad either, or else there would be more unnecessary troubleter. He replied, ¡°I¡¯m her man, of course.¡±

    Little White appeared to have a sudden look of understanding, replying, ¡°Oh, so you were the n leader''s male pet!¡±

    Zu An was bewildered. Don¡¯t tell me that being someone¡¯s man means the same as being their male pet in snakenguage?

    After confirming Zu An and Yu Yanluo¡¯s rtionship, Little White lost all interest in Zu An. She quickly began to chat up Yu Yanluo with Little Blue.

    Yu Yanluo had originally been a bit unhappy with Elders White and Blue, but she couldn''t bring herself to hate the two lovable young beauties. Meanwhile, Zu An happily enjoyed the moment of peace. He watched as the scenery around them changed.

    The fleet quickly left the forbidden mountain zone, and on the way, they passed a few viges. The homes in them were as different from human homes as could be. They looked more like caves made from dirt. Each household grew many flowers, nts, and trees. It was probably the Snake race¡¯s natural tendency; having that kind of cover undoubtedly made them feel more at peace.

    When they heard that their n leader had returned, countless Snake race vigers came out to greet her. They all tried to see the n leader''s face at least once.

    Zu An noticed that many of those gathered were more simr to lizard people. They hadrge muscles and mighty appearances. Furthermore, there were a considerable number of them. From the looks of it, they were probably lower-level beings than the Snake race. They seemed to mostly be warriors or farmers.

    There were some men and women with wide mouths present as well. Even though they had half-snake, half-human appearances, there were still some distinctive markings on their faces.

    As for the nsmen Yu Yanluo had brought out from Cloudcenter Commandery, they were probably the highest-level beings from the Snake race. After all, apart from their vertical pupils, they weren¡¯t much different from humans at all.

    Little White and Little Blue were probably a notch above even that. They could even hide their vertical pupils. Nothing else strange could be seen about them.

    Several snake people cheered along the way. Their leader''s return was clearly an exciting thing to them. Yu Yanluo also stood outside the entire time, waving toward the citizens along the way. Zu An was worried for her safety, so he didn¡¯t dare to leave and always stood guard next to her.

    The fleet continued forward. The surrounding buildings gradually became more and more densely packed as the viges gave way to towns and cities. Many buildings stood within arge valley. A ring of city walls encircled them, stationed with many guards.

    Maid Xing exined, ¡°Young master, that is the Snake Race¡¯s King City.¡±

    Zu An nodded. This city did seem quite imposing. However, forget about big cities like Cloudcenter or Brightmoon, it couldn''t evenpare to the smaller cities in somemanderies. However, this city had been built in a mountain valley, so it was quite high up.

    ¡­

    The interior of the city was bustling with activity as they entered. All sorts of peddlers filled the markets with a constant hubbub. Even though their goods were rathercking, they were still full of energy.

    Soon afterward, they passed a giant sculpture. Yu Yanluo raised her hand and had the fleet stop. Then, she walked up to the sculpture with an extremelyplicated expression. She muttered to herself, ¡°Mother, I¡¯ve returned¡­¡±

    Zu An had seen the Medusa sculpture through Xiao Yao¡¯s recording in Cloudcenter City. Now that he had seen it himself, he sighed in admiration. Seeing it on a recording stone couldn''t bepared to seeing it in person at all.

    The woman really was extremely simr in appearance to Yu Yanluo, but there was a powerful look of dignity sculpted into her face. The surrounding guards and soldiers, as well as the routine sacrifices and prayers, made the sculpture seem even more divine and holy.

    Zu An also bowed toward the sculpture and said,¡°Respected mother-inw, I will definitely protect Yu Yanluo and prevent her from experiencing your tragedy.¡±

    ¡­

    After paying their respects to the Medusa statue, the group headed toward the Snake race¡¯s official court.

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue also got off the carriage. They wanted to take the chance to meet with the Snake Race¡¯s elders and the Fiend King Court¡¯s emissary, to learn a bit more about the fiend races.

    But when Zu An saw Yan Xuehen unable to help but hold her bottom when she got off, he wanted tough, but couldn''t. He quickly went over to help her. Yan Xuehen seemed to have found her savior; she quickly hid behind him, scared that Yun Jianyue would grab her again.

    Little White¡¯s eyes widened. She had thought that the n leader''s beauty was already unparalleled in this world, so why were there two moredies who were just as beautiful? The most important part was that both of these women seemed to be rather close to Zu An!

    He can be this awesome even as a mere male pet? He actually dares to flirt with other girls in front of the n leader?

    An impatient voice called out from inside, ¡°I don¡¯t care. You need to choose a new n leader today. If anything, just pick between the two of you!¡±

    Chapter marked as read!

    Undo

 Chapter 1189: Golden Crow Crown Prince

    <h4>Chapter 1189: Golden Crow Crown Prince</h4>

    The expressions of those present changed. They thought to themselves, How daring! The Snake race¡¯s leader is right here, and yet this person is actually hollering for them to choose a new n leader?

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression was grim. She walked straight in. The two youngdies, Little White and Little Blue, followed her in too. Zu An knew Yu Yanluo was wounded, so he followed behind her while on guard.

    Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen exchanged a look. Both of them would just be watching from the sidelines, so they didn¡¯t mind seeing some drama at all. They also followed her in.

    These fiend race people can argue among themselves as much as they want; the more they fight the better!

    The group entered the discussion hall and saw two elders standing in the center. One was dressed in white, while the other was dressed in blue. The clothes they wore were much fancier than those of the Snake race civilians they had seen along the way.

    The elders¡¯ breathing was steady, and the light within their eyes was reserved. They were clearly both powerful cultivators. These two were probably the Elder White and Elder Blue Maid Xing had been talking about before.

    But at the moment, they were nothing like the powerful officials Maid Xing had spoken of, and were instead extremely respectful to the young man in the highest seat, as if they were humbly awaiting his instructions.

    The young man¡¯s clothes flickered with golden light; his entire figure was bright yellow, looking incredibly gaudy. He looked rather handsome and extraordinary. Unfortunately, his slightly protruding mouth ruined his entire appearance, making him look somewhat fierce and malicious.

    There were several golden-armored warriors standing by his side. All of them had resolute expressions. Their gazes were a bit different from those of normal guards; they seemed to contain a hint of pride.

    Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen both frowned, a hint of worry appearing in their eyes. This young man was probably the Fiend King Court emissary Little White and Little Blue had spoken of.

    Are the fiend races really that strong already? Even a mere emissary is at the master rank, and not someone who¡¯s just entered the master rank at that?

    ¡°Who was it who said that my n should reselect our leader?¡± Yu Yanluo called out, looking coldly at the person. Hmph, you¡¯re far too inferior to my Ah Zu.

    The white and blue-d elders turned around, looking overjoyed when they saw her. They both greeted her respectfully. ¡°We greet the n leader!¡±

    Zu An was very surprised. The two looked extremely respectful,pletely different from how Maid Xing had described them. When he gave Maid Xing a look, he saw that she waspletely stunned.

    Yu Yanluo was also somewhat stunned. However, she quickly gestured for the two to stand back up, saying, ¡°The two of you are elders; there is no need for such formality.¡±

    The young man¡¯s flickering golden eyes lit up. He said, ¡°I have heard about the Snake race¡¯s Medusa Empress¡¯ beauty for a long time. Today, I see that your reputation is fully deserved.¡±

    Yu Yanluo frowned slightly. The man¡¯s undisguised expression made her feel extremely ufortable. She asked, ¡°And your distinguished self is?¡±

    Elder White and Elder Blue introduced him, saying, ¡°This is the Golden Crow Crown Prince.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Let alone Yu Yanluo, even Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue¡¯s expressions changed. None of them had expected the emissary of the Fiend King Court to actually be the Golden Crow Crown Prince.

    The current Fiend Emperor was also a Golden Crow, and the Golden Crow Crown Prince was the next sessor to the throne. Why would such a person run all the way over to be an emissary? Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen couldn''t figure it out no matter how they thought about it.

    Could it be that there¡¯s some kind of dispute within the fiend races¡¯ royal family, and that the crown prince lost his status and was dispatched to the border?

    But judging from how arrogant and despotic he seemed to be, that really didn¡¯t seem to be the case.

    ¡°I greet the Golden Crow Crown Prince,¡± Yu Yanluo said, bowing slightly. His status was respected among the fiend races, so she had to at least show him that level of respect. Even though she didn¡¯t like him, as the n leader, she couldn''t bring her n unnecessary trouble.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince gave her a look. His eyes wandered across her chest, waist, bottom, and other sensitive areas. He said, ¡°You seem to be wounded. This crown prince has a spiritual pill here that can help your injuries.¡±

    Yu Yanluo said indifferently, ¡°There is no need. I have already taken the world¡¯s best pill medicine. There is no need for the crown prince to use up anything for me.¡±

    ¡°Oh? The world¡¯s best pill medicine? May I ask what kind of medicine it is to im such a title?¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince asked excitedly.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s face turned a bit red as she replied, ¡°It is just the best medicine in my opinion. It might not be useful for others.¡±

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue¡¯s expressions became strange. They obviously knew how she had been treated. But did she really have to say she had taken medicine¡­

    Don¡¯t tell me¡­

    Yun Jianyue was from the Devil Sect, so she had been influenced by it. Even Yan Xuehen was someone who had dominated the world for many years, so she wasn¡¯t as naive as an innocent youngdy. The same scenes appeared in the two women¡¯s minds at the same time.

    Hmph, this woman really is shameless!

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince just assumed it was an excuse for refusing his medicine. He couldn''t help but feel a bit annoyed. This woman doesn¡¯t want a medicine I¡¯m personally bestowing? She really doesn¡¯t know how to appreciate others¡¯ kindness.

    But her exceptional beauty gave him much more patience than normal. Anyone so beautiful had the right to be somewhat headstrong. This young master likes girls that are a bit feisty.

    His gaze made Yu Yanluo extremely ufortable. She changed the topic and asked, ¡°What was going on, with the crown prince asking for the n leader to be reced?¡±

    ¡°Medusa Empress, please do not feel offended,¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince replied with a chuckle. ¡°This crown prince came with a decree to summon the leaders of the different tribes. Father emperor has something to discuss with everyone. You have been absent from the Snake race all this time, so that was why I told them to just choose someone else to join. But since the empress has returned, there is naturally no reason to choose another leader.¡±

    ¡°A Fiend King Court general assembly?¡± Yu Yanluo asked seriously. ¡°I wonder what kind of matter it is about?¡±

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince said, ¡°Father emperor said that it has been many years since he has seen all the tribe leaders. Now that he is getting older, he misses you all, and wants to summon you to have a lively get-together.¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression changed. The crown prince put it nicely, but these n leaders were all off enjoying their time in their respective domains; who would want to go to the Fiend King Court? Besides, who knew what would happen in the Fiend King Court? It was entirely possible that he would just take all of them hostage.

    Zu An suddenly realized something. No wonder Elders White and Blue had acted differently from how Maid Xing described them, and had instead politely weed Yu Yanluo back. It turned out they had such a hot potato to hand off to her!n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Yu Yanluo hadn¡¯t expected to have such an annoying thing to deal with as soon as she returned. She said, ¡°The crown prince can see that I am currently injured. Furthermore, the Snake race has gone through some great changes, so I have a lot of things to deal with. I fear that I cannot join this great meeting. I hope that the crown prince can pass on some good words to the Fiend Emperor for me.¡±

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s expression immediately darkened. He said grimly, ¡°Before I left the Fiend King Court, father emperor told me that the various tribes¡¯ kings must all be present. Otherwise, it would be viewed as a rebellion, and the n would be punished as well. I hope that the Medusa Empress will not make that mistake.¡±

    Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen exchanged a look. They could both see the shock in each other¡¯s eyes.

    The Fiend Emperor is making such a huge fuss over this. Just what is he trying to do?

    Don¡¯t tell me he ns to coerce all of the ns to attack the human world?

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression changed. She said, ¡°Since it is the Fiend Emperor who is summoning me, then our Snake race must naturally join.¡±

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince nodded in satisfaction and said, ¡°Good. Now that official matters arepleted, this crown prince has heard that the scenery around the Snake race territory is quite good. I wonder if the empress can show me around as a guide?¡±

    Little White and Little Blue rolled their eyes. There¡¯s absolutely nothing around the Snake race territory; what do you mean nice scenery? It was tantly obvious that he just wanted Yu Yanluo to apany him.

    Before Yu Yanluo could reply, Zu An couldn''t hold back any longer and said, ¡°The empress¡¯ body is unwell, so it is inconvenient for her to go out. Furthermore, she does not often spend time here, so she is unfamiliar with the local surroundings. If the crown prince wishes for someone to show you around, Elders White and Blue should be more suitable.¡±

    The expressions of Elders White and Blue changed. They began to curse at Zu An inwardly, yet they couldn''t really say anything. They could only agree. After all, helping an outsider target their own empress really would be a bit unsightly.

    But suddenly, the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s expression sank. He remarked, ¡°And where did you crawl out from? This crown prince is talking to the empress about proper matters; where is there any room for a guard like you to interrupt?¡±

    He had had his subordinates gather information about the Snake race. He knew about all of the Snake race¡¯s important figures, and there was no information on this man. He just treated him as an ordinary guard.

 Chapter 1190: A Charitable Lesson

    <h4>Chapter 1190: A Charitable Lesson</h4>

    Before Zu An even had a chance to reply, Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression darkened. She said coldly, ¡°He is not a guard, but my man!¡±

    Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen nodded inwardly. This woman looked soft and delicate on the outside, but she was still pretty headstrong when it really mattered.

    Elders White and Blue were shocked. The marriage of a race¡¯s leader was a huge matter, one rted to the safety and prosperity of the entire n! They had originally nned to arrange a marriage with a friendly n to create a strong alliance, but she had already made a pledge to get married on her own!

    Little White curled her lips. I already know he¡¯s the n leader''s gigolo; why are you all making such a big fuss over this?

    But the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s expression became ashen. He cried, ¡°You actually took a human as your man?!¡±

    He had still been admiring her beauty a second before, thinking about how wonderful it would be to have such a beautiful Medusa Empress in his own harem. But after he learned that she already had a man, that all went up into smoke. However great his joy and expectations had been before, that was how great his anger was now!

    Even though Yu Yanluo was stunning, he had always had an obsession with cleanliness and preferred virgins. Forget about those who had already had physical rtionships with others; even just having someone else they liked would make him feel they were impure. He was furious when he learned that this fellow had actually gotten to her before he did!

    You have sessfully trolled the Golden Crow Crown Prince for +444 +444 +444¡­

    Yu Yanluo calmly said, ¡°I believe I have the freedom to choose whom I wish. I do not need to trouble your respected self for your opinion.¡± She was unhappy with his disrespect toward Zu An, so she didn¡¯t even feel like calling him the crown prince anymore.

    Zu An walked over and gently held her waist. He gave the Golden Crow Crown Prince a cold look and said, ¡°We¡¯re an ideal couple who share great affinity with each other. Why would we ever need an opinion of a birdman like you?¡±[1]

    He had seen how arrogant this fellow was, as well as his clear lust and desire for Yu Yanluo, in the way his eyes had roamed across her body in apletely undisguised manner. He had already been unhappy for quite some time.

    The expressions of the onlookers changed. To publicly call the Golden Crow Crown Prince a birdman¡­ That would be an insanely huge crime if it reached the Fiend Emperor¡¯s ears!

    Elders White and Blue in particr immediately cursed Zu An to death inwardly. They even began to feel resentment toward the n leader. Not only had she ended up getting married on her own, she had even ended up finding such an arrogant and egotistical man! The entire Snake race could be implicated because of him. That would create a huge disaster!

    ¡°Birdman?¡± The Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s face immediately darkened. He yelled, ¡°You¡¯re courting death!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Golden Crow Crown Prince for +521 +521 +521¡­

    Zu An snorted. ¡°What, you want to fight? I¡¯ll keep youpany anytime.¡± His fists were already itching to give this fellow a good beating.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince gave him a look of contempt and spat, ¡°Just a trifling ninth rank. You think you¡¯re worthy of me acting personally?¡±

    It would be difficult for a normal person to urately gauge another¡¯s cultivation. But the Golden Crow race had the True Sun Eyes, which could immediately identify what the target¡¯s real cultivation was.

    He scanned his subordinates with his long and narrow eyes and said, ¡°Out of consideration for the Medusa Empress¡¯ dignity, I¡¯ll spare his life. Just break his legs and pull out his tongue and that¡¯ll be enough.¡±

    The onlookers were horrified. He had actually said such cruel things so casually, as if he had bestowed incredible grace and favor upon Zu An.

    Golden light shed behind him as a golden-armored warrior drew his sword and thrust it toward Zu An, moving as fast as lightning.

    Elders White and Blue were horrified. Just a guard by the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s side was already at the ninth rank! The royal n really was incredibly powerful. They didn¡¯t even think they could stop such a swift sword themselves.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    If the n leader weren¡¯t injured, and she could use the Medusa¡¯s innate ability, she might be able to. But she was injured at the moment. It seemed as if everything boded ill for this man.

    But it¡¯s fine. We¡¯ll just use this chance to make the n leader give uppletely. We¡¯ll hold another marriage among the fiend races afterward.

    Hmph, thest n leader insisted on marrying a human man, but it almost caused the destruction of the entire Snake race!

    They didn¡¯t want to go through something like that again.

    But they didn¡¯t hear the miserable scream they had expected. Instead, there was a strange silence. The two of them quickly collected their thoughts and looked at the scene again. Their eyes almost popped out of their sockets when they saw what had happened.

    The sword that was as fast as lightning was mped between two fingers. The longsword didn¡¯t budge an inch no matter how the golden-armored warrior struggled.

    Little Blue tugged on Little White¡¯s clothes and cried, ¡°Big sis, big sis, this guy is so handsome!¡±

    Little White nodded in deep sympathy. The golden-armored warrior was doing everything he could, his face bloated like a pig¡¯s. On the contrary, Zu An stood in ce calmly and indifferently. The contrast made him look exceptionally dashing.

    With a snap of Zu An¡¯s fingers, the longsword broke in half. His opponent was blown back by a powerful force, falling at the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s feet, and was left in a sorry state.

    Yun Jianyue nudged Yan Xuehen with her elbow and remarked, ¡°Look, that guy¡¯s strength seems to have already exceeded what his cultivation rank should be capable of in theory.¡±

    Yan Xuehen hadn¡¯t wanted to pay her any attention because of the humiliation of being spanked previously. But when she heard that it was about Zu An, after some hesitation, she couldn''t hold herself back and replied, ¡°His strength cannot be evaluated throughmon knowledge about cultivation ranks. Forget about being unmatched on his level, he would still have some fighting strength against me and you.¡±

    Yun Jianyue gave her a strange look and asked, ¡°What are you looking all proud for? It¡¯s almost as if you¡¯re talking about your own man.¡±

    Yan Xuehen was furious. She was about to argue back when a fierce scream erupted.

    ¡°Trash!¡± The Golden Crow Crown Prince berated his guard, feeling incredibly embarrassed after seeing how sorry a state his subordinate had been left in. Then, he looked up and gave Zu An a look. There was a dangerous look in his long and narrow eyes as he said, ¡°You¡¯re a bit tougher than I expected. But that¡¯s it.¡±

    An invisible aura of killing intent filled the meeting hall, and the atmosphere became extremely tense. The Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s figure released a seemingly boundless vicious aura. The Snake race servants and guards all began to tremble.

    But despite the impressive disy, Zu An remained extremely calm, as if it were just a light mountain breeze.

    Yu Yanluo said coldly, ¡°Even though you are the crown prince, this is the Snake race¡¯s territory. Ah Zu is my man. You have acted against him repeatedly, so this is an act against our Snake race. Are you dering war against us?¡±

    When he heard her say that Zu An was her man again, the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s eyes twitched. He replied, ¡°Aren''t the Medusa Empress¡¯ words going a bit too far? He¡¯s just a trifling human, so how can he represent the Snake race? Furthermore, he¡¯s offended this crown prince. It¡¯s only natural for me to teach him a lesson.¡±

    He didn¡¯t wait for her to reply and reached out his hand immediately after speaking. Even though he was clearly standing in ce without moving, his hands turned into a massive golden w. It seemingly crossed through spacetime, directly trying to grab the top of Zu An¡¯s head, as if he intended to pulverize it.

    ¡°Please be lenient!¡± Elders White and Blue eximed in horror. They looked down on Zu An as well, but the n leader was standing on Zu An¡¯s side, and the w was actually so powerful.

    Yu Yanluo might not be able to escape disaster either. At any other time, they would feel happy if something happened to her; but they had just received the Golden Crow¡¯s order, and the visit to the Fiend King Court could be full of dangers. If something happened to the n leader, they would have to go instead. They obviously didn¡¯t want to see that happen.

    The two both subconsciously wanted to help block the attack, to protect their n leader. Of course, they didn¡¯t dare to offend the Golden Crow Crown Prince, and acted only defensively without any intention of attacking.

    But the two of them were shocked as the defenses they set up were easily prated. The golden w didn¡¯t stop in the slightest and rapidly appeared in front of Zu An. Their expressions turned pale. They had lived for much longer than the Golden Crow Crown Prince, and yet they couldn''t stop a single attack even after working together!

    As the sessor in line to be the next Fiend Emperor, the Golden Crow Crown Prince was known to have already be unrivaled in the countless tribes¡¯ younger generation. Now, it seemed he was even more formidable than the rumors stated. And yet, the empress just had to bring her boy toy here! It seemed that he was going to die for certain this time.

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue¡¯s expressions became serious.

    ¡°Is there anyone from the younger generation in the human world who could be his match?¡±

    ¡°Forget about the younger generation, there aren¡¯t many who could defeat him even if we consider the generation before that.¡±

    1. ¡¯Bird person¡¯ or ¡®birdman¡¯ is ng for ¡®damned wretch¡¯ or ¡®f*cker¡¯. ?

 Chapter 1191: Domineering

    <h4>Chapter 1191: Domineering</h4>

    Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen weren¡¯t that worried about Zu An. That fellow could preserve his life even before grandmasters, so why would he be scared of a mere Golden Crow Crown Prince?

    What they were worried about was that there was actually someone so outstanding in the fiend races¡¯ younger generation. Of course, that young age was rtive. The fiend races typically had longer lifespans, and though the Golden Crow Crown Prince looked young, he might even be a bit older than the two of them. Even so, he could still be considered to be of the younger generation, because there were still older experts above him.

    The human race¡¯s younger generation was still far from a match for the Golden Crow Crown Prince. That wasn¡¯t good news.

    Zu An stood in front of Yu Yanluo protectively, then smashed a fist toward the giant golden w.

    Boom!

    Waves of energy rippled outward. The tables and chairs in the meeting hall were sted to smithereens, and the building itself rocked back and forth. Many runes inscribed on the walls flickered, and only then did things gradually calm down again.

    As the building was the Snake race¡¯s meeting hall, being brought to the verge of copse so easily really wouldn¡¯t look too good for the Snake race. That was why they had specially carved numerous formations into it.

    If the building itself had been so badly shaken, one could well imagine what the people inside felt like. Little White and Little Blue¡¯s faces were pale. Fortunately, their grandfathers had promptly shielded them with their bodies. The other guards and maids with lower cultivations weren¡¯t so lucky, however. Many of them couldn''t stand still and fell to the ground. Some of them couldn''t help but vomit blood.

    On the other hand, the golden-armored warriors standing behind the Golden Crow Crown Prince were still standing. Their cultivations were clearly higher than those of the guards on the Snake race¡¯s side.

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue were grandmasters. though. Having had some time to recover, that bit of power wasn¡¯t enough to influence them. They suddenly couldn''t help butugh. What were they worried about? Wasn¡¯t Zu An a human from the younger generation?

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince gave Zu An a look of surprise, remarking, ¡°You were actually able to receive my attack? Looks like you¡¯re a bit stronger than the other ants. Human, I congratte you. You¡¯ve sessfully drawn this crown prince¡¯s interest.¡± He had used around thirty to forty percent of his power just then, so he was a bit surprised that Zu An was able to receive this blow, but he wasn¡¯t all that shocked.

    Zu An gave him a look of disdain and retorted, ¡°Do you take me for some naive pretty face? Stop trying to use these cliched overbearing tactics. If you aren¡¯t disgusted by how you¡¯re acting, I¡¯ll feel disgust for you.¡±

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s smile froze. Even though he hadn¡¯t heard some of those phrases before, he could guess that they didn¡¯t mean anything good. His face darkened and he spat, ¡°Human ant, you¡¯ve truly managed to anger this crown prince.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled the Golden Crow Crown Prince for +484 +484 +484¡­

    ¡°Enough. The Golden Crow Crown Prince has already used force in our meeting hall; you clearly do not have any respect for our Snake race!¡± Yu Yanluo shouted. Her expression waspletely cold. Her beautiful ck hair fluttered around and her pupils started to change color, as if she were about to summon her Medusa state.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince frowned. Even though this woman was inferior to him, the Medusa¡¯s Eye was rumored to be from a powerful bloodline. In the past, legend had it that one Medusa Empress hadpletely turned a Fiend race ancestor into a stone statue. He didn¡¯t want to take such a risk. Besides, he had the job of passing on the orders of his father, the emperor. If the Snake race rebelled, he would lose too much face.

    When he thought of that, he said gravely, ¡°Fine. As a favor to the Medusa Empress, this crown prince will spare your life today. However, I still need an exnation for this. How about this? I¡¯ll let this matter pass if you let those two servants serve this young master tonight.¡±

    He pointed outward. Previously, he had been drawn to Yu Yanluo¡¯s reputation and appearance, but his interest had waned greatly when he learned that she already had a man. Afterward, he noticed the two incredibly beautiful women in the corner. They weren¡¯t inferior to Yu Yanluo at all.

    One was cold and pure, and the other was stunning and charming. However, both of them had the same prideful gaze. Judging from their bearing and appearance, they were probably still virgins. Even if they weren¡¯t, when they were this pretty, he didn¡¯t mind going against his own rules. He¡¯d just have some fun.

    It was just a pity that due to her status, the Medusa Empress wasn¡¯t so easily provoked. Otherwise, how great would it be if he had all three to serve him tonight?

    Elders White and Blue sighed in relief when they heard that. They had been worried their own granddaughters would be chosen, because they knew there were rumors that the Golden Crow Crown Prince was arrogant and despotic, and would choose beautiful local youngdies to serve him wherever he went. That was why they had sent the girls away, under the pretext of weing their n leader back.

    Now that the Golden Crow Crown Prince had ended up favoring other women, their granddaughters were safe. As for those human women¡¯s misfortune, what the hell did that have to do with their Snake race?

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue¡¯s smiles immediately froze. They had just been watching the drama unfold with amusement,menting from time to time. But now, they had ended up getting caught up in it too? When they heard what the Golden Crow Crown Prince said, both women¡¯s expressions sank.

    But whether it was Yun Jianyue or Yan Xuehen, both of them were glorious grandmasters! They had been respected by the people for so many years, receiving the adoration and veneration of the masses wherever they went. Who dared to look at them with expressions that were the slightest bit indecent, let alone actually voice their desire out loud?!n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Yun Jianyue said coldly, ¡°Ah Zu, smash his rotten mouth for me!¡±

    Yan Xuehen was in agreement with her this time. If the two of them weren¡¯t injured, they would have smashed that guy into meat paste already. But they could only rely on Zu An at the moment. Out of consideration for the crown prince¡¯s special identity, they didn¡¯t want Zu An to take his life and incur the Fiend Emperor¡¯s wrath. However, smashing his rotten mouth was still within an eptable range.

    Zu An couldn''t help butugh. This birdman probably had no idea that he had actually unknowingly offended two grandmasters.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s expression became grim. His True Sun Eyes weren¡¯t too effective against people at a higher level like them. Furthermore, Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen had already reached the level of ¡®retracing their true self, pursuing the natural state¡¯. That was why in his eyes, they were nothing more than two ordinary human cultivators. Of course, their beauty was still first-ss.

    He really couldn''t understand why they would dare to treat him with disrespect. He was so angry heughed, remarking, ¡°The humans seem to be growing more and more arrogant these days, no? Looks like the fall of the human race is inevitable. The day my fiend races take back the world is imminent!¡±

    ¡°Keep dreaming.¡± Zu An cut him off without a trace of politeness. ¡°Do you even have any idea how badly you¡¯ve been courting death?¡±

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s expression was ashen. He shouted, ¡°Human ant, do you only know how to talk? Now, you¡¯re also quite good at shooting your mouth off while hiding behind a woman!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled the Golden Crow Crown Prince for +684 +684 +684¡­

    Yu Yanluo quickly advised Zu An, ¡°Ah Zu, don¡¯t take his words to heart¡­¡±

    She had heard some rumors about the Golden Crow Crown Prince before. She knew that his cultivation was extremely high. The Fiend Emperor was getting on in age, and the Golden Crow Crown Prince might soon take his ce as the next Fiend Emperor. She obviously didn¡¯t want Zu An to go head-on against such a terrifying enemy.

    Furthermore, they had just fought against the Scaled Deathworms and he was still injured. She was really worried about Zu An¡¯s safety and didn¡¯t want him to risk himself in a dangerous situation.

    Zu An patted her hand in constion and said, ¡°It¡¯s fine. This birdman is too cocky, so I need to teach him a lesson.¡±

    ¡°You really boast shamelessly!¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince sneered. He just assumed Zu An was bragging in front of a woman. He said, ¡°The fiend races have always cared about strength above all. I challenge you to a duel!

    ¡°Out of consideration for the Medusa Empress¡¯ face, this crown prince can even temporarily lower my cultivation to fight against you on the same level. At least then, you¡¯ll properly acknowledge your defeat. Of course, if even that¡¯s too scary for you and you don¡¯t dare to fight, instead choosing to hide behind a woman, there¡¯s nothing left for this crown prince to say.¡±

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue sneered. This guy seemed to be acting considerate, making a ¡®magnanimous¡¯ promise to avoid being known as someone who bullied others with his higher cultivation rank.

    But even if one lowered one¡¯s cultivation realm to the same level, that would only be in terms of pure strength! A master rank cultivator¡¯sbat experiences and various skills would still remain. Furthermore, after attaining the master rank, the soul would fully condense, bing an absolute advantage against those beneath the master rank.

    However, he likely had no idea that even though Zu An hadn¡¯t reached the master rank, he had already condensed his soul, right? The birdman would probably pay bitterly.

    And yet, surprisingly, Zu An said indifferently, ¡°There¡¯s no need. You can just go all out; otherwise, you¡¯ll end up using excuses when you lose.¡±

 Chapter 1192: Stakes of the Gamble

    <h4>Chapter 1192: Stakes of the Gamble</h4>

    The entire ce broke out into an uproar when those words were spoken.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince was so arrogant because he was at the master rank; furthermore, he was the Fiend Emperor¡¯s sessor. He had every right to be arrogant.

    What qualifications did this human Zu An have to be so arrogant? Apart from being a bit taller and more handsome than average, or being good at pleasing women, what else did he have? His cultivation only seemed to be around the ninth rank. There was one massive cultivation rank difference between him and the Golden Crow Crown Prince, at the very least.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince was known to be a stunning genius. He had already dominated all other experts among his peers many years before, bing unmatched at the same level. He had even often won against cultivators who were a level or two stronger than himself. Now, he was facing someone whose cultivation was lower than his own! Only a brutal end awaited his opponent.

    Elders White and Blue both shook their heads inwardly. They thought to themselves, This youngster really cares too much about face; he¡¯s just too hot-blooded.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s proposal to fight at the same level was to his benefit. He might even have had a chance of living in that kind of situation.

    And yet, this kid insisted on trying to impress, feigning greater ability than he had. He actually refused such a favorable condition!

    Why would the n leader end up liking such a fool?

    But Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen had different ideas. Both of them nodded inwardly. Those who were truly strong needed to have that kind of unyielding nature. The opponent was only a single cultivation rank higher; it wasn¡¯t enough to warrant despair. If he agreed to that kind of condition, it would easily tarnish his conviction to triumph over all, and there would be cracks in his future cultivation.

    But the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s strength was no trifling matter, and Zu An had been injured not too long ago. If they really fought, it might be dangerous¡­

    ¡­

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince roared withughter, his voice echoing through the hall. The faces of those with lower cultivation immediately turned deathly pale. He said, ¡°Very good. This crown prince has never before met someone so arrogant.¡± He was already looking at Zu An as if he were looking at a corpse. ¡°But a duel alone is a bit pointless. How about this? Let¡¯s make things a bit more interesting with a wager. If you lose, have those two keep mepany tonight.¡±

    He could tell that even though their rtionship seemed to be close, they probably hadn¡¯t reached that step yet. Their interaction had already made him utterly furious. He decided that not only did he have to dominate this man, he had to subdue all of the women who liked him. He was going to seize them right before the man¡¯s eyes andpletely shatter his will.

    That is the consequence of opposing this crown prince.

    Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen¡¯s faces werepletely dark. This damn birdman¡­

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression was also strange. She was the only one who knew about the two¡¯s status. She thought, If these two really were Ah Zu¡¯s women, wouldn¡¯t that make him unstoppable in this entire world?

    Those present all thought that Zu An would refuse. After all, there was just too much at stake. How could any man be willing to wager his own women?

    But Zu An agreed, saying, ¡°Sure. But since it¡¯s a wager, we have to make things even. How will youpensate me if you lose?¡±

    Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen shot Zu An an angry look. They had still been worried about him just then, but this guy had instead sold them out the next second?

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +222 +222 +222¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +222 +222 +222¡­

    Are we your women? You¡¯re even willing to put us up as stakes in a gamble?

    Besides, what if you really do lose?!

    Yu Yanluo instead smiled inwardly. She had known Zu An for some time and knew that this fellow was mischievous. Even if he lost, the Golden Crow Crown Prince couldn¡¯t do a thing to the two grandmasters. Zu An himself had nothing to lose!

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince replied proudly, ¡°There¡¯s absolutely no chance of that!¡±

    Zu An retorted coldly, ¡°If it¡¯s a wager, then how can there only be winning and no losing? How about this? If you lose, just give me your crown princess.¡±

    ¡°Outrageous!¡± The golden-armored warriors standing behind the crown prince all red furiously at Zu An when they heard that.

    Elders White and Blue were horrified. This man dared to speak such disgraceful words? If such words reached the Fiend Emperor¡¯s ears, not even the Medusa Empress could protect him!

    ¡°You¡¯re courting death!¡± The Golden Crow Crown Prince erupted in fury. His figure flickered, and he charged straight at Zu An.

    You have sessfully trolled Golden Crow Crown Prince for +566 +566 +566¡­

    Zu An used a wave of gentle force to push Yu Yanluo over to Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen¡¯s side to prevent her from getting caught up in the battle.

    Yun Jianyue caught her. Her expression was incredibly strange as she asked, ¡°If that damn brat wants that fe¡¯s crown princess, why isn¡¯t he betting you? Why is he putting the two of us up as stake instead?¡±

    Yu Yanluo exined in Zu An¡¯s ce, ¡°It is precisely because you two have nothing to do with him that he said that! If he really loses, you two do not need to do anything anyway.¡±

    Yan Xuehen was embarrassed and annoyed, saying, ¡°I just feel as if we are suffering some kind of a loss here.¡±

    Yun Jianyue gave Yu Yanluo a sidelong nce. This woman had just had a physical rtionship with Zu An not too long before, and now she was making it sound as if they were all their own people, treating her and Yan Xuehen like outsiders. Even though that wasn¡¯t entirely wrong, it still made her feel a bit unhappy.

    In the end, it was all that guy Zu An¡¯s fault for being the main culprit. She gritted her teeth and remarked, ¡°Hmph, once I heal up again, I¡¯m going to make sure that guy gets a good beating!¡±

    Yan Xuehen nodded in deep sympathy, adding, ¡°Sounds good!¡±

    But their attention was quickly drawn toward the battle. Not wanting the battle¡¯s st waves to ruin the meeting hall, or perhaps even injure the city¡¯smoners, Zu An and the Golden Crow Crown Prince had begun flying toward the mountains on the city¡¯s outskirts while fighting.

    The others quickly followed. However, they were injured and weak, so they were far from being able to catch up to the two fighters.

    Thebatants flew toward a mountain peak before confronting each other.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince wasrge and tall. His eyes released powerful ferocious intent. He was like a demon lord as he stood atop the mountain peak. Even those far away could feel the powerful pressure emanating from his figure. He remarked, ¡°You haven¡¯t reached the master rank, and yet you could fly this quickly?¡±

    Zu An replied with a chuckle, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Scared?¡±

    ¡°How funny. Why would this crown prince feel fear?¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince retorted. He said angrily, ¡°For our Golden Crow Royal Family, that bit of speed is no different from an ant¡¯s.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled the Golden Crow Crown Prince for +277 +277 +277¡­

    He instantly rushed forward as soon as he spoke. Among the fiend races, the fastest technique was the Golden Peng King Race¡¯s ¡®Invincible Heavenly Peng¡¯.

    The technique was known by the saying: ¡®When a Great Peng rises with the wind, ny thousand li will be traversed in an instant!¡¯

    Meanwhile, the Golden Crow Royal Family¡¯s ¡®Golden Crow Radiant Flow¡¯ wasparable to the Heavenly Peng technique!

    The prince¡¯s entire figure turned into a streak of golden light, rushing into the sky. His golden w seemed to even shatter the space surrounding him.

    ¡°Fast!¡± Zu An eximed in shock. Fortunately, he had fought against countless powerful individuals over the past two years. Forget about a grandmaster like Yan Xuehen, he had even fought against an earth immortal like the emperor, and other such terrifying existences in the secret dungeons.

    Many such things had already turned intobat ¡®genes¡¯ for him. His heart was as clear as a mirror. He smashed outward with a fist, perfectly intercepting his opponent¡¯s attack trajectory that couldn''t even be seen with the naked eye.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Boooooom!

    The sound was like thunder from a clear sky. A visible ripple of ki spread in all directions. The trees on the mountain summit were instantly blown to pieces, and countless boulders tumbled down from the mountaintop.

    The disturbance left countless Snake race nsmen trembling in fear, thinking that a natural disaster was happening.

    Fortunately, Yu Yanluo had arranged for her subordinates to evacuate them ahead of time; otherwise, they might have gotten themselves hurt trying to watch the liveliness.

    ¡°Huh?¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince eximed in surprise. Why was a trifling ninth rank able to receive his attack? Forget about his ridiculously dense ki, his attack shouldn¡¯t have been something that could be received by someone without a master rank¡¯s condensed soul.

    No wonder he dares to challenge this crown prince!

    But he wasn¡¯t worried at all. After all, he had seen many geniuses with different abilities. However, they had all suffered crushing defeats in the end.

    His expression became even more vicious. He rushed out again, his body seemingly turning into golden mes. It was so dazzling no one dared to look directly at him.

    Zu An¡¯s fighting spirit grew stronger and stronger, and he swung his fist upward to meet the crown prince.

    The energy that exploded outward on contact was like a roaring tsunami! Wherever it passed, everything in its wake was crushed. Let alone the trees on the mountaintop, even the boulders were smashed into powder.

    ¡­

    The others arrived at the foot of a nearby mountain just then. Little White and Little Blue both cried out in rm. ¡°He can actually fight against the Golden Crow Crown Prince on the same level?!¡±

    Then, they both looked at Yu Yanluo, thinking, No wonder the n leader chose him! This man had something special about him after all.

    Elders White and Blue instead stroked their beards and exined, ¡°He is at the ninth rank, yet he can disy strengthparable to the master rank. This is probably some kind of secret method, which inevitably cannot be sustained for a long time. The Golden Crow Royal Family¡¯s bodies are incredibly tough; how can that be something a human can match? He is unlikely tost for half a stick of incense¡¯s worth of time before he suffers defeat.¡±

    When she heard their discussions belittling her lover, Yu Yanluo said coldly, ¡°Ah Zu¡¯s body is harder than anyone else¡¯s; he can oust anyone. I fear that you will be disappointed.¡±

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue¡¯s expressions were strange. They thought back to the memory of Zu An treating Yu Yanluo. Is this woman trying to show off in front of us?

    Suddenly, a cry of rm rang out. The Golden Crow Crown Prince saw that his attacks were ineffective and felt as if he were losing face. As such, he switched from ws to an arm de. With a swing of his arm, a forty-meter long de of golden brilliance mmed down toward Zu An.

    The de¡¯s sheer power made the entire world seem to lose color. It was as if the mountain peak itself would be hacked through! Before such a massive de, Zu An¡¯s figure just lookedpletely insignificant.

    Now, even Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue were growing nervous. They knew this was precisely the move the Fiend Emperor had used to kill countless experts during the great war between the human and fiend races!

 Chapter 1193: Valiant Body

    <h4>Chapter 1193: Valiant Body</h4>

    The Fiend Emperor¡¯s move was called the Golden Wing Godde, a weapon of ughter refined from his two wings. It was much simpler and purer than sword ki or arm des, since the move was made from his own wings. Its power was also far more terrifying.

    Whether it was monstrous beasts or fiend races, they were usually a bit stronger than humans of the same level. That was because their bodies were much tougher, and their bloodlines carried all sorts of innate abilities.

    Zu An naturally sensed the terrifying power of the de, and quickly dodged to the side. However, it seemed to have already locked onto him. It had initially hacked straight down, but when he evaded, it changed directions and hacked at him horizontally. It seemed to have some sentience of its own, and its change in direction didn¡¯t seem abrupt or sluggish either.

    Zu An flew quickly, but the long golden de also hacked down quickly. It always followed close behind him. Wherever the de went, forget about trees, entire mountain peaks were sliced straight through.

    The spectators were inplete shock. The power of that de was actually so terrifying?!

    Only Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen continued to look indifferent. Such a thing was something they could easily achieve.

    Meanwhile, Yu Yanluo¡¯s hands were clenched tightly. She was incredibly worried. She knew that the two women were both among the world¡¯s strongest, so she couldn''t help but ask for their opinion. ¡°Do you think something will happen to Ah Zu? If this continues, he will be hit by the de sooner orter!¡±

    No matter how strong Zu An¡¯s body was, the terrifying de would still chop him in half, right? Furthermore, the de carried powerful killing intent, likely capable of instantly crushing one¡¯s inner organs into a mess and making all of one¡¯s blood evaporate. There wouldn¡¯t be any chance for one to even recover.

    Yan Xuehen replied, ¡°Do not worry. Even though Zu An appears to be in a sorry state, he is actually using the mountains to weaken the power of the Golden Wing Godde.¡±

    Yun Jianyue nodded and added, ¡°Right. That burst of energy is being whittled down. Keep watching. I¡¯m sure the kid will start his retaliation soon.¡±

    ¡­

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince floated in midair. Seeing that he hadn''t been able to hit his opponent the entire time, he taunted with an impatient sneer, ¡°Do you only know how to run?¡±

    Zu An felt it was about time too. Heughed loudly and asked, ¡°Do you think a forty-meter-long de is that awesome? I¡¯ll show you what it means to exploit a weakness using the power of physics!¡±

    Then, he struck outward with a sparkling finger, striking the long golden de. It was the Shining Finger!

    A hint of mockery flickered through the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s eyes. Is this guy a moron? He¡¯s going to use a finger to stop my Golden Wing Godde?

    Killing intent shed through his eyes. He controlled the de radiance, taking the chance to bring it down with all of his strength. He nned to start with the finger, then slowly dice up this annoying bastard.

    However, the finger seemed to contain some kind of magic power. Even though it had emergedter, it managed to strike a certain point on the side of the golden de.

    Countless cracks quickly spread across the awe-inspiringly long de; itpletely broke down, turning into specks of golden light.

    ¡­

    Those who were watching felt as if their eyes would pop out of their sockets! They had thought that Zu An was going to be cut in half. Who would have thought that the situation would immediately be reversed?

    Even Yu Yanluo, who had a lot of confidence in Zu An, was incredibly shocked. She quickly looked at the two grandmasters and asked, ¡°How did he do that?¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s eyes shone brilliantly as she answered, ¡°The Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s Golden Wing Godde hasn¡¯t reached perfection yet. It¡¯s still far from his father¡¯s level, and the technique has ws. But not even a grandmaster could find that w in such a short time, I reckon. That brat really is quite amazing.¡±

    Yan Xuehen harrumphed. ¡°He was even able to preserve his life under my full force assault. What is so special about being able to see through this w?¡± Despite saying that, she was actually full of shock too. That shouldn¡¯t be something Zu An should be able to do with his current cultivation realm, right?

    But they couldn¡¯t have known that even though Zu An hadn¡¯t cultivated for a long time, he had constantly wandered between the brink of life and death. Not only had he faced all sorts of grandmasters, he had faced existences that were even more frightening. Even though he had ended up suffering most of the time, it had turned out like the Chinese proverb ¡®long illness makes the patient into a good doctor¡¯. Hisbat sense had already reached apletely different level.

    He had learned the me de by himself, so he was quite familiar with the weakness of such massively long des. Cultivation andbat experience,bined with his knowledge of physics from his previous world, had allowed him to sessfully pinpoint the single weak point of the long de and break it apart in a single move.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s expression was rather unpleasant. Not only had he wanted to win, he had wanted to win in dazzling fashion. That was why he hadunched such a grandiose attack. But now, he had discovered that the ant he had previously been looking down on actually did have some skill.

    ¡°Hmph, even if you have some skill, you¡¯re nothing more than a fragile human!¡± he yelled. He decided to use his powerful fiend race body topletely overwhelm his opponent, vanishing as soon as he spoke. It was the Golden Crow Radiant Flow!

    Zu An was a bit startled. He quickly used Grandgale to shift several dozen zhang to the side. However, some gashes were still left in his clothes by his opponent¡¯s ws.

    ¡°Hm?¡± The Golden Crow Crown Prince was a bit confused. Normally speaking, even though his attack might not have been able to seriously injure the enemy, this human should have been bleeding profusely, right? Why had it only cut through his clothes?

    He didn¡¯t bother thinking too much about it. He didn¡¯t want to give Zu An any chance to catch his breath. He turned into countless figures, attacking Zu An from all sorts of different directions. Only by tearing his opponent into a bloody paste would he be able to fully vent his resentment.

    He had already be inconceivably fast. There were many people who couldn''t even see his afterimages, and were only able to asionally see a golden flow of light. They were all shocked.

    ¡°As expected of the next Fiend Emperor! This level of talent is just too incredible!¡± Elders White and Blue were shaking all over, perhaps due to excitement or fear.

    Little White quickly asked, ¡°Grandpa, will that young master Zu An be able to hold on?¡±

    She had been starting to develop a good impression toward this human from their interactions along the way. He was handsome, and he spoke nicely too. Most importantly, the way he had sped that sword between his fingers was too cool. In contrast, the Golden Crow Crown Prince was overbearing and much more annoying.

    Zu An was also the n leader''s male pet, so at that point, he was considered one of their Snake race people. She subconsciously wanted to stand on Zu An¡¯s side.

    ¡°It will be difficult.¡± Elder White sighed while shaking his head.

    Little White pouted, clearly unhappy with the answer. But she thought about how her grandfather¡¯s previous judgment had beenpletely wrong, so she didn¡¯t trust him that much anymore either. As such, she secretly made her way over to Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen¡¯s side to secretly listen in on their analysis.

    Even the n leader seemed to ask them for their opinion¡­

    These two women are so pretty. Do they have a powerful background?

    Yun Jianyue was also quite amazed. She remarked, ¡°The Golden Crow Radiant Flow¡¯s reputation isn¡¯t in vain, as expected. If the Fiend Emperor used this technique to attack us, even our chances of survival would be slim.¡±

    Yan Xuehen nodded with a grave expression, replying, ¡°Indeed. If we really have to face the Fiend Emperor, we might have to seize the initiative to even have a chance at survival.¡±

    Little White¡¯s eyes widened. She looked at the two women as if they were mentally challenged. She had thought that the two might have some wise opinions regarding the battle, but what the heck were they saying? Were they just boasting to each other?

    How terrifying of an existence is the Fiend Emperor? He¡¯s dominated the Fiend Race¡¯s endless tribes for centuries, and can kill endless enemies with a single look! Only the human race¡¯s emperor can probably be spoken of on the same level as him, right?

    Yet these two delicate and pretty women, whose ki isn¡¯t even well distributed, are actually fantasizing about fighting the Fiend Emperor?!

    Are these two drunk?!

    She quickly decided to move a bit farther away from them, as if their stupidity might be infectious.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡­

    The situation on the battlefield changed a bit as Zu An used his Sunflower Phantasm to deal with the Golden Crow Radiant Flow. As he continuously tangled around the golden light, his blue-d figure turned into several afterimages.

    ¡°He can actually keep up with my movement technique?!¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince eximed, utterly shocked.

    Yun Jianyue also voiced her surprise. ¡°His movement technique seems a bit simr to the Sunflower Sect that disappeared from the martial world a while back. I heard its final inheritor was hidden in the Imperial Pce. But that¡¯s strange¡­ I heard that anyone who cultivated that technique would need to castrate themselves. Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s face turned red. She replied, ¡°Of course he has not. What are you even thinking?¡± The two of them had been so close when he was treating her. She had clearly felt his body¡¯s changes then.

    ¡°I might believe Yu Yanluo if she said that, but it¡¯s not as if you¡¯ve experienced it before.¡± Yun Jianyue harrumphed. She also felt that such a suspicion was ridiculous, though. She continued, ¡°But if I look at it carefully, even though this movement technique is a bit simr to the Sunflower Sect¡¯s, it¡¯s much more profound. There are great mysteries hidden within it, but Zu An still isn¡¯t skilled enough to bring out all its power.¡±

    Now that they were discussing cultivation matters again, Yan Xuehen gradually regained the air of a grandmaster. She said, ¡°Indeed. When I faced him before, his movement technique was quite miraculous. Even I was fooled by his clones several times. I wonder which profound senior taught him that incredible technique?¡±

    ¡­

    Just then, waves of muffled noise rippled from the mountain peak. It was as if a heavy mallet were mming into war drums. Only a few people could see that those noises were produced from fists pummeling flesh, however.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince had wanted to subdue Zu An with his stronger body. Unexpectedly, however, not only was Zu An not scared at all, he didn¡¯t even dodge, fighting while exchanging blow for blow.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince sneered. ¡°You¡¯re trying topete with my fiend races in physical toughness? Let¡¯s see just how many of my attacks you can take!¡±

    The two battered each other¡¯s bodies again and again. Soon, a bloody mist began to dissipate outward.

    After the two traded blows for an hour, the badly battered Golden Crow Crown Prince began to gradually realize that something wasn¡¯t right. Why isn¡¯t this brat¡¯s aura bing weaker at all? He seems to be bing steadier and steadier instead!

 Chapter 1194: Golden Crow Sacred Fire

    <h4>Chapter 1194: Golden Crow Sacred Fire</h4>

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince gritted his teeth. The bodies of the fiend races were tougher than those of humans to begin with, and the Golden Crow Royal Family was among the best of the fiend races. Their bodies were always refined to the extreme while training, so how could he lose to this guy?n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    If even he was having such a hard time, his opponent had to be at his limit too. I just need to hold on for a bit longer, and he¡¯llpletely copse!

    He roared and his afterimages merged together. Then, he turned into a dazzling golden crow that flickered with golden light.

    Zu Anughed and remarked, ¡°So you were a birdman after all!¡±

    The two of them had fought an intense battle, leaving him drenched in blood. This Golden Crow Radiant Flow was too fast. He couldn''t avoid all of its attacks even when he pushed his Sunflower Phantasm to its limit. That was why he had decided to just avoid some lethal attacks, using his body to take on the rest and trade blow for blow.

    Even though his body had already undergone several levels of refinement through the Primordial Origin Sutra, he still found the repeated attacks from the Golden Crow Crown Prince a bit hard to handle. His skin was starting to crack in ces, and wisps of blood emerged in ces.

    However, the Primordial Origin Sutra had not only tempered his flesh, but also granted him powerful regeneration. As such, although his body looked like a horrifying mess, he wasn¡¯t too badly affected.

    In contrast, the Golden Crow Crown Prince was about to break down. His eyes were badly swollen, and his long and narrow eyes barely cracked open. There wasn¡¯t a trace of his once high-spirited self left.

    He was absolutely furious when he heard Zu An¡¯s mocking words. When had he ever been left in such a sorry state before?!

    You have sessfully trolled Golden Crow Crown Prince for +711 +711 +711¡­

    All of the crown prince¡¯s afterimagesbined into one. A flurry of murderous attacks rushed at Zu An like a surging tidal wave.

    Zu An also surged with fighting intent, and quickly retaliated with an attack of his own. His opponents were usually far stronger than him, and he had always had to rely on all sorts of random skills to barely seize a chance of survival. As such, he had never been able to fight to his heart¡¯s content the way he could today.

    Even though the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s cultivation was an entire cultivation realm higher, Zu An¡¯s strength couldn''t be assessed through normal means. Cultivation was more difficult for him than normal people, but simrly, he was much stronger than others at the same level.

    Of course, the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s real cultivation strength was still a bit higher, but it was still to a tolerable degree. Due to Zu An¡¯s powerful body, as well as the fighting experience he had gathered from fighting grandmasters and even earth immortals, they were actually evenly matched. He even began to gradually seize the advantage.

    ¡­

    Those watching were in incredible shock. Elders White and Blue couldn''t help but look at Yu Yanluo. They asked, ¡°n leader, is this young master Zu really a human? Why is his body so tough that he can even fight against the Golden Crow Crown Prince for that long?¡±

    The fiend races viewed strength above all. At first, they had thought that Zu An was just a pretty face, and that he was the n leader''s boy toy. They naturally didn¡¯t pay him much attention. Now that they had seen his strength, they were even starting to call him young master Zu.

    Yu Yanluo felt rather refreshed when she saw their shock. But on the outside, she pretended to be calm, saying, ¡°Of course he is one hundred percent human.¡±

    ¡°Could it be that someone from the Dragon race left their bloodline on the human side?¡± Elder White mused in disbelief. How could a human¡¯s body be so tough?

    ¡°No.¡± Even though Yu Yanluo¡¯s reply was simple, there was an unquestionable certainty in her tone.

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue had actually started to be a bit skeptical. After all, Zu An¡¯s body was ridiculously tough. But when they heard Yu Yanluo say that, they both sighed in relief. That woman had just experienced it herself not too long ago, so she was more trustworthy than anyone else.

    ¡­

    Suddenly, the situation on the mountain peak changed. With a loud and crisp smack, Zu An mmed his palm into the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s face! A burst of blood erupted from the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s mouth. Zu An then followed up on his strike, punching his opponent again and again.

    The muffled rumbles made the expressions of those by the foot of the mountain change. If we were the ones taking these blows instead, we might have already exploded into a bloody mist, right?

    The golden-armored warriors at the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s side had just been watching in amusement previously, but now, they were inplete disbelief. Their crown prince, who was unrivaled at his level, was being beaten so miserably by someone whose cultivation rank was even lower than his? They were shocked, but none of them forgot their duty. They secretly clenched their weapons. If their crown prince were truly put in danger, they would immediately rush in to save him.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s entire body shook. In the end, he turned into a streak of light before reappearing on a mountaintop a hundred zhang away.

    Zu An didn¡¯t chase after him. Grandgale was still on cooldown, and he was still a bit slower than the crown prince in terms of moving in a straight line. Instead, he taunted the crown prince, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Are you running away and admitting defeat?¡±

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince coughed out a bit of blood. He replied with a malicious expression, ¡°I have to admit that I looked down on you earlier. But this is where your cockiness ends. You only have a bit of tough skin to rely on. Your true strength is still as pitiful as that of livestock.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled the Golden Crow Crown Prince for +888 +888 +888¡­

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince felt incredibly regretful. Why had he chosen to fight this bastard at close range? He couldn''t easily crush his enemy like an ant, and had instead been bitten by that ant. If news of what happened today got out, even if he won, he wouldn¡¯t gain much honor. Instead, he would only be disgraced.

    Zu Anughed and asked, ¡°Should I give you a mirror so you can take a look? You¡¯ve already been beaten like a pig, so what are you still shooting your mouth off for?¡±

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s expression was ice-cold as he remarked, ¡°Your body¡¯s toughness did exceed my expectations, but a real battle doesn¡¯t only rely on the body. I¡¯ll let you have a taste of this crown prince¡¯s real strength then.¡±

    Then, his entire body erupted into golden mes. All the bloodstains on his body disappeared, and the wounds on his face quickly recovered as well. He became just as impressive as when he had first stepped onto the battlefield. His hair flew wildly, his body radiating golden brilliance. His previously feeble presence immediately became several times stronger. As he flew through the sky, he looked like a deity.

    The golden-armored warriors, who had been a bit worried, all cheered.

    Many people from the Snake race were also dazzled. So this is the next generation¡¯s Fiend Emperor? He really is incredibly powerful after all!

    They weren¡¯t really to me for ¡®double-crossing their people¡¯ and supporting the other side. The fiend races had always viewed the strong as supreme. They all hoped for a powerful Fiend Emperor to take the throne.

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue were a bit surprised when they saw that. Yu Yanluo quickly asked, ¡°Why does he look as if he is not injured at all? He even seems much stronger than before!¡±

    Yan Xuehen exined, ¡°It is the Golden Crow Race¡¯s special ability. It is rumored that the Golden Crows¡¯ ancestor imitated the phoenix¡¯s nirvana. By igniting the Golden Crow¡¯s Sacred Fire, they can cleanse away their injuries and also increase their strength.¡±

    Yun Jianyue also sighed in amazement, remarking, ¡°The fiend races are truly naturally suited for battle¡­ These various talents and abilities leave the human cultivators at too great of a disadvantage.¡±

    However, Yan Xuehen said, ¡°But that advantage is also a disadvantage. The strength of the fiend races often depends on their bloodlines. If their bloodlines are not pure enough, the upper limits of their strength will not be too high either. That makes it so that even though the Fiend races are great in number, the truly strong are fewer in numberpared to human cultivators. Even though the human race does not have such talents, we do not need to rely on bloodline inheritance, but rather on study. Our massive numbers have also allowed humans to produce more and more new experts.¡±

    Little White and Little Blue had been eavesdropping for some time, pricking up their ears. They had ¡®I don¡¯t understand, but it sounds pretty awesome¡¯ expressions on their faces.

    These two beautiful women don¡¯t look much older than us, but why do we feel as if there¡¯s such a huge distance between us?

    Yu Yanluo panicked, eximing, ¡°Then would that not make the Golden Crow Crown Prince practically invincible?¡±

    The Golden Crow¡¯s Sacred Fire was basically cheating!

    Yan Xuehen replied, ¡°Do not worry. Of course there is no way it can be used limitlessly. With the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s cultivation, he can only use it once or twice before he cannot handle it anymore.¡±

    Yun Jianyue gave Yu Yanluo a look, saying, ¡°Your man¡¯s regenerative powers aren¡¯t bad either, so rx already. Even though the Golden Crow¡¯s Sacred Fire is an instantaneous healing technique, in a battle of endurance, Ah Zu is way tougher.¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s face turned a bit red. Why am I acting all strange when she¡¯s just repeating what I know?

    ¡­

    Atop the mountain, Zu An looked at his Super Saiyan-like opponent. He asked, ¡°Do you have to show off like that? You¡¯re making it sound as if you¡¯re the only one who knows how to y with fire or something.¡±

    Then, raging mes zed, surrounding his entire body.

    Just then, someone eximed in light surprise, ¡°Divine phoenix mes?¡±

 Chapter 1195: Unrivaled at His Rank?

    <h4>Chapter 1195: Unrivaled at His Rank?</h4>

    Yun Jianyue looked in a certain direction and said, ¡°It seems there¡¯s another grandmaster hidden over there.¡±

    ¡°Unsurprising. Likely the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s bodyguard. He is the next in line to be the Fiend Emperor. There is no way the Fiend King Court would let him wander around by himself without any proper protection. Otherwise, he could end up suffering a disaster at the hands of those with ulterior motives,¡± Yan Xuehen said calmly.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s cultivation was indeed among the very best of the younger generation, but he was still a bitckingpared to older generation experts.

    ¡°Zu An might be in danger then,¡± Yun Jianyue said worriedly. She wouldn¡¯t be too worried if it were the Golden Crow Crown Prince alone, because even if Zu An lost, he would have no problem protecting himself. But if that grandmaster in the distance made a move, Zu An would be in big trouble.

    Yan Xuehen frowned and said, ¡°That will not be the case, I hope. Grandmasters all have their own pride. How can he join a battle between juniors?¡±

    Yun Jianyue sneered. ¡°Is that so? Who was it who was chasing a junior as a shameless grandmaster not too long ago?¡±

    Yan Xuehen choked. She had indeed been in the wrong regarding that matter, but she still wasn¡¯t happy hearing that from her old adversary. She changed the subject, asking, ¡°How much of your cultivation have you recovered? If that guy does make a move, will you be able to save Zu An?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s unlikely.¡± Yun Jianyue released a forcedugh. Both her and Yan Xuehen¡¯s injuries were too serious. It would be quite some time before they would properly recover.

    ¡°Where did your confidence when bullying me earlier go? You¡¯repletely useless when it really matters!¡± Yan Xuehen replied, shooting her a hateful look.

    ¡°I¡¯m at least better than some people, you know? I didn¡¯t need to be carried on someone¡¯s back, and I can at least take care of myself,¡± Yun Jianyue said, clenching her fists. Sheughed maliciously and continued, ¡°If you keep arguing, watch me give you another round of spanking.¡±

    Yan Xuehen jumped in fright and quickly cowered. She rubbed her aching bottom. She thought to herself that there was no way she could go on living if she were beaten like that in front of everyone¡¯s eyes!

    Yu Yanluo was angry and worried. Even in the kind of situation we are in right now, you two are still fighting with each other?! She quickly looked toward the sky in concern, worrying about whether Zu An would be able to hold on.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, the Golden Crow Crown Prince was shocked when he saw the surging mes around Zu An¡¯s entire body. This human not only had a tough body; the mes also seemed to be extraordinary, maybe evenparable to his own Golden Crow Sacred Fire! How was this still a freaking human?!

    But after that moment of surprise, the Golden Crow Crown Prince snapped out of his daze. He remarked, ¡°You¡¯re ying with fire in front of me? Hmph, you¡¯re just showing off your slight skill before a true expert!¡±

    After he spoke, his hands produced two zing dragons. They roared, burning all the trees and nt life wherever they went, only leaving behind two scorched ck trails.

    Zu An didn¡¯t show any weakness, however. He summoned the Fire Phoenix, then created a forty-meter-long me de simr to the crown prince¡¯s own, slicing the two fire dragons into four pieces.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s expression was grim. He didn¡¯t dare to look down on his opponent in the slightest anymore, and he immediately used Golden Crow Radiant Flow. He bombarded his opponent with his Golden Crow Sacred Fire from several different directions.

    The Golden Crow Sacred Fire wasn¡¯t ordinary fire. It contained dominant yang force, filling it with berserk and destructive energies.

    Even another fire element cultivator would still suffer when faced with the Golden Crow Sacred Fire. That was because the Golden Crow Sacred Fire could engulf and devour ordinary mes. The attacks of other fire element cultivators would only serve as nourishment for it, making it the bane of their existence.

    Unfortunately for the Golden Crow Crown Prince, Zu An¡¯s mes belonged to the Fire Phoenix. The Phoenix, Vermilion Bird, and Golden Crow were the three greatest sacred beasts of the fire element, and in theory were of the same ss. That was why the Golden Crow Sacred Fire could not destroy his mes at all, and the battle instead became a contest between their respective skills.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡­

    At the foot of the mountain, Little Blue tugged on Little White¡¯s clothes and eximed, ¡°Big sis, this human is so handsome! He can even use fire! If we stayed near him during the winter, we¡¯d definitely be really warm.¡±

    The Snake race naturally feared the cold and prefered warmer climates. But even though the Golden Crow Crown Prince could also use mes, they were a bit too ferocious. Furthermore, because Golden Crows were a natural predator of snakes, they subconsciously felt a bit closer to Zu An.

    Little White jumped in fright. She replied, ¡°You¡¯d better not have any of those thoughts about him! He¡¯s the n leader''s man.¡±

    Little Blue disagreed. ¡°The n leader isn¡¯t so selfish. Let¡¯s just find a chance for her to lend him to us for a bit! Come on.¡±

    Little White harrumphed. ¡°The young really don¡¯t know shame. You¡¯re still a maiden; how can you give away your purity like that?¡±

    Little Blue was stunned. She replied, ¡°I was just going to use him to stay warm! What were you thinking about?¡±

    Little White became extremely embarrassed. She didn¡¯t pay Little Blue any more attention.

    Nearby, Yu Yanluo could also vaguely hear what they were saying. Her cheeks also began to turn a bit red. Ah Zu really is warm. No, I should say he¡¯s really hot, so hot that my body unknowingly dissolved into water¡­

    ¡­

    But the events on the battlefield quickly interrupted her thoughts. Zu An was gradually being pushed into a disadvantage! The mes around him were starting to wane, while the Golden Crow Sacred Fire around the Golden Crow Crown Prince was growing more and more powerful!

    Zu An had been using the Fire Phoenix to control the fire element. Compared to the Golden Crow¡¯s natural affinity, his efficiency was quite a bit lower. He had been wondering whether he should change to the Snow Phoenix¡¯s Snowke Sword, but he felt hesitant; the birdman had that golden me around him, so the swirling snow storm might not do much against him. The Snowke Sword¡¯s ice element might be restrained instead.

    Just then, he suddenly noticed a warm feelinging from his chest: The me pendant Pei Mianman had given him. Because her ck mes were too powerful and she had been scared that she might hurt him, she had given him the precious pendant her mother left behind to grant him immunity to them.

    The Golden Crow Sacred Fire began to reach Zu An¡¯s skin. However, the pendant slowly absorbed the mes when it sensed that they were about to encroach on him, while also releasing a gentle force to protect Zu An.

    Zu An was shaken. The me pendant had been designed for the ck mes; it couldn''t grantplete immunity against other mes. Still, as long as it was a kind of me, it would still provide him with outstanding resistance. It was just like an essory in a videogame that provided fire resistance.

    With its assistance, Zu An felt that the Golden Crow Sacred Fire¡¯s heat had dropped to a degree he could endure. As such, he decisively chose to look for an opportunity, then rushed straight into the golden mes.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince sneered when he saw that. He remarked, ¡°What, you can¡¯t hold on anymore and are about to put up your final struggle? What a pity. You¡¯re only seeking your own doom!¡±

    He could tell that the phoenix mes around Zu An were growing weaker. He raised the power of his Golden Crow Sacred Fire to the limit, deciding to take the chance to scorch his opponent to ashes!

    However, his expression quickly stiffened. Not only had his opponent not burned down to nothing, he instead cut through the sacred fire like a ferocious arrow! Then, that arrow appeared right before him, and a fist smashed into his lower chin!

    Crack!

    The crown prince knew that his jaw had shattered. His head rang with noise, and he almost fainted on the spot. If not for his naturally tough Golden Crow body, that fist might have made his skull burst like a watermelon!

    His opponent didn¡¯t give him a chance to catch his breath. Fists mmed down on him again and again. He thought, Why the hell does this bastard keep hitting the same spot?!

    Blood spurted wildly from the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s face. His head felt as if it were about to explode. He was about to cry. Hadn¡¯t they already said that they were going topete in terms of skill? Why had they gone back to fighting in close quarters again?

    Boom!

    Under the attentive gazes of the crowd, the Golden Crow Crown Prince was pummeled again and again. In the end, he smashed into the mountains like a meteor, producing endless plumes of smoke and dust; it was unclear whether he was dead or alive.

    Those watching were so stunned their jaws almost fell off. The Golden Crow Crown Prince, who was unrivaled at his rank, had been defeated just like that?

 Chapter 1196: Cover Blown

    <h4>Chapter 1196: Cover Blown</h4>

    Yu Yanluo looked at the two grandmasters beside her in disbelief, mumbling, ¡°Ah Zu won?¡±

    She had every reason to bepletely stunned. She had long heard about the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s achievements, all earned through repeated battles. The fiend races had always viewed the strong as supreme. There was no way he would have such a great reputation if he were actually weak.

    But someone who was unrivaled at his rank had actually been defeated by Zu An just like that?

    ¡°It is not that simple. The Golden Crow Crown Prince has not lost yet,¡± Yan Xuehen said, shaking her head.

    The golden-armored warriors rushed to save their master, but a secondter, a golden streak rushed into the sky. The Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s entire body zed with golden mes; his injuries had healed once more.

    ¡°He used the Golden Crow Sacred Fire¡¯s regeneration art again,¡± Yun Jianyue said with a smile. ¡°This guy cares too much about appearances. Earlier, he wasn¡¯t actually wounded that badly. It was just a slightly swollen face and bloody nose. He wasted a precious chance to recover.¡±

    Yan Xuehen nodded and said, ¡°Perhaps because of his pride, he has always looked down on Zu An. He was beaten so badly by a human cultivator that his pride could not take it.¡±

    ¡°Is that brat Zu An so formidable now? Or is this Golden Crow Crown Prince just trash?¡± Yun Jianyue remarked, a bit stunned. Just how long had it been since theyst met? Wasn¡¯t this kid growing a bit too quickly?

    This Golden Crow Crown Prince is a master rank cultivator, and one of the best at that rank, at that! And yet he keeps getting beaten down like this?

    Yan Xuehen had fought a bitter battle against Zu An before, so she understood his current level a bit better. She exined, ¡°Zu An is indeed very strong, but not to the point that he can crush master rank opponents. The first reason he can do so is because he seems to have already condensed a soul, making master rank experts lose their greatest advantage. The second reason is that, regarding the methods the Golden Crow Crown Prince seems to be good at¡­¡±

    She paused for a moment when she said that, her expression growing strange. She then continued, ¡°...They also seem to be what Zu An is good at. That is why Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s methods have constantly been restrained, and why this battle looks so bad for him.¡±

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s body was tough, but Zu An¡¯s body was even tougher. The Golden Crow Radiant Flow was fast, but Zu An wasn¡¯t slow either. The Golden Crow Sacred Fire had tremendous destructive power and was the bane of normal mes, but Zu An had the Divine Phoenix me, so he wasn¡¯t scared of that fire.

    With all of those factors in ce, how could the Golden Crow Crown Prince not feel sullen? If it were anyone else, any one of his skills would grant him a tremendous advantage!

    ¡­

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince called out again, ¡°Despicable human, why do you keep hitting me in the same ce?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled the Golden Crow Crown Prince for +444 +444 +444¡­

    If not for the fact that Zu An kept hitting his mouth, he wouldn¡¯t have had to use Golden Crow Sacred Fire twice to recover. After all, if he won with a badly damaged face, that would cost him way too much dignity!

    Zu An said calmly, ¡°My big sis told me to smash your mouth, so of course I need to listen to her well.¡±

    The onlookers subconsciously looked toward Yun Jianyue. Even though she usually showed disdain for all things, her face still heated up a bit. She grumbled, ¡°This damn brat actually dares to tease me?¡±

    Yan Xuehen ruthlessly exposed her rival¡¯s real thoughts, though. She remarked, ¡°Then why does it look as if the corners of your lips are about to crack from grinning?¡±

    Yun Jianyue was about to flip out, but the Golden Crow Crown Prince erupted into a rage first. He yelled, ¡°You insect! This battle hasn¡¯t ended yet!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled the Golden Crow Crown Prince for +555 +555 +555¡­

    He¡¯s still in the mood to flirt with women? Unforgivable!

    A massive Golden Crow projection appeared behind him. When it spread its wings, it seemed to block out the sky and cover the earth itself. Killing intent raged, filling the heavens and the earth.

    The spectators below couldn''t endure such almost tangible killing intent. Many of them began to vomit blood. They quickly backed up in horror, staying far away from the battlefield.

    Yan Xuehen frowned and said, ¡°I sense an overpowering sword ki.¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression also became grave. She replied, ¡°This might be the Golden Crow Race¡¯s Ardent Sun Sword Formation!¡±

    ¡­

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince spread his hands just as Yun Jianyue spoke. Golden sword ki appeared around him out of thin air. Upon closer inspection, it wasn¡¯t sword ki at all, but rather an array of golden feathers!

    The Golden Crow¡¯s Ardent Sun Sword Formation had originally been refined from the Fiend Emperor¡¯s own feathers piece by piece. Every single feather wasparable to an incredibly sharp, precious sword. It was rumored that every single one of the Fiend Emperor¡¯s feathers was equivalent to a heaven-grade divine weapon. On top of that, there were far more than ten thousand of those feathers. If he had so many heaven grade divine weapons, what kind of power did that represent?

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince naturally hadn¡¯t reached a level where his feathers had been refined to that point, but they were stillparable to earth-grade weapons. His hands moved and the feather swords blotted out the sky, interweaving into an inescapable that could crush all those trapped within into mincemeat.

    Their surging, majestic brilliance even made the onlookers¡¯ personal swords ring loudly, as if they were being summoned themselves. They were horrified. The Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s sword intent was actually so terrifying!

    Elders White and Blue looked at Yu Yanluo with great regret. Elder White said, ¡°n leader, this friend of yours is indeed formidable, but he is a bit too arrogant. This was originally intended to just be a spar, and a loss would just be a loss. However, he insisted on provoking the Golden Crow Crown Prince again and again, thus making it into a battle of life and death. I fear that before this terrifying sword formation, he only has death awaiting him, and furthermore a death that will not leave aplete corpse.¡±

    Elder Blue added, ¡°Indeed. Originally, our n would have had another strong backer, but now, not only have we lost him, we have offended the Golden Crow Crown Prince, which is the same as offending the future Fiend Emperor. The future of our Snake race seems bleak.¡±

    ¡°It was clearly the Golden Crow Crown Prince who was acting overbearing first.¡± Little White couldn''t keep listening and protested quietly.

    Elder White scolded her. ¡°What does a little girl like you understand? What kind of status does the Golden Crow Crown Prince have? Of course he has the right to be arrogant! He is the next Fiend Emperor, and he has endless trump cards. How can a human possibly be his match?¡±

    Elder Blue followed suit, saying, ¡°Indeed. He should have quit while he was ahead, and yet he just insists on continuing¡­¡±

    ¡°Enough!¡± Yu Yanluo snapped, her expression ashen. ¡°He has not lost yet; there is no need for you to voice such conclusions already.¡±

    ¡°n leader, I know that you are sentimental and cannot ept this, but you need to remain rational¡­¡± Elder White began, intending to advise her.

    However, his granddaughter spoke up excitedly, eximing, ¡°Hurry and look, everyone!¡±

    Those present looked up. Swirling, rippling circles appeared behind Zu An, and blue sword ki slowly emerged from them. Soon afterward, endless sword ki floated in the skies above.

    Zu An¡¯s voice reverberated through the entire mountain valley as he called out, ¡°Apetition of swords? That just happens to be my strongest suit!¡±

    As soon as he said that, the endless blue sword ki flew outward, colliding incessantly with the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s golden sword feathers. Their brilliance was so blinding that the spectators couldn''t even look straight at the scene.

    ¡°So handsome~¡± Little White and Little Blue werepletely starstruck.

    Elder White and Elder Blue were stupefied. They eximed, ¡°How¡­ How is this possible?!¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An floated in midair. Behind him, the entire world flickered with great luster. A boundless stream of sword ki fired endlessly at his opponent, making him look like an indomitable immortal.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression was full of tenderness. Even Yan Xuehen¡¯s heart pounded crazily, her usually icy cold skin covered in a faintyer of pink. She tried to shift her gaze away, but she still couldn''t stop herself in the end and looked up again. She felt as if she might never be able to forget the scene ying out right before her eyes for the rest of her life.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t I know this brat had such a move too?¡± Yun Jianyue remarked. Her face suddenly turned red as she watched. She continued, ¡°This damn kid is pretty cool, isn¡¯t he? It¡¯s a good thing that Honglei isn¡¯t seeing this right now, or else she might not be able to stop herself anymore.¡±

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in Cloudcenter City, Sang Hong was discussing matters with the city¡¯s officials. He asked, ¡°Is there any news regarding the criminal Yu Yanluo?¡±

    ¡°We have searched for a long time, but it seems she has disappeared into thin air,¡± Xu Yu replied. His gaze almost seemed to be burning as he looked at Sang Hong. ¡°By the way, why have I not seen Sir Zu for so long?¡±

    Sang Hong used his cup¡¯s lid to gently brush some tea leaves inside. He was also extremely worried about that matter, but he didn¡¯t show it on the surface at all. He replied, ¡°Sir Zu has been carrying out a secret mission.¡±

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t Sir Zu still recovering in seclusion not too long ago? Why was he suddenly sent on a secret mission?¡± Xu Yu sneered. ¡°Everyone knows about his close rtionship with Yu Yanluo, and he just happened to go missing at such a crucial juncture. There is no way he could be involved in Yu Yanluo¡¯s jailbreak, right?¡±

 Chapter 1197: Feeling of Death

    <h4>Chapter 1197: Feeling of Death</h4>

    Sang Hong looked downcast as he said, ¡°Sir Xu, proof is important when investigating cases; you cannot randomly use others as you do. Could it be that now, after failing to capture Yu Yanluo over the past few days, you wish to instead me Sir Zu?¡±

    Xu Yu replied with a hint of coldness, ¡°I believe Sir Sang knows whether that is the case yourself. I will report this matter to His Majesty and obey his ruling. You can tell me that Sir Zu is carrying out a secret mission you cannot tell me the details of, but let us see if you can still say the same once His Majesty asks you the same question.¡±

    ¡°That is not something Sir Xu needs to concern yourself with,¡± Sang Hong replied. He remained calm and said, ¡°Instead, Sir Xu should think about how you are going to exin these results to His Majesty. You captured Madam Yu, and yet also allowed her to get away. The Yu n¡¯s mines have evenpletely copsed. The impact this will have on the Great Zhou Dynasty is simply immeasurable.¡±

    Xu Yu¡¯s breath caught in his throat. Bringing down the Yu n was originally supposed to bring him tremendous merit, and yet now, Yu Yanluo had gotten away. That made it so the merit would be but a mere shadow of what it was supposed to be.

    Furthermore, even the Yu n¡¯s mines had copsed. His Majesty had indeed been targeting the Yu n, but he also needed those mines! The Yu n¡¯s mines alone supplied close to thirty percent of the empire¡¯s cultivation resources. How in the world were they supposed to make up for such a loss now?

    The officials of the court knew that as well, which was why they had always been flocking around Xu Yu and egging him on. And yet today, none of them were saying a thing, instead merely watching as he and Sang Hong faced off in a verbal exchange of swords.

    The meeting thus ended on bad terms. Meanwhile, Xu Yu cursed those people for being opportunists. He had to continue to look for Yu Yanluo, while simultaneously having to worry about disaster relief and dealing with the aftermath of the Yu n mines¡¯ copse.

    On the surface, Sang Hong looked happy about his victory, but he was incredibly worried inside. Ah Zu, where in the world did you go?!

    ¡­

    Just then, Zu An was fighting a great battle against the Golden Crow Crown Prince. When he saw golden feather swords cover the sky, he subconsciously recalled a certain anime scene from his previous world: Gilgamesh¡¯s Gate of Babylon.

    He had to admit that it really looked freaking amazing. Just like when female students watched while one was ying basketball, whether or not one made the shot didn¡¯t matter. What mattered was whether one was handsome.

    Zu An just happened to have the Blue Luan Sword Formation skill, however. As such, he had also tried to use the ability in a simr manner. Surprisingly, it really worked! Just like that, blue sword ki collided with the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s golden feather swords. Blue and golden brilliance interweaved, producing dazzling splendor.

    Many Snake race experts rushed over when they heard what was happening. All of them were left inplete awe. In all their years of cultivation, none of them had seen such a stunning scene of shing swords!

    Countless golden feather swords broke apart, while much of the blue sword ki also disintegrated. The sword ki that scattered outward was enough to tear through massive trees in the distance. Severalrge boulders on the ground were sliced through like tofu, and long, narrow sword scars quickly riddled the ground¡¯s surface.

    The spectators shivered when they saw that sight. They could sense the horrifying killing intent even from far away. Just how great would the pressure be for the people directly involved? If they were in either of the two fighters¡¯ ce, they might not evenst a single second before being torn to shreds by the shing sword ki, right?

    They quickly backed up to distance themselves even more, for fear of being caught in the destruction.

    ¡­

    Neither Zu An nor the Golden Crow Crown Prince were having an easy time. Neither of them couldpletely deflect all of the iing sword ki, so their bodies were quickly covered in bloody gashes. The stinging pain of sword ki piercing into their bodies made both of them tremble inwardly.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s eyes were about to pop out of his sockets. Why the hell does this bastard have an answer for every single freaking move I know?!

    After all, any random skill he used would normally be enough to earn him the advantage. Then, he would just spend the rest of his time toying with his enemies. And yet today, he felt as if he had be a different person or something.

    Zu An knew that the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s sword ki had been refined from his own feathers. Unless he plucked this guy buck naked, the sword ki would continue flowing relentlessly. However, his Blue Luan Sword Formation had a time limit. Continuing such a battle would be unfavorable for him.

    As such, he seized a moment when the Golden Crow Crown Prince was distracted, then charged at him while wrapped within endless blue sword ki. As he got closer, the golden sword ki became more and more concentrated, and thus more and more terrifying. The Golden Crow Crown Prince focused all of his power on killing the intruder.

    The blue sword ki around Zu An began to melt at a visible rate. However, just as thest strand of ki disappeared, he broke through his opponent¡¯s defensive. His fist rammed into the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s lower chin again.

    Again?! The Golden Crow Crown Prince was shocked and furious. He was already starting to develop PTSD because of that move. He definitely didn¡¯t want to fight another round of bitter closebat against Zu An and quickly flew away.

    But how could Zu An let him have his way? In the end, he rode on the crown prince¡¯s back, his fists raining down blows from above. The Golden Crow Crown Prince was thus beaten until blood mixed with snot and tears. It truly was a bitter sight.

    ¡­

    All those watching felt their teeth ache, subconsciously touching their own chins. They could imagine the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s suffering.

    ¡°This kind of position, doesn¡¯t it seem a bit like man on man¡­¡± Yun Jianyue trailed off, her expression strange. She couldn''t help but feel that the sight looked a bit offensive.

    Yan Xuehen was stunned. She asked, ¡°What is ¡®man on man¡¯?¡± She came from the White Jade Sect, so she had always cared a great deal about nobility and clean living. When had she evere into contact with such things?

    On the contrary, Yun Jianyue was from the Devil Sect and had experienced all sorts of things. What hadn¡¯t she seen before? She moved over and began to whisper to Yan Xuehen with a naughty smile.

    Yan Xuehen waspletely embarrassed and angry. This damn demoness, she even knows about such random things!

    ¡­n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    A terrifying pressure descended from above as a red sun slowly rose¡­ No, two suns appeared!

    Zu An could no longer hold onto the Golden Crow Crown Prince. He was blown back by a powerful force. When he looked over, he saw that the Golden Crow Crown Prince was already nowhere to be seen. In his ce was a fiery red sun that was scorching hot. The surrounding air seemed to ripple like water, and the entire world became blood-red.

    Inside the red sun stood a crow with its wings spread. Judging from its aura, it was clearly the Golden Crow Crown Prince.

    Zu Anughed out loud, remarking, ¡°So it turned out you were just a dark and swarthy crow! You normally have to wear all that gold to cover yourself up?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled the Golden Crow Crown Prince for +999 +999 +999¡­

    ¡°You were actually able to push me this far¡­ This is something you can be extremely proud of even if you die,¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince spat, boiling with rage. His voice had be extremely strange, seemingly beginning to reverberate; he sounded almost like a deity looking down on the people below.

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue cried out in rm, ¡°How is this possible?!¡±

    Yu Yanluo also sensed that something wasn¡¯t right. She eximed in disbelief, ¡°This is a domain?¡± She had fought against Yan Xuehen before, so she obviously knew the power of a domain.

    Yan Xuehen nodded and said, ¡°Indeed, it is a domain. However, he has not reached the grandmaster rank yet. Why is he able to create a domain?¡±

    Yun Jianyue also said seriously, ¡°As expected of the sessor to the Fiend Emperor, his skills are unfathomable. Ah Zu is in danger now.¡±

    ¡°Not necessarily. He has a way to deal with domains,¡± Yan Xuehen said. Despite that, however, she unwittingly clenched her fists within her sleeves. She was clearly also worried.

    While they spoke, the trees on several mountains around them quickly evaporated. Once their moisture content dried up, they began to burn. Even the nearby rocks became entirely red, then began to gradually melt.

    Even with Zu An¡¯s cultivation, he could smell his hair starting to burn. Pei Mianman¡¯s pendant wasn¡¯t too useful, as this was the power of a domain, and didn¡¯te from fire. As such, He quickly took out the Tai¡¯e Sword and unleashed its Domain of Power, temporarily neutralizing the burning effect of the Red Sun Domain around him. However, in order to extend the effects of the Domain of Power for a longer time, he could only keep it close to himself andpletely abandon its offensive properties.

    The crow suddenly vanished. Zu An went on full alert, sensing a fatal threat. Did he already use Golden Crow Radiant Flow? Is he going to attack from a hidden corner?

    As Zu An maintained total vignce, he suddenly heard waves of ringing. He looked toward the center of the red sun; the sound wasing from that area.

    A war chariot made of pure gold slowly emerged from the very center. The creatures pulling it were actually six hornless dragons! As it came out, an aura of death locked onto Zu An. His entire body felt ice-cold, as if he would turn to ashes the moment he moved even a little bit.

 Chapter 1198: Sun Slaying Bow

    <h4>Chapter 1198: Sun ying Bow</h4>

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince stood proudly in his war chariot, exuding domineering valor. The red sun behind him and the golden light flickering all around him made countless people subconsciously feel the urge to bow down.

    Of course, without his bloody nose and swollen face covered in snot and tears, the scene would look even more impressive. But even those with higher cultivation who could see what he looked like at that moment weren¡¯t in the mood tough, because there was a bow in the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s hands.

    The bow had an unusual shape, and its entire body emanated a mysterious power. The Golden Crow Crown Prince drew it halfway, aiming an arrow right at Zu An. The surface of the arrow flickered brilliantly, surrounded with overflowing killing intent.

    ¡°That¡¯s the Sun ying Bow, the Sun ying Bow!¡± Elders White and Blue eximed, greatly moved to the point that their voices shook.

    ¡°Grandpa, what¡¯s the Sun ying Bow?¡± Little White and Little Blue asked.

    ¡°That is the Fiend Emperor¡¯s weapon! It is said to be able to shoot down the sun itself. The Fiend Emperor used the Sun ying Bow in the great war between the fiend races and humans to kill untold numbers of human experts. We did not expect to be able to witness its glory once more for ourselves today!¡± the two elders exined.

    Meanwhile, Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression wasn¡¯t too great. Some of the White Jade Sect¡¯s elders had been wounded by this very Sun ying Bow.

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have expected the Fiend Emperor to have even given that weapon to him,¡± Yun Jianyue said, sounding upset. ¡°It¡¯s a pity that we¡¯re seriously injured right now. Otherwise, even though there¡¯s a grandmaster watching over this crown prince, we would have been able to steal that Sun ying Bow by working together.¡±

    ¡°It is senseless to think about such things that will never happen,¡± Yan Xuehen said with a serious expression. ¡°Let us try to figure out how to help Zu An out of this disaster.¡±

    Yu Yanluo became even more nervous and worried when she heard what they were saying. Even Yan Xuehen feels that Zu An is in danger! That means he really is in trouble now. Her eyes gradually began to change color when she thought of that.

    Yan Xuehen stopped her and said, ¡°Do not even think about using your Medusa¡¯s Eye. You are too far away from the Golden Crow Crown Prince, and he has the Red Sun Domain active and the golden war chariot¡¯s protection. Your eye technique will not be able to do much to him and you will only be hurting yourself for nothing. Don¡¯t tell me you want Zu An to save you through that method again?¡±

    ¡°Then what do we do?¡± Yu Yanluo replied with a blush. Perhaps it was her imagination, but why did she sense a hint of jealousy in Yan Xuehen¡¯s tone?

    Yun Jianyuemented, ¡°Don¡¯t feel despair yet. The Golden Crow Crown Prince can only draw this Sun ying Bow halfway, so he clearly can¡¯t use it at full power. Besides, his injuries aren¡¯t light either, so his fingers on that arrow are shaking. His present cultivation won¡¯t allow him to fire a second arrow. As long as Zu An can avoid this first arrow, he should be fine.¡±

    She had arrived at that conclusion using her knowledge and experience as a grandmaster.

    ¡°Then what are Ah Zu¡¯s chances of avoiding this arrow?¡± Yu Yanluo asked.

    Yun Jianyue remained silent for a moment. Then she replied, ¡°Fifty percent at most.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Yu Yanluo eximed in rm. Only fifty percent? Then didn¡¯t that mean Zu An¡¯s chances of survival were¡­

    Yun Jianyue was beginning to feel annoyed. She said, ¡°Stop making a fuss over nothing. True experts always emerge through blood and mes, amid situations of life and death. Fifty percent isn¡¯t even that low.¡±

    There was nothing she could do at the moment either. If she interfered, forget about the fact that she hadn¡¯t recovered yet, even if she weren¡¯t injured, that other grandmaster would definitely step in. At that point, Zu An would have an even smaller chance at survival.

    Her words were directed at Yu Yanluo, but she also seemed to be consoling herself. The people of her Holy Sect had all grown stronger through repeated trials, and she was no exception. So why was she so nervous at the moment?

    Yan Xuehen said, ¡°I believe he can receive this arrow.¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Why do you say that?¡± Yun Jianyue asked in surprise, assuming that she might have overlooked something and searching for another trace of hope.

    ¡°Intuition!¡± Yan Xuehen replied, staring fixedly at Zu An. This man was even able to survive my full-force pursuit, so this trial won¡¯t be a big deal at all, I¡¯m sure!

    ¡°Your White Jade Sect¡¯s people are all crazy and delusional!¡± Yun Jianyue harrumphed, but she wasn¡¯t in the mood to criticize her rival any further. She watched the situation in the skies above.

    ¡­

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince didn¡¯t fire the arrow immediately. After aiming at Zu An, he said, ¡°I¡¯ll give you a single chance. If you kneel and kowtow ten times, acknowledging your wrongs to me, I can consider sparing your life!¡±

    The battle had really dirtied his reputation too much. Even if he won using his father the emperor¡¯s bow, it wouldn¡¯t be all that glorious if news got out. On the contrary, if his opponent kneeled down and kowtowed, he would redeem all of his dignity. He would even earn a glorious reputation. As for the human who had offended him, the crown prince would have more than enough chances to slowly torment himter. There was no need to rush things.

    Zu An roared withughter and replied, ¡°Are you drunk? If you said you were willing to kowtow and apologize to me, I would be the one to consider sparing your life.¡±

    With the way things were, neither side could shrink back anymore. If they did, they would suffer a tremendous mental blow, and they wouldn¡¯t be able to advance any further in their life. They might not even be able to keep their present strength.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s expression turned cold. He spat coldly, ¡°You¡¯re courting death!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled the Golden Crow Crown Prince for +444 +444 +444¡­

    He didn¡¯t hesitate any further and let go of the bowstring. A streak of ck light tore through the air like lightning, delivering a world-ravaging blow. The arrow seemed to shatter all notions of spacetime. It had clearly just been fired, and yet it was already in front of Zu An an instantter.

    Even though Zu An had already been prepared, all of his fine hairs stood on end. He instantly used Grandgale, moving a hundred zhang away. But the arrow once again appeared behind him, sticking close like his own shadow.

    Afterward, Zu An used his Sunflower Phantasm to produce several clones identical to himself, fleeing in different directions. And yet, the Sun ying Arrow continued to follow his real body.

    ¡­

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince stood atop his war carriage, a cruel smile appearing on his face.

    Hmph, you¡¯re just a trifling ant, yet you dare fight against this crown prince? You can only flee bitterly for your life once I show you my real skills!

    Meanwhile, Zu An was doing everything he could, but he couldn¡¯t escape the Sun ying Arrow. He knew he would only grow weaker and weaker if he continued to flee; then, he would die to the Sun ying Arrow.

    Yun Jianyue finally couldn''t take it and called out to remind him, ¡°The Star Shattering Imprint!¡±

    The only chance Zu An had left was to face it head on while he still had some strength left! Still, Yun Jianyue knew that the Star Shattering Imprint¡¯s greatest weakness was that it wasn¡¯t guaranteed to work. If it failed, considering Zu An¡¯s cultivation, he definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to survive the arrow.

    ¡­

    Zu An had been thinking the same thing. He flew over to a mountaintop and stopped, turning around. Then, he gripped the Tai¡¯e Sword firmly, shing down on the iing Sun ying Arrow.

    ¡°This guy actually dares to take the Sun ying Arrow head on?¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince remarked, pping his thigh andughing out loud.

    The Sun ying Arrow was said to even be able to shoot down the sun! In the battle between the fiend races and humans, with each arrow, the Fiend Emperor had in a human grandmaster. Not even the human emperor would dare to face it head on!

    And yet, a mere mortal dared to challenge it?

    Don¡¯t tell me he thinks he can withstand its power just by relying on the strength of his flesh? A head-on impact will just st him directly into a bloody mist without any flesh left!

    On the brink of life and death, however, Zu An remainedpletely calm. In his perception, everything around him seemed to be moving in slow motion.

    The Tai¡¯e Sword precisely struck the arrow.

    The Star Shattering Imprint seeded!

    Ten times Zu An¡¯s usual strength collided with the Sun ying Arrow!

    Boooooom!

    With a tremendous eruption, the entire mountain peak Zu An was on copsed, sending smoke and dust everywhere.

    ¡°The Sun ying Arrow is actually this powerful?! It made an entire mountain copse!¡± the fiend race onlookers eximed in horror. Who could possibly withstand the power of that arrow?

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡± Yu Yanluo screamed in rm. She almost fainted.

    Little White felt a bit sad. That handsome human had actually died just like that! But she knew she might never be able to forget that heroic figure.

 Chapter 1199: Using His Spear Against His Shield

    <h4>Chapter 1199: Using His Spear Against His Shield</h4>

    ¡°Stupid human, you¡¯re overestimating your abilities!¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince sneered.

    He waited for cheers from the spectators, but unfortunately, apart from a few scattered cheers from his own golden-armored soldiers below, the others were all dead silent. They all looked at the Sun ying Bow in his hands with fear. It was clear that they all knew he hadn¡¯t won with his own skills, but by relying on the Fiend Emperor¡¯s divine weapon.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince was enraged, but he knew that his victory really wasn¡¯t all that brilliant. He would have to find some advisors to polish the story a bit before spreading it to the world.

    Either way, the only ones who had seen the battle were these Snake race fellows. He didn¡¯t think they would want to smear his name. Even if there were some who refused to be obedient, pitted against the skilled propaganda of his subordinates, they wouldn¡¯t be able to stir up much.

    He turned to look at the distant Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue. These two women really were pretty¡­ Most importantly, they had a proud and aloof nature. That wasn¡¯t something the women around him couldpare to at all.

    It was time for him to collect his spoils of war. He had already been pissed off badly enough by the battle, after all. He would properly vent his anger on the two women in a bit.

    Just as he was about to fly toward them, however, he suddenly sensed something. He looked toward the copsed mountain peak.

    An indistinct figure emerged from the endlessly surging smoke and dust, walking over step by step. Over time, that figure became clearer and clearer. It was Zu An!

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡± Yu Yanluo cried, her eyes brimming with tears of excitement. Little White and Little Blue also cheered excitedly.

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue sighed in relief. Only then did they discover that because they were too tense and nervous, their fingers had actually crossed with each other¡¯s. They immediately pulled their hands back as if they had been shocked by electricity, wiping their hands on their clothes and putting on expressions of disdain.

    ¡­

    Waves of cheers erupted through the mountain valley. They were sincere expressions of the praise all fiend race individuals felt toward the strong.

    They all knew Zu An was the underdog in the fight, fighting the Golden Crow Crown Prince while at a lower cultivation realm. Despite that, he had still been able to reach this level! In the end, he was even able to take an attack from the unparalleled Sun ying Bow!

    Deep down inside, they all knew full well who the truly strong person here was. The fiend races truly did value strength; they wouldn¡¯t necessarily stand by the Fiend Emperor¡¯s son, the crown prince, purely because of his status.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s face twitched when he heard the roaring cheers. These damned Snake race people, you actually dare to publicly shame this crown prince? Hmph, once I rise up to the position of Fiend Emperor, I¡¯ll make sure that the Snake race ispletely eradicated.

    But for the time being, his attention quickly returned to Zu An. He remarked, ¡°You¡¯re actually still alive?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not even dead yet, so how can I kick the bucket?¡± Zu An replied with a dazzling smile.

    Many of the Snake race¡¯s youngdies watched with sparkling eyes. He¡¯s so handsome!

    But even though Zu An sounded calm, he wasn¡¯t having an easy time at all. On the contrary, he looked quite miserable. Forget about the blood covering his entire body, his clothes had been reduced to a few scraps. The Sun ying Bow was clearly not so easily blocked.

    He walked out from the smoke and ashes step by step, as if there were tangible stairs beneath his feet. He approached the golden war chariot, one step after another.

    Walking on air? Many of the Snake race onlookers began to discuss what kind of technique Zu An was using.

    Those at the master rank could fly, but normally, they couldn¡¯t do so in such a carefree and confident manner.

    ¡°That looks like the lost ¡®Steps of Rising Lotus¡¯¡­ Just how many secrets does this brat have in his arsenal?¡±

    ¡°It was notpletely lost. It has been rumored that someone in the Imperial Pce might have seen it before¡­¡±

    Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen were both grandmasters. They subconsciously began toment on Zu An¡¯s steps, but they quickly froze and began to blush.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Aiyah!¡± Little White and Little Blue cried out, covering their eyes. However, both of them secretly peeked between their fingers.

    Zu An¡¯s clothes had been all but destroyed by the arrow¡¯s impact. The bits of cloth that remained had then blown away in the cold wind,pletely scattered. Without the cover of the smoke and dust, his robust and healthy figure that seemed as if it had been sculpted from marble was on full disy. It was even more dazzling under the sunshine.

    Not only did the scars and blood covering his body not ruin his appearance, they instead conveyed the valiant air of someone who had gone through blood and mes.

    But the onlookers were all drawn to something else. Soon, there was an uproar that drowned out the previous cheers.

    ¡°Is this guy from the Donkey race or something?¡±

    ¡°Nonsense! What Donkey race person would still have such size after changing into human form?¡±

    ¡­

    The Snake race¡¯s youngdies all covered their eyes, but continued sneaking looks. The mature women watched excitedly, as if they were seeing a whole new world.

    The Snake race men were incredibly ashamed and resentful. How the heck were they supposed to even raise their heads at home in the future?

    Meanwhile, on the golden carriage, even the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s eyes widened. He had always had confidence in his own body, but now, his own dao heart was being shaken.

    Is this bastard still human?!

    ¡°Is this guy an exhibitionist? In front of so many people¡­¡± Yan Xuehen harrumphed. She quickly looked away. With her nature, she was obviously too embarrassed to give it a second look. But how powerful were the divine senses of grandmasters? That sight was already deeply engraved within her sea of consciousness. She could see everything more clearly than even cultivators who were staring right at it.

    Yun Jianyue had been subconsciously about to look away too. But when she saw what Yan Xuehen had done, she thought, Wouldn¡¯t I be just as bad as this stone cold woman then?

    Even so, after she struggled for a while, her heart began to beat crazily. She couldn''t help but shift her gaze in the end.

    The two women both turned to look at Yu Yanluo. The other woman¡¯s waist was so thin, her body so soft and delicate. How had she endured that?

    Yu Yanluo felt heavily pressured by their gazess. Her face waspletely red, and she felt great bitterness. Ah Zu, what are you doing¡­ Why are you letting other people see?

    ¡­

    Zu An wasn¡¯t in the mood to worry about anything else at all, however. At that moment, all of his attention was on the Golden Crow Crown Prince.

    His opponentunched attacks from the golden chariot, while there was nothing he could do other than to passively take the beating. He couldn''t guarantee that the Star Shattering Imprint would sessfully activate the next time. Furthermore, in his current state, he might not even be able to take another arrow.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince also snapped out of his daze. He immediately began to panic when he saw Zu An close in step by step.

    He steered the golden war chariot to create some distance, then bit the tip of his tongue and spat out a mouthful of blood essence. Then, he drew the Sun ying Bow again. He had to kill this human no matter what. Otherwise, he would always be a loser in front of him in the future.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you two say he could only use it once?!¡± Yu Yanluo cried angrily toward Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue. Seeing Zu An face that danger again, she didn¡¯t care that the two were grandmasters anymore.

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue¡¯s expressions also changed. They replied, ¡°This birdman actually doesn¡¯t care about sacrificing his own foundation to fire a second arrow!¡±

    After all, if the Golden Crow Crown Prince lost, that would be it. He would lose some dignity at most, let alone the fact that he might not even lose. But who would have thought that he would choose to do something so rash? Even if he won the battle, he would still be in poor condition for a long time. His cultivation would even drop by one or two lesser ranks. That price was far worse than suffering a blow to his reputation!

    But saying all that would be useless. The Golden Crow Crown Prince still drew the bow again, and another Sun ying Arrow flew at Zu An with murderous intent.

    Zu An definitely couldn''t handle the arrow in his current state. Yun Jianyue and the other women couldn''t hold back any further, and intended to intervene and lend a helping hand.

    But Zu An seemed to have already anticipated that. He decisively used his Keyboard Come skill, saying, ¡°I am inside the golden carriage!¡±

    He instantly appeared inside the golden war chariot as soon as he spoke, right behind the Golden Crow Crown Prince. He immediately sealed the major acupoint on the crown prince¡¯s back.

    The reason why he hadn¡¯t used that technique before, apart from fearing the rebound that would follow, was because the Golden Crow Crown Prince had still had some strength. Even if he appeared right next to the crown prince, he might not have been able to instantly restrain him. But now that the Golden Crow Crown Prince had forcefully fired a second arrow, he had been left extremely weak, providing the best opportunity.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince was stupefied. He couldn''t figure out how Zu An had covered such a distance no matter how he thought about it!

    But he didn¡¯t have any time to think about all that, because the Sun ying Arrow was already following Zu An over¡­

    And that bastard Zu An was actually using him as a shield!

 Chapter 1200: Weâ€™re Even

    <h4>Chapter 1200: We¡¯re Even</h4>

    Even though the Sun ying Arrow had tracking properties, Zu An was next to the crown prince. If Zu An were hit, he might die too. Helpless to do anything else, he quickly triggered the golden war chariot¡¯s defenses. A semi-transparent barrier rose around it.

    The Sun ying Arrow quickly arrived with terrifying momentum. However, the expected explosion didn¡¯t happen. On the contrary, it was as if the world had stood still. There was no sound, as if everything had been erased.

    Then, a blinding light filled the sky, bathing the whole world in gold. Those watching all covered their eyes. The ones who were a bit slower screamed miserably, as if their eyes had been burned through.

    Then, a shadow fell from midair,nding on a mountain. With a loud crash, the entire mountaintop was cut in half.

    ¡°That¡¯s the golden chariot!¡± a cultivator with sharp eyes shouted.

    But the golden war chariot was already dull and lusterless. Meanwhile, the Golden Crow Crown Prince was being carried in Zu An¡¯s arm like a wet noodle. There was no trace of his previous pride and overbearing nature left.

    Zu An looked at the golden chariot next to him. This really is good stuff. If I had something like this, wouldn¡¯t it be like my own private jet? I could return to the human world in just a few minutes.

    As such, he tried to store it into his Brilliant ss Bead, but it didn¡¯t budge at all. Was it a divine artifact that had acknowledged an owner?

    Zu An looked at the Golden Crow Crown Prince in his arms. A flicker of murderous intent appeared in his eyes. This birdman had tried to kill him several times, so it made sense to take the chance to get rid of him.

    Unfortunately, a terrifying aura approached the moment he was about to make his move. He was rmed and quickly dodged to the side. However, when he looked back, he saw that the Golden Crow Crown Prince was in the hands of an elder.

    ¡°A grandmaster?¡± Zu An eximed, bing guarded when he sensed the other person¡¯s aura.

    ¡°Youngster, you should let people off where it is possible,¡± the elder said, giving Zu An an emotionless look. He had clearly seen that Zu An was nning to end the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s life.

    Zu An snorted and replied, ¡°Why didn¡¯t I see you step in when this birdman tried to kill me using this divine weapon? Now that he¡¯s lost, you¡¯re suddenly stepping in to speak of morals. Do you not find yourself disgusting?¡±

    The elder¡¯s expression turned cold. He said, ¡°Youngster, those who are too proud usually do not meet good ends. Thus, offending me will not bring you any benefits.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you just a grandmaster? It¡¯s not as if I haven¡¯t faced any before. If you want to fight, juste at me and stop wasting my time,¡± Zu An retorted. Even though he was covered in injuries, after going through that great battle, his confidence and battle spirit were at their highest. He was ready to challenge the entire world.

    Of course, he wasn¡¯tpletely crazy. He had Keyboard Come, his Poisonous Prick, and quite a few life-saving measures. It wasn¡¯t as if he would have no chance of victory if they really did fight.

    The elder gave him a look and said, ¡°Not bad, you have the heart of a strong individual. Your future aplishments will be limitless.¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Just then, the Golden Crow Crown Prince woke up. He cried, ¡°Elder, kill this arrogant brat!¡±

    Zu An felt a chill, and secretly went on his guard.

    Yu Yanluo and the others spoke up in protest. ¡°They fought a fair battle before, so they should take responsibility for their decisions! How can someone from the older generation interfere?!¡±

    Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen had also made their preparations. If the elder really attacked Zu An without any regard for his identity, even if they were injured, they had to interfere to help him.

    The elder gave Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen strange looks. These two were clearly extremely weak, but why did they give him a deep and immeasurable impression? He collected his thoughts and said calmly, ¡°Medusa Empress, there is no need for you to feel worried. The fiend races respect the strong. This elder would not stoop so low as to interfere in apetition between juniors.¡±

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince immediately panicked when he heard that. He protested, ¡°Elder, this person offended me! He is looking down on our fiend races¡¯ royal family! If we let him go, he will be a great enemy!¡±

    Unfortunately, because the elder¡¯s status was special, the crown prince couldn''t just order him around using his identity.

    The elder shook his head and said, ¡°He has the ancient phoenix¡¯s bloodline within him. He is a friend of our fiend races and not an enemy. There is no need to feel too much worry.¡±

    The others were rmed when they heard that. The legendary phoenix bloodline?

    Even Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue looked at Zu An with strange expressions. In the end, this damn brat was even half-fiend?

    Zu An naturally knew that the elder had misunderstood. He could produce mes carrying the phoenix¡¯ aura because he cultivated the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra. It wasn¡¯t because of his own bloodline¡¯s power.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince was about to say something else, but the elder interrupted him, saying, ¡°The Fiend Emperor sent you out to train your temperament. He felt that you had lived too smooth a life, so a few setbacks would be a good thing. Remember this humiliation and use it as motivation to get revenge for yourself in the future. Only then can you be truly strong. If you remain so quick to borrow other people¡¯s strength, you will never reach the level of the past Fiend Emperors, and will not be able to be a suitable Fiend Emperor.¡±

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince was horrified. He said quietly, ¡°I have benefited from elder¡¯s words.¡± Even though he was proud, he was one of the strongest on the path of cultivation. After receiving that reminder, he seemed to have suddenly realized the truth.

    The elder nodded in satisfaction. Then, he turned to Zu An and said, ¡°Little friend, please attend the Fiend King Court assembly with the Medusa Empress in the future.¡±

    Afterward, a streak of golden light appeared in front of Zu An and he snatched it out of the air. It was a golden token with a sun carved on it, with a golden crow in its center.

    ¡°This is the Golden Crow Token. With this token, you can pass through different fiend race checkpoints uninhibited. You also have the qualifications to enter the Fiend King Court,¡± the elder exined.

    ¡°Many thanks.¡± Seeing as the other party¡¯s attitude was good, there was no need for Zu An to continue acting coldly.

    ¡°We will surely meet again,¡± the elder said with a nod. He sucked in both the golden chariot and the golden-armored warriors with a wave of his sleeves. Naturally, out of consideration for the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s condition, he didn¡¯t suck the prince in too, and instead grabbed his shoulder before flying into the distance.

    Zu An quickly shouted, ¡°Birdman, you lost the bet just now! You still haven¡¯t given me what you put up as a stake!¡±

    The onlookers¡¯ expressions were strange. Only then did they remember that thebatants had bet their own women. The Golden Crow Crown Prince seemed to have put up the crown princess¡­

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince staggered. His dao heart that had just be steady once more copsed again.

    How can this despicable human be so freaking shameless?!

    You have sessfully trolled the Golden Crow Crown Prince for +999 +999 +999¡­

    He was so angry that he wanted to go back and fight Zu An to the death, but the elder grabbed him firmly and said, ¡°You do not even have a crown princess, so what are you so worried about?¡±

    Only then did the Golden Crow Crown Prince realize, Right, my status is special. I haven¡¯t chosen a crown princess yet. If I don¡¯t have one, of course I don¡¯t have to give the other guy anything.

    Wasn¡¯t that the reason why I even agreed in the first ce?

    He quickly calmed down when he thought of that.

    Hmph, stupid human, you were fooled by this crown prince!

    The two of them quickly disappeared into the distance.

    ¡­

    Zu An couldn''t help but curse, ¡°Screw this birdman, he actually nned to run without paying up! I¡¯m so pissed!¡±

    Yu Yanluo quickly rushed over to him, blushing furiously. She took out a coat and wrapped it around him. She really had been going crazy from seeing ¡®that¡¯ dangle. Then, she took out a piece of cloth to help him wipe away the bloodstains on his face. Finally, she applied medicine and treated his wounds.

    Zu An held her hand, smiling radiantly as he said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m alright. I¡¯ll recover after a bit of time.¡±

    The Snake race people were all incredibly shocked when they saw that. When had their n leader ever acted like a lovable young wife? This didn¡¯t look like the way one would treat a male pet at all! Still, the human was indeed formidable, so he couldn¡¯t just be treated like a normal gigolo.

    Furthermore, the previous scene was firmly engraved in all of their minds. The n leader''s body and mind had probably already been subdued by him for quite some time¡­

    ¡­

    While the Snake race people were thinking all sorts of things, Yun Jianyue walked over to Zu An¡¯s side and remarked, ¡°Damn kid, what are you panicking for? That birdman might not have a crown princess right now, but do you think he won¡¯t have one in the future?¡±

    Seeing a human steal away a fiend race crown prince¡¯s bride really would be a very amusing sight.

    Zu An said with a chuckle, ¡°I was just trying to make him upset and break down his dao heart. Do you think I really want his crown princess? Am I that kind of person?¡±

    Yun Jianyue shot him a look of disdain, replying, ¡°Hmph, what¡¯s the use of just words? If you really had the skill to seize his crown princess, this big sis would just feel admiration for you.¡±

    Yan Xuehen said unhappily, ¡°What the hell is in that head of yours? If you are going to win, you need to win properly. Who cares about one¡¯s womenfolk?¡± For some reason, she just wasn¡¯t happy whenever she heard that Zu An was going to seduce another girl.

    Yun Jianyue harrumphed. ¡°Wow, you¡¯re so noble and virtuous, so amazing. Fighting against the fiend races is inevitably a matter of ¡®You die or I live¡¯. Of course one wouldmit any sort of crime to achieve one¡¯s ends. Someone as inflexible as you is really a disgrace to the human race.¡±

    ¡°What did you say?!¡± Yan Xuehen found it a bit hard to keep her cool. She shot Zu An an angry look.

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +55 +55 +55¡­

    Zu An thought to himself, You two are fighting among yourselves; what are you getting angry at me for?!

    After thinking for a moment, he decided tofort the other person. As such, he moved over to Yan Xuehen¡¯s side and said with ki, ¡°I saw you naked before, but you¡¯ve seen me naked now too. We¡¯re even now, right?¡±

    Yan Xuehen: ¡°???¡±

 Chapter 1201: Cracks

    <h4>Chapter 1201: Cracks</h4>

    She had gone through so many things that shepletely forgot about that. When she heard him mention the event and remembered how she had stood in front of him without a shred of cloth on, she immediately felt ashamed and resentful.

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +300 +300 +300¡­

    The worst part was that he had even said that she had seen saw him too. Was I the only one who saw you?

    So many people here saw!

    And even if he had shown it to her alone, how could he call such a thing being ¡®even¡¯?

    Zu An jumped in fright when he saw the Rage points. How did I end up pissing her off again?

    Fortunately, Yun Jianyue broke him out of his predicament. She asked with a suspicious look, ¡°What are you two mumbling about?¡±

    ¡°Nothing!¡± Yan Xuehen replied, scared that Zu An would absent-mindedly talk about that matter. If he did, how was she supposed to keep on living?

    ¡°Something¡¯s definitely fishy,¡± Yun Jianyue said. However, was more concerned about something else, asking, ¡°Right, brat, do you really have phoenix blood flowing through you?¡±

    Yan Xuehen was also interested in that. As the leader of a human orthodox sect, she obviously didn¡¯t want Zu An to have any fiend race blood within him.

    Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°It¡¯s because of the technique I cultivate.¡±

    The two women quickly realized what was happening. The emperor had stirred up such a hugemotion about the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra back then that the two of them had heard about it too.

    Yu Yanluo said somewhat unhappily, ¡°Ah Zu is injured, so he should be resting right now. Aren¡¯t you bothering him by asking all of these questions?¡± For some reason, she just felt as if the two women were always circling around Zu An, as if they had some ulterior motive.

    When had anyone ever dared to berate the two grandmasters normally? But seeing as it involved Zu An, they both endured it out of a guilty conscience.

    Elders White and Blue arrived with their two granddaughters and some higher up figures from the Snake race, saying, ¡°n leader, we have already prepared rooms for the guests to get some proper rest. We have also brought all kinds of treatment medicine.¡±

    Their attitudes had immediately changed 180 degrees after they witnessed Zu An¡¯s great battle. They naturally valued strength; besides, Zu An, having defeated the Golden Crow Crown Prince, was definitely deserving of their greatest courtesy.

    Thus, the Snake race held a grand evening banquet to wee their n leader''s return, as well as their respected guests.

    Even though the main character should have in theory been Yu Yanluo, once the banquet began, it became Zu An instead.

    Countless young Snake racedies and madams ran over to his side excitedly. Their soft waists and fiery red lips really were a bit difficult for Zu An to resist.

    Of course, there were also some young Snake race men who noticed Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue and tried to approach them. However, when they tried to get closer, they felt their entire bodies turn ice-cold, and there seemed to be wisps of tangible killing intent in the air.

    The two women looked at Zu An, who was surrounded by women, with unkind expressions. The young men eventually concluded that the two were young master Zu¡¯s femalepanions, so they didn¡¯t dare to try anything anymore. They tactfully withdrew.

    At the same time, their eyes were full of adoration when they looked at Zu An. He wasn¡¯t satisfied with just their devastatingly beautiful n leader; he was actually close with two other women who were just as beautiful! The most important part was that the n leader didn¡¯t seem to be jealous in the slightest and even tacitly approved of their rtionship!

    They really wanted to ask Zu An for guidance on how he did it. But when they recalled the scene they had seen previously, all of them turned pale with fright.

    We don¡¯t think we¡¯ll be able to learn his advantages even if we try for the rest of our lives!

    Meanwhile, Yan Xuehen said coldly, ¡°Hmph, of course these Snake Race women would not know any sense of honor and shame. They are actually so¡­ So¡­¡±

    The pure upbringing she had gone through, as well as her clean and noble lifestyle, made it impossible for her to even describe the women¡¯s behavior.

    ¡°Ah Zu is handsome, and these Snake race men all seem a bit feminine, so the contrast is clear. He also just fought such an intense battle against the Golden Crow Crown Prince, so it¡¯s to be expected that these women would admire him so much,¡± Yun Jianyue said. She was from the Devil Sect, so she didn¡¯t find any of that surprising. ¡°Besides, he¡¯s not even your man. Even that woman over there isn¡¯t worried, so what are you getting all flustered for?¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s breath paused for a moment, but she reacted quickly as well. She said, ¡°Hmph, I was just worried for Chuyan. This fellow already has a wife, and yet he is still weing all of these other women. What absolute nonsense.¡±

    Look at how happy Zu An is in that pile of cosmetics¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +333 +333 +333¡­

    Yun Jianyue didn¡¯t approve of what her rival said at all. She retorted, ¡°What wife? Your disciple already divorced from him a long time ago. If you¡¯re talking about a wife, our Honglei is more like one. They¡¯ve already decided to remain loyal to each other for the rest of their lives.¡±

    Yan Xuehen sneered. ¡°Where is the marriage ceremony? The marriage keepsakes? They do not have anything! Meanwhile, our Chuyan has been officially wed.¡±

    ¡°Weren¡¯t you arguing noisily about breaking them up not too long ago? Why are you now saying that they¡¯re officially wed and all that?¡± Yun Jianyue retorted mockingly.

    ¡°The only thing that is unchanging in this world is change. I¡¯m sure you understand that principle well,¡± Yan Xuehen said indifferently.

    Yun Jianyue was bing annoyed. She snapped, ¡°Stone cold woman, are you looking for trouble again?¡±

    ¡°You uncivilized woman, I am not going to lower myself to your level.¡± Yan Xuehen harrumphed, but she still stopped.

    ¡­

    While sitting in the main seat, Yu Yanluo finally couldn''t stand seeing Zu An surrounded by women anymore. Shemanded Maid Xing to bring him back to his room to rest, citing his injuries as a pretext. Zu An didn¡¯t have any objections and reluctantly left the evening banquet.

    Maid Xing bowed after bringing him to his room, saying, ¡°Young master, please call for me if you need anything.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to trouble yourself. Just go back and remain at Yanluo¡¯s side. She¡¯s still injured and needs someone to take care of her,¡± Zu An said.

    ¡°Young master is truly caring,¡± Maid Xing said with a smile. ¡°Then I will not disturb the young master anymore.¡± She withdrew afterward and closed the door behind her.

    Zu An looked around him. The room was quite spacious, with several fine dividers. There was a luxurious carpet covering the floor, and there were precious, fragrant candles on the table. Such things weren¡¯t the Snake Race¡¯s style; they seemed more suited to the Yu n. Yu Yanluo had probably sent some of her n¡¯s furniture over.

    This woman seems to know quite a bit about livingfortably.

    But that wasn¡¯t where Zu An¡¯s attention was focused at the moment. Instead, his previous smile vanishedpletely. He took out his Tai¡¯e Sword and looked at it with a broken-hearted expression.

    There were some spiderweb-like cracks on the sword¡¯s surface. It had sustained damage from blocking the Sun ying Arrow head-on. The Sun ying Arrow was just way too strong; he hadn¡¯t expected even the Tai¡¯e Sword to struggle to block it.

    A strand of red mist floated out from his side. Then, avishly dressed beauty appeared on the nearby bed. On her stunning face marked with her signature red phoenix eye makeup, there was a hint of disdain.

    Zu An was happy and eximed in surprise, ¡°Big sis empress, you¡¯re awake?!¡±

    ¡°Call me master!¡± the beauty in ptial garb snapped with a stern expression. Naturally, she was Mi Li.

    Only then did Zu An remember that he had already paid his respects to her as his master. He could only change his tone, replying, ¡°Master!¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°That¡¯s more like it,¡± Mi Li said, nodding in satisfaction. ¡°You¡¯ve made such a huge fuss that your master couldn''t ignore it even if I wanted to.¡± She yawnedzily afterward, as if she were extremely tired.

    ¡°I¡¯ve disturbed master¡¯s rest; how can I ever repay these sins?¡± Zu An replied, feeling a trace of fear. Mi Li¡¯s soul was temporarily residing in the Tai¡¯e Sword! If the Tai¡¯e Sword were destroyed, wouldn¡¯t she go up into smoke too?

    Mi Li reached out her hand, and the Tai¡¯e Sword floated over. She remained silent as she looked at the cracks on its surface.

    The Tai¡¯e Sword had been the State of Chu¡¯s divine sword. Later on, it had been seized by the Qin State, bing the personal sword of Emperor Qin. Its significance for both the Chu State and Qin State was indescribable.

    Zu An felt even more guilt when he saw the grief between her brows. Hemented, ¡°It¡¯s all because I was too weak that the Tai¡¯e Sword suffered serious damage.¡±

    Mi Li shook her head slightly and replied, ¡°That Sun ying Bow is a deity-grade weapon of the highest grade. The Tai¡¯e Sword hasn¡¯t been able to recover its former strength, so the fact that it wasn¡¯t broken on the spot was only because of your strength.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He asked, ¡°Can the Tai¡¯e Sword still be restored?¡±

    ¡°Of course it can,¡± Mi Li replied. ¡°The Tai¡¯e Sword¡¯s power has been sealed, and after endless time has passed, its quality has dropped, losing its past brilliance. If you can reforge it once more, not only will the cracks be repaired, you can even restore its rank as a deity-grade weapon.¡±

    Zu An became extremely happy. He eximed, ¡°I¡¯ll immediately look for a cksmith to fix the Tai¡¯e Sword!¡±

    Mi Li shook her head and said, ¡°Even though the Tai¡¯e Sword¡¯s quality has dropped, it can still barely be considered an immortal-grade weapon. How is that something a normal craftsman can work with? Some legendary weapon-forging methods are needed to forge immortal-grade and higher weapons.¡±

    ¡°What kinds of legendary weapon-forging methods? Can master teach me? I¡¯ll give it a try,¡± Zu An said excitedly.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know any,¡± Mi Li said unenthusiastically.

    Zu An was stunned. He replied, ¡°Weren¡¯t you bragging about how you had read pretty much every book in the world, that you had touched upon every school of thought?¡±

    Mi Li snapped in annoyance, ¡°I¡¯ve read quite a few books, but I only read about things I was interested in! I was the empress, so why would I be interested in things like forging weapons? Besides, there were no deity-grade weapon forging methods in the Qin State¡¯s archives either!¡±

    ¡°Then what do we do?¡± Zu An asked as he reached out his hand and caressed the cracks on the sword. ¡°As long as these cracks remain, if the Tai¡¯e Sword ever broke, wouldn¡¯t your soul lose its protection? That¡¯s way too dangerous.¡±

    Mi Li¡¯s entire body trembled. She smacked his hand away and said, ¡°I already told you many times. You¡¯re not allowed to touch the sword¡¯s body normally.¡±

    But she also realized that her reaction was a bit too strong, and was worried that he might make some kind of connection. She coughed lightly and continued, ¡°But I suppose you still have some respect and obedience within you. I suddenly recall a recording I saw in an ancient text that might lead to some clues in finding a deity-grade weapon forging technique.¡±

 Chapter 1202: Godrune Forging Diagram

    <h4>Chapter 1202: Godrune Forging Diagram</h4>

    Then, a wistful expression appeared on Mi Li¡¯s face. She began, ¡°If I remember correctly, in terms of weapon-forging methods, none surpassed the Xia dynasty.¡±

    ¡°The one with the great flood?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°Indeed.¡± Mi Li nodded. ¡°In the past, the Xia Emperor Yu the Great decided to cast nine cauldrons. Five would be made through yang principles, while four would be made through yin. Soft gold was used for the yin cauldrons, while strong gold was used for the yang cauldrons. All that resulted in an extraordinary divine weapon. All that was because he cultivated the Godrune Forging Diagram.

    ¡°It was said that Yu the Great was proficient with all weapons. In order to do so, he had to first familiarize himself with the characteristics of those weapons. If he wanted to do that, nothing would be better than personally refining them. The Godrune Forging Diagram was precisely one such method to do so. Through forging so many different weapons, in the end, he became able to use any weapon.¡±

    Zu An clicked his tongue and remarked, ¡°So he was just an enlightened cksmith?¡±

    Mi Li shot him a look and replied, ¡°Don¡¯t be disrespectful. How can just weaponsmithing alone describe Yu the Great? If you can find the Godrune Forging Diagram, not only will you be able to repair the Tai¡¯e Sword, you can even restore its former glory as a deity-grade weapon.¡±

    Zu An sighed and said, ¡°That¡¯ll probably be quite difficult.¡±

    If the method came from the Xia Dynasty, it was probably one of the secret manuals the keyboard needed. But the unknown regions they were found in were all mysterious and enigmatic. He had only managed to enter a few such ruins by circumstance. He might not be so lucky in the future. He had even searched with the Embroidered Envoy¡¯s powerful informationwork, but he hadn¡¯t found a single clue about any more of those ces.

    But that made sense too. In the past, Emperor Zhao Han had used his entire nation¡¯s strength to find a single unknown region, but the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra resting within had ended up in Zu An¡¯s hands. As such, whether or not any more of those regions could be found wouldpletely be up to luck.

    But Mi Li sounded optimistic, saying, ¡°Since you were able to find Westhound Tomb and the Yinxu Ruins, you¡¯re definitely someone with incredible fortune. You really might be able to find the Xia Dynasty¡¯s ruins.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. I have incredible fortune?

    Then why the hell is my luck always so freaking awful when I pull on that keyboard gacha?

    He subsequently asked, ¡°Master, have your soul¡¯s wounds recovered yet?¡±

    Mi Li sounded a bit downcast as she replied, ¡°I was about to recover, but after being hit by that Sun ying Arrow, all of my efforts ended up being for nothing.¡±

    The Tai¡¯e Sword had almost been broken, and she was just a sword spirit attached to the sword. She had suffered great injuries as a result too.

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed. He said, ¡°Only a single drop of the Milk of Purple Frost can form every ten thousand years. I might not be able to find a second drop.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry.¡± Mi Li felt warm inside when she sensed his concern. She exined, ¡°The Sun ying Arrow wasn¡¯t as powerful as the attack from Zhao Han. I don¡¯t need the Milk of Purple Frost to recover from it. I¡¯ll be fine if I sleep a bit longer to recover.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re going into seclusion again?¡± Zu An asked, sounding a bit reluctant. The times he had spent with Mi Li were always short, with long periods in between.

    ¡°What, you can¡¯t bear to see your master leave?¡± Mi Li chuckled. ¡°If I were awake, I would constantly pester you about your wooing of girls. Isn¡¯t it better when I¡¯m asleep?¡±

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°I don¡¯t mind.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, even if you don¡¯t mind, I find it a sight for sore eyes.¡± Mi Li harrumphed.

    Zu An chuckled in embarrassment. He said with a serious expression, ¡°Right, master, can you move into something else? Now that the Tai¡¯e Sword is cracked, I¡¯m worried that you might¡­¡±

    Mi Li shook her head and said, ¡°The Tai¡¯e Sword is the Chu State¡¯s divine weapon, and it¡¯s also Emperor Qin¡¯s personal sword. Its ties with me are deep, making it the most suitable host that rejects my soul the least. Furthermore, with each transfer of hosts, my soul body will greatly weaken. In my current state, I wouldn¡¯t be able to handle another new host.¡±

    She gritted her teeth a bit when she thought of that. If not for this brat, she would already have stolen Chu Chuyan¡¯s body. Then she wouldn¡¯t have had to worry about her soul scattering at all.

    But when she thought of that, she suddenly recalled being in Chu Chuyan, her body being pounded beneath Zu An. Herplexion suddenly became unnatural.

    This guy is just a brute!

    Her expression quickly returned to normal. She didn¡¯t want him to know what she was feeling. She calmed down and said, ¡°It would be best to find the Godrune Forging Diagram as soon as possible and repair the Tai¡¯e Sword. Don¡¯t forget that the two of us are bound by a life and death contract. If my soul scatters, your fate won¡¯t be much better.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for +55 +55 +55¡­

    Zu An was confused as to why she would suddenly get upset. He was about to ask her why, but she had already gone back into the Tai¡¯e Sword to sleep. She didn¡¯t wake up no matter how he called out to her.

    ¡°Sigh, this is just too much of a pity,¡± Zu An muttered, looking at the cracked Tai¡¯e Sword. He thought to himself, If I don¡¯t get that crown princess aspensation, there¡¯s no way this loss can be made up for!

    He suddenly thought of something. He took out two arrows from the Brilliant ss Bead that flickered with a shining, dark luster. There were numerous runes carved on their surface. He could vaguely sense that the two arrows were extremely intertwined with the naturalws of the world.

    The two arrows gave off a terrifying destructive pressure that could make all those who approached them feel a mysterious sense of apprehension. They were the two Sun ying Arrows the Golden Crow Crown Prince had unleashed. Zu An had received one directly, while the other had been blocked by the golden war chariot. He had taken them into the Brilliant ss Bead the moment they lost their divine radiance.

    Unfortunately, just like the golden war chariot, he had been unable to store away the Sun ying Bow.

    It seems items that have acknowledged an owner aren¡¯t so easily stolen.

    While he was feeling gloomy, he suddenly heard a light knock on his door. A soft and gentle voice called out, ¡°Young master Zu, are you asleep?¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He recognized that voice; it was the youngdy named Little White. He put away the Sun ying Arrows and got up to open the door. Sure enough, a timid youngdy was standing there. He asked, ¡°Lady White, is something the matter?¡±

    Little White¡¯s face was a bit red. She was too embarrassed to raise her head and look at him directly. She quietly said, ¡°Your injuries seemed quite severe during the day, so I brought over a Hundred Herb Pill from my n. I hope it¡¯ll be of some help.¡±

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°Lady White, pleasee in.¡±

    He remembered Maid Xing mentioning that Elders White and Blue were the ones with the greatest authority in the Snake Race. They didn¡¯t get along with Yu Yanluo normally. In order to lessen Yu Yanluo¡¯s burden in taking over the Snake Race, he had to do his best to mediate the two parties¡¯ rtionship too.

    Hm? Does this count as standing on the madam¡¯s side? When she heard the invitation, Little White showed some hesitation. Entering a man¡¯s bedroom in the middle of the might really was a bit inappropriate. With her usual nature, there was no way she would agree.

    But Zu An¡¯s incredibly handsome appearance during the day reappeared in her mind. Before she could even reject the offer, her feet had already mysteriously walked in on their own.

    ¡°Thank you, miss Little White,¡± Zu An said as he poured a cup of tea for her. He looked her up and down. She had pretty features and a graceful figure, a beauty in the making. Furthermore, her underripe and shy appearance didn¡¯t seem to resemble the other Snake Race women. After all, he had just experienced their enthusiasm during the banquet not too long beforehand.

    Little White¡¯s heart pounded under his gaze. She quickly raised her teacup to hide her embarrassment.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An chuckled and asked, ¡°Are you not scared of me drugging the tea?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Little White eximed, sounding like a startled rabbit. She subconsciously lowered the teacup.

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°I¡¯m just messing with you.¡±

    ¡°Big brother Zu, you¡¯re a bad man!¡± Little White cried, realizing that she had been yed with. However, there was no threatening nature to her anger at all. It simply made her look even cuter.

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°I was just saying that to warn you. How can you not be the slightest bit vignt when you enter a man¡¯s quarters in the middle of the night?¡±

    Little White mumbled, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be like this in front of anyone else.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. Only then did Little White realize that her words were a bit ambiguous. She quickly asked, ¡°Big brother Zu, why aren¡¯t you taking the pill I gave you? The Hundred Herb Pill¡¯s effects are really good. It¡¯s something my grandfather obtained through great difficulty.¡±

    If Elder White found out about this matter, he might just faint from anger. Even with their Snake Race¡¯s strength, they had only managed to obtain two such pills after so many years. They couldn''t even bear to use them on several asions when they had been injured, and yet one had secretly been given out to an outsider by his granddaughter.

    When he saw her hopeful expression, Zu An obviously didn¡¯t want to disappoint the girl. He swallowed the pill. The pill dissolved, sending waves of heat through his body.

    Little White had a dangerous smile on her face. She remarked, ¡°Big brother Zu, you were warning me just now, but didn¡¯t you end up ingesting an unknown drug just like that too?¡±

 Chapter 1203: A Woman Is Born to Leave Her Family

    <h4>Chapter 1203: A Woman Is Born to Leave Her Family</h4>

    Zu An secretly examined his own condition. He saw that there wasn¡¯t anything wrong and said with a chuckle, ¡°I normally don¡¯t eat the things others give me, butdy Little White is different.¡±

    Little White blushed when she heard those familiar-sounding words. She replied, ¡°Big brother Zu is so bad; you¡¯re always teasing me.¡±

    Zu An chuckled and asked, ¡°Didn¡¯t you tease me first?¡±

    Just then, he suddenly felt several waves of heat nourish his damaged blood vessels. He was a bit surprised. The medicine¡¯s effects seemed to be a bit better than even Divine Physician Ji¡¯s Soul Return Pill. Divine Physician Ji¡¯s medical arts were undoubtedly great, but the Soul Return Pill was mainly for those under the master rank. The higher one¡¯s cultivation was, the weaker the effects were.

    ¡°This pill¡¯s effects seem to be surprisingly good. Thank you,¡± Zu An said, unable to hold back his gratitude.

    Little White¡¯s eyes lit up. She replied, ¡°Really? Then I¡¯ll go and steal grandfather¡¯s other¡­ Ahem, I¡¯ll bring the other one.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He quickly stopped her and said, ¡°There¡¯s no need; this single pill is enough.¡± If he really did empty out Elder White¡¯s inventory, wouldn¡¯t he really have offended the elder forever?

    ¡°I need to quickly adjust my ki so that I don¡¯t waste the medicine¡¯s effects,¡± Zu An said. He could feel the medicinal strength surging through his body. Losing even a bit would be a tremendous waste.

    Even though his Primordial Origin Ki possessed terrifying regenerative powers, that regeneration also exhausted energy that needed to be replenished by relying on all sorts of treasures. Meanwhile, the medicine containedrge amounts of life essence.

    Little White offered, ¡°How about I lend you a hand?¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He had said that as a signal for her to leave. Who would¡¯ve thought that thisss wouldn¡¯t pick up on that, and would instead enthusiastically offer to help him?

    Seeing how she had juste to offer him such a great pill, chasing her away just like that would make it seem as if he were immediately abandoning his benefactor after achieving his goal. As such, he agreed. ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to thankdy Little White.¡± He sat down cross-legged on the bed afterward, then began to use his ki to refine and absorb the surging medicinal strength in his body.

    Little White looked a bit embarrassed when she saw him seated on the bed. However, she thought to herself that he was an upright and sincere man, so why was she having all kinds of random thoughts?

    As such, she raised her dress and got onto the bed, sitting across from him. She reached out her hands and touched his palms, using her own ki to help him with his injuries. Her heart began to pound when they made physical contact. She could feel the heating from his body.

    This was the first time Little White was able to observe Zu An from up close, as his eyes were closed and he was treating his own injuries. His strong and handsome features that made him look as if he were sculpted from marble werepletely different from her peers in the n, who had soft and reserved features.

    A blush appeared on her cheeks as she continued to stare at him. His heroic figure during the day continued to appear in her mind. She stared nkly for a moment just like that.

    Suddenly, Zu An opened his eyes. He looked at the youngdy in front of him and asked in confusion, ¡°Are you still not going to start?¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± Little White made eye contact with him. She suddenly felt hot and lowered her head in fear, not daring to look at him again. She said hurriedly, ¡°Let¡¯s start.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous; just rx. If you can¡¯t take it anymore, tell me. Don¡¯t injure your own foundation no matter what,¡± Zu An said, taking the lead. She was actually more of a hindrance than a help, but as a good man, how could he hurt the feelings of this youngdy?

    ¡°Okay,¡± Little White replied. She pursed her thin lips and tried her best to pour her own ki into his body.

    But the moment she made contact, she discovered that her ki was like a tiny trickle pouring into a raging sea. She felt a bit of regret. He could even win against the Golden Crow Crown Prince, and yet she was still trying to help him with his injuries. She was clearly overestimating her own abilities, wasn¡¯t she?

    She was about to pull away when Zu An¡¯s ki wrapped around hers, slowly guiding her in helping him with his injuries.

    How could Little White not know that he was taking care of her feelings, helping her participate deliberately? She sighed inwardly¡­ What a warm and considerate man. No wonder the n leader likes him so much.

    She quickly straightened her back, doing her best to pour her own ki into his body, doing her best to offer a portion of her own strength. After some time, however, her mind began to waver. I seem to have be one with him¡­

    Suddenly, she heard a knock outside. A voice called out, ¡°Big brother Zu, big brother Zu, are you asleep yet?¡±

    Little White jumped in fright, because she could tell that it was Little Blue. Zu An opened his eyes and was just about to reply, when Little White quickly said, ¡°Don¡¯t let her know I¡¯m here.¡±

    Zu An was stunned, asking, ¡°Why?¡±

    Little White was put on the spot. She had just told Little Blue that she wasn¡¯t feeling too well and was going to her room to rest. If Little Blue found out that not only had she not gone back to her room, but she instead run over to Zu An¡¯s side, what would she think then?

    Of course, she couldn''t say that to Zu An!

    Seeing how she was acting, Zu An didn¡¯t ask any further and called out toward the entrance, ¡°Lady Little Blue, I¡¯m currently nursing my injuries.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good! I just brought over an incredible medicine. Hurry and open the door!¡± Little Blue cried. She began to pound on the door.

    Thud thud thud~

    In contrast to Little White¡¯s bashfulness, Little Blue was clearly much more straightforward.

    Zu An was dumbfounded. He had spoken tactfully, but his tone clearly indicated that it wasn¡¯t a good time, right? But who would¡¯ve thought that neither of these little girls seemed to be able to sense his intent to reject them?

    Seeing that the door was about to be smashed open, Zu An could only say, ¡°Please wait a moment.¡± Then, he lowered his voice and asked Little White, ¡°Lady Little White, can you help me open the door?¡±

    Little White blushed. She quickly shook her head and stood up, repeating, ¡°Don¡¯t tell her I¡¯m here.¡± Then, she looked from side to side. She wanted to hide behind one of the dividers, but she then felt that she¡¯d be discovered far too easily if she hid there. As such, she hid inside a wardrobe off to the side instead.

    Zu An was speechless. They clearly hadn¡¯t been doing anything improper, yet now, it seemed as if they were having an affair or something. But there was no time to stop her. Seeing that she had gone into hiding, he reached out his hand and opened the door through ki.

    Standing in the doorway was a youngdy d in green. Compared to Little White, her expression was a bit more lively and yful. Seeing that the door had opened, she skipped her way over and called out sweetly, ¡°Big brother Zu~¡±

    Zu An smiled at her from the bed and said, ¡°Miss Little Blue, I¡¯m currently nursing my injuries, so I can¡¯t get up to wee you. I hope you don¡¯t mind.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to get up. I just came to visit you. How can I disturb your recovery?¡± Little Blue replied. She sat down casually on the bed and took out a case, saying, ¡°Big brother Zu, I brought over the Myriad Flower Ointment my grandfather has treasured for many years. This medicine is incredibly useful for external injuries. You have so many wounds on you, so it¡¯s the perfect medicine for you.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help butugh. Why did these little girls both love to steal their grandfathers¡¯ greatest treasures? He replied, ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to thankdy Little Blue.¡±

    Little Blue said, ¡°The best medicine for treating internal injuries is with Grandpa White. I¡¯ll try to see if I can steal¡­ ahem, bring one out. Big brother Zu, you should treat your external injuries first.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, I already ate a Hundred Herb Pill. These two girls really are interesting.

    Little Blue took out a lot of gauze from her inner pocket; she had clearlye prepared. She said, ¡°Big brother Zu, take off your clothes.¡±

    Zu An was dumbfounded.

    Little Blue opened the Myriad Flower Ointment. A fragrance wafted through the room as she said, ¡°Big brother Zu, you should focus on treating yourself. I¡¯ll help you wrap up your injuries again.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, So that¡¯s what it was¡­ However, he replied, ¡°That¡¯s¡­ I¡¯m afraid that¡¯s a bit inconvenient, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s inconvenient about that? I already saw everything during the day anyway. Is big brother Zu going to be shy now?¡± Little Blue teased. Her lips were especially tender and beautiful when sheughed, and her upbeat personality conveyed a pretty and flirtatious air. It was quite the unusual sensation.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An was speechless. Never could he have expected to be teased like this by a little girl. But it was quite amusing; the two sisters¡¯ personalities were entirely different. Little White was shy and reserved, while Little Blue was extremely lively. He could only reply, ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to trouble Little Blue.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re our Snake race¡¯s distinguished guest. This is something we should be doing,¡± Little Blue said with a charming smile. ¡°You should focus on your own healing; you don¡¯t have to worry about anything else. I¡¯ll take care of you.¡± As she spoke, she was already starting to help him remove his clothes.

 Chapter 1204: Face to Face

    <h4>Chapter 1204: Face to Face</h4>

    Little White¡¯s eyes widened as she hid in the wardrobe. Even something like this is okay? She really was starting to admire her little sister Little Blue¡¯s boldness. If it were her in that situation, she would never be able to do something so direct.

    Zu An froze up, then said,. ¡°I won¡¯t trouble Little Blue for that. My body¡¯s wounds have already stopped bleeding.¡±

    Little Blue said with a pure expression, ¡°Big brother Zu, if you don¡¯t promptly treat your wounds, they¡¯ll leave scars! This Myriad Flower Ointment is an incredibly famous external treatment medicine from the fiend races. It can improve cirction and stimte flesh regrowth, allowing wounds to close and heal in the shortest amount of time possible.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself for a bit. He had fought great battles again and again over the past few days, so his injuries weren¡¯t light. Even though the Primordial Origin Sutra¡¯s regenerative powers were formidable, it couldn''t withstand the burdens he had been cing on himself recently. Relying purely on the Primordial Origin Sutra could harm his body¡¯s foundation. Since there was medicine around to use, there was indeed no reason to refuse.

    As such, he nodded and said, ¡°Then I''ll have to troubledy Little Blue.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s no trouble!¡± Little Blue smiled sweetly. Then, she quickly began to undo Zu An¡¯s clothes with her slender and fair fingers. She began to breathe heavily when she saw his robust body up close.

    ¡­

    Little White¡¯s eyes widened even further. Her youngdy¡¯s bashfulness made her instinctively look away. But after thinking about it, she changed her mind. Little Blue had already made her move. If she was too scared to even take a look, that would be way too cowardly, right? As such, she looked at him again.

    Little Blue¡¯s fingers gently removed the gauze wrapped around Zu An¡¯s body. When she saw the wounds all over his body, tears immediately appeared in her eyes. She said softly, ¡°Big brother Zu, you¡¯re injured so badly, but you didn¡¯t even show it at all¡­¡±

    She thought to herself that the men from the n really should take a look. They always moaned and screamed wildly even though their injuries usually weren¡¯t serious at all.

    Zu An chuckled and replied, ¡°It just looks bad, but it¡¯s actually not that serious.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean it¡¯s not that serious when it¡¯s already at this level?¡± Little Blue cried as she gently brushed a finger across the skin around the wounds.

    Zu An raised a brow. Little Blue¡¯s touch was cool to the touch, easing the scorching hot sensation of the wounds.

    Little Blue opened the Myriad Flower Ointment. She took out a small amount, then put it into her mouth.

    Zu An was confused. Aren¡¯t you going to apply it to my wounds? Why are you eating it all of a sudden? But he quickly realized what was happening. Little Blue put her hand on his shoulder, then reached out with her tongue, gently smearing the medicine over his wounds.

    ¡°Lady Little Blue, you¡¯re¡­¡± Zu An¡¯s entire body went rigid. He quickly tried to stop her.

    ¡°Big brother Zu, I can make the ointment prate deeper into the wounds this way, so the effects will be even better,¡± Little Blue exined in a muffled voice. ¡°Big brother Zu, is it because you don¡¯t want to be touched by saliva?¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­ Of course not,¡± Zu An replied, not quite knowing how to respond to the question.

    Little Blue seemed to really be worried about what he thought. She exined, ¡°My constitution is special; ever since I was little, I¡¯ve recovered with just a few licks¡­¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but chuckle. He obviously knew what she was worried about and said, ¡°Then¡­ Thank you for doing this.¡±

    Little Blue smiled widely when she heard his agreement. She became more and more enthusiastic, saying, ¡°Big brother Zu, you can just treat your internal injuries at ease. Leave the external ones to me!¡±

    Zu An¡¯s body waspletely tense. This little girl¡¯s tongue was extremely nimble. If you do this, how am I supposed to focus on recovery¡­

    Little White was embarrassed and anxious. Little Blue, how can you be like this?!

    She wanted to stop them, but how would she exin why she was hiding inside the wardrobe? Besides, popping out just like that would put Little Blue in quite the awkward spot too. She felt extremely conflicted, but she couldn''t take that final step because she was worried about how the others would feel.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An¡¯s entire body was covered in injuries, so Little Blue had to twist her own body around in order to not disturb Zu An¡¯s recovery. As she was extremely flexible, she wound around Zu An¡¯s body as if she had no bones, and was able to help him apply the ointment no matter what angle was necessary.

    Zu An felt like Fahai from the LLegend of the White Snake. He immediately warned himself, She¡¯s just doing this to treat your injuries! Don¡¯t think about random things, or else you¡¯ll ruin all of her good intentions!

    However, when Little Blue moved over to his lower abdomen to apply medicine, Zu An finally couldn''t take it anymore. He quickly stopped her and said, ¡°Lady Little Blue, I think that¡¯s good enough.¡±

    ¡°But there are still many injuries. What do you mean?¡± Little Blue asked in surprise. ¡°Look, this ce is swelling so much.¡±

    Zu An was stunned.

    Ssss!

    He sucked in air through his teeth and his entire body suddenly went taut. He became momentarily distracted, thinking about the animal kingdom of his previous world. He seemed to remember that snakes were able to swallow prey muchrger than their heads.

    Xu Xian¡¯s joy really wasn¡¯t something any normal person would be able to experience¡­[1]

    Little Bai was confused. Why had Little Blue suddenly fallen silent? Additionally, why was big brother Zu pulling the covers over his legs? Was he worried that Little Blue felt cold?

    She decided to go out and take a look. Thisss Little Blue had always been a bit too brave. She didn¡¯t want her to go too far and end up ruining their big brother Zu¡¯s recovery. But as soon as she pushed open the wardrobe doors, a knock came from outside. She immediately shrank back in fear.

    Zu An¡¯s entire body quivered. He called out, ¡°Who is it?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± Yan Xuehen replied in her distinct cold tone.

    Zu An took a deep breath and asked, ¡°Does Sect Master Yan need something?¡±

    ¡°I have some things to say to you,¡± Yan Xuehen said seriously.

    ¡°Uh, I¡¯ve already gotten in bed. Can we talk about it tomorrow?¡± Zu An replied, feeling somewhat reluctant.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    But Yan Xuehen¡¯s voice turned cold and she said, ¡°You¡¯re a busy person too, so I might not have a chance tomorrow. Open up. I¡¯ll leave after a few words.¡± She got a bit impatient and began to push open the door.

    There was nothing Zu An could do anymore. Little Blue shrank into the covers as if she had been shocked by electricity. There was a hint of panic on her pretty face, making her red lips seem even more red and moist than usual.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell her I¡¯m here!¡± she cried. In the end, she was still a little girl. She felt as if she had been caught doing something wrong and quickly looked for a ce to hide. She gave the dividing screen a look, but after some hesitation, she decided that it was safer to hide in the wardrobe.

    But the moment she opened the wardrobe, she saw Little White¡¯s eyes staring straight into hers.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Little Blue jumped in fright, but she quickly covered her mouth.

    ¡°What is that noise?¡± Yan Xuehen eximed in confusion. She used her ki to undo the door lock.

    When Little White saw that, she quickly pulled Little Blue into the wardrobe to hide with her. Little Blue¡¯s cheeks werepletely red, but thankfully, it was pitch-ck inside and no one could see it.

    Why is Little White here?

    Did she see everything then?

    Ahh, this is so embarrassing!

    Little White was thinking the same thing. Now that Little Blue had seen her here, her earlier exnation would clearly be exposed as a lie.

    Sigh, this is so embarrassing¡­

    ¡­

    Yan Xuehen quickly pushed open the door and entered. She scanned the room with her sharp eyes, but when she saw Zu An¡¯s appearance, she jumped in fright and quickly turned around. She yelped in embarrassment, ¡°Are you crazy? Why aren¡¯t you wearing anything?¡± She reached out her hand and closed the door. Otherwise, who knew what others would think if they saw the two of them like this!

    Only then did Zu An recall that he didn¡¯t have any clothes on because Little Blue had been helping him apply the ointment. But he put on his clothes in a calm and unhurried manner, replying, ¡°Who am I bothering by being naked in my own room? You were the one who barged in and saw something you weren¡¯t supposed to. The two of us were already even, but now, you owe me again.¡±

    Yan Xuehen was speechless. She cried, ¡°You have the nerve to say something like that? How can that kind of thing be called even?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +33 +33 +33¡­

    ¡°Why not? I¡¯ve always been a supporter of gender equality,¡± Zu An said brazenly.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s teeth were aching from how hard she was gritting them. This guy really did need a good beating! She quickly used the Unshakable Daoist Manual to calm down, then said, ¡°I didn¡¯te here to pick a fight with you. How are your injuries?¡± She only turned back around after making sure Zu An was dressed again.

    ¡°Not too bad,¡± Zu An replied. He thought to himself, Those two girls¡¯ medicines were indeed very effective.

    ¡°You¡¯re absorbing medicinal strength right now?¡± Yan Xuehen asked. As a grandmaster, she immediately noticed his current condition.

    Zu An nodded and said, ¡°I received a pill not too long ago, and the effects weren¡¯t too bad.¡±

    Yan Xuehen said, ¡°Since you¡¯re treating your injuries, I won¡¯t disturb you for too long. I¡¯ll leave after asking you a question.¡±

    Zu An chuckled and replied, ¡°We¡¯ve already gone through so much; we¡¯ve pretty much gone through life and death together. What do you want to ask? There¡¯s not a single thing that this body won¡¯t do if it can.¡±

    Yan Xuehen blushed. Who went through life and death with you? She was about to say something when she abruptly sniffed the air. She asked with a skeptical expression, ¡°Why is there a girl¡¯s scent here?¡±

    The two girls in the wardrobe immediately became nervous. The Golden Crow Crown Prince had previously mentioned that this was big brother Zu¡¯s woman. Neither big brother Zu or the n leader had refuted him, so she was clearly a proper girlfriend. How would she feel if she found out the two of them had snuck over in the middle of the night?

    Zu An was immediately hard pressed. He hadn¡¯t expected this ice queen¡¯s nose to be so sensitive. Is detecting the smells of their own kind a natural ability all women have?!

    1. Xu Xian is a mythological figure in Chinese folklore, one of the main characters in the Legend of the White Snake, ?

 Chapter 1205: Cards Laid on the Table

    <h4>Chapter 1205: Cards Laid on the Table</h4>

    Zu An reacted quickly, however. He replied, ¡°Oh, it might be the smell of medicinal ointment.¡± He pointed at the Myriad Flower Ointment by the bed.

    Yan Xuehen gave it a look and eximed, ¡°Hm? This medicine seems to be quite the precious item.¡± With her knowledge and insight, she was naturally able to distinguish which medicines were good.

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°A good friend gave it to me.¡±

    Little Blue smiled sweetly inside the cab when she heard him call her a good friend. Little White thought that he was talking about the Hundred Herb Pill she had given him, so she grinned as well. Neither of them could see each other, but both of their hearts were pounding crazily.

    If Yan Xuehen hadn¡¯t been seriously injured, with her cultivation, she would immediately have noticed the two of them.

    ¡°I¡¯m guessing it was given to you by those Snake race girls,¡± Yan Xuehen said. She suddenly felt annoyed for some reason, especially when she recalled how Zu An hadn¡¯t refused anyone when those Snake race women had flocked around him enthusiastically.

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +53 +53 +53¡­

    Zu An thought to himself, Don¡¯t you cultivate the Unshakable Daoist Manual? Why are you always getting angry so easily?

    Of course, he wouldn¡¯t be so stupid as to directly ask something like that. He suddenly thought of something and changed the topic, asking, ¡°Sect master, can you help me apply the medicine? It¡¯s a bit difficult on my own.¡±

    Yan Xuehen was a bit stunned. Her expression became a bit unnatural. In the past, no man would have dared to propose such a thing before her. There was no way she would have had any type of physical contact with another man either. In contrast, this fellow didn¡¯t seem to treat her as an outsider at all.

    But her many years of habit made her instinctively refuse. ¡°I will do no such thing!¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Zu An said with a regretful sigh.

    Yan Xuehen felt herself soften a bit when she saw his disappointment. She suddenly remembered that he had just fought such a great battle, and that it had mainly been to protect her and Yun Jianyue after the Golden Crow Crown Prince favored them. The reason why he had been injured so badly was also because of her¡­

    She suddenly felt a bit apologetic. She sat down next to him and picked up the Myriad Flower Ointment, saying, ¡°Take off your clothes.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He had only nned to say that to distract her, and had never expected her to actually agree! He took off his clothes in confusion.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s fine cheeks began to burn when she looked at his body up close. She thought to herself that if he said anything along the lines of telling her she owed him again, she would immediately fight him.

    Fortunately, Zu An didn¡¯t say anything. She sighed in relief, and began to help him apply the medicine with her ice-cold fingers. She couldn''t help but tremble when she felt his boiling hot skin. Only after a while did she calm down and say, ¡°Your wounds seem to have already been properly treated.¡±

    Zu An said without any sense of shame, ¡°There are still some wounds that haven¡¯t been properly treated. Since you¡¯re here now, I¡¯ll have to trouble you.¡± He made it sound as if he had been struggling to apply the medicine on himself previously.

    Yan Xuehen harrumphed. ¡°What¡¯s with that Yu Yanluo? She¡¯s an honorable n leader, yet she didn¡¯t send anyone to take care of you.¡±

    Little Blue felt angry and frustrated. She was supposed to have been the one to help her big brother Zu apply that medicine, yet now, another woman had ended up taking her spot!

    But when they heard the other woman actually criticizing Yu Yanluo, she and Little White were both stunned. They had thought that she was big brother Zu¡¯s concubine, and thus the little sister of the main wife, the n leader. But judging from those words, that didn¡¯t seem to be the case.

    Zu An chuckled in embarrassment and said, ¡°Yanluo sent someone, but I wasn¡¯t too used to being served and had her leave.¡±

    Yan Xuehen felt annoyed when she heard how affectionately he said ¡®Yanluo¡¯.

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +58 +58 +58¡­

    ¡°Hiss¡­¡± Zu An sucked air in through his teeth.

    Only then did Yan Xuehen notice that she had identally jabbed his wound with her finger. She felt apologetic and moved more gently. However, she wasn¡¯t willing to admit that openly. Instead, she said, ¡°I have a question. I need you to answer me honestly.¡±

    Zu An suddenly sighed and replied,¡°I know what you want to ask about. But, you have to promise not to get mad after you hear the answer.¡±

    Yan Xuehen panicked when she heard that. Is it really as I suspected?

    Zu An continued and said, ¡°Indeed,st time, we were in a moment of life and death, so I couldn''t be bothered to have so many misgivings. I used everything I had and harmed you. I¡¯m really sorry.¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s entire body trembled. She cried, ¡°Then why did you refute that when I asked youst time?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +555 +555 +555¡­

    Zu An had a bitter smile as he replied, ¡°It wasn¡¯t a good time to tell you the truth then.¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression turned cold. She shot back, ¡°So now, when I¡¯m not your match, you dare to speak the truth?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not what I¡¯m saying,¡± Zu An said, shaking his head. ¡°I could have chosen to never tell you the truth, but I still didn¡¯t want to lie to you.¡±

    Yan Xuehen knew that what he said was the truth. If he had never admitted to it, even if she suspected something, she would have no proof. But this matter was just too ridiculous. She retorted, ¡°What, am I supposed to thank you for being honest then?¡±

    ¡°Um¡­ I mean, you can thank me if you really want to,¡± Zu An said, feigning a shy expression..

    Yan Xuehen was dumbfounded. She was so angry that she pinched Zu An. How could this guy be so shameless?!

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +66 +66 +66¡­

    Zu An screamed bitterly. The two youngdies in the wardrobe were furious. Why was this woman so fierce? Their big brother Zu was still injured! If they weren¡¯t hidden in the wardrobe, they might already have barged out to criticize her.

    Yan Xuehen took a deep breath. She suppressed her surging emotions and said coldly, ¡°Is your skill some kind of Gu bug technique?¡±

    Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°It¡¯s a technique from the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra.¡±

    When she heard that it wasn¡¯t some Gu bug skill, Yan Xuehen sighed in relief. Otherwise, the thought of having some kind of bug squirming inside her would have made her shiver all over. However, when she heard that it was from the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, she was stunned. A skill from that legendary technique definitely wouldn¡¯t be simple.

    ¡°How long are the effects going to continue?¡± Yan Xuehen asked. She was incredibly embarrassed about how she kept thinking about him day and night. No wonder she had still ended up liking this man, even though she cultivated the Unshakable Daoist Manual!

    She felt a chill when she noticed that Zu An hadn¡¯t replied. She asked, ¡°There¡¯s no way that this skill wouldst forever, is there?¡±

    There was no avoiding pain regardless, so Zu An decided to just tell the truth. He said, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°How can you not know?!¡± Yan Xuehen cried furiously. ¡°Did you use the same skill on Chu Chuyan and Yu Yanluo?!¡±

    It was no wonder that even though that girl Chuyan was normally arrogant and aloof, she was still dead set on him. Yu Yanluo was known as the world¡¯s greatest beauty, someone who had rejected so many pursuers, and yet she had fallen under his hands. It was probably all because of Zu An¡¯s despicable methods. When she looked at him, her expression was full of disappointment and disdain.

    Little White and Little Blue were confused. What were the two of them talking about? They had even brought up the n leader.

    Zu An said with a serious expression, ¡°I never used this skill before that time; those two and I are each other¡¯s sunshine. I wouldn¡¯t need to rely on such a thing to reach my objective. The only time I used it was on you, and it was because I¡¯d already used up everything else.¡±

    He was starting to get annoyed at this point. He protested, ¡°Do you have no idea how strong you are? Since you were bullying the weak in your position, what else was I supposed to do?!¡±

    Yan Xuehen opened her mouth, but she didn¡¯t know how to retort against that. For some reason, she didn¡¯t feel that angry when she heard that the only time he had used that skill was on her. She even felt a bit happy.

    Damn it, it¡¯s definitely because of that sted skill!

    She quickly calmed down and deliberately put on a serious expression, saying, ¡°Tell me the exact details of the skill. I¡¯ll see if there¡¯s some way to break it.¡±

    Zu An obviously didn¡¯t want to take advantage of her through the skill. He described the Gold Phoenix¡¯s details to her.

    ¡°Gold Phoenix, love is more solid than gold¡­¡± Yan Xuehen blushed. Why did the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra have such indecent effects?!

    Since Zu An and Yan Xuehen were the only ones who knew what was going on, Little White and Little Blue werepletely confused. They didn¡¯t understand what the two were saying at all.

    ¡°It seems to be some kind of contract. If it¡¯s a contract, how can it ignore the disparity between the two sides ande into effect on its own? Or perhaps it¡¯s something else¡­¡± Yan Xuehen began to think to herself. As a grandmaster, she was knowledgeable and experienced. She began to analyze the various possibilities.

    Zu An was in admiration as he listened. As expected of the leader of the human race¡¯s righteous faction!

    However, Yan Xuehen couldn''t figure anything out even after a while. She got more and more annoyed. Eventually, she said, ¡°This is something only the two of us can know about. Don¡¯t let anyone else know, especially Chuyan, do you understand?¡±

 Chapter 1206: Sharing Misfortunes Together

    <h4>Chapter 1206: Sharing Misfortunes Together</h4>

    ¡°Alright,¡± Zu An replied. That had been his intention anyway. If news of this matter got out, not only would it affect Yan Xuehen¡¯s reputation, it would be hard for him to face Chuyan and the others too.

    The two of them quickly fell silent. Zu An was a bit guilt-ridden when he saw Yan Xuehen¡¯s worried frown. He said, ¡°Big sis Yan, I¡¯ll definitely help you solve this matter.¡± Considering their rtionship, calling her sect master or senior felt a bit strange.

    ¡°Big sis?¡± Yan Xuehen replied, her pretty brows furrowing. ¡°Considering both Chuyan¡¯s rtionship and the Unshakable Daoist Manual I passed onto you, it wouldn¡¯t hurt for you to call me master.¡±

    Little White and Little Blue were shocked. This woman was actually big brother Zu¡¯s master, too?

    Can there be any romantic feelings between master and disciple?

    Is human society really this messy?

    Zu An replied, ¡°I haven¡¯t formally bowed to you as my master, though, and calling you master would make you sound old. If you don¡¯t feel that ¡®big sis¡¯ is respectful enough, how about ¡®auntie¡¯?¡±

    Yan Xuehen was stunned. She felt that his expression was strangely expectant and enthusiastic, as if he were hoping for her to agree. She eventually said, ¡°Forget it, you can just call me ¡®big sister¡¯ for now.¡± She couldn¡¯t figure out what he was thinking, but she felt that ¡®big sister¡¯ sounded a bit better than ¡®auntie¡¯.

    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Zu An couldn''t help but feel a bit disappointed. He thought to himself that Yan Xuehen¡¯s clothes were pure like snow, and her usual icy cold nature was a bit reminiscent of Xiaolongn¨¹.[1]

    Yan Xuehen suddenly said, ¡°You said you would definitely help me solve this matter. But what if there¡¯s no way of solving it at all?¡±

    Zu An froze. He didn¡¯t know how to answer that.

    Yan Xuehen sighed. What else could she do? She could only go into seclusion in the White Jade Sect and refuse to see him for the rest of her life if that happened. As time went on, she might be able to sever her feelings.

    But she still wasn¡¯t happy about that thought. Why did she have to be the one to go through that? If they really reached that point, she had to make Zu An use this skill on Yun Jianyue too, to let her experience the same suffering. A slight smile couldn''t help but appear on the corners of her mouth when she thought about how Yun Jianyue would feel then.

    Zu An was stunned. Because Yan Xuehen¡¯s nature was usually too cold, she felt like an ice queen. She was even a bit colder than Chu Chuyan had been at first, and rarely smiled. But when she smiled, it really did feel like the first melting of snow, or the blossoming of hundreds of flowers. She was incredibly beautiful.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s heart began to beat faster when she noticed his gaze. Then, she felt a bit annoyed at her own reaction. She didn¡¯t know whether she felt truly bashful, or if it was the effect of the Gold Phoenix. Hmph, it¡¯s definitely the effect of that damn skill!

    Zu An coughed lightly when he saw how angry she was. He asked, ¡°Big sis, can you continue helping me apply the ointment?¡±

    Yan Xuehen almostughed out of annoyance. This guy really is thick-skinned! You still have the nerve to ask me to apply medicine even in this kind of situation?

    But when she thought about how the main reason he had been left like this was her, after some hesitation, she still sat down next to him with an unhappy expression. She took out a bit of the ointment and pressed it firmly against his wounds.

    ¡°Hiss¡­! Big sis, go a bit softer!¡± Zu An yelped with a grimace. This woman really is fierce!

    A faint smile appeared on Yan Xuehen¡¯s lips when she saw his expression of pain, but she quickly covered it up. She replied, ¡°How can a real man be unable to bear even this bit of pain?¡± Even though that was what she said, however, her movements still became gentler.

    As she smeared the ointment on his skin, her face gradually turned red. When had she ever made physical contact with a man like this before? When Zu An had treated her previously, she had still been wearing clothes, for better or for worse. Now that they were so close, she could clearly feel his masculine energy in the wisps of heating from his skin.

    This stupid ¡®love is more solid than gold¡¯ skill is activating again!

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +111 +111 +111¡­

    She was about to say something when a familiar voice called out from outside the door, ¡°Ah Zu, have you fallen asleep yet?¡±

    Yan Xuehen jumped in fright. It was actually Yun Jianyue! If she entered and saw the two of them in the same bed, with Zu An shirtless and the two touching each other¡­ Even though she was helping him apply medicine, considering her understanding of Yun Jianyue, the other woman would definitely twist it into some crazy affair. Her Devil Sect¡¯s people might just start spreading lies everywhere!

    ¡°Not yet,¡± Zu An subconsciously replied. Yan Xuehen wanted to stop him, but she was a split second toote.

    Yun Jianyue chuckled and said, ¡°Then open up. I have something to say to you.¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± Zu An gave Yan Xuehen a look, gesturing for her to help him open the door.

    But to his surprise, she suddenly leapt to her feet like a rabbit and hissed, ¡°Don¡¯t tell her I¡¯m here!¡± Then, she frantically searched for a ce to hide. After looking frantically around the room, she finally chose therge wardrobe.

    But the moment she opened the door, she saw Little White and Little Blue inside. If not for her exceptional control over herposure as a sect master, she might already have screamed out loud.

    At that instant, the atmosphere froze, bing extremely awkward!

    Never would Yan Xuehen have expected to find someone hiding there, and two people, at that! Didn¡¯t that mean these two had seen everything that just happened?!

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s face turnedpletely red when she realized that. She almost fainted on the spot.

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +444 +444 +444¡­

    She even had thoughts of just eliminating Zu An forever on the spot. However, Yun Jianyue could enter at any moment, so she didn¡¯t have the time to settle things with him at all. She closed the wardrobe¡¯s doors and quickly hid behind the screen divider.

    The door opened with a groan. Yun Jianyue voiced her surprise. ¡°Oh, you didn¡¯t close the door. You should have told me, or else I wouldn¡¯t have waited outside¡­ for so long.¡±

    She saw Zu An sitting on his bed with his upper body bare. She blushed, but quickly hid it. She asked, ¡°What the heck are you doing?¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°Wasn¡¯t I injured before? I¡¯m adjusting my internal energy and treating my wounds.¡±

    ¡°You could do that with your clothes on. What the heck did you have to strip for?¡± Yun Jianyue replied, her expression strange. She thought back to his battle against the Golden Crow Crown Prince and asked, ¡°Are you really an exhibitionist?¡±

    Behind the divider, Yan Xuehen smirked, thinking, Good, keep going!

    Zu An was speechless. He could only exin, ¡°Aren¡¯t there wounds on my body too? How can I apply medicine if I don¡¯t take off my clothes? You came at a great time. Hurry and help me out.¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s smile immediately froze. Weren¡¯t you asking me to help you just now? You¡¯re immediately asking someone else to help you?

    Are feelings a freaking public bus anyone can hop on?

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +574 +574 +574¡­

    Little Blue was even more depressed. I was clearly here first! I brought the medicine too¡­ This other woman helping out was already one thing, but why is another womaning in now too?

    You have sessfully trolled Little Blue for +555 +555 +555¡­

    Zu An felt his scalp turn numb when he saw the endless Rage points. But with how things were, he couldn''t be bothered to think about that. He couldn''t just tell Yun Jianyue that there had been other women helping him with the medicine, right?

    Yan Xuehen, how could you be so ungrateful? I¡¯m clearly wiping up after you here, so how can you me me instead?

    ¡°Brat, you really are quite daring, hm? You actually dare to have me apply medicine for you?¡± Yun Jianyue harrumphed. ¡°But seeing as you helped me teach that Golden Crow Crown Prince a good lesson, I won¡¯t be so petty.¡± Then, she sat down next to him, but she was much more confident than Yan Xuehen as she remarked, ¡°Oh? Your physique¡¯s pretty good.¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An became a bit depressed. He replied, ¡°You¡¯ve already seen me buck naked several times; I feel as if I¡¯m losing out somehow.¡±

    Yun Jianyue had an ambiguous smile as she asked, ¡°What, don¡¯t tell me you want to see me too or something?¡±

    Zu An said seriously, ¡°I¡¯m not as petty as some people. If I can see too, I¡¯ll just call it even.¡±

    Behind the screen, Yan Xuehen gritted her teeth tightly. Isn¡¯t this kid talking about me?!

    Pa!

    Yun Jianyue smacked his back and snapped, ¡°Damn brat, are you tired of living? If it were anyone else who said that in front of me, they would already have died several times over!¡±

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°Then it seems that big sis sect master already treats me as one of your own.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, you¡¯re surprisingly good at praising yourself,¡± Yun Jianyue said with a chuckle. She helped him apply the medicine while looking at the scars on his back. She eximed in surprise, ¡°Hm? Who helped you apply medicine earlier? It seems to have been pretty carefully done.¡±

    Yan Xuehen immediately began to panic.

    ¡°I did it myself, of course,¡± Zu An replied. ¡°What, did you think it was Yan Xuehen or something?¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s teeth were starting to ache from how hard she was biting down. This kid is absolutely dancing along the border of death!

    ¡°Tch, would that stone cold woman ever help another man apply medicine? The day that happens will be the day the sun rises from the west,¡± Yun Jianyue remarked, clicking her tongue. The two of them had fought for so many years, so how could she not know what her archnemesis was like?

    Yan Xuehen felt a bit unhappy. Was she really that bad?

    Little White and Little Blue exchanged a look, both seeing confusion in each other¡¯s eyes. Why were these two women¡¯s rtionships with big brother Zu so strange?

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s fingers moved across Zu An¡¯s sleek and powerful muscles. Her cheeks gradually turned a bit red too. She quickly changed the topic, asking, ¡°Right, have you seen that stone cold woman? I was looking for her, but I didn¡¯t find her anywhere.¡±

    1. Xiaolongn¨¹ is the fictional female protagonist of the wuxia novel ¡®The Return of the Condor Heroes¡¯ by Jin Yong. ?

 Chapter 1207: Way Too Packed

    <h4>Chapter 1207: Way Too Packed</h4>

    Behind the screen divider, Yan Xuehen became nervous.

    ¡°What do you need her for?¡± Zu An asked in confusion. Yan Xuehen was also puzzled.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. It¡¯s just that my hands are itching a bit and I want to hit something,¡± Yun Jianyue replied. She even swatted the air a few times while speaking.

    Yan Xuehen was speechless. Zu An didn¡¯t understand what she meant at first, but he immediately understood when he saw those movements. These two really are destined to be enemies¡­

    ¡°Ahem, I haven''t seen her. Maybe she¡¯s on a stroll somewhere, or she went to some guy¡¯s room.¡± Zu An said with a deadly earnest expression.

    Yan Xuehen almost jumped out to bite him to death. This guy was actually working together with Yun Jianyue to bully her!

    Yun Jianyue couldn''t help butugh, saying, ¡°That¡¯s where you¡¯re wrong. I¡¯ve fought against that stone cold woman for so many years. Even though she has a ton of ws, she¡¯s always remainedpletely pure in terms of romance. Why would she be in a man¡¯s room?¡±

    Behind the screen, Yan Xuehen¡¯s face heated up. I absolutely can¡¯t let her see me here, or else I¡¯ll die from embarrassment!

    Yun Jianyue said, ¡°Right, you¡¯ve fought quite well today. There were several times where even I broke out into a cold sweat, worried that you might not make it. That Golden Crow Crown Prince is one of the strongest at the master rank, and he even had the help of the Fiend Emperor¡¯s divine weapon. The fact that you were able to win against him really was quite excellent. Honglei didn¡¯t choose the wrong man after all.¡±

    Yan Xuehen frowned, thinking to herself, This woman really is cunning. She keeps using Qiu Honglei to pull their rtionship closer. Does that mean I should talk more about Chuyan with him in the future?

    Inside the wardrobe, Little White and Little Blue listened in confusion. Why is there another girl named Honglei, and what kind of rtionship do they have?

    ¡°It¡¯s all because big sisters have taught me well,¡± Zu An quickly said. Yan Xuehen felt a bit better when she heard him praise her too.

    However, Yun Jianyue said a bit unhappily, ¡°The stuff that stone cold woman taught you wasn¡¯t even of any help in your battle against the Golden Crow Crown Prince this time. Its use isn¡¯t as practical as my skill at all.¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression turned ice cold. This woman even wants to argue over something like this? But the most infuriating part was that she couldn''t even object!

    Little White and Little Blue widened their eyes. So big brother Zu¡¯s skills were taught by these two women? No wonder they were always so prideful, and even the n leader treated them with respect!

    Ah, we can¡¯t let his masters find out that we¡¯re hiding here no matter what, or else their impression of us will bepletely ruined!

    But they quickly remembered that they had already been caught by Yan Xuehen. Their expressions sank. They definitely had to give her some suitable presents in the future to apologize to her¡­

    Zu An coughed and said, ¡°They¡¯re all useful! Both are useful.¡± Yan Xuehen was right there, so he couldn''t start gossiping.

    ¡°You¡¯re always so slick-tongued. Forget it. That only means you wouldn¡¯t speak ill of me in front of her either,¡± Yun Jianyue said, then nodded in satisfaction.She asked, ¡°Right, that move of yours that covered the skies with sword ki, what is it called? It¡¯s actually pretty cool looking.¡±

    ¡°Really? I thought so too,¡± Zu An replied, his vanity greatly satisfied. He answered, ¡°Ites from the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra¡­¡± However, he actually didn¡¯t know if it really came from the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, or if it was some additional function provided by the keyboard system.

    ¡°The Phoenix Nirvana Sutra really is mysterious.¡± Yun Jianyue clicked her tongue in wonder. ¡°But I feel that the move still has a lot of room for perfection. If you alter it a bit, you can just defeat the Golden Crow Crown Prince with that move alone. There won¡¯t be any need to put yourself in such a dangerous situation anymore.¡±

    Zu An was shocked. He quickly asked, ¡°How can it be improved?¡±

    Yun Jianyue helped him apply medicine while asking, ¡°Did you pay attention when Golden Crow Crown Prince created his sword formation? The reason it was so powerful is because he used his own feathers. That made his feathers more concentrated and sturdier than sword ki made out of thin air. Furthermore, because your sword ki is made out of thin air, its power seems to be linked to your own cultivation. Against the truly strong, it isn¡¯t very useful at all.¡±

    Zu An nodded. He had faced grandmasters before, and back then, that attack wasn¡¯t too effective. That was why he just hadn¡¯t chosen to use it in those situations.

    Yun Jianyue continued, ¡°So, you can just imitate the Golden Crow Race¡­ Don¡¯t look at me like that. I know you don¡¯t have any feathers. What I¡¯m saying is that you can refine some earth-grade or higher-level weapons. Of course, the higher the rank, the better. You can then use those swords in ce of the sword ki, and the attack will be much stronger.¡±

    ¡°Our Holy Sect might not have many other things, but we have quite a few weapons. If youe visit our sect in the future, you can take a look around our warehouse. Of course, the heaven-grade weapons all have owners and I can¡¯t give them to you, but giving you a few dozen earth-grade weapons isn¡¯t too big of an issue.¡±

    In the martial world, a single earth-grade weapon was already enough to cause a hubbub within many sects. As for a heaven-grade weapon, they were usually weapons only the greatest sects would possess. Immortal-grade weapons, on the other hand, were already the stuff of legend. As for deity-grade weapons, not many of them had appeared since ancient times. Every single one of them had tremendous history.

    The fact that he could get tens of earth-grade weapons in one go would already be quite the big investment.

    Behind the screen divider, Yan Xuehen¡¯s eyes widened in shock. This woman really was going all out! Looks like I have to think of something too, or else he¡¯ll be roped in by that demoness¡­ That won¡¯t be good for my White Jade Sect at all.

    Little White and Little Blue werepletely stupefied. Just what kind of a background did this woman have? She was actually giving away tens of earth-grade weapons that easily? All in all all, their entire Snake Race only had a few earth-grade weapons!

    They had thought that the two women were weak individuals hiding behind their big brother Zu for protection. Now, it seemed that big brother Zu was actually a mooching pretty boy!

    Zu An was moved as well. He had never thought of that before. If he really tried that out, wouldn¡¯t the attack be dozens of times more powerful? He said with a smile, ¡°Thank you for your reminder, big sis sect master. But I don¡¯t need those earth-grade weapons. I have some weapons of my own.¡±

    ¡°Oh? You¡¯re showing disdain even toward earth-grade weapons?¡± Yun Jianyue replied in annoyance. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you have a bunch of heaven-grade weapons on you?¡±

    Zu An said with an awkward chuckle, ¡°I don¡¯t have any heaven-grade weapons.¡±

    ¡°What are you acting all cocky for if you don¡¯t have them?¡± Yun Jianyue asked, dumbstruck.

    ¡°But I seem to have acquired some immortal-grade ones¡­¡± Zu An took out some weapons and put them on the table as he spoke.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s eyes widened. She eximed, ¡°These are Sun ying Arrows, this is that Poisonous Prick, this is the sword that blocked the Sun ying Bow head on¡­ Kid, your treasury is making even me a bit jealous. I almost want to steal these from you.¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Yan Xuehen nodded in deep sympathy. This kid was a bit too well off, right? It was already quite amazing for a great sect to have a single immortal-grade weapon, yet this brat had so many of them. Furthermore, some of them might be even higher than immortal-grade!

    ¡°Hm? What are these five throwing knives?¡± Yun Jianyue¡¯s voice sounded again.

    Zu An said, ¡°These are the Immortal Beheading Knives I got in the past. I had a feeling that they might secretly be divine weapons, so I kept them.¡±

    ¡°Divine weapons?¡± Yun Jianyue picked one up and flicked it. She said, ¡°The material is quite good and they¡¯re sharp, but they don¡¯t seem to have any special skills. I don¡¯t think they¡¯re divine weapons.¡±

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°It¡¯s just a suspicion. Who knows? Maybe they were sealed or something, so I might have to gather nine of them before they transform.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not entirely impossible,¡± Yun Jianyue said as she lowered the throwing daggers. Then, she gave him some pointers on cultivation that were extremely helpful.

    A whileter, she said, ¡°Right, once you return to the human world, pay our Holy Sect a visit. We should get your marriage with Honglei over with already.¡±

    Zu An was surprised and happy. He replied, ¡°So you agree?¡±

    Yun Jianyue harrumphed, ¡°I¡¯m not like that stone cold woman, so why would I try to break up two lovebirds? But I still have to make this clear beforehand. You¡¯re not allowed to take her virginity before Honglei cultivates Heavenly Devil Temptation fully.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression immediately sank. He replied, ¡°Then it¡¯ll be fine even if we get marriedter¡­¡±

    ¡°Of course not!¡± Yun Jianyue immediately sat up straight. She said, ¡°A yboy like you has to have many other girls lined up, so we have to establish the order first. That stone cold woman keeps bringing up her disciple¡¯s past rtionship with you, and it really pisses me off! You two have clearly divorced already, so what rtionship do you even have left with that disciple of hers?

    ¡°I¡¯ve fought against that stone cold woman my entire life. She can¡¯t win against me, and her disciple will always be beneath mine!¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s entire body was shaking when she heard that. This woman really was treacherous!

    Right when she almost couldn''t hold herself back anymore and was about to rush out, a gentle voice called out from outside the door, ¡°Ah Zu~¡±

    It¡¯s Yu Yanluo (n leader)!

    The women inside were all stunned.

    Just as she took a step forward, Yan Xuehen quickly pulled her foot back. Little White and Little Blue both nervously shrank into the wardrobe.

    Yun Jianyue also suddenly got up. She wouldn¡¯t really have cared before, but it was now deep into the night. That brat Zu An¡¯s clothes still weren¡¯t on. Other people might not believe that they hadn¡¯t done anything when they were sitting on the same bed.

    She was full of experience in other areas, but that wasn¡¯t one of them. She felt a headache when she thought about another woman¡¯s jealousy. It¡¯s less trouble if no one knows!

    She quickly made her decision and hissed, ¡°Don¡¯t tell her that I¡¯m here!¡±

    Then, she instantly rushed over to open the wardrobe.

 Chapter 1208: Help Our Disciples Control Their Man

    <h4>Chapter 1208: Help Our Disciples Control Their Man</h4>

    Little White and Little Blue looked back at her with wide, innocent eyes.

    Yun Jianyue was speechless. How could she have known that there were other people there? If not for the fact that she had faced all sorts of crazy situations, in this situation where she waspletely caught off guard, she would already have cried out in rm.

    She turned around and shot Zu An a resentful look, then quickly closed the wardrobe door. Who knew what Zu An had been doing with these two little girls in his room just now! Otherwise, why would they have chosen to hide inside the wardrobe?

    Right, that brat¡¯s clothes weren¡¯t on when I came in¡­

    You little rascal!

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +555 +555 +555¡­

    She didn¡¯t know why she was so angry either. But she couldn''t be bothered to get revenge and quickly looked for other hiding ces. Apart from the wardrobe, there was only the screen divider left, so she quickly darted over.

    ¡°Aaaah!¡± This time, she finally couldn''t hold it in. She cried out, but fortunately, she reacted quickly and covered her own mouth.

    Yan Xuehen looked at her expressionlessly. The two women looked into each other¡¯s eyes just like that. It really was awkward.

    ¡°Why are you here?¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯re here, why can¡¯t I be here?¡±

    The two had fought each other for so many years that they didn¡¯t even have to speak. They knew what the other was thinking just from a single look. Sparks seemed to flicker in the air when their eyes met.

    That rascal Zu An!n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression became strange. Zu An hadn¡¯t had any clothes on when she first came in, and it seemed as if someone else had been helping him apply medicine.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡±

    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t! Don¡¯t think of random things!¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s face was red as she wordlessly denied her rival¡¯s suspicions with her expression. The two women both tacitly reached the same verdict on who the main cause of all of this was.

    ¡°You damn brat. Now so many people have overheard our private conversations.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +333 +333 +333¡­

    ¡°You little scoundrel, you¡¯ve actually made me feel so embarrassed. That witch almost had something else to use against me.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +333 +333 +333¡­

    Zu An¡¯s scalp turned numb when he saw the Rage points pouring in. How was he going to deal with the aftermath of this situation?

    Just then, Yu Yanluo suddenly pushed open the door and came in. She was dressed in a long, light beige dress. As the faint moonlight scattered across her body, a sparkling luster surrounded her figure. She looked just like a goddess of the moon.

    Little White and Little Blue secretly peeped from the wardrobe, feeling ashamed of their inferiority. They were already quite the beauties in their n, butpared to the n leader, they were still a bit inferior. The main reason was that they were still too young, giving them a natural disadvantagepared to Yu Yanluo¡¯s mature aura.

    Forget about the two of them, even Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue stopped their private war and stared at Yu Yanluo through the gaps between the screen divider. They both felt conflicted. No wonder this woman¡¯s beauty shocked the entire world, with so many men yearning for her day and night. She really is ridiculously beautiful.

    Even though the two women didn¡¯t feel that they were inferior in terms of appearance at all, they both knew theycked the warmth and inviting charm Yu Yanluo had. Furthermore, every action she took was full of womanly grace, of the sort that was most effective at breaking down men¡¯s wills.

    ¡°Hm? The door isn¡¯t closed?¡± Yu Yanluo eximed in surprise. She vaguely registered some sounds of rm, but when she saw that Zu An¡¯s body was exposed, her attention was immediately diverted. Her face turned a bit red as she asked, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you be sleeping? Why aren¡¯t you wearing anything?¡±

    Zu An was left in a bit of a daze. Just how many times had he had this conversation today? He replied almost instinctively, ¡°Oh, I was applying medicine just now.¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I ask Maid Xing to stay here to serve you? Why are you applying medicine by yourself?¡± Yu Yanluo said with an air of pity.

    Whether it was Little White or Little Blue in the wardrobe, or Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen behind the divider, all of their expressions turned strange. Don¡¯t tell me¡­

    Sure enough, Zu An said, ¡°I was worried about your safety, so I sent her back to protect you. Since you¡¯re here now, why don¡¯t you help me apply medicine?¡±

    And there it is!

    The women all gritted their teeth. You freaking yboy, just how many times have you used this move already?

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +233 +233 +233¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +233 +233 +233¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Little White for +233 +233 +233¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Little Blue for +233 +233 +233¡­

    Zu An shuddered when he saw the Rage pointsing in through the back end.

    Fortunately, Yu Yanluo didn¡¯t have any intention of refusing him. She naturally sat down by his side and picked up the ointment. She eximed, ¡°Hm? This seems to be Elder Blue¡¯s Myriad Flower Ointment.¡± She had naturally heard about the item, being the Snake race¡¯s n leader.

    Little Blue panicked. Big brother Zu, you¡¯d better not tell her! Otherwise, I¡¯d be finished if the n leader found out and thought I was secretly trying to steal her man¡­

    To her surprise, however, Zu An directly said, ¡°It was something Miss Little Blue brought. Miss Little White also brought me something, a Hundred Herb Pill. Both of them really are too kind.¡±

    Little Blue and Little White clutched their foreheads. They continued to groan inwardly. We¡¯re finished, we¡¯re finished!

    Behind the screen, Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue exchanged a look. They both saw worry in each other¡¯s eyes.

    Zu An¡¯s luck with thedies was a bit too great, right? He has only met those two girls today, and yet they were already giving him their most precious gifts! Compared to these fiend race girls, their disciples were still a bit too bashful¡­

    Our disciples aren¡¯t here, so as their masters, we should properly keep their man in check.

    Yu Yanluo chuckled when she heard that. She said, ¡°These two medicines are the n leaders¡¯ treasures. I¡¯ve almost never seen them used in all my time in Cloudcenter Commandery, yet they actually offered up these two medicines.¡±

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°Perhaps Elders White and Blue are trying to use this chance to reconcile with you.¡±

    Yu Yanluo shook her head. ¡°These are clearly those two girls¡¯ feelings. You can¡¯t let them down now.¡±

    Little White and Little Blue¡¯s faces began to well up with tears. The n leader really is a good person; she¡¯s actually speaking up for us! She really is too kind¡­

    Hmph, grandfather and the others keep speaking poorly about the n leader in private. They really shouldn¡¯t do that.

    ¡°I do need to thank them,¡± Zu An said. A gentle smile appeared on his face when he thought of the two girls¡¯ enthusiasm.

    ¡°Where are they? Elders White and Blue seemed to be looking for them all over just now.¡± Yu Yanluo asked curiously.

    ¡°Ahem, they returned after giving me the medicine,¡± Zu An said. No matter how thick his skin was normally, his face still heated up a bit. After all, there were so many spectators in the room.

    Little White and Little Blue both sighed. Fortunately, their big brother Zu hadn¡¯t exposed them. Otherwise, they didn¡¯t know how they would face the n leader afterward. As for their grandfathers, their treasures had been stolen, so how could they not be nervously looking for the two girls at that moment?

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue behind the screen both had contemptuous looks. This guy told lies without batting an eyelid; does he lie to us like this normally?

    Aplete yboy!

    ¡°Oh,¡± Yu Yanluo said while gently helping him apply the ointment. ¡°Then have you seen Sect Masters Yan and Yun? I didn¡¯t want to end up neglecting them in any way and went out to search for them in their rooms, but they weren¡¯t there.¡±

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue felt their hearts rise into their throats in panic. They had just been cursing Zu An for lying without batting an eyelid, but now, they were praying earnestly for him to not tell the truth. Otherwise, if this matter came to light, it would beplete social suicide!

    ¡°Uh, maybe they were just really enthusiastic toward the Fiend Races and they went out for a stroll,¡± Zu An said. He thought to himself, Well, they¡¯re right here, so it would be strange if you found them in their rooms.

    Yu Yanluo thought of the two¡¯s statuses and said, ¡°That makes sense. With their cultivation, they should be fine even if they¡¯re injured.¡±

    Suddenly, she voiced her surprise. ¡°Why do many of your wounds already have medicine applied to them?¡±

    Zu An almost choked on his own saliva. He said, ¡°I did it myself.¡±

    Yu Yanluo didn¡¯t suspect him and replied, ¡°The wounds on your body seem to be pretty much taken care of. Take off your pants then.¡±

    All the other women in the room were dumbfounded.

 Chapter 1209: Fell Down

    <h4>Chapter 1209: Fell Down</h4>

    ¡°That¡¯s a bit inappropriate, isn¡¯t it?¡± Zu An replied, feeling a bit embarrassed. He guiltily felt an urge to look toward the wardrobe and the screen divider, but for fear that Yu Yanluo might notice something, he restrained himself with great difficulty.

    ¡°What¡¯s inappropriate about that? It¡¯s not as if there are outsiders here,¡± Yu Yanluo said.

    Zu An didn¡¯t even know how to respond. He couldn''t just tell her that there were actually a few other women there, could he? Seeing that Zu An kept acting embarrassed, Yu Yanluo just assumed he was being shy. She didn¡¯t say anything and just helped him directly.

    ¡°Ah¡­¡± Zu An couldn''t stop her in time. He felt extremely awkward.

    ¡­

    Inside the wardrobe, Little White and Little Blue¡¯s eyes widened. Their n leader was like a goddess to them, and yet she was actually so direct and straightforward in such matters?

    Just how great is big brother Zu¡¯s charm?N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue inadvertently looked away. They harrumphed, thinking to themselves that fiend race women were fiend race women after all. The women here acted without any sense of bashfulness! But even though they didn¡¯t stare at it, their grandmaster-level divine senses were powerful. The scene from earlier in the day quickly surfaced in their minds. Both of them blushed deeply.

    Yu Yanluo didn¡¯t think too much about the situation. Instead, when she saw the wounds on Zu An¡¯s legs, tears began to flow. She murmured, ¡°Your injuries were so serious, and yet you didn¡¯t say anything.¡±

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s immeasurable sword ki wasn¡¯t so easily blocked. Zu An¡¯s legs were covered in sword scars. It was only thanks to his body¡¯s toughness that he hadn¡¯t been diced up into mincemeat.

    Yu Yanluo felt incredibly sorry for him and carefully helped him apply the ointment. Zu An gently stroked her beautiful hair, a warm feeling surging within him. He said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it just looks bad. It¡¯s just a flesh wound.¡±

    ¡°Even in this kind of situation, you¡¯re still trying to act tough?¡± Yu Yanluo couldn''t help but feel a bit upset. She said, ¡°It¡¯s all because of those two women that you did all this. Just what kind of figures are they? Why would you have to fight for them? I really don¡¯t know what I would do if something happened to you¡­¡±

    Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen gritted their teeth. I see how it is, Medusa. Talking behind other people¡¯s backs isn¡¯t what a noble should do!

    Zu An exined, ¡°You know they¡¯re injured. They might have been in danger if I hadn¡¯t stepped up.¡±

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue felt warm inside when they heard that. This guy is normally pretty frivolous, but he¡¯s actually reliable when it matters.

    At that moment, both of them felt strange. They were normally so strong that they had already forgotten what it felt like to be protected by someone else. Now, Zu An had risked his life to protect them. They felt extremely conflicted.

    ¡­

    Yu Yanluo quietly helped Zu An apply the medicine. Suddenly, her cheeks turned red and she said, ¡°You¡¯re already so injured, and yet you¡¯re still so indecent.¡±

    Zu An felt wronged. With Yu Yanluo breathing next to him so gently, how could he possibly still control himself?

    Afterward, Yu Yanluo clearly began to move faster, quickly treating the wounds on Zu An¡¯s legs. After that, she got up with a red face and said, ¡°Get some rest. I won¡¯t disturb you anymore.¡±

    However, Zu An felt a bit reluctant and instinctively grabbed her hand. Yu Yanluo hadn¡¯t stood up all the way, and quickly sat back down after that motion. Her cheeks turned redder and redder as she said, ¡°Don¡¯t be like that. You¡¯re still injured.¡±

    Zu An moved over to her ear and said quietly, ¡°You know what method I used to heal you. That method not only heals others, but also heals me.¡±

    A powerful swirl of emotions filled Yu Yanluo. The two of them had just confirmed their rtionship; for her, this was like a honeymoon period. They had been in a cave before, and under the urging of Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue, they¡¯d had to wrap things up in a rush. Now, she could finally rx a bit.

    ¡°Ah Zu~¡± she eximed, misty-eyed. Now that they were in a private situation without anyone else watching, she instinctively offered up her red lips.

    Zu An waspletely enchanted by her sweet aura. He had been able to experience in reality something that countless other men could only dream of doing.

    ¡­

    Inside the wardrobe, Little White and Little Blue¡¯s breaths quickened, but they didn¡¯t think that anything was inappropriate about the situation. After all, deep down in their hearts, they had already acknowledged Zu An as the n leader''s man. Now that the n leader was acting so intimately, they actually felt a bit excited.

    But Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue thought otherwise.

    What the hell is this brat trying to do?!

    He knows we¡¯re still here, and yet he still dares to do such things? Absolute nonsense!

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +444 +444 +444¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +444 +444 +444¡­

    Zu An only came to his senses when he saw the iing Rage points. I¡¯m done for! I actually forgot that there were still other people here!

    He quickly tried to push Yu Yanluo aside, but to his surprise, her body had bepletely soft and flexible, remaining pressed up right against him.

    ¡°Wait¡­¡± Zu An began. He never would have expected to be the one saying such a thing.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Yu Yanluo replied. She had her arm around his neck, her beautiful eyes full of tenderness.

    ¡°Um¡­¡± Zu An trailed off, feeling a bit lost for words. He didn¡¯t know how to exin things to her. Yu Yanluo just smiled sweetly and took the initiative to kiss him again.

    Zu An had always read the phrase ¡®lying in his arms like a beautiful snake woman¡¯ in the light novels he used to read online, but had never really thought much of it. Now, he finally understood what kind of an experience it really was. It truly was a wonderful feeling, and such passion was impossible for any man to resist.

    ¡°Wait¡­ Wait a second.¡± Zu An had to use an incredible amount of willpower in order to push her away. He was wondering how he was going to exin himself, but Yu Yanluo¡¯s face turned deathly pale and her passionate eyes were filled with tears.

    Zu An began to panic, asking, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Yu Yanluo didn¡¯t say anything. She pulled up her clothes to cover her spotlessly white skin, then silently walked outside.

    Zu An was now really rmed. He immediately took her into his arms and said, ¡°Yanluo, please tell me what¡¯s wrong.¡±

    Yu Yanluo finally couldn''t take it. She said, ¡°I¡¯ve never acted like this toward someone before. This is the first time, but you didn¡¯t like it.¡±

    She hadn¡¯t felt much the first time she was rejected, but this had happened two times in a row. Was there really a man who would do such a thing in this world? It could only mean one thing, then: He didn¡¯t like her anymore.

    She suddenly thought of some books Maid Xing had bought; they all said men were fickle and disloyal people. They would treat someone with endless affection and gentleness, but once they got what they wanted, that someone would be abandoned just like that. She had previously scoffed at that saying, but now, she really did believe it.

    She wasn¡¯t such a self-conscious person usually, but she cared about him too much. Even though she wasn¡¯t willing to believe that Zu An was that kind of person, she was still incredibly broken-hearted.

    When Zu An saw the pearl-like tears in her eyes, he knew he had really hurt her. He quickly helped her wipe away her tears, trying to exin, ¡°You¡¯ve misunderstood! It¡¯s just that there¡¯s a certain reason I can¡¯t exin¡­ Forget it, you might find out soon.¡±

    He couldn''t be bothered with that anymore. Cheering Yu Yanluo up again was the most important thing. He rained kisses down on her perfect cheeks.

    At first, Yu Yanluo was still hurt and refused him. But even though she was mature in terms of age, she had no experience at all in this field. How could she possibly be a match for Zu An¡¯s courting methods?

    Her previously stiff body softened once again. Her teary eyes also gradually regained their brilliance. She felt a slight chill envelop her body as her clothes fell to the ground. She suddenly felt a bit unhappy, thinking, Why is he so good at this¡­

    But she couldn¡¯t focus on that. For some reason, she felt as if she were being watched. Just then, she lowered the curtains off to the side. As the red curtains fell, a faint, hushed voice cried out.

    Thud!

    The wardrobe suddenly fell down.

 Chapter 1210: Selling Out a Comrade

    <h4>Chapter 1210: Selling Out a Comrade</h4>

    As Little White and Little Blue eavesdropped from the wardrobe, they felt an unfamiliar kind of joy. After all, the conversation was between the n leader and big brother Zu. They really wanted to know what kinds of things the two said to each other in private.

    But things had developed far faster than they could ever have imagined. Little White quickly shrank back fearfully, her face turningpletely red. It almost seemed as if smoke woulde out of her head. In the end, she was still just an underripe little girl. The things happening before her eyes were a bit too real!

    However, the two girls¡¯ responses showed just how different their personalities were. Even though Little Blue¡¯s face waspletely red as well, she still leaned against the wardrobe door, worrying that she might miss a single detail. Looking through the door cracks alone wasn¡¯t good enough for her; she even secretly opened the door a little wider.

    Seeing Little Blue shake her bottom from side to side from excitement while watching, Little White was left distraught. She really wanted to smack the other girl, but she was scared of alerting the people outside.

    ¡­

    Unlike the two youngdies, who were bashful and curious, Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue were both incredibly pissed off. This brat Zu An clearly knew they were still there, and yet he was still going to act all intimate with Yu Yanluo? Was he trying to show off on purpose or something?

    For some reason, both women felt a surge of anger when they saw how intimate the two were acting.

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +444 +444 +444¡­N?v(el)B\\jnn

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +444 +444 +444¡­

    Yan Xuehen gave Yun Jianyue a look, gesturing with her eyes and hissing, ¡°Go and stop them!¡±

    Yun Jianyue replied unhappily, ¡°Why do I have to?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m injured, so it isn¡¯t convenient for me to do it,¡± Yan Xuehen answered with surprising directness.

    Yun Jianyue hadn¡¯t expected the other woman to have such a shameless side. However, she knew that having Yan Xuehen apany her wouldn¡¯t do much at all. Of course, there was no way she would go out there and stop them in person; that would still be way too embarrassing.

    Suddenly, she looked toward the wardrobe that was slightly open, and got an idea. She casually brushed her hand in its direction, sending a gentle wave of force toward the wardrobe.

    Little Blue waspletely focused on trying to adjust her position so she could see more clearly. Suddenly, however, she lost her center of gravity. She quickly moved backward to try and steady herself; unfortunately, the entire wardrobe seemed to have been hit by a strong force, and she couldn''t stop it at all.

    With a loud crash, the wardrobe fell to the floor and broke into pieces. Zu An and Yu Yanluo jumped in fright and reflexively looked in its direction.

    Cough! Cough!

    Because the wardrobe hadpletely copsed, it could no longer conceal the two girls. They coughed while crawling to their feet. Little White awkwardly greeted Yu Yanluo, ¡°n¡­ n leader, what a coincidence.¡±

    Inwardly, however, she was incredibly unhappy with Little Blue. It¡¯s all her fault for sticking her body out and unbncing the wardrobe!

    Little Blue also felt terrible. She couldn''t figure out why the wardrobe had copsed. But at that moment, she could only smile awkwardly.

    ¡°Aaah!¡± Yu Yanluo cried, jumping in fright when she saw the two girls. She quickly pulled the sheets over her chest. However, she sighed in relief when she saw that it was Little White and Little Blue.

    ¡°Why are you two here?¡± she asked. She felt ashamed and upset; she had been at the height of vulnerability and passion, and yet now, the two girls had popped up out of nowhere. She felt as if she had been sshed with cold water.

    ¡°We¡­¡± Little White trailed off in a panic. She lowered her head and fiddled with the hems of her clothes. She didn¡¯t know how to exin herself.

    However, Little Blue replied quickly, ¡°We came to give big brother Zu medicine.¡±

    ¡°Medicine? Why did you have to enter a wardrobe if you were just giving him medicine?¡± Yu Yanluo asked.

    ¡°Um¡­ We were scared that the n leader would misunderstand,¡± Little White exined, bracing herself.

    ¡°Scared of a misunderstanding¡­¡± Yu Yanluo muttered, stunned. She suddenly realized that it was the middle of the night, and when she had entered the room, Zu An¡¯s upper body was bare. Her brows quickly rose and she began, ¡°You guys¡­¡±

    Zu An jumped in fright. He quickly exined, ¡°We didn¡¯t¡­ do anything. They only helped me treat my wounds.¡±

    That couldn¡¯t be considered a lie, could it? What Little Blue had done to reduce his ¡®swelling¡¯ could also be considered a sort of treatment, right?

    Yu Yanluo almost fainted on the spot. It turned out that Zu An had already known they were there from the start. Didn¡¯t that mean he had been working together with them to lie to her? She remembered how proactive she had been just moments before, realizing that her ¡®ugly¡¯ side had been seen. How was she supposed to show herself in public in the future?

    You have sessfully trolled Yu Yanluo for +555 +555 +555¡­

    The killing intent that filled the air was practically tangible. The two youngdies¡¯ faces turnedpletely pale. They quickly said, ¡°Since we¡¯ve already delivered the medicine, we¡¯ll be going first. Big brother Zu, please rest up well.¡± As they finished speaking, they fled guiltily toward the exit.

    ¡°Wait!¡± Yu Yanluo called out icily.

    Little White and Little Blue froze. They braced themselves and turned around, asking, ¡°Does the n leader have any instructions for us?¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression fluctuated between several emotions. What else could she even say in such a situation? She couldn''t just silence the two of them over such a thing, could she? It¡¯s all this rascal Zu An¡¯s fault!

    You have sessfully trolled Yu Yanluo for +233 +233 +233¡­

    Little White stuttered, ¡°D-Don¡¯t worry, n leader. We won¡¯t tell anyone about what happened today.¡±

    Little Blue thought to herself, Big sister really is stupid. She just keeps talking about the n leader''s sore spot!

    To their surprise, however, Yu Yanluo shook her head and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t stop you because of that; it was to thank you two for the medicines you gave Zu An. I know those two medicines are extremely precious.¡±

    Little White and Little Blue were still little girls in the end. They were both incredibly moved, thinking, How can the n leader be such a good person?

    ¡°That¡¯s something we should have done in the first ce. n leader is being too formal,¡± the two of them quickly said.

    Should have? Yu Yanluo thought, and her expression turned strange. Even if she herself got sick, Elders White and Blue might not bring out those two medicines, right? And yet, the two girls had given them out to Zu An just like that.

    ¡°Be careful on your way back,¡± she said, smiling at the two of them. She thought to herself, I¡¯ll settle things with Zu An once they leave.

    ¡°n leader should get some proper rest,¡± Little White and Little Blue said as they left.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression quickly turned cold when she looked at Zu An. Zu An chuckled in embarrassment and began, ¡°Yanluo, please, I can exin¡­ Ahhh!¡±

    Zu An screamed loudly in pain, as Yu Yanluo was so upset that she had bitten him outright. He had been feeling guilty to begin with, and he was scared of hurting her more, so he could only beg for mercy.

    But he was full of experience. While they were y-fighting, his hands moved with incredible dexterity, quickly dispelling her anger.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s face turnedpletely red. After her fierce ¡®bite¡¯, she had vented out most of her anger already.

    Little White and Little Blue were just two little girls, after all. Furthermore, she could use the situation to ease her rtionship with the two elders. In the long term, it would be a good thing. When she thought of that, she didn¡¯t feel so angry anymore.

    Then, as Zu An took initiative, her body softened up again. Her initial critical tone gave way to lovable pleading. In the end, shepletely offered herself to him, ready to receive him.

    Suddenly, however, right at the most crucial moment, the doors opened again with a groan. The two of them jumped in fright. Yu Yanluo pulled the nearby covers over herself again.

    Zu An wanted to cry, but no tears came out. He might really end up with some psychological damage if this kept happening!

    The two of them already knew that the one at the entrance was Little White. She had clearly seen something, and her face was entirely red. At that moment, she was left with quite the dilemma.

    Yu Yanluo suppressed the embarrassment she felt. She did her best to prevent her voice from shaking as she asked, ¡°Little White, is there something else you need?¡±

    Little White had a conflicted look on her face. However, when she thought about how good the n leader had been to them, she couldn''t let the n leader go through anything bad without knowing anything after how nicely she had treated them. As such, she mustered her courage and pointed at the divider, saying, ¡°n leader, there are still more people over there behind that screen.¡±

    Afterward, she quickly bolted away. Just thinking of what would follow was incredibly embarrassing. How could she dare to stay?

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue widened their eyes. They never would have expected the seemingly timid little girl to actually sell them out!

    ¡°What do we do now?¡± Yan Xuehen asked as she looked at Yun Jianyue, her expression full of rm and panic.

    ¡°How the hell should I know?!¡± Yun Jianyue replied silently. The two grandmasters had gone through all kinds of storms, and yet now, they were really panicking.

    ¡°Zu An!¡± Yu Yanluo yelled angrily. She really hadn¡¯t expected that there would be others hiding there.

    Zu An also felt a huge headache. Messing up such situations really was like facing the end of the world!

    ¡°Who is it?!¡± Yu Yanluo cried as she quickly picked up her clothes. She was so angry that her entire body was shaking.

    You have sessfully trolled Yu Yanluo for +777 +777 +777¡­

    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Zu An trailed off. He really didn¡¯t know how to exin himself.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression turned cold as she said, ¡°If you won¡¯t tell me, then I¡¯ll look for myself.¡± She raised her hand and prepared to shatter the divider.

    ¡°Ah!¡± With a cry of rm, a figure staggered out from behind the screen before regaining her bnce. It seemed she had been pushed out by someone.

    Yan Xuehen rubbed her bottom. She really wanted to settle things with Yun Jianyue, that witch who had no loyalty!

    ¡°Sect Master Yan?¡± Yu Yanluo eximed, stunned. She had thought of many possibilities, but she hadn¡¯t expected it to be her.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s face waspletely red. She really wanted to find a hole to squirm into. She mumbled, ¡°Um, uh¡­ Greetings, Madam Yu. The moon is certainly round today. Do you want to go and admire the moon together with me?¡±

 Chapter 1211: Caught Up in the Drama She Was Enjoying

    <h4>Chapter 1211: Caught Up in the Drama She Was Enjoying</h4>

    Yu Yanluo was speechless. She waspletely stunned. Had Yan Xuehen hit her head or something?

    Yan Xuehen was also about to faint. Why had shee up with such a stupid excuse?

    Meanwhile, Yun Jianyue almost burst outughing. The stone cold woman was usually graceful and angelic, and yet today, she was actually so slow. It was actually surprisingly cute.

    Yu Yanluo looked at Zu An expressionlessly, waiting for an exnation from him.

    You have sessfully trolled Yu Yanluo for +299 +299 +299¡­

    Surprisingly, however, Zu An cried, ¡°Huh? Sect Master Yan, why are you here?!¡±

    Yan Xuehen was speechless. He had been calling her ¡®big sis¡¯ not too long before, and yet now, it had gone back to ¡®sect master¡¯ again!

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +233 +233 +233¡­

    Yan Xuehen suddenly noticed that Zu An was frantically gesturing toward her with his eyes. She couldn''t help butugh inwardly. His face looked as if it were twitching or something; it really was ugly. But she finally reacted in the end, saying, ¡°I thought that I had recovered enough, so I tried to fly, but identally ended up falling here. I inadvertently disturbed you two.¡±

    Yu Yanluo was expressionless. Do you take me for a fool?

    If you identally fell here, why would Little White know that you were hiding there?

    But it wasn¡¯t the time to expose the other woman. She could only silently ept the excuse.

    Yan Xuehen also knew the excuse she had scraped together wouldn¡¯t be able to fool the other woman. She was so embarrassed, she wanted to dig straight into the floorboards and disappear. However, she could only say, ¡°Since it¡¯s already gettingte, then I won¡¯t disturb your rest.¡±

    Inwardly, she felt quite sullen. She had been chasing Yu Yanluo vigorously and domineeringly just a few days before, and yet now, she actually couldn''t even raise her head in front of the other woman! She even had to speak carefully. It¡¯s all that brat Zu An¡¯s fault!

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +433 +433 +433¡­

    Zu An felt miserable. I¡¯m over here trying to find an excuse for you; what are you getting upset at me for?

    But wait, why did only Yan Xuehene out by herself?

    ¡°I wish Sect Master Yan a speedy recovery,¡± Yu Yanluo said, calming down again. She was the host, after all, and the other woman¡¯s status was special. As a host, she couldn''t go too far.

    Yan Xuehen felt strangely guilty when they made eye contact and quickly avoided Yu Yanluo¡¯s gaze. She forced a smile and nodded before quickly leaving.

    Behind the divider, Yun Jianyue sighed in relief. Sure enough, this stone cold woman was so flustered that all of her attention was on Yu Yanluo. Shepletely forgot about getting revenge on me!

    This stone cold woman is still a bit too easily embarrassed. If she were from our Holy Sect, with her nature, she really wouldn¡¯t have a good time.

    After Yan Xuehen left, Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression turnedpletely cold. She remarked toward Zu An, ¡°Who would¡¯ve thought that you were even in cahoots with Sect Master Yan?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Yu Yanlu for +198 +198 +198¡­

    Zu An replied, with a bitter smile, ¡°Yanluo, you¡¯ve misunderstood! She only came to visit me. She only hid there because she was scared of a misunderstanding happening!¡±

    ¡°Oh? If you two were really innocent, why would you be scared of a misunderstanding?¡± Yu Yanluo sneered.

    ¡°It¡¯s already the middle of the night; these kinds of situations can easily cause misunderstandings! You know her status is special. She might have thought that the lessplications there were, the better it would be. But she didn¡¯t expect to be exposed in the end,¡± Zu An exined. He suddenly asked, ¡°Right, do you have a recording stone here?¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s pretty brows furrowed. She asked, ¡°Why do you need it?¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°You know I left Cloudcenter Commandery in a hurry in order to save you, but I didn¡¯t expect to be trapped in the mines afterward. Now, I¡¯m deep in the fiend race territories, so I have to contact the Imperial Envoy somehow, right? Otherwise, I might already be a wanted criminal by the time I get back.

    Yu Yanluo softened up a bit when she thought about how Zu An was in this situation because of her. She took out a recording mirror from a storage pouch off to the side and gave it to him, saying, ¡°I have a recording mirror, but if you want to record a long message, the ki stones it has inside might not be enough. I¡¯ll get the n to bring you some more tomorrow.¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Yun Jianyue thought to herself, Yu Yanluo is a wealthy n leader after all. She really does throw around wealth easily.

    Zu An¡¯s ability to mooch really is on an entirely different level.

    Zu An spoke up again, saying, ¡°There¡¯s no need; I won¡¯t use up too much time. The few ki stones I have with me should be enough. You¡¯ve just returned to the Snake race territory, so you should hold onto them to improve public opinion.¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression eased a bit when she heard Zu An¡¯s expression of consideration. However, she still couldn''t help but say, ¡°I almost fell for your tricks. Stop changing the topic and tell me what exactly you and Yan Xuehen were doing in this room.¡±

    Zu An felt that the situation had be a huge pain in the ass. Why isn¡¯t she just letting the matter drop? But Yan Xuehen wasn¡¯t Little Blue; the two of them really hadn¡¯t done anything. He had a clear conscience as he said, ¡°Nothing, really. She just helped me apply some medicine.¡±

    ¡°She helped you apply some medicine?¡± Yu Yanluo¡¯s eyes widened. Yan Xuehen¡¯s cold and arrogant figure appeared in her mind. That coldness was something she could feel even from far away. A woman like that would help a man apply medicine, and with his clothes off, no less?

    Yun Jianyue nodded in deep sympathy. She had already formed simr suspicions when she saw Yan Xuehen hidden behind the divider. She had been just as shocked then.

    Hmph, stone cold woman, isn¡¯t your character aplete mess now? Let¡¯s see how you¡¯re going to keep up that act in the future!

    ¡°Is there a problem?¡± Zu An asked in confusion.

    ¡°Yes, of course there is!¡± Yu Yanluo replied, remaining expressionless. ¡°I seem to havee at a bad time.¡±

    Zu An just assumed she was angry and quickly said, ¡°No, no, no, you came at the perfect time!¡±

    ¡°What do you mean, ¡®perfect time¡¯? I ended up ruining your happy time,¡± Yu Yanluo shot back, seemingly very upset.

    Zu An gulped and said, ¡°Yanluo, don¡¯t scare me like that¡­ You can hit me and curse me, but don¡¯t be like that.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not joking with you,¡± Yu Yanluo said, sounding surprised by Zu An¡¯s reaction. She continued, ¡°If I had arrived a bitter¡­ Well, it¡¯s alreadyte at night. With just a man and woman alone together, who knows? The two of you might have gotten a step closer.¡±

    Zu An was stupefied. Meanwhile, Yun Jianyue gave him a sidelong nce, thinking, Is there something wrong with this woman?

    When she saw Zu An¡¯s expression, Yu Yanluo quickly said, ¡°Other women would be one thing, but I actually fully support you in capturing her. Think about it; she¡¯s a grandmaster, and even the master of the White Jade Sect. If she became your woman, wouldn¡¯t you be able to do whatever you wanted?¡±

    Of course, there was something else she wasn¡¯t saying. She still vividly remembered being chased down by Yan Xuehen a few days before. They were no longer enemies, so she couldn''t really get revenge at this point. However, if Yan Xuehen became Zu An¡¯s woman too, as Yu Yanluo was the first one to confirm her rtionship with Zu An, Yan Xuehen would have to respectfully call her ¡®big sister¡¯. That thought alone put a big smile on her face.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s eyes lit up. That actually didn¡¯t sound like that bad of an idea. She thought, If Yan Xuehen is sessfully captured by Zu An, then as Zu An¡¯s senior, wouldn¡¯t she have to serve me respectfully in the future?

    Most importantly, if both master and disciple belonged to the same man, she could spread the news everywhere. Let¡¯s see how that woman would still act cocky then!

    Themon people all worshiped Yan Xuehen as if she were some immortal. White Jade Sect had sessfully convinced the world of that.

    If her image copsed, wouldn¡¯t our Holy Sect then rise,pletely crushing the White Jade Sect beneath our feet? Yun Jianyue was so excited she almost burst outughing.

    ¡°Um¡­ I don¡¯t think that¡¯s too appropriate,¡± Zu An said. He was really sweating now. He really hadn¡¯t expected Yu Yanluo to have that sort of idea.

    ¡°What¡¯s inappropriate about that?¡± Yu Yanluo harrumphed. ¡°In my opinion, Yan Xuehen alone isn¡¯t enough. That Yun Jianyue seems to have good intentions towards you too. Both of them are seriously injured right now; this is an incredible situation no other man could experience. You should seize this chance well and take both of them as your wives. Then, both leaders of the righteous and devil ways will be your women.¡±

    If that happens, you really will be able to do whatever you want in this world.

    Yun Jianyue had just been watching the drama y out happily. But when she heard that, her smile instantly froze on her face.

 Chapter 1212: Thoughts Aligned

    <h4>Chapter 1212: Thoughts Aligned</h4>

    At that point, even Zu An couldn''t stop the situation anymore. He decided he might as well give up. Either way, too many mess-ups had already happened that day, so one more wouldn¡¯t make that much of a difference.

    Yun Jianyue felt even gloomier. What kind of a person was she? She was an existence known as a reaper of death throughout the world, someone whose reputation stopped children from crying at night! And yet now, they were actually plotting against her?

    The worst part was that it wasn¡¯t Zu An who had suggested it, but rather Yu Yanluo! She didn¡¯t even know how to properly vent the resentment she was feeling.

    It¡¯s all that damn brat¡¯s fault!

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +202 +202 +202¡­

    Zu An was paying attention to the Rage points pouring in from the backend when Yu Yanluo suddenly asked, ¡°Between Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen, which of them do you like a bit more?¡±

    Yun Jianyue had been angry at first, but she quickly perked up her ears when she heard that. For some reason, she really cared about Zu An¡¯s answer to the question.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    He probably likes that stone cold woman a bit more, right? After all, the people of this world all like her aloof and fairy-like appearance.

    Zu An felt his scalp turn numb. Sis, are you trying to kill me with this question?! He didn¡¯t know how to reply at all. Regardless of what he said, he would end up offending the other one.

    Of course, Yun Jianyue was the only one there, so he could choose to lean a bit toward her. But knowing Yun Jianyue, she would probably act all cocky in front of Yan Xuehen afterward. At that point, he really wouldpletely offend Yan Xuehen¡­

    Meanwhile, Yu Yanluo had already begun to think out loud on her own. ¡°People all call Yun Jianyue a demon who murders without blinking an eye, while they consider Yan Xuehen a pure and sacred fairy. But judging from my recent interactions with them, I actually feel that Yan Xuehen is a bit fiercer; Yun Jiayue is actually kinder, and she treats you better¡­¡±

    Previously, she had been chased by Yan Xuehen, almost leading to her and Zu An¡¯s deaths. There was no way she wouldn¡¯t feel any resentment.

    Yun Jianyue smiled widely. This girl not only looks pretty, but also speaks well. I like this person!

    Zu An sighed in relief. Thank goodness Yu Yanluo hadn¡¯t spoken poorly of Yun Jianyue; otherwise, who knew what would happen? But his expression quickly stiffened, because he could sense a beautiful silhouette in the distance quickly looking back. Who else could it be but Yan Xuehen?

    He jumped in fright. Isn¡¯t she injured right now? Don¡¯t tell me she can still hear Yu Yanluo talking behind her back from such a distance?

    Fortunately, Yan Xuehen stopped right outside the door. Then, she said in a clear and cold voice, ¡°Witch, for better or for worse, you are also a grandmaster. Do you really need to hide behind that divider and eavesdrop on two lovers?¡±

    It turned out that after fleeing in great shame, she had suddenly realized that she had suffered so much, but had actually ended up helping Yun Jianyue. She had be unhappier the more she thought about it, feeling that she¡¯d failed to make a good showing. Thus, she had decided toe back and catch Yun Jianyue off guard.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Yu Yanluo eximed, stupefied. She looked at therge divider in disbelief. She suddenly remembered how Yan Xuehen had rubbed her bottom when she had emerged from behind the divider, almost as if she had been kicked out. As such, it went without saying who the one hiding behind the divider was.

    Seeing as she had just been exposed, Yun Jianyue walked out awkwardly and asked, ¡°Would you believe me if I told you I went out for a walk?¡±

    Yu Yanluo was speechless. Do you think I¡¯m an idiot?

    ¡°Haha, I¡¯ve disturbed your chat. I¡¯ll be leaving first,¡± Yun Jianyue said. She felt that staying there would be far too awkward, so she left quickly. She would have to get her revenge on Yan Xuehen properly after this. That woman dares to sell me out? Looks like she needs a good spanking.

    Soon after, Yan Xuehen let out a cry of rm from outside. The sound of the two women fighting gradually faded into the distance.

    At any other time, Zu An really would be worried that Yun Jianyue would take the chance to just kill Yan Xuehen. After all, they had been enemies for an entire lifetime. But judging from their recent interactions, he knew that the two women¡¯s rtionship was special. Yun Jianyue would only give her a beating, but wouldn¡¯t do anything to endanger her life.

    Now, the biggest headache was right before him. He quickly began, ¡°Yanluo, I can exin! It¡¯s not what you¡¯re thinking¡­¡±

    A pillow hit him in the face before he could even finish his sentence.

    Yu Yanluo really hadpletely broken down. So many people had seen her most intimate disy between lovers. She had even talked about two of them while they were actually right there! The hardest thing to ept was that Zu An had known they were there, and yet hadn¡¯t said anything! She had ended up making such a fool of herself as a result.

    You have sessfully trolled Yu Yanluo for +555 +555 +555¡­

    She didn¡¯t wait for Zu An to say anything. She quickly put on her clothes and left without turning around.

    .

    Zu An tried to catch her, but he couldn''t grab her. He could only watch as she left. He knew any attempt to exin himself would be useless at that point. As such, it might be better to just let her cool off a bit first.

    Sigh, just what did I do to piss everyone off?

    If it were just one of them, the night definitely would have been a joyful one. But with all of them arriving together, even the seasoned Zu An couldn''t juggle it all.

    This is a perfect example of ¡®the more people get involved, the more things get screwed up¡¯!

    Helpless to do anything else, he could only sit down on his bed,pletely absorbing the rest of the Hundred Herb Pill. Then, he took out the recording mirror and drew a special set of runes on the surface. They were the special markings that corresponded to the Imperial Envoy¡¯s recording mirror. In other words, it was simr to a phone number in his previous world.

    After a while, the jade surface rippled, and the ki stones in the mirror began depleting at a terrifying speed. Zu An quickly took out a pile of ki stones from his Brilliant ss Bead in fright.

    The telephonemunication in his previous world was routed through various base stations, but in this world, two recording mirrors were basically peer-to-peer and required a frightening amount of energy. No wonder not even great ns frequently used such methods, unless they had vital, time-sensitive information.

    If I came up with something like a base station and created amunicationwork, wouldn¡¯t I be the richest man in the world? Who would need to care about Zhao Hao and the Fiend Emperor then? Both of them might have to cling to me for help then¡­

    While Zu An was thinking beautiful thoughts, the ripples gradually calmed down. Then, an anxious elder appeared on the screen; his expression was full of vignce.

    ¡°Respected uncle!¡± Zu An quickly said in greeting.

    Sang Hong was overjoyed when he saw Zu An on the other side. He eximed, ¡°It really is you!¡±

    He had just received information that their recording stone was acting up. It hadn¡¯t been disying the emperor¡¯s runes, but rather a set of marks they had never seen before. His first instinct had been to hang up, because the ki stone consumption of each use was tremendous. However, he had suddenly thought of something. He knew that the recording stone received extremely few calls; could it be Ah Zu?

    Fortunately, the result didn¡¯t disappoint.

    Before Zu An could even reply, Sang Hong cried furiously, ¡°Ah Zu, just where have you gone? Do you know how many people are starting to suspect you? Hurry ande back!¡±

    Zu An could sense how great the pressure Sang Hong felt was just from those few words. He replied, ¡°I¡¯ve made uncle worry. But I fear¡­ I won¡¯t be able toe back for quite some time.¡±

    ¡°Why can¡¯t youe back? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re in the fiend race territories or something?¡± Sang Hong sneered. This brat really was caught up in his desires. Do you not know that if news of this gets out, there won¡¯t be a ce left for you in this entire world?

    Zu An replied with a bitter smile, ¡°I¡¯m precisely among the fiend races. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t have used the recording stone to contact you.¡±

    Sang Hong was dumbstruck. His expression suddenly changed, turning to disappointment as he asked, ¡°You followed Yu Yanluo to the fiend race territories?¡±

    .

    She really is a femme fatale! He actually abandoned everything for the sake of that woman! What about Little Qien, then? What about Zheng Dan? What about our Sang n?!

    Zu An knew that Sang Hong had misunderstood. He quickly exined, ¡°Uncle, it''s not what you¡¯re thinking. Everything happened too suddenly¡­¡± Then, he described all his encounters in the Yu n¡¯s mines.

    Sang Hong¡¯s eyes widened. He asked, ¡°You were all buried inside?¡±

    The Yu n¡¯s mines copsing had even made countless buildings in Cloudcenter Commandery copse. It was easy to imagine just how dangerous it would have been right in the center of all that.

    ¡°Fortunately, there was a transport formation in the depths of the mine, so we were able to escape¡­¡± Zu An trailed off, still feeling lingering fear. He had almost been buried there forever!

    ¡°Wait, you said White Jade Sect¡¯s Sect Master Yan was with you?¡± Sang Hong asked, suddenly realizing something.

    ¡°It isn¡¯t just her. The Devil Sect¡¯s Yun Jianyue is here too,¡± Zu An replied. He and Sang Hong were already destined to share honor and disgrace together. There was no need to hide things from him.

    Sang Hong¡¯s face turned entirely red. He wanted to say something several times, but in the end, he could only exim, ¡°You¡¯re really incredible!¡±

    His reaction wasn¡¯t surprising. After all, which man in this world could have both the White Jade Sect¡¯s Yan Xuehen and the Devil Sect¡¯s Yun Jianyue at their side? Not even the current emperor could achieve that!

    After thinking about it, Sang Hong said, ¡°This is an extremely rare opportunity. You can use this time to capture Yan Xuehen. No, you must do it!¡±

    Zu An was dumbfounded.

 Chapter 1213: Nickname Card

    <h4>Chapter 1213: Nickname Card</h4>

    Seemingly not noticing his shock, Sang Hong continued, ¡°Your foundation is far too shallow. Our Sang n can¡¯tpare to those ns with long histories and incredible backing. If you had Yan Xuehen on your side, forget about the fact that she alone is a renowned grandmaster, she has the White Jade Sect behind her. That force wouldn¡¯t be inferior to the great ns in any way.¡±

    He seemed to suddenly think of something and continued, ¡°Right, try not to offend Yun Jianyue. She¡¯s the Devil Sect Master, and her status is special. That wouldn¡¯t be all that beneficial to you.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He asked, ¡°Uncle, did you drink a bit too much tonight? Aren¡¯t you overestimating me a bit too much?¡±

    The things Sang Hong was saying¡­ It reminded him of when he was little, and he had fantasized about whether he should marry Liu Yifei or Gao Yuanyuan[1]; but in the end, those thoughts ultimately amounted to nothing.

    Sang Hong said with a strange expression, ¡°You could even deal with someone like Yu Yanluo, so I believe it¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    Who was Yu Yanluo? Her beauty had shocked the world for so many years. In the past, she had stolen the hearts of countless young masters in the capital. In the past, Sang Hong had able to get a glimpse of her. Then, he had ended up dreaming about her for almost an entire year, only breaking free after a long time.

    Even his majesty and King Qi had been tempted, but neither of them had seeded. As for Cloudcenter Duke, all those in the know had been well aware that he was just a shield Yu Yanluo had created to avoid further trouble.

    If even the lover in the dreams of endless men had been done in by Zu An, what woman couldn''t he capture?

    Sang Hong even thought of something strange; if his own daughter could be a sister to Yu Yanluo and Yan Xuehen, that seemed as if it could create an opportunity for social climbing¡­ But he quickly strangled that thought the moment it emerged. Hmph, my own daughter is the greatest woman in the entire world!

    Zu An was speechless. He had been badly burned by those girls today; he really didn¡¯t want to continue discussing such matters anymore. He changed the subject, asking, ¡°What¡¯s the situation in Cloudcenter City like now? How has uncle dealt with my disappearance?¡±

    Seeing as they had returned to the main topic, Sang Hong also recovered his usual cool. He replied, ¡°Xu Yu has already been searching for Yu Yanluo for a long time without any results. He¡¯s starting to give up. The main reason is that the Yu n¡¯s mines have copsed, which is much more serious than Yu Yanluo¡¯s escape. He¡¯s been organizing disaster relief while trying to restore the mine. Unfortunately, there have been very few results.¡±

    Zu An sighed and said, ¡°It was such an intense earthquake, I don¡¯t think it can be restored any time soon.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± Sang Hong said with a nod. ¡°Cloudcenter Duke¡¯s side has been especially peaceful. I¡¯ve heard that he went into seclusion again. He¡¯s remained quiet throughout these troubled times. I can¡¯t help but feel that he¡¯s just holding everything in.¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An was practically sweating buckets as he replied, ¡°Uncle doesn¡¯t need to worry about Cloudcenter Duke¡¯s side; he¡¯s probably really just recovering from his wounds.¡±

    Fortunately, before he saved Yu Yanluo, he had proimed to the entire world that he was resting in seclusion using Cloudcenter Duke¡¯s identity. Even after he left, no one suspected anything.

    ¡°Oh,¡± Sang Hong replied. When he heard Zu An¡¯s certainty, he rxed as well. After all, he didn¡¯t have much of a conflict with Cloudcenter Duke. Even if something did happen, that would be for Xu Yu to worry about.

    He thought of something else and said, ¡°Right, tell me about those deathworms. We need to make sure our information matches, so that can be considered your secret mission. That way, you¡¯ll have an excuse if his majesty questions you. Furthermore, we can take this chance to counterattack against Xu Yu. He¡¯s Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s most powerful official, but even though something so huge happened, he had no idea. He instead has to rely on others to take care of it, which could be considered a huge failure to do his duty¡­¡±

    Zu An was stupefied as he listened to Sang Hong talk about his subsequent ns. These officials really are formidable and vicious! He was even able to exploit something I never even thought of! Even if Xu Yu doesn¡¯t die, he¡¯s going to have ayer of skin shaved off.

    He secretly rejoiced. Fortunately, Sang Hong was fully on his side. Not only did he not have to be scared of having a terrifying enemy like that, Sang Hong would even help him deal with other enemies.

    ¡°You¡¯ve worked hard, uncle. Right, has there been any news from the capital? We¡¯ve been away for so long. Little Qien¡­ They don¡¯t have anyone to take care of them. I can¡¯t help but feel a bit worried,¡± Zu An said. He had initially intended to ask about Zheng Dan, but he couldn''t really just ask about his sister-inw, could he? He could only use Sang Qien as a pretext.

    When he remembered that scene from that night, he felt extremely conflicted. Their rtionship really was too strange.

    Sang Hong felt a hint of gentleness when he heard Zu An ask about Sang Qien. He replied, ¡°Cloudcenter is too far from the capital, and there¡¯s no way we could use a recording mirror to chat about family affairs¡­ But you don¡¯t need to worry. The capital isn¡¯t like other ces, and Little Qien has always been quite sharp. With Zheng Dan to help her, there shouldn¡¯t be any issues.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good then.¡± Zu An sighed in relief. He continued, ¡°Uncle can also send back a letter, so they won¡¯t worry about our safety.¡±

    Sang Hong knew Zu An wanted to let them know that he was safe and sound. He said with a smile, ¡°Make sure to be careful out there. No matter how wonderful the outside world is, don''t forget the warmth of home.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, uncle. I¡¯ll return as soon as possible,¡± Zu An replied with an awkward smile. Sang Hong was clearly warning him not to be infatuated by the world of sensual pleasures. But Sang Hong was also implicitly stating that he already treated him like a member of his own family, whether it was because of Sang Qien or Zheng Dan¡­

    ¡°That¡¯s good. I¡¯ll try to stall for a bit longer here, but I can dy for three months at most before we have to return to the capital. You must return by that time, or else we won¡¯t be able to convince his majesty,¡± Sang Hong warned him.

    ¡°I understand!¡± Zu An replied while roughly calcting the time he had. He reckoned three months should be enough time.

    The ki stone consumption needed to maintain the recording mirror connection was way too terrifying; not even the Imperial Envoy could sustain it. Sang Hong quickly cut offmunications from his side.

    Zu An put the recording mirror away. At first, he tried going out and looking around, but after thinking about it, it urred to him that Yu Yanluo was still upset and probably wouldn¡¯t be willing to meet him. As for the others, seeking them out would just add oil to the mes.

    In the end, he just ended up going back to his room. He decided to take the chance to use the system and pull the lottery. Everything that had happened recently made him feel a sense of danger. Having more cards to y at a critical time would be like having additional lives.

    He got a bucket of cold water and washed his face. Then, he changed into new clothes. After that, he burned incense and began to pray. After doing all that, he began to y the lottery.

    Even though it hadn¡¯t been that long since thest time he pulled the gacha, he had already umted 211,020 Rage points. Most of them had been offered up by the various women.

    Zu An had a strange expression on his face. Am I really destined to mooch proudly? Looks like angering them isn¡¯t all that bad either¡­

    He then pulled once on the lottery, and the icon on the keyboard moved quickly. Zu An was already prepared to see ¡®Thank you for ying¡¯, but in the end, it actually stopped on the R key.

    His eyes immediately widened. Single pull luck? Such crazy luck was something he almost didn¡¯t dare to believe!

    Looks like all of the preparation I did was pretty useful!

    .

    He looked at the description impatiently and saw a line of text:

    Congrattions on pulling ¡®Nickname Card¡¯!

    Zu An was stunned. In the past, regardless of what he had pulled, whether it was the Heiress Ball of Delights or the Poisonous Prick, they all had strange names. Now, seeing such a normal-sounding name just threw him off.

    He continued reading.

    ¡®Nickname Card¡¯ description: In a certain era of science and technology, there was a well-knownpany that had all of its employees select a pseudonym from a novel in ce of their own name. Employees would use those nicknames at work to bring leaders and subordinates together, rather than just having the subordinates address their superiors professionally.

    However, as thepany grewrger andrger and the employees grew greater in number, they all discovered that there weren¡¯t enough fictional names to use. As such, many of them had no choice but to use certain viins and other despicable people¡¯s names. The creator of this tool was precisely one of those people. In order to free himself from the fate of social suicide by having a despicable name, he carefully researched for many years. In the end, he came up with the Nickname Card. However, by the time he seeded, he had already changed his mind, and didn¡¯t alter his name. Instead, he altered the name of the beautiful colleague he worked with into the name of the girl his own despicable name humiliated. This created a hugemotion, and he ended up being punished byw¡­

    Zu An was stupefied. Why does this sound so familiar? He continued reading.

    Item description: One-time use. Write down any person¡¯s name and a nickname on this card. The target¡¯s name will be temporarily changed to that nickname.

    Zu An was stupefied.

    1. Famous Chinese actresses. ?

 Chapter 1214: Leader of the Four Nation-Destroying Beauties

    <h4>Chapter 1214: Leader of the Four Nation-Destroying Beauties</h4>

    That¡¯s it? Zu An thought as he looked through the text several times. He had thought that there would be more, but there was nothing. The item he had pulled only had such a simple function?

    All it freaking does is change a freaking nickname! What the hell can that do for me? I don¡¯t even have a habit of giving people nicknames.

    Wait¡­

    He suddenly thought of something. If it were this item alone, it really wouldn¡¯t be worth anything. But if he used it properly, it would have world-changing effects! Unfortunately, it was a one-time use item. If it had unlimited uses, wouldn¡¯t it make him invincible?

    What was even more frustrating was the description didn¡¯t go into detail on how long the effects wouldst at all! That information was absolutely vital! But he had no way of testing it out.

    This damn keyboard system only has defective crap, as expected.

    He continued pulling the gacha.

    Thank you for ying!

    Thank you for ying!

    Congrattions on pulling a Ki Fruit!

    Thank you for ying!

    ¡­

    Zu An¡¯s eyes twitched. It seemed he wasn¡¯t some crazy gacha legend after all.

    The shining indicator continued to move around, but all he got were Ki Fruits or the usual ¡®thank you for ying¡¯ message. He was starting to grow numb to it all.

    Suddenly, the keyboard shone, and once again stopped on a special key: The shift key!

    Congrattions on pulling a Tiger Talisman!

    A Tiger Talisman?

    Zu An became a bit absent-minded. It had been a while since hest pulled one. The first time he had used a Tiger Talisman, he had pulled Daji. The second time, he had gotten a bunch of trash. He wondered what he would be able to get this time.

    He quickly finished pulling. His luck actually wasn¡¯t that bad in the end; he had managed to pull 205 Ki Fruits even after getting the Nickname Card. He even got three Tiger Talismans in the end!

    Zu An initially considered saving them up and pulling ten together. However, he suddenly remembered that he had tried to save themst time, and yet hadn¡¯t gotten a single thing.

    Daoist and Confucian ideals can¡¯t save bad luck; neither can swiping a credit card!

    The hell am I saving them up for?!

    He decisively used the talismans, and a familiar feeling quickly overcame him. He felt as if his soul had left his body and flown upward, eventually reaching the vast and boundless universe.

    In the heavens above, apart from the celestial bodies, there were some flickering specks of light as well. After thest two experiences, he had realized that those specks weren¡¯t stars, but rather powerful remnants from different worlds across spacetime that hadn¡¯t yet dispersed for various reasons, left drifting between heaven and earth.

    There was a chance of forming a connection with them through the Tiger Talismans. Eventually, they would be valkyries like Daji, establishing a certain kind of contact with Zu An. Of course, there was a higher chance that he would get some random trash from those different worlds.

    He closed his eyes and focused on making connections with them, sensing the specks of light. Now that he had finally condensed his soul, his perception was much greater than it had been thest two times.

    Previously, he had thought that his soul would resonate with the specks of light, and he could subsequently guide them over to his side. This time, however, he discovered that most of them were extremely far from him and that he couldn''t even reach them at all.

    Sometimes, however, the specks of light drifted close to the borders of this world. Only when they were somewhat close would he be able to sense them. As such, it wasn¡¯t so much that he could choose from the lights, but rather that some of them just happened to ¡®pass by¡¯ near him. Only then would he have a chance of calling them over. If the things closest to him were just trash, no matter how good his luck was, he would only be able to summon trash.

    ¡°This thing really depends on affinity!¡± Zu An said with a deep sigh. He wondered whether there was anyone he was destined for this time.

    Soon afterward, a speck of light resonated with him. Then, it answered his summons and rushed over.

    Congrattions on summoning the Great Fleshy Root![1]

    Zu An was a bit shocked. There weren¡¯t any introductions for any of the specks of light he had summoned before. Was this thing really that special?

    Don¡¯t tell me I can even summon weapons or great treasures this way?

    Judging from the name, it sounded more like thetter.

    .

    When it finally appeared in front of him, Zu An saw that it was a nt-like item. It resembled a fungus, with a mushroom head on one end. On top of the mushroom head was a mouth-like opening with a small hole in it. Its surface was extremely smooth.

    Zu An was speechless.

    He remembered seeing something on the news in his previous world; a report had said that while a viger was digging a well, he had discovered something strange a hundred meters down. He had thought that it was the legendary Great Fleshy Root, so the local television station had sent over a reporter once they received the news.

    But the one they had sent was a youngdy who had just graduated. She had still been too innocent to recognize what it was. She had thought that it was something incredible, and had even continued to fiddle with it in front of all the cameras as a demonstration.

    However, the experienced veterans online had immediately recognized it to be a fleshlight. This thing was exactly the same as the one he had seen back then!

    I¡¯ve been freaking scammed!

    Zu An¡¯s eyes twitched. Why had this damn thing established some kind of soul connection with him?

    F*ck off!

    Zu An¡¯s face darkened. He clenched the Tiger Talismans in his hand and continued with the next summoning. This time, he sensed a speck of light throbbing intensely. He felt a surge of happiness, thinking, Looks like I¡¯m going to seed this time.

    Then, the speck of light shot over, appearing in front of him. Zu An¡¯s heart instantly sank when he saw that it wasn¡¯t human shaped.

    Congrattions on summoning Blue Ice From Beyond.

    In front of him was a chunk of blue ice. The air around it was incredibly cold. He could vaguely make out something wrapped inside. This thing looked extraordinary!

    Zu An thought to himself for a bit. He had spent a fair amount of time cultivating in this world and had even concocted medicines, so he had some impression of most well-known things. However, he had never heard of such blue ice before.

    When he saw that there seemed to be something wrapped within the blue ice, he suddenly remembered Yu Yanluo mentioning before that there were some legendary ki stones that not only aided in cultivation, but also had some ancient things sealed in them; for example, weapons, medicines, and other such things.

    Zu An thought to himself, Don¡¯t tell me this is some kind of special ki stone too?

    He raised his hand, and an invisible de of sword ki gently cut open the chunk of blue ice. He acted carefully for fear of damaging what was inside.

    Hm?

    The blue ice wasn¡¯t as hard as he had imagined. Even though it was a bit tougher than rock, it was still far from a ki stone. It didn¡¯t seem like some kind of rare treasure at all.

    As his sword ki seeped in further, a foul smell swept outward. His expression changed. He quickly pulled his hand back, and used the ice element to freeze it again.

    He finally knew what this thing was!

    In his previous world, he had watched the program ¡®Approaching Science¡¯ before. Two pieces of blue ice had descended from the sky, smashing into a certain rural viger¡¯s home in Hebei province. Upon seeing it, an elder had quickly carried the two pieces back. He had even said that they were special water, a primordial medicine from ancient times that was guaranteed to cure all diseases. As such, he had begun drinking it every day to strengthen his own body.

    However, after some specialists came to investigate, they found out that the ice contained urine and feces treated through ANOTEC chemical processing in an airne¡­

    When he thought about how he had almost followed in that old peasant¡¯s footsteps, Zu An was about to curse out loud. However, he suddenly realized something. It wasn¡¯t that he had affinity with these things, but rather that they all came from his world! That could be why he had been able to sessfully summon them, right?

    When he thought of that, he suddenly felt a bit of intimacy with the two things that had emerged. He thought to himself, I guess I¡¯ll collect them to trick other people.

    .

    After realizing that he hadn¡¯t gotten those things due to any ws in his own character, Zu An¡¯s mood immediately improved. Thus, he used hisst Tiger Talisman. He was alreadypletely calm. He¡¯d take whatever he got; at the very least, it would be something from his hometown.

    Suddenly, his expression changed. He established a connection with a speck of light. However, unlike before, the speck of light began to synchronize with his soul, but also seemed to reject him quite strongly, as if it were unwilling to be summoned by him.

    Zu An was immediately interested. He carefully pulled it closer, eventually sessfully summoning the speck of light.

    A streak of light shed before his eyes, and a tall and slender figure appeared in front of him. She was dressed in leather armor that exposed her slim waist. She had tanned skin and toned abs that clearly conveyed her core¡¯s explosive power. There was a short leather skirt around her waist. Her thighs were full and well proportioned, and her calves were straight. Unlike the pencil legs of most inte celebrities, her legs gave off an unruly air.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    She had such a dynamite body, and yet she didn¡¯t look like a muscr freak. On the contrary, her face was extremely beautiful. In terms of appearance, she actually wasn¡¯t inferior to Daji at all!

    She had a spear in hand, and her figure was valiant and formidable.

    Congrattions on summoning a valkyrie: Leader of the Four Nation-Destroying Beauties¡ªMo Xi![2]

    1. In Chinese mythology and folklore, ¡®F¨¥ng¡¯ (·â, lit. "mound; hump") is an edible monster that resembles a two-eyed lump of meat and magically regrows as quickly as it is eaten. Early Chinese texts also referred to this legendary food with the names ¡®Sh¨¬r¨°u¡¯ (Ò•Èâ, "looks like meat"), ¡®R¨°uzh¨©¡¯ (ÈâÖ¥, "meat excrescence"), and T¨¤isu¨¬ (Ì«šq, "great year; Jupiter"). ¡®R¨°ul¨ªngzh¨©¡¯ (Èâì`Ö¥, "meat Lingzhi mushroom") is a modern name poprized by Chinese news media reporting on purported discoveries of the ¡®F¨¥ng¡¯ throughout China, including a widely publicized Xi''an television reporter who misidentified a sex toy as a roulingzhi monster. ?

    2. ording to ¡®The Biographies of Exemry Women¡¯, Mo Xi was the concubine of Jie of Xia. She was beautiful, butcked virtue, being depraved and immoral. Even though her actions were those of a woman, she had the heart of a man. She wore a sword on her belt and a (man¡¯s) cap. Jie drank day and night with Mo Xi and his pcedies. He would ce Mo Xi on his knees and listen to whatever came from her mouth. King Jie of Xia also made ake of winerge enough to transport boats. With a drumbeat, three thousand men drank from it, lowering their faces to it like cattle. When they became drunk, they fell in and drowned. Mo Xi found this entertaining andughed at them. Later, Jie summoned Cheng Tang, the first king of the Shang Dynasty, and imprisoned him at Xiatai, but afterward released him. When the vassal lords rebelled, Tang attacked Jie and defeated him at Xia County. Tang banished Jie, who was set adrift out to sea on a boat along with Mo Xi and his favorite concubines. He died at Nanchao Mountain. ?

    Pika''s Thoughts

    Sorry about thete releases. Releasing 4 today. Hopefully the bot will be ok. Manually releasing two now

 Chapter 1215: Betrayal

    <h4>Chapter 1215: Betrayal</h4>

    Zu An stared at the woman before him with wide eyes. She was a war maiden, and the original one at that! Her leather armor and dress really gave off a wild and powerful air.

    But was Mo Xi originally like this?

    Of course he had heard of Mo Xi before, thest ruler of the Xia Dynasty Xia Jie¡¯s favorite concubine and the first recorded nation-destroying beauty. It was rumored that it was precisely because of this concubine most beloved by Xiao Jie that the Xia Dynasty had copsed. That was why she was often referred to as the leader of the four great nation-destroying beauties.

    The other three were Shang Dynasty¡¯s Daji, Zhou Dynasty¡¯s Baosi, and Jin Dynasty¡¯s Li Ji.

    He hadn¡¯t expected to actually collect two of them himself!N?v(el)B\\jnn

    As for how unruly and evil they supposedly were, and how they had brought down their entire countries, he didn¡¯t think too much of that. The term femme fatale had always existed since ancient times, but were the causes for those dynasties¡¯ copse really those women? In the end, wasn¡¯t it because those rulers were muddle-headed and tyrannical, and the system corrupt? In the end, all of the me had just been pushed onto these women.

    What he cared more about was something else. He had i initially thought that the celebrated Mo Xi was a woman who was as charming and seductive as Daji. But why was the sight before his eyes more like a female general? She didn¡¯t have a shred of gentle charm; her figure instead conveyed a powerful, heroic nature.

    Xia Jie was actually a military fanatic?

    Perhaps because of their spiritual resonance, a message appeared in his head.

    Mo Xi, the first beauty who felled a dynasty, hence named the leader of the four great nation-destroying beauties. She has lived an entire life of betrayal and being betrayed.

    ¡°Betrayal?¡± Zu An murmured, stunned. He had never heard such a thing before. He continued reading.

    Thest emperor of the Xia Dynasty defeated her tribe. In an effort to plead for peace, the tribe leader offered up all kinds of treasures, and the most precious of them all was Mo Xi.

    Xia Jie was extremely pleased and doted on her greatly. Unfortunately, Mo Xi was never able to feel true joy. The only thing she sought out was revenge. She fooled Xia Jie, then eventually brought his empire to ruin.

    At some point, she formed an alliance with a man named Yi Yin she met during her earlier years, who had already sided with the Shang Tribe. In that way, through cooperating with Yi Yin and the Shang Tribe, operating inside and out, they finally managed to sessfully bring down Xia Jie¡¯s country.

    Unfortunately, after they achieved everything they had sought out to do, the Shang Dynasty didn¡¯t honor her contributions and instead banished her as the beauty who had caused the destruction of the nation, making the entire world feel disdain toward her.

    Mo Xi was first betrayed by her tribe, and then she betrayed her husband. In the end, she was betrayed again. She had never experienced happiness in her life.

    Those associated with her are decreed by fate to betray her or be betrayed by her, even if you are her owner¡­

    Zu An blinked in confusion. What the hell does this mean?

    But he quickly realized what was going on. Mo Xi gave him a look, then kicked toward him with her long legs. Her spearhead¡¯s murderous glint flickered rapidly, slicing toward his throat. It was so fast that it was almost impossible to defend effectively against.

    Fortunately, Zu An¡¯s cultivation was now on an entirely different level. At that moment of imminent peril, he grabbed the spearhead with Shining Finger.

    Mo Xi frowned. She stomped against the ground, and a wave seemed to travel through her body, transmitting a powerful force along the spear.

    Zu An was surprised, and didn¡¯t dare to take it head-on. He flicked his wrist, spinning the spear in the air and neutralizing the force rushing toward him.

    Mo Xi¡¯s fingers were already bleeding. However, she didn¡¯t even give her own injuries a look. She immediately grabbed the spear¡¯s shaft and thrust outward again.

    Zu An used Shining Finger again. This time, he wasn¡¯t so lenient. Under theirbined force, the spear quickly curved like a bow. With a loud crack, it broke into two pieces.

    Mo Xi was clearly shocked. She had a confused expression as she looked at the broken spear in her hands.

    Zu An was also confused. The spear seemed to only be an ordinary weapon. Any random spear from the world of warriors would be better. Normally speaking, shouldn¡¯t the weapons in these valkyries¡¯ hands have been of better quality?

    .

    However, he suddenly recalled that when he had summoned Daji, her weapon seemed to have been summoned through the Tiger Talisman too. This time, he hadn¡¯t pulled any weapons, so Mo Xi had only emerged with an ordinary spear.

    Mo Xi seemed to have realized something, and rushed away from him. Her firm thighs were full of explosive power. She seemed almost like a female leopard.

    Zu An was surprised. Why the heck is a valkyrie running away? He quickly chased after her, whilemanding her to stop through his soul.

    Even though Daji didn¡¯t know how to talk, he could give her orders through his soul. Unless they were orders that requested physical contact, she carried out almost all of his orders without holding back at all.

    Mo Xi immediately stopped; Zu An felt relieved. It seemed that because she had been summoned through the Tiger Talisman, both of them had still sessfully established a contract of souls.

    But his smile quickly froze. He saw Mo Xi suddenly reach out a hand. Something resembling a pair of scissors appeared in her hand, and she cut the space between the two of them. Zu An immediately felt a sense of emptiness, losing the spiritual link he had with her.

    Mo Xi seized the opportunity to stomp the ground, leaping up past the courtyard¡¯s walls using pure physical strength.

    Zu An was beginning to get a bit angry. What in the world is up with this Mo Xi?! He kicked off the ground and chased after her.

    Soon afterward, he saw Mo Xi traveling back and forth through the city. He watched her for a while; he noticed that she didn¡¯t actually have any cultivation, and instead relied purely on her physical strength. Even so, she was equivalent to a low-level cultivator.

    He waited for a good opportunity, then flew outward, blocking Mo Xi¡¯s path.

    Mo Xi knew that there was too great of a difference in strength between them and that running away was meaningless. Still, she didn¡¯t acknowledge her fate. Her legs bent slightly, and she seemed ready to attack at any time. The expression in her eyes waspletely cold.

    Zu An said coldly, ¡°We¡¯ve established a soul contract, so we should berades. Why are you attacking me?¡±

    Mo Xi didn¡¯t reply. Instead, her gaze became even colder.

    ¡°I know that your soul is iplete right now and you can¡¯t speak, but you can understand what I¡¯m saying,¡± Zu An said. He recalled the message that had entered his mind earlier. He suddenly thought of something and asked, ¡°Is it that you¡¯ve experienced too many betrayals, to the point that you don¡¯t dare to trust anyone again?¡±

    Mo Xi still didn¡¯t reply, but a hint of pain appeared in her eyes. She seemed to have recalled some unhappy things.

    Zu An thought for a bit, then said, ¡°I won¡¯t try to pledge an eternal oath or something like that. It¡¯ll just be strictly a business transaction. You help me to do what I need you to do, and I¡¯ll help you get stronger. At the same time, I¡¯ll help you search for your scattered soul and try to return you to normal. What do you think?¡±

    .

    Mo Xi seemed to think about the offer, but she didn¡¯t change her mind at all.

    ¡°I know you can¡¯t trust anyone. How about this? I¡¯ll pay you first in the future, and then you can help me do some things. That way, it doesn¡¯t need to be about trust or betrayal. What do you think?¡± Zu An offered, tossing over a Ki Fruit. ¡°This fruit can increase your strength, so give it a try.¡±

    He suddenly felt like a pedophile who was trying to trick a little girl into eating candy. However, this Mo Xi really was too troublesome to deal with, so he had to use such a method.

    Mo Xi caught the Ki Fruit. When she smelled its fragrant scent, she could feel that her body had a desire for such fruits. However, her expression remained vignt. She didn¡¯t dare to randomly eat what other people gave her.

    Helpless to do anything else, Zu An could only summon Daji. He exined, ¡°She was like you in the beginning, before eating these fruits. Her strength gradually rose to her current seventh rank.¡±

    After emerging, Daji looked at Mo Xi in confusion. Mo Xi looked back at Daji. The two women seemed to be feeling a mysterious sense of familiarity.

    Zu An took out a simr Ki Fruit and fed it to Daji. Comparatively speaking, she was much more obedient. She opened her mouth in a loveable manner, and after eating it, she even seemingly disyed a hint of infatuation.

    Zu An then said to Mo Xi, ¡°Look, there¡¯s no poison, alright?¡±

    The Ki Fruit in Mo Xi¡¯s hand called out to her desires. She finally couldn''t take it anymore; still, she didn¡¯t swallow it whole, instead carefully taking a bite out of it.

    To her surprise, however, the moment it reached her mouth, the fruit melted, instantly disappearing into her throat. Mo Xi jumped in fright. She quickly began retching off to one side, trying to cough it back out.

    Zu An was speechless. Isn¡¯t this woman a bit too guarded? He said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s good stuff. Just swallow it.¡±

 Chapter 1216: Farewell, Nanchao!

    <h4>Chapter 1216: Farewell, Nanchao!</h4>

    Perhaps Zu An¡¯s words sounded too strange, as Mo Xi only became more vignt as she looked at him.

    But she was soon stunned, sensing that the Ki Fruit had turned into a warm stream that flowed through her body. Afterward, her strength increased a bit. Even though it wasn¡¯t that great an increase, it was still significant enough. After that discovery, the way she looked at Zu An eased up a bit.

    Zu An then pointed in the direction she had been running toward and said, ¡°You must have seen some Snakemen and Lizardmen on the way. You should understand that you¡¯re no longer in your world.¡±

    Mo Xi also looked a bit perplexed when she heard what he said. She had indeed noticed those things while running away; she just hadn¡¯t had much time to think about it in detail.

    ¡°Do you know why you ended up forming a contract with me?¡± Zu An asked, doing his best to sound a bit more approachable.

    He really had no choice. The woman before him could actually break free from their soul contract! If she left at this point, he really would lose her. Forget about hertent potential, just the fact that she came from the same Earth as him made him feel a sense of intimacy toward her.

    Mo Xi stared rigidly at Zu An, as if waiting for an answer. Zu An said, ¡°It¡¯s because wee from the same ce. Because we share that connection I was able to sessfully summon you, forming this soul contract. Apart from you, she¡¯s also from the same hometown as us.¡±

    Even though that was what he said, these two were clearly much more formidable than the versions in his world¡¯s history. They were almost like versions of Daji and Mo Xi from an alternate timeline.

    .

    He was also on his guard. If Mo Xi dared to bring out that scissor-like thing again, he would immediately recall Daji to prevent Mo Xi from severing his spiritual connection with her too.

    ¡°She¡¯s named Daji. She¡¯s the empress of the Shang Dynasty¡¯sst generation,¡± Zu An said, introducing Daji. He then pointed at Mo Xi and said to Daji, ¡°You should have heard of her as well. She¡¯s the Xia Dynasty¡¯sst empress, Mo Xi.¡±

    The Xia Dynasty hade before the Shang Dynasty, so it was natural for Daji to have heard of Mo Xi. There was a hint of shock on her small face. She sized up the other woman curiously.

    Mo Xi obviously didn¡¯t know Daji, who had existed several centuriester. But when she heard the words ¡®Shang Dynasty¡¯, a trace of hatred appeared in her eyes. Back then, she had been betrayed precisely by the Shang Dynasty¡¯s people!

    Sensing the strong hostility in her eyes, Zu An jumped in fright and quickly exined, ¡°What happened back then had nothing to do with her. The two of you are actually quite simr. Both of you are from farawaynds, so there¡¯s no reason for you to harm each other.¡±

    He gave her a rough recount of Daji¡¯s history. Of course, he used the Investiture of the Gods¡¯ version[1], saying that Daji was acting under the orders of Nuwa to bring cmity and chaos to the Shang Dynasty and punish King Zhou of Shang. However, even though shepleted her mission in the end, she was instead tossed aside and abandoned¡­n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Daji blinked as she listened to the entire story, looking somewhat confused. Why did all of this sound unfamiliar, and yet somewhat familiar as well? Were these really her experiences?

    When Mo Xi heard Daji¡¯s story, sure enough, her expression eased a bit. Zu An struck while the iron was hot, saying, ¡°Daji and I have already been contracted for a long time. I¡¯ve helped her, and she¡¯s helped me as well. You can tell from her current situation that I didn¡¯t harm her, so why don¡¯t you work with me? I¡¯ll help you increase your strength and find your soul.¡±

    ¡°Those from Earth wouldn¡¯t trick others from Earth!¡±

    But inwardly, he was actually cursing. What the heck is with this damn system? I finally summoned a valkyrie, yet I still have to use so much effort pampering her? Hmph, Daji is still better in the end.

    Mo Xi hesitated. She clearly didn¡¯t know what Earth meant, but she still nodded; it was hard to determine whether it was because she had really been moved by his words, or she had been convinced by Daji¡¯s example.

    However, Zu An felt embarrassed. Even though Mo Xi had agreed, he couldn''t read her abilities the way he could Daji¡¯s, let alone converse with her through the soul. He remarked, ¡°You cannot speak, and you¡¯ve severed our contract. Communicating from now on really will be difficult¡­¡± He couldn''t help but ask her if she could write ormunicate in some other way.

    Just then, the illusory pair of scissors appeared in Mo Xi¡¯s hands again. Zu An quickly stood in front of Daji. However, Mo Xi gave him a curious look, and the ¡®scissors¡¯ shed back and forth a few times in the air, as if they were repairing something.

    Afterward, Zu An felt his soul tremble. He discovered that his soul contract with Mo Xi had been established again. He could directly give her orders, as well as sense her emotions and some simple thoughts. He eximed with wide eyes, ¡°That thing can even repair severed connections?¡±

    Mo Xi looked up. Her previously dejected expression was reced with one of pride. Meanwhile, Zu An began to read through her abilities. Because of the soul contract, nothing was withheld from him.

    Shi Spear Arts: In ancient times, there was a powerful spear art that belonged to the Shi State. The Shi State is Mo Xi¡¯s homnd; their warriors were well known for their skill with the spear. Their army was able to fend off the full force of the Great Xia Dynasty¡¯s national power for several years¡­

    When he saw the introduction, Zu An thought to himself, no wonder Mo Xi looked like a war maiden. Her temperament had been acquired from the battlefield, after all! But ever since ancient times, spear users had always met misfortune. No wonder she was always being betrayed by others.

    Right, that little girl Murong Qinghe is a bit simr to her in temperament. I should let the two of them spar with each other using spears if there¡¯s a chance.

    But at the moment, those spear arts weren¡¯t all that important. Zu An was a walking tank himself, so there was no way he would let Mo Xi fight on the front lines. He continued reading.

    Celestial Jade Terrace: In the past, thest emperor of the Xia Dynasty doted on Mo Xi greatly, building her a stunning jade terrace. Mo Xi liked to stay in this jade terrace, and created a special technique within it. There is a chance that she can assist another in using a skill again. The Celestial Jade Terrace can only be used once before going on cooldown.

    Zu An was delighted when he saw the skill. This thing is great! After all, even though he had many skills, many of them had cooldown periods and couldn''t be used repeatedly.

    The most obvious one was Grandgale. Even though being able to move instantaneously was formidable, it consumed quite a bit of energy too. As his cultivation rose, that w instead no longer became an issue.

    However, there was another fatal w, which was that he couldn''t use Grandgale twice in a row. There were always a few seconds between each use of Grandgale. Even though the interval wasn¡¯t thatrge, between the truly strong, that difference could be lethal.

    If he had Mo Xi¡¯s help, wouldn¡¯t he be able to use any skill as much as he wanted? After all, apart from Grandgale, there were still many other skills that would also benefit from such a thing.

    Zu An thought to himself that the most important thing now would be the limitation of the ¡®Celestial Jade Terrace¡¯ itself. It mentioned that there was a chance of it seeding, so how high was that chance?

    Ever since he had wandered near the brink of the gates of hell by using the Star Shattering Imprint, he had be a bit apprehensive toward things with only a chance of activating. Furthermore, the skill stated that the Celestial Jade Terrace could only activate once every so often. How long was its cooldown period?

    The system is bing more and more unreliable! Looks like I¡¯ll have to just test things outter.

    Then, he saw Mo Xi¡¯s final skill.

    Farewell, Nanchao!: After the Xia Dynasty was destroyed, Mo Xi was exiled to a ce called Nanchao. This was also where Xia Jie was banished. Out of shame, as well as the wrath Mo Xi felt toward the Shang Dynasty¡¯s betrayal, shepletely severed her unfortunate life, thus cutting off her past¡­

    When this skill is used, it can sever all kinds of contracts and agreements, even eternal oaths, bringing about endless betrayal and remorse!

    Zu An¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief when he saw the description of thest skill.

    1. King Zhou visited the temple of the ancient Chinese goddess N¨¹wa to offer incense and pray. As he was doing so, there came a gust of wind which flipped up the cover on N¨¹wa¡¯s statue. He noticed that the statue of the goddess was very attractive. The lewd king spouted sphemy before the statue, saying, "It''d be good if I could marry Her." He wrote poems on the walls to express his lust for the goddess. He offended N¨¹wa unknowingly, and N¨¹wa foretold that King Zhou was destined to be thest ruler of the Shang dynasty. The goddess sent the thousand year old vixen spirit, nine-headed pheasant spirit, and jade pipa spirit to torture King Zhou, because she was very angry when she saw that King Zhou could still enjoy himself for 28 years. The king became obsessed with the spirits, who disguised themselves as beautiful women, and started to neglect state affairs and rule with cruelty. The people suffered under his tyranny and eventually joined Ji Fa to rise up and overthrow him. ?

 Chapter 1217: Not Even the Yellow River Can Wash This Clean

    <h4>Chapter 1217: Not Even the Yellow River Can Wash This Clean</h4>

    Zu An finally understood why the description had said that Mo Xi lived a life of betrayal and being betrayed. Wasn¡¯t this skill the source of the issue? No wonder she had been able to sever the soul contract they had made so easily. It turned out this was the skill she had used!

    Sigh, what a pity it is that I hadn¡¯t summoned her when I defeated the Golden Crow Crown Prince. Otherwise, I would have been able to seize that Sun ying Bow for myself!

    He was suddenly a bit shaken. Wasn¡¯t this skill a bit too ridiculous? Did any requirements need to be met for it to be used? But when he recalled the information from before, it didn¡¯t seem to have mentioned anything like that.

    The keyboard system is bing more and more unreliable!

    He tried to ask Mo Xi. Even though her soul was damaged just like Daji¡¯s and she couldn''t speak, she still retained some of her instincts. Between that and the soul contract they had, some simple conversation wasn¡¯t a problem at all.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Unfortunately, Mo Xi didn¡¯t reply to him at all. Instead, she reached out her hand. Zu An knew what she was saying; she was asking for the Ki Fruits from earlier.

    Zu An felt disappointed. This Mo Xi really is a bit hard to please. Look at how nice Daji is!

    But when he recalled her past, and how she was like the incarnation of betrayal itself, and the way the two of them didn¡¯t know anything about each other, he realized it was normal for her to be apprehensive. Seeing as he had agreed to a business rtionship, he took out 49 Ki Fruits.

    Mo Xi didn¡¯t obediently open her mouth to be fed like Daji, but instead took the Ki Fruits. She tossed them into her mouth like snacks. Her fierce and valiant gaze began to ease up, and an intoxicated expression unwittingly appeared on her face.

    .

    Zu An became more and more certain that the Ki Fruits from the lottery had been prepared precisely for the valkyries. Using them for himself was aplete waste.

    Mo Xi quickly finished them. She reached her hand out again, clearly asking for more. Even though she had clearly brandished her spear against him, there weren¡¯t any calluses on her hand. On the contrary, her fingers were beautifully slim and slender.

    Unfortunately, Zu An didn¡¯t care about that at all for the moment. He said, ¡°You¡¯ve finished the amount this time. In the future, there¡¯ll only be Ki Fruits after you finish what I need you to do. We¡¯ll do things one exchange at a time.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t his fault for acting like that. If Mo Xi hadn¡¯t caused so many problems before and was instead obedient like Daji, he would immediately have fed all of his Ki Fruits to her to increase her strength. After all, Daji was stuck at the seventh rank breakthrough point and stillcked Blue Earthflowers. It would be useless for her to eat the Ki Fruits before she broke through.

    With the way Mo Xi acted, however, there was no way he would dare to give her all of his Ki Fruits immediately. Furthermore, based on her skills, it seemed she could sever their soul contract at any time. If he fed her fully but she turned around and ran away, wouldn¡¯t he be losing out big time?

    Looking at Mo Xi¡¯s gaze filled with unruliness, Zu An suddenly remembered how those who raised eagles in his past world never fed the eagles too full, always maintaining control over their appetites. Only then would the birds obediently go out and hunt. Even though he didn¡¯t likeparing Mo Xi to a bird, the principles were simr.

    I hope that as we spend more time together, she can really start to trust me.

    Mo Xi immediately looked away when she heard what Zu An said, seemingly a bit upset. Of course, the good news was that she didn¡¯t try to run away again.

    Zu An sighed in relief. He carefully recalled both her and Daji, then returned to the Snake Race manor. However, he didn¡¯t return to his room, but instead headed in the direction of Yan Xuehen¡¯s room.

    He didn¡¯t have someone contact her; instead, he disappeared into the darkness. He made his way around, then quietly pushed open the window, jumping in. His movements were extremely light, as if he were scared of alerting someone.

    However, a wave of coldness swept over him the moment he entered. A shining longsword was instantly pressed against his chest.

    ¡°Who is it?¡± A cold voice that sounded like a never-melting frozen peak called out. A faint mist swept through the air, giving off a sense of someonepletely detached from the secr world. At the same time, it conveyed a frigid killing intent.

    ¡°It¡¯s me!¡± Zu An replied with a sigh. This was the true voice and temperament Yan Xuehen normally had! It was only because she had been leftpletely helpless by what had happened over the past few days that she had been left at a loss.

    A blush shed across Yan Xuehen¡¯s cold countenance when she heard that it was Zu An. She hissed, ¡°What are you here in the middle of the night for?!¡± She deliberately lowered her voice, seemingly scared of alerting anyone.

    Zu An exined, ¡°It¡¯s about ¡®Love Is More Solid than Gold¡¯¡­¡±

    Before he even finished, Yan Xuehen¡¯s longsword pushed forward an inch. Her voice was full of embarrassment and anger as she spat, ¡°Don¡¯t think that you can do what you want with me just because of that darn skill!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +199 +199 +199¡­

    Zu An was stunned. He replied, ¡°Huh? I never had any of those thoughts.¡± Why would she think such things?

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s vignce didn¡¯t decrease at all. She replied, ¡°Then why did youe to my room in the middle of the night? And in such a sneaky manner too!¡±

    Zu An retorted self-righteously, ¡°Isn¡¯t it because I don¡¯t want others to see me?¡±

    Yan Xuehen scoffed. ¡°Our rtionship is proper; why can¡¯t we meet openly?¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll go out ande in again through the front entrance,¡± Zu An said with a gloomy expression. ¡°Wasn¡¯t it you who said that we have to keep this ¡®Love Is More Solid than Gold¡¯ skill a secret?¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression changed. When she thought about how Yun Jianyue was next door, she quickly stopped him and said, ¡°Alright, alright, you¡¯re already inside. What¡¯s the point of doing it again?¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t feel any pressure and instead acted as if it were his own room, walking in casually. He noticed that Yan Xuehen was dressed in simple and neat white silk. It was probably her usual nightwear.

    The covers on the bed had been tossed aside. It was clear that she had jumped out of the covers because she sensed that someone had snuck in.

    As expected of a grandmaster, even while wounded, her spiritual senses are still so sharp.

    Yan Xuehen sensed his gaze, then realized that she was dressed in a way that was a bit too personal. How could she let someone else see her private side like that? She thought about putting on some clothes, but that would be too deliberate, and would embarrass her even more. Zu An had already treated her injuries, hugging and touching her all over. Even though her clothes were personal, she wasn¡¯t exposing anything¡­

    While she was struggling internally, Zu An sat down at a table and poured himself a cup of tea. After that little event just then, he really was getting a bit thirsty.

    ¡°Sigh¡­¡± Yan Xuehen tried to stop him because that was the cup she had just used, but she was toote.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Zu An asked, looking at her in confusion after taking a sip.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing,¡± Yan Xuehen replied. Her expression became a bit unnatural when she saw the faint lip mark on the teacup. She was scared that he might find out and quickly changed the topic. ¡°What¡¯s going on with that skill? To the extent that you had to sneak into my room in the middle of the night?¡±

    ¡°Actually, I have a friend who has an ability that can sever all kinds of contracts and oaths. I reckon that this ¡®Love Is More Solid than Gold¡¯ skill should also be a kind of contract,¡± Zu An exined.

    ¡°When you say friend, are you talking about yourself?¡± Yan Xuehen replied. Her pretty brows furrowed. This guy was tricking me after all! He clearly could¡¯ve undone this thing before!

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +233 +233 +233¡­

    ¡°This friend really isn¡¯t me,¡± Zu An replied, feeling extremely wronged. He quickly summoned Mo Xi. ¡°This is a friend I just met. She might have a way to undo our contract.¡±

    Yan Xuehen was shocked. She asked, ¡°Is she a fiend race woman?¡±

    This woman¡¯s way of dress waspletely different from that of human women. However, even though she was dressed rather provocatively, there wasn¡¯t a trace of charming from her. Instead, she carried a heroic air that would make one naturally feel admiration for her.

    However, the key was that this valiant woman was extremely beautiful, to the extent that she wasn¡¯t inferior to Yu Yanluo.

    The fiend races actually have such beautiful women?

    ¡°She¡¯s probably a human¡­ Uh, that¡¯s not what¡¯s important,¡± Zu An said. He exined, ¡°She has a skill called ¡®Farewell, Nanchao¡¯, which might be able to undo the ¡®Love Is More Solid than Gold¡¯ skill.¡±

    ¡°Fine!¡± Yan Xuehen replied.

    Zu An was just about to put his n into action when a knock came from outside.

    ¡°Stone cold woman, what the hell are you doing in the middle of the night? Why did I sense your killing intent just now?¡± Yun Jianyue called out. ¡°I heard that the Snake Race was rather lewd; don¡¯t tell me you ended up liking one of them, and he just snuck into your room in the middle of the night?¡±

 Chapter 1218: Too Smart

    Chapter 1218: Too Smart

    Even though Yun Jianyue was teasing her rival, she was actually a bit worried. She had been sleeping next door, but was suddenly roused awake when she sensed the killing intent that had erupted from Yan Xuehen¡¯s room.

    Yan Xuehen was so injured right now, and it was the dead of night. Why would she suddenly use force? Some scoundrel had definitely snuck in.

    Yun Jianyue had actually felt amused when she first realized that. After all, the two of them had fought for so many years. They were more enemies than friends.

    She really had enough of the double standards the world had for the two of them. She really wanted to see what it would be like once the world¡¯s ¡®immortal fairy¡¯ fell down into the mundane world.

    After a while of tumbling back and forth, however, she¡¯d suddenly discovered that she wasn¡¯t as happy as she had imagined. Instead, she was actually feeling a bit worried about Yan Xuehen.

    Yan Xuehen was still a grandmaster, someone of the same level as herself. Even if Yan Xuehen were to be humiliated, she had to be the one to humiliate her, not some random scoundrel.

    She could no longer sit still when she thought of that, and went over to ask about it. Of course, there was no way she would admit that she was actually worried about something happening to Yan Xuehen. Instead, her words were full of mockery.

    However, that actually gave Yan Xuehen a fright. Previously, when she had gone to Zu An¡¯s room, she could justify her actions by saying that she was paying him a visit. Even helping him apply medicine wasn¡¯t too absurd of a matter. But this was her own room, and she was in her nightwear. What would Yun Jianyue think if she saw her with Zu An at that moment?

    It would be impossible to exin no matter what she said! That was, unless she told Yun Jianyue about ¡®Love Is More Solid than Gold¡¯. However, that was not only her greatest secret, but also rted to the glory and humiliation of the White Jade Sect. If Yun Jianyue found out, it would make her feel worse than death.

    She took a deep breath and replied, ¡°I made some progress in my recovery, so I decided to test something out.¡±

    Zu An widened his eyes. This woman looked as pure as driven snow, and yet she didn¡¯t even blink as she spoke such a tant lie.

    ¡°Is that so? Your injuries recovered so quickly that you were able to act so willfully?¡± Yun Jianyue replied doubtfully.

    ¡°Witch, is there something wrong with you? It¡¯s already the middle of the night,¡± Yan Xuehen replied. She was getting a bit annoyed. Even though she could also guess that Yun Jianyue was worried about her, Zu An¡¯s damn skill was about to be broken, and yet the other woman hade over to interrupt them. Yun Jianyue really had no sense of timing.

    ¡°Stone cold woman, you really can¡¯t recognize others¡¯ good intentions! If someone takes advantage of you, you deserve it!¡± Yun Jianyue shot back, also getting a bit annoyed. She stormed off in a huff.

    Yan Xuehen finally sighed in relief. She was about to say something to Zu An when Yun Jianyue suddenly appeared by the doorway again and said, ¡°Forget it, open-minded people don¡¯t bicker with the petty. I¡¯ll forgive you this once. Hurry and open up.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine! You don¡¯t need to help me.¡± Yan Xuehen gestured for Zu An to hide while replying. Zu An first recalled Mo Xi to make it easier for himself to hide.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s eyes quickly widened. Why did that person vanish into thin air? Even with her grandmaster rank perception, she didn¡¯t see how the other person had disappeared.

    Yun Jianyue called out again, sounding serious. ¡°If you were fine, you wouldn¡¯t have emphasized that you¡¯re fine. Something is definitely wrong!¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s eyes widened as she replied, ¡°But I didn¡¯t say anything like that!¡±

    ¡°Of course you can¡¯t speak. I fully understand your situation; you probably can¡¯t say what you really want to say right now. It¡¯s fine; you only need to reply yes or no to my questions.¡± Yun Jianyue specially changed to ki transmissions when she said that. She even added, ¡°Remember, you have to act natural.¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Yan Xuehen was caught up in a huge storm all of a sudden. Never would she have expected Yun Jianyue to have assumed she was in such a situation.

    ¡°Did a man sneak into your room?¡± Yun Jianyue quickly asked.

    ¡°No!¡± Yan Xuehen immediately replied.

    Zu An was confused. Why had she suddenly said that? Were they talking through ki?

    Yun Jianyue couldn''t help but clench her fists. She replied, ¡°You¡¯re quite smart; you know to say the opposite. I understand. Who is this person? Are they human? Snake race? Or maybe from a different fiend race?¡±

    Yan Xuehen was speechless. She shot back, ¡°Stop guessing randomly already!¡± She was really panicking at the moment. When she saw that Zu An was still pacing back and forth, she shot him a look. Her intentions were clear: Why haven¡¯t you hidden yourself yet?

    Zu An shrugged. There¡¯s nowhere to hide here, you know?

    There was a wardrobe, but after what had happened before, checking it would definitely be Yun Jianyue¡¯s first instinct. As for any other ces, because Yan Xuehen was used to simple and quiet environments, she had made sure to have Yu Yanluo arrange a neat little room. However, that made it so that there weren¡¯t any ces to hide at all.

    ¡°Stop guessing?¡± Yun Jianyue frowned. She continued, ¡°That means I guessed incorrectly. Don¡¯t tell me Zu An came over?¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s forehead darkened. What is up with this witch? No matter what she said, the other woman would always interpret it in a weird way. The worst part was that she was getting closer and closer!

    ¡°Is the other person one person or multiple?¡± Yun Jianyue asked, looking around her. She thought to herself that once she broke in, she had to be prepared. Otherwise, she would look bad if the other party injured the stone cold woman.

    ¡°Do you think the glorious Snake race¡¯s n Leader Manor is some market? Why would anyone be able to sneak in?!¡± After thinking for a bit, Yan Xuehen decided to use logic against her.

    ¡°If it¡¯s not a market, that means there aren¡¯t many people. Oh, there¡¯s only one person.¡± Yun Jianyue¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°And since you said that no one would be able to sneak in, this means that it¡¯s one of this manor¡¯s people who has decided to do evil.¡±

    Yan Xuehen felt as if she were about to go mad. She replied, ¡°Witch, are you crazy? We¡¯re talking through ki right now. If there really was something, why wouldn¡¯t I just tell you?¡±

    ¡°That may not be the case.¡± Yun Jianyue sneered. ¡°You came from the orthodox sects, which means you care about a lot of things. There¡¯s a chance that you are being threatened by someone right now. There¡¯s a good chance that someone might know something that puts youpletely at their mercy, and that¡¯s why you can¡¯t speak the truth.¡±

    She began to think to herself, If there¡¯s only a single person, it won¡¯t be that hard to deal with.

    Even though she was injured, she had the vision and experiences of a grandmaster. Furthermore, she came from the Holy Sect, making her proficient in various assassination methods. It wouldn¡¯t be too difficult for her to deal with an ordinary enemy at all.

    ¡°The one who loves bullying me the most is probably you!¡± Yan Xuehen replied in rm. Is this woman a freaking mind reader? She kept trying to chase Yun Jianyue away, and yet the other person was getting closer and closer to the truth.

    ¡°Looks like you have a bit of resentment toward what happened over these past few days. But only I can bully you; how can I let anyone else bully you?¡± Yun Jianyue replied, her smile quickly fading. ¡°Get ready, I¡¯m about to break in. Cooperate with me in taking down that scoundrel.¡±

    Yan Xuehen immediately panicked. If she had known that things were going to be like this, she would have just said that it was Zu An who was present! However, she had tried to hide it the entire time. If Yun Jianyue really did barge in and saw the two of them together, there was no way she could properly exin things!

    When she heard Yun Jianyue start to count down, she knew that nothing she said would matter anymore. She immediately urged Zu An to go into hiding, but for some time, she had already noticed that there really was nowhere for him to hide.

    Her gaze moved to the bed next to her. She gritted her teeth, then pulled Zu An over to the side of the bed, shoving him under the covers. She hissed, ¡°Don¡¯t say anything!¡± Then, she also jumped into bed and covered herself with the nket.

    Almost at the very moment she did that, the door was quickly smashed open. A faint yellow light surrounded the ce, and the pressure of a grandmaster instantly filled the room.

 Chapter 1219: Completely Blank

    Chapter 1219: Completely nk

    Yun Jianyue intended to use the Empress Lantern to freeze everyone inside, not even giving them the chance to hurt Yan Xuehen. As she barged into the room, she scanned the entire ce with her sharp eyes. However, she didn¡¯t see anyone.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s heart was beating crazily, but she still did her best to remain calm. She protested, ¡°I already told you it was fine, but you just won¡¯t believe me! You just had to cause all of this trouble!¡±

    Yun Jianyue frowned and said, ¡°Something is weird about you.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean, something is weird about me?!¡± Yan Xuehen eximed, panicking. Isn¡¯t this witch a bit too sharp?

    ¡°I don¡¯t know either,¡± Yun Jianyue replied. However, she didn¡¯t lower her guard and instead began to look around. Soon afterward, her eyesnded on the wardrobe. When she saw Yun Jianyue walk toward the wardrobe, Yan Xuehen thanked the heavens that she hadn¡¯t told Zu An to hide there. Otherwise, they would immediately have been exposed.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    However, she then remembered where Zu An was hiding. Her pretty face inadvertently turned red.

    I really am going crazy! How could I let him hide in that ce? If Yun Jianyue finds out, I¡¯ll really be too embarrassed to continue living!

    She hadn¡¯t realized it at first, but she was actually already going for broke. At first, it had only been because she didn¡¯t want Yun Jianyue to know her secret, but now, she was falling deeper and deeper into the pit she had dug for herself.

    Zu An was also a bit stunned. He had just been about to say ¡®we might as well exin this to Yun Jianyue and be done with it¡¯. Either way, she was on the same side. Even if she wanted some kind of proof, there was nothing she could really do about it.

    And yet now, a secondter, Yan Xuehen had pushed him right under her covers? As he breathed in the wonderful smell and felt the soft, warm body touching him, he felt as if he were dreaming. He subconsciously pinched his own thigh to check whether all of this was real.

    ¡°Ah¡­¡± Yan Xuehen cried out in rm.

    Yun Jianyue suddenly turned around, asking, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°Nothing,¡± Yan Xuehen replied, her entire face red. ¡°Are you done yet? Get out of here already.¡±

    Yun Jianyue had an ambiguous smile as she asked, ¡°Why do I feel as if you have a guilty conscience?¡±

    ¡°Do I have any reason to feel guilty toward you?¡± Yan Xuehen replied, pretending to be calm.

    ¡°That¡¯s hard to say,¡± Yun Jianyue said while suddenly opening the wardrobe next to her.

    Only then did Yan Xuehen have a chance to ask Zu An through ki, ¡°Why did you pinch me?¡±

    Zu An replied in embarrassment, ¡°I thought I was dreaming, so I was just checking to make sure I wasn¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Then why the heck didn¡¯t you pinch yourself?!¡± Yan Xuehen hissed, gritting her teeth in anger.

    ¡°Would you believe me if I told you that I pinched the wrong person¡­¡± Zu An replied weakly.

    ¡°Like hell I¡¯d believe that!¡± Yan Xuehen snapped. She thought to herself, How can there be someone this shameless? I really must¡¯ve gone mad to hide him under my own covers.

    It¡¯s definitely because of that damn skill!

    Once Yun Jianyue leaves, I¡¯ll immediately get rid of this stupid ¡®Love Is More Solid than Gold¡¯ skill. Then, I won¡¯t have anything to do with this guy again!

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +233 +233 +233¡­

    She could feel the boiling heat from Zu An¡¯s body. Her heart was pounding like crazy, her entire body going taut.

    What she was the most worried about at the moment was that Zu An would use the chance to take advantage of her. Even though she was still clothed, it was all sleepwear. If his hands moved even a little bit, he would easily reach her body.

    ording to all the information she had collected about him before, this Zu An was a total pervert. He had all sorts of different lovers at his side.

    Her expression turned a bit cold. She thought to herself, If he dares to take advantage of me, I have to kill him even if the secret gets exposed! Then, I¡¯ll end my own life. The dead don¡¯t need to listen to rumors and nder.

    But what surprised her was that he actually acted properly. Apart from that pinch, he didn¡¯t do anything else. That wasn¡¯t all; he even deliberately shifted a bit to the side, as if to avoid contact with her.

    Am I really that terrible to be around?

    Am I the same as an old grandma in his eyes¡­

    Yan Xuehen felt truly awful when she thought that.

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +377 +377 +377..

    Zu An waspletely baffled. Why the hell are you getting even angrier at me when I¡¯m trying to be a gentleman?

    Do you want me to touch you or something?

    But of course, he kept that thought to himself. He didn¡¯t dare take advantage of her like that.

    Meanwhile, Yun Jianyue just finished checking the wardrobe. She eximed, ¡°Huh? There¡¯s no one here?¡±

    Yan Xuehen quickly said, ¡°I already told you so many times, but you just didn¡¯t believe me and kept thinking about your weird conspiracy theory. Get out already! I want to sleep.¡±

    Yun Jianyue scanned the room once more. Theyout of the room was simple, and after a sweep, she indeed didn¡¯t see anyone. She even scanned the ce with her ki, but she still didn¡¯t sense anything.

    How could she possibly know that Zu An was hiding under the covers? That environment could be considered absolute darkness, so with Hidden in the Dark, of course she wouldn¡¯t sense him.

    ¡°Was I really just overthinking things?¡± Yun Jianyue mused with a frown. She was just about to leave when her eyes suddenly flickered, and she turned toward the bed. Yan Xuehen¡¯s figure was tall and slender; weren¡¯t the covers swelling a bit too much?

    Yan Xuehen felt her heart skip a beat when she saw Yun Jianyue look in her direction. She quickly pulled Zu An closer to herself.

    It¡¯s all this brat¡¯s fault! Why don¡¯t I ever see you act like such a gentleman normally? And yet you moved away so far that even Yun Jianyue noticed that something was off!

    Zu An¡¯s face was being squished a bit from how close he had been pulled. Just who¡¯s taking advantage of whom here? Still, he was someone who had gone through his share of hardships.

    Even though the pressure was extremely high, Yan Xuehen still remained calm on the surface. She asked, ¡°What? Don¡¯t tell me you think someone is hidden in these covers?¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s breath caught in her throat. The two of them had faced each other for so many years. Even though she didn¡¯t lie to her rival, she had to admit that this stone cold woman lived a pure life. She would feel ufortable even getting a little close to a man, so how could she possibly do something like that?

    But the seed of doubt had already been nted within her, and it was sprouting. If she couldn''t get to the bottom of this today, she might not be able to sleep well for a long time. Thus, she walked over with a smile and replied, ¡°Who are we talking about here? You¡¯re the immortal fairy who¡¯s clear as ice and pure like jade. Of course there¡¯s no way a man could be hidden in your covers. So many things have happened today, so I might indeed be a bit overly suspicious and can¡¯t sleep. In that case, why don¡¯t us sisters have a nice chat?¡±

    Yan Xuehen was really about to copse under the pressure now. She shot back, ¡°Who¡¯s your sister? Get away from me.¡±

    ¡°Come on, don¡¯t be like that¡­ We¡¯re in an unfamiliarnd right now, so I feel a bit strange sleeping alone. Why don¡¯t we just sleep together?¡± Yun Jianyue suggested, moving to jump into Yan Xuehen¡¯s covers.

    Yan Xuehen cursed inwardly. You¡¯re the freaking Devil Sect Master, who¡¯s known to be fierce and ruthless, and furthermore a glorious grandmaster. Someone like you is scared of sleeping alone?!

    Yun Jianyue clearly hadn¡¯t let go of her misgivings yet and wanted to see just what was inside the covers. But Yan Xuehen couldn''t think of anything else to stop her. When she thought about what would happen if Yun Jianyue found out Zu An was inside her covers, or about Chuyan¡¯s shocked expression if she found out, as well as how she would be theughingstock of the entire world, her head wentpletely nk. I¡¯m finished!

    Yun Jianyue became more and more suspicious when she sensed Yan Xuehen¡¯s heart rate bing faster and faster. She quickly grabbed a corner of the covers, then slowly started pulling it away.

 Chapter 1220: A Lesson

    <h4>Chapter 1220: A Lesson</h4>

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s head went nk. Her entire body was soaked in cold sweat. The fact that she had reached grandmaster rank meant she had experienced countless dangerous situations, yet all of them added together couldn''tpare to this moment.

    Just as she was about to acknowledge her fate, however, a figure suddenly shed past her window.

    ¡°Who is it?¡± Yun Jianyue called out.

    She had been on high alert to begin with. Even though that person had moved extremely quickly, it didn¡¯t escape her detection. She kicked off and chased after them. Looks like there really was someone who wanted to harm Yan Xuehen after all!

    That person had actually managed to escape her detection? She had been about to check the bed, so they had probably seen it as an opportunity to make their move.

    Even after Yun Jianyue left, Yan Xuehen¡¯s heart kept pounding. It was so loud that it was audible even without a cultivator¡¯s boosted senses.

    She was about to say something to Zu An, but the covers flipped over and a figure rushed out before hiding in the wardrobe. The wardrobe¡¯s doors weren¡¯t even properly closed; they remained in the same position they had been left in after Yun Jianyue examined them. Of course, that meant one of the doors was half-open.

    Zu An did his best to hide inside. Unless one looked closely, it would be hard to notice him. He broke out into a cold sweat. If he had been discovered just then, it really would have been hard to exin himself. Fortunately, he had summoned Daji at the most crucial moment to draw Yun Jianyue away.

    Yan Xuehen was a bit surprised, but she quickly reacted. She felt admiration for Zu An¡¯s quick thinking inwardly. The most dangerous ce had instead be the safest ce. Yun Jianyue had just examined the wardrobe, which would make it a blind spot in her thinking. She wouldn¡¯t pay attention to that area again.

    But her expression became stranger and stranger. This fe¡¯s movement seems really practiced¡­ Does he do this kind of thing often or something?

    Yun Jianyue quickly returned with an awful expression.

    ¡°What happened? Did you lose him?¡± Yan Xuehen asked. Zu An was no longer under the covers, so she felt much calmer. A slight smile was on her lips.

    ¡°That person¡¯s movement ability was too fast, and they actually vanished in an instant. Looks like my injuries have affected me more than I thought,¡± Yun Jianyue replied, feeling extremely annoyed. That person had been so close, and yet a grandmaster like her had lost track of them? It really was a bit embarrassing.

    ¡°Do you think it might just be you being overly suspicious?¡± Yan Xuehen remarked coldly. At the same time, she remembered how Zu An had recalled Mo Xi; not even she had seen anything. Could it be that the one outside was summoned by Zu An?

    ¡°My body is injured, but my eyes aren¡¯t. How could there have been any mistake?!¡± Yun Jianyue snapped impatiently. At the same time, she gave Yan Xuehen a doubtful look and asked, ¡°Who was that person just now, really?¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°How would I know?¡± Yan Xuehen replied. She was feeling great. Hmph, I was scared so badly earlier; now it¡¯s your turn to feel frustrated.

    ¡°You seem to be sheltering this person¡­¡± Yun Jianyue remarked, giving her a look of suspicion.

    Yan Xuehen snorted coldly and said, ¡°You were the only one being overly suspicious from the start, thinking someone snuck into my room or something. Even when I tried to exin it to you, you didn''t believe me. Now you believe it, right?¡±

    ¡°Why do I feel as if you¡¯re happy about this for some reason?¡± Yun Jianyue asked. She felt that there was something off about Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression, that the difference from before was too big.

    ¡°I just saw a great grandmaster like you suffer a bit; of course I¡¯d feel happy.¡± Yan Xuehen feltpletely rxed at the moment, so she began her counterattack.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s gaze suddenly shifted to the covers. She said, ¡°I saw you grabbing onto the covers as if your life depended on it when I came in earlier. Don¡¯t tell me there¡¯s some incredible secret under there?¡±

    Even though she had chased after that figure, she had returned quickly as well. Furthermore, she had been paying attention to what was happening in the room too. There was no way there would have been time for that person to get out.

    Yna Xuehen¡¯s expression turned cold. She snapped, ¡°Witch, what kind of person do you take me for?¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression also became a bit unnatural. She didn¡¯t believe that Yan Xuehen would hide someone in her covers. But she had already searched the entire room, and Yan Xuehen¡¯s reactions were suspicious too.

    ¡°I was just messing around with you¡­¡± Yun Jianyue said. Despite those words, she quickly grabbed the covers, not giving Yan Xuehen any time to react.

    Her eyes quickly narrowed, because apart from Yan Xuehen herself, there was nothing strange at all. Did I really guess wrong?

    ¡°Ahhh!¡± Yan Xuehen screamed and sat up straight. She cried, ¡°Witch, what is wrong with you?!¡±

    Yun Jianyue felt a bit embarrassed. However, she was used to acting in an overbearing manner, so it wasn¡¯t her style to admit mistakes. When she saw that Yan Xuehen was so injured, yet still dared to argue back, she felt annoyed. She grabbed the other woman and put her on her knees again.

    ¡°Witch, what are you doing?!¡± Yan Xuehen cried out furiously in rm.

    Yun Jianyue rubbed her hands together and said, ¡°I came here with good intentions, and yet you actually treated me so rudely? In that case, you deserve to be punished!¡±

    Zu An had a strange expression. Looks like Yan Xuehen is going to suffer again¡­ But Yun Jianyue really has been doing this quite often. Don¡¯t tell me she feels as if she won¡¯t be able to do this again after Yan Xuehen recovers from her injuries?

    Yan Xuehen struggled frantically. It was one thing for her to be beaten in secret, because it would just be between the two of them anyway. She¡¯d just get revenge once she recovered. But Zu An was still there! Getting spanked by Yun Jianyue right in front of him¡­ Forget about a grandmaster, that was a humiliation not even an ordinary woman would be willing to ept!

    However, her injuries were just too serious, and she wasn¡¯t Yun Jianyue¡¯s match at all. Even after struggling for a while, she was still firmly pushed down by Yun Jianyue, unable to move anymore.

    Pa!

    A loud and clear p rang out. A contented look appeared on Yun Jianyue¡¯s face.

    Yan Xuehen was humiliated and furious. She had actually been hit right in front of Zu An! She hissed, ¡°Witch, you should just kill me right now. Otherwise, once I recover, I¡¯ll definitely repay this a hundredfold.¡±

    Yun Jianyue was a bit embarrassed. However, she eximed, ¡°Huh? Why is your reaction this time so great? Didn¡¯t you just silently ept it thest two times?¡±

    Zu An and Yan Xuehen were speechless.

    ¡°Witch, let go of me!¡± Yan Xuehen protested. She felt as if she might go mad. She began to struggle again.

    Yun Jianyue smiled and replied, ¡°Tsk tsk. The more you struggle, the more excited I get!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a freaking pervert!¡± Yan Xuehenined. She wanted to cry. It was one thing being beaten in private, but Zu An could see everything at the moment! How was she supposed to raise her head again in the future?

    Yun Jianyue sneered. ¡°You actually dare to curse me? Looks like you haven¡¯t suffered enough yet. I¡¯m going to properly teach you a lesson today.¡±

    Then, she tore off Yan Xuehen¡¯s pants, and brought her palm down on the other woman¡¯s white and fair bottom. Loud and clear ps echoed through the room for a long time.

    How could Yan Xuehen stop her? When she felt the slight chill from below, her entire brain went nk.

    Zu An opened his mouth. His brain was also ringing a bit. How could he have expected such a shocking scene?

    ¡°Wow, I didn¡¯t expect a stone cold woman like you to have such sticity down here¡­¡± Yun Jianyue sighed in amazement. Suddenly, she saw two lines of tears trickling down from Yan Xuehen¡¯s eyes. She jumped in fright and asked, ¡°You don¡¯t have to go that far, do you? I¡¯m not a man; so what if you get hit by me? You¡¯re making me look as if I stole your purity or something.¡±

 Chapter 1221: An Insensitive Manâ€™s Consolation

    <h4>Chapter 1221: An Insensitive Man¡¯s Constion</h4>

    Yan Xuehen felt angry and distressed. If it really had been just the two of them, she would just lose a bit of face and that would be that. But there was still a man in this room!

    The worst part was that Yun Jianyue had just happened to point her bottom toward the wardrobe. Her most private side had beenpletely exposed before him.

    There was nock of outstanding men who had pursued her in her life. But she cultivated the Unshakable Daoist Manual, so icy coldness had already been embedded deep within her bones. Those men had quickly backed off out of awkwardness. Her heart had never rippled even once from start to finish; all such things felt like fallen leaves, scattering and disappearing in the breeze.

    Even so, as the leader of the White Jade Sect, she had spent quite some time wandering the world. She still interacted with some people from time to time. But as she reached greater proficiency with the Unshakable Daoist Manual, she had be more and more indifferent.

    Whenever she interacted with others, there would be a natural sense of distance. Sometimes, she felt as if she were a deity looking down on the creatures of the earth below. She had thought that kind of behavior would easily offend people.

    But what she had never expected was that, whether it was the sect itself or the martial world, people all seemed to approve of thatpletely. Not only did they not feel unhappy, they even respected her more and more over time. They even began to call her a goddess. She hadn¡¯t felt particrly happy about that, but she had just continued to act how she normally did.

    With such a nature, before she met Zu An, she had rarely even exchanged more than three sentences with another man. But after she met Zu An, everything changed. She had spoken more words with Zu An than with all other men throughout these years. She had even had physical contact with him. A few days before, if someone had told her such a thing would happen, she would think they were crazy.

    However, all of those things could be exined by extraordinary circumstances. Once that ¡®Love Is More Solid than Gold¡¯ skill was removed, she¡¯d naturally return to normal.

    And yet that damn woman, Yun Jianyue, just had to have exposed her bodypletely before Zu An! Even though he had seen everything before when her clothes exploded in the cave, that was just an instant, and it was only from the front. But now, he had seen her most private areas!

    She was absolutely furious when she thought of that, and she could no longer maintain her Unshakable Daoist Manual technique anymore. She coughed out a mouthful of blood, and began to feelpletely dispirited.

    Yun Jianyue jumped in fright, eximing, ¡°What is wrong with you?!¡± She had merely wanted to tease this ice-cold woman a bit. How could she have anticipated such a huge reaction?

    When she saw Yan Xuehen¡¯s face be as pale as a sheet of paper, she began to panic as well. She quickly used her ki to treat the woman¡¯s injuries, but the moment she made contact, she discovered that the ki inside Yan Xuehen was a mess. Not even her grandmaster rank cultivation could stabilize it.

    Zu An was rmed too. He could also tell that Yan Xuehen¡¯s situation was extremely dangerous. He set aside all hesitation and was about toe out to save her.

    But Yan Xuehen¡¯s weak voice called out beside Zu An¡¯s ear through ki transmission. ¡°Don¡¯te out! If youe out, I¡¯ll just die right here and now!¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +233 +233 +233¡­

    She knew this matter couldn''t be med on Zu An either, but when she thought about how he had seen her most embarrassing side, she still couldn''t help but get upset.

    Zu An could sense just how emotional Yan Xuehen was at the moment; he knew that if he really went out there, she might actually do something silly. As such, he stopped and said, ¡°Alright, alright, I won¡¯te out. Don¡¯t panic. Just now, I¡­ didn¡¯t see anything.¡±

    Even though that was what he said, those images still couldn''t help but appear in his mind. Then, he discovered that the area around his nose was warm. He subconsciously rubbed that area and thought, Damn it, I actually have a nosebleed.

    Yan Xuehen was speechless. What the hell do you mean you didn¡¯t see anything? If you really hadn¡¯t seen anything, you wouldn¡¯t have tried to cover it up to this extent! She was so ashamed and nervous, she coughed out another mouthful of blood.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? I just hit your butt; do you have to be like this?!¡± Yun Jianyue was also panicking now. She continuously poured her own ki into Yan Xuehen¡¯s body.

    ¡°Let me go!¡± Yan Xuehen snapped icily.

    Yun Jianyue was used to bullying the other woman already, but she felt somewhat apologetic at that moment. She found it a bit hard to meet Yan Xuehen¡¯s gaze and subconsciously let go. Meanwhile, Yan Xuehen quickly pulled the covers over herself. She put her pants back on under the covers with apletely red face.

    Yun Jianyue asked with a frown, ¡°Do you really have to act like this? I didn¡¯t expect our stone cold woman to not only reject men, but also not be okay with another woman seeing you!¡±

    Yan Xuehen ignored the remark and just pointed outside, snapping, ¡°Get out!¡±

    ¡°Your injuries are really bad; if I don¡¯t help you treat them¡­¡± Yun Jianyue began.

    Before she could finish her sentence, Yan Xuehen directly cut her off. ¡°That¡¯s none of your business. Either way, I won¡¯t die!¡±

    In the Devil Sect, Yun Jianyue¡¯s words were thew. Who would dare to go against her? She had already forced herself to speak nicely several times, and yet the other woman hadn¡¯t appreciated it at all! She also got angry, saying, ¡°I was trying to be nice, but you don¡¯t appreciate a thing!¡±[1] She suddenly got up, then left without even turning back. She mmed the door behind her; clearly, she was in an awful mood.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s entire body shook when she heard that. She really wanted to hide forever out of embarrassment.

    Only when he saw that Yun Jianyue had left did Zu An secretlye out. He went to the entrance and looked around. Yun Jianyue didn¡¯t seem to have returned to her room, and had probably gone for a walk to clear her thoughts. He locked the door properly again, then turned around and returned to the bedside.

    ¡°Just now, I¡­¡± Zu An began.

    Yan Xuehen cut him off, pointing outside with a reddened face. ¡°You, get out too! I don¡¯t want to see you!¡± She wasn¡¯t even in the mood to think about the ¡®Love is More Solid Than Gold¡¯ skill anymore.

    Zu An frowned and said, ¡°Your injuries are serious right now, and your dao core has be unstable.¡± He had cultivated a segment of the Unshakable Daoist Manual himself, so he was more sensitive toward her current state than he would normally be. He could even sense how poor her condition was from a distance.

    ¡°Leave! Get out!¡± Yan Xuehen didn¡¯t know how to face this man at the moment. The only thought in her mind was to calm down by herself. Unfortunately, when she got angry again, her throat filled with blood. She vomited another mouthful of blood, and felt so weak that she fainted on the spot.

    ¡­

    A whileter, Yan Xuehen gradually woke up. When she thought about what had just happened, she was shocked. She quickly lowered her head, but sighed in relief when she saw that her clothes were still intact.

    Just then, a voice behind her said with a sigh,. ¡°So you actually thought of me as someone who would take advantage of you all this time.¡±

    Only then did Yan Xuehen notice that there was a warm stream pouring into her body continuously. Her condition was already much better than it had been. She was all too familiar with that feeling; Zu An had treated her like that before.

    When she thought of that, she couldn''t help but feel a bit apologetic. She said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry; I didn¡¯t really suspect you. It was just my female instincts.¡±

    After briefly falling unconscious, she had calmed down a bit. She wasn¡¯t as stirred up as before. After thinking about it, she decided that the best way to deal with the situation was to pretend that nothing had happened. Either way, it wasn¡¯t as if he hadn¡¯t seen her before. It was fine as long as everyone tacitly agreed to guard the secret¡­

    Zu An had already sat across from her as soon as that thought emerged. He said, ¡°Big sis Yan, there¡¯s actually no need for you to have this kind of reaction. It¡¯s not as if I haven¡¯t seen you before.¡±

    Yan Xuehen was dumbfounded.

    1. The literal trantion of the phrase she used is ¡°hot face stuck to cold butt¡±. ?

 Chapter 1222: Red Strings

    <h4>Chapter 1222: Red Strings</h4>

    Zu An didn¡¯t notice that his attempt atforting her had instead produced the opposite effect. Furthermore, he continued, ¡°None of us expected that situation just now, but the good thing is that I already saw youst time. Big sis Yan, don¡¯t think too much about it. I won¡¯t talk about this to anyone.¡±

    Yan Xuehen was speechless. Her face immediately turned entirely red. Whoforts people like this? She felt her insides surge once more, and she almost fainted again. Zu An jumped in fright and quickly supported her, while transferring more ki to treat her condition.

    ¡°Don¡¯t touch me!¡± Yan Xuehen cried. She was extremely embarrassed. She clearly still remembered what had happenedst time during the treatment.

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +233 +233 +233¡­

    Zu An didn¡¯t pay her any attention. He grabbed her hand and infused his ki, saying, ¡°I won¡¯t use that method to treat you, and will instead only give you ess to my ki. Focus on adjusting your condition. Otherwise, considering your current state, even if you keep your life, your cultivation rank might fall.¡±

    Yan Xuehen fell silent. She knew that what he had said was true. As a cultivator, her strength had been umted through countless hardships. Who would be willing to give up something like that?

    ¡°Stop staring nkly and start treating your injuries,¡± Zu An said in a tone that seemed impossible to challenge.

    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Yan Xuehen instinctively agreed. However, a secondter, she realized that even though she was the one usually giving orders, she was actually listening to this brat today!

    ¡°Don¡¯t get distracted!¡± Zu An warned her again.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s face reddened a bit. She focused and began to adjust her energies. This time, Zu An merely allowed her to use his ki, but didn¡¯t infuse it into her. Sure enough, there was no embarrassing feeling like before. Yan Xuehen was still a grandmaster in the end; she quickly calmed down and focused on treating her injuries.

    After around two hours passed, she slowly opened her eyes. She had finally managed to barely stabilize her injuries. At the very least, she wouldn¡¯t lose her grandmaster rank cultivation in the future. Of course, it hadn¡¯te without a price. After recovering over the past few days, she had managed to reach a level where she could fight a bit again. And yet now, she had returned to the seriously wounded state from when she had been in the cave again.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Yan Xuehen felt strange even as she spoke. He was clearly the one who had benefited from this situation, and yet she had to thank him. Of course, she knew he hadn¡¯t done it on purpose. Furthermore, without his help, forget about her grandmaster rank cultivation, even keeping her life would have been a struggle.

    ¡°It¡¯s good as long as you¡¯re fine.¡± Zu An also sighed in relief when he sensed that the surging energy within him gradually calming down.

    Yan Xuehen was about to say something else when she noticed that, because the treatment had taken such a long time, their fingers were still crossed together. Her heart skipped a beat and she quickly pulled back her fingers.

    Zu An was surprised, but of course, he didn¡¯t mind. He said, ¡°Your wounds haven¡¯t healed. If big sis Yun bullies you, you shouldn¡¯t fight back. Once you recover, you can just get revenge on her then. You¡¯re clearly the only one suffering here.¡±

    ¡°No way! How can I admit defeat to that witch?!¡± Yan Xuehen felt angry as soon as the words left her mouth. She knew that their cultivation levels were simr. Even if she recovered, it would still be hard to get revenge on Yun Jianyue. She obviously couldn''t just give in now.

    Zu An thought to himself that grandmasters all had their own pride after all. If not for that state of mind, they might not have been able to reach their present level, right? He said, ¡°Then I¡¯ll find a chance to talk to big sis Yun, and tell her to stop taking advantage of you.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t!¡± Yan Xuehen jumped in fright and quickly stopped him.

    ¡°Why?¡± Zu An asked in confusion.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression became a bit unnatural. She said, ¡°You don¡¯t understand that witch. If you tell her that, she¡¯ll just feel even more motivated instead. Also¡­ She¡¯ll be suspicious that you¡¯re helping me, thus creating suspicion toward our rtionship.¡±

    ¡°But that puts you in a tough spot,¡± Zu An said with a forced smile. It looks like she¡¯s going to be spanked quite a bit in the following days.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s face turned red; she was clearly thinking along the same lines. She said, ¡°It¡¯s fine; I can deal with it.¡± She wasn¡¯t willing to continue the embarrassing conversation and instead quickly asked, ¡°Right, didn¡¯t you say you could undo that ¡®Love is More Solid Than Gold¡¯ skill?¡±

    .

    ¡°I¡¯m not a hundred percent certain that it will work,¡± Zu An said while summoning Mo Xi again.

    Yan Xuehen suddenly thought of something when she saw Mo Xi appear. She said in a rather troubled manner, ¡°I don¡¯t want these things to be known by anyone else.¡± Her heart began to pound fiercely after she said that. Why does this feel like some affair? What will this woman think after hearing that?

    Zu An said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, she won¡¯t speak. She doesn¡¯t have aplete soul either.¡±

    Yan Xuehen was startled. She asked, ¡°She¡¯s a summoned being?¡±

    With her status and cultivation rank, she naturally knew quite a bit. There was a rather unknown branch of summoners in the world of cultivation, but they usually summoned nasty monsters. She had never heard of such a stunning beauty being summoned before.

    Her expression became a bit strange when she thought of that. After all, summoners had absolute control over their summoned creatures. With such a gorgeous summon, would Zu An do anything strange to her? She thought, Hmph, he¡¯s a pervert, as expected. He even made his summons look so pretty.

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +111 +111 +111¡­

    Zu An was a bit confused. Why was she getting angry? But he still replied, ¡°It¡¯s something like that. But unlike normal summoned beings, I treat her as a friend.¡±

    Mo Xi blinked when she heard that, but she didn¡¯t express anything else.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°A friend?¡± Yan Xuehen felt more and more certain that it was as she had suspected. However, since it was a summoned being, she didn¡¯t need to worry anymore. She asked, ¡°She¡¯s able to undo that skill of yours?¡±

    ¡°Mo Xi is someone I just summoned today. She has an ability that can sever oaths and contracts, but I¡¯m not sure if it will be effective on ¡®Love Is More Solid than Gold¡¯.¡± Zu An thought to himself, The Phoenix Nirvana Sutra¡¯ skill is no pushover either; it might not seed.

    ¡°As matters stand, we have to give it a try,¡± Yan Xuehen said, pursing her lips. She had almost be a different person after being tormented by that skill.

    Zu An didn¡¯t dy, and immediately ordered Mo Xi to use her skill. But who would have thought that Mo Xi wouldn¡¯t listen to him, instead reaching out her hand toward him?

    Zu An knew what she meant. She was clearly asking for payment. He was speechless, but he still took out ten Ki Fruits and ced them in her hands.

    Mo Xi didn¡¯t hesitate and swallowed them all. An intoxicated look appeared on her face. However, she reached her hand forward again, her intentions clear: That amount wasn¡¯t enough.

    Zu An was speechless. You haven¡¯t even done anything, and yet you¡¯re already taking payment? He gritted his teeth, but he still handed her thirty more. He said, ¡°That¡¯s all for now. If you seed, I¡¯ll give you some more.¡±

    Mo Xi hesitated, but she still nodded. She swallowed the thirty fruits in one go. Zu An wondered whether these valkyries really didn¡¯t have any souls when he saw her reaction.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s eyes widened. She said, ¡°Your way ofmunicating with your summoned being really is a bit¡­ special.¡± She had never heard of a summoned creature being able to haggle with their master.

    Zu An¡¯s face heated up. He felt a bit embarrassed. However, he said, ¡°You can start now!¡±

    Mo Xi didn¡¯t cause any more trouble, and instead summoned a pair of faintly discernible golden scissors into her hand.

    Yan Xuehen was shocked. She actually couldn''t tell what sort of thing those golden scissors were even with her senses! She could only sense there seemed to be some extremely cryptic naturalws surrounding them. Is this really just a summoned being?!

    Mo Xi quickly brandished the golden scissors, cutting the space between Zu An and Yan Xuehen.

    As the scissors moved closer, Yan Xuehen suddenly saw some red string-like things connecting herself and Zu An. Furthermore, it wasn¡¯t one, but rather many of them!

 Chapter 1223: Canâ€™t Be Dealt With, Canâ€™t Be Understood Either

    <h4>Chapter 1223: Can¡¯t Be Dealt With, Can¡¯t Be Understood Either</h4>

    Yan Xuehen instinctively reached out to grab the red threads, but her hands passed right through. The threads weren¡¯t tangible. She asked in confusion, ¡°What are these?¡±

    Zu An was a bit shocked. He eximed, ¡°Are these the legendary matchmaker¡¯s red strings of fate?¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s face immediately turned red. There were simr legends in this world, but there was usually only a single string of fate; how could there be this many of them?

    Wait, we clearly don¡¯t¡­ don¡¯t even love each other!n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    She was no longer as confident when she thought that.

    It¡¯s all this stupid ¡®Love Is More Solid than Gold¡¯ crap!

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +100 +100 +100¡­

    She was quite flustered and quickly urged Mo Xi, ¡°Hurry and cut all these red threads!¡±

    Zu An gestured for Mo Xi to start. Mo Xi began to cut between the two of them. However, the two of them saw that the golden shears also passed right through the red threads, just making the cutting motion without actually doing anything.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Yan Xuehen asked, feeling a sense of unease.

    Zu An also looked toward Mo Xi. Mo Xi¡¯s head tilted to the side; she was clearly also a bit confused. Because of their contract, Zu An gradually understood her intentions. A huge smile appeared on his face.

    ¡°What¡¯ going on? Hurry and tell me already!¡± Yan Xuehen felt more and more nervous when she saw Zu An¡¯s expression.

    Zu An could only exin, ¡°Because I just summoned her, her current abilities aren¡¯t enough to cut such a high-level contract.¡±

    Yan Xuehen was stunned. She took a deep breath. Then, after she calmed down, she asked, ¡°Then how can I increase her ability?¡±

    Zu An sensed the information he was receiving from Mo Xi and exined, ¡°¡®Farewell, Nanchao¡¯ has two situations in which it can activate. One of them is if both sides are willing for the contract to end. In that case, as long as one of the two parties¡¯ cultivation ranks is lower than hers, that should be enough. If both sides aren¡¯t willing, her cultivation needs to be higher than both of theirs.¡±

    Apart from that, it was the same situation as with Daji. The skill ¡®Farewell, Nanchao¡¯ could be upgraded, thus lowering the cultivation requirement. At the highest level, the skill couldn be activated even if Mo Xi were two whole cultivation ranks lower.

    Yan Xuehen stared into Zu An¡¯s eyes and asked, ¡°Our current situation should be one where we¡¯re mutually willing, right?¡±

    Could it be that this guy is really unwilling, thus making these scissors fail?

    Zu An replied, ¡°Of course I am; I even came over sincerely with this method to help you get rid of this effect. I was only using it before to preserve my own life, and I¡¯ve always felt apologetic about it. That¡¯s why, once I obtained Mo Xi, I headed directly for you. If I hadn¡¯t wanted to, there would be no need for me to bring it up at all.¡±

    Yan Xuehen was eighty percent convinced when she sensed his sincerity. A summoned being like Mo Xi had to be Zu An¡¯s greatest trump card, and yet he had revealed it without holding back at all. She naturally sensed his goodwill. She had indeed misunderstood him after all. Even though this man looked rather frivolous and perverted from his behavior, he was still a gentleman deep down.

    Even so, her most private parts had been exposedpletely to him! If he really were a despicable person, she would already have cut him down to settle things once and for all. But now that she had seen how straightforward he was, and also how he had saved her several times, how could she still bring herself to do such a thing?

    She sighed and tossed those thoughts aside. She asked, ¡°Then what is her cultivation rank right now? Our White Jade Sect has many cultivation resources. If possible, I can personally guide her as well, to assist her in quickly increasing her cultivation.¡±

    This woman named Mo Xi was quite strange. Even Yan Xuehen couldn''t see through her.

    Zu An had an odd expression as he said, ¡°She¡¯s only at the second rank right now.¡±

    Yan Xuehen was speechless. She had initially thought that no matter how ordinary this woman was, she should at least have been at the sixth or seventh rank, right? Zu An was only around the ninth rank at the moment. If Yan Xuehen supported this woman with White Jade Sect¡¯s resources, bringing her up to around eighth rank wouldn¡¯t have been impossible. That way, with the requirements of ¡®Farewell, Nanchao¡¯, it should have been just about enough to cut through the red strings of fate.

    But since Mo Xi was only at the second rank, reaching the eighth rank within a short amount of time would bepletely impossible! Furthermore, Zu An was an absolute cultivation monster. Who knew just how far his strength would increase the longer they waited?!

    Seeing her expression change, Zu An consoled her, saying,¡°Big sis Yan, don¡¯t worry. Her cultivation method isn¡¯t like that of ordinary cultivators. It¡¯s a bit easier.¡±

    If she had been an ordinary cultivator, increasing her cultivation so quickly within a few years would bepletely impossible. However, these valkyries were different.

    .

    ¡°Does it involve those strange fruits from earlier?¡± Yan Xuehen asked, feeling somewhat stirred. She remembered that Zu An had just fed Mo Xi some fruits.

    ¡°Indeed,¡± Zu An said with a nod. ¡°These fruits aren¡¯t too hard to procure; the key point is that as their cultivation advances, they always need certain special materials for each breakthrough. For example, the fangs and scales of vicious beasts, rare flowers, and other such things.¡±

    After all, the reason why Daji hadn¡¯t broken through to the seventh rank was precisely because she stillcked Blue Earthflowers.

    ¡°That¡¯s not too big of a problem,¡± Yan Xuehen said. ¡°Even though the White Jade Sect isn¡¯t the wealthiest in the world, we still have all kinds of treasures. If there¡¯s anything you need in the future, just ask me.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. Is this the happiness of having a sugar mommy?

    But these valkyries¡¯ breakthrough materials and skill rank up materials were all incredibly rare things. Even the White Jade Sect might not have them.

    Of course, there was no reason for him to add to Yan Xuehen¡¯s worries at the moment, so he said, ¡°Alright. If there are any things I can¡¯t find, I¡¯ll ask you for them.¡±

    Yan Xuehen nodded and said, ¡°Even though we weren¡¯t able to sessfully undo this skill today, we¡¯ve made some progress at least. I still need to thank you.¡±

    Zu An was surprised. He had actually already prepared some words to console her, but she had spoken up like that first. As expected of someone who had managed to cultivate to the grandmaster rank, her way of thinking waspletely different from that of an ordinary person.

    ¡°Then rest well, big sis. I¡¯ll go back first,¡± Zu An said before getting up.

    ¡°I will. You¡¯re injured too, so make sure to get some rest yourself,¡± Yan Xuehen replied with a smile.

    Zu An nodded. He quickly left the room, and even closed the door behind him.

    ¡­

    When Zu An disappeared, Yan Xuehen could no longer keep up her calm exterior. She nted herself deep in the covers and rolled around inside, screaming, ¡°AhhhhhhhhHHHHHHHH! I¡¯m so embarrassed!¡±

    Only after hiding in her nkets for a long time did she gradually calm down. She sat on her bed while hugging her knees. Her slender, jade-like fingers moved across her sleek ankles, a bashful expression appearing between her brows. She murmured, ¡°Why are there so many red threads connected to him¡­¡±

    Suddenly, someone knocked on the door. She was rmed, but there was a bit of expectation in her eyes as she looked toward the door and called out, ¡°Why did youe back?¡±

    ¡°Looks like you didn¡¯t die yet,¡± Yun Jianyue said coldly. She had bolted away angrily before and wandered around for a long time. In the end, she was still worried about Yan Xuehen¡¯s injuries and hade back to take a look. Of course, there was no way she would admit to that on the surface.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression immediately turned cold. She cursed, ¡°Screw off!¡±

    ¡°Not bad, not bad. You seem to still have enough energy to curse,¡± Yun Jianyue remarked. Not only did she not get angry, her eyes lit up instead. She said, ¡°I guess your White Jade Sect does have some things up your sleeve. You were able to stabilize your injuries in such a short amount of time.¡±

    After making sure that Yan Xuehen was fine, she could now rx She calmed down, and after taunting Yan Xuehen a few times, she happily left.

    ¡­

    Inside the room, Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression wasplicated. How could the White Jade Sect be that amazing? If not for Zu An, she might already have been finished.

    Just how many times has he saved me now¡­

    She thought about all of the things that had happened between them, and even how he had seen every single part of her body. A red blush covered Yan Xuehen¡¯s skin.

    Sigh, how am I going to face Chuyan in the future?

    ¡­

    In the following days, Yu Yanluo led her nsmen to her mother¡¯s statue, conducting a great ceremony of respect. The ceremony also served as a way to dere that she was back to everyone in the Snake race.

    Meanwhile, Zu An and the others took the chance to rest and recover. The Snake race offered up many pill medicines for them. Even though it wasn¡¯t anything too amazing, it was still helpful toward their recovery. They all managed to make some progress in their healing.

    After the ceremony concluded, the group began their journey toward the Fiend King Court.

 Chapter 1224: Exposed

    <h4>Chapter 1224: Exposed</h4>

    The Snake race territory wasn¡¯t that close to the Fiend King Court. However, if it were just Yu Yanluo alone, setting out a bitter wouldn¡¯t pose too much of an issue either. Taking Zu An¡¯s time frame into consideration, however, Yu Yanluo still considerately decided to set out earlier.

    As they were leaving, Little White and Little Blue saw them off with teary eyes. They really wanted to go along too, but their grandfathers strictly forbade them from joining. To put it nicely, the two girls had been pampered since childhood. They had no idea how to attend to others and would only be a burden for the n leader.

    In truth, however, that was clearly just an excuse. The Fiend Emperor had summoned the leaders of every n, and he clearly had no good intentions. It was hard to say whether those leaders would make it out of the Fiend King Court alive, and even if they did, they might be arrested and taken as hostages. The two elders didn¡¯t want to put their grandchildren at risk.

    Yu Yanluo was fully aware of their schemes, but she didn¡¯t expose them. Both sides maintained a certain level of tacit understanding.

    The group boarded arge carriage pulled by six lizards and left Snake Race Valley.

    ¡­

    Even though the carriage was cozy, the three women were all in the same ce, so the mood inevitably became a bit strange.

    As the host, Yu Yanluo still had to do something to manage the mood. She looked at Yan Xuehen curiously and said, ¡°Sect Master Yan, I didn¡¯t have the time to ask a few days ago, as I was busy with the ceremony. Why does it seem as if your injuries have worsened? Did something happen?¡±

    When she heard Yu Yanluo¡¯s question, Yan Xuehen recalled what had happened that night. She subconsciously gave Zu An a look. Zu An just happened to be looking at her. As soon as their eyes met, her gaze quickly shifted away.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s heart was pounding crazily. Her fair cheeks began to burn up, and she replied somewhat unnaturally, ¡°There was a bit of a setback when I was cultivating a few days ago, causing some injuries.¡±

    ¡°I see. That¡¯s a bit troublesome. Your injuries were quite serious to begin with. Please tell me if there¡¯s something you need. Even though the Snake race can¡¯tpare to the White Jade Sect, we still have some medical treatments,¡± Yu Yanluo replied.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need. Your distinguished n has already offered us quite a bit during our stay,¡± Yan Xuehen said, waving her hand to refuse the offer. She thought to herself, I owe the Snake race a favor now. Once I get back to the White Jade Sect, I¡¯ll have to find some way to repay this favor.

    Yun Jianyue noticed their movements and felt suspicious. Those two had exchanged a look, and Yan Xuehen had blushed? She thought, Why does that look so weird¡­

    But because she understood Yan Xuehen so well, she subconsciously thought the other woman wouldn¡¯t act like that over a man or anything. As such, her thoughts never went toward that direction.

    Yun Jianyue knew Yan Xuehen¡¯s injuries were because of her. When she saw Yu Yanluo continue to ask about it, she quickly changed the topic and said, ¡°Ah Zu, you saw those two little girls weep for you. Did you do something to make them sad?¡±

    Yu Yanluo and Yan Xuehen¡¯s gazes immediately locked onto Zu An when they heard that.

    As if he could sense their killing intent, Zu An replied with an awkwardugh, ¡°How is that possible? They clearly weren¡¯t willing to part with their respected n leader, as well as the two pretty big sisters over here. Weren¡¯t you helping them with their cultivation? Of course they didn¡¯t want you to leave, haha¡­¡±

    Yun Jianyue rolled her eyes and replied, ¡°I still know myself a bit, okay? Those girls might be grateful to me, but I treated them pretty strictly. There¡¯s no way they would feel that reluctant to see me leave.¡±

    Yu Yanluo had an ambiguous smile as she said, ¡°The White and Blue families were itching to see me, the n leader, leave as soon as possible. The two little girls¡¯ acting skills aren¡¯t as mature as their grandfathers¡¯. I could tell that they really did feel brokenhearted and reluctant, which is strange.¡±

    Yan Xuehen also said, ¡°That Miss Blue in particr seemed to have something strange in her expression. Something probably happened between the two of you.¡±

    Zu An immediately began to sweat buckets. Are women¡¯s sixth senses really that urate?

    They¡¯re saying things one after another; sooner orter, I¡¯ll be exposed!

    I have to make sure to meet these women one on one in the future. With all three of them together, they almost managed to ruin everything!

    He coughed and exined, ¡°They ended up giving me such precious medicines, so of course I needed to return their kindness. I gave them some human toys, and they liked listening to my stories of the human world. It might be because I didn¡¯t finish the story I told them, making them reluctant to part here.¡±

    ¡°Is it that story of a white snake and a blue snake who were saved by a doctor¡¯s assistant? Then, after a thousand years had passed, they reincarnated and searched for that assistant to devote themselves to him?¡± Yun Jianyue asked with a smile.

    Yu Yanluo and Yan Xuehen¡¯s expressions became strange. Why did that story have such a powerful allure?

    Zu An was speechless. This woman is a freaking grandmaster; what is she eavesdropping on our conversation for? He protested, ¡°That really is a story from my hometown. I vow to the heavens! It¡¯s just that because it had something to do with the Snake race, I told them about it. I definitely didn¡¯t have any other intentions.¡±

    Even though they had interacted rather closely, there were so many eyes watching in the manor, so there had been no other opportunities after that night. That was why he and the two girls had remainedpletely clean and innocent.

    ¡°What are you panicking for? As you know, my rtionship with those two elders is quite tense, so if you really do get their two precious granddaughters to like you, that would actually be a great thing for the Snake race,¡± Yu Yanluo said with a slight smile.

    You have sessfully trolled Yu Yanluo for +110 +110 +110¡­

    Zu An couldn''t help but be depressed when he saw those Rage points. Now Yu Yanluo is following bad examples too¡­

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression immediately became a bit unnatural. But she remembered that this was how Yu Yanluo had tried to push Zu An to go after her that night.

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +110 +110 +110¡­

    Sensing drama stirring among these close female friends of his, Zu An quickly changed the topic. He asked, ¡°Right, wouldn¡¯t it have been better to leave Maid Xing back at the n? We would at least have had someone on our side there.¡±

    Yu Yanluo replied, ¡°The fiend races do things a bit different from humans. Over here, they care about bloodlines; the strong reign supreme. If I were still there, no matter what Elders White and Blue did, I would still be the n leader. But if something happened, it wouldn¡¯t make too much of a difference even if Maid Xing were left back in the n. So, she might as well follow me.¡±

    The others all nodded inwardly. This trip to the fiend race territories had taught them quite a bit. They had heard many things about it, but it couldn¡¯tpare to a real visit.

    Yan Xuehen said, ¡°I might not go to the Fiend King Court. I¡¯ll leave once we get close.¡±

    Yun Jianyue nodded and added, ¡°It¡¯s the same for me. I¡¯ve thought for a bit over the past few days. The two of us wouldn¡¯t be the Fiend Emperor¡¯s match even if we worked together at our strongest, let alone now. Furthermore, our statuses are special. We can¡¯t make decisions purely based on selfish interests. If our statuses were discovered by those of the Fiend King Court, the consequences would be extremely severe.¡±

    After a brief pause, she looked at Zu An and continued, ¡°Furthermore, we advise you to not go to the Fiend King Court either. That person gave you a Golden Crow Token, but that might not necessarily be out of good intentions. Even though your cultivation is quite good, the Fiend King Court is full of powerful cultivators. If you head inside, it¡¯ll be hard to guarantee your personal safety.¡±

    Even though Yu Yanluo really wanted to stay together with Zu An, she was still worried about his safety. She said, ¡°Indeed. Ah Zu, you should also leave with themter. You still have many things to deal with back in Cloudcenter City.¡±

    .

    Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°The Fiend Emperor¡¯s summons will definitely be full of danger. How can I let you go there alone?¡±

    Yan Xuehen said, ¡°If the Fiend Emperor really wanted to treat them unfavorably, you alone won¡¯t be able to make much of a difference. You¡¯d only be throwing your own life away.¡±

    Yun Jianyue nodded and added, ¡°This time, I¡¯m on the same side as this stone cold woman. You being there won¡¯t make a difference in Yu Yanluo¡¯s situation at all, and it would just put you in danger. Did you forget that you defeated the Golden Crow Crown Prince? No matter how open-minded the Fiend Emperor is, there¡¯s no way he wouldn¡¯t feel any grudges. Who knows, he might even use you as an example to the others. It¡¯ll only make things even more dangerous for her if you go.¡±

    Zu An had been pretty determined to apany Yu Yanluo at first, but when he heard that he would instead bring her danger, he hesitated.

    ¡­n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Meanwhile, at the Fiend King Court, within a certain manor, a powerful voice eximed, ¡°What? Transcendent aptitude?¡±

    ¡°Indeed. ording to the intelligence we received from the pce informers, the one who fought with the Golden Crow Crown Prince scattered his blood on the golden war chariot. The Fiend Emperor learned this fact when he investigated the matter,¡± another voice replied.

    ¡°The legendary transcendent aptitude! No wonder he was able to win against the Golden Crow Crown Prince!¡± The powerful voice began breathing rapidly. ¡°The way that old bastard is, who knows if transcendent aptitude blood will still be useful for him¡­ but for me, this is an entirely different story.

    ¡°Pass down my orders! We need to seize him at any cost! We cannot allow him to arrive at the Fiend King Court!¡±

    ¡°We will follow your orders!¡±

 Chapter 1225: Bluefield Country

    <h4>Chapter 1225: Bluefield Country</h4>

    Zu An¡¯s group hurried along their journey for several days. The lizards moved much faster than horses, almost catching up to the speed of his previous world¡¯s green trains[1].

    He sighed in amazement. His previous world had science and technology, while this world had cultivation; and yet for many things, the same result had been achieved, just through different means.

    He continued to appreciate the ways of the fiend races¡¯ side of the world. He had previously read some records about them at the academy, but being here personally still felt different. The fiend races¡¯nds were much poorer than the human territory, and their way of life also seemed to be tougher.

    There were several groups observing them along the way, as if they were seriously considering attacking the carriage. But when they saw the strength of the lizards in the front and that the people inside the carriage were even stronger, none of them dared to make a move.

    Later on, those forces seemed to have reached some kind of agreement. In the end, they decided that they were going to divide up this nice piece of fatty meat. However, the scouting group they sent out was struck down ruthlessly by Zu An.

    From then on, their trip to the capital went much more smoothly. The various forces scattered, and they didn¡¯t even seem to be interested in anything like revenge.

    ¡°The fiend races¡¯ side is much more practical after all. They didn¡¯t hesitate to retreat as soon as they realized that they couldn''t win,¡± Yan Xuehen said in surprise.

    ¡°If you clearly can¡¯t win but you don¡¯t retreat to preserve your strength, doesn¡¯t that just mean there¡¯s something wrong with your head?¡± Yun Jianyue said, admiring their way of doing things.

    ¡°Hmph, you really are from the Devil Sect; you¡¯re no different from these fiend races.¡± Yan Xuehen sneered.

    ¡°Um, hold on here¡­ I seem to be caught up in the offense too,¡± Yu Yanluo said unhappily. These were two honorable grandmasters, and yet when it involved each other, they became just like little girls. She really didn¡¯t know how to feel about that.

    Yan Xuehen was a bit apologetic. She said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry; I wasn¡¯t talking about you.¡±

    ¡°I know,¡± Yu Yanluo replied with a smile. But she was getting a headache from listening to them argue constantly, so she changed the topic and said to Zu An, ¡°We¡¯ll be arriving at Bluefield Country soon. The Blue Earthflowers you were looking for before can be found here.¡±

    Beautiful blue-green fields covered the mountains. Sometimes, they flickered beautifully like jade; at other times, they appeared like blue-green mes. This was precisely the ce where Blue Earthflowers came from.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes lit up. It would have been extremely hard for him to obtain even a single stalk of Blue Earthflower on the human side, but it was much easier here over on the fiend races¡¯ side. He had to establish some kind of tradepany here, one that exchanged goods between the humans and the fiends. They would then be able to enjoy the best of each other¡¯s worlds!

    Of course, he knew that was probably still something he could only think about. Considering how much both sides hated each other, that would bepletely impossible. Even Yu Yanluo¡¯s business dealings with the Snake race were done in secret, and yet in the end, Xu Yu had still caught her red-handed, leading to the destruction of the Yu n¡¯s foundation.

    Yun Jianyue asked curiously, ¡°What do you need the Blue Earthflowers for?¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°I have a friend who needs them for a breakthrough.¡±

    ¡°What kind of breakthrough needs stuff like that? I¡¯ve never heard of such a thing before,¡± Yun Jianyue said. She was a grandmaster, so she had all manner of knowledge. However, she had never heard of anyone using Blue Earthflowers for a breakthrough.

    Zu An was wondering how to exin himself when Yan Xuehen said with a cold snort, ¡°There are endless cultivation methods in this world; each individual has apletely different constitution. What¡¯s so strange about this?¡±

    She thought that it was a material needed for Mo Xi¡¯s breakthrough, and was worried that Yun Jianyue would keep asking until she found out who Mo Xi was. That was her and Zu An¡¯s secret; she definitely didn¡¯t want other people to know.

    ¡°Stone cold woman, it¡¯s already been a few days. Are you already itching for another beating?¡± Yun Jianyue asked threateningly.

    Zu An quickly intervened and changed the topic. He asked, ¡°Yanluo, is Bluefield Country the ce where fox-spiritse from?¡±

    Yun Jianyue was also interested now. There were many legends regarding fox-spirits in the human world, and such fox-spirits normally came from Bluefield Country.

    Yan Xuehen secretly gave Zu An a look. She remembered how Zu An had suggested that he would talk to Yun Jianyue so that the other woman wouldn¡¯t bully her anymore, but she had refused at the time. Yet now, she was actually secretly grateful for his help. It even felt a little sweet.

    Her expression stiffened when she realized that. It¡¯s definitely that damn skill messing with me again!

    ¡°It can probably be considered that. Among the Fox race, the majority are women, and the current leader is also a woman. Her cultivation talent is average and she isn¡¯t good in battle, but she is quite good at charm techniques,¡± Yu Yanluo didn¡¯t want to hear the two other women fight anymore, so she yed along and exined to the rest.

    Zu An suddenly thought of Daji, wondering if she had any kind of rtionship with the Bluefield Country of this world. Is this Fox race made up of her descendants?

    ¡°The leader is a woman?¡± Yun Jianyue asked. She couldn''t help but give Zu An a look, remarking, ¡°Then this guy might not be able to walk properly after seeing her.¡±

    Yan Xuehen reflexively replied, ¡°Who knows? He has quite the luck with girls; it might be that Bluefield Country¡¯s leader who can¡¯t walk properly anymore.¡±

    Yun Jianyue had a strange expression as she remarked, ¡°Not bad at all¡­ Stone cold woman, you actually learned a thing or two about emotions? You seem to understand Zu An even better than I do.¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s face turned a bit red. She looked away and ignored the other woman.

    Yu Yanluo said, ¡°As a n leader myself, I ought to pay Bluefield Country¡¯s leader a visit. But in order to prevent side issues from growing, let¡¯s just keep a low profile when we enter the city. Once we procure the Blue Earthflowers, we¡¯ll leave. Ah Zu, is that okay?¡±

    Zu An said with an earnest expression, ¡°Of course it is. Time is pressing, so it¡¯s more important for us to move quickly.¡± With the most beautiful Fox race individual, Daji, at his side, he didn¡¯t have much interest in that Bluefield Country leader or whatever.

    Yun Jianyue sighed and said, ¡°I¡¯m actually pretty interested in that fox-spirit. Since I¡¯m passing through the area, I wouldn¡¯t mind exchanging some pointers with her in charm techniques.¡±

    Yan Xuehen harrumphed. ¡°Hmph, shameless.¡±

    Yun Jianyue was about to act out when Zu An eximed in surprise, ¡°Huh? You know charm techniques? I had no idea.¡±

    Even Yu Yanluo gave her a curious look. If Yan Xuehen was like an immortal who stood at the very peak of a snowy mountain, Yun Jianyue usually seemed poised and dignified, full of almost palpable killing intent that prevented others from even daring to look straight at her. Such a woman definitely wouldn¡¯t be alluring or seductive in the slightest.

    Yun Jianyue harrumphed. ¡°If I didn¡¯t, who would have taught Honglei her charm techniques? It¡¯s just that there hasn¡¯t been any man in this world worth using it on, that¡¯s all.¡±

    As soon as she finished, Yan Xuehen and Yu Yanluo turned to look at Zu An. Yun Jianyue was embarrassed and angry, protesting, ¡°What are you all looking at him for?!¡±

    ¡­

    Just like that, the party bickered and argued along the way. They quickly entered Bluefield City. Since the Snake race¡¯s lizard carriage was too eye-catching and they didn¡¯t want to draw attention to themselves, Yu Yanluo had Maid Xing and her subordinates stay outside. Meanwhile, the group headed into the city.

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue were both a bit curious about the Fox race, so they went along. Both of them wore veils over their faces to avoid provoking any unnecessary trouble.

    .n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The city gate was between tworge fox-head sculptures. There were all kinds of streetmps and stone carvings along the way, all depicting different foxes. The city was filled with the smell of cosmetics as well.

    There were gorgeously dressed foxdies everywhere; some were tall and slender, some were voluptuous, and some were cute¡­ They dressed more daringly than humans did, but didn¡¯t really reveal anything either. It was precisely that kind of outfit that was right on the verge of showing something that was the most enticing.

    The foxdies all had one thing inmon, which was that they all had pretty, fluffy ears. Between that and their natural charm, they gave off a natural sense of seduction. There were men of many different races around them. They chatted in a cheerful and lively manner, as if they were very close.

    At that instant, Zu An felt as if he had returned to one of his previous world¡¯s nightclubs!

    Yu Yanluo reminded the group quietly, ¡°Don¡¯t think that these foxdies are affectionate and passionate; in reality, it¡¯s really hard to take advantage of them in any way. Their race loves toying with the hearts of others, and it¡¯s easy to get lost in their games.¡±

    Yan Xuehen was surprised. She asked, ¡°If many people know about that, why do these people still keep going after them?¡±

    Yun Jianyueughed out loud and replied, ¡°That¡¯s why I always say that you don¡¯t understand men!¡±

    Yan Xuehen sneered. ¡°You make it sound as if you understand them really well or something!¡±

    While the two of them were arguing, a flirtatious voice called out. ¡°I can see that your group seems to have a bloody cmity lingering around you. Perhaps I can carry out a divination for all of you?¡±

    1. The terms ¡®green-skinned train¡¯ and ¡®green train¡¯ refer to a design that used to be the mainstay of the passenger railway fleets of China and othermunist countries during the Cold War. The phrases carry connotations of slow travel on old vehicles with few amenities, most notablycking air conditioning. Despite those connotations, some newer trains have been painted green for nostalgic purposes. ?

 Chapter 1226: Relationship Destined By Fate

    <h4>Chapter 1226: Rtionship Destined By Fate</h4>

    The party turned around and saw a fat daoist standing in front of them. He was dressed in an apricot yellow robe. His face was chubby, and because he was smiling, his eyes were barely slits. Together with his big beer belly and the unidentifiable grease around his cor and sleeves, he really didn¡¯t give them the impression that he was some impressive daoist. However, he had a banner with the words ¡®Quasi-Immortal Wu¡¯ written on it in his hands.

    Yun Jianyue gently nudged Yan Xuehen with her elbow, remarking, ¡°Your faction even has disciples among the fiend races?¡±

    There were many daoist sects, but the simrity they shared was that they all pursued the dao to immortality, to transcend the self. White Jade Sect was precisely one of the biggest daoist sects.

    Yan Xuehen replied, ¡°As long as you have a heart that seeks the dao, you can cultivate anywhere. What¡¯s so surprising about there being disciples among the Fiend Races?¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but chuckle. He asked, ¡°Then will our misfortune turn to blessing if we ask you to carry out a divination for us? Can you turn our peril into safety?¡± He hadn¡¯t expected the scammers from this world to go for the same things as the ones in his previous world.

    ¡°That is not so; that is not so,¡± the fat daoist said, shaking his head. ¡°I will carry out a divination to determine your luck, and then I will follow the divinatory signs to provide a corresponding method to dispel it. If you all do as you are instructed, only then can misfortune turn to blessing.¡±

    All of them were exceptional individuals. They obviously wouldn¡¯t be fooled by such small schemes.

    Zu An tossed over a piece of silver. He said, ¡°We¡¯ll pass on the divination, but I have a question for you. Are there any merchant groups in the city? And which store has the most abundant supply of goods?¡±

    A swindler like this guy definitely had the most effective information. They weren¡¯t familiar with Bluefield Country, but that wouldn¡¯t be true for someone like this.

    The chubby daoist¡¯s eyes widened; naturally, however, even if he tried his best to open them, they still didn¡¯t open that widely. They were round and small like the eyes of a rat. He asked, ¡°You guys are actually from out there? You actually want to rob a merchant group?! This poor daoist will not do anything that goes against the rules!¡± He turned and ran for his life afterward.

    Zu An¡¯s group waspletely speechless. Is there something wrong with this person¡¯s head?

    Zu An grabbed the daoist¡¯s pigtails and dragged him back. He remarked, ¡°You took my money but didn¡¯t answer my question, and yet you want to leave just like that?¡±

    At first, the fat daoist had a serious and stern expression, but when he heard that, he immediately smiled. He replied, ¡°What is this young master saying? Judging from how suave you look and how stunning your femalepanions are, there is no way you could be that bad sort. The biggest merchant group in this Bluefield City is called the Fox Merchant Group. You will see it if you just travel another li from here.¡±

    Zu An nodded. He was just about to leave when the chubby daoist called him back, saying, ¡°Young master, please wait.¡±

    ¡°Is there anything else?¡± Zu An asked. He was on guard as he looked at the daoist, wondering what kind of trick this fe was going to y now.

    The chubby daoist stroked his mustache and said, ¡°I, Wu Liang, am a cosmos master. Helping others seek luck and avoid cmity is our mission. I will help you using a divination.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s forehead darkened as he replied, ¡°I don¡¯t need it.¡±

    Yu Yanluo secretly asked Yan Xuehen, ¡°What¡¯s a cosmos master?¡± She had never heard of such a thing before, but the name sounded pretty impressive. Since Yan Xuehen was from one of the daoist sects, she probably knew.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression was a bit strange as she replied, ¡°It¡¯s just some name fortune-tellers use to make themselves sound more impressive.¡±

    Yu Yanluo was speechless.

    Yun Jianyue also cursed and said, ¡°Your daoist sects really are just frauds.¡±

    ¡­

    Just then, the fat daoist said, ¡°No, this is a matter of personal integrity. I took your money, so if I do not help you resolve your fate, the heavens will instead bring down punishment on me.¡±

    He didn¡¯t wait for Zu An to reply, and instantly began to make strange hand signs while mumbling some inaudible incantation. Then, he looked as if he had suddenly seen the light. He said, ¡°The young master might encounter a romantic affair tonight.¡±

    When the daoist spoke those words, the three women all looked toward Zu An. At that moment, coincidentally, all three of them suddenly concluded that the divination was actually rather urate.

    When he sensed their killing intent, Zu An ¡®properly¡¯ paid his respects to the fat daoist¡¯s female ancestors. He said, ¡°Hmph, you were talking about how we were headed for some bloody cmity, so why are you now saying that I¡¯m going to experience some romance? Did you forget what kind of nonsense you were saying or something?¡±

    ¡°Really? I said that before?¡± The fat daoist reacted quickly and tactfully saved the situation. ¡°The two actually do not conflict with each other. When a woman¡¯s cherry is popped, will there not be blood?¡±

    The looks in the women¡¯s eyes became even more unkind. Yu Yanluo began to think to herself, Zu An and I already have a physical rtionship, so this shouldn¡¯t be referring to us. Then could it be Yan Xuehen or Yun Jianyue?

    But even though Zu An was incredibly charming in her eyes, and she thought he was the best man in the world, one of those two was the Devil Sect Master, while the other was one of the leaders of the righteous faction. It really was hard to imagine anything happening between them and Zu An.

    Yun Jianyue had simr thoughts. Yu Yanluo and Zu An had probably slept together countless times, but there was no way it could be about herself either. Then could it be Yan Xuehen? Still, she quickly rejected that thought. How could that stone cold woman possibly have any interactions with a man? It was probably one of the fox girls in the city. This kid is such a skirt-chaser; that kind of thing really does have a chance of happening.

    Yan Xuehen looked calm on the surface, but inwardly, she was horrified. Yu Yanluo was the first option to be rejected, and she didn¡¯t believe that fierce Yun Jianyue would be very likely either. She thought, Then is this divination talking about me?

    Others might not know, but she knew that her rtionship with Zu An as ofte really had been crazy, to say the least. Even though they weren¡¯t lovers, there had been times when the two had been even more intimate than real lovers. They were practically only missing that final step. If that kind of thing really did happen, even she wouldn¡¯t be too surprised.

    I¡¯m done for! I¡¯m done for! I absolutely can¡¯t meet with him alone today, or else something bad might happen!

    Sensing the strange atmosphere between the three women, Zu An gave the fat daoist an unkind look. He said, ¡°But you said that it was a bloody cmity. Can you really randomly interpret something like that as a cmity?¡±

    The fat daoist exined in aposed manner, ¡°That is not so; that is not so. There are two kinds of romantic affairs. One is luck with thedies; one is cmity with thedies. What you will experience tonight is precisely a romantic cmity, so of course it is a bloody cmity.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. This damn fatty is talking gibberish with a straight face. He actually managed to bring all this together?

    He wanted to say something else, but the daoist shook his head and said, ¡°The mysteries of heaven must not be revealed. That is all I have to say. Young master, do your best!¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Yu Yanluo suddenly asked, ¡°Then could you perform a divination for me too?¡±

    She was starting to have second thoughts about what the daoist had said, because she was worried that Zu An might really be in some kind of danger. She wanted to give it a try and see whether he really had some genuine talent, or he was just blurting out nonsense.

    ¡°What does the madam want me to divine?¡± the fat daoist asked with a huge smile on his face. He didn¡¯t seem shocked by her beauty like other men, and it was clear that he wasn¡¯t faking it either. He was interested in something else.

    Yu Yanluo thought for a bit before replying, ¡°Heir!¡±

    Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen¡¯s expressions became a bit unnatural. Are you freaking flirting right in front of us?

    .

    The fat daoist replied with a smile, ¡°Madam, can you spread your palms and let me take a look?¡±

    Yu Yanluo ced her arms in front of herself. However, the fat daoist didn¡¯t touch her and instead looked at them from a distance. There were cultivators everywhere in this world; their sight was much better than normal. He didn¡¯t have to worry about being unable to see clearly.

    A whileter, he said in confusion, ¡°This makes no sense¡­ Madam¡¯s waist is thin and your hips are big; your body is basically perfect for childbearing. Why do you only have a single descendant? And furthermore, a daughter?¡±

    The others didn¡¯t think anything of it, but Yu Yanluo was shocked. The Medusa Bloodline was special, and they could indeed only give birth to a single descendant. Furthermore, that child could only be female.

    ¡­

    When Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue saw her reaction, both of them were surprised. They were quite knowledgeable themselves. Don¡¯t tell me this daoist really has some skills?

    Still, it might also have been because he knew Yu Yanluo¡¯s identity ahead of time. As such, Yun Jianyue asked with a smile, ¡°Daoist, can you do it for us too?¡±

    The fat daoist replied with a big smile, ¡°I would usually charge extra for these situations, but seeing as we have some affinity with each other, I will do it for free as a gift.¡±

    Yun Jianyue jabbed Yan Xuehen¡¯s elbow, making her show the daoist her hands.

    Yan Xuehen was about to act out when she heard the fat daoist cry out in amazement, saying, ¡°Wow, how interesting! Thisdy was originally destined to live out life alone, but a rtionship ordained by fate seems to havee about recently, one that forcefully changed your destiny. However, it is destined to be fraught withyers of dangers. It will be difficult for it toe to fruition. At the same time, you might end up harming the one closest to you¡­¡±

 Chapter 1227: Something Isnâ€™t Quite Right

    <h4>Chapter 1227: Something Isn¡¯t Quite Right</h4>

    Yun Jianyue burst outughing when she heard that. She said, ¡°I knew this fat daoist was a swindler. This ice-cold woman has a rtionship destined by fate? Oh my goodness, my stomach hurts fromughing so hard¡­¡±

    Yu Yanluo didn¡¯tugh, and instead had a pensive look on her face. She understood Zu An¡¯s charms well. Together with how much time they had spent together as ofte, it really was hard for a woman to reject this charm of his. Still, Yan Xuehen wasn¡¯t an ordinary person. She was an ice queen goddess. Was there really any chance of her having something with Zu An?

    Yan Xuehen subconsciously gave Zu An a look, and he just happened to be looking over too. She immediately looked away guiltily as soon as they made eye contact.

    Her heart was beating crazily!

    She had been supposed to live out the rest of her life alone, but then recently, a rtionship ordained by fate had formed? She would end up hurting the one closest to her¡­?

    When she recalled everything that had happened recently, the disappointment Chuyan would feel once she found out appeared in her mind. Her head wentpletely nk.

    Am I really destined to have a rtionship with Zu An? And what do thoseyers of danger mean?

    She suddenly smiled out of distress. Whether it involved her rtionship with Chuyan as master and disciple, or simple virtue, she would be criticized by the masses for such a thing. If those weren¡¯t enough to count asyers of danger, what else would be?

    Yu Yanluo asked again,. ¡°Sect Master Yun, could you let this daoist priest have a look?¡± This daoist was indeed a bit strange, so her tone became much more polite.

    Yun Jianyue stretched out her hands in front of the daoist. She didn¡¯t seem all that convinced, muttering, ¡°What is there to test with me¡­¡±

    That fat daoist gave her palm a look, but soon eximed in horror, ¡°Thedy is filled with killing intent!¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s smile froze. A bit of seriousness appeared in her expression as she looked at the fat daoist.

    The fat daoist suddenly clicked his tongue in wonder. He pointed at Yan Xuehen and said, ¡°How strange; your fate was simr to that of thisdy, fated to live out your life alone, and there was a great chance that you would note to a peaceful end. But recently, your fate¡¯s itinerary seems to have changed a bit. Hm? Why is it a rtionship ordained by fate again?¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression became grave. She snapped, ¡°Damn daoist, keep uttering nonsense. Do you think that I won¡¯t beat you up?¡±

    Who was she? She was the glorious sect master of the Holy Sect! She had taken so many lives that no one dared to speak out against her anymore. Why would she possibly need a man? Normally, men were scared witless merely speaking to her; who dared to have any such thoughts about her?

    At the moment, only Zu An had a better rtionship with her than that, but she just saw him as a little brother and disciple, nothing else. That was why she naturally treated the fat daoist¡¯s words as rubbish.

    The fat daoist stroked his beard with a smile. He said, ¡°Regardless of whether thedy believes me or not, there is no escaping the arrangements of predestination. Furthermore, if you are willing to heed the advice of this poor daoist, when you cultivate, try to harbor fewer vicious thoughts, or else it will easily end up harming your posterity.¡±

    Yun Jianyue was furious. She eximed, ¡°Hah! Fat daoist, you really think you¡¯re hot stuff, huh? Then were you able to predict that you would experience a bloody cmity yourself?¡±

    The fat daoist¡¯s expression changed. He said, ¡°Thedy is such an incredible person; why would you trouble this poor daoist because of some nonsensical words? Perhaps this poor daoist saw incorrectly; I will check it again.¡±

    ¡°Sorry, but this murderous urge has already appeared, and it needs to see blood,¡± Yun Jianyue said, and her aura locked down on the fat daoist.

    She was just about to make her move when Yan Xuehen stood between them, saying, ¡°You said that she would end up harming her posterity. Do you mean she will have a child?¡±

    If there would be a child, that obviously meant Yun Jianyue would have a man! She really wondered just who had the ability to subdue such a witch.

    ¡°Of course. She is destined to have a daughter,¡± the fat daoist replied without thinking.

    ¡°Nonsense!¡± Yun Jianyue cried. Her expression had bepletely dark.

    If those kinds of rumors went out, the reputation she had established throughout so many years would bepletely ruined! After all, people would begin to wonder how Yun Jianyue normally seemed domineering, and yet still ended up pleasuring a man in the end, even birthing him a child.

    Yan Xuehen instead showed a rare burst of happiness. She eximed, ¡°A daughter is great! A daughter will be considerate, and she can evenpletely receive your inheritance!¡±

    Smoke seemed about toe out of Yun Jianyue¡¯s head. Just then, the fat daoist said, ¡°Thisdy has no need to feel envious; you will give birth to a daughter too. Wait, what? Why are all of you fated to give birth to daughters?¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s smile immediately froze on her face. She was dumbstruck.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s anger immediately turned to joy. She roared withughter and said, ¡°It¡¯s not aplete taboo for my people. Who knows, I might just find a man to use and y around with one day. However, just what kind of situation would make a stone cold woman like you give birth to a man¡¯s child? Maybe you¡¯ll be forced¡­?¡±

    Yan Xuehen waspletely stupefied. She hadn¡¯t expected to end up inviting trouble for herself. She thought, Will I really have a daughter?

    She subconsciously gave Zu An a look. Am I going to give birth to his child? Her snow-white skin quickly flushed red when she thought of that.

    Yu Yanluo suddenly pointed at Zu An and asked, ¡°Then how many children will he have?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll have to charge you more if you make me do this much work¡­¡± the fat daoist grumbled. But he still gave Zu An a careful look. He immediately clicked his tongue in wonder and eximed, ¡°Afullhouse of children!¡±

    ¡°What does a full house of children mean?¡± all three women asked, stunned.

    ¡°Exactly as I said. It means he will have many children. Hmm¡­ but it seems there will be more daughters and fewer sons.¡± The fat daoist checked again whilementing, ¡°You look pretty tall and strong, but you aren¡¯t all that great at making sons.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes lit up. How cute and lovable are daughters? They¡¯re far better than naughty sons. This fat daoist doesn¡¯t know anything.

    The three women allughed and eximed, ¡°Congrattions, congrattions!¡±

    Zu An replied without thinking, ¡°Oh, thank you, thank you.¡±

    The three women¡¯s expressions froze. Wait, something isn¡¯t quite right here¡­?

    All three of them shot Zu An a fierce look.

    You have sessfully trolled Yu Yanluo for +444 +444 +444¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +444 +444 +444¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +444 +444 +444¡­

    ¡­

    Zu An jumped in fright when he saw the shocking amount of Rage points. He felt his scalp go numb. He was about to settle things with the main culprit, but he was shocked to discover that the fat daoist was already gone. He eximed in surprise, ¡°Huh? Where did that Wu Liang go?¡±

    The women turned around, and also frowned.

    ¡°That fat daoist is a bit mysterious,¡± Yu Yanluo said, looking worried. ¡°I wonder whether he¡¯s a friend or foe.¡±

    ¡°He seems to have some treasure that hides his aura. I couldn¡¯t sense his true cultivation,¡± Yun Jianyue said.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Yan Xuehen also nodded, adding, ¡°It¡¯s hard to tell whether his words are true or false. You have to be careful tonight.¡±

    They all looked toward Zu An after Yan Xuehen spoke those words. There was no way to verify if those sons or daughters were going to be real within a short time, but whether or not he would have a romantic cmity could be easily confirmed.

    Zu An was a bit embarrassed. He said, ¡°I feel as if it¡¯ll be best if we don¡¯t let him lead us by the nose. Let¡¯s look for those Blue Earthflowers first. Once we find them, we¡¯ll leave this ce before it gets dark.¡±

    There were three incredible beauties around him at present, so why would he be in the mood for any other romantic encounters? No matter how pretty the Fox race women were, they wouldn¡¯t be prettier than the three women he was with, right? Furthermore, a bloody cmity¡­ just those words alone sounded terrifying.

    The other women didn¡¯t have any objections. All of them had their own things to think about. They were still a bit shaken from the divinations just then.

    ¡­

    The group arrived at the Fox Merchant Group afterward. When they saw the fox symbol on the merchant group¡¯s emblem, Zu An thought to himself, No wonder they had that name.[1]

    When the group entered, the staff members saw that the way they carried themselves was different. A shopkeeper quickly came to greet them. When he heard about their purpose foring over, he apologetically said, ¡°I sincerely apologize. We did indeed receive a batch of Blue Earthflowers recently, but someone has already purchased them ahead of time.¡±

    .

    Zu An said with a serious voice, ¡°I¡¯m willing to pay twice the price.¡±

    The Blue Earthflowers were extremely important for him. Daji needed those materials for her seventh rank breakthrough.

    The shopkeeper shook his head and said, ¡°Please do not trouble us like that. The most important part of doing business is sincerity. The other party is one of our long-term customers, and they have stated that this is what they needed this time.¡±

    Yu Yanluo said, ¡°We¡¯ll pay ten times the cost. Shopkeeper, you should understand that this amount of money will be enough for you to procure several more batches.¡±

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue revealed looks of surprise. Even though the two of them had high statuses, there were many things that needed money. It was difficult for them to spend as liberally as Yu Yanluo could.

    This brat Zu An really knows how to mooch.

    The shopkeeper said with a bitter smile, ¡°To be honest, that price is tempting even for me. However, this is someone whom we have coborated with for a long time. If we offend them this time, our merchant group will instead lose out on more over a longer period of time. If our guests still wish to obtain some Blue Earthflowers, perhaps you can try Bluefield Pce. They should have some in storage over there.¡±

    The group looked at each other in dismay. What they had wanted to avoid the most was to avoid dealing with Bluefield Country¡¯s officials; that was why they entered quietly. And yet, as it turned out in the end, they couldn''t avoid it after all.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s eyes narrowed. She said, ¡°Bluefield Country is sorge. Why is it that apart from you guys, only the pce has more Blue Earthflowers?¡±

    1. The characters in the original Chinese form the sound for the English word ¡®fox¡¯. ?

 Chapter 1228: Bluefield Countrys Leader

    <h4>Chapter 1228: Bluefield Country''s Leader</h4>

    The shopkeeper replied, ¡°That is because we have already passed the season for harvesting Blue Earthflowers. They are an ingredient needed for dyes, pill refinement, and many kinds of medicine. The different tribes all have a great need for it, and have already purchased most of it in the past. The supply of these Blue Earthflowers is not great to begin with, which is why it is so hard to find any of them right now.¡±

    Yun Jianyue suddenly asked, ¡°I heard that your country¡¯s leader is a famous beauty; is that really true?¡±

    The other group members were a bit startled. They knew she was taking the chance to get some information. After all, they knew too little about Bluefield Country right now. Even Yu Yanluo didn¡¯t know much, as she spent most of her time outside of the fiend race territories and her information was limited.

    The shopkeeper¡¯s eyes immediately lit up when he heard her ask about the country¡¯s leader. He replied, ¡°How could it be false? Our country¡¯s leader is well known as the most beautiful woman in all of Bluefield Country.¡±

    ¡°Is it because she¡¯s the leader that everyone fawns over her?¡± Yun Jianyue replied with a smile, deliberately provoking him a bit to try and get more information.

    ¡°Of course not. It is not only our country¡¯s people who say so. There are so many from other tribes who visit this ce, and all of them praise and admire her beauty,¡± the shopkeeper said. He continued, ¡°Furthermore, the reason why she became our country''s leader is that her bloodline is the purest. Among the Fox race, the purer their bloodline, the more beautiful they are.

    ¡°You should know that the previous country leader''s beauty even tempted the Fiend Emperor. But because of the Fox race¡¯s traditions, our country''s leader cannot marry outsiders. As such, there was no chance of such a romance happening. As for the current leader, her beauty is even more extraordinary than her mother¡¯s.¡±

    Zu An asked somewhat curiously, ¡°Then who¡¯s the father of the current country leader?¡±

    The purer the bloodline, the more formidable¡­ but how do you preserve that purity?

    It¡¯s not something like incest, is it?

    The shopkeeper shook his head and replied, ¡°That, I do not know.¡±

    Yun Jianyue found it strange and asked, ¡°You don¡¯t even know who your leader''s husband was?¡±

    The shopkeeper said calmly, ¡°What is strange about that? Our Fox race reveres women. That man was no more than a male pet the n leader took into her harem; how could he be considered a husband? A boy toy like him is not worthy of our attention at all.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression was strange. Aren¡¯t you male too? You make it sound as if this is just how the world is or something.

    Yun Jianyueughed and said, ¡°After hearing what you just said, I¡¯m actually starting to like this ce.¡±

    The shopkeeper took the chance to offer, ¡°Why don¡¯t youdies stay in Bluefield Country? With your appearances, you could take in many men. You could basically choose whomever you wanted.¡±

    Even though the women all had masks on, their figures were incredible, and the parts that weren¡¯t veiled were perfect. Anyone who wasn¡¯t blind would know that they were exceptional beauties.

    He moved over and asked, ¡°What do you two think of me? Please consider more than just my looks. I might be a bit ugly, but I am gentle, and the entire merchant group would be the dowry, enough for you to enjoy anything you want from glory to wealth. You could take in other handsome men too¡­¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An¡¯s brows shot up. In the end, he couldn''t help but push the merchant aside, then drag the others with him out of the merchant group.

    ¡­

    Yun Jianyue convulsed withughter and remarked, ¡°Damn kid, don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re jealous?¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s face also turned a bit red. For some reason, she was actually pretty happy when she saw him act like that.

    Yu Yanluo said with a smile, ¡°The Fox race¡¯s way of life is indeed quite peculiar. It¡¯s natural that we can¡¯t immediately adjust to it.¡±

    They all shared simr thoughts. Recalling the fat daoist¡¯s divinations earlier, they couldn''t help but feel a strong sense that they had been caught up in something strange and sinister.

    Yun Jianyue suggested, ¡°In my opinion, rather than being led by the nose like this, why don¡¯t we just steal that batch of goods? That would solve everything.¡±

    Yan Xuehen gave her an annoyed look and retorted, ¡°You only know how to fight and kill, as expected of the Devil Sect demoness.¡± With her nature, she obviously couldn''t ept something like that.

    Yun Jianyue said coldly, ¡°This world is one where the strong prey on the weak. You, someone who was raised in a pampered environment, really sound a bit oblivious and naive right now.¡±

    Seeing that the two were about to fight again, Zu An was about to stop them when a group of cavalry suddenly rushed over. The surprising thing about them was that every single rider was female. They had fluffy ears and were gently shaking their tails. All of them were fox women.

    Fox women were all flirtatious and charming. When such a group of young beauties moved together, it really was a refreshing sight. However, the most eye-catching individual was the one in the lead. Unlike the others, she rode on arge, tall white deer.

    Her features really were stunning; her skin was fair like the purest jade. There was a rosy tint on her face. Her hair was styled in a golden knot. Her eyes were luminous and enchanting, and her fingers slender and seductive. The woman¡¯s red silk dress was bright and beautiful, and her hairpin was adorned with a pretty, radiant blue-green pearl.

    Zu An¡¯s group was greatly shocked. Even a random cavalry troop leader was this beautiful? Then just how beautiful was that so-called Bluefield Country¡¯s number one beauty?

    The biggest surprise, however, was that the mounted troop¡¯s people stopped before them. The one in the lead leaped gracefully off her mount. The jade pendant around her waist swayed gently, making beautiful sounds that seemed able to move the heart.

    The exceptional beauty nodded slightly toward the group. Then, she walked up to Yu Yanluo and said, ¡°Queen Medusa, since you came all the way here, how could you not let me show you a proper reception as the local lord?¡±

    Yu Yanluo revealed a look of surprise and began, ¡°You are¡­¡±

    The exceptional beauty said with a faint smile, ¡°I forgot to introduce myself. I am Tushan Yu.¡±

    Tushan was Bluefield Country¡¯s imperial surname. Meanwhile, the name of the country¡¯s lord was also Tushan Yu. No one suspected her identity, as it wasn¡¯t likely for anyone else in Bluefield Country to have such looks.

    But what left Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen surprised was that they had long since assumed that the lord of this country was the most seductive of fox spirits, a devastatingly beautiful woman. However, the one standing before them seemed to be a youthful and lively youngdy!

    Even though she was ridiculously beautiful, there wasn¡¯t a hint of seductioning from her. On the contrary, she seemed extremely pure, more like a girl next door. She even had a kind of innocent air that made others unable to help but feel a bit of pity and tenderness toward her.

    Zu An acted surprisingly calm about the situation, because Tushan Yu¡¯s presence gave him a bit of deja vu. She gave him the same impression he got from Daji. However, it was hard to say whether she really was underripe, or if she had already reached Daji¡¯s level in charm techniques.

    ¡°Snake race¡¯s Yu Yanluo,¡± Yu Yanluo said, showing Tushan Yu a smile. She didn¡¯t ask about how the other woman had recognized her. This was the Fox race¡¯s territory, after all.

    ¡°I have long heard of big sister¡¯s incredible reputation. Now that we have finally met, you are even prettier than the rumors,¡± Tushan Yu said, a flicker of amazement shing through her eyes.

    ¡°You tter me too much. In my opinion, you are the one whose beauty is dazzling¡­¡± Yu Yanluo courteously returned thepliments.

    Many people hurried over when they heard the news. When they saw both beautiful women going back and forth that way, they almost drooled. They all thought to themselves, This trip wasn¡¯t made in vain!

    ¡°It is too noisy here. Perhaps big sister would like toe with me to the pce for a breather?¡± Tushan Yu offered. ¡°You havee all the way here to Bluefield Country, so please give me the opportunity to act as a proper host.¡±

    Seeing that the conversation had already developed that way, Yu Yanluo couldn''t really refuse either. She replied, ¡°Then I¡¯ll be troubling you.¡±

    Tushan Yu gave the others a look and asked, ¡°Are all of them big sister¡¯s friends? They shoulde too. Big sister¡¯s friends are all outstanding, as expected.¡±

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue still remembered what the fat daoist had said clearly, and now, this country¡¯s leader had suddenly appeared out of thin air. Is what he said really about toe true because of her?

    That was why they all paid close attention to how this woman looked at Zu An. However, she only swept her gaze over him before looking away, as if she were only looking at some object. On the contrary, her attention waspletely focused on the two of them; it was unclear whether it was because of their presence, or because she was investigating their cultivation.

    The two women recalled what the shopkeeper had said before. This Bluefield Country was one where women were worshiped; thus, Tushan Yu¡¯s reaction waspletely expected. After all, in human society, whenever court nobles gathered, no one paid much attention to the concubines and servants.

    Both Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen smiled inwardly when they thought of that. Serves this brat right.

 Chapter 1229: Appearance of a Great Treasure

    <h4>Chapter 1229: Appearance of a Great Treasure</h4>

    Zu An didn¡¯t care too much about that, however. He was already much different from when he had first transmigrated.

    In his previous world, he really hadn¡¯t been able to understand why rich and powerful entrepreneurs would assert that they didn¡¯t know whether the women around them were pretty or not. He had just felt that they were just bluffing.

    But now, he felt that they had actually been sincere. Since the women around them were all kinds of beauties, looks weren¡¯t all that important as a deciding factor anymore. On the contrary, they cared more about other things.

    Right now, Zu An felt simrly. There were so many beauties around him, and all of them were the most beautiful women in the world. He even had the Fox race¡¯s most beautiful woman in history, Daji. That was why even though Tushan Yu was pretty, it didn¡¯t make him feel anything.

    On the contrary, he was thinking about something else. Was that fat daoist from earlier really just a swindler, or was he secretly passing some information to them?

    If that fat daoist was secretly leaking out information, no one in our group realized it. This is also rted to Bluefield Country¡¯s lord, so how could that guy really know the situation so clearly?

    Just what is his objective?

    He had watched many films in which people who thought they were smart actually got themselves killed. There was no way he would let go of any points of suspicion.

    I have to be careful today. That guy¡¯s warning about a bloody cmity isn¡¯t trustworthy, but it isn¡¯t entirely impossible either.

    ¡­

    The group quickly entered Bluefield Country¡¯s pce. Compared to the human race¡¯s Imperial Pce, it was obviously greatly inferior. Butpared to the Snake race¡¯s simple residence, it was much more luxurious. Perhaps it was because of all of the beautiful fox women there that many merchants from all around the world came to do business, however.

    Bluefield Pce¡¯s style was rather unique. The architecture was rather simr to ssical Japan¡¯s. The inside was full of precious decorations, and there were assorted oval wall carvings everywhere, giving it something of a Western style.

    When they entered the pce, several maids helped Tushan Yu remove her cloak. Her wonderful figure immediately came into full view. She really was dainty and elegant.

    ¡°Is big sister here to respond to the Fiend Emperor¡¯s Fiend King Court summons?¡± Tushan Yu asked as she moved over in an adorable manner, casually taking Yu Yanluo¡¯s hand.

    Yu Yanluo wasn¡¯t too used to this level of intimacy, but she couldn''t just reject her. She replied, ¡°Indeed. The Snake race territory is pretty far from the King Court, so we had to set out early. Right, do you not have to go?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to go either, but I have no choice,¡± Tushan Yu said with a vexed expression. ¡°But there are still some things I need to take care of here, so I might set out a bitter.¡±

    Yu Yanluo sighed and said, ¡°Then that¡¯s quite the regret. I was hoping that little sister could keep uspany along the way.¡±

    The others traveling with Yu Yanluo rolled their eyes inwardly when they heard that. Both of these two clearly didn¡¯t want to travel with the other, and yet they just had to put up such a sisterly appearance. Neither Yun Jianyue nor Yan Xuehen felt they could reach that level in terms of human rtionships.

    ¡°That¡¯spletely fine; big sister should just familiarize yourself with the Fiend King Court first. Once I arriveter, I¡¯ll have to rely on big sister for help,¡± Tushan Yu said with a giggle. Then, she gave Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue a look. She sighed in amazement, saying ¡°The Snake race really is a ce where incredible peoplee from¡­ There are actually two incredible beauties here!¡±

    Even though the two women were masked, that didn¡¯t affect their charm at all. On the contrary, it added a bit of mystery to their presence.

    ¡°They are my friends, not people from the Snake race,¡± Yu Yanluo said. She didn¡¯t reveal everything, and Tushan Yu couldn''t really ask too much either.

    Tushan Yu tried to guess the pair¡¯s identities. However, no matter how great her imagination was, there was still no way she could know that they were actually two of the human race¡¯s most powerful grandmasters!

    ¡­

    The group headed further in, where a feast had already been prepared. They all sat down one after another.

    When they saw how Yu Yanluo and the two other women treated Zu An with a lot of consideration, allowing him to sit with them, the other fox women in the pce clicked their tongues in wonder. After all, this was a country that worshiped women over men. However, Zu An was quite handsome, so the fox women had a good impression of him. They didn¡¯t speak up in dissent.

    ¡°These are all specialty dishes from our Bluefield Country that I had our kitchen prepare. I hope this meal can leave everyone with beautiful memories,¡± Tushan Yu said, smiling and making an inviting gesture.

    New novels chapters are published ?n !

    The group looked at each other in dismay. They were all worried that she had done something to their food. If Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen were both at their strongest, they wouldn¡¯t fear anything. But at the moment, they were seriously injured and weak, so it was too big of a risk.

    Zu An told them through ki, ¡°It¡¯s fine; I¡¯ll give it a try first.¡±

    He had poison immunity. If there really was some poison, it wouldn¡¯t affect him, but he could still detect it and let them know. As such, he began to gorge himself on all of the different dishes one at a time.

    The other women were a bit worried at first, but they knew he wasn¡¯t a reckless person. Since he was doing it, that meant he had confidence in himself. That was why they didn¡¯t say anything else.

    The fox women all exchanged looks. This man looked pretty handsome, but why does he look like a starving beggar? Sigh, what a waste of his good looks.

    Tushan Yu said with a smile, ¡°This young master is quite straightforward and valiant.¡±

    She obviously knew what these people were worried about, so she had been nning to start eating first to ease their worries. But who would have thought that her praises would instead draw the vignce of the other women? Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue both shot Yu Yanluo a look.

    Yu Yanluo obviously knew their intentions. She didn¡¯t want to draw attention to Zu An and instead changed the topic to something else. She and Tushan Yu chatted about the local customs of their two races, as well as past friendships between the ns and best wishes going forward.

    Zu An was happy to take it easy, enjoying the fine food. He had to admit that the skills of the chefs in Bluefield Pce were pretty good. The food was incredible in smell, look, and taste.

    However, there was one w. There was crystal lotus chicken, pearl chicken meatballs, stir-fried tomato and chicken strips, beauty chicken liver, foo young with shredded chicken, crispy-fried chicken cutlet, imperial chicken wings, eight treasure whole chicken, chicken stuffed dumplings, shredded chicken pastries, chicken blood congee¡­

    Zu An had never imagined that there were so many ways to prepare chicken! Looks like this Bluefield Pce is a chicken hell.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡­

    Those present all chatted in a friendly manner, and time passed just like that. Eventually, Tushan Yu invited them to stay for the evening.

    The women had been starting to rx, but now, they became nervous again. It¡¯s here!

    Seeing how Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen¡¯s eyelids were twitching from how strongly they were hinting toward her, Yu Yanluo smiled inwardly. After being around them for a long time, she had discovered that these two weren¡¯t as terrifying as they seemed. Instead, they were more like two little girls.

    She tactfully declined, saying, ¡°There is no need. I still have some attendants outside. They will be worried if I do not contact them after a long time. Furthermore, we need to rush to the King Court tomorrow morning, so we will not be disturbing the country leader.¡±

    Tushan Yu replied with a smile, ¡°Isn¡¯t that easily solved? I can just send someone over to big sister¡¯s subordinates. Some things have happened recently in Bluefield Country, so there is a night curfew in the city. If all of you go out now, you might not even be able to find a tavern to stay at, but the pce has more than enough rooms for amodation. Staying here will surely be better than resting at a tavern outside.¡±

    The women all thought, We won¡¯t be able to rest well? It¡¯s precisely right here where we won¡¯t be able to rest well!

    Zu An asked through ki transmission, ¡°Can you ask her about what happened in the country recently?¡±

    The women nodded in satisfaction. They were extremely satisfied to see him keep to himself instead of flirting with other women. Thus, Yan Xuehen voiced their misgivings.

    Tushan Yu exined, ¡°Recently, there has been a strange rumor saying that a great treasure will appear in Bluefield Mountain, so strong individuals from all manner of different ns have gathered. That is the reason why I have no choice but to stay in this pce for a few more days before leaving, you know?¡±

    ¡°A great treasure?¡± the women asked, with pensive expressions.

    ¡°These are just some random rumors. If there really were some great treasure, would our Greenfield Country not be aware of it? We would already have excavated it a long time ago!¡± Tushan Yu said. She looked at them and continued, ¡°As far as I am concerned, my esteemed guests are instead the most important treasure.¡±

    Even though they all knew that she was praising them, when they recalled the fat daoist¡¯s divinations, they all felt as if she harbored some evil intentions.

    They were about to refuse when Tushan Yu continued, ¡°I heard you mentioning Blue Earthflowers. There are not many left in the country, but the Imperial Pce still has some. I will have some people look into it, and I should be able to bring some over to you tomorrow morning. If you leave, with all of the things that are happening, I might not be able to find you and will instead embarrass myself.¡±

    The group exchanged a look. If they¡¯re bringing out something like this to tempt us, it looks as if we have no choice but to stay here for the evening.

    But when they were about to assign rooms, they encountered a problem. The pce was full of women, so it was fine for Yu Yanluo and the other women to stay there for the night. But Zu An was a man, so it was a bit inappropriate.

 Chapter 1230: A Straightforward Manâ€™s Distress

    <h4>Chapter 1230: A Straightforward Man¡¯s Distress</h4>

    The group quickly went on guard. Were the attendants nning to split them up?

    However, the female attendants in the pce simply arranged for Zu An to stay in a side room. Many people worked in the pce during the day; those rooms had been prepared in case of any special situations that required them to work throughout the night. However, they were rarely used.

    Yu Yanluo and the other women obviously didn¡¯t want to be separated from him. They thus asked to stay near him too.

    The attendants, however, replied that arranging for them to stay in the side rooms would instead make Bluefield Country look as if they mistreated their distinguished guests. If news got out, all of Bluefield Country would be mocked.

    Since the other side was escting the matter to one of a country¡¯s dignity, Yu Yanluo naturally couldn''t say much else. However, the group still felt some misgivings. Fortunately, Tushan Yu was understanding and moved Zu An a bit closer. That was the result the group reluctantly epted in the end.

    ¡­

    When she found a moment of spare time, Yu Yanluo told Zu An, ¡°You have to be careful tonight.¡±

    Zu An replied with augh, ¡°What does a grown man like me need to be careful of? Those of you who are injured are the ones who need to be careful.¡±

    Seeing as Zu An wasn¡¯t taking the situation seriously, Yan Xuehen couldn''t hold herself back and warned him, ¡°Who says you don¡¯t need to be careful just because you¡¯re a man? Legend has it that fox-spirits are able to suck out men¡¯s essence. There was also that fat daoist¡¯s strange divinations. You shouldn¡¯t treat this situation too lightly.¡±

    The other women all shot her surprised looks. Yun Jianyue remarked with a smile, ¡°Wow, our stone cold woman actually knows how to worry about someone, and a man, no less?¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s cheeks heated up a bit, but she reacted quickly. She said, ¡°We need to take care of each other aspanions. Do you think everyone else is like your Devil Sect, only knowing how to kill and destroy?¡±

    Yun Jianyue was about to start another fight, but when she saw Tushan Yu walk over, she swallowed the things she had been about to say back down. Instead, she quickly said, ¡°This is our Holy Sect¡¯s whistling arrow. If anything happens, fire it. We should then do our best to gather together.¡±

    They were in someone else¡¯s territory, so they had no choice but to remain vignt. She gave each of the others an arrow, then taught them how to use it.

    Tushan Yu then personally led Yu Yanluo to the inner pce. Meanwhile, an attendant led Zu An to the side wing. Along the way, the fox girls they met were all extremely curious about Zu An. They asked him all kinds of questions. However, Zu An wasn¡¯t in the mood to chat, so he just replied to them absentmindedly.

    The fox girls lost interest when they heard his answers. When they finished the task of taking him where he needed to go, they said, ¡°This is an important ce in the Imperial Pce, so you are not allowed to leave and cause trouble. It will be problematic if you end up running into any respected individuals.¡±

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t be going anywhere.¡± In order to avoid that potential romantic disaster, he wouldn¡¯t go out even if these fox girls wanted him to. The only thing he nned to do was to get some good sleep and leave peacefully the next day.

    ¡°That is how men should be; you should just stay inside and not show yourself in public.¡± The fox girls nodded in satisfaction before leaving.

    Zu An chuckled and didn¡¯t argue back. He gave theyout a look. It was quite a bit better than he had imagined. Even though it wasn¡¯t all that spacious, it was excellently tidy. After washing up, he sat down on his bed and began to cultivate.

    Even though those who didn¡¯t know him well thought he was just a skirt-chaser, he actually spent most of his spare time cultivating. Otherwise, if he only relied on cheats, he would be nothing more than a flower in a greenhouse, someone who wouldn¡¯t survive true trials and tribtions.

    Time passed just like that. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

    ¡°Who is it?¡± Zu An called out, opening his eyes.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Young master Zu, it¡¯s me,¡± replied a gentle and beautiful voice.

    Zu An was surprised, because he could sense the other person¡¯s identity through his soul. It was Bluefield Country¡¯s leader, Tushan Yu.

    He was genuinely surprised, because the other party hadn¡¯t given him a single look the entire time. Even when they had talked, it was curt and short. Her indifferent expression had made it seem as if she viewed him as empty air. And yet, this woman had actuallye to visit him in the middle of the night.

    .

    Zu An replied, ¡°It¡¯s alreadyte in the evening. Meeting with a woman in private at this time would damage my reputation and integrity. If there is something, please tell me during the day.¡±

    Tushan Yu¡¯s smile immediately froze on her face. She was dumbfounded.

    She hade in high spirits, wondering just how surprised and excited Zu An would be once he saw her. But now, she was being given the cold shoulder? Considering her appearance and status, when had she not been the center of attention, surrounded by onlookers? When had she ever been refused before?

    You have sessfully trolled Tushan Yu for +377 +377 +377¡­

    However, her anger vanished in a sh. She quickly calmed herself down, then continued to say gently, ¡°I heard big sister Yu say that you needed Blue Earthflowers. I just found some in reserve. Seeing as you probably need them, I decided to bring them to you first.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He couldn''t avoid meeting her if it was rted to the Blue Earthflowers. He walked over and opened the door. He saw that Tushan Yu was standing by the entrance, looking lovely.

    She had already changed her outfit, now looking more casual and personable. Her outfit had a V-shaped neckline that exposed her delicate and fair corbones, as well as her sparkling and exquisite shoulders.

    Even though she was exposing quite a bit of skin, due to her bearing and the style of her clothing, she didn¡¯t show a hint of seductiveness. Instead, her appearance only added a bit of liveliness and sharpness to her fresh and pure nature.

    However, as long as a man gave her a single look, those beautiful corbones and shoulders would continue to appear in their minds. Even though it was clearly just a little bit, their imagination would then go wild.

    Zu An began to reminisce about the past. Back then, the streets had been filled with charming youngdies dressed like this. Even though this world was somewhat open-minded, that was only whenpared to ancient China. Compared to those gorgeously dressed city beauties, their imagination was still a bitcking.

    Forget about child¡¯s y like revealing a bit of one¡¯s shoulders, he had even seenpletely see-through clothing that only covered the three main areas. Even though those women were wearing clothes, it was almost as if they weren''t wearing anything at all. However, the most important part was that those clothes were designed carefully, making it so that one couldn''t see anything one wasn¡¯t supposed to see.

    Tushan Yu was already prepared to see an expression of shock. Zu An definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to hold back and would continue to stare at her, or pretend to be honorable and not look, but still sneak looks from the corners of his eyes. She was alreadypletely used to men¡¯s tricks over the years.

    And yet, who could have expected that after just one simple look, Zu An casually looked away? Tushan Yu could clearly tell that his reaction wasn¡¯t fake at all. Was that all? It was almost as if he considered her some country bumpkin.

    At that moment, she began to question life itself.

    Could it be that the Medusa Empress is too pretty, so his way of looking at things also changed after being around her for a long time?

    But she felt even more ufortable when she thought about that. Didn¡¯t that mean she was far inferior to the other woman?

    Suddenly, Zu An saw the bundle of Blue Earthflowers she was holding. He received them without a second thought and said, ¡°Thank you, Bluefield Country Lord!¡± Afterward, he closed the door again.

    Tushan Yu was stunned.

    You have sessfully trolled Tushan Yu for +444 +444 +444¡­

    Just as Zu An began walking back to the bed, he suddenly heard a loud banging on the door. He asked in confusion, ¡°Is there something else?¡±

    Tushan Yu gritted her teeth when she heard the disinterest in Zu An¡¯s voice. She replied ¡°I¡¯ve given you something so precious, but you aren¡¯t expressing anything?¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I thank you already?¡± Zu An replied, feeling a bit annoyed. He wanted to immediately help Daji break through to the seventh rank, yet this woman kept clinging to him.

    Tushan Yu was speechless.

    You have sessfully trolled Tushan Yu for +233 +233 +233¡­

    She took a deep breath. She finally managed to endure her urge to storm off and retorted, ¡°Is it just a thank you? Isn¡¯t young master a bit too stingy? You should at least invite me in for a cup of tea, right?¡±

 Chapter 1231: Dangerous Eyes

    <h4>Chapter 1231: Dangerous Eyes</h4>

    Zu An was a bit hesitant. He said, ¡°It¡¯s already sote at night; that¡¯s not too good, is it? Should we reschedule this for another day?¡±

    Tushan Yu felt as if her smile were about to break down. She replied, ¡°Even I¡¯m not scared, so what are you scared of? Furthermore, this is my pce. I¡¯m asking you to entertain me with my own tea, yet you¡¯re not even willing? Then return the Blue Earthflowers to me already.¡±

    ¡°Country leader is being too courteous. I¡¯m not someone that petty,¡± Zu An said. After thinking for a bit, he felt that he was acting a bit insincere. He opened the door again.

    ¡°What, are you not going to invite me inside?¡± Tushan Yu asked. When she saw him stand by the doorway hesitantly, she finally couldn''t hold herself back anymore. She remarked, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you ended up fooling around with a pce fox girl, and you¡¯re scared of me finding out?¡±

    Over the years, she had always handled people skillfully and easily no matter who they were. Yet today, she had really been left flustered and at a loss by Zu An¡¯s behavior.

    You have sessfully trolled Tushan Yu for +99 +99 +99¡­

    Zu An turned to one side and said, ¡°Country leader must be joking. Pleasee in!¡±

    Tushan Yu¡¯s expression finally eased up a bit. When she entered the room, she looked around. When she saw that there was no one else, she sighed in relief and said, ¡°So young master hasn¡¯t slept yet.¡±

    ¡°I was cultivating just now,¡± Zu An said. He made sure to keep the door open to show that he had nothing to hide.

    Tushan Yu was speechless when she noticed his actions. Most men usually tried to find ways to take advantage of her, and yet now, this guy was acting as if she were here to take advantage of him!

    ¡°The young master seems to be quite on guard against me,¡± she said as she casually sat down on his bed, looking at him with a smile.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An was a bit hesitant, but in the end, he nodded and said, ¡°Indeed, I find it a bit strange. During the day, country leader clearly showed disinterest toward me, and yet this evening, you¡¯re suddenly smiling and acting sweet.¡±

    ¡°So it was because of something like that,¡± Tushan Yu said with a smile, ¡°The main reason I acted that way was because I saw that your rtionship with the Medusa Empress was quite special. I was worried that she would misunderstand and that I might end up harming the friendship between the two ns, so that was why I treated the young master a bit coldly. I hope young master doesn¡¯t mind.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but shrink back as he asked, ¡°Then why did youe here now?¡±

    Tushan Yu almost fainted from anger when she saw how he was acting as if she might try something here.

    You have sessfully trolled Tushan Yu for +666 +666 +666¡­

    ¡°Didn¡¯t Ie here to deliver the Blue Earthflowers to the young master?¡± she replied, clenching her fists tightly in her sleeves. She really wanted to give this guy a good beating! She eventually added, ¡°And then I wanted to have a chat with the young master.¡±

    ¡°I wonder what the country leader wants to talk about?¡± Zu An asked, sitting down some distance away.

    Tushan Yu couldn''t help butugh, remarking, ¡°Is the young master scared that I¡¯ll eat you or something?¡±

    ¡°Country leader must be joking; I¡¯m not a chicken,¡± Zu An said, recalling the dishes from the banquet.

    Tushan Yu was speechless. She realized that this guy was deliberately trying to ruin the mood during the conversation, not giving her any chance to continue. But she reacted quickly and asked, ¡°Since you aren¡¯t scared of me, then are you scared that the Medusa Queen will be unhappy when she finds out? Isn¡¯t the young master looking down on big sister Yu too much? She isn¡¯t someone narrow minded like that.¡±

    Zu An inwardly voiced his praise. In his previous world, this woman would definitely be a crazy good green tea b*tch, so easily dragging in Yu Yanluo. If he got mad, it would only prove that Yu Yanluo really was like that.

    ¡°Country leader must be joking. If a man wants to do what they want to do, why would they need the approval of others?¡± Zu An was now starting to be curious as to what this woman was trying to do. As such, he pretended to be stirred up.

    Seeing that he had taken the bait, Tushan Yu sighed in relief. She thought to herself, This guy still has a weakness after all. ¡°I was going to say, how could someone who could win against the Golden Crow Crown Prince be a henpecked yes-man?¡±

    Zu An sounded a bit embarrassed as he said, ¡°Oh, so you even knew about that.¡±

    ¡°Bluefield Country isn¡¯t too far from the Snake race, and no matter rted to the fiend races¡¯ crown prince is a small matter. There are countless pairs of eyes watching him,¡± Tushan Yu said with a smile.

    Zu An said guiltily, ¡°I was just lucky.¡±

    ¡°The young master is too modest. Our fiend races worship the strong, and I¡¯m obviously no exception. I really wanted to hear about what happened during that battle.¡± Tushan Yu¡¯s eyes were sparkling.

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Zu An replied, rxing a bit. ¡°Actually, I didn¡¯t want to fight back then either, but that Golden Crow Crown Prince was acting a bit too arrogantly¡­¡±

    ¡°Wait.¡± Tushan Yu stopped him. Then, with a p of her hands, a maid carefully brought in a bottle of alcohol, as well as some light dishes. She said, ¡°You have a story; I have wine.¡±

    The maid arranged a small table by the bed. After cing the food on the table, she withdrew. She even considerately closed the door behind her when she left.

    Zu An shivered inwardly. Looks like she¡¯s been prepared for quite some time!

    Tushan Yu personally poured him a ss of alcohol, revealing her beautiful wrist while doing so. There was a dainty white gold bracelet on it, embedded with exquisite rubies. The gemstones were quite striking against her fair white skin. Combined with the faint sweet scenting from her body, it was enough to make any man¡¯s throat go dry, making their hearts race.

    Zu An was obviously no exception. Formidable! This woman ispletely different from ordinary brothel girls! She doesn''t need to reveal her shoulders and chest at all; she¡¯s able to tug at one¡¯s desires with every move she makes!

    Tushan Yu raised the wine ss and said, ¡°Young master is a guest from afar, so I¡¯ll pour a ss in honor of the young master.¡±

    Zu An was a bit hesitant. Tushan Yu smiled when she saw that, asking, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Could it be that the young master is scared that I would poison you?¡± She raised his ss and drained it in one gulp afterward, showing that she was fine.

    Zu An replied, ¡°I¡¯m not scared of poison; I¡¯m scared of doing something wrong after getting drunk.¡±

    ¡°Pfft!¡± Tushan Yu had only swallowed half of the alcohol. When she heard his reply, she choked and spat it out.

    Zu An jumped in fright. He quickly took out a handkerchief and asked, ¡°Are you okay?¡±

    Tushan Yu wiped away the alcohol by her lips and gave him a resentful look. She said, ¡°Young master, ever since I can remember, I¡¯ve never lost myposure as much as today.¡±

    Zu Anughed awkwardly and said, ¡°I was the one who was acting rude. I¡¯ll punish myself with three cups.¡± He drank three cups in session afterward.

    Tushan Yu¡¯s mood finally improved. She said, ¡°Young master, please slow down. Please do n¡¯t really get drunk; I still want to hear the young master¡¯s story¡­¡±

    Then, she propped her chin on her hands and looked at him with starry eyes as he spoke about the battle in detail. She voiced her surprise when she heard how incredible the scene was, even asking him various questions to appease her own confusion. Of course, each time, she always poured Zu An more alcohol at a suitable time. The atmosphere in the room became better and better.

    With such a beautiful woman looking at him in adoration, constantly praising him, no matter how on guard Zu An had been, he still couldn''t help but start to feel pretty good. At first, they kept talking about that battle, but eventually, they began to talk about all sorts of different topics.

    The two of them got closer and closer. Eventually, Tushan Yu was already inadvertently leaning into Zu An¡¯s embrace with star-struck eyes. From his perspective, it was the perfect chance to get a good look at that shocking expanse of snow-white skin.

    Tushan Yu raised her head slightly. There was a mysterious smile on her lips. She gave him a deep look with her beautiful eyes and asked, ¡°Big brother Zu, do you think I¡¯m pretty?¡±

    Zu An felt as if there were a me burning within him. At that moment, it erupted. He felt as if his entire body were on fire. At that moment, he only had a single thought, which was to press the woman in his arms down¡­

    A wave of sobriety suddenly emerged from his soul. A pair of beautiful eyes opened in his mind: Daji¡¯s eyes.

 Chapter 1232: Why Arenâ€™t Things Going According to Plan?

    <h4>Chapter 1232: Why Aren¡¯t Things Going ording to n?</h4>

    Zu An was shocked. He had clearly always been on guard, so why had he ended up bing infatuated with Tushan Yu? He felt that his self-control was pretty decent. There should have been no way he would lose control like that! Charm skills alone shouldn¡¯t have been able to achieve such powerful results. After all, he had experienced Qiu Honglei and the others¡¯ charm skills before.

    He suddenly realized something. There had been a faint, sweet fragranceing from the wine both of them had drunk. He had thought it was the smelling from Tushan Yu, so he hadn¡¯t noticed anything at the time. Now that he thought about it, she had probably done something to the wine. Even though he was immune to poisons, that kind of aphrodisiac wasn¡¯t a poison, so he had little resistance toward it.

    While he was thinking to himself, he didn¡¯t notice the hint of nkness that flickered through Tushan Yu¡¯s eyes. However, that flicker quickly disappeared. When she looked at Zu An, her expression became increasingly gentle as she suggested, ¡°Big brother Zu, why don¡¯t you just stay in Bluefield Country from now on? I¡¯ll make you the king, and I¡¯ll be the queen. We can spend our days lovingly as daopanions.¡±

    The mood between them had already reached an extremely sweet and ambiguous state, which kept her offer from sounding strange or abrupt. However, Zu An really wanted to find out her objective. Even though he was normally pretty confident in himself, he wasn¡¯t narcissistic to the point that he would expect such a beautiful fox queen to throw herself into his arms after a single meeting.

    As such, he pretended to have beenpletely possessed by lust and hugged her tightly. Even though he knew the whole thing was fake, he had to admit that her body was still extremely soft andfortable.

    But then, a look of hesitation suddenly appeared on his face and he said, ¡°But Yanluo treats me really well. I can¡¯t let her down.¡±

    Tushan Yu revealed a look of surprise when she saw how intimately Zu An referred to Yu Yanluo. Looks like the two are much closer than I imagined¡­ I won¡¯t get anywhere without being serious.

    As such, she leaned into Zu An¡¯s arms and hooked her arm around his neck. She looked at him with tender feelings, saying, ¡°That¡¯s okay¡­ If you would really hate to part with the Medusa Queen, then I can¡­ I can share you as a husband.¡±

    There was such a beautiful woman in his arms, yet Zu An instead remained extremely calm. Just what is this woman aiming for? He pretended to be pleasantly surprised and asked, ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°Of course! Who would joke about something like that?¡± Tushan Yu replied with a blush. She moved close to Zu An¡¯s ear and whispered softly, ¡°You can spend some time in Bluefield Country and some time in the Snake race territory. When I have some free time, I can also go to the Snake race territory to find you¡­¡±

    As she spoke those alluring words, her breath was bewitchingly warm. If not for the fact that Zu An already knew that she had bad intentions, he would already have been done in at that moment.

    ¡°Country leader treats me so well that I don¡¯t even know how to repay you,¡± Zu An said. However, he became a bit nervous. Why hasn¡¯t this woman revealed anything even after we¡¯ve been talking for so long?

    Tushan Yu smiled sweetly and said, ¡°If I like you, then I like you. Why would I need you to do anything for me in return?¡±

    She gently went on tiptoes as she spoke. Her red lips pressed gently against his chest, neck, and other ces. When such a pure and beautiful youngdy acted so seductively, it resulted in a sense of irresistible charm.

    Zu An thought to himself, Is she really nning to use these kinds of methods to gain my trust?

    But isn¡¯t she sacrificing a bit too much?

    He remembered Yu Yanluo mentioning previously that fox women loved to toy with hearts the most. Rarely would they truly let anyone take advantage of their bodies.

    Hmph, I want to see just what kind of scheme you have at the end of all this!

    At the same time, he remained vignt. He was worried that she would take the chance to bite his neck or other vital areas. After all, she was of the fiend races, and that would be an attack difficult to defend against. However, what surprised him the most was that she didn¡¯t do anything at all. Instead, her red lips became more and more passionate.

    In the end, Zu An was still a young and vigorous man. How could he not have any reaction when such a charming young beauty treated him so enthusiastically? At the same time, he focused and maintained his guard. It was about time; Tushan Yu had already sacrificed so much, so she was probably going to show her cards soon.

    She can¡¯t just continue this forever, right?

    However, his eyes quickly widened. She really did just continue!

    Tushan Yu lowered her head and gave him a look. She giggled and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t believe it at first when I heard the rumors, but now, I finally know why the Medusa Queen likes you so much.¡±

    Zu An had a strange expression. He remembered how during the battle with the Golden Crow Crown Prince, he had be famous in an unusual way¡­ This woman might have be so interested in him precisely because she heard about that.

    Sigh, I didn¡¯t expect her to be so fresh and pure on the outside, but actually be¡­ that kind of girl.

    A hint of despair shed through his eyes, but soon afterward, he couldn''t help butugh. What difference was there between his actions and people who wanted to free prostitutes from their trade?

    Now, he was certain that she really did have ulterior motives; but despite what others might think, she only lusted after his body. In that case, there was no need for him to be too polite either. Her methods thus far had already left him extremely annoyed.

    Right at that moment, Tushan Yu showed him a charming smile. Then, she bit down on her red lips and slowly sat down. Her entire body immediately went taut, and a hint of pain crossed her brows.

    Zu An had been wondering to himself how he would refuse her so it wouldn¡¯t be awkward for either one of them. How could he have anticipated that she would be so straightforward? Now that things had already reached this point, refusing her would be way too superficial.

    What was most surprising was that her body seemed to be extremely underripe. She wasn¡¯t like the fickle woman he had imagined her to be.

    However, Zu An quickly realized that maybe the problem was with him. Even a mature woman like the empress Liu Ning had had a simr reaction at first. As such, he didn¡¯t think too much of it.

    When he thought about the fox spirits¡¯ illustrious reputation in this field, he didn¡¯t dare to act carelessly. He brought out every trick he knew for fear of embarrassing himself.

    ¡­

    The attendants outside looked at each other in dismay. Why did the country leader end up really doing it? Wasn¡¯t the n just to fake it?

    Still, she was their country leader, so she definitely had a reason for doing what she had done. The attendants just attributed it to their ownck ofprehension. The only thing they could do was to stand guard from a distance so that no one could approach and find out what was happening inside. Still, they could see just how intense it was from the candlelight silhouette and the groans that leaked out from time to time.

    The bed rolled like red ocean waves, and a night passed just like that.

    ¡­

    Before daybreak arrived, Tushan Yu suddenly sat up in rm. However, she quickly noticed that there wasn¡¯t a shred of clothing on her. She was so embarrassed her face wentpletely red. She endured her entire body¡¯s aching and quickly put on her clothes. She felt like a limp noodle. Wasn¡¯t I just putting on a y? Why did I end up bing possessed¡­

    When she looked at the soundly sleeping man next to her, a hint of killing intent shed through her eyes. A small and exquisite curved de instantly appeared in her hand, and she pressed it up against his neck.

    But the charming and gentle scene from the previous night appeared in her mind. She bit down on her red lips so hard that blood was about toe out.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Ahhhhhh! This is way too humiliating! I actually ended up even showing my tail and earsst night!

    After hesitating for a long time, she still put away the curved de in the end. Then, she quietly left the room.

    Unfortunately, as soon as she got off the bed, her legs buckled and she almost fell. Only after a while did she slowly catch her breath. She looked at the man on the bed with a conflicted expression. She adjusted her condition, then quickly left.

    The attendants outside surrounded her, with dark circles around their eyes. One asked, ¡°Country leader, about what that party wants¡­¡±

    Tushan Yu stopped her. She turned around and gave the room a final look before saying, ¡°We¡¯ll talk once we head back.¡±

    The group quietly left.

    ¡­

    Inside the room, Zu An opened his eyes. Sure enough, there was a plot! Also, who¡¯s that party they¡¯re referring to?

    His eyes suddenly narrowed. He saw a freshly bloomed rose across his sheets.

 Chapter 1233: Personal Visit

    <h4>Chapter 1233: Personal Visit</h4>

    Zu An found the current situation extremely strange. Tushan Yu was apletely different person after waking uppared to the previous night. That night, she had been so enthusiastic and proactive! She had even shown him her most sweet and charming side. And yet just now, she had actually thought about killing him.

    At first, he had thought that they were a mature man and a mature woman, that it was normal for them to each take what they needed. Why had she turned on him so quickly instead?

    However, at that moment, he noticed the freshly bloomed rose across the sheets. Only then did he realize something: This Tushan Yu wasn¡¯t the fickle beauty he imagined her to be. Instead, she had always maintained her purity.

    But that made it even harder for him to understand it. Then why did she act so decisivelyst night?

    Did she make an impulsive decision and regret it?

    Forget about Zu An, even Tushan Yu, who had already returned to her resting chambers, was confused. She had clearly been trying to seduce that man, and it had seemed as if she were about to seed. Why did it instead seem as if she had gotten seduced instead?

    Just who is the freaking fox-spirit here?!

    An attendant said worriedly, ¡°Country leader,st night, your respected self and young master Zu¡­ did that. If the other party knew, they might not be happy.¡±

    Tushan Yu¡¯s expression turned cold. She snapped, ¡°Do I need your opinion on my personal affairs? Have everyone who was outside that doorst night swear an oath of blood. No news of this is to get out at all. Otherwise, I will have no choice but to kill you no matter how many years you have all followed me for.¡±

    The attendants shuddered. They all kneeled down and said, ¡°Thank you for your kindness, country leader.¡±

    They then left after making the oath of blood. The lead attendant said worriedly, ¡°Country leader, you sacrificed so muchst night. Did you sessfully obtain the blood essence?¡±

    Tushan Yu quickly felt a surge of emotions. She hadn¡¯t obtained the blood essence she had nned to get, but there was a different kind of essence¡­ that had filled her up quite a bit.

    However, how could she hand over that kind of thing?!

    ¡°I know what I am doing. You can withdraw now!¡± Tushan Yu replied, waving her hand.

    ¡°Understood!¡± Seeing the country leader¡¯s expression grow unkind, the lead attendant didn¡¯t dare to ask anything more. She quickly withdrew.

    ¡°Wait.¡± Tushan Yu suddenly called out after her. ¡°Prepare some hot water for me. I need to take a bath and change clothes.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± The lead attendant had a strange expression. Only then did she realize what had happened.

    However as soon as she reached the entrance, Tushan Yu made her stop again, calling out, ¡°Forget it. I don¡¯t need it anymore.¡±

    The lead attendant was bewildered. However, she could tell that Tushan Yu was furious, so she tactfully closed the door to the resting chambers behind her.

    Tushan Yu bit her lip. She really had lost a lotst night!

    So many people wanted to acquire transcendent aptitude blood essence. She would just take the chance to refine the other ¡®essence¡¯ for herself and see if it would make up for her losses somewhat.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An couldn''t figure out why Tushan Yu had done what she did no matter how he tried, so he decided to just stop thinking about it. Instead, he brought out Daji. He had now gathered all of the materials Daji needed for her breakthrough, and it would be best to do that earlier rather thanter.

    He took out the various materials and arranged them around her: Ki Fruits, Wuyang Jade, Gray Wolf King Fangs, and the Nine-Headed Pheasant Feathers. When he picked up the Blue Earthflowers, he couldn''t help but say, ¡°Daji, oh Daji, do you know that to obtain the materials needed for your breakthrough, I had to sacrifice my body¡­¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Daji for +1 +1 +1¡­

    Zu An became happy when he saw the numbers in the backend. ¡°You¡¯re actually able to produce Rage points now! It looks as if your soul is also slowly being repaired!¡±

    Daji didn¡¯t reply, as usual. However, there was a hint of disdain within her beautiful eyes. Zu An didn¡¯t think too much of it, however. With a big smile on his face, he helped her with her breakthrough.

    As the formation began operating, the materials were gradually consumed. Specks of starlight emerged from them, and they all entered Daji¡¯s body.

    When Daji opened her eyes again, her expression seemed to have be a bit more vivid. Her aura had sessfully reached the seventh rank! Now, Zu An just had to feed her Ki Fruits to raise her cultivation realm. He still had around three hundred of them.

    After some hesitation, however, he didn¡¯t immediately feed them to Daji. He didn¡¯t need to use her skill for now, and he had to leave some for Mo Xi. That woman didn¡¯t work if he didn¡¯t pay her.

    Sigh, Daji really is much more lovable.

    As if sensing his thoughts, within the depths of the void, Mo Xi became a bit restless.

    You have sessfully trolled Mo Xi for +1 +1 +1¡­

    Zu An was speechless.

    ¡­

    By the time all that concluded, it was already growing dark outside. Yu Yanluo and the other women were all worried that something had happened to him, so they gathered around him as soon as the pce gates opened. They all sighed in relief when they saw that he was safe and sound.

    ¡°Nothing happenedst night, right?¡± Yu Yanluo asked worriedly.

    ¡°Nothing happened at all; I slept great,¡± Zu An said. There was no way in hell he would tell them what had happened.

    ¡°Really?¡± Yun Jianyue replied. She moved closer and gave him a sniff. When she didn¡¯t smell anything strange, she nodded in satisfaction and said, ¡°I guess you¡¯re being honest.¡±

    Yan Xuehen frowned. This witch really feels no sense of shame¡­ If it were her, she definitely wouldn¡¯t do something so intimate.

    Zu An sighed in relief. He had already learned too many painful lessons, so he had made sure to wash all his clothes and the entire room with his Blue Mard¡¯s water element. Of course, the bloodstains on the covers had also been removed.

    ¡°Looks like that fat daoist was a liar after all,¡± Yan Xuehen said. She sighed in relief inwardly, but then immediately afterward, she felt a bit of disappointment.

    ¡°I¡¯ll make sure to give him a good beating the next time we run into him. He made us worry all night for nothing.¡± Yun Jianyue snorted.

    Only Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression remained conflicted, because the daoist¡¯s divination about her had been too urate. Thus, she wasn¡¯t sure about what had happened to Zu An this time.

    They went to bid Tushan Yu farewell. However, the attendants quickly reported that their country leader wasn¡¯t feeling too well and couldn''t personally see them out, but she wished them a smooth journey. In the future, they would meet again at the Fiend King Court.

    ¡°She doesn¡¯t feel well?¡± The women all turned to look at Zu An when they heard that reason.

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed. He replied, ¡°What are you all looking at me for?¡±

    The women all couldn''t help butugh. This guy had been a gentleman this entire time, not even speaking a word to Tushan Yu. How could there have been anything between them?

    ¡°Since Sister Yu isn¡¯t feeling too well, we won¡¯t disturb her anymore. Please help us deliver our wishes for a speedy recovery,¡± Yu Yanluo said, acting naturally. At the same time, she took out some medicinal herbs from the Snake race and offered it to the other party.

    The female attendants naturally thanked her repeatedly.

    Right at that moment, Yun Jianyue finally couldn''t hold herself back and asked, ¡°By the way, we didn¡¯t get the Blue Earthflowers your country leader promised us yet.¡±

    Yu Yanluo cared a bit more about formalities, while Yun Jianyue didn¡¯t mind being the bad guy. Either way, she was already known as a devil by the people, so a bit more wouldn¡¯t make a difference.

    The female attendant looked toward Zu An. Zu An quickly replied, ¡°Uh¡­ they already gave them to me.¡±

    ¡°Gave them to you? When?¡± The other women looked at him in confusion.

    ¡°Bluefield Country Lord sent someone to deliver them early in the morning,¡± Zu An said without batting an eyelid. He couldn''t just say that she had personally delivered them the previous night, right?

    ¡°They were brought over early in the morning?¡± The naturally sensitive women immediately sensed that there was something wrong. After all, those two hadn¡¯t had any dealings, so even if Tushan Yu was going to deliver them, she should have given them to Yu Yanluo. Why had she instead sent them to Zu An?

    They recalled the romantic cmity the fat daoist had spoken of again. They immediately began to interrogate him one after another.

    Zu An¡¯s scalp turned numb. A single lie would lead to countless other lies, and these women were all the world¡¯s most intelligent individuals to begin with.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Just as the situation was about to get out of hand, however, a loud and clear voice suddenly called from outside. ¡°This king has long heard of the Bluefield Country Leader''s beauty. He hase specially for a visit today!¡±

 Chapter 1234: The Dragonâ€™s Nine Sons

    <h4>Chapter 1234: The Dragon¡¯s Nine Sons</h4>

    The expressions of those present all changed greatly.

    ¡°Who would have thought? We actually got to watch something so interesting today,¡± Yun Jianyue remarked. She was obviously taking delight in this disaster. Either way, it was just an internal struggle between the fiend races, so she was happy to watch something amusing.

    Yan Xuehen frowned and said, ¡°Bluefield Country did receive us enthusiastically yesterday, so it would be better to stay and see what happens.¡±

    Yu Yanluo nodded and said, ¡°Indeed. She even gave us the Blue Earthflowers. This is a favor we need to repay somehow.¡±

    Zu An sighed in relief, thinking, This is fine. Otherwise, I might end up drawing suspicion if I say any more.

    At the same time, he was curious about just who would act so domineeringly, toe straight to a country¡¯s pce like that. Even if the leader really wanted to meet that person, there was no way they could juste out like that, right? Otherwise, what dignity would they have left?

    Sure enough, an attendant quickly came out to stop them. She said, ¡°My country¡¯s leader is currently sick and resting. It is not convenient for her to receive guests today. Please return, your distinguished self.¡±

    Everyone present was an expert. They were paying attention to the situation, so they could hear everything that was happening.

    ¡°This king has traveled here from afar; how can I just leave because you tell me to? Hurry and have your country leadere out. I have plenty of medicines with me; I can cure any ailment she has,¡± the loud and carefree voice called out again.

    ¡°Who is that, to be acting so arrogantly?¡± Yun Jianyue wondered in delight. Her Holy Sect was full of simr people.

    Yan Xuehen looked somewhat upset as she remarked, ¡°This kind of arrogant attitude makes me recall the Golden Crow Crown Prince from earlier.¡±

    Yu Yanluo said with a sigh, ¡°The fiend races all tend to behave more ostentatiously than humans.¡± Even though she had half of a fiend race n¡¯s blood within her, she wasn¡¯t too used to life on their side of the world.

    ¡°I must ask your distinguished self to quickly leave. We do not wee uninvited guests!¡± the attendant replied. Bluefield Country¡¯s leader was greatly admired by her people. They were all upset by this person¡¯s offensive behavior.

    ¡°How brazen! You dare to speak to this king like this?!¡± the voice eximed. Then, sounds of fighting broke out, and the air filled with groans and bitter cries. Some Fox race guards were sent flying.

    Then, a figure walked in, striding across empty air. He was dressed in purple robes, and his appearance was rather unique. On his head were two protrusions; it was unclear whether they were dragon horns or deer antlers. His mouth was quiterge, with a noticeable underbite.

    Yan Xuehen frowned slightly and mused, ¡°Do the fiend races really have this many experts?¡±

    This fellow was shockingly at the master rank! Those at the master rank were quite rare among the human race. All of them were elders of their respective regions. And yet, on this trip alone, they seemed to run into master rank cultivators at every turn.

    Yu Yanluo said, ¡°He carries the ocean races¡¯ aura, and from a king race no less.¡± She was also part of a fiend race bloodline, and they were able to sense such things within each other to a certain degree.

    ¡°Ocean race?¡± Zu An repeated in surprise. He had seen quite a few fiend race bloodlines already, but this seemed to be his first meeting with the ocean races. He had seen an ancient mermaid empress in the secret dungeon, but that was nothing more than a set of remains.

    ¡°Your distinguished self has trespassed into the pce and injured our people. Isn¡¯t this a bit too overbearing?!¡± an ice-cold voice eximed. Tushan Yu had heard the disturbance and rushed outside.

    Yan Xuehen voiced her surprise. ¡°She really isn¡¯t in the best condition. She seems a bit wan and sallow.¡±

    ¡°You think? To me, she seems a bit more tender and prettypared to yesterday. I¡¯m even starting to feel a bit of¡­ something,¡± Yun Jianyue said, looking at her carefully. It was clearly just a single night since they hadst met, so why had this fresh and pure youngdy suddenly seemed to gain a hint of maturity?

    Zu An couldn''t help but look at her too. Their eyes just happened to meet. Tushan Yu unnaturally shifted her gaze away, her expressionplicated. However, a sh of coldness appeared on her face when she looked at therge-mouthed man.

    ¡°Ha ha ha! Bluefield Country Lord has a well-earned reputation, as expected! Your beauty is exceptional; this trip from afar was worth it,¡± the big-mouthed man said, as his eyes widened the moment he saw Tushan Yu. He waspletely unwilling to shift his gaze away.

    Tushan Yu felt incredible disgust. Compared to this guy, Zu An really was an upright gentleman. However, she already knew who he was based on her subordinates¡¯ report. She said coldly, ¡°Chi Wen, strictly speaking, I am of the same rank as your father. Are your actions not rather impudent?¡±

    ¡°Chi Wen?¡± Zu An felt like this name was a bit familiar for some reason.

    Yu Yanluo exined, ¡°Chi Wen is the Dragon King¡¯s ninth son.¡±

    ¡°The Dragon King has nine sons; all nine are different,¡± Yan Xuehen added. She had heard about those rumors.

    Yun Jianyue said with a smile, ¡°Of course they¡¯re different. It¡¯s rumored that the Dragon King was an extremely lustful individual who mated with women from all kinds of different races. That¡¯s why the children he fathered are all different.¡±

    Yu Yanluo also exined, ¡°Chi Wen is the child of the Dragon King and a mermaid. Furthermore, the Dragon King doesn¡¯t only have nine sons, but only nine women have respectable powers backing them, and thus proper status. That¡¯s why the children of ordinary women aren¡¯t all that famous.¡±

    ¡°The mermaids¡­¡± Zu An murmured in surprise. He seemed to have some affinity with mermaids. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Chi Wen¡¯s expression grew serious. He retorted, ¡°Tushan Yu, you really think rather highly of yourself, no? Putting it nicely, you¡¯re the queen of Bluefield Country, but if we¡¯re being honest, everyone knows that you merely use your looks to serve another. Do you think that by relying on Hu Qianxiao, by bing his woman, you have the right to speak to me like this? Others might fear Hu Qianxiao, but our Dragon race does not. Wasn¡¯t the Tiger race¡¯s princess ultimately seized as a concubine by my father?¡±

    ¡°Hu Qianxiao?¡± the others asked, looking toward Yu Yanluo.

    Yu Yanluo replied, ¡°Hu Qianxiao is the Tiger race¡¯s king, one of the most powerful ns among the fiend races. It¡¯s on a scale the Snake race can¡¯tpare to at all. Their strength is evenparable to the King Court itself, but they¡¯re internally divided. The Lion and Tiger race struggle fiercely against each other, neither willing to yield to the other. I suspect the Fiend Emperor himself has probably spared no effort getting involved in that check and bnce.¡±

    Zu An had a strange expression. A battle between lions and tigers existed even in this world¡­

    ¡°What¡¯s that about the Tiger race princess being seized to be the Dragon King¡¯s concubine?¡± Yun Jianyue asked. She cared more about that point.

    Yu Yanluo exined, ¡°The Dragon King¡¯s seventh son Bi An is the child of the Dragon King and a tiger. Apart from him, the first son Qiu Niu is the son of the Dragon King and a cow, the second son Ya Zi was from a wolf, the third son Chao Feng was from a bird, the fourth son Pu Lao was frp, a frog, the fifth son Suan Ni was from a lion, the sixth son Ba Xia was from a turtle, the eighth son Fu Xi was from the Azure Dragon¡­¡±

    The others¡¯ eyes were wide open as they listened to her introduction. Yun Jianyue patted Zu An and remarked, ¡°I thought you were already quite something before, butpared to this Dragon King, you¡¯re like an innocent little white flower!¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s face turned a bit red. She clearly shared that opinion.

    Zu An was stupefied. This Dragon King really wasn¡¯t that picky; he even went along with toads and turtles¡­ However, his attention quickly returned to the person named Hu Qianxiao. Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯sthe one who sent Tushan Yu?

    Tushan Yu¡¯s face turned red; it was unclear whether it was out of anger or embarrassment. She snapped, ¡°Chi Wen, cease your nder!¡±

    Chi Wen propped up his chin and remarked, ¡°Not bad, not bad. You¡¯re so pretty even when you get angry. You have the right to be this prince¡¯s woman. This prince has decided on you today! By the time Hu Qianxiao finds out, I wonder how old our children will be, ha ha ha!¡±

    He instantly rushed toward Tushan Yu afterughing arrogantly, his hand reaching toward her face.

 Chapter 1235: Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox

    <h4>Chapter 1235: Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox</h4>

    Tushan Yu was still the ruler of a country. She avoided his disrespectful hand at thest moment. At the same time, a small and exquisite curved de suddenly appeared from her sleeves, striking toward Chi Wen.

    Chi Wen avoided it easily, however. He took in a deep breath and said, ¡°How fragrant. A beauty really is a beauty.¡±

    Yan Xuehen said with a frown, ¡°This guy is really annoying.¡±

    ¡°He is indeed a bit shameless,¡± Yun Jianyue added, a trace of coldness appearing on her face.

    Yu Yanluo agreedpletely with them. They were all women; Chi Wen¡¯s assault on Tushan Yu had clearly offended them too.

    Zu An couldn''t help but feel a bit worried. Chi Wen was already at the master rank. Even though it didn¡¯t seem as if it had been that long since he broke through, he was still a master rank cultivator. Meanwhile, Tushan Yu was only around the eighth rank. Furthermore, the Fox Race didn¡¯t excel inbat. She definitely couldn''t win on her own.

    Fortunately, a burst of lovable shouts filled the air. Bluefield Country¡¯s guards flocked over, joining the fray to help Tushan Yu. Among them, the older ones were likely the Fox Race¡¯s elders. With their help, Tushan Yu finally managed to stabilize her position. She stood at the center whilemanding her troops; now, both sides were evenly matched.

    ¡°Strange. Tushan Yu¡¯s legs move a bit strangely whenever she dodges or kicks. Are her legs injured?¡± Yan Xuehen mused. She was a grandmaster with prating eyesight. Even though it was a small detail, she still immediately picked out several of Tushan Yu¡¯s ws. If she were the one fighting against Tushan Yu, those openings would already have proven lethal.

    Zu An¡¯s face heated up. After all, he was the real culprit. The previous night, he had worried about the fox spirits¡¯ reputation. Furthermore, he had thought that Tushan Yu was a mature woman like Empress Liu Ning, so he hadn¡¯t held back at all. After a crazy night, the fact that she could even fight at that moment already proved how tough and supple her body was.

    ¡°That¡¯s not all. I¡¯ve been waiting to see her use her charm technique all this time. It¡¯s rumored that Bluefield Country¡¯s charm technique is extremely formidable. Even though her cultivation is beneath this Chi Wen¡¯s, she should be able to greatly decrease his will to fight, affecting his speed and power. A battle between experts is decided by a sliver; that should already be enough to create many opportunities. Why isn¡¯t she using it, though?¡± Yun Jianyue wondered. She was also a master of charm techniques. She had wanted to take the rare chance to use this battle as a reference for herself, and yet Tushan Yu had never used her technique. It really was driving her crazy!

    ¡°Could it be that it isn¡¯t too suited for use in battle?¡± Yu Yanluo asked. She thought that perhaps such skills were most effective under normal conditions, but if a battle broke out, the target would definitely be on guard.

    ¡°An ordinary charm technique might not work, but someone like the Bluefield Country Lord has definitely reached an extraordinary level in this field, and should be able to use it with every movement she makes. Why is there a need for her to fight like a normal person?¡± Yun Jianyue wondered. She was also a master of charm techniques, so her words carried quite a bit of weight.

    Yan Xuehen said, ¡°She said she was ill, to the point that she could not even see us off. Could that be what is affecting her?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible. Unless she lost her virginityst night, there¡¯s no other way she wouldn¡¯t be able to use her charm techniques for some time,¡± Yun Jianyue replied. She wasn¡¯t scared of revealing the weaknesses of charm techniques. Either way, in a fight between her and Yan Xuehen, charm techniques would be useless anyway.

    The three women suddenly thought of something. They looked at Zu An with strange expressions. They remembered the romantic cmity the fat daoist had mentioned.

    Zu An¡¯s expression was awkward. He wanted to exin, but there was no way he could, because they really had hit the nail on the head.

    Fortunately, Yun Jianyue said, ¡°That¡¯s impossible, though.¡±

    The other women also felt that it couldn¡¯t have happened. Zu An had behaved properly ever since the previous day, and Bluefield Country¡¯s leader had never said a single thing to him the entire time. How could anything have happened? No matter how much they admired Zu An, how could they believe that he could make the glorious Bluefield Country Lord sleep with him after a single meeting?

    Zu An¡¯s expression was a bit unnatural. If they found out the truth, wouldn¡¯t they skin him alive? He was quite stirred when he recalled the charming and gentle scene from the previous night. They had been so intimate that Tushan Yu even revealed her fluffy ears and tail.

    He had seen those things before online, and had always been curious about whether they were plugs or wearables, so he had touched them to investigate. To his surprise, it had just made Tushan Yu cry out in a lovable manner. It turned out that the tail and ears were a fox woman¡¯s most sensitive areas.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    For someone like Tushan Yu, however, after her cultivation had reached a high rank, she had be able to hide those Fox race features. Only when she was extremely aroused and couldn''t restrain her emotions would she be unable to avoid revealing them.

    She had continued to beg for mercy, moving her tail around to avoid him, but it had instead given Zu An an even greater novel feeling, so there was no way he would let go. In the end, as he caressed Tushan Yu¡¯s tail and ears, her body becamepletely limp and weak¡­

    ¡­

    Just then, there was an outburst of cries.

    Chi Wen sneered. ¡°I¡¯m tired of this. These games end now.¡± He opened his mouth and it lengthened outward, bing like arge water jar.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes widened. No wonder that mouth looked so strange; so it had that kind of use.

    Chi Wen took a deep breath, and powerful winds swept through the area. Many of the Fox race guards immediately lost their footing, staggering from side to side. Tushan Yu began jumping around amid her army; only then did she manage to help her subordinates stand up properly again.

    Suddenly, apanied by howls ofughter, therge mouth¡¯s suction force suddenly increased. The Fox race guards held each other''s hands, and were barely able to steady themselves that way¡­

    However, the clothes on their bodies couldn''t endure it.

    Riiiip!

    The sounds of tearing cloth filled the air. Many people¡¯s clothes burst apart, and were then sucked into therge mouth, revealing a great, shining white expanse. The fox women cried out in shame and anger.

    Only Tushan Yu and a few others with higher cultivation had been able to just barely keep their clothes intact. However, it was hard enough for them just to take care of themselves, so how could they help anyone else?

    Chi Wen had already realized that he couldn''t use that move to remove Tushan Yu¡¯s clothing. As such, he retracted the giant mouth. He sized up the frightened fox women¡¯s wonderful figures, a grin appearing on his face. He smiled sinsterly and remarked, ¡°Tsk tsk, why do these clothes smell faintly of urine?¡±

    ¡°Utterly shameless!¡± Yan Xuehen eximed. Her face turnedpletely white.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s gaze became fierce as she remarked, ¡°This Dragon Race has actually fallen to such a state.¡±

    Yu Yanluo tugged on Zu An¡¯s hand and said, ¡°Ah Zu, let¡¯s help her¡­¡±

    Before she could even finish her sentence, however, Tushan Yu burst into a rage. She muttered some words to herself, and a pure white fox projection appeared. That fox actually had nine tails!

    Zu An was stunned. Why did this skill look so familiar? He suddenly remembered that Daji also had a skill that can summon a nine-tailed heavenly fox. That fox looked almost identical to this one.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression changed. She said, ¡°This is bad. This is the Fox race¡¯s forbidden art! With Tushan Yu¡¯s cultivation, she might not be able to maintain it!¡±

    It was just like her Medusa forbidden art. With her cultivation, it was hard to even use it once, and it had almost taken her life to do so.

    Sure enough, Tushan Yu¡¯s face immediately became pale. The nine-tailed fox projection flickered as if it might scatter at any time.

    The Fox race elders¡¯ expressions all changed. They cried, ¡°Country Lord, don¡¯t do it! You will lose your life!¡±

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Chi Wen didn¡¯t dare to treat the Fox race¡¯s legendary forbidden technique carelessly. Blue light flickered all around him, and he transformed into his true form. A monster with a dragon head and a fish body rushed forward.

    Tushan Yu gritted her teeth. She was just about to fight him to the death when her internal energies surged chaotically, making her vomit a mouthful of blood. The nine-tailed fox projection instantly vanished. Her heart became ice-cold. If not because of what had happened the previous night, leaving her entire body incredibly sore, she wouldn¡¯t have failed to use the skill at least once.

    Chi Wen rapidly pushed forward with unstoppable power. With all of the momentum he had, he couldn''t stop now even if he wanted to.

    Tushan Yu hadn¡¯t expected she would die so soon after experiencing her life¡¯s most joyful night. She subconsciously nced over toward Zu An¡¯s direction, a hint of reluctance in her eyes.

    However, Zu An was already nowhere to be seen at all. Tushan Yuughed inwardly in self-ridicule. Did he run away in the face of a disaster? No wonder mother told me that all men were unreliable.

    She wasn¡¯t even in the mood to harbor resentment. Her heart felt dead, like ashes. She was already ready to face death.

    However, a familiar voice suddenly said in her ear, ¡°Be careful!¡± Then, she felt herself enter a warm embrace. She raised her head with a nk expression, and her face immediately turned red.

    This man had plowed diligently into her again and again, their faces pressed up against each other the entire time. How could she not recognize who it was? He had one hand wrapped around her waist, standing protectively in front of her. His other hand faced Chi Wen.

 Chapter 1236: Mysterious

    <h4>Chapter 1236: Mysterious</h4>

    Yu Yanluo was about to turn around and ask Zu An to help out, but she was surprised to find that she couldn''t see him at all. By the time she turned around again, he was already holding Tushan Yu in his arms and standing in front of her.

    Off to the side, Yun Jianyue couldn''t help but say sarcastically, ¡°I¡¯ve never seen another hero rush to a beauty¡¯s aid faster than this brat.¡±

    Yan Xuehen nodded in deep sympathy. After watching for a while, she frowned and remarked, ¡°Why do I feel as if the way Bluefield Country Lord looks at him is a bit strange?¡±

    Yun Jianyue rolled her eyes and retorted, ¡°It would be hard for a woman to not feel anything if she were saved from the brink of death by a man. It¡¯s not as if you¡¯ve never experienced such a thing before, and your reaction was even stronger than hers. You still have the nerve to say that?¡±

    Yan Xuehen gritted her teeth andined, ¡°Witch, are you really going to go against me in everything?¡±

    Seeing that the two of them were about to argue again, Yu Yanluo pressed her palm against her forehead. What she was more worried about at the moment was Zu An. The opponent was a master rank cultivator, after all, and his strike looked powerful. Zu An had rushed over in a hurry to save her, so he might not be able to deal with the attack in such a moment of urgency.

    As if seeing through her worries, Yun Jianyue said, ¡°Rx, have some faith in your man.¡±

    Yu Yanluo blushed a bit when she heard the words ¡®your man¡¯. However, even a grandmaster like Yun Jianyue was saying that, so she felt a bit more at ease.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Chi Wen continued charging at Tushan Yu. He hadn¡¯t expected her nine-tailed fox skill to suddenly break down. He wanted to stop himself, but it was already toote. He wasn¡¯t at a sufficient level to stop his momentum at this kind of juncture. If he forcefully tried to stop himself, he would instead injure himself seriously.

    Even though he was a bit reluctant,pared to his own safety, who cared about a single woman? Since he couldn''t obtain her anyway, he¡¯d personally destroy her. No one could think about obtaining her then. As such, not only did he not hold back, he instead pressed forward with even greater power.

    Right at that moment, he saw a man take Tushan Yu into his embrace. The expression with which Tushan Yu looked at that man waspletely different from the way she looked at him. He erupted with rage. He had already gone through so much, and yet in the end, he had actually ended up giving another person the opportunity to save a damsel in distress?

    I¡¯ve never even touched a finger of this Tushan Yu, and yet another man has actually hugged her?

    You have sessfully trolled Chi Wen for +444 +444 +444¡­

    Immediately afterward, he saw that the other man was actually facing him with a single hand. He was so enraged that he actuallyughed. Did this human lose his mind from trying to impress a woman?

    He was a glorious master rank, while this guy¡¯s cultivation was only at the ninth rank. Even if this human used all his strength, he still wouldn¡¯t be able to handle a single blow from Chi Wen, and yet he dared to defend with just a single hand? Just where do you get your courage from?

    He felt as if his pride as a member of the Dragon race had been trampled on. He decided to crush the man¡¯s hand into mist, to make him howl in suffering and beg for forgiveness. Only then would he be able to vent out his anger.

    You have sessfully trolled Chi Wen for +499 +499 +499¡­

    However, what awaited him was a palm, a massive palm to the face.

    Smack!

    A loud and resounding noise echoed throughout the entire pce.

    Chi Wen¡¯s body was blown backward. He stabilized himself with difficulty, stars swirling in his eyes. What just happened?

    Zu An didn¡¯t pay him any attention and instead looked at Tushan Yu, asking, ¡°Are you hurt?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± Tushan Yu replied. She turned a bit red when she sensed that familiar yet unfamiliar presence. When she remembered what this man had done to herst night, she couldn''t even bring herself to look at him.

    In the distance, Yun Jianyue said with a sneer, ¡°This guy is back at it again with his skirt-chasing habits.¡±

    Yan Xuehen didn¡¯t say anything, but her face waspletely emotionless.

    Yu Yanluo also sighed deeply. Zu An had acted like a proper nobleman for an entire day, but now, he had gone right back to his old habits.

    A roar shook the heavens. Chi Wen cried, ¡°You dare hit me?!¡± He finally snapped out of his daze. He was actually smacked in the face? How humiliating was that?!

    You have sessfully trolled Chi Wen for +788 +788 +788¡­

    He was more curious about something else. He was a master rank cultivator, so normally speaking, he should have been able to anticipate the moves of anyone under the master rank. Why had he not sensed anything just now, then?!

    Zu An didn¡¯t reply to him and instead waved his hand. Snowkes swirled around, forming a curtain and covering up the frightened fox women. He said, ¡°Go back and change your clothes for now. I¡¯ll take care of this.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, young master!¡± the fox women eximed, looking at Zu An with expressions of gratitude. Rumors always said that they were usually the ones who toyed with the hearts of others, but they were still women. Being seen naked really left them rather hard-pressed.

    Tushan Yu couldn''t help but raise her head to give Zu An a look. She was momentarily distracted.

    Yun Jianyue nudged Yan Xuehen with her elbow and remarked, ¡°He¡¯s using what you taught him to pick up girls.¡±

    Yan Xuehen felt annoyed. She replied, ¡°I wasn¡¯t the one who taught him that; it was Chuyan.¡±

    ¡­

    Chi Wen roared, ¡°This prince is speaking to you! Are you deaf?!¡±

    Only then did Zu An turn back around. He shot back, ¡°Do I have to answer just because you asked me something? Who do you think you are?¡±

    Chi Wen nearly choked. He said, ¡°Good, good, good. It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve met someone this arrogant!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Chi Wen for +444 +444 +444¡­

    Zu An retorted with a chuckle, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you meet one just by looking in a mirror?¡±

    Chi Wen was speechless. The bit of domineering presence he had been piecing together again was almost instantly shattered.

    ¡°Very good. Let¡¯s see if your skills are as tough as your mouth,¡± he eventually said with a sneer. He thought that he must have been careless just then, and decided that he wouldn¡¯t give this arrogant human any more chances.

    With a twist of his body, many bubbles suddenly appeared above the pce. Then, the water in theke began to whirl around. It turned into a dozen waterspouts that were several meters high, and surged out from theke. All of the pavilions, kiosks, and ornamental trees in the vicinity began to break down under the pressure.

    ¡°I¡¯ll give you a chance. Kneel and kowtow in front of this prince and admit your wrongs. I can then consider sparing your life,¡± Chi Wen said. He felt like a god as he floated in the air, as if the lives of the people below could be decided by a single whim of his.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An sighed. He said, ¡°Looks like that strike to your head wasn¡¯t enough to wake you up. Where do you get the confidence to say this kind of thing?¡±

    When he heard Zu An mention the strike from before, Chi Wen erupted into fury.

    You have sessfully trolled Chi Wen for +999 +999 +999¡­

    ¡°Then you can go to hell!¡± he shouted, his face ashen. He swung his tail, and the waterspouts rushed toward Zu An.

    Water normally seemed weak on its own, but when it spun at such high speeds, it became strong enough to tear any powerful creature to shreds.

    When she saw all of the stone bs and trees destroyed by the waterspouts, Tushan Yu¡¯s expression changed. She was about to use her skills to help Zu An, but he gently patted her hand, gesturing for her not to worry. However, the terrifying waterspouts quickly engulfed them.

    The Fox race guards cried out in rm. ¡°Country lord!¡±

    With that, even Chi Wen was starting to feel a bit vexed. He really had let anger get the best of him just then, forgetting that Tushan Yu was still there. Letting such an incredible beauty die just like that really was a waste.

    Only the three women in the distance remained calm. Forget about the two grandmasters, even Yu Yanluo knew there was no way Zu An would be injured by this kind of attack.

    Just then, Chi Wen also realized that something wasn¡¯t right. The terrifying waterspouts continued to ravage the area, and yet there was no blood to be seen. He looked closely at them and saw that there were two figures visible inside.

    ¡°How can this be?!¡± Chi Wen eximed, stupefied. He had noticed that the two weren¡¯t even moving. It was as if the terrifying waterspouts were just giving them a massage.

    He had fought against Tushan Yu before, and he definitely didn¡¯t have that ability. Just what kind of background did this man have, to actually be so mysterious? He could no longer retain his cool when he thought of that. On the contrary, a wave of uncertain fear welled up within him.

    Inside the waterspouts, Tushan Yu stared at the chaos around her in a daze. However, the water only continued to swirl around them; none of it seemed to have any intention of approaching them.

    When she focused and examined the surroundings closely, she noticed that there seemed to be a light blue barrier around them that was blocking all of the waterspouts.

    Does he cultivate the water element?

    But he used fire during his battle with the Golden Crow Crown Prince!

    She couldn''t help but look at the man at her side. He seemed to have even more secrets!

    A teasing voice suddenly said next to her ear, ¡°What, you didn¡¯t see enough yetst night?¡±

    Tushan Yu¡¯s entire body shook when she heard that. Then, she felt a bit weak.

 Chapter 1237: A Clear and Cold Sigh

    <h4>Chapter 1237: A Clear and Cold Sigh</h4>

    ¡°This kid¡¯s cultivation seems to be getting higher and higher, no?¡± Yun Jianyue couldn''t help but remark with a sigh of praise.

    ¡°His fighting strength is peculiar; it is much greater than what his cultivation would indicate on the surface,¡± Yan Xuehen added. She continued, ¡°However, the skills he learned were too messy. Fortunately, he was able to fight properly against the Golden Crow Crown Prince, bringing him considerable benefits. He was able to master his various abilities then. He will naturally have no issues with someone like this who has just broken through into the master rank.¡±

    Yu Yanluo wanted to praise Zu An a bit, but when she thought about how these two were grandmasters, she couldn''t bring herself to be shameless enough to try andment on the battle. She could only keep her mouth shut. However, her ears were still pricked up, as she hoped for them to praise him a bit more.

    ¡°That¡¯s not all,¡± Yun Jianyue said with a chuckle. ¡°It was also thanks to a certain grandmaster¡¯s pursuit that he was able to grow so quickly.¡±

    Yan Xuehen was speechless. She protested, ¡°Can you stop bringing that up all the time?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m only speaking the truth, though. What, are we supposed to not talk about something that actually happened? If you aren¡¯t happy about this, then why don¡¯t youe and fight me?¡± Yun Jianyue replied proudly.

    Yan Xuehen thought about their current conditions, and decided to stop there. She didn¡¯t pay Yun Jianyue any more attention and just sulked by herself.

    ¡­

    Within the waterspouts, Tushan Yu¡¯s heart was pounding fiercely. She would never act like this normally, because she was one of the legendary fox-spirits. However, she had been embarrassed too badly the previous night and hadn¡¯t had any time to pull herself together.

    Zu An sensed the waterspouts around him decreasing in power, so he used Blue Mard¡¯s ability to return the water back to the smallke.

    Chi Wen¡¯s eyes opened widely when he saw that. He eximed, ¡°You¡¯re from the ocean races too?¡± Why did it seem that this fellow was even more formidable at controlling water than he was?

    Zu An chuckled and replied, ¡°I am pretty fond of seafood, now that you mention it.¡±

    Chi Wen¡¯s face darkened. He spat, ¡°You¡¯re courting death!¡±

    As he spoke, the entire pce was enveloped by killing intent. The fox women all turnedpletely pale as their very souls trembled. Those whose cultivation ranks were rtively low were so frightened they kneeled on the ground.

    There had still been a clear sky above them a moment before, and yet now, dark clouds loomed overhead, as if a great deste beast had been summoned into this world. Horrifying killing intent surged and roiled within the clouds.

    In the distance, Yan Xuehen was a bit shocked. She remarked, ¡°Wow, it is almost at your domain¡¯s level.¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression became serious. She said, ¡°This killing intent has substance, as if it¡¯s already feasted on the blood of countless creatures. Does this Chi Wen really have such skill?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s from his weapon,¡± Yu Yanluo said. She noticed that a blue-green weapon had suddenly appeared in Chi Wen¡¯s hand. It flickered with a horrifying frigid glint, with three sharp prongs on the end. There were some dark red patterns on the metal as well.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s eyes narrowed. She said, ¡°Those are traces left by blood. Who knows just how many lives had to be taken to produce such an effect.¡±

    ¡°That seems to be the Dragon King¡¯s legendary weapon, the Trident!¡± Yu Yanluo eximed. Her expression was also a bit grave.

    Zu An also saw the weapon. He blurted out, ¡°Maserati[1]?¡±

    ¡°What does ¡®Maserati¡¯ mean?¡± Tushan Yu asked, bewildered. She said, ¡°Young master, be careful. Chi Wen is wielding a weapon used by a certain generation¡¯s Dragon King. Back then, the seas were divided and in turmoil. When that Dragon King united the ocean races, untold numbers of ocean race experts died under this trident.¡±

    Zu An asked in surprise, ¡°Is it a deity-grade divine weapon?¡± The Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s Sun ying Bow had left him with some lingering fear.

    Tushan Yu shook her head and said, ¡°It used to be a deity-grade divine weapon, but it was rumored that back then, the Dragon King killed an extremely powerful ocean fiend. That ocean fiend used his own blood to curse the Trident, making its grade fall. Now, it is only an immortal-grade weapon.¡±

    Zu An sighed in relief. He said, ¡°That¡¯s good, then. Also, why are you calling me ¡®young master¡¯? Do we need to be so unfamiliar with each other?¡±

    If this really had been a deity-grade artifact, that really would be a bit troublesome. If it was only immortal-grade, it was still manageable.

    Tushan Yu¡¯s face flushed red. The two of them had exchanged the most intimate words the previous night. Calling him ¡®young master¡¯ now really did make them seem a bit estranged. And yet, the two of them had clearly only met for the first time that night¡­ They weren¡¯t really close either.

    Chi Wen was furious when he saw her bashful appearance. This guy dares to court a woman I¡¯m fond of right in front of me?

    You have sessfully trolled Chi Wen for +399 +399 +399¡­

    ¡°Even if it¡¯s only an immortal-grade weapon, it¡¯s more than enough to dominate you!¡± Chi Wen spat coldly. With a wave of his hand, a blue radiance swept toward Zu An.

    No matter how tough Zu An¡¯s body was, he wouldn¡¯t be so stupid as to face it directly. He held Tushan Yu by the waist and evaded. The blue radiance passed through where they had just been standing, then crashed into one of the pces behind them.

    Boom!

    The entire pce was cleaved in half, and came crashing down!

    The onlookers¡¯ eyes narrowed. Immortal-grade weapons were immortal-grade weapons after all; such power wasn¡¯t something mere mortals could face.

    Zu An pushed off gently, delivering Tushan Yu to Yan Xuehen and the other women to prevent the battle from injuring her.

    Tushan Yu smiled. She was about to use her normal ways to get closer to these women, and yet just as she was about to speak, three bursts of killing intent came from each of them! She was rmed. Don¡¯t tell me they found out what happenedst night?

    Chi Wenughed arrogantly off in the distance. He said, ¡°I¡¯ll give you onest chance. If you kneel and knock your head against the ground, admitting your faults, as long as this prince¡¯s mood is good, I might just let you go.¡±

    Zu An looked at Chi Wen as if he were mentally challenged. He shot back, ¡°Are you an idiot? You¡¯re still saying such useless rubbish in this kind of situation?¡±

    Chi Wen¡¯s smile froze on his face. He gritted his teeth and yelled, ¡°This prince will dice your flesh into mincemeat!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Chi Wen for +444 +444 +444¡­

    However, Zu An had already taken the initiative before Chi Wen even finished his sentence. With a flip of his hand, a several-dozen-meter long me de appeared. The heat made everyone nearby move out of the way, and a scorched smell even began to fill the pce, as if it were about to be lit ame.

    ¡°Huh, the fire element?¡± Chi Wen remarked. After seeing how easily Zu An had dealt with his waterspouts, he had assumed his opponent was a water element cultivator.

    However, the heat couldn''t injure him at all. With the Trident¡¯s protection, the mes couldn''t even get closer than a few meters away from him.

    Right at that moment, Zu An rapidly brandished the me de, bringing it down with mountainous might.

    Chi Wen sneered. ¡°Today, I¡¯ll teach you about the power of an immortal-grade weapon!¡±

    He raised the Trident and faced the attack. As he moved, the space around the Trident seemed to copse on itself. Even light itself began to bend around it. The Trident formed a blue-green cone in front of him, mixed with a trace of fiendish blood-red that was suffused with bitter killing intent.

    Boom!

    The several-meter-long me de was crushed into pieces.

    A sinister smile shed across Chi Wen¡¯s face. He began, ¡°How can a weapon made from an elementpare to an immortal-grade weapon¡­¡±

    His smile suddenly froze on his face halfway through his sentence, because arge fist appeared before his eyes.

    Bang!

    The fist connected with his nose. Tears mixed with snot and blood flew in all directions.

    Zu An had devised a n the moment he saw the Trident. The Tai¡¯e Sword was damaged at the moment, so he didn¡¯t want to take the risk of blocking with it. Meanwhile, the other weapons he had weren¡¯t really a match for the Trident either.

    As such, he had decided to use the me de as a feint to scatter the Trident¡¯s protective killing intent. While it was scattered and the explosion blocked Chi Wen¡¯s line of sight, he would use Grandgale to close the distance.

    Chi Wen screamed bitterly and quickly tried to widen the distance between the two of them, but why would Zu An ever give him that chance? He rode on top of the monster and rained down brutal punches.

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

    Every single fist seemed to contain the power of a mountain. Even though Chi Wen was a master and had the toughness of the Dragon race, he still couldn''t withstand this kind of beating.

    At first, he continued to curse and threaten Zu An. However, the harder he cursed, the heavier those fists became. Eventually, he didn¡¯t dare to do so anymore and instead began to beg for mercy.

    After a while longer, he didn¡¯t even have the strength to beg anymore. There were only groans left, as if he might just stop breathing at any time.

    ¡­

    Looking at the scene from a distance, when she saw that Chi Wen¡¯s face had already been beaten into an unrecognizable state, and one of his horns had even been broken, Tushan Yu¡¯s mouth hung open. Chi Wen was the ninth son of the Dragon King; if he died here, the powerful Dragon King definitely wouldn¡¯t leave the matter be. Bluefield Country might suffer a great disaster then. However, Zu An was only doing this to save them, so she couldn''t really protest.

    Just then, however, someone let out a clear and cold sigh. ¡°Can you let him go as a favor for me?¡±

    1. The Maserati logo is a trident. ?

 Chapter 1238: Auntie

    <h4>Chapter 1238: Auntie</h4>

    Zu An¡¯s entire body trembled when he heard the voice. Then, a hint of pleasant surprise appeared on his face. He looked all around him. Then, he picked up the earthworm-like Chi Wen and flung him toward the direction of the voice.

    Meanwhile, everyone else looked at each other in dismay. Tushan Yu inadvertently looked toward Yan Xuehen and the other two women. Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue were also confused. They turned toward Yu Yanluo, because she was a bit closer to Zu An than they were. However, Yu Yanluo was also confused. She didn¡¯t know what was happening either!

    ¡°Who is that person?¡±

    ¡°It was a female voice.¡±

    ¡°Judging from how happy Zu An looks, they seem to have a special rtionship.¡±

    They tossed out a few offhandedments, then coincidentally all stopped talking at the same time.

    You have sessfully trolled Yu Yanluo for +233 +233 +233¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +233 +233 +233¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +233 +233 +233¡­

    They really wanted to follow along and see what was happening themselves, but they were all individuals of high status. Their pride wouldn''t let them do something like that, so they just sulked in ce.

    Tushan Yu was a bit stunned when she saw the women¡¯s expressions. She didn''t know if she should feel angry along with them.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An flew over to akeside several meters out. His attention was quickly drawn by a beautiful sight.

    There, a woman dressed in silk was sitting on a tree branch, leaning against the trunk. Her eyes carried a vacant expression as she stared into the distance, one finger gently hooked around the strap of a blue-green wine gourd.

    Zu An quickly became happy. That wine gourd always gently swayed on her forefinger whenever he saw her, as if it might fall if the wind blew even a bit harder. He tossed Chi Wen to one side and asked with pleasant surprise, ¡°Big sis Shang, why are you here?¡±

    There was a loud thud. When Chi Wen made contact with the ground, he twitched, but he still didn¡¯t wake up. The beating he sustained had clearly been rather fierce.

    The woman on the tree branch was naturally Shang Liuyu. She didn¡¯t even give Chi Wen a single look. Instead, her eyes conveyed a trace of gentleness when she looked at Zu An. She replied, ¡°It¡¯s been a while, but now, you aren¡¯t even going to greet your teacher properly?¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t take the bait and instead said with a smile, ¡°I¡¯m now a teacher at Brightmoon Academy too, after all, and I already called you big sis for a while back then.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? The alcohol must¡¯ve made my memory fuzzy,¡± Shang Liuyu replied. A smile appeared between her brows. Of course, she hadn¡¯t really forgotten.

    Zu An looked at the alcohol in her gourd and said, ¡°It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve drank your zing Heavens alcohol. I¡¯ve actually missed it quite a bit.¡±

    ¡°You want some? Come up here then,¡± Shang Liuyu said, gesturing toward him. Zu An kicked off with his feet, instantlynding on the tree.

    Shang Liuyu¡¯s legs had initially been curled up casually on the tree branch; when she saw that, she shifted them a bit to give him some room. Her dress fluttered around, revealing her sparkling white feet. They really were more gentle than jade and more sleek than satin.

    Zu An gave her feet a look and was surprised to discover that she wasn¡¯t wearing shoes. couldn''t help but say with a sigh, ¡°Big sis Shang still doesn¡¯t like wearing shoes, like before.¡± He had to admit that even though he had many attractive female friends, none of their feet were more beautiful than Shang Liuyu¡¯s.

    Shang Liuyu handed the gourd hanging off her finger to him, saying, ¡°I¡¯m not used to wearing shoes. I had no choice before in Brightmoon City, so I wore them to avoid drawing any suspicion. Now that I¡¯m with the fiend races, of course I don¡¯t have such misgivings anymore¡­ Ah, what are you doing?¡±

    It turned out that Zu An had gently brushed aside a part of her dress and raised her feet to take a look. He voiced his surprise, saying, ¡°I¡¯m just curious. You¡¯re usually always barefoot, so how are your feet so clean?¡±

    Shang Liuyu smacked his hand away and quickly pulled her feet back. Her usually calm and indifferent expression gave way to a faint blush. She replied, ¡°You¡¯re way too insensitive! Are women¡¯s feet something you can randomly touch?¡±

    When he saw her bashful expression, Zu An actually found it new and interesting. He remarked, ¡°I thought big sis didn¡¯t get embarrassed. It¡¯s not often I get to see this side of you.¡±

    ¡°No wonder a brat like you has so many beauties at your side. Your skills at teasing women really are formidable.¡± Shang Liuyu harrumphed, but she didn¡¯t actually get angry.

    Zu An cried out in protest. ¡°I really was just curious! It was just for the sake of research, nothing else!¡±

    ¡°If you really did have evil thoughts, I would already have taught you a lesson a long time ago,¡± Shang Liuyu said, finally managing to recover her usual indifference. ¡°It¡¯s not that hard to keep them clean. All I need to do is to use the water element to separate my feet from the ground.¡±

    Even though she made it sound easy, the control over the water element needed for that was definitely not something an ordinary person could achieve.

    Zu An raised the gourd and drank a mouthful. The strong alcohol rushed down his throat like liquid fire, and he felt his mind tremble. He remarked, ¡°It¡¯s the same taste as I remember.¡± He returned the alcohol to her and asked, ¡°Is it because you¡¯re from the Mermaid race that you can do that?¡±

    Shang Liuyu took back the gourd. She didn¡¯t gulp it down fiercely like Zu An did, and instead took a graceful drink with pursed lips. She replied, ¡°So you already knew.¡±

    Zu An voiced his agreement. He sighed and reminisced about the past, saying, ¡°That strange jade pendant you gave me¡­ I eventually found out that it was the Mermaid race¡¯s Heart Protection Scale. Furthermore, it¡¯s something only the king race has ess to.¡±

    Shang Liuyu was a bit surprised. She asked, ¡°You actually know about that? It looks like you already used it. Was the situation really that dangerous?¡±

    ¡°It was. I barely made it out alive. That¡¯s why, big sis, I owe you a life-saving debt. I don¡¯t know how to repay you,¡± Zu An said with a serious expression.

    Shang Liuyu said with a smile, ¡°ording to the ys and shows, aren¡¯t you supposed to say ¡®I am unable to repay this life-saving debt, so I can only devote myself to you fully¡¯?¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°If big sis is okay with me, of course I¡¯m willing to work like a dog or a horse for you.¡±

    Shang Liuyu harrumphed. ¡°Hmph, who would want something like that~¡±

    A whileter, she sighed and said, ¡°A guy like you really isn¡¯t bad, and you match my temperament. Unfortunately, you¡¯re too fickle and have too many femalepanions at your side. Meanwhile, our Mermaid race has always pursued only single-minded love.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He had just been making a joke, but why did it now seem as if she had actually seriously considered it?

    Shang Liuyu also snapped out of her daze. She quickly changed the topic, saying, ¡°No wonder you were able to grow to this level. Life and death situations are the best for tempering someone.¡±

    The two of them chatted about various things that had happened after they were separated. Zu An asked again, ¡°Why are you here?¡±

    Shang Liuyu replied, ¡°Hasn¡¯t the Fiend Emperor summoned the various races to the Fiend King Court? Our n¡¯s people are ratherzy and don¡¯t wish to leave the sea, so they sent me over.¡±

    Zu An was rmed. The Fiend Emperor wasn¡¯t a fool; the ones he had summoned were the kings of the different races. If Shang Liuyu could represent the Mermaid Race, then her status clearly wasn¡¯t low. However, he didn¡¯t have a habit of being overly nosy.

    Shang Liuyu finally gave Chi Wen, who resembled a dead pig, a look. She said, ¡°I was just passing by when I sensed the power of the Trident, so I came to take a look. I didn¡¯t expect it to be this idiot.¡±

    Zu An suddenly recalled Chi Wen¡¯s background. He was the descendant of the Dragon King and a mermaid. Don¡¯t tell me¡­

    Shang Liuyu nodded and said, ¡°He¡¯s my big sister¡¯s child. Since I was passing by, I couldn¡¯t just let him die, so I asked you to spare him.¡±

    Zu An sighed and said, ¡°Since it¡¯s your rtive, I obviously won¡¯t trouble him anymore. But his disgraceful nature will be the end of him one day. You can¡¯t just save him every time, right?¡±

    ¡°Of course I know that. But if anything happens in the future, that will be what he deserves,¡± Shang Liuyu said. Her brows actually furrowed, something that didn¡¯t happen often. She was clearly quite unhappy with this nephew of hers.

    She leaped off the tree after speaking. With a wave of her hand, a st of water hit Chi Wen¡¯s head. She called out, ¡°You dead? If not, get up already.¡±

    As Zu An jumped down, he made sure to look at Shang Liuyu¡¯s feet. Sure enough, there was ayer of light blue, radiant water swirling around, making it so that her feet never truly touched the ground.

    As if she sensed his gaze, a faint blush appeared on Shang Liuyu¡¯s neck. She subconsciously pulled her feet into her dress.

    Chi Wen gradually began to wake up. When he saw Shang Liuyu, he was surprised and happy. He reached out toward her legs, pleading, ¡°Auntie, you have to take responsibility for me!¡±

    Bang!

    He mmed into a wall of water, ending up sprawled on his back.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Shang Liuyu¡¯s expression was ice-cold as she snapped, ¡°Stop shouting already; have you not embarrassed yourself enough yet?¡±

 Chapter 1239: Mooching Has Never Felt So Good

    <h4>Chapter 1239: Mooching Has Never Felt So Good</h4>

    Seeing as he hadn¡¯t gotten his way, resentment flickered through Chi Wen¡¯s eyes. However, he suddenly noticed Zu An off to the side. He was so scared his voice changed. He squeaked, ¡°He¡­ Why is he here? He¡¯s the devil, auntie! You have to be careful!¡± He wanted to take out the Trident and continue fighting, but he was too weak. All of his muscles were trembling.

    ¡°You did something so despicable, and yet you still have the nerve to call him the devil?¡± A trace of disgust shed through Shang Liuyu¡¯s eyes as she replied. With a sweep of her sleeves, she flung the Trident to the ground.

    Zu An was shocked. Even though Shang Liuyu was also from the ocean races and probably had the technique for controlling the Trident, the fact that she had been able to easily seize Chi Wen¡¯s weapon meant that her cultivation wasn¡¯t low. However, she probably had something that helped her conceal her aura. It was difficult for him to find out her real cultivation.

    He couldn''t help but recall how back in Brightmoon City, people had all said that Ms. Shang excelled in the arts and wasn¡¯t good at cultivation. Many people had suspected that she was only around the third level. Each of them really was more blind than thest.

    Chi Wen was quite depressed, but he needed to rely on Shang Liuyu for protection at that moment. He naturally wouldn¡¯t talk back to her.

    Shang Liuyu spoke up just then, saying, ¡°I¡¯ve helped you plead for leniency, and he was willing to let you go. Let¡¯s go ording to the fiend races¡¯ rules. You should now pay up for your life.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He had agreed to Shang Liuyu¡¯s request to spare Chi Wen¡¯s life. With their rtionship, there was obviously no reason for him to collect any ransom.

    He was about to say something when Shang Liuyu spoke to him through ki. ¡°Don¡¯t refuse; it¡¯s good to teach this wastrel a lesson, or else he¡¯ll end up getting more and more out of hand.¡±

    Zu An smiled. In that case, there was no need to refuse. This Chi Wen really did deserve a good beating.

    Chi Wen opened his mouth, but since it was about keeping his life, he didn¡¯t retort in the end. He obediently took out arge sea conch that had runes flickering across its surface. It was clearly a storage artifact.

    He rummaged inside for a long time, then took out a precious de that glittered like frost and snow. He said, ¡°This is the Sea Cleaving de. It¡¯s rumored to be able to cleave even an ocean in half with boundless power. If auntie weren¡¯t here, I would be reluctant to give it to you.¡± He handed it over with a pained expression.

    Zu An gave it a look. The quality wasn¡¯t low; it was quite good among earth grade weapons. In the martial world, it was enough to serve as the n defending treasure of some sects.

    Shang Liuyu snorted from off to the side. She remarked, ¡°Who are you trying to fool with that trash? Is your life only worth this shoddy knife?¡±

    Chi Wen was rmed. Auntie is trying to save me! That devil ispletely unfathomable, so he won¡¯t be so easily fooled. If I identally offend him, I really might not be able to keep this little life of mine¡­

    As such, he obediently took out a gold brick. Fearing a misunderstanding, he quickly exined, ¡°It¡¯s more than just a gold brick! Um¡­ Even though it is a gold brick, it¡¯s not a normal gold brick¡­¡± When he noticed that he was talking incoherently, he quickly added, ¡°This is a heaven-grade weapon that can be used to strike people. It feels as if a mountain is weighing down on the target.¡±

    He was suddenly a bit eager to give it a try himself. If he suddenly brandished the brick, would it be enough to pulverize this guy?

    However, he remembered the weird movement technique this devil had, as well as those damned fists. He felt that his life was still more important and that there was no reason to take risks. It¡¯s just a heaven-grade weapon anyway; it''s just a worldly possession.

    Zu An received the golden brick. He could feel its immense weight. There were runes flickering faintly across the surface, and they carried a great dao aura. He recalled that back when he was in Cloudcenter City, when he uncovered Jian Taiding and the Zhenyuan Merchant Group¡¯s meeting, one of the experts had used a gold brick as a weapon. However, in terms of aura, this brick was much stronger than the one he had seen before.

    He sighed in amazement at the ocean races¡¯ wealth. He was about to say that the matter was decided, but then Shang Liuyu spoke up again. ¡°Is your life only worth a brick?¡±

    Zu An was dumbfounded.

    Chi Wen was speechless. He gritted his teeth. I am giving a bit less than I should¡­

    As such, he took out a sword from the conch. The sword sparkled with brilliance, and as it was drawn, it let out a sinister aura.

    Zu An was surprised. This was another heaven-grade weapon!

    Before he could even say anything, Shang Liuyu had already spoken up again. ¡°The Yin Yang Swordse in a pair. Taking out a single one is meaningless.¡±

    Chi Wen nearly choked for a moment, but he still obediently took out another sword. It was the exact opposite of the previous sword; it gave off a powerful and dominating aura.

    When paired together, the cold yin and hot yang sensations disappeared entirely. Instead, it was reced with a mysterious feeling of harmony. Zu An could sense that the two swords¡¯ auras formed a yin-yang diagram.

    Three heaven-grade weapons! Zu An thought, overjoyed. The Tai¡¯e Sword had cracks in it, so he didn¡¯t dare to take the risk of using it again. Right now, he was sorelycking weapons.

    Furthermore, even though the Tai¡¯e Sword had a high grade, ording to what Mi Li had said, it was sealed. As time went on, it had degraded. Now, apart from its material being somewhat special, its realbat strength was only on par with a heaven-grade weapon.

    Meanwhile, as for his Poisonous Prick, Immortal Beheading Knives, Sun ying Arrows, and other weapons¡­ Even though they exceeded heaven-grade, they each had their ws and weren¡¯t suitable for ordinarybat.

    Now that he had three heaven-grade weapons, it would increase his strength considerably.

    Zu An was already quite satisfied, and yet Shang Liuyu spoke up again. ¡°You¡¯re going to use some chunks of scrap metal you don¡¯t even care enough about to use to purchase your own life?¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    Chi Wen seemed about to cry. He protested, ¡°Auntie, whose side are you on?¡±

    Shang Liuyu¡¯s face heated up a bit, but she said, ¡°Think about it carefully. The other party could have just killed you and stolen your Trident. Are these weaponsparable to the Trident?¡± Afterward, she said to Zu An, ¡°The Trident is the weapon of a certain age¡¯s Dragon King, so it has significant meaning to the Dragon race. That¡¯s why we can¡¯t give it to you, or else it will instead bring you trouble. So, I¡¯m making himpensate you with other things.¡±

    Zu An chuckled awkwardly and replied, ¡°Actually, there¡¯s no need for you guys to be that generous¡­¡±

    Chi Wen also grumbled, ¡°He couldn¡¯t use the Trident even if he took it.¡±

    The Dragon King had helped him form a contract with the Trident. If Zu An had really killed him to steal that treasure, it would have just led to pursuit by all the ocean races. However, at that point, Chi Wen would already be dead. No matter how many times the ocean races killed this devil, he still couldn''t be revived. When he thought of that, he didn¡¯t feel as wronged anymore. He began to look in the conch again.

    However, Shang Liuyu got annoyed and just seized the conch. Then, she began to shake it. Sparkling weapons fell out one after another. Among them, four items were the most eye-catching.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The first was a pike. Its tassel was a purple me, while the other end was a serpent spear.

    The second was a pair of wheels that spun continuously. Their surfaces were covered in zing mes, and the sounds of wind and me surrounded them without end.

    The third was a golden ring that looked like a bracelet.

    The fourth was a seven-foot-long swatch of red silk.

    Every single item had the aura of a heaven-grade weapon.

    Zu An cried out in surprise. Why do these things look a bit familiar?

    Chi Wen¡¯s swollen eyes were already about to turn green. He protested, ¡°Auntie!¡±

    Shang Liuyu harrumphed. ¡°Auntie is only doing this for your own good. The Trident isn¡¯t inferior to various deity-grade weapons; focusing on cultivating with it is what¡¯s most important. Your father dotes on you too much, so he gave you so many weapons, but they¡¯ll only distract you instead.¡±

    Chi Wen was stunned. What she said did make some sense. So why do I feel as if something¡¯s not right?

    Shang Liuyu had already picked up the four heaven-grade weapons and handed them all to Zu An. She began to exin, ¡°This is the Violetme Snake Pike. It¡¯s incredibly sharp and can cut through evil with irresistible force.

    ¡°These are the Wind Fire Wheels. While stepping on them, even those beneath the master rank can fly through the skies and travel ten thousand li in a single day. However, the Dragon race can fly through the skies and swim through the seas to begin with, so these aren¡¯t all that useful for them.

    ¡°This is the Universe Ring. It can erge and shrink. It¡¯s used as a thrown weapon.

    ¡°This is the Primal Skysilk. It can lengthen on its own and bind enemies. Even if it¡¯s cut, it can repair on its own.

    ¡°These weapons, together with the golden brick and the dual yin and yang swords, remained in the Dragon King pce treasury since ancient times. They were rumored to be the weapons of an extremely formidable being from ancient times. I didn¡¯t expect the Dragon King to have doted on his youngest so much that he gave them all to him.¡±

    Chi Wen was incredibly depressed. Aren¡¯t they all being given to an outsider now?!

    Zu An¡¯s eyes shone brilliantly. No wonder fortune tellers had always told him that he was born to mooch!

    You know what? What¡¯s so bad about mooching off women?!

    Mooching has never felt so good!

 Chapter 1240: Followed

    <h4>Chapter 1240: Followed</h4>

    At the same time, Zu An was extremely curious about the weapons. Weren¡¯t they all the legendary Nezha¡¯s weapons?! Why had they ended up with the ocean races? Nezha had messed with the sea, but then after all of that, he had still been captured by the ocean races and had all of his weapons stripped away?

    But even though these weapons were heaven-grade and already quite powerful, they were still quite far off from the legendary deity-grade.

    His expression suddenly went momentarily nk. The cultivators of this world could all fly and go wherever they wanted. They weren¡¯t that much weaker than the legendary figures from his previous world! Could it be that Nezha really had crossed over to this world, but for some reason, he had ended up dying? In the end, had his weapons also been lost?

    Zu An suddenly felt a bit ufortable when he thought of that.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Shang Liuyu had already poured out some ki stones and other treasures from the conch. She said, ¡°Chi Wen caused Bluefield Country quite a bit of damage. I¡¯ll have to trouble you to pass on these things to their people.¡±

    Chi Wen was starting to get really upset. Bluefield Country¡¯s fox women couldn''t even win against him, so why did they deserve anypensation? Still, Shang Liuyu had already guaranteed things, and there was that reaper Zu An next to her. He didn¡¯t dare to voice any objections.

    Zu An was stunned. Judging from her intentions, it seemed like¡­

    ¡°Are you going to leave?¡± he asked.

    <sub></sub>

    Shang Liuyu nodded and replied, ¡°I prefer peace and quiet, so I don¡¯t wish to have any dealings with them. There are all of those female friends of yours too, so meeting them would be annoying.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face heated up. He indeed did have a bit too many female friends with him.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°There¡¯s not much time left; it¡¯s time for me to leave. We¡¯ll meet again if fate wills it,¡± Shang Liuyu said. She smiled at Zu An and casually waved her hand. Then, she hooked her slender finger around the wine gourd¡¯s strap, and left in a carefree and easy manner. Her figure gradually faded into the distance.

    She hadn¡¯t even given Chi Wen a single look during the entire process, leaving him incredibly downcast. Just who is Auntie closer to?

    However, he noticed how absentminded Zu An was as he watched his auntie¡¯s departing figure. He was rmed, thinking, These two have an affair going on!

    I see how it is¡­ I¡¯m an idiot for thinking that auntie was doing this to save me. Looks like she was just using this chance to give all the Dragon King Pce¡¯s treasures to her lover. Preposterous! I¡¯ll definitely report this to my dad once I get back!

    You have sessfully trolled Chi Wen for +555 +555 +555¡­

    Zu An snapped out of his daze when he saw the Rage points. He gave Chi Wen a cold look, asking, ¡°Do you want to die?¡±

    Chi Wen jumped in fright, thinking, Is this guy a mind reader? He quickly said with an apologetic smile, ¡°I really failed to recognize someone close. If I knew you were my auntie¡¯s partner, I wouldn¡¯t have dared to do anything to you¡­¡±

    Auntie¡¯s partner? Zu An was a bit dumbfounded by the term. Shang Liuyu had just left, and yet Chi Wen was already selling her out.

    However, he didn¡¯t feel like exining himself. He replied, ¡°Hmph, as a favor for your aunt, I¡¯ll spare you today. I hope you¡¯ll shape up after today.¡±

    Chi Wen chuckled and said, ¡°Auntie¡¯s partner, this is our first meeting. Aren¡¯t you going to give me some blessings?¡± Now that he knew that there was something going on between Zu An and his aunt, he was no longer that scared.

    Zu An¡¯s expression turned cold. This guy had been acting all arrogant before when he was bullying the fox women; it clearly wasn¡¯t the first time. If not for Shang Liuyu, he might have just skinned this guy alive. Yet this guy dared to ask for a gift?

    Still, seeing how much this fe had paid up this time, if Zu An didn¡¯t give him a thing, he might instead take his anger out on Shang Liuyu. That wouldn¡¯t be good for Shang Liuyu once Chi Wen went back to the Ocean Races. As such, he opened up the Brilliant ss Bead. He was about to give him some medicines to help with his injuries, but when he remembered Chi Wen¡¯s deeds, Zu An thought it would be better for him to suffer for a bit. And yet, Zu An really didn¡¯t know what else to give him.

    Chi Wen moved over to him. He got up on his tiptoes and looked into the Brilliant ss Bead. Suddenly, his eyes lit up and he said, ¡°That one, I want that one, that blue one.¡±

    The items stored in the Brilliant ss Bead could vaguely be discerned from the outside.

    Zu An had a strange expression as he asked, ¡°Are you sure you want this thing?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m sure,¡± Chi Wen said. He was worried that Zu An wouldn¡¯t be willing and quickly added, ¡°Auntie¡¯s partner, I gave you so many heaven-grade weapons earlier. If you aren¡¯t even willing to give me this single thing, aren¡¯t you being a bit too selfish?¡±

    That thing sparkled with blue light; it was clearly not an ordinary object.

    Zu An¡¯s expression became even stranger as he said, ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m not willing, but rather that I¡¯m scared that you¡¯ll me me in the future.¡±

    When he saw Zu An¡¯s conflicted expression, Chi Wen thought to himself, Are you trying to fool me like this on purpose?

    After all, anything stored in a magical artifact would be precious. That thing looked so mystical, it was definitely extraordinary. As such, he patted his chest and said, ¡°Auntie¡¯s partner, this is where you¡¯re mistaken. The gift of an elder should never be refused. Anything you give me will be good for me, so how can I me you?¡±

    <sub> .</sub>

    Seeing that Zu An was still hesitating, he grew nervous. He continued, ¡°Once I go back to the Dragon King Pce, my father the king will definitely ask me where all those weapons went. I can¡¯t just say that auntie gave all of them to you, right? You have to give me some kind of gift in return, and only then can I barely exin things in front of my father¡­¡±

    Zu An gave him the blue chunk of ice after hearing that, but he said, ¡°It really isn¡¯t that I¡¯m not willing, but that this thing isn¡¯t something good.¡±

    It was the ¡®Blue Ice From Beyond¡¯ he had gotten recently from the valkyrie gacha! To put it frankly, it was urine and stool that had been processed in an airne and stored in an ice chunk. Of course, that kind of ice was a bit special and wouldn¡¯t melt that easily.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s fine. What kind of treasures is the Dragon Pcecking? I just like these kinds of new and novel things,¡± Chi Wen replied. Inwardly, he thought to himself, Are you still keeping up this act? You¡¯ll have to try harder if you want to fool this prince!

    Fearing that the other party might regret it, he seized the chunk of blue ice and fondled it admiringly. He thought to himself that in the past, his father had obtained a stalk of king medicine. He had soaked a bit in water and drank it everyday, extending his life. If he drank this thing every day, his lifespan might catch up to his father¡¯s too!

    Zu An was speechless. He could only say helplessly, ¡°If you like it that much, you can just take it. Everyone has a right to decide what they want for themselves.¡±

    Chi Wen¡¯s thoughts werepletely focused on the chunk of blue ice; he wasn¡¯t in the mood to talk anymore. He hastily exchanged a few more words before rushing off on his own.

    Zu An shook his head. He was definitely not going to eat at the same table as this guy in the future, and he had to remember to remind Shang Liuyu too.

    ¡­

    After dealing with that matter, Zu An returned to Bluefield Pce. He discovered that the women were all staring at him.

    ¡°Why are you alone?¡± Yu Yanluo asked, looking behind him.

    ¡°I let him go.¡± Zu An replied. He added to Tushan Yu, ¡°He¡¯s a rtive of my friend; this is thepensation he gave as an apology. I hope the country lord doesn¡¯t take too much offense.¡± He took out the ki stones and medicines Chi Wen had given up.

    Tushan Yu said gently, ¡°It is all thanks to your help this time, so why would I me you? Furthermore, Chi Wen is a son the Dragon King dotes on. If something really happened to him in Bluefield Country, it would have be a disaster. Letting him go is good too.¡±

    The other three women all raised their eyebrows. This woman really is understanding; no wonder men like her so much.

    Then, Tushan Yu tried to refuse thepensation, feeling that it was what Zu An should take. After expending great effort, Zu An finally convinced her to take it all.

    Yun Jianyue was getting annoyed. She said, ¡°Damn brat, there¡¯s proper business to talk about. Where¡¯s the other one?¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He asked, ¡°Didn¡¯t I just say I let him go?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m talking about that friend of yours!¡± Yun Jianyue replied. SHe added, ¡°Yu Yanluo is too embarrassed to ask about it, so that¡¯s why I¡¯m asking.¡±

    Yan Xuehen subconsciously pricked up her ears. Meanwhile, Yu Yanluo began to panic. They were clearly interested too, so why is all of this being pushed onto me?

    Zu An couldn''t help butugh, saying, ¡°It was an old friend from Brightmoon City. She had something to deal with, so she left first.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± The three women were all suspicious, but there wasn¡¯t much else they could say.

    Tushan Yu said, ¡°Everyone has helped Bluefield Country out a lot, so please stay for a few more days so we can properly repay our guests.¡±

    The women immediately became vignt. They were about to refuse when Zu An replied first, ¡°That¡¯s fine too. I¡¯ll have to trouble country leader, then.¡± He wanted to take the chance to see who this woman had been receiving instructions from.

    The other three women didn¡¯t know what he was thinking, however. They just assumed he thought Tushan Yu was pretty and that he was infatuated with the fox spirit. All of them became a bit unhappy.

    You have sessfully trolled Yu Yanluo for +88 +88 +88¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +88 +88 +88¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +88 +88 +88¡­

    Zu An felt a headache. I¡¯m definitely only bringing a single woman with me when I go out next time.

    ¡­

    Then, the Fox race¡¯s people began to repair the destroyed pce. Tushan Yu had her nsmen prepare a banquet to thank Zu An¡¯s party. Tusahn Yu wanted to talk to Zu An several times, but each time, she could only withdraw guiltily when she saw Yu Yanluo and the other two women¡¯s looks.

    Zu An wanted to find out what had been going on the previous night, so he used the excuse of relieving himself to leave the banquet. Somewhere in a remote garden, Tushan Yu seemed to have had the same idea, making her way around and rushing over.

    Zu An looked at her pretty features that looked innocent, and yett carried a trace of loveliness. He cut right to the point, asking, ¡°Did you approach me on orders from that Hu Qianxiao?¡±

    Tushan Yu was initially all smiles, but when she heard that, her little face immediately turned deathly white.

    She was just about to reply when Zu An suddenly frowned, because he could sense that Yu Yanluo and the other two women were walking over from different directions, seemingly looking for him.

 Chapter 1241: Huge Scandal

    <h4>Chapter 1241: Huge Scandal</h4>

    Zu An¡¯s soul had already been condensed. Together with the jade badge¡¯s abilities, everything happening in the pce was within his range of perception. Normally, Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen¡¯s perception should have been more powerful than his. However, they were seriously injured, causing their perception to drop drastically. That was why he had noticed them first.

    He found that a bit strange. Yu Yanluo¡¯s curiosity he could understand, and Yun Jianyue was from the Devil Sect, so she was rather straightforward in nature. Making that kind of decision wasn¡¯t too unexpected. Considering Yan Xuehen¡¯s nature, however, why had she also rushed out like this, as if she wereing to catch an adulterer?

    Pah pah pah, I¡¯mpletely innocent; why would I need to be scared of being caught?

    Even though he thought that, he knew being seen sneaking around with Tushan Yu secretly like this would definitely put him in a difficult position. As such, he quickly said, ¡°Come to my room at night.¡±

    Afterward, he quickly disappeared into the darkness.

    Tushan Yu¡¯s face immediately turned red when she heard that. He¡¯s calling me over to his room at night? Don¡¯t tell me he wants to¡­

    Yu Yanluo quickly appeared in her line of sight. When she saw Tushan Yu, there was a hint of surprise in her expression as she asked, ¡°Little sister Yu, have you seen Zu An at all?¡±

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue also noticed the two of them. They both stopped in hidden ces and didn¡¯t show themselves.

    Tushan Yu reacted quickly, answering, ¡°I haven¡¯t. Did young master Zu go missing? Should I send some people to look for him?¡±

    <sub></sub>

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that,¡± Yu Yanluo replied. She thought to herself, If everyone in the pce ends up looking for Ah Zu, wouldn¡¯t that make me seem as if I¡¯m making a big fuss over a minor issue? She noticed something and asked, ¡°Hm? Little sister Yu, why is your face so red?¡±

    ¡°It might have been because I drank a bit too much, haha. I came out to get some fresh air,¡± Tushan Yu replied. She was even starting to admire herself. I am a fox-spirit after all; I can lie in front of his real partner without batting an eyelid!

    ¡°Your Bluefield Country¡¯s wine is indeed quite delicious,¡± Yu Yanluo replied. She chatted a bit more with Tushan Yu, but because she was more concerned with Zu An, she soon turned around and left.

    On the other hand, when the two other women saw that Zu An wasn¡¯t there, they also quietly left. At the same time, they found it strange. Why am Iing out like this too? It¡¯s enough for Yu Yanluo alone to keep an eye on him, right?

    Then, thedies saw Zu An back in the main hall. He seemed to be in high spirits, drinking one ss after another. By the time the music finished and everyone left, he was already dead drunk.

    Yu Yanluo supported him on the way back to his room whileining, ¡°What were you drinking so much for?¡±

    Yun Jianyue sneered. ¡°Who knows? He might be happy because he met up with an old friend.¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression froze. This Yun Jianyue normally seemed to have disdain for this entire world, yet in private, her words were so sharp and prating. She used a hot towel to help Zu An wipe his cheeks and neck.

    She was initially nning to stay behind to take care of him, but Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue stared at her with scorching eyes, making her feel strangely guilty. She couldn''t bring herself to stay. Still, she was still too worried to leave Zu An alone.

    While she was hesitating, Tushan Yu said with a smile, ¡°Do not worry. I will send some of my people to stand guard outside. They will immediately enter and help him if he has any needs.¡± The three women sighed in relief when they heard she wasn¡¯t the one who would remain.

    At Zu An¡¯s current cultivation, even if he waspletely drunk, if someone wanted to do anything bad to him, his soul would naturally react and wake him up. Still, just in case, Yan Xuehen left behind a yin-yang diagram mirror. When she saw that everyone was looking at her strangely, she exined, ¡°This is a warning magic artifact. Unless Zu An personally opens the door or windows, if any outsiderse in, this magic artifact will sound the rm. At the same time, it will activate a defensive formation.¡±

    Yu Yanluo felt great admiration when she saw the item. As the leader of the White Jade Sect, Yan Xuehen had many hidden cards after all.

    Just then, Yun Jianyue took out a smallmp and hung it in the room. When she saw the others look at her, she replied with apletely normal expression, ¡°This thing¡¯s use is about the same as the stone cold woman¡¯s. Just treat it as an extrayer of protection.¡±

    Yan Xuehen was speechless. This witch was clearly doing this out of concern that she might try something. How annoying!

    Tushan Yu shivered. Why does it feel as if young master Zu¡¯s harem is full of killing intent?

    <sub> .</sub>

    The atmosphere in the room became a bit strange. Soon afterward, those present all scattered, returning to their own rooms. No one had changed their rooms, since it had only been a single day after their arrival.

    After she returned to her room, Yu Yanluo couldn¡¯t help but toss and turn. She just felt as if something might happen to Zu An after he got drunk. She really wanted to go to Zu An¡¯s room to take a look, but the two grandmasters were just next door. They would pick up on anything she did. If she went over now, the two might mistake her for an intruder. There was no way she would do something that embarrassing!

    Huh? He¡¯s clearly my man. They don¡¯t have any kind of rtionship with Zu An, so why am I so scared of them?

    ¡­

    Next door, Yan Xuehen couldn''t sleep either. The fat daoist¡¯s divination continued to appear in her mind, talking about how Zu An would have a bloody cmity. They had clearly made it through the previous day safely, so they had all treated it as nonsense. And yet, they just happened to stay the night in the same ce again! Yu Yanluo and that witch both suspected the fox-spirit country leader, but she knew the romantic cmity the fat daoist had spoken of might just be about her!

    If the two of them had only shared that damn ¡®Love is More Solid Than Gold¡¯ skill, that would be one thing. She had cultivated the Unshakable Daoist Manual and believed that she could control herself.

    But her clothes had exploded in front of him once, and then she had shown him such a humiliating side. Together with the shameful feeling she felt when he treated her, she was nowpletely at a loss. She even began to wonder whether she could maintain her previously emotionless state after getting rid of the skill¡¯s effects.

    Don¡¯t tell me that ¡®bloody cmity¡¯ divination is really going to happen to me?

    But how could that be possible if I don¡¯t leave my room? Don¡¯t tell me it is someone else?

    She inadvertently sat up from the bed when she thought of that. She decided to take a look. Otherwise, she felt as if her own dao heart might be damaged. As such, she used the Unshakable Daoist Manual topletely conceal her aura, then secretly leaped out of her window.

    Next door, Yun Jianyue immediately opened her eyes and muttered, ¡°Hmph, I¡¯ve caught you this time, stone cold woman!¡±

    She had always been thinking about the ¡®romantic cmity¡¯ divination over the past few days. There was no way it would happen to her, and Yu Yanluo was already Zu An¡¯s lover. That meant there was only Yan Xuehen and that Bluefield Country fox-spirit left.

    Even though she didn¡¯t believe Yan Xuehen would be interested in that man, just in case, she had still set up a secret detection formation in the other woman¡¯s room. Who would have thought that it would actually prove useful!

    She was extremely curious. This stone cold woman wouldn¡¯t really look for Zu An in the middle of the night, right? Master and disciple serving the same man? That would be a huge scandal!

    Her eyes were sparkling when she thought of that, and she secretly followed behind Yan Xuehen.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Tushan Yu was also incredibly conflicted. Those two mysterious and profounddies had set up defensive magic artifacts there. If she headed over and kept the appointment, would it end up triggering the rm?

    However, when she thought about Zu An¡¯s firm tone, after some hesitation, she quickly arrived outside his door before she realized it. When she was outside, she gently called out, ¡°Young master Zu?¡± She thought that if he really was already asleep, then she would just exin things to him tomorrow.

    She was just about to leave when the door groaned and opened, and Zu An called out, ¡°Come on in.¡±

    Zu An was sitting in his bed, not showing a single trace of drunkenness.

    Tushan Yu¡¯s heart pounded. The memory of the previous night continued to appear in her mind. She felt her body grow a bit weak.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t youing in?¡± Zu An asked. He just assumed she was scared of Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue¡¯s magic artifacts. He said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I opened the door from inside, so it won¡¯t activate their magic artifacts.¡±

    Tushan Yu replied, ¡°Oh.¡± When she entered, she unthinkingly closed the door behind her. However, she then felt a bit strange. She was about to open it again, but Zu An patted the bed next to him and said, ¡°Come over and have a seat.¡±

    Even though Tushan Yu was no walking seductress, she was still a fox-spirit. Normally, it was always those fox women who yed around with men, and not the other way around; and yet today, her head wentpletely nk like a little girl. She only instinctively obeyed.

    Only when she sat down did she realize something. Ah, I sat down on his bed again so easily! The n¡¯s grandmothers have always taught me that men always treasure what they can¡¯t obtain easily. I already made a mistakest night; I should be trying to fix that today¡­

    Zu An was about to say something to her when his expression suddenly froze. He noticed that Yan Xuehen would arrive soon. He quickly said, ¡°Take off your clothes.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± Tushan Yu replied, instinctively agreeing. Her hand was already moving to her cor when she suddenly noticed that something wasn¡¯t right. She eximed, ¡°Huh?¡±

 Chapter 1242: Weâ€™re Going to Ascend?

    <h4>Chapter 1242: We¡¯re Going to Ascend?</h4>

    ¡°Hurry!¡± Zu An urged Tushan Yu when he sensed Yan Xuehen getting closer and closer.

    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Tushan Yu replied.

    She was even starting to look down on herself. Why had she agreed so easily? Was she nothing more than a ything to him? One after another, different memories appeared in her mind, especially the one when he had kneaded her tail. Was she just a toy? All kinds of thoughts shed through her mind at that instant.

    However, she discovered that she wasn¡¯t as angry as she imagined, and was instead looking forward to it a bit. She removed her dress. She thought about how she had been too confused the previous night, but she definitely had to seize the initiative today. The reputation of the fox-spirits¡¯ ancestors cannot be ruined at my hands!

    When he saw how Tushan Yu had already revealed most of her white skin, and she seemed as if she would remove more of her clothing, Zu An jumped in fright. If that happened, it would be even harder to exin if Yan Xuehen came in!

    He quickly stopped her, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t take off any more! Uh¡­ Hurry and change into these clothes.¡± Afterward, he pushed her over to a wardrobe: Pin Ru¡¯s Wardrobe.

    Tushan Yu found it a bit strange. When had the wardrobe appeared? It didn¡¯t seem to match Bluefield Country¡¯s style.

    Soon, however, her face turned even redder. As a fox-spirit, how could she not know a man¡¯s thoughts? Men loved it when women wore stimting clothes to add to the atmosphere. If anyone else had suggested it, she might just have spit in their face. But at that moment, her heart leaped furiously. Things were getting a bit more exciting.

    Huh? Why is it just a normal dress? she thought in surprise. However, the dress was quite pretty. She could tell that the workmanship was exquisite and gorgeous. At any other time, she wouldn¡¯t mind wearing such a pretty dress. In this kind of situation, though, wouldn¡¯t it be a bit too strange?

    She suddenly thought of something. She remembered some of the elders in the n mentioning that some men had a special fetish for having a woman dress up as another woman, and that it would make them even more excited.

    So he was actually like this!

    At Zu An¡¯s urging, Tushan Yu put on the clothes in a daze. She became more and more curious as to just who this dress belonged to.

    The three women from earlier in the day appeared in her mind. Every single one of them were exceptional beauties.

    Big sis Yu¡¯s rtionship with him is really intimate; they probably already have a physical rtionship. I don¡¯t think he would make me wear her clothes.

    That means only the two other women are left. One is cold and indifferent, while the other is beautiful but dangerous. Even though they are close to young master Zu, it seems as if they have not yet taken the final step.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Still, it seems young master Zu is interested in them too and wants me to y their role. This dress¡¯ style looks more simr to that of the woman surnamed Yan.

    While Tushan Yu was letting her imagination run wild, Zu An suddenly made a ¡®shush¡¯ hand sign at her. Tushan Yu was startled; only then did she notice a figure by the entrance. Judging from how that person was pacing back and forth, she could tell they were feeling extremely conflicted.

    A whileter, that person seemed to have made up their mind, and gently knocked on the door. They called out, ¡°Ah Zu, are you asleep yet?¡±

    The one standing by the entrance was naturally Yan Xuehen. Even she was confused as to why she woulde over to see if the fat daoist¡¯s divination woulde true. She had nned to leave afterward, expecting to see nothing wrong, but when she arrived outside the door, she saw that there was an extra person inside. It was a woman, no less!

    Even though her injuries were serious, she was still a grandmaster in the end. Furthermore, she was paying close attention, so there was no way she could make any mistake at such a short distance. However, because her and Yun Jianyue¡¯s magic artifacts were inside, she couldn''t be sure who the person was.

    A woman was in a man¡¯s room in the middle of the night. She knew what was happening without even thinking about it.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s heart seemingly turned ice-cold when she first made the discovery. She was about to turn around and leave, but she was also curious as to who the romantic cmity the fat daoist had spoken about was referring to.

    However, it would be far too awkward for her to walk into such a situation. That was why she had paced back and forth by the door for so long. In the end, however, she told herself that it was just to confirm Zu An¡¯s safety so he wouldn¡¯t get taken advantage of by an evil person.

    After thinking everything through, she made up her mind to knock.

    I¡¯ll just pretend I didn¡¯t know there was someone else inside. As long as I¡¯m not awkward, the only ones who will be awkward are the ones inside.

    Zu An wanted to ignore it, but when he sensed the water-like aura surrounding the ce, he knew Yan Xuehen had already searched his room with her soul. If he continued to deceive her, he might really offend her badly. That was why he replied after a moment of hesitation, ¡°Oh, it¡¯s big sis Yan. I was feeling thirsty, so I woke up to drink some water.¡±

    He got up and walked over to open the door after speaking.

    Tushan Yu began to panic. Why is he opening the door now?

    What am I supposed to do?

    The worst part was that the clothes she was wearing might be Yan Xuehen¡¯s! If the original owner saw her, wouldn¡¯t it be absolute social suicide?!

    However, Zu An had already opened up the door before she could even react. I¡¯m finished, I¡¯m finished!

    Tushan Yu could only go for broke. She forced a smile to make herself look a bit more normal.

    Yan Xuehen was initially conflicted, wondering what she would do if Zu An didn¡¯t reply. With her status and identity, that kind of problem had never happened in her life. That was why when she really did run into it, she discovered that she waspletely baffled, and that she was even less adept at dealing with such situations than ordinary women.

    And yet, the door actually opened up easily. She felt warm inside. Looks like he didn¡¯t n to trick me on purpose.

    ¡°Why is big sis Yan here? Why don¡¯t youe in for a cup of tea?¡± Zu An asked, then moved aside and invited her in.

    However, Yan Xuehen immediately waved her hand and said, ¡°There is no need. I was just going for a stroll since I was unable to sleep. I just wanted to see if you were okay while passing by.¡±

    If there had been no one else, she couldn¡¯t be sure whether she would have followed him in. However, while there was clearly another woman inside, she still had her sense of shame. There was no way she would dare to go in.

    She pretended to absentmindedly look into the room while speaking. When she saw the face of the person inside, she was stunned. From her perspective, the one inside was actually Yu Yanluo. Why is it her?

    Tushan Yu smiled awkwardly at her. She didn¡¯t even know where to put her hands at that moment. It really was too embarrassing.

    Yan Xuehen quickly said, ¡°Since you are safe and sound, there is no need for me to worry. I will be heading back.¡± She didn¡¯t wait for him to say anything, and simply left without even turning around again.

    Perhaps because she was leaving too quickly, or because she was absent-minded, she almost slipped and fell by the doorstep.

    Yu Yanluo really is sly¡­ She looked calm and indifferent on the surface, and pretended to be sleeping soundly next to us, but she actually snuck over.

    They were lovers to begin with, anyway. Would we even be able to say anything if she came over directly?

    No wonder she didn¡¯t even greet me just now. She¡¯s probably embarrassed too, right?

    For some reason, the trees and grass in the pce looked especially green along the way. She could only continuously console herself, telling herself that it was better for that romantic cmity to happen to Yu Yanluo than any other woman.

    Ahhhhh! Then why do I care so much?

    It¡¯s all the fault of that damn ¡®Love is More Solid Than Gold¡¯!

    Yun Jianyue, having followed her over, was confused. Why is she acting all dramatic with her face red?

    Don¡¯t tell me Zu An did something to her?

    After thinking about it, she decided to check out Zu An¡¯s room first to see what was going on.

    ¡­

    At that moment in Zu An¡¯s room, Tushan Yu said with a red face, ¡°Young master, I don¡¯t even know how to face them tomorrow¡­¡±

    She was a country¡¯s lord, after all. She hade to a man¡¯s bed in the middle of the night, and had even been caught while roleying. Just the thought alone was embarrassing.

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, she didn¡¯t recognize you. She thought you were a different person because of the clothes you¡¯re wearing.¡±

    Tushan Yu¡¯s eyes widened. She replied, ¡°There¡¯s actually something as magical as that?¡±

    Zu An was about to exin when his expression froze. Why is another one here?

    ¡°Brat, why did that stone cold woman run away with a red face? Did you do something¡­ to her¡­?¡± a loud but pleasant voice called out. Yun Jianyue was standing in the entrance, but she saw the scene inside halfway through her sentence and immediately froze up.

    Zu An was about to reply when Yun Jianyue raised her hand to stop him, saying, ¡°There¡¯s no need to exin anything. I understand. Sorry for disturbing you.¡±

    She also turned around to leave after saying that. No wonder that stone cold woman had that kind of reaction! Turns out she ended up running into a couple¡¯s passion!

    Hmph, that Yu Yanluo really is cunning. She pretended to be with us on the surface, and yet she snuck over here.

    ¡­

    Zu An chuckled bitterly when he saw her leave. Looks like I have to be careful tomorrow. If Yu Yanluo is exposed, I¡¯ll definitely be in big trouble.

    After closing the door again, he said to Tushan Yu, ¡°There¡¯ll be problems if we stay here. Who knows, someone else might show up. Why don¡¯t we go to your room instead?¡±

    Tushan Yu bit her lips and said in a troubled manner, ¡°When I visited you, I came with my trusted aides. They¡¯re trustworthy and won¡¯t leak any information. But if you go to my room, there are all types of people and forces watching. We might not be able to keep it a secret then.¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t want the entire city to know about what was happening. As he was trying to think of a different ce where they wouldn¡¯t be disturbed by anyone,his eyes suddenly lit up. He remembered the spoils of war he had gotten from Chi Wen. He hadn¡¯t had the time to test those things out yet. Wasn¡¯t now a great opportunity?

    As such, he took out the me wheels. After properly making them his own artifacts, he tried to stand on them. Even though the Wind Fire Wheels burned fiercely with mes, they weren¡¯t hot to stand on at all, likely because he had already made them his.

    He couldn''t find his bnce at first, but he quickly got used to it. He had tried segways before; the feeling was simr.

    Next to him, Tushan Yu eximed in shock, ¡°This is a heaven-grade weapon?¡± As a country¡¯s lord, she at least had a bit of knowledge.

    Zu An nodded. He reached out and wrapped his arm around her waist. Then, he flew out of the window. Once they left the room, he rushed straight into the sky. At first, they could still see Bluefield Pce, but soon afterward, there were only lights left. Eventually, even the lights disappeared, as they quickly rose above the clouds.

    Zu An was excited. Even though he could fly for some time by relying on his own cultivation,pared to the Wind Fire Wheels, it wascking in both speed and altitude.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Tushan Yu jumped in fright, her face incredibly pale. After all, she wasn¡¯t a grandmaster[1] and had never flown so high. If she fell down from here, she might instantly turn into a bloody paste.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid; I¡¯m here to protect you.¡± Zu An said tofort her.

    Tushan Yu gradually calmed down when she heard the gentleness in his voice. Then, her fear was reced by novelty. So flying has this kind of sensation! There are so many clouds around us¡­

    Just then, Zu An stared into her eyes and asked, ¡°Was the reason why you weren¡¯t willing to go to your room because you didn¡¯t want Hu Qianxiao to know?¡±

    1. Tushan Yu¡¯s cultivation is around the eighth rank. ?

 Chapter 1243: The Choice

    <h4>Chapter 1243: The Choice</h4>

    Tushan Yu¡¯s face turned pale. In the end, she still said quietly, ¡°You¡¯re right. The fiend race territories are a ce where the weak are prey for the strong. Our Fox race¡¯s women are well known for our feminine charms and aren¡¯t good at battle, so it¡¯s only natural that others would drool over us. That¡¯s why we can only rely on the strong to protect us.

    ¡°Among the beast races, the Tiger race and Lion race are the strongest. Since the Fox race and Tiger race have been rather close historically, we chose to rely on Hu Qianxiao. Over the years, he¡¯s protected us a lot, but of course, we¡¯ve also helped him do many things. That¡¯s why from the outside, it looks as if I¡¯m Hu Qianxiao¡¯s woman.

    ¡°Because I need to borrow his name to scare off people with evil motives, nor have I cleared things up, for some reason, Hu Qianxiao has also tacitly approved of that.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but chuckle. This really was a perfect recreation of the saying ¡®the fox exploits the tiger¡¯s might¡¯. He looked into Tushan Yu¡¯s eyes and asked, ¡°Then are you Hu Qianxiao¡¯s woman?¡±

    Tushan Yu protested, ¡°Didn¡¯t young master already personally experience itst night? Whether I am or not, shouldn¡¯t you know more clearly than anyone else?¡±

    When he remembered the beauty¡¯s foxy charms from the previous night, Zu An couldn''t help but shiver. He asked, ¡°Then was Hu Qianxiao the one who sent youst night?¡±

    This Hu Qianxiao isn¡¯t wrong in the head somehow, is he? Why would he send this woman he has an ambiguous rtionship with to me?

    The worst part was that he had never even heard of that name before today. So why was this Tiger race guy so intent on dealing with him?

    Tushan Yu¡¯s face paled. After a moment of hesitation, she nodded and said, ¡°It was indeed Hu Qianxiao who had mee overst night. But he didn¡¯t make me¡­ do that. I actually don¡¯t know what was going on either. I was muddle-headed and just¡­ just¡­¡±

    She felt incredible remorse when she said that. The only way to redeem herself was to show that she was the one who had acted proactivelyst night, that she was willing. That way, she would at least leave behind a good impression in Zu An¡¯s mind and increase his feelings of tenderness.

    I¡¯m finished, I¡¯m finished! I¡¯m not a qualified fox-spirit after all; I¡¯ve shamed all of my ancestors¡­

    Zu An was stunned. He had initially thought that she was the one who had taken the initiative then, and that she was already well experienced. Now, it turned out that she had been a young and inexperienced maiden, leaving him a bit baffled.

    He suddenly thought of something and asked, ¡°You used your charm technique on mest night, right?¡±

    Tushan Yu panicked a bit. Under Zu An¡¯s fierce gaze, however, she still felt guilty. She replied, ¡°I used a bit, but only a bit¡­¡±

    Zu An finally understood what had happened. She had probably used her Fox race¡¯s charm technique on him, but because of his and Daji¡¯s soul contract, and the fact that Daji was the Fox race¡¯s highest-leveled Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox, it had instead bounced off.

    Sigh, I thought it was because of my own charms.

    After thinking about it, he summoned Daji. He wanted to see if she had anything to do with this world¡¯s Bluefield Country.

    A woman dressed in white clothes purer than snow appeared out of thin air. No matter how many times she made an entrance, he always admired her exceptional appearance. However, her usual expressionless appearance quickly turned to rm, because there was nothing underneath her feet. She began to fall straight down.

    At the moment, Daji was only at the seventh rank, and was actually quite far from the master rank. She naturally had no way of flying through the air.

    Zu An cursed himself for being careless and quickly tried to grab her. However, just when he was about to touch her, her body twisted to the side to avoid him.

    Zu An was stunned. Only then did he recall that valkyries never allowed him to touch their bodies. Even in this situation, would she rather die than be touched by me?

    He felt as if he had just suffered a huge mental blow.

    All of those Ki Fruits I fed you must¡¯ve been for nothing.

    However, jokes were jokes; he couldn''t let her really fall to death. Even so, he couldn''t touch her. As he was wondering what to do, he suddenly thought of something. He took out the Primal Skysilk he had gotten from Chi Wen earlier, and with a shake of his wrist, he wrapped it around Daji¡¯s waist. With a gentle pull, he brought her back to his side.

    With the Primal Skysilk holding her in ce, Daji was also able to float in the sky. At first, she struggled instinctively. When she discovered that it was Zu An who had caught her, however, she calmed down and instead looked at the red silk around her curiously.

    Tushan Yu was stupefied by these sudden developments. She really couldn''t figure out the pair¡¯s rtionship. However, her attention quickly shifted to Daji. She couldn''t help but feel that the ridiculously beautiful woman before her was somewhat familiar.

    ¡°Do you recognize her?¡± Zu An took the chance to ask.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Tushan Yu replied, feeling a bit lost. ¡°Normally, I shouldn¡¯t, but I have a strange kind of feeling that I should be able to recognize her. I feel a sort of intimacy from her, as well as a sort of pressure. It¡¯s so strange¡­ her cultivation seems to be lower than mine, so why am I scared of her?¡±

    Suddenly, her expression changed. She mumbled, ¡°She¡­ She¡­ She¡­¡±

    Zu An quickly asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°I finally remember where I¡¯ve seen her before!¡± Tushan Yu eximed, trembling a bit and sounding agitated.

    ¡°You¡¯ve seen her before?¡± Zu An replied, stunned. But that shouldn¡¯t be. Even if Daji is from the Fox race, just how many generations has it been? How could they have met before?

    Tushan Yu said, ¡°Our Fox race¡¯s lords always pass down an inheritance to the next generation. When the previous country lord or elder activates the power of our bloodline, the image of our Fox race¡¯s ancestor appears in our minds. Our Fox race¡¯s most formidable being has always been the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox. Why is she so simr to the image in my memories?¡±

    It wasn¡¯t her fault for not being able to immediately remember. It had already been a long time since her bloodline had activated, and that scene had onlysted a brief moment. Furthermore, it was quite difficult to associate this delicate woman with the powerful existence in her memory.

    Zu An was moved when she heard her exnation. He recalled Daji and exined, ¡°She indeed has some connection with your Fox race, but it¡¯s not what you¡¯re thinking.¡± He didn¡¯t want to exin Daji¡¯s origins, or else it might cause a huge uproar.

    When she saw how Zu An had summoned a person with just a wave of his hand and that person had disappeared with another wave, and that the person even resembled the Fox race¡¯s highest being, the expression with which Tushan Yu looked at Zu An became even more fanatical.

    No wonder he could defeat the Golden Crow Crown Prince! This man is really too mysterious.

    Shepletely let go of her misgivings when she thought of that. She warned him, ¡°Young master, you absolutely can¡¯t go to the Fiend King Court.¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An was stunned, asking, ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Because the matter of young master¡¯s transcendent aptitude has already been exposed. The reason why Hu Qianxiao gave me the order to approach you was because he wanted to take the chance to obtain your blood essence,¡± Tushan Yu said, deciding to just tell him everything. ¡°When you fought against the Golden Crow Crown Prince, he feared that if he used force, his men might not be your match. That¡¯s why he tried to use gentler methods, sending me to approach you.¡±

    Zu An was rmed. How had Hu Qianxiao found out about his transcendent aptitude? In the end, he figured that it was probably a lot of his blood hadnded on the war chariot and weapons during the fight against the Golden Crow Crown Prince.

    Sigh, I was too careless. Back then, in Brightmoon City, Principal Jiang warned me to never reveal that, but after nothing happened for so long, I ended up bing negligent.

    Zu An sighed and said, ¡°You still managed toplete your mission in the end.¡±

    Tushan Yu¡¯s face turned pale. She quickly eximed, ¡°I didn¡¯t!¡±

    When he saw her nervous expression, Zu An said with a smile, ¡°I was just joking around with you.¡±

    Tushan Yu finally understood what he meant. She became extremely embarrassed. ¡°Young master, you¡¯re so bad¡­ How could I possibly hand over that kind of thing?¡±

    ¡°Ahem¡­¡± Zu An was also caught off guard. This woman seemed to have misunderstood him. He quickly changed the topic, adding, ¡°Why don¡¯t I just give you a bit of blood essence then? Otherwise, you won¡¯t be able to exin things to Hu Qianxiao.¡±

    Tushan Yu felt warm inside when she heard what he said. However, she still shook her head and said, ¡°If young master had said that beforest night, I would definitely have happily received it, but now, I think it¡¯s best if I don¡¯t take it. Blood essence is too important for young master. Forget about the fact that a loss of blood essence would make young master weak for a long time, who knows what Hu Qianxiao would do with it?

    ¡°There are too many curse techniques and puppet arts in this world. That¡¯s why young master absolutely can¡¯t randomly hand over your blood essence.¡±

    When Zu An heard the concern in her words, he couldn''t help but ask, ¡°Why are you worrying so much for my sake?¡±

    Tushan Yu said with a sigh, ¡°I¡¯m already young master¡¯s woman; who would I think of if not young master? Besides, after Hu Qianxiao learns of what happenedst night, there won¡¯t be any good news waiting for us. Rather than that, I might as well wholeheartedly choose young master.

    ¡°Of course, I¡¯m definitely not the type who would be so dead set on someone because of a single night¡¯s happiness. However, when I saw that mysterious girl, I suddenly felt as if you were sent by the heavens to save us. That¡¯s why I made this choice.¡±

    Zu An knew that there was no need for her to say all that to him at all. The reason she had done so was clearly because she was worried that he would misunderstand. He gently held her hand and said, ¡°I won¡¯t superficially promise you any grand future, but as long as it¡¯s within my power, I¡¯ll definitely protect the Fox race.¡±

    Tushan Yu said with a smile, ¡°I would feel more worried if you promised me all kinds of things. Our n has met too many men like that, every single one of them offering flowery but insincere speech. In the end, all they wanted was just to take advantage of us.¡±

    Zu An chuckled and asked, ¡°Then how do we deal with Hu Qianxiao¡¯s mission this time?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll tell him that Chi Wen¡¯s appearance interrupted the n and caused ast-minute failure. The ocean races are even more powerful than the Tiger race, and there has always been conflict between them. There¡¯s no way Hu Qianxiao would be able to confirm whether that was true or false,¡± Tushan Yu exined.

    Zu An gave her a look of surprise. He hadn¡¯t expected her to have already prepared so thoroughly. This girl really is quite quick-witted, he thought. No wonder she had been able to make the weak Fox race flourish for so long.

    The two chatted for a while longer. After exchanging the information they had, Zu An decided to bring her back to the pce. However, Tushan Yu stopped him and asked, ¡°Can you wait for a bit? I¡¯ve never experienced flying like this before, so I want to stay here for a bit longer.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± Zu An replied. How could he refuse when he saw how hopeful, and yet scared that he might reject her, she was? He used the Wind Fire Wheels to bring Tushan Yu high up into the air.

    As she looked at the mountains and rivers below, as well as the stars above, Tushan Yu¡¯s cheeks turned red. Never in her life had she felt so carefree. The man at her side kept warmly satisfying her requests.

    She pursed her lips, then suddenly pushed them outward. A tender yet slightly flirtatious expression appeared on her fresh and pure cheeks. She said, ¡°Young master, I was flusteredst night and didn¡¯t show you my usual skill. Today, I¡¯ll let young master experience what a true fox-spirit is capable of.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes opened wide. This woman was just too good! There was probably no one in this world who could refuse such temptation, right?

 Chapter 1244: Tangsengâ€™s Flesh

    <h4>Chapter 1244: Tangseng¡¯s Flesh</h4>

    Then, Zu An finally understood what a ¡®soul-stealing¡¯ fox-spirit was like, because they really were too good at pleasing men. Even though it was in midair and she couldn''t even stand still, she was still able to do all kinds of things by leaning against Zu An¡¯s body.

    If he hadn¡¯t already personally experienced it the previous night, Zu An would find it really hard to believe that she was actually a pure and innocent youngdy. That was probably just the innate talent of the Fox race.

    ¡­

    After some time, Zu An snapped out of his daze. They had already flown somewhere far from Bluefield Country. He suddenly remembered a poetry verse written by Li Bai in his previous world that described how he felt: ¡®While on cliffs of the Yangtze Gorges, gibbons ceaselessly cry. By evening I''ll be home at Jiangling, a thousand miles I''ve gone.¡¯[1]

    Tushan Yu clung to his body like a ko, her chest rising and falling continuously. Her face was flushed red, and fine beads of sweat formed on her temples. This kind of position, where she couldn''t stand, had clearly made her use up several times more stamina than usual.

    She moved closer to Zu An¡¯s ear, her breath soft and fragrant as she whispered, ¡°Young master,pared to the Medusa Queen¡­ how am I?¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but chuckle, replying, ¡°Why are you trying topare with others, haha...¡±

    ¡°Tell me~¡± Tushan Yu insisted, sounding sweet and intimate.

    Zu An had to admit that when a fox-spirit began to pout yfully, there weren¡¯t many men who could refuse her. Unfortunately, he was currently in the sky!

    He reached out his hand and hooked his finger under Tushan Yu¡¯s chin, saying, ¡°Your methods just now were indeed quite good, but in my opinion, it¡¯s still a bitckingpared tost night.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Tushan Yu asked, feeling a bit confused. She had beenpletely muddle-headed the previous night, and everything was a mess in her memory.

    Zu An said with a chuckle, ¡°Becausest night, you really were passionate. What you showed were your natural reactions, which are way more effective than any technique.¡±

    ¡°Ah¡­¡± Tushan Yu seemed to have realized something. She said with a red face, ¡°Last night really was too embarrassing¡­¡± She had been doing her best to control herself the previous night; after all, she was a country lord. She didn¡¯t want to experience something that embarrassing again.

    ¡°But I don¡¯t think so,¡± Zu An said, hugging her from behind. ¡°You¡¯ve worked hard just now. Just leave the rest to me.¡±

    Before Tushan Yu could even reply, her entire body trembled. She asked in embarrassment, ¡°But what if someone passes by? That¡¯ll be way too embarrassing!¡±

    Even though they were high up in the sky, there were some powerful beings who could fly in this world. Even though the chance of running into someone in the middle of the night wasn¡¯t too great, if someone really did pass by¡­

    Before, when she had taken the initiative, as long as she buried herself in Zu An¡¯s chest, no one could really see anything. But now¡­

    Zu An rested his shoulder on her soft and delicate shoulder and replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. If anyone approaches, I¡¯ll be able to sense it ahead of time.¡±

    Afterward, Tushan Yu didn¡¯t say anything else. She just looked away, scared that her red face might give her nervousness away.

    Zu An thought of something, then took out the Primal Skysilk and covered her eyes.

    ¡°Ah, young master?¡± Tushan Yu eximed, jumping in fright. If she couldn''t see, all of her other enses would be magnified several times. She waspletely flustered.

    Zu An moved over to her ear and said, ¡°Don¡¯t be scared. I¡¯m here.¡± Seeing that the Primal Skysilk was quite long, he had an idea. He wrapped up Tushan Yu and brought her into the sky, then let go of her hands.

    ¡°The young master is so bad¡­¡± Tushan Yu murmured, her cheeks red. The fox-spirits were well-experienced in this field, but everything Zu An brought to the table was full of novelty. She was rmed. Don¡¯t tell me the Medusa Empress taught him all this?!

    She racked her brains, but how could she know that even though she had the Fox race¡¯s generations of knowledge, Zu An had had countless experienced veterans from his previous world to teach him? When those two factions werepared, it was hard to say who would win against whom.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡­

    The next morning, Zu An¡¯s group formally left Bluefield Pce.

    However, the pce¡¯s women once again told them that their country lord wasn¡¯t well, so she wouldn¡¯t be seeing them out and that she wished all of them a smooth journey. They also prepared some precious gifts from Bluefield Country.

    Yun Jianyue was a bit unhappy. She remarked, ¡°What is going on with that woman? Her body doesn¡¯t seem that weak, so why is she always sick?¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s pretty brows furrowed. She said, ¡°She might have been injured from her battle against Chi Wenst night. She seemed to be a bit unwell yesterday and forced herself to fight. It is understandable that her condition worsened.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s mouth was shut tightly. The only one who knew what had happened to Tushan Yu was himself. To a certain degree, he was part of the reason.

    But that fluffy tail really feels great; no wonder so many people like raising pets.

    For some reason, Tushan Yu really hadn¡¯t wanted to show him that side of her. But with the help of the Primal Skysilk, she had been utterly defeated, and she could no longer control her body.

    The Primal Skysilk and Wind Fire Wheels really are useful!

    If Nezha knew his weapons had been used for that kind of nonsense, he might just return from the grave to beat the crap out of Zu An.

    Still, the Wind Fire Wheels really were excellent. With their help, it was as if Zu An had a private jet. Even though they were far from the human world, it wasn¡¯t a huge problem anymore.

    While Zu An¡¯s mind was wandering, Yu Yanluo asked curiously, ¡°But why did she suddenly prepare a gift for us? She didn¡¯t give us these things before we left yesterday.¡±

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue both shut their mouths and ignored her when they heard that. They harrumphed and thought, You sneaky woman!

    They were all women, so Yu Yanluo immediately sensed that something was off. She looked at the two of them in confusion, wondering just how she had offended them.

    When Zu An saw that, he quickly said, ¡°It might be because she¡¯s grateful that we helped her yesterday.¡±

    Yun Jianyue chuckled and said, ¡°Then we are merely sharing your glory.¡±

    Even though with their status, they didn¡¯t really care about any gifts, these were the Fox race¡¯s specialties that were hard for them to even run into; that made it a fresh experience.

    ¡°Even so, I can¡¯t help but feel that something is a bit strange. If she really is grateful, then she should havee out herself to see us out. Only giving us these things feels a bit off-putting,¡± Yu Yanluo said, somewhat confused. ording to her previous interactions with the Bluefield Lord, the other woman was clearly someone well-versed in social rtions too.

    Zu An was sweating buckets inwardly. Tushan Yu had just lost her virginity the previous day, and then they had ¡®fought¡¯ for an entire night. Her body was actually incredibly tough; however, it was a bit difficult for her to even walk, so she might have been worried that someone might notice something. That was why she would rather offend them a bit than take that risk.

    He thought for a bit, then exined to her, ¡°Maybe she¡¯s trying to avoid rousing suspicion.¡±

    ¡°Avoid suspicion? What kind of suspicion does she have to avoid?¡± The three women all became somewhat vignt.

    ¡°She told me that my transcendent aptitude has been exposed, so she warned me not to go to the Fiend King Court,¡± Zu An said with a sigh. That was the biggest headache right now. At that moment, the risk of going to the Fiend King Court was too high. However, if he didn¡¯t go, he would feel worried for Yu Yanluo¡¯s sake.

    ¡°What?!¡± All of their expressions changed when they heard about that matter. After being around each other for so long, the three of them had found out about his transcendent aptitude for various reasons. They also knew just how much trouble such aptitude would get him into.

    They asked each other a few more questions. When they learned that it had been exposed during the battle with the Golden Crow Crown Prince, Yan Xuehen said with a serious expression, ¡°Don¡¯t go to the Fiend King Court. It¡¯s way too dangerous.¡±

    Shockingly, Yun Jianyue didn¡¯t argue against her and said, ¡°Indeed. Many people will want to kill you before you can grow. After all, no one wants another great enemy to appear on their own cultivation path. Furthermore, some people need your flesh and blood. It¡¯s rumored that the blood essence of a transcendent aptitude cultivator can prolong your longevity, and it also has great benefits toward cultivation.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression grew strange. In his previous world, no matter how nasty something was, as long as it was rumored to be able to boost a man¡¯s performance, it would be eaten to extinction.

    His own situation was far more dangerous than those cases. He was basically Tangseng from Journey to the West; everyone wanted a piece of him[2]!

    Yu Yanluo said, ¡°Ah Zu, you should go back to the human territory with big sisters Yan and Yun. I don¡¯t want you to lose your life in the Fiend King Court.¡±

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue both nodded. They thought to themselves that this woman might be sneaky and cunning, but she was still able to discern serious matters.

    Zu An said, ¡°I¡¯ll ride with you guys for part of the journey, and make my decision as things y out. I suspect only a few people know about this, so it might not be as dangerous as you think.¡±

    After chatting a bit more about the subject, they could only temporarily push the issue aside.

    ¡­

    When the group left Bluefield City, Yan Xuehen suddenly voiced her surprise, asking, ¡°Ah Zu, when did Bluefield Lord tell you about this?¡±

    The other women seemed to have realized something. They immediately looked at him with suspicion.

    1. I used this trantion here. ?

    2. In the novel, Tang Sanzang is a Chinese Buddhist monk who is actually a reincarnation of Golden Cicada, a disciple of the Buddha. Along the journey, Tang Sanzang is constantly terrorized by monsters and demons, due to a legend which says that one can attain immortality by consuming his flesh because he is a reincarnation of a holy being. ?

 Chapter 1245: Swindler

    <h4>Chapter 1245: Swindler</h4>

    Zu An immediately felt his scalp turn numb. These women were just too smart! They had been able to pick up some clues just from a few words! Faced with the three women¡¯s suspicious stares, Zu An was 0.01 seconds away from being exposed when fortunately, Maid Xing brought the others over to receive them just then.

    With that breathing room, he finally thought of an excuse. He coughed lightly and replied, ¡°There was a slip of paper in the pastries this morning, containing that information she just happened to have received. That¡¯s why I was alerted ahead of time.¡±

    Yan Xuehen voiced her surprise. ¡°Normally speaking, that should be something only the higher ups in the Fiend King Court should know. Why was she able to obtain that information?¡±

    Yu Yanluo exined, ¡°The Fox race¡¯s people have always been good at being smooth in social situations. Their rtionship with the different forces is quite good, so their intelligencework is also outstanding.¡±

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue both nodded inwardly. Yu Yanluo was more familiar with the two fiend races, so this type of exnation made sense.

    ¡°What I¡¯m more curious about is why she would contact you, and through that kind of method no less,¡± Yun Jianyue said, looking at Zu An in confusion. As someone who had grown stronger step by step in a ce like the Devil Sect, she was quite sensitive to unusual things. She just felt that the matter was extremely strange, and yet she couldn''t really say how either.

    Zu An had already sorted out his thoughts. He said, ¡°It¡¯s probably because I saved them, so she did this to thank me. That¡¯s why she used such a method. It was probably to protect herself, to prevent others from knowing that she contacted me. She didn¡¯te out today either, probably to avoid suspicion and make the other forces think she wasn¡¯t very close to us.¡±

    He was even starting to admire himself as he said that. I really am a genius for being able to salvage this kind of situation.

    ¡°So that was it.¡± The women all sighed.

    ¡°I felt that Tushan Yu was being a bit cold, but now, I know that we¡¯ve used her wrongly. We¡¯ll have to make sure to express our thanks properly next time.¡±

    ¡­

    After the tension was defused, they all gradually calmed down. A strange silence fell upon the carriage.

    Yu Yanluo found a chance to secretly tug on Zu An¡¯s sleeves. Then, she asked through ki, ¡°Ah Zu, did I end up offending the two of them somehow? You have to tell me, in case I might have made a mistake and not even know about it!¡±

    Zu An felt a bit embarrassed. He said, ¡°You didn¡¯t. You must be overthinking things.¡± Of course she hadn¡¯t done anything wrong. He had actually used her to take the me.

    ¡°No, there¡¯s definitely something,¡± Yu Yanluo said. Her pretty brows furrowed slightly. She surreptitiously looked toward the two girls. She had sensed that something was off all the way from their first morning greeting. She hadn¡¯t thought too much about it before, butter on, various clues had shown that there was indeed a problem.

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue, who had been paying close attention to her, both looked away. They all thought to themselves, She¡¯s secretly gossiping about something again. They¡¯re probably flirting.

    Hmph, do you really like sneaking around that much?

    Besides, Zu An, do you have no self-respect? Do you have to engage in this public disy of affection in front of us?

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +111 +111 +111¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +111 +111 +111¡­

    Zu An was stunned when he saw the iing Rage points. However, he didn¡¯t dare to ask them about it at that moment.

    ¡­

    Afterward, the mood in the carriage became a bit heavy. When they arrived at a small town, Zu An called for a stop to get some rest.

    Maid Xing was confused. She said, ¡°It has only been half a day since we left Bluefield City. Why are we stopping for a rest so quickly?¡±

    Yu Yanluo coughed lightly and said, ¡°We¡¯ll listen to him and stop.¡±

    Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen couldn''t take the strange atmosphere in the carriage anymore either. They both voiced their approval of the break too.

    They wandered around the small town while deep in thought. In order to ease the awkwardness, Zu An found a topic and remarked, ¡°Hm? There seemed to be quite a few strong individuals along the way here.¡±

    ¡°You ¡®re right. I noticed that before in Bluefield City too. At first, I thought it was because Bluefield Country was more open to outsiders, and that these cultivators were here to experience the famous fox women.¡± Yun Jianyue didn¡¯t want to talk to him at first, but since it was about something important, she still responded.

    Yan Xuehen sighed and added, ¡°After the great war between humans and fiends, it¡¯s already been a long time since Ist saw so many fiends.¡±

    Yu Yanluo wanted to ask if these two had experienced that bitter war, but she suddenly remembered how strangely they had been acting right before she spoke and swallowed the words right back down. She thought, Hmph, you¡¯re all giving me the cold shoulder, so why would I treat you guys enthusiastically?

    ¡°I seem to have heard those fiends chatting about some treasure map and great treasure,¡± Yun Jianyue said. She had been paying close attention to everything the entire time.

    ¡°I noticed that as well. It looks as if many people are holding maps of some sort. It would be strange if it really was a treasure map,¡± Yan Xuehen said. She obviously didn¡¯t believe it. If there really was some great treasure, it was likely extremely precious. Why would everyone have a share?

    ¡°Tushan Yu mentioned before that recently, there have been some things that she has to deal with here. Did she tell you anything else about it?¡± Yu Yanluo asked. She ignored the two women and looked straight at Zu An.

    Zu An¡¯s smile immediately froze. He replied, ¡°She didn¡¯t¡­¡±

    The two of them had been focused on their ¡®interaction¡¯. Even when they had talked, it was mainly about the Fiend King Court and the matter of his transcendent aptitude.

    If he had known that things were going to be like this, he would have asked her about it then. With their current rtionship, she definitely wouldn¡¯t have hidden anything from him.

    ¡°Everyone,e and take a look! This is a treasure map I just happened to have stumbled upon; written on it is a great opportunity! Who knows, the lucky one might just be you!

    ¡°It is only ten taels of silver for a copy, and you might be the one chosen by the heavens. You might be able to experience an unmatched encounter!

    ¡°It is just ten taels of silver, and yet you cannot even afford it? Look at these poor beggars.¡±

    When the group heard the curses, they exchanged a look. The voice was quite familiar: It was precisely the fat daoist who had previously given them divinations.

    The party followed the source of the sound. Soon afterward, they saw that Wu Liang was shouting and spitting saliva as he tried to sell treasure maps. He wasn¡¯t holding the ¡®pseudo-immortal¡¯ banner today and wasn¡¯t even wearing his daoist outfit. Instead, he wore a fluffy hat with dog-like ears, just like a street vendor.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    After some time, many people left while swearing, but there were a few who spent ten taels to try their luck. Just like that, Wu Liang managed to sessfully sell quite a few.

    Zu An¡¯s group was stupefied. ¡°This guy is just a swindler after all!¡±

    Wu Liang was fixated on the silvers when he suddenly felt a pat on his shoulder. He reflexively turned around and began, ¡°Ah, are you going to buy a map¡­ Oh, so it was you guys.¡±

    Zu An chuckled and asked, ¡°Why did daoist priest change careers?¡±

    Wu Liang seemedpletely unfazed as he replied, ¡°The people here are too enthusiastic; if they see my daoist outfit, they will want to make donations. I cannot refuse them if they do that. I did not want to be tainted by the karma of the secr world too much, so I changed into a different set of clothes.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s group was speechless. This guy really knew how to speak nonsense with a straight face!

    ¡°Then this treasure map thing you¡¯re selling, aren¡¯t you scared that it will taint you with secr karma?¡± Yun Jianyue said with a sneer.

    Wu Liang said with a sigh, ¡°Even the great ones who stand aloof from this world must eat. I am making money through my own skills, so what is wrong with that?¡±

    The gorup was speechless.

    Wu Liang¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up. He began to gesture and wink toward Zu An, saying, ¡°Seeing how you are smiling from ear to ear, your brows and eyes full of romance, how did that romantic affair go?¡±

    The three women who had initially been upset at each other all simultaneously looked at Zu An when they heard that.

 Chapter 1246: Succeeding Through a Lucky Stroke

    <h4>Chapter 1246: Seeding Through a Lucky Stroke</h4>

    Zu An was starting to have thoughts of killing this damn fatty. He had finally dealt with that issue with great difficulty, and yet now, they had run into him and it was brought up again? He retorted coldly, ¡°What romantic cmity? Your divinations weren¡¯t correct at all. You should be d that I¡¯m not asking you forpensation, and yet you have the nerve to act all cocky here!¡±

    Yu Yanluo nodded inwardly. Zu An had indeed never left his room over the past few days, acting the part of a proper gentleman. How could there have been any romance?

    However, that wasn¡¯t what Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue thought. They had personally witnessed Zu An and Yu Yanluo having a secret meeting in the middle of the night!

    Still, the two were lovers anyway. If even that could be called a love affair¡­ That would be pushing it a bit, right?

    Wu Liang voiced his surprise. ¡°But that should not be. How could I possibly have made a mistake?¡± He made some finger seals and began to carry out a divination again.

    Zu An¡¯s scalp turned numb when he saw that, so he quickly changed the topic. ¡°Damn fatty, what were you selling just now?¡±

    Wu Liang¡¯s eyes lit up when he heard that. He offered, ¡°Does young master want one? This is a treasure map I obtained with great difficulty! Recorded on it is an important treasure that canpletely change one¡¯s fate! I will only charge you 100 taels of silver. There is no better deal than this! Do not miss this chance!¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He replied, ¡°But I clearly just heard you selling it for ten taels of silver just now. Why are you selling it to me for 100?¡±

    The women¡¯s expressions became unkind. This guy is a swindler after all. Does he think we¡¯re easy to cheat? Because of that, the credibility of the romantic cmity dropped considerably.

    Even though his scheme had been seen through, Wu Liang didn¡¯t seem nervous at all. He said in a calm and unhurried manner, ¡°The young master might not know, but the one I am selling them is a copy. It is missing a lot of details and information! This one is the original, and the fact that I am only charging you 100 taels is only because you are a repeat cus¡­ ahem, because you and this poor daoist share affinity.¡±

    Zu Anughed out of annoyance. He grabbed Wu Liang¡¯s hand and shouted loudly, ¡°Everyone,e and look! The treasure map he sold all of you is a sloppy version!¡±

    The people nearby cried out in rm, feeling scammed when they heard that. Then, when they saw the expressions of the people around them, they quickly realized that he had scammed more than one person. They flocked over furiously, about to skin the fat daoist alive.

    Wu Liang was so scared that his soul almost left his body. He eximed, ¡°Young master, you are killing me here! How about I just give you this treasure map for free?¡±

    Afterward, he flung the map into Zu An¡¯s hands. Suddenly, his wrist became incredibly slippery, sliding out of Zu An¡¯s grip. He vanished around a street corner in the blink of an eye.

    Zu An was a bit stunned. Even though he hadn¡¯t used that much strength when he grabbed Wu Liang, hadn¡¯t this guy slipped away too easily?

    ¡°It seems to be a kind of extremely profound bone-withdrawing art.¡± Yan Xuehen remarked. ¡°It is more profound than any other I have seen. I wonder which sect he is from.¡±

    Yun Jianyue said coldly, ¡°If it were me, I would¡¯ve just seized that guy and interrogated him a bit. We would have found out everything then.¡±

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°We don¡¯t know whether he¡¯s a friend or foe yet. There¡¯s no need to offend him for no reason.¡± Even though he had exposed Wu Liang¡¯s scam, the fatty hadn¡¯t given him any Rage points. That meant there wasn¡¯t much resentment involved at all.

    Yu Yanluo walked over to his side and said, ¡°Let¡¯s take a look at this map first.¡±

    Zu An voiced his agreement. He unfolded the map in his hands. The material looked simr to sheep skin, but it had clearly been processed through a special method, making it hard to damage by water or fire.

    ¡°Hm? This thing appears to be pretty old. Don¡¯t tell me what he said about it being the original is actually true?¡± Yun Jianyue remarked, having noticed that as well.

    ¡°But if it really is the original, why would he give us something so precious?¡± Yan Xuehen wondered, feeling extremely confused.

    Zu An thought for a bit and said, ¡°Judging from the earlier situation where he sold the treasure map to many people, there are two possibilities. The first is precisely that this treasure map is a scam, and he only wanted to make a profit.¡±

    Yu Yanluo shook her head and sasid, ¡°That isn¡¯t too likely. That person carries something that hides his aura, to the point where none of you are able to see through it. That means he¡¯s indeed extraordinary. Ten taels of silver might be a considerable amount for ordinary people, but even if he sold a few thousand copies, it wouldn¡¯t be all that significant to someone like him.¡±

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue both nodded. Even though they weren¡¯t happy about her being sneaky the previous night, they still approved of her deduction. With the ability the fatty had disyed, earning tens of thousands of silvers should be effortless. Why would he have to go through all of this trouble?

    Zu An said seriously, ¡°Then that means it¡¯s the second possibility. This treasure map is real, but for some unknown reason, he needs more people to help him out.¡±

    Yun Jianyue said, ¡°Perhaps he can¡¯t open up that treasury by relying on his own strength alone. That¡¯s why he distributed the treasure maps to many people, to lend him a helping hand. Meanwhile, you¡¯re clearly extraordinary at first nce, so he wanted to bring you over somehow too.¡±

    Zu An chuckled and replied, ¡°I¡¯m just an ordinary guy; what do you mean extraordinary? It¡¯s probably because I had three goddess-like beauties at my side that he gave me a second look.¡±

    ¡°Look at how slick-tongued you are,¡± the three women cursed. Still, having been praised like that, they found it hard to not feel happy. The strange atmosphere between the three of them finally disappeared.

    ¡­

    After teasing each other for a while longer, they all began to research that map.

    Even though Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue were full of ability and wisdom, they didn¡¯t know much about the fiend races¡¯ world. They couldn''t figure anything out even after staring at the map¡¯s lines for a long time.

    Yu Yanluo was the Snake race¡¯s Lord, but she had spent more time in the human world. Even though she knew more about the fiend races than Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue, she didn¡¯t know that much more.

    Zu An stared at the map too. Suddenly, he voiced his surprise. ¡°This ce seems familiar. It¡¯s that way, about eight hundred li from this ce.¡± He pointed roughly in its direction.

    The women all blinked. They asked, ¡°How were you able to figure this out?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression froze. It was because, while he had been ying around with Tushan Yu in the skies above, they had just happened to pass by that area. He had been admiring the majestic mountain ranges below while subduing one of the fiend races¡¯ most famous beauties. He had felt a great sense of achievement at that moment, so his impression was rather deep.

    Of course, those mountains were indeed quite unique. That was why he had been able to quickly match them up with the map. He hadn¡¯t expected his romantic adventure to actually help with important matters¡­n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    How was he supposed to exin things to the women, though? He couldn''t just say that he had been doing some bondage exercise in the skies above with Tushan Yu right?

    ¡°Ahem, I was testing out the Wind Fire Wheels before and noticed it from above,¡± Zu An exined.

    ¡°Wind Fire Wheels?¡± Sure enough, that drew the women¡¯s attention.

    ¡°Ah, did I not tell you yet?¡± Zu An pretended to be shocked and said, ¡°Back then, the price Chi Wen paid for his life¡­¡± He gave them a rough ount of the entire process.

    When they heard that, the women¡¯s expressions immediately became brilliant. Yun Jianyue didn¡¯t carry many misgivings and said, ¡°Brat, you really do know how to mooch!¡±

    Afterward, she even gave Yu Yanluo a look, making her face turn entirely red.

    What are you looking at me for? Didn¡¯t you two let him mooch off you too?

    ¡­

    The group then hurried in the direction where the map pointed. Even though it was eight hundred li away, it wasn¡¯t too far for them.

    When they were about to reach their destination, Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression became a bit serious. She remarked, ¡°There seem to be many strong individuals from different ns around us; they have even higher cultivation than the ones we saw before in Bluefield City.¡±

    There were many individuals at the seventh or eighth rank, and even some at the ninth rank. The most important part was that none of them seemed to be that old, so who knew if there were seniors hiding and watching from the shadows.

    These people had clearly alle for a simr objective.

 Chapter 1247: Giant Tongue

    <h4>Chapter 1247: Giant Tongue</h4>

    Yun Jianyue seemed to have seen through Zu An¡¯s misgivings and exined, ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry. Because of their innate talents, the fiend races do advance in cultivation ranks faster than humans. However, what the fiend races pay the closest attention to is bloodline inheritance. Among heirs, there¡¯s usually only a single individual who can obtain the approval of their parents, and thus awaken the power inherited by their ancestors. The other brothers and sisters don¡¯t have such luck and are thus forever stuck at the same cultivation realm, unable to advance at all.¡±

    ¡°Even though cultivation is difficult for humans, there are no such restrictions. That is why there are more people who slowly advance bit by bit,¡± Yan Xuehen added.

    ¡°So that was it,¡± Zu An mused. He thought to himself that having two grandmasters at his side really made things different. Their knowledge and experience was much greater than that of ordinary people.

    From time to time, some people spoke up from off to the side.

    ¡°Whose young master is that? He even brings so many of his women with him when he goes on a trip?¡±

    ¡°The outside world is full of dangers. Does he think this is some vacation? He¡¯s going to be killed and have his women stolen one day.¡±

    ¡°But to be honest, those women are really freaking hot¡­ Even though they¡¯re masked, judging from those figures and eyes, they¡¯re clearly exceptional beauties. It¡¯s to the point that even I¡¯m starting to think about doing something like stealing them¡­¡±

    ¡°The treasure map is more important. If you found the treasure, what kind of woman couldn¡¯t you get?¡±

    ¡­

    Zu An was speechless when he saw how people kept sneaking reluctant nces at the women with him as they left. He muttered, ¡°I finally know why the stuff I read always ends up with the main character surrounded by viins¡­ When the women around you are too pretty, that¡¯s a source of disaster in itself!¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression turned ice-cold. Who would dare to talk about her in such an obscene way normally? However, after seeing the nearby people treat her like one of Zu An¡¯s wives, she felt a bit embarrassed and forgot about acting out.

    Yun Jianyue remained surprisingly calm. She said, ¡°Those who don¡¯t have the skill but still take exceptional beauties as their wives nevere to a good end. I¡¯ve seen too many simr tragedies in my years in the martial world.¡±

    While they were all talking to each other, bitter screams suddenly erupted in the distance. Then, many people quickly ran back.

    ¡°Poison! There¡¯s a poisonous miasma!¡±

    Several people were screaming. Zu An and the others already saw that many of them were covering their faces. Their eyes and skin were already starting to fester, so it was easy to imagine just how fierce the poison was.

    ¡°It looks like that treasure map is real. How can any important treasure not have any defenses?¡± Yun Jianyue remarked, remaining calm. The people screaming in pain didn¡¯t make her feel a thing.

    Zu An felt worried, however. He said, ¡°I don¡¯t fear poison, but you¡¯re all injured. Will you end up being affected?¡±

    Let alone a threat to their lives, even the slightest scar on their perfect skin would be a terrible tragedy!

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s brows furrowed slightly. She said, ¡°That is hard to say. If the poison is too severe, I might not be able to withstand it in my current state.¡±

    Yun Jianyue was more prideful, so she wasn¡¯t willing to say it out loud. However, her silence revealed a simr opinion.

    If the two of them had their grandmaster level cultivation, they could prevent even a speck of dirt from touching their bodies, so they naturally wouldn¡¯t fear most poisons. That was why they didn¡¯t have any poison resistance pills, as they normally didn¡¯t need them. How could they have anticipated that they would be injured to this extent?

    Yu Yanluo spoke up just then. ¡°There¡¯s an easy solution. The Snake race has researched poisons extensively, and I have many antidote pills on me. Dealing with some poisonous miasma shouldn¡¯t be an issue.¡±

    The others suddenly realized that was indeed the case. There were many kinds of Snake race people, and many of them were poisonous. That was why the Snake race¡¯s achievements in poison were well known. How had they forgotten about that?

    Yu Yanluo handed them all a batch of antidote pills. Just in case, they each kept one in their mouth. The pills were all refined by the Snake race¡¯s elites. This time, as their n leader was going on a dangerous trip, the various families had prepared all kinds of resources for her.

    She had been a bit upset about how the two women were treating her before, but after thinking about it, she was a legitimate lover of Zu An, so she should help him with his worries. If the two grandmasters became his enemies because of her, that really would be bad. That was why she took the initiative to hand over her precious medicines to ease their rtionship.

    At that point, Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue were too embarrassed to continue being angry at her. They thought to themselves, With this, we¡¯ll just forgive your sneakiness now.

    Seeing that their rtionship had improved again, Zu An sighed in relief. He once again warned himself that he would never bring so many women with him on a trip ever again.

    Then, the group quickly arrived in front of the miasma. The cloud of pinkish mist before them really was a bit frightening. Zu An even wondered if the miasma had any indecent effects. However, the miserable screams of those who had run out proved that he was overthinking it.

    Of course, not everyone was powerless before the miasma. The fiend races all had their own different methods. Some put up a translucent barrier around themselves to forcibly block the miasma. Others had transparent wings on their backs; whenever they moved their wings, the miasma in front of them was blown aside. Some carried magic artifacts to protect themselves, and walked straight in. Others took antidote pills, then faced the mist head on.

    ¡­

    ¡°About half of the original group has been filtered out,¡± Yan Xuehen concluded after observing for a bit.

    ¡°Weeding them out is a good thing too. If they can¡¯t even get through this first, outermost trial, they¡¯ll only be throwing away their lives if they go deeper in,¡± Yun Jianyue said indifferently.

    Yu Yanluo said worriedly, ¡°Even though I only caught a glimpse, I seem to have seen the Golden Peng race, Peacock race, Demon race, Lion race, Bear race, and even the ocean races¡¯ experts. Judging from the purity of their bloodlines, they seem to be from king ns.¡±

    Yun Jianyue said with a chuckle, ¡°That¡¯s not all. There are some that are pretty cute, don¡¯t you think, Little Zu?¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An was speechless. He shot back, ¡°What are you asking me for? I don¡¯t care if they¡¯re pretty or not. Also, can you not call me that? It makes me feel like some Imperial Pce eunuch.¡±

    ¡°No problem, Little Zu,¡± Yun Jianyue said with a grin. She found his distressed appearance extremely adorable.

    Zu An was speechless.

    Yan Xuehen frowned and said, ¡°Stop messing around. The others have already gone in. Let¡¯s hurry and follow along.¡±

    ¡°Why are you in such a rush? Isn¡¯t it fine to have the others scout out the situation? Would any important treasure be that easily found?¡± Yun Jianyue replied. Despite that, she still walked in quickly.

    ¡­

    The group continued for a long time before gradually, light reappeared in front of them. They sped up, and finally broke free from the miasma. Before them was something that resembled a vast swamp. However, for cultivators who could get that far, a swamp wasn¡¯t a big deal at all.

    On the other side of the swamp was a group of neat and orderly trees, with a small trail running through them. Off to either side, there were all kinds of stone beast statues.

    ¡°Memorial statues!¡±

    Those present were shocked. The statues were stone people and beasts that protected their masters. Tombs that had the right to have memorial statues all contained at least high nobility or ministers. It could even be an imperial tomb!

    The other fiend race experts who had gone through the miasma also recognized the memorial statues. They all began to breathe heavily with excitement. A great tomb like this definitely had precious funerary objects.

    They finally couldn''t hold back anymore. They all leaped forward, wishing to be the first to find the tomb and seize the most important treasure. They revealed all sorts of remarkable abilities. Some took to the skies, while others moved through the water.

    Yun Jianyue remarked with a frown, ¡°It¡¯s not that simple!¡±

    A few others, whose performances had been the most outstanding, hade to the same conclusion as her. They didn¡¯t move either.

    Suddenly, the previously calm swamp surged. Then, a massive tongue reached out. The fiend race individuals weren¡¯t newbies; as they leaped over the swamp, they had all prepared for sudden developments beneath them. However, the tongue was way too fast. Most of them weren¡¯t even able to react before they were entangled.

    A few cultivators with higher cultivation tried to attack the tongue wrapped around them. However, the tongue was covered in viscous liquid that made all of their attacks slide off.

    Still, the owner of the tongue seemed to have felt pain, and immediately pulled its tongue back. All of those above the swamp were dragged into the water. Miserable screams rang out again and again, but there wasn¡¯t even a single wisp of blood visible.

    Those by the shore shivered as they watched the scene.

 Chapter 1248: The Consequences of Wit

    <h4>Chapter 1248: The Consequences of Wit</h4>

    ¡°What is that?!¡± the onlookers eximed, shivering. They couldn''t see what it was at all, apart from tongue. Not knowing what it was left them all terrified.

    Even Yan Xuehen and the other women frowned. They weren¡¯t exactly scared, since as grandmasters, they had seen their share of beasts that were even more mysterious and terrifying. Still, women had a natural sense of disgust toward sticky tentacle-like things.

    Meanwhile, the remaining fiend race experts all frowned as well. They were trying to figure out what kind of monster was below when suddenly, a loud, stormy noise boomed all around them.

    Rumble¡­

    The noise was like muffled thunder, or perhaps a giant hammer smashing down viciously on an ancient drum. The sound was deeply ufortable.

    Rumble¡­ Rumble¡­

    More rhythmic, muffled thunder rang out. Those present felt as if their chests were bing tighter. One after another, their expressions began to turn pale.

    After a few more rumbles, suddenly, someone couldn''t stand it anymore and vomited a mouthful of blood. Lying in the pool of blood was a heart that seemed to beat along with the rhythm of the muffled thunder. After one more rumble, the heart exploded on the spot.

    The survivors¡¯ expressions changed. Someone cried out, ¡°Cover your ears! If our hearts beat along with this rhythm, we¡¯ll undoubtedly die!¡±

    The others quickly covered their ears, many even tearing off bits of cloth to use as earplugs. However, those with higher cultivation ranks sneered. This kind of sound wave attacked at the body directly, so covering one¡¯s ears was useless. Instead, they either used weapons or techniques to face the strange sound.

    With Zu An¡¯s current cultivation, even though the sounds were ufortable, it wouldn¡¯t do much against him. He was more worried about the women at his side.

    Even though Yu Yanluo had been seriously injured, after experiencing the Primordial Origin Sutra¡¯s special shared cultivation treatment, she had already mostly recovered. Her strength hadn¡¯t been low to begin with, and she had the ancient Medusa¡¯s bloodline. The unknown beast¡¯s sound wave attack wasn¡¯t a problem.

    However, Yan Xuehen had a much harder time. Her injuries were too severe, leaving almost all of her cultivation useless. Normally, with her grandmaster knowledge and experiences to rely on, she would be able to defend herself against other strong cultivators. However, she couldn''t find out the basis of the sound wave technique. Soon afterward, her ki and blood surged, and herplexion instantly paled.

    She was about to use her Unshakable Daoist Manual to resist the sound waves, but she suddenly noticed a warm hand grab hers. Then, warm streams of energy entered her body. Her face turned red.

    She subconsciously wanted to pull her hand back, but Zu An said, ¡°It¡¯ll be bad if you end up worsening your previous injuries.¡±

    Yan Xuehen obviously knew the importance of that. She could only let him hold her hand. The strange cries hadn¡¯t even made her heart twitch, and yet now, her heart was beating furiously with emotion, almost matching the sound of the strange cry. She was rmed, quickly using her Unshakable Daoist Manual to calm herself down.

    She was too embarrassed to look at the other two women. Instead, she pretended to be looking at the center of the swamp, as if trying to figure out what kind of beast was over there.

    Just then, Zu An also tried to help Yun Jianyue, but Yun Jianyue pulled her hand back. She said proudly, ¡°You just need to take care of that stone cold woman. I¡¯m not as weak as her.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. Your injuries clearly aren¡¯t light either, okay?

    Sigh, why do you always have to act so tough?

    Some strong cultivators couldn''t take it anymore. A tall and sturdy white-haired man roared, and his muscles quickly began to bulge. He picked up a massive boulder next to him and threw it at the center of the swamp.

    There was a tremendous rumble as water and sludge flew in all directions. The strange cry also came to a grunting halt.

    ¡°As expected of the ckwhite Bears¡¯ Xiong Great! He¡¯s rumored to have extraordinary strength that can move mountains and seas. Today, it looks as if he deserves his reputation after all!¡±

    ¡°Xiong Second hasn¡¯t even made a move yet. If the two of them work together, which beast can¡¯t they subdue?¡±

    ¡­

    Those present began to cry out in surprise. Some people wanted to show off their knowledge too and exined, ¡°There¡¯s the Golden Peng king race¡¯s young master Jin Shi, the Peacock king race¡¯s Princess Changning, and the Elf race¡¯s Qiao Heng!¡±

    Someone else who didn¡¯t want to be outdone added, ¡°That¡¯s not all! There¡¯s the Demon Sect¡¯s Princess Suolun, the Lion race¡¯s prince Shi Ling, the ocean races¡¯ prince Yin Sha¡­ Hm? Why does that person look like the Blood race''s Ma Huang?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I think that¡¯s him! I thought I saw the Dark Elf race¡¯s Duan Tiande just now. There¡¯ll definitely be some good drama to watch soon.¡±

    Zu An gave those people a look. Based on the methods they had disyed earlier, he could more or less match the names to faces.

    Yu Yanluo exined quietly, ¡°These are all outstanding members of the younger generation from the fiend races¡¯ various tribes. However, apart from Princess Suolun and Shi Ling being from the direct line of descent, the others from the different tribes aren¡¯t. Looks like this treasure map appeared only recently, or else it wouldn¡¯t only be these people who made it here.¡±

    The women all nodded. This was fine, since it was better than having some old freaks contending over the treasure. In their current state, there wasn¡¯t much they could do either.

    Zu An voiced his surprise. ¡°Isn¡¯t the Demon Race¡¯s king race surnamed Yun? Why is this Suolun also a princess?¡±

    He even snuck Yun Jianyue a look. Madam Wu, also known as Yun Yuqing, was precisely from the demon race¡­ What kind of a rtionship did she really have with the Demon Race then? Unfortunately, Yun Jianyue didn¡¯t show any reaction. He couldn''t read what she was thinking.

    Yu Yanluo exined, ¡°There¡¯s always a misconception that there¡¯s only one n within a race. The same way humans have countless powers and great ns, though, the fiend races¡¯ various tribes are simr.

    ¡°The authority of the massive Demon race is managed jointly by the Yun, Suo, Rong, and Wu families. Even though the Yun n is a king race, the other ns control various other departments, so they all stand on equal footing with each other.

    ¡°Meanwhile, this Princess Suolun is the Suolun n¡¯s beloved daughter, so it makes sense for her to have the title of princess.¡±

    Yun Jianyue asked with an ambiguous smile, ¡°Why do you care that much about this Princess Suolun? Are you interested in her? Should big sis catch her for you to apany you in bed?¡±

    Princess Suolun was the most beautiful woman among the people they were talking about.

    Beside her, Yan Xuehen became unhappy. This witch was always trying to cause trouble. She remarked, ¡°Hmph, with your current condition, would you be capturing her or just giving yourself up to be captured?¡±

    ¡°Stone cold woman, do you want to make a bet? What will you do if I really do seize her?¡± Yun Jianyue retorted, raising her brow.

    Zu An was speechless. These two women were starting to fight again. He quickly interrupted them and said, ¡°I was just asking about the Demon race, that¡¯s all. After all, the Demon race and Devil Sect share some resemnce in name. Do you two have any rtionship to each other?¡±

    Yun Jianyue said seriously, ¡°Brat, we¡¯re the Holy Sect. If anyone else dared to say Devil Sect or whatever in front of me, I would make sure not even bones were left of them.¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°Come on, big sis. We¡¯re all close; don¡¯t treat me like an outsider like this.¡±

    Yun Jianyue harrumphed, but then ignored him. Zu An wanted to inquire about more information, but suddenly, an ear-splittingly painful rumble loudly filled the air and left their ears in pain. The swamp began to churn, and a mountainous body surfaced.

    It was a giant toad, covered in several pustules that stored all sorts of viscous liquids. It really was nauseating and disgusting. Half of someone¡¯s leg was hanging from the corner of its lips, clearly what was left of one of the victims who had been eaten.

    ¡°A master rank beast¡­¡± Those present felt an empty sensation in their stomach. Beasts were more powerful than normal cultivators of the same rank to begin with. This was the toad¡¯s home turf, so how in the world were they going to deal with it?

    Still, seeing how the treasure-filled tomb was already within reach, no one was willing to leave just like that.

    The toad was clearly unhappy about being hit by the massive boulder. Its belly inted before it returned to normal, groaning loudly as it stared in the direction of the ckwhite Bears.

    The other experts quickly ran away in fear. There were some who were already nning their next move, thinking that once the toad and the bear brothers started fighting, they would use that chance to cross the swamp.

    There were many who thought that, and they all began to move. They had witnessed the length of the tongue earlier, so they made sure to maintain distance several times its length away. That way, the toad wouldn¡¯t be able to harm them at all.

    We¡¯re freaking geniuses!

    Just then, however, arge, bloody mouth suddenly opened up from the left side, then swallowed up all of the passing fiend race experts like a whale eating nkton.

    On the left side, dark light flickered in the air, as if several massive scythes had hacked outward. The fiend race experts on that side were all diced up!

 Chapter 1249: The Different Racesâ€™ Elites

    <h4>Chapter 1249: The Different Races¡¯ Elites</h4>

    The ones who had been about to jump, but didn¡¯t have time to move yet, were scared witless. They crawled back to shore in a sorry state. Only then did they finally see what was going on.

    There was a several-dozen-zhang long giant crocodile to the left, covered in tough scales. The rows of sharp teeth stretching across its bloody mouth glinted, making the experts shiver from just a single look. The remains of several people¡¯s bodies were still dangling from the crocodile¡¯s jaws. Those who were particrly cowardly couldn''t help but vomit on the spot.

    The crocodile¡¯s amber eyes swept across the people on shore; its expression was filled with greed as it seemed to be eyeing its next meal.

    On the right was a massive praying mantis. Its body was red and white, and covered in thorns. It looked just like a moving thorny flower. Someone recognized what it was and cried out, ¡°It¡¯s a Redthorn Flower Mantis!¡±

    The others¡¯ expressions changed. They had heard about that vicious creature before. Its forearms were like two sharp scythes, covered in saw-teeth. The fiend race experts who had flown through the sky had been diced up into pieces by those two scythe-like arms.

    The mantis was holding a fiend race expert in its ws. That person had been bisected at the waist and only had his upper body left, but he was still alive. He screamed in pain as he was eaten alive. He reached out toward the Peacock race woman next to him and pleaded, ¡°Princess¡­ Save me¡­¡±

    The expression of the princess, who was called Changning, changed a bit. She reflexively backed up. The scene before her was just too horrifying.

    The giant mantis seemed to feel that its prey was being too noisy. With a loud crack, its mandibles crushed the fiend race expert¡¯s skull, and it began to slurp his brains out.

    The fiend race expert¡¯s entire body stiffened as he died. However, his eyes were still wide open in death; he clearly still carried a grievance about the fact that hispanion hadn¡¯t saved him.

    Those on the shore gulped. They didn¡¯t really care about one cultivator¡¯s death, because death wasn¡¯t rare among the fiend races. What they were more rmed by was the shocking way the mantis had feasted, and the terrifying gaze of itspound eyes.

    The Golden Peng race¡¯s young master, Jin Shi, said seriously, ¡°Everyone, fighting by ourselves is not the solution. What do you think of working together to y these monsters first? We canpete after we cross the swamp.¡±

    ¡°Fine!¡± The Peacock race¡¯s Princess Changning immediately agreed. She had lost quite a bit of reputation with the group after the way she had just stood there without saving her subordinate, so she had to take the chance to regain a bit of respect.

    Meanwhile, the bear brothers said, ¡°Alright, we brothers will deal with this big toad.¡±

    Then, their muscles swelled, making them grow several timesrger. One had a spiky bone club, while the other used arge steel hammer. They roared as they charged at the big toad. Whenever they took a step, it left a deep footprint in the ground. Even the world itself seemed to be trembling.

    Zu An¡¯s group was rmed. The Bear race was made up of natural berserker-like fighters after all! Wasn¡¯t such an imposing manner a bit too ferocious? If arge group of Bear race cultivators appeared, it really would be difficult for a human army to defeat them.

    The giant toad seemed to have been angered as well. It opened itsrge mouth.

    Croak!

    A visible sound wave swept outward. Wherever it went, it even tore apart the ground. It was clear just how powerful it was.

    Xiong Great and Xiong Second roared loudly. They brandished the spiky club and hammer at the powerful sound waves, taking them head-on and forcibly dispersing them.

    The toad¡¯s tongue shot out like lightning. Xiong Great quickly pushed Xiong Second away, crying, ¡°Careful!¡±

    However, he couldn''t evade in time and could only prevent his vitals from being hit. His shoulder was pierced by the tongue, filling the air with bloody mist and even some bone fragments. It had clearly been shattered.

    The cultivators watching were shocked. The battle had just started, and yet one of Xiong Great¡¯s arms had already been destroyed! If such a thing had happened even to one of the strongest members of the Bear race, what the heck were the rest of them still fighting for?

    Just then, however, Xiong Great roared. He bit down on the tongue near his shoulder, forcefully tearing off a piece of it. The toad quickly retracted its tongue in pain.

    Most of the onlookers cheered, but Yun Jianyue, Yan Xuehen, and the other women frowned. ¡°Does he have to be so disgusting?¡±

    Zu An was also a bit speechless. That Xiong Great is willing to take a bite out of that nasty, sticky toad tongue?

    ¡­

    Just then, the others also began to fight. The Golden Peng race¡¯s young master, Jin Shi, brandished his spear. The Peacock race¡¯s Princess Changning drew her sword and rushed into the air to attack the Redthorn Flower Mantis.

    The two of them hadn¡¯t reached the master rank, but as members of the winged races, they had a certain capacity for flight. Thus, they both attacked simultaneously, sending flickers of dazzling light all over the ce. However, the Redthorn Flower Mantis¡¯s front limbs blocked all of their attacks.

    Right at that moment, Princess Suolun¡¯s eyes began to turn purple. She was about to deal with the remaining giant crocodile when Prince Yin Sha moved over to her and said obsequiously, ¡°How could I trouble the princess to fight a monster like this? Just let this prince take care of it.¡±

    He turned around confidently as he spoke, and suddenly turned into a megalodon. He chomped down on the giant crocodile with his giant jaws.

    ¡°Are the heads of the ocean races really only filled with lust?¡± Yun Jianyue remarked disdainfully.

    With her perception, she could tell that Prince Yin Sha wasn¡¯t weak, but he was still a bit weaker than the giant crocodile. They might have had an advantage if he worked together with the Demon Race¡¯s princess, and yet he had insisted on going by himself. That Chi Wen from before was like that as well. When he saw the pretty Tushan Yu, he had forgotten about everything else. Considering that the Dragon King had sowed his seed all over the ce, she really was starting to wonder whether it was a pattern among the ocean races.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think we should lump them all together like that,¡± Zu An said. Shang Liuyu¡¯s gentle and calm bearing appeared in his mind. She waspletely different from these fes.

    At first, the megalodon put up a decent fight against the giant crocodile. It even twisted its nimble body to bite down on the giant crocodile a few times. Unfortunately, the giant crocodile¡¯s scales were incredibly tough. Sure enough, just as Yun Jianyue had predicted, the megalodon failed to cause any serious damage, and was even bitten a few times by the giant crocodile. The megalodon¡¯s body dripped with blood and it was left at a disadvantage.

    Fortunately, Princess Suolun wasn¡¯t mere eye candy. She had already prepared to make her move. When she saw what had happened, she put her hands together and fired streaks of purple light at the giant crocodile. Only then did Prince Yin Sha have a chance to catch his breath.

    Zu An became absentminded when he saw the scene unfold. Princess Suolun¡¯s methods looked extremely simr to Yun Yuqing¡¯s. He thought, Sigh, I wonder how she¡¯s doing now.

    When the other strong cultivators saw that the others were struggling against the beasts, a young Lion race man roared and said, ¡°I will help out the bear brothers!¡±

    His lion¡¯s roar ability blocked one of the toad¡¯s fatal attacks as he leaped out, sending a fist smashing down on the toad¡¯s head. The strike made the toad¡¯s ind-like body sink a little into the swamp.

    The other cultivators all voiced their praise. ¡°As expected of Shi Ling, the second most powerful among the Lion race¡¯s eight princes! He has already cultivated to such a level at the mere age of thirteen!¡±

    Zu An looked at Yu Yanluo curiously and asked, ¡°Who has the greatest talent in the Lion race?¡±

    Before Yu Yanluo could answer him, elsewhere, a handsome man from the Elf race said with a loud chuckle, ¡°Brother Jin, Miss Kong, this humble Qiao will lend you two a hand.¡±

    He drew his bow, and fired an arrow at the Redthorn Flower Mantis. The arrow was encased in ki, releasing a blinding radiance as it tore through the air. The Elf seized an opportunity Jin Shi and Princess Changning had created to st a hole in one of the giant mantis¡¯ wings.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An was startled. This person is also surnamed Qiao! I wonder if he knows Snow.

    Qiao Heng was about to fire a second arrow when his expression suddenly changed. He quickly changed directions and fired in another direction while dodging to one side.

    Unfortunately, he was a bit too slow. A long, thin, pitch-ck de came out of the shadows, tracing a long wound on his chest. The thin sword didn¡¯t stop at all, however. It seemed to tangle around him and continued to attack; it clearly wouldn¡¯t stop until it took the elf¡¯s life.

    Meanwhile, Qiao Heng had just focused all of his attention on hitting the giant mantis in the air. The sudden ambush caused all he energies within him to stir chaotically. How could he possibly still avoid the attack?

 Chapter 1250: Why Is It Different?

    <h4>Chapter 1250: Why Is It Different?</h4>

    ¡°I¡¯m done for!¡± Qiao Heng eximed in despair.

    Just then, however, a voice called out from off to the side. ¡°What you lookin¡¯ at?¡±

    The thin and slender sword paused for a moment. Its wielder, the Dark Elf in the shadows, turned around and replied, ¡°I¡¯m looking at you, shithead!¡± Even as he spoke, he waspletely stupefied. He was usually a silent person, so why would he have been distracted at such a critical moment?

    Qiao Feng finally had the breather he needed and quickly widened the distance between them.

    Meanwhile, the princes and princesses of the other races noticed what was happening. They all cursed, ¡°Duan Tiande, do you not see what kind of situation we¡¯re in? It¡¯s one thing if you don¡¯t want to help, but you¡¯re being a hindrance!¡±

    The Dark Elf saw that Qiao Heng had already retreated into the distance and was on guard. He knew there was no chance of killing the Elf again today, and that he had also drawn the dissatisfaction of everyone present. He smiled and shrugged, saying, ¡°I was just testing out Brother Qiao¡¯s cultivation; I didn¡¯t have any bad intentions, haha.¡±

    The others rolled their eyes. Everyone knew about the grudge between the Elves and the Dark Elves. They always fought to the death as soon as they met, so who would believe what he said? Still, they were facing a powerful enemy at the moment. Since Duan Tiande had already backed down, the others couldn''t really pressure him too much either.

    Even Qiao Heng only frowned and didn¡¯t n to continue fighting the Dark Elf. On the contrary, he looked toward Zu An in surprise. That voice saying ¡®what you lookin¡¯ at¡¯ hade from that guy. Even though he didn¡¯t know why Duan Tiande would stop, to a certain degree, Zu An had saved him. He cupped his hands toward Zu An with a smile and called out, ¡°Thank you, brother!¡±

    Zu An merely nodded in return. He didn¡¯t want to get too involved in this dispute between races.

    Yan Xuehen voiced her surprise. ¡°What kind of ability was that? It seems a bit like the Dragon race¡¯s Soulspeak.¡±

    As a grandmaster, she obviously wouldn¡¯t assume that the dark elf¡¯s sudden pause was a coincidence. Rather, it was as if he had been forced to respond by some mysteriousws.

    ¡°It¡¯s something simr to Soulspeak,¡± Zu An replied. He didn¡¯t know how to exin the keyboard¡¯s skills any other way.

    Yan Xuehen gave him a deep look and said, ¡°After traveling with you all this time, we have found out more and more about your trump cards. Are you not scared that we will already be prepared against them if we try to kill you in the future?¡±

    Zu An asked in confusion, ¡°Are you still going to kill me?¡±

    Yun Jianyue rested an arm around his shoulder and said, ¡°Stone cold woman, watch your words. Why would I kill my good little brother?¡±

    ¡°Witch!¡± Yan Xuehen shot back. She felt unhappy to see Yun Jianyue casually acting so close to Zu An.

    Yu Yanluo stepped forward to smooth things over, saying, ¡°Let¡¯s use this chance to cross over first.¡±

    Meanwhile, Qiao Heng helped Jin Shi and Princess Kong Changning, while Shi Ling helped the two bear brothers. Duan Tiande went to help Princess Suolun and Prince Yin Sha.

    They were all the best among their ns¡¯ younger generation, so they carried all kinds of precious magical weapons their seniors had bestowed upon them. Even though they couldn''t defeat the beasts alone, together, they quickly gained the advantage.

    In particr, on the giant crocodile¡¯s side, a streak of dark light shot out from among the spectators, then attached itself to the crocodile¡¯s wounds. The crocodile screamed in agony and frantically twisted its body, trying to shake it off. Unfortunately, no matter how terrifying its movements were, it couldn''t break free from the dark light.

    Only then did everyone notice that the dark streak of light was actually a shriveled-up middle-aged man. As they watched, the giant crocodile began to shrivel up visibly. Furthermore, wizened man¡¯s body gradually inted, and his face also began looking younger.

    ¡°Blood race!¡± Zu An eximed with wide eyes. He remembered the fear of beingpletely overwhelmed by Mosquito Daoist. That kind of skill really had a naturally powerful offense.

    However, this individual¡¯s methods seemed greatly different from those of Mosquito Daoist. Although Zu An was puzzled, someone had already recognized who he was. ¡°The Blood race''s Ma Huang!¡±

    The others kept their distance from that area when they heard the man¡¯s name. Even Prince Yin Sha quickly backed up. He had quite a few injuries on him, so he didn¡¯t want to have his blood essence sucked dry by this guy.

    ¡°Ma Huang? Leech?¡± Zu An mumbled to himself. The Blood race really did have all sorts of creatures among them.[1]

    Just then, the others ran toward Zu An, because the part of the swamp he was in was more spacious. It hadn¡¯t been affected by the battles and was the best for crossing over.

    However, Zu An¡¯s brow furrowed slightly. He muttered, ¡°Something¡¯s not right. There¡¯s something else under the swamp!¡±

    Right after he spoke, the water¡¯s surface parted and a giant pir suddenly rose from it. It smashed into the bodies of those who were above it.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Pa!

    With a loud and clear noise, quite a few people were sent flying, vomiting blood out of their mouths as they flew backward. Some people with weaker cultivation were even smashed into a bloody mist on the spot.

    Then, tworgenterns rose from the water¡¯s surface. For some reason, they made people shiver. Only a whileter did the cultivators see that they weren¡¯tnterns at all, but rather the eyes of a giant snake.

    ¡°How could there be a snake this big?!¡±

    The cultivators¡¯ eyes paled. How was this still a snake? It could only be called a great serpent! They all felt despair. Even the young masters and misses from great fiend race ns frowned. The other three beasts were already extremely difficult to deal with. If another one with an even more terrifying aura joined in¡­

    Fortunately, the giant crocodile was almost finished. Later, they all had to join forces to fight against this giant serpent; otherwise, all of them could forget about crossing over.

    Yun Jianyue said with a frown, ¡°Let¡¯s cross first. There¡¯s nothing to look at here.¡± Even though she was wounded, she was still a grandmaster. She obviously didn¡¯t fear this beast.

    ¡°Okay,¡± Zu An replied. He felt as if they had spent too much time here, so it would be best if they crossed over to take a look at the other side first.

    He was just about to move when Yu Yanluo stopped him, saying, ¡°Wait.¡± Then, under the others¡¯ shocked gazes, she walked over to the water with graceful steps and looked at the giant snake.

    ¡°Be careful!¡± Qiao Heng reflexively warned her. Because Zu An had saved him earlier, he subconsciously felt somewhat close to the people at his side, so he couldn¡¯t help but speak up.

    There were many others who shared his thoughts, but that was more because of Yu Yanluo¡¯s beauty. Even though her face was veiled, her graceful and moving figure, as well as her picturesque brows, made it incredibly obvious that she was a stunning beauty. Her waist was so fine that it might not even be caught between the giant serpent¡¯s teeth.

    Sigh, this really is a waste of such a beauty.

    The giant serpent saw that an insignificant figure had dared to stand in front of it. A vicious look appeared in its eyes as it raised its upper body, its forked tongue darting in and out. It was just about tounch a lethal attack when it was suddenly stunned. It tilted its head to one side and sized up the woman before it.

    It had looked ferocious just a moment before, and yet now, it looked almost¡­ cute?

    Yu Yanluo walked over and said to Zu An¡¯s group with a smile, ¡°Alright, it¡¯s fine now. It has permitted us to cross.¡±

    The fiend race experts snorted disdainfully when they heard that. Was this woman scared silly? And she¡¯s even saying the snake is letting them cross? Does she think it¡¯s her subordinate or something?

    Only then did Zu An and the others remember that Yu Yanluo was the Snake race¡¯s n leader. Within her flowed the blood of the ancient Medusa. To a certain degree, this serpent was of the same race. They couldn''t help but chuckle, not expecting to have dealt with the situation so easily.

    Just then, the serpent¡¯s tail mmed fiercely against the water¡¯s surface. The swamp¡¯s waters instantly parted, forming a several-meter-wide tunnel.

    ¡°Thank you!¡± Yu Yanluo said, nodding at the serpent with a smile. Then, she led the others straight toward the passage.

    The others¡¯ eyes were about to pop out. What the hell is going on?

    The fiend race young masters were also gloomy. We¡¯re fighting for our freaking lives here, and yet you can just pass through on your side?

    The fiend race cultivators who were near Zu An began to look around. Maybe this giant serpent is quite agreeable?

    When he recalled how Yu Yanluo had behaved, there was one daring individual who also ran over to the water to look at the serpent. The serpent was a bit dumbfounded, not knowing what he was trying to do.

    The fiend race cultivator saw that the serpent indeed didn¡¯t attack him and was ecstatic. It works after all! Then, he copied Yu Yanluo and showed it a smile that he thought looked kind and said, ¡°Thank you!¡±

    Afterward, he impatiently followed in the steps of Zu An¡¯s group. However, the serpent quickly became furious. It swept out its tail and sent him flying.

    The others who were about to imitate the process all stopped. Why is this thing showing them such a huge difference in treatment?

    Don¡¯t tell us it¡¯s just because she¡¯s pretty?

    So it was a perverted snake!

    1. The characters sound like the Chinese word for ¡®leech¡¯. ?

 Chapter 1251: Azure Dragon and White Tiger

    <h4>Chapter 1251: Azure Dragon and White Tiger</h4>

    The giant crocodile had already been sucked dry into a corpse by Ma Huang. With a motion of his hand, he even collected the corpse, remarking, ¡°This crocodile¡¯s skin is good stuff.¡± Whether it would be used for defensive or offensive gear, it would be a good choice.

    Princess Suolun and Prince Yin Sha frowned. They had clearly contributed a lot to the defeat of the giant crocodile too. If not for them keeping it at bay from the front, Ma Huang wouldn¡¯t have had any chance tounch a sessful ambush.

    However, the two of them came from distinguished backgrounds, and their ns operated huge industries. They didn¡¯t care that much about the crocodile skin. Besides, they didn¡¯t want to offend a powerful enemy at the moment. As such, the two suppressed their discontent and took the chance to fly over the swamp. Ma Huang chuckled, then followed closely behind.

    The ones who were still fighting cursed inwardly. They had thought that once the crocodile was defeated, the three woulde and help with the other two beasts. And yet now, they had actually gone ahead first!n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Shi Ling let out a cold snort. He kicked off the ground, then rushed through the gap in the giant crocodile¡¯s domain.

    Even though the bear brothers looked tough and simple-minded on the surface, they weren¡¯t stupid either. When they saw that, they had no reason to foolishly continue fighting. As such, the two worked together to lead the giant toad toward the people on the shore. Then, the two of them crossed to the other side too.

    Those on the shore broke out into curses. They had been hoping for the others to help them open up a path, and yet now, they instead became cannon fodder to stall the beasts! Still, curses were just curses. They still had no choice but to fight now that they were up against the toad. At the very least, there were quite a few strong individuals in the group, so even though it was a bit chaotic, they weren¡¯tpletely helpless.

    After the earlier exchange, the Redthorn Flower Mantis also knew that these were no pushovers. Between that and the giant crocodile¡¯s bitter death, it was no longermitted to a fight to the death.

    The others who were nearby quickly moved forward. Only those who had been scared of being caught in the battle and had hidden far away couldn''t make it in time and cursed inwardly.

    ¡­

    A chubby figure also arrived on the shore while hiding within the crowd. He said to himself with a smile, ¡°This n to give them the map really was too brilliant. What can I say? I¡¯m just that great.¡± He was naturally the fat daoist Wu Liang, whom Zu An¡¯s group had encountered earlier.

    While he was feeling smug, he suddenly saw the forest in front of him, as well as the stone memorial statues off to the side. He sensed a kind of profound and mysterious feeling. His smile instantly stiffened.

    Huh?

    He quickly took out a divination circle and began to fiddle with it. He started looking more and more rmed, muttering, ¡°Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, ck Tortoise! Why is it this kind of forbiddennd of inevitable death? That¡¯s impossible; it doesn¡¯t make any sense!¡±

    He became incredibly anxious, pacing back and forth in circles. Those who were passing by looked at him as if he were crazy, staying far away.

    A whileter, Wu Liang saw the crowd gradually leave. He gritted his teeth. Since he had alreadye this far, there was no backing out now. He could only brace himself and go for broke.

    No matter how dangerous it is, the heavens will grant me a path of survival!

    He continuously consoled himself while taking out talismans belonging to an assortment of gods and buddhas and hanging them on his body. He hoped that at least one of those gods and buddhas would protect him somehow.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An¡¯s group was well ahead of the others. When he saw the stone memorial statues on either side, Zu An said with a sigh, ¡°This is the divine path, I presume. I wonder just what kind of important figure is buried here.¡±

    Yun Jianyue said seriously, ¡°Be careful, all of you. Anyone who could have memorial statues on this scale was definitely no ordinary person. Besides, how could someone like this ever permit another to disturb their ce of rest?¡±

    ¡°Indeed. Theyout of the trees here feels a bit strange, as if they are a kind of formation,¡± Yan Xuehen added, continuing to examine the trees around her.

    Zu An tried to use the jade badge to connect to the surrounding small creatures, but there was no reply at all. This was purely and of death.

    Yu Yanluo said, ¡°Just now, that great snake told me there was something inside that could help me activate my bloodline and break through.¡±

    Zu An was surprised. Cultivation waspletely different for the fiend racespared to humans. Even though Yu Yanluo could use the Medusa¡¯s ability, there were great limitations. If she couldpletely awaken her bloodline, her strength might take another huge leap!

    Looks like we have to risk it, even if we¡¯re headed straight into their of a dragon.

    Yun Jianyue said, puzzled, ¡°It didn¡¯t look as if the two of you were talking, though.¡±

    Yu Yanluo blushed and said, ¡°Our Snake race has some specialmunication methods.¡± Since she had spent most of her time in human society, she mainly considered herself a human. She was a bit embarrassed about talking about her Snake race side in front of others.

    Suddenly, cries of rm rose from nearby.

    Zu An¡¯s party looked around and noticed that as they had gone deeper, a fog had begun to surround them. At first, the fog was still quite thin. It wasn¡¯t too rare to see fog in forests, so no one had treated it as a big deal.

    However, in the blink of an eye, people all suddenly noticed that they couldn''t even see more than a meter past themselves. The change had happened far too quickly! This definitely wasn¡¯t normal.

    The sounds of weapons leaving their sheaths rang out. The cultivators were on high alert, fearing that something might jump out and ambush them from the fog.

    Zu An said grimly, ¡°This fog seems to be able to cut off spiritual sense. We have no idea what the situation is like farther out.¡± Ever since he had condensed his soul, everything within arge region around him had constantly been within his senses. Now, it almost felt as if he had gone blind.

    As expected, it really is easier to get ustomed to extravagance than to return to a frugal lifestyle after luxury¡­

    Yan Xuehen nodded and said, ¡°It is the same for me. Stay close and do not wander off. This is probably some kind of maze.¡±

    Yun Jianyue remarked with a smile, ¡°Are you scared of getting lost, stone cold woman? Why don¡¯t I hold your hand? You won¡¯t get lost then.¡±

    Yan Xuehen replied in annoyance, ¡°Witch, will you ever stop?¡±

    Zu An was about to interfere when his group heard a horrifying, miserable scream nearby. Then, they could vaguely sense someone crashing and bashing around. They seemed to be wing at something on their face too. A whileter, they copsed heavily to the ground, subsequently falling silent.

    Those present were shocked. The scream had just been too bitter. Even the ones who had been eaten by the beasts in the swamp hadn¡¯t screamed like that¡­

    Zu An and the other members of his group exchanged a look. They decided to observe the situation first. That scream was too terrifying; they had to figure out what was going on. Several others thought the same way, including those who had fought against the ferocious beasts in the swamp.

    There was a fiend race cultivator lying on the ground, his body already deformed beyond recognition. His face and neck were badly mangled from wing. Judging from the blood on his fingernails, his wounds were all self-inflicted. Many people had seen how he had fought before. Even though he couldn''tpare to Princess Suolun and the other elites, he wasn¡¯t that far off. After seeing such a strong person die so mysteriously, the survivors felt an ill foreboding.

    ¡°Was there something hiding in the mist, waiting to ambush him?¡± Princess Suolun wondered.

    ¡°That¡¯s not possible. I was near him just now and no one approached him. He was also on high alert himself, always keeping a set distance from others,¡± Duan Tiande said. Dark Elves excelled in assassination; if even he said that nothing had approached the other person, there was definitely nothing.

    ¡°Then just how did he die?¡± the others asked, stunned.

    Just then, more bitter cries rang out. The survivors quickly turned around. The ones who were closest to the corpse were those with the highest cultivation and status; the others had no choice but to get on their tiptoes and take a look from the periphery. The farther out they were, the lower their cultivation.

    Of course, there were some independent, powerful experts watching from a distance. They were clearly on high alert, on guard against anyone and anything that approached them. The others thought that the first ones who would encounter trouble would be those solitary individuals, but it was actually the ones in the group who were the farthest out.

    They became just like the corpse, frantically wing at their own face and neck. Their bodies twisted and writhed strangely, as if they were zombies.

    Thud! Thud! Thud¡­

    They weren¡¯t able to hold on for as long as the other, stronger cultivator. They all copsed, not making another sound.

    The other cultivators had seen the deaths happen right before their eyes, and yet they still didn¡¯t know how those people had died. A chill ran down their backs.

 Chapter 1252: Canâ€™t Advance or Retreat

    <h4>Chapter 1252: Can¡¯t Advance or Retreat</h4>

    People began to panic when they saw so many people die mysteriously. The worst part was that there weren¡¯t even any injuries on their bodies!

    Someone stooped down next to the corpses and reached out a hand to check their condition, muttering, ¡°They haven¡¯t been poisoned¡­ Hm? Why does it feel as if all of their blood essence has been sucked dry?¡±

    The others all looked toward Ma Huang. Ma Huang jumped in fright and quickly waved his hands, protesting, ¡°It has nothing to do with me! There are many people who can testify that I was here the entire time; there was no chance for me to do anything.¡±

    Prince Yin Sha added, ¡°I can attest to that. I was watching him just now; he really didn¡¯t do anything.¡±

    He had seen how the giant crocodile was sucked dry, and he himself had been injured. Fearing that Ma Huang might have bad intentions toward him, he had always been on guard. However, gis attention had actually unexpectedly given Ma Huang an alibi.

    He regretted speaking up somewhat as soon as he finished. He should have used the situation to get rid of this dangerous guy! Not only would he not have anything to worry about then, there would be one less person to have to split the loot with. Unfortunately, there was no way to take back his words after he had spoken them.

    Fortunately, there were others who voiced their suspicions. ¡°Even if it wasn¡¯t him, there might be others from his n hidden here. Otherwise, who would be able to suck all of their blood essence dry?¡±

    They all aimed their weapons at Ma Huang. At the same time, they looked vigntly at any nearby people they didn¡¯t recognize. They were all scared of bing victims, so they would rather kill the innocent than let any suspicious people go.

    Ma Huang¡¯s expression suddenly changed. He protested, ¡°Do you all think I¡¯m scared of you?!¡± He was always someone who did what he wanted. When had he ever allowed such a thing to pass? He also raised his weapon, ready tounch a counterattack at any time. A fight was on the verge of breaking out.

    ¡°In a moment of crisis, the first to be uneasy is the mind. Who would¡¯ve thought that the fiend races would be the same as humans in that regard?¡± Yun Jianyue remarked, a hint of mockery on her lips. It was as if she were superior to all the others. The current situation was indeed a bit bizarre, but it wasn¡¯t enough to scare her.

    Yan Xuehen also simply watched calmly as a bystander. After all, they were grandmasters with extraordinary experience. They already knew what was going on, but these were fiend race individuals, so there was no reason to worry for their sake.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Princess Suolun stepped forward just then, saying, ¡°Everyone, do not act rashly. If the blood essence is sucked out, the body turns into a withered corpse. However, you can all see that these corpses still have intact skins. They look the same way they did before they died. It is just the blood essence inside that has withered.¡±

    The others nodded. Indeed, it didn¡¯t really seem like the work of the Blood race.

    ¡°What is this?¡± Princess Suolun suddenly eximed, her eyes narrowing. She pointed in a certain direction, and the others looked at the ce she indicated. They saw that some small green sprouts resembling bean sprouts had begun to appear from the corpses¡¯ ears.

    ¡°There are some here too!¡± the others quickly cried out. They saw that apart from the corpses¡¯ ears, their noses, mouths, eyes, and even the tops of their heads were covered in those sprouts. Their leaves were a shining green. Even though they were small and tender, not a single person dared to look down on them.

    ¡°They weren¡¯t here a moment ago!¡± someone eximed, then cut open the corpses¡¯ clothes and saw that many parts of their skin had ruptured. Dense and numerous green sprouts tore through their bodies and emerged all at once. So it was the sprouts that had sucked their blood essence dry!

    ¡°Why do their bodies contain these kinds of sprouts?¡± someone wondered; that was what the cultivators had all been wondering.

    ¡°Could it be that they were poisoned before?¡± another person suggested.

    ¡°These people don¡¯t know each other. Why would they be affected by the same kind of poison?¡±

    Just then, someone said weakly, ¡°These sprouts¡­ Don¡¯t you feel that these sprouts¡­ are simr to the leaves of those trees?¡±

    The others looked at the trees. Sure enough, even though the sprouts were many times smaller, the leaves¡¯ shapes and vein patterns were all identical. The cultivators were horrified. So the poison hade from the trees!

    They looked at the forest all around them. A chilling thought suddenly appeared in their minds. There are so many trees; can every single tree create one sacrifice?

    Are we going to be the next batch?

    The cultivators began to discuss things among themselves, but they really couldn''t figure out how the trees released their poison.

    ¡°It¡¯s not a poison, but rather seeds. These trees scatter their own seeds through the air. These seeds are extremely small, and the cover of the fog makes them hard to notice,¡± Yun Jianyue exined to Zu An and the others. ¡°As long as you cover your body with a ki barrier or use some kind of treasure to shield your body from even the specks of dust around you, you¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s group all had extensive knowledge, and they carried quite a few treasures themselves. Between that and their great strength, the seeds knew that they weren¡¯t easy targets and didn¡¯t disturb them.

    When the people around them heard their discussion, they finally understood what was happening. Quite a few looked at Yun Jianyue with surprise. They had thought that she was just a concubine a spoiled young master had brought with him, and hadn¡¯t expected her to have such knowledge. Magic artifacts lit up one after another, and those without treasures used their ki to put up barriers to prevent the seeds from approaching them.

    Some people were worried that they had already breathed in some seeds, so they quickly used their skills to remove the impurities within their bodies. Sure enough, they found some seeds inside them.

    Those with higher cultivations used all sorts of secret methods to get rid of the seeds that had already taken root. Those who were weaker had no choice. They could only struggle bitterly before ultimately losing to the seeds¡¯ tenacious vitality. As they were sucked dry, sprouts burst out from their bodies, and they died miserably on the spot.

    The other fiend race cultivators showed no interest in saving them. The strong preyed on the weak; that belief was already deeply embedded in their minds. They wouldn¡¯t talk about something like friendship in such a situation.

    Hunting for treasure was dependent on risking one¡¯s life to begin with. Loss of life was just toomon. They could even eliminate some of theirpetitors this way, so what more could they hope for?

    Still, the cultivators were furious when they found out the identity of the main culprit. They wanted to vent their anger on the trees, bringing out all sorts of weapons to cut them down. After all, with a cultivator¡¯s strength, chopping down a tree wasn¡¯t difficult at all.

    However, no one knew what kind of material these trees were made of; no matter how they hacked at the trees, they could only leave behind some shallow cuts. Furthermore, the trees regenerated, continuously recovering from their wounds. In the end, even after the cultivators exhausted a ton of strength, not a single tree could be cut down.

    There were some people who tried to use elemental power to burn down the trees. However, fire merely scattered on its own before reaching the tree, extinguishing itself in midair. How could they even burn anything?

    When he saw their stupefied appearances, the fat daoist Wu Liang, who had been hiding, cursed, ¡°A bunch of idiots! These trees are a special formation that person established while borrowing the power of ley lines! As long as these ley lines still contain power, the formation can¡¯t be destroyed. Forget about you, not even a grandmaster would be able to destroy them!¡±

    ¡­

    Zu An¡¯s group had also noticed that the ce was different. They hadn¡¯t wanted to stay together with the fiend race cultivators, so they turned around and headed deeper inside. Some independent cultivators could tell that Zu An¡¯s group was special, so they quickly followed as well, thinking it might make things a bit safer for them.

    When the other fiend race cultivators saw that it was useless, they gave up. Who wanted to waste valuable strength here? After all, they still had to fight against each other over the treasureter! Now that they were aware of the problem, the trees¡¯ seeds could no longer harm them.

    Of course, there were some with lower cultivations who didn¡¯t have magic artifacts to protect themselves. They could only helplessly withdraw from the ce. Even though treasures were important, their lives were still the most precious of all.

    ¡­

    Zu An¡¯s group walked ahead of all the others. Because of the fog, they couldn''t see the sun or moon. They didn¡¯t even know if it was day or night. Soon, however, they frowned. The forest hadn¡¯t seemed so big when they saw it from the swamp area earlier. Normally, they should long since have gotten out of the forest.

    ¡°This is most likely a maze. An extremely profound formation has been established here,¡± Yan Xuehen said, stopping. The further she walked, the more she lost her sense of direction; however, that kind of thing was normally impossible for a high level cultivator.

    Everything around them was extremely quiet. The only sounds came from the crumbling of dry leaves under their careful steps. In such a quiet and empty night scene, even those sounds seemed to echo throughout the ce. The atmosphere was a bit strange.

    ¡°I do not think we can keep going. Something seems to be wrong with this direction,¡± Princess Suolun said.

    Jin Shi nodded and replied, ¡°You¡¯re right. If we continue this way, we¡¯ll only get more and more lost. We¡¯ll just end up exhausting our strength for nothing, and we¡¯ll be eaten up by these demonic trees. Why don¡¯t we leave this ce for now? Earlier, this forest didn¡¯t seem to be thatrge. We can make a detour around it from that shore.¡±

    His suggestion received a lot of approval. The psychological pressure the endless fog gave people was a bit too much. If they left the strange forest, a couple dozen li wouldn¡¯t be anything too difficult for them to cover. Thus, their group quickly put the n into action.

    Yu Yanluo gave the people around her a look and asked, ¡°Should we continue further or leave?¡± She was a bit worried too. She didn¡¯t want to put the others in danger because of something that might make her stronger.

    Yun Jianyue didn¡¯t seem all that bothered and replied, ¡°We¡¯ve alreadye all the way here, so how can we just leave now?¡± No matter how injured she was, she was still a grandmaster. She was more courageous than normal people.

    Yan Xuehen nodded and added, ¡°I agree with the decision to keep going. However, we cannot rush in blindly; we should first figure out the rules of this formation.¡±

    Zu An had a pensive expression as he wondered, ¡°The one who designed this maze probably wouldn¡¯t let those who entered leave that easily, right?¡±

    Just then, there were cries of rm from the other group.

    ¡°Huh? Why do I feel as if the path is a bit different from earlier?¡±

    ¡°Wait, why did the marks I left behind disappear?!¡±

 Chapter 1253: Leading the Way

    <h4>Chapter 1253: Leading the Way</h4>

    There were pretty much no weaklings among the ones who had made it thus far. They were also well-versed in the ways of the martial world. That was why they had been immediately mindful when they saw the fog; they had all left behind various markings along the way. When they had heard that some people were going to leave, they had actually felt a bit pleased with themselves. They had even thought of not disclosing anything and just letting the others remain trapped inside.

    And yet, when they started to look around, they themselves couldn''t find the signs they had left behind. They werepletely flustered, so how could they be bothered to mock others? They all began to cry out in rm.

    Fear was infectious, so more and more people began to cry out. Even Shi Ling, Princess Suolun, Jin Shi, and the others were starting to feel a bit shaken up. They had left behind markings too, but they couldn''t find them anymore either.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Yan Xuehen said, ¡°This fog is a bit strange; it seems to be connected to the power of the earth. The formation is always changing, so of course they cannot find the markings they left behind anymore.

    ¡°This formation is always changing? But why is it that we haven¡¯t noticed the trees around us moving at all?¡± Yu Yanluo asked in surprise.

    ¡°This is why high-level formations are so profound. Those in the formation cannot sense that anything is off at all,¡± Yan Xuehen said. She added in praise, ¡°I wonder which formidable figure created this formation. It truly is brilliant.¡±

    Yun Jianyue snapped in dissatisfaction, ¡°Can you stop your kiss-assery already? I know your White Jade Sect excels at formations, and since you¡¯re the sect master, you¡¯re obviously not bad at them either. Hurry up and figure out a way to get out of this thing.¡±

    If she hadn¡¯t been injured, there would obviously be no need for all of this trouble. She could just break it through brute force. At the moment, though, she could only bow down to reality.

    Yan Xuehen blushed and said, ¡°I still need some time.¡±

    She squatted down and began to sketch with a tree branch. The lines depicted the paths they seemed to have taken just then, as well as the appearance of the forest when they had looked at it from the marsh. She was clearly carrying outplex calctions.

    As she observed Yan Xuehen¡¯s perfect side profile and her sparkling, radiant skin, even though Yun Jianyue usually fought with her, she still had to admit that this stone cold woman was beautiful. No wonder people always treated her like some goddess wherever she went.

    On the other hand, the fiend race cultivators were also trying to figure something out. The Peacock race¡¯s Princess Changning and the Peng race¡¯s Jin Shi flew high up into the air, trying to see if they could break out of the fog and get a better view. However, they could only fly three feet into the air before crashing back down.

    Both of them had fearful expressions as they said, ¡°We cannot fly here.¡±

    Some others tried to fly too. Even though they hadn¡¯t reached the master rank, some of them were already at the ninth rank. Short-term flight wasn¡¯t an issue. However, they discovered that none of them could fly at all.

    Yun Jianyue rolled her eyes and muttered, ¡°Are these fiend race cultivators delusional? Did they only realize that they couldn¡¯t fly now? They really are getting worse with each generation.¡±

    Yu Yanluo said quietly, ¡°I¡¯m from the fiend races too¡­¡±

    Yun Jianyue grinned and replied, ¡°I didn¡¯t include you.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but smile when he saw that. They had noticed that flight wasn¡¯t possible as soon as they entered. It was clear that the special region had stripped people of their ability to fly. Just how incredible did one¡¯s skills have to be to create something of this scale?

    He was curious as to whether the Wind Fire Wheels could still be used. However, there were too many eyes present, and bringing them out might only draw unnecessary attention, so he decided against it.

    Suddenly, someone in the other group shouted, ¡°Who are you?¡±

    Then, arge and tall shadow shed past them and quickly disappeared into the fog.

    ¡°What happened?¡± Shi Ling asked unhappily. They had been discussing an important matter, and yet one of his subordinates had suddenly called out. Others might think that he didn¡¯t have good control over his people.

    ¡°Replying to the prince, just now, I suddenly turned around and noticed that there seemed¡­ to be another person. I didn¡¯t recognize that person, so I called out,¡± the one who had shouted said; he was from the Lion race. His face was deathly pale, and he was even shaking a bit as he spoke.

    After they entered the fog, even though the cultivators had all looked as if they were going to be temporary allies, there was no way they would really be all that close. In order to guard against unknown dangers, they all stuck to others from their race or people they were close to. That was why the lion had been so frightened when he saw an extra person next to him.

    ¡°It is just one more person; do you have to look that scared?¡± Shi Ling replied with a snort. This really was making the Lion race look bad! Once we go back, I¡¯m going to send this guy to the front lines to fight the Hyena race.

    ¡°Young master, he¡­ He¡­¡± The subordinate suddenly pointed at apanion next to him, his teeth chattering loudly.

    The other princes exchanged a look. Their expressions changed as well.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The Lion Race expert looked fine from the front, but several cuts had opened up on his back. His internal organs had been eaten cleanly. What was strange was that he still retained his appearance from when he had been alive, standing perfectly straight. There was even a mysterious smile on his face, as if he hadn¡¯t felt the pain at all.

    ¡°What the hell is this?!¡± the bear brothers eximed. Even they, who had nerves of steel, felt their throats turn dry.

    ¡°Is there some kind of beast hidden in here?¡± the Peacock race¡¯s Princess Changning wondered. She was deathly pale, and had clearly also been scared quite badly. Just the thought of having all of her internal organspletely eaten from behind was terrifying.

    ¡°No, it seemed to be a humanoid thing,¡± the Peng race¡¯s Jin Shi answered, shaking his head. His race was known for their sharp eyes. Unfortunately, the fog was just too strange, so even he hadn''t seen the creature¡¯s appearance too clearly. However, he was certain that it was humanoid.

    The Lion race subordinate added, ¡°Indeed, it looked like a person, but they were so fast that I didn¡¯t see what they looked like. I remember that their entire body was an unnatural gray.¡±

    ¡°Trash! He was so close to you, and yet you could not see clearly?¡± Shi Ling cursed angrily. Then, he raised his head and looked around, but he didn¡¯t notice anything strange at all.

    In the distance, Yun Jianyue sneered. ¡°That little lion is quite fierce, no? He isn¡¯t that old, but his temper isn¡¯t long at all.¡±

    Yu Yanluo said, ¡°The fiend races care about the purity of their lineage, and they worship the strong. They don¡¯t care about methods of conciliation at all. That¡¯s why, as long as he¡¯s strong enough, no matter how terrible his attitude is, his subordinates still won¡¯t dare to show the slightest thought of rebellion.¡±

    Yun Jianyue said coldly, ¡°As expected of a group of savage beasts. Uh¡­ I wasn¡¯t talking about you.¡±

    Yu Yanluo was speechless.

    Zu An was starting to get really curious. Judging from the disdain Yun Jianyue showed the fiend races, did that mean she really didn¡¯t have any fiend race blood inside her? In that case, what was her rtionship with Yun Yuqing?

    ¡°Could it be that it was one of the ones who came in with us that secretly attacked us?¡± Qiao Heng wondered, ncing toward Duan Tiande, who was resting under arge tree¡¯s shadow.

    Duan Tiande sneered, ¡°Don¡¯t try to stir everyone up to avenge your personal grudges. We dark elves have never had a habit of scooping out internal organs.¡±

    Off to one side, Ma Huang also quickly expressed his innocence. ¡°This isn¡¯t a habit of the Blood race either.¡±

    A small fatty suggested weakly, ¡°It¡¯ll be dangerous for us to remain here, so why don¡¯t we continue inside?¡±

    ¡°Sure, but do you even know where we should be going?¡± the others said disdainfully. Many people wondered, Whose subordinate is this fe? He doesn¡¯t even understand the basic rules.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we try the southwestern direction?¡± The little fatty pointed toward some of the nearby trees.

    ¡°You know the way?¡± Princess Suolun asked, sizing him up curiously.

    The little fatty shook his head and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t, butst night, I had a dream that there was a stuffed bun stand to the southwest, so I thought, maybe this direction might be better¡­¡±

    The others had thought that he might have actually had some useful ideas. None of them had expected it to just be that kind of reason! They all began to curse.

    ¡°Beat it! You have no right to speak in this kind of ce!¡±

    ¡°Which n is he from? Hurry and take your kid back; it¡¯s disgraceful.¡±

    ¡­

    Zu An gave the little fatty a look out of curiosity. He had clearly never seen that person before, so why did he have a sense of familiarity?

    At the same time, Yan Xuehen quietly said, ¡°I have managed to obtain some clues. We should head in the southwest direction for now.¡±

    Yun Jianyue said mockingly, ¡°Stone cold woman, your skills seem to be getting worse. Even some short fatty deduced that faster than you.¡±

    ¡°Ah, is that so? I was not paying attention,¡± Yan Xuehen said, looking in that direction with shock. Unfortunately, the little fatty was already nowhere to be seen.

    Zu An couldn''t help but speak up for Yan Xuehen¡¯s sake, saying, ¡°Big Sis Yan clearly came to that conclusion at the same time.¡±

    Yun Jianyue didn¡¯t seem as if she intended to change her attitude at all. ¡°What kind of identity does she have? Is it not embarrassing enough for her to reach the result at the same time as someone else?¡±

    Zu An sensibly chose to close his mouth. He decided that it was better for them to look in the southwestern direction first.

    ¡­

    When the others saw that, Shi Ling voiced his surprise. ¡°They even believe the words of an idiot?¡± He didn¡¯t know that Yan Xuehen had reached the same conclusion on her own and just thought that they had been listening to the words of the fatty from earlier.

    Qiao Heng said, ¡°Either way, we have no idea what to do either. Why don¡¯t we just follow them and give it a try?¡± Since Zu An had saved him before, he subconsciously felt a degree of closeness.

    Shi Ling said proudly, ¡°Proceeding recklessly for some random reason is truly unwise. Why not just let them scout out the situation to see how it goes?¡±

    Princess Suolun frowned slightly and said, ¡°This fog is too strange. If enough distance forms between us, we will lose track of each other. Even if they really did discover something, we would not know of it.¡± She took the initiative to follow Zu An¡¯s group after speaking. Prince Yin Sha, who was at her beck and call, naturally stuck to her.

    With someone taking the lead, one after another, people all began to follow Zu An¡¯s group. Only Shi Ling and his subordinates stood in ce, all alone.

    ¡°Young master, are we going to stay here?¡± a subordinate asked.

    ¡°Do you even have a brain? Everyone else has already left, if we stay here, won¡¯t we just be waiting for that weird monster to ambush us?¡± Shi Ling shot back, smacking his subordinate with a palm. Then, he followed as well, albeit unhappily.

 Chapter 1254: Fiend Races Crown Princess?

    <h4>Chapter 1254: Fiend Races'' Crown Princess?</h4>

    ¡°It really is annoying to be followed like this,¡± Yun Jianyue remarked. She had noticed that quite a few people were following them and felt unhappy. She had an eager look on her face, as if she wanted to get rid of some of them and throw them off.

    Zu An chuckled. He hadn¡¯t expected his group to really end up being the ones leading the way. He said, ¡°Forget it; just let them follow. They aren¡¯t a threat to us either way. Rather, this fog forest is too strange. It¡¯s better if we don¡¯t let side issues keep growing.¡±

    When she heard that, Yun Jianyue let out a muffled snort, but didn¡¯t object.

    Yan Xuehen was surprised. This witch normally did whatever she wanted, and yet she actually listened to what someone else had said? Still, now wasn¡¯t the time for her to be distracted. She looked around her while calcting the nearby formation.

    The others seemed to be scared of disturbing her, so they all had their mouths shut tightly. They all moved in single file, resembling a long snake as they moved silently through the fog. This kind of atmosphere, paired with the fact that there was a monster that fished out one¡¯s innards lurking around, made most of the cultivators feel a mix of fear, restlessness, and bewilderment.

    After walking for a while, Yan Xuehen suddenly stopped. She eximed, ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°Something is not right,¡± Yan Xuehen said, frowning slightly. There seemed to be something she couldn''t figure out.

    Not too far away, the fiend race cultivators were all rmed. What kind of a background did this woman have? Not only did she seem to know about this great ancient formation, but also¡­ even her frown was so pretty?

    Zu An was just about to ask something when he suddenly caught a shadow out of the corner of his eye. He eximed, ¡°Hm? What¡¯s that?¡±

    The others followed his gaze and saw that there was something dark crawling on the ground not too far away. They immediately felt goosebumps. Was it that monster that had attacked them? They all clenched their weapons and went on high alert. There were even some who couldn''t hold back and attacked, throwing their weapons at the thing.

    The other strong cultivators were rmed. What are you angering this unknown creature for? Who knows what kind of retribution it might bring onto everyone!

    However, they didn¡¯t speak their curses out loud. They were surprised to discover that it hadn¡¯t reacted to the weapons at all.

    ¡°Huh?¡± The cultivators were bewildered. Could it be that this thing was deliberately enticing them toe closer? None of them dared to continue forward.

    However, Zu An was confident because of his many skills. He walked straight over and finally saw what the dark thing was. Wasn¡¯t it just the subordinate from the Lion Race who had had his innards scooped out?!

    When the others saw that he was still fine, they also went over. Their expressions all turned awful when they saw the corpse.

    ¡°Why did we end up returning to the same ce again after all this time?!¡± Shi Ling harrumphed in dissatisfaction.

    The others had been starting to admire Yan Xuehen a bit, but now, they couldn''t help but haveints. Still, since she was pretty, they all subconsciously chose not to curse her, instead cursing the fatty from before brutally.

    ¡°Why is this happening?¡± Zu An asked. He obviously knew that Yan Xuehen had her reasons foring here. There was no way she was making them go in circles on purpose.

    ¡°This formation is even moreplex than I imagined. The problem probably lies in this fog,¡± Yan Xuehen said. She observed the fog around them and added with a frown, ¡°I only calcted the tree formation. However, this fog is joined to the ley lines, and it seems to be capable of twisting time and space. That is why we have been going aroundpletely lost.¡±

    Twisting time and space? Zu An thought, shocked. Just what level were these methods at?!

    That meant it looked as if they were moving forward, but they might actually have been walking backward! One might think one had walked for a long time, but actually, only an instant had passed. One might think that an instant had passed, but several days might have passed.

    ¡°Then what do we do?¡± Yun Jianyue sneered. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me this ce is too difficult for you?¡±

    ¡°If this fog did not exist, I could naturally make my way around it. Or if I were not injured, I would have a way. But right now¡­¡± Yan Xuehen trailed off, feeling a bit troubled. ¡°Let me think about this a bit more.¡±

    Yun Jianyue reflexively wanted to mock her a bit, but in the end, she was able to discern what was important and what wasn¡¯t. In the end, she didn¡¯t choose to disturb Yan Xuehen.

    The fiend race cultivators started another endless debate. All kinds of suggestions were thrown out, but in the end, they were quickly refuted by the others.

    At that instant, no one dared to continue moving recklessly for fear of getting even more lost. However, staying there without moving wasn¡¯t a solution either. There was still the unknown, innard-eating creature hiding in the fog.

    The little fatty hesitated for a while, but in the end, he gritted his teeth and offered, ¡°How about I give it a try?¡±

    ¡°You still want to keep going? Wasn¡¯t it your fault that we were all misled just now?¡±

    ¡°Exactly! Do you have no sense of shame?¡±

    All of the others were quite upset, so they immediately vented their resentment.

    However, the fatty didn¡¯t get angry and instead said with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s not as if there are any other solutions. We might as well try everything since the situation is desperate.¡±

    The others rolled their eyes. Why were this guy¡¯s words so ominous-sounding?

    Just then, Princess Suolun spoke up and said, ¡°Let him give it a try.¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    She was one of those with the most respected status among those present, and had quite a bit of prestige. Since she had spoken up, the others couldn''t really say anything else, and they all allowed the fatty to give it a try.

    The fatty rubbed his hands and said with a chuckle, ¡°What I need to do requires arge amount of ki stones. I¡¯m embarrassingly short on money, so I can only trouble all of you.¡±

    Princess Suolun and the others were left speechless. Many people were itching to beat the crap out of the fatty.

    In the end, however, Princess Suolun stopped them and tossed over a bag. She asked, ¡°Are these enough?¡±

    When the fatty opened the pouch, rich ki scattered out. The others got on their tiptoes to look inside. There were all sorts of sparkling and translucent ki stones, and they weren¡¯t small at all. They were clearly all heaven-grade ki stones!

    Ki stones were divided into the five grades of mortal, earth, heaven, immortal, and deity, like weapons. However, unlike heaven-grade weapons which were extremely rare, most of the greater powers had a good amount of heaven-grade ki stones. However, immortal and deity-grade stones were much rarer.

    The onlookers sighed in amazement. As expected of Princess Suolun, she had been able to give out a pouch of heaven grade ki stones just like that.

    The fatty looked troubled and said, ¡°It¡¯s still not enough.¡±

    Someone cursed, ¡°You damn fatty, how is even a hundred heaven-grade ki stones not enough? Just how much more do you need?¡±

    Everyone present was a respectable cultivator in their own right. They were able to roughly calcte the amount from just a single look.

    ¡°We¡¯re still quite far off. This is only enough for a tenth¡­¡± the fatty said, sounding wronged.

    ¡°I have a hundred and fifty here. Take it,¡± Princess Changning said, also tossing over a delicate pouch.

    Seeing that the amount was even bigger than what she had given earlier, Princess Suolun raised her eyebrows, but she didn¡¯t say anything.

    The others were incredibly shocked. That amount of ki stones wasn¡¯t too much for great ns like them, but their quality was so high. For independent cultivators, that would already be an incredible amount of wealth!

    Many people said in praise, ¡°As expected of the Peacock race¡¯s Princess Changning, she is able to spend sovishly.¡±

    ¡°But of course! I heard that during the Fiend Emperor¡¯s gathering this time, he will choose an outstanding woman from the Peacock race to serve as the crown princess during the great meeting. Princess Changning is precisely one of the most popr candidates.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean, most popr candidates? She is clearly a future crown princess; do you not have eyes?¡±

    Princess Changning raised her chin when she heard that, just like a proud little peacock. She actually knew quite well that when it came to the crown princess candidacy, her n sister Kong Nanwu had a greater chance than her. Whether it was the purity of her bloodline or her appearance, she couldn''tpare to Kong Nanwu.

    However, Kong Nanwu didn¡¯t seem too interested in the position of crown princess and had already taken refuge in the human world. That had made Princess Changning interested in the position of crown princess.

    Ever since she was little, she hadn¡¯t been able topare to Kong Nanwu at all, and was always beneath her. That had made her extremely unhappy; she had always wanted to surpass Kong Nanwu. How could she give up on such a golden opportunity? That was why she had often shown herself in different ces to increase her favor with the people, as well as to increase her own prestige.

    As long as she became the crown princess, she would be the Fiend Empress in the future. At that point, even Kong Nanwu would have no choice but to obediently show her respect. She grinned when she thought about that possibility.

    Kong Nanwu had always won against her, but if she lost the most important battle, what did everything before that matter?

    She had heard that the Golden Crow Crown Prince had set out as an ambassador to the various races, so that was why she had secretly followed along as well. She had initially nned to create an ¡®idental meeting¡¯ and increase her favor with the Golden Crow Crown Prince ahead of time to improve her chances of being chosen. However, something unexpected seemed to have happened to the Golden Crow Crown Prince a few days prior, and he had hastily returned to the Fiend King Court, making all of her ns fail.

    That hateful human!

    You have sessfully trolled Kong Nanjing for +444 +444 +444¡­

    ¡­

    In the distance, Zu An was confused. No wonder she¡¯s getting upset at me; so she was the future crown princess!

    When he thought about the gamble he had made with the Golden Crow Crown Princest time, he suddenly felt as if he were being cheated somehow. Even though this woman had some looks, she was stillckingpared to the beauties at his side.

    Sigh, the fiend races really aren¡¯t any good. Even the glorious crown princess is just barely passable.

    A cold voice next to him suddenly cried. ¡°Who says the crown princess will definitelye from the Peacock race? Our Elf race¡¯s Princess Snow is the most likely crown princess candidate!¡±

 Chapter 1255: What Lies Behind the Thick Fog

    <h4>Chapter 1255: What Lies Behind the Thick Fog</h4>

    The one who had spoken was the Elf race¡¯s Qiao Heng. At first, he had nned to fight alongside Princess Changning, but now that the pride of their races had been brought into the picture, he couldn¡¯t just pretend that he hadn¡¯t heard anything.

    In the distance, Zu An¡¯s eyes widened. That Princess Snow he¡¯s talking about¡­ It¡¯s not actually Snow, is it?

    When Qiao Heng spoke, the smiles on the faces of those who had been ttering and fawning over Princess Changning immediately froze. They quickly felt regret.

    How could we forget something like that? If Princess Snow ends up rising up to that position, then won¡¯t we have offended her?

    Still, they were in front of Princess Changning, so they couldn''t say anything. They all froze in ce, not knowing what to do.

    Princess Changning¡¯s expression became unpleasant. She actually had many things to say about the subject, but she was directly involved, so speaking of it was beneath her dignity. If news of that got out, it would be greatly unfavorable for her reputation.

    Fortunately, another voice helped her out of her predicament. ¡°Hah, Princess Snow? I heard that she ended up being the maid of some human! How could someone like that be the crown princess? Wouldn¡¯t that turn all the fiend races into aughingstock?¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An was stupefied. It really was the Snow he knew!

    Qiao Heng¡¯s face turned entirely red. He retorted, ¡°How ridiculous. Princess Snow suffered in the human territory for so many years, but then in the end, she sessfully rescued many of our nsmen. That¡¯s what it means to think on behalf of the fiend races! If even someone like that is deserving of mockery, who would even want to do anything for the fiend races anymore?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s its own matter. The fact that she rescued those fiend race nsmen is something the Fiend Emperor has already rewarded her for. She was granted numerous resources, and there was even an exception made to raise her status to princess. What we¡¯re talking about right now is the status of crown princess, which is something entirely different. In order to be the crown princess, one naturally needs to bepletely wless.¡± Duan Tiande, the dark elf, paused after saying all of that. Then, he chuckled and added, ¡°After serving as a maid in human society for so long, to put it bluntly, she might not even be a virgin anymore. How can the Fiend Emperor bloodline be tainted in the slightest?¡±

    Qiao Heng erupted into rage. ¡°You actually dare to insult and nder Princess Snow? Die!¡±

    He had even endured the fact that he had almost lost his life in the swamp due to the dark elf¡¯s ambush; this time, however, he could no longer endure it. He drew his bow and fired it at Duan Tiande.

    However, Duan Tiande had already been prepared for something like that. He deflected the arrow with his sword. He was just about to retaliate when the others stopped them.

    Jin Shi said, ¡°Everyone, please calm down. We are in a dangerous situation right now. If we do not band together and instead start engaging in internal conflict, we might all die here.¡±

    The others all spoke up as well. Even Princess Changning said, ¡°It is all my fault that this misunderstanding was created. I do not want to hurt anyone. If any of you are hurt, I will regret it for the rest of my life. The most important thing right now is to work together to leave this ce; if there are any problems, we can slowly solve themter¡­¡±

    She was still rather pretty. When she put on such a pitiful appearance, everyone else immediately began to console and praise her.

    In the distance, Yun Jianyue sneered. ¡°This woman is surprisingly good at scheming. Little An, don¡¯t lose your head now just because she¡¯s a little pretty.¡±

    Yan Xuehen frowned. She cultivated the Unshakable Daoist Manual, so she was quite sensitive toward such things. She subconsciously felt dislike toward Princess Changning, but because of her nature, she didn¡¯t show it.

    Yu Yanluo instead had a smile on her face, because she trusted in her ability to pick her man.

    Sure enough, Zu An couldn''t help butugh, remarking ¡°This kind of green tea attitude is something I can still discern.¡±

    ¡°Green tea attitude?¡± Even though it was the first time the women had heard that term, they strangely felt that it was quite fitting.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Qiao Heng put his bow away and snapped, ¡°We¡¯ll settle things once we leave this ce!¡±

    Duan Tiande held his sword close and said with a sneer, ¡°You make it sound as if I¡¯m scared or something.¡±

    Just then, the bear brothers stepped forward to smooth things over. They waved theirrge hands, patting the other two¡¯s shoulders, and said, ¡°Alright, alright. It¡¯s not often that we work together, and I refuse to believe that we can¡¯t deal with some formation. Let¡¯s try to get enough ki stones first.¡±

    Xiong Second reluctantly took out a small pouch of ki stones while muttering, ¡°It¡¯s a pity that Hu Xin didn¡¯te. He¡¯s the richest out of all of us.¡±

    Shi Ling¡¯s expression became a bit unpleasant. He said, ¡°That guy probably avoided me on purpose because he was scared of running into me.¡±

    Just as the Dark Elves had a natural grudge against the Elves, the Lion race and Tiger race also disliked each other. There was almost always conflict as soon as they met each other.

    Hu Xin was the child of the Tiger King, Hu Qianxiao. He was often praised as a cultivation genius. Because his age was close to Shi Ling¡¯s, the two were oftenpared to each other. Shi Ling had long been eager for a fight, wanting to defeat Hu Xin and be famous. However, Hu Xin had actually avoided him!

    Off to the side, Jin Shi said with a smile, ¡°From what I know, he did n oning, but something happened and he ended up going to Bluefield Country.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Did he go to meet his stepmom?¡±

    ¡°I wonder if he went over to suck on some milk.¡±

    Quite a few people roared withughter. There were clearly many people among the fiend races who thought Tushan Yu was Hu Qianxiao¡¯s lover.

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard that Bluefield Country¡¯s Tushan Yu is an exceptional beauty. I¡¯ll have to pay her a visit myself after this matter.¡±

    ¡°Do you think the lord of a country would meet someone like you?¡±

    ¡°I can just sneak into the pce, right? What, if Hu Qianxiao can y around with her, do you think I can¡¯t?¡±

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression was cold as she spat, ¡°These guys are all filthy; it truly is disgusting.¡±

    Yun Jianyue sneered. ¡°Don¡¯t worry; this ce is so dangerous, anyway. I doubt many of them will be able to make it out alive.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression waspletely cold. He was about to teach them a lesson when several bitter cries rang out.

    Several gray figures rushed forward, seizing the ones who had beenughing the most wantonly. Their cultivation ranks clearly weren¡¯t low, but after they were caught, they didn¡¯t seem to be able to resist at all before disappearing into the fog.

    The others¡¯ expressions quickly changed. They wanted to rescue those people, but they were also scared of the thick,byrinthine fog. None of them were brave enough to step forward.

    Then, several more miserable screams rang out, and everything became silent once more.

    ¡°What in the world was that just now?¡± the bear brothers wondered, scratching their heads.

    ¡°I could not see them too clearly. Their appearances seem to be extremely blurry,¡± Jin Shi replied, his expression unpleasant. Everything had happened too suddenly just then; they hadn¡¯t been able to react at all.

    Zu An¡¯s group frowned as well. If too much distance formed, the fog would cover everything. They hadn¡¯t been able to see clearly at all.

    ¡°We should get out of this ce first,¡± someone suggested. After that attack, many people approved of that decision.

    ¡°Moving recklessly in the fog will only make it easier for us to get ambushed,¡± Princess Suolun said. She looked at the fatty and asked, ¡°Do you have enough ki stones now?¡±

    Before he replied, those who had still been reluctant just then began to contribute generously. Arge pile of ki stones piled up in front of the fatty.

    ¡°It¡¯s enough, it¡¯s enough,¡± the fatty replied, wiping the sweat off his forehead. He took out forty-nine banners and began to derive the mysteries of the heavens.

    The others had initially only taken out the ki stones out of respect for the Demon Race Princess Suolun; they hadn¡¯t really thought the fatty had a solution. However, when they saw that, they all felt a sense of respect.

    Looks like this guy really does have a bit of skill.

    ¡­

    When he saw those banners that seemed familiar, just a bit smaller in scale, Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°So it was that good-for-nothing.¡±

    Yu Yanluo frowned and replied, ¡°That fat divining daoist? He keeps changing his appearance and acting sneakily; he¡¯s clearly up to no good.¡±

    ¡°He put on a mask to change his appearance, and also dragged so many people here. Now, he¡¯s even about to set up some kind of formation. He¡¯s not about to refine all of them, is he?¡± Yun Jianyue wondered. She came from the Devil Sect, so her first thoughts naturally went in a sinister direction.

    Yan Xuehen shook her head and said, ¡°That is probably not it. There are no traces of bloodinessing from those gs.¡± Despite that, she still paid close attention to what the fatty was doing to make sure he wasn¡¯t arranging some mad ughter formation.

    The fatty quickly drew all kinds ofplicated formation runes. Then, with a wave of his hands, the forty-nine banners immediately disappeared into the fog around them. After that, he ced all the ki stones in the eye of the formation. The formation runes he carved gradually lit up.

    Then, the fog suddenly emanated waves of golden light. They wereing from the forty-nine banners!

    At the same time, the fog around them began to quickly scatter at a visible pace.

    Then, those present finally saw what kinds of things were hiding in the fog and attacking them.

 Chapter 1256: Terrifying Existence

    <h4>Chapter 1256: Terrifying Existence</h4>

    Several gray figures were squatting in the distance, their eyes burning fiercely as they looked at the cultivators, as if they were just prey.

    Now that the mist had scattered, the cultivators could finally see them clearly. What people? They were clearly the stone memorial statues that had been on the path! There were several beast and human-shaped statues among them. They were no longer stone statues, but had be capable of moving. No wonder no one had been able to recognize them!

    The cultivators still felt lingering fear. They hadn¡¯t expected so many of the stone statues to have alreadye so close. If not for the fog scattering, who knew how many more people would have died from their attacks?

    Although those present were all strong, their thoughts had been dominated by the fear of the unknown. These enemies had appeared and disappeared mysteriously, not giving them any chance to retaliate. Now that they could finally see what the enemy was, why would they hold back at all? They immediately attacked with all kinds of techniques.

    The stone statues also sensed danger. They tried to hide in the fog behind them again, but there were so many fiend race cultivators present. How could they give the statues that chance? The experts immediately cut off the statues¡¯ retreat, surrounding them.

    Seeing that they couldn''t escape, the stone statues revealed their true ferocity. They turned around to fight the fiend race experts.

    Soon afterward, some experts made contact with them; however, for some reason, their bodies immediately froze. Then, they either had half their heads chewed off, or their hearts wed out in a single strike. The others shivered. Were these things devils or something?

    ¡°Be careful; they seem to be able to rob their target of the ability to move on contact. Everyone, do not fight them bare-handed!¡± Princess Suolun immediately pinpointed what was happening and quickly reminded the others.

    In the distance, Yun Jianyue nodded approvingly and remarked, ¡°That girl isn¡¯t just a busty bimbo. She seems to know some stuff.¡±

    Perhaps because the stone statues thought Zu An¡¯s party weren¡¯t easy targets, they stayed some distance away. As such, the group could just watch from the sidelines.

    Zu An was puzzled. Is Princess Suolun¡¯s chest that big? He subconsciously gave Yun Jianyue a look.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s brows shot up when she sensed his gaze. Her face heated up a bit as she snapped, ¡°Do you want to die?! What are you looking at me for?¡±

    Yan Xuehen couldn''t help but look at her chest, then lowered her head to look at herself. She mumbled to herself, They¡¯re not bigger than mine, anyway. Who knows, that might even be due to the help of those clothes.

    Meanwhile, Yu Yanluo was secretly watching the two of them. She thought to herself, The world really is unfair. It was one thing that their cultivation was formidable, but their bodies werepletely wless too!

    ¡­

    Eventually, the battle concluded.

    Even though the stone statues were strange, all of the fiend race cultivators were powerful experts. Furthermore, they had the advantage of numbers. The stone statues were quickly smashed into fragments.

    ¡°These things are finally dead!¡± Xiong Second said, breathing heavily as he brandished his hammer. It had taken quite a bit of energy for him topletely smash through the stone creatures.

    Off to the side, Jin Shi said with a frown, ¡°I recall there being more memorial statues than the ones we see here when we first entered.¡±

    The others were rmed when they heard that. Right, doesn¡¯t that mean there are still some of these guys hiding?

    Just then, golden light shone brightly in the distance. The radiance continued swaying from side to side.

    At the center of the formation, the fatty cried out, ¡°No! Something is destroying my g!¡±

    The others¡¯ expressions changed. As expected, it was definitely those remaining stone statues that were destroying the formation.

    They wanted to protect the banner, but there was fog over there. If they entered the fog again, they would once more be on the defensive. As long as those stone statues touched them, they would lose their ability to move. That was why no one dared to take the risk.

    The fog that had been pushed back gradually began closing in again. The cultivators knew that if the stone statues destroyed the surrounding gs, they would then be surrounded by the fog again, and be forced onto the defensive once more.

    Just then, the fatty took out apass. He initially wanted to do some calctions, but the needle began to spin randomly; it had clearly already been affected by this ce, bing useless. He thought of something and looked toward Yan Xuehen, asking, ¡°Thisdy over here, if I can make the surrounding mist disperse, can you discern the correct route?¡±

    The others followed his gaze, and were surprised. They had initially thought that this dainty woman had just been walking where she pleased. But judging from what the fatty was saying, she seemed to be proficient in disarming formations.

    Yan Xuehen was a bit surprised, not expecting him to ask her. After remaining silent for a moment, she said, ¡°I can.¡± There was a calm sort of confidence in her voice.

    Princess Suolun, Shi Ling, and the other princes and princesses sized the woman up curiously, wondering just what kind of background she had.

    The fatty nodded and stood up. His chubby hands moved through the air quickly, formingplex formation runes in the air. He then shouted, ¡°Rise!¡±

    The ki stones in the formation were rapidly consumed at a visible rate. Then, the banners that flickered with golden light within the fog rose into the air. Afterward, they seemingly erupted into raging mes.

    The forty-nine gs began to spin rapidly while firing streaks of golden light, making the center of the fog scatterpletely.

    Low and muffled growls emerged from deep within the fog, as if the stone sculptures were trying to find a way to attack the golden gs, but had been burned by their zing mes. At that instant, they didn¡¯t know what to do.

    The fiend race cultivators were shocked. This fatty didn¡¯t look all that special, but he actually had such formidable methods? Just which race was he from?

    Many people from the great ns were already starting to think of roping him in when they had a chance.

    ¡­

    The fatty was covered in fine sweat; what he had done was definitely not as easy as it looked on the surface. He looked at Yan Xuehen nervously. If the gspletely burned up, there was nothing else he could do then.

    Fortunately, Yan Xuehen didn¡¯t disappoint. She quickly examined the surrounding trees¡¯yout and terrain, and her slender fingers began to carry out calctions. Soon afterward, she took a step in a certain direction.

    Zu An¡¯s group didn¡¯t hesitate at all and followed her. The fatty also quickly followed them. As he moved, the burning gs went with him. Wherever they went, the fog dispersed, and the area they had just left was filled up by thick fog again.

    The others had been doubting the delicate and pretty woman, but after seeing that, who would still hesitate? They all quickly followed.

    Yan Xuehen moved at the very front, while everyone else followed behind her. Her shoulders looked as if they had been sculpted, her waist soft like silk. Her neck was slender and graceful; her features were just too stunning. Her beauty was clearly incredibly captivating, and yet the way she carried herself seemed calm and peaceful.

    The cultivators all wondered which race this woman was from. Even the Bluefield Country Lord, who was known for her beauty, could only be on the same level at best, right?

    Yan Xuehen wound around left and right, sometimes only taking a few steps forward before taking more steps back. It almost felt as if she were moving backward. The others were confused at first, but when they saw how calm her expression was, it gave them a strange sense of confidence.

    Furthermore, her white clothes were purer than snow; as her long hair fluttered around, she looked just like a moon peeking through scattered clouds, like soft snow scattering amid a winter breeze. Many of the cultivators¡¯ eyes began to burn with passion.

    Yun Jianyue felt somewhat moved too. As expected, this stone cold woman¡¯s temperament was popr wherever she went. In the human territories, she was worshiped like a goddess, and now, it was the same in the fiend race territories. Should I change the way I carry myself too, to not always look so fierce¡­

    Pah! Why would I ever copy someone like her?

    ¡­

    Some timeter, the fatty waspletely soaked in sweat. When he saw that the golden lights were constantly flickering, he knew that the gs wouldpletely burn up soon. He said, ¡°I can¡¯t hold on much longer; how much more time do you need?¡±

    Yan Xuehen said with a cold and clear voice, ¡°It is finished.¡±

    She took a step forward, and everything before her eyes opened up. The fog from before vanished, and the forest also returned to normal. It was just like what they had seen earlier in the swamp. Zu An stood behind her quietly. There wasn¡¯t any fog at all, and even the stone statues rested quietly at the sides of the forest path.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The fatty sat down on the ground, muttering to himself, ¡°Screw this! I almost lost my life here! I really am losing out big this time.¡± He felt heartbroken when he recalled that he had to burn up those forty-nine dao banners.

    The cultivators cheered when they saw that they had finally left that strange forest. They actually felt as if they had returned from death¡¯s door.

    However, Yan Xuehen frowned slightly. Yun Jianyue asked quietly, ¡°You guys can sense it too?¡±

    Zu An said seriously, ¡°Yeah. There seems to be an extremely terrifying existence that¡¯s been watching us. But why didn¡¯t ite out to stop us?¡±

 Chapter 1257: Making Things Difficult

    <h4>Chapter 1257: Making Things Difficult</h4>

    When they had just been fumbling through the fog, all of them had keenly sensed a sinister presence that made them feel a chill throughout their entire bodies. Zu An had been prepared for a fight at any time, but the other party had never done anything the entire time. Instead, they had been able to sessfully leave the formation.

    ¡°I sensed danger too, but I¡¯m not sure what the other party¡¯s strength is like,¡± Yu Yanluo said. She was a n leader and had the Medusa¡¯s bloodline within her, so she was a bit more sensitive than the other youngsters present.

    ¡°At least grandmaster rank,¡± Zu An said gravely.

    ¡°Grandmaster?¡± Yu Yanluo replied, jumping in fright. Considering their strength, they had thought that this would be a cakewalk. They hadn¡¯t expected there to actually be a grandmaster present!

    ¡°What¡¯s so special about a grandmaster?¡± Yun Jianyue said with a sneer. ¡°My injuries have already gotten a bit better. Together with Little An¡¯s strength and the Medusa¡¯s ability, it¡¯s not as if we won¡¯t stand a chance if we really have to face one.¡±

    ¡°What about me?¡± Yan Xuehen¡¯s forehead darkened. This woman had ignored her on purpose, clearly to shame her.

    Yun Jianyueughed proudly, saying, ¡°Putting you in charge of cheerleading is already enough.¡±

    Yan Xuehen was speechless. This witch is so annoying!

    Yun Jianyue spoke up again. ¡°I didn¡¯t really have many expectations about the so-called treasury here, but now, it seems there really might be something good inside.¡±

    Whether it was the strange mist from before or the powerful existence in the shadows, everything pointed at the fact that the ce was extraordinary.

    Just then, cries of rm rang out from the other group. Several people had run forward. It turned out there was a mountain up ahead, and they could sense the richness of its ki even from far away, as well as surging life force.

    There were all sorts of unique flowers scattering their fragrance up ahead, as well as fresh and juicy fruits hanging from many unusual trees. They were definitely all exceptional.

    The fiend race cultivators seemed to have gone mad. They all ran forward, striving to outdo each other.

    Boom!

    A golden fist mmed down in front of them, sending smoke and dust in all directions. When the dust settled, it revealed Shi Ling standing in front of the others.

    All the other fiend race cultivators¡¯ expressions became unpleasant. They protested, ¡°Shi Ling, what is the meaning of this? Are you trying to hog everything for yourself?¡±

    Even though Shi Ling was young, he stood there with his arms behind him, a proud smile on his face. He replied, ¡°Nothing, really. It is just that treasures belong to the capable.¡±

    The others were angered. They protested, ¡°What a joke! Shi Ling, do you think you¡¯re the Fiend Emperor or something? That you can single-handedly take on everyone?¡±

    Shi Ling replied, ¡°Of course not. But we all went through such hardships to finally get here. How can those who did not contribute have the right to these things?¡±

    After he spoke up, Princess Suolun, Prince Yin Sha, Jin Shi, Princess Changning, Qiao Heng, the bear brothers, Ma Huang, Duan Tiande, and the other powerful cultivators silently stood by his side, clearly sharing his thoughts.

    They were the ones who had fought head-on in the swamp, and yet many people slipped through the openings to get here. They had been unhappy about that the whole time.

    Shi Ling made sure to tell the exhausted Wu Liang, ¡°Fatty, don¡¯t worry. You helped us a lot, so you will have a share tooter.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t because he was kind-hearted, but rather that this ce was too strange. Meanwhile, this fatty¡¯s methods were quite shocking; they were enough to prove his worth. Who knew, they might still need himter, so there was obviously no need to chase him away right then and there.

    Wu Liang chuckled, naturally epting those ¡®good intentions¡¯.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Meanwhile, Yan Xuehen frowned. ¡°They were fighting together just a moment ago, yet now, they¡¯ve immediately be hostile. These fiend races really are cold-blooded.¡±

    Yun Jianyue disagreed, saying, ¡°I actually approve of the way they do things. Stone cold woman, youe from a noble and extravagant background, and have lived an easy andfortable life. People always praise you as some goddess, so of course those you encounter are all good people. Unfortunately, this cultivation world has always been a cruel one, where the strong prey on the weak. That¡¯s thew of nature!

    ¡°Besides, there aren¡¯t too many spiritual medicines here. If we split it evenly with everyone, there wouldn¡¯t be much at all. If I weren¡¯t injured, I might have immediately wiped them all out and wouldn¡¯t keep more people around to split it with.¡±

    Yu Yanluo harrumphed inwardly. These two had always been fighting like little girls for so long, she had almost forgotten that Yun Jianyue was a great devil who left all those who heard her name shaking in fear.

    The independent cultivators¡¯ expressions changed when they saw the disciples from the big ns band together. They knew that once the others allied together, they wouldn¡¯t be a match at all. They immediately lost a bit of confidence.

    Someone couldn''t help but protest, ¡°If you force us back now, isn¡¯t that the same as telling us to throw our lives away in the fog?¡±

    Shi Ling said indifferently, ¡°You can all make a detour off to the side. The forest does not seem that ridiculously big. As long as you do not activate the formation, circling back from the side should not bepletely impossible. Or, you guys can just wait here. Once wee back, out of consideration of the fact that we are all from the fiend races, we will bring you all back alive.¡±

    The independent cultivators snorted. There wasn¡¯t much they could do about the situation. If they really got into conflict, they might die here before they even get to see any treasure.

    They didn¡¯t continue to argue with Shi Ling, and all circled back around the forest.

    They obviously wouldn¡¯t choose to stay put and wait for the disciples of the major ns to return; instead, they tried some other routes to see if that would bring them any luck.

    ¡­

    Soon afterward, most of them dispersed, leaving behind just a dozen people or so. Apart from the influential races¡¯ disciples, the remainder were just their guards and servants.

    Then, Shi Ling¡¯s gaze swept toward Zu An and the others. Yan Xuehen asked coldly, ¡°What, do we not have the right to stay either?¡±

    ¡°That is not it.¡± Shi Ling smiled toward her and said, ¡°It was thanks to thedy¡¯s divine skills that we were able to leave the formation. Thedy naturally has the right to stay, but this one¡­¡±

    Zu An wanted tough. He replied, ¡°So in the end, you wanted to chase me away?¡±

    Shi Ling¡¯s expression changed. He said, ¡°So what if that is the case? You have not done a thing this entire time; you are aplete good-for-nothing. If you do not leave, who else would it be?¡±

    ¡°Then what about us?¡± Yun Jianyue asked with a chuckle. Her expression was a bit dangerous.

    Shi Ling replied, ¡°The two women can obviously stay behind. This prince can offer you better protection.¡±

    Qiao Heng snorted and added, ¡°Shi Ling, aren¡¯t you going too far? You¡¯re clearly trying to steal someone else¡¯s women.¡± He owed Zu An a favor, so he obviously had to speak up.

    Shi Ling said proudly, ¡°A fine bird chooses the tree it nests in. Women should naturally seek the strong too. This guy only knows how to rely on women for protection and has no prospects. If they get stolen, then they get stolen.¡±

    Ma Huang had a wretched smile as he remarked, ¡°Kid, you¡¯re still so young, and yet you already have such thoughts. Isn¡¯t a little donkey like you scared of breaking your back from pulling too heavy a cart?¡±

    Shi Ling was only thirteen or fourteen years old. Saying such things really did seem a bit off.

    Qiao Heng wanted to say something else, but Duan Tiande sneered. He remarked, ¡°What does his business have to do with you? There are too many of you sympathetic pushovers among the Elf race; that¡¯s why it¡¯s only going from bad to worse.¡±

    Princess Suolun frowned and said, ¡°We do not know what lies ahead. Are we going to start engaging in internal conflict so soon?¡± For some reason, she sensed a profound and mysterious air about Zu An, so she stepped forward to smooth things over.

    Shi Ling replied coldly, ¡°Then is the princess nning to share your own portion with him?¡±

    Why the hell does this guy have such good affinity with women? Even Princess Suolun is speaking out for him!

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Ling for +110 +110 +110¡­

    Princess Suolun became a bit unhappy when she heard that, but she didn¡¯t say anything else. She still had to consider her own subordinates¡¯ interests. Zu An was aplete stranger who hadn¡¯t exchanged many words with her, so she obviously didn¡¯t want to get into conflict with the Lion race because of a stranger.

    The others just watched with the cool gazes of bystanders. There were some who wanted to split the loot with one less person, while there were others who wanted to see Shi Ling test this mysterious guy out. All of them were waiting to see how Zu An would respond.

 Chapter 1258: Whose Mouth Is More Formidable, Really?

    <h4>Chapter 1258: Whose Mouth Is More Formidable, Really?</h4>

    Yu Yanluo took a step forward, her expression cold. She said, ¡°Little lion, there is always someone above you in this world. If you are too arrogant, you will easily bring disaster upon yourself.¡±

    After how rudely he had spoken and how he had insulted her lover, she felt extremely unhappy. She was a n leader, after all, and even in the human world, she had upied a high position. How could she tolerate a kid shooting his mouth off like this in front of her?

    However, Shi Ling¡¯s status was a bit sensitive. The fact that Zu An had been dragged into the fiend race territories because of her was already something she felt guilty about. If he made many enemies among the fiend races because of her, he might end up in more danger. As such, her aura immediately surged, releasing pressure in all directions to make Shi Ling step down.

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue both voiced their surprise when they saw that. They exchanged a look and both saw confusion in each other¡¯s eyes. Just how much time has passed? And yet, Yu Yanluo has already risen from the eighth rank to the ninth rank?

    They had almost always been together as ofte. Yu Yanluo didn¡¯t really seem to have encountered any special experiences! Furthermore, she had even been injured so badly. Based on her normal cultivation speed, it would already have been quite excellent if she at least recovered her fighting strength, and yet she had actually risen by an entire cultivation rank?

    Both of them had extraordinary experience and knowledge. They quickly realized the most likely possibility. Zu An¡¯s transcendent aptitude!

    There was an old saying that transcendent aptitude cultivators¡¯ blood essence was extremely nourishing, and it would allow a cultivator to achieve twice the effect with half the effort. They had previously assumed that was a myth, but now, it seemed as if transcendent aptitude blood essence really might have extraordinary uses!

    Yu Yanluo had also only broken through recently. Back then, the two had consummated a physical rtionship when Zu An saved her.

    No wonder even though Yu Yanluo is normally so dignified andposed, she still snuck over to visit Zu An yesterday when they were in Bluefield Country! Turns out she already knew what was good for her!

    The two of them were suddenly dazed. They thought to themselves that they had been stuck at the grandmaster level for so many years already. If they obtained Zu An¡¯s help, wouldn¡¯t that mean they could have hope of breaking through to the earth immortal rank?

    The two both blushed as soon as that thought emerged, their hearts beating crazily. What sort of nonsensical thoughts are we having? There¡¯s no way that can happen!

    While the two of them were letting their imagination run wild, the other fiend race experts¡¯ expressions changed as well. Yu Yanluo had always kept a low-profile until then, but she was actually a ninth ranked expert. Furthermore, judging from the pressure she was giving off, she was definitely not just an ordinary ninth rank. Even they felt a sense of fear. She definitely had something that could threaten them!

    Now that these sudden developments had happened, the others began to look at Shi Ling with amusement, trying to see how he would get out of this awkward situation.

    Shi Ling¡¯s expression also changed. At first, he had thought that she was just a woman who served that guy with her beauty. How could he have known that she was actually a hidden expert? And yet, he had always been a prideful person. How could he just back down while everyone else was watching?

    Of course, he wasn¡¯t stupid either. Fighting against a ninth ranked expert head on was a stupid decision. If he got injured here, it would instead benefit the others he waspeting over the treasure with. As such, he said with a sneer, ¡°Hmph, why would a real man like me fight with a woman? That would just be embarrassing.¡±

    He looked towards Zu An afterward and said provocatively, ¡°You over there, do you only know how to hide and mooch off women?¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s brows stood up. She was now truly angry. She was just about to act when Zu An patted her shoulder, gesturing to just leave it to him. Yu Yanluo was good at understanding others, and knew that acting in his ce here would instead be detrimental to him. As such, she silently withdrew.

    Princess Suolun, who had always been watching from the sidelines, revealed an expression of shock. This woman¡¯s cultivation was already so high, and yet she actually listened to that man¡¯s opinion! Was this man really someone who relied purely on his appearance?

    ¡°A real man?¡± Zu An replied with augh. ¡°How old are you? Pull down your pants, and let¡¯s see if you¡¯ve even grown any hair down there yet.¡±

    Pwah ha ha!

    Uncontrobleughter immediately broke out. However, as the cultivators started tough, they realized they would be offending Shi Ling that way, so they all struggled to hold it in.

    Princess Suolun blushed a bit and muttered to herself, ¡°Hmph, just a rascal.¡±

    Shi Ling¡¯s expression turned cold. He snapped, ¡°You dare show this prince disrespect? Come here and kowtow to me immediately in apology, and this prince might consider sparing your life!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Ling for +444 +444 +444¡­

    Zu An chuckled out of amusement when he saw the other party raise his head in an arrogant and despotic manner. He retorted, ¡°Do you point that nose of yours at the sky when you¡¯re sucking on milk back home too?¡±

    Ha ha ha!

    The others really couldn''t hold themselves back anymore and all roared withughter. Their statuses weren¡¯t all that inferior to Shi Ling¡¯s anyway, and they were older too. They hadn¡¯t felt that happy seeing a kid like this acting so arrogant to begin with.

    Shi Ling¡¯s face turnedpletely red. He spat, ¡°Damn brat, I was going to spare you your life as a favor for your femalepanions, but it is a pity that your mouth is so filthy. Not even a deity from the heavens above can save you today, I mean it!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Ling for +711 +711 +711¡­

    His aura surged powerfully, apanied by a faint lion¡¯s roar. This was his Lion race¡¯s special ability. Even though it wasn¡¯t a domain, to a certain degree, it had some characteristics of one

    If they were subjected to the roar¡¯s intimidating aura, even simrly-ranked experts would lose some of their fighting spirit. It would have an even greater overwhelming effect against those of lower ranks.

    The others¡¯ expressions became grave. Now that things had reached this level, it was already a battle of life and death. Shi Ling was young but aplished, and known for his fiery temper. That guy might have been able to keep his life if he yielded; why did he have to say those things instead?

    Princess Changning thought to herself, This guy really cares too much about face. If something does happen to him, he deserves it.

    Princess Suolun sized up Zu An with a curious expression. She thought to herself, Is this man relying on the women behind him, or does he truly have some skill?

    ¡°Not even a deity from the heavens above can save me?¡± Even under such pressure, Zu An seemedpletely fine. He said with a sigh, ¡°In the distant future, whenter generations find your tomb and open it, they¡¯ll find that there¡¯s nothing left but a mouth, and quite a tough one.¡±

    The others were a bit stunned when they heard that. Why was he talking about some tomb? However, as they kept listening, they realized what was happening. They could no longer hold on andughed until their stomachs were about to hurt.

    Princess Suolun couldn''t hold back a smile either. This guy, really¡­

    Shi Ling was initially a bit stunned. When he heard the others¡¯ughter, he finally realized what was happening. He was utterly furious! He yelled, ¡°I am going to skin you alive and pull out your tendons, and then burn you at the stake day after day. Only then will I be able to vent out my hatred!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Ling for +999 +999 +999¡­

    Zu An gave him an indifferent look and replied, ¡°Looks like I was right after all. Your most formidable part really is your mouth.¡±

    The others all had strange expressions. Your mouth is clearly the tougher one here¡­

    However, Shi Ling calmed down. He was a genius, after all, and knew that Zu An was provoking him on purpose. He had the expression of someone looking at a corpse. He said, ¡°Good. Since you have said that my mouth is formidable, I will use my mouth to make you wish you were dead rather than alive.¡±

    The fat daoist¡¯s mung bean-sized eyes widened. Huh? Why does that sound a bit dirty? Fortunately, Shi Ling didn¡¯t know what he was thinking, or else he might have just given up on Zu An to deal with the fatty first.

    The other fiend race experts realized what he meant. Shi Ling was clearly nning to use the Lion''s Roar Technique.

    The Lion''s Roar Technique was the Lion race¡¯s extreme art, able to turn a target into an imbecile on the spot. If the target¡¯s cultivation happened to be too low, they might just explode into bloody mist instantly.

    A group of people moved behind Shi Ling. The Lion''s Roar Technique was an area of effect skill. They didn¡¯t want to be caught up in its st radius.

    Princess Suolun gave Zu An a worried look, thinking that even if this guy had some skills, wasn¡¯t the situation getting a bit out of hand? Shi Ling was already furious, so just how shocking would the Lion''s Roar Technique be? That guy might be finished instantly!

    Qiao Heng couldn''t help but warn Zu An, ¡°Be careful!¡±

    However, it was already toote. A low but terrifying sound emerged from Shi Ling¡¯s throat. Then, he opened his mouth wide, sending out a tremendous wave of energy.

    Just then, however, a mocking voice called out, ¡°What you lookin¡¯ at?!¡±

    Shi Ling felt a powerful urge in his very soul, and he reflexively replied, ¡°I¡¯m looking at you, shithead!¡±

    He was stunned as soon as he spoke. Why had he said that at such a crucial juncture? However, he didn¡¯t have time to react. The energy he stored up for the Lion¡¯s Roar Technique had already reached his lips, and yet wasn¡¯t released, so he was forced to swallow it all back down. His internal energies surged chaotically and inflicted some injuries on him.

    The dark elf Duan Tiande, who had just been watching with amusement, narrowed his eyes. Previously, he had been just about to sessfully attack Qiao Heng, but he was interrupted precisely by that thing. At the time, he had just thought that it was a coincidence, but now, it seemed that wasn¡¯t the case at all!

    Qiao Heng was surprised and happy to see what had happened. He gave Zu An a look, realizing that Zu An really had saved him. However, he didn¡¯t recall ever having met Zu An before, so why would this guy save him? Forget it, I don¡¯t care anymore. If he really is in danger, I¡¯ll have to save him even if I end up offending the Lion Race.

    The other disciples weren¡¯t stupid either. They remembered what had happened previously by the marsh and immediately knew what was happening.

    Princess Suolun smiled. As expected, there is more to this guy than meets the eye.

    Shi Ling swallowed the blood that had rushed up his throat back down. He cursed, ¡°What kind of damned skill did you use?!¡±

    The Lion race was tough and strong. Even though the Lion¡¯s Roar Technique had made him suffer injuries from the rebound, he circted his ki and quickly suppressed those injuries. However, when he recalled his bold and confident words, and how he had suffered the very next moment, he was filled with rage.

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Ling for +399 +399 +399¡­

    Zu An remarked with a chuckle, ¡°Isn¡¯t your mouth pretty tough? Why don¡¯t you continue?¡±

    Shi Ling choked. He instinctively wanted to use the Lion¡¯s Roar Technique to kill Zu An, but his reason told him to give up on the thought. Zu An¡¯s skill clearly countered his Lion¡¯s Roar Technique. Using it again would just be utterly stupid.

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Ling for +411 +411 +411¡­n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Very good¡­¡± Shi Ling began, taking a deep breath. His expression was cold and grim as he continued, ¡°I will trample you under my feet soon and pull out your tongue. I will chop it up into small pieces to feed to my dogs!¡±

    Afterward, he brandished both hands. Two golden fists flew through the air, then quickly turned into two ferocious lions that released deafening roars. They were sinister and ferocious, opening their vicious, bloody mouths to attack Zu An. The paws of the two golden lion projections crushed the giant boulders along the way into powder and smashed the trees to splinters.

    ¡°As expected, the Lion Race¡¯s extreme art, Mad Lion¡¯s Hegemon Fist, is incredibly ferocious. It is difficult to face head on,¡± Princess Suolun couldn''t help but say with a sigh.

    Yun Jianyue was a bit surprised. She couldn''t help but nudge Yu Yanluo with her elbow, remarking, ¡°Why is your lover so good at getting the attention of girls? That Devil Race princess seems to be praising that lion boy on the surface, but actually, she¡¯s warning Zu An!¡±

 Chapter 1259: Fiend Racesâ€™ Five Great Experts

    <h4>Chapter 1259: Fiend Races¡¯ Five Great Experts</h4>

    Yu Yanluo smiled and replied, ¡°Isn¡¯t that even better? The greater Ah Zu¡¯s charm is, the more it proves that I chose the right man.¡±

    Yun Jianyue was speechless. She had been nning to make Yu Yanluo a bit jealous, and it would be even better if she started fighting with Zu An, since then she¡¯d have something interesting to watch. To her surprise, however, Yu Yanluo instead took the chance to show more of her affection for him, leaving her feeling extremely annoyed.

    In the other group, however, their reactions were different. A hint of jealousy appeared in Prince Yin Sha¡¯s eyes when he saw that Princess Suolun was warning Zu An. He had been following Princess Suolun everywhere the entire time. Even though she treated him rather well, it wasn¡¯t too different from how she treated everyone else.

    What the hell is up with this guy, and how did he gain the princess¡¯ favor?n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    You have sessfully trolled Prince Yin Sha for +233 +233 +233¡­

    Princess Changning also gave Princess Suolun a strange look. She didn¡¯t know why the woman would suddenly favor a stranger. Apart from being a bit good-looking, this guy didn¡¯t seem to have any good points at all. A grown man chattering away like that really wasn¡¯t that attractive.

    When she saw Princess Suolun¡¯s beautiful hair and graceful brows, as well as her other pretty features, she suddenly thought of Kong Nanwu, who had always been better than her at everything. A feeling of hatred and disgust immediately welled up within her.

    Meanwhile, Zu An gave the roaring lion projections rushing at him a look. He clenched his fists, and the air around them visiblypressed. Tworge fist projections then smashed into the lions!

    The cultivators watching cried out in rm. This guy actually had some skill; no wonder he dared to offend Shi Ling!

    Fatty Wu Liang sat down on the ground, watching the scene before him with a smile as he listened to the others¡¯ discussions. You guys don¡¯t know jack; I¡¯ll probably have to rely on that guy for my treasure this time!

    A hint of disappointment shed through Princess Suolun¡¯s eyes. Even though the man¡¯s attack was impressive, that alone likely wouldn¡¯t be enough to defeat Shi Ling. She had clearly even warned him not to face this attack head on, and yet he wasn¡¯t convinced and hadn¡¯t listened to her advice. She didn¡¯t know why she would feel that way, however. Could it be that my expectations were too high?

    Zu An¡¯s fists collided with the lion projections, causing a huge explosion. The golden lions dimmed a bit, but they weren¡¯t scattered. Instead, they charged at Zu An with even greater ferocity.

    Shi Ling said with a sneer, ¡°As expected, you do have some skill. No wonder you dared to say those things to me! However, there have been quite a few geniuses who died at my hand in thest few years. Before a true genius, people like you only exist to serve as stepping stones for my unrivaled glory.¡±

    The other fiend race experts¡¯ expressions changed. This Shi Ling did act a bit too wild, but he had the right to be that way. The power of his fist wasn¡¯t something they could easily face head-on.

    ¡°Shi Ling¡¯s talent really is shocking. He is only thirteen years old too, and yet he has already reached this level. Once he grows up, who can be his match among his peers?¡± Jin Shi remarked with a sigh. If it were an independent cultivator who had Shi Ling¡¯s talent, they would have already been killed a long time ago. However, he had the Lion race behind him, which was a powerful force among the fiend races. No one dared to make the Lion race their enemy like that.

    ¡°Not only is his talent shocking, he had extraordinary opportunities too. I heard that when he was young, one day, he went out to y and identally fell off a cliff. In the end, he found a secret cultivation manual left behind by a great senior,¡± someone remarked.

    ¡°I also heard that when he was young, he almost drowned while he went swimming, but he instead fell into a spiritual spring that cleansed his muscles and purified his bone marrow. That¡¯s why his body became so strong,¡± Duan Tiande added, his eyes sparkling. Both the Elves and Dark Elves had weak bodies. He thought to himself, how great would it be if he had that kind of opportunity?

    ¡°And yet, even with such aptitude, he could still only be second in the Lion race. I have heard that the Lion race¡¯s great prince is even more of a monster. I wonder just what kind of an existence that is¡­¡± Princess Changning added with an excited expression. Women always naturally adored the strong. She even began to wonder to herself, how did the Lion race¡¯s great princepare to the Golden Crow Crown Prince? Of course, my own big brother crown prince is definitely more formidable.

    Princess Suolun said, ¡°I have had the chance to meet him before. The Lion race¡¯s great prince indeed has extraordinary talent. When he was twelve, he already dominated the Lion race¡¯s younger generation. Not counting the older generation, he was already unrivaled in the west. Among the fiend races¡¯ younger generation, the Western Lion, Northern Tiger, Southern Demon, Eastern Dragon, and Central Emperor are known as the five great experts. They are all individuals publicly acknowledged to have a chance of reaching the earth immortal level.¡±

    Qiao Heng frowned and replied, ¡°But I heard that the Central Emperor, the Golden Crow Crown Prince, was defeated a few days ago, and it seemed to even be at the hands of a human.¡±

    The others fell silent. Even though there were many factions among the fiend races with their own hatreds and grudges, the humans were their shared enemy. For the face of the fiend races to be defeated by a human really wasn¡¯t all that glorious of a fact.

    Princess Changning harrumphed and said, ¡°That human probably used some kind of crafty scheme, some kind of despicable method, to win. He might have also been some older generation expert.¡±

    Princess Suolun said hesitantly, ¡°From what I know, however, he seems to be a young man, and his cultivation seemed to only be at the ninth rank.¡±

    ¡°A young man? Only the ninth rank?¡± Princess Changningughed exaggeratedly. She replied, ¡°What kind of cultivation does the Golden Crow Crown Prince have? He is almost at the grandmaster rank. He has been undefeated among his peers in recent years, and he even has a deity-grade divine weapon. How could he possibly be defeated by a ninth rank human race cultivator? It was definitely someone with ulterior motives who deliberately wanted to smear the Golden Crown Crown Prince¡¯s name and made up such a ridiculous rumor.¡±

    The others all praised Princess Changning for making sense. After all, in their opinion, there was indeed no chance of the Golden Crow Crown Prince losing to a human youth, and furthermore one who was only at the ninth rank. This matter was too fishy; there had to be other things they didn¡¯t know.

    After receiving the others¡¯ praise andpliments, Princess Changning gave Princess Suolun a proud look.

    Princess Suolun frowned, but she didn¡¯t say anything else.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, the battle had already changed. The two lion projections arrived in front of Zu An, one biting down toward his shoulder and one aiming for his legs. Shi Ling clearly didn¡¯t intend to kill Zu An that quickly, but rather nned to cripple him first, before slowly torturing him afterward.

    However, who would have thought that Zu An would only calmly raise his fingers, then lightly prod in the direction of the two lions¡¯ heads?

    Shining Finger!

    Poof~

    There was a light puff, and the intimidating lions deted like balloons, instantly vanishing into the air. The fiend race experts watching werepletely stupefied. Princess Suolun¡¯s eyes lit up. How had he done that? After all, the Mad Lion¡¯s Hegemon Fist was so powerful that none of them would dare to face it directly, and yet Zu An had destroyed it with just a single finger!

    Shi Ling¡¯s expression also changed. He no longer looked down on his opponent. He roared and leaped high into the air. He executed aplicated and mysterious hand technique, and nine lion projections appeared. They attacked Zu An from several different directions. He shouted coldly, ¡°You brat, I am going to crush you underneath my feet and make you understand what it means to offend someone you should not have offended!¡±

    Qiao Heng said in surprise, ¡°It¡¯s rumored that the greater one¡¯s achievements with the Mad Lion¡¯s Hegemon Fist are, the more lions will appear. The more lions appear, the greater its power bes. He can already create nine lions at his age! Many Lion Race elders can only produce seven or eight at once; nine is already enough to kill someone at a higher cultivation realm than his own!¡±

    The others all sighed in amazement as well. Someone remarked, ¡°The Lion race has both the Western Lion and a monster like Shi Ling. Their rise is already inevitable.¡±

    Zu An obviously knew that Qiao Heng was warning him. However, he didn¡¯t really care. Instead, he raised his hand, producing a several-dozen-meter long me de, dicing the lion projections into pieces.

    The others¡¯ jaws immediately dropped. They had thought that Shi Ling was careless earlier, but if that still happened when he was attacking at full strength, didn¡¯t it mean he was beingpletely crushed?

    Just what is this guy¡¯s cultivation level?

    They all immediately felt as if they were witnessing a great enemy. After all, their strength wasn¡¯t too far off from Shi Ling¡¯s. Even if they were a bit more powerful, that was because they were older. If this person could crush Shi Ling, didn¡¯t it mean he could simrly crush all of them?

    Princess Suolun didn¡¯t panic at all, however. Her eyes flickered with a different light, and her thoughts were indiscernible.

    Even Princess Changning changed her previous attitude. Her gaze now had a hint of eagerness as she looked at Zu An.

    Shi Ling was shocked and furious. He quickly formed another hand seal, trying to condense a new fist imprint. However, why would Zu An give him the chance? He rushed into the sky like a streak of lightning, then stomped down in midair. With a loud boom, he smashed open a huge crater in the ground. Smoke and dust flew everywhere.

    Zu An stepped right on Shi Ling¡¯s head while asking with a smile, ¡°What did you say just now? I didn¡¯t hear you too clearly.¡±

 Chapter 1260: Then Do You Know Who I Am?

    <h4>Chapter 1260: Then Do You Know Who I Am?</h4>

    The expressions of the other fiend race experts became conflicted. Shi Ling had been so arrogant just a moment before, hollering about how he was going to trample on his opponent. And yet now, he was the one being stepped on instead! How could he tolerate such a humiliation?

    A defeat in a normalpetition might not be that much of a psychological blow; it might even motivate him to work harder. But for his head to be stepped on like this in front of so many people¡­ If he couldn''t escape from this trauma, his future might be ruined forever.

    Of course, they all belonged to different races. When they saw the incredibly arrogant Shi Ling end up that way, they were still rather happy. After all, if the Lion race had two incredible talents, they would be huge threats to the other races once they grew up.

    Princess Suolun was the only one who frowned a bit. If this guy humiliated Shi Ling so deeply, it would be tantamount topletely offending the Lion race. Even though this young man¡¯s cultivation was surprising, he definitely wasn¡¯t a match for the Lion race¡¯s older generation. Furthermore, Shi Ling still had an older brother who was one of the five great experts, who would definitelye for revenge. She wondered which race he was from, and whether his n background was enough to protect him.

    ¡°Let go of our prince!¡± Shi Ling¡¯s guards eximed in shock and fury. They all brandished their weapons while charging at Zu An.

    These people¡¯s cultivations weren¡¯t as high as Shi Ling¡¯s, but when so many seventh and eighth rank cultivators were added up together, they were still quite imposing.

    Zu An gave them an indifferent nce. With a sweep of his sleeves, a wave of scorching mes swept outward, forcing all of those people back.

    Meanwhile, Yun Jianyueughed in satisfaction and remarked, ¡°This brat is starting to act more and more like a proper master.¡±

    Yan Xuehen nodded in deep sympathy. She had met her fair share of stunning youngsters over the years, butpared to those geniuses, Zu An was far superior. She said, ¡°With his current strength, he is already capable of fighting against those of the previous generation.¡±

    She was starting to regret going against his marriage with her disciple Chuyan. When it came to someone so outstanding, those old freaks might frantically sell out Chuyan if they found out.

    She suddenly remembered the things that had happened between her and Zu An recently. Her cheeks couldn''t help but heat up. How could she still have the shamelessness or right to stop the two anymore?

    When she heard two grandmasters praise her lover like this, even though Yu Yanluo was normally calm and graceful, she still couldn''t help but smile.

    Shi Ling finally realized what was happening. He was actually being stepped on by someone else!

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Ling for +999 +999 +999¡­

    A powerful burst of energy erupted. Zu An sensed that something was happening under him. His expression changed and he quickly evaded to one side.

    Roar!

    A golden lion appeared around Shi Ling, protecting him. The lion radiated golden light, and even seemed almost tangible. Whether it was the aura or the pressure it gave off, it was much stronger than the projections previously created by Shi Ling¡¯s fist imprints.

    ¡°This is¡­ the aura of a heaven-grade weapon!¡± the fiend race cultivators cried out in rm. Their gazes were all filled with jealousy.

    Heaven-grade weapons were all extremely precious. Even though the fiend race cultivators all came from great ns, none of them were from their ns¡¯ direct bloodlines. It would be truly difficult for any of them to ever obtain a heaven-grade weapon. They might never even get one of their own their entire lives, and yet Shi Ling already had one at the age of thirteen!

    A shining golden glove appeared on Shi Ling¡¯s right hand, carved with profound andplex runes that radiated power. He stood back up again. His hair was disheveled, and his nose was bloody and swollen, with a still-trickling stream of blood. His eyes were burning with rage as he yelled, ¡°You will die today!¡±

    His entire life had been smooth sailing ever since he was little, and he had enjoyed victory and praise wherever he went. When had he ever suffered like this before?

    His eyes turnedpletely red, and his hair burst outward in all directions. The veins on his forehead throbbed as he stared at Zu An like a beast that had already chosen the prey it would devour. He didn¡¯t waste a moment on words this time and instead sent his fist smashing toward Zu An.

    The Golden Glove was from the fortuitous encounter he had experienced when he fell off a cliff while he was young andnded in an ancient ancestor¡¯s cave. Previously, his older brother had instructed him to not rely on the weapon normally, as it would affect his future growth. With the way things had gone so far, however, he couldn¡¯t be bothered with that.

    As his fist smashed outward, it let out a wave of destructive energy; together with the support of the Golden Glove, the lions produced by his Mad Lion¡¯s Hegemon Fist became nearly tangible.

    However, Zu An kicked off the ground, evading to one side. The power of the fist crashed into the cliff behind him. With a loud crash, half of the cliff copsed.

    While the onlookers were amazed by the power of the heaven-grade weapon, they suddenly realized something and cursed, ¡°You destroyed all of those precious medicines too!¡±

    There had been all kinds of extraordinary medicinal herbs beneath the cliff that made even these disciples from influential ns drool. Unfortunately, under the power of Shi Ling¡¯s fist, almost all of them had been destroyed.

    Shi Ling suddenly turned around, his eyes entirely red. He growled, ¡°What, do I hearints?¡±

    Those who had protested choked. When they saw the heaven-grade weapon in his hand, they realized that confronting the enraged Shi Ling wasn¡¯t a wise decision. They all swallowed theirints back down, saying, ¡°We don¡¯t dare, we don¡¯t. Please carry on!¡±

    Shi Ling¡¯s expression was fierce and ruthless as he turned back around to look at Zu An. His hands continued to form seals, the Mad Lion¡¯s Hegemon Fist continuing to bombard his opponent like a bomber aircraft.

    As she watched the fight, Princess Suolun started to be worried. The glove not only had great power on its own, but also seemed to endlessly replenish Shi Ling¡¯s ki. Otherwise, with the ki consumption of Mad Lion¡¯s Hegemon Fist, and at full power no less, Shi Ling shouldn¡¯t have been able tost for so long with his current cultivation.

    However, Zu An just gently kicked off the ground, leisurely strolling around. Despite that, he always managed to somehow barely avoid the terrifying lions. Dirt and dust flew everywhere, and yet not a single leafnded on him after each explosion.

    Even Princess Changning¡¯s eyes shone. This man is pretty handsome, hm?

    Shi Ling¡¯s efforts werepletely useless. He was already beyond furious. He spat, ¡°Do you only know how to hide?¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Ling for +444 +444 +444¡­

    Zu An chuckled and replied, ¡°I¡¯m doing this out of consideration for you, you know? Otherwise, it really won¡¯t look good if your face hits the ground a secondter, like earlier.¡±

    Shi Ling erupted with rage, yelling, ¡°You only have that tough mouth of yours! I have a heaven-grade weapon, so let¡¯s see just how long you¡¯ll continue to run!¡±

    Zu An sighed and replied, ¡°Are heaven-grade weapons all that amazing? I have some too.¡± He took out the Universe Ring as he spoke.

    The onlookers¡¯s breath caught in their throats when they sensed the pressureing from it. Another heaven grade weapon?

    Although Princess Changning had initially looked down on Zu An a bit, she now looked at him with a burning gaze. She thought to herself thatter, if there was a chance, she had to get closer to him. At the same time, she thought to herself that Princess Suolun really was sly. She had to have known something, and that was why she had expressed goodwill earlier.

    This woman really does know how to scheme!

    ¡­

    The Universe Ring instantly smashed into Shi Ling¡¯s golden glove.

    Boooom!

    An enormous shockwave forced all the onlookers back.

    Shi Ling, who had been caught in the middle of the collision, even felt his head start to ring. He vaguely noticed something rushing at him. He instinctively brandished his fist to protect himself, but Zu An¡¯s Universe Ring smashed into his elbow instead.

    Crack!

    His arm hung powerlessly as his bones were broken.

    Bang!

    He felt a painful sensation on his face. Once again, his head had been stepped on! Shi Ling struggled frantically, but unfortunately, how could his strength be a match for Zu An? The humiliation made himpletely break down. He couldn¡¯t help but be teary-eyed.

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Ling for +999 +999 +999¡­

    When he saw the rapidly rising Rage points in the backend, Zu An remarked with a chuckle, ¡°Honestly, why are you in such a rush to be stepped on again? Maybe¡­ you like this kind of feeling?¡±

    ¡°Just kill me already!¡± Shi Ling cried. He felt as if his heart had already turned to ashes. He could already imagine how he¡¯d be theughingstock of all the fiend races.

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Ling for +888 +888 +888¡­

    Princess Suolun jumped in fright. She was scared that Zu An might make a rash decision and quickly stepped forward, pleading, ¡°Young master, please be lenient! He is the Lion King¡¯s most doted on youngest son, and his identity is special! If you kill him, that might bring about a huge disaster! How about we go by the fiend races¡¯ tradition and have him ransom for his own life?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes lit up. He remembered his harvest from Chi Wen earlier, replying, ¡°That¡¯s not a bad idea!¡± As such, he removed the glove from Shi Ling¡¯s hand.

    Shi Ling struggled frantically, protesting, ¡°Noooo!¡± Unfortunately, he still couldn''t stop his previous lucky encounter from bing another man¡¯s fortune.

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Ling for +999 +999 +999¡­

    The other fiend race cultivators were incredibly envious. This guy had just outright robbed Shi Ling! They actually coveted Shi Ling¡¯s heaven-grade weapon too, but they only dared to think about it. There was no way they would actually have acted on those thoughts.

    Zu An then searched Shi Ling and found his storage pouch, barking, ¡°Open it up!¡±

    The storage pouch had its owner¡¯s imprint, so normally, others couldn''t open it.

    ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it!¡± Shi Ling said through gritted teeth. ¡°Either way, you wouldn¡¯t dare to kill me anyway. You know who my father and my big brother are! I advise you to return the Golden Glove to me too, or else my dad and my brother will definitely grind your bones to ashes, even if they have to go up into heaven or down into hell!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Ling for +799 +799 +799¡­

    ¡°Your dad and big brother?¡± Zu An sneered. ¡°Then do you know who I am?¡±

 Chapter 1261: Forbidden Devilâ€™s Seed Manual

    <h4>Chapter 1261: Forbidden Devil¡¯s Seed Manual</h4>

    Shi Ling was stunned. He murmured, ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­¡±

    Only then did he realize that even though the two of them had fought for so long, he actually didn¡¯t know who his opponent was. The other fiend race cultivators also suddenly realized that. Who in the world was this guy?

    The women at his side were so formidable, too. They had thought that he was just a pretty face who kept strong and beautiful women at his side. Now, they had discovered that he was also truly strong. Judging from his tone, his background was likely extremely powerful, perhaps even greater than the Lion race.

    A hint of excitement appeared on Princess Changning¡¯s face.

    I have to seize this chance! With my appearance and background, I should be able to be good friends with him!

    If I fail to be the crown princess, this man seems to be a pretty good choice too.

    But it is a bit annoying that those women around him seem to be quite the strong opponents¡­

    Princess Suolun stared nkly for a moment. All of the outstanding younger to middle generation individuals from the different ns quickly appeared in her mind, but none of them seemed to match this person.

    ¡°Who in the world are you?!¡± Shi Ling asked the question everyone else was thinking.

    To their surprise, however, Zu An simply replied with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s great that you don¡¯t know who I am. That way, even if I kill you, the Lion race still won¡¯t be able to find me anyway.¡±

    Shi Ling was dumbfounded.

    The onlookers were speechless. They had all been hoping to hear what kind of awesome background he had, but how could they have expected such an answer?

    Yun Jianyue couldn''t help butugh out loud, saying, ¡°This kid! He really is good at messing with people.¡±

    Yan Xuehen and Yu Yanluo both smiled. However, they realized it was quite strange. They clearly hadn¡¯t liked such behavior before. Why didn¡¯t they feel any disgust now, instead just finding it very interesting?

    ¡°You were messing with me?¡± Shi Ling eximed, startled and furious. When had he ever been yed like this before?n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Ling for +555 +555 +555¡­

    Zu An¡¯s expression turned cold as he shot back, ¡°So what if I¡¯m messing with you? Hurry up and open this up already. Who knows, it might be enough to ransom your life.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, even if I don¡¯t know who you are, my father and big brother will still be able to find out,¡± Shi Ling said with a sneer.

    Zu An frowned. He was just about to use force when Yun Jianyue reminded him, ¡°His glove still carries his aura. You should be able to open the storage pouch with it.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes lit up. He put on the glove. A heaven-grade weapon wasn¡¯t a deity-grade divine artifact, so it didn¡¯t acknowledge an owner. When he reached toward the pouch with this glove, sure enough, he was able to sessfully open it.

    Inside it was arge pile of all kinds of spiritual medicines, each stalk not inferior to those that had previously been beneath the cliff at all. There were many bottles and containers with different pill medicines inside. Zu An didn¡¯t have enough time to examine each one carefully, but anything that was worth storing inside clearly wasn¡¯t ordinary.

    There was arge pile of all kinds of sparkling ki stones, each of them heaven-grade. Zu An didn¡¯t need them for his cultivation, but they were a hotmodity in the cultivator world, so it was still a stash of treasure. There was also a beast skin scroll that had all kinds of diagrams drawn on it. At the very top were the words ¡®Lion¡¯s Roar Technique¡¯!

    Zu An was startled. This seemed to be the cultivation manual for the Lion¡¯s Roar Technique! It was a powerful area of effect skill, and yet he had actually ended up getting his hands on it so easily.

    Shi Ling¡¯s eyes seemed about to bulge out of their sockets when he saw what was happening. He cursed, ¡°My dad and my big brother definitely won¡¯t let you go! Even if you run to the ends of the earth, they¡¯ll find you and skin you alive, and crush your bones into ashes!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Ling for +999 +999 +999¡­

    Zu An¡¯s expression turned cold. He said, ¡°If that¡¯s what¡¯s going to happen anyway, I might as well just kill you first.¡±

    Shi Ling¡¯s entire body shivered when he sensed Zu An¡¯s killing intent. Why did I have to say those things¡­

    However, he had always behaved arrogantly. With how things were, he wasn¡¯t willing to make himself any more of aughingstock. He shouted, ¡°If you¡¯re going to kill me, then kill me! Either way, my dad and my big brother will get revenge for me. You¡¯ll suffer ten times more than me!¡±

    The other fiend race cultivators only watched with amusement. Only Qiao Heng and Princess Suolun spoke up to stop Zu An.

    ¡°Young master, you must be lenient!¡±

    ¡°You absolutely must not!¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t seem to have heard their words at all, however. His palm smacked the top of Shi Ling¡¯s head.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Yun Jianyue couldn''t help but wonder, ¡°Was he ever this ruthless of a person?¡± She had always criticized that side of him, calling him too soft-hearted. Thus, she actually admired his actions.

    Yan Xuehen frowned. As someone from the orthodox sects, she didn¡¯t like killing. Even though Shi Ling fully deserved it, she was more worried that after this event, Zu An would turn into a bloodthirsty person.

    Meanwhile, Yu Yanluo was worried that if Zu An fully offended the Lion race, he might end up in great danger. Still, the Snake race wasn¡¯t so easily bullied either. The Lion race won¡¯t be able to interfere with my territory, hmph!

    At that moment, however, a terrifying shockwave rippled out. Shi Ling, who had been lying on the ground unable to move, suddenly raised his hand and blocked the attack. Another wave of golden radiance rushed outward.

    Zu An sensed a dangerous aura and immediately used Grandgale, withdrawing several dozen li away. He remarked, ¡°You¡¯re finally willing to bring it out?¡±

    Shi Ling¡¯s entire body was covered in golden light. He slowly rose into the air, his eyes incredibly cold and seeminglypletely void of emotions. He replied, ¡°Oh? You knew of my existence?¡±

    All of the other fiend race cultivators were stunned when they witnessed the sudden developments. What was going on with Shi Ling right now? He clearly hadn¡¯t reached the master rank yet, so why was he able to fly in the sky so easily? Furthermore, what was with that terrifying pressureing from his body? Even they were getting scared.

    Yu Yanluo was confused. Shi Ling had been lying on the ground like a dying dog without any strength to retaliate. Why had he suddenly erupted with power like this? She instinctively looked toward the two grandmasters.

    Yan Xuehen frowned and remarked, ¡°One body, two souls?¡±

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t seem too likely,¡± Yun Jianyue said, shaking her head. ¡°If it were one body and two souls, how could the other soul possibly be this much stronger than the host? It seems more like a possession.¡±

    ¡°But this does not seem like a possession either,¡± Yan Xuehen said, observing Shi Ling carefully. She added, ¡°Shi Ling¡¯s aura has not disappeared. A possession would not allow Shi Ling to keep existing. It looks more as if someone temporarily attached their soul to his body.

    Princess Suolun seemed to have suddenly thought of something. Her expression changed greatly and she called out, ¡°Shi Qian, is that you?¡±

    ¡°What?!¡±

    When the others heard that it was the Lion race¡¯s great prince, they all looked at the youngster in the air with incredible shock. Wasn¡¯t this Shi Ling? When had he be the great prince?

    The Lion King had a creed of modesty, uprightness, mercy, valor, justice, sacrifice, glory, and spirit, so his sons were named after those words.[1]

    The ¡®Shi Ling¡¯ in the air didn¡¯t reply to Princess Suolun, instead staring straight at Zu An.

    However, Zu An looked at the figure in the air and didn¡¯t reply. He had witnessed the emperor Zhao Han hiding in the crown prince¡¯s body before, in the secret dungeon. He had sensed that there was something off about Shi Ling, and that it had felt a bit familiar. Because he had the Rage point system, he was more sensitive than others when it came to matters of the soul.

    Shi Qian hadn¡¯t been hidden nearly as well as Zhao Han, which was why Zu An had been able to pick up on something. That was why he had gone for a lethal blow to test the waters. Sure enough, Shi Qian had been forced out.

    Yun Jianyue suddenly thought of something. She said, ¡°There is a rumor about a cruel technique called the ¡®Forbidden Devil¡¯s Seed Manual¡¯. Cultivators who practice it find a vessel with outstanding aptitude to apply a special imprint to. That way, a portion of the vessel¡¯s cultivation also benefits the user. Once they fully mature, the vessel¡¯s cultivation ispletely absorbed by the user. Such vessels might just unknowingly end up donating their life¡¯s work for another¡¯s sake.¡±

    The other young fiend race cultivators were shocked when they heard that. They had clearly never heard of such a technique before, but it sounded incredibly sinister! No wonder Shi Qian¡¯s cultivation had advanced so rapidly, making him one of the five great experts at such a young age.

    The expression of the ¡®Shi Ling¡¯ in the air changed briefly, but it quickly returned to normal. He replied, ¡°What nonsense. The only reason I have done this is because I know that my younger brother is prideful and arrogant, and as he is still too young and unable to weigh situations properly, he might easily offend those he should not. That is why I left this behind to protect him. Thisdy over there, please do not speak such nder and try to destroy our brotherly bond!¡±

    Yun Jianyue sneered. She didn¡¯t feel like wasting her breath on him.

    The other fiend race cultivators were mostly convinced, however. Shi Qian¡¯s exnation made sense. They were brothers, after all. Even if he wanted to find a vessel, it wasn¡¯t too likely that he would choose Shi Ling.

    Zu An frowned and remarked, ¡°Why do I feel as if you¡¯re a pervert? You secretly went inside your brother. Then, when your little brother ends up having a great time with his wife, will it be him sleeping with his wife or you sleeping with your sister-inw?¡±

    1. Modesty = ¡®qian gong¡¯, Spirit = ¡®ling hun¡¯. ?

 Chapter 1262: He Has to Save Them

    <h4>Chapter 1262: He Has to Save Them</h4>

    ¡®Shi Ling¡¯ had been floating in the air and looking down on everyone as if they were ants. When he heard that, however, he staggered and almost dropped out of the sky.

    The fiend race cultivators nearby were all stupefied. The men all had ambiguous and mysterious smiles, while the women¡¯s faces were entirely red as they snorted inwardly with disdain.

    Meanwhile, Yun Jianyue¡¯s jaw dropped. A momentter, she said, ¡°As expected of him!¡±

    Yan Xuehen blushed. This guy always pays attention to the weirdest things.

    Yu Yanluo instead looked at the two of them with surprise. ording to the rumors she had gathered about them, these two weren¡¯t the sort to be so agreeable, right? If anyone else dared to make such jokes around them, even if they didn¡¯t lose their life, they¡¯d be half dead afterward, right? Even though they were closer now, why hadn¡¯t they gotten angry in the slightest?

    ¡®Shi Ling¡¯ snapped out of his daze just then. His expression was ice-cold as he said, ¡°This game is over. You exaggerate your own abilities, actually daring to take the life of the Lion race¡¯s prince! If you slit your own throat and apologize, I can still consider leaving your corpse intact. Otherwise¡­¡± He didn¡¯t finish his sentence, but the threat was implied.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An sighed and replied, ¡°You brothers aren¡¯t all that skilled in fighting, but your skill with your mouths is in the same ss.¡±

    Princess Suolun, Qiao Heng, and the others had strange expressions. This man actually dared to speak that way to the Western Lion? However, they realized that this was how he had treated Shi Ling too, so fighting right back was indeed his style. Still, even though this mysterious person was formidable,pared to the Western Lion who had already be famous a long time ago, he was still quite a bit off.

    Even though Shi Ling was outstanding, he was still too young. He hadn¡¯t cultivated for long enough. His older brother didn¡¯t have that weakness, however. After all, Shi Ling might have fallen down a cliff and experienced a praiseworthy miracle, but his older brother had experienced simr miracles year after year. People among the fiend races all called him blessed by the world. For someone like that, grandmaster rank was merely a matter of time. Even the earth immortal rank was something he had a huge hope of breaking through into.

    The others obviously didn¡¯t think that Zu An¡¯s chances were that good. However, the strength he had disyed previously wasn¡¯t weak either. All of them watched carefully, wishing to take thechance to see some of the Western Lion¡¯s methods, hoping for Zu An to force out as many of his trump cards as possible. That way, the different ns would have more preparations against the Western Lion.

    The expression¡®Shi Ling¡¯ had turned cold. He said, ¡°You have sessfully angered me. Fine, I will grant you death.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Qian for +444 +444 +444¡­

    Afterward, he raised his finger, and a streak of golden light emerged from it.

    The others could sense the destructiveness of that light even from far away. All of them were horrified. It was merely a strand of the Western Lion¡¯s will, and yet such a simple attack already contained so much power!

    Then, if we faced him in person, wouldn¡¯t that make uspletely insignificant?

    ¡°This is the Heaven¡¯s Origin Finger!¡± Princess Suolun eximed. Her status was special, so she naturally knew more than the others. She quickly discerned that it was an extreme technique the Western Lion had discovered in his youth. His finger technique had killed untold numbers of powerful cultivators. Its power was extremely shocking.

    The ¡®Shi Ling¡¯ in the air grasped Zu An¡¯s timing extremely well, attacking both him and the women behind him in a straight line with the attack. That way, if Zu An dodged, the women would have to face it instead. On the other hand, if he took it head-on, the Heaven¡¯s Origin Finger was something even the other four great experts wouldn¡¯t want to face, so what would this guy be able to do?

    However, Zu An unexpectedly didn¡¯t evade, and only slowly raised his hand. The center of his palm became somewhat hazy, even distorting the air around it. Then, the golden light was sucked directly into his palm.

    Princess Suolun and Qiao Heng almost screamed out in rm. This guy had received a lethal blow bare-handedly! Forget about his hand, even his entire arm might disappear, right?

    However, shockingly, the golden light vanished without a trace as if it had never appeared.

    ¡®Shi Ling¡¯ looked as if he were facing a great enemy. He quickly evaded to one side, but a streak of blood still appeared on his face. He suddenly turned around to look at Zu An and shouted, ¡°What is the name of that move of yours?!¡±

    Just then, the finger attack Zu An had retaliated with was something Shi Qian had seen before, as it was the same move that had defeated his younger brother¡¯s Mad Lion¡¯s Hegemon Fist, so he wasn¡¯t that surprised. However, the fact that Zu An bare-handedly received his Heaven¡¯s Origin Finger that left him indescribably shocked. At that instant, he had even begun to wonder if there was something wrong with the world. Thus, he had be somewhat absent-minded and had nearly been hit as a result.

    In the distance, the corners of Yan Xuehen¡¯s lips curled upward. Back when she had been trying to kill Zu An, a powerful attractive force had appeared around him, absorbing arge portion of her attacks¡¯ strength. Otherwise, how could Zu An have possibly withstood the attacks of a grandmaster for so long? If he could even receive her attacks, what was the big deal with the attacks of a trifling fiend race junior?

    Zu An obviously wouldn¡¯t expose the Heaven Devouring Sutra. He replied with a smirk, ¡°Do you want to know? Why don¡¯t you try begging me?¡±

    ¡®Shi Ling¡¯ choked. How could this person be so shameless?!

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Qian for +499 +499 +499¡­

    His expression turned cold. His entire body shone with dazzling golden light, so terrifyingly radiant that it couldn¡¯t be looked at directly. The aura felt as if it heralded world-ending judgment.

    All of the fiend race experts¡¯ faces turned pale. They were all the very best among their ns. Many of them had even felt that they weren¡¯t too far beneath the five great experts and would have a decent chance against them. Now, however, they were fully convinced. They couldn''t evenpare to a fragment of the Western Lion¡¯s soul¡­ The difference was just too great.

    The fatty Wu Liang¡¯s hands quickly formed different seals, as if he were calcting something. A smile gradually appeared on his face as he remarked, ¡°This guy is probably going to stumble really hard this time.¡±

    Just then, ¡®Shi Ling¡¯ moved. His Heaven¡¯s Origin Finger had been neutralized by the strange vortex in Zu An¡¯s hand. Using the same attack again would really be unwise. Instead, he charged straight at Zu An like a meteor falling from the sky. When he raised his hand, seven sets of seven lion projections shot out, creating forty-nine in total.

    Mad Lion¡¯s Hegemon Fist! It was the skill the Lion Race was known for, and it was incredibly fierce and unrivaled! The nine lions Shi Ling produced had already made the onlookers sigh in amazement, and yet now, forty-nine of them had appeared at once! They were already growing numb.

    The ground itself sank under the pressure of the wind created by the fist projections. Trees snapped one after another, and even thergest boulders were crushed into powder.

    Yun Jianyue frowned. She waved her hand, and a mysterious ki field appeared around the group, protecting the two women beside her. Even though Yu Yanluo¡¯s Medusa¡¯s Eye could make even grandmasters feel apprehension, she didn¡¯t excel in physical durability and might not be able to withstand the attack. Meanwhile, Yan Xuehen¡¯s injuries were too serious.

    However, Yu Yanluo showed her a smile and said, ¡°Big sister Yun is still injured, so please let me.¡±

    Afterward, a brilliant painting scroll wrapped around them. At that instant, thedies seemed to exist in a special space that was isted from the world they had just been in.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s eyes lit up. She remarked, ¡°This World Painting seems to carry a bit of the academy libationer¡¯s style. So you were that mysterious artist disciple.¡±

    Yan Xuehen gave Yu Yanluo another look. She had already discovered that fact back then when they fought against each other.

    Yu Yanluo was a bit surprised. She replied, ¡°Big Sister Yun really is knowledgeable. You¡¯re right, but I hope big sis can help me keep this secret.¡±

    Yun Jianyue put her arm around Yu Yanluo¡¯s shoulder and replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry; you¡¯re already calling me big sister, so how can I not agree to something like that?¡±

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, outside, ¡®Shi Ling¡¯ was rmed. He wondered, who were these two women? Why were their methods so mysterious and profound? However, he was too busy to think about those questions in detail. He had to subdue this man first.

    The forty-nine lions roared deafeningly, and even the world itself seemed to change color. However, one after another, rings of blue ripples appeared behind Zu An. Then, streaks of sword ki condensed from the void flew out from within.

    At first, the golden lions continued to roar as they withstood the blue sword ki, but they soon couldn''t hold on anymore. They werepletely crushed and prated by the sword ki, and were left nailed to death in midair. They weren¡¯t from the Western Lion himself, so how could they possibly be able to withstand Zu An¡¯s Blue Luan Sword Formation?

    All of the fiend race experts were dazzled when they saw the splendid scene before them. This guy had actually been able to defeat even the Western Lion?! Even if it was just a strand of Shi Qian¡¯s will, they had already fully experienced how terrifying he was.

    Princess Changning began breathing more quickly. This man is even stronger than I thought! I definitely can¡¯t miss this chance.

    Princess Suolun¡¯s eyes were also sparkling as she thought, This attack really is handsome¡­ At the same time, however, she was startled. Why did this style seem a bit familiar? She seemed to have heard of it before somewhere.

    ¡®Shi Ling¡¯ evaded in midair. He knew he was definitely not a match for this opponent in his current state. Even though he was unwilling, he decisively chose to run.

    Zu An obviously wouldn¡¯t let him go just like that. He was just about to give chase, but then ¡®Shi Ling¡¯ used his ki to pick up the Lion race subordinates. He then threw some of them at Yu Yanluo and the otherdies, some at Princess Suolun, and some at Qiao Heng.

    Previously, Shi Qian had been watching indifferently in his younger brother¡¯s body. Forget about Yu Yanluo and those other girls, Princess Suolun had given Zu An several reminders, and Qiao Heng had repeatedly tried to save Zu An, so they definitely had some kind of rtionship. If he attacked them, Zu An would definitely save them.

    The subordinates¡¯ bodies exploded viciously, turning into streaks of bloody mist that contained tremendous power.

    ¡°Blood Explosion Technique!¡± The expressions of all the fiend race cultivators changed. This was an extremely vicious technique. The power of the explosion was extremely terrifying on its own, but even if one could withstand the explosion, as long as even a bit of blood got on one¡¯s body, one would begin to rot and eventually turn into a pool of blood.

 Chapter 1263: Bronze Gate

    <h4>Chapter 1263: Bronze Gate</h4>

    The other fiend race experts hadn¡¯t expected Shi Qian to be so vicious, actuallying up with such a method to escape. They all frantically withdrew into the distance. In the end, they were still alright, since they were farther away and could get away in time.

    However, Qiao Heng and Princess Suolun had been paying close attention to Zu An, so they were standing a bit closer. They hadn¡¯t expected that Shi Qian would attack them, so they didn¡¯t have any chance to evade at all. They could only take out all of their protective artifacts and go for broke, risking it all while trying to hold on.

    However, it was rumored that the Blood Explosion Technique could corrode even ki, so they weren¡¯t sure whether they could withstand it.

    As long as even a little bit of the blood got on their bodies, it would quickly spread. If it touched their arms or legs, they would have to gouge out that part of their flesh at the very least, or else they might have to cut off the entire limb. What if it got on their face or near their brain, though? What would they do then?

    Zu An reacted quickly as well. He quickly arrived beside Yu Yanluo and the other girls, but Yu Yanluo quickly dealt with the situation. With a wave of her sleeves, all of the blood instantly vanished. At the same time, she handed Zu An an empty scroll, saying, ¡°Go and help them over there!¡±

    Even though she didn¡¯t know what Zu An¡¯s rtionship with the elf was, she had seen him save Qiao Heng before, so he definitely had a reason for doing so. There was no way she could just sit there without doing anything.

    Yan Xuehen was a bit absentminded when she saw that. This woman was not only exceptionally beautiful, but also far more considerate than she herself could be. No wonder every man in this world was infatuated with her.

    Wait, why am I worried about these things? It¡¯s not as if I¡¯mpeting with her or anything.

    Yeah, of course not!

    ¡­

    Zu An didn¡¯t have time to thank Yu Yanluo for her thoughtfulness. He used Grandgale to instantly arrive at Qiao Heng¡¯s side. He grabbed the clothes around the elf¡¯s shoulder, then threw him aside. His strength was so great that Qiao Heng quickly flew far away, immediately breaking free from the corrosion of the Blood Explosion Technique.

    However, because Qiao Heng had been in front of Princess Suolun, and the Lion race experts had already exploded, Zu An didn¡¯t have time to throw her.

    Princess Suolun hadn¡¯t expected Zu An to save her. Since he could defeat Shi Ling, he probably had a way of dealing with the Blood Explosion Technique. Within her surprised gaze was a shred of bashfulness. What should I do if he carries me or something?

    That was how it always happened in romance novels. The male lead always carried the female lead and spin a few times while they stared deeply into each other¡¯s eyes.

    If I cooperate too well, those around me might think I¡¯m too easy. It might even damage my Demon Race¡¯s reputation¡­

    But if I resist too much, won¡¯t I be offending the one who kindheartedly saved me¡­

    While she was wondering what she should do, she suddenly saw Zu An lift a foot. Then, she felt pain in her bottom, and her body shot into the distance like an artillery shell.

    Princess Suolun was dumbfounded. He kicked me?

    Yu Yanluo and Yan Xuehen were stupefied. Isn¡¯t this guy being a bit too rough on the fairer sex?

    Yun Jianyue instead nodded in satisfaction, saying, ¡°Little An, not bad. You should maintain your virtue as a taken man and not be blinded by other vixens.¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s ice-cold skin turned red. She thought about how Zu An had been much gentler when he saved her. It looks as if I¡¯m different in his heart.

    Meanwhile, Yu Yanluo thought, Zu An has indeed acted like a respectable man this entire time. Even in a ce like Bluefield Country filled with vixens, although Bluefield Country¡¯s leader was so pretty, he had never even taken the initiative to say a word to her. He had acted the same way while saving Princess Suolun. He had likely done so to avoid any suspicion, for her sake.

    She gave Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen a guilty look. She thought to herself, Later, should I find a chance to tell Zu An that he doesn¡¯t have to be that careful, lest others think I¡¯m a jealous lover?

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, after Zu An sent Princess Suolun flying with a kick, he opened up the single-use nk scroll Yu Yanluo had given him. After being around her for so long, he obviously knew how to use it.

    The bloody mist in the air, still carrying the power of the explosions, was all sucked into the nk scroll. The snow-white paper was covered in blood, and the entire scroll trembled fiercely, as if blood might seep out at any time. Zu An quickly flung the scroll into the distance. Then, the scroll could no longer hold on and exploded.

    However, the power of the Blood Explosion Technique had been greatly weakened. There was a st of bloody mist, and the surrounding nts and trees all withered. After that, the color of blood gradually dissipated.

    Qiao Heng quickly recovered from his daze. He walked over and cupped his hands toward Zu An. He said, ¡°Thank you, brother, for saving me. Have we perhaps met somewhere before?¡± Zu An had now saved him two times. There had to be some reason behind it.

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing like that. I just found you quite pleasing to the eye and saved you on a whim,¡± Zu An said. He didn¡¯t want to expose his rtionship with Qiao Xueying. The main reason for that was because he still didn¡¯t really know what her rtionship with the Elf Race was, and he didn¡¯t want to bring her any trouble. He nned to ask Qiao Heng a bit more about that when he had a chance.

    Qiao Heng¡¯s smile froze when he heard that. The other fiend race experts had strange expressions. Elf race men were handsome and delicate; many powerful noble races liked to raise male elves.

    Don¡¯t tell me that the reason this guy used his hands to save Qiao Heng, but kicked Princess Suolun, was because¡­

    Qiao Heng reacted quickly, realizing that Zu An¡¯s gaze was clear, so he didn¡¯t have such filthy thoughts. Furthermore, the women at his side were all so stunning, so he wasn¡¯t someone with that kind of appetite.

    The dark elf Duan Tiande also noticed the same thing, and felt a bit of fear. This guy is so mysterious, and his cultivation is unfathomable. What if he helps Qiao Heng to attack me? Won¡¯t I be in trouble then?

    Still, the Dark Elf Race excelled in stealth. As long as there was even a bit of shadow in the vicinity, then he could escape far away. That was why, after some hesitation, he still couldn''t give up on the temptation of the treasure and chose to stay for the time being.

    ¡­

    Just then, Princess Suolun climbed back to her feet and secretly rubbed her aching bottom. Then, she said to Zu An with a stiff expression, ¡°Thank you, young master, for saving me. May I ask for the young master¡¯s esteemed name? In the future, the young master will be the Demon Race¡¯s friend.¡±

    Even though that was what she said, she still felt annoyed inside. Ever since she was little, when had she ever been in such a sorry state? She had been kicked in the butt in front of so many people, and had even fallen in such an awkward manner.

    You have sessfully trolled Suolun Shi for +233 +233 +233¡­

    Zu An couldn''t help but chuckle. He replied, ¡°It wasn¡¯t much work, so there¡¯s no need to feel troubled.¡±

    The others were all stunned. They hadn¡¯t expected Zu An to still keep his identity a secret! After all, Princess Suolun was a well-known beauty throughout the fiend races, and her status was also greatly respected. There were usually all sorts of people who followed at her beck and call, just like Prince Yin Sha. And yet now, when she finally took the initiative to make friends with a man, she was actually tactfully refused?

    Is this guy still a man?

    However, when they looked at Yu Yanluo and the other two women in Zu An¡¯s party, they all fell silent. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    This guy is a model for our generation! He doesn¡¯t need to do any bootlicking at all, and yet these stunning beauties all go to him on their own!

    Prince Yin Sha felt extremely unhappy when he saw the goddess he worshiped being treated coldly, but he didn¡¯t speak out. He had just seen Zu An fight and knew his own limits. If he ended up being humiliated afterward, that would be even more unsightly.

    Only Princess Changning felt happy. This Princess Suolun normally looked arrogant, and clearly looked down on her a bit, but hadn¡¯t she been shown the cold shoulder by this man today?

    In the future, I¡¯m going to secretly spread news of this matter. Let¡¯s see how much longer you can act allcent.

    Princess Suolung was clearly also surprised by Zu An¡¯s reply, but she recovered after being briefly startled. She replied, ¡°Young master is a refined individual after all. It was I who clung to conventional patterns too much.¡±

    Zu An was a bit surprised. This woman is quite interesting.

    Suddenly, someone cried out in rm. ¡°What¡­ What is that?!¡±

    The others turned around. They saw that the mountain, which had had arge portion sted apart after Zu An¡¯s battle with the Western Lion, had copsed to reveal a bronze gate. The two doors were extremely tall, reaching at least several dozen meters. Their height made them look narrower than they were.

    ¡°This is the entrance to an old tomb!¡± The cultivators¡¯ eyes began to burn with desire. All their hard work had finally yielded results!

 Chapter 1264: Great Treasures

    <h4>Chapter 1264: Great Treasures</h4>

    None of the cultivators were concerned with what had happened previously anymore. They all rushed toward the bronze gate to try and open it. Unfortunately, no matter what they did, the bronze gate didn¡¯t budge an inch.

    Thus, they all turned to look toward Zu An. After seeing him fight, they had all subconsciously begun to think of him as the leader.

    Zu An walked forward and reached out a hand, pressing it against the bronze gate. Ki began to flow through him as he pushed. However, his ki seemed to be transferred somewhere else by the bronze gate and couldn''t affect them at all. He quietly said, ¡°This entrance doesn¡¯t seem as if it can be opened with brute strength.¡±

    The others looked disappointed when they heard that. Could it be that after all that had happened, they would only remain locked out of this treasure mountain without any gains?

    Yan Xuehen walked up to the bronze gate as well. She gently caressed the designs on the door with her slender, jade-like fingers. Then, her gaze moved toward the various auspicious beasts and divine birds carved on its surface. She said, ¡°There should be some mechanism up there.¡±

    The others had all witnessed her abilities in the fog forest; after hearing that, someone shouted excitedly, ¡°These sculptures seem as if they can be turned!¡±

    Yan Xuehen muttered to herself, ¡°They probably need to be turned to form a specific pattern. However, without any other clues, there is little we can do right now.¡±

    There were several dozen sculptures present, which meant there was a vast number of possiblebinations. Figuring out the exact answer by testing them out one by one seemed almost impossible.

    ¡°Let¡¯s all search for some clues around here,¡± Jin Shi said loudly.

    They were all elites from different ns, so they knew that the mechanisms in such ces shouldn¡¯t be randomly messed with. If they made some kind of mistake, something terrifying might happen. After all, judging from everything they had just experienced, the one who had set all of this up was definitely not a kind person. They all quickly began to search around, not even letting a single bush go unexamined.

    After some time, the fatty Wu Liang walked over and offered while rubbing his hands, ¡°Should I give it a try?¡±

    Princess Changning said with a frown, ¡°You had better not mess things up. If this thing has a limited amount of tries and blows up after an incorrectbination is given, all of our previous efforts will have been for nothing.¡±

    Even though his performance earlier in the mist wasn¡¯t too bad, this fellow was shifty-eyed and crafty-looking. It was hard for her to associate him with someone capable and respectful.

    Zu An gave the fatty a meaningful look and said, ¡°Let¡¯s just let him have a go.¡± His words now carried much greater weight. Since he had spoken, the others obviously wouldn¡¯t stop him.

    Fatty Wu Liang¡¯s body was surprisingly nimble. With a kick off the ground, he began to crawl up and down the tall bronze gate. Whenever he went, he turned the sculptures to specific positions. He didn¡¯t show the slightest hesitation at all from start to finish.

    Soon afterward, all of the sculptures were adjusted. When Wu Liang jumped down andnded on the ground again, the sculptures suddenly released waves of deep blue radiance. Then, all the lines on the gate began to glow blue. Letting out a mysterious noise, the gate slowly opened, revealing a serene and deep cave entrance.

    The others¡¯ gazes moved toward Wu Liang. Even the slowest person present realized that something was strange about this fatty.

    Zu An remarked indifferently, ¡°Daoist priest, are you not going to say anything?¡±

    ¡°Daoist priest?¡± The fiend race cultivators were stunned. This guy was in a mediocre getup. He didn¡¯t look like a daoist priest at all! However, the skills he had shown in the fog forest did indeed seem to carry a daoist sect¡¯s style.

    Wu Liang chuckled and said, ¡°Everyone, please do not misunderstand. I just happened to inadvertently obtain an ancient sketchbook that mentioned this bronze gate. I just tried it out ording to what was recorded, and lo and behold, it actually opened!¡±

    The others wanted to know what else was in that sketchbook, and what was inside the ce, but Wu Liang smoothly and evasively said that there was nothing else. The others clearly knew that he was probably lying, but there was no way to prove it.

    Some people couldn''t hold themselves back anymore and rushed through the gate. After all, they were all apprehensive toward Zu An¡¯s strength. If they could move earlier, they would get a bit of a head start. Who knew, they might even be able to find a treasure and slip away.

    When the others saw them move, they couldn''t be bothered to question Wu Liang anymore. They all rushed forth, striving to be the first.

    Zu An reminded the three women around him, ¡°We don¡¯t know what might pop out inside, so stay near me. You absolutely can¡¯t wander off.¡±

    Yun Jianyue said unhappily, ¡°Even though I¡¯m wounded, it¡¯s not to the point that I need your protection.¡±

    Yan Xuehen instead felt her heart skip a beat, because even though he had said it to all three of them, it was actually directed more at her. She knew her current condition well, so she didn¡¯t refuse out of pride and instead nodded ever so slightly.

    Yu Yanluo then said, ¡°We need to be careful of this fat daoist. I just feel as if he¡¯s a bit strange.¡±

    Zu An nodded. He made sure to keep an eye on the fatty.

    ¡­

    The group quickly entered. At first, they had thought that it would be a pitch-ck cave, and none of them had expected it to be a world of its own. Even though it wasn¡¯t that bright, they could see without any problems. They had no idea where the source of the light was either.

    ¡°Huh? There¡¯s something drawn on this wall!¡± someone shouted, but immediately regretted it. Am I stupid? I should¡¯ve taken a look at it first before saying anything! What if it¡¯s a diagram of a secret method left behind by a profound senior?

    There were clearly quite a few who shared those thoughts. They all rushed over as well. However, Zu An¡¯s group had high cultivation, so they didn¡¯t need to run up close to see the mural¡¯s contents clearly.

    The diagrams at the very beginning of the mural seemed to have been destroyed. The first of the remaining diagrams depicted a group of warriors crowded around a carriage, surrounded by many people in eunuch and maid outfits. From the looks of it, it seemed to depict the ruler of a country setting out on a trip.

    The next one depicted the foot of a strange mountain. The mountain itself undted up and down like a great snake, but there was an opening in the very center. At the foot of the mountain, there was also arge snake that had been chopped in half.

    The third diagram depicted the ruler¡¯s subordinates intending to kill the dying great snake. However, the ruler on the carriage stopped, and had his men save this snake.

    The fourth diagram described something that happened many yearster. The ruler¡¯s party was on a ship in the middle of a stormy sea. Just as they were about to capsize, a great snake rushed out from the waters. In its mouth was a sparkling pearl that it gifted to the ruler.

    The next few diagrams were mostly destroyed. The only remaining one depicted the ruler¡¯s wedding. The pearl was embedded in the empress¡¯ phoenix crown. The scenes after that were also missing.

    The others saw that it wasn¡¯t some kind of technique diagram and left one after another in disappointment. However, they all kept the sparkling, perfectly snow-white pearl in mind. The thing looked extraordinary even in the mural, so it was definitely a great treasure.

    Zu An¡¯s group was much more shocked. They all looked toward Yu Yanluo, asking, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that thing the snake told you about that could help you make a breakthrough is this pearl?¡±

    Yu Yanluo was a bit stunned. She replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know either. I felt a mysterious quiver when I first saw the pearl, and I can sense that something up ahead in the depths is calling out to me.¡±

    ¡°Do you think that big snake by the swamp is the snake in this mural?¡± Yan Xuehen voiced a possibility.

    Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be. Judging from how old this tomb is, those murals should be talking about the distant past. It¡¯s not too likely for that snake to have lived for this long.¡±

    Yun Jianyue chuckled and said, ¡°It¡¯s pointless to think about all of these things; we¡¯ll find out once we take a look inside. If that big snake outside is the one in this painting, that¡¯s for the best. Little Sister Yu canmunicate with it amiably then.¡±

    Just then, someone let out a cry of rm and cried ¡°This is the Pill Cauldron Ginseng, Silverthread Flower, Soul Splitting Herb¡­ I was the one who found these, so don¡¯t fight with me over them!¡± Right as the voice spoke, sounds of fighting broke out.

    Mockery appeared on the corners of Yun Jianyue¡¯s lips. She remarked, ¡°Wealth moves the heart after all. Who would¡¯ve thought that they would already start fighting among themselves this quickly?¡±

    ¡°What are those things?¡± Zu An asked. It was his first time hearing those names.

    Yan Xuehen exined, ¡°The Silverthread Flower and Soul Splitting Herb are top-quality ingredients for refining pills. They are extremely rare. That is especially so for the Soul Splitting Herb. Many master rank cultivators encounter danger while condensing their souls, leading to failure, or even damage to their soul. However, the Soul Splitting Herb can rejoin a damaged soul. It is a rare ingredient that many masters seek, but cannot find.

    ¡°The Pill Cauldron Ginseng can prolong one¡¯s life, and depending on the grade, it can increase one¡¯s lifespan anywhere between ten to a hundred years. Of course, such a thing is useless for immortals or higher-ranked individuals.¡±

    Zu An was confused. ¡°Why?¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

 Chapter 1265: Pendant

    <h4>Chapter 1265: Pendant</h4>

    Emperor Zhao Han¡¯s main problem at the moment was hiscking lifespan. If he had such life-prolonging medicines, wouldn¡¯t he be invincible?

    Yun Jianyue exined, ¡°In order to reach the earth immortal rank, you must have your own unique dao and principles. The principles of his own body are alreadyrgely different from this world¡¯s. These medicines that prolong life are formed from amassing the ki of this world; that means they inevitably carry the principles of this world, which are different from his earth immortal principles. That¡¯s what makes them ineffective.¡±

    Yan Xuehen said, ¡°Currently, the emperor is without equal. Compared to his peers, he is not particrly old either. Unfortunately, he has already experienced heaven and man deterioration, so his death is already inevitable.¡±

    ¡°What does ¡®heaven and man deterioration¡¯ mean?¡± Zu An asked. He had never heard those terms before.

    ¡°An earth immortal, unfortunately, still has the word ¡®earth¡¯ in their rank,¡± Yan Xuehen said. ¡°Unless they break through and be a true immortal, they will eventually be rejected by the will of the world. If this rejection bes severe, it causes the phenomenon of heaven and man deterioration. The earth immortal gradually approaches death, then ultimately turns to dust, once again bing one with the world.

    ¡°Zhao Han¡¯s deterioration seems to have arrived a bit earlier than normal, but no one knows what the main cause of the issue is. We can only specte that it might be rted to the permanent dao injuries he suffered in his battle against the Fiend Emperor.¡±

    Zu An was rmed. He asked, ¡°Then doesn¡¯t that mean that the current Fiend Emperor is also about to kick the bucket?¡±

    ¡°His life is pretty much at its limit too. That¡¯s why he¡¯s summoning the various fiend races to the Fiend King Court for a meeting. I believe he wants to start nning for what happens next,¡± Yun Jianyue said. ¡°The Fiend Emperor is a previous generation expert who has lived for even longer. Meanwhile, it hasn¡¯t been too long since Zhao Han entered the earth immortal rank. Back then, in that battle, the Fiend Emperor¡¯s own cultivation was a good chunk higher, and yet he ended up being half a move inferior, thus granting Zhao Han his undefeated reputation.¡±

    Zu An had a strange expression as he asked, ¡°Then isn¡¯t Zhao Han losing out big here?¡±

    Being undefeated was being undefeated, but he had just risen up to the earth immortal rank, which was the best time he could have to enjoy himself for a long time, and yet he had immediately ended up facing heaven and man deterioration.

    ¡°This is not a matter of losing out or not. At their level, their considerations are entirely different from those of an ordinary person,¡± Yan Xuehen said, shaking her head.

    When he heard the sounds of battle getting more and more intense, Zu An asked, ¡°Are these medicines helpful for your injuries at all? I¡¯ll help you two seize them.¡±

    Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen both shook their heads and replied, ¡°The higher the cultivation, the more difficult it is to be injured. However, if we do get injured, it bes more difficult to heal from. These medicines are miraculous, but they aren¡¯t too useful for us.

    ¡°Only some great treasures can be of use. Otherwise, we can only leave it up to time and slowly recover.¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Yu Yanluo asked about which treasures could help them recover quickly. The two women smiled, but didn¡¯t say anything. Such things were all way too precious, no less rare than divine weapons. How could they make others worry over such things?

    ¡°Right, where is that fat daoist?¡± Yan Xuehen wondered, suddenly remembering him. She looked around, but didn¡¯t see Wu Liang anywhere.

    Zu An was also rmed. He had been paying so much attention to their injuries that he actually forgot about that damned fatty! Fortunately, he had previously attached a strand of his divine will onto Wu Liang. He looked up and into the distance, saying, ¡°He¡¯s already gone deeper inside and hasn¡¯t stopped the entire time. Not even those medicines were of any interest to him.¡±

    Yun Jianyue said with a cold expression, ¡°Hurry and follow him. Even I¡¯m starting to be curious as to just what he¡¯s here to do.¡±

    Since the spiritual medicines weren¡¯t too useful for hispanions, Zu An gave up on the thought of fighting over them too. The group headed deeper in. When they passed by where the medicines were, they saw a group that had been talking cheerfully mere moments before, now at each other¡¯s throats.

    Xiong Great and Xiong Second had a close rtionship, so they had an advantage. The others weren¡¯t stupid and quickly worked together, but their rtionship wasn¡¯t as good. After all, Duan Tiande would never join forces with Qiao Heng and would rather join the bear brothers.

    Even though there was a difference in cultivation between them, it wasn¡¯t a decisive difference. The medicines changed hands several times.

    Suddenly, the medicines were knocked into the air,nding in front of Zu An¡¯s group. Zu An reflexively caught one. He felt a cold sensation running along his hand and was startled. This must be the Soul Splitting Herb.

    Two figures rushed over. They instinctively rushed forward to seize it. One of the men shouted anxiously, ¡°That¡¯s ours!¡±

    However, a woman off to the side had already seen that it was Zu An¡¯s group and quickly stopped him. Then, she smiled at Zu An and said, ¡°Treasures choose their owners. Since the medicine has already selected an owner, that is heaven¡¯s will. We will just give it to the young master.¡±

    The woman was naturally Princess Suolun, while the man next to her was Prince Yin Sha, who followed her everywhere. Just then, he had naturally joined hands with her in the fight. Princess Suolun knew fully well that considering the strength Zu An had previously disyed, as well as the profound cultivation of the women at his side, there was no way she and Prince Yin Sha could seize the Soul Splitting Herb back. Furthermore, Zu An had saved her, so she might as well give it to him as a gift to gain a bit more favor.

    She turned around and took a look. A hint of regret appeared on her face. If she went back now, there would clearly be no chance to seize the other medicines either.

    Prince Yin Sha was a bit unhappy when he saw the woman of his dreams concede in such a gentle manner. However, when he thought about how Zu An had even defeated the Western Lion previously, he didn¡¯t act up in the end.

    Zu An gave the Soul Splitting Herb in his hands a look and asked, ¡°Is this medicine perhaps quite important for the princess?¡±

    Princess Suolun pursed her lips and said, ¡°It is indeed extremely important. I have a senior who suffered a setback when he was cultivating his soul in his earlier years. He needs this medicine to recover. If the young master is willing to part with it, thisdy will definitely pay a satisfactory price.¡±

    ¡°Satisfying me¡­ That''s a bit difficult,¡± Zu An said with a chuckle.

    ¡°Young master, if there is anything you need, please do not hesitate to speak. The Suolun n still carries some weight in the Demon Race,¡± Princess Suolun replied, her eyes shining. Based on what Zu An was implying, it seemed to be negotiable.

    ¡°Anything?¡± Zu An asked, subconsciously sizing her up and asking with a thoughtful expression.

    Princess Suolun¡¯s heart skipped a beat. She looked a bit embarrassed. She didn¡¯t know how to reply at that moment.

    Prince Yin Sha was furious. Is this guy pretending that I don¡¯t exist?!

    You have sessfully trolled Prince Yin Sha for +499 +499 +499¡­

    When he sensed Yu Yanluo and the other women¡¯s dangerous gazes, Zu An chuckled and tossed the Soul Splitting Herb into Princess Suolun¡¯s hands. He said, ¡°I was joking. Consider it a present.¡± Afterward, he immediately continued to chase after the fat daoist Wu Liang.

    Princess Suolun hadn¡¯t expected Zu An to give something so precious to her! She stood in ce with a stunned expression for a moment, somewhat absentminded as she watched him gradually fade into the distance.

    Yun Jianyue couldn''t help but mutter, ¡°This guy is deceiving another family¡¯s youngdy. I¡¯m even starting to wonder whether Honglei was tricked precisely like this back then.¡±

    Yan Xuehen nodded in deep sympathy. This was probably how Chuyan had been done in too. For some reason, she felt a wave of annoyance. She shot back, ¡°Did you not say that your disciple¡¯s charm technique has already fully matured? She should havepletely duped this guy, so why was she so easily tricked instead?!¡±

    Yun Jianyue remained silent for a long time. After a long time passed, she released a long sigh and said, ¡°How could I have known that there were actually male vixens in this world?¡±

    ¡­

    The group had unwittingly arrived in a great hall. The floor was a white expanse, seemingly covered in ayer of pale dirt. When they stepped on it, their feet sank several inches into the ground.

    ¡°Is this snow?¡± Yu Yanluo wondered, somewhat surprised. The color was a bit too strange for dirt.

    ¡°No!¡± Yan Xuehen replied firmly. She cultivated the Snowke Sword, so she was extremely familiar with snow. She warned the others, ¡°This ce is filled with an aura of death. Everyone, be careful!¡±

    ¡°This was all created from the decay of skeletal remains,¡± Yun Jianyue said. She had reached her current level by climbing through mountains of corpses and seas of blood, so she was the most familiar with such things. She quickly discerned what theyer of white dirt was.

    Behind them, the fiend race experts had more or less wrapped up their battle over the medicines. Thinking about the treasures toe, they went over one after another. However, when they heard Yun Jianyue¡¯s exnation, they were overwhelmed with shock and horror.

    Bones were the sturdiest parts of the body to begin with, and they would often continue to exist even after thousands of years. And yet, there was only decayed bone dust here. Just how much time had passed, then?

    Just then, they noticed Wu Liang squatting on the ground several dozen zhang away. In front of him was a perfect set of skeletal remains. Not only had the remains not decayed, they were stillpletely wless. They sparkled like jade, and they even gave off a bit of pressure. It was easy to see just how powerful their owner had been in life.

    Wu Liang carefully removed a sort of ne from the remains. The rope was clearly made of something extraordinary, but after so much time had passed, it turned to dust with just a touch. However, Wu Liang didn¡¯t mind too much. What was in his hands was a light golden pendant. He looked incredibly moved.

 Chapter 1266: One Drop of Heavenâ€™s Essence

    <h4>Chapter 1266: One Drop of Heaven¡¯s Essence</h4>

    The normal bones had already decayed into dust, while this corpse was still perfectly intact. Furthermore, judging from the shape of the bones, it was obvious that they had belonged to an extremely powerful being in life. Anything such an individual carried would definitely be an extraordinary treasure.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Duan Tiande was the first one who was unable to hold himself back anymore. His figure flickered, and he instantly arrived near the corpse through the shadows. His long and slender sword flicked toward Wu Liang¡¯s wrist to make him let go.

    Ma Huang moved at the same time. With a wave of his cloak, he turned into blood and quickly shot toward the two of them. He reached out toward the pendant in Wu Liang¡¯s hand.

    Right at that moment, Wu Liang threw out two yellow talismans from his hands. Even as Duan Tiande and Ma Huang¡¯s attacksnded, the talismans instantly neutralized them. Then, Wu Liang took the chance to curl up and roll along the ground. He was like a meatball, bouncing far into the distance. His speed left the observers speechless.

    The other fiend race experts reacted one after another. They all used their movement techniques to chase after him.

    Even Princess Suolun was no exception. She thought about how she owed Zu An a huge favor. Even though he hadn¡¯t made her return anything, such unclear conditions were the toughest to settle. If Zu An really did propose something¡­ excessive, what could she do? As such, she wanted to get the pendant, then give it to Zu An. That way, the two of them could be considered even. Meanwhile, Prince Yin Sha was her personal bootlicker, so he naturally followed along without any hesitation.

    Only Zu An¡¯s party was left. Hispanions were stupefied. Yun Jianyue asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to chase after them?¡±

    Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°Forget it. That fat daoist probably brought all this about through such hard work just for that pendant. I don¡¯t know whether he still has something up his sleeve. Let¡¯s not stick our heads out amid this liveliness.¡±

    He wanted to find the item that would help Yu Yanluo break through, then leave the ce as quickly as possible. After all, the powerful presence that had been watching in the foggy forest was still present. He felt as if he were in a ¡®sword of Damocles¡¯ situation, so he wanted to avoid shing with that fellow as much as possible.

    Yan Xuehen asked curiously ¡°Were any of you able to see clearly what kind of item that pendant was?¡± She was seriously injured, so her skills were far from their peak. It was difficult for her to see much at such a distance.

    Yun Jianyue replied, ¡°It was a dark golden item, and it was shaped pretty strangely. It didn¡¯t seem like a jade pendant or a treasure, but rather¡­ Rather¡­¡±

    ¡°More like a w,¡± Zu An concluded.

    ¡°Right, just like a w!¡± Yun Jianyue eximed, her eyes lighting up. She immediately felt a sense of relief to have found the most fitting description.

    ¡°w?¡± Yu Yanluo asked, stunned. ¡°How could something that was treated so seriously be a mere w?¡±

    The group had been going all out against each other. If they found out that all they were fighting over was a w, what kind of expressions would they have then?

    ¡°It isn¡¯t a normal w. It¡¯s a bit like¡­ ahem, a Gold Snatching Charm from my hometown. It¡¯s rumored that some tomb raider ns use pangolin ws to make such charms, and they¡¯re used to ward off evil¡­¡± Zu An told them a bit about the folklore of the gold snatchers.[1]

    ¡°Pangolin?¡± Yu Yanluo thought of something and exined, ¡°The Pangolin race does indeed excel at robbing tombs. Because they often excavate ancient tombs, they often find treasures and secret methods, which is why their cultivations are quite high. However, because they cultivate methods they found from several different tombs, what they learn is quite mixed. If they aren¡¯t careful, they might end up messing up their own cultivation by mixing ipatible things.

    ¡°Apart from that, tomb raiding is considered rather disgraceful among both the human and fiend races, and many such tombs still have their descendants alive in this world. Having their ancestors¡¯ tombs excavated naturally results in a huge grudge. That¡¯s why the pangolins are enemies with almost everyone else. Many years ago, something caused them to incur the wrath of the other fiend races, resulting in them bing amon enemy to the others. After that matter, they were heard of less and less, to the point that even if there are any survivors now, they wouldn¡¯t dare to reveal their identities.¡±

    Yan Xuehen was moved by Yu Yanluo¡¯s information. She said, ¡°I have heard the legend of the pangolins too. Just now, the fat daoist¡¯s entire body curled up into a ball and he moved by rolling, which resembles one of the pangolins¡¯ rumored secret escape arts.¡±

    The group had already arrived next to the remains. Yun Jianyue pointed at the corpse¡¯s hand and tailbone and said, ¡°That is indeed the case. Look¡­¡±

    They hadn¡¯t been able to see it clearly when they were still far away, but now that they examined it up close, they all saw that the remains were male. However, he was quite a bit shorter than an ordinary person, and his fingers were especially slender and long. The tips of those fingers were also somewhat sharp. Apart from that, the tailbone area stuck out a bit, as if the individual¡¯s tail hadn¡¯tpletely disappeared due to evolution, so it clearly wasn¡¯t a human skeleton.

    Even though there were many kinds among the fiend races, most of them still more or less resembled humans. Of course, they all still had some of their races¡¯ unique traits too. Even for those born as different monsters, they normally took human form after just a few years. After all, this was a world of cultivation, and human bodies were the closest to the dao. Those who wanted to cultivate practically all had to retain a human form.

    Meanwhile, for many beasts, no matter how strong they were, they could still only be called beasts. Apart from theirck of intelligence, their inability to turn into a human form like normal fiend race cultivators was another important reason.

    ¡­

    ¡°This seems to be a legacy of the Pangolin race,¡± Yu Yanluo said. She was the one who understood the fiend races the most out of the group. After examining the remains for a bit, she voiced her conclusion. ¡°I remember that thest time the Pangolin race became prominent was a hundred years ago. Back then, there was an exceptional old ancestor named Chuan Shan. His cultivation was even greater than that of any of the ancestors before him, and whenever he set his hand to the task, he would always find a top-level tomb. The various races had already had him on their wanted list for a long time, but not only were they unable to find him, he instead managed to sessfully excavate quite a few of their ancestral tombs as revenge.

    ¡°That caused quite the uproar, and his bounty rose by another order of magnitude. However, for some reason, he suddenly vanished. People all said that he must have failed because of some kind of miscalction or inattentiveness and died within some formidable tomb. Don¡¯t tell me this is him?¡±

    The others were all shocked when they heard the story. Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen carefully examined the remains before speaking. ¡°Based on the remains¡¯ condition, this person might have been a pseudo-grandmaster, or perhaps someone who had just broken through into the grandmaster rank. These are just bones, though, so it¡¯s hard to say for sure.¡±

    ¡°Around the grandmaster level, huh¡­¡± Zu An muttered, and his expression grew serious. He continued, ¡°Even someone with such high cultivation died here, and he was someone who frequently entered all kinds of tombs. He definitely didn¡¯tck experience or ways to protect himself, so just what kind of being was able to kill him?¡±

    Afterward, he went to turn over the corpse. He wanted to see what the cause of death had been. Suddenly, however, his eyes narrowed. He moved the corpse aside and dug into the dirt underneath, taking out a book. It seemed to have been woven out of golden silk.

    The women were shocked. Even the bones nearby had decayed, and yet this book was still fine. It was definitely extraordinary!

    ¡°Huh? What¡¯s written in this book?¡± The women had quite extensive knowledge, but the characters were too strange, and were entirely different from any characters they knew.

    However, Zu An was startled. He couldn''t be more familiar with such characters. He had already seen them several times in secret dungeons, because they were the characters used in ancient China. As he had Mi Li for a teacher, he was already well-versed in reading such lesser seals. He eximed, ¡°One drop of heaven¡¯s essence!¡±

    The women were bewildered when they heard him read the words. What in the world was he saying?

    Zu An turned the title page and saw that apart from the main text, there were some smaller annotations. They were clearly notes the corpse had made when he was still alive.

    The notes roughly indicated that he had obtained the book after risking his life, but unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t recognize the characters. He felt deep regret over that fact. Still, he was a genius, and bybining all the things he had learned in his lifetime, he was able to gather some superficial knowledge from some of the diagrams and the way the characters were written. That had allowed him to far surpass his race¡¯s seniors, enabling him to be sessful in every endeavor.

    He had even been able to find numerous ki stone mines and various wondrous ces containing great beauty and resources. He had obtained far more resources than anyone else, so his cultivation had shot up tremendously, allowing him to even surpass his race¡¯s ancestors. The more he realized how formidable the book was, the more vexed he had be that he couldn''t read all of its contents¡­

    ¡°It was Ancestor Chuan Shan after all,¡± Yu Yanluo said when she saw the inscription toward the end. Ancestor Chuan Shan had ced a w stamp over his signature. It was clearly shaped like the pendant the others had fought over earlier.

    ¡°It¡¯s a pity that we don¡¯t know what this book is about. Judging from how Ancestor Chuan Shan described this book, even I¡¯m getting a bit tempted,¡± Yun Jianyue said regretfully.

    Zu An gave the title page a look. He slowly read out, ¡°To those who desire the knowledge of the three fundamentals and countless schools of thought, one must first observe the emperor¡¯s record and divine arts¡­¡±

    1. These are references to the novel series ¡®Ghost Blows Out the Light¡¯. ?

 Chapter 1267: Is Anyone Against This?

    <h4>Chapter 1267: Is Anyone Against This?</h4>

    Yan Xuehen and the others were shocked. ¡°You know this ancientnguage?¡±

    With their knowledge and experience, they had seen simr characters before. They had even encountered isted phrases in some ancient texts. There were even some in this world who specialized in deciphering such ancient characters, but unfortunately, even after so many years, they had only managed to decode a few dozen.

    And yet, Zu An was reading them so smoothly, and he wasn¡¯t babbling either. That line alone made all three women tremble, sensing a profound dao rhythm. Merely reciting it a few times made them feel as if they had received many benefits.

    Zu An chuckled and said in an ¡®embarrassed¡¯ manner, ¡°I just happened to know a bit by chance.¡±

    ¡°Kid, your luck is pretty good. Your opportunities really are a bit ridiculous. I''m even starting to get a bit jealous,¡± Yun Jianyue said, feeling deeply moved. In order to reach the level of grandmaster, apart from her amazing aptitude, she had had no shortage of miraculous opportunities. And yet,pared to Zu An, she instead felt like an ordinary person¡­

    Thank goodness Honglei had incredible foresight and picked out someone with such incredible potential early on, and that I didn¡¯t really try to break them up too hard.

    She even gave Yan Xuehen a smug look when she thought of that. This woman always clung to her ways, so she was probably feeling a lot of regret, right?

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression was conflicted. How could it only be regret? Not only had she failed to sessfully break Zu An and her disciple up, she had almost thrown herself in too¡­

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s eyes were full of adoration as she looked at her lover. She was eager to hear the two grandmasters praise him a bit more.

    ¡°These things aren¡¯t a big deal. Meeting all of you is my greatest blessing.¡± Zu An said with a gentle smile. The women all felt their hearts skip a beat when they heard those words and saw Zu An¡¯s smile.

    Yun Jianyue couldn''t help but say snarkily, ¡°It¡¯s a pity that we don¡¯t have male versions of charm techniques. Otherwise, if you cultivated one, you really might be a devastating male vixen yourself.¡±

    Yan Xuehen nodded in deep sympathy. Is this guy a male fox-spirit or something?

    Yu Yanluo grabbed Zu An¡¯s arm and said sweetly, ¡°My Ah Zu treats others with sincerity, so of course he¡¯ll attract people who treat him with sincerity too.¡±

    ¡°Can you guys not?¡± When Yun Jianyue saw how Yu Yanluo had grabbed Zu An¡¯s arm, her substantial chest squishing a bit under the pressure, she thought to herself, There are still more female vixens in this world. She asked, ¡°Since you understand the characters in this book, what is it actually talking about?¡±

    Zu An skimmed through the contents and said, ¡°The contents are extremely abstruse and hard to understand, so it¡¯s hard for me to get to the heart of them. But so far, it should be a book that talks about natural order and feng shui, geomancy, and so on. Based on what it¡¯s saying, beginners can locate tombs through ¡®gold and cave insight¡¯, intermediate learners can use ¡®source-seeking mine knowledge¡¯, while advanced learners can change heaven and earth, or even major astrological trends, for one¡¯s own purposes.¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression grew serious. She replied, ¡°This really is a miraculous book. There are all kinds of talents in this world, so I have heard of gold and cave insight, as well as source-seeking mine knowledge, but they all act in ordance with the flow of natural dao. Something like this that can actively alter the flow of the world only exists in legends. No one has ever been able to attain such a level.¡±

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°Do you all want to learn it? I can trante a copy for you two.¡±

    ¡°Forget it. I do not want to learn it,¡± Yan Xuehen replied. However, she really was tempted. As someone from the White Jade Sect, she was actually extremely interested in this field of knowledge. However, if Zu An taught it to her, wouldn¡¯t they be alone in a room together often? If they got that close, who knew what kinds of things might happen!

    Half a month before, she wouldn¡¯t have hesitated at all if she were given such an opportunity, as she would have apletely clear and pure conscience. But there were simply too many things that had happened between the two of them as ofte. They had had all sorts of intimate interactions, and Zu An had even seen her entire body twice. That ¡®Love Is More Solid than Gold¡¯ contract was still in effect too. She didn¡¯t dare to spend time together with him in private.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you usually love this stuff?¡± Yun Jianyue asked, giving her a strange look. She said to Zu An, ¡°But that¡¯s fine too. The two of us are clearly the masters, so why would the disciple end up teaching the master? Just learn it on your own first; there¡¯s no big difference between you learning it and us learning it. We¡¯ll just call you up whenever we need you in the future.¡±

    ¡°Do you have to say ¡®call him up whenever¡¯¡­¡± Yu Yanluo murmured, her expression strange. Why do these words sound so strange¡­ Sigh, after being around Ah Zu for so long, I¡¯ve started to be dirty-minded too.

    ¡°That¡¯s fine too,¡± Zu An said, putting the manual away. He thought to himself that it was probably just too embarrassing for them to ask about it, so he¡¯d just teach them in privateter.

    Yun Jianyue picked up the remains again. She pointed at a clear scar on the back, saying, ¡°Even the spinal column was injured like this. If we consider the deformation of the ribs, he clearly died after having his heart ripped out from behind.¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression changed. She asked, ¡°Didn¡¯t this guy have roughly grandmaster rank cultivation? How could someone rip out his heart from behind? Could he have been ambushed?¡±

    ¡°I think not, Yan Xuehen said as she checked the corpse. She continued, ¡°He was caught from behind while running for his life. If he chose to run away, he definitely fought, but realized he could not win.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve seen how fast the Pangolin race can run for ourselves,¡± Yu Yanluo said, pursing her lips. ¡°Even with Ancestor Chuan Shan¡¯s grandmaster-level strength, he was actually caught and killed! The one who killed him just sounds too frightening¡­ This time, we¡¯re all injured, so don¡¯t take the risk for me. Let¡¯s just return first.¡±

    Yun Jianyue said with a carefree expression, ¡°Cultivation is defying the heavens anyway. You can only distinguish yourself by striving to be the best. There¡¯s no such thing as shrinking back.¡±

    Yan Xuehen approved as well, adding, ¡°Right. Even those fiend race juniors dared to advance courageously, so how can we back out now? That would simply damage our conviction in our own dao. Little sister Yu, there is no need to worry; we actually want to investigate this ce too, and see just what this ce has in it.¡±

    Yu Yanluo was moved. Even though what the twodies said was the truth, they clearly also intended to help her.

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, with a meat shield like me in the front, two grandmasters overseeing things, and a Medusa Queen, we should still be able to protect ourselves even if we run into something terrifying.¡±

    Inwardly, however, he continuously prayed, I¡¯m not setting gs here! This is just to console them!

    ¡­

    Just then, curses and exmations of shock filled the air. Zu An¡¯s party was startled and quickly rushed forward.

    Soon afterward, they saw that the fiend race experts were cursing fiercely. There were even some who were pounding walls out of anger, as if they had missed an opportunity of a lifetime.

    Zu An walked over to where Princess Suolun was and asked curiously, ¡°Did something happen?¡±

    Princess Suolun replied with a frown, ¡°We followed that fat daoist priest over here, but then, he suddenly entered the wall and vanished. We thought that there was some mechanism at first, but we realized that he had left through an earth escape skill. We also realized that he might be a descendant of the legendary Pangolin race.¡±

    Another woman interjected, adding, ¡°Hmph, that damn fatty clearly could have fled using that earth escape skill earlier, and yet he had to make us chase him for so long! He must have been messing with us!¡±

    Princess Changning felt a sense of danger when she saw Princess Suolun and Zu An walking so close to each other. Thus, she took the chance to chat with Zu An.

    Zu An had already received Yu Yanluo¡¯s exnation previously. Paired with their exnation, he offered his evaluation. ¡°That fat daoist priest probably wanted to take the chance to throw you all off, but didn¡¯t expect you to be so fast. It was only because he was left with no choice that he exposed his earth escape skill.¡±

    Princess Suolun nodded and said, ¡°Indeed. The Pangolin Race is hated by many. Unless he had no choice, he would not have exposed that fact.¡±

    Princess Changning was really starting to panic. This woman is reacting way too quickly, stealing everything I want to say!

    Suddenly, Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue called out through ki. ¡°Ah Zu, hurry ande over here.¡±

    Zu An realized something was up and quickly went over to them. He saw that the two of them were staring absentmindedly at a puddle. Simr puddles were everywhere, resembling the aftermath of rain; perhaps they came from some underground water source.

    He was about to ask about them when his expression changed, because he sensed that the water was special. It looked like ordinary water, but when he examined it with his divine will, he sensed rich spiritual ki within. The water¡¯s surface moved without any wind, and its movements seemed to resemble a certain sort of dao pattern.

    ¡°This is Prime Souldew. It can create immortal ki stones, or even divine ki stones. Things sealed within will never decay,¡± Yan Xuehen said. Her normally cold and indifferent gaze now contained a hint of covetousness.

    Yun Jianyue began breathing more quickly as she said, ¡°Among ki stones, heaven-grade ki stones are already top-quality goods. The reason why immortal and deity-grade ki stones are so rare is because they¡¯re formed from this Prime Souldew, and any things sealed inside are usually all sorts of miraculous things. Whether it¡¯s spiritual medicines, weapons, divine beasts, or even humanoid creatures, anything is possible.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s thoughts moved quickly. The substance was just like amber, but immortal and divine ki stones were clearly far more formidable.

    Yu Yanluo came from a ki stone mining n, so she knew such things like the back of her hand. She said, ¡°Indeed, with enough Prime Souldew, the emperor could even seal his current body up and wait until one of his descendants could cure his heaven and man deterioration.¡±

    The fiend race experts also moved over when they saw Zu An¡¯s group surrounding the spot. Most of them hadn¡¯t treated the puddles as a big deal at first, but there were plenty of talents among them. Someone quickly recognized them to be the legendary Prime Souldew, and they all enthusiastically tried to fight over it.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    However, Zu An waved his hand, and a powerful aura appeared to block the others. He said, ¡°I want this. Is anyone against that?¡±

 Chapter 1268: Three Three Flower

    <h4>Chapter 1268: Three Three Flower</h4>

    The fiend race experts choked. Only then did they remember that there was a final boss present.

    A strange wave of silence fell over the crowd. They all felt unhappy, but judging from the strength Zu An had disyed, he was indeed stronger than them. All of them felt awful when they realized that. However, they were all proud individuals from distinguished ns. How could they just ept their fate like that?

    Duan Tiande was the first to speak. ¡°Your cultivation is higher than ours, but there are so many of us here. You won¡¯t be a match if we join forces. Aren¡¯t you being a bit too greedy, trying to monopolize this Prime Souldew all for yourself?¡± Zu An had saved his enemy Qiao Heng earlier, so he knew that the two of them had no chance of being on the same side. As such, he wasn¡¯t scared of offending him.

    With Duan Tiande taking the lead, the others all voiced their agreement. They clearly wanted a cut of the profits.

    Zu An replied calmly, ¡°Is that so? Then you can all give it a try.¡±

    The fiend race experts were speechless. Even though they believed they could win if they joined together, there was nothing good at all awaiting those who moved first. In that case, even if they did sessfully make Zu An back off, they would lose the strength needed to get a portion of the reward themselves. None of them were that stupid. Still, remaining silent forever wasn¡¯t a solution either. They looked at each other, schemes brewing during the calm.

    Qiao Heng spoke up. ¡°This brother didn¡¯tpete with us over those medicines earlier, so it¡¯s natural that we return the favor and choose not to fight with him over the Prime Souldew.¡±

    Duan Tiande raised a brow and replied, ¡°Is it really because he didn¡¯t fight over the medicine? Isn¡¯t it obviously because he saved you before?¡±

    Qiao Heng¡¯s expression changed. Before he could retort, however, Ma Huang stared at him and said ambiguously, ¡°That¡¯s right. How can the price of those medicinespare to this Prime Souldew? If this brother is willing, I can use the medicine from earlier to exchange for this Prime Souldew.¡±

    He had sessfully seized a stalk of the Silverthread Flower, which was why he had the right to say that. The others all voiced their support too.

    Zu An frowned and was about to act when Princess Suolun said, ¡°It is not just the medicine. Earlier, when we were in the fog forest, it was all because of them that we were able to leave safely. Without them, we might have already perished there.¡±

    Princess Changning cried out inwardly in regret. Why was she always just a step toote? She quickly voiced her agreement. ¡°Right! They saved our lives, so it is reasonable and fair to let him have this Prime Souldew.¡±

    The others became angry when they heard the two women speak. They still would have had the advantage in numbers before, but if these three stood on the other side, what the heck was the point of fighting?

    Yan Xuehen took out a beautiful white jade bottle and gently lowered herself next to the Prime Souldew. She made a hand seal, and the Prime Souldew seemingly flowed into the jade bottle on its own by some mysterious force. She said, ¡°The most worrisome trait of Prime Souldew is that it can solidify. At that point, it loses its usefulness.¡± She applied a dao rune on the jade bottle as she spoke, clearly to prevent such an oue.

    The others were all amazed when they saw such astonishing methods, thinking to themselves that even the weakest-looking woman in Zu An¡¯s party had such extraordinary knowledge. Just what kind of background did this group have?

    Yan Xuehen handed the filled jade bottle to Zu An, but Zu An didn¡¯t take it. Instead, he said, ¡°You should split this with Big Sister Yun. Neither Yanluo nor I have a use for it right now.¡±

    Yu Yanluo nodded. She came from a ki stone mining family, so she had seen the substance before. In her present state, such a thing was indeed not very useful for her. Forget about the fact that the grandmasters had taught Zu An their extreme arts, it was worth it just as a gift of friendship for two grandmasters.

    Yan Xuehen was stunned. She replied, ¡°You are giving it to us?¡±

    This was something so precious that even the emperor Zhao Han had searched the entire world for it, and yet wasn¡¯t able to find enough of it. And yet, Zu An had ended up giving it to the two of them so readily.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression also became a bit strange; it was unclear what she was thinking.

    The fiend race experts almost vomited blood. They had been about to fight with their lives over the treasure, and yet this guy was just using it to chase after women?!

    This guy really does go all out in picking up women!

    If the Prime Souldew were auctioned off, all of the world¡¯s courtesan queens would be lining up to y with the seller, and even some princesses from smaller countries would be at the selection! And yet now, it was gifted to two women just like that?

    You have sessfully trolled Duan Tiande for +666 +666 +666¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Ma Huang for +666 +666 +666¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Kong Nanjing for +666 +666 +666¡­

    ¡­

    Princess Changning was extremely angry. She had just spoken up for him, and yet he didn¡¯t n to share a portion with her at all![1]

    Princess Suolun was instead rather calm. Her rtionship with him wasn¡¯t close to the point that she could expect anything. The fact that she had been able to obtain the Soul Splitting Herb was already an unexpected surprise; how could she unreasonably hope for anything else?

    The others began to disperse while muttering about how all the good stuff was going to be taken by Zu An if they stuck with him, so they might as well rely on their own luck.

    Princess Suolun gave Zu An a nod and a smile, then chose a direction to search in. He¡¯s traveling with his sweethearts right now, so there¡¯s no reason at all for me to stick around.

    When they left, Yan Xuehen finally realized what had happened. She blushed slightly and said, ¡°Then, thank you.¡± As a grandmaster, she really did need such a treasure. However, it was so precious that she didn¡¯t even know how to reply. She could only say to Yun Jianyue, ¡°The Prime Souldew has already been sealed. If I undo the seal now, it might solidify and lose its effectiveness¡­¡±

    Yun Jianyue knew at least that much. She said, ¡°Stone cold woman, just keep it with you. I¡¯lle find you when I need it. You¡¯d better not secretly use it all on your own.¡±

    Even she felt something was strange as she spoke. In the past, she would rather have destroyed something as precious as the Prime Souldew on the spot than let Yan Xuehn hold onto it. And yet, now, she actually really did trust Yan Xuehen.

    Yan Xuehen merely harrumphed in response.

    ¡­

    The group continued to explore the inner area. Eventually, they arrived in a spacious and empty main hall. There, they saw the fiend race experts walk in from different caves.

    It really was quite strange. They had all chosen to go in different directions in search of treasure, trying to see if they could find any opportunities of their own. However, after walking and walking, they had all ended up gathering together again!n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression grew serious. She said, ¡°It seems this ce is arranged precisely to lead people here. Be careful.¡±

    Suddenly, an exuberant wave of life force ki surged from the center of the hall. The density of the ki far surpassed even that of the Prime Souldew from before.

    ¡°This is¡­¡±

    No one could stand still any longer. All of them rushed toward the center.

    In the middle of a pond stood a lone, budding flower. It was quite strange; it had no leaves and only three petals. It hadn¡¯t even blossomed, and yet it gave off the impression of a brocade in full bloom. The rich life force ki hade from that very flower.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me this is the legendary¡­¡± Yan Xuehen began. She was usually calm and aloof, and yet shepletely lost herposure at that moment.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s body shook as she finished, ¡°It is! This should be the Three Three Flower of legend!¡±

    Zu An and Yu Yanluo were surprised. They had never seen the two grandmasters lose theirposure before. They quickly asked what the Three Three Flower was.

    Yan Xuehen took a deep breath and calmed herself down a bit, exining, ¡°The Three Three Flower is also known as the Three Lives Three Worlds Flower. It is said to be able to keep a couple together throughout three lives and three worlds. However, even though it sounds like a flower of romance, it is actually a stalk of eternal medicine. It is rumored that this flower blossoms three times, and each time it does, it can allow its owner to live another life. I have always thought that its existence was only a rumor, but it actually really does exist!¡±

    Zu An was momentarily stunned. Even Qin Shihuang, the first emperor of China, had looked for eternal medicines and yet failed. Did such a thing really exist?

    The fiend race experts all screamed while throwing themselves at the flower. Even without the exnations, they could tell that the medicine was extraordinary. All of them wanted to obtain it first. This time, none of them would back down anymore!

    1. Princess Changning is Kong Nanjing. Kong is the surname used by the Peacock Race; Changning is likely a title of hers. ?

 Chapter 1269: Display of Unique Skills

    <h4>Chapter 1269: Disy of Unique Skills</h4>

    Zu An¡¯s group didn¡¯t move at all. True treasures usually had protections around them. The medicines outside perhaps hadn¡¯t been high enough in value, but this Three Three Flower was too precious. Without anything protecting it, there was no way it could have grown to its current state.

    Sure enough, when the fiend race experts rushed up to the pond, they ran into a transparent barrier. Golden light surged, and a screen of golden light appeared all around the pond. Runes flickered across its surface, covering the flower like arge bell andpletely protecting it.

    The fiend race experts weren¡¯t too surprised. It would only be more suspicious if nothing were protecting something as precious as this.

    They all began to think quickly when they saw the golden barrier, each looking for their own strategy.

    ¡°Let me!¡± Prince Yin Sha shouted. He had just seen the girl of his dreams act friendly toward another man, but he couldn''t defeat that guy. This was a good chance to properly show his skills in front of the others.

    He arrived in front of the barrier, then opened his mouth. Suddenly, his teeth morphed into arge, ferocious shark maw. It was filled with rows of jagged teeth that were sharp and frightening.

    Princess Changning couldn''t help but release a sigh of admiration, saying, ¡°Just as the Golden Crow race tempers their own feathers throughout their lives, the Silver Shark race focuses on their own teeth. Every single tooth is as solid as gold and iron. It is rumored that the power of the Silver Shark King¡¯s teeth is not inferior to heaven-grade weaponry. He would be able to bite through even a mountain, let alone a trifling protective barrier.¡±

    She had spent these years perfecting the art of ttery. She was always able to find some way to praise someone, so she had always had better rtions with people than the cold and aloof Kong Nanwu.

    Sure enough, Prince Yin Sha felt more motivated. He couldn''t help but stick out his chest and sneak Princess Suolun a look, thinking to himself that it would be great if she were so nice and gentle to him.

    Princess Suolun forced a smile. To be honest, the appearance of the ferocious mouth scared her a bit. She felt her entire body tremble whenever she thought about those rows of teeth. However, out of consideration for his feelings, she did her best to not show it.

    Prince Yin Sha thought that she was encouraging him when he saw her smile. With the one he liked watching him, he didn¡¯t hold back anymore. He chomped down on the golden barrier.

    Crack~

    The loud noise that followed made the onlookers¡¯ teeth feel sore. Prince Yi Sha cried out bitterly, clutching his mouth as he screamed. Several fractured teeth had fallen to the ground, and blood continued to pour out from between his fingers. Quite a few teeth had clearly been broken just then.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Meanwhile, Zu An¡¯s group was speechless. Yun Jianyue said with a sigh, ¡°Do men always be this stupid when they chase after womens? Did he really think that the formation protecting a divine object like this would be something he could bite through with his teeth?¡±

    Yan Xuehen and Yu Yanluo both gave Zu An a look. They thought to themselves, That¡¯s nonsense; this guy clearly bes even sharper in those situations.

    The other fiend races all realized what had happened. Princess Changning¡¯s expression became a bit awkward. After all, she had showered Yin Sha in praise, and yet he had ended up being so worthless.

    Princess Suolun sighed in relief, however. She walked over and handed Prince Yin Sha a stalk of healing medicine, which made him feel extremely moved.

    Duan Tiande picked up his slender sword and thrusted it forward. As a dark elf, he specialized in assassination. Apart from being able to borrow the shadows to jump around, he also knew a set of sword skills that specialized in prating the protective ki barriers used by cultivators. In his opinion, this barrier was likely something simr, so he didn¡¯t hesitate to attack.

    If he could be the first to break through and seize the Three Three Flower, he would be able to borrow the shadows to leave. Even if the others¡¯ cultivation ranks were higher than his, they wouldn¡¯t be able to catch him. That was a dark elf¡¯s source of confidence, after all.

    That idiot Prince Yin Sha¡¯s teeth looked fierce, but their power was too spread out, so of course he couldn''t break through the barrier. Duan Tiande thought, You need to gather all of your strength into a single point, like me¡­

    However, his smile quickly froze, because he saw that his sword couldn''t pierce through the seemingly thin barrier at all.

    ¡°I refuse to give up here!¡± he yelled. With a flick of his wrist, his sword spun like lightning, and he thrusted it forward with several times more power.

    Crack!

    A brittle noise rang out. Duan Tiande first felt joy, thinking that the golden barrier had begun to crack, but he was soon stunned. He saw that what had cracked wasn¡¯t the golden barrier, but rather his sword.

    He waspletely stunned. Even though his sword wasn¡¯t a heaven-grade weapon, it was close to the peak of earth-grade weaponry, and it had drunk the blood of countless enemies. He hadn¡¯t expected it to break just like that.

    Xiong Great and Xiong Second roared withughter just then, saying, ¡°Step aside. How can the sword of a skinny little chick like you do anything? You should watch us instead.¡±

    Then, with one wielding a spiked club and the other a great hammer, they stood on opposite sides. They took a deep breath, causing their muscles to ripple and surge with power. Their bodies then became muchrger.

    The others knew that the bear brothers had extraordinary strength. Between that and their heavy blunt weapons, even a small mountain wouldn¡¯t be able to handle their power. No matter how powerful the protective barrier was, it probably still wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand such force.

    They all secretly made their preparations. The instant the barrier broke, the Xiong brothers would definitely experience a moment of recoil. That would be the perfect chance for them to seize the immortal medicine inside.

    Xiong Great and Xiong Second both took a step forward, their feet leaving behind heavy footprints. The entire building even began to shake. Both of them roared as they smashed into the golden barrier, the spiked bone club and great hammer carrying incredible power.

    The others sighed inwardly in admiration. These two brothers looked like crude blockheads, but they were actually able to coordinate at such a level. Their attacksnded on the target without even the slightest dy in between, multiplying the force significantly. No wonder over the years, even though their enemies might have been as strong as them and had often had the numerical advantage, they still lost to the two brothers in the end¡­

    Booooom!

    Just as they were starting to feel admiration, a tremendous noise sted outward, apanying a massive shockwave. The others immediately protected themselves, their faces all bing a bit pale.

    As the power of the shockwave was already so great, it was easy to imagine what kind of condition Xiong Great and Xiong Second were in. The two of them immediately vomited blood as they flew backward, mming into the ground. They couldn''t even climb back onto their feet for a long time.

    Yan Xuehen had been paying attention to the situation the entire time. She quietlymented, ¡°This protective barrier uses a portion of the attacker¡¯s power for itself. These two bear brothers used great strength, but in the end, most of it was redirected by the formation, and sent right back. I wonder what kind of brilliant individual made such a formation¡­ It truly leaves one in admiration.¡±

    ¡°Stop fawning over it and start thinking about how to deal with it already, please,¡± Yun Jianyue said, rolling her eyes. She really couldn''t stand how this stone cold woman was still acting all schrly even in such a situation.

    Yan Xuehen blushed and said, ¡°I am still observing.¡±

    Just then, the habitually silent Ma Huang made his move. He didn¡¯t use force like the others and instead nned to conquer it through gentler methods instead. His entire body turned into a lump of blood, and he wrapped himself around the golden barrier. The blood continued to move across its surface, seemingly searching for any cracks to enter through.

    Yan Xuehen couldn''t help but voice her amazement. ¡°These fiend race experts from the younger generation may have ordinary cultivation, but their unique skills are all extraordinary. There really are many aspects worth learning from.¡±

    These individuals were all around the eighth or ninth rank, so they were already among the best within the fiend races¡¯ younger generation. However, in the eyes of grandmasters, they were just ordinary.

    Suddenly, the golden light shone, sting the blood away. Ma Huang reformed, kneeling down and coughing out blood. He had clearly suffered considerable injuries.

    Seeing that even he had failed, the others were shocked. However, they still weren¡¯t willing to give up and used all kinds of exceptional skills. There were even some who tried to dig around the barrier. However, they all failed. In the end, they turned to look at Zu An. He was the only one who hadn¡¯t tried anything so far.

    Zu An slowly walked up to the barrier. He sensed the flow of the golden light in front of him, then gently pressed his hand to its surface.He discovered that the greater the force he used, the greater the rebound would be. He thought about Yan Xuehen¡¯s exnation; it seemed breaking through with brute force wasn¡¯t an option.

    Still, all formations had their cores. As long as he could find that, it would be easy enough to deal with.

    He looked around in search of clues. Suddenly, his eyes narrowed, because when he raised his head, he saw that there was a jade coffin floating dozens of zhang above him!

 Chapter 1270: The One Inside the Coffin

    <h4>Chapter 1270: The One Inside the Coffin</h4>

    The space around them was extremely strange. Normally, there was no way a tomb could be sorge, and yet once they entered, it felt as if they were in apletely different world.

    The others also saw the jade coffin above them. Judging from how brilliantly it sparkled, it was clearly precious. Just the coffin¡¯s material alone was probably incredibly valuable!

    The breaths of those present all quickened. They all realized how extraordinary the owner of the tomb must be; it only made sense that that person¡¯s funerary objects were also great treasures. The reason why they had been looking around was precisely to find the owner¡¯s coffin.

    If the burial followed normal conventions, the most precious funerary objects would all be stored inside of the coffin. Seeing as even something as precious as the Three Three Flower was outside, could it be that the owner¡¯s funerary objects were even more precious than an eternal medicine?

    Someone suggested weakly, ¡°This eternal medicine below probably belongs to the owner, right? Don¡¯t tell me they¡­ haven¡¯t died yet?¡±

    The others were stunned to hear those words. Then, a chill ran down their backs. The group couldn''t even deal with a formation protecting the eternal medicine, so it was easy to imagine just how ridiculously powerful the actual maker of the formation was. If that person hadn¡¯t died yet, wouldn¡¯t they justpletely be throwing their lives away?

    Yan Xuehen shook her head slightly and said, ¡°There is no need to worry. Legend has it that the Three Three Flower only blooms once every three thousand years, and it is only effective then. Perhaps when its owner obtained it before, it was at a poor time, and so they could not make use of the eternal medicine.¡±

    The others felt a bit relieved, thinking that her analysis made a lot of sense. Many people secretly gave Yan Xuehen a look. Even though the woman¡¯s aura was weak, there was an air of mystery surrounding her. Between that and her wealth of knowledge, they had already beenpletely won over. No wonder Shi Ling had wanted to obtain her previously.

    Princess Suolun gave Zu An a look, thinking to herself,Just what kind of charm does this man have, for so many beautiful women to be so dead set on staying at his side, and for them to all be so capable nheless?

    Competent women all had their pride, and yet these three seemed to get along with him so well, none of them seeming jealous of the others. Princess Suolun really couldn''t understand it, and it only served to make her even more curious.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The others found that they couldn''t break through the Three Three Flower¡¯s defensive formation for the time being, so their attention all shifted toward the jade coffin. They clicked their tongues in wonder, wondering just how it could remain afloat. After all, they were currently restricted by thews of the ce. They might be barely able to jump a few zhang into the air, but they couldn''t fly at all. Even so, the heavy jade coffin was able to float in midair.

    How do we get up there?they all wondered. Their gazes all shifted to Zu An¡¯s party again. The strength and knowledge that group disyed so far had already left a deep impression on them.

    Yan Xuehen slowly paced around with a thoughtful expression. As she was injured, Zu An was worried that something might happen to her. Thus, he stuck close to her to protect her.

    Yu Yanluo stayed where she was, however. Her expression became a bit strange as she watched the two of them walk side by side. Why do I feel as if they¡¯re a pair of daopanions, and that I¡¯m the third wheel¡­

    Yun Jianyue also had a simr feeling, but what she was thinking about was something else entirely.Should I find a chance to y the matchmaker? Then, if the master and disciple end up sharing a husband and the entire world finds out, I¡¯ll be smiling even in my dreams!

    Yan Xuehen had unknowingly already made a whole trip around the main hall. She closed her eyes and began to think about everything around her. The others held their breaths for fear of interrupting her thoughts.

    A whileter, she opened her eyes and exined,¡°This pce¡¯syout seems to be in ordance with the divinatory trigrams of the five elements. In that case, the gate of life should be in this direction¡­¡±

    She walked in a certain direction while speaking. After a dozen steps or so, she stopped in front of a wall, and her beautiful eyes swept over it. Suddenly, she pressed down on the fifth block of the ninth row of stone.

    The giant brick actually sank inward. Then, with a rumble, faint blue lines began flickering all around the pce.

    Princess Suolun cried out in rm, ¡°Over here!¡±

    The others looked at the source of the sound. A translucent, blue-green tform appeared underneath the jade coffin. Then, flights of translucent blue steps extended from the four cardinal directions around the tform, all the way to the ground.

    ¡°This is¡­¡± The changes happening before them left the group stunned. None of them had ever seen such an intricate mechanism before!

    However those flights of steps were hard to see, seemingly no more substantial than a thinyer of air. They were confused. Could such a thing really support the weight of a person? This ce was just way too strange, so no one dared to move first for fear that there was some trap that might just take their lives if they weren¡¯t careful.

    Zu An trusted Yan Xuehen, though. Since she hadn¡¯t offered a warning, that meant it was fine. As such, he led the three women up the stairs. The stairs looked as thin as air, but they were actually extremely sturdy. Even Yun Jianyue clicked her tongue in wonder.

    Seeing as Zu An¡¯s group was fine, how could the others still hold themselves back? They all ran toward the stairs, fearing that the others would seize the good stuff first.

    The entire group quickly arrived in front of the jade coffin. Someone impatiently rushed forward to push aside the coffin¡¯s lid. Zu An wanted to stop them, but it was toote. Surprisingly, however, the lid actually moved quite easily, without setting off any mechanisms. Zu An exchanged a look with the women, seeing shock in all of their eyes.

    This didn¡¯t make sense! The covers of coffins were usually sealed shut, and the way here had been so dangerous. Why was it that once they arrived at the final coffin, there weren¡¯t any restrictions at all?

    When those present saw what was inside of the coffin, they were all shocked. Rather than the bones and funerary objects they expected, there was arge ki stone inside.

    ¡°Deity-grade ki stone!¡± they cried out in rm.

    They had been able to sense the stone¡¯s powerful natural ki even through the coffin. Even though they all came from influential ns and had seen quite a few heaven-grade ki stones, asionally encountering immortal-grade ki stones too, they had never seen the legendary deity-grade ki stones before.

    Forget about them, even Yan Xuehen, Yu Yanluo, and Yun Jianyue were a bit absentminded. Even though they were experienced and knowledgeable, they had only seen deity-grade ki stones once or twice.

    An ordinary deity-grade ki stone was already enough to be a thousand-year-old sect¡¯s greatest treasure. And yet, this piece of deity-grade ki stone was sorge that it almost filled up the entire coffin! No wonder they had found the Prime Souldew before. That was probably what remained after creating such a deity-grade ki stone.

    Huh? Wait, why would it be ced inside the coffin? Don¡¯t tell me¡­

    Just then, someone said in a trembling voice, ¡°There seems to be someone sealed inside here¡­¡±

    The surface of the deity-grade ki stone resembled amber and was vaguely translucent. Only when they focused on it did they discover that there was actually someone sealed up inside. Moreover, she was an extremely beautiful woman.

    Her hair was tied up into a cloud-shaped hair bun, decorated with beautiful pearl flowers woven from golden silk and silver threads. It made her neck seem exceptionally slender, and her presence equally gentle and refined. Her brows were curved like a spring mountain, and her features were stunning. A long and voluminous garment with wide sleeves covered her stunning figure, giving her an astonishingly mature and enchanting charm.

    For some reason, however, even though she gave off an incredibly charming and lovely sensation, when they looked closely, the observers saw that there wasn¡¯t a shred of emotion on her calm and gentle oval face. Her lips were red and moist, and yet there was no smile on them. She had a dignified bearing, giving her an air of unapproachable nobility.

    ¡°There was actually someone so beautiful in this world?¡± The fiend race experts were all stunned. They subconsciouslypared the woman with Yu Yanluo and the other women, and concluded that each of them was stunning in their own way, but it was a pity that they all wore veils, so their faces couldn''t be seen.

    Zu An was also a bit stunned. Why was it that whenever he went into such old tombs, there would always be some beauty in a coffin? He had met Mi Li in Brightmoon Academy¡¯s secret dungeon, and then he had met the mermaid queen in Westhound Tomb. Now, he had run into yet another one? Was it his fate to disturb female corpses or something?!

    But how can this woman have two entirely different temperaments at the same time?

    He had only ever sensed something simr from Daji before. Could it be that this woman had also been a fiend when she was alive?

    Through ttering teeth, someone eximed beside him. ¡°I think she¡­ She¡¯s still alive?¡±

 Chapter 1271: Relations Broken

    <h4>Chapter 1271: Rtions Broken</h4>

    The others were surprised and quickly took another look. They didn¡¯t see her breathing at all, but they could tell that her skin was still soft, supple, and fair, with a hint of a rosy blush. She looked just like a living person.

    ¡°Judging from everything we¡¯ve seen so far, we can conclude that this tomb is from a distant age. Even that powerful cultivator was nothing more than a set of bones, and yet this woman still looks fine and well. This is way too strange,¡± the Peng race¡¯s Jin Shi remarked, gulping involuntarily.

    Princess Changning felt a bit jealous as she looked at the woman in the coffin. How did this woman be this beautiful? Even after passing away, she¡¯s still so lovely. She added, ¡°I believe her beauty was preserved with the help of this deity-grade ki stone.¡±

    Princess Suolun sighed and remarked, ¡°She died while at her most beautiful age. That really is a regretful matter.¡±

    Yu Yanluo looked at the woman encased in the deity-grade ki stone in a daze. For some reason, she felt a sort of indescribable closeness to the woman. At first, she thought that the woman was also a Medusa, but when she carefully examined the feeling, she realized that they weren¡¯t truly of the same species.

    Ma Huang remarked with a chuckle, ¡°We can¡¯t obtain the Three Three Flower below, so how about we just divide this deity-grade ki stone among us? With such arge piece, it¡¯ll be enough even if we take just a piece ourselves.¡±

    The others¡¯ eyes lit up. If there had only been a single ki stone, they might all fight to the death. However, there was clearly such arge amount in the coffin, so they could all get a sizable chunk. There was no need to risk their lives fighting over it.

    Of course, the best result would be if they could seize the entire ki stone for themselves, as they would even be able to obtain the beautiful corpse inside. However, they all knew that they had no way of defeating the others by themselves, so splitting it evenly was the best method.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression changed. She said, ¡°The woman inside is relying on the deity-grade ki stone to ensure that her body doesn¡¯t decay. If all of you destroy the deity-grade ki stone, won¡¯t she quickly turn into a corpse?¡± She didn¡¯t want this woman to suffer a miserable end, due to the mysterious feeling of closeness she had experienced.

    Yan Xuehen and Yu Jianyue gave her a look of surprise, but they didn¡¯t protest. As grandmasters, they had their own domineering nature. The deity-grade ki stone should have been theirs to begin with; why did they have to share any with the fiend race experts?

    Zu An obviously stood by Yu Yanluo¡¯s side, remaining her staunchest supporter.

    The others¡¯ expressions changed. Prince Yin Sha protested angrily, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you want all this for yourselves?¡± Because many of his teeth were broken, however, his speech was affected a bit. He became even more angry when he realized that.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    You have sessfully trolled Prince Yin Sha for +555 +555 +555¡­

    Jin Shi looked unhappy too. He added, ¡°Aren¡¯t you guys being too greedy? Just now, we already stepped aside regarding the Prime Souldew and the eternal medicine. You still want to seize this deity-grade ki stone all for yourself?¡±

    Qiao Heng said without much confidence, ¡°We didn¡¯t really back down on the eternal medicine, though¡­¡±

    They were clearly the ones who had tried to go first, and yet failed to break through that defensive formation, so why had Jin Shi made it sound as if they had backed off on purpose or something?

    Jin Shi choked, not knowing how to reply. However, Duan Tiande remarked with a sneer, ¡°Bastard Qiao, whose side are you on really? Even though he saved you, you¡¯ve already repaid that kindness. Why are you still making an enemy out of us for an outsider?¡±

    The bear brothers brandished their weapons and said in low, muffled voices, ¡°Indeed, this person¡¯s background is suspicious. We of the fiend races should be uniting together against outsiders.¡±

    ¡°Uniting together against outsiders?¡± Qiao Heng sneered. ¡°These dark elves are mortal enemies of our Elf race, and he even tried to kill me earlier. Are you really going to talk to me about unity?¡±

    The others were left at a loss for words. The grudge between the Dark Elf and the Elf was indeed serious..

    Ma Huang said with a sinister chuckle, ¡°No matter how great your grudge is, it¡¯s still an internal conflict. However, this fellow is from the human race, themon enemy of the fiend races. Are you sure you¡¯re going to stand at his side?¡± He didn¡¯t only say that for Qiao Heng; he also shot Princess Suolun a look.

    It was clear that Zu An¡¯s group was too mysterious. They definitely didn¡¯t want Qiao Heng and Princess Suolun to stand on his side. Furthermore, they had to all work together to have a better chance at defeating Zu An.

    ¡°What? He¡¯s a human?¡± Princess Suolun cried out in shock before Qiao Heng could say anything.

    ¡°Correct. There¡¯s no mistake from his blood,¡± Ma Huang replied with a chuckle. He even licked his lips, as if he really wanted to suck down a few mouthfuls of it.

    The others no longer felt any suspicion when they heard that. After all, the Blood race was the most sensitive toward such things.

    Qiao Heng was dumbstruck. However, Princess Suolun then asked, ¡°Young master, are you really a human?¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t hide it and replied, ¡°I am indeed a human.¡±

    Many of the fiend race experts began to curse, ¡°The damned human race!¡±

    Arge amount of Rage points appeared in the backend. The war between the two races had clearly left both sides with too much hatred.

    Zu An sighed. Such hatred couldn''t be erased despite the fact that in the human world, he had always said that there were good and bad people among the fiend races. In the current situation, however, there was no use in wasting any more words.

    The fiend race experts looked toward Qiao Heng and asked, ¡°What do you say now?¡±

    Qiao Heng panicked under the others¡¯ threatening expressions. Doing something that would anger an entire crowd was something difficult to do for anyone. The Elf race still needed to have good rtions with the other races. If he created many enemies for them due to personal reasons, that would really be a great crime against the Elf race! He could only sigh and say to Zu An, ¡°This brother, I¡¯m sorry to let you down. Many of our Elf race brothers and sisters have perished under the hands of humans.¡±

    Princess Suolun didn¡¯t say anything, but she tacitly stood by the fiend races¡¯ side.

    Princess Changning had already been upset that even though she had spoken up so much for Zu An, she hadn¡¯t gotten any benefits from it, and he seemed to be closer to Princess Suolun. After the revtion, she quickly emphasized that they had nothing to do with each other, saying, ¡°So you were a treacherous human! I should not have spoken up for you earlier. Your kind has harmed so many of our nsmen; this time, you will definitely pay a debt of blood!¡±

    The others all voiced their praise for Princess Changning¡¯s righteousness.

    Yun Jianyue sneered. ¡°This girl looks smart on the surface, but she¡¯s actually pitifully stupid.¡±

    Yan Xuehen and Yu Yanluo nodded in deep sympathy. With their status and knowledge, they obviously knew why Princess Changning continued to flip-flop like that. They thought to themselves that if Zu An ended up liking a woman like this, then the three of them really would be blind for choosing him.

    However, when they saw Zu An¡¯s clear and sober expression, they felt fully at ease. Even though this guy is perverted, there¡¯s no way his insight would be that poor.

    When had Princess Changning ever been humiliated that way before? She eximed, ¡°Vixen, you¡¯re courting death!¡±

    She sent her palm flying at Yun Jianyue as soon as she spoke. Her strike was fast and sharp. At the same time, a hand seal projection took form dozens of zhang above her. She had clearly used one of the Peacock Race¡¯s extreme arts.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression was cold. She raised her hand, and the imprint flying toward her face vanished without a trace.

    Pa!

    A loud and crisp noise rang out at the same time. Princess Changning clutched her face in disbelief. She just couldn''t understand how the other woman had done such a thing.

    Everyone else was stupefied too. At first, they had thought that it was just Zu An alone who was deep and immeasurable; now, however, it seemed as if the women at his side were also formidable!

    Zu An chuckled. Even though Yun Jianyue was injured and the amount of cultivation she could use was only equivalent to the eighth or ninth rank, she still had her grandmaster-level fighting experience and insight. How could her skills be something these youngsters could understand at all?

    Princess Changning cried angrily, ¡°You¡¯re dead meat!¡± She called out to the other fiend race experts, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you attacking them yet?!¡±

    The others seemed to have woken up from a daze. Going one by one really would be a foolish choice. At the moment, their advantagey in numbers. No matter how fierce that woman was, her ki seemed to only be at the ninth rank at most, so she wouldn¡¯t be able to cause too much trouble. As such, they rushed forward together.

    Princess Changning wanted to get revenge on Yun Jianyue and rushed at her. After some hesitation, Princess Suolun targeted Yu Yanluo. The others all surrounded Zu An, because they knew that he was the most important target. As long as they dealt with him, his femalepanions wouldn¡¯t be able to stir up much trouble.

 Chapter 1272: An Ominous Change in the Situation

    <h4>Chapter 1272: An Ominous Change in the Situation</h4>

    Princess Suolun faced Yu Yanluo and said apologetically, ¡°The situationes before personal feelings. I must ask for your understanding.¡±

    Yu Yanluo had fiend race blood within her, so she felt deep sympathy for Princess Suolun¡¯s concerns. She didn¡¯t get angry and said, ¡°When one¡¯s position is different, there¡¯s no need to talk about forgiveness. Watch out.¡± She took out the World Painting as she spoke, sucking Princess Suolun directly into her art.

    However, she didn¡¯t feel the slightest bit of happiness, but instead looked in another direction vigntly. With a purple sh, Princess Suolun instantly reappeared.

    Yu Yanluo gave the painting a look and remarked, ¡°Puppet arts?¡±

    Princess Suolun broke out into a cold sweat. If she hadn¡¯t seen the painting sucking in the Blood Explosion Technique previously, she would already have been done in just then. She felt even more ashamed, as it was clearly the skill that had saved her earlier. As such, she held back even more when she attacked.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Qiao Heng was pulling his punches even more. He fought against the weak-looking Yan Xuehen, and yet there was no progress even after a long time. The other fiend race experts were all annoyed. Still, they didn¡¯t dare to anger Princess Suolun and Qiao Heng at the moment. Stalling their opponents was already good enough for the time being, as it was still better than having them as enemies.

    Just then, Jin Shi, the bear brothers, Prince Yi Shan, Duan Tiande, and Ma Huang took the initiative to surround and attack Zu An with their subordinates.

    Zu An¡¯s expression was cold as he used the Feathersilk Entangling Art to make the bear brothers¡¯ weapons smash into each other. While their internal energies stirred ufortably, he sent them flying with kicks. He then froze Jin Shi¡¯s legs with the Snowke Sword, preventing him from abusing the Golden Peng race¡¯s ridiculous movement skill. Then, he knocked Jin Shi down with a fist.

    Right at that moment, a long and slender sword suddenly appeared from the shadow behind Jin Shi; it was a dark elf¡¯s assassination weapon. In response, Zu An used Shining Finger to deflect the sword, then reached out to grab the other party¡¯s head.

    However, Duan Tiande reacted quickly. He shrank into the shadows and disappeared. After a moment, he instantly appeared behind Zu An. Such an opponent really was tricky to deal with.

    Zu An released a cold snort. His entire body suddenly surged with mes, the fiery light making it so that there were no shadows around them at all. Duan Tiande had no choice but to withdraw in rm.

    Just then, Ma Huang unleashed an attack. He turned into a lump of blood and wrapped himself around Zu An¡¯s arm. It quickly spread, trying to cover Zu An¡¯s entire body.

    Judging from the suction force around his arm, Zu An knew Ma Huang was trying to suck out his blood essence. He felt a wave of disgust when he remembered Mosquito Daoist. He immediately used the Heaven Devouring Sutra, turning his entire arm into a ck hole.

    Ma Huang was horrified. Not only was he unable to suck out Zu An¡¯s blood essence, quite a bit of his own cultivation had even been taken. If he hadn¡¯t been sure that Zu An was human, he would even have suspected him of being from the Blood race too!

    He tried to leave in rm, but unfortunately, no matter how he struggled, he couldn''t free himself from the suction force. He felt despair, thinking, I¡¯m finished! I chose to fight with an eagle and got my eyes pecked out instead¡­

    Fortunately, the others¡¯ attacks arrived at that time. Zu An was distracted from dealing with them, giving Ma Huang a chance to recover. The lump of blood split in two. One remained on Zu An¡¯s arm, while the other eventually managed to sessfully break free.

    The part that had escaped turned back into Ma Huang, but hisplexion was extremely pale. He was no longer as high-spirited as before, and he looked at Zu An in horror. During that interaction just then, twenty percent of his cultivation seemed to have been absorbed. It would be strange for him not to feel extremely weak.

    When the others saw that they had saved Ma Huang, they all backed off. After that, they didn¡¯t dare to act rashly anymore. There were so many of them fighting together, and yet they had ended up being easily beaten up by Zu An. Their side had suffered considerably from just the first exchange.

    Even while they were all hesitating, Zu An frowned. With his current cultivation, he could win easily against any one of them one on one, but there were too many of them at the moment. When he took down one, others would immediately rush in, leaving him with no room to quickly decide the battle.

    These were all the best of the various fiend races¡¯ younger generation, and they were different from ordinary ninth rank experts. Their trump cards and methods were a cut above the rest. When such opponents worked together, they would naturally be a bit tricky to deal with.

    Jin Shi said seriously, ¡°We¡¯ll attack together and retreat together. Don¡¯t give him the chance to take us down one by one!¡±

    ¡°Fine!¡± the other fiend race experts replied. They were all valiant individuals. Their fighting spirit had been roused. With the way things were, there was already no room for reconciliation, but if they risked it all, things might take a turn for the better. They might even be able to obtain the deity-grade ki stone, or even the eternal medicine below. If they backed down and this human took down one by one, they would all die tragically here.

    After realizing that, they all charged forth with a roar.

    Zu An was starting to get annoyed, and no longer held back. Soon, bitter screams rang out one after another as several of the bodyguards were killed. Even so, the bodyguards were still rather tough; they acted like deathsworn soldiers, using their own bodies to prevent Zu An from having a chance to attack their masters.

    The fiend race cultivators were growing more and more horrified. At the same time, they were starting to regret their decision. At this point, however, they could only brace themselves.

    Blood and flesh soon flew in all directions, dyeing the ce red. Then, as if guided by something, it flowed down the translucent stairs along inconspicuous grooves, toward the pond where the Three Three Flower was. The previously imprable barrier acted as if it didn¡¯t even exist, allowing the blood to flow in. Then, the once bright and clear pond gradually turned red.

    However, the people above were still fighting and didn¡¯t notice that small change.

    ¡­

    As they continued fighting, the fiend race cultivators only began to experience even greater terror. Their opponent was just way too powerful, as if he were a war god! Even if they really did win, most of them would probably lose their lives here. No one wanted to be one of those sacrifices.

    Duan Tiande was still the sharpest of them in the end. He knew that defeating Zu An in directbat would be a bit difficult, so he shifted his attention to the women.

    The woman who fought using the dao of art was extremely profound. Even if Princess Suolun hadn¡¯t been holding back, she wouldn¡¯t be easy to defeat.

    As for the fierce woman, she was holding Princess Changning down while smacking her face ferociously. Although Princess Changning¡¯s cultivation was nothing to scoff at, she was like a small child without any power to resist, and was being beaten miserably. Duan Tiande shivered when he saw that. This tigress is best left unprovoked.

    As such, his attention quicklynded on Yan Xuehen. Her aura was the weakest, as she had seemingly been injured quite badly. Judging from her previous performance, she only had knowledge and didn¡¯t seem to be good at fighting. As for Qiao Heng, who was fighting her, he was really pulling his punches quite heavily.

    Duan Tiande jumped into the shadows, then reappeared next to Yan Xuehen through her shadow. He thrust his sword at her neck, intending to use her to threaten Zu An.

    However, the weak-looking woman seemed to have anticipated Duan Tiande¡¯s move ahead of time. She turned around and deftly evaded his attack. At the same time, her snow-white sleeves swept out.

    Duan Tiande felt a gentle force spread across his longsword, and he almost lost his grip on it. He was horrified. What is up with this woman? Why are her skills so profound?

    Just then, an arrow flew toward him. He was on his guard and quickly evaded it. He stared at Qiao Heng, eximing furiously, ¡°What are you doing?!¡±

    Qiao Heng said with a grim expression, ¡°This is my opponent; I won¡¯t allow anyone else to interfere.¡±

    Duan Tiande was so angry heughed. He retorted, ¡°Anyone can see that you¡¯re not even trying. Taking her as a hostage is what¡¯s most important right now. Otherwise, all of us will die!¡±

    The other fiend race experts were also unsatisfied with what was happening on that end. They all began to curse, telling Qiao Heng to remember who he was, and to quickly deal with his opponent before helping them out.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Qiao Heng¡¯s expression changed several times. His cking off had been exposed, and yet he couldn''t really take a side.

    Suddenly, a terrifying aura surged from below. The pond around the Three Three Flower had turned red, bing a bloody pool. The blood inside seemed to be boiling, spilling out and spreading in all directions. Soon afterward, it covered the entire floor of the pce, and it seemed as if it would continue to climb higher.

    Then, the entire tform they were fighting on, as well as the translucent stairs, suddenly disappeared. The ones who had been fighting on it immediately lost their center of gravity and fell toward the blood pond.

 Chapter 1273: A Large Hand From the Darkness

    <h4>Chapter 1273: A Large Hand From the Darkness</h4>

    No one had expected the tform beneath them to suddenly disappear. This ce had robbed them of their ability to fly, and since they had been caught off guard, they fell straight down. When they all noticed the surging pond of blood beneath them, their expressions changed. Wasn¡¯t the pond previously clear and gentle? Why did it be like this?

    Even though they didn¡¯t understand what exactly the blood pond was, it emitted a terrifying killing intent that made their souls tremble. They knew falling into the pool of blood was definitely not a sensible option.

    Zu An couldn''t be bothered to worry about other, less pressing matters anymore. He summoned the Wind Fire Wheels and barely steadied himself. However, the mes on the wheels flickered, as if they might be extinguished at any time. Furthermore, their flight speed and mobility were far weaker than usual; they had clearly been greatly suppressed by thews of this ce. The fact that they could still allow for flight was already amazing.

    He grabbed Yu Yanluo, who was the closest to him, and yelled, ¡°Hold onto me tight!¡±

    Yu Yanluo knew that the situation was dire, so she leaped directly toward Zu An¡¯s waist and began clinging onto him like a ko, so his hands would be freed up to save others. Thus, Zu An quickly used the Wind Fire Wheel to rush at the other two women.

    Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen were falling too. Yun Jianyue was still able to use some methods to slow her descent, but Yan Xuehen¡¯s injuries were too serious and she couldn''t stop herself from plummeting. Yun Jianyue tried to save her, but as soon as she grabbed Yan Xuehen, the difference in eleration made both of them fall.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s head went nk. She would never have expected her arch-nemesis to save her! When she snapped out of her initial shock, she tried to shake Yun Jianyue off and throw her to one side, yet Yun Jianyue grabbed onto her hand firmly, not giving her a chance. She panicked and protested, ¡°Do you want to die too?¡±

    Yun Jianyue harrumphed. ¡°You¡¯ll be the one who dies if you let go. You¡¯re only allowed to die because of me, and not in such an easy way as this.¡± Yan Xuehen wanted to say something else, but Yun Jianyue cut her off and said, ¡°Stop struggling already. That fe will save us.¡± She struggled to control the air streams around them to slow their descent, buying as much time as possible.

    Yan Xuehen was stunned. She reflexively raised her head and saw Zu An rushing over while riding the Wind Fire Wheels. At that instant, she was left in a daze. It was as if Zu An¡¯s entire body were shining.

    A secondter, Zu An arrived next to the two of them, wrapping an arm around each of their waists. Then, he flew over to the side of the room. When they sensed the firm and steady strengthing from those arms, even though the two women knew that he was saving them, they still couldn''t help but feel rmed.

    Yan Xuehen raised her head to look at Zu An from the side. When she remembered their rtionship, her expression became more and more conflicted.

    Meanwhile, Yun Jianyue was sizing up Zu An from a different angle. She thought to herself that back in the sect, female disciples always secretly discussed which guys were handsome, and yet she had found them all nothing special. But this kid Zu An was a bit handsome, hm? While she was feeling a bit worked up, however, she suddenly noticed Yan Xuehen¡¯s star-struck expression. She quickly snapped out of her daze. What kind of nonsense am I thinking?

    ¡°Save me!¡± someone cried in rm,not far away. When Zu An¡¯s group turned to look, they saw that Kong Nanjing was clutching Princess Suolun¡¯s thigh. Princess Suolun couldn''t shake her off at all, and both of them fell toward the pool of blood.

    Kong Nanjing saw that Zu An could still fly and immediately begged for mercy. Her face was covered in handprints, red and swollen; they were clearly a product of Yun Jianyue¡¯s artistry. Meanwhile, Princess Suolun¡¯s usual calm had been reced with anxiety. She looked at Zu An with hopeful eyes.

    After some hesitation, Zu An summoned the Primal Skysilk and wrapped it around Princess Suolun¡¯s hand. Then, with a tug, he pulled her over to his side. Naturally, Kong Nanjing escaped danger too.

    Yun Jianyue remarked in annoyance, ¡°You¡¯re even going to save that kind of woman?¡± The one she was talking about was, of course, Kong Nanjing. She still remembered how the woman had behaved.

    Zu An said, ¡°I¡¯ve had some interactions with her nsmen. I can¡¯t just watch her die without doing anything.¡±

    Seeing that Zu An hadn¡¯t done so out of lust, the other women all smiled inside.

    The groupnded on a stone protrusion to one side, temporarily freed from the danger of drowning in the blood pool. Princess Suolun trembled as she eximed, ¡°Thank you, young master!¡± Meanwhile, Kong Nanjing was still scared witless, unable to even speak a single word.

    Zu An merely nodded before his attention returned to the blood pool.

    Jin Shi and Qiao Heng both had wings. Even though they couldn''t fly the way they usually could, borrowing the air streams to glide was still manageable. They bothnded atop a statue on the wall and steadied themselves. They gave Kong Nanjing a look of disdain. They were all from winged races, and yet these two had found a way. However, that woman hadpletely lost her mind from fear, only trying to cling onto someone else and dragging them down too.

    The bear brothers were rather crude, but they weren¡¯t stupid. They knew they couldn''t fly after losing their bnce, so they struck at each other¡¯s weapons with a tacit understanding, borrowing the recoil force to propel themselves toward the walls on either side. They grabbed some of the wall decorations to stop their fall.

    Duan Tiande jumped across the shadows and hid by a beam. Meanwhile, Ma Huang appeared nearby.

    The others weren¡¯t so lucky. Starting with Prince Yin Sha, they all dropped into the blood pond. Then, Prince Yin Sha¡¯s true form appeared. He tried to swim ashore, but a tremendous pain ravaged his body. When he looked down, he saw that all of his flesh seemed to be melting like a candle!

    Bitter screams filled the ce as the other fiend race experts quickly turned into white bones. Prince Yin Sha¡¯s cultivation was a bit higher than theirs, so he managed tost for a bit, but it only meant more suffering.

    Miserable cries rose and fell. Soon afterward, he didn¡¯t even have the strength to scream anymore. He looked at Princess Suolun in despair, his eyes filled with pleading.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Princess Suolun bit down on her lip, almost hard enough to draw blood. She knew what he was trying to say. Thus, she eventually raised her finger. A streak of purple light shot out, piercing directly through Prince Yin Sha¡¯s head. Prince Yin Sha died on the spot, but in the end, a smile of relief appeared on his face.

    Princess Suolun¡¯s entire body trembled slightly, and her expression was pale. Even though she had never liked him, Yin Sha had still looked after her the entire time. Who would feel nothing when they saw such a person die so miserably?

    The entire pce fell silent again. Prince Yin Sha¡¯s flesh waspletely eroded, his corpse turning into a giant set of bones.

    The survivors were rmed. They had seen so many bones along the way; had they been created here, then swept out? They looked toward the center of the blood pond. The Three Three Flower was still floating on the water, but some faint blood-red veins had visibly appeared on the petals.

    ¡°What eternal flower? This is a freaking life-stealing trap!¡± Princess Changning eximed in horror.

    The others all had simr thoughts. They had been drawn in by this eternal flower, yet in the end, it had swallowed all of them up. They all wanted to leave as soon as possible, but a vicious sea of blood was surging beneath them. If they made contact with the blood, even if they didn¡¯t die immediately, they would be seriously injured. They couldn''t fly either, so none of them could leave.

    Their gazes turned to Zu An. All of them remembered the Wind Fire Wheels he had been riding. He was the only one present who could fly.

    Duan Tiande chuckled and said, ¡°Forget it; this humble one¡¯s life is still the most important. You guys can have all of the treasures here. This one won¡¯t keep youpany anymore.¡±

    He could move through the shadows, so the situation wasn¡¯t too difficult for him to deal with. Thus, he leaped through them several times after speaking. Just when he was about to leave the hall, however, arge, shaggy hand suddenly reached out in front of him.

    Duan Tiande was horrified. He quickly tried to hide in the shadows again, but the shaggy hand seemed to be able to ignore all tricks. It entered the shadows and pulled him back out.

    ¡°Ugh¡­ Ah¡­¡± Duan Tiande choked, his neck in the grip of that hand. He was floating in midair, and his face was swollen purple. He tried to pull the hand off of him while kicking frantically. Unfortunately, the hand didn¡¯t budge, showing no signs of loosening up at all.

    Crack!

    Suddenly, with a crack, the hand twisted. Duan Tiande¡¯s head drooped, and his entire body turned limp like a wet noodle. He didn¡¯t move again.

    The survivors all felt a chill. Duan Tiande¡¯s cultivation was one of the best among their group, and his shadow-leaping skill was incredible. He had been in a practically unstoppable position; how had his life been taken so easily, like crushing a baby chick?

 Chapter 1274: To Each Their Own Designs

    <h4>Chapter 1274: To Each Their Own Designs</h4>

    Therge hand twisted Duan Tiande¡¯s neck, then flung him into the pool of blood. Soon afterward, his fleshpletely dissolved, revealing a set of bones that were much more slender than most others. That was how elves were; their bodies were more delicate than those of other races.

    Qiao Heng¡¯s face twitched a bit when he saw that. Even though the two of them had been mortal enemies, he still felt a bit unwell to have seen Duan Tiande die so miserably.

    Meanwhile, the other fiend race experts felt more fear than anything else. If even someone like Duan Tiande had been killed, wouldn¡¯t the rest of them meet simr fates?

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue both looked at Zu An and cried, ¡°It¡¯s him!¡±

    Zu An nodded. The terrifying aura he sensed was extremely familiar. Previously, he had detected a powerful being watching them when they were in the fog forest. Now, it had finally shown itself.

    A dark figure slowly walked over, revealing its appearance to the gathered experts. It would be hard to call it a person; even though it was mostly humanoid in appearance, there was long, ck hair covering its entire body. Its face was hard to see clearly. The shaggy monster had ck energy swirling around its body, as if it were a reaper from hell. It walked casually across the pool of blood, moving on it as if it were just ordinary, tnd. The powerful corrosive blood didn¡¯t do a thing to it.

    A powerful pressure immediately filled the entire ce. The fiend race experts felt despair. Was this a grandmaster? It definitely carried the pressure of a grandmaster!

    Zu An looked back at Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue, replying with a grave expression, ¡°Its aura seems to be a bit stronger than even yours at your peak.¡±

    The two women didn¡¯t dispute what he said. However, they quickly reminded him, ¡°This monster is indeed extremely strong, but it doesn¡¯t seem to be that intelligent. It¡¯s unable to use many of a grandmaster¡¯s special abilities, so we might still have a chance.¡±

    Yu Yanluo couldn''t help but feel admiration. As expected of these two grandmasters! While everyone else felt despair, they had instead immediately found the entity¡¯s weakness.

    Princess Suolun secretly gave Zu An a look. Usually, the other fiend race experts were extremely arrogant, shooting their mouths off and boasting about themselves. And yet, right now, they were all scared out of their minds. Only this man alone remained calm, even before such a powerful enemy. So the human race had such an outstanding individual¡­

    Just then, the ck-haired monster quickly arrived between the two bear brothers. It raised its hand, and in an instant, the two brothers could no longer cling onto the statues on the walls. They flew straight toward the monster.

    ¡°Ahhh!¡±

    The two were utterly terrified. They had clearly seen what happened to Duan Tiande mere moments before. Out of despair, they both brandished their respective weapons. They swung the club and hammer toward the monster with all their strength, trying to fight for a sliver of a chance at survival. In such a moment of crisis, both of them unleashed twice their usual strength, causing their weapons to erupt with sonic booms.

    The ck-haired monster didn¡¯t dodge. It reached upward with itsrge hands, then grabbed the club and hammer with its bare hands. The impact made its body shake a bit, but that was all. The bear brothers tried to push down with everything they had, their chubby facespletely red, but their weapons didn¡¯t move at all.

    Then, the ck-haired monster moved. It closed its hands gently, and the two weapons that had previously seemed awe-inspiring and overwhelming actually began to bend. It crushed them into scrap!

    The other experts¡¯ eyes widened. They had fought against the bear brothers before. The brothers¡¯ attacks were incredibly fierce and difficult to take head-on, and their heavy blunt weapons were even more famous, having crushed countless cultivators into a bloody paste. Yet now, they had actually been crushed with bare hands? Were grandmasters actually this terrifying?

    The ck-haired monster reached out with both arms, and even the tall and sturdy bear brothers couldn¡¯t escape being grabbed. They couldn''t break free no matter what they did. The monster brought its hands together, smashing the two brothers with a loud crunch.

    Unlike the force of the barrier below that had stopped the brothers¡¯ attacks, which had only made their internal energies stir, the collision instantly scattered all of their ki. Their bones shattered, and their inner organs were crushed to bits. Blood spurted endlessly from their facial orifices. There was no surviving such a blow.

    The ck-haired monster casually flung the brothers¡¯ corpses downward, and two more lives were sacrificed to the blood pool. Meanwhile, the Three Three Flower at the center seemed to be even more beautiful, vaguely showing hints of blossoming.

    Jin Shi and Ma Huang both cried out, ¡°This brother over there, how about we put our enmities aside to face this powerful enemy together?¡± They knew they had absolutely no chance against the ck haired monster alone. If Zu An, someone simrly powerful, helped them, they might still have a chance at survival.

    Zu An thought for a moment before replying, ¡°Alright.¡±

    Kong Nanjing reacted and quickly grabbed him in rm, protesting, ¡°Don¡¯t go!¡± At the same time, she said quietly, ¡°They¡¯re closer to that monster right now. If we¡¯re going to die anyway, they¡¯ll die first. Who knows, that monster might be satisfied if it kills them!¡±

    Zu An was already the only one she could rely on. If he left, there would be no one else. ording to what the other two had said, they clearly had to face the ck-haired monster together; in that situation, she couldn''t do anything. What difference was there between that and throwing their lives away?

    Princess Suolun felt dissatisfied and remarked critically, ¡°As things stand, there is only going to be a chance if we fight together. If you use the lives of others to satisfy that monster, what if it fails? At that point, we will not even have that sliver of a chance to resist.¡±

    Kong Nanjing felt unhappy to receive such criticism, and retorted, ¡°Fine, you¡¯re so amazing and high-sounding. But just now, you even ruthlessly killed your own follower. Just who is more heartless here?¡±

    Princess Suolun was left at a loss for words. Frustrated, she turned around and said, ¡°Those with narrow and shallow knowledge should not try to talk about deeper topics.¡±

    Afterward, she seemed to be intent on joining Zu An, but Yan Xuehen stopped her and said, ¡°That monster is too strong; it will not be of much help even if you head over. He will instead have to worry about taking care of you.¡±

    Princess Suolun panicked and replied, ¡°But I cannot just watch here without doing anything, can I?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s watch the situation for now,¡± Yun Jianyue added, her tone suggesting she would ept no disagreement. Princess Suolun opened her mouth, but she didn¡¯t say anything else in the end.

    Kong Nanjing was happy to see Princess Suolun be denied, and remarked, ¡°Weren¡¯t you boasting not too long ago? And yet look at you now, only interested in saving your own neck.¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Princess Suolun eximed angrily. She looked away and ignored Kong Nanjing.

    Kong Nanjing secretly moved backward, staying all the way at the back so that even if they were going to die, she would be thest. No, that monster might just stop once it killed enough¡­ She gave the Three Three Flower in the blood pool a look. The monster seemed to be feeding the experts¡¯ blood essence to the eternal flower, so she actually had a hope of keeping her life if she hid all the way in the back.

    ¡­n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An quickly stepped onto the Wind Fire Wheels and flew over. Jin Shi pped his wings, flying along the wall, while Ma Huang turned into a bloody mist to move around. The three of them surrounded the monster.

    The monster seemed to have sensed that Zu An was extraordinary. It raised its hand directly toward him. In an instant, an aura locked down the space around Zu An. The palm seemed to be able to control the entire world, containing a terrifying power that was impossible to escape from. Zu An finally understood why, whether it was Duan Tiande or the bear brothers, they couldn''t resist at all.

    Jin Shi didn¡¯t attack to help Zu An alleviate a bit of pressure, but instead seized the chance to turn into a streak of golden light, rushing out of the hall! It was the unparalleled movement skill of the Golden Peng King race, Invincible Heavenly Peng! Even though he was only starting to delve into theplexities of the skill, its speed was already terrifying.

    Meanwhile, Ma Huang didn¡¯t attack either and instead rushed in the opposite direction. He intended to take the chance to seize the Three Three Flower at the center of the blood pool as Zu An stalled the monster.

    Princess Suolun panicked, eximing angrily. ¡°How can you all be this despicable?!¡±

    Even Kong Nanjing cursed, ¡°Do you all have no sense of shame?!¡± Zu An was already thest person she could rely on. What was she going to do if he died?

    However, no matter how they cursed, there was no changing what had already happened.

 Chapter 1275: A Resolute Decision

    <h4>Chapter 1275: A Resolute Decision</h4>

    Zu An chuckled, even though he was in danger. He summoned Grandgale and instantly moved several dozen feet away.

    He had already been wary when he heard the other two¡¯s suggestions. After all, they had just fought with the intent to kill moments before. One would have to be an utter fool topletely trust their words. Sure enough, the two failed to live up to his ¡®trust¡¯.

    The ck-haired monster had lost its objective, so it instinctively shifted its attention to the fleeing Jin Shi. It took a step forward, catching up to him with just a single step.

    The others felt chills watching the scene. Even though the skill Jin Shi had disyed was just the beginning level of the Invincible Heavenly Peng, he was already extremely fast. And yet, despite his head start, the ck-haired monster had caught up so easily.

    The monster extended its fingers like lightning, its hand piercing straight through Jin Shi¡¯s back and ripping out his heart. Jin Shi screamed, his heart still throbbing as it left his body. It was easy to imagine just what kind of suffering he had just experienced.

    Yan Xuehen and the other women exchanged a look. They both thought back to the corpse of Ancestor Chuan Shan, which they had seen on the way. At that time, judging from the scars, they deduced that someone had most likely scooped out his heart from behind. They had felt that the thought was a bit outrageous at first, but now, they personally witnessed it happening.

    The ck-haired monster tossed the dripping heart straight into its mouth. It chomped down and blood spurted out of its mouth.

    ¡°No!¡± Jin Shi eximed. He still had some of his consciousness left, but after seeing that scene, he perished instantly. His golden body dimmed, and he fell into the blood pool below, his flesh quickly being eaten away.

    Ma Huang¡¯s fine hairs stood on end when he heard the bitter screams behind him. He hadn¡¯t expected the monster to deal with Zu An and Jin Shi that quickly. The way things were, however, he had no other option. He rushed directly toward the blood pool.

    When they saw that, the survivors were all stunned. Kong Nanjing cried out in shock, ¡°Is he trying to kill himself?¡±

    Yan Xuehen shook her head and said, ¡°Do not forget that he is from the Blood race. This blood pond might be deadly for others, but it might not be to him.¡±

    That was precisely what Ma Huang had been thinking. He had been a bit rmed when the tform copsed and the others fell into the blood pool, but after some time passed, he remembered that he was from the Blood race!

    Even though the blood pool below had a powerful corrosive nature, there was a great deal of blood essence stored inside. For him, it would be an incredible source of nutrients. As such, he had secretlye up with a n. While Zu An and Jin Shi stalled the monster, he would enter the blood pool first. He would then absorb the blood essence inside to strengthen himself while seizing the eternal flower.

    He had clearly seen that ever since the pool of blood surged, the mysterious formation around the flower had already disappeared. Once he obtained the Three Three Flower, he would use the Blood race¡¯s secret arts to escape, using the pool as cover.

    As soon as he entered the blood pool, he felt a stinging pain. As someone from the Blood race, he immediately realized that it was sucking out his blood essence, and it wasn¡¯t some kind of corrosive poison.

    However, his race specialized in absorbing blood essence. Not only could he use a special technique to protect his own blood essence from leaving, he could even absorb the blood essence in the pond instead.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    At that instant, he felt as if he were in paradise. The aura around him was just too fragrant. This was pure blood essence, its quality far greater than anything he had ever absorbed before! In just a few breaths of time, he quickly recovered the twenty percent of his blood essence he had lost while facing Zu An, and it was still increasing. Soon, he quickly surpassed his normal peak! If he could cultivate in the blood pool for two hours, he was confident he could even break through directly into the master rank.

    For cultivators, cultivation became more and more difficult as one¡¯s rank increased. There were countless experts at the peak of the ninth rank who were forever stuck at that rank, unable to break through into the master rank. If just two hours in this ce was enough to ovee such a thing, just what did that represent?

    However, Ma Huang knew he didn¡¯t have that much time. As such, he quickly swam toward the Three Three Flower at the center of the blood pool. Perhaps because a portion of the blood essence had been sucked away, the petals that had seemed about to blossom appeared a bit limp.

    The ck-haired monster noticed what had happened and let out a sky-shaking roar.

    A terrifying pressure swept over Ma Huang, leaving him absolutely horrified. He gave the Three Three Flower that was almost within reach a reluctant look, but decided that his own life was still the most important thing.

    Meanwhile, the ck-haired monster stood in the blood pool, looking down to examine it. The experts on the ledge couldn''t see the abnormalities in the blood pool at all, but the monster seemed as if it had X-ray vision. It suddenly let out an inhuman roar, then thrust its palm toward the blood pool, sending arge hand projection in. When the monster pulled its hand back out, it was gripping the fiercely struggling Ma Huang.

    Ma Huang was terrified. He didn¡¯t know why his Blood race¡¯s secret arts had been so easily seen through by the enemy. He struggled frantically, releasing a strange, viscous liquid from his entire body. Not only was it poisonous, it was also extremely slippery. Together with his struggles, he actually managed to free more than half of his body!

    The ck-haired monster harrumphed, tightening its grip. The tremendous pressure made Ma Huang¡¯s eyes roll back, and he almost fainted on the spot. It felt as if many needles had stabbed into his body, preventing him from moving. Out of desperation, he bit down on the monster¡¯s hand in an attempt to use the Blood race¡¯s sinister techniques with everything he had, trying to suck away the monster¡¯s cultivation.

    Ever since ancient times, many of the Blood race¡¯s seniors had been able to kill powerful beings with higher cultivation ranks precisely because of those special methods. If their opponents were careless, they would have their blood essence sucked out.

    However, this time, Ma Huang felt despair. No matter how hard he sucked, the other party¡¯s source didn¡¯t budge at all!

    The ck-haired monster was clearly getting annoyed. It raised Ma Huang up, then squeezed his body from the bottom up like a roll of toothpaste. Ma Huang didn¡¯t even have time to scream miserably before his entire body¡­ exploded on the spot! His internal organs and intestines flew out of his mouth.

    Ma Huang had been unstoppable for decades, having sucked countless experts dry. Never could he have expected that he would die so miserably.

    When the women on the stone tform saw what had happened, they clutched their mouths and began to retch. Such a scene really was way too shocking. Even the eyelids of a thick-skinned man like Zu An twitched.

    The monster seemed to find the pile of remains too filthy for the blood pool. With a wave of its hand, a stream of ck energy wrapped around the inner organs and fluids, instantly refining and cleaning them. Only a few drops of blood essence entered the pool below. The Three Three Flower that had previously looked somewhat wilted immediately recovered its budding vitality.

    Yan Xuehen looked at Princess Suolun and asked, ¡°Is this monster from the Demon race?¡±

    Princess Suolun shook her head and replied, ¡°That ck energy indeed seems a bit simr to the Demon race¡¯s ck mes, but I do not sense the aura of the same species from his body. On the contrary, that ck energy is full of the aura of death, as if¡­ As if¡­¡±

    Yun Jianyue finished, ¡°As if it already died a long time ago.¡±

    Yan Xuehen frowned. There were indeed some cultivation methods that specialized in refining the souls of the dead, but practically all of them involved turning bones and rotten corpses into weapons or puppets. When had there ever been an instance of a corpse gaining its own consciousness?

    Kong Nanjing cried out in rm. ¡°That flower still hasn¡¯t bloomed. Does it need more blood essence¡­¡±

    The survivors were disheartened when they heard that. They were the only ones left. If more blood essence was needed, it would obviously have toe from them.

    The ck-haired monster seemed to have realized that as well. It looked toward the stone tform.

    Qiao Heng picked up his bow and took a step forward, saying to Zu An, ¡°Brother, I don¡¯t know why you saved me, but it is a fact that you saved me several times. A real man separates gratitude and grudges clearly. You¡¯ve saved my life, so I¡¯ll return you a life. As for the two princesses, if you¡¯re able to leave this ce alive, please help me watch over my nsmen in my ce.¡±

    Afterward, he nocked an arrow and drew his bow. The arrowhead flickered with jade green radiance. He said with a firm expression, ¡°I¡¯ll stall this monster. All of you, hurry and escape.¡±

    As soon as he finished speaking, a green streak flew toward the ck-haired monster like a shooting star. Wherever it passed, the powerful aura even cleaved the blood pool apart.

    ¡°Emerald Immortal Tear!¡± Princesses Suolun and Changning both cried out in rm. They were from the fiend races as well, so how could they not know about the Elf race¡¯s lethal move?

    The elves were all excellent archers, who would each fire countless arrows in their lifetime. However, there was a kind of arrow they could only fire three times at most, and it was a skill that only the most outstanding talents could learn. That was the Emerald Immortal Tear.

    The move ignited one¡¯s potential and definitely couldn''t be used rashly. After using it, they would be seriously injured at best, and in the worst case, they might even die. The move¡¯s use often preceded the fall of a genius. Its price was so great that the Elf race believed even the emerald deity they worshiped would shed tears. That was how it had obtained its name.

    Zu An didn¡¯t run, and instead said with a sigh, ¡°You won¡¯t be able to stop it.¡±

    Sure enough, the ck-haired monster seized Qiao Heng¡¯s most powerful arrow. The green radiance repeatedly spun in its palm, even producing smoke as it ground against the monster ck hair. However, in time the light grew dimmer and dimmer, eventually disappearingpletely.

 Chapter 1276: Unexpected

    <h4>Chapter 1276: Unexpected</h4>

    After using all of his strength, Qiao Heng could no longer hold on. His legs buckled, and he copsed onto his knees.

    Princess Suolun and Changning felt despair when they saw that. They were from the fiend races, so they knew about the Elf race¡¯s ultimate move. That was why their expectations had been proportionally great. Still, they had known that considering the power the ck-haired monster had shown, it would probably be hard for them to kill it. Even so, it should have been injured at least a little bit, right?

    In the end, however, the monster had stopped the arrow single-handedly, and only a bit of its fur had burned¡­ Could that even count as an injury?

    Qiao Heng¡¯s eyes were full of despair. He looked at Zu An with a bitter smile and said, ¡°Brother, I wanted that to be a heroic final act, but who would¡¯ve thought that I wouldn¡¯t even be capable of that...¡±

    Zu An patted his shoulder and replied, ¡°You¡¯ve worked hard. Just leave the rest to me.¡±

    Qiao Heng¡¯s gaze was listless. It was clear that the fact that the Elf race¡¯s ultimate Emerald Immortal Tear couldn''t even prate the enemy¡¯s skin had dealt too great of a psychological blow for him to handle. Faced with such a gap of absolute strength, he didn¡¯t think that Zu An could change anything.

    Princess Suolun¡¯s expression was extremely conflicted when she looked at Zu An. The others were all in despair, and yet, why was this man still able to remain so calm andposed? She thought, Some people were born for greatness after all. The fact that I was able to see this kind of hero before I died is already a blessing from the heavens.

    Meanwhile, Princess Changning instead shrank backwards. She secretly nced at the Three Three Flower at the center of the pool. From the looks of it, it was going to blossom soon and probably didn¡¯t need many more people¡¯s blood essence. She thought, As long as I die after them, I¡¯ll be able to escape this disaster!

    Zu An stepped on the Wind Fire Wheels and rushed forth. At that moment, the survivors on the stone tform were wounded and weak. If the battle¡¯s fluctuations reached the, he wasn¡¯t confident in his ability to protect all of them.

    The ck-haired monster was clearly a bit surprised that there was someone who would take the initiative to face it. However, it gave the Wind Fire Wheels underneath Zu An a look. Compared to the person, it seemed a bit more interested in them. As such, it reached out and tried to grab the Wind Fire Wheels.

    As soon as the monster raised its hand, Zu An felt as if the Wind Fire Wheels were about to break free from his control and fly toward it. He quickly flew toward the Three Three Flower to divert its attention.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    In such a situation where flight was restricted, if he didn¡¯t have the Wind Fire Wheels, he would have no footing left. How was he supposed to even fight then?

    Sure enough, the monster panicked when it saw Zu An move closer to the Three Three Flower. It didn¡¯t bother with the Wind Fire Wheels and instead grabbed toward Zu An¡¯s shoulder.

    The survivors were incredibly nervous. They could feel the power of the monster¡¯s world-shrouding w even from far away. Previously, all of the other younger generation fiend race cultivators had all lost their lives precisely due to that w.

    Zu An didn¡¯t panic like Duan Tiande or Ma Huang, instead remaining extremely calm. He didn¡¯t seem as if he were facing a life or death crisis at all. He also raised his palm.

    When she saw that, Princess Suolun almost cried out in rm. This monster has grandmaster rank cultivation; isn¡¯t facing it head-on simply courting death?

    In her opinion, the smartest choice would have been to use that strange movement skill of his to evade, as his instantaneous movement wasparable to the dark elves¡¯ shadow jumping technique.

    However, she quickly understood what was going on. If he backs off, then that monster¡¯s attention might shift to us¡­ Her beautiful eyes became moist when she thought of that.

    Bang!

    There was no great explosion the way the survivors had imagined, nor was Zu An blown back while vomiting blood. He only staggered a bit, and that seemingly unrivaled w had actually been stopped head-on!

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s clenched fists finally rxed a bit. Off to the side, Yun Jianyue chuckled and said, ¡°I already told you that you didn¡¯t have to worry. Your man is fine.¡±

    Yu Yanluo chuckled in embarrassment. Then, she secretly gave Yan Xuehen a look. She still remembered that time she and Zu An had been chased relentlessly by the other woman.

    Yan Xuehen exined, ¡°He has a miraculous skill that can neutralize and absorb an opponent¡¯s attacks. That is why he is not instantly crushed when facing extremely powerful opponents.¡±

    She recalled how when she had fought against Zu An, it was as if an invisible ck hole had covered his entire body. Arge portion of her strength had been sucked away by that strange force, making it hard for her to defeat him the way she usually crushed ordinary cultivators.

    However, that skill could only give Zu An a fighting chance, because he hadn¡¯t even reached the master rank yet. Winning was almost impossible. His only hope was that the ck-haired monster¡¯s intelligence wascking, so it couldn''t use the unique abilities of a grandmaster and it only fought based onbat instincts.

    The ck-haired monster clearly hadn¡¯t expected the ¡®ant¡¯ before it to be able to stop this attack either. It roared, then rushed at Zu An again. Its frightening aura even made the entire blood pool start to boil.

    Those on the stone tform were struggling even more, finding it difficult to even breathe. Princess Changning, who was a bit weaker than the rest, was pressed directly against the ground.

    Suddenly, Zu An roared, ¡°Now!¡±

    Yun Jianyue had long since been prepared. Her sleeves moved, and the Empress Lantern appeared overhead. She guided its faint yellow radiance, aiming it at the monster. If she had been at her peak, she would have been confident that she couldpletely stop the monster¡¯s movements for a while. In her current state, however, she could only slow it down a bit.

    Yu Yanluo also made her move. Her ck hair fluttered around, turning into countless small snakes. Then, her eyes released a yellow radiance.

    Yan Xuehen blushed. When she had been chasing down Zu An and Yu Yanluo, it was precisely that move that had almost left her petrified. Her dress had also shattered at that time, and Zu An had seen everything¡­

    Princess Suolun¡¯s mouth hung wide open in shock. This woman was actually the Medusa Queen! She thought, Then doesn¡¯t this mean this man is precisely that mysterious person who defeated the Golden Crow Crown Prince not too long ago?

    Princess Changning¡¯s expression was conflicted. Never could she have expected this man to actually be her personal enemy, the one who had defeated her ¡®fiance¡¯. After learning of the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s defeat, she had been cursing that mysterious person everyday. Yet today, she had actually been saved by that very same person!

    The Empress Lantern and Medusa¡¯s Eye surrounded the ck-haired monster, and under their control, even the body of such a powerful monster stiffened. The ck energy around it couldn''t resist the Empress Lantern¡¯s light and the power of petrification at once.

    Zu An didn¡¯t dare to let up. He activated the Tai¡¯e Sword¡¯s Domain of Power, and even summoned Hundredwarble tounch a mental attack. The Poisonous Prick appeared in his hand, and he used the Star Shattering Imprint, erupting with ten times his strength. His entire body turned into a shooting star, his expression resolute as he charged at the monster.

    He clearly knew that with their difference in strength, his other methods wouldn¡¯t do a thing to the monster. That was why he had decided to just go all out from the start, to catch it off guard. Sure enough, the monster had been trapped by thebined skills. No matter how strong it was, it was still frozen for a bit.

    Meanwhile, Zu An even used the Unshakable Daoist Manual Yan Xuehen had taught him to conceal his killing intent. By the time the monster reacted, it was already toote.

    Pfft!

    Not even a grandmaster¡¯s defenses could stop the Star Shattering Imprint¡¯s tenfold increase in power. With a spurt, the Poisonous Prick stabbed directly into the monster¡¯s body.

    Zu An sighed in relief. Even the giant dragon had lost its life after having a bit of skin cut by the Poisonous Prick, let alone right now where the de had dug all the way in.

    However, his expression suddenly changed and he quickly backed up. Still, he was toote. The monster smashed its fist toward him. Zu An hurriedly brought his arms up, but his entire body was still blown back.

    Because he had just used the Star Shattering Imprint, all of the energies within him were running amok. It was difficult for him to keep his bnce on the Wind Fire Wheels. He staggered and almost fell into the blood pool.

    The expressions of those on the stone tform changed. Yun Jianyue reacted the most quickly. She removed Yan Xuehen¡¯s waistband, flinging it outward and hooking it around Zu An¡¯s arm, then pulled him back.

    When she saw that Zu An had sessfully been saved, Yan Xuehen recovered from her shock. However, she quickly realized something and clutched her dress in embarrassment and annoyance, protesting, ¡°You witch, why are you grabbing my waistband?¡±

    Yun Jianyue harrumphed. ¡°You¡¯ve just been watching without doing anything; you¡¯re really ruining your reputation. I¡¯m trying to give you some contribution too, and yet you¡¯re not thanking me but instead criticizing me?¡±

    Yan Xuehen was speechless. This witch was speaking nonsense with apletely straight face, but she really didn¡¯t know how to retort.

    A sky-shaking roar of anger echoed through the hall. The monster roared again and again, clearly angered by what had happened.

    Zu An¡¯s expression was grave when he saw that the monster was still vigorous and animated. Why didn¡¯t the Poisonous Prick work?

    This doesn¡¯t make any sense!

 Chapter 1277: Living Dead

    <h4>Chapter 1277: Living Dead</h4>

    Zu An had never encountered such a thing before. However, he immediately noticed something even stranger¡­ The ck-haired monster was clearly quite angry, so why had he not received any Rage points through the Keyboard System? Not only was his Poisonous Prick ineffective, even Rage points were ineffective. Could it be that the monster was above the Keyboard System?

    At that instant, countless possibilities flew through his mind, but he still dismissed those suspicions in the end. Previously, whether it was Emperor Zhao Han or the other powerful beings he had met through the dungeons such as Qin Shihuang and Mi Li, the Keyboard System had always worked. Even though this monster was strong, it wasn¡¯t at their level yet.

    He suddenly realized something. He remembered Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen mentioning the strong death energy around the monster.

    ¡°Be careful!¡± the beauties on the stone tform cried out in rm, all simultaneously warning him.

    The monster rushed toward Zu An with greater speed than ever before. Its hand expanded, seemingly vast enough to block out the sky. If itnded, forget about Zu An, even the survivors off to the side would be crushed into a bloody paste.

    Zu An didn¡¯t evade. He took out something that resembled a torch, but there was no me at the end. Instead, a beam of light emerged from it.

    The gentle light instantly prated the terrifying ck palm, deting it like a popped balloon until it disappeared.

    The monster screamed and quickly retracted its hand. Smoke came from the ck hairs on its hand, and it caught fire. It patted its hand to put out the mes, but the burning continued. It even seemed that the fire would continue burning until it devoured the monster¡¯s entire body!

    The survivors were stunned. Even something with the monster¡¯s level of cultivation could actually be set ame? And yet, there had been fire element cultivators among them, so why had their attacks been ineffective?

    ¡°What is that?¡± the survivors on the stone tform asked.

    They had special statuses and extensive knowledge, but they had never seen the thing in Zu An¡¯s hand before. They reflexively looked at Yu Yanluo. After all, she was the closest to Zu An. However, Yu Yanluo blushed. She had never seen that thing either.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An stepped on the Wind Fire Wheels again, brandishing the ¡®torch¡¯ and continuously shining it in the other party¡¯s direction. He called out, ¡°Come on! Weren¡¯t you strutting around as if this entire world was yours just a moment ago?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that¡¯s a deity-grade weapon?¡± Yun Jianyue eximed,pletely stupefied. Wherever that thing Zu An was holding went, the previously insufferably arrogant monster fled in terror.

    When she heard the words ¡®deity-grade weapon¡¯, Princess Changning¡¯s breath caught for a moment. Even Princess Suolun¡¯s expression became a bit unusual. They had heard of deity-grade weapons before, but they had never seen them before. Just what kind of status did this man have, for him to so easily possess such a thing?

    Princess Changning thought to herself, No wonder this man was able to defeat the Golden Crow Crown Prince despite his having the Sun ying Bow. So he had a divine weapon of his own!

    Yan Xuehen shook her head and said, ¡°That is probably not the case. I cannot sense the power of a deity-grade weapon at all. I do not even sense the pressure of a heaven-grade weapon.¡±

    ¡°Then why is he able topletely overwhelm a grandmaster?¡± Yun Jianyue asked, baffled. However, even after discussing the subject for a long time, they were stillpletely lost.

    ¡­

    In the air, Zu An could vaguely hear their suspicions. He couldn''t help but chuckle inwardly.

    This thing wasn¡¯t as amazing as they thought. It was just the magical shlight he had gotten from the lottery a while back. It would shine when there was light, but not if there was no light at all. Even though its restriction sounded like a scam, its sole ability was extremely useful, which was that it was the bane of all kinds of dark creatures, deceased spirits, and the like.

    If the Poisonous Prick didn¡¯t work even after stabbing into the monster¡¯s body, the only exnation was that the target had been dead to begin with. Once he factored in Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue¡¯s keen perception of the monster¡¯s death energy, the kind of being it was had be extremely clear.

    The shlight could be used three times. The first time, it had been used to defeat the terracotta army in Brightmoon Academy¡¯s secret dungeon, and the second time, it had been used in the Yinxu secret dungeon. This was its final use.

    The monster screamed and screamed, left in a sorry state as it tried to evade the beam. However, the light had an almost magical quality, making the once lightning-fast monster seem like a tottering elder. The monster struggled to evade at first, but eventually, it was as if all of its strength had been sucked out of it. It couldn''t even keep flying anymore and plummeted to the ground. Then, it continued to roll on the ground and howl beneath the light.

    ¡­

    Only then did the others notice that the blood pool that previously filled the hall was gone, revealing the original ground underneath. They were all shocked. They looked toward the Three Three Flower that had been in the center, but it was already nowhere to be seen. They looked around, but they still didn¡¯t find it.

    The ck-haired monster was still the biggest threat, so they needed to get rid of it first. They could search carefully afterward. However, the creature itself could no longer move beneath the light, and was only able to curl up in pain on the ground.

    ¡°Look, why does its hair seem as if it¡¯s falling off?¡± Yu Yanluo suddenly cried.

    The others looked over and noticed that the ck mist that had previously surrounded the monster was gradually receding. The ck hair on its body also seemed to be burning away, eventually revealing its true facial features.

    ¡°This was a person?¡± Yan Xuehen eximed in shock.

    Even though the monster was humanoid, it had been covered in ck hair and ck mist, making it look more like an ape. The cultivators hadn¡¯t expected him to actually be a person, and one who seemed to have had a refined bearing in the past, no less.

    ¡°Why does he look a bit familiar?¡± Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen wondered, exchanging a look. This didn¡¯t make any sense. After all, with their grandmaster skills, they shouldn¡¯t have forgotten anyone they met before.

    Zu An hadn¡¯t expected the monster to be a person either. However, the Poisonous Prick had already proven that he was already long dead. As so many people had died miserably at the monster¡¯s hand, Zu An obviously needed to rid the world of him.

    ¡°Who am I? Why am I in such pain, ah¡­¡± A hoarse and barely-intelligible voice emerged from the monster¡¯s mouth.

    Zu An was a bit stunned. Isn¡¯t this fe a deceased spirit? Why can he speak?

    Suddenly, a voice let out a beautiful and sweet-sounding sigh and asked, ¡°This young master, can you be lenient and let him off?¡±

    The voice was as gentle as jade, and had a tender and enchanting air to it. However, no one was in the mood to admire the beauty of the voice. All of them were horrified upon seeing who had just spoken.

    Her brows were like a spring mountain, and her features were stunning. She wore her hair high, and her dress fluttered around her. Whether by the beauty standards of the humans or the fiend races, she would be praised as an absolutely stunning woman.

    More importantly, she looked exactly like the one who had been inside the coffin. The survivors finally understood where the missing Three Three Flower had gone.

    ¡°There really was an eternal medicine that could revive a dead person¡­¡± Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen both murmured absent-mindedly.

    Zu An felt his scalp turn a bit numb. He asked, ¡°Are you a person or a ghost?¡± He wanted to shine the shlight on the woman, but he was worried that the ck-haired monster would use that chance to escape.

    The beautiful woman sighed and said, ¡°I was once truly dead, but my esteemed husband revived me. Unfortunately, he ended up in this state, neither alive nor dead.¡±

 Chapter 1278: Unchanging and Faithful Oath

    <h4>Chapter 1278: Unchanging and Faithful Oath</h4>

    When the survivors heard what she said, they weren¡¯t really all that surprised that she was married. After all, based on her hairstyle and other details they had seen while she was in the coffin, they had all indicated that she was a married woman.

    As for the husband she spoke of, they all turned to look at the ck-haired monster. Of course, there was a lot less ck hair on his body, and they could vaguely make out a rather handsome man. However, perhaps because he hadn¡¯t seen the sun for too long, his face was extremely pale, like a zombie¡¯s.

    Zu An didn¡¯t respond immediately. The beautiful woman quicklynded next to the monster, using her body to help him block the shlight¡¯s light. The monster¡¯s pain finally eased a bit. The woman took him into her embrace, her eyes filled with grief. Seeing that she didn¡¯t react at all when the shlightnded on her, Zu An realized the woman wasn¡¯t an undead creature. After some hesitation, he moved the shlight away, no longer aiming it at the ck-haired monster.

    Of course, he wasn¡¯t stupid enough to turn it off. After all, this was hisst use already. It was going to turn off on its own after two hours, so he obviously had to make full use of its remaining time, in case the monster might suddenly attack again.

    ¡°Thank you, young master!¡± the woman eximed, then bowed toward Zu An with an expression full of gratitude.

    The monster was still groaning, clutching his head as if in endless pain. However, the woman gently patted his body and sang a tune. The monster gradually calmed down. Seemingly enjoying her embrace, he even adjusted his posture a bit. The viciousness on his face faded, reced with a sense of peace and affection.

    ¡°What is your esteemed husband called?¡± Zu An asked seriously. ¡°What exactly happened between you two?¡±

    ¡°People call me Madam Yu,¡± the woman replied. As soon as she spoke, Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue turned to look at Yu Yanluo with strange expressions. Why did their names sound so simr?

    Yu Yanluo was also stunned. She had felt a mysterious sense of familiarity while the woman was still in the coffin. Now that the woman hade to life, that feeling had grown even stronger. It was almost as if they were rtives, and yet the woman clearly wasn¡¯t of the Medusa race!

    The woman slowly said, ¡°This is my husband, the past Sui State¡¯s monarch. The people called him Lord Sui.¡±

    ¡°Sui State?¡± The others looked at each other in dismay. Neither the humans nor the fiends had heard of any Sui State.

    Meanwhile, Zu An was moved. Sui State? Lord Sui? That country did indeed exist in the ancient history of his previous world.

    The woman wasn¡¯t surprised to see the survivors¡¯ confused expressions. She replied, ¡°You have not heard of it? It seems to have been so long that the Sui State has already faded from the great river of history.¡±

    Then, she ran her slender and gentle, jade-like fingers through the hair of the monster in her arms. She seemed to be reminiscing about the past as she said, ¡°The first time I met my husband was in a valley. Back then, I was seriously injured after fighting an old enemy in a battle to the death. My body was almost cut in half, and I could no longer remain in human form. However, he just happened to be passing by. Not only did he not turn his back on me because of my appearance, he instead had his subordinates treat me, even personally wrapping my wounds. He always took care of me¡­¡±

    The woman had a mysterious, gentle expression as she lowered her head toward the monster in her arms, saying, ¡°He really was a kind person.¡±

    The survivors were shocked. They thought back to the mural they had seen when they first entered the tomb. The story seemed to match what was depicted in it. However, the one that had been cut in half was clearly arge snake!

    The longer she looked at the woman, the more fervent Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression became. This woman was of the same species after all! But why couldn''t she sense the aura of that species from her at all?

    The bit of pressureing from the woman didn¡¯te from her strength, but rather from a bloodline restriction. Was there actually a bloodline even nobler than the Medusa bloodline?!

    ¡°Lord Sui¡¯s Pearl!¡± Zu An eximed, finally remembering where he had heard of the familiar story.

    Sir He¡¯s Jade[1] and Lord Sui¡¯s Pearl[2] were the two most famous treasures of the Spring and Autumn Period. However, the whereabouts of Lord Sui¡¯s Pearl were unknown, sopared to Sir He¡¯s Jade, its fame was a bit lower.

    The woman eximed in surprise. ¡°Hm? So you actually know about that event in history? Indeed, after I recovered, in order to show my gratitude, I sought him out and gave my life pearl to him. The people of this world called it Lord Sui¡¯s Pearl.¡±

    Zu An was in a bit of a daze. Aftering to this world, he had discovered that it contained many traces and legends rted to his previous world, and yet they were all events shrouded in mystery and mythology. Was this world¡¯s history really the history of his own world?

    ¡°But ording to the recordings, it was a great snake that offered up the pearl. Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re¡­¡± Zu An asked hesitantly.

    The woman nodded slightly and replied, ¡°That is right. I am a descendant of Nuwa, so I do have a portion of snake bloodline within me.¡±[3]

    The others on the stone tform were baffled. They had never heard of the name Nuwa, but the woman was from the Snake race after all! They all looked at Yu Yanluo.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Yu Yanluo began breathing rapidly. They were of the same race after all! But why had she never heard of a Nuwa n before?

    ¡°Nuwa?¡± Zu An eximed in surprise. In Chinese mythology, there was once a huge hole that opened up in the heavens. Nuwa was the goddess who had filled in that hole, then used the leftover five-colored divine soil to create the human race.

    The woman exined, ¡°My ancestor is merely a legend. We descendants have never had such powerful abilities.¡± She lowered her head to look at the man in her arms again. A sweet and gentle smile appeared on her face as she continued, ¡°After being saved by him and being around him for so long, I inadvertently ended up loving this kind and warm man. That is why I not only offered up the pearl, but also took on human form to be his partner. As if it were destined by the heavens, he also quickly fell in love with me.¡±

    The others¡¯ expressions became strange. They thought to themselves, If you were this beautiful and approached a man of your own ord, what man would ever refuse you? It would be strange if they didn¡¯t like you.

    ¡°Sadly, however, good things do notst forever. Eventually, a disaster arrived. Lord Sui fought bravely for his people, but he was afflicted by evil. He gradually began to sink into demonic madness.¡±

    The others recalled the ck hair and mist covering the monster. Was that the demonic madness the woman was speaking of?

    Princess Suolun really wanted to find out if it had anything to do with the Demon race. Why were so many things referred to using the ¡®demon¡¯ character? That was the case with the human race¡¯s Devil Sect, and the demonic madness this woman had spoken of was the same.

    Zu An asked in rm, ¡°Just was kind of a disaster was it?¡± Why didn¡¯t he remember that part of history? Furthermore, if it had turned Lord Sui into this half-human, half-demon thing, wasn¡¯t that cmity way too terrifying?

    To his surprise, however, the woman shook her head and said, ¡°There are some situations in which knowing more will only harm you.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He hated being kept in the dark, but since she didn¡¯t want to talk about it, he couldn''t force her mouth open either.

    The woman continued, ¡°After Lord Sui fell into demonic madness, he feared that he would hurt his people and me. As such, he left without saying goodbye, disappearing without a trace.

    ¡°In order to find him, I searched the thousand mountains and ten thousand waters. In the end, I finally found him, but he no longer resembled his past self in the slightest. He was just as you all saw just now. However, I still recognized him. He was bloodthirsty and delirious when he went mad, but he never harmed me in the slightest.

    ¡°I tried to think of all kinds of methods to save him, but they all failed. Later on, I heard that there was a method that could be tried, but it was extremely dangerous. For him, however, I was willing to try it. Unfortunately, not only did I fail, I also lost my own life¡­¡±

    The others all felt strange. She had clearly said that she died, and yet she was standing in front of them in perfect health. What was going on, exactly?

    The woman looked down at the monster in her arms and said, ¡°It was he who saved my dying self again. I have no idea where he found the legendary Three Three Flower, but back then, it was still far from blooming and could not save me. Furthermore, the amount of time it would take for it to bloom was too long, so he searched the world and gathered Prime Souldew to seal me inside, waiting for the Three Three Flower to bloom again all this time.

    ¡°Even after falling into madness and only retaining his instincts, he still continued to protect me. In order to save me, he did so much¡­¡± She could no longer hold back her grief as she spoke. Teardrops like pearls fell onto the face of the man in her arms.

    1. A man from Ch''u named Pien Ho found a piece of unpolished jade at the foot of the Ching Mountains. He offered it as tribute to King Wu of the Chou dynasty. King Wu had it inspected by a jade expert, who dered it to be ordinary stone. Pien Ho had his left leg cut off (as punishment). When King Wen came to the throne, Pien Ho once more presented the jade. King Wen took it to be ordinary stone, and Pien Ho had his right leg cut off. Pien Ho wrapped the jade carefully and wept tears of blood. When King Ch''eng ascended the throne, Pien Ho once again presented the jade. King Ch''eng said: ''Dear sir, you disregard having your legs cut off, as long as you can have your jade piece cut up for examination.'' As soon as the stone was cut, it appeared that it was truly fine jade, and it was made into a jade disk. ?

    2. The Marquis of Sui''s pearl was a famous gemstone in the Warring States folktale about a ruler of the state of Sui, who was given an amazing luminous pearl by a grateful snake whose life he had saved. ?

    3. Nuwa is the creator of humans in Chinese mythology ?

 Chapter 1279: Lord Suiâ€™s Pearl

    <h4>Chapter 1279: Lord Sui¡¯s Pearl</h4>

    When they heard the story, even though Zu An and Qiao Heng were rather moved, they still held it in. However, the women were incredibly moved by the story. They all thought to themselves, Even after losing his mind, his instincts still made him protect her and love her. How great would it be if there were a man who loved us that much¡­

    Yan Xuehen cultivated the Unshakable Daoist Manual, so she normally wouldn¡¯t be affected by emotional matters. After meeting Zu An, however, her unshakable dao had been left in tatters. That was why, at the moment, she felt things even more strongly than a normal person. When she heard the story, she could even feel her eyes moisten slightly.

    Even a tough woman like Yun Jianyue had her most vulnerable parts touched. It was just that she wasn¡¯t willing to show it. Instead, she harrumphed and said, ¡°All this love and emotion stuff only makes a person weaker. It¡¯ll only make my de dull.¡±

    After traveling with her for so long, Yu Yanluo and Yan Xuehen were already used to her ¡®tsundere¡¯ attitude. They just ignored her.

    Zu An was more interested in a different matter. He asked, ¡°Just where did Lord Sui get that Three Three Flower from?¡±

    After all, Qin Shihuang¡¯s reign wasn¡¯t too far from Lord Sui¡¯s era; and yet, despite having the resources of an entire country at his disposal, he hadn¡¯t been able to find even a trace of an eternal medicine. And yet, a few centuries before him, this Lord Sui had found one even after losing his mind?

    The woman shook her head and said, ¡°I do not know how he found it either. Back then, I was already seriously ill, and he lost his ability to speak. He looked extremely excited with that flower in his hands, but I noticed that the ck mist around his body had be even stronger¡­ Then, I was sealed in the Prime Souldew shortly after.¡±

    Zu An felt a bit more at ease to know there was no real answer. If the answer was too detailed, he might have suspected that it was something the woman had made up. He wondered, But when she said that the ck mist became even denser, does that mean Lord Sui fell further into demonic madness?

    Unfortunately, the woman wasn¡¯t willing to speak about what Lord Sui had experienced that made him fall into depravity.

    ¡°How many years have you spent here already?¡± Yu Yanluo asked gently. Because of their rted bloodlines, she naturally felt a sense of intimacy and empathy for the woman. She had been sealed in that jade coffin for so long. Just how had she managed to make it through all those years of loneliness?

    The woman looked toward Yu Yanluo, her gaze containing a trace of surprise. She could clearly sense the bloodline within Yu Yanluo as well. She replied, ¡°I do not know, but it has been far, far too long. Even so, Lord Sui often came to the jade coffin¡¯s side to keep mepany even though he could not speak. However, that was already enough.¡±

    ¡°You could sense your surroundings through the divine ki stone?¡± Yan Xuehen asked curiously. Even though she was a grandmaster, she had only heard legends regarding deity-grade ki stones. She had never seen something sealed inside one emerge alive.

    The woman shook her head slightly and replied, ¡°I could not sense things precisely; it felt a bit like a dream. Mostly, I did not even know whether what I perceived was real or fake. In recent years, however, because the Three Three Flower gradually matured and I received the nourishment of its life essence, my consciousness became somewhat clearer.¡±

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue nodded. That knowledge was actually quite helpful for them.

    Meanwhile, off to the side, Princess Changning was quite unhappy. If this woman hade back to life, didn¡¯t that mean the Three Three Flower had already been used up? All of them had fought to get so far, and so many of theirpanions had died. In the end, was all of it for nothing?

    Yu Yanluo and Princess Suolun felt that it was fine, however. After all, the eternal flower had been prepared by Lord Sui for this woman to begin with. Rather, they were more moved by such love that hadsted thousands of years.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An asked seriously, ¡°You had the divine ki stone to seal your body, and you were revived by the Three Three Flower, but what about him? How was he able to survive for such a long time?¡±

    ¡°He obviously has not lived for all this time,¡± the woman answered, a hint of grief on her face. ¡°He already died a long time ago.¡±

    ¡°He died?¡± Zu An repeated.

    Even though they already had their suspicions, the experts¡¯ expressions changed greatly when they heard that. What was with that ridiculous strength, then?

    Tears began to glisten in the woman¡¯s eyes as she exined, ¡°After he fell into demonic madness, his life force had already be weak. Later, he used up even more of his limited life force to find the Three Three Flower and Prime Souldew. The only reason why he still looks ¡®alive¡¯ is the demonic energy around him, and perhaps his desire tost until the Three Three Flower saved me.¡±

    That ck demonic energy could actually sustain someone for this long?

    The others all got worked up. There were too many strong individuals who sought out any method to achieve immortality. If those old monsters with one foot already in the grave learned of such a thing, wouldn¡¯t they all go mad?

    Shortly after, however, they all calmed down. Even though the demonic energy could prolong one¡¯s life, the user would lose their mind and only retain their instincts and remaining attachments to the world. Could something like that even be called immortality?

    Zu An said somewhat apologetically, ¡°Then that means I actually killed him just now...¡±

    The ck mist around the monster was already so thin that it was hard to make out. Without the protection of the demonic energy, he had clearly be much weaker.

    Before the woman could reply, a dry and rough voice said, ¡°No, you have set me free.¡± It sounded rough, as if it had been too long since it wasst used.

    All of the survivors were shocked. The monster spoke?

    The woman was shocked and overjoyed. She cried, ¡°Sui Lang, you¡­ Have you recovered your mind?¡± Her voice was shaking, as if everything that was happening were just a dream.

    The man smiled gently at her. In the end, with her help, he struggled into a sitting position. He exined, ¡°After I fell into demonic madness, I was forced into an existence worse than death. I could not even end my own life. There was only endless suffering in my mind. It is only due to that miraculous light that I have sessfully eliminated the evil spirit.¡± As he spoke, his body began to wither up at a visible rate. It almost looked as if he were being eroded away.

    ¡°Sui Lang!¡± The exceptional beauty clearly knew that these were merely her lover¡¯s final moments. She was immediately overwhelmed with grief.

    Zu An looked at the shlight in his hands. He hadn¡¯t expected the thing to be of such great use.

    Sui Lang tossed an ancient beastskin scroll to Zu An, saying, ¡°I do not have anything else to my name, as the Three Three Flower has been used to save Yu¡¯er. So I will use this treasure map I found back then to repay you for saving me.¡±

    Zu An caught it. He immediately sensed that the scroll¡¯s material was exceptional, but his head hurt when he heard that it was a treasure map. The ¡®daoist¡¯ Wu Liang had been peddling a so-called treasure map, but it had only dragged all of the survivors here and put them through so much danger.

    Lord Sui then looked at the woman, saying, ¡°It has already been several millennia since Ist saw the night. Could you apany me on one final trip?¡±

    The woman was already weeping bitter tears, unable to even speak. She could only nod silently.

    No one present was weak. However, they could sense that Lord Sui really was about to die, so they obviously didn¡¯t stop him.

    Before leaving, the woman thought of something and came back. She pulled Yu Yanluo over and said, ¡°I can sense that your bloodline is simr to mine, but it seems tock the same hint of divinity. This pearl is now useless to me, so I will just give it to you. I hope you can pass it down generation after generation.¡±

    She took out a smooth, round pearl. It was muchrger than an ordinary pearl, and there was a wisp of energy surrounding it. The others could all sense its surging power even from far away.

    ¡°This is¡­¡± Yu Yanluo murmured, a bit stunned. She could never have expected to be given such a tremendous gift.

    The other women also saw what was happening. They all began to wonder, Is that pearl¡­

    The woman exined, ¡°We descendants of Nuwa¡¯s n were always doomed to be weak in number, almost always leaving just a single descendant. Thus, sessive descendants would seal their souls and cultivations into the pearl for their sessor to inherit. Our n called it the Holy Pearl, while the outside world called it the Soul Snake Pearl or Bright Moon Pearl. Later, it was more often referred to by the people of the world as Lord Sui¡¯s Pearl.¡±

    ¡°Lord Sui¡¯s Pearl!¡± Princess Changning eximed. She was about to go crazy from jealousy when she remembered the murals outside. She had worked so hard the entire time, and yet she hadn¡¯t gotten the eternal medicines, nor was there a portion of Lord Sui¡¯s Pearl to split with her. Why had all of the benefits been taken by everyone else?

    Yu Yanluo quickly refused, protesting, ¡°This item is too precious; I can¡¯t ept it!¡±

    The beauty sighed and said, ¡°I cannot let the end of my n fall on my shoulders, and I have no descendants. Your bloodline is the most suitable one.¡±

    Because she was worried about her husband¡¯s condition, she wasn¡¯t in the mood to say anything more. She pushed the pearl into Yu Yanluo¡¯s hands. Then, she picked up Lord Sui, who was already fading away. With a light kick, she disappeared into the distance.

 Chapter 1280: Tears Falling Like Rain

    <h4>Chapter 1280: Tears Falling Like Rain</h4>

    The survivors silently watched the two disappear into the distance. They felt as if a huge pressure weighed down on them.

    Zu An released a long sigh, remarking, ¡°To have a true love, yet be unable to spend any more time together¡­ Is this the will of heaven?¡±

    Lord Sui had guarded Madam Yu for thousands of years. He had finally managed to wait until she revived, and yet the two were going to be separated by life and death again.

    Perhaps because she was in love, or because her bloodline was close to that woman¡¯s, Yu Yanluo felt the most touched. Tears inadvertently slid down her perfect cheeks. She subconsciously put herself in Madam Yu¡¯s shoes, and felt as if her heart were being cut by des. She walked over to Zu An¡¯s side and pulled on his arm, saying quietly, ¡°Ah Zu, if something happens to me, don¡¯t be like Lord Sui. I don¡¯t want you to waste your life in such pain. I want you to continue living happily in this world.¡±

    Zu An said seriously, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. If something happens to you, I¡¯ll just take a few more in so I can get over it¡­¡±

    Yu Yanluo was bbergasted. Wasn¡¯t this difference from Lord Sui a bit too much?

    ¡°That¡¯s why you¡¯d better not let something happen to you. It would be best if you stay by my side to carefully watch over me,¡± Zu An continued with a long sigh. This woman is really silly. How can you randomly set a g like that? Most people who said such things in movies had terrible endings.

    Only then did Yu Yanluo¡¯s tears give way toughter, and she hit him lightly while saying, ¡°You¡¯re so annoying¡­¡±

    After being around each other for so long, she obviously knew that he was only saying that to help her with her sorrow. She couldn''t help but feel warm inside. Ah Zu was Ah Zu; she didn¡¯t have topare him with someone else. He was unique and special.

    But this guy¡¯s luck with thedies is too much! How could I possibly stop him even if I stay at his side?

    Because of everything that had happened between her and Zu An as ofte, Yan Xuehen¡¯s emotional side had be even stronger. She felt awful as she watched Madam Yu and Lord Sui leave. Even after thousands of years, those two still couldn''t remain together.

    Isn¡¯t that the case between me and Zu An too¡­ she thought. She surreptitiously gave Zu An a look, but she instead saw Yu Yanluo flirting with him. She knew she shouldn¡¯t, but she still felt more and more sour over time.

    ¡°Hm? Why are your eyes red? I didn¡¯t expect the glorious stone cold woman to actually end up in this state because of a pair of lovers¡¯ emotions,¡± Yun Jianyue remarked. In truth, she actually felt really awful as well. However, because she didn¡¯t want to let others see her weak side, she deliberately shifted the attention toward someone else.

    Yan Xuehen couldn''t really exin that it was for Zu An¡¯s sake. She looked away and ignored Yun Jianyue.

    Just then, a dissonant voice rang out. Princess Changning said, ¡°That was just her one-sided story anyway. What if she just wanted to keep the Three Three Flower, or save that monster¡¯s life, so she made up that emotional story to make you all show mercy?¡±

    The others frowned. Yu Yanluo couldn''t hold herself back and said, ¡°No, I believe that what she said was true.¡± However, she couldn''t speak about the matter of her bloodline.

    Princess Changning harrumphed. ¡°You obtained her precious pearl, so of course you¡¯d speak up for her. But she might not have given you that thing out of good intentions, so you¡¯d better be careful. Maybe she did something to that pearl.¡± She was clearly brooding over the fact that Yu Yanluo had gotten the pearl instead, and thus wished for something to be wrong with it.

    Zu An¡¯s expression turned cold. How could he not know what she was thinking? They¡¯re sisters, so why is there such a huge difference between her and Kong Nanwu?

    Before he had time to say anything, Yu Yanluo subtly drew a talisman from her sleeves. Then, when Princess Changning moved her mouth again, she discovered that she actually couldn''t speak. She panicked, wondering if she had been poisoned somehow. She quickly pointed at her own mouth in fear, indicating that there was something wrong with her mouth and that she wanted someone to save her.

    The others pretended to be confused, treating it as a good lesson for her.

    Princess Changning was panicking so much she could only shoot a teary-eyed look at Princess Suolun, hoping for the other woman to save her out ofpassion as a fellow fiend. Princess Suolun cursed the girl for being an idiot inwardly, but on the surface, she responded courteously.

    Yun Jianyue nudged Yan Xuehen and remarked, ¡°This woman isn¡¯t empty-headed. I like her.¡± With her eyesight, she had naturally seen what Yu Yanluo had done.

    Yan Xuehen harrumphed. ¡°She managed a great n for so many years. How could she be so easily bullied? I am quite amazed at the libationer¡¯s methods though; they are quite formidable.¡±

    That skill was clearly not the Snake race¡¯s, but rather resembled the academy libationer¡¯s style.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression became a bit serious. She said, ¡°There are some who say that the libationer is number one under the emperor, while others say that in recent years, his strength has already grown to a levelparable to the emperor¡¯s. I wonder who would win if the two of us fought against him.¡±

    Yan Xuehen shook her head slightly. ¡°We probably could not win.¡±

    Even though grandmasters all had confidence that they were undefeatable, that didn¡¯t mean they were blind.

    ¡­

    Just then, Zu An kicked off the ground and leaped into the air on the Wind Fire Wheels. The beauty had already left the jade coffin, leaving only some divine ki stone fragments. He gathered the fragments and split them up among the others so they wouldn¡¯t go back empty-handed.

    Princess Suolun and Qiao Heng were surprised. They hadn¡¯t expected that they would have a cut as well. They both voiced their thanks.

    Meanwhile, Princess Changning was a bit unsatisfied. The ki stored within the divine ki stone fragments had long since been absorbed by that woman¡¯s body. They were only a bit better than heaven-grade ki stones now and weren¡¯t anything that special. She gave the jade coffin a look, thinking would be great if she could take that thing with her.

    However, Zu An didn¡¯t give her a chance. He took the jade coffin straight into the Brilliant ss Bead. The path of cultivation required endless resources, and one normally didn¡¯t share; besides, he had recently experienced how utterly painful cultivation was for himself. Even though this jade coffin didn¡¯t look to be anything too special, it would still be worth a good sum if sold.

    Then, the group left the tomb. Zu An¡¯s group was rather calm, but the fiend race youngsters all felt as if they had been given a new lease on life.

    Perhaps because the demonic energy had vanished, the traps and mechanisms along the way had all returned to normal. The forest¡¯s fog disappeared, and the strange stone statues just sat quietly on either side of the path.

    Even the giant beasts by the entrance of the swamp seemed to know that because they could leave safely, the survivors weren¡¯t people they should pick a fight with. They all remained in hiding and didn¡¯t show themselves.

    Along the way, while checking Qiao Heng¡¯s condition, Zu An took the chance to ask if he knew Qiao Xueying.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Qiao Heng¡¯s eyes lit up and he replied, ¡°Princess Snow has done so much for the Elf race; which of us doesn¡¯t know about her? Furthermore, now that I think about it, she¡¯s actually a distant rtive of mine.¡± He finally realized why Zu An had saved him. He was probably one of Princess Snow¡¯s good friends in the human world back then.

    Zu An took the chance to ask a bit about how Snow was doing. Qiao Heng replied to the questions one after another, then said, ¡°Princess Snow is fine, but there¡¯s something else to be happy about. There¡¯s a good chance that she¡¯ll be chosen as the crown princess.¡±

    ¡°Crown princess?¡± Zu An¡¯s brows rose. Does that birdman¡¯s existence really sh with mine that much? He asked, ¡°Weren¡¯t people saying it might be the Peacock Race¡¯s princess?¡±

    Qiao Heng nodded and said, ¡°The Peacock King race¡¯s Princess Nanwu and Princess Snow have the highest chances. Of course, Princess Changning over there isn¡¯t entirely without a chance either. She is quite a bit inferior to the two of them in various aspects, though.¡±

    He had felt a bit worried. Judging from the human¡¯s tone, his rtionship with Princess Snow seemed to be special. However, how could he win against the Golden Crow Crown Prince in romance? Furthermore, he was even a human, so he was destined to have no chance with Princess Snow. It would be best for him to give Zu An a bit of a heads up so he wouldn¡¯t feel too disappointedter. At the same time, he gave Yu Yanluo and the other two women a look. Zu An already had three ridiculously beautiful women at his side, so he wouldn¡¯t feel too bad, right?

    Zu An obviously didn¡¯t feel hurt in the slightest. He had already beaten that guy once, so he¡¯d just steal Snow from the birdman if he had to.

    Instead, what surprised him the most was Kong Nanwu being the hottest candidate. She was already pretty much guaranteed to get the role and didn¡¯t have to run around gathering favor like her n sister Kong Nanjing, so why had she run all the way to the human world?

    Just then, the horizon began to brighten. The group couldn''t help but look up, wondering how Lord Sui and Madam Yu were doing.

    ¡­

    Atop a distant cliff, a beautiful woman carried an emaciated man in her arms as she stared into the sunrise¡¯s multicolored brilliance. Her beautiful eyes were filled with tears. She knew that her husband¡¯s final breath had been maintained by the demonic energy, and that sunlight was the biggest bane of demonic energy. Even at his strongest, he wouldn¡¯t have dared to remain directly under its presence like this. When the sun rose, in his current state, it might be his¡­

    The shriveled man was, of course, Lord Sui. The demonic energy had scattered, so he could no longer maintain his body. That was why his flesh was so shriveled. He released a long sigh and remarked, ¡°I must look really ugly right now, no?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± the woman shook her head and said firmly. ¡°You will always be that indomitable Lord Sui in my heart.¡±

    Lord Sui reached out his hand to wipe away the tears on her cheeks. He said, ¡°You should feel happy for me. It has been thousands of years, and I have finally been freed. Meanwhile, you have also been sessfully revived. I have no remaining regrets.¡±

    ¡°But without you, what meaning is there left in my survival?!¡± The woman sobbed.

    ¡°You absolutely must not do anything stupid,¡± Lord Sui said, suddenly realizing something. ¡°I have used up thousands of years of effort, and you have finally been revived¡­¡±

    Halfway through his sentence, he felt he couldn''t convince her that way, so he tried a different method. He said, ¡°Please help me by finding the source of that demonic energy That can serve as a kind of revenge for me.¡±

    Sure enough, the beautiful woman¡¯s eyes shone with a hint of brilliance, as if they contained a newfound hope and will to live.

    Lord Sui thus finally rxed a bit. He said, ¡°It has been so long since I¡¯ve heard you y the zither¡­¡±

    ¡°No, I only want to hold you close, even if it is just for a bit longer,¡± the woman replied.

    ¡­

    The two of them leaned against each other, recounting their love that spanned thousands of years. Lord Sui¡¯s voice gradually grew softer and softer, eventually leaving the beautiful woman speaking alone.

    The first strand of sunlight scattered down. Lord Sui¡¯s entire body turned into specks of light, scattering on the mountaintop breeze. His entire beingpletely disappeared into the wind. Tears fell from the beautiful woman¡¯s eyes like rain.

 Chapter 1281: Unknown Region

    <h4>Chapter 1281: Unknown Region</h4>

    After they left the tomb, the group headed to a tavern in the nearest town for some rest. Qiao Heng was injured quite badly, so he quickly withdrew to his room to rest.

    Princess Suolun sought out Zu An. When she found him, she said, ¡°So the young master was the mysterious person who defeated the Golden Crown Crown Prince. No wonder you were unwilling to expose your identity earlier.¡±

    Her features were like jade, her eyes pure like water. When she spoke, her smile was truly gorgeous. Paired with the fair skin of the Demon race and her stunning figure, even Zu An, who was used to being around beauties, had to admit that the woman was extremely alluring.

    Zu An gave her an apologetic smile. ¡°This is the fiend race¡¯s territory, after all, so it isn¡¯t too convenient. I hope the princess can overlook that.¡±

    Princess Suolun had a hopeful expression as she asked, ¡°Then can the young master talk about it now?¡± Seeing that he was still a bit hesitant, she smiled gently and said, ¡°For better or for worse, we are now friends who have gone through danger together, right? Could it be that you are not even willing to tell me your name? Worry not. Since we are friends, I will not tell any of the others about your identity.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not what I¡¯m worried about¡­¡± Zu An said, then chuckled and told her his name. He was actually more worried that Yu Yanluo would misunderstand and think he was flirting with her. However, after thinking about it, he had a clear conscience anyway so what did he have to worry about?

    ¡°Zu An?¡± Princess Suolun mouthed his name, making sure to remember it well. A happy expression appeared on her face as she said, ¡°This name is quite special. My name is Suolun Shi. In the future, you are wee to visit the Demon Race as a guest anytime. Even though I do not represent the Demon Race, I can represent the Suolun n. No matter where you are, the young master will always be our Suolun n¡¯s most distinguished guest.¡±

    Zu An was a bit surprised. Based on her tone, it seemed her status in the n was quite special. He nodded toward her with a smile, saying, ¡°I will definitely visit the Demon Race when I have a chance in the future.¡±

    Princess Suolun pursed her lips. She hesitated, but eventually said, ¡°Is the young master going to apany the Medusa Queen and attend the Fiend Emperor¡¯s great assembly?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll travel with her for some time, but I might not go to the Fiend King Court with her,¡± Zu An replied. There was no need to hide that either.

    When Princess Suolun, she first sighed in relief, but then a hint of regret entered her expression. ¡°Young master¡¯s choice to not go to the Fiend King Court is wise. Even though I mighte off a bit rude if I say this, you defeated the Golden Crow Crown Prince, and the crown prince is next in line to be the Fiend Emperor. No matter how generous the Fiend Emperor is, there is no way he would bepletely disinterested in that matter. He might very well use you as an example in front of all of the fiend races.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your concern, princess,¡± Zu An replied. That was the conclusion Yu Yanluo and the others hade to as well. He had to admit that Princess Suolun did indeed have good intentions. ¡°Even though this Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s strength is decent, though, it isn¡¯t to a point that he can convince everyone with his power alone. The Fiend Emperor can act in his ce while he¡¯s still alive, but once the emperor passes away, will the different ns really bow down to him?¡±

    ¡°The current Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s strength is indeed not enough. However, the young master might not know that the sessive generations of Fiend Emperors have always carried out an inheritance ceremony. Before the previous Fiend Emperor passes on, he will pass all of his cultivation onto the next Fiend Emperor. At that time, the Golden Crow Crown Prince will naturally be able to convince everyone with his strength,¡± Princess Suolun exined.

    Zu An was stunned, saying, ¡°Looks like I¡¯ll have to be careful the next time I run into the Golden Crow Crown Prince.¡± If this guy inherits all of the Fiend Emperor¡¯s cultivation, like hell I¡¯ll still fight him.

    Princess Suolun smiled and said, ¡°Indeed, you need to be more careful. However, there is no need for you to feel too worried either. Once he bes the Fiend Emperor, he will have quite a bit on his te and will not be able to leave the Fiend King Court that easily. There is even less of a chance of him seeking you out on the human side. After all, there is still the human emperor there.

    Even though Zu An understood that reasoning, he still didn¡¯t feel too happy about having to avoid someone he had beat up before in the future.

    After some hesitation, Princess Suolun continued, ¡°The human territory is quiterge. Where does the young master normally reside?¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but chuckle. He asked, ¡°What, does the princess want to find me on the human side?¡± However, he immediately regretted saying that. Didn¡¯t I already agree to be a respectable man? What the heck am I teasing her for?

    Princess Suolun was stunned, and blushed. However, she reacted quickly and said, ¡°Yes. I heard that the human world is beautiful and vast, so I have always wanted to visit, but never had the chance. I cannot help but feel a bit nervous at the thought of doing so. Now that I finally have an acquaintance who can be a guide, of course I need to seek you out.¡±

    Her eyes were normally lovely and expressive, but as she spoke, her expression was clear, as if to suggest that she didn¡¯t have any other intentions.

    Zu An had to admit that this woman was quite smart, neutralizing the awkwardness so naturally. At the same time, she had even expressed sufficient goodwill. He said, ¡°I¡¯ll most likely be in the capital. There is a chance of me being in Brightmoon or Cloudcenter City too, though.¡±

    Princess Suolun nodded, silently memorizing the details. After a short period of idle chatter, she got up to leave. She said, ¡°Thank you again for your life saving kindness, young master. However, I have matters to attend to now, so I must leave first.¡±

    Zu An was a bit surprised, but he didn¡¯t keep her. He said, ¡°I wish you a safe journey.¡±

    Princess Suolun bowed and said, ¡°We will meet again if fate wills it.¡±

    She left in a confident and natural manner, even though she actually wanted to share more time with Zu An. It wasn¡¯t because she really did like him, but rather that any great n would want to rope in such a strong individual. Furthermore, she had indeed developed a good impression of him from their experiences together.

    Still, she also knew that Zu An had many beauties at his side already. Approaching him would only produce the opposite result, so she had decided to withdraw gracefully instead. Either way, they would have a chance of meeting again in the human territory in the future.

    Not long after Princess Suolun left, Princess Changning came over enthusiastically. She even brought over many fiend race specialties for Zu An to try. Zu An couldn''t just refuse such kindness, so he could only ept it.

    Meanwhile, Yun Jianyue was about to talk to Zu An about something. However, she saw Suolun Shi visit him, and then Kong Nanjing went over immediately after, leaving her quite annoyed. She shot Yu Yanluo a look and asked, ¡°Are you not going to control your man? Those women have been going in and out of his room so easily. Is it a public toilet or something?¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression froze a bit. Only a whileter did she say, ¡°Big Sister Yun, you should control him yourself.¡±

    Yun Jianyue frowned and repliedd, ¡°I¡¯m not even his woman, so why would I do that?¡±

    Yu Yanluo said calmly, ¡°There are so many women seeking out Ah Zu, which proves his charm. Doesn¡¯t that mean I have great insight and chose a great man?¡±

    Yun Jianyue almost choked from Yu Yanluo¡¯s indifferent act. She could only take out her anger on Yan Xuehen off to the side, snapping, ¡°What are youughing at?!¡±

    Yan Xuehen said calmly, ¡°I amughing because someone is getting all worked up for nothing.¡±

    ¡°Stone cold woman, are you looking for a beating?!¡± Yun Jianyue eximed. The two of them began to fight again. However, Yan Xuehen was clearly on the losing end and was soon pushed down.

    Just then, the door opened with a groan and Zu An walked in. When he saw the scene, he looked stunned.

    Both of the women¡¯s faces turned red. Such a stance really wasn¡¯t all that elegant, so they both got up and sorted out their clothes.

    Yu Yanluo chuckled inwardly, but she still asked, ¡°Why did things end so quickly?¡±

    Zu An had a strange expression. Why did those words sound so misleading? He replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know either. It might be because she got annoyed by how I kept asking about Kong Nanwu.¡±

    He had gotten acquainted with the Peacock race when he was in Cloudcenter City. Back then, Kong Qing had given up so quickly because of Kong Nanwu, so the three women knew about her existence.

    ¡°This Princess Changning¡¯s temper is indeed quite poor,¡± Yu Yanluo said, shaking her head. She didn¡¯t want to talk too much behind someone else¡¯s back and stopped there, however. She asked, ¡°Right, what was that treasure map Lord Sui gave you about? Big Sister Yun has been wondering about it. If you still don¡¯t take it out, she might go crazy.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s nonsense!¡± Yun Jianyue eximed, but she felt a bit guilty. ¡°Don¡¯t make it sound as if you guys don¡¯t want to know either.¡±

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°I haven¡¯t had time to look at it yet either.¡± He took out the map afterward. He couldn''t tell what kind of leather it was made out of, but it felt like a material that wouldn¡¯t be easily damaged.

    The three women moved over. Their fragrances wafted over him; each was truly beautiful in its own way. However, their expressions quickly changed when they saw the contents. They eximed, ¡°An Unknown Region!¡±

 Chapter 1282: Mutual Suspicion

    <h4>Chapter 1282: Mutual Suspicion</h4>

    The so-called treasure map recorded the location of an Unknown Region. However, it didn¡¯t say in detail which Unknown Region it was.

    Zu An was surprised when he saw their reaction. He asked, ¡°You all know about Unknown Regions?¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Right after he transmigrated to this world and unlocked the Keyboard System, it had told him that he had to gather the secret manuals in the twelve Unknown Regions.

    At first, he had asked Chu Chuyan about it, but she hadn¡¯t said a thing. She had even told him not to look into those ces. However,ter on when they got closer, he forgot to ask her more about the matter. The two grandmasters definitely knew more details, though.

    Sure enough, Yan Xuehen exined, ¡°By now, you have probably already realized that this world is full of secret dungeons. Such dungeons are very likely to be entirely different from our world. People have suspected that they were left behind by extraordinary ancient figures, and that they might be those individuals¡¯ cultivation dwellings.

    ¡°Of course, there is a chance that these dungeons are connected to other worlds in the universe. Because this concept touches upon thews of space and time, we have only been able to gain pitiful fragments of understanding.

    ¡°These dungeons often carry opportunities and great treasures, and they are very suitable for cultivators to train in. If one can keep ess to a dungeon all to oneself, that often signifies the rise of a sect or n.

    ¡°What people have all epted to be the case is that therger the dungeon, the more dangerous it often is. At the same time, it could mean more abundant rewards. Furthermore, there have long been some ancient legends that state that there are twelve Unknown Regions. Within them are all kinds of miraculous skills and treasures. If one obtains one of them, one might even be able to obtain eternal life.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression grew strange. Aren¡¯t these legends a bit exaggerated? I¡¯ve already been to quite a few of these dungeons, but they aren¡¯t anything impossible to deal with.

    Yan Xuehen naturally didn¡¯t know what he was thinking and continued, ¡°However, no one knows the twelve mysterious dungeons¡¯ locations. No one even knows their names. Even so, as time went on, those blessed with fortune were asionally able to enter them, but not a single person was able toe out alive.

    ¡°The friends and rtives of those experts searched for those dungeons through the clues that were left behind, but they were unable to find anything. It was almost as if those dungeons could move on their own, and inpletely unpredictable ways. That is why they were called the Unknown Regions.¡±

    Yun Jianyue added, ¡°It¡¯s not that no one was able toe out alive. A few decades ago, for the sake of immortality, the emperor Zhao Han used the entire country¡¯s strength to search for these Unknown Regions. Later on, he happened to find out some information about an Unknown Region named Xi Qi. He sent out all of his trusted aides to search for a method of immortality in the dungeon, but those strong cultivators were entirely wiped out, and they were never heard of again.

    ¡°Only recently did we learn that a eunuch escaped alive back then, but he coveted the skill they found and wanted to take it for himself. As such, he concealed his identity while living in Brightmoon City. Unfortunately, the emperor had long since been investigating this matter, and so in the end, he still couldn''t escape death.¡±

    Afterward, the women all looked at Zu An. After all, that matter had caused a huge uproar. The emperor had even had Zu An brought to the capital.

    Zu An looked a bit embarrassed as he said, ¡°You all look as if you¡¯re about to swallow me up or something. I¡¯m a bit scared¡­¡±

    Yun Jianyue rolled her eyes and said, ¡°You know, you really need a good beating. We¡¯re not even like that shitty emperor Zhao Han who''s about to die. We¡¯re just a bit curious whether those rumors were true, okay?¡±

    Zu An nodded and replied, ¡°It¡¯s not too far from what you¡¯ve said. The only inconsistency is that I don¡¯t sense the power of immortality from the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra.¡±

    The women all had expressions of relief when they heard the one directly involved personally dispel their doubts.

    Yan Xuehen said with a sigh, ¡°No wonder even though you are still so young, your cultivation has far exceeded all other geniuses I know of. It looks as if these Unknown Region methods are indeed quite miraculous.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He asked, ¡°Is it that special? Why do I feel as if everyone around me has higher cultivation?¡±

    Yan Xuehen choked. This guy already had everything, and yet he was still pretending he didn¡¯t have much! She replied, ¡°Many of those you have encountered are from the older generation. Even if they are from the same generation, they have cultivated for far longer than you.¡±

    She had learned from her disciple that this guy had just been just an ordinary person who didn¡¯t know how to cultivate when he first entered the Chu Manor. In just under three years, he had already reached his current level! Such speed was enough to make geniuses from ancient times look pitiful, and yet he was still unsatisfied!

    ¡°Since you really have the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, I am even more curious as to why the emperor would spare you,¡± Yan Xuehen added. She had met the emperor a few times. He was always domineering, and with how overbearingly the court treated the different sects, she really didn¡¯t like him.

    Even Yu Yanluo was now curious. She had helped Zu An ask for mercy, but even she hadn¡¯t had much confidence in herself.

    ¡°It¡¯s because the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra¡¯s cultivation is special, so there¡¯s no way the emperor can restart and cultivate it. Besides, he saw the contents of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra and decided that the immortality from the legends was fake, which is why he let me go,¡± Zu An said. He naturally couldn''t talk about how the emperor nned to use him to mess with King Qi.

    The women seemed to have suddenly understood when they heard the exnation. Only Yun Jianyue was suspicious. She asked, ¡°Would someone like you really give the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra to that shitty emperor?¡±

    Zu An winked, then replied with a chuckle, ¡°What do you think?¡±

    Yun Jianyue stirred. She was about to ask something else when Yan Xuehen interrupted her, saying in dissatisfaction, ¡°You know what kind of cultivation the emperor has best. How could a fake manual possibly deceive him? You should not make things hard for him.¡±

    Yun Jianyue harrumphed. ¡°Yeah, yeah, you¡¯re the good girl, I¡¯m the bad one.¡±

    After they talked for a while longer, their attention quickly returned to the map. Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue were well-versed in various fields, but they were stillpletely stumped by the different markings on the map, as if they had never seen such terrain before. If they didn¡¯t even know where the ce was, there was even less of a chance that Zu An would know.

    However, Yu Yanluo couldn''t take her eyes off the map. She eventually said, ¡°This seems to be a map of the area near the Fiend King Court.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± the others all cried out in shock.

    Yu Yanluo gave it another look, confirming it again. ¡°Yes, this is a map of the Fiend King Court. Because of my Medusa lineage, I¡¯ve spent some time researching intelligence about the fiend races. Later, in those days we spent in the Snake Race, I looked up some more information. This map indeed illustrates the mountains and rivers of the Fiend King Court.¡±

    She subconsciously realized something after saying that and quickly said to Zu An, ¡°Ah Zu, the Fiend King Court is too dangerous for you. The Fiend Emperor will probably take revenge for the crown prince, and he won¡¯t let you go.¡±

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue also advised him, ¡°Indeed, and Unknown Regions are too dangerous. Apart from that eunuch, no one has ever been able to escape alive. Furthermore, even that eunuch didn¡¯t meet a good ending.¡±

    ¡°But even though the Unknown Regions are dangerous, they¡¯re not as ridiculous as everyone makes them sound. It¡¯s not like I haven¡¯t been in them before,¡± Zu An said, feigning modesty.

    ¡°You are still too young, so you have not really fully experienced what kind of danger they represent. Even our White Jade Sect had outstanding seniors who searched the Unknown Regions, yet in the end, they vanished without a trace,¡± Yan Xuehen said.

    ¡°Indeed. Our Holy Sect had some sect masters who perished in Unknown Regions too,¡± Yun Jianyue added.

    The two grandmasters suddenly realized something halfway through their sentences. They both couldn''t help but cry out at the same time, ¡°What?! You¡¯ve gone to Unknown Regions before?¡±

    Zu An nodded and replied, ¡°Yeah, did I not tell you guys?¡± He added inwardly, And more than one, at that.

    When the women saw how he was clearly showing off, and yet was pretending to remain low-profile, they began to grit their teeth. It really did match this guy¡¯s usual style. However, they couldn¡¯t be bothered to deal with that. They quickly asked, ¡°Which Unknown Regions have you gone to? Hurry and tell us your experiences!¡±

    Their expressions were all incredibly eager. Even the usually cold and indifferent Yan Xuehen looked like a little girl who had beenpletely captivated.

    ¡°It¡¯s actually not even that big of a deal, though. I just fought an ancient earth immortal, and some immortal monsters¡­¡± Zu An began. However, the more he downyed things, the more it drove the women insane. Eventually, he gave them a rough ount of his experiences; however, it was too vague and broad, so it wasn¡¯t enough to satisfy them.

    Yun Jianyue thought to herself, Could it be that he couldn''t say some things because there are too many people around right now?

    I guess that makes sense. This stone cold woman was trying to kill him not too long ago, and she has the huge White Jade Sect behind her. If news of this got out, it would bring him a lot of trouble. I¡¯ll have to eventually find a chance to ask him about it at another time.

    Yan Xuehen had simr thoughts. That witch¡¯s Devil Sect uses any means, fair or foul, so he was probably worried that he might be exploited by her, right? It seems I need to find another chance to ask him in private. Even so, there was always the worry of something happening if she met him in private.

    Out of the three women, only Yu Yanluo waspletely calm. She could just find any time to ask him about it when they were alone.

    However, she still felt a bit of a grudge. You can just tell me about these things! Why are you telling those two too? One has the White Jade Sect behind her, while the other is from the Devil Sect. They can¡¯t make decisions purely based on their own interests.

    Even though they had all been getting along recently, that didn¡¯t mean they were really sisters. They might even sell out Zu An!

 Chapter 1283: Fatal Call

    <h4>Chapter 1283: Fatal Call</h4>

    After a while, Zu An said, ¡°Unknown Regions are extremely important to me. I have my own reasons for going there, so even if it¡¯s dangerous, I have to make this trip to the Fiend King Court.¡± He looked at Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue, then continued, ¡°The two of you are injured, so you shouldn¡¯t take the risk with me.¡±

    Yun Jianyue directly refused, saying, ¡°You aren¡¯t even scared of the Fiend Emperor¡¯s revenge? I¡¯m the respected Devil Sect Master. Don¡¯t tell me I¡¯m worse than you? Besides, Unknown Regions are incredibly appealing to any cultivator. If I don¡¯t get to see it for myself, I might regret it for the rest of my life.¡±

    Yan Xuehen said approvingly, ¡°Indeed. The path of cultivation is to advance courageously; how can we be scared at every turn and remain overcautious? That witch and I have already been stuck at our current cultivation ranks for a long time, and we have never seen any sign of a breakthrough. Who knows, there might be some room for growth in the Unknown Region.¡±

    Zu An got a headache when he heard the firmness in Yan Xuehen¡¯s voice. He replied, ¡°Big Sis Yun is one thing, but your injuries are so serious. Isn¡¯t it too dangerous for you to blindly enter an Unknown Region?¡±

    Yan Xuehen said with a serious expression, ¡°If my dao leads me to death, then so be it!¡±

    When he saw how resolute Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression was, and how there was practically a pure and holy glow emanating from her face, Zu An became momentarily stunned. No wonder these two were able to rise up above their peers and be grandmasters. Such persistence was definitely not something most people could disy.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression became strange. Before, they kept saying that they were going to apany me to the Fiend King Court, but thenter, after considering how they couldn¡¯t win against the Fiend Emperor, they decided to leave halfway. But now that they¡¯ve heard Ah Zu is going into an Unknown Region, which is clearly even more dangerous, they¡¯re going to go with him instead? Are they really going because of the Unknown Region, or are they going for Ah Zu?

    Both Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen were extremely excited because they were going to an Unknown Region. They didn¡¯t want to waste a single second and went back to their rooms to treat their injuries. The more they could recover, the better. At first, they had felt a bit of contempt for the deity-grade ki stone fragments because they were around another woman¡¯s body, but that wasn¡¯t the case at all anymore. They absorbed the ki inside to help with their injuries.

    Yan Xuehen even considered asking Zu An to help her with her injuries. However, when she recalled the embarrassment she had experienced, she was still too embarrassed to ask in the end.

    Yu Yanluo was quite happy, however. She and Zu An finally had some time to themselves. With the other two women present all the time, even though they did get along well, she couldn''t really be intimate with Zu An at all.

    ¡°We can finally get some rest,¡± Yu Yanluo said as she stretched her body outzily, her wonderful figure in full view. Then, she leaned into Zu An¡¯s embrace.

    Zu An had already been pent up from the previous battles. With such a soft and gentle beauty whom countless men yearned for day and night in his arms, and now that she was even teasing him, he quickly got worked up, lowering his head to kiss her.

    Yu Yanluo groaned. ¡°Mmm, so annoying¡­ I just wanted to talk to you¡­¡± Despite what she said, she received him warmly. Her body seemed to havepletely melted.

    Since Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue had always been around them, and before that they had been in Bluefield Country, it had been rare for them to have the chance to be intimate with each other. Furthermore, after witnessing Lord Sui and Madam Yu¡¯s love for each other, Yu Yanluo only wanted to cherish what she had right now. Her passion was quickly ignited to the limit.

    However, when Zu An carried her over to the bed, she still became a bit shy. She said, ¡°It¡¯s still daytime¡­¡±

    ¡°For something like this, does it matter whether it¡¯s day or night?¡± Zu An replied with a chuckle. Even as he finished speaking, he had already undone her waistband.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s face waspletely red. Her eyes were watery as she said, ¡°But Big Sister Yan and Big Sister Yun are next door. They¡¯ll hear us.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. They¡¯re injured, and they¡¯re currently focused on their treatment, so they won¡¯t hear us,¡± Zu An said reassuringly.

    Yu Yanluo was about to say something else when her entire body trembled. She almost cried out in rm and hit him resentfully. This guy really didn¡¯t know how to be gentle at all¡­

    She bit her lip. In the end, however, she was still worried. With a wave of her hand, a painting scroll surrounded them. If the two grandmasters had been at their peak, it would have beenpletely useless, but with their condition, it was probably fine.

    When he saw several lifelike maids depicted on the scroll, Zu An was stunned. He asked, ¡°Do you like being seen by others like this?¡±

    ¡°I just picked a random scroll! Isn¡¯t it your fault for being in too much of a hurry?¡± Yu Yanluo protested, feeling so wronged that she was about to cry. She immediately looked for another scroll.

    Zu An stopped her, saying, ¡°No, this is fine too. You should draw some other interesting things in the future, such asrge mirrors or something.¡±

    Yu Yanluo was confused at first, but then she gradually realized what was going on. She bit down lightly on Zu An¡¯s shoulder out of embarrassment. Where did this guy even learn all of this stuff?

    There¡¯s no way it was Chu First Miss. You can tell just from her master that there¡¯s no way she would do such things.

    Don¡¯t tell me Sect Master Yun¡¯s disciple taught him? She¡¯s always bragging about her disciple¡¯s fully developed charm technique¡­

    She continued to think to herself like that, bing more and more puzzled.

    However, as the two embraced each other, they suddenly felt a vibration.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s entire body stiffened. Zu An whispered in her ear, ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Someone is contacting me with a recording mirror,¡± Yu Yanluo said, taking out a recording mirror from her clothes. A trace of redness appeared on her face, perhaps from shyness or excitement; it made her look even more captivating than usual.

    ¡°Just ignore it,¡± Zu An replied roughly. Who in the world is calling at a time like this? Do you have no tact at all?

    ¡°Okay¡­¡± Yu Yanluo didn¡¯t want to be disturbed at present either. She turned off the recording mirror. However, the vibration began again, as if it wouldn¡¯t stop until she picked it up.

    Zu An wanted to just throw the recording mirror out, but Yu Yanluo suddenly thought of something. She said to herself, ¡°Someone who knows my recording mirror¡¯s runes, and would contact me at this sort of time¡­ Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡±

    Zu An realized something and took the mirror from her. Sure enough, it was Sang Hong¡¯s symbol. He immediately began to sweat buckets. The recording mirror consumed a tremendous amount of ki stones, and Sang Hong didn¡¯t have a huge n behind him. He was normally extremely reluctant to use them, let alone to call continuously like this, so it was definitely a dire matter. As such, he quickly epted the call.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Yu Yanluo almost screamed out loud. She quickly pulled up the covers to hide herself. However, Zu An gestured for her to rx, as no one else would be able to see her from such an angle. Still, even though Yu Yanluo knew that, it was still hard for her to hide her embarrassment.

    Thus, Zu An appeased the beauty with one hand while holding the mirror with the other. He looked at the familiar face in the mirror and asked, ¡°Respected uncle, what is the matter?¡±

    ¡°Why did you hang up on my call just now?¡± Sang Hong asked, looking somewhat unhappy. He had had to use up a lot of ki stones to call several times.

    ¡°There was something important, so it was inconvenient for me to pick it up,¡± Zu An said with an embarrassed chuckle. He did his best to look normal.

    Yu Yanluo quickly covered her own mouth, while giving him a pinch. This guy was just way too daring!

    ¡°What are you doing? Why are you covered in sweat?¡± Sang Hong asked curiously.

    ¡°I was exercising. I¡¯ve reached a critical juncture in my training,¡± Zu An exined with an embarrassed smile.

    ¡°Right now, everything else is secondary. The most important thing is what¡¯s happening on my side,¡± Sang Hong said. He released a long sigh, looking extremely anxious.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Zu An asked, jumping in fright. After all, Sang Hong was usually a shrewd and deep thinker. He was someone who wouldn¡¯t be fazed even if Mount Tai copsed before him. Judging from how rmed he was, something major had definitely happened.

    Sang Hong replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know how that guy Xu Yu managed to do it, but he announced everything that happened in the capital to the higher authorities. Right now, there are rumors everywhere in the capital, saying that you secretly rescued Yu Yanluo, and that¡¯s why you¡¯ve been missing this entire time. They say you betrayed the human race and fled to the fiend race territory.¡±

    Zu An and Yu Yanluo¡¯s expressions grew a bit strange, because that wasn¡¯t a rumor. They really were together in the fiend race territory.

    Sang Hong continued, ¡°His Majesty couldn''t stand the court¡¯smotion, so he dered that in order to prove your innocence, the Court Administrator would call Cloudcenter through a recording mirror to confirm whether you¡¯ve already betrayed us.¡± He was so nervous that he talked in circles for a while. Eventually, he said, ¡°I can¡¯t use the Embroidered Envoy¡¯s secret mission to muddle my way through anymore. Tomorrow, things might¡­ They might just¡­

    ¡°It would be great if you could appear tomorrow and get rid of all of the rumors¡­¡± he began. However, his expression filled with disappointment before he even finished his sentence. ¡°Forget it. You¡¯re all the way over in the fiend race territory right now. How could you possibly rush back in a single day? I should think about how to take care of those back home once you¡¯re deemed a traitor.¡±

 Chapter 1284: An Exception for Him

    <h4>Chapter 1284: An Exception for Him</h4>

    Something stirred within Zu An. He quickly asked, ¡°When will the meeting be held tomorrow?¡±

    ¡°It should be after the morning court finishes, I reckon. First, they¡¯ll have a routine conversation about the nation¡¯s military affairs, and their final topic will be you,¡± Sang Hong said with a deep sigh. No matter how resourceful he was, he was still at his wits¡¯ end.

    Zu An calcted some things, then said, ¡°Respected uncle, please help me stall for some time. I might be able to rush back.¡±

    Sang Hong was shocked. He replied, ¡°It would take at least a few months to return to Cloudcenter Commandery if you were fast, and otherwise, it might even take half a year. How could you possibly return that easily?¡±

    He had learned from their previous call that there was a shortcut tunnel in the Cloudcenter mines. But after the earthquake, the entire mine had already copsed. Cloudcenter¡¯s government had been focused on cleaning up the mines the entire time. It was only because the Yu n had evacuated everyone ahead of time that there weren¡¯t too many casualties.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    However, the situation in the mines wasn''t too optimistic. It would take a few years at least to restore the mines to their normal state, or even a few decades. He knew better than anyone that it was already impossible to use the formations in the depths of the mines to cross over to the fiend race territories.

    Zu An said seriously, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I have a way.¡±

    Sang Hong wanted to say something else, but his expression suddenly changed. He said, ¡°That old fox Xu Yu is here. I can¡¯t let him know about our conversation, so that¡¯s all for now.¡± His face disappeared from the recording mirror¡¯s reflection; he had clearly ended the call on his side.

    When she saw Zu An put the mirror away, Yu Yanluo could no longer hold on. She grabbed Zu An like an octopus, her entire body shaking continuously.

    What had happened just then really was too shocking for her! Fear, shame, and other such emotions had welled up, making her countless times more sensitive than usual.

    Zu An sucked in air between his teeth. He had to admit that the Medusa¡¯s body was simply incredible. When she was aroused, she could soften even the hardest of well-tempered steel.

    ¡­

    The two embraced each other. Only after a while did Yu Yanluo calm down. However, she couldn¡¯t hold in her embarrassment, protesting, ¡°It¡¯s all your fault. I almost passed out from fright just now.¡±

    Zu An looked at her with a smile. He gently wiped the sweat on her forehead, thinking to himself that the recording mirror had actually managed to mimic the function of a cellphone.

    Yu Yanluo felt more and more annoyed when she saw his mischievous expression. She bit down on him to vent out a bit of her resentment. Then, she asked worriedly, ¡°What are you going to do about Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s situation? If there¡¯s really nothing you can do, you can just stay with the Snake race for now. You can be the Snake race¡¯s king, and I¡¯ll assist you.¡±

    Zu An gave her cheek a kiss when he sensed her concern. He replied, ¡°It might have been impossible to deal with before, as the distance between this ce and Cloudcenter Commandery was too far. I now have the Wind Fire Wheels, though, so it¡¯s notpletely impossible for me to fly back.¡±

    Yu Yanluo said with a hint of envy, ¡°That Lady Shang really is good to you. She gave you all of her own nephew¡¯s treasures.¡±

    Zu An chuckled in embarrassment and didn¡¯tment.

    However, Yu Yanluo wasn¡¯t a normal person, so she quickly suppressed those thoughts. She got up to get dressed while urging Zu An, ¡°Hurry and get up. Even if you have the Wind Fire Wheels, you might not be able to get there in time within a single day. You have to seize every moment.¡±

    At any other time, Zu An would definitely enjoy the beautiful sight of her dressing herself. However, the situation was indeed pressing, so he didn¡¯t dare to show any carelessness. The two of them quickly put on their clothes.

    Yu Yanluo said, ¡°You should pass on a message to Sect Masters Yun and Yan. If you suddenly leave, I won¡¯t be able to exin things to them.¡± At the same time, she thought to herself that it felt more and more as if they were only staying because of him.

    Zu An figured that made sense as well. He went with her to seek out the two of them.

    Yun Jianyue said unhappily, ¡°I¡¯ve finally reached a crucial point in my recovery, but now you¡¯ve disturbed me. If you don¡¯t have a proper exnation, I might just smash your head in.¡±

    Yu Yanluo was speechless. This woman really was a fierce one¡­ Still,pared to her ferocious reputation and how she dealt with others, this was stillparatively gentler.

    Yan Xuehen gave Yu Yanluo a look, asking, ¡°Hm? Why is your face so red?¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s heart pounded crazily. She was scared that they might notice something and quickly exined, ¡°I just learned that something major was happening over at Cloudcenter Commandery, so I was a bit nervous and worried.¡±

    Even though Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue were knowledgeable, they wereplete amateurs in romance. Even though Yun Jianyue was proficient in charm techniques, that was only on paper. Sure enough, she was easily fooled.

    ¡°Did something happen in Cloudcenter Commandery?¡± Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue asked, realizing that this wasn¡¯t a small matter from how serious the other two¡¯s expressions were.

    Zu An gave them a rough summary of the situation. The two of them quickly understood how grave the matter was.

    ¡°Tomorrow, you¡¯ll be interrogated in the court through a recording mirror?¡± Yun Jianyue harrumphed. ¡°You¡¯ve worked your ass off in Cloudcenter Commandery, and yet that shitty emperor is just going to abandon you after getting what he wanted. Who cares about a stupid court like that anymore? Juste over to our Devil Sect, I¡¯ll make you a saint who rules over tens of thousands of people.¡±

    Before Zu An had a chance to reply, Yan Xuehen scolded Yun Jianyue, ¡°Do you wish for the whole world to be in chaos? He managed to gain his cultivation at such a young age, and he has excellent connections in the Eastern Pce. These are outstanding prospects. Why are you telling him to be a scoundrel like you?¡±

    If anyone else dared to call Yun Jianyue a scoundrel, she would have properly taught that person what it meant to be the Devil Sect Master. However, this matter was rted to Zu An¡¯s future, so she knew that unless he had no way out, joining the Holy Sect was indeed not the best choice. She replied, ¡°Hmph, then what do you think we should do?¡±

    Yan Xuehen frowned. This situation was quite troublesome, but her thoughts moved quickly. She asked, ¡°Can your Wind Fire Wheels take you back to Cloudcenter Commandery?¡±

    Zu An was startled. He nodded and said, ¡°Indeed, that was my n. That¡¯s why I came here to say goodbye to the two of you. I might be gone for a few days.¡±

    Yan Xuehen thought for a bit, then said, ¡°This ce is too far from Cloudcenter Commandery. You should move soon, or else you might not make it in time.¡±

    ¡°Okay,¡± Zu An replied. He knew that as well. He only had a bit more than a day, so rushing back in time wouldn¡¯t be easy at all.

    He cupped his hands and was about to leave when Yu Yanluo called out to him. ¡°Wait!¡± She then bowed toward Yan Xuehen and asked, ¡°Big Sister Yan, may I be so bold as to ask a favor?¡±

    Yan Xuehen quickly said, ¡°You are being too polite. Just tell me if there is something. I will try my utmost as long as I can do it.¡±

    Based on their interactions as ofte, it was clear that even though they weren¡¯t actually sisters, they were at least friends. They also appreciated each other¡¯spany. Of course, Yan Xuehen had tried to kill Yu Yanluo before, so she still had a guilty conscience. She had long since been thinking about how to make things up to her.

    Yu Yanluo thus said, ¡°I want to ask big sister to apany Ah Zu back.¡±

    Zu An was bewildered.

    ¡°What?¡± the other women eximed, also surprised. They could never have expected her to suddenly make such a request.

    Yu Yanluo exined, ¡°There are too many suspicions surrounding Ah Zu in Cloudcenter Commandery, and he did save me. Furthermore, he ruined King Qi¡¯s great n, which had already been in the works for many years. King Qi¡¯s men definitely won¡¯t let him go.

    ¡°Even if he returns to Cloudcenter Commandery tomorrow, it definitely won¡¯t go smoothly. Whether it¡¯s Xu Yu or King Qi, those old foxes won¡¯t leave the matter at that. They have more than enough methods to frame Ah Zu. In that kind of situation, Ah Zu will just be making this great trip only to walk into a trap.

    ¡°If Big Sister Yan apanies him, though, it should be different. Your status has always been extraordinary, and you¡¯re also one of the leaders of the righteous faction. If you can act as a guarantor for him, naturally, no one will believe Xu Yu and King Qi¡¯s lies.¡±

    Yan Xuehen hesitated before saying, ¡°But he did save you ande to the fiend race territory. Don¡¯t tell me you want me to lie¡­¡±

    She cultivated the Unshakable Daoist Manual, and her status was special. She always paid close attention to her words and actions, and had never spoken a lie. That was part of why she had such an acimed reputation.

    Yun Jianyue raised her brows and remarked, ¡°What, don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re not willing to help out?¡±

    Yan Xuehen gave Zu An a look. Speaking a single lie for him wasn¡¯tpletely out of the question. However, she said,¡°That is not my intention. The main problem is that I am seriously injured right now and cannot fly. I fear that I cannot go with him.¡±

    Yu Yanluo opened her mouth, but she was too embarrassed to speak up. It was instead Yun Jianyue who said frankly, ¡°What¡¯s so hard about that? Those Wind Fire Wheels seem sturdy enough. Just have Ah Zu carry you back. It¡¯s not as if he hasn¡¯t carried you before.¡±

 Chapter 1285: Seniorâ€™s Lesson

    <h4>Chapter 1285: Senior¡¯s Lesson</h4>

    ¡°Witch, what did you say?!¡± Yan Xuehen eximed, her brows shooting up.

    ¡°The two of you have already gone that far, so why are you getting so worked up over what I said?¡± Yun Jianyue retorted. She had always disliked Yan Xuehen¡¯s pure and indifferent act, so she always liked to annoy the other woman. She always felt extremely happy whenever she saw her rival act out of character.

    Yu Yanluo felt a bit guilty because of what had just happened. Is Yun Jianyue indirectly criticizing me¡­

    When she saw the pink blush appear on Yan Xuehen¡¯s white jade-like skin, she had to admit that this woman really was pretty.

    If she hadn¡¯t been known for pursuing the dao of mental purity, making others all think she would never blush like this, the title of number one beauty might not have fallen to me so easily.

    And then there¡¯s Yun Jianyue. Even though she¡¯s a bit fierce, she really is ridiculously beautiful for no reason. Both of these women have already be grandmasters, and yet they¡¯re also this pretty. Can you two leave something for the rest of us, please?

    At that instant, she even began to wonder if asking Yan Xuehen to apany her own man was a mistake. Still, the most important thing was ensuring Zu An¡¯s safety. Everything else coulde after.

    ¡°If you are so enthusiastic, why not go back with him?¡± Yan Xuehen snapped. Because of the ¡®Love Is More Solid than Gold¡¯ skill, and the various intimate interactions they¡¯d had, she knew very clearly that she couldn¡¯t afford to get any closer to him.

    ¡°I really wouldn''t mind it that much, but those court bastards all think of me as some traitorous monster. If I went back with Ah Zu, wouldn¡¯t I just be harming him instead?¡± Yun Jianyue replied, then looked Yan Xuehen up and down. ¡°You¡¯re different, though. You¡¯ve earned quite a good reputation from your operations in thest few years. From what I know, more than half of the court are your fans, always following behind you and calling you their goddess. They¡¯ll definitely believe what you say.¡±

    She felt a bit jealous after saying that. Their cultivation was clearly around the same, and their appearances and figures were also on the same level, and yet why was their treatment sopletely different?

    Yan Xuehen knew she was on good terms with many officials, but with her natural disposition, she prefered peace and quiet. She rarely interacted with them.

    But that isn¡¯t the most important thing. The most important thing is that¡­

    She gave Zu An a look and just happened to meet his gaze. She lowered her head guiltily and said apologetically, ¡°Of course I am willing to help, but men and women should be separated, and time is pressing. Carrying a second person might affect your speed.¡±

    That was already a tactful refusal. Zu An smiled and didn¡¯t force the issue.

    He was about to reply when Yun Jianyue said, ¡°You cultivate the heartless dao; when have you ever had any notion of the difference between men and women? Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡±

    Yan Xuehen was flustered and retorted, ¡°What heartless dao?! I cultivate the emotionless dao!¡±

    ¡°Either way, it¡¯s more or less the same from our perspective,¡± Yun Jianyue replied casually, not thinking too much of it. She said, ¡°You would never have worried about something like this before.¡±

    ¡°It is not entirely out of the question because the situation is dire,¡± Yan Xuehen said. She didn¡¯t dare to argue that point for fear of the other two really noticing something. ¡°Even if he were alone, however, it would be hard for him to arrive before tomorrow with such a distance, and I would instead be a burden.¡±

    Yun Jianyue rolled her eyes and replied, ¡°You¡¯re so slim; how much could you even weigh? The Wind Fire Wheels are a heaven-grade weapon, okay? What difference would your insignificant weight make?¡±

    Yan Xuehen was speechless. She could only give Zu An a pleading look, her eyes full of expectation and hope that he would help her out of this situation.

    However, Zu An nodded and said, ¡°What Big Sister Yun said is right. It actually doesn¡¯t matter that much.¡±

    Yan Xuehen was speechless. She hadn¡¯t expected him to say that at all. She waspletely stunned.

    ¡°Then it¡¯s decided. You two should hurry along so you cane back sooner,¡± Yun Jianyue said. She yawned, as if she would soon go back to sleep.

    Yu Yanluo greeted Yan Xuehen, saying, ¡°I¡¯ll be troubling Big Sister Yan.¡±

    After the mood had already be that way, it was already too embarrassing for Yan Xuehen to refuse. She could only say, ¡°Then¡­ Alright.¡±

    Because the matter was too urgent, they didn¡¯t waste any more time. They quickly got ready to leave. Zu An took out the Wind Fire Wheels.

    Yan Xuehen asked, somewhat hesitantly, ¡°Can we ride on one each?¡±

    ¡°I fear that isn¡¯t possible.¡± Zu An shook his head. ¡°These two are a pair and can¡¯t be used separately.¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s mouth opened, and she looked hesitant and conflicted.

    Zu An said, ¡°I¡¯ll carry you on my back. That way, it¡¯ll be a bit easier.¡±

    Yan Xuehen bit her lip. She knew that was the most suitable method at the moment. A princess carry would be too dubious, and Zu An would get tired from doing that the entire trip. Meanwhile, embracing each other was too intimate. The only option she could ept was being carried on his back. It wasn¡¯t as if she hadn¡¯t been carried on his back before, either. When she saw him squat in front of her, she blushed, but she still climbed on.

    Zu An¡¯s hands supported Yan Xuehen¡¯s thighs as he lifted her onto his back. Then, he got onto the Wind Fire Wheels. After using them a few times, he was already extremely proficient at maintaining his bnce on them. Besides, he had already tried riding with two people back in Bluefield Country with Tushan Yu, which was why he knew that having an extra person wouldn¡¯t hinder him much.

    He turned around to say goodbye to Yu Yanluo and Yun Jianyue, saying, ¡°I¡¯ll hurry back once I take care of things. The two of you need to be careful and take care of yourselves.¡±

    Yun Jianyue rolled her eyes and said, ¡°You were still sucking on milk while I was already making a name for myself. Just take care of that stone cold woman; her condition isn¡¯t all that good. I¡¯ll need a proper exnation from you if I find even a hair missing when you twoe back.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but grumble, ¡°Don¡¯t you pluck her hair often?¡±

    Yan Xuehen was really embarrassed and pinched him. She hadn¡¯t expected him to have even seen how Yun Jianyue bullied her in private.

    Yun Jianyue instead said confidently, ¡°Even if she¡¯s going to be bullied, it has to be by me, and not a brat like you.¡±

    Yan Xuehen said through clenched teeth. ¡°You witch, once I recover, I will definitely beat you so badly your face turnspletely red!¡±

    Yun Jianyue didn¡¯t seem to care that much. She said, ¡°Our cultivation has always been simr. Even if you do recover, it won¡¯t be all that realistic for you to beat me. That is, unless you just happen to find me when I¡¯m seriously injured, but you¡¯re in better condition. That¡¯s why you¡¯ll never be able to avenge the suffering you went through here.¡±

    Yan Xuehen was really bitter and angry, but she knew that Yun Jianyue was speaking the truth. She thought, It¡¯s all Zu An¡¯s fault. If I hadn¡¯t run into him, why would I be bullied by my nemesis like this?

    ¡°Enough, it¡¯s already gettingte. We¡¯re heading out,¡± Zu An said, blowing Yu Yanluo a kiss. He didn¡¯t dare to remain after seeing that the two of them were about to start arguing again.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s face was a bit red. She thought, This guy is blowing a kiss toward me in front of two grandmasters? Do you think they¡¯re blind? However, she could only hold those thoughts in. She said, ¡°After staying here for a bit longer, we¡¯ll head out again. Our itinerary going toward the Fiend King Court is also quite tight, so we¡¯ll continue along while waiting for you. Either way, you have the Wind Fire Wheels, so you can travel quickly.¡±

    ¡°Got it!¡± Zu An replied, waving toward them. He got on the Wind Fire Wheels, then rushed into the air.

    ¡°Ah~¡± Yan Xuehen cried out in rm. She instinctively held onto Zu An¡¯s neck.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Zu An was worried that there might be something wrong with her body.

    ¡°It is nothing. It is just that I never felt like this before when I flew on my own, but now, when I look down, I actually feel a bit scared,¡± Yan Xuehen said, feeling a bit embarrassed.

    ¡°You¡¯re injured right now, so of course you don¡¯t feel safe,¡± Zu An said with a chuckle. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect a grandmaster to have such a cute side too.¡±

    ¡°Cute?¡± Yan Xuehen replied as mind went nk. Even after so many years, this was the first time someone had described her in such a way. However, she quickly reacted and said with a straight face, ¡°Please act more decently. I am like half a master to you, and strictly speaking, I am your senior. How can you be this cheeky?¡±

    She had long since been thinking about how she would be able to associate with Zu An in the future. Apart from avoiding him as much as possible, a rtionship between master and disciple seemed to be the most suitable pretext. Even if there was some physical contact, it wasn¡¯t that big of a deal for a junior taking care of a senior, right?

    ¡°Senior?¡± Zu An replied with a grin. He deliberately elerated fiercely, then pretended to have lost his footing and stumbled a few times. He even made a few turns, but just as he was about to fall down, he always regained his footing again at thest second.

    ¡°Ah¡­¡± Even Yan Xuehen, who was normally cold and indifferent, was now so scared she screamed endlessly and instinctively grabbed onto him firmly.

    When they finally regained their bnce, Zu An said apologetically, ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m not too used to riding together with someone else.¡±

    At that point, however, he was sighing in amazement inside. When he had been chatting with others in the forums of his previous world, he had always felt that there was no way someone could be so slim, and yet still have such a crazy figure. And yet, Yan Xuehen was a perfect example of that! Considering the great waves he had felt from moving and suddenly stopping¡­ No wonder so many people liked to ride motorcycles to pick up women!

    Yan Xuehen wasn¡¯t stupid. She became extremely embarrassed, protesting, ¡°You did that on purpose!¡±

 Chapter 1286: Heavenâ€™s Will

    Chapter 1286: Heaven¡¯s Will

    Zu An said with a straight face, ¡°Big Sister Yan, I really wasn¡¯t too used to carrying someone just yet!¡±

    Yan Xuehen was so angry she clenched her teeth when she saw him say such nonsense with a deadly earnest expression. However, there was nothing she could do, and she could only lecture him. ¡°Ah Zu, I am your half master. You cannot shame your master and let down your ancestors.¡±

    She felt a bit of regret as soon as she spoke. Wasn¡¯t her tone a bit too serious? But it¡¯s this guy¡¯s fault for bullying me!

    She decided to set some boundaries between them to prevent more future trouble from happening.

    ¡°Riding your master and ancestors? I¡¯m not that kind of person at all!¡± Zu An said while sticking out his chest. ¡°Besides, I haven¡¯t agreed to be your disciple yet, right?¡±[1]

    Yan Xuehen felt that his pronunciation was a bit strange, but she didn¡¯t think too much of it. She replied, ¡°You have already learned my Unshakable Daoist Manual, and I am Chuyan¡¯s master. What is so hard about just calling me master?¡±

    She felt a mysterious sense of guilt when she mentioned her disciple. If my disciple knew about the things that happened between me and this man, how would she look at me then¡­

    Zu An chucked. ¡°Weren¡¯t you opposed to my rtionship with Chuyan?¡±

    Yan Xuehen blushed, thinking, I definitely seemed dead set on breaking them up before¡­ However, she replied, ¡°Would it even matter if I disapproved? It is not as if you would listen to me anyway.¡±

    She had to admit that after the time they had spent together, she had already begun to acknowledge both Zu An¡¯s talent and strength, and more importantly his character. Of course, it would be better if he didn¡¯t have so many girls around him. Even so, there was no way she could bring herself to say that she agreed to their marriage out loud. A grandmaster still had her pride.

    Still, Zu An had already sensed the implied meaning of her words. He couldn''t help but smile happily. For some reason, that smile annoyed Yan Xuehen a little.

    Suddenly, she frowned, because she sensed that his hands seemed to be shifting backward. Of course, judging from their previous time together, she believed he wasn¡¯t doing it on purpose. It was probably because they were moving around and he didn¡¯t want her to fall that he had grabbed her.

    Even so, they had already begun flying normally again, and yet she could still sense the heating from his hands. She hesitated. If she spoke up to warn him now, wouldn¡¯t it be a bit too forceful? Then it would just embarrass both of them. As such, she could only try to divert her attention and say, ¡°Even though your Wind Fire Wheels have no offensive capabilities, their flight ability really is useful. No wonder they were considered heaven-grade based on function alone.¡±

    Zu An said in agreement, ¡°Indeed, it¡¯s like having a private airne. No, it¡¯s even faster than an airne.¡±

    ¡°A private airne?¡± Yan Xuehen asked, confused.

    Zu An could only exin in a way she could understand. ¡°I often dream of a world filled with all sorts of unfamiliar things. Even though the people of that world can¡¯t cultivate, they can use science and technology to aplish things simr to what cultivators can do. Their so-called airnes are simr torge birds, or perhaps the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s war chariot¡­¡±

    When she heard what he said, Yan Xuehen was gradually sucked into the description of that mysterious world. Shepletely forgot the awkwardness his hands had brought her. She remarked, ¡°Those sound simr to the effects the runes and formations of this world can bring about.¡±

    Zu An nodded in agreement. The first time he had seen rune formations, he had thought that he was looking at an integrated circuit.

    ¡°Something that can allowmon people to fly¡­ That world really is magical. It would be extremely hard for us to achieve that. The costs would be too high,¡± Yan Xuehen said, sighing in amazement. Her beautiful eyes were filled with longing for that world.

    When he heard thepassion in her voice, Zu An thought to himself, This woman isn¡¯t as cold and detached as she seems on the surface. It¡¯s all because of that damned Unshakable Daoist Manual.

    Now that I think about it, my wife Chuyan used to be pretty cold too. She was probably affected by that technique. But her inside was really warm¡­

    He frowned when he thought of that. What kind of nonsense am I thinking?

    Still, once those thoughts began, he could no longer stop his mind from wandering. He could feel the soft and gentle body of the beauty behind him, and he couldn''t help but start topare her with Chuyan.

    He had to admit that they were clearly master and disciple; and yet, why were they so simr¡­ It wasn¡¯t just their appearances that were simr, but rather their personalities and the impression they left others with.

    Of course, Yan Xuehen had a more mature presence. After all, she was a grandmaster and had already been famous for a long time. She had a natural air of eminent and unapproachable prestige. However, after what had happened as ofte, she had alreadypletely fallen into the secr world. Only Zu An could see the side of her that was like a youngdy.

    ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± Yan Xuehen asked, noticing that Zu An had suddenly stopped talking.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing,¡± Zu An replied, his face heating up. He quickly elerated forward.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s arms were wrapped around Zu An¡¯s neck. She could see the side of his face up close, as well as the skin around his neck. If she lowered her head a bit, she could even kiss him. That was why she could clearly sense his face turning red, as well as the waves of astonishing heating from his body.

    Don¡¯t tell me that because we¡¯re touching each other, he¡­.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s heart began to pound crazily when she thought of that. Her fair skin turned bright red.

    ¡­

    Both of their thoughts began to wander. Just like that, however, they peacefully flew along.

    Along the way, some beasts and fiends flew by. Zu An didn¡¯t want to waste any time, however, so he either avoided them preemptively or just rushed directly past.

    Even Yan Xuehen was starting to feel amazed by the Wind Fire Wheels¡¯ speed. After all, a grandmaster could fly, and perhaps they might be able to fly faster than the Wind Fire Wheels for a short period, but they couldn¡¯t maintain it forever. Ever since the two of them had left the small town, the Wind Fire Wheels had been flying at an extremely high speed for many hours.

    Zu An was about to go crazy from not saying anything for several hours. He quickly found another topic to chat about.

    Yan Xuehen had been feeling extremely ufortable too. Her body only became more sensitive when they stopped talking, so she couldn''t help but think about all sorts of things. It was a good idea to chat a bit to distract herself.

    At first, she asked about the world in Zu An¡¯s so-called dream. Later, Zu An began to ask more about her, particrly things about her childhood. Yan Xuehen was a bit rmed at first; the events from her childhood were so distant that she no longer had a strong impression of them. However, guided by Zu An, she gradually began to remember everything.

    She initially felt that apart from eating and sleeping, she had only cultivated. It was far from being as incredible as the world Zu An had described. However, Zu An somehow always managed to discover something new about her childhood stories by looking at them from a different perspective.

    Just like that, they chatted as they flew. They became more familiar with each other¡¯s past, and so they subconsciously began feeling closer and closer.

    Just then, they vaguely saw the outline of the Great Snowy Mountain on the horizon. Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression became serious as she said, ¡°You absolutely cannot go through Great Snowy Mountain using the main path. You need to find a way to get around it.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Zu An asked. The reason he had chosen this direction was because it was the shortest route. If they hadn¡¯t gone through the Great Snowy Mountain, and had instead passed through Deste City the way they had initially nned, there was no way they would be able to make it to Cloudcenter Commandery by the next morning.

    ¡°The Great Snowy Mountain is well-known as a dangerous restricted area,¡± Yan Xuehen exined with a sigh. ¡°Ever since ancient times, countless strong individuals have entered the Great Snowy Mountain, only to never leave alive. However, the longer that remains true, the more mysterious the region seems. Many people suspect that there are great treasures inside, while some suspect that there is a secret of immortality hidden within. That is why many stunning cultivators with profound skills believe they are special and enter the Great Snowy Mountain one after another.¡±

    ¡°And not a single one of them has been able to return alive?¡± Zu An asked. He remembered hearing the rumors regarding the Great Snowy Mountain when he was in Cloudcenter Commandery.

    ¡°That is not entirely true. Currently, only one person is known to havee out alive,¡± Yan Xuehen replied.

    ¡°Who?¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Emperor Zhao Han.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    Yan Xuehen seemed to be reminiscing as she exined, ¡°Back then, Zhao Han was already unrivaled beneath the heavens. He sent people in search of any clues pertaining to immortality, so of course he would not let a dangerous area like the Great Snowy Mountain go. Others might not dare to enter, but he had no such misgivings. He entered, and left safely. At the time, that shocked the entire world. Many people thought that meant the Great Snowy Mountain was not that dangerous, so another batch of experts went in. And yet, again, not a single one came back out.¡±

    ¡°Looks like Zhao Han is special after all. He was actually able to enter and exit a restricted area like this so easily,¡± Zu An said, feeling a bit of pressure. The two of them were going to have a falling-out sooner orter. What was he going to do then?

    Yan Xuehen shook her head and said, ¡°People all believe it was easy for him, but ording to the White Jade Sect¡¯s information, he seemed to be injured when he came out, and his injuries were not light either. After he returned to the capital, he rested for several years. There are even rumors that the reason why his heaven and man deterioration happened so early, apart from the dao wounds he sustained from his battle against the Fiend Emperor in his early years, might be because he had his foundation damaged in his trip to the Great Snowy Mountain.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Zu An eximed in total shock.

    Even an invincible earth immortal had suffered such injuries after visiting the Great Snowy Mountain, and there were so many strong individuals buried there. He wasn¡¯t so arrogant as to think that he would be the exception.

    ¡°Is this heaven¡¯s will?¡± he said somewhat dejectedly. It seemed that his odds of making it back to Cloudcenter Commandery on time were slim.

    1. The words he used sound simr to what Yan Xuehen said, but have an entirely different meaning, ?

 Chapter 1287: Accidentally Stumbling Into the Very Center

    Chapter 1287: identally Stumbling Into the Very Center

    Zu An thought in irritation, If you knew it was going to be like this, why didn¡¯t you tell me ahead of time? We came all the way here for nothing! It¡¯s already toote to change the route now.

    Yan Xuehen said, ¡°Even though it is dangerous in the depths of the Great Snowy Mountain, we can try to go around the side.¡±

    Zu An still had some misgivings. He asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t the borders dangerous? Why did I hear that the edge of the Great Snowy Mountain was also extremely dangerous, and that people absolutely can¡¯t go there?¡±

    Yan Xuehen replied, ¡°The border of the Great Snowy Mountain is also extremely dangerous, but that is just for ordinary people. With your cultivation and strength, even though there will still be a certain degree of danger, it should be tolerable.¡±

    Who is he kidding? This guy could even exchange blows with me, and he even defeated a several-thousand-year-old monsterst night. This amount of strength is already enough.

    Zu An sighed in relief when he heard her say that. He replied, ¡°Alright, then we¡¯ll give it a try.¡±

    He definitely didn¡¯t want to fail the journey and be marked as a traitor. If that happened, he would have to hide in the fiend race territory and flee for the rest of his life. He still had his own people back in the human territory, so how could he just leave them behind?

    ¡°Do you see that mountain peak that resembles a finger? We should approach from that side,¡± Yan Xuehen said.

    Zu An was a bit surprised, asking, ¡°You know the way?¡±

    Yan Xuehen exined, ¡°In the past, in order to understand the essence of the Snowke Sword better, I wanted to find a ce of ice and snow to go into seclusion. The Great Snowy Mountain seemed to be the most suitable location. At first, I felt that I should not go since even the emperor had been injured, but in the end, I was unable to hold myself back. Fortunately, I sensed a terrifying aura not long after heading inside, so I decisively withdrew.¡± She couldn''t help but release a sigh as she recalled the past.

    ¡°It was something even you felt was terrifying?¡± Zu An asked in surprise.

    ¡°Indeed. Back then, I even sensed the aura of death, which was why I left quickly,¡± Yan Xuehen said. Even though cultivators usually focused on advancing boldly, continuing even though it meant inevitable death was just pure stupidity.

    Zu An didn¡¯t dare to be negligent when he heard that. He ced his full attention on the task at hand. Thus, he gradually approached the Great Snowy Mountain by following the directions Yan Xuehen pointed out. Under the sun¡¯s illumination, the distant mountain peak flickered with golden light. As he drew a bit closer to the mountain, he could even see the silhouettes of what seemed to be pavilions and kiosks, resembling one of the legendary imperial courts.

    Zu An thought to himself, No wonder so many people say there¡¯s a great treasure in the Great Snowy Mountain. This ce was clearly special!

    It was called the Great Snowy Mountain, but it was actually a snowy mountain range that stretched into the distance with no end in sight. There was no way to make a detour around it. Fortunately, with Yan Xuehen¡¯s guidance, the two cut across by heading toward the tallest, finger-shaped peak in the distance.

    When they entered the range of the snowy mountain, the surrounding temperature suddenly plummeted. Yan Xuehen shivered. It was clear that in her condition, it was hard for her to deal with such a degree of cold.

    Zu An supported her while holding her hand, sending warm energy into her body. Yan Xuehen blushed, but she didn¡¯t refuse. Either way, this wasn¡¯t the first time, and she was already used to it. However, she still warned him, ¡°You should not waste your strength on me. There might be danger at any time.¡±

    Zu An smiled and replied, ¡°What if you freeze? To me, that¡¯s the greatest danger.¡±

    Yan Xuehen was stunned. When she saw Zu An turn around and show her a warm smile, she felt as if something had struck her heart.

    ¡­

    As the two of them headed in deeper, frigid winds and snow began howling through the air viciously, battering them and shing across their bodies like des. A real blizzard had begun.

    Both of them felt a prickling sensation all over their bodies, and some cuts even appeared on their clothes. Zu An was shocked, quickly using his body to block the wind and snow for Yan Xuehen.

    Yan Xuehen merely hid on Zu An¡¯s back like a kitten. Suddenly, he felt as if the surroundings had fallen silent. Her grandmaster senses were extremely sharp, so she realized that Zu An had not only used her body to cover for her, but also used his ki to form a protective shield around her. Because of that, however, his own body waspletely unprotected. Bit by bit, his clothes began to be shredded, and bloody gashes quickly appeared on his body.

    Yan Xuehen was rmed, eximing, ¡°You should hurry and protect yourself! I will be fine as long as I am behind you.¡±

    Zu An chuckled and replied, ¡°It isn¡¯t because I don¡¯t have enough ki that I didn¡¯t protect myself, but rather because I¡¯m saving it to deal with any possible dangers that might pop up. Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m pretty thick-skinned.¡± In order tofort her, he even raised his hand for her to see. Even though there were some wounds on his arms, those wounds recovered at an astonishing speed.

    Yan Xuehen had fought against him once, and after staying around him for so long, she knew he had astonishing regenerative abilities. No matter how great his regenerative powers were, though, being hurt and continuously healing those wounds again and again had to be extremely painful, right?

    Just how does he manage to seempletely unaffected? He¡¯s probably putting on a smile and joking around out of concern for me, right?

    Is this the so-called duty of a man¡­

    Yan Xuehen felt a bit absent-minded.

    ¡­

    Zu An continued to carry Yan Xuehen on his back as he pushed through the difficult blizzard. The wind and snow gradually became more and more powerful. The clothes on his body had long since been cut into tatters, to the point that it was likely more appropriate to call them strips of cloth.

    When she saw his body, Yan Xuehen didn¡¯t feel the slightest bit of shame. She only felt endless distress and worry. She quickly said, ¡°This storm is strange. The faster you go, the more powerfully it acts against you. I have never heard of anyone who could speed through Great Snowy Mountain. You should try and slow down, and also lower the altitude a bit.¡±

    Zu An realized something when he heard that. He lowered his speed, and sure enough, the strength of the wind and snow fell quite a bit. When he lowered his Wind Fire Wheels until they were only two to three meters above ground, the blizzard practically became negligible.

    Only then did he notice that there was already a thickyer of ice covering the Wind Fire Wheels. Even the mes were extremely faint, as if they might go out at any time. He quickly summoned the me de to melt the ice and snow on their surface. Then, he said in relief, ¡°Thank goodness I had a knowledgeable grandmaster with me. Otherwise, if I charged straight in, I might have been hacked to pieces by that blizzard.¡±

    Yan Xuehen replied, ¡°Based on what I have just seen, the naturalws of the Great Snowy Mountain seem to be different. The strength of the wind and snow changes depending on the power of the intruder. The more you resist, the greater the speed and the greater the rebound will be. I wonder just how such an intricateyout came to be, and whether it was naturally created or if someone created it. If it is thetter, that really is inconceivable¡­¡±

    Zu An chuckled and replied, ¡°The fact that you could see through these principles makes you extremely formidable too.¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s face turned a bit red when she heard him praise her. She looked away somewhat and said, ¡°Hurry and change your clothes. The way you look right now¡­ is far too provocative.¡± Previously, she had felt terrible when she saw the blizzard cutting him. Now, she was a bit embarrassed.

    Zu An lowered his head and saw that there were only a few cloth strips left on him. They didn¡¯t even cover up much. He didn¡¯t feel that embarrassed, however. He took out a set of new clothes and changed into them while saying, ¡°I¡¯ve let you see me naked again. We¡¯re even now, right? To be honest, I think you¡¯re even winning a bit.¡±

    Yan Xuehen was bewildered. She felt extremely embarrassed as she thought, Can you even call this kind of thing winning?

    She was just about to react when her eyes suddenly narrowed. She looked into the distance, wondering, ¡°What is that?¡±

    Zu An followed Yan Xuehen¡¯s gaze and saw a frozen sculpture that flickered with a strange light.

    The two of them walked over and saw a frozen person inside. He was an elder. Even though his hair waspletely white, his skin still appeared to be healthy and glowing. His body didn¡¯t have any decrepit signs of age, and the clothes he wore were garments ordinary people would have no right to wear. Even after his death, his figure still gave off a hint of pressure.

    Zu An was about to say something when Yan Xuehen cried out in rm, ¡°Martial uncle?¡±

    Zu An was confused. He asked, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you came here before?¡±

    Yan Xuehen looked around her. The unfamiliar scenery made her visibly confused. Then, she thought of a possibility, and her expression changed greatly. She said, ¡°Oh no. We might have gone the wrong way because of the blizzard and identally stumbled into the very center of the Great Snowy Mountain.¡±

 Chapter 1288: Snow Lady

    Chapter 1288: Snow Lady

    Zu An frowned. He recalled what they had just gone through and said, ¡°That shouldn¡¯t be the case, though. I always flew ording to your instructions and didn¡¯t go the wrong way.¡±

    Yan Xuehen exined, ¡°There was probably something wrong with that snowstorm. Apart from being extremely cold, it also has the ability to interfere with one¡¯s sense of direction. We thought we were heading in one direction, but we were actually going in a different one.¡± She gave the corpse a look and continued, ¡°When I came here before, this frozen body definitely wasn¡¯t here.¡±

    ¡°You said that this was your martial uncle?¡± Zu An asked as he carefully inspected the body. The clothing of the one in the ice did indeed resemble the White Jade Sect¡¯s style.

    Yan Xuehen nodded and replied, ¡°This is why I told you all of that earlier. My martial uncle went missing when I was rather young. At the time, he said that he was already nearing the end of his life, so he would be going to seek out his own opportunities. From then on, however, he never returned. I did not expect him to have lost his life here.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself that it made sense. After all, there were too many legends surrounding the Great Snowy Mountain. Countless individuals had entered the area, refusing to believe in superstition; however, in the end, they always failed.

    Zu An thought for a bit and asked, ¡°What was your martial uncle¡¯s cultivation level?¡±

    Yan Xuehen began trying to recall the past, eventually answering, ¡°I did not spend too much time with my martial uncle, I only remember that he was quite strict and somewhat fierce. As for his cultivation, he was definitely at the grandmaster rank when he was at his peak, but because of his old age when he left White Jade Sect, his strength dropped somewhat. Even if he could not maintain his grandmaster rank strength, however, he would still be much stronger than ordinary master rank cultivators.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression turned grave as he remarked, ¡°Even someone so strong couldn''t escape being frozen into a statue here...¡±

    A hint of worry appeared on Yan Xuehen¡¯s face too, and she added, ¡°He should not have been frozen by that blizzard just now. If even I could discern the essence of its principles, with his knowledge and experience, there is no way he would have been unable to.

    The two of them discussed the subject with each other for a while. They couldn''t see a single wound on the body of Yan Xuehen¡¯s martial uncle, nor were there any signs of poisoning. They couldn''t tell what the cause of death was at all.

    They couldn''t just assume he froze to death, right? A cultivator of his level had such powerful internal energy; how could he possibly have frozen to death? Even if the Great Snowy Mountain¡¯s wind and snow were terrifying, that was still impossible.

    ¡°Should we bury him?¡± Zu An asked considerately. After all, this was Yan Xuehen¡¯s martial uncle.

    Yan Xuehen shook her head and said, ¡°There is no need. The White Jade Sect has always pursued the natural dao. Right now, martial uncle has the heavens as his cover and the earth as his mat; it is better than resting in pitch darkness.¡±

    Zu An had a strange expression. A corpse in the wilderness can even be described in such a nice way? If he hadn¡¯t known Yan Xuehen for a long time already, he might have assumed she was merely being callous. However, that was indeed the White Jade Sect¡¯s style. Even Chuyan had a simrly cold demeanor.

    Looks like this Unshakable Daoist Manual really is a bit ridiculous. I¡¯ll have to warm them up a bit somehow and make them more human.

    Yan Xuehen bowed toward the sculpture. Zu An instinctively did so as well. However, Yan Xuehen became extremely embarrassed, asking, ¡°I am greeting my senior; why are you greeting him too?¡±

    With Zu An doing the same, it almost felt as if they were a married couple asking a senior for his blessings. Of course, if anyone else had done so, she wouldn¡¯t think such wayward thoughts, but her rtionship with Zu An was just too hard to describe.

    Zu An was dumbfounded. He replied, ¡°If this is your senior, he¡¯s my senior too. What¡¯s the big deal with greeting him?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean, my senior is your senior?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you consider yourself my master? Shouldn¡¯t I bow to the martial uncle of my master?¡±

    ¡°So you¡¯re acknowledging that I¡¯m your master now?¡±

    ¡°Not at all.¡±

    ¡­

    The two of them argued back and forth with each other. Yan Xuehen was a bit surprised with herself. She usually preferred peace and quiet. Even if she encountered something she didn¡¯t like, she definitely wouldn¡¯t waste her time arguing with someone. And yet, after she met Zu An, all of her habits hadpletely changed.

    The two chatted while walking. Suddenly, they stopped, seeing many more remains before them. The corpses¡¯ outfits were all different, and some were even dressed in the fiend races¡¯ style. However, judging from their remaining traces ofa ura, even the weakest of them was at the master rank.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression changed a bit. She remarked, ¡°Even though I do not recognize them, judging from the energy left within them, they were either sect masters from major sects or the leaders of powerful ns¡­ This is bad. We need to get out of here.¡±

    These were all the best of the best, to the extent that based on the traces left behind, they hadn¡¯t been any weaker than Yan Xuehen at her peak. The fact that so many experts had died proved that she and Zu An had gone in the wrong direction. Zu An likewise shared her desire to leave.

    Suddenly, however, snow began to surge all around them again, and the temperature dropped sharply once more. Forget about Yan Xuehen; even Zu An, who was vigorous and full of energy, felt his teeth begin to tter.

    Just then, a vague outline appeared in the distance through the wind and snow; it was a woman¡¯s figure. She was dressed in in white clothes, without any colors or decorations. Her outfit was loosely bound by a silk band, fully disying her slender waist and wonderful figure. The only regretful thing was that there was snow swirling around her head, preventing anyone from seeing her appearance. However, the two could still tell that she was definitely a beauty.

    The woman raised her hand toward them, and although she didn¡¯t speak, a mysterious voice rang out.

    ¡°Save me¡­¡±

    Zu An grabbed Yan Xuehen¡¯s hand and ran. Even though he had a bad track record with such things, he wasn¡¯t stupid. What kind of joke is this? What kind of ce is this? This is the freaking forbidden Great Snowy Mountain! How could there possibly be a delicate woman roaming these mountains, waiting for someone to save her?

    Yan Xuehen gave him a look of admiration. She had actually been worried that after seeing her figure, this perverted guy would end up having tender-hearted thoughts.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    When the white-d woman saw that her trick had failed, she dropped the act. Her aura surged powerfully, and she turned into a whirling tornado that chased after the two of them.

    The terrifying pressure immediately made Zu An¡¯s skin go numb. He eximed, ¡°An earth immortal?¡±

    Yan Xuehen was stunned too. She also used ice and snow, but the power the other woman exuded was far greater than what she could muster at her peak. A resolute expression appeared on her face and said, ¡°You should run on your own. I will help you stall for a bit. Otherwise, we will just die together.¡±

    Against an earth immortal, there wasn¡¯t much of a chance for Zu An away alone, let alone while carrying a burden like her.

    However, not only did Zu An not let go, he even picked her up in a princess carry, then summoned the Wind Fire Wheels to flee in the opposite direction with everything he had.

    ¡°We won¡¯t be able to get away! We¡¯ll both die if you don¡¯t let go right now!¡± Yan Xuehen eximed.

    ¡°Then we¡¯ll just die together!¡± Zu An replied with a firm expression.

    Yan Xuehen opened her mouth, but this time, nothing came out. As shey in his embrace, she could see his resolute and steadfast expression. Her restless heart mysteriously calmed down. She thought, This is fine as well. In these vast Great Snowy Mountains, there¡¯s no point in worrying about the customs and morals of this world. It¡¯s not as if I can¡¯t ept dying with him here¡­

    However, Zu An had no intention of dying here at all, and frantically tried to escape on the Wind Fire Wheels. However, they were already at their limit. The swirling blizzard only drew closer and closer. As the distance between them closed, their clothes, faces, and even hair were covered in frost.

    Several times, the Wind Fire Wheels seemed on the verge of being extinguished. They could only continue because Zu An used his phoenix mes to continuously fuel them. Even so, more and more ice gradually appeared on the Wind Fire Wheels. Their once-zing mes were reduced to embers, and even those were on the verge of being extinguished.

    The two of them felt as if the blood in their bodies was about to freeze over. Inparison, the ufortable blizzard they had previously experienced in the sky was like child¡¯s y. They finally understood why all of those powerful individuals had all been frozen to death without any wounds on their bodies. This mysterious blizzard was precisely what had frozen them.

    Zu An began using the Sunflower Phantasm repeatedly, along with Grandgale¡¯s instantaneous movement technique. That prevented the two of them from being caught immediately. It was all thanks to the fact that he had pulled Mo Xi and gotten her skill, which helped him greatly shorten the cooldown time of Grandgale and let him use it so many times in a row. Even so, after using every tool he had, and yet the frightening blizzard was only getting closer and closer.

    ¡°It¡¯s so hot!¡± Yan Xuehen eximed as she began to tug at her own clothes, almost as if she wanted to remove them. Her injuries were so severe that she was nowhere near strong enough to resist the cold at all.

    When surrounded by extremely low temperatures, people wouldn¡¯t feel cold and want to put on clothes; rather, because their internal temperature was still higher than that of the surrounding air, they would instinctively feel hot and want to take off their clothes. That was why so many frozen corpses in the Great Snowy Mountain werepletely naked.

    Of course, if Zu An hadn¡¯t been fleeing quickly, Yan Xuehen might have already been frozen into a statue before even having the chance to reach such a state. However, Zu An couldn¡¯t spare the attention to look after her. The whirling snowstorm was within a few meters of him. They would be swallowed up in less than a second.

    Zu An clenched his teeth. He activated the Star Shattering Imprint, sessfully raising his strength tenfold in an instant. Then, he crushed the Last Breath Talisman that Xie Daoyun had given him when he left the capital. After that, he activated his Keyboard Come skill, yelling, ¡°Send us a thousand li away!¡±

    As soon as he spoke, the two of them instantly vanished from the area.

    The snowstorm ravaged the area they had just been in. When it discovered that it had lost its targets, it began to disperse eventually. Only a white-d woman stood there, confused.

 Chapter 1289: Dao Wound

    Chapter 1289: Dao Wound

    Meanwhile, Zu An and Yan Xuehen both appeared a thousand miles away. Unfortunately, however, they were still surrounded by a snowy expanse. They hadn¡¯t broken free from the Great Snowy Mountain.

    For an earth immortal, or even for a grandmaster, a few dozen or even a hundred li wouldn¡¯t be a great distance at all. The short chase that had just urred had already covered nearly a thousand li. That was why Zu An had needed to move a thousand li away.

    For earth immortals, a thousand li was nothing. If the woman knew which direction to chase in, there was no way the two of them could have escaped from her. Zu An had only been able to gamble on the fact that the woman didn¡¯t know where he was. With such arge area to search, she likely wouldn¡¯t be able to find them for quite some time.

    It was clear that Zu An¡¯s bet had paid off. The white-d woman seemed to be apprehensive towards something, or perhaps was merely unwilling to leave her own territory, as she hadn¡¯t chased after them.

    However, the price Zu An had paid was equally great. He could handle moving a dozen li away with Keyboard Come, but just then, he had used it to instantly travel a thousand li. He had absolutely been gambling with his life!

    He did know that, though. Even though he had already condensed a soul, which offset many of the negative effects of Keyboard Come, leaping a thousand li definitely wasn¡¯t something his soul could handle. That was why, at that instant, he had first used the Star Shattering Imprint to raise his strength tenfold.

    He and Yun Jianyue had discussed the details of the Star Shattering Imprint extensively during the trip. A beginner could naturally only increase their offensive power tenfold; however, someone who had mastered the skill could raise not only their attack power, but also their overall strength tenfold for a moment. However, Yun Jianyue had strictly warned him that the burden on his body would be great too, and that not even she could use such a skill at will. Afterward, the user¡¯s body would be left in extremely poor condition even if they didn¡¯t die. That was why it wasn¡¯t supposed to be used outside of a truly desperate situation.

    Still, Zu An was different from ordinary people. His body had been refined by the Primordial Origin Sutra several times. In some ways, his body was already even tougher than that of a giant dragon. He had been severely injured after using the skill, but the damage was still barely within eptable limits.

    Comparatively speaking, his soul was much more brittle, and using Keyboard Come ced the greatest burden on it. When he was weaker, he hadn¡¯t had a condensed soul to offset the rebound, so the effects had been applied directly to his body. Now that he had done so, the skill had to go through his soul first. However, if his soul broke down, his body would also be reduced to nothingness.

    Those were the conclusions he had reached after talking to Mi Li about the subject in the past. Calling her his master hadn¡¯t been in vain at all.

    With that knowledge, he had decided to pay the price with his body instead, using the Star Shattering Imprint to forcibly raise his soul¡¯s strength tenfold. Then, he could use his soul to face the rebound of Keyboard Come. Of course, he had also known that even if his soul was strengthened tenfold, it probably wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand the rebound of traveling a thousand li regardless. As such, he had used all of his trump cards.

    During the crown prince¡¯s test in the academy¡¯s secret dungeon, the Last Breath Talisman that Xie Daoyun had given him had enabled him to survive against the emperor¡¯s soul fragment. When he left the capital, Xie Daoyun had been worried about his safety in Cloudcenter Commandery, so she had given him another Last Breath Talisman. It was something she had requested from her master, so it was likely even more effective than the previous one. Surprisingly, however, Zu An hadn¡¯t needed to use it yet even though he had encountered all sorts of dangers, due to the rapid pace at which his strength grew.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The Last Breath Talisman was normally used to defend against an enemy attack, so Zu An hadn¡¯t known it would be useful for Keyboard Come¡¯s rebound; at this point, however, he was alreadymitted to trying everything he could. He also tossed all of the remaining Soul Return Pills he had gotten from Divine Physician Ji into his mouth, as well as the Lesser Return Pill Murong Qinghe had given him, Sang Qian¡¯s Millennium Blood Moon Essence, and all sorts of other medicines into his mouth. He knew that once the rebound hit, he definitely wouldn¡¯t have time to eat them.

    Afterpleting that process, he could only submit to the will of heaven.

    Even though she was injured, Yan Xuehen was a grandmaster, and she was also the sect master of the White Jade Sect. She had quite a few hidden trump cards of her own. After breaking free from the terrifying snowdy¡¯s range of influence, her mind had gradually recovered. All sorts of treasures shone across her body, and the ice and snow covering her began to melt. Only then did she find out that her clothes weren¡¯t in order at all. It seemed she had begun taking them off when she wasn¡¯t in her right mind due to the extreme cold.

    However, she couldn¡¯t be bothered to deal with that. Instead, she looked at Zu An with worry, saying, ¡°Ah Zu, you¡­¡±

    She had seen Zu An use Keyboard Come when they were in Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s mines, and she also knew that the skill had a powerful bacsh. The previous time, he had used it to move a mere dozen li away. And yet, this time, they had traveled a thousand li in an instant? She didn¡¯t even dare to think of the consequences.

    Zu An gave her a smile. Before he could even say anything, however, he screamed miserably. He clutched his head and howled in pain. The surface of his skin even began to crack apart, trails of blood seeping out. The sight of it was extremely terrifying.

    At that instant, the Last Breath Talisman in his hands instantly shattered. Apart from that, the peacock feather he had gotten from Kong Nanwu also burned up into ashes. He hadn¡¯t known that the feather actually had such a use, but he didn¡¯t have the time to think about it. At that moment, he only felt as if his entire head might explode.

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡± Yan Xuehen eximed.

    She didn¡¯t even have time to sort out her messy clothes and rushed over to check Zu An¡¯s condition. As soon as she touched his body, her mood immediately sank. The energies within Zu An¡¯s body were beyond a mess; she had never seen such serious injuries before in her entire life. If it had been anyone else, such injuries would already have ended their life.

    Even so, Zu An¡¯s condition wasn¡¯t much better. His skin continuously cracked apart, leaking blood. Perhaps due to his Primordial Origin Sutra, the wounds gradually healed, but they kept bursting open once more just as quickly as they recovered. Eventually, his recovery speed started being unable to keep up with the rate of copse.

    Yan Xuehen knew that the cracks weren¡¯t normal external or internal injuries, but rather a dao wound. They represented a breakdown ofws and natural order. If they remained untreated, Zu An¡¯s body wouldpletely break apart and scatter. Thus, she immediately took out some pills. Her greatest medicines, the Ice Heart Pills, had already been used up; however, White Jade Sect was still immensely powerful. She had many other excellent medicines that would make countless smaller sects go crazy.

    Unfortunately, for Zu An¡¯s injuries, those kinds of medicines were insufficient.

    Yan Xuehen once thought that she had already fully achieved the unshakable daoist state. And yet, as she saw Zu An clutch his head while screaming in pain, as well as the way his body was continuously breaking down, she felt as if her heart were being twisted.

    She was a grandmaster, someone who unted her status as someone widely-read and knowledgeable. In this situation, however, she discovered that she actually couldn''t help him at all. In despair, tears began to pour down her cheeks, sparkling brightly as they sshed on Zu An¡¯s face.

    Suddenly, she thought of something when she saw her own tears falling. She took out a jade bottle, the Prime Souldew they had obtained from the tomb. It could seal someone in stasis for thousands of years, preventing their body from perishing while keeping them in a dormant state. Just that trace of Prime Souldew clearly wasn¡¯t enough to seal up Zu An¡¯s entire body, but it could help him stabilize his fracturing soul and body.

    Thus, Yan Xuehen raised his head and fed him the Prime Souldew. It was something Zu An had given her and Yun Jianyue, and had been temporarily left in her care. Still, she believed that Yun Jianyue would be willing to use it to save Zu An.

    By that point, Zu An had already lost consciousness from the pain. He could only struggle instinctively, and definitely couldn''t drink the Prime Souldew on his own. However, there hadn¡¯t been much to begin with, and the thought of wasting even a single drop was unbearable. Yan Xuehen didn¡¯t know just how much of the Prime Souldew was needed to stop Zu An¡¯s body from breaking down, so she obviously didn¡¯t dare to waste any at all.

    She bit her lip, but after a moment of hesitation, she poured the Prime Souldew into her own mouth, then lowered her head to kiss Zu An¡¯s lips. Then, she gently parted his teeth with her tongue to push the medicine in.

    Perhaps the Prime Souldew really was effective, as it seemed to ease Zu An¡¯s pain a bit. His body instinctively sucked in the life-saving liquid.

    Yan Xuehen had been entirely focused on saving him at first and hadn¡¯t had any other thoughts, but just then, her cheeks became bright red.

 Chapter 1290: Returning from Deathâ€™s Door

    Chapter 1290: Returning from Death¡¯s Door

    Still, the most important thing at the moment was Zu An¡¯s injuries. After a bit of hesitation, Yan Xuehen decided to follow it through to the end. She wouldn¡¯t even have dared to think of such a thing before. She could only keep trying to convince herself that she was only doing it to save a life.

    However, she realized that if it had been anyone else, even if it were to save them, she definitely wouldn¡¯t have agreed to such a method.

    A whileter, she finally raised her head again with difficulty. She saw the unconscious Zu An lick his lips, as if he still wasn¡¯t fully satisfied yet. Yan Xuehen was both embarrassed and inexplicably amused. Why does he seem like a child?

    She looked at the Prime Souldew that was left in the bottle for a moment. She clenched her lips, and after a sigh, she poured it into her mouth again, lowering herself to feed it to him again. When their lips met again, her heart began beating crazily. She felt as if even her soul had begun shaking.

    She remembered how, when her disciple Chu Chuyan had first talked to her about the matter of love, she couldn¡¯t understand how that girl, who was incredibly talented and had boundless prospects, could possibly give up seeking the great heavenly dao to bepletely taken in by love instead. And yet Chu Chuyan, who had always respected her greatly, had retorted that she didn¡¯t understand love.

    At the time, Yan Xuehen hadn¡¯t gotten angry. She, who had already entered the unshakable daoist state, practically never had such negative emotions. She had instead begun to discuss what love was with her disciple.

    Back then, Chu Chuyan had said that she would think of Zu An whenever she couldn''t see him, and when she did see him, she would always worry about her rtionship with him. Whenever their bodies made contact, even if they just held hands, she could feel a kind of trembling within her very soul.

    Yan Xuehen had scoffed at all of those things, and even said that the reason Chu Chuyan had such thoughts was that her mastery over the Unshakable Daoist Manual wasn¡¯t high enough. Now that she was personally experiencing the feeling her disciple had spoken of, however, she wondered¡­ Could it be that so-called love?

    In reality, for grandmasters like her who dominated the world, love wasn¡¯t anything that threatening or dangerous. In fact, when she was younger, she had even considered letting herself experience it once. She would experience it, then let it go. With that, perhaps she would even be able to reach a higher level of the Unshakable Daoist Manual.

    However, she had never encountered any man who met her standards. Choosing a random man to experience such a thing was even more out of the question. In the end, she had relied on her aptitude and temperament to reach the unshakable realm.

    In recent years, her cultivation had stagnated, which had made her think of the matter once more. Unfortunately, she had long since achieved the unshakable state. There had been no way any man would catch her eye before, and afterward, there was even less of a chance of that happening. Zu An¡¯s appearance had actually been apletely unexpected outlier.

    In the past, she might have been happy to experience such a thing. She would have simply used the situation to experience a period of pure and honest love as a secr form of mental cultivation. That would have filled in the final missing experience of her life, which could allow her cultivation to experience another breakthrough after having stagnated for so many years.

    Unfortunately, Zu An was her disciple¡¯s man. No matter what angle she looked at it from, such thoughts weren¡¯t permitted. Still, that was just how life worked. Sometimes, what one feared the most wou;d be what happened. The more she had tried to stop herself, the closer their rtionship had be. Now that such feelings had emerged, they could only be even more powerful.

    At the very least, there was no human society in the Great Snowy Mountain forbidden area; there were no taboos and rules. That made Yan Xuehen rx a lot. However, the top priority at the moment was to save Zu An¡¯s life. Yan Xuehen fed him the same way a few more times, eventually giving Zu An everyst drop of the Prime Souldew.

    With that, Zu An¡¯s pained expression eased a bit, and the wounds all over his body gradually stabilized. It seemed as if the Prime Souldew¡¯s sealing effects had been activated. At the very least, his condition didn¡¯t seem to be worsening. However, that was it. Yan Xuehen still had to find another way to save him.

    ¡°It¡¯s so hot¡­¡± Zu An suddenly groaned. As a result, he began to tug at his clothes, as if he would only feel better once he removed his clothes.

    Yan Xuehen frowned. She quickly reached out her hand to check his condition, but immediately drew back when she touched his skin. It was way too cold! She was an ice element cultivator herself; her Snowke Sword and other such skills were able to cover the world in snow. And yet, she still couldn''t stand that cold. The snow woman¡¯s frighteningly cold energy had seeped into his body.

    Previously, the rebound of Keyboard Come was so severe that the effects of the cold energy hadn¡¯t shown. Now that the rebound had been suppressed, that extreme cold appeared in its ce. Indeed, as the saying went, when it rains, it pours!

    Yan Xuehen felt a bit powerless. She had already felt helpless against the rebound¡¯s dao wounds. Now, the lethal cold poison left behind by the snowdy had taken its ce. She knew Zu An¡¯s condition would only worsen if they stayed outside amid the wind and snow. Thus, she quickly wrapped one arm around his shoulder while supporting his body. Then, she began to search around for a ce to take shelter in. Even though she was injured, cultivators were tough to begin with. She could still handle a single person¡¯s weight.

    She looked around and eventually noticed a valley in the distance. The wind and snow there seemed to be a bit weaker. She couldn''t be bothered to worry about whether there were any dangers there anymore, and thus began to walk over while carrying Zu An.

    ¡°It¡¯s so hot¡­¡± Zu An moaned, and the sound of tearing clothes followed.

    Yan Xuehen turned around and saw that Zu An had already instinctively torn apart some of his cor. She couldn''t help but exim in panic, ¡°Don¡¯t take it all off! It¡¯s all an illusion!¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    She had also entered a simr state earlier. Fortunately, the White Jade Sect was a powerful sect, so she had some life-saving treasures. Furthermore, they had already left the snowdy¡¯s range of influence, which had allowed her mind to clear. Unfortunately, those treasures were single-use consumables, so she couldn''t use them for Zu An.

    Furthermore, in order to protect her, Zu An had taken on most of the snowdy¡¯s blizzard himself. At that moment, the cold inside him was much more intense than what had afflicted Yan Xuehen previously. If Zu An hadn¡¯t been proficient in the fire element, and if he hadn¡¯t had a phoenix-like me in him, all of his blood might already have frozen solid.

    Yan Xuehen wasn¡¯t thinking of all that, though. She took him tightly into his embrace, trying to use her own body temperature to warm him up. Unfortunately, her slight warmth was like pouring a cup of water on a burning cart. She only began to feel so cold that she shivered all over. She thought to herself that, if just holding him already made her feel so cold, just how horrible did it have to be for him?

    She turned around, but then jumped in fright. Zu An¡¯s brows and hair were already covered in ayer of frost, while a thinyer of ice was beginning to form across his entire body. Hisplexion wasn¡¯t as rosy as before, but instead an ashen gray. If not for the fact that she could still feel his faint heartbeat, she would have thought that he had already frozen to death.

    ¡°Don¡¯t give up,¡± Yan Xuehen said. Tears fell from her eyes, freezing into icicles before hitting the ground. She did her best to send her ki into Zu An¡¯s body to try and preserve his life.

    In her normal state, delivering ki that way would be extremely easy for her. However, as she was injured, she found it extremely difficult. Only a tiny trickle of ki flowed, and when it entered Zu An¡¯s body, it was quickly devoured by the cold energy within. However, she still struggled to continue the process, even if the cold also entered her body and made her shiver all over.

    Meanwhile, their distance from the valley, which would normally have felt short, now seemed insurmountable. Still, after walking for a long time, Yan Xuehen finally reached it while carrying Zu An. As she entered, the wind and snow immediately weakened. She even felt a wave of heat in front of her.

    Yan Xuehen raised her head and was overjoyed to discover that there was a cave not too far away. The heat came from within.

    Is there someone inside? she thought worriedly. How could anything that existed in these Great Snowy Mountains be kind? Who knew, it might just be something simr to the snowdy. Still, she couldn¡¯t waste time with those concerns. If she waited any longer, Zu An could end up really being frozen into a statue.

    She carried Zu An to the cave with great difficulty. Luckily, there was no one inside. The reason why she had felt hot air was because there were hot springs of varying sizes present!

    At that instant, she didn¡¯t even dare to believe her eyes. She thought it was an illusion she was seeing before death. She pinched herself hard, and only then did she realize that it was all actually real.

    ¡°Ah Zu, we¡¯re saved!¡± Yan Xuehen cried excitedly to Zu An, but he didn¡¯t respond at all, leaving her incredibly worried. She didn¡¯t dare to waste any more time and jumped into a hot spring with him.

 Chapter 1291: Youâ€™re Dead if You Turn Around!

    Chapter 1291: You¡¯re Dead if You Turn Around!

    Normally, jumping into a hot spring while experiencing extreme cold would be extremely harmful to their bodies. At the moment, however, that was the least of their worries. Cultivators¡¯ bodies were powerful, so they were supposed to be able to withstand the shock of switching between extreme temperatures.

    After she jumped into the hot spring,Yan Xuehen felt rich natural ki within. She thought, As expected, any hot spring that could exist in the Great Snowy Mountain would be exceptional. Soaking in here for a long time might even improve our constitution directly.

    Of course, that wasn¡¯t her priority at the moment. She continued to use her hands to scoop water over Zu An¡¯s body. When she saw that the thinyer of ice around his body showed signs of melting, she immediately felt happier.

    At first, she had been worried that the snowdy¡¯s cold poison would be too powerful and that an ordinary hot spring might not be of much help. Naturally, however, this world was miraculous, and all things had something that counteracted them. Even though the terrifying snowdy existed, so did such a magical hot spring.

    Yan Xuehen noticed that, apart from the ice around Zu An¡¯s body melting, even the wounds all over him were starting to heal. Even though both processes happened extremely slowly, that was at least a good sign.

    However, she was worried that his clothes would be a barrier to the hot spring¡¯s warmth, keeping it from removing the cold poison. After some hesitation, she helped him undo his clothes, her fingers trembling. At first she had hoped Zu An would wake up earlier; now, however, she was worried that he might wake up too soon, leaving her unable to exin her actions properly.

    Soon afterward, Yan Xuehen hadpletely removed Zu An¡¯s clothes and tossed them aside. Her normally ice-cold skin was bright red as she thought, If this guy were awake, he might say something along the lines of how I saw him naked again, and so I got a better deal or something.

    The corners of Yan Xuehen¡¯s lips curled up into a pretty arc when she thought about all of the different things that had happened between the two of them.

    After she calmed herself a bit again, however, she noticed that her body was sticky and extremely ufortable. Being in a hot spring with all of her clothes on didn¡¯t feel all that great, as expected.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    She herself had been tormented badly by the cold too, and her lips were a bit pale. Thus, she thought about soaking in the hot spring for a bit topletely remove the cold poison within her. Otherwise, as she was an ice element cultivator to begin with, and she was severely injured at that, she was highly susceptible to it. If the terrifying cold poison took root within her body, it was possible for her to never be able to recover her grandmaster rank cultivation.

    But taking off my clothes in front of Zu An¡­

    She hesitated. She considered going to a different pool to soak in, but Zu An was unconscious at the moment. Without her support, he might fall in and drown.

    ¡°This guy really is going to be the end of me¡­¡± Yan Xuehen muttered with a sigh. In the end, she couldn''t bring herself to leave.

    She immersed herself as deeply into the hot springs as possible, and only kept her head above the water. Then, with some rustling and a few ripples on the water¡¯s surface, she tossed her mmy, wet dress ashore. She gave Zu An a worried look. Only when she saw that he still showed no signs of waking up did she sigh in relief.

    However, she immediately scolded herself inwardly. Why am I acting like this? The most important thing right now is his safety. In this kind of situation, so what if he sees me? Either way, he¡¯s already seen everything he shouldn¡¯t see¡­

    Yan Xuehen swam over to Zu An¡¯s side and touched his skin. She couldn¡¯t help but frown. Why is his body still so cold?

    She set her previous worries aside and gently embraced him from behind, using her body¡¯s temperature to provide him with warmth. One hand pressed against his chest, while the other hand rested on his dantian. She used her skills to help him eliminate the cold poison.

    Previously, her efforts to help Zu An remove the cold poison had been ineffective for two reasons. One of them was the fact that she was seriously injured and unable to use ki how she wished, and the other was that she herself had been affected by the same cold. When her ki entered his body, even before it could help him with the cold poison in his body, it had be affected by the very same poison. That was why the remaining ki hadn¡¯t been of much help at all. Now, however, with the assistance of the hot spring¡¯s heat, she no longer had such difficulties. She could feel at ease while helping him remove the cold.

    Zu An had cultivated the Unshakable Daoist Manual too, making it easier for Yan Xuehen to control his ki. A loop formed between the two of them, cycling the heat and natural ki from the hot spring into their bodies to eliminate the cold poison.

    Strictly speaking, such an action was already tantamount to a daoist dual cultivation technique. Such methods required both parties topletely lower their guard, as well as exposing their own vitals for the other party to control, letting ki flow in and out at will. That made it so that there would be almost no secrets left between them at all. As such, for the most part, only the most intimate daoist partners would do such a thing.

    ¡­

    After a long time had passed, and their ki had cycled several times, Zu An¡¯s body gradually stopped being so frigid and began to recover a bit of warmth. Still, Yan Xuehen didn¡¯t dare act carelessly. She continued to guide the hot spring¡¯s heat and natural essence into his body.

    With a groan, Zu An moved a bit, then slowly woke up. He discovered that he was inside a hot spring!

    His situation left him puzzled. After using Keyboard Come and suffering its bacsh, he had fainted. There were many things he couldn''t recall at all. He couldn''t help but rejoice that he had managed to survive that situation, though. Just then, he had been a bit too greedy. He wasn¡¯t willing to use a certain trump card and had almost kicked the bucket for it.

    It was only thanks to the Last Breath Talisman and Kong Nanwu¡¯s feather that he had been able to survive. He hadn¡¯t expected that feather to have such miraculous effects. Next time, he definitely had to thank her properly. She had actually given him such a precious gift!

    However, he suddenly realized something. Where is Yan Xuehen?

    Suddenly, he felt something strange behind him. He was about to turn around to see what it was when Yan Xuehen shouted in embarrassment, ¡°You¡¯re dead if you turn around!¡±

    Zu An was rmed. At that instant, he finally understood what the poetry line ¡®the water of the hot spring gently caresses her fair skin¡¯ meant. His heart rate couldn''t help but quicken. Soon, he realized that Yan Xuehen had acted to help him get rid of the cold poison. To be honest, he had never expected Yan Xuehen to use such a method to save him. Based on the way she usually acted, such a sacrifice should have been too great.

    ¡°Can you use your own cultivation to remove the cold energy inside you now?¡± Yan Xuehen asked. She already seemed about to let go.

    Zu An wasn¡¯t stupid; he obviously wouldn¡¯t admit to that in such a situation. He replied, ¡°Uh¡­ Not yet. I can¡¯t.¡±

    Yan Xuehen fell silent, seemingly suspecting that he wasn¡¯t telling the truth. However, she still didn¡¯t let go in the end. Just like that, the two of them stuck to each other tightly.

    ¡°Where is this ce?¡± Zu An asked. He didn¡¯t say ¡®thank you¡¯ or anything of the sort; given the situation that would really dampen the mood.

    Yan Xuehen calmed down a bit, then replied, ¡°You fainted earlier. I noticed that your body temperature was too low, so I wanted to find a ce where the wind and snow were weaker. When I came to this valley, I saw that there was a cave here, and there were hot springs inside¡­¡± She gave him a rough ount of what had happened.

    Zu An was surprised, wondering, ¡°How could there be such an incredible ce in the Great Snowy Mountain? Is this maybe the territory of some powerful being?¡±

    Yan Xuehen sighed and replied, ¡°I had those worries too, but the situation at the time gave me no choice.¡±

    A strange silence fell. Yan Xuehen could even hear her own heartbeat. In order to ease the awkwardness, she asked, ¡°How severe is the rebound of the skill you used? I fed you the Prime Souldew to temporarily seal up your wounds.¡±

    Zu An was curious about the state of his injuries. When he heard that, he suddenly realized what was happening. He examined his own body, and eventually said with a frown, ¡°Unfortunately, there wasn¡¯t enough Prime Souldew. It can keep the injuries under control for another two hours at most. Then, the wounds will act up again.¡±

    It was thanks to the Last Breath Talisman and the peacock feather that he had been able to neutralize a portion of the bacsh. The herbs he ate had also contributed greatly. Otherwise, he might have just perished on the spot and wouldn¡¯t even have had a chance to make use of the Prime Souldew.

    ¡°Then what can we do? Is there a way to save you?¡± Yan Xuehen asked nervously.

    Zu An hesitated. In the end, he shook his head and said, ¡°There isn¡¯t.¡±

    Yan Xuehen opened her mouth, but she didn¡¯t say anything. She had already personally seen a certain process before, so of course she knew about ¡®that¡¯ method. He¡¯s probably only saying that for fear of troubling me¡­

    Zu An wasn¡¯t willing to just resign himself to his fate. Thus, he began to treat his own injuries. Whether it was the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra or the Primordial Origin Sutra, he tried everything he had. There were still many people waiting for him toe back; he couldn''t just die like that.

    Yan Xuehen felt extremely embarrassed when she sensed the ki within Zu An body flow around. This guy actually lied to me and said he couldn''t treat himself yet! But will it end up affecting him if I let go now?

    While Yan Xuehen was feeling conflicted, Zu An suddenly coughed out a mouthful of blood. He tried to say something, but before he could, he passed out.

 Chapter 1292: Youd Better Not Think of It as Anything Else

    Chapter 1292: You''d Better Not Think of It as Anything Else

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Yan Xuehen eximed, jumping in fright. However, she quickly thought of something and said with a scowl, ¡°I¡¯m not falling for your tricks again this time.¡±

    However, Zu An didn¡¯t reply. His body even began to slide powerlessly into the water. Yan Xuehen thought that he was taking advantage of her and instinctively moved backward in rm. She covered her chest with a hand to prevent him from touching them with his head. And yet, Zu An didn¡¯t react at all and instead fell straight into the water.

    Only then did Yan Xuehen realize that he really had fainted. She jumped in fright and quickly supported him, calling out, ¡°Ah Zu, what¡¯s wrong? Don¡¯t scare me like this!¡±

    She reached out and checked his condition. She immediately found that his ki was a mess, and the surface of his body was beginning to crack again. Wispy strands of blood began to seep out of his skin.

    ¡°Why is this happening?¡± Yan Xuehen eximed in rm.

    These were clearly the symptoms of his skill¡¯s rebound! Hadn¡¯t the Prime Souldew temporarily sealed up his injuries, though? Shouldn¡¯t he still have had two hours ording to what they had concluded?

    Her gaze shifted toward the steaming hot spring, and she suddenly realized something. The hot spring was quite miraculous, and was able to melt even the terrifying snowdy¡¯s cold poison. Could it be that when Zu An began to transfer his own ki, the heat and medicinal strength of the hot spring had entered his body, thus melting the Prime Souldew¡¯s preservative effects?

    She was still a grandmaster, after all. In such a short amount of time, she had already deduced the most likely reason.

    Her expression changed several times. She had been nning to discuss how Zu An could treat his rebound after he regained consciousness, but how could she have expected that it would instead be her problem to solve?

    As a grandmaster and the White Jade Sect¡¯s master, there weren¡¯t many whose knowledge of cultivation exceeded hers. Even with so much knowledge, however, she couldn''t think of a single way to treat Zu An.

    Unless¡­

    And yet, if they did that, how would they face each other in the future? How would she face Chuyan? How would she face the others?

    Yan Xuehen bit her lip so hard that it looked as if blood mighte out. She nced over towards Zu An¡¯s face. She saw that even while unconscious, his expression was one of pain. Memories of how he had saved her multiple times over the past few days appeared in her mind one after another.

    Yan Xuehen, Yan Xuehen, he already saved your life several times, and yet you¡¯re still worried about such a small thing?

    If you reach the supreme unshakable state, even if that kind of thing happens, it¡¯ll merely be a passing event of the past. Right, nothing will change.

    She continued to console herself for a while. In the end, a resolute look appeared on her face. Then, her entire body seemed to radiate holy light. She lowered her head and kissed Zu An¡¯s lips, sending her ki into his body.

    Previously, when they held each other, that could indeed be considered dual cultivation. However, it was only that in a very broad sense. Dual cultivation in the truest sense required the two cultivators to be in their most intimate state, and only then could they truly intersect, their yin and yang energies harmonizingpletely. Between that and the healing abilities of Zu An¡¯s Primordial Origin Sutra, it was likely enough to neutralize the near-copse produced by the rebound.

    Yan Xuehen came from the orthodox sects, so she naturally knew those methods. When she was young, there had been fellow male students who were interested in her. However, her nature was cold and she hadn¡¯t found them interesting at all. Between her naturally aloof temperament and the rapid growth of her strength, in time, no one dared to have such thoughts again.

    When they had been in the Yu n¡¯s mines, she had even made mental preparations to save Zu An and repay his kindness that way. In the end, however, because of his special technique, his wounds had been cured by doing ¡®that¡¯ with Yu Yanluo. Back then, she had been mocked by Yun Jianyue and embarrassed badly. Who would have thought that in the end, they would still have to circle back to such a method to save him?

    Still, Yan Xuehen wasn¡¯t an ordinary person. She might have felt conflicted before making up her mind, but once she set her resolve, it wouldn¡¯t be that easy to change her mind anymore. She knew she couldn''t waste any time at the moment. As such, she took the initiative to guide Zu An along. She was d that she had taught him the Unshakable Daoist Manual previously, which made it much easier to guide the energies within his body.

    First, she cycled their energies between them a few times to establish a foundation. Afterward, only the final step was left.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s jade-likeplexion had already turned bright red. A month before, she definitely wouldn¡¯t have thought that she could ever initiate such a thing with another man. She released a long sigh as she followed her sect¡¯s heart cultivation method to move Zu An¡¯s blood through his body.

    However, she quickly jumped in fright upon seeing the result, thinking that there was something wrong with her technique or something. It would be absolutely terrible if he exploded from within.

    Afterward, however, she quickly recalled what the spectators back in the Snake race territory had said when Zu An fought against the Golden Crow Crown Prince. She sighed. No wonder he was mistaken for someone from the Donkey race.

    Even though she had already decided that she wouldn¡¯t regret it, now that she had reached the final step, she was still frightened.

    Am I really going to do this¡­

    If I do this, there¡¯s no going back.

    She hesitated, but then she quickly calmed down. She looked at the man right before her and muttered, ¡°I really must have owed you in my past life or something.¡± Then, she ceased her resistance and her body gradually entered the water.

    The unconscious Zu An mumbled some unclear words. Yan Xuehen furrowed her brow tightly, an expression of pain appearing on her face. She thought, Why are there so many foolish men and women in the world doing this kind of thing if it¡¯s so ufortable?

    Yan Xuehen didn¡¯t think about that any further and quickly began to use her sect¡¯s profound chants, bringing their yin and yang energies together.

    A special dao rhythm began to emerge between the two of them. The entire cave, and even the hot spring¡¯s ki, began to surge frantically toward the two of them. The cracks on Zu An¡¯s body visibly began to stop forming, then gradually started to heal.

    At first, Yan Xuehen took the lead all the way, cycling their ki back and forth ording to the method that was recorded in the sect¡¯s texts. At some point, however, Zu An¡¯s body suddenly began to release waves of suction force that seized the initiative.

    Yan Xuehen was shocked, but she quickly realized what was happening. Back in the mines, this was the method he had used to treat Yu Yanluo! It was definitely quite an extraordinary skill. She couldn''t help but feel a bit envious when she thought of that. No wonder he¡¯s so skilled! Even when he¡¯s unconscious, his body can activate its energies on its own.

    But what she hadn¡¯t expected was that his skill could actually seize the advantage, proving that it was of much higher quality than her sect¡¯s secret method. How could that be, though? Her technique was already the very best her sect had!

    Even though she didn¡¯t dare to believe it, reality was right before her. At least, she thought, she could secretly observe and remember the paths the skill moved Zu An¡¯s ki through, to see if she could gain some kind of enlightenment from it.

    However, she was rmed. No matter how calm and aloof she normally appeared, she knew nothing about such things. How could she remainpletely indifferent doing ¡®that¡¯ when it was her first time?

    A whileter, Zu An¡¯s entire body trembled slightly. He began gradually waking up after his dao wounds were healed. In his mind, he felt as if he had experienced a dream. He felt as if he was among cottony-soft clouds. It really was gentle andfortable. He found that really strange. Shouldn¡¯t he have been seriously injured and in extreme pain? Why was he having such a blissful dream instead?

    He was about to slowly open his eyes when his vision darkened. He felt a warm and soft hand covering his eyes.

    ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to open your eyes!¡± Yan Xuehen cried in embarrassment. Uncharacteristically for her usual cold demeanor, her voice seemed to be shaking a bit.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An was stunned, but he gradually recovered his consciousness. At his cultivation rank, people didn¡¯t even need to use their eyes to see anymore. He thought, Did Yan Xuehen lose her wits somehow? How is she making such a rudimentary mistake?

    However, when he sensed the charming and gentle situation that hade about in the hot spring, he immediately realized what had happened. He didn¡¯t dare to believe that it was real.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s snow-white skin was stillpletely red. She clearly realized that she couldn''t hide from him and could only say quietly, ¡°I¡¯m just doing this in order to save you. You¡¯d better not think of it as anything else.¡±

 Chapter 1293: Breakthrough

    Chapter 1293: Breakthrough

    Zu An finally snapped out of his daze and said seriously, ¡°You¡¯ve sacrificed so much to save me. I have no idea how I can even repay you!¡±

    When she heard no frivolousness whatsoever in his voice, Yan Xuehen thought to herself, So this guy still has a bit of a conscience. She sighed and said, ¡°You don¡¯t need to repay me. You¡¯ve already saved me several times. I¡¯m merely returning your kindness.¡±

    ¡°Is that all there is?¡± Zu An instinctively asked.

    ¡°All of what?¡± Yan Xuehen replied. She didn¡¯t know why, but she suddenly felt embarrassed for some reason.

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +55 +55 +55¡­

    Zu An became quiet. Their rtionship was indeed a bit tricky.

    When she saw him fall silent, Yan Xuehen was a bit frustrated too. That was clearly what she had been hoping for, so why did she feel such negative emotions?

    Right then, Zu An suggested, ¡°Big Sis Yan, why don¡¯t I just marry you?¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s entire body shook in fright when she heard those words. She protested, ¡°What kind of nonsense are you saying?!¡±

    Zu An¡¯s breathing quickened. Yan Xuehen¡¯s emotional state waspletely reflected by her body! However, he replied in the end, ¡°I¡¯m not speaking nonsense. You¡¯ve made such a huge sacrifice in order to save me. I know how you usually conduct yourself, and I¡¯m not someone who does things casually either. That¡¯s why I¡¯ll take responsibility.¡±

    Yan Xuehen suddenly felt all of her resentment disappear when she heard his powerful promise. However, she quickly said, ¡°No, I did this purely to save you this time. Don¡¯t think too much.¡±

    Zu An sighed and replied, ¡°Would you use this kind of method to save anyone else?¡±

    ¡°Of course not¡­¡± Yan Xuehen began. Halfway through, however, she realized something and quickly changed what she was going to say. ¡°I admit that my rtionship with you is different, and too many things have happened as ofte. Due to various factors, I was willing to save you, but this really was just to save you. After today¡¯s matter, we¡¯ll act as if nothing happened at all. We¡¯ll be just like before, so don¡¯t act strangely and reveal anything to others.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He replied, ¡°Then, are you saying that when we¡¯re in private, we can¡­¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not okay either!¡± Yan Xuehen cried, her cheeks turning bright red. This guy was clearly about to die, and yet he could actually think about such things?

    Zu An said with a hint of bitterness, ¡°After something like this happened, how can I just pretend that nothing has happened at all?¡±

    ¡°You have to do it even if it¡¯s difficult,¡± Yan Xuehen said, biting her lip. After some hesitation, she added, ¡°Think of Chuyan.¡±

    Zu An fell silent when he heard Chuyan¡¯s name. Right, the two of them are master and disciple.

    Even though he had joked around about riding one¡¯s master and ancestors, that was just a joke on the inte. Even though the rtionship between master and disciple in this world wasn¡¯t at the same level as it was in ancient Chinese society back on Earth, it definitely wasn¡¯t something that could just be ignored.

    ¡°Anyway, don¡¯t think about those things anymore. Today¡¯s matter was an exception, so just forget about it all. Even if you can¡¯t forget it, I¡¯ll never admit to it. Don¡¯t me me for bing hostile,¡± Yan Xuehen said. In truth, although she used both gentle methods and force in her argument, she also felt quite dejected inwardly. I¡¯m clearly the one who has the worst of it here, so why do I have to go so far to coax him?

    ¡°That would be an injustice to you, though,¡± Zu An said, giving Yan Xuehen a pitying look.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s heart skipped a beat when she saw the affection in his eyes. She didn¡¯t dare to meet his gaze as she quickly said, ¡°I¡¯m not being wronged. You should know what I care about and what I pursue. Forgetting about these things is the best choice for me.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to forget, though,¡± Zu An said, even though he knew her nature and realized that she absolutely wouldn¡¯t agree to being with him.

    Yan Xuehen gritted her teeth. Why isn¡¯t this guy listening to me no matter what I say? As such, she could only draw a clear line. ¡°You¡¯ve saved me a few times, so I¡¯m returning the life you saved. It¡¯s just that the method used is¡­ a bit special. It doesn¡¯t mean that I feel anything for you. You wouldn¡¯t be so naive as to think I loved you or anything, right?

    ¡°Besides, you used that ¡®Love is More Solid Than Gold¡¯ skill on me, so that¡¯s probably what made me save you. It¡¯s already quite a good result that I don¡¯t hate you, so don¡¯t try to push your luck.¡±

    She regretted what she said as soon as they left her mouth. Is this a bit too much?

    Still, she was flustered at the moment. Furthermore, her reason told her that she had to take decisive action, or else the situation would only get moreplicated. As such, even though she opened her mouth again, she didn¡¯t exin anything in the end.

    Zu An could more or less guess the reasons why she had said such things. However, he didn¡¯t dare to try to confirm them. After all, if anyone were to say that the revered White Jade Sect Master would be so intimate with him just a month before, people would allugh.

    The silence made the mood a bit awkward. Yan Xuehen frowned and asked, ¡°Have your injuries recovered yet?¡±

    ¡°It was somewhat helpful, but I¡¯m still far from healing,¡± Zu An replied.

    Yan Xuehen asked, ¡°Then what can I do to help you? Just say it.¡±

    Her sacrifice had been so great, after all. If she couldn''t even heal him, she wouldn¡¯t be able to sleep at night afterward.

    Zu An had a strange expression as he replied, ¡°You¡¯ll help me? I¡¯m scared that you¡¯ll just beat me to death after I say anything.¡±

    Yan Xuehen was stunned. She had really just been asking what she could do to help him, but she wasn¡¯t stupid. She quickly realized the meaning behind what he said. She said in embarrassment, ¡°Even though we¡¯re in this kind of situation, you¡¯re still thinking of that nonsense¡­ Ah, you¡¯re not allowed to move!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m healing myself, though.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Even though Yan Xuehen knew Zu An¡¯s intentions, how could she refuse in such a situation? Either way, his injuries were the most important thing. As for everything else, she would just forget it allter.

    On the other hand, however, Zu An was starting to get a bit worked up due to Yan Xuehen¡¯s attitude. He wanted to make sure that she would never forget it for the rest of her life.

    Even though Yan Xuehen was a grandmaster, she had no more experience in such things as a young maiden. Furthermore, she was weak from her serious injuries, so how could she be a match for the seasoned Zu An? She was soon utterly defeated.

    ¡­

    After an unknown amount of time passed, Yan Xuehen got up weakly from the hot spring. When she tried to get to her feet, she staggered and almost fell. She gave the one responsible a hateful re, but just felt extremely embarrassed when she saw his proud expression. This guy wasn¡¯t even willing to call her master normally, and yet just then, he had been shouting it so enthusiastically. The worst part was that she had disappointed herself, her bodypletely surrendering when she heard that!

    He really is the devil incarnate!

    She quickly took out a clean set of clothes from her storage pouch and asked with an unhappy expression, ¡°This should be enough now, right?¡±

    ¡°Nope,¡± Zu An said, lying against the side of the hot spring while enjoying the wonderful figure before his eyes, the once-untainted goddess he had just dragged down into the secr world just moments before. The entire situation felt unreal, like a daydream.

    Yan Xuehen gritted her teeth. This guy had used all sorts of excuses to fool her many times. At first, she really had believed him and foolishly yed along, but eventually, she realized that she was being fooled.

    However, there was something else that had shocked her. She asked, ¡°What kind of method did you use? It seems to be much better than even our daoist sect¡¯s secret techniques!¡±

    Zu An put away his smile when he realized that they were talking about important matters. He exined, ¡°This is a skill called the Primordial Origin Sutra. It is something that I obtained from an Unknown Region.¡±

    They had already experienced life and death together several times. They had even shared such close physical intimacy just then, so there was naturally no need to hide anything from her.

    When she heard that it came from an Unknown Region, Yan Xuehen sighed in amazement. She said, ¡°No wonder it was so miraculous. Just now, though¡­¡± Her face turned red and she didn¡¯t continue.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An chuckled and replied, ¡°Big Sis Yan can try it again and experience how the technique works.¡±

    ¡°Hmph!¡± Yan Xuehen harrumphed. Her face was scalding hot.

    Just a short while earlier, she had wondered why there were so many stupid people who did these kinds of things. And yet, at that moment, she suddenly felt almost as if she had lived for so long for nothing.

    Still, she quickly warned herself to expel those thoughts. Then, she walked over to the rocks and sat down with a grumpy expression. Worrying that Zu An might tease her, she decided to just pretend to cultivate.

    As soon as she began to circte her ki, however, she suddenly opened her eyes in surprise and eximed, ¡°Huh?¡±

    Zu An jumped in fright, asking, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Yan Xuehen said absentmindedly, ¡°My wounds seemed to have recovered a lot.¡±

    She had been seriously injured again and again, practically reducing her to a novice cultivator. Now, however, her strength had actually recovered quite a bit. At the very least, she wasn¡¯t weaker than Yun Jianyue anymore. Furthermore, her cultivation that had remained stagnant for so many years was even starting to show signs of progress.

    She instinctively looked at Zu An, but then she noticed something that left herpletely shocked. She eximed, ¡°You¡­ broke through to the master rank?¡±

 Chapter 1294: Noobs Compared to Other Grandmasters

    Chapter 1294: Noobs Compared to Other Grandmasters

    Zu An was stunned. He had been so focused on admiring Yan Xuehen¡¯s beauty that he didn¡¯t notice the changes within himself. Upon hearing her reminder, he noticed that the dao wounds caused by Keyboard Come had already mostly recovered. The ruptured wounds on his body were also starting to heal.

    He felt incredibly refreshed. At that instant, it was as if the entire world felt noticeably different to him. His body was filled with surging power, greater than ever before.

    Furthermore, he noticed that a new diagram had appeared in his mind, outlining arge, strange bird. It was clearly just an image in his mind, and yet it seemed as if it were thousands of li wide; its wings were like clouds that covered the sky. In the corner, two small characters were written: ¡®Kun Peng¡¯.

    Zu An was a bit stunned. Kun Peng? He wondered if the creature had anything to do with the fiend races¡¯ Peng race. Afterward, he tried to test and see whether the Kun Peng had any use.

    Suddenly, he frowned. There was a powerful sensationing from his back. He reflexively looked behind him, thinking, Why does my ass feel a bit hot?

    Yan Xuehen was also a bit distracted. Just how long had it taken for her to reach the master rank? Just how many years had she been stuck for? Countless individuals were geniuses in their youth, but could never cross that step. And yet, Zu An had seeded just like that?

    Dual cultivation could indeed speed up the partners¡¯ rate of cultivation, but that could only be by around ten to twenty percent at most. Never had Yan Xuehen heard of it being able to increase cultivation speed by that much! Otherwise, no cultivator would cultivate slowly and earnestly, and they would instead find daopanions to sleep with.

    The key was that her own benefits weren¡¯t anything to scoff at, either. Not only had her injuries recovered at a shocking speed, her cultivation that had remained stagnant for so many years was even starting to show signs of progress.

    Could it be that his Primordial Origin Sutra really is just that miraculous?

    However, her knowledge was great, and she quickly rejected that thought. She had experienced the Primordial Origin Sutra herself just then. It only had healing effects, but it couldn''t make her cultivation experience a breakthrough. Furthermore, even the recovery it granted shouldn¡¯t have happened at such ridiculous speed.

    She thought back to how Yu Yanluo had also been seriously injured and dying, and how that was the case for her disciple Chuyan too. Then, after Zu An had treated them, they recovered quickly. Suddenly, she realized something.

    The legends must be true¡­ The blood essence of individuals with transcendent aptitude really is an incredible nourishing tonic.

    The fact that this guy hasn¡¯t been sucked dry by an evil woman really is a miracle in itself.

    She fully understood just how alluring such a thing was for cultivators. Even someone like her, who practiced the cleansing of desires, was a bit tempted.

    She wanted to warn Zu An to never reveal the news regarding his transcendent aptitude, but she was also worried that he might misunderstand that she wanted him for herself. In the end, she was too embarrassed to say anything.

    Either way, this guy is pretty sharp, so I don¡¯t think he would be that foolish.

    She noticed that Zu An was doing something. She couldn''t help but ask, ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    ¡°I feel as if there¡¯s a painful sensation behind me for some reason,¡± Zu An said, feeling a bit embarrassed. He was clearly the one who had taken her first time, yet for some reason, he felt as if he had been the one to be attacked in that spot.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Yan Xuehen didn¡¯t think any strange thoughts and said, ¡°That¡¯s quite normal. Those who have just entered the master rank all feel that sensation.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He asked, ¡°Do all masters really feel as if their bottom¡­ Ahem, feel this sensation?¡±

    Yan Xuehen was a bit surprised. She replied, ¡°You didn¡¯t know? Those under the master rank cultivate their skin, bones, and internal organs. At the master rank or above, they cultivate the soul. Strictly speaking, it refers to cultivating the three immortal souls and seven mortal forms. Once you enter the master rank, what you cultivate is the hero mortal form of the three souls and seven forms.¡±

    ¡°Three souls, seven forms?¡± Zu An repeated. He seemed to have heard of that from somewhere before.

    Yan Xuehen exined, ¡°The three immortal souls refer to the heaven soul, the earth soul, and the fate soul. Meanwhile, the seven mortal forms are the ascension, wisdom, air, power, core, essence, and hero mortal forms.¡±

    ¡°The location of the hero mortal form is at the lower extremity of the tailbone, the butt¡­ Ahem, the area around the buttocks. That area is also known as the mdhara, the ce where the spiritfire lies dormant.¡±

    ¡°Spiritfire?¡± Zu An asked in confusion.

    Yan Xuehen frowned. She remarked, ¡°Your strength is clearly high, but your basic knowledge iscking, to the point that you don¡¯t seem like someone from this world.¡±

    Zu An chuckled in embarrassment. He really wasn¡¯t from this world, after all. His knowledge about cultivation hade from Brightmoon Academy, but those who studied there were all from the younger generation. There wasn¡¯t a single grandmaster in that entire city. That was why his knowledge wascking.

    When she saw his reaction, Yan Xuehen could only continue, ¡°The so-called spiritfire doesn¡¯t refer to the same fire as the element, but rather the me of life. As long as one is alive, their body carries heat. That¡¯s actually an effect of the spiritfire. For those who haven¡¯t reached the master rank, though, it¡¯s difficult for them to perceive its existence, let alone use it.

    ¡°After reaching the master rank, and when the soul is condensed, one bes able to sense it. The hero mortal form is like a sea, while the spiritfire rests at the bottom of that sea. Once you break through into the master rank and the spiritfire awakens, the entire master rank journey causes the spiritfire to rise up; then, it will be refined and reside in the other immortal souls and mortal forms. The reason why you feel that scorching sensation is because the spiritfire is waking up.¡±

    ¡°So that¡¯s what it was,¡± Zu An said, sighing in relief. Otherwise, he would have thought that something else might have happened to that area. However, he quickly changed the topic when she saw her strange expression. ¡°Right, how many levels are there in the master rank? If there are three souls and seven forms, then are there ten levels?¡±

    ¡°Of course not,¡± Yan Xuehen said with a frown. ¡°Actually, there isn¡¯t that great of a difference between masters and grandmasters, because they both cultivate the soul. Furthermore, the seven mortal forms are split into three sections for several reasons. The lower two are the hero and essence mortal forms, while the central three are the core, power, and air mortal forms. Those five are tied to the master rank. Once your cultivation reaches the upper two, the wisdom and ascension mortal forms, you can be said to have reached the grandmaster level.¡±

    Seeing the nk look on Zu An¡¯s face, she harrumphed and added, ¡°Hmph, I told you to call me master, and yet you were unwilling. I¡¯ll have to properly lecture you today.¡±

    Zu An grumbled, ¡°Didn¡¯t I say it a lot just now? It was you who kept saying you didn¡¯t want me to.¡±

    Yan Xuehen was extremely embarrassed. She shot back, ¡°Are you going to listen or not?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll listen, I¡¯ll listen. Master, please teach me,¡± Zu An said. After what had just happened, it wasn¡¯t hard at all for him to call her master.

    Yan Xuehen gritted her teeth, but there wasn¡¯t much she could do. She continued her exnation, saying, ¡°What you need to focus on refining first is the hero mortal form, which is located by the tailbone.

    ¡°The next step is to guide that me forward, toward¡­ toward that ce where you do evil. That is where the essence mortal form is. It can prevent a cultivator from being bound by their desires and creating heart demons, which are extremely dangerous. That is why the more powerful the cultivator is, the more difficult it often is for them to have children.¡±

    Zu An immediately cried, ¡°I mean, I don¡¯t really mind if I don¡¯t cultivate that essence form. If I don¡¯t have any desires left, what fun is there left in life?¡±

    Yan Xuehen shot him a look and snapped,¡°Is your brain only filled with those dirty things? The so-called desires are varied, such as greed. It isn¡¯t just that single one you¡¯re speaking of.¡±

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t talking about that one though¡­¡± Zu An said with a pout. ¡°Furthermore, to be human is to have desires; how can you call them filthy?¡±

    Yan Xuehen didn¡¯t want to argue about that detail with him and continued, ¡°After that, you have to bring the spiritfire up to the abdomen. It¡¯s easy for the spiritfire to rise, but difficult for it to settle. At that level, it bes important to pay attention to the spiritfire¡¯s rise, and then its settlement.

    ¡°The next step is to refine the power mortal form near the heart. At that level, even without borrowing the force of the world, one bes able to lift mountains.

    ¡°After that is the air mortal form, by the throat. Master rank cultivators at that level can release their voice across a thousand li. They can even easily kill others at the first level of the master rank.¡±

    When she saw Zu An¡¯s exaggerated expression, Yan Xuehen added, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Even though you¡¯re at the first level, your strength is quite strange. There¡¯s no way a mere voice can kill you.¡±

    Zu An felt a bit more at ease when he heard that.

    ¡°Then, there¡¯s the wisdom mortal form, between the brows. At that level, you can create your own domain. Once that bes possible, you¡¯ll have an overwhelming advantage against anyone of lower level than you. That huge difference is why this level was designated the grandmaster rank. Both Yun Jianyue and I are currently at this level,¡± Yan Xuehen continued.

    Zu An remarked with a strange expression, ¡°I thought that you and Big Sis Yun were incredible, but it turns out you two were just noobspared to other grandmasters¡­¡±

    Yan Xuehen was dumbstruck.

 Chapter 1295: Thereâ€™s Not Enough Time

    Chapter 1295: There¡¯s Not Enough Time

    Yan Xuehen almost stopped breathing right there and then. Why is this guy¡¯s mouth always so vicious?

    ¡°If that witch heard you say that, she would properly teach you what it means to be a grandmaster,¡± she said unhappily. ¡°Do you think grandmasters grow like cabbages? There aren¡¯t many who are stronger than us, and those are people who can¡¯t act freely for various reasons. With our cultivation, it¡¯s already enough to go and do whatever we please. Even among those at the same level, that witch and I are definitely among the best.¡±

    ¡°Okay, okay, okay, you and Big Sis Yun are awesome. Then, what about the step after that?¡± Zu An asked, snickering inwardly. Yan Xuehen was normally so calm and indifferent; it was rare to see her defend herself so nervously. Was this the so-called pride of the strong?

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to talk to you anymore,¡± Yan Xuehen snapped. She looked away, clearly still annoyed.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An quickly moved over and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I was wrong, okay? Here, I¡¯ll help you massage your back.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t touch me,¡± Yan Xuehen said, quickly moving aside. Her face waspletely red as she added, ¡°You don¡¯t even have any clothes on. What are you trying to do?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not as if there¡¯s anyone else here, anyway,¡± Zu An protested.

    Yan Xuehen looked away and didn¡¯t dare to look at him again. Her heart began to race when she remembered how she had been tossed around earlier because of him. She took a deep breath to calm herself down, then said, ¡°I already said that it was only treatment earlier. After that matter, we have to pretend that nothing happened. Don¡¯t go back on your word.¡±

    ¡°I never agreed though¡­¡± Zu An mumbled. When he saw her brows shoot upward, however, he didn¡¯t dare to provoke her too much and quickly changed the topic. ¡°Master, hurry and tell me the rest.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t call me master!¡± Yan Xuehen snapped. She felt that that method of address really left her worked up for some reason. She was worried that he might continue to annoy her about the subject and quickly said, ¡°The next cultivation step is to cultivate the ascension soul by the head and condense a yin spirit.¡±

    ¡°A yin spirit?¡± Zu An asked in surprise.

    ¡°You can view it as a soul body as well. Its appearance ispletely identical to the real person, but it isn¡¯t the same. It can even leave the body, but it must return to the body before dawn. Otherwise, once the sun rises, it will be burned and extinguished. That¡¯s why it¡¯s called the yin spirit,¡± Yan Xuehen exined.

    ¡°The next realm is to cultivate the three immortal souls¡¯ life soul. The yin spirit of that level won¡¯t fear the blistering sun anymore, and the distance it can travel outside of the body will also increase greatly. By using it with a weapon, you can even achieve the legendary ¡®beheading from ten thousand li away¡¯.¡±

    Zu An began to feel a bit of longing when he heard that. Just how incredible would it be to be able to behead someone that far away? He wondered when he could reach such a level.

    Yan Xuehen continued, ¡°At that level, you can gain many other abilities. For example, you can attach your soul to another¡¯s body, or even possess them and take over their body.¡±

    Zu An eximed in shock, ¡°Then wouldn¡¯t that mean that you¡¯ve essentially achieved immortality?¡± He suddenly remembered how the emperor Zhao Han had hidden his soul in the crown prince¡¯s body. It was probably through that ability.

    ¡°As if it could be that simple,¡± Yan Xuehen said, shaking her head. ¡°There are no easy loopholes to exploit in the naturalws. Even though you can possess another, you can only do it three times. Furthermore, whenever you do that, the lifespan of the new host substantially decreases, and so does their strength. Furthermore, the upper bounds of cultivation also be restricted.

    ¡°After three possessions, your cultivation will only be a bit stronger than that of an ordinary person, but your lifespan will be far inferior. Furthermore, those who have reached such a level are all extraordinary individuals. Which one of them would be willing to live like an ordinary person, powerless against the whims of others? That¡¯s why, unless it¡¯s absolutely necessary, no one makes such a choice.¡±

    Zu An felt relieved when he heard her say that. The difference before and after possession was too great. The world of cultivation was a merciless one, after all. People always fought over treasures, trampling on each other to reach a higher stage. How could they stand being humiliated that way? Furthermore, possession was something the entire world looked down on, making that kind of deed even more undesirable.

    Wait, does what I did count as possession¡­ Zu An thought, suddenly beginning to question life.

    Yan Xuehen said frankly, ¡°Because that level cultivates the three immortal souls, and cultivators at that point are stronger than ordinary grandmasters, some people already refer to it as the earth immortal rank. However, that rank is clearly weaker than a true earth immortal. So, the cultivation world usually calls such cultivators half earth immortals. Overall, they¡¯re still close to the level of a grandmaster.¡±

    ¡°Then, what about a real earth immortal?¡± Zu An asked. His rtionship with Zhao Han would end sooner orter, so he needed to learn more, knowing both himself and his enemy.

    After some hesitation, Yan Xuehen said, ¡°I don¡¯t understand that level too well. I can only describe it based on the sect¡¯s records.

    ¡°The first level of the earth immortal rank cultivates the earth soul of the three immortal souls, producing a yang spirit. The yang spirit is different from the yin spirit. It doesn¡¯t fear scorching heat, and has a tangible form. It isn¡¯t too different from the original body, and it can roam through the world. Furthermore, to a certain degree, earth immortals can control thews of causality.¡±

    ¡°Laws of causality?¡± Zu An repeated in shock.

    He wasn¡¯t surprised that the yang spirit could roam the world, because he had seen Zhao Han use the imperial decree to appear far away and easily kill any enemy. However, thews of causality were troublesome. Those were pretty much all ultimate skills!

    ¡°I don¡¯t know the exact details either. I¡¯ve only read about it in the White Jade Sect¡¯s records,¡± Yan Xuehen said, shaking her head.

    ¡°Is that the level Zhao Han is at?¡± Zu An asked gravely.

    ¡°No, he¡¯s a level higher!¡± Yan Xuehen replied. She couldn''t help but feel a bit of admiration when she said that. After all, Zhao Han was the most stunning being in thest few centuries. He was someone who even had hope of bing a true immortal! She continued, ¡°He cultivates the heaven soul of the three immortal souls. It¡¯s rumored that a primordial spirit can be cultivated at that level.¡±

    Zu An waited for Yan Xuehen to continue, but she instead stared right back at him. He was stunned, asking, ¡°And then?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know anything else,¡± Yan Xuehen admitted, feeling a bit embarrassed. ¡°After all, that level is too high. Apart from the emperor, no one else has been able to reach it. The fact that the White Jade Sect only knows that you can cultivate a primordial spirit at that level already proves its power.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help butugh, remarking, ¡°You sound pretty proud while saying that.¡±

    Yan Xuehen harrumphed, clearly a bit unsatisfied.

    Zu An¡¯s smile faded. That made things much trickier. Forget about him, even Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue were several cultivation realms beneath Zhao Han. How was he even supposed to fight someone like that in the future? Even though he had won by a fluke, relying on all sorts of methods in the Westhound Tomb secret dungeon, that had just been a soul fragment. Compared to Zhao Han¡¯s real strength, the difference was too great.

    Yan Xuehen was both beautiful and intelligent. When she saw how worried Zu An looked, and thought about how he had kept asking about Zhao Han, she couldn''t help but ask, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve offended Zhao Han?¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Zu An replied. He thought to himself, It¡¯s not just offending him¡­. I¡¯ve slept with his empress and his daughter-inw, and there¡¯s the truth of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, and then the destruction of his split soul in Westhound Tomb¡­ There¡¯s no way the two of us could still reconcile with each other.

    I really am crazy¡­ I ended up sleeping with the two women who shouldn¡¯t have been touched the most.

    But it¡¯s not really my fault, right? The empress initiated it herself, and I couldn''t avoid her even when I wanted to.

    As for the crown princess, you can¡¯t me me for what happened in Westhound Tomb either. It was clearly because Zhao Han, for the sake of immortality, continued to pressure us again and again.

    ¡°Just how did you offend him? ording to the White Jade Sect¡¯s intelligence, you¡¯re quite wee in the Eastern Pce. All of this couldn''t have happened without his assistance either,¡± Yan Xuehen said in surprise. She really couldn''t understand.

    ¡°I¡¯m nothing more than a chess piece he¡¯s using to deal with King Qi. Once King Qi dies, I¡¯ll be next,¡± Zu An said. He naturally couldn¡¯t tell her about the empress and crown princess.

    Yan Xuehen nodded and said, ¡°Indeed, Zhao Han is a ruthless person. Not many of his subordinates have met good ends. However, you don¡¯t need to feel too worried either. He¡¯s already experiencing heaven and man deterioration. Time is on your side.¡±

    Zu An had a bitter smile. With their grudge, the emperor would definitely eliminate him before he went down himself. Of course, there was no need to talk about any of that, because it would only add to Yan Xuehen¡¯s worries.

    Yan Xuehen nced outside and said worriedly ¡°Ah Zu, we might not be able to reach Cloudcenter Commandery in time. It¡¯s already almost daybreak.¡±

 Chapter 1296: Passing of the Finest Judgment

    Chapter 1296: Passing of the Finest Judgment

    Zu An nced outside. He could already see the sky turning a bit white; it was already daytime. He had actually known full well that rushing to Cloudcenter Commandery in a single night would be extremely difficult. After running into the snowdy the previous day, he had already used up quite a bit of time. Even if he hadn¡¯t been injured afterward, he wouldn¡¯t have made it back on time.

    Don¡¯t tell me I¡¯ll really have to wander around the fiend race territory¡­

    When she saw Zu An fall silent, Yan Xuehen tried to console him. ¡°You don¡¯t need to be too worried. Even if you¡¯re used of some crimes, I can help you testify. I think that should be enough to prove your innocence.¡±

    Inwardly, however, she didn¡¯t have much confidence either. Even though her prestige carried quite a bit of weight, those who wanted Zu An dead simrly carried a lot of power. It was possible that she alone wouldn¡¯t be enough. However, she had to console him first so he wouldn¡¯t feel too much pressure.

    Zu An chuckled and asked, ¡°If I became a traitor and you spoke out for me, wouldn¡¯t I be dragging you down too?¡±

    Yan Xuehen said indifferently, ¡°Even though you saved Yu Yanluo, you haven¡¯t betrayed the human race. Furthermore, Yu Yanluo is a fiend who carries goodwill for the human race. She¡¯s done a lot of virtuous things for the people. I feel no guilt or shame whatsoever by speaking out for you.¡±

    Zu An sighed and said, ¡°I thought that you were going to speak out for me because of our rtionship.¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s cheeks heated up a bit. She shot him a look, replying, ¡°I already said that we were to pretend that nothing happened, and that I wouldn¡¯t admit to it either. This is thest time. If you talk about those things again, don¡¯t me me for leaving immediately!¡±

    Upon hearing her strict tone, Zu An knew she still couldn''t cross over that mental block. He couldn''t provoke her further either. He replied, ¡°Alright, alright, I was too hasty.¡±

    Yan Xuehen hadn¡¯t expected him to suddenly be so agreeable. She was momentarily distracted.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to get up and get dressed.¡± Zu An said.

    Yan Xuehen turned around and said, ¡°If you¡¯re going to get up, then just get up. What are you telling me for? It¡¯s almost as if you think I want to look at you or something.¡±

    Even though that was what she said, a memory of the two of them from before couldn''t help but appear in her mind. She now knew every inch of his body. When she thought of that, her ears turned a bit red.

    Zu An put on his clothes while saying, ¡°This ce is a bit strange. These hot springs are clearly rich with natural ki, so it should be incredibly attractive for both people and beasts. Why is it that even after so long, we still haven¡¯t seen any sign of another living being?¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Yan Xuehen also realized that something was off when she heard him mention such an important detail. She said, ¡°There are a few possibilities. The first is that this ce is hard to get to. There could be several formations and natural barriers in the way. However, I didn¡¯t encounter much obstruction when I brought you here. The second is that this is a dangerous ce, and those from the Great Snowy Mountain know it is, so they don¡¯t dare to approach.¡±

    Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°This is clearly a rare paradise. There¡¯s not even a trace of danger here.¡±

    The two of them had just personally experienced the hot springs. Whether in terms of their wounds or their cultivation, they had clearly benefited.

    Yan Xuehen released a long sigh and continued, ¡°Then it¡¯s the worst-case scenario. This ce is the territory of someone extremely strong, and because of its presence, no one dares to approach. The only reason why we were able to remain safe and sound must be that it isn¡¯t here.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression also changed. Just what kind of a concept did a powerful being from the Great Snowy Mountain represent? The snowdy they had encountered was still fresh in his memory. He said, ¡°It¡¯s been so long already. Will ite back?¡±

    Yan Xuehen was also a bit worried, replying, ¡°That¡¯s why we should hurry and leave this ce as quickly as possible.¡±

    She leaned over to sort out her mmy, wet dress as she spoke. She quickly remembered what had happened before, and her heart began to pound.

    Zu An was about to tease her a bit when he suddenly felt a terrifying pressure spread out from the depths of the cave. Their expressions instantly changed. That powerful individual hadn¡¯t left this ce; it had always been within the cavern depths!

    ¡°Run!¡± Yan Xuehen eximed, feeling ashamed and upset. Didn¡¯t that mean someone else had seen everything that happened between her and Zu An?

    However, she didn¡¯t have the time to be conflicted over that. The most important thing at the moment was leaving this ce.

    However, Zu An didn¡¯t budge an inch. Instead, he looked toward the cave¡¯s depths, remarking, ¡°Wait, why does this feel a bit familiar¡­¡±

    Why is he standing still and wasting time? Isn¡¯t thispletely giving up any chance of life? Yan Xuehen thought. Still, she couldn''t bring herself to run away on her own. She decided to stay behind and help him fight against the enemy. Her injuries had recovered quite a bit, after all, so it wasn¡¯t as if they didn¡¯t have any chance. However, her legs weren¡¯t quite¡­

    Suddenly, Zu An took a step into the cave¡¯s depths. Yan Xuehen waspletely shocked. Isn¡¯t he just courting death?

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, far away in Cloudcenter Commandery, inside the Civil Affairs Manor, Cloudcenter City¡¯s strongest members were all gathered together. They were arguing noisily about something.

    One side seemed to be led by Xu Yu, while the other side was led by the Imperial Envoy, Sang Hong. Meanwhile, Cloudcenter City¡¯s City Lord, Pei Shao, seemed to be in a faction of his own.

    The two leaders didn¡¯t personally participate in the dispute, both remaining silent. Xu Yu had a grave expression, while Sang Hong instead had a smile.

    The two of them nced at the giant recording mirror resting against the cliff wall. The capital¡¯s morning court session would end soon. Once it did, that would be the real faceoff.

    Pei You quietly moved over to Sang Hong¡¯s side, asking, ¡°Sir Sang, could it be that you have some good news?¡±

    Sang Hong sipped on his tea while saying through a ki transmission, ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Then why is sir smiling so happily?¡± Pei You asked, stunned.

    ¡°Now is obviously not the time to show weakness and ruin our own side¡¯s morale,¡± Sang Hong replied.

    Pei You was speechless. However, he still had questions and asked, ¡°Then why is Xu Yu¡¯s expression so grave? I thought he had received some unfavorable news.¡±

    ¡°Because he used all of his resources for this impeachment. He will either seed or die trying. That is why he is so worried,¡± Sang Hong exined.

    ¡°Sir Sang, Gao Ying has just about managed to get his soldiers in line. He said that if things go bad, he could¡­¡± Pei You said, gesturing with a hand.

    Sang Hong gave him a look and replied, ¡°Nonsense. His majesty and all of the court¡¯s officials will be watching us. Are you hoping for his entire n to be eradicated?¡±

    ¡°Then what else can we do? Could it be that we¡¯re really going to let Brother Zu be dered a traitor?¡± Pei You asked. He obviously understood the severity of the meeting. Zu An could be consigned to eternal damnation soon.

    Sang Hong sighed and said, ¡°At this stage, we can only entrust it to fate.¡±

    Naturally, he wasn¡¯t as calm as he looked on the surface. Meanwhile, Pei You and Gao Ying were only acting out of loyalty toward Zu An as his friends. Even if something really happened to Zu An, it wouldn¡¯t affect them too much. However, for him, things were different. The entire Sang n was being carried on his back. If something happened to him, the Sang n would most likely be finished too.

    Qien¡¯er, you won¡¯t me your father, will you¡­

    Suddenly, a sound rang out from the distance in the city. The expressions of those in the room changed. It was almost time.

    Xu Yu looked around and asked seriously, ¡°Is themandery duke not here yet?¡±

    A subordinate replied, ¡°ording to the messenger, themandery duke is recovering in seclusion and cannote out.¡±

    ¡°Recovering in seclusion¡­¡± Xu Yu sneered. He didn¡¯t say anything else.

    However, the others in the room sensed something else. All sorts of major things had happened to the Yu n as ofte, especially what had happened to Yu Yanluo. Even though Cloudcenter Duke had acted tough at first, he hadid low the entire time afterward.

    People all knew that the rtionship between Cloudcenter Duke and Yu Yanluo wasn¡¯t just one of husband and wife; in fact, they had been each other¡¯s strongest allies.

    After something happened to the Yu n, many of the Jian n¡¯s powers couldn''t stand still anymore. They had all rushed to seek an audience with Jian Yanyou, but he had always been missing. Now, there were even rumorsing from the Jian n that the duke was no longer in the manor. Some even said that he had already died from his serious injuries.

    At first, people just thought of those things as rumors, but the duke never came out to clear things up, and many powers under the Jian n had even begun to seek out other backers. As things continued, eventually, people began to wonder whether something really had happened to him.

    The Yu n is finished, and the Jian n is also done for!

    The other powers all looked like sharks that had gotten a whiff of blood. They were definitely going to get a good cut of the two great ns¡¯ assets after this.

 Chapter 1297: Pressured More and More

    Chapter 1297: Pressured More and Moren/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Just then, the recording mirror shone, leaving the people in the room startled. They knew that the call from the imperial court had arrived.

    Sang Hong nced outside the room and didn¡¯t see Zu An anywhere. He sighed. Zu An had said that he would definitely hurry back in time, so he had actually carried that unrealistic hope. If he thought about it, though, it was obvious that there was no way Zu An could return to Cloudcenter Commandery from the fiend race territory in under half a year.

    He gathered hisposure to prevent others from sensing anything. Then, he walked over to the dark mirror and began controlling the runes. Soon afterward, the surface of the mirror rippled like water, and an image of the throne room appeared.

    Two rows of subjects were lined up within, all dressed in official robes. Even though the people on this side were all the most powerful individuals in Cloudcenter Commandery, in terms of importance, they were nothingpared to the big shots from the capital. Most Cloudcenter residents would never even have a chance to witness what the morning court session looked like. Even through the recording mirror, they could feel the pressureing from those court big shots.

    However, those courtiers weren¡¯t the main characters today. The onlookers¡¯ attention was drawn to the yellow-robed man seated on the dragon throne. He was like a sun; no matter how splendid the civil and military officials were, they were merely stars. Once the sun appeared, not even a glimpse of them would remain.

    ¡°We greet the emperor; long live, long live, long long live!¡± The officials in the room didn¡¯t dare to stare directly at the emperor. They trembled all over, unable to do anything but kneel down respectfully.

    Sang Hong felt a hint of superiority. These people had all acted incredibly arrogant for some time, and yet in front of his majesty, they were all so unsightly. Still, he knew it wasn¡¯t their fault. He had had a simr reaction the first time he met the emperor.

    The emperor didn¡¯t speak. It was instead a eunuch who shouted, ¡°All of you may rise!¡±

    Judging from his court eunuch attire, those who were well-informed quickly realized who he was. He was Eunuch Wen, his majesty¡¯s trusted aide, someone with tremendous authority!

    Sang Hong watched what was happening in secret. He saw many officials from King Qi¡¯s faction, and grew more and more nervous by the moment.

    Zu An¡¯s work in Cloudcenter Commandery had screwed up the ns King Qi had beenying for many, many years. It would be strange if King Qi¡¯s group let him go. Still, even though Zu An had clearly done so for his majesty¡¯s sake, the emperor had chosen to hold the trial instead of helping Ah Zu. From the looks of it, he was already going to abandon Zu An.

    Based on Sang Hong¡¯s understanding of the emperor, he knew that was something the emperor did often. He only cared about his own reputation. As for anyone else, he was willing to use them as a scapegoat. That was why his subjects all privately thought of him as cold-hearted. Sang Hong still hadn''t expected him to abandon Zu An so quickly, however. He felt a lot of dissatisfaction, and even resentment, but he didn¡¯t dare to express any of it.

    He nced toward the top seats of the court, but he didn¡¯t see Yu Xuanchong anywhere. As the Imperial Secretariat¡¯s Left Confidential Assistant, Yu Xuanchong was almost always among the highest seats. It seemed that after his son-inw Yu Nan had had that jealous love affair, damaging the royal family¡¯s reputation and being forced to leave office, and with the matter of Yu Yanluo on top of everything, Yu Xuanchong had been ced in quite a difficult situation.

    The only thing Sang Hong was grateful for was that the crown princess had actually appeared in the morning court session for the very first time. From the looks of it, she nned to protect Zu An.

    Zu An had already grown into a central figure in the Eastern Pce; thus, the crown princess obviously wouldn¡¯t let him go that easily. Furthermore, Sang Hong had long since heard that Ah Zu seemed to be highly regarded by the crown princess. In the Royal Academy¡¯s secret dungeon, he had even saved the crown prince and princess. Comparatively speaking, the crown princess was much more loyal and true than his majesty.

    Even though he had always been on the royal family¡¯s side, when he saw the crown princess¡¯ grace and bearing, he still sighed in regret. For someone like her to be with the crown prince, it really was as if a bunch of flowers had been poked into a pile of manure.

    The emperor spoke up just then, asking, ¡°How has the disaster relief work in the mines progressed?¡±

    All the officials shivered. His majesty hadn¡¯t even called them the Yu n¡¯s mines! From the looks of it, the emperor had already made the decision topletely pull the Yu n up by the roots.

    There were some officials who had still been hesitant, worried that the Yu n might make aeback. After all, the Yu n was one of the most powerful ns! The court¡¯s Yu Xuanchong upied the Imperial Secretariat¡¯s Left Confidential Assistant position, while his son Yu Nan had been the Secretariat Assistant Director, and his son-inw Lian Yu was the Secretariat Director. Several intermarriages had even happened between the Yu n and other top ns such as the Pei n and the Jiang n.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s fiend race blood was something tied to her alone. If those higher up hadn¡¯t pursued the matter, they could easily have used another Yu n elder to take the me as the n leader. Furthermore, Yu Yanluo¡¯s prestige had once been so great, it was rumored that even his majesty had confessed his feelings in the past. As such, there had been rumors going around, stating that it was possible for Yu Yanluo to be let off lightly.

    However, when they heard his majesty¡¯s statement, those present sensed the implications behind the way he deemphasized the Yu n. All of them began to scheme about how they could get a good slice of the cake that was the Yu n.

    Xu Yu quickly replied, ¡°Over the past few days, we have kept in mind your majesty¡¯s instructions¡­¡±

    He knew that the emperor cared about his reputation, so he added extravagant embellishments to praise the way the emperor loved themon people as his own children. Of course, he knew that the emperor didn¡¯t really care about the people. What he cared about more was whether the mines could be restored, and if they would be able to continue offering the court a sea of cultivation resources. As such, he implicitly pointed out how long it would take for production to return, and so on. The emperor continued to nod as he listened.

    Sang Hong had to admit that this guy¡¯s way with words was quite formidable. It had clearly been aplete catastrophe, and yet he managed to change the narrative of a mine that had beenpletely destroyed into one that could be restored in a few years.

    The emperor asked a few more questions, which all received satisfactory answers. Then, Eunuch Wen stepped forward to dere loudly, ¡°Those who have important matters are to submit a report. Those who do not, withdraw from the court.¡±

    An official from the court stepped forward and said, ¡°This official presents a memorial to the emperor. Recently, there have been many secret reports that use Green Hat Viscount, Eastern Pce Chambein Zu An of rescuing Yu Yanluo and colluding with the Fiend races. He has betrayed the court!¡±

    The expressions of those present changed. The main act had finally begun.

    Sang Hong recognized the official as the Censor-in-Chief Yi Chong. Those who used officials of misconduct were usually his subordinates, and yet he had actually personally done the deed today. That Xu Yu really did have some influence.

    ¡°Sir Yi¡¯s words are wrong!¡± a young official protested, stepping forward. ¡°After arriving in Cloudcenter Commandery, Sir Zu has spared no effort to solve many cases. People all know that he has restored justice to Cloudcenter Commandery, even solving a case involving smuggling to the fiend races. How could he have colluded with the fiend races and betrayed our country?¡±

    ¡°Who is that person?¡± many Cloudcenter officials whispered. They were initially amazed by how handsome the young man was, but the words he spoke seemed to have pped all of Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s officials in the face. Expressions of anger spread among them.

    Those who were well-informed recognized him. ¡°That¡¯s Jiang Boyang¡¯s grandson Jiang Gui, known for his handsomeness in the capital. He¡¯s currently the herald to the crown prince, an official from the Eastern Pce. It makes sense for him to speak out for Zu An.¡±

    Sang Hong also knew that, apart from being spurred on by the crown princess, Jiang Gui¡¯s mother was Yu Xuanchong¡¯s daughter. Whether it was for public or private reasons, he had to help Zu An.

    ¡°Contributions are contributions; crimes are crimes. Sir Zu indeed established great merit previously in Cloudcenter Commandery, but his rescue of the witch Yu Yanluo is also a fact. Furthermore, ording to a tip, Yu Yanluo has already returned to the Snake race territory, and one person was seen apanying her. Judging from the description, that person resembles Zu An strongly,¡± another noble dressed in official robes stepped forward and said. ¡°If we connect all of these things together, the uncovering of the fiend races¡¯ smuggling affair in Cloudcenter Commandery might have just been a ploy to deceive us.¡±

    Sang Hong¡¯s expression changed. This person¡¯s identity was special. He was the Thornsun Duke, the Lone Rider Attendant Zhao Shu. More importantly, his father was King Fufeng, the Great Western General Zhao Cang. Zhao Cang was the emperor¡¯s uncle! It seemed that this time, King Qi¡¯s faction had suffered too much in Cloudcenter Commandery. Even the core members of the faction couldn''t sit still anymore.

    Sang Hong naturally couldn''t just watch without doing anything anymore. He loudly said, ¡°Sir Zhao¡¯s ims are wed. This official was this mission¡¯s Imperial Envoy. I take full responsibility for the investigation of the fiend races¡¯ smuggling, and the officials of the Imperial Envoy can all serve as witnesses. If Sir Zhao ims that all of this was just a ploy, then could it be that our entire Imperial Envoy fleet has betrayed the nation? Or perhaps, are you iming that his majesty had poor judgment in choosing who to send?¡±

    Zhao Shu broke out into a cold sweat. He replied, ¡°Of course that is not what I mean. Do not try to frame me.¡±

    The crown princess couldn''t step up herself, so her older brother Bi Ziang obviously had to help his little sister out. He retorted, ¡°Just who is trying to frame whom? The fiend race territory and Cloudcenter Commandery are far apart. The shortest time it would take to travel between the two ces would be over half a year. However, Sir Zhao said that you received information that Yu Yanluo had already returned to the fiend race territory, and you even baselessly imed that the one at her side was Zu An. Dare I ask where this information came from?¡±

    Zhao Shu¡¯s face turnedpletely red. He replied, ¡°This matter touches upon military secrets, so I am afraid that it is inappropriate to release it to the public. If young master Bi wishes to press the issue, you can follow me to the imperial study to seek his majesty¡¯s ruling.¡±

    Sang Hong jumped in fright when he heard that. Don¡¯t tell me the empire really has spies in the fiend race territory?

    Bi Ziang frowned, but he was a quick thinker. He quickly deduced that even if there were spies, it wasn¡¯t possible for there to be such precise information so quickly. As such, he said loudly, ¡°If there really is reliable evidence, why would there be a need to hold this kind of general assembly?¡±

    Zhao Shu was momentarily stumped. The intelligence was indeed a bit vague and not enough to condemn Zu An to death.

    Xu Yu spoke up just then, saying, ¡°A spy¡¯s report alone is, of course, not enough. However, when you ount for Yu Yanluo¡¯s escape and Zu An¡¯s mysterious disappearance, that is already enough to answer many questions.¡±

    He faced Sang Hong and said, ¡°If I recall correctly, Sir Sang said that Zu An disappeared because he was carrying out an Embroidered Envoy¡¯s secret mission. Now that Chief Commander Zhuxie is here, we can ask him if such a secret mission exists or not, yes?¡±

 Chapter 1298: To Dress as a Man

    Chapter 1298: To Dress as a Man

    Even though Xu Yu seemed to be asking Sang Hong on the surface, he wasn¡¯t really asking for the other man¡¯s opinion at all; rather, he was taking the chance to consult Zhuxie Chixin.

    Sang Hong frowned. In a moment of desperation, he had used the pretext of an Embroidered Envoy mission to cover for Zu An¡¯s sudden disappearance. Either way, Xiao Jianren and Zu An had a good rtionship and wouldn¡¯t expose him. He hadn¡¯t expected Xu Yu to ask Zhuxie Chixin directly.

    After his initial rm, however, he quickly calmed down. Zhuxie Chixin was his majesty¡¯s trusted aide, so he would definitely speak in favor of Zu An.

    Unexpectedly, however, Zhuxie Chixin voiced his surprise. ¡°There was something like that? I have not received any reports from the Embroidered Envoy in Cloudcenter Commandery. Of course, it might be because the situation is so urgent that he has not been able to report anything yet.¡±

    Sang Hong widened his eyes. He had thought that even if Zhuxie Chixin said something, he would have chosen a neutral position. Who would have thought that he would actually reply that way?

    Zhuxie Chixin was the Chief Commander of the Embroidered Envoy, the publicly acknowledged number one. He had absolute control over the Embroidered Envoy. If someone like him said that perhaps his subordinates hadn¡¯t issued a report yet, would anyone believe that?

    Sure enough, amotion broke out among King Qi¡¯s faction when they heard that. The officials all got worked up, demanding that the court condemn Zu An for his crimes. At the same time, some of them even used Sang Hong of misconduct. After serving the court as an independent figure for so many years, Sang Hong had made quite a few enemies. How could they let go of such a good chance?

    Bi Linglong nced at the emperor in disbelief. Without the emperor¡¯s incitement, there was no way someone like Zhuxie Chixin would dare to say something like that.

    Zu An had done so much for the crown prince. Others might not know about that, but how could his majesty not? And yet, now the emperor was working with King Qi¡¯s faction to condemn Zu An. Then, in the future, wouldn¡¯t that make all those who were loyal to the royal family feel bitterly disappointed?

    Sang Hong¡¯s ears were ringing. When he heard that the emperor had agreed to hold this interrogation, he had already gotten a bad feeling. Still, he hadn¡¯t expected the emperor and King Qi to actually work together in this matter! At this point, not even a daoist immortal¡¯s descent could save Zu An!

    Just then, the Central Secretariat Assistant Director Pei Lian stepped forward. He said, ¡°Fifth brother, as the City Lord of Cloudcenter City, you should know best about the things that have happened here. Why not tell us what exactly happened?¡±

    The fifth brother he spoke of was, of course, Pei Shao. The two of them were both the sons of Waterfront Duke, Chief Attendant Pei Zheng. The Pei n¡¯s Waterfront Duke¡¯s line was publicly known to be a core supporter of King Qi¡¯s faction.

    Pei You had a hopeful expression in his eyes when he saw his grandfather, Imperial Secretariat Director Pei Ming, hoping he would say some things to help Zu An. After all, their group was also close to the crown prince¡¯s side. However, his grandfather didn¡¯t show any signs of speaking up. Considering his understanding of his grandfather, that meant he nned to just watch from the side as a bystander.

    Meanwhile, Gao Ying also looked at the Guard General Liu Yao expectantly. However, he knew that during the Brightmoon City trip, his maternal uncle had been embarrassed quite badly because of Zu An, so he had never been too fond of Zu An. Even though Zu An had saved Gao Ying in the dungeon, he was nothing more than an outsider who was living off of their charity and his words carried no weight. Sure enough, Liu Yao also seemed to just be present to watch something interesting happen.

    Pei Shao coughed lightly and said, ¡°Ahem, ording to what this humble official knows, Sir Xu kept Yu Yanluo in custody; the security was incredibly strict, with guards acting covertly and overtly. However, she ended up being broken out, so we all suspect that the one who saved her must have known the inneryout and workings of the prison. That means it must have been someone on the inside, and their position had to be rather high. Otherwise, they would not have been able to know the details so clearly.¡±

    Even though he hadn¡¯t answered the question directly, the implications were extremely clear.

    ¡°Indeed,¡± Xu Yu said, wanting to strike while the iron was hot. ¡°When that witch Yu Yanluo was first captured, Zu An tried to save her. He did not even hesitate to openly dere that he would go against the court. That is something many Cloudcenter officials can attest to.¡±

    Those same officials all spoke up in agreement.

    Xu Yu continued, ¡°If we then consider Yu Yanluo¡¯s rescue and Zu An¡¯s disappearance, and how Sir Sang has fabricated all kinds of lies to protect him, I believe it is easy to see what has really been going on.¡±

    Sang Hong protested angrily, ¡°Then are you saying that I have conspired with Sir Zu, and colluded with the fiend races in betraying the country?¡±

    Xu Yu shook his head and replied, ¡°That may not be. I believe that Sir Sang probably did what you did for the sake of cherishing talent, and that was why you covered for Zu An. However, you could never have expected him to have done something so disgraceful.¡±

    Xu Yu knew that Sang Hong¡¯s rtionship with the other officials wasn¡¯t good. However, he was well known for his dedication and loyalty toward his majesty. No one would believe Xu Yu if he tried to attack him in that aspect too.

    Sang Hong¡¯s face darkened. He knew that the situation was already irredeemable. The only thing he could do was to try his best to stall for time.

    He was about to say something when the emperor spoke. ¡°This emperor recalls that there were some other Embroidered Envoys who went as well, no? Have theme out and speak.¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin obviously knew who had been sent. Xiao Jianren quickly stepped forward and said, ¡°Reporting to your majesty. From what this humble official has seen during this journey, Sir Zu conducts himself honestly and magnanimously. He upholds justice for themon people. Someone like that definitely would not collude with the fiend races and betray this country.¡±

    Sang Hong gave him a look of surprise. The Embroidered Envoys were usually reclusive and feared by the people. He hadn¡¯t expected this person to actually speak out for Zu An at such a crucial juncture. That kind of action could very well ruin all of his future prospects!

    On the court¡¯s side, Bi Linglong was surprised. She was about to say something when Zhuxie Chixin interrupted Xiao Jianren. ¡°What his majesty wishes to know is whether Zu An rescued Yu Yanluo, or where Zu An was when Yu Yanluo was rescued, if you saw him. Remember to respond with the important points.¡±

    Bi Linglong¡¯s beautiful brows drew together into a frown. She couldn''t hold herself back anymore, calling out, ¡°Does the Chief Commander not feel that your words arouse a bit of suspicion?¡±

    The others looked at her in shock. After all, she was someone who had always paid great attention to her bearing, someone who was publicly known to carry the grace of being the country¡¯s future mother. She did not show her own position on many matters, but she had many subordinates who could speak up in her ce to let her reach her objective. And yet today, she had spoken out personally, so it seemed Zu An was indeed quite important to her.

    Still, none of them were too suspicious of anything. Even though there had been a scandal between her and Zu An before, that matter had already been dealt with. Who would dare to bring it up again? They would just be seeking their own embarrassment. The most likely reason for her to be protecting Zu An like this was that she treated him as her own trusted aide already.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Meanwhile, King Qi¡¯s officials all enjoyed her predicament. Zhuxie Chixin, that central force of the emperor¡¯s forces, was now in conflict with the crown princess. How would they cooperate in the future?

    Only King Qi, who was in the seat of honor, frowned. It made perfect sense for him to act against Zu An, but why was the emperor also targeting him? Zu An was someone on the emperor¡¯s side who had been sent to Cloudcenter Commandery; afterward, the ns he had arranged for many years ended up being ruined!

    Are those two working together to deceive me? King Qi thought in horror. He could no longer remain as calm anymore.

    ¡­

    Xiao Jianren replied just then, ¡°I do not know who rescued Yu Yanluo. At that time, Sir Zu was resting in istion in his room. His poor condition was something that everyone in Cloudcenter Commandery should know about.¡±

    Xu Yu asked, ¡°You said that he was cultivating alone in his room, but did you confirm that yourself?¡±

    Xiao Jianren hesitated. As an Embroidered Envoy, however, he didn¡¯t dare to utter any lies in front of the emperor and the Chief Commander. He said, ¡°I did not.¡±

    Sang Hong said gravely, ¡°Since he was cultivating in seclusion, it is natural that he could not be disturbed by any outsiders. How can that be used as proof?¡±

    The courtiers clearly voiced their displeasure, feeling that this evidently made Zu An more suspicious.

    After everything that had happened, Xu Yu already had victory in his grasp. He said, ¡°Sir Sang, even though you have showered us with all these flowery words, you have still not exined where Zu An has gone. If he is innocent, why has he not appeared yet even though such a major event has happened? Could it be that he is unaware of how great of a matter betraying our country and defecting to the fiend races might be? Or¡­ Perhaps he is in the fiend race territory, and he cannot return at all?!¡±

    ¡°Who said he wouldn¡¯t be able to return?¡± a clear and melodious voice rang out. A figure appeared by the entrance.

    The expressions of those who were in the room changed. That strange mask, those clothes filled with fierceness... More importantly, the fact that it was decorated with golden borders¡­

    ¡°Golden Token Ele-!¡± Xiao Jianren and the others eximed, overjoyed. However, their voices came to a screeching stop halfway through their sentence.

    Xiao Jianren unwittingly rubbed his eyes. Unfortunately, because he spent all his time reading in the archives, his sight was poor to begin with. No matter how he rubbed them, his vision still didn¡¯t get much clearer. He asked Dai Seventh and Chen Eighth next to him with a ki transmission, ¡°Can you two see his face clearly? Why do I feel as if it is a bit strange?¡±

    ¡°It is a bit strange. Maybe it¡¯s because it¡¯s already been too long. Why do I feel as if boss has gotten skinnier? It might be because he has had too many things to deal with recently,¡± Dai Seventh replied.

    ¡°Really? Why do I feel as if boss¡¯ chest is a bit sturdier than usual?¡± Chen Eighth remarked, feeling a bit confused.

    Sang Hong was also shocked. Golden Token Eleven had always observed from the shadows. Now that he had stepped forward, it was clearly to speak in Zu An¡¯s favor. But why did it feel as if Golden Token Eleven was a bit different this time?

    Those from the court had strange expressions. Bi Linglong looked at the person before her carefully. She had been saved by Golden Token Eleven before, and her heart had even fluttered then. It was just thatter on, she had ended up meeting Zu An. But why was it that when she saw him again, she felt he was a bit unfamiliar?

    Zhuxie Chixin was also stunned. He obviously knew who Golden Token Eleven was. Just what in the world was going on? He instinctively nced toward the emperor, but the emperor¡¯s brows were also slightly furrowed.

    On Cloudcenter City¡¯s side, however, Pei Shao¡¯s expression suddenly changed. The feelling he got was just too familiar! He immediately sent a ki transmission. ¡°Manman, what kind of nonsense is this?!¡±

 Chapter 1299: Vicious and Merciless

    Chapter 1299: Vicious and Merciless

    Naturally, the so-called ¡®Golden Token Eleven¡¯ in the room was Pei Mianman. If one were to ask who in this world understood Zu An the most, whose rtionship with him was closest to one of husband and wife in this world, it wouldn¡¯t be Chu Chuyan, nor would it be Zheng Dan; rather, it would be Pei Mianman, who had spent several decades with Zu An in the Yinxu dungeon. She knew about Zu An¡¯s Golden Token Eleven identity, of course. Zu An had even left a set of his clothes with her.

    When she had learned that Zu An¡¯s situation was unfavorable, that he might have betrayed the human race and defected to the fiend races, she almost lost her head out of anxiety. That was why she had decided to just dress up as a man and try to save him with Golden Token Eleven¡¯s identity.

    However, she hadn¡¯t expected her cover to be blown so quickly. She had clearly done her best to hide her identity, and even tied up her chest to make it smaller, so how could they tell? However, she could only brace herself and continue.

    ¡°Do you not know that deceiving the ruler like this is a crime punishable by n eradication?!¡± Pei Shao eximed, panicking when he didn¡¯t hear her reply. The happiness he had felt from seeing victory in sight was already gone without a trace.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Pei Mianman harrumphed. She said through ki transmission, ¡°Since you know the severity of the matter, don¡¯t expose me. On the contrary, help me hide my identity.¡±

    Pei Shao was left at a loss for words. She¡¯s making so much sense that I don¡¯t even know what to say. But why do I feel so wronged then?

    Those from the court were confused about what was happening. Thornsun Duke, Lone Rider Attendant Zhao Shu couldn''t help but ask, ¡°You said he could return. Where is he then?¡±

    ¡°He went to carry out a secret mission assigned by me,¡± Pei Mianman said. ¡°I have not had time to make a report to the chiefmander yet, so I must ask for the chiefmander¡¯s forgiveness.¡±

    Others might not know who Golden Token Eleven was, but how could the emperor and Zhuxie Chixin not?

    The situation was quite tricky. Pei Mianman was confident that the two of them wouldn¡¯t want to expose the fact that Zu An was Golden Token Eleven, resulting in the current situation. Of course, she was also smart, giving Zhuxie Chixin a chance to back down.

    Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s face darkened. Since this person could turn into Golden Token Eleven, they obviously knew of Zu An¡¯s other identity too. She had chosen her stance well, at that. They could either let this end here, or choose to struggle to the end, exposing the fact that Zu An was Golden Token Eleven.

    At that point, whether it was those secret missions Zu An hadpleted, or the Embroidered Envoy that had always remained loyal and true, the consequences of revealing that a Golden Token Envoy had been proven to have colluded with the fiend races and betrayed the state would be devastating.

    Zhuxie Chixin was starting to get a headache. He secretly looked toward the emperor, but he wasn¡¯t able to pick up anything from Zhao Han¡¯s expression.

    Because King Qi was overly suspicious, he had been secretly observing Zhuxie Chixin from the start. Even though the other person¡¯s movements were slight, they couldn¡¯t escape his detection. He couldn''t help but find it a bit strange. Why was it that after Golden Token Eleven appeared, Zhuxie Chixin and the emperor had begun acting so strangely? When he recalled all of the things that had happened, he felt more and more that this Golden Token Eleven waspletely different from the other Golden Token Envoys. He was definitely special.

    The other officials, who didn¡¯t understand the ins and outs of the situation, waited for Zhuxie Chixin to retort. After all, he had already stated that he hadn¡¯t received any reports. However, he remained silent, not responding directly. The officials were all old foxes, and quickly realized that the situation had changed.

    Bi Linglong sighed in relief. Never could she have expected the situation to take such a turn. She looked at that person with great curiosity. Just what kind of a rtionship did they have with Ah Zu?

    Sang Hong was also confused. Those on the court¡¯s side might not be able to tell through the recording mirror, but he was close enough to deduce that this person was actually a woman.

    In the past, he had been a bit unhappy with how Zu An sowed his seed everywhere. The series of events that had happened this time was also because of a woman. And yet, the one who hade to save the situation was another woman¡­ Events in this world really were hard to predict¡­

    Just then, Xu Yu asked, ¡°Are you really Golden Token Eleven?¡±

    He had already invested far too much in his usation, so at this point, he could only seed or die trying. When he saw that the situation was rapidly changing, he couldn''t sit still anymore. He didn¡¯t know why his majesty and Zhuxie Chixin refused to expose the imposter. Since they weren¡¯t going to say anything, he had to be the one to do it.

    Pei Mianman was rmed, but she replied calmly, ¡°Even his majesty and Chief Commander haven¡¯t expressed any suspicion. Could it be that Sir Xu believes that your knowledge exceeds theirs?¡±

    Xu Yu immediately began to sweat buckets. This guy¡¯s mouth really is vicious!

    Still, after being in political circles for a long time, he was able to react quickly as well. He said, ¡°This humble official¡¯s poor knowledge obviously cannotpare to the Chief Commander¡¯s, let alone his majesty. However, they naturally cannot see too clearly through the recording mirror from their side, while I am a bit closer to you, so it is easier to see some details.

    ¡°ording to what I know, Golden Token Eleven should be male, right? You are clearly a woman dressed as a man. Impersonating an Embroidered Envoy is a great crime. Furthermore, deceiving his majesty is a crime punishable by n extermination. Speak, who was the one who made you do this?¡± he concluded, his expression and voice equally fierce.

    Pei Shao was scared witless when he heard the criminal charges. If Pei Mianman¡¯s identity was exposed, as her father, he would be finished too! As such, he coughed and asked, ¡°Is this a woman dressed as a man? I do not have that impression. Sir Xu, please do not speak recklessly.¡±

    Inwardly, he cursed his daughter halfway to death. At the moment, though, he had no choice but to help her out of this situation.

    Sang Hong gave him a look of surprise. He would never have expected Pei Shao to speak up to help their case.

    Xu Yu was rmed. He couldn''t understand why his ally would suddenly stab him in the back! Could it be that he received some information I don¡¯t know of? When he recalled Zhuxie Chixin and the emperor¡¯s strange attitudes, he immediately began to panic.

    With Pei Shao taking the lead, his trusted aides spoke up in agreement. After all, Pei Mianman had disguised herself carefully. With the embroidered uniform hiding her figure, as well as a mask covering her face, only a select few who were extremely familiar with Golden Token Eleven would be able to tell the difference.

    Xu Yu clenched his teeth. At this point, even if he backed down, he was screwed. As such, he braced himself and said, ¡°It is easy enough to determine whether that is true or false. Just have him undo his upper garment in front of everyone and we will all see the truth.¡±

    ¡°Nonsense. Even though there is a recording mirror between us, this is still the court! How can we do something so disgraceful here?¡± Bi Linglong objected. Inwardly, however, he had felt that this Golden Token Eleven was strange from the beginning. After Xu Yu¡¯s reminder, she finally realized that it was actually a woman.

    I wonder which one of Zu An¡¯s female friends this is¡­ For some reason, she felt jealous and angry as she thought of that.

    Considering that the crown princess herself had spoken up like that, normally, a subject was supposed to know to back down. However, Xu Yu knew that he was already going for broke. If this matter wasn¡¯t dealt with, the consequences for him would be even more horrible. As such, he continued, ¡°Then have an older woman bring her to a room to examine her. This matter is rted to our entire country, so I hope that the truth cane to light.¡±

    Pei Mianman sneered. ¡°We Embroidered Envoys have always been the ones to investigate others; there has never been an instance of others investigating us! Must I prove my own innocence because of your ignorant words? Howughable!¡±

    Bi Linglong nodded. This close friend of Zu An is quite smart. This isn¡¯t a situation where you can act ording to ordinary logic.

    King Qi¡¯s faction and the Eastern Pce¡¯s members began a war of words, making the ce quite noisy. The officials on Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s side were speechless. They thought to themselves, Big shots are big shots after all; they¡¯re able to quote the ssics even while fighting.

    Xu Yu stepped forward and said gravely, ¡°Chief Commander Zhuxie, this is your subordinate. Whether or not she is to be investigated rests on your decision.¡±

    He was also extremely upset. This was clearly something they had already tacitly agreed on, so what were they shrinking back for? He couldn''t just fight for it all by himself, right? Dragging in his majesty was out of the question, but there was no way he would let Zhuxie Chixin watch the situation as if he had nothing to do with it.

    Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s expression changed greatly. While he was at a loss for what to do, his ears suddenly twitched a bit, as if he had received some instructions. He thus said, ¡°Golden Token Eleven is indeed not a woman. For the sake of the truth, guide him to the next room for an investigation. If he is innocent, then Sir Xu, you have falsely used a Golden Token Envoy, which is a crime that bears heavy punishment. If he is a fake¡­¡±

    He gave Xu Yu a fierce look. Xu Yu immediately understood. If that was the case, the fake naturally wouldn¡¯t be given a chance to return to the room to cause further trouble.

 Chapter 1300: Conclusive Proof

    Chapter 1300: Conclusive Proof

    Pei Mianman panicked. She had still underestimated the emperor and Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s ruthlessness in the end. She had thought that there was no way they would dare to expose that Zu An was Golden Token Eleven in front of so many officials. How could she have expected that they would take such drastic measures, to use her using a different method? That way, even if there was an issue, she wouldn¡¯t have any more chances to speak.

    Pei Shao also panicked. Once she was taken next door, Pei Mianman¡¯s identity would be exposed. At that point, the Pei n would be finished.

    But now that Zhuxie Chixin had said such a thing and the emperor tacitly agreed, with the entire court watching, he couldn''t even find any excuse to stop in anymore.

    Just then, Bi Linglong said, ¡°I feel that this n is unsuitable. The Embroidered Envoy has always represented the dignity of the court, and the Golden Token Envoys more than any other. How can someone like that be randomly investigated because of some mere words?¡±

    The officials could all tell that there really was something wrong with this Golden Token Envoy. However, what the crown princess said wasn¡¯t entirely without reason. Another fierce round of debate started in the court.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    In the end, it was Zhuxie Chixin who said, ¡°Our Embroidered Envoy has always equated to loyalty and righteousness. We cannot allow others to bear suspicion against us and shake the prestige we have built up over many years. Comparatively speaking, what does an individual¡¯s honor and disgrace count for? I trust that Golden Token Eleven can understand this as well.¡±

    Pei Mianman wanted to shoot back ¡®like hell I understand¡¯, but Pei Shao quickly stepped forward to say, ¡°In that case, this humble official will follow as a witness.¡±

    At the same time, he said to Pei Mianman through ki, ¡°You¡¯ve already done everything you could, so don¡¯t cause any more trouble, or else you¡¯ll be exposed. It won¡¯t just be me; all of your other brothers and sisters will be involved too. Is that something you have the heart to do?¡±

    He wanted to find a chance to have a proper talk with her. He had clearly nned to marry her off to King Qi¡¯s heir before; when had her rtionship with Zu An be so good? She had even taken such a huge risk to help him. Even though he and Pei Mianman didn¡¯t share true affection between a father and daughter for various reasons, they still had that rtionship in name. When he thought about how the pretty daughter he had raised was actually so close to another man, he felt as if his n had been robbed.

    The officials on the court¡¯s side all expressed their approval. Pei Shao was from the Pei n, which was close to King Qi. Furthermore, neither Xu Yu or Sang Hong were that close to them. As such, there wasn¡¯t a more suitable judge for the matter.

    Pei Mianman was about to say something, but then hesitated. She really didn¡¯t care about this father of hers, but after living in the Pei n for so many years, there were many servants who had watched her grow up. Some brothers and sisters had even taken care of her sometimes. If all of them were punished because of her, how could she forgive herself for that? And yet, if she left just like that, wouldn¡¯t Ah Zu¡¯s fate be set in stone?

    Suddenly, a voice rang out through the ce, loud and clear. ¡°I heard that this meeting was talking about me, so how can the main character be missing from it?¡±

    Pei Mianman¡¯s entire body trembled when she heard the familiar voice. She quickly turned around and saw an equally familiar face.

    Who else could it be but Zu An?

    Pei Mianman was pleasantly surprised. She had always wondered why Zu An would suddenly vanish, and she had even wondered if he really had done some irrational things after developing a fondness for the capital¡¯s number one beauty. Now that she witnessed his return, all of her worries and nervousnesspletely disappeared.

    Sang Hong¡¯s body rxedpletely. He had only pretended to be calm the entire time before that. The others might have thought that Zu An was just temporarily missing and had a chance of returning, but he had known better than anyone else that Zu An really was over in the fiend race territories. That was why he had felt greater despair than anyone else.

    Just then, he felt a chill run down his back. It turned out his clothes had already been drenched in cold sweat. Still, what he was the most curious about was how Zu An had managed to return in just a single night.

    However, with their happiness came the disappointment of others. King Qi¡¯s faction immediately hung their heads dispiritedly, with only King Qi remaining calm. Ever since he had realized that the emperor was also determined to condemn Zu An, he had begun to think about possible reasons for that. He wasn¡¯t in such a hurry to eliminate Zu An anymore.

    Xu Yu eximed in shock, ¡°You¡­ Why are you here?¡±

    He was sure that it was Zu An who had rescued Yu Yanluo. Even though the message he had received from the fiend race territories was vague, it had confirmed that Zu An and Yu Yanluo returned to the Snake race together. So how had he manage toe back?

    He thought about how someone had even had to impersonate Golden Token Eleven, and began to wonder if this Zu An was a fake. After all, modifying one¡¯s appearance wasn¡¯t entirely impossible.

    Zu Anughed loudly and replied, ¡°I¡¯m a member of the Imperial Envoy who was sent to deal with Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s affairs. Isn¡¯t it perfectly reasonable for me to be here? What, it almost sounds as if Sir Xu really doesn¡¯t want me to be here.¡± At the same time, he gave Pei Mianman a look, gesturing for her to not worry anymore. The two were too familiar with each other, so he almost instantly recognized her as Big Manman.

    Xu Yu''s face darkened, but he didn¡¯t reply.

    The Censor-in-Chief Yi Chong had always remained silent after speaking up in the beginning. Just then, however, he spoke again. ¡°Sir Zu hase at just the right time. The meeting today is precisely to discuss your breakout of Yu Yanluo and your betrayal of humanity to side with the fiend races. Do you have anything to say for yourself?¡±

    ¡°Of course I do!¡± Zu An replied loudly. The officials all perked up their ears to hear what kind of exnation he had to give. but who would have thought that he would shout, ¡°What a bunch of nonsense!¡±

    Yi Chong frowned. Thornsun Duke Zhao Shu scolded Zu An, ¡°Sir Zu, this is the court session, so please watch your words. All things need proof. Do not speak crudely like those who live on the streets.¡±

    Zu An harrumphed. ¡°You want to discuss proof? You used me of colluding with the fiend races and betraying the country, but did you talk about proof then? You¡¯re instead hypocritically going to ask for proof now?¡±

    Zhao Shu was left at a loss for words. He was someone from the royal family, and furthermore a glorious duke. Being criticized by a mere viscount was way too humiliating.

    Fortunately, Xu Yu helped him out of the situation by retorting, ¡°Do you want proof? That is easy enough.¡± He pped his hands, and a few servants came over. He said, ¡°These are servants from the Imperial Envoy. They usually prepare the meals for each room and do all of the cleaning. ording to what they have said, when Yu Yanluo was being broken out of prison, you just happened to be missing from the room. You went missing when she went missing too. How could there be such a huge coincidence in this world?¡±

    Sang Hong¡¯s expression changed. No matter how careful he had been, it seemed that Xu Yu had still managed to nt some spies.

    Zu An sneered. ¡°Sir Xu, are you really a deputy leader? Why does it sound as if you¡¯re not familiar with professional work at all? Can even something like this be considered proof?¡±

    ¡°This kind of proof is a bit flimsy, I admit,¡± Xu Yu said. He continued, ¡°But I have heard from the guards who were watching Yu Yanluo as well. They saw everything with their own eyes, but even though they did not see the appearance of the one who broke Yu Yanluo out, his physique was identical to Sir Zu¡¯s.¡±

    Zu An roared withughter. ¡°The same physique? Chief Commander, even if it were the Embroidered Envoy investigating a case, could this kind of thing be used as proof?¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s face darkened, but he still said, ¡°That alone indeed cannot serve as evidence.¡±

    However, Xu Yu seemed to have received some hidden hints. He continued, ¡°Sir Zu has publicly spoken out for Yu Yanluo several times. You tried to save her even though her fiend race identity was exposed. That is something these officials from Cloudcenter Commandery have all seen. All of them are witnesses.¡±

    The officials under him all voiced their support.

    Bi Linglong said coldly, ¡°Sir Xu¡¯s ims have all been baseless usations. If this alone is enough to condemn a court official for a crime, is that not attaching far too little importance to the court?¡±

    She had more officials under her. When they all voiced their agreement, it was obviously enough to drown out Xu Yu¡¯s side.

    Zu An thought to himself that having a close female friend with so much authority really was great. It meant he had a lot of little brothers to help him out. As such, he gave Bi Linglong a smile in response. The others just treated it as the gratitude of a subordinate, while only Bi Linglong¡¯s face turned a bit red; the real meaning of that look was something only the two of them knew about.

    Eunuch Wen called out in a loud and clear voice, ¡°Silence!¡±

    The emperor then spoke. ¡°What are all of you causing such a fuss for? If there is no new evidence, then Zu An is clearly innocent. This assembly will be concluded here.¡±

    Sang Hong felt as if he had found a new lease on life. He really hadn¡¯t expected this matter to have been fixed just like that.

    He was about to congratte Zu An when Xu Yu gritted his teeth and took out a confidential letter, saying, ¡°I have more proof. My spy has braved death to send this information back from the Snake race territory. It records in detail that when Yu Yanluo returned, she had a human man at her side. His appearance was identical to Zu An¡¯s, and most importantly, Yu Yanluo even intimately called him ¡®Ah Zu¡¯.¡±

 Chapter 1301: Harsh Interrogation

    Chapter 1301: Harsh Interrogation

    When Xu Yu voiced those words, not only the expressions of the people in the room, but also the expressions of the officials in the court changed. None of them had expected him to have such powerful proof.

    Many people even felt a bit jealous. After all, ording to what Xu Yu was saying, Yu Yanluo and Zu An had been extremely close, and the way they referred to each other was consequently extremely intimate. They couldn¡¯t have expected the number one beauty, whom countless individuals pursued and yet had only been shown disdain, would ultimately end up in the arms of another man.

    Just what kind of ridiculous skill does this Zu An brat have? He doesn¡¯t have any family background, nor is his cultivation that outstanding. His looks can only be considered passable. How did he obtain Yu Yanluo¡¯s favor?

    Bi Linglong was also jealous. After all, Yu Yanluo was way too famous, and all of this was happening because Zu An had saved her. At that moment, in some absurd way, she felt as if she had caught her own man having an affair, and yet she was helping him clean up¡­

    Pei Mianman also shot Zu An an unhappy look, thinking, This guy disappeared suddenly without saying a thing, and sure enough, he was having fun with another girl. Hmph, I shouldn¡¯t have waited for you all worried day after day.

    When he saw the continuous Rage pointsing in, Zu An felt a headache. He quickly said, ¡°I don¡¯t understand what Sir Xu is saying. The Snake race territory is so far away, and even the forbidden Great Snowy Mountain stands between them. If there really was some information from that side, how would you be able to receive the message so quickly?¡±

    He had the Wind Fire Wheels, and even then, he¡¯d had to rely on a fortuitous encounter to return. How could a spy be faster than him?

    ¡°Perhaps Sir Zu might not know, since you are an official who came from the bordends,¡± Xu Yu said with a chuckle. He hadn¡¯t expected to be able to return the favor so quickly after being mocked. He continued, ¡°Our spies in the fiend races obviously know that the distance is great. If some urgent matter arises, the trip there and back takes far too long, which can dy military affairs. That is why the researchers at the Royal Academy came up with a simplified version of the recording mirror. It can directly send written characters, and we can immediately receive it on our side.

    ¡°That way, activating the recording mirror does not require such a tremendous amount of ki stones, and it does not create the spatial ripples that will catch others¡¯ attention when activated, which ensures the safety of those spies.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°The identities of those spies are all recorded in the Embroidery House¡¯s top secret archives, so their loyalty is unquestionable. His majesty and Commander Zhuxie Chixin can personally confirm that.¡±

    Amotion broke out when the courtiers heard the answer. Those who weren¡¯t high enough in rank quickly asked what was going on, and the big shots began to exin the relevant systems.

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed as well. He knew there was a top secret archive in the Embroidery House, a ce only Zhuxie Chixin alone could enter. Not even Golden Token Envoys had the authority to go there. He hadn¡¯t expected that ce to actually be hiding information on their spies.

    After he heard what Xu Yu said about the simplified recording mirror, he thought to himself that it seemed simr to a telegram from his world. This world had actually used a different method to achieve the same result! He sighed, thinking that it was all because he didn¡¯t truly belong to this world. He didn¡¯t know many of themon things the people of this world knew, so sometimes, he had to suffer like this.

    ¡°If this kind of proof exists, why did you not bring it out sooner?¡± Bi Linglong asked. She had noticed that Zu An fell silent and thought he had been disturbed, so she spoke up to help him out of the situation while also buying him some time to think of countermeasures.

    Xu Yu replied, ¡°Reporting to the crown princess. The reason why it was not brought out was out of consideration for the spy¡¯s safety. These spies have taken great risk to live in a foreignnd, doing things that could easily result in execution. If they are exposed, they often meet incredibly cruel ends.¡±

    He had initially thought that the other evidence was already enough to condemn Zu An, but he haidn¡¯t expected that Golden Token Eleven to suddenly appear. Then, Zu An himself had actually appeared. Helpless to do anything else, he could only bring out his trump card.

    At the same time, however, he had his own worries. Even though he was loyal to the emperor, if he offended the crown princess, once the crown prince rose to the throne, his prospects might not be that great. He secretly snuck King Qi a look. Should I maybe put some of my eggs in different baskets¡­

    The others immediately began to discuss excitedly among each other. They felt great respect for the spies who had infiltrated the fiend races.

    Zu An frowned. He said unenthusiastically, ¡°Aren¡¯t Sir Xu¡¯s ims rather unrealistic? From what I know, the fiend races were defeated back then, and thus strongly reject humans now. There might be some races where human spies might be able to hide, but a fiend race like the Snake race has quite distinctive traits. How could there be a human spy who could hide there without being discovered?¡±

    He had been thinking about the Snake race territory the entire time. He was sure that there were no humans there. After all, those who could hear what Yu Yanluo called him would have had to be quite close.

    With Zu An taking the lead, the Eastern Pce¡¯s officials all spoke up for him. After all, the question waspletely reasonable and fair.

    Xu Yu looked at Zu An with an ambiguous expression, and said, ¡°Sir Zu seems to understand the Snake race quite well. Could it be that you visited them not too long ago?¡±

    Zu An cursed him inwardly for being an old fox. This guy was ready to use him at every turn. He retorted, ¡°Has Sir Xu never heard of the phrase, ¡®I¡¯ve eaten pork, but have never seen a pig run¡¯? I am the crown prince¡¯s chambein, after all. In order to not let down his majesty¡¯s expectations or the crown prince¡¯s studies, I¡¯ve needed to learn all kinds of knowledge. After all, the fiend races are humanity¡¯s worst enemy. The crown prince will definitely have to deal with these matters in the future, so I¡¯ve studied them extensively.¡±

    Based on Zu An¡¯s tone, it was almost as if the crown prince had already been decided on as the one to take the throne. King Qi¡¯s face twitched a bit when he heard that. He thought, Sometimes I want to work with this kid, but sometimes I really do want to just kill him already.

    On the contrary, the Eastern Pce¡¯s officials all nodded in agreement. The Imperial Secretariat¡¯s Right Confidential Assistant Bi Qi, who had always been watching from the sidelines, thought to himself, No wonder my daughter was so determined to protect him. This fellow is indeed a talent.

    Xu Yu choked. Faced with the criticism of the Eastern Pce¡¯s officials, he could only exin, ¡°Truth be told, this spy in the Snake race is not actually a human, but rather a Snake race individual that we have spent arge amount of resources to bring over to our side. This is something that the Chief Commander can find out if you investigate the archives.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed. He hadn¡¯t expected that, just as there were traitors from the human race, there were also traitors from the Snake race. Who could it be then? It couldn¡¯t be Elders White and Blue, could it?

    Zhuxie Chixin nodded and said, ¡°Indeed, that is the case. The reason why Sir Xu spoke ambiguously earlier was to protect the identity of that spy. This matter is top secret, so I hope everyone can keep it so. If news of it gets out, and something happens to that spy, our Embroidery House will have to invite all of you to the Embroidery House for a cup of tea.¡±

    Those present shivered when they heard that. Being invited to the Embroidery House to drink some tea was definitely not a good thing. Many of their colleagues had nevere back out after being invited over.

    Thornsun Duke Zhao Shu said, ¡°The proof is now conclusive. It is proven that Zu An has been bewitched by lust and betrayed the imperial court. Is there anything else that needs to be said?¡±

    Sang Hong felt incredible regret. If he had known about that before, he wouldn¡¯t have told Zu An toe back. He had thought that Zu An¡¯s return would be able to clear him of suspicion, but who would have thought that Xu Yu had that kind of proof?! That meant Zu An¡¯s return had just brought him right into a trap.

    Just then, Pei Mianman spoke up. ¡°Sir Xu¡¯s report mentioned that Sir Zu was being intimate with Yu Yanluo in the Snake Race, right?¡±

    Xu Yu frowned slightly, not understanding why she was asking such a thing. However, he still replied, ¡°That is correct.¡±

    ¡°May I ask when Sir Xu received this piece of information?¡± Pei Mianman asked.

    ¡°Roughly a few days ago,¡± Xu Yu said. His expression changed, because he knew what she was trying to say.

    Sure enough, Pei Mianman said with a sneer, ¡°Then Sir Xu¡¯s evidence is a bit contradictory. You im Sir Zu was with Yu Yanluo in the Snake race territory, but as everyone knows, their territory is extremely far from Cloudcenter Commandery. There¡¯s even the forbidden area, the Great Snowy Mountain, in between. Wouldn¡¯t a trip from the Snake race territory to Cloudcenter Commandery take at least half a year toplete? How could Zu An possibly appear here then?¡±

    Bi Linglong nodded inwardly, giving her a look of praise. She thought to herself, Zu An being perverted is one thing, but the girl he picked is another. She had been so flustered because of her concern that she actually hadn¡¯t noticed that gap in logic.

    Another round of chaos took hold of the court when those words were spoken. Even King Qi¡¯s officials were confused. After all, traveling from the Snake race territory back to Cloudcenter Commandery within a few days really wasn¡¯t possible.

    Xu Yu was also at a loss for an exnation. However, he still braced himself and said, ¡°Even thoughing and going is impossible in just a few days, there might be some unknown hidden passage in Great Snowy Mountain.¡±

    To be honest, even he didn¡¯t even have any confidence in himself when he said that. After all, the Great Snowy Mountain was a ce that was extremely famous. If there were any hidden passages, it would already have created a hugemotion.

    He reacted quickly and thought of a suitable exnation. ¡°The reason why Yu Yanluo was able to return to the Snake race so quickly was probably because she built some kind of transport formation in secret while staying in Cloudcenter Commandery. Zu An must have returned through a simr method.

    ¡°As this matter poses a risk to the safety of our entire country, this subject proposes for Zu An to be locked up and interrogated harshly in order to find out where exactly that transport formation might be. Firstly, this is to guard against a sudden attack from the fiend races, and secondly, we might be able to use that very formation to attack the fiend races.¡±

    Bi Linglong immediately said, ¡°Your majesty, please reconsider. The fiend races are not all unified. Marshal Qin is currently at war against the fiend races, while the Snake race has historically not carried many grudges against the human race. If we act rashly and pressure the fiend races into unifying, that will not be a good thing for our dynasty.¡±

    The emperor nodded slightly. Then, he looked toward King Qi and asked, ¡°What does King Qi think about this matter?¡±

 Chapter 1302: Never Spoken a Lie

    Chapter 1302: Never Spoken a Lie

    King Qi cursed the emperor for being an old fox. He clearly already has an idea, but he still wants me to say it.

    Still, even though he couldn''t figure out what kind of scheme the emperor was cooking up, Zu An had already destroyed his major ns again and again. The worst part was that the two of them had clearly formed an alliance recently, and yet his many years of preparation in Cloudcenter Commandery had still been ruined. King Qi was incredibly annoyed.

    Because of that, a huge series of consequences had followed. Many of the core powers under him had needed to personally help their subordinates in maintaining cohesion. That was why, even though he knew the emperor definitely had ulterior motives, he still yed along and said, ¡°What the crown princess said is not entirely without reason. Using a transport formation to reach the Snake race involves too much risk, making it highly unlikely.

    ¡°However, there is an absolutely vital need for us to gain control over any such transport formation. Otherwise, there will always be a risk of the fiend races invading our world.¡±

    Bi Linglong panicked when she heard that. She replied, ¡°But there is no conclusive proof stating the existence of a transport formation, let alone anything proving that Zu An really dide here through one!¡±

    King Qi said with a smile, ¡°What the crown princess says is true, but this matter is rted to the future of the human race. This is a case where we would rather wrong the innocent than allow even a chance of the alternative to ur. Otherwise, untold numbers ofmon people might end up suffering. However, the crown princess needs not worry too much. As long as Zu An is innocent, those managing the case will naturally release him.¡±

    Bi Linglong was now really, really scared. She wasn¡¯t a three-year-old child. They all knew that if Ah Zu got captured, he would be tortured cruelly. Even if he turned out to have been wrongly used, he would probably still just rot to death in that cell. Who would let him out? Now that Zu An was being used under the pretext of righteousness, though, anything she said at this point would sound selfish and narrow-minded.

    However, she had no choice. She was about to defend herself when the emperor immediately said, ¡°As expected, King Qi is aged and wise. In that case, Sir Xu, you will be the one to find out the truth.¡±

    Sang Hong¡¯s heart hit rock bottom when he heard that. It¡¯s all over¡­ The emperor himself already spoke, which means he doesn¡¯t want this to go on any further. The matter has already been decided. Ah Zu is finished! The Sang n is also done for.

    Suddenly, a cold and clear voice rang out. ¡°Why is there a need to interrogate Sir Zu?¡±

    Then, a beautiful figure dressed in white slowly walked in. She gave off a unique presence, as if she were a goddess from the nine firmaments above. And yet, there seemed to be a hint of secr anger in her eyes.

    ¡°Goddess Yan!¡±

    ¡°Sect Master Yan!¡±

    Many people cried out. Those who had the qualifications to attend the meeting were all high-ranking officials. Many of them had witnessed Yan Xuehen¡¯s elegance before, and a lot of them were her fans. Even the emperor had consulted her on healthy lifestyle habits in the past.

    Even if one were to say that the reason why people all chased after Yu Yanluo was because she was too beautiful, so they couldn''t help but have some base motives, their attitude toward Yan Xuehen was entirely different. Her status was special, and she was too strong. Between that and her aloof and transcendent temperament, they all worshiped her like a goddess. They didn¡¯t dare to have the slightest evil thought about her.

    Zu An clicked his tongue in disdain when he saw how even through a recording mirror, those officials couldn''t even hide their expressions.

    So Wifey Xuehen was actually this popr?

    If I went over to hug her and give her a kiss, wouldn¡¯t the Rage points I could collect be astronomical?!

    Of course, he gave up on that thought in the end. Forget about how inappropriate it was, Yan Xuehen could end up directly drawing a sword to cut him down.

    After his initial excitement, King Qi couldn''t help but ask, ¡°Goddess Yan, why do you say that?¡±

    Zu An was a bit surprised. He hadn¡¯t expected even someone like King Qi to be so polite to Yan Xuehen. It seemed he really had underestimated her poprity.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s red lips opened gently. She said, ¡°I have managed to get a rough idea of what is happening from the conversations. However, Zu An was indeed wrongly used.¡±

    Xu Yu¡¯s expression changed. He replied, ¡°Has Sect Leader Yan perhaps made a mistake? We have conclusive evidence here!¡±

    He understood just what kind of status and reputation this woman had. If such a person spoke out for Zu An, things would really get tricky. That was why he had to warn her not to make a mistake.

    ¡°I am not making a mistake. Sir Zu was with me this entire time,¡± Yan Xuehen said. She spoke casually, but it was as if a huge bomb had been dropped into the middle of a calmke.

    ¡°What?!¡± those present eximed in shock.

    Forget about the ordinary subjects, even King Qi was stupefied. Furthermore, even the emperor subconsciously shifted his body forward.

    Eunuch Wen was shocked. His majesty is alwaysposed, so this kind of behavior is already tantamount to losing self-control! This Sect Master Yan must be really special to him!

    Bi Linglong was also stupefied. Earlier, she had been cursing Zu An for even flirting with the capital¡¯s number one beauty, and yet now, the world¡¯s number one goddess also seemed to have been won over by him?

    However, when she looked at Yan Xuehen¡¯s cold and clear expression, she quickly shook her head, concluding that she was definitely overthinking things. How could Goddess Yan possibly like this perverted guy?

    Pei Mianman didn¡¯t really doubt Zu An¡¯s charm, but when she thought about how Yan Xuehen was Chu Chuyan¡¯s master, she also felt that it was impossible.

    The others began to react too, one after another. They didn¡¯t get the impression that what Yan Xuehen said was intended in a romantic way, so they began to ask about what was going on.

    Sang Hong cursed all of them for being old perverts. These old bastards had remainedpletely calm even when the discussion over Zu An¡¯s case reached its climax, and yet now, they were all worked up trying to gain Yan Xuehen¡¯s favor.

    Yan Xuehen then said, ¡°Sir Xu asked me to help catch Yu Yanluo, as well as the mysterious person who broke her out.¡±

    The others looked at Xu Yu. Xu Yu nodded slightly, indicating that it had indeed happened. At the same time, he began to feel regret. If he had known that it would end like this, he wouldn¡¯t have asked that of her before.

    Yan Xuehen continued, ¡°Later, I ended up in the Yu n¡¯s mines, and then I ran into Zu An.¡±

    ¡°He was the one who saved Yu Yanluo after all! Otherwise, why would he be there?!¡± Xu Yu screamed. He wasn¡¯t someone who easily lost hisposure like that normally, but today, he felt as if he had been riding the most violent wave of his life up and down.

    Zu An replied, ¡°Didn¡¯t we already make it clear that I was investigating a case? What¡¯s the big deal with running into Sect Master Yan?¡±

    King Qi frowned and said, ¡°Sect Master Yan said that the two of you have been together all this time. What exactly happened?¡±

    ¡°There was something wrong with the Yu n¡¯s mines. A spatial rift had opened inside, and some terrifying creatures came out¡­¡± Yan Xuehen gave the assembly an ount of the Scaled Deathworms and the ck fog.

    Many officials nodded in agreement. One said, ¡°Indeed. The guards in the mines also noticed a mysterious ck fog. Those who came into contact with it either felt their bodies immediately decay or lost their minds.¡±

    Sang Hong¡¯s face darkened. He had received reports about that before too, but no one had treated it as a big deal. And yet, now that Sect Master Yan brought it up, those present were all kissing up to her.

    Yan Xuehen then talked about how she had worked together with Zu An to defeat the terrifying Scaled Deathworm, as well as how they hadpletely destroyed the spatial crack. She said, ¡°I was seriously injured then. If not for Sir Zu saving me, I might have died. Furthermore, if that spatial crack opened fully, countless terrifying creatures would have invaded our world. At that time, themon people would have been in a truly terrible situation. As such, not only has Zu An notmitted any crimes, he has earned tremendous contributions. The court should be rewarding him greatly.¡±

    All the courtiers were powerful cultivators. Even through the recording mirror, they could sense that Yan Xuehen was much weaker than usual, and that she was injured. They all sighed in amazement at how strong that Scaled Deathworm was, considering the way even someone like her had been injured to that extent.

    Xu Yu¡¯s entire body turned ice-cold. He hadn¡¯t expected there to be such a variable! He could only give onest push. ¡°How long was Sect Master Yan with him for? ording to the report of my spy, he was clearly together with Yu Yanluo¡­¡±

    Yan Xuehen gave him a cold look and said, ¡°I already said that I was with him all this time. As a consequence of destroying that spatial crack, the entire mine copsed. We were also trapped inside¡­ and we only managed to return just now. Everything I have spoken is the truth. If you do not believe me, I can swear a vow to the heavens. You can also invite the libationer to question my heart if you so wish.¡±

    Zu An chuckled inwardly. This woman looked as pure and innocent as a little white flower, but she was actually full of tricks inside. Everything she had said was indeed true, but some keyponents were missing. Furthermore, because she had emphasized a specific perspective, it had achieved an entirely different result.

    Sure enough, those present in the court cried out in support.

    ¡°There is no need for that at all!¡±

    ¡°Exactly! Everyone knows how noble and lofty the goddess is. She has never spoken a lie.¡±

    ¡°Of course we trust Goddess Yan!¡±

    ¡°Zu An is a hero of the human race; he ought to be conferred another noble title!¡±

    ¡­

    Bi Linglong now had a big smile on her face. She hadn¡¯t expected that Ah Zu would not only make it through this situation alive, but also benefit greatly! I should find a chance to properly express my thanks to Sect Master Yan in the future.

    I guess we really have neglected the hidden sects in recent years. I¡¯ll prepare some generous gifts and bring them to White Jade Sect.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Pei Mianman sighed in relief. She thought to herself, As expected of Chuyan¡¯s master, she acted out of consideration for her disciple¡¯s husband after all.

    Wait, then she absolutely can¡¯t know about me and Ah Zu! Otherwise, if she gets upset and tries to bring justice for her disciple, there¡¯s no one in Cloudcenter Commandery who can stop a grandmaster!

    There were some ns that were delighted, and others that were worried. Xu Yu knew that it was all over from the sound of discussions around him. He felt his throat fill up, and a mouthful of blood emerged from his mouth. Then, his vision darkened and he fainted out of anger.

 Chapter 1303: New Noble Title

    Chapter 1303: New Noble Title

    ¡°Sir Xu, what¡¯s wrong? Sir Xu?¡±

    Xu Yu¡¯s colleagues in Cloudcenter¡¯s officialdom were all greatly rmed. They quickly moved over to support him. Compared to before, however, when they all seemed to be of the same opinion, there were far fewer of them. That was just how hypocritical the world of bureaucracy was. People could already tell that his usation of misconduct had failed, which meant there was nothing good awaiting him.

    The most important part was that Zu An now had such a powerful backer, Yan Xuehen. Paired with his other identity as the crown princess¡¯ pet, he was already practically unstoppable. There didn¡¯t seem to be any hope for Xu Yu to make aeback.

    Zu An, of course, didn¡¯t feel a shred of sympathy. If he had lost instead, his end would only have been more miserable.

    In the mirror, the emperor acted as if he were showing concern for his subordinate, saying, ¡°Have someone support Sir Xu and bring him to a physician.¡±

    Xu Yu¡¯s henchmen brought him away in a flurry of motion.

    Then, the emperor asked seriously, ¡°Since you all feel that Sir Zu has earned great contributions, what kind of reward is appropriate?¡±

    Sang Hong felt a chill when he heard that. The emperor was acting as if none of this had anything to do with him! It was as if the shocking interrogation werepletely unrted to him. However, all the court¡¯s insiders knew that if not for his tacit approval, the trial would never have happened.

    Considering Sang Hong¡¯s understanding of the emperor, if he really wanted to reward his subordinate, he wouldn¡¯t need to speak such ambiguous words. Instead, he would at least provide the subjects with a direction to discuss the details.

    Sure enough, the people present were all sly and cunning, noticing the emperor¡¯s attitude. They all looked at each other, yet none of them spoke a word.

    Bi Linglong¡¯s voice was loud and clear as she broke the silence. ¡°Sir Zu has saved the lives of countless people, putting an end to a potential huge disaster. In my opinion, even granting him the title of duke would not be going too far.¡±

    ording to the court¡¯s unwritten rules, only the children of the royal family could be granted the title of king. The title of duke was already the highest noble title possible for those without the imperial surname.

    Of course, Bi Linglong knew that suggestion wasn¡¯t too realistic, but only starting boldly would leave room for negotiation.

    Sure enough, some officials quickly said, ¡°In these past few months, Sir Zu has already risen from a civilian to a baron, and then quickly rose up to viscount. If we raise him to the rank of duke, will that rate of promotion not be a bit too shocking?¡±

    Bi Linglong said coldly, ¡°The reason why our Zhou Dynasty has been able to triumph in every battle is because when there is merit, there is inevitably reward. Thus, if the speed of promotion is cited as the issue, will that not make those who serve our country feel cold?¡±

    Many ministers rolled their eyes. There have been so many people who have brought back more achievements, and yet which one of them has risen up as quickly as Zu An?

    Bi Qi was worried that his daughter might end up drawing excessive enmity. He cleared his throat and said, ¡°Sir Zu¡¯s contributions should be rewarded, but he is still too young. Rising up immediately is not always a blessing. This subject proposes that we promote him to a count.¡±

    Sang Hong was left in admiration. As expected of these old foxes¡­ The things they say don¡¯t offend anyone, and even Zu An himself might feel as if he¡¯s trying to pass on some wisdom.

    The emperor nodded. That suggestion was close to what he had in mind. Not rewarding Zu An for his contributions was going too far, but he wouldn¡¯t feel too happy about it if he had to give too much. Granting Zu An a countship was perfect. He said, ¡°Then he will be promoted to count. Those present may now discuss the title he is to be given.¡±

    When they heard that the emperor was promoting Zu An to the rank of count, those present in Cloudcenter Commandery looked at Zu An enviously.

    Some might have had higher official positions than him, but their noble ranks were now lower. Zu An was so young, and yet he had already be a count. There hadn¡¯t been many examples of that in all of history, right?

    Nobility rank and official position were different. Not only did counts have the ability to collect taxes; their title was something that could be passed down to their children! Of course, unless every single generation was outstanding, such noble ranks would usually fall with each sessive generation. However, the rank of count was already high enough to be passed down several times! It symbolized the utmost glory and wealth, and was a huge advantage in marriages within the true circles of aristocracy.

    Zu An was also quite happy. However, that wasn¡¯t because he was now a count; rather, it was that he could finally get rid of that damn title of ¡®Green Hat¡¯. Even though there was no ¡®green hat¡¯ ng in this world, he still felt a chill whenever he thought about it.

    After the court¡¯s subjects discussed among themselves for a bit, they quickly reached a conclusion.

    Pei Shao suggested, ¡°A recent report says that many people have recently migrated to Great Lady City, so perhaps we could designate that as Sir Zu¡¯s territory?¡±[1]

    The emperor nodded and said, ¡°Good; we can give Zu An the title of Great Lady Count. This emperor is tired, so let us end the court session here.¡±

    Bi Linglong naturally knew that Great Lady City was extremely poor. It was a rather empty territory, owing to its poor environment and its problem with bandits. The so-called people who had migrated there were nothing more than refugees.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The reason why the Pei n had suggested that territory was purely to get back at Zu An as much as they could. Unfortunately, the emperor had already decided before she even had time toin. There was no way of changing the decision anymore.

    Even though Great Lady City is a bit poor, at least Zu An is a count now, for better or for worse. It¡¯s not too bad, she thought to console herself.

    Meanwhile, Zu An rolled his eyes. Great Lady Count? First it was Phoenix Man, then it was Green Hat. Now he was a Great Lady Count?

    Why can¡¯t I have a normal name for once? Damn it all!

    ¡­

    As the emperor left, the courtiers all saw him off respectfully.

    Zhuxie Chixin gave Pei Mianman a long look. In the end, however, he didn¡¯t expose her identity. Zu An himself was present, so it really wasn¡¯t too appropriate to do anything. His majesty hadn¡¯t even given him any instructions, so he obviously wouldn¡¯t dare to make any such decisions on his own.

    When the courtiers all left, Bi Linglong appeared in the recording mirror. When she saw Zu An, she wanted to say something, but hesitated. In the end, she said, ¡°Sir Zu, you should not fail to live up to his majesty¡¯s kindness.¡±

    Zu An knew she had many things she wanted to say to him, but they couldn''t say any personal things in such a public setting.

    ¡°Thank you for your advice, crown princess. This subject will definitely devote every breath in my body, unto my dying day,¡± Zu An said in a loud and clear voice.

    The people around him widened their eyes when they heard him, mouthing what he had just said inwardly. This guy looks rather uncouth, but he actually spoke quite the cultured phrase just now. His praises are pretty elegant! It seems we really looked down on him too much before.

    Bi Linglong¡¯s face instead heated up. This guy clearly isn¡¯t saying that to the emperor, but to me¡­ Her heart began to race. She was scared that the onlookers would notice something, so she quickly turned around and left after a slight nod.

    Then, a group of officials rushed forward to congratte Zu An on his promotion. Zu An responded to all of them quickly. Then, he told them that he was tired and would be returning to his room to rest.

    Many among them had participated in the impeachment earlier. They naturally felt a bit embarrassed, and thus took the chance to be excused too.

    ¡­

    Sang Hong found a chance toe to Zu An¡¯s room. He said, ¡°Ah Zu, this old man has already been a part of the political circles for several decades, but my heart has never tossed and turned as much as it did today.¡±

    ¡°I was the one who was too rash. I¡¯ve made respected uncle worry,¡± Zu An apologized. He had left a huge mess behind after leaving, and it was Sang Hong who had taken care of everything in his ce.

    Sang Hong opened his mouth, but he still gave up in the end. Instead, he said, ¡°Forget it. At least the end result was good. However, there¡¯s something else I¡¯m more worried about. Why did his majesty give up on you?¡±

    Zu An knew why he would say that. Judging from the events of the day, the emperor was clearly trying to get rid of him. He was also curious. Don¡¯t tell me what happened in the dungeon was exposed? But that doesn¡¯t make any sense¡­

    ¡°It might be that he¡¯s angered King Qi quite badly, so he ns to use me as a sacrifice to appease King Qi¡¯s anger. Furthermore, there¡¯s the matter of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, which has always made him unhappy,¡± Zu An said. He couldn''t exin what had happened in the dungeon to Sang Hong, so he could only exin things that way.

    ¡°That¡¯s probably it,¡± Sang Hong said with a nod. However, his expression suddenly became extremely strange as he asked, ¡°Right, why would Sect Master Yan speak up for you? The two of you¡­ don¡¯t have a thing going on, do you?¡±

    Pfft!

    Zu An had been drinking tea. When he heard that, he spat out his tea. He protested, ¡°Respected uncle, please don¡¯t make random guesses like that! Sect Master Yan cares a lot about her reputation, you know?¡±

    Sang Hong was about to say something, but then his expression changed. He hurriedly said, ¡°Ahem, you must be tired from your trip. Rest up well; I¡¯ll be leaving first.¡± Then, he left as if he were running away.

    Zu An was curious about his behavior, but when he saw apletely cold-faced Yan Xuehen at the entrance, he immediately understood. He said with augh, ¡°Haha, what a coincidence.¡±

    1. ¡¯Great Lady¡¯ here sounds like ¡®Daji¡¯. ?

 Chapter 1304: Im Not That Kind of Person

    Chapter 1304: I''m Not That Kind of Person

    Yan Xuehen didn¡¯t reply. Only when Sang Hong left did her sleeve brush out and close the door.

    When he saw her stare at him coldly, Zu An said with an embarrassedugh, ¡°I was just joking around, you know¡­ No one would really suspect that kind of thing.¡±

    Yan Xuehen snapped angrily, ¡°Coming back with you was a mistake in itself! Now¡­¡± Her face turned red as she spoke. She paused for a moment before continuing, ¡°Now even my reputation has been ruined by you.¡±

    Zu An suddenly got up and eximed, ¡°Who dares to harm your reputation? I¡¯ll go and beat him up right now! There aren¡¯t many who can beat me in all of Cloudcenter Commandery now!¡±

    ¡°Look at you, getting all cocky because you just reached the master rank,¡± Yan Xuehen remarked. She instinctively wanted to prod his head with her finger. However, she quickly realized that such an action would be too intimate, so she secretly pulled her finger back. She continued, ¡°Anyway, if you were the one who went out there, wouldn¡¯t it only make matters worse?¡±

    ¡°Then should we just let these rumors spread?¡± Zu An asked, sounding as if he were actually looking forward to doing something like that.

    Yan Xuehen harrumphed. ¡°With my usual way of doing things, these rumors won¡¯t have any soil to grow on. However, that¡¯s based on the premise that you don¡¯t get close to me anymore.¡±

    Zu An could only reply helplessly, ¡°Fine, fine, fine. I¡¯ll just pretend that I don¡¯t know you if we run into each other in the future, alright?¡±

    ¡°Of course that won¡¯t work. I just helped you out so much. If you pretended we didn¡¯t know each other, it would just seem a bit suspicious. Furthermore, I¡¯m Chuyan¡¯s master¡­¡± Yan Xuehen trailed off, feeling incredibly conflicted inside.

    A strange silence fell over the room. Zu An frowned. Having Chuyan between the two of them really was quite annoying.

    Just then, two loud and carefree voices called out from outside. ¡°Brother Zu~¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression changed. Because of the topic they had just been talking about, she instinctively felt a bit of guilt and hid behind a screen, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t let them know I¡¯m here.¡±

    She immediately felt regret as soon as she hid there, however. She could have just left confidently, and yet if she hid there and was discovered, it would really be hard to exin herself.

    However, it was already toote to leave. The two people outside had already pushed open the door and entered. Yan Xuehen snuck a look through the gaps in the screen and recognized them to be people from the Imperial Envoy. Their status in that group wasn''t too low, either. Of course, for her, that still didn¡¯t mean anything at all.

    If Pei You and Gao Ying found out their names weren¡¯t even worth remembering by the Goddess Yan they worshiped, they would probably feel incredibly broken-hearted.

    ¡°Brother Zu, you finally came back! I really was scared to death this time¡­¡±

    ¡°Right? I thought you were done for after things got so out of hand!¡±

    Zu An felt warm inside when he sensed the strong concern in the two¡¯s voices. He replied, ¡°Thank you for helping me take care of things while I was gone.¡±

    ¡°Come on, aren¡¯t you treating us like outsiders here?¡± Pei You replied with augh. However, he suddenly wrinkled his nose and eximed, ¡°Huh? Why do I smell a woman here?¡±

    Behind the screen, Yan Xuehen was rmed. She really was scared of them finding out that she was there.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An¡¯s forehead was also covered in dark lines. This Pei You was aposed, indifferent, and handsome man in front of others, but in front of the people he was close to, he would reveal his extremely frank and straightforward nature.

    He had to give this guy¡¯s nose some respect, though. He can even sense Yan Xuehen¡¯s extremely faint smell! This guy might have Tian Boguang¡¯s[1] talent.

    ¡°Is that so? It might be because I switched the incense in the room.¡± Zu Anughed and tried to bluff his way out of it.

    However, Pei You shook his head and said, ¡°It¡¯s not incense, it¡¯s a woman¡¯s smell. I seem to have smelled it somewhere. Why can¡¯t I remember though¡­¡±

    Yan Xuehen was embarrassed and furious. She hissed through ki, ¡°You¡¯re dead if he finds out it¡¯s me!¡±

    Zu An was sweating like crazy. He was about to say something to draw Pei You¡¯s attention, but instead, he suddenly pped his hands and said, ¡°I remember! I smelled it not too long ago. It was White Jade Sect Goddess Yan¡¯s scent!¡±

    Yan Xuehen felt a loud explosion go off in her head. At that instant, she even had the urge to kill Zu An.

    Zu An had a helpless smile on his face when he saw the Rage points roll in. I¡¯m really being hated unfairly here¡­ He could only exin, ¡°Sect Master Yan dide here just now, but she left after we talked a bit.¡±

    Yan Xuehen thus nodded in satisfaction when she heard that. I guess this guy isn¡¯t that stupid.

    Pei You had a regretful look as he said, ¡°Sect Master Yan really is beautiful. I¡¯m really jealous of you¡­¡±

    Zu An had a strange expression as he thought, If I told you I could even go in and out of her, you might just faint on the spot.

    Just then, Gao Ying spoke up. ¡°Sect Master Yan is indeed a fairy. Unfortunately, there isn¡¯t a shred of worldliness in her. How could a woman like that amodate us like the girls from a brothel? Brother Zu, in order to help you cleanse yourself of bad luck, I already reserved some courtesan queens in Jasper Lane for you. Let¡¯s go; I guarantee you¡¯ll be satisfied today.¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression turned cold. This guy actually frequents ces like brothels with his colleagues behind others¡¯ backs? Looks like stopping him and Chuyan from being together was the right choice.

    Zu An was shocked. He quickly said with an earnest expression, ¡°Brother Gao, please don¡¯t speak such nonsense! I have a wife, so how can I let her down and go to those kinds of ces?¡±

    Yan Xuehen nodded to herself behind the screen. This brat at least has a bit of a conscience.

    Gao Ying was stunned, replying, ¡°Brother Zu, isn¡¯t this kind of thingpletely normal among the noble circles?¡±

    Zu An said in an upright tone, ¡°Other people are other people, but I am myself. Such a thing makes me angry just thinking about it! Thus, you shouldn¡¯t call me for these things again in the future. I¡¯ve already received your good intentions, but I was injured quite badly in the mines. I¡¯m going to rest and recover, so I won¡¯t be going with the two of you.¡±

    They were all cultivators, so they understood how important it was for injuries to heal as quickly as possible. Gao Ying quickly said, ¡°Of course your recovery is more important. We¡¯ll invite you again once you¡¯ve recovered.¡±

    Zu An staggered. Bro, you¡¯re killing me here! He said, ¡°Ahem, Brother Gao, didn¡¯t I just tell you I wasn¡¯t that kind of person?¡±

    ¡­

    As they were escorted out of the room, Gao Ying and Pei You had stupefied expressions on their faces. On the way back, they chatted with each other.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you think brother Zu was acting a bit strange today?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right. Why did he keep speaking out of righteousness or something? It¡¯s almost as if he was saying these words for someone else to hear. Could it be that someone else was impersonating him?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the case. If he were a fake, how could all of those people not be able to see through his disguise? In my opinion, it¡¯s probably because he now depend on Goddess Yan, so he wants to leave her with a good impression.¡±

    ¡°That makes sense. We¡¯ll have to invite him after Goddess Yan leaves Cloudcenter City.¡±

    ¡­

    When the two of them left, Yan Xuehen walked over with apletely cold expression. Zu An eximed, ¡°Big Sis Yan, please don¡¯t misunderstand! I¡¯m not that close to the two of them, and I¡¯ve never gone to those kinds of ces.¡±

    Yan Xuehen snorted. She asked, ¡°What are you exining all of this to me for? It¡¯s not as if we have any kind of rtionship.¡±

    Zu An almost blurted out ¡®Aren¡¯t you Chuyan¡¯s master?¡¯ Fortunately, he reacted quickly and swallowed those words back down. Otherwise, he might have died a miserable death on the spot. Instead, he replied, ¡°We¡¯ve gone through many life and death experiences together, right? Of course I need to exin things to you clearly.¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯splexion improved a bit when she heard what he said. She was about to say something when she heard more footsteps. After learning her previous lesson, she didn¡¯t hide behind the screen guiltily, instead putting on an act and saying to Zu An, ¡°When ites to many things, it¡¯s not what you say, but rather how you act.¡±

    Just then, the door opened. Pei Mianman saw Yan Xuehen inside, and her smile instantly froze. Yan Xuehen was Chuyan¡¯s master, while to some extent, she had stolen her best friend¡¯s husband. When she finally met Chuyan¡¯s master, the atmosphere turned strange.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to meet Senior Yan here!¡± Pei Mianman eximed, instinctively showing Yan Xuehen the bow of a junior.

    Inwardly, Yan Xuehen¡¯s thoughts were also a mess. This girl¡¯s rtionship with Zu An seems to be special, and she¡¯s even Chuyan¡¯s best friend. I¡¯m done for if she notices anything is off. As such, she nodded slightly and said, ¡°You two should chat; I¡¯ll leave first.¡±

    She quickly left afterward, leaving Pei Mianman stunned. She felt that something was strange. Why does this feel like a wifeing home to a girlfriend somehow¡­

    1. This is a character from The Smiling, Proud Wanderer. ?

 Chapter 1305: A Gentleman Uses His Mouth, Not His Fists

    Chapter 1305: A Gentleman Uses His Mouth, Not His Fists

    Pei Mianman ran up to the door to confirm that Yan Xuehen had already left, then closed it. Then, she asked Zu An with a guilty conscience, ¡°Sect Master Yan doesn¡¯t know about us, right?¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­ I don¡¯t think so,¡± Zu An said, although he wasn¡¯t too certain either. If Yan Xuehen knew, whether it was for Chuyan¡¯s sake or her own, she would probably shave ayer of skin off him.

    ¡°I was just going to say, she didn¡¯t scold me at all,¡± Pei Mianman said. She patted her chest in relief, making that area ripple. ¡°Sigh. I have to find a chance to clear things up with Chuyan. I don¡¯t want to be all secretive like this anymore.¡±

    However, she felt a bit strange after saying that. Chuyan already divorced him, so why do I have to exin anything?

    Zu An felt as if his head might explode. He could already foresee just how terrible the situation would be. Eventually, he said, ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since Ist saw Chuyan too.¡±

    After some hesitation, Pei Mianman asked, ¡°Should I write a letter for Sect Master Yan to bring to Chuyan? I¡¯ll write out everything clearly in the letter.¡±

    Zu An jumped in fright. ¡°No way!¡±

    What kind of a joke is this? The past Yan Xuehen definitely wouldn¡¯t peep on a letter meant for her disciple.

    But things arepletely different now! She¡¯s still a woman. Even though she said we had to pretend nothing happened between the two of us, things will definitely still be different.

    Yan Xuehen might suspect my rtionship with Pei Mianman and be unable to hold back her curiosity, and thus peep at the letter.

    Their rtionship wasn¡¯t that stable at the moment. There was a chance of everything sliding into a bottomless abyss at any time. If she found out the truth, that would be game over!

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Pei Mianman asked, looking at him in confusion. She felt that Zu An¡¯s reaction was a bit too dramatic.

    Zu An¡¯s quick wit kicked in. He said, ¡°Uh, it¡¯s just that I think this kind of thing is better dealt with in person. It¡¯ll seem more sincere, and there¡¯ll be fewer misunderstandings.¡±

    Pei Mianman nodded and said, ¡°You''re right. I asked to write a letter because I felt guilty and didn¡¯t want to face Chuyan directly. Still, it¡¯s better to speak to her face to face.¡±

    Zu An sighed in relief when he saw that she didn¡¯t press the issue.

    ¡°Ah Zu, what exactly has happened since thest time? Do you know just how worried I was?¡± Pei Mianman asked, giving him a resentful look with tears glistening in her eyes.

    Zu An took her into his arms and said, ¡°Manman, I¡¯ve really been worried about you all this time. Don¡¯t try to impersonate an Embroidered Envoy again; it¡¯s just way too dangerous.¡±

    ¡°I couldn¡¯t just watch as you were convicted as a traitor without doing anything, right?¡± Pei Mianman replied with a pout.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Good guys don¡¯t live that long, but bad guys always survive for thousands of years. A scoundrel like me won¡¯t be done in so easily,¡± Zu An replied. When he saw her lovable and charming appearance, he couldn''t help but move in for a kiss.

    ¡°You¡¯re so annoying~¡± Pei Mianman replied, hitting his chest yfully. ¡°Who talks about themselves like that?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you always call me a bad guy¡­¡± Zu An began, but Pei Mianman covered his mouth out of embarrassment.

    ¡­

    After they fought yfully for a bit, Zu An then began to tell her about everything that had happened since thest time they met.

    When she heard about just how great a danger they had suffered in the underground mines, even though Pei Mianman knew that Zu An was already back safe and sound, she was still scared and on edge. She said, ¡°You were clearly fighting bitterly for the human race and almost threw your very life away, and yet these court officials were only trying to think of ways to deal with you. It really is annoying!¡±

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°If you consider it from other perspectives, that kind of behavior is still understandable.¡± Then, he told her about what had happened afterward.

    Pei Mianman clicked her tongue and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect thepletely ipatible Sect Master Yan and Sect Master Yun to actually get along. Aren¡¯t you a bit too charming?¡±

    Zu An began to sweat. A woman¡¯s intuition really was sharp! He could only say, ¡°It was mainly because we had amon enemy back then. After fighting alongside each other, they were too embarrassed to fight each other after that.¡±

    Pei Mianman nodded and said, ¡°It¡¯s also thanks to that terrifying Scaled Deathworm that Sect Master Yan abandoned the difference between human and fiend. I really don¡¯t know whether to call your luck good or bad.¡±

    Zu An could feel the strong resentment in her voice. He knew she was unhappy about the risk he had taken to save Yu Yanluo. He could only exin, ¡°Madam Yu showed me tremendous kindness in the past. Back then, I was almost killed by his majesty over the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, but she helped me plead for mercy¡­ She also helped me with many other things. I couldn¡¯t just watch without doing anything as she perished.¡±

    ¡°I know you¡¯re a loyal and true person,¡± Pei Mianman said with a bit of envy. However, she continued, ¡°Are you still going to call her Madam Yu in front of me? Their spy said you were together with her in the fiend race territories all the time, and that you were really close.¡±

    Zu An chuckled in embarrassment. He initially nned to defend himself a bit, but Yu Yanluo¡¯s rtionship with him would be found out sooner orter. Lying to Pei Mianman now would instead only hurt her moreter.

    When she saw his expression, Pei Mianman¡¯s suspicions were confirmed. She sighed. This guy got a new girl every time he went out; who could tolerate such a thing? The worst part was that she had fallen for him the same way back then too! That was why she didn¡¯t have the confidence to me him. She really felt incredibly annoyed when she thought of that.

    In order to divert her attention, Zu An quickly asked, ¡°Manman, have you gone to the fiend race territories before? The scenery over there ispletely different from this side¡­¡± Then, he told her about the local features and customs of the Snake race territory and Bluefield Country.

    Sure enough, Pei Mianman was interested. However, she also knew he was trying to distract her, so she kept an unhappy expression on her face. Still, when she heard about his battle against the Golden Crow Crown Prince, she began to feel nervous. She asked, ¡°Why are you so good at pissing people off wherever you go? You actually dared to even offend the Golden Crow Crown Prince in the fiend race territories? That¡¯s the next Fiend Emperor, you know?!¡±

    ¡°He wasn¡¯t even that amazing. I almost plucked him naked,¡± Zu An said with a chuckle.

    ¡°You still have the nerve to act all cocky?!¡± Pei Mianman eximed, stomping her feet nervously. ¡°The main problem is his identity! The Fiend Emperor is someone on the same level as his majesty. Now that you¡¯ve bullied his sessor, will he let you go?¡±

    ¡°There is indeed some risk, so I always tried to maintain a low profile in the fiend race territories afterward, almost never revealing my real identity,¡± Zu An said in constion.

    However, Pei Mianman was incredibly sharp and quickly reacted. ¡°Then, judging from what you¡¯re saying, are you still going back there?¡±

    Zu An nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s right. I obtained a treasure map from an old tomb there. Recorded on it was a map to an Unknown Region. It¡¯s in the Fiend King Court. Sect Master Yan and Sect Master Yun are going as well.¡±

    Pei Mianman harrumphed unhappily. She asked, ¡°You¡¯re saying all of this just to tell me you¡¯re not doing it for Yu Yanluo, right?¡± Of course, she knew that Unknown Regions were just too alluring for cultivators. No one could refuse such a tremendous opportunity.

    Zu An felt a bit apologetic. He said, ¡°That¡¯s also part of the reason. The Fiend Emperor is gathering the leaders of the various ns in the Fiend King Court. I don¡¯t know what he ns to do.¡±

    ¡°Enough, enough. Just go and take good care of big sis Yu. Of course, you have to take care of yourself too. You¡¯d better not die in the fiend race territories,¡± Pei Mianman said.

    In truth, she felt rather strange. Normally, since Yu Yanluo had joined the harem after her, she would be the little sister. But she was someone who had already been famous for many years, and could even be called a major figure from the previous generation. Pei Mianman really couldn''t bring herself to call her ¡®little sister¡¯.

    Zu An sighed in relief and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I still have such a great Manman waiting for me back home, so I have to hurry back no matter what.¡±

    ¡°Hmph! Can you say some nicer things, please?¡± Pei Mianman harrumphed. ¡°Right, how did youe back from that side so quickly?¡±

    Zu An took out the Wind Fire Wheels and exined, ¡°These are the Wind Fire Wheels. Ms. Shang took them from her nephew as an apology to me¡­¡±

    Pei Mianman sighed in amazement when she heard his summary. She eximed, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect Ms. Shang to be from the Ocean races, and for her strength to have been hidden so well!¡±

    Zu An also sighed in amazement, saying, ¡°Indeed. I¡¯ve discovered that there are actually quite a few fiends hidden in human society, and those people might not necessarily have any bad thoughts. On the contrary, they¡¯re quite friendly.¡±

    ¡°There are good and bad humans, so there are obviously good and bad fiends too.¡± Pei Mianman copied Zu An¡¯s usual attitude and asked teasingly, ¡°But why is your affinity with girls so good? Ms. Shang was even willing to empty out her nephew¡¯s pockets for you.¡±

    ¡°Haha, it might be because I¡¯m just a likable person,¡± Zu An said with an embarrassed smile.

    Pei Mianman had a very deep impression of Ms. Shang from Brightmoon Academy. She didn¡¯t think too much of it and instead focused on something else. She said, ¡°The Wind Fire Wheels are a pair. How did you and Sect Master Yane back? Don¡¯t tell me you each stepped on one?¡±

    Zu An was speechless. If anyone else found out, wouldn¡¯t Yan Xuehen directly silence them? Still, he reacted quickly and said, ¡°Of course I just supported her with my arm. She¡¯s a grandmaster. Even though she¡¯s injured, she can still barely fly.¡±

    Pei Mianman thought to herself that, as Yan Xuehen¡¯s normal aura was indeed powerful, flying likely wasn¡¯t too big of an issue. She said, ¡°You¡¯d better not do anything to that Sect Master Yan. If you offend her, you¡¯re dead for sure.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry! How could a nobleman like me do anything disrespectful to her?¡± Zu An replied without batting an eyelid. A gentleman uses his mouth, not his fists, right?

    He continued, ¡°Later, though, we encountered some danger in the Great Snowy Mountain, so we couldn''t use the Wind Fire Wheels anymore¡­¡±

    When she heard about the terrifying storm they had encountered and the earth immortal rank snowdy they had run into, Pei Mianamn felt as if her heart had encountered tumultuous waves. She said, ¡°The Great Snowy Mountain is too terrifying after all¡­ Right, what did you two end up encountering in those hot springs?¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An¡¯s expression became extremely strange as he said, ¡°I met the emperor.¡±

 Chapter 1306: Secret Within the Hot Springs

    Chapter 1306: Secret Within the Hot Springs

    Previously, Sang Hong had never asked about that subject because he really did believe that Yu Yanluo had built some secret transport formation between Cloudcenter Commandery and the Snake race territory. Such topics were rather sensitive, so he couldn''t really ask about them.

    However, Pei Mianman naturally didn¡¯t have such misgivings and directly asked the question. How could she have possibly anticipated the answer?

    ¡°You met the emperor?¡± Pei Mianman eximed, stunned. Then why did the emperor still hold this impeachment to judge Zu An? Are the two of them just putting on an act?

    When he saw her expression, Zu An knew she was thinking something different. He quickly exined, ¡°What I encountered wasn¡¯t the emperor¡¯s real body, but rather a strand of aura he left behind¡­¡±

    ¡­

    Back then, in the cave, a terrifying aura had erupted from the cavern depths. Yan Xuehen had been so scared that she quickly grabbed Zu An and ran. She had sensed that the aura was even stronger than hers when she was at her peak. Both of them were injured and wouldn¡¯t be a match for it at all.

    The terrifying legends of the Great Snowy Mountain had already left too deep of an impact on her. Furthermore, they had just encountered that earth immortal snowdy not too long before, so the two of them were already on edge.

    After running for a few steps, however, Zu An stopped. Yan Xuehen was badly frightened when she saw him pause. With their speed, they could still have a chance of survival if they ran with everything they had; now that Zu An had hesitated, however, that possibility was thrown into doubt.

    Of course, if Zu An stayed behind to buy her time, Yan Xuehen would have a much bigger chance of escaping. Still, even though the two of them hadn¡¯t reached a truly intimate level yet, her nature prevented her from doing such a thing. As such, she stayed behind, eximing in annoyance, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It might not be dangerous at all this time,¡± Zu An said, patting her hand in constion. ¡°This aura feels a bit familiar.¡±

    Yan Xuehen instinctively pulled her hand back, but his words drew her attention. She asked, ¡°Familiar?¡±

    The terrifying aura was something only an earth immortal could release, and yet Zu An was familiar with it? Just who was the grandmaster here? Yan Xuehen was supposed to be knowledgeable and experienced, and yet it seemed almost as if she couldn''t keep up.

    Zu An didn¡¯t reply, and simply walked into the cavern depths. Yan Xuehen bit her lips, but she still followed him in the end. The deeper in they went, the stronger the aura felt. Yan Xuehen even felt her very soul trembling. She sighed, thinking, It¡¯s all over, it¡¯s all over¡­ We¡¯re probably going to die here.

    However, Zu An appeared to bepletely fine as he walked deeper in.

    In the end, Yan Xuehen was still a grandmaster with a steadfast will. The way things were, she wanted to see just what kind of cultivator was ahead of them. That way, at least she would understand why she died.

    To her surprise, however, she didn¡¯t see any exceptional cultivators within the cave. Rather, there was a simple and crude structure that resembled a sacrificial altar. She felt a strange premonition.

    The structure wasn¡¯t actually a sacrificial altar, but rather a formation that seemed to have been roughly assembled by a single person. However, the details were full of dao marks and naturalws. There were manyplex runes carved on its surface, to the point that even she found it hard to see through the principles. For even such casual actions to represent heavenly dao, just what insane level had the structure reached?

    As Zu An stopped in front of the formation, the runes around it lit up. A vague image appeared in its center.

    At such a short distance, the terrifying pressure was almost enough to make Yan Xuehen bow down. However, she knew that if she really did kneel, her own dao would be affected by the figure¡¯s. In the future, she would forever live in the other cultivator¡¯s shadow, unable to truly forge her own path.

    Even so, she was too close to the formation. Not only was she injured, she had also just done the most unforgettable thing of her life and was still worried about her gains and losses. In that condition, her mind was at its most frail! She felt like a skiff in a roaring sea, ready to capsize under a great wave at any time.

    Just then, Zu An took her hand, infusing a warm stream into her body. Yan Xuehen immediately felt her mind clear up. The dark clouds were reced with clear skies, revealing a gentle sun that provided her with its warm rays.

    ¡°I actually let him be my sun¡­¡± Yan Xuehen murmured with a blush.

    What had happened just then wasn¡¯t real; rather, it was a kind of illusion. Clearly, she felt a subconscious sense of closeness to Zu An. She quickly focused, thinking, I can¡¯t let Zu An affect my dao after I managed to stop this terrifying expert¡¯s dao from affecting me.

    She really was curious. Why was it that even though she couldn''t stand the pressure at her level, Zu An seemed to bepletely fine? Normally, there should have been no reason for him to have even greater resistance than her at his cultivation rank, right?

    She looked at the resplendent golden figure on the formation. She gradually discerned a sense of familiarity from it, and her expression changed. She began, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An nodded and said, ¡°This is precisely the emperor¡¯s aura.¡±

    Even though Yan Xuehen had met the emperor, the two had never fought against each other before. She wasn¡¯t that familiar with his real aura. In contrast, Zu An had fought to the death against the emperor¡¯s soul fragment in the Westhound Tomb secret dungeon. The sensation was one he couldn¡¯t be more familiar with. That was why he had immediately made the connection as soon as the formation¡¯s power erupted.

    The emperor was suffering from heaven and man deterioration, and constantly hid in the pce to rest. There was no way he could be outside. Thus, Zu An had remembered the story Yan Xuehen mentioned and realized something. That was why he had boldly entered to confirm his suspicions.

    Yan Xuehen realized that a powerful cultivator had indeed been present, but only a shadow remained. She didn¡¯t know why, however.

    Zu An asked, ¡°Big sis Yan, do you still remember what you told me about the emperor¡¯s visit to the Great Snowy Mountain, and how he left while seriously injured?¡±

    ¡°Are you saying this was where he left from?¡± Yan Xuehen asked. She had been struggling to see through the formation¡¯s principles, but she suddenly understood. Wasn¡¯t it nothing more than an exquisite and outstanding transport formation?

    Zu An looked at the hot springs rich with ki, saying, ¡°There¡¯s no way an incredible ce like this wouldn¡¯t have an owner. The emperor was probably injured somewhere in the Great Snowy Mountains, beforeing here to treat himself. He chased away the original owner of this ce.¡±

    ¡°It could be that he was injured by the original owner here,¡± Yan Xuehen added.

    ¡°That is a possibility too,¡± Zu An said. His gaze shifted to the formation as he continued, ¡°The emperor must have made this transport formation and left through it. However, because he was injured, some of his aura leaked out and remained here.

    ¡°Because of this formation¡¯s profundity, as well as the richness of this cave¡¯s ki, that strand of aura never disappeared. That powerful pressure prevented all the nearby creatures from approaching. That¡¯s why this amazing ce was preserved.¡±

    Yan Xuehen wondered, ¡°With the emperor¡¯s cultivation, why didn¡¯t he leave from the outside? Why did he have to carve out a transport formation?¡±

    Zu An said gravely, ¡°There¡¯s a chance that there was something he feared outside. That was why he had to make a secret escape here.¡±

    ¡°Something even the emperor fears¡­¡± Yan Xuehen clicked her tongue. It really was hard for her to imagine something like that in this world.

    ¡°There¡¯s no way we would be able to make it to Cloudcenter Commandery normally. Why don¡¯t we give this formation a try?¡± Zu An suggested, although he was a bit hesitant even as he spoke. ¡°Although, we¡¯ll have really gambled poorly if we end up in the emperor¡¯s ce of seclusion.¡±

    ¡°That won¡¯t happen. I can more or less tell that the formation will take us to the northwest of the empire. As for the exact coordinates, though, I can¡¯t say for sure,¡± Yan Xuehen said after observing the formation for a while.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes lit up. He eximed, ¡°Cloudcenter Commandery is also to the northwest! Then we can give it a shot.¡±

    After that, he took out a pile of ki stones to power the formation. Yan Xuehen¡¯s eyes narrowed when she saw that. How does this guy have so many heaven-grade ki stones? Did Yu Yanluo really take care of him that well?

    Her heart skipped a beat when she thought of that. She quickly warned herself, Zu An and Yu Yanluo are lovers; what does it have to do with me? It almost sounds as if I¡¯m jealous or something.

    She noticed that her hand was still in Zu An¡¯s and her cheeks heated up. She was about to let go, but Zu An pulled her over to the formation and said, ¡°Don¡¯t let go. Otherwise, it¡¯ll be annoying if we end up getting sent to two different ces.¡±

    Yan Xuehen obviously knew about that possibility. Normally, in order to prevent being separated, those moving through a formation would stick close to each other. Even then, however, it wasn¡¯t a guarantee.

    As soon as she got on, however, she felt a warm hug wrap around her. Yan Xuehen was embarrassed and nervous, but Zu An said in her ear, ¡°It¡¯s just to prevent us from being separated.¡±

    Yan Xuehen understood the principles well enough to understand that Zu An was just taking the chance to hug her as he wished. She gritted her teeth, but she was helpless. She could only let him do what he wanted for the time being.

    ¡­

    When he remembered how Yan Xuehen¡¯s face had beenpletely red, and she had been at a loss for what to do, Zu An couldn''t help but grin.

    ¡°What are you smiling for?¡± Pei Mianman noticed his expression and harrumphed. ¡°I feel that your smile is a bit dirty for some reason.¡±

 Chapter 1307: Breaking Apart Lovebirds

    Chapter 1307: Breaking Apart Lovebirds

    ¡°Nonsense!¡± Zu An wiped his face and reacted quickly. ¡°I¡¯m smiling because I was able to see you after finallying back!¡±

    Pei Mianman harrumphed. ¡°Hmph, knowing you, it was definitely another girl!¡± Despite saying those words, however, she still felt happy. His honeyed words were extremely effective.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to have gone through so much. Sigh, it¡¯s a pity that I wasn¡¯t able to stay by your side,¡± she said regretfully.

    Zu An had told her pretty much everything that happened in the Great Snowy Mountain, but of course, he hadn¡¯t breathed a word about his intimate experience with Yan Xuehen. Even so, his experience had still made Pei MIanman cry out in rm several times.

    ¡°Still, not even all of this canpare to what we went through in Yinxu,¡± Zu An said with a smile as he pulled her into his embrace.

    Pei Mianman was also moved. They had been husband and wife for several generations in Yinxu. She replied, ¡°Hmph, I thought that you might¡¯ve gotten bored of me after staying in Yinxu with me for all that time.¡±

    Zu An gave her charming face a kiss and replied, ¡°How could that be? All of that was just an illusion; time flew much faster. It wasn¡¯t actually several lifetimes.¡±

    Pei Mianman scowled and shot back, ¡°Then are you saying you¡¯re already tired of me after just a few decades?¡±

    Zu An was speechless. Can you not word it like that?

    He reacted quickly, immediately pouring out a huge pile of flowery praises. ¡°Of course not. Manman, you don¡¯t understand how great your charm is. Other men want nothing more than to devour you¡­¡±

    Still, Pei Mianman didn¡¯t take the bait at all, asking, ¡°Then what about you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to devour you right now!¡± Zu An eximed, reaching out with both hands.

    Pei Mianman was ticklish, so she quickly moved out of the way. Still, how could she move faster than Zu An? She quickly ended upughing so hard that her body rocked back and forth.

    Suddenly, the door opened from the outside. A voice began, ¡°Sir Zu, I have something to say to you¡­¡±

    The voice came to a screeching halt halfway through the sentence.

    ¡°Father¡­¡± Pei Mianman murmured, jumping in fright when she saw who it was. Even though there wasn¡¯t much of a father-daughter rtionship between them, they had lived under that pretext for so many years. There was no way she wouldn¡¯t feel any guilt at all.

    The one who had arrived was, of course, City Lord Pei Shao. He was normally rather good-natured; or, at the very least, there was often a smile on his face. At the moment, though, his expression waspletely dark.

    Zu An moved his hand back from Pei Mianman¡¯s neck and asked, ¡°So¡­ How¡¯s it been, Sir City Lord?¡±

    He had been too invested in his fun with Pei Mianman, and Yan Xuehen hadn¡¯t closed the door properly when she left. That was why Pei Shao had ended up running into them. Being caught in action by a woman¡¯s father¡­ No matter how thick one¡¯s skin was, they¡¯d still feel embarrassed, right?

    ¡°Sir Zu is now the Great Lady Count; I am not worthy of you calling me sir.¡± Pei Shao harrumphed. He was furious. The precious daughter he had raised all this time had already been ruined by a pig without his notice! Anyone would be furious in such a situation, right?

    You have sessfully trolled Pei Shao for +311 +311 +311¡­

    Zu An¡¯s eyes twitched when he heard the name ¡®Great Lady Count¡¯. He replied, ¡°What is City Lord Pei saying? I have always held Sir Pei¡¯s character in high prestige¡­¡±

    What followed was a mountain of cringe-inducing ttery. Even Pei Mianman frowned, so how could Pei Shao¡¯s reaction be any better? He couldn''t stand it anymore and said, ¡°Enough, enough. I came to ask what your rtionship with my daughter was like, and why she would take such a huge risk to impersonate a Golden Token Envoy. Now, it seems there is no need for that.¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An said with a sigh of amazement, ¡°City Lord Pei really has incredible insight after all! My admiration for you flows endlessly like a relentless river¡­¡±

    Pei Shao was speechless. I¡¯m so pissed, but what can I even say?

    Pei Mianman took a deep breath. She grabbed Zu An¡¯s arm and said, ¡°Ah Zu and I have already pledged ourselves to each other.¡±

    Pei Shao¡¯s eyes twitched. In the end, he still couldn''t help but m the table and yell, ¡°Nonsense! Do you know what a pledge like that, without the parents¡¯ approval, means? Such a thing isughable even among normal families, let alone in our Pei n!¡±

    Pei Mianman said with her head raised, ¡°We are happy to be with each other, and love will prevail. There is nothing tough at at all!¡±

    ¡°You¡­!¡± Pei Shao was so angry that even his facial hair was starting to stand on end. He retorted, ¡°You are the future wife of King Qi¡¯s heir, and possibly even a future empress. How can you have such little self-respect?¡±

    Zu An took a step in front of Pei Mianman and replied, ¡°City Lord Pei, let me correct you on something. The wife of King Qi¡¯s heir will never be the empress.¡±

    ¡°Hmph! Even the major ns are not sure who wille out on top between King Qi and the crown prince; who do you think you are to say something like that?¡± Pei Shao snapped. He had been annoyed to begin with. When he heard Zu An make a bold statement like that, he became even more blunt.

    You have sessfully trolled Pei Shao for +444 +444 +444¡­.

    ¡°So what if I said it?¡± Zu An replied indifferently. ¡°I was able to crush the legs of King Qi¡¯s heir back then, and I wouldn¡¯t mind crushing his third leg too. Let¡¯s see how he¡¯ll get himself a wife then.¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Pei Shao eximed. He was so angry his entire body was shaking. ¡°You crude, coarse man! As expected of someone who used to be amoner, you don¡¯t have the upbringing of a true noble at all!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Pei Shao for +599 +599 +599¡­

    ¡°A true noble?¡± Zu An sneered. ¡°Does City Lord Pei feel no shame when you say that? Which among these so-called top noble ns isn¡¯t made up of thieves and whores? The only things that might be clean are the stone lions by their front gates.¡±

    Pei Shao choked. He knew what Zu An said was true. Such things really weremon urrences in the great ns. As long as it wasn¡¯t something that vited a basic principle, it wouldn¡¯t damage their noble reputation at all.

    What was important to the nobility? Naturally, it was their etiquette, their long history, and acknowledgement from other ns. The rich would marry the rich, while the poor would marry the poor. That was a societal rule.

    For example, even though he was already a count, the way someone like Zu An did things didn¡¯t match the etiquette of the nobility at all. He was still someone who would be mocked by the inner circles in private.

    Pei Mianman didn¡¯t want the two to fight over such a thing, so she said, ¡°I¡¯ve already rejected the marriage with King Qi¡¯s heir. If you want a marriage so badly, you can marry him yourself.¡±

    ¡°Good, good, very good!¡± Pei Shao spat, shooting Zu An a re. ¡°So it turns out thatst time, when you advised me not to agree to King Qi¡¯s marriage that early, it was because you had these wicked thoughts!¡±

    He felt worse and worse when he thought of that. He had beenpletely yed!

    You have sessfully trolled Pei Shao for +555 +555 +555¡­

    Pei Mianman said, ¡°That matter is unrted. We already pledged to be married when we were in Brightmoon City. If you insist on this marriage with King Qi¡¯s heir, I don¡¯t mind making this public. Let¡¯s see if he¡¯ll still dare to marry me then!¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Pei Shao shouted. He was now really angered beyond belief. As expected, daughters are all raised for others!

    However, he suddenly thought of something. He gradually calmed down and said, ¡°There¡¯s been progress in the matter we talked aboutst time. That side has already agreed; are you still going to go or not?¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Pei Mianman replied, sounding shocked and happy.

    ¡°Of course it is.¡± Pei Shao harrumphed. ¡°Follow me back for now.¡±

    Pei Mianman hesitated for a moment, but eventually said, ¡°Alright.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. What is going on?

    Pei Mianman approached him and said, ¡°Ah Zu, I might have to be apart from you for a while.¡±

    Zu An expected it to be like the plot of a TV drama, but to his surprise, Pei Mianman exined excitedly, ¡°I¡¯m going to meet a master! I¡¯ll join a top-level sect simr to the White Jade Sect!¡±

 Chapter 1308: Bad News

    Chapter 1308: Bad News

    ¡°Which sect?¡± Zu An asked, stunned. Why did Pei Mianman suddenly want to join a sect?

    ¡°Jadefall Pce, a hidden sect that¡¯s on par with the White Jade Sect. Because the court has been too oppressive in recent years, they sealed up the entire sect and shunned the world. Recently, there¡¯s been news that it¡¯s opening up again and is about to take in a new group of students. The quota is limited, but I managed to get a slot through the Pei n,¡± Pei Mianman exined.

    ¡°Jadefall Pce?¡± Zu An repeated. He thought to himself for a while, but he had no impression of that ce at all. He reminded himself to look into it in the Embroidery House¡¯s archives once he had a chance. He asked, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you go to the Royal Academy? No matter how great Jadefall Pce¡¯s people are, they can¡¯tpare to the libationer, right?¡±

    ¡°I wanted to go to the Royal Academy too, but the libationer already took in his final disciple many years ago, and then never took another. Being a third generation disciple seems meaningless,¡± Pei Mianman said with a pout, clearly feeling regretful.

    Zu An remembered the little girl Qi Yaoguang. She was the libationer¡¯sst disciple. Pei Mianman¡¯s aptitude wasn¡¯t any worse than Qi Yaoguang¡¯s, but unfortunately, she just hadn¡¯t gotten that opportunity. He asked, ¡°Then this time, is Jadefall Sect not just taking in ordinary disciples?[1]¡±

    ¡°Jadefall Pce¡¯s monarch is personally taking in a disciple, which is why there was such a hugemotion. There are countless people fighting for this opportunity,¡± Pei Mianman said, her voice full of pride. Proving herself among many outstanding candidates would be an indirect way of confirming her own ability.

    Zu An jumped in fright, asking, ¡°Is this monarch male or female?¡± If the sect master were a man and he ended up taking in such a lovely disciple, how could he stand it?

    ¡°Of course it¡¯s a woman!¡± Pei Mianman replied. She had known him for so long that she naturally knew what he was thinking.

    ¡°How old is she? Is she pretty?¡± Zu An asked, sighing in relief. For some reason, Yan Xuehen¡¯s bashful expression when she had been struggling to hold on appeared in his mind.

    ¡°Hmph, you always pay attention to the wrong things.¡± Pei Mianman harrumphed, but she still replied, ¡°Either way, she¡¯s definitely not young. As for whether she¡¯s pretty or not, from what I know, her appearance isn¡¯t her distinctive feature.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Zu An couldn''t help but chuckle. What in the world am I even thinking? Still, he felt a bit unwilling. He asked, ¡°Can you not go to Jadefall Pce? I¡¯ll just teach you what I know. It definitely won¡¯t be any worse than what you can learn from those hidden sects!¡±

    Pei Mianman shook her head and said, ¡°I know you¡¯re very strong, but I don¡¯t want to bepletely dependent on you.¡±

    ¡°We are one to begin with; what difference is there?¡± Zu An replied reassuringly.

    Pei Mianmanughed, but she had a helpless expression as she said, ¡°If it were just between the two of us, of course it wouldn¡¯t matter. But¡­ Forget it. Don¡¯t try to convince me otherwise. I¡¯ve already made my decision.¡±

    ¡°But once you go to Jadefall Pce, we¡¯ll bepletely apart! We might not be able to see each other again for many years¡­¡± Zu An protested. He still remembered how after Chu Chuyan had returned to the White Jade Sect, they had pretty much beenpletely separated. It had already been so long since hest saw her!

    Pei Mianman looked at him quietly. Her peach blossom eyes were full of deep emotion as she said, ¡°Ah Zu, when I first met you, you were still really weak. I was the one who taught you some skills. And yet now, even though not long has passed, you¡¯ve already reached your current level. If I don¡¯t try to catch up, I¡¯ll only get further and further away from you. I can still look up to you now, but in the future, I might not even have the right to do that anymore. Besides, apart from that, I¡¯m also a cultivator and I have my own pride. So, please don¡¯t stop me.¡±

    There was another reason she didn¡¯t want to say out loud, which was that she didn¡¯t want to lose to Chu Chuyan.

    No matter how much confidence she had, though, Chuyan¡¯s master Yan Xuehen was a world-renowned grandmaster. Chuyan had all of the White Jade Sect¡¯s resources to help her cultivate, which had only made the difference between the two of them grow greater and greater. The next time they met, would she even have the confidence to talk about her rtionship with Zu An in front of Chuyan?

    Zu An wanted to point out that she had already broken through into the seventh rank recently, and that she was already extremely outstanding among her peers, but after thinking about it, he decided not to say anything in the end.

    When he first met her, Pei Mianman had been a publicly acknowledged genius in Brightmoon Academy. There had been so many people praising her. But now, someone who had been weaker than her ended up surpassing her by so much. Even though Zu An was a man, that kind of thing was hard to ept for her. After all, she had the pride of a genius, and all cultivators sought strength.

    ¡°You¡¯re right. I shouldn¡¯t be stopping you,¡± Zu An said, taking her into his arms. ¡°With your talent and aptitude, you¡¯ll definitely be chosen as Jadefall Empress¡¯ direct disciple. Your cultivation will surely advance by leaps and bounds.¡±

    Pei Mianman¡¯s talent wasn¡¯t inferior to anyone else¡¯s. Furthermore, she had received the Heaven¡¯s Wisdom Jade from Yinxu, making her cultivation speed even greater. If she received the guidance of a master, her future achievements would be limitless.

    ¡°Ah Zu¡­¡± Pei Mianman said reluctantly. The two of them embraced each other closely.

    ¡°Ahem, did you forget that there was still someone else here?!¡± Pei Shao eximed furiously as his eyebrows continued twitching.

    You have sessfully trolled Pei Shao for +666 +666 +666¡­

    Pei Mianman jumped in fright, jumping away as if she had been burned by Zu An. She stuck out her tongue secretly and said, ¡°I¡¯m leaving. I won¡¯t lose to you the next time we meet again.¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An chuckled and replied, ¡°That might be a bit difficult.¡±

    Pei Mianman smiled sweetly, radiant as a flower in full bloom. She waved at Zu An and left with steady steps. When he saw her departing, Zu An couldn''t help but feel a bit dejected. He wasn¡¯t in the mood to stay in Cloudcenter City any longer.

    Soon afterward, a letter from the Zhenyuan Merchant Group arrived. Zu An opened it and saw graceful writing within. It turned out to have been sent by Tang Tian¡¯er, telling him that she had already secured many channels, sessfully procuring the Blue Earthflowers he was looking for from the fiend races. They would be there by next spring, so he could feel at ease in that regard.

    At the same time, she told him that she had been worried about him during the crisis, wondering where exactly he was. Tang Tian¡¯er had tried to find him in the nearbymanderies, but she hadn¡¯t found anything out.

    She then talked about how she had important affairs to deal with that would take her out of Cloudcenter Commandery, so she could only leave a letter with a subordinate to pass onto him whenever he returned.

    ¡­

    Zu An thought with a strange expression, Why does this seem to be describing the batch from the Fox Merchant Group in Bluefield Country that was already pre-ordered?

    However, he felt warm inside when he felt the implied concern. His rtionship with Tang Tian¡¯er had gotten off to a rocky start, but now they were good friends. He wondered what had made her leave in such a hurry. It must have been quite a thorny problem.

    He wrote his reply and gave it to the one who had delivered the letter. The merchant group had their way of getting the letter to Tang Tian¡¯er. At the same time, he took out a set of the makeup products he had purchased from Rouge Spice and had it sent over as well. He had bought ten sets of them, and yet he hadn''t even been able to give away a single set. It really was a bit embarrassing.

    The messenger had a strange expression, but he still wrapped up the items. Zu An knew what he was thinking, though. Even though Rouge Spice¡¯s cosmetics were precious, with Tang Tian¡¯er¡¯s identity, she definitely didn¡¯tck them.

    But are the products that are purchased with money the same as the ones from me?

    As long as a girl had a favorable impression of a person, she would be happy even if that person gave them something really ordinary. On the contrary, no matter how precious the item was, if she didn¡¯t like the person, she wouldn¡¯t care about it at all.

    ¡­

    After seeing the Zhenyuan Merchant Group¡¯s messenger out, Zu An visited Sang Hong to talk about what had happened after he left.

    When he heard that Zu An was going to return to the fiend race¡¯s side, Sang Hong frowned. He said, ¡°We¡¯ve finally calmed this recent disturbance. What if something unexpected happens again once you leave?¡±

    ¡°I have a reason for having to go back. Once I finish, I¡¯ll immediately hurry back,¡± Zu An said. ¡°As for everything else, after today¡¯s morning court session and Sect Master Yan testifying for me, no one will try to start anything for some time.¡±

    Sang Hong knew that Zu An had already made his decision. He could only sigh and say, ¡°There might be people waiting for you over on that side, but don¡¯t forget that there are people waiting for you in the capital too.¡±

    Zu An knew he was talking about Zheng Dan and Sang Qien. His face heated up as he replied, ¡°Of course I won¡¯t forget about the people back at the capital.¡±

    The two of them were both intelligent, so they left that subject behind. Then, Sang Hong began to fill Zu An in on several other events. With their experience, things became much easier.

    As soon as they finished, a guard came to report, ¡°Bad news! Something has happened over in the Duke Manor!¡±

    1. This refers to the sect taking in disciples who study under the regr experts, as opposed to being personal disciples of the sect master. ?

 Chapter 1309: Chaos

    Chapter 1309: Chaos

    ¡°What are you making such a huge fuss for? What happened?¡± Sang Hong asked with a frown.

    ¡°Arge group of smaller ns banded together, demanding to see the duke. There are also some merchant groups who have merchant slips that they wish to convert ahead of time. The Duke Manor¡¯s guards exined that the duke was currently in seclusion, but they did not listen at all. Just who is leading this mess? They barged straight in, and for some reason, those guards did not stop them,¡± his subordinate quickly replied.

    Sang Hong said seriously, ¡°That is normal. Such a major event happened in the Duke Manor, and yet the duke never appeared. He never showed himself even after so many people asked to see him, so they all suspect that he is already dead. Now, the loyalty of the entire Duke Manor is divided. It is to be expected that those guards are not putting up much effort.¡±

    Zu An was rmed. Looks like I left for too long, I¡¯ve already caused many people to be suspicious.

    After his subordinate left, Sang Hong said to Zu An, ¡°Either way, no matter how out of control things are on the duke¡¯s end, it has nothing to do with us. Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s stability is Xu Yu¡¯s responsibility, so he can deal with that headache. You don¡¯t have to bother with this matter.¡±

    Zu An smiled bitterly. He couldn''t ignore the situation, because he was Cloudcenter Duke at the moment. Yu Yanluo had no intention topletely give up on Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s industries, and neither did he. Thus, he still needed to use the identity of Cloudcenter Duke to get things done.

    Thus, he quickly excused himself and said, ¡°Respected uncle, I¡¯ll be heading back to get some rest.¡±

    ¡°You should take some time to properly recover. Let me know when you¡¯re about to leave, and don¡¯t vanish again without a sound likest time,¡± Sang Hong said.

    Zu An was a bit embarrassed as he replied, ¡°Alright. I¡¯ve made respected uncle worry.¡±

    Sang Hong nodded inwardly when he saw that even though Zu An was now a count with higher cultivation than his own, he still treated him with respect.

    It seems I didn¡¯t choose the wrong person after all. Qien¡¯er won¡¯t be wronged by following him. Apart from that, there¡¯s Zheng Dan as well. Sigh, I wonder if they¡¯ve be pregnant or not.

    After Zu An returned to the room, he initially tried to head over to Pei You to activate his Kawaii Waifu Voice Changer, but that guy was gone. He had likely gone to Jasper Lane with Gao Ying. Zu An thought, Sigh, hoes before bros, huh? Didn¡¯t you say you were going to help me wash away my bad luck?

    As such, Zu An could only look for Xiao Jianren. He decided to change back into his Golden Token Eleven outfit to meet him.

    Xiao Jianren was startled and happy to see him, eximing, ¡°Sir Eleven, you¡¯ve finally returned! I thought that something might have happened to you.¡±

    Zu An replied indifferently, ¡°What could possibly happen to me?¡±

    Xiao Jianren thought to himself that it made sense. Every Golden Token Envoy had extraordinary abilities. I really was fretting for nothing. However, he soon remembered something else and quickly said, ¡°Sir Eleven, someone was impersonating you before, and she was a woman, no less. Should I try to find out who dared to impersonate a Golden Token Envoy?¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°That was one of my people. I sent her over. Otherwise, where do you think she would have gotten her uniform and waist token from?¡±

    Xiao Jianren had felt that those details were strange to begin with. Apart from being the wrong person, the other pieces had all been in order, leaving him puzzled as to where the woman had gotten the outfit. When he heard Zu An¡¯s exnation, he released a long sigh of relief and said, ¡°That¡¯s good then.¡±

    At the same time, he wondered what kind of a rtionship that woman had with Sir Eleven, for him to even entrust his Golden Token Envoy uniform to her. Furthermore, Chief Commander Zhuxie hadn¡¯t even looked into the situation, which meant he must have known about it. Xiao Jianren¡¯s inner gossipy soul began to burn passionately.

    Zu An thought to himself, This is a good opportunity. He didn¡¯t even change and circled back, but as he returned, he used the Kawaii Waifu Voice Changer.

    Xiao Jianren just assumed it was Golden Token Eleven¡¯s female body double. After carefully waiting upon him, he made inquiries about her rtionship with Zu An.

    Zu An said, ¡°After one bes a Golden Token Envoy, the organization will assign a female double. Apart from helping with professional matters, they can also take care of everyday life, and even warm your bed.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Xiao Jianren eximed, his tired eyes almost seeming to radiate rays of hope. He had already been quite satisfied with being a Silver Token Envoy. Golden Token Envoys had too many responsibilities, and they even encountered a lot of danger. He had thought there was no way that could be better than just staying in the archives and reading to his heart¡¯s content.

    But the organization actually assigns Golden Token Envoys their own women?!

    She wouldn¡¯t be an ordinary woman, but an Embroidered Envoy woman! They would naturally have all kinds of skills. Not only would they berades in battle, they would also be one¡¯s most intimatepanion. Xiao Jianren began breathing heavily when he thought of the possibilities. Motivation seemed to enter his monotonous lifestyle once more.

    When he saw that, Zu An thought to himself, Old Xiao really is an honest person. He even believed this kind of thing?

    If Xiao Jianren finally worked his way up to a Golden Token Envoy and asked Zhuxie Chixin for a femalepanion¡­ That would definitely be an interesting scene.

    Now that he had sessfully activated the voice changer, Zu An found a random excuse to leave. Then, he used ¡®Face of a Thousand Identities¡¯ to change into Jian Yanyou. After that, he quickly hurried to the Duke Manor.

    ¡­

    The entire Duke Manor was a mess. Many disciples from different ns and representatives of merchant groups were busy grabbing rare and valuable furniture from the Duke Manor as repayment for debts orpensation for their losses. There were even some guards and servants who were moving things away.

    After Jian Taiding and the butler had died, only the women¡ªLiu Ji, Chu Ji, and Zhang Ji¡ª were left. Even though they tried to stop it, who would listen to them in such a situation? There were even some who coveted their beauty. As the duke¡¯s concubines, the three women had previously been untouchable. However, their identity was extremely stimting to many men, who wanted to take advantage of the crisis.

    The three women were embarrassed and furious. While they were trying to avoid such situations, they had even less opportunity to deal with the chaos. Helpless to do anything else, they could only head to the ce where the duke was supposed to be resting in seclusion.

    However, the looters eventually entered deeper into the manor. When they saw what the women weer doing, they roared withughter.

    ¡°Back then, Jian Yanyou didn¡¯t do a thing even when something happened to Yu Yanluo, the main wife. Do you think he¡¯ll care about you concubines at all?¡±

    ¡°So many things have happened since then. If that bastard Jian still hadn¡¯t died, he would havee out a long time ago. Now, things are already so chaotic, and yet he still hasn¡¯t shown himself. That means he really has died already!¡±

    ¡°If you all know what¡¯s good for you, just remarry. We big brothers won¡¯t turn our backs on you just because you aren¡¯t virgins anymore.¡±

    ¡°What do you know? It¡¯s these married women who know how to best serve others.¡±

    ¡­

    They roared withughter, their conversation growing coarser over time as they continued to eye the three women.

    The women¡¯s faces grew redder as they heard the lewdments. However, the other side had greater numbers, and there were quite a few cultivators. The manor¡¯s guard system was aplete mess and would be of no help at all. They had no other choice left.

    Zhang Ji was different from the others because she didn¡¯t know the truth, and thought that the duke was still in seclusion. Chu Ji and Liu Ji, however, felt ice-cold inside. They knew that the duke had really died, and that the recement had left with Madam Yu as well. They really had been left behind.

    A few months prior, they had lived wonderful and impressive lives; now, however, they had fallen from the sky down into the dust, simply because they had lost their backer. In this world where the strong ruled, beautiful women were like duckweeds. If they lost their backers, they would inevitably meet miserable ends.

    Meanwhile, the men grew unsatisfied with just teasing the women. They all stepped forward to seize the one they liked. After all, there were only three women, and the situation waspletely stacked against them. The one who moved first would get them first. The three women screamed in fear when they saw the men¡¯s grasping ws approaching them.

    Suddenly, the stone door exploded, sending countless shards of rubble outward. Those men with weaker cultivations were immediately sted full of holes, while the stronger ones barely managed to keep their lives.

    Afterward, a human figure quickly emerged. The cultivators in front didn¡¯t have time to react at all before a palm that seemed as light as a feather smashed into their bodies. However, they felt as if their strength had beenpletely sucked out of their bodies, and they died on the spot.

    ¡°Master rank!¡±

    The ones in the back withdrew in horror when they sensed the figure¡¯s powerful pressure. As the smoke and dust scattered, they finally saw who it was. Who else could it be but Cloudcenter Duke, Jian Yanyou?!

    ¡°You are all truly bold. You dare to cause trouble in this duke¡¯s manor?!¡±

    Of course, the one who had appeared was Zu An. However, he hadn¡¯t expected such great chaos to have unfolded. It seemed that, whether it was Sang Hong or Xu Yu¡¯s faction, they had been hoping for something big to happen in the Duke Manor. That was why they had tacitly allowed such a thing.

    ¡°Sir Duke, please spare us! We don¡¯t know anything! We were just acting on orders!¡±

    The looters were immediately scared witless. Not only had Jian Yanyou not died, he even seemed to have fully recovered from his injuries. Who in Cloudcenter Commandery could be his match? Thus, they all began to push the responsibility onto the dead.

    ¡°Sir Duke!¡±

    Many scattered guards rushed over when they heard the news. When they saw the duke, they were all extremely moved. Those who could bear to remain for so long were clearly the truly loyal guards.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An was about to say something when Zhang Ji quickly jumped into his arms, sobbing miserably and calling out, ¡°Duke¡­¡±

    Chu Yi and Liu Ji were both moved and excited. However, they knew this person wasn¡¯t the real duke, so they didn¡¯t act as naturally as Zhang Ji. They only moved a bit closer to him.

    Even though he had beauties at his side, Zu An just felt a bit awkward. He hadn¡¯te back because he wanted to have fun with someone else¡¯s women, but how could he have expected how passionate Zhang Ji would be?

    Just then, a flurry of footsteps rang out, and Xu Yu arrived with a group of subordinates. Hisplexion was pale; he clearly still hadn''t recovered from his previous anger.

    ¡°Sir Xu came at the perfect time. These people have barged into the Duke Manor. As for what kind of crime this is, I will leave the details to Sir Xu,¡± Zu An said coldly. He didn¡¯t have the patience to deal with the mess, so he¡¯d just leave it to Xu Yu to deal with.

    Sure enough, Xu Yu¡¯s eyelids twitched. He clearly knew that in order to properly deal with things ording to thew, he would likely have to offend a bunch of Cloudcenter City¡¯s local powers.

    He was about to do something when he saw that many cultivators from the great ns had been killed. He also felt the aura of the master rank ¡®Jian Yanyou¡¯. His expression immediately changed and he said, ¡°The disturbance of the duke was due to my negligence. Just leave the follow-up to this official; I will definitely provide the duke with a satisfactory result.¡±

    ¡°I hope that will be the case,¡± Zu An said.

    He didn¡¯t feel like sparing Xu Yu another word, however, so he took the women with him and left. The event had drawn his attention to the fact that the women¡¯s cultivation wasn¡¯t that high, so they couldn''t really keep things under control. Thus, he had to help them raise their cultivation.

 Chapter 1310: Passing On Cultivation

    Chapter 1310: Passing On Cultivation

    Of course, before then, there was something else Zu An had to do. He summoned all of the loyal guards to deal with the ones who hadn¡¯t done anything when the enemy approached, or had even colluded with outsiders. At the same time, he generously rewarded those who had fought heroically, promoting them to higher positions.

    Even though he was only a single person, this was a world where the strong reigned. No one dared to go against master rank pressure. Aided by the prestige the duke had and the three women who understood the situation better, a great purge quickly took ce in the Duke Manor.

    However, after the chaotic day, the Duke Manor had taken a huge blow. The security was already struggling. Thus, after thinking about it, Zu An called over all of the Yu n¡¯s guards. Following Yu Yanluo¡¯s departure, the Yu n had been left without a leader, and were also in a difficult position. Meanwhile, Zu An had assumed the identity of Yu Yanluo¡¯s official husband. Sure enough, the Yu n¡¯s guards didn¡¯t feel much mental rejection, and they were actually extremely grateful for being taken in.

    Zu An saw that Gong Pan was also present. Through all the turmoil that had happened, Gong Pan had led his subordinates in protecting the Yu n. He had experienced several serious conflicts, and had been injured quite badly himself. Based on their interactions, Zu An knew that Gong Pan was loyal.

    However, Zu An didn¡¯t promote Gong Pan to the rank of captain, because the other man was someone from the ¡®previous dynasty¡¯. Meanwhile, his identity would be exposed sooner orter, so he had to raise his own trusted aides. Once the truth waspletely revealed, those people would have no choice but to stay with him in consideration of their own interests.

    As such, he promoted a mid-level guard named Guan Wu, who had shown bravery and loyalty during the chaos, to the rank of captain. The guard was permitted to practice any of the rare manuals that were in the manor to increase his own strength.

    Guan Wu had never expected to be given such heavy responsibility by the duke. He was so moved that even his voice shook as he vowed his unwavering loyalty to the duke, pledging his life to defend the Duke Manor.

    Even though many others were jealous, Guan Wu was the one who had charged in at the very forefront of the chaos, and he had also been seriously injured. They all felt admiration for him. Furthermore, considering the power the duke had just disyed, who would dare utter a single word of protest?

    After making arrangements for security, Zu An left it to his subordinates to clean up the manor. He brought the three women back to their rooms. Even though he had assigned them guards, in this world, being weak meant one would be powerless in many situations.

    However, because they hadn¡¯t wanted Cloudcenter Duke to feel any suspicion, when Yu Yanluo had sent Liu Ji and Chu Ji, and Jian Taiding had sent Zhang Ji, they had chosen women with low cultivations. That was why Zu An wanted to help the women increase their cultivation. After what had just happened, they understood just how important it was to be strong themselves.

    Zhang Ji sensed the implied meaning of Zu An¡¯s exnation and asked, ¡°Duke, are you leaving?¡±

    ¡°There is something I need to take care of, so I will be gone for a period of time. Of course, what I will say to the public is that I am once again entering seclusion. It is enough for the three of you to know,¡± Zu An replied. These were the duke¡¯s spouses,after all. Saying that he was going into seclusion again might not be able to fully convince them.

    ¡°Ah¡­ So you are still going to go¡­¡± Zhang Ji trailed off. Let alone her, even Chu Ji and Liu Ji were reluctant. Even though they knew he was an imposter, they felt exceptionally at peace with him at their side.

    ¡°That is why we need to seize the moment and increase your cultivation as quickly as possible,¡± Zu An said tofort them.

    ¡°But how can cultivation be that easy¡­¡± Zhang Ji said as she sat off to the side, crossing her beautiful long legs in an extremely graceful manner. She looked extremely distressed.

    ¡°Precisely! We might not be able to match up to your expectations¡­¡± Chu Ji added as she stood by the window. The sun shone on her clothes, highlighting her extremely soft and graceful curves.

    ¡°Sigh, if we knew things were going to be like this, we would have started cultivating earlier,¡± Liu Ji said, putting her arms on her waist. Her movement caused a great ripple to course through her chest.

    Zu An said, ¡°Under normal circumstances, it would require many years of bitter cultivation. However, I have a way of quickly increasing your cultivation within a short amount of time. Still, it might stop you three from pursuing the peak of dao that you could have reached without it in the long run.¡±

    Zhang Ji smiled and replied, ¡°The duke must be joking. Do people like us need to seek the peak of dao? It would already be a blessing for us to be able to protect ourselves. Furthermore, is it not all the same if the duke reaches the absolute peak?¡±

    Liu Ji and Chu Ji voiced their agreement. They knew that with their talent, even though they were a bit better than ordinary people, they weren¡¯t talented geniuses. They obviously didn¡¯t have many extravagant hopes for their cultivation.

    Zu An nodded and said, ¡°In that case, then, let¡¯s start. Sit up next to me.¡±

    Then, he taught them the basics of breathing. Afterward, his fingers struck against their major acupoints as he used his own cultivation to open up the meridians they would need to transport ki. With his master rank cultivation, it wasn¡¯t too difficult to do those things.

    Then, he infused ki into their bodies. Such a method of increasing cultivation was simple and crude, and normally, no cultivators were willing to perform it. It was too taxing on the one using the technique, and no one was willing to use the ki they had bitterly umted to benefit another. Furthermore, releasing a certain amount of ki didn¡¯t automatically mean the recipient would absorb the same amount. Often, they wouldn¡¯t absorb anything at all. That was why such a thankless task wasn¡¯t particrlymon.

    However, Zu An was different. He had the Heaven Devouring Art. He had instantly sucked the cultivators he killed dry when he dealt with them. At his current cultivation realm, their cultivation wasn¡¯t that useful to him. However, the ki he had absorbed was perfect for passing on to the three women.

    After many hours passed, steam was emanating from the women¡¯s heads. They werepletely soaked in sweat, and even their clothes were drenched. The process of having one¡¯s meridians cleansed was extremely painful at times, but also extremelyfortable at other times. They had gritted their teeth and tried to endure for fear of disturbing Zu An, but after some time, one of them gave up, and they began to moan and scream.

    Zu An¡¯s inner energies raged within him as a result of the process. Additionally, the three women¡¯s delicate fragrance had been stimted by the heat. Between that and the moans that had begun to emerge from their mouths, he was even starting to feel tempted.

    When he finally finished the process, he quickly said, ¡°You are all around the initial stage of the sixth rank now. Of course, your strength cannotpare to that of a true sixth rank cultivator, but you will have the strength to protect yourself now. Furthermore, I will prepare many fighting skills for you to cultivate. All three of you are smart, so you should be able to grasp them soon. Now, I am going back to rest.¡±

    Chu Ji and Liu Ji exchanged a look when they saw him bow slightly before leaving in a somewhat haggard state. Their expressions were a bit red.

    Zhang Ji was confused, asking, ¡°Big sis, why does it feel as if the duke is intentionally avoiding us?¡±

    In the past, they had been jealous love rivals and hadn¡¯t gotten along. Only now, after all that had happened, did they realize that they shared honor and disgrace together. They had to face all kinds of difficulties together. As such, their old conflicted feelings had already disappeared, and their rtionship thus became quite close.

    ¡°It might be because he is being a gentleman,¡± Chu Ji and Liu Ji replied. They naturally knew what was going on, but they couldn''t tell her the truth.

    ¡°A gentleman?¡± Zhang Ji replied, finding it really strange. Why would they use that description to describe their husband? She thought for a bit, then moved over to their side to ask quietly, ¡°Big sisters, don¡¯t you two feel that the duke is a bit different from before?¡±

    Chu Ji and Liu Ji were rmed. They wondered whether she had already seen through the duke and asked with puzzled expressions, ¡°What¡¯s different?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just that¡­¡± Zhang Ji¡¯s face was a bit red as she looked around with a guilty conscience. When she was sure that there was no one around them, she said, ¡°The duke seems a bit¡­ bolder and more powerful than before.¡±

    Some memories appeared in Chu Ji and Liu Ji¡¯s head when they heard those words. Their hearts began to quicken. They replied, ¡°Maybe¡­ Maybe it¡¯s because the duke¡¯s cultivation has increased a bit recently.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? But I don¡¯t remember the duke being like this even when his cultivation was this high,¡± Zhang Ji said in confusion.

    ¡°We¡¯re all soaked in sweat. Let¡¯s return and take a bath for now. Let¡¯s not waste the duke¡¯s hard work,¡± Chu Ji and Liu Ji said. They were worried that she would continue to ask, so they left guiltily.

    ¡°So strange¡­¡± Zhang Ji grumbled. The others didn¡¯t know what she was thinking, but her expression suddenly turned nk.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An returned to his room to rest. He eventually calmed down his raging ki, continuing to tell himself that gentlemen didn¡¯t take advantage of others¡¯ difficulties. In the past, he had needed to investigate the truth, so he had done those things to better imitate the duke. Now he couldn''t continue to do things that would let the duke down, though.

    Just then, someone knocked lightly on his door. Then, a figure pushed the door open and came in.

    ¡°Liu Ji?¡± Zu An called out. He couldn''t help but remember Big Manman when he saw Liu Ji¡¯s chest rock back and forth. Unfortunately, it would be a long time before he could see her again.

    ¡°The duke has worked so hard for us just now. This is a soup of scallop, fungus, and pigeon I had prepared specially. It should be really good for your recovery,¡± Liu Ji said. She ced a bowl of savory hot soup in front of him.

    Zu An¡¯s expression was strange. He had already gotten so worked up from earlier, and yet she wanted him to eat such testosterone-boosting things? Still, he didn¡¯t want to let down the woman¡¯s kindness, so he picked it up to give it a try. It really was quite tasty. He had been running around so much that he really was a bit hungry.

    I wonder if Yan Xuehen had anything to eat yet¡­

    As Zu An¡¯s mind wandered, Liui Ji¡¯s voice pulled him back to reality. She asked, ¡°Duke, has the madam already sessfully returned to the Snake race territory?¡±

    Zu An nodded and said, ¡°Indeed. Everything is peaceful on that side¡­¡± Then, he told her about what had happened on the other side.

    When she saw that he was yawning from time to time, Liu Ji walked behind him and said, ¡°How about I give you a massage?¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Um¡­ That¡¯s not too appropriate, is it?¡±

    ¡°What isn¡¯t too appropriate? I used to do this for the duke, but¡­¡±

    There wasn¡¯t much Zu An could say when he saw how Liu Ji seemed on the verge of tears. He had been running around for so long and he really was a bit tired, so he didn¡¯t refuse her anymore.

    Liu Ji¡¯s fingers were really soft, and her movements were extremely considerate. Zu An slowly closed his eyes. Eventually, Liu Ji noticed how tense his neck was. She smiled and said gently, ¡°Please rx~¡±

    Under the guidance of her hands, Zu An¡¯s head sank into something soft and warm. He opened his eyes and wanted to say something, but then stopped.

    Liu Ji said softly, ¡°Duke, this is your home. Please don¡¯t consider yourself an outsider.¡±

    Zu An was a bit rmed. Was she hinting at something?

 Chapter 1311: A Grudge Must Be Repaid

    Chapter 1311: A Grudge Must Be Repaid

    That night, Zhang Ji and Chu Ji came to seek him out several times. Zu An had to admit that sometimes, the affairs of the world were just that strange. They had clearly never discussed anything among themselves beforehand, and yet things coincidentally turned out the same way. For instance, they all brought different kinds of soup. However, they had one thing inmon, which was that they were all nourishing soups.

    Zu An really was getting very worked up from eating all of those foods. He had been doing his best to hold it in, and yet now, these three seductresses kept teasing him using all sorts of tricks. He tried tactfully refusing several times, to the extent where he even said outright that he couldn''t let down the duke and the madam.

    However, Liu Ji smashed straight through his bottom line by retorting, ¡°You might not be letting them down, but what about us?¡±

    Zu An was no herbivore. Liu Ji hadpletely stirred up the me within him. In the end, just like that, whether it meant letting down the duke or the madam, he spent the restless night with them.

    ¡­

    The next morning, after he dealt with the various affairs of the manor, he quickly returned to the Imperial Envoy residence. When he returned to his room, he saw Yan Xuehen sitting inside with apletely cold expression.

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +147 +147 +147¡­

    ¡°Where did you gost night?!¡± Yan Xuehen eximed. The previous night, she had intended to discuss the matter of returning to the fiend race¡¯s side with Zu An, but she couldn''t find him anywhere!

    Her first thought had been that something had happened to him. After thinking it over, though, she felt that with Zu An¡¯s official rank and cultivation, there likely wasn¡¯t anyone in Cloudcenter Commandery who could threaten him. As such, she had decided to just stay put and wait for him. The entire time, because she was scared of being discovered, she had fled whenever there was even a bit of activity. And yet, in the end, Zu An hadn¡¯te back after an entire night.

    She felt that ever since she had met Zu An, her unshakable daoist state had been pretty muchpletely ruined. Now, her emotions were even stronger than before.

    ¡°I¡­¡± Zu An trailed off. He had a guilty conscience and didn¡¯t know how to exin himself.

    Yan Xuehen saw his appearance and jumped in fright, asking, ¡°What¡¯s going on? Why do you look so weak?¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He looked in the mirror and saw that he had two ck circles beneath his eyes, and hisplexion was haggard. His expression suddenly became a bit strange as he thought, Human bodies aren¡¯t made of steel after all¡­ Those three seductresses could grind even an iron rod into a needle. However, he replied, ¡°It might be because I¡¯ve been constantly running back and forth. I had to deal with some personal affairsst night and wasn¡¯t able to rest either.¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s face reddened. She remembered how Zu An had carried her almost all the way. Later on, they had done ¡®that¡¯ in the hot springs¡­ No wonder he was so tired. As such, her angerpletely disappeared, instead reced with an apologetic feeling and gentle concern. She said, ¡°In that case, you should rest well. We can leave tomorrow.¡±

    Zu An had initially thought that it would be fine to leave on that day, but he was actually a bit tired. Thus, he didn¡¯t refuse. He asked, ¡°Right, what did you eat yesterday?¡±

    After some hesitation, Yan Xuehen said, ¡°Sir Sang invited me to the banquet, but I don¡¯t like those types of gatherings and didn¡¯t go. I thought you were going toe back eventually anyway, and it would be fine to have a meal then. But in the end¡­¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes widened. He asked, ¡°Then¡­ You didn¡¯t eat anything all day?¡±

    Yan Xuehen proudly said, ¡°Cultivators like me can go for several days without eating or drinking anyway. Furthermore, I cultivate a technique that emphasizes peace of mind. It¡¯s normal to fast, so I don¡¯t feel hungry.¡±

    As soon as she finished her sentence, however, her stomach growled. Yan Xuehen was speechless. Her fair and clear face immediately turnedpletely red.

    Zu An didn¡¯t try to tease her and instead said in constion, ¡°Of course it would be fine if you skip a few meals at other times, but you¡¯re injured right now! We also exhausted so much energy on the way here, so you need to replenish your energy. I haven¡¯t eaten yet either, but I know some good ces in Cloudcenter City. Even though they aren¡¯t that famous, their food is authentic.¡±

    Yan Xuehen wanted to refuse at first, but when her stomach growled again, she was too embarrassed to keep protesting. Thus, Zu An took her to different breakfast booths to try the local specialties. Yan Xuehen was rmed when she saw the bustling morning market. She had previously felt that such noisy ces were annoying, but for some reason, she now felt that they were just another facet of the world. Perhaps these were precious things that she had already forgotten about for too long?

    There were all kinds of delicacies everywhere. Yan Xuehen no longer acted like her usual goddess-like self, instead eating until her mouth was covered in oil. Zu An chuckled, reaching out to help her wipe the corners of her lips. However, Yan Xuehen¡¯s face reddened and she took a step back to avoid his hand. Then, she quickly took out her handkerchief to wipe her mouth.

    Zu An didn¡¯t feel offended and knew that it was just her nature. There was no way she would ept him that quickly. The fact that she was willing toe out to have breakfast with him was already a huge improvement.

    After finishing breakfast, the two returned to the Imperial Envoy residence. They were both a bit tired, so they decided to get some rest.

    Zu An jokingly suggested sleeping together; he would sleep on the floor, while she could take the bed. However, Yan Xuehen got so angry she almost shed him with her sword.

    In the end, Yan Xuehen slept next door to him. The two were both experts, though. Even though there was a wall between them, they could hear each other¡¯s breathing. They both quickly calmed down and entered thend of dreams.

    ¡­

    They dozed off into the evening. When Zu An woke up, he felt incredibly refreshed, while Yan Xuehen¡¯s face also seemed to be glowing. For cultivators like them, that amount of sleep was already enough for them to recover.

    Zu An went to find Sang Hong in order to say goodbye. Sang Hong said seriously, ¡°I will tell the world that you went off to investigate whether or not there are other spatial cracks. However, this pretext will notst for too long, so you should return as quickly as possible.¡±

    ¡°I will. Sect Master Yan ising with me too. Even if you don¡¯t trust me, you trust her, right?¡± Zu An replied with a chuckle.

    Yan Xuehen secretly pinched him. How many times has this guy made use of my reputation already? My reputation really is going to be done for one day.

    Sure enough, when he heard that Yan Xuehen was going with him, Sang Hong sighed in relief. He said, ¡°Of course I will not worry any further if Goddess Yan is traveling with you. I wish the two of you a smooth journey.¡±

    The two waved each other farewell. Afterward, Zu An and Yan Xuehen didn¡¯t disturb anyone else and headed to a secluded ce. Zu An took out the Wind Fire Wheels, then reflexively squatted down. He patted his back, gesturing for her to get on.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression became a bit unnatural as she said, ¡°There¡¯s no need. My injuries have recovered quite a bit. I¡¯ll just hold your arm.¡±

    Zu An knew that she was easily embarrassed and didn¡¯t force it. He got on the Wind Fire Wheels, then flew into the sky while holding her arm. The oxygen in the sky was thin, and the winds were biting cold. However, it wasn¡¯t that big of a threat to the two of them.

    Zu An asked, ¡°Should we go through the Great Snowy Mountain again?¡±

    Yan Xuehen said in assent, ¡°That path is the shortest. We¡¯ll be able to avoid the more dangerous areas after thest lesson.¡±

    Zu An thought that made sense, so he continued to fly toward the Great Snowy Mountain. Along the way, he breathed in the elegant fragrance of the beauty at his side.

    His thoughts were just starting to stir when Yan Xuehen warned him ahead of time, ¡°If you suddenly speed up and stop again, don¡¯t me me for bing hostile.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face heated up. It seemed what he had donest time hadn¡¯t fooled her. He could only give up on those thoughts when he heard that.

    Soon afterward, they entered the Great Snowy Mountain. Both of them became nervous, worried that something might happen. Fortunately, they had already be familiar with the safe route. Their luck was better the second time, so they didn¡¯t encounter anything dangerous.

    As they passed the hot spring, Zu An couldn''t help but suggest, ¡°Should we take a break in that hot spring again?¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The memory of the previous time appeared in Yan Xuehen¡¯s mind when Zu An mentioned that ce. She blushed with embarrassment and looked away without saying a word. Zu An knew that she was easily embarrassed and didn¡¯t tease her anymore. He could only give up on that tempting thought.

    Just like that, the two crossed the borders of the Great Snowy Mountain and arrived in the fiend race territory. Then, Zu An headed directly for the Fiend King Court.

    Several dayster, he caught up to Yu Yanluo¡¯s group; they were staying in a certain tribe¡¯s territory. Yan Xuehen immediately separated from Zu An when she saw them, seemingly scared that they would notice something.

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡± Yu Yanluo eximed, leaping into his arms when she saw him.

    Yan Xuehen raised her eyebrows, but she didn¡¯t say anything. She could only walk to one side, feeling mysteriously annoyed.

    There was a stalk of grass hanging from Yun Jianyue¡¯s mouth as she reclinedzily on a tree branch. When she saw Yan Xuehen, her eyes immediately lit up. She quickly jumped down toin, ¡°Stone cold woman, do you know how bored I was after you two left? This fiend race territory is huge, but there¡¯s almost no one here. There were several days where we didn¡¯t even see a single person! I was so bored I almost considered chasing after some chickens for amusement! Thank goodness you¡¯re back.¡±

    Yan Xuehen frowned and harrumphed.¡°So what if I am back? It is not as if I will y with you.¡±

    Yun Jianyue giggled, replying, ¡°Aren¡¯t we acting too unfamiliar with each other here? Let¡¯s head inside first.¡±

    A crafty glint flickered through Yan Xuehen¡¯s eyes, but she didn¡¯t reveal anything else. When they entered the room, Yun Jianyue closed the door behind them.

    Yan Xuehen asked with a frown, ¡°So? What is it?¡±

    Yun Jianyue rubbed her hands and replied, ¡°How is bullying chickens more fun than bullying you? Stone cold woman, has your little butt missed the feeling of my hand?¡±

    She pounced after speaking, but her smile quickly froze. She looked down and saw that a finger had struck her major acupoint. She eximed in disbelief, ¡°You¡¯ve recovered?¡±

    A hint of a smile appeared in Yan Xuehen¡¯s usually cold and indifferent eyes. She replied, ¡°Witch, who would have thought that something like this would happen to even someone like you?¡±

    Then, she pulled Yun Jianyue¡¯s dress straight down, and loud ps rang out.

    Smack smack smack!

    A grudge had to be properly repaid!

 Chapter 1312: Slip of the Tongue

    Chapter 1312: Slip of the Tongue

    Yun Jianyue almost fainted, crying out, ¡°You¡¯d better stop right now!¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s normally gentle and refined face now bore a strangely excited look. She replied, ¡°Oh? This really doesn¡¯t feel that bad. No wonder you would alwayse after me every few days.¡±

    Immediately after, a few more smacks followed.

    Yun Jianyue was beyond humiliated. The difference between her expectations and reality was too great! She had been excited to harass Yan Xuehen just moments before, wishing to get rid of her boredom after several few days. She had never expected to be the one who got spanked instead! The reversal of her expectations made her especially sensitive.

    ¡°Just how did you recover?!¡± Yun Jianyue eximed, trying to divert her attention. Please stop, my back is already burning¡­

    ¡°Do you want to know? Why don¡¯t you beg me?¡± Yan Xuehen replied, feeling incredibly refreshed. She hadn¡¯t even felt so happy when she broke through into the grandmaster rank back then. Only a few days before in the Great Snowy Mountain¡­

    Her face reddened when she thought of that. What am I thinking of that guy for? She raised her hand and brought it back down ferociously to hide her own embarrassment.

    Yun Jianyue was about to faint. She had felt pretty good when she bullied this stone cold woman, but she hadn¡¯t expected the sensation of being beaten to be like this! She began to panic when she saw the other party getting more and more worked up. She decided that she had to deal with this disaster first before anything else. Later, once she regained her freedom, she would properly settle the debt.

    Thus, she said, ¡°Okay, I really do want to know. You can just think of it as me begging you. How did you recover so quickly?¡±

    Yan Xuehen had struggled against her rival for many years, and yet this was the first time she had seen Yun Jianyue submit. It really felt incredible. However, she harrumphed. ¡°What do you mean, I can think of it as begging? I don¡¯t sense a shred of sincerity. That doesn¡¯t count!¡±

    Yun Jianyue gritted her teeth. As someone from the Devil Sect, she fully understood how to be flexible. At the moment, she had no choice but to lower her head. She could only grit her teeth and say, ¡°I beg you, please tell me how you recovered that quickly.¡±

    When she saw how Yun Jiayue was furious, and yet couldn''t do a thing to her, Yan Xuehen smiled and replied, ¡°Your voice is too quiet, I can¡¯t hear you.¡±

    ¡°Stone cold woman, you¡¯re doing this on purpose!¡± Yun Jianyue eximed furiously. With their cultivation, even if their voices were as quiet as a mosquito¡¯s buzz, they could still hear each other clearly. There was no way Yan Xuehen hadn¡¯t heard her!

    ¡°If I say I can¡¯t hear you, I can¡¯t hear you. What, are you unhappy with what I said?¡± Yan Xuehen replied, sending her palm smashing down again. When she saw the ripple that followed, she thought to herself, This witch really is pretty perky down there.

    ¡°Fine, I¡¯m begging you! You heard me this time, right?!¡± Yun Jianyue cried. She really was curious. After all, at their cultivation levels, they normally wouldn¡¯t get injured; but if they did, it wasn¡¯t something they could recover from that quickly.

    She knew just how bad Yan Xuehen¡¯s injuries had been. They definitely hadn¡¯t been the sort that could heal in under half a year, let alone a mere few days.

    When she heard Yun Jianyue beg several times, Yan Xuehen raised her brows. Her beautiful eyes flickered with a crafty look and she replied, ¡°I did hear you, but why should I tell you?¡±

    Wasn¡¯t the reason she had healed because of Zu An¡¯s strange technique? That method was so embarrassing. She wouldn¡¯t talk about it even if she were beaten to death.

    Yun Jianyue was speechless. Only a whileter did she realize that she had been duped. She eximed, ¡°Stone cold woman, when did you be so crafty? Didn¡¯t you refrain from lying in the past?!¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t lie though. I only said you could beg if you wanted to know, but I never said I would tell you if you begged,¡± Yan Xuehen said, even as her face reddened. She wouldn¡¯t have done such a thing before, but a few days prior, Zu An had taught her how to tell a lie without speaking anything other than the truth. She had discovered that she could no longer go back after that.

    Yun Jianyue was stunned. When did this stone cold woman¡¯s rigid block-like brain be so cunning? Don¡¯t tell me that in the past few days with Zu An¡­

    Smack!

    Just then, another palm mmed down. The fiery pain stopped Yun Jianyue from thinking further. She was so angry she fired all manner of curses at Yan Xuehen. The harder she cursed, though, the heavier those strikes became. Yan Xuehen still remembered the feeling of being pressed down and beaten clearly, so how could she let her rival go that easily?

    The door opened up with a creak. Then, Zu An called out, ¡°What are you two doing? Why does it sound as if a pig¡­ is being ughtered¡­¡±

    When he entered the room and saw a white expanse, as well as a mysterious ¡®absolute domain¡¯, Zu An couldn''t finish speaking. He waspletely petrified. Meanwhile, Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue were both stunned. Neither had expected to draw Zu An over.

    Yan Xuehen was rmed. She had also had her dress pulled down by Yun Jianyue down to the knees and been spanked the same way, and Zu An had gotten aplete view of her too. Even though the two of them had already experienced the most intimate skinship, she still felt so embarrassed she wanted to crawl into a hole whenever she remembered that memory.

    Yun Jianyue felt an explosion go off in her mind. She was normally high and mighty, someone who looked down on the world. And yet today, her most embarrassing and private parts had been seen by a man.

    If it had been anyone else, she could just kill them to silence them. If she was really furious, she would just burn them to ashes. But how could she kill Zu An? Whether it was his rtionship with Honglei or with her, she couldn''t kill him!

    Ahhh! How am I going to face anyone in the future?!

    Yan Xuehen finally reacted to what was going on. She pulled a cloth from off to the side to cover Yun Jianyue¡¯s red handprint-covered bottom. She coughed lightly and asked, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you knock before you entered?¡±

    Zu An reacted quickly as well, replying, ¡°Huh? Was it because I practiced too hard recently? Why can¡¯t I see anything in front of me?¡±

    He groped around in front of him as he spoke, as if he had gone blind. He even ¡®identally¡¯ bumped into a doorpost,mitted to the act, and left while massaging his head. However, he considerately closed the door behind him.

    Yan Xuehen burst outughing. This guy really knew how to put on an act.

    When she heard her rival¡¯sughter, Yun Jianyue became even more furious. She eximed, ¡°You¡¯reughing? You still have the nerve tough?! I didn¡¯t expect a stone cold woman like you to be that ruthless! You already screwed me over that badly, and yet you still have the nerve tough!¡±

    Yan Xuehen harrumphed. ¡°He just took a look; it¡¯s not as if you were even hurt at all. What are you howling like this for? It¡¯s not as if I¡­ ahem¡­¡± She suddenly caught herself and shut her mouth.

    Yun Jianyue was furious. ¡°Am I the Devil Sect¡¯s witch, or are you? You can actually talk about something like that in such an indifferent manner?!¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright. Seeing how you did suffer a bit today, I¡¯ll just let you off for now,¡± Yan Xuehen said. After being interrupted like that, she wasn¡¯t in the mood to continue anymore either. As she left, however, she was concerned that it wouldn¡¯t be too safe to leave Yun Jianyue lying alone inside. She reached out her hand, and a strand of ki undid the other woman¡¯s restrictions.

    ¡°Stone cold woman, I¡¯m going to fight you to the death!¡± Yun Jianyue eximed. A surge of ferocity erupted from the room, and she shot out like a streak of lightning.

    ¡­

    The loud noises happening outside made Yu Yanluo, who was in another room, worried. She wondered, ¡°What happened to them? Why are they fighting against each other like this?¡±

    Even though the two grandmasters had been arch-nemeses before, after being around each other for so long, they had berades. Why were they fighting against each other that way at the moment?n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The enchanting scene he had witnessed appeared in Zu An¡¯s mind. He felt his face heat up a bit. He quickly hid his reaction and said, ¡°It¡¯d be stranger if they weren¡¯t fighting. Don¡¯t worry; ttheir cultivation ranks are pretty much equal. They can¡¯t do much to each other.¡±

    Sure enough, even after fighting all day and leveling several mountains, neither could do much against the other.

    In the end, Zu An went out and hollered, ¡°Are you two done yet? Come in for dinner already. We still have to continue on our journey tomorrow.¡±

    Because of what had happened in the hot springs, Zu An¡¯s vigorous side was already deeply ingrained in Yan Xuehen¡¯s memory. She instinctively stopped.

    Yun Jianyue was someone who did whatever she wanted to do, so she normally wouldn¡¯t listen to Zu An in such a situation. However,he had just seen her most private side, so she waspletelycking in confidence and also just stopped at that.

    Yu Yanluo was really shocked when she saw that. She had thought that Ah Zu¡¯s advice wouldn¡¯t do a thing, and yet these two insufferably arrogant grandmasters actually listened?

    The two still sat far away from each other while eating. Whenever their eyes asionally met, sparks flew.

    Yu Yanluo was worried that they might fight again. She quickly went over to smooth things over, asking, ¡°Ah Zu, how did big sis Yan recover from her injuries?¡±

    ¡°Of course it¡¯s because of my hard work¡­¡± Zu An subconsciously replied, but he immediately cried out ¡®Not good!¡¯ inwardly. Sure enough, three prating gazes instantly focused on him.

 Chapter 1313: Fiend Race King Court

    Chapter 1313: Fiend Race King Court

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression instantly changed. She had a guilty conscience and was worried that Zu An would tell the truth.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s gaze also became a bit suspicious. She subconsciously thought of Zu An¡¯s Primordial Origin Sutra. After all, that was how she had been treated back then. However, she thought, Sect Master Yan wouldn¡¯t agree to that kind of method, would she?

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s thoughts didn¡¯t wander in that direction. However, the look in her eyes still seemed lethal. It turned out that the main perpetrator behind Yan Xuehen¡¯s bullying was this guy! When she remembered how he had seen her most private parts, her entire body felt ufortable.

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +444 +444 +444¡­

    Zu An jumped in fright when he saw the Rage points that followed. He quickly said, ¡°What I meant was that I noticed several hot springs in the Great Snowy Mountain that were rich with ki. I brought her there and let her soak inside, and there really were miraculous effects!¡±

    Yan Xuehen thought to herself, This guy doesn¡¯t even bat an eyelid when telling lies. You were frozen stiff back then, and I was clearly the one who found that hot spring and took you there. Of course, she wouldn¡¯t be so stupid as to correct him. That excuse was perfect for exining her recovery.

    Sure enough, when they heard about the earth immortal snowdy¡¯s pursuit, both of the women¡¯s expressions changed. When they heard that the two had not only managed to escape, but had even found a miraculous hot spring, they felt as if they really had taken a trip to death¡¯s door and back.

    ¡°That hot spring really is miraculous. Even I want to soak inside if there¡¯s a chance,¡± Yu Yanluo said with starry eyes.

    ¡°Count me in too,¡± Yun Jianyue added in an aloof manner.

    Yan Xuehen felt a bit guilty. The hot spring did indeed have miraculous effects, but the actual treatment was still because of Zu An¡­ If the two went to that hot spring, they would immediately suspect what Zu An had said.

    Sigh, forget it. If pushes to shove, I just won¡¯t stay around these two. Even if they¡¯re suspicious, they can¡¯te to me for confirmation.

    With a sigh of amazement, Yun Jianyue said, ¡°No wonder the Great Snowy Mountain has always been a forbidden area all these years. It turns out there was actually such a powerful being inside!¡±

    Yan Xuehen instinctively nodded, saying, ¡°Indeed. Furthermore, in my opinion, that snowdy is probably not the only powerful being in the Great Snowy Mountain.¡±

    Yun Jianyue subconsciously nodded.When she noticed that it was Yan Xuehen who had spoken, though, she harrumphed and looked away.

    Zu An quickly joined in to mediate things, adding, ¡°That¡¯s why ces like the Great Snowy Mountain are best avoided if possible. We only went around the borders, and yet we already ran into someone who was that frightening. If we really went deeper in, it would just mean certain death.¡±

    The women both nodded in agreement and didn¡¯t think about the hot springs in the Great Snowy Mountain anymore. Yan Xuehen sighed in relief. Afterward, Zu An told them about what had happened in Cloudcenter Commandery.

    Yun Jianyue couldn''t help but harrumph. ¡°That damned emperor really can¡¯t tell what¡¯s good or bad for him. You worked so hard for him, and yet he ended up treating you like this. In my opinion, it¡¯s not that bad of an idea to just leave the court. Juste to the Holy Sect, and I¡¯ll make you a¡­¡± Halfway through her sentence, she suddenly remembered that Zu An had seen her most intimate parts. Her face reddened, and she couldn''t finish speaking.

    Yan Xuehen naturally knew why she would act like that, but Yu Yanluo was left in the dark. She felt that the others were all acting strange for some reason, as if they were keeping something from her. However, she was more concerned with something else. She said, ¡°Ah Zu, what Sir Sang said is true. It¡¯s too dangerous for you to stay in the fiend race territory. After all, you defeated the Golden Crow Crown Prince. No matter how generous the Fiend Emperor is, he wouldn¡¯t let you go.¡±

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I have a way of dealing with that.¡± Afterward, he took out a thin mask and continued, ¡°Since I¡¯ve been away for a few days, I¡¯ll just change my face and name. The people here will just think that I¡¯ve already returned to the human side. They won¡¯t even know I¡¯m here.¡±

    Even though ¡®Face of a Thousand Identities¡¯ was much better, he would have to use the Kawaii Waifu Voice Changer each time before using it. That would beplete social suicide! The masks he had obtained from the ckwind Stockade were still more convenient.

    The women immediately felt a bit strange when they saw him be apletely different person, but they were still amazed by the masks.

    ¡°So what name are you nning to use?¡± Yu Yanluo asked curiously.

    Zu An blurted out, ¡°Yan Zu will work.¡±

    That way, even if the three girls were used to calling him Ah Zu, it wouldn¡¯t draw any suspicion. Furthermore, if that Fiend race spy made more reports to the human race, he could push all of the responsibility onto this Yan Zu. Then, he wouldn¡¯t be suspected anymore.

    ¡°Yan Zu?¡± Yu Yanluo was touched. ¡®Zu¡¯ was obviously the same one as ¡®Ah Zu¡¯, but wouldn¡¯t ¡®Yan¡¯ be the ¡®Yan¡¯ in her name? That name was wonderful.[1]n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Yan Xuehen blushed and her heartbeat quickened. Why are you using my surname for your new name? Is this to hint at something, or to express something?[2] Ahhh! It¡¯ll be bad if the other two notice something.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡®Yan¡¯ was a particle of the name ¡®Chuyan¡¯. If you use Chuyan¡¯s name, what about our Honglei?

    How could Zu An have predicted that a random name would spur on the three women¡¯s crazy imaginations?

    ¡­

    Afterward, Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen fought constantly against each other. Yu Yanluo and Zu An wanted to stop them at first, but eventually, they became numb, letting the grandmasters do what they wanted.

    Zu An initially wanted to find a chance to have a good talk with Yan Xuehen. However, Yun Jianyue kept fighting against her, so he couldn''t approach her at all. He could only give up on that thought. Instead, he began to study the ¡®Lion¡¯s Roar¡¯ skill he had looted from Shi Ling, as well as the even more profound ¡®One Drop of Heaven¡¯s Essence¡¯.

    Just like that, time passed without them realizing it. Finally, they got close to the Fiend Race King Court. When he saw the majestic city on the horizon, Zu An said with a sigh of amazement, ¡°And here I thought that the Fiend King Court would be somerge tents gathered together. I didn¡¯t expect it to be a ce on par with our own capital city.¡±

    Even though the details were a bit roughpared to the capital, that just gave the city a different kind of aesthetic. Furthermore, it made use of all sorts of beautiful colors, blending together a sense of grandeur and vigor.

    Yan Xuehen said, ¡°When the Fiend races were at their strongest, this was where they were ruled from. Now, even though it is a bit more worn-out than before, with their strength and appreciation for beauty, they still have the ability to rebuild such a great city.¡±

    Yun Jianyue nodded and said, ¡°If we put aside the grudges between our races, the fiend races indeed have many things we can learn from.¡±

    Yu Yanluo was about to say something when her eyes narrowed. She said, ¡°That group seems to being for us. Everyone, be careful.¡±

    A group of mounted troops rushed over. However, they weren¡¯t riding horses, but rather ferocious lions. The riders quickly stopped in front of Zu An¡¯s party. The lions released low growls, while the giant lizards from the Snake race flicked their tongues. Their vertical pupils contained a dangerous glint.

    ¡°Where is the Medusa Queen?¡± the three riders at the front of the troop asked. They gave off an impressive aura. They had decent appearances too, but unfortunately, their voices were unkind.

    ¡°The Lion race!¡± the Snake race¡¯s representatives eximed. They noticed that the riders had something inmon, in the form of light brown beards all around their faces. That was the distinctive trait of the Lion Race. The more golden their beard, the greater the density of their bloodline was, which often indicated greater power. The three at the forefront had beards that were especially striking.

    Outside the carriage, Maid Xing asked, ¡°Why are you looking for our queen?¡±

    One of the lions said with a snort, ¡°I am looking for your queen. You do not have the right to speak to me.¡±

    Zu An frowned and asked, ¡°Are those from the Lion Race usually this arrogant?¡±

    Yu Yanluo, worried that he would act out of anger, quickly said, ¡°I¡¯ll go out and take a look. Now that we¡¯re at the Fiend Race King Court, it¡¯s better to keep a low profile.¡±

    She opened the door and walked out, dering, ¡°I am the Medusa Queen you are looking for. Why have you approached us?¡±

    The riders in front looked arrogant and proud at first, but when they saw Yu Yanluo, they all seemed enamored. They looked at her face with eyes full of desire, and their eyes darted all over her body.

    ¡°I have heard of the Medusa Queen¡¯s incredible beauty. Now that we have seen you ourselves, we know that your reputation was not in vain,¡± the one in the lead said with a sigh of admiration. ¡°I am the Lion King¡¯s third son Shi Min, while these are my fifth brother Shi Gong and seventh brother Shi Rong. We did note with any ill intentions. We merely wish for the Medusa Queen to hand over the human who bullied our eighth brother.¡±

    The ones inside the carriage frowned. How did these men know that the one who had beaten up Shi Ling was Zu An?

    1. The ¡®Yan¡¯ in ¡®Yan Zu¡¯ means ¡®aplished or ¡®elegant¡¯. It¡¯s different from the ¡®Yan¡¯ in ¡®Yanluo¡¯, which means ¡®smoke¡¯ or ¡®mist¡¯. ?

    2. The ¡®Yan¡¯ surname is also different, meaning ¡®swallow¡¯ as in the bird. ?

 Chapter 1314: Bogus Accusations

    Chapter 1314: Bogus usations

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s beautiful brows furrowed as she replied, ¡°I do not know what you are talking about.¡±

    Shi Rong harrumphed. ¡°Don¡¯t try to y dumb. Back then, in an ancient tomb near Bluefield Country, wasn¡¯t it the human traveling with you who used despicable methods to scheme against eighth brother, causing him to remain unconscious even now?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s group looked at each other in dismay. They all saw the confusion in each other¡¯s eyes. Shi Ling had indeed been injured quite badly back then, but it shouldn¡¯t have been to the point that he would still be unconscious, right?

    They suddenly realized something. Western Lion Shi Qian was inside his little brother, and he seemed to have used the ¡®Forbidden Devil¡¯s Seed¡¯ technique. Had he chosen to keep Shi Ling asleep because he was worried that it might be exposed?

    Yu Yanluo had simr thoughts. She said in a manner that was neither servile nor overbearing, ¡°That was a fair, decisive battle between both parties. The other races who were present can attest to that. Furthermore, even though Shi Ling was injured in that battle, it should not have been to the extent that he is still unconscious. As for why that is the case, I suggest you ask your eldest brother.¡±

    They were in public, so she didn¡¯t mention the Forbidden Devil¡¯s Seed. Otherwise, her rtionship with the Lion race could end uppletely in tatters and irreconcble. She was still a n leader, after all. She had many things she needed to consider.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Shi Gong eximed furiously, ¡°What is the meaning of this? You actually dare to drive a wedge between us brothers?!¡±

    Shi Min stopped him from moving forward. He cupped his hands toward Yu Yanluo and said, ¡°Medusa Queen, we are acting courteous toward you out of consideration for your status as a queen. As long as you hand over that human, we will let bygones be bygones. Otherwise¡­¡±

    His implied threat was clear.

    Yu Yanluo was a bit upset. If they were to reallypare status, these Lion race princes were all her juniors. And yet, they actually dared to speak to her that way! Still, she endured it in the end and said, ¡°The one you spoke of parted ways with us after we left that tomb. I do not know where he is now.¡±

    She didn¡¯t fear these little lions; what she was worried about was the Fiend King Court receiving news that Zu An was still there. That would bring him too much danger.

    Shi Min glowered and said, ¡°Medusa Queen, we¡¯ve already shown you enough sincerity. Don¡¯t you think you¡¯re being too unappreciative?¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression turned cold and she replied, ¡°I am the ruler of a n, someone who is on the level of your father. Who gave you the courage to speak to me like this?¡±

    Shi Gong roared withughter, saying, ¡°Respect isn¡¯t something won by relying on glib lips. I¡¯m already giving you quite a bit of face by calling you Medusa Queen. Your cultivation hasn¡¯t even reached the master rank, while our Lion race has many individuals stronger than you. Even someone like you still wants to consider yourself on par with my father?¡±

    Three of the brothers had arrived this time. Apart from the seventh brother Shi Rong, who was only at the ninth rank, Shi Gong and his third brother Shi Min were both at the master rank. The riders that apanied them were all carefully selected elites from the n as well, so they naturally didn¡¯t need to worry about a mere ninth rank Medusa Queen.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression turned cold. The fiend races had always been unreasonable; to them, the one with the biggest fist was right. She had half a mind to teach the insolent Lion Race princes a lesson. Her Medusa Eye was special, as its power couldn''t be judged by cultivation rank alone.

    Just then, a figure jumped out of the carriage and said, ¡°n leader, kings should face kings, while generals should face generals. Only if the Lion King personally came would it be worth your personal interference. Why would these minor characters need you to step in personally? Please let this subordinate take care of things.¡±

    Yu Yanluo grinned when she saw Zu An. This guy¡­ He¡¯s always so good at taunting others.

    Sure enough, the Lion ace princes¡¯ expressions turned grim. They yelled, ¡°Where did this scoundrele from? State your name!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Min for +277 +277 +277¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Gong for +277 +277 +277¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Rong for +277 +277 +277¡­

    ¡°Listen up, this uncle is Medusa Queen¡¯s Big Stick General, Yan Zu! You dared to treat my queen with disrespect, so I will make sure you pay dearly for it!¡± Zu An shouted.

    Yu Yanluo blushed, thinking, What ¡®my queen¡¯, what ¡®big stick¡¯? Why do I feel as if he¡¯s hinting at something?

    Inside the carriage, Yun Jianyue remarked with a frown, ¡°What kind of name is that? It sounds awful.¡±

    Yan Xuehen was rmed, however, because she had personally experienced it. She harrumphed inwardly. This guy really is a rascal.

    The Lion race princes didn¡¯t think of the same thing, however. After all, the Medusa Queen was a well-known beauty, while this guy was only a subordinate of hers.

    ¡°What kind of knock-off general is that? I¡¯ve never heard of such a thing,¡± Seventh Prince Shi Rong cursed. ¡°You aren¡¯t qualified to face us.¡±

    Then, he pointed at one of the n¡¯s generals. That person was at the peak of the eighth rank, and he had always acted valiantly. In Shi Rong¡¯s opinion, he was already enough to defeat the talent-starved Snake race. The Snake race¡¯s queen was only at the ninth rank, and their two elders were only around the eighth or ninth rank. How strong could the rest even be?

    The Lion race general wanted to show off in front of the three princes. At the same time, when he saw how pretty the Medusa Queen was, his male instincts made him want to show off his strength even more. As such, he mmed his fist toward Zu An, intending to eliminate him immediately.

    However, his eyes suddenly blurred, and he discovered that he had been sent flying.

    How?! he thought just before fainting. Then, he mmed into the ground, stirring up a cloud of dust.

    Inside the carriage, Yun Jianyue nodded and said, ¡°This guy is starting to look more and more like a proper master. His choice of timing and strength is something not even the two of us might be able to surpass.¡±

    ¡°He has been fighting exceptionally strong opponents all this time, constantly wandering along the brink of life and death. His real strength far exceeds that of his peers,¡± Yan Xuehen added, also feeling a bit of admiration. In the end, she added, ¡°Furthermore, he even saw your butt, so of course his knowledge and experiences are profound.¡±

    Yun Jianyue almost coughed out a mouthful of blood. She yelled, ¡°Stone cold woman, I¡¯m going to fight you to the death!¡±

    Then, sounds of fighting filled the carriage. Fortunately, they knew their limits. They were worried that they¡¯d destroy Yu Yanluo¡¯s carriage, so they only used martial arts movements and didn¡¯t actually use ki.

    Outside, Yu Yanluo and Maid Xing both facepalmed. Those two are going at it again.

    The three Lion race princes didn¡¯t have the leisure of paying attention to what was happening inside the carriage. Instead, they looked at Zu An with serious expressions. Everything had happened so quickly that they hadn¡¯t even seen what was going on.

    Shi Min suddenly thought of something and asked, ¡°Are you that human who hurt my eighth brother?¡±

    Zu An saidina regretful tone, ¡°That incredibly handsome, elegant, suave, confident, awesome, and spectacr guy whom any woman would instantly fall for¡­ Sigh, if I had even a fraction of his skills, I would be smiling even in my dreams.¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s face heated up. This guy really had the shame to say such things!

    The two women inside the carriage both inadvertently stopped as well. They both harrumphed. ¡°This guy really is shameless.¡±

    The Lion race princes didn¡¯t know what was going on. When they heard how much this guy worshiped that human, they were horrified. Is that person really so formidable?

    The seventh prince, Shi Rong, was full of youthful vigor and couldn''t sit still anymore. He said, ¡°Hmph, I found you annoying from the very start. This prince will teach you a proper lesson.¡±

    He was just about to act when someone shouted from a distance, ¡°Who dares to cause trouble in the Fiend King Court?!¡±

    Then, a troop of riders rushed over. Unlike the crude and tattered outfits of the ordinary fiends on the way, these riders were dressed in golden armor. Their helmet, sleeves, and belts all had a Golden Crow insignia on them.

    ¡°Golden Crow Guards?¡± Yu Yanluo muttered with a frown. When the Golden Crow Crown Prince hade to the Snake race territory, he had been escorted by simr golden-armored warriors. Of course, those warriors had been slightly higher ranked. Still, those who could dress that way near the Fiend King Court could only be the Fiend Emperor¡¯s imperial guards.

    The one in the lead looked quite young. He was dressed in bright blue clothes, with a dark golden belt around his waist, and his hair was meticulouslybed. His appearance made him look quite refined, but his long and slender eyes made him seem a bit unapproachable.

    Shi Min reacted quickly and shouted first. ¡°Sir Imperial n Director hase at an excellent time. These people have disregarded the Fiend Emperor¡¯s prohibition and actually dared to openly attack our subordinate in the Fiend King Court¡¯s surroundings! I ask for sir to bring justice in our ce!¡±

    Yu Yanluo panicked and said, ¡°This sir over here, please do not listen to their one-sided¡­¡±

    She was cut off impatiently by the official before she could even finish speaking. ¡°Does this official need to be reminded of how to do my job?¡±

 Chapter 1315: First and Second Empress

    Chapter 1315: First and Second Empress

    The person looked refined, but when he opened his mouth and spoke, his teeth werepletely ck, making his appearance seem eerie.

    Zu An frowned. He had been able to tell for some time that this person¡¯s attitude toward them wasn¡¯t that friendly. After all, considering Yu Yanluo¡¯s stunning appearance, most men would subconsciously be a bit kinder when they saw her, wanting to leave her with a better impression. Such treatment could only mean that the two sides shared a grudge.

    The fact that the man could reach the position of Imperial n Director at his age meant his family background must be excellent.

    Huh? Wait a second. An Imperial n Director who manages the imperial n¡¯s children?

    Just then, Maid Xing told Zu An through ki transmission, ¡°This Imperial n Director is named Heichi Ran. His father is the court¡¯s Grand Secretary Heichi Fei. Apart from that, he has another identity, which is the country¡¯s maternal uncle. His younger sister is the Fiend Emperor¡¯s first empress, and the crown prince was born to that first empress.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, No wonder. He had defeated the Golden Crow Crown Prince, causing his prestige to plummet. How could the prince¡¯s inws be happy about that? Yu Yanluo had clearly been caught up in the drama caused by his own mistake.

    Wait, since there¡¯s a first empress, doesn¡¯t that mean there¡¯s a second empress?

    Still, now wasn¡¯t the time to be asking those kinds of questions.

    Heichi Ran gave the area a casual nce, then said with a cold expression, ¡°The Fiend Emperor has issued an order forbidding fights between the different ns. You actually dare to publicly go against this order? Men, arrest him and throw him into prison.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± the Golden Crow Guards replied, stepping out to arrest Zu An.

    Zu An said gravely, ¡°Your honor hasn¡¯t even asked any questions before deciding on an arrest. I fear this won¡¯t be enough to convince the masses.¡±

    ¡°And who are you?¡± Heichi Ran asked, giving him a sidelong nce. The ck teeth in his mouth were especially striking. No wonder their surname was Heichi. It really was fitting![1]

    The Lion race¡¯s representatives said with a smile, ¡°He said he was the Medusa Queen¡¯s ¡®Big Stick General¡¯ or something.¡±

    Heichi Ran sneered. Because of his official post, he knew a bit about all of the ns¡¯ major positions. When had he ever heard of a Big Stick General? It was clearly some fake title, so he didn¡¯t treat it as a big deal. He said, ¡°It seems even nobodies are calling themselves generals now. There is no room for you to speak in a conversation between high ranking officers like us.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression turned cold. This guy really needed a good beating! After all, he even dared to beat up the Golden Crow Crown Prince, let alone some shoddy Imperial n Director.

    He was just about to act when a group of riders sped over and a voice called out. ¡°Which bastard dared to hurt my big brother? Do you dare to fight against me?!¡±

    As soon as the voice spoke, a group of soldiers quickly arrived. Unlike Heichi Ran¡¯s troops, who flickered with golden radiance, the second group was covered entirely in ck armor. Furthermore, their bodies emanated a powerful vicious aura, clearly honed on the battlefield.

    The one in the lead wore arge ck cloak, with a ck and gold crow embroidered on his clothes. He was eight feet tall with a stalwart figure. His appearance was grand and majestic, and the strong horse he rode made his presence seem even more extraordinary.

    Zu An¡¯s expression turned serious. This person¡¯s aura was powerful; he was clearly already at the master rank. Furthermore, he didn¡¯t seem to be weaker than the Golden Crow Crown Prince he had fought before.

    In the human world, he had always heard that the fiend races were in decline. Now that he had seen it, though, he knew that the younger generation was full of incredibly outstanding figures. Even though the grandmasters Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue had exined to him that it was due to their bloodline inheritance, and that there was an upper bound to the number of true cultivators, Zu AN saw that they weren¡¯t few in number at all. Would that end up being a great disaster for the human race?

    When he saw the new group of people, Heichi Ran¡¯s expression changed as well. However, he quickly hid it and asked, ¡°Why did second princee here?¡±

    Zu An was moved. Second prince? That meant he was the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s younger brother!

    I really did start a crazy feud. First, it was the Lion race¡¯s princes who came to get revenge for their younger brother, and now, the Golden Crow race¡¯s prince is here to get revenge for his older brother as well?

    The Golden Crow Second Prince said seriously, ¡°I heard that the Snake race¡¯s envoy arrived at the King Court, so of course I needed to see which human could defeat my brother the crown prince. I believe that human most likely used some sinister scheme. As the younger brother, I will defeat him to get revenge for my older brother.¡±

    Heichi Ran¡¯s eyelids twitched. Even though the prince was openly saying that he was getting revenge for his older brother, why did this blockhead have to say it so loudly? He kept repeating that the crown prince had been defeated by a human to outsiders!

    If the crown prince lost, but he won, it was indeed possible that some would take it as a disy of the brothers¡¯ camaraderie. However, those who knew about the Fiend King Court¡¯s situation knew clearly that the second prince was stepping on the crown prince to further his own prestige!

    As such, Heichi Ran said unhappily, ¡°That is not a matter second prince needs to trouble yourself with. I already asked just now. That human has already returned to the human world.¡±

    When he heard their tone, Zu An thought that maybe he was the one who had misunderstood. These two didn¡¯t seem to have such a good rtionship.

    ¡°He actually went back?¡± the Golden Crow Second Prince asked, sounding greatly disappointed. ¡°That makes sense, I suppose. He won against big brother crown prince, so why would he dare toe to the Fiend King Court to throw his life away? Hahaha~¡±

    He led his subordinates back into the city whileughing loudly. It seemed that if the one who defeated the Golden Crow Crown Prince wasn¡¯t here, even all of these people added together wouldn¡¯t be able to interest him.

    Heichi Ran¡¯s face darkened, almost bing as ck as his teeth. He roared furiously, ¡°What are you all standing around for? Arrest them!¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Understood!¡± The Golden Crow Guards all seemed to have woken up from a dream. They pounced at the Snake race¡¯s envoy.

    The Snake race¡¯s guards all drew their weapons to resist. However, there was a huge gap in strength, and they were in the Fiend King Court. If a dispute really did break out, they might not be able to make it out alive.

    Zu An stood in front of the others and yelled, ¡°Who dares?!¡±

    His voice echoed outward like a thunderp. The Golden Crow Guards¡¯ faces all turned pale, and many of their horses even rose up in fear. The ce quickly became chaotic.

    Shi Min and the other brothers exchanged a look. Why did that seem like their king race¡¯s extreme skill, Lion¡¯s Roar? How was that possible? Even among the Lion race, not many people even had the right to learn that.

    Heichi Ran remarked grimly, ¡°What? Are you all resisting arrest?¡±

    Yu Yanluo stepped forward and took out a Golden Crow Token. She said calmly, ¡°I am the leader of the Snake race, and I havee to join the general assembly while holding a Golden Crow Token. However, I am being arrested before I have even entered the Fiend King Court. Did the Fiend Emperor gather us to hold a meeting, or is he merely using this as an excuse to capture all of the n leaders in one go?¡±

    They were already close to the Fiend Race King Court. Some other small n leaders and representatives were around them. When they heard that, they all voiced their agreement, feeling that they were in danger.

    When he saw that the surrounding crowd was getting worked up, Heichi Ran¡¯s expression changed. He was worried that something big would happen, so he quickly said, ¡°Do not try to incite the public. It is a fact that you all injured someone, which goes against the Fiend Emperor¡¯s orders. That is why I have to ask you all toe back with me for an investigation. As for whether or not you are guilty, the Fiend Emperor will decide that himself. Or, could it be that you are all questioning the Fiend Emperor¡¯s wisdom?¡±

    Inwardly, he sneered. Once you¡¯re all arrested, I¡¯ll keep you all in custody for a while. The Fiend Emperor has so many things to deal with; why would he care about something trivial like this?

    Yu Yanluo had managed a great n for many years. She had seen all sorts of treacherous people and schemes, so how could she fall for something like that so easily? She replied, ¡°We do not dare to question the Fiend Emperor¡¯s wisdom, but the Fiend Emperor has appointed so many officials precisely to share his burden. If the Fiend Emperor needs to personally look into a matter, I fear that the Fiend Emperor will me this sir for neglecting your duty.¡±

    Heichi Ran¡¯s expression became unpleasant. This witch really is eloquent with her speech.

    Yu Yanluo didn¡¯t give him the time to argue and continued, ¡°As for who made the first move, many people passed by here. Sir can go and ask them for confirmation.¡±

    Shi Min said coldly, ¡°Of course it was your side who attacked first. What do you all say?¡± He scanned the surroundings with his sharp eyes while speaking. A pressure began to spread outward.

    However, the smaller ns kept quiet out of fear. Who dared to offend the powerful Lion Race in order to uphold public justice? Yu Yanluo frowned. The situation really was quite problematic.

    Zu An roared withughter and said,¡°You¡¯re relying on your master rank cultivation to intimidate others as if others can¡¯t do the same.¡± Then, he released a simrly powerful pressure outward. It was even a bit more terrifying than Shi Min¡¯s.

    Forget about the Lion race princes, even Heichi Ran¡¯s expression changed. When did the Snake race be this powerful? Even a knockoff general has master rank cultivation.

    If the other man¡¯s appearance and cultivation rank hadn¡¯t been different from what the Golden Crow Crown Prince had described, he would have suspected that this was the one who had defeated the crown prince.

    While the two sides were locked in a stalemate, a beautiful sound rang through the air, followed by a refreshing fragrance. Several strange beasts pulled a gorgeous and fragrant carriage over, apanied by many eunuchs and maids. There were also some elite Golden Crow Guards on alert, guarding against possible dangers.

    As a gentle breeze brushed past and the fragrant carriage¡¯s veil fluttered, it seemed to tug at the onlookers¡¯ very heartstrings. All manner of pearl curtains and bells adorned the top of the carriage. The pleasant sounds must have been made from those little trinkets.

    As the curtains fluttered, the onlookers could vaguely make out a beautiful figure seated upright in the carriage.

    When they saw the carriage, the Golden Crow soldiers all dismounted. Heichi Ran led them in greeting her. ¡°I greet the second empress!¡±

    1. Heichi literally means ¡®ck teeth¡¯. ?

 Chapter 1316: Unforeseen Developments

    Chapter 1316: Unforeseen Developments

    Second empress? Zu An¡¯s expression was a bit strange. Just moments before, he had been wondering if there was a second empress; now, sure enough, one really hade out.

    Maid Xing spoke quietly, clearly trying to resolve their confusion. ¡°The Fiend Emperor¡¯s original madam first empress already passed away many years ago. Later, another woman became the empress, so the world calls her the second empress.¡± She was Yu Yanluo¡¯s personal maid, simr to a supervising secretary. Naturally, she gathered information in advance, then offered it when needed.

    Zu An suddenly realized with a start, No wonder this second prince and the first prince don¡¯t get along. He wondered which side this second empress was on. Perhaps¡­ Was she in a faction of her own?

    A soft and pleasant voice asked, ¡°What happened over here? Why is it so noisy?¡±

    All of the men present trembled when those words were spoken. The voice was just too soothing, and yet its tone was extremely dignified and proper. Not only that; it would make one unable to help but think of the bedroom, wishing to take her into their embrace and treasure her for a whole night.

    However, they quickly snapped out of their daze. This was the Fiend Emperor¡¯s woman, and she definitely wasn¡¯t someone they could have such thoughts about. As such, all of them stared directly at the ground, lowering their heads respectfully.

    Inside the Snake race¡¯s carriage, Yun Jianyue raised a brow and remarked, ¡°Another expert in charm techniques.¡±

    Yan Xuehen nodded and said, ¡°As expected of a fiend woman, full of witchcraft.¡±

    She reflexively looked at Zu An. She felt that Zu An already had so many exceptional beauties, and previously, with her¡­ Thus, he likely wouldn¡¯t end up bewitched by the second empress.

    To her surprise, however, Zu An stared directly at the carriage. She was utterly furious!

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +233 +233 +233¡­

    When he noticed the Rage points arriving through the backend, Zu An couldn''t help but chuckle. He didn¡¯t panic and just felt happy. At least Yan Xuehen¡¯s emotions had still been stirred because of him!

    Naturally, he hadn¡¯t stared at the second empress because he really did covet her beauty. Rather, just then, his soul sensed that she seemed to have observed him closely for a moment, so he had returned the look with puzzlement.

    Even though Heichi Ran was from the first empress¡¯ faction, she had already passed away. The second empress was the official empress, so he didn¡¯t dare to show any negligence in his behavior. He quickly gave her a summary of what had happened without daring to be too partial.

    The second empress remained quiet for a moment before saying gently, ¡°The Medusa Queen is the ruler of a race. If she experiences unfair treatment, it will easily cause the hearts of the other ns to turn against us. This empress believes that this was merely a small misunderstanding that should not be a big deal to clear up. Lion race¡¯s princes, what do you think?¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Shi Min and the others were obviously dissatisfied, but they didn¡¯t dare to show the empress disrespect. They could only say quietly, ¡°The second empress¡¯ words are absolutely wise.¡±

    Either way, they would all meet in the Fiend King Court. There would be more than enough opportunities to get revenge.

    ¡°That is good, then,¡± the woman in the carriage said, nodding in satisfaction. Then, she looked at Yu Yanluo and said, ¡°Medusa Queen, I heard that you only recently returned to the Fiend races. This is a good chance for you to get closer to the other n leaders.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your reminder, second empress.¡± Yu Yanluo naturally acted politely, as the empress had helped her.

    The second empress voiced her affirmation, then gently waved her hand, gesturing for the carriage to continue forward.

    Hechi Ran had just shown hostility to the Snake race, but now that the second empress had spoken, he had no choice but to back down. Staying there would be way too embarrassing, so he decided to just escort the second empress back to the pce.

    Even though Shi Min and the others were eager to seize the opportunity, so many people were watching, so they couldn''t publicly go against the second empress¡¯ orders. Instead, Shi Min sneered and said to Zu An¡¯s group, ¡°Count yourselves lucky today. We¡¯ll see who saves you next time.¡±

    Zu An sighed and said, ¡°It should be you people who are grateful for the second empress, that she appeared to save you.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s see if your mouth is still that tough the next time we meet.¡± Shi Min and the others harrumphed. Then, they swaggered off on their lions.

    Forget about the Lion race¡¯s princes, even those from the other races just thought Zu An was shooting his mouth off. Zu An didn¡¯t exin himself either. He returned to the carriage and began to discuss things with the three women.

    Yan Xuehen was the first to say, ¡°These fiend races really have no sense of established rules. They act out as soon as they do not agree with someone. You have offended so many people, so things might be troublesome in the future.¡±

    Yu Yanluo instead smiled and said, ¡°In my opinion, that might not be the case. This situation is much better than what we predicted.¡±

    Yan Xuehen was stunned, asking, ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    Yu Yanluo exined, ¡°At first, we were worried that once Ah Zu entered the King Court, the Fiend Emperor and the Golden Crow Crown Prince would get revenge on him, so that was why he had no choice but to change his appearance and name. From what I saw just now, though, the Golden Crow Crown Prince isn¡¯t the one who controls the entire n. The second prince clearly doesn¡¯t get along with him either. Even though the second empress didn¡¯t express anything, we can infer a few things from her decision to help us out of that situation. She¡¯s definitely not of one mind with the Golden Crow Crown Prince.¡±

    ¡°Stone cold woman, the world you¡¯ve lived in so far is just too posh and pretty. Of course you haven¡¯t seen these rougher parts of society.¡± Yun Jianyue harrumphed. ¡°Actually, it makes sense if you just think about it a bit. The Golden Crow Crown Prince was born from the first empress, while this second empress is his stepmother. Judging from her looks, she might not even be older than the Golden Crow Crown Prince. If the Golden Crow Crown Prince really became the Fiend Emperor, what would happen to such a young empress like her? Furthermore, she still has a son herself, a son who is second in line. Even though he¡¯s still young, any mother would make considerations for their own son.¡±

    Yan Xuehen didn¡¯t retort this time. She knew that her knowledge in that regard was inferior. After all, she cultivated the Unshakable Daoist Manual, which stressed untainted thoughts. She obviously didn¡¯t want to dive deeper into such interpersonal rtionships and taint the purity of her own thoughts.

    Yu Yanluo said with a sigh of praise, ¡°Big sis Yun¡¯s analysis is correct. Currently, there are at least two powers who are keeping the Golden Crow Crown Prince in check. That¡¯s why the risk we faced was quite a bit smaller than we expected.

    ¡°Of course, we can¡¯t be blindly optimistic either. The sessor¡¯s ceremony is going to happen soon, which will settle everything. So, if these forces are going to fight over something, it¡¯ll definitely happen soon. We absolutely can¡¯t allow ourselves to be unknowingly swept up in it.¡± She looked at Zu An after speaking, as if she knew he was going to start something.

    Zu Anughed and said, ¡°I fear that might not be up to us. I have a premonition that from the moment we arrived in the Fiend King Court, we were already destined to be involved even if we don¡¯t want to be.¡±

    The girls became quiet. They knew that what he said had arge chance of being true.

    ¡­

    Zu An¡¯s group drew close to the Fiend King Court¡¯s city gates. Because the general assembly was of utmost importance, the guards registered the identities of every single person. Zu An, of course, had already prepared his new identity. Next, however, those soldiers asked for Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue¡¯s names.

    As human race grandmasters, their names were familiar to the fiend races¡¯ upper echelon, so they obviously couldn''t leave behind their real names. As such, Yun Jianyue said, ¡°My name is Yun Zouyan[1].¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s eyes twitched, but she was struck by inspiration too. She said, ¡°I am Yan Chouyun[2].¡±

    The soldier who registered their names was stunned. What kind of weird names were those? As such, he asked the two women to remove their masks. What kind of individuals were Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen, though? They were obviously unwilling.

    As the situation grew even more tense, however, a loud and straightforwardugh resounded. A voice called out, ¡°These are my friends. I can testify for them.¡±

    Zu An turned around and saw Kong Qing. At his side was a woman dressed strangely in bridal clothes; it was Paper Bride.

    ¡°So it was Sir Kong,¡± the soldiers said. Kong Qing¡¯s status clearly wasn¡¯t low. When they saw him, they didn¡¯t trouble the two women anymore and let them straight through.

    When they entered, Yu Yanluo said gently, ¡°Thank you, Sir Kong.¡±

    ¡°Madam Yu is being too polite,¡± Kong Qing said with a smile. ¡°I came specially to wee you all. Hm? Why don¡¯t I see brother Zu?¡±

    Even Paper Bride couldn''t help but crane her neck. Unfortunately, Zu An was nowhere to be seen, so she regained her usual half-dead appearance.

    Yu Yanluo was already prepared for that question and answered, ¡°He already returned to Cloudcenter Commandery.¡±

    Kong Qing nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s a wise choice. Coming to the Fiend King Court would be too dangerous. Hm? I don¡¯t seem to have met these people here before.¡±

    Yu Yanluo gave them a rough introduction. Kong Qing said with a sigh of amazement, ¡°The Snake race is full of talents after all.¡±

    He noticed that he couldn''t see through those individuals. Does the Snake race really have such powerful backing? Ever since something had happened to the previous Medusa Queen, the Snake race had fallen apart. He had never heard of them having such powerful cultivators before!

    ¡°Sir Kong praises us too much,¡± Yu Yanluo said politely. She didn¡¯t exin anything and continued, ¡°I¡¯ve long heard of the Peacock King¡¯s reputation. This is a good chance to properly greet him.¡±

    Kong Qing said with a forced smile, ¡°I fear that wouldn¡¯t be too convenient.¡±

    ¡°Why is that?¡± Yu Yanluo asked in confusion. If they hadn¡¯t intended to meet, why had Kong Qing been sent over to wee them?

    Kong Qing said with a sigh, ¡°Right now, forget about our Peacock King, it¡¯d be hard for you to meet even the Golden-Winged Peng King or the Elf King.¡±

    1. This name trantes to ¡®Yun gives Yan a beating¡¯. ?

    2. ¡¯Yan whips/thrashes Yun¡¯. ?

 Chapter 1317: Sealed

    Chapter 1317: Sealed

    Yu Yanluo suddenly realized something. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me¡­ Something happened to them?¡±

    Those kings had special status among the fiend races. Like the Golden Crow race, they were considered part of the winged races. That was why they were a bit closer to the Golden Crow royal family than the other ns.

    After some hesitation, Kong Qing still said in the end, ¡°We already got to know each other in Cloudcenter Commandery, and you¡¯re young master Zu¡¯s good friend too, so I won¡¯t hide this from you.

    ¡°Something has indeed happened to them. I¡¯ll talk about our own wise king first. The Fiend Emperor knows that his heaven and man deterioration draws near. However, the Peacock, Golden Peng, and Elf races have tremendous authority and strength. Fearing that the Golden Crow Crown Prince would be too weak and unable topletely subdue these three ns, he decided to use marriage to bring him powerful allies.

    ¡°Our n¡¯s Princess Nanwu, regardless of status, age, or appearance, is one of the most suitable candidates. Our wise king had the intention of marrying into the royal family, but no one expected Princess Nanwu herself to be so opposed to that. She felt that she didn¡¯t like the Golden Crow Crown Prince and was unwilling to marry him.

    ¡°Still, she understood the wise king¡¯s intentions, so she didn¡¯t try to defend herself. Our people all thought she was willing to go through with it, so no one was sent to keep an eye on her. And yet, in the end, she found a chance to secretly leave home. Of course, her pretext was that she was going to create an informationwork in the human world.¡±

    Kong Qing paused for a moment before asking, ¡°Did young master Zu really note?¡±

    Paper Bride, who had previously been bored to death, perked up her ears.

    ¡°Why is Sir Kong so interested in him?¡± Yu Yanluo asked. Even Yu Yanluo and Yan Xuehen were curious. It really was a bit strange for him to be so interested in Zu An.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing much. I heard that he was the princess¡¯ good friend, so the wise king was a bit curious about him,¡± Kong Qing said with a smile.

    Princess Nanwu¡¯s standards were so high that she wasn¡¯t even willing to marry the Golden Crow Crown Prince, even turning down the offer to be the future Fiend Empress. And yet, she had given her precious first feather to Zu An! Forget about the wise king, not even Kong Qing himself could resist such drama.

    Previously, he had thought that the princess might have been duped by this human somehow. Even though Zu An¡¯s performance in Cloudcenter Commandery was already quite outstanding, he was still quiteckingpared to the Golden Crow Crown Prince, who had already been famous for many years. And yet, who would have thought that not long afterward, there would be news of the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s defeat at Zu An¡¯s hands!

    At the time, Kong Qing really felt endless admiration for the princess. She really had an eye for people!

    ¡°The princess¡¯ good friend?¡± Three sharp pairs of eyesnded on Zu An at the same time. When did this guy be close to the Peacock race¡¯s princess? However, the three immediately looked away to avoid revealing anything, because they didn¡¯t want to expose his identity.

    Yun Jianyue asked curiously, ¡°Is the princess you¡¯re speaking of Kong Nanjing?¡±

    Zu An had saved her not too long before, and it wouldn¡¯t be too surprising if a youngdy like her had experienced her first awakening of love.

    ¡°Of course not,¡± Kong Qing said while shaking his head. ¡°The one I¡¯m speaking of is Princess Nanwu.¡±

    The three women¡¯s expressions immediately became strange. This woman had even fled the marriage intended to make her the future Fiend Empress! Was it because of him?

    Just what kind of crazy luck with women does he have? How did he manage to even steal the heart of a fiend race princess tens of thousands of miles away?!

    Yu Yanluo suddenly felt a bit jealous. No wonder Zu An wanted to beat up the Golden Crow Crown Prince so badly¡­ She had thought that he did it because of her, but as it turned out, it was actually for the sake of the Peacock race¡¯s princess!

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue¡¯s expressions became dangerous. No wonder this guy made that bet to have the crown princess. So he already calcted all of this!

    Zu An really wanted to cry out in injustice when he saw the Rage points pouring in. I¡¯m only normal friends with Kong Nanwu¡­

    Kong Qing said apologetically, ¡°Right, I have to apologize in ce of Princess Changning. It was because of a slip of the tongue on her part that the fact of Zu An being with the Snake race was exposed. That was why the Lion race began to trouble you all. I wanted toe and help you out of that situation, but when I learned that the second empress was passing by, I decided to just wait by the city gates.¡±

    Everything suddenly made sense. They had been wondering how the Lion race had found them so quickly. It turned out to be because Kong Nanjing had ratted them out! Even though that woman was fairly decent-looking, she really was a bit low on the intelligence scale.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. There were some others there back then, so there was no hiding it,¡± Yu Yanluo said. She naturally didn¡¯t hold it against them, especially when the Peacock race was treating them with such sincerity.

    ¡°As expected, Madam Yu truly has the bearing of an influential figure,¡± Kong Qing said in praise. He continued, ¡°Because Princess Nanwu clearly fled to avoid this arranged marriage, the royal family has been extremely unhappy. Our wise king had no choice but to take responsibility and resign from his post to quell the Fiend Emperor¡¯s anger. That¡¯s why the wise king actually feels guilty right now. Between that and the Golden Peng King¡¯s situation, the wise king is worried that there might be unnecessary¡­ trouble. That¡¯s why he¡¯s basically refused to see any guests.¡±

    The party exchanged a look. Apart from the dispute between the princes and second empress, the Fiend King Court¡¯s ns were also in conflict, both covertly and openly!

    ¡°Did something happen to the Golden Peng race?¡± Yu Yanluo asked curiously.

    Kong Qing looked all around him. Then, he said in a hushed voice, ¡°Not long ago, the Golden Peng King was invited into the pce for a feast, but after the banquet, the next day, the people of the manor found him dead.¡±

    Those present were all horrified. The Golden Peng King¡¯s status was extraordinary! Furthermore, he was an incredibly well-known expert, and yet he had died just like that!

    Yun Jianyue didn¡¯t hesitate and directly asked, ¡°Then did the Fiend Emperor kill him?¡±

    Kong Qing jumped in fright, quickly stopping her and saying, ¡°Thisdy, you must not speak carelessly! ndering the Fiend Emperor even in private conversations is a huge offense, let alone such a sensitive matter as this.¡±

    After some hesitation, he added, ¡°That suspicion has indeed spread through the streets, but the Golden Peng King didn¡¯t show any signs of wounds or poisoning. Furthermore, the Fiend Emperor was in incredible grief, personally presiding over his burial. He also promoted their heir, the Little Golden Peng King, into the new Golden Peng King, wishing him great sess. The Little Golden Peng King has expressed his loyalty several times as well, which is why the rumors had nothing to continue from.¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Yan Xuehen said indifferently, ¡°To acquire something, you must give up something for a time.¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s eyes lit up and she added, ¡°Not bad, stone cold woman. I have a newfound respect for your intelligence.¡±

    Yan Xuehen was speechless. Even though she didn¡¯t like political schemes, she had always been a smart person. Figuring something like that out wasn¡¯t too difficult. However, this woman made her sound like some idiot or something.

    Kong Qing chuckled in embarrassment and said, ¡°That¡¯s something everyone has their own opinions about. It¡¯s enough as long as we have our own ideas. However, it really isn¡¯t too appropriate to discuss further.¡±

    These two women really are fierce! Yet they clearly look like delicate and dainty beauties¡­

    Yu Yanluo said with a frown, ¡°Kong Nanwu has already left, but isn¡¯t there still Kong Nanjing? From what I¡¯ve heard, she seems to be a strong candidate to be the crown princess.¡±

    Kong Qing wanted to say something, but he stopped. In the end, he said, ¡°Princess Changning is indeed outstanding as well, but due to various factors, her desire to be the crown princess is unfortunately just wishful thinking.¡±

    The others had strange expressions. They had never expected him to provide such an evaluation of the situation. If this reached Kong Nanjing¡¯s ears, wouldn¡¯t she go absolutely insane?

    Kong Qing continued, ¡°There have only ever been two candidates for the position of crown princess. One is Princess Nanwu, while the other is the Elf race¡¯s Princess Snow.¡±

    That immediately caught Zu An¡¯s attention. He had finally received news about Snow again!

    ¡°Princess Nanwu¡¯s outstanding qualities need no further introduction. Meanwhile, this Princess Snow has also truly shocked everyone,¡± Kong Qing said in admiration. ¡°For the sake of saving her nsmen, she didn¡¯t hesitate to enter the human world. For fear that she would be too beautiful, bringing unnecessary trouble, she had the Elf King seal her appearance. But now that she¡¯s returned, she no longer needs to have such misgivings, and can finally show her face to the world. That¡¯s why, after the Golden Crow Crown Prince met Princess Snow, he was actually more biased towards choosing Princess Snow. Now that Princess Nanwu has fled her home, the most likely crown princess candidate title has naturally fallen onto Princess Snow.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. She had her appearance sealed?

    However, he didn¡¯t feel happy about that at all. The only thing he remembered quite vividly was Snow¡¯s yful and somewhat feisty nature. And yet now, they were telling him that she had already changed? Zu An suddenly felt a bit dejected. She didn¡¯t have her body possessed by someone, right?

    He had already experienced simr things several times, so it was hard for him not to interpret the situation in such a treacherous way.

 Chapter 1318: Worry

    Chapter 1318: Worry

    ¡°Then why did something happen to the Elf King?¡± Yu Yanluo asked in confusion.

    Kong Qing sighed. ¡°Tremendous glory can beget tremendous disaster through a moment¡¯s carelessness. Normally, being favored by the Golden Crow Crown Prince and being chosen as the crown princess to be the Fiend Empress is something countless youngdies can only dream of. However, that¡¯s exactly what makes it strange. Our princess doesn¡¯t want to be the crown princess, and Princess Snow was simrly unwilling. She directly refused.

    ¡°After being refused again and again, it wasn¡¯t just the Golden Crow Crown Prince; even the Fiend Emperor could no longer stand it. He even began to wonder whether these ns were disloyal, so he used the Elf race¡¯s defeat against the humans as an excuse to imprison him. However, those with discerning insight could all tell that it waspletely normal for there to be losses in battle sometimes. Someone of the Elf King¡¯s status being imprisoned wouldn¡¯t make sense, so it must be rted to Princess Snow. He likely used that as a pretext to make her give in.¡±

    Zu An was worried. He hadn¡¯t expected Snow to experience such a difficult situation after returning to the fiend races. She had to choose between a lifetime of happiness and her own father. How was she supposed to make a decision like that?

    Yu Yanluo voiced her surprise. ¡°Was it that time when the State Duke of Triumphmanded the army? When I was in the human world, I heard that the fiend races ughtered everyone in a border city down to thest citizen, which was why the court was furious and sent him out.¡±

    Kong Qing harrumphed. ¡°The humans have always crafted treacherous schemes, always finding excuses to start things. To the best of my knowledge, either the ughter you speak of never existed at all, or it wasn¡¯t done by the fiend races. The humans just used that as an excuse to invade the fiend races.¡±

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue both frowned. They were clearly unhappy with his verbal attack on the humans. The grudge between the fiend races and the humans was no joke. ndering each other was amon urrence, so what he said might not necessarily be true. Only Zu An was startled. He had a suspicion, but he immediately discounted it. If it were true, that would be too horrifying.

    Yu Yanluo smiled, clearly not intending to argue about the subject. She asked, ¡°Right, what is the current situation in the Fiend King Court like?¡±

    Maid Xing had collected some intelligence, but with her status, and the fact that she couldn''t go too far, she could only gather some surface-level information. The exact circumstances in the Fiend King Court were something only the officials who were in the area would know about.

    Perhaps because of his business rtions with Yu Yanluo, or as a favor for Zu An, Kong Qing didn¡¯t hide anything and replied frankly, ¡°You now know the situation of the three great kings. The major powers after them are the Golden Crow Crown Prince faction¡¯s Imperial Uncle Heichi Fei, as well as the Imperial Family Director Heichi Ran, who¡¯s part of the direct line of descent.¡±

    ¡°Apart from the Heichi father and son, there are some others you need to be a bit mindful of. The Left Guard General Ma Tian is a powerful cultivator from the Horse race, and the Right Guard General Niu Dao is an expert from the Minotaur race¡­¡±

    ¡°Minotaur race?¡± Zu An asked in surprise. There really was a race like that?

    ¡°Yes. Is there something strange about the Minotaur race?¡± Kong Qing asked in puzzlement.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Zu An chuckled in embarrassment. He couldn''t really exin what being cucked by a minotaur meant.[1]

    Kong Qing set aside his confusion and continued to exin, ¡°Apart from that, there are a few Golden Crow royal family members. There is the Prosperous King Wu Cheng, Composed King Wu Pei, and Martial Guard General Nine Suns King Wu Chengdu, who is both themander of the Golden Crow Guards and an assistant to the crown prince. So, if you encounter any of them, it would be best to avoid them so they don¡¯t cause you trouble for the crown prince¡¯s sake.¡±

    The human race and fiend races had fought for a thousand years. Both had learned from each other¡¯s merits, integrating aspects of the other side into their own systems. That was why their overall official structure shared simrities.

    Zu An couldn''t help but roast them inwardly. These fiend race kings really name themselves willy-nilly! However, when he remembered that he had received the names Phoenix Man, Green Hat, and now Great Lady Count, he no longer had the courage to mock them anymore.

    Kong Qing took a drink of water to ease his throat before continuing, ¡°Apart from the crown prince¡¯s faction, there¡¯s the second prince¡¯s faction. Even though the second prince was born of a concubine, his cultivation is profound, and he excels in battle. He has been praised as one of the fiend races¡¯ Four Great Generals.¡±

    ¡°Fiend races¡¯ Four Great Generals?¡± Zu An repeated in surprise.

    Kong Qing thought to himself, How does this guy not even know these basics? It seems that after thest generation Medusa Queen¡¯s incident and the following divide, the Snake race really did experience a serious decline. He said, ¡°The fiend races¡¯ Four Great Generals refer to the second prince, the Little Golden Peng King, the Scorpion King, and Flying Leopard King. Not only are their cultivation ranks profound, they¡¯re also good atmanding troops. They¡¯ve earned outstanding contributions in the war against the human race in recent years.

    ¡°The Scorpion King is currently fighting against the humans in the front lines, while the Flying Leopard King is overseeing the borders. The second prince and Little Golden Peng King have remained in the capital. They each have a powerful army only loyal to them, which is why even if the second prince and the Golden Crow Crown Prince don¡¯t get along, the crown prince can¡¯t do much to him.¡±

    Yan Xuehen asked with a frown, ¡°Do these kings not have proper names?¡±

    Kong Qing gave her a look of doubt, but he still exined, ¡°The fiend races are different from the human race. The more respected a fiend¡¯s status is, the more often they¡¯re referred to by their title instead of their real name, as a source of honor and glory. After all, if everyone acknowledges that you can bear the title, that means you have sufficient strength and backing.¡±

    Zu An thought, No wonder the Rage points didn¡¯t show any specific names. So that was the reason behind it.

    Kong Qing continued, ¡°Furthermore, there¡¯s another faction belonging to the second empress. The second prince is a Great General, and he¡¯s also in charge of supervising the Fiend King Court¡¯s officials, but unfortunately, he¡¯s too young. Even though the second empress ispetent and skilled, many people feel that she reached her current position through her looks, so they haven¡¯t truly acknowledged her.

    ¡°Of course, there are also the Demon race, Dragon race, beast races, ocean races, and others whomand extremely high status, but their authority is mainly concentrated in their local areas. They¡¯re nothing more than passing travelers in the capital city¡­¡±

    Yu Yanluo said appreciatively, ¡°Thank you for helping us with our confusion, Sir Kong. Otherwise, we really would be acting blindly here.¡±

    ¡°The madam speaks too seriously. Our ns have always had a good rtionship, let alone the fact that our rtionship with young master Zu ys a part now,¡± Kong Qing said with a smile. ¡°The Fiend King Court is experiencing troubled times, so having another friend is better than having another enemy.¡±

    Yu Yanluo was surprised by Kong Qing¡¯s implications. Even the Peacock King race felt a strong sense of danger¡­ It seemed the Fiend King Court really did have many things stirring in the shadows.

    ¡°Madam, why not stay in our Peacock Race¡¯s residence for now?¡± Kong Qing offered.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need. The Snake race still has a meager dwelling in the king city,¡± Yu Yanluo said, refusing with a smile. If they stayed in the Peacock race¡¯s residence, others would likely assume she hadpletely defected to the Peacock Wise King¡¯s side. That would affect their independence when interacting with the other races in the future.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll see you all off to that area. The Fiend King Court is still ratherrge and easy to get lost in if one doesn¡¯t visit frequently,¡± Kong Qing said, not pressing the issue. He had clearly suspected that things would be like this.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to trouble Sir Kong,¡± Yu Yanluo said, bowing slightly.

    ¡­

    After that, Maid Xing provided an address and Kong Qing guided their group over.

    When they reached their destination, even though the area it was located in was bustling, the courtyard was fairly run-down. It was filled with dried branches and leaves, as well as quite a bit of umted snow. There were only two old Snake race servants there, standing around lethargically.

    ¡°We¡¯ve put on an embarrassing showing for Sir Kong,¡± Yu Yanluo said, feeling a bit embarrassed. After what happened to her mother, she had never returned to the Snake race. That was why even though the Snake race had once been a great n, it had been in disorder and decline since. She hadn¡¯t expected their residence in Fiend King City to have be dpidated to such an extent.

    Not only were they losing face in front of the Peacock race, she had embarrassed herself in front of Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue too. She wasn¡¯t too worried about Zu An, because she knew that he didn¡¯t care about such things, but she didn¡¯t want to seem inferior in any way in front of the two women.

    ¡°Madam speaks too seriously. Now that the madam has returned, the Snake race will definitely be great once more. I¡¯ll send over some people to clean this area up, as well as provide some daily living supplies,¡± Kong Qing said. He chatted with them for a while longer, then got up to excuse himself, not wishing to disturb them anymore.

    ¡­

    After seeing Kong Qing¡¯s group out, Yun Jianyue said with a sigh of amazement, ¡°This Kong Qing is a pretty smooth talker.¡±

    ¡°He wouldn¡¯t have been sent over to take charge of Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s affairs otherwise,¡± Yu Yanluo said.

    Yan Xuehen frowned and said, ¡°Judging from how enthusiastic he looks, he must have been taken care of quite well by your Yu n.¡±

    Yu Yanluo knew that Yan Xuehen¡¯s sense of justice made her naturally reject interaction with the fiend races. She exined, ¡°He rarely had dealings with the Yu n before. It was mainly handled through the Jian n. After all, we were husband and wife, so he treated us with some friendliness. However, considering our current rtionship, I feel as if the reason he¡¯s being so enthusiastic is because of Ah Zu.¡±

    When he saw the three women turn their attention to him, Zu An chuckled in embarrassment. He said, ¡°Kong Nanwu and I only met once¡­¡± He gave them a rough summary of what happened in the capital before concluding, ¡°In my opinion, the reason he¡¯s so friendly might be that I beat up the Golden Crow Crown Prince. Peacock Wise King had no choice but to resign, so their race must have felt some resentment over that.¡±

    ¡°That is indeed a possibility.¡± The women nodded, epting his exnation. After all, no matter how they thought about it, they didn¡¯t think his charm was strong enough to make even the peacock princess lose her head over him.

    After making up a random excuse, Zu An left to look around the area alone. Based on what Kong Qing had said, he was really worried about Snow¡¯s situation.

    The Elf Manor wasn¡¯t too hard to find. Zu An had the gatekeeper contact Snow and tell her that an old friend was here to visit her. The gatekeeper didn¡¯t trouble him, but instead said, ¡°You really came at a bad time. Princess Snow was invited into the pce early in the morning and hasn¡¯t returned yet.¡±

    ¡°She still hasn¡¯t returned yet?¡± Zu An asked, looking at the horizon. The sunset was already nearing its end, and the sky was about to darken. Why hadn¡¯t she returned yet?

    1. ¡¯Minotaur¡¯, or ¡®Tauren¡¯ in Chinese, is ¡®Niu Tou Ren¡¯, abbreviated NTR. You can guess the rest. ?n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

 Chapter 1319: Fiend Imperial Palace

    Chapter 1319: Fiend Imperial Pce

    What Zu An was most worried about was that the king manor was just making up an excuse to chase away unwanted guests. As such, he went around a corner, and when he saw that there was no one around him, he jumped over the courtyard wall. The courtyard wall had some defensive formations, but with his master rank cultivation, avoiding them wasn¡¯t particrly difficult.

    There were some guards patrolling the surroundings, butpared to human residences that were typically heavily guarded, the fiend races¡¯ security was crude; it could even be considered sloppy. Even the security of a king manor like this couldn''tpare to that of a mid-ranked human minister¡¯s home.

    He initially nned to seize a random maid to ask about Snow¡¯s room, but he suddenly saw some maids rushing toward a room while carrying teacups. Judging from their private conversations, it seemed that they were discussing Princess Snow. Furthermore, it seemed that they hadn¡¯t reached a conclusion even after discussing it all day.

    Zu An was surprised. He quietly followed along, but he didn¡¯t dare to get too close. He wasn¡¯t cocky to the point that he believed he could make the entire world his enemy. Since this was a meeting of some of the Elf King Manor¡¯s big shots, there would definitely be some powerful cultivators there. It would be troublesome if he ended up being exposed. Using his soul to search the inside wasn¡¯t too appropriate either, as other master rank or even stronger cultivators would detect it.

    As such, he used the jade badge to control a fat yellow cat as it walkedzily around the meeting hall. Inside, voices continuously rose and fell.

    ¡°Why has Princess Snow not returned yet? Could it be that something has happened?¡±

    ¡°What could possibly happen in the imperial pce?¡±

    ¡°It is precisely because she is in the imperial pce that something might have happened! What if the Golden Crow Crown Prince uses force against Princess Snow? It would all be over then, no?¡±

    ¡°Even if nothing happened, what hour is it already? The pce gates are already about to close. If she spends the night in the imperial pce, what will those outside say about it? Princess Snow¡¯s reputation will bepletely done for!¡±

    The entire hall fell silent. Zu An¡¯s expression grew grim. Snow was in danger after all¡­

    Just then, another voice spoke up. ¡°Actually, if we look at it from another perspective, this might not necessarily be a bad thing.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Think about it for a minute! What kind of glory and honor would it mean to be the crown princess? She will soon be the next Fiend Empress. Countless youngdies dream of that, and yet will never be able to experience it. At that time, whether ites to her future or the future of the entire Elf race, it will be a great result.¡±

    ¡°Princess Snow has already sacrificed enough for our Elf race, though. She has experienced so many difficulties in human society and rescued so many of our nsmen. And yet we are still going to ask her to make more sacrifices? Is this not too much?¡± someone immediately objected, and many others agreed.

    Zu An felt a bit more at ease. These elves weren¡¯t entirelycking in conscience. There were at least some people who remembered Snow¡¯s sacrifice for so many years.

    ¡°How can something like that be considered a sacrifice? What kind of glory and honor would it represent to be the crown princess and future Fiend Empress?¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Not to mention that our Elf King is currently imprisoned. We all know the reason why that happened. If Princess Snow does not marry the crown prince, do you all have a way of saving the Elf King?¡±

    The room fell silent. It was clear that none of them were confident in their ability to save the Elf King.

    Zu An didn¡¯t continue listening. The Elf race¡¯s people all had their own thoughts, but he didn¡¯t feel any such hesitation. At that moment, the top priority was clearly to save Snow first. He quickly left the Elf Manor, heading straight toward the Fiend Imperial Pce.

    ¡­

    Even though he had never been to the Fiend King Court before, the imperial pce was naturally the most grand and majestic location. It wasn¡¯t too hard to find.

    Unlike the red walls and yellow tiles of the human imperial city, the Fiend Imperial Pce was adorned in blue and gold. Practically all of the gold was even made of real gold.

    Zu An cursed inwardly, Damn, these fiend races really are rich and overbearing! They actually used real gold? Aren¡¯t they scared that ordinary people will just shave some off?

    Apart from that, the Fiend Imperial Pce¡¯s entrances were much taller and wider than the other parts, to the point that the proportions were a bit unbnced. However, that unexpectedly added a strange sense of harmony to the ce, creating an unusual sort of pressure.

    Almost every single building within had manyrge, thick pirs. Among humans, pirs were smooth and even; in contrast, the surface of the pirs here either had jagged or wavy patterns. Many pirs even bore different kinds of carvings.

    Zu An looked around for a bit, but he couldn''t help but frown. He didn¡¯t know if it was because the sky was turning dark, but defensive formations were already being activated around the city walls. Those formations were much more profound than the ones in the Elf King Manor.

    In truth, with his cultivation, it still wouldn¡¯t have been too difficult for him to go inside. However, there was a mysterious pressure emanating from the entire pce. Zu An knew it was the aura of the Fiend Emperor.

    When he thought about how the Fiend Emperor and Zhao Han were equally famous, he didn¡¯t dare to show the slightest bit of carelessness. If he were to be detected by the defensive formation after going in, he would be one thousand percent dead.

    Even so, the formations wouldn¡¯t be able to stop him, because he also had ¡®Face of a Thousand Identities¡¯.

    He initially thought about entering as the Golden Crow Crown Prince, but after thinking about it, he felt that identity would be too conspicuous. The Golden Crow Guards would probably know if he was in the imperial pce or not. If they saw a Golden Crow Crown Prince walk in from outside when he was supposed to be inside, they would all know there was something wrong.

    He thought for a bit, then decided to change into Heichi Ran. That guy¡¯s appearance was surprisingly easy to imitate; the hardest part was his pitch-ck teeth. Zu An even worried about being unable topletely copy Heichi Ran and considered painting his teeth ck with charcoal. However, when he took out a mirror, he saw that he waspletely identical. He was once again amazed by the miraculousness of ¡®Face of a Thousand Identities¡¯.

    Afterward, he found some random passerby to activate the Kawaii Waifu Voice Changer, then strutted through the pce gates.

    ¡°Halt!¡± the guards called out, stopping him. However when they saw who he was, they all bowed respectfully. ¡°So it was Sir Director.¡±

    Zu An sighed in relief. He had been worried that Heichi Ran might have left again after escorting the second empress back. Now, it seemed there would be no issue. Thus, he nodded in the way Heichi Ran had before, saying, ¡°I¡¯m going to see the crown prince for something.¡±

    He had chosen to change into Heichi Ran precisely because of the man¡¯s rtionship with the crown prince. Heichi Ran¡¯s paternal aunt was the crown prince¡¯s birth mother. With such a rtionship, it wasn¡¯t strange for him to visit the crown prince.

    As expected, the guards didn¡¯t feel suspicious. They stepped aside and said, ¡°Sir Heichi, please enter.¡±

    Zu An hadn¡¯t expected things to go that smoothly and walked directly in.

    However, as soon as he stepped through the pce gates, a voice called out from behind him. ¡°Wait!¡±

    Zu An was rmed. As expected, it was too early to feel happy. When he turned around, he saw a golden-armored general walk over with a group of guards. Heined inwardly, This is bad. Even though he could impersonate Heichi Ran, he couldn¡¯t copy his memories! He didn¡¯t know the guards in the pce at all.

    ¡°Sir Heichi, why did you return again?¡± the general asked. He had a long face, which made it look strangely narrow.

    Zu An was startled. He recalled Kong Qing¡¯s description of the pce situation and replied, ¡°General Ma, the crown prince needed me for something, so how could I not return?¡±

    ¡°The crown prince was looking for you? Why didn¡¯t I hear about this?¡± the general asked. He didn¡¯t question the way he had been addressed, meaning he was the Left Guard General Ma Tian. He nced outside and asked, ¡°Hm? Why don¡¯t I see your attendants?¡±

    Zu An reacted quickly and said, ¡°It¡¯s because the matter is ssified, so I didn¡¯t bring anyone with me.¡±

    Ma Tian didn¡¯t press the matter when he heard how secret the subject was. After all, Heichi Ran was closer to the crown prince than him. He nced at the horizon, sounding troubled as he said, ¡°But the pce gates have already closed, and you should know the rules. Outside subjects can¡¯t enter after the gate closes unless the Fiend Emperor or the crown prince have given the order.¡±

    Zu An protested inwardly, Where the hell am I supposed to get some written orders?

    When he saw his troubled expression, Ma Tian didn¡¯t want to offend him and asked, ¡°Is Sir Director¡¯s concern urgent? If not, please return tomorrow. If it is, why don¡¯t I immediately make a report to the crown prince for you?¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, If you make a report to the crown prince, everything will be exposed! And yet, he had no reason to stop him.

    However, his mind moved quickly and he suddenly took out something, saying, ¡°I don¡¯t have a written order, but the crown prince had someone give this to me.¡±

    Pika''s Thoughts

    Ah yes, the floor is made out of floor.

 Chapter 1320: Heartbreaking Words

    Chapter 1320: Heartbreaking Words

    Ma Tian gave the token a look, then quickly bowed and said, ¡°So it was the crown prince¡¯s Golden Crow Token. Sir Heichi, please!¡±

    Zu An had gotten the token from the grandmaster who showed up to protect the Golden Crow Crown Prince after Zu An won, as an invitation to the Fiend King Court. Of course, the grandmaster might not have had good intentions. It was most likely intended to allow the Golden Crow Crown Prince to wash away his earlier shame after Zu An came to the court.

    However, they could never have expected Zu An to use it to enter the imperial pce!

    Zu An had already noticed that the Golden Crow token Yu Yanluo used and the one he had were different. Later, he had learned that the one that she had was the Golden Crow Token that the Fiend Emperor issued to bring the n leaders to the Fiend King Court, but apart from that, it didn¡¯t have much use. On the contrary, the token Zu An had was the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s, which was much more useful.

    Zu An sighed in relief. Looks like my luck isn¡¯t bad.

    He returned Ma Tian¡¯s greeting, while also politely refusing the offer to help him deliver the message to the crown prince. Ma Tian didn¡¯t press the issue; as the head of pce security, he had a guard bring Zu An over instead.

    Zu An secretly examined his surroundings along the way. He noticed that the fiend races¡¯ imperial pce was actually quite different from the human race¡¯s. Along the way, he saw many fountains and all sorts of sculptures. Almost all of them were depictions of the fiend races¡¯ different species, as if the statues were for the purpose of winning over the hearts of those races.

    Zu An had no intention to just appreciate the scenery, though. He quickly used the jade badge, engraving the surrounding map into his mind. He had never been inside before, so if he had to flee in the future, he would only have a good chance if he familiarized himself with theyout.

    Meanwhile, he found a chance to ask, ¡°By the way, I heard that Princess Snow entered the pce; is that right?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Princess Snow really is pretty, and she is very friendly. She even gave us a smile when she entered through the pce gates this morning,¡± the guard answered with a foolish smile, seemingly still immersed in a beautiful memory from that morning.

    Zu An was speechless. Friendly? He really couldn''t associate that sharp-tongued youngdy with such a description. Ever since he had arrived in the fiend race territory, however, ording to the intelligence he had obtained, Snow¡¯s reputation among the people was quite high.

    My Snow, you absolutely can¡¯t let some old freak possess you!

    ¡°I heard that she hadn¡¯t left the pce yet, though?¡± Zu An pretended to ask carelessly.

    ¡°Right! It seems as if the crown princess candidate is going to be decided today,¡± the guard said with an envious expression, seemingly wishing he were the crown prince.

    Zu An was furious, but he didn¡¯t dare to show it on the surface. He replied, ¡°Oh? That makes sense, I guess. If she stays the night in the imperial pce, even if nothing happens, the outside world will believe that she¡¯s the royal family¡¯s woman.¡±

    ¡°Exactly!¡± the guard replied. ¡°Earlier, after Princess Snow paid her respects to the Fiend Emperor, the pce¡¯s imperial concubines held her back to chat with her for a while. Later, the crown prince looked for a way to keep her¡­ Heh, the raw rice is going to be fully cooked soon!¡±

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in a remote pce room, a flower vase shattered. A delicate and exquisite figure staggered around, trying to avoid something. She had knocked over the vase while trying to get out of the way. She tried to open the door in her confusion. However, light flickered across it, pushing her away.

    The youngdy was dressed in an emerald green dress that gave off a sense of brimming natural vitality at a mere nce. Her hair was arranged into many meticulous braids, adorned with an assortment of gorgeous ornaments. Under the illumination of the room¡¯s candlelight, they truly looked bright and dazzling.

    Not too far away, a well-dressed man slowly walked over. When he saw the youngdy¡¯s beauty and her unmatched, goddess-like daintiness, he began breathing heavily. He said, ¡°Princess Snow, this residence is special. You cannot leave unless I let you.¡±

    The man was, of course, the Golden Crow Crown Prince. Meanwhile, the goddess-like woman was the Elf race¡¯s princess, Qiao Xueying.

    At that moment, Qiao Xueying¡¯s snow-white skin was already covered in an unnatural blush. She said hatefully, ¡°You told me that there was some progress regarding my father¡¯s situation and called me over to discuss that, but it was actually just to drug me!¡±

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince wasn¡¯t in a rush to close in. Either way, the woman before him was already a thoroughly prepared meal that couldn''t fly away. He was more interested in slowly subduing both her body and mind.

    ¡°There really is progress, though. As long as you obediently marry me and be the crown princess, your father will be the country¡¯s father. How could someone like that be locked up in prison?¡± he replied. He only felt a greater desire to conquer the woman when he saw her panicked and shy expression.

    Hmph, that slut Kong Nanwu actually ran away! Thankfully, Princess Snow is just as beautiful. I¡¯m going to subdue Princess Snow first, then seize Kong Nanwu for my harem after. You¡¯re my woman no matter where you run off to!

    Qiao Xueying eximed with a mix of nervousness and fury, ¡°You are the respected fiend race crown prince, and yet you actually did something as shameful as this!¡±

    ¡°Passionate love between a man and a woman has always been natural to begin with. How can that be considered shameful?¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince replied, seemingly disagreeing. ¡°Let alone the fact that both of our parents have already consented to the marriage. Everyone in the fiend race territory already views you as the crown princess. Is it not to be expected for a married couple to be a bit more intimate?¡±

    Qiao Xueying spat furiously, ¡°I didn¡¯t agree to it! If they agree, why don¡¯t you marry them?!¡±

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince harrumphed. ¡°Do you know how many women in this world want to marry this crown prince? Why do you keep acting as if you don¡¯t know what¡¯s good for you?¡±

    ¡°Then isn¡¯t that perfect? Just go and marry all those girls who want to be with you!¡± Qiao Xueying cried. She was really starting to be flustered..

    ¡°This crown prince doesn¡¯t have any interest in them; I like you,¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince said, carefully admiring the youngdy before him. He found her more beautiful the more he looked at her. She wasn¡¯t even inferior to the Medusa Queen and those other women he had met in the Snake race¡¯s territory before¡­

    His expression stiffened when he thought of that. Pah pah pah! Why am I thinking about that day again? Damn it!

    Qiao Xueying asked somewhat helplessly, ¡°Just what part of me do you like? Can¡¯t I just change that part?¡±

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince said with a scowl, ¡°My patience has a limit.¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Qiao Xueying bit her thin lip. She could only change the topic to stall for time, even though she didn¡¯t know what meaning there would be to do that. She asked, ¡°Just how did you poison me? I was clearly extremely careful earlier.¡±

    She was no fool, after all. There was no way she would bepletely unguarded if the Golden Crow Crown Prince sought her out. Ever since she had arrived, she hadn¡¯t eaten a single thing, nor had she drunk a sip of water. How could she have expected she would still be drugged?

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince obviously knew that she was stalling for time, but he didn¡¯t care. After all, he had abundant time; he had all night to slowly y with her. The longer they dyed, the greater the medicine¡¯s effects would be, too. At that point, the woman would feel extremely hot inside.

    A strange and fanatical smile appeared on the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s face when he thought of that. He said, ¡°Indeed, you were quite guarded. However, you can choose not to eat or drink, but you must breathe, no?¡±

    Qiao Xueying was shocked. Her gaze moved to the calmly burning candle me and she asked, ¡°Your poison was from a candle?¡±

    ¡°Princess Snow is sharp. As expected of the woman I have chosen,¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince said.

    When he saw the blush on her skin, he felt that her naturally quiet and exquisite beauty was being emphasized with a hint of charming seduction. He began breathing heavily, feeling as if he were already struggling to hold back.

    Qiao Xueying really panicked when she saw the crown prince approach step by step. However, her cultivation wasn¡¯t a match for the Golden Crow Crown Prince, and she had been drugged. This was his territory, no less. There really was nothing she could do!

    However, she suddenly recalled a rumor regarding the Golden Crow Crown Prince and quickly asked, ¡°Didn¡¯t you always ask why I didn¡¯t want to marry you?¡±

    Sure enough, the Golden Crow Crown Prince was distracted when he heard that, replying, ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Because I already have someone I like,¡± Qiao Xueying replied. Zu An appeared in her mind, and she felt aggrieved inside. It looks as if the two of us were destined to meet, but not fated to be together in this life.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince frowned. However, when he looked at Qiao Xueying¡¯s fair and alluring appearance in the candlelight, he suppressed the displeasure within him and said, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. A woman as beautiful as you would naturally have many pursuers. However, you will only belong to this crown prince alone.¡±

    If it were any other woman, he would already believe that her thoughts were unclean. Considering Princess Snow¡¯s appearance and status, however, it was enough for him to make an exception.

    A strange expression appeared on Qiao Xueying¡¯s face as she replied, ¡°Did you mishear what I said? I said I already have a man. The two of us have already joined together in perfect harmony¡­¡± In order topletely make him give up, she added more frankly, ¡°My body is alreadypletely his shape. Don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t mind that?¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± The Golden Crow Crown Prince felt as if he had heard a thunderbolt strike. His entire body immediately froze in ce.

 Chapter 1321: Superman Punch

    Chapter 1321: Superman Punch

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s libido instantly vanished. After all, that was something he was extremely sensitive about. He cared about a woman¡¯s purity a lot. He glowered and said, ¡°You are a glorious Elf race princess, so how can you not have any self-respect, to actually have illicit rtions outside of marriage? Are you just saying this deliberately to get out of today¡¯s situation? That has to be it, right?¡±

    When she saw his reaction, a flicker of joy appeared on Qiao Xueying¡¯s face. She had just thought of that rumor regarding the Golden Crow Crown Prince, and feeling helpless, she had given it a try. Who could have expected that it would actually work?

    She spat, ¡°Hmph, you¡¯re a glorious fiend race crown prince, and yet you¡¯re still trying to fool yourself in this kind of situation. Well, I suppose there¡¯s no harm in telling you. Have you forgotten that I was acting as a spy in the human world for a long time? Back then, the situation was truly terrible, but fortunately, I met him.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face appeared in her mind. Qiao Xueying even felt a bit guilty when she talked about that time. They had practically been enemies when they first met, and she had cursed him day after day, hoping he would die earlier.

    That guy really was infuriating back then!

    When he saw the sweet smile on her face, the Golden Crow Crown Prince felt as if he were about to go insane from anger. This was a smile that should have belonged to him alone, and yet it was stolen by someone else!

    Damn it all!

    You have sessfully trolled the Golden Crow Crown Prince for +999 +999 +999¡­

    ¡°Who is that person?!¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince eximed.

    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t know him even if I told you. Either way, he¡¯s the most handsome, incredible, and strongest man in this entire world,¡± Qiao Xueying replied defiantly. She didn¡¯t speak Zu An¡¯s name for fear of bringing him danger. After all, this guy was the fiend races¡¯ crown prince, someone who had the ability to mobilize endless cultivators. If he really did send people after Ah Zu, she would really regret it forever.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s eyelids twitched when he heard her description. He cursed, ¡°You damn slut, I shouldn¡¯t have cherished you with utmost care like a goddess all this time, wasting all that time chasing after you. To think you already went to bed with another man!¡±

    Qiao Xueying spat, ¡°You can even call your actions today ¡®cherishing with care¡¯? Hah!¡±

    ¡°Ha¡­ Haha¡­ You¡¯ve done it now!¡± The Golden Crow Crown Prince was so angry he began tough. He replied, ¡°I will make sure you understand what the title of ¡®world¡¯s strongest man¡¯ really means today!¡±

    Qiao Xueying¡¯s expression changed when she saw him draw closer. She asked, ¡°Don¡¯t you have a strange fetish, that you won¡¯t touch any women who aren¡¯t virgins?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s only toward ordinary women. For a true beauty, this crown prince doesn¡¯t mind ying around a bit,¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince replied. The three incredible beauties he had met in the Snake race territory appeared in his mind again. He suddenly thought to himself, What is up with me? Why am I always encountering people I can make an exception for?

    ¡°Hmph, this crown prince will personally examine if you really are a virgin or not. If you are just trying to deceive me in order to get away, this crown prince can forgive your bit of stubbornness, and I will still make you the crown princess. But if you really have already lost your chastity¡­¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince continued, his expression turning grim, ¡°not only will I strike the Elf race off the list of three great king ns, I will turn you into a ve. I will throw you to my subordinates and let you be their public toy. Let us see if your lover will still want you then!¡±

    Qiao Xueying was so angry her entire body was shaking. She cried, ¡°You¡¯re supposed to be the honorable crown prince of a country, and yet you¡¯re actually this shameless!¡± She hadn¡¯t expected her personal affairs to end up involving the entire Elf race. Furthermore, what the crown prince had threatened afterward was something that would make any woman tremble with fear.

    ¡°You forced me to do this. It¡¯s your fault for being so shameful!¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince yelled. He pounced on her, no longer as calm and patient-seeming as before.

    Qiao Xueying¡¯s expression changed and she quickly used a movement technique to move out of the way. Even though her cultivation had improved a lot after she came back, however, she was still quite a bit weaker than the Golden Crow Crown Prince. Furthermore, she had been drugged by that despicable poison, so she couldn''t use much of her cultivation. She was quickly pushed into a corner by the crown prince.

    Qiao Xueying¡¯s braids began to produce soft green shoots,shing at the crown prince. With a casual wave of the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s hand, however, he pushed them aside. Then, he grabbed her shoulder with his hand and a burst of ki entered her body. Qiao Xueying felt her entire body turn limp. She didn¡¯t have the strength to retaliate at all anymore.

    ¡°Where is your lover now? He cannot even protect his own woman! Just a piece of trash,¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince spat, looking sinister. When he saw Qiao Xueying¡¯s beautiful and tender face, even though he had admired her greatly before, now, he only felt anger.

    He took out a recording mirror from his inner pocket and coldly said, ¡°I am going to record what is about to happen with this mirror, and then I will show it to your lover. He will forever be a loser in front of me in the future, hahaha!¡±

    He had already felt a deep sense of defeat when he found out another man had taken Qiao Xueying¡¯s first time. Upon getting that idea, however, he felt relieved. He decided that he had to make sure to properly disy the fiend races¡¯ might in this recording!

    ¡°You¡¯re despicable!¡± Qiao Xueying cried, her entire body shaking. Unfortunately, not only had she been affected by the drug, her acupoints had been sealed too. She couldn''t retaliate even if she wanted to.

    On the other hand, her hatred and rmpletely aroused the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s inner beast. His long and narrow eyes exuded a hint of viciousness, making his normally decent-looking face appear rather warped. He reached out a w towards her cor, about to rip it open¡­

    Suddenly, the nearby door exploded!

    A gust of wind swept toward the Golden Crow Crown Prince, making his fine hairs stand on end. At that instant, it was as if he had sensed the aura of death. He quickly used the Golden Crow Radiant Flow to evade, and yet the intruder seemed to have anticipated it, following right behind him.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince was suddenly ambushed, so hecked the initiative. Furthermore, because all of his blood had been gathered in the lower parts of his body, he couldn''t use a good chunk of his cultivation. He couldn''t retaliate at all.

    Even so, he was still one of the famous Five Great Experts of the fiend races¡¯ younger generation. There were even some who believed that he was the leader of the five. As such, his reaction speed was naturally first-rate. His entire body erupted with a golden ze: Golden Crow Sacred Fire!

    Golden Crow Sacred Fire could burn everything to ashes, so his opponent would only be able to retreat. Once the Golden Crow Crown Prince caught his breath, he could thenunch a thunderous retaliation.

    And yet, who would have thought that the attacker wouldn¡¯t evade at all? A pitch-ck dagger thrust toward the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s chest. At that instant, he felt as if all of his blood were about to freeze. He felt a premonition that as long as he was hit by the dagger, he would undoubtedly die.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    However, things were happening too suddenly! Furthermore, the intruder seemed to be extremely familiar with his skills, so he was constantly restrained. He could only watch as the dagger stabbed into his body.

    Just then, the golden feather that hung from his ne ignited, blocking the pitch-ck dagger for him.

    He remembered that the Fiend Emperor had granted him a life-saving crow feather when he returned to the Fiend King Court, which could help him block one lethal blow. At the time, he had felt that his father worried too much. Forget about no one in the Fiend King Court daring to attack him, even if there were any, with his cultivation, why would he use something like that?

    And yet, it had been used then and there. When he thought about how his own life-saving treasure had been used up just like that, the Golden Crow Crown Prince was shocked and furious. His entire body flickered with golden light as he prepared to use his most powerful technique to retaliate.

    Suddenly, a fist flew toward him.

    Golden Crow Crown Prince was one of the younger generation¡¯s supreme five, so he naturally knew that if he continued to only dodge, he would only fall further into absolute disadvantage. If the pitch-ck dagger attacked again, he didn¡¯t have a second feather to save his life. As such, he gritted his teeth. Even if he had to take the blow, he had to retaliate.

    Either way, the Golden Crow royal family¡¯s bodies were sturdy, and their regenerative prowess was astonishing. The fist wouldn¡¯t inflict any serious injuries, and he could even end up being able to seize the chance to flip the situation upside down.

    However, his expression suddenly changed. The fist initiallycked killing intent, but instantly became extremely terrifying, to the extent that it wasparable to a grandmaster¡¯s attack! In barely more than an instant, the fist smashed through his ki armor and mmed into his underbelly. Terrifying ki surged into his body. Not even the Golden Crow royal family¡¯s sturdy body could withstand it.

    Just like that, the lower half of his body waspletely pulverized beyond recognition!

 Chapter 1322: Eyes in the Sky

    Chapter 1322: Eyes in the Sky

    ¡°Ahhh!¡± The Golden Crow Crown Prince released a world-shaking scream. After all, considering what had just happened, all of his blood had been focused down there. That made it a serious injury, which could cripple him down there forever.

    The one who had arrived was, of course, Zu An. He had followed the guard into the pce, taking in the surrounding territory while inquiring about Snow¡¯s whereabouts. An ordinary guard obviously wouldn¡¯t know the details of the inner pce, but he had mentioned something strange. The crown prince had cleared out a secluded courtyard, and there weren¡¯t any eunuchs or maids there; even the guards were stationed far away.

    Zu An immediately connected the dots. The crown prince wanted a secluded ce to do something dishonest. After all, Snow was the Elf race¡¯s princess. If what he nned to do to her became known to the entire world, the royal family would lose a lot of face. They wouldn¡¯t be able to exin things to the various ns.

    Suddenly, though, Zu An had received a huge amount of Rage points from the Golden Crow Crown Prince, so he knew his target wasn¡¯t too far away. After all, the Rage system collected soul fluctuations, so he wouldn¡¯t be able to collect Rage points at such a great distance.

    As such, after finding out where the courtyard was, he had immediately knocked the guard out. Whether or not it would end up affecting Heichi Ran, sparking an investigation into someone who could change faces, he couldn¡¯t be bothered to worry about that. He only wanted to save Snow as quickly as possible, and was unwilling to waste even a second.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince had driven away all of the guards and servants so he could do as he wanted, but that had just made things easier for Zu An. Otherwise, if there were powerful cultivators everywhere, forcefully breaking through a defensive line would be difficult for him.

    Fortunately, Zu An had arrived at thest moment. When he saw the Golden Crow Crown prince about to take advantage of Snow, blood rushed to his head and filled him with rage. He couldn''t care less if this was some fiend race crown prince and struck decisively to kill. Unfortunately, the crown prince had a strange feather that blocked his lethal attack.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince was an outstanding individual in the fiend race¡¯s younger generation, so it wouldn¡¯t be easy for Zu An to win against him. After the Poisonous Prick was deflected, Zu An couldn¡¯t use it a second time; however, he still managed to send a fist flying toward the crown prince.

    After destroying the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s lower body, Zu An¡¯s right hand finally recovered. He thrust the Poisonous Prick at the crown prince again, intending to end his life.

    Just then, someone let out a furious roar. ¡°Scoundrel, you dare?!¡±

    Then, an overwhelming force surged toward Zu An, who retaliated with a palm. The two forces shed, resulting in a tremendous noise. All of the chairs, tables, and flower vases nearby were blown to smithereens.

    Zu An felt his inner energies surge chaotically. He quickly recognized the attacker; he was the grandmaster protector who was always at the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s side.

    At almost the same time, a pair of giant eyes slowly opened in the clouds above the imperial pce. They resembled red phoenix eyes, but were longer and more narrow. Red light flickered within their pupils.

    Representatives of the different ns in the Fiend King Court stood up and looked to the horizon, crying out in horror.

    ¡°Who provoked the Fiend Emperor into acting himself?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me the human emperor hase in person?¡±

    ¡­

    Just how many years had it been since they saw the Fiend Emperor himself act? None of them had ever seen him angry. The Fiend Emperor had already remained secluded in the pce for so long that some from the younger generation had already forgotten his terrifying presence. At that instant, however, countless fiends were forced to kneel from the pressure. They were left with a mix of terror and adoration, so moved that their entire bodies shook.

    Inside the Snake race¡¯s residence, Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue suddenly stood up, their expressions grave.

    ¡°As expected, the Fiend Emperor¡¯s reputation is well deserved. Judging from the pressure, he isn¡¯t inferior to Zhao Han at all,¡± Yun Jianyue said. She had fought against Zhao Han before, so she naturally had the ability to make that judgment.

    ¡°Why did the Fiend Emperor suddenly make a move? At their cultivation realm, such individuals usually remain in seclusion to dy their heaven and man deterioration for as long as possible,¡± Yan Xuehen said in confusion.

    ¡°Maybe a powerful enemy invaded¡­¡± Yun Jianyue began, but she shook her head halfway through her sentence. Apart from Zhao Han, who in the current world could make the Fiend Emperor get involved personally? She walked over to the window and looked toward the imperial pce, noticing the chaos in the area, and said, ¡°Maybe something happened in the imperial pce.¡±

    ¡°Who in the world would be brave enough to cause trouble in the Fiend Imperial Pce?¡± Yan Xuehen wondered, giving Yun Jianyue a look. The Fiend Imperial Pce was the same as the human race¡¯s imperial pce, not one bit inferior to a forbidden region. Only someone as crazy as Yun Jianyue would dare to invade such a ce.

    Yu Yanluo walked over to the window, a hint of worry appearing between her brows. She asked, ¡°Do you two think¡­ that it¡¯s Ah Zu?¡±

    ¡°No way. That guy is pretty smart. Why would he do something like¡­ throw his life away¡­?¡± Yun Jianyue replied. She sounded quite confident at first, but in the end, even she wasn¡¯t sure.

    Yan Xuehen was rmed. That guy was so brazen, he even dared to bully her! It really was possible that he would do such a thing!

    ¡­

    While the three women were worrying about him, Zu An held Snow in his arms as he ran for his life through the imperial pce.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s strength was almost on par with his. There were two reasons why the crown prince had been injured so easily, though. First was because Zu An knew what kind of skills he had, and his skills just happened to counter the crown prince¡¯s. Second was because Zu An hadunched a surprise attack and had the initiative.

    Now that the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s grandmaster protector had arrived, though, Zu An wouldn¡¯t have a chance, and would only be risking death by persisting. Furthermore, the Fiend Emperor¡¯s terrifying pressure made all of his fine hairs stand on end. Why would he ever make the idiotic choice of staying behind and fighting to the death? As such, he had picked up Snow and fled.

    The grandmaster intended to chase after him, but then he heard the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s miserable screams. He quickly turned around, and when he saw the crown prince¡¯s badly mangled lower body, he jumped in fright, thinking, The injuries were actually that serious? He helped the crown prince seal up the bleeding while providing him with ki to stabilize his injuries.

    ¡°That seemed to be Heichi Ran just now¡­¡± the grandmaster remarked. When he recalled what had happened, he recognized who it was. After all, Heichi Ran was the crown prince¡¯s trusted aide. They had been ymates from a young age.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that bastard was the one who coveted Princess Snow¡¯s beauty? Don¡¯t worry about me and catch him! I want to dice his corpse into ten thousand pieces!¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince snarled, gritting his teeth. His eyes were full of bitter resentment.

    He knew what kind of poison Princess Snow was affected by. If Heichi Ran brought her away, wouldn¡¯t that end up benefiting him? Let alone the fact that he himself had been injured so badly. Forget about Heichi Ran, the entire Heichi n could go to hell!

    The elder frowned. He thought to himself that even though Heichi Ran¡¯s cultivation was quite good, inflicting such a serious injury on the Golden Crow Crown Prince in such a short time, and even calmly receiving a blow from him, should have beenpletely impossible. There were many suspicious things about the situation. However, the Golden Crow Crown Prince was furious, so he couldn''t say too much. As such, he handed the crown prince to the Golden Crow Guards who rushed over, while he himself began to chase after the two that fled.

    ¡°Let¡­ Let me go,¡± Snow murmured. As she leaned into his embrace, she could sense a familiar and intimate feelinging from Zu An¡¯s body. However, she knew that this person seemed to be the crown prince¡¯s trusted aide, so she just assumed it was due to that damn drug¡¯s effects. She was ashamed and panicked, worrying that if she waited any longer, she would lose her reason and let this man¡­

    Suddenly, Zu An restored his original appearance and said, ¡°Snow, it hasn¡¯t even been that long. You can¡¯t even recognize me anymore?¡±

    When she saw that face she had yearned for day and night, Qiao Xueying was instantly stunned. She murmured to herself, ¡°Am I dreaming?¡±

    How could there be that much of a coincidence, though? Her lover had just happened to save her in her greatest moment of peril. It wasn¡¯t like that even in the romance books Chu Chuyan loved to read! Worried that the drug might have made her mistake another man for Zu An, she gave him a pinch as she spoke.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An cried out in rm. ¡°What are you doing? Are you attacking your own husband?!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m checking to see if this is just a dream,¡± Qiao Xueying said with a blush. This guy¡¯s reaction was just as she remembered. So it really was him!

    ¡°Then why didn¡¯t you pinch yourself?¡± Zu Anined. This girl¡¯s fingernails are way too long! That area looks as if it¡¯s about to bleed¡­

    ¡°Are you really scared of a bit of pain?¡± Qiao Xueying replied while reaching out to embrace Zu An¡¯s neck tightly, her voice delicate and sweet. When she saw his bright eyes and his smile, she didn¡¯t want to be separated from him anymore.

    Zu An was about to reply when his entire body went rigid. A terrifying, powerful, ice-cold divine sense swept over him.

 Chapter 1323: Nowhere Left to Run

    Chapter 1323: Nowhere Left to Run

    The pressure shook Zu An¡¯s very soul; clearly, it was something only the legendary Fiend Emperor could have. Zu An was extremely thankful that the divine sense swept over several small creatures he began controlling first. Otherwise, if it reached him, he could end up with no way to escape at all.

    The Fiend Emperor quickly realized that there was something wrong with the small creatures. A cold snort rang out in Zu An¡¯s mind, and the creatures instantly exploded into bloody mist. Zu An cried out in pain and clutched his head with one hand.

    Qiao Xueying jumped in fright and asked worriedly, ¡°Ah Zu, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing,¡± Zu An replied, firmly shaking his head to get rid of the terrible pain. Fortunately, he had been controlling the small creatures through the jade badge and not through his own soul; otherwise, he could have ended up injuring his soul, assuming he wasn¡¯t turned into an imbecile on the spot.Something like that could end up being impossible to recover from for the rest of his life.

    However, there was no time for him to be happy, because he could sense that the terrifying divine sense was rapidly searching the area. If it sensed him, he would be done for. And yet, no matter how fast he was, how could he possibly be faster than an earth immortal¡¯s divine will?

    Fortunately, there was arge ornamentalke nearby, so he picked up Qiao Xueying and jumped straight in. He used Blue Mard¡¯s ability to form a transparent bubble around them, then quickly swam to the very bottom and dug into the sludge. Fortunately, the water bubble surrounding them kept them from being covered in mud.

    Zu An used Blue Mard to merge their auras into the surrounding water, while simultaneously using the Unshaken Daoist Manual and Mirror Mirage to restrain his own aura. Qiao Xueying was quick-witted, promptly copying him and hiding her own aura.

    Zu An was quite shocked. If he hadn¡¯t been looking at her, he would have wondered whether there really was someone there. Snow¡¯s stealth technique really was miraculous.

    He suddenly remembered that Snow had actually been a part of Brightmoon Academy as one of the top ten beauties. However, the other students had only vaguely remembered that that member existed and couldn''t even describe her name or appearance. When he recalled what Kong Qing had said about Princess Snow having her beauty unsealed, he could only sigh in admiration of Snow¡¯s unique concealment technique.

    The moment the two properly hid themselves at the bottom of theke, an ice-cold divine sense swept over where they had just been. Then, it passed over theke without leaving even a single ripple across the water¡¯s surface.

    However, Blue Mard was extremely miraculous, allowing one topletely be one with the water. Together with the Unshakable Daoist Manual, Mirror Mirage, and other outstanding stealth skills, the Fiend Emperor¡¯s divine sense only passed by without detecting them.

    When he sensed that the divine sense had left, Zu An sighed in relief. Only then did he notice that he was pressed against a soft and beautifully fragrant body. Just then, whether he had been saving her or running away, all of it had happened too quickly. He¡¯d had no time to take a good look at her at all. Only now did he have a chance to look at her up close.

    Qiao Xueying¡¯s skin was fairer than snow. Her brows were curved, and her mouth was small. She was delicate and dainty. Her eyes were sparkling and crystal clear, giving off an intelligent glint. Perhaps because of the drug, a sense of charm emanated from those eyes, as if every expression conveyed sweet and gentle messages.

    ¡°What, you don¡¯t recognize me anymore?¡± Qiao Xueying remarked with a big smile when she saw Zu An stare at her.

    ¡°I heard someone say that Princess Snow had her appearance sealed, but then it was undone when she returned to the fiend races. At the time, I was worried that my beloved Snow was gone forever, but the changes weren¡¯t as great as I imagined,¡± Zu An said, sighing in relief. The difference between this youngdy and the Snow he knew wasn¡¯t that great, but it did give her an entirely different demeanor.

    Before, Snow had been cute and charming, but because she had spent too long as a maid during her time as a spy, she hade off more like a pretty girl-next-door, like a pretty supporting actress that made other girls look more beautiful. Other people wouldn¡¯t concentrate their attention on her.

    Now, however, she was a dazzling star. No matter who she was with, she wouldn¡¯t lose out in the slightest. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have be the famous Princess Snow among the fiend races¡¯ younger generation, nor would she have made the Golden Crow Crown Prince, who had seen many beautiful women, yearn for her day and night.

    ¡°Then was I prettier before, or am I prettier now?¡± Qiao Xueying asked.

    Zu An replied, ¡°Whether before or now, you are you, my most cherished Snow.¡±

    Only a blockhead would answer such a deadly question incorrectly.

    ¡°Hmph, you¡¯ve always been a smooth talker,¡± Qiao Xueying replied with a smile, clearly pleased with the answer. However, she still didn¡¯t let him go and asked, ¡°Then which one do you like better?¡±

    Zu An was starting to get a headache. That topic isn¡¯t done yet? As such, he went on the offensive, saying, ¡°Let me give it a go to find out.¡±

    Then, he kissed her. Qiao Xueying moaned, her entire body going soft. When their lips separated, she looked embarrassed, yet expectant.

    Zu An pursed his lips and said, ¡°Mmm, your lips are just as spicy as before. This is exactly the kind of feeling I like.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re so annoying. You¡¯re already teasing me right after we meet again,¡± Qiao Xueying said, sounding mildly annoyed. Compared to her usual sharp and clear voice, she now sounded sweet and lovely.

    ¡°I was thinking about how when we first met, we both fell into a pond too. Now that we¡¯re on the topic¡­ At the time, you were already a sixth rank cultivator, and yet you almost drowned underwater. Were you just using that as a pretext to get closer to me on purpose and take advantage of me?¡± Zu An asked. Because there were Golden Crow Guards everywhere, he wasn¡¯t in a rush to leave theke. It would be a bit safer to stay for a bit.

    ¡°Who was trying to take advantage of you back then?!¡± Qiao Xueying protested. When she remembered what had happened, she could no longer hold back her annoyance and bit down on Zu An¡¯s shoulder.

    Zu An sucked air through his teeth. However, his expression quickly became strange. Qiao Xueying only used a bit of strength at first, but then she used the tip of her tongue to gently lick the wound. She even looked at him with an ambiguous expression, as if she were sending him a silent invitation.

    If someone so beautiful and delicate looked at him in such a way, which man could possibly resist?

    Zu An was also stirred, his entire body stiffening. However, he quickly realized that something wasn¡¯t right. Snow¡¯s body was burning up too much, and her body was giving off an unnatural redness. She was also much more proactive than usual. Having been in simr situations so many times, he reacted quickly and asked, ¡°You¡¯ve been poisoned?¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Qiao Xueying voiced her confirmation, a hint of embarrassment appearing on her face as she said, ¡°The Golden Crow Crown Prince put a despicable drug in the candle.¡±

    Zu An reached out to check her pulse. He glowered and cursed, ¡°That damn birdman, I went too easy on him!¡±

    Qiao Xueying quickly covered his hand with hers and said, ¡°Don¡¯t do anything stupid. He is the fiend races¡¯ crown prince, after all, and this is the Fiend King Court. Apart from the human emperor, no one is a match for the Fiend Emperor. I don¡¯t want to be a femme fatale who puts you in danger.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m not that kind of hothead. I¡¯ll only make a move after I¡¯ve thought things through,¡± Zu An replied to console her.

    ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± Qiao Xueying said. She thought about how ever since she had met him in Brightmoon City, Zu An had offended many people who were stronger than him, yet almost none of them had met a pleasant end. Instead, he had always been the one to remain happy and free.

    Zu An was about to help Snow get rid of the poison when his expression changed. He sensed a group of Golden Crow Guards arriving by thekeside.

    The imperial pce guards were clearly experienced. Their leader quickly said, ¡°Those who are good at swimming, enter theke and look around. Don¡¯t let a single corner remain unsearched! The order this time is absolute. Even if we have to dig up three feet across this entire ce, we have to find that assassin!¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± The Golden Crow Guards all epted the order. It was clear that the Fiend Emperor was furious that the crown prince had been injured so severely. No one dared to show any negligence in the matter. With several sshes, they jumped into the water and quickly began searching theke.

    Zu An was nervous. Even though he could escape the Fiend Emperor¡¯s detection by hiding at the bottom of theke, if the experienced Golden Crow Guards investigated up close, he wouldn¡¯t be able to hide from them.

    Sure enough, some Golden Crow Guards came close. Zu An didn¡¯t just wait passively and instead acted suddenly, restraining the nearby Golden Crow Guards. He then rushed upward with Qiao Xueying in his arms.

    The surrounding Golden Crow Guards cried out in rm, and many of them leaped at them. However, Zu An didn¡¯t dare to continue fighting zealously. If he got tangled and caught up in something, even if the Fiend Emperor didn¡¯t act, just the grandmaster and the others in the imperial pce would make sure that he could never leave the ce.

    He ran with everything he had, carrying Qiao Xueying in his arms and evading round after round of pursuers. Unfortunately, this was the imperial pce, and so there was more than one direction he had to worry about. In the end, more and more Golden Crow Guards began to detect the two of them and he was stopped several times along the way.

    Zu An didn¡¯t even dare to evade, instead fighting with the intention of exchanging wound for wound. He seriously injured many of the Golden Crow Guards, but of course, he was soon covered in wounds himself.

    At first, Qiao Xueying could still assist him. After some time, however, the poison within her began ring up. She struggled to even hold herself together, let alone let alone try to help fending off the enemies.

    Just then, Zu An felt another wave of ice-cold divine sense sweep over him. This was the Fiend Emperor¡¯s power!

    I¡¯m f*cked!

    No matter how sturdy Zu An¡¯s will was, he still began to feel despair.

    Suddenly, a wonderful figure appeared nearby. Zu An wondered whether he should seize her as a hostage, but to his surprise, she gave the two of them a cold look and said to them, ¡°Follow me!¡±

 Chapter 1324: Fiend Empressâ€™ Resting Chambers

    Chapter 1324: Fiend Empress¡¯ Resting Chambers

    The wonderful figure was a beautiful young married woman, dressed in a long silk dress that looked extremely soft and sleek. Anyone who saw it wouldn¡¯t be able to help but think about touching it. A brilliant belt hung around her slim waist, entuating her slender figure and making her chest¡¯s wonderful curve seem even more incredible.

    The woman spoke in a mature cadence that conveyed a sense of awe. However, her wless face was so beautiful that it was hard to associate her with an imposing demeanor. Her oval face was spotless and snow-white; her umber-ck, curved eyebrows were extremely seductive, her rosy lips shining with an alluring gloss. Even though her tone was somewhat cold, her voice naturally carried a sense of soul-melting temptation that could make one¡¯s heart go crazy.

    Even though Zu An had never seen her before, he was familiar with her voice. He immediately reacted and eximed, ¡°Second Empress?¡±

    Head caught a glimpse of her figure by the city gates, but that was just a nce through the carriage¡¯s windows. However, her incredible voice had left him with too deep of an impression.

    The woman didn¡¯t reply to him, instead continuing to walk toward a rock garden without paying him any attention. Zu An hesitated, but when he heard the shouts and hurried footsteps of the Golden Crow Guards not far away, and felt the Fiend Emperor¡¯s imminent divine sense closing in, he knew he would quickly be trapped inside with no way out. As such, he gritted his teeth and followed her into a rock garden.

    Inside the garden, the woman turned a small rock in a hidden ce, suddenly revealing a secret door. She took the lead, heading inside first. Then, she gestured toward Zu An and called, ¡°Come in!¡±

    When he saw the pitch-ck tunnel, Zu An didn¡¯t hesitate and went straight in. Staying outside any longer would allow the Fiend Emperor to find him. Zu An had smashed half of his son¡¯s lower body rotten; furthermore, it was the son the Fiend Emperor had already publicly dered to be his sessor¡­ If Zu An ended up in his hands, that would guarantee his death.

    Even though he couldn''t figure out the Second Empress¡¯ intentions, an ice-cold divine sense was already sweeping over the rock garden.

    Zu An asked worriedly, ¡°Can this tunnel escape the Fiend Emperor¡¯s detection?¡±

    The Second Empress took out a luminescent pearl and led the way. Under the faint illumination, the skin of her pale white wrist seemed even more dazzling than the bright pearl itself. She replied, ¡°This tunnel was created using a special design. It can block a cultivator¡¯s divine sense.¡±

    ¡°It can even block off the divine sense of the Fiend Emperor?¡± Zu An replied. He obviously knew that there were many princes and dukes who had built secret passages with simr technology. Since it was a secret passage, it was naturally intended to aid escape in a moment of danger. If someone could detect it with a single sweep of their divine sense, could it still call itself a ¡®secret¡¯ passage?N?v(el)B\\jnn

    However, even though ordinary cultivators wouldn¡¯t be able to detect the secret passage, earth immortals were far beyond the understanding of normal people. How could even such cultivators fail to notice something like that?

    The Second Empress replied, ¡°That is because he has not fully awakened. This is but one of his divine wills.¡±

    ¡°He hasn¡¯t fully awakened? Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s been sleeping all this time?¡± Zu An eximed, rmed when he realized what she was implying.

    This time, the Second Empress didn¡¯t reply and instead silently led the way. As he followed behind her and watched her figure sway back and forth in a rhythmic manner, Zu An felt a bit absent-minded. For some reason, a Coca-C bottle appeared in his mind. Sigh, I really miss that stuff¡­

    The Second Empress sensed his direct gaze, but misunderstood him. She said with a lovable smile, ¡°You really are outrageously bold, as expected. No wonder you even dared to go after the crown prince¡¯s woman.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled the Second Empress for +114 +114 +114¡­

    Zu An was a bit stunned when he saw the Rage points. This woman appeared to be all smiles on the surface, but she was actually angry! Looks like she¡¯s someone who hides evil intentions behind a smile¡­ I have to be careful around her in the future.

    He didn¡¯t try to exin the misunderstanding. Instead, he said, ¡°Second Empress, you¡¯ve misunderstood something here. She isn¡¯t the crown prince¡¯s woman, but rather my woman.¡±

    By then, the drug had already taken over Qiao Xueying¡¯s body. She used the only bit of rationality she had left to cling firmly onto Zu An, not letting anyone separate them. At the same time, however, her body jerked around unconsciously, rubbing against his body, as if she could only obtain a bit of constion then.

    The empress harrumphed and said, ¡°As she is in that kind of state, you can obviously say whatever you want. It is not as if she can say anything about it.¡±

    Zu An said with an upright expression, ¡°Snow and I met previously in the human world, and we went through several life and death situations together. That was how we became each other¡¯s sunshine. If not for that, there are many beauties in this world, so why would I take such a huge risk and charge into the Fiend Imperial Pce to save her?¡±

    The Second Empress was a bit stunned. With Zu An¡¯s appearance and cultivation, he definitely wouldn¡¯tck women. Entering such a ce to take Princess Snow from the crown prince was clearly an extremely dangerous choice, and definitely not something that would only be motivated by lust.

    ¡°Each other¡¯s sunshine¡­¡± the Second Empress repeated. She sighed, looking somewhat forlorn. However, her impression of Zu An had changed quite a bit. She remarked, ¡°No wonder Princess Snow has never been willing to be the crown princess. So it was because of you.¡±

    Zu An looked at the youngdy in his arms with tender feelings. Refusing the role of crown princess was clearly a decision that had brought her a lot of pressure.

    This silly girl¡­ Why didn¡¯t you copy Kong Nanwu and hide in the human world? You¡¯re definitely more familiar with humans than her.

    ¡­

    Just then, the Second Empress pushed open a door in front of her, and light shone in from the other side.

    Zu An followed her in, and saw that a spacious pce room was on the other side. The furnishing and decorations inside were extremely elegant, with transparent curtains fluttering against the wind. The air was filled with a sweet, but not cloying fragrance. The room conveyed a charming and gentle atmosphere.

    ¡°What kind of ce is this?¡± Zu An asked. He secretly sized it up, but there was no one else inside.

    ¡°My resting chambers,¡± the Second Empress replied as she sat down casually on a couch, crossing her legs on the seat. As she sized up Zu An, she rested her chin on one hand, seemingly very curious about him.

    ¡°Your resting chambers?¡± Zu An asked in surprise, his expression turning strange.

    The Second Empressughed and said, ¡°As expected, you are definitely someone with bad intentions. Don¡¯t tell me you think I invited you all the way here because you caught my eye or something?¡±

    Zu An realized that the way he was speaking was a bit too bold, but he didn¡¯t look pressured in the slightest. He replied, ¡°The Second Empress is overthinking things. I have someone in my arms right now, so why would I have any other thoughts? I only thought that, since these were your resting chambers, I might be troubling you if the Fiend Emperor suddenly came for a visit.¡±

    ¡°You are quite good at speaking.¡± The Second Empress waved her hand, gesturing for him to take a seat wherever he wanted. ¡°As for your worries, they are unnecessary. It has already been many years since the Fiend Emperor hase to my ce.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed. The Second Empress could have just used any random excuse in response to his question, and yet she had spoken in such detail, and in such a charming manner. Was she hinting at something?

    ¡°Are you that human who defeated the Golden Crow Crown Prince?¡± the Second Empress asked. She yawned, covering her delicate, ruby-lipped mouth with her hand in a way that gave off azy, careless air.

    This woman had saved the two of them, so Zu An didn¡¯t hide it and replied, ¡°It was just a fluke.¡±

    ¡°A fluke?¡± The Second Empress raised a brow and said, ¡°The Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s reputation was not artificially inted in any way. He has been undefeated in the Fiend races¡¯ younger generation. I heard that he even used the Golden War Chariot and the Sun ying Bow, yet he was still defeated. Even after all of this, you are still acting so humble. Is that not acting a bit hypocritical?¡±

    ¡°The Second Empress is wise,¡± Zu An said with a smile and didn¡¯t argue against her. However, as he looked at Qiao Xueying, he felt worried. Her body was burning up badly. He poured a cup of tea from off to the side and fed her a bit while carrying her.

    A strange look appeared in the Second Empress¡¯ eyes when she saw his careful and considerate movements. She asked, ¡°By the way, what kind of rtionship do you have with the Medusa Queen?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s a very good friend,¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°A friend?¡± The Second Empress had an ambiguous smile on as she continued, ¡°The kind of friend you go to bed with?¡±

    Zu An almost choked on his tea. Why is this woman so direct?

    ¡°The Second Empress must be joking. We¡¯re just friends; it isn¡¯t that kind of rtionship.¡± Zu An was worried about dragging Yu Yanluo into this mess, so he didn¡¯t tell her the truth.

    ¡°Is that so?¡± The Second Empress declined toment and asked, ¡°What was your name again?¡±

    Zu An was about to reply when suddenly, hurried footsteps and a mor of servants and guards drew near. Then, a loud voice resounded. ¡°We pay our respects to the Second Empress! This humble servant has received orders to arrest an assassin!¡±

 Chapter 1325: Surprise Attack

    Chapter 1325: Surprise Attack

    Zu An gave the Second Empress a look. He suddenly felt that this woman wasn¡¯t as great as he had thought. Why had theye to search her own chambers so quickly?n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The Second Empress clearly felt a bit embarrassed too. She first gestured for Zu An to stop Qiao Xueying from making any sound, then said coldly, ¡°If you are all going to search for the assassin, then go look for him. What are youing to this empress¡¯ chambers for?¡±

    Zu An was a bit troubled. Qiao Xueying was still affected by the poison, which made her groan and pant for air from time to time. Sweet moans also emerged from her throat every so often. In her current state, it would be useless even if he spoke to her; still, he was reluctant to cover her mouth with his hand, worried that he might hurt her.

    After thinking about it, he bent down and kissed her. The half unconscious Qiao Xueying groaned, as if her passion had instantly been ignited. Then, she wrapped herself around him like an octopus.

    The Second Empress was speechless. What kind of ce are these two treating this pce as?!

    The worst part was that she knew that Zu An was doing so to stop Qiao Xueying from making any noise, so she couldn''t really say anything either.

    A guard called out from outside, ¡°Second Empress, please do not be offended. This is the Fiend Emperor¡¯s decree; we must find the assassin even if we dig up three feet across the entire pce. Even all the concubines¡¯ residences, as well as the princes¡¯ and princess¡¯ residences, are being searched to prevent that assassin from disturbing the nobles.¡±

    Even though his words were flowery, both sides knew that the main reason for the search was suspicion that someone inside the pce was hiding the assassin.

    The Second Empress harrumphed. ¡°Would this empress not know if an assassin were hiding in my own territory? Go search somewhere else.¡±

    ¡°Um¡­¡± The guard was quite troubled. The empress¡¯ status was special, so he didn¡¯t dare to offend her too badly. However, there had been an absolute order from above telling them to check every single ce. How would he exin thingster if he overlooked an area?

    ¡°What are all of you gathered around this ce for?¡± a loud and clear voice called out. Another group of soldiers seemed to have arrived.

    ¡°General Niu, you came at a good time. This is the situation¡­¡± The guard gave him a rough summary of what had happened.

    Zu An was startled. General Niu was probably the Right General Niu Dao, whom Kong Qing had mentioned.

    Niu Dao called out, ¡°Second Empress, that assassin¡¯s cultivation is profound, and he has seriously injured the crown prince. Not only that, he even sessfully broke free after taking a blow from Elder Wu. There was not the slightest reaction from the imperial pce¡¯s outer defenses at all, so it is easy to see how powerful his stealth technique is. If someone like that wanted to remain hidden, I fear it would be difficult for the Second Empress to notice his existence. Please let us enter and carry out a search, as that will also guarantee your respected self¡¯s own safety.¡±

    The Second Empress frowned. She could only say, ¡°I have already gotten into bed to rest. Now is not a good time to receive guests.¡±

    She thought that would be enough to make them back off, but Niu Dao said with a serious tone, ¡°The Fiend Emperor has issued the decree that every single corner must be searched. I hope that the Second Empress will not trouble us. This humble official will onlye in with a few subordinates, and we will leave after a simple search. We will definitely not hold up the empress¡¯ rest.¡±

    He gestured with his hands as he spoke. As an experienced Guard General, he was already suspicious; he worried that the Second Empress was being threatened by someone, making her continue to refuse their search.

    The Second Empress noticed their reaction through the window. She knew that her own cleverness had simply made the other side more suspicious. That would make things troublesome. She had never expected the Fiend Emperor to give such an order, one that included even her chambers in the search.

    She would have made the two of them return to the secret passage, but the sound of the passage opening definitely wouldn¡¯t escape the ears of those outside. If that passage were revealed, she would really be done for. As such, she quickly got up, gesturing for Zu An to bring Qiao Xueying with him and hide on the bed.

    Zu An was shocked, but the situation was dire. He couldn''t be bothered to worry too much, picking up Qiao Xueying and leaping toward the bed. He was quite curious, though. Wouldn¡¯t they be easily discovered if he hid on the bed? What was this Second Empress trying to do?

    Thank goodness I have Hidden in the Dark. No one can sense anything if I hide under the covers.

    He held Qiao Xueying in his arms. He was about to use Hidden in the Dark when the covers suddenly moved, and another warm body also made its way in. Zu An was speechless.

    ¡°Do not think too much of it. I simply do not want you to be exposed,¡± the Second Empress said. Perhaps Zu An had misheard, but her tone was no longer ambiguous the way it had been before; rather, she sounded a bit embarrassed.

    Then, after some hesitation, the Second Empress removed her dress, only leaving behind a thin personal garment. Even the skin underneath was vaguely visible. She leaned to one side to make the covers swell up, making it easier to cover Zu An and Snow beneath them.

    ¡°Come closer!¡± the Second Empress said through ki. It would be difficult for others to see that she was hiding them if they were farther away from the door. Thankfully, she was the master of the harem, so everything was up to the highest standard. From the bed to the covers, everything was thergest possible size; that made them just about adequate to deal with the situation.

    At the same time, a cold glint flickered through her eyes. If things really were exposed, she would just say that she had been forced by him. At that point, it would be best if the two were silenced on the spot.

    How could Zu An know that she was hiding such killing intent? He simply felt a bit apologetic. Not only had she saved him, she had even sacrificed so much. In order to avoid arousing suspicion, he didn¡¯t lean directly against her, but instead pushed Qiao Xueying between the two of them. Fortunately, Snow¡¯s body was petite, so there was enough room to hide her between them.

    A look of surprise appeared in the Second Empress¡¯ eyes. She hadn¡¯t expected this guy to be such a gentleman. However, her attention quickly shifted to the youngdy behind her. Because of the drug, Qiao Xueying body really was heating up a lot. That heat made the Second Empress feel some concern.

    Niu Dao called out again. ¡°Second Empress, please forgive this humble one¡¯s actions. I aming in!¡±

    He really was worried that the Second Empress was being threatened, so he didn¡¯t wait for a reply and pushed open the door, barging in with several subordinates. Once they entered, the Golden Crow Guards began to carefully examine any spots that could hide anything. Only a few people had been brought in, but they were all carefully selected experts.

    After searching the surroundings, they gradually pressed in. Soon, they saw the Second Empress staring coldly at them, reclining on her side. They were all rmed. The Second Empress was the most beautiful woman in the imperial pce, and always looked like a work of art created by the heavens, one that seemed to embody seduction itself. She had appeared in the dreams of countless guards.

    Once, a guard had begun talking in his sleep in the middle of the night. With a rustle of the covers, he had mumbled the words ¡®Second Empress¡¯. Afterward, the guards had found that his covers were a wet mess. That guard was quickly executed. From then on, people only dared to hide such thoughts at the very bottom of their minds, not daring to express them in the slightest.

    And yet now, they had actually been able to enter the Second Empress¡¯ chambers and even see her resting posture. Their hearts that had been still for so long began to pound crazily.

    ¡°Niu Dao, you are truly brazen. You even dare to barge into this empress¡¯ chambers?¡± the Second Empress scolded him.

    Niu Dao really was as his name implied[1]. He had a pair of sharp horns on his head, and his nose wasrge and rough looking. When he heard that, he broke out into a cold sweat as he said, ¡°Your highness, please forgive us. We are acting on the Fiend Emperor¡¯s orders.¡±

    ¡°Do not try to use the Fiend Emperor to convince me. Did he really tell you all to barge in and watch me sleep?¡± the Second Empress retorted, her expression cold. Even though her voice was still soft and charming, ayer of killing intent filled the air. She was still the empress of a country. Even though she wasn¡¯t as strong as the Fiend Emperor, she wasn¡¯t that weak.

    ¡°This humble one does not dare!¡± Niu Dao replied, even as he saw the Second Empress¡¯ chest rise and fall. Even though she was angry, her cheeks had a rosy blush, and her eyes wererge and bright. Even though he was usually straightforward in nature, he felt his body heat up a bit. He didn¡¯t dare to look too much and quickly said, ¡°We will leave right after we finish our inspection.¡±

    Things had already reached this point, so he had to at least do his job. Otherwise, he would have offended her for nothing. He immediately smacked some of his subordinates in the backs of their heads to wake them up, reminding them to quickly finish the inspection.

    The guards were elites from the Golden Crow Guards, so their skill was naturally unquestionable. They quickly searched every corner of the room, but they didn¡¯t find any suspicious signs.

    ¡°This humble one does not dare to disturb your highness¡¯ rest, so I will leave now,¡± Niu Dao said. He waved his hand and led his subordinates away. Many of them were a bit reluctant, because they would likely never be able to see the Second Empress in bed again. Even though they hadn¡¯t seen anything, just the thought alone was stimting.

    Suddenly, however, the Second Empress began trembling, and reflexively cried ¡°Ouch!¡±

    Even though she quickly caught herself, it was already toote. Niu Dao and the others quickly turned around and looked at the bed.

    1. Niu means ox. ?

 Chapter 1326: Not Qualified

    Chapter 1326: Not Qualified

    The Second Empress cried out in protest inwardly. Just then, Qiao Xueying¡¯s condition had made her unsatisfied with just kissing. She had begun to grope around, inadvertently reaching into the Second Empress¡¯ dress.

    The Second Empress¡¯ chest had suddenly been grabbed by a scalding hot hand, so her first instinct had been to think that Zu An had used the chance to take advantage of her. Thus, she had cried out in rm and anger. Afterward, however, she quickly realized that it was Princess Snow¡¯s hand.

    Still, it was already toote for regret. Niu Dao and the Golden Crow Guards all turned around to look at the bed with suspicion.

    The Second Empress was about to say something, but Qiao Xueying once again began groping her to the point that she almost couldn''t catch her breath. Are you kneading freaking dough or something?!

    ¡°Your highness, did something happen?¡± Niu Dao called out, giving his subordinates a look. They fanned out and began to move toward the bed.

    ¡°It is fine. I was just a bit annoyed when I remembered something just now,¡± Second Empress replied, trying to remain calm. Princess Snow, are you done yet?!

    Zu An transmitted his voice through ki, saying apologetically, ¡°I¡¯m sorry! I¡¯ll move her hand away.¡± After saying that, he reached in with one hand.

    The Second Empress¡¯ entire body went taut. Is this guy trying to take advantage of me on purpose?

    Zu An had reacted instinctively, but he quickly realized that something wasn¡¯t quite right. Even if he pulled his hand back, however, it wouldn¡¯t do anything. What mattered was moving Snow¡¯s hand away. As such, he braced himself and grabbed Snow¡¯s hand, pulling it back.

    The Second Empress¡¯s mind was extremely tense the entire time. Fortunately, she sensed that Zu An¡¯s hand still moved with some decency, trying to avoid touching her skin the entire time. Even so, on several asions, his arm unintentionally brushed her. Her body trembled slightly, but she bit down on her lip and endured it.

    Zu An jumped in fright. Why does this Second Empress feel as if she doesn¡¯t have any bones?

    However, how could he have known that the Second Empress had a shoring no one knew about? It was that, the moment a man touched her, her entire body would be as soft as cotton.

    The Second Empress was worried and nervous, so her body had be even more sensitive. She was almost unable to hold on. Fortunately, she knew what kind of end she would face if she were exposed. She stopped her voice from shaking with all of her willpower, calling out ¡°Why are you not leaving yet?¡±

    Niu Dao looked toward the bulging covers with suspicion, asking, ¡°Your highness, are you feeling unwell?¡± He didn¡¯t move at all, clearly not intending to leave.

    Second Empress knew that he was suspicious, and that she would be forced onto the defensive if she only answered his questions. Instead, she went on the offensive and asked, ¡°What, are you staying here because you want to see what I look like in bed? Or are you suspecting that I am hiding someone under my covers?¡±

    ¡°This humble subject doesn¡¯t dare!¡± Niu Dao replied, breaking out into fine beads of sweat.

    Even though he indeed had such a suspicion, how could he dare to say it out loud? This was the Second Empress! Even though she was beautiful, everyone in the pce knew she was vicious and merciless. Any subjects who offended her usually didn¡¯t meet good ends. Unless there was absolute proof, his suspicions would just be groundless usations. She would have endless methods to get revenge on him afterward.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°However, it seems as if you are raring to give it a try,¡± Second Empress said with a sneer. ¡°What, do you want to use the assassin as a reason to move aside my covers and take a look? There is no harm in telling you this, but I am not dressed right now. If you are not scared, you cane and give it a try.¡±

    Niu Dao¡¯s face turnedpletely red. His Golden Crow Guard subordinates all began breathing hurriedly.

    To be honest, they really did want to move aside the covers and see what Second Empress looked like, especially without her clothes on. Still, those thoughts could only remain as such; none of them were willing to make that gamble! If they undid the covers and the Second Empress really wasn¡¯t wearing any clothes, they would have their eyes gouged out, experience death by a thousand cuts, and cause their ns to be eradicated!

    ¡°This humble official doesn¡¯t dare!¡± Niu Dao repeated what he had just said. However, he still didn¡¯t show any intention of leaving.

    ¡°Since you are all unwilling to do it yourself, this empress is going to move the covers aside for you,¡± the Second Empress said. Her beautiful eyes almost seemed to be conveying a smile, silently inviting them over. As she spoke, she began moving the covers bit by bit.

    When he saw her smooth and exquisite shoulder¡¯s dazzling white skin, Niu Dao noticed the dress was draped over a screen off to the side out of the corner of his eye. Thus, he quickly said, ¡°I will not disturb your highness¡¯ rest anymore. This humble subject will say his goodbye here.¡± Then, he quickly moved his eyes away for fear of the empress really pulling aside the covers. If that happened, his n really would be destroyed.

    The other Golden Crow Guards hurriedly withdrew. They even closed the door behind them. The other guards waiting outside asked what had happened. Niu Dao and the others didn¡¯t say anything and just quickly left.

    The Golden Crow Guards were left extremely puzzled, wondering, ¡°Why are all of you hunched over?¡±

    Meanwhile, Niu Dao and the others moved to a quieter ce. His subordinates asked, ¡°General Niu, are we going to just leave like this?¡±

    ¡°What else can we do? Don¡¯t tell me you really would move aside the Second Empress¡¯ covers?¡± Niu Dao replied. The sight of the empress moving aside her covers appeared in his mind again, with part of her shoulder exposed. Damn it, that woman really is something!

    If there hadn¡¯t been other people there, if the two of them had met in private, he wasn¡¯t even sure whether he could hold himself back. The Second Empress¡¯ endlessly seductive figure was something he knew he could never touch unless he wanted to experience a terrible death, but it was just way too tempting!

    ¡°But is it possible that the Second Empress is hiding the assassin under her covers?¡± a Golden Crow Guard voiced his suspicion.

    ¡°Are you stupid?¡± Niu Dao smacked him in the back of the head. ¡°Even if that assassin really had been sent by the Second Empress, would she sacrifice that much, to even hide the assassin in her own covers after taking off her clothes?¡±

    ¡°But she only showed half of her shoulder just now¡­ The dress that was thrown to the side might not have really been taken off her body¡­¡± the Golden Crow Guard muttered.

    ¡°Heh, what, don¡¯t tell me you actually want to look at the Second Empress¡¯ body, you little bastard? Are you not scared of dying by a thousand cuts?¡± Niu Dao harrumphed. ¡°Do you think I didn¡¯t think of what you just said? I already checked with my divine sense just then. There was no one else under her covers; otherwise, why do you think I left?¡±

    ¡°But the Second Empress suddenly cried out, as if something happened under the covers!¡± The Golden Crow Guard still wasn¡¯t willing to let it go.

    Niu Dao had a strange expression as he replied, ¡°Can you use your brain a little bit? The Second Empress was in the room alone. She already took off her clothes and was under her own covers. She didn¡¯t want to meet anyone either. What do you think she was doing?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡± A Golden Crow Guard swallowed. He felt his body be extremely stiff.

    No wonder the Second Empress had looked as if she were about to break out into tears. So it turned out she had been ying with herself!

    They cried out in regret. If they had gone in alone without so many people, they might have even had a chance to get closer. When they remembered the Second Empress¡¯ enchanting figure, all of them hunched over to hide their bodies¡¯ reactions. They felt the same thing as Niu Dao. She¡¯s just way too hot!

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, back in the Second Empress¡¯ chambers, she immediately got up from the bed after the others left. The clothes on the screen divider seemed to be pulled over by an invisible hand, instantly wrapping around her again.

    Zu An was quite shocked. That was probably the fastest he had ever seen someone get dressed. The scenes he remembered from television dramas in which women leisurely reached into their sleeves seemed like nonsense inparison.

    ¡°You brat, this empress was almost done in because of you!¡± the Second Empress eximed, shooting him a hateful re. However, she really was too charming, so the re didn¡¯t convey any viciousness, only seeming even more tempting instead

    ¡°I really am sorry. I¡¯ll definitely repay your kindness for saving my life.¡± Zu An knew that he was in the wrong and could only apologize.

    The Second Empress harrumphed. ¡°Oh? How exactly are you going to repay me?¡±

    ¡°If Second Empress is okay with me, I am willing to devote my body to you,¡± Zu An said, looking at her with a smile.

    The Second Empress was stunned. However, after a moment, sheughed so hard her entire body rocked back and forth. She shot back, ¡°Are you doing me a favor, or yourself?¡±

    Zu An was surprised. There was more to this woman than meets the eye after all. He had said that on purpose to test her, but she hadn¡¯t gotten mad at all. As such, he said seriously, ¡°Your highness saved us presumably due to the matter of the Golden Crow Crown Prince. The Golden Crow Crown Prince rising to the throne wouldn¡¯t be good for either of us, so we should form an alliance.¡±

    The Second Empress¡¯ expression turned cold as she said, ¡°First of all, I am the empress. Even if the crown prince rises to the throne, he has to call me empress dowager. There is no such contradiction between us. Secondly, if this empress needed to find someone to ally with, you would stillck the qualifications to be that person.¡±

 Chapter 1327: Confrontation

    Chapter 1327: Confrontation

    Zu An didn¡¯t get angry and simply replied with a smile, ¡°I was only speaking in a closer manner because we¡¯ve already had some physical intimacy. If your highness wants to act so distant, let¡¯s just treat things as official business. If your highness needs something in the future, please contact me then.¡±

    He picked up Snow, intending to leave on the spot. Her condition was extremely poor and she needed to be detoxified as quickly as possible.

    Seeing that he was about to leave, the Second Empress quickly extended her hand and asked, ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    ¡°Leaving this ce, of course,¡± Zu An said in confusion.

    The Second Empress said seriously, ¡°You cannot. There are Golden Crow Guards everywhere outside; you will be easily found out if you leave. If you are caught, that will affect me too.¡±

    In her position, she obviously wouldn¡¯t believe something like a promise. Even if Zu An continued to say he wouldn¡¯t sell her out, if he really were caught and tortured, no one could hold all that information in.

    Zu An knew that what she said was the truth. There were indeed Golden Crow Guards everywhere outside at that moment, all intending to dig up the entire pce if it meant finding him. The Fiend Emperor¡¯s divine sense also swept through the entire ce from time to time as well, so it was indeed hard to get out.

    ¡°Stay here for now. Once they have searched a few times without being able to find you, and think you have already escaped, you can then look for a chance to escape,¡± the Second Empress said as she moved over to the window and opened up a small crack to check on the situation outside.

    Zu An frowned and said, ¡°I can wait, but she can¡¯t.¡±

    Qiao Xueying waspletely unconscious. Her body was burning up severely, and she was only able to instinctively rub her body against his, as if only then would she feel the slightest bit offort.

    The Second Empress remembered how she had been groped by Princess Snow. Her expression became a bit unnatural as she remarked, ¡°The crown prince really is brazen, actually daring to feed Princess Snow this kind of drug.¡±

    Zu An asked, ¡°Your highness, are you able to obtain any herbs from the imperial hospital? Additionally, we need the maids to prepare a bathing tub and fill it with cold water.¡±

    ¡°Absolutely not!¡± the Second Empress directly refused. ¡°Everyone in the pce is looking for you two. If even a hint of a clue leaks out, they will be suspicious. We cannot afford that kind of risk.¡±

    The crown prince knew what kind of drug Princess Snow had been affected by. If they tried to get some medicine orrge amounts of cold water, they would easily bring suspicion upon themselves.

    ¡°Then I have to leave,¡± Zu An said with a stern expression. ¡°Even though it¡¯s dangerous outside, I can¡¯t let anything happen to Snow.¡±

    ¡°Snow? The two of you sound quite close,¡± the Second Empress said with augh. ¡°Isn¡¯t that easy enough? Isn¡¯t it just that kind of drug? Aren¡¯t you the best antidote?¡±

    She had a hint of an indescribable expression in her eyes. She definitely didn¡¯t have any good intentions behind proposing such a thing. After all, she didn¡¯t want the Golden Crow Crown Prince to be connected to the Elf Race in marriage. If that happened, the crown prince¡¯s influence would be even stronger.

    Meanwhile, if she let a man take the chastity of someone who was already pretty much the crown princess¡­ Just the news of that would greatly shake the crown prince¡¯s prestige, turning him into theughingstock of all the fiend races.

    That wasn¡¯t all. Such a thing would be a huge mental blow for the crown prince himself. It would be an inner demon in his path of cultivation. If he couldn''t break through that, he could end up unable to make any further progress in his cultivation. How could the Fiend Emperor pass on his position to trash like that?

    Zu An was speechless. Youngdies who were already married were just this bold! They didn¡¯t have any sense of shame when saying such things. He thought for a bit, but concluded that was indeed the best method avable. As such, he nodded and said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be borrowing your highness¡¯ bed for a bit.¡±

    Then, he carried Snow over to the bed.

    The Second Empress was speechless. She had thought that he would refuse her a few times, but she would have to find a way to convince him, slowly making her ne to fruition. How could she have expected that he would agree just like that? As expected, he was just a perverted kid!

    Suddenly, her expression changed. Wait, they¡¯re going to use my bed?

    She wanted to stop them, but it was already toote. Zu An had already lowered all of the curtains around the bed. She could vaguely see that he was already removing the clothes around Princess Snow¡¯s shoulders.

    The Second Empress¡¯ expression changed several times. Stopping Zu An at that point really would be a bit inappropriate. If she really ended up annoying him and he insisted on leaving, thus getting himself caught, things would instead be even more troublesome.

    Hmph, I¡¯ll just have the maid change all of the bedsheets afterwards. Actually, this entire bed can just be burned away.

    Princess Snow¡¯s sweet moans rang out through the air. As a mature young madam, how could the Second Empress not know what was going on? Her heart rate began to elerate madly. Princess Snow¡¯s reaction didn¡¯t seem to indicate that it was her first time. Was it because of the drug?

    She shook her head and didn¡¯t think about such things too hard. However, she secretly took out a recording mirror to record everything. Either way, she would be able to take it out and deal the crown prince a devastating blow, and she could even use it to threaten both the Elf Race and this man.

    However, as soon as she took it out, a powerful suction force manifested and the recording mirror in her hands flew out of her hands. That wasn¡¯t all, though. Because she tried to catch the recording mirror, she lost her bnce and was sucked in by the force too.

    She fell into the curtains with a dull thud. She was rmed and instinctively got up to protect herself. However, arge hand was already clutching her throat. Zu An looked down on her from above, his expression icy as he asked, ¡°What is the meaning of this, your highness?¡±

    The Second Empress opened her eyes and saw that Zu An¡¯s upper body was bare. His powerful masculine energy practically struckher in the face. This guy¡¯s physique is pretty good, huh¡­

    However, she quickly became annoyed. Her real strength was definitely not so low that she would normally be defeated so quickly. It was only because she had been caughtpletely unprepared that she was restrained by such a move. With her vitals restrained, she could only force a smile and ask, ¡°What kind of technique is this?¡±

    Even though she had been a bit careless, she still had her cultivation. However, she hadn''t been able to resist that powerful suction force at all. No wonder he was able to seriously injure the crown prince even under Elder Wu¡¯s protection, then rescue Princess Snow.

    ¡°I¡¯m the one asking the questions here.¡± Zu An said, looking at her indifferently.

    TheSecond Empress recovered herposure and replied, with a lovable smile, ¡°How can I not record Princess Snow¡¯s first time as a memory? I nned to give it to the two of you afterward, but who would have thought that you would misunderstand.¡±

    Zu An obviously wouldn¡¯t believe such nonsense. He sneered and said, ¡°Your highness, please do not take me for a fool.¡±

    The Second Empress¡¯ smile faded as she said, ¡°You are right; I indeed treated you rudely just now. I apologize. This recording mirror will be given to you as an apology.¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An replied coldly, ¡°Do you think I would forgive you just because you apologized?¡±

    The Second Empress¡¯ expression changed. ¡°What, don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ll dare to kill me? With my help, you two might still have a chance of leaving the imperial pce. Otherwise, you¡¯ll be dead for sure. Furthermore, both the Elf Race and Snake Race will bepletely destroyed.¡±

    ¡°Your highness, threatening me in this kind of situation isn¡¯t a good idea.¡± Zu An hooked his finger around her chin frivolously. He continued, ¡°You¡¯re right when you say that I won¡¯t kill you, but are you not scared that I¡¯ll carry out the punishment right here on this bed? Judging from how your body reacted to my touch earlier, I believe you won¡¯t dare to talk about it in the future either, right?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re shameless!¡± the Second Empress eximed in horror. It was the first time she had lost herposure that way. The other party really was a viin! She really couldn''t tell the Fiend Emperor or anyone else. At that moment, she had felt a mysterious feeling of fear.

    Seeing that he had scared her enough, Zu An pulled his hand back and said, ¡°I¡¯m only telling you these things to make it clear to you that we could have had a proper cooperation before. You shouldn¡¯t try to think yourself clever, but ultimately force our rtionship into a state that¡¯s beyond reconciliation.¡±

    He didn¡¯t wait for her to reply after speaking. He immediately ced a restriction on her body and just threw her out.

    Of course, he didn¡¯t have a fetish for letting her watch what they were doing, but he didn¡¯t dare to leave her too far away, because who knew what kinds of tricks she still had up her sleeves? If the restriction were undone and she rushed out to call the guards, he would be in trouble. As such, he tossed her over to one side of the bed, on the ground. That way, she couldn''t see what was happening on the bed, but she was also still within Zu An¡¯s control.

    She fell to the ground roughly with a thud. The restrictions ced on her prevented her from moving for some time too, making the Second Empress furious and nervous. When had she ever been treated so roughly before?

    You have sessfully trolled Second Empress for +555 +555 +555¡­

    ¡°Tell me your name already!¡± the Second Empress asked through clenched teeth, unable to retain her usual collected and flirtatious demeanor.

    ¡°Yan Zu. You can call me Ah Zu if you want too,¡± Zu An said. Even though the fiend races and humans didn¡¯tmunicate smoothly with each other, news would get there sooner orter. He didn¡¯t want Zu An¡¯s name to appear in the human faction¡¯s intelligence. The matter of Cloudcenter Commandery had already been annoying enough; he didn¡¯t want to go through that again.

    ¡°Yan Zu¡­¡± the Second Empress repeated, etching that hateful name in her memory. ¡°I will remember you.¡±

    Just then,, a voice that could make anyone embarrassed came from the bed. It came from Princess Snow. The empress hadn¡¯t expected that petite body to actually erupt with such powerful energy.

    The Second Empress didn¡¯t have the leisure of feeling embarrassed. She simply hissedin rm, ¡°Can you be a bit gentler?! Don¡¯t let those outside hear,, or else we¡¯re finished!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I already set up a sound blocking barrier,¡± Zu An said from the bed, his voice muffled as if his mouth were upied with something else.

    Only then did Second Empress notice a transparent barrier around them. She thought to herself, Even though this guy does things in a rough manner, he is prettymeticulous in thought.

    Then, the crazy experience from before appeared in her mind. She harrumphed with a reddened face. Is this guy from the Donkey race? How can Princess Snow¡¯s petite figure handle him?!

 Chapter 1328: Take Care of Something

    Chapter 1328: Take Care of Something

    The Second Empress wanted to cover her ears, but her major acupoints were sealed, so she couldn''t budge an inch. She could only listen to everything happening above.

    Even though she usually behaved rather coquettishly, being so close to such a thing was still quite shocking to her. After all, because the Fiend Emperor was experiencing heaven and man deterioration, he spent most of his time preserving his strength to extend his life. It had already been many years since hest came to her pce.

    The charm she disyed could be used as a kind of weapon, but itcked true substance. And yet now, this guy was thrusting away with the real deal, leaving her rmed and horrified. So you could actually do such a thing¡­

    ¡­

    After a long time had passed, the gasping on the bed finally calmed down. A strange mood filled the air.

    Zu An helped Snow cover up her body. Because of the poison and her exhaustion, she was already fast asleep. After covering her up, he covered himself with a thin nket and sat by the side of the bed, looking down on the woman on the ground.

    The Second Empress was furious. That thin nket was what she loved to sleep with the most normally, and yet it was now being used to cover that filthy thing.

    You have sessfully trolled the Second Empress for +283 +283 +283¡­

    Zu An reached out and shot a strand of ki at the Second Empress, undoing her restrictions. The Second Empress jumped back some distance the moment she was freed, staring at him vigntly.

    Zu An couldn''t help but chuckle. He said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t do anything to you. If I wanted to, I wouldn¡¯t have undone your restriction.¡±

    The Second Empress¡¯ face heated up a bit. She realized that her actions had been a bit exaggerated, but she reacted quickly and covered it up, remarking, ¡°It really is a pity that you do not work at a gigolo shop.¡±

    Zu An thought in surprise, So this world had something simr, too? Could it be that this woman is a transmigrator too? He said, ¡°If the constant stays the same in a trigonometric function¡­¡±

    The Second Empress frowned and replied, ¡°What the hell are you saying?¡±

    Zu An realized that he had been mistaken. Heughed and asked, ¡°What, if I work at a gigolo shop, will your highness help me take care of my business?¡± The empress normally behaved flirtatiously, so he figured that joking around with her that way would just make them closer.

    ¡°Hmph, who would want something like that?¡± the Second Empress retorted, but inside, her heart was pounding and her ears were even burning up a bit. Just then, she had truly witnessed what it meant to be a healthy, masculine man. If¡­

    She quickly threw that thought away. She was a glorious empress; why would she think such strange thoughts?

    ¡°What are you nning to do now?¡± she asked, shifting her legs somewhat. She couldn''t help but feel a bit ufortable.

    Zu An said, ¡°I¡¯ll deal with the situation as it changes. If there¡¯s a flood, just block it with dirt.¡±

    The Second Empress sneered and said, ¡°I fear you will be unable to stop that flood. But your luck is still pretty good. The Fiend Emperor has just entered seclusion. Normally, he only leaves a strand of divine will outside, so I do not think he will personallye after you. However, the Fiend King Court is full of powerful cultivators, so the slightest slip-up means you might be gone from this world.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll need to request for Second Empress¡¯ guidance in the future,¡± Zu An said, looking at her with a big smile.

    The Second Empress was speechless. This guy had treated her so poorly just a moment ago, and yet he still had the nerve to pretend that nothing had happened! However, she still replied, ¡°This night is about to pass. The Golden Crow Guards were unable to find you inside the pce, so they will probably start to direct their attention outside. I will find a chance to send you two out.

    ¡°At that time, you should quietly deliver Princess Snow back to the Elf Race. Otherwise, as time goes on, Princess Snow¡¯s reputation might no longer hold up.¡±

    Zu An frowned and asked, ¡°Then wouldn¡¯t Snow be in danger?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. As long as Princess Snow insists she does not know you, saying that you were masked the entire time, then nothing major will happen,¡± the Second Empress said. She continued, ¡°As ofte, after what happened to the Golden Peng King and Peacock King, the entire Fiend King Court¡¯s situation has be a bit tense. Princess Snow¡¯s status is special. Even if the crown prince¡¯s side knows that she is not speaking the truth, they would not dare to say it. After all, he was the one who drugged her first. If news of that were to get out, it would cause a huge uproar.¡±

    Zu An nodded. The Second Empress had been a part of the Fiend King Court for a long time, so she knew how things worked in it. If she had arrived at that kind of conclusion, that meant there would naturally be no problem.

    ¡°However, you should not return to the Snake race territory. I am quite certain that the crown prince will investigate the Snake race,¡± Second Empress warned him.

    Zu An frowned. His rtionship with the Snake race was special, so how could he just leave them alone? Of course, there was no reason to exin that to the Second Empress.

    ¡°You should lie low near the Fiend King Court for some time. I will contact you when there is a chance. If you can take care of one thing, you will have nothing else to worry about,¡± the Second Empress said with a strange glimmer in her eyes.

    ¡°What kind of thing?¡± Zu An asked with a frown.

    ¡°It is not time yet. You will naturally know when it is time,¡± the Second Empress said. She shook her head and didn¡¯t exin herself.

    ¡°You know, those who speak in riddles are often the ones who end up getting beaten up,¡± Zu An remarked, but he didn¡¯t continue to ask questions. Their rtionship wasn¡¯t good enough yet, so the empress wouldn¡¯t answer even if he asked.

    The Second Empress got up and said, ¡°Rest here for a while first. I will pay the crown prince a visit. After all, something so major happened to the crown prince. If I did not head over to take a look, as the empress, it really would be a bit inexcusable.¡±

    Zu An frowned and didn¡¯t say anything.

    The Second Empress was intelligent and immediately noticed his misgivings. She asked with a lovely smile, ¡°What? Are you scared that I will sell you two out?¡±

    Zu An said with a chuckle, ¡°The Second Empress must be joking. We¡¯re now grasshoppers on the same rope. Why would we be worried about these things?¡±

    The Second Empress harrumphed, sensing the implicit threat in his voice. She got up and strutted out.

    As he watched her swaying, rhythmic gait, even though Zu An had just fought a great battle, his body still began to heat up. This woman really is full of feminine charm in everything she does¡­

    At the moment, however, his resolve was firm. He quickly calmed down, then walked over to the bedside to gently wipe away the fine sweat on Qiao Xueying¡¯s forehead.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    As if sensing his consideration, Qiao Xueying slowly opened her eyes. A hint of bashfulness appeared in her eyes as she called out, ¡°Ah Zu~¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re awake?¡± Zu An replied, helping her sort out her messy hair. ¡°You should sleep a bit longer.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t sleep anymore,¡± Qiao Xueying said, shaking her head. She looked around her. When she saw the surroundingyout, she asked in surprise, ¡°So this is really the Second Empress¡¯ chambers?¡±

    She had actually still retained a vague hint of consciousness just then, but she had felt that it would have been too absurd for them to be on the Second Empress¡¯ bed, so she had thought that it was an illusion. Now that she saw her surroundings clearly, however, she discovered that everything she remembered was actually real!

    Zu An nodded and said, ¡°Indeed, this is the Second Empress¡¯ ce¡­¡± Then, he told her about how the Second Empress had saved them.

    ¡°Ah?!¡± Qiao Xueying cried out in rm. She asked, ¡°Then, doesn¡¯t that mean that just now¡­ She saw everything?¡±

    ¡°She couldn''t see anything. I sealed her movements and left her underneath the bed,¡± Zu An exined.

    ¡°What difference does that make?!¡± Qiao Xueying cried. She shrank into the covers, unwilling toe out. She was just way too embarrassed!

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, only she knows about this. We¡¯re all in the same boat now, so she won¡¯t tell anyone else,¡± Zu An said in constion.

    ¡°But someone else saw such an embarrassing side of me! I¡¯m going to die from embarrassment¡­¡± Qiao Xueying said in a low, muffled voice.

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°Actually, there¡¯s no need to feel embarrassed. You actually have some dirt on the Second Empress too.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Qiao Xueying stuck part of her head out of the covers, her eyes flickering brightly.

    ¡°Earlier, you were groping her¡­¡± Zu An whispered in her ear.

    Qiao Xueying¡¯s face immediately turnedpletely red. She cried, ¡°Ahhhhh! It¡¯s all your fault! I¡¯m really going to die from embarrassment!¡±

    Zu An wasn¡¯t able to calm her down again even after a long time had passed. However, when the Second Empress returned, Snow calmed down. The Second Empress gave her a strange look and remarked, ¡°Princess Snow? So you have woken up.¡±

    This little girl¡¯s body is so delicate and petite, and yet it actually contains such wild strength.

    Qiao Xueying quickly got dressed. She greeted the empress with a reddened face. ¡°Thank you for saving us, Second Empress.¡±

    ¡°The one who saved you was not me. It was mainly him,¡± the Second Empress said, looking at Zu An with an ambiguous expression.

    Zu An coughed lightly, worried that Qiao Xueying would feel embarrassed. He changed the topic and asked, ¡°How is the Golden Crow Crown Prince? Dead or alive?¡±

    ¡°He did not die, but he did have half his life shaved off,¡± the Second Empress said with a strange expression. ¡°You really are quite vicious, smashing his lower body into a bloody mess. You clearly did not want him to be able to have children anymore.¡±

    ¡°That guy deserved it,¡± Qiao Xueying spat hatefully. When she remembered how she had been embarrassed by him, she really wanted to hit him a few more times.

    Zu An said, ¡°Then your highness should be thanking me. The Fiend Emperor will definitely not pass his position to someone without any chance of producing descendants. Of the remaining sons, the second prince has the highest chance of seeding the throne.¡±

    The Second Empress sighed and said, ¡°If only it were that simple. If you really killed the crown prince, there would be hope of the second prince rising up. Right now, however, the throne is still the crown prince¡¯s.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Zu An asked, surprised. ¡°He hasn¡¯t gotten married, nor does he have any heirs, right?¡±

 Chapter 1329: New Grudge, Old Hatred

    Chapter 1329: New Grudge, Old Hatred

    ¡°The Golden Crow royal family¡¯s members are tough, and they have the Golden Crow Sacred Fire, as well as other heaven-defying skills, granting them powerful regenerative abilities,¡± the Second Empress exined.

    ¡°Even though you smashed apart his lower body, he has the Golden Crow Sacred Fire. Together with the help of the Fiend Emperor¡¯s will, he has already begun to gradually recover. When I paid him a visit, that¡­¡± She hesitated in the middle of her sentence, only finding the words after a long time. ¡°...part was already starting to grow again.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s jaw looked as if it were about to drop to the ground. He asked, ¡°That thing can even be regrown after being smashed like that? Then doesn¡¯t that mean you can never beat him to death? Why isn¡¯t he freaking dying?!¡±

    The Second Empress said with pursed lips, ¡°Of course, it is not limitless regeneration; there is definitely a limit. He almost reached the limit of what he could endure this time. Furthermore, with the Fiend Emperor¡¯s help, he was able to regrow that lost part, but it is still far inferior to before. It is only to the point where it is still barely usable. He will definitely hate you to the bitter end.¡±

    Zu An sighed in relief. That was more like it. After all, if nothing had happened to the Golden Crow Crown Prince at all, he himself would probably just explode from anger.

    ¡°It is about time to go. The sky is starting to brighten, so I will bring the two of you out of the pce,¡± the Second Empress said as she got up.

    Zu An asked seriously, ¡°What if we end up being discovered? We won¡¯t have anywhere to run off to in that case.¡±

    ¡°The Golden Crow Guards did not find anyone even after looking around all night. Now should be when they are the most exhausted, and also the most rxed,¡± the Second Empress exined. Afterward, she put on a proud and dignified expression as she continued, ¡°Furthermore, who would dare to examine this empress¡¯ personal carriage?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression turned strange. Weren¡¯t even your own chambers investigated by the Golden Crow Guards? They almost lifted your covers.

    Still, since she had confidence, he chose to trust her. After all, this was the pce, watched over by the Fiend Emperor. He just couldn''t feel at ease being inside.

    Then, the Second Empress called over a carriage, precisely the one Zu An had seen outside the city gates previously. She activated a mechanism, and a space that wasrge enough for someone to hide in opened up. It was a bit too small for two people, but Qiao Xueying was petite enough that they were just barely able to fit.

    ¡°You actually had this kind of space under your carriage?¡± Zu An asked, his expression somewhat strange. He wanted to say something, but then stopped.

    ¡°Do you think I use this to smuggle things in and out of the pce or something? Hmph, do you think the Fiend Emperor is just there for decoration?¡± The Second Empress shot him a look and said, ¡°I only had this space in preparation for the unexpected. I did not expect to actually need to use it.¡±

    When she saw Zu An fall silent, the Second Empress remarked with a chuckle, ¡°What, a grown man like you is unwilling to let a woman like me sit on top of you?¡±

    Zu An was actually listening to Snow¡¯s ki transmission; she was warning him to be careful. The Second Empress was known for being beautiful yet inwardly sinister, like a snake. There could be some kind of trap inside the carriage. As such, he secretly checked to see if there were any mechanisms in that space; otherwise, they could be headed to their own doom.

    Fortunately, apart from some formations on the walls that blocked energy from leaking out, there wasn¡¯t anything else. As such, he said with a smile, ¡°Who knows just how many men there are in this world who want to be sat on by your highness¡­¡±

    He trailed off, stunned. He didn¡¯t have any such intentions, and yet it had sounded as if he did.

    The Second Empress¡¯ cheeks also heated up. She realized that her own words had contained several implications. She said with a lovely smile, ¡°Brat, you are daring, as expected. You even dare to take advantage of this empress?¡±

    Qiao Xueying secretly pinched him. This guy even dares to mess around with this treacherous woman. Is he not scared that she¡¯ll just swallow him up?

    The Second Empress noticed her jealous action and was a bit surprised. These two have an even better rtionship than I thought!

    Then, the Second Empress took the two of them out toward the city gates on the main street. They could hear pce personnel paying their respects from time to time. Sure enough, no one came to investigate them.

    When they reached the pce gate, however, they were still stopped. A general asked, ¡°Your highness, where are you going?¡±

    Zu An was rmed. This person sounded like the Left Guard General Ma Tian he had met when he entered the pce.

    ¡°Does this empress need to report to General Ma about where I go?¡± the Second Empress replied. Her voice was still charming, but her tone was extremely cold.

    ¡°This humble one does not dare!¡± Ma Tian replied somewhat hesitantly. ¡°Your highness, there was an assassin that caused trouble in the pce, so I fear that it might not be too safe to leave the pce right now.¡±

    ¡°This empress¡¯ cultivation is more than enough. Furthermore, we are in the Fiend King Court, and the Fiend Emperor is still here. Who would dare to do anything to me?¡± The Second Empress felt a bit guilty even as she spoke. She had had her movements sealed and had been forced to listen to their activity all night, leaving her entire body feeling extremely sticky and ufortable. I am definitely going to wash myself properly once they are sent out of the pce.

    Ma Tian cursed inwardly when he heard that. Hadn¡¯t that assassin even attacked the crown prince?

    ¡°What, does General Ma want toe into my carriage to check?¡± the Second Empress snapped with a hint of anger

    ¡°This humble one does not dare. I was only worried about your highness¡¯ safety,¡± Ma Tian said. He remembered how the previous night, that blockhead Niu Dao had barged into the Second Empress¡¯ chambers, and yet hadn¡¯t found a thing in the end. Forget about the Second Empress¡¯ revenge, once the Fiend Emperor was finished with what he needed to take care of, he wouldn¡¯t let the general go either. How could he follow in Niu Dao¡¯s disastrous footsteps? While moving out of the way, he said, ¡°I will respectfully see off your highness!¡±

    The Second Empress harrumphed. She waved her hand, gesturing for the carriage to continue. When they left the imperial pce, she found a quiet ce to let Zu An and Snow out and said, ¡°Make sure to be careful. I hope you are not dead when Ie looking for you in the future.¡±

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°Thank you for saving us, your highness. We will meet again if fate wills it.¡±

    The Second Empress nodded. Then, she pulled Qiao Xueying over, instructing her on how to deal with the imperial pce¡¯s questioning. Afterward, she left.

    Zu An sent Qiao Xueying back to the Elf Manor ording to the method Second Empress had exined to him, deliberately making it so that many people saw her return. Of course, he definitely couldn¡¯t show himself.

    Along the way, Zu An had told her his current identity and that he was temporarily staying at the Snake Race¡¯s residence. Snow was incredibly jealous, because there were just too many rumors in the fiend races about the Medusa Queen.

    Only when Zu An said that Yan Xuehen was also there did she feel at ease. She thought to herself, With Chuyan¡¯s master there, this guy probably won¡¯t act wantonly. She returned to the Elf King Manor happily.

    ¡­n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    While some people were feeling happy over the recent developments, inside the imperial prison, Director Heichi Ran had been imprisoned. There wasn¡¯t a piece of flesh on him that was unharmed, and he couldn''t even open his eyes anymore. He could only mumble indistinctly, ¡°I was wrongly used¡­¡±

    ¡°You still aren¡¯t going to tell the truth?¡± The Golden Crow Crown Prince snapped, his face pale. It was clear that though he had managed to recover through the Golden Crow Sacred Fire, the process had still taken a lot out of him. He yelled, ¡°Help me get a castration for this bastard!¡±

    The jailer had a shocked expression. Only then did the Golden Crow Crown Prince realize that he had let his anger confuse himself. ¡°Ah, no! Help him get a castration for me!¡±

    The jailer was speechless, practically about to cry. Just who are we castrating?

    Fortunately, the grandmaster Elder Wu stopped him and said, ¡°Crown prince, please do not act too rashly. In this old one¡¯s opinion, I suspect that the one from yesterday was not Heichi Ran.¡±

    ¡°Who else would it be, if not him? I saw him with my own two eyes!¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince replied. He thought to himself, I finally managed to set up that situation yesterday, and I was about to obtain Princess Snow, and yet this bastard took her away!

    Princess Snow had been drugged, so what would have happened over the evening went without saying.

    This guy actually dares to double-cross his patron? He dares touch my woman?

    Elder Wu exined, ¡°Crown prince, please reconsider. Even though Heichi Ran¡¯s cultivation is not low, how could he a match for your respected self? Furthermore, I even fought against that assassinst night myself. With Heichi Ran¡¯s cultivation, he would definitely be unable to take a blow from me.¡±

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince had been taking out his anger on Heichi Ran all night, and was already feeling considerably better. He finally recovered a bit of his intellect and asked, ¡°Then who else could it be if not him? That assassin looked exactly the same as him. Even his teeth werepletely identical!¡±

    Elder Wu exined, ¡°That person might have an extremely profound appearance-changing technique, allowing him to impersonate Heichi Ran. Right, Left Guard General Ma Tian reported something worth investigating. He mentioned that yesterday, when he entered the pce, ¡®Heichi Ran¡¯ said that he had been called by the crown prince. He even took out the Golden Crow Token that belongs exclusively to you. How can something like that be faked?¡±

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince was furious. He snapped, ¡°Get me everyone who has the crown prince¡¯s token and interrogate them properly! This crown prince must find that person. Only if I skin him alive and tear out his bones will I be able to get rid of this hatred!¡±

    Elder Wu hesitated, then asked, ¡°Crown prince, have you forgotten that when we were in the Snake race territory, we gave one out at that time?¡±

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s face darkened. ¡°Are you talking about that hateful human?¡±

    ¡°Indeed. Only he would be so familiar with your skills, and would not fear your Golden Crow Sacred Fire. If it were anyone else, even if theyunched a surprise attack, they might not have been able to seriously injure you so quickly,¡± Elder Wu said. ¡°Furthermore, I heard that the Snake race¡¯s people recently arrived at the Fiend King Court.¡±

    ¡°So it was actually him? Good! This is the perfect time to get my revenge!¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince cried, smashing the table next to him to pieces. ¡°Men, arrest everyone from the Snake race right now!¡±

 Chapter 1330: Money and Influence Will Help You in Any Occupation

    Chapter 1330: Money and Influence Will Help You in Any upation

    Off to the side, the grandmaster Elder Wu said with a frown, ¡°Crown prince, even though the Snake race has declined in recent years, they are still a great n at the end of the day. If something happens to the Medusa Empress in the Fiend King Court, the consequences might be more than we can handle.¡±

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince coldly said, ¡°Even if there are consequences, could they be worse than what happened to me? If I don¡¯t even dare to get revenge after what happened to me yesterday, who knows how many scoundrels will start having thoughts they shouldn¡¯t have?!¡±

    Elder Wu figured that reasoning made sense too. There had been so many Golden Crow Guards at the scene of the crime, so there was no way to hide what had happened when so many people were involved. Who knew how many great ns were looking at them as if they were a joke? Making an example for the others was necessary as well. He said, ¡°This old one will personally make the trip then. That assassin¡¯s cultivation is too high. Between him and the Medusa Empress, normal Golden Crow Guards might find it difficult to restrain them.¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to trouble Elder Wu.¡± The Golden Crow Crown Prince really wanted to go, but his condition really was unsuitable for that.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Even though he had already regenerated his broken parts with the Golden Crow Sacred Fire, that feeling of being crushed down there the previous night still remained. That scene reappeared as soon as he closed his eyes, already having left behind psychological trauma that would take a long time to free himself from. He was definitely not in the mood to show himself in public to beughed at.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An changed into Yan Zu¡¯s face mask and returned to the Snake race¡¯s residence.

    After everything that had happened the previous night, Yu Yanluo and the others had to be incredibly worried. He was wondering how to exin things to thedies when his entire body suddenly froze. He saw that arge group of Golden Crow Guards had already surrounded the residence. The one in the lead was precisely the grandmaster he had faced previously.

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed. How did the crown prince¡¯s investigation reach this ce so quickly?

    He was worried that showing up at that point would only prove the Snake race¡¯s guilt. As such, he hid nearby and used the jade badge to scout out the courtyard¡¯s surroundings. If the situation really did be that dangerous, he would have no choice but to rush out and save Yu Yanluo and the other girls.

    Meanwhile, Elder Wu strutted into the courtyard with the guards. He was about to give the order to arrest the Medusa Queen and herpanions when his expression changed. He noticed that there were many people inside. It wasn¡¯t just people from the Snake race; there were also leaders from many other races. From the looks of it, they were holding a meeting.

    Yu Yanluo slowly walked over and asked with a frown, ¡°What are all of you doing?¡±

    Many of those present were meeting Yu Yanluo for the first time. They were stunned by her beauty, crying out inwardly, How can there be someone so beautiful in this world? When they saw her frown, they all felt incredible pity. Many of the Golden Crow Guards felt a guilty conscience too, as if their sudden arrival had disrespected this beautiful woman.

    Even though it wasn¡¯t the first time Elder Wu had met her, he still sighed in amazement at her beauty again. However, he was still a grandmaster; furthermore, he was not like the others. He regained hisposure and asked, ¡°What are all of you doing here?¡±

    One of the leaders had seen Elder Wu before. He walked over to greet him, saying, ¡°We were invited by the Medusa Queen to discuss trade rtions, so we came over. Why did Elder Wue here personally? Did something happen?¡±

    Elder Wu¡¯s expression changed a bit. The Medusa Queen really did have influence. Only a single day had passed, and yet she had already built connections with so many other races so quickly? Some of them were just small border races, but many of them were also great ns with powerful influence. Even though none of them were as dominant as the Lion or Tiger races, when all of them were gathered together, they formed quite the sizable force.

    He hesitated for a moment, deciding to withdraw his previously overbearing attitude as he said, ¡°We received a tip-off regarding the assassination on the crown prince yesterday, so we came here to conduct an investigation.¡±

    The leaders of the various ns were all shocked when they heard those words, looking at Yu Yanluo. The previous night¡¯s events had caused such a huge uproar that they had been discussing it in private even when they were holding the meeting. And yet now, it actually had something to do with the Medusa Queen?!

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s pretty brow furrowed slightly. Then that really was Ah Zu?

    She became extremely worried. It had already been a long time since shest saw Ah Zu. She wondered if he was safe or not. However, even though she was overwhelmed by emotion, she looked calm on the surface. She said, ¡°So it was Sir Wu. May I ask what made all of youe here when you are investigating the crown prince¡¯s assassination attempt?¡±

    ¡°Right, could there be some kind of misunderstanding?¡± Many leaders who were on good terms with Yu Yanluo who couldn''t help but speak up for her. Yu Yanluo¡¯s charm was unmatched, so they were instinctively partial to her. However, they were all n leaders, so they weren¡¯tpletely infatuated.

    Even though the Medusa Queen¡¯s strength was exceptional, if one was to im that she had broken into the pce to assassinate the crown prince and seriously injured that young prodigy under the protection of so many powerful cultivators, there was no way that was possible, right?

    After all, the Snake race had declined over the years. The other races had never heard of them having any powerful cultivators. Thus, they all felt the situation had nothing to do with Yu Yanluo. They all wanted to take the chance to get closer to the goddess.

    As he watched everything happen through the jade badge, Zu An had a strange expression. Back then, Yu Yanluo had also been such a person on the human side, and now, it was the same on the fiend side. He had to admit that being pretty made people wee you wherever you went!

    Elder Wu frowned, but he still said, ¡°Our investigation has shown that the assassin used a Golden Crow Token to enter the pce. Furthermore, judging from his skills, he greatly resembled the human who was traveling with the Snake race and the Medusa Queenst time. That is why we must ask the Medusa Queen to please hand that person over.¡±

    When they heard that, those who had just spoken up for Yu Yanluo were horrified. They couldn''t help but take a few steps back, maintaining some distance from her. Even though the Medusa Queen was beautiful, they wouldn¡¯t be so stupid as to risk their own ns for her.

    Yun Jianyue, who had been watching everything from a side room, sneered. ¡°Hmph, men!¡±

    Yan Xuehen also looked worried. She said, ¡°It seems to have been Zu An who started all of thatst night. Why is he so reckless? The Fiend Emperor is overseeing the imperial pce! He just broke through to master rank, and yet he already dares to show off like this?!¡± She couldn''t help but feel a bit disappointed.

    Yun Jianyue harrumphed. ¡°Odds are that it was for that woman. This guy is normally pretty sharp, but whenever it involves women, he seems to be an idiot without the slightest bit of intellect.¡±

    Yan Xuehen thought about the things that had happened in the past. She nodded in deep sympathy. This guy really was willing to do anything for girls. If one put it nicely, he was affectionate and true, but if one were to be more direct, he was just sex-crazed.

    Yu Yanluo was very nervous, but she reacted quickly, replying, ¡°ording to what I know, though, there are more than a few Golden Crow Tokens, right? Why are you so certain who it was that night? Is there any recorded proof?¡±

    ¡°We naturally have our own reasons for our conclusion. We have already sent men to check on the other Golden Crow Tokens,¡± Elder Wu said coldly. ¡°ording to how the Medusa Queen is speaking up for him, it seems that your rtionship isn¡¯t shallow.¡±

    Yu Yanluo replied, ¡°That human is just an acquaintance I met in Cloudcenter City in the past. After the previous events, he was scared of the Fiend King Court¡¯s revenge and quickly returned to the human side. I do not know where he is right now, so I fear I will have to disappoint Elder Wu.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Elder Wu sneered. He had seen that the two¡¯s rtionship in the Snake race territory was extremely intimate. How could they just be acquaintances?

    He had originally nned to directly arrest the Medusa Queen, and he would have more than enough methods to make her speak then. However, he hadn¡¯t expected there to be people from so many other ns present. If news of him abusing his authority got out, it probably wouldn¡¯t turn out too well.

    However, the crown prince¡¯s grudge couldn''t be left unavenged. If he gave up on the spot, it would be detrimental to the crown prince¡¯s reputation. As such, he took a deep breath. He decided that he was going to bring the Medusa Queen back for the time being. For all he knew, it was possible that the hidden assassin would make the reckless choice of trying to save her.

    He was just about to give the order when a group of people appeared at the entrance, eximing, ¡°Oh? Why is Elder Wu here?¡±

    Elder Wu turned around. He knew the person; it was the capable Kong Qing, who worked under the Peacock Wise King. Behind him were representatives from the Peacock race; many of them were holding all kinds of household goods.

    ¡°Kong Qing, what are you doing here?¡± Elder Wu asked with a frown.

    Kong Qing looked around. When he saw the Golden Crow Guards¡¯ fierce attitudes, he was quite surprised. After some hesitation, he replied, ¡°I came on the wise king¡¯s orders to bring some daily necessities to the Medusa Queen, so that their time spent in the Fiend King Court would not be too inconvenient.¡±

    The other ns all began to exchange looks when they heard that. Does the Peacock Wise King have his eyes on the Medusa Queen?

    Elder Wu was also surprised. He hadn¡¯t expected the Peacock race to be so close to the Medusa Queen. Don¡¯t tell me this assassination had the Peacock Wise King working behind it?

    In the side room, Yan Xuehen voiced her surprise. ¡°This Kong Qing actually dares to get involved in something like this? He even used the Peacock Wise King¡¯s name?¡±

    Yun Jianyue said, ¡°I reckon that the Peacock race has been quite resentful of the crown prince¡¯s smugness as ofte. How could the Peacock Wise King not have any thoughts of his own after he was forced to resign? I fear he probably wants to take the chance to vent against the crown prince¡¯s side a bit.¡±

    Elder Wu¡¯s thoughts moved quickly. He became more and more certain that he had to bring the Medusa Queen back. If they managed to find out that there was something wrong with the Peacock Wise King, that would save the crown prince a lot of headaches in the future.

    He was about to give the order when another group of men entered from outside.

 Chapter 1331: Returning in Anger

    Chapter 1331: Returning in Anger

    A group of warriors dressed in thin silver armor, each with a green bow slung over their back, walked over in single file; each individual was tall and slender. They all looked incredibly handsome, and their ears were slightly pointed; they were clearly from the Elf race.

    The one in the lead had silver hair, but hisplexion was smooth like a young man¡¯s. His eyes were hale and hearty, without any sign of aging. Elder Wu recognized the man as one of the Elf King Manor¡¯s eight great elders, Qiao Wei. His brow furrowed slightly. Why would the Elf King Manor¡¯s people appear in this ce?

    The previous night, the crown prince had fed ¡®that¡¯ kind of drug to the Elf race¡¯s Princess Snow, but then she had been taken away by that assassin to who knew where. However, her purity was most likely forfeit. Could it be that the Elf race received news of this and came to castigate us?

    But that shouldn¡¯t be! Even if that were the case, they should be going to the crown prince, right?

    Qiao Wei saw that Elder Wu and the Golden Crow Guards were stunned. He couldn''t help but say, ¡°So it was Elder Wu. Why are you all here?¡±

    ¡°That is precisely what I wanted to ask you,¡± Elder Qu replied. When he heard that Qiao Wei¡¯s tone was still rather proper, he sighed inwardly in relief. Even though his cultivation was higher than the other person¡¯s, the consequences of pushing the Elf King Manor too far would be a huge headache to sort out.

    Qiao Wei replied, ¡°Oh, the Elf King Manor learned that the Medusa Queen arrived at the Fiend King Court, so they sent me to give our greetings.¡±

    Elder Wu¡¯s expression changed. He hadn¡¯t expected the Medusa Queen¡¯s rtionship with even the Elf King Manor to be so good. That made things a bit difficult¡­

    Yu Yanluo was a bit confused. She didn¡¯t recall ever having had any dealings with Elf King Manor, so why would theye to express their goodwill now?

    Inside the side room, Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue discussed the matter too. In the end, Yan Xuehen said, ¡°I can sense a familiar aura from this elf elder¡¯s body. It is a bit simr to that Qiao Heng we met at Lord Sui¡¯s Tomb. Even if they are not father and son, they should be rtives.¡±

    ¡°So that was it,¡± Yun Jianyue replied. She knew that Yan Xuehen¡¯s techniques were special and didn¡¯t doubt her perception regarding aura at all. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that Ah Zu saving that person back then would lead to this kind of repayment.¡±

    Qiao Wei asked in confusion, ¡°Could it be that Elder Wu hase on the Fiend Emperor¡¯s request, to also pay the Medusa Queen a visit?¡±

    Elder Wu was at a loss for words. He couldn''t just say that he was there to bring her back to stand trial, right?

    Suddenly, here was even more activity by the entrance. A high-pitched voice said, ¡°Oh my, I didn¡¯t expect this ce to be so lively.¡±

    Those present turned around and saw a small, short person walk over. He wore aical official hat on his head, and around his mouth was a curved mustache. He was somewhat hunchbacked and stooped. Only then did the others realize that he seemed to have a big pot on his back.

    Behind him was a group of guards. Those guards were clearly stronger and taller than him, and their armor emitted a light blue radiance. Many of them also had what seemed to be detailed and delicate armor tes around their eyes, necks, and wrists. Upon closer inspection, they weren¡¯t armor at all; clearly, they appeared to be fish scales!

    ¡°The Ocean races!¡±

    The others immediately realized what was going on. The identity of the one in the lead was also obvious. It was the representative of the Ocean races this time, Gui Chengxiang!

    Elder Wu¡¯s expression changed a bit, because he noticed that there were many embroidered cases in the guards¡¯ hands. They were clearly presents. Since when had the Snake race and the Ocean races gotten along?

    Gui Chengxiang had always been a rather slick and sly person. When he arrived, he greeted everyone one after another, not giving anyone the cold shoulder.

    Elder Wu coughed lightly and asked, ¡°Gui Chengxiang, what brings you here this time?¡±

    Gui Chengxiang had paid his respects to the Fiend Emperor and the crown prince when he arrived previously, so the two of them had met previously as well.

    ¡°I came on my master¡¯s orders to bring the Medusa Queen some daily living goods to prevent her life in the Fiend King Court from being ufortable,¡± Gui Chengxiang said with a big smile.

    The ns all looked at each other in dismay. The Ocean races had extraordinary status among the fiend races because they had a huge poption, and their strength was great. Even the Fiend Emperor had to treat the Dragon King politely.

    They hadn¡¯t expected even the Ocean races to think so highly of the Snake race. Looks like we were right to choose to get close to the Snake race this time.

    Inside the side room, the two grandmasters exchanged a look. How are Yu Yanluo¡¯s rtionships with other people this great? Even the Ocean races seem to owe her somehow¡­?

    The two women were both worried. One of them was worried for her disciple, while the other¡­ was also worried for her disciple.

    Yu Yanluo was really confused. The Snake race and the Ocean races might have had some kind of friendship before, but that rtionship had clearly ended over the past few decades. Why would they suddenly be so friendly again?

    She suddenly thought of something. The previous time in Bluefield Country, the Dragon King¡¯s ninth son Chi Wen seemed to have been beaten by Ah Zu, but then with his little aunt¡¯s support, he had used a ton of treasures to buy his life. At the time, she had been amazed that his little aunt was so close to Zu An. Now, it seemed that Gui Chengxiang¡¯s visit was likely also because of her.

    ¡­

    Sigh, these girls are all so great. At this rate, there won¡¯t even be any fights between them.

    Zu An was a bit absentminded as he watched everything through his jade badge. Was it because Shang Liuyu had found out about what happened over the past few days, and worrying that something might happen, she had specially sent some people over?

    She really is a considerate person¡­

    ¡°Why is Elder Wu here? Did youe here in ce of the Fiend Emperor and crown prince to wee the Medusa Queen?¡± Gui Chengxiang asked. He continued, ¡°I suppose it makes sense. The previous Medusa Queen was even friends with the Fiend Emperor.¡±

    The others were shocked. Anything rted to thest Medusa Queen already felt like something from the distant past. Many people present didn¡¯t even know that such a rtionship had existed. Only someone as old as Gui Chengxiang would know something like that.

    Elder Wu was a bit embarrassed. Just how many times had he been asked that question already? If it were just a small race, he would just detain all of them. But now, the Peacock King race, Elf race, and the Ocean races were showing goodwill, so how could he still take action before their very eyes?

    ¡°Big sis Yu!¡± a voice eximed in pleasant surprise. When those present turned around, they saw a gorgeously dressed youngdy. She had a big smile on her face as she ran toward Yu Yanluo.

    Behind her was a group of guards who all had a strange gentle and reserved beauty to them, and their skin was rather pale. Many of them had a faint purple glimmer in their eyes.

    The Demon Race!

    There were many people who recognized the pretty youngdy. She was the Demon Race¡¯s Princess Suolun!

    ¡°Princess, so you¡¯ve arrived at the Fiend King Court too?¡± Yu Yanluo asked, a bit surprised to see her. She hadn¡¯t expected them to meet here after separating at the tomb.

    ¡°Big sis, don¡¯t call me princess like a stranger. You can just call me Shi¡¯er,¡± Princess Suolun said, hooking her arm around Yu Yanluo¡¯s enthusiastically.

    Yu Yanluo was stunned. They had be friends in the tomb that time, but it wasn¡¯t to this degree, right?

    Her mind worked quickly, and she quickly realized that Princess Suolun was doing this for the others to see, especially those Golden Crow Guards. She was trying to express that the Demon Race supported her. While she did feel moved, she also felt a bit strange. Why would they risk offending the Golden Crow Crown Prince to help her?

    Don¡¯t tell me she¡¯s here because of Ah Zu¡­

    Suolun Shi suddenly cried out in surprise, ¡°Huh? Why are there so many people in this ce? Sir Kong, Elder Qiao, Gui Chengxiang¡­ Hm? Isn¡¯t this Elder Wu? Did you alle to visit big sis Yu?¡±

    Elder Wu¡¯s eyelids twitched. Did these people n this or something just to make me look bad?N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Even though all of those present added together likely still wouldn¡¯t be his match, the ns behind them were too powerful. A single mistake could lead to a ripple of consequences that not even the crown prince could afford to take. As such, he coughed and said, ¡°What the Medusa Queen says is reasonable. That person most likely did not have the courage toe to the Fiend King Court. It seems we have investigated in the wrong area. We will return and look at other clues. We hope for the Medusa Queen¡¯s cooperation if there are any problems in the future.¡±

    Yu Yanluo smiled and replied, ¡°That is not a problem.¡±

    Even though Elder Wu wasn¡¯t happy, he could only leave with the Golden Crow Guards.

    When he left, the courtyard immediately rose up in amotion. People began to discuss what had just happened, then began to talk about that assassin in the imperial pce. However, they weren¡¯t that close to each other, so they didn¡¯t dare to speak too much in public for fear that others might gain some information that could be used against them.

    After chatting for a bit, they all said their goodbyes. Yu Yanluo received all of them well, making all of them feel that they were treated with importance. Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue both sighed in amazement. That level of ability in interpersonalmunication was just too far beyond them.

    Only when the guests had almost all left did Zu An secretly return to the courtyard. The three women finally released a sigh of relief when they saw him. However, they quickly frowned, pulling him into the room to ask him what had happened the previous night.

    Zu An could only tell them the truth. When they learned that he had gone to save the Elf race¡¯s Princess Snow, the three beautiful women¡¯s expressions became strange. Only after a long time had passed did they sigh in relief.

    They asked all at once, ¡°Why do you have girls wherever we go?¡±

 Chapter 1332: Crown Princess

    Chapter 1332: Crown Princess

    ¡°What can I say? They¡¯re no match for my charm,¡± Zu An replied nonchntly. When he sensed the three women¡¯s anger, he immediately changed his tone. ¡°She saved my life before, so of course I need to save her!¡±

    ¡°She saved your life?¡± Yun Jianyue asked, puzzled. She really couldn''t imagine how the Elf race¡¯s princess was rted to Zu An.

    ¡°Actually, big sis Yan should know about Princess Snow,¡± Zu An said.

    ¡°I know her?¡± Yan Xuehen asked, stunned. She waspletely puzzled.

    ¡°She used to be a servant in Brightmoon City¡¯s Chu n. She was the spy sent by the capital¡¯s Shi n¡­¡± Zu An gave a rough ount of what had happened back then.

    ¡°So it was her,¡± Yan Xuehen said with a nod. She had heard her disciple mention that before.

    Yun Jianyue eximed in admiration when she heard the story. ¡°This little girl really is smart and brave! She went to the human side and suffered alone in silence, then saved her nsmen in the end. If I had met her earlier, I might have just taken her as my own disciple.¡±

    ¡°Were you two hiding in the pce the entire night? How did you avoid being discovered despite the Fiend Emperor overseeing the pce?¡± Yu Yanluo asked. That was what she was more concerned with.

    ¡°It was honestly all thanks to the Second Empress. My deduction about her wasn¡¯t wrong. She wasn¡¯t in agreement with the crown prince after all¡­¡± Zu An told them a bit about how the Second Empress had saved them.

    ¡°You two stayed the night in the Second Empress¡¯ chambers?¡± The three women¡¯s expressions were strange. This guy really was constantly surrounded by love affairs from start to finish!

    ¡°Ahem, it was only because she¡¯s going against the crown prince,¡± Zu An said, trying to exin the situation.

    When the three women thought of the Second Empress¡¯ identity, they didn¡¯t think too much about it. They quickly began to discuss what had just happened.

    Yu Yanluo said, ¡°It was thanks to your friends¡¯ help that we managed to get through that situation. Otherwise, I would have been captured for interrogation.¡±

    ¡°I told you my affinity with people was good, but you just don¡¯t believe me,¡± Zu An said with augh. He continued, ¡°Now that the different ns have all gathered at the Fiend King Court, and after something happened to the Golden Peng King, Elf King, and Peacock Wise King, the ns are all worried about their own situation. The mood is pretty tense, so the crown prince wouldn¡¯t dare to act without thinking.¡±

    ¡°This Fiend King Court seems peaceful from the outside, but that actually isn¡¯t the case at all,¡± Yu Yanluo said with a grave expression. She added, ¡°By the way, before you returned, the ns were talking about the All Races General Assembly.¡±

    ¡°All Races General Assembly?¡± Zu An was surprised.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Yu Yanluo exined, ¡°The fiend races consist of many races, and this is the first time all of the races have been invited over, so there has to be a meeting held with everyone present. Apart from dealing with certain superficial affairs, the most important part pertains to the representative seats of the different ns.¡±

    ¡°Representative seats?¡± Yan Xuehen asked.

    Yun Jianyue was more familiar with the process and said, ¡°Even though the Fiend Emperor has unrivaled authority in the fiend races, he won¡¯t bother with everything regardless of importance. Ordinary political, economic, and other such affairs and policies are often decided through representative proposals and cast ballots. The powerful races have more seats, while the weaker races often only have a single seat. That¡¯s why roping in representatives from the different ns is extremely important. Just now, when Yu Yanluo invited the mid and small-sized races over for a discussion, that was part of such a process.¡±

    Yu Yanluo nodded and said, ¡°Indeed. Each race¡¯s leader represents one seat. Others need to fight for seats themselves. At most, one race can obtain three more seats. The Snake race had three seats at its peak, but after what happened to my mother, our people have continued to deteriorate. Now, we only have a single seat to our name. That¡¯s why we have practically no say in matters rted to the fiend races¡¯ internal affairs.¡±

    ¡°Fight for the seats themselves? How do you fight for them?¡± Zu An asked curiously.

    Yu Yanluo exined, ¡°Among the fiend races, the strong reign. Whenever the Fiend Emperor is reced, there¡¯s a new contest over representative seats. Those who are confident they can seize a seat can sign up. Many smaller races know they have no chance, so they don¡¯t participate, although sometimes they might have one or two geniuses. In most situations, though, the tussle over these quotas is just a game for the powerful races.¡±

    Zu An had a strange expression as he said, ¡°In that case, sign me up too. I¡¯ll help you get a seat.¡±

    Yu Yanluo replied somewhat hesitantly, ¡°The situation is too dangerous right now, and the Golden Crow Guards are looking all over for you. I think it¡¯s best if you don¡¯t participate.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s precisely because the entire world is trying to arrest me that I should do the exact opposite of what they expect. No one thinks I would be brazen enough to show myself again. Then, this Yan Zu identity will be much more convincing too,¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°An excellent idea,¡± Yun Jianyue said. She rubbed her palms together and smiled. ¡°Then sign me up too, I¡¯ll help you seize a seat. Right, sign up this stone cold woman too.¡±

    Yan Xuehen was a bit stunned. She asked, ¡°Are you not scared that you will be lowering your own status by joining this kind ofpetition?¡±

    ¡°Our Holy Sect only cares about benefits; we don¡¯t have so many unnecessary trivialities.¡± Yun Jianyue harrumphed. ¡°I¡¯ve been indebted to little sis Yu¡¯s care all this time, and I¡¯ve always been someone who properly repays both gratitudes and grudges. I¡¯ve never owed people anything. I¡¯ll just pay her back in this way.¡±

    Off to the side, Zu An mumbled, ¡°Big sis seems to owe me quite a bit though¡­¡±

    ¡°Go away¡­¡± Yun Jianyue muttered, pushing him away. Although such contact waspletely ordinary, she suddenly remembered that her most private parts had been seen. Her cheeks began to burn up.

    Yan Xuehen was the only other one who knew about that. She thought to herself, Hah! So even this witch ended up experiencing something like that, huh? Previously, when she had been harmed by Yun Jianyue and had shown everything to Zu An, she had gone several days without proper sleep.

    She said, ¡°Witch, what you said is quite interesting. Then, count me in too. I can take the chance to see what these fiend race experts are like for myself.¡±

    Yu Yanluo naturally turned them down at first, but she couldn''t stop their enthusiasm and could only agree in the end. She suddenly felt a bit dizzy. Two grandmasters and a master who was bursting with fighting potential were going to help her fight over representative seats! Just the thought alone made her feel sorry for their opponents.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, the Elf King Manor was in an uproar. Princess Snow had returned!

    The elders immediately held a secret meeting in the official hall. Other than the Elf King Qiao Wei, who had been imprisoned, all of the other elders were present. They strictly prohibited anyone else from joining the meeting.

    ¡°Princess Snow, where did you gost night? What exactly happened?¡± An elder quickly asked.

    ¡°I was in the imperial pce and was about to leave, but the crown prince said he wanted to talk about father¡¯s situation. As such, I followed him. And yet, who would have expected that he would be worse than a beast¡­¡± Qiao Xueying sobbed while exining what had happened the previous night.

    They could tell everyone else a different version of the story, but she had to tell the core authorities of the Elf race the truth. Otherwise, some errors in intelligence could mislead them into making the wrong decision.

    Snow was delicate and lovely, so when she began to cry, it really was heartbreaking. Many elders cursed. loudly ¡°Absolutely preposterous! I never expected the grand fiend races¡¯ crown prince to be so shameful!¡±

    ¡°Imprisoning the Elf King has already crossed the line. I didn¡¯t expect them to have such little respect for us!¡±

    ¡°The royal family is getting worse with each generation. If someone like this rose to the throne, wouldn¡¯t our fiend races be ruined because of him?!¡±

    ¡­

    After they voiced their anger for a while, a female elder hugged Qiao Xueying while continuing to console her. She pulled her over and asked, ¡°Snow, how did you leave the pce? How did you get rid of the drug?¡±

    Those present looked at Qiao Xueying when they heard that.

    Snow wiped her tears and replied, ¡°In the greatest moment of crisis, a mysterious person tried to assassinate the crown prince. When he was stopped by the crown prince¡¯s powerful guards, he brought me away with him. Later on, I lost consciousness. By the time I woke up, it was already morning, and I was near the Elf King Manor.¡±

    The elders were shocked, asking, ¡°Then doesn¡¯t that mean the assassin took advantage of you?¡±

    Snow blushed and replied, ¡°What are the elders saying? No one took advantage of me. I don¡¯t know how he got rid of the poison in my body.¡±

    They all saw that there wasn¡¯t even the slightest bit of grief on her face. Snow didn¡¯t act like a youngdy who had just been ruined, so they didn¡¯t doubt her words. Thus, the elders began to discuss among themselves.

    ¡°Just where did that assassine from? Why would he save Princess Snow?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s an old friend of the Elf King?¡±

    ¡°But no friend of the Elf King would have any reason to assassinate the crown prince!¡±

    ¡­

    Just then, another elder spoke up with a worried frown. ¡°Rather than that, I¡¯m more worried that once the imperial pce learns that Princess Snow has returned, they¡¯ll associate our Elf Race with the assassin.¡±

    The elders fell silent, quickly bing worried.

    The female elder cursed, ¡°What are all of you so scared for? The one who suffered this time is clearly Snow. Even if there¡¯s anything to settle, we should be the ones asking forpensation from the crown prince¡¯s side. How can you question our own? Just release exactly what Snow said to the pce, and ask the crown prince to give us an exnation. We¡¯re the glorious Elf race; we aren¡¯t a race that others can just walk over!¡±

    Even though there were still people with other opinions, that opinion was still held by the majority. As such, the Elf King Manor quickly acted on the n.

    Snow was a bit surprised. She thought to herself that everything was going as the Second Empress had expected. That woman¡¯s understanding of people¡¯s nature really was frightening.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile,Elder Wu quickly returned to the imperial pce. As soon as he walked in, he saw the crown prince smash his medicine bowl into the ground. Elder Wu frowned and asked, ¡°Crown prince, what has caused you such anger?¡±

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s face was ashen. He replied, ¡°I just received a report that Princess Snow has already returned to the Elf King Manor. Furthermore, the Elf King Manor¡¯s people even sent someone over to castigate us!¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Elder Wu eximed in shock. ¡°Why would they dare? Where is that assassin?¡±

    ¡°Princess Snow said that she was unconscious and did not know anything. When she woke up, it was already daytime¡­¡± The Golden Crow Crown Prince repeated what the other side had told him. He spat, ¡°That slut definitely isn¡¯t telling the truth! She definitely slept with himst night, and yet I can¡¯t disclose that. Ahhh! I¡¯m fucking pissed!¡±

    Elder Wu sighed in relief. It seemed the crown prince hadn¡¯t lost his headpletely out of anger. Otherwise, if news of what had happened the previous night went out, that would definitely be a huge scandal for the royal family. It could even cause rtions between the Golden Crow race and Elf race to fall apart.

    ¡°This woman is already impure, so she isn¡¯t worthy to be the crown princess,¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince said through gritted teeth. ¡°Find a way to contact the Peacock King Race¡¯s side and bring back Kong Nanwu for me. She will be the crown prince. Also, send some powerful individuals to bring her back from the human race. No man is allowed near her.¡±

    He really had been scared quite badly. He had to make sure that Kong Nanwu was watched carefully, to make sure she remained a virgin.

    Elder Wu nodded and replied, ¡°Understood!¡±

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince stood up and asked, ¡°You brought back the Medusa Queen, right? I¡¯m furious right now, so I¡¯m going to properly vent out my anger on her!¡±

 Chapter 1333: Imperial Tomb

    Chapter 1333: Imperial Tomb

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince had watched as his own lower body was crushed into a bloody paste. A psychological scar had already formed. Many times, he jolted awake as soon as he closed his eyes. He had even begun to wonder if he had lost ¡®that¡¯ ability, so he needed to quickly prove himself. Normal pce maids couldn''t get him excited, but the incredibly beautiful Medusa Queen was a different story. She would undoubtedly be able to restore his powerful masculinity.

    When he saw the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s excited expression, Elder Wu felt a bit troubled. He said, ¡°Crown prince, I was unable to bring the Medusa Queen back.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince eximed, his expression turning sinister. He was just about to act out when he remembered Elder Wu¡¯s grandmaster status, so he could only swallow the curses back down. Instead, he asked, ¡°What happened?¡±

    Elder Wu thus told him about what had happened just then in the Snake race¡¯s residence. The Golden Crow Crown Prince was shocked, asking, ¡°The Peacock King race, Elf race, and even the ocean races, as well as the Demon Race all spoke up for her?¡±

    ¡°That is right,¡± Elder Wu said with a grim smile. That was something he couldn''t figure out at all either.

    ¡°That slut actually has rtions with so many people? Was it purely because of her beauty?¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince wondered. Because of what had happened in the Snake race territory, he hated the Medusa Queen.

    ¡°These great ns have already expressed that they are going to protect her, and there are many smaller ns that have good rtionships with her. Doing something to her has really be quite difficult,¡± Elder Wu said with a frown. ¡°I fear we will be unable to force out that assassin under her.¡±

    ¡°That might not be so,¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince said with a sneer. ¡°The All Races General Assembly will be held in three days. At that time, every single race will send their people to fill those representative seats. The Snake race used to be a great n, and with her return, the Medusa Queen will not be content with just a single seat. She will definitely send powerful cultivators to participate. We can just use the stage to find a way to cripple her powerful cultivators. The more miserable, the better. This crown prince refuses to believe that the person under her will not act.¡±

    ¡°That is a feasible n, but would it not be a bit too overt? It might affect your distinguished self¡¯s reputation,¡± Elder Wureminded him out of concern. If forcing out the assassin led to the various races¡¯ dissatisfaction, the losses wouldn¡¯t make up for the gains.

    ¡°Who said this crown prince would do it myself? ording to the intelligence, the Lion race has a grudge with the Snake race too, right? We canjust rig the system a bit and have them fight over the same seat. That should do the trick, right?¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince said with a sneer. He had heard that the Lion race¡¯s little prince Shi Ling had been seriously injured from a conflict with the Snake race, and still hadn¡¯t woken up. Shi Ling was a rising star publicly acknowledged by the Lion race, and he was doted on greatly by his brothers and parents. Now that something had happened to him, the Lion race was furious. Given the opportunity, why would they show the Snake race any mercy?

    ¡°What a wonderful n!¡± Elder Wu¡¯s eyes lit up. He had been worried that the crown prince would be embroiled in rage after his defeat in the Snake race, and perhaps even infatuated with lust, thuspletely losing the wise and heroic nature needed to be the future emperor. Now, hepletely felt at ease. This young man was still the same crown prince he remembered deep down.

    Afterward, the Golden Crow Crown Prince gathered some people and arranged various things. That naturally wasn¡¯t something he had to trouble Elder Wu with. He could stay in the pce to help him recover faster.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in the Snake race¡¯s residence, Yun Jianyue sought out Zu An and said, ¡°Get up. Let¡¯s take a look around the Fiend King Court. After being cooped up inside these past few days, I¡¯ve been feeling really stuffy.¡±

    She had wanted to go for a stroll the previous day, but Zu An had disappeared, and then the Fiend Emperor had released his powerful presence. Worried that Zu An was the assassin in the pce, she hadn¡¯t gotten any rest the entire night. She hadn¡¯t been in the mood to look around the city at all. Of course, there was no way she would talk about any of that out loud.

    Yan Xuehen couldn''t help but frown slightly, saying, ¡°He has gone through quite a lot all night. Let him rest for a bit.¡±

    ¡°Tsk tsk tsk, you¡¯re sounding like a young maiden who¡¯s just joined the Zu household or something. Stone cold woman, are you feeling alright?¡± Yun Jianyue replied, reaching out toward Yan Xuehen¡¯s forehead while speaking, as if she didn¡¯t recognize her.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s face heated up. She was worried that Yun Jianyue might notice something and quickly exined, ¡°Do you think I am like you who makes decisions without thinking about others? Firstly, he is too tired, and secondly, his arrest has already been ordered. It is really not too good for him to be moving around right now.¡±

    Yun Jianyue replied disapprovingly, ¡°Did you forget what Ah Zu just said? The more dangerous the ce, the safer it will be. Who would expect a wanted criminal to just be strolling through the streets like this? He should just take the chance to spread the name Yan Zu, or else people will start associating that person with Ah Zu after just a few days.¡±

    Yan Xuehen frowned slightly. She felt that Yun Jianyue was twisting logic somehow. She was about to retort when Zu An said, ¡°There¡¯s no harm in familiarizing ourselves with the Fiend King Court. Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will be victorious in every battle. Furthermore, we can take the chance to look for that ce recorded on the map.¡±

    The women were stunned. Only then did they realize that he was talking about the map of the Unknown Region they had gotten from Lord Sui¡¯s Tomb. With that, none of them voiced any more objections.

    When they left, Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue remembered their experience by the city gates. The masks could hide their appearance, but they would easily make others curious. That was especially true with their incredible physiques and presence; they were clearly incredible beauties. They were in the Fiend King Court, where there were many powerful cultivators. Even though they weren¡¯t scared, they didn¡¯t want to make thingsplicated for no reason and provoke unnecessary trouble.

    Furthermore, they were going to help Yu Yanluo fight for the three seats in three days. They were going to show themselves in front of everyone then. They couldn''t just keep masks and cloaks on forever, right?

    Using their original appearance obviously wouldn¡¯t be a good idea. In the human world, the two women were famous grandmasters. Some people from the fiend races would undoubtedly recognize them too. If they were recognized, in their current state, they could end up dying without even knowing how.

    As such, they each asked for a face mask from Zu An, turning themselves into ordinary-looking women to get used to the sensation. When they looked into the mirror, they could only describe their new look as extremely in, but they didn¡¯t mind it at all. With their temperament, they had long since stopped caring about how they looked.

    Zu An sighed in amazement, thinking that if these two were to enter his previous world as they were right now, they would definitely be mocked as women who looked stunning from behind but had unattractive faces. They were goddesses from the back, but their faces¡­

    That guy Chen Xuan actually had a few female masks on him¡­ Who would¡¯ve thought that he would actually have a cross-dressing fetish.

    As for Yu Yanluo, she was a well-known person. Furthermore, with her identity as the Snake race¡¯s n leader, she naturally didn¡¯t need a mask. Just a face veil was enough.

    ¡­

    Then, the group walked through the city. Despite the assassin attack the previous night in the imperial pce, the various races¡¯ representatives were all gathered at the Fiend King Court. There was no way the royal family would hold a lockdown with so many influential figures present. That was why, after the entire city had been searched, it had been opened up again.

    Even though the Fiend King Court wasn¡¯t as bustling as the human¡¯s capital city, it was still up there. It was a ce where all kinds of different races¡¯ talents gathered, each with their own specialties. When all those specialties came together, it made for quite the exciting ce.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Along the way, many fiend disciples blew catcalls when they saw the women¡¯s figures. The fiend races were much more direct than others. When they saw what they liked, they were always very proactive. However, when they saw Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue¡¯s faces, they immediately felt their appetites being ruined, quickly running away. As for Yu Yanluo, because she was Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue¡¯spanion, they all figured that she probably wasn¡¯t much better. They weren¡¯t even interested in undoing her veil.

    Zu An couldn''t help but chuckle, remarking, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect even you two to be avoided for being ugly.¡±

    ¡°It is actually quite interesting,¡± Yan Xuehen said. She was used to being ttered wherever she went. She found the experience quite new and novel.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect being ugly to have its uses,¡± Yun Jianyue said. Despite that, she was still upset. ¡°Hmph, if this were the human world, I would have already gouged out their eyes, chopped off their limbs, then had them used as fertilizer.¡±

    Yu Yanluo clicked her tongue. The Devil Sect Master really was fierce, as expected. However, their group had gotten along quite well as ofte.

    ¡­

    The women weren¡¯t preupied with that for long. Their attention was soon drawn by their strange and bizarre surroundings.

    Yun Jianyue was excited. Even though there were quite a few imported goods from the fiend races in the human world, to the point that there were all kinds of specialty shops opened by the fiend races,pared to the real deal, they weren¡¯t nearly as authentic.

    In contrast to Yun Jianyue¡¯s excitement, Yan Xuehen¡¯s interest was quitecking. She usually liked peace and quiet, so not only did she not find the bustling surroundings that interesting, she even felt that the ce really wasn¡¯t for her.

    Instead, she unwittingly nced more at Zu An. She was a bit confused. Why was it that she had felt so happy and carefree when she was strolling through Cloudcenter City with him, and yet today, she felt really annoyed? Was it because there were others there too?

    She was rmed when she realized that. I have to hurry and push him to raise that Mo Xi girl¡¯s skill, I need to get rid of that ¡®Love Is More Solid than Gold¡¯ skill.

    But the two of them had already shared that kind of rtionship, so was there even any meaning left in getting rid of the skill or not¡­

    ¡°Is there something on my face?¡± a yful voice called out. Yan Xuehen jumped in fright. Only then did she notice that Zu An was looking at her with a smile, walking right next to her.

    Yun Jianyue was distracted by all of the new sights, and Yu Yanluo didn¡¯t want to show that she was too close to him to hide his identity, so she was walking together with Maid Xing. That was why Zu An had been able to walk over to her side.

    ¡°Who is looking at you?¡± Yan Xuehen replied, looking away quickly.

    Zu An had a strange expression as he asked, ¡°Big sis Yan, didn¡¯t you never tell lies before? Nuns aren¡¯t supposed to lie, you know?¡± Yan Xuehen practiced daoism, so to a certain degree, it wasn¡¯t wrong to call her a nun.

    Yan Xuehen was speechless. This guy really was annoying! So you knew I was a nun, and yet you still did that kind of thing to me?

    Yu Yanluo seemed to have sensed something. She turned around and asked, ¡°Ah Zu, what are you two talking about?¡±

    Yan Xuehen was rmed, but while she didn¡¯t know what to say, Zu An repliedpletely naturally, ¡°We¡¯re studying the map.¡±

    Yan Xuehen felt a bit of admiration inwardly. This guy didn¡¯t even bat an eyelid when he lied. I have to warn Chuyan to not be fooled by this guyter.

    When she thought of her disciple, however, she suddenly started feeling bad.

    ¡­

    The group wandered around the Fiend King Court while secretly studying the ce¡¯s topography,paring it to the Unknown Region map. Eventually, they moved farther and farther away, arriving at a forest to the north. It wasn¡¯t a wild, deste area; rather, it was still inside the Fiend King Court¡¯s city borders. They could vaguely make out buildings and lights scattered around.

    ¡°It seems to be around here,¡± Zu An said,paring the surroundings to the map. They followed a limestone path up a nearby mountain.

    Suddenly, a fierce shout came from up ahead. ¡°Halt! Up ahead is the imperial tomb! All those who trespass are to be executed without exception!¡±

 Chapter 1334: Battle of the Arts

    Chapter 1334: Battle of the Arts

    ¡°Imperial Tomb?¡± Zu An and the others eximed, stupefied. They hadn¡¯t expected the map to actually take them to such a ce.

    The surrounding guards moved closer. The one in the lead waved his hand, gesturing to capture the group. Soon afterward, several people appeared from within the forest, surrounding them.

    Zu An¡¯s group was quite troubled. They obviously didn¡¯t fear such soldiers, but they were in the Fiend King Court at the moment. If they started a conflict with the soldiers at the Imperial Tomb, it would be hard to clean up the situationter.

    Yu Yanluo walked over and said with a smile, ¡°I apologize. We are from the Snake race and came with the Fiend Emperor¡¯s invitation to participate in the general assembly. We were unfamiliar with the Fiend King Court, and while following this flourishing city¡¯s beauty, we identally stumbled into this ce.¡±

    The general was left in a daze from her smile. Even though there was a veil over her face, he could vaguely make out her exceptional appearance. After being stunned for a moment, he asked, ¡°Are you the Medusa Queen?¡±

    ¡°Indeed. I hope that this general can be lenient on us,¡± Yu Yanluo said with a smile, making the general feel as if he were being caressed by soft autumn winds. Her gentle voice seemed almost as if it could melt bones.

    ¡°So it was the Medusa Queen! If one does not know any better, one cannot be held responsible. You should go back, or else it will be bad if the powerful cultivators inside are disturbed,¡± the general warned her.

    ¡°Thank you, general!¡± Yu Yanluo replied, then gave the others a look. Then, she turned around to leave the ce.

    When she saw the general standing in ce like a statue, and yet craning his neck in their direction with hand moving from time to time, Yun Jianyue remarked with a deeply moved sigh, ¡°Little sis Yu, your charm is just too great! You were able to leave that fepletely enchanted with just a few words!¡±

    Yu Yanluo smiled and replied, ¡°If big sis Yun weren¡¯t wearing a mask, the general would definitely be bewitched by you too.¡±

    Yun Jianyue harrumphed. ¡°I still know my own limits. With how fiercely I usually act, I¡¯m not your match in that aspect.¡± If she used her own charm techniques, she would naturally be able to dominate the general, but who was he? What right did he have to make her use her charm techniques?

    Zu An coughed and said, ¡°Please stop ttering each other about your own specialties. What I¡¯m curious about is why the Unknown Region marked here is the Fiend Race¡¯s Imperial Tomb.¡±

    The three women fell silent, unable to figure out why that was the case either.

    ¡°Do you guys think that this Unknown Region has already been explored by the fiend races¡¯ royal family?¡± Yu Yanluo asked worriedly. If that were the case, even if there had been anything inside, it would have been emptied out a long time ago.

    Yan Xuehen shook her head, saying, ¡°I do not think so. Unknown Regions are on an entirely different level from ordinary secret dungeons. If anyone really did explore these areas, there would be no way to hide it. For example, when the human emperor Zhao Han sent people to the Unknown Regions in search of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, no matter how he tried to hide it, news still ended up leaking out no matter what they did.

    ¡°Meanwhile, in the Snake race¡¯s territory, we never heard anything about an Unknown Region. If my suspicions are correct, not even the Fiend Emperor knows that there is an Unknown Region hidden within their Imperial Tomb.¡±

    Yun Jianyue nodded and said, ¡°The stone cold woman¡¯s analysis is reasonable. The Unknown Regions are extremely mysterious. Legend has it that they only open when the timing is right, when all kinds of factors line up. They¡¯re not ces where someone can take advantage of being the first.¡±

    Yu Yanluo said, ¡°Then we need to find a chance to sneak inside to take a look.¡±

    The others nodded, but Yan Xuehen said, ¡°I fear we might not be able to. Earlier, I sensed that this Imperial Tomb¡¯s security was incredibly strict. Furthermore, there are all kinds of hidden killing formations around the trees and buildings. If we made even the slightest mistake, we would be trapped inside with no way out.¡±

    Zu An added, ¡°I was looking at the mountains¡¯ shapes andyout earlier, and I could sense killing intent waiting to move. If it did, I fear that not even a grandmaster would be able to protect themselves.¡±

    In his spare time, he had studied ¡®One Drop of Heaven¡¯s Essence¡¯ carefully, allowing him to pick up some information from the mountains and valleys.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°It¡¯s that dangerous?¡± Yun Jianyue replied with a slight frown. ¡°Why is an Imperial Tomb guarded this well? Could it be that the Fiend Emperor already knows there¡¯s an Unknown Region here?¡±

    If that were the case, they would havee all the way for nothing!

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s eyes lit up and she eximed, ¡°I remember! The Fiend Emperor¡¯s session ritual is held in the Imperial Tomb¡¯s ancestral shrine. That¡¯s why they set up such strict defenses.¡±

    ¡°So that was it.¡± The others sighed in relief. As long as it wasn¡¯t an Unknown Region being exposed, that was good.

    However, they became worried once again. If the session ritual were to be held there, they wouldn¡¯t be able to explore the ce for quite some time. The group clearly couldn''t stay in the Fiend King Court for that long either. Still, they didn¡¯t know what else they could do, and could only go back for the time being.

    Along the way, Zu An asked, ¡°Weren''t the fiend races forced into this bitterly cold north because of the great war with the humans many years ago? Why is the Imperial Tomb here?¡±

    ¡°I know the answer to this question,¡± Yun Jianyue exined. ¡°That¡¯s because many, many years ago, this was where the fiend races flourished. Later on, they ventured south and upied arge amount of fertilend, then had to give that up to the humans.¡±

    ¡°No wonder this ce feels mysteriously ancient for some reason,¡± Zu An said, turning around to look at the mountain forest. For some reason, he felt that it was hiding something, but he couldn''t imagine what that was.

    ¡­

    The group once again returned to the bustling city, chatting about what had happened just then. Suddenly, an ear-piercing voice suddenly called out, ¡°Oh? Isn¡¯t this the Snake race¡¯s Medusa Queen? We really are enemies who inevitably run into each other. We bumped into each other so quickly.¡±

    A group of lions was lined up not far away, and ones in the lead had golden manes. They were none other than Shi Min, Shi Gong, and Shi Rong, the three Lion race princes they had run into outside the city gate. The one who spoke was Shi Rong, who had the most arrogant demeanor.

    Yu Yanluo and the others frowned slightly. She sighed in regret. They had run into an unlucky bunch again!

    The lion princes examined Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue. They couldn''t help but snort, saying, ¡°Last time, we had a nce and thought that you were some exceptional beauties. Who would have thought that it was just two ugly hags. That figure is wasted on you two.¡±

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue were speechless. With their identities, when had they ever been addressed that way? Yun Jianyue was so angry she was about to charge directly at them.

    Zu An was worried that she would expose herself and quickly stopped her. He endured his urge to smile and asked, ¡°Big sis, didn¡¯t you say you didn¡¯t care about how you looked?¡±

    Yun Jianyue replied, ¡°This guy¡¯s tone is annoying. I won¡¯t be satisfied until I beat the shit out of him.¡±

    When he saw her anger, Shi Gong roared withughter. He replied, ¡°What, you want to hit me? Fighting with an ugly hag would really be beneath my status. However, even though your luck was goodst time and we ran into the Second Empress, allowing you to escape that disaster, I wouldn¡¯t mind properly teaching you all a lesson here.¡±

    Yun Jianyue was speechless. She looked at him the way one might look at a dead person. A fight seemed to be on the verge of breaking out on either side.

    Suddenly, a group of Golden Crow Guards rushed over from a distance, watching them carefully.

    Shi Min immediately held Shi Gong back and quietly said, ¡°The Fiend Emperor has forbidden private battles, and there was that assassination attempt on the crown prince yesterday, so the security is very strict. I heard that many people have been captured because of private battles. I do not think you should be causing any trouble now.¡±

    Shi Gong harrumphed. ¡°I don¡¯t know what kind of damn luck you all have, always having some damn noble bailing you out.¡±

    Zu An shook his head. He said with a sigh, ¡°Actually, it¡¯s all of you who are damn lucky. Otherwise, you would¡¯ve died without even knowing how it happened.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Min for +222 +222 +222¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Gong for +222 +222 +222¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Rong for +222 +222 +222¡­

    The lion princes all red at him angrily.

    ¡°Are you all from the Snake race or the Duck race? Your mouth seems to be quite tough!¡± Shi Min shot back, glowering. ¡°Since you are not convinced, why not have a little bet? The Fiend Emperor has stated that we cannot fight with martial strength, so how about a battle of the arts? Do you dare?¡±

    ¡°Battle of the arts?¡± Zu An gave the boorish, bearded Lion race princes a look, and he was on the verge of breaking out intoughter. Such a proposal sounded like Zhang Fei suggesting topete in embroidery![1] He replied, ¡°Why not? How do you want topete?¡±

    They had two well-studied grandmasters, a knowledgeable number one beauty, and his handsome and confident self. Why would they lose to these three fools?

    ¡°We just happened to receive an invitation to the Jade Garden up ahead to participate in a rock betting meeting. We canpete in rock betting. Do you all dare?¡± Shi Min replied proudly.

    ¡°Rock betting?¡± They exchanged a look, their expressions turning strange. After all, in the past, Yu Yanluo had been the number one gem merchant.

    1. Zhang Fei is famous as a fearsome fighter and lover of wine. ?

 Chapter 1335: A Place That Fits Their Status

    Chapter 1335: A ce That Fits Their Status

    Yu Yanluo naturally wasn¡¯tcking in that field, so she was about to calmly agree. However, Zu An instead rushed forward and called out, ¡°Wait, wait, wait! We don¡¯t have that many ki stones on us.¡±

    After staying in the fiend race territory for so long, he had learned that rock betting was a game that was quite popr among nobles there. With their status, normal gambling naturally wouldn¡¯t be that interesting. Only gambling with both rocks and style would make it interesting enough, drawing the interest of all the noble young masters anddies.

    Shi Rong said with a sneer, ¡°She is a glorious n leader. Don¡¯t tell me you left without any ki stones?¡±

    Zu An sighed and said, ¡°The Snake race has been in a bit of a slump recently, so we can¡¯t help but be a bit strapped for cash. Of course, it¡¯s not to a point where we have none at all. We still have a hundred or so ki stones on us.¡±

    The ki stones that were circted as currency were cut into a standard shape and size like the gold and silver coins of his previous world, so they could be counted. Of course, counting by weight was also fine, but that was a bit more inconvenient. They¡¯d only use that method forrge-scale transactions.

    ¡°A hundred or so?¡± The Lion race¡¯s young masters were stunned at first, but then they roared withughter. A hundred ki stones was already a ridiculous amount of resources. For a n leader, however, it really was too shameful.

    ¡°Our Lion race cares about knightly chivalry. We do not want to be known for bullying women,¡± Shi Min said. He fell silent for a moment before saying, ¡°How about this? You should all take the hundred ki stones to the Jade Garden and choose some rocks. As long as you can find something, this young prince willpensate you for the same amount on top of what you would originally get.¡±

    Shi Rong and Shi Gong panicked. They both grabbed him as a warning. They really couldn''t understand why their usually sharp third brother would suddenly do something like that, which wouldn¡¯t earn them any money, but would instead lose them money.

    Shi Min said through ki, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. How can we make them really start spending if we don¡¯t draw them in first?¡±

    Shi Rong was still unconvinced, saying, ¡°They only have a hundred ki stones on them. Even if they start spending, how much could they even lose?¡±

    Shi Min sneered. ¡°They¡¯re only bringing out a hundred ki stones right now because they still have some misgivings. Once they¡¯ve tasted the sweet taste of sess, they won¡¯t be able to stop even if they want to. At that point, it won¡¯t be up to them anymore. Even if they don¡¯t have enough ki stones on them, don¡¯t forget that they still have the Snake race behind them. The Snake Race¡¯s mines and their poison are both profitable resources. We¡¯ll try to find a way to win those two businesses.¡±

    Shi Rong and Shi Gong¡¯s eyes lit up when they heard his exnation. Third brother is third brother after all. He is the smartest, as always.

    Zu An also pretended to be moved. He began to talk to Yu Yanluo, seemingly urging her to participate.

    Yu Yanluo then ¡®reluctantly¡¯ agreed. ¡°Alright, then let¡¯s go and give it a try.¡±

    Yan Xuehen silently observed everything. She knew Zu An had done all that on purpose as an act. This guy really is a scoundrel through and through¡­ His enemies are being screwed over, and yet they¡¯re still eager to participate.

    Even Yu Yanluo is copying his bad behavior¡­

    She couldn''t help but be stunned. Hadn¡¯t she also learned from him? She had never used to lie, but now, she deceived others without even batting an eyelid.

    Seeing that they had agreed, Shi Min was worried that they would go back on their word and quickly said, ¡°Then, we should go. Jade Garden is just up ahead; we will be there soon!¡±

    The way they normally acted, they would have already rushed there first. However, now, they instead seemed to be apanying Zu An¡¯s group loosely and walking at a neutral pace, as if they were scared that the other group would get cold feet.

    Yun Jianyue asked the others through ki, ¡°Do you two really have confidence you can win?¡±

    Even though she was a grandmaster, her Devil Sect¡¯s hard-pressed economic situation prevented her from messing around extravagantly in gambling establishments. Furthermore, in rock betting, one¡¯s cultivation wasn¡¯t even useful since such unpolished gems seemed to be able to absorb a cultivator¡¯s divine will. One couldn''t see inside at all. However, that was precisely why it brought gamblers iparable stimtion.

    Zu An smiled, but didn¡¯t say anything. Yu Yanluo nodded without giving too much away. After all, she had managed the Yu n¡¯s ki stone business in the past. At the very least, she had absolute confidence in her insight in this field.

    When she heard that, Yun Jianyue began to get excited, saying, ¡°Alright then, make sure to properly screw them up for me. Preferably until they lose everything but their underpants!¡±

    What happened previously had really pissed her off, but for various reasons, she couldn''t do a thing about it. That meant she could only leave it to Yu Yanluo.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s face turned a bit red, but she still replied, ¡°I¡¯ll do my best.¡±

    ¡­

    Thus, the group arrived in front of the Jade Garden. They could feel thriving life force even from the main entrance, and they could vaguely make out a verdant expanse inside. Not only did they smell the fragrance of flowers, they could even hear the melodious chirping of birds. The north was bitterly cold and rarely had ces with lush vegetation. Who knew just how much manpower and resources were used to maintain such scenery?

    However, the most eye-catching sight was the tallest building in the garden. It was a bejeweled pce that swirled with vibrant colors.

    ¡°Are all the tiles and bricks made of jade?¡± Zu An cried in shock.

    ¡°What¡¯s so special about that? Look at this country bumpkin!¡± Shi Rong said mockingly. He immediately felt an indescribable sense of superiority when he saw his reaction.

    Shi Min was worried that his younger brother would offend them so badly that they would turn tail. He thus stepped out to smooth things over, saying, ¡°This Jade Garden is a garden of leisure created by the fiend races¡¯ wealthiest and most famous Fox Merchant Group. Normally, they only receive the most honored guests from the Fiend King Court¡¯s different races. Every single reservation is booked for half a yearter. Even if ordinary people have money, they stillck the qualifications to enter.¡±

    His voice carried a great sense of pride, as if he were stating that Zu An¡¯s group had only been blessed with the chance to visit such a ce because they were sharing in the lion princes¡¯ spotlight.

    Zu An didn¡¯t get annoyed at all. What he was more concerned about was something else. So this Jade Garden belongs to the Fox Merchant Group! He had already seen that merchant group in Bluefield Country. He wondered if the ce had anything to do with Tushan Yu¡¯s people.

    If he got a chance, he would go over and ask her about it. However, ording to what he had heard, she didn¡¯t seem to have arrived at the Fiend King Court yet¡­ She had said that she had something to take care of. He didn¡¯t know if she was being held up by something.

    ¡­

    Soon after, the group entered the Jade Garden. It was clear that the guards at the entrance recognized Shi Min¡¯s group. An individual dressed like a butler enthusiastically invited their group in. As for Zu An¡¯s group, he assumed they were friends, so he naturally didn¡¯t make things difficult for them in any way.

    He was amazed at Yu Yanluo¡¯s beauty, but he didn¡¯t dare to stare for too long. He said, ¡°Princes, pleasee inside. The second imperial prince and the others have already arrived. This humble one will guide you to them right now.¡±

    Zu An and the others were shocked when they heard that. That tough-looking ck-armored rider from the city outskirts appeared in their minds. Looks like that person was the one who arranged for all of this!

    This second imperial prince has been setting up these meetings with all of the various races¡¯ heirs¡­ It seems he¡¯s definitely cooking up something big.

    Shi Min raised his hand and stopped the butler, saying, ¡°There is no rush. These friends of mine wish to y a few rounds of rock betting first.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± The butler didn¡¯t sound too surprised. After all, those who frequented the Jade Garden were all fond of that hobby. He askesd, ¡°Then may I ask what categories these guests would like to y in?¡±

    ¡°What categories are there?¡± Zu An asked.

    The butler was momentarily stunned. How could someone who frequents these kinds of establishments not know this?n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    However, his professionalism didn¡¯t reveal any slip-ups. Instead, he pointed to a distant pavilion that shone with brilliant lights and colors, saying, ¡°It is mainly separated into the four levels of heaven, earth, ck, and yellow. As the name implies, the higher the level, the more precious the unpolished gems. Of course, the chances of obtaining something good will also be greater. For example, on the heaven floor, there is someone who has opened up heaven-grade ki stones before.¡±

    Zu An frowned. He remarked with a bit of dissatisfaction, ¡°The highest level is only heaven-grade?¡±

    Shi Min and the others almost spat out their drinks. Does this guy not know what the concept of heaven-grade is? Your hundred ki stones probably can¡¯t even buy any random unpolished rock in the heaven level, and yet you dare show disdain?

    They wanted to see Zu An make a fool of himself, so they didn¡¯t say anything. They just watched with strange smiles.

    The butler seemed to have sensed Zu An¡¯s expensive preferences. He was also a bit shocked, saying, ¡°As expected of the Lion race princes¡¯ friends, your experience must be extraordinary. Actually, apart from the heaven floor, there is an immortal floor. Someone opened up an immortal-grade treasure inside before. Not only are there ki stones inside, there might be all kinds of precious medicines, weapons, and other things. Of course, every single unpolished gem is extremely expensive. Do our esteemed guests have an interest in participating?¡±

    Zu An was still a bit unsatisfied. He replied, ¡°There¡¯s only an immortal level? Why isn¡¯t there a divine level?¡±

    The butler wiped a trace of cold sweat off his forehead, saying, ¡°This esteemed guest must be joking. Being able to discern an immortal-grade treasure is already something extremely rare. There aren¡¯t many deity grade articles in this entire world, and every single item has one of the world¡¯s most powerful cultivators as their owner. How could they possibly be produced from these unpolished rocks?¡±

    If a deity-grade divine weapon could be cut out from such rocks, not only would it not be something great for their merchant group, it could even bring them a huge disaster. Their entire establishment could be destroyed.

    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Zu An felt a bit disappointed.

    The butler could only asked apologetically, ¡°Then which floor do our guests wish to go to?¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that obvious? I¡¯m a friend of the Lion race princes, so of course I have to go to the floor that fits their status. I have a hundred ki stones on me, so of course, I¡¯m going to the immortal floor,¡± Zu An said in a rich and overbearing manner while smacking his own chest.

    The butler waspletely stunned. Then, he looked toward the Lion Race princes.

    Shi Min and the others almost vomited blood on the spot.

 Chapter 1336: Trap

    Chapter 1336: Trap

    Shi Min and the others had initially just nned to watch something amusing. How could they have expected this guy to tear them down with every word he spoke? Not only had they not gotten to see something funny, they had be aughingstock instead!

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Min for +444 +444 +444¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Gong for +444 +444 +444¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Rong for +444 +444 +444¡­

    The butler was also somewhat stunned. His first instinct was to think that maybe he somehow hadn¡¯t heard the word ¡®thousand¡¯, but having sharp ears and keen eyes were the most basic requirements for his job. He quickly realized that he definitely hadn¡¯t heard incorrectly. This person had definitely said he had a hundred ki stones.

    With that amount of ki stones, forget about the immortal floor, one couldn''t even purchase a single rock from the heaven or ck floor! Only on the yellow floor would there be a chance of purchasing a few, and they would definitely be the ones that were of the worst quality.

    Normally, if he encountered such a person, he would have already had the guards kick him out! But since this person was someone brought in by the Lion race¡¯s princes, he instinctively nced toward them. However, all he saw were their twisted expressions.

    Just then, Zu An strutted forward and said, ¡°Hurry and bring us to the immortal floor already. What, are you looking down on the Lion race¡¯s princes?¡±

    The butler said with an awkward smile, ¡°This guest must be joking. Of course that is not it¡­¡±

    At that instant, he didn¡¯t even know what to do. He thought to himself, Why would these Lion race princes bring such friends? Are they trying to start something here?

    Fortunately, Shi Rong said with a snort, ¡°Stop making a fool of yourself. Your hundred ki stones are only enough to y around in the lowest-level yellow floor a bit.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you all here, though? Could it be that you don¡¯t have the money for the immortal floor?¡± Zu An asked, giving them a look of confusion.

    Meanwhile, the disturbance gradually drew the attention of the surrounding guests. They all began to nce over and size up Zu An¡¯s group. There were some who recognized Shi Min and the others, secretly pointing at them and whispering to each other.

    The lion princes¡¯ faces turned purple. They really wanted to crush Zu An to death right there and be done with it. They were even starting to regret bringing him to the Jade Garden.

    As he saw the endless Rage pointsing in, Zu An had a huge smile. It was far too early for these lions to mess with him.

    ¡°Let¡¯s practice a bit on the yellow floor first.¡± Shi Min didn¡¯t have the luxury of worrying about shame and took the initiative to suggest that. If they really went to the immortal floor, they likely wouldn¡¯t even have enough to cover the expenses.

    The onlookers¡¯ expressions became strange. These were the glorious Lion race princes, and yet they were going to the yellow floor? Could it be that the Lion race had already fallen to such a state?

    When he heard the surrounding chatter, Shi Min¡¯s face twitched. He thought to himself, It¡¯s all this bastard¡¯s fault!

    I won¡¯t be able to let go of this hatred unless we make the Snake race lose their entire fortune!

    The butler had gone through strict training, so he didn¡¯t reveal anything strange on the surface. He said with a smile, ¡°This way, please.¡±

    They quickly arrived at the lowest floor of the building made of jade. It was called the yellow floor, but its decorations were elegant. It didn¡¯t feel like a cheap establishment at all.

    They had thought that the floor would be somewhat empty. After all, those who could enter the Jade Garden were all powerful and wealthy. Which person could bear the shame of going there? However, they found that it was still quite lively. There were quite a few groups of three or four staring at the unpolished stones on the table. All of them were red-faced and nervous, clearly concentrating fully.

    When Zu An looked around the ce, he more or less understood why there were quite a few people present.

    Important figures often took some attendants with them, and also brought along their juniors. Such individuals would find waiting outside rather boring, and they didn¡¯t have enough money to y around in the higher floors. As such, the Jade Garden had considerately created the yellow floor for them to pass their time.

    Zu An¡¯s group quickly drew the attention of the people inside. Quite a few of them also recognized Shi Min¡¯s group. After all, the Lion race was a powerful great n, and the princes were also individually famous.

    Many people dropped what they were doing and moved closer with smiles, calling out, ¡°So the young masters were here to y too!¡±

    How could people like them ever have a chance of talking to such important individuals? They naturally had to take the chance to build some connections.

    ¡°We came with these people,¡± the lion princes replied. They acted haughty and proud, only acting somewhat better in front of two individuals.

    One of them had a long, deer-like face with mousy eyes; his arms, neck, and other parts of his skin bore an assortment of ck and brown spots that resembled some skin disease. It was really ufortable to look at.

    Maid Xing said to Zu An¡¯s group through ki. ¡°That¡¯s one of the Hyena Race¡¯s young masters, Ban Ka.¡± As apetent secretary, she had been gathering intelligence on all the different forces in the Fiend King Court, and had done quite a good job so far. Yu Yanluo and the others all gave her a look of praise.

    ¡°Ban Ka?¡± Zu An retched inwardly. What kind of name is this? It¡¯s disgusting.[1]

    Is he a spotted hyena? Is that why his surname is Ban?

    Does this Hyena Race have anything to do with those Assrip Wolves I ran into outside Brightmoon City? This race¡¯sbat specialty isn¡¯t eating ass, is it¡­

    The other individual didn¡¯t need Maid Xing¡¯s introduction, because he had a mouthful of ck teeth when he smiled. He was clearly from the ck Teeth race. Judging from how they addressed each other, he seemed to be named Heichi Gu, a prince of one of the ck Teeth race¡¯s branch families.

    Zu An¡¯s expression was strange. He noticed that Heichi Gu¡¯s teeth weren¡¯t as ck as Heichi Ran¡¯s. It was probably that the purer the bloodline, the cker their teeth were.

    The others present eventually realized that Shi Min and the others were only on the yellow floor because of Zu An¡¯s group. They were smart enough to realize that the lion princes weren¡¯t actually friends with them, and that they were likely to actually be enemies. As such, they all began to voice their support.

    Ban Ka and Heichi Gu spoke up.

    ¡°Oh my, the Snake race used to be a big n too, but how did they fall so low? They can actually only y around on the yellow floor?¡±

    ¡°Exactly! You actually came with only a hundred ki stones? How many can you even buy? How about we lend you a bit?¡±

    ¡­

    Some people wanted to curry favor with the Lion race, while some didn¡¯t get along with the Snake race, such as Heichi Gu. It wasn¡¯t only because of what had happened between the crown prince and the Snake race; rather, it was also because of the assassination that had taken ce the previous day. Heichi Ran had been caught and beaten up miserably, throwing the entire ck Teeth race into disorder. Only recently had the misunderstanding been fixed, granting him his freedom. All of that seemed to have something to do with the Snake race, so how could Heichi Gu not feel hatred for them?

    ¡°Sure, we just happened to be a bit strapped for cash,¡± Zu An said with a smile. ¡°I¡¯ll have to trouble everyone to lend us a bit. Who knows, we might even be able to find some treasures with the ki stones you lend us. Sigh¡­ Come on, don¡¯t be hiding toward the back now! didn¡¯t you say you were going to lend us some just now?¡±

    Ban Ka and Heichi Gu immediately looked as if they had eaten shit. They had just said that as a joke; who would have thought that this guy would really ask them for money?

    After all, lending money at a gambling establishment was a taboo anywhere. In that situation, even if one helped someone win, one would only be getting back one¡¯s own money. On the other hand, if they ended up squandering it, one would just be out of luck. As such, lending money in these kinds of ces was considered nothing but bad luck.

    Still, there were so many people present, and they had already said those words. The two couldn''t really go back on their word and instead asked while scowling, ¡°How much do you need?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Ban Ka for +155 +155 +155¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Heichi Gu for +155 +155 +155¡­

    ¡°I guess a hundred thousand will be fine,¡± Zu An said nonchntly. ¡°Judging from how you two look, it doesn¡¯t seem as if you¡¯re all that rich.¡±

    The two of them almost vomited blood on the spot. You only have a hundred freaking ki stones, and yet you¡¯re looking down on our hundred thousand?!

    ¡°Hmph, seeing how pitiful you look, I¡¯ll lend you five hundred. Actually, let¡¯s not even talk about lending, you can just have it,¡± Ban Ka said smugly, tossing over a sack.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    However, he was actually crying inwardly. Five hundred ki stones wasn¡¯t enough to deal a serious blow, but it was no small expense. The Hyena race had never excelled in wealth, and he wasn¡¯t some pampered prince. The amount of funds he had ess to was limited.

    You have sessfully trolled Ban Ka for +555 +555 +555¡­

    Heichi Gu¡¯s face was even darker than his teeth as he said, ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll give you five hundred too. You don¡¯t have to return it.¡±

    Comparatively, he was in a better situation, but money didn¡¯t grow on trees! The worst part was that he was giving the money to the Snake race he hated, making him feel as if he were supporting his enemies.

    You have sessfully trolled Heichi Gu for +444 +444 +444¡­

    Yun Jianyue broke out intoughter, eximing, ¡°This kid is a freaking genius! If he had joined our Devil Sect early on, he might have had several times the fame and power he has now.¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression changed a bit and she replied, ¡°He still has great prospects awaiting him. Do not drag him into your sect.¡±

    ¡°Alright, fine!¡± Yun Jianyue replied, feeling extremely unhappy. ¡°Judging from how nervous you look, it¡¯s almost as if he¡¯s your man or something.¡±

    She said it nonchntly, but Yan Xuehen¡¯s heart skipped a beat. She looked away to hide her guilt. Fortunately, Yun Jianyue didn¡¯t think too much of it.

    Shi Min suggested with a smile, ¡°Since you now have a thousand ki stones, how about we choose the four unpolished rocks here? In my opinion, they look to be worth around a thousand.¡±

    Yun Jianyue quickly warned Zu An, ¡°Don¡¯t choose those. This guy is definitely up to no good.¡±

    Yu Yanluo had a strange expression as she said, ¡°It¡¯s actually the opposite. These four really do have a chance of containing something.¡±

    Zu An frowned as he looked at Shi Min. When he saw the prince¡¯s ambiguous expression, Zu An thought to himself, Did this guy hit the bullseye by ident¡­ or was it on purpose?

    1. Ban = spotted. Ka = sound of coughing or vomiting. ?

 Chapter 1337: The Gamble

    Chapter 1337: The Gamble

    The butler gave the rocks on the table a look and said, ¡°These four cost 1080 ki stones. However, since you are the princes¡¯ friends, we can round it down to a thousand. You can purchase them for a thousand ki stones.¡±

    There was such a great opportunity before him so how could he give up the chance to get along with the Lion Race¡¯s princes?

    Zu An wasn¡¯t in a rush to reply and instead pretended to look at the other rocks on the table. He asked Ban Ka and Heichi Gu, ¡°Do you all have any interest in gambling with us? If we miss on all four of these unpolished rocks, we¡¯llpensate both of you for the thousand ki stones. If there really is something in these rocks, then you¡¯llpensate us at a one to one ratio. Whatever the contents are worth, that¡¯s how much you¡¯llpensate us for. What do you think?¡±

    Ban Ka harrumphed. ¡°Just give up on that thousand when you lose. Didn¡¯t we give them to you in the first ce?¡±

    ¡°What, are you scared?¡± Zu An retorted mockingly.

    The risk of the bet was a bit too out of control. Ban Ka was about to refuse when Heichi Gu said, ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll take the bet with you.¡±

    Unlike an out-of-towner like Ban Ka, he usually resided in the Fiend King Court. He obviously knew about the nature of a ce like the Jade Garden. The prices of the unpolished gems in the yellow floor weren¡¯t too high, sopared to the higher floors, the chance of getting something was quite low. asionally, something would appear, but even then, it wouldn¡¯t be all that. The risk was within an eptable degree.

    That was why the chances of the two winning were much higher. Meanwhile, these people only had a thousand ki stones on them to begin with. How would they even be able to fork over another thousand ki stones? Either way, with the Snake race as the guarantors, he wasn¡¯t all that scared of them going back on their debt. This was a good chance to embarrass them a bit.

    Heichi Gu had yed with Ban Ka previously and knew that he was quite the stingy yer, the type who didn¡¯t act without some incentive. Since even Heichi Gu had agreed, however, there was naturally no need for Ban Ka to be scared either.

    If Zu An¡¯s group lost and didn¡¯t have money to pay them back, with how beautiful the Medusa Queen was, they¡¯d just have her pay with her body. He began breathing heavily when he thought of that, quickly adding, ¡°Count me in too!¡±

    Many people got worked up. They had spent quite a bit of time on the yellow floor, and so they obviously knew the probability of sess. They¡¯d be fools to not take the opportunity for such easy money. Either way, this was the Snake race n leader they were talking about. There was no way she would renege on her debt, right? As such, they all shouted that they wanted to join in.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that a bit too much? What if we lose¡­¡± Zu An said with a troubled expression.

    Yun Jianyue grinned. This guy was definitely nning to scam people again. Sigh, it really is a pity that he didn¡¯t join our Holy Sect.

    However, she suddenly remembered how he had seen everything before. Her smile instantly froze. Hmph, if this guy had really joined the Holy Sect, I would¡¯ve already thrown him out to be used as fertilizer.

    On the other hand, Yan Xuehen felt a bit strange. She had previously thought that she really disliked Zu An¡¯s slick-tongued behavior and found it really annoying, but now, she discovered that it was nothing more than a mask he used to hide his real intentions. In reality, he was actually rather cool-headed, and would lead his opponents into his own control bit by bit. They wouldn¡¯t even know that they had already fallen into his trap. That level of intellect really was admirable.

    All of a sudden, her expression stiffened. because she suddenly realized something. Did he also trick me?

    ¡­

    Someone got scared that Zu An would go back on the deal and said, ¡°It¡¯s fine. We¡¯re not even making you pay up right now. The Snake race is so big, we aren¡¯t scared that you won¡¯t be able to pay us back or anything like that.¡±

    ¡°Exactly. If you won, just how much would that be worth? Just thinking about it already brings me a wonderful feeling.¡±

    ¡°Right? I once heard from a merchant who came back from Brightmoon City that there was a young man who made several million from just a few dozen silver. Who knows, you might be next!¡±

    ¡­

    Yan Xuehen and the other women had strange expressions. Why did thatst story sound so familiar?

    Zu An¡¯s eyes lit up. He quickly ran over to Yu Yanluo¡¯s side and began to try to convince her. The others could even hear what he was saying to try and convince Yu Yanluo.

    The onlookers all sneered. Look at how blinded he is by greed. He can only think of how much he can make, and yet he has no idea just how badly he¡¯ll lose.

    Yu Yanluo appeared to be quite troubled on the surface too. In the end, she nodded slightly and said, ¡°Alright, then let¡¯s just do it once.¡±

    The others sighed in relief when they heard her agree. After all, in their eyes, the Medusa Queen was the one who had the final say.

    Zu An looked toward Shi Min and said, ¡°The three princes over here, are you all going to join in on this?¡±

    Shi Ming chuckled and replied, ¡°Since everyone is getting so excited, then count me in too.¡±

    Shi Rong and Shi Gong both said in agreement, ¡°We¡¯ll do it too.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He had thought that they would refuse at first. After all, these four rocks were the ones they had chosen. If they knew there was something inside, weren¡¯t they just screwing themselves over? However, he quickly stopped thinking about that. That was none of his business anyway. He¡¯d just worry about anything else when it happened.

    Thus, he said to the butler next to him, ¡°I¡¯ll have to trouble your distinguished self to serve as a witness.¡± With so many people present, there was no way he could make them all write a pledge, right?

    The butler nodded and said, ¡°Do not worry. No one dares to go back on any fair bets in the Jade Garden.¡±

    He carried a bit of pride in his voice when he said that. Perhaps there would be some people he couldn''t offend on the heaven or immortal floors, but he was confident he could deal with these yellow floor people.

    The Lion race¡¯s princes were a bit troubled when they heard this, but these were people they had brought over, and the bet was something they had already agreed to, so there was no going back on it.

    ¡°Alright, have you all decided?¡± Ban Ka asked. He was getting a bit impatient.

    Yu Yanluo didn¡¯t pay him any attention and slowly walked around the hall. She was worried that Shi Min would do something underhanded, so she still checked the area herself to make sure.

    As her dress moved gently with her graceful figure, paired with her beautiful, focused countenance, the hall couldn''t help but fall silent. It was as if all of them were scared of disturbing her. Even though many of them had stakes against her, they didn¡¯t say anything either. They just greedily took in her beauty.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Many people began breathing hurriedly. Later, when the Snake race took on a huge debt, would they be able to enjoy a bit of the Medusa Queen¡¯s wonderful aroma for themselves?

    However, when they saw that she seemed to know what she was doing while she was studying the rocks, some people began to panic. Ban Ka snapped in annoyance, ¡°Are you done picking yet? Hurry up! You don¡¯t need to look at the others! Every single one of them is more expensive than a thousand ki stones. You can¡¯t buy them even if you look at them!¡±

    As if she had heard what he said, Yu Yanluo returned to Shi Min and the others. She looked at the four unpolished rocks, seemingly lost in thought.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Is there a problem?¡± Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen secretly asked.

    Yu Yanluo replied, ¡°I¡¯ve looked them over for a bit, but these are indeed the ones that have the highest chance of having something. Why is Shi Min being so nice to us, though?¡±

    Even though she had managed the Yu n¡¯s gemstone business for many years and had abundant experience, it was only a bit better than an ordinary person¡¯s. Not even the greatest master with the sharpest insight could have a hundred percent uracy. Otherwise, it wouldn¡¯t be called rock betting, but rather just throwing money away. That was why she had been worried that there might be something wrong with the rocks.

    On the contrary, Zu An was much more rxed. He said, ¡°Don¡¯t think too much about it. Who knows, he might have just suggested these to scam us, but had no idea that there was actually something inside.¡±

    Yu Yanluo felt that Shi Min¡¯s group wouldn¡¯t be so simpleminded, but she still chose to trust Zu An in the end, saying, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll choose these four then.¡± After she spoke, she handed over the two bags from before to the butler.

    Ban Ka and Heichi Gu¡¯s eyelids twitched. That was their money, after all.

    One of the butler¡¯s workers stepped forward to receive the money. The butler then walked up to the table and said, ¡°Since a bet has already been made, I will personally open the stone.¡±

    With his qualifications, normally, he wouldn¡¯t personally do the deed in the ck and yellow floors. The reason why he had made an exception this time was because of the Lion race¡¯s princes and the Medusa Queen.

    He took out one of the unpolished rocks. He didn¡¯t use any tools, and instead used his hand as the de, slicing down through the side of the stone. Just like that, the sturdy stone was sliced as easily as tofu. Quite a few people in the surroundings narrowed their eyes. This Jade Garden was different after all! Even a butler was that skilled.

    Then, the butler ran his hand gently over the stone. It was shaved offyer byyer, bing smaller and smaller. In the end, there were only ash-colored remains. The butler shook his head and said, ¡°There was nothing inside.¡±

    Cheers resounded from all around. Those who were betting all sighed in relief. What were they so worried about? This yellow floor¡¯s stones definitely wouldn¡¯t produce treasure that easily. Furthermore, the four stones were considered poor-quality ones even on the yellow floor.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression remained calm. This was something that happened all too regrly. No one could guess every single one correctly.

    Next, however, the butler took out another stone. It was still empty.

    Ban Ka and Heichi Ran both smiled. They were already excited thinking about the Medusa Queen begging them for mercy with a tear-stained face.

 Chapter 1338: Excellent Teeth

    Chapter 1338: Excellent Teeth

    Heichi Guughed loudly and said, ¡°The Snake race really is getting worse with each generation. You want to have a lucky strike with just a thousand ki stones? There¡¯s no harm in telling you this, but in all these years, no one has ever been able to find anything out of these lowest level, cheap rocks on the yellow floor. Only the dumbest newbies would be this naive.¡±

    Since the bet was already set, they weren¡¯t scared of the other party backing out anymore. If they didn¡¯t mock them a bit in such a situation, they wouldn¡¯t feel too good.

    Yu Yanluo frowned slightly, but Zu An quickly countered, ¡°Aren¡¯t there still two rocks left? Why are you in such a hurry?¡±

    Heichi Gu sneered. ¡°Hah, look at how he¡¯s still clinging to hope!¡±

    Zu An said indifferently, ¡°Since you all feel that there definitely won¡¯t be anything, why don¡¯t we hold another bet?¡±

    ¡°Do you still have ki stones? Who would bet with you?¡± Ban Ka noticed how Shi Min and the others appeared to just be watching with amusement, and was now certain that it was all to teach the Snake race a lesson. As such, he didn¡¯t feel any more misgivings and was the first to mock Zu An. He thought to himself that it would be a good way of currying favor with the lion princes.

    Zu An frowned and replied, ¡°How about this? Let¡¯s not bet with ki stones. Instead, we can bet with something else. If nothinges out of these ki stones, I¡¯ll eat all of these leftover rock dregs. Otherwise, you¡¯ll have to eat them. What do you think?¡±

    Yu Yanluo jumped in fright and quickly tugged on his sleeves. She reminded him quietly, ¡°Ah Zu, I¡¯m not sure if any of these will have anything inside either!¡±

    Even though she had confidence that something coulde out of the two stones, there was no guarantee. Both of them could have nothing, and at that point, wouldn¡¯t she have harmed her lover badly?

    Ban Ka was a bit hesitant at first, but when he saw how nervous Yu Yanluo was, he immediately made up his mind and replied, ¡°Haha, then that¡¯s settled! I¡¯ll make this bet with you.¡±

    Heichi Gu sneered. ¡°Count me in too.¡±

    ¡°Wow, two pleasant surprises.¡± Zu An chuckled. He then said to Yu Yanluo in constion, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, my luck has always been quite good.¡±

    When she heard him say that, Yu Yanluo finally calmed down a bit.

    Yan Xuehen was a bit puzzled. She asked, ¡°Not even Yu Yanluo is confident, so where does he get his confidence from? He might be the one eating that stuffter, no?¡±

    Yun Jianyue harrumphed. ¡°Rather than him winning, I kind of want to see him lose and eat those rocks.¡±

    He had seen all of her earlier, and yet she hadn¡¯t been able to fight or kill him to vent her frustration. Watching him eat such trash would be good too. She thought, Hmph, it¡¯ll just be heaven¡¯s way of disciplining him. Is my body something just anyone can see?

    Yan Xuehen was speechless.

    ¡°Hurry up and open them already!¡± Heichi Gu and Ban Ka urged Zu An.

    Shi Rong and Shi Gong were also excited to see Zu An make a fool of himself.

    Only Shi Min¡¯s expression was a bit strange. He raised a brow, as if he were about to say something, but he swallowed all his words back down.

    The Jade Garden butler wiped some fine sweat off his forehead. He usually didn¡¯t feel a thing even when he opened stones in the heaven or earth rooms, and yet today, he was actually feeling a bit of pressure. He carefully opened up the third stone, but nothing happened.

    Heichi Gu and Ban Ka roared withughter, saying, ¡°I think you should just start eating these rocks already.¡±

    Yu Yanluo was still a n leader, and she was so beautiful. Even if they were enemies, they couldn''t bring themselves to let a beauty like that eat rocks. That meant such a duty would have to be fulfilled by Zu An.

    Zu An calmly replied, ¡°We aren¡¯t done yet, so what¡¯s the rush?¡±

    ¡°Are you still not convinced? We¡¯ve already reached this point, so what could still be left¡­¡± Ban Ka¡¯s voice came to a screeching halt. He stared at the table in disbelief.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    A trace of sparkling radiance appeared, followed by a rich burst of ki.

    ¡°This is¡­¡± Even the stone-opening butler was stunned.

    The people in the surroundings all quickly rushed over. They saw that there was a grape-sized ki stone in the center of the stone. It was sparkling and translucent.

    ¡°Earth-grade ki stone!¡± Someone with sharp eyes immediately recognized what it was and called out. ¡°This piece is quite good. It should be worth at least ten pieces of standard earth-grade ki stones.¡±

    The butler shook his head and said, ¡°It is worth more than that. Regardless of whether it is the color, the purity, or the ki inside, it is top-quality. The only pity is that it is too small. Even so, it is worth twenty standard earth grade ki stones.¡±

    Zu An had already spent enough time in this world to pick up on most basic knowledge. Each earth-grade ki stone was equivalent to a hundred ordinary ki stones. Ki stones were the currency cultivators usually used, while ordinary people usually used gold and silver.

    Back in Brightmoon Academy, Zu An had heard Wei Suo tell him that an ordinary ki stone could sell for ten taels of gold, but that wasn¡¯t actually urate. Normally, one ki stone was worth a tael of gold, but of course, one likely wouldn¡¯t be able to find a ki stone even if one had two gold taels. After all, no cultivators would be willing to sell cultivation resources unless they were really strapped for cash.

    Meanwhile, each heaven-grade ki stone was worth a thousand earth-grade ki stones. The higher the grade, the more precious it was, and the more beneficial it would be for one¡¯s cultivation.

    As for immortal-grade ki stones, there was no standard price of exchange. They were often only used for direct trades for other items or auctioned off for a good price.

    That meant after all the calctions, the grape-sized stone was worth around two thousand ki stones.

    As he shrugged and spread out his palms in front of everyone, Zu An had a mocking expression. He said, ¡°I¡¯m truly sorry, everyone, but my luck today seems to be just a bit good. Then, as we agreed, everyone has to pay two thousand ki stones.¡±

    The others all looked as if they were breaking down. How could they have expected that something really would be opened up? How had they really ended up experiencing a low probability like that?!

    Seeing that no one moved, Zu An asked with a smile, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Are you all going to go back on your debt?¡±

    Shi Rong harrumphed. ¡°Look at this bumpkin acting all smug. It¡¯s just two thousand ki stones. Why would this prince have to renege on something so insignificant?¡±

    He took out a pouch and tossed it over. Shi Gong also tossed over a bag unhappily. Only Shi Min¡¯s expression remained normal when he handed over the ki stones.

    Zu An caught them, but didn¡¯t immediately put them away. Instead, he opened up the pouch and began to count them.

    Shi Rong and Shi Gong were so furious they screamed, ¡°What is the meaning of this? Do you think we would lie to you about something like this?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Rong for +444 +444 +444¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Gong for +444 +444 +444¡­

    ¡°That¡¯s hard to say,¡± Zu An said nonchntly. He didn¡¯t even raise his head as he counted the ki stones.

    The onlookers were speechless. Why is this guy so freaking annoying?

    Zu An¡¯s smile only got bigger as the Rage points climbed higher.

    When they saw his cocky smile, the others all felt more and more depressed from making the bet with him.

    After counting the ki stones, Zu An handed them over to Maid Xing. Then, he urged everyone else to pay up. The others were incredibly dejected, but with the Lion race taking the lead, they could only admit their defeat.

    Two thousand ki stones was no small amount for the people who frequented the yellow floor. There were even some who had to fish out more than half of their family property. They felt endless regret. Why the heck did they have to get involved in this mess?

    By the time the others all paid up, Zu An had collected several tens of thousands of ki stones. He handed them all to Maid Xing.

    Yu Yanluo had needed to flee to the Snake race territory in too much of a hurry, and had maintained practically no resources at her disposal. Such an amount was perfect for her to use to get on her feet again.

    After doing all of that, Zu An then walked up to Ban Ka and Heichi Gu. ¡°Thank you for the ki stones you two gifted me with. Otherwise, how else would we have been able to purchase these stones and find a treasure inside?¡±

    The two were so angry that they were about to vomit blood. It was as if they had fanned themselves in the face, but then still had to pay up a huge amount of money! If they had known it would be like this, they wouldn¡¯t have taken such a huge risk.

    Ban Ka shot Heichi Gu a hateful look. If it weren¡¯t for him, he wouldn¡¯t have agreed to the bet. He had lost two thousand ki stones! Just the thought of it alone left him feeling heartbroken. Still, there were so many people watching, so he couldn''t just go back on his word. He could only pay up angrily.

    Zu An didn¡¯t take the money himself, and instead had Maid Xing count everything. There was something more important to take care of at the moment, though. He remarked, ¡°Perhaps¡­ The two of you have forgotten about something?¡± He pointed at the rocks on the table after speaking.

    Those in the surroundings were shaken. Even though it hurt to spend two thousand ki stones, being able to see two important figures eat the remaining rocks did redeem the situation a bit.

    Even though Shi Gong and Shi Rong hated Zu An, they still looked at the two with interest. After all, this was something they had never seen before.

    Ban Ka and Heichi Gu¡¯s faces turned entirely red. They had wanted to see Zu An make a fool of himself. How had they ended up bing aughingstock instead?

    Both of them wanted to walk away from the problem, but the Jade Garden¡¯s butler seemed to have walked over between them and the exit before they realized it. It was hard to say what the Lion race¡¯s princes were thinking. In the end, Ban Ka hardened his resolve and spat, ¡°I¡¯ll just eat it, you think I¡¯m scared of you?¡±

    He picked up the rock remains and tossed them into his mouth. Then, with several cracks, the rocks were quickly ground into powder.

    Zu An clicked his tongue in wonder. In the animal kingdom of his previous world, other predators would normally eat meat, but hyenas could even crunch through and eat bones. He hadn¡¯t expected the teeth of the Hyena race of this world to be so formidable too.

    Soon afterward, Ban Ka swallowed all of the rock powder. Then, he pointed at the remaining half and asked Heichi Gu, ¡°What are you staring at me for? That¡¯s your half.¡±

    Heichi Gu was speechless. With a harrumph, he took the remaining half and crunched through it. The rubble shattered easily like a frozen popsicle.

    Those in the surroundings began to discuss the sight excitedly with each other. No wonder the ck Teeth race were known for their teeth¡¯s prowess. Their teeth really were pretty tough.

    ¡°Is that good enough?¡± Heichi Gu asked. He felt truly humiliated and turned around to leave.

    However, Zu An quickly called him back, asking, ¡°What are you in such a hurry for? There¡¯s still one more stone to open up.¡±

 Chapter 1339: On Purpose

    Chapter 1339: On Purpose

    Heichi Gu immediately froze. Forget about him, that was the case for Ban Ka too. Whatever confidence he had had previously, that was how badly he was panicking.

    The others were also extremely depressed. They had initially nned to benefit from what seemed to be an easy payday, and yet they had been the ones to pay dearly. If there were something else in this rock too, many of them would be losing their entire family fortune!

    Zu An was about to fall over fromughter when he saw what was going on. He called out, ¡°Come on, why is everyone getting so scared? The chance of there being something in this rock is really small, right?¡±

    Their expressions all turned strange. That was exactly why they had been so confident in gambling against him. They hadn¡¯t expected him to say the same thing right back to them. The tides really had turned¡­

    ¡°How about this? We¡¯ll just continue with our earlier bet. If there¡¯s nothing in this rock, we¡¯llpensate all of you with a thousand ki stones. If there is something, though, all of you still need topensate us with the same amount. What do you think?¡± Zu An asked.

    The others were stunned. They couldn''t help but be tempted. After all, ording to the previous agreement, Zu An had already won. Whether there was something inside or not, he wouldn¡¯t have to pay them a thousand ki stones. Meanwhile, they still had topensate him if there really was something inside for some reason.

    And yet, perhaps out of pity for the poor, he had actually proposed such a condition. Why wouldn¡¯t they agree? After all, the prior two thousand ki stones had already made them lose a good chunk of their lifespans. It would be good if they could have a thousand ki stones to stanch the bleeding a bit.

    ¡°Brother, thank you for your generosity.¡±

    ¡°The Snake Race is kind and sincere after all.¡±

    ¡­

    They spoke praises out loud, but inwardly, they were instead cursing Zu An for being an idiot.

    Zu An could tell that these people had sinister designs. He also sneered. Let¡¯s see who¡¯s the dumb er.

    He walked up to Ban Ka and Heichi Gu and said, ¡°The two of you must be quite thirsty right now. How about some water?¡± He grabbed a teacup that some random person had drunk out of and handed it over.

    The two of them were disgusted, replying, ¡°No need!¡± Pieces of rock flew out of their mouths as they spoke. Even Heichi Gu¡¯s teeth had turned somewhat white.

    You have sessfully trolled Ban Ka for +555 +555 +555¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Heichi Gu for +555 +555 +555¡­

    Zu An looked toward Shi Min and the others, asking, ¡°If the princes have no objections, why don¡¯t we open the final stone?¡±

    Shi Rong and Shi Gong instinctively nced toward their third brother. Shi Min nodded with a smile, saying, ¡°Our Lion Race cares about the mentality of a knight the most. We will not go back on the bet we have agreed to.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good then. Old sir, please begin,¡± Zu An said politely to the Jade Garden¡¯s butler. However, inwardly, he was quite puzzled. Is this Shi Min really just so generous?

    The Jade Garden¡¯s butler gave Zu An a surprised look. He had thought that this was a brat who was just too arrogant and wild, but now, it seemed that he was eating tigers while pretending to be a pig. He nodded with a smile. Then, he began to cut into thest rock.

    Shi Rong sneered, ¡°Hmph, just now, that was nothing more than a blind cat stumbling upon a dead mouse. I refuse to believe that you¡¯ll be able to find anything.¡±

    Ban Ka said in deep sympathy, ¡°What the seventh prince says is indeed the case. This brat really is a bit too hateful.¡±

    Heichi Gu spat a wad of spit filled with rock fragments onto the ground. He said, ¡°Hmph. I¡¯ll make him have a taste of rockster too.¡±

    However, as soon as he spoke, a blinding expanse of red filled his vision. This time, the butler didn¡¯t need to cut for a long time at all. Just a single slice had already shown that there was something.

    The others were stunned. We¡¯re done for! We¡¯re finished!

    Just a grape-sized earth-grade ki stone had already made them bleed; this one was clearly muchrger! Weren¡¯t they going to lose their entire family fortunes?!

    Heichi Gu swallowed with great difficulty. He couldn''t even be bothered to deal with the rock fragments scratching his throat, saying, ¡°Everyone, don¡¯t panic. This might just be an emptyyer. We¡¯ve seen such things before. It looks nice on the outside, but the inside is just rock.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right, you¡¯re right.¡± The others seemed to have found somefort. They all sighed in relief.

    That¡¯s more like it. How can there be something that good from the yellow floor? Let alone the cheapest few rocks.

    It has to be just a bit on the surface! It¡¯s definitely rocks inside. Yeah, that has to be it.

    Even Shi Rong and Shi Gong were starting to pray inwardly. Furthermore, Shi Min, who previously seemed to have had everything within his grasp, changed his expression for the first time.

    The butler¡¯s expression also became somewhat grave. He didn¡¯t cut boldly the way he had before, instead cutting very carefully. As the outeryer of stone fell away, the red lighting from inside grew brighter and brighter. Meanwhile, the faces of those outside became paler and paler.

    In the end, there was a fist-sized red gemstone at the very center, and surging heat radiated from it. The entire room seemed to be filled with extremely rich ki that was much purer than that of the earth-grade ki stone from before.

    ¡°This aura¡­ is it heaven-grade?¡± The voices of the spectators began to shake.

    Yan Xuehen had previously been a bit worried for Zu An. When she saw that, she sighed in relief.

    ¡°Count this kid lucky.¡± Yun Jianyue harrumphed. Even though she said that she was a bit disappointed that she couldn''t see him eat rocks, there wasn¡¯t a trace of disappointment between her brows.

    ¡°This is a piece of heaven-grade Soaring me ss! It has tremendous effects on a fire element user¡¯s cultivation!¡± Even the butler¡¯s voice was starting to shake as he spoke. Even though he had opened up many things more precious than this item, such a thinging out from the yellow floor was simply unprecedented! It was enough to be an absolute legend in his trade!

    ¡°How many ki stones is this worth?¡± Zu An asked. Among the women at his side, Big Manman was a user of the fire element. He wondered if she needed such a thing.

    The butler said, ¡°At least a hundred heaven-grade ki stones.¡±

    ¡°Ah, only a hundred?¡± Zu An asked, sounding a bit unsatisfied. When they were in Lord Sui¡¯s Tomb, trapped in the fog forest, the amount of ki stones Suolun Shi, Kong Nanjing, and the others had each had to take out to help Wu Liang activate his formation and get rid of the fog was precisely a hundred heaven-grade ki stones.

    However, when he thought about it, all of those people had been the younger generation of the fiend races¡¯ very best ns. The resources at their disposal were definitely no joke. Even if the Demon race¡¯s princess and the Peacock King race¡¯s princess carried around a hundred heaven-grade ki stones when they traveled around, it seemed that amount was actually quite a bit

    The others got upset when they heard what he said. Is this something anyone with a conscience would say?

    This was a hundred heaven-grade ki stones, which was equivalent to a hundred thousand earth-grade ki stones, or ten million ordinary ki stones! If they had ten million ki stones, would they be ying around on the yellow floor? And yet, out of greed for a thousand ki stones, they had ended up losing ten million!

    Thud, thud, thud¡­n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Several loud noises followed. It seemed that many of them had lost strength in their entire bodies, falling onto the ground.

    Heichi Gu had an absent-minded expression. The Heichi n was known for their ties to the emperor, so ten million was definitely something he could pay. However, he was just a son of a branch family; did he have the right to use so many ki stones?

    Ban Ka was even more depressed. The Hyena race had been poor to begin with, and their awareness of danger was rather strong. That was why, if they had any ki stones, they would use them to increase their own cultivation. How could they have that many to spare?

    Zu An didn¡¯t seek them out first. and instead walked over to Shi Min¡¯s group. He called out, ¡°These princes over here, it¡¯s time to pay up, right?¡±

    ¡°Damn brat, don¡¯t go too far!¡± Shi Gong and Shi Rong roared furiously. This guy was asking for them to pay up face to face!

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Gong for +444 +444 +444¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Rong for +444 +444 +444¡­

    Zu An¡¯s expression grew cold as he replied, ¡°What, who was previously bragging about having the mentality of a knight? And yet now, you¡¯re thinking of bing hostile and defaulting on the debt?¡±

    Shi Gong and Shi Rong were about to act up when Shi Min stopped them, saying, ¡°We did lose. There are three hundred heaven-grade ki stones here. I will pay for my brothers.¡±

    Afterward, he took out a heavy embroidered pouch. Everyone could sense the rich ki even through the bag. Those in the surroundings clicked their tongues. The Lion race really was rich and powerful,; even a prince could easily bring out three hundred heaven-grade ki stones.

    Shi Gong and Shi Rong panicked. Even though a hundred heaven grade ki stones was a good amount, with their status, it wasn¡¯t that big of a deal. However, if they were going to look bad in public because of it, they would feel horrible.

    ¡°Third brother, aren¡¯t you pretty good at choosing rocks? Why did you end up giving him two rocks that were this precious?¡± Shi Rong asked Shi Min through ki, sounding resentful.

    ¡°Seventh brother, rock betting is never a hundred percent urate. This can¡¯t be med on third brother,¡± Shi Gong quickly replied, trying to stop him.

    Shi Min¡¯s expression was extremely strange. He said, ¡°Actually¡­ I knew that these two rocks had something inside.¡±

    ¡°What? You knew, but you still rmended them?¡± Shi Rong almost screamed out loud. Even Shi Gong looked at his older brother with shock.

 Chapter 1340: Smugness of a Nobody

    Chapter 1340: Smugness of a Nobody

    Shi Min sighed and asked, ¡°Did you all really believe they only had a hundred ki stones on them?¡±

    ¡°Of course not,¡± Shi Gong and Shi Rong both replied. This was the respected Medusa Queen, after all. No matter how much the Snake race had fallen, there was no way they would have fallen to that extent.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t either. The reason they said that was because they were rather guarded against us. They might not have taken the bait no matter what we tried to do to them,¡± Shi Min said. ¡°Sometimes, you have to cken the fishing line to catch the fish. So, my n was to let him have a taste of sweetness first, which is why I suggested some rocks. For things like rock betting, once you get really into it, it bes too hard to pull yourself out. However, I didn¡¯t expect there to actually be a heaven-grade treasure inside.¡±

    Even he felt a bit depressed when he thought of that. If he had known that things would turn out that way, he would have simply bought them for a few hundred ki stones. That would be ten thousand times the profit!

    ¡°Sigh, we¡¯ve really helped them get freaking lucky!¡± Shi Rong grumbled angrily. A hundred heaven-grade ki stones could make even him feel a bit heartbroken.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. As long as we¡¯re on the yellow floor, whether we win or lose, it¡¯s still manageable for us¡­ but it won¡¯t really deal them a serious blow. Just wait until we reach the heaven floor or even the immortal floor,¡± Shi Min said with a sneer. ¡°They¡¯ve just won so much, so they definitely won¡¯t be willing to just end it here. I¡¯ve already seeded in my initial objective.¡±

    Shi Gong and Shi Rong both felt a bit better when they heard that. They thought to themselves, Third brother is third brother after all. His schemes are going to absolutely destroy this little bastard.

    After collecting the lion princes¡¯ heaven-grade ki stones, Zu An walked up to Ban Ka and Heichi Gu, saying, ¡°It¡¯s your turn now. The Lion race¡¯s princes have already been such good role models; you should learn from their example.¡±

    Ban Ka was rather straightforward and said, ¡°Mmph, I don¡¯t have that many ki stones.¡±

    Heichi Gu copied him and said, ¡°I don¡¯t have that many either.¡±

    ¡°Oh? You¡¯re trying to back out of your debt?¡± Zu An replied. He nced at the butler and asked, ¡°How does the Jade Garden usually deal with these kinds of situations?¡±

    The butler said with a smile, ¡°Normally, if an agreement is made here and one of us serves as a witness, if one side wishes to go back on their debt, they will have one hand cut off as a sign of discipline. Of course, this is about a hundred heaven-grade ki stones, so one hand might not be enough.¡±

    Even though he had a smile, those present felt a chill run down their backs.

    Zu An was a bit surprised as well. He hadn¡¯t expected the Jade Garden to be so bold! Looks like I was mistaken before. The Fox Merchant Company here probably doesn¡¯t have any rtionship with Tushan Yu. She doesn¡¯t have that much power.

    Ban Ka was furious. For better or for worse, he was still the prince of a n. When had he ever been threatened like this before?

    He was about to act out when Heichi Gu¡¯s expression changed and he hurriedly said, ¡°I really don¡¯t have that many ki stones, but I managed to obtain ten Hidden Rainbow Stones. Their value should be roughly equal to the Soaring me ss, so I¡¯ll just use this to pay for my debt.¡±

    Unlike Ban Ka, he had spent a long time in the Fiend King Court. He obviously understood the power of this Jade Garden. He took out an exquisite pouch after speaking; inside it were ten gemstones. Every single one swirled with rainbow brilliance. No wonder they had such a name.

    ¡°Hidden Rainbow Stone?¡± The butler said with a frown, ¡°These things are rather precious, and they are rumored to be able to forge heaven-grade or higher weapons. However, these things are only an auxiliary material and not the main material. Furthermore, apart from that, they have not been shown to have any other uses. If this guest knows how to refine weapons, this thing will be quite useful, but otherwise¡­ Our guest will have to decide if he will ept it for himself.¡±

    Zu An was a bit surprised. The butler¡¯s evaluation actually leaned in his favor. It seemed that being polite to him earlier was nowing in handy.

    He said casually, ¡°Forget it. Judging from this guy¡¯s shabby-looking face, he probably can¡¯t take out much else. Our Medusa Queen has always been generous and won¡¯t trouble you over this.¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s face turned a bit red. Ah Zu keeps taking on all of the hatred, while always making me look better. He¡¯s so great.

    Zu An took the sack of Hidden Rainbow Stones with a look of disdain. However, he was actually extremely happy. Perhaps to others the Hidden Rainbow Stones could only be used to refine weapons, but they had another important use for him.

    One of the important materials the Valkyrie he had obtained, Mo Xi, needed to break through to higher levels was none other than the Hidden Rainbow Stone. He had felt a bit of a headache when he saw how the things the valkyries needed were all rare treasures. He had no idea where to get them, and yet just like that, he had obtained one set.

    Heichi Gu almost fainted on the spot. Not long before, he had been the one mocking Zu An for being a bumpkin with a hundred ki stones. He hadn¡¯t expected their fortunes to rise and fall so quickly.

    You have sessfully trolled Heichi Gu for +888 +888 +888¡­

    When he took the stones, Zu An didn¡¯t give Heichi Gu another look, and just walked over to Ban Ka. He said, ¡°This hyena prince over here, it¡¯s now your turn.¡±

    ¡°Hyena prince?¡± Ban Ka¡¯s skin bristled, and even his brown spots shook. Even though that form of address wasn¡¯t entirely wrong, why did it sound so humiliating?

    You have sessfully trolled Ban Ka for +555 +555 +555¡­

    He gave Heichi Gu a look, then looked at Shi Min and the others. In the end, he took out a gemstone and said, ¡°This is a Boulder Topaz I just obtained a few days ago. Its value should be roughly equivalent to the Soaring me ss.¡±

    The Jade Garden¡¯s butler nodded and said, ¡°This item is indeed around the same value as the Soaring me ss. It can assist in the cultivation breakthrough of rock element cultivators.¡±

    Zu An took the Boulder Topaz and expressed his approval. Then, he handed it to Yu Yanluo. The Medusa bloodline¡¯s power was rted to the rock element, so it would be perfect to help her break into the master rank soon.

    Yu Yanluo gave him a gentle look and said, ¡°Thank you~¡±

    Yun Jianyue couldn''t help but say with a bit of jealousy, ¡°Hmph, he almost had to eat rocks because of this bet¡­ and yet he still didn¡¯t forget to flirt with women afterward.¡±

    Yan Xuehen didn¡¯tment and simply frowned. Why do I feel so conflicted? Don¡¯t tell me I really¡­

    When he saw Zu An use his treasure to flirt with a woman, Ban Ka seethed with rage and hatred, but he couldn''t do much in the Jade Garden. Once he left, however, he could arrange for some people to ambush the Snakerace. Not only would he then seize back the Boulder Topaz, he would be able to steal that Soaring me ss, as well as all of the heaven-grade ki stones this bastard had won. The Hyena race had actually engaged in that sort of plundering many times. The Boulder Topaz itself had been obtained by robbing a merchant group.

    He felt much better when he thought of that. He just thought of it as leaving his belongings for someone else to hold onto them for a bit. Once the time came, he would get much more in return.

    When he thought about all the ki stones he would obtain, he began breathing hurriedly. I¡¯m gonna be fucking rich! With all of those resources, I¡¯ll be able to be much stronger and rise above my brothers! Who knows, I might even be a strong candidate for the next n leader!

    Apart from the ki stones, there¡¯s also that incredible beauty, the Medusa Queen! Besides her, those two women to the side are kind of ordinary, but their asses are top quality. Won¡¯t it all be the same if we turn off the lights?

    The more he thought about that, the happier he became. A smile appeared on his face.

    Everyone else present merely assumed Ban Ka was going crazy from losing. Only Zu An had a rough guess as to what he was thinking. He sneered. If this guy wants to die, I¡¯ll just help him.

    Then, Zu An began to collect his debt from the others. However, how could those people have so many ki stones? They didn¡¯t have any treasures like the Boulder Topaz either.

    Still, that was all within his expectations. He had them take out everything they had of value, even practically stripping them of their clothes. Then, every single one of them had to write out a debt note and hand it to Maid Xing.

    These fellows came from different races, so even if they couldn''t pay the debts back, the Snake race could use their debt notes to negotiate with their nsmen, using them to purchase votes and other things.

    Heichi Gu and Ban Ka immediately felt regret. If they knew about that, they would have written up debt notes too! Why did this scoundrel treat the others with an entirely different attitude?

    You have sessfully trolled Heichi Gu for +444 +444 +444¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Ban Ka for +444 +444 +444¡­

    The two of them exchanged a look. Then, they conversed secretly through ki.

    Off to the side, Shi Min watched what was going on silently. Then, he said, ¡°I congratte the Medusa Queen. Your harvest today is quite rich.¡±

    ¡°It is all thanks to the three princes¡¯ help,¡± Yu Yanluo said with a smile.

    Shi Min practically choked. This woman was just as sharp-tongued as that guy called Yan Zu. However, he quickly calmed himself down and suggested, ¡°Since the queen¡¯s luck is so good, how about we y a few more rounds?¡±

    ¡°That¡­¡± Yu Yanluo was a bit hesitant.

    The others also cried out.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Who leaves immediately after winning?¡±

    ¡°Exactly! Why don¡¯t you let us watch for a bit more?¡±

    Zu An gave the onlookers who just wanted to see the world burn a look and asked, ¡°Do you all have any more ki stones to bet with us? What the hell are you all making noise for?¡±

    Their faces turnedpletely red, but they couldn''t argue back at all. They could only curse him inwardly, while contributing arge sum of Rage points.

    Zu An then turned toward Shi Min and the others, replying, ¡°Sure thing. But I don¡¯t think the yellow floor is worthy of our queen¡¯s status. Even if we¡¯re going to bet, we should move to the immortal floor.¡±

    The others cursed inwardly. This guy hadn¡¯t even had the money to bet on the yellow floor before, and then he had made all that money through damned luck. Now, he was immediately putting on such a nauseating act! Hmph, exactly how a nobody who had suddenly gotten lucky would act.

 Chapter 1341: Paradise

    Chapter 1341: Paradise

    ¡°Immortal floor?¡± Shi Min looked troubled as he replied. ¡°We just lost 300 heaven grade ki stones. I fear¡­¡±

    Even though that was what he said, he was practically crying with joy inside. He had been wondering how he would drag Zu An¡¯s group up there without seeming suspicious, and he had thought that the heaven floor was the highest the princes could bring them to. Who would have thought that this guy would go insane and ask to go to the immortal floor?

    You¡¯re going to lose your entire family fortune in just a few minutes! Hahaha, forget about your Snake race¡¯s mines and poison businesses, even your basic economic lifelines will belong to our Lion race!

    Of course, he had heard that the Medusa Queen had just returned, and that the n¡¯s authority was mainly within the hands of Elder White and Elder Blue, but what did that matter? As long as they used the name of the Medusa Queen and leveraged the Lion race¡¯s powerful strength, the two Snake race elders were nothing.

    Shi Gong and Shi Rong exchanged a look. They really had endless admiration for their third brother. The other group had taken the bait smoothly, as expected.

    Yun Jianyue secretly nudged Yan Xuehen. ¡°These little lions are clearly feigning disinterest, and yet they probably have no idea that they¡¯re beingpletely yed with by Little An.¡±

    Yan Xuehen also found the situation a bitughable. She now knew why Shi Min had pointed out the rocks that actually had something in them. This little lion unts himself as smart, but he doesn¡¯t seem to have figured out who¡¯s the hunter and who¡¯s the prey.

    Zu An replied loudly, ¡°The third prince must be making a bad joke. Everyone knows that the Lion race is one of the fiend races¡¯ most powerful races. It¡¯s just a few hundred heaven-grade ki stones, so how can that be that much for you all?¡±

    Shi Gong and Shi Rong knew he was saying that on purpose to urge them to join. But even then, they still enjoyed the praise.

    The others who were standing around all voiced their agreement. They would only watch from the sidelines, so they weren¡¯t scared of things getting out of hand at all. If they had a choice, they naturally didn¡¯t want to be the only ones going home penniless. It would be even better if such important individuals also suffered simrly.

    Only Ban Ka and Heichi Gu advised both sides not to act so impulsively. That was because, if Zu An lost the Boulder Topaz, Hidden Rainbow Stone, and all the other treasures, they really would want to vomit blood. After all, those were things they already viewed as their own!

    After all that happened, Shi Min reluctantly said, ¡°Very well. Since you are all in high spirits, we will keep youpany for a while longer.¡±

    The butler said with a smile, ¡°This way, please!¡±

    Ban Ka and Heichi Gu panicked. Unfortunately, whether it was the Snake race or the Lion race, those weren¡¯t people they could stop. They could only watch as the group left.

    Heichi Gu asked, ¡°Brother Ban, what should we do now?¡±

    ¡°Of course we should still set up that ambush outside. We can¡¯t just lose so many ki stones for nothing!¡± Ban Ka spat hatefully.

    ¡°But from the looks of things, the Snake race will probably be strippedpletely clean soon¡­¡± Heichi Gu replied. His teeth ached when he thought of Zu An¡¯s cocky appearance.

    Which true rock betting expert wasn¡¯t calm andposed? None of them were like Zu An. This brat had just been freaking lucky! As easily as he had just won, that was how miserably he would lose on the immortal floorter.

    A hint of viciousness flickered across Ban Ka¡¯s face. Even if the lion princes won, he would still choose to rob them.

    In reality, because the Hyena race and the Lion race¡¯s territory were close to each other, there had been some friction between them to begin with. In terms of individual experts, the Hyena race was inferior to the Lion race, but their race also had a special talent. When they moved together, their strength became extremely great. In a group battle, they weren¡¯t inferior to the Lion race at all.

    That was why they had to make a move even if the lion princes emerged from the immortal floor rich. If they won, it wouldn¡¯t just be worth a few hundred heaven-grade ki stones, so it would be worth the risk. As such, he didn¡¯t stay behind to join in the liveliness, instead leaving ahead of time to make arrangements with his people.

    Heichi Gu clenched his teeth, then followed Ban Ka out. However, he just prayed that Zu An and the others wouldn¡¯t lose everything. How could he have predicted that Ban Ka would even dare to rob the Lion race?

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An¡¯s group followed the butler out. In order to make sure every single floor¡¯s guest had a good experience, and that they didn¡¯t disturb each other, none of the rooms were directly connected. Naturally, that was even more so the case for the immortal floor.

    After entering through the door, the butler took Zu An and the others to a ce that resembled a pavilion. However, unlike a pavilion, there was heavy security there.

    ¡°Please enter,¡± the butler said, gesturing with one hand. The guards recognized him and all stepped aside.

    Shi Min and the others walked in naturally, as if they were frequent visitors. At the same time, they sized up Zu An with a mocking expression, as if they were waiting for him to make a fool of himself.

    When Zu An and the others entered the pavilion, no one could see what the butler had pressed, but a faint blue light suddenly flickered along the ground. Then, the entire pavilion moved upward.

    Zu An was stunned, remarking to himself, ¡°An elevator?¡±

    He once again had to admit that there were many things in this world that were simr to things in his previous world; it was just that they made it happen a different way. One side relied on technology, while the other relied on cultivation.

    The pavilion elevator¡¯s design was quite ingenious. It was just like the sightseeing elevators from his previous world; the surroundings werepletely open. Not only could they appreciate the Jade Garden¡¯s scenery, they could even view the majestic Fiend King Court.

    Yu Yanluo was the n leader of one of the human race¡¯s number one gemstone businesses, as well as the human capital¡¯s former number one beauty. What kinds of things hadn¡¯t she seen before? As her personal maid, Maid Xing had acquired simr experience.

    As for Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen, they were both grandmasters who were experienced in different things. Their mentality and willpower were extraordinary, so why would they be surprised by a mere mechanism?

    The lion princes stared for a long time, but the other group waspletelyposed. It actually made them seem like the bumpkins, so they quickly lost interest.

    Meanwhile, the others below could only raise their heads and look at the two groups enviously.

    Someone said with a sigh, ¡°I¡¯ve never ever been to the immortal floor in my life. I wonder what it looks like up there¡­¡±

    Another person said with a sneer, ¡°You almost lost your pants on the yellow floor, and yet you want to go to the immortal floor? I really don¡¯t know where you get your courage from.¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The one who had spoken first replied angrily, ¡°In the beginning, the Snake race¡¯s people didn¡¯t even have as much as me, but aren¡¯t they still going up there?¡±

    The onlookers¡¯ faces heated up when he said that. All of them turned around to look at the yellow floor.

    After the previous event, the yellow floor had gained several times the usual number of guests. Furthermore, every single person chose the cheapest rocks and refused those that were even a bit more expensive. However, that was a story for another time.

    Soon afterward, the pavilion stopped. Transparent bs of stone appeared in front of both groups, leading all the way to the immortal floor on the other side.

    With that, even Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue were stunned. The Jade Garden really had gone all out! In order for those floating steps to exist, an excellent rune master had definitely been invited for the design. Furthermore, the ki stones that would be consumed by each use were noughing matter.

    ¡°Distinguished guests, please enter,¡± the butler said. He chose to lead the way this time, as if to ease the guests¡¯ nervousness.

    The two groups followed behind him and soon arrived outside the immortal floor. They saw several rows of the character for ¡®immortal¡¯, ¡®ÏÉ¡¯, written on a signboard. They wondered who had written those, because every single stroke seemed to carry mysterious and profound meaning.

    ¡°Hm?¡± Shi Min and the other brothers¡¯ cultivation realms weren¡¯t high enough and they couldn''t see anything, but Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen were both stunned. It was because the one who had written the characters had a higher cultivation rank than them.

    Yan Xuehen couldn''t help but ask, ¡°Could it be that these were written by the Fiend Emperor?¡±

    The butler said with a smile, ¡°Our guest must be joking. How could we have the honor of having his majesty the Fiend Emperor personally write for us? This board was something we found in a storehouse. We felt that it was appropriate and moved it here.¡±

    ¡°Your storehouse?¡± Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue¡¯s expressions turned strange. The Jade Garden actually had that profound a history?

    ¡­

    The party entered through the door. A wave of ki that prated deeply into their hearts wafted out. There weren¡¯t any sumptuous buildings inside, but rather a soft green meadow with fresh flowers. It was as if a small forest were before their eyes.

    How was this still a rock betting ce? This was absolutely a hidden paradise!

    Even Shi Min and the others were startled. They had only yed on the heaven floor before, so it was their first time on the immortal floor too.

    Just then, a beautiful voice called out, ¡°So it was you guys!¡±

 Chapter 1342: Reunion

    Chapter 1342: Reunion

    A lovely youngdy with a jade-like countenance and bright eyes looked at them with a smile. Her skin was as fair as snow, and her figure was graceful and elegant. When she spoke, a cheerful air of genuine charm surrounded her.

    ¡°Princess Suolun!¡± When the younger lion princes saw her, they both showed her what they thought was their most handsome smile. Which man in this world didn¡¯t like a beautiful woman? Princess Suolun¡¯s status in the Demon race was great and she was pretty. For such vigorous little lions, she was naturally incredibly attractive. They began to shower her with praises.

    Shi Min¡¯s disy was much calmer. He said with a smile, ¡°I apologize for arrivingte, seeing as the princess actually came out personally to receive us.¡±

    ¡°Um¡­¡± Princess Suolun was actually happier to see Yu Yanluo¡¯s group; she hade over for them. However, she reacted quickly as well. She immediately bowed slightly and said, ¡°Greetings, princes¡­¡± She also courteously praised them a bit, making them beam widely.

    ¡°The Lion race¡¯s people really are getting worse with each generation. They have nothing but women on their minds. None of these guys are destined for anything great,¡± someone called out with a loud, clear tone of derision.

    Yu Yanluo was quite curious. There was actually someone who could afford to not show the Lion race any face? With their explosive temper, wasn¡¯t that tantamount to starting a fight?

    Three men dressed in embroidered clothes walked over. They had simr builds to the Lion race¡¯s threerge and sturdy princes. They had striped patterns on their bodies, and there were yellow and ck patterns on their foreheads that vaguely formed the character ¡®Íõ¡¯. They looked down arrogantly on the three princes, and an indescribable air of viciousness surrounded them. Each action they took conveyed the bearing of a king.

    The one in the middle seemed a bit more steadfast and mature than the others, while the two on either side were clearly a bit younger. The one on the right, in particr, seemed like a young man around the age of Shi Rong.

    With such distinctive traits, anyone could tell who they were without any introductions.

    Zu An¡¯s expression became a bit strange. He was quite happy to see someone going against the Lion Race. As the saying went, ¡®the enemy of my enemy is my friend¡¯.

    Even so, Tushan Yu had been tacitly acknowledged as the woman of the Tiger race¡¯s n leader Hu Qianxiao, while Zu An had ended up being the first to sleep with her. The Tiger race was destined to be his enemy too, in the end.

    Shi Rong was quite young. How could he stand such a provocation? He red furiously at the other side and retorted, ¡°Hu Yong, can you not speak without being full of shit?¡±

    ¡°You bastard! You dare treat my second brother with disrespect?!¡± The Tiger race¡¯s youngest prince roared angrily. A low growl emerged from his mouth.

    ¡°Hu Xin, are you picking a fight? I¡¯ll keep youpany if you want!¡± Shi Rong didn¡¯t show any weakness and began to roll up his sleeves.

    Zu An wondered whether the tattoos or the redheads would win. In his previous world, the discussion of whether lions or tigers would win in a fight had been a heated topic. He hadn¡¯t expected to be able to personally witness who was stronger today.

    However, to his disappointment, they didn¡¯t actually start a fight.

    That was because a carefree voice called out from a distance, ¡°Are you all done yet? You¡¯re always fighting whenever you meet. If you¡¯re really going to fight, have your fill three dayster in the arena. Stop disturbing the Jade Garden¡¯s peace already.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. In the entire Fiend King Court, who else dared to speak like that to the Lion and Tiger races¡¯ princes? When he looked over, however, he couldn''t help but chuckle inwardly. It was another old acquaintance.

    The other person was dressed in ck and gold embroidered clothes, sittingfortably in a distant garden¡¯s pavilion. His hair was down, and he had one leg casually propped up on a stool. His confident and carefree bearing made him seem like a bold and rxed person who didn¡¯t sweat the details. He was none other than the Golden Crow n¡¯s Second Imperial Prince, who had held up the Snake race briefly outside the Fiend King Court.

    Seated across from him was a golden-robed man who waspletely different from him. He had a tall hat, and his hair was meticulouslybed. His clothes were well sorted out without a single wrinkle. The most important part, however, was that he was incredibly handsome. He was definitely the dream lover of countless youngdies.

    That person was actually unaffected by the Second Imperial Prince ¡¯s loftiness, even while sitting across from him. He actually seemed to treat the second prince as an equal.

    The two both gave off the impression that they had experienced seas of blood and mountains of corpses. However, rather than the demonic air imparted by unending ughter, it was more akin to the austere air of the battlefield.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Just then, Maid Xing quietly introduced them, ¡°This golden-robed young man is none other than the Little Golden Peng King.¡±

    Zu An suddenly realized what was going on. No wonder that individual could engage with the Second Imperial Prince on equal footing; it turned out it was another one of the fiend races¡¯ four young generals, the Little Golden Peng King!

    However, ording to what Kong Qing had said before, the Great Golden Peng King¡¯s death had been surrounded by suspicion. It was very likely to have had something to do with the Fiend Emperor. His heir¡¯s appearance here, sharing a drink with the Fiend Emperor¡¯s son, was interesting in itself.

    When they heard what the Second Imperial Prince prince said, even though the Lion and Tiger races¡¯ princes were still upset, they had to show him respect. They gave each other angry looks, then ended the exchange after a few words of resentment.

    Zu An curled his lips into a sneer. That¡¯s it? Aren¡¯t these guys all bark and no bite?

    Just then, another figure rushed out of the pavilion. He arrived right in front of Yu Yanluo, looking around while mumbling to himself, ¡°Where is that damn brat?¡±

    Yu Yanluo was a bit surprised. That person¡¯s mouth was massive, almost like that of an ape¡¯s. His appearance really was quite special; it was a face one wouldn¡¯t forget even after seeing it just once. It was actually the Dragon Race¡¯s Chi Wen! She replied, ¡°Who is the ninth prince talking about?¡±

    Shi Min and the others¡¯ expressions changed. How were this woman¡¯s connections so great? She even had ties with the Dragon Race?

    Chi Wen harrumphed and said, ¡°Don¡¯t y dumb. It¡¯s that human who was following you, that guy called Zu An or whatever.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression turned strange. Why is this guy looking for me? Could it be¡­

    Yu Yanluo didn¡¯t let anything slip and asked, ¡°I wonder why the ninth prince is looking for him?¡±

    ¡°It makes me angry just thinking about it. Last time, that guy took so many heaven-grade weapons from me, and in the end, he gave me something called ¡®Blue Ice From Beyond¡¯. He tricked me and said it was some kind of great treasure, and yet after I soaked it to drink it as tea, in the end, the outside melted¡­¡± Chi Wen suddenly stopped. He looked as if he wanted to throw up.

    ¡°What happened when it melted?¡± Yu Yanluo asked in confusion. Forget about her, everyone else was also confused. They were really curious about what had happened afterward.

    Chi Wen felt both grief and indignation, but he quickly held it in, saying, ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I just wanted to know where he was. I wanted to thank him properly.¡±

    When he said the words ¡®thank him¡¯, it was through gritted teeth.

    You have sessfully trolled Chi Wen for +888 +888 +888¡­

    Zu An had a strange expression. Don¡¯t tell me this guy soaked the shit and drank that too?

    Sigh, just like in the legends, Chi Wen really is an idiot.

    Yu Yanluo wore her usual courteous smile as she replied, ¡°The ninth prince came at a poor time. He already left and returned to the human world not too long ago.¡±

    ¡°What? How could he leave just like that?¡± Chi Wen cried loudly. He paced around back and forth, clearly feeling extremely vexed because he couldn''t get revenge on Zu An.

    Yu Yanluo gave the distant second prince a look and replied, ¡°He offended the Golden Crow Crown Prince, so how could he dare toe to the Fiend King Court? That was why he left a long time ago.¡±

    She reiterated that point in front of many of the races¡¯ most important people, to make them subconsciously trust that Zu An had already returned to the human world. That way, they wouldn¡¯t associate Zu An with Yan Zu anymore.

    The second prince chuckled and remarked, ¡°At least he knows his limits. Otherwise, I would let him have a taste of the Golden Crow royal family¡¯s true strength.¡±

    Zu An sneered. This guy just implicitly belittled the crown prince again. Looks like he really isn¡¯t as powerful and free as he looks.

    Chi Wen looked around, but didn¡¯t see Zu An. He walked back to the pavilion in disappointment while mumbling, ¡°Little aunt,st time, I was giving you face. But the next time I meet him, I have to properly give him a beating¡­¡±

    ¡°Little aunt?¡± Zu An said in rm. He looked around the pavilion. The second prince and the Little Golden Peng King seemed to be chatting attentively with a woman. Unfortunately, because of the angle, he couldn''t see who she was.

    A familiar voice said, ¡°Sigh, if I hadn¡¯t passed by, you would have already been beaten to death. You still have the nerve to try and get revenge on him?¡±

    The voice¡¯s tone was full of helplessness. Even so, it was still like the beautiful trickling of spring water, carrying an unmistakable air of serenity.

    Only then did everyone notice the stunning woman in the gazebo. She was dressed in a white dress, wearing no makeup. There was a wine gourd in her hand, and her eyes seemed a little unfocused. If a normal woman were like that, they would definitely give off an air of sloppiness, but those present simply perceived her as rxed and confident. It was exceptionally enchanting.

    Just who was this woman, to actually be able to sit on the same level as the Second Imperial Prince and the Little Golden Peng King?!

    Zu An naturally knew she was Shang Liuyu. He instinctively nced beneath the table. Sure enough, as always, her gentle and beautiful feet were bare, untainted by a speck of dirt.

    Shagn Liuyu also nced curiously. When she saw Zu An, she had a look of puzzlement. She sensed that he was somehow familiar. Then, she saw that he was looking at her feet, his gaze practically tangible. She blushed and instinctively pulled her feet back, even pulling down her dress to cover them. Then, she gave him an annoyed re, clearly having already recognized who he was.

 Chapter 1343: Envy

    Chapter 1343: Envy

    Still, perhaps because she guessed that Zu An was trying to remain in disguise, she didn¡¯t expose him.

    Her voice seemed to carry a kind of hidden magical power that made everyone present feel incredibly rxed and refreshed. Sure enough, Chi Wen was no longer as irascible as before and only mumbled, ¡°Thest time doesn¡¯t count. I didn¡¯t eat enoughst time, nor did I sleep enough, so that¡¯s why I wasn¡¯t at my best. It¡¯ll definitely be different next time.¡±

    The others could all tell that he wascking in confidence. They couldn''t help but sneer, but in truth, they were quite shocked. Just how high was Zu An¡¯s cultivation? He had first defeated the Golden Crow Crown Prince, then defeated the Dragon race¡¯s ninth prince? Rumor had it that he had defeated the Lion race¡¯s youngest prince, Shi Ling, too. Even if one time was a coincidence, there was definitely no way winning so many times in a row could be fake, right?

    Princess Suolun finally found the opportunity to move over to Yu Yanluo¡¯s side, saying, ¡°Hello again, big sis Yu~¡±

    This woman had helped the Snake race out of their predicament before, so Yu Yanluo naturally had a good impression of her. She smiled and greeted her. ¡°Hello, little sister princess.¡±

    Princess Suolun quietly asked, ¡°Did that person really leave?¡±

    Yu Yanluo suppressed the urge to give Zu An a look. This guy was always flirting with other women. How was she even supposed to feel?

    Zu An cried out inwardly in protest. He hadn¡¯t flirted with her at all! It was probably just that her impression of me was too deep after what happened, which is why she couldn''t forget about me¡­

    Yu Yanluo also recovered herposure and said, ¡°Of course he¡¯s already left.¡±

    ¡°I heard that the one who tried to assassinate the crown prince recently might have been him, though¡­¡± Princess Suolun wasn¡¯t willing to give up just like that. Her voice was full of worry.

    Yu Yanluo replied, ¡°That¡¯s likely just the pce¡¯s one-sided story. Think about it, even if he really had gone to the Fiend King Court, why would he go to the imperial pce and try to kill the crown prince? Isn¡¯t that just courting death?¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Princess Suolun figured that made sense as well. Even though Zu An had looked powerful in Lord Sui¡¯s Tomb, he was still too far off from the Fiend Emperor. Why would he ever run into the Imperial Pce the Fiend Emperor oversaw? Most importantly, he didn¡¯t even have a motive!

    Upon realizing that Zu An really hadn¡¯te to the Fiend King Court after all, a bleak expression couldn''t help but appear on Princess Suolun¡¯s face.

    ¡°I have long heard of the Medusa Queen¡¯s reputation. Now that I have met you myself, I see it was well deserved after all,¡± Hu Yong said, leading his two brothers over. When he saw Yu Yanluo, he lookedpletely smitten.

    ¡°The prince overpraises me. I have also heard of the Tiger race¡¯s bravery and valor¡­¡± Yu Yanluo excelled in such business exchanges. She quickly exchanged greetings and learned that the three were the Tiger Race¡¯s second prince Hu Yong, the fifth prince Hu Cheng, and the ninth prince Hu Xin respectively.

    Yun Jianyue secretly nudged Yan Xuehen and remarked, ¡°Stone cold woman, you¡¯re normally showered in ttery by bootlickers all around you. Now that you¡¯re wearing a mask, no one is interested at all. How does it feel?¡±

    Yan Xuehen said indifferently, ¡°Aren¡¯t you a grandmaster too? This kind of thing is not even worth my attention.¡±

    Yun Jianyue gritted her teeth in annoyance. Even though her reason told her that such a thing really was pointless, she always felt awful when she saw those damned men surround Yan Xuehen while staying far away from her.

    This humblebragger is so annoying!

    ¡­

    Hu Yong and the others learned that Yu Yanluo and the others had arrived to do rock betting with Shi Min. He quickly warned them, ¡°Medusa Queen, you cannot let that Shi Min¡¯s gentlemanly demeanor deceive you! That fellow is full of evil ns and loves to scheme against others. He definitely has no good intentions for inviting you all here.¡±

    Shi Min¡¯s forehead darkened. He retorted, ¡°Hu Yong, ndering others behind their backs is not what a nobleman does.¡±

    ¡°Is speaking the truth nder?¡± Hu Yong replied with a shrug, his face full of disdain.

    Shi Min was speechless.

    Shi Gong said, ¡°Enough. I won¡¯t bicker with you out of respect for the Second Imperial Prince. Don¡¯t take advantage of our kindness and go too far.¡±

    Hu Yong scowled and said, ¡°Shi Gong, we might have understood it if your big brother had been the one to tell us that, but do you think even someone like you is worthy of that role?¡±

    Seeing that the two sides were about to sh again, the butler quickly stepped forward to smooth things over.

    Princess Suolun didn¡¯t want to participate in the Lion and Tiger race¡¯s dispute. However, she was also worried that they could identally injure others if they really fought, so she asked considerately, ¡°I heard several cheersing from below. Rumor has it that someone opened a heaven-grade gemstone from the yellow floor. Do all of you who came from below know what happened?¡±

    ¡°Oh? There was something interesting like that?¡± The Little Golden Peng King, who had been watching indifferently the entire time, seemed to have heard something interesting.

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°It was just a fluke. All of that was actually thanks to the Lion race¡¯s princes.¡±

    Shi Min and the others¡¯ faces turned entirely red. They choked so hard, they felt as if they could even develop internal injuries.

    ¡°Just what happened?¡± the Second Imperial Prince asked. Even he was now interested.

    Upon hearing the Second Imperial Prince ask about it, the butler gave a summary of what had happened below. The expressions of those present immediately changed greatly.

    Hu Yong and his brothers roared withughter. He eximed, ¡°Shi Min, who would have thought that you would get what you deserve like this? I am sure you tried to scam them, but instead ended up helping them.¡±

    Shi Min harrumphed. ¡°Rock betting naturally has wins and losses. It is not too surprising for this kind of result to appear. Since we agreed to bet, we must ept losses. We do not have your capricious mule-headedness.¡±

    Perhaps because he could tell that Shi Min was furious, Hu Yong didn¡¯t get angry and just chuckled, replying, ¡°With my understanding of you, the more you speak like this, the more it indicates you are scheming something. Medusa Queen, you must be careful.¡±

    Yu Yanluo smiled, but didn¡¯t say anything. How could she not sense the Lion race¡¯s malice?

    ¡°Stop trying to sow dissension already.¡± Shi Min harrumphed. ¡°There are so many cultivators here; do you really think I can still y any tricks?¡±

    ¡­

    While the two sides were arguing, Shang Liuyu had already started to walk toward the gathered people. With each step, water appeared to ripple beneath her feet. It really was as if she were walking on water.

    Even Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen, two grandmasters who were full of knowledge and experience, were a bit surprised. They both whispered to each other, ¡°There¡¯s definitely more to this woman than meets the eye¡­¡±

    ¡°Zu An seems to have been able to get so many heaven-grade weapons from Chi Wen because of her.¡± Yan Xuehen¡¯s face suddenly turned red, because she remembered that one of those heaven-grade weapons was none other than the Wind Fire Wheels. She had been carried on his back as they flew on them¡­

    Yun Jianyue didn¡¯t notice her reaction and asked, ¡°Say, do you think this woman is Little An¡¯s lover?¡±

    Yan Xuehen frowned and replied, ¡°I do not¡­ think so.¡± However, she didn¡¯t sound particrly confident.

    Shang Liuyu walked up to Yu Yanluo; even she seemed a little surprised by the other woman¡¯s incredible beauty. She said with a smile, ¡°I¡¯ve heard Zu An mention how stunning you were. Now that I¡¯ve met you today, you are indeed extraordinarily stunning.¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression became a bit strange. Judging from Shang Liuyu¡¯s tone, why did it sound as if the other woman hade first, and that she had joined the harem afterward or something?

    She tossed that absurd thought out of her mind and replied with a smile, ¡°I¡¯ve also heard him mention just how lofty and exceptional Ms. Shang was. Today, I discovered that his description was still a bitcking.¡±

    ¡­

    Yun Jianyue remarked in annoyance, ¡°What are these two trying to do? It¡¯s as if they¡¯re jealous rivals or something. That Little An really is screwing around too much with all of these women. Sigh, it¡¯s really a pity for my precious disciple. She¡®s doomed to be yed with in the palms of these vixens.¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression was also strange. She thought to herself that if not even a girl like Qiu Honglei could win against them, then her own Chuyan, who was as pure as a white sheet of paper, would be even worse off! Even I, as the master, am not too good in this field¡­

    The onlookers¡¯ expressions became a bit strange. They had never expected the Medusa Queen¡¯s affinity with people to be so great. Looks like we have to reevaluate her again.

    Even though so many people had arrived and so many disturbances had happened, the Second Imperial Prince and Little Golden Peng King had remained in ce. And yet, when Shang Liuyu walked over, they also got up and followed her.

    The Second Imperial Princeughed and said, ¡°Let me give everyone an introduction. This Miss Shang is the Ocean races¡¯ mermaid princess. This time, she hase this time to attend the All Races General Assembly as the representative of the Ocean races!¡±

    Zu An suddenly looked toward Shang Liuyu. Even though he¡¯d had his suspicions, he still couldn''t help but feel a bit surprised when he received the confirmation.

    No wonder Shang Liuyu had her own swimming pool even though she only had a small courtyard back in Brightmoon Academy; furthermore, even back then, she hadn¡¯t liked to wear shoes.

    Soon afterward, those present began to greet Shang Liuyu. After all, the Ocean races were extremely mysterious and powerful. As the mermaid princess, her status was definitely great.

    A whileter, the Little Golden Peng King said with a smile, ¡°I am not particrly interested in how high the cultivation of that Zu An you speak of is, but the fact that he is rted to so many exceptional beauties is something I am extremely envious of.¡±

    After he took the lead, the others¡¯ discussions also shifted onto Zu An.

    ¡°Medusa Queen, just what kind of rtionship do you have with him?¡± the Second Imperial Prince asked, looking at Yu Yanluo with sharp eyes.

 Chapter 1344: Shocking Bet

    Chapter 1344: Shocking Betn/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Those present turned toward Yu Yanluo when they heard that.

    ¡°We just happened to meet in the human world. We can be considered friends,¡± Yu Yanluo replied in a manner that was neither servile nor overbearing.

    Shang Liuyu smiled and said, ¡°The Medusa Queen is loyal to your friends, as expected. You are willing to admit that he is your friend even in this kind of situation; truly a model for our generation.¡±

    She was worried that the others would make things difficult for Yu Yanluo, so she took the chance to speak out for her. At the same time, she also felt a bit of admiration. That guy Zu An hadn¡¯t decided to trust the wrong person.

    Hu Yong roared withughter, saying, ¡°Indeed, our fiend races value righteousness the most. I really admire the Medusa Queen¡¯s courage.¡±

    The Little Golden Peng King nodded and said, ¡°In the army, what we care about the most is to not sell out yourrades. Even though the Medusa Queen is a woman, you have the heroic spirit of a man from the army.¡±

    Shi Min and the others had initially nned to use the situation as a pretext to make a fuss, but who would have thought that so many people would speak up to help Yu Yanluo? That made it so they couldn''t make use of public outrage.

    The Second Imperial Prince looked around with a smile that was not quite a smile on his face. This Medusa Queen¡¯s rtionships with people were pretty good. However, he didn¡¯t really n to get revenge for his brother, so he didn¡¯t look too deeply into it. He remarked, ¡°As that human did defeat the crown prince in a fair fight, our fiend races would not be so devoted as to get revenge over that matter. However, ording to what the crown prince¡¯s side has said, the assassination attempt in the pce might be rted to that Zu An. So, if the Medusa Queen has any information, please report it. Otherwise, you might end up being caught up in suspicion too.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Second Imperial Prince, for your reminder.¡± Yu Yanluo bowed, courteously expressing her thanks.

    Just then, Hu Yong said, ¡°I heard that the assassin managed to approach the crown prince without triggering any rms, then almost instantly inflicted a serious injury. Then, he was able to escape after trading a blow with a grandmaster without being too affected, and he even managed to hide from the Fiend Emperor¡¯s divine senses. The imperial pce¡¯s Golden Crow Guards¡¯ thorough search didn¡¯t produce anything either. Is that Zu An really so strong?¡±

    The others¡¯ expressions changed a bit. After all, if they were in the same situation, they wouldn¡¯t have been able to aplish even a single one of those feats.

    The Second Imperial Prince nodded and said, ¡°That assassin was indeed a bit mysterious. However, the reason why he was able to seriously injure the crown prince was likely because the crown prince was ambushed.¡± Even though he was speaking up for the crown prince, there was a faint smile on his lips.

    Everyone present was a strong cultivator, so they knew that being ambushed wasn¡¯t an excuse. It simply meant one had been negligent. After all, in a real conflict, one¡¯s enemy definitely wouldn¡¯t fight honorably the way one might in an arena.

    Then, the Little Golden Peng King looked at Yu Yanluo and said, ¡°I will have to trouble the Medusa Queen to talk about your friend Zu An a bit more, to see why he is so formidable.¡±

    Yu Yanluo had a strange expression because she knew that Zu An was actually right next to her. Zu An also felt a bit strange. This was the first time he had been in a group where everyone was actually talking about him.

    Yu Yanluo replied, ¡°He was not all that strong when I first met him. Back then, he had just started to cultivate, and he was even chased around by some ordinary bandits.¡± When she remembered how this guy had really overestimated himself and tried to save her outside of Brightmoon City, she couldn''t help but smile.

    The others were shocked. Shi Gong said with a sneer, ¡°So the Medusa Queen already knew him for a while. I fear that the two of you aren¡¯t just normal friends.¡±

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t that long. It was just two or three years ago,¡± Yu Yanluo replied.

    That statement left all the assembled cultivators truly surprised. Even the Second Imperial Prince couldn''t help but stand up, asking, ¡°So you are saying that he only started cultivating two or three years ago?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Previously, people all said that his aptitude was poor. That was why he only gained some opportunities and began to cultivateter in life,¡± Yu Yanluo exined. Even though she was downying the situation on the surface, however, a hint of pride appeared on her face.

    When Yun Jianyue saw that, she cursed inwardly, ¡°This woman is starting to learn from his bad example. She clearly wants to brag about her lover, and yet she¡¯s acting as if she¡¯s not.¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression was also strange. Actually, Chuyan had told her about that story before, and she had acted the exact same way Yu Yanluo was acting right now. Sigh, he really is evil incarnate¡­

    ¡°To reach such a level of cultivation in just two to three years¡­ Just how ridiculous is that guy¡¯s talent?!¡± The fiend race cultivators were shocked. Even though the Second Imperial Prince and Little Golden Peng King believed themselves to be geniuses,pared to such speed, they might as well have been trash!

    Shi Rong couldn''t help but ask, ¡°You¡¯re exaggerating, right? How could an ordinary person reach his level in just two or three years?¡±

    No one suspected he was only saying that because he bore animosity against the Snake race, because it really was too inconceivable.

    Yu Yanluo said indifferently, ¡°Princess Shang also knows him. You can ask her for confirmation.¡±

    The others looked at Shang Liuyu. She said with a smile, ¡°What the Medusa Queen said is correct. A few years ago, Zu An was indeed no different from an ordinary person. Back then, the only difference between him and a normal person was that he was truly daring.¡± Inwardly, she thought, I really don¡¯t know where that guy got the confidence to ask me for a drink back then.

    When they heard Shang Liuyu¡¯s confirmation, no one felt any more suspicion. There were even some who began to feel downcast. ¡°Does this mean that the rise of the human race is inevitable? Even an ordinary person was actually able to reach such a ridiculous level in just a few years!¡±

    Princess Suolun¡¯s eyes flickered with brilliance. She recalled Zu An¡¯s strength in Lord Sui¡¯s Tomb. She hadn¡¯t expected him to have only cultivated for two to three years! His talent was probably on a never-before-seen scale, right?

    The Second Imperial Prince said with a harrumph, ¡°In my opinion, that might not be the case. It might have been some old monster who possessed his body, or perhaps some older figure offered him a lifetime of cultivation. Otherwise, it would be impossible no matter how much of a genius he is. His cultivation has indeed increased quickly, but his upper limits are already set. He is likely destined to never be anyone great.¡±

    ¡°What the Second Imperial Prince said is correct. That is indeed most likely the case.¡± The others all nodded. That was the most likely possibility.

    Yu Yanluo harrumphed inwardly. Would she really not know if Zu An had been some old monster? Let alone Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen, who were both grandmasters. Even an earth immortal had personally inspected Zu An. If there were a problem, he would have long since been discovered. Of course, she wasn¡¯t in the mood to argue about that. Otherwise, it could just end up bringing Zu An even more unwanted attention.

    ¡°Let us not talk about someone else anymore. Were you not all going to do some rock betting? Why not help us expand our horizons? I have longed for many of the sealed stones here, but unfortunately, I have never had any confidence in opening them. Today will be a good chance to borrow your insight to see what kind of treasures are inside,¡± the Second Imperial Prince said with a smile.

    The Little Golden Peng King also smiled and added, ¡°This is an excellent suggestion. Even I am unwilling to open up many of the stones on this floor. This is a great chance for me to observe the results for myself.¡±

    Hu Yong looked at Shi Min and said, ¡°I know you¡¯re scheming against the Snake race, but you¡¯d best take care not to end up screwing yourselves over.¡±

    Shi Min said with a snort, ¡°That is none of your business. Rock betting is something that cannot be falsified to begin with, so what schemes can there even be?¡±

    The Second Imperial Prince nodded and said, ¡°Indeed. Not even those with higher cultivation can tell what is inside these rocks. Itpletely depends on one¡¯s own experiences and eyesight. However, since we are talking about betting, we have to raise some stakes to make it interesting.¡±

    Shi Min thought to himself, That¡¯s exactly what I had in mind. He asked with a smile, ¡°May I ask what the Second Imperial Prince feels is a suitable bet?¡±

    The Second Imperial Prince remained silent for a moment, and then said, ¡°In my opinion, this should be fine. We can use the value of the opened rocks as the standard, with the more precious result winning. The losing side will have to hand everything they opened to the other party, and they will also have to pay ten thousand heaven-grade ki stones. What do you think?¡±

    Hu Yong¡¯s expression grew grave. Why do I feel as if everything the Second Imperial Prince is doing is partial to Shi Min? Could it be that the Lion race and the Second Imperial Prince already established some kind of rtionship I didn¡¯t know about?

    Princess Suolun¡¯s expression changed. She also felt that the Second Imperial Prince was being a bit biased. Did the Snake race offend the Second Imperial Prince somehow?

    However, the Second Imperial Prince and the crown prince didn¡¯t get along; that was something all of the upper levels of the various ns knew. There was no way he would really do anything to help the crown prince.

    Only Shang Liuyu seemed rxed, seemingly not worried in the slightest.

    Shi Min was extremely happy about the turn of events. He hadn¡¯t known what to say before, but now that the Second Imperial Prince had spoken, it saved him quite a bit of effort. He replied, ¡°That is naturally not a problem on our side, but I do not know if the Medusa Queen will dare to make this bet with us.¡±

    Yu Yanluo frowned slightly. Zu An said, ¡°Your clumsy psychological attack is meaningless. The reason why our n leader is hesitating is because the stakes are a bit small. How about this? A hundred thousand heaven-grade ki stones. If you all dare, bring that amount out.¡±

    Yu Yanluo was incredibly shocked, but she chose to trust Zu An. She calmly nodded and said, ¡°Indeed. It now depends on what the Lion race thinks.¡±

    The others¡¯ expressions changed when they heard that.

 Chapter 1345: One of the Greatest Treasures

    Chapter 1345: One of the Greatest Treasures

    Forget about Shi Min, even the high-ranked Second Imperial Prince and Little Golden Peng King were startled. A hundred thousand heaven-grade ki stones? What kind of concept was that?

    A single heaven-grade ki stone was equivalent to a hundred thousand ordinary ki stones. For people like them, they normally only carried a few hundred heaven-grade ki stones at most. A hundred thousand ki stones was enough to form a powerful army out of nothing!

    Chi Wen pped his hands and eximed with heartyughter, ¡°This is so fun! That¡¯s how you make things interesting!¡±

    He had grown up with the Dragon Pce¡¯s treasury at his fingertips, so he had no concept of value. That was why he didn¡¯t care no matter how far things were blown out of proportion.

    The expressions of the lion princes changed greatly. Then, Shi Min¡¯s expression became overcast as he eximed, ¡°Are you all joking right now?¡±

    Yu Yanluo said calmly, ¡°Of course not.¡±

    She actually felt a bit of regret at the moment. After all, in rock betting, no one had absolute confidence. She was full of experience, but if the lion princes dared to hold such a bet, they definitely had their own achievements in the field.

    In the past, even though a hundred thousand heaven-grade ki stones was arge amount, the wealthy Yu n wouldn¡¯t have found it too difficult a matter. However, Xu Yu had exposed her identity as the Medusa Queen and forced her to leave in a hurry. She hadn¡¯t had any time to move her assets. Furthermore, the Snake race was controlled by Elders White and Blue, so as a neer, she didn¡¯t actually have much real strength, let alone the ability to take out such a sum from the n.

    Still, she agreed without any hesitation because she trusted her lover.

    When they received her reply, the lion princes were all rmed. After all, that was a huge amount! The three brothers didn¡¯t have the right to use so much money.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Weren¡¯t you all shouting noisily earlier? Why do you look so terrified right now?¡± Zu An remarked with an expression of extreme disdain.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Shi Gong and Shi Rong¡¯s faces turned entirely red as they cried, ¡°You bastard, why would we feel fear?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Gong for +444 +444 +444¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Rong for +444 +444 +444¡­

    They had been trying to use psychological tricks against the other group before, and yet now, they were easily affected by the same strategy. They really were infuriated when they saw his smug expression.

    Shi Min wasparatively calmer. He said seriously, ¡°ording to what I know, however, you only have a hundred ki stones on you, and you used the rock betting earlier to win a few hundred heaven-grade ki stones. How could you possibly bring out a hundred thousand heaven-grade ki stones?¡±

    Yu Yanluo calmly replied, ¡°No matter how much the Snake race has fallen, we are still a great n. I am the leader of a n, so a hundred thousand heaven-grade ki stones is still doable.¡±

    Shi Min frowned deeply when he heard what she said. Even though it had been his n from the start, he had been wondering how to lure her in. Now, however, Yu Yanluo had agreed so fast that he was caught off guard.

    Could it be that she¡¯s actually too scared to hold this bet, so she had her subordinate raise a ridiculous price to scare us off, thus avoiding the bet entirely? A smile formed on his face when he thought of that. To think he had almost been fooled by them!

    Thus, he replied, ¡°Fine. Since even the Medusa Queen is so willing, how can men like us shrink back? A bet it is!¡±

    ¡°Third brother!¡± Shi Rong and Shi Gong eximed in panic. If they really lost, the price they had to pay would be a bit too great!

    Shi Min raised his hand to stop the two of them and secretly exined things to them. When the brothers heard what he said, they sighed in relief. The Snake race really was too crafty!

    Zu An¡¯s eyes lit up. He said, ¡°Everyone, please serve as witnesses for us. If anyone were to renege on their debt after losing¡­¡±

    The Little Golden Peng King said with an ambiguous smile, ¡°Worry not. We have at least a bit of influence in the Fiend King Court. If anyone really refuses to admit defeat, they will have no standing left in the Fiend King Court in the future.¡±

    The Second Prince also nodded and added, ¡°Indeed. You canpete boldly to your heart¡¯s content.¡±

    Even Shi Min was starting to sweat a bit. Even though he was usually calm and steady, he still felt tremendous pressure at the moment. Unfortunately, with so many important individuals watching, there was no way he would shrink back halfway.

    As such, he continued to convince himself that the Snake race was just acting strong on purpose. Since even they weren¡¯t scared, what did he have to be scared for? He gradually calmed down when he thought of that. Thus, he gestured that they could begin.

    The butler exined, ¡°Unlike the other floors, every single stone in the immortal floor is extraordinary. All of them have their own unique ki patterns. That is why this floor is like the lower floors where they are ced on a table; instead, they are kept amid the natural environment. Their ki can influence the surrounding environment, and the environment can also nourish them. That way, even if there was nothing in the stones to begin with, as the years pass, they might form some precious things.¡±

    Zu An had noticed that the floor contained many strange stones arranged within arge rock garden, creating a rich natural environment. He hadn¡¯t expected those rocks to be the stones they were to choose, though.

    Yu Yanluo didn¡¯t dare to show any negligence. After all, the stakes had climbed to a hundred thousand heaven-grade ki stones! She began to slowly walk through the garden in search of stones she liked.

    Suddenly, she stopped. She noticed a strange stone in an ornamental fish pond. It resembled a snake wrapped around a giant turtle. The snake had the head of a dragon and the wings of a phoenix, while the giant turtle had qilin scales on its back. Its entire body swirled with an ancient and profound aura.

    ¡°Was this sculpted?¡± Yun Jianyue couldn''t help but ask. The snake and the giant tortoise were just too realistic!

    The butler shook his head slightly and replied, ¡°That is not the case. This stone¡¯s shape was naturally formed, and that is why it is so mystical. This stone is named the Northern Pce ck Tortoise, and it is one of the immortal floor¡¯s greatest treasures.¡±

    Even the other princes and princesses were shocked when they heard that. If even something naturally formed looked like that, it definitely held an extraordinary treasure inside!

    Shi Rong was scared that the other group would steal it first and quickly asked, ¡°How much is this stone? We¡¯ll buy it!¡±

    The butler had an ambiguous smile as he said, ¡°A hundred thousand heaven-grade ki stones.¡±

    Shi Rong and Zu An were equally speechless.

    The others werepletely dumbstruck. As expected of something that was known as one of this ce¡¯s greatest treasures! No wonder even though something so amazing was right before their eyes, no one had opened it to see what was inside. It turned out to have been because the item was just too expensive.

    After all, there were many top-tier unpolished stones that produced all kinds of special signs, but not every single one of those stones would actually have something inside. Otherwise, why would a business like Jade Garden keep them there to sell? Wouldn¡¯t it be better if they just opened it up themselves?

    Even for such unpolished stones that had all manner of extraordinary features,paratively, the probability of having something inside was only somewhat higher than it would be for other stones; there was no guaranteed chance of sess. Countless people had staked everything betting on such unpolished stones with amazing signs, and yet ended up losing everything. Furthermore, even if something amazing came out, it wasn¡¯t guaranteed to match the price they paid to open it.

    If one had a hundred thousand ki stones, why wouldn¡¯t they just keep it for themselves? Why would they have to gamble with it? The risk was just way too great.

    The butler looked at Shi Rong with a smile, asking, ¡°How does the seventh prince wish to make the payment?¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­ Pretend I didn¡¯t say anything,¡± Shi Rong replied, his facepletely red.

    At any other time, how could he let himself be embarrassed like that? He would just have had to grit his teeth all throughout. However, this was a hundred thousand ki stones! He really couldn''t pay that kind of price.

    The butler didn¡¯t seem all that affected. It clearly wasn¡¯t the first time he had seen such a situation over the years.

    Yu Yanluo secretly wrinkled her nose. She couldn''t afford that thing either, so she could only take a look at the others first.

    ¡°Stone cold woman, do you sense anything special from it?¡± Yun Jianyue asked, staring at the stone. She was quite eager to give it a try, feeling incredibly curious.

    ¡°I cannot.¡± Yan Xuehen shook her head slightly and exined, ¡°The naturalws of the world iste the divine senses of cultivators. Furthermore, those natural signs that have been produced are not so easily seen through.¡±

    Suddenly, she thought of something and added, ¡°You are not nning on stealing it, are you?¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression became a bit unnatural as she replied, ¡°Hmph, am I that kind of violent person? I was just curious as to what exactly was inside, that¡¯s all.¡±

    ¡°You had better not. You have not fully recovered from your injuries yet, so you are not as strong as you were before. This butler¡¯s cultivation is high, and there is someone even more terrifying hidden on this immortal floor. I believe they are the guardian of the Jade Garden,¡± Yan Xuehen quickly warned her.

    ¡°Am I someone that hot-headed?¡± Yun Jianyue retorted, her face heating up. ¡°What, you¡¯re actually worried for me?¡±

    ¡°Hah! No way.¡± An annoyed expression appeared on Yan Xuehen¡¯s face. She didn¡¯t pay Yun Jianyue any more attention.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An was truly puzzled. The Fox Merchant Group¡¯s backing was even crazier than he imagined! Just any random rock was a hundred thousand ki stones! Then, how much was the entire immortal floor added up worth?

    ording to the fiend races¡¯ barbaric and unreasonable style of doing things, without enough strength, this ce would already have been robbed who knew how many times over. And yet, it still managed to peacefully exist in the Fiend King Court where there were powerful cultivators everywhere.

    Who exactly was backing this merchant group, though? He had thought that it was Bluefield Country¡¯s business, but now, forget about Bluefield Country, not even adding in the Tiger race would amount to enough power. There was no way it could be the fiend races¡¯ royal family, right?

    Meanwhile, Shi Min stopped on the other side. As he examined the huge rock in front of him, he waspletely stunned.

    The rock was like a mountain peak, and it was rugged and steep. Around the enormous rock was a ring of smoke that looked like the multicolored morning glow, but also resembled a kind of mist. The most eye-catching part, however, was a slender stone that protruded outward from the ¡®peak¡¯. It was as if a slender and elegant youngdy were standing there.

    The butler quickly walked over and considerately exined, ¡°This stone is named Mount Wu¡¯s Goddess¡­¡±

 Chapter 1346: Chou Clanâ€™s Supreme Skill

    Chapter 1346: Chou n¡¯s Supreme Skill

    ¡°Mount Wu¡¯s Goddess?¡± Zu An almost spat out the water he was sipping on. After all, in the world he had transmigrated from, there was a famous area known as ¡®Mount Wu¡¯s Goddess Peaks¡¯ that was rted to an alluring legend. The term ¡®rainclouds over Mount Wu¡¯ had even be synonymous with a certain intimate form of exercise.

    The Second Imperial Prince became interested as well, saying, ¡°This name is quite interesting.¡±

    The butler continued to exin, ¡°Apart from the rock at the very peak resembling a beautiful woman, there is another phenomenon, in the form of the surrounding clouds and mist. In the morning, they are like clouds, while in the evening, they are like rain. They can transform on their own.¡±

    Those present stared at the rings of mist. All of them marveled at the miraculous nature of the stone. It was actually able to affect the climate around it within a small range!

    ¡°What kind of ce is the ''Mount Wu'' in its name?¡± Princess Suolun asked curiously.

    The butler shook his head and said, ¡°That, I do not know. This unpolished stone has already existed for a very long time. When we obtained it, this name had already followed it into our possession. As for who gave it this name and what kind of a ce Mount Wu is, no one knows.¡±

    The Little Golden Peng King said, ¡°I have actually heard of a mountain range in the fiend races¡¯ territory called Mount Wu, and there is a ce on the southern border of the human race¡¯s territory that is also called Mount Wu. However, I do not know which of these mountains this name is referring to.¡±

    The Little Golden Peng King was one of the fiend races¡¯ Four Great Generals. His army had fought on the southern front, so he was naturally more familiar with that ce. No one doubted his exnation.

    Zu An was a bit surprised. He definitely had to go to those ces and take a look once he got the chance, to see whether they were the same as the Mount Wu he knew. After everything he had experienced, he couldn''t help but feel that the two worlds had some kind of vague connection.

    ¡°How much is this stone?¡± Shi Rong quickly asked. It was so mysterious, there was definitely something great inside.

    The butler smiled and said, ¡°A hundred and fifty thousand heaven-grade ki stones.¡±

    Shi Gong was speechless.

    The others all suddenly felt a sense of absurdity. After all, they were already the most important figures of the fiend race and were as far away from poverty as could be. And yet, when they came to the immortal floor, they felt that they were poor for the first time.

    Shi Min also had a regretful expression, but he was clearly a bit reluctant to leave. He moved around the ¡®Mount Wu¡¯s Goddess¡¯ and examined it. He even had the thought that if there really was something incredible inside, even if he were to lose his entire family fortune, he had to purchase the stone. Even though a hundred and fifty thousand heaven-grade ki stones was a big deal, with the Lion race¡¯s power, it wasn¡¯t something they couldn¡¯t purchase.

    Unfortunately, even after he studied it for a long time, he couldn¡¯t get a clear impression. At times, he felt that there was a mysterious sensationing from the stone that called out to him, while at other times, he felt that there was absolutely nothing inside, almost as if it were misleading him on purpose.

    All kinds of emotions appeared on his face. In the end, he still gave up out of helplessness. The price was just too great. He didn¡¯t dare to take the risk.

    Then, the group of people began to walk around the garden. They saw some other unpolished rocks that seemed special; none of them were inferior to the prior ¡®Northern Pce ck Tortoise¡¯ or ¡®Mount Wu¡¯s Goddess¡¯. Unfortunately, their prices were simrly ridiculous. Both sides gave up on the thought of touching the greatest treasures of the store.

    Yun Jianyue was already starting to drool. She quietly nudged Yan Xuehen and said, ¡°Stone cold woman, this Jade Garden is a freaking fat sheep¡­ Should we find a chance to give it a go¡­?¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression remained indifferent as she replied, ¡°You are still injured. Something like that would just be courting death.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m asking you to help me out! If I were at my strongest, then I could do whatever I wanted! Would I still need your help?¡± Yun Jianyue harrumphed.

    ¡°A witch is a witch after all. Your first reaction is to steal other people¡¯s things,¡± Yan Xuehen said with a frown. ¡°Why would I follow your bad example?¡±

    ¡°Scaredy-cat!¡± Yun Jianyue harrumphed. ¡°Then if I did steal them, would you really not be curious at all about what¡¯s inside?¡±

    ¡°Do not be reckless. I do not care if you die, but if you drag down Zu An with you¡­ Ahem, and Yu Yanluo, as well as the others, I cannot forgive you,¡± Yan Xuehen said, jumping in fright.

    ¡°I know that even though you¡¯re saying ¡®Zu An and Yu Yanluo¡¯, you¡¯re actually worried that something might happen to me, right? It¡¯s just that you¡¯re too embarrassed to admit it,¡± Yun Jianyue replied, resting her arm on Yan Xuehen¡¯s shoulder with a giggle. This stone cold woman was now bing more and more like a normal human.

    Yan Xuehen was speechless. She ufortably pried off Yun Jianyue¡¯s arm. When did this witch start bing so nosy and affectionate?

    Yun Jianyue didn¡¯t mind it at all, saying, ¡°Well, if you don¡¯t want it, then forget it. Sooner orter, I¡¯ll clean out this entire shop. Just let me know if you¡¯re going toe and check out what¡¯s inside.¡±

    Yan Xuehen was a bit hesitant as she said, ¡°I really am curious as to what is inside, but what you want to do is wrong¡­¡±

    ¡°Hmph, just false righteousness,¡± Yun Jianyue said, turning up her nose.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Shi Min and Yu Yanluo had already continued to look for unpolished stones. Once they gave up on the greatest treasures, they became much faster. They quickly moved through the garden for fear of the other side finding some treasure first. After all, all of the stones in the garden were expensive. They had to find a treasure with sufficiently great value, but its price had to also be within a controble degree. That really wasn¡¯t easy.

    The other princes and princesses were getting excited too. They followed along and looked around. They all wondered whether they should try their luck to see if they could find some treasure in the stones. Unfortunately, all of the unpolished stones cut off their divine sense. Their investigations proved futile. As such, they focused their attention on the yers of the bet, to see if they had any special methods.

    They saw that Shi Min¡¯s rough-looking hand had suddenly be extremely gentle. He gently tapped against the unpolished stones. With each tap, the stones seemed to be like musical instruments, producing all kinds of sounds. Some were dull, while some were sharp and clear. Some even left sounds lingering in the air.

    ¡°This technique¡­¡± The Little Golden Peng King voiced his surprise. He seemed to have seen it before somewhere.

    When he saw the others¡¯ shocked expressions, Shi Rong proudly said, ¡°My third brother was a guest of the Chou n. His talent received the appreciation of their elder, who gave him a few pointers.¡±

    Hu Yong was shocked, asking, ¡°You¡¯re talking about the Armadillo race ki stone family¡¯s Chou n?¡±

    Shi Rong gave him a look of contempt and replied, ¡°Who else could it be but them? If the Chou n dared to im to be number two in their ki stone techniques, no one else among all the fiend races would dare to im to be number one.¡±

    Perhaps because he couldn''t stand the other prince¡¯s provocations, Hu Yong harrumphed and said, ¡°In the past, the Pangolin Race was above the Chou n.¡±

    ¡°Pangolin race?¡± Shi Rong sneered. ¡°They kept digging up others¡¯ ancestral tombs, bing the target of hatred. Ever since their old ancestor Chuan Shan went missing a few centuries ago, that race has already vanished without a trace. I didn¡¯t expect you to be so ignorant and ill-informed.¡±

    Hu Yong was furious. He spat, ¡°Damn brat, you¡¯re looking for a fight, aren¡¯t you?!¡±

    Seeing that the two seemed to be about to fight again, the butler and the others present all stepped forward to stop them.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An was startled. Ancestor Chuan Shan was probably the corpse they had encountered in Lord Sui¡¯s Tomb, right? He had gotten ¡®One Drop of Heaven¡¯s Essence¡¯ from the corpse, and judging from the circumstances, it seemed that the ancestor hadn¡¯t been able to learn most of the contents.

    The fat daoist Wu Liang seemed to be a descendant of the Pangolin race, too. His skills were quite mysterious.

    The Little Golden Peng King said, ¡°What he used earlier seems to be the Chou n¡¯s ¡®Magic Tap¡¯. I didn¡¯t expect them to have even passed on that skill to Shi Min.¡±

    Shi Min said with a smile, ¡°The Little Golden Peng King¡¯s insight is incredible, as expected. In the past, I was fortunate enough to receive the favor of the Chou n¡¯s elder, so he passed on some moves to me. Unfortunately, I was unable to learn their most important skills, as those are skills that the Chou n only passes down to their descendants.¡±

    Even though his words conveyed regret, there was a hint of pride in his voice. After all, he had learned everything other than the three most mysterious techniques. That already made him more formidable than most of the Chou n¡¯s disciples. If it weren¡¯t for those skills, why would he dare topete against Yu Yanluo in rock betting?

    He spoke loudly on purpose so Yu Yanluo and the others would hear it too. His intention was to distract her and make it even harder for her to find anything good. After all, he didn¡¯t have to worry about them backing down anymore, and as such, he didn¡¯t have to keep up the act.

    However, Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression remained calm, as if she hadn¡¯t been affected at all. Instead, she focused on a certain unpolished rock and stared at it. She did nothing, other than looking calmly at the rock.

    Shi Gong roared withughter. ¡°Why are you suddenly forgetting how to choose? Should third brother help you choose a few stones?¡±

    Zu An harrumphed. ¡°You¡¯re all bing this cocky just because you learned a trick from the Chou n? And you didn¡¯t even learn everything. Then do, you know what our n leader did in the human world?¡±

    Shi Gong frowned and asked, ¡°What did she do?¡±

    Zu An smiled and replied, ¡°She was the leader of the humans¡¯ number one gemstone n. Oh, right, if we think about it, her status was likely a few levels higher than even that Chou n elder you¡¯re talking about.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± The lion princes were incredibly shaken. How could they have expected something like that to happen? They all looked at Yu Yanluo in shock.

    Yu Yanluo was extremely focused and didn¡¯t seem to have heard them. Suddenly, a flicker of golden light passed through her beautiful eyes.

    ¡°Medusa¡¯s Eye!¡± The others¡¯ expressions changed. They were from the fiend races as well, so they naturally knew the terror of the Medusa¡¯s Eye. They all went on guard, for fear that they would bepletely petrified as a result.

 Chapter 1347: True Corpse Bamboo

    Chapter 1347: True Corpse Bamboo

    However, they quickly realized that there was no aura of death around them, nor was there any killing intenting from Yu Yanluo¡¯s body. The radianceing from her eyes waspletely concentrated on the stone in front of her.

    ¡°This is¡­¡± They realized that it wasn¡¯t the deadly eye technique they imagined, but rather that she was observing and selecting a stone.

    ¡°Who would have thought that the Medusa¡¯s Eye would actually have this kind of use!¡± Chi Wen eximed in surprise. Even though he was from the Ocean races, he had still heard of the power of the Medusa¡¯s Eye before.

    The Little Golden Peng King nodded and said, ¡°As expected, the Medusa bloodline¡¯s power is naturally closest to the earth element, and the Medusa¡¯s Eye is an earth element forbidden move. These unpolished stones are also part of the earth element.¡±

    Princess Suolun was happy to hear that, asking, ¡°Then doesn¡¯t that mean she can see through the unpolished stones and see what¡¯s inside?¡±

    Because of theirst encounter in Lord Sui¡¯s Tomb, she instinctively felt a bit closer to Yu Yanluo¡¯s side. She had initially thought that Yu Yanluo would lose for sure when she saw how formidable Shi Min was. How could she have expected things to turn around so suddenly?

    Shang Liuyu shook her head slightly and said, ¡°The Medusa¡¯s Eye can indeed bring her closer to these unpolished stones, and it might allow her to see some signs that ordinary people can¡¯t see, but there¡¯s no way she can see exactly what¡¯s inside. That limitation is set by the naturalws of the world. Simrly, the Chou n¡¯s Magic Tap skill is something produced from thousands of years of rock betting experience. These skills have a set principle to them, but they aren¡¯tpletely precise. Otherwise, the Chou n would have already be the world¡¯s number one n a long time ago.¡±

    The Second Imperial Prince said with a sigh of praise, ¡°The princess truly has prating insight. I am in awe.¡±

    The Little Golden Peng King added, ¡°Does the princess perhaps know a bit about rock betting too? Would you like to give this ce a try yourself?¡±

    Shang Liuyu said with a faint smile, ¡°I don¡¯t truly understand the subject. I merely heard a senior talk about it in the past.¡±

    ¡°The princess is too humble,¡± the Second Imperial Prince and Little Golden Peng King both said with a smile.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Chi Wen had a strange expression. These two were always trying to hit on his little aunt. They clearly didn¡¯t have good intentions. He thought, You want to be this one¡¯s uncle? Why don¡¯t you go and eat shit.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Shi Min gathered his concentration. He wasn¡¯t an untalented and mediocre person, after all. Soon, all irrelevant thoughts faded from his mind. He then stopped in front of a stone.

    This one was long and tall, surrounded by a forest. The surface flickered withyers of green, and it was covered in rings of bamboo-shaped protrusions, almost identical to that of real bamboo. It didn¡¯t seem out of ce in the bamboo forest at all.

    ¡°How much is this one?¡± he asked seriously, worried that the Jade Garden could change the priceter.

    ¡°This stone is named Bamboo Noble. The price is set at 2000 heaven-grade ki stones,¡± the butler replied.

    Shi Min nodded. He quickly tapped the stone¡¯s surface, leaving behind a streak of afterimages as he used his skill.

    The sound of rustling emerged from the stone, as if a cool breeze were brushing through the bamboo forest. However, there wasn¡¯t any wind blowing through the courtyard.

    Suddenly, a sound that resembled a howling ghost tore through the ce. The ki-filled bamboo garden seemed almost to have plummeted into theherworld itself.

    ¡°This is¡­¡± Those present were shocked. What a powerful dark yin force!

    Shi Min¡¯s expression also changed. However, he still said, ¡°This is the unpolished stone I will choose.¡± Then, he took out the heaven-grade ki stones he had already prepared ahead of time.

    ¡°Very well,¡± the butler said as he handed the ki stones to one of his nearby subordinates. He asked, ¡°Shall we open it now?¡±

    ¡°Wait!¡± Shi Min looked at Yu Yanluo and the others. ¡°Have you all made your choice yet?¡±

    Yu Yanluo didn¡¯t reply. The faint yellow light from her eyes continued to shine onto the rock in front of her. Then, the stone began to produce golden light, and something happened on its surface.

    Yellow sand filled the air, and a vast desert extended endlessly into the horizon. Amid the sands, nothing was visible save for a dead, dried-up piece of wood. A sandstorm blew past, gradually covering the wood as well.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s eyes returned to normal as she said, ¡°I have also made my choice. We will just select this one.¡±

    She had already asked about the price of the stone earlier. Because it looked normal on the outside and hadn¡¯t really had many strange signs surrounding it, it was one of the cheaper stones on the immortal floor, only costing 500 heaven-grade ki stones.

    The others clicked their tongue in wonder. Her skill was just too shocking! Could it be that the Medusa Queen could really see what was inside the unpolished stone?

    Shi Min¡¯s expression also changed greatly. Judging from the strange signs that had appeared, the other group¡¯s stone was definitely not an ordinary one either. Looks like I underestimated her; she might really have some skill.

    Even so, he was like an arrow already drawn all the way back. He had confidence in his own judgment too. The stone he chose could definitely win!

    He sneered and said, ¡°Let¡¯s begin.¡±

    The butler nodded, then began cutting into Shi Min¡¯s stone. Meanwhile, the princes and princesses all moved closer to watch.

    The butler acted carefully. He didn¡¯t cut in broad strokes the way he had on the yellow floor, gently brushing against the outeryer instead. Whenever his hands brushed past, an extremely thinyer of rock fell away; he almost seemed worried that any thicker cuts would end up damaging the treasure within.

    The others understood that principle and didn¡¯t rush him. They all watched silently, holding their breaths.

    Fortunately, the butler was well-seasoned. Even though eachyer was extremely thin, his hands moved like des, gradually revealing the unpolished stone¡¯s true appearance.

    As he shaved offyer afteryer, an ink-ck aura gradually emerged. Then, the wails of countless vengeful spirits seemed to fill the air, and ominous winds swept past those present. Even though they all had profound cultivation ranks, they still couldn''t help but shiver. It was actually simr to the strange phenomenon they had sensed earlier! However, its strength was now countless times greater.

    The butler¡¯s entire body trembled too, but his hands remained steady. After several more cuts, the true contents of the stone emerged.

    It was a bone that was an inky ck through and through. It was curved, but covered in disgusting lumps that separated it into several segments. Those segments made it resemble a piece of bamboo. Even though it looked ugly and disgusting, it was also full of ki that only a heaven-grade item could have.

    ¡°That is a True Corpse Bamboo!¡± the Second Imperial Prince cried out in rm, recognizing its origins.

    The others quickly asked him what a True Corpse Bamboo was. He exined, ¡°These things normally grow in sinister ces. Sometimes, such things might appear in battlefield ruins too, because those are ces where too many vengeful souls have perished, as well as the bones of fallen warriors. However, their growth conditions are extremely strict. There are many people who look for them, but they are too rare.

    ¡°These items are extremely useful for those who cultivate nefarious methods and skills rted to departed spirits. If they keep it at their side, their cultivation speed can be doubled.

    ¡°Furthermore, they can be used to create the legendary immortal-grade weapon, the ¡®Soul Summoning Banner¡¯. If such a banner is used, it can overwhelm another¡¯s soul and turn a cultivator straight into a walking corpse.¡±

    ¡°Immortal-grade weapon?¡± The others¡¯ expressions were strange. Then wasn¡¯t this thing¡¯s value immeasurable?

    The Little Golden Peng King also spoke up and said, ¡°I have heard about these items before, but in the present world, there does not seem to be anyone who can create an immortal-grade weapon. However, someone still created a heaven-grade Soul Summoning Banner in the past.¡±

    The Second Imperial Prince nodded and said, ¡°That is indeed the case. Immortal-grade weapons are truly rare to find¡­¡±

    Even so, Shi Min was already extremely satisfied. He looked at Yu Yanluo with a smile, remarking, ¡°I wonder what kind of item the queen has chosen?¡±

    He looked as if he had already won for certain.

 Chapter 1348: Confidence

    Chapter 1348: Confidence

    Yu Yanluo didn¡¯t pay him any attention. She gestured for the butler to begin opening the stone she had chosen instead.

    The butler had also witnessed the supernatural signs that appeared when she chose her stone. The item inside was most likely extraordinary. He was even starting to tremble inwardly. The Jade Garden really is taking a huge hit today¡­ There are heaven-grade treasures being opened left and right.

    However, he quickly readjusted his mindset, deciding to just consider it marketing. In the future, as long as the day¡¯s events were properly publicized, they could bring in even more customers. It would simply be a good thing for the Jade Garden.

    Besides, he was also curious as to what the stone could produce. He thus focused on cutting away the outer stoneyer. It wasn¡¯t just him, either; the others were also curious. They all moved closer, holding their breaths as they stared at the stone.

    This stone was much smaller than the other one. As such, it was faster to cut through than Shi Min¡¯s stone from before. As the butler cut into it, a wave of broiling heat swept outward. At that instant, those present felt as if they had entered a blistering desert.

    ¡°Could it be something of the fire element?¡± the onlookers eximed in surprise, craning their necks to look inside.

    When the stone was cut open, it revealed a cup of sand. Apart from that, there was nothing else.

    Shi Min sighed in relief. Meanwhile, Shi Rong roared withughter, eximing, ¡°Why were we making such a big deal out of this? It was just some sand in the end. My stomach is hurting fromughter!¡±

    Princess Suolun looked at Yu Yanluo worriedly. As one of the most powerful aristocratic ns in the Demon race, she had also tried her hand at rock betting in the past. She knew that many rocks had all kinds of incredible effects happening outside them, and yet didn¡¯t contain a single thing inside. That was part of the thrill and charm of rock betting, after all.

    Yun Jianyue continuously prodded Yan Xuehen with her finger, muttering, ¡°We¡¯re done for, we¡¯re done for! Look at that clump of sand! Yu Yanluo is going to end up broke from this bet¡­ How can she bring out that many heaven-grade ki stones right now? Your White Jade Sect has money, right? Why don¡¯t you support her a bit?¡±

    Yan Xuehen was made really ufortable by her prodding. She shifted her body away unnaturally, retorting, ¡°Why don¡¯t you help her out?¡±

    ¡°Our Holy Sect is poor, so what can I do?¡± Yun Jianyue replied, putting on a pitiful look of poverty.

    Yan Xuehen harrumphed. ¡°Let¡¯s wait for a bit. Yu Yanluo might not necessarily lose.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Yun Jianyue looked at the clump of yellow sand. She thought to herself, Don¡¯t tell me there¡¯s something special about this sand?

    Meanwhile, Shi Min also walked over. Compared to his little brothers, he had much more restraint. He looked at Yu Yanluo with a smile, remarking, ¡°Medusa Queen, thispetition is now decided, no?¡±

    ¡°Not necessarily,¡± Yu Yanluo said calmly.

    ¡°Oh? Don¡¯t tell me t you are going to say that your sand is more valuable than my True Corpse Bamboo?¡± Shi Min replied with a sneer. ¡°As a n leader, causing needless trouble is beneath your dignity, no?¡±

    Shang Liuyu spoke up just then. ¡°This isn¡¯t ordinary sand, but rather Exotic Witchsand, a rune ink material of peerless quality. In addition, this ingredient is essential in the creation of some great forbidden formations.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± The others looked at the sand again. Then, they noticed that each and every grain was different from ordinary sand. There was a faint blue radiance emanating from them, just like the radiance that came from runes. It was just that its radiance was too well-hidden, and it couldn''t be seen unless one looked at it carefully.

    Shi Gong harrumphed. ¡°The princess has friendly rtions with the Medusa Queen. Could it be that you are just speaking out for her, and that you made up some story to deceive us?¡±

    The Little Golden Peng King chuckled and said, ¡°I do not believe so. For someone as free-spirited as the princess, she is not someone who would make up a story because of some personal bias.¡±

    The Second Imperial Prince nodded and said, ¡°Indeed. I trust the princess¡¯ character. I have heard of the Exotic Witchsand too, but I do not know much about runes. I have not personally seen this material before.¡±

    Chi Wen cursed inwardly while wrinkling his nose. These two keep fawning on my little aunt. Don¡¯t tell me they really do want to be my uncle?

    Zu An also sighed in amazement. Shang Liuyu always gave off a free and aloof air. As expected, she was alluring no matter where she went.

    The butler spoke up just then, saying, ¡°I have actually seen it before. This is indeed the heaven-grade Exotic Witchsand.¡±

    Shi Gong¡¯s expression changed when he heard that. He snapped, ¡°You had better not speak out of ce!¡±

    The butler calmly replied, ¡°The Jade Garden has its long history and reputation to protect, so how could I speak improperly? I havee into contact with many treasures over the years. I once had the opportunity of seeing Exotic Witchsand, and that is why I recognize it.¡±

    Zu An took the chance to say, ¡°Looks like we win, then. Your True Corpse Bamboo can only make a heaven-grade Soul Summoning Banner, and it¡¯s only useful for those who cultivate sinister arts, so its uses aren¡¯t too widespread. The Exotic Witchsand our n leader has opened up can not only be used to make a forbidden formation, but also, anyone can use it as well. That clearly makes it more precious.¡±

    The butler nodded. That was indeed the case; the Exotic Witchsand was a bit more precious.

    ¡°Nonsense!¡± Shi Gong immediately retorted. ¡°They¡¯re both heaven-grade treasures, so how can you say the sand is more precious?¡±

    The Second Imperial Prince nodded and said, ¡°What you say is not entirely without reason. That is why we should ask the Jade Garden. They havee into contact with many treasures. If these two were used for an auction, which one would sell for a higher price?¡±

    The butler was a bit startled. He said respectfully, ¡°Replying to the Second Imperial Prince. That would depend on who participated in the auction. If there were cultivators who practiced skills rted to departed spirits present, the True Corpse Bamboo could sell for a high price. On the contrary, if there were more rune masters participating, the Exotic Witchsand could sell for a higher price.¡±

    As someone who worked in a ce like the Jade Garden, he was naturally experienced in such matters. He didn¡¯t sound biased toward anyone. Of course he wouldn¡¯t make the foolish decision of saying that the Exotic Witchsand was more precious, but he wouldn¡¯tck any conscience and say that the True Corpse Bamboo was more precious either. That way, he wouldn¡¯t offend either side. Regardless, the difference in value wasn¡¯t even that high to begin with, so what he said was also the truth in a sense.

    The Second Imperial Prince was quite satisfied with the answer. He said with a smile, ¡°In that case, then, this matter will be considered a tie. We can hold another round; what does everyone think?¡±

    The Little Golden Peng King nodded and said, ¡°This is an excellent chance to witness the performance of two rock betting experts. I would be delighted to witness more.¡±

    Shang Liuyu frowned slightly. However, she was representing the Ocean races this time, so she couldn''t really say anything.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Since the two with the highest status had already spoken, the others wouldn¡¯t have any different opinions. They all voiced their agreement.

    Zu An frowned. The Second Imperial Prince was clearly being biased in favor of the Lion race. Could it be that the Snake race really had offended him somehow? That shouldn¡¯t have been the case! This guy wouldn¡¯t really get revenge for the crown prince¡¯s sake, right?

    ¡°The Second Imperial Prince is wise. In that case, I will continue and select another stone,¡± Shi Min said. He bowed, then continued to look around this garden. After the previous lesson, he didn¡¯t dare to show any more carelessness. This time, he was a hundred and twenty percent focused. He had to find an extraordinary treasure to destroy his opponent.

    Yu Yanluo was a bit upset inwardly. With the way things were, however, there was nothing else she could do. She could only look around again, or else Shi Min could end up selecting a suitable stone before her.

    She secretly told Zu An and the others in a worried tone, ¡°Shi Min¡¯s achievements in examining rocks are almost at the same level as my own. Even if my skill is a bit higher, there won¡¯t be too great of a difference. Furthermore, there¡¯s no guarantee in this kind of activity anyway, which makes the difference even more negligible.¡±

    Yun Jianyue added, ¡°That¡¯s not all. That second imperial birdman also seems to be partial to the Lion race. If we find something of equal value, he might decide to continue to hold another round, all the way until Shi Min wins against us.¡±

    ¡°There is another issue,¡± Yan Xuehen said with a frown, ¡°If we continue like this, we will not have enough heaven-grade ki stones to purchase any more rocks.¡±

    The three women were all in agreement, so they all began to lose confidence.

    Zu An, on the other hand, had apletely different attitude. He said reassuringly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you have me here.¡±

    ¡°You?¡± They all looked at him.

    Those present were all experts, so they paid close attention to the actions of the twopetitors. However, they saw that Yu Yanluo wasn¡¯t looking at the stones, and was instead looking at Zu An. They were all startled. This man seemed to be quite important to the Medusa Queen!

    Once we return, we¡¯ll have to have some people look into this Yan Zu.

    Zu An coughed lightly and said, ¡°Trust me. Choose that big rock by the pavilionter!¡±

 Chapter 1349: Trash Stone

    Chapter 1349: Trash Stone

    Yu Yanluo was surprised. She looked in the direction Zu An indicated, and saw some rocks sitting casually beneath a table in the center of the pavilion. The one who had designed the immortal floor really had excellent taste. Even though the stones were ced somewhat haphazardly, they didn¡¯t seem out of ce at all. Yu Yanluo walked over and examined the biggest one carefully. Because it was toorge, her Medusa¡¯s Eye only revealed an endless white expanse. It didn¡¯t seem any different from an ordinary stone.

    ¡°Ah Zu, are you sure about this stone?¡± she asked, sounding a bit baffled. She thought that she might have picked the wrong one.

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s the one,¡± Zu An confirmed.

    Yu Yanluo bit her lip. Under the circumstances, she couldn''t ask Zu An in more detail. After some hesitation, however, she still chose to trust him in the end. As such, she asked the butler, ¡°How much is this one?¡±

    The butler was surprised, replying, ¡°That one? That one is not an unpolished stone, but rather an ordinary rock for decoration.¡±

    ¡°Yes, this is the one,¡± Yu Yanluo said. She felt extremely nervous. The way things were, she could only brace herself and follow through.

    The butler was a bit confused. Could it be that the Jade Garden had made a mistake? He looked at therge stone for a bit. After working there for so long, even though he didn¡¯t have x-ray vision, he was still decent at recognizing precious stones. No matter how he looked at it, though, it looked like a normal stone¡­

    As such, he replied, ¡°It is a hundred heaven grade ki stones.¡±

    Zu Anined, ¡°Are you trying to rob us? You just said it¡¯s just an ordinary stone. Why are you still collecting a hundred heaven-grade ki stones?¡±

    The butler calmly said, ¡°After entering this immortal floor, even an ordinary stone can be extraordinary after absorbing the natural ki here. This is already the cheapest price on the immortal floor. I am already showing you the greatest amount of sincerity.¡±

    Yu Yanluo said calmly, ¡°Then let¡¯s just go with a hundred heaven-grade ki stones.¡±

    She took out the ki stones and handed them to him. She had once been one of the richest individuals in the human world, after all. Even though she had left in a hurry, a hundred heaven-grade ki stones still wasn¡¯t too big of a deal.

    The butler had a strange expression. Could it be that all of the Jade Garden¡¯s experts had ended up misjudging the stone, and that there really was a precious gemstone inside? Still, no matter how he looked at it, the stone couldn''t be any more ordinary! Since he had already said what he said, he could only give her the giant stone.

    On the other side, someone let out a cry of rm as Shi Min used his Magic Tap skill to gently tap a disk-shaped stone. It actually produced waves of bright and clear phoenix cries!

    ¡°Could this stone¡¯s contents have something to do with a phoenix?¡±

    ¡°Have you all noticed? This stone has several rings of patterns around its surface. I thought they were simr to a tree¡¯s rings, but they seem to be phoenix patterns!¡±

    ¡°Say, do you all think it might be a phoenix egg?¡±

    ¡°That would be ridiculous! For it to be within one of the immortal floor¡¯s stones would mean it was hibernating. If it were properly nurtured, it could produce a real phoenix!¡±

    ¡°The phoenix only exists in legends. I didn¡¯t expect I would actually be able to see the return of a legendary creature!¡±

    ¡­

    When she heard their discussions, Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression changed. Anything rted to a phoenix was definitely an incredible object. Meanwhile, even if her choice turned out to be more than just an ordinary rock, anything that emerged from it probably wouldn¡¯t be able topare to that item.

    Yun Jianyue was also a bit worried, muttering, ¡°We¡¯re done for, we¡¯re done for! If they chose a phoenix, how the hell are we supposed to win? To top it off, it was Little An who chose that damn rock!¡±

    Yan Xuehen was also a bit confused, but she still said, ¡°Have some confidence in him. He would not cause trouble in such critical times.¡±

    ¡°Huh? Weren¡¯t you the one who looked down on him the most? Didn¡¯t you want him dead? Why have you kept speaking up for him recently? It¡¯s almost as if you¡¯re bragging about your man or something,¡± Yun Jianyue said deliberately to annoy her. That wasn¡¯t what she really thought, though; it was just something she had made up to rile Yan Xuehen up. She knew Yan Xuehen couldn''t stand romantic jokes, especially when it involved her and her disciple¡¯s man. So, she really wanted to see what Yan Xuehen would look like when she got angry.

    However, Yan Xuehen didn¡¯t get angry. Instead, she seemed a bit guilty and bashful. Yun Jianyue thought, Huh? Why do I feel as if she¡¯s been acting a bit strange recently?

    She was just about to ask something when Shi Min quickly walked over with his stone, asking, ¡°How much is this stone?¡±

    The butler slowly replied with a pained expression, ¡°Five thousand heaven-grade ki stones.¡±

    Judging from the signs that had been produced, this stone definitely had some kind of treasure hidden inside. If he could do everything over, he would definitely put away all of these unpolished stones.

    However, the stones had been present for so long that many guests had seen them. He couldn''t bring them away even if he wanted to; that would damage the Jade Garden¡¯s reputation. He would also end up offending the powerful Lion race.

    ¡°I do not have enough heaven-grade ki stones on me right now, so I will put it on the Lion Race¡¯s tab. I will have them brought over tomorrow,¡± Shi Min said.

    The butler was overjoyed. He quickly replied, sounding troubled, ¡°I fear that will be difficult, third prince. Our Jade Garden has never taken on any debt.¡±

    Since they couldn¡¯t buy it, he would have a pretext to put the stone back into the treasury.

    ¡°What? We are the glorious Lion race¡¯s princes. Would we cheat you of your five thousand heaven-grade ki stones?¡± Shi Gong protested, shooting him an angry re.

    The butler shook his head and said, ¡°Princes, please do not be quick to anger. This is not a rule that is directed at you, but rather one that has been set in ce for a long time. In a ce of gambling, it is easy for things to get out of hand. A single mistake can make an individualpletely bankrupt, or a person might perish. In order to guard against such tragedies, the Jade Garden set this rule. Since then, many people have thanked us after calming down, and it has saved many families. That is why I hope the princes do not take any offense.¡±

    This time, Hu Yong finally found a chance to mock the lion princes. ¡°You don¡¯t even have enough ki stones, and yet you want to y around here? Butler, I¡¯m going to buy this stone!¡±

    The others¡¯ expressions became strange. Quite a few among them had simr thoughts. However, fearing the possibility of offending the Lion race, that didn¡¯t seem like a good deal. Furthermore, if there turned out to be nothing inside, they would be losing out even more.

    However, the Tiger race¡¯s princes didn¡¯t have such misgivings. On the contrary, pissing off the Lion race was an added benefit.

    Shi Min was furious, retorting, ¡°I clearly chose this stone. What are you getting involved for?!¡±

    Hu Yong shrugged and replied, ¡°What, am I not allowed to buy it if you don¡¯t buy it? Get out of the way already, and don¡¯t touch my stone.¡±

    ¡°Who said I cannot buy it?!¡± Shi Min said through gritted teeth. He took out a golden glove. And said, ¡°This is a heaven-grade weapon. Its value is much higher than five thousand heaven-grade ki stones.¡±

    Heaven-grade weapons were divided into strong ones and weak ones. His weapon was of the weaker category, but even then, the weakest ones wouldn¡¯t be worth fewer than five thousand heaven-grade ki stones.

    Hu Yong roared withughter and remarked, ¡°You¡¯re even putting up household goods for coteral. The Lion race really has fallen!¡±

    Shi Min glowered and ignored Hu Yong.

    ¡°This¡­¡± The butler was a bit troubled. He asked, ¡°Must the prince do this?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me this is not enough?¡± Shi Min said in a low growl.

    ¡°It is enough, it is enough,¡± the butler replied. He knew that at this point, refusing further wouldpletely offend the Lion race. He said, ¡°We will keep this glove well for the prince. As long as you deliver five thousand ki stones within three days, we will return it with gratitude.¡±

    Shi Min¡¯s expression finally became a bit better. It seemed the Jade Garden was still rather tactful.

    Purchasing the stone that way left him quite angry. However, when he saw Zu An carrying over arge stone, it immediately made him feel much better. He remarked, ¡°After all of this, that thing is what you ended up with?¡±

    ¡°Is there a problem?¡± Zu An replied with a harrumph.

    ¡°Not at all; why would I have a problem with that?¡± Shi Min replied, feeling a little better. ¡°I just find it rather funny. You know, in rock betting, bigger is not always better, hahaha¡­¡±

    ¡°Shut up and open your stone already,¡± Zu An said. He didn¡¯t feel like wasting any more words on Shi Min.

    ¡°How about opening yours first this time?¡± Shi Min replied with a sneer. Last time, the other group had opened up something more precious afterward, which really made him feel awful. That was why this time, he wanted to go second.

    ¡°You really want us to go first? I¡¯m just scared that after you see what¡¯s in ours, you won¡¯t have the courage to even open yours anymore,¡± Zu An said calmly.

    ¡°Heh, you really know how to shoot your mouth off. You¡¯re gonna do that with that shoddy stone of yours?¡± The lion princes all roared withughter.

    Even the others¡¯ expressions were growing strange, because in their opinion, the Snake race¡¯s side would lose for sure.

    ¡°Then should we make another bet?¡± Zu An shot back, giving Shi Min a provocative look.

    Shi Gong and Shi Rong were easily provoked and immediately fired back, ¡°If you want a bet, then a bet it is. Who is scared of who?¡±

    ¡°Hey, do not act impulsively. We are going to win for sure anyway. There is no need to let side issues keep growing,¡± Shi Min said, quickly stopping them.

    For some reason, when he saw how rxed Zu An was, he remembered what had happened on the yellow floor again. He was worried that Zu An had some other tricks, so he decided he just wouldn¡¯t y along with the other side¡¯s games.

    Shi Rong and Shi Gong had always respected their third brother. As such, they gave Zu An an angry look and said, ¡°Count yourself lucky.¡±

    Hu Yong roared withughter and said mockingly, ¡°Tsk tsk, are you all really from the Lion race? You¡¯re too scared to even make another bet? How cowardly! In my opinion, perhaps you¡¯re actually from the Mouse race!¡±

    mes practically seemed about toe out of Shi Gong and Shi Rong¡¯s eyes. Perhaps because Shi Rong felt that victory was already in his grasp, he only felt happier and retorted ¡°Even though our Lion race is brave, we aren¡¯t ignorant and brash like you guys. It¡¯s almost as if you¡¯re from the Ox race or something.¡±

    ¡°What did you say?!¡± Hu Yong and his brothers were furious. The sparks between the two sides seemed about to erupt into mes again.

    ¡°Stop causing trouble already. We should open up the stones first,¡± the Second Imperial Prince said with a frown; he was clearly a bit unhappy.

    The Little Golden Peng King also said calmly, ¡°If you want to fight, do it outside. I am more interested in what is inside these two stones.¡±

    Seeing that the other races were unhappy, the Lion and Tiger races couldn''t just draw public anger by fighting. As such, they harrumphed and said, ¡°Once this rock betting is finished, we will have a proper chat then.¡±

    The butler quickly began to cut Zu An¡¯s stone, which looked like arge millstone. Even though he didn¡¯t think there was some treasure inside, he was still concerned with the possibility. As such, he started by cutting as carefully as he had before. Unfortunately, even after dozens of cuts, nothing but ash-gray stone revealed itself. It was no different from an ordinary rock.

    The butler then increased his speed. At first, it was as if he were cutting a sausage. Later on, he just cut into it chunk by chunk. The millstone-sized stone quickly became smaller and smaller. In the end, it turned into a pile of crushed rocks.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Shi Min sighed in relief. Shi Rong quickly said mockingly, ¡°Hahaha, there was nothing inside after all!¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression turnedpletely white. Even though she had felt that it was just an ordinary rock, she had been willing to trust Zu An. But why had this been the result?

    Princess Suolun looked at her worriedly. She thought to herself, This loss is really going to have heavy consequences¡­

    Shang Liuyu looked at Zu An, her beautiful eyes full of puzzlement.

 Chapter 1350: Divine Radiance

    Chapter 1350: Divine Radiance

    Zu An replied with a calm expression, ¡°Don¡¯t start celebrating so soon. Let¡¯s cut into your stone and see what¡¯s inside first.¡±

    Shi Rong chuckled and replied,. ¡°Do you think the stone third brother chose will be like yours with nothing inside? Keep dreaming!¡±

    Zu An replied indifferently, ¡°If you can¡¯t ept it, why don¡¯t we just bet again? The cockier you are right now, the more miserable your fall will be.¡±

    ¡°You¡­!¡± Shi Rong eximed furiously.

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Rong for +588 +588 +588¡­

    He was about to say something when Shi Min stopped him, saying, ¡°Our victory is already certain. Do not create more problems.¡±

    Shi Min didn¡¯t know what Zu An was ying at either. Either way, as long as his stone was good, there was absolutely no way for the other side to make aeback.

    Shi Rong stared at Zu An as he said angrily, ¡°But he clearly has nothing, and yet he looks as if he has everything in his grasp. It really makes me furious.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Rong for +444 +444 +444¡­

    ¡°You do not have to pay any attention to him. He is just a little clown who is already sure to lose. He is just trying to throw in more variables. We just need to ignore him,¡± Shi Min said, consoling his younger brother.

    Shi Rong and Shi Gong seemed to have suddenly realized what was happening. They remarked, ¡°Third brother is wise. That brat is just too cunning.¡±

    Just then, the butler had already begun to cut the stone in response to Shi Min¡¯s gestures. When his de descended, a streak of light shot out. Soon afterward, a phoenix projection appeared above them, releasing a loud and clear cry. Then, the phoenix flew around Jade Garden. Wherever it passed, people felt a divine aura, as if they had entered one of the world¡¯s most magical ces.

    Something even happened to the nts inside the Jade Garden. Many sprouts began to grow at a visible rate, and some flower buds even began to bloom. It was winter, and the fiend race territories were extremely cold. In spite of the Jade Garden¡¯s meticulous design, there weren¡¯t too many flowers in the courtyard. However, in an instant, numerous flowers bloomed. It was almost like the revival of spring.

    ¡°Is this the aura of the phoenix?¡± the Second Imperial Prince cried out in rm. The Golden Crow race and the Phoenix race had some connections, after all, so he seemingly felt a kind of stirring within his very blood.

    ¡°A phoenix?¡± the others eximed in shock. At first, it had just been spection, but now that they had received proof, they all looked expectantly at the stone.

    The Little Golden Peng King said, ¡°Shi Min, I will buy this stone. Just give me a price.¡±

    Chi Wen also shouted, ¡°Sell it to me, sell it to me! No one has more money than my dad!¡±

    Shang Liuyu¡¯s forehead darkened. How did big sister end up giving birth to this fool?

    The others all voiced their intent to buy it. Only Hu Yong remained quiet. He knew Shi Min could sell it to anyone but him. He felt jealous, thinking, This bastard¡¯s luck really is pretty good.

    No matter how calm Shi Min was normally, he couldn''t help but feel a bit smug. He replied, ¡°I must apologize. I will not sell this item.¡±

    The others immediately sighed in regret. However, all of them knew there was no way something as precious as that could be sold. If it had been discovered by an ordinary person, others would likely just try to steal the item. However, the Lion race was a powerful n. The princes weren¡¯t weak, either. Unless absolutely necessary, no one would take such a huge risk.

    Yun Jianyue became a bit nervous, muttering, ¡°We¡¯re finished, it¡¯s all over now¡­ We¡¯ve really lost badly this time¡­ Damn brat, didn¡¯t you cultivate the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra? How could you not sense the phoenix¡¯ aura in advance and let them take it instead?¡±

    Yan Xuehen frowned and said, ¡°You are now just ming others recklessly. Unpolished stones can iste our perception to begin with. How could he have anticipated this?¡±

    However, she was stunned as soon as she said that. She hadn¡¯t expected she would subconsciously speak out in defense of Zu An. She gave Yun Jianyue a guilty look, fearing that she might have noticed something. Fortunately, Yun Jianyue was too anxious to notice.

    Zu An replied, ¡°They¡¯re celebrating a bit too early.¡±

    ¡°What, don¡¯t tell me this isn¡¯t the aura of the phoenix?¡± Yun Jianyue asked, stunned.

    ¡°That is indeed the aura of the phoenix, but it¡¯s a bit different,¡± Zu An replied. He cultivated the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, so he was naturally familiar with the phoenix¡¯ aura. He had immediately sensed something strange about it.

    The women were stunned. They were about to ask something when Shi Min walked over to them with the attitude of a winner, saying, ¡°Medusa Queen, you still lost in the end. May I ask how you intend to pay the hundred thousand heaven-grade ki stones?¡±

    He thought to himself that he had to take the chance to fully seize the Snake race¡¯s lifeline. In that case, the entire Snake race would be within his grasp. As for the stunning Medusa Queen, her very life would be at his mercy.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s beautiful eyes narrowed and she frowned. In the past, a hundred thousand heaven-grade ki stones would have been a mere trifle. Now, she really couldn''t bring such an amount out immediately. However, she didn¡¯t reveal any openings. As the master of the Yu n, she was full of experience in dealing with such matters.

    She was just about to reply when Zu An replied, ¡°Who says we lost? You haven¡¯t even opened up your stone yet. You can¡¯t dere you won just because some shy colors showed up, right? What if there¡¯s nothing inside at all?¡±

    The butler nodded, saying, ¡°Indeed. It is often the case that there are all kinds of supernatural signs, and yet there is nothing inside. For the sake of fairness, let us open this stone fully.¡± Of course, he wasn¡¯t saying so for Zu An¡¯s sake, but rather because he was curious what was inside the stone.

    The Jade Garden really is losing out big this time¡­ There¡¯s no way we can take a loss without knowing everything.

    The others all spoke up in agreement. They all wanted to see what was inside too.

    Shi Min frowned. The reason he had said that to Yu Yanluo was precisely because he hadn¡¯t wanted to continue opening it. After all, if it actually contained an incredible treasure, it could lead to a ton of trouble. Still, he couldn''t offend everyone, so he could only agree and have the butler continue cutting.

    The butler sighed in relief, then continued to cut slowly. Under his skilled technique, paper-thinyers of stone fell apart. In the end, the true appearance of the item inside was revealed.

    ¡°This is¡­¡± The onlookers were stunned.

    It wasn¡¯t a slumbering phoenix as they had imagined, or anything resembling a phoenix egg, but rather a flower. No, it couldn¡¯t even be considered aplete flower, but rather just some leftover petals. The stamen was surprisingly well-preserved.

    The butler¡¯s expression was strange. His tone seemed to be a bit regretful, but also carried some relief, as he said, ¡°This item is called a Phoenix Stamen. In ancient times, the phoenix perched in no trees but the parasol tree, drinking no drink but sweet wine. Sometimes, when parasol trees blossomed, because the phoenix was nearby, they would be affected by the phoenix¡¯ aura, thus producing these Phoenix Stamens.¡±

    The Second Imperial Prince voiced his surprise. ¡°What is the use of this item, then?¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The butler replied, ¡°In ancient recordings, this thing was often used to refine some pills. It was an essential supplementary medicine. However, the method for creating those pills has long been lost¡­¡± He began to tell those present about the pill medicines he had read about from ancient texts.

    Shi Min was bing more and more unhappy. He quickly asked, ¡°What is the price of this item?¡±

    The butler replied, ¡°Even though this item has an extraordinary background, it can be found often. It is not too precious. If it is auctioned in our Jade Garden, it should be able to sell for several hundred to a thousand heaven-grade ki stones.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Shi Min¡¯s expression became ashen. He had spent five thousand heaven-grade ki stones on the unpolished stone, and yet in the end, it was only worth a few hundred heaven-grade ki stones?

    The others¡¯ expressions changed. Some of them sighed, others felt a bit of regret, while some even rejoiced in his misfortune.

    Hu Yong roared withughter. ¡°Tsk tsk, a man who is never content is like a snake trying to swallow an elephant! There were so many people who wanted to purchase it at a high price, yet you were so dumb that you actually refused them all! Your intestines are probably turning ck from regret now, right?¡±

    Even the usually calm and steady Shi Min finally lost hisposure, snapping, ¡°No one will think you are mute if you stay silent!¡±

    ¡°Haha, my mouth is mine to use, so I can say anything I want. Why don¡¯t youe and do something about it if you can?¡± Hu Yong had been feeling quite terrible earlier, and now he finally had a chance to retaliate, so he naturally had to fire with everything he had!

    Shi Min¡¯s face twitched, but he knew Hu Yong¡¯s cultivation was high and he had his two little brothers with him, so his party of three could end up unable to get the advantage. As such, he couldn''t do anything.

    Shi Rong red at the butler and protested, ¡°Hey, are you guys trying to scam my third brother out of his treasure? Is that why you¡¯re making up some Phoenix Stamen story, so you can keep it for yourself?¡±

    Shi Min nodded inwardly, thinking that his seventh brother didn¡¯t seem to be that stupid after all, huh? He actually had simr suspicions himself, but he couldn''t say it out loud in front of everyone. Letting his younger brother speak was much more suitable.

    The butler¡¯s face darkened and he said, ¡°Seventh prince, please do not speak such nonsense. How many years has our Jade Garden already existed for? No matter how precious the treasure our guests have opened, we have always allowed them to take it. Everyone knows about our store¡¯s sincerity over the years, so why would we ruin our reputation over something like this? If the princes do not believe me, you can bring this item back and find a merchant group to look at it. They can then verify whether it is a Phoenix Stamen or not.¡±

    The Little Golden Peng King also spoke up calmly. ¡°This king has remained in the Fiend King Court for many years, so I can vouch for the Jade Garden. They would never do something so shameless and despicable.¡±

    The butler immediately bowed in respect, saying, ¡°Thank you, Little Golden Peng King.¡±

    When Shi Min saw that, he immediately berated his little brother. ¡°Seventh prince, you spoke too irresponsibly. Why would they be that kind of group?¡±

    Then, he said to the butler andLittle Golden Peng King. ¡°I truly apologize. Seventh brother is still young and reckless; I hope that everyone can forgive him.¡±

    The power behind the Jade Garden was deep and immeasurable. He had no idea who controlled it from the shadows. Just now, the Little Golden Peng King had spoken up for them, so perhaps he was involved somehow?

    The butler obviously wouldn¡¯t continue to hold it against them. Thus, after exchanging some words of courtesy, both sides let the matter pass.

    However, Shi MIn was quite resentful. When he saw that Zu An had just been watching with amusement off to one side, he could no longer hold it in. ¡°Now that the contents have already been revealed, all of you are now convinced, right?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Min for +888 +888 +888¡­

    ¡°You¡¯ve only opened up something this shoddy, and yet you want us to admit defeat?¡± Zu Anughed mockingly.

    ¡°Even though our Phoenix Stamen was not as precious as anticipated, its value is still a thousand heaven-grade ki stones. It is still better than your side that has nothing, right? You just picked thergest and cheapest stone. Did you really think you would always have the same luck as you did down in the yellow floor?¡± Shi Min spat hatefully. He really approved of what his younger brother had said now. This guy clearly had nothing to rely on, and yet he always had that crazy confidence. It really made them feel awful.

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Min for +522 +522 +522¡­

    ¡°Sorry, our luck has always been quite good,¡± Zu An said while moving closer to the table. He took a piece from the pile of crushed rocks.

    Shi Minughed and said, ¡°That thing is only as thick as a palm; it is just ayer of rock that was shaved off. Don¡¯t tell me you would be so delusional as to think that there is something inside?¡±

    The butler also said, ¡°That is indeed just a normal piece of stone skin. There is no way I would be unable to sense anything if it contained something special.¡±

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°There are always exceptions to everything.¡±

    Then, he moved his hand. The rock burst apart, and a streak of divine radiance shot out. All the lights in the Jade Garden seemed to pale inparison.

 Chapter 1351: Complete Victory

    Chapter 1351: Complete Victory

    Even the people from the lower floors of the Jade Garden sensed something. They all rushed to the immortal floor to take a look. Many of them couldn''t resist the urge to see what had happened. Unfortunately, they were stopped by the guards. They could only discuss and specte among themselves. Thus, the Jade Garden quickly became extremely lively.

    Even many people from Fiend King Court City looked toward the Jade Garden. When they saw the miraculous divine radiance, they were all incredibly shocked. Could it be that some incredible treasure had appeared in the Jade Garden? As such, they immediately sent over subordinates to investigate the ce.

    ¡°This is¡­¡± All those present on the immortal floor were shocked.

    If the phoenix sign from before had been full of ki, making their bodies feel rxed, this time, the light was so dazzling that no one could even open their eyes. Furthermore, it carried a powerful holy aura that was not something ordinary heaven-grade items couldpare to at all; perhaps not even an immortal-grade item could match up.

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue were both grandmasters who were full of experience. They quickly reacted, eximing, ¡°Is this a deity-grade aura?¡±

    Afterward, everyone else seemed to have woken up from a dream. The butler was already shaking all over. He was so moved he couldn''t even speak anymore.

    A figure suddenly appeared from who knew where. He was an elder with white hair, but had a youthfulplexion. Judging from his outfit, he was clearly Jade Garden¡¯s guardian. He observed the divine radiance with narrowed eyes, and his lips began to tremble a bit.

    Yun Jianyue nudged Yan Xuehen and said, ¡°This Jade Garden really is mysterious, to have an air mortal form cultivator as a guardian[1].¡±

    Yan Xuehen shared her sentiment, adding, ¡°One at the peak of the air form, no less.¡±

    The master rank was divided into five levels: The hero, essence, core, power, and air mortal forms. The air form was the highest level of the five within the master rank, and the elder was at the very peak of that level. He was more or less a pseudo-grandmaster. The most important part, however, was that he was the protector of a mere merchant group. As such, how could they not feel any shock?

    However, when they thought of how there were so many precious unpolished stones present, they realized that made sense. Without sufficiently high cultivation, one wouldn¡¯t be able to properly protect those items in a ce like the Fiend King Court where there were powerful cultivators everywhere.

    The white-haired elder said with a trembling voice, ¡°Deity¡­ Deity-grade aura. This is¡­ This is Cmity Gold!¡±

    ¡°Cmity Gold?¡± Those present were all formidable cultivators with extraordinary experience. They had naturally heard that name before. Cmity Gold was one of the eight great legendary divine golds, and could be used to forge a deity-grade weapon.

    How many deity grade weapons were there in this world? Each one¡¯s power was enough to cause supernatural phenomena in this world, and their masters were the most powerful beings in the world, who ruled over their ownnd. Many other powerful individuals also wanted their own deity-grade weapon, and yet due to the rarity of the materials, they had no choice but to bury that wish. Judging from that, it was obvious just how precious Cmity Gold was.

    The Second Imperial Prince suddenly got up and said, ¡°Medusa Queen, I will purchase this piece of Cmity Gold. Just name the price. Furthermore, from today onward, the Snake race will be the most sincere friend of this imperial prince. In the future, as long as this prince still exists, the Snake race will enjoy endless glory and splendor.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t that he wasn¡¯t being sincere enough by not offering a price; rather, such a deity-grade treasure was already priceless. It was something that could only be exchanged for through other means.

    The expressions of the lion princes immediately changed. The Second Imperial Prince had clearly been partial to them earlier, and yet now, he chose the other side without a hint of hesitation. They felt truly upset, as if they had been abandoned.

    The others were horrified. The price the Second Imperial Prince had offered was already extremely high. Such a promise would surely return the Snake race to their peak, or perhaps elevate them to even greater heights than before. They could definitely be one of the fiend races¡¯ most powerful ns.

    They were all the most powerful representatives of the different races. They could more or less guess why the Second Imperial Prince would offer up such a huge price. The Golden Crow Crown Prince had his Sun ying Bow, while he didn¡¯t have anything like that.

    The fact that the Second Imperial Prince wasn¡¯t willing to ept the Golden Crow Crown Prince was widely known. He believed that his own cultivation, talent, and strategic prowess all surpassed his brother¡¯s. Unfortunately, the crown prince had the deity-grade weapon the Fiend Emperor had passed down to him. If they really fought, he would definitely be at a disadvantage. That was why he so urgently wanted a deity-grade weapon of his own.

    Refining a deity-grade weapon had other harsh requirements apart from those rare materials, but he wasn¡¯t concerned with that at the moment. He had to seize the Cmity Gold first before thinking about the next steps.

    Yu Yanluo showed him an apologetic smile and said, ¡°I fear that I must apologize to the Second Imperial Prince. We do not n to sell this Cmity Gold.¡±

    As the Snake race¡¯s leader, she naturally knew that the Golden Crow Crown Prince waspeting with the Second Imperial Prince. She didn¡¯t want to get caught up in the battle over the throne. Furthermore, the item was something Ah Zu had discovered, so it obviously belonged to him. There was no way she would selfishly make a decision over it.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s mouth was so wide open a chicken egg could fit inside. She eximed, ¡°Stone cold woman, do you think Little An really just has blind luck?¡± Even with her knowledge and experience, the stone couldn''t have been more ordinary looking. How could she have expected that it would be something so heaven-defying?!n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Yan Xuehen frowned and said, ¡°I think not. He confidently told Yu Yanluo to pick this stone. That level of certainty cannot be faked.¡±

    ¡°Then how did he notice it?¡± Yun Jianyue asked. She was beyond shocked. ¡°Not even Yu Yanluo could see anything, and that highly-experienced butler didn¡¯t notice anything while cutting either. He almost missed it too.¡±

    ¡°I do not know. We will just have to ask himter,¡± Yan Xuehen said indifferently.

    ¡°Do you really have no concept of politeness? This might be rted to his greatest secrets. Are you sure he¡¯ll tell you?¡± Yun Jianyue asked, giving her a doubtful look. ¡°When did you be so familiar with him?¡±

    Yan Xuehen was rmed. She promptly looked away, ignoring Yun Jianyue. After that guy bullied me like that before¡­ What, is he not even going to answer something like this?

    The Second Imperial Prince¡¯s face fell. He said, ¡°Medusa Queen, you have to think things over properly. Even though this piece of Cmity Gold is mysterious, there is not much of it at all. There is definitely not enough to create a divine weapon. With your Snake race¡¯s power, you will not be able to piece together enough other kinds of divine gold, and it will only bring about the greed of others.¡± His statement was a reminder, but also a threat.

    Yu Yanluo didn¡¯t get annoyed. She showed him a refreshing and beautiful smile, replying, ¡°Thank you for your reminder, Second Imperial Prince. We will properly safeguard this piece of Cmity Gold. If we change our mind and want to sell it, we will definitely give the Second Imperial Prince priority to purchase it.¡±

    The Second Imperial Prince knew she was just exchanging polite greetings, but he had to admit that upon seeing Yu Yanluo¡¯s exceptional appearance and friendly smile, his anger couldn''t help but unknowingly dissipate.

    Zu An looked at the palm-sized chunk of metal. It was surrounded by divine radiance, but it really wasn¡¯t thatrge. It seemed a little too small to be made into aplete weapon.

    However, he was thinking of something else. Cracks had formed in the Tai¡¯e Sword when it was struck by the Sun ying Bow, and because Mi Li was inside, it had affected her too. He could just use the piece of Cmity Gold to repair its cracks.

    ording to what Mi Li had previously told him, the Tai¡¯e Sword had been sealed for so long that its grade fell. If he added the Cmity Gold, wouldn¡¯t that be able to repair the sword, and perhaps even help it continue to grow stronger?

    Just then, Zu An looked at Shi Min and said, ¡°Third prince, you¡¯re now convinced of your loss, right? Hand over that stuff first. Even though the Phoenix Stamen isn¡¯t all that much, it¡¯s still ours now.¡±

    He snatched the Phoenix Stamen that had just been found and added, ¡°Oh yeah, don¡¯t forget about the True Corpse Bamboo you found earlier. That kind of thing is honestly a bit too sinister, so we¡¯ll help take it off your hands.¡±

    Zu An looked really troubled, almost as if he felt that the True Corpse Bone was a bit too filthy for his hand.

    Shi Min was speechless.

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Min for +999 +999 +999¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Gong for +999 +999 +999¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Rong for +999 +999 +999¡­

    This little bastard only has blind luck, and yet he¡¯s actually climbing all over us?!!!

    Shi Rong was the first one to erupt in rage. ¡°You damn bastard, you¡¯re going too far!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going too far? I just repeated what you said to me before,¡± Zu An said with a shrug. ¡°What, don¡¯t tell me you guys want to go back on your bet? The princes and princesses here are all witnesses. I advise you to behave.¡±

    The others were speechless, and only Shang Liuyu had a smile on her face. This guy really was just as she remembered.

    Hu Yongughed so hard that the edges of his mouth seemed about to reach his ears. ¡°Hahahahah! I¡¯ve really grown in experience today! Turns out the Lion race is nothing but a bunch of sore losers!¡±

    No matter how thick Shi Min¡¯s skin was, he couldn''t stand such mockery in front of so many people. He said, ¡°Enough. Seventh brother, give him the True Corpse Bamboo.¡±

    ¡°Third brother!¡± Shi Rong eximed, his eyespletely red. He was still quite young and couldn''t immediately ept such a loss.

    ¡°Seventh brother!¡± Shi Min snapped, shooting him a re.

    Shi Rong thus handed over the True Corpse Bamboo unwillingly. Zu An took it, then patted his shoulder, saying, ¡°That¡¯s a good little boy~¡±

    Shi Rong erupted with rage, eximing, ¡°What did you say?!¡±

    He was still young, so such words were what angered him the most. Zu An had talked to him like a senior addressing a junior, which really pissed him off.

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Rong for +444 +444 +444¡­

    Zu An replied, sounding ¡®stunned¡¯, ¡°So you don¡¯t like it when other people praise you! Then I¡¯ll say you¡¯re a bad little boy.¡±

    Shi Rong was speechless. He was so angry that his hair was standing on end. He yelled, ¡°Scoundrel, I¡¯m going to fight you!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Rong for +999 +999 +999¡­

    Yun Jianyue burst outughing, saying, ¡°Stone cold woman, this guy really is despicable.¡±

    ¡°This kind of behavior is indeed unlike that of a proper gentleman,¡± Yan Xuehen said, frowning slightly. With her background, she didn¡¯t really like that kind of thing too much.

    ¡°Hmph, what do you understand? This is how you have to be when you¡¯re facing your enemies!¡± Yun Jianyue replied in dissatisfaction. ¡°If he had entered our Holy Sect early on, who knows how much less I would¡¯ve had to worry about.¡±

    Yan Xuehen remained indifferent, as if she had no interest in discussing the matter with her.

    Seeing that Yan Xuehen didn¡¯t praise Zu An the way she had before, Yun Jianyue sighed in relief. What was I thinking before?

    ¡­

    Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°Do I have to agree just because you want to fight against me?¡±

    ¡°Do you have no sense of a warrior¡¯s dignity?!¡± Shi Rong eximed with wide eyes.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s people who owe money but don¡¯t pay back whock any warrior¡¯s dignity. I¡¯m really starting to wonder if you perhaps want to use that chance to kill me, so you won¡¯t have to pay those hundred thousand heaven-grade ki stones anymore.¡± Zu An harrumphed.

    ¡°You¡­¡± Shi Rong¡¯s face had turned entirely red. That wasn¡¯t his intention at all; he had just acted impulsively from anger. However, he saw the looks directed at him, and they seemed to really believe what he was saying.

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Rong for +555 +555 +555¡­

    Shi Min said seriously, ¡°Don¡¯t worry; how can we renege on our debt if we lose? However, a hundred thousand ki stones is no small number and we need a few days to collect it. We will bring it over then.¡±

    Zu An nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s fine. Then, let¡¯s write up a contract.¡±

    Shi Min was speechless. He eventually replied, ¡°Our Lion race always keeps our word. Are you worried that we might back out of our debt?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Min for +600 +600 +600¡­

    ¡°Even blood brothers need to write contracts for money; otherwise, there might be misunderstandings in the future,¡± Zu An said, looking at him with a smile.

    Shi Min gave him a hateful look, but he still made the contract in the end. Then, he stormed out with his brothers; he wasn¡¯t shameless enough to stay there any longer.

    ¡­

    When they left the Jade Garden, Shi Gong asked with a frown, ¡°Third brother, are we really going to pay them a hundred thousand ki stones? That¡¯s not a small amount at all!¡±

    Shi Min said coldly, ¡°Of course not. The crown prince already told us to target the Snake race in the arena. I was a bit hesitant then, because I wanted to get some cash from the Snake race first. But now that this has happened, they cannot me me for acting like this. We can just properly cripple them in the arena.¡±

    1. Upon reaching the master rank, there are seven mortal forms. Furthermore, the seven mortal forms are split into three sections for several reasons. The lower two are the hero and essence mortal forms, while the central three are the core, power, and air mortal forms. Those five are tied to the master rank. Once one¡¯s cultivation reaches the upper two, the wisdom and ascension mortal forms, one can be said to have reached the grandmaster level. -Chapter 1294 ?

 Chapter 1352: Those In the Mirror

    Chapter 1352: Those In the Mirror

    Shi Rong had an excited expression as he replied, ¡°Third brother, this is where I think you¡¯re wrong. You should¡¯ve agreed right away!¡±

    Shi Min turned around and gave the Jade Garden a look, saying, ¡°We were just doing what we did because of eighth brother and the Medusa Queen¡¯s grudge, but apart from that, there was no hatred between us that couldn''t be resolved. We would not have gone too far. Furthermore, the Second Imperial Prince is contending against the crown prince, so they were secretly trying to rope us in. I was worried that by helping the crown prince, it would make me seem as if we were being more biased towards him, thus drawing the hostility of the Second Imperial Prince¡¯s side.¡±

    Shi Rong harrumphed. ¡°That bastard Second Imperial Prince is truly hateful. He was helping us when we had the advantage at first, but then he immediately changed sides! He¡¯s so despicable!¡±

    Shi Min glowered and said, ¡°If he wants to be heartless, he cannot me me for not having any loyalty. Either way, the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s rise to the throne is practically decided. So what if we fully side with the crown prince now?¡±

    Shi Gong said worriedly, ¡°What I¡¯m worried about is that it¡¯ll be difficult for us to do much to the Snake race in the arena, though. The Snake race has always remained rather low-profile over the past few years, and only the n leader has held a seat. If they don¡¯t choose to participate, it¡¯ll be hard for us to do anything to them.¡±

    ¡°You do not need to worry about that. We just received news that they have sent three of their people to participate. Included among them is that Yan Zu, as well as two women. They should be the two women who were at the Medusa Queen¡¯s side today,¡± said Shi Min.

    Shi Rong cracked his knuckles and said, ¡°Then that¡¯s perfect. I¡¯ll fully cripple that little bastard and make him regret ever acting so cocky.¡±

    Shi Gong alsoughed, adding, ¡°The two women at the Medusa Queen¡¯s side do look a bit ordinary, but their figures are top rate. Besides, I find that the more I look at them, the more I sense a unique kind of charm. I¡¯ll take good care of themter.¡±

    ¡°Are you going crazy from sexual frustration or something?¡± Shi Min said with augh. ¡°However, those twodies are indeed quite special, even though I cannot really say how.¡±

    As they discussed what they were going to do to the Snake race, their mood immediately improved. Their previous gloominess from their time in the Jade Garden was quickly swept clean.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in the Jade Garden, everyone congratted Yu Yanluo. Yu Yanluo naturally wouldn¡¯t give up on such a great opportunity to get closer to the different races.

    Shang Liuyu took the chance to move over to Zu An¡¯s side and said, ¡°Your mask is pretty special.¡±

    ¡°What is the princess saying? I don¡¯t understand,¡± Zu An replied, ncing around the area. Even though Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue acted indifferent, their ears seemed to be pricked up.

    Shang Liuyu had a faint smile as she said, ¡°Look at you¡­ Even after you change your appearance, that shameless side of you will never change.¡±

    Zu An chuckled and replied, ¡°It¡¯s still big sis who knows me best. I didn¡¯t expect to meet you here at all. Even though I had a guess, only now did I learn that you were actually the Ocean races¡¯ mermaid princess!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just an identity of mine. I rarely stay in the Ocean races¡¯ territory. I spend most of my time in the human world.¡± For some reason, Shang Liuyu¡¯s expression seemed to carry a bit of regret as she spoke. However, it quickly returned to normal again as she continued, ¡°I didn¡¯t think that you would still take the risk ofing to the Fiend King Court.¡±

    ¡°I know your warning earlier was reasonable, but I had a reason foring here too,¡± Zu An said, thinking about the Unknown Region in the Imperial Tomb. How was he supposed to get in there?

    Shang Liuyu nced at Yu Yanluo, who waspletely surrounded. She asked, ¡°Is it for her sake? Indeed, she¡¯s quite the charming person. Whether in the human world or in the fiend races¡¯ world, she¡¯s always been the focus of people¡¯s attention.¡±

    It was obvious that she had frequently heard about the capital¡¯s former number one beauty when she was in the human world. Zu An knew she had misunderstood, but he didn¡¯t correct her.

    Soon afterward, the Little Golden Peng King walked over and asked curiously, ¡°What is the princess talking about?¡±

    ¡°I was curious how he was able to recognize that there was a deity-grade treasure in that stone,¡± Shang Liuyu replied, making up an excuse

    ¡°Oh, now that you mention it, that is something I was curious about too,¡± the Little Golden Peng King said as his gazended on Zu An. Even though the stone had been selected by Yu Yanluo, even the butler had overlooked its contents, and yet this Yan Zu had been able to find the Cmity Gold inside. His level of perception was definitely special.

    Zu An looked bewildered and replied, ¡°I just made a random guess! Maybe my luck is just too good?¡±

    The corners of Shang Liuyu¡¯s lips curled upward.

    The Little Golden Peng King was speechless. He thought Zu An was ying the fool at first, but then Zu AN started to brag about his luck. At that instant, he couldn''t even really tell whether Zu An just didn¡¯t want to talk about it, or his luck really was just that good.

    ¡­

    After the exchange, Shang Liuyu returned to the other side of the room. She worried that staying at Zu An¡¯s side for too long would bring him unnecessary trouble.

    Some more time passed before Yu Yanluo bid her farewell to those present, and her group left the Jade Garden. The butler personally saw them out, and he even hinted that if they ever wanted to sell the Cmity Gold, the Jade Garden was willing to offer an extremely generous price.

    ¡­n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    On the way back, the group began to talk about what had happened. Zu An said with a smile, ¡°There really is more to this Jade Garden than meets the eye¡­ They were clearly there when that Second Imperial Prince made his offer, and yet they¡¯re still trying to sneak an offer behind his back.¡±

    Yu Yanluo replied, ¡°This Jade Garden is indeed extremely mysterious. However, based on how things currently look, their attitude toward us is still rather friendly, so there¡¯s no need to worry about them for now. On the contrary, it¡¯s the Tiger race that, because of our conflict with the Lion race, seems to be vigorously trying to rope us in.¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°The Tiger race and the Lion race have always contended for the title of beast king. Unfortunately, neither side is willing to bow down to the other. Both sides are pretty simr in strength, so it¡¯s not easy to decide a victor. We can be friendly with the Tiger race, as long as it¡¯s not to the point that they¡¯ll use us as a tool to deal with the Lion race.¡±

    Yu Yanluo nodded slightly. She had thought the same thing.

    ¡°Compared to Jade Garden or the Tiger race, what I¡¯m more curious about is how you knew there was treasure in that stone!¡± Yun Jianyue eximed, sounding upset. Yan Xuehen had clearly said she would ask him, and yet she hadn¡¯t said a thing even after all this time. She had gotten more and more frustrated, until she finally couldn''t take it anymore and just asked directly. This stone cold woman can¡¯t change her damn hypocritical nature after all!

    Zu An was about to say something when Yan Xuehen spoke up first. ¡°We do not want to hear you say that you have ridiculous luck or something.¡±

    ¡°But I really am a child of luck¡­¡± Zu An began, chuckling in embarrassment. However, he continued, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. That¡¯s just what I used to shake off the others. Everyone here is one of our own people, so I won¡¯t hide it from you guys.¡±

    ¡°Our own¡­¡± The three women all thought different thoughts when they heard that.

    Yu Yanluo felt that it made perfect sense, while Yan Xuehen¡¯s cheeks flushed red. However, she tried her best not to show anything. Yun Jianyue acted naturally, but ever since he had seen her most private parts, she had always felt a strange and indescribable feeling of shame.

    Zu An didn¡¯t notice their different reactions and simply continued, ¡°The ¡®Drop of Heaven¡¯s Essence¡¯ I obtained from Lord Sui¡¯s Tomb is a technique for studying the trends of heaven and earth, so of course, it has records on how to study rocks too. After all, these rocks are all products of ley lines.

    ¡°ording to the records, upon reaching the highest level, one can easily find ki stone veins within a boundless mountain range, let alone seeing through an unpolished stone.

    ¡°Of course, my cultivation isn¡¯t high enough, and I just vaguely sensed that something was off with that rock. The reason why I was able to recognize there was a great treasure inside was this.¡± He took out a bronze mirror while speaking. It was extremely borate and unusual.

    Yun Jianyue had an ambiguous smile as she asked, ¡°And which one of your sweethearts gave you this lover¡¯s gift?¡±

    Seeing that Yu Yanluo and Yan Xuehen were staring directly at him, Zu An¡¯s heart leaped. He cried, ¡°Big sis, you can¡¯t make random usations like that! This thing is called ¡®King Qin¡¯s Mirror of Souls¡¯. It¡¯s something that I found from an Unknown Region, rumored to be the mirror King Qin used to shine on his subjects to test whether they were loyal or not. It no longer has such a ridiculous ability, but it seems to be able to check what the contents of an unpolished stone are. That¡¯s something I only recently learned about.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s that magical?¡± When they heard that it came from an Unknown Region, the three women immediately became interested in it. They all moved closer to get a better look.

    However, what they saw in the mirror were three exceptional beauties, but to their horror, there wasn¡¯t a shred of clothing on their bodies!

 Chapter 1353: Ambush

    Chapter 1353: Ambush

    ¡°Ahhh!¡± The three of them were all the very best in their respective fields. They might not have batted an eyelid if a mountain copsed before them, and yet at that moment, they all panicked. They immediately clutched their chests, then quickly backed up.

    All three of their faces were entirely red as they stared angrily at Zu An and cried, ¡°Zu An!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +555 +555 +555¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +555 +555 +555¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Yu Yanluo for +134 +134 +134¡­

    Maid Xing and the others were curious why the three had gotten so angry to the point that they would risk exposing Zu An¡¯s identity. They moved over to see what was inside the mirror too, but Yu Yanluo dragged them back.

    Zu An was stupefied. He hadn¡¯t expected such a situation to appear at all! When he saw how mes were about to shoot out of their eyes, he quickly exined, ¡°I really didn¡¯t know about this! I only secretly used it to look at that stone earlier!¡±

    Yan Xuehen asked with an ice-cold expression, ¡°Then why do you have a nosebleed right now?¡±

    Even though Zu An had already seen everything back in the Great Snowy Mountains¡¯ hot spring, she had resolved to forget about everything that happened that day. And yet now, she had been seen again! It really was endless suffering.

    Zu An subconsciously wiped his nose. Sure enough, there was blood everywhere. He chuckled in embarrassment and said, ¡°I must¡¯ve been eating too well recently in the Fiend races. My ki and blood are going a bit wild, haha.¡±

    A sh of killing intent passed through Yun Jianyue¡¯s eyes. ¡°What did you see just now?¡±

    ¡°Absolutely nothing,¡± Zu An said guiltily. However, the beautiful white expanse he had seen appeared in his mind. He instinctively began topare them. The threedies really did excel in their own areas, each having their own supetive parts. It would have been fine if he hadn¡¯t thought about it, but now that he had, more blood trickled out of his nose. He couldn''t stop it even if he wanted to.

    The three women were all speechless. They knew he was lying with his eyes open, and he knew they wouldn¡¯t believe him either. However, they could only pretend to believe him and let the matter pass.

    Thus, the three women all harrumphed and ignored him. Zu An walked behind them guiltily.

    Only Maid Xing remained at Zu An¡¯s side, handing over a clean handkerchief and saying, ¡°Young master, use this to wipe that area.¡±

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Zu An said. He thought to himself that Maid Xing was still the most considerate one among them.

    ¡°Young master, what did you do to them? Why are they suddenly getting so angry?¡± Maid Xing suddenly asked, as a gossipy radiance flickered in her eyes. After all, they had still been chatting happily a moment beforehand, and yet now, they had suddenly turned on each other!n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An almost choked. He replied, ¡°Ahem, it¡¯s nothing. There was just a small unexpected event.¡±

    When she saw how he was acting, Maid Xing grew even more curious. She was about to ask more when Yu Yanluo called out, ¡°Maid Xing,e here.¡±

    ¡°Got it¡­¡± Maid Xing replied. She only helplessly jog over.

    Zu An secretly took out King Qin¡¯s mirror. He hadn¡¯t expected it to have that kind of function. There had been countless protagonists from webnovels who had x-ray vision and simr abilities. It was easy to see just how popr that kind of fantasy was. Didn¡¯t that mean any woman he looked at through it wouldn¡¯t be wearing any clothes at all?

    His heart began to beat crazily. He knew such a thing was kind of bad, but he just couldn''t suppress that urge. I¡¯m just testing it out. I definitely don¡¯t have any other thoughts¡­ Zu An began to console himself. Then, he carefully shone the mirror forward.

    ¡°If you dare to use that mirror on us again, I¡¯ll personally gouge your eyes out,¡± Yun Jianyue said threateningly. That matter had clearly angered her greatly.

    ¡°Count me in as well,¡± Yan Xuehen said just as coldly. For once, she stood on the same side as Yun Jianyue.

    Yu Yanluo also shot Zu An a look.

    ¡°Haha, it¡¯s just a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding! This definitely won¡¯t happen again,¡± Zu An said, quickly putting King Qin¡¯s mirror away.

    Yan Xuehen was about to say something when she suddenly frowned. She pulled Yun Jianyue and Yu Yanluo over to Zu An¡¯s side.

    At that instant, several dozen crossbow bolts pierced through the area they had just been standing in. The bolts dug several feet into the ground, their tail ends still vibrating. It was easy to imagine just how much force they carried. Blue light swirled across their surface; they had clearly been processed with special runes that specialized in prating the ki barriers of cultivators.

    ¡°Do I need you to save me? I could get rid of them in just a second.¡± Yun Jianyue harrumphed. She clearly didn¡¯t like owing Yan Xuehen any favors.

    Yan Xuehen rolled her eyes and didn¡¯t feel like arguing with her. She looked at the crossbows, and her expression changed a bit. She eximed, ¡°Military crossbows?¡±

    Their expressions all changed. They thought to themselves, Who would dare to bring an entire army to kill us?

    Their first thought was that it was Shi Min¡¯s group, but after thinking about it, it didn¡¯t seem too likely. This was the Fiend King Court and not the Lion race territory. Their strength wasn¡¯t great enough to mobilize an army.

    Then could it be the Second Imperial Prince or Little Golden Peng King? The two were both fiend race generals with their own troops under them.

    The group had just walked into a secluded alley. That way, even if something happened, no one woulde and save them for quite some time.

    At that instant, another shower of bolts descended. Yun Jianyue was about to act when Yu Yanluo swept her sleeves outward. A painting scroll appeared above them, removing all of the bolts. Her painting turned into a space of its own, taking the bolts into its own world. No matter how great their power was, they were still within her control.

    Yun Jianyue sighed in amazement. This woman¡¯s cultivation rank wasn¡¯t as high as hers, but her skills were quite unique.

    ¡°Huh?¡± A voice eximed in surprise from the shadows. The enemy clearly hadn¡¯t expected their death trap to have been dealt with so easily.

    Zu An sneered when he heard the familiar voice, saying, ¡°Ban Ka, stop hiding like a filthy mouse. You dare to set up an ambush, but you¡¯re too scared to show yourself? Right, Heichi Gu should be here too, no? Why don¡¯t you bothe out, then.¡±

    He had already known that these two wouldn¡¯t give up when they left the Jade Garden. Furthermore, the ambush had used military crossbows, which was something Ban Ka couldn''t achieve on his own. Only Heichi Gu from the ck Teeth race had the ability to set that up.

    Someone sneered, and a group of ck-d individuals walked out of the distant shadows. The ones in the lead were Ban Ka and Heichi Gu.

    ¡°I only nned to leave after taking your treasures, but since you called us out, we have no choice but to silence you,¡± Heichi Gu said with a cruelugh, exposing his pitch-ck teeth.

    When Ban Ka had first suggested working together, he had felt a bit hesitant. After all, the situation in the Fiend King Court was tense. If something really happened, things would be extremely troublesome. Furthermore, if the Lion race¡¯s princes had won the bet, his ambush against the Snake race would have be meaningless. He had no intention of facing the Lion race.

    And yet, afterward, news had spread that the Snake race had won! Most importantly, all kinds of incredible treasures had been revealed, and one of them even a deity-grade treasure. Even though they didn¡¯t know what it was yet, just the words ¡®deity-grade¡¯ were already enough.

    As such, he had quickly joined forces with Ban Ka, deciding to work together to ambush the Snake race. However, he had already prepared some schemes beforehand. He would use the Hyena race¡¯s power first, but if something unexpected happened, he would just push all the me onto Ban Ka.

    Yu Yanluo looked around. She noticed that even though the subordinates behind Ban Ka were masked, the exposed skin around their arms and necks was covered in spots. They were clearly the Hyena race¡¯s experts. Meanwhile, on Heichi Gu¡¯s side, his subordinates were well-trained, but resembled a standard army more.

    Now that she had some confidence, she coldly said, ¡°Heichi Gu, the Fiend Emperor has established the order that fights are prohibited. There are Golden Crow Guards patrolling the entire court. Now that this has happened here, Golden Crow Guards will notice the situation soon, and you will be punished by execution. Could it be that you believe you can kill us within such a brief amount of time?¡±

    Heichi Gu sneered. ¡°So it seems the Medusa Queen is still hoping for the Golden Crow Guards to save you. Let me tell you something so you can give up thosevish hopes. I¡¯ve already used my connections to seal off several streets around us. The Golden Crow Guards will think that we¡¯re investigating the assassin in this area. They won¡¯te over here at all.¡±

 Chapter 1354: Pissed

    Chapter 1354: Pissed

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression changed. She hadn¡¯t expected the enemy¡¯s preparations to be so thorough.

    When he saw her expression change, Ban Ka felt more at ease. It was a really good thing that he had found Heichi Gu. Even though he was confident in the forces hemanded, feeling that they could also wipe out the Snake race¡¯s forces, there were too many things in the Fiend King Court that were outside his control.

    ¡°If you behave and hand over those things, we can consider sparing your lives,¡± Ban Ka said, sweeping his gaze over the other group.

    There was something else that he didn¡¯t say, however. The Medusa Queen was so beautiful, he definitely had to have his fun with herter. As for the two women at her side, even though they looked a bit more ordinary, their butts seemed quite big, so he couldn''t let them go either. For the Hyena race, the ass carried an attraction that ran within their very genes.

    As for that Yan Zu or whatever his name was, there was no need to keep him alive. However, Ban Ka wouldn¡¯t let him die that easily either. Considering how cocky Yan Zu had been, Ban Ka had to properly torment him for a bit first, to make him cry and beg for mercy. Only then would Ban Ka kill him. That was the only way he could vent out his hatred.

    However, who would have thought that Zu An wouldn¡¯t feel rmed in the slightest? On the contrary, he looked at them with pity and replied, ¡°Do you guys know just how stupid what you did was?¡±

    Do these guys not know who they¡¯re trying to rob? he thought. Forget about him, just a single Medusa Queen, or either of the two grandmasters, would be more than they could handle.

    Ban Ka sneered. ¡°Do you know what kind of situation you¡¯re already in? You should be begging for forgiveness right now. I¡¯ll make sure to pull out your tongueter. Let¡¯s see if you can still talk then!¡±

    Zu An sighed and said, ¡°You¡¯re from the Hyena race after all, only knowing how to bark.¡±

    ¡°What did you say?!¡± Ban Ka eximed furiously. He had never expected that Zu An would act so arrogantly even in such a situation.

    You have sessfully trolled Ban Ka for +444 +444 +444¡­

    Zu An shook his head and added, ¡°So the Hyena race¡¯s experts don¡¯t have good ears either.¡±

    Ban Ka¡¯s expression contorted heavily and he muttered, ¡°Good, very good¡­ I¡¯ll rip off your ears and eat them with wer.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Ban Ka for +777 +777 +777¡­

    Heichi Gu was a bit confused. Where was this guy getting his confidence from? Could it be that they still have some trump cards?

    Still, they had so many cultivators with them, while the other party was just made up of five individuals, and four of them were women. Apart from the Medusa Queen being a bit more capable, the others all looked like maids and servants. He thought, The advantage should be firmly ours¡­

    Ban Ka couldn''t hold himself back anymore. He reached out a hand,manding his subordinates to charge forth.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    His subordinates all had equipment that resembled some sort of eye covering, as they still felt some apprehension toward the Medusa Queen¡¯s petrifying gaze. If they saw something even a bit suspicious, they would immediately cover their eyes.

    ording to ancient teachings, as long as they didn¡¯t look straight at the Medusa Queen, her petrification skill wouldn¡¯t work. Besides, the Hyena race¡¯s warriors felt that their smell and hearing were sharp enough alone, and they also excelled at fighting together. Even if their eyes were covered, they could still surround their target.

    Yu Yanluo took out her World Painting, nning to suck all the warriors into it. Her skill was extremely suitable for group battles.

    However, Ban Ka had already prepared for that. He took out a torch and removed the cap on it, and an almost entirely white me rushed forth. It surged through the air, vaguely forming the shape of a white lotus, and it released a terrifying aura of destruction.

    ¡°White Lotus me?¡± Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen eximed, jumping in fright.

    There were certain special mes in the world that were different from ordinary mes. They were incredibly powerful, and whether it was in terms of pill refinement or weapon refinement, they had miraculous effects. However, even with the Holy Sect and White Jade Sect¡¯s thousand-year history, they had each only been able to find one kind of special me. They had never expected a seemingly ordinary-looking Hyena race prince to have something so precious.

    Yu Yanluo quickly put her World Painting away. After all, the World Painting was made of paper, so it was weak against water and fire. It didn¡¯t fear ordinary mes, but it definitely couldn''t touch such a mystical me.

    Ban Ka roared withughter when he saw them quickly avoid the me. He boasted, ¡°This is a treasure this prince recently obtained through an encounter. I didn¡¯t expect the heavens to show such concern for me, to give me more treasures so quickly.¡±

    If he hadn¡¯t had the me to rely on, why would he dare to do anything to the n leader of another race in the Fiend King Court?

    Heichi Gu¡¯s eyes flickered. What is the meaning of this? Could it be that he ns to take all the treasures for himselfter?

    Right, there¡¯s only a single deity-grade treasure. How are we supposed to divide thingster?

    Iight as well just settle thingspletely and deal with this Ban Ka too. That would mean that other than the deity-grade treasure, even that White Lotus me would be mine.

    He began breathing rapidly from excitement. His only worry was that he could end up being unable to beat Ban Ka due to the me.

    Ban Ka excitedly ordered, ¡°Kill the man, but leave the women!¡±

    Since the Medusa Queen didn¡¯t even dare to bring out her strange scroll anymore, he would just leave the rest to his subordinates. After all, using the White Lotus me in the Fiend King Court would cause too great of a disturbance. It would be bad if they ended up alerting the Fiend Emperor.

    Heichi Gu also ordered his subordinates to make a move. If they were going to fight in the Fiend King Court, they had to finish it quickly. The ones he kept outside wouldn¡¯t be able to stall any investigation forever. When he saw the meticulous cooperation of the warriors Ban Kamanded, his expression turned serious.

    The Hyena race¡¯s warriors excelled atbined assault. Even though they were weaker than the Lion race¡¯s warriors individually, they could keep their lives if they were in a pair, and they would be on equal footing with three of them. The more of them there were, the greater their advantage would be.

    The people Heichi Gumanded also had decent coordination, butpared to the Hyena race¡¯s innate skills, they were still far inferior. If they had a falling out, he wouldn¡¯t have much confidence in his side winning!

    He considered just calling Heichi Ran over. But if he did that, he would just be helping Heichi Ran get all of the treasures.

    The two¡¯s subordinates quickly rushed at Yu Yanluo. The others were about to act when Yun Jianyue suddenly stepped forward and said, ¡°I¡¯m in a bad mood. Since you all came running at me, consider yourselves unlucky.¡±

    She took out her Empress Lantern and blew lightly, causing several small embers to flutter outward. Then, they quickly turned into a roaring sea of mes thatpletely swallowed up the iing warriors.

    No matter how good the Hyena race¡¯s warriors were at teamwork, their skills werepletely worthless in such a situation. They didn¡¯t even have time to scream before being burned to ashes.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Ban Ka and Heichi Gu¡¯s smiles instantly froze on their faces. At that instant, they even began to doubt their own eyes.

    Yan Xuehen frowned and asked, ¡°Why are you using that skill here? What if we end up drawing the Fiend Emperor¡¯s attention?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I didn¡¯t use it at full strength. This bit of power won¡¯t rm him,¡± Yun Jianyue said with a frown.

    ¡°Just who are you all?¡± When they heard that she had even deliberately held back, and that she had mentioned the Fiend Emperor so casually, Ban Ka and Heichi Gu both swallowed their saliva. Had they miscalcted somehow?

    Zu An¡¯s group didn¡¯t pay the two of them any attention. Yan Xuehen only said unhappily to Yun Jianyue, ¡°It is fine if you punish evil, but those people were just following orders. Killing them all really is going too far.¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression turned cold as she replied, ¡°No way. I was pissed off.¡±

    As soon as she spoke, she turned into a string of afterimages. All of the crossbow-wielding soldiers were instantly ughtered. They didn¡¯t even have time to resist before they took theirst breath. Such ferocity and overpowering killing intent left both Ban Ka and Heichi Gu scared witless.

    Ban Ka seemed as if he had just woken up from a dream. He opened up his furnace, and this time, he didn¡¯t hold back at all. The White Lotus me swept toward Yun Jianyue.

 Chapter 1355: Hunter And Prey

    Chapter 1355: Hunter And Prey

    Yun Jianyue harrumphed. She activated her Empress Lantern and the wild White Lotus me was instantly sucked in, ultimately turning into a soybean-sized me that jumped around in thentern. It seemed to be struggling with everything it had, and yet it couldn''t break free from the Empress Lantern¡¯s restrictions in the end.

    Ban Ka was shocked. He had never expected his trump card to be so easily dealt with! How could he not have realized that he had made a big mistake this time? He didn¡¯t hesitate, and immediately turned tail and ran. The Hyena race had powerful endurance; in terms of long-distance running, not even the Lion race was their match.

    However, Yun Jianyue didn¡¯t give him a chance. She appeared behind him in almost an instant. Then, she grabbed his head, effortlessly plucking it like a turnip.

    Indeed, she plucked it right off his body. There weren¡¯t many other words more suitable to describe what she had just done.

    Ban Ka had no idea what had just happened. As he ran with everything he had, he suddenly felt as if his body had be lighter. Then, he suddenly saw a figure in front of him, but why was it still running without a head?

    As soon as that confusion emerged, he realized a horrifying possibility. Then, his entire consciousnesspletely sank into darkness.

    The headless body ran for a while, then suddenly copsed. Then, blood gushed out powerfully from its neck as it twitched endlessly on the ground.

    Heichi Gu was utterly horrified when he saw what had happened. He quickly ran in the other direction. However, his legs buckled several times, nearly causing him to fall. Meanwhile, Yun Jianyue was like the reaper of death, quickly reaping the lives of the subordinates around him.

    Faced with the encroaching threat of death, Heichi Gu screamed while running, ¡°You can¡¯t kill me! I¡¯m from the Heichi n! my uncle is the royal family uncle and the Court Grand Secretary, my big brother is¡­¡±

    Before he could even finish, he heard wind stir behind him, making him worry that he would end up sharing Ban Ka¡¯s tragic fate. He quickly turned around and opened his ferocious mouth to bite down on the enemy. His ck teeth flickered with a threatening radiance.

    This was his n¡¯s innate skill. His teeth were incredibly tough and could easily crush metal. They were also venomous, so if one were to get bitten, no matter how high their cultivation was, they would still suffer bitterly.

    Unfortunately, the one he faced was the Devil Sect¡¯s sect master, someone who had experienced endless mountains of corpses and seas of blood. How could someone like her let him scheme against her? A st of wind shot out from her finger, hitting him in the forehead. Then, blood and brain matter exploded out from the back of his head.

    Heichi Gu¡¯s overbearing mouth instantly lost all the strength behind it, falling open weakly. He fell backward, utterly ruined. His eyes were wide open as he died inplete disbelief that someone dared to kill him in the Fiend King Court.

    It seemed as if everything had happened in an instant. The hunter had be the prey, and such overbearing and vicious individuals had breathed theirst.

    Yu Yanluo was shocked. She was used to watching the two grandmasters argue back and forth, so she had already subconsciously begun thinking of them like little girls. Only then did she remember that Yun Jianyue was the vicious Devil Sect Master!

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression turnedpletely cold. She cried, ¡°Witch, aren¡¯t you being too cruel? You actually killed so many people!¡±

    ¡°Hmph, miss spineless, stop trying to preach to me,¡± Yun Jianyue replied. Perhaps because she had just carried out a huge ughter, there was still a hint of viciousness left in her eyes as she continued, ¡°If you¡¯re not happy with it, thene at me too.¡±

    Seeing that the two of them were about to fight, Zu An quickly stepped forward to mediate things, saying, ¡°Actually, big sis Yun is doing this for our safety. If we let some of them go, it would just bring about greater retribution. Besides, information about us would end up being leaked, and they would start to pay attention to and investigate us. Even the Fiend Emperor could start paying more attention, and if that happened, none of us would survive. Big sis Yun knows all that, but you know how she is. She just didn¡¯t feel like exining it to us.¡±

    Yun Jianyue was a bit moved. This guy really does understand me. However, she wouldn¡¯t admit to it on the outside, saying, ¡°Hmph, there¡¯s no such overly sensitive stuff. I just wanted to kill. There aren¡¯t that many reasons at all.¡±

    Yan Xuehen had already more or less guessed the reason, but she had been the leader of the orthodox faction for a long time. She found it a bit hard to ept such a vicious method. However, what she was even angrier about was that Zu An had actually chosen to side with Yun Jianyue, even though the two of them were clearly closer!

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +333 +333 +333¡­

    Zu An jumped in fright. He didn¡¯t understand how he had offended her.

    Just then, Yun Jianyue¡¯s Empress Lantern began to shake back and forth. Judging from the intensity of the shaking, it seemed as if it could explode at any time!

    ¡°What happened?¡± Zu An quickly asked.

    Yun Jianyue said seriously, ¡°I was able to seize this White Lotus me Ban Ka had because his cultivation was too low. However, this White Lotus me is a unique existence that belongs to the world. One mountain can¡¯t house two tigers. Even though I can restrain it temporarily with the Empress Lantern, the two true mes inside can¡¯t coexist. If this continues, it might explodepletely.¡±

    Yan Xuehen quickly let go of her previous anger. She quickly said, ¡°We need a vessel to store this true me. However, a normal object cannot contain this true me, as it would instantly be burned to ashes.¡±

    ¡°Unfortunately, just now, Ban Ka¡¯s furnace was broken during the fight,¡± Yu Yanluo said as she picked up the furnace from Ban Ka¡¯s corpse. It was alreadypletely crushed. It seemed that when the Empress Lantern had pulled out the White Lotus me, its berserk force had damaged the furnace.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it because someone was a bit too vicious?¡± Yan Xuehen remarked, shooting Yun Jianyue a hateful look.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s eyebrows rose. Zu An saw that the two were about to fight again and quickly said, ¡°I have something on me, but I don¡¯t know if it can store this White Lotus me.¡±

    He took out the Nine Cauldron he had gotten from Shen Xuzi¡¯s courtyard in the Royal Academy. It had been a long time since hest used it to refine some Ki Condensation Pills. As far as he understood it, the cauldron needed a fire to refine pills anyway, so it would likely be highly resistant against me.

    Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen both voiced their surprise. ¡°Your cauldron doesn¡¯t look like anything special, but on closer inspection, it seems really extraordinary¡­ Not even we can see through its secrets. It really might be able to.¡±

    Thus, Yun Jianyue taught Zu An how to collect the me. At that point, the Empress Lantern was already reaching its limit. She was worried that the Empress Lantern would be damaged, so she released the White Lotus me, taking the chance to burn away the Hyena race and ck Teeth race¡¯s people, not even leaving behind any ashes.

    Zu An immediately began drawing the White Lotus me into the Nine Cauldron ording to Yun Jianyue¡¯s method. Yun Jianyue said with a sigh of praise, ¡°Kid, your talent really is a bit ridiculous. How can you learn things that quickly?¡±

    Yan Xuehen rolled her eyes. She thought, Did you forget about his transcendent aptitude already?

    She suddenly remembered that she owed her recovery from her serious injuries to having been filled with Zu An¡¯s blood essence¡­ A faint blush instantly spread across her white and pure cheeks as she thought of that.

    Meanwhile, Zu An waspletely focused. In time, he sessfully collected the White Lotus me. The me, which had previously still been quite stubborn and unyielding, immediately became obedient when it entered the Nine Cauldron.

    Yan Xuehen clicked her tongue in wonder, saying, ¡°This cauldron is pretty interesting.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s head back for now. The Golden Crow Guards seem to be hurrying in this direction,¡± Yu Yanluo reminded them when she saw rising smoke in the distance.

    They had clearly caused quite the disturbance, startling local authorities of high status. Heichi Gu alone couldn¡¯t have stopped them from arriving. Thus, the others naturally had no objections, and they quickly left.

    Just after they left, a group of Golden Crow Guards quickly arrived. The one in the lead was, surprisingly, Left Guard General Ma Tian.

    Because he was the one who had let the assassin into the pce, he had been sent out as a punishment, ordered to chase after the assassin. When he sensed the unusual ki fluctuations nearby, he brought his men over. He frowned when he saw the scorched ck expanse.

    There were quite a few capable people present. They reported that a battle had just taken ce, but all traces of it had been burned away. To unleash such devastating power within such a short amount of time was something only the legendary true mes could achieve.

    ¡°True me?¡± Ma Tian muttered, frowning slightly. Why did he feel that the Fiend King Court hadn¡¯t been all that peaceful as ofte? Hemanded his men, ¡°Send some people to look into the soldiers that stopped us earlier. Ask whose orders they sealed up this street on.¡±

    Soon, the report came back. Ma Tian scowled, muttering, ¡°Huh? Why is it the Heichi n again?¡±

    The previous time, they had been the very same ones to screw him over so badly!n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

 Chapter 1356: Mysterious Key

    Chapter 1356: Mysterious Key

    ¡°Damned ck Teeth race!¡± Ma Tian cursed. Then, he ordered his subordinates, ¡°Investigate the damn ck Teeth race thoroughly for me to see what in the world they are doing!¡±

    He wouldn¡¯t be a real man if he didn¡¯t take revenge properly. This was the perfect chance for him to properly vent out his anger.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An¡¯s group was already far away.

    Yu Yanluo nced behind her and asked, ¡°Do you think the Golden Crow Guards will find out that it was us? After all, many people from the Jade Garden saw that we had some conflict with Heichi Gu and Ban Ka.¡±

    Zu An replied reassuringly, ¡°What are you scared of? Either way, there aren¡¯t even any ashes left behind and there are no witnesses to serve as proof. Even if they look for us, we just have to deny it.¡±

    Yu Yanluo was speechless. This guy really was shameless! However, sometimes, to deal with other shameless people, it was precisely such shameless methods that worked best.

    ¡°That¡¯s all we can do for now,¡± she said with a nod. However, She suddenly thought of something and took out a pitch-ck key, saying, ¡°I picked this key up from Heichi Gu¡¯s corpse earlier.¡±

    Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen both voiced their surprise. ¡°The White Lotus me didn¡¯t even leave behind bone ashes, so how could this keye out intact?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes lit up. He asked, ¡°Could it be some kind of treasure?¡±

    Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen studied it for a while. In the end, they shook their heads and replied, ¡°That is not the case. Even though the material is unusual, it has no special functions. It is just a key. However, any ce that needs this kind of key to open it must be extraordinary.¡±

    Unfortunately, no matter how much they thought, they couldn''t figure out where the lock the key opened could possibly be. Even Yun Jianyue was starting to regret killing Heichi Gu so quickly, thinking she should have asked him what the key was first. Still, who would have imagined that someone like him would actually have something so precious?

    When he returned to his residence, Zu An secretly went to Yu Yanluo¡¯s room. However, she was feeling more sensitive than usual. There were two grandmasters next door, so if something really happened, it definitely wouldn¡¯t escape their notice. As such, she wasn¡¯t willing to be in the same room with him no matter what.

    Zu An also remembered what kind of experience he had shared with Yan Xuehen. If she heard something, he had no idea how she would react. As such, he didn¡¯t press the issue and returned to his room to get some much needed rest.

    Meanwhile, Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen had their ears pricked up all night, thinking that something would happen. In the end, however, there was nothing at all.

    ¡°Tsk, boring,¡± Yun Jianyue grumbled. If one were to describe her reaction, it would be akin to someone waiting at the ready with a bag of popcorn, but having no drama to watch.

    Meanwhile, Yan Xuehen was much more conflicted. She had a slight blush and her eyes swirled with radiance, and her true thoughts were unknown

    In the following few days, the Golden Crow Guards began to appear moremonly on the streets. It was clear that after what had just happened, many people in the Fiend King Court became more vignt.

    However, no one came to investigate the Snake race. Instead, many ns tried to worm their way into bing friends. It was clear that news of what had happened in the Jade Garden had already spread, and people had learned that the Medusa Queen excelled at rock betting.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Even an ordinary person with that level of ability would be a respected guest of a great n, let alone a n leader like herself, and such a beautiful one at that. Thus, Yu Yanluo ended up being upied by social niceties.

    Meanwhile, Zu An happily enjoyed his break. He decided he would check up on Snow in Elf King Manor to follow up on what had happened previously.

    However, he hadn¡¯t expected the Elf King Manor¡¯s security to be much stricter than thest time. Furthermore, many Golden Crow Guards were undercover nearby. It seemed that after the assassination attempt on the crown prince, they suspected that Princess Snow had colluded with him. They weren¡¯tpletely convinced by her story, so they had arranged some people nearby to see if they could pick up any clues.

    For fear that he would bring Snow trouble, Zu An ultimately decided not to risk it.

    ¡­

    Three days quickly passed, and the All Races General Assembly drew near.

    The location of the assembly was at the mountain below the Imperial Tomb. There was arge ceremonial altar at the foot of the mountain, surrounded by a spacious za. The fiend races¡¯ major ceremonies and important events were usually held there.

    Zu An finally got to experience what an All Races General Assembly was for himself. It was indeed a ce where there were all kinds of races, with people of all sorts of different appearances. Commonly-seen creatures were one thing, but there were some that he had never even heard of before. The animal kingdom of his previous world was nowhere near as spectacr!

    Zu An stared at a race that moved as slowly as sloths in everything they did. Are these guys this slow in a battle too? Aren¡¯t they just going to be trampled then?

    However, he soon saw something even more ridiculous: The Tapeworm race. Zu An thought they were gross just from looking at them. Do these guys also live inside others and eat their shit?

    There was also the Giant Maggot race, and they wriggled around like mountains of flesh. Zu An¡¯s stomach churned. He was curious about what those guys ate. If they made breakthroughs in the future, would they be immortal flies?

    Additionally, there were many other species that were simr to the Tapeworm and Giant Maggot race. Zu An thought to himself that he would definitely stay away from them. He really was scared that their innate skill would be spraying shit or something. That would really leave him with trauma for the rest of his life.

    The different races sat down in their respective positions around the ceremonial stage. Zu An noticed that the ones closest to the center were all the most powerful races, while the Snake race sat in the middle.

    As if seeing through his thoughts, Yu Yanluo said with a sigh, ¡°When my mother was still here, the Snake race was really powerful. We sat at the very front. But now¡­¡±

    ¡°Haha, the fact that you¡¯re still able to sit in the middle here after being in decline for so long already proves that the Snake race is a great race,¡± Zu An said reassuringly. He continued, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You¡¯ve now returned to the Snake race, and with my help, you¡¯ll be able to restore your n to its former glory.¡±

    Yu Yanluo had a bitter smile and didn¡¯t say anything. In truth, she didn¡¯t really want to stay on the fiend races¡¯ side; she liked her life on the human side more, and she approved more of the human world. However, she was now the Medusa Queen, so she couldn''t show any weakness and disregard the will of her people.

    As the different races got into position, a shrill voice called out, ¡°The Fiend Emperor¡¯s carriage has arrived!¡±

    All the representatives from the different races got up to bow respectfully. They shouted, ¡°We respectfully wee your majesty, the Fiend Emperor!¡±

    Zu An secretly looked up to size up the Fiend Emperor. He saw a streak of golden light descend from above. A secondter, a yellow-robed elder appeared on the broad dragon throne in the center of the stage. The traces of time were visible on his body. He didn¡¯t look too different from an elder with one foot already in the grave.

    Zu An hadn¡¯t expected the powerful and awe-inspiring Fiend Emperor to actually be such an elderly man. No wonder he was nning to carry out a session ceremony. It seemed that his time really was limited.

    The Fiend Emperor¡¯s appearance was very ordinary; he wasn¡¯t particrly handsome, but not particrly ugly either. His most eye-catching trait was his towering nose, however. That and his sharp, falcon-like eyes made people realize that he definitely wasn¡¯t an ordinary elder.

    When he sensed the Fiend Emperor¡¯s eyes sweep toward him, Zu An didn¡¯t dare to look too closely. This guy really was like a freaking hawk!

    As the Fiend Emperor¡¯s eyes swept through the entire ce, his divine will spread out. Those present felt a wave of terrifying power. No one dared to utter a single word, and the representatives of the weaker races began to shake all over in fear.

    A great eunuch at the Fiend Emperor¡¯s side then shouted, ¡°Everyone, you may rise!¡±

    ¡°Thank you, your majesty!¡± those present replied.

    Some members of the younger generation were so moved their entire bodies had begun to shake. Among the fiend races, the Fiend Emperor was like a deity, the object of countless people¡¯s worship. Now that they had finally seen him for themselves, how could they not be moved?

    Yan Xuehen sent a ki transmission to Zu An, saying, ¡°The Fiend Emperor didn¡¯te himself; this is just one of his separated souls.¡±

    As a grandmaster, her knowledge of such things far surpassed that of ordinary cultivators. Zu An had heard the exnation from her before. At the earth immortal realm, one could cultivate the life soul, earth soul and heaven soul. They corresponded to the yin spirit, yang spirit, and origin spirit respectively.

    A scorching sun had risen overhead. The Fiend Emperor on the stage was likely the Fiend Emperor¡¯s earth soul. That person looked just like the real deal, though. If not for Yan Xuehen¡¯s reminder, Zu An wouldn¡¯t have been able to sense anything. The skills of an earth immortal truly were mysterious.

    Zu An was quite curious. The human emperor had ced a soul into the crown prince¡¯s body, but it had been destroyed in the secret dungeon. That had probably had quite the severe effect on the emperor¡¯s strength, right?

    ¡°Looks like the Fiend Emperor really doesn¡¯t have much time left. He can¡¯t even attend this gathering with his real body,¡± Yun Jianyue said with a bit of excitement.

    Yan Xuehen jumped in fright and asked, ¡°You¡¯re not going to run over and fight against him, are you? No matter how weakened he is, he is not someone you can deal with!¡±

 Chapter 1357: All Races General Assembly

    Chapter 1357: All Races General Assembly

    Yun Jianyue rolled her eyes and replied, ¡°Am I really that kind of reckless fool in your eyes? Why would I be so dumb as to run to my death?¡±

    Yan Xuehen said with a grin, ¡°In my eyes, you are precisely such a fool who no longer cares about anything once you act on an impulse.¡±

    Yun Jianyue was speechless.

    The two of them seemed about to fight again when the eunuch¡¯s shrill voice suddenly called out, ¡°The Second Empress has arrived!¡±

    This time, a sweet fragrance seemed to spread through the ce. Then, a fair and graceful figure slowly flew into view. A breeze brushed past, making her dress flutter gently. It really was as if a goddess were descending into the world.

    Many people from all the different ns had heard of the Second Empress before, but this was the first time they had ever seen her. When they saw her beautiful and charming appearance, many people¡¯s eyes lit up. Some people even gulped in an embarrassing way.

    Such a thing would only happen among the fiend races. In the human world, if that kind of thing ever happened, it would be a huge crime of disrespect.

    ¡°The Second Empress really is an extraordinarily beautiful woman¡­¡± many people whispered to each other. They found it really hard to hide the shock they felt.

    Zu An thought to himself, These people really are fearless! Do they really think the Fiend Emperor can¡¯t hear them just because there are people also chatting around them? They have no idea just how powerful the methods of an earth immortal are.

    However, surprisingly, the Fiend Emperor continued to sit on his dragon throne without a single change in his expression, as if he hadn¡¯t heard the onlookers¡¯ discussions at all.

    Yu Yanluo seemed to have seen through his puzzlement and exined quietly, ¡°The fiend races are different from humans. In this ce, men don¡¯t forbid others to praise their own women¡¯s beauty. On the contrary, they think of it as a kind of glory.¡±

    ¡°But these guys¡¯ reactions aren¡¯t purely praise, right?¡± Zu An asked in confusion. Judging from how they looked, it seemed as if they really wanted to drag the Second Empress to bed.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression became a bit strange as she said, ¡°The style of doing things here is indeed a bit different. To them, this kind of thing further proves a woman¡¯s charm.¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Meanwhile, the Second Empress drew near to the high tform. However, she was careful and didn¡¯t fly above the Fiend Emperor, but rather descended halfway through her approach. Then, she leisurely walked across the steps. Her voluminous dress naturally spread out around her, looking extremely beautiful as it dragged along the steps; it made her resemble a phoenix.

    Zu An had to admit that the Second Empress really did seem to have the noble presence of an imperial mother.

    When she arrived on the high tform, the Second Empress smiled and greeted the Fiend Emperor. ¡°This servant pays my respects to your majesty.¡± Her voice was sweet and soft, making many people¡¯s entire bodies tremble. How could there be such a beautiful voice in this world?

    ¡°Hmph, just putting on airs,¡± Yun Jianyue grumbled. It was as if, because they were both women, she really couldn¡¯t stand the Second Empress¡¯ coy and affectionate act.

    Yan Xuehen smiled and asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t your charm arts from the Devil Sect simr? Why are you mocking her?¡±

    Zu An thought of something. People always said that Yun Jianyue¡¯s charm techniques were exceptional, and that even Qiu Honglei had learned from her. However, he had never seen her use them before.

    He subconsciously nced at Yun Jianyue. She was indeed devastatingly beautiful, but she was a bit too fierce. It really was hard to imagine what she would look like with her charm techniques.

    ¡°Why are you looking at me?¡± Yun Jianyue asked, her eyes narrowing. She felt that Zu An¡¯s expression was a bit weird somehow. Then, she turned around to reply to Yan Xuehen, ¡°Do you really think it¡¯s the same? That¡¯s just a method for us to toy with men; it doesn¡¯t represent our real nature at all. That woman¡¯s seduction seems to be naturally formed, on the other hand. She was born to be a sow.¡±

    Yan Xuehen and Yu Yanluo were speechless.

    They were also women, and furthermore beautiful women, so they really didn¡¯t like talking about another woman like that. However, when they thought of Yun Jianyue¡¯s nature, they stopped thinking about it.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, on the elevated tform, the Fiend Emperor nodded. He reached out with a hand, gesturing for the Second Empress to rise. The Second Empress smiled sweetly as she got up, then sat down in a smaller seat at his side.

    When the two sat together, even though one was old to the point that he already had one foot in the grave, while the other was a radiant beauty, none of the fiend races seemed to think that anything was strange. In their hearts, only someone as strong as the Fiend Emperor had the right to have a stunning beauty like the Second Empress at his side.

    Only Zu An¡¯s expression was a bit strange. He thought to himself, Is this split soul the same as the original body? If you had all of your normal functions, wouldn¡¯t you easily cuck yourself¡­

    Or maybe, every time, all three split souls get together and¡­

    Zu An felt a chill when he imagined that. It was that damn earth immortal rank¡¯s fault for being too mysterious! Outsiders can¡¯t understand it at all.

    ¡­

    An elder dressed in ceremonial official garb stepped forward to preside over the ceremony. Zu An was startled when he saw his ck teeth, eximing, ¡°It¡¯s the ck Teeth race again?¡±

    Maid Xing exined, ¡°He is the n leader of the ck Teeth race, the fiend races¡¯ imperial uncle and the court¡¯s Grand Secretary. His rtionship with the Golden Crow Crown Prince is close, and he is one of the leaders of the crown prince¡¯s faction. Between that and his rtionship with the previous Empress, that is why the grand ceremonies of the fiend races are all managed by him.¡±

    Zu An nodded. He looked at the stage and saw that the Golden Crow Crown Prince had already made his appearance too, arriving in his extremely eye-catching golden war chariot pulled by six hornless dragons. Together with his dazzling golden armor, he looked mighty and formidable, and his presence was extraordinary. All those who followed him cheered loudly.

    Only Zu An noticed the bit of weakness in the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s expression, as well as the fact that his face had clearly received extensive makeup. It was clear that after having his lower body wounded so badly, even though he had been able to recover through the Fiend Emperor¡¯s help and by using the Golden Crow Sacred Fire, it was still extremely taxing.

    Meanwhile, the fiend races had always worshiped the strong. If he revealed any weakness in such a grand celebration, it would clearly be unfavorable for the session that followed. That was why he had put on such a getup.

    Zu An¡¯s gaze shifted to the golden carriage. He thought to himself, That thing really is great; I have to get my hands on it sometime and give it a go.

    Just then, he noticed another arrogant and prideful pair of eyes looking up at the Golden Crow Crown Prince. It was from a seat at the very front, closest to the elevated tform; the gaze belonged to the Second Imperial Prince.

    The corners of his lips were nted, and his expression was filled with disdain as he watched the Golden Crow Crown Prince receive people¡¯s praises.

    Zu An was a bit rmed. He suddenly felt as if he were looking at the popr ¡®disdain¡¯ meme in his previous world.[1]

    Looks like the Second Imperial Prince really doesn¡¯t have the heart of a subject after all¡­ But the Golden Crow Crown Prince is going to inherit the position of the Fiend Emperor soon. Even if he isn¡¯t convinced, what else can he do?

    At the Second Imperial Prince¡¯s side were three yellow-robed individuals, all much younger than the Second Imperial Prince. The two older ones were probably the Third Imperial Prince and Fourth Imperial Prince.

    Meanwhile, the youngest one seemed to only be six or seven years old, and he looked quite cute. However, he seemed to be trying very hard to look mature. When he looked at the Fiend Emperor and Second Empress on the elevated tform, his eyes were full of admiration. He was naturally the little prince who had been born to the Second Empress herself.

    Zu An nodded inwardly. No wonder the Second Empress had her own schemes. Her own son was just too young, and so was she. If the crown prince became the new Fiend Emperor, their family situation would be too awkward.

    However, the little prince was just too young. Did she really n to forcefully support her son¡¯s ascension to the throne?

    Apart from the princes, there were other imposing figures in the front row. They were clearly the important ministers of the fiend races¡¯ court.

    The one dressed in bright colors next to the Little Golden Peng King was likely the Peacock Wise King. Zu An thought, Hm, I guess he is pretty handsome. No wonder he was able to give birth to a pretty daughter like Kong Nanwu.

    Apart from that, the Elf King wasn¡¯t there; rather, his seat had been taken by Princess Snow. From time to time, Qiao Xueying looked in the Snake race¡¯s direction. Eventually, she just happened to meet Zu An¡¯s gaze, and her restless expression immediately eased up.

    After not meeting for several days, both of them had been worried about each other. Now that they had seen each other safe and sound, they both sighed in relief. The two stared at each other just like that, as if they both had too many things they wanted to say.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, on the elevated tform, the Second Empress knew what was going on, and had been secretly observing Qiao Xueying. When she saw their interaction, a pensive expression appeared on her face as she thought, Look at this pair of secret lovers. She had initially been a bit worried about her ns, but after seeing that, she felt a bit more certainty.

 Chapter 1358: Picking Bamboo Sticks

    Chapter 1358: Picking Bamboo Sticks

    It wasn¡¯t only the Second Empress who was paying attention to their exchange. Yun Jianyue also spoke up. ¡°Damn kid, didn¡¯t you say that you and that Elf Princess were both innocent and pure?¡±

    Yan Xuehen and Yu Yanluo both looked at Zu An when they heard that.

    ¡°We are innocent!¡± Zu An eximed somewhat guiltily. He added inwardly, Snow and I are each other¡¯s sunshine. No matter what we do, of course we¡¯re innocent.

    ¡°Like hell I¡¯ll believe that.¡± Yun Jianyue sneered. Yan Xuehen was emotionless, while Yu Yanluo seemed to be pondering something.

    When he saw the bursts of Rage points he received, Zu An felt as if he would get a headache. It really is easy for things to screw up when you have too many women¡­

    Just then, the Peacock Wise King seemed to want to talk to Qiao Xueying. She thus looked away, worried that she could expose Zu An¡¯s identity.

    Zu An took the chance to change the topic, asking, ¡°Is that middle-aged man in front of Shi Min and the others the Lion King?¡±

    Shi Min and the other princes were standing respectfully behind a middle-aged man. THe had golden hair, with a thick mane-like beard around his face. He was even tougher-looking than Shi Min and the others. Zu An¡¯s group could feel the mysterious pressureing from his body even from far away.

    Yu Yanluo replied, ¡°That¡¯s right. He¡¯s the Lion Race¡¯s leader, Shi Zhentian. His cultivation is deep and profound.¡±

    ¡°Shi Zhentian?¡± Zu An had a strange expression as he thought, Why didn¡¯t you name yourself Optimus Prime?[1]

    Yun Jianyue instead said with a sneer, ¡°He can only be a grandmaster at most. What do you mean, deep and profound?¡±

    Yu Yanluo was speechless. Yun Jianyue was a grandmaster herself, so she really didn¡¯t know how to retort when faced with that remark.

    Zu An noticed anotherrge, tall man not too far away in the horizon. His back was extremely wide and his muscles were well-developed. He wore a short-sleeved shirt that fully exposed his shredded biceps. There were all sorts of fierce tattoos covering his body, making him look just like the boss of a criminal organization.

    When he saw the usually wild and unruly Hu Yong and others standing properly behind the man like little kittens, Zu An mused thoughtfully, ¡°That¡¯s probably Hu Qianxiao, right?¡±

    He remembered the rumors that had surrounded Tushan Yu. Zu An thought to himself, If this guy learned that I took Tushan Yu before him, would he be so angry he¡¯d join hands with the Lion race?

    Now that they were on the topic, for some reason, Tushan Yu still hadn¡¯t arrived in the Fiend King Court. He wondered if something had happened to her, or if she had been held up by something.

    While he was feeling worried, he noticed that Princess Suolun was also behind a middle-aged individual, looking cute and helpless. That was probably her senior in the Devil race.

    She and Shang Liuyu both had higher positions than both Hu Zhentian and Hu Qianxiao. It was easy to see that among the fiend races, the Ocean races and Demon race were extremely powerful. Only if Shi Zhentian and Hu Qianxiao finally decided who was the king of beasts would they have a chance of being at the same level as those two.

    Just then, Heichi Fei began the official ceremony. Zu An waspletely surprised by all of the novel and different things that followed. There are quite a few differences between the fiend races and the humans after all.

    Then, the Fiend Emperor spoke. He thanked all of the different races for making such a difficult trip from far away. Zu An sneered, thinking, Didn¡¯t you summon everyone from the various races to test their loyalty? Who would even dare to note?

    However, he was indeed a bit surprised. For one thing, the Ocean races¡¯ Dragon King and Demon race¡¯s Demon King hadn¡¯te, and had only sent their representatives. It was easy to see that their ns were powerful enough to not fear the Fiend Emperor.

    Apart from that, even though groups like the Lion race and Tiger race¡¯s n leaders hade, the leaders of their younger generation, like the Western Lion and Northern Tiger, hadn¡¯t. It was clear that they were worried that something bad could happen in the Fiend King Court, so they had kept the most capable sessors in their n to avoid beingpletely wiped out.

    Then, the Fiend Emperor talked about the selection of the Golden Crow Crown Prince as the sessor. Once the ns¡¯ delegates were set, they would then hold a huge celebration. He thus hoped that everyone present could continue supporting the Golden Crow Crown Prince.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince looked around the areacently, receiving the congrattions and worship of the various ns.

    Meanwhile, under the elevated tform, the Second Imperial Prince was furious. He looked down at the ground; his true thoughts were impossible to identify behind his darkened expression.

    The Third, Fourth and Little Imperial Princes had normal expressions, however. Perhaps because of their age or ability, they didn¡¯t have the qualifications to fight over the imperial throne.

    ¡°They make it sound all nice, but isn¡¯t it just to force the ns to express their loyalty to the new emperor?¡± Yun Jianyue snorted disdainfully. ¡°The reputation of that birdman, the Golden Crow Crown Prince, has been covered in grime as ofte, and yet it actually didn¡¯t affect his decision in the slightest?¡±

    Yu Yanluo said, ¡°Judging from the conversations I¡¯ve had with the other races recently, the Fiend Emperor must have really cherished the deceased First Empress. He naturally loves the Golden Crow Crown Prince she gave birth to as a result.¡±

    Yun Jianyue was a bit surprised as she replied, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect this Fiend Emperor to actually be the sentimental sort. Compared to a certain someone, he¡¯s already much more refined than a certain someone we know.¡± She gave Zu An a sidelong nce as she spoke.

    Zu An broke out into a cold sweat and replied, ¡°That affectionate side of him is just a rumor! The First Empress already died, but didn¡¯t he still take in all those concubines? There was even someone outstanding like theSecond Empress.¡±

    Yun Jianyue harrumphed. ¡°Hmph, men are all garbage, as expected.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He thought, This woman has never even experienced love before. Which man in this world would dare to turn her down? And yet, she¡¯s saying something so cynical.

    Yan Xuehen said ¡°Actually, the Golden Crow Crown Prince is already a giant among men. To have his level of cultivation and fighting prowess at his age is quite extraordinary. It is just that he was unlucky, losing to Ah Zu twice.¡±

    Zu An remarked in embarrassment, ¡°Ah¡­ I wasn¡¯t expecting big sis Yan to actually praise me.¡±

    ¡°Who is praising you? The only reason why you were able to win against him was just because you just happened to have methods that countered his. Against other experts, your strength might not be greater than the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s.¡± Yan Xuehen harrumphed. Her face reddened and she turned around, no longer paying him any more attention.

    Off to the side, Yun Jianyue had a strange expression. She just felt that the stone cold woman had be a bit different recently, and yet she didn¡¯t know exactly how.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Sensing that the mood was bing filled with suspicion, Zu An was rmed. He was worried that if things were exposed, Yan Xuehen would take it out on him, so he quickly changed the topic and said, ¡°The Fiend Emperor is passing on the imperial throne to the crown prince so quickly. Could it be that he¡¯s already on the verge of death?¡±

    Even though the Fiend Emperor looked as if he were going senile, it didn¡¯t seem likely that he would die in the next few days, right?

    Sure enough, that drew Yun Jianyue¡¯s attention. She exined, ¡°I don¡¯t think so. Once he abdicates, he should be able to focus on resting. He might even be able to extend his life.¡±

    Zu An was a bit puzzled. He asked, ¡°But didn¡¯t they say that once the session ceremony concluded, all of his cultivation would be passed onto the new Fiend Emperor? Would he still be able to live then? Even if he kept his life, whether or not the new Fiend Emperor would allow him to live would be a different story.¡±

    The fiend races cared about strength the most; they didn''t care too much about things such as loyalty or filial piety. Killing their fathers to gain the throne was amon urrence among the various races. There were many who even took their fathers¡¯ wives into their own chambers. That was something the fiend races were long already ustomed to.

    ¡°That I don¡¯t know,¡± Yun Jianyue said, frowning slightly. ¡°The Fiend Emperor¡¯s session is just a rumor. No one has ever witnessed it themselves. I don¡¯t know what really happens during that process.¡±

    Just then, the Fiend Emperor began to make offerings to his ancestors and the heavens. Afterpleting all the required rituals, he left with the Second Empress. Then, the rest of the ceremony was carried out by the crown prince and Heichi Fei.

    Soon afterward, the battle over delegate seats that those present cared about the most would start. All those who were interested in seizing a spot prayed that they would get a good bracket. After all, all kinds of things that had happened over the years. There had been some powerful races¡¯ candidates, who, because they encountered someone even stronger, were eliminated early. In contrast, some weaker races¡¯ candidates had only gotten weak opponents, so they had gotten the chance to sessfully im a spot.

    Zu An walked up with Yu Yanluo to draw the lots. When they arrived on the stage, Heichi Fei looked as if he were weing them, but in fact, he asked them softly, ¡°Has the Medusa Queen seen my humble n¡¯s Heichi Gu?¡±

    Yu Yanluo nodded. She replied in a normal tone, ¡°I¡¯ve had the chance to meet him. We shared a rock betting experience a few days ago in the Jade Garden.¡±

    ¡°I see. Then after you left the Jade Garden, did you meet again?¡± Heichi Fei asked, looking at her calmly.

    Just who was Yu Yanluo? She naturally didn¡¯t reveal any openings. She replied, ¡°I didn¡¯t. What¡¯s wrong? Why is the Grand Secretary suddenly asking something like this?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. You can draw the ballots now,¡± Heichi Fei said indifferently.

    Yu Yanluo gestured for Zu An to walk forward. Zu An said with a chuckle, ¡°My luck has always been pretty good. I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll be able to pull good ones.¡±

    Then, he randomly pulled out three bamboo sticks. However, when those nearby saw the sticks, they gave him sympathetic looks as they beganmenting.

    ¡°They ran into the Lion race¡¯s people so early. Looks like the Snake race is doomed to only have a single delegate again.¡±

    ¡°That guy still says he has good luck. His luck is clearly horrible.¡±

    ¡­

    Heichi Fei had an ambiguous smile when he heard the others¡¯ discussions.

    Only Zu An sneered. These idiots. They have no idea that the Lion race¡¯s princes are the absolute best sticks to grab for me.

    1. ¡¯Shi Zhentian¡¯ is very simr to the Chinese name for Megatron. ?

 Chapter 1359: Not Worthy

    Chapter 1359: Not Worthy

    Shi Rong just happened to be the representative who had gone over to pull the bamboo sticks for the Lion race. When he saw what had happened, he said with augh, ¡°A sh between enemies really is inevitable! You must now be feeling regret over how arrogantly you were acting a few days ago, right?¡±

    Zu An sighed and said, ¡°I always thought that viins spoke way too much when I read fantasy stories before. I didn¡¯t expect that to be the case in real life too. We¡¯ll just fight on the stageter, so why do you have to make noise here like a woman?¡±

    Yu Yanluo was speechless. She felt somewhat offended.

    Shi Rong was a bit stunned. He had thought that a look of nervousness or fear would appear on Zu An¡¯s face, which would give him a chance to show off a bit. However, he hadn¡¯t expected that kind of reaction at all! He didn¡¯t have any chance to feel good about himself!

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Rong for +355 +355 +355¡­

    Shi Rong took a deep breath to calm himself down. He replied with feignedposure, ¡°Tsk, with your strength, you might not even make it out of the group matches, and yet you want to face us? Who gave you this much courage? Pah!¡± He spat on the ground and turned around after speaking.

    There were too many races among the fiend races, so there was no way they would immediately enter a knockoutpetition. They had to win in group battles before they would advance to the next round. They would save a lot of time that way. Meanwhile, the Lion race¡¯s princes and Snake race¡¯s candidates weren¡¯t in the same group. They would face each other once they entered the knockoutpetition.

    Zu An almostughed out loud. He remarked to Yu Yanluo, ¡°This Shi Rong is normally pretty rude and impetuous, but he actually learned to use some psychological attacks this time? Looks like a stupid person really does have one decent thought out of a thousand terrible ones.¡±

    Yu Yanluo smiled and said, ¡°He is a prince, after all, and was raised carefully. How could he be as unsightly as you make it sound?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression turned serious as he said, ¡°Even though I¡¯m fine with the results of the drawing of lots, this is too much of a coincidence. Someone clearly did this on purpose.¡±

    Yu Yanluo said analytically, ¡°Even though the Lion race is powerful, they don¡¯t have that much power in the Fiend King Court. It¡¯s definitely someone else pulling the strings.¡±

    ¡°That Heichi Fei from earlier?¡± Zu An asked, immediately recalling the man¡¯s sinister smile.

    Yu Yanluo shook her head and replied, ¡°Even though Heichi Gu died because of us, they don¡¯t have any proof. Furthermore, I looked into it over the past few days. Heichi Gu is only a child of the ck Teeth race¡¯s branch family. Heichi Fei wouldn¡¯t go all out for the sake of the child of a branch family in such an importantpetition. There¡¯s clearly someone else involved.¡±

    ¡°The Golden Crow Crown Prince!¡± Zu An immediately responded.

    ¡°It seems he¡¯s still suspicious about whether you really have returned to the human world after the assassination attempt in the imperial pce. That¡¯s why, since he knows that we and the Lion race share a grudge, he made things like this on purpose to see if he could force you out,¡± Yu Yanluo said.

    ¡°That guy is surprisingly crafty,¡± Zu An said in admiration.

    Yu Yanluo replied with a slight smile, ¡°You¡¯ve bullied him so much, so of course he¡¯d scheme to get revenge on you.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s his fault for doing such despicable and shameless things,¡± Zu An said, thinking back to that night. If he hadn¡¯t appeared in time, Snow would have already been defiled. The only thing he regretted was that he hadn¡¯t been able to take the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s life quickly enough back then.

    ¡­

    When they returned to their seats, Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue¡¯s eyes immediately widened in disbelief when they heard the results of the lottery. They were still grandmasters, after all. How could they have expected that someone would be so eager to act against them one day?

    ¡°I¡¯m already finding it a bit hard to hold myself back. I¡¯ve been feeling so stifled, this is the perfect chance to vent it all out,¡± Yun Jianyue grumbled. She had felt quite down as ofte, having experienced so many wrongs she had never experienced before in her life.

    Normally, with her personality, she would just burn anyone who offended her to ashes and be done with it. However, the one who had seen her was Zu An, so she couldn''t do anything. However, things had gotten more and more out of hand afterward. Now, these Lion race guys had tried to take advantage of them again and again, so she had already decided that she had to teach them a proper lesson for some time.

    Yan Xuehen glowered, saying, ¡°Witch, you had better not do anything reckless. You cannot willfully ughter the innocent.¡± She was still brooding over what had happened the previous night. So many people had been killed just like that.

    ¡°Hah, just false righteousness. I didn¡¯t n to kill them, but now that you¡¯ve said that, I¡¯ll just kill them. So what?!¡± Yun Jianyue snapped, her voice carrying a hint of viciousness.

    ¡°Can you be reasonable for once? We are here to help the Snake race obtain delegate positions, so what if your whims end up troubling the Snake race?¡± Yan Xuehen replied, shooting her a re.

    Yu Yanluo said softly, ¡°Actually, even though this kind of meeting forbids killing, it¡¯s difficult to stop things from going too far. There have been quite a few instances where people were crippled badly. So, as long as it isn¡¯t too cruel, it won¡¯t have too big of an impact.

    ¡°It¡¯s just that there are quite a few powerful cultivators watching thispetition. If you make a slight mistake and they¡¯re able to recognize that you two are human, or your real identities are exposed, they¡¯ll all attack you together. You two are also injured, so¡­¡±

    Yun Jianyueughed and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I was just saying that to piss off that stone cold woman. We from the Holy Sect always spend time on the battlefield, our des licking the blood of our enemies. We understand how to judge the hour better than anyone. It¡¯s this stone cold woman who¡¯s the stupid one, taking me for a fool.¡±

    ¡°You¡­!¡± Yan Xuehen was so angry she turned around and ignored Yun Jianyue.

    Zu An chuckled inwardly. He felt that Yan Xuehen had always been bullied badly by Yun Jianyue. As expected, the gentle ones were always the ones who were easily bullied.

    ¡­n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Then came the first round, a free-for-all, winner-takes-all battle. The za was extremely vast, containing over a hundred sites that were quickly divided up.

    The Fiend King Court sent out several Golden Crow Guards to each location, along with an official whose task was to record things. Zu An wondered if such a small number of people would be able to keep things under control if any real trouble broke out.

    However, Yu Yanluo exined to him that in a ce like the fiend race territory that highly valued strength, there were countless pairs of eyes watching, making it hard to y any tricks.

    Furthermore,petitions of this sort were simple and straightforward. It wasn¡¯t like the group matches held by ser teams in Zu An¡¯s previous world where two teams fought, and then they calcted all the points in the end. Instead, several hundred candidates would fight together at the same time in a free-for-all. The final ten would be the victors and have the qualification to enter the next round.

    Zu An had a strange expression as he thought to himself, We were all worried about anyone being too violent¡­ but in this kind of battle, you actually can¡¯t make it without being pretty violent.

    No wonder the Golden Crow Crown Prince had sent the Lion race to snipe the Snake race in the following bracket. It was probably to borrow the situation to justify seriously injuring, or even killing, the Snake race¡¯s candidates.

    Wait, are they not afraid that the Snake race¡¯s candidates won¡¯t even make it past the preliminary round?

    He suddenly realized something. If they could arrange for the Snake race to meet the Lion race in the knockout tournament bracket, didn¡¯t that mean there could be undercover agents even in the free-for-all?

    Sure enough, at first, people were careful when they first entered the battlefield. If they showed that they were too strong, they could just end up drawing attacks from all sides instead as others teamed up against them.

    Furthermore, many races had previously already privately discussed among themselves, agreeing that if they ended up in the same group, they would work together. After all, a lone pair of fists couldn''t fend off all enemies. The more helpers one had, the easier it would be to have thestugh.

    In the end, while most people in Zu An¡¯s arena were busy vigntly observing their surroundings, a group of more than ten people quickly rushed directly at them with sinister smiles on their faces.

    Zu An wanted to tell Yun Jianyue to hold back, but he saw her roll her eyes, as if she had no intention of doing anything. She said, ¡°These nobodies aren¡¯t even worthy of us. I¡¯ll just leave them to you.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    Then, Yun Jianyue said to Yan Xuehen, ¡°Apart from these guys, there¡¯s that Giant Maggot race¡¯s candidate. He doesn¡¯t seem that weak, and we¡¯ll probably have to fight him. However, I firmly refuse to fight against something so disgusting.¡±

    Yan Xuehen nodded in deep sympathy, saying, ¡°Indeed. We can just leave him to Zu An as well.¡±

 Chapter 1360: Literal Shit Beaten Out of Them

    Chapter 1360: Literal Shit Beaten Out of Them

    Zu An waspletely speechless. Big sis, aren¡¯t we all here to get some seats for Yu Yanluo? Why did this suddenly be a holiday for you?

    Soon afterward, however, he didn¡¯t have time to mock them anymore. More than ten fighters from different races rushed at them. Due to the sudden assault, the previous tension gave way to pure chaos. The other groups began to split up, joining separate battles.

    However, people of the same race usually fought together or worked together with their allies. No one was like the Snake race, where two people watched like bystanders and they only had one person fight.

    Many people sneered. It seems the Snake race doesn¡¯t really get along! No matter how high their cultivation is, they¡¯ll still be easily taken down through numbers.

    They didn¡¯t mind that at all, since it meant fewerpetitors.

    Soon afterward, no one paid any attention to the Snake race anymore. Each group fought either as an individual team or with allied groups, doing their best to take out as many people as possible. Only then would they have a chance of getting out of the first stage. Otherwise, they could end up having to fight against their own allies for a position.

    Zu An was surrounded by more than ten candidates from different races. Their cultivation ranks were at the peak of the sixth rank at the lowest, while most of them were at the seventh rank. There were even some at the peak of the eighth rank.

    The reason they could represent their respective ns was that they were carefully selected fighters. Even if their races were weak, finding a single strong cultivator still wouldn¡¯t be too difficult. Of course, they were still quiteckingpared to true experts. With Zu An¡¯s cultivation, he definitely didn¡¯t need to go all out. He could easily take them out with just some simple moves.

    The fighters around Zu AN were confused. Their opponent only used simple martial arts that clearly seemed easy to avoid, and yet they somehow couldn¡¯t avoid getting hit. They used all kinds of profound skills, but they couldn''t even touch a hair on his body. That kind of feeling was just too strange¡­

    They all felt that this person¡¯s strength was just a bit greater than theirs at most, that they could definitely win if they just gave it another go. However, whenever they rushed forth again, they were quickly knocked down. They were all incredibly baffled, wondering if their luck was just awful that day or something, or whether this guy was using some kind of witchcraft.

    Yan Xuehen nodded and remarked, ¡°I did not expect him to be able to retrace the natural path at his age. He really is a genius among geniuses.¡±

    As the White Jade Sect¡¯s sect master, and considering her identity as a glorious grandmaster, she had seen many, many talented individuals. However, even the most outstanding ones seemed to pale inparison to Zu An.

    ¡°That¡¯s why a certain someone really must be blind, or else why would they try to break up those lovers?¡± Yun Jianyue remarked, rolling her eyes. She wouldn¡¯t give up even a single chance to mock Yan Xuehen.

    When she remembered how she had chased down Zu An to kill him, Yan Xuehen¡¯s face reddened. More importantly, afterward, they had even shared the most intimate kind of rtionship! Sigh, I really don¡¯t know how to deal with all of this anymore.

    Yun Jianyue didn¡¯t notice how Yan Xuehen was acting strangely. Instead, she looked excitedly into the distance, remarking, ¡°What¡¯s so interesting about Little An¡¯s side? In my opinion, it¡¯s that Giant Maggot race fe whose skills look rather interesting.¡±

    Yan Xuehen looked in the same direction. She saw a pale and fat individual who resembled a mountain of flesh, standing in the midst of the arena. It was obvious that the other races¡¯ fighters also knew he was a bit tricky to deal with, and that he was all alone. As such, they agreed to attack him together by chance.

    However, the Giant Maggot candidate didn¡¯t care at all, just letting those people hit his body. His soft body made him resemble the mascot of the Michelin tirepany. His opponents¡¯ powerful fists only sent ripples coursing along his vast rolls of fat, but he remainedpletely fine. He simply appeared to be enjoying the situation, as if the others were just massaging him.

    Yan Xuehen furrowed her pretty brows and said, ¡°That guy is a bit¡­¡± With her restrained nature, she didn¡¯t want to say the word ¡®disgusting¡¯.

    Yun Jianyue nodded in deep sympathy, saying, ¡°Indeed. I definitely won¡¯t fight against him.¡±

    As such, both of them tacitly agreed to shift their attention to Zu An.

    Zu An¡¯s battle was close to its conclusion. The group of scheming individuals he was up against alreadyy strewn across the ground, howling in pain. Not a single one stood back up.

    Another group of fighters exchanged a look, then rushed over. They weren¡¯t prompted by the crown prince; rather, they just felt that Zu An was strong, and that he was going to be a huge threat. Thus, they decided to take advantage of the opportunity while he was weakened from his previous battles.

    Zu An was a bit speechless. He did have some area of effect skills, but he was worried that others would recognize him if he used them. As such, he just fought them honestly.

    ¡­

    Just then, Shi Gong looked over in his direction and remarked, ¡°Oh? That kid¡¯s cultivation doesn¡¯t seem that bad¡­¡±

    Shi Rong sent an iing enemy flying. When he heard that, he said with a sneer, ¡°How could he dare to act so arrogantly if he didn¡¯t have some strength? Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s only useful against those nobodies. He¡¯s nothing more than a little chick to us.¡±

    Shi Gong figured that made sense. Even though the three brothers weren¡¯t as strong as their eldest brother, they were still strong cultivators in their own right. Winning against the Snake race¡¯s nameless nobodies was but an extremely easy affair.

    Meanwhile, Zu An was starting to get worked up too. When he saw the endless opponentsing at him, he thought to himself, Do these guys think I¡¯m some pushover?

    As such, he began to deal some heavier blows to set an example for the others. Sure enough, when a few individuals suffered serious injuries, the others were shocked. They began to hesitate, not daring to rush forward.

    Yun Jianyue nodded in satisfaction, saying, ¡°That¡¯s what he should¡¯ve done earlier. Why was he acting like such a sissy?¡±

    Zu An rolled his eyes and retorted, ¡°You still have the nerve to say that? You¡¯re just sitting there and watching. If you all helped, these guys wouldn¡¯t have dared to flock over.¡±

    If all three of them showed off their strength, the others wouldn¡¯t dare to pick on them. But when the opposition saw that the two women looked ordinary and didn¡¯t fight, they just thought that the women were there to get free delegate seats and that it was mainly Zu An who would be fighting. Naturally, they didn¡¯t want to let the Snake race get more seats.

    Yun Jianyue harrumphed. ¡°What use do you have if you can¡¯t even deal with such a small situation?¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    Yan Xuehen suddenly called out, ¡°Be careful!¡±

    As soon as she spoke, the ground trembled as the Giant Maggot race expert rushed toward Zu An. It was obvious that he wasn¡¯t satisfied with the small fries anymore. He had seen that Zu An was quite strong and wanted to give him a try too.

    Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen immediately ran off into the distance, clearly not even nning to get anywhere near him.

    Zu An felt as if he were about to puke. He had been joking about how he definitely didn¡¯t want to fight against this guy, and yet now, it had be a reality.

    As the opponent ran over, a foul stench filled the air. Zu An nearly fainted. Do I f*cking smell shit right now?!

    How could he still have the patience to fight slowly against someone like that? He sent a fist flying immediately. It was surrounded by an aura of ki, because he didn¡¯t even want to touch the opponent with his skin.

    When he saw the fist, the Giant Maggot warrior didn¡¯t dodge and let it hit his belly. However, his smile immediately froze. His belly visibly caved in, and he felt a wave of intense pain.Then, he could no longer hold himself back.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Bwah!

    A huge amount of an unidentifiable yellow substance sprayed out.

    Zu An was dumbfounded. He really does spew shit? Just f*cking end me already!

    He immediately used Grandgale to move to the farthest corner of this stage. Dark lines appeared on his face as he watched the scene unfold.

    The Giant Maggot warrior didn¡¯t seem to have any intention of stopping, continuing to spray vast quantities yellow liquid. The air was instantly filled with an utterly vile and indescribable stench.

    ¡°Motherf*cker! Who the hell actually got literal shit beaten out of them?!¡±

    The contestants in the other arenas smelled it too. They all looked over in horror.

    However, the contestants on Zu An¡¯s side were more unfortunate. Not only did the liquid stink, it was poisonous too. Those with lower cultivations fainted on the spot. Those with slightly higher cultivations wanted to run, but the yellow substance continued to surge forth like an ocean, instantly swallowing up the entire ce and washing over them. Their entire bodies instantly froze, and they fell powerlessly to the ground. They couldn¡¯t do anything to keep the unidentifiable liquid from covering their mouths and noses. Many people actually had their mouths open in horror, so they identally swallowed a bit. Tears of grief and anger instantly welled up in their eyes.

    After the whole farce, in the end, apart from the Giant Maggot, only nine people had sessfully escaped to the edge of the tform. They continued to vomit. Everyone else had fainted after being soaked in that yellow substance.

    The people from the other groups were shocked. They had never expected this group to have decided its results so quickly, and in such a manner, no less¡­

 Chapter 1361: Extreme Joy into Extreme Sorrow

    Chapter 1361: Extreme Joy into Extreme Sorrow

    After all, such a chaotic, winner-takes-all system not only tested individual strength, but also the connections of the various races¡ªwhether or not they had discussed things with the other races beforehand, and were able to work together to fight against amon enemy.

    Apart from that, it also tested the candidates¡¯ mental strength, as well as their ability to size up the situation. That was why, in such a tournament, the winning candidates often didn¡¯t have cultivation ranks as high as the others, but in terms of desperate struggle and scheming, they were without equal. That was why every single fight would usuallyst a long time before victory and defeat could be decided.

    However, Zu An¡¯s group had finished so quickly, and in such a dramatic manner.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    In the distance, Shi Rong, who had been ncing over from time to time, said, ¡°That guy really has dogshit luck! He actually won by a fluke because of that Giant Maggot race cultivator¡¯s skill.¡±

    Shi Min¡¯s expression was also a bit stiff. In the end, he said, ¡°Do not lower your guard. That Giant Maggot race cultivator is not ordinary. That skill just now was their race¡¯s extreme art, ¡®Shit Mountains Shit Seas[1]¡¯. Both the gas and the liquid are poisonous. Even though you will not die from it, it can make you dizzy and cause you to faint. Furthermore, as long as you still breathe, it is impossible to escape from. It really is difficult to defend against.¡±

    ¡°Damn it all! There was actually such a disgusting skill?!¡± Shi Rong couldn''t hold back his curses. It was just too gross.

    Shi Gong said in relief, ¡°Fortunately, we were able to adjust the drawing of matchups. We won¡¯t end up facing that Giant Maggot race cultivator. Otherwise, even if we won, we could end up puking our own guts out.¡±

    Shi Min¡¯s face twitched when he saw the yellow liquid everywhere in the distance. He said, ¡°That is indeed the case. However, the way that Yan Zu avoided the skill is clearly quite special. We cannot be carelesster.¡±

    The other two nodded, but they didn¡¯t really agree. They concentrated more of their attention on the Giant Maggot race warrior.

    The other races¡¯petitors had simr thoughts.

    ¡°How great would it have been if we were in that group? As long as we evaded in time, we could move on without even fighting.¡±

    ¡°You should just be grateful for what you have right now. If you were really in that group, you might have already been lying in that yellow pool and eaten your fill of shit.¡±

    ¡°Ugh¡­ Can you not be so disgusting? What if my luck had been good enough to let me avoid it?¡±

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, on Zu An¡¯s side, Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen both turned around. They didn¡¯t want to look at the scene any more than they had to. At the same time, they raised a ki wall around themselves to prevent the foul stench from approaching.

    Yan Xuehen couldn''t help but shoot Zu An a re, eximing, ¡°Why did you have to hit his freaking stomach?¡±

    Zu An looked wronged, protesting, ¡°I didn¡¯t know he would have such a disgusting skill either!¡±

    Yun Jianyue couldn''t help but say, ¡°Following you always leads to bad things.¡±

    If she had encountered something so gross, she would have already erased it from this world. However, when she recalled its disgusting skill, she couldn''t even muster any killing intent. She just didn¡¯t want to fight against it.

    The Giant Maggot cultivator scratched his head. He said in a simple and honest manner, ¡°Sorry, everyone. I¡¯ll clean everything up now.¡±

    Then, his stomach shriveled up; he inhaled fiercely, and the sea of yellow liquid was sucked back into his mouth. The ground immediately returned to normal, leaving behind only a faint stench and the others from the group lying around in disarray. He released a long, extremely loud belch of satisfaction after swallowing all of the liquid.

    Everyone watching was speechless. Now, even those with the toughest minds couldn''t help but bend over and throw up. The individuals who were watching from the most respected seats all broke character too.

    Chi Wen cursed, ¡°Why is there someone this gross? He actually eats shit!¡±

    As soon as he spoke, he remembered that he had soaked the thing Zu An scammed him with. He could no longer hold himself back. He turned to one side and began to vomit.

    Shang Liuyu had always liked clean environments. She immediately floated into the distance, acting as if she didn¡¯t know him.

    A woman like Suolun Shi couldn''t handle such a scene. With a brush of her sleeves, she left. She didn¡¯t want to watch the rest of thepetition anymore.

    The Peacock Wise King was old and wise. He tried to exin, ¡°This is an innate ability of the Giant Maggot race. In the past, this skill established tremendous achievements in the battle against the human race¡­ Ugh¡­¡±

    The other contenders seemed to be unable to stand the smell and began to speed up their battles. Soon, the ten winners of each group were decided, much more quickly than in the past.

    As for the ones who had drunk their fill of the ¡®yellow soup¡¯, they were all brought to the doctors. As for whether or not they¡¯d just end their lives out of shame, or if it would leave behind trauma, they would have to seek out their own form of spirituality to cleanse themselves.

    There were many capable individuals in the fiend races¡¯ court. Several officials emerged with darkened faces. They first washed the entire stage with water element techniques, then used mes to sterilize every inch of the ground. Finally, they used powerful winds to eliminate all of the remaining smell.

    If it hadn¡¯t been the royal family¡¯s altar, with their violent temper, they might have just blown the entire ce up with fireballs and not gone through all the trouble.

    Even so, no one was willing to fight in the za anymore. The officials also considered the people¡¯s feelings, so they temporarily abandoned the venue. The followingpetitions were thus carried out in smaller sites.

    ¡­

    The next stage was none other than the knockoutpetition. If nothing unexpected happened, the Snake race¡¯s side would face the Lion race¡¯s three princes.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s opponent was Shi Min, Yan Xuehen¡¯s opponent was Shi Gong, and Zu An¡¯s opponent was Shi Rong.

    When he saw how Shi Rong kneaded his fists while looking over with an immensely proud smile, Zu An was speechless. This guy definitely chose me on purpose and wants to torment me himself. What a pity! There¡¯s a huge ¡®pleasant surprise¡¯ waiting for him.

    Since the group stage had ended earlier than in previous years, and the Golden Crow Crown Prince who had been seated on the elevated tform was also a bit impatient to witness the Snake race¡¯s misery, the knockoutpetition started ahead of time.

    Cries ofint immediately rose as a result. Other than Zu An¡¯s group, where the tenpetitors who made it through hadn¡¯t really wasted too much energy, many of the other groups had experienced a bloody battle. They were all wounded to some degree.

    Unfortunately, the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s mind was already made up. He simply said, ¡°You may be injured, but everyone else is injured too. This is still fair¡­¡±

    Many people were unhappy, but this individual would be the new Fiend Emperor soon, so no one wanted to offend him. They all took the chance to take some pills and treat their wounds.

    The knockoutpetition began soon afterward. The matches weren¡¯t held one at a time, but rather simultaneously for the sake of speed.

    Zu An was a bit worried about the two women, and spoke to them before the battle. ¡°Shi Min and Shi Gong are both master ranks, while the two of you are injured. You two have only recovered around nine ranks of strength, so it¡¯ll be hard to face them. If the situation looks unfavorable, you should just admit defeat. You¡¯re wearing masks anyway, so no one will know who you are.¡±

    Yu Yanluo said reassuringly, ¡°Either way, the Snake race has already be used to only having a single delegate seat. We absolutely can¡¯t let this matter ce you two in danger.¡±

    ¡°Admit defeat? I didn¡¯t even admit defeat when I was seriously injured by that damn Zhao Han. And yet you think these two little lions are worth it?¡± Yun Jianyue sneered in disdain.

    Zu An was speechless. Why do I feel a sense of deja vu¡­

    Yan Xuehen exined, ¡°Worry not. It is not as if those with higher cultivations always win. After all, both that witch and I are grandmasters. Our use of power and technique is definitely not something two low-level master rank juniors canpare to. Rather, you are the one who needs to be careful. Do not identally expose your identity.¡±

    Zu An sighed in relief when he heard Yan Xuehen¡¯s exnation. He really had been overthinking things. These two were awe-inspiring grandmasters, after all!

    Thepetition quickly began. Shi Rong walked toward Zu An with a malicious smile and sneered, ¡°Damn brat, you didn¡¯t imagine you would run into me again, did you?¡±

    Zu An sighed and replied, ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I be able to imagine something like that? Do you think everyone else is as mentally deficient as you?¡±

    Shi Rong was speechless. Is there something wrong with this guy¡¯s head? He still dares to provoke me at this kind of time?!

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Rong for +666 +666 +666¡­

    ¡°Very good. You¡¯ve sessfully aroused my anger. I¡¯ll crush your bones segment by segment, and teach you the consequences of having a shameless mouth,¡± Shi Rong said coldly.

    After speaking, he couldn''t hold back anymore. He sent a Mad Lion¡¯s Hegemon Fist at Zu An.

    However, everything before his eyes darkened a secondter. He noticed that a foot had appeared in front of his face.

    Bang!

    Just like that, he was sent flying.

    1. A reference to ¡®nine mountains and eight seas¡¯ from Buddhism. ?

 Chapter 1362: Suspicion

    Chapter 1362: Suspicion

    ¡°What?!¡±

    Forget about Shi Rong, whose head was ringing; even the spectators watching in the distance werepletely stupefied.

    Almost every person who could join such a general assembly was intelligent. They had immediately realized that something was up when they saw that the Lion race had just happened to draw the same lots as the Snake race. Many of them knew about the conflict between the Lion and Snake races, and assumed the situation had been set up by the Lion race.

    Only those who held high authority had realized that the Lion race didn¡¯t have enough influence to affect the opponent selection. The only one who had the ability to do such a thing was probably the one seated atop the elevated tform. As such, that battle immediately drew their attention. Some were worried about Zu An¡¯s group, but most of them just intended to watch the drama y out.

    There were some others who had recently be friendly with Yu Yanluo. However, they were starting to reconsider and weigh their options. After all, if the Snake race ended up offending the next Fiend Emperor, they could end up having to clearly draw a line between the Snake race and themselves.

    Previously, apart from Shang Liuyu and a few others, the others had just been waiting to see the Lion race princes viciously beat up the Snake race¡¯spetitors. How could they have expected that Shi Rong would immediately be sent flying with a kick?!

    The Lion King, Shi Zhentian, had been chatting leisurely to those around him with a smile. When he saw that, he immediately sat up straight. His smile also froze on his face.

    Just then, the nearby Hu Qianxiao roared withughter. ¡°Oh my, I didn¡¯t expect the glorious Lion race¡¯s prince to actually be instantly defeated by some nobody! Tsk tsk tsk, the Lion race still has the nerve to strut around? You should just change your name to Weak Chicken race in the future!¡±

    In the distance, the Chicken race shot him a look of resentment. What in the world did we do to deserve that?!

    Shi Zhentian¡¯s face was ashen. He didn¡¯t reply and instead roared, ¡°Shi Rong, what were you taught? You should never underestimate your enemy. What in the world are you doing?!¡±

    He had thought that things were already in the bag, which was why he hadn¡¯t paid attention to the details in the arena. He had believed that the Snake race¡¯s representative had no chance of instantly defeating Shi Rong.

    The others suddenly realized what had happened when they heard that. So Shi Rong was just careless! No wonder.

    Hu Qianxiao remarked mockingly, ¡°What are you screaming your head off for? What, could it be that you¡¯re going to personally go up there to fight in your son¡¯s ce?¡±

    Shi Zhentian harrumphed and said, ¡°Hu Qianxiao, you should not get excited too early. Who knows, your own son might just end up getting upset too.¡±

    ¡°Sorry to inform you, but my sons are all doing quite well. Victory will be decided soon,¡± Hu Qianxiao replied,ughingcently.

    Shi Zhentian nced over to the side. Sure enough, Hu Yong and the others¡¯ opponents couldn''t even retaliate at all. They would have no problem seizing victory.

    His face twitched when he saw that. He had lost so much face in front of his old nemesis today. Once they got back, he had to give that brat Shi Rong a good beating.

    When Shi Rong heard his father¡¯s roar, the dizziness that had begun to set in faded, and his head started to clear. He stood up again, his eyespletely red as he stared at Zu An. He bellowed, ¡°You bastard, you¡¯re dead for sure now!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Rong for +999 +999 +999¡­

    There were so many people watching, and yet the person he had been looking down on stepped on his face! How could a proud and haughty member of the Lion race possibly take such humiliation?

    Zu An smiled and retorted, ¡°So the Lion Race¡¯s renowned ¡®Lion¡¯s Roar¡¯ skill is done through shooting your mouth off!¡±

    In the distance, Hu Qianxiao smacked his thigh and cried, ¡°This kid is pretty interesting! I¡¯m starting to like him more and more!¡±

    Shi Zhentian¡¯s face darkened. There was a hint of killing intent in his eyes when he looked at Zu An.

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Zhentian for +444 +444 +444¡­

    When he saw the iing Rage points, Zu An gave Shi Zhentian a look. However, he didn¡¯t treat it as a big deal. Either way, after what had happened with Shi Ling and the events in the Jade Garden, their enmity for each other was already set in stone. Tacking on some more didn¡¯t make a difference at all.

    ¡°An opening!¡± Seeing that his opponent had actually looked away during a fight, Shi Rong was shocked and happy. He threw a fist at Zu An, and this time, he didn¡¯t hold back at all. Against someone like this, whom he had such a huge grudge against, so what if he killed his opponent on the spot?

    To his surprise, however, Zu An seemed as if he could see the future! He raised a leg and sent a kick at an impossible angle. Shi Rong wanted to dodge, but he found that no matter how he tried to change his own direction, the leg still followed him. Eventually, when he used up his spurt of energy and slowed down for a split second, the opponent¡¯s foot smashed into his face again.

    Bang!

    Shi Rong fell heavily to the ground like a sandbag, and he was unable to crawl back to his feet for a long time.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Shi Zhentian eximed. His brows furrowed. Even though Shi Rong¡¯s cultivation was only at the peak of the ninth rank, making him one of the weaker sons, he was also young. In terms of talent, he was one of the best among his age. And yet, why did it seem as if he didn¡¯t have any strength to retaliate?N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Could it be that this opponent is far stronger than him?

    ording to his observations, though, Zu An¡¯s aura was also around the ninth rank. His cultivation should have been on par with Shi Rong. So how had he done that?

    How could he know that Zu An had Yun Jianyue¡¯s Mirror Mirage and Yan Xuehen¡¯s Unshakable Daoist State? Now, his mastery of hiding his aura had already fully matured. Unless he intentionally revealed it, it would be difficult for others to see through to his true strength.

    On top of that, he had been able to defeat Shi Rong so easily due to having already fought against Shi Ling, and even the Western Lion, before. He already had a very good understanding of the Mad Lion¡¯s Hegemon Fist.

    Shi Rong¡¯s achievements in the skill were still a bitcking, on top of that. For those who were familiar with the skill, it would be easy to notice the ws.

    How could the Lion race know that this Yan Zu was actually so familiar with one of their ultimate skills, though? The situation only made him seem more suspicious.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to fight you to the death!¡± Shi Rong yelled. As he stood up again, blood came out of his nose and tears came out of his eyes. He charged at Zu An as if he had gone mad.

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Rong for +999 +999 +999¡­

    Hu Qianxiao roared withughter when he saw that. ¡°Brother Shi, your beloved son is actually crying from getting beaten up, ahahahaha!¡±

    Shi Zhentian was speechless. His face becamepletely red. However, the way things were going, he really didn¡¯t have the confidence to retort.

    Shi Rong screamed miserably as he was sent flying again. All of the weaknesses of his moves had already been exploited by Zu An when he was fighting normally. Now that he had flown into a rage, his moves were riddled with even more holes.

    He tried to get back up, but this time, Zu An didn¡¯t let him do as he wished. Instead, Zu An stepped firmly on his face, pressing him against the floor.

    Shi Rong struggled with everything he had. His fingers even started to draw deep grooves into the floor around him, but his opponent¡¯s foot was like a mountain, preventing him from getting back up.

    Even though his injuries weren¡¯t all that severe, the humiliation he was experiencing was far more than he could take. Filled with anger and panic, he coughed up a mouthful of blood. Then, he fainted.

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Rong for +1024 +1024 +1024¡­

    Zu An was a bit regretful. Why is this guy so weak?

    He had nned to farm some Rage points from this guy, and yet he ended up just fainting?

    He was about to find some water to wake Shi Rong up when someone roared in rage, ¡°Stop!¡±

    A terrifying gale swept toward Zu An, unleashing great pressure. His expression turned grave. He was about to defend himself when another figure rushed forth. The two figures exchanged a palm.

    Booooom!

    Manypetitors nearby were knocked down from the st wave.

    ¡°Brother Shi, the younger generation is having a normalpetition here. Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s inappropriate to interrupt them?¡± The one who had emerged to protect Zu An was naturally Hu Qianxiao. Seeing the Lion race humiliated so badly felt like eating ice-cold watermelon in the middle of the hottest months of summer! He felt absolutely incredible.

    ¡°My n¡¯s Rong¡¯er has already fainted, and yet this scoundrel wanted to kill him. Of course I needed to step forward to stop him,¡± Shi Zhentian said, thinking quickly and finding an excuse.

    Zu An shrugged and said, ¡°I only wanted to wake him up. How could I kill him?¡±

    ¡°Would you be that kind? Who would believe that?!¡± Shi Zhentian spat coldly.

    Zu An said with a grin, ¡°They owe me a hundred thousand heaven-grade ki stones, you know? Who¡¯s going to pay up if they die?¡±

    Shi Zhentian was speechless.

    He had heard about that matter, and had given his three sons a vicious scolding. He had nned to take the chance to cripple the Snake race¡¯s people in the arena; in that case, they would simply have to move on. How could he have expected that his own son would be the one to end up almost crippled?

    Meanwhile, on the elevated tform, the Golden Crow Crown Prince had a puzzled expression. Since when did the Snake race have someone so capable?

    Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s none other than that hateful Zu An?

 Chapter 1363: Invitation

    Chapter 1363: Invitation

    However, the Golden Crow Crown Prince quickly shook his head.

    They don¡¯t look simr, nor are their fighting styles simr. Even their auras are different. Looks like that slut Medusa Queen used her beauty to recruit a powerful cultivator from who knows where. That makes things tricky. This might not be enough to force out that Zu An.

    This Shi Rong really is trash. At least there¡¯s still the stronger Shi Min and Shi Gong. The two of them can at least cripple two of the Snake race¡¯s experts, which might still be enough to bring out that hidden Zu An.

    He quickly looked at the other two arenas, but then his smile suddenly froze.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Hu Qianxiao persisted with his mockery and ridicule, saying, ¡°An honorable n leader like you personally came down here? To bully the juniors like this, don¡¯t you feel even the slightest bit embarrassed for yourself?¡±

    Shi Zhentian found it hard to hold his temper in check after being annoyed by Hu Qianxiao for so long. A vicious glint flickered through his eyes as he replied, ¡°Cease your nonsense. How about exchanging some moves between the two of us?¡±

    ¡°Why not? Why don¡¯t we use this chance to see which one of uses out on top?!¡± Hu Qianxiao replied. He definitely wouldn¡¯t feel any fear in such a situation. His aura also quickly surged.

    A fight between them seemed about to break out, but there was no way the court¡¯s officials would let them fight there. They quickly rushed forward to stop the two. Some individuals who were on good terms with them also came out to mediate the situation. Only then did the two use that as a pretext to back down.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Shi Zhentian gave Zu An a long look before leaving, saying, ¡°Little fellow, I will remember you.¡±

    Zu An said with a big smile, ¡°It¡¯s great that you¡¯ll remember me. Be sure to pay the hundred thousand heaven-grade ki stones you owe me sooner!¡±

    Shi Zhentian almost staggered and fell. He was a glorious grandmaster, and yet, why didn¡¯t this guy feel the slightest bit of fear? He harrumphed, then picked up Shi Rong¡¯spletely limp body before flying back to his seat.

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Zhentian for +444 +444 +444¡­

    Hu Qianxiao¡¯s smile was so big the edges of his mouth were about to reach his ears. He asked, ¡°Kid, what¡¯s your name?¡±

    ¡°You can call me Yan Zu,¡± Zu An replied. He wasn¡¯t the type to turn down a friendly guy. Since this person was showing him good intentions, there was no reason to dislike him.

    ¡°Yan Zu, a good name. I have a good impression of you, hahaha,¡± Hu Qianxiao said with a heartyugh before returning to his seat.

    When he returned, he began to mock and provoke Shi Zhentian again. Shi Zhentian was going mad with anger, but he sensibly chose not to pay his rival any attention. The only thing he wanted to see at the moment was his other two sons changing his mood.

    Because of what had happened with Shi Rong, he was already furious. As such, he told them through ki transmission, ¡°Min¡¯er, Gong¡¯er, do not show any mercy. Cripple those two Snake race people. It is fine even if you kill them; I will take care of the aftermath.¡±

    However, he didn¡¯t receive any response. When he looked up, he saw that Shi Gong was lying on the ground, groaning; clearly, he no longer had any strength to continue fighting.

    Yan Xuehen simply stood there calmly. Even though her face looked ordinary, she still gave off an aloof and transcendent air, as if she were an untainted immortal from the ninth heaven.

    ¡°What the hell?!¡± Many people rubbed their eyes in disbelief. They hadn¡¯t expected they would actually be tempted by such an ordinary-looking woman.

    Meanwhile, Shi Min was even worse off. He was lying on the ground, not moving at all. His arms and legs were all twisted at a strange angle; they were clearly broken.

    Yun Jianyue stood before him like a world-shaking war goddess! Her wonderful figure and powerful body began to stir even more people¡¯s desires.

    Many people began to ask around about the Snake race women. Even though they looked ordinary, they both had a mysterious charm, which was already enough to get the onlookers going.

    Of course, what shocked them the most was the women¡¯s strength. They hadn¡¯t expected the two women to defeat the Lion race princes so easily! After all, the two princes were both already at the master rank. Even though they weren¡¯t that high up in the master rank, they were still master rank cultivators!

    Zu An¡¯s fight had drawn most of the onlookers¡¯ attention, so they hadn¡¯t seen what had happened in the other arenas. The few who had watched the battle were also confused, however. At first, both sides clearly seemed evenly matched at first, but after mere moments, both Lion race princes ended up lying on the ground.

    They had seen Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue¡¯s movements with their own eyes, and yet they couldn''t understand why those simple movements were able to defeat the Lion race princes. It was as if the princes had allowed themselves to get beaten.

    ¡­

    On the elevated tform, the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s eyes widened in absolute disbelief. He could believe that Shi Rong¡¯s defeat had been because his cultivation wasn¡¯t high enough, and the fact that he was still young meant he had more openings. However, Shi Min and Shi Gong were famous young experts. They definitely wouldn¡¯t make such rookie-level mistakes.

    A single time might have just been a fluke, but three losses in a row? There were no such coincidences in this world.

    Just who in the world were those two women? They clearly only had ki fluctuations around the ninth rank, but every time they attacked, their skills seemed extremely mysterious. He couldn''t even see through them. Just where had the Medusa Queen found so many powerful cultivators?

    No matter how he racked his brains, however, he couldn''t associate the two ordinary-looking women with the two stunning beauties who had been with the Snake race before.

    Shi Zhentian¡¯s body flickered, and he instantly reappeared next to his two sons. When he saw that their lives weren¡¯t in danger, he sighed in relief. However, when he saw Shi Min¡¯s broken arms and legs, his face couldn''t help but darken. He stared at Yun Jianyue and spat, ¡°Venomous woman, you really are vicious.¡±

    When she heard the words ¡®venomous woman¡¯, not only did she not get angry, Yun Jianyue even said with a smile, ¡°Thank you for the praise.¡±

    Shi Zhentian was speechless. He thought, Why do all these Snake racepetitors seem a bit off somehow?

    It took him some time before he finally snapped out of his daze, saying, ¡°Brash actions usuallye with serious consequences.¡±

    As he spoke, he rushed forward in a sh. Yun Jianyue¡¯s face darkened; she was about to retaliate, but then a barrier of water appeared between the two of them, blocking Shi Zhentian¡¯s way out.

    Shi Zhentian suddenly turned around. He saw Shang Liuyu walk over barefoot, every step seemingly creating water ripples. She said, ¡°Lion King, victory and defeat between the different ns¡¯petitors should be decided among themselves. A n leader personally interfering goes against the rules.¡±

    Qiao Xueying also got up and said, ¡°Indeed. Lion King, please conduct yourself with dignity.¡±

    Hu Qianxiao alsoughed and said, ¡°Brother Shi, it isn¡¯t embarrassing to lose, but if you lose and can¡¯t admit the loss, that really is utterly humiliating.¡±

    Shi Zhentian began breathing heavily. This guy was saying that it wasn¡¯t embarrassing to lose, but hadn¡¯t he beenughing more happily than anyone else earlier? If not for the fact that the Ocean races¡¯ mermaid princess had also stepped forward, he might have already started a fight against Hu Qianxiao.

    What is with these Snake race people? They actually obtained the protection of the Ocean races and the Elf race?

    He had heard about the Jade Garden event previously and knew that Shang Liuyu seemed to be familiar with the Snake race, but she hadn¡¯t acted too close to them. He hadn¡¯t expected that she would step forward without any hesitation to help the Snake race. That meant their rtionship definitely wasn¡¯t ordinary.

    What was up with the Elf race, though? If it were just Hu Qianxiao alone, he wouldn¡¯t feel any fear. But if the mysterious Ocean races were added to the mix, as well as the powerful Elf King Manor, he would have to reevaluate things.

    He suddenly turned around to look at the Golden Crow Crown Prince on the elevated tform. This bastard was the one who had instructed them to face the Snake race, but he had never mentioned that the Snake race would be so difficult to deal with!

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince looked a bit unhappy. This damn Lion race trash messed up all of my ns, yet you dare me this crown prince?!

    Shi Zhentian felt as if he had been schemed against. He wasn¡¯t going to cause any more trouble before finding out more about the situation. As such, he picked up his two sons and said, ¡°Hmph, I just felt that she was a bit too vicious.¡±

    Yun Jianyue said indifferently, ¡°The fact that I didn¡¯t take his life already counts as mercy.¡±

    Shi Zhentian was speechless.

    Now, even Hu Qiantao had a strange expression. What is up with these Snake race people? They¡¯re clearly not that strong, and yet every single one of them speaks in such an overbearing manner! Does she know that she¡¯s facing a grandmaster?

    Just then, the officials who were in charge of maintaining order reacted. They arrived to ask the Lion race¡¯s people to leave.

    Shi Zhentian harrumphed, then stormed off with a wave of his sleeves. Not only had he beenpletely embarrassed, all three of his contestants had lost. The powerful and glorious Lion Race was actually left with only a single representative! He definitely had to return and think about how to deal with things. He had to consider what kind of price he would have to pay to buy seats from the other races.

    ¡­

    More and more races came to congratte Yu Yanluo on her victory. The Snake race had gained four delegate seats. That was something only the most powerful ns had the right to, so of course they had to be on good terms with her.

    Meanwhile, Zu An felt quite rxed. He tried to find a chance to talk to Qiao Xueying, but he was stopped by a maid who said, ¡°Excuse me, young master. Our n leader requests the pleasure of meeting with you.¡±

    ¡°I refuse,¡± Zu An said, waving his hands impatiently. The only thing he wanted was to meet with Qiao Xueying; he wasn¡¯t in the mood to meet anyone else.

    ¡°My master said that you dirtied her bedsheet, so she needs to have a talk aboutpensation with you,¡± the maid said calmly.

    Zu An was speechless.

 Chapter 1364: Empress, You Donâ€™t Want Something to Happen to Your Son, Right?

    Chapter 1364: Empress, You Don¡¯t Want Something to Happen to Your Son, Right?

    Who else would say something like that, other than the Second Empress?

    Zu An thought, It seems she¡¯s still brooding over what Snow and I did on her bed.

    If he didn¡¯t head over, who knew what that woman would do? He could only follow the maid. Fortunately, because there were just too many people at the general meeting, he didn¡¯t really have to worry too much about anyone following him.

    The maid took him through the crowd, weaving from side to side. Eventually, she arrived at a remote forest near the za. There was a carriage parked there, but unlike the gorgeous carriage the Second Empress normally rode in, it was as low-profile as one could get.

    ¡°Master, I have brought the guest,¡± the maid said, bowing in front of the carriage.

    ¡°Alright. You can withdraw for now,¡± a soft and charming voice replied from inside the carriage.

    ¡°Understood.¡± The maid bowed, then withdrew to take watch in the distance.

    ¡°You cane in,¡± the seductive voice said.

    Zu An was a bit shaken. No wonder people keep talking about how extraordinarily beautiful the Second Empress is. She really is a woman who can make you go crazy.

    When he entered the carriage, he sensed a refreshing and prating fragrance that filled the air. It was Second Empress¡¯ unique fragrance. Zu An thought, Anyone would instantly recognize who she is, right? This kind of enchantment is too unique.

    He noticed that the Second Empress¡¯ entire body was covered by a ck cloak. Even so, he could see her exquisite figure through the voluminous garment.

    ¡°Does the empress need this subject for something?¡± Zu An asked. He was still wearing his mask, so he didn¡¯t know whether she was really looking for him.

    ¡°Your mask is surprisingly intricate. I actually cannot detect any sign of one at all,¡± the Second Empress said, gently brushing a finger across his face. It was ice-cold to the touch and extremely soft.

    Zu An quickly dodged backward. He replied with a straight face, ¡°I wonder what Second Empress is talking about?¡±

    ¡°Since you came here, that means my suspicions are correct. I am the empress of a country, after all; this bit of investigation is still within my abilities,¡± the Second Empress said with a smile. She continued, ¡°Take off your mask already. Your real face is a bit more pleasing to look at.¡±

    Zu An knew he couldn''t fool her and removed the mask. He sighed and said, ¡°If you need me for something, then juste looking for me. Do you have to use that kind of pretext?¡±

    ¡°If not for that, would you have obedientlye here?¡± the Second Empress replied, also lowering the hood of her cloak. The carriage interior immediately brightened despite its in and simple appearance.

    This woman really is something, Zu An thought with a sigh. However, in his current state, he naturally wouldn¡¯t be bewitched by beauty. He quickly snapped out of his daze and said, ¡°You told something so private to your maid. Aren¡¯t you scared of any unwanted information leaking out?¡±

    After all, if such a matter were exposed, forget about putting him and Snow in danger, not even the Second Empress would be able to handle the consequences. Furthermore, even if it weren¡¯t exposed, just that sentence would start a huge controversy if it were heard by others. Other people could even end up suspecting that there was something between the two of them.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, no one will believe a few maids,¡± the Second Empress said calmly. She was clearly unworried.

    Zu An knew that she was an intelligent woman. Since she had said that, it meant there was no problem. He asked, ¡°What does the empress need me for?¡±

    ¡°What if I just missed you?¡± the Second Empress replied. She leaned against the window and rested her chin in one hand. Her body really was incredibly supple and strong.

    Zu An couldn''t help but chuckle, saying, ¡°If the Fiend Emperor heard that, he might feel a bit hurt.¡± No matter how conceited he was, he wouldn¡¯t believe that the Second Empress felt anything for him after just a few meetings.

    ¡°How can you be so cruel? I am being so sincere, and yet you are so cold and heartless!¡± the Second Empress replied resentfully.

    Zu An raised a brow and replied, ¡°Oh? In that case, let¡¯s not waste any time. Let¡¯s get a bit more intimate right now.¡± He reached out to hug her as soon as he spoke.

    The Second Empress¡¯ back arched backward as she avoided him. She said, ¡°I just wanted to talk to you, and yet you are in such a rush for lust. I have really misjudged you.¡± Her eyes had even started to be a bit red, as if she were extremely disappointed in him.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Empress, we¡¯re all experienced people here, so let¡¯s not y these kinds of games. If you have something to say, please just say it,¡± Zu An replied. If he were still inexperienced, he really might have been toyed with in the center of her palm.

    ¡°What an uninteresting man.¡± The Second Empress harrumphed. Then, her frivolous smile gave way to a serious expression. She asked, ¡°You still remember that you owe me a favor, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll work like an ox to repay the empress¡¯ favor,¡± Zu An replied, looking at her with a smile. If she hadn¡¯t saved him that night, he and Snow might have been done for, back at the imperial pce.

    ¡°Work like an ox?¡± the Second Empress replied, blushing. ¡°You are up to no good after all. You are still trying to take advantage of me even now.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He had just said that on a whim; he really hadn¡¯t had any such thoughts when he said that. This woman is also an experienced veteran if she can even think along those lines.

    The Second Empress¡¯ expression turned grave as she said, ¡°There is no need for you to work like an ox. There just happens to be something I need your help with.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Zu An asked. He didn¡¯t dare to show any carelessness. If the task was something even she couldn''t take care of, it definitely wouldn¡¯t be easy.

    The Second Empress lifted a corner of the curtain and looked in the direction of the altar. She said, ¡°The session ceremony is going to start tomorrow. The crown prince will be the new Fiend Emperor then. I heard about what happened in the arena today. The crown prince and the Snake race clearly do not get along with each other. If he bes the Fiend Emperor, you will not have a good end.¡±

    Zu An smiled and replied, ¡°The Second Empress speaks too harshly. The Snake race is a great n, after all; don¡¯t tell me he¡¯d dare to just eradicate us? There are so many n leaders watching. He wouldn¡¯t be so foolish as to cause the fiend races to fall apart, would he?¡±

    ¡°He wouldn¡¯t eradicate the Snake race, but getting rid of the Medusa Queen and your group wouldn¡¯t be a problem at all,¡± the Second Empress said. She had clearly done her homework beforehand. She continued, ¡°Furthermore, your Snake race¡¯s internal politics are unstable. Elders White and Blue have the real authority in the n. As long as the crown prince supported them a bit, it would not be too hard at all to borrow them to eliminate the Medusa Queen.¡±

    Zu An frowned. That would actually be quite troublesome. It wouldn¡¯t be that big of a deal if it were just Elders White and Blue, but there was no way to stop the crown prince. If he became the Fiend Emperor, he would have too many methods to deal with Yu Yanluo.

    When she saw him start to think to himself, a faint smile appeared on the Second Empress¡¯ face. She said, ¡°Apart from the Medusa Empress, the matter of you and Princess Snow needs to remain a secret too. If he bes the Fiend Emperor, Princess Snow will be unable to refuse an invitation into his harem. If she does not go, will be going against the imperial decree. If she does go¡­ I think I have no need to exin anything.¡±

    Zu An harrumphed. ¡°Did the Second Empress forget to mention something else? If the crown prince ascended to the throne, where would such a young empress like you go? Could it be that you really think he would respect you as an empress? The Golden Crow Crown Prince is quitescivious, and the empress is so stunning. If he barged into your chambers in the middle of the night and said ¡®Empress Dowager, you don¡¯t want anything to happen to your son, right¡¯, what would you do?¡±

    ¡°You bastard!¡± the Second Empress cried, her face turningpletely red. Apart from helping her own son, she had decided to act precisely because she was worried about such a situation. However, she had no idea where this kid had learned to talk the way he did; his descriptions were just way too realistic! She even shivered a bit when she imagined thE situation.

    Zu An shrugged and said, ¡°That¡¯s why you¡¯re clearly more worried than me, so why does it sound as if you¡¯re trying to help me?¡±

    The Second Empress took a few deep breaths before her rapidly rising and falling chest finally settled down. She replied, ¡°Then, let us not beat around the bush. Our interests actually align in this case. Otherwise, if the crown prince entered the Imperial Tomb and the dust settled, neither of us would benefit. You should not act too smug, though. If that really happened, I would immediately report your affair with Princess Snow. Then, I would likely just experience a bit of humiliation, while you, Princess Snow, and the Medusa Queen would really meet tragic ends.¡±

    Zu An suddenly sat up straight. Did I just hear the words ¡®Imperial Tomb¡¯?

    The Unknown Region was also in the Imperial Tomb! He had just been worried about how he would get in there.

 Chapter 1365: Luring Through Benefits

    Chapter 1365: Luring Through Benefits

    However, Zu An didn¡¯t reveal what he was thinking as he replied, ¡°Doesn¡¯t your highness think too highly of me? The Fiend Emperor is the glorious second most powerful individual in the entire world. If he wants to pass on his position to the Golden Crow Crown Prince, how could I possibly stop something like that?¡±

    Seeing that Zu An no longer refused as firmly as he previously had, the Second Empress smiled. She said, ¡°You have misunderstood. I am not telling you to stop the Fiend Emperor. After all, there is no one in this world with such skill. Instead, I want you to stop the Golden Crow Crown Prince.¡±

    Zu An frowned and asked, ¡°Is there a difference between the two?¡±

    ¡°Of course there is a difference,¡± the Second Empress said, straightening her back and pointing in a certain direction. She exined, ¡°The so-called inheritance ceremony entails bringing the Golden Crow Crown Prince into the Imperial Tomb. There, he will obtain the acknowledgment of the previous Fiend Emperors. Then, the Fiend Emperor will pass on his cultivation to him. In that time, the Fiend Emperor will not be at his side, so as long as you can stop the Golden Crown Crown Prince from receiving the acknowledgment of the other Fiend Emperors, that should be enough.¡±

    Zu An sighed inwardly. This woman was already married and had a child, and yet she was still as alluring as a youngdy. He had no idea how she managed it. However, he wasn¡¯t taken in by her charm and instead remained extremely rational. He replied, ¡°Even though the current Fiend Emperor isn¡¯t there, don¡¯t the previous Fiend Emperors¡¯ heroic spirits still remain? Isn¡¯t that just courting death?¡±

    The Second Empress shook her head and said, ¡°It is not what you think. The so-called fiend races¡¯ heroic spirits are just a rumor. How could they possibly still exist now? Not even a heroic spirit wouldst for so long.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, I¡¯ve seen one that has lived for so long.

    When she saw him fall silent, the Second Empress continued, ¡°ording to my investigations over the years, the so-called acknowledgment of the Fiend Emperor ancestors is just a formality. Apart from the single failure they once experienced, they always im that each candidate has received acknowledgment. Additionally, if you think about it, if the fiend races¡¯ heroic spirits still existed, why would the fiend races have been chased by the human race all the way to this barrennd?¡±

    Zu An figured that made sense as well. He asked, ¡°And what happened to that pitiful guy who was the one ¡®failure¡¯?¡±

    ¡°He was nothing more than the sacrificialmb used in a struggle over the throne, so they just said that the heroic spirits of past Fiend Emperors were unwilling to acknowledge him,¡± the Second Empress exined. ¡°It is because of that example that I have enough confidence to send you to stop the Golden Crow Crown Prince. Otherwise, I would just be mad.¡±

    ¡°And what¡¯s your proposed n to ¡®stop¡¯ the crown prince?¡± Zu An asked seriously.

    ¡°The best choice is naturally to just kill him once you¡¯re inside,¡± the Second Empress answered. When she noticed Zu An¡¯s change in expression, she smiled sweetly and replied, ¡°WOrry not. Why would I send you into a hopeless situation? When the timees, you will not need to kill him. You only need to beat him ck and blue. Of course, it would be even better if you left him with some clearly visible injuries. That way, I could use it as a pretext to start something, citing that as proof that he did not receive the recognition of the previous Fiend Emperors.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, This woman really is a deep schemer! It wouldn¡¯t matter how the Golden Crow Crown Prince tried to argue against it then. After all, if people all saw him enter while perfectly alright, and he came back in a sorry state, that would mean the Fiend Emperors didn¡¯t approve and shelter him.

    ¡°You¡¯ve been the empress for so many years already, so you definitely have your own faction with quite a few capable individuals among them. Why do you have to choose me?¡± he asked. Because of the Unknown Region, he actually wanted to use the situation as a pretext to go out on a trip. However, he had to rify the situation, or else he could end up as a happily scammed victim.

    ¡°I do have some people, but most of the major forces in the Fiend King Court know what is going on. The Fiend Emperor probably has an idea too. So, if I send them, no matter what happens, the Fiend Emperor will definitely know that I was the one causing trouble. From there on, forget about bringing down the crown prince, I might even end up in danger myself,¡± the Second Empress said, staring at Zu An with her long and bewitching eyes. She continued, ¡°However, you are different. You do not have any kind of rtionship with me on the surface, nor do you belong to any faction in the Fiend King Court. When the timees, it will be easier for others to believe that it was just heaven¡¯s will.¡±

    She then added, ¡°Furthermore, the Golden Crow Crown Prince is actually extremely talented. Forget about the younger generation, few people can match him even in the previous generation. There is likely no one else who could defeat him inside the Imperial Tomb.¡±

    ¡°Your highness overpraises me.¡± Zu An harrumphed. He continued, ¡°The Imperial Tomb¡¯s security is extremely strict, and there are all kinds of killing formations inside. I have no intention of throwing my life away.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about that,¡± the Second Empress said, handing him a token. She exined, ¡°With this on you, the killing formations near you will not act against you. Even if you run into any guards, you can continue without being obstructed.¡±

    Then, she took out a few sets of clothes from beneath her chair and added, ¡°Of course, just in case, you can wear these Golden Crow Guard clothes. These are the clothes that only the Fiend Emperor¡¯s most trusted aides can wear. With these two items, no one will stop you.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He replied, ¡°By preparing all of this, it seems as if you were already certain that I¡¯d agree, right?¡±

    The Second Empress grinned and said, ¡°That night, I had to hear the two of you go at it all night. If you wish to live along with Princess Snow, and if you want to protect that Medusa Queen, there is no reason for you to want the Golden Crow Crown Prince on the throne. That is, unless you are an ungrateful and fickle person.¡±

    Afterward, she paused for a moment. She moved close to Zu An¡¯s face and looked at him with an ambiguous smile, asking, ¡°Are you?¡±

    At such a distance, the Second Empress¡¯ perfectplexion was in full view. It didn¡¯t carry a single blemish, and she exuded an rming sense of temptation. Zu An could even clearly smell the natural fragranceing from her body.

    However, Zu An didn¡¯t be flustered at all and said, ¡°Please put away your enticing games. If you really want to make me fall for that, these small tricks aren¡¯t enough to get me excited.¡±

    The Second Empress smiled and said, ¡°Of course I know that. You are someone who dared to press the crown princess-to-be beneath you on this empress¡¯ bed and wantonly vent out your feelings towards her, so you must be shockingly brave. If youplete this task, the Second Imperial Prince is still young and will need help controlling the broader situation. You, as well as the Elf race and Snake race behind you, would be the best candidates. Who knows, you could even end up bing the Second Empress¡¯ imperial brother, you know?¡±

    The term ¡®imperial brother¡¯ was a bit hard to describe. For example, there were Lu Buwei and Ying Zheng, Zhang Jizheng and Wan Li, Dorgon and Fulin¡­

    It was often the case that a young Empress Dowager would join forces with a powerful subject to help a younger emperor maintain his position. Meanwhile, however, illicit things often went on between the Empress Dowager and the subject.

    Zu An thought to himself, This woman really is good at this stuff. Even though he knew that what she was saying was false, any man¡¯s heart rate would inevitably speed up from such an offer..

    ¡°nk checks shouldn¡¯t be recklessly written. I¡¯ll take these things for now. I¡¯ll return and think more about it,¡± he said, taking the token and the Golden Crow Guard uniform.

    The Second Empress¡¯ expression changed a bit. She said, ¡°This matter is extremely important. If you do not give me a reply now and just take the items, how am I supposed to deal with the following issues?¡±

    Zu An gave her a calm look and replied, ¡°Could it be that you still have another candidate?¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The Second Empress¡¯ expression changed. This matter was something she had already nned for a long time. She really did have some other candidates. Whether in terms of their cultivation or scheming ability, they were far inferior to the man before her. That made the chance of failure much greater. In that case, she could opt not to do anything to avoid bringing danger onto herself.

    When she thought through all of that, she sighed in relief and said, ¡°That makes sense as well. I believe you will make the right choice. We are natural allies.¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯tment on that and instead bid her farewell.

    Once he left, the maid from earlier walked up to the carriage and asked, ¡°Your highness, are we letting him go just like that?¡±

    The Second Empress had an enchanting smile on her face as she watched Zu An leave, saying, ¡°Worry not. I trust him.¡±

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An put his mask back on and returned to the za. He then finally found a chance to chat with Snow. They shared stories of things that had happened since that night. He finally sighed in relief when he heard that she wasn¡¯t actually in any danger.

    Since there were many pairs of eyes watching, the two couldn''t really say too much to each other. After talking for a bit, they separated for the time being.

    Once he returned to the Snake race¡¯s territory, Yun Jianyue frowned and asked, ¡°Where did you run off to just now? Huh? Why is there such a girly smell on you? Did you go somewhere to cheat again?¡±

    Yan Xuehen also looked at Zu An expressionlessly.

    Zu An was speechless. Does this woman have the nose of a damn dog?!

    Yu Yanluo said with a smile, ¡°I actually feel that this smell is actually quite good, and it is also extremely special. I seem to have smelled it somewhere before¡­¡±

    The three women all reacted at the same time.

    ¡°The Second Empress!¡±

    After all, the Second Empress had passed by their group back by the pce gate.

    Zu An gestured for them to be quiet, hissing, ¡°Do you all want me dead or something?!¡±

    Only then did he give them a rough ount of what had just happened.

    When they learned that the two hadn¡¯t had the type of private meeting they envisioned, their expressions became a bit better. Yun Jianyue even remarked, ¡°What are you still hesitating over, then? This is such a great opportunity. Just go already!¡±

 Chapter 1366: There Is More Than a Single Knife Poking Against Your Back

    Chapter 1366: There Is More Than a Single Knife Poking Against Your Back

    ¡°That is far too dangerous, though. The Imperial Tomb is full of killing intent, and no one knows what the situation inside is like. And what is the truth behind the so-called Fiend Emperors¡¯ heroic spirits?¡± Yan Xuehen replied, shaking her head. ¡°Furthermore, the session ceremony is such a huge event; there is no way the Fiend Emperor would not get involved. At that point, if you really did something to the Golden Crow Crown Prince, even if you could escape from the Imperial Tomb, you would still end up suffering from the Fiend Emperor¡¯s pursuit¡­¡±

    Yan Xuehen was stunned by the fact that she had said so much. She suddenly realized that she was worried about Zu An¡¯s safety. For fear of drawing the other girls¡¯ attention, she quickly added, ¡°That would also implicate the Snake and Elf races.¡±

    Yu Yanluo frowned. Even though she didn¡¯t like living in the fiend race territories that much, she didn¡¯t wish for the Snake race to be destroyed because of her.

    Yun Jianyue rolled her eyes and replied, ¡°Stone cold woman, are you an idiot? We¡¯re just going in, so why do we have to mess with the crown prince and get involved in the session fight? Can¡¯t we just borrow the token and clothes the Second Empress provided to head inside, and leave it at that?¡±

    Yan Xuehen was stupefied. She couldn''t even be bothered to pay attention to the insult. She slowly replied, ¡°That kind of thing is¡­ possible?¡±

    Yu Yanluo gave Yun Jianyue a strange look. The Devil Sect really ys by all means, both fair and foul. This really is¡­ shameless.

    Still, she approved of that approach, because it was definitely the most suitable method.

    ¡°Why are you all looking at me like this?¡± Yun Jianyue asked a bit unhappily. ¡°Did you all have childhoods that were a bit too sheltered or something? Isn¡¯t this the choice that makes the most sense? I¡¯m sure the Second Empress doesn¡¯t intend for Little An to be some kind of ¡¯imperial brother¡¯, and will just silence him as her first objective afterward. She might even use him to calm the hearts of the crown prince¡¯s factionter.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but sigh with praise, saying, ¡°Big sis Yun, you really are the most realistic and sober one of us all¡­¡±

    Even though he had his own suspicions, his interactions with the Second Empress had actually been quite agreeable. It was hard for him to develop resentment for her due to her sweet and soft voice, so he had subconsciously never considered the absolute worst case scenario.

    None of them were idiots. Now that Yun Jianyue had offered such and analysis, they immediately realized that she had described the most likely possibility.

    Yu Yanluo nodded and said, ¡°Indeed. In that case, we can¡¯t let her use us. We should exploit her first.¡±

    Zu An said somewhat worriedly, ¡°But if the Golden Crow Crown Prince rises to the throne smoothly, I fear that he definitely wouldn¡¯t treat you well.¡±

    As for Snow, it was still alright. He would just take her far away if he had to. The Elf race was a king race to begin with. No matter how dissatisfied the Golden Crow Crown Prince was, he wouldn¡¯t dare to do anything to the Elf race.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Yu Yanluo said with a warm smile. ¡°You¡¯ll already be back in the human world tomorrow. You won¡¯t have anything to do with our Snake race anymore. Furthermore, the Snake race is in a fairly secluded ce, and we¡¯re a vigorous and tough race. Even if he tries to do something to us, he¡¯ll have to consider the effects it will have on the other races. He¡¯ll just y some dirty tricks at most. We¡¯ll just have to deal with those situations as they happen.¡±

    ¡°Tsk tsk tsk, what a meticulous and careful flower we have here,¡± Yun Jianyue said. She couldn''t hold herself back from pinching Yu Yanluo¡¯s cheek. How could any man in the world resist a woman who was so beautiful and good at understanding others?

    Yan Xuehen seemed a bit absent-minded. At that moment, it was hard to know what she was thinking.

    ¡­

    When they returned to the Snake race¡¯s courtyard, they all tried to get as much rest as they could.

    At first, Zu An wanted to keep Yu Yanluo from heading inside to provide support, because the Imperial Tomb was too dangerous. To his surprise, however, she refused that role no matter what, saying that a husband and wife had to stick together. She wasn¡¯t willing to stay in a safe ce while her man would have to face danger. Zu An couldn''t convince her otherwise and could only agree.

    When she saw the two going back and forth like that, Yan Xuehen left with an emotionless expression. Yun Jianyue was also quite unhappy after being forced to watch the public disy of affection. She mutteredints and left too.

    The Imperial Tomb would only open up right before the Golden Crow Crown Prince entered. If Zu An went over immediately, even if he had the token, he would be seen as suspicious. As such, they all returned to their own rooms to get some rest in preparation for the next day¡¯s adventure.

    Yu Yanluo went with Maid Xing to arrange for external support after they were finished. She also left instructions on what to do if she never came back, and what to do with the Snake race and Yu n. Maid Xing ended up being ovee with tears.

    Meanwhile, Zu An returned to his room. He was almost as nervous as he had been before his college entrance exam. Just as looking at any more books or test papers the night before the test waspletely useless, cultivating any further at that moment was also pointless.

    However, there was still something he could still give a try, which was his Rage point system. Maybe it was just all in his mind, but he always felt that single pulls weren¡¯t all that great and that the ten multi-pull was easier to get lucky with. That was why he usually saved up quite a few Rage points first before trying his luck.

    He was going to enter the Imperial Tomb tomorrow. Even though he had already experienced all kinds of things already, he didn¡¯t have any confidence this time. So, having a bit more strength to count on would still be good.

    He washed his face and hands first as usual, then took out the assorted incense and other tools that he had already gathered a long time ago. There were even a few extra saucers to arrange all sorts of offerings. He made a spiritual prayer, then began his pulls.

    The amount he had collected this time was quite sizable. He had a total of 621,375 points.

    Zu An immediately pressed the key to start the lottery. As he saw the ¡®Thank you for ying¡¯ and ¡®Congrattions, you have won a Ki Fruit¡¯ messages sh by, his excitement quickly faded.

    Onlyter, when the keyboard¡¯s shing indicator stopped over the ¡®T¡¯ key, did he be madly excited.

    Congrattions on winning the Goldensnake King¡¯s Eye!

    ¡°Goldensnake King¡¯s Eye? What is this?¡± Zu An eximed in confusion. Was it something simr to the Medusa¡¯s Eye? He wondered what kind of use it had. He quickly scrolled down to the skill description.

    Goldensnake King¡¯s Eye skill description: At a certain moment in spacetime, there was a saying that went, ¡®The moment the Goldensnake King even nces at you, you¡¯ve already been greened¡¯.

    Zu An was speechless. The hell is this?

    Don¡¯t tell me you can steal someone¡¯s chastity with just a look or something?

    He quickly continued reading.

    Skill effect: When used on a couple or a pair of lovers, it will make them think that you cheated on their partner.

    Friendly reminder: Beware of getting beaten when you use this skill.

    Zu An was speechless. Damn, what kind of skill is this? What can I even do with this kind of thing?

    Even if he intended to cheat, the fun was in the cheating! Why the hell would anyone want to let the other person find out?!

    He noticed that the skill also had a second implication. It seemed to be able to make women think that their husbands or lovers had cheated on them¡­ Is that even freaking okay?

    Zu An couldn''t help but shiver when he thought of that. I¡¯ll probably never use this skill on a woman in my entire life.

    Even with the great event encroaching, he had only ended up getting this damned skill, so Zu An¡¯s mood became a bit worse. However, he continued to pull on the lottery. The light indicator flew to and fro, giving him more ki fruits and ¡®thank you¡¯ messages. His mood became even colder than the roaring wind and snow outside.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Deities and buddhas, I prepared so many offerings for you. You can¡¯t just let me down like this, right?¡± Zu An muttered as he saw the number of pulls he could do rapidly decrease. He thought to himself, Should I not go through all this effort in the future?

    Maybe it was a coincidence, but as soon as he spoke, the light indicator stopped over the ¡®K¡¯ key. Zu An¡¯s mood immediately lifted.

    Congrattions on winning the Ikuu Experience Card!

    What kind of stupid name is that? Huh? Why does this pronunciation sound a bit familiar?

    He quickly continued reading the words on the screen.

    Ikuu Experience Card skill description: If your back hurts, it might not be because of a de. If you are screaming your heart and lungs out, it might not be because of pain. What rests on your shoulders might not necessarily be responsibility. Things you are forced to learn might not be a lesson!

    Skill effect: Only effective on men. Once a target is selected, it will force them to experience a woman¡¯s perspective. They will feel as if they were being powerfully filled by a strong and robust man. One of the four scenarios above will be chosen, and they will continue to scream ¡®Ikuu ikuu~¡¯.

    Note: This skill is ineffective against those without any intimate experiences.

    Zu An¡¯s jaw nearly dropped onto the ground when he saw the skill¡¯s description.

    You know what, you win. What the hell is this? There really are all sorts of ridiculous skills¡­

 Chapter 1367: Executed Without Exception

    Chapter 1367: Executed Without Exception

    If one were to say that these skills werepletely useless¡­ No, they had some use. And yet, if one were to say that they were useful¡­ No, they really weren¡¯t all that useful.

    Still, Zu An had already gotten used to that over the years. If it weren¡¯t a freaking scam, it wouldn¡¯t be a skill from the Keyboard System. However, if the skills were used in an appropriate situation, they would often prove extremely useful.

    Zu An had previously had some idea of where he could use the previous skills, but this time, he couldn''t think of anything at all, no matter how he tried.

    Sigh, it¡¯s better than nothing, I guess.

    Zu An could only console himself that way. Then, he began to search through the other things he had obtained from the pulls this time. He had obtained a total of 608 Ki Fruits and nothing else. He was a bit regretful to find that unfortunately, there were no Tiger Talismans. It would have been great if he could get some more valkyries.

    Then, he summoned Daji and Mo Xi. He initially wanted to raise Mo Xi¡¯s level a bit, but when he saw the wild and arrogant expression in her eyes, Zu An gave up on that thought. He¡¯d give her some once she actually did some work for him. This woman liked that kind of business exchange, anyway. If there were no ki fruits, he wouldn¡¯t necessarily be able to make her do a thing.

    Hmph, Daji is so much better!

    He still had 306 Ki Fruits that he hadn¡¯t used thest time. Together with the amount he had just gotten, he had 914 in total. After some hesitation, though, he didn¡¯t use them in the end. They weren¡¯t enough to bring Daji to the eighth rank, so it wasn¡¯t worth the cost.

    After all, all the opponents he would face in the Imperial Tomb were going to be incredibly powerful. Increasing Daji¡¯s skills by that tiny amount wouldn¡¯t do much. For some reason, he felt that saving the Ki Fruits would be the best choice.

    He chatted with Daji and Mo Xi for a bit. Of course, he was the only one talking, while the two valkyries listened quietly. Even though he knew that the two valkyries didn¡¯t have souls at the moment, he felt that doing so would bring them closer to him.

    Unfortunately, without any truemunication, the effectiveness of such one-way ¡®conversation¡¯ was just a bit too low.

    ¡­

    A night passed just like that. The next day, Zu An met the three women. They all had frowns on their faces.

    There¡¯s a different smell on him. Did he secretly seek out Yu Yanluost night? Even though Yan Xuehen knew that the two were lovers, and that it was normal even if they did something, her mood was still strange.

    Yun Jianyue cursed, ¡°You damn brat, what are you using all of your strength before a great battle for? Utter nonsense.¡± If she hadn¡¯t been worried about Yu Yanluo¡¯s feelings, she would have already showered Zu An with curses.

    Yu Yanluo was also confused. She knew that Zu An hadn¡¯t been with herst night. Just who had he been with, for him to have that kind of smell on him? Yun Jianyue or Yan Xuehen?

    She managed to scare herself with that sudden thought. Those two were both among the very strongest in the world. Furthermore, with their personalities, it really was hard to imagine them having any such interactions with another man.

    The three of them all became suspicious. The mood was bizarre. However, Zu An just assumed they were all a bit nervous before the great battle and didn¡¯t think too much about it.

    ¡­

    They moved closer to the Imperial Tomb, where all sorts of races had gathered for a long andplicated procedure with a litany of rituals. The main idea was that the representatives would praise the crown prince for his integrity and talent, and affirm that he was going to be the next Fiend Emperor. Before that, however, he would have to enter the Imperial Tomb and undergo the tests of the previous ancestors.

    After giving their praises, the representatives of the different races left, because based on past experience, the trial would take a single day at least, and several days at most. There was no need to stand outside at all. Furthermore, there was no such thing as a failure, so they knew it was just a formality. As such, the major figures of the different races didn¡¯t want to just idle around outside. Leaving behind their trusted aides to await further news was already giving the royal family enough face.

    Zu An took the chance to confirm some things with the women.

    Just then, the Second Empress asked through ki, ¡°What is your decision?¡±

    Zu An looked up at the elevated tform. The luxuriously dressed Second Empress was naturally graceful and stunning like a peony. She was clearly speaking to him, and yet she didn¡¯t look in his direction at all.

    ¡°Your highness really isposed. You¡¯re actually asking that kind of question at this kind of time,¡± Zu An said with a chuckle.

    When she noticed that Zu An could still transmit his voice clearly at such a distance, the Second Empress became more confident in his strength. She replied, ¡°Who says I amposed? I wanted to ask you earlier, but the Fiend Emperor was present then. If I had sent a ki transmission then, there would be no way it could escape his detection.¡±

    ¡°So you¡¯ll only speak to me once your husband leaves? That hurts,¡± Zu An replied, feigning a sigh.

    The Second Empress had a strange smile as she remarked, ¡°Damn kid, you even dare to provoke me? You make it sound as if we are adulterers or something.¡±

    ¡°Yesterday, didn¡¯t you say you would have the Second Crown Prince make me his imperial brother or something? Why are you backing out so quickly?¡± Zu An replied, sounding dissatisfied.

    The Second Empress smiled in a lovable manner, replying, ¡°I said that would happen once the task isplete. It sounds as if you agree, then.¡±

    Zu An said with a sigh, ¡°Your highness is an incredible beauty. What man in this world could refuse you?¡±

    In truth, he was going because it was an Unknown Region. If this vixen wanted to put on an act, he would just y along. Let¡¯s see who goes down first.

    A slight blush appeared on the Second Empress¡¯ face. She replied, ¡°You have so many beauties at your side, so why would you favor an old woman like me?¡±

    ¡°If your highness is an old woman, the other older women in this world would smile andugh even in their dreams,¡± Zu An replied. Meanwhile, he discussed the details with the other three women even while dealing with the Second Empress. He was in awe of his own skills at multitasking.

    ¡°Your tongue really is sweet. No wonder you have so many beautiful women around you.¡± The Second Empress harrumphed. ¡°The crown prince has already begun to move, so you should start setting out as well. Once this matter is over, this empress will invite you to my chambers for a slow chat.¡±

    Even though her voice was full of allure, there was a cold glint in her eyes. After something so big, how could she possibly spare his life? This damn kid really must think that this empress is a fickle woman!

    Of course, she didn¡¯t mind using her own beauty as a fake ticket if it would make Zu Anplete the mission with greater motivation.

    Zu An pretended to be overjoyed to hear that turn of events. He replied, ¡°I¡¯ll remember your highness¡¯ words! You can¡¯t go back on themter!¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°You are so annoying¡­ I am already in the same boat as you, so how could I possibly go back on my words?¡± The Second Empress pouted yfully and said, ¡°Then, I wish you a smooth journey.¡±

    ¡°Your highness just needs to wait for my return,¡± Zu An replied with a chuckle. He brought the three women toward the Imperial Tomb¡¯s hillside.

    ¡­

    ¡°That kid has such a lowly smirk on his face. He¡¯s definitely thinking some bad thoughts.¡± Yun Jianyue harrumphed.

    Yan Xuehen remained expressionless as she replied, ¡°He was probably chatting with the Second Empress just now, right?¡±

    Yu Yanluo had an ambiguous smile as she asked, ¡°What were they chatting about so happily?¡±

    Zu An immediately began to sweat buckets. He thought he had done everything seamlessly, and yet these women had actually already noticed it. Why are all the women around me so freaking sharp?

    ¡°Ahem, we were talking about the details of the Imperial Tomb,¡± he said. He naturally wouldn¡¯t be so stupid as to exin the details of the conversation. That really would create a hell battleground!

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯ll be much easier for us if she knows about the situation inside the Imperial Tomb,¡± Yun Jianyue said. She was happy to hear that, and looked at him expectantly.

    Zu An replied, ¡°She¡¯s never entered the Imperial Tomb either and doesn¡¯t know much about the situation inside. She only told us that the guards and the killing formations in that direction are weaker, so we should enter from that side.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t even know what the inside of the Imperial Tomb is like, and yet you were still chatting with her so happily?¡± Yun Jianyue eximed, looking extremely annoyed.

    Yan Xuehen said, ¡°Actually, we might not have to enter the Imperial Tomb. Our objective is the Unknown Region. We should just follow the map.¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s eyes lit up as she remarked, ¡°As expected of big sis Yan. I¡¯ve been worrying about the inside of the Imperial Tomb the entire time.¡±

    Yan Xuehen chuckled and said, ¡°It is still too early to feel happy. Who knows, the Unknown Region might be inside the Imperial Tomb, so we might still have to go in.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s just take it one step at a time. It¡¯s useless thinking about all of this now,¡± Yu Yanluo said. She looked at Yan Xuehen and continued, ¡°Big sis Yan, your smile really is pretty. You¡¯ve been smiling much more recently. This version of you is so much better.¡±

    Yan Xuehen was stunned. I¡¯ve been smiling more recently?

    ¡°She never used to do that. Otherwise, why would I call her a stone cold woman?¡± Yun Jianyue harrumphed. ¡°It¡¯s really strange now that I think about it. I¡¯ve already known her for so many years, and yet she¡¯s smiled more recently than in her entire life before now. Did she recently hit puberty or something?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s nonsense!¡± Yan Xuehen cried, her heart rate speeding up. She frowned.

    Zu An was worried that their rtionship could be exposed if the conversation went further. He quickly said, ¡°Ahem, let¡¯s hurry and change clothes. We need to seize the moment.¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression turned strange. ¡°You¡¯re only making us change now? Damn kid, are you doing this on purpose to see us change clothes?¡±

    When she said that, she suddenly remembered that he had already seen herpletely. A blush spread across her normally dignified expression.

    ¡°Uh¡­ Weren¡¯t we in that ceremony earlier? How could we have changed ahead of time?¡± Zu An replied. He took out the clothes and handed them to the women. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ill use my divine sense to watch the surroundings for you. I won¡¯t let anyone see you all.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to use your divine sense!¡± the three women blurted out at the same time. The one they were most guarded against was him!

    In the end, in order to prove his own innocence, Zu An didn¡¯t turn around from start to finish. The three women were all experts, so they changed clothes almost instantly. There weren¡¯t any unnecessary scenes at all.

    Then, the four of them headed toward the mountain where the Imperial Tomb was. Soon afterward, a troop of soldiers suddenly appeared and surrounded them, calling out, ¡°The crown prince is experiencing his trial right now. All who trespass shall be executed without exception!¡±

 Chapter 1368: Worst Case Situation

    Chapter 1368: Worst Case Situation

    After they spoke, they drew their weapons and prepared to attack, but Zu An quickly took out his token.

    ¡°Huh?¡± The leader of the group voiced his surprise when he saw the token. He quickly stopped his subordinates and asked, ¡°What brings you respected individuals here?¡±

    ¡°The court has been rather turbulent recently. We came on the Fiend Emperor¡¯s orders to secretly watch over the crown prince to prevent anything unexpected from happening,¡± Zu An replied coldly. He had previously acted as an Imperial Envoy in the human world¡¯s Imperial Pce, so his behavior was professional.

    Sure enough, the leader didn¡¯t suspect him and quickly stepped aside, saying, ¡°Pleasee inside.¡±

    Just then, someone who looked like a deputy leader quickly stopped them and protested, ¡°Leader, we didn¡¯t receive any orders like that!¡±

    The leader quickly pulled his assistant aside and replied, ¡°Are you stupid? Do you not recognize their uniform? Those are the Fiend Emperor¡¯s personal Golden Crow Guards! Apart from the Fiend Emperor himself, no one can make them do anything! Furthermore, they even have such a high-level Golden Crow Token that can get rid of all of the formations. Apart from someone acting under the Fiend Emperor¡¯s decree, who else would have this kind type of ability?¡±

    The deputy leader was a bit shocked too, but he was still hesitant. He asked, ¡°But why are the orders from the pce entirely different from this? They told us not to allow anyone in¡­¡±

    ¡°You blockhead!¡± The leader prodded the deputy¡¯s head as he replied, ¡°Think about it! The Golden Crow Crown Prince went in to undergo the previous Fiend Emperors¡¯ trial. This is something rted to the Fiend Emperor session, so he shouldn¡¯t be getting any external help. Otherwise, there will be a problem with his legitimacy! That¡¯s why the Fiend Emperor can¡¯t openly talk about this and can only secretly send in some of his trusted aides.¡±

    Zu An and the others¡¯ cultivations were extremely high. Even though the two guards had lowered their voices, the conversation didn¡¯t escape the group¡¯s ears. They all endured their urge tough. They had been worried about what they would do if they were stopped or if anything else unexpected happened. And yet now, this guy who was too smart for his own good had saved them so much trouble.

    The deputy leader was full of admiration; he was clearly already convinced. He asked, ¡°But since this matter is so secretive, do you think the Fiend Emperor will silence us afterward?¡±

    The leader was stunned. He clearly hadn¡¯t thought about that before. Now that he had been reminded, he was shocked. He eximed, ¡°Damn, that really is a possibility! We¡¯re done for, we¡¯re done for! We absolutely have to keep this matter a secret! We have to tell everyone that if even a single word gets out, all of us are finished!¡±

    ¡°Okay!¡± The deputy leader nodded seriously.

    Zu An nearly burst outughing when he heard that. These two were really doing everything for them!

    The two walked over just then and said, ¡°Alright, there was a bit of a misunderstanding earlier. Sirs, we wish you a smooth journey.¡±

    Zu An pretended to nod in a cold and arrogant manner, then walked off pompously. The leader sighed when he saw that, saying, ¡°As expected of the Fiend Emperor¡¯s personal guards, this kind of presence ispletely different from that of normal Golden Crow Guards.¡±

    ¡­

    When they were far away, Yun Jianyue finally couldn''t hold herself back anymore and remarked with augh, ¡°Those two really are something else¡­ Why were we so worried before?¡±

    Yan Xuehen also grinned and said, ¡°Those two are indeed rather adorable. I hope we do not end up harming themter.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, just false righteousness.¡± Yun Jianyue harrumphed. She disliked that ¡®pitying mankind¡¯ side of Yan Xuehen the most.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s pretty brows rose. Yu Yanluo was worried that they would start fighting and quickly went over to mediate things, saying, ¡°Let¡¯s take out the map and look at it to see where we should go.¡±

    Zu An cooperated and took out the map so they could look it over together. Only then did they manage to dissipate another storm. Then, the group quickly moved through the forest ording to the map.

    ¡°Be careful!¡± Yan Xuehen suddenly cried, grabbing the others. At the same time, blue lines lit up around them. A wave of faint killing intent locked onto them. It was clear that the area was hiding a killing formation.

    Just then, the token in Zu An¡¯s hand shone with a soft radiance. The formations seemed to have sensed something, as the blue lines gradually dimmed, eventually returning to their normal state.

    The others sighed in relief. Even though a killing formation wouldn¡¯t take their lives with their cultivation, triggering the formation and drawing attention to their group was definitely unwanted.

    ¡°This Second Empress really is remarkable. She actually managed to get her hands on this kind of token,¡± Yu Yanluo said with a sigh of praise.

    ¡°That¡¯s not all. Judging from what the guards outside were saying, these are the Fiend Emperor¡¯s secret guards¡¯ uniforms. Apart from the Fiend Emperor, they don¡¯t listen to anyone else. I really wonder how she got her hands on their uniforms,¡± Yan Xuehen said in agreement.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°What are you all making such a big deal over this for? She¡¯s the empress herself, someone with extraordinary authority. She already bore disloyalty a long time ago, so she¡¯s naturally had her ways of scheming over the years,¡± Yun Jianyue said. ¡°Furthermore, she¡¯s so seductive in appearance and good at tempting others. Even if they were his secret guards, they probably couldn''t resist her charms either.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but say, ¡°Anyone who could be the Fiend Emperor¡¯s secret guards would have definitely undergone strict training. Resistance to feminine charms is of the highest priority. They¡¯d probably not be so easily confused, right?¡±

    ¡°I believe the secret guards would be able to withstand ordinary beauties, but the Second Empress is clearly a cut above. Her identity is also so noble and special,¡± Yun Jianyue said. She looked Zu An up and down with a sneer, adding, ¡°Even someone as experienced as you was confused, let alone those secret guards who live such boring lives.¡±

    Zu An hadn¡¯t expected to end up getting caught himself. He could only exin in embarrassment, ¡°The two of us are innocent and clean.¡±

    Yun Jianyue rolled her eyes, clearly not believing that. Fortunately, the group was mostly focused on finding the Unknown Region. Their attention quickly shifted.

    The security around the Imperial Tomb was strict on the outside, but there actually weren¡¯t that many guards inside. Inside, security was more reliant on hidden formations. However, when they sensed the token the group had, the formations ceased to activate.

    Lord Sui¡¯s map only contained a rough approximation; there weren¡¯t too many details. The group had to feel their way around a bit. Eventually, they arrived in front of the mountain range at the very center.

    ¡°The map seems to be talking about this location. It should be inside,¡± Yan Xuehen said, looking worriedly at the mountain.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression was grave as she said, ¡°This is none other than the tomb of the previous Fiend Emperors.¡±

    Yun Jianyue said with a sigh, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect us to have still arrived at the Imperial Tomb in the end.¡±

    No matter how fearless she was, she was still a bit scared when she thought about how this was where the previous Fiend Emperors¡¯ heroic spirits were supposed to be. Between that and the rumors surrounding Unknown Regions, she didn¡¯t know how many of them woulde out alive, or if any of them would be able to.

    ¡°Big sis Yun, don¡¯t be scared. I¡¯ll protect you,¡± Zu An said to soothe her. Unlike others, he had already entered several Unknown Regions, so his attitude was different.

    ¡°Hmph, who¡¯s scared?¡± Yun Jianyue retorted, her eyes widening. ¡°Cultivators pursue progress. Seeking the dao is often a process apanied by death. I was just worried because there are many things back in the Holy Sect that I haven¡¯t taken care of yet.¡±

    On the other hand, Yan Xuehen was calmer. At this point, she was more of a figurehead in the White Jade Sect, so she didn¡¯t have many concrete responsibilities. Furthermore, because of the matter with Zu An, she had no idea how she would face her disciple. If she really died inside, that would just solve all of those worries.

    Yu Yanluo didn¡¯t say anything and just subconsciously leaned a bit closer to Zu An.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Yun Jianyue said. She was still a formidable individual, after all. She quickly sorted out her thoughts.

    Afterward, they secretly approached the entrance of the Imperial Tomb. They saw that there was a group of guards there. The one in the lead was none other than the ck Teeth Race¡¯s leader, the national uncle Grand Secretary Heichi Fei.

    ¡°The secret guard story probably won¡¯t be enough to fool him,¡± Yu Yanluo said a bit worriedly. This person was the maternal uncle of the crown prince, someone with tremendous authority. He frequently interacted with the Fiend Emperor as well. The chance of fooling him with the exnation that they were secret guards was extremely small.

    ¡°What are you so scared of? We¡¯ll just act together for a bit. It won¡¯t be difficult to kill him,¡± Yun Jianyue said, her first thought being to solve the problem through violence.

    ¡°There are many others here, though; we might not be able to instantly subdue all of them. If one gets away and sounds the rm, the Fiend Emperor will hear the news and arrive,¡± Yan Xuehen said, shaking her head. The Fiend Emperor definitely wouldn¡¯t ignore something like that. With his strength, the limitations of space were already meaningless. If the Fiend Emperor came, all of them would die for certain.

    ¡°Fiend Emperor?¡± Zu An suddenly had a strange expression as he said, ¡°I have a way.¡±

 Chapter 1369: Something In the Walls

    Chapter 1369: Something In the Walls

    ¡°What way?¡± the women all asked, looking at him curiously.

    Zu An didn¡¯t exin anything. However, face changed, and he quickly took on the Fiend Emperor¡¯s appearance.

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue jumped in fright. They quickly backed away, their entire bodies stiffening as they got ready to attack at a moment¡¯s notice. Yu Yanluo, on the other hand, knew about Zu An¡¯s ¡®Face of a Thousand Identities¡¯ skill. Even though she was surprised, she quickly recovered.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous, it¡¯s me,¡± Zu An said.

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue reacted with strange expressions, ¡°Just how many freaking weird abilities do you have, brat?!¡±

    The two of them moved around to inspect him, and saw that he was utterly identical to the Fiend Emperor they had seen on the elevated tform. Yan Xuehen said with a sigh of praise, ¡°You can pretty much just head into the Imperial Pce and take the Fiend Emperor¡¯s ce.¡±

    Yun Jianyue roared withughter, remarking, ¡°Then wouldn¡¯t Heichi Fei piss his pants out of fear when he sees you?¡±

    Zu An shook his head with a pained smile, saying, ¡°How could it be that simple? Even though I can change my appearance into the Fiend Emperor¡¯s, my voice can¡¯t be like his.¡±

    If he wanted his voice to be the same, he had to use the Kawaii Waifu Voice Changer to fool a guy first. They were in such a hurry; where would he go to find a man to fool?

    ¡°This is already enough,¡± Yu Yanluo said. ¡°From what we¡¯ve seen, the Fiend Emperor is a habitually silent man who rarely speaks. Just leave it to uster. You don¡¯t have to say anything.¡±

    Yun Jianyue had a mocking smile as she remarked, ¡°Kid, you really are quite the talent. This skill is freaking useful for secretly sleeping with others!

    ¡°You can just change into a married woman¡¯s husband, and then you can sleep with any married woman you want! They¡¯ll think that you¡¯re their husband, so they¡¯ll receive you warmly while beingpletely in the dark¡­¡±

    Zu An was rmed when he heard that. He quickly replied in a serious tone, ¡°Nonsense! How could I do something that despicable?¡±

    Yan Xuehen red at Yun Jianyue, saying, ¡°You are a witch after all. Despite the kind of situation we are in, your head is still filled with such filthy stuff!¡±

    Yun Jianyue turned around and gave her a re, retorting, ¡°Oh my, you¡¯re so noble and virtuous, so amazing! Freaking hypocrite.¡±

    Yu Yanluo quickly smoothed things over, saying, ¡°Alright, alright, what¡¯s most important right now is entering the Imperial Tomb first.¡±

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue were both some of the world''s most powerful individuals. Even though they had constant petty arguments, it wouldn¡¯t reach a point where they would forget more important matters.

    Zu An quickly changed into a new set of clothes. The group coordinated what they were going to say, and they strutted over to the Imperial Tomb.

    The group didn¡¯t hide at all, so Heichi Fei¡¯s subordinates noticed them quickly. They all drew their weapons and surrounded them, calling out, ¡°Show yourselves!¡±

    Heichi Fei, who was seated in front of the entrance in meditation, sneered. The Crown Prince had ordered him to guard the entrance precisely because he was worried that someone would try to interfere with the session process. Who would have thought that there really would be people who weren¡¯t scared of death?

    The ck Teeth race was going through some trouble. First, Heichi Ran had been implicated in the crown prince¡¯s assassination, almost shaving ayer of skin off the ck Teeth race. Then, that grandson of his from a branch family, Heichi Gu, had disappeared mysteriously. Every detail avable about that event pointed at a disaster.

    The key was that today, the crown prince hadn¡¯t let Heichi Ran follow him into the Imperial Tomb. Even though the crown prince had told him that he was the only person he trusted and that he needed help guarding the entrance, Heichi Fei knew that because of the assassination, the crown prince was already on guard against the ck Teeth race.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince had only brought his trusted aides, who had already served him for many years. Furthermore, whether it was intentional or not, everyone he had brought had lower cultivation than himself. He was clearly worried that there could be something wrong with them; if that were the case, he would be able to subdue them at once. Meanwhile, Heichi Fei¡¯s cultivation was higher, which was why the crown prince didn¡¯t feel safe bringing him in as well.

    Is the crown prince muddled? I¡¯m his uncle! If he doesn¡¯t trust me, who can he trust? Heichi Ran thought.

    That was why he had been quite upset the entire time and wanted someone to take his anger out on. When he opened his eyes and saw Zu An, however, he almost pissed his pants. He had been overbearing a moment before, but the next moment, he was already kneeling on the ground and calling out, ¡°I greet your majesty the Fiend Emperor!¡±

    The other guards also prostrated with fear, especially the ones who had shouted previously.

    Zu An nodded and reached out his hand to gesture for them to stand up.

    Yun Jianyue said coldly, ¡°Step aside; his majesty is going to enter.¡± With her cultivation, mimicking the voice of a man wasn¡¯t too difficult.

    Even Yan Xuehen nodded. Only this witch could speak in such a cold and dignified manner. If it were her or Yu Yanluo, they couldn''t mimic such a proud and aloof nature.

    Sure enough, when Yun Jianyue spoke, Heichi Fei¡¯s subordinates moved aside out of shock. Even Heichi Fei instinctively stepped aside.

    Zu An nodded and walked in with an indifferent expression.

    As he watched Zu An¡¯s back recede, Heichi Fei gritted his teeth and called out, ¡°Wait!¡±

    Zu An and the others were rmed. Were there any openings somewhere?

    Yun Jianyue turned around and asked with a frown, ¡°What is it?¡±

    Heichi Fei braced himself and said, ¡°Your majesty, the crown prince is currently undergoing the trial of the previous Fiend Emperors¡¯ heroic spirits. What is your majesty doing entering now?¡±

    The question was something he had to ask because he was the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s uncle, the one who had been the most loyal to the crown prince¡¯s faction for so many years. His own n¡¯s sess depended greatly on the crown prince¡¯s sess.

    The crown prince was undergoing his trial without any issues, and yet the Fiend Emperor had suddenly appeared. That was the greatest variable; who knew what he was thinking?

    The Fiend Emperor¡¯s doting on the Second Empress was something everyone knew about. There were even rumors that the Fiend Emperor had thought about passing on the throne to the Second Imperial Prince. Unfortunately, the Second Imperial Prince was too young, and the Fiend Emperor couldn''tst that much longer. Thus, that hadn¡¯te true.

    However, if the Fiend Emperor went in now, didn¡¯t that mean the Fiend Emperor had still been bewitched by that lowly woman after all, and that he was going to change sessors?

    ¡°Does his majesty need to exin his decisions to you?¡± Yun Jianyue berated Heichi Fei. One had to admit that her performance was already perfect.

    Unfortunately, Heichi Fei was also extremely sharp. He stared at Zu An with suspicion, asking, ¡°Your majesty, why aren¡¯t you speaking?¡±

    The women all felt a Thud! go off in their minds. They hadn¡¯t expected to not be able to avoid the problem in the end. It seemed they had to fight after all.

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue exchanged a look. As old enemies, they had already developed a kind of tacit understanding. Theymunicated with their eyes that they would make their move together to see if they could instantly subdue the enemy. However, the two hadn¡¯t recovered from their injuries, so they didn¡¯t have absolute confidence. Meanwhile, there were still other experts there.

    Zu An turned around and gave Heichi Fei a look. Heichi Fei¡¯s entire face immediately turnedpletely red, and he even began breathing heavily.

    The three women thought that the man had seen some gaps and was about to make a move, but instead, Zu An was already takingrge steps toward the Imperial Tomb.

    The three women were stunned and quickly followed along. Meanwhile, Heichi Fei didn¡¯t do a thing the entire time, only standing there while shaking slightly, as if he had seen something infuriating, yet also terrifying.

    ¡­

    When they entered the Imperial Tomb, Yun Jianyue finally couldn''t hold it in anymore. She asked, ¡°Little An, why did he suddenly be obedient?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression became strange as he said, ¡°It might be because he thinks that his own wife and the Fiend Emperor had an affair, and that the Fiend Emperor might silence him.¡±

    The three women were bbergasted. What kind of reply was that?

    How could they have known that in the moment of crisis, Zu An had suddenly used the Goldensnake King¡¯s Eye? In Heichi Fei¡¯s mind, the scene of the Fiend Emperor and his own wife going back and forth had immediately appeared.

    Most importantly, the Fiend Emperor had been quite outstanding in his youth. When he was younger, he had tried to seduce Heichi Fei¡¯s wife. That was something he had only learned about from a coincidence.

    However, the other party was the Fiend Emperor, and his cultivation was so high! Even though Heichi Fei knew about that, he could only submit to the humiliation. The Fiend Emperor had returned the favor as well, granting him all manner of glory and wealth. That was how the matter had been settled.

    However, when he exchanged a look with Zu An, the scene of his wife screaming in pleasure under the Fiend Emperor had appeared in his mind. No matter how generous he was, seeing it for himself was somethingpletely different.

    Even though he felt anger, he felt even more fear. He was worried that the Fiend Emperor knew that he knew, and would want to silence him. How could he still be in the mood to stop him?

    Zu An didn¡¯t know the truth. He only felt that even though the skill seemed pathetic, it really had some use.

    ¡­

    The group quickly headed into the Imperial Tomb. However, Zu An suddenly stopped, his expression serious as he called out, ¡°Be careful! There¡¯s something in the walls!¡±

 Chapter 1370: An Old Friend

    Chapter 1370: An Old Friend

    When he entered the Imperial Tomb, Zu An reverted to his usual appearance. Continuing to pretend to be the Fiend Emperor there was pointless and would just intimidate the three women.

    The three women were all rmed. ¡°Is it a monster simr to the Scaled Deathworms?¡± Theirst experience in the Yu n¡¯s mines had left them with a great psychological shadow.

    Zu An shook his head. He didn¡¯t know either. They all grew vignt and stared at the moving walls, waiting for an attack from the things inside at any time.

    Waves rippled across the dirt and stone of the walls. Then, a huge hole appeared, and something emerged from inside.

    ¡°Pah, pfft, pah, this fat guy was almost choked to death¡­¡± a plump figure cursed.

    Zu An and the others nearly attacked, but when they heard the familiar voice and looked at him, they all voiced their surprise. ¡°It¡¯s you?¡±

    It was none other than the one who had given them a divination back in Bluefield Country, the fat daoist Wu Liang who had gone with them to Lord Sui¡¯s tomb.

    ¡°Huh? Why is it you guys?¡± Wu Liang also jumped in fright when he saw them. However, he sighed in relief when he saw that it was people he knew.

    ¡°Why are you here?¡± Zu An asked in confusion. This guy had too many things about him that were too mysterious. He couldn''t help but harbor some doubts.

    ¡°That¡¯s what I should be asking you guys, right? How did so many people enter the Imperial Tomb? If I recall correctly, you guys have a grudge against the Golden Crow Crown Prince, right? Huh? Don¡¯t tell me that¡­¡± Wu Liang¡¯s mouth formed an O shape, and he lookedpletely shocked.

    ¡°Cease the nonsense. We¡¯re the ones questioning you right now, and not the other way around,¡± Yun Jianyue berated him impatiently.

    Perhaps because he sensed the killing intent in Yun Jianyue¡¯s eyes, Wu Liang didn¡¯t dare to continue being so talkative. He said with an embarrassed smile, ¡°I¡¯ve beencking funds recently, so I came to see if there were any treasures.¡±

    ¡°Your grave robbing took you all the way to the Imperial Tomb?¡± Yu Yanluo asked, her expression strange. ¡°You really have no sense of fear.¡±

    Wu Liang shrugged and replied with an embarrassedugh, ¡°What can I say? The risk in the Imperial Tomb is high, but the rewards are also great.¡±

    Yan Xuehen said suspiciously, ¡°This Imperial Tomb is guarded heavily with killing formations everywhere. The walls in the Imperial Tomb aren¡¯t ordinary either. Just now, I noticed that they were reinforced with runes, and there are all kinds of other defensive measures. Just how did you get in so easily?¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    It was precisely because she understood runes and formations that she felt that Wu Liang¡¯s im wasn¡¯t too reliable. The others looked at Wu Liang as well when they heard that, and their expressions became dangerous.

    When he sensed real killing intent, Wu Liang immediately raised the item in his hand and said, ¡°I relied on this toe in.¡±

    The others gave it a careful look. They saw that in his hand was a dark w that shone with a bit of golden light.

    ¡°This is that thing you got from Lord Sui¡¯s Tomb?¡± Zu An asked. He had some impression of the item.

    ¡°Lord Sui¡¯s Tomb? So that was the name of that tomb,¡± Wu Liang said, stunned. Then, he continued to exin, ¡°That¡¯s right. This is Ancestor Chuan Shan¡¯s weapon, our Pangolin race¡¯s holy object. It can allow us to move at will through the earth, and even break through some formation defenses.¡±

    The others remembered the legend of the Pangolin race. Their n had excelled at raiding tombs, which was why they had ended up drawing public anger. That was why other races had banded together and almost wiped out the entire race.

    However, they probably hadn¡¯t expected their descendant Wu Liang to be so ambitious, to dare to even raid the tomb of the former Fiend Emperors.

    Yun Jianyue told the others through ki, ¡°We can¡¯t tell him about our goals this time. Should we just kill him?¡±

    Yan Xuehen frowned and didn¡¯t say anything. Even though she didn¡¯t approve of killing the innocent, everyone else could just walk away from such a problem, but Yu Yanluo couldn''t. If the situation ended up harming the Snake race, it would be toote for regrets.

    Wu Liang was a sharp person too. He sensed that there was something off with their expressions. He quickly said, ¡°You¡¯d better not do what you¡¯re thinking! Even though I can¡¯t win against you by myself, I¡¯m not a pushover either! I can still draw the attention of the armies outside before I die. At that point, we¡¯ll just go down together!¡±

    Zu An¡¯s group was speechless. This guy is quite straightforward,ying out all his cards right on the table.

    Still, that wasn¡¯t something they could risk either, because this guy was too mysterious. Who knew what kinds of life-saving measures he had? If they had a falling-out, he could really have a way of alerting the guards outside. That wouldn¡¯t be good for anyone.

    As such, Zu An said with a chuckle, ¡°Daoist priest is overthinking things. We aren¡¯t such cruel and violent people. It¡¯s just that entering the Imperial Tomb is such an important matter, so we were a bit worried.¡±

    Wu Liang immediately said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I can make a vow that I definitely won¡¯t tell anyone that I met you here. Also, if you¡¯re all still worried, I can follow you, so you can monitor everything I do.¡±

    They exchanged a look, feeling a bit surprised. After all, they weren¡¯tpletely convinced that Wu Liang had entered just to rob a tomb. If he turned out to be from the crown prince faction, or the Fiend Emperor had sent him, letting him go would be too dangerous. And yet, this guy had actually given such a ¡®considerate¡¯ suggestion in the end. That would indeed make it much easier for everyone.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s just travel together,¡± Zu An said seriously. That was all they could do for the time being. They would just observe Wu Liang along the way to see what his purpose foring to the Imperial Tomb was.

    ¡°Sounds good~!¡± Wu Liang replied. When he heard that his life could be preserved at least, he smiled so widely that his eyes turned to slits.

    ¡­

    The group then continued inside, secretly reminding each other to be on guard against a sudden ambush from Wu Liang while examining their surroundings. The passage they entered was extremely wide and spacious. It wasn¡¯t as gloomy and cramped as the previous ones, and every few meters, there was a small golden crown-shapedntern that lit up their path like sacred mes.

    Wu Liang said in praise, ¡°As expected of the Imperial Tomb. The fuel for thesenterns is from deep sea fish; it lets out no smoke when burned. It¡¯s rumored that they can support mes for a thousand years without burning out.¡±

    ¡°Mermaid oil?¡± Zu An asked. He had heard of a simr rumor before, which caused his expression to change. After all, Shang Liuyu was from the Mermaid race.

    ¡°No way. The Mermaid race¡¯s status among the Ocean races is too high.¡± Wu Liang exined, ¡°This is oil from a kind of whale. It¡¯s extremely precious even in the Ocean races. I¡¯m pretty certain that this is something that the Ocean races offered to a Fiend Emperor as tribute.¡±

    ¡°You seem to know quite a bit,¡± Zu An said, giving him a look of surprise.

    ¡°Heh, that¡¯s how I make a living,¡± Wu Liang said with a proud look.

    ¡­

    After walking for a while longer, they all noticed that there were all kinds of murals around them. Still, calling them mere murals didn¡¯t seem too appropriate, because they seemed to have been carved through a special method. Their contents were extremely grand, seemingly portraying some kind of war; it seemed to be a battle between terrifying ferocious beasts.

    Wu Liang exined, ¡°What¡¯s portrayed here are the things the past Fiend Emperors have been proudest of, their glorious achievements thatter generations will admire them for.¡±

    Yun Jianyue gave him a sidelong nce and asked, ¡°You¡¯re so familiar with this that this can¡¯t be your first trip here, can it?¡±

    ¡°No no no, I¡¯ve just done a lot of homework. After all, asing to the Imperial Tomb is so dangerous, I had to be a bit more thorough.¡± Wu Liang exined, sounding sincere.

    The others were suspicious. Considering the Imperial Tomb¡¯s situation, it¡¯d probably be hard to find out anything no matter how much homework one did, right? Still, with the level of security present, the idea that he coulde and go several times didn¡¯t seem too realistic either.

    The Pangolin race really was good at tomb raiding. With Wu Liang there, they were able to avoid many dangerous contraptions along the way. The token the Second Empress had given them could only deal with the killing formations outside the Imperial Tomb. It was useless against the formations inside the Imperial Tomb.

    Wu Liang constantly inquired about their objective, but Zu An¡¯s group was intelligent. Naturally, they didn¡¯t say anything.

    Just like that, the group continued to head in deeper. When they arrived at a fork, Wu Liang pointed straight ahead and said, ¡°The Golden Crow Crown Prince is most likely going through the previous Fiend Emperors¡¯ trial inside.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s go this way,¡± Zu An said, choosing the other way.

    Wu Liang was a bit surprised, eximing, ¡°So you guys didn¡¯te for him! Could it be that you¡¯re after the Imperial Tomb¡¯s treasury, just like me?¡±

    ¡°What treasury?¡± they asked as they suddenly looked at him.

 Chapter 1371: Ritual

    Chapter 1371: Ritual

    They couldn''t help but be surprised. They hade for the Unknown Region this time, and every single Unknown Region was a ce countless people yearned for. If news of that got out, all of the world¡¯s powerful cultivators would swarm over.

    Wu Liang looked at them strangely. He didn¡¯t understand why they had such a huge reaction. He said, ¡°There are many funerary objects in the Imperial Tomb, and all of them are extremely precious. What else would it be but a treasury?¡±

    They were all speechless.

    Zu An didn¡¯t know whether Wu Liang was telling the truth or lying, but he didn¡¯t have the time to think about all of that at the moment. He just took the party in the other direction.

    The map he had gotten from Lord Sui¡¯s Tomb only gave him a rough idea of where the Unknown Region was. As for where its actual location was, it didn¡¯t mark that. Still, that made sense. The map had already existed far earlier than the fiend races¡¯ Imperial Tomb. Back then, the ce hadn¡¯t been the Imperial Tomb, so the surrounding terrain had alreadypletely changed. That had made the map lose much of its meaning. They had to look for the rest themselves.

    The group looked around along the way to see if there were any special ces. Meanwhile, Wu Liang was like a fish in water. He took all of the funerary objects in the rooms without any restraint. Most of them were gold or jade ornaments, but there were also some high-level ki stone treasures.

    When they saw his greedy appearance, Zu An and the others sighed inwardly, thinking that they had overthought the situation.

    Yan Xuehen was skilled in formation runes. She constantly looked around, but even though she found some hidden mechanisms, none of them had anything to do with the Unknown Region.

    Suddenly, the view before their eyes changed. The space in front of them gave way to a wide open area. They were all surprised. At that instant, they almost thought they had already left the Imperial Tomb. There was a sun, moon, and stars above them, while beneath those were rivers andkes.

    ¡°This is¡­¡± Yun Jianyue trailed off, her mouth hanging open in shock.

    Yu Yanluo was shocked too, but she exined, ¡°This is a miniature version of the world.¡±

    She specialized in art, and her treasure was the World Painting. She was extremely familiar with thends and waters of the world, so she immediately recognized the scene before her.

    ¡°On top of that, it¡¯s a depiction of when the fiend races were at their peak,¡± Yun Jianyue said with a sneer. ¡°Right now, most of the mountains and rivers have already been seized by the human race. The fiend races seem to still be living in their own fantasies.¡±

    Wu Liang looked at her with a strange expression and asked, ¡°Is thisdy a human or a fiend? Your views seem to be a bit unusual.¡±

    Yun Jianyue gave him a cold look. Wu Liang¡¯s entire body trembled, and he didn¡¯t dare to ask any more questions.

    Zu An couldn''t help but sigh in amazement. He had read about the tomb of the first emperor being a city that contained a sun, moon, and stars, as well as mountains,kes, and seas. He hadn¡¯t expected to experience the same thing in the fiend races'' Imperial Tomb too.

    Wu Liang looked at the heavens above and was eager to try inspecting them, saying, ¡°Those must be at least heaven-grade ki stones, maybe even immortal-grade! They¡¯re also so big. Ah, how great would it be if I could pluck one out?¡±

    Yan Xuehen said coldly, ¡°Judging from how these treasures have been ced into the sun, moon, and stars, this is a huge formation. Forcefully removing them would definitely trigger the Imperial Tomb¡¯s rm. In that case, no one would survive.¡±

    ¡°I know, I know. Am I not allowed to just talk to myself¡­¡± Wu Liang muttered, feeling a bit wronged. He looked broken-hearted, as if he hade across a mountain of treasure he couldn¡¯t touch.

    ¡°There¡¯s argeke here,¡± Yu Yanluo said. She eximed in rm, ¡°Huh? The water is real!¡±

    Normally, in order to preserve models ofkes and rivers in tombs, the architects would use substitutes like mercury; then, they wouldn¡¯t decay for a long, long time. They could also release poison that protected the tomb.

    The others were also a bit surprised. They walked over and checked for themselves. Sure enough, it really was water!

    ¡°I understand what¡¯s going on. The flow of wind and water matters a lot to tombs, so water is actually extremely important. It¡¯s just that an ordinary person can¡¯t be as bold as the Fiend Emperors in their designs, to find an unending water source here,¡± Wu Liang exined. ¡°The Golden Crow royal family is of the fire attribute, the most dominant of the yang forces. We all know the saying that yang alone can¡¯t produce life, while yin alone can have no growth. There must be a harmony of yin and yang. This water source is used to bnce the yin and yang of this Imperial Tomb. Tsk tsk, the one who designed this Imperial Tomb in the past really was a genius¡­¡±

    Wu Liang continued to talk non-stop. Zu An and the others were in admiration as they listened. This fe had some tricks after all! The Pangolin race really were the true specialists of tomb raiding.

    Yun Jianyue moved over to Zu An¡¯s side and whispered, ¡°Little An, do you think the Unknown Region is inside thiske?¡±

    Zu An nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s what I think too. How about this? I¡¯ll head down and take a look. You guys keep an eye on Wu Liang.¡± He had the Blue Mard ability that granted him a natural affinity with water. As such, he was the most suitable candidate.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s just a fat daoist priest. He won¡¯t be able to get anywhere.¡± Yun Jianyue harrumphed. ¡°You¡¯re the one who needs to be careful down there.¡±

    Zu An wanted to warn her that Wu Liang was different at first, but when he recalled that she was a grandmaster, he felt that his worries were a bit unfounded. Soon afterward, he jumped into the water and began to search the bottom of theke.

    The three women waited by thekeside. Yun Jianyue looked as if she didn¡¯t care on the outside, but she actually watched Wu Liang in secret. However, he remained extremely honest and didn¡¯t do anything strange.

    After an incense stick¡¯s worth of time, the water''s surface rippled. Then, Zu An emerged from the water.

    ¡°So?¡± the three women quickly asked.

    Zu An shook his head, saying, ¡°I looked around inside, and I even examined the bottom of theke. There weren¡¯t any hidden entrances or passages.¡±

    ¡°What are you all looking for?¡± Wu Liang asked curiously.

    ¡°None of your business,¡± Yun Jianyue snapped, shooting him a re. Wu Liang snickered, lookingpletely unaffected.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Then where would it be? We already searched a good amount of the Imperial Tomb,¡± Yun Jianyue said with a frown.

    Wu Liang said ambiguously, ¡°Even though I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re all looking for, there is another ce you haven¡¯t searched yet in this Imperial Tomb.¡±

    Zu An and the others were startled. The only ce left was where the Golden Crow Crown Prince was going to undergo the previous Fiend Emperors¡¯ trial by fire. They hadn¡¯t expected that after all this time, they still had to go through what they wanted to experience the least.

    Wu Liang continued, ¡°From what I know, the crown prince is probably inside the Imperial Tomb''s main hall. There¡¯s a fiend ancestor sculpture inside. The so-called trial of the previous Fiend Emperors is nothing more than a farce.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression was strange as he asked, ¡°How do you know something that confidential?¡±

    Wu Liang said with a chuckle, ¡°We¡¯re tomb raiders by trade after all, so we know more secrets than normal people.¡±

    Zu An discussed things with the three women. In the end, they decided to enter the main hall and take a look in the end. Along the way, Zu An thought to himself, Could it be fate that I have to help the Second Empress this time?

    ¡­

    They moved quickly. Along the way, with the master of tomb mechanisms Wu Liang and the rune formation expert Yan Xuehen at their side, they were able to avoid a lot of dangers ahead of time.

    Soon afterward, they arrived at the corner of a corridor. A bright me shone before them.

    Wu Liang said quietly, ¡°The underground pce is up ahead.¡±

    Zu An nodded. He focused his mind and moved forward.

    Inside was a grand pce. The most striking thing about it was a pitch-ck sculpture that towered several meters into the air. It looked like both a person and a beast, and yet was neither. It had a human body with a bird head, and its hands were ws. Behind it was a pair of pitch-ck wings, making it look as if it would spread its wings and fly away. Its sharp bird beak and the special pupils in its eyes gave off a unique air of violence and viciousness. Looking at it gave the impression of facing some great prehistoric beast.

    Even though the sculpture was an inanimate object, there was a wisp of terrifying pressure spreading from it that was even greater than that of the current Fiend Emperor.

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue were both shocked, eximing, ¡°This sculpture is a bit strange!¡±

    Yu Yanluo asked quietly, ¡°Could it be that the Fiend Ancestor is still alive?¡±

    ¡°How could that be? The Fiend Ancestor was a being from tens of millions of years ago! How could he possibly survive until now?!¡± Yun Jianyue replied, shaking hear head. ¡°But this sculpture does seem to carry a bit of the Fiend Ancestor¡¯s aura.¡±

    ¡°Could it be that the previous Fiend Emperors¡¯ heroic spirits all entrusted their soul fragments to this statue? But how is that possible?¡± Yan Xuehen muttered to herself. She seemed to have stumbled upon a difficult academic problem.

    Meanwhile, Zu An was sizing up the pce surroundings. He saw someone dressed in a long golden robe, every part of his being exuding an insufferable air of arrogance. Who else could it be but the Golden Crow Crown Prince?

    There were eighteen guards scattered around the hall. All of them were strong, yet reserved. The weakest of them was at the ninth rank, but none of them exceeded the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s cultivation. Anyone who could be brought inside by the Golden Crow Crown Prince was definitely one of his most trusted aides.

    Just then, the Golden Crow Crown Prince walked up to the fiend ancestor statue step by step. His face was brimming with excitement and admiration.

    ¡°I am going to begin receiving the trial. You are all to guard the exits. Do not allow anyone to interrupt me,¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince ordered.

    ¡°Understood!¡± the eighteen guards replied confidently, then began vigntly watching the surroundings. One guard moved toward the passage Zu An¡¯s group was in. The party was so rmed they quickly moved backward. Fortunately, they all excelled in stealth skills, so they weren¡¯t discovered.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince nodded in satisfaction when he saw that. Then, he spread his arms toward the fiend ancestor. After that, he began to chant cryptic sybles.

    Suddenly, the fiend ancestor statue seemed toe alive. Its eyes shone.

 Chapter 1372: Alarmed

    Chapter 1372: rmed

    Zu An and the others¡¯ expressions changed. Could it be that the Fiend Ancestor really would return to life? That would definitely be the absolute worst situation for them.

    Suddenly, a strange event happened. The two guards closest to the Golden Crow Crown Prince moved, attacking his vitals at the same time.

    The other guards hadn¡¯t expected the colleagues they were so familiar with to suddenly attack the crown prince. By the time they reacted, it was already toote.

    The two guards were extremely quick, and their cultivation was on the higher end among the eighteen guards. They were already at the hero soul stage of the master rank. As such, even though the other guards all shouted in anger and chased after them, they couldn''t catch up.

    Meanwhile, the Golden Crow Crown Prince had his eyes closed, as he was undergoing the most crucial part of the trial. Even if he did notice the activity happening behind him, he wouldn¡¯t be able to break free from the trial for quite some time. That meant the two guards¡¯ choice of timing was particrly vicious and ingenious.

    ¡°Could it be that they were also sent by the Second Empress?¡± Yun Jianyue asked through ki transmission.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± Zu An said, shaking his head. If the Second Empress had already sent someone, why would she invest so much into recruiting him?

    ¡°The Golden Crow Crown Prince is probably finished. It¡¯s a good thing we didn¡¯t have to make a move,¡± Yu Yanluo said, sighing in relief. She didn¡¯t want Zu An to take any risks.

    ¡°That may not be the case. The Golden Crow Crown Prince is too calm right now,¡± Yan Xuehen said with a frown. The crown prince had been much lessposed when he was in the Snake race.

    Sure enough, as soon as she spoke, the crown prince who had previously been immersed in the trial swiftly opened his eyes. Then, a raging me protected his entire body. It was the Golden Crow royal family¡¯s innate skill: Golden Crow Sacred Fire!

    The two hero soul master rank assassins were somewhat surprised. However, they didn¡¯t withdraw. Instead, they each sped a pendant and barriers of light surrounded their bodies. Thus, they were just barely able to fend off the Golden Crow Sacred Fire. They had clearly anticipated such a situation ahead of time and prepared a fire-resistant magical artifact as a defense.

    Of course, the Golden Crow Sacred Fire definitely wasn¡¯t ordinary fire. Their magical artifacts definitely wouldn¡¯tst for long. However, a few seconds would already be enough for them to kill the powerless Golden Crow Crown Prince.

    However, just then, a zing wave of heat spread outward. A sun rose above theGolden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s head, and a golden war chariot rushed out from it.

    The two assassins¡¯ bodies were clearly affected by the sun¡¯s radiance. Their fire-resistant pendants instantly shattered into several pieces, and smoke began to appear from their bodies.

    The golden carriage rushed directly at the closest master rank assassin. It locked onto the assassin, who couldn''t avoid it at all as it swiftly rammed into him. His entire body shook violently, blood gushing out of his mouth wildly. He then crashed into the ground like a broken sack.

    The other assassin was horrified when he saw that. He bit down on the tip of his tongue and released a spray of blood essence, seemingly activating some life-saving skill. He barely managed to struggle free from the sun¡¯s restrictions, then ran for his life. He knew he wouldn¡¯t get another chance to kill the crown prince. The only thought left in his mind was to run away.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Suddenly, two giant wings that were several dozen meters long emerged from the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s back. They were like giant des, instantly hacking the fleeing assassin¡¯s legs in half. The assassin fell from the air and rolled across the ground in pain.

    The golden wings weren¡¯t as simple as they looked. They contained sinister sword ki that entered through the wounds they created, which then ran amok in the assassin¡¯s body. As such, even a master rank cultivator like him ended up screaming miserably.

    Zu An was shocked when he saw that. He hadn¡¯t expected this loser he had previously defeated to be so strong, seriously injuring two master rank cultivators so quickly. Even though they were only at the hero soul stage, they were still master rank cultivators!

    He remembered that Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue had previously warned him that the only reason why he had been able to defeat Golden Crow Crown Prince was that his techniques perfectly countered his opponent¡¯s. It just so happened that Zu An didn¡¯t have to fear the crown prince¡¯s most powerful moves. However, against other opponents, Zu An wouldn¡¯t necessarily be stronger.

    Otherwise, the Golden Crow Crown Prince wouldn¡¯t be publicly recognized as the absolute best of the fiend race¡¯s younger generation¡¯s five elites.

    ¡­

    Just then, the assassin who had been rammed by the golden war chariot struggled into a seated position by leaning on a pir. However, the other guards quickly rushed over and aimed their weapons at his neck. They also sealed all of his acupoints so he couldn''t move at all.

    The assassin knew he couldn¡¯t escape, so he didn¡¯t vainly try to resist. Instead, he stared at the Golden Crow Crown Prince and asked, ¡°Did you not enter the trial just now?¡±

    ¡°Of course not,¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince said proudly. ¡°If I had done that, how would I have made you two take the bait?¡±

    ¡°You knew we were going to do something from the start?¡± the assassin replied, looking regretful. If the assassins had known things would turn out that way, they would have waited a bit longer and made their move when the crown princepletely entered the trial.

    However, neither of them had known too much about what the previous Fiend Emperors¡¯ trial was really like. They had been worried that such a trial would end quickly. After all, the flow of time in a secret dungeon was different from the real world. Oftentimes, one would spend a long time in a sea of consciousness, but in reality, only an instant would pass. They had thought they couldn''t afford to take that risk. If they had waited until Golden Crow Crown Prince passed the trial, it would all be toote.

    ¡°No,¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince said. ¡°I suspected that there were definitely spies nted around me, though. I just did not know who. Furthermore, just now would have been the best opportunity, so that was why I threw out the bait. Sure enough, you two made your move.¡±

    He looked at the assassin coldly, asking, ¡°Why did you betray me? Did this crown prince treat you unfairly somehow?¡±

    ¡°You did not. The crown prince has treated us extremely well, but we already had our own masters. We did not have the freedom to act,¡± the assassin replied. He sighed, his tone full of deep helplessness. After all, he was still a master rank cultivator; furthermore, he was not an ordinary deathsworn assassin. He could have been set with amazing prospects, but unfortunately, he had gotten caught up in the struggle for imperial power. He couldn''t decide his own fate at all.

    Even master rank cultivators had their own families and people they cared about. That also meant they had weaknesses that could be exploited, making them easy to control by others.

    ¡°Another master?¡±The Golden Crow Crown Prince sneered. He looked down on the two of them from above, asking, ¡°Who sent you two? If you tell me honestly, I might even let you two live.¡±

    The assassin revealed a pained smile and said, ¡°Since we chose to be assassins, then we have already prepared ourselves for death. If we speak, we will only end up wishing we were dead instead.¡±

    As soon as he finished speaking, a strand of ck blood began to trickle down from the corner of his mouth. Something simr also happened to the other assassin. The two took theirst breaths soon after. The other guards were horrified and they quickly examined the assassins¡¯ mouths.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince erupted into a rage. ¡°Do you not know how to do your jobs at all?! How could you let them have the chance to end their own lives?¡±

    Many assassins kept poison between their teeth. If they failed, they would break open the poison and end their own lives to avoid confessions under torture.

    The guards quickly exined, ¡°Replying to the crown prince. That is not the case; they already took poison beforehand. Only now did the poison act.¡±

    Zu An and the others were shocked. To make two master rank cultivators take poison before carrying out a suicide mission¡­ The mastermind behind the scenes really had invested quite a bit!

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s face darkened as he said, ¡°As expected, they really did n things carefully.¡± He stared at the two corpses and continued, ¡°Even if you do not speak, I can make my guesses. Those fire-resistant pendants were made specially to deal with me, so it had to be someone with a thorough understanding of the Golden Crow Sacred Fire. In the end, only that good little brother of mine would have the ability and motive to aplish this, right?¡±

    Zu An almost began to feel admiration. The Second Imperial Prince really had gone through a lot of trouble. The people that the Golden Crow Crown Prince would bring with him to such a ce were definitely his greatest trusted aides. They had been ced at his side who knew how many years ago, and had to slowly climb to their positions. The most important part, however, was that even if their assassination failed, there would be no proof left over. The second prince could just say he knew nothing about itter.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince suddenlyughed, remarking, ¡°That good little brother of mine really is formidable. What a pity that in the end, it was all futile.¡±

    The other guards all kneeled down and called out, ¡°The crown prince is blessed by the mandate of heaven! Long live the emperor! Long live, long live, long long live!¡±

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince enjoyed their cheers greatly. When they finished, he then said hypocritically, ¡°Lower your voices; even though I will be the Fiend Emperor soon, I have not officially risen to the throne yet. Father emperor might feel too sensitive if he overhears this.¡±

    ¡°This birdman isn¡¯t as stupid as I thought,¡± Yun Jianyue said with a sneer.

    Yu Yanluo also said with a sigh, ¡°He was the publicly acknowledged number one among the fiend races¡¯ younger generation to begin with. Only recently was he defeated by Ah Zu.¡±

    Just then, some more things happened on the other side. The Golden Crow Crown Prince ordered the others to carefully store the two corpses. Furthermore, he had them form groups of three so they could monitor and keep each other in check, in order to prevent the previous events from happening again. Even though they were all the most loyal people he had carefully selected and the chance of another rebellion happening was extremely low, he still had to take precautionary measures.

    Then, the Golden Crow Crown Prince officially began the ritual. The Fiend Ancestor statue flickered with radiance. It had been entirely ck at first, but the ck began to be shot through with gold. Then, the Fiend Ancestor statue¡¯s eyes suddenly opened. Two beams of golden light fired out, enveloping the Golden Crow Crown Prince within them.

    The other guards staggered backward in rm from the terrifying pressure that erupted at that moment. Their entire bodies trembled.

    ¡°This Fiend Ancestor¡¯s strength might have far surpassed the current Fiend Emperor,¡± Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue remarked. Even they found it a bit hard to resist the terrifying pressure from far away. They subconsciously took a few steps back.

    Crack!

    Suddenly, while Wu Liang was stepping backward, he identally knocked over a candlestick on the wall.

    ¡°Who¡¯s there?!¡± Because an assassination attempt had just happened, all of the guards were on high alert. They immediately rushed over when they heard the noise.

 Chapter 1373: No Morals

    Chapter 1373: No Morals

    When Zu An had watched movies before, he always sighed at the number of idioticpanions the main character brought. For example, when they were eavesdropping outside the window, someone would identally step on a tree branch and wake up the people inside. Such plot lines were always incredibly annoying. Now, however, he had actually experienced it himself!

    He didn¡¯t even have the time to curse a veteran like Wu Liang for making such a dumb mistake, because the guards were already charging at them. When they saw that there were actually people hidden there, the guards were shocked. However, they didn¡¯t say anything and just drew their weapons.

    The crown prince was undergoing his trial, so the Imperial Tomb had already been sealed off, preventing anyone from entering. The imperial uncle Heichi Fei was even guarding the main entrance. Even though the guards didn¡¯t know how those people had entered, they had to be there to cause trouble.

    The fact that the guards could serve as the crown prince¡¯s trusted aides and be selected to enter meant that their loyalty and ability were all first-rate. They were at the peak of the ninth rank at the weakest, and there were quite a few master ranks among them. When such a huge force rushed at them, Zu An and the others didn¡¯t dare to hold back. They quickly brought out their own skills to defend themselves.

    Zu An felt a bit dejected. They had initially nned to pay the smallest price possible during the trip. They hadn¡¯t wanted to alert anyone, and had just wanted to enter that Unknown Region. Now, however, things had gone in the worst direction again and again. It seemed they had no choice but to help the Second Empress now.

    In front of the Fiend Ancestor statue, the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s body shivered, and his head tilted to the side a bit, as if he were trying to listen. It was clear that he had already noticed the disturbance happening outside, but because he was undergoing the ritual, he couldn''t do anything.

    Wu Liang cried loudly, ¡°We need to seize the moment, or else if he finishes the trial and receives the Fiend Ancestor¡¯s acknowledgment, his strength will rise tremendously! In this Imperial Tomb, he could then borrow the power of the Fiend Ancestor and previous Fiend Emperors. At that point, we¡¯d be dead meat!¡±

    ¡°How could the trials all the Golden Crow Crown Princes need to go through end that quickly?¡± Yun Jianyue harrumphed somewhat disapprovingly.

    Wu Liang quickly exined, ¡°He¡¯s undergoing a trial by fire in his mind, but it isn¡¯t happening to his flesh. The flow of time is different!¡±

    The three women were all among the very best in the world, with knowledge and experience surpassing most others. With that reminder, they immediately understood.

    ¡°You damn fatty, I¡¯m going to settle things with youter!¡± Yun Jianyue cursed.

    She changed her leisurely attitude and no longer held back, wandering among the enemies like a ghost. Whenever she attacked, it was apanied by a wave of bitter killing intent. The guards, who thought their cultivations weren¡¯t inferior to hers, began to feel rmed. Their auras instinctively weakened a bit.

    Yan Xuehen didn¡¯t seem to want to be outdone. When she attacked, she conveyed apletely different style; every move was elegant and graceful. She was like a beautifully dancing fairy.

    Even though Yu Yanluo¡¯s cultivation was lower than the others¡¯, she had received the libationer¡¯s inheritance, and she also had the Medusa bloodline¡¯s special skill. On top of all of that, she had received Lord Sui¡¯s Pearl, which greatly increased her strength. Even though her cultivation was only at the ninth rank, her fighting strength was already on par with normal master rank cultivators.

    Wu Liang waspletely stupefied as he watched the scene. Why were these three dainty-looking women so formidable? Even harder for him to understand was, why were the three ridiculously strong women so nice and friendly at Zu An¡¯s side? How is this freaking fair?!

    However, he didn¡¯t rx at all. His fighting skills were extremely special. When the battle began, he rolled along the ground from side to side, careening across the battlefield like a pinball. From time to time, he took out the w passed down from his race¡¯s ancestor, tearing offrge chunks of the guards¡¯ flesh and in some cases even severing their tendons. The crown prince¡¯s subordinates felt hatred and fear for him and began spitting curses.

    Just like that, the group worked together. After a mere incense stick of time, the crown prince¡¯s side waspletely wiped out.

    ¡°Damn fatty, you need to give us a proper exnation for that!¡± Zu An eximed, breathing heavily as he stared at Wu Liang. Even with his cultivation, he had needed to tire himself out quite a bit to eliminate so many opponents.

    ¡°There¡¯s no time to exin,¡± Wu Liang quickly replied. He rushed to the statue, crying, ¡°If the Golden Crow Crown Prince wakes up, we¡¯re all dead!¡±

    By the time he spoke, he had already reached the Golden Crow Crown Prince. With the pangolin w in hand, he smashed it toward the Golden Crow Crown Prince. His attack revealed that his cultivation was extremely high; the end of the w began flickering with a dim yellow light, a radiance produced from the friction between elemental power and the air.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    A barrier suddenly flickered to life around the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s body, forcibly stopping the attack. Immediately afterward, the Fiend Ancestor statue¡¯s eyes became a bit brighter, and the barrier followed suit. Wu Liang looked as if he had been struck by lightning. He spat out a mouthful of blood, then fell heavily to the ground, unable to get back on his feet for a long time. He was clearly seriously injured.

    Zu An had initially been suspicious, immediately starting to question Wu Liang¡¯s objective. But when he saw that, he understood what was happening. If they allowed the Golden Crow Crown Prince to finish the trial, they really would all die here. As such, he couldn''t be bothered to worry about the details and rushed at the Golden Crow Crown Prince too. In any event, they had a grudge against the Golden Crow Crown Prince, and stopping him frompleting the ritual had been one of their objectives from the start.

    He took out the Poisonous Prick and used all of his strength to thrust it at the Golden Crow Crown Prince. However, he also encountered the barrier of light. He felt as if the Poisonous Prick had stabbed into a lump of cotton,pletely dissipating the attack¡¯s force.

    Then, a terrifying ripple emerged from the barrier of light, causing the energy inside him to surge. If not for the fact that his cultivation had already made tremendous progress, and his body had already been tempered repeatedly by primordial ki, he would have followed in the footsteps of Wu Liang¡¯s tragedy and be seriously injured.

    However, Zu An didn¡¯t rx at all, because the recoil force came in waves. Furthermore, each time, it was a bit stronger than thest. He felt so awful he wanted to vomit blood several times. However, he had already be angry. His thoughts had be ¡®Either you die, or I die¡¯. He continued to thrust the Poisonous Prick at the Golden Crow Crown Prince.

    The Poisonous Prick excelled at piercing through ki defenses. On top of that, the barrier hadn¡¯t been created by the Fiend Ancestor personally, and Zu An was using all of his strength. As such, the Poisonous Prick moved through the barrier bit by bit, getting closer and closer to the Golden Crow Crown Prince.

    Yun Jianyue, Yan Xuehen, and Yu Yanluo also rushed over, all using their own powerful skills on the shining barrier. In the end, the barrier could no longer hold on and ruptured loudly.

    However, at that very instant, the Golden Crow Crown Prince woke up. He threw powerful punches toward the party.

    Boom!

    A burst of blinding radiance filled the air as Zu An and the others were sted back by a tremendous force. The Golden Crow Crown Prince also flew back a good distance, blood seeping out from the corners of his mouth.

    Zu An and the others frowned. After all, he had been able to win against the Golden Crow Crown Prince in a one-on-one fight before, and yet now, the crown prince could face all of them by himself with both sides on equal footing. Had he already passed the Fiend Ancestor¡¯s trial?

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s eyes turned red as he yelled, ¡°Die! All of you deserve to die!¡±

    Just then, Wu Liang, who had been lying on the ground, cried out, ¡°Don¡¯t be scared! He hasn¡¯t sessfully passed the trial yet! Judging from his current state, he must have failed at thest step. Still, he¡¯s obtained some benefits from the Fiend Ancestor and previous Fiend Emperors, so his cultivation should have increased by quite a bit. You all need to be careful!¡±

    Zu An was speechless. This was clearly a situation that guy had created, and yet now, it had be their business instead. Because he knew Wu Liang was using him, he didn¡¯t act politely anymore either. He used the Heaven Devouring Sutra to suck Wu Liang over to him, then threw him at the Golden Crow Crown Prince.

    Wu Liang hadn¡¯t expected that at all. He eximed in horror, ¡°You bastard, do you have no morals?!¡±

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince still remembered the fatty who had ambushed him earlier. When he saw Wu Liang fly over, a vicious glint flickered through his eyes. The wings behind him moved, then hacked down toward Wu Liang.

    Wu Liang¡¯s entire body curled up into a ball again. A denseyer of fine armor suddenly appeared to surround him, and the Golden Wing Godde skill only produced a string of sparks on his body. Meanwhile, Wu Liang took the chance to run away,pletely unharmed.

 Chapter 1374: Times Have Changed

    Chapter 1374: Times Have Changed

    As soon as Wu Liangnded, he pointed at Zu An and cursed, ¡°You bastard, you¡¯re so evil! Weren¡¯t you clearly trying to kill me just now?¡±

    Zu An sneered. ¡°Damn fatty, what about you? You¡¯re clearly fine, and yet you¡¯re making it sound as if you¡¯re seriously injured or something, trying to make us and the Golden Crow Crown Prince take each other out!¡±

    His scheme had clearly been seen through, but Wu Liang didn¡¯t look ashamed. He eximed, ¡°But I really was seriously injured! I only managed to survive by relying on our ancestral skill.¡±

    Zu An chuckled. Not a single one of this damn fatty¡¯s words could be trusted.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince saw Zu An¡¯s group. He gritted his teeth and yelled, ¡°You!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled the Golden Crow Crown Prince for +444 +444 +444¡­

    Zu An smiled and replied, ¡°The two of us really do share some kind of fate. Just how many times have we met already?¡±

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince choked. He clearly recalled the humiliation and fear he had experienced from those two defeats. Soon afterward, though, he said proudly, ¡°You must be quite proud of yourself. Sure, I admit that you have some skill. In the past, I either had my skills countered, or I was ambushed, but I did lose to you. However, your worst mistake was challenging me now.¡±

    Zu An was startled. He replied, ¡°Looks like you¡¯ve obtained quite a few benefits from this Fiend Ancestor statue and be much stronger.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, if I had gone through the trial normally, my strength would have already increased several times over, and not even my father the emperor would be much stronger than me. But I didn¡¯t expect all of you to ruin the ceremony!¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince spat, gritting his teeth. He continued, ¡°It is fine, though. This is already enough to destroy you all.¡±

    ¡°Kid, you¡¯re quite cocky!¡± Yun Jianyue remarked, unable to keep watching his smug appearance. She moved as quickly as lightning, sending a palm flying.

    Even Wu Liang¡¯s eyes widened. That palm clearly looked normal, but upon closer inspection, the dao it embodied was intricate and profound. Even he couldn''t see through it! This woman¡¯s cultivation didn¡¯t look that high, so why was she able to deliver such a powerful attack? Just who was she?

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince sneered. ¡°Hmph, you¡¯re just overestimating your abilities!¡±

    At the same time, he sent a fist flying. The Golden Crow Sacred Fire surrounded his fist, and he tried to overwhelm Yun Jianyue¡¯s skill through brute force.

    The palm and fist collided. Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression changed. She was still seriously injured, and the cultivation she could use was limited. No matter how good her technique was, it couldn''tpensate for the difference in raw power. She was blown backward.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince pressed the attack, wishing to take the chance to eliminate her and lessen the threat. Even so, with a simple wave of her sleeves, Yun Jianyue stopped him. He had no idea how she had done such a thing. The energies within him even stirred a bit.

    Huh? What kind of background does this woman have? the Golden Crow Crown Prince thought. Now, he even had the same thoughts as Wu Liang.

    Wu Liang shouted just then, ¡°Look at the current situation already! Don¡¯t bother with normal martial courtesy or whatever anymore. Everything will be over if we alert the people outside!¡± He took the lead and charged forward after speaking. He knew that the others would suspect him if he didn¡¯t do anything, and they would be even more unwilling to do anything.

    ¡°You¡¯re courting death!¡± Golden Crow Sacred Fire surged around the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s entire body as he yelled. He thought, The special armor around this individual seems to be able to defend against sword ki, so let¡¯s see if it can guard against fire.

    ¡°Come on, guys, what are you all still staring nkly for? Do you all want to meet your maker here?!¡± Wu Liang began to scream from the heat, yelling at Zu An¡¯s group.

    Zu An said to the women, ¡°Let¡¯s deal with this Golden Crow Crown Prince first. Also, hold back a bit so that we don¡¯t end up being schemed against by this damn fatty.¡±

    The women nodded. They were all well-traveled individuals who at least had that much ability to hold back.

    When he saw them attack together, the Golden Crow Crown Prince harrumphed. His wings spread behind him, and his feathers turned into countless streaks of golden sword ki. Then, they all fired at the party.

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed. In the past, he had experienced the Ardent Sun Sword Formation. However, this time, it was many times stronger.

    Not only was there more sword ki, every single strand was thicker. They all carried an incredibly sharp air of destruction. The group could feel a stinging pain on their skin even from far away, and it looked as if a sea of gold were surging over them.

    Zu An immediately used his Blue Luan Sword Formation, and blue sword ki filled the skies.

    In the past, the Blue Luan Sword Formation had been quite impressive looking, but this time, in front of the sea of gold, it seemed quite sparse inparison. He could only stop some of them. Meanwhile, however, the other golden sword ki attacked the others.

    Wu Liang turned into a ball of flesh, and the tough armor from before appeared on his back again. However, this time, the power of the sword ki was much greater than before. A lot of it smashed into the armor, with metallic pings ringing out. It hurt so much that he grimaced and cried out in pain.

    Meanwhile, the crown prince took the chance to attack some weak spots that were exposed, trying to break through an opening that way.

    Wu Liang was left an absolute mess from all of that. However, by relying on the tough armor behind him and the Divine Pangolin w he had obtained from Lord Sui¡¯s Tomb, he just barely was able to hold on.

    As for Yu Yanluo, when she saw the endless sword ki, she used her World Painting, absorbing the sword ki into a special world. However, her expression quickly changed, because a lot of the sword ki rushed back out from the World Painting!n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Her cultivation was far from the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s, making it difficult for the world within her artifact to hold such great power. After that interference, however, the sword ki¡¯s power was already weakened considerably.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s eyes flickered with red light. The intangible sword ki in front of her paused for a moment, then began to petrify at a visible rate. In the end, the sword ki no longer listened to Golden Crow Crown Prince and fell to the ground, shattering to pieces.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s battle was much simpler. She didn¡¯t even raise a finger. A curved moon spun around her rapidly, slicing the sword ki that approached her in two.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince frowned. When he looked closer, he saw that it wasn¡¯t a moon at all, but rather a strange weapon shaped like a curved moon. He was a bit stunned. Where did these womene from? Why were they all so strong?

    At first, Zu An was worried that the girls would be in trouble. When he saw that they had dealt with it so easily, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. He roared, ¡°Birdman, it¡¯s time for us to attack now, right?!¡±

    With that shout, he summoned Hundredwarble. At the same time, he mixed in the Lion Race¡¯s unique skill ¡®Lion¡¯s Roar¡¯, which he had learned recently. The two kinds of sound waves worked together to produce multiplicative effects.

    Even the Golden Crow Crown Prince became a bit absentminded despite his increase in cultivation.

    Zu An quickly took the chance to move over to his side. He summoned the Poisonous Prick and thrust it at the crown prince.

    Right at that moment, the Fiend Ancestor statue¡¯s eyes lit up again. Zu An felt as if he had been targeted by a great primordial beast. An indescribable fear overtook his entire body. If not for his will being firm enough and the fact that he had already experienced all sorts of things, he might have been scared into bing an absolute idiot on the spot.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince took the chance to recover. His wings hacked at Zu An¡¯s body; their power and speed were far greater than the Golden Wing Godde he had shown in the Snake race territory.

    However, Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue¡¯s attacks arrived just then. They had formed a kind of tacit understanding with one another. One carried a Flying Snow Sword, while the other had a Crescent Moon de. They forcefully blocked a single wing each.

    Their lovely figures staggered backward and an unusual blush appeared on their faces. The attack had clearly made the energies within their bodies surge powerfully. Their injuries hadn¡¯t fully healed yet, so such a sh was extremely ufortable.

    A ball of flesh rolled over just then, the w in its hands shooting toward the weak point on the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s throat.

    Just then, a red sun appeared from behind the Golden Crow Crown Prince. Then, a golden war chariot rushed out, blocking Wu Liang. The impact made his flesh ripple, and he spat a mouthful of blood.

    The others¡¯ expressions changed. They all cried out, ¡°Don¡¯t let him get on that war chariot!¡±

 Chapter 1375: Only Survivor

    Chapter 1375: Only Survivor

    They had seen just how great the power of the war chariot was for themselves. The chariot¡¯s defensive abilities were almost unrivaled, and if he took out the Sun ying Bow too, with his current strength, they would probably be sniped down one by one.

    Zu An reacted quickly and shouted, ¡°What you lookin¡¯ at?!¡±

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince was about to get into the golden carriage, but when he heard Zu An say that, he felt an irresistible forcepelling him to reflexively turn around and say, ¡°I¡¯m looking at you, shithead!¡±

    He felt amazing after saying that, as if he had just eaten an incredibly refreshing ginseng. However, he quickly realized that something wasn¡¯t quite right. Why would he be distracted at such a crucial moment?

    He tried to use the Golden Crow Radiant Flow technique to rush to the war chariot, but he was toote. Zu An had already grabbed his arm.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince sneered. Do you think I''m still the same as I was back in the Snake race territory?

    His entire body surged with Golden Crow Sacred Fire, its power several times greater than before as it swept at Zu An. Furthermore, because his cultivation was now far greater than his opponent¡¯s, he was able to send a powerful force out of his arm, intending to seriously injure Zu An on the spot. He wanted to repay the humiliation he had suffered in the past two battles.

    Just then, Zu An used Fire Phoenix, using the phoenix mes to protect himself. Furthermore, with the fire-resistant pendant Pei Mianman had given him, even though the Golden Crown Sacred Fire was several times stronger, he could still barely hold on. As for the titanic force that emerged from the crown prince¡¯s arm,he used the Heaven Devouring Sutra to suck it away.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince was stunned. He couldn¡¯t understand why his ferocious attack seemed to bepletely ineffective against the enemy at all.

    After his first defeat in the Snake Race, he had deduced that the opponent¡¯s skills just happened to counter his a bit, and that he had underestimated the human who appeared out of nowhere too much. He had been confident that given a chance, he would be able topletely overwhelm Zu An.

    Not long afterward, however, he had been defeated a second time, and had even had his lower bodypletely crushed!

    Still, that hadn¡¯t convinced him of his defeat. He felt that he must have just been too overwhelmed by lust, to the point that he hadn¡¯t expected an ambush at all. Furthermore, because they had fought before, the opponent¡¯s attacks had been highly focused, which must have been why he had suffered so much. He had still been confident he could win in a direct confrontation, thinking, Now that there¡¯s such a huge difference in cultivation between us, I have the advantage!

    This time, however, he really was bewildered. His cultivation had already increased by so much, and he should have been able to ughter Zu An like a chicken; and yet, why couldn''t he deal with him?n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Soon afterward, however, he didn¡¯t have the room to think about these things. He could feel his cultivation flowing out at an absurd rate through his arm.

    ¡°What is happening?!¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince eximed in rm. He wanted to break free, and yet no matter how much force he exerted, it was instantly dispelled.

    With his knowledge and experience, he naturally knew about the world¡¯s sinister arts that specialized in sucking out the cultivation of others. However, even though such sinister techniques had near-instant effects, their upper bound was limited too. Eventually, the user¡¯s own cultivation could end up muddled and impure, causing them to experience cultivation deviation.

    Furthermore, that kind of sinister art was often ineffective against the best cultivation methods, and couldn''t absorb the cultivation of the truly strong. After all, those who were truly strong all had extremely firm cultivation foundations. Additionally, they normally had defenses against such situations.

    As the crown prince, the methods he cultivated were naturally the best of the best. Normally, even if a sinister cultivator tried to suck it out, they wouldn¡¯t be able to. Now, however, his cultivation was leaking out wildly. The enemy¡¯s palm was like a ck hole. No matter how he struggled, he couldn''t break free at all.

    ¡°What kind of sinister skill is this?!¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince eximed, now truly rmed. He quickly said, ¡°You¡­ Let me go. I¡¯ll just write off our previous grudges in one go! I definitely won¡¯t get revenge on you guys.¡±

    The three women who had been about to rush over were stunned. They hadn¡¯t expected the situation to turn around so quickly. Just how had Ah Zu done it?

    Wu Liang was also confused, but he really was worried that Zu An would agree. He immediately shouted, ¡°Don¡¯t believe him! After what¡¯s happened today, there¡¯s no way he would really let you go after he truly recovered!¡±

    ¡°I will make a vow swearing on the dignity of the fiend races!¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince eximed in a panic. ¡°Not only that, I will even make you an important general, or even grant you a noble title! Additionally, the Snake race¡¯s status will reach the same level as the three great king races!¡±

    Normally, such conditions could already be considered quite good; perhaps they were even a bit excessive.. However, the offer was no longer a deception on the crown prince¡¯s part, but rather an expression of his true thoughts. He knew that if he really did be the Fiend Emperor, all of those things could be done with just a word from him. If he died, however, he wouldn¡¯t have anything left.

    The key was that the enemy was even sucking out his cultivation with that sinister technique. Even if he managed to keep his life, he would be a cripple afterward! In a world of cultivation, one could well imagine what kind of miserable ending a cripple would face.

    Furthermore, the Fiend Emperor would definitely change his sessor then. Considering how arrogant and despotic the crown prince had been over the years, many people would want his life. The rest of his days would be extremely miserable. That was why he really was scared, quickly showing the greatest sincerity. Beyond that¡­ There was no way he could make his opponent the Fiend Emperor, right?

    Worried that the other side wouldn¡¯t agree, the Golden Crow Crown Prince continued to raise his offer. ¡°Right, you are on good terms with Princess Snow, no? I will personally preside over the wedding and bless it. On top of that, the Peacock Race¡¯s Princess Nanwu is also an extraordinary beauty. I can give her to you too!¡±

    At that point, he couldn''t even be bothered to pay attention to the fact that he had already chosen Kong Nanwu as the crown princess before.

    When Yan Xuehen, Yun Jianyue, and Yu Yanluo heard that, they were all so angry their faces turned entirely red. They cried, ¡°Shameless!¡±

    When he saw how angry the three women were, the Golden Crow Crown Prince finally realized something and added, ¡°There is also the Medusa Queen! I will also hold a wedding for you two! Right, I do not know how to address the other two madams, but I can grant both of you your own races and make your backgrounds equal to Princess Snow¡¯s!¡±

    Yu Yanluo was one thing, but Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue were so angry that their entire bodies shook. Are you blind? Do we look like his women? Do we really already look like Zu An¡¯s women in his eyes?!

    Zu An¡¯s face also darkened when he heard that. This damned birdman was creating a hellish battlefield for him!

    He was about to say something when a terrifying scene appeared in his mind: Himself being cleaved into mincemeat by a streak of golden light that descended from above. He couldn''t be bothered to reply and quickly used Grandgale to withdraw several dozen zhang away. At the same time, he used the Heaven Devouring Sutra to bring the three women to him, yelling, ¡°Run!¡±

    The trio didn¡¯t have any time to react. They saw a golden light striking down exactly where Zu An had been standing before. A deep crater appeared in the ground. There was no loud noise, and no smoke or dust; it all happened silently, as if a piece of the earth had instantly been obliterated.

    ¡°This is¡­¡± Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue¡¯s expressions changed. Their cultivation ranks were even higher than those of the others, which was why they could sense the terrifying aura that apanied the strike.

    A figure slowly descended from the golden light, looking at those present with his hawk-like eyes.

    Everyone in the room, including Zu An, felt their fine hairs stand on end. They wanted to run, but they were locked down by an invisible pressure and couldn''t budge.

    A white-haired elder dressed in imperial robes instantly appeared at the Golden Crown Crown Prince¡¯s side. At first, he just seemed to be an old man with one foot already in the grave, but they soon realized that he was one of the world¡¯s strongest, the Fiend Emperor whose cultivation was unmatched!

    The Fiend Emperor stared coldly at the others. He didn¡¯t attack, and instead looked at the Golden Crow Crown Prince before saying, ¡°You have truly disappointed me.¡±

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince fell to his knees, sweating intensely. He said, ¡°Father emperor, please forgive me! That person used some sinister technique that almost sucked away my cultivation¡­¡±

    When he saw that the Fiend Emperor¡¯s expression remained cold, he reacted quickly. His father never liked listening to excuses. He quickly changed his tone and said, ¡°Father emperor, in the past, you taught me that as a ruler, as long as the green hills remained, one would never need to fear ack of firewood. I only said what I said to convince him temporarily!¡±

    ¡°Hmph, an emperor should have the dignity of an emperor. What difference was there between how you just acted and shaking your tail as you begged for pity?¡± the Fiend Emperor replied, although despite that, he seemed to find the excuse barely eptable. Then, he turned around towards the distant Zu An and said, ¡°In all these years, apart from the human emperor, you are the first one to have kept your life after I personally interfered. How did you do that just now?¡±

 Chapter 1376: Sudden Change in the Imperial Tomb

    Chapter 1376: Sudden Change in the Imperial Tomb

    Forget about the Fiend Emperor, even Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue were incredibly shocked. After all, even if they were at their strongest, they might not have been able to avoid the Fiend Emperor¡¯s sudden ambush ahead of time.

    Zu An was also confused. He didn¡¯t know what had happened either. It just felt as if the scene of the Fiend Emperor attacking him had appeared in his mind ahead of time. However, as he thought about it, he felt the image of a book appear in his mind. He didn¡¯t recognize the words that were written in it at all, but every single character contained profound daows.

    He suddenly stirred. The book seemed to be what Lu Sheng had given him back in the Westhound Tomb secret dungeon. At the time, Qin Shihuang had sent Lu Sheng to search for the medicine of immortality, but Lu Sheng hadn¡¯t brought back any medicine; instead, he had returned with ¡®The Book¡¯. The item was rumored to carry mysteries known only to heaven, able to decipher the future.

    The famous phrase ¡®Death and destruction awaits Qin¡¯s people because of Hu¡¯ hade from none other than The Book. Qin Shihuang had thought that it was referring to the northern nomadic ¡®Hu people¡¯[1], so he had sent general Meng Tian north to kill them, and even built the Great Wall. In the end, however, he hadn¡¯t expected the Qin Dynasty to fall to his son Hu Hai. Thus, in its own way, the prophecy hade true.

    Back then in the Westhound Tomb, Lu Sheng had given Zu An The Book before he died. After that, The Book had always remained dormant in his mind and hadn¡¯t done anything. He had almost forgotten he had it. Just then, however, the sudden warning had allowed him to sessfully avoid a disaster.

    Of course, there was no way he would tell the Fiend Emperor about The Book¡¯s origins. He just said ambiguously, ¡°It might be because my luck has always been quite good.¡±

    At the same time, he grumbled inwardly, I almost died against one of Zhao Han¡¯s split souls, but now, I have to face the full-power Fiend Emperor? Just what kind of sted luck is this?

    ¡°Luck?¡± The Fiend Emperor sneered, clearly not believing his answer.

    ¡°Father emperor, do not listen to their bbering! Let me kill them!¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince said through gritted teeth. With his father present, he was confident he could make aeback. He couldn''t be bothered to consider Yu Yanluo and the others¡¯ beautiful appearance anymore. He just wanted them all dead.

    The Fiend Emperor nodded slightly. The Golden Crow Crown Prince was overjoyed. He clenched his fists and walked toward the other group.

    Zu An¡¯s group prepared to retaliate. Unfortunately, the Fiend Emperor¡¯s pressure locked them down in ce. The difference in power was just too great, to the point that they couldn''t even resist. They could only watch as the Golden Crow Crown Prince approached them.

    Zu An¡¯s expression turned cold. Since things had already reached such a point, he could only go all out. He was about to make his move when the surroundings suddenly trembled. Apart from the Fiend Emperor, no one else could stand still and almost fell over.

    ¡°What is happening?!¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince eximed in horror. He raised his head and saw that the entire underground pce had begun to rumble. Endless dust and rubble fell, as if the tomb would copse at a moment¡¯s notice. How could he still be bothered to kill Zu An and the others at that point?

    The Fiend Emperor looked toward a certain area of the underground pce. He felt the ki there suddenly surge. At the same time, the fabric of spacetime became extremely chaotic. An ancient and bleak aura spread outward.

    ¡°This is¡­¡± the Fiend Emperor muttered, his expression changing.

    ¡°This is the aura of an Unknown Region,¡± Zu An said emotionlessly. ¡°No wonder we couldn''t find it no matter what we did. Turns out it was only going to show itself at a special time.¡±

    Yan Xuehen, Yun Jianyue, and Yu Yanluo were all shocked. They hadn¡¯t expected him to reveal that secret! However, they were all intelligent people. They realized that Zu An was probably trying to draw the Fiend Emperor into the Unknown Region.

    If they stayed in the tomb, there wouldn¡¯t be a single chance for them to live. However, the Unknown Regions were always full of dangers, and for them, that would be an opportunity. The more dangerous it was, the more of a handicap it would be for the Fiend Emperor. It would then be easier for them to survive.

    Wu Liang was also shocked. He thought to himself, No wonder this group didn¡¯t look for the crown prince when they first entered, and looked all over the ce instead. So they were looking for a legendary Unknown Region!

    ¡°Unknown Region?¡± the Fiend Emperor repeated, narrowing his eyes. Even with his status and cultivation, it was difficult to resist the shock he felt inside. After all, the Unknown Regions were rted to immortality!

    Eternal life might not have been so tempting for the young, but for elders like him with one foot already in the grave, especially an elder with the most power and authority on this side of the world, it carried a fatal temptation.

    He quickly asked, ¡°How do you know that it is an Unknown Region?¡±

    Zu An took out the map he had gotten from Lord Sui¡¯s Tomb and tossed it over, saying, ¡°I stumbled upon this map by chance and learned about this Unknown Region¡¯s existence. That¡¯s why I took such a huge risk to enter the Imperial Tomb.¡±

    The map had alreadypleted its mission. As for whaty inside the Unknown Region, there was no way there would be any records.

    The Fiend Emperor caught it. As he studied the map, his eyes began to burn with passion. When he sensed the special ki pour out of it, as well as the profound aura and spatial ripples it carried, he began to believe the story. He knew that such a simple yet intricate map, he knew it wasn¡¯t something the other group could have forged quickly. Thus, he believed Zu An¡¯s story.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince panicked, eximing, ¡°Father emperor, this brat excels at using his mouth to fool others! You cannot fall for his tricks!¡±

    As the fiend races¡¯ crown prince, he had studied extensively as well. He knew about the legends of the Unknown Regions too.

    If one were to ask who wanted the Fiend Emperor to obtain immortality the least, it would be none other than the crown prince. Normally, he could have obtained the Fiend Emperor¡¯s cultivation and be the new Fiend Emperor. If his father obtained immortality, though, why would he pass on his skills? Why would his father allow him to be the new Fiend Emperor?

    Furthermore, if his father obtained immortality, there wouldn¡¯t be any prospects left for him. Would he just be the crown prince for the rest of his life? That would really be a joke! There were so many people supporting him, but weren¡¯t they all just there because he had hopes of ascending the dragon throne, hoping he would reward them after he became the emperor? If he were doomed to serve as crown prince for the rest of his life, those people would inevitably desert him.

    The Fiend Emperor frowned. He seemed to have realized a certain possibility.

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°Fiend Emperor, it looks as if your son really doesn¡¯t want you to obtain immortality.¡±

    ¡°That is not true at all! Do not speak nonsense!¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince eximed, feeling shocked and furious. He hadn¡¯t expected Zu An to instantly see through his thoughts! He quickly looked at the Fiend Emperor in rm.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    You have sessfully trolled the Golden Crow Crown Prince for +377 +377 +377¡­

    The Fiend Emperor just happened to give the crown prince a long and deep look at that moment. When he saw that, the Golden Crow Crown Prince began to lose all confidence. He knew better than anyone else just how vicious and merciless the father he loved and respected could be. He quickly exined, ¡°Father emperor, I was just worried that these people would fabricate some lies, and use that to escape! Father emperor, your respected self might also be in danger¡­¡±

    ¡°Danger?¡± The Fiend Emperor sneered. ¡°In this entire world, not even Zhao Han could injure me. What danger would I need to be scared of?¡±

    ¡°Father emperor¡¯s skills are unmatched! It was this subject who thought too much¡­¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince trailed off, covered in cold sweat. He didn¡¯t dare to say anything else, worried that his father would suspect his motives.

    ¡°What else do you know about Unknown Regions?¡± the Fiend Emperor asked, looking at Zu An. Even though he had confidence in himself, he wasn¡¯t stupid. He had heard many rumors about the dangers surrounding Unknown Regions, so the more he knew, the more certainty he would have.

    Zu An hesitated, wondering whether he should reply or not. He initially nned to take the chance to ask the Fiend Emperor to let the three women go, but then again, they wouldn¡¯t necessarily be willing to ept that. Furthermore, the Fiend Emperor could realize how much he cared about them and use them to threaten him.

    Wu Liang suddenly cried, ¡°I know, I know!¡±

    ¡°You know?¡± the Fiend Emperor asked, looking at him in shock. Forget about him, even Zu An¡¯s group stared at Wu Liang.

    ¡°Yes, while I was wandering around the Imperial Tomb, I began to feel that itsyout was quite strange. It seemed to carry a sense of disharmony. Since it is the Imperial Tomb, however, the one who constructed it must have been one of the greatest talents at the time, so how could that kind of person make such a mistake?¡± Wu Liang exined. ¡°The earlier disturbance allowed me to finally realize why. It¡¯s because the Imperial Tomb just happens to be built atop an Unknown Region! Previously, because the Unknown Region hadn¡¯t manifested in the tangible world, there were no abnormalities. As ofte, though, the Unknown Region is showing signs of awakening again, which is why it¡¯s begun to sh with the Imperial Tomb.¡±

    Wu Liang knew full well that in such a situation, he had to prove his own value in order to keep his life, even for a bit. Otherwise, if the Fiend Emperor got everything he needed to know from Zu An, he could just kill Wu Liang.

    ¡°So you are saying that the Unknown Region is underground?¡± the Fiend Emperor asked, staring at Wu Liang with his hawk-like eyes.

    1. Huns ?

 Chapter 1377: Intent to Kill

    Chapter 1377: Intent to Kill

    Wu Liang chuckled and replied, ¡°Your highness, would it be possible for you to spare my life if I tell you?¡±

    The Fiend Emperor remained expressionless as he replied, ¡°If you do not speak, you will die right now.¡±

    All of Wu Liang¡¯s fine hairs stood on end. He eximed, ¡°I¡¯ll speak, I¡¯ll speak, I¡¯ll speak right now!¡±

    Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen rolled their eyes. This guy reallycked a spine. How could he give in so quickly?

    Wu Liang continued, ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, the fiend races¡¯ Imperial Tomb has formed a spacetime distortion, intersecting with an ancient Unknown Region. That series of events has formed a special phenomenon in this tomb: A Yin Yang Tomb.¡±

    The Fiend Emperor frowned, asking, ¡°What is a yin tomb, and what is a yang tomb?¡±

    ¡°In this case, the yang tomb is none other than this Imperial Tomb, the underground pce that everyone can see. The legendary Yin Yang Tomb uses the yang tomb as a pretense to draw the attention of various tomb raiders. Of course, there are many precious burial objects inside such tombs,¡± Wu Liang exined, his eyes lighting up when he spoke of those objects. That was clearly something deeply ingrained in his very bones. He continued, ¡°However, the true ruler of the tomb is hidden in the yin tomb. That way, using the yang tomb, his peace won¡¯t be disturbed by others after his death.¡±

    ¡°You scoundrel, are you saying that our ancestors¡¯ Imperial Tomb has be a mere signboard for another?¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince shouted angrily.

    Wu Liang said with an embarrassed chuckle, ¡°What I said was just a coincidence, a coincidence. Actually, it¡¯s also because it was hidden in the fiend races¡¯ Imperial Tomb that no one discovered this Unknown Region after all this time.¡±

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince was about to say something else, but the Fiend Emperor stopped him. He released a deep sigh and said, ¡°Even with my abilities, I was never able to find a single Unknown Region. Now, it seems that these legendarynds are all hidden extremely well after all. No wonder I could never find them.¡±

    Wu Liang continued, ¡°Your majesty the Fiend Emperor, have these abnormalities happened at all in the Imperial Tomb in previous years?¡±

    The Fiend Emperor thought for a bit, but then shook his head and said, ¡°They have not. ording to what I know, there have never been any records of such a thing in the royal family.¡±

    ¡°That makes sense. If there were any records, this Unknown Region would have already been discovered by another Fiend Emperor in the past,¡± Wu Liang said. He formed a hand seal as if he were calcting something, continuing, ¡°If my suspicions aren¡¯t wrong, it¡¯s because a certain special condition was satisfied. Perhaps it was a designated time, or perhaps it has something to do with the alignment of astrological signs, but only now has the Unknown Region revealed itself. If we miss this chance, the next time it appears might be tens of thousands of yearster.¡±

    The Fiend Emperor began breathing heavily with excitement. He thought to himself, Could it be that I really am blessed by the heavens? So many of the previous Fiend Emperor ancestors had missed such a chance, and yet he was actually presented with the opportunity while he was experiencing heaven and man deterioration.

    ¡°Are you the descendant of the Pangolin race?¡± the Fiend Emperor asked, giving Wu Liang a look. A hint of satisfaction appeared in his eyes.

    ¡°Your majesty¡¯s all-seeing mind zes forth like a torch! These small tricks of mine naturally wouldn¡¯t have escaped your knowledge¡­¡± Wu Liang replied, immediately showering the emperor in bootlicking praise.

    Zu An was speechless as he listened. This damn fatty really was good at ttery.

    ¡°The Pangolin race indeed had some unique skills in the past. It is a pity that their inheritance has been cut short,¡± the Fiend Emperor remarked.

    When he heard the Fiend Emperor¡¯s praise, an even bigger smile spread across Wu Liang¡¯s chubby face. However, it immediately froze, because the Fiend Emperor gave him a cold look and asked, ¡°Who sent you here?¡±

    Wu Liang immediately replied, ¡°This petty one has been a bit strapped for money recently, and so while carried away by a moment of impulse, I became greedy for the items in the Imperial Tomb. This little one hasn¡¯t touched a single thing yet! I didn¡¯t damage a single stalk of grass in this Imperial Tomb¡­¡±

    Zu An rolled his eyes. This guy really had the nerve to say that? Who knew how much had been damaged when he made that huge hole to break in?

    ¡°Your majesty, please show leniency! This humble one will definitely work like a loyal horse. Furthermore, I¡¯ll use everything I learned to help your majesty unravel the secrets of this Unknown Region!¡± Wu Liang eximed, sounding so sincere that even Zu An was almost convinced.

    The Fiend Emperor interrupted him and said, ¡°If you continue to refuse to speak the truth, you might never be able to speak again.¡±

    A wave of killing intent surrounded Wu Liang¡¯s body. He was so scared that all his fat trembled. He quickly eximed, ¡°It was the Second Imperial Prince, the prince!¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, As expected. He had had his suspicions for some time. This damn fatty looked so shrewd and sharp. No matter how greedy he was, why would he dare to set his eyes on the Imperial Tomb? Furthermore, even if he decided to, he would have chosen to enter during a more peaceful time. Why would hee on the day the Golden Crow Crown Prince was going through the trial? After all, the security on that day was far more strict than usual!

    On top of that, Wu Liang had even ¡®identally¡¯ guided them toward the main hall. While they had been behind a corner, he had ¡®identally¡¯ alerted the people inside, forcing them to fight against the crown prince¡¯s guards.

    At first, Zu An had cursed him for being a clumsy idiot, but he had soon realized that considering how smart Wu Liang was, he definitely wouldn¡¯t have made such a beginner¡¯s mistake. It had definitely been done on purpose to exploit his party.

    Meanwhile, in the Fiend King Court, the only one who had the motive and ability to make him do that, apart from the Second Empress, was the Second Imperial Prince.

    ¡°It was him after all! That bastard has the heart of a wolf and the lungs of a dog!¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince cursed.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Who are you cursing?!¡± the Fiend Emperor snapped, shooting him a cold look.

    Only then did the Golden Crow Crown Prince remember that the Second Imperial Prince was also his father¡¯s son. Wasn¡¯t that cursing his father too, then?

    He quickly said, ¡°Second brother¡¯s schemes have harmed your first son greatly. Father emperor, you have to seek justice for me!¡±

    The Fiend Emperor said with a cold snort, ¡°This kind of thing is extremelymon. Even if it had been you or me, if we had been in his position, as long as we had some ambition, we would be unwilling to ept our fate. We would simrly put in our all.¡±

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince muttered resentfully, ¡°But he almost killed me¡­¡±

    The Fiend Emperor said indifferently, ¡°Our fiend races are different from the weak humans. We care aboutpetition. The previous Fiend Emperors all rose up through cruelpetition between their brothers and sisters. Only that way have we been able to ensure that every single Fiend Emperor is powerful and outstanding, that our fiend races would note to ruin at the hands of trash.¡±

    Zu An was rmed. No wonder the fiend races were filled with brave fighters. So that was something inherited through generation after generation ofpetition!

    ¡°I have benefited from father emperor¡¯s instruction,¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince said, lowering his head. However, inwardly, he was filled with killing intent.

    Sensing his dissatisfaction, the Fiend Emperor said, ¡°One day, when you ascend to the throne, you must treat your brothers well. Siblings canpete against each other over the throne, but once you be the Fiend Emperor and have already secured your position, they will be your most reliable allies.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I will definitely treat them well,¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince replied. Inwardly, he sneered, but on the outside, he didn¡¯t show anything.

    The Fiend Emperor frowned slightly. With his understanding of his son, how could he not tell what he was thinking? He wanted to say something else, but after thinking about it, he reasoned that if he received the method to immortality in the Unknown Region, he would then be able to remain the Fiend Emperor. With him there, the brothers wouldn¡¯t be able to cause any trouble anyway.

    Just then, he sensed that many powerful cultivators and armies had rushed over. They had clearly all sensed the irregrities taking ce in the Imperial Tomb. As such, he sent out his spirit. A golden figure left his body and passed through the entire mountain, appearing above the Imperial Tomb.

    The massive projection looked at the people rushing over and said indifferently, ¡°Pass down the order to guard every single major road. No one is allowed to approach the Imperial Tomb; all those who do are to be executed without exception.¡±

    Previously, Heichi Fei had still been a bit suspicious of whether the one who had gone inside was the Fiend Emperor. When he saw that, he felt relieved. It really was him after all! Thank goodness I didn¡¯t act on an impulse, or else I would be done for.

    When he thought about how the Fiend Emperor knew that he knew about the affair with his wife, he felt nervous and hurried to prove his worth. As such, he quickly stopped the forces that rushed over and didn¡¯t allow them to approach.

    The Fiend Emperor was a bit confused. This guy was normally the most loyal to the crown prince. He had thought that Heichi Fei would ask some questions, but he was actually so obedient today. Even so, he didn¡¯t overthink it. After giving the order, he returned to the Imperial Tomb. He gave Yan Xuehen and the other women a cold look.

    Zu An was rmed. The Fiend Emperor was already disying killing intent.

 Chapter 1378: Poor Eye for Men

    Chapter 1378: Poor Eye for Men

    Meanwhile, the various forces that had gathered outside the Imperial Tomb were stopped by Heichi Fei and his troops. No one suspected him of falsifying an imperial decree. However, they all had their own thoughts as to why the Fiend Emperor would appear in the Imperial Tomb.

    The most nervous one was none other than the Second Imperial Prince. He had put two schemes in y, one overt and one covert. For the former, he hadn¡¯t hesitated to expose the important pieces he nted at the crown prince¡¯s side. Even if they failed, the Golden Crow Crown Prince would lower his guard, subconsciously thinking that the second prince was already out of moves to y.

    Apart from that, however, he had used a lot of effort to find the Pangolin race cultivator Wu Liang. That was his real trump card. That fellow was extremely mysterious, and he had all sorts of skills that left even the second prince in admiration. After arranging all of that, he had already been greatly confident in his sess.

    However, his father, the emperor, had suddenly appeared in the Imperial Tomb. Was it because the crown prince had died and he rushed over to stop the news from leaking out, or was it because he had actually been in the Imperial Tomb to begin with, causing the n to fail?

    That didn¡¯t make sense! Hadn¡¯t his father still been in the pce not too long before? He had no way to be absolutely certain of that, though. After all, with the Fiend Emperor¡¯s strength, his subordinates wouldn¡¯t necessarily be able to keep an eye on him.

    On top of that, what was that disturbance in the Imperial Tomb? Could it have been caused by his subordinates and the crown prince? He was extremely worried because he really cared about that matter.

    ¡­

    There was someone else who was just as worried as him. In a tower of the imperial pce stood a beautiful individual dressed in pce clothes. She had a fiery red fur coat draped over her shoulders, and the white snow and cold winds surrounding her made her seem even more elegant and stunning.

    Many guards secretly snuck looks at her. Even though they knew that was a huge offense, the Second Empress was just too beautiful, so beautiful that they couldn''t even shift their gazes away.

    The Second Empress didn¡¯t have her usual charming and flirtatious smile. Her brow was slightly furrowed, as if there were dark clouds shrouding her mind.

    ¡°There was such a huge disturbance. Could it be that he seeded?¡± the Second Empress muttered nervously to herself.

    She had previously nted trusted aides among the guards around the Imperial Tomb. If the n bore results, she would have immediately received the news. However, the Fiend Emperor had rushed over, so all news had been sealed off. She had no way of finding out what was happening in the Imperial Tomb at all.

    ¡°With that brat¡¯s strength, there really is a chance that he seeded. But after the Fiend Emperor went over, did they end up selling me out after being caught?¡± the Second Empress muttered worriedly. However, she gritted her teeth and said, ¡°Hmph, I can just refuse to admit it, and say that he was sent by the Second Imperial Prince and is just framing me. I am the mother of the little prince, so the Fiend Emperor still needs me to assist the young prince.¡±

    ¡­

    Unlike those two individuals with sinister designs, the other forces¡¯ analyses were a bit closer to the truth.

    Hu Qianxiao and Shi Zhentian both looked in the direction of the Imperial Tomb from where they lived. They thought to themselves, Why was there such a huge eruption of ki from the Imperial Tomb?

    Even though the Imperial Tomb was located in a ce with excellent feng shui, it was still a tomb in the end. Normally, it would be full of a deathly aura and shouldn¡¯t have contained such rich life force and ki.

    In the Golden Peng King Manor, its current master, the Little Golden Peng King, was enjoying some wine in a gazebo. He looked at the Imperial Tomb and said, ¡°There seem to be intense elemental forces in the air. Could it be that some kind of secret dungeon has been opened? But why would such a dungeon appear in the Imperial Tomb?¡±

    Inside the Ocean races¡¯ temporary residence, a beauty emerged from a pond. Under the sunlight¡¯s illumination, the water droplets on her skin were dazzling and brilliant.

    Shang Liuyu looked in the Imperial Tomb¡¯s direction. After thinking to herself for a moment, she said through a ki transmission, ¡°Little Chi Wen, go and investigate what¡¯s happening at the Imperial Tomb. Also, go and see if the Medusa Queen and her friends are at the Snake race¡¯s manor.¡±

    Chi Wen replied unhappily, ¡°I¡¯ll look around the Imperial Tomb, but I¡¯m not going to the Snake race¡¯s manor.¡± He had received too many painful memories from the Snake race. He still had trauma from what had happened, so he really didn¡¯t want to revisit a ce that would trigger those memories again.

    During thepetition over the delegate seats, the Giant Maggot Race warrior had been beaten to the point where he spewed shit everywhere. At first, Chi Wen had also roared withughter alongside everyone else, but eventually, hisughter had turned to tears, because he really had experienced that kind of taste before¡­

    ¡°Is your skin feeling itchy? Do you need a proper beating?¡± Shang Liuyu snapped impatiently.

    Chi Wen shivered all over, replying, ¡°I¡¯m going, alright? What do you have to be so mean for¡­¡±

    In the Dragon Pce, he had always been doted on ever since he was young. Everyone else had been extremely scared of offending him and always acted carefully. However, this little aunt of his didn¡¯t care about any of that at all. Whenever he did something wrong, she really did act viciously. That was why, even though he had been practically fearless ever since he was little, the one he was the most scared of was none other than his little aunt.

    In the Elf King Manor, Qiao Xueying couldn''t sit still. In the end, she couldn''t take it anymore. She didn¡¯t care about the manor¡¯s people trying to stop her and left.

    At that point, she couldn¡¯t be bothered to worry about the crown prince¡¯s surveince. The activity by the Imperial Tomb gave her a bad premonition. She had to visit the Snake race¡¯s manor to confirm Zu An¡¯s safety.

    ¡­

    So many people outside were making guesses and feeling worried, but Zu An himself was even more rmed. He worried that the Fiend Emperor would instantly kill the women around him if they said anything wrong. Yu Yanluo was one thing; as she was a n leader, her death would have bad effects. However, Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue didn¡¯t have simr statuses to protect them.

    Due to his worries, he immediately said, ¡°Fiend Emperor, this Lady Yan excels in rune formation skills, so she can provide help in the Unknown Region. This Lady Yun is good at¡­ is good at¡­¡±

    He was a bit at a loss. He couldn''t say Yun Jianyue was good at killing, right? Even if he did, how could shepare to the Fiend Emperor? He definitely couldn''t say she was good at seduction arts.

    Yun Jianyue harrumphed. ¡°Brat, you don¡¯t need to speak up for me. So what if I die? There¡¯s no way I¡¯ll bow down to another, anyway.¡±

    After saying that, she gave Wu Liang a look. However, there wasn¡¯t the slightest bit of shame on his chubby face; instead, he had a big smile, seeming to bepletely unbothered.

    Yun Jianyue was toozy to give him another look. If she had still been at her strongest, even if she wasn¡¯t a match for the Fiend Emperor, she could still make sure the Fiend Emperor paid the price. However, she was seriously injured. Fighting it out would be meaningless.

    ¡°As expected of Sect Master Yun, your heroic spirit is not inferior to any man,¡± the Fiend Emperor replied, roaring withughter. His voice made the others¡¯ hearts tremble.

    ¡°You recognize me?¡± Yun Jianyue eximed in surprise.

    ¡°I met you once on the battlefield. At my level, I would not forget someone, even after only meeting them once,¡± the Fiend Emperor said. He looked at Yan Xuehen and continued, ¡°If I am not mistaken, this is Sect Master Yan, no? How surprising. All of the intelligence I gathered stated the two of you are mortal enemies. Why do you two look like sisters here?¡±

    Yan Xuehen was rmed, eximing, ¡°Who is her sister?!¡± She didn¡¯t fear death, but if someone found out about her rtionship with Zu An before her death, that would be her absolute worst nightmare!n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue were both rmed. After all, they hadn¡¯t fought the Fiend Emperor, but rather let the human emperor keep him in check. They hadn¡¯t expected him to have actually noticed the two of them all the way over in a corner of the battlefield. The soul of an earth immortal really was terrifyingly powerful!

    Off to the side, the smiling Wu Liang looked at the two women. Sect Master Yun and Sect Master Yan, and they were arch-enemies¡­ Could it be those two?

    He was horrified. Then, he looked at Zu An with an admiring gaze. Just how had this guy done it? Other fickle men could only raise some pretty fish in their pond, and yet this guy had actually raised two massive sharks?!

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince was shocked and overjoyed. It turned out that it wasn¡¯t that he was useless, but rather that he had been facing two grandmasters! The most important part was that both of them were stunning. If he could subdue them, whether in terms of his personal harem or action against the human race, it would be an incredibly beautiful thing!

    He had initially thought that they were both Zu An¡¯s women, but when he learned of their identities, he knew there was no way they would have that kind of rtionship with Zu An. Thus, their bodies and minds were both pure. That perfectly met his standard for women. He felt absolutely amazing when he thought about that.

    Afterward, the Fiend Emperor looked at Yu Yanluo with a conflicted expression. He said, ¡°Alike¡­ The two of you are way too alike. You are simply a mirror image of your mother in the past.¡±

    The others all had strange expressions. Judging from the Fiend Emperor¡¯s tone, it seemed that there had been something between him and Yu Yanluo¡¯s mother in the past. His eyes were too full of passion, which actually scared Yu Yanluo a bit. She subconsciously moved closer to Zu An. Zu An stepped forward to protect her, looking at the Fiend Emperor coldly.

    ¡°Is that the lover you have chosen?¡± the Fiend Emperor asked with a frown. ¡°Unfortunately, just like your mother, your eye for men is truly poor.¡±

 Chapter 1379: Pathfinders

    Chapter 1379: Pathfinders

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue exchanged a look. They had a feeling that there had been quite a bit of drama, judging from the Fiend Emperor¡¯s reminiscent tone.

    As expected, the Medusa Queen had been incredibly beautiful, nevercking pursuers. Back in the human world, Yu Yanluo had also been incredibly famous. Countless nobles had been won over by her beauty and chased after her, and there had been a rumor that even Zhao Han had pursued her before.

    Now that they learned that the Fiend Emperor and Yu Yanluo¡¯s mother had had a thing too, they thought this mother and daughter really were something. They had stolen the hearts of the two strongest men in this entire world! More importantly, neither of the two women had chosen them, instead picking other men.

    Meanwhile, Zu An¡¯s mind was also wandering. I wonder just how outstanding that father-inw of mine was. He¡¯s actually almost at my level.

    Yu Yanluo eventually calmed herself down. When she heard that, she said unhappily, ¡°I ask the Fiend Emperor to speak cautiously. Whether it is me or my mother, we followed our own hearts and chose the one we loved. Even before her death, my mother never regretted marrying my father. Simrly, I will not feel any regret.¡± A steadfast expression appeared on her pretty but delicate face.

    The Fiend Emperor became a bit absentminded when he saw her expression, saying, ¡°That expression is just like your mother¡¯s. Your mother went against me just like this too. However, both of you have no eye for men at all. You both ended up choosing unreliable people.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t take it anymore and said, ¡°I actually feel that they¡¯re pretty good. It seems to be your eye for your inheritor that¡¯s really poor.¡±

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince was speechless. What the hell? I was just happily watching from the side. Why am I being attacked for no reason?

    You have sessfully trolled the Golden Crow Crown Prince for +433 +433 +433¡­

    The Fiend Emperor¡¯s expression immediately darkened. He wouldn¡¯t treat Zu An as kindly as he treated Yu Yanluo. He snapped, ¡°You dare speak to me like that?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just speaking the truth. If even I¡¯m not reliable, then what about the crown prince I¡¯ve beaten the shit out of three or four times now already?¡± Zu An shot back.

    Wu Liang broke out into a cold sweat. This guy really didn¡¯t back down! Did he not know how temperamental the Fiend Emperor is?

    ¡°Very good, very good!¡± the Fiend Emperor eximed, his expression extremely cold.

    Yu Yanluo quickly stood in front of Zu An and said, ¡°You are not allowed to harm him.¡±

    She had managed a great n for so many years, and after associating with powerful nobility in a ce like the human race¡¯s capital city, she was quite good at grasping one¡¯s thoughts and behavior. When she saw that the Fiend Emperor had known her mother, she knew he probably wouldn¡¯t harm her, at least not at the moment. That was why she stepped forward to protect Zu An.

    Yan Xuehen was a bit stunned when she saw that. At first, when she had heard that her disciple liked someone, and that the man she chose was quite perverted with many women around him, she had just assumed those women had been tricked through smooth talking.

    At first, she had intended to expose Zu An¡¯s true colors, expecting that the women would all leave on their own then. She had thought that perhaps some of them only desired his outward appearance and wealth, which would make them even easier to chase away.

    And yet, after being around him, she had discovered that the women around him were all quite different, but all of them were affectionate and true. Most importantly, even she herself had fallen into that trap.

    Yun Jianyue also felt a huge headache. She had only been worried about Yan Xuehen¡¯s disciple at first, feeling that only someone like that would be a match for her own precious disciple. But now, it seemed as if neither one of them was enough topete against Yu Yanluo! Could it be that they had to work together to fend off Yu Yanluo?

    She shivered all over when she thought of that. How could her own disciple ever ally with that stone cold woman¡¯s disciple?

    Zu An patted Yu Yanluo¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much. If the Fiend Emperor wanted to kill me, he would¡¯ve done so a long time ago. Why would he even give you the chance to step forward and stop him?¡±

    Yu Yanluo was stunned. That was indeed the case. With the Fiend Emperor¡¯s earth immortal rank cultivation, if he really interfered, she wouldn¡¯t be able to react at all. She wouldn¡¯t have had the chance to stand in front of Zu An at all.

    The Fiend Emperor gave Zu An a look, saying, ¡°Young man, sometimes, being too smart might not necessarily equate to a longer life.¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter too much whether you¡¯re smart or stupid. What matters is your fate,¡± Zu An said in a profound manner.

    The Fiend Emperor was shocked. He said, ¡°I did not expect someone as young as you would already sense the existence of fate. Not bad. As my cultivation climbed higher and higher, I became able to sense more and more clearly that everything is dictated by an invisible fate.¡±

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue¡¯s expressions changed a bit. At their cultivation realm, they could also sense the unclear and indistinct influence of fate. They had thought that maybe it was just a figment of their imagination, and yet it truly did exist!

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince began to panic when he saw how the Fiend Emperor seemed to be chatting happily with Zu An. He said, ¡°Father emperor, when my second brother sent assassins to kill me and you told me to forget about my grudges with him afterward, I had no problems with that. However, this guy is clearly my enemy, and he has tried to kill me several times. I suffered so much because of him! Is your respected self really going to let him go?¡±

    The Fiend Emperor said indifferently, ¡°You have disappointed me too much. You have only been concerned with fighting and have not given his identity any thought all this time. This one is a favored minister of the human emperor, the Eastern Pce crown prince faction¡¯s most trusted aide. Not long ago, he was granted the title of Great Lady Count. How can someone like that be killed so easily?¡±

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince stared at Zu An with wide eyes. He could never have expected Zu An to have such a great background! At the same time, a hint of humiliation shed across his face. A subordinate of the human race¡¯s crown prince had beaten him ck and blue?!n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    You have sessfully trolled the Golden Crow Crown Prince for +555 +555 +555¡­

    Wu Liang blinked. He thought to himself, You really can¡¯t judge a person by appearances. This kid actually had such an extraordinary background! However, he really is stupid. Why would he run all the way here to the Fiend King Court when he has that kind of identity? Isn¡¯t he just courting death?

    Yan Xuehen, Yun Jianyue, and Yu Yanluo looked at Zu An worriedly. They hadn¡¯t expected the Fiend Emperor to have already investigated them so thoroughly. He really was too terrifying.

    Meanwhile, Zu An was calm, saying, ¡°The Fiend Emperor is unfathomable after all. No wonder you can face our human emperor as an equal.¡±

    ¡°Bringing up Zhao Han right now is useless. The way things are, he cannot save you,¡± the Fiend Emperor said. As soon as he spoke, he raised a finger, firing a streak of golden light at Zu An.

    Zu An wanted to dodge, but he was locked in ce by the Fiend Emperor¡¯s pressure. Furthermore, earth immortals didn¡¯t reveal any clues when they attacked, so how could he avoid it? He could only watch as the golden light entered the space between his brows.

    The women were shocked. Yu Yanluo and Yan Xuehen quickly walked over to support Zu An.

    Yun Jianyue stared at the Fiend Emperor, eximing furiously, ¡°What did you do to him?!¡±

    ¡°Worry not, he will not die. I just ced a Puppet Curse on him, so he can only listen to my orders for the rest of his life,¡± the Fiend Emperor said indifferently.

    ¡°Puppet Curse!¡± Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue eximed, their expressions changing. At their cultivation rank, they naturally knew about the existence of that sinister technique. It made the target unable to act independently or refuse the user¡¯s orders. The worst part was that no one could undo the technique except for the one who used it!

    Yu Yanluo had just sighed in relief when she saw that Zu An seemed unaffected. But when she saw the two grandmasters¡¯ reactions, she felt a weight in the pit of her stomach. Even though she didn¡¯t know the exact details, she could guess how serious it was from their reactions.

    Zu An¡¯s expression also changed. He noticed that there seemed to be a faint golden diagram in his mind. It looked like a pair of terrifying eyes that werepletely identical to the Fiend Emperor¡¯s! However, the eyes were still closed. He didn¡¯t know when the diagram would activate.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince finally revealed a smile when he saw that. Now that the Puppet Curse had been cast, wasn¡¯t Zu An already like a fish on a chopping block?

    Once father emperor perishes, all of his cultivation will be mine. I can then just use this Puppet Curse to control him and make him offer up all his women to me!

    Apart from the Elf Race¡¯s Princess Snow, there is also the Medusa Queen!

    After learning that the Medusa Queen was Zu An¡¯s lover, and judging from their intimate expressions, he suspected that they had probably already been intimate. However, the Medusa Queens were women that not even his father and the human emperor had been able to obtain, so that gave him a deep desire to conquer them.

    I¡¯m going to obtain something not even my father could get!

    The Medusa Queen was someone only the strong deserved!

    I¡¯ll keep this Zu An on one side and let him watch as I subdue and wantonly toy with his women. Only then can I vent my anger, hahahaha!

    Just then, the Fiend Emperor looked at Wu Liang, saying, ¡°I sense that the surrounding spatial force seems to have stabilized. Bring us to the entrance of the Unknown Region. Everyone else is to follow along.¡±

    No matter how confident he was, he still had to act cautiously when he recalled the rumors surrounding the unknown regions. It would be best to use Zu An¡¯s group as cannon fodder to test the waters.

 Chapter 1380: Abyss

    Chapter 1380: Abyss

    When he saw Wu Liang standing still in a stupor, the Fiend Emperor asked with a sneer, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you cannot find the entrance?¡±

    ¡°I can, I can,¡± Wu Liang quickly replied, seeming as if he had woken up from a dream.

    In truth, even though he had his guesses, he wasn¡¯t that certain. In this situation, though, even if he wasn¡¯t confident, he had to pretend he was. As such, he took out a divining wheel and began to fiddle with it. He checked it while leading the way.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The Fiend Emperor gestured for the others to follow along. As for Yan Xuehen, Yun Jianyue, and Yu Yanluo, he didn¡¯t ce any restrictions on them. They were all injured, so to him, it didn¡¯t make a difference whether there was a seal ced on them or not.

    However, Zu An was the one he couldn''t see through. Even though Zu An had defeated the crown prince several times before, the crown prince was still the crown prince, after all.

    Zu An¡¯s cultivation clearly wasn¡¯t high, but the Fiend Emperor got a vague sense of threat from him. He didn¡¯t know how someone who had just reached the hero mortal form could give him, an earth immortal, a feeling of danger, but he wasn¡¯t the negligent type. As such, he had nted the Puppet Curse in Zu An¡¯s body to guard against him just in case.

    The three women moved over to Zu An¡¯s side, their faces full of worry as they asked, ¡°What do we do?¡±

    Zu An gave the Fiend Emperor¡¯s back a look, saying, ¡°We¡¯ll just follow him into the Unknown Region.¡±

    The women were shocked by hisposure. They hadn¡¯t seen any hope at all in their situation and had been about to lose their heads, but they were soon infected by his confidence. They also gradually calmed down.

    Yun Jianyue even started to feel admiration for him. This kind of heroic temperament really was hard to find in this world! The man Honglei had chosen was quite excellent after all.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression also became a bit absentminded when she looked at Zu An, her true thoughts indiscernible. Suddenly, a faint blush appeared on her face and she quickly looked away to hide it.

    ¡­

    The Fiend Emperor said, ¡°Sect Master Yun, I heard that you fought against Zhao Han not too long ago. Are your injuries from that exchange?¡±

    Even though Yun Jianyue was normally incredibly arrogant and often boasted in front of Yan Xuehen, she felt her face heat up a bit in embarrassment now that a true earth immortal had asked her that. She said, ¡°Calling it an exchange would be overestimating myself. Zhao Han didn¡¯t even show up in person, and injured me with a single move from far away¡­¡±

    As for how she had been injured this time, she didn¡¯t go into detail. It would be fine if the Fiend Emperor assumed it was an injury from Zhao Han.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince curled his lips. This Devil Sect Leader always struts around as if she¡¯s hot stuff, but it turns out she wasn¡¯t even all that.

    Up ahead, Wu Liang clicked his tongue inwardly. He thought, No wonder I always felt that this woman was a bit too fierce. So she had this kind of experience! He felt even more admiration for Zu An.

    Not only did the Fiend Emperor not show her disdain, however, his voice was full of praise as he said, ¡°To be able to preserve your life against Zhao Han¡¯s attack is something Sect Master Yun can take pride in.¡±

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince didn¡¯t agree with his father¡¯s response. He just assumed his father was being courteous. You can¡¯t even take on a single move! What¡¯s so amazing about that?

    He was known as the fiend races¡¯ younger generation¡¯s number one. His cultivation had always been inpetition with the generation before him. He was also the publicly acknowledged next Fiend Emperor, which was why his ambitions had always been extremely high. Apart from losing a few times to Zu An, he was confident he could win against anyone else.

    The Fiend Emperor then asked Yun Jianyue about the details of the battle. Yun Jianyue frowned slightly. She knew that the Fiend Emperor wanted to take the chance to estimate Zhao Han¡¯s current strength.

    At first, she wanted to put together a story to avoid leaking intelligence, but after thinking about it, she realized that wouldn¡¯t necessarily be enough to fool an earth immortal. Furthermore, why would she put in so much effort for that damn human emperor? As such, she told the other party exactly what had happened.

    The Fiend Emperor listened extremely carefully, even interrupting her a few times to ask her about some details along the way. After listening to the story, he remained quiet for a bit. Then, he finally said with a sigh, ¡°Zhao Han¡¯s cultivation has made quite a bit of progress since west met so many years ago¡±

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince was shocked. Why did it sound as if his father had lost confidence? Could it be that he was already admitting he couldn''t defeat the human emperor?

    The Fiend Emperor released a long sigh, saying, ¡°Unfortunately, no one can triumph over time. I might not have a chance of fighting against Zhao Han again in this life.¡±

    His tone conveyed the sense of a hero past his prime. Even though they were enemies, Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue were both grandmasters. They could sense an air of loneliness in his voice.

    ¡°Father emperor is still in your prime; you will definitely be able to live a long time!¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince quickly eximed in praise.

    ¡°Do you truly wish for me to live for a long time?¡± the Fiend Emperor asked, looking at him with an ambiguous smile.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince jumped in fright. He replied, ¡°What is father emperor saying? Your respected self has treated me so well; of course I wish for your respected self to live longer. The longer the better!¡±

    The Fiend Emperor remained silent for a while. Ever since ancient times, not only were the emperor and the crown prince father and son, ruler and minister; they also had apetitive rtionship. The crown prince had to bepetent enough to take over ruling the nation, but the emperor couldn¡¯t have his position threatened ahead of time. That had always led to a huge question that needed to be heavily considered. As such, the rtionship between the emperor and crown prince had never been particrly great in previous dynasties.

    However, he and his son had been an exception. The first reason was that his own cultivation was too high, so the crown prince had always been deferential; the second reason was that he was too old, and had already experienced signs of heaven and earth deterioration. That was why there had been no need for them topete against each other.

    If he obtained the method of immortality from an Unknown Region, however, their rtionship would definitely be different from before.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince was extremely nervous too. It wasn¡¯t guaranteed that the Unknown Region would contain a method of immortality. If he ended up offending his father badly, and the imperial throne ended up being given to his younger brother, that would be terrible.

    The atmosphere had turned strange. Fortunately, Wu Liang called out just then, ¡°I¡­ found the entrance.¡±

    The party arrived at arge pool of water.

    ¡°It should be underwater!¡± Wu Liang quickly added when he saw the Fiend Emperor frown.

    Zu An asked in confusion, ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s here? We looked around underwater earlier.¡±

    ¡°That was earlier. It¡¯s different now,¡± Wu Liang said. ¡°After the strange changes that took ce, theyout of the Imperial Tomb has changed somewhat. It isn¡¯t too surprising for the entrance of an Unknown Region to appear underwater. There have been many tombs that were built through simr mechanisms. It¡¯s just that no one has been able to go to these lengths before.¡±

    The Fiend Emperor gestured toward Zu An, saying, ¡°Go down and take a look.¡± He was worried that Wu Liang would y some tricks, so he decided to throw the cannon fodder out first to test the waters.

    Zu An didn¡¯t refuse. He really wanted a look at the Unknown Region too. As he entered the water, he quickly descended.

    Back on the shore, the Fiend Emperor voiced his surprise. ¡°This brat is not from the Ocean races, but he is actually so proficient at controlling water.¡±

    The three women all blushed at the same time. They had all been in the water bubble made from Zu An¡¯s Blue Mard skill before. Back then, they had been so close to each other that their bodies touched.

    Soon afterward, Zu An burst through the surface of the water and said, ¡°There seems to be a transport gate-like object at the bottom of the pool. It¡¯s most likely the entrance to the Unknown Region. I¡¯ll bring you all down. It might be because the Unknown Region appeared suddenly, but the water¡¯s flow is chaotic, with all sorts of undercurrents. Everyone, be careful. You can¡¯t let yourselves be washed away.¡±

    ¡°There is no need for all that trouble,¡± the Fiend Emperor said. He asked Zu An for the approximate direction, and with a wave of his hand, he cleaved the seemingly boundless pool in half directly. When he parted the water, it created a wide path.

    The others¡¯ expressions changed. Such a hugeke had been cut in half, and yet the Fiend Emperor had made it look so effortless! The strength of an earth immortal really was unfathomable.

    At the very center of theke, revealed by the separation of the waters, was a ring of light that resembled a whirlpool. Faint blue radiance continuously flickered around it, and its center was pitch-ck.

    The group soon arrived next to the ring of light. They had all been to their fair share of secret dungeons, so they were no strangers to such spatial pathways. However, the secret dungeons they had previously entered were all already open, thus guaranteeing their safety. Such an unfamiliar spatial pathway, on the other hand, could be full of destructive power. If they went in, they could end up experiencing a terrifying spacetime storm that would instantly rip them to pieces.

    The Fiend Emperor waved his hand, and a rope appeared from his sleeves, wrapping around Zu An. Then, before he could react, the Fiend Emperor threw him into the vortex.

 Chapter 1381: Trap

    Chapter 1381: Trap

    The three women were shocked and furious, eximing, ¡°What are you doing?!¡±

    ¡°Do not be so nervous; I am just having him scout out the situation,¡± the Fiend Emperor said indifferently. That kind of spatial passage, especially one that was rted to an Unknown Region, was too dangerous. Not even an earth immortal like him would dare to take the risk himself. He didn¡¯t dare to let someone just go inside and explore first either. Since this was an Unknown Region, if anyone else obtained an item of immortality, his losses would be too great! That was why he had tied a rope around Zu An. That way, he could pull him back at any time.

    The three women also understood the risk. They clenched their teeth. They wanted to go in as well, since either way, they hade to explore an Unknown Region. Even if they died with Zu An inside, it was a risk they were willing to take. That would still be better than being the Fiend Emperor¡¯s captives.

    However, they were stopped by the Fiend Emperor. He looked at them with a strange expression, saying, ¡°I really did not expect the three of you to actually be so loyal to that brat.¡±

    Yu Yanluo wasn¡¯t too affected, but Yan Xuehen felt incredibly guilty. Yun Jianyue directly shot back, ¡°What kind of nonsense is that? We¡¯re just friends, so I don¡¯t want him to face danger alone. Do you think everyone is like you fiend races, ready to fight and betray each other at a moment¡¯s notice?¡±

    The Fiend Emperor sneered. ¡°If we were to talk about violence and internal strife, your human race would be much worse.¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Yun Jianyue stared at the deep vortex. She wasn¡¯t in the mood to discuss such things with him and replied, ¡°Rather than worrying about us, maybe you should think about what would happen if you were to die, if that beautiful Second Empress of yours would follow in your footsteps.¡±

    The Fiend Emperor¡¯s smile instantly froze on his face, as if he had suffered a serious blow. He was no longer in the mood to talk. With a harrumph, he pulled back on the rope. Soon afterward, Zu An reappeared in front of everyone.

    When they saw that he was fine, the three women immediately sighed in relief. They quickly moved over to ask if he had suffered any internal injuries.

    Wu Liang was incredibly jealous. What¡¯s up with this guy? He has the Medusa Queen, the Devil Sect Master, and a leader of the orthodox sects! I can¡¯t even get a normal girlfriend, and yet this guy already has three, and they¡¯re even all on such good terms with each other!

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s expression grew overcast. He was about to go crazy from jealousy. Why did all of the world¡¯s beauties seem to have some kind of rtionship with this guy? That had been the case with the Elf Race¡¯s Princess Snow, and now it included the Medusa Queen too. Even the Devil Sect Master and White Jade Sect Master seemed to be unusually close to him.

    He felt more and more certain that once he ascended to the throne, he had to properly defile Zu An¡¯s women in front of him. Only then would he be able to fully vent out all of his resentment. Otherwise, he would feel like a loser for the rest of his life in front of Zu An.

    The Fiend Emperor wasn¡¯t in the mood to watch their affection for each other. He stared at Zu An and asked, ¡°What is the inside like?¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°Even though the passage isn¡¯t that stable, there aren¡¯t too many dangers. On the other side of the tunnel, there¡¯s also ake. I couldn¡¯t go too far because I was tied up by the rope, though.¡±

    ¡°Wonderful, wonderful!¡± Wu Liang said in praise. ¡°This side is ake, while the other side is also ake. One yin, one yang. It¡¯s almost like a mirror image. This kind of design is simply exquisite!¡± He had robbed tombs his entire life, and yet this was the first time he had ever seen such an incredible design.

    The Fiend Emperor didn¡¯t feel like paying him any attention. Instead, he gave Zu An a strange look, saying, ¡°You don¡¯t seem to be scared at all, nor can I sense any resentment toward my actions from you.¡±

    ¡°Why do I need to be scared?¡± Zu An replied calmly. ¡°Furthermore, if I¡¯m weaker than another and taken captive as a result, I should act ordingly.¡±

    The three women exchanged a look. While they saw the admiration in each other¡¯s eyes, they all felt a bit strange. With their understanding of Zu An, there was no way this guy would be so honest. He was definitely plotting something.

    The Fiend Emperor said with a smile, ¡°Kid, you are quite something, as expected. No wonder you were so useful in the human world. Even I am starting to take a liking to you.¡±

    Zu An cursed inwardly, I¡¯d be much happier if your wife Second Empress liked me. What use is there in an old bastard like you liking me?

    Since they had already established that there was no danger, the Fiend Emperor waved his sleeves and sucked the others in. Then, he walked straight toward the vortex, quickly disappearing inside.

    Inside the sleeve, the others looked at each other in dismay. They felt as if they were in an expanse of primal chaos. Everything around them was misty. There was no sky or earth. They seemed as if they were stepping on clouds.

    Yun Jianyue said with a sigh, ¡°This World Sleeve skill really makes one gasp in amazement. I used to think my cultivation wasn¡¯t too far off from the earth immortal level, but only now do I realize that I was actually way too arrogant.¡±

    Yan Xuehen rolled her eyes, saying, ¡°Zhao Han beat you without even showing himselfst time in the capital, but you did not even wake up then. You only realized that now?¡±

    ¡°Stone cold woman, were you born to argue with me?¡± Yun Jianyue snapped, ring at her.

    When he saw that the two women were about to start arguing again, only then did Wu Liang feel relieved. He thought, This is more like it. How could a harem be that easily enjoyed?

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince watched them all coldly. A sinister smile appeared on his face.

    Yu Yanluo moved over to Zu An¡¯s side, asking, ¡°Ah Zu, what do we do now?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve experienced something simr before,¡± Zu An said in constion.

    The Fiend Emperor could never have imagined in his wildest dreams that Zhao Han had forced Zu An into a secret dungeon too, and yet in the end, he was able to turn the tables. If the Fiend Emperor knew about that, he wouldn¡¯t dare to leave Zu An with his life.

    The biggest annoyance was still the Puppet Curse that the Fiend Emperor had left him with. Even though it hadn¡¯t activated, the massive eyes still remained in his mind, constantly reminding him that he couldn''t go against the Fiend Emperor¡¯s orders.

    Normally, Mo Xi¡¯s ¡®Farewell Nanchao¡¯ shears would be a perfect counter for that kind of contract, but her cultivation was way too weak to be used on such a high-level technique.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s thoughts were simr. A resolute expression suddenly appeared on her face. After what had happened with him in Great Snowy Mountain, she had been at a loss with how she would face her disciple. This was the perfect chance to settle things. This time, she had to save him no matter what. That way, he and her disciple could live together in bliss, and it would be fine even if he wereid to rest here forever.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s gaze was exceptionally cold. She remembered that Zu An had saved her life several times, and the entire Holy Sect owed him a huge favor. This time, she had to pay back the debt no matter what. Even if she had to sacrifice herself, that didn¡¯t matter. She was someone who separated gratitudes and grudges clearly and never owed another.

    ¡­

    While they were each caught up in their own thoughts, suddenly, the world began to shake intensely. They couldn''t stand still anymore, and all of them were rmed. After all, they were inside the Fiend Emperor¡¯s sleeves. If such a ce had be so unsteady, it meant the Fiend Emperor had encountered tremendous danger, and not even he could keep his sleeves steady. Just what was happening outside?!

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince red at Zu An and yelled, ¡°You damn brat, did you bait my father into a trap on purpose?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Golden Crow Crown Prince for +311 +311 +311¡­

    Zu An sneered. ¡°It would be great if that kind of trap actually existed.¡±

    While the two argued with each other, the world above them suddenly brightened. They soon discovered that they had been thrown out onto solid ground.

    Meanwhile, the Fiend Emperor was standing to one side, seemingly in a bit of a sorry state. His entire body was drenched, and his hair had stuck together. Even some bald spots were faintly discernible on his head. He soon seemed to realize that his appearance was a bit inappropriate. Golden mes surged around his entire body, instantly drying him off and letting him recover his dignified state.

    Zu An took the chance to look around. There weren¡¯t any terrifying enemies, only ake that stretched as far as the eye could see. It was just like an ocean. They were on the edge of theke, next to a towering mountain. In the distance was a mountain range that extended endlessly into the distance.

    ¡°Father emperor, did this person bait you into a trap just now?¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince asked, quickly moving over to the Fiend Emperor¡¯s side.

    The Fiend Emperor shook his head slightly, saying, ¡°It is not his fault. There was something wrong with the water.¡±

 Chapter 1382: Feather Abyss

    Chapter 1382: Feather Abyss

    ¡°There¡¯s something wrong with this water?¡± Zu An asked, stunned. He had tested it out before and hadn¡¯t noticed anything strange with it.

    The Fiend Emperor didn¡¯t say anything. He simply removed a feather from his clothes and tossed it in.

    To a certain degree, the Golden Crow race were still birds. That was why they liked to use feather decorations for their clothes. The kinds of feathers that could be used for the Fiend Emperor¡¯s clothes were naturally of the highest quality. They were incredibly light, and such clothes were warm during the winter and cool during the summer.

    And yet, when the feathernded on the water''s surface, it didn¡¯t even flutter and just sank like a rock.

    ¡°What is going on?¡± the others cried in horror.

    The Fiend Emperor said, ¡°Not even a goose feather can float in this water. That is more than enough to prove how dangerous it is.¡±

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince immediately began ttering him, saying, ¡°Fortunately, father emperor¡¯s skills are so extraordinary that you were able to get through itpletely unharmed! Otherwise, if it were the rest of us, we would have already drowned to death.¡±

    The Fiend Emperor stroked his beard, clearly enjoying the praise. In truth, he had actually been in quite a bit of danger and almost paid a severe price. Theke water was too special. If he had been trapped inside, there really was a chance that he would have lost his life. Still, the same way eighty-year-old men still liked eighteen-year-old girls, no matter how old he was, he still couldn''t resist the great feeling of showing off.

    He felt incredibly refreshed when he saw the two grandmasters Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue, and even that acquaintance Yu Yanluo, looking at him with praise. Wu Liang¡¯s expression was too exaggerated and his praise seemed fake inparison, so he ignored him.

    That Zu An¡­ Huh? What is he looking at?

    Zu An was looking at theke in front of him. He thought to himself that the words ¡®Not even a goose feather shall float, none shall pass¡¯ described the legendary Weak River. Was the water in front of him the Weak River?[1]

    However, this looked more like ake! It didn¡¯t seem like a river.

    ¡°What are you looking at?¡± the Fiend Emperor asked, wondering whether Zu An had picked up on some clues. Unknown Regions were just too mysterious, and he was experiencing heaven and man deterioration. The expedition this time was rted to whether or not he could continue existing in this world, so he naturally didn¡¯t dare to rx in the slightest.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, it¡¯s just that I was wondering how thiske water was created,¡± Zu An replied nonchntly.

    ¡°Did you figure out anything else?¡± the Fiend Emperor asked.

    ¡°If even you couldn''t figure anything out, why in the world would I be able to?¡± Zu An spread his arms and shrugged, as if the Fiend Emperor had asked a really dumb question.

    The Fiend Emperor was speechless. He said with a snort, ¡°Stop wasting time and lead the way.¡±

    He wouldn¡¯t go so far as to get angry over something like that. Instead, his attention shifted to the great mountains off to the side. If there really was a method of immortality in the Unknown Region, that was where it would be.

    Zu An shrugged and didn¡¯t refuse. He walked ahead of the party and scouted the way.

    The three women subconsciously moved a bit closer to him. Yu Yanluo asked through ki, ¡°Should we look for a chance to runter?¡±

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue opened their mouths and were about to say something, but Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°It¡¯s meaningless. An earth immortal wouldn¡¯t let us escape at all. Furthermore, even though we¡¯remunicating through ki, considering how close we are, I reckon that it hasn¡¯t escaped the Fiend Emperor¡¯s ears either.¡±

    Yu Yanluo jumped in rm and reflexively looked at the Fiend Emperor.

    The Fiend Emperor said indifferently, ¡°You are still quite young, but your knowledge does not seem to match your age.¡± It seemed he had indeed perceived their conversation.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s face turned a bit white. Zu An patted her hand, consoling her. However, the real reason he knew that was because previously, the Second Empress hadn¡¯t dared to talk to him when she was on the elevated tform. That had been precisely out of the fear that the Fiend Emperor would pick up on it.

    Sigh, if the Fiend Emperor knew about my rtionship with the Second Empress, I would be dead for sure.

    ¡°Father emperor, please allow your son to put a seal on their bodies. That way, they will not start anything,¡± said the Golden Crow Crown Prince. He had fought against them before and knew that their cultivation ranks were all very high. Furthermore, now that he knew about the two grandmasters¡¯ real identities, he suddenly felt a strong sense of danger.

    ¡°There is no need because I am here,¡± the Fiend Emperor said indifferently. All those beneath the earth immortal rank were ants, let alone the fact that Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue, the two with the highest cultivation, were both heavily wounded; that meant there was even less of a need.

    ¡°Understood¡­¡±the Golden Crow Crown Prince replied. He didn¡¯t really agree, but he was worried that he would be perceived as looking down on his father¡¯s cultivation if he pushed the issue further.

    Zu An suddenly stopped and said, ¡°I just noticed something.¡±

    There was a giant tortoise-shaped boulder in front of him. In front of its head was a stone tablet. Both the tortoise and the tablet werepletely overgrown with weeds, and even some thick vines. The group could vaguely make out some words written on them.

    When the Golden Crow Crown Prince saw that, he quickly sent some Golden Crow mes over, burning away all of the weeds and vines to reveal the stone tablet underneath. They didn¡¯t know what the material of the stone tablet was made of, but it remainedpletely fine beneath the Golden Crow Sacred Fire.

    There were two characters carved vertically on the tablet. However, they resembled some kind of decorative design. Even after looking for a long time, the group couldn''t figure anything out. They looked at each other in dismay.

    The Fiend Emperor pondered the situation, concluding that they seemed to be characters from ancient times. He had seen them once by coincidence. Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t understand them either. He looked at Wu Liang, asking, ¡°Do you know these characters?¡±

    Wu Liang moved over and studied the tablet closely before saying, ¡°These seem to be some characters from ancient times, but they¡¯ve already be a lostnguage. I¡¯ve only seen them before in some ancient tombs¡­¡±

    The Fiend Emperor impatiently cut him off, saying, ¡°Stop wasting my time.¡±

    Wu Liang shivered and quickly said, ¡°I only recognize a single character. This one seems to be ¡®feather¡¯. The other character is tooplicated. I¡¯ve never seen it before.¡±

    ¡°Feather?¡± The Fiend Emperor¡¯s brows furrowed slightly. What did that mean?

    The others all began to make their own guesses. Only Zu An had a strange expression on his face. The characters were oracle bone inscriptions, an early form of Chinese script. Because he had already visited several secret dungeons, even though he didn¡¯t dare to im that he knew them all, he recognized about seventy to eighty percent of them.

    What was carved on the stone tablet were the two characters ¡®feather abyss¡¯.

    It seemed that the massiveke was none other than the so-called Feather Abyss.

    ¡°Feather Abyss¡­¡± Zu An silently mouthed the two words. He felt that the two words were somehow familiar, but he couldn''t think of where he had heard them, no matter how he tried.

    The Fiend Emperor asked Wu Liang, ¡°Are there any mechanisms here?¡±

    Wu Liang looked around. He shook his head and said, ¡°There aren¡¯t. This is just an ordinary stone tablet and statue. There aren¡¯t any secret paths or rooms.¡±

    ¡°Ordinary?¡± The Fiend Emperor sneered. Not even the Golden Crow Sacred Fire could leave behind any traces on the stones¡¯ surface, so how could they be called ordinary?

    He then looked toward Yan Xuehen, who shook her head. There weren¡¯t any signs of rune formations there.

    ¡°Let''s continue then,¡± the Fiend Emperor said with a frown.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince opened his mouth, as if he had some thoughts, yet didn¡¯t dare to speak.

    ¡°When did you be so fearful and cowardly?¡± the Fiend Emperor asked, feeling a bit dissatisfied.

    The crown prince then replied in a strange tone, ¡°That stone tortoise seems to be looking at me.¡±

    The others were surprised. They turned around to look at the stone tortoise and saw that its eyes were shining a bit. It seemed to be turning around and looking at them. They immediately felt a chill run down their backs.

    The Fiend Emperor said coldly, ¡°It is nothing more than the angle we are looking at it from and how the sun is hitting it. I am certain that the stone tortoise is an inanimate object.¡±

    At the same time, he inwardly marveled at the mystical nature of Unknown Regions. There was actually something like a sun inside.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°If father emperor says that it is not alive, then there should be no mistake,¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince said, sighing in relief.

    The Fiend Emperor gave the stone tortoise a look. Even though it was an inanimate object, it indeed gave him an indescribable feeling. Suddenly, he raised his hand, unleashing a streak of golden light. A crack opened up on the giant stone tortoise¡¯s back.

    ¡°Hm?¡± the Fiend Emperor eximed in surprise. Even though the stone tortoise wasrge, normally, with his cultivation, he could easily cleave open a mountain peak with a single attack. And yet, he had actually only left behind a single crack on its back!

    He harrumphed and waved his hand again. This time, the golden light was even more dazzling.

    How powerful was the full-strength attack of an earth immortal? The crack in the stone tortoise¡¯s body began to growrger andrger. With a loud crash, the tortoise broke in half, and the two halves fell to the ground.

    Soon afterward, the group saw what was inside. Their expressions changed.

    ¡°Bones! There are so many bones!¡±

    1. The Weak River, also known as the Weak Water or Ruoshui, is an important feature in the mythical geography of Chinese literature, including novels and poetry over the course of over two millennia, from the Warring States to early Han dynasty era poetry of the Chuci onward. The Weak River is one of the mythological rivers flowing near Kunlun, home of the Western Paradise. The Weak River flows with ¡®water¡¯ socking in specific gravity that even a feather will not float in it, thus being a protective barrier against the unworthy, who would otherwise profane the paradise on Kunlun, and perhaps even climb up to Heaven and disturb the deities and other inhabitants residing there. In the novel Journey to the West, the Weak Water River forms one of the obstacles the fictional version of the monk Xuanzang, the magic monkey Sun Wukong, and theirpanions must cross over on their mission to fetch Buddhist scriptures from India and return them to Tang China. ?

 Chapter 1383: Legend

    Chapter 1383: Legend

    As the giant tortoise cracked open, it revealed rows of bones inside. Every single one was incrediblyrge. There was also a bone running along its back that was several dozen meters long; a good portion of it was buried in the dirt.

    ¡°This is¡­¡± The party was shocked. The object had turned out not to be a stone tortoise statue, but rather a great beast that had turned to stone beneath the ravages of time.

    The Fiend Emperor gave it a look and said, ¡°This is not some giant tortoise. If I am not mistaken, this is more like the remains of one of the Ocean races¡¯ Great Whales. Of course, there seem to be some differences from the Great Whales.¡± As the Fiend Emperor, and moreover one who had lived for so long, his knowledge and experiences were naturally extraordinary.

    Off to the side, the Golden Crow Crown Prince attentively showered his father in praise. Then, he said, ¡°If the bones are so big, the creature itself must have been a powerful expert. I wonder why it is lying here.¡±

    The Fiend Emperor¡¯s gazended on the bones. When he saw the sparkling radiance on their surface, he was inwardly shocked. This thing seemed to be even stronger than the Ocean races¡¯ Great Whale race¡¯s n leader. As expected of a creature from the Unknown Regions.

    He became excited again when he thought of that, as it raised his expectations for the exploration.

    Just then, a wave of strange noises came from the distant mountaintop. They could vaguely make out some dark figures moving around. Because it was too far away, however, there seemed to be some kind of mist blocking their vision. It was too hard to see what those things were. Despite that, the sounds were quite clear.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Yu Yanluo said in surprise, ¡°These seem to be bird cries.¡±

    Zu An nodded and said,¡°You¡¯re right. These sounds are a bit strange, though. They¡¯re kinda creepy.¡±

    At the same time, he thought to himself that it had been peaceful mere moments before, and yet when the Fiend Emperor sted open the stone tortoise, new activity had started up. Could the two events be connected?

    The Fiend Emperor gave the mountain a look and said, ¡°Continue leading the way.¡±

    Zu An shrugged, then began leading the way again.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s pretty brows drew together into a frown. She said in dissatisfaction, ¡°With the Fiend Emperor¡¯s strength, as long as your primordial spirit left your body, you could instantly travel ten thousand miles. Why do you need Zu An to scout the way?¡±

    The Fiend Emperor replied indifferently, ¡°Does this emperor need other people¡¯sments when I do things?¡±

    He had actually already tried it when he first arrived in the Unknown Region. He had then noticed that the speed and distance his primordial spirit was limited to were much lower than in the outside world. Furthermore, he had sensed threats from several directions. As such, he was unwilling to scout the way with his primordial spirit. Of course, there was no reason for him to exin those things to them, or else they could start thinking strange thoughts.

    Yan Xuehen was speechless. However, Zu An stopped her from continuing, saying, ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯m pretty thick-skinned. Even if there are any dangers, I should be able to deal with them.¡±

    Thus, Yan Xuehen finally dropped the matter. Yun Jianyue found a chance to move next to her and secretly nudged the other woman with her shoulder, remarking, ¡°You¡¯re normally all cold and aloof. I didn¡¯t expect you to care about his safety so much.¡±

    Yan Xuehen rolled her eyes and retorted, ¡°Do you know what kind of situation we are in right now? And yet, you are still in the mood to pick a fight with me?¡± Then, she picked up her pace. She didn¡¯t want to stand next to Yun Jianyue.

    Yun Jianyue didn¡¯t really suspect their rtionship, however. She actually just felt a lot of pent-up frustration and wanted to tease Yan Xuehen a bit.

    Soon afterward, the group arrived in front of a towering mountain peak. The vegetation on the mountain peak was lush and flourishing, but the mountain itself was extremely steep. Much of the rock face was made up of ny-degree cliffs. Forget about an ordinary person, the mountain was not something normal cultivators could climb. Fortunately, all of them were quite skilled.

    Zu An began walking forward. Suddenly, the Golden Crow Crown Prince cried out in rm, his voice shaking a bit.

    ¡°What is it?¡± the Fiend Emperor asked, looking at him with a frown.

    Even the bootlicking Wu Liang felt a bit of disdain. He had once thought that the Golden Crow Crown Prince was someone special, but now, he seemed like nothing more than an idiot.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince pointed at the mountain in front of him in fright. Even though he was trying to suppress it, his voice still shook a bit as he said, ¡°I do not know why, but I feel very ufortable when I look at this mountain. I feel a kind of¡­ a kind of fear.¡±

    The others¡¯ expressions grew strange. They didn¡¯t really feel anything. This mountain was just a bit steeper than normal mountains. The supposedly glorious Golden Crow Crown Prince shouldn¡¯t have been acting like this, right?

    They waited, expecting to hear the Fiend Emperor lecture him. However, to their surprise, the Fiend Emperor didn¡¯t say anything. Instead, he stared at the distant mountain in absentminded silence.

    In truth, he also felt a kind of palpitation inside when they approached the mountain. He had thought that it was just the danger he sensed when his primordial spirit left his body before, but when he heard what his son said, he realized that it was rted to the mountain.

    What was going on? Ever since he had reached the earth immortal level, there was practically nothing left that could threaten him. Today was the first time such a thing had happened. Most importantly, he noticed that no one else shared that feeling. He didn¡¯t want them to notice, however, so he said indifferently, ¡°Continue forward.¡±

    Anyone who could cultivate up to the earth immortal rank not only needed exceptional bloodline talent, but also had to have an unshakable and resolute temperament. He had never been the cowardly type. Such strangeness only spurred his desire for exploration. In all his years, across the entire world, only the human emperor alone could be considered his rival. He already bore the pride of an unrivaled being, so he naturally refused to believe that there was anything that could truly injure him.

    Off to the side, the Golden Crow Crown Prince was about to say something, but he felt a wave of warmth enter his body. He understood that his father was helping him calm his chaotic energies and felt moved.

    The group continued up the mountain. Suddenly, they discovered a stone tablet in the weeds. There were also two characters written on it.

    This time, even Wu Liang was able to recognize them. He said, ¡°Feather Mountain! This mountain is called Feather Mountain.¡±

    ¡°Feather Mountain?¡± The Fiend Emperor¡¯s brow furrowed tightly. He began to think back to see whether there were any such mountains in his memory. The others were also puzzled. They had seen some mountains that bore such a name before, but the mountain in front of them was clearly something entirely different.

    Only Zu An was shocked. He had felt that the phrase ¡®Feather Abyss¡¯ was a bit familiar. When he saw the words ¡®Feather Mountain¡¯, he finally remembered where he had heard that before.

    In the world he had transmigrated from, all kinds of ancient civilizations had records of a great flood. The West had Noah¡¯s Ark, while the East had Yu the Great, who had tamed the floods.

    Before Yu the Great, his father Gun had kept the waters in check. Unfortunately, all of his work had been for naught. Emperor Yao had sent Zhu Rong to kill him, and Yu the Great had needed to take up. That was how the story of Yu the Great taming the floods hade to be.

    Meanwhile, the ce Gun had been killed at was none other than the Feather Mountain. His corpse had then been tossed into the Feather Abyss next to it. Could it be that this was where Gun had been buried back then?

    Zu An was shocked. If that kind of ancient figure was involved, could it be that this secret dungeon was rted to the Xia Dynasty? At the same time, he found it extremely strange. After all, apart from Gun being killed at the Feather Mountain, there was actually an even more famous legend.

    In ancient Chinese mythology, there was the legend of Great Yi, who had shot down the sun. It was said that the sun in the sky was a Golden Crow; Golden Crows were the Celestial Emperor¡¯s sons, and there were once ten brothers who normally liked to y together. That made it so that there were ten suns in the sky, so the earth was arid and the people suffered unbearably.

    At some point, a great hero named Yi had appeared, who had been bestowed with a red bow and white arrows by the Celestial Emperor. He had picked up his bow and nocked his arrows, then shot down nine of the Golden Crows in the sky, only leaving a single one behind.

    Afterward, the feathers of the Golden Crows that had been shot fell down, in the end piling up like a mountain. They had thus formed Feather Mountain.

    Zu An didn¡¯t know what kind of rtionship the Golden Crow race of this world had with the mythological Golden Crows of his previous world, but since they hade to Feather Mountain, and with the Sun ying Bow no less, it was hard not to connect the two together.

    He took the chance to ask, ¡°Right, where did you guys get the Sun ying Bow from?¡±

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince was quite annoyed. He harrumphed, ¡°What does that have to do with you?¡±

    However, he Fiend Emperor replied, ¡°The Sun ying Bow is a divine weapon passed down from the Golden Crow race¡¯s ancestors. Ever since the earliest records, it has belonged to the Golden Crow royal family. However, that is not what you should be concerned with. You should properly lead the way. I seem to have sensed some kind of life on this mountain. Be careful not to be ambushed and killed. It will not be so easy for me to find another pathfinder.¡±

 Chapter 1384: Resentment

    Chapter 1384: Resentment

    When the three women heard what the Fiend Emperor said, they all told Zu An to be careful. After all, the Fiend Emperor¡¯s senses were much sharper than theirs in their current state. If he said there were mysterious creatures present, they were definitely there, and they were sure to be dangerous.

    Meanwhile, Zu An was thinking about the reply the emperor had just given him. The Sun ying Bow had always been in the Golden Crow race¡¯s hands, so it didn¡¯t seem to be the Red Bow White Arrows that the legendary archer Yi had used. Still, it was hard to say; after all, Yi¡¯s bow was said to have been granted by the Celestial Emperor, while the Golden Crows¡¯ father was also said to be the Celestial Emperor. From that perspective, it did make some sense for the Sun ying Bow to have always been with the Golden Crow Race¡­

    Countless possibilities appeared in his mind, and his thoughts only grew messier and messier. As such, he decided not to think about it anymore and just deal with new situations as they came up.

    The group moved along a ¡®mountain path¡¯. However, rather than being a proper path, it was just a route that had fewer nts along the way. Even so, they were all powerful cultivators. Clearing the way while walking didn¡¯t take up too much energy.

    They tried to fly, but they saw that they couldn''t go more than a few meters above the ground. The Fiend Emperor exined that it was either caused by thews of the Unknown Region, or by some kind of unique treasure. As he spoke the words ¡®unique treasure¡¯, his eyes began to burn with desire.

    Zu An, who had been walking at the forefront, suddenly stopped. He looked at a nearby mountain peak absentmindedly.

    That mountain peak was entirely different from the surrounding mountains. It looked more like a singlerge chunk of rock that towered overhead. The most eye-catching thing about it was that there were three narrow grooves that ran from the peak all the way to the base, practically dividing the entire mountain into four parts.

    The group could sense an aura of chilliness and concentrated killing intent even from far away.

    These were hacked open by someone through sword ki. They were all powerful cultivators, so they quickly reached that unanimous conclusion.

    Wu Liang clicked his tongue and said, ¡°Judging from how the cuts look, they seem to have taken form at least ten thousand years ago, and yet the sword ki and killing intent has managed tost until now. The reason why no life grows on this mountain should be because of this killing intent.¡± He often went into tombs to uncover their secrets, so he was highly skilled in determining how old something was.

    The Fiend Emperor said seriously, ¡°The weapon used by that person was likely a divine weapon, and their cultivation would not be beneath mine.¡±

    The others¡¯ expressions changed greatly when they heard that. The one responsible actually wasn¡¯t any weaker than the Fiend Emperor? Just what kind of being was that?

    Zu An was inwardly shaken. In the legends of his previous world, after Emperor Yao sent Zhu Rong to kill Gun, Zhu Rong had stopped at the foot of a mountain for some rest. Along the way, he had done some sword exercises to prepare himself. Could it be that this mountain was none other than the rock he had used to test his sword?

    In the past, his thoughts wouldn¡¯t have gone in that direction. However, after arriving in this world, too many things he once thought were just myths had appeared in the real world. This world seemed to be linked to Earth in countless ways.

    Suddenly, a voice in his mind eximed in surprise, ¡°Why is there such a powerful aura of sword ki here?¡±

    Zu An was overjoyed, eximing, ¡°Big sis empress, you¡¯re awake?¡± For some reason, he always felt much more relieved whenever he heard her voice. He thought, Sigh, no wonder so many people like to mooch. This feeling really isn¡¯t bad!

    ¡°Damn brat, call me master! Seeing as something so big happened on your end, how could I still remain asleep? Sigh, there really aren¡¯t many days of peace around you,¡± Mi Li said, sounding a bit resentful.

    Zu An stirred, asking, ¡°Then you are saying you were awake when the Fiend Emperor appeared?¡±

    ¡°Of course. How could I not wake up in the face of such powerful pressure?¡± Mi Li replied, clicking her tongue. ¡°Back then, I wanted to warn you to evade, but I hadn¡¯t expected The Book to have already warned you ahead of time. I didn¡¯t think that stupid book Lu Sheng found would really be of use.¡±

    ¡°Then why didn¡¯t you say anything?¡± Zu An asked, sneaking the Fiend Emperor a look. He didn¡¯t dare to reveal the slightest bit of happiness.

    ¡°Why would I have to say anything to you? You have three pretty women to keep youpany, so why would I stick my nose in that?¡± Mi Li retorted coldly.

    Zu An thought, No wonder. But why does she sound bitter?

    Just then, Mi Li quickly said, ¡°Oh, and I was looking at that Puppet Curse ced on you earlier.¡±

    Zu An cried in tion, ¡°It¡¯s still master who cares the most about me!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s too early for you to feel happy,¡± Mi Li said, instantly pouring cold water on his excitement. She continued, ¡°I can¡¯t get rid of this Puppet Curse.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    ¡°It was ced by an earth immortal, after all. I¡¯m unable to get rid of it in my current state,¡± Mi Li exined. However, she added, ¡°By borrowing this special world¡¯s influence, though, we can temporarily block its influence.¡±

    ¡°Please say that earlier! I almost shat my pants just now¡­¡± Zu An said, sighing in relief.

    ¡°What are you getting so excited for? It¡¯s only because this world¡¯sws are more chaotic than usual that I can use this chance to help you block its effects. Once you return to the normal world, I won¡¯t be able to do anything,¡± Mi Li warned him. ¡°Furthermore, if I block it, the Fiend Emperor will definitely sense something. That¡¯s why you need to first break free from his range of control before I can help you block its effects. Otherwise, it¡¯s still going to be useless.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s already enough,¡± Zu An said, feeling relieved. In the outside world, he really wasn¡¯t confident he could escape from the Fiend Emperor, but there were endless possibilities in an Unknown Region.

    Normally, the mountain would have been too precipitous for them to cross, but the sword scars just happened to leave enough space for them to move through the gaps. Each one seemed to be able to allow several people to pass through, allowing them to pass. However, the closer they got to the sword testing stone, the more they began to feel a stinging pain from their skin, as if they were facing sharp sword ki.

    The Fiend Emperor harrumphed. With a wave of his hand, a barrier of light appeared around them, blocking the sword ki. The pressure bearing down on them immediately weakened. Even though they were enemies, Zu An¡¯s side still felt admiration for the Fiend Emperor¡¯s cultivation.

    When they passed the sword testing stone, their expressions changed. The path along the way had been lush and verdant, lined abundantly with flowers and nts. Now, however, what stretched out before them looked like an entirely different world. It waspletely bleak and deste, making it seem like and of death. There were even wisps of ck energy hanging in the air.

    ¡°Could all of this have also been created by the sword ki and killing intent on the mountain?¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince spected.

    The Fiend Emperor shook his head and said, ¡°No, what has gathered here is not sword ki or killing intent, but rather strong¡­ resentment.¡±

    ¡°Resentment?¡± Forget about the Golden Crow Crown Prince, the others were also a bit puzzled. Was the power of resentment really so great?

    The Fiend Emperor gave Zu An a look, saying, ¡°Continue leading the way for now.¡±

    Zu An had been looking for a chance to break free from his control anyway. When he heard that, he was actually eager to do it. He gave the women a look, then advanced withrge steps.

    The three women were quick-witted and tried to follow him, saying, ¡°We¡¯ll go with you.¡±

    However, the Fiend Emperor stopped them, saying, ¡°You are not allowed to go.¡±

    There was nothing the three women could do. They could only look at Zu An worriedly.

    Zu An frowned. It seemed he had to look for another opportunity. He began walking about a hundred meters ahead, but suddenly stopped. He sensed that something wasn¡¯t right.

    Normally, considering the strength of his body, he was always filled with ki and radiated health. And yet, he actually felt a bit out of breath after walking such a short distance, as if he had carried a bucket of water up many flights of stairs.

    ¡°Master empress, what¡¯s going on?¡± Zu An secretly asked.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°How would I know when it¡¯s your body? Do you think I¡¯m some omnipotent god?¡± Mi Li snapped impatiently.

    Zu An was speechless. For some reason, big sis empress seems to be in quite an easily annoyed mood today. Is it her time of the month? But she¡¯s already in a soul form, so does she still have a period?

    Zu An unwittingly took another few dozen steps. He suddenly couldn''t help but stagger as a wave of weakness swept over him. He almost fell to the ground, and began to feel a bit muddle-headed.

    He suddenly felt that his arms and legs were a bit itchy. When he subconsciously reached out to scratch them, he discovered that some ck scales had appeared around his wrist. He quickly checked his ankles, and they were the same. He was horrified, eximing, ¡°What in the world?!¡±

    Mi Li¡¯s voice said in his mind, ¡°It looks as if the resentment has seeped into your body. This resentment around us is extremely strange; it can affect the bodies and souls of the cultivators within it. If I¡¯m not mistaken, these scales will continue to grow.¡±

    Sure enough, Zu An saw that the scales around his wrist were spreading to his elbow.

    Mi Li said seriously, ¡°If these scales reach your head, you¡¯llpletely lose consciousness and be a monster from head to toe.¡±

 Chapter 1385: He Will Fight to Live

    Chapter 1385: He Will Fight to Live

    Zu An was speechless.

    In truth, after all his experiences, he wasn¡¯t all that scared of death. However, the thought of getting transformed into some disgusting half-human half-monster thing and being covered all over in those disgusting scales¡­ He would rather die. When he looked at the scales on his wrist, he felt as if he were looking at the barnacles on the bodies of whales and sea turtles in his previous world; they were absolutely disgusting.

    Suddenly, he cried out miserably and fell to the ground.

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡± Yu Yanluo quickly rushed forward when she saw that. Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue also followed her.

    This time, the Fiend Emperor didn¡¯t stop them. He could tell that there was something wrong with the resentment and didn¡¯t mind having a few more people test it out.

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue immediately sensed that something wasn¡¯t right when they entered the region. However, they were too worried about Zu An to give into their reservations.

    Yu Yanluo arrived at Zu An¡¯s side and rested his body against hers, asking, ¡°Ah Zu, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯te in here¡­ There¡¯s poison,¡± Zu An said weakly.

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue staggered and almost fell as well. Their bodies weren¡¯t as tough as Zu An¡¯s, and with their injuries, their resistance had be weaker than usual.

    ¡°What is this?¡± the two women cried out in rm with trembling voices. They noticed what was happening to their wrists and frantically rubbed the scales to try to get rid of them. They were still women, after all. How could they stand having that kind of stuff on them?

    Yu Yanluo asked in surprise, ¡°What happened to you two?¡±

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue were also confused. Yu Yanluo¡¯s cultivation was even weaker than theirs, so how was she fine?

    Zu An quickly checked Yu Yanluo¡¯s wrist. He saw that even though there were some faint ck marks on her, there weren¡¯t any ck scales growing. He thought, Does this have something to do with the Medusa¡¯s bloodline?

    However, there was no time to think about that, so he shot her a meaningful nce. The two of them had already spent a long time around each other, so Yu Yanluo knew what he was thinking. With a cry, she copied the others and pretended to faint.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°What is going on?¡± the Fiend Emperor called out.

    Zu An exined, ¡°The resentment is too strong. If a person enters this region, it seems to strip them of their life force, and scales begin to grow on their body. Their consciousness grows weak too. We can¡¯t stay here! We have to go back¡­¡±

    ¡°Continue forward!¡± the Fiend Emperor said coldly. He was rmed when he heard that the resentment drained life force. After all, he didn¡¯t have much of his lifespan left. Every bit he lost would hurt him tremendously.

    ¡°Are you trying to kill me?!¡± Zu An eximed, pretending to be furious. In response, the Fiend Emperor didn¡¯t say anything and just activated the Puppet Curse.

    Zu An felt as if the Golden Crow eyes in his mind had suddenly opened. Then, they released an irresistible will that couldn''t be guarded against at all.

    This Puppet Curse is actually so terrifying?! Zu An thought. He felt as if he had lost control of his entire body. He automatically walked forward.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince was delighted to see that. He had never liked how smug Zu An always was. Unfortunately, his father had always protected Zu An before. Now, he could finally watch his enemy die.

    However, Yu Yanluo and the other women also chased after Zu An in shock. The crown prince began to panic when he saw that, asking, ¡°Father emperor, how about we let theme back?¡±

    Those were top-tier beauties! If they perished along with Zu An, that would just be too much of a waste.

    The Fiend Emperor said indifferently, ¡°We do not know what the situation is like up ahead, so we just happen to need more people to look around. They all have different kinds of constitutions, so it should serve as a perfectparison.¡±

    He didn¡¯t dare to carry a shred of carelessness now that the situation was rted to his life. Even though it was a bit of a pity to lose several incredible talents,pared to his life, they weren¡¯t worth much at all.

    Wu Liang shuddered in fear when he heard their conversation. He felt a pang of sympathy as he watched Zu An¡¯s party head deep into the ck smoke.

    The women then picked up Zu An and stuck together. Zu An took the chance to give them a few looks. Then, he quickly drew on their hands, telling them that they should take the chance to leave the area.

    Yan Xuehen looked at him with her beautiful eyes, as if she could speak through them. Shemunicated, ¡°What about your Puppet Curse?¡±

    ¡°I have a way, but I have to leave the Fiend Emperor¡¯s range of control first,¡± Zu An quickly wrote on her fair, small, jade-like hand. However, his wrist was already covered in a ring of ring ck scales.

    Yan Xuehen had clearly noticed that as well. She instinctively wanted to pull her hand back, but Zu An grabbed it firmly. She knew that the Fiend Emperor was staring at them. If they moved too quickly, he would easily notice that something was off. She could only pull down her sleeves a bit to cover her wrist.

    Yun Jianyue rolled her eyes. Do they not understand the situation they¡¯re in right now? And yet they¡¯re still flirting over there. She shot Yan Xuehen a look. This woman wasn¡¯t someone who normally cared that much about her appearance¡­

    Still, they were facing a disaster, so none of them thought too much of it.

    The other three felt their bodies grow heavier and heavier. Their minds were starting to falter, too. They couldn''t help but look toward Yu Yanluo, asking, ¡°How are you still fine?¡±

    Apart from there being some ck energy around her wrist, there wasn¡¯t anything wrong with her at all. On the surface, they were supporting each other, but in reality, she was the one carrying the most weight and supporting the others.

    Yu Yanluo shook her head. She clearly didn¡¯t know what was happening either. They weren¡¯t in any state to figure it out right on the spot either. Their only thought was to leave the region as quickly as possible.

    ¡°It should be safe once we reach the mountaintop,¡± Zu An quickly wrote.

    ¡°How do you know?¡± Yun Jianyue replied, looking at him in confusion.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have time to exin. Let¡¯s hurry,¡± Zu An said. He couldn''t just say that it was Mi Li who told him, right?

    Suddenly, he felt a sense of danger. He quickly sent a palm strike to one side. As a ck creature leaped out, Zu An¡¯s palm mmed into its head. The ck creature became indistinct for a moment. However, the surrounding ck energy entered its body and it returned to normal. It bared its fangs viciously.

    In the distance, Wu Liang cried out, ¡°What kind of monster is that?!¡±

    ck energy emanated from the monster¡¯s entire body. It was neither a human or a dog, but resembled both in some ways. Its entire body was covered in scales. The long tail behind it also made it resemble a lizard.

    ¡°Is that a person who lost himself in the mist before?¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince eximed, suddenly feeling a bit frightened. He had seen simr scales grow on Zu An¡¯s arm before. The only pity was that the three beauties were going to be that kind of monster too.

    ¡°That creature is in a semi-tangible form. It seems to be something created out of resentment,¡± the Fiend Emperor exined, his expression turning grave. After all, he had never seen that kind of creature before either. After growing old, one would subconsciously be increasingly less fond of the unknown.

    Zu An and the others attacked. They were being corroded by the strange resentment, so they didn¡¯t dare to waste a moment.

    Even though the monster was strange, how could it withstand the joint attacks of several powerful cultivators? It screamed, thenpletely scattered into ck energy.

    ¡°This thing doesn¡¯t seem as if it can die. From the looks of it, it¡¯ll probably revive after some time,¡± Yun Jianyue said, looking at the ck energy that was all around them and recalled how the ck smoke had entered its body.

    ¡°I¡¯m not scared of more of theming, I¡¯m actually scared that there¡¯s not enough of them,¡± Zu An sneered. He used the Lion¡¯s Roar skill, releasing a great roar. His bold and powerful voice reverberated through the entire valley. Rustling trees and trembling ground followed in its wake.

    ¡°What are you doing?!¡± the Fiend Emperor eximed, his expression changing. He hadn¡¯t expected Zu An to make such a choice. He immediately ordered, ¡°Shut your mouth!¡±

    Zu An was affected by the Puppet Curse and had no choice but to close his mouth. However, he had already achieved his objective. Countless specks of red light appeared in the distance. They were the eyes of creatures simr to the monster he had just faced. They had clearly been alerted by his roar.

    The red eyes surrounded them from all directions. A great pressure immediately filled the ce.

    Even Yun Jianyue, with her dauntless nature, was starting to feel scared. In their current state, they wouldn¡¯t necessarily be able to deal with so many monsters. There seemed to be no end to the monsters, and they were being corroded by the resentment present. As time went on, they wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand it!

    <strong></strong>

 Chapter 1386: Just Accept Reality and Die

    Chapter 1386: Just ept Reality and Die

    Soon afterward, the man-dog-lizard creatures emerged from several different directions, baring their fangs as they pressed in on the group.

    The monsters seemed to have suddenly appeared out of nothing. There had clearly been nothing there a moment before, and yet now, there were monsters everywhere. It really could make one¡¯s scalp go numb.

    Yun Jianyue swallowed with difficulty, cursing, ¡°Damn brat, if I end up getting eaten by these creatures, I won¡¯t let you go even if I have to turn into a ghost.¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s face paled as well. She instinctively leaned toward Zu An, as if only then would she feel a bit more at ease.

    Meanwhile, Yu Yanluo was calmer than the others, because she was the least affected by the resentment energy around them. She thought to herself that she had to protect the rest of the group properly.

    Just then, the ck monsters noticed them. They pounced toward the group with a roar.

    However, Zu An brought out the Yin Yang Swords, slicing up the ck monsters charging at them. He didn¡¯t use the Tai¡¯e Sword because it had been damaged by the Sun ying Bow, and he was worried that it would be more damaged if he used it in a fight. Furthermore, he was worried that the Fiend Emperor would be interested in it, as it was something that could fend off a divine weapon. It would be really troublesome if it got stolen. Furthermore, Mi Li was residing inside it too.

    Sure enough, the Fiend Emperor¡¯s attention was drawn to the weapons Zu An used. Aren¡¯t those the Ocean races¡¯ Yin Yang Swords? Looks like this kid¡¯s rtionship with the Ocean races runs quite deep.

    As the glorious Fiend Emperor, however, a heaven-grade weapon wasn¡¯t enough to make him feel anything. What he paid more attention to were the weapons of the other women.

    Sect Master Yun¡¯s Crescent Ring was as domineering as expected, and its movements were unpredictable and difficult to defend against.

    Sect Master Yan¡¯s Flying Snow Sword engulfed the world in an icy chill. It matched her Snowke Sword skill extremely well.

    The Medusa Queen¡¯s World Painting was something rumored to have been made by the human world¡¯s Royal Academy¡¯s libationer. Even though it was less powerful than the other two, it wasn¡¯t outssed in any other way. It was rumored that the libationer was incredibly profound, and that his cultivation even approached Zhao Han¡¯s. The Fiend Emperor had previously felt some disdain toward him, but now, it seemed that such a thing could actually be true.

    Two earth immortals in the human world wouldn¡¯t be good for our fiend races.

    However, he didn¡¯t have the luxury to think about those things anymore, because there were just too many of the ck monsters. Many of them saw the Fiend Emperor¡¯s party of three, and charged at them too.

    ¡°You¡¯re courting death!¡± The Fiend Emperor sneered. He didn¡¯t move, but a wave of golden mes scattered outward, instantly burning all the approaching ck monsters to ashes.

    However, the monsters didn¡¯t seem to feel fear at all. A new batch charged forth as soon as one went down, their expressions even more malicious than thest. Perhaps because they sensed that the Fiend Emperor¡¯s side was stronger, however, many of the creatures went over to Zu An¡¯s side.

    Zu An took the chance to grab the women¡¯s hands, calling out, ¡°Run!¡±

    He grabbed them and ran frantically toward the mountains. However, even though there were fewer ck monsters, they still rushed forth endlessly. As such, he took out the Nine Cauldron and let out the White Lotus me. That me was the loot he had picked up from Ban Ka; he hadn¡¯t expected it to be of use so quickly.

    Inside the Nine Cauldron was a small fire that resembled a cute, lovely budding lotus. However, as soon as it was released, it turned into an overwhelming disaster! Countless lotuses rose and blossomed. The ck monsters that approached were instantly burned until there was nothing left.

    ¡°So that kid actually had something so excellent.¡± the Fiend Emperor muttered in surprise. At the same time, he recalled the cold case that had recently happened in the capital. The ck Teeth race had been looking for the killer everywhere, and yet this brat was actually the culprit after all!

    It¡¯s a good thing I ced that Puppet Curse on him. All of these treasures are going to be mer.

    Even though there were many ck monsters attacking, it wasn¡¯t a big deal for the Fiend Emperor at all, because they were easy to deal with. The only thing he had to worry about was that strange resentment energy. As he didn¡¯t have much time left, he didn¡¯t want to lose any bit of life force.

    The Fiend Emperor¡¯s attention was drawn by the dazzling White Lotus me, but Zu An noticed an abnormality after he took out the Nine Cauldron. It had begun trembling unnaturally. Zu An seemed to grasp something simple yet profound, but it was too mysterious. He didn¡¯t have time toprehend it at the moment.

    Then, the Nine Cauldron shook more and more intensely, making Zu An worry that the White Lotus me was too powerful and that the Nine Cauldron wouldn¡¯t be able to handle it.

    The Fiend Emperor also sensed something. He turned around, looking toward the endless mountain range. Within the depths of the mountain range, far in the distance, an ancient coffin trembled slightly. A pair of eyes seemed to have slowly opened in the sky.

    ¡°Father emperor, what¡¯s wrong?¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince asked after seeing his father be absentminded. The ck creatures were rushing at them like an ocean tide, so he had no choice but to guard against them alongside Wu Liang. If they were struck by the monsters in any way, ck energy lingered around the wounds. Fortunately, he had the Golden Crow Sacred Fire to protect him; furthermore, they hadn¡¯t entered the area, which was why they hadn¡¯t gotten infected by the resentment. He had no idea how the fatty was doing so, but Wu Liang was actually able to defend against the corrosion of the ck monsters too.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing,¡± the Fiend Emperor said, retracting his gaze. However, he was actually trembling a bit inwardly.

    What was that feeling just then? Why was there such a powerful being present, one that made even him feel extreme danger? The feeling of danger was even greater than when he faced Zhao Han! He thought, How is that possible?!

    The aura had only manifested for an instant before dispersing. Even the Fiend Emperor started to wonder whether it was just an illusion. After all, he was already close to heaven and man deterioration. It wasn¡¯t strange for him to be hallucinating. He shook his head. He felt that the Unknown Region was too strange, and that he had to be careful above all else.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    He was about to snatch back Zu An and the others when an earth-shaking roar came from the mountaintop. Then, a massive figure leaped down from above! It arrived in front of Zu An and the others almost instantly. Perhaps because he and the Fiend Emperor had killed too many of the ck creatures, the lord of the monsters had appeared.

    The monster¡¯s body was several dozen zhang long. Its face was like a man¡¯s, but also like an ape¡¯s. Sinister teeth filled its mouth, and it had tworge tusks that resembled a wild boar¡¯s. Its body resembled that of a tiger, covered all over with yellow and ck stripes. Its face and body were covered in long fur, and the ck energy surrounding its entire body was extremely dense.

    ¡°The resentment is ridiculously strong!¡± Yun Jianyue eximed, jumping in fright. She had already really been pissed off and ready to unleash a ughter, butpared to the resentment, it seemed like nothing inparison.

    Yu Yanluo cried out in rm, ¡°Do¡­ Do you guys feel something weird?¡± As the monster approached them, even she felt a wave of weakness, as if her life force had begun slipping away. The ck scales were starting to appear on her wrist now too!

    Yan Xuehen screamed, noticing that the ck scales had begun spreading far more quickly. There were even some ck scales around her neck. Seeing that Zu An was about to turn around to look at her, she instinctively raised her sleeves to block her neck, crying out, ¡°Don¡¯t look!¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t have the time to worry about all of that, because there was a terrifying pressureing from the giant beast in front of him. He eximed, ¡°From its aura, this creature seems to be at the earth immortal rank!¡±

    ¡°Judging from the way this creature looks, it greatly resembles one of the Four Perils from the ancient records, the Taowu[1],¡± Mi Li said in an extremely grave tone.

    ¡°Does it have any weak points?¡± Zu An quickly asked. His powerful will made him refuse to give up.

    However, Mi Li immediately doused him in cold water. ¡°There¡¯s too big of a difference in strength between the two of you. On top of that, you¡¯ve been corroded by the resentment and you¡¯re practically half-dead¡­¡± After a pause, she continued, ¡°There¡¯s nothing you can do. Just ept reality and die.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He had thought that she would have some incredible advice after her pause, but in the end, she had actually said that.

    He quickly looked back and shouted, ¡°Fiend Emperor, do you still want us to scout the way? You don¡¯t want us to die this early here, right?¡±

    The Fiend Emperor ignored his clear pleas for rescue and said indifferently, ¡°Right, this is a good chance for all of you to test its strength.¡±

    The beast that had suddenly appeared was just too strong, to the point that even the Fiend Emperor felt a bit threatened. As such, he nned to use Zu An to test it out first and see if it had any special skills. That way, when he fought it, he could avoid many dangers ahead of time.

    1. The Four Perils are four malevolent beings that existed in Chinese mythology, and the antagonistic counterparts of the Four Benevolent Animals. They are described as the Hundun, a yellow-winged creature of chaos with six legs and no face; the Qiongqi, a monstrous creature that eats people; the Taowu, a reckless, stubborn creature; and the Taotie, a gluttonous beast. ?

    <strong></strong>

 Chapter 1387: Method of Salvation

    Chapter 1387: Method of Salvation

    Zu An hadn¡¯t expected the Fiend Emperor to be socking in moral principles. He was already one of the world¡¯s strongest. Shouldn¡¯t he have felt a bit of excitement to find a rare opponent? He thought, What the hell? Those stupid webnovels were lying to me!

    Then, the Taowu beast gradually approached. The group all felt their lifespans flowing away and their spirits growing weak, as if their minds were already being infected by the strong resentment.

    Yun Jianyue had been preparing to attack with her Crescent Ring, but it began wobbling back and forth, and she lost control of it. It dropped to the ground.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s arm also dropped powerlessly as soon as she raised the Snowke Sword.

    Yu Yanluo was surprisingly better off, but her cultivation was the lowest there. With her strength, there was no way she could stop the terrifying monster. She thought about using the Medusa Eye, but the Taowu was an earth immortal, something that was too far above her. Furthermore, there was such strong resentment all around them. The Medusa¡¯s Eye wouldn¡¯t necessarily be able to even petrify the surface of its skin.

    Zu An swallowed his saliva and said, ¡°Big bro Taowu, the one who killed the most of your disciples and children is that one over there. This doesn¡¯t have anything to do with us, you know?¡± He picked up the Nine Cauldron and pointed it in the Fiend Emperor¡¯s direction.

    ¡°What an idiot!¡± The Golden Crow Crown Prince burst outughing. This guy¡¯s actually trying to reason with a monster? He¡¯s trying to shift that disaster this way?

    You look pretty quick normally, so why do you seem kind of mentally deficient now? It would be way weirder if this Taowu or whatever could actually hear you.

    The Taowu roared furiously toward the sky when it saw Zu An¡¯s movement, as if it were enraged. It suddenly jumped at him.

    Zu An was rmed, but he still frantically used his ki to activate the Star Shattering Imprint. At the same time, he took out the Poisonous Prick to stake it all against the creature. Still, he clearly understood that the Poisonous Prick normally only worked against living things. The Taowu didn¡¯t seem to be a living thing at all, so the Poisonous Prick wouldn¡¯t necessarily work.

    The Taowu was about to reach him when its eyes darted toward the Nine Cauldron in his hands. A confused look flickered through its eyes. Then, it turned on the spot, charging at the Fiend Emperor¡¯s group.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s smile immediately froze on his face. What the hell is wrong with this monster? It really listened to what Zu An said?!

    An earth immortal monster had begun charging at him! The tremendous pressure made it a bit hard for him to even breathe. He could only instinctively hide behind his father.

    Wu Liang was already curled up in a ball and trembling all over. It was as if he couldn''t care less what was happening in the outside world, because it had nothing to do with him.

    The Fiend Emperor hadn¡¯t expected the Taowu to suddenly charge at him. However, he didn¡¯t have time to think about it in more detail. He quickly raised his hand to counterattack. A fight quickly broke out between the two of them.

    The terrifying st waves created were so powerful that the two at his side coughed out blood on the spot. Fortunately, the Fiend Emperor was worried about his son¡¯s safety, so he spared a bit of strength to send the Golden Crow Crown Prince several hundred zhang out.

    As Wu Liang was rolled up in a ball, the force sent him rolling far away like a bowling ball.

    The Fiend Emperor was a bit surprised by the fatty¡¯s skills, but he didn¡¯t have the luxury to care about someone unimportant like Wu Liang at that moment. Even though the giant monster¡¯s strength was beneath his, it wasn¡¯t enough for a decisive victory. He didn¡¯t dare to be careless.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An was also stunned. He had just said what he said for the heck of it. He hadn¡¯t expected the Taowu to really go after the Fiend Emperor. When he recovered from his daze, he quickly grabbed the women¡¯s hands and yelled, ¡°Run!¡±

    The women reacted quickly too. After all, the Fiend Emperor was fighting against the monster. If they didn¡¯t take advantage of that opportunity, what were they waiting for?

    When the Fiend Emperor saw that, he wanted to stop them, but the Taowu was too strong. He couldn''t afford to be distracted during such an important battle. However, he figured that Zu An had the Puppet Curse on him either way, and the other women seemed to have a special rtionship with him, so it wouldn¡¯t be toote to look for them after.

    ¡­

    Zu An¡¯s group ran up the mountain. Along the way, there were much fewer ck monsters. They had clearly been startled by the Fiend Emperor and the Taowu¡¯s battle. They all instinctively stayed far away. Even so, those that remained were still hard to deal with in the group¡¯s current state.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Fortunately, Yu Yanluo still had some strength left, so she continued to use her World Painting and her Medusa skills. Together with the White Lotus me Zu An released from time to time, they were able to just barely keep the path ahead clear.

    After they ran for a long, long time, they became slower and slower. They grew weaker and weaker too. Even their minds were bing muddled. The resentment around the Taowu had taxed their bodies too much.

    Even though Zu An¡¯s body was extremely tough, the ck scales reached all the way to his neck. Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue were in a worse state, however. Even their faces were starting to be covered in ck scales. The scales weren¡¯t tangible things, and yet they glinted sinisterly.

    The two grandmasters were alreadypletely powerless and half-unconscious. The only reason they hadn¡¯t copsed yet was because they were relyingpletely on Zu An and Yu Yanluo.

    Zu An wanted to use Grandgale to quickly elerate, but for some reason, Grandgale actually didn¡¯t respond at all. He didn¡¯t know whether it was scared of the Taowu, or simply affected by the resentment around them.

    Helpless to do anything else, he tried taking the Wind Fire Wheels to bring them up the mountain. However, this environment seemed to restrict flight, so the Wind Fire Wheels weren¡¯t able to rise too high. Furthermore, even if they could fly close to the ground, the ck monsters seemed to have gone mad, continuing to rush over from all directions to attack them. That made it so the resentment around them only became stronger and stronger. After trying it a few times, they could only give up and walk on the ground.

    Finally, Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue could no longer hold on. Zu An secretly asked Mi Li, ¡°Master empress, is there anything we can do about this?¡±

    ¡°No. With your constitution, if you let them go, there¡¯s a small chance that you can reach the mountaintop before the resentment consumes youpletely.¡± Mi Li said coldly.

    Zu An replied seriously, ¡°Am I someone who¡¯s only interested in saving my own neck and would abandon mypanions?¡±

    ¡°You sound pretty righteous, but aren¡¯t you only doing this because they¡¯re pretty?¡± Mi Li sneered.

    Zu An said in an upright manner, ¡°Since we¡¯repanions, I can¡¯t abandon or give up on them. It has nothing to do with beauty.¡±

    ¡°Can someone ugly be yourpanion?¡± Mi Li retorted with a sneer.

    Zu An was speechless. However, he didn¡¯t have the strength to argue with her right now. He quickly asked, ¡°Doesn¡¯t the Primordial Origin Sutra have anti-evil effects? Why wasn¡¯t it too effective when I used it earlier?¡±

    ¡°Strictly speaking, the Primordial Origin Sutra is more effective against the energy of departed spirits. What¡¯s affecting you right now is a kind of resentment energy, and a crazy amount of it. I really don¡¯t know just what kind of injustice would create such a terrifying resentment,¡± Mi Li exined. ¡°Resentment is different from death energy. That¡¯s why it isn¡¯t too likely that you can save them through primordial ki.

    ¡°Still, you should be happy, because true primordial ki has a bit of resistance against this resentment. Otherwise, how could you still remain conscious right now? You would have already be like those two women,¡± Mi Li exined with a harrumph.

    Zu An said in surprise, ¡°From the very start, you were still in the mood to joke around with me. That means you definitely have a way, right?¡±

    Mi Li was speechless. This kid really is too smart for his own good.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you notice that Medusa is more or less fine? It¡¯s probably because of that Lord Sui¡¯s Pearl thing you guys got earlier. Share it between yourselves and you should be able tost until the mountaintop,¡± Mi Li said. She couldn''t really keep that information hidden when she saw how Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue could bepletely swallowed up by this resentment.

    Zu An was overjoyed. He was about to suggest that option to Yu Yanluo, but she had already thought of it as well. She directly pressed her lips against Yun Jianyue¡¯s. Her tongue gently parted Yun Jianyue¡¯s lips, and a bright pearl flew out, entering the other woman¡¯s mouth.

    As soon as Lord Sui¡¯s Pearl entered her mouth, the ck scales on Yun Jianyue¡¯s face visibly retreated. Meanwhile, the few scales around Yu Yanluo¡¯s wrist began to grow at a visible rate.

    Yun Jianyue gradually woke up. She vaguely sensed someone kissing her, which left her shocked and furious. She was about to swing her arm, but when she saw who it was, she couldn''t help but be stunned. When she sensed what was in her mouth and the endlessly refreshing sensation it brought, with her knowledge and experience, how could she not know what was going on?

    Even with her usual domineering nature, she couldn''t help but blush. It made her already beautiful face appear even more stunning.

    <strong></strong>

 Chapter 1388: Stupefied

    Chapter 1388: Stupefied

    When their lips separated and she saw Zu An stare at the two of them,pletely stupefied, Yu Yanluo¡¯s cheeks flushed with warmth. She hadn¡¯t realized what was going on when she was trying to save Yun Jianyue, but after seeing his reaction, she felt extremely embarrassed. She thought, Ah¡­ Ah Zu won¡¯t dislike that I kissed someone else, right? Even though she¡¯s also a woman¡­

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s heart was pounding like crazy. However, when she saw Zu An looking at her, with her naturally tough nature, she shot him a re and said, ¡°What are you staring at? You¡¯ve never seen women kiss before?¡±

    When she heard the question, Yu Yanluo¡¯s cheeks turned even redder. She really wanted to run away and hide on the spot.

    ¡°I''ve never seen two women who were this pretty kiss before,¡± Zu An said with a strange expression. ¡°But now¡¯s not the time to talk about that. Yan Xuehen can¡¯t hold on for much longer.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re surprisingly considerate of her.¡± Yun Jianyue sneered. However, even though that was what she said, her gaze shifted toward Yan Xuehen.

    There was ck energy swirling around Yan Xuehen¡¯s face, as if she could bepletely overtaken by the resentment at any time. Yun Jianyue wanted to return Lord Sui¡¯s Pearl to Yu Yanluo, but that would take too much time. As such, she just picked up Yan Xuehen and bent down to deliver it to her.

    Why are this woman¡¯s lips so tight?

    Yun Jianyue initially wanted to just get it over with as quickly as possible, but she hadn¡¯t expected the unconscious Yan Xuehen to be so uncooperative, so now it almost looked as if she were taking advantage of the other woman or something. She felt ashamed and annoyed when she noticed the scorching gazes on her.

    ¡°Use your tongue to open them¡­¡± Yu Yanluo said weakly. She seemed to be growing anxious as she reminded Yun Jianyue.

    ¡°Do you think I don¡¯t know that? Do I need you to teach me?¡± Yun Jianyue snapped with wide eyes. However, she was actually really embarrassed. That was how she had been saved by Yu Yanluo just then, and the worst part was that the brat Zu An had seen it happen. She found herself very hard-pressed.

    Zu An couldn''t help butugh. Even though this woman always spoke so harshly, it was clear that she had never done such a thing before from her movements.Still, that shouldn¡¯t have been the case, right? She was known for her charm skills, so why was she so inexperienced?

    Yun Jianyue finally made some progress. Lord Sui¡¯s Pearl slowly entered Yan Xuehen¡¯s mouth. She could feel the faint radianceing from Lord Sui¡¯s Pearl even through her skin; it had already begun showing its effects. The ck scales on Yan Xuehen¡¯s face also began to retreat at a visible speed.

    Finally, Yan Xuehen slowly woke up with a groan. However, she saw that Yun Jianyue was kissing her as soon as she woke up. She immediately jumped in fright, instinctively pushing her away.

    ¡°What are you doing?!¡± she eximed, feeling ashamed and furious. However, the special sensation in her mouth soon left her stunned.

    ¡°Woman, do you have no sense of others¡¯ good intentions?!¡± Yun Jianyue eximed, staggering and almost falling because she was caught off guard. She just happened to fall on Zu An. For some reason, she felt extremely ufortable when Zu An supported her. She moved his hands away and stared at Yan Xuehen, protesting, ¡°I even sacrificed my own purity to save you, but this is how you repay me?¡±

    Zu An and Yu Yanluo were speechless.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    What do you mean, sacrifice your purity?!

    When he saw that Yan Xuehen was instinctively trying to spit out the item in her mouth, Zu An quickly stopped her, calling out, ¡°Don¡¯t spit it out! Keep it inside!¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s face immediately turned red. She gave Zu An an annoyed look. Zu An would always say those words when the two of them were ying around!

    ¡°What you have in your mouth is Lord Sui¡¯s Pearl from Yu Yanluo. It can suppress the resentment in your body to a certain extent. Keep it there for a while to force out some of the resentment first,¡± Zu An exined.

    Yan Xuehen quickly rubbed her own cheeks. She sighed in relief when she noticed that the ck scales had already withdrawn to her neck. She smiled at Yu Yanluo and bowed slightly, saying, ¡°Thank you, little sister Yu.¡±

    ¡°Are you not going to thank me?¡± Yun Jianyue asked in annoyance.

    There was no way Yan Xuehen would be willing to show weakness to her. She retorted, ¡°Should you not be thanking little sister Yu too?¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s breath caught in her throat. She didn¡¯t retort, and could only thank Yu Yanluo first.

    Afterward, she was about to bother Yan Xuehen again, but the other woman had already changed the topic. ¡°Ah Zu, what is at the top of the mountain? Why are we climbing toward the top?¡±

    If they continued to walk toward where the resentment was the strongest, it would only be more and more dangerous.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know either,¡± Zu An replied. When he saw how confused all three women were, however, he quickly said, ¡°All things in this world have a natural counter. The ce where the poisones from is often where the antidote can be found too. I have a feeling that there¡¯s definitely a way to save us up there.¡±

    Those were actually things Mi Li had told him, so he couldn''t really exin it in detail.

    Yun Jianyue nodded and said, ¡°I agree with Little An¡¯s n. We have the Fiend Emperor and that¡­ Taowu or something fighting behind us. We¡¯d be done for regardless of which one we ended up in the hands of. We might as well give this n a chance.¡±

    Yu Yanluo and Yan Xuehen were extraordinary individuals too. They both expressed their agreement.

    ¡­

    Along the way, Yun Jianyue asked Zu An, ¡°Hey, why do you recognize that monster¡¯s name?¡±

    Yu Yanluo and Yun Jianyue also looked at him curiously. After all, they were all knowledgeable in their own right, and yet they had never seen that thing before. Not even the Fiend Emperor knew what it was.

    ¡°I saw it in an ancient text before,¡± Zu An said. He couldn''t just tell them he was a transmigrator, right?

    ¡°Which ancient text?¡±

    ¡°The ssic of Mountains and Seas[1].¡±

    ¡°ssic of Mountains and Seas? Why haven¡¯t I ever heard of that before?¡±

    ¡­

    Just like that, the group continued to climb the mountain.

    After they traveled for a long time, however, Yu Yanluo¡¯s legs suddenly buckled and she fell. Zu An quickly supported her. Only then did they notice that while they were chatting, she had been corroded by the resentment. The ck scales were already reaching her face.

    ¡°It¡¯s all my fault!¡± Yan Xuehen cried out in regret. She quickly kneeled down and passed Lord Sui¡¯s Pearl into Yu Yanluo¡¯s mouth.

    When she saw Yan Xuehen¡¯s tongue proficiently separate Yu Yanluo¡¯s lips, Yun Jianyue¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief. She thought, This stone cold woman should be even more inexperienced than me, so why is she doing better than me?

    After Lord Sui¡¯s Pearl returned to her, Yu Yanluo also gradually woke up again. Her eyes met Yan Xuehen¡¯s. When they saw how close their faces were to each other, both women quickly backed up.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Yu Yanluo said in embarrassment.

    ¡°It should be me thanking you,¡± Yan Xuehen said in praise. ¡°You are our life-saving benefactor.¡±

    When he saw the women apologize to each other, Zu An reminded them, ¡°We need to pay more attention from here on out and pass the pearl along ahead of time to prevent idents from happening. If the resentment passes a certain threshold, not even Lord Sui¡¯s Pearl might be able to save us.¡±

    He looked toward Yun Jianyue while saying that. She had had Lord Sui¡¯s Pearl for the shortest time out of anyone, and the ck scales had already crept up to her chin.

    ¡°Okay¡­¡± The three women¡¯s voices all became a bit softer. For some reason, their cheeks reddened.

    The group continued forward. After learning their previous lesson, the three of them exchanged the pearl ahead of time. At first, they were still a bit embarrassed, so they didn¡¯t use their mouths and instead took out the pearl, upon which the other person swallowed it.

    As they continued, however, the resentment grew stronger and stronger, so the ck scales grew faster and faster too. There was no time to waste at all, so they just returned to the method they had used in the beginning. They found it awkward at first, but they got more used to it over time.

    That process continued for a long time before being interrupted by a sudden thud. Zu An had copsed onto the ground.

    The women were shocked. They quickly went to help him, and only then did they notice that Zu An¡¯s face was already covered in many ck scales. If not for his constitution and the Primordial Origin Sutra¡¯s natural resistance to the resentment, he would have already been a lost cause. The fact that he was able tost so long was already a miracle in itself.

    ¡°Hurry and feed him the pearl!¡± Yu Yanluo eximed while carrying Zu An, her expression filled with rm and confusion. She was even sobbing a bit.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression was strange, because the pearl was in Yan Xuehen¡¯s mouth. With that stone cold woman¡¯s nature, how could she be willing? She could end up wasting time, and then Zu An could die at any time.

    She thought about how to convince Yan Xuehen as quickly as possible, but she didn¡¯t expect that the other woman wouldn¡¯t hesitate at all. Yan Xuehen bent down and kissed him immediately.

    Yu Yanluo and Yun Jianyue were immediately stupefied.

    1. The ssic of Mountains and Seas is a Chinese ssic text and aption of mythic geography and beasts. The book is not a narrative, as the "plot" involves detailed descriptions of locations in the cardinal directions of the Mountains, Regions Beyond Seas, Regions Within Seas, and Wilderness. The descriptions are usually of medicines, animals, and geological features. Many descriptions are very mundane, and an equal number are fanciful or strange. Each chapter follows roughly the same form, and the whole book is repetitious in this way. It contains many short myths, and most rarely exceed a paragraph. A famous ancient Chinese myth from this book is that of Yu the Great, who spent years trying to control the deluge. ?

    <strong></strong>

 Chapter 1389: Saved

    Chapter 1389: Saved

    Yan Xuehen proficiently separated his lips, then passed Lord Sui¡¯s Pearl to him. Because she was worried that he could choke on the pearl due to being unconscious, she didn¡¯t dare to leave him alone. She continued to help him control the pearl.

    As the pearl¡¯s power spread through Zu An¡¯s mouth, he gradually woke up. His eyes met Yan Xuehen¡¯s. A warm feeling spread inside him. Looks like she doesn¡¯t treat me as coldly as she acts on the outside after all. When he remembered what had happened in the hot springs, he instinctively returned the kiss with his tongue.

    Yan Xuehen instantly felt as if a streak of electricity had passed through her entire body. She instinctively pulled back in fright. Her normally snow-white cheeks turned entirely red. The memory of their bodies wrapped intimately around each other in the Great Snowy Mountains couldn''t help but reappear in her mind. Her heart pounded crazily.

    ¡°Not bad, stone cold woman. I didn¡¯t expect you to actually be so bold!¡± Yun Jianyue remarked, patting her shoulder. Even though she had a teasing tone in her voice, however, for some reason she just couldn''t feel happy. She felt a kind of disappointment, as if her favorite toy had been stolen.

    Seeing that Yu Yanluo was also looking at her with a strange expression, Yan Xuehen quickly shot Yun Jianyue a re and snapped, ¡°Witch, what kind of nonsense are you saying? This is a matter of life and death right now, so saving his life is the most important thing right now. Why would I be so inflexible?¡±

    Yun Jianyue harrumphed. ¡°I refuse to believe that you would do the same for another man.¡±

    Unlike Yun Jianyue, who was just instinctively trying to annoy Yan Xuehen with her rough and straightforward nature, Yu Yanluo was more sensitive to certain things. When she put together all of the things that had happened before, she suddenly realized that the rtionship between Yan Xuehen and Zu An wasn¡¯t necessarily as simple as before. However, since this was a matter rted to Zu An¡¯s life, she didn¡¯t have the luxury of worrying about that.

    Meanwhile, Zu An was listening to Mi Li¡¯s nagging. ¡°Tsk tsk tsk, you really are a womanizer. All of the pretty women around you seem to have something with you.¡±

    Zu An quickly exined, ¡°Of course not.¡±

    ¡°What, are you talking about that haughty Devil Sect Master? In my opinion, there¡¯s something fishy with the way she looks at you too,¡± Mi Li said with a sneer.

    ¡°I was talking about you. The most beautiful woman here is, of course, big sis empress. Aren¡¯t wepletely innocent?¡± Zu An replied with an upright expression.

    ¡°Hmph, you dare to even flirt with me? Also, call me master!¡± Mi Li replied. Even though she knew Zu An was praising her on purpose, she still couldn''t help but grin. At the same time, however, she remembered what had happened back then in Brightmoon City¡¯s secret dungeon. She sighed, thinking, Just who¡¯s innocent¡­

    Zu An quickly asked her some questions when he saw that she had suddenly fallen silent. He still had many questions about the Taowu and resentment energy, but there was no response for a long time. However, he didn¡¯t have the time to think too much about it. Yu Yanluo couldn''t hold on for much longer and he needed to help her quickly.

    The mountaintop got closer and closer, and the resentment¡¯s corrosive effects became faster to match it. The ck scales had begun to reach all their chins. That made it so the amount of time each person could hold onto Lord Sui¡¯s Pearl lessened. As such, they could only hold it for three breaths before they had to switch it.

    Yu Yanluo and Yun Jianyue were still alright, as they only had to pass it on to women. However, the pearl soon returned to Yan Xuehen again. When she saw Zu An¡¯s ambiguous smile, her small face immediately turnedpletely red. She thought to herself, This guy must be feeling really proud of himself, huh?

    However, their lives were hanging by a thread at the moment, so she didn¡¯t dare to waste any time and could only kiss him again. This time, Zu An was awake, so she was especially embarrassed. And this bastard stuck out his tongue!

    She wanted to move out of the way, but she was no match at all for him. His methods were way too trained. Who knew how many girls he had practiced this stuff on before her?n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    She strangely felt a bit angry when she thought of that, and immediately pushed him away.

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +222 +222 +222¡­

    Zu An was startled. Looks like she¡¯s still a bit shy. Doing this to her in front of everyone else really is a bit embarrassing.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression was strange. She thought to herself, Why do I feel so wronged? She had to watch her man kiss other women in front of her. Even though they were doing this to save each others¡¯ lives, why did it feel so weird?

    Meanwhile, Yun Jianyue was rejoicing in their misfortune. She asked, ¡°Little An, how does our Goddess Yan taste? Do you know how many men in this world dream of what you¡¯re doing, but will never even be able to get close? And yet, you managed to take advantage of it today.¡±

    Zu An wanted to say that her lips were really soft and that the fragrance was incredible. But when he considered their situation, he still sensibly shut his mouth.

    ¡°Witch, no one will think of you as mute if you do not speak!¡± Yan Xuehen retorted, feeling ashamed and embarrassed.

    ¡°It¡¯s my mouth. I can say whatever I want,¡± Yun Jianyue said smugly.

    Yan Xuehen was seething with rage. This witch always angered her on purpose! When she saw Yu Yanluo move, she quickly took her spot. That way, the role of saving Zu An would be given to Yun Jianyue.

    However, who would have thought that Yun Jianyue had already anticipated that? She quickly hugged Yu Yanluo and cried, ¡°Hurry and save me, I¡¯m about to die!¡±

    Yu Yanluo was speechless. However, even though she knew it wasn¡¯t that serious, there was nothing she could do. She could only continue the original sequence.

    When she saw Yun Jianyue look at her with an evil smile again, Yan Xuehen turned beet red. When it was her turn to receive Lord Sui¡¯s Pearl, she immediately returned it to Yun Jianyue after the resentment in her retreated a tiny bit. She wanted to change the order.

    However, Yun Jianyue reacted quickly as well. She didn¡¯t hold it for long at all before giving it to Yu Yanluo.

    Zu An was speechless. He thought, I¡¯m going to die if you don¡¯t freaking pass it to me!

    Yu Yanluo hadn¡¯t expected that she would one day be tugged back and forth like a treasure by two grandmasters. However, she was more worried about her lover¡¯s safety, so she quickly moved over to Zu An¡¯s side to pass him the pearl.

    Only when the refreshing feeling of Lord Sui¡¯s Pearl spread through him did Zu An feel his muddle-headedness disappear a bit. Soon afterward, however, it was his turn to give it out.

    Yan Xuehen was stunned. After all of that, the only difference was that rather than her kissing Zu An, he had be the one to kiss her! Ah, I¡¯m so freaking stupid¡­

    Yu Yanluo spoke up just then, saying, ¡°Big sis Yan, we¡¯re doing this to survive. We¡¯ve wronged you.¡±

    She didn¡¯t want what had happened before to happen again. If they had another ident and Zu An was beyond saving, she would really feel endless regret. As for whether or not there was really something between the two of them, she¡¯d look into it slowlyter.

    When she heard Yu Yanluo, who actually had a rtionship with Zu An, say that, Yan Xuehen knew that what had happened previously really was extremely dangerous. As such, she nodded and said, ¡°Alright.¡±

    Then, she closed her eyes and faced Zu An as if she were facing her execution.

    Zu An asked gloomily, ¡°Yanluo, why aren¡¯t you saying that I¡¯m the one being wronged here?¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s eyes suddenly shot open and she stared at him.

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +333 +333 +333¡­

    Yu Yanluo was speechless.

    This time, not even Yun Jianyue could continue watching. She remarked, ¡°Kid, you¡¯re already getting so many free benefits, and yet you actually said something like that? You really need a good beating!¡±

    With that, Zu An finally stopped his mischief and obediently passed the pearl on. This time, however, Yan Xuehen was quite proactive, giving him a fierce bite.

    Zu An was in so much pain tears almost came out, but he didn¡¯t dare to let the women around him see it. He could only keep all of it as a pent-up grievance.

    Yan Xuehen finally felt a bit better when she saw him grimace in pain.

    ¡­

    Just like that, their group eventually arrived at the mountaintop. What they saw there was a clear spring. It wasn¡¯t toorge; it was more like an ancient well. The water inside was incredibly clear. Most importantly, there was rich kiing out of it. For the first time, the area around it contained none of the powerful resentment. The party also noticed that the ck scales around them no longer continued to grow.

    Mi Li said in Zu An¡¯s mind, ¡°Hurry and jump into this spring. Otherwise, there won¡¯t be any way to get rid of the resentment if it remains in your body for too long.¡±

    Zu An trusted her unconditionally. When he heard that, he also repeated it to the three women.

    Yu Yanluo was one thing, but Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue were stunned.

    It was such a small space, and they were going to all bathe together¡­

    <strong></strong>

 Chapter 1390: Power of the Snowflake Sword

    Chapter 1390: Power of the Snowke Sword

    Seeing how stunned they were, Zu An was worried that the resentment would cause irreversible effects if the resentment energy remained in their bodies. He directly grabbed Yu Yanluo and Yan Xuehen¡¯s hands, since they were closest to him, then jumped into the spring. The ice-cold spring immediately woke them up from their somewhat muddle-headed state.

    Zu An waved at Yun Jianyue and called out, ¡°Big sis sect master, hurry up ande in!¡±

    Mi Li said in a cold and indifferent tone, ¡°I¡¯m not interested in watching you womanize, so I¡¯m going into seclusion again. You should use this chance to get all three of them in the bag. Don¡¯t lose face for your master.¡± Then, she turned around and left. A door projection opened, then shut with a bang.

    Zu An was a bit stunned. Wasn¡¯t she in the Tai¡¯e Sword? Why did she open a door in my sea of consciousness? Also, what did she mean with thest part of what she said? Is she trying to encourage me or is she saying the opposite?

    For some reason, when she saw him wave toward her, Yun Jianyue recalled the way girls from brothels would wave their handkerchiefs towards their guests while shouting e and y, masters¡¯. She suddenly felt a chill run down her spine and said, ¡°You guys can soak in there first. I¡¯ll just go once you¡¯re done.¡±

    She noticed that the spring was quite small. The three others were already quite cramped there, so if she went there too, they''d be even more cramped. At that point, they wouldn¡¯t even be able to adjust their positions inside if they wanted to.

    Zu An quickly said, ¡°If this resentment stays in our bodies for too long, it might be extremely hard to get rid of in the future. I think it¡¯d be best if you came in earlier.¡±

    Yun Jianyue was actually a bit worried, but the scene in front of her made her a bit hesitant. Actually, why was that stone cold woman acting sofortable in there with Yu Yanluo, as if they were sisters?

    Yan Xuehen had known that once they soaked in the spring, her clothes would bepletely drenched and stick to her body. At that point, they would practically be transparent. Furthermore, the spring really was too small. She was already practically glued to Zu An. If Yun Jianyue entered, she would even be able to feel the heating from his body. It would be just like that night in the Great Snowy Mountains again.

    Her entire body unknowingly heated up when she thought of that. She noticed Yun Jianyue¡¯s look of confusion, and felt ashamed and hard-pressed. In order to hide her awkwardness, she quickly asked, ¡°Are you staying there and letting the resentment act up on purpose so you can have a proper reason for Ah Zu to kiss you?¡±

    Zu An and Yu Yanluo were lovers, so it was normal for them to be together. It really was too awkward for her to be in there alone. If Yun Jianyue were also there, she figured, it would be much more normal.

    Zu An was speechless. Why was he being attacked for no reason?

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression was a bit strange. Was I overthinking it before? Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen are enemies. If Yan Xuehen and Ah Zu really had something going on between them, there would be no reason for her to push her lover away¡­

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s eyes immediately widened in disbelief. She eximed, ¡°Stone cold woman, what kind of nonsense are you speaking?¡±

    She was worried that Yu Yanluo or Zu An would actually misunderstand, so she jumped straight into the pool. However, she pinched Yan Xuehen as soon as she entered. This stone cold woman was just too annoying!

    ¡°Ah!¡± Yan Xuehen eximed, naturally trying to avoid it and retaliate. The two immediately ended up being awfully preupied in the small spring.

    However, that made things hard for Zu An. There hadn¡¯t been much room to begin with. Now that they were jerking left and right, their warm and energetic bodies had begun rubbing against him. How could his healthy and vigorous self stand that?

    Yan Xuehen suddenly cried out, and her entire body trembled. She had been evenly matched with Yun Jianyue at first, but now, she lost the initiative and was at a disadvantage.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, big sister Yan?¡± Yu Yanluo asked curiously. She thought that there was something wrong with the other woman¡¯s body after suddenly hearing her cry out.

    ¡°Big sister Yan, could it be that the resentment energy inside of you is starting to act up?¡± Zu An asked worriedly.

    Yan Xuehen was really embarrassed. This guy really was a freaking acting genius. Just who was the one prodding her at that moment? In the past, she might have been a bit confused. But after the event in the Great Snowy Mountains, how could she not recognize the thing that had gone inside her?

    However, she didn¡¯t act up and instead said, ¡°Yes, the resentment inside of my body seems a bit strange.¡±

    This rascal¡­ Why don¡¯t you go and try to prod that witch?!

    She really wanted Yun Jianyue to feel that thing too. However, she was worried that her secret would be exposed, so she didn¡¯t do anything in the end.

    Zu An took the chance to say to Yun Jianyue, ¡°Big sis Yun, let¡¯s not do this right now. Just let big sis Yan calm down the resentment energy inside her first.¡±

    ¡°You only know how to side with that stone cold woman,¡± Yun Jianyue snapped, pulling her hand back angrily. ¡°Stone cold woman, your cultivation seems to be a bit weaker than mine after all. You¡¯re actually this disappointing.¡±

    Even though she was a bit unhappy, she didn¡¯t take the chance to take advantage of Yan Xuehen¡¯s difficulties. They had already gone through so much together that they were already far from being arch-nemeses like before.

    ¡°Hmph!¡± Yan Xuehen couldn''t exin it properly either, so she could only pretend to be adjusting her own energies.

    ¡°Big sis Yan, should I help you?¡± Zu An offered, moving a bit closer.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need,¡± Yan Xuehen said, her ears heating up. Not moving from side to side would be the best help right now! she thought. How could she say that out loud, though?

    Zu An saw a faint blush spread across Yan Xuehen¡¯s fair neck and felt pleased. Even though they had already shared the most intimate rtionship in the Great Snowy Mountains, she had begun treating him more coldly after the matter and always kept her distance. With that, he had felt that the other person was growing further and further apart from him.

    Now, though, all of them had needed to rely on each other to get through the resentment curse, barely making it to the spring. They had needed to depend on each other. In the beginning, Yan Xuehen had resisted it, but she had gradually gotten used to it.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An could clearly sense that their rtionship was growing a bit closer. In the past, if he had treated her like that, she would have already started a fight. But now, she had tacitly agreed to it¡­

    Suddenly, he sucked in air between clenched teeth. He felt himself freezing.

    ¡°Stone cold woman, what the heck are you doing? Why are you using the Snowke Sword in this spring?¡± Yun Jianyue shivered and scolded Yan Xuehen.

    ¡°Sorry. I did not control my own skills well, so some of my true ki leaked out,¡± Yan Xuehen replied, quietly withdrawing her hand underwater.

    At the same time, she was a bit regretful. Just then, she really had been annoyed by Zu An¡¯s disrespect, but now that things had calmed down again, she got worried. I didn¡¯t freeze it too much, right¡­

    If Zu An were frozen into a eunuch, wouldn¡¯t she have ruined Chuyan¡¯s lifetime of happiness? On top of that, she would also be letting down her little sister Yu.

    Zu An was also scared half to death. He quickly transferred his ki through his body, then sighed in relief when he saw that ¡®it¡¯ was fine. Fortunately, his body was already incredibly tough after being refined several times by primordial ki. Otherwise, it might have really snapped off from the cold.

    This woman really wasn¡¯t messing around; she had actually used the Snowke Sword against him! Zu An was so angry he gave her a firm p underwater. Yan Xuehen was ashamed and annoyed, but her reason won out and she didn¡¯t cause a scene.

    On the contrary, when she saw the water ripples on the surface, Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression was strange. She asked, ¡°What are you two doing?¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s heart began to pound. I¡¯m done for, I¡¯m done for! She¡¯s seen through me¡­ I can no longer face anyone again¡­

    However, who would have thought that without batting an eyelid, Zu An would say, ¡°There seemed to be some kind of creature approaching underwater, so I waved my hand to force it back.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Yun Jianyue and Yu Yanluo both jumped in fright. This was an Unknown Region. They had encountered so many monsters born from resentment along the way, and there was even an earth immortal watching over those monsters. Seeing as the spring was clearly extraordinary, how terrifying would some creature in it be?

    Yu Yanluo immediately clung onto Zu An in fear. Yun Jianyue jumped ashore, but because her entire body was drenched, her dress stuck tightly to her body and was almost transparent. She was once again scared and jumped back into the water. She red at Zu An, eximing, ¡°What did you see?!¡±

    Zu An said seriously, ¡°I didn¡¯t see anything. I was paying attention to that thing in the water.¡±

 Chapter 1391: Relocated

    Chapter 1391: Relocated

    Yun Jianyue and Yu Yanluo immediately looked down to check.

    ¡°How strong is that monster?¡±

    ¡°Where is it?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t see it anymore. Maybe I made a mistake,¡± Zu An said in an uncertain tone.

    Yun Jianyue clearly sighed in relief, which made Zu An endlessly puzzled. Women really were strange. Her most private part had clearly been seen by someone. I know what happened, and she knows what happened, and yet now, it feels as if pointing it out would be making a huge fuss over nothing.

    Yan Xuehen gave him a look. This guy really did constantly get away with murder. The witch was normally really smart, and yet she was being deceived without having any idea.

    Zu An pretended to look around in the water again, saying, ¡°It seems I made a mistake. I¡¯ve been so tense the whole time that I must have been overly suspicious.¡±

    ¡°Brat, are you messing with us?¡± Yun Jianyue cried, leaning over to pinch his ears.

    Yu Yanluo felt a bit sorry for Zu An and remarked, ¡°Ah, isn¡¯t it a good thing if he didn¡¯t actually see anything?¡±

    Yan Xuehen clearly didn¡¯t want to let the subject continue, or else the other women would start suspecting what had happened. She quickly asked, ¡°Did you all notice? This spring seems to contain a powerful life force; the ki here is especially abundant. I can feel that my injuries seem to have improved quite a bit.¡±

    After staying in the spring for a while, the ck scales on her body had alreadypletely disappeared. She had recovered her supple and healthy skin from before.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Yun Jianyue checked her own condition and said, ¡°You¡¯re right.¡±

    She hadn¡¯t had time to carefully examine herself because of all of the resentment around her. Now that she had been reminded of it and she carefully checked herself, though, she saw that her injuries really had be much better. If her wounds had been just short of half recovered before, now they were truly halfway.

    Zu An suddenly ducked under the water. When he reappeared, he saw Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue staring furiously at him while covering their chests.

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +111 +111 +111¡­n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +111 +111 +111¡­

    Even Yu Yanluo had a critical look on her face, feeling that he had been rude.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Yun Jianyue asked with an unkind expression.

    Zu An was stunned momentarily, but then reacted, realizing that they had misunderstood. He quickly exined, ¡°I went down to drink a bit of the spring to see if it was poisonous. My constitution is special. Even if there were poison, it wouldn¡¯t kill me. There¡¯s no way I would have you guys try it instead.¡±

    There was no response. He added, feeling a bit wronged, ¡°Am I really someone that despicable in your eyes?¡±

    Yan Xuehen nodded inwardly, thinking, Yes, you are.

    Meanwhile, Yun Jianyue felt a bit embarrassed deep down. She asked, ¡°What are you drinking it for?¡±

    They were all soaking inside. Don¡¯t tell me he¡­

    When he saw the girls look at him strangely, Zu An waspletely speechless. He eximed, ¡°Think about it! The resentment went into our bodies, so would it really only stay on our skin? Our inner organs were definitely affected too! Soaking here would only wash away the resentment on the surface of our bodies. What about the stuff inside?¡±

    He thought to himself, I¡¯m not Durant! I don¡¯t have any interest in women¡¯s bathwater.

    The women were all extremely intelligent. They quickly reacted and said, ¡°You¡¯re quite meticulous.¡± At the same time, they were a bit embarrassed for misunderstanding him.

    The women all drank quite a bit of the spring water, then began to use their techniques to digest it. The final bit of ck energy around them soon disappeared as well. Their skin seemed to be rejuvenated, bing extremely soft and supple. How could they not be happy about that?

    Meanwhile, Zu An felt unhappy, grumbling, ¡°Ugh, I don¡¯t want to be a pretty boy¡­¡±

    Yu Yanluo said with a smile, ¡°You were a pretty boy to begin with.¡± She actually felt really happy, because she saw that her lover had be even more handsome.

    ¡°Stone cold woman, my injuries actually recovered about seventy percent. What about you?¡± Yun Jianyue asked, nudging Yan Xuehen with her elbow. This stone cold woman¡¯s body really is soft.

    Yan Xuehen rubbed her stomach. She red at Yun Jianyue with a frown and said, ¡°I am around there too. This spring water really is incredible.¡±

    After all, at their cultivation realm, they rarely got injured, but it would be extremely serious when they did, taking three to five years to heal at the earliest and a few decades at thetest. They had actually been healed so much in such a short amount of time! Judging from that, it was easy to see just how amazing the spring water was.

    ¡°Then you guys should drink a bit more,¡± Zu An said, happy to hear that they were recovering too.

    Yan Xuehen rolled her eyes at him and replied, ¡°It is not that simple, okay? Many things are much more difficult towards theter stages. Furthermore, our bodies can only absorb so much. We will not be able to rely on this spring water to heal much more for some time. We have to slowly spend the time to digest it.¡±

    Zu An grumbled through ki transmission, ¡°Actually, I¡¯m more useful than even this spring water. I can heal youpletely.¡±

    ¡°F*ck off!¡± Yan Xuehen replied, her face turnedpletely red. Of course she knew what kind of method that was. Back then, that was how Chuyan hadpletely recovered. However, that treatment process continued for several months. If she were saved in a simr way, she would rather just die!

    Zu An hadn¡¯t expected the usually aloof and pure Yan Xuehen to use profanity. He coughed lightly and said, ¡°In that case, let¡¯s store some of this spring water as a reserve.¡±

    This time, the women were all in agreement. They took out vessels to store the water, each of them storing at least a single container. They wanted to carry more too, but such spring water that was full of ki wasn¡¯t something just any vessel could store. It had to be a special magical artifact, so that was all they could take with them.

    This time, Yu Yanluo said happily, ¡°I can feel that my cultivation has improved quite a bit. My mental strength has also condensed much more than before.¡±

    Yan Xuehen reached out a finger to check her wrist. If it were anyone else, Yu Yanluo wouldn¡¯t show her a vital point like that. After being around each other for so long, however, they were already friends, so Yu Yanluo didn¡¯t resist at all and let Yan Xuehen check her condition.

    A whileter, Yan Xuehen said with a nod, ¡°You have already reached the critical point of bing a master rank. Once we leave this ce, I will watch over you. There should not be too many issues in breaking through.¡±

    Yu Yanluo was surprised and happy, saying, ¡°Thank you, big sister Yan.¡±

    After all, in the past, she had already been stuck at the eighth rank for many years. Even though her real strength couldn''t be measured by her cultivation, her cultivation rank was still stagnant. Meanwhile, increasing one¡¯s cultivation further would only be slower and slower over time.

    However, over the past few months, her cultivation had increased really quickly. Now, she was about to be a master rank! She felt as if she were dreaming.

    ¡°Little sister Yu is too polite,¡± Yan Xuehen said, feeling a bit embarrassed. She snuck a look toward Zu An, then quickly shifted her gaze away. She felt a strong sense of guilt for stealing Yu Yanluo¡¯s man, and naturally wanted to do her best to make it up

    On the side, Yun Jianyue asked Zu An, ¡°Little An, what about you? Did you get any benefits?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± Zu An said. ¡°I don¡¯t feel as if I made any major breakthroughs, but the hero mortal form seems to have progressed more than halfway.¡±

    ¡°Kid, your talent is as terrifying as expected,¡± Yun Jianyue said with a sigh of amazement. ¡°How long did we soak here? If there were enough time, it wouldn¡¯t even be too hard for you to make a greater breakthrough! Did you know, both this stone cold woman and I took several years to break through the hero mortal form?¡±

    Zu An really wanted to ask them how old they were at the time, but he knew that would be the same as courting disaster. He could only say regretfully, ¡°It¡¯s a pity, but the amount of this spring we can bring with us is too little.¡±

    Yan Xuehen suddenly thought of something. She asked, ¡°Little Sister Yu, take out your World Painting. Do you not have a river there?¡±

    ¡°I do,¡± Yu Yanluo said, her eyes lighting up. ¡°You¡¯re saying to guide this spring into the World Painting, right?¡± However, she immediately replied in disappointment, ¡°I still don¡¯t have that ability.¡±

    Yan Xuehen said, ¡°I can give it a try.¡±

    She urged Yu Yanluo to open up the World Painting. Then, she drew some blue runes in the air, and her hands flew around, forming a series ofplex seals.

    Yun Jianyue was left in admiration. No wonder this stone cold woman had been able to convince so many orthodox figures of her status. Just those seals alone made her look like an incredible immortal!

    Yan Xuehen pointed at the spring water. Ayer of white light surrounded the spring. Then, she slowly raised her finger. The spring turned into a stream and entered the World Painting.

    A heaven-shaking roar of anger resounded from the foot of the mountain. As if sensing that the spring was being stolen, the Taowu left the Fiend Emperor behind and rushed up the mountain.

 Chapter 1392: Why Is the Taste Off?

    Chapter 1392: Why Is the Taste Off?

    There was no way the Fiend Emperor would give up such a good opportunity. He took the chance tounch an attack from behind. The Taowu screamed bitterly, clearly having suffered quite a bit as a result. As such, it had no choice but to turn around and bite the Fiend Emperor. Meanwhile, the Fiend Emperor was also curious about what was at the very top of the mountain, so he fought while moving toward the mountaintop.

    When Zu An¡¯s group saw the Taowu run toward them, they were all frightened too. However, upon seeing the Fiend Emperor start to fight it again and realizing that they wouldn¡¯t stop anytime soon, they sighed in relief.

    As she watched Yan Xuehen focus her attention on taking the spring into the World Painting, Yun Jianyue said mockingly, ¡°Stone cold woman, you didn¡¯t say a thing when we said we wanted to store the water, and yet when Little An said he wanted to use it, you immediately thought of a way. You really do forget loyalty when in love.¡±

    Yan Xuehen replied in embarrassment, ¡°What kind of nonsense are you saying? I clearly just thought of this!¡±

    ¡°Hahah~¡± Yun Jianyueughed a few times, clearly unconvinced.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An¡¯s forehead darkened. He said, ¡°Big sis Yun, we are in a serious situation right now. You¡¯re still in the mood to start an argument?¡±

    ¡°What, are you feeling bad for that stone cold woman because I said something?¡± Yun Jianyue snapped. She had just been just saying things nonchntly, but now that Zu An had spoken up for Yan Xuehen, she couldn''t take it anymore.

    Zu An sensibly chose to shut his mouth. He quickly changed the topic, asking, ¡°Have you all noticed that this spring looks small, but even after guiding it into the painting for so long, the water level hasn¡¯t shown any sign of lowering?¡±

    Sure enough, Yun Jianyue was distracted. She moved closer to Yu Yanluo¡¯s World Painting and saw that the small river had already be arge, roaring one. There was already arge amount of spring water inside, and yet the spring still showed no sign of drying up.

    ¡°Either this spring can produce this kind of miraculous spring water endlessly, or it¡¯s connected to arge body of water outside,¡± Yun Jianyue said with a sigh. ¡°This really is a treasure in itself¡­ It¡¯s a pity that we can''t take the entire thing.¡±

    Zu An was startled when he heard that. He drank the water, then pursed his lips, saying, ¡°There¡¯s a salty taste now, as well as the smell of the ocean.¡±

    ¡°The ocean?¡± The women were all stunned.

    When he saw their pure and innocent expressions, Zu An had to admit that the women of this world really were pure, even someone like Yun Jianyue from the Devil Sect. If they had been from his previous world, they would have already thought weird things. He said, ¡°Ahem, actually, this spring water isn¡¯t endless. The taste is already a bit different from before. This water was probably replenished from somewhere else. Of course, the effects of this water can¡¯tpare to the initial spring anymore either.¡±

    It was just then that Yan Xuehen groaned, and felt her body be a bit weak. The flow of the spring water being guided into the World Painting by her finger stopped too. However, she stillposed herself, then used several seals to fully seal up the water inside the World Painting. Finally, she exhaled and said, ¡°I am already at my limit. This is all I can seal inside.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve already moved at least half of the spring. Master, you¡¯ve worked hard. How about a shoulder massage?¡± Zu An suggested tofort her.

    Yan Xuehen immediately shot him a look and moved far away from him.

    Yun Jianyue couldn''t help butugh, saying, ¡°Kid, you really are daring. You even dare to take advantage of that stone cold woman.¡± When she saw how the two of them were avoiding each other so much, she didn¡¯t feel any suspicion.

    Meanwhile, Yu Yanluo did, but she had just asked Yan Xuehen for help, so she couldn''t really say anything. Instead, she said, ¡°I¡¯ll keep this spring in the World Painting for now. If big sisters ever need it, pleasee and make use of it at any time.¡± As for Zu An, he was already her lover, so there was no need to say anything more.

    Yan Xuehen clearly sensed the intimacy implied by those words. She felt a bit strange inside as she said, ¡°Considering how hard I worked to seal up this spring, that is one thing, but that witch did nothing. What right does she have?¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s eyes widened. She eximed, ¡°Stone cold woman, you seem to becking a beating! Didn¡¯t I watch over the surroundings this whole time? Let alone how I saved you before.¡±

    Yu Yanluo quickly advised them, ¡°Please don¡¯t fight! We¡¯ve already gone through so much, and we¡¯re already like sisters. Why is there a need for any distinction between us?¡±

    ¡°Who¡¯s her sister?!¡± Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen both blurted out at the same time, looking away.

    Yun Jianyue thought to herself that Little An was her disciple¡¯s man, so to some extent, she was Yu Yanluo¡¯s senior. Bing her sister after all this time really was a loss. Most importantly, it would be really bad if Honglei were forced to suddenly treat Yu Yanluo differently for the rest of her life¡­

    However, she immediately stopped thinking about it. Hmph, is our Holy Sect such a stickler for rules? Honglei and I will just do as we please.

    Yan Xuehen was feeling a bit guilty, because to a certain degree, she really had be sisters with Yu Yanluo. Could it be that she had noticed something, which had prompted her to say that on purpose? She thought, It¡¯s all Zu An¡¯s fault for ying around even in this kind of situation. She definitely noticed something¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +555 +555 +555¡­

    Zu An jumped in fright. Why had she suddenly be angry? He thought, The hearts of women really are mysterious as a sea and fine as needles.

    They suddenly heard angry roars getting closer and closer. As the Fiend Emperor and the Taowu fought, they gradually drew closer to the mountain. They were only around a kilometer from the spring. For cultivators, that wasn¡¯t arge distance at all.

    The group could already see numerous wounds on the Taowu¡¯s body. It definitely wasn¡¯t having a good time in this battle. However, there was no blooding out of its wounds; instead, there were strands of ck energy. They were clearly made of the same resentment that had lingered around Zu An¡¯s group for a long time. It was precisely because he had reservations about the resentment energy that the Fiend Emperor hadn¡¯t immediately killed the Taowu.

    ¡°We need to hurry and get out of here!¡± Yun Jianyue eximed, no longer in the mood to argue. However, she quickly saw that on the other side of the mountain was a bottomless cliff. Furthermore, there was ck mist swirling around, with all sorts of barely-visible ck creatures roaming around inside. They seemed to resemble crows somewhat.

    However, how could any crows in such a ce be normal crows? They were definitelying from the same source as the ck creatures the group had encountered along the way. This ce¡¯s naturalws restricted flying, too. If they jumped down, it would be hard to make it out alive.

    Still, Yun Jianyue didn¡¯t want to end up in the Fiend Emperor¡¯s hands again. She decided to take a gamble to survive.

    She was just about to jump when Zu An grabbed her, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t act rashly. I think I¡¯ve found a path.¡±

    Yun Jianyue looked at him in confusion and saw that he was pointing at the water. The women were all smart. Zu An had mentioned that the water tasted like seawater, so that meant there was a passage that probably led to the ocean below them.

    Zu An took the lead and entered the water. The women followed him. Soon, they disappeared from the mountaintop.

    The Fiend Emperor was shocked to see what was going on. He immediately activated the Puppet Curse to try to keep Zu An in ce.

    The Golden Crow eyes opened in Zu An¡¯s mind. However, a woman in red quickly appeared. She brushed her sleeves and snapped, ¡°Why don¡¯t you shut those back up!¡± Then, her sleeves turned into two cloth curtains, blocking the massive eyes.

    The Fiend Emperor was stunned. There was actually someone who could stop his Puppet Curse! Who was that woman in red? Even though her aura didn¡¯t seem that strong, he could sense a deep and profound feeling from her.

    However, he was still the Fiend Emperor. He quickly realized that the woman¡¯s technique only temporarily screened off his Puppet Curse, but couldn¡¯t truly get rid of it. She had probably achieved that by borrowing the chaoticws of the world. Once they returned to the normal world, she wouldn¡¯t be able to stop him.

    Even so, he felt a bit regretful. He had still underestimated Zu An after all. He wouldn¡¯t give him any more chances the next time they met.

    The Taowu¡¯s entire body turned into ck mist, and it fled into the distance while the Fiend Emperor was distracted.

    The Fiend Emperor didn¡¯t chase after it. The monster was strong, and the overflowing resentment all around it was too difficult to deal with. If he really wanted to kill it, there was a good chance that he himself would lose some of his life force. That was something he absolutely couldn¡¯t tolerate.

    ¡°Father emperor¡¯s cultivation is unrivaled as expected, undefeated throughout the world¡­¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince said, showering him with praises. Half of it was just ttery, while the other half was sincere. Even such a terrifying monster had been defeated!

    Wu Liang also ttered the Fiend Emperor like crazy; his choice of words was on a whole new level of flowery and colorfulnguage. Even the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief.

    ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough bootlicking,¡± the Fiend Emperor said. He just wasn¡¯t in the mood. With a brush of his sleeves, he brought the two of them to the mountaintop.

    ¡°This is a spiritual spring!¡± Wu Liang eximed. They had been able to feel the ki overflowing from the spring even from far away. Furthermore, itpletely swept away the effects of the resentment from before. Wu Liang even began to drool.

    However, the Fiend Emperor gave him a cold look. Wu Liang immediately said, ¡°Your majesty Fiend Emperor, please enjoy yourself. This humble one will stand watch outside.¡± Inwardly, he cursed, knowing that there was no way any of it would be shared with him.

    When he looked at the spring water, the Fiend Emperor¡¯s expression became somewhat zealous because he could sense a rich life force emanating from it. That was what he needed the most at the moment. As such, he opened his mouth for the very first time, sucking some of the water directly into his mouth. He had just fought a great battle against the Taowu, and had some ck energy around him; that energy immediately dimmed, thenpletely disappeared soon afterward.

    He roared withughter, eximing, ¡°It can actually replenish life force! It has prolonged my life by three years at the least, haha! This trip has not been made in vain!¡±

    But he quickly frowned and eximed, ¡°Huh? Why does it have the smell of urine?¡±

 Chapter 1393: What Is Going On?

    Chapter 1393: What Is Going On?

    Meanwhile, when he heard that the spring had prolonged the Fiend Emperor¡¯s lifespan by at least three years, the crown prince immediately felt his heart turn cold. After all, he had already waited for so many years! His father had already been about to die, and the position of Fiend Emperor would have been passed to him in a few days. And yet now, he had learned that everything would be dyed by three years, or maybe even more! How could he possibly stand it?

    However, there was nothing he could do about it. After all, the entire country belonged to his father, and there was too great of a difference in their cultivation. Even if he hated the situation, it wasn¡¯t as if he could try to steal the position.

    He could only console himself, thinking, Three years isn¡¯t that bad. It¡¯s not too long. For cultivators in particr, it could just be a single instance of secluded cultivation.

    Just then, the Fiend Emperor asked him a question, so he replied, ¡°Your son will give it a taste too.¡±

    If his father had gotten three more years added to his lifespan, he had to at least get three years himself too. When he saw that his father didn¡¯t stop him, he carefully kneeled down by the spring and took a sip. His eyes immediately widened, because the richness of the ki filled his entire body with afortable feeling. Additionally, the abundant life force made him feel as if he had gained much more than just three years.

    I¡¯ve hit the freaking jackpot!

    However, the taste was indeed a bit weird. He remarked, ¡°It really does seem to have a bit of a urine-like smell. Maybe this is the natural taste of this kind of rare spiritual spring.¡±

    The Fiend Emperor nodded and said, ¡°That is probably the case.¡±

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince said, ¡°Father emperor, since this spring can prolong your life, then please drink a bit more.¡±

    The Fiend Emperor was a bit touched. However, he replied, ¡°What a rare instance of filial piety. However, there is no need. The effects of this kind of substance are limited, and the higher one¡¯s cultivation rank, the more diminished the effects be. The fact that I was able to acquire three more years already leaves me satisfied enough. It is useless for me to drink anymore. Instead, you are the one who should drink more, as it will be of greater help to you.¡±

    ¡°Father¡­¡± The Golden Crow Crown Prince pretended to look really moved, but he sneered inwardly. He wasn¡¯t that ignorant. He knew that was just how it worked. Otherwise, he would be mad to ask for some of it.

    Then, he ¡®gratefully¡¯ took a fewrge gulps. A spiritual spring really was a spiritual spring. Even though it had a bit of a urine-like smell, there was still a slightly sweet aftertaste.

    Wu Liang couldn''t help but swallow when he saw the crown prince¡¯s intoxicated appearance. However, he knew that a captive like him definitely didn¡¯t have the right to enjoy such a thing.

    ¡°For some reason, this spiritual spring gives me a sense of imperfection,¡± the Fiend Emperor said with a frown, ¡°It seems to becking half of its contents, so its effects have been greatly reduced.¡±

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince immediately spat, ¡°It must be that Zu An bastard who stole half of the spring! That brat really is evil. We should have killed him a long time ago!¡±

    Even though he was saying it as if he were utterly furious, he was actually a bit grateful to Zu An. It was a good thing that Zu An had stolen half; otherwise, it might have taken even longer before he would seed the throne.

    The Fiend Emperor waved his hand, and a palm projection emerged to grab all of the spring water. That way, he would be able to pursue the fleeing Zu An.

    Wu Liang waspletely dumbstruck. The skills of an earth immortal really were inconceivable. Zu An and the others were definitely in for some trouble now!

    Just then, the Fiend Emperor frowned. Then, he waved his hand a few more times. In the end, he pulled his hand back with an overcast expression.

    ¡°Father emperor, what¡¯s wrong?¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince asked urgently. He really was worried this time.

    The Fiend Emperor said while glowering, ¡°This spring does not lookrge, but it is endlessly deep. They have escaped.¡±

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince said, ¡°Father emperor, do not worry; they will not be able to escape in the end. The spiritual spring water they took with them was definitely stored well too. As long as you capture them, you can get all of it back.¡±

    Inwardly, however, he was praying really hard that the little bastard Zu An wouldn¡¯t be caught.

    The Fiend Emperor was quite pleased. He felt that his son was bing more and more reliable. He waved his hand and sucked the spring water into his sleeves, storing it through some unknown means. He then said, ¡°Let us go.¡±

    When he finished collecting the water, he turned around and descended the mountain. With the spiritual spring¡¯s help, he didn¡¯t have to be as scared as before.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince was stunned, asking, ¡°Are we not going to chase after them underwater?¡±

    He regretted it as soon as he said that. Why do I have to always run my mouth off? If father really captures Zu An, I¡¯ll be screwed!

    The Fiend Emperor shook his head and said, ¡°It is toorge and seems to be connected to an ocean. Even if we look for him, we would not know where to begin. Furthermore, we Golden Crows are of the fire attribute and would be easily countered underwater.¡± Even though he could go underwater, he had a natural dislike for the water.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Father is wise and brilliant!¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince replied, immediately showering his father in praise. He asked, ¡°Then where should we go now?¡±

    The Fiend Emperor had just had his life prolonged, so his mood was quite good. He patiently answered, ¡°I sensed a familiar power in the distance. We should go and take a look over there.¡±

    In the corner, Wu Liang looked around. A familiar power? What does that mean?

    ¡°Hurry up,¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince said, giving Wu Liang a kick on the bottom. His father had suddenly gotten a few extra years for no reason at all, so he could only vent out his bad mood on the fatty.

    ¡°Yes, yes, yes!¡± Wu Liang eximed, continuing to bow his head. He thought to himself, You¡¯d better not let me escape, or else I¡¯m going to dig up your entire Golden Crow ancestral tomb!

    ¡­

    While the Fiend Emperor¡¯s group disappeared into the distance, Zu An¡¯s group continued to swim forward inside a water bubble. After breaking free from the Feather Mountain range, they seemed to have entered a vast ocean region, where Zu An had used his Blue Mard ability to create the bubble. As his cultivation grew, the bubbles he could create became much bigger too. That was why they weren¡¯t as cramped together as they had been before.

    The women were all sitting off to the side, as if they didn¡¯t want to get even a bit closer to him. They all stared at him.

    Zu An asked, sounding distressed, ¡°Why are you guys looking at me like that¡­?¡±

    ¡°You still have the nerve to ask that?¡± Yu Yanluo scolded him. ¡°Leaving is leaving, so why did you have to¡­ Have to¡­¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression turned serious as he replied, ¡°You all peeped at me, didn¡¯t you?¡±

    Yun Jianyue harrumphed. ¡°Hmph, who wants to look at your thing? Still, you¡¯re just too much of a scoundrel! You actually dared to act like that in front of us? If it were anyone else, I would have already cut it off.¡±

    ¡°I clearly had my back to you guys,¡± Zu Anined. ¡°That Fiend Emperor made us go through so much, I have to get back at him somehow.¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s face reddened. She said, ¡°If he found out that he drank your¡­ He would probably cut your corpse into ten thousand pieces.¡± With her understanding of the Fiend Emperor, there was no way he could refuse spring water infused with such a rich life force.

    Zu An was about to say something when his expression suddenly changed. He said, ¡°Be careful. There¡¯s a monster approaching.¡±

    Yun Jianyue shot him a look and retorted, ¡°Brat, was scaring us once not enough?¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t have enough time to exin. He rushed over and pulled the women behind him. At the same time, arge, bloody mouth bit down on where they had been. The bubble instantly ruptured, and they fell into the water. When they finally saw what the attacker was, however, their expressions couldn''t help but change.

    It was a massive, octopus-like creature. Its tentacles seemed to be over a thousand meters long. At the center of all the tentacles was an enormous head. Two-thirds of that head was upied by a bloody mouth. The rows of sharp teeth within were like meat grinders, enough to tear any living thing into shreds. In its forehead were two giant redntern-sized eyes that stared directly at Zu An¡¯s group.

    Zu An felt his scalp turn numb as he asked, ¡°What cultivation realm is it at?¡±

    Yan Xuehen gulped and replied, ¡°I do not know, but it should be higher than ours.¡±

    Yun Jianyue snapped impatiently, ¡°Isn¡¯t that obvious?¡±

    Mi Li¡¯s fretful voice called out in Zu An¡¯s mind, ¡°An ascension soul grandmaster rank beast? Kid, how are you this unlucky? Why do you always run into ridiculously powerful things wherever you go?¡±

    She really was tired. Her soul was tied to his, so if he died, she could only die too. And yet, this guy didn¡¯t cherish his life at all, constantly provoking ridiculously powerful opponents.

    Zu An immediately became discouraged. Ascension soul? Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue were only at the wisdom soul level! This thing was a whole greater cultivation realm higher than them! Monsters were usually stronger than simr-ranked cultivators too. This thing was something not even Yan Xuehen or Yun Jianyue at their peak could defeat!

    What¡¯s going on with this Unknown Region? Why are there ridiculously terrifying creatures everywhere?

 Chapter 1394: Wisdom in a Crisis

    Chapter 1394: Wisdom in a Crisis

    They had just run into one of the Four Perils, the Taowu. The monster had filled the entire mountain with resentment and had strengthparable to the Fiend Emperor. Now, they had run into an ascension soul sea monster?!

    The ascension soul wasn¡¯t that far from the earth immortal rank. Furthermore, it was in its home domain, so even if the Taowu came over to mess with it, nothing good awaited it.

    Zu An thought to himself that his luck really was freaking terrible today. He even started to wonder if there was something wrong with the Unknown Region this time. Even though the previous Unknown Regions were dangerous, there hadn¡¯t been any creatures this terrifying. Now, he felt like a noob yer who had identally entered the highest-level dungeon.

    The giant octopus-like sea monster¡¯s tentacles swept toward them. However, Yun Jianyue harrumphed and took out her Crescent Ring, hacking at the closest tentacle. She had already recovered seventy percent of her strength by relying on the spring. She had much more confidence now than before.

    However, she was stunned to find that the monster sent her weapon flying with a singlesh of its tentacle. Even though her Crescent Ring wasn¡¯t a divine weapon, it was a heaven-grade weapon! It could cut through metal effortlessly, and yet today, it couldn''t even cut through the giant octopus¡¯ flesh!

    ¡°Be careful!¡± Zu An warned her. There were more tentacles sweeping toward her. Even though he had seen some tentacle works, actually leaving the beauties around him to be at their mercy felt entirely different.

    However, Yun Jianyue reacted quickly. Tapping her toes, she leaped backward like a mermaid, avoiding the attacks of the tentacles all around them. Despite that, she didn¡¯t even have a moment to catch her breath before more tentacles surrounded her.

    She recalled the Crescent Ring back to her side. Her hair that reached all the way to her bottom spread outward. Her face waspletely dark, her eyes full of killing intent. Her surroundings turned blood-red as she activated her domain, no longer holding back at all. Despite blocking all the tentacles, however, she was still trapped.

    Meanwhile, the temperature suddenly dropped. A trace of white crept across the azure seawater as part of it froze into ice. The Snowke Sword in Yan Xuehen¡¯s hands flew around gracefully, neutralizing the tentacles¡¯ vicious attacks one after another.

    Zu An noticed that whenever her sword tapped against the tentacles, ayer of frost covered their surface. However, they didn¡¯t really freeze.

    How terrifying was Yan Xuehen¡¯s Snowke Sword? When she used it in conjunction with her domain, any human cultivator, even those at the master rank, could end up instantly turning into a frozen sculpture. And yet now, this big octopus only had ayer of frost covering its tentacles!

    Comparatively, Yu Yanluo was in much more danger. Her cultivation was inferior to that of the two grandmasters. A tentacle quickly wrapped around her. Her failure to evade in time quickly resulted in more tentacles binding her firmly in ce.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An was shocked. He was just about to rush over to save her when he saw that Yu Yanluo suddenly reappeared a dozen or so meters away. Meanwhile, the tentacles also loosened their grip. It turned out they had only captured a drawing, which had already been torn to shreds.

    Zu An quickly used Grandgale to move over to Yu Yanluo¡¯s side. Her face was pale white, and she still felt fear as she looked at the giant octopus¡¯ tentacles. She exined, ¡°After seeing Paper Bride¡¯s methods, I also learned how to make a few substitutes.¡±

    She excelled in drawing, and drawings were made on paper, so their abilities shared many simrities. It had been easy for her to learn from reference.

    However, Zu An didn¡¯t have time to praise her, because many more tentacles swept toward the two of them. He took out the Poisonous Prick, thinking of teaching it a proper lesson. The Poisonous Prick was a weapon that seemed to contain its ownws and principles. As long as it could pierce through and cause a wound, this giant octopus would be dead for certain, despite being a terrifying ascension soul grandmaster.

    If it were any other ascension soul cultivator, he wouldn¡¯t necessarily be able to hurt them, but this octopus was too big. Furthermore, it was brandishing its tentacle at him. If he couldn''tnd a shot even in such a situation, he would be just like the national ser team¡¯s strikers from his previous world.

    Zu An was worried that its defense was too high, so he used the Star Shattering Imprint. His power increased tenfold as he thrust the Poisonous Prick at the iing tentacle.

    Spurt!

    Zu An cheered inwardly, because it hit! However, his expression immediately changed, because something wasn¡¯t right with the tentacle. It was too slippery, so his attack was deflected at an angle.

    The great octopus seemed to have been scared badly and immediately pulled back all its tentacles. A world-shaking roar echoed through the region. The giant octopus was clearly infuriated that it had almost died at the hands of an ant.

    You have sessfully trolled the Kraken for +999 +999 +999¡­

    Zu An felt a chill down his spine. This thing is called the Kraken?

    As the tentacles withdrew, Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue finally broke free and moved over to his side. They all tacitly agreed to turn around and run on the spot. They knew that even if they joined forces, they might not be a match for the ascension soul stage sea monster.

    Because their cultivations were quite high, they had been able to continue for a long time underwater without breathing. However, if they fought intensely, they definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to hold on for that long. Furthermore, when they were underwater,whether it was the speed of their attacks or their ki consumption, it would be several times more difficult to maintain than on drynd.

    ¡°What happened? Did you miss?¡± Yun Jianyue asked in rm as they fled.

    The women naturally knew how powerful the Poisonous Prick in Zu An¡¯s hands was, since they had teamed up with him to kill the Scaled Deathworm.

    Zu An raised the dagger in front of them. As they saw theyer of pink mucus around it, he said with a strange expression, ¡°That thing¡¯s tentacle is covered inyers of thick mucus. Not only did it have extremely powerful defensive strength, it also made my attack slide to one side, causing it to miss.¡±

    The Poisonous Prick was only a certain length, so he hadn¡¯t been able to stab into the sea monster¡¯s flesh at all. After learning that lesson, however, the Kraken wouldn¡¯t give him a second chance.

    ¡°This is bad. That sea monster is chasing after us, and it¡¯s much faster than us. We won¡¯t be able to get away,¡± Yu Yanluo said. She turned around and saw the giant octopus swinging countless tentacles all over, wrapping around them like a huge web. Her face became deathly pale.

    Women had a natural sense of fear and disgust toward tentacle-like objects. When they thought about being captured by those things, even Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen, who weren¡¯t scared of death, felt frightened. Zu An knew they would be captured soon, too.

    A resolute expression appeared on Yu Yanluo¡¯s face. However, at that moment, Yan Xuehen stopped her and said, ¡°Don¡¯t do it. There is too big of a cultivation difference between the two of you. Even if you unleash the Medusa¡¯s Eye at full power, you will not be able to petrify it, and will only destroy yourself.¡± She had personally experienced the highest level of the Medusa¡¯s Eye before, so she had the right to say that.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s hair fluttered around, and white light gradually spread outward from her. Meanwhile, Yun Jianyue also took out the Empress Lantern with a cold expression.

    Zu An quickly grabbed Yun Jianyue¡¯s hand and said, ¡°You two, don¡¯t be so hasty. I have a way.¡±

    He remembered that back in Brightmoon City¡¯s secret dungeon, he had personally witnessed Chu Chuyan using a certain forbidden skill to defeat Shi Kun, whom they hadn¡¯t been a match for at all. After using the skill, she had almost perished. Yan Xuehen had clearly taught her that skill, and the current situation was just like Chu Chuyan¡¯s back then. Even though he didn¡¯t know what Yun Jianyue was doing, he knew it definitely involved a simr method.

    To begin with, the two were injured. Using a forbidden technique to defeat an enemy this powerful could cause them to die on the spot, and it wouldn¡¯t even be guaranteed to save them.

    ¡°Are you going to use that e keyboard¡¯ or something again? If you do that, you will also die,¡± Yan Xuehen said with a frown. The Kraken was an ascension soul cultivator that had already cultivated a yin soul. The entire sea was within its control. Even if they traveled several dozen li away, they still wouldn¡¯t be outside its perception.

    If Keyboard Come were used to defeat the sea monster, with their huge difference in strength, Zu An would die first before it died.

    ¡°No¡­¡± Zu An replied. He didn¡¯t have time to exin. He took out the Scaled Deathworm¡¯s corpse from the Brilliant ss Bead and threw it at the giant octopus behind him. Then, he grabbed the three women and swam toward the ocean bottom.

 Chapter 1395: Finally Arrived

    Chapter 1395: Finally Arrived

    As soon as the Scaled Deathworm corpse that was hundreds of meters long appeared, the Kraken looked as if it were facing a great enemy. It couldn''t be bothered to chase after them anymore, and instead sprayed an endless stream of pink liquid at the Scaled Deathworm.

    Zu An saw that when he turned around. and couldn''t help but feel a bit strange. Don¡¯t octopuses spray out ink? Why is this stuff pink? He suddenly thought of something and stored the liquid that was on the Poisonous Prick into a small bottle.

    Yan Xuehen couldn''t help but frown when she saw that, asking, ¡°What are you collecting this stuff for?¡±

    ¡°This stuff looks special. It might be of use in the future.¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°Gross,¡± Yun Jianyue said with a look of disdain. The memory of the giant octopus¡¯ sudden appearance had clearly left her with a psychological shadow.

    Yu Yanluo subconsciously shifted to one side.

    When the Kraken saw that the Scaled Deathworm didn¡¯t have any reaction, it reached out and wrapped a tentacle around the worm¡¯s body, making sure to avoid its terrifying mandibles. The moment the tentacle touched the Scaled Deathworm, smoke rose from its surface.

    Zu An and the others were stupefied. They had seen how tough the Scaled Deathworm was with their very own eyes, and yet it was being corroded by this octopus so easily!

    The Kraken finally confirmed that the Scaled Deathworm was dead. Countless tentacles wrapped around the massive corpse, then sent it toward the monster¡¯s mouth. Even though it was far away, the cracking that followed was still clearly audible.

    Zu An and the others shivered. This octopus monster¡¯s mouth was too much! It had actually eaten the Scaled Deathworm just like that? It wasn¡¯t even going to peel the shell?

    Yun Jianyue asked with a grave expression, ¡°Little An, do you really have a solution? That monster has already created its yin soul. No matter how far we go, we won¡¯t be able to escape its perception.¡±

    She assumed Zu An¡¯s cultivation was too low and that he didn¡¯t understand the skills of those at that level, thus leading him to make an erroneous judgment.

    Yu Yanluo asked, ¡°Are you using that Scaled Deathworm to fill up that monster, so it won¡¯t be interested in us anymore?¡±

    Yan Xuehen shook her head. ¡°For creatures of this level, their desire for food is quite low. It already began fighting us, so it would not give up that easily.¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s face paled when she heard that exnation.

    Zu An said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I have a way.¡± Then, he didn¡¯t add anything else and instead took the women deeper, moving toward the ocean floor.

    For ordinary people, the pressure of the water would be enough to crush them into pancakes. However, all of them had high cultivation, so their bodies were tougher than that. They could resist the powerful water pressure. The deeper they went, however, the dimmer the light around them became. Eventually, their surroundings turned pitch-ck.

    When she saw that everything around them waspletely dark, as if a giant beast had opened its mouth around them, even the bold Yun Jianyue started to be a bit scared. She snapped, ¡°Little An, what the hell are you doing?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s scalp was turning numb too. Fear of the deep sea was something embedded deep within humans. However, he replied, ¡°Shh. Don¡¯t make any sound.¡±

    They had unknowingly arrived near the seafloor. There seemed to be cliffs around them, but there wasn¡¯t any light left. Zu An didn¡¯t want to continue down further anymore. As such, he opened up his clothes and took the three women into his arms.

    Yu Yanluo was one thing, but Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen were stunned and humiliated. However, after being around Zu An all this time, they knew that even though he was a bit perverted, he definitely wouldn¡¯t let it consume him in such a situation. Even though they were confused, they didn¡¯t say anything.

    Rumble!

    They heard a loud noise, as if something heavy had fallen. The surrounding seawater surged. Zu An¡¯s party all had high cultivation. Even though it was pitch-ck around them, they could more or less sense what was happening through their souls and the surrounding energies.

    A massive skeletony a hundred meters or so from them. It was around three hundred meters long, and it was broken in several ces. Many scales were scattered around it. It was the Scaled Deathworm¡¯s skeleton!

    Several insect-like creatures suddenly emerged from many directions. The bugs crawled onto therge skeleton and began to chew it. There were even some that still seemed unsatisfied and made their way into the joints to gorge themselves.

    Zu An¡¯s party was stupefied. Normal bones were already hard enough, let alone those of a grandmaster rank Scaled Deathworm! Just how terrifying were these bugs¡¯ teeth and digestive systems, for them to be able to eat even bones that tough? They all sighed. They had never expected such a formidable beast to be devoured without even leaving behind any bones.

    However, the women immediately grew worried. Even though the ce waspletely dark, with their cultivation, they could still ¡®see¡¯ things at such a distance. The octopus¡¯ cultivation was even higher than theirs, so how could it not sense them?

    Just then, the water currents rippled. A huge ck mass appeared near them. All of them were so nervous their hearts felt as if they would jump out of their chests, because it was the terrifying octopus monster!

    Then, Zu An spoke to them through ki. ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous. I¡¯ve used my Hidden in the Dark ability. As long as we¡¯re in absolute darkness, we can avoid its perception. Pull back your perception and don¡¯t let your soul wander, or else you¡¯ll expose us.¡±

    ¡°Not bad, Little An. You actually had such a formidable skill,¡± Yun Jianyue remarked, feeling surprised and happy.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s face suddenly reddened. Back then, when this guy had been hidden in her sheets and Yun Jianyue hadn¡¯t noticed a thing when she checked the room, she had found it a bit strange. So it was because of this skill!n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    How does this guy have so many weird skills? And all of them are so good for illicit things, no less!

    Meanwhile, Yu Yanluo leaned into Zu An¡¯s embrace with a proud expression.

    Perhaps the Kraken sensed something, as it began to slowly wander over toward them. Its tentacles, which were hundreds of meters long, wandered around in all directions, as if they were checking for anything suspicious. One of the tentacles actually came so close it was less than a meter from them, and they could even clearly smell its unique fishy stench.

    Even Zu An was extremely nervous. Even though he had hidden the three women under his clothes, he wasn¡¯t sure whether the skill would work on all of them. Thus, he had also used Blue Mard to merge their auras with the surrounding water. At that point, however, he could only leave things to fate.

    The three women were also extremely nervous. Even though they knew they had to remain as calm as possible for their hearts to be as still as possible, being in Zu An¡¯s clothes made their position even more intimate than ordinary couples. They could clearly feel his heartbeat, and his breath as he exhaled.

    Yan Xuehen then remembered that night in the Great Snowy Mountains. Back then, he had carried her just like that, strong and bold¡­

    Yun Jianyue was even more ufortable. With her status and nature, she normally wouldn¡¯t get so close to any man. She thought to herself that she had to create some distance when she had a chance, or else she would practically have given him everything already. Most importantly, this was her disciple¡¯s man, someone she couldn''t kill or steal. The subject really was something she couldn¡¯t help but brood about.

    Yu Yanluo pressed her ear against Zu An¡¯s chest, calmly listening to his heartbeat. She thought to herself, if the two of them could be together like this forever, how amazing would that be?

    Unfortunately, there were two women next to her who were in the way. Their rtionship with Zu An also seemed to have be different from before. Hmph, you thought I wouldn¡¯t notice anything?

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, the Fiend Emperor¡¯s group walked toward the center of the mountain range. Wu Liang did his best to scout out the surrounding terrain and recognize possible sources of danger. He had no choice, because once Zu An¡¯s group disappeared, it had be up to him to lead the way. If he hadn¡¯t had the skill to foresee danger, however, he would die first if they encountered any peril.

    Even so, they still encountered several waves of monsters. However, none of them were as terrifying as the ones they had encountered on Feather Mountain. Fortunately, he and the Golden Crow Crown Prince were enough to deal with it. The Fiend Emperor didn¡¯t even need to act.

    ¡°Your majesty, the path ahead is full of dangers. Let¡¯s take another path instead,¡± Wu Liang said after taking out a divination wheel and doing some calctions. The needle continued to spin crazily, leaving him utterly frightened.

    However, the Fiend Emperor didn¡¯t react at all, instead walking in the direction Wu Liang had said was dangerous. The Golden Crow Crown Prince immediately followed behind him. He didn¡¯t know which ces were dangerous, but he did know it was safest by his father¡¯s side. Wu Liang cried out inwardly in distress, but he could only brace himself and follow them.

    After they traveled for a long time, a cold, wailing wind blew past them. An indistinct voice seemed to call out to them, saying, ¡°You¡¯ve finally arrived¡­¡±

 Chapter 1396: Residual Effects

    Chapter 1396: Residual Effects

    Wu Liang nearly pissed his pants when he heard the voice. He asked while shuddering, ¡°Uh¡­ did we run into some zongzi, particrly thousand-year-old ones? No, ten-thousand-year-old ones¡­¡±[1]

    As someone who frequently went into tombs, he had often run into reanimated dead. After all, how could any tomb he found worth raiding belong to an ordinary person? Whenever one encountered a reanimated corpse, they would often be much more formidable than living cultivators.

    Such monsters were something in between the living and the dead. Death and corpse energy coexisted within them, and the world¡¯s ki was part of the mix as well. That often resulted in certain special creatures. Whenever Wu Liang encountered creatures like that in tombs, it was always extremely dangerous, and he barely made it out of those circumstances alive.

    Now, even the crown prince was getting a bit scared. He said, ¡°Father emperor, in my opinion, perhaps what Wu Liang said makes some sense. A noble does not run into danger for no reason. I think it might be better for us to leave now and take our time making a decision¡­¡±

    The Fiend Emperor said indifferently, ¡°It¡¯s fine. I actually want to see just what kind of creature is ying god inside.¡±

    He hadn¡¯t had many days of life left before, so he had acted extremely cautiously. But now that the spiritual spring had granted him three more years, he had much more confidence. If a dying person¡¯s life were suddenly prolonged, they would definitely have more things they wanted to pursue.

    Even for the Fiend Emperor, finding an Unknown Region was already an incredible fortune. He couldn''t squander such an opportunity and had to find the secret to immortality inside. As such, he ventured into the mist decisively.

    The indistinct voice spoke again. ¡°Very good, as expected of the Golden Crow bloodline. You have some guts after all.¡±

    Wu Liang and the Golden Crow Crown Prince were both shocked. This Unknown Region actually had a Golden Crow bloodline in it too?

    The Fiend Emperor frowned slightly, asking, ¡°Who exactly are you?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll know once youe here¡­¡± the voice said, seeming to be full of evil temptation.

    The Fiend Emperor snorted. ¡°Hmph, you¡¯re just dressing up as a god!¡±

    With a wave of his sleeves, a powerful pressure swept outward, scattering the mist ahead. He saw that directly ahead was a great mountain, which didn¡¯t seem to be any smaller than Feather Mountain in the slightest.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince quickly arrived at his side, saying, ¡°Father emperor, that voice is just way too strange¡­¡±

    The Fiend Emperor said indifferently, ¡°Do not worry. That Feather Mountain gave off a frightening feeling, but there is no such thinging from this mountain. Rather, it carries a faint sense of intimacy for me. There might even be an opportunity here.¡±

    Immortality was potentially on the line, so the risk was still worth it.

    Wu Liang whined inwardly, You two might feel close to it, but I only feel danger. Can I please stay behind? However, the Fiend Emperor was ruthless, so he didn¡¯t dare to say it in the end. He could only follow along with a sullen expression.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An¡¯s group was even more nervous than Wu Liang, because the giant tentacles were slowly moving around them. Now that they were so close, they could see the suction pads that covered the tentacles. Every single one of them seemed to have a small hole that continuously secreted mucus, making them extremely slippery. No wonder Zu An hadn¡¯t been able to cut into it earlier.

    Furthermore, they could clearly smell the nauseating fishy scent emerging from the tentacle. The women dry heaved and wanted to vomit. They all turned around and buried their heads in Zu An¡¯s chest.

    Zu An was about to cry. This smell was disgusting for him too¡­ but where was he supposed to hide? Can I bury my head in your chests? Of course, he could only think that quietly. There were so many of them present, so he wasn¡¯t brave enough to actually try it.

    Instead, he decided to focus on the tentacles. As they moved around, he also secretly changed his location. Otherwise, if they were touched by the tentacles, even if the sea monster couldn''t ¡®see¡¯ them, it would still sense that something was off.

    Fortunately, Hidden in the Dark was quite reliable. The giant octopus wasn¡¯t able to detect them. After wandering for a long time, the monster left angrily, as quickly as it had arrived. In a few moments, they could no longer see it.

    However, because it was so powerful, they worried that it was just doing so to fool them. As such, they weren¡¯t in a rush to leave and stayed in ce without moving.

    Now that the octopus was gone, the situation was no longer as tense as before. As soon as they rxed, they realized how awkward their positions were. Because they had been so nervous, even though they were surrounded by ice-cold seawater, they had broken out into a cold sweat. As they had then huddled up close to each other and grown warm, they quickly began to feel strange.

    Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen began to struggle, and were about to leave when Zu An stopped them and said, ¡°If you move away, I won¡¯t be able to conceal your auras anymore. We¡¯re finished if that octopus monster finds us.¡±

    The two women knew that what he was saying was true, so they didn¡¯t persist. However, the situation was still embarrassing. Yun Jianyue couldn''t help but ask, ¡°Little An, does it feel good to take advantage of us?¡±

    Even Yu Yanluo looked at him with a strange expression. Zu An quickly retorted, ¡°Am I the kind who takes advantage of others? I¡¯m worried about that octopus monster.¡±

    Mi Li sneered in his mind, ¡°So you want to put up an act? Then keep acting! I¡¯m going to sleep, since you¡¯re fine. Yawn~¡±

    Mi Li stretchedzily in Zu An¡¯s mind, fully disying her wonderful curves. She didn¡¯t wait for Zu An to reply, instead opening the door and disappearing.

    Zu An thought to himself, Did this woman open up a space in my mind? He felt kind of weird when he thought about how his mind was being entered and exited. Fortunately, it was big sis empress, so it was something he could ept.

    When they saw that his expression was clear, however, the women finally let him off.

    Yan Xuehen bit her lip and said, ¡°This ce is very strange. That spring was actually connected to such a vast ocean.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right. As expected of an Unknown Region. I¡¯ve never encountered such a miraculous sight in any other secret dungeon,¡± Yun Jianyue added, feeling greatly moved. She had an expectant expression. After all, danger and opportunity always rested side by side.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this a bit much, though? We¡¯ve just entered this dungeon, and yet we¡¯ve already encountered so many terrifying creatures,¡± Yu Yanluo said, her face turning pale. They might have been eaten up by the disgusting octopus monster if they made a single mistake.

    Zu An¡¯s expression was strange as he remembered what Mi Li had said. He thought, Do I really have a cmity ma constitution?

    Detective Conan has the constitution of a grim reaper, because the ones who die are always other people. But I¡¯m the one who¡¯s always in danger¡­n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The women eventually moved away from him, and began to talk about the danger they had been in.

    ¡°Stone cold woman, wasn¡¯t I pretty cool earlier? I wasn¡¯t hurt at all even while facing an ascension soul monster¡¯s attacks.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, those are just reckless skills. In my opinion, it is not as pretty as little sister Yu¡¯s substitution technique. She was actually able to break free from those tentacles¡¯ encirclement.¡±

    ¡°Little sis Yu¡¯s skill was indeed pretty. Hm? Stone cold woman, did you do something shameful? Why are you always praising little sis Yu?¡±

    ¡°Witch, what kind of nonsense are you saying?!¡±

    ¡°Big sisters, please don¡¯t fight anymore. Don''t you think that the tentacles earlier smelled really bad?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right. Even just thinking about it grosses me out.¡±

    ¡­

    As Zu An watched the women chat spiritedly, he noticed that perhaps because they were getting too worked up, their faces had all turned slightly red, which made them look even more alluring. Furthermore, their voices were all sweet and lovable. It was as if they were cute girls acting spoiled.

    Zu An suddenly shivered. Wait, with Yun Jianyue¡¯s domineering nature, how can I describe her like that?

    Also, Yan Xuehen is usually cold like ice. She¡¯d be even less likely to act that way.

    The two women also noticed that something was off. Yun Jianyue widened her eyes, eximing, ¡°Something¡¯s not right!¡±

    She and Yan Xuehen exchanged a look. They quickly eximed, ¡°It¡¯s that pink mucus!¡±

    Both of the women instantly left Zu An¡¯s arms, their cheeks burning up.

    Yu Yanluo was scared, asking, ¡°What are you two doing?¡±

    Yun Jianyue quickly said, ¡°It has nothing to do with you.¡±

    Yu Yanluo was already in love with Zu An. Even if she had been poisoned, it didn¡¯t matter. However, it was different for Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen.

    Thus, Yun Jianyue quickly sat down on the seafloor to adjust her energies and remove the poison¡¯s effects.

    Yan Xuehen sat down at almost the same time. The water around her even began to freeze at a visible rate.

    1. ¡¯Zongzi¡¯ means sticky rice wrapped in bamboo leaves. He¡¯s implying that the dead have been wrapped up for a thousand years waiting for them. ?

 Chapter 1397: Too Early to Feel Happy

    Chapter 1397: Too Early to Feel Happy

    Yu Yanluo looked up at her lover and asked with a sweet tone, ¡°Ah Zu, what happened to them?¡±

    She could feel her body heating up a bit. All sorts of intimate scenarios with her lover appeared in her mind. She couldn¡¯t help but cross her legs, and eventually started to rub against Zu An¡¯s body. However, she was still an extraordinary person. She reacted quickly and cried out in rm, distancing herself from Zu An.

    Zu An pulled her back and asked, ¡°What are you following them for?¡±

    ¡°Ah Zu~¡± Yu Yanluo eximed, although she felt embarrassed and distressed as she looked at the two women who were adjusting their energies. It would naturally be fine if it were just the two of them, but there were still other people there! How could she do anything like that?

    Zu An circted some of the ki in his body, but he felt that everything was fine. He asked in confusion, ¡°What¡¯s going on with you all?¡±

    ¡°It seems that huge octopus¡¯ mucus is an extremely potent¡­ aphrodisiac,¡± Yun Jianyue said, her cheeks heating up. Her long hair fluttered around in the current and tapped gently against her bottom, making the usually bold and ruthless grandmaster look extremely lovely.

    ¡°We probably got some on ourselves when we fought against it earlier,¡± Yan Xuehen said. If she was normally an ice goddess, she had nowpletely plummeted down to the mundane world. She now had a slightly pitiful air that made others unable to help but think of ravaging her purity. She exined, ¡°That pink substance it sprayed at the Scaled Deathworm probably had simr effects. Even though we backed off quickly, we still could not avoid getting some on us.¡±

    Yu Yanluo was in awe. No wonder people loved calling Yan Xuehen a goddess! Even when she was afflicted with such a poison, she was still able to calmly exin its effects to everyone. That level ofposure really was shocking.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An gave the three women a look, then asked with a shrug, ¡°Then why am I fine?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re fine?¡± Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen¡¯s eyes widened in shock. They were an absolute mess, only holding themselves back through sheer willpower. Their voices even shook a bit while talking, and yet this guy waspletely fine! If they hadn¡¯t known what kind of person he was, they might even have thought that he was the one who had fed them poison!

    ¡°Could it be that your poison immunity blocked it?¡± Yu Yanluo asked, her eyes swirling with light. She was already stunning, but her current appearance even left Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue moved.

    As expected of the mother and daughter who even tempted the Fiend Emperor, as well as the human emperor.

    Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t think so. Even though I¡¯m immune to poison, it¡¯s only against killing poisons. I don¡¯t have too much resistance toward these kinds of drugs.¡±

    The women all had strange expressions. You¡¯re freaking immune to all poison, and yet you don¡¯t have any defense against this stuff? Is it on purpose?

    Zu An¡¯s thoughts moved quickly. He said, ¡°It seems that big octopus¡¯ poison is only effective against women.¡±

    The three women were shocked, eximing, ¡°This stuff even distinguishes between sexes? That octopus really is disgusting!¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, You guys have never essed the inte before. Those tentacled creatures are capable of all sorts of things. Now that he thought about it, it was pretty much the basic standard for tentacles to be able to secrete stuff like that.

    ¡°Hurry and bring us out of here! I¡¯m worried that the huge octopus will sense our auras. This is its poison, after all,¡± Yun Jianyue quickly said.

    Yan Xuehen actually approved of her suggestion for once. She really didn¡¯t want anything to do with that octopus, especially after learning that its entire body contained that kind of disgraceful poison.

    Zu An nodded. The poison was acting up violently in their bodies at that moment, so Hidden in the Dark wouldn¡¯t necessarily be able to hide their auras. If that huge octopus found them, they could end up meeting their end.

    First, he collected the Scaled Deathworm¡¯s scales. Even the huge octopus hadn¡¯t digested them, so they could be useful in the future. Then, he picked up Yu Yanluo and began carrying her on his back. After that, he wrapped an arm around each of the other two¡¯s waists, then quickly swam to the surface.

    The two women didn¡¯t resist. The first reason was because Zu An seemed to have a high affinity with water, so he was much more agile than them underwater; the second reason was that they were focused on suppressing the drug¡¯s effects. They didn¡¯t have any extra strength to move through the ocean.

    However, when his hand touched their waists, Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue¡¯s wonderful bodies both trembled. They were extremely sensitive at the moment, especially Yun Jianyue.

    Yan Xuehen had experienced the most intimate physical contact with Zu An before, so her body was already used to being carried by him. In contrast, Yun Jianyue¡¯s entire body felt as if it had been electrified. Ayer of goosebumps covered her body. It wasn¡¯t an ufortable feeling, but instead one that filled her with excitement and anticipation.

    Fortunately, she was a grandmaster with tremendous perseverance and willpower. She quickly clenched her teeth and snapped out of it. She was really ashamed, thinking, Yun Jianyue, Yun Jianyue, how can you be more disappointing than that stone cold woman? You almost made a fool of yourself! That¡¯s so embarrassing¡­

    Zu An¡¯s entire body was taut. On one hand, he had to be on guard against the octopus monster, and on the other hand, he also had to resist the temptation before him. The beauties he was carrying were really burning up, and their bodies seemed to be melting. Furthermore, their simple yet elegant fragrances were truly enough to drive any man crazy.

    ¡°Damn kid, if you dare to do anything disrespectful to me, I¡¯ll cut you,¡± Yun Jianyue said threateningly as if sensing his body¡¯s changes. However, she sounded weak and powerless, and her voice was extremely sweet. It really wasn¡¯t intimidating in the slightest.

    Zu An sighed and said, ¡°Big sis Yun, I think it¡¯s best if you don¡¯t talk anymore. Not only will it not scare anyone, it¡¯ll just cause more trouble instead.¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Yun Jianyue snapped, feeling furious and humiliated. She thought, Why isn¡¯t that stone cold woman saying anything, while I¡¯m behaving in such a disappointing manner? However, when she turned around, she saw that Yan Xuehen seemed to have fallen asleep and was naturally leaning against Zu An.

    This woman is so unreliable! she thought, although she felt startled and rmed. What is going on here? Why does she look as if she¡¯s alreadypletely submitted? With that stone cold woman¡¯s nature, that shouldn¡¯t be the case!

    ¡°Sigh, am I really someone who would take advantage of another person¡¯s troubles in your mind?¡± Zu An asked.

    Yun Jianyue was stunned. Right, in the time they had spent together, even though this guy always talked shit, he was still extremely reliable in moments of danger. She couldn''t help but feel a bit apologetic, saying, ¡°Sorry.¡±

    Zu An chuckled and didn¡¯t say anything else. He quickly swam through the waters while carrying them. Eventually, he finally saw the light above him. That was the ocean''s surface!

    However, they didn¡¯t have time to feel happy before a terrifying aura swept over them. A massive shadow was quickly swimming toward them. What else could it be but the octopus?

    ¡°Damn it!¡± Zu An eximed. At this point, he didn¡¯t dare to hold anything back. He rushed out of the water at full speed.

    Several dozen tentacles shot out of the water''s surface, wrapping around them. Zu An immediately summoned Grandgale to move aside. Unfortunately, the tentacles were just too long, and his movements were still within the tentacles¡¯ range.

    However, Mo Xi¡¯s Celestial Jade Pce sessfully activated, allowing him to immediately use the skill again. He avoided the tentacles by a hair.

    ¡°Wind Fire Wheels!¡± he quickly cried to summon the treasure.

    There was despair in the women¡¯s eyes, because they were still quite far from drynd. They couldn''t escape from the octopus¡¯ pursuit at all. Fortunately, Zu An reacted quickly. He didn¡¯t rush towardnd and instead flew into the sky. He quickly rushed into the clouds. Soon, the huge octopus monster seemed as small as an ant.

    The octopus brandished its tentacles, but Zu An¡¯s group was already out of its reach. In the end, it could only sink into the water again.

    ¡°How did you know it could not chase us into the sky?¡± Yan Xuehen asked, looking at Zu An with misty eyes. After all, it wasn¡¯t that hard for creatures of its level to fly.

    ¡°I actually took a gamble there,¡± Zu An said, wiping the sweat from his forehead. ¡°I decided to bet that, since it was a creature of the sea, it would be subconsciously less willing to leave.¡±

    ¡°It seems our luck is still quite good,¡± Yu Yanluo said, sighing in relief.

    ¡°It¡¯s still too early to feel happy,¡± Yun Jianyue said with a serious expression, looking into the distance.

    They looked in that direction, and saw a huge ck mass that resembled a cloud moving toward them. However, they all knew it wasn¡¯t a cloud, but rather a massive flock of strange birds!

 Chapter 1398: An Injustice from the Distant Past

    Chapter 1398: An Injustice from the Distant Past

    The strange birds were shaped like crows, but their bodies were muchrger than those of any ordinary crows. Nearly every single one of them was the size of a Chinese golden eagle. They were also extremely fast, letting out sharp and shrill cries. Zu An¡¯s party could sense their concentrated mass of killing intent even from far away.

    They now understood why the octopus monster hadn¡¯t chased after them. It turned out that there were many dangers in the sky as well!

    The octopus monster might have been able to throw its weight around in the water, but if it entered the air, it would no longer be able to swim around as it pleased and could just end up being eaten by the things in the air. Even though the birds were much weaker individually, when so many of them were gathered together like that, they would have enough power to devour it.

    Zu An¡¯s party felt a scalp-numbing chill. Even an ascension soul Kraken had needed to withdraw, so they naturally gave up on any thought of fighting too. They blurted out simultaneously, ¡°Hurry and run!¡±

    Before they even said anything, Zu An had already begun moving. He flew downward on the Wind Fire Wheels at a diagonal angle. Previously, he had already spotted a nearbyndmass. At first, he had been worried that those birds would catch up to them, because they weren¡¯t slower than the Wind Fire Wheels at all. If that happened, there would only be a bitter battle awaiting them. Unexpectedly, however, the birds didn¡¯t chase after them, but instead continued to fly forward, as if they were avoiding something and fleeing in the other direction.

    ¡°Are the Unknown Regions that dangerous? No wonder there have always been legends of how difficult it is to leave one alive,¡± Yan Xuehen said with a groan, copsing into Zu An¡¯s embrace.

    If Yun Jianyue had heard that at any other time, she would have already taken the chance to ridicule her. At the moment, however, she didn¡¯t sense anything off and instead replied in agreement, ¡°What do you mean difficult? It¡¯s practically guaranteed death!¡±

    Even though they were injured, they still had grandmaster rank cultivation. Furthermore, they already recovered seventy percent of their strength, so they were much more powerful than ordinary master rank cultivators. Despite that, they had already almost lost their lives several times.

    More importantly, just how much time had they spent in this dungeon? They had already encountered so many terrifying beings in a short time. It really was hard to imagine that someone could leave such a ce alive.

    Zu An said seriously, ¡°Actually, even though the Unknown Regions I explored before were dangerous, it wasn¡¯t this dangerous. I feel that something isn¡¯t quite right with this Unknown Region.¡±

    The women were interested to hear that. They were about to ask him for the details regarding the other Unknown Regions, but something suddenly stirred within them that immediately made them give up on those thoughts. All of them focused on suppressing the poison inside their bodies.

    Soon afterward, Zu An found a secluded grove and brought the others there. He helped them lean against arge tree and said, ¡°Let me help you all.¡±

    ¡°No!¡± the three women eximed. They opened their eyes at the same time, staring at him in embarrassment and annoyance.

    Zu An was stunned. He said with a bitter smile, ¡°All of you are misunderstanding. I¡¯m saying that I¡¯ll help you transfer your ki and remove the poison.¡±

    ¡°No need,¡± Yan Xuehen said, her face turning pink. She knew perfectly well what kind of feeling being treated by Zu An would bring.

    Yun Jianyue had seen what it was like when Yu Yanluo was being treated, so how could she dare to ept his help? She replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We just identally took in a bit, so there¡¯s no real poison and it won¡¯t affect us too much. Our own cultivations are enough to get rid of the poison. However, we need some peace and quiet, so please watch over our surroundings for us.¡±

    ¡°Ah, really?¡± Zu An asked, sounding a bit disappointed.

    ¡°You brat, it looks like you¡¯re disappointed!¡± Yun Jianyue remarked, shooting him a look. Yan Xuehen and Yu Yanluo also looked at him with ambiguous smiles.

    Zu An¡¯s face heated up. He protested, ¡°Of course not! I feel happy for all of you, haha. I¡¯ll just watch the surroundings for you three. Please focus on removing the poison.¡±

    The women thus retracted their gazes. They no longer dyed any further and tried to get rid of the poison as quickly as possible.

    Zu An looked around, but didn¡¯t really see anything dangerous nearby. He gave the vast sea a look, then turned to the boundless mountain range off to the side. He couldn''t help but sink into his own thoughts.

    In the past, he had always run into things that should only have existed in ancient China inside the secret dungeons. If he wasn¡¯t mistaken, this Unknown Region was rted to the Xia Dynasty. Only the Xia Dynasty would have so many connections to ancient mythology. Even something like the Taowu, one of the Four Perils, had appeared. He wondered if a divine beast that was even more powerful would appear. If that happened, it would be really bad.

    He suddenly thought of something and summoned Mo Xi. She was dressed in leather armor that covered her chest; there was a short tigerskin skirt around her waist. There was also a clearly visible corset around her belly. Her tanned skin glowed like honey, and she had a pair of firm and strong thighs. Her presence carried a kind of sexy yet dangerous allure.

    ¡°This is a secret dungeon rted to the Xia Dynasty. Do you feel anything familiar?¡± Zu An asked, looking at her with a hopeful expression.

    Mo Xi looked at him with her head tilted to one side, as if she couldn¡¯t feel a single thing; moreover, it was as if she were looking at an idiot.

    Zu An was speechless. It seemed he had overestimated her. However, when he recalled that her skill had just saved them, he couldn''t really say anything and just recalled her. He could only wait for the women to finish eliminating the poison, feeling utterly bored.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, the Fiend Emperor¡¯s group continued to walk toward the great mountain. Their surroundings were verdant and lush, but they didn¡¯t see a single living creature. Let alone birds, there weren¡¯t even any bugs.

    Wu Liang held a spinning divining wheel. He said with a sullen expression, ¡°There are no living creatures here, and yet it¡¯s a ce of absolute danger¡­¡±

    Perhaps because he had said something, the Fiend Emperor suddenly stopped. Before Wu Liang was able to feel any happiness, however, he was sent flying forward by a kick from the Fiend Emperor.

    I¡¯m finished! The Fiend Emperor wants me to scout out the way! Wu Liang thought, feeling his insides turn ice-cold. He thought to himself, if there really were any danger, wouldn¡¯t he be instantly ripped to shreds?

    Surprisingly, however, even after hended, the danger he had expected didn¡¯t happen at all. When he climbed to his feet again, he was shocked to discover that there was a tomb at the foot of the mountain. Beyond the tomb¡¯s gate were some ruined walls, and he could vaguely make out some statues. However, most of them had already been eroded by weather, so there were only some stone foundations left.

    When he saw the old tomb, his eyes immediately lit up. All of his fear was immediately shoved into the back of his mind. He began to study the surroundings; at times he examined the ruined sculptures, and at other times the carvings. Then, he took out his divining wheel and checked the surroundings, as if he were measuring something.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Upon seeing his behavior, the Fiend Emperor then hurried over with the Golden Crow Crown Prince. As he looked at the old tomb in front of him, his brow furrowed.

    ¡°This tomb seems to be a bit dpidated¡­¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince said with a frown. This tomb is already in such a terrible state. There¡¯s probably nothing good here anymore.

    In order to prove to the Fiend Emperor that he had some value so he wouldn¡¯t be easily sacrificed, Wu Liang quickly exined, ¡°Crown prince, you can¡¯t underestimate this tomb! Even though it looks extremely tattered, judging from theyout, the owner of this tomb was definitely someone on the level of an emperor when he was alive!¡±

    ¡°Emperor? Why is it so simple and crude then?¡± the Fiend Emperor asked suspiciously.

    ¡°ording to the choice of location, the way the tomb is facing, and all of these statues, everything indicates this is indeed an imperial tomb. Only, the scale does seem to be a bitcking,¡± Wu Liang said after thinking for a bit. ¡°There are a few possibilities as to why that¡¯s the case. The first is that when this tomb was designed, the ruler¡¯s country was already close to destruction, so they didn¡¯t have enough national power to build an imperial tomb. However, in my opinion, the different details of this tomb all seem to be in order, so that possibility doesn¡¯t seem to be the case.

    ¡°The second possibility is that the owner might have only upied his position for a short time and died young.

    ¡°However, there is a third possibility, which is that the emperor was someone who was chased off his throne, and so the scale andyout standards for this tomb had many more corners cut than usual.¡±

    As he was exining, a voice suddenly let out a long sigh and eximed, ¡°Hahaha, how many years has it been? There is finally someone who knows about my injustice.¡±

    Wu Liang shivered, then quickly hid behind the Fiend Emperor. The sound hade from the tomb, and the voice was exactly the same as the one that had led them here!

    The Fiend Emperor¡¯s expression turned grave. He looked in the direction of the tomb, eximing, ¡°Are you a human or a ghost?!¡±

 Chapter 1399: Ancient Hidden Truth

    Chapter 1399: Ancient Hidden Truth

    When it heard his question, the voice let out some neuroticughter and replied, ¡°I¡¯m both human and ghost, hahaha. I was unlike a human when I was alive, and I was unlike a ghost after I died. I¡¯ve already been neither human nor ghost for so many years. Which do you think I am?¡±

    The Fiend Emperor frowned and said, ¡°I do not have time to talk in riddles with you.¡±

    Wu Liang looked on admiringly. If it were him, he would¡¯ve already peed his pants from hearing the voice. After all, in all his years of tomb raiding, even though he had run into some undead creatures, there hadn¡¯t been a single one who could speak.

    ording to his ancestor¡¯s teachings, if one ever ran into anything inside of a tomb that could speak, one would probably be dead for sure. Either the undead being inside would have developed an extremely powerful intellect, or it would have been ridiculously powerful to begin with and lived for a long, long time. Regardless of which kind it was, that would prove how terrifying its strength was.

    The Fiend Emperor actually still had theposure to talk to the voice like that! As expected, that was the confidence of the strong.

    As if sensing the Fiend Emperor¡¯s impatience, the voiceughed and said, ¡°I can sense the Golden Crow¡¯s aura from your bodies. You two must be from the Golden Crow lineage, right?¡±

    The Fiend Emperor exchanged a look with the Golden Crow Crown Prince before replying, ¡°And so what if we are?¡±

    ¡°To some extent, I can be considered your ancestor from who knows how many generations ago,¡± the voice said dully.

    Wu Liang¡¯s expression was strange. Why did the voice sound as if it were cursing someone?

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince was startled. He quickly looked at his father. However, the Fiend Emperor replied calmly, ¡°Hah, do you think I would believe that?¡±

    ¡°Whether you believe it or not doesn¡¯t matter. After all, I¡¯m not your direct ancestor either,¡± the voice said. It paused for a bit, then suddenly said, ¡°Young one, I can sense a familiar aura from you. The Sun ying Bow should be with you, right?¡±

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince jumped in fright, eximing, ¡°How did you know?¡±

    Even the Fiend Emperor couldn''t help but frown.

    The voiceughed loudly, its voice echoing through the ce as it continued, ¡°That bow was a sacred object of my n in the past. How could I not know about it?¡±

    ¡°Nonsense. The Sun ying Bow has always been the Golden Crow race¡¯s divine weapon, so how could it belong to another n? Furthermore, you should stop trying to mislead others with your lies. I cannot sense the slightest bit of the Golden Crow¡¯s lineage from you,¡± the Fiend Emperor said coldly. If not for the fact that the other party had immediately deduced that they were Golden Crows and also sensed the Sun ying Bow, he wouldn¡¯t even feel like wasting so many extra words on it.

    Wu Liang was shocked. This being didn¡¯t have any Golden Crow blood? He had thought that since this Unknown Region was inside the Golden Crow royal family¡¯s tomb, it would definitely at least have something to do with the Golden Crow race.

    Judging from what it had previously said, the voice had imed it was one of their ancestors. If that were the case, everyone involved would be happy. However, it seemed that wasn¡¯t the case at all. Didn¡¯t that mean danger?

    The voice suddenly erupted into a strangeugh and eximed, ¡°Hahaha, I didn¡¯t expect that after so many years, the Sun ying Bow that almostpletely wiped out the Golden Crow race would start being treated as a family heirloom by the Golden Crow race¡¯s descendants!¡±

    The Fiend Emperor and Golden Crow Crown Prince were both furious, eximing, ¡°What kind of nonsense are you spouting?¡±

    The voice said, ¡°Since you could alle to this ce, that must mean you¡¯ve passed Feather Mountain, right? How did you two feel then?¡±

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s heart began to race. Back then, he had felt extremely ufortable for some reason. Even his father had felt the same. Otherwise, there would have been no reason for the Fiend Emperor to be so careful at all; furthermore, he wouldn¡¯t have had to make Zu An¡¯s group scout out the way, letting them escape in the process.

    Of course, the crown prince was an outstanding individual from the younger generation. After his prior rm, he had gradually calmed down. He didn¡¯t let those thoughts show on his face.

    The Fiend Emperor nodded inwardly as he watched his son.This youngster didn¡¯t waste all of my meticulous upbringing after all. He hasn¡¯t disappointed me.

    Even thoughthey didn¡¯t answer, the voice didn¡¯t seem to mind and said considerately, ¡°Even if you two don¡¯t say anything, I can more or less guess. The reason why Feather Mountain is called Feather Mountain is because your Golden Crow Ancestor was killed by the Sun ying Bow. It was formed from the bloodied feathers that fell from his corpse.¡±

    Even the Fiend Emperor¡¯s expression changed when he heard that. Combined with the strange feelinging from Feather Mountain, he was alreadyrgely convinced. He asked, ¡°Just what happened?¡±

    ¡°Heh, you¡¯re finally willing to listen to me now, hm?¡± the voice replied with a chuckle. It continued, ¡°It¡¯s already been too long, so I¡¯ve lost my perception of time. It might have been thousands of years ago¡­ No, tens of thousands, or perhaps hundreds of thousands of years¡­ Back then, the Celestial Emperor Jun had many, many wives. Among them, one wife was the Sun Goddess, Xi He. The two of them produced ten sons¡­¡± It stopped for a moment, then continued, ¡°... And those were ten Golden Crows, the first Golden Crows in the world.¡±

    The Fiend Emperor and Golden Crow Crown Prince both saw the shock in each other¡¯s eyes. The Fiend Emperor quickly said, ¡°Hmph, a load of nonsense. Our n has no such records.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s already been too long, so many things have already been lost. It¡¯s unsurprising that you don¡¯t know about it,¡± the voice continued. ¡°The Golden Crows all only wanted to have a good time, and often went out together. However, that simply made themon people suffer. In their eyes, it was as if ten suns shone overhead at the same time. The earth dried up, and the people had no way to make a living.

    ¡°Later, an outstanding hero appeared among the humans called Yi[1]</a>. The Celestial Emperor bestowed upon him a red bow, and in order to save the people, he used the bow to shoot down nine of the Golden Crows. Back then, the bloodied feathers from those Golden Crows fell and formed a great mountain, which is the Feather Mountain we now know. Thest Golden Crow remained, though. He came and went from east to west obediently, and became the sun in the sky. That¡¯s why, over time, the red bow came to be called the Sun ying Bow.¡±

    Wu Liang was stupefied when he heard the story. The Golden Crow royal family normally always acted so cocky, he had never expected them to have such a miserable past. Furthermore, they had been killed off by the very same Sun ying Bow they were so immensely proud of! Although he felt happy about their misfortune, his smile suddenly stiffened. Now that he knew the true story, wouldn¡¯t he be silenced after the fact?

    The Fiend Emperor¡¯s expression changed several times. He harrumphed and said, ¡°What an interesting story. Unfortunately, I do not believe it.¡±

    The voice said in amusement, ¡°You say you don¡¯t, but whether or not you really believe it, you understand yourself best.¡±

    The Fiend Emperor replied with a frown, ¡°You did not call us all the way here just to tell us this nonsensical story, did you?¡±

    ¡°Do you know who I am?¡± the voice said with a sigh.

    ¡°You have deliberately obscured your identity for so long. Who knows what you are?¡± the Fiend Emperor snapped, his voice turning a bit cold. ¡°My patience is limited.¡± With his cultivation and status, who else would dare to pretend to be mysterious in front of him like that?

    ¡°I already said before that the Celestial Emperor had many wives, and one of them gave birth to your Golden Crow race¡¯s ancestors. Another wife gave birth to my father. Putting all of that together, your Golden Crow Ancestor is my uncle. That¡¯s why I said I could be considered your ancestor,¡± the voice replied.

    The Fiend Emperor and the Golden Crow Crown Prince were speechless.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Meanwhile, Wu Liang¡¯s mouth hung wide open. There was actually something so incredible in this tomb?

    The Fiend Emperor took in a deep breath before saying, ¡°If you were only trying to take advantage of us, I can only say that you have already sessfully angered me.¡±

    ¡°I apologize, but after being sealed up here for so long, I¡¯ve finally managed to find someone to converse with. I can¡¯t help but be a bit long-winded,¡± the voice replied. It chuckled a few times and said, ¡°Back then, my grandfather passed on the imperial throne to my father. Many yearster, my father then passed it onto me in his old age. However, a certain shameful individual had rapacious designs and secretly raised many assistants and aides. In the end, they turned my father into their puppet, and a bunch of traitors usurped my throne. He still wasn¡¯t satisfied with just that; he even attached all sorts of terrible usations to my name to deceive the world, to say that was the reason why my father gave the throne to him.¡±

    Wu Liang suddenly realized what was happening. No wonder even though the tomb was built to an imperial standard, whether in terms of the scale or the design, it was toockingpared to a real imperial tomb. It turned out to have really been a deposed emperor!

    The Fiend Emperor sneered, saying, ¡°I thought you were someone, so I patiently listened to what you had to say. However, it turns out you were just trash who had his throne seized from him.¡±

    ¡°Judging from my observations, it doesn¡¯t seem as if you have much of your life left,¡± the voice suddenly said with a sneer. The Fiend Emperor¡¯s expression changed, but the voice continued, ¡°Are you not curious at all to know how I was able to live for so long?¡±

 Chapter 1400: Ascension

    Chapter 1400: Ascension

    Wu Liang waspletely stupefied. He had thought that what was in the tomb was an ancient zombie, but judging from what he was saying, he seemed to still be alive! How was that possible?

    Ever since ancient times, living past a thousand years had always been extremely difficult. Usually, that could only be achieved through certain races¡¯ special talents. Meanwhile, the human race¡¯s lifespan was far shorter than that.

    Just how many tens of thousands of years had the tomb existed? And yet, the person inside was actually still alive? Thatpletely defied the logic of the cultivation world! If news of that got out, it would definitely cause a huge uproar.

    He was even starting to be a bit excited. Didn¡¯t this mean a tremendous opportunity for him? If he could obtain eternal life¡­ Just the thought of that alone already made it hard for him to contain his excitement.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s expression changed greatly. He was still young, so he still had a lot of his life left. For him, eternal life wasn¡¯t all that pressing an issue. On the other hand, if his father really did obtain eternal life, wouldn¡¯t that mean he would remain the crown prince for the rest of his life? The Fiend Emperor position that had nearly been at hand was about to disappear¡­ just how painful of a realization was that?

    In contrast, the Fiend Emperor¡¯s eyes burned with desire. He hurriedly asked, ¡°Why were you able to live for so long?¡± However, he wasn¡¯t an ordinary person. He quickly forced himself to calm down and ask, ¡°What do you want?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re an intelligent person, as expected,¡± the voice replied with a chuckle. ¡°So, just patiently listen to what I have to say first.¡±

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince quickly advised the Fiend Emperor, ¡°Father emperor, you need to be careful. This person might have some kind of trap set up to try to keep us here! In my opinion, we should look around elsewhere so Zu An¡¯s group does not gain the upper hand on us.¡±

    The Fiend Emperor hesitated when he heard that. That youngster Zu An had too many secrets around him. In so many years, that kid was the first one he couldn''t see through. Zu An could actually end up obtaining some opportunity before him!

    Just then, the voice remarked mockingly, ¡°It looks as if this son of yours doesn¡¯t want you to gain eternal life¡­ But that¡¯s to be expected. This kind of thing is all toomon among royal families.¡±

    The Fiend Emperor¡¯s expression immediately grew sharp. He stared directly at the Golden Crow Crown Prince.

    In truth, he sensed that the voice was trying to sow dissent. At his age, however, he cared too much about eternal life. Those who cared too much about something would often be somewhat ignorant and blind.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince quickly exined, ¡°Father emperor, do not listen to his nonsense! I would not dare to have such thoughts.¡±

    The Fiend Emperor harrumphed. ¡°We will listen to what he has to say before we make any decisions.¡±

    After what had just happened, the Golden Crow Crown Prince didn¡¯t dare to say anything else. Inwardly, however, he was already cursing endlessly at this ¡®ancient ancestor¡¯ of theirs.

    ¡°That¡¯s more like it,¡± the voice in the tomb said with augh. It added, ¡°After speaking for so long, I still don¡¯t know your names, though.¡±

    The Fiend Emperor frowned. There were some sinister skills that allowed one to do terrible things to another through knowing their name. However, such methods usually required a hair or fingernail too. As long as he took care of those things, he didn¡¯t have to worry. He replied, ¡°You can call me the Fiend Emperor.¡±

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince said, ¡°I am the Golden Crow Crown Prince.¡±

    Wu Liang began, ¡°I am¡­¡±

    Before they even finished their sentences, the one in the tomb cut them off. ¡°You all speak so boldly, and yet you don¡¯t even have names and are instead just called by your titles.¡±

    Wu Liang opened and closed his mouth a few times. He felt really depressed. It was as if the voice didn¡¯t even consider him a person.

    The Fiend Emperor said coldly, ¡°This is what our race has always been like. Only those of the noblest status have the right to use their titles in ce of their names.¡±

    ¡°Fine, whatever you say,¡± the voice said, seemingly with a hint of disdain. However, it didn¡¯t press the issue, and instead dered, ¡°I am Dan Zhu! My title is Emperor Dan Zhu!¡± His deration almost seemed to be apanied by an austere air.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The Fiend Emperor remarked with a hint of contempt, ¡°Emperor? ording to what you said, you were not even an emperor for that long. Can even someone like you use that title?¡±

    The voice was speechless. Then, it let out a long sigh and replied, ¡°What you said is right. I am indeed trash, hahaha~¡±

    When he heard the voice beginning to sound a bit deranged, the Fiend Emperor was suddenly worried that he might have ruined his prospects of achieving immortality. He quickly asked, ¡°If you were the inheritor of the previous emperor, how did you let another seize the throne so easily?¡±

    The voice returned somewhat to normal upon hearing that, but intense hatred suddenly took over as it said, ¡°That¡¯s because the one who seized the throne was also from the royal family. His name was Shun, and his ancestor was previously an emperor too.

    ¡°Many, many generations ago, we had amon ancestor called the Yellow Emperor. Later on, the Yellow Emperor ascended and passed the position to his son Shao Hao, who was my generation¡¯s ancestor. He was called the White Emperor by the people.¡±

    The Fiend Emperor felt moved. He asked, ¡°The ascension you speak of, is it death?¡±

    The voice said coldly, ¡°Ignorant. Of course it is as the word implies; he ascended into the world of the immortals.¡±

    The Fiend Emperor¡¯s eyes began to burn with desire. He eximed, ¡°There really are immortals in this world?¡±

    Even though he was called an earth immortal by the people of the world, no matter how great he was, he was merely an immortal of the mundane world. He was still too far from a real immortal. After so many years, despite the emergence of all kinds of stunning geniuses, there had never been anyone who could truly be immortal. After so long, people had begun to suspect that the earth immortal rank was simply the limit of cultivation.

    The Fiend Emperor had been stuck at that level for so many years. At first, he had also shared simr suspicions. Only in his final years had he vaguely sensed that the earth immortal rank wasn''t the upper limit. However, he didn¡¯t have the first clue as to how to take another step.

    ¡°Why are you making such a fuss about something like that? There are plenty who have ascended. For example, your Golden Crow Ancestor¡¯s father Dijun also ascended, which is why the throne was passed onto my father,¡± the voice harrumphed with an air of superiority.

    The Fiend Emperor finally couldn''t hold it in anymore and voiced his cultivation concerns. ¡°Just what is ascension¡­¡±

    The voice cut him off impatiently, saying, ¡°Right now, your job is to listen, not to ask me questions.¡±

    After he heard about the existence of ascension, the Fiend Emperor¡¯s attitude noticeably changed somewhat. He replied, ¡°Please speak!¡±

    Wu Liang was stupefied as he watched from a corner. His worldview had really widened today! He had actually learned of such a great secret!Even if I die now, it might be worth it¡­ Pah pah pah! I don¡¯t want to die.

    The voice from the tomb continued. ¡°After the White Emperor ascended, the imperial throne initially should¡¯ve been taken over by his son. However, his nephew Zhuan Xu took the throne instead. Zhuan Xu was known by the people as the ck Emperor. From then on, the White Emperor and ck Emperor¡¯s bloodlines shared many conflicts and grudges¡­

    ¡°The ck Emperor remained in his position for many, many years. When he departed, the position was likewise stolen by his nephew. His nephew was from our White Emperor lineage, and was your Golden Crow Ancestor¡¯s father, Dijun. Dijun passed the throne to his son Dizhi, but he only had the throne for a short time. The throne quickly ended up being abdicated in favor of his younger brother Yao, who was my father, Emperor Yao.

    ¡°The world enjoyed many years of peace and prosperity, but eventually, all sorts of disasters arose. There were droughts and floods, as well as all kinds of terrifying beasts that ravaged the people. My father had no choice but to raiserge amounts of subordinates to deal with those issues.

    ¡°Among them, there was nock of descendants of Zhuan Xu, such as Gun and Shun¡­ Because the ck Emperor had already left for many years, his descendants knew their ce. That was why my father lowered his guard and gave them too much authority. Those people took the chance to grow. Among them, Gun was the most powerful. However, Shun had always been extremely respectful, so with his help, my father killed Gun on Feather Mountain. His corpse is also at the bottom of the Feather Abyss.¡±

    The Fiend Emperor and the others¡¯ expressions changed several times. They thought to themselves,Could the Feather Abyss be the very first ce we entered?

    The voice continued, ¡°However, he hadn¡¯t expected Shun to be so full of ambition. Without Gun keeping him in check, his strength climbed to a level where it couldn''t be controlled anymore. In the end, when my father was cultivating in seclusion, Shun plotted against him and sealed him up.

    ¡°At first, I waspletely in the dark and thought my father had ascended. After that, Shun treated me as the emperor at first, but eventually used some baseless usations to depose me. Only then did I realize his rapacious designs.¡±

    The Fiend Emperor sneered. This guy had to be ridiculously stupid, only realizing it at that point. However, since he was the one who needed things from the voice, he couldn''t say anything that sounded too bad. He asked, ¡°Did you tell me these things because you wanted my help with something?¡±

    ¡°Very clever!¡± The voice became a bit more excited as it replied, ¡°I need you to help me undo my father¡¯s seal!¡±

 Chapter 1401 Goldenrain Immortal Fruit

    <h4>Chapter 1401: Goldenrain Immortal Fruit</h4>

    ¡°Seal?¡± The Fiend Emperor repeated with a frown. Could it be that this ancient emperor still hadn¡¯t perished and was only sealed?

    ¡°Correct,¡± the voice in the tomb said. ¡°When my father was on his throne, many terrifying beasts roamed the world. The most powerful among them were named the Four Perils. The Four Perils were subdued by my father, so they naturally carried great resentment toward him. As such, Shun had the four perils respectively apply a seal, setting up a powerful formation that has suppressed my father for all these years.¡±

    ¡°Four Perils¡­¡± The Fiend Emperor silently repeated those words. There was no expression visible on his face.

    Meanwhile, Wu Liang was about to piss his pants. Those Four Perils didn¡¯t sound as if they should be bothered at all! They could even suppress the ancient emperor! The emperors back then were all dominating figures capable of ascension, so they had to at least be stronger than the earth immortals of the present, right? Unfortunately, he knew it would be useless even if he said anything. He wasn¡¯t the one who made the decisions, and could only try to look for opportunities to slip away.

    That voice in the tomb exined, ¡°The Four Perils are the Hundun, Qiongqi, Taowu, and Taotie. Right, since you all came from Feather Mountain, you should have already met the Taowu. I sensed its aura.¡± n(0ve)lbIn.cOm

    The Fiend Emperor¡¯s expression changed a bit. The monster he had encountered in Feather Mountain appeared in his mind. He hadn¡¯t expected that any random one of the Four Perils would already have strengthparable to his own. It also bore powerful resentment energy that was enough to corrode his life force, which made it really tricky for him to fight it. So what kinds of creatures were the other three perils? Even someone as powerful as him could end up in danger!

    The voice continued, ¡°Do you still recall that in my father¡¯s reign, the ck Emperor¡¯s descendant Gun fought against Shun? Heh, the Taowu was created from none other than the resentment he carried after his death. I sensed its return to this world. If I¡¯m not mistaken, you¡¯ve already undone one seal.¡±

    ¡°Undone a seal?¡± The Fiend Emperor and Golden Crow Crown Prince repeated, stunned.

    Wu Liang realized something and eximed, ¡°That giant tortoise statue by Feather Abyss!¡±

    Even the Golden Crow Sacred Fire couldn''t hurt it at all. It had taken the Fiend Emperor¡¯s full powered strike to break it open.

    The Fiend Emperor knew that Wu Liang excelled in mechanisms and formations. That kind of deduction likely wasn¡¯t far from the truth.

    ¡°That¡¯s why we only need to undo three more seals, and then my father can return to this world. Then, everything will go back to normal, haha!¡± The voice began tough maniacally when he thought about his father¡¯s return.

    ¡°Why should I help you?¡± the Fiend Emperor asked, unfazed.

    ¡°Your Golden Crow Ancestor was my father¡¯s blood brother. Both of you are the White Emperor¡¯s descendants. Do you think that if he learned the truth, he would let the ck Emperor¡¯s bloodline steal our White Emperor¡¯s world?¡±

    The Fiend Emperor harrumphed and replied, ¡°I do not care about a White or ck Emperor; those are all things from tens of thousands of years ago. Open your eyes and look. The world has already changed. No one cares about those two anymore. I am already an emperor myself; I do not need any of those so-called ancestors.¡±

    The voice in the tomb roared, cursing him for forgetting his roots. However, after cursing for a while, it seemed to have gotten tired and gradually calmed down. Instead, it asked, ¡°It is fine if you do not acknowledge our ancestors, but you still want eternal life, right?¡±

    The Fiend Emperor replied with a sneer, ¡°Why else do you think I had the patience to listen to you talk about all of these nonsensical things?¡±

    ¡°That means it¡¯s even more important for you to undo those seals. When the timees, my father can help you with much of your worries,¡± the voice said, acting as if its ns were a foregone conclusion.

    ¡°In my opinion, it might not be so troublesome,¡± the Fiend Emperor said with a cold snort. ¡°Either way, you have managed to live for such a long time already. It should be the same if I ask you.¡± As soon as he said that, he brandished his palm and smashed a huge hole in the tomb¡¯s main entrance.

    Wu Liang stared at the entrance and inadvertently blurted out that such tomb entrances were usually the sturdiest locations, created from untold amounts of Dragonbane Stone. Whenever he raided a tomb, he would enter from the side, and yet the Fiend Emperor had actually sted it open with a single palm¡­

    The Fiend Emperor didn¡¯t stop and headed directly into the tomb. At that point, his attention waspletely focused on eternal life. He wasn¡¯t in the mood to pay any attention to Wu Liang at all.

    Wu Liang intended to seize the chance to run when the Golden Crow Crown Prince picked him up, saying, ¡°Go, we¡¯re heading in too.¡±

    Wu Liang inwardly ¡®greeted¡¯ eighteen generations of his ancestors, but he didn¡¯t dare to resist. Moreover, even though the Fiend Emperor had already gone inside, he could still kill him with just a single thought. Even if he fought against the Golden Crow Crown Prince, he wouldn¡¯t necessarily be able to win. The Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s reputation hadn¡¯t been earned through shooting his mouth off; he was actually strong.

    ¡­

    When the two of them entered the tomb, Wu Liang felt rmed as he watched the surroundings, saying, ¡°Be careful¡­¡±

    However, before he even finished his sentence, the Fiend Emperor already headed deeper inside. All kinds of mechanisms and formations were activated. In Wu Liang¡¯s mind, those were all traps that could kill an intruder without even leaving a single bone behind. However, the Fiend Emperor just waved his sleeves and brandished his palms at most. Often, he didn¡¯t even lift a finger, simply resisting the terrifying traps head-on.

    Wu Liang was so shocked his jaw practically fell to the ground. Whenever he raided tombs, he was like a young mistress who had to suffer in silence, always having to carefully guess what the lord of the tomb had nned. He had to guard against such traps carefully. Even so, he would often be left in a sorry state. However, the Fiend Emperor seemed to be able to walk straight through, unfazed. When would he be able to be so cool?

    The tomb was an imperial tomb in name, but it was actually extremely simple and crude. They arrived at the main throne room not too long after heading inside.

    ¡°What¡­ What are you doing?¡± the voice called out. It was no longer as mysterious and profound as before, but instead sounded a bit panicked.

    The Fiend Emperor wasn¡¯t in the mood to waste time with it, however. He brandished his hand and sent an invisible force st outward. The coffin exploded into pieces.

    However, all of them were stunned when they saw what fell out from inside. Nothing but a set of white bones emerged; they fell out and scattered everywhere. There was a jade-likeyer over the surface of the bones, speaking of the owner¡¯s cultivation when he was alive. However, they still couldn''t resist the corrosion of time, so all of them were dim. Furthermore, when they fell to the ground, many parts broke.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°It¡¯s been so many years! I¡¯m finally able toe out of this damned coffin,¡± the skeleton said as it suddenly sat up. Its jaw moved up and down, speaking the way it had before.

    ¡°So it was you who was ying all of these tricks,¡± the Fiend Emperor said in surprise and anger.

    The white bones didn¡¯t reply. Instead, the skeleton spread its arms, then seemed to breathe in. A look of pleasure appeared on its face; it was strange to be able to see an expression from a skeleton. It said, ¡°I am finally able to breathe free air. So it was this sweet and fragrant!¡±

    Wu Liang couldn''t help but mutter, ¡°Can you even smell in your current state¡­¡±

    The skeleton sighed and replied, ¡°You¡¯re right, I can¡¯t. However, I can imagine it.¡±

    The others were speechless.

    ¡°Why do you look like this?¡± the Fiend Emperor asked, giving it a cold look. Its aura was too weak. Forget about him, even the weak Wu Liang could easily kill it.

    ¡°What do you think I should look like? I¡¯ve already been lying inside for so many years, so of course my flesh has already disappeared,¡± the white skeleton replied, sounding as if it were talking about somethingpletely unrted to itself.

    ¡°Did you not mention eternal life before?¡± the Fiend Emperor eximed, his face darkening. ¡°So you were lying to me!¡±

    A terrifying pressure spread out and the entire tomb began to tremble. Large amounts of rubble fell from above, making it hard for Wu Liang in the corner to even breathe. The Fiend Emperor had clearly gotten worked up, expecting some more information about immortality. Now that he realized he had been fooled, he was truly angry.

    It was as if an invisible hand wrapped around the skeleton¡¯s neck, raising it into the air. It struggled frantically, but still couldn''t break free. It seemed as if it could be crushed to pieces at any time.

    As if sensing its imminent destruction, the skeleton finally cried, ¡°Goldenrain Immortal Fruit!¡±

    The Fiend Emperor was startled, asking, ¡°What is that?¡±

    ¡°Above the Great Deste Cloudrain Mountain is a red stone; on it is a Goldenrain Tree that producesimmortalfruits. If you eat them, they can prevent you from dying.¡±

    ¡°And is thatimmortalstate you are talking about your current damned appearance?¡± the Fiend Emperor asked fiercely.

    ¡°I was in a rush and only ate half of a fruit that hadn¡¯t fully matured yet. Of course, my cultivation wasn¡¯t enough either, so I couldn''t activate the true effects of theimmortalmedicine,¡± the skeleton said while clutching its throat. ¡°Even so, it¡¯s allowed me to live for an indefinite amount of time, to continue existing until now!¡±

    ¡°Where is that Great Deste Cloudrain Mountain you are talking about?¡± the Fiend Emperor asked, his eyes beginning to burn with passion again.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± the skeleton replied. When it saw the Fiend Emperor¡¯s expression change, however, it quickly continued, ¡°But my father does!¡±

 Chapter 1402: Soul Capture

    Chapter 1402: Soul Capture

    ¡°Your father?¡± The Fiend Emperor asked, sounding shaken.

    Dan Zhu was worried that the Fiend Emperor¡¯s hand would just end his life, so he didn¡¯t dare to keep him in suspense anymore. He replied, ¡°It¡¯s none other than that Emperor Yao I talked about before. Only the emperors who seed the throne know where these immortal medicines are. The immortal medicine I ate was a fruit that fell prematurely and didn¡¯t mature for various reasons. That¡¯s why I¡¯m stuck in this state that¡¯s neither alive nor dead.¡±

    The Fiend Emperor frowned and asked, ¡°If your father is an emperor, why would he give you an underripe fruit? Furthermore, you rose to the throne in the past too. Why do you not know?¡± This matter was rted to immortality, so there was no way he wouldn¡¯t be careful. He didn¡¯t want to be fooled.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you already? My father was suddenly schemed against in hister years, so he didn¡¯t pass on the throne properly to me at all. Many secrets were lost just like that,¡± Dan Zhu exined. ¡°As for the fruit I ate, it was something my father stumbled upon in his younger years by chance. At first, it was just treated as a treasure to be collected without any real use, but when I was forced to abdicate and at the end of my rope, I secretly ate it. That¡¯s why I was able to persist until now.¡±

    ¡°So that is why, if I want to talk to your father, there is no choice but to undo the seal the way you said, right?¡± the Fiend Emperor said with a sneer.

    ¡°You really are smart,¡± Dan Zhu replied. When he saw the Fiend Emperor¡¯s expression be unkind, he quickly exined, ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m trying to deceive you on purpose, but that it really is only my father who knows! If you can undo the seal and free him, he¡¯ll be extremely grateful!

    ¡°Besides, I¡¯ve been trapped here for so long that I hate Shun more than anyone else. What kind of status did my father have in the past? He was an emperor who dominated the world! In hister years, he was plotted against by his most trusted aides, so his hatred can only exceed mine. If you help him get revenge, why won¡¯t he be thankful to you?

    ¡°Furthermore, you¡¯re from the White Emperor bloodline too, so in a sense, you¡¯re his descendant. It¡¯s reasonable to pass on the undying fruit to you.¡±

    Dan Zhu fired off several reasons in rapid session. Then, he looked at the Fiend Emperor expectantly.

    The Fiend Emperor asked with a dull expression, ¡°Where are the seals you speak of?¡±

    Seeing as he had agreed, Dan Zhu was overjoyed, exining, ¡°The seal was applied by Shun. I don¡¯t know the exact details, but over the years, I¡¯ve thought about what happened back then countless times and formed some suspicions. Furthermore, you¡¯ve already undone the Taowu¡¯s seal, so those suspicions are most likely correct. Their seals are most likely rted to their respective characteristics. For example, the Hundun¡¯s is probably¡­¡±

    He then told them about his spections in detail. He added, ¡°Bring me with you. I can exin things if there¡¯s anything that you¡¯re not sure about.¡±

    The Fiend Emperor remained quiet for a while. Then, he suddenly said, ¡°There is no need for all of that trouble.¡±

    As soon as he said that, he raised his hand and thrust it through the center of the skeleton¡¯s forehead. His hand seemed to be intangible; the sturdy skull didn¡¯t receive any damage, and was unable to stop him at all.

    ¡°You¡­¡± the skeleton protested, struggling frantically. However, it was all futile.

    The Fiend Emperor quickly pulled out his hand again; in it was a glowing blue light that resembled the will-o¡¯-the-wisps often seen around tombs. The light in the center of his palm struggled, but no matter what it did, it couldn¡¯t leave his palm at all.

    The Fiend Emperor remarked with a sneer, ¡°Isn¡¯t this better? I can just ask you whenever I want.¡± Then, he closed his palm and the blue light suddenly disappeared.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Wu Liang shook all over when he saw that. It was the legendary Soul Capture skill!

    Those kinds of techniques really were too terrifying, because they meant death was never the worst that could happen. Ordinarily, death was a kind of release in its own right. However, if one were restrained and tormented even as a soul, that really would amount to a fate worse than death.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince swallowed with difficulty when he saw that. He didn''t dare to say anything else and instead searched the area around him. A whileter, he said in disappointment, ¡°This guy¡¯s burial objects are just too shameful. There are only some ordinary goods. There are a few things that might have been good, but they have already turned to dust after all this time.¡±

    Wu Liang inwardly thought, That¡¯s only because your standards are too high. One of you is the Fiend Emperor, while the other is the crown prince. The things they normally used were all of the highest quality, and the imperial pce was full of treasures. Of course, they wouldn¡¯t care about such burial objects. However, many of these things, if brought out into the outside world, would be enough to make cultivators go crazy.

    ¡°What kinds of funerary objects could someone like him who had his throne seized have?¡± the Fiend Emperor said indifferently. He also asked, ¡°What do you think about what he said earlier?¡±

    Sensing that his father was testing him, after some hesitation, the Golden Crow Crown Prince said, ¡°Father emperor, I believe that you should be careful more than anything. Even if we did what he said and undo that Emperor Yao¡¯s seal, the emperor would be grateful to us, but would he really give us something as precious as an immortal medicine?

    ¡°As for what he said about our bloodline being the same, that is even more nonsense. Forget about a few tens of thousands of years, even brothers can turn on each other because of benefits.¡±

    He gave Wu Liang a look after saying that. This guy had been sent by none other his lovely second brother to assassinate him.

    The Fiend Emperor nodded and said, ¡°Indeed. You did not waste my many years of cultivation.¡±

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince felt much more reassured when he heard the affirmation. He continued, ¡°Furthermore, who knows how high the cultivation of an ancient emperor might be? if he broke free, we would not necessarily be able to stop him. If he suddenly got another idea for some reason, we would instead be in danger.¡±

    ¡°What you say is not entirely without reason,¡± the Fiend Emperor replied. ¡°Not only is that Dan Zhu or whatever said unreliable, he s;dp harbors ulterior motives. How could I allow him to do what he wants?¡±

    ¡°Father emperor is wise and brilliant!¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince eximed, immediately showering his father in praise.

    The Fiend Emperor said seriously, ¡°However, if he wants to fool me, most of what he said should be true. So, I will take a look around the ces he mentioned. However, we need to remain extremely vignt.¡±

    They knew it could be a trap, but the temptation of an immortal medicine was just too great. No matter how dangerous it was, he still had to try it.

    ¡°Understood!¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince said respectfully.

    Wu Liang was on the verge of tears. He thought to himself, You deities are about to fight it out, but can I skip out on this one?

    If things went as he expected, he would definitely be the first one to face it if they ran into danger. Now that this was rted to an ancient emperor and an immortal medicine, even if he had been a cat with nine lives, it wouldn¡¯t be enough.

    The Fiend Emperor took a few steps forward, but suddenly stopped and said to the Golden Crow Crown Prince, ¡°I know what you are thinking. If we do find the immortal medicine, I will share a portion with you. That is why we, father and son, should be of the same mind. Do not do anything that involves turning on your own blood kin.¡±

    Normally, he wouldn¡¯t speak so frankly at all, but they could end up facing the ancient emperor. Judging from what Dan Zhu had said, immortal ascension could be possible. The other party¡¯s cultivation wouldn¡¯t be lower than his own. If there was a great battle, it was hard to say who woulde out on top. It would be troublesome if his son betrayed him at a crucial moment.

    Furthermore, he was a bit regretful that he had let Zu An leave. Those people were only ants in his eyes normally, but now that he was facing a true ancient emperor, they had be a variable. He could need his son¡¯s help to fend them off. As such, he had decided to confide in his son directly.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince was so frightened his face turned ashen. He eximed, ¡°Father emperor, this subject would not dare to have any thoughts like that! I will always be loyal to you.¡±

    The Fiend Emperor frowned and said, ¡°I am not testing you; you do not need to think too much of it. Furthermore, what I said was not a lie. If we do find the immortal medicine, I will share a portion with you.¡±

    When he heard the sincerity in his father¡¯s voice, the Golden Crow Crown Prince was immediately moved to tears, replying, ¡°Thank you, father emperor. This subject will do my utmost to assist you!¡±

    Inwardly, however, he felt ice-cold. As someone from the royal family, there was no way he would easily trust a promise like that.

    Furthermore, even taking a million steps back and assuming his father really was willing, that was based on the premise that there was extra immortal medicine. What if only a single fruit remained? Of course, he didn¡¯t dare to voice any of those thoughts. His expression was as sincere as sincere could be.

    The Fiend Emperor nodded in satisfaction, saying, ¡°Then, we should head toward that Hundun Dan Zhu spoke of.¡±

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, on Zu An¡¯s side, multiple groans filled the air. Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue both opened their eyes at the same time.

    Zu An quickly ran over and asked nervously, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

 Chapter 1403: Jiuyi Mountain Range

    Chapter 1403: Jiuyi Mountain Range

    The two women had a fineyer of sweat covering their faces. The graceful hair around their temples had stuck to their skin, and an unnatural redness had spread across their faces. They looked even more lovely than usual.

    At that instant, it was as if the two of them were the most popr courtesan queens, and they were showing their most attractive sides. However, Zu An couldn''t help butugh. What brothel had such stunning girls?

    Yan Xuehen rolled her eyes, replying, ¡°Oh? It almost sounds as if you want something to happen to us.¡±

    ¡°Of course not,¡± Zu An said, chuckling in embarrassment. Then, he looked at Yu Yanluo. She was sitting with her eyes shut, focusing on getting rid of the poison.

    Yun Jianyue said, ¡°We¡¯ve alreadypletely removed the poison. Fortunately, we didn¡¯t consume any directly, or else it would have been much more troublesome. I really hadn¡¯t expected there to actually be such a disgusting beast in this world.¡±

    Yan Xuehen nodded in deep sympathy as she imagined those slimy tentacles. That kind of thing made women feel extremely ufortable.

    When he heard that the two women had already gotten rid of the poison, Zu An¡¯s expression grew strange. As expected of the two arch-enemies! Their cultivations were close, and even the amount of time it had taken for them to remove the poison was identical.

    Yun Jianyue noticed his expression and remarked with an ambiguous smile, ¡°Oh? You seem to be quite disappointed to hear that we¡¯ve gotten rid of the poison.¡±

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°Of course. At first, I thought that if the two beauties couldn¡¯t get rid of the poison, I¡¯d have no choice but to sacrifice my own body to help.¡±

    ¡°Shameless!¡± Yan Xuehen harrumphed. She hadn¡¯t expected this guy to say such a thing in such a bold and confident manner.

    Yun Jianyue had initially been nning to tease him for a bit, but instead, she was the one who had been provoked! Even though she was normally tough, she was still a maiden. How could she win against such fierce aggression? She eximed, ¡°You damn brat, if anyone else had spoken such filthy words to me, I would have already pulled out his tongue and fed it to the dogs!¡±

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°It is true that big sis Yun really dotes on me.¡±

    ¡°Hmph!¡± Yun Jianyue finally couldn''t take it anymore. She turned around to look at Yan Xuehen, suggesting, ¡°Stone cold woman, why don¡¯t we go and take a bath?¡±

    Yan Xuehen voiced her agreement. After removing the poison, her entire body was sticky and ufortable.

    Zu An¡¯s expression turned a bit strange when he saw that. Where had they expelled the poison from¡­?

    After getting up, Yan Xuehen gave the concentrating Yu Yanluo a look. Her cultivation was a bit lower, so she couldn''t finish as quickly as them. She asked, ¡°Should we help her?¡±

    Yun Jianyue rolled her eyes, replying, ¡°What are you worried about her for? Even if she fails, there¡¯s a stick of the antidote right there.¡±

    ¡°A stick?¡± Zu An hadn¡¯t expected he would be described like that by someone one day. As expected of the Devil Sect¡¯s big sis Yun, she really was straightforward with her words.

    Yan Xuehen harrumphed, clearly disapproving of the description. Furthermore, for some reason, she felt a bit strange when she heard what Yun Jianyue said. She became a bit absent-minded.

    Zu An asked, ¡°Do you guys still dare to go into the water? Aren¡¯t you scared of that big octopus?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re just going to wash by the shore,¡± Yun Jianyue said proudly. ¡°That octopus is sorge, how would it even be able to cross over? Furthermore, even if it shows up, with our cultivation, we should be able to safely escape back to shore.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but picture the two beauties running out of the water in a sorry state without a shred of clothing on them. He suddenly began to hope that the huge octopus monster woulde back.

    After taking a few steps, Yun Jianyue turned around again and said, ¡°Damn brat, you¡¯re not allowed to peek!¡±

    ¡°You are not allowed to use your divine sense either!¡± Yan Xuehen added.

    ¡°Am I that kind of person?¡± Zu An muttered unhappily. These two women really were something¡­ He had already seen everything anyway, so why did they still have to deceive themselves like that?

    ¡°What are you mumbling about?¡± Yun Jianyue snapped, giving him a fierce look.

    ¡°Nothing, haha. I just wanted to say to be careful,¡± Zu An quickly responded.

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue thus left in satisfaction.

    When he heard the sounds of sshing water soon afterward, Zu An shook his head and focused his mind to help Yu Yanluo watch her surroundings.

    ¡­

    Nearby, two beautiful figures bathed in the water. Surrounded by azure seawater, their skin looked even fairer and more moving.

    Yun Jianyue secretly nced at Yan Xuehen, thinking to herself that this woman normally always acted as if she were above everyone else, but she actually had such a seductive chest. It¡¯s not even outdone by my own.

    ¡°What are you looking at?¡± Yan Xuehen asked, covering her chest when she sensed Yun Jianyue¡¯s scorching gaze. Even though she was a woman too, it still felt a bit unnatural.

    Yun Jianyue reached out a hand to touch them, but Yan Xuehen smacked it away with a palm. However, she didn¡¯t seem to mind and remarked, ¡°It¡¯s not as if you¡¯ll lose anything from a touch.¡± She then added, ¡°Right, why do I feel as if you¡¯re acting a bit too enthusiastic around Yu Yanluo? It¡¯s almost as if you did something to let her down and you¡¯re working hard to make up for it.¡±

    Yan Xuehen had been about to get angry, but upon hearing that question, she just felt a bit guilty. She quickly exined, ¡°Back then, she was seriously injured because I was the one who chased them. Of course I feel a bit guilty toward her.¡±

    ¡°Is that really it?¡± Yun Jianyue replied, feeling a bit suspicious. She was about to ask more when Yu Yanluo ran over to them with a reddened face. She had clearly just finished removing the poison as well.

    Because of the trauma they still shared from the huge octopus, the group didn¡¯t dare to mess around too much. They returned to shore after bathing.

    When Yun Jianyue arrived ashore, she wasn¡¯t in a rush to put on her clothes and instead said to Yan Xuehen, ¡°Stone cold woman, help me out.¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Yu Yanluo was puzzled. However, Yan Xuehen waved her hand, and fluttering ice and snow wrapped around their bodies. Then, the snowkes flew away,pletely drying up all the seawater on their bodies. Yu Yanluo was amazed when she saw that.

    The women thus put on their clothes and returned to where Zu An was.

    A dangerous smile appeared on Yun Jianyue¡¯s face as she asked, ¡°Little An, you didn¡¯t peep on us, did you?¡±

    Zu An plucked a leaf from the branch in front of him and harrumphed in annoyance, retorting,¡°If I wanted to look, I would just go over and be open about it. Would I have to peep?¡±

    Yan Xuehen and Yu Yanluo¡¯s faces turned red. Zu An had seen both of them openly before. As for Yun Jianyue, she also felt a bit ashamed, because Zu An had seen her openly too¡­

    Fortunately, Zu An didn¡¯t press the matter. He said, ¡°Right, I looked around while you guys were washing up. I noticed a stone tablet by the foot of the mountain.¡±

    The three women immediately focused their attention. In this Unknown Region, everything around them was unfamiliar. If there was a stone tablet, it could indicate some treasure! They quickly followed Zu An in the direction of the stone tablet.

    When he saw the threedies¡¯ dresses fluttering around, Zu An suddenly asked, ¡°Can you give me a set of your clothes?¡± Now that he thought about it, did women naturally have so many clothes? It had been so long, and yet he had never seen them wear the same outfits again.

    ¡°What do you need them for?¡± the three women asked, looking at him strangely.

    ¡°I have a skill that requires clothes,¡± Zu An said without batting an eyelid. It had been such a long time already; he had change out the clothes in Pin Ru¡¯s Wardrobe. Otherwise, the next time he used it, it could end in disaster.

    After being together for so long, the women knew that Zu An was extremely reliable. When they heard that it was rted to a skill, they didn¡¯t worry too much and agreed. They all looked in their spatial storages.

    ¡°I need clothes that you¡¯ve worn before,¡± Zu An reminded them. If they werepletely new sets, he wasn¡¯t sure if Pin Ru¡¯s Wardrobe would activate.

    The three women immediately stopped, crying, ¡°Pervert!¡± Then, they didn¡¯t pay him any more attention and walked away.

    Zu An finally reacted and said, ¡°Ah, you¡¯ve all misunderstood! It¡¯s not that I want the authentic taste or something like that, it¡¯s just that I need some clothes you¡¯ve worn before! Sigh, why can¡¯t I exin this¡­¡±

    ¡­

    As the group bickered, they inadvertently arrived in front of the stone tablet Zu An had mentioned before.

    ¡°Jiuyi Mountains[1]?¡± Yun Jianyue¡¯s eyes narrowed when she heard Zu An¡¯s reading of the text. She asked, ¡°Stone cold woman, have you heard of this mountain before?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Yan Xuehen said, shaking her head. They were all experienced and knowledgeable individuals, and yet they had never heard of this ce before.

    Zu An only felt that the name was a bit familiar, but he couldn''t recall where exactly he heard it before.

    Just then, a slow, drawn-out voice called out, ¡°The Puppet Curse of the White Emperor¡¯s lineage?¡±

    1. The Jiuyi Mountains are a mountain range in Hunan province, China. They are located in the Yongzhou, Ningyuan, and Lanshan region, bordering Guangdong province. These mountains are reputed to be the burial ce of Emperor Shun. ?

 Chapter 1404: Black Emperorâ€™s Descendant

    Chapter 1404: ck Emperor¡¯s Descendant

    ¡°Who said that?¡± Zu An and the others called out, suddenly looking up. They looked all around them, but they didn¡¯t see anyone present no matter where they looked.

    They exchanged a look, seeing the grave expressions on each other¡¯s faces. In truth, they were already some of the most powerful experts in the world. Their perception of their surroundings was incredibly sharp. Normally, not even the movement of a single de of grass would escape their perception. And yet, the voice had emerged without any warning. They werepletely unable to locate the source of it, before or after it spoke.

    That meant the voice¡¯s cultivation was far above their own. They would be in great danger if this individual had evil intentions.

    ¡°Hm? You even have the skills of the White Emperor lineage, so why would you be afflicted with the Puppet Curse?¡± the voice wondered, seemingly full of confusion.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Zu An called out. He looked around vigntly at his surroundings because the voice hadn¡¯te from a single direction; rather, it seemed toe from all directions. He couldn''t locate its exact position at all.

    ¡°Who am I?¡± The voice seemed to be a bit surprised as it repeated, ¡°Right, who am I? Who exactly am I?¡±

    Zu An and the women looked at each other in dismay. This voice seemed to have something wrong with its head. As such, they gestured toward each other, deciding that they had to leave this weird ce as quickly as possible.

    The voice suddenly said, ¡°I remember who I am. I feel so much hatred!¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed slightly. The level of hatred that filled the air meant the voice could be considered a malicious spirit even in his previous world! He thought, I have to quickly put some oil on the bottom of my feet.

    ¡°Could it be that you don¡¯t want to get rid of the Puppet Curse?¡± the voice asked.

    Forget about Zu An, even Yan Xuehen, Yun Jianyue, and Yu Yanluo couldn''t help but stop then. The Puppet Curse was rted to Zu An¡¯s life and death. If it couldn¡¯t be removed, even if they left the Unknown Region alive, he would still be the Fiend Emperor¡¯s ve. At that point, he would probably be better off dead than alive.

    Zu An knew that Mi Li could only borrow the Unknown Region¡¯s chaoticws to temporarily seal off the Puppet Curse. Once they returned to the normal world, her methods likely wouldn¡¯t be useful.

    ¡°There are no free lunches in this world. What do you want?¡± Zu An asked cautiously.

    ¡°There are no free lunches in this world?¡± The voice repeated that sentence. It seemed to be entertained as it continued, ¡°That sentence is quite amusing. Why don¡¯t youe to the foot of the mountain first?¡±

    Zu An was hesitant, but the voice said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Since you have the White Emperor¡¯s Puppet Curse on you, that means that we share amon enemy. You don¡¯t need to worry about me harming you.¡±

    Zu An had never been the type to be overly cautious to begin with. When he heard that, he decided to head over and take a look.

    He warned the three women to stay away first, but Yan Xuehen said, ¡°We should go together. If there is any danger, we will be able to face it together.¡±

    Zu An felt warm inside, thinking, It seems that even though she normally treats me with that indifferent demeanor, she actually still cares a lot about me.

    When she sensed his fiery gaze, Yan Xuehen¡¯s face heated up a bit. She turned around and didn¡¯t look at him anymore. However, Yun Jianyue and Yu Yanluo were worried about the mysterious being, so they didn¡¯t notice the other two¡¯s gazes.

    Just like that, they began to be guided along by the voice. They soon arrived at the foot of the giant mountain in front of them. Only then did they notice that there was a simple cave entrance there.

    Zu An stopped, maintaining some distance from the entrance. He said, ¡°I¡¯m already here, so if you have something to say, please say it.¡±

    Who knew if there was another damned old freak who wanted to possess his body or something? Ever since he had been schemed against by Old Mi, that mental shadow had always loomed over him.

    As if it ¡®saw¡¯ the women at Zu An¡¯s side, the voice said with a sigh of amazement, ¡°I had a few beauties close to me back then too, sigh¡­¡± It seemed to be full of disappointment and frustration.

    Zu An cursed inwardly, So it was just another old pervert. Wait, why did I say another?

    Yun Jianyue couldn''t hold herself back from asking, ¡°You said you could undo the Puppet Curse?¡±

    The voice said, ¡°The Puppet Curse is one of the ultimate skills of the White Emperor lineage. It¡¯s very difficult to undo.¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s eyes widened as she eximed, ¡°Were you messing with us?¡±

    She was knowledgeable herself. Even though the mysterious voice¡¯s cultivation realm was extremely terrifying, if it really was so formidable, there would be no need for it to call them over at all. It could just use its skills to forcibly bring them over.

    When she saw the cave, it only made her more confident in her suspicions. The voice had probably been trapped there for some reason, and that was why they were called over. As long as they were careful, there likely wouldn¡¯t be too much danger.

    ¡°I merely said that it was very difficult. I didn¡¯t say I couldn''t get rid of it,¡± the voice replied.

    The voice was making things moreplicated for no reason, so Zu An didn¡¯t want to be led by the nose either. As such, he took the initiative to ask calmly, ¡°What was that White Emperor thing you mentioned about?¡±

    The Puppet Curse on him had clearly been applied by the Fiend Emperor. Why was this guy talking about a White Emperor?

    ¡°Before I exin that, answer me first. Why do you know the White Emperor lineage¡¯s Heaven Devouring Sutra and Phoenix Nirvana Sutra?¡± the voice asked.

    The three women looked at Zu An. They knew some of the skills he had, but this was the first time they had heard about both of those skills. Furthermore, how was it rted to the White Emperor?

    Zu An was also confused. He replied, ¡°I don¡¯t even know who the White Emperor is, so why would I know his skills?¡±

    This person really was mysterious; he could actually sense Zu An¡¯s Heaven Devouring Sutra and Phoenix Nirvana Sutra! However, Zu An thought, Huh, why can¡¯t he sense the Primordial Origin Sutra?

    ¡°Judging from that slow-looking demeanor of yours, you don¡¯t seem to be cunning and treacherous like those White Emperor descendants, so you¡¯re probably not one of them,¡± the voice said, thinking aloud.

    Zu An was speechless. He cursed inwardly, You¡¯re the slow one! Your entire family is slow!

    The voice said slowly, ¡°A long, long time ago, my ancestor, the Yellow Emperor, dominated all challengers, defeating outstanding individuals throughout the world. He was publicly acknowledged as the emperor.¡±

    The other three women thought he was just talking about a normal emperor, so they didn¡¯t think too much of it.[1]

    However, Zu An was shaken up. Is this ¡®the¡¯ Yellow Emperor? Is it the same one I remember?

    ¡°When the Yellow Emperor ascended, he passed on his throne to his son, Shao Hao. He was known as the White Emperor,¡± the voice continued.

    ¡°Ascended? What do you mean ¡®ascended¡¯?¡± Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen eximed. Let alone Yu Yanluo, they were both stunned. They were just as confused as the Fiend Emperor had been. In their cultivation realm, they cared more about the pursuit of immortality than anything else. The so-called ascension and transcendence were things that had only existed in legends. They hadn¡¯t truly seen it before.

    ¡°It refers to someone ascending and bing an immortal, of course,¡± the voice said, sounding a bit strange. It asked, ¡°Is it really something that surprising?¡±

    Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen were both speechless. This guy really knows how to act! Judging from his tone, however, it didn¡¯t seem that he was showing off on purpose.

    The voice continued, ¡°After the White Emperor ascended, because of his son¡¯s unworthiness, the throne was passed onto his nephew, my ancestor Zhuan Xu. He was known by the people as the ck Emperor. He seeded the throne properly, but the White Emperor¡¯s descendants have always felt as if the ck Emperor used some kind of scheme to seize the throne. From then on, they always hated the ck Emperor¡¯s lineage.¡±

    Zu An cursed inwardly to himself. The ck Emperor had been the winner there, so of course they felt that it was natural. Meanwhile, the other side had seen that the throne wasn¡¯t passed down to the son, but to the nephew, so they had every reason to think that something was fishy.

    The voice continued, ¡°After the ck Emperor ascended, it was supposed to be his son who took the throne, but unfortunately, the White Emperor¡¯s lineage Jun took back the throne. The world knows him as Dijun.¡±

    Zu An was a bit moved. He hadn¡¯t actually known that much about the ck Emperor and White Emperor, but Dijun was extremely famous, especially in various Eastern fantasy novels. Dijun was a super huge boss-level existence!

    ¡°After the White Emperor lineage seized the throne, they suppressed our ck Emperor faction greatly. That wasn¡¯t all, though; they even wantonly ndered us,¡± the voice said with a hint of hatred. ¡°For example, three of the ck Emperor¡¯s sons were gue demons. One was known as the mria demon, one was the goblin demon, and thest was the child demon. Another son was known as the worst of viins. After he died, his resentment became known as one of the Four Perils. Truly absurd!¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression was strange. He had thought that those things were just lesser demons, but their father was actually the ck Emperor, Zhuan Xu? However, he asked calmly, ¡°Do you want me to help you defeat the White Emperor?¡±

    ¡°No. Even though the White Emperor¡¯s lineage is hateful, as we¡¯re from different factions, their unscrupulous means are understandable,¡± the voice said coldly. ¡°On the contrary, those who betray the same faction are the most hateful. The one I hate is someone who¡¯s also from the ck Emperor¡¯s faction!¡±

    1. ¡¯Emperor¡¯ sounds the same as ¡®Yellow Emperor¡¯. ?n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

 Chapter 1405: The Regret of Changâ€™e

    Chapter 1405: The Regret of Chang¡¯e

    When he sensed the strong resentment, Zu An thought to himself that no matter which world it was, being betrayed was always the most despicable thing. After thinking about it, however, he shook his head and said, ¡°That¡¯s something between the two of you. It has nothing to do with me.¡±

    The voice was incredibly mysterious, and its cultivation was also really high. If the enemy was someone not even i could defeat, what the heck would Zu An be sticking his head in for?

    ¡°Do you not wish to eliminate your Puppet Curse anymore?¡± the voice asked, sounding strange, as if it were looking at someone who didn¡¯t value his life.

    ¡°The one who set the curse on me is an earth immortal, someone at the very top of this world,¡± Zu An said, shaking his head. ¡°From the way you¡¯re rambling, it doesn¡¯t seem all that likely that you can get rid of his Puppet Curse.¡±

    ¡°An earth immortal? That¡¯s it?¡± the voice harrumphed in disdain.

    Zu An and the women were surprised. This guy really speaks boldly! Even earth immortals aren¡¯t a big deal? Isn¡¯t he going a bit too far with his boasting?

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to try to provoke me. I can tell that you¡¯ve suffered from the Puppet Curse, and I¡¯ve also noticed that the Puppet Curse has been ingeniously blocked off by someone. That means I naturally have a way of undoing your Puppet Curse,¡± the voice said proudly, as if exining itself was already showing Zu An a great deal of favor.

    Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°Forget it. Even though you didn¡¯t tell me what you need me to do, it¡¯s definitely extremely dangerous. This is my own affair, and I can¡¯t drag all of them into it.¡±

    The three women were all a bit moved. At the same time, they were all amazed that he could still talk so calmly in front of someone so terrifying. They had all felt that he was normally a bit shameless, but they hadn¡¯t expected it to be a strong point in such a situation.

    ¡°They seem to be cultivators too. Though their cultivation is normal, they¡¯ve barely reached the doorstep of heavenly dao. They must have some awareness of eternal life and ascension. So, if the prospect of immortal medicine is involved, even if you don¡¯t agree, they will,¡± the voice replied

    ¡°Immortal medicine?¡± The three women were all moved. They were all the best in their respective domains. They naturally knew what that meant.

    Yan Xuehen was the first to calm down. She said, ¡°Immortal medicines have always been nothing more than a legend. Are you not looking down on us a bit too much by using that to tempt us?¡±

    Zu An also nodded. Even Qin Shihuang, who had single-handedly unified China, couldn''t find any immortal medicines after searching the entire world. Such a thing didn¡¯t necessarily exist at all!

    ¡°Have immortal medicines already be things of legend in this world?¡± the voice eximed. It was stunned and clearly surprised.

    Zu An¡¯s group exchanged a look. Were immortal medicines really somon back in that age?

    Yun Jianyue was tempted. She asked, ¡°How long have you lived in this ce?¡±

    The others were shocked. From the auraing from the ce, it was likely ten thousand years at the very least. Could it be that this person really had eaten an immortal medicine to live for so long?

    The voice fell silent for a while. After a long time passed, it said with a deep sigh, ¡°It¡¯s been too long. I kept track in the beginning, but over time, I actually forgot¡­ I know what you all mean, and I don¡¯t want to deceive you either. I didn¡¯t eat an immortal medicine, so I can¡¯t be considered alive right now either.¡±

    The others¡¯ expressions changed. Yu Yanluo couldn''t help but cry, ¡°Are you¡­ Are you a ghost?¡±

    The voice chuckled and replied,¡°This girl is quite cute. Of course, I ¡®m not a ghost, but I¡¯m not too far from one. I¡¯m nothing more than an unresolved, ruined will that hasn¡¯t faded away yet.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression was strange. Looks like being pretty really is an advantage¡­ Even this mysterious beinge is treating them so nicely.

    ¡°Ruined will?¡± Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue were both shocked. Just a ruined will had been able to survive for this long¡­ Just how strong had his original body been?

    ¡°I wonder if your world still has the legend of the Queen Mother of the West?¡± the voice asked just then.

    ¡°Queen Mother of the West?¡± The three women shook their heads as they repeated that name. They had never heard of it before. When it saw their reactions, the voice sounded a bit disappointed.

    Zu An thought of something, asking, ¡°Are you saying that the immortal medicine refers to the peaches from the Jade Lake of Mount Kunlun?¡±

    The three women looked at him in shock. Even people with as much experience as them had never heard of something like that. Just where had he learned that stuff from?

    ¡°Huh? You actually know about the peaches from the Jade Lake of Mount Kunlun?¡± the voice asked, seeming a bit excited. It continued, ¡°Still, the immortal medicines aren¡¯t the peaches of immortality. As for what they are, I can¡¯t tell you for now.¡±

    The three women were all a bit tempted. From their conversation, it sounded as if there really were immortal medicines.

    Zu An said gloomily, ¡°You aren¡¯t even telling me anything, so how do I know if you¡¯re lying to me or not?¡±

    The voice paused for a moment, then said, ¡°Since you spoke of the peaches from the Jade Lake of Mount Kunlun, then you should have heard of Chang¡¯e, thedy in the moon, right?¡±

    ¡°Chang¡¯e, who flew to the moon?¡± Zu An eximed, stunned. He had never expected to hear that legendary name from the past in this world.

    The threedies all looked at Zu An, thinking, That name sounded like a woman¡¯s. Could it be someone else who has something to do with him?

    It wasn¡¯t their fault for thinking that, though. After all, there had always been beautiful women around Zu An ever since they met him, and they all had some kind of rtionship with him.

    ¡°Flew to the moon?¡± the voice repeated, stunned. It continued, ¡°There was a rumor like that? The Chang¡¯e I¡¯m speaking of is the Chang n¡¯s priestess. She was married to the hero Great Yi. Because of Great Yi¡¯s feat of shooting down the suns, the Queen Mother of the West awarded him with medicine. However, the suns Great Yi shot down were actually the Celestial Emperor¡¯s sons, the Golden Crows. When he learned that he had offended the Celestial Emperor, he didn¡¯t dare to head into the Celestial Realm. However, his wife Chang¡¯e couldn''t resist the temptation and secretly ate the medicine, then ascended into the world of immortals. From then on, she was forever separated from Great Yi.¡±

    ¡°Chang¡¯e regretted stealing the medicine. She suffered in loneliness night after night¡­¡± Zu An muttered to himself. He hadn¡¯t expected it to be that kind of story. It wasn¡¯t quite the same as the one he remembered.

    While Zu An wasparing things to his memories, the three women keenly sensed something else important. In their world, the Fiend Emperors had always been from the Golden Crow race, so they couldn''t help but pay more attention to that. They repeated, ¡°Golden Crows?¡±

    The voice didn¡¯t exin the matter of the Golden Crows and instead continued to say to Zu An, ¡°Since you know about Chang¡¯e, you should know that immortal medicine really does exist. What I¡¯m entrusting you with just happens to have to do with Great Yi.¡±

    Zu An fell silent for a moment before saying, ¡°Tell me, then. Still, the reason why I¡¯m willing to listen isn¡¯t because of some immortal medicine. Rather, it¡¯s because you clearly could have pretended to have eaten the immortal medicine to fool us, but you didn¡¯t. That¡¯s why I¡¯m hoping you won¡¯t attach too many schemes and expectations to what you have to say.¡±

    The voiceughed in annoyance and replied, ¡°Are you the one who was affected by the Puppet Curse, or me? Why does it feel as if I¡¯m the one asking you for help instead?¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°Since you sought me out, that means that you need me. Otherwise¡­ You¡¯ve been here all alone for who knows how long. If you could have entrusted this to someone else, you would have already done it a long time ago.¡±

    The voice was silent for a while. Then, it said, ¡°You¡¯re too intelligent. Those who are too smart are often disliked.¡±

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°Then I can also be a bit dumber. Why don¡¯t we both take only what we need from each other?¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Haha, good. Let¡¯s do that,¡± the voice said with augh. ¡°In that case, you need to listen well to what I have to say.¡±

    ¡°Senior, please speak. This junior will definitely listen attentively,¡± Zu An said.

    When they saw Zu An¡¯s huge change in attitude, the three women endured their urge tough. This guy really needed a good beating.

    Fortunately, the voice seemed to have experienced its fair share of different situations and wasn¡¯t too affected. It said, ¡°You¡¯ve heard me mention the White Emperor and ck Emperor¡¯s dispute. After the White Emperor Dijun took the throne, the following generations of emperors all came from the White Emperor¡¯s lineage. The ck Emperor¡¯s lineage was left in a miserable state. Fortunately, when it reached Emperor Yao¡¯s generation, things were already at a turning point.¡±

    ¡°Emperor Yao?¡± Zu An asked, surprised. Could it be that Yao, the legendary sage ruler Yao Shunyu? Still, he didn¡¯t interrupt and listened for the time being.

    The voice continued, ¡°Emperor Yao is a legendary figure who, just like you, had many, many women at his side.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He could sense the strange expressions from the three women at his side. He thought, Just tell your story if you have one! Why are you attacking me for no reason?

    The voice continued, ¡°The families of rulers are different from ordinary families. Even brothers and fathers fight among each other, let alone those born of different mothers.

    ¡°Every single one of Dijun¡¯s women and their descendants formed different factions. They allpeted fiercely against each other.

    ¡°Back then, the ten Golden Crows the Sun Goddess bore were part of a different faction from Yao. When Yao rose to the throne, no one knows who instigated them, but they ruined the bnce of heaven and earth. They always went out to y together, causing ten suns to appear in the sky. The world experienced a catastrophe. As such, Yao took the chance to seek out Yi. Using the pretext of saving themon people, hemanded Yi to shoot down nine of them, only leaving one.¡±

    The three women hadn¡¯t expected the Golden Crows to have that kind of background. Zu An was shocked that Yao was actually a stepbrother of the ten Golden Crows!

    ¡°Hmph, saving themon people. That Yao always knew how to twist things his way, to make the things he did look as if they were righteous,¡± the voice said with a sneer.

    When he heard the resentment the voice carried toward Yao, Zu An couldn''t help but ask, ¡°You aren¡¯t rted to the Golden Crow race or Sun Goddess as well, are you?¡±

    ¡°Golden Crows?¡± the voice repeated with a sneer. It didn¡¯t answer, and instead continued, ¡°Yao''s session to the throne wasn¡¯t as simple as it seems on the surface. The world was once a ce with blissful weather for crops, but after he took the throne, all sorts of disasters erupted at the same time¡­¡±

 Chapter 1406: Path of a Hero

    Chapter 1406: Path of a Hero

    ¡°When Emperor Yao ascended to the throne, the entire country rose up in rebellion. The ten suns appearing at the same time formed oneponent of that. Apart from that, several demons such as the Yayu, Zaochi Giant, Nine Infants, Grandgale, Fenxi Boar, and Xiushe Serpent all appeared¡­¡± The voice seemed to be immersed in its memories, talking about the events of the past.

    Zu An was shocked. Grandgale? He had a Grandgale among his skills. He wondered whether his Grandgale had anything to do with that Grandgale.

    ¡°Additionally, the famous Four Perils also emerged from that period. The Qiongqi, Hundun, Taowu, and Taotie all appeared when Yao took the throne,¡± the voice continued.

    Yan Xuehen, Yun Jianyue, and Yu Yanluo instinctively looked at Zu An. They remembered that he had called the monster they encountered back on Feather Mountain a Taowu. Could that be the same thing?

    ¡°The Taowu you¡¯re speaking of, does it look like a tiger with extremely long hair, the fangs of a wild boar, and a tail a dozen meters long¡­¡± Zu An gave a rough description of the monster.

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± the voice said with a sigh. ¡°I sensed its aura not too long ago. It sounds as if you released it.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s group was stunned, replying, ¡°We didn¡¯t do anything. It suddenly appeared.¡±

    ¡°Did you encounter a giant stone that resembled a tortoise?¡± the voice asked.

    ¡°We did. There were many bones inside. They seemed to be the skeletal remains of some giant creature,¡± Zu An said with a nod.

    ¡°Then it all makes sense. That was the seal used to suppress the Taowu. If you could destroy that seal, your cultivations are higher than I imagined,¡± the voice said, sounding a bit surprised; it seemed to be reevaluating them.

    Zu An had a strange expression as he replied, ¡°We weren¡¯t the ones who broke that seal. It was someone who entered with us.¡± After some hesitation, he added, ¡°That other person is a Golden Crow, but I don¡¯t know if he has anything to do with the Golden Crows you mentioned before.¡±

    ¡°The Puppet Curse on you came from him, right?¡± the voice said before continuing, ¡°Then it must be. That¡¯s a unique skill of the Golden Crow lineage. No one else can mimic it.¡±

    Zu An and the others exchanged a look. They hadn¡¯t expected the Fiend Emperor¡¯s history to actually be rted to an Unknown Region. Why did all of this feel a bit unreal?

    ¡°By the way, would releasing the Taowu, one of the Four Perils, mean we¡¯ve unleashed a disaster upon the world?¡± Zu An quickly asked. That was how movies often portrayed it.

    ¡°Just a single Taowu wouldn¡¯t be that powerful,¡± the voice said, sounding quite rxed.

    ¡°Judging from what you just said, it sounds as if releasing more will cause problems, right?¡± Yun Jianyue asked.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°That would indeed be troublesome,¡± the voice said. It didn¡¯t seem to want to go into detail. It changed the topic and asked, ¡°Do you know why they¡¯re called the Four Perils?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± Zu An replied. He thought back to the Taotie he had encountered in the Yinxu secret dungeon, wondering whether it was also one of the Four Perils the voice had spoken of.

    ¡°The Yayu, Zaochi Giant, Nine Infants, and so on that I mentioned are powerful demons in their own right. However, the Four Perils weren¡¯t beasts to begin with, but rather humans,¡± the voice said with a sigh.

    ¡°Human?¡± Zu An¡¯s group eximed. Now, they were truly shocked. They thought of the Taowu¡¯s malevolent appearance. How could that have anything to do with a human?

    ¡°Indeed. The Hundun used to be called Huan Dou, a son of Zhuan Xu. The Qiongqi was Gong Gong, the descendant of the me Emperor. The Taotie was named Chi You when he was still alive, and Chi You was also from the me Emperor¡¯s lineage. The Taowu¡¯s name was Gun, another one of Zhuan Xu¡¯s descendants. Those individuals were all opposed to Yao, but after many years of battle, they were all defeated. Yao exiled Gong Gong to You Province, Huan Dou to Mount Chong, and San Miao¡¯s Chi You to San Wei. Meanwhile, Gun was put to death on Feather Mountain. When those people died, their resentment and dissatisfaction turned them into the Four Perils,¡± the voice exined.

    Yan Xuehen, Yun Jianyue, and Yu Yanluo were all stunned. Those names were too unfamiliar to them. It was as if they were listening to an imperial edict.

    Zu An was actually incredibly shocked. Many things he had just heard seemed topletely contradictmon knowledge! He hadn¡¯t expected Gong Gong and Chi You to actually be under the me Emperor¡¯s lineage!

    The people of China in his previous world were referred to as descendants of the me Emperor and Yellow Emperor. In ancient times, the me Emperor and Yellow Emperor¡¯srgest tribes had merged together and continued to propagate, ultimately forming the ancient Chinese civilization.

    He couldn''t help but ask, ¡°The Gong Gong you¡¯re speaking of, is he the one whose anger on Buzhou Mountain caused the heavens to copse, releasing the great flood on the world? That Gong Gong? And Chi You¡­ Is that the Demon Lord Chi You, who fought a great battle against the emperor?¡±

    Huan Dou and Gun were one thing, because they weren¡¯t that famous in history. Gun was the antagonist in Yu the Great¡¯s story of taming the floods, so he was a bit more memorable. Compared to Gong Gong and Chi You, however, he wasn¡¯t anyone special at all.

    Gog Gong had made the heavens split open and drowned the entire world in a great flood, forcing the great Goddess Nuwa to appear and repair the heavens. Chi You had fought a great battle against the Yellow Emperor, forcing even someone of his stature into a desperate situation several times. He was a vicious individual who had only been taken down in the end by the Yellow Emperor with assistance. There were many movies, shows, and web novels that made him out to be one of the greatest antagonists in history.

    ¡°Hm? You seem to know quite a bit about the events of our age,¡± the voice said, sounding a bit surprised. He exined, ¡°The Gong Gong you¡¯re talking about isn¡¯t the same one as the one I¡¯m talking about. Gong Gong was a title, and every single generation had a new Gong Gong. The one who expressed his fury on Buzhou Mountain was the first-generation Gong Gong. The cause of that event was his defeat in apetition over the throne against the ck Emperor, Zhuan Xu.¡±

    The three women found that easier to understand. Just like the Fiend Emperor, even though every single generation¡¯s leader was called the Fiend Emperor, they were actuallypletely different.

    The voice continued, ¡°The Gong Gong I¡¯m talking about is the one from Emperor Yao¡¯s reign. In the battle between the me and Yellow Emperors, the me Emperor was defeated. However, his bloodline¡¯s faction was still strong, which was why they were never willing to bow down to the Yellow Emperor. That was why they fought several battles against the Yellow Emperor¡¯s side.

    ¡°The most famous were the Battle of Banquan between the me and Yellow Emperors, the Battle of Zhuolu between the Yellow Emperor and Chi You, and the battle between the ck Emperor and Zhuan Xu.

    ¡°As for the Gong Gong of Emperor Yao¡¯s time, he was ater-generation Gong Gong. That Chi You wasn¡¯t the first Chi You either, but rather the title of the tribe leader of San Miao.¡±

    ¡°So that was what happened,¡± Zu An said. He was curious as to who those people were, as the voice knew about those events so well, almost as if he had been there.

    ¡°Back then, the entire world was in chaos. Yao was also hard-pressed, but he was quite capable and good at appointing people, so he raised arge group of capable generals. He sent Yi to kill the Zaochi Giant in the Field of Splendor, the Nine Infants above the fearful waters, Grandgale in Bluemound Pond, and nine of the ten suns. Yi also killed the Yayu, then the Xiushe in Dongting, andstly the Fengxi Boar in the Mulberry Forest.¡±

    Zu An was shocked. This Yi really was quite an outstanding individual. He had been able to conquer Chang¡¯e in the arts, while his martial might could y demons.

    The voice continued, ¡°The reason I¡¯m telling you all this in such detail is because I need you to repeat Yi¡¯s heroic path. Only then can you obtain the acknowledgment of his divine weapon and have a hope of defeating that powerful being.¡±

 Chapter 1407: Blacked Out

    Chapter 1407: cked Out

    ¡°Repeat Yi¡¯s heroic path?¡± Zu An repeated, his expression strange. He thought, Is there a Chang¡¯e included? If there is, I might actually consider it.

    Of course, jokes were just jokes. He was more concerned with something else. He asked, ¡°That powerful enemy you mentioned, just who is he?¡±

    The voice fell silent for a while when it heard his question. Then, it said, ¡°He¡¯s a traitor who betrayed me.

    ¡°During Emperor Yao¡¯s rule, all sorts of disasters appeared frequently. That was why he had no choice but to promote all manner of talents to deal with the dangers. Perhaps it was because the ck Emperor¡¯s bloodline was strong, or perhaps it was because they felt a sense of urgency after being beaten down for so many years, but the ck Emperor¡¯s descendants were all talented. For example, Gun¡¯s family excelled in ruling over the waters, while I was also good at many things.

    ¡°Apart from that, I had eight trustedrades who were all individuals of great talent back then, known as the Brilliant Eight. As time went on, Emperor Yao ced me in positions that were more and more important, and the forces Imanded also gradually grew greater.

    ¡°Since we were both descendants of the ck Emperor, I expressed my goodwill to him. When Emperor Yao was hesitant, I even personally spoke up to guarantee Gun¡¯s ability to control the waters. Unfortunately, he failed to live up to my trust. After many years of wasted manpower and resources, he wasn¡¯t able to properly manage the floods.¡±

    The three women exchanged a look. They noticed that this wasn¡¯t the first time the voice had mentioned floods. They had their own legends regarding a great flood in their world. Could it be that he was someone from that age? Still, his remnant will had been able to exist for so long¡­ Wasn¡¯t his strength a bit too ridiculous?

    The voice continued and said, ¡°That¡¯s not all. He kicked his benefactor in the teeth, too. He forgot my favor of rmending him and our camaraderie, issuing a nderous report to Emperor Yao saying that I ought to be executed.

    ¡°He was clearly someone from the ck Emperor¡¯s faction. After so many years of being oppressed by the White Emperor, not only did he not think of revenge at all; he even went to serve the White Emperor¡¯s descendants like a dog!¡±

    Zu An could sense that the voice¡¯s resentment still hadn¡¯t faded. He asked with a strange expression, ¡°So the powerful enemy you want me to defeat is Gun? Wait, no, he should now be called the Taowu.¡±

    They had already met each other. The Taowu had strength on the level of an earth immortal. Even though it couldn''tpare to the Fiend Emperor or Zhao Han, it definitely wasn¡¯t an opponent Zu An could face at the moment. No wonder this person wanted him to find some divine weapon.

    ¡°Gun? He alone wouldn¡¯t be enough,¡± the voice said with a hint of disdain.

    Zu An was speechless. This guy even considered an earth immortal insufficient? What kind of being would be viewed as a powerful enemy by this person? He thought, Forget it¡­ I still want to live a bit longer.

    He was about to say a few things to appease the voice before slipping away, but the voice said, ¡°I need you to face someone named Si Wenming.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. That name was unfamiliar to him. Was there really such a person in his memories? He thought, If he really was someone great like Chi You or Gong Gong, I should have heard of him. He can¡¯t be that great if I don¡¯t have any impression of him at all.

    When he thought of that, he sighed in relief and said, ¡°No problem. Leave it to me.¡±

    The voice was a bit surprised, replying, ¡°Oh? You¡¯re quite brave. You knew who the target was, and yet you took the request without a moment of hesitation. As expected of an outstanding youth.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re overpraising me~¡± Zu An said, cupping his hands in a ¡®humble¡¯ manner. He asked, ¡°Right, how did that person offend you? I¡¯ll have more confidence in being able to deal with the matter after I find out what happened.¡±

    Even though he had never heard of that enemy before, so he couldn''t be that powerful, he still had to do his due diligence. Otherwise, he could end up being scammed without even realizing it.

    ¡°After Gun betrayed and harmed me, I only managed to survive after going through endless tribtions. My subordinates were furious and all wanted to get revenge on Gun,¡± the voice said, ¡°I knew that after that matter, our rtionship had alreadypletely ended. If he continued to nder me in front of Emperor Yao, not only I, but also my rtives and subordinates, would all be doomed. That was why I began my counterattack as well.

    ¡°Fortunately, because Gun failed to control the waters, he lost prestige among the people. Even though I didn¡¯t do a thing, he had already dug his own grave. Emperor Yao sent Zhu Rong to kill him on Feather Mountain.¡±

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue exchanged a look. They had passed by a mountain with several narrow grooves. Back then, the Fiend Emperor had said that the mountain was cut apart by sword ki. Now, it seemed that the one responsible was Zhu Rong. What kind of identity did that person have? There were no records rted to him in history at all!

    Zu An was shocked, eximing, ¡°The god of fire. Zhu Rong?¡±

    Just as Gong Gong was the river god in ancient Chinese mythology, Zhu Rong was the fire god. Those two were rumored to be mortal enemies and had fought each other ferociously.

    The three women looked at him in shock, not expecting him to actually know that person. They felt that they really had to properly ask him just how many more secrets he had.

    ¡°Huh? Brat, you really do know quite a bit. How strange. Normally, at your age, you shouldn¡¯t know about such things¡­¡± the voice remarked. Fortunately, it didn¡¯t pursue the matter and continued, ¡°Zhu Rong¡¯s official duty was the post of fire god, but Zhu Rong is also just a title. There were many Zhu Rongs, so this Zhu Rong might not be the one you¡¯re thinking of.¡±

    Zu An nodded. He quickly sorted out the information the voice had given. He had a strange feeling that something wasn¡¯t quite right.

    The voice continued, ¡°After Gun died, no one else could cause me trouble again. When Emperor Yao passed away, I sessfully took the throne as the next emperor¡­¡±

    He was about to continue when Zu An¡¯s eyes suddenly narrowed and he eximed, ¡°You¡¯re Shun! So you¡¯re Shun!¡±

    He hadn¡¯t expected this person to be the legendary sage king Shun! There were many, many great schrs in ancient times who had praised him as a sage. Yu Shun had always been considered the greatest of virtuous individuals. In the historical record, he had been considered the incarnation of good.

    Zu An was actually having a conversation with such a legendary figure? He suddenly felt as if he were dreaming.

    The three women jumped in fright when they saw his strong reaction. They were all intelligent individuals. They remembered that in their previous conversation, Shun had been named as none other than one of the ancient emperors. The emperors back then seemed to have been able to ascend into the world of immortals. He seemed to be far, far stronger than the Fiend Emperor.

    When they thought about how that very person was in the cave right before their eyes, they even began to feel a bit doubtful toward their future. They had always wondered, was immortal ascension really possible? Now, there was a proper example right before their eyes! They couldn''t just do nothing.

    The voice remained silent for a while. Then, it said with a sigh, ¡°It¡¯s been so long since someone called me that. I hadn¡¯t expected someone would still remember me.¡±

    Zu An also calmed himself down a bit, then said with a smile, ¡°In my hometown, there probably aren¡¯t that many people who don¡¯t remember you.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± The voice chuckled, seemingly not all that surprised to hear that. It seemed to have a natural air of confidence, continuing, ¡°Since you know who I am, then I don¡¯t need to beat around the bush any longer. In myter years, I suffered greatly from Si Wenming¡¯s betrayal. That¡¯s why I need your strength to help me get revenge.¡±

    ¡°Wait¡­¡± Zu An swallowed with difficulty. ¡°The Si Wenming you¡¯re talking about¡­ Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s¡­¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The voice exined, ¡°Oh, he has another name that¡¯s better known by the world. The people seem to know him as Yu the Great.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s vision darkened when he heard that name. He almost cked out on the spot.

 Chapter 1408: Path to Immortality Ruined

    <h4>Chapter 1408: Path to Immortality Ruined</h4>

    At first, Zu An had thought that this Si Wenming was a rtively unknown figure, whom he had never even heard of before. No matter how crazy he was, there was no way he couldpare to the legendary Gong Gong or Chi You.

    Yet now, it turned out that Si Wenming was Yu the Great?! Who was Yu the Great? He was the very founder of the Xia Dynasty! He even had ¡®great¡¯ attached to his name! How many people could reach that level?!

    The worst part was that, if Zu An wasn¡¯t mistaken, this Unknown Region was clearly rted to the Xia Dynasty. And yet, he had to fight against thend¡¯s freaking founding ancestor? He¡¯d almost be better off spending his time thinking of the different ways he could write the word ¡®death¡¯.

    Just then, the voice said, ¡°That¡¯s why I want you to repeat Yi¡¯s heroic path. If you obtain the divine weapon, you¡¯ll have the ability to face him.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. However, he also realized something. He couldn''t help but ask, ¡°Why do you have to target him? Don¡¯t the history books say you abdicated your throne to him?¡±

    ¡°The history books?¡± The three women blinked their beautiful eyes. They found the use of that phrase rather strange.

    ¡°History?¡± The voice said with a hint of ridicule, ¡°History is nothing more than what¡¯s written by the winners.¡±

    ¡°Could it be that there¡¯s some inside story that isn¡¯tmonly known?¡± Zu An asked curiously. Before doing anything, he had to at least understand the ins and outs. Only then could he make a proper decision as to whether he would do it or not, and also how he would do it.

    The voice hesitated, but it still said, ¡°Actually, this subject doesn¡¯t exactly paint me in the greatest light. Since you asked, though, there¡¯s no harm in telling you.

    ¡°Back then, when I took over the position of emperor, even though many of the disasters of the world had already been destroyed, the flood persisted. In order to help themon people, I disregarded my former hatred and promoted Gun¡¯s son Yu, putting him in charge of controlling the waters.¡±

    Zu An asked with a strange expression, ¡°His father died because of you, and yet you still dared to use him?¡±

    The voice replied, ¡°Royal families are different from ordinary people. Rtionships between father and son, and even between brothers, aren¡¯t that important. Instead, interests are the most important thing. As long as your interests align, even if a family head is killed, others in the family will still support you.

    ¡°I previously mentioned that many of the ck Emperor¡¯s descendants had been oppressed by the White Emperor¡¯s lineage for a long time. Most of the ck Emperor¡¯s descendants harbored dissatisfaction toward the White Emperor¡¯s faction. I represent those people¡¯s interests. Those like Gun, who was clearly from the ck Emperor faction and yet went to serve the White Emperor loyally, selling out his own kind, were extremely umon.

    ¡°I thought that dealing with Gun would have already settled things. Furthermore, Yu and Gun weren¡¯t actually on good terms. Their political views weren¡¯t simr at all. Especially in the matter of controlling the waters, it wouldn¡¯t be too far to say that they wereplete opposites. That¡¯s why I raised him up without worrying too much, giving their n a chance to return to the ck Emperor faction.¡±

    ¡°As things turned out, I wasn¡¯t mistaken either. He didn¡¯t have much affection for Gun, and he didn¡¯t intend to get revenge for his father either. Furthermore, his ability to control the waters was excellent, so he didn¡¯t let down the trust I ced in him.¡±

    ¡°If he didn¡¯t even want to get revenge for his father, how did your rtionship break down?¡± Zu An asked, feeling extremely confused.

    The voice replied, sounding baffled, ¡°Do you think someone who wouldn¡¯t even get revenge for his father is worthy of trust?¡±

    Zu An was stunned, but immediately understood.

    Duke Huan of Qi, one of the Five Hegemons, had been extremely miserable in hister years precisely because he treated some treacherous court officials too well. Once, when his appetite hadn¡¯t been good, a sinister official had cooked and served his own newborn son to the duke.

    The duke had even thought at first that it was delicious and appetizing. Later, when he heard the truth, he was really moved. He thought that person was incredibly loyal, to be willing to use his own son that way.

    Guan Zhong had admonished him, saying, ¡°He even dared to kill his own son, so why would he remain loyal to you when you¡¯re not even rted?¡± However, Duke Huan hadn¡¯t listened at all. In the end, sure enough, he was done in by that very official.

    If Yu could even put aside the grudge of his father¡¯s death, that meant his schemes truly ran deep.

    The voice sighed and said, ¡°Onlyter did I manage to think things through, but unfortunately, it was already toote.

    ¡°As Yu got the waters under control, he umted tremendous prestige. At the same time, he roped in a lot of capable individuals. Furthermore, because I reced Yao, many people from the White Emperor¡¯s faction secretly defected to him.¡±

    ¡°Is that why you ended up being reced?¡± Zu An asked. He thought to himself that those ¡®abdications¡¯ in ancient times really were treacherous¡­ The story really hadpletely changed his viewpoint on many things.

    ¡°If that were all, it still wouldn¡¯t have been enough to defeat me. More importantly, as Yu the Great managed the waters, he even obtained the support of the me Emperor¡¯s lineage,¡± the voice said hatefully. ¡°It was those powers working together that let them plot against me.¡±

    ¡°The me Emperor?¡± Zu An asked, stunned. Why was that group suddenly involved?

    The voice exined, ¡°Back then, in the battle between the me and Yellow Emperors, the me Emperor lost to the Yellow Emperor. However, the me Emperor¡¯s group was never willing to ept that. They revolted in all sorts of different ways. Gong Gong and Chi You were the representative figures of the conflict, and the great flood was none other than the worst consequence of that.

    ¡°Just as our ck Emperor¡¯s lineage had many branches, the me Emperor also had many people who didn¡¯t really approve of Gong Gong and Chi You¡¯s ways. They believed that the two¡¯s actions had already severely hurt themon people. The representative figure of that faction was the me Emperor¡¯s third daughter, Yao Ji.

    ¡°Back then, when Yu was trying to control the floods, he passed by Mount Wu and obtained Yao Ji¡¯s help. The me Emperor¡¯s lineage always excelled at controlling water, so with their help, Yu gradually got the flood under control.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°After he seeded at controlling the floods, his prestige climbed higher and higher until it threatened me. Only then did I realize that he had already amassed a huge force on his side. It was already impossible for me to deal with him.

    ¡°Back then, though, I was still optimistic. Either way, he was from the ck Emperor¡¯s faction, and he was capable. Passing on the throne to him wouldn¡¯t have been too big of a deal. I wasn¡¯t the inflexible type who would insist on handing down the throne only to my son. On several asions, I even hinted at my intentions to him.

    ¡°Still, he actually couldn''t wait. When I was patrolling the Cangwu Field, he suddenlyunched an ambush against me. Then, he announced the news of my death to the world. He buried me on the southern side of this ce, Jiuyi Mountain, saying that I abdicated my position to him. Heh, it truly was a deep and sinister plot.¡±

    Yan Xuehen eximed in shock, ¡°So you are already¡­ dead?¡±

    ¡°Correct. To a certain degree, I am indeed dead,¡± the voice said sadly. ¡°My current self is nothing more than a remnant will that was left behind because I sensed that something was off and wanted to have something just in case. I hadn¡¯t expected the worst to have already happened.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself,Just a remnant will was enough tost until now? Just how terrifying was this guy when he was at his strongest?

    Yun Jianyue said, ¡°I apologize for speaking bluntly. What you speak of is already tens of thousands of years in the past. If your enemy hasn¡¯t ascended, then he¡¯s also died. Isn¡¯t asking Ah Zu to help you rather meaningless?¡±

    Yu Yanluo was worried about Zu An¡¯s safety, so she spoke up in agreement. ¡°That¡¯s right. You weren¡¯t Yu¡¯s match even when you were at your strongest, and even just a remnant will of yours is beyond our understanding. I fear that it won¡¯t be too realistic to ce your hopes on us to get revenge for you.¡±

    ¡°The path to ascension was already ruined by then, so there¡¯s no way Yu ascended. However, with his power, it isn¡¯t impossible for him to have survived until now. No, he¡¯s definitely still alive. I can still sense his aura in this world,¡± the voice said, seeming to be somewhat moved. It continued, ¡°Furthermore, back then in Cangwu Field, I was already far from my peak. In contrast, Yu was at his strongest, and he even had the help of the best fighters from both the White and me Emperors¡¯ lineage. That was why I lost.¡±

    Yu Yanluo clicked her tongue inwardly. As expected, no strong individuals were willing to acknowledge defeat. Her question seemed to have provoked him a bit.

    ¡°What did you mean when you said that the path to ascension was already ruined?¡± Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue were more concerned with that, and couldn''t help but blurt out the question. Countless stunning individuals had risen over the years, and yet not a single one had been able to truly be an immortal. Could that be the reason?

    The voice said indifferently, ¡°That¡¯s rted to a tremendous secret that I can¡¯t tell you. Of course, if youplete my request, I can consider telling you.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.This guy seems a bit two-faced! He doesn¡¯t resemble that so-called history¡¯s incarnation of virtue all that much¡­

 Chapter 1409: My Most Precious Thing

    <h4>Chapter 1409: My Most Precious Thing</h4>

    Zu An tried to ask about it more indirectly, but the voice wouldn¡¯t reply no matter what he asked. He knew that subject would be linked to many, many things, so it was understandable that the voice wasn¡¯t willing to reveal everything.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s change the topic. Why do the Heaven Devouring Sutra and the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra belong to the White Emperor¡¯s faction?¡± he then asked curiously. Those two skills were respectively from the Shang Dynasty and Zhou Dynasty. What did they have to do with a White Emperor?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve previously seen those of the White Emperor lineage use them before, so of course I know that they belong to the White Emperor,¡± the voice replied. It sounded a bit stunned, as if Zu An had asked an extremely stupid question. ¡°Actually, there¡¯s a really simple way to determine the differences between the White and ck faction. The White Emperor¡¯s lineage worships the phoenix, so their totems are often different kinds of birds derived from the phoenix. Meanwhile, the ck Emperor¡¯s faction¡¯s emblem is the divine dragon.¡±

    When he heard that, Zu An thought,No wonder dragons and phoenixes always had such a high status throughout ancient Chinese civilization. So it was because of that.

    The Phoenix Nirvana Sutra had the word Phoenix in its name, so there was no need to talk about that further.

    When it came to the Shang Dynasty, Zu An had been in Yinxu for a long time, so he was very familiar with their affairs. It was rumored that the Shang Dynasty¡¯s ancestor had been born because his mother ate a mysterious bird¡¯s egg[1]</a>, and thus the mysterious bird had to be the phoenix.

    Yan Xuehen couldn''t help but ask, ¡°However, ording to what senior has said, Yi already killed those terrifying beasts on his heroic path, so why are they still in this world?¡±

    The voice exined, ¡°You¡¯re looking down on those beasts too much. They¡¯re naturally produced by the world, born from the negative emotions of people. Even if they¡¯re killed, as long as humans still carry all sorts of desires, they¡¯ll be revived again after some time. Now that I think about how long it has been, it¡¯s about time for them to revive.¡±

    The others¡¯ expressions became grave when they heard that. They could revive? Just what kind of creatures were these?

    Yun Jianyue asked, ¡°Even if hepleted that so-called heroic path, why would he be able to obtain a divine weapon? Somehow, I feel as if those two things aren¡¯t exactly connected.

    ¡°That¡¯s a part of the naturalws of this world. As long as you can repeat Yi¡¯s heroic path, you¡¯ll obtain the acknowledgment of this world¡¯s will. Then, you can obtain the divine weapon,¡± the voice exined.

    ¡°What kind of divine weapon is it? Judging from what you¡¯re saying, if Yu could survive until now, he has to be ridiculously powerful. How could a divine weapon alone defeat him?¡± Yu Yanluo said worriedly.

    ¡°That¡¯s not something you need to worry about. With that divine weapon, you¡¯ll have the strength to face Yu. As for what it is exactly, please forgive me for not being able to tell you. You¡¯ll understand when the timees,¡± the voice said.

    Zu An really found this kind of deliberate obfuscation annoying. He replied, ¡°But what if we reallyplete the mission and you don¡¯t deliver on what you promised afterward? We don¡¯t have any guarantee at all.¡±

    ¡°If you canplete the mission, you¡¯ll have already received the acknowledgement of the world. Furthermore, you¡¯ll then have a divine weapon and can even defeat Yu. Why wouldn¡¯t you be able to deal with me?¡± the voice replied with a chuckle.

    Zu An was speechless.Bro, you¡¯re making so much sense that I don¡¯t even have anything to say.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Can seniore out and show yourself to us?¡± Yun Jianyue asked. She came from the Devil Sect and was used to running into sinister schemes. She still wasn¡¯t fully convinced.

    The voice sighed and said, ¡°I would actually like to, but there¡¯s a sealing formation restraining me here. With your current strength, you would only be throwing away your lives without achieving anything if you tried to barge in. You should just do as I say and follow the heroic path first. We¡¯ll talk about everything else after you obtain the acknowledgement of this world.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s group exchanged a look. They had sensed that he was really powerful earlier, but they¡¯d had simr suspicions when they saw that he hadn¡¯t shown himself. Now, their suspicions were confirmed.

    Yan Xuehen said through ki, ¡°This cave is indeed covered in rune formations, and whether in terms of their power or theirplexity, it far exceeds what we faced in the fiend races¡¯ Imperial Tomb. They are at a level I cannotprehend.¡±

    Zu An gave the endless Jiuyi Mountain Range a look and added, ¡°It¡¯s not just rune formations, either. This cave draws from the surrounding mountains¡¯ dragon vein. There¡¯s an extreme formation inside that borrows the great power of the world. Even if it were the Fiend Emperor or Zhao Han, they still wouldn¡¯t be able to leave that ce.¡±

    He had been studying ¡®One Drop of Heaven¡¯s Essence¡¯ for some time and learned quite a bit. He was already able to pick up on some patterns among mountains and rivers.

    Seeing that the group was going to continue, the voice exined the heroic path. ¡°Back then, the first one Yi killed was none other than the Yayu¡­ Yayu¡­¡±

    After hearing that exnation, Zu An asked some questions before saying, ¡°This junior will do my utmost. I definitely won¡¯t let down senior¡¯s trust.¡±

    The beautiful women were shocked. They hadn¡¯t expected him to actually agree so easily. However, they were allposed individuals. Even though they were doubtful, they didn¡¯t ask anything.

    The voice sounded grateful as it said, ¡°It¡¯s been so many years. I can finally see hope, hahaha! The heavens have treated me quite well after all.¡±

    Zu An took the chance to say, ¡°Since senior is so happy, could you perhaps grant me some deity or immortal-grade artifacts? Or maybe some kind of skill? That wouldn¡¯t just be for us, it¡¯d also let usplete senior¡¯s mission better. It¡¯s a win-win situation.¡±

    The voice chuckled and replied, ¡°Kid, you¡¯re quite good at pulling these types of tricks. But that¡¯s also why I feel that you have a chance of sess. When ites to deity or immortal-grade weapons, I don¡¯t have any. As for divine abilities and secret skills, I actually¡­ don¡¯t have any either.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He had begun to get excited when he heard the first half, but who would¡¯ve thought that it would be such a disappointing result?

    He seemed to have learned the lesson that Lu Xun, a famous Chinese writer, had learned: ¡®In the courtyard, there are two trees. One is a date tree, and the other is also a date tree.¡¯

    You might just get your ass beaten if you talk like this all the time, you know?

    As if sensing his discontent, the voice said, ¡°My divine will is iplete, so I can¡¯t remember any skills. Besides that, my skills are rted to my bloodline. Even if I did remember, you wouldn¡¯t be able to cultivate them.¡±

    Zu An thought,That may not be true. I have the cheat add-on of the Keyboard System, so I might pick it up really quickly.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to feel despair either. I¡¯ve already given you my most precious possession,¡± the voice said in constion.

    ¡°Why do I not know about that?¡± Zu An replied with a strange expression. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me your most precious thing is yourself, because I don¡¯t want that.¡±

    The women all blushed. This guy really deserved a good beating.

    The voice was speechless.

    You have sessfully trolled Shun for +233 +233 +233¡­

    He was finding it a bit hard to keep up with Zu An¡¯s thinking, but he replied, ¡°Hmph, of course not. I¡¯m talking about the secrets of the past that I¡¯ve shared with you. These are things that have already practically been erased from history. After the tampering of those in power, there aren¡¯t that many left who know the truth. Now that you know what happened, you can brush aside the veil and find out what really happened, which will help youplete the trial.¡±

    Zu An sighed and replied, ¡°Senior, your respected self is really the stingiest elder I¡¯ve seen in all my years.¡±

    The reason he had said what he said before was actually just to provoke the voice a bit. After all, they had never even met each other, so how could he be sure whether what it said was real or not? However, through the help of the Keyboard System¡¯s Rage points, he had ended up receiving Shun¡¯s soul power. With that, he feltpletely at ease.

    ¡°Hmph, ignorant brat. One day, you¡¯ll understand that no divine weapons or secret manuals canpare to the value of the things I shared with you today,¡± the voice harrumphed in dissatisfaction, clearly a bit annoyed.

    You have sessfully trolled Shun for +250 +250 +250¡­

    ¡°Keep bragging then,¡± Zu An said skeptically. ¡°I¡¯m not hoping for anything else either, though. I hope you¡¯ll remember your promise when weplete the mission.¡±

    ¡­

    It was meaningless for him to stay there, so he quickly brought the women out of the ce.

    ¡°Ah Zu, do you really believe what he says? Also, that Yu seems to be an extremely powerful being. Do we really have to provoke him?¡± Yu Yanluo asked worriedly.

    Even though Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen didn¡¯t say anything, the worry in their expressions was clear.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t actually ept his request because I believed him,¡± Zu An exined. ¡°You haven¡¯t entered Unknown Regions before, but every single Unknown Region has something like a main quest. You have toplete that mission to unseal the secret dungeon and be able to leave. Otherwise, you¡¯ll only be slowly waiting for your demise.¡±

 Chapter 1410: Shaoxian Mountain

    <h4>Chapter 1410: Shaoxian Mountain</h4>

    After thinking about Zu An¡¯s past experiences, Yun Jianyue couldn''t help but say with a sigh of amazement, ¡°I didn¡¯t really think much of it when I heard you talk about it before, but only now that I¡¯m going through it myself do I realize just how difficult it was for you to safely leave those Unknown Regions.¡±

    ¡°And you have even unsealed several Unknown Regions,¡± Yan Xuehen said, looking at him with a conflicted expression. When she had first met this fellow, she¡¯d just felt that he was a pervert with flowery speech. And yet, the longer she stayed at his side, the more she understood just how outstanding he was. The only w was that he was already her disciple¡¯s man¡­

    ¡°Haha, praise me more! I¡¯m shameless, so I can take it all,¡± Zu An said. He felt amazing when he saw the three women¡¯s looks of admiration.

    ¡°Hmph!¡± Yan Xuehen harrumphed. This guy was still just as shameless as always.

    ¡°Ah Zu, I still feel that it¡¯s too dangerous this time. The powerful figures that person mentioned all seem as if they could ascend to immortality if they wanted to. Not even Zhao Han or the Fiend Emperor would necessarily be able toplete this kind of trial¡­¡± Yu Yanluo said worriedly.

    ¡°Unknown Regions are quite special. It isn¡¯t necessarily possible to pass through by relying on one¡¯s own strength. Instead, it¡¯s necessary to rely on wit and luck,¡± Zu An said. He looked at the three women and continued with a smile, ¡°The Fiend Emperor has a dunce of a Golden Crow Crown Prince at his side, while I have clever and resourceful beauties at my side. That¡¯s already enough to cover the difference in strength.¡±

    The three women blushed. They sighed inwardly, thinking that this guy¡¯s words really were thered with honey. No wonder so many women liked him.

    Yun Jianyue was the first to snap out of her daze. She harrumphed and said, ¡°Of course we¡¯re smart, but are you really that confident in your luck?¡±

    ¡°Of course. If I had bad luck, how would I have been able to meet such stunning female friends?¡± Zu An replied, looking at the three with a gentle expression.

    Now, not even Yun Jianyue could take it. She reached out and pinched his ear, saying, ¡°Damn brat, you even dare tease your master? Did you eat a bear¡¯s heart or something?¡±

    ¡°Ah ah ah, it hurts! Big sis master, please spare me!¡± Zu An quickly pleaded.

    Yu Yanluo couldn''t help but grin when she saw Zu An lean forward while having his ear pinched ¡®painfully¡¯.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression was strange. She thought to herself,This witch is still treating Zu An as a junior? One day, when she ends up being bullied by him, she¡¯ll know just how much of a rude and domineering man he is. Ah¡­ What kind of nonsense am I thinking¡­

    Just like that, the group entered the vast mountains. They encountered some beasts along the way, but with their strength, they were able to deal with them easily.

    Soon afterward, they arrived at a bare mountain. Let alone trees, there wasn¡¯t even a single stalk of grass growing on it.

    ¡°This really is strange¡­ Just then, this mountain was clearly full of life when we saw it in the distance earlier. It was greener and more lush than any other mountain. Why are there no nts at all now that we¡¯re close to it?¡± Yun Jianyue wondered.

    ¡°It¡¯s probably because of this.¡± Yu Yanluo raised her dress and kneeled down, picking up a dark green rock.

    ¡°What is that?¡± Yan Xuehen asked, taking the rock from her and looking at it. Even though there were strands of ki in it, it wasn¡¯t a ki stone and couldn''t be used for cultivation.

    ¡°Judging from the color and shape, these should be made of the legendary Green Jadestone, a material for weapon refinement. Apart from that, they¡¯re rumored to be able to help some special cultivators break through,¡± Yu Yanluo exined.

    The others knew that Yu Yanluo had once been the leader of the number one gemstone n, so her knowledge of that field was definitely exceptional.

    ¡°Oh, so these are Green Jadestones! They¡¯re all good stuff. Collect as much as you can! They¡¯ll be useful once we get out of here,¡± Yun Jianyue said. Her eyes began to burn fervently as she looked around. She discovered that there was quite arge amount of them, and a big smile appeared on her face as she collected them.

    ¡°Look at that greedy appearance of yours,¡± Yan Xuehen said with a frown. She clearly felt that such behavior was unbing of a grandmaster.

    ¡°Hmph, stone cold woman, do you think everyone is like you, better than themon people? I didn¡¯t live a life as pampered as yours, with the White Jade Sect¡¯s people to help you with everything. Our Holy Sect has always been on the poor side. Of course I have to be a bit stingy in order to grow the Holy Sect¡­¡± Yun Jianyue said as she stroked the Green Jadestone in her hand. Her smile affected her normally sharp eyes to the point that they resembled crescent moons. She continued, ¡°...let alone the fact that this stuff is worth quite a bit.¡±

    Zu An moved over to Yan Xuehen and said, ¡°You should take some. Even though there¡¯s quite a bit of Green Jadestone here, it¡¯s extremely rare outside.¡±

    ¡°I do not need any,¡± Yan Xuehen said indifferently. At any other time, she would likely start collecting them, but after being mocked by Yun Jianyue, she really couldn''t bring herself to do it. If she collected some now, wouldn¡¯t she be just as shameless? Who knew what Yun Jianyue would do to hold that over her.

    Zu Anughed. This woman normally acted all cold and aloof, but she actually had such an adorable side to her.

    ¡°Hmph, stone cold woman, you¡¯ll regret this sooner orter. Don¡¯te looking for me if you ever need these Green Jadestones, because I won¡¯t give you any.¡± Yun Jianyue harrumphed.

    Yan Xuehen thought,Why would I look for you? Wouldn¡¯t Zu An have some?She was rmed as soon as that thought emerged in her mind. A pink blush appeared on her fair cheeks, making her look even lovelier.

    Yun Jianyue gave her a strange look, thinking to herself,Why is this stone cold woman suddenly acting all cute?

    Still,she had to admit that the woman was ridiculously pretty.If I were a man, I definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to resist her temptation.

    Soon afterward, Yun Jianyue collected her fill. Even though she was a grandmaster, her storage space was limited. However, Yu Yanluo didn¡¯t seem to be stopping. Yun Jianyue quickly realized that it was the effect of the World Painting! They had even been able to collect the spiritual spring on Feather Mountain, so collecting some Green Jadestones naturally wasn¡¯t a problem. Even though there weren¡¯t really endless mountains and seas inside the painting, it was muchrger than normal storage spaces.

    Yun Jianyue couldn''t help but say with a sigh, ¡°The libationer¡¯s skills in the field of spatial research really are terrifying.¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression was grave. They naturally knew that with Yu Yanluo¡¯s current strength, there was no way she could create something like that. That meant it could only be the libationer¡¯s work.

    Yu Yanluo blushed and said, ¡°This is a treasure that I found in my early years in an ancient secret dungeon. Later on, my master helped me improve it a bit, and that was how this World Painting was formed.¡±

    Only then did Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue feel relieved. So it was an ancient treasure! If it really had been the libationer¡¯s work, it really would make others feel despair towards their ownck of talent.

    Zu An suddenly thought of something, saying, ¡°This should be the Shaoxian Mountain Shun talked about before.¡±

    They remembered the mysterious voice mentioning ¡®Shaoxian Mountain, devoid of grass, full of green jade¡¯. Wasn¡¯t that the exact description of this ce?

    ¡°Everyone, be careful. This is already the Yayu¡¯s domain,¡± Zu An reminded them.

    They stopped collecting the Green Jadestones and began to look around vigntly.

    ¡°Did you all notice? Ever since we entered this mountain, we hadn¡¯t run into a single monster,¡± Yu Yanluo said.

    ¡°That¡¯s normal. Other creatures often avoid the territory of powerful creatures,¡± Yun Jianyue said. She also looked around with her divine will, but she didn¡¯t sense the Yayu there.

    ¡°Huh? There is a temple over there!¡± Yan Xuehen called out, pointing in a certain direction.

    When the others followed her beautiful finger, they saw a secluded little temple halfway up the hill. They quickly rushed there, and saw that the temple was extremely run-down. There were holes everywhere, and it looked as if it could fall apart at a moment¡¯s notice. It was almost as if the temple would copse from a light breeze.

    ¡°There are words written up there,¡± Yu Yanluo said, looking up at the temple gate.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    They saw a nted board overhead. Perhaps it had been too long and the board had already degraded, or it had been broken by something, but there was less than half of the sign left. It hung in ce diagonally, and only a single character was visible. The second character was iplete and only had some fragmented strokes. They couldn''t guess what it was at all.

    ¡°Er (·¡)?¡± Zu An eximed, recognizing the first character. He was puzzled.

    Who would write the character for ¡®betray¡¯ for the first character? Why did it feel as if the sign were mocking or cursing someone?

    Favorite

 Chapter 1411: Three Thousand Weak Water

    <h4>Chapter 1411: Three Thousand Weak Water</h4>

    What¡¯s rted to the character¡¯ betray¡¯ (·¡)? There¡¯s no way it¡¯s Eng Shen, right?[1]</a>Zu An thought. He was confused, but he really didn¡¯t have enough information. He called out, ¡°Everyone, be careful!¡±

    Even though their divine senses didn¡¯t pick up on any living creatures, they really couldn''t afford to overlook anything at the moment. Thus, the others nodded. Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue tacitly agreed to stay on either side of Yu Yanluo because her cultivation was the lowest. That way, if there were any unexpected developments, they could still protect her. Yu Yanluo felt warm inside when she saw that.

    The group entered the temple. The interior was very small, and the windows and roof were heavily tattered. There was no ce for any beasts to hide, so they finally felt some relief.

    However, the statue in the center soon caught their attention. It had a human face and a snake body. Even though many parts of its body were damaged, it still looked as if it were about to pounce on them. Its eyes and expression were both fierce and ruthless.

    Yu Yanluo saw the others¡¯ gazes dart toward her. She asked in embarrassment, ¡°What are you looking at me for?¡±

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue both chuckled awkwardly. They were too embarrassed to ask, so Zu An had to be the one to ask, ¡°Is there any chance that this is a Medusa?¡±

    ¡°Absolutely not!¡± Yu Yanluo said decisively. ¡°The Medusa has always been female, and there¡¯s only ever been a single bloodline. How could there be a male Medusa?¡±

    Yun Jianyue was surprised. Didn¡¯t that mean Yu Yanluo would only give birth to a girl? That meant there wasn¡¯t much of a threat to Honglei!Alright, I have to take the chance to rope her in, or else that stone cold woman and her disciple will get ahead of us.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s cheeks turned red. No one knew what she was thinking.

    ¡°Then does the Snake race have anything that resembles this?¡± Zu An continued. Things that had a human face and a snake body¡­ The first images that came to his mind were Nuwa and Fuxi[2]</a>. However, the statue didn¡¯t bear the slightest resemnce to Nuwa or Fuxi.

    ¡°There are no such things,¡± Yu Yanluo said, her beautiful brow furrowing tightly. She stared at the sinister statue and said. ¡°It feels as if he isn¡¯t from the Snake race, and that he just has a snake body. In the past, whenever I¡¯ve encountered a race that was close to the Snake race, I¡¯ve always felt a sense of intimacy, but I can¡¯t sense anything from this statue. I only feel a bit of fear.¡±

    ¡°It seems as if this should be an unknown evil deity,¡± Yan Xuehen said. ¡°There have been many powerful beings like this in history that havepletely disappeared.¡±

    ¡°Do you think this is the Yayu Shun spoke of?¡± Yu Yanluo voiced her suspicion.

    ¡°That is indeed a possibility,¡± Yan Xauehen said worriedly, ¡°If that really is him, we have to be careful. Judging from his vicious appearance, he is definitely extremely troublesome.¡±

    Meanwhile, Zu An was still wondering what the ¡®er¡¯ (·¡) outside meant.

    ¡°There are some small statues here,¡± Yun Jianyue said as she looked around and saw some pocket-sized sculptures inside the walls. However, the statues had been heavily corroded over time, and it was already too difficult to tell what they had once been. Many of them didn¡¯t even have heads.

    ¡°It seems this person should have been on the level of a monarch when he was still alive,¡± Yu Yanluo said. ¡°These two rows of statues are just like the ministers under him. Still, both the temple¡¯s scale and the number of statues make it clear that he wasn¡¯t an emperor or anything like that. That means the owner of this temple was either the ruler of a small country, or the leader of a particr force.¡±

    When she visited different countries in her younger years, she had often met with their most influential figures. In the field of politics, she was much better versed than an aloof and indifferent figure such as Yan Xuehen, or the head of a sinister organization like Yun Jianyue.

    ¡°So it¡¯s just another ruined country.¡± The group suddenly realized what was happening. There had been many small countries throughout history that were forgotten over time.

    ¡°Why is there a statue missing over here?¡± Yan Xuehen eximed in surprise. She wouldn¡¯t find it too strange for another spot to becking a statue, but it was the one in the ¡®leader¡¯ position of the ¡®subjects¡¯ that was missing.

    Anyone who would end up in that position had to be the leader of the officials, the most important figure among the subjects. It made no sense for the other statues to remain even after the one in that location hadpletely eroded into nothing first.

    ¡°Judging from how the base looks, it seems to have been moved away by someone from the start,¡± Yun Jianyue said after examining it carefully.

    Zu An said in surprise, ¡°If it was moved away not long after it was built, that means this person probably made a terrible mistake.¡±

    Yan Xuehen suddenly cried out in surprise. Her hand gently brushed the area above the statue¡¯s position. When the dust scattered, it revealed several ck dots and lines that formed a simple diagram.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°This seems to be a constetion diagram,¡± Yan Xuehen said after studying it for a while. ¡°This should be the roof mansion, also known as the moon swallow. See, when these lines are joined together, they look like the tail of a swallow. Among the celestial bodies, when the moon enters the roof mansion constetion, it should normally bring the rather dim roof mansion light, but it often creates the phenomenon of a lunar eclipse instead. The constetion then appears even dimmer. This star sign is often extremely sinister, representing the onset of a terrible disaster.¡±

    Zu An was startled. After arriving in this world, he had noticed connections between this ce and his previous world again and again. For example, their astrology knowledge was virtually the same as that of his previous world. Didn¡¯t that mean this ce was none other than Earth?

    However, this world was so much bigger than his previous world. After he became a master rank cultivator and gained the ability to fly, he had be even more certain of that fact. That made it even more confusing.

    Yu Yanluo suddenly giggled, and the others looked at her in confusion. This was such a dangerous star sign, and furthermore one full of ominous portents, so why was sheughing?

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s face reddened. She looked at the two other women and exined, ¡°Don¡¯t you feel like the name of this constetion, ¡®Wei Yue Yan¡¯, has a great affinity with you two? It has Yue and Yan, matching up with your names.¡±

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue were both stunned. Only now did they realize that! Then, they couldn''t help but turn around.

    ¡°Hmph, who wants to have any affinity with her?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m always saying that there¡¯s never anything good when we¡¯re together. That¡¯s what this star sign is telling us!¡±

    Zu An shook his head helplessly when he saw that they were about to fight again. He began to look around the temple to see if he could find any other clues. When he walked behind the human-faced snake-bodied statue, he was suddenly stunned, calling out, ¡°You guys, hurry over here!¡±

    The group quickly rushed over. When they saw what Zu An had found, they were startled. There was a person being hanged there!

    No, upon closer inspection, it was a statue of someone being hanged. The statue had a bird head and a human body, and in his hand was a wooden staff. He looked extremely fierce. However, his face was twisted in pain because he was being hanged in a strange position. His hands had been bound behind his back and tied up with his hair. His body was curled up like a cooked shrimp, but it was bent backward.

    ¡°Take a look at his right foot,¡± Yun Jianyue said, her expression serious. ¡°His right foot was cut off. That kind of punishment is usually only done to those who havemitted extremely serious crimes. Based on the position he was hanged in, this was most likely a criminal whomitted a tremendous offense.¡±

    ¡°Could he be that statue that was missing out in front?¡± Yu Yanluo asked quietly.

    ¡°That is very likely,¡± Yan Xuehen said with a nod. ¡°I wonder what this has to do with that Yayu, though.¡±

    Zu An said with a chuckle, ¡°The fact that this temple is here means it definitely has something to do with the Yayu. It¡¯s just that we don¡¯t have enough information, so we can¡¯t find the link yet. Let¡¯s look around at other ces first.¡±

    The three women couldn''t help but feel admiration for his optimistic attitude. Seeing that they couldn''t find any more clues inside, they also put their confusion aside for the time being.

    Then, the group continued to search the area atop the mountain. It waspletely bare without any trees, so they had a full view of their surroundings and managed to finish their search quickly.

    ¡°Just where is that Yayu hiding?¡± Yun Jianyue grumbled. They hadn¡¯t expected to already get stuck right after they had just begun.

    ¡°Come over here. There seems to be a river at the foot of the other side of the mountain,¡± Yu Yanluo said, having suddenly noticed something.

    The others immediately thought of something. They used movement skills to quickly descend the mountain, heading toward the river. However, only when they got close did they realize that it wasn¡¯t a river at all. It was far wider than a river, and they couldn''t even see the other end.

    Normally, such a wide ¡®river¡¯ should have had an extremely calm current. And yet, the river¡¯s flow was vicious and rapid.

    ¡°There¡¯s a stone tablet here!¡±

    They had all quickly released their divine senses, and thus collected clues very quickly.

    Zu An looked at the rows of words on the stone tablet. His expression changed a bit and he recited, ¡°Three thousand weak water depths; goose feathers float not, reed flowers are doomed to sink[3]</a>!¡±

 Chapter 1412: Endless

    <h4>Chapter 1412: Endless</h4>

    ¡°Hm? Isn¡¯t this just like the water we encountered when we first came here?¡± Yun Jianyue eximed in surprise. They had entered from the fiend races¡¯ Imperial Tomb, then appeared in the Feather Abyss. The water there didn¡¯t have any buoyancy, and even feathers sank in it. Even someone as powerful as the Fiend Emperor had suffered bitterly there.

    They had actually been quite fortunate to be inside the Fiend Emperor¡¯s sleeves; otherwise, with their cultivation, they might have already died as soon as they entered the secret dungeon.

    ¡°Judging from the way the water is flowing, it seems to be headed toward the Feather Abyss,¡± Zu An remarked after observing the area from an elevated position. He said to Yan Xuehen without thinking, ¡°Lend me a feather.¡±

    Yan Xuehen immediately stared at him with murderous intent. Only then did Zu An realize what he had said. He quickly added, ¡°Ah, my bad, it was just a slip of the tongue. Lend me a strand of hair.¡±

    Yan Xuehen gave him a look, but she still gently removed a strand of her hair and gave it to him.

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +233 +233 +233¡­

    Yu Yanluo had a strange expression.Why didn¡¯t Ah Zu ask me for a strand of my hair, but asked her instead?

    And Yan Xuehen had actually given it to him! It even seemed as if that were a natural thing to do for the two of them. Yu Yanluo thought,Am I just overthinking things?

    However, Zu An¡¯s movements drew her attention. She saw him ce Yan Xuehen¡¯s hair gently into the river. Shockingly, the hair didn¡¯t stop for even a second, falling directly into the water! Due to water tension, human hair would usually float on the surface of water, so the result was unusual. Besides, Yan Xuehen was a grandmaster cultivator, so her hair was even softer and sleeker than other people¡¯s. It was even finer than silk.

    ¡°It really seems to be from the same source as the Feather Abyss¡¯ water earlier,¡± Zu An said, his expression grave. It was the legendary Weak Water after all. Such water didn¡¯t have the slightest bit of buoyancy. They really didn¡¯t know what to do now that such a massive river was blocking their path.

    ¡°Can we fly over?¡± Yun Jianyue suggested. ¡°We don¡¯t have to fly too high. That way, we won¡¯t run into those terrifying birds and astral winds. We should be able to get past if we fly right above the water¡¯s surface, right?¡±

    Zu An nodded. That was indeed a viable option. He said, ¡°We can give it a try.¡±

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue seemed about to start a huge fuss, but Zu An stopped them, saying, ¡°If you two were at your strongest, I wouldn¡¯t fight over deciding who would give it a try first. But right now, I should be the one to go. I¡¯m pretty thick-skinned and can take it even if there¡¯s some danger.¡±

    The two women hesitated. However, when they recalled his various skills, they didn¡¯t continue arguing and instead said, ¡°Then you have to be careful.¡±

    Zu An nodded, then walked over to the water. He was extremely careful, even using the jade badge to see if there were any nearby creatures. Sure enough, however, there was nothing inside. There wasn¡¯t a single fish or shrimp in the Weak Water.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    He also used the Blue Mard ability, discovering that the skill didn¡¯t grant him any affinity with the water. It was almost as if it weren¡¯t real water. He couldn''t sense the slightest bit of the water element in it.

    ¡°This stuff really is freaky,¡± he said. It made even someone like him, who was usually fairly unshakable, a bit nervous. In response, Yu Yanluo went over to his side and gently took his hand to reassure him.

    Yun Jianyue suddenly felt that she couldn''t take it anymore when she saw that. She turned to Yan Xuehen and cursed, ¡°They should get a freaking room already.¡±

    However, Yan Xuehen merely looked stunned, but said nothing. Yun Jianyue was surprised and said, ¡°What¡¯s with you?¡±

    ¡°Nothing,¡± Yan Xuehen said, looking away stiffly. She thought,Why is my heart beating so crazily? Is it because I saw another woman acting intimately with Chuyan¡¯s man?

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s face turned a bit red when she heard what Yun Jianyue said. She let go of Zu An¡¯s hand awkwardly. She gave him a few warnings, then took out her paintbrush and applied a translucent rune on his back to make his body even more nimble and graceful.

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue both nodded when they saw that. Even though Yu Yanluo¡¯s cultivation was beneath their own, her skillsplemented them well, making her an excellent support.

    Yu Yanluo felt a bit embarrassed when she heard their praise. She said, ¡°These runes aren¡¯t anything fancy. I just picked up a bit of knowledge, since I study art anyway. The most formidable one in this field is my great senior. He can use runes to produce all sorts of miraculous effects and is much more amazing than me. My master previously even said that in the field of runes, not even he couldpare to great senior.¡±

    ¡°The academy¡¯s great senior has always been mysterious. In the past, out of the libationer¡¯s disciples, Sword Immortal Xiao Yao had the greatest natural talent. But after what happened, it should be this great senior who¡¯s the strongest now,¡± Yun Jianyue said with a sigh.

    Yan Xuehen shook her head, saying, ¡°Xiao Yao has always been inferior to him. This person has just maintained a low profile, so not many people have really gotten close to him.¡±

    ¡°Wow, look at you, Miss White Jade Sect Leader. You must really know the ins and outs since you¡¯re so close to those capital folks,¡± Yun Jianyue said with a harrumph. She knew that with Yan Xuehen¡¯s status, it was easy for her to associate with important individuals. Meanwhile, she was always detested and cast out by the people. She immediately felt terrible when she thought of that difference.

    Yan Xuehen raised her beautiful brows. She naturally hadn¡¯t had any intention of showing off. This witch really was irritating, but she didn¡¯t want to disturb Zu An by starting a fight on the spot, so she changed the topic. ¡°I heard that he recently took in a female disciple, and her talent in runes is not bad. She should be able to inherit his true inheritance.¡±

    ¡°Brightmoon City Lord Xie¡¯s daughter. She¡¯s meticulous and sharp, educated and well-bnced,¡± Yu Yanluo said with a nod. She had been the Yu n¡¯s leader through thick and thin, so that information had been within her reach.

    ¡°Brightmoon City? Isn¡¯t that Little An¡¯s hometown?¡± Yun Jianyue asked, stunned. Back then, her disciple Qiu Honglei had gone to Brightmoon City to carry out her mission, which was why she had some impression of it.

    The three women suddenly looked toward Zu An, their expressions full of suspicion. Zu An felt wronged, thinking,Who are they taking me for? Do all pretty girls have to have something to do with me?

    At first, he wanted to fight back, but when he recalled how his rtionship with Xie Daoyun really wasn¡¯t bad, he immediately lost confidence. He said right before flying off in rm, ¡°Haha¡­ I¡¯ll give this a go now. Please help me watch the surroundings.¡±

    Yun Jianyue wondered, ¡°We just wanted to ask if he knew her, so what is he leaving in such a hurry for?¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression turned cold, while Yu Yanluo sighed inwardly.This guy is normally pretty smart, so why did he indirectly admit to it like that?

    ¡­

    Zu An flew carefully. He didn¡¯t summon the Wind Fire Wheels, because he didn¡¯t know what kind of result flying would have. He was worried that they could fall into the water, which would be the worst result.

    After reaching the master rank, he had be able to borrow thews of the world to fly. However, he rocked back and forth as he flew. He felt that there were some ws with thews of the world, which made his flight unstable. However, he could still barely control himself if he flew at a low altitude, just above the water¡¯s surface.

    He observed his surroundings vigntly while flying. Unexpectedly, though, things went rather smoothly. Still, he couldn¡¯t see any end in sight. When he turned to look at the shore, he saw that the three women already looked extremely small. He was left in awe of the scale of the Weak Water, to the extent that he began to wonder if there really was an end to it.

    He definitely didn¡¯t want to be like those little birds from his previous world that flew out to sea but ended up too tired to fly back to the continent. When they ran out of strength, they drowned in the ocean.

    ¡°Could there be another way to get past this Weak Water?¡± Zu An wondered. After all, with his current cultivation, his sight was already quite powerful. If he still couldn''t see the other side, didn¡¯t that mean this river was even more vast than the sea? However, he had clearly seen a river on the mountain, so there was no way it was this wide.

    He realized that something was wrong, and thus decided to return and discuss things with the other three. They were experienced, and it was possible that they could see through the mysteries at y.

    Just then, however, something strange happened. The water below suddenly surged as if it were boiling. A wave rushed at him without any warning, making it incredibly hard to defend against. Furthermore, thews of the world contained ws, so Zu An couldn''t even fly that well. If it were anyone else, they would have already been knocked down into the water.

    Fortunately, Zu An was quick-witted, using Grandgale to move a couple of dozen meters upward. Only then did he avoid the wave. Still, he didn¡¯t have time to feel relief, because the entire river seemed to have begun tossing and turning. Then, it began to climb higher and higher at a visible rate, reaching toward where he was in the sky!

 Chapter 1413: Water Surfaceâ€™s Dangers

    Chapter 1413: Water Surface¡¯s Dangers

    Zu An jumped in fright. What the hell is up with this water? Why is it suddenlying at me?

    He had no choice but to continue flying up. Suddenly, however, the weird ck birds that even that giant octopus monster avoided appeared above him. He knew continuing in that direction wasn¡¯t a solution. The water was drawing closer and closer, but the skies above were no less dangerous.

    At that point, he didn¡¯t have any room to hesitate. He immediately took out the Wind Fire Wheels and began to elerate toward the shore at full speed. The Wind Fire Wheels were much faster than flying under his own power.

    Suddenly, however, a massive wave rose up, blocking Zu An¡¯s path! If it were a normal river, Zu An could just rush through no matter how great the wave was. However, the Weak Water was just too strange! He didn¡¯t know what would happen if he got hit by it. He could just drop out of the sky and sink into the water like a rock. He didn¡¯t dare to take that gamble.

    Thus, he quickly used Grandgale to move to one side. However, the Weak Water seemed to have a mind of its own. He avoided the waves several times, but suddenly, a wave appeared that was so massive, he couldn¡¯t see the end no matter how he tried to avoid it.

    At that instant, Zu An suddenly felt a simr sense of suffocation as when he had seen the giant wave from the movie Interster. Still, he wasn¡¯t an ordinary person anymore. He didn¡¯t hesitate and rushed straight into the sky, intending to use the advantage of speed to avoid the wave. Then, he nned to pass over the wave from above.

    For some reason, however, the wave rose just as quickly as he flew. It was almost as if the higher he flew, the higher it reached. Soon, the huge wave was only a few feet from where he was. He could already smell the water and sense its devastating power.

    He clenched his teeth, then immediately used the Star Shattering Imprint, increasing his strength tenfold. Then, he took out the Yin Yang Swords he had gotten from Chi Wen to summon the Snow Phoenix. He unleashed the Snowke Sword, and his entire body rotated as he rushed toward the giant wave in front of him. The Star Shattering Imprint and the Snow Phoenix working together made the Snowke Sword incredibly powerful, and the surrounding Weak Water immediately froze.

    However, he still felt as if he had been struck by lightning. The impact force made all of his veins bulge, fine droplets of blood appearing on his skin. How powerful was the terrifying wave? It had almost instantly left him seriously injured. Furthermore, the Yin Yang Swords, which were heaven-grade weapons, also cried out; they vibrated intensely, as if they could shatter at any moment.

    Zu An quickly used the Primordial Origin Sutra to heal his body¡¯s injuries. At the same time, he used ki to protect the swords. They would be done for if they broke here.

    Surprisingly, the Yin Yang Swords suddenly seemed to have sensed the Fire Phoenix and Blue Mard¡¯s power within him. The Fire Phoenix¡¯s power entered the yang sword in his left hand, while the Blue Mard¡¯s power entered the yin sword in his right. The yang sword released blinding, fiery red light, while the yin sword emitted a gentle, light blue glow. The two radiances seemed to harmonize with each other, forming a taiji diagram. Just like that, their power greatly increased.

    Zu An felt the pressure suddenly lessen, and afterward, he spun rapidly through the ice sheet like a screw. Not long after he passed through the giant wave, however, he turned around and saw that the chunk of ice had already disappeared. When the water came crashing down on the river¡¯s surface again, mist flew everywhere.

    Worried that another giant wave would appear, Zu An didn¡¯t dare to stop for even a moment. He frantically flew back onto the shore. Fortunately, after his previous flight, he had already gotten close to shore. He had already clearly seen the three women¡¯s worried expressions.

    Zu An waved at the three women, and was about to greet them when he saw their expressions suddenly change. He became alert, and quickly used Grandgale to move a dozen or so meters to one side.

    Just then, a bloody mouth chomped down on the air where Zu An had been. He looked and finally saw what was attacking him, as a strange monster with a dragon head and a cat body suddenly rushed out of the Weak Water. When he saw its teeth shing with a cold glint, Zu An thought to himself that even though his body had already been tempered by the Primordial Origin Sutra several times, even if he didn¡¯t die on the spot, he would still be nearly dead if they had bitten down on him.

    However, he didn¡¯t have time to sigh in amazement, because when the monster realized it had missed, it instantly swiped its massive ws at him. It was so fast that he didn¡¯t have a chance to catch his breath at all.

    Zu An was already suffering from internal injuries from breaking through the huge wave, and he had been forced to dodge the mouth hurriedly too. He was in an awkward situation, as he had just spent his energy and needed a moment to muster more.

    His only option was to use Grandgale again. Unfortunately, the cooldown refresh of Mo Xi¡¯s Celestial Jade Pce hadn¡¯t activated, so Grandgale couldn''t be used immediately. The cooldown before it could be used again was extremely short, but at that moment, it was an incredibly critical difference. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    He clenched his teeth and raised the white and ck swords, deciding to take the monster head-on. Suddenly, however, a white band wrapped around his waist. Then, a gentle force pulled him back, causing the w that had been about to strike him directly to miss.

    When Zu An snapped out of his daze, he found that he was already ashore. It turned out that Yan Xuehen had been the one who pulled him back.

    The monster roared a few times, then reluctantly returned to the water.

    The others sighed, then approached to check Zu An¡¯s condition, asking, ¡°You weren¡¯t injured by that monster, were you?¡±

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t,¡± Zu An said. He patted his chest to indicate that he was still alive and healthy before continuing, ¡°Thank you for your help, big sis Yan. Right, where did you get such a long rope from?¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s face reddened and she looked away, not answering his question.

    ¡°To actually make that stone cold woman undo her waistband¡­ You¡¯re probably the only man in this world who can do that,¡± Yun Jianyue remarked, amused.

    ¡°Witch, do you always have to be like this?!¡± Yan Xuehen eximed in embarrassment. This was actually not the first time she had undone her waist band in front of Zu An, so she felt even more guilt and shame for having been exposed by Yun Jianyue¡¯s joke.

    Zu An was stunned. His gaze shifted to Yan Xuehen¡¯s dress, which had suddenly be looser, and he quickly made the connection. He hadn¡¯t expected her waistband to be able to extend so far.

    As if sensing their confusion, Yan Xuehen added, ¡°For the sake of convenience, this band had the ability to change its length added through runes. Apart from that, it is no different from an ordinary band. It is not a precious artifact.¡±

    When the others thought about it, they realized that made sense. Who would be so senseless as to remove their own waistband to fight?

    ¡°Big sis Yan, in order to express my gratitude, please let me put it on for you again,¡± Zu An said, moving closer with a smile.

    ¡°Get lost!¡± Yan Xuehen snapped, her expressionpletely cold. This guy really is daring, actually teasing me in front of everyone! Is he not scared of exposing our rtionship?

    ¡°I think it¡¯s best if I do it,¡± Yu Yanluo said, rolling her eyes at Zu An. She moved closer and helped Yan Xuehen fix her waistband, saying, ¡°Big sister, your waist is so fair.¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s face turned red. She said, ¡°If we are talking about thin waists, who canpare to you?¡±

    Yu Yanluo was the Medusa Queen. That had something to do with the innate traits of the Snake Race.

    The group¡¯s attention quickly returned to the monster from earlier. One remarked, ¡°That monster seems to resemble the legendary Qilin a bit, but it has a dragon head and a cat body. Its face is also a bit frightening.¡±

    ¡°That should be the Yayu we need to kill. It resembles what Shun described,¡± Zu An said seriously. ¡°Still, I didn¡¯t expect it to not be hiding on Shaoxian Mountain, but rather in the Weak Water at the foot of the mountain.¡±

    ¡°Not even feathers can float in the Weak Water. Just how is it able to move freely in the water?¡± Yu Yanluo wondered.

    Zu An shared her puzzlement. He had even used the jade badge to check the water, and yet he hadn¡¯t sensed even a single fish. That was why he had assumed that there was nothing there, and hadn¡¯t expected he would almost lose his life there.

    ¡°Judging from our earlier encounter, it does not actually seem to be stronger than the Taowu or that giant octopus. Still, it really will be quite tricky to deal with if it hides in the Weak Water,¡± Yan Xuehen said with a frown.

    Of course, saying that it wasn¡¯t strong was rtive. The aura it had released was also at the grandmaster level, making it a dangerous opponent regardless of which one of them faced it. Still, if they worked together, it wasn¡¯t so powerful it would make them feel despair.

    ¡°Right, Little An, how did your investigation go earlier? Can this Weak Water be crossed?¡± Yun Jianyue asked.

    Zu An was stunned. He replied, ¡°Huh? Did you not see what happened earlier?¡±

    ¡°What happened?¡± the women asked, looking at him nkly.

 Chapter 1414: Hunter and Prey

    Chapter 1414: Hunter and Prey

    ¡°You guys didn¡¯t see that giant wave?¡± Zu An eximed in surprise.

    ¡°What giant wave?¡± the three women replied, feeling even more confused.

    Yu Yanluo shook her head and said, ¡°We only saw that you were getting farther and farther from shore. Then, a thick fog spread out and covered everything, and you disappeared into it.¡±

    Zu An was dumbstruck. He hadn¡¯t expected that to be what they saw on their end. Next, he gave them a rough exnation of what had happened; the three women¡¯s expressions all changed when they heard how dangerous it was.

    ¡°Were you hurt?¡± Yu Yanluo asked. She quickly inspected Zu An, while the two other women also looked at him nervously. They hadn¡¯t known it was that dangerous, which was why they had assumed that he wasn¡¯t injured at all when they saw he hadn¡¯t been bitten by the monster.

    Zu An shrugged and said, ¡°I¡¯m really fine. I was just a bit shaken up, but I¡¯m thick-skinned and recovered quickly.¡±

    Yan Xuehen let go of his wrist and said, ¡°Your energies are a bit turbulent, but your life force is still strong. Your regenerative ability really is great.¡± She suddenly recalled his endless stamina and couldn¡¯t help but blush.

    Yun Jianyue was a bit puzzled. She asked, ¡°Stone cold woman, what is your face getting all red for?¡± She had noticed that Yan Xuehen¡¯s face had been turning red a bit too often recently.

    ¡°My face is not red at all,¡± Yan Xuehen said guiltily in denial, and quickly changed the topic. ¡°Right, what do you think about what Ah Zu just said?¡±

    Sure enough, Yun Jianyue¡¯s attention shifted and she said, ¡°There are two possibilities. The first is that for some unknown reason, Little An was influenced by something, such as some poison in the mist that made him experience an illusion¡­¡±

    Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°That was definitely not an illusion. I¡¯m certain of that. Furthermore, with my constitution, being poisoned isn¡¯t easy at all.¡±

    ¡°In that case, it can only be the other possibility, which is that the Weak Water was brought about by the will of the world. It isn¡¯t something truly tangible, simr to our domains. Based on what you just exined, that was just to stop you from crossing the Weak Water,¡± Yun Jianyue said with a grave expression.

    ¡°Right,¡± Yan Xuehen said with a nod. ¡°This exins why, even though we could clearly see that there was a river on that mountain, it was wider than a sea when we tried to cross it. If I am not mistaken, even if you had enough strength to break through that giant wave, there would never be an end in sight no matter how long you flew for.¡±

    ¡°Can something like that exist?¡± Zu An asked, stunned. ¡°Is there a solution to this then?¡±

    Yan Xuehen shook her head and said, ¡°Not unless your strength can exceed the will of this world and break free from the naturalws, or you find the sliver of life.¡±

    ¡°Sliver of life?¡± Yu Yanluo asked in confusion.

    Yun Jianyue exined, ¡°If we look at the well-known fifty great daos, forty-nine overflow from the heavens, but one path of life remains. There are no dangerous situations without any way out, because that would be meaningless. Right now, we should give up on crossing this Weak Water and should instead find the way out.¡±

    As she listened, Yu Yanluo felt overwhelmed with admiration and ashamed of her inferiority. As expected of grandmasters, their knowledge was far above her own.

    Zu An thought of something and eximed, ¡°The Yayu!¡±

    The grandmasters nodded and replied, ¡°That was what we were thinking of too. Not even a feather can float in this Weak Water, and yet this Yayu can move through it freely. That is clearly something strange and should be a tip for us.¡±

    Zu An suddenly made the connection and said, ¡°It looks as if this is the first trial of the path Shun spoke of. There¡¯s just one problem right now. That guy is hiding in the Weak Water. Will we be able to deal with it?¡±

    Yu Yanluo suggested, ¡°Ah Zu, aren¡¯t you close to water? You can try in the shallows of the coast, and see if you can enter the water.¡±

    If Zu An could do that, things would be much easier whether they had to face the Yayu or not.

    ¡°Okay!¡± Zu An replied with a nod.

    That was what he¡¯d had in mind too. He hadn¡¯t dared to try anything when he was in the midst of the river, as he had been scared that he wouldn¡¯t be able to get back up if he fell. However, the shore was so shallow that even if something unexpected happened, he would probably be able to deal with it.

    He walked over to the water, intending to give it a try, but the three women immediately urged him to fully recover first. He shook his head and said, ¡°My regenerative ability is strong. My injuries have already mostly healed, so I should give it a try first.¡±

    The three women saw that they couldn''t convince him, so they could only agree. However, they had one request, which was that there had to be defensive measures in ce.

    ¡°This water is so shallow, is there a need for that?¡± Zu An asked, looking at the water that was less than two feet deep. He didn¡¯t feel that it was necessary.

    Yun Jianyue shook her head and said, ¡°What you see might not necessarily be the case. When we looked at it from the mountaintop, the river looked normal, but things were very different when we came closer.¡±

    When he heard that, Zu An was convinced. Thus, it was time to decide what kind of protective measures to use.

    The others¡¯ gazes shifted to Yan Xuehen, leaving her embarrassed and anxious. She eximed, ¡°What are you looking at me for?!¡±

    Yun Jianyue tugged at her waistband with a big smile, saying, ¡°We want to use your waistband, of course.¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s face heated up. She protested, ¡°It is not as if you guys don¡¯t have any. Just give him yours!¡±

    ¡°Sigh, but ours don¡¯t have your waistband¡¯s amazing ability. You¡¯ve already saved him once anyway, so it¡¯s not a big deal to use it again,¡± Yun Jianyue said while pulling on the waistband.

    ¡°Ah! Stop moving!¡± Yan Xuehen cried.

    She knew Yun Jianyue was just joking, but she still felt guilty. After all, it was rted to Zu An¡¯s safety, so in the end, she still removed her waistband and wrapped it around his waist. She held the other end in her hand, saying, ¡°If there is anything strange, tug on this band. I will immediately pull you out.¡±

    Zu An nodded toward her with a smile. His expression was something only the two of them understood.

    Meanwhile, Yan Xuehen¡¯s heart rate quickened. This guy really was daring! He actually dared to tease her in front of the others!

    Zu An quickly arrived on the shore. As he felt cautious, he didn¡¯t immediately enter the water, but instead cupped his hands to take some of it. There was no poison in the water; apart from being ice-cold, it didn¡¯t feel that different from normal water. After testing that out, he then jumped into the shallow waters close to the shore.

    However, his expression immediately changed when he entered, as he felt his body be even heavier than a steelyard weight. Additionally, a mysterious force seemed to be dragging him deeper beneath the water.

    The women on the shore were shocked. They saw that Zu An had lost his center of gravity and was about to fall. Yan Xuehen quickly tugged the waistband backward, but it quickly ckened. As it happened, the waistband had be extremely frail in the ce where it touched the water, and it snapped the moment she used even a little strength to pull on it.

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Little An!¡±

    Yu Yanluo and Yun Jianyue cried out in rm. Yan Xuehen felt as if her soul had left her body. She had clearly said that she wanted to distance herself from him, and yet in this instant, she felt as if she were losing her most important thing.

    However, she was only stunned for a moment, and she quickly flew toward the water. Yun Jianyue and Yu Yanluo also moved at the same moment, but they didn¡¯t have much hope at all. The Weak Water was just too strange. They really didn¡¯t feel that there was much hope of saving him.

    Suddenly, a bright red silken cloth flew out of the water, but it was still a fair distance away from the women. However, Yan Xuehen was quick to react. With a flip of her wrist, she sent the remaining half of the waistband around her wrist out to wrap around the red silk. She gave it a strong pull, dragging a sorry-looking figure out of the water. Who else could it be but Zu An?

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡± Yu Yanluo eximed in happiness and surprise.

    Yan Xuehen also sighed in relief. At that instant, she felt as if she had lost something great, but then regained it.

    However, before Zu An could feel relieved, his expression changed. He cried, ¡°Be careful!¡±

    A monster with the head of a dragon and the body of a cat suddenly leaped out of the water, biting down on Zu An.

    ¡°You came at the perfect time!¡± Zu An eximed. He had already been prepared. If he had still made the same mistake after suffering bitterly once already, he would really be worthless.

    He took out the Universe Ring. The band erged magically, then smashed into the Yayu¡¯s head loudly.

    The Yayu¡¯s head rang from the force. Just the fact that its head hadn¡¯t exploded into a bloody paste immediately proved that it was quite strong. When it saw the three women who were ring at it like prey, it immediately realized that they weren¡¯t good targets to provoke. It seemed to have changed from hunter to prey. As such, it turned at the waist, intending to enter the water again.

 Chapter 1415: Gift

    Chapter 1415: Gift

    However, the women were all powerful cultivators. They quickly reacted to the situation. Yun Jianyue took out her Empress Lantern and shone it on the monster. Those with lower cultivation ranks wouldn¡¯t be able to move beneath the Empress Lantern¡¯s effects at all. The Yayu was more powerful than that; however, even though it didn¡¯tpletely freeze under the light¡¯s effects, it clearly slowed down a bit.

    Yu Yanluo used runes to support the others while releasing a special radiance from her eyes. It was the Medusa¡¯s Eye!

    A faint earth-yellow tinge covered the Yayu¡¯s entire body, as if it had been covered in ayer of stone skin. Its movements became heavy and clumsy. It definitely hadn¡¯t expected such sudden developments, making it lose its center of gravity and fall down.

    I¡¯ll be safe as long as I can get back into the water! it thought.

    However, it soon widened its massive eyes in disbelief, because it saw that the Weak Water it was so familiar with actually had begun to freeze into ice. Only then did it notice a woman in white using a skill, causing snowkes to surround her. The ice was clearly spreading because of her.

    It was already toote to change directions, so the Yayu fell heavily on the sheet of ice. Spiderweb-like cracks quickly appeared on the surface.

    Yan Xuehen staggered, herplexion pale. The attack had clearly made her feel awful. However, she still gritted her teeth and resolutely controlled the frozenyer, preventing the Yayu from escaping.

    Zu An instantly rushed over. The Yin Yang Swords, with the support of the Fire Phoenix and Blue Mard, drew out a beautiful arc that harmonized yin and yang perfectly. They quickly severed the Yayu¡¯s head, and its entire body stiffened. It could no longer hold on and came crashing down on the ice.

    The women sighed in relief. They had finally killed the monster!

    Yan Xuehen couldn''t maintain the frozen surface any longer. It soon melted, and the Yayu¡¯s body fell into the Weak Water. They didn¡¯t think too much of that, because Zu An had tossed its head ashore. The head was the most important part. There weren¡¯t many creatures that could survive after having their heads removed.

    ¡°Little An, that sh of yours had a great affinity with the dao. Even I gained some enlightenment, as if I had picked up on some naturalws. Just how did you do that?¡± Yun Jianyue asked curiously.

    Yan Xuehen also stared at him calmly with her beautiful eyes. That wasn¡¯t the Snowke Sword skill; it was more like something he had created himself.

    Zu An raised the Yin Yang swords in his hands and said, ¡°That sh was guided by these Yin Yang Swords. I felt a mysterious force emanate from them that helped meplete it.¡±

    Seeing the two different glows and attributes of the swords, Yan Xuehen quickly realized what was happening, as a powerful cultivator. She said, ¡°It must be an incredible skill that can only be disyed when forceful and gentle elements join together. You are probably the only one capable of that.¡±

    The cultivators of this world were almost always single-element cultivators. Only a freak like Zu An would have so many different elements, and furthermore, opposing ones that shed with each other.

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s actually because of your help that I was able to kill the monster. I didn¡¯t expect our teamwork would be so excellent. We didn¡¯t need to n things out beforehand at all.¡±

    The women were all stunned. When they thought about it, if any one of them had been missing, or if they had made the wrong decisions, they might not have been able to kill the Yayu. They hadn¡¯t expected to be so familiar with each other after traveling together, to the point that their cooperation had already reached such a level.

    Zu An looked at Yu Yanluo. The ¡®buffs¡¯ she had granted him were quite considerable, ranging from power, speed, and dexterity; all of those aspects were increased significantly.

    Now that I think about it, why doesn¡¯t she give me these buffs when we¡¯re in bed? Alright, I¡¯ll have to tell her to give it a try next time.

    Even though Yu Yanluo wasn¡¯t able to read what he was thinking, after they had stayed around each other for so long, she could sense a thing or two from his gaze. Her little face immediately turned red. She thought, This guy¡­ There are still those two big sisters here¡­

    Yan Xuehen seemed to have noticed that the two of them were exchanging looks. She said indifferently, ¡°I am going to leave for a bit.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He asked, ¡°Where are you going?¡±

    Yun Jianyue rolled her eyes and replied, ¡°Where else? Of course, it¡¯s to change her waistband. It was ruined trying to save you. I really don¡¯t know what kinds of properties this Weak Water has. It even has corrosive effects.¡±

    ¡°What are you exining all of that to him for?!¡± Yan Xuehen eximed in embarrassment. After all, talking about her own waistband with a man really was humiliating.

    She looked at the remaining half of her waistband in her hand and felt a bit brokenhearted. The item had already apanied her for many years, and she had always been fond of it. She hadn¡¯t expected to lose it here.

    Ah, this is bad. I don¡¯t think I have any extra waistbands.

    After all, that band had been specially made. It was capable of lengthening and shortening, and it remained clean on its own. That was why there had never been any need to prepare any extras. How could she have anticipated such an awkward scenario?

    Should I borrow one from the witch? No, wouldn¡¯t I be made fun of for that for the rest of my life?

    Then what about Yu Yanluo? I don¡¯t really want to owe her more favors, though¡­

    She was a bit at a loss for what to do. However, Zu An saw her expression and said with a smile, ¡°Big sis Yan, your waistband was ruined because of me, so of course I have to take responsibility. How about this? This Primal Skysilk can also lengthen and shorten, and to a certain extent, it¡¯s quite simr to your waistband. You can just use it for that.¡±

    The three women¡¯s eyes immediately widened when they heard that. Yun Jianyue couldn¡¯t take it anymore and eximed, ¡°You¡¯re giving away a heaven-grade weapon so easily just like that? And to be treated as a waistband? Isn¡¯t this basically a betrothal gift?!¡±

    Yan Xuehen eximed in shame and annoyance, ¡°Witch, what kind of nonsense are you saying?¡±

    This guy, really¡­ If you do that in front of those two, isn¡¯t that basically exposing our rtionship?

    Yun Jianyue gave her an unexpected look, saying, ¡°I¡¯m saying that it¡¯s a betrothal gift for your disciple Chuyan. Don¡¯t tell me you thought it was for you? Keep dreaming. Like hell a stone cold woman like you could get married.¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s face turnedpletely red. She really had thought that Yun Jianyue was talking about her. How could she admit to that, though? She said, ¡°Of course I know that you are talking about Chuyan, but I have not agreed to that marriage yet. Just a band alone, being enough to give away my precious disciple? There is no way it could be that easy.¡±

    Yun Jianyue retorted in annoyance, ¡°A heaven-grade weapon still isn¡¯t enough? Does your disciplee encrusted with diamonds?¡±

    Yan Xuehen was furious. She eximed, ¡°Witch, what are you saying?!¡±

    Yu Yanluo quickly stepped forward to mediate the situation, saying, ¡°Big sis Yan, since this is Ah Zu¡¯s sincerity, you should just take it.¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    There shouldn¡¯t be anything between Ah Zu and her, right? Otherwise, why would he give her such an important gift in such an overt manner?

    They shouldn¡¯t have¡­ Right?

    Zu An looked at Yan Xuehen with a gentle smile, saying, ¡°Exactly, just take it. Otherwise, I won¡¯t feel too good.¡±

    Yan Xuehen felt her heart pound crazily when she saw his expression. She was worried that further rejections would make her look guilty, so she could only say, ¡°Fine then. Out of favor for your¡­ for your filial piety, I will reluctantly ept.¡±

    Look at this woman saying and feelingpletely different things, Zu An thought. He used the momentum to say, ¡°In that case, let me help you put it on then.¡± Then, without waiting for her to say anything, he walked up to her and moved his arms around behind her to ¡®air hug¡¯ her. Then, he tied the Primal Skysilk around her waist.

    When she sensed his movements and realized that she could even clearly sense the warmth of his fingers touching the skin around her waist, Yan Xuehen¡¯s entire body stiffened. She didn¡¯t dare move, and her heart pounded. At that moment, her strongest emotion wasn¡¯t bashfulness; rather, she was worried that Yun Jianyue and Yu Yanluo would notice something off about their rtionship.

    Fortunately, Zu An didn¡¯t take too much time and quickly tied up the Primal Skysilk. He said, praising his own work, ¡°This looks great. The fiery redness adds a bit of liveliness to your look.¡±

    ¡°Red looks absolutely awful. It does not match my clothes at all,¡± Yan Xuehen harrumphed and replied instinctively.

    ¡°I can¡¯t take this anymore! Stone cold woman, you¡¯re already getting so many benefits, and yet you¡¯re still acting like this?!¡± Yun Jianyue eximed, feeling upset. She asked, ¡°Little An, you gave her something, but what about me?¡±

    Suddenly, Yu Yanluo cried out in rm, ¡°The Yayu¡¯s head disappeared!¡±

 Chapter 1416: Endless Revival

    Chapter 1416: Endless Revival

    ¡°What?¡± The others jumped in fright and looked at where the Yayu¡¯s head had once been. Sure enough, they saw nothing there.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Did the head flee back into the Weak Water on its own?¡± Zu An wondered, stunned. This was the first time he had ever seen such a thing happening with a severed head. It was way too weird.

    ¡°No,¡± Yu Yanluo said, shaking her head. Herplexion was a bit pale as she continued, hesitantly looking for a suitable word, ¡°The head didn¡¯t return to the Weak Water. Instead, it seemed to have just¡­ melted away.¡±

    ¡°Melted?¡± The others replied, shocked. They really couldn''t understand what jad happened.

    ¡°Could it be that the Yayu was created from the Weak Water? So when it died, it just melted away?¡± Yu Yanluo wondered.

    Yan Xuehen said with a frown, ¡°Could it be that the Yayu did not die at all?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s too likely. Even its head was removed, and we saw that with our own eyes. It shouldn¡¯t have been a fake,¡± Yun Jianyue said, shaking her head.

    They talked for a long time, but in the end, they weren¡¯t able to confirm whether the Yayu was dead or alive.

    ¡­

    The conversation quickly returned to the previous subject. Yun Jianyue said, ¡°Little An, you still didn¡¯t say what you were giving me.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression stiffened. He quickly suggested, ¡°Then how about I just give you these Yin Yang Swords? You were praising them not too long ago.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, forget it. I¡¯m not like you, someone who can use yin and yang energies at the same time,¡± Yun Jianyue said, her expression darkening. ¡°Even if I could, these swords don¡¯t suit me as well as my Crescent Ring. Just keep them on you.¡±

    Zu An began to sweat buckets. He offered, ¡°Then why not just pick something from here?¡± He took out all of his treasures apart from the Tai¡¯e Sword that Mi Li stayed in and the Poisonous Prick that was already bound to him, letting her pick freely.

    However, not only was Yun Jianyue not happy at all, she even became upset and said, ¡°You don¡¯t have a shred of sincerity. I don¡¯t want that stuff.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +488 +488 +488¡­

    Yan Xuehen felt great when she saw how upset Yun Jianyue was. Ah Zu does treat me differently. Keep angering that witch!

    Zu An hadn¡¯t expected Yun Jianyue to be so angry, but he reacted quickly and said, ¡°You¡¯re right, I don¡¯t have anything suitable for you. How about this? If I find something that¡¯s suitable for you in the future, I¡¯ll definitely give it to you immediately.¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s mood changed from annoyance to happiness. She said, ¡°That¡¯s more like it. I didn¡¯t treat you so well for nothing after all.¡±

    After appeasing her, Zu An sighed in relief, but a momentter, he received another huge batch of Rage points from Yan Xuehen. He really wanted to cry, yet no tears came out.

    He finally understood why the dating simtors in his previous world had so many different routes, and why it was rare to be able to follow all of them. As expected, choosing one route meant having to give up on another one.

    Just then, a roar suddenly emerged from the Weak Water. When the group turned around, they once again saw the Yayu appear in a wave of water, baring its fangs at them. They were all stunned. It really hadn¡¯t died?

    The Yayu seemed to be angry that it had been plotted against and killed so easily. That was why this time, it didn¡¯t hesitate to sweep its tail. An endless stream of water arrows flowed from the Weak Water and flew toward the group.

    The group instinctively evaded the Yayu¡¯s ferocious attack. When the water arrowsnded on therge rocks on the shore, they quickly pierced through the rocks, and the holes left behind seemed to be growingrger over time.

    ¡°This water has corrosive properties!¡± Yan Xuehen cried out in rm. She finally understood why her waistband had broken.

    Zu An was filled with curiosity, saying, ¡°I¡¯ve touched this water before, though. Why was it fine?¡±

    ¡°It is either because your poison immunity paired with your tough body allows you to resist its corrosive nature, or that the ki of high-level cultivators can resist this Weak Water, preventing it from touching their skin,¡± Yan Xuehen said quickly.

    They all suddenly realized that, no matter which of them it was, touching the water arrows directly with their bodies wouldn¡¯t be a wise choice.

    They were all some of the world¡¯s strongest individuals, however. After evading the arrows, they began their counterattack. While Yun Jianyue used the Empress Lantern, she also sent the Crescent Ring flying; it turned into a streak of moonlight that flew toward the Yayu¡¯s waist.

    The Yayu had just suffered from the Empress Lantern a little while before, so how could it repeat that disastrous event? It struck outward with its sharp ws, sending a surge of Weak Water to block the light. Then, it twisted its body, barely avoiding the fatal moonbeam.

    Just then, Yu Yanluo unfolded a scroll. Countless golden-armored soldiers charged forth from it to restrain the Yayu¡¯s limbs. However, the Yayu roared in fury. It shook its body powerfully,pletely shaking off the soldiers.

    Yan Xuehen also made her move at the same time. She unfurled the Primal Skysilk Zu An had just given her, sending it out to bind the monster¡¯s leg. Then, with a flick of her wrist, she pulled it ashore.

    The Yayu screamed in anger. It tried to pry away the Primal Skysilk wrapped around its leg several times, but even though the Skysilk looked like thin cloth, it was extremely sturdy. It didn¡¯t suffer any damage no matter what the Yayu did.

    This time, Zu An didn¡¯t only use the Yin Yang Swords, however. He also used the Violetme Snake Pike, Universe Ring, and the other heaven-grade weapons together. He even took out the Poisonous Prick. With so many treasures aimed at it, how could the Yayu withstand the assault? It was nailed to the shore by the weapons.

    However, none of the group rxed yet. Instead, they surrounded the Yayu with serious expressions. Meanwhile, the Yayu¡¯s limbs iled around powerlessly. In the end, it no longer moved, and it closed its copper-like eyes.

    ¡°Did it die for sure this time?¡± Yun Jianyue asked with a happy expression. She thought to herself, Was it because its body entered the Weak Water that it had a chance to revive? Now, its body is nailed to the shore. It shouldn¡¯t be able to revive again, right?

    However, her smile quickly froze, because the Yayu seemed to have turned into a formless puddle of water. Its massive body disappeared, just like that. Even though Yan Xuehen tried to freeze the water with her Snowke Sword along the way, it didn¡¯t do anything. The Yayu¡¯s bodypletely melted away.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?!¡± Yun Jianyue cried. ¡°Will it just keep reviving like that?¡±

    Her confusion was quickly met with a response. The Yayu controlled the Weak Water once more and roared at the party. It was clearly still brooding over its earlier experiences.

    ¡°I refuse to believe that you can¡¯t be killed!¡± Yun Jianyue eximed, starting to be furious. She began to use all sorts of skills.

    Zu An and the others coordinated with her, killing the Yayu once more. Once again, however, it disappeared right before their eyes, then revived in the Weak Water not long afterward. This time, it had learned its lesson and was much more cautious. It didn¡¯t rashly advance toward Zu An¡¯s party, but instead remained in the Weak Water. It faced them while barking like a dog.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t youe up here?¡± Zu An taunted it with a provocative look.

    The Yayu brandished its ws and looked at them with a taunting expression, as if to retort, Why don¡¯t youe over here instead if you have the skills?!

    Zu Anughed out of sheer irritation. Still, he had the perfect skill to use against such a stubborn thing. As such, he activated the skill ¡®Fragrant Barf¡¯ against it.

    The Yayu¡¯s eyes immediately turnedpletely red. It felt great rage burn with it, as if it had to kill this guy in order to feel better. It charged forth, spitting angrily.

    However, due to the two grandmasters¡¯ various skills, as well as Yu Yanluo¡¯s amazing support and Zu An¡¯s fiendish strength, the Yayu was quickly killed once again. This time, Yan Xuehen used some special evil exorcism runes.

    Unfortunately, the monster still disappeared right before their eyes before being reborn again. Afterward, the Yayu bared its fangs at them a few times before conceding its defeat and entering the Weak Water, not showing itself again for fear that it would be hit by Zu An¡¯s taunting skill again.

    Now, Zu An¡¯s group was in a predicament. What were they supposed to do now that this guy wouldn¡¯te out anymore? This Weak Water was just way too strange. They didn¡¯t dare to go down there!

 Chapter 1417: Red Eyes Deep Underwater

    Chapter 1417: Red Eyes Deep Underwater

    Zu An¡¯s Fragrant Barf would make the target forget everything else and attack Zu An. It was a skill he normally didn¡¯t dare to use willfully. However, he hadn¡¯t expected that after he used it, the skill would be undone as soon as the monster died and came back to life.

    After that, no matter how the group taunted it, the Yayu no longer took the bait, continuing to hide inside the Weak Water. Zu An even flew over the Weak Water several times, making it easier for it to attack him, but the Yayu wasn¡¯t tempted at all.

    All of them felt powerless. They looked at each other in dismay, wondering, ¡°What do we do now?¡±

    ¡°Should we follow the river and see if we can make our way around the Weak Water?¡± Yu Yanluo suggested.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Yun Jianyue shook her head and said, ¡°That won¡¯t work. This Weak Water is definitely strange. It¡¯ll probably just extend as we move, so we won¡¯t be able to make our way around it.¡±

    Yan Xuehen actually agreed with Yun Jianyue. She added, ¡°Additionally, this is the first trial Shun mentioned. If we do not solve it, it will be meaningless even if we do make a detour around this ce.¡±

    Zu An asked seriously, ¡°Why do you think it can revive endlessly?¡±

    Yan Xuehen thought for a bit before saying, ¡°It does not seem like a normal creature to me. It might be an incarnation of this Weak Water¡¯s essence.¡±

    ¡°Are you really going to make such a ridiculous assumption? Based on what you¡¯re saying, if we can¡¯t get rid of this Weak Water, we can¡¯t deal with this monster?¡± Yun Jianyue replied doubtfully. ¡°I think dealing with the Weak Water would be countless times harder than dealing with this monster. There¡¯s no reason to try to solve an easier problem with a more difficult solution.¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°This Yayu definitely isn¡¯t a living object. I used the Poisonous Prick, but there was no reaction. It¡¯s clearly not a living thing. It¡¯s more likely to be a departed spirit of some sort.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right. I could sense strong resentmenting from it when we fought earlier,¡± Yun Jianyue said with a frown. ¡°Why do we keep running into these things filled with resentment? That Taowu from earlier was also like this.¡±

    Yu Yanluo cried out in rm, ¡°Then doesn¡¯t that mean the Taowu can also revive endlessly?¡±

    ¡°That might not be the case. Even though both are full of resentment, the feeling they give off is a bit different,¡± Yan Xuehen said. ¡°The Taowu is already at the earth immortal rank, so killing it is extremely difficult. However, if it is killed, it will not be easy for it to revive either. Earth immortals are all connected to the naturalws of the world. The amount of natural ki they need is much greater. If they could revive endlessly, this world would be unable to support it.¡±

    Zu An thought for a moment before saying, ¡°ording to what Shun said before, the Taowu was a monster created after Gun¡¯s death. This Yayu doesn¡¯t seem like a reincarnation, though, but rather¡­¡± He paused, thinking for a while beforeing up with a suitable description, ¡°...something like a mutated zombie.¡±

    Yan Xuehen was stunned. She quickly said, ¡°You are right. I could sense what you are describing too. There was a corpse-like energy emanating from its body. No wonder we were unable to eliminate it after all this time.¡±

    ¡°It looks quite agile, though. It¡¯spletely different from the zombies we¡¯ve encountered before,¡± Yu Yanluo said with a frown.

    With their cultivation and identity, they had naturally encountered such sinister creatures before. Even though they were physically powerful, they were oftencking in intelligence, so they weren¡¯t too hard to deal with. Just then, however, the Yayu had behaved extremely intelligently, to the extent that it could see through the traps they had set up. It just stayed in the Weak Water withouting out no matter what.

    ¡°Regardless, this is a breakthrough,¡± Yun Jianyue said excitedly. ¡°Stone cold woman, do you have any peach wood swords or ck dog blood, or anything like that?¡±

    ¡°Why would I have those things on me?¡± Yan Xuehen asked, stunned.

    ¡°Your White Jade Sect is a daoist sect. Aren''t those weird talismans and exorcism rituals things you like to do?¡± Yun Jianyue replied, as if that were just how things were.

    Yan Xuehen was speechless. She eventually replied, ¡°You are a glorious grandmaster, so why do you believe such things like some countryside woman?¡±

    ¡°The daoist sects can¡¯t even do something like that? Sigh¡­¡± Yun Jianyue replied bitterly.

    Yan Xuehen furrowed her brows and snapped, ¡°Witch, are you really picking a fight with me right now?¡±

    Yu Yanluo was starting to get a headache. These two really never stopped fighting! She quickly said, ¡°Since it is a corpse, why not usse fire to see if we can restrain it?¡±

    Yan Xuehen shook her head and said, ¡°Normal zombies might fear fire, but at the Yayu¡¯s level, it likely does not fear water or fire.¡±

    ¡°Normal fire wouldn¡¯t work, but what about that White Lotus me Little An got not too long ago?¡± Yun Jianyue replied.

    Yan Xuehen didn¡¯t reject the proposal, saying, ¡°That is worth a try.¡±

    Zu An thought for a bit. I do specialize in getting rid of ghosts, but I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s effective on zombies¡­

    Then, however, they came back to the question of how to draw out the Yayu. Zu An said, ¡°Since it''s too scared toe out, I¡¯ll go down to find it!¡±

    The three women immediately blurted out at the same time, ¡°No, it¡¯s too dangerous!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s actually not that dangerous,¡± Zu An said while thinking to himself. ¡°The scariest part of the Weak Water is that we don¡¯t know much about it. However, I already went into the water earlier, and I¡¯ve seen how powerful it is. I¡¯m already mentally prepared for it.¡±

    ¡°ording to what you said earlier, though, you be incredibly heavy as soon as your body enters the Weak Water. How will youe back up?¡± Yan Xuehen asked worriedly.

    Zu An looked at the fiery red waistband tied around her waist and replied, ¡°Don¡¯t we have that? We already tested it out and saw that the Weak Water¡¯s corrosion was ineffective against the Primal Skysilk. Besides, the Primal Skysilk can lengthen and contract, so if there are any issues, you can just pull me up.¡±

    The three women actually felt that the n was feasible when they heard Zu An¡¯s idea. They weren¡¯t girls raised in pampered chambers. They knew they couldn''t just be trapped like this and that some risk was eptable.

    Yun Jianyue shoved the Empress Lantern into Zu An¡¯s hands, saying, ¡°Little An, you probably don¡¯t know how to use the Crescent Ring, so just take this with you. It might not be enough to stop theYayu, but it can at least restrict its movements to some degree.¡±

    Almost at the same time, Yan Xuehen gave him her Flying Snow Sword and said, ¡°This sword can be used to unleash the Snowke Sword with greater efficacy. You will be able to use ice powers more easily underwater.¡±

    The two women were stunned when they saw each other¡¯s actions. Whether it was the Empress Lantern or the Flying Snow Sword, each was respectively their most precious treasure and never left their bodies. Who would have thought that one day they would both be lent out, and furthermore to the same man? Still, both of them understood the severity of the issue at hand, so they didn¡¯t bicker for once.

    Zu An was a bit stunned, but he didn¡¯t act pretentiously. He took the items and said, ¡°Thank you, big sisters.¡±

    Yu Yanluo also walked over, then got on her toes and kissed him. When their lips separated, there was a smooth and cool pearl in Zu An¡¯s mouth.

    ¡°Carry the Holy Pearl with you. It contains endless power. I hope it can protect you,¡± Yu Yanluo said, blushing as they separated. Even though others called it Lord Sui¡¯s Pearl, as a Snake race descendant, she still liked the name Holy Pearl more.

    Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen¡¯s eyes both widened when they saw how forward Yu Yanluo was being. However, both of them had been saved by the pearl back on Feather Mountain, so they quickly realized what she was doing.

    Even so, Yun Jianyue still couldn''t help but mutter, ¡°Look at these two, showing so much public affection.¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s beautiful brows furrowed slightly. She thought to herself, Why are you acting all intimate in front of us on purpose? Are you asserting your importance as his main partner or something?

    However, she quickly stopped worrying about that, telling herself that it had nothing to do with her. When had she be filled with random thoughts, just like some simple-minded young woman?

    After a while, she tied the Primal Skysilk around Zu An¡¯s body. Yun Jianyue couldn''t help but chuckle, saying, ¡°You actually made our Goddess Yan undress three times. Little An, you really are the first one to do something like that.¡±

    Yan Xuehen had already recovered herposure after being provoked by Yun Jianyue repeatedly. She retorted, ¡°If you were asked to undress to save him, could it be that you would refuse?¡±

    Yun Jianyue was suddenly at a loss for words. If she said she wouldn¡¯t, then that would affect her rtionship with Zu An, and she would be lying to herself. As for admitting it¡­ That was even more impossible for her. When had this stone cold woman be so clever and eloquent?

    Zu An obviously wouldn¡¯t be so senseless as to get involved in their dispute. He gave the three women a signal, then jumped into the water. Sure enough, he felt his body bing incredibly heavy as he went down. He quickly sank downward, and the light around him became visibly dimmer.

    Just then, two giant red eyes suddenly lit up in the distance.

 Chapter 1418: Human Face, Snake Body

    <h4>Chapter 1418: Human Face, Snake Body</h4>

    Zu An noticed the eyes, and looked vigntly in their direction. He still had the Blue Mard ability; even though he couldn''t move as naturally in the Weak Water as he could in normal water, it was still much easier for him than it was for other people.

    However, to his surprise, the red eyes quickly disappeared. The enemy had gone into hiding on purpose; it was clearly waiting until Zu An went even deeper before ambushing him.

    You want to use the darkness to ambush me?Zu An thought, his expression turning extremely strange.

    The Weak Water was the Yayu¡¯s domain. Even in the darkest depths where there was no light, it could still rely on its sense of smell and the water currents to identify Zu An¡¯s position. Meanwhile, if a human couldn''t see, they were no better than meat on a chopping board.

    When it recalled how it had been beaten so shamelessly and miserably by the human and itspanions, and thought about how the human would now be forced into a one-on-one in this Weak Water, there was no way it wouldn¡¯t get revenge.

    Alright, the light is already growing dim... Let me sense where he is now.

    Huh? Why can¡¯t I sense him at all?!

    The Yayu was shocked, to the point that it thought that Zu An had already returned to shore. However, it quickly rejected the idea, because it had been paying attention to the human the entire time. There was no way it could have failed to notice if he really had returned to shore. That wasn¡¯t even ounting for the fact that it was easy to enter the Weak Water, but leaving definitely wasn¡¯t as easy.

    The Yayu swam to and fro in search of its target, but even after searching a huge area, it didn¡¯t find a single hair of the human. It was as if he had vanished into thin air. It had already gotten excited thinking about its revenge, but after the human disappeared, it became more and more annoyed.

    Meanwhile, Zu An hid in the darkness, silently observing the situation. He had already seen through the monster¡¯s intentions, but since he had the Hidden in the Dark skill, the darkness was naturally more favorable to him. In absolute darkness, not even an earth immortal could detect his existence, let alone the Yayu. Of course, he didn¡¯t blindly attack, but rather patiently waited for an opportunity.

    Perhaps because of Lord Sui¡¯s Pearl, he felt as if his senses were many times sharper than before. Even in the dark, he could clearly sense everything around him. He sensed that the Yayu was getting more and more frustrated because it couldn''t find him.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Over time, however, the current of water around the Yayu¡¯s body drew closer and closer. When it reached a mere few meters from Zu An, he suddenly moved.

    The Yayu sensed that something was off. It quickly turned around to flee, but a chill surrounded its body. Zu An stabbed the Flying Snow Sword into the riverbed, and as the sword¡¯s sharp tip pierced into its depths,rge amounts of the water began to freeze into ice at a visible rate, as if forming into an ice storm.

    The Yayu was about to turn around and fight Zu An when it saw that its escape route was sealed off. Then, however, it saw amp light up. It had suffered considerably because of thatmp before, so it was quite rmed to see it. Had the white-clothed woman and the long-haired woman also arrived?

    While the Yayu¡¯s body was affected by the Empress Lantern, Zu An took out the Universe Ring and smashed it against the monster¡¯s head, making it confused and dizzy. He wasn¡¯t in a rush to take its life, and instead sealed it in ce with the Snowke Sword. Then, he trapped it with the Primal Skysilk.

    Meanwhile, back on the shore, Yan Xuehen sensed the Primal Skysilk moving. She quickly pulled it toward the shore.

    When they saw that Zu An had dragged the Yayu up so quickly, the three women were stunned. Wasn¡¯t this guy a bit too strong?

    After returning the Empress Lantern, Flying Snow Sword, and Lord Sui¡¯s Pearl to the three women, Zu An stood in front of the Yayu. He took out the White Lotus me, saying, ¡°I couldn''t kill you with weapons before, so let''s give the White Lotus me¡¯s power a try.¡±

    At first, there was disdain in the Yayu¡¯s eyes, but then it quickly put on a look of immense fear.

    Zu Anughed in annoyance, saying, ¡°I hadn¡¯t expected you to be capable of these kinds of tricks.¡±

    Yan Xuehen said, ¡°At such a high level of cultivation, creatures naturally develop sentience. Of course, that is when ites to normal creatures. As for this monster, it is hard to say.¡±

    ¡°Can you speak?¡± Zu An asked the Yayu directly. However, the monster stared at him with itsrge copper eyes and didn¡¯t respond.

    Yun Jianyue said, ¡°Since we can¡¯t kill it, let¡¯s just not do that and keep it prisoner instead. We¡¯ll make it go through all manner of suffering, but we won¡¯t let it die. Our Holy Sect has many forms of torture that are even worse than death by a thousand cuts. Should I give it a try?¡± She had an eager look on her face as she spoke. There was a strange glint in her eyes.

    The Yayu looked at her, thinking.What a ruthless woman.

    Zu Anughed and said, ¡°I just happen to have some good ways to punish those who live forever. For example, I could throw this guy into a concrete sarcophagus and let it sink to the bottom of the ocean, trapping it in eternal darkness forever. Or maybe a volcano would be pretty good. It would be burned to death by theva, and once it revived, it would be swallowed up again. Also¡­¡±

    He had watched so many strange movies in the past that he really did have quite a bit of confidence in that regard.

    Yun Jianyue got even more excited when she heard that. She felt that her methods could inflict more physical pain, but Zu An¡¯s were psychological attacks. They began to exchange all sorts of torture-rted knowledge.

    Yan Xuehen and Yu Yanluo looked at each other in dismay. Even though Zu An was a bit perverted, he was still a decent person all around. Yan Xuehen absolutely couldn''t let the witch bring him down the wrong path. She thought to herself that she had to properly lead him back to the righteous way.

    After the two talked for a bit, they saw that even though the Yayu was shaking a bit, it didn¡¯t react all that much otherwise.

    As such, Zu An¡¯s expression turned serious. He said, ¡°In that case, then I¡¯ll just send you off.¡±

    ¡°How?¡± Yan Xuehen asked, stunned. This thing clearly couldn''t be killed.

    Zu An said with a bashful smile, ¡°Even though I¡¯m not from the orthodox sects, I just happen to be proficient in some evil exorcism methods.¡±

    As such, he used the purification skill of the Primordial Origin Sutra, chanting, ¡°Dust to dust, earth to earth. Those who ought to depart, do not remain¡­¡±

    As he spoke these words, arge hand appeared from what appeared to be the world of spirits. It pulled out what looked like a soul from the Yayu¡¯s body. Shockingly, however, it didn¡¯t have a dragon head and cat body, but rather a human face and a snake body.

    The group exchanged a look. They had seen such a creature before, in the Shaoxian Mountain temple. However, the two had different faces. Had the Yayu¡¯s face been distorted after it turned into a monster?

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Were you the one the temple was worshiping? What is your name?¡±

    The soul struggled at first, but when it heard that, it became even more enraged and agitated. It roared angrily, ¡°Er Fu![1]</a>¡±

    ¡°Er Fu?¡± The group suddenly realized that the second character that was missing on that temple card had to be ¡®Fu¡¯! The character that was supposed to follow would likely mean ¡®temple¡¯ or something.

    ¡°You¡­ You¡¯re all just as hateful as Er Fu. You¡¯re even more treacherous than Wei! Ahhhhh!¡± The human-faced snake-bodied soul roared in anger, and all of the Weak Water surged. Endless waves crashed down on the shore.

    At that instant, the three women finally understood what Zu An meant when he had told them about his experience flying above the river. They didn¡¯t have any time to bother with the Yayu¡¯s corpse, and quickly ran up Shaoxian Mountain.

    The Weak Water¡¯s waves crashed down on the Yayu¡¯s body. The human-faced snake-bodied soul emitted waves of light, gradually freeing itself from therge, transparent hand. Meanwhile, the hand broke apart, eventually disappearing into nothing.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes were about to pop out. He hadn¡¯t expected the Primordial Origin Sutra to actually fail! He had already gone through many things by now, so he quickly realized that it was probably rted to the ws in thews of the world. That was why the Primordial Origin Sutra¡¯s purification effects were iplete.

    However, he didn¡¯t have any time to think about those things, because the Weak Water was still climbing higher. It quickly covered most of the mountain. The group felt rmed. At this rate, the entire mountain would bepletely covered soon afterward. They would also bepletely swept up into the Weak Water. Even though with their cultivation, they would likely be fine for some time, there was no one to bail them out. Leaving the Weak Water would be difficult.

    When they withdrew to the temple, however, they were surprised to discover that the Weak Water actually couldn''t reach it, and came to a stop three feet beneath the temple.

    ¡°Er Fu! Wei!¡± The Yayu roared at the temple. Its face contorted, seemingly full of overwhelming hatred. Regardless of how much force it exerted, however, the tattered temple remained unfazed.

    Zu An suddenly thought of something. He looked at the three women and asked, ¡°Do you remember that missing sculpture in the chief position? Isn¡¯t the star diagram where the statue should be the Roof constetion?¡±[2]</a>

 Chapter 1419: Celestial Emperor

    Chapter 1419: Celestial Emperor

    ¡°Yes, that is the Roof constetion,¡± the women replied. They were intelligent enough to quickly recall that, when the Yayu had shouted two names, one was Er Fu, and the other was Wei.

    Zu An said seriously, ¡°It seems those two are its enemies. On the other hand, the Weak Water has never been able to cover this temple. It¡¯s clear that due to certainws, this Yayu is restrained by the temple. Perhaps it¡¯s never even entered it before, let alone found out what happened inside. If I remove Wei and Er Fu¡¯s statues inside, it might actually do something.¡±

    Yan Xuehen said worriedly, ¡°At the moment, however, it seems to be precisely because of this temple¡¯s existence that this Weak Water has notpletely covered the mountain yet. If we remove the statues and ruin theyout, what if it does not get the result we want, but instead strips us of that protection?¡±

    Zu An looked at the overflowing Weak Water. He said with a serious expression, ¡°Even if we fail, we¡¯ll just be swept up by the Weak Water. We might still be able to escape. On the contrary, if we don¡¯t do anything and are trapped here forever, we might never be able to solve this trial. That also means we¡¯ll never be able to leave this dungeon.¡±

    Yan Xuehen suddenly became a bit absent-minded. Staying in this dungeon forever might be okay too¡­ At least I won¡¯t have to deal with all of that secr stuff outside anymore, and all of those strange rtionships and expectations¡­

    Yun Jianyue said, ¡°I approve of Little An¡¯s suggestion. Fortune favors the bold. Besides, since Wei was hanged that way, he clearly did something deserving of punishment.¡±

    Yu Yanluo also expressed her approval. Yan Xuehen naturally couldn''t say anything else.

    Soon afterward, Zu An ran into the temple and brought out the statue named Wei, showing it to the Yayu. ¡°Is this that Wei you were talking about? I don¡¯t know what kind of grudge you two had, but back then, he was punished properly too.¡±

    ¡°Wei!¡± When the Yayu saw the statue, its eyes almost cracked apart. It circled around the statue repeatedly without stopping. ¡°Hahahah! Who would¡¯ve thought that you would end up like this!¡± it eximed. The Yayu seemed to have not spoken for a long time, so its voice was extremely difficult to make out in the beginning. After a short time, though, its speech became rtively clear.

    Suddenly, it pounced on the statue and opened its mouth, swallowing it up. The group looked at each other in dismay. It even ate a statue, just like that? Just how deep of a grudge did it have?!

    The Yayu alternated betweenughing and crying, as if it had gone mad. After some time, however, it stared at the temple and cried, ¡°Er Fu, did you think you could appease my resentment by punishing him? The one who killed me back then was you!¡±

    When Zu An heard that, he returned to the temple, and loud rumbling emerged from the interior. Soon afterward, he returned with heavy footsteps. He had actually removed the main statue by force!

    It was thanks to his cultivation that he had so much strength. Otherwise, there really wouldn¡¯t be any way he could bring such a huge statue over to the Yayu.

    ¡°Er Fu!¡± When it saw the human-faced snake-bodied statue, the Yayu¡¯s eyes widened and it let out a furious roar.

    Zu An said calmly, ¡°I¡¯ve brought you the main culprit. You can get your revenge if you want.¡±

    The Yayu roared and threw itself at the statue. The group watched expectantly. The statue was so huge; they wondered, how was the Yayu going to eat it?

    However, they were disappointed. The Yayu hesitated after opening its mouth, and didn¡¯t devour the statue. Instead, it tore at the statue with its ws. Soon, the statue was already damaged beyond recognition. Then, the Yayu roared again and again, and its tail swept around like a long whip, smashing the tattered temple to pieces.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    When it saw the ruins of Er Fu¡¯s statue and the pile of rubble that was once the tattered temple, the Yayu¡¯s sinister and twisted expression gradually faded. Waves of ck smoke scattered from its body, and rays of sunlight began to seep through the clouds. The roaring Weak Water began to withdraw at a visible rate, quickly regaining its original appearance.

    Just then, all of the ck energy around the Yayu began to disperse. A human-faced snake-bodied soul slowly rose from its body; it was the same one Zu An had been about to purify. It no longer bore any traces of past hatred; on the contrary, its expression looked extremely peaceful, as if it were just a kind elder. It said, ¡°Thank you for saving me, allowing me to fully break free.¡±

    The three women all sighed in relief. Fortunately, the worst-case scenario hadn¡¯t happened.

    Zu An cupped his hands and asked, ¡°What is your respected self¡¯s name? Is it Ya Yu[1]?¡±

    The figure shook its head and said, ¡°No, I am Yayu (¸EñÁ).¡±

    Only when it wrote out its name did the group finally know how to write it. They were speechless. There¡¯s actually such a strange name as this?

    ¡°Just what is going on? Why did you be that Yayu monster?¡± Zu An asked curiously. In truth, he was actually curious as to why Yayu had such a deep grudge against Er Fu and Wei, but he was scared that asking about them would provoke it again, so he didn¡¯t mention that directly.

    The translucent figure sighed again and said, ¡°In the end, it is because fate toyed with us. Back then, Er Fu and I were both human-faced snake-bodied beings. I was somewhat calmer, and I had more affinity with the people. Meanwhile, Er Fu was fiercer and loved ughter. That was why people oftenpared the two of us.

    ¡°Er Fu was naturally unhappy with that. If that were all, it would not have been that big of a deal, but Er Fu had a subordinate named Wei. That person was extremely good at sowing discord among people. I offended him in the past, and he always had a grudge against me. That was why he always tried to incite disharmony between me and Er Fu.

    ¡°Er Fu had been unhappy to begin with. After Wei¡¯s provocation, they found a chance to ambush me together, killing me.¡±

    ¡°Is that why after you died, your resentment turned you into that Yayu monster?¡± Yu Yanluo asked.

    The translucent figure shook its head and replied, ¡°That was not what happened. Back then, I did die. When the Celestial Emperor learned of that, however, out of pity for my benevolent nature and unjust death, he had someone use an immortal medicine to save me¡­¡±

    ¡°An immortal medicine?¡± the group all repeated in surprise. They hadn¡¯t expected to find clues regarding an immortal medicine here, and a surviving user of one at that! Yayu really must have been saved after all.

    Zu An asked, ¡°Who is the Celestial Emperor you speak of?¡±

    ¡°The Celestial Emperor is the Celestial Emperor. Who else could it be?¡± The translucent figure gave him a strange look, as if it couldn''t understand why he would ask such a question.

    Zu An tried to exin himself. However, the figure shook its head and said, ¡°I do not know if it is because my soul is wed, causing me to lose some of my memories, or if it is for some other reason. However, I do not know the Celestial Emperor¡¯s name. I only know that since ancient times, that has always been what people called him.¡±

    Zu An and the others sighed. They all wondered just what kind of existence the Celestial Emperor was. Could he really be the emperor of the immortals in the heavens above? Just how terrifying was his strength, then?

    The figure continued, ¡°After I was saved, though, I was unable to retain my original appearance. In a muddle-headed daze, I fell into the Weak Water and became the Yayu monster. Because hatred and resentment filled my soul, the Yayu¡¯s nature waspletely different from mine. It was fierce and cruel, tormenting the people wherever it went. Now, I am fortunate enough to have received your help, which haspletely freed me from that nightmarish cycle.¡±

    Zu An and the others suddenly felt a chill run down their backs. Zu An asked, ¡°Wait, you¡¯re saying that you ate an immortal medicine, but then even though you survived, you ended up bing that monster that lost its mind?¡±

    1. The ¡®Yayu¡¯ he used is ¡®ªmØ…¡¯. ?

 Chapter 1420: Three Times Stronger than Yi

    Chapter 1420: Three Times Stronger than Yi

    The translucent figure was briefly stunned. It said, ¡°That was probably because of the Weak Water. Immortal medicines are well known for their prowess, so how could they produce such a side effect?¡±

    The others had strange expressions. Hadn¡¯t this guy just said that he became muddle-headed after he ate the immortal medicine, and that was why he fell into the Weak Water? As for whether he became a monster because of the immortal medicine or the Weak Water, however, it was hard to say.

    ¡°Was the immortal medicine you ate from the Queen Mother of the West?¡± Yun Jianyue quickly asked. That was the very item Shun had used to entice them. If there was something wrong with it, didn¡¯t it mean Shun had ulterior motives?

    The figure shook its head and replied, ¡°That, I do not know. I was already dead at the time, and it was an immortal medicine bestowed by the Celestial Emperor. I do not know if it came from the Queen Mother of the West.¡±

    ¡°If you were already dead back then, how did you know that it was the Celestial Emperor¡¯s immortal medicine that saved you?¡± Yan Xuehen asked, keenly sensing an issue.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°I¡­¡± The figure was about to reply, but it suddenly clutched its head and said, ¡°I do not know. I think someone told me, but who was that person? Ahhh¡­ I cannot think of the answer at all.¡±

    When he saw its expression of pain, Zu An was worried that it could turn into a demon again. He quickly said, ¡°If you can¡¯t think of it, it doesn¡¯t matter. Do you know how to cross the Weak Water?¡±

    Inwardly, however, he was also curious about who had told it that. He thought, Why do I sense a sinister plot behind all of this?

    With its attention diverted, the figure gradually calmed down. It replied, ¡°The Weak Water cannot be crossed. However, because I was born from the Weak Water, I can carry you all across.¡± Then, it once again transformed into the Yayu. It swam to the shore, exposing its back to them.

    ¡°How can we make you do something like that?¡± Zu An asked, feeling a bit embarrassed. After all, Yayu wasn¡¯t a monster, but actually a person. Using it as a mount really felt weird.

    ¡°You havepletely set me free. I do not even have enough time to thank you, so what is the issue with carrying you all over?¡± Yayu said. There wasn¡¯t a single trace of hatefulness left in its demeanor.

    They couldn''t turn down such an enthusiastic invitation, so Zu An and the three women climbed onto Yayu¡¯s back. They had to admit that it wasrge enough; its back was wide. Even though there were four people there, it didn¡¯t seem cramped at all.

    Yun Jianyue said secretly through ki, ¡°Be careful of something strange happening. It¡¯ll be bad if it ends up taking us into the middle of the Weak Water and throws us in.¡±

    Yan Xuehen frowned and asked, ¡°Could it be that in your eyes, everyone is a bad person?¡±

    Yun Jianyue narrowed her eyes, retorting, ¡°Stone cold woman, with your personality, you¡¯ll be scammed by others before you even know it. This kind of thing happens all the time in our Holy Sect. There are always stories of how righteousdies from the orthodox sects have fallen. I definitely don¡¯t wish to hear such a story about you one day.¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Yan Xuehen eximed, feeling ashamed and annoyed. Even though she stayed away from worldly things, she still knew what ¡®fallen¡¯ meant.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he¡¯s no longer the Yayu from before,¡± Zu An replied. He had the Rage system, so he could determine whether another party bore kind or malicious intent against him. He continued, ¡°Yun Jianyue dide from a ce filled with deception and betrayal, the Devil¡­ Ahem, the Holy Sect. Being this guarded is only natural.¡±

    The two women both turned their heads away, clearly still mad at each other.

    Zu An felt a huge headacheing on. He could only ask Yayu, ¡°By the way, do you know what the Queen Mother of the West¡¯s immortal medicine is?¡±

    Yayu swam smoothly through the water, so it felt as if they were on drynd. The once surging Weak Water actually lookedpletely calm. The group thus felt that this world really was amazing.

    ¡°The Queen Mother of the West¡¯s immortal medicine is extremely mysterious. Only a few people in the world know about it,¡± Yayu said, shaking its head. It clearly wasn¡¯t one of those few.

    ¡°Can you tell us a bit more about the Queen Mother of the West?¡± Zu An asked. He had only heard that name from folktales. After entering the Unknown Region, he had discovered that that person really did exist. He had no choice but to pay attention to the subject.

    ¡°The Queen Mother of the West came from Kunlun, so no one knows about her background. However, she has great status, so great that even the Celestial Emperor must treat her with respect. The Queen Mother of the West resides in a ce called the Jade Lake. That is where the natural ki of the world gathers, which is why immortal peaches and other immortal medicines exist there,¡± Yayu slowly said, seemingly searching its memories. It continued, ¡°However, I cannot remember anything more. I was a monster for too long after all; my mind has already suffered irreversible damage. I have forgotten many events of the past.¡±

    Just then, Yu Yanluo then asked, ¡°Do you still remember Yi?¡±

    Yayu¡¯s entire body trembled when it heard that name, almost throwing the people on its back into the Weak Water. However, it stabilized itself and apologized, saying, ¡°Sorry, I was shaken up a bit and could not control myself.¡±

    ¡°It seems you do remember,¡± Zu An said, his interest piqued.

    ¡°That is someone who is quite hard to forget.¡± Yayu sighed. ¡°Long, long ago, so long I cannot remember when it was, I seem to have been killed by him once. After all these years have passed, you are just like him, the only man who has subdued me.¡±

    Zu An had a strange expression, thinking, Can you not use such weird verbs? Why do I feel so strange?

    Yun Jianyue asked curiously, ¡°Huh? You said that Yi killed you? I thought you couldn''t be killed, though.¡±

    That was what had given them a headache earlier. Whenever they killed the Yayu, it had just revived..

    Yayu replied, ¡°Yi had a formidable bow, a divine weapon. After being hit by it, I could not revive anymore.¡±

    Zu An and the others were shaken. Shun had mentioned that Yi used a bow to shoot down nine suns. It seemed to be the same bow. Why was it so simr to the Sun ying Bow passed down through the Fiend races¡¯ royal family, though? It couldn¡¯t be the same one, could it?

    However, the Sun ying Bow was in the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s hands, and he was with the Fiend Emperor. If Zu An passed the trial and obtained the divine weapon¡¯s acknowledgment, the Sun ying Bow wouldn¡¯t just fly over into his hands on its own, right?

    Zu An couldn''t help butugh at himself when he thought of that, though. Shun had only said that the acknowledgment of a divine weapon could be obtained once the heroic path waspleted. It wouldn¡¯t necessarily be the Sun ying Bow.

    ¡°However, my constitution is special, and I was born again through the Weak Water and the lingering resentment. That was why, after countless years passed, when the power of that arrow disappeared, I was still able to resurrect once more. Eventually, I met all of you, and I was really blessed to bepletely freed,¡± Yayu exined, its voice full of gratitude.

    The group offered some modest remarks in return. Then, Yan Xuehen asked Yayu, ¡°How great was Yi¡¯s strengthpared to his?¡±

    The Yayu hesitated for a bit before saying, ¡°It was much higher than his, maybe even higher than all of yours added together.¡±

    The others were speechless, thinking, Are you really going to be that straightforward¡­.

    They quickly became dejected. If their strength was that far from Yi¡¯s, they wouldn¡¯t necessarily be able to sessfullyplete his heroic path.

    As if sensing how grave their attitudes were, in order to make them feel better, Yayu said, ¡°However, there is one aspect in which he is three times stronger than Yi.¡±

    ¡°What is that?¡± the others asked, stunned. There was an area in which Zu An was stronger? That meant they had to make sure to take advantage of it.

    ¡°Back then, Yi had an extremely beautiful woman at his side, one who seemed to be named Chang¡¯e,¡± Yayu recalled. ¡°However, you have women who are just as beautiful as Chang¡¯e, and you have three of them. So actually, it is not exactly three times stronger.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. Meanwhile, the three women blushed. Even though being praised as beautiful was worth being happy about, why did the praise sound so strange?

    Yun Jianyue quickly said, ¡°Don¡¯t misunderstand. The two of us don¡¯t have that kind of rtionship.¡±

    Yan Xuehen immediately said in agreement, ¡°Nor I!¡± She was scared that she would look guilty if she acted even a bit slower.

    Zu An shot her a look of annoyance. This woman spoke blind words with her eyes open.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s cheeks were red, and she didn¡¯t say anything in protest.

    Yayu chuckled and said, ¡°How simr¡­ truly simr.¡±

    ¡°Simr how?¡± the three women asked curiously..

    ¡°Back then, that woman at Yi¡¯s side also denied it like this. Later, did they not still be husband and wife?¡± Yayu said proudly, as if it had seen through everything.

    The three women were speechless.

    Zu An quickly asked, ¡°Ahem, senior, do you know what kind of monster will be up ahead?¡±

    ¡°Up ahead is the Mulberry Forest. That is the Fengxi Boar¡¯s territory,¡± said Yayu.

 Chapter 1421: Mulberry Forest

    <h4>Chapter 1421: Mulberry Forest</h4>

    Chapter 1421: Mulberry Forest

    ¡°Mulberry Forest? Fengxi Boar?¡± Zu An thought to himself, this Mulberry Forest better not be as much of a scam as the Weak Water.

    The Yayu exined, ¡°The reason why it is called the Mulberry Forest is that there is a veryrge mulberry tree at the very center. The entire forest is formed from its branches.¡±

    Everyone who heard this was shocked. ¡°This entire forest is actually just a single tree?¡±

    Just how big does this tree have to be?!

    When he received a definitive answer, Zu An asked, ¡°Does that tree have its own consciousness? Don¡¯t tell me that it¡¯s some tree demon or something?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s that type of tree demon you¡¯re thinking about. However, that mulberry tree is quite special, so it¡¯s not entirely impossible for it to have produced a bit of a hazy consciousness,¡± Yayu said as an analogy, ¡°It is just like the Weak Water. Outsiders might view it as just a dead substance, but I know that it actually has a will. That is why I was able to be close to it.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, if that Weak Water ends up developing sentience, then that would be ridiculous!

    ¡°That Fengxi Boar was originally a wild pig. Its fur is sharp like steel needles and possesses tremendous strength. You all must be careful,¡± Yayu warned.

    ¡°A wild pig?¡± Zu An became a bit absentminded. He suddenly felt the folk tales and legends of different civilizations all shared some simrities.

    The east and west both had legends about a great flood. Meanwhile, the eastern legends had a Fengxi Boar, while in Greek mythology, there was a Hercules. Out of the twelve impossible missions that he had toplete, one of them was to y a wild boar as well. Was this really a coincidence, or was it something else?

    ¡°Then does that Fengxi Boar have any weaknesses?¡± Yun Jianyue asked in a probing manner.

    They really suffered badly because of the Yayu. In the end, they were only able to solve the situation because of a coincidence. She really didn¡¯t want to go through something simr again.

    ¡°Our domains do not intersect, nor have we had any conflicts. I do not know its weaknesses. I fear that I am unable to help all of you in this area.¡± Yayu said apologetically.

    ¡°I see¡­¡±

    Their group was feeling disappointed when Yayu suddenly said, ¡°Right, it seems to be quite perverted. I wonder if this can be considered a weakness.¡±

    Their group thought, what kind of weakness is that? Isn¡¯t Zu An quite perverted too?

    Furthermore, where would they even go to find a female pig at this point?

    ¡°Also, I heard that it was often lost in its thoughts and stared nkly at the moon in the evening. There are rumors that it is absorbing the moon¡¯s essence to cultivate, but I do not think so. But I don¡¯t know what it is doing either,¡± Yayu said. ¡°I don¡¯t know if this can help you or not.¡±

    ¡°It is quite useful. Thank you.¡± Everyone quickly expressed their thanks. It was definitely better than knowing absolutely nothing about that monster.

    Zu An¡¯s expression was strange. A perverted wild pig enters a daze under the moon. It¡¯s not Zhu Bajie[1]</a>, right?

    ¡­

    There were no terrifying waves that appeared under Yayu¡¯s lead. Furthermore, the Weak Water¡¯s width also returned to normal. They quickly crossed the Weak Water.

    They expressed their thanks to Yayu again, but Yayu said, ¡°No, it should be me who thanks everyone. It is because of you all that I was able to bepletely set free.¡± As he said this, Yayu¡¯s figure began to grow indistinct. He gradually returned to his original appearance.

    But when he saw the other party¡¯s body turn transparent, as if bing half real, half illusory, Zu An was startled. ¡°Could it be that you¡­¡±

    Yayu smiled and said, ¡°Indeed. Your purification ability before was formidable. I was only able to resist it because there was an unrelenting resentment inside of me. Now that it has disappeared, of course I am going to disappear.¡±

    Zu An felt a bit dejected. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for harming you¡­¡±

    Yayu interrupted him. ¡°There is nothing to apologize for. This is a release, a form of transcendence, something happy for me. I¡¯ve already had enough of living as a monster. Thank you¡­¡±

    His voice grew weaker and weaker. His body also turned into specks of light, eventually fading into nothing.

    Everyone became silent when they saw this. This was clearly an enemy that they were trying to kill a moment ago, yet now, they instead felt a strange sense of grief.

    ¡­

    Only after some time passed, did they collect themselves and continue on their journey.

    Soon afterward, a verdant and lush forest appeared in front of them. At the very center stood a tree that seemed to reach into the heavens. Its branches were full of leaves that hung above everything like a canopy.

    ¡°This is probably the Mulberry Forest Yayu spoke of.¡± Yu Yanluo said with a sigh, ¡°That tree at the center really is big.¡±

    Yan Xuehen also looked surprised. ¡°It seems like this tree is the result of the coalescing of the essence of the world. ording to what Yayu said, this Mulberry Forest has already existed for a long time. After all this time, it should have already developed its own sentience¡­¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Non-human things aren¡¯t allowed to develop a sentience post-civilization.¡± Zu An suddenly recalled an online saying.[2]</a>

    ¡°What?¡± The three girls looked at him in confusion.

    Zu An¡¯s face heated up. He exined, ¡°It is most likely because thews of this world are deficient, so that is why it couldn''t achieve such enlightenment.¡±

    ¡°That indeed seems to be the case.¡± The girls agreed with this judgment.

    When they entered the Mulberry Forest, everyone maintained 120% vignce. The branches really were everywhere, making it hard to see anything far away. Walking inside felt like they were going through a maze. Who knew where that Fengxi Boar was hiding? If it ambushed them, then they would be in trouble.

    But the saving grace was that because the mulberry tree at the center was sorge, it served as andmark that prevented them from losing their way.

    ¡°How do you think we should go about looking for that Fengxi Boar? Should we set up a trap in the forest? Or what do wild pigs like to eat?¡± Yan Xuehen proposed.

    Yun Jianyue shook her head. ¡°The Fengxi Boar is a monster not inferior to the Yayu. It definitely has intellect on par with humans. Do you really think it¡¯s some ordinary pig?¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s cheeks heated up. She didn¡¯t argue against her this time. Suddenly, Zu An¡¯s expression became grave. ¡°We might not have to find it. It wille to us.¡±

    When they followed his line of sight, the three girls noticed that the trees in the distance began to shake violently. There were sounds of branches breaking.

    Then, a huge monster suddenly charged out, releasing a roar simr to a dragon¡¯s cry. The surrounding leaves all began to rustle.

    Zu An thought back to how in his past world¡¯s movies, the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms¡¯ sound effects were made precisely from pigs. He didn¡¯t expect that after this wild boar¡¯s strength increased, its roar would actually really be simr to a dragon¡¯s.

    The huge monster in front of his eyes was like a small mountain. It was entirely dark brown and shining. Its two fangs were like two curved des, shining viciously. Its four trotters were stone pestles, poking deep holes in the ground as it moved. The fur over its body was solid like needles. There was no need for any introductions, they knew that they already found their objective: the Fengxi Boar.

    That Fengxi Boar¡¯s nature was clearly irritable. When it sensed that they entered its territory, it was furious, steaming out from its mouth from anger. Its trotters continued to dig into the ground as if it was going to attack at any time.

    However, when it saw the beautiful appearance of the threedies, it was suddenly stunned. As it stared at the three women, a huge smile appeared on its face. Then, viscous saliva trickled out of its mouth.

    In the past, Zu An didn¡¯t really understand the insult ¡®pig brother¡¯, but now that he saw this himself, he could only feel admiration for the creator of this phrase.

    However, the three girls could no longer take it anymore. They felt incredibly ufortable and grossed out.

    Yun Jianyue snorted, immediately taking out her Crescent Ring. It flew in a beautiful arc, slicing at that Fengxi Boar.

    She was from the Devil Sect, her nature fierce to begin with. Now that she felt this much disgust, she didn¡¯t hold back at all. She intended to remove that pig¡¯s head right now.

    When she was at her strongest, the Crescent Ring could tten even a small mountain¡¯s peak, let alone some flesh.

    That curved crescent was about to hit the Fengxi Boar¡¯s head when that monster moved its head fiercely. Its tusks smashed into her Crescent Ring.

    A loud noise sounded. Then, the Crescent Ring was smashed flying. There wasn¡¯t even a single mark left on that thick tusk.

    The huge forceing from the Crescent Ring was something even Yun Jianyue almost couldn''t control. She quickly warned, ¡°Be careful!¡±

    The Fengxi Boar was furious about being attacked. It charged over.

    Both the Chinese and Japanesenguages had the phrase ¡®boar rush¡¯. It described a powerful assault from the army.

    This phrase was talking about normal wild boars. Right now, they were facing a monster that was more like a small mountain. When it ran at them, it shook the earth itself. They even found it a bit hard to stand still!

 Chapter 1422: Seduction

    <h4>Chapter 1422: Seduction</h4>

    Fortunately, none of them were inexperienced fighters. They quickly evaded using their respective movement skills. There was no need for them to even signal to each other, and they immediately counterattacked at the same time.

    Yu Yanluo didn¡¯t use her World Painting. The boar was too strong; with her current cultivation, the painting wouldn¡¯t be able to trap it. Instead, she supported the others with runes while using her Medusa¡¯s Eye.

    Ayer of earthen yellow light surrounded the surface of the Fengxi Boar¡¯s body, but it actually wasn¡¯t affected that much by the petrification skill.

    Yu Yanluo quickly warned the others, ¡°Be careful. It¡¯s of the earth element. Its defense is extremely powerful.¡±

    Normally, even if one was the earth element and had some resistance against the Medusa¡¯s Eye, it wouldn¡¯t be able to nullify the effects to such an extent. However, the thick mixture of grease and earth covering the surface of the Fengxi Boar¡¯s body blocked the Medusa¡¯s Eye to some degree.

    Zu An instantly dashed over to the Fengxi Boar¡¯s side at lightning-fast speed, stabbing his two swords straight into its body.

    However, his eyes quickly narrowed. Even the two heaven-grade weapons, the Yin Yang Swords, actually couldn''t pierce it even with the support of the Fire Phoenix and Blue Mard¡¯s power. The sword tips felt as if they had stabbed into a hard mountain. The swords bent under the tremendous force, releasing a groan and seeming as if they could break at any time.

    The Fengxi Boar turned around and tried to chomp down on Zu An. It looked clumsy, but it was actually strangely fast. Fortunately, Zu An had held back a bit after Yu Yanluo¡¯s reminder, so he used the sword¡¯s rebound force to quickly dart backward by a dozen or so meters into a tree. However, the boar¡¯s jaws bit fiercely through the ce he had just been.

    Such terrifying jaw strength was absolutely ridiculous! Zu An was even starting to doubt whether his body, which had been tempered by the Primordial Origin Sutra, could withstand such force.

    That Fengxi Boar was about to chase after Zu An when a streak of light flew past it. It was Yan Xuehen¡¯s Flying Snow Sword.

    If not for the danger of the situation, Zu An would have whistled in admiration. No wonder there were so many sword cultivators in the movies of his previous world. That kind of fighting style really was cool.

    Yan Xuehen formed a sword-shaped hand seal. The Flying Snow Sword rushed forth like a shooting star, drawing streaks of cold radiance around the Fengxi Boar.

    The Fengxi Boar relied on its thick skin to directly ignore the sword, however. A weapon that thin and weak-looking couldn''t even break through its defenses.

    What kind of person was Yan Xuehen, though? When she saw what had happened to herpanions¡¯ attacks, she immediately understood how ridiculous its defense was. As such, she didn¡¯t attack its body, but rather aimed at its head. No matter how strong it was, its eyes couldn¡¯t be just as sturdy, right?

    Sure enough, the Fengxi Boar panicked. It tried to dodge, but Yan Xuehen¡¯s sword skill was too fierce, preventing it from avoiding the attack. It roared in anger.

    The others also snapped out of their daze. Yun Jianyue took out her Empress Lantern. Under the effects of thentern light, the Fengxi Boar¡¯s body immediately slowed down.

    When it saw that it couldn''t avoid the sword, the boar decided to just close its eyes and face the attack directly. The sword stabbed into its eyelid. Even though there was a bit of blood, it clearly wasn¡¯t able to injure the boar¡¯s eyes.

    Even its eyes are this thick?

    Zu An took out the Nine Cauldron, taking the chance to engulf the boar with White Lotus me. He thought,Since this guy has strong physical defense, then let¡¯s give elemental attacks a try.

    Sure enough, when the Fengxi Boar was wrapped up in White Lotus me, it screamed. Then, it shook its entire body. Countless steel needles covered in embers flew everywhere.

    The group knew that they weren¡¯t really steel needles at all, but rather the Fengxi Boar¡¯s fur. Now that they had the White Lotus me on them, they had be even stronger. Zu An had no choice but to dodge them in a panic. The steel needles shot into the forest and passed straight through. The mes immediately set the trees alight, quickly forming a sea of mes.

    The Fengxi Boar cried out, taking the chance to flee into the forest depths in rm. Its body was like a burning fireball. However, the mes were already much smaller than before. After all, it still had the protectiveyer of grease and dirt around its body. After it had released all of its sharp fur, a lot of the mes had gone along with it.

    Zu An was worried that the entire Mulberry Forest would be set aze. He quickly collected the White Lotus me again. However, the steel needles the boar fired out had already turned the forest into a sea of mes.

    The group quickly tried to put out the fire, but how could the White Lotus me be that easy to extinguish? Furthermore, the Fengxi Boar had shot out too much of its fur, making the fire start from many different ces. As soon as they put out one area, even more areas began to burn.

    Yun Jianyue said, ¡°I think maybe we should just let it be. Burning up this entire forest is fine too/ We¡¯ll just burn this Fengxi Boar here and save us some trouble.¡±

    Yan Xuehen said with a frown, ¡°That might not be a good decision. That would harm the harmony of the world, which would lead to unpredictable consequences.¡±

    Yun Jianyue harrumphed. ¡°Don¡¯t try to make yourself seem as if you represent the truth or something. Isn¡¯t that what our Holy Sect always does, and aren¡¯t we still fine and well?¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°This Mulberry Forest really is a bit strange. Did you forget about the Weak Water from before? If we really let it burn down the forest, forget about being burned ourselves, what if this forest has a will? That might be troublesome.¡±

    ¡°Look at you, always speaking up for that stone cold woman. Did we meet each other first, or did you meet her first? It¡¯s almost as if there¡¯s something going on between the two of you or something,¡± Yun Jianyue said unhappily.

    ¡°Witch, what kind of nonsense are you saying?!¡± Yan Xuehen eximed, her cheeks turning red. She felt guilty and didn¡¯t dare to look at Zu An.

    Yu Yanluo quickly advised them, ¡°Let¡¯s put out the fire, or else it will spread out of control.¡±

    Suddenly, a wave of dense gas spread outward. Then, a drizzle scattered across the surroundings. The burning mes were immediately put out.

    ¡°Why did it suddenly rain?¡± the group wondered as they gathered together. They all felt happy about the unexpected help.

    As the fire died out, the rain also stopped.

    ¡°How could normal rain put out the White Lotus me?¡± Zu An wondered, puzzled. Even though the main body of the White Lotus me had already been collected, the scattered mes weren¡¯t things normal water could put out.

    Yan Xuehen nced toward the sky. She said with a puzzled expression, ¡°That rain does not seem to have been naturally formed from the mountains and sky, but rather¡­¡±

    ¡°Rather like something this forest made itself,¡± Yun Jianyue said, her expression turning grave. ¡°Little An, you really might have jinxed it. This Mulberry Forest has also developed its own will.¡±

    Zu An swallowed and replied, ¡°Something strange like that isn¡¯t too likely, right?¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression changed a bit. She asked, ¡°Do you think it¡¯s like the rtionship between the Yayu and the Weak Water? Perhaps the Fengxi Boar and this Mulberry Forest are already interlinked somehow.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. Otherwise, the Fengxi Boar¡¯s movements wouldn¡¯t end up identally hurting the Mulberry Forest,¡± Yan Xuehen said. ¡°It does not seem to bear malice against us so far. It should be fine as long as we do not provoke it.¡±

    The party all agreed with her analysis. After all, they only needed to kill the Fengxi Boar. Thus, they searched the forest for the Fengxi Boar¡¯s whereabouts. At first, they could still see its footsteps and the White Lotus me¡¯s burnt traces. The deeper they went into the forest, though, the fewer those traces became. Eventually, they all disappeared, and there were no traces left to be found.

    The Mulberry Forest seemed to have a mysterious domain of its own that affected their divine sense. Additionally, Zu An discovered that there were clearly many small creatures in the forest, and yet the jade badge didn¡¯t allow him to use them as his spies.

    By the time they searched for a few more hours, the sky began to darken. They weren¡¯t able to find the Fengxi Boar¡¯s whereabouts at all.

    ¡°This Mulberry Forest is toorge, and the leaves are too lush and flourishing. It will be challenging for us to find the Fengxi Boar if it wants to hide,¡± Yan Xuehen said.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°This really is strange¡­ Aren¡¯t these monsters proud and powerful? Shouldn¡¯t they be the straightforward and aggressive type? Why are they all such scaredy-cats?¡± Yun Jianyue eximed in annoyance. The Yayu had been like that before as well; they had needed to really rack their brains to draw it out again.

    They tried to brainstorm some more ideas, but all of them had to be discarded.

    ¡°Come look, the moon is out,¡± Yu Yanluo said, suddenly pointing at the sky.

    Zu An raised his head and looked at the sky. There was a bright moon in the sky that shone like a jade disk. It was bright and pure, beautiful and mysterious.

    Just then, he suddenly thought of something. He asked, ¡°Do you still remember when Yayu mentioned that the Fengxi Boar was perverted?¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s eyes lit up. She asked, ¡°Should we try something along those lines?!¡±

    Yun Jianyue snapped in annoyance, ¡°What are you all looking at me for?¡±

 Chapter 1423: Aloof and Seductive

    <h4>Chapter 1423: Aloof and Seductive</h4>

    Yan Xuehen had a strange smile as she said, ¡°Since the Fengxi Boar¡¯s weakness is its perversion, of course we should face it with beauty! Furthermore, it just happens to be a full moon tonight. Yayu said that the Fengxi Boar often stares nkly at the moon, no? Everything has already been prepared; we just need the person now.¡±

    Yun Jianyue snapped in annoyance, ¡°Then why aren¡¯t you going? Aren¡¯t you pretty good-looking too?!¡±

    Yu Yanluo closed her lips tightly. She didn¡¯t dare to get involved in a fight between the two powerful goddesses.

    Yan Xuehen replied, ¡°Are you not always bbing about how your charm skill is unrivaled? I do not know any, so of course I cannot be the one to go.¡±

    She couldn''t help but grin as she spoke. She was always the one being bullied. Now that she was the one teasing Yun Jianyue, she discovered that she couldn''t hold back her happiness.Sigh, why do I feel like I¡¯ve be corrupted as ofte somehow?

    Yun Jianyue was briefly left at a loss for words. However, she reacted quickly and retorted, ¡°Who said you don¡¯t know any charm skills? That pure and unsullied goddess act you put on always brings in guests from all sorts of different forces. In the eyes of men, they wee you far more than me. What else could that be but a charm skill?¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s cheeks heated up. She was worried that someone could misunderstand and said, ¡°Witch, what kind of nonsense are you saying? That is my personality. I always treat people kindly and they return the favor; what do you mean, a charm skill? It is your fault for always being so fierce and drawing public anger. Besides, you always feel that it is beneath you to use charm skills, so it is only natural that the righteous factions do not wee you.¡±

    Yun Jianyue sneered. ¡°Since you¡¯re so amazing, use that good personality of yours to bring out the Fengxi Boar.¡±

    ¡°That thing is not even a person, so my personality will not work,¡± Yan Xuehen said, directly rejecting that idea.

    Yun Jianyue was so angry she began tough, saying, ¡°Fine, it¡¯s not a person. But if your skills won¡¯t work, then why would mine?¡±

    Yan Xuehen gave her a strange look and retorted, ¡°Who is the one always bragging about her charm skills? How, as long as they were male, a target would be unable to escape your charm?¡±

    Yun Jianyue was once again at a loss for words.

    Yan Xuehen added salt to the wound, saying, ¡°Wait, I always hear you brag about it, but I have never seen you really use it before. Could it be that you have never been that good at charm skills, so you just say those things to cover up the embarrassing truth?¡±

    Yu Yanluo secretly clicked her tongue. Sect Master Yan always acted like a goddess who didn¡¯t get involved in secr matters, and yet now that they spent some time together, she had quickly learned how to be two-faced.

    ¡°Stone cold woman, do you think that your psychological attacks would work against me?¡± Yun Jianyue snapped, looking at her angrily. ¡°Fine, today will be the day your horizons are broadened.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.You just said that you wouldn¡¯t fall for it, so why did you forget so soon?

    ¡°Fine, then we will just wait and see just how great the most formidable user of charm skills in the history of the Holy Sect is for ourselves,¡± Yan Xuehen said. Her normally ice-cold eyes were now curved like crescent moons.

    Yun Jianyue knew that she had fallen for the other woman¡¯s trick, but with her personality, she couldn''t just take back her words. She could only harrumph and say, ¡°Then you¡¯d better get ready. I definitely won¡¯t do it again if I lure out that Fengxi Boar and you guys let it escape.¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright. We get it already,¡± Yan Xuehen said, a big smile on her face. However, she still discussed how they would face the Fengxi Boar again with the others.

    All of them were experts, so they quickly drafted up a detailed n to hunt it down. Then, they looked at Yun Jianyue with expectant gazes.

    Yun Jianyue was furious. She hadn¡¯t expected that the first time she used her charm skill would be on a pig! Still, she was an extraordinary person. She quickly adjusted her mental state.

    Then, they had to decide on a location. If they wanted to attract the Fengxi Boar, they had to find a ce where it could see her. That meant it had to be a high ce.

    In the Mulberry Forest, the highest point was naturally therge mulberry tree at the very center. Thus, the group arrived at the very center of the Mulberry Forest. Even though they had already made their mental preparations, however, they were still shocked when they saw it with their own eyes.

    The mulberry tree trunk was a hundred zhang in diameter, perhaps even wider. The entire tree was like an imperial canopy that covered the sky. The air around them was exceptionally fresh and clean, making the atmosphere feel carefree and rxed.

    Zu An thought to himself,The heaven-reaching divine trees from the legends of his previous world, or the tree from the ssic of Mountains and Seas, are probably only thisrge at most, right?

    Yan Xuehen couldn''t help but sigh in admiration, saying, ¡°This ce really is a natural paradise. If I could cultivate here normally, my rate of improvement could be around double.¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯re willing, you can stay behind and live here long-term,¡± Yun Jianyue said impatiently. She was obviously unhappy after falling for the other woman¡¯s trick.

    Yan Xuehen didn¡¯t get annoyed when she heard Yun Jianyue¡¯s mockery. She obviously knew that they couldn''t stay there long-term. In order to not provoke her as much, she decided to bring Yu Yanluo along and startying out the trap.

    Zu An initially nned to help them too, but he was stopped by Yun Jianyue. He asked curiously, ¡°Big sis Yun, do you need me to help with anything?¡±

    ¡°Make sure to watch me properlyter,¡± Yun Jianyue quickly said.

    Zu An waspletely baffled and speechless. Eventually, though, he said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll carefully protect you. I won¡¯t let that wild pig hurt you.¡±

    Yun Jianyue stared at him, retorting, ¡°What kind of identity do I have? Why would I need your protection?!¡±

    She paused for a moment, then snuck a look at the distant Yan Xuehen and Yu Yanluo. When she saw that they weren¡¯t paying attention, she quietly said, ¡°I want you to watch carefullyter. I don¡¯t want the first time I use my charm skill to be for a pig. It¡¯ll make me feel a bit better if it¡¯s for you.¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Ah?¡± Zu An eximed, feeling a bit overwhelmed by the favor.

    Yun Jianyue quickly said, ¡°Don¡¯t think too much of it. I¡¯m not really doing it for you to see. It¡¯s just that you¡¯re the only man in our group. If there were any other man here, I would also invite him to watch. It would still be better than showing it to a pig.¡±

    Zu An endured his urge tough. He said warmly, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll make sure to properly admire it.¡±

    ¡°Why does that sound so strange?¡± Yun Jianyue asked, her eyes narrowing. ¡°Forget it. I¡¯m going to make some preparations over there.¡± Then, she floated over to a distant tree, deliberately moving out of view.

    Zu An didn¡¯t know what she was really preparing for, but since she was intentionally avoiding the others, she had to have her reasons for doing so. He wouldn¡¯t try to dig too deeply. As such, he went to help Yan Xuehen and Yu Yanluo set up the trap.

    ¡°What did she tell you just now?¡± Yan Xuehen asked, feigning nonchnce. Yu Yanluo also immediately perked up her ears.

    ¡°Oh, she told me to be carefulter, and that if she ended up wasting all of her efforts, she¡¯d be sure to make me pay the price,¡± Zu An replied ambiguously.

    Only a dummy would tell the truth in such a situation. However, he couldn''t tell a lie either, because that would easily be exposed in the future. That was why he had to say something that could be exined, but also something that wouldn¡¯t make others think weird thoughts.

    Raising fish in a fish tank isn¡¯t so easy either¡­ Do you think it¡¯s that easy for me?!

    ¡°Oh, is that what happened?¡± Yan Xuehen asked. She was skeptical at first, but after thinking about it, that did sound like the witch¡¯s personality, so she didn¡¯t say anything else.

    Soon afterward, they finished their arrangements. Yun Jianyue also slowly walked out of the forest just then. Zu An¡¯s eyes immediately widened, as Yun Jianyue had changed into a pink dress that was more skintight than her normal attire. He could clearly see her slender waistline, as well as her impressive figure. When she walked, there was a clear ripple that even made him think of Big Manman at that moment.

    Several thin strips of cloth fluttered around the dress, adding a bit of mysterious beauty to Yun Jianyue¡¯s appearance. Her waist-length hair waspletely free. As her ck hair fluttered around, it gave her an air of bewitching beauty. She had changed her makeup too, making her brows and eyes no longer seem as fierce and intimidating as usual. At that moment, she looked gentle and beautiful, full of tender feelings.

    The moment she saw Yun Jianyue, Yu Yanluo couldn''t help but give the nearby Yan Xuehen a look. Yun Jianyue¡¯s goddess-like appearance was too simr to Yan Xuehen¡¯s temperament.

    Upon paying closer attention, however, she noticed that there were several differences. There was a strong aura of seduction emanating from Yun Jianyue¡¯s body too. She was actually able tobine such an aloof fairy-like appearance with an air of passion and desire perfectly!

 Chapter 1424: Bewitching Dance

    Chapter 1424: Bewitching Dance

    Yun Jianyue looked incredibly seductive, and yet she didn¡¯t really show anything either. The only part that could be considered revealing was her delicate corbones.

    Zu An remembered Qiu Honglei previously telling him that showing one¡¯s chest was something only those at the lowest level would do. The higher level one¡¯s charm skill reached, the purer one would be, and the more aloof and transcendent they would be.

    In fact, ording to that standard, Yan Xuehen was actually at the highest level too. That was why, when Yun Jianyue had first appeared, she had immediately been mistaken for Yan Xuehen.

    Of course, Yan Xuehen¡¯s personality was much more indifferent and cold. In contrast, Yun Jianyue instead revealed charming traits that could tug at others¡¯ heartstrings. Forget about men, even Yan Xuehen and Yu Yanluo¡¯s hearts began beating quickly when they saw her.

    ¡°What kind of expression is that? Can I not choose to be feminine if I want to?¡± Yun Jianyue snapped, her eyes widening.

    Zu An sighed and said, ¡°The big sis Yun we know has returned. To be honest, that really is hard to get used to.¡±

    ¡°What, do I not look good right now?¡± Yun Jianyue asked. Her brows furrowed a bit, and she sounded a bit nervous.

    Zu An couldn''t help butugh, replying, ¡°How could that be? Whether it¡¯s your current self or your past self, both are devastatingly beautiful. If anyone dared to say you aren¡¯t pretty, they would have to be blind.¡±

    Yun Jianyue now felt happy, replying,¡°Damn brat, no wonder you were able to trick so many girls. That mouth of yours is simply thered with honey. Your ways are useless against me, though.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? Why is there a huge smile on your face then?¡± Yan Xuehen retorted, ruthlessly exposing her.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Hmph, can I interpret that as you being jealous? I¡¯m not going to lower myself to your level,¡± Yun Jianyue said. She was in a good mood and surprisingly didn¡¯t get angry.

    ¡°Me? Jealous of you?¡± Yan Xuehen eximed in annoyance. For some reason, when she saw Zu An praising Yun Jianyue with ¡®ttery¡¯, she felt angry inside. Even though she knew that there wasn¡¯t anything wrong with Zu An¡¯s praise, she just felt that he was kissing up to her rival.

    ¡°You¡¯re jealous that I can have the same temperament as you, right? It¡¯s just that I don¡¯t feel like doing that stuff you do,¡± Yun Jianyue said disdainfully.

    Yan Xuehenughed, retorting, ¡°Sure, then why not use this act once we get out? I will be sure to introduce everyone to the Devil Sect Master¡¯s other side.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, I don¡¯t want to be like you and those other hypocrites,¡± Yun Jianyue said. She knew she had to use her charm skill continuously to maintain such a state. She felt disgusted when she thought of having to use a charm skill on people she usually looked down on.

    Zu An quickly interrupted them, saying, ¡°Ahem, we should focus on preparing our trap for the Fengxi Boar.¡±

    ¡°Leave that to me,¡± Yun Jianyue said, smiling proudly. When she passed Zu An, she paused for a moment and told him through ki, ¡°Don¡¯t forget what you said before.¡±

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I promise I won¡¯t even blink.¡±

    A hint of red shed across Yun Jianyue¡¯s cheeks. She quickly kicked off the ground and arrived at the top of the tree. Even though the mulberry tree was tall, Yun Jianyue¡¯s movements were light and graceful. The leaves were just like solid ground for her.

    After nightfall, the winds became colder and stronger. However, that didn¡¯t affect Yun Jianyue at all. On the contrary, the light fabric of her dress fluttered around, making her look even more like a goddess.

    She gave Zu An a deep look, then gently raised her wrist and got on her tiptoes. She was like a soft willow amid a breeze, looking as if she were dancing lightly and gracefully within the moon¡¯s silhouette. As the moonlight shone from behind her, her dress seemed to be translucent, further disying her sweet, fair, and graceful figure. She almost looked as if she weren¡¯t wearing anything, and yet no one could see anything.

    She had a sort of mysterious beauty that tested onlookers¡¯ patience. She didn¡¯t have to do a thing, and yet it was already enough to make their imaginations run wild.

    Soon afterward, a gentle and sweet hum began to echo through the entire Mulberry Forest. It wasn¡¯t like any written song; instead, it was more like heavenly music that originated from the soul.

    Zu An felt as if his hair had begun to stand on end. Yun Jianyue¡¯s moving dance, together with the voice that made one¡¯s imagination roam, made him feel as if countless subi had surrounded him, whispering sweet words into his ears. Many lovely scenes immediately appeared in his mind. He even felt as if all of his blood had begun to boil. He unconsciously leaned forward a bit and covered his eyes with his hands, using his sleeves to hide his embarrassment.

    This is bad! I¡¯m going to make a fool of myself! Zu An¡¯s heart pounded like a drum. Even with his willpower, he seemed to be on the verge of breaking apart. The worst part was that Yan Xuehen and Yu Yanluo were right next to him. If he made a fool of himself in front of them, wouldn¡¯t his image bepletely ruined?

    Despite that, his body refused to remain under his control, and his instinctive reactions ran wild. The only way to just barely stop it was to avoid looking at the woman at the very top of the tree. However, the scene seemed to have some kind of bewitching power, making onepletely unwilling to shift one¡¯s gaze away.

    If that were all, however, with Zu An¡¯s willpower, he could still just barely look away. However, he had just promised Yun Jianyue not to, so how could he go back on his word?

    As such, he just braced himself and continued to watch. Soon afterward, a pair of prating, beautiful eyes met his. It turned out Yun Jianyue had always been looking at him! Perhaps it was because she saw how hard-pressed he was, but a proud expression shed through her eyes. Then, her movements became even gentler.

    This woman is ying with fire! Did she forget that I¡¯m her disciple¡¯s man?! Zu An thought,pletely covered in sweat.

    Meanwhile, Yan Xuehen¡¯s face was also flushed. The memory of the Great Snowy Mountains¡¯ hot springs kept appearing in her mind. She instinctively nced at the man beside her. At that moment, she was shocked to discover that Yu Yanluo was also looking at Zu An with red cheeks and tender feelings. They were each stunned when they saw how the other was acting.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s heart jumped in rm. She quickly regained herposure and said, ¡°The Devil Sect¡¯s legendary Bewitching Dance and Charming Voice are outstanding, as expected.¡±

    Yu Yanluo had also remembered her activities with Zu An in the bedroom, so she wascking in confidence as she eximed, ¡°Ah, so this is the legendary Bewitching Dance and Charming Voice!¡±

    With her status, she had naturally heard of those two astonishing skills. It was rumored that no man could resist their temptation, but she had never met anyone who had experienced them personally. They were probably the Devil Sect¡¯s most mysterious charm skills and definitely wouldn¡¯t be used on ordinary men.

    They hadn¡¯t expected to have the fortune of seeing those skills today. Forget about men, even as women they could barely hold on!

    Yan Xuehen secretly observed Zu An¡¯s expression. When she saw that he waspletely red and sweating madly, she didn¡¯t get angry. Even though he was about to break down, it would be weirder if he didn¡¯t have any reaction.

    On the contrary, the fact that he could hold on this long already made his willpower greater than that of countless men. Who would have thought that even though he usually acted so perverted, in reality, he was actually such a gentleman?

    Just then, a boar cried out. With the rustling of leaves from the forest, a giant body jumped out and roared toward the woman in the moon. Its small eyes seemed to have already be a bit red.

 Chapter 1425: True Form Revealed

    <h4>Chapter 1425: True Form Revealed</h4>

    So it was a perverted pig after all!

    When they saw how the Fengxi Boar was about to go crazy while staring at Yun Jianyue¡¯s performance atop the tree, Yan Xuehen and Yu Yanluo both cursed it inwardly. Comparatively, Zu An¡¯s performance was far, far better.

    The Fengxi Boar ran a few circles around the bottom of the tree. It then raised its head and looked at Yun Jianyue in a stupor. When it saw the beauty in the moon, it felt extremely impatient and uneasy, as if recalling something from the past.

    After some time passed, it stopped being content with just looking. It stomped its four stubby legs on the ground, flying into the air with a scream. Its posture was extremelyical and funny, but its huge body made it look like a massive missile. If it rammed into something, forget about Yun Jianyue¡¯s delicate and slender body, even the big mulberry tree wouldn¡¯t necessarily be able to take it.

    Zu An also snapped out of his daze just then. He immediately used Hundredwarble¡¯s mental attack on the Fengxi Boar. The boar¡¯s entire body trembled, and its body froze for a moment.

    However, Zu An also felt a stinging pain in his head. When a mental attack like Hundredwarble was used against experts who had already condensed a soul, it would often deal a substantial amount of damage to the user too.

    Despite that, Zu An relied on his powerful regeneration to use it anyway. A hint of confusion shed through his gaze, as the moment he attacked the boar with the mental attack, he didn¡¯t seem to see a wild boar, but rather a strong man shrouded in ck energy. The next second, however, the wild boar materialized again.

    Could it be the mental rebound making me see something wrong?

    While the Fengxi Boar was in a daze, a thick, taut rope suddenly shot out from the dense tree branches. It was like an iron chain, blocking the boar¡¯s path.

    The Fengxi Boar finally snapped out of its daze, and a hint of disdain appeared in its eyes. It had great strength; in the past, humans had vainly attempted to tie it up with ropes, but then it had easily snapped them with only a slight struggle. Thus, it allowed that rope to wrap around it, intending to use the momentum of its charge to just run straight through and break it.

    However, its eyes quickly narrowed. The rope had already been stretched to several times its original length from the boar¡¯s strength, its once-thick material bing incredibly thin; it looked as if it could snap at any time. And yet, it just didn¡¯t snap.

    Meanwhile, because the Fengxi Boar had suffered from the previous mental attack, its movements had been slowed, weakening its charge considerably. It was already toote to get out of the situation.

    The extremely taut rope was like a bowstring that had been fully drawn. When the boar¡¯s body stopped moving, it was sent flying toward the ground at an even greater speed than its original charge.

    The rope was naturally not an ordinary one; rather, it was made of the Jade Moon Serpent¡¯s tendons.

    In the past, when Zu An had helped the crown princeplete his test in Westhound Tomb, those tendons were the spoils of war. Crown Princess Bi Linglong had given them to him. He hadn¡¯t expected they would be useful now.

    Of course, just those tendons alone wouldn¡¯t be enough to stop the powerful Fengxi Boar. Fortunately, he had the assistance of runes Yan Xuehen had applied; only then could he take down the Fengxi Boar.

    The Fengxi Boar lost its center of gravity as it struck the ground with a loud crash, causing it to sink into a hole; it was a pitfall Yan Xuehen and the others had set up previously. The boar roared furiously from within the pit. It had initially charged over out of lust, but it hadn¡¯t gotten to enjoy anything and had instead suffered miserably. The sheer difference between expectation and reality was too huge.

    However, when it saw the crushed wooden stakes and sharp stones inside the pit, it thought to itself,You actually wanted to hurt me with this stuff?

    It roared, intending to charge out of the pit to teach the ignorant people with shallow knowledge outside a lesson, but several blue lines suddenly shone around it. They surrounded the boar, forming a frightening diagram.

    The boar could vaguely make out some fluttering gs within the forest. As a monster from ancient times, it immediately realized that it was inside a formation!

    A painting scroll unfolded above it, covering the pit. It suddenly felt as if the world had changed. It was no longer in a mulberry forest, but rather in an unfamiliar ce.

    The painting was none other than Yu Yanluo¡¯s World Painting. However, its grade was insufficient to trap an ancient monster like the Fengxi Boar. Fortunately, she had Yan Xuehen to help her by setting up a great formation ahead of time. Then, using the World Painting as the eye of the formation allowed it to be many times more powerful.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An and the others took the chance to rush into the formation, where he used the White Lotus me to engulf the Fengxi Boar.

    The boar screamed in pain. It tried to shoot out the fur on its body, intending to burn the forest around it down if it had to. However, the huge formation contained a world of its own. There was no mulberry forest left!

    As the controller of the formation, Yan Xuehen effortlessly helped the others avoid the crossbow bolt-like steel needles. At the same time, she used the Snowke Sword. Cold airpletely surrounded the Fengxi Boar.

    Borrowing the power of the formation, the strength of her Snowke Sword increased tremendously. When the cold air made contact with the White Lotus me, it turned into steam that surrounded the Fengxi Boar, making it cry out in pain.

    Zu An was surprised. He hadn¡¯t expected the power of ice and firebining to be so great.Hmm, no wonder there were so many guys in my world who liked to y with characters that used both fire and ice¡­

    He didn¡¯t waste any time and took out his Universe Ring, using it to continuously strike the boar¡¯s head. While it was dizzy from the blunt force, he took out a long spear that had a zing speartip.

    It was a heaven-grade weapon Shang Liuyu had given him, something from the Dragon Pce: the Violetme Snake Pike.

    The Fengxi Boar¡¯s defenses were especially strong, and its retaliation was ferocious as well. Such a long-handled weapon was the best option against it. Zu An remembered that the hunters of his previous world also used spears to face wild boars.

    Even though the Fengxi Boar¡¯s defenses were strong, after being injured by the White Lotus me and the Snowke Sword, it had already weakened considerably. Furthermore, although it had stronger resistance to physical attacks, it definitely couldn''t take on a spear shrouded in demonic mes. Thus, almost every thrust left behind a scorched, burning, bloody hole.

    Even though the Fengxi Boar was thick-skinned, it still couldn''t bear the endless attacks. It knew it would be in danger if this continued. Thus, it suddenly cried out and turned into ck energy. Then, the ck energy turned into countless smaller boars that ran in several different directions.

    ¡°Be careful! As long as a single little boar can get away, it will escape. It won¡¯t be so easy to make it fall for this kind of trap again!¡± Yun Jianyue called out. She was experienced and immediately recognized the boar¡¯s move as a brilliant self-preservation method.

    Zu An didn¡¯t panic. If the Fengxi Boar maintained itsrge wild boar form, it might have been tricky for him. However, if it broke up into smaller parts, it would likely be troublesome for other people, but he definitely didn¡¯tck area-of-effect skills.

    Thus, he unleashed the Lion¡¯s Roar he had stolen from the Lion race. A terrifying roar filled the entire formation world. Such an AOE attack had limited effects on cultivators with higher cultivation, but now that the Fengxi Boar had turned into countless small boars, they had be much weaker individually. They were instantly confused by the Lion¡¯s Roar.

    While the little boar were frozen, Zu An used his Blue Luan Sword Formation. Endless sword energy rained down from the skies, impaling all the boars to death. In the end, they dissipated into ck smoke, which coalesced and reformed into the Fengxi Boar¡¯srge body once more. However, it was full of holes and on itsst legs.

    Zu An held the Violetme Snake Pike in his hand and was about to end its life when the boar turned into a human, eximing, ¡°Strong hero, spare my life, please spare me!¡±

    The others were rmed when they saw that. They hadn¡¯t expected the Fengxi Boar to actually be a person! After all, the Yayu had a human face but a snake body. It had many non-human traits. However, this guy waspletely a human, from head to toe.

    Zu An was even more shocked because this person was the same as the one he had seen when he attacked using Hundredwarble. Could it be the Fengxi Boar¡¯s true body?

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Yun Jianyue shouted.

    The strong man gave Yun Jianyue a look, immediately recognizing her as the woman who had been dancing in the moonlight. Aplicated expression that resembled a mix of infatuation and resentment appeared on his face. He quickly lowered his head and said, ¡°My name is Pang Meng, and I used to be a hunter. In the past, I was sent by the people to eliminate the disaster that was the Fengxi Boar. Even though I managed to kill it, I was assailed by the ck energy around it, and then inadvertently transformed into it. Thank you all for freeing me from this wretched plight.¡±

    Zu An and the others looked at each other in dismay; all of their expressions were strange. Why was it just like the Yayu? Could this be another person who had suffered a bitter fate?

 Chapter 1426: Bite the Hand that Feeds

    <h4>Chapter 1426: Bite the Hand that Feeds</h4>

    ¡°You sessfully killed the Fengxi Boar?¡± Yun Jianyue asked doubtfully. ¡°Why did I hear that it was Yi who killed it?¡±

    They had personally experienced how strong the Fengxi Boar was. It wasn¡¯t something a normal person could defeat at all!

    The strong man replied, ¡°Yi was my master.¡±

    The others were speechless, feeling truly shocked. This guy was actually Yi¡¯s disciple?

    ¡°Just what is going on?¡± Zu An quickly asked for details.

    When he saw that they didn¡¯t intend to finish him off, the robust man who imed to be Pang Meng began to exin, ¡°Yi was indeed my master. In the past, I heard of master¡¯s great reputation, so I traveled from afar to ask him to take me in as his disciple. Eventually, master was moved by my sincerity and finally agreed to take me as his disciple, teaching me archery skills. Later, he took me with him to defeat the cmity. Back then, when he faced the Fengxi Boar, I was with him.

    ¡°When we killed the Fengxi Boar, I identally let the demonic energy into my body. At first, there was nothing wrong, butter, I gradually began to turn into a demon. In the end, I became like the Fengxi Boar. I was too ashamed to face my master, and I was worried about hurting the people, so I hid in the Mulberry Forest.¡±

    Zu An asked with a frown, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me your master just abandoned you?¡±

    ¡°I was too ashamed to meet him again, so at first, I deliberately hid from him. Later on, I heard that something happened to him. Meanwhile, my consciousness was gradually being overwhelmed by the demonic energy, causing me to fall into a muddle-headed state. I don¡¯t know what happened afterward,¡± Pang Meng replied.

    Everyone immediately recalled that when they were fighting the Fengxi Boar, there was ck energying out from its body from time to time. Was this that so-called demonic energy?

    ¡°What happened to Yi?¡± Zu An keenly pinpointed what he was saying.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what happened to my master either. I couldn''t even take care of myself,¡± Pang Meng said, sounding wronged. ¡°Thankfully, you brave warriors removed the Fengxi Boar¡¯s demonic energy today, and that let me see the light again. You¡¯ve all shown me such favor today. Even if I have to work like an ox to repay all of you in the next life, I won¡¯t hesitate to do so.¡±

    Zu An said impatiently, ¡°I¡¯m not even a farmer, so what would I do with an ox?¡±

    Pang Meng was speechless. He was at a loss for words. Why didn¡¯t this guy speak like a normal person at all? He suddenly didn¡¯t even know what to do.

    ¡°That wild boar earlier was so perverted, but in the end, it was you?¡± Yun Jianyue asked with a frown. For some reason, when she remembered what had happened earlier and thought about what this guy looked like, she subconsciously felt a bit unhappy.

    Pang Meng quickly eximed, ¡°I¡¯m being wrongly used here! I was led by the Fengxi Boar¡¯s demonic energy, and I didn¡¯t know what happened! If I¡¯ve offended this goddess in any way, I ask for your forgiveness.¡±

    Yun Jianyue raised her brows. She hadn¡¯t expected to actually be called a goddess by someone one day.No wonder that stone cold woman is usually so self-important. This feeling really isn¡¯t bad.

    Zu An asked, ¡°Why don¡¯t you introduce your master to us a bit? We¡¯re pretty curious. What kind of person was he?¡±

    Pang Meng said, ¡°My master was a true hero among men. He excelled in archery and was known to be the number one at it. In his earlier years, he obtained the appreciation of the Celestial Emperor, who bestowed a red bow with white arrows to him. That made him even more unrivaled. Later, when Emperor Yao took the throne, ten suns emerged together and all sorts of monsters began to roam the world, so Emperor Yao sought out my master.

    ¡°Because the ten suns were the Celestial Emperor¡¯s sons, master refused at first. The Celestial Emperor had treated him with great kindness, after all. Eventually, however, when he saw how the people were suffering, he could only give up on his personal feelings and agree to act. He used the red bow and white arrows the Celestial Emperor gave him to shoot down nine out of the ten Golden Crows¡­¡±

    Zu An frowned. He had already heard most of that before. He took the chance to ask, ¡°Who is the Celestial Emperor you speak of?¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°The Celestial Emperor is simply the Celestial Emperor, the emperor of the immortals in the heavens, and the most respected and most powerful being in the heavens above and earth below,¡± Pang Meng said. His voice was full of admiration, as if he really wanted to have simr prestige. He continued, ¡°My status was too low, though, so I never had the opportunity to meet the Celestial Emperor.

    ¡°In the past, I asked my master about the Celestial Emperor out of curiosity. However, back then, he got really upset at me,¡± Pang Meng said with a sigh. ¡°His mood must have been terrible when he had to personally kill the sons of his benefactor. From then on, everyone around master knew that subject was a taboo, so no one asked again.¡±

    Yan Xuehen noticed the way Pang Meng had worded his sentence and asked, ¡°Who was there at your master¡¯s side, apart from you?¡±

    When he saw her beautiful appearance, Pang Meng was stunned. However, he quickly lowered his head and replied, ¡°Master always moved alone. Great heroes are always solitary individuals. Fortunately, at least martial mother apanied him.¡±

    ¡°Martial mother?¡± Zu An¡¯s group replied stunned.

    ¡°Martial mother was the Chang n¡¯s saintess. She was extremely beautiful¡­ Ahem. I heard that they didn¡¯t get along at first, butter, as they spent more time around each other, they gradually developed feelings for one another. Eventually, they became one and loved each other dearly.¡±

    ¡°Their affection for each other didn¡¯t seem to be all that great to me.¡± Yun Jianyue harrumphed. ¡°Didn¡¯t Chang¡¯e eat that medicine and ascend by herself, leavingYi behindand separating them forever?¡±

    Pang Meng¡¯s expression changed a bit when he heard that, but he didn¡¯t refute it, saying, ¡°That can¡¯t really be med on her. There aren¡¯t that many people who could resist the temptation of immortality.¡±

    Yu Yanluo gave Zu An a loving look, thinking,I wouldn¡¯t make that kind of mistake.

    Yan Xuehen also instinctively nced toward Zu An. When she saw Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression, she immediately withdrew her gaze, as if she had been zapped by electricity.What in the world is wrong with me? What kind of nonsense am I thinking?

    Yun Jianyue also subconsciously thought that she wouldn¡¯t do such a thing. However, she then realized that she didn¡¯t even have a lover, so what was she getting so worked up for?

    Then, Zu An asked some things about Yi. However, he noticed that apart from knowing a bit about his master Yi and Chang¡¯e¡¯s rtionship, Pang Meng didn''t really know much about other things.

    As if sensing his dissatisfaction, Pang Meng said apologetically, ¡°The main reason is that I didn¡¯t follow master for long. He was a habitually silent man, and he always moved from ce to ce, helping the people eliminate disasters. He rarely had any breaks. Later, I was infected by the Fengxi Boar¡¯s demonic energy, and don¡¯t know what happened after that.¡±

    Seeing as Pang Meng had already told them pretty much everything that he knew, and that he had only became a monster while hunting down disasters in the past, but was now back to normal, there was naturally no need to kill him anymore. As such, Zu An released him from the formation.

    Zu An then asked, ¡°What do you n to do now?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. This world seems to be different from the world I recall. Besides, I don¡¯t know how long I can remain in my current state either,¡± Pang Meng said, sounding a bit bleak.

    Zu An fell silent. This person wasn¡¯t an immortal, after all, nor had he eaten any undying medicines. The fact that he could exist for so long was solely due to the Fengxi Boar¡¯s demonic energy. Now that the demonic energy had been erased, he probably wouldn¡¯t be able to live for much longer.

    ¡°Are you still going to continue forward? Up ahead is Dongting Lake, the Xiushe Snake¡¯s territory. That fellow is incredibly violent and extremely poisonous. You must be careful,¡± Pang Meng said. He then told them a bit about the Xiushe Snake¡¯s characteristics.

    ¡­

    The group thanked Pang Meng and bid him goodbye. Zu An said with a sigh, ¡°Things actually went rather smoothly this time. I hope the Xiushe Snake isn¡¯t that difficult to defeat too.¡±

    Yan Xuehen looked at Yu Yanluo, saying, ¡°Since it is a snake, little sister Yu should be able to speak with it.¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s face heated up, but she said, ¡°I¡¯ll give it my best attempt.¡±

    Zu An gave Yun Jianyue a curious look and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, big sis Yun? Why have you been quiet this whole time?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t like that person from before. The way he looked at me was strange. I can¡¯t help but feel as if he has some dishonest intentions,¡± Yun Jianyue said.

    Yan Xuehen had a strange look as she said, ¡°Earlier, you¡­ You¡­ Who would still be able to look at you normally? Even Zu An, even he¡­¡±

    Suddenly, a faint voice called out in their minds, ¡°Be careful!¡±

    The group was rmed. When they turned around, they saw that Pang Meng had drawn a bow and aimed it at them. When he saw that he had been discovered, he immediately loosed the bowstring. Then, sharp arrows flew forth one after another, streaking toward the group like shooting stars.

    When they sensed the ridiculous speed and terrifying aura of the arrows, they felt that were able to empathize a bit with the despair of the Golden Crows in the past.

    As expected, Pang Meng¡¯s archery really was Yi¡¯s true inheritance!

 Chapter 1427: Killer

    Chapter 1427: Killer

    Zu An and the others reacted quickly to dodge the iing arrows. When they prepared to retaliate, however, they were shocked to discover that the arrows had actually curved in midair, circling around before going after them again.

    ¡°They even have heat-seeking properties?!¡± Zu An eximed, bbergasted. However, he didn¡¯t have time to admire the arrows, because he hadn¡¯t expected them to be like that. The women had prepared to retaliate too, so they didn¡¯t have any opportunity to dodge.

    Zu An used Grandgale to move in front of the three women. He had no time to bring out any weapons, so he sent a fist flying toward an arrow.

    However, the arrows weren¡¯t tangible, and his fist didn¡¯t hit anything. The incorporeal arrows pierced directly into his body, causing bursts of bloody mist to spew forth.

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡± the three women all cried out in rm.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I won¡¯t die from something like this,¡± Zu An said with a pale smile. Fortunately, he had used the Heaven Devouring Sutra to neutralize quite a bit of the force at thest moment. Otherwise, if he had used his body alone to defend against them, no matter how tough he was, he would still have exploded under the four arrows.

    As expected of someone the divine archer Yi had personally taught! These arrows were too powerful. He wondered just how powerful they would have been if Yi had fired them himself.

    Seeing that there was no danger to Zu An¡¯s life, Yun Jianyue¡¯s gaze filled with killing intent. She quickly rushed toward Pang Meng.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression grew cold, and she rushed over with the Flying Snow Sword as well.

    Yu Yanluo took Zu An into her embrace, tears falling from her eyes. She quickly applied medicine on his wounds.

    When he saw that Zu An hadn¡¯t actually died from the arrows, a look of shock and regret appeared in Pang Meng¡¯s eyes. However, he knew that in his injured state, he wouldn¡¯t necessarily be a match for the two women. He could only toy with them slowly once he recoveredpletely. Thus, he turned into a streak of ck energy and disappeared.

    Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen were both dejected. It turned out the Fengxi Boar¡¯s demonic energy hadn¡¯t been eliminated from Pang Meng¡¯s body, or perhaps he had been the Fengxi Boar to begin with! More importantly, they had seen the speed at which the ck energy disappeared. The two of them weren¡¯t at their strongest, so they wouldn¡¯t necessarily be able to catch up to him.

    Just then, Zu Anughed coldly and taunted Pang Meng using the Fragrant Barf skill. ¡°You want to run?¡±

    The ck energy paused for a moment, condensing into Pang Meng again. He stared at Zu An with red eyes and yelled, ¡°I¡¯m going to kill you!¡±

    This guy was clearly worse than him in every way, so why did he have three women who were so beautiful at his side?

    Even someone like you?

    The women only cared about that guy, just like his martial mother who only cared about Yi!

    At that instant, the man and his former master began tobine in Pang Meng¡¯s mind. His many years of hatred and grievance were multiplied many times over. He wanted to kill the three women¡¯s lover right before their eyes and make them clearly understand who the strongest man was.

    He raised his arms, and an intangible bow appeared in his hand. Even though it didn¡¯t have a physical form, when he drew the bowstring that shouldn¡¯t have existed, an arrow of light condensed on it. The arrow contained a terrifying aura.

    Right at that moment, a streak of poignant moonlight flickered past Pang Meng, and he was shocked to discover that his hands seemed to have left his body. Yun Jianyue had used the Star Shattering Imprint on her Crescent Ring, increasing its power tremendously.

    The intense paining from his severed arms made Pang Menge to his senses. Did I go crazy? I actually ignored the two women who were attacking me, all because I wanted to kill that man?

    He was about to withdraw when the Flying Snow Sword pierced through his forehead like a streak of flowing light. He waspletely stunned. He mumbled to himself, ¡°Martial mother¡­¡±

    Afterward, his body came crashing to the ground,pletely devoid of life.

    As soon as the two women released a sigh of relief, a strand of faint ck energy appeared from Pang Meng¡¯s body and moved toward their group. It was clearly the Fengxi Boar¡¯s demonic energy, trying to find a new host.

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue¡¯s expressions changed. If they were possessed by the demonic energy, that really would be a life worse than death. Unfortunately, they didn¡¯t know any skills that could deal with the energy. One of them relied on killing intent, while the other used a profound sect¡¯s techniques.

    Just then, Zu An calmly intoned, ¡°Dust to dust, earth to earth. What ought to have departed, do not remain here¡­¡±

    The ck energy seemed to have met something extremely terrifying. It released a miserable shriek before vanishing into thin air.

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue both turned around to look at Zu An, looking a bit absent-minded. Because they were so powerful, they often ended up bing shields for the people around them. They were always the ones who protected others. Now that they were the ones being protected, it really felt amazing. When they recalled how calm and steady Zu An had sounded just then, they felt a mysterious sense of safety.

    The two of them realized they were in a daze. Their faces turned red from guilt. They quickly moved over to Zu An¡¯s side and asked, ¡°Are you okay?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m pretty thick-skinned. I won¡¯t die,¡± Zu An said. He tried, to show them a confident smile, but he quickly grimaced in pain, tarnishing his image quite badly.

    ¡°Don¡¯t do such reckless things in the future. I¡¯m a powerful grandmaster. Did you think that I couldn¡¯t take one of those arrows?¡± Yun Jianyue replied, looking unhappy.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s face was as white as frost as she added ¡°Right. With our cultivation, even though we are injured, we could still at least have taken an arrow each. You just needed to save little sister Yu.¡±

    Zu An chuckled. These two had already been famous for many years, but after being around them for so long, he had discovered that they were sometimes like little girls. Of course, other people would likely never have the chance to see this side of them.

    He replied, ¡°There was something strange about those arrows. You should have seen that from how I miscalcted earlier. It¡¯s better for me to get injured than for you beauties to have some bloody holes in your bodies, right? Either way, I recovered really quickly.¡±

    ¡°Even if you recover quickly, that doesn¡¯t mean you shouldn¡¯t cherish your body,¡± Yu Yanluo said as she gently touched the area around his wounds, her voice trembling a bit.

    Yun Jianyue gave Zu An a conflicted look, saying, ¡°Brat, you really do use your very life to flirt with women. No wonder Honglei¡­ Ahem, you can use this stuff to deal with little sister Yu and the stone cold woman, but it¡¯s useless on me. Don¡¯t do this again in the future.¡±

    Yan Xuehen began to panic, eximing, ¡°What does this have to do with me? Do not use that on me either.¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Yu Yanluo said with a frown, ¡°Ah Zu is already this badly wounded. Are you two really going to argue now?¡±

    Normally, with Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue¡¯s status, who would dare to lecture them? For the first time, though, they didn¡¯t get angry and felt a bit guilty instead. They thought to themselves, had they gone too far? It wasn¡¯t that they weren¡¯t grateful to Zu An, but rather that they couldn''t express it too openly. Even so, they couldn''t bring themselves to exin that out loud.

    Sensing that the atmosphere was bing a bit awkward, Zu An stepped forward to resolve things. He asked, ¡°Right, did you guys hear a warning earlier?¡±

    The three women were stunned. They all nodded, saying, ¡°Yes. Just now, we did indeed hear a faint voice.¡±

    Just who did the voice belong to? They looked around, but they didn¡¯t see anyone. Cold wind rushed past them, and they couldn''t help but feel a chill run down their backs.

    Zu An suddenly thought of something. He turned around toward therge mulberry tree and called out, ¡°It should be your respected self who warned us, right?¡±

    ¡°Who are you talking to?¡± The three women weren¡¯t stupid and reacted quickly.

    A light breeze blew past them. The leaves rustled with a noise that resembled a person¡¯s voice, but it was extremely indistinct. ¡°Indeed, it was this old one who warned you.¡±

    The group was stunned. Thisrge mulberry tree really had developed sentience?

    As if seeing through their thoughts, the big mulberry tree sighed. ¡°Thews of this world are a bit deficient, so that is why I have not been able to fully take form. I have only developed a consciousness.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, your respected self, for saving us,¡± Zu An said, continuing to speak politely. After all, this entire ce was the mulberry tree¡¯s domain. Offending it wasn¡¯t a wise choice.

    ¡°It cannot be considered saving you; it was merely a reminder,¡± therge mulberry tree said, sounding deeply moved. ¡°I simply did not want that Fengxi Boar to harm any more people.¡±

    Zu An was startled, asking, ¡°Was that the Fengxi Boar the entire time? Then was he also fooling us by iming to be Yi¡¯s disciple Pang Meng?¡±

    ¡°Those words were not spoken to deceive you either. He was indeed Yi¡¯s disciple Pang Meng. However, the master and disciple had a poor rtionship, and it is rumored that he plotted to cause Yi¡¯s death,¡± the mulberry tree said, revealing an earth-shattering secret.

 Chapter 1428: Scratch My Back and Iâ€™ll Scratch Yours

    Chapter 1428: Scratch My Back and I¡¯ll Scratch Yours

    ¡°He killed Yi?¡± the group eximed in shock. They had heard all sorts of rumors about Yi that practically portrayed him as the greatest hero alive. And yet, someone like that had died from being schemed against? Even though Pang Meng hadn¡¯t been weak, regardless of how they looked at it, he was still quiteckingpared to Yi, right?

    Therge mulberry tree¡¯s leaves fluttered in a strange rhythm as it said, ¡°That was what some people who passed through Mulberry Forest said. Furthermore, from time to time, I saw Pang Meng enter a deranged state where he would repeatedly shout ¡®I¡¯m sorry, master¡¯, ¡®Don¡¯t me me, don¡¯t me me¡¯, and other such things. I believe that should be enough to prove the rumors.¡±

    The group fell silent when they heard that. It seemed the rumors were most likely true.

    Yun Jianyue said, ¡°It isn¡¯t all that strange. No matter how powerful Yi was, he didn¡¯t have an invincible body. A spear you can see is easier to stop than a hidden arrow. Pang Meng was also Yi¡¯s disciple, so if he schemed against his master, he might very well have had a chance. Our Holy Sect had many powerful individuals who were killed by people close to them over the years.¡±

    The others thought to themselves that that was indeed the case. They couldn''t help but sigh. Even a great hero like that had actually ended up falling at the hands of someone close to him.

    ¡°Right, what about Yi¡¯s wife, Chang¡¯e?¡± Zu An asked. When he saw the women¡¯s weird expressions, he quickly exined, ¡°Earlier, Pang Meng seemed to be calling out Chang¡¯e¡¯s name before he died.¡±

    Am I really that much of a pervert in their eyes? No matter how pretty Chang¡¯e is, she¡¯s still someone else¡¯s wife!

    ¡°In the past, some travelers who passed by this Mulberry Forest said that the reason why Pang Meng took Yi as his master was because he was an incredible archer himself, someone who had imed to have skill not inferior to Yi¡¯s own. He was unconvinced of Yi¡¯s prowess and challenged him to apetition, and it was only after he lost that he took Yi as his master and learned his archery skills. However, others said that Pang Meng waspletely stunned when he saw Yi¡¯s wife Chang¡¯e and took Yi as his master in order to get closer to her,¡± the great mulberry tree replied.

    Zu An¡¯s expression was strange. He thought to himself, Even though Cao Zei died, his spirit seems to have existed even back then.[1]

    The big mulberry tree couldn''t even move, so the fact that it knew so much was already quite incredible. Just how gossipy were those travelers from the past?

    ¡°That Pang Meng was a shameless person, as expected!¡± Yun Jianyue harrumphed. She had already thought that there was something wrong with his expression back then.

    Yan Xuehen and Yu Yanluo nodded in deep sympathy. As women, and furthermore extremely pretty women, they had always had many men around them. No matter how those men tried to hide it, however, the sinister thoughts within their expressions hadn¡¯t escaped the women¡¯s notice. Previously, Pang Meng¡¯s gaze had been filled with undeniable desire, but he had even tried to hide it. That only further proved there was something wrong with his character.

    ¡°I also heard a traveler mention that the reason why Chang¡¯e ate the immortal medicine was not because she was greedy for immortality and abandoned Yi, but rather because she was forced to by Pang Meng. Helpless to do anything else, she could only eat the immortal medicine to protect herself,¡± the giant mulberry tree said.

    ¡°Not even death can wipe out this despicable Pang Meng¡¯s crimes. Not only did he turn on his master, he even wanted to take advantage of his martial mother!¡± Yan Xuehen eximed in a rare show of anger. ording to her values, even one of those acts was already disgraceful, let alone both of them!

    ¡°Indeed. Even in our Holy Sect, someone like that without any bottom line would be chopped up into pieces as punishment,¡± Yun Jianyue said, no longer maintaining her charm skill. Even though her outfit was the same as before, she was once again full of killing intent.

    Yu Yanluo felt a bit absentminded. In the past, hadn¡¯t all the disasters in Cloudcenter Commandery happened because her brother-inw lusted after her beauty?N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An began to think to himself. Pang Meng had been a wild boar, so he couldn''t help but think of Zhu Bajie. When he thought about Chinese mythology, he realized that it was precisely because Marshal Tianpeng[2] had harassed Chang¡¯e that he was exiled to the mortal world and reincarnated as a boar. Was there a connection between the two stories?

    Several dark green leaves suddenly fell in front of the group, and they subconsciously caught them.

    The mulberry tree said, ¡°The Dongting Lake ahead is full of miasma, making it easy for those who pass through it to die from its toxicity. Bring these leaves with you; they can shield you from the miasma. Furthermore, carrying them with you will help heal your injuries.¡±

    Zu An looked at the leaf in front of him. It was clearly different from ordinary mulberry leaves. It was emerald green and coursed brilliantly with light. Rather than a leaf, it was more like a jade pendant. Just holding it in his hand filled his body with a refreshing sensation; the fiery pain of his wounds quickly faded, and his recovery speed improved.

    ¡°Thank you, senior,¡± Zu An said, feeling overjoyed. His injuries were one thing, but Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue¡¯s injuries were still limiting their strength. With the leaves, they could have hope for aplete recovery.

    Sure enough, both women had excited expressions. They could clearly feel the wonderful benefits of the leaves. Thus, they both expressed their gratitude as well, saying, ¡°Senior has given us something so precious. We really do not know how to repay you.¡±

    Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen had high statuses. Normally, others always called them ¡®senior¡¯ and not the other way around. However, in front of this tree that had lived for several tens of thousands of years, they didn¡¯t feel wronged calling it ¡®senior¡¯ at all.

    Yun Jianyue was baffled, however. As someone from the Devil Sect, she was naturally cautious about everything. Why had this mulberry tree treated them with such kindness for no reason?

    Just then, the mulberry tree spoke slowly in an aged voice, ¡°These leaves are not particrly precious to me. Giving them to you is just like losing a few strands of hair; there is no need for such thanks. Rather, I am the one who should be thankful to you for eliminating the Fengxi Boar disaster. That fellow damaged so much of the Mulberry Forest with its mouth over the years. Fortunately, you finally dealt with him.¡±

    Zu An asked curiously, ¡°Wait, if this entire Mulberry Forest is your body, why couldn¡¯t you deal with it?¡±

    The giant mulberry tree replied, ¡°The Fengxi Boar was an ancient monster, and it had fused with Pang Meng, making it difficult to deal with. Furthermore, my abilities are more aligned with life than death and destruction.¡±

    Zu An more or less understood what it meant when he sensed the powerful life forceing from the leaf.

    ¡°Does senior know anything about the immortal medicine?¡± Yu Yanluo asked. Zu An had asked several times about that subject; now, she was also interested. The tree had existed for a long time, so it could know some secrets of the past.

    ¡°I have indeed heard some things about immortal medicines. One is at Mount Kunlun¡¯s Jade Lake, owned by the Queen Mother of the West. It is incredibly precious. Another is in the great wilderness, a Goldenrain Tree that grows on a red stone. However, I heard that it was seized by the human race¡¯s emperor at some point,¡± the great mulberry tree replied.

    Zu An was shocked, eximing, ¡°There are actually two immortal medicines?¡±

    The great mulberry tree replied with a chuckle, ¡°Who said there was only one immortal medicine? Furthermore, there might be more than just those two. Only, they could grow in rare ces, or their appearances could be too strange. Perhaps their surroundings are simply too dangerous, and that is why no one has discovered them yet.¡±

    The group quickly became excited. They had thought that immortal medicines were nothing more than an unrealistic lie. They hadn¡¯t expected such things to really exist! No matter how much a cultivator imed to seek a simple life, one couldn¡¯t remain indifferent upon hearing such a thing. Furthermore, cultivators fought against both people and the heavens in defiance of fate. If they didn¡¯t have any desires at all, how could they possibly reach a profound cultivation realm?

    The great mulberry tree said, ¡°Immortal medicines have their own desire to grow. The most famous immortal medicines have already been monopolized by the strongest, and thus are not given out to others. Furthermore, they are intelligent. Even if you discover one, it does not mean you can catch it. However, if you can obtain an immortal medicine¡¯s seed and you nurture it carefully, apanying its growth, you might be able to make it acknowledge you as its master. Not only would it have its immortality-granting properties then, it could even greatly improve its master¡¯s cultivation speed. It would be more useful than seeking out a mature immortal medicine directly.¡±

    The group was shocked. They had never seen such information in any cultivation manuals. If word of that got out, it wouldpletely topple many of the foundations of cultivation knowledge.

    They continued to ask for information rted to immortal medicines and the Celestial Emperor. However, the great mulberry tree spread out its wide branches as if they were its arms and said, ¡°I do not know about these things. Do not forget that I am merely a tree. I have only heard a few things that passers-by idly chat about while passing through this forest.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression was strange as he thought, The things you said just now weren¡¯t things ordinary travelers would know about, right? I wonder just what kinds of great figures stopped for some rest in this forest.

    Seeing that they couldn''t get any more information, Zu An and the others thanked the tree again. He said, ¡°Senior has helped us so much. I wonder if there is anything else we can do for senior?¡±

    It was the mark of a decent person to repay the favors others showed them. Since the tree had given them such precious mulberry tree leaves and told them so many secrets, they had to show a bit of sincerity, at least.

    1. This might be referring to a character from a webnovel based on the Three Kingdoms period. ?

    2. Zhu Bajie¡¯s title ?

 Chapter 1429: Ferocious Maw

    <h4>Chapter 1429: Ferocious Maw</h4>

    ¡°You have helped me deal with the Fengxi Boar. I am already extremely grateful,¡± the mulberry tree said. Its leaves rustled as if it wereughing, and it continued, ¡°I am but a tree. I do not have so many desires.¡±

    The cultivators¡¯ faces heated up. This great mulberry tree had already lived for who knew how many years. It didn''t care about any of their secr affairs, and was an individual of noble character and unquestionable integrity. It wasn¡¯t as calcting or scheming as ordinary people.

    Zu An was a bit absentminded. Why did he feel as if he had heard the very same thing somewhere else? Previously, he had encountered the Silverme Flowertree in the Yu n¡¯s mines. It seemed to have said simr things.That guy isn¡¯t this great mulberry tree¡¯s descendant, is it?

    However,when he recalled the Silverme Flowertree¡¯s appearance, and how it wasn¡¯t simr to the great mulberry tree in the slightest, he felt that he was overthinking things.

    ¡­

    Thus, the three of them thanked the tree again. After saying their goodbyes, they moved ording to its advice, finally leaving the seemingly endless Mulberry Forest.

    ¡°Little An, were you watching carefully earlier?¡± Yun Jianyue secretly asked Zu An when she had a chance.

    ¡°Of course. I wasn¡¯t even willing to blink. Big sis Yu really is beautiful beyondparison¡­¡± Zu An replied, naturally realizing what she was asking about. He wasn¡¯t stingy with his praise, immediately showering her in ttery.

    Of course, those were also his true thoughts; the scene he had witnessed truly was beautiful. He never could have imagined that the normally ferocious-looking Devil Sect Master would have such a gentle and alluring side to her.

    ¡°Is that all you were thinking back then?¡± Yun Jianyue asked with an ambiguous smile and a thoughtful gaze.

    Zu An¡¯s face heated up. He also calmly admitted, ¡°Back then, many thoughts of viting big sis Yun appeared in my mind¡­ I¡¯m truly horrible¡­¡±

    ¡°Are you courting death?!¡± Yun Jianyue eximed. She had only nned to tease him a bit; how could she have anticipated that he would be so direct? It was now her turn to feel embarrassed. She quickly said with a stiff expression, ¡°I¡¯m Honglei¡¯s master; you¡¯d better not think about that nonsense. There won¡¯t be a next time!¡±

    When he saw that there were actually no Rage points, Zu An knew she wasn¡¯t actually angry. He couldn''t help but grumble, ¡°Who was it that wanted to dance for me anyway¡­¡±

    ¡°What did you say?¡± Yun Jianyue asked, a dangerous look filling her eyes.

    ¡°Ahem, I was saying that big sis¡¯ Bewitching Dance and Charming Voice were just too incredible, to the point that my brain couldn''t even control my body anymore and there were only instincts left. That¡¯s why you can¡¯t me this on me!¡± Zu An said, sounding ¡®wronged¡¯.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°I didn¡¯t me you though,¡± Yun Jianyue said. She was very satisfied with his reaction, feeling that she hadn¡¯t shown this side of her that she had withheld from others for so many years for nothing.

    ¡°Right,¡± Zu An said, his expression suddenly growing strange. ¡°Did you change your clothes while hiding in the forest?¡±

    Doesn¡¯t that mean the old mulberry tree saw everything?

    That would normally have been somethingpletely ordinary, but who would have thought that the old mulberry tree actually had its own consciousness?

    What kind of a person was Yun Jianyue? She had been heavily influenced by the ways of the Devil Sect and immediately realized what Zu An was thinking. Her face heated up and she scoffed, ¡°What kind of nonsense are you thinking? For people of my cultivation rank, changing while still covered is a basic skill. We do that precisely to guard ourselves from perverts like you.¡±

    ¡°Why did I be a pervert?¡± Zu An replied, feeling wronged. However, he added, ¡°Why don¡¯t you show me that dance alone next time? It¡¯s hard to really get into it when there are others watching.¡±

    ¡°Get lost!¡± Yun Jianyue cried.

    ¡°Okay~¡± Zu An replied teasingly.

    Yan Xuehen had already noticed them muttering to each other for some time. She had initially nned to just ignore it, but when she saw that the two were getting more and more into it, she finally couldn''t take it anymore, asking, ¡°What are you talking about?¡±

    Yun Jianyue felt a bit guilty, but she reacted quickly, saying, ¡°None of your business.¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Yan Xuehen eximed.

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +122 +122 +122¡­

    Zu An felt a bit depressed.Yun Jianyue was the one bullying you, right? Why are you getting mad at me?

    He could only say, ¡°We were talking about the healing effects of the leaves the old tree gave us.¡±

    Yan Xuehen was stunned. She was suddenly a bit embarrassed, feeling that she had misunderstood them. She quickly tried to redeem the situation, saying, ¡°Those leaves are indeed quite miraculous. I noticed that even my old injuries showed signs of recovery. If this continues, I should be able to recover ny percent of my former strength.¡±

    For injuries on the grandmasters¡¯ level, normally, they wouldn¡¯t improve at all without at least ten years of recuperation. However, the spiritual spring at Feather Mountain had recovered quite a bit, and now, with the help of the mulberry leaves, even making a full recovery was in sight. They felt a bit of disbelief.

    ¡°If this world¡¯sws hadn¡¯t beencking, that great mulberry tree might have already achieved great cultivation. Even the legendary daoist ascension wouldn¡¯t necessarily have been impossible for it,¡± Yun Jianyue said, unable to hold back a sigh of praise.

    ¡­

    As the group chatted with each other, ayer of white mist soon appeared in front of them. The earth beneath their feet also grew soft, and there were puddles everywhere around them. Despite that, they continued forward.

    Zu An, who was walking at the forefront, almost had his foot sink into the ground. He quickly stopped, saying, ¡°This should be the Xiushe Snake¡¯sir, Dongting Lake.¡±

    He wondered if it had anything to do with the Dongting Lake of his previous world. However, the scenery before him didn¡¯t share even a hint of simrity with the Dongting Lake he remembered.

    Yu Yanluo looked at the mist and said, ¡°This is probably the miasma. Thanks to the great mulberry tree¡¯s leaf, though, I don¡¯t feel any abnormalities at all.¡±

    ¡°This miasma is indeed poisonous,¡± Yun Jianyue said, giving her surroundings a gentle sniff. ¡°I reckon that the further in we go, the stronger its poisonous nature will be.¡±

    ¡°With the protection of the mulberry leaf, we don¡¯t have to fear this miasma. It¡¯s the so-called Xiushe Snake that we have to be careful of. If it¡¯s hiding in the great marsh, it¡¯ll be extremely dangerous if it suddenly attacks us,¡± Yu Yanluo said, feeling a bit worried.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Both the witch and I have already recovered quite a bit of strength. We will not have to be scared even if we face the Xiushe Snake now. What I am more worried about is that it might just hide in this swamp forever, making it quite difficult for us to find it then,¡± said Yan Xuehen.

    That had been one of the biggest problems when they faced the Yayu and the Fengxi Boar. They were in such a vast swamp; they really didn¡¯t want to have to go through that again if they could.

    At first, Zu An had thought that the swamp was the kind that wouldn¡¯t let go once one stepped into it, slowly dragging people down. Now that he had entered it, however, he realized it was more watery than that. It was more like a particrly shallowke.

    Many trees grew in the water, withrge root systems that all sorts of fish swam through. Apart from those fish, there were some other animals faintly discernible in the forest. Perhaps because they had already gotten used to it over countless years, the miasma didn¡¯t seem to affect them at all. The mountain range in the distance was also verdant and lush, appearing to be full of vitality.

    The three women sighed in relief when they saw the presence of life. After all, there hadn¡¯t been many living creatures in the ces they had passed through previously. This ce seemed to have more life by far.

    The group created a simple wooden raft to float on the water. At the same time, they searched for traces of the Xiushe Snake.

    After some time passed, Yan Xuehen wondered in puzzlement, ¡°Do you think water this shallow can really hide a massive creature like the Xiushe Snake?¡±

    At first, they had thought that only the areas nearest the shore were shallow. Even after traveling on the raft for so long, however, they didn¡¯t find many areas that were more than a meter deep. Even the deepest parts were only a few meters deep at most. With their cultivation, they could even see the bottom of theke. They really couldn''t imagine a legendary giant monster hiding in such shallow waters.

    ¡°Look, there¡¯s actually a group of elephants there,¡± Yu Yanluo said with a hint of excitement, pointing into the distance.

    There were several elephants ying around in the water, looking simple and adorable. Because everything the group had experienced until then was too serious, when they saw that scene, they all rxed quite a bit.

    ¡°Are these elephants not scared of falling into the marsh?¡± Zu An muttered to himself. In his previous world, when he watched nature programs, he had learned that elephants didn¡¯t really have any natural predators. However, because of their tremendous body weight, it was easy for them to fall into mud and be unable to crawl back up. In the end, they could die from such a thing.

    To be honest, a marsh didn¡¯t suit elephants¡¯ normal lifestyle at all. However, Zu An noticed that the elephants were slightly bigger than the African elephants of his previous world. When they moved, their muscles seemed to flow with ki. He quickly realized that this was a world of cultivation, so how could there be ordinary elephants? They were clearly monsters, and it seemed that they weren¡¯t weak either.

    The group of elephants eventually noticed Zu An¡¯s group. The massive elephant in the lead stood up. Its trunk rose into the sky, revealing its long tusks. It roared at them, almost as if it were giving them a warning. Furthermore, judging from its posture, it looked as if it wouldunch an attack at any time.

    Zu Anughed inwardly, thinking,As expected, regardless of which world it is, male elephants are still irascible in nature.

    The group didn¡¯t want to start a conflict with the elephants, so they tried to leave. Suddenly, however, a ferocious mouth burst through the water¡¯s surface, viciously gobbling up the giant elephant that weighed more than a dozen tons in a single bite.

    Zu An¡¯s group waspletely speechless.

 Chapter 1430: Between Reality and Illusion

    <h4>Chapter 1430: Between Reality and Illusion</h4>

    The reason why Zu An¡¯s group was so shocked was because the difference between before and after was just too ridiculous. Mere moments before, the massive elephant had put them under a lot of pressure. And yet now, the ferocious maw seemed to treat it as merely a small dessert.

    Therge elephant struggled frantically, but the bloody maw chomped down twice, crunching bones between its teeth.

    Crunch crunch!

    Just like that, therge elephant stopped moving.The elephant herd wailed, clearly heartbroken to witness their leader¡¯s fate. However, no one stepped forward to help it, and they all fled hurriedly.

    The bloody maw gulped a few times, swallowing the elephantpletely. Then, it seemed to have noticed Zu An¡¯s group, as a long body rose from the muck. It stared at them with strange, vertically-slitted pupils.

    Only then did Zu An and the others see its true appearance. It was a giant ck snake, countless timesrger than the serpent they had seen in the marsh of Lord Sui¡¯s Tomb. It had a dark brown head that resembled a giant train engine, and its tan pupils looked extremely dangerous. From time to time, it flicked a ck, forked tongue, making the group shiver in fear.

    Zu An swallowed his saliva. There was a saying that went ¡®A man who is never content is like a snake trying to swallow an elephant¡¯, and yet just now, he really had seen a snake swallow up an elephant¡­

    The giant snake appeared to look down on the group, thinking they had too little meat on their bones. It only gave them a look before turning around and leaving.

    Just how did this guy hide in the shallow waters?they thought. The giant snake was clearly the Xiushe Snake they were looking for, though. They naturally couldn''t just let it leave like that.

    At that point, Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen had already recovered quite a bit of their strength, so they weren¡¯t scared of the colossal creature. They moved one after the other, sending the Crescent Ring and Flying Snow Sword at the snake¡¯s vitals.

    However, the giant snake seemed to have not even noticed their attack. It continued to depart into the distance.

    Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen were a bit upset. Wasn¡¯t this guy treating them with too little importance? They were grandmasters who had already been famous for a long time. Even earth immortals would be injured quite badly after ignoring their attacks like that.

    However, the following scene made their eyes nearly pop out of their sockets. The Crescent Ring and Flying Snow Sword passed straight through the giant snake¡¯s body as if there were nothing there. Then, the snake began to fade into thin air, eventually disappearing without a trace.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?!¡± The group gathered and looked at each other in dismay.

    ¡°Could it be a stealth skill, letting it hide near us while it prepares to attack?¡± Yu Yanluo asked.

    They looked around vigntly. However, Yan Xuehen shook her head and said, ¡°I do not think so. I cannot sense its presence at all. Additionally, the Xiushe Snake¡¯s figure is toorge. Even if it tried to hide, there is no way it could hide without revealing anything. The surroundings would expose it.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right, I can¡¯t sense its presence either,¡± Yun Jianyue said worriedly. With a wave of her hand, the Crescent Ring began searching in a wide radius. It vibrated as it traveled around them, but it didn¡¯t find anything.

    Zu An looked toward Yu Yanluo and asked, ¡°Were you able tomunicate with it?¡±

    Yu Yanluo looked confused as she replied, ¡°I could sense that it was a snake, but when I tried to contact it, I couldn''t seed no matter what I did. I don¡¯t know why that is, though.¡±

    ¡°Is this Xiushe Snake one of those legendary spatial element experts?¡± Yun Jianyue wondered, her expression turning serious.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression changed as she added, ¡°That would make things very difficult.¡±

    The cultivators of this world usually awakened an element. Metal, wood, water, fire, earth, and others were the mostmonly seen elements. However, there were some rarer elements like space or even the legendary time element. Such cultivators were just too rare; if they did appear, they were often extremely difficult to deal with.

    For example, spatial element users could not only move wherever they wanted to; if they couldn''t win, they could jump through space to escape. Furthermore, their bodies constantly faded between reality and illusion, making them hard to hit. Such an opponent was a headache for anyone to face.

    It appeared as if their attacks had all missed because the Xiushe Snake¡¯s body likewise faded between reality and illusion. When they thought about how they had to face such a creature, the group all felt their scalps go numb.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡­

    Then, they looked in the direction the giant snake had disappeared in. The water along the way wasn¡¯t that deep, and it really didn¡¯t seem as if it could hide the Xiushe Snake¡¯s massive body. That made them even more certain that it had a spatial element skill.

    They searched for a long time, but unfortunately, the Xiushe Snake was nowhere to be seen. They were at their wits¡¯ end, but suddenly, they saw a small boat up ahead. There was actually someone standing on it!

    The group was rmed. Their first thought was that they had run into the Fiend Emperor. After all, his group was the only other one that had entered the Unknown Region. However, they then saw that it wasn¡¯t the Fiend Emperor; rather, the figure looked like a fisherman.

    ¡°Be careful. Any human who can live in this Unknown Region might actually be someone extremely powerful,¡± Yun Jianyue said with a grave expression. Yan Xuehen and Yu Yanluo both nodded in deep sympathy, preparing to attack at any moment.

    Meanwhile, Zu An was in a daze. Previously, in the secret dungeon of Brightmoon City Academy¡¯s rear mountain, he had seen some humans too. They had even yed a part in helping him out of a seemingly impossible situation against the emperor.

    The person also noticed Zu An¡¯s group, gesturing angrily toward them. Yan Xuehen and the other women became even more nervous. They all maintained their guard.

    However, Zu An couldn''t help but say, ¡°It might not be as dangerous as you think.¡±

    The others didn¡¯t understand what he was saying. However, as they got closer, they noticed that even though the person on the boat looked strong and healthy, there weren¡¯t any ki fluctuationsing from their body.

    There could only be two reasons for that. Either the person had sought out the natural state and had cultivation much stronger than theirs, which would mean they naturally couldn''t see through his cultivation, or it meant he didn¡¯t have any cultivation at all and was just an ordinary person.

    ¡°What are you all doing? You scared all of my fish away!¡± the person called out unhappily upon seeing their approach, in a strange tone that sounded like a dialect of some little-known ce. However, it was still just barely intelligible.

    The group thus became sure that the person was actually just an ordinary individual who didn¡¯t know about cultivation. The three women¡¯s faces all heated up. Making such a huge fuss over that really was a bit embarrassing.

    Zu An took the chance to apologize to that person, giving him a silver tael. That person¡¯s discontented expression immediately changed to a big smile as he replied, ¡°You¡¯re too polite! Actually, those fish weren¡¯t worth this much.¡±

    Zu An chuckled inwardly. In the past, he had read a saying in a book that went, ¡®gold and silver aren¡¯t naturally money, but money is naturally gold and silver¡¯. Now, his personal experiences in this world had taught him that gold and silver really were the best money.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for uncle to be so polite either. We just happen to have some things we need to ask you about,¡± he said. In his position, he naturally didn¡¯t care much about one silver tael.

    ¡°Young master, please speak. If I know, I¡¯ll definitely reply,¡± the fisherman said with an eager expression.

    Zu An asked, ¡°Does uncle know about the Xiushe Snake? Uh¡­ It¡¯s that giant ck snake-like thing. Do you know where ites from and goes to? Where can we find it?¡±

    The fisherman was stunned, asking, ¡°What are you looking for the Ba Snake[1]</a>for?¡±

    Ba Snake?the group thought.Is that what the locals call the Xiushe Snake?

    Judging from his tone, he clearly knew about the Xiushe Snake, which made them happy. Yan Xuehen took the chance to ask, ¡°We heard that the Xiushe Snake brought disaster to Dongting Lake, bringing extreme distress to the local creatures, which is why we came to help everyone deal with the disaster.¡±

    They had thought that once he heard what they came for, the native inhabitant would receive them enthusiastically. To his surprise, however, his expression suddenly changed. He snapped, ¡°I was going to say that your outfits are strange. So you were despicable eastern barbarians after all! This old one doesn¡¯t want your damn money. Get lost!¡±

    He threw the silver tael he had previously already put away at them.

    The sudden developments left the group confused. Zu An quickly said, ¡°Uncle, there must be some misunderstanding. Who are the eastern barbarians? We¡¯ve never heard of them before!¡±

    ¡°Leave, leave. Like I care if you¡¯re eastern barbarians or not. Since you came to kill the Ba Snake, this ce doesn¡¯t wee you. Get lost!¡± the fisherman yelled as he tried to drive everyone away with the bamboo pole in his hands, acting as if it would be inauspicious for him to even say another sentence to them.

 Chapter 1431: Guardian

    Chapter 1431: Guardian

    Who was Yun Jianyue? When had anyone ever dared to behave like that in front of her? She was about to act when Yan Xuehen stopped her, saying, ¡°He is only an ordinary person in the end.¡±

    ¡°Sure, you¡¯re the one with the great personality. Those who don¡¯t appreciate kindness ought to be scolded, though,¡± Yun Jianyue said with a sneer.

    Yan Xuehen said calmly, ¡°I carry no shame in what I say and do. Why would I need someone else to feel appreciation for what I do?¡±

    Yun Jianyue frowned. However, in the end, she didn¡¯t do anything to the ordinary person. Afterward, since they had been given the cold shoulder, Zu An¡¯s group could only leave. At first, they looked for another local to ask about the area. For some reason, though, apart from the fisherman they had seen earlier, they didn¡¯t meet anyone else.

    ¡°Continuing like this won¡¯t be a solution,¡± Yun Jianyue said as she looked at the miasma-shrouded marsh. There was no end in sight at all. She suddenly thought of something, adding, ¡°Wasn¡¯t that fisherman just an ordinary person? Why wasn¡¯t he affected by the miasma?¡±

    ¡°That is quite strange. The monsters from earlier were still understandable, but even an ordinary person such as him was fine?¡± Yan Xuehen wondered, sounding puzzled.

    ¡°Could it be that this so-called miasma isn¡¯t poisonous to begin with, and we were fooled by the old mulberry tree?¡± Zu An suggested.

    Yan Xuehen shook her head and replied, ¡°When we first entered this swamp, I already removed the leaf and tested it out. This miasma is indeed poisonous.¡±

    Yun Jianyue was a bit surprised, saying, ¡°Wow, stone cold woman, I thought you were just a foolish, naive girl, but you actually had that level of consideration.¡±

    ¡°Otherwise, wouldn¡¯t I have already been done in by a witch like you a long time ago?¡± Yan Xuehen replied, expressionless.

    ¡­

    Then, the group began to discuss among each other why the fisherman had such a strong reaction to what they had said. Judging from his tone, he seemed to greatly respect the Xiushe Snake.

    However, it was such a savage snake. Why would the fisherman carry such an attitude toward it? They couldn''t find an exnation for that even after talking to each other for a long time.

    Yu Yanluo seemed to have sensed something and suddenly said, ¡°I hear a voice calling out to me.¡±

    ¡°Who¡¯s calling you?¡± the others asked in surprise.

    ¡°It seems to be the Xiushe Snake. The feeling is simr to when we encountered it earlier,¡± Yu Yanluo replied.

    Zu An asked out of concern, ¡°Does it have good or bad intentions?¡±

    Yu Yanluo shook her head and said, ¡°I can¡¯t tell. I¡¯m unable to perceive its mood.¡±

    ¡°Be careful. It might be a trap,¡± Yun Jianyue warned her.

    After a moment of hesitation, Yu Yanluo still said, ¡°Since it called out to me, it must have something to say to me. As a fellow snake person, I¡¯m willing to give it a try.¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°Since we don¡¯t have any other solutions, we can only give this method a try. It¡¯ll be fine as long as we¡¯re careful along the way.¡±

    After thinking about it, Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen didn¡¯t oppose the suggestion either. The group thus quickly followed Yu Yanluo toward the center of Dongting Lake.

    ¡°Where is the Xiushe Snake?¡± They looked around vigntly when they arrived, but unfortunately, they didn¡¯t find any trace of the Xiushe Snake.

    ¡°I can feel the calling growing closer and closer. It seems to be in that direction,¡± Yu Yanluo said. She closed her eyes, then pointed in a certain direction.

    The others looked in the direction she indicated and saw that it was the mountain they had seen earlier. Only then did they realize that the mountain was at the center of the swamp. It was a lush green and extended seemingly infinitely into the distance.

    ¡°This mountain is a bit strange. It feels a little like a dragon vein, and yet it isn¡¯t truly one,¡± Zu An said. He had studied ¡®One Drop of Heaven¡¯s Essence¡¯, so he was already quite knowledgeable about feng shui and geomancy. Thus, he had noticed that the mountain actually seemed to give off the aura of a dragon vein, but it wasn¡¯t quite the same.

    ¡°Say, don¡¯t you think this long and narrow winding mountain range looks a bit like a snake?¡± Yan Xuehen suddenly said.

    ¡°Could it be that this mountain is actually that giant snake disguising itself?¡± Yun Jianyue wondered in fright.

    Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°It¡¯s just a mountain. It¡¯s not alive. Even though it looks verdant and lush on the surface, now that we¡¯re up close, there¡¯s a strong aura of death surrounding this ce. It¡¯s unlikely to be that snake pretending to be the mountain.¡±

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue also examined the surroundings with their divine sense. It was indeed just a mountain. They felt much more relieved when they confirmed that.

    Just then, Yu Yanluo heard the call again. She said to the others, ¡°The call ising from the mountain. It seems to want me to ascend.¡±

    ¡°Be careful,¡± Zu An reminded her out of concern.

    Yu Yanluo said with a smile, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. If it really wanted to harm me, it wouldn¡¯t have gone through all this trouble. Besides, I can already sense that it bears no malice towards me.¡±

    She was still the Snake Race¡¯s leader, so the others trusted her judgment. They abandoned their raft and climbed ashore. Soon, they discovered a small winding path.

    ¡°It seems as if this road is used quite often,¡± Yun Jianyue muttered to herself. There was no way such a path would form if this were the true wilderness.

    ¡°It might have been made through other natives like that fisherman using it,¡± Yan Xuehen quickly deduced.

    They wanted to find some people to ask along the way, but they didn¡¯t encounter anyone.

    ¡­

    Just like that, Yu Yanluo followed the call up the mountain. The others followed her to the very top, where they found a temple.

    ¡°Ba Snake Temple?¡± they eximed when they saw the words on the gate. They all recalled that it was the name the fisherman had mentioned earlier, as opposed to ¡®Xiushe Snake¡¯.

    ¡°It is evident that this ce is still in decent shape,¡± Yan Xuehen said as she looked around. Even though she didn¡¯t see anyone there, it was bright and clean. Everything was rather orderly. There were even several sticks of incense being lit in a big cauldron in front of the temple, filling the air with their fragrance. It waspletely different from Er Fu Temple.

    Yu Yanluo entered the temple and saw that there was a giant ck snake statue enshrined in the very center. It was a small-scale replica of the Xiushe Snake they had just seen. Even though it was a small statue, however, it still took up close to half of the room. Its coiled figure made all who entered feel a powerful sense of pressure.

    They noticed that the statue wasn¡¯t as malevolent as they had imagined. On the contrary, it seemed almost a bit¡­ affectionate? How strange¡­ They really couldn''t associate the Xiushe Snake with being affectionate.

    Yu Yanluo asked the statue, ¡°Was it you who called me?¡±

    The statue¡¯s eyes suddenly blinked, and the image of a snake emerged from it. It was a big ck snake! However, this one was much smaller than the one that had swallowed up the elephant. It was closer to the giant pythons Zu An had seen on tv.

    Zu An shivered inwardly. He quickly stood in front of Yu Yanluo, worrying that she could be hurt. However, Yu Yanluo gently patted his hand, indicating that he didn¡¯t have to worry.

    ¡°Are you Nuwa¡¯s descendant?¡± the Xiushe Snake asked in human speech.

    ¡°I am not,¡± Yu Yanluo said, shaking her head.

    ¡°Then why can I sense Nuwa¡¯s aura on you?¡± the Xiushe Snake asked, tilting its head. At that moment, it even looked a bit¡­ cute.

    Yu Yanluo hesitated, but she still replied, ¡°It might be because I¡¯m from the Snake Race and since I have the Holy Pearl on me.¡±

    ¡°Then you are Nuwa¡¯s descendant,¡± the Xiushe Snake said, letting out a clear sigh of relief.

    Yu Yanluo opened her mouth, but she didn¡¯t exin further. She managed a great n, so she knew that sometimes, exining everything explicitly would only bring fewer benefits.

    The Xiushe Snake said with a sigh, ¡°When I saw you earlier, I thought that more of those eastern barbarians had arrived. However, I decided not to attack when I sensed your aura.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s group rejoiced inwardly. They were really basking in Yu Yanluo¡¯s limelight this time, or else they would have had to fight another major battle.

    ¡°Eastern barbarians?¡± Yu Yanluo asked in surprise. She recalled how the fisherman had acted when he mentioned eastern barbarians.

    ¡°You are not someone from this world?¡± the Xiushe Snake asked, its eyes narrowing.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Yu Yanluo admitted, ¡°We¡¯re indeed not people from this world. We just identally stumbled upon this one.¡±

    ¡°Then it makes sense that you do not know,¡± the Xiushe Snake said with a sigh. ¡°In the past, the eastern barbarians and the south¡¯s Miao people fought fiercely. The Miao people worshiped me, viewing me as their guardian. They offered sacrifices of incense to me, so I could not just watch them suffer without doing anything. At first, our war went smoothly, butter, the eastern barbarians sent a formidable archer. I was defeated by him, which led to the defeat of my people as well¡­¡±

    Zu An was startled. He asked, ¡°Is the one you¡¯re talking about named Yi?¡±

    ¡°Yi!¡± A hint of hatred and fear flickered through the Xiushe Snake¡¯s eyes. ¡°Indeed, that was him. It was him who killed me here!¡±

    Zu An and the others thought, No wonder. However, they were quickly stunned. Then judging from what this snake is saying, it¡¯s already dead? Then what¡¯s the snake in front of us right now?

 Chapter 1432: Blessing

    Chapter 1432: Blessingn/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The Xiushe Snake said with a sneer, ¡°The eastern barbarians just had toe up with all of those lies, saying I was the one who brought disaster to the people, and that was why Yi came to kill me. It was clearly just a struggle between two powers, and I was the loser. However, they made it seem as if I were deranged and had lost my mind. I am the honorable guardian of the Miao people, a deity created by heaven and earth. Am I really that pitiful?!¡±

    Zu An¡¯s group all had strange expressions. In the end, it seemed that the snake wasn¡¯t even that upset that it had been killed. Rather, it was angrier that it had been treated as just another monster that brought disaster to the world.

    Yu Yanluo was surprised and asked, ¡°In the past, there was a rumor that Yi was just bragging about killing you. Did you find a chance to escape?¡±

    The Xiushe Snake¡¯s head turned a bit red as it replied, ¡°Ahem, back then, Yi was indeed formidable, and I was not a match for him. I¡­ did not manage to escape either. I was sliced into several pieces.¡±

    The snake seemed a bit embarrassed in the beginning, but it was calm when it said the second part. At that moment, Zu An almost felt that the snake was a bit proud of what happened. He thought, What the hell? Is being killed by Yi something to feel proud of?

    The Xiushe Snake continued, ¡°The native people call the mountain range you are standing on the Ba Tomb. It is actually formed from my corpse.¡±

    All of them were truly shocked now. They had seen that the mountains undted up and down and snaked from side to side, really resembling a snake. However, they had all carefully confirmed that it wasn¡¯t alive, so they hadn¡¯t thought too much of it. They hadn¡¯t expected the mountain to actually really be the Xiushe Snake, albeit made from its corpse. For its corpse to turn into an almost never-ending mountain range¡­ Just howrge had it been back then?

    ¡°Then right now, you¡­¡± Yu Yanluo began, looking worriedly at the snake. What she was implying was obvious. If you¡¯re already dead, what kind of state are you in right now?

    Just then, Zu An had been examining the snake carefully as well. He had noticed that even though its appearance was sinister, there wasn¡¯t any malevolent energy around it. After all, after cultivating the Primordial Origin Sutra and gaining the ability to purify evil spirits, he had be quite sensitive to such things. However, the Xiushe Snake clearly wasn¡¯t one of them.

    The Xiushe Snake sighed and said, ¡°Back then, I had the duty of protecting my people, but I lost to Yi, which led to the defeat of the Miao people. However, they did not me me, and only wept bitter tears instead. They even built this Ba Snake Temple tomemorate me, making offerings day and night without end. Then, one day, I was suddenly revived.¡± It looked a bit perplexed as it continued, ¡°In truth, it cannot be called true revival. I do not know what kind of state I am in.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the power of faith¡­¡± Zu An said to himself. He hadn¡¯t watched so many movies for nothing. The power of faith could amass into a divine being, and the Xiushe Snake was clearly such a creature because themon people really did believe in it. That was why it had ¡®revived¡¯ amid its remains.

    The Xiushe Snake¡¯s eyes lit up as it said, ¡°As expected of a friend of Nuwa¡¯s descendant, your knowledge is admirable. So that was what it was, haha¡­¡± It sounded quite excited at first, but that feeling gradually gave way to sorrow. By the end, it felt so moved that there were tears in its eyes.

    The snake slithered up to the window and looked at the inds scattered around Dongting Lake, saying with a conflicted expression, ¡°Back then, I merely felt that they were quite respectful to me, and the things they used for the offerings matched my tastes. That was why I stayed here to act as a protector. At the time, I even found them a bit silly andughable, and thought to myself that I would just leave and move on whenever I got bored. I could never have expected I would even be revived because of those people I previouslyughed at.¡±

    Yu Yanluo said gently, ¡°Those people loved and respected you, so how could you not love them back? If it really had been as you said and you didn¡¯t care at all, why would you have fought against the eastern barbarians, joining the fight personally? You even sacrificed your life in the end.¡±

    Zu An and the others nodded. With the Xiushe Snake¡¯s cultivation, if not for the sake of the Miao people, it could live however it pleased. It definitely wouldn¡¯t have been killed like that.

    The Xiushe Snake was a bit rmed, saying, ¡°I am not as great as you make me out to be¡­¡± Its voice trailed off, as if it were lost in its own thoughts.

    ¡°Right, just now, we saw a giant snake swallow a giant elephant in theke. Was that you?¡± Zu An asked curiously. Since it had been revived through faith energy, it wouldn¡¯t need to feed on physical food, right?

    The Xiushe Snake was momentarily distracted, but when it heard the question, it couldn''t help butugh. It said, ¡°You probably saw a remnant of the past. This Dongting Lake is a bit special. Furthermore, because you are outsiders, and you even have the Nuwa bloodline with you, a scene from the past appeared.¡±

    The group suddenly realized what was going on. It was no surprise that neither Yan Xuehen or Yun Jianyue had been able to hurt therge snake. They had been worried about the snake being some kind of spatial element cultivator, but in the end, it turned out to be because of this!

    The Xiushe Snake suddenly remembered something and asked curiously, ¡°Right, why did you alle here?¡±

    The group¡¯s expressions became a bit awkward. In the end, Yu Yanluo did her best to tactfully exin the entire story.

    ¡°So that was it,¡± the Xiushe Snake said with a chuckle. ¡°That is easy enough, no? Since you are Nuwa¡¯s descendant, we can be considered rted somehow. I will help guide you out. Back then, in order to protect the people, I cast my power across all of Dongting Lake. It is indeed quite difficult for normal people to cross it.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s group looked at each other in surprise. They hadn¡¯t expected such a difficult problem to be solved just like that.

    ¡°Right, just now, you mentioned that the war back then was between your people and the eastern barbarians. Could they be the Yellow me Tribe?¡± Zu An asked after realizing something.

    ¡°The Yellow me Tribe?¡± the Xiushe Snake repeated with a frown. It said, ¡°They used to be mortal enemies. When did they be one tribe? The ones who fought with us in the past were indeed the eastern barbarians. Their people worshiped the phoenix and a mysterious bird.¡±

    Zu An suddenly remembered that Shun had talked about that before. What the White Emperor worshiped was the phoenix, so it seemed as if the White Emperor¡¯s lineage had something to do with the eastern barbarians.

    The Celestial Emperor Jun had bestowed a red bow on Yi. Meanwhile, the one who had assigned him the mission of killing the monsters was Emperor Yao. Both Emperor Jun and Emperor Yao were part of the White Emperor¡¯s faction¡­

    The Xiushe Snake looked at Yu Yanluo and said, ¡°Since you are Nuwa¡¯s descendant, it is fate that we met each other. Your cultivation is not bad, but it is far from disying your bloodline¡¯s power. I will pass on the ¡®Dragonsnake¡¯s Nine Transformations¡¯ to you. It can aid you in unearthing your potential. In the future, you will be able to easily use the Holy Pearl¡¯s power.¡±

    Yu Yanluo was shocked. However, she knew this was a great opportunity. In truth, she had been feeling a lot of pressure with the two grandmasters, Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue, around her all the time. She said,¡°Then I¡¯ll really have to thank senior.¡±

    ¡°Nuwa¡¯s descendants have shown me great kindness in the past. I am merely settling this segment of karma,¡± the Xiushe Snake said with a chuckle. Then, its eyes glowed and some light slowly drifted toward Yu Yanluo. There were ancient and mysterious dao principles contained within.

    Yun Jianyue moved over to Zu An¡¯s side and quietly said, ¡°Be careful of any tricks.¡±

    Zu An nodded. After all, they had already experienced for themselves that monsters were not only vicious and unreasonable, but also lied a lot. As he secretly warned Yu Yanluo, he remainedpletely vignt.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I can sense that it doesn¡¯t bear any malice,¡± Yu Yanluo said, giving him a reassuring look. Then, she closed her eyes to receive the light. The inside of her body suddenly lit up with the radiance of the Holy Pearl.

    When he saw that it had obtained the acknowledgment of the Holy Pearl, Zu An sighed in relief. Looks like I was nervous for nothing.

    The Xiushe Snake could actually obtain the sincere love and respect of the locals, being reborn through faith. How could it be some evil god?

    After passing on the Dragonsnake¡¯s Nine Transformations, the Xiushe Snake¡¯s body grew much dimmer. It said, ¡°Sigh, my body cannotpare to before. I need to sleep for a bit, so please do as you wish.¡±

    Then, its body flickered, returning to the giant snake statue.

    Yun Jianyue was stunned, asking, ¡°Didn¡¯t it say that it was going to send us out? What do we do now?¡±

    Yu Yanluo said with a smile, ¡°Big sis Yun, it already told me the information we needed. I should be able to bring us all out.¡± She bowed toward the giant snake statue, then led everyone out of the temple.

    ¡°Do you feel anything strange?¡± Zu An asked, still feeling a bit worried.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. That big snake was actually a good person. Uh¡­ I mean, a good snake,¡± Yu Yanluo replied. ¡°It even reminded us to be careful of the Zaochi Giant up ahead in the Flowery Field.¡±

 Chapter 1433: Field of Longevity

    Chapter 1433: Field of Longevity

    ¡°Flowery Field, the Yaochi Giant¡­¡± Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue mouthed those words silently to each other. Unfortunately, even with all of their knowledge, they had still never heard anything about those two things before.

    Yu Yanluo recalled what she had been told and said, looking vexed, ¡°The Flowery Field is also called the Field of Longevity. As for the Zaochi Giant, the Xiushe Snake¡¯s tone was a bit strange when it mentioned that beast, but it wasn¡¯t willing to exin why either.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. We¡¯ll know once we¡¯re there,¡± Yun Jianyue said. Now that her cultivation hadrgely recovered, she was full of confidence. She continued, ¡°I¡¯m actually more worried about this Xiushe Snake. Even though we all seemed to get along, didn¡¯t Shun want us to repeat Yi¡¯s heroic path? Yi killed it back then, but we¡¯re making a detour. Will this cause the trial to fail?¡± She quickly added, ¡°Little sis Yu, I¡¯m not trying to go against you, so please don¡¯t think that way.¡±

    Yu Yanluo showed her a smile, but her expression was full of worry. Meanwhile, Yan Xuehen gave Yun Jianyue a surprised look. This witch always did whatever she wanted, and she was extremely reckless. Why had her personality suddenly changed recently? She had even taken some time to exin herself to Yu Yanluo.

    Just then, Zu An said, ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll hinder anything. This swamp wouldn¡¯t let us out if it hadn¡¯t received the Xiushe Snake¡¯s permission. The fact that we can pass through it is the sign that we¡¯ve ¡®cleared the trial¡¯, and we don¡¯t need to choose to kill the Xiushe Snake. Besides, judging from the reactions of the native people, it¡¯s quite kind in disposition and really does cherish the people of this ce.¡±

    Yan Xuehen also nodded in approval, saying, ¡°This is actually better. We do not have to always fight and kill.¡± Even though she didn¡¯t understand every word Zu An said, it wasn¡¯t too difficult to figure out what he was saying.

    After thinking about it carefully, Yun Jianyue also approved of Zu An¡¯s judgment. Of course, she had another thought. If they realized that this didn¡¯t work,they could juste backter to finish off the snake. As the Devil Sect Leader, there was no way she would be the lenient and soft-hearted type.

    ¡­

    Under Yu Yanluo¡¯s lead, the group followed several twisting turns through Dongting Lake. They all marveled at the process. The paths through the water went in all sorts of directions like a maze. Many paths looked as if they went nowhere, akin to treacherous reefs; and yet, if they approached directly, the path would open up.

    That was clearly the work of the Xiushe Snake. If there hadn¡¯t been anyone to guide them, it would bepletely impossible for them to leave this ce.

    ¡­

    After a while, the surrounding miasma finally grew sparse. The water and sludge slowly gave way to firm, solidnd, too. The group finally knew that they had left Dongting Lake. As such, they abandoned the raft and climbed ashore.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Is this the Flowery Field the Xiushe Snake spoke of?¡± Yan Xuehen asked, looking at the green and lush valleys and fields around her. Previously, they had gone from encountering a sea monster, to the Weak Water and the swampy Dongting Lake. It had even made her start to develop a slight fear of water. Now that she saw a mountain field rich with life, she felt a mysterious sense of happiness.

    ¡°Did the Xiushe Snake mention how to find the Zaochi Giant?¡± Yun Jianyue asked, looking at Yu Yanluo.

    Yu Yanluo shook her head and replied, ¡°It didn¡¯t. It only said that the giant would be really easy to find.¡±

    ¡°What does that mean?¡± the others asked in confusion. However, they couldn''t figure it out even after thinking for a long time.

    ¡°Hey everyone,e and look over here. There¡¯s some smokeing from up ahead, as if someone lives there. Let¡¯s go and ask them about it,¡± Zu An said, suddenly noticing that there was smoke rising from a valley in the distance. The smoke didn¡¯t seem as if it came from a wildfire, but rather from a barbecue.

    ¡°We need to be more careful. Don¡¯t say we¡¯re here to take down the Zaochi Giant, or else it might be some local guardian again and it might cause conflict,¡± Yun Jianyue warned them.

    The others nodded in agreement when they recalled their encounter in Dongting Lake. They hurried in the direction of the smoke and gradually smelled the fragrance of meat. They suddenly felt a bit hungry. They hadn¡¯t had much time to eat anything after entering the Unknown Region.

    At their cultivation rank, abstaining from eating was amon practice. It didn¡¯t matter too much if they didn¡¯t eat for some time. However, they hadn¡¯t ascended to immortality yet. They still had mortal bodies, so the desire to eat was impossible to get rid of.

    ¡°We should purchase some meat to eat from the people hereter,¡± Yun Jianyue said as her stomach let out a growl.

    Yan Xuehen frowned, wondering, ¡°Why is this meat¡¯s smell so strange, though?¡±

    ¡°It is a bit strange. I¡¯ve never smelled it before,¡± Yun Jianyue said casually. ¡°This is an Unknown Region with creatures we¡¯ve never seen before, though. Who knows, we might be able to eat something we¡¯ll never be able to eat again in our lifetimes.¡±

    Yan Xuehen figured that made sense, so she became expectant.

    Soon afterward, the group saw some figures up ahead. Several beings with shaggy clothing had their backs to the group, surrounding a bonfire. A thigh was being roasted over the fire, sizzling with grease as it was being cooked.

    The group had been about to approach them in high spirits, but when they saw the scene before them, their expressions immediately stiffened.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s voice shook a bit as she asked, ¡°Is¡­ Is that a human leg?¡±

    ¡°It is!¡± Yun Jianyue eximed, her expression ashen.

    Yu Yanluo and Yan Xuehen couldn¡¯t hold themselves back anymore. They bent over and began to vomit. However, they drew the attention of the beings around the bonfire, who turned around and looked in their direction.

    Only then did Zu An notice the beings¡¯ appearances. What humans? They only had the bodies of humans, but their heads were those of wild beasts, their mouths containing two chisel-like tusks. When they saw Zu An¡¯s group, their eyes immediately lit up, as if they were looking at delicious food. They picked up clubs and other weapons, letting out strange cries as they charged at the group.

    Zu An¡¯s group naturally wouldn¡¯t show them any courtesy. When they saw that, they didn¡¯t hold back and quickly decided to deal with the creatures.

    To some extent, these creatures could be considered intelligent beings and could be worth questioning for information. However, they were only capable of simple utterances. Zu An¡¯s group couldn''t understand what those utterances meant, so there was nothing else they could do but kill the creatures.

    When they arrived by the bonfire and saw a man¡¯s remains, Yun Jianyue finally couldn''t take it anymore either. She ran off to one side and began to throw up.

    Meanwhile, Zu An dug a hole and buried the remains. Sigh, ancient times were really full of monsters. It really wasn''t easy for humans back then.

    Then, the group began to search around the vast Flowery Field. They discovered that there were actually quite a few of the monsters.

    The monsters had even built a vige of their own. Some adults were doing strange dances around a bonfire, gritting their teeth and making all types of iprehensible sounds. Additionally, there were some monster children chasing each other and ying around. There was even a male and female couple sitting shoulder to shoulder under a tree as if they were on a date.

    If the group hadn¡¯t seen the monsters roast a human leg, they likely would have felt that this was a happy monster vige.

    ¡°These guys are surprisingly carefree.¡± Yun Jianyue harrumphed. She took out her Empress Lantern and blew gently. The ember inside immediately turned into an engulfing me that swept toward the monsters.

    Yan Xuehen remained expressionless, not opposing Yun Jianyue. However, Yu Yanluo frowned. She had some Snake race blood, so to a certain degree, she was also seen as a monster by other humans. However, when she thought about how these monsters ate humans, she didn¡¯t say anything in the end.

    The vige that had been peaceful mere moments before immediately turned into a sea of mes. The monsters screamed as they ran for their lives. Some of them noticed Zu An¡¯s group. They roared and charged at the group with weapons in hand, but how could they even get close? They were soon burned to a crisp by the Empress Lantern¡¯s true mes.

    Suddenly, a roar emerged from the depths of the vige. A massive figure emerged, seemingly running directly through a mountain. As it came into view, the group got a good look at it. It was just like the other monsters, but dozens of times bigger. It was ferocious-looking, and its mouth was full of chisel-like teeth. The two tusksing from its lower jaw were especially fierce. It had a shield in one hand and a giant club in the other.

    When it saw the mes that surrounded the vige, it charged with a roar. It held its shield in front of its body and actually ran straight into the Empress Lantern¡¯s mes!

 Chapter 1434: Zaochi Giant

    Chapter 1434: Zaochi Giant

    ¡°The Zaochi Giant!¡± Zu An¡¯s group eximed, quickly realizing what the creature was. It was just as the rumors had said.

    The giant didn¡¯t seem like one of the ordinary monsters; rather, it appeared to be their leader or protector. It had shown up to help when it saw that they had encountered a disaster. If it was just like the Xiushe Snake, a guardian of the people, perhaps it would have been possible to talk to it. However, the party had given up on that thought after seeing that the monsters ate humans.

    Yun Jianyue collected the Empress Lantern¡¯s mes, then attacked with her Crescent Ring. When it saw the iing weapon, the Zaochi Giant raised its shield to block it. The ring left behind a faint mark on the shield, but it didn¡¯t manage to break through. However, Yun Jianyue turned her wrist and the Crescent Ring changed course, attacking from a different angle.

    Her Crescent Ring inspired fear across the cultivation world precisely because of its strange attack patterns that were extremely difficult to defend against. Cultivators described her Crescent Ring as a strand of moonlight. How could one defend against moonlight? It was everywhere, so there was no way to defend against it. The Crescent Ring was likewise difficult to defend against.

    Sure enough, the Zaochi Giant¡¯s clumsy body couldn''t keep up with the agile Crescent Ring. Wounds quickly appeared all over its body. However, soon after, it knocked away the Crescent Ring with its shield. Owing to its tough body and shocking regenerative abilities, it didn¡¯t suffer any particrly serious injuries.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s Flying Snow Sword then left its scabbard. It turned into a flowing light, aiming at the giant¡¯s weak points.

    However, the Zaochi Giant decided it wasn¡¯t going to evade anymore. It protected its body with its shield, while its club sent the Crescent Ring or Flying Snow Sword flying over and over. The two grandmasters found that they actually couldn''t do much against it even after fighting for a long time. This guy¡¯s defenses were just too powerful!

    Just then, Yu Yanluo¡¯s eyes shone with a yellow light, and ayer of petrification gradually surrounded the Zaochi Giant¡¯s entire body. It was so frightened it quickly hid behind its shield, trying to block the Medusa¡¯s Eye.

    Zu An was extremely worried, saying, ¡°We aren¡¯t in that much danger right now. Your body won¡¯t be able to take it if you use your skill at that level.¡±

    After being around each other for so long, he naturally knew that the Medusa¡¯s Eye had three different colors that represented different levels of power: Red, blue, and yellow. Yellow indicated Yu Yanluo was using her Medusa¡¯s Eye without holding back at all. When Yan Xuehen had attacked Zu An in the past, that was precisely the level she had used. She had almost lost her life back then. That was the reason Zu An was worried. How could he not be rmed when he saw her do that?

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. The Dragonsnake¡¯s Nine Transformations the Xiushe Snake taught me can activate one¡¯s potential and bring out the power of the Holy Pearl. That¡¯s why it¡¯s easier for me to use this power now,¡± Yu Yanluo quietly replied. At the same time, she resisted the urge to look at him so she wouldn¡¯t identally petrify him. Meanwhile, Zu An felt a bit more at ease when he heard her say that.

    The Zaochi Giant¡¯s incredible shield couldn''t bear the brunt of the Medusa¡¯s Eye at full power, and gradually began to petrify.

    When Zu An saw that opportunity, he raised the Universe Ring and activated the Star Shattering Imprint, bringing it down directly on the shield. Perhaps the petrification had negated much of the shield¡¯s capabilities, as it couldn¡¯t hold on and exploded into pieces.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The Zaochi Giant was shocked when it saw that the shield it had relied on was actually destroyed. It had no intention of continuing the battle at all, and it turned tail and ran.

    Yun Jianyue harrumphed. She took out the Empress Lantern, which caused the Zaochi Giant to slow down considerably. The Crescent Ring then cleaved downward. The Zaochi Giant was horrified and quickly blocked it with its club.

    A streak of moonlight flickered through the club, cleaving it in half. Seeing that, the Zaochi Giant frantically dodged. Even though the attack left a bloody scar across its chest, it still avoided getting hit in any vital regions.

    Unfortunately, the giant didn¡¯t have any time to feel happy about that, because blinding sword radiance immediately filled its sight. A dazzling streak of sword energy pierced directly through its skull. Then, its entire body stiffened before falling heavily to the ground.

    ¡°Hateful humans, always invading our home¡­¡± it muttered. Despite its great strength, it could only let out those words before taking itsst breath. Even though the giant¡¯s pronunciation was hard to understand, Zu An and the others still mostly understood the words.

    Yun Jianyue called back her Crescent Ring. She looked coldly at Yan Xuehen, remarking, ¡°Stone cold woman, you¡¯re really good at stealing kills, huh?¡±

    Yan Xuehen frowned and said, ¡°I did not think about any such thing. I just wanted to deal with the Zaochi Giant as quickly as possible to prevent more issues from arising. As for contributions, we should thank Ah Zu for smashing apart its shield.¡±

    Zu An pulled Yu Yanluo over and said, ¡°It was actually because of the Medusa¡¯s Eye, which petrified the shield. Otherwise, I might not have been able to break it after just your attacks alone.¡±

    Only then did the grandmasters find out that the skill Yu Yanluo had learned from the Xiushe Snake made it easier to use the Medusa¡¯s Eye. They all clicked their tongues in wonder.

    Yu Yanluo was a bit embarrassed, saying, ¡°To be honest, I¡¯m more curious about what the Zaochi Giant¡¯sst words meant. Could it be that back then, Yi actually invaded this ce?¡±

    Yun Jianyue said, ¡°These monsters are clearly their own faction. To some extent, they can be considered a civilization of their own. That¡¯s why, from their perspective, we¡¯re just invaders like Yi.

    ¡°However, since they view humans as food, we were always doomed to be enemies. Since we¡¯re humans, we have no choice but to fight them when we meet. We would only be their food if they were stronger. That¡¯s why there¡¯s no need to feel any sympathy. It¡¯s just natural selection.¡±

    Yan Xuehen was a bit surprised, saying, ¡°Witch, some of your views are surprisingly simr to ours. How about converting anding over to our White Jade Sect? With your experience, it would be enough to be an elder. It would not only be the White Jade Sect, too; you would have extraordinary status even in the entire daoist faction.¡±

    Yun Jianyue roared withughter, replying, ¡°You want to invite me with just a trifling elder position? Even if I were to join your side, it would be as a sect master too. Then, I¡¯d turn all of those self-important goddesses into seductresses¡­¡±

    Yan Xuehen became upset, saying, ¡°As expected of a witch, you only know how to say crazy things.¡±

    The two women were about to fight again. However, Zu An noticed that Yu Yanluo wasn¡¯t in a good mood. He asked out of concern, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Yu Yanluo sighed, saying, ¡°I just thought of the fact that I¡¯m not a pure human either. If one day, the fiend races and humans really enter an all-out war, I won¡¯t know what to do.¡±

    Zu An realized she was a bit shaken up by the final fate of the monster tribes. He held her hand tightly and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. No matter what happens, I¡¯ll always be by your side.¡±

    ¡°Ah Zu~¡± Yu Yanluo eximed. She felt warm inside, looking at him lovingly.

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue noticed the other two and both stopped arguing with each other, no longer feeling inclined to continue.

    Yun Jianyue said in annoyance, ¡°We¡¯ve already dealt with the Zaochi Giant. What do we do now?¡±

    ¡°The Vicious Waters¡¯ Nine Infants!¡± Zu An replied with a grave expression.

 Chapter 1435: Nine Infants

    Chapter 1435: Nine Infants

    ¡°I recall that the Nine Infants has nine heads,¡± Yan Xuehen said, remembering what Shun had told them.

    ¡°It already sounds annoying,¡± Yun Jianyue said, even though she wasn¡¯t actually scared at all.

    Both she and Yan Xuehen had recovered most of their strength. They also had Zu An and Yu Yanluo. As long as they didn¡¯t encounter an earth immortal like the Fiend Emperor, they would be practically unstoppable.

    ¡°What I¡¯m more curious about is why there are so many monsters with snake bodies,¡± Zu An said. He thought about how Yayu and Er Fu both had human heads and snake bodies. Xiushe was a snake too, and the Nine Infants seemed to have a snake body too.

    ¡°Why are you looking at me? How would I know?¡± Yu Yanluo eximed, blushing. She shot him an annoyed look.

    The others couldn''t help butugh when they saw her expression.

    ¡­

    Just like that, the group continued in good spirits. They quickly left the Field of Longevity.

    Soon, however, they arrived at arge, surging river. They looked at each other in dismay, wondering, ¡°Why does this ce look so familiar?¡±

    It wasn¡¯t their fault for feeling that way. After all, the river was really simr to the Weak Water they had seen before. The ferocity of its currents even exceeded that of the Weak Water.

    Zu An squatted by the shore and reached into the water. After sensing it for a bit, he stood back up, saying, ¡°The water is normal. It¡¯s not like the Weak Water, which can cause you to sink. Still, this river is strange. I checked it out just now, but I couldn''t sense its depths at all.¡±

    He had inspected it with his Blue Mard ability. Even if the river wasn¡¯t several thousand meters deep, it was at least a thousand meters deep. That was just too ridiculous! After all, even the great Yangtze River in his previous world was only a hundred or so meters deep, and that was because it had three gorges that stored water. However, this river was actually as deep as an ocean!

    ¡°Is the Nine Infants hiding inside?¡± the others wondered, feeling a bit of a headache when they heard about the water¡¯s depths. After what they had experienced so far, they really didn¡¯t want to touch water again. However, they couldn''t think of any good ways to find the Nine Infants.

    While they were at their wits¡¯ end, they suddenly heard some faint baby cries in the distance.

    ¡°How could there be babies here?¡± Yun Jianyue wondered with a frown. In contrast, Yan Xuehen was calm. She cultivated the Unshakable Daoist Manual. As long as it wasn¡¯t about her and Zu An, it was difficult to make her feel any strong emotions.

    Yu Yanluo looked around and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go and take a look. If any ordinary people have lost their children here, we can help bring them back to their families.¡±

    After their past experiences, she had realized that this world actually had its own native inhabitants.

    ¡°Be careful of any tricks. Why would there be any babies all the way out here in the wilderness? It doesn¡¯t seem normal at all,¡± Yun Jianyue warned them.

    Yu Yanluo nodded. She carefully searched the area around her. Soon afterward, she arrived at an expanse of reeds; the cries came from within.

    ¡°Could it be an abandoned baby?¡± Yu Yanluo wondered with a frown. Why would any normal children be left here? She had heard that in the past, some people abandoned young children in ces such as the reeds. She moved aside the dense reeds and carefully searched for the child.

    Suddenly, a ferocious mouth shot out from the reeds, trying to bite her.

    ¡°Be careful!¡± the others eximed while trying to save her.

    Fortunately, Yu Yanluo wasn¡¯t so naive and innocent. She had long since been prepared. When it was about to reach her, she kicked off the ground and drifted into the distance, avoiding the deadly attack. Zu An and the others¡¯ attacks arrived soon afterward. The vicious mouth evaded them, but in doing so stood up, allowing them to finally see what it looked like.

    It wasn¡¯t just a single ferocious mouth; rather, there were nine of them. The creature had nine heads, and its body was that of arge snake. Even though it was a bit smaller than the Xiushe Snake had been in life, its body paired with its nine writhing heads made it look frightening. The nine-headed monster roared furiously at the people who had attacked it.

    The group finally realized where the baby¡¯s cries hade from. That was the noise the creature made! No wonder its name was ¡®Nine Infants¡¯!

    Yun Jianyueughed and said, ¡°I like this style much better than before. There¡¯s noplicated backstory, and we just need to fight.¡±

    Zu Anughed as well, because he knew that she was talking about the monsters they had faced thus far. All of them had hadplicated pasts, making it a bit awkward to face them.

    The Nine Infants became somewhat angry. Even after they beheld its dignified body, these insignificant humans actually didn¡¯t seem to show any fear at all, instead talking cheerfully to each other.

    Absolutely preposterous!

    One of its heads suddenly opened its mouth. A water bolt shot out of it, flying toward the group like a st from a high-pressure water gun. The group quickly evaded it, but the bolt left a deep crater in the space where they had been standing.

    Yun Jianyue snorted. She didn¡¯t stop, attacking with her Crescent Ring. However, several of the Nine Infants¡¯ heads shot water from their mouths, sting her Crescent Ring away. The water bolts were like densely-packed bullets, leaving behind countless deep pockmarks on the shore.

    Soon, however, the monster switched to shooting thin lines of water instead; wherever they passed, they could even silently cut the sturdiest stones in half.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Under the concentrated barrage of attacks, Yun Jianyue was forced to defend with her Crescent Ring. However, that also meant she had no chance to retaliate for the time being.

    Zu An was shocked. It was always said that water had unparalleled flexibility, but also held the greatest power. He had seen the power of water des that could cut through steel like butter in some videos from his previous world. He hadn¡¯t expected to see such a thing again today.

    The surrounding temperature suddenly dropped, and snowkes swirled through the air. It was clear that Yan Xuehen had made her move. Her Snowke Sword just happened to counter water-element attacks.

    The water bolts the Nine Infants released were instantly frozen solid, weakening them significantly. The Snowke Sword¡¯s cold energy even followed along the water trails that came out of the Nine Infants¡¯ mouths, freezing them all the way up to the monster¡¯s snake tongues.

    Zu An watched in admiration. He was used to Yan Xuehen¡¯s weaker side. Now that she had recovered eighty percent of her strength, her attacks once again carried the imposing style of a grandmaster.

    Two of the heads were about to freeze, but suddenly, the Nine Infants¡¯ other heads spat out streams of me that instantly melted the ice.

    ¡°It can use fire and water?¡± the group eximed. The three women were particrly surprised, as they rarely encountered individuals who could use two elements at once. To be honest, the monster was actually a bit simr to Zu An in that regard.

    However, the monster didn¡¯t give them any chance for a reprieve. The nine heads each found different targets, continuing to attack all of them at once.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s eyes began to shine with radiance. This was a nine-headed snake, and she was a Medusa. It was hard to say whose bloodline was at a higher level.

    Sure enough, however, the head that was facing her stiffened. The surface of its skin began to petrify, and soon afterward, the entire head turned into a statue. Afterward, the other heads all turned around to attack her. Yu Yanluo had no way of dealing with so many heads at the same time, so she quickly dodged.

    Just then, a golden brick flew toward the monster, erging at a visible rate. Then, it mmed into the petrified head. It was one of the heaven-grade weapons from the Ocean races¡¯ Dragon Pce that Shang Liuyu had given Zu An: The Golden Brick!

    This was the first time he had used it. It was as powerful as expected! The petrified stone head was instantly crushed to pieces by the giant brick.

    The Nine Infants screamed in pain. Its entire body trembled, and the other eight heads began to rock back and forth crazily.

    Zu An¡¯s group sighed in relief. They were getting better and better at fighting together. If they did the same thing a few more times, surely this monster¡¯s nine heads would be destroyed one by one. However, their smiles quickly froze.

    The Nine Infants continued to rock back and forth. Then, new flesh began to form around the spot where its head had been destroyed. After that, a new snake head began growing rapidly. Apart from the color being a bit lighter and the flesh a bit more tender, it was the exact same as the previous head!

 Chapter 1436: Zu An Stirring the Water

    Chapter 1436: Zu An Stirring the Water

    As the Nine Infants recovered, its expression became even more malicious. It screamed at them angrily in an infant¡¯s voice. Even though it sounded somewhat ridiculous, its body gave off extreme pressure, and its nine malevolent snake heads were noughing matter.

    The new snake head fired a wave of mes at Zu An. It clearly remembered who had smashed it to pieces earlier. Meanwhile, the other snake heads also coordinated their attacks. zing mes swept forth, cutting off his path of retreat.

    This guy even knows how to create a crossfire? Zu An thought. Since there was nowhere to evade, he decided he wasn¡¯t going to. He used his Blue Mard ability and summoned the fierce waters from the nearby river. A tremendous amount of water quickly rushed forth, forming water dragons that flew toward the wall of mes.

    Fire would always be countered by water, let alone when it came from such a ferocious river that contained an endless supply of water. Meanwhile, the Nine Infants¡¯ mes had toe from itself, so it wouldn¡¯t be able to continue forever. The wall of mes was gradually pushed back by the water, eventually turning into mere strands of smoke.

    The Nine Infants became enraged. The other snake heads turned around and sucked in arge amount of water, before spitting them out in a hail of water bolts.

    However, the three women rushed over to Zu An¡¯s side, helping him block the dense barrage of bolts. Zu An then used Grandgale, instantly arriving next to a few of the Nine Infants¡¯ heads. He nned to end it with the Poisonous Prick.

    You¡¯re good at regenerating, right? Let¡¯s see if you can still regenerate after you get cut by the Poisonous Prick.

    This thing clearly had a physical body. It wasn¡¯t like the Yayu, created from hatred and resentment.

    However, as soon as Zu An appeared, the snake heads became especially vignt. Several of the heads swiftly bit down at him. Its vicious-looking teeth proved that the nine-headed monster wasn¡¯t just a ss cannon mage, but actually had first-rate physical prowess too.

    Still, what Zu An couldn''t stand the most was the horrible breathing from its mouth. It was like a toilet that had never been flushed before, or perhaps like a rotten egg mixed with ammonia, sulfur, and other unknown smells. Zu An almost fainted from the first whiff alone.

    By the time Zu An recovered from his momentary daze, however, the nine snake heads¡¯ attacks had already reached his body. Fortunately, his cultivation was high, and with the three women¡¯s help, he barely managed to withdraw. He wiped off a handful of cold sweat. He realized that he had been negligent. This enemy waspletely different from the others he had fought so far.

    If it had been just one or two heads, Zu An might still have had a chance of hurting it with the Poisonous Prick. However, the nine heads were covering for each other¡¯s weaknesses and attacking in tandem. Together with the atrocious biological weapon of a smelling from its mouth, fighting against it in close quarters really wasn¡¯t a sensible n.

    Fortunately, he wasn¡¯t alone. A brilliant streak of moonlight flew outward, and the Crescent Ring instantly severed one of the monster¡¯s heads.

    Yan Xuehen didn¡¯t want to be outdone either. Her Flying Snow Sword flew forth like a shooting star, piercing directly through another snake''s head and causing it to erupt in bloody mist.

    However, the two women didn¡¯t seem too happy, because they could only watch as one of the severed heads flew back toward the monster¡¯s neck. Then, the blood around the cut began to disappear, and the head rejoined the body. Likewise, the head pierced by the Flying Snow Sword quickly healed, the bloody hole in its forehead disappearing. In moments, the two heads had returned to their original state.

    ¡°What do we do if this monster can regenerate infinitely?¡± Yu Yanluo asked worriedly. Another head would grow as soon as they cut off one. Such a battle really did make them feel a bit of despair.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Yun Jianyue said, ¡°It¡¯s fine. Have you all noticed that the new heads are a bit lighter than the old ones? Also, I did some calctions earlier. These two heads recovered a bit slower than the first one. Even though the difference is minute, I¡¯m sure it slowed down a bit.¡±

    ¡°You are right,¡± Yan Xuehen said with a nod. ¡°Even though this Nine Infants can regenerate, it definitely consumes some kind of energy, or else it would not make sense. As long as we can remove its heads fast enough, it will definitely be unable to recover in time.¡±

    Considering their credibility as grandmasters, Zu An and Yu Yanluo didn¡¯t doubt their words at all. Just like that, they began fighting the monster in tandem once again. With their previous experience, their coordination became even more seamless.

    Soon, another snake head was removed, followed by a second, a third, a fourth¡­

    At first, the Nine Infants could recover quickly, but eventually, it couldn''t take it anymore, recovering more and more slowly. One snake head couldn¡¯t recover at all, and a constant trickle of blood streamed out of it.

    The monster no longer looked as sinister and malicious as before. Rather, it actually showed a bit of fear as it looked at the group. It thought to itself, Where did these crazy humanse from? Are humans all this strong?

    It realized that it could actually end up in a bad position if it continued to fight, so it sought out a chance to flee into the ferocious river. Even though Zu An¡¯s group tried to cut it off, the river was toorge, so they couldn''t fully seal it off. As such, they could only watch as it escaped.

    ¡°Ahhh, this is so annoying! It¡¯ll be hard to bring it out again now that it¡¯s fled,¡± Yun Jianyueined, feeling a huge headache. Not too long before, they had suffered quite a bit when dealing with the Yayu for the same reason. Now, the same thing was happening all over again.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I have a solution,¡± Zu An said, sounding surprisingly calm.

    ¡°What kind of n do you have?¡± the others asked, looking at him curiously.

    Zu An didn¡¯t reply. He walked over to Yan Xuehen and said, ¡°Remove your waistband.¡±

    Yan Xuehen was a bit stunned. Are you mad? You¡¯re actually asking me something like that in front of those two?

    Yun Jianyue also looked at him in shock, eximing, ¡°Little An, you¡¯re quite something! You even dare to go after this stone cold woman?¡±

    Yan Xuehen realized that even though Zu An was bold, he wasn¡¯t unreasonable to that degree. There was definitely a reason. As such, she naturally undid her waistband and gave it to him, asking, ¡°What are you going to do?¡±

    When they saw that scene, Yu Yanluo and Yun Jianyue¡¯s expressions were a bit strange. Something didn¡¯t seem right¡­

    Zu An took the red waistband without a word and walked over to the river. He tossed the other end into the water, then began to stir it around with his wrist. The red waistband grew longer and longer, soon filling arge portion of the ferocious river with bright red. It agitated the river, forming a giant whirlpool.

    Zu An thought to himself mockingly, I¡¯m really bing more and more like Nezha. The story of Nezha from his previous world described how he once washed himself with the Primal Skysilk, but it caused the entire dragon pce to shake as if an earthquake had struck.

    He had just remembered the story, so he tried to copy it, and sure enough, it worked. The Primal Skysilk¡¯s characteristics were something not even an ocean could withstand, let alone a mere river.

    The surging waters werepletely disced. Countless waves rushed into the air, forming giant whirlpools that resembled enormous washing machines.

    Finally, a dark figure flew out of the water. It was none other than the Nine Infants! It clearly couldn''t stand the turbulence anymore. Its snake heads faced Zu An, almost as if it were about to denounce him for his bad deeds.

    However, even as it tried to speak, no sound emerged. Several snake heads couldn''t take it anymore and vomited.

    It had ended up getting motion sickness!

 Chapter 1437: Bluefield Pond

    <h4>Chapter 1437: Bluefield Pond</h4>

    The three women were stunned. They had never expected such a thing to happen. This terrifying monster had actually been tormented so badly by Zu An¡¯s Primal Skysilk! Still, they were all strong cultivators, so they didn¡¯t hesitate. They all attacked the Nine Infants while it was weak.

    The Nine Infants was rmed and angry. Its nine heads roared furiously, but it was much weaker than before. It couldn''t even win against them previously, so now, there was even less of a chance of being their match. It began looking worse for wear as its heads were blown apart one after another. Blood spilled from its wounds as its regeneration finally became unable to keep up.

    When he saw that it was about to fall over, Zu An instantly moved next to it. He held the Poisonous Prick in hand and prepared to deliver the killing blow.

    However, the moment he was about to thrust with the de, a warning from ¡®The Book¡¯ suddenly appeared in his mind. Having already experienced it once with the warning he had received when the Fiend Emperor ambushed him, he didn¡¯t hesitate at all. He quickly changed his ns and instantly moved a few meters away.

    At the same time, an ugly head suddenly appeared from the Nine Infants¡¯ belly. It was much smaller than the other nine heads, but it was much more sinister and ugly than the others. It shot out suddenly with lightning speed. It was incredibly sinister and almost impossible to avoid.

    However, the Nine Infants had never expected Zu An to be able to dodge its attack as if he could see the future!

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue both broke out into cold sweat. They hadn¡¯t expected the Nine Infants to be so treacherous and cunning! It had been hiding its strength and drawing them in to attack! Even with their cultivation, they might have suffered severe damage from such an attack. The situation might even have turned against them!

    Sure enough, when the Nine Infants saw that its n failed, its nine heads grew out again. With the sinister head in its belly revealed, it disyed a show of strength, as if telling them all to back off.

    ¡°It looks as though the head in its belly is its real head,¡± Yu Yanluo quickly said. They were both snakes, so she had some natural sensitivity for such things.

    The group immediately realized that as well. No wonder even though the nine heads had all been crushed at least once, they still hadn¡¯t been able to deliver a fatal blow. It turned out the real head was hiding in its stomach!

    This could be a secret no one knew about. By the time anyone did find out, they would have already been caught in the ambush. It was thanks to Zu An reacting quickly that the Nine Infants¡¯ true head was exposed. With a new target in mind, the others began to attack that head.

    The Nine Infants used the nine heads to frantically protect its belly. Unfortunately, the people it faced were too formidable. Zu An¡¯s party was getting better and better at working together, too. Soon afterward, Zu An found a chance to use his me-covered pike, thrusting it toward the snake¡¯s weakness!

    The ugly head was nailed to the monster¡¯s abdomen, then exploded under the pressure. The nine heads that had been iling wildly soon slumped down, and the huge snake¡¯s body also came crashing to the ground.

    ¡°The monster should be dead now, right?¡± Yu Yanluo wondered worriedly. After all, it had already tried to fool them once.

    ¡°It¡¯s already dead. There are no more signs of lifeing from its body,¡± Yun Jianyue said conclusively. There was naturally no mistake, since the answer wasing from someone of her cultivation.

    The party finally sighed in relief. They were just about to say something when they noticed that the Nine Infants¡¯ corpse started to move.

    Yun Jianyue jumped in fright.Am I really going to be pped in the face right after I said that it was dead? This respected Devil Sect Master won¡¯t have anywhere to hide¡­

    They quickly moved some distance away so the monster wouldn¡¯t be able to pull anything else on them. However, the Nine Infants didn¡¯t revive. Instead, its body began to dissolve. Its huge body gradually shrank until it became a chunk of flesh the size of a fist. The chunk began to wriggle as if it were alive.

    Yan Xuehen said, ¡°The reason why the Nine Infants could regenerate so quickly might have been because of this chunk of flesh.¡±

    Zu An picked it up. It wasn¡¯t alive, and yet it couldn¡¯t be calledpletely dead either. It did seem to contain some life force. He remarked, ¡°In that case, let¡¯s each take a bite out of it. Even if we can¡¯t gain eternal life, it should help us recover a bit. Would you guys prefer it steamed or broiled? Or maybe barbecued?¡±

    Yu Yanluo gave him a disgusted look, eximing, ¡°You¡¯re so gross! I don¡¯t want any.¡±

    Yan Xuehen also said coldly, ¡°I do not want any either.¡±

    ¡°Like hell I want to be a monster like the Nine Infants,¡± Yun Jianyue said, furrowing her brows. ¡°Little An, don¡¯t me me for not warning you ahead of time. If you end up bing a demon after eating this, don¡¯t me us for ignoring you.¡±

    Zu An chuckled in embarrassment, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. My regeneration is pretty strong to begin with, so I don¡¯t need to eat this thing anyway.¡±

    Still, he couldn''t bear to just throw it away. He just felt that it had some unique medicinal property, or it could be something a valkyrie would need in the future or something. As such, he tossed it into the Brilliant ss Bead.

    ¡­

    After the Nine Infants was subdued, the ferocious, raging river also calmed down considerably. The party quickly crossed the water.

    Yu Yanluo asked curiously, ¡°Who are we up against next?¡±

    ¡°Grandgale!¡± Zu An replied, his expression a bit strange.

    The reason for that was because the first ability he had learned from the Phoenix Nirvana Sura was none other than Grandgale. That instantaneous movement skill had bailed him out of countless situations. That was why, out of all of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra skills, Grandgale was the most important to him.

    And yet now, the one he had to face was also Grandgale! Even though he didn¡¯t know whether this Grandgale he had to fight had anything to do with the one attached to the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, he still felt a huge weight on his mind.

    Yun Jiangyue nced toward Yan Xuehen, asking, ¡°Stone cold woman, do you still remember what Shun said about Grandgale earlier?¡±

    Yan Xuehen was already used to the nickname, so she didn¡¯t even bother arguing about it. She said, ¡°It has the body of a dog with the face of a man; it snickers at humans who pass by and moves like the wind. When Grandgale appeared and wreaked havoc across thends, Yi executed it over Bluefield Pond.¡±

    Zu An suddenly realized something. This Grandgale¡¯s appearance didn¡¯t seem to match that of his own Grandgale at all.

    However, Yun Jianyue¡¯s attention was on something else. She eximed, ¡°Hm? Bluefield Pond? Does it have anything to do with Tushan Yu and those other women?¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An trembled. He inadvertently recalled that lovely night with Tushan Yu.Right, I even wrapped her in the Primal Skysilk then¡­His gaze couldn''t help but dart toward Yan Xuehen¡¯s waist.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s heart skipped a beat.This guy is getting more and more out of hand! What are we supposed to do if the others actually pick up on something?

    Yu Yanluo didn¡¯t notice that the two of them were actually so shaken up. She thought out loud, ¡°Bluefield¡­ Could it be that it really does have something to do with little sister Tushan¡¯s Bluefield Country? Maybe it¡¯s the country of the Fox race from ancient times?¡±

    Their suspicions were quickly confirmed. When they continued, they saw all sorts of foxes in the wild. Those foxes didn¡¯t fear humans at all, and even stopped to size them up. It was extremely simr to their experience when they first entered Tushan Yu¡¯s Bluefield Country.

    As she looked at the foxes that stopped to look at her, Yun Jianyue remarked in puzzlement, ¡°The body of a dog with the face of a man, and it snickers at humans¡­ Isn¡¯t that just describing these foxes?¡±

 Chapter 1438: Grandgale

    Chapter 1438: Grandgale

    The group was briefly stunned. That description really did seem to really match the foxes nearby! Could it be that the legendary Grandgale was a Bluefield fox?¡¯

    Zu An was a bit rmed too. If it really was like that, what was going on with the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra¡¯s Grandgale?

    Suddenly, the foxes that were looking at them seemed to have been startled. They scampered off in all directions.

    The group suddenly felt as if the sky had darkened a bit. Yu Yanluo wondered, ¡°Is it going to rain? Why are there so many dark clouds?¡±

    Zu An became vignt, eximing, ¡°Be careful!¡± He arrived at the three women¡¯s side, picking them up by the waist and quickly dodging to one side.

    Yu Yanluo and Zu An were lovers, so it was fine. Meanwhile, Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen didn¡¯t get angry either. After being around each other for so long, they had already reached a tacit understanding and knew he wouldn¡¯t do such things for no reason. As such, they all prepared seriously against the unknown danger.

    Sure enough, a dark figure passed by where they had just been, moving at incredible speed. If they hadn¡¯t been watching intently, they wouldn¡¯t have even noticed its presence.

    Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen were incredibly shocked. What was that? Why was it so fast? If not for Zu An¡¯s warning, they might have already suffered under that thing¡¯s hands. They felt that it was a bit strange, though Zu An¡¯s cultivation is clearly lower than ours, and his soul is also inferior to ours, so why is he more sensitive to danger than us?

    Meanwhile, Zu An secretly thanked ¡®The Book¡¯ as he looked ahead of him.

    They had managed to avoid the figure, but the foxes weren¡¯t so lucky. They had already ascended¡­ literally, beingunched into the air. Their spines had been torn apart by sharp ws, their bodies falling limply. There were no traces of life left in them.

    Meanwhile, the owner of those sharp ws was a strange bird. Its entire body was covered in white feathers, turning red toward the tail tip. Its head was quite bizarre, resembling aughing face.

    It was Grandgale!

    The group immediately recognized it. It was exactly the same as the legend had said!

    Zu An cursed inwardly, Did this guy eat too many foxes? It¡¯s even started to look a bit like a fox.

    The strange bird opened its mouth, and a wild wind began to stir. The foxes that had still been running were sucked into its mouth, along with the ones in its ws. A satisfied look appeared on its face.

    ¡°If Tushan Yu were here, she might have already fainted,¡± Yun Jianyue said with a sigh.

    ¡°Could it be that in ancient times, this Grandgale was the Bluefield Fox race¡¯s mortal enemy?¡± Yan Xuehen wondered, her thoughts running along different lines.

    Yu Yanluo frowned and looked at the strange bird. Birds of prey were the Snake race¡¯s natural predators, so she naturally disliked it.

    Grandgale suddenly snapped out of a daze and stared at Zu An¡¯s group.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An noticed its expression, feeling a bit of rm. He said, ¡°This is bad. It¡¯s about to attack.¡± Grandgale disappeared as soon as he finished speaking.

    However, after the previous disy, Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen had long since prepared. When they saw that, they both activated their own domains. Finally, they saw the bird clearly. It wasn¡¯t that it had disappeared, but rather that it was just too fast, to the point that human eyes couldn''t keep up at all. However, after being affected by two grandmasters¡¯ domains, it slowed down visibly. They quickly spotted it, and sent the Flying Snow Sword and Crescent Ring after it.

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue weren¡¯t the type to let others run roughshod over them. Even though the two of them often bickered, that was that. When they worked together, they made quite a deadlybo. They almost instantly sealed off Grandgale¡¯s escape.

    Grandgale was left in a terrible situation and seemed about to receive severe damage, but it suddenly disappeared again. Zu An understood what was going on better than anyone because he often used the same instantaneous movement skill.

    Sure enough, Grandgale reappeared in the air above them a secondter. As if realizing that the humans weren¡¯t to be provoked, it didn¡¯t risk attacking further. Instead, it quickly grewrger, eventually blotting out the entire sun. A single one of its wings was like a huge expanse of clouds. At the same time, its power also became more and more terrifying.

    Yun Jianyue frowned. This guy had actually been holding back earlier! How were they going to face it now?

    Just then, Grandgale swung its huge wings. A terrifying, visible hurricane swept toward the group. Countless trees, mountains, and stones were crushed into nothing by the winds. It was easy to see that if one were caught up in it, they would be diced up into tiny pieces.

    The group instinctively tried to run away, but they quickly felt a powerful suction force that pulled them toward the hurricane. At the very least, Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen¡¯s cultivations were high enough that they didn¡¯t have to worry. They had their own ways of protecting themselves.

    However, Zu An quickly moved to Yu Yanluo¡¯s side and grabbed her waist. He used his own Grandgale to move a few hundred meters away, temporarily avoiding the terrifying hurricane.

    ¡°Huh?¡± The strange bird suddenly eximed in human speech. Then, with a p of its wings, the terrifying hurricane suddenly disappeared, only the devastating aftermath telling of what had just happened.

    ¡°Why do you have my race¡¯s inheritance?¡± Grandgale asked, lowering its head to look at Zu An. Its previously sinister expression had be much gentler.

    Zu An¡¯s party party wasn¡¯t surprised that it could speak. Monsters at that level all basically had human-level intelligence. Seeing that it had given up on attacking, Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue also ceased their offense for the time being. They waited to see how things would develop.

    ¡°I was fortunate to obtain the Grandgale inheritance through an opportunity¡­¡± Zu An said while bringing out his Grandgale. He wasn¡¯t sure whether the bird could see the diagram otherwise.

    As a result, Grandgale¡¯s entire body trembled. It said in disbelief, ¡°It¡¯s actually the ancestor¡¯s aura!¡±

    ¡°Ancestor?¡± Zu An repeated. He thought, Could it be that this Grandgale imprint actually came from its ancestor?

    Just then, Grandgale moved its wings. Its body quickly shrank as it returned to its previous appearance. It descended and said, ¡°Since you have the ancestor¡¯s inheritance, we aren¡¯t enemies. There¡¯s no need to continue fighting.¡±

    Yan Xuehen sighed in relief. This was better. The strange bird definitely wasn¡¯t weak. In contrast, Yun Jianyue actually felt as if she hadn¡¯t gotten her fill of fighting yet. She wanted to have a proper battle.

    Yu Yanluo looked at Zu An strangely. Do you actually have the inheritance of the Snake race¡¯s natural predator? No wonder I¡¯m always being subdued by you¡­

    ¡°Thank you, distinguished sir!¡± Zu An said. He thought that being able to get through the trial peacefully was naturally best. The Xiushe Snake had proven that that was the simplest way to pass a trial.

    ¡°What are you all doing? Up ahead is the Golden Crow¡¯s territory. They¡¯re definitely not so agreeable,¡± Grandgale said, giving the women a look. It thought to itself that the long-haired one and the ice-cold woman were both pretty strong, almost turning the tables on it.

    ¡°We¡¯re undergoing a trial¡­¡± Zu An tactfully exined the situation. He couldn''t just say that he was there to punish disasters like it, right?

    ¡°So that was it. Still, I fear you won¡¯t be able to get to the Scalding Valley the Golden Crow is in,¡± Grandgale suddenly said.

 Chapter 1439: Ten Suns Above

    Chapter 1439: Ten Suns Above

    ¡°Scalding Valley?¡± Zu An asked, stunned. That name sounded a bit familiar.

    Grandgale exined, ¡°In the East Sea, there¡¯s a Scalding Valley. In it grows a giant Fusang Tree. The ten Golden Crow brothers perch on that very Fusang Tree. They take turnsing out, passing over Mount Qua, the Ever Spring, the Mulberry Field, Yuzhong, Mount Kunwu, Mount Niaoci, the Valley of Sorrow, Nuji, Yuanyu, Mount Lianshi, the Spring of Grief, and then finally arriving at the Yu Abyss, which is where the sun sets.¡±

    ¡°Wait, the Golden Crows are stilling out one after another right now?¡± Zu An asked in surprise.

    ¡°Of course. If they didn¡¯te out in order, wouldn¡¯t the world burn down to nothing?¡± Grandgale replied, seemingly unable to understand why he would ask such an obvious question.

    Zu An exchanged a look with the others. Their mission was to repeat Yi¡¯s heroic path, and Yi¡¯s most famous feat was shooting down nine of the ten suns. It was clear that after clearing all of the other trials, the nine suns were thest thing they had to take down.

    However, if the Golden Crows were stilling out one by one as they were supposed to, didn¡¯t that mean they weren¡¯t breaking the rules? How was Zu An¡¯s group supposed toplete their mission then?

    They finally recalled that even though they had already spent some time in the Unknown Region, they had never seen ten sunse out at the same time. They hadn¡¯t thought much of it before, but they finally realized that was the strangest part.

    Grandgale didn¡¯t notice the shock they felt. It continued, ¡°The Scalding Valley is within the vast East Sea. There are countless terrifying monsters and demons in the East Sea. I fear that with your current strength, you won¡¯t be able to reach that ce safely.¡±

    ¡°Then what should we do?¡± the group asked, not doubting its words.

    Even though Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue had recovered most of their strength, they knew that if they ran into the octopus from before again, their chances of victory wouldn¡¯t be high. The East Sea was its home, after all. On top of that, it wasn¡¯t the only monster there. Who knew how many terrifying creatures like that there were?

    Zu An looked at Grandgale and said, ¡°I must ask distinguished sir to show us the right path.¡± His words seemed to carry some implied meaning.

    Sure enough, Grandgale stuck out its chest. There was a proud look on its face, as if it were waiting for them to beg it.

    Yu Yanluo was good at reading intentions, and quickly helped Zu An to ask it gently for help.

    Even though Yun Jianyue was normally fiery-tempered, the Devil Sect prioritized practicality. She knew that if they couldn''tplete the heroic path, they could die here. As such, she also yed along and offered ttery. Even so, she was used to being in a high position, so her words were stiff. Her ttery was far from sounding as smooth and pleasant as Yu Yanluo¡¯s.

    As for Yan Xuehen, with her nature, she really couldn''t bring herself to do such things. She opened her mouth, but she still didn¡¯t say anything in the end.

    Grandgale nodded toward Yu Yanluo in satisfaction. Then, pulling Zu An to one side with a wing, it said, ¡°Kid, it¡¯s that Snake race woman who really knows how to speak. That long-haired human woman says one thing but means something different, so I feel embarrassed for her. Also, that woman in the white clothes and red waistband is a bit too cold, almost as if she¡¯s looking down on me.¡±

    Zu An said awkwardly, ¡°You¡¯ve misunderstood. That¡¯s not what she means at all.¡±

    Grandgale said, ¡°Since you have the ancestor¡¯s inheritance, we¡¯re of a kind, so I¡¯ll share some personal advice. You can make that Snake race woman your primary wife, the long-haired woman a concubine, and that white-clothed woman a servant at best to cut down her arrogance.¡±

    Zu An was sweating buckets. If you knew about my other sweethearts, how would you rank them then? He hadn¡¯t expected this guy to be so gossipy. He could only draw the conversation back to the main point, asking, ¡°Senior, do you have a way of getting to the Scalding Valley?¡±

    ¡°If it were anyone else asking me, I wouldn¡¯t even pay them any attention. But since you¡¯re one of us, then¡­¡± Grandgale fell silent for a moment, then removed a feather. ¡°Bring this feather with you. This is how to use it¡­ It should be able to help you cross the sea and arrive at the Scalding Valley.¡±

    Zu An was overjoyed. When he received the feather, he immediately felt the aura of the wind around it, as well as an unparalleled sense of profundity. He replied, ¡°Thank you, senior!¡±

    ¡°Forget it, don¡¯t call me senior. You have the ancestor¡¯s inheritance, so your position might even be a bit higher than mine. Just call me Little¡­ Ahem.¡± Grandgale had almost asked him to call it Littlegale, but that felt as if it would be undervaluing itself too much. It could only change the topic, saying, ¡°Right. By the way, I still have to warn you that in the end, it¡¯s fine to look around the Scalding Valley to experience the world, but you absolutely can¡¯t provoke the ten Golden Crows. Otherwise, there won¡¯t even be ashes left of you.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for the reminder,¡± Zu An said, showing him an awkward smile. If Grandgale knew he was going to kill the Golden Crows, what would its reaction be?

    He was going to ask it about the Golden Crows, but that would make his intentions too obvious. If they ended up being rted to Grandgale, it could decide to take back the feather. Meanwhile, the Fiend Emperor was a Golden Crow, so they were probably rted to him. Because of his misgivings, Zu An eventually decided not to say anything.

    The three women were curious, asking him what he had talked to Grandgale about. Zu An took out the feather, causing smiles to spread across the women¡¯s faces.

    However, Yan Xuehen quickly realized that something was off. She said, ¡°It seemed to be saying something about me. The way it looked at me seemed to carry¡­ disdain?¡±

    Yun Jianyue also frowned slightly, saying, ¡°You¡¯re right. It seemed to be looking at me with pity.¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­ You guys are mistaken,¡± Zu An said, at a loss for how to exin himself. Suddenly, though, he voiced his surprise. ¡°Huh? Do you guys feel as if it¡¯s suddenly be hot?¡±

    ¡°You are right. It has be hotter,¡± Yan Xuehen said. She was fair-skinned and naturally preferred the cold. She was the most sensitive to heat and subconsciously raised her head. She was stunned by what she saw.

    The others also raised their heads. They saw that there seemed to be more than a single sun in the air. There were two, three¡­ In the end, all ten appeared in the sky. The temperature of the surface immediately shot up. The trees, flowers, and grass quickly withered, and the river water started to evaporate. Wildfires began burning everywhere.

    There were ten suns in the sky!

    ¡°Have those Golden Crows gone mad?!¡± Grandgale eximed, watching all the events unfold in a stupor. It had just said that the ten Golden Crows properly took turns, and yet those words hade back to bite it so quickly. It said, ¡°Oh my gosh, no way, I can¡¯t stay out here. My feathers are about to start burning! I have to go into hiding. Kid, I¡¯m heading out first.¡±

    It disappeared into the distance as soon as it spoke. Smoke visibly poured from its entire body. If it had left a bit slower, its feathers could even catch fire.

    Zu An and the others were sweating like crazy. Zu An even decided to just take off his top, wondering, ¡°Why was it still fine earlier, but now, all ten suns have suddenly appeared in the sky?¡±

    ¡°Something special must have happened,¡± Yan Xuehen replied.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Other than Yan Xuehen, whose ice element skills left her a bit better off, Yu Yanluo and Yun Jianyue were sweating so much that they undid their cors and continued to fan themselves with their hands. Their exposed skin immediately made Zu An feel even hotter.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in a distant valley, the Fiend Emperor¡¯s expression was ashen. If Zu An saw his current appearance, he would probably jump in fright.

    The usually dignified Fiend Emperor had never been in such a difficult situation. Furthermore, his left arm was actually missing! Golden blood continuously dripped onto the ground.

 Chapter 1440: Miniskirt

    Chapter 1440: Miniskirt

    Golden mes raged across the Fiend Emperor¡¯s body. The broken limb regenerated at a visible rate, eventually returning to its original state.

    In the distance, the chubby Wu Liang was stupefied. The Fiend Emperor really was the Fiend Emperor after all! He had thought that losing an arm would weaken the Fiend Emperor greatly, but he had actually recovered so quickly.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince quickly moved over to the Fiend Emperor¡¯s side, asking, ¡°Father emperor, are you alright?¡± He was in a sorry state, clearly having just fought a huge battle.

    ¡°I am alright,¡± the Fiend Emperor replied gravely. ¡°I did not expect the Taotie to be so formidable. I was careless just now and let it swallow up an arm.¡±

    Wu Liang curled his lips. What do you mean, careless? You clearly couldn''t avoid it. It was always rumored that there was nothing the Taotie couldn''t swallow. It seems that was the case after all.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince said, ¡°That Taotie is one of the four ancient perils, and yet it was actually killed by father emperor. Father emperor really is amazing and incredible! You¡¯re without equal in this world!¡±

    The Fiend Emperor shook his head slightly, saying, ¡°There is no use in praising me. That Taotie was indeed extremely strong, or else it would not have been able to swallow up my arm. If just one of the Four Perils is already so formidable, remember that there are still two more. I am worried that we might have made some miscalctions.¡±

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince was conflicted. On one hand, he hoped his father wouldn¡¯t obtain the secret of immortality, as that would forever leave him a pitiful crown prince. However, he was also worried that something would happen to his father. The dungeon was just too scary, and they had already encountered too many powerful creatures along the way. Even though he wasn¡¯t weak, he was nothing before such ancient disasters. Without his father¡¯s protection, he wouldn¡¯t necessarily be able to return alive.

    Suddenly, the world began to change. One after another, several suns began to appear, until there were ten overhead.

    Wu Liang began sweating buckets. Fat people feared the heat to begin with, let alone when there were ten suns in the sky. He quickly removed his clothes and pulled out a fan from who knew where. He looked at the suns in the sky and murmured in indescribable shock, ¡°This aura seems to be¡­¡±

    The Fiend Emperor also looked up. His expression began to burn with desire as he said, ¡°This is the Fiend Emperor¡¯s aura¡­ No, it seems to be a bit different.¡± Then, his expression changed greatly. No one knew what he was thinking.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince also noticed the suns¡¯ aura. He wondered, ¡°They¡­ They are also Golden Crows?¡±

    The Fiend Emperor nodded. The Golden Crow Crown Prince asked, ¡°Should we go and have a talk with them?¡±

    The Fiend Emperor was a bit moved, but he still shook his head, saying, ¡°There is no need. Even if we are of the same species, we might not feel any closeness to each other. Taking the risk to meet them would only be risky. Having ten Golden Crows as our enemies would be too dangerous. We will move ording to n and undo the seals of the other perils first.¡±

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince was left in admiration. Father is father after all. I was actually still so naive. Just because they¡¯re Golden Crows doesn¡¯t mean they¡¯ll definitely be friendly toward us.

    Wu Liang said weakly, ¡°Your highness, we have just undone two of the Four Perils¡¯ seals, which triggered the appearance of these ten suns. If we undo all four seals, will the entire world copse?¡±

    He had to voice his doubts because just the existence of the dungeon alone represented a battlefield on an entirely different order of magnitude. Even someone as powerful as the Fiend Emperor had lost an arm. If he followed along and was unlucky, he could be caught up in the destruction. In that situation, there wouldn¡¯t even be any burnt remains left of him.

    ¡°Worry not. I am not the hot-headed sort. We will undo three of the seals first,¡± the Fiend Emperor replied. Along the way, Wu Liang had already proven his value, especially in the unsealing of the Taotie sealing formation. As such, since the Fiend Emperor still had more uses for him, he was no longer as harsh on him.

    Wu Liang sighed in relief. At the same time, his eyes began to dart around. He considered whether there were better prospects in following the Fiend Emperor, or if it would be better to keep looking for a chance to slip away.

    Meanwhile, Zu An¡¯s group moved through Bluefield Pond. As the temperature rose higher and higher, their clothes became lighter and lighter as well.

    However, the imagination of this world¡¯s people really was too poor. No matter how hot the three women were, they only took off their jackets, loosened their cors, and rolled up their sleeves at most.

    Zu An chuckled and asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t you guys hot?¡±

    Yun Jianyue shot him an annoyed look, saying, ¡°We are women, after all. There¡¯s no way for us to just expose our upper bodies like you.¡±

    At the same time, she thought, This kid¡¯s figure really isn¡¯t bad. No wonder those women were so captivated.

    ¡°It¡¯s not hard at all. I¡¯ll help you,¡± Zu An said, walking over toward her.

    ¡°What are you doing?!¡± Yun Jianyue eximed, instinctively taking a step back. She felt a bit of pressure emanating from his strong and muscr figure.

    ¡°I¡¯m helping you modify your clothes a bit,¡± Zu An said while raising her arms. Then he tugged on the cloth around her shoulders, tearing off her sleeves and exposing her bright and clean arms.

    ¡°Damn brat, you should be grateful we from the Holy Sect don¡¯t bother with trifles. If you did that to other women, others would all call you a scoundrel!¡± Yun Jianyue eximed. However, she only said that because she didn¡¯t want others to see that she wascking in confidence, so she had to insist she didn¡¯t care.

    ¡°That¡¯s why I tested it out on you and didn¡¯t go to big sis Yan. I was scared that she¡¯d get angry,¡± Zu An said with a smile.

    Yan Xuehen was a bit annoyed. Then why weren¡¯t you scared at all when you stripped me naked back then?!

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +110 +110 +110¡­

    ¡°That¡¯s true, that stone cold woman is more sensitive. She loves to do all that¡­ Ah, what are you doing?!¡± Yun Jianyue eximed.

    Rip!

    Just like that, Zu An tore off most of the lower half of Yun Jianyue¡¯s dress, revealing her perfectly shaped thighs. Yun Jianyue was ashamed and angry! She moved to kick him, but she realized that in her current situation, that wouldn¡¯t look too appropriate, so she lowered her foot again. Then, she red at Zu An, her eyes filled with killing intent. If it were anyone else, they would have already died countless times. However, even if it was Zu An, she still needed an exnation from him.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°This¡¯ll make it cooler for you. Don¡¯t worry, this kind of outfit is really stylish in my hometown. We call it a miniskirt,¡± Zu An exined, trying to reason with her using the pretext of ¡®technology¡¯.

    When she heard his exnation, all sorts of expressions appeared on Yun Jianyue¡¯s face. She was knowledgeable herself, and asionally saw people from other ces dress simrly. However, such a style really was a bit too daring. Most women wouldn¡¯t dare to dress like that, and she was no exception.

    However, when she saw Yan Xuehen¡¯s shocked yet amused expression, she immediately said, ¡°Of course I know about that! do I need you to teach me? Hurry up and alter that stone cold woman¡¯s clothes too.¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s smile immediately froze. She had been having a great time seeing Yun Jianyue¡¯s embarrassment, and yet she ended up getting caught up herself. When she saw Zu An walking over with a smile, seemingly really about to do it, she panicked. This guy has always been ridiculously bold, but he won¡¯t really do it, right?

    As such, she quickly eximed, ¡°You don¡¯t have to! I can just do it myself.¡±

    Then, she tore the bottom of her dress. She didn¡¯t dare to be as brazen as Zu An, only removing half of her dress up to the knees. Her slender and long calves under the dress made her look even more graceful and womanly.

    Yun Jianyue and Yu Yanluo were stunned. They hadn¡¯t expected her to do that so easily! With her nature, she shouldn¡¯t have been willing to do any of that, and would only ept it after a lot of effort to convince her.

    However, the heat didn¡¯t allow them to think so many carefree thoughts. With Zu An lending a helping hand, Yu Yanluo¡¯s clothes were also quickly modified into a short vest and skirt.

    With so much skin exposed, the three women were all embarrassed, but the extreme heat quickly weakened their shame.

    Even so, that only made it harder for Zu An. The skimpier clothing didn¡¯t hide much of their amazing figures. He had no choice but to continuously use the Snowke Sword¡¯s heart method to cool the boiling blood running through his veins a bit.

    ¡­

    After some time passed, the sparsely dressed group arrived at the shore. When they saw the endless ocean surface and the visible steaming out of it, they were troubled.

    Zu An thought of something. He took out Grandgale¡¯s feather and tossed it forward. A small tornado quickly swept them up toward the great sea.

 Chapter 1441: Fusang

    Chapter 1441: Fusang

    ¡°Ah!¡±

    ¡°No!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t look!¡±

    The three women all cried out in rm as their dresses were blown all over the ce because of Grandgale. If they had been in their normal long dresses, the wind wouldn¡¯t have done much at all. However, because of the heat, they had all had their dresses cut. Now, they were all in skirts, so what were they supposed to do about the wind? They all pushed down their fluttering skirts, flustered. At the same time, they looked at Zu An with shame and annoyance.

    Zu An really wanted to say that he hadn¡¯t seen anything, but at their cultivation rank, how could he possibly not see? The ssic scene of Marilyn Monroe from his previous world had left such a deep impression on people. He hadn¡¯t expected to receive a simr blessing one day.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    He was about to exin himself when blood shot out from his nose, causing the three women to immediately speak out together in condemnation. In the end, he had no choice but to beg for mercy before saying, ¡°I¡¯ll head upward to take a look at the Golden Crow situation.¡±

    He had the Wind Fire Wheels, so it was easier for him to move around than the others. Thus, he left the tornado and flew up while riding on the Wind Fire Wheels. The three women couldn''t be bothered to me him further, and all watched him depart worriedly.

    Zu An felt his body growing hotter and hotter. In that instant, he almost felt like Icarus from Greek mythology, who fell to his death after the sun burned his wings to nothing.

    Fortunately, his body was tough, and he used the Heaven Devouring Sutra to suck away the heat shining down on his body and ingeniously eliminate it. Just like that, he continued flying through the air. In the three women¡¯s eyes, his figure grew smaller and smaller in the distance. Even with their powerful sight, they practically couldn''t see him anymore.

    However, Zu An noticed that he was still far away from the Golden Crows. He was rmed. The Golden Crows weren¡¯t as far away as the sun was from the Earth in his previous world, right?

    Hm? Wait. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever left the scope of this yet¡­

    He had seen many pictures of Earth from space, and yet he had never experienced a simr perspective in this world even though he could fly!

    He gritted his teeth when he thought of that, deciding to continue upward. At his cultivation rank, he didn¡¯t need to breathe externally, and could make that an entirely internal process. Together with his tough body, the vacuum of space wouldn¡¯t be able to hurt him right away. Thus, he wanted to take the chance to see just what was going on with this world.

    He continued to fly for a while. ording to his estimations, he should have already left the atmosphere, and yet there was still only a boundless sky above him.

    Suddenly, powerful winds swept past Zu An. Wherever they touched him, his skin began to crack apart. He was rmed, quickly using the Primordial Origin Sutra to repair his body. Then, he tried to grit his teeth and continue flying upward.

    However, bursts of purple lightning suddenly surrounded him. Many of them even seemed to hide human figures and pces within. The terrifying pressure made all of his hair stand on end. He realized that if he were to be struck by the lightning, he could die on the spot. He was so scared that he didn¡¯t dare to continue.

    Thus, he quickly used Grandgale to pull back. The surrounding winds immediately weakened considerably, but there was still one arc of lightning that struck his body. His entire body trembled, and he almost fell from the sky.

    Without pausing for a second, he immediately used the Heaven Devouring Sutra to lead the lightning elsewhere. At the same time, he frantically absorbed primordial ki to repair his body.

    The power of the lightning weakened significantlypared to what he had felt before. However, that was likely because he had withdrawn promptly; otherwise, if he had continued up and was really hit by the lightning, the consequences would be too horrible to contemte.

    When Zu An flew back to the tornado, the three women jumped in fright when they saw his charred ck face. They were about to ask him what happened, but Zu An¡¯s head tilted to one side, and he plummeted from above.

    The three women quickly caught him. At this point, they couldn''t be bothered by that kind of physical contact.

    Yun Jianyue examined the scorched traces on Zu An¡¯s body. Her expression suddenly changed.

    Yan Xuehen also turned toward her and remarked, ¡°This is the aura of heavenly tribtion lightning!¡±

    Yu Yanluo had no idea what they were talking about. However, they didn¡¯t have time to exin it to her as they both used their skills to help him recover.

    A whileter, Zu An finally began to wake up again. From his head to his elbows, to the rest of his body, he felt as if he were surrounded by soft clouds. He could smell an incredible fragrance all around him.

    He suddenly realized something, finally understanding what was going on. He really didn¡¯t want to get up and let it end.

    ¡°Brat, stop pretending. I already saw your eyes move,¡± Yun Jianyue said, bonking him on the head, but she didn¡¯t use that much strength.

    Zu An opened his eyes, saying, in embarrassment, ¡°I only did that because I was worried that all of you would be embarrassed¡­¡±

    Yun Jianyue harrumphed. ¡°Do you know what kind of situation you were in? And yet, you¡¯re still thinking about those things? What did you end up experiencing just now?¡±

    Zu An put away his smile and told them seriously about his experiences.

    When they heard what had happened, Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue¡¯s expressions became a bit strange. They began, ¡°Should we scold you orugh at you? You¡¯re already a master rank cultivator, and yet you don¡¯t even have basicmon sense! Forget about you, not even an earth immortal can break through the screen in the heavens above.¡±

    ¡°Not even an earth immortal?¡± Zu An asked, shocked.

    ¡°Why else do you think it would be called ascending to the heavens?¡± Yan Xuehen replied. She exined, ¡°There are actually records of this in the cultivation world. The farther up you go, the more powerful the devastating astral winds and heavenly lightning be. From ancient times until now, there have been countless geniuses who have attempted to surpass them, and yet not a single one has seeded. There are some who suspect that this world is actually nothing more than a cage.¡±

    ¡°The reason why we didn¡¯t stop you is because this is a secret dungeon, and thus not aplete world. Besides, it was possible that, because of the deficient nature of thews of this world, it wouldn¡¯t be that dangerous. How could we have expected that you would be so stubborn? You already encountered the astral winds and heavenly lightning, and yet you still went straight in,¡± Yun Jianyue said. Her tone made it sound as if she were scolding him, but it also carried a hint of worry.

    Zu An chuckled in embarrassment. He wasn¡¯t someone from this world in the end, and his strength had increased too quickly. He didn¡¯t cultivate ording to the same traditions as other people in this world, which was why hecked somemon knowledge.

    He wondered, ¡°But then, if I can¡¯t even get close to those Golden Crows, are they already legendary immortals?¡±

    The three women were all stunned. They suddenly realized that terrifying reality. Even though all of the monsters they had encountered along the way were formidable, the group had still been able to deal with them without too much difficulty by working together.

    That was why they had subconsciously assumed the Golden Crows to be on the same level as those monsters. However, even though the Golden Crows were also monsters that hadid the groundwork for Yi¡¯s heroic path, that didn¡¯t mean that their strength was the same.

    Furthermore, judging from everything they had seen, the Golden Crows could very well be the Fiend Emperor¡¯s ancestors. The Fiend Emperor was already an earth immortal, so how weak could his ancestors possibly be?

    When they thought of that, their expressions became a bit ugly. The atmosphere immediately turned grave.

    Yan Xuehen suddenly shook her head, saying, ¡°I think not. If they had already be immortals, it would bepletely impossible for us to win. This mission would have beenpletely impossible for us from the start. Shun would not have sent us on a task that could not bepleted.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s hard to say,¡± Yun Jianyue said with a sneer. ¡°It might be that he wanted to send us to our deaths.¡±

    Yan Xuehen wondered with a frown, ¡°Who in the world would harm others without any benefit to themselves?¡±

    ¡°Come over to our Holy Sect. I promise you that in a single year, you¡¯ll see something simr every single day,¡± Yun Jianyue remarked, snorting disdainfully at her naivety.

    ¡°He¡¯s still hoping for us to get revenge for him, or set him free,¡± Zu An said quietly. However, he felt that Shun wouldn¡¯t be that kind of person. He continued, ¡°Either way, we¡¯ve alreadye so far. Let¡¯s give that Scalding Valley a look first.¡±

    The three women knew that was the case, so they weren¡¯t opposed to it. However, their expressions no longer contained pride and satisfaction with their aplishments so far, and became extremely grave instead. Even the rate at which Zu An nced at their thighs decreased by a tenth.

    ¡­

    A whileter, the winds around them gradually became weaker. Yu Yanluo suddenly pointed into the distance and called out, ¡°Look over there!¡±

    The others followed Yu Yanluo¡¯s directions and saw a giant tree that towered into the sky, splendid and magnificent.

 Chapter 1442: Sun Goddess

    Chapter 1442: Sun Goddess

    The mulberry tree they had encountered in Mulberry Forest was already quiterge, butpared to the one they were looking at now, it waspletely insignificant. This tree¡¯s trunk was tens of thousands of meters wide and reached straight through the clouds, seeming almost as tall as the heavens. Meanwhile, its trunk stretched down into the ocean, and it seemed as if its roots were nted in the deep sea. The water around the trunk boiled endlessly!

    Yan Xuehen was stunned, saying, ¡°I remember Shun and Grandgale mentioning that the Golden Crows often bathe in the sea. Could that be the reason why the sea is boiling like this? But all of them are clearly flying in the sky right now!¡±

    ¡°Those Golden Crows are just too powerful. Even the residual heat they left behind is enough to make me feel a bit ufortable,¡± Yun Jianyue said, her expression grave. Could they really win against creatures as powerful as this?

    Yu Yanluo stared at the tree and said, ¡°This should be the Fusang Tree they were talking about. So there was actually such arge tree in this world! No wonder all ten suns could perch here.¡±

    Zu An simply felt a bit absent-minded. This Fusang Tree was indeedrge, sorge that it exceeded normal people¡¯s imaginations. However, as a transmigrator, he knew howrge a sun really was. Even though the tree wasrge, it was nothing more than a speckpared to the real sun. There was no way it could hold a real sun, let alone ten of them. However, this world imed that it was the ce where ten suns roosted!

    He looked up at the ten suns far up in the heavens. He suddenly thought of something. Could it be that this world¡¯s suns weren¡¯t real suns? Rather, were they just Golden Crows taking on the role of the sun, causing the people to think of them as the sun? If that was the case, where was the real sun then?

    He looked up at the heavens, thinking about the frightening astral winds and heavenly lightning he encountered. It wasn¡¯t just him; not even the other talents throughout the ages had been able to pass through them. Could it be that there was some kind of secret deliberately hidden in the heavens?

    Or perhaps¡­

    Is the sky we see above us just a fake sky?

    As soon as that thought appeared in his mind, he felt a chill run through his body. However, he justughed in self-mockery. How could that be possible?n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Yan Xuehen cried out in surprise, ¡°Is that a chicken?¡±

    Right as she spoke, strange chicken cries filled the air. The group looked for the source of the noise and saw a huge nest atop the tree. There was a strange¡­ chicken on it? The chicken tilted its head to the side and looked at them, seemingly with great curiosity.

    The group felt nervous. How could anything that lived on such an incredible tree be an ordinary chicken? They were scared that it would suddenly attack them.

    Fortunately, it was a false rm. The chicken only gave them a few curious looks, then returned to sleep in its nest, ignoring them.

    Zu An couldn''t help but say mockingly, ¡°This chicken is really daring! Isn¡¯t it scared that we¡¯ll tie it up and eat it?¡±

    Yan Xuehen rolled her eyes and replied, ¡°How could something that lives in such a ce be ordinary? It is hard to say who would eat whom if the time came.¡±

    Zu An chuckled in embarrassment, knowing that was indeed the case. He didn¡¯t argue against her.

    The group quickly flew up to the Fusang Tree. They felt waves of heat batter them continuously. If not for the fact that their cultivation was quite high, they would have been cooked through in an instant.

    Zu An picked up a few Golden Crow feathers from the branches. There was a faint fiery light swirling around them. They definitely weren¡¯t ordinary items. He put them away, then asked, ¡°Should we take a look around and see if we can set up some kind of trap? We can try to deal with them once they return.¡± He thought that fighting them head-on didn¡¯t seem too realistic.

    Yan Xuehen shook her head, saying, ¡°This is their home, and they are here everyday. They are already used to this environment. Not even the slightest change will escape their notice, let alone in such a special ce. It would be extremely difficult to set up a formation here.¡±

    Zu An noticed that there weren¡¯t any mountain veins, so his One Drop of Heaven¡¯s Essence wouldn¡¯t help too much. He had been hoping Yan Xuehen would have some ideas and couldn''t help but feel a bit disappointed when he heard that.

    ¡°I feel as though we should start thinking about how to leave this ce. We might be in a terrible situation if those Golden Crows return,¡± Yu Yanluo said gloomily.

    Their expressions all froze. The feather Grandgale gave them had already disappeared. There was an ocean all around them. They really felt as if they were stuck now.

    ¡°That Grandgale only gave us a damn one-way ticket? Hepletely scammed us!¡± Zu An couldn''t hold back his curses. He decided to look around for some way out with the women.

    Suddenly, a cold voice called out, ¡°Who are you?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s group was startled. They hadn¡¯t noticed anyone approaching them even with their cultivation! That meant the person most likely hadn¡¯te with good intentions. They turned around, but were surprised by what they saw.

    It wasn¡¯t some vicious monster, but rather a beautiful woman. She was dressed in a long pce gown with many tassels and ribbons that fluttered in the wind. She looked like a fairy who had descended to the secr world.

    However,pared to the fairies of their impressions, she seemed much more mature and alluring. Her hair was like that of a young married woman, and around her temple was a flickering golden crown that resembled a Golden Crow taking flight. She was also riding on a golden war chariot that was pulled by six dragons. As she stood there, she had the air of a great mother looking down on the world.

    The group felt a weight in the pit of their stomachs. Why did the golden chariot look so much like the one the Golden Crow Crown Prince could summon?

    Zu An quickly said, ¡°Greetings, madam. We just happened to pass by this paradise and hope that we have not disturbed you.¡±

    However, none of them could have expected the woman to treat them without any politeness, retorting, ¡°Passing by? When has anyone ever passed by this ce? I was wondering why those children would suddenly rush out together as if they had gone mad. So it was you who were causing trouble!¡±

    The group was rmed. The children she¡¯s referring to¡­ they¡¯re not the Golden Crows, are they?

    Zu An had a pained look because the Rage system had already received the woman¡¯s Rage points. This mature-looking young woman was named Xi He. She was one of the legendary Sun Goddesses, one of Emperor Jun¡¯s wives, and the mother of the ten Golden Crows!

    Zu An cursed inwardly. Why did they have to run into such a legendary person?

    They wanted to try and defend themselves, but Xi He didn¡¯t give them the chance to at all. With a wave of her hands, endless rays of divine sunlight scattered down on them. Their expressions instantly changed, because they could sense that Xi He¡¯s cultivation was at the earth immortal level, and even higher than the Fiend Emperor¡¯s!

    They didn¡¯t dare hold back, using all manner of incredible skills. Unfortunately, when faced with an absolute difference in power, their retaliation was meaningless. They were soon tied up by strands of divine sunlight, unable to move an inch.

    ¡°Trespassing into Scalding Valley and disrupting my children, not even ten thousand deaths would be enough to acquit you of your crimes!¡± Xi He snapped in an ice-cold voice, as if she were handing down a decree from the highest heavens. She raised her sleeves, intending to punish these people and search for her sons after.

    Seeing that they were about to die, all of them felt absolute despair. Just then, however, Zu An clenched his teeth and summoned the Gold Phoenix, using ¡®Love Is More Solid than Gold¡¯.

 Chapter 1443: Disappeared Memories

    <h4>Chapter 1443: Disappeared Memories</h4>

    Yan Xuehen cultivated the Unshakable Daoist Manual, so she didn¡¯t care too much about worldly affairs, even in matters of life and death. She had always believed that she didn¡¯t fear death, and of course, at present, she didn¡¯t feel fear either.

    However, she just couldn''t remain as indifferent as before. She felt too many regrets. If she could do it all over one more time, there were many things she wanted to tell ¡®him¡¯ clearly.

    Yun Jianyue sighed deeply. As the Devil Sect Master, there was already too much blood on her hands. She hadn¡¯t expected that being killed by another would feel this way.Still, with this stone cold woman and Little An keeping mepany, the Yellow Springs won¡¯t be that boring, I guess.

    Even so, dying together with her disciple¡¯s man just felt a bit weird.Honglei, you can¡¯t me me for thister, alright¡­

    Yu Yanluo was surprisingly calm. The fact that she would be able to die together with her lover made her feel much more blessed than Zu An¡¯s other women outside.

    However, she was still reluctant, especially when she thought about how wonderful their days would be if the two of them could spend the rest of their lives together.

    In the end, the three women had already steeled their resolve to die here.

    However, to their surprise, the terrifying woman before them lowered the hand she had raised. There was a somewhat strange and conflicted expression on her face.

    Xi He was very confused. After seeing her ten sons leave together, she was furious and anxious, so she naturally took it out on the humans she encountered. And yet, suddenly, she felt as if this man seemed quite calm and open-minded in the face of death, and that he had a bit of a heroic appearance.

    Even though he is a bit weak, he has some special qualities that other experts don¡¯t have.

    And I have to admit that he¡¯s pretty handsome¡­

    How many years has it been since Ist saw Emperor Jun?

    It¡¯s been so long that I can barely remember.

    Could it be that he¡¯s already forgotten that he has a wife?n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    She suddenly felt a bit of resentment.

    Are you not scared that I¡¯ll find another man?

    However, she quicklyughed to herself. Who would dare to touch Emperor Jun¡¯s woman?

    As all sorts of thoughts rushed through her mind, her killing intent dissipated too. She lowered her hand and decided to interrogate the man in front of her first.

    However, when she saw the other three women, she was shocked by their beauty. Every single one of them wasn¡¯t inferior to her at all! It was to the extent that she didn¡¯t even know any other woman more beautiful than them!

    When she saw the affection in their eyes when they looked at Zu An, she couldn''t help but feel a hint of annoyance.

    So he¡¯s just a womanizer! He¡¯s the same as Emperor Jun!

    She felt killing intent again. Of course, it wasn¡¯t directed at Zu An, but rather at the women hanging around him. It was as if she were rebuking the three stunning women for seducing her man.

    When he saw her movements, Zu An knew that there was trouble. He quickly shouted, ¡°If you kill them, I¡¯ll hate you for the rest of my life!¡±

    Yu Yanluo and Yun Jianyue were stunned.Who are you to her? Why would she care what you think?

    However, what almost made their eyes pop out was that the mature woman actually didn¡¯t continue. Instead, she red at Zu An and retorted, ¡°What, would you even kill me for their sake?¡±

    Yu Yanluo and Yun Jianyue thought to themselves,Doesn¡¯t something sound a bit off?

    Zu An didn¡¯t dare to continue provoking her. Otherwise, if she really became angry, she could really kill the three women. That would be a total game over. He said, ¡°Of course I wouldn¡¯t kill you, but I would always feel bitter. We don¡¯t have any grudges between us, so why should we create one?¡±

    Xi He frowned. After some hesitation, she didn''t follow through on her decision. She asked, ¡°Was it really not you who caused trouble and made the little Golden Crows all go out at the same time?¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t have anything to do with us! Look at our cultivations. We couldn¡¯t do anything to them. Why would they possibly listen to us?¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°That makes sense,¡± Xi He said with a nod. With a wave of her hand, she brought them onto her carriage before continuing, ¡°I will confirm things with them. If it really has nothing to do with you, I will let you go.¡±

    Yun Jianyue and Yu Yanluo were stunned. They didn¡¯t know why this terrifyingly powerful woman would suddenly be so agreeable. Had Zu An used some kind of witchcraft against her? When they thought about how powerful she was, though, they didn¡¯t dare to ask any questions while so close to her. They could only remain quiet for the time being.

    Only Yan Xuehen could roughly guess the reason. She felt both angry and embarrassed. She was embarrassed because she had suffered from the very same ¡®Love Is More Solid than Gold¡¯ skill. However, she was angry because the skill really was effective, and even someone as powerful as this woman, who was at the same rank as Zhao Han and the Fiend Emperor, couldn''t resist it.

    Then¡­ Are the changes in my feelings for him really my true thoughts, or were they influenced by this skill?

    The most hateful part was that he had actually used the skill on another woman!

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +300 +300 +300¡­

    When he saw the Rage points pouring into the backend, Zu An could roughly guess what Yan Xuehen was thinking. However, he really didn¡¯t have any way to exin himself.

    Xi He steered the carriage directly out of the valley, toward the ten suns. She seemed to be really interested in Zu An along the way, continuously asking him about his background.

    Yun Jianyue had a very strange look on her face. Why did this woman seem to have caught feelings for Zu An? That made no sense! Zu An was pretty handsome, but it wasn¡¯t enough to make someone so powerful, the mother of the ten Golden Crows, experience love at first sight, right?

    Zu An carefully replied to Xi He while finding a chance to ask, ¡°Madam, how do the Golden Crows normally behave?¡±

    Now that they were talking about her sons, Xi He¡¯s expression became a bit softer. She replied, ¡°Do you see the jade chicken atop the Fusang Tree? Whenever the darkness of night is about to disappear and daybreak is soon to arrive, the jade chicken spreads its wings and cries out. Once the jade chicken cries, the Golden Crows on Peach Valley Mountain also begin to cry out¡­¡±

    ¡°Peach Valley Mountain?¡± Zu An asked, stunned. He had never heard of that ce before.

    Xi He didn¡¯t be impatient when she heard his question at all, and instead gently exined, ¡°There is a demonic gate by Peach Valley Mountain, a ce where countless demons travel through. Normally, Yu Helei oversees that ce. All demons who dare overstep their boundaries are executed without exception and fed to the great tiger on the mountain. That is why many people from the secr world worship those two as gate deities. The people¡¯s drawings depict their appearances warding off evil spirits by the gate¡­¡±

    Zu An was startled. The gate deities he had always seen in his previous world were Generals Qin Shubao and Yuchi Gong. Back then, Emperor Taizong had been scared of the supernatural, so he had used two fierce generals¡¯ portraits to ward off evil spirits. The gate deities were probably those two.

    No wonder there were rumors that ghosts feared the cries of chickens. It was because, when the Golden Chicken of Peach Valley cried out, the demon gate would close. It would also peck at all sorts of monsters.

    Wait, Xi He used the term ¡®secr world¡¯. Is she already an immortal?

    Xi He continued, ¡°When the Golden Chicken of Peach Valley Mountain cries out, all the stone chickens across the mountains and rivers also cry. When they cry, the rest of the chickens under the heavens also cry out. As waves of chicken cries resound, a bright and pure red sun appears from the surging tides and multicolored glow. I then ride this carriage, carrying that Golden Crow through the sky, bringing the world light.

    ¡°It has always continued like that everyday without any mistakes. And yet today¡­ Something like this happened. A huge disaster is about to take ce!¡±

    Zu An thought of something and asked, ¡°Madam, could it be that the Golden Crows just wanted to go out and y, so they secretly went out together?¡±

    ¡°That is impossible! A disaster happened in the past, and they would not dare to repeat it again¡­¡± Xi He¡¯s expression suddenly stiffened as she spoke. Then, she felt a bit of pain in her head. She wondered, ¡°Something major must have happened before, but why can I not remember what it was?¡±

    Zu An and the others exchanged a look. All of them recalled the legend of Yi shooting down the suns. They thought that had already happened in this world, and yet why were there still ten suns? If nothing had happened, why would Xi He remember something?

    Favorite

 Chapter 1444: Clown Woman

    <h4>Chapter 1444: Clown Woman</h4>

    In the end, Zu An gave up on the idea of telling Xi He Yi¡¯s story. The main reason was that she was too strong and he didn¡¯t know what kinds of consequences it could bring about. Instead, he could only console her with a gentle voice.

    Xi He gradually calmed down, feeling more and more that Zu An was a considerate man. When she looked at him, her expression softened.

    The other three women watched with strange expressions. However, they were all intelligent people and wouldn¡¯t get jealous, considering the current situation.

    The golden war chariot pulled by six dragons moved along quickly. The group soon approached the ce where the ten suns had gathered. In the distance, they saw the ten suns shining with dazzling radiance. Waves of heat swept over them, and they even felt the hair on their bodies dry up.

    Xi He gave them a look. With a wave of her sleeves, multicolored radiance shone around the golden war chariot, and Zu An¡¯s group immediately felt incredibly refreshed. The unbearable heat was no longer present.

    ¡°Thank you, madam,¡± Zu An quickly said. At the same time, he thought to himself,Just how did ten sunse out of her petite body?

    The looks Zu An snuck at her didn¡¯t escape Xi He¡¯s notice. Normally, if anyone looked at her that way, they would have long since had their eyes gouged out. However, at the moment, she actually felt as if her beauty had been acknowledged by Zu An, which made her feel quite proud.

    Of course, her attention quickly returned to her children. There were ten suns in the sky, and they seemed to be surrounding a person. Zu An and the others saw that the person was a blue-clothed¡­ woman?

    They were hesitant because she didn¡¯t look like an ordinary woman at first nce. Her physique was broad and tall, and she was bald. There didn¡¯t seem to be a strand of hair on her entire body. Apart from two normal eyes, there was a third, vertical eye on her forehead. Her features weren¡¯t particrly good-looking to begin with, and between that and the strange eye, those who looked at her felt vaguely ufortable.

    There was a mount beneath her as well. It was a giant sea crab with a huge back that stretched a thousand miles across. The crab¡¯s presence alone already seemed to be on par with that of the octopus monster Zu An had encountered in the northern sea, and the bubbles it released could even temporarily hinder the Golden Crows¡¯ movements. The fact that the woman could use such a monster as a mount showed just how unfathomable her strength was.

    The ten Golden Crows were attacking her from all directions, but the woman wasn¡¯t outdone at all. Myriad streams of devastating lights swirled all around; the slightest touch of the shockwaves that rippled outward could copse a mountain.

    Zu An¡¯s group felt a bit numb watching the encounter. This really was a battle between immortals! Every single participant in the battle seemed to be at the earth immortal rank, and yet they had seriously considered killing the ten Golden Crows before! That thought really was just a bad joke now.

    ¡°Clown woman, you are quite daring to make me your enemy,¡± Xi He said after observing the state of the battlefield. She stared at the bald woman, her eyes filled with shock and anger.

    ¡°Clown woman?¡± Zu An murmured, thinking the name was quite fitting. The woman who was riding the crab really did look somewhat hideous.

    ¡°Heh heh¡­¡± An extremely unpleasantugh emerged from the clown woman¡¯s throat. She retorted, ¡°So your sons are your sons, but mine aren¡¯t?¡±

    ¡°What are you trying to say?¡± Xi He asked, her pretty brows furrowing. ¡°We have always minded our own business. Why have you suddenly gone mad?¡±

    ¡°Hmph, you know what you¡¯ve done,¡± the clown woman replied.

    Suddenly, she summoned a giant dragon fish, no weaker than the giant crab. The ten Golden Crows were quickly left in a tough spot.

    ¡°Impudent!¡± Xi He snapped. She wasn¡¯t in the mood to argue with the woman anymore, so. She also joined the fray.

    Now, it really was as if space itself had begun to copse. It felt as if the dao itself were being destroyed.

    Yun Jianyue watched the whole scene without taking her eyes off the battlefield. She released a deep sigh, saying, ¡°Now that I¡¯ve had the privilege of watching a battle on this level, I wouldn¡¯t feel any regrets even if I were to die soon.¡±

    ¡°Indeed,¡± Yan Xuehen said, also feeling quite moved. The clown woman seemed to be using thewitcharts of legends, which shared some simrities with her daoist sect¡¯s methods.

    As she watched the battle, she felt that her cultivation, which had already stopped progressing for a long time, had begun to loosen up. If she could find time to cultivate in seclusion, it was even possible that she would experience a breakthrough.

    However, she knew she wouldn¡¯t necessarily have such a chance in this life anymore. They were trapped in such a terrifying woman¡¯s hands, and the equally scary Golden Crows were present too. Even if Zu An used his ¡®honey trap skill¡¯, they still had no chance of survival.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s cultivation realm was a bit lower than the others¡¯. She was also dazzled as she watched, but many of the profound mysteries were beyond her understanding. Even so, she still received many benefits.

    Zu An sized up the clown woman. Even though she wasn¡¯t the prettiest, the enemy of one¡¯s enemy was one¡¯s friend, which would put them on the same side. As such, he secretly cheered her on. It was a pity that they had been captured and couldn''t help at all.

    As the clown woman was up against such a powerful lineup, things didn¡¯t look good for her. Sure enough, once Xi He joined the battle, even with the giant crab and dragon fish¡¯s help, the clown woman was still no match for the opposing force. Bit by bit, she was quickly forced back.

    Blood erupted from the dragon fish¡¯s body as it was killed on the spot, torn to pieces by the Golden Crows¡¯ sharp ws. Soon afterward, the giant crab¡¯s bubbles slowly stopped emerging as its body turned red, thoroughly cooked. The ten Golden Crows, together with the Sun Goddess¡¯ power, weren¡¯t something it could withstand, and it was roasted all the way through.

    The Golden Crows all sneered when they saw that, remarking, ¡°That crab gave us quite a hard time earlier. Having it for dinner would be perfect for getting rid of our hatred.¡±

    ¡°I love roasted crab! I can¡¯t wait!¡±

    ¡°The meat in its ws is mine. That¡¯s the best part.¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°I like the flesh around the belly more. It¡¯s the most fragrant and tender.¡±

    ¡°This is actually a female crab. Its cream is definitely the best part!¡±

    When she heard the Golden Crows¡¯ wantonmentary, the clown woman was shocked and furious. She looked at her dead mounts. A hint of pity appeared on her ugly face. With a wave of her hand, their bodies flew far into the sea.

    The Golden Crows couldn''t stop them in time. They stared at her angrily, yelling, ¡°Ugly clown,pensate us for our crab meat!¡±

    ¡°And that dragon fish!¡±

    The clown woman gave the Golden Crows a look and snapped, ¡°You¡¯ve forced my hand!¡±

    Then, her aura suddenly surged. At first, she had clearly been using water element witch arts, but now, the zing aura of fire appeared. Her clothes began to glow red, then burned away to ashes.

    Zu An didn¡¯t avert his eyes; the clown woman¡¯s body was covered by surging, fiery light, so he couldn''t see anything at all.

    The group was shocked as the temperature around the clown woman rose rapidly, its light even brighter than the ten Golden Crows. An eleventh sun appeared in the sky. The seas boiled and the earth cracked. The aura of death fell onto the world.

    Previously, Xi He had used her skill to inste the war chariot from the heat. Now, however, Zu An¡¯s group felt scorching heat that made the atmosphere feel extremely arid.

    Xi Yi¡¯s expression also changed greatly. She murmured, ¡°This aura¡­ You are no clown woman. You are Nuba!¡±

    Favorite

 Chapter 1445: Spirit Mountainâ€™s Ten Shamans

    Chapter 1445: Spirit Mountain¡¯s Ten Shamans

    ¡°Nuba?¡± Yu Yanluo and the other women wondered,pletely in the dark. That name was extremely unfamiliar to them. They didn¡¯t understand why Xi He suddenly looked as if she were facing a great enemy.

    Zu An exined, ¡°Do you still recall the Yellow Emperor that person mentioned? Back then, his most dangerous battle was against Chi You. Back then, Chi You had Rain Master Feng Bo under hismand. The great rain and mist left the Yellow Emperor¡¯s troops in a terrible situation. Fortunately, just then, the Yellow Emperor received the help of Nuba.

    ¡°Wherever Nuba went, a great drought always followed. That was why the wind and rain stopped, and the Yellow Emperor¡¯s army turned defeat into victory.

    ¡°Opinions on Nuba¡¯s origins differ. Some say she was the Yellow Emperor¡¯s daughter, while others say that she was a heavenly woman who descended from above.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but curse inwardly as he said that. Who the hell said all fairies were pretty?

    The three women suddenly realized the problem. Anyone who could join a battle on the scale of Yellow Emperor and Chi You, and furthermore be a deciding factor in its victory and defeat, was definitely terrifyingly strong.

    ¡­

    Nuba¡¯s aura suddenly surged. The few trees that still remained had already been struggling at death¡¯s door under the power of ten suns. Now, they all began to burn. As for the flowers and grass, they instantlypletely withered into nothing. The entirendscape turned into an expanse of arid, cracked yellow earth. Even the distant sea began to boil, and the ocean waters began to evaporate and recede at a visible rate.

    As she charged at the Golden Crows, Nuba¡¯s entire figure began to glow red. Soon afterward, light erupted again. Large amounts of golden blood and feathers scattered down from the air.

    Xi He was shocked and furious. She took the golden war chariot and rushed over to help. However, because of that, Zu An¡¯s group was ced in a tough situation. They were almostpletely blinded by the powerful radiance, and the extreme heat burned them.

    Perhaps out of concern that they would be burned to death, or perhaps because she was focused on facing Nuba, Xi He withdrew the golden light that was binding them.

    Zu An took the chance to hold Yu Yanluo and Yun Jianyue¡¯s hands. He used the Snow Phoenix¡¯s power to frantically use the Snowke Sword, providing them with much-needed relief. In addition, Yan Xuehen also considerately held their hands, as she cultivated the true Snowke Sword. She quickly adjusted her aura to match Zu An¡¯s, creating a degree of bnce between the four of them.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, the conflict soon reached its climax. Even Xi He was wounded. Nuba wasn¡¯t in a good state either, but the red radiance only shone even more blindingly around her.

    After some time, Xi He suddenly called out, ¡°Use the Great Sun Formation!¡±

    The ten Golden Crows tacitly understood what she was saying. They quickly stood in formation, then released golden light from their bodies, focusing it on Nuba.

    Nuba screamed bitterly. The red light emanating from her entire body became even fiercer, and she also released a terrifying aura. Zu An was rmed, as Nuba¡¯s aura was reminiscent of a nuclear reactor, and one that was going out of control, at that. The red radiance surrounding Nuba¡¯s body became more and more ferocious, to the point that it was even more dazzling than a sun. It was clear that she couldn''t even control herself anymore.

    Then, her body turned into a ball of light that exploded. At that moment, a mushroom cloud even seemed to rise into the air, apanied by a devastating shockwave.

    Xi He groaned, coughing out arge mouthful of blood and flying backward. Even the golden war chariot was a bit deformed from the impact. The six dragons that pulled the carriage cried out miserably. Their bodies were covered in terrifying injuries, and it was unclear whether they were even still alive.

    The powerful impact also threw Zu An and the others out of the golden war chariot. Xi He was shocked. She instinctively wanted to save Zu An, but her injuries were so serious that she couldn''t even muster any strength. She could only watch as they fell, disappearing into the endless smoke and dust.

    Fortunately, most of the impact was blocked by Xi He, the six dragons, and the golden war chariot. Meanwhile, Zu An and the others had been linked together to resist the heat. They actually managed to sessfully block the terrifying st waves. Even though they all coughed up blood, they weren¡¯t too injured.

    Yun Jianyue was a bit absent-minded. What had just happened was practically a once-in-a-lifetime event. After all, in the world of warriors, even if it were one¡¯s own parents or siblings, practically no one would trust theirrades to such an extent, releasing all their defenses.

    As long as another person had sinister motives, even if one didn¡¯t die, one would immediately be left with serious injuries. That was why, even among family members, it was rare to see anyone achieve what Zu An¡¯s group had just done.

    And yet, they had managed to disy such unconditional trust. To think she had previously been arch-enemies with that stone cold woman; they had been rivals who wished each other dead!

    After fighting Yan Xuehen for so many years, even though she really couldn''t ept many of her ways, she still trusted the other woman¡¯s character. The fact that the other woman hadn¡¯t done anything bad to her at that moment was understandable.

    However, she had actually given up on taking advantage of the situation herself, and she didn¡¯t even feel any regret about it at all!

    What in the world is going on? When did I start bing like this?

    Her gaze shifted to Zu An. It seemed as if everything had changed after she met this man.

    Zu An instantly summoned the Wind Fire Wheels. He grabbed the people around him and tried to fly away. However, the powerful shockwave made it hard for him to control his bnce. Soon afterward, the group lost their center of gravity and began to plummet.

    Fortunately, Zu An worked hard to control their descent, so they weren¡¯t too far from the ground. Even so, the fall wasn¡¯t light. Zu An gritted his teeth, then turned around to use his own body as a cushion. He took the three women into his arms and mmed into the ground.

    With a huge noise, a human-shaped crater appeared in the ground. Zu An felt as if all his internal organs had shifted positions. Blood spurted out of his mouth.

    The three women quickly got up. With Zu An acting as their cushion, even though they still had suffered under the impact, with their cultivation, they could still tolerate it. They examined his injuries while crying out in rm.

    ¡°Why are you so foolish? With our cultivation, we wouldn¡¯t die from a fall like this!¡± Yu Yanluo said, half-sobbing as she wiped the blood from Zu An¡¯s mouth.

    Zu An showed her a grin with great difficulty, saying, ¡°All of you were created so wonderfully by this world. If your faces were tarnished, or if you lost a limb, that would be this world¡¯s greatest regret.¡±

    Now, let alone Yan Xuehen, not even Yun Jianyue could take it anymore. Her face heated up as she scoffed, ¡°Look at you! Do you know what kind of situation we¡¯re in? And yet you¡¯re still trying to swindle women with your flowery words!¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Stop talking!¡± Yan Xuehen snapped in annoyance and embarrassment. She quickly helped Zu An treat his injuries. At the same time, she sighed inwardly, thinking, No wonder he has so many beauties at his side.

    Just how many women in this world could refuse a man who was willing to risk their life for them?

    Zu An chuckled and replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, my skin is pretty thick. I won¡¯t die.¡±

    Yu Yanluo had a somewhat helpless expression, mixed with a hint of regret. Suddenly, the look on her face changed and she said, ¡°That Xi He seems to being over.¡±

    They could vaguely make out Xi He and her carriage amid the smoke and dust. She seemed to be looking around for something. When she saw Zu An¡¯s group, her eyes immediately lit up.

    Zu An felt discouraged. It would be dangerous if they fell into this woman¡¯s hands again, especially now that she had the ten Golden Crows with her. He wouldn¡¯t necessarily be able to protect the three girls.

    Just then, ten more powerful auras suddenly rushed over. He was stunned. The auras didn¡¯t seem to be the Golden Crows!

    ¡°Mother, Spirit Mountain¡¯s ten shamans are here. We need to hurry and leave!¡± the Golden Crows called out as they flew over to Xi He¡¯s side; their remaining feathers were sparse and blood was all over their bodies. They had clearly been injured quite badly from the explosion.

    Xi He gave Zu An a reluctant look, but in the end, she was still worried about her sons¡¯ safety and steered the carriage away hurriedly.

 Chapter 1446: Ancient Secret

    Chapter 1446: Ancient Secret

    Seeing that Xi He was leaving, Zu An and the others sighed in relief. Zu An quickly used the Primordial Origin Sutra to treat his injuries.

    Suddenly, several figures swiftly approached, calling out, ¡°Nuba is over here!¡±

    The group could vaguely make out someone waving their sleeves, sucking in all the smoke and dust. The visibility in the area immediately improved considerably, revealing several strange individuals dressed like shamans gathered nearby.

    In addition to that, Nuba¡¯s corpse was present. However, there was only a head left over, with no trace remaining of her body. Zu An had to admit that Nuba¡¯s cultivation was shocking. Her explosion had been even stronger than a nuclear bomb, and yet her head still remained intact!

    The lead shaman wondered with a sigh, ¡°Nuba, why did you have to go this far?¡±

    Nuba didn¡¯t reply, as she was already dead. All that remained was the unwillingness and anger visible in her open eyes.

    All of the shamans sighed. Then, they chanted some cryptic sybles, as if reciting a sacrificial text. Nuba¡¯s expression finally eased up a bit, and eventually, she closed her eyes.

    Zu An and the others were amazed when they saw that. Was this a scripture that helped a departed soul find peace?

    Just then, the shamans also noticed them. They quickly surrounded the group and stared at them with unkind expressions.

    Zu An finally got a good look at them, and thought that calling them human would be stretching it a bit. That was because they all had extremely strange features. Their faces were smeared with different colors of paint; some of them wore sinister masks, and others worerge nes strung with the bones of unknown beasts, giving them a terrifying countenance.

    ¡°They are with the Golden Crows. Kill them to get revenge for Nuba!¡± one shaman eximed in indignation.

    Zu An was rmed. It seemed the shamans were on the same side as Nuba, and thus enemies of Xi He. As such, he quickly exined, ¡°Senior misunderstands! We are not on the same side as the Golden Crows. On the contrary, we share a grudge with them!¡±

    ¡°Nonsense!¡± the one in the lead replied. "I clearly saw all of you in Xi He¡¯s golden war chariot earlier. What else could you be but herpanions?¡±

    ¡°That is because we were her captives!¡± Zu An quickly exined. ¡°We went into Scalding Valley to fight the Golden Crows, but we were discovered by Xi He. Then, we found that we were no match for her and were captured. Later, Xi He fought with that cl¡­ with Nuba. She could not be bothered to deal with us anymore while concentrating on her enemies, which was why we were able to slip away.¡±

    The shamans all had strange expressions. One replied, ¡°You wanted to face the Golden Crows in Scalding Valley even with your cultivation ranks?¡±

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue felt a bit of shame. They were normally high and mighty, well-known for their power throughout the world. Here, however, they were looked down on for their weakness. Still, they didn¡¯t say anything, because whether it was Xi He, Nuba, or those shamans, those people¡¯s strength was unfathomable to them.

    They felt powerless. Even though they had already mentally prepared themselves for the dangers of Unknown Regions, they still hadn¡¯t expected it to be so dangerous. No wonder none had managed to emerge from Unknown Regions alive in hundreds of thousands of years.

    Hm? Just how did Zu An leave these terrifying dungeons? And judging from what he said, he¡¯s been to more than one of them, no less.

    However, Zu An was in quite a helpless situation too. Even the past Unknown Regions added together weren¡¯t as terrifying as this one! This was already close to the realm of mythology! And yet, the situation had already unfolded, so he could only brace himself.

    He replied, ¡°We really were arrogant and conceited, and we underestimated the Golden Crows¡¯ strength. That was why we were captured. Fortunately, all of you appeared in time and they could not be bothered to deal with us anymore, granting us a chance to survive.¡±

    The shamans exchanged a look, seemingly half-convinced. Zu An¡¯s response was a bit odd.

    The shaman leader eventually nodded and said, ¡°Indeed. Xi He and the others have always been arrogant; we have never heard of her having any human friends, let alone letting humans share a carriage with her.

    ¡°However, we are truly curious. Why would Xi He let you go? She was never someone who shied away from killing people, and she has always treated humans with contempt. Why would she take you captive and bring you along?¡±

    As soon as he said that, the other shamans stared at them fiercely. A single wrong word from Zu An¡¯s group, and the shamans would end their lives immediately.

    Zu An reacted quickly and said, ¡°That was because I suddenly thought of an idea, saying that we knew why the ten Golden Crows left at the same time. Xi He temporarily spared us in order to chase after the ten Golden Crows.¡±

    ¡°Oh, you know the reason why the ten suns came out all at once?¡± the shaman leader asked, looking at Zu An with a piercing gaze.

    Zu An said with a bitter smile, ¡°That was merely something I said out of helplessness. Of course, I do not know the real reason. Thankfully, you arrived, or else we would have been in danger once she interrogated us.¡±

    Anyone with a functional brain would know that the ten Golden Crows wouldn¡¯t suddenly leave the nest for a frivolous reason like merely ying. There could even be a huge conspiracy hidden behind it. Zu An was worried that he would get caught up in it, so he naturally had to emphasize his innocence.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°So that was it,¡± the shaman leader muttered. He thought to himself for a while, but he suddenly noticed the corner of a mulberry leaf sticking out from Zu An¡¯s clothes. He asked, ¡°Where did you get that mulberry leaf from?¡±

    ¡°The big mulberry tree in Mulberry Forest gave it to us,¡± Zu An replied while secretly observing the shaman¡¯s changes in expression. ¡°It said that Dongting Lake was covered in miasma, so it gave us this to shield against it. These leaves also have healing properties.¡±

    When they heard his reply, the shamans clearly rxed. The leader replied, ¡°Since the old mulberry tree was willing to give you that leaf, that means you are indeed not bad people.¡±

    He continued after a moment, ¡°Your injuries are quite severe. You should return with us and rest there.¡±

    As he spoke, several strange beasts appeared to carry Zu An¡¯s group. Meanwhile, the other shamans all summoned their own mounts that came in all sorts of different shapes and sizes. Zu An¡¯s group had no idea what the creatures were. However, even though the mounts were clumsy, they were incredibly fast. It felt as if they were flying through the clouds.

    After expressing his gratitude, Zu An took the chance to ask, ¡°Are you the legendary Spirit Mountain¡¯s ten shamans?¡±

    Theyughed and replied, ¡°So you¡¯ve heard of us.¡±

    Yu Yanluo and the other two women blinked, nk expressions appearing on their faces. However, they didn¡¯t dare to voice their confusion at such a time.

    Zu An was shocked, but he said, ¡°I¡¯ve heard many rumors about you, but I don¡¯t know which ones are true¡­¡±

    Then, he began to describe all sorts of details from the sea of fiction he had read in his previous world. Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen were extremely shocked as they listened. Were there really such formidable beings in this world?

    Yu Yanluo thought, Could it be that Zu An is just ttering them? She had to admit that the ttery was really high-level and seamless.

    The shamans¡¯ faces heated up. The leader immediately shook his head and said, ¡°Enough with all of the praise; we¡¯re nowhere near that amazing. We aren¡¯t the descendants of creator Pangu either¡­ We¡¯re just the leaders of the Shaman n. I¡¯m their oldest brother Wu Xian, while they are Wu Ji, Wu Pan, Wu Peng, Wu Gu, Wu Zhen, Wu Li, Wu Di, Wu Xie, Wu Luo¡­¡±

    He introduced all of them one by one, and in response, Zu An¡¯s group of four also introduced themselves. After they got to know each other, their attitudes clearly became friendlier.

    ¡°Right, was Nuba your friend?¡± Zu An took the chance to ask.

    Wu Xian sighed and said, ¡°She used to be our neighbor. She could be considered a friend, I reckon.¡±

    ¡°She was truly pitiful. Why did the ten Golden Crows attack her together?¡± Yu Yanluo asked, her voice full of sympathy.

    Yu Yanluo was beautiful and approachable to begin with, and the aura of the Holy Pearl she carried made the ten shamans feel even closer to her. As such, Wu Xian replied, ¡°It¡¯s actually rted to a secret that has been hidden away for many years. All of this is rted to an immortal medicine.¡±

    ¡°Immortal medicine?¡± Zu An and the others repeated in surprise. They realized that ever since they entered the Unknown Region, they had already heard about immortal medicines several times. They now had no choice but to believe.

 Chapter 1447: Immortal Medicine Stolen

    <h4>Chapter 1447: Immortal Medicine Stolen</h4>

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Wu Xian said with a nod. ¡°There¡¯s a deity on Mount Zhong named Zhu Long. It has a human face and a snake body. Its body is entirely red, and its eyes grow vertically. When it closes its eyes, the entire world bes as dark as night. When it opens its eyes, the world bes as bright as day. It doesn¡¯t eat, doesn¡¯t sleep, and doesn''t breathe. It can summon wind and rain, and it can also shine light on evil ces¡­¡±

    Zu An was surprised. Zhu Long[1]</a>appeared frequently in ancient mythology. He hadn¡¯t expected to hear of it in this secret dungeon too.

    Yan Xuehen and the other women had never heard of Zhu Long before. When they heard its description, they were shocked. It became day when Zhu Long opened its eyes, and became night when it closed its eyes? Wasn¡¯t that basically on the level of a creation deity?

    Upon hearing Wu Xian¡¯s description, they suddenly remembered Yayu and Er Fu from Shaoxian Mountain, who seemed to have human faces and snake bodies too.

    To some degree, Yu Yanluo also matched that description. The others wondered if she shared some kind of bloodline rtionship with them. However, Yu Yanluo frantically shook her head, clearly aware of what they were thinking. She immediately dered that it had nothing to do with her.

    Wu Xian continued, ¡°Zhu Long¡¯s status is extremely, extremely high. He has three sons. One is Yayu, another is Er Fu, and the third is Gu.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Even Zu An cried out in surprise.

    He hadn¡¯t expected Yayu to actually be Zhu Long¡¯s son! And Er Fu was actually his brother?! Now that he thought about it more carefully, Er Fu and Yayu both had human heads and serpent bodies. They were indeed very simr to Zhu Long.

    ¡°Hm? Do you recognize them?¡± Wu Xian asked in surprise when he noticed their reaction.

    ¡°We met them earlier¡­¡± Zu An began. He and the others shared their previous experience on Shaoxian Mountain, and told the shamans about how they had met Yayu in the Weak Water.

    The ten shamans were shocked when they heard the entire course of events. Wu Xian eximed, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have expected Yayu to be hiding over there! And you fully set him free, at that! We really underestimated you earlier.¡±

    The group could clearly sense the shamans treating them more amiably. Zu An thought,Could it be that Yayu was friends with them?He quickly asked the question to satisfy his curiosity.

    Wu Xian and the others exined, ¡°Even though Yayu and Er Fu were brothers, their personalities were entirely different. Yayu was the oldest son. Both his character and reputation were excellent. People all believed he would be Zhu Long¡¯s sessor. But Er Fu was extremely unsatisfied with that. He felt he was better than his older brother in both cultivation and wisdom. He just couldn''t understand why everyone acknowledged Yayu as the sessor instead.¡±

    Yan Xuehen and the others nodded. The fiend races¡¯ sessors, apart from having their bloodline powers, also inherited the cultivation of their predecessor. That was why once one was chosen as the sessor, even if the other heirs did everything they could, they wouldn¡¯t be able to win. As such, the struggle for the position of sessor was far more intense and bloody than the equivalent in the human world.

    ¡°Er Fu had a subordinate named Wei who sowed dissent between the brothers. Er Fu could no longer hold himself back. As such, he and Wei killed Yayu. When the Celestial Emperor heard of that matter, because of Zhu Long¡¯s respected status and Yayu¡¯s reputation indeed being quite good, out of pity, he had us use the immortal medicine to revive him,¡± Wu Xian continued.

    Zu An and the others were shocked. They had thought that the immortal medicine was from the Queen Mother of the West¡¯s Jade Lake. Had it actuallye from Spirit Mountain¡¯s ten shamans?

    He knew the importance of the immortal medicine, such that asking about it directly wouldn¡¯t bring them any information. As such, he first asked about other things. ¡°By the way, who¡¯s the Celestial Emperor you¡¯re talking about?¡±

    He had heard many things about the Celestial Emperor ever since he entered the Unknown Region.

    Wu Xian found his question a bit strange, but he still replied, ¡°The Celestial Emperor¡¯s taboo name is Zhuan Xu. All the elders of the older generation knew that, but now, it¡¯s to be expected that the younger generation doesn¡¯t know about him.¡±

    Zu An thought,Finally, that clears up the riddle. Wasn¡¯t the ck Emperor Zhuan Xu? He had heard Shun say that the ck and White Emperor¡¯s sides fought, but he hadn¡¯t expected Zhuan Xu to have already be the Celestial Emperor.

    However, he thought of something and quickly asked, ¡°Then what about Emperor Jun?¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The Golden Crows called Xi He ¡®mother empress¡¯, and Emperor Jun¡¯s status was clearly extremely high as well. He had heard the legend of Yi shooting down the suns before too. The Celestial Emperor in that story was none other than Emperor Jun!

    Wu Xian replied, ¡°Emperor Jun is also the Celestial Emperor.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s group waspletely confused, left awkwardly speechless. Meanwhile, the other nine shamans found their stunned appearanceughable and remarked, ¡°Who told you that there could only be one Celestial Emperor?¡±

    Wu Xian thus exined, ¡°There are five Celestial Emperors in the heavens, respectively associated with the directions of north, east, south, west, and center. Two of them are none other than Zhuan Xu and Emperor Jun.¡±

    Zu An and the others were surprised. So that was how it was! No wonder they had always felt as if something wasn¡¯t right when they listened to different stories. It turned out that there were five Celestial Emperors!

    ¡°Then who are the other three?¡± Yan Xuehen asked curiously.

    Wu Xian shook his head, saying, ¡°These are mysteries of heaven that must not be revealed. It brings no benefits for ordinary humans to know too much, only disaster.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.What the hell? You were praising me a moment ago, and yet now, you¡¯re starting to talk in riddles?

    Wu Xiao continued, ¡°Back then, the Celestial Emperor wanted to save Yayu with the immortal medicine, and we naturally didn¡¯t dare to go against orders. We went to Bao Jiang, who was safeguarding the immortal medicine, and used it to save Yayu. However, we hadn¡¯t expected that after he was revived, he would be muddle-headed. Later, he fell into the Weak Water and his nature changed greatly, turning him into the Yayu monster.¡±

    ¡°Bao Jiang?¡± Zu An asked, finding the name unfamiliar.

    Wu Xian replied, ¡°Bao Jiang is our friend. He lives on Spirit Mountain, and he was the keeper of the immortal medicine.¡±

    Zu An was surprised.So the immortal medicine was in Spirit Mountain?

    Wu Xian continued, ¡°Because Yayu was extremely kind when he was alive and had an excellent reputation, and out of consideration for his father¡¯s status, no one troubled him any further. They left him alone to do what he wanted.¡±

    Zu An cursed inwardly. It was probably because his father Zhu Long was too formidable, right?

    ¡°When Wei¡¯s schemes to urge Er Fu were exposed, the heavens punished Er Fu. At the same time, they gave the order to execute Wei in order to get revenge for Yayu¡­¡± the other shamans added enthusiastically, retelling the entire story.

    Zu An sighed in amazement. As expected, those without any backing could only unjustly take on all the me. Er Fu was only punished despite being the chief offender, and yet Wei was mercilessly killed.

    As if he could read Zu An¡¯s thoughts, Wu Xian exined, ¡°Even though Er Fu wasn¡¯t killed, he had his position of sessor stripped away. He lost the only thing he had been chasing after the entire time. That wasn¡¯t necessarily much better than death.¡±

    Zu An still felt that being alive was better than being dead. He then asked, ¡°What do these things have to do with the Golden Crows and Nuba?¡±

    Wu Xian continued, ¡°The matter of Yayu was quite a tragedy in itself. Still, if that had been all, it still wouldn¡¯t be too bad. Later, though, it was discovered that there was another, more sinister motive.¡±

    ¡°Another sinister motive?¡± Zu An repeated, stunned.

    ¡°Haven¡¯t you noticed that there¡¯s someone else you¡¯ve overlooked?¡± Wu Xian asked with a mysterious expression.

    Yun Jianyue, who had previously remained silent, suddenly replied, ¡°Gu!¡±

    Wu Xian said in surprise, ¡°These little girls are quite smart. It was indeed Gu.¡±

    Yun Jianyue thought,I¡¯ve already been famous for many years, and yet I¡¯m being called a little girl here!Still, she didn¡¯t feel upset about being called that at all.

    Zu An and the others weren¡¯t stupid. Upon hearing the reminder, they quickly reacted. Gu had originally been the third sessor. One older brother was kind-hearted, and the other was powerful, so either way, he wouldn¡¯t get a turn. However, after his two brothers died and were ruined respectively, he became the one who would benefit the most.

    Often, all one had to do to figure out the identity of the mastermind behind a plot was to see who had the most to gain.

    Wu Xian released a long sigh, saying, ¡°Gu hid his motives well. Only muchter did something reveal to us that he was the one who plotted all of this. Not long after the incident between Yayu and Er Fu happened, Bao Jiang was killed, and the immortal medicine was stolen.¡±

    ¡°The immortal medicine was stolen?¡± Zu An repeated, and his entire group was shocked.

    If such a thing were revealed to the world, people would all lose their heads fighting over it! Even though the people within Unknown Regions were powerful, it was clear that immortal medicines were still incredible treasures for them.

    ¡°The legends of immortal medicine have existed for a long time. The forces with great backgrounds had an idea that the immortal medicine was hidden in Spirit Mountain. However, no one knew where exactly it was hidden,¡± Wu Xian exined. ¡°However, because of what happened to Yayu, Gu found out that the immortal medicine was under Bao Jiang¡¯s control. As such, he worked together with his subordinate to plot against Bao Jiang.¡±

 Chapter 1448: Paths Between Heaven and Earth Severed

    <h4>Chapter 1448: Paths Between Heaven and Earth Severed</h4>

    Zu An was stunned. He asked, ¡°He didn¡¯t do it in order to steal Zhu Long¡¯s inheritance?¡±

    Wu Xian shook his head and replied, ¡°That¡¯s what we thought at first too, but only after he killed Bao Jiang and stole the immortal medicine did we find out his true schemes.¡±

    Zu An was a bit confused, eximing, ¡°But that makes no sense! Seeing as he was the son of the great Zhu Long and he had already be the sole sessor, why would he bother going after the immortal medicine?¡±

    Wu Xian gave him a deep look, saying, ¡°Not even deities are truly immortal. With immortal medicine, even they can have a second life.¡±

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue exchanged a look, both seeing the shock in each other¡¯s eyes. So that was what the so-called immortal medicine really was! Being able to live a second life was extremely precious in itself. After all, there were long and short lives. The strong could live for another few thousand, or even more than ten thousand years.

    ¡°Of course, one¡¯s lifespan is substantially increased after achieving immortality. Deities don¡¯t normally have as great of a desire for immortal medicine in the short term,¡± Wu Xian exined. ¡°However, Gu didn¡¯t ascend to immortality.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Zu An asked. He and the others were surprised. After all, as the son of someone as incredible as Zhu Long, as well as his sole heir, the fact that Gu couldn''t achieve immortality in that era seemed unimaginable.

    Wu Xian hesitated, but in the end he still said, ¡°I initially didn¡¯t n to tell you these things, but since you saved Yayu, you must be someone who shares affinity with him. It¡¯s fine to tell you.¡±

    He continued, ¡°It¡¯s because the Celestial Emperor Zhuan Xu severed the path between heaven and earth.¡±

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue had pensive looks on their faces, but Zu An and Yu Yanluo were confused, asking, ¡°What does severing the path between heaven and earth mean?¡±

    Wu Xian exined, ¡°A long time ago, the heavens and the mortal world were connected. Even though it was necessary to traverse certain paths and it was extremely difficult, it wasn¡¯t impossible for the strong.

    ¡°When Zhuan Xu became a Celestial Emperor, though, he felt that the dangers of leaving behind a path between heaven and earth were too great. The first reason was that beings from heaven would often cause disasters when they came down to the mortal world, and the second was that the various races of the mortal world always went directly to heaven whenever they had an issue, disturbing its peace. As such, he sent the deities Zhong and Li to sever the road connecting heaven and earth.

    ¡°From then on, the two were forever separated, and those of the lower realm had no hopes of ascending to immortality.¡±

    Zu An and the others werepletely shocked, Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen most of all. They thought,So that¡¯s why!It was no wonder that even though there had been so many stunning geniuses throughout the years, there had never been anyone who could truly ascend to immortality. It had reached a point where more and more people had begun to feel that the so-called ascension was nothing more than a scam.

    It turned out that in truth, the path to ascension had already been severed by the imperial court of ancient times!

    Zu An thought,This Zhuan Xu¡¯s character really is questionable.No wonder the people of this world had always spoken ill of him, treating his sons like all manner of demons and monsters andpletely vilifying them.

    At first, he had thought that it was just a battle between the White and ck Emperors. Now, it seemed that Zhuan Xu¡¯s actions hadpletely infuriated the different ns of the human world. Unfortunately, they could only powerlessly vent out their anger, ndering Zhuan Xu¡¯s descendants. However, in the imperial court, Zhuan Xu didn¡¯t care at all, not even paying them any attention.

    After Zu An¡¯s group managed to digest the shocking information a bit, Wu Xian then continued, ¡°Zhu Long was indeed a deity who had tremendous status, but his son Gu was still young. He didn¡¯t ascend to immortality before the paths were severed. He knew he wouldn¡¯t have any chance to do so in the future, so he set his sights on the immortal medicine.¡±

    ¡°So that was it. Then did he seed?¡± Zu An quickly asked.

    ¡°He plotted against Bao Jiang, and he did sessfully steal the immortal medicine. Unfortunately, before he could even eat it, the truth was exposed. After all, the immortal medicine was just too important. The Celestial Emperor was infuriated, putting Gu to death,¡± Wu Xian exined. He remained expressionless as he spoke, making it unclear what he was really thinking.

    ¡°But what do these things have to do with the Golden Crows and Nuba?¡± Yu Yanluo asked.

    ¡°Nuba is Gu¡¯s mother,¡± Wu Xian said with a deep sigh.

    Zu An and the others were nowpletely confused. They could never have expected such a close rtionship! So after all that, they had ended up back in the present situation?

    Wu Xian continued, ¡°Back then, Nuba helped the Yellow Emperor defeat Chi You, but because her injuries were too great, she couldn''t return to the heavens and could only live in the human world. Wherever she went, she brought a great drought. That was why the people weren¡¯t grateful for her contributions toward Chi You¡¯s defeat, and instead chased her away wherever she went.

    ¡°The Celestial Emperor pitied her, so he arranged for her to stay north of Scarlet Water. That ce was close to Zhongshan, and Zhu Long just happened to be staying there at the time.

    ¡°In the end, familiarity breeds fondness¡­¡±

    Zu An repeated with a strange expression, ¡°Familiarity breeds fondness?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Wu Xian asked, looking at him in confusion.

    ¡°Nothing. Please continue, senior,¡± Zu An said, his face heating up. Wouldn¡¯t the shaman tear him to shreds out of anger if he found out what kinds of nonsensical thoughts Zu An had?

    ¡°Zhu Long and Nuba thus stayed together, and she even gave birth to Guter,¡± Wu Xian said.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An sighed in amazement. Deities were deities after all. Zhu Long could even enter a nuclear reactor without his thing being burned!

    ¡°Yayu and Er Fu weren¡¯t her children?¡± The three women asked another crucial question.

    ¡°No. As for who Yayu and Er Fu¡¯s mother is, even we don¡¯t know,¡± Wu Xian said, shaking his head.

    Zu An thought,No wonder Gu provoked his brothers into killing each other. They didn¡¯t share a mother to begin with.

    ¡°I understand. The Celestial Emperor who had Gu executed should be Emperor Jun, right? So that was why Nuba, who cherished her son, vented her hatred on Emperor Jun and his Golden Crow sons. She wanted to get revenge, but instead ended up miscalcting and they lost their lives, right?¡± Zu An asked, suddenly thinking of something.

    The other shamans had strange expressions. They all shook their heads simultaneously and replied, ¡°That¡¯s not it. The one who killed Gu was the Celestial Emperor Zhuan Xu.¡±

    Zu An was dumbfounded. Had Nuba¡¯s brain short-circuited? Why had she vented out her anger on the Golden Crows instead of looking for the chief culprit?

    After a moment of hesitation, Wu Xian said, ¡°What we¡¯ll be saying from now on is merely spection. We don¡¯t have any proof, so just treat it as a story.¡±

    Zu An was nowpletely focused.I love gossip.

    Yun Jianyue frowned inwardly. The group didn¡¯t share that much friendship with the Spirit Mountain Ten Shamans, and yet they were sharing information so intimately.Is there some kind of plot involved? Do they want to use us to do something?

    She wanted to warn herpanions, but she feared that with the shamans¡¯ cultivation and strange methods, she would be discovered. That was why she could only suppress her misgivings for the time being.

    The other shamans discussed things among themselves spiritedly.

    ¡°Our Spirit Mountain is close to Zhongshan and Scarlet Water, so we could be considered neighbors. And after the matters involving Yayu and Bao Jiang, we knew a bit more than most others.¡±

    ¡°Since Gu killed the deity Bao Jiang and stole the immortal medicine, Nuba knew his sin couldn¡¯t be pardoned. Even though she was brokenhearted, she didn¡¯t resent Celestial Emperor Zhuan Xu.¡±

    ¡°Later, though, through a coincidence, she found out that Gu was actually spurred on by someone to do all this.¡±

    ¡°When Nuba looked into it, she saw traces of Emperor Jun¡¯s influence.¡±

    ¡°Emperor Jun?¡± Zu An repeated in surprise. After all that, Emperor Jun was actually the mastermind? But he was a glorious Celestial Emperor! Why would he participate in such an affair?

    ¡°Didn¡¯t we mention that Zhuan Xu destroyed the path between heaven and earth? That meant not only Gu was barred from ascending to immortality; Emperor Jun¡¯s sons couldn''t either,¡± came the reply.

    Zu An was speechless, thinking,Not even a Celestial Emperor¡¯s sons could ascend to immortality? They really went all in on that implementation!

    Seemingly guessing his thoughts, Wu Xian exined, ¡°With the path between heaven and earth severed, thews of the great dao became deficient. It became set in stone that none of the human world¡¯s ns could ascend to immortality. That fact couldn''t be changed any longer unless the paths were repaired and the great dao¡¯sws becameplete once more.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re both Celestial Emperors, so why was this decision carried out even though Emperor Jun didn¡¯t agree?¡± Zu An asked with a frown.

    ¡°That¡¯s because the decision to sever the paths was something agreed upon by most people in the heavens. Furthermore, Zhuan Xu was the first one to be a Celestial Emperor. At the time, it hadn¡¯t been that long since Emperor Jun became a Celestial Emperor, so his foundation was weaker. It would have been difficult for him to win against Zhuan Xu,¡± Wu Xian replied.

    ¡°That¡¯s why there has been spection that Emperor Jun needed help. As such, he nned to drag Zhu Long into his ns. After all, Zhu Long possessed extraordinary status and strength. With his help and support, the situation would be much better.

    ¡°Unfortunately, for some reason, Zhu Long never expressed his opinions on the matter. And as Gu ended up dying by ident, all of Nuba¡¯s rage was then redirected toward Emperor Jun¡¯s family.¡±

    Favorite

 Chapter 1449: Decree from the Heavens

    Chapter 1449: Decree from the Heavens

    Wu Xian exined, ¡°Nuba seemed to have gone mad, trying to force Emperor Jun out. Unfortunately, he never appeared, perhaps because he felt guilty orcked confidence. Furthermore, because Nuba wasn¡¯t very respectful when she tried to call out Emperor Jun, the Golden Crows were offended. They¡¯re still young and full of vigor, so how could they stand their father being humiliated like that? As such, they went out together to get revenge on Nuba.¡±

    A female shaman previously introduced as Wu Gu added, ¡°Back then, Nuba could even fend off both the Yellow Emperor and Chi You. Even though she was seriously injured from that battle, her cultivation was still extremely terrifying. If she hadn¡¯t encountered both the Golden Crows and the Sun Goddess, and if some other forces had worked with her, she might not have died.¡±

    Zu An had witnessed everything that happened, so he knew that what Wu Gu said was true. After all, Nuba¡¯s greatest abilityy in the heat within her body, that could spread droughts throughout the world. If she had gone up against anyone else, her extreme heat would be a fatal threat. However, she had just happened to encounter the Golden Crows, who were incarnations of the sun. How could one burn a sun?

    Instead, Nuba had lost control of the heat energy within her because of the Golden Crows and Sun Goddess¡¯ blistering power, which had caused her to explode.

    Sigh, all I can say is that this Nuba was unlucky. She was destined to suffer this disaster.

    Zu An suddenly thought of something and asked, ¡°Seniors, isn¡¯t your Spirit Mountain in India¡­ Uh, I mean a ce like the Indian Subcontinent?¡±

    He didn¡¯t know what India would be called in this world. If the Spirit Mountain they spoke of was the same as the one in Buddhism, wouldn¡¯t the group be carried to a ce that was far, far away? How were they supposed toplete their mission then?

    ¡°What India or Indian Subcontinent? We¡¯ve never heard of those ces,¡± the shamans replied in confusion. ¡°Oh, we¡¯re already here at Spirit Mountain.¡±

    They had already arrived at a mountain range as they spoke. Its peaks rose and fell, and a forest covered the surroundings like a nket. The steep mountain peaks were covered in all sorts of unique flowers and nts, causing a refreshing fragrance to spread through the air.

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue exchanged a look. The natural ki here was shockingly rich, far better than the best ces in their own sects. This was an extraordinary ce for cultivation. It was no wonder that the shamans had been able to cultivate to their level, when they upied a ce like this.

    Zu An sighed in relief.

    Meanwhile, the shamans introduced Zu An¡¯s group to the area.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°This mountain range is collectively called Spirit Mountain. The reason why we¡¯re called Spirit Mountain¡¯s Ten Shamans is none other than this location.¡±

    ¡°This is Mount Pass, and that one is Mount Vast. There¡¯s also Mount Sole, Mount Orchid Blossom, Mount Sandalwood¡­ Those are all our respective dwellings.¡±

    ¡°All of you are our guests. You¡¯re free toe and go as you wish among these peaks, but you have to keep in mind that there are two forbidden ces you can¡¯t go to.¡±

    Zu An asked curiously, ¡°Which two are forbidden areas?¡±

    He felt a bit of an itch inside. The more people spoke that way, the more curious he became.

    The shamans pointed at a mountain that was only faintly discernible, as it was surrounded by mist. They exined, ¡°That ce is called Mount Treasure Origin. All who enter die without exception.¡±

    Yu Yanluo said, ¡°Since it¡¯s called Mount Treasure Origin, it should be a preciousnd. Why is it so dangerous?¡±

    Although he felt some hesitation, Wu Xian felt an indescribable closeness to Yu Yanluo and said, ¡°Actually, that mountain¡¯s deity is Bao Jiang.¡±

    ¡°Bao Jiang?¡± Zu An and the others repeated in surprise. The Bao Jiang who had been plotted against? Then didn¡¯t that mean¡­

    When he saw their expressions, Wu Xian nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s right. The ce where Bao Jiang watched over the immortal medicine in the past was right there.¡±

    When Yun Jianyue heard the words ¡®immortal medicine¡¯, her eyes began to shine, almost as if she were eager to give it a try. She was a naturally daring person. Even though these people were strong, a legendary immortal medicine was something that was worth taking a risk for.

    Yu Yanluo was a bit embarrassed, saying, ¡°It¡¯s all my fault that you revealed such an important secret.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s actually not much of a secret anymore. After Gu schemed against Bao Jiang, that information already spread. Many people already know that the immortal medicine is in Mount Treasure Origin. It won¡¯t make too much of a difference if you know too,¡± Wu Xian said as he fiddled with the twin snakes in his hand. ¡°Let alone the fact that the immortal medicine is no longer there.¡±

    Yun Jianyue immediately looked disappointed when she heard that. She asked, ¡°Then where did it go?¡±

    Wu Xian saw through her intentions, but he didn¡¯t mind. He said, ¡°Following Gu and Bao Jiang¡¯s deaths, the immortal medicine soon disappeared. Now, no one knows where it is.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the other forbiddennd senior was talking about?¡± Zu An asked. He didn¡¯t have too much of a longing for an immortal medicine. The first reason was because he had the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, and the second was that he had also been given half of Qiao Xueying¡¯s Elf Race lifespan. In addition, he had personally seen what Yayu ended up bing after eating the immortal medicine, so he didn¡¯t think it was as wonderful as the legends made it out to be.

    The shamans all pointed to the same ce. Looking in that direction, Zu An saw a beautiful mountain peak that was shrouded in mist. Apart from that, it had a long and slender rock that rose high into the air. It actually gave off a hint of grace and elegance.

    What the hell¡­ Is it because it¡¯s been so long since I¡¯ve touched a woman that I¡¯m now getting this kind of feeling just by looking at a rock?

    Zu An¡¯s expression was strange. Soon, however, he felt a bit puzzled. Why did he feel as if the mountain seemed a bit familiar?

    The shamans exined, ¡°This is Mount Goddess, a residence created by the me Emperor¡¯s third daughter Yao Ji. She¡¯s always preferred peace and doesn¡¯t like to be disturbed by others, so not even we are allowed to willfully approach.¡±

    As soon as they heard that, Yu Yanluo, Yan Xuehen, and Yun Jianyue all looked at Zu An. The me Emperor also seemed to be one of the Celestial Emperors; his daughter wasn¡¯t only a princess, but also a fairy of the heavens. Even her name was beautiful. They all thought, This brat wouldn¡¯t be so overwhelmed by lust that he¡¯d set his eyes on this Yao Ji, right?

    Even so, Zu An didn¡¯t look as if he had experienced any lustful thoughts. Rather, he seemed surprised. He swallowed and asked,, ¡°What¡¯s the difference between this Spirit Mountain and Shaman Mountain?¡±

    Didn¡¯t the Shaman Mountain near the Yangtze River¡¯s Little Three Gorges have a famous Goddess Peak? No wonder he had felt that the mountain looked a bit familiar.

    ¡°Shaman Mountain?¡± Wu Xian repeated, stunned. Then, he said with a smile, ¡°I reckon that because we shamans live here, there are some who call this mountain Shaman Mountain.¡±

    Zu An thought, As expected. Spirit Mountain¡¯s ¡®spirit ì`¡¯ is made up of ¡®rain Óê¡¯ on the top, three ¡®openings ¿Ú¡¯ in the middle, and ¡®shaman Î×¡¯ on the very bottom! That was why often, ¡®spirit¡¯ and ¡®shaman¡¯ were used interchangeably. He had never expected the legendary Spirit Mountain¡¯s Ten Shamans to actually be the ten shamans of Shaman Mountain!

    Wu Xian felt that Zu An¡¯s reaction was a bit odd. He was about to say something when a golden light descended from above. All manner of heavenly music filled the air as a vast expanse of divine might descended from above. Those present felt their very souls shivering, subconsciously getting the urge to bow down.

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue exchanged looks of shock. They had seen their fair share of powerful individuals, but none of those couldpare to the aura they were facing right now. Not even the Fiend Emperor and Zhao Han added together would be a match for this aura!

    A dignified voice called out just then, saying, ¡°The ten suns havee out together and brought cmity to the people. I bestow upon you this red bow and white arrows to bring peace to the country.¡±

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in a faraway ce, the Fiend Emperor and his son were both stunned. A streak of red light suddenly flew out of the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s chest and disappeared into the horizon.

    ¡°My Sun ying Bow!¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince cried out in rm.

 Chapter 1450: Battle Between Deities

    Chapter 1450: Battle Between Deities

    The Fiend Emperor¡¯s expression darkened, and he reached out to grab the red light. His hand quickly erged, bing so big it seemed as if it could blot out the sun. It quickly stopped the red streak of light.

    Off to the side, even though it wasn¡¯t the first time Wu Liang had witnessed the Fiend Emperor¡¯s power, he was still very shocked. The Fiend Emperor¡¯s skills really were incredible!

    As therge hand engulfed the red light, a smile appeared on the Fiend Emperor¡¯s face, and he prepared to retrieve it. However, his smile froze shortly after, because the red light passed straight through his palm. It quickly turned into a streak of light and disappeared into the distance.

    The Fiend Emperor lowered his head to look at the palm of his hand. He saw that it wasn¡¯t damaged at all! He couldn''t understand it in the slightest. If the other party was powerful to the point that he couldn''t win against it, and that was why the Sun ying Bow had left his hands, there was no way his hand would be unharmed. And yet, there was nothing there. The Sun ying Bow seemed to have be intangible. He couldn''t touch it at all.

    ¡°Father emperor, hurry and chase after it!¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince eximed, panicking. That was the weapon he relied on the most! In the past, the unparalleled Sun ying Bow had granted him incredible confidence. If he lost it, he wouldn¡¯t necessarily be able to defeat his valiant second brother.

    He immediately continued to speak out when he saw his father stare nkly in ce. With his father¡¯s ability, retrieving the Sun ying Bow wouldn¡¯t be too difficult even if it flew into the horizon.

    ¡°Chase after it my ass! Why don¡¯t you chase after it?!¡± To the crown prince¡¯s surprise, the Fiend Emperor suddenly erupted with rage, smacking him in the back of the head. Fortunately, he didn¡¯t use any strength, or else there wouldn¡¯t be a Golden Crow Crown Prince anymore.

    ¡°Father emperor, what¡¯s wrong?¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince asked, feeling shocked and angry. Unfortunately, he couldn''t go against his father, so he could only look back with a wronged expression.

    ¡°Do you think the Sun ying Bow would just suddenly up and leave on its own?¡± the Fiend Emperor replied, looking in the direction where the Sun ying Bow had disappeared with a strange expression.

    ¡°Of course not,¡± the Golden Crown Crown Prince immediately replied. The Sun ying Bow was the treasure of sessive generations of the Fiend races¡¯ royal family. It had already acknowledged him as its owner too. How could it just leave on its own?

    ¡°Right. That means someone used an ability to make the Sun ying Bow shoot into the distance,¡± the Fiend Emperor said. He paused briefly, his voice carrying a hint of fear, and yet also excitement. ¡°The other party¡¯s cultivation is above mine, and it is at a level that I cannotprehend at all.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince eximed, dumbstruck.

    Wu Liang was stupefied too. There was actually someone more formidable than the Fiend Emperor? And judging from his tone, the Fiend Emperor seemed to be far inferior to the other party!

    We¡¯re finished, we¡¯re finished! What kind of sted secret dungeon is this? How am I even going to keep this petty life of mine?

    However, after his initial daze, the Fiend Emperor actually became rapt with joy. There really was a higher level of power in this world, as expected! That means there is still a future for me, hahahaha¡­.

    As one of the two most powerful individuals of the older generation, the Fiend Emperor had experienced a bit of despair, not seeing any chance of improving any further. The ancient cultivation texts had shown that mortals couldn¡¯t break through his current cultivation realm. Countless geniuses throughout the ages had asked the question ¡®Are there really immortals?¡¯ He was no exception to that.

    But now, he could feel that even if he hadn¡¯t gained anything else, just that previous interaction had granted him tremendous benefits. He now had the confidence that if he had enough time, he could evenpletely surpass Zhao Han. If he could interact with that power again, it was possible that he could really be a legendary immortal.

    ¡°Could it be because I just undid the Hundun¡¯s seal?¡± the Fiend Emperor muttered to himself.

    When Wu Liang heard that, he quickly said, ¡°Your majesty, when we undid the Taotie and Hundun¡¯s seals, ten suns appeared, and a terrifying aura filled the world. If we undo the Qiongqi¡¯s seal too, removing all four of the great seals, who knows just what kind of cmity that would create?! I hope that your majesty will strongly reconsider!¡±

    The Fiend Emperor didn¡¯t pay him any attention. Instead, he directly questioned Dan Zhu¡¯s soul, asking, ¡°Where is the Qiongqi¡¯s seal?¡±

    At first, he¡¯d had some apprehension toward Dan Zhu, expecting him to be plotting something. In the beginning, he had just intended to undo three seals to see what would happen, but after witnessing that extraordinary power, he couldn¡¯t be bothered to exercise caution.

    As a cultivator who had already reached his level, he had been pursuing the next step his entire life. Now that he had the chance, together with the fact that he didn¡¯t have much more of his lifespan left, he couldn¡¯t be bothered to worry about the dangers and continued without any hesitation.

    Wu Liang¡¯s face turned white. He thought, You can throw away your life if you want, but can you let me go first? Even so, there was no way he would say that out loud, or else he would die on the spot. If he followed them, he could at least live for that much longer.

    Dan Zhu quickly told the Fiend Emperor where the Qiongqi¡¯s seal was. The Fiend Emperor began to move ahead with the group, a resolute look in his eyes.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince turned around and continued following his father. He was very broken-hearted at the loss of the Sun ying Bow, but not even his father could do anything, so he felt even more helpless. He could only follow dispiritedly at his father¡¯s side.

    Meanwhile, on Zu An¡¯s side, the red streak of light floated over to Zu An. Those present were dazed to see that it was a red bow.

    Yan Xuehen and the others found the bow a bit familiar. They had seen the Golden Crow Crown Prince use it back then in the Snake race territory. It seemed to be the Sun ying Bow!

    Its outer appearance seemed to be a bit different, but overall, it wasn¡¯t that much of a difference. Zu An reached for it in a daze, and the red light gradually disappeared. The tangible feeling in his hand told him that it wasn¡¯t a dream.

    Soon, a red, uniquely-shaped bow appeared in his hand. At the same time, ten white arrows appeared beside him. Every single arrow was covered in ancient and profound runes. Upon closer inspection, the patterns seemed to sink deeply into the arrows. A powerful aura spread outward from the weapon, as if it were resonating with heaven and earth.

    It was the aura of a divine weapon!

    Just then, the golden light from the heavens scattered. The heavenly music stopped, and everything returned to normal as if nothing had happened.

    A beautiful figure from the distant Goddess Peak gave Zu An a deep look. Then, she turned around and returned to the mountain.

    Spirit Mountain¡¯s Ten Shamans surrounded Zu An. Their faces were full of shock as they asked, ¡°Why would the Celestial Emperor give that to you?¡± The way they looked at him, it was almost as if Zu An were the Celestial Emperor¡¯s illegitimate child.

    Zu An was also a bit stunned. He hadn¡¯t expected to obtain the divine weapon so easily either, and from a Celestial Emperor, no less.

    He suddenly remembered what Shun had said, that if he repeated Yi¡¯s heroic path, he could obtain the acknowledgment of the world¡¯s will and acquire the help of the divine weapon. Was this what he had been talking about?

    That made sense to him. With the disparity between his current strength and that of the Golden Crows, he had no chance of winning at all. It had been destined to be an impossible mission from the start.

    However, now that he had the divine weapon, he had a chance.

    He suddenly thought of something and asked, ¡°Which Celestial Emperor was that just now?¡±

    Spirit Mountain¡¯s Ten Shamans discussed the question among themselves. Soon afterward, they came to the same opinion, replying, ¡°Judging from the aura, it seemed to be Celestial Emperor Zhuan Xu.¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An was stunned. Zhuan Xu? He had thought that Yi¡¯s Sun ying Bow had been granted by Emperor Jun. He hadn¡¯t expected it to be Zhuan Xu!

    When he thought about the animosity between Zhuan Xu and Emperor Jun the shamans had mentioned, the fact that he had been given the Sun ying Bow proved that Zhuan Xu wanted to deal with the ten Golden Crows.

    Isn¡¯t getting involved in a battle of deities kind of a bad idea?

    If I kill Emperor Jun¡¯s sons, won¡¯t Emperor Jun want me dead?

    He¡¯s a freaking Celestial Emperor! Just a thought from him can kill me!

 Chapter 1451: A Goddessâ€™ Plea

    Zu An really wanted to refuse, but the Celestial Emperor had never made an appearance, and his aura had disappeared quickly too, not even giving Zu An a chance to refuse.

    Although he was rmed, he suddenly remembered that he needed to repeat Yi¡¯s heroic path to begin with. With the bow¡¯s help, defeating the Golden Crows would be much easier. That meant it was something worth feeling happy about either way.

    As for the battle between Zhuan Xu and Emperor Jun, he stopped worrying about it. He realized that in a battle between such giants, he actually wouldn¡¯t have the qualifications to join. Besides, there was no need for him to jump in. Either way, the Golden Crows had been shot down, so he just had to repeat history. That was the safest n of action.

    As for other consequences¡­

    Hm¡­ I don¡¯t even have a wife, so I don¡¯t have to worry about being like Yi, unable to return to the heavens.

    Furthermore, both Jun and Yi were Zhuan Xu¡¯s descendants. No matter what angle Zu An looked at it from, standing on Zhuan Xu¡¯s side was the smarter choice. Zu An¡¯s tangled emotions gradually calmed down again when he thought through those things.

    Spirit Mountain¡¯s Ten Shamans all bowed toward Zu An and said, ¡°Even though we do not know why the Celestial Emperor has chosen you, since he has presented you with the red bow, there must be a reason for it. Right now, the ten suns are in the sky, bringing disaster upon the people. We hope that little brother can help the world eliminate this evil.¡±

    The Ten Shamans all had sincere expressions. They really were worried about the people of this world.

    Yun Jianyue and the others couldn''t be bothered to deal with those things, however. They all advised Zu An to rethink things, because the situation touched upon a battle at the Celestial Emperor level. It wasn¡¯t something people of their level could participate in.

    Zu An didn¡¯t reply. He only stood at the peak of the mountain and surveyed everything below him. Apart from Spirit Mountain, which had a powerful protective barrier and could barely keep its trees green, there was only a disaster everywhere else. All nt life had already withered away, and the ground was dried and cracked. Raging wildfires zed all around. Who knew how many people had perished under the blistering sunlight, or been engulfed in a sea of mes?

    The three women sighed when they saw the hellish scene. They now knew what Zu An¡¯s choice was, so they didn¡¯t try to advise him further. Even though they were all part of different forces, at the most fundamental level, they still agreed on some things. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t have chosen to travel with Zu An. When they saw the apocalyptdscape, they all decided to stand firmly by Zu An¡¯s side.

    Zu An didn¡¯t say anything else as he looked up at the ten dazzling golden suns. Even though the ten Golden Crows had been injured because of Nuba, they still hadn¡¯t left. Their Golden Crow Sacred Fire granted them incredible regenerative power to begin with. Now that they were all in the skies, they even helped each other recover much more quickly than usual.

    However, because of that, the people of the lower realm had to suffer. Of course, to the Golden Crows, the people were nothing more than ants. They didn¡¯t care at all.

    Zu An took a deep breath. He nocked an arrow and drew back the bow. Even though he had never learned archery before, he was now a master rank cultivator. His control over his body and strength was already exquisite, so he quickly adjusted to the new weapon. The Sun ying Bow seemed to have its own spirit too. He didn¡¯t have to do much, because it had already begun to activate on its own.

    However, Zu An¡¯s expression changed, because he discovered that he couldn''t draw the bowstring back fully! He couldn¡¯t even pull it back halfway without reaching his limit. His muscles writhed like dragons, but he could do no more. Even though no one said anything, there was no way that amount of strength would be sufficient to hurt the suns in the sky.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    When Yan Xuehen and the other two women saw that, they ced their hands on his body, pouring their ki into him without holding back at all. Additionally, Spirit Mountain¡¯s Ten Shamans tacitly surrounded him and began to chant incantations. A shining formation formed, with Zu An at the center.

    Zu An immediately felt as if his entire body had filled with explosive power. He activated the Star Shattering Imprint, then nted his left foot on the ground fiercely. His body curved backward, and he bent his right knee toward the ground. As he fully drew back the Sun ying Bow, his entire body likewise began to resemble a bow pulled back to the limit. All of his muscles bulged from the force he exerted, and his clothes could no longer endure the tension and burst open.

    Yu Yanluo was fine, since she had been very intimate with him before. However, Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue found it a bit hard to handle. Being so close to a man, especially one whose body was full of masculine strength, made their hearts beat wildly in spite of their strong wills.

    Yan Xuehen remembered what had happened back in the Great Snowy Mountains¡¯ hot springs, and how the water had sshed in all directions. Back then, she had been so embarrassed that she didn¡¯t have theposure to look at him at all.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s eyes watered to the point that tears nearly came out. She secretly warned herself that she had to stay further away from this brat once she left the secret dungeon. Otherwise, if news of her fighting over her disciple¡¯s man got out, what dignity would she have left as the Holy Sect¡¯s master?

    Meanwhile, Zu An waspletely focused. With the others¡¯ help, he concentrated all of his power on the arrow. Its white surface shone, and the runes on its surface became more distinct, giving off an ancient and profound sensation. Terrifying destructive energy poured out of it into the world.

    Then, Zu An let loose. The arrow turned into a streak of light, flying toward one of the suns in the sky. It moved so quickly that even with his cultivation, Zu An couldn¡¯t see its trajectory.

    Soon afterward, a st of fiery golden light suddenly filled the sky. Endless streams of golden blood scattered down, and the sky darkened. Countless people quickly noticed the abnormal phenomenon that was taking ce in the sky. Where there had previously been ten suns, now there was one less. They didn¡¯t know what had happened, but they all cheered.

    Zu An was a bit rmed. He had actually, truly shot one of them down?

    Who would dare boast in front of me in the future? Who is better at shooting than me?[1]</a>

    Still, he reacted quickly. He didn¡¯t hesitate to nock another arrow and draw back the bow. After all, these were Emperor Jun¡¯s sons. If the emperor reacted to what had happened and cast down heavenly punishment, only a tragic end awaited him. Thus, he let loose white arrows one after another; they all carried terrifying power as they flew into the sky.

    Even as the Golden Crows recovered from their wounds, they suddenly noticed that one of their brothers had exploded on the spot. They were a bit stunned. Were the injuries they had sustained from Nuba so serious that they couldn''t even hold on anymore? After all, they had used extreme heat to destroy Nuba, but Nuba¡¯s heat hadn¡¯t been any less powerful than theirs. The insides of their bodies had also be shockingly hot as a result.

    Suddenly, however, they noticed the terrifying auras flying toward them one after another. They finally reacted to what was happening.

    ¡°Enemy attack!¡±

    They quickly dispersed, not having the courage to face the arrows head-on as they sensed the threat of death.

    Unfortunately, even if they evaded quickly, they weren¡¯t as fast as the arrows. Furthermore, the arrows seemed to have tracking properties and pursued them relentlessly.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    Boom!

    ¡­

    The Golden Crows fell one after another. Golden blood scattered through the air. Perhaps it was just a coincidence, but the ce they fell toward just happened to be Feather Mountain, where Zu An¡¯s group had passed when they first arrived.

    Whenever one Golden Crow was shot down, a cheer came from the world below. After all, the ten suns being overhead all at once for the first time was something that ordinary people, cultivators, and sinister monsters alike hated.

    In a mere few moments, nine Golden Crows fell out of the sky.

    However, Zu An didn¡¯t have the mental capacity to count them at all. He had to take them out quickly because of Emperor Jun¡¯s potential revenge, and he could barely withstand the strain.

    The Star Shattering Imprint was something a normal person could only use once. No matter how tough his body was, using it three times in session was also his limit. Furthermore, he was even using a divine weapon, the Sun ying Bow. Even though it was simr to the one the Golden Crow Crown Prince had used, its power was much greater; likewise, the cost of firing it was significantly higher.

    Fortunately, he had the help of Spirit Mountain¡¯s Ten Shamans, allowing him to fire nine arrows in a row. Unfortunately, blood was starting to pour out of the shamans¡¯ noses and mouths too. They had clearly experienced a powerful rebound as a result.

    Yu Yanluo and the two other women were in an even worse state. Strands of blood emerged from their bodies, covering them.

    Zu An instinctively sensed that there was still a sun above him, and subconsciously looked up to continue firing.

    ¡°No!¡± a woman cried out in anger and rm. A beautiful woman in a pce dress flew in front of thest Golden Crow, using her body to stop the devastating Sun ying Bow.

 Chapter 1452: Real and False World

    Chapter 1452: Real and False World

    Xi He had been wounded quite badly when she fought against Nuba. She had then returned to Scalding Valley to recover, and also to try to contact her husband. She just had a feeling that there was something fishy about the situation, and that there was a huge plot behind it. Meanwhile, the ten Golden Crows didn¡¯t return with her, instead remaining in the air to recover. Xi He was in a rush to contact Emperor Jun, so she didn¡¯t have time to pay attention to them.

    Unfortunately, she couldn''t contact that yboy Emperor Jun.

    She understood clearly that Emperor Jun had many women at his side. Even though she was the Sun Goddess, she was nothing more than another of his lovers. Who knew which vixen¡¯s arms he was resting in right now?

    It had been so many years since the twost talked, so how could she contact him so easily? She was starting to feel a bit angry that she couldn''t contact him too. That bastard Emperor Jun left just like that without saying a thing. Is he really not worried that I¡¯ll start an affair with someone else?

    When she thought about how many lovers Emperor Jun had, Xi He ground her teeth in annoyance. Zu An¡¯s face suddenly appeared in her mind.

    It had already been so many years, and this was the first time she had met such a handsome human. Furthermore, he had his unique personality and charm¡­

    Her face turned red when she thought of that. What is going on with me? Why am I thinking about this kind of nonsense? And besides, the other party is a human!

    She was still the Sun Goddess, the wife of Emperor Jun. She had experienced many things. She immediately realized that something was wrong with her. She had managed to live for so long without letting any feelings get to her, so why would she suddenly feel as if she were going through the springtime of youth again?n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Her expression changed. She suddenly realized something, eximing, ¡°The Golden Phoenix¡¯s ability!¡±

    The Golden Crow, Phoenix, and Vermilion Bird all came from the same source. That was why they knew about each other¡¯s skills.

    That bastard actually dared to use that kind of skill on me!

    You have sessfully trolled Xi He for +999 +999 +999¡­

    Xi He was proud and had a high status. How could she stand being cheated by a man? Either way, she couldn''t even contact Emperor Jun, so she decided to get revenge on Zu An first.

    However, not long after she left Scalding Valley, she felt several destructive auras that made her heart tremble. She watched from a distance as the Golden Crows fell one after another. She was absolutely heartbroken and quickly rushed over.

    Unfortunately, the other party fired too quickly. By the time she arrived, nine of the Golden Crows had already been shot down. Nothing else mattered to her anymore, and she quickly spread her arms to protect her sole remaining son.

    Her body shook uncontrobly. She felt the terrifying power from the Sun ying Bow, and knew that such a divine weapon that was born naturally from the world and supported by the power of a Celestial Emperor wasn¡¯t something she could stop. Still, she didn¡¯t hesitate to use her own body to block its trajectory for her son.

    She was extremely startled when she saw the man who was holding the bow. Never could she have expected it to actually be Zu An. They had faced each other in Scalding Valley. Although he could be considered quite excellent among humans, in front of her, he wasn¡¯t even worth mentioning.

    And yet, in the end, her sons had actually lost their lives to his arrows¡­

    Xi He was overwhelmed with hatred. If she had known this would happen, she would have killed him back in Scalding Valley. She felt that way even more intensely when she remembered that he had used the Golden Phoenix¡¯s skill on her, and how miserably her sons had died. All she felt was endless hate for Zu An.

    You have sessfully trolled Xi He for +1024 +1024 +1024¡­

    When he saw Xi He and the endless stream of Rage points, Zu An¡¯s head gradually cleared. He saw Xi He staring at him, filled with anger and fear. In that instant, he was filled with all sorts of emotions.

    Yun Jianyue quickly warned him through ki transmission, ¡°Little An, don¡¯t show any mercy right now! You already killed nine of her sons and established a terrible grudge. If you show mercy now, she¡¯ll definitely seek revenge on you.¡±

    Yan Xuehen cultivated the Unshakable Daoist Manual. Even though she felt the suggestion was a bit cruel, she knew it would be the most suitable method, so she didn¡¯t argue against what Yun Jianyue said.

    Even though Yu Yanluo¡¯s natural disposition was kind, when it involved Zu An¡¯s safety, she would naturally stand by his side.

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed several times. In the end, however, he put the bow away and said, ¡°You should leave.¡±

    Yun Jianyue eximed in shock, ¡°Little An?!¡±

    Zu An shook his head slightly toward her. Then, he looked at Xi He in the sky and said, ¡°You let us go before, so how could I do this to you? As for the Golden Crows earlier, it wasn¡¯t because we had any private grudges, but rather because they came out together and harmed the people of the world. A decree came from above, so of course I had to help the people.¡±

    When he saw that there was only one sun left, he knew he couldn''t continue to fire at it. Otherwise, the entire world would fall into endless darkness. It was the perfect chance to appease Xi He.

    Of course, he could have set his resolve to shoot down Xi He with thest arrow, which would leave behind one sun. He wouldn¡¯t have to worry about Xi He¡¯s revenge then, either.

    However, he had used ¡®Love Is More Solid than Gold¡¯ on her and felt guilty to begin with. He had even killed nine of her sons. He wasn¡¯t a cold-blooded murderer, so how could he continue doing something like that?

    Still, he wasn¡¯t stupid either. He ced all of the me on Zhuan Xu, implying that he was the main culprit behind all of this, and that if Xi He wanted to get revenge, she should take it out on Zhuan Xu. However, he had killed nine of her sons, so he couldn''t control how she would feel.

    Xi He stared at him with a conflicted expression. She had never expected him to show her mercy. After all, the rational choice was to kill her to prevent future disaster. Could it be that he really does care a bit about me?

    She quickly tossed that thought out of her mind. Damn it, that Golden Phoenix¡¯s skill is activating again!

    ¡°You will regret it if you do not kill me,¡± she said coldly.

    Zu An replied with a sigh, ¡°Regardless of what kind of consequence it brings, I won¡¯t regret my choice today.¡±

    Xi He gave him a deep look. Then, she took herst, trembling son into her carriage and flew away, eximing, ¡°One day, I will definitely kill you!¡±

    Her voice echoed in the air as she left.

    Zu An¡¯s expression stiffened, leaving behind only a bitter smile.

    Yun Jianyue harrumphed. ¡°You really are a sex-crazed maniac.¡±

    Yan Xuehen and Yu Yanluo also had strange expressions when they looked at him.

    Zu An could only exin, ¡°I couldn¡¯t just shoot down all ten suns. What are the living things of the world supposed to do if there¡¯s no sun?¡±

    ¡°You could have left behind one Golden Crow, but why Xi He?¡± Yun Jianyue asked. She was the Devil Sect¡¯s Sect Master, so she knew the importance of pulling out problems by the roots.

    <sub>??r??????eb????vel.c????</sub>

    Zu An said, ¡°The ones who caused the disaster were the ten Golden Crows, not her. Furthermore, she¡¯s Emperor Jun¡¯s wife. I left behind one Golden Crow and spared Xi He, so to a certain degree, I¡¯ve shown some kindness. Otherwise, Emperor Jun might really go all out to kill me.¡±

    When they heard his exnation, the three women realized that the decision did make some sense. Still, they couldn''t help but mumble, ¡°You¡¯re speaking such high-minded words, but isn¡¯t the main reason because she¡¯s a pretty woman?¡±

    Zu An chuckled in embarrassment. Indeed, he just couldn''t bring himself to kill Xi He.

    Spirit Mountain¡¯s Ten Shamans slowly recovered. One after another, they expressed their thanks to Zu An for saving the world. Zu An only replied humbly, but he secretly worried, wondering when Emperor Jun¡¯s revenge woulde.

    Suddenly, an indescribable ripple of natural ki coursed through the world, and it seemed to be disappearing quickly.

    Spirit Mountain¡¯s Ten Shamans seemed to have received some kind of order. Their expressions changed greatly, and they said to Zu An, ¡°After this matter, the heavens have reached an agreement to sever the paths between heaven and earthpletely, to fully separate the mortal realm and heaven. We must follow the will of heaven and leave. Little brother, we¡¯re sure we¡¯ll meet you again!¡±

    As soon as they finished speaking, an iparably powerful radiance scattered down through the world. Spirit Mountain seemed to be covered in ayer of translucent film. Then, the shamans vanished right before the group¡¯s eyes.

    When the light passed, Spirit Mountain was still in front of them, and the nts weren¡¯t too different from before, but Zu An knew that it was no longer the Spirit Mountain from before. The abundant ki had grown sparse, and it no longer felt too different from the ordinary mountain in his previous world. He couldn''t sense the many mysterious, hidden auras across Spirit Mountain anymore.

    It wasn¡¯t just Spirit Mountain; the rest of thend had changedpletely too. For example, the Weak Water was no longer boundless, and had instead turned into an ordinary, broad river.

    Zu An was rmed. This ce clearly looked the same from the outside, but it waspletely different in essence. It was like the difference between the real world and an illusory world.

 Chapter 1453: Fading Away

    Chapter 1453: Fading Away

    ¡°Since we already let him go, it¡¯s already useless to talk about these things,¡± Yun Jianyue said as she looked toward the distant Treasure Mountain. ¡°Should we head over and take a look?¡±

    The others naturally knew what she was talking about.

    Zu An said, ¡°The path between heaven and earth has beenpletely severed. This Spirit Mountain is no longer the same as it was before. There¡¯s probably no immortal medicine left to find anymore, right?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right. Spirit Mountain¡¯s Ten Shamans said that the immortal medicine went missing after Gu schemed against Bao Jiang,¡± Yan Xuehen said.

    ¡°Tsk, they might have just been hiding it on purpose. Besides, there are always miraculous herbs and nts wherever immortal medicine is. Even if the ki has disappeared, there might be something left behind. If we find even a few stalks, it¡¯ll be worth our time anyway.¡± Yun Jianyue didn¡¯t feel like exining herself further after saying that. She kicked off the ground, then quickly shot toward Mount Precious.

    The others were also a bit tempted. With Yun Jianyue leading the way, they quickly followed. However, they found Yun Jianyue with an expression full of disappointment. Even though there were some spiritual herbs remaining, for people like her and Yan Xuehen who were the sect masters of huge forces, they weren¡¯t of much value.

    ¡°Looks like this world really has changed,¡± Zu An said quietly. He had already suspected that would be the case.

    Then, he looked up at the elegant peak, Mount Goddess, and said, ¡°Let¡¯s take a look over there.¡±

    Previously, Spirit Mountain¡¯s Ten Shamans had mentioned that the me Emperor¡¯s third daughter Yao Ji lived there. Furthermore, when he fired the Sun ying Bow, he had sensed a peculiar aura that was watching everything from Mount Goddess.

    ¡°I¡¯m guessing you just want to go because you heard there was a beauty over there, right?¡± Yan Xuehen asked, unable to help but shoot him a pointed look.

    Yun Jianyue chuckled and added, ¡°I agree with this stone cold woman this time!¡±

    Yu Yanluo gave Yan Xuehen a look. Shouldn¡¯t I be the one to say that?

    Sigh, these two big sisters are getting closer and closer to Ah Zu.

    Even though that was what the two of them said, they still went over to look around Mount Goddess. Unfortunately, even though the mountain peak remained, the goddess was gone without a trace.

    ¡°So this was what Spirit Mountain¡¯s Ten Shamans meant when they said that heaven and earth have already been separated,¡± Yan Xuehen said with a long sigh. She finally understood why, after so many years, there hadn¡¯t been a single cultivator who could ascend to immortality despite there being so many geniuses.

    Yun Jianyue was a bit more optimistic, saying, ¡°At the very least, we know that this world does have immortals. It¡¯s not just an abstract concept like before.¡±

    Yan Xuehen also felt a bit inspired, replying, ¡°You¡¯re right!¡±

    Just that alone made the trip into the Unknown Region worth it.

    Zu An¡¯s expression suddenly changed. He blurted out, ¡°Wait, if these deity-like beings have all disappeared, what about Shun?¡±

    The women felt a weight fall on their minds. The Puppet Curse Zu An had been afflicted with hadn¡¯t been resolved yet! If Shun had disappeared along with Spirit Mountain¡¯s Ten Shamans, what were they supposed to do then?

    As such, the group couldn''t hold back their curiosity and rushed toward Jiuyi Mountain. Even though they were all extremely exhausted, they still didn¡¯t dare to dy. Zu An stepped on the Wind Fire Wheels and flew through the air while holding the three women¡¯s hands. After experiencing so much together, they were already used to such a level of physical touch and didn¡¯t say anything.

    Now that the paths between heaven and earth had been cut, many of the unusual phenomena they experienced had also disappeared. Even the terrifying monsters and powerful cultivators had disappeared.

    The world had be much more normal. They passed through Bluefield Pond, the Ferocious Water, the Field of Longevity, Dongting Lake, Mulberry Forest, the Weak Water, and other such ces, but it wasn¡¯t as difficult as before.

    They quickly arrived south of Jiuyi Mountain,nding in front of Shun¡¯s tomb.

    Before they could say anything, an indistinct figure quickly appeared and said, ¡°You did not disappoint me after all. Not only did youplete Yi¡¯s heroic path, you also obtained the approval of the divine weapon.¡±

    Zu An sighed in relief when he saw that Shun was still there. He asked, ¡°Was the divine weapon you were talking about this Sun ying Bow?¡±

    ¡°Indeed,¡± the voice said, sounding somewhat distant. It wasn¡¯t as steady as before.

    ¡°But this Sun ying Bow was clearly in the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s hands! He¡¯s also in this world, so how can there be two Sun ying Bows?¡± Zu An asked.

    He had previously mentioned that he was captured by the Fiend Emperor and his son, and that the Puppet Curse he had was also from the Fiend Emperor. As for the Sun ying Bow, he had seen the Golden Crow Crown Prince use it with his own eyes. Even though there were some small differences, it was definitely the same weapon. Of course, the biggest difference was that the white arrows seemed to bepletely different. They were far more powerful.

    ¡°Who says there are two that can coexist?¡± Shun replied with a chuckle. ¡°With your current cultivation realm, it is difficult for me to exin the reason through words. One day, you will understand yourself.¡±

    Zu An silently cursed, but Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue had pensive expressions. Shun¡¯s words had brought them a bit of enlightenment, but it was hard for them to grasp exactly what it was.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Yu Yanluo quickly said, ¡°We¡¯ve alreadypleted Yi¡¯s heroic path ording to our agreement and obtained the divine weapon¡¯s acknowledgment. Now, you should hold up your end of the deal and undo his Puppet Curse, right?¡±

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue also quickly looked at Shun. Yan Xuehen in particr felt guilty. She wasn¡¯t as attentive toward Zu An as Yu Yanluo. However, she quickly realized that he wasn¡¯t even her man, so why did she have to be so caring?!

    ¡°I cannot help him undo the curse in my current state,¡± Shun said with a sigh.

    Zu An¡¯s brows raised. He drew the Sun ying Bow and aimed it at Shun, asking, ¡°Could it be that you want a taste of this divine weapon¡¯s power? I just happen to have one arrow left.¡±

    Even though Shun¡¯s status in ancient times was great and his power matched his status, he had already been dead for so many years, and Zu An had just shot down nine suns. Why would Zu An be scared of him?

    The figure froze briefly, but then quickly chuckled and said, ¡°As expected, afterpleting the heroic path, you have be much more courageous. However, there is no need for you to threaten me. I cannot exist for much longer, in any case.¡±

    Zu An then realized that was true. Shun¡¯s voice and figure were much fainter than before, as if he could dissipate at any time.

    ¡°The separation of heaven and earth has affected me. Even without it, however, I would not have been able to continue existing forever,¡± the voice said wryly. Then, he said to the others, ¡°You do not need to feel so rmed. Even though I cannot personally help you remove the Puppet Curse, I know someone who can.¡±

    ¡°You want to fool me into doing something else for you?¡± Zu An sneered. Doing so much work for nothing really wasn¡¯t a great feeling.

    ¡°You are worrying unnecessarily. You do not need to help me do anything,¡± the hazy Shun said.

    ¡°What about when you said we had to defeat Yu before?¡± Yun Jianyue asked vigntly. Shun had clearly said that they had to use the divine weapon to defeat Yu, and yet now, he was not even mentioning it anymore. She felt that something was strange.

    ¡°As you have already obtained the Sun ying Bow, there is no need to worry about the rest. You will understandter. Alright, it is time for me to enter eternal rest,¡± Shun said. He gradually disappeared, only leaving behind onest long and drawn-out sentence. ¡°Head to a ce called Nanchao. There is someone there who can help you with your Puppet Curse.¡±

    Zu An frowned. Nanchao? Why does this name sound a bit familiar?

 Chapter 1454: Exactly the Same

    Chapter 1454: Exactly the Same

    ¡°Where is Nanchao?¡± Zu An tried to ask, but Shun had already disappeared without a trace. He and the others were speechless for a moment.

    ¡°Hurry and take a look. There seems to be a map here,¡± Yan Xuehen called out after a while. It turned out she had already gone inside and looked around the old tomb.

    Zu An¡¯s group quickly followed her in. As an emperor, Shun¡¯s tomb should have been extremelyrge. However, when they went inside, they only saw an ordinary throne room. There were many burial objects inside, but unfortunately, they had already all decayed under the ravages of time.

    Yan Xuehen was by the coffin. There was no corpse inside, as if Shun had never existed. Zu An even wondered whether that guy hadn¡¯t actually died.

    Meanwhile, Yan Xuehen was staring at a diagram on the surface of the coffin. Compared to the other items in the throne room that seemed to have been eroded by time, the simple and crude drawing looked quite new, as if it had been drawn not too long ago.

    There were some characters the three women didn¡¯t recognize. However, Zu An knew they were ancient names. He read them out. He had never heard of some of them before; others, he had. They were likely the locations of ces in this world.

    Furthermore, there was an area that had been circled, and in it were written the characters for ¡®Nanchao¡¯.

    When she heard ¡®Nanchao¡¯, Yan Xuehen said, ¡°This map was probably drawn by Shun not too long ago. After the world changed, he might have been worried that he would notst until we could find him and left behind these clues. They indeed turned out to be useful after all.¡±

    Yu Yanluo sighed in relief when she heard that there was hope of undoing Zu An¡¯s Puppet Curse. A faint smile appeared on her beautiful face as she said, ¡°It seems this Shun can be considered a good person after all.¡±

    ¡°What good person?¡± Yun Jianyue sneered. ¡°That guy didn¡¯t even do what he promised us. What about the immortal medicine? He didn¡¯t say a thing. With Little An¡¯s Puppet Curse, he even made us run around some more. We don¡¯t even know if it can be fixed.¡±

    The others felt a bit dejected. The possibility of that was indeed substantial.

    However, Zu An was more optimistic. He replied, ¡°Haha, at least we have some clues, right? Besides, we¡¯ve obtained quite a bit of information regarding the immortal medicine. But now that heaven and earth have be separated, the immortal medicine has nothing to do with us anymore. There¡¯s no need to think too much about it.¡±

    Seeing that he wasn¡¯t discouraged, Yun Jianyue sighed in relief, saying, ¡°That makes sense.¡±

    Then, they set out again, seeking out Nanchao ording to the instructions on the map. Along the way, the women talked about the ¡®paths of heaven and earth¡¯ issue.

    Yun Jianyue said, ¡°At first, I thought that the paths of heaven and earth were tangible roads, but from the situation we witnessed in Spirit Mountain and our experiences, that doesn¡¯t seem to be the case.¡±

    ¡°I feel as if the world instantly split onto two¡­¡± Yan Xuehen added. She began to discuss all sorts of possibilities with Yun Jianyue.

    Yu Yanluo continued to nod with a smile. She had been able to understand what they were saying at first, but eventually, their conversation grew more and more profound. She could only pretend to understand. She really didn¡¯t know what they were talking about at all, which left her bewildered.

    Meanwhile, Zu An used some theories from the movies and games in his previous world topare notes with them. Sure enough, the beauties were incredibly shocked, feeling that his descriptions were quite fitting. They felt even more admiration toward him.

    Even though this guy is a bit perverted and acts a bit shameless, I didn¡¯t expect his knowledge to be so extraordinary¡­

    Zu An sighed inwardly. No wonder the emperors of his previous world all loved to call themselves sons of heaven. He had felt that it was nothing more than feudalistic superstition, something they used so that monarchical power had a greater hold on the people. Now, it seemed they hadn¡¯t been lying.

    Whether it was the White Emperor faction¡¯s Yao or the ck Emperor¡¯s Shun and Yu, they were indeed the descendants of a Celestial Emperor in the mortal world. The emperors of Xia, Shang, Zhou, and even Qin could more or less have their lineage traced back to those bloodlines. That was why calling themselves sons of heaven wasn¡¯t a problem at all. The emperors who followed had naturally continued using that title too.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡­

    Just like that, the group followed the map and found Nanchao. It was covered in mountains andkes, and of verdant hills and limpid waters. The group wandered leisurely through the ce for half a day, but they didn¡¯t find anything.

    ¡°What was Shun talking about? Are we supposed to find some kind of treasure in Nanchao? Or is it some monster that can help us undo the Puppet Curse?¡± Yun Jianyue remarked impatiently. Yan Xuehen and Yu Yanluo were also confused. They didn¡¯t have any ideas either.

    However, Zu An thought of something. He remembered where he had heard the name before. As such, he summoned Mo Xi. Wasn¡¯t one of her skills named ¡®Farewell, Nanchao¡¯?

    A wild, tan-skinned beauty dressed in leather appeared. Her exposed abdominal muscles, as well as her long and healthy legs, left even the other three beauties amazed.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s heart began beating crazily. Why had Zu An suddenly summoned Mo Xi? Previously, in order to deal with Love Is More Solid than Gold, Zu An had shown her the summoned woman before.

    Yun Jianyue wasn¡¯t all that surprised, as she had seen Daji previously. She thought, This guy really is a pervert. Even his summoned creatures are such stunning beauties. Sigh, I really am feeling worried for my silly disciple¡¯s future.

    Yu Yanluo and Zu An were closer, so she naturally wasn¡¯t that shocked. She was just curious as to why he had suddenly summoned her.

    Zu An didn¡¯t exin anything, though. Instead, he stared at Mo Xi.

    Mo Xi was a bit stunned at first, but when she saw her surroundings, she subconsciously tilted her head to one side, looking confused. She seemed to have recalled something. Then, without evenmunicating anything, she walked toward a specific part of the mountain.

    ¡°Follow her!¡± Zu An called out, waving at the three women to quietly follow her.

    Mo Xi walked slowly at first, but eventually, she began moving faster and faster. She leaped through the forest like a beautiful leopard. Fortunately, Zu An and the others had recovered quite a bit along the way, so they weren¡¯t left behind. Just like that, the group followed her through several twists and turns in the forest.

    Suddenly, the view opened up, revealing a valley filled with birdsong and fragrant flowers. They sighed in amazement. The ki within was almost on par with the time before the path of heaven and earth had been severed.

    Strange sounds came from behind them. They sounded a bit unpleasant, but not to the point that they were extremely shrill and irritating. There even seemed to be a bit of rhythm behind them.

    ¡°This is?¡± Yun Jianyue eximed. She felt that the sound was a bit familiar, but she just couldn''t ce what it was. Yu Yanluo and Yan Xuehen clearly shared simr thoughts. They had confused expressions.

    ¡°It¡¯s the sound of silk being torn,¡± Zu An said. He looked in the direction of Mo Xi, thinking, Is it really as I suspected?

    Soon afterward, Mo Xi entered the valley. In it was a pavilion with rainbow silk draped all around it. It was as if they had entered a cloth dyeing store. Meanwhile, at the center of the pavilion was an exceptional beauty.

    With their cultivation, the group quickly saw what the woman was doing. She was tearing up silk right next to her ear. As she listened to the tearing sound, a hint of joy appeared on her face. There wererge amounts of cloth fragments scattered around her.

    The three women thought, This woman must have gone mad. She¡¯s ripping up silk for fun? Who in their right mind would do something like this?

    However, their bodies suddenly stiffened. A chill ran down their backs as they finally recognized the woman¡¯s appearance.

    She was actually the same as Zu An¡¯s Mo Xi!

 Chapter 1455: Body and Soul Reunited

    Chapter 1455: Body and Soul Reunited

    The way the woman was dressed gave off a wild and unruly aesthetic. The cloth bound around her chest only made it seem more impressive, and her waist wasn¡¯t as soft-looking and weak as that of other women; instead, she appeared full of explosive strength. Between that and her firm bottom and long legs, the feeling she gave off was of vigor and liveliness. However, her appearance wasn¡¯t boorish; rather, she looked extremely beautiful. Despite her valiant and formidable outward appearance, she also had a charming side.

    Yu Yanluo and the other women¡¯s shock came from the fact that the beautiful woman was actually exactly the same as the Mo Xi Zu An had summoned! Their eyes wandered between her and Mo Xi, before they finally realized that there was indeed a difference. The expression in Mo Xi¡¯s eyes was a bit sluggish and distant, while this woman¡¯s gaze was extremely intelligent, and even a bit¡­ flirtatious.

    The woman eventually noticed the group as well. She called out with a sneer, ¡°Who dares disturb me in my elegant state of mind?¡±

    Her voice was somewhat coquettish, and yet also had a capable and experienced air to it. It matched her outward appearance well.

    ¡°Elegant state of mind?¡± Yu Yanluo and the other women repeated with strange expressions. Do you mean tearing silk? What kind of strange hobby is that?

    Even someone as wealthy as Yu Yanluo frowned when she saw the other woman tear up precious silk like that. It was just too much of a waste.

    The woman reached out with a hand, and the surrounding silk all flew off to one side so it didn¡¯t block her field of view. She was about to say something when she suddenly saw Mo Xi on the other side, leaving her stunned.

    Zu An cried out bitterly inside and quickly recalled Mo Xi.

    However, that woman had already seen her. Her brows shot up and she eximed, ¡°How daring! You dare create a puppet like that? Are you from the Shaman n or the Ghost n?¡±

    Zu An shivered. Do both of those ns have puppet-creation methods? However, he didn¡¯t have time to think about those things anymore, as countless silksshed out to attack him.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The three women were shocked. The other woman was extremely beautiful, and yet in that instant, the power she had disyed actually reached the earth immortal level! Were earth immortals nothing more than dogs here?

    Of course, they knew it was because they were inside an Unknown Region. After all, they had even seen deities, so there was no point in getting all startled over the appearance of an earth immortal.

    Zu An quickly moved out of the way. However, the silk seemed to have grown eyes, cutting off any potential avenue of escape. In an instant, his limbs were wrapped in silk, and his body was suspended in midair like a ´ó character.

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡± The three women cried out in rm and quickly rushed forward to help him.

    Suddenly, a st of mes surged from Zu An¡¯s body, burning the silk to ashes and allowing him to escape.

    The woman¡¯s brows rose again. She was about to attack when Zu An quickly summoned Mo Xi again, eximing, ¡°She isn¡¯t a puppet I made, but rather someone I encountered! She¡¯s my friend!¡±

    The other woman frowned when she saw that, but she didn¡¯t attack again. However, Yan Xuehen and the others remained vignt, ready to fight together with Zu An at any time.

    The woman¡¯s figure flickered, and a secondter, she instantly reappeared next to Mo Xi, carefully examining her.

    Zu An thought to himself, As expected. Now, Mo Xi is meeting her real self.

    No wonder Shun had told him toe to Nanchao. It turned out Mo Xi was here! Her skill just happened to work for severing all sorts of contracts. The Fiend Emperor¡¯s Puppet Curse was naturally a kind of contract too.

    However, Mo Xi was from an age after Shun, so why didShun know of her existence? Could it be that it was because they were all in the same world, and Shun happened to see her while roaming around?

    Furthermore, he had read all sorts of science fiction novels in his previous world that said that two copies of the same person couldn¡¯t exist in the same world. If they met, there was a high chance that they would be destroyed. However, the two Mo Xis were staring at each other face to face, and yet nothing strange seemed to have happened!

    All sorts of thoughts filled his mind. Meanwhile, the other woman was also shocked to see someone who looked exactly the same as her. She had initially thought that it was a puppet, but upon closer observation, u didn¡¯t seem to be one. Weren¡¯t theypletely identical?

    ¡°Why doesn¡¯t she have a soul?¡± the woman asked. Her cultivation rank was extraordinary and she immediately noticed what was strange about Mo Xi.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know either. She was like this when I saw her,¡± Zu An replied. He thought for a bit before asking, ¡°Could it be that her soul is inside you?¡±

    The woman immediately erupted into rage, snapping, ¡°Damn brat, are you courting death?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Mo Xi for +444 +444 +444¡­

    When he saw the name, Zu An thought, It really was Mo Xi, as expected!

    ¡°Huh? I seem to be able to sense a sliver of a leftover soul inside her. It is indeed me¡­¡± the woman said with a frown. She reached out a hand and ced it on Mo Xi, as if she were trying to read her memories. Her expression immediately changed drastically. Then, she looked at Zu An with increased interest.

    Zu An didn¡¯t know what she had seen, but either way, he had never done anything bad to Mo Xi. He said, ¡°What I¡¯m saying is that she might be¡­ how you end up in the future. You might have encountered something that caused your soul to go missing, turning you into this.¡±

    The woman frowned. This time, she didn¡¯t say anything in response. She seemed to be thinking about just what kind of danger she could have encountered, for her to even lose her soul.

    Zu An suddenly realized the issue too. Why had Mo Xi been able to live for so long? Even Shun had vanished into nothing; and yet she was still here, and still so strong. She clearly wasn¡¯t an immortal!

    The woman waved her hand. Zu An felt as if a thread connected to him had been severed, and he lost his connection to Mo Xi. He was shocked and angry, eximing, ¡°What are you doing?!¡±

    ¡°Taking back my body, of course!¡± the woman replied, shooting him a cold look. ¡°Who knows what kind of despicable things you¡¯ll do if you keep her around you?¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    Yu Yanluo and Yun Jianyue wanted tough, but they didn¡¯t dare to. Zu An already had so many beauties around him. Losing one wasn¡¯t too big of a deal.

    However, Yan Xuehen panicked. This was rted to whether or not the ¡®Love Is More Solid than Gold¡¯ skill would be undone! If Zu An lost Mo Xi, didn¡¯t that mean she had no hope left?

    Zu An almost vomited blood. He really was losing a lot this time! Not only had he not obtained anything, he had even lost a valkyrie. Shun, that freaking bastard!

    He made up his mind to fight, but the woman gave him a look, as if she knew what he was thinking. She snapped, ¡°What, you want to fight?¡±

    Zu An finally became clear-headed again. Even if they worked together and used all of their trump cards, they could only barelye out ahead at best. They could even die here. There really was no need to go that far for just a valkyrie. Furthermore, now that his contract with Mo Xi had been cut, it would be useless even if he seized her back. He couldn''t tell her to do anything anymore.

    He could only say, ¡°Since you took something from me, please help me with something. I have a Puppet Curse ced on me, and also¡­¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s heart almost shot out of her chest. If Yun Jianyue and Yu Yanluo found out, wouldn¡¯t that beplete social suicide?

    Fortunately, the woman cut him off, saying, ¡°I¡¯m taking back my own body, so I don¡¯t owe you. Why should I help you?¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    When she saw Zu An¡¯s furious expression, the woman said, ¡°Fine, I guess you did help me, so I¡¯ll give you a chance. If you can help me find Yi Yin[1], I¡¯ll agree to help you.¡±

    Zu An was now really pissed. These guys kept ordering him around to do a bunch of things without upholding their ends of the promise! He was about to protest when he suddenly thought of something. Yi Yin?

    He couldn''t help but ask, ¡°Is Yi Yin still in this world?¡±

    ¡°That, I don¡¯t know. If I could find him, then why would I need your help?¡± the woman replied, then waved her hand to chase them out. ¡°I¡¯ve already told you the condition. Whether or not you want to do it is up to you.¡±

    After saying that, she becamepletely focused on studying Mo Xi. It was as if she were touching her own body. She looked somewhat moved, and even her hands were shaking a bit.

    Yun Jianyue secretly said to Zu An, ¡°Little An, that woman isn¡¯t a physical body, but rather a soul. She might very well be the soul that female servant of yours is missing.¡±

    Zu An was startled. This woman is just a soul?

    No wonder nothing strange had happened when she met Mo Xi. It was because they were the same person; one body, one soul! The woman¡¯s every action was too realistic, to the point where he couldn''t tell it at all. But now that they had interacted so closely, it couldn¡¯t escape the notice of a grandmaster like Yun Jianyue.

    1. He was a Chinese politician who served as a minister of the early Shang dynasty, one of the honored officials of the era. He helped Tang of Shang, the founder of the Shang dynasty, to defeat King Jie of Xia. ?

 Chapter 1456: Deliberate Misrepresentation

    Chapter 1456: Deliberate Misrepresentation

    Zu An felt excited. He had always been curious about where Daji, Mo Xi, and the other Valkyries¡¯ souls were. He had been wondering what he had to do toplete their souls, but had no idea where to even start looking.

    Now, he finally had a chance to repair Mo Xi¡¯s soul! However, Mo Xi had already severed her rtionship with him.

    Whether or not she bes whole again, it has nothing to do with me. Zu An felt his insides twitch when he thought of that. It really hurt too much.

    ¡°What do we do now? Should we work together to capture her?¡± Yun Jianyue asked. Even though she felt strangely happy to see it, suffering such a loss and just sucking it up wasn¡¯t her style. She already treated Zu An as one of her own, so she naturally felt the same as if it had happened to her.

    Yan Xuehen hesitated for a moment. After all, the current situation meant her Love Is More Solid than Gold would never be undone. However, whether or not it was undone didn¡¯t really make that big of a difference anymore. Either way¡­ Either way, I¡¯ll just return to White Jade Sect and never meet him again¡­

    Zu An remained silent for a moment. He then shook his head slightly and said, ¡°Her cultivation is too high. Even if we subdue her, I have no way of making her listen and undo our contracts.¡±

    ¡°Our?¡± Yu Yanluo was stunned. Is there someone else in our group who was affected by a curse?

    When he saw Yan Xuehen¡¯s death re, Zu An quickly yawned to hide his guilty expression before saying, ¡°Let¡¯s think of a way to find that Yi Yin guy first.¡±

    Sure enough, Yu Yanluo¡¯s attention was diverted. She asked, ¡°We don¡¯t even know who Yi Yin is. Where would we go to find him?¡±

    ¡°I actually know a bit about Yi Yin¡­¡± Zu An began. As the group left the valley, he told the others what he knew about Yi Yin. ¡°Mo Xi is an empress from thest period of an ancient civilization called the Xia Dynasty. When the Shang Dynasty reced the Xia Dynasty, Yi Yin was a minister who provided outstanding service¡­¡±

    Afterward, Zu An concluded, ¡°Unfortunately, I don¡¯t know where to find Yi Yin either.¡±

    The others frowned. Yu Yanluo couldn''t help but ask, ¡°Then what do we do about your Puppet Curse?¡±

    Zu An remained silent for a while. Then, killing intent flickered through his eyes and he said, ¡°As long as we can deal with the Fiend Emperor in this world, it won¡¯t matter.¡±

    After all, if the user was gone, the Puppet Curse would be meaningless as well.

    The three women were shocked. Their first reaction was to think his idea was outrageous, but after thinking about it, they felt that it made some kind of sense.

    After all, Zu An had even shot down the Golden Crow suns in the sky. Those suns and Xi He were countless times stronger than the Fiend Emperor. He had onest arrow bestowed by the Celestial Emperor left, so killing the Fiend Emperor wouldn¡¯t be a problem either.

    A strong smell of wine suddenly drifted through the air.

    ¡°Why is there wine here?¡± Yun Jianyue eximed, stunned.

    Zu An was delighted, saying, ¡°If there¡¯s wine, that means there¡¯s a home nearby. We should seek them out and ask them some questions, and see if there are any clues as to Yi Yin¡¯s whereabouts.¡±

    If not even Mo Xi knew where the other party was, there was an even smaller chance of anyone else knowing about Yi Yin. However, they had no chance but to give it a try. Thus, the group followed the source of the smell.

    Soon, a smallke appeared in front of them. There weren¡¯t any viges or the like nearby; they looked around for a long time before eventually confirming that the wine smell dide from the smallke.

    ¡°Is this entireke wine?¡± Zu An wondered, reaching out to touch a bit of the water in surprise.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Who is causing a racket and disturbing this noble¡¯s time of elegance?¡± a loud and clear voice called out, seemingly unhappy about being bothered.

    Only then did the group notice that there was someone lying down in the center of theke. He was covered by a giant lotus leaf, which was why they didn¡¯t notice him. He appeared to be a fatty with a round belly, resembling the big-bellied middle-aged men from Zu An¡¯s previous world. However, the man¡¯s body wasn¡¯t full of fat, but rather stout muscle.

    ¡°Noble?¡± Zu An repeated, stunned. That kind of address seemed¡­

    However, Yu Yanluo was more worried about his Puppet Curse, so she asked the man, ¡°This big brother over here, have you heard of Yi Yin before?¡±

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue sighed in amazement. Yu Yanluo¡¯s voice was really nice to listen to. Which man in this world could resist a question from her?

    ¡°Yi Yin?¡± The fatty who had been lying down quickly sat up. His gaze became fierce as he asked, ¡°Are you asking about Yi Yin?¡±

    Yu Yanluo was rmed. The man¡¯s reaction was strange! Still, she replied, ¡°Indeed. I wonder if big brother knows where we can go to find Yi Yin?¡±

    That fatty replied, ¡°That bastard Yi Yin who ruined this noble¡¯s entire country? How could I not know of him?¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression changed. She immediately realized she had asked the wrong person.

    The fatty sized up Yu Yanluo and the other girls. A look of greed shed through his eyes as he remarked, ¡°There were actually women this beautiful in this world? And not only one, but actually three of them? Haha, this noble¡¯s luck really is good. All of you can just stay behind and keep mepany!¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression turned cold and she snapped, ¡°You¡¯re courting death!¡± How could she stand this? Her Crescent Ring flew through the air toward the fatty¡¯s neck.

    The fatty harrumphed. With a wave of his hand, the surroundingke water surged, forming severalyers of water barriers. Even the incredibly sharp Crescent Ring bounced right off!

    The others¡¯ expressions changed and they eximed, ¡°Earth immortal!¡±

    The fatty walked across theke''s surface, his heavy body not sinking in at all. He said, ¡°This noble has already remained here alone for so many years. The heavens must have felt pity for me, and thus sent me three great beauties!¡±

    Zu An quickly stood protectively in front of the three women, eximing, ¡°We have to run!¡±

    It hadn¡¯t been that long since all of them worked together to shoot down the suns, so they had used up quite a bit of their strength. Furthermore, even if they were at their peak, they wouldn¡¯t necessarily be able to win against an earth immortal unless they used the Sun ying Bow. Still, using it now would be too much of a waste.

    When he saw how close Zu An was to the three women, the fatty¡¯s expression darkened. He said, ¡°The beauties can stay, but there is no need for men.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Xia Jie for +444 +444 +444¡­

    Zu An was shocked and rmed when he saw that name.

    Since there was a Mo Xi, there naturally had to be a Xia Jie. Nanchao was precisely where those two people had been banished after the Shang Dynasty took over the Xia Dynasty. Theke was full of wine. Could that be proof that Xia Jie was an incapable ruler obsessed with drinks?

    While Zu An was stunned, several wine arrows surrounded by terrifying auras flew toward him. That power wasn¡¯t something he could contend against in his current state. Fortunately, he had the Blue Mard ability, so he resonated with the water element and quickly deflected the iing arrows.

    ¡°Interesting,¡± Xia Jie said in surprise. Then, he charged forth with a malicious smile.

    Zu An used Grandgale to move quickly. Yan Xuehen and the others had fled ahead of time; she couldn''t help but say, ¡°We cannot escape from an earth immortal! If we stay and fight, we might have a chance at survival.¡±

    With her experiences, she had naturally deduced that fleeing like this would only result in them getting chased down one by one. There wouldn¡¯t be any chance of survival. Why would Zu An make such an unwise decision?

    ¡°We¡¯ll head toward where Mo Xi is!¡± Zu An replied, already having a n in mind. He grabbed the three women and continued to use Grandgale to flee.

    Fortunately, they weren¡¯t too far away. Soon afterward, they returned to the valley. Mo Xi was dancing joyfully amid the silk as if she were celebrating something.

    When he saw that there was only a single Mo Xi now, Zu An became dejected. Could it be¡­

    ¡°Why did youe back so quickly? Could it be that you already found Yi Yin?¡± Mo Xi noticed the group and asked in confusion. Her current form was already much more stable than before. Her eyes were even more intelligent and beautiful.

    Zu An didn¡¯t have time to reply, as Xia Jie roared furiously from behind them. He hadn¡¯t expected to have almost let a few ants escape! Absolutely preposterous!

    You have sessfully trolled Xia Jie for +666 +666 +666¡­

    When she heard Xia Jie¡¯s voice, Mo Xi¡¯s face darkened. She asked, ¡°Why are you here?¡±

    The smoke and dust settled, quickly revealing Xia Jie. When he saw Mo Xi, he frowned, saying, ¡°I¡¯m not here for you. These fellows have offended me, so don¡¯t get in my way.¡±

    Mo Xi gave Zu An a look and said, ¡°Since you haven¡¯t found the one I¡¯m looking for, you have nothing to do with me.¡± She clearly didn¡¯t intend to offend Xia Jie because of Zu An¡¯s group.

    Yan Xuehen and the others felt a weight sink in their stomachs. So these two knew each other! Furthermore, Mo Xi had made it clear that she was only going to watch. That meant Ah Zu¡¯s tactics had failed!

    However, Zu An simply replied, ¡°Who said I didn¡¯t find him? Isn¡¯t he none other than Yi Yin?¡±

    After saying that, he pointed at Xia Jie, activating the skill ¡®Nickname Card[1]¡¯, changing his name to Yi Yin!

    1. Item description: One-time use. Write down any person¡¯s name and a nickname on this card. The target¡¯s name will be temporarily changed to the nickname. ?

 Chapter 1457: Abandoning Oneâ€™s Benefactor Upon Achieving Oneâ€™s Goal

    Chapter 1457: Abandoning One¡¯s Benefactor Upon Achieving One¡¯s Goal

    The three women werepletely baffled. ording to what this fatty had said earlier, he clearly had a terrible grudge against Yi Yin. How could he possibly be Yi Yin?

    In moments, however, they began to feel that it made some sense. Indeed, this person was Yi Yin; it was as if they¡¯d known that for a long time.

    Mo Xi was also stunned. Previously, the look she had shot at Xia Jie was full of impatience, but afterward, her expression became conflicted. Eventually, it was reced with anger. She snapped, ¡°Yi Yin? I see you¡¯ve finally gathered the courage to visit me after so many years.¡±

    Zu An felt a bit nervous when he first saw her reaction. Why did it seem as though there was something between the two of them?

    He had thought of his move as very clever, and now he had even ended up wasting a precious ¡®Nickname Card¡¯... It was a one-time-use item that was gone once he used it. What if the two really did have something, though?

    However, when he saw the anger in Mo Xie¡¯s eyes, he felt relieved.

    Meanwhile, Xia Jie was stunned. He replied, ¡°What did you call me?¡±

    When he saw that reaction, Zu An realized that the Nickname Card only seemed to change the perception of those around the person, but it didn¡¯t change their own perception toward themselves.

    That made sense, however. If it could change everyone¡¯s perception, wouldn¡¯t the user be tricked too? A normal name was one thing, but if they used the name of and incredible beauty, the user wouldn¡¯t necessarily be able to resist the temptation to fall in love with the target¡­

    Zu An felt a chill run down his back when he thought of that.

    Mo Xi¡¯s eyebrow twitched as she eximed, ¡°Oh? As expected of a heartless rat. After all this time, you actually forgot about me already!¡±

    Yu Yanluo and the other women were immediately stunned. They looked at Zu An, asking, ¡°They¡­ are lovers?¡±

    Zu An made a ¡®shush¡¯ gesture and pulled them to one side, then secretly watched the drama y out.

    ¡°Heartless rat?¡± Xia Jie replied, stunned. Then, he realized what had happened and stamped with fury, continuing, ¡°I see, I see. No wonder everything seemed to be going perfectly for the Shang Dynasty. So you were colluding with Yi Yin!¡±

    Zu An observed a moment of silence for Xia Jie. From the looks of it, Mo Xi had nted an entire green field[1] on top of his head.

    Mo Xi frowned, clearly confused by his reaction. She replied, ¡°You¡¯re actually describing our rtionship like that? No wonder you abandoned your benefactor as soon as you got what you wanted!¡±

    ¡°Our rtionship?¡± Xia Jie repeated. He was so angry heughed. ¡°You still have the nerve to mention our rtionship?¡±

    Zu An had a strange expression. I¡¯m really amazed that even though these two are talking aboutpletely different things, they can still have a conversation¡­

    Mo Xi suddenly sighed when she saw that reaction, saying, ¡°I understand now. No wonder you had such ingratitude towards your friend back then. You knew I was using you.¡±

    ¡°Using me?¡± Xia Jie repeated with a frown. ¡°How did you use me?¡±

    Mo Xi replied, ¡°Back then, when Xia Jie invaded the Shi State, my nsmen struggled frantically to resist, but the difference in strength was too great. The Shi State suffered defeat after defeat. In order to save the country, as the Shi State¡¯s princess, I had no choice but to sacrifice myself, using my own happiness in exchange for the survival of my country.

    ¡°Even though Xia Jie treated me quite well, I knew it was only out of a desire for my beauty. It wasn¡¯t because he truly liked me as a person.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but look at Xia Jie now. Sure enough, the man¡¯s face continued to twitch with fury. However, he wanted to hear the following words too, so he held it all in without saying anything.

    Mo Xie continued, ¡°I endured all those years of humiliation, but I¡¯ve never forgotten about revenge. However, I was only a single person, so my strength was limited. At least, until I met you in Luoshui.

    ¡°Back then, my seduction skills were already perfected, so charming a young man like you wasn¡¯t too difficult at all. Later, because of our difference in status, you had no choice but to flee. Still, I was able to contact Cheng Tang through you.¡±

    Cheng Tang was none other than the founding monarch of the Shang Dynasty, the one who had overthrown the Xia Dynasty. Zu An had heard about that from his time in the Yinxu dungeon. However, he hadn¡¯t known that Mo Xi was actually a part of it too.

    ¡°We stayed in touch over the years. In the end, we finally overthrew Xia Jie, hahaha!¡± Mo Xi eximed, a hint of hatred shing through her eyes. It was clear that she still carried a grudge about what had happened to her country.

    Xia Jie couldn''t hold it in anymore. His veins began to pop as he screamed, ¡°A whore! You¡¯re an absolute whore!¡±

    Mo Xi gave him a look and replied, ¡°I didn¡¯t understand why you would abandon your benefactor. After I helped Cheng Tang destroy the Xia Dynasty and built the Shang Dynasty, why didn¡¯t he restore my reputation, and banished me and Xia Jie to Nanchao instead? Now, I finally understand. You probably already knew I was using you from the very start.¡±

    Xia Jie spat furiously, ¡°You vile woman, you didn¡¯t choose to live properly as an empress and instead chose to bite the hand that fed you. In the end, you were even yed. Howughable you are!¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Mo Xi¡¯s expression darkened and she said, ¡°I did indeed use you back then, but I didn¡¯t cause you any losses. It was just an exchange of interests. I didn¡¯t even try to settle things with you and you¡¯re already cursing me?¡±

    ¡°Cursing you? This noble wants to kill you, you damn whore!¡± Xia Jie eximed. He couldn¡¯t restrain himself, and charged with incredible ferocity.

    ¡°Noble?¡± Mo Xi repeated, stunned. However, she didn¡¯t have time to think about it further. She spat, ¡°I was about to settle things with you too!¡±

    With a wave of Mo Xi¡¯s hand, countless silken cloths rushed at Xia Jie from all directions like shattered butterflies. However, she naturally knew that wouldn¡¯t be enough to stop her opponent. A spear suddenly appeared in her hand, rushing forth like a silver dragon as it struck at Xia Jie¡¯s various vitals.

    Yan Xuehen and the other women were incredibly shocked. Mo Xie¡¯s spear arts danced around ferociously and powerfully. It was hard to believe that such a beautiful woman was using a spear in such a manner. Most importantly, her spear wasn¡¯t purely hot-headed and reckless; it was also exquisite. Even they were able to gain a lot of benefits from watching her.

    Zu An remembered how, when he pulled Mo Xi, she had already known a spear skill. Back then, she had been able to disy them as well, but because the grade of her skill was low, it hadn¡¯t left too much of an impression. Now that he was seeing the real deal using theplete set of spear arts, he waspletely dazzled.

    Zu An thought about the me-tipped spear he used. His own crude way of wielding it really seemed like an amateurish disypared to Mo Xi¡¯s spearmanship.

    In an instant, Xia Jie and Mo Xi exchanged countless moves. Suddenly, Xia Jie released a roar. He decided not to retreat anymore, his entire body swelling like a balloon. He had been fairly chubby to begin with; now, he became even rounder. He simply let the spear strike his neck.

    Mo Xi frowned as she discovered that her spear couldn''t press forward by even half an inch. She snorted. With a flick of her wrist, the spear quickly spun, shooting forward like a powerful drill.

    Just then, a nasty grin appeared on Xia Jie¡¯s face. He took a step forward, and the spear immediately curved like a huge bow. Then, a secondter, it shattered into countless pieces with a brittle crack. Xia Jie took the chance to approach, trying to grab his opponent. His size alone seemed to be enough to strangle Mo Xi to death.

    However, Mo Xi flipped around. Her waist was like a willow branch blown by the wind, barely avoiding the grab.

    A voice suddenly called out, ¡°Take this spear!¡±

    When Zu An realized that Mo Xie was a bit weaker than Xia Jie, he knew he had to help her, and threw over his weapon. Mo Xi reached out and grabbed it. She noticed that it was a spear with a ming tip, of far better quality than the one she had used before.

    Mo Xi spun her new spear around a few times. The power of her moves increased greatly, just enough to fend off the pursuing Xia Jie. She gave Zu An a look, strangely feeling a bit closer to him. She frowned. It was almost as if the feeling came from her body itself.

    Xia Jie suddenly looked at Zu An and spat, ¡°Damn brat, just who are you? Why are you helping her?¡±

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯m her master, if I don¡¯t help her, am I supposed to help a big meatball like you?¡±

    Both Xia Jie and Mo Xi erupted into fury.

    You have sessfully trolled Xia Jie for +444 +444 +444¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Mo Xi for +444 +444 +444¡­

    1. Green = cuckold. ?

 Chapter 1458: I Wouldnâ€™t Mind Being Called Master

    Chapter 1458: I Wouldn¡¯t Mind Being Called Master

    Mo Xi knew Zu An was talking about the puppet from before. However, now that they had merged into one, they were already one person. This kid really is outrageous. He actually dares to im to be my master?!

    Meanwhile, Xia Jie was thinking, This noble¡¯s wife became your servant?

    Absolutely preposterous!

    As such, they both stopped fighting at the same time and rushed at Zu An, looking as if they were about to tear him to shreds.

    However, both of them stopped again because a red bow suddenly appeared in his hands. It swirled with an aura that made their hearts shudder. It was an air of world-destroying power. Not too long before, they had sensed that the suns fell from the heavens precisely because of that same power.

    Great one, we¡¯re sorry for disturbing you!

    It just so happened that the two both backed up at the same time.

    Zu An also broke out into a cold sweat. He really had been dancing around the gates of hell for the sake of some Rage points!

    ¡°We share no grudges with you two. Let¡¯s just mind our own business,¡± Zu An said. He gestured toward Yun Jianyue and the other women, and they slowly withdrew into the distance. It was clear that Xia Jie and Mo Xi wouldn¡¯t necessarily fight against each other if the group remained present.

    When they withdrew to a hidden ce some distance away, Yan Xuehen quietly asked, ¡°Will they continue fighting?¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    After all, now that the two had seen that Zu An had something that could threaten them, they wouldn¡¯t necessarily decide to fight to the death. If they hadn¡¯tpletely lost their minds, they had to know that they couldn''t put themselves in a situation where a third party could take everything from them.

    Zu An said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. They share several millennia of hatred. Furthermore, with the matter of Yi Yin in the mix, it won¡¯t be that easy for them to remain rational.¡±

    Sure enough, they saw that Xia Jie and Mo Xi seemed to have exchanged a few more arguments, then began to fight again.

    Yu Yanluo was a bit worried, saying, ¡°That Mo Xi seems to be a bit weaker than Xia Jie.¡±

    Naturally, they preferred to side with Mo Xi.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Mo Xi is indeed weaker than Xia Jie, but Xia Jie is merely a soul right now. His real strength isn¡¯t as great as when he was at his strongest. Meanwhile, Mo Xi has just found her flesh body. There¡¯s also that spear a certain someone gave her for free; the mes on it seem to have a natural restrictive effect on soul bodies. It¡¯ll be hard to say whoes out on top as the battle continues,¡± Yun Jianyue said, giving Zu An an ambiguous smile. ¡°Little An, you seem to give out heaven-grade weapons whenever you meet a pretty woman. You really do invest a lot into your girl-chasing!¡±

    Yan Xuehen began to panic, saying, ¡°Nonsense, I am his¡­ senior. How could something he gave me be like what he gave someone else?¡± The Primal Skysilk felt as if it were burning around her waist as she spoke. She could even feel heating from it, even though it clearly wasn¡¯t hot.

    ¡°Senior?¡± Zu An replied, looking at her with an ambiguous smile. Were there any seniors who were willing to be their juniors¡¯ sheaths?

    Yun Jianyue sneered, saying, ¡°If it weren¡¯t because you were pretty, do you really think he¡¯d give you anything?¡±

    Yu Yanluo nodded in agreement. Ah Zu was really good in many areas, but¡­ He was a bit too fickle in love.

    Yan Xuehen was starting to panic. She quickly changed the topic, saying, ¡°Stop getting distracted! Have you noticed that this ¡®Yi Yin¡¯ seems to be good with all kinds of weapons? There have been several times when Mo Xi¡¯s spear was clearly about to injure him, and yet was deflected by some kind of mysterious power.¡±

    Because of the Nickname Card, she thought Xia Jie was Yi Yin. Yun Jianyue nodded and said, ¡°You¡¯re right. I noticed that earlier as well. This fatty looks clumsy, but in reality, he seems to be proficient with any weapon. Whether it¡¯s flowers, nts, trees, or even the silk around him, in addition to the stones on the ground, he can use them ingeniously.¡±

    When one¡¯s cultivation reached a high enough level, even flowers and leaves could be fatal weapons. However, that usually referred to a situation where there was a big disparity in cultivation. If both sides¡¯ strength was simr and one used flowers or leaves to attack, not only would it not do much, it would just exhaust their energy for no reason.

    And yet, Xia Jie was different. Every ordinary article in his possession seemed to be a true weapon, and their strength was always maximized.

    After fighting for a while, Mo Xi began to struggle greatly. Suddenly, one of her openings ended up being exploited, as Xia Jie used a rock behind her to strike her in the middle of her back.

    Pfft!

    Mo Xi felt as if she had been hit by a heavy mallet. A mouthful of blood spurted out from her mouth. More importantly, her body staggered forward from the inertia.

    A malicious grin shed across Xia Jie¡¯s face. He rushed over to take her life! He already hated this woman bitterly. He had doted on her so much, and yet she had harbored evil intentions and overthrown his entire country!

    That was one thing, though; he could understand to a certain degree, as those were grudges rted to family and country. However, this slut had seduced another man! Who knew how many shameful things she had done?! As the ruler of a country, how could he tolerate that?

    A hint of despair flickered across Mo Xi¡¯s face. She hadn¡¯t expected to die so soon after retrieving her body. She hadn¡¯t even had much time to feel happy about that.

    However, she was no pushover either. She gritted her teeth and brandished her spear at Xia Jie¡¯s vitals. Even if she was going to die, she had to make him pay the price.

    Xia Jie sneered when he saw that. He had enough of an opportunity to avoid the deadly strike even after killing Mo Xie. This woman is as vicious as expected. She wants to drag me down with her even when she knows she¡¯s going to die.

    He was just about to end Mo Xie when he suddenly heard an irritating voice call out, ¡°Whatcha lookin¡¯ at?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m looking at you, shithead!¡± Xia Jie subconsciously replied, unable to resist the urge. Then, his entire body stiffened, because he felt fear from his very soul. It was just like before; it was the power that had shot down the suns.

    At that instant, Mo Xi¡¯s me-tipped spear struck between Xia Jie¡¯s brows. The mes instantly devoured his entire body, greedily swallowing up his soul.

    ¡°Ahhhh!¡± Xia Jie screamed miserably. He mmed a fist into Mo Xi¡¯s body, and she flew far into the distance like a broken sack.

    However, he staggered and struggled in ce, the me-tipped spear still embedded in his head. His body began to expand and contract rapidly. Then, with a loud boom, he exploded with a great ripple of power. The surrounding forest waspletely destroyed, leaving a football stadium-sized crater where Xia Jie had been standing.

    The distant Zu An and the others were forced back by that great power. They were horrified. Was this the power of an earth immortal¡¯s death? If even they had been affected even while being so far away, what of Mo Xi, who had been at the center?

    Mo Xi had already been struggling to avoid it, but the st erupted so quickly that it waspletely impossible to dodge. The tremendous wave of power sent her into the air like a kite with its string cut.

    Zu An quickly rushed forward to catch her.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s lips curled when she saw that, and she remarked, ¡°Look at this guy. It¡¯s always in these kinds of situations that he runs the fastest. Are you going to twirl a few times with her in your arms before youe down?¡±

    Yan Xuehen and Yu Yanluo almost burst outughing. They really felt the meaning behind those words.

    Zu An naturally wasn¡¯t in such a carefree mood that he would chase after Mo Xi, though. He was just worried that his valkyrie would die here. That would be too huge of a loss!

    He noticed that Mo Xi¡¯s entire body was covered in injuries, and her aura was also incredibly weak, as if she would breathe herst at any moment. He quickly took out several herbs to treat her, but her body seemed to be special. There was no reaction to the medicine at all.

    He was startled. Next, he fished out a handful of Ki Fruits and tossed them into Mo Xi¡¯s mouth. Sure enough, the Ki Fruits melted into her mouth as soon as she took them. A hint of rosiness quickly returned to her deathly pale face. That way, Zu An quickly helped her to recover by transferring energy.

    A whileter, Mo Xi groaned and gradually woke up. She couldn''t help but feel stunned when she saw Zu An. She gradually remembered the earlier events, and eventually said, ¡°Thank you!¡±

    ¡°How do you feel now?¡± Yan Xuehen asked as she and the other women moved over. They naturally didn¡¯t want anything to happen to Mo Xi, because Zu An still had the Puppet Curse that needed her help to resolve.

    ¡°Not good at all,¡± Mo Xi said weakly. ¡°That guy wanted to drag me down with him and has caused my soul serious damage. I might have to sleep for a long time before I recover.¡±

    Zu An felt regret. If he had known it would be like that, he would have stepped in earlier. However, if he had gotten involved too early, Mo Xi and Xia Jie wouldn¡¯t necessarily have started fighting.

    Suddenly, Mo Xi pressed her finger against Zu An¡¯s forehead. A strand of golden light flickered.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± the women eximed, sounding shocked and angry. They hadn¡¯t expected her to suddenly attack at this time.

    Mo Xi said calmly, ¡°I¡¯m merely fulfilling my agreement with him. My soul is going to sleep. If no one takes care of this body, it will be dangerous. In the end, I can only entrust it to him.¡±

    Now that her soul and flesh were one, she knew about what had happened between her and Zu An. She knew he had a way of taking her into a mysterious space. That would be much safer, as she could sleep peacefully and let her soul recover.

    Zu An was shocked and pleasantly surprised. He hadn¡¯t expected that not only would he regain the valkyrie he lost, she even had aplete soul!

    Even though she was going to sleep for a long time and wouldn''t be able to fight for some time, that wasn¡¯t a problem! Either way, Mi Li was always sleeping too, so he was already used to that kind of thing.

    Honestly, if Mi Li woke up and met Mo Xi, what kind of scene would that create?

    When he saw the other woman¡¯s proud and noble expression, Zu An couldn''t help but say, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind being called master right now, you know?¡±

 Chapter 1459: Absolute Social Suicide

    Chapter 1459: Absolute Social Suicide

    Yan Xuehen and the other women cast Zu An sidelong nces. This guy really just can¡¯t keep his mouth shut sometimes¡­

    Even Zu An was prepared to run at any time to avoid Mo Xi suddenly turning on him.

    To his surprise, however, Mo Xi simply looked at him and suddenly said, with a sweet smile, ¡°Master~¡± Her voice was incredibly sweet, enough to make anyone¡¯s body go numb.

    Zu An finally understood why Mo Xi had be known as Chinese history¡¯s first femme fatale. No wonder Xia Jie had doted on her so much until his entire country got done in. This really was an alluring woman through and through!

    Yan Xuehen and the others hadn¡¯t expected the sudden change either. They were all stupefied.

    Yun Jianyue reacted the fastest. She harrumphed and said, ¡°Another one who¡¯s good at charm skills!¡±

    Zu An also snapped out of his daze. He subconsciously reached out to stroke Mo Xi¡¯s forehead, asking, ¡°You¡¯re not sick, right?¡±

    Mo Xi evaded the physical contact gracefully. There was a faint smile on her face as she said, ¡°I¡¯ve received your spear as a present, and then you saved my life. It wouldn¡¯t be too far for this one to serve you like a cow or horse in return, so what¡¯s the big deal with calling you master?¡±

    A cow or horse?

    The three women immediately looked at him vigntly.

    Zu An thought, Do you really think I¡¯d believe you? Thest one who believed you is lying over there dead.

    He coughed lightly and said, ¡°Ahem, alright already. I¡¯m not an old pervert like Xia Jie, so you don¡¯t need to use this stuff on me. Don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t touch you while you¡¯re recovering.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, master,¡± Mo Xi said, looking at him with a big smile. ¡°If master wants to do something strange to this body, you can wake me up. I¡¯ll serve you properly.¡±

    Yan Xuehen, Yu Yanluo, and even Yun Jianyue were speechless.

    Zu An naturally knew that the woman was just lying, but he also knew that what she was most worried about was her safety while asleep, so he didn¡¯t really mind. He said, ¡°I don¡¯t need you to work like a cow or horse. You just have to undo that Puppet Curse on me. I already did what I promised you, so you better not go back on your word.¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Mo Xi hesitated, but in the end, she still nodded in agreement, saying, ¡°No problem. That¡¯s but a trivial matter.¡±

    From the memories of this body, this guy was still decent and treated her well. He was someone trustworthy. Either way, she would just use him for a period of time. Once she recovered, she could sever the soul contract with him at any time. However, the Puppet Curse would make things difficult for her too by putting her in danger. That was why she agreed to get rid of it.

    Zu An was stunned. He hadn¡¯t expected her to be so agreeable this time.

    Seeing that she was willing to undo Zu An¡¯s Puppet Curse, the three women also became happy. They didn¡¯t bicker about how she had been trying to seduce Zu An. They saw a pair of shining scissors made of light condense in Mo Xi¡¯s hands, snipping something in Zu An¡¯s direction. It seemed as if something invisible had been cut with a loud crack.

    ¡­

    Somewhere in the distance, the Fiend Emperor was suddenly stunned. His expression became a bit unpleasant.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince immediately asked, ¡°Father emperor, what is wrong? Could it be that you sensed the Qiongqi¡¯s aura?¡±

    They had already found the ce where the Qiongqi had been sealed by following Dan Zhu¡¯s instructions. It was a rock cave. They had thought it would be small, and yet when they entered, they saw that it went on for a long time. Furthermore, it was even filled with many mechanisms and traps. If not for Wu Liang, who was proficient in such things, they might have already been injured.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s father had suddenly begun acting strange in such a ce that was so fraught with danger, so how could he not be worried?

    Wu Liang also became vignt. His earlier experiences had taught him just how formidable the Four Perils were.

    The Fiend Emperor shook his head slightly and replied, ¡°No. Zu An¡¯s Puppet Curse has been undone.¡±

    ¡°How is that possible?!¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince cried out in rm.

    At the same time, even Wu Liang cried out. He also knew the Puppet Curse well. Furthermore, it had been set by the Fiend Emperor personally. Apart from the Fiend Emperor himself, no one, not even the human emperor Zhao Han, could necessarily undo it! How could Zu An have that ability?

    The Fiend Emperor¡¯s expression was ugly as he said, ¡°It looks as if he had some kind of encounter in this ce. We have to be a bit more careful the next time we meet him.¡±

    He had been extremely proud when he first entered the Unknown Region, feeling that he could easily conquer this secret dungeon. He had encountered the Taowu, Taotie, and several other such foes in quick session; however, even though they were powerful, they were still a bit weaker than him. That was why, despite some small setbacks, he still didn¡¯t panic.

    And yet, when the ten suns appeared in the sky, he had sensed several auras no weaker than his. His mood had be more grave then. Then, a golden light had descended from above, seizing his son¡¯s Sun ying Bow. While he had been excited that a greater power existed, he was left quite shaken. After all, he and his son could really die here if they encountered an ident.

    There was no way Zu An could undo the Puppet Curse by relying on his own power. He had definitely received the help of some powerful individual, or obtained a strong magical artifact¡­

    However, the Fiend Emperor was an ambitious and ruthless character who had dominated a generation. He quickly calmed down. He had onest step toplete. As long as he undid the seal, he could obtain the immortal medicine, and he could even encounter a greater power. At that point, it would be useless no matter who Zu An had found.

    ¡°Continue forward. We have to find the Qiongqi as soon as possible!¡± he said with a resolute expression, heading into the depths of the mountain.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An clearly sensed the sleeping Golden Crow in his mind being cut to pieces by a pair of golden shears. He no longer felt the terrifying sense of pressure from it. He couldn''t help but feel d that he had encountered Mo Xi¡¯s soul form. Otherwise, with only the valkyrie body he had obtained, there was no way the Puppet Curse could be cut.

    ¡°Alright, then I¡¯ll be sleeping first,¡± Mo Xi said with a yawn. She was already injured, and cutting the Puppet Curse had made her use up even more strength.

    ¡°Wait,¡± Zu An called out to her. ¡°I have another contract. Please help me cut that one too.¡±

    Yun Jianyue and Yu Yanluo were stunned. What other contract did he need Mo Xi¡¯s ability to remove?

    Only Yan Xuehen panicked. She naturally knew what Zu An was talking about. What she had previously yearned for day and night was to get rid of Zu An¡¯s Love Is More Solid than Gold skill, and yet now that the moment arrived, she felt mysteriously rmed. Not even she was sure whether she felt expectation or disappointment.

    It¡¯s definitely that damn skill messing with me. Of course I want to get rid of it! she thought as her reason won out in the end. She continued to talk to herself, strengthening her resolve.

    Mo Xi closed her eyes. Because she had already reattached her contract with Zu An, she could sense his condition.

    ¡°Huh? Master, you have quite a few contracts with others, and they¡¯re all with women? Which one should I cut?¡± she asked while searching.

    ¡°You have many contracts with women?¡± Yun Jianyue and Yu Yanluo repeated, perking up their ears.

    Yan Xuehen was suspicious. This guy didn¡¯t use Love Is More Solid than Gold on others, did he?

    ¡°It¡¯s mine and¡­ hers¡­ Don¡¯t cut the wrong one,¡± Zu An quickly replied,municating with Mo Xi in his mind. He had soul contracts with Mi Li, Qiao Xueying, Daji, and several others. It would be a huge problem if she identally cut one of them.

    ¡°So it was her,¡± Mo Xi said. She giggled as she looked at Yan Xuehen, her expression strange.

    However, she didn¡¯t waste any time. The golden shears appeared in her hands again. Then, several red threads that connected Zu An to Yan Xuehen became visible. They were all tangled up.

    Yun Jianyue and Yu Yanluo¡¯s eyes immediately widened. They had only nned to listen to some gossip at first, and yet the drama ended up being right next to them? Yu Yanluo in particr suddenly felt as if her husband had been stolen from her.

    Yan Xuehen was extremely embarrassed. She really wanted to crawl into a hole and hide. I¡¯m done for! This isplete social suicide!

    Mo Xi cut the threads while grumbling, ¡°There are so many red threads! Are you sure this was only caused by a contract?¡±

 Chapter 1460: Formation Core

    Chapter 1460: Formation Core

    Seeing that her secret was about to be exposed, Yan Xuehen¡¯s mind wentpletely nk.

    I¡¯m done for! I¡¯m finished! I¡¯m going to be ridiculed to death by that witch.

    Why is Yu Yanluo looking at me like that?

    And¡­ How will my disciple Chuyan look at me once she finds out?

    This will even cause White Jade Sect¡¯s reputation to be greatly damaged. I¡¯ll also be the target of everyone¡¯s mockery.

    She even felt the urge to just end her own life.

    Fortunately, Zu An reacted quickly and covered Mo Xi¡¯s mouth.

    ¡°Mmm¡­ Mmm¡­¡± Mo Xi¡¯s next words were muffled.

    Normally, with her cultivation, there was no way Zu An would be able to touch her. However, because she was weak and seriously injured, she couldn''t avoid it in time.

    She was a bit annoyed at first, but when she saw Zu An and Yan Xuehen¡¯s reactions, she immediately understood. These two had a private thing going! Her gossipy heart immediately prevailed. Her eyes darted between the two of them, to the point that she didn¡¯t even mind the physical contact.

    Yun Jianyue frowned and asked, ¡°Are the two of them lovers? Little An, what are you covering her mouth for?¡±

    Zu An quickly said, ¡°It¡¯s mainly because her current condition isn¡¯t too good. She was seriously injured to begin with, and she even had to exhaust more of her energy. I was worried that she would overexert herself and want her to rest earlier.¡±

    At the same time, he said to Mo Xi, ¡°Go back already. Your current state isn¡¯t good.¡±

    Mo Xi replied, ¡°It¡¯s fine. This bit won¡¯t make much of a difference. I want to see this drama for myself.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    When she saw Zu An grit his teeth in anger, Mo Xi grinned. She secretly replied, ¡°Of course, it¡¯s fine if I y along, but you have to pay up. Use those fruits from before. A hundred of them, no, two hundred!¡±

    Even though she hadn¡¯t eaten them before, her body had a powerful memory of them. She couldn''t help but drool.

    Zu An knew she was talking about the Ki Fruits. He didn¡¯t have time to bargain and thus replied. ¡°Fine!¡±

    Just then, Yu Yanluo said, ¡°Ah Zu, Mo Xi is weak right now. Don¡¯t end up hurting her now by holding her mouth.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, You clearly just want to hear what she has to say, and yet you¡¯re making it sound so high-minded! When did you be so two-faced too?

    But you¡¯re still an amateur! I¡¯ve already dealt with the situation!

    Yun Jianyue urged him impatiently, ¡°Little An, hurry up and let go of her. Don¡¯t tell me you guys really have something shameful going on?¡±

    Yan Xuehen looked at Zu An nervously. She nodded slightly, her eyes filled with a pleading expression. If Zu An continued to cover Mo Xi¡¯s mouth, the others could only have suspicions at most. She would just refute everything. However, if Mo Xi spoke, they really were finished.

    Zu An smiled at her. Then, he let go of Mo Xi¡¯s mouth.

    Yan Xuehen was speechless. She was about to go crazy! This bastard!

    ¡°There¡¯s really nothing. If you don¡¯t believe me, you can ask her,¡± Zu An said with a shrug.

    Yun Jianyue and Yu Yanluo immediately stared at Mo Xi, asking, ¡°What did you say before? Lovers?¡±

    Mo Xi replied with a smile, ¡°They have strong feelings of camaraderie. The agreement was probably made to face a strong enemy. Hm? Why do you two feel as if they¡¯re lovers?¡±

    Zu An secretly gave her a huge thumbs up. As expected of history¡¯s renowned evil concubine! Even though she looked like a formidable female general from the outside, she really was the real deal when she set her heart on doing something like this!

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Yu Yanluo replied, sounding a bit confused. She just felt that something wasn¡¯t right.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Just what kind of agreement can be used against a powerful enemy? Why haven¡¯t I heard of it before?¡± Yun Jianyue asked; she wasn¡¯t so easily fooled. Her eyes darted between Zu An and Yan Xuehen.

    Yan Xuehen also reacted just then. She was worried that Zu An would let something slip. It was very hard to deceive a grandmaster like Yun Jianyue, so she said, ¡°Back then, we encountered a snowdy in the Great Snowy Mountains. She was in the earth immortal realm and we weren¡¯t a match for her, so we used a secret skill contract. That was how we barely managed to escape.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? I fought against you for so many years, but why have I never heard of your White Jade Sect having such a secret contract?¡± Yun Jianyue asked with a frown. She and Yu Yanluo had heard about the snowdy thing before, but they hadn¡¯t expected there to be something like that involved.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s heart was beating crazily, but she didn¡¯t let anything show on her face. She replied, ¡°It was not the White Jade Sect. I stumbled upon it in a secret dungeon in my earlier years. Hmph, why am I even exining this to you? Why do I have to tell you about my trump cards?!¡±

    She was worried that Yun Jianyue would try to confirm things with the White Jade Sect, so she didn¡¯t dare to say it was from them.

    Yun Jianyue was half-convinced, but Yu Yanluo suddenly said, ¡°Does it mean that for all this time, you and Ah Zu¡¯s energies were connected?¡±

    No wonder she had felt that there was something strange between the two of them. Looks like I was overthinking after all.

    The question caught Zu An and Yan Xuehen off guard. Yan Xuehen¡¯s face almost turned beet red. What do you mean connected?

    They had indeed been ¡®connected¡¯ in the Great Snowy Mountains¡­ However, Yan Xuehen quickly exined, ¡°Of course not. We just had to use a makeshift strategy. Afterward, we did not use it again. This secret technique is special, and I could not get rid of it either. That is why we troubled Lady Mo Xi.¡±

    Mo Xi grinned. This woman appeared to be quiet and refined, so she had thought that Yan Xuehen would be an inflexible woman. In truth, she now felt the other woman was just as tricky as her.

    Only after Yan Xuehen¡¯s exnations were the other two women half-convinced. Zu An quickly took the chance to drag Mo Xi back into the special space.

    Just then, a powerful burst of energy suddenly rippled from the distance.

    ¡°A battle between earth immortals!¡± Yun Jianyue eximed. She couldn''t be bothered with gossip anymore. Her attention was quickly drawn by the strange event.

    Yan Xuehen secretly sighed in relief, saying, ¡°That seems to be the Fiend Emperor¡¯s power.¡±

    Yun Jianyue nodded, adding, ¡°He seems to be fighting against something powerful. The opponent¡¯s cultivation isn¡¯t inferior to his.¡±

    Yu Yanluo couldn''t help but say with a sigh, ¡°This secret dungeon has way too many powerful cultivators. Ah Zu, just how did you leave those other Unknown Regions alive?¡±

    Zu An said with a grave expression, ¡°Every single Unknown Region has a formation core. Only by dealing with that formation core can we leave. Otherwise, we¡¯ll be trapped in this secret dungeon forever.¡±

    ¡°Where is this formation core exactly? We¡¯ve already repeated Yi¡¯s heroic path, and we¡¯ve even dealt with the ten suns. Afterward, we were even caught up in the severing of the path of heaven and man. Why can¡¯t we leave yet?¡± Yun Jianyue asked in annoyance. They had done so much already, and yet all of it seemed to be useless.

    Most importantly, there were no mission indicators at all in the Unknown Region, so they didn¡¯t even know where to put their efforts now. This world was incrediblyrge, so they couldn''t even brute force it and could only search every inch of the ce.

    Zu An thought for a bit, then said, ¡°Based on my past experiences, every Unknown Region corresponds to an ancient dynasty. They¡¯re often connected to certain rulers of that dynasty. Some are the founding emperors, while some are the rulers of the final phase.

    ¡°The one who died just now was thest ruler of the Xia Dynasty. Oh, right, Mo Xi was the empress back then. So, this Unknown Region might very well be rted to the Xia Dynasty. If Xia Jie wasn¡¯t the formation core, it¡¯s clear what the core¡¯s real identity is.¡±

    ¡°Who is it?¡± the three women asked, feeling a bit stunned. They didn¡¯t know anything about those dynasties, and they were also curious how Zu An knew about such things.

    ¡°Do you still remember that when Shun told us to repeat the heroic path and obtain the divine weapon, he told us who to use it against?¡± Zu An asked, looking into the distance with a serious expression.

    ¡°Xia Dynasty¡¯s founding monarch Yu the Great?¡± the three women replied simultaneously. Even though they didn¡¯t know the Xia Dynasty¡¯s history, they all had extraordinary memories. They remembered what Shun had said back then. ¡°However, because of the separation of heaven and the mortal world, Shun has already returned to dust. Where can we find Yu the Great?¡±

    Zu An replied with a grim expression, ¡°Do you feel that the Fiend Emperor is a stupid person?¡±

    ¡°Of course not,¡± Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue both said in unison. ¡°On the contrary, he¡¯s one of the most brilliant individuals in the present world. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have be one of this world¡¯s two most powerful people.¡±

    ¡°In that case, we¡¯ve already learned so much. Then what about the incredible Fiend Emperor?¡± Zu An asked.

    The three women¡¯s eyes lit up. They began, ¡°You¡¯re saying¡­¡±

    ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, we¡¯ve only solved half of this Unknown Region¡¯s secrets.¡± Zu An paused for a moment, then said with a grave expression, ¡°The other half is most likely in the Fiend Emperor¡¯s hands!¡±

 Chapter 1461: Coming In to Take the Spoils

    Chapter 1461: Coming In to Take the Spoils

    ¡°The Fiend Emperor¡¯s cultivation is too high, though. It¡¯s too dangerous for us to fight him,¡± Yu Yanluo couldn''t help but say. Their earlier capture was still fresh in her mind.

    ¡°It¡¯s different now. Big sisters Yan and Yun have already recovered most of their cultivation, and I have the divine weapon Sun ying Bow. We¡¯ll have a chance even if we¡¯re fighting against the Fiend Emperor,¡± Zu An said confidently.

    Yun Jianyue rolled her eyes and said, ¡°You¡¯re already overestimating your capabilities after merely obtaining a divine weapon. Do you think the Fiend Emperor and the human emperor, who dominated an entire age, are that easy to deal with? Even if that stone cold woman and I were at our peak, we¡¯d still be a few cultivation ranks below him. Even with you and the Sun ying Bow, we still aren¡¯t his match.¡±

    Yan Xuehen nodded and added, ¡°That is. unless you can hit him with a single shot of your Sun ying Bow. Otherwise, with his cultivation, he will not give us a second chance.¡±

    All of them felt some pressure. They knew that with the Fiend Emperor¡¯s power, it wasn¡¯t too likely for them to shoot him down with a single attack.

    Zu An said with an awkward chuckle, ¡°We¡¯ve met so many powerful enemies. I miscalcted a bit after getting used to them.¡±

    Ever since he had entered this Unknown Region, he had encountered so many cultivators at the earth immortal rank. There were some among them that were even stronger than the Fiend Emperor. His standards had unwittingly gone up without him realizing it.

    However, he still said, ¡°Still, that¡¯s just how things are now. Even if we know that there¡¯s danger, we have to take the risk. Otherwise, we¡¯ll never leave this dungeon.¡±

    Yun Jianyue nodded. She patted his shoulder to console him, saying, ¡°You¡¯re right. If we aren¡¯t willing to ept defeat, we¡¯ll just have to do it!¡±

    She was the Devil Sect Master, and that was just her personality. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have boldly charged into the Imperial Pce to face Zhao Han.

    In contrast, Yan Xuehen and Yu Yanluo were more cool-headed. However, they knew that staying where they were without doing anything would just be blindly wasting time. If the Fiend Emperor dealt with the formation core first, they would all be done for. As such, after weighing the pros and cons, they also concluded that heading over to the Fiend Emperor¡¯s location was the most sensible choice.

    As such, Zu An summoned his Wind Fire Wheels. He said to the three women, ¡°I¡¯ll bring all of you. Don¡¯t waste your own energy on flying. Make sure to save every ounce of your energy for recovery.¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The three women didn¡¯t reject him. They had previously helped Zu An shoot down the nine suns and almost copsed as a result. Even though it had already been some time, they still hadn¡¯t made aplete recovery. They were going to face the Fiend Emperor soon, so the more strength they recovered, the higher their chances of victory would be.

    As for Zu An holding their hands and even wrapping his arm around their waists, after everything they had experienced, they were already used to it.

    Zu An brought the three women with him as he rushed toward where the energy wave hade from. His hands acted very properly the entire time, however. At the moment, the only thing on his mind was what to do in the near future. He didn¡¯t have any time to think about inappropriate things.

    The Wind Fire Wheels were truly heaven-grade weapons; even with a few more people, their speed wasn¡¯t affected at all. That made a great deal of sense; experts from the cultivation world could easily topple mountains and overturn seas. The weight of a few women waspletely trivial at that level.

    The three women took the chance to circte their energies and recover. Meanwhile, the group gradually got closer to the explosive battle auras after flying for some time.

    Zu An surveyed an unending mountain range that extended like a slumbering dragon, and couldn''t help but voice his surprise.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Yan Xuehen asked, opening her cool and pretty eyes and staring calmly at him.

    She had been looking forward to eliminating the ¡®Love Is More Solid than Gold¡¯ ability for so long. Now that she had finally been freed, her thoughts had been untangled.

    However¡­ Why didn¡¯t she feel that different from before? The biggest difference was that she felt a bit empty inside, as if she had lost something.

    When he sensed that Yan Xuehen¡¯s aura had be as cold as when they first met, as if they had experienced some kind of estrangement, Zu An sighed inwardly. The two of them wouldn¡¯t necessarily be able to return to how they had been ever again.

    However, he didn¡¯t have the time to worry about those things. He sorted out his thoughts and said, ¡°This mountain range is dense. It¡¯s an absolutely outstandingnd of treasure in terms of feng shui. It¡¯s the most suitable location for an emperor¡¯s tomb.¡±

    ¡°I heard you mention that Yu the Great was the Xia Dynasty¡¯s founding ruler. Just now, though, the Fiend Emperor¡¯s fighting aura came from here too. Does that mean this is Yu the Great¡¯s tomb?¡± Yun Jianyue asked curiously.

    Zu An was stunned. He hadn¡¯t thought of that before, and had just wanted to find the Fiend Emperor and gain some intelligence. After being reminded of that fact, he quickly concluded that it was likely to be the case.

    Soon afterward, the groupnded in front of a cave. The aura fluctuations came from inside. They hesitated for a moment before carefully entering.

    The cave didn¡¯t seem that big from the outside, but the inside was full of winding andplicated paths, as well as many forks in the path. Fortunately, they were able to follow the shockwaves from the battle to gauge where to go. Otherwise, they would still have no idea how long it would take.

    The entire cave shook continuously. From time to time, sand and stone fell from the ceiling, as if it could copse at any moment. From time to time, the path ahead was blocked by boulders, but that was no problem for Zu An¡¯s group, and they simply sted open new paths.

    While walking at the forefront, Yan Xuehen suddenly said with a frown, ¡°Something is wrong with this mountain.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Zu An asked, startled. He wondered whether they had fallen into some sort of trap.

    Yun Jianyue exined, ¡°In a battle between earth immortals, there¡¯s no way an ordinary cave could endure such power. It would have copsed a long time ago. But even though some stones fall from time to time, this cave is still intact overall. That doesn¡¯t make sense.¡±

    Yu Yanluo said just then, ¡°I feel as if the intense power in this cave is being absorbed and transmitted into the surrounding mountain vein. It¡¯s almost as if the entire mountain vein is collectively bearing the burden of the battle. That¡¯s why this cave can remain intact.¡± The Medusa bloodline made her more sensitive toward the earth element, letting her sense the changes.

    Yan Xuehen couldn''t help but remark with a sigh, ¡°Just how ingenious is this design? It can actually neutralize the aftereffects of an earth immortal-level battle! I do not think I could do it myself. No one in the entire White Jade Sect would be capable of that.¡±

    Zu An actually felt happy, rather than rmed. He replied, ¡°That means that we¡¯vee to the right ce!¡±

    There were quite a few people in this world who could aplish such a thing, but Emperor Zhuan Xu had recently severed the path between heaven and man. Those divine beings had already been separated from the mortal world and couldn¡¯t interfere with it. In that case, who else could do such a thing but Yu the Great?

    The battle¡¯s shockwaves gradually grew weaker and weaker. Then, a pained cry of grief and anger rang out. Zu An¡¯s group had never heard the voice before; it was enough to make those who heard it tremble even from far away. Anything that could make such a sound was definitely no ordinary monster.

    Yun Jianyue quickly said, ¡°The battle there has alreadye to an end. Let¡¯s hurry and head over!¡±

    Whether it was exploiting the opportunity or negotiating for cooperation, the best chance they would have was when both sides were seriously injured. Otherwise, if either side recovered, it would be dangerous for the group. Thus, they didn¡¯t hesitate any longer and quickly rushed inside.

    Soon afterward, the space ahead suddenly opened up to reveal arge chamber, with a giant door in the distance. Up ahead, there was a structure that resembled an altar, covered with a variety of sinister monster statues. The statuesy scattered and in disarray, clearly affected by the previous battle.

    There was a grand flight of stairs in front of the door, but it had been greatly damaged, covered with bloodstains that had clearly been left behind very recently.

    In the very center of the chambery a giant monster. It resembled a tiger with a pair of wings. Its face was sinister and terrifying, to the point that one wouldn¡¯t dare to look straight at it.

    However, its current appearance was quite miserable. Its body was covered in wounds; one wing was torn off, and blood dripped from the stump.

    Zu An was rmed. He recalled the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s Ardent Sun Sword Formation. All of the crown prince¡¯s feathers could turn into golden sword ki. The same move had clearly been used by the Fiend Emperor, making it countless times stronger.

    The monstery dying, its belly rising and falling quickly and its tail curled up powerlessly.

    A short distance away, the Fiend Emperor sat, seemingly treating his injuries. He also seemed to be in bad condition. His crown was nowhere to be seen, and his hair was in total disarray.

 Chapter 1462: Seal Undone

    Chapter 1462: Seal Undone

    The Fiend Emperor¡¯s hair was stuck together by an unknown substance; it was hard to tell whether it was blood or sweat. Some areas of his scalp were even exposed, making him look like a balding middle-aged man. There was a huge hole in his chest, and Zu An could see the wall behind him through it.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Any normal person would have already kicked the bucket if they suffered such an injury. However, the Fiend Emperor¡¯s aura was still stable. Golden mes flickered around his entire body; he was clearly using the Golden Crow Sacred Fire to quickly recover from his injuries.

    The Fiend Emperor sensed that something was strange. He opened his eyes and looked around. When he saw that it was Zu An¡¯s group, he was stunned. He had never expected it to be them.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince stood in front of the Fiend Emperor protectively, calling out, ¡°You can forget about taking advantage of us. With me here, you won¡¯t be able to hurt a single hair on father emperor¡¯s body.¡±

    Wu Liang¡¯s eyes darted around. When the Fiend Emperor had fought against the Qiongqi, because his and the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s cultivation ranks were too low, neither of them had gone over to help. Thus, they were still in good shape.

    He wondered whether it was time to change sides and work together with the other side to eliminate the Fiend Emperor. Otherwise, if he continued to remain under the Fiend Emperor¡¯s control until the end, he wouldn¡¯t necessarily be able to survive.

    The Fiend Emperor cursed his son as a fool upon seeing him put on a filial act. Wasn¡¯t his son basically telling the enemy that he was weak right now? He pushed the crown prince away and stared at Zu An¡¯s group with a burning gaze, remarking, ¡°I did not expect you to actually still have the courage toe here.¡±

    Zu An smiled and replied, ¡°Fortune favors the bold, no? If it weren¡¯t for my guts, how could I have stumbled upon such an excellent opportunity?¡±

    The three women quietly spread out and prepared to fight.

    Wu Liang also secretly stood up, preparing to make his move. However, he felt a bit depressed. Look at how everyone else has already found a group! I¡¯m the only one who¡¯s all by myself. Even if I help one side, I¡¯m still no match for them alone!

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince gulped nervously as he looked at Zu An¡¯s group. He was still a bit traumatized from what Zu An had done to him. Even though he constantly reminded himself that his cultivation was higher than the other person¡¯s, he had already suffered two defeats. Moreover, he didn¡¯t even have his divine weapon anymore, so his confidence in winning had only grown weaker. Furthermore, there were still the three women, who didn¡¯t seem easy to deal with at all!

    ¡°Do you think there is an opportunity for you here? It¡¯s a pity that you have arrived a bit toote,¡± the Fiend Emperor said as he stood up, the hole in his chest already having closed. Waves of earth immortal power spread outward. Apart from looking a bit haggard, it was as if he hadn¡¯t even been injured at all.

    Zu An¡¯s group was shocked when they saw that the Fiend Emperor¡¯s injuries hadpletely healed. All of them felt dispirited. It would have been great if they arrived a bit earlier. Now, he had already recovered, so the situation had already been reversed¡­ THat thought made them feel aplicated mix of negative emotions.

    Zu An suddenly thought of something. He put away his weapon with a smile and replied, ¡°What is the Fiend Emperor saying? We¡¯re all trapped in this Unknown Region together. Shouldn¡¯t we be old friends in a foreignnd? We don¡¯t even have enough time to feel happy, so why would we take advantage of you?¡±

    The Fiend Emperor was a bit startled. It was hard to know what he was thinking, but he didn¡¯t immediately turn hostile.

    Wu Liang almost choked on his own saliva. This guy¡¯s shamelessness is almost on my level! He quickly rxed and gave up on the thought of attacking.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince panicked, eximing, ¡°Father emperor, do not listen to what he is saying. That guy is only acting pretentious because he saw that you recovered. We should use this chance to get rid of him together!¡±

    Yan Xuehen and the other women grew vignt when they heard that, preparing to fight at any moment.

    The Golden Crown Crown Prince frowned. How did these women almostpletely recover from their previous injuries even though barely any time has passed?

    How is this possible?! Could it be that they encountered some kind of miracle?

    He looked away from them and toward Zu An, asking, ¡°Just how did you undo the Puppet Curse?¡±

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°I have my ways.¡± There was a ¡®do you really think I¡¯ll tell you¡¯ look on his face.

    Sure enough, the Fiend Emperor didn¡¯t bother asking him about the curse, remarking, ¡°Brat, to be honest, I admire you quite a bit, especially with what you said just now about being old friends in a foreignnd. This world is indeed a bit strange. As wee from the same ce, there is no need for internal strife. Why don¡¯t we work together to solve the riddles of this world?¡±

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince began to panic. He was about to say something when he was stopped by his father¡¯s gesture.

    ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I had in mind,¡± Zu An said without hesitation. At the same time, he gave the three women a look.

    They had already fought through dangerous situations together so many times that they could roughly guess what Zu An¡¯s look meant. He was agreeing to work together, but also reminding them to be careful.

    Cooperating with the Fiend Emperor was the same as ying with fire. Unfortunately, he had already recovered, so fighting would only result in both sides suffering.

    The only thing they were confused about was why the Fiend Emperor would agree. After all, his cultivation was higher than all of theirs, and he even had the Golden Crow Crown Prince to help him.

    However, they were also sharp individuals, quickly realizing that the Fiend Emperor had definitely seen theming and used some secret technique to recover quickly. Even though such secret methods could heal quickly, they definitely weren¡¯t as reliable as recovering properly. They could even have serious side-effects. Furthermore, the dungeon was full of dangers. The Fiend Emperor clearly didn¡¯t want to put himself in a worse situation by fighting them, risking his own death in the process.

    Zu An¡¯s choice to agree was also understandable. For one thing, they needed the Fiend Emperor¡¯s information. Furthermore, the Fiend Emperor had just rushed his recovery, so he was at his strongest at the moment. Defeating him in his current state would definitelye at a severe price. The more time passed, the more his strength would fall.

    When they thought through all of those things, Zu An¡¯s party felt more relieved.

    Zu An took the chance to ask, ¡°Your majesty, just what kind of ce is this?¡±

    Before the Fiend Emperor could even reply, a voice suddenly eximed with great emotion. ¡°Haha, the Qiongqi is about to die, so the four great seals are about to be opened! I can almost sense my father¡¯s aura already.¡±

    Zu An looked in its direction with a frown. He saw that a bluish-white spirit of some sort had emerged from the Fiend Emperor¡¯s body. He was surprised; it seemed that the Fiend Emperor had really benefited from the trip as well. What was that spirit-like thing?

    Was the monster on the floor the Qiongqi? No wonder it was so extraordinary. Unfortunately, it had still been defeated by the Fiend Emperor.

    Apart from that, what were the so-called four great seals the voice had spoken of? And who was his father?

    Zu An had too many questions at the moment. However, he quickly noticed that even though the spirit was acting very excited, there was a faint golden light restricting it. It was clearly under the Fiend Emperor¡¯s restrictions.

    ¡°Growl¡­¡± The Qionqi lying in the chamber released a long sigh. Then, its limbs slumped as itsst breath dissipated. Then, its body began to dissipate in a st of yellow light.

    The Fiend Emperor reached out, and a golden gemstone flew out of the light and entered his hand.

    Those present all had high cultivation. With their sight, they could clearly see certain strange patterns on the gemstone''s surface. The shape was very simr to a miniature Qiongqi.

    Zu An thought, That spirit mentioned four seals, so has the Fiend Emperor already obtained four of these gemstones?

    Why do I feel as if I was working my butt off for a sidequest, while the Fiend Emperor was doing the main questline?

    ¡°This is where the Four Perils¡¯ Qiongqi resided. Previously, we dealt with the Taowu, Taotie, and Hundun¡¯s seals. ording to what this person says, there is an ancient emperor named Yao sealed here,¡± the Fiend Emperor said. He casually fiddled with Dan Zhu¡¯s soul while looking at Zu An, continuing, ¡°I have already told you so much. As we are working together, you should share a bit about what you have obtained in all this time, no?¡±

    There were many powerful auras on the other side, and he even sensed a power that made him feel fear. It seemed to have something to do with Zu An. Even though he didn¡¯t think that Zu An¡¯s party could participate in a battle of that level, as long as he had been watching what was happening, Zu An no doubt had some information the Fiend Emperor didn¡¯t.

    Zu An was about to reply when the ground suddenly began to crack audibly. Then, it quickly split apart. The floor beneath both parties gave out, and they began to fall.

    They were all caught off guard. Despite how powerful the previous battle¡¯s effects had been, the entire mountain had still remained intact. And yet, it was only now that the battle had ended that the ground broke apart?!

 Chapter 1463: Key

    <h4>Chapter 1463: Key</h4>

    Could it be that the death of the Qiongqi triggered some kind of mechanism?

    Thatsingle thought flickered through their minds. Fortunately, their cultivations were all high, so they quickly stabilized themselves and slowly floated down through the air. They were lucky to find that there wasn¡¯t an endless abyss below; soon afterward, the group arrived on solid ground again.

    They discovered that whaty below was anotherrge room, and ahead of them was a gate. The gate was even more ancient and profound than the one above. Set in its center was a diagram that resembled a star as, containing certain special indentations.

    The Fiend Emperor gave Zu An a look and said, ¡°You still have not replied to my question.¡±

    Zu An and the three women gathered together. He calmly replied, ¡°I found out about the immortal medicine.¡±

    The Fiend Emperor¡¯s side could be hostile if he told them he had the Sun ying Bow now. Comparatively, information about the immortal medicine was far more suitable. It would make the Fiend Emperor feel some reservation about killing them.

    ¡°The immortal medicine!¡± the Fiend Emperor eximed, beginning to breathe rapidly. That was what he needed the most right now. He replied, ¡°Not bad. You have the right to work with me now.¡±

    A hint of bitterness flickered through the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s mind. If his father became immortal, wouldn¡¯t he be a good-for-nothing crown prince for the rest of his life? Still, he didn¡¯t dare to show any of that. He could only console himself, thinking that if he could be immortal too, that wouldn¡¯t be too bad.

    ¡°Where is the immortal medicine?¡± the Fiend Emperor quickly asked.

    Zu An chuckled and replied, ¡°Do you think I would just tell you in this situation?¡±

    ¡°Reasonable,¡± the Fiend Emperor said, not feeling offended. He didn¡¯t think Zu An was lying to him. If Zu An and the others didn¡¯t really know, they definitely wouldn¡¯t bring up something like that.

    They would work together for the time being to pursue the higher power in this world. Once they left, it wouldn¡¯t be toote to force the information surrounding the immortal medicine out of Zu An then. There were so many women around Zu An, it meant the Fiend Emperor would have many ways of making him squirm.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Wu Liang had already walked up to the gate and began to study it. He caressed the runes on the surface while saying excitedly, ¡°No wonder we couldn''t find any way of getting in from above. It looks as if the gate above was just a fake. This is the real gate!¡±

    The Fiend Emperor kneaded the spirit in his hand, making it deform. He asked, ¡°This is where you said your father Emperor Yao was sealed?¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes! I can already sense his aura!¡± the spirit screamed in pain. It was filled with bitterness inside.Once my dades out, all of you are going to be crushed to bits!

    On the other hand, Zu An was surprised. Wasn¡¯t it supposed to be Yu the Great? Why was this Emperor Yao¡¯s tomb?Could it be that we came to the wrong ce this time?

    But that shouldn¡¯t be! Earlier, Shun said I had to face Yu the Great!

    ¡°Did you not say that once the seals on the Four Perils were undone, your father would reappear? Where is he?¡± the Fiend Emperor asked, giving the spirit in his hand a cold look, as if he would crush it into nothingness at any moment.

    Based on his interrogation of Dan Zhu along the way, he had already learned that Emperor Yao was a proper emperor in the past. There would definitely be a lot of treasures buried with him. More importantly, he longed for the power of that ancient emperor. As long as he could see it for himself, he believed he had a chance to advance a step further.

    ¡°This tomb needs to be opened up first. Right, just put those gemstones into the gate over there and it¡¯ll open up,¡± the spirit replied. Its entire ¡®body¡¯ shook, as if it were scared that it would die before it met its father. That would really be too great a loss then!

    The Fiend Emperor raised his head and looked at the special holes. Their shape was a bit familiar. With a wave of his hand, several streaks of light flew out of his sleeves. They were none other than the gemstones he had collected along the way.

    The four gemstones, colored red, green, blue, and yellow respectively, filled the holes in the gate. Rings of light flickered across the gate¡¯s surface, and several glowing lines spread across its surface like electrical currents.

    The group waited expectantly for the gate to open, but in the end, the light stopped moving. Then, the colors faded, leaving behind only ordinary patterns again.

    ¡°Why did this happen?¡± the Fiend Emperor eximed, his expression darkening. He looked at the spirit in his hand with an unkind expression.

    ¡°This¡­ This makes no sense! This is the way to open the gate!¡± the spirit eximed in rm; even his voice was starting to shake.

    Wu Liang suddenly said, ¡°I know! There¡¯s still something missing. There¡¯s a keyhole at the very center, so we¡¯re probably missing that key.¡±

    ¡°Key?¡± the Fiend Emperor repeated with a frown. They hadn¡¯t found any keys along the way. He unwittingly nced at Zu An¡¯s group. However, Zu An shrugged, as if to say that they hadn¡¯t encountered anything resembling a key either.

    The Fiend Emperor¡¯s expression became unpleasant. He walked up to the gate, intending to rely on his earth immortal strength to open it through brute force. There weren¡¯t many tomb gates that could endure his full-strength attack.

    However, after he sent his fists flying several times, a flicker of radiance appeared across the gate. He could clearly sense his power being dispersed in different directions to some unknown ce. Even if he tried several more times, it wouldn¡¯t be able to st open the gate.

    His eyes narrowed. He looked at the keyhole at the center. A momentter, he turned toward the Golden Crow Crown Prince and asked, ¡°Son, do you remember that in the Imperial Pce¡¯s treasury, there seemed to be a key that was shaped quite simrly to this keyhole?¡±

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince quickly went over to take a look, replying, ¡°That is indeed the case. That key seems to have always been in the treasury. I yed around with it when I was little, but I did not notice anything special about it at all. I did not know why it was kept in the treasury either.¡±

    The treasury of the Imperial Pce contained the umted wealth of sessive generations of Fiend Emperors. Why would an ordinary key have the right to be stored there?

    The Fiend Emperor said seriously, ¡°That key was there ever since I was little as well. No one knew of its origins, but there was a rumor that it came from the ancient past of our Golden Crow race. Not even sessive generations of Fiend Emperors could figure out its use. They only knew that it could not be damaged by water or fire. Not even our Golden Crow Sacred Fire could damage it in the slightest.¡±

    The others were shocked. The key was something that not even the Golden Crow Sacred Fire could damage? Just its material alone proved how extraordinary it was!

    ¡°I did not expect it to be used here,¡± the Fiend Emperor said. He felt happy that he had unraveled an ancient secret of the Golden Crow race, but he was also filled with deep vexation.

    Yun Jianyue couldn''t help but remark, ¡°It¡¯s fine and all to talk about it, but did you even bring it with you?¡±

    The Fiend Emperor and Golden Crow Crown Prince hung their heads dispiritedly. Even though they didn¡¯t reply, their expressions exined everything.

    They really were frustrated! The final treasure was so close, and yet they were missing a key. They even had the key too; it was just that they hadn¡¯t brought it with them!

    Who knew how long it would take before a dungeon like this would open up again? In all the years the Imperial Tomb had existed for, it was the first time. If they missed this chance, they wouldn¡¯t necessarily have the opportunity to enter again. Both of them wanted to vomit blood when they realized that.

    Suddenly, however, Zu An eximed, ¡°Hm? This shape seems a bit familiar to me, though.¡±

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince had been annoyed to begin with. When he heard that, he sneered and retorted, ¡°Something in my royal family¡¯s treasury is familiar to you? Even if you want to brag, you should use your brain a bit!¡±

    Zu An thought,Is your royal family treasury all that? I¡¯m even familiar with your damn bed!However, he didn¡¯t feel like arguing with the crown prince. Instead, he carefully examined the shape of the keyhole.

    ¡°Stop putting on an act already. If even someone like you can figure something out, I will eat these damn rocks!¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince remarked.

    He secretly felt delighted. He realized that if his father couldn''t obtain anything more from this dungeon, the old man, who was near his deathbed, would pass on all of his cultivation and the throne to him! That was why he had to stop Zu An with everything he had, even though he didn¡¯t believe that the other man could reallye up with anything valuable.

    To his surprise, however, Zu An suddenly fished out a strangely shaped key and called out, ¡°You guys, take a look. Is it this one?¡±

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s smile immediately froze on his face.

    The Fiend Emperor didn¡¯t treat it with much importance at first. After all, why would a key from his own treasury be with someone else?

    However, when he saw the item, he was shocked and overjoyed. He asked, ¡°Where did you get that from?¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    He was also a bit rmed. Was it that easy for this guy to enter and leave the pce?I didn¡¯t even know he took this key from the treasury. Did he steal anything more precious?

 Chapter 1464: Donâ€™t I Still Have You?

    <h4>Chapter 1464: Don¡¯t I Still Have You?</h4>

    ¡°I happened to get it from Heichi Gu,¡± Zu An said, counting his blessings.

    Fortunately, back then, he had seen that not even the White Lotus me could burn the key, and thus put it away. He hadn¡¯t expected it to just happen to be of use here. It really was too much of a coincidence, as if a pair of invisible hands had prompted Zu An into doing all that.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°The Heichi n really were double-crossing bastards!¡± the Fiend Emperor eximed with an ugly expression. The Imperial Pce¡¯s treasury had been entrusted to the Heichi n to oversee. If something from the treasury had appeared in Heichi Gu¡¯s possession, what else could it be but embezzlement?

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince was rmed. The Heichi n was his maternal uncle¡¯s family, which should have been his most secure ally and shield. From his perspective even though the Heichi n was a bit greedy,pared to their help, this wasn¡¯t a big deal at all. Furthermore, his uncle¡¯s family weren¡¯t outsiders, so they had still technically been keeping good things on their side.

    However, from the Fiend Emperor¡¯s perspective, it waspletely different. He wasn¡¯t so charitable to the Heichi n, and thought of the incident as already sufficient to prove their disloyalty.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince was so frightened he immediately changed the topic. He berated Zu An ferociously. ¡°No wonder we couldn''t find anything from Heichi Gu¡¯s disappearance! So you killed him!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Golden Crow Crown Prince for +110 +110 +110¡­

    Zu An said indifferently, ¡°You can eat whatever you want, but you can¡¯t say whatever you want. Be careful of speaking nder!¡±

    ¡°Hmph, this key was clearly in Heichi Gu¡¯s possession, so why would it be with you?¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince asked coldly.

    ¡°If this key could be moved from the Imperial Pce¡¯s treasury into Heichi Gu¡¯s possession, then why can¡¯t it be in mine?¡± Zu An replied with a smile. Heichi Gu had been trying to kill him back then, and furthermore, he had only acted out of self-defense. There was no way he was going to admit to that at all, though.

    Of course, the Fiend Emperor¡¯s side undoubtedly knew that Zu AN was the one who had killed Heichi Gu. Either way, they had already offended each other, so a bit more wouldn¡¯t make a difference as long as he didn¡¯t give them anything they could use against him.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince was about to continue when the Fiend Emperor stopped him, saying ¡°We should not talk about past matters for now. The most important thing right now is opening up this gate.¡±

    Zu An flicked his finger outward, and the key inserted itself into the hole in the center. He wasn¡¯t in a rush to open the door, however. On the contrary, opening the door could put him in danger.

    The Fiend Emperor had confidence in his high cultivation and wasn¡¯t too scared. Thus, he grabbed the end of the key and slowly turned it.

    When he turned it to a particr angle, the four gemstones began shining again with a crisp click. The patterns around them once again lit up like electrical circuits. They converged into four streaks of light that poured into the key¡¯s position at the very center. The previously dark golden key began shining with rainbow brilliance. Then, the light spread in all directions before disappearing into the depths of the tomb through the pattern¡¯s grooves. Several waves of rumbling followed, as if the entire tomb wereing alive.

    Zu An thought to himself,If this key is so special, why did it end up with the Golden Crows?

    The Golden Crow race had probably passed it down from one generation to the next since ancient times. However, Yu the Great should have appeared after Yi shot down the suns¡­

    He only got more and more confused the more he thought about it, so he decided to just not spend any more effort brooding over the matter. Instead, he focused on the gate in front of him.

    Suddenly, the gate split in two down the middle and slowly opened inward, revealing a dark tunnel amid a shower of scattered rocks.

    The Fiend Emperor tookrge strides forward with a fervent expression. The Golden Crow Crown Prince quickly followed behind him. In a secret dungeon like this with terrifying beings at every turn, it was still safest at his father¡¯s side.

    Meanwhile, Wu Liang had a conflicted expression. The Fiend Emperor wasn¡¯t paying attention to him and was focused on whaty inside, creating a great opportunity to flee. But how could he, who had robbed tombs his entire life, resist the temptation of such a grand ancient tomb? He gritted his teeth and followed them inside, muttering, ¡°If I¡¯m going to die, so be it!¡±

    Zu An and the others exchanged a look, then followed at a moderate pace behind them. They expected that it would be dark inside and thought of making a torch, but it was actually brightly lit.

    There weremp-like objects hanging from the walls, surrounded by an assortment of runes that resembled electrical circuits. It was as if the light that had emanated from the four gemstones and the key from earlier had provided the entire underground pce with a light source.

    Zu An was quite surprised. Why did such ancient things bear a strange resemnce to modern technology? He thought,Don¡¯t tell me there were aliens or something back then, were there? No wonder even after so many years have passed, we still haven¡¯t been able to find the Xia Dynasty¡¯s remains¡­

    The group clicked their tongues, in awe of the tomb. Along the way, they saw many mechanisms. However, with a tomb raider like Wu Liang present, they got through each one feeling more scared than hurt. His prowess was such that he was able to find hidden switches to open up passages even when it seemed like there was nowhere left for them to go.

    ¡°This damn fatty is quite the talent¡­¡± Zu An muttered, amazed. He thought to himself,If I run into any more tombs in the future, I¡¯ll have to throw him an invite. That would increase our chances of sess a lot!

    They continued for some time just like that. Eventually, Wu Liang activated another mechanism, opening a gate that led to a spacious room.

    ¡°This should be the main tomb room,¡± Wu Liang said, swallowing his saliva. He looked at the very center of the room, where there was a rectangr stone tform covered in runes; it seemed to have had some kind of seal applied to it.

    Zu An noticed that there were two giant statues, more than ten meters tall, standing on either side of the room. One statue had the body of a giant snake, and there were nine heads on it; when he first saw it, he thought it was of the Nine Infants. Only upon closer inspection was he able to tell that it was different.

    Even though the statue also had nine heads, the Nine Infants had nine snake heads, while it had nine human heads. It resembled a sort of ancient demonic deity, emanating mysterious intimidation and pressure.

    The other statue looked like a giant bear. It waspletely red, with an extremely sinister expression. It didn¡¯t look like a being that belonged to the righteous faction.

    Zu An wondered whether the two statues were just there to apany the stone altar in the center, or if they were guarding something.

    The Fiend Emperor kneaded Dan Zhu in his palm, asking ¡°Did you not say that Emperor Yao knew about the immortal medicine? If one really existed, why would he be lying in a coffin?¡±

    Indeed, the rectangr tform resembled a coffin. The Fiend Emperor quickly felt incredible disappointment when he thought about how Emperor Yao could be inside. He was close to the end of his life; what he desired the most was none other than immortal medicine and a higher level of power. Now, it looked as if neither of them seemed too likely to be obtainable.

    Zu An was startled. The Fiend Emperor also had information regarding immortal medicine?

    That makes sense. If that spirit really is Emperor Yao¡¯s son, it¡¯s not too strange for them to know. it and Emperor Yao are both from ancient times, after all.

    Dan Zhu quickly said, ¡°He¡¯s sealed¡­ sealed inside. He definitely isn¡¯t dead and should know about the undying medicine!¡±

    When he heard Dan Zu, the Fiend Emperor looked at the rectangr stone altar, seemingly feeling a bit moved.

    Zu An quickly stepped forward to stop him, asking, ¡°If there really is an ancient emperor sealed inside, would you be able to win against him if you unseal it?¡±

    What if something terrifying came out and killed everyone?

    The Fiend Emperor hesitated a bit too. He was seriously injured from fighting against the Four Perils several times. Even though he had recovered through the Golden Crow Sacred Fire, he was close to his limit. He was no longer in his best condition.

    However, his longing for eternal life made him harden his resolve. He replied, ¡°Don¡¯t I still have you here?¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

 Chapter 1465: Respectfully Welcome Master

    <h4>Chapter 1465: Respectfully Wee Master</h4>

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince was furious.My father is actually treating this guy as someone on the same level?!

    Zu An thought,Am I really that amazing, for you to actually be treating me with that much respect?

    Of course, he knew what the Fiend Emperor was really implying. At this point, they were all in the same boat. If something strong appeared, Zu An¡¯s group couldn''t rely on the Fiend Emperor alone. They had to help out too. After all, there were two grandmasters on his side and a Medusa. Between that and Zu An¡¯s unusual strength, they were naturally a force to be reckoned with.

    The Fiend Emperor didn¡¯t wait for him to reply. He tossed a skull into Wu Liang¡¯s hands, saying, ¡°Here, open up that sarcophagus in the center.¡±

    The skull was made of some crystalline material; its surface was sparkling and translucent, emanating a special kind of radiance. It was something the Fiend Emperor¡¯s group had obtained along the way. He had noticed that there were special grooves on the stone altar that matched this skull, which was why he told Wu Liang to test things out.

    Wu Liang cursed inwardly.Wasn¡¯t this Zu An¡¯s job before?

    Even though that was what he thought, he didn¡¯t dare to go against the Fiend Emperor¡¯s orders. Otherwise, he could end up having a Puppet Curse ced on him too.

    Later, I really have to ask Zu An how he managed to get rid of that Puppet Curse¡­he thought as he cautiously approached the stone altar. He carefully observed the runes and formations around him. When he was sure that there were no lethal mechanisms present, he then slowly ced the skull into the recess.

    Zu An frowned as he watched the whole process. Emperor Yao was a glorious emperor in his own right, and he should have been considered a proper hero. Why was something sinister like a skull needed to activate this ce?

    Still, that crystal skull does look pretty nice¡­

    Suddenly, a crack rang out through the air, as the crystal skull fit seamlessly into the groove. Then, as if it had been sucked in by some force, it sank downward.

    Zu An saw that Wu Liang still hadn¡¯t let go of the skull. He couldn''t hold back, remarking, ¡°Damn fatty, you still aren¡¯t letting go?¡±

    The Fiend Emperor and Golden Crow Crown Prince watched Wu Liang vigntly. They thought,Could it be that this fatty noticed something and wants to be the first to have ess to the immortal opportunity?

    Wu Liang cried out, his voice shaking a bit, ¡°I want to let go too, but it keeps holding onto me and won¡¯t allow me to let go!¡±

    While he was speaking, the skull emerged from the stone altar again. With their keen eyes, the others saw that Wu Liang¡¯s hands seemed to be stuck to the skull¡¯s surface by some kind of indescribable power. It didn¡¯t let him go no matter what he did.

    Suddenly, the skeleton¡¯s eyes glowed with red light, and a sinister, ice-cold aura appeared out of thin air! The Fiend Emperor¡¯s expression changed, and he quickly took a step back.

    Zu An and the others felt ice-cold intent flow over their bodies. It wasn¡¯t the sort of chill that came from Yan Xuehen¡¯s Snowke Sword; rather, it was a kind of sinister aura that made them freeze up uncontrobly. Their expressions changed, and they also quickly backed up.

    Wu Liang, who was closest to the altar, became even more frightened. He screamed, ¡°Your majesty Fiend Emperor, save me! Please save me!¡±

    The Fiend Emperor frowned, clearly having no intention to interfere. It was almost as if he had already nned to use Wu Liang to test the waters.

    Zu An frowned. This fatty still shared a bit of friendship with him. He couldn''t just watch him die without doing anything. As such, he flung an energy de at Wu Liang¡¯s arm. Compared to a life, the fatty¡¯s arms wouldn¡¯t be that great of a price at all. Either way, high-level cultivators could all recover on their own. With some medicine, they¡¯d grow back in a few years.

    Wu Liang clearly understood his intentions. A hint of gratitude appeared on his face. As such, he didn¡¯t resist at all and nned to give up his hands to escape. However, as the de energy approached him, the skull suddenly emanated a ck vortex that sucked it all away.

    Wu Liang screamed miserably. He could feel his own life essence being quickly sucked away as well! His two chubby arms visibly shriveled up. His smooth and round cheeks also began to cave in. He tried to detonate his own internal energy to remove his arms, but it was already toote. Before he could summon enough power to blow up his arms, it was already sucked away by the ck vortex.

    Afterward, he no longer had the strength to resist. He could only turn toward the Fiend Emperor. His lips shook slightly as he said, ¡°Save¡­ Save me¡­¡± He knew that out of all those present, only the Fiend Emperor had the ability to save him now.

    However, the Fiend Emperor remainedpletely indifferent. If the stone altar only opened with a blood sacrifice, Wu Liang was clearly the best choice for it. Zu An¡¯s group seemed to share quite a bit of affection with each other. If he chose any of them. it would cause their already fragile alliance to break downpletely. Apart from them, there was no way he would sacrifice his own son, right?

    Zu An¡¯s group couldn''t bear to watch. However, in the current situation, they were helpless.

    In the blink of an eye, the chubby Wu Liang had already turned into skin and bones, as if he were a mummy. Zu An couldn''t help but recall how Sang Qian had been killed by Mosquito Daoist. Back then, that was exactly how he had looked. Could it be that the altar had sealed a Blood race individual?

    This fatty really is pitiful. He had all kinds of mysterious skills, but in the end, he died so easily.

    Suddenly, a disturbance began to happen around them. The hardened dirt around the two giant statues gradually fell off. Then, two powerful auras suddenly manifested in the hall, quickly growing stronger.

    Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen both secretly warned the other two, ¡°Be careful! These are peak grandmaster level auras! No, they¡¯re still getting stronger!¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed.Don¡¯t tell me they¡¯re two earth immortals?

    Forget about him, even the Fiend Emperor was getting nervous. He stared at the two statues. By now, the hardened dirt had alreadypletely fallen off, revealing their original appearances.

    One was a scarlet bear-like monster. It rubbed its head as if it were still a bit muddle-headed after waking up. However, when it saw those who were present, it beat its chest and roared angrily.

    On the other side of the room, the human-faced, snake-bodied monster¡¯s nine heads bore sinister and warped expressions, as if they had experienced unendurable suffering. Soon afterward, the space around those heads began to distort, and they graduallybined into a single head. Its body became smaller and smaller before finally turning into what resembled a handsome and delicate prince. His malicious, nine-headed and snake-bodied appearance was nowhere to be seen.

    The Fiend Emperor didn¡¯t look down on it in the slightest. On the contrary, he was even more cautious of the man than the huge red bear. Even though the bear was big and ferocious, its aura was barely at the earth immortal rank. There was still a sizable gap between their cultivation. However, the white-clothed young master waspletely different. His strength had shot up so quickly that it wasn¡¯t that far from the Fiend Emperor¡¯s own cultivation.

    Meanwhile, Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue exined what was going on to Zu An and Yu Yanluo. Both of them shivered when they heard what the grandmasters said.

    ¡°Wait, why are these two¡¯s auraspletely different from that cold and eerie energy from before?¡± Zu An wondered, suddenly realizing the important issue.

    In truth, the Fiend Emperor secretly felt d that he hadn¡¯t fought against Zu An¡¯s group. Now, he could face the white-d man, while the other group could face the scarlet bear. Together with the Golden Crow Crown Prince, there probably wouldn¡¯t be any problems.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    However, when he heard what Zu An said, he was startled. He suddenly looked at the stone altar at the center.

    The white-clothed man and the giant red bear both walked over to the altar and kneeled down on one knee, eximing, ¡°We respectfully wee our master!¡±

 Chapter 1466: Rock Bottom

    Chapter 1466: Rock Bottom

    The group felt their scalps turning numb.

    Master? These two were only servants? If the servants are already this powerful, what about the master?

    The Fiend Emperor was shocked and furious. He squeezed Dan Zhu¡¯s spirit in his hand, asking, ¡°Is that your father?¡±

    ¡°No¡­ No¡­¡± Dan Zhu replied, trembling as he exined, ¡°Something is wrong with this aura. It¡¯s not my father!¡±

    ¡°Obviously!¡± the Fiend Emperor snapped. He could tell that the sinister aura wasn¡¯t simr to Dan Zhu¡¯s in the slightest.

    Just then, a terrifying vortex appeared at the center of the stone tform, wildly devouring the surrounding ki. Even with Zu An and the others¡¯ cultivation, they could barely resist it, feeling the energy within them leave their bodies. They quickly used their skills, barely managing to keep themselves stable.

    Zu An voiced his amazement. The absorption skill seemed a bit simr to the Heaven Devouring Sutra! However, when he inspected it further, it also seemed to be a bit different.

    Still, he didn¡¯t have the time to consider such questions. He shouted to the Fiend Emperor, ¡°Hurry and stop him! If that guy revivespletely, none of us will survive!¡±

    The being inside had clearly only started to wake up. In his current state, he was at his weakest.

    Zu An had considered interfering to stop the process too, but the terrifying suction force could end up making him quickly follow in the fatty¡¯s footsteps. Only the Fiend Emperor had the power to stop it.

    ¡­

    ¡°Achoo!¡± Somewhere far away from the cave, a heap of dirt suddenly swelled up from the ground.

    ¡°Motherf*cking¡­ That was way too dangerous! Thank goodness I left ahead of time,¡± the voice¡¯s owner muttered. He sensed a giant vortex in the cave behind him that continuously absorbed all the ki around it, and couldn''t help but shiver.

    If Zu An and the others had been there, they would have been shocked, because the figure was none other than Wu Liang, whom they had seen being turned into a mummy!

    Wu Liang was in a sorry state; his once chubby body was now quite a bit skinnier. He had clearly suffered quite a bit due to his internal energies. A look of pain appeared on his face as he remarked, ¡°Sigh, I lost another life here. I really lost quite a bit in this dungeon. I have to find some other treasure to make up for it.¡±

    As thest inheritor of the Pangolin Race, he had looted countless tombs and obtained many good things from within them. One of them was the ¡®Cat Fiend Nine Lives¡¯ secret cultivation method, which gave him nine more lives. Even though it didn¡¯t grant him a longer lifespan, if something unexpected happened and he was killed, he would have several more chances to live.

    Once, he had encountered a crisis in a tomb, and been forced to use up a life. This was now his second time using up a life. His chubby face trembled just from the thought. It really hurt losing such precious lives!

    He decisively made up his mind to go in the opposite direction of the cave. He had actually already taken some mental notes on some caves that could bring some benefits along the way. It was just that the Fiend Emperor had been utterly focused on the immortal medicine and a chance for immortality, and hadn¡¯t been too interested in those other things. The current situation just happened to perfectly benefit Wu Liang, however.

    As for the terrifying tomb behind him, he knew that not even nine lives would be enough to survive in a ce like that. His many years of tomb raiding experience had made him firmly believe in the principle of ¡®safety first¡¯. He had to know his limits. Things that were clearly beyond his ability had to be given up on.

    I¡¯ll just leave it up to the Fiend Emperor and the others. If they can uncover the secrets inside, I can follow them out of this Unknown Region too.

    If they can¡¯t, and I have to spend the rest of my life here¡­

    Staying behind in this world doesn¡¯t sound all that bad either. There seem to really be immortal traces here. If I loot a few more tombs and take a few decades, or even a century to increase my strength, I¡¯lle back to that tombter. Then, everything will be mine, hahaha!

    When Wu Liang thought about that wonderful future, his dejected expression quickly changed. He quickly left in the direction of the sunset, gradually disappearing into the horizon.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, inside the cave, Zu An and the others definitely didn¡¯t share Wu Liang¡¯s good mood. They could only hold on bitterly as they experienced the coffin¡¯s terrifying nature head-on.

    When he heard what Zu An said, the Fiend Emperor narrowed his eyes. He naturally understood the reasoning, but he was worried that if he interfered and got into trouble, Zu An would be the one who benefited the most in the end.

    However, at this point, he didn¡¯t have the luxury to overthink it. Two spheres of golden light that resembled miniature suns suddenly appeared in his palms. In an instant, he quickly appeared next to the coffin, rushing directly at the crystal skull.

    He knew that the source of all the strange phenomena was the joining of the crystal skull with the coffin. As long as the skull was smashed apart or they were separated, it would likely be enough to stop the crisis..

    The white-d man and the giant red bear rushed forward to stop the Fiend Emperor when they saw what he was doing.

    However, two golden wings suddenly appeared behind the Fiend Emperor. Every single feather contained golden sword energy. He knew he couldn''t waste any time, so he didn¡¯t hold back.

    The red bear roared furiously. All of its hairs stood on end like steel needles, blocking the golden sword energy. Although chunk after chunk of its fur was sted off, the Fiend Emperor¡¯s golden feathers gradually dimmed as well.

    The white-d man released a cold snort. Green mes swirled around his left hand, while a ck water snake emerged from his right, attacking the Fiend Emperor from both directions. The air filled with an eye-stinging sensation, apanied by a sour stench that could be smelled in the distance.

    ¡°There¡¯s poison!¡± Yun Jianyue quickly warned the others. She stared at the mes and ck water the white-d man produced. Both clearly had unnatural colors. She couldn''t tell which one was poisonous, or if both of them were.

    Zu An saw clearly that whether it was the white-d man or the giant red bear, neither one of them was weaker than the Fiend Emperor. Even if the Fiend Emperor could hold on alone, he definitely wouldn¡¯t have the strength left to stop the being in the stone coffin from reviving.

    As such, he couldn¡¯t afford to think about his grudge against the Fiend Emperor, and he prepared to rush over.

    Suddenly, however, golden light erupted through the entire pce, and countless hidden runes in the walls lit up. Then, golden whips emerged from the walls one after another, continuouslyshing at the stone coffin.

    Furious roars emanated from the coffin. The sinister aura briefly stopped spreading, and the terrifying suction force became much weaker than before.

    The group was overjoyed to see what was happening. Yan Xuehen quickly eximed, ¡°This is a seal created by the one who built this tomb! It will not be easy for the one in the coffin toe out.¡±

    She prepared to rush forward to work together with Zu An, in order to distract the giant red bear and buy the Fiend Emperor some time.

    Just then, the spirit in the Fiend Emperor¡¯s hands cried out, ¡°This is father¡¯s power! I can sense father¡¯s power! Father, where are you? I¡¯m Dan Zhu! Hurry and save me!¡±

    The Fiend Emperor shivered. The current situation was already a huge mess. If another being like Emperor Yao joined the fray, he wouldn¡¯t stand a chance even if he grew two more heads and two more pairs of arms!N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Only then did Zu An learn the spirit¡¯s name. So he was called Dan Zhu? Why does he look like that, and why was he enved by the Fiend Emperor?

    However, Dan Zhu¡¯s pleas received no reply. They only drew the attention of the skull. It looked in Dan Zhu¡¯s direction, then suddenly opened its mouth, releasing a powerful suction force in his direction.

    Dan Zhu¡¯s spirit form couldn''t hold on and flew rapidly toward the skull. He screamed in fear. If he got swallowed up, he would be dead for sure! Unfortunately, because of the Fiend Emperor, he was only a ruined soul fragment, so how could he resist the skull¡¯s power?

    The Fiend Emperor¡¯s expression changed. He tried to stop what was happening, but the white-d man reacted quickly as well. The green mes and ck waterbined together, turning into a creature that resembled a yin-yang fish. Streaks of power arced out.

    The Fiend Emperor was shocked. In that instant, he felt a threat to his very life! He knew that if he didn¡¯t go all out, he could be defeated outright by the attack. His eyes erupted with golden light, and a red sun projection appeared behind him as he stretched out his arms to face the yin-yang fish.

    Suddenly, a terrifying power rippled outward in all directions, stripping away many of the rune formations on the walls, including ones that were intended to prevent damage to the great tomb¡¯s structure!

    The Fiend Emperor and the white-d man both groaned, both retreating more than ten meters.

    The Fiend Emperor felt his internal energies stir. If not for his wounds from his battle against the Qiongqi, his attack would have already been enough to seriously injure his opponent. Still, he knew that the white-d man seemed to have just awakened, and thus wasn¡¯t at his strongest either.

    Just how terrifying was the being in that coffin, then?

    He suddenly looked to one side, only to see the crystal skull swallow up Dan Zhu¡¯s soul fragment. In that instant, he felt as if all hope had hit rock bottom.

 Chapter 1467: Something Isnâ€™t Right Here

    Chapter 1467: Something Isn¡¯t Right Here

    Zu An had considered heading over to try to prevent what was happening, but the battle was at the earth immortal level, making it difficult to get closer. Furthermore, he had still needed to watch out for the terrifying absorption forceing from the coffin in the center, so he was a bit toote in the end. He could only watch as that skull swallowed up the spirit.

    Dan Zhu¡¯s screams came to a screeching halt as the skull visibly swallowed. It was clearly a skeleton, and yet it seemed to have a look of enjoyment on its face.

    Just then, the golden whips of light that had previously been attacking suddenly stopped. They flew around aimlessly as if they had lost their target.

    The absorption force burst out of the stone coffin again, devouring all of the ki near it. However, the golden lights didn¡¯t strike its surface again, instead withdrawing into the walls.

    Yan Xuehen was shocked. She quickly exined, ¡°Judging from what that spirit said earlier, these golden whips of light¡¯s power seem to be rted to his father Emperor Yao. The skeleton has absorbed Dan Zhu¡¯s soul fragment, so it now has a bit of Dan Zhu¡¯s energy. These golden light whips recognized the energy of Emperor Yao¡¯s son, so they did not continue attacking.¡±

    Yun Jianyue and Yu Yanluo were amazed. This woman was good in her field after all!

    However, that made things much more troublesome.

    The Fiend Emperor also felt incredible regret. If he had known things would be like this, he wouldn¡¯t have kept Dan Zhu alive! He hadn¡¯t helped them much, and had only caused trouble for them.

    Perhaps because the Fiend Emperor¡¯s prior attack had damaged the runes on the walls, the golden light whips weren¡¯t able to return to their original positions. Suddenly, the skull on the stone coffin opened its mouth, sucking in the whips like noodles.

    The Fiend Emperor and his son were speechless. So was Zu An¡¯s group.

    You had one job, and it was to seal this guy! Why aren¡¯t you resisting at all when it eats you up?

    Even though Yan Xuehen¡¯s exnation had told them that it was most likely because the stone altar had absorbed Dan Zhu¡¯s aura, so the whips of light no longer viewed it as an enemy, it was still difficult for them to ept the shocking scene.

    When the whips of light were allpletely absorbed, fine cracks suddenly emanated from the center of the stone altar, spreading across its surface. In the next second, there was a huge explosion as the stone coffin exploded into pieces. A dense lump of ck energy appeared from within, and the crystal skull flew into the position of its head. Soon afterward, the ck energy vaguely coalesced into a human figure. An absolutely frightening aura spread outward, one that made even the Fiend Emperor tremble.

    The figure waspletely shrouded within ck fog; only its crystal skull was clearly visible. Its jaw moved up and down, releasing ear-piercingughter that sounded like fingernails on a chalkboard. It eximed, ¡°Hahahah! Iugh at Emperor Yao¡¯sck of insight, at Yu the Great¡¯sck of wisdom! They arranged all of this, and yet in the end, it only benefited me! The taste of Emperor Yao¡¯s power really is exquisite.¡±

    Zu An felt a bit dejected. The whips of light were Emperor Yao¡¯s power, something he had most likely left behind to seal the coffin. Who would have thought that Dan Zhu would appear, and ultimately be nourishment for the revival of the one inside?

    Who was the being that had emerged from the stone coffin? Why had both Emperor Yao and Yu the Great worked together to seal him?

    However, there was another emperor missing. What was Shun¡¯s role in this? If Zu An hadn¡¯t personally watched Shun disappear into smoke, he would have wondered if this being was Shun himself.

    ¡°Just who are you?¡± Zu An took a deep breath and asked. Even if he had to die here, he wanted to at least know why.

    Even the Golden Crow Crown Prince couldn''t help but feel a bit of admiration. The entire time, he hadn¡¯t been all that convinced that Zu An was better than him. After all, he had been known as the Fiend Races¡¯ number one for a long time, and he even had the support of all sorts of treasures. No one had been able to beat him for many years, so he had maintained absolute confidence in himself.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    As for those losses at the hands of Zu An, he had concluded that they were only due to ambushes or schemes, and didn¡¯t mean he was actually weaker. However, at that moment, he suddenly realized just which area he was inferior to Zu An in.

    When facing a power that was even greater than his father, he had already begun quaking in fear, unable to stand still. However, Zu An could still stand firmly and converse with the being.

    ¡°My name? It seems I have already been away for too long. The world has actually already forgotten about the Deity of Water, Gonggong!¡± the crystal skull harrumphed, clearly unhappy that the ant before him hadn¡¯t heard his name.

    ¡°Gonggong?¡± Zu An repeated, feeling greatly shaken. ¡°The one whose anger at Buzhou Mountain caused heaven and earth to copse, only for a flood to rush into the sky? And afterward, Nuwa had toe out to personally repair the heavens?¡±

    The crystal skull¡¯s expression clearly stiffened. The overflowing ck energy around its entire body also froze for a moment.

    You have sessfully trolled Gonggong for +222 +222 +222¡­

    Zu An was shocked. So you were Gonggong after all. What are you reacting like this for?

    The white-d prince said with a smile, ¡°The one you speak of was the first generation Gonggong. Our master is the Gonggong of thest generation.¡±

    His skills in battle were incredibly vicious and sinister; his skills were extremely venomous water and fire. And yet, when he spoke in human form, he was refined and courteous, almost like an elegant prince amid a world of chaos.

    Zu An couldn''t help but sigh in gratitude. This kid is pretty handsome. He¡¯s almost caught up to me. He asked politely, ¡°May I ask what I should call this brother?¡±

    ¡°Brother?¡± The young master¡¯s expression froze. He clearly wasn¡¯t used to Zu An¡¯s quick change in attitude, but he didn¡¯t get angry and replied, ¡°I am Xiang Liu. What is this little brother¡¯s name?¡±

    Zu An cupped his hands and told Xiang Liu his name. However, he was terrified inside. Xiang Liu was the name of a famous monster from ancient legend! The water it sprayed out was poisonous, taking the lives of all those who touched it. Furthermore, the blood it shed could render allnd within a thousand milespletely barren. He had never expected such a huge toxic hazard to actually assume the appearance of a refined young master!

    When he saw Zu An looking at the giant red bear, Xiang Liu considerately introduced hispanion, saying, ¡°He is called Fuyou.¡±

    Fuyou asked in a low, muffled voice, ¡°What are you speaking so much to an ant like this for?¡±

    Zu An was a bit stunned. This guy was really rough and crude; why did he have such a graceful and light name? It felt the same as a tough-looking, full-bearded man having the name ¡®Captivating Wang¡¯.[1]

    However, he quickly gathered his thoughts. ording to what Xiang Liu had said, he deduced that this Gonggong had been Yu the Great¡¯s greatest enemy in history¡¯s great floods.

    Gonggong was a water deity who had used the floods to cause chaos. Yu the Great had to control the floods, so naturally, both sides shed.

    Judging from what Zu An had seen and heard along the way, Gonggong belonged to the me Emperor¡¯s faction, someone who was probably unwilling to give up and wanted to fight for the throne. As for the floods, they were nothing more than a tool he used. Unfortunately, he had still been defeated by Yu the Great in the end.

    Zu An couldn''t help but ask, ¡°If you were all fighting against Yu the Great, why did you mention Emperor Yao?¡±

    That was what he just couldn''t figure out. The emperor before Yu the Great was clearly Shun! There was no way Emperor Yao and Yu the Great had schemed together to seal up this Gonggong, right?

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, the Fiend Emperor and the others were stupefied. This kid was speaking to the horrifying sealed being as if there were nothing wrong, and he even seemed to be familiar with its identity and background!

    The Fiend Emperor¡¯s earlier conversations with Dan Zhu had only given him bits and pieces of information about that age. Just how does he know more than me?

    Gonggong also recovered from his daze just then, replying, ¡°There is no harm in telling you this. In the past, Emperor Yao was reced by Shun in hister years, and he was sealed here. However, fortunes rise and fall; Shun followed in his footsteps in hister years and was overtaken by Yu the Great, who became more and more powerful over time. Yu the Great subdued me. Then, he used Emperor Yao and Shun¡¯s seal, drawing from its power to set up this seal. However, I am certain he never even dreamed that one day, there would be an idiot who would bring Dan Zhu¡¯s soul here so I could use it to absorb Emperor Yao¡¯s power, hahahah!¡±

    The Fiend Emperor¡¯s expression grew ashen. He was the fool this guy was speaking of. You bastard, kill me if you wish, but how can you humiliate me like this?!

    Zu An sighed in admiration. He hadn¡¯t expected Emperor Yao¡¯s ending to be so tragic. Emperor Yao had first been sealed by Shun, and then been used by Yu the Great to create another seal. In the end, he had b Gonggong¡¯s food¡­

    As he thought about the details, his expression suddenly changed. Why is this guy patiently telling me all of these things?

    Yan Xuehen also realized something. She quickly cried out in rm, saying, ¡°Be careful! He is stalling for time to recover his strength!¡±

    Zu An quickly said through ki, ¡°Fiend Emperor, hurry and do something!¡±

    At the same time, he gave the three women a look. The Fiend Emperor was going to take the lead here and fight it out against these people. They had to see if they could take advantage of this situation once both sides took each other out.

    And yet, a secondter, the Fiend Emperor cupped his hands toward Gonggong, eximing, ¡°I am willing to take your respected self on as my master and work diligently for your sake!¡±

    Zu An¡¯s entire group was speechless.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince also looked at this father he had revered ever since he was little,pletely in shock. In that instant, he felt as if something important inside him had copsed.

    Zu An thought he might have misheard at first. However, when he snapped out of his daze, he felt as if he would go crazy.

    Hey, big boss, don¡¯t you have any integrity?

    1. ¡¯Fuyou¡¯ means ¡®to float¡¯, ¡®drift¡¯, ¡®water¡¯. ?

 Chapter 1468: Want To Date, But Scared of Getting F*cked?

    Chapter 1468: Want To Date, But Scared of Getting F*cked?

    Who was the Fiend Emperor? He was the only one in the worldparable to the human emperor Zhao Han, even though many believed he was a bit weaker. Otherwise, the Fiend races wouldn¡¯t have been defeated in the great war and pushed back into a harshernd.

    However, that was mostly what humans believed. The Fiend races almost all viewed the Fiend Emperor as the more powerful one. After all, he had greater seniority and experience, as he had lived longer. Thus, they all believed their defeat had been due to many other reasons, and not because the Fiend Emperor they revered wasn¡¯t good enough.

    The debate over who was the strongest had already gone on for a long, long time. However, both sides believed that the two were on the same level. Even if there was some difference, it wouldn¡¯t be too big.

    And yet, someone so unrivaled had actually sworn their loyalty to another so easily?

    Forget about the Golden Crow Crown Prince, even Zu An, Yan Xuehen, and the others werepletely stunned.

    Yun Jianyue thought back to when she had invaded the imperial pce. Back then, Zhao Han hadn¡¯t even been there physically, and yet he had managed to injure her seriously. Now, someone of the same level was wagging his tail at another person?

    Even though the Fiend Emperor expressed loyalty on the surface, they all knew that it was because he had already sensed that the difference in strength was too great. He was doing this to save his own life.

    However, that was what Yun Jianyue found the hardest to understand. A real manly man wouldn¡¯t yield to anything in their path to cultivation. Even though she herself wasn¡¯t a man, she shared the same mindset.

    Her cultivation was far weaker than the Fiend Emperor¡¯s, and yet there was no way she would bow down here and surrender. Then, why had the Fiend Emperor, someone who had achieved so much in the world of cultivation, actually chosen to yield like this? He didn¡¯t have the willpower of the strong at all!

    You¡¯re an embarrassment to all cultivators!

    But just how did you be one of the strongest cultivators in the world if you¡¯ve never had the willpower of the strong?

    Yan Xuehen and Yu Yanluo even began to question life itself a bit. They couldn''t understand the scene before their eyes at all.

    Zu An felt as if he were watching ¡®The Mummy Returns¡¯. The main character, alongside the big boss High Priest Imhotep, had gone into the Scorpion King¡¯s Tomb. At first, the main character had thought that a powerful being like Imhotep at his side could take on a share of the pressure. But who could have thought that the other person would choose to join the enemy?!

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince looked at his father, feeling shock, despair, and then strong disdain.

    How did this old man freaking teach me ever since I was little?

    He told me I should have the willpower of the strong! He always preached that to me in a high-sounding and dignified manner, and yet when he¡¯s facing someone truly strong, this is how he acts?

    Although he ridiculed his father inwardly, a secondter, he also kneeled down and said, ¡°Deity Gonggong, this junior is willing to serve you diligently as well!¡±

    Faced with the scene before them, Xiang Liu and Fuyou widened their eyes in disbelief. Gonggong was also a bit shocked, but he burst into madughter a momentter. ¡°Hahaha, not bad, not bad. A wise man submits to circumstances. As I have just returned to the world, I just happen to need subordinates to help me expand and open up new territory. In the future, you will have your share of benefits too.¡±

    When he saw the obsequious smile on the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s face, Zu An felt incredible disdain, thinking, As expected of father and son. Their servile appearances are the same!

    Uh, well, right now¡­ If you can¡¯t beat ¡®em, join ¡®em.

    He was already wondering how he could express even more sincerity than the Golden Crow father and son when Gonggong¡¯s eyes suddenly narrowed. Gonggong stared at him and eximed, ¡°I can feel it, I can feel it! You have Yu the Great¡¯s energy on you!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Gonggong for +444 +444 +444¡­

    Zu An was speechless.

    What the hell is going on now? If everyone else can join the other side, why am I the only one who can¡¯t?!

    And what the heck is up with this ¡®Yu the Great¡¯s energy¡¯ thing?

    Don¡¯t tell me I¡¯m the main character designated by the Mandate of Heaven, that I¡¯m Yu the Great¡¯s reincarnation?

    He had read a lot of stories in his previous world. He couldn''t help but think of such things in the current situation.

    ¡°Your majesty must have misunderstood! Who knows how many tens of thousands of years there are between me and Yu the Great? How could I possibly have his energy?¡± Zu An quickly exined.

    ¡°Tens of thousands of years? How many years has it already been?¡± Gonggong asked, looking perplexed. He was clearly shocked by just how much time had passed.

    ¡°Run!¡± Zu An suddenly cried, taking the chance to grab the three women. He immediately used his instant movement skill to flee.

    The closest to him was the Fiend Emperor, but he didn¡¯t stop him. Instead, he even inconspicuously moved out of the way a bit. He didn¡¯t want to have any conflict with Zu An¡¯s group at the moment.

    The giant bear Fuyou snorted loudly, then rushed forth to chase after Zu An¡¯s party. His heavy body made the entire hall tremble.

    Meanwhile, Xiang Liu stood in ce without moving. The first reason was because of his higher status; he wasn¡¯t willing to lower himself to such a level. The second was that he had to protect Gonggong, who hadn¡¯t beenpletely revived yet. However, The Fiend Emperor¡¯s slight movement didn¡¯t escape his notice.

    Yun Jianyue raised a hand behind her. Countless hidden weapons flew out from her sleeves, all excellent items from the Holy Sect that carried shocking destructive power. Usually, she was proud and aloof and felt it beneath her to use them. However, as the enemy was too powerful, she abandoned her misgivings.

    Fuyou roared. His arms swept outward, easily sending the hidden weapons flying.

    At the same time, Yan Xuehen activated a formation. Light flickered and shed like a string of powerful sh bombs, temporarily blinding those present.

    Ever since she had entered the pce, she had quietly set up some rune formations while walking. She had originally intended to use them against the Fiend Emperor, but now, she had to employ them to escape the unexpected situation.

    Fuyou was caught off guard and instinctively closed his eyes. However, that meant he couldn''tpletely avoid the iing weapons, so many of them hit his body and inflicted fiery pain.

    Yu Yanluo took the chance to activate the Holy Pearl, using the earth element to make the pce¡¯s ceiling copse.

    The tomb had initially been protected by ancient defense formations that made it nearly indestructible. Just then, however, Gonggong had already sucked Emperor Yao¡¯s power out of it. That very power was what the rune formations of the pce were built on. Without the formations, Yu Yanluo easily aplished her objective.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Even someone as powerful as Fuyou ended up being covered in grime and dirt from the falling earth. By the time he broke out from the ruins, Zu An¡¯s group had already fled into the distance.

    Fuyou roared in frustration, chasing them angrily.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Xiang Liu waved his hand. The dirt above his head seemed to be blocked by an invisible barrier, and not a specknded on him.

    The Fiend Emperor also released an invisible wave of energy, preventing the dirt from hitting him. His eyes narrowed a bit as he looked at Gonggong. Gonggong didn¡¯t do a thing from start to finish, and even the dirt ended up being blocked by Xiang Liu. Could it be¡­

    Xiang Liu frowned a bit, saying, ¡°I seem to have sensed Nuwa¡¯s energy just now.¡±

    ¡°Indeed, I can sense it too,¡± Gonggong said as he looked in the direction Zu An¡¯s group had disappeared in. The red lights deep within his skull¡¯s eye sockets drifted around as he said, ¡°Interesting. I thought they were just some ants at first, but I didn¡¯t expect all of them to be so outstanding.¡±

    The Fiend Emperor was shocked. First, it was Yu the Great; now it was Nuwa? Why hadn¡¯t Zu An¡¯s group died yet?!

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince, on the other hand, felt calmer. If Zu An had just been an ordinary person, and yet managed to ambush a Mr. Perfect like him, his vast ego wouldn¡¯t be able to take it.

    However, if Zu An were some sort of reincarnated deity, being defeated by him wouldn¡¯t be that hard to ept in the end.

    ¡°You should chase after them too, but be sure to capture them alive,¡± Gonggong ordered. Previously, Fuyou alone would have been enough, but one person in the group had Yu the Great¡¯s aura, while the other had Nuwa¡¯s aura. There were just too many variables, so he sent Xiang Liu too just in case.

    Of course, he could send the newly-defected Fiend Emperor, but what if the Fiend Emperor and those people worked together? Fuyou would be in danger then. As such, in the end, he felt that Xiang Liu was the more suitable choice.

    Xiang Liu gave the Fiend Emperor and his son a look, feeling a bit of concern. However, he had always been meticulous in thought. He quickly realized that, as his master had made such arrangements, he had to have his own thoughts. As such, he quickly said before disappearing into the distance, ¡°Understood!¡±

    When Xiang Liu left, the Fiend Emperor stood to the side. He had a respectful expression on the surface; however, he was secretly examining Gonggong. He was starting to feel eager to challenge Gonggong.

    Gonggong¡¯s crystal skull suddenly looked at the Fiend Emperor, remarking with an amused expression. ¡°What, do you want to use this chance while they aren¡¯t here to attack me?¡±

    The Fiend Emperor shivered. At that instant, he could barely resist the temptation to attack. He could tell that Gonggong was still in the process of recovering. Otherwise, Zu An¡¯s group wouldn¡¯t have been able to escape at all. However, Gonggong¡¯s calm demeanor made him uncertain as well.

    This was a ssic instance of wanting to date, but also being scared of getting f*cked.

 Chapter 1469: Power of Dragon Veins

    <h4>Chapter 1469: Power of Dragon Veins</h4>

    He¡¯s still recovering right now. Without Xiang Liu and Fuyou as his guards, and with the crown prince to help me, there should be a high chance of sess.

    But why is he so calm? That shouldn¡¯t be the case!

    If this Gonggong was so powerful and well-known in ancient times, and he even has powerful subordinates like Xiang Liu and Fuyou, he¡¯s definitely not stupid. In that case, why did he make Xiang Liu leave, remaining all alone with me?

    Could it be that his strength has already recovered to the point that he can subdue me? Is that why he isn¡¯t scared of me?

    Or maybe he¡¯s using this as a chance to test me, and Xiang Liu is actually just hiding nearby?

    In an instant, countless thoughts appeared in the Fiend Emperor¡¯s mind. In the end, he decided not to do anything. After all, the aura Gonggong had disyed was just way too frightening. He felt that Gonggong definitely had some hidden cards yet to y.

    That was why even though Gonggong hadn¡¯tpletely recovered, he didn¡¯t dare to take such a big risk. Instead, he replied, ¡°Master must be joking. This subordinate doesn¡¯t dare!¡±

    In the past, the Golden Crow Crown Prince had always seenrge numbers of subordinates bowing down at the Fiend Emperor¡¯s feet. Now that he saw his father being so submissive in front of another, he suddenly felt extremely weary inside.

    Hmph, what willpower of the strong? It¡¯s all fake. Only strength matters.

    If you¡¯re stronger than others, of course you can retain your so-called willpower of the strong. If you¡¯re weaker, what else can you do but act like an obedient grandson?

    After he had all those thoughts, his perplexed expression immediately became much steadier.

    ¡°I expected as much.¡± Gonggong harrumphed. He continued to take in and release ki, his body bing more and more solid by the moment.

    When had the Fiend Emperor ever been looked down on like this before? He felt wronged and furious, but he was a shrewd person and didn¡¯t show it at all. He only quietly looked in the direction Zu An had left in.

    They had clearly been enemies before, but now, for some reason, he was hoping that they could create some kind of a miracle.

    ¡­

    However, Zu An¡¯s group wasn¡¯t in a good situation at all. The tomb was just too big, and they didn¡¯t know where to run to either. Even though they used all sorts of traps and mechanisms to deter their pursuer, Fuyou was still an earth immortal. The difference in strength was just too great.

    ¡°Little An, running forever like this won¡¯t be a solution either. Should we turn around and just risk it all against him?¡± Yun Jianyue asked nervously.

    ¡°And what would we even use to risk it all?¡± Yan Xuehen retorted, practically dousing her with cold water. Even though this Fuyou couldn''tpare to the Fiend Emperor or Zhao Han, for better or for worse, he was still an earth immortal. If they fought, the group wouldn¡¯tst for very long, let alone win.

    ¡°The Sun ying Bow! We¡¯ve even shot down suns before. They were all much stronger than this Fuyou,¡± Yun Jianyue replied instinctively.

    ¡°We¡¯ll get rid of Fuyou, but what about the others?¡± Yan Xuehen replied coldly. There was only one special arrow left. Dealing with Fuyou naturally wouldn¡¯t be a problem, but they would still have to deal with the more powerful Xiang Liu, the Fiend Emperor, and even Gonggong. It would be way too much of a waste to use it on him.

    ¡°Then what do we do?¡± Yun Jianyue asked in annoyance. In all her years, she had never felt as dejected as in this Unknown Region.

    ¡°Ah Zu definitely has a way,¡± Yu Yanluo said, looking at Zu An with a gentle expression.

    Yun Jianyue didn¡¯t believe that to be the case. She thought,Even though this youngster is pretty strong, even with his assortment of skills, they can only make him about as strong as me in my current state. How can he deal with an earth immortal?

    Is this another instance of women losing their minds after falling in love?

    However, she never could have expected that the stone cold woman beside her would also be looking at Zu An with extraordinary confidence. The sight left her a bit shaken.

    A loudugh rang out, and Fuyou¡¯s massive body appeared, blocking their path. He taunted Zu An, ¡°Kid, where are you going to run off to now?¡±

    Zu An smiled. His previously nervous expression disappeared without a trace. Instead, there was a trace of mockery on his face as he replied, ¡°Who said I was running? I just wanted to bait you here.¡±

    Fuyou was stunned. Then, he grumbled in his low voice, ¡°Damn brat, have you gone crazy?¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t waste his breath either. His hands made a strange gesture as he eximed, ¡°Descending Dragon Eighteen Palms!¡±

    Yu Yanluo blinked. She asked the two women beside her, ¡°Big sisters are knowledgeable, so do the two of you know what kind of skill this Descending Dragon Eighteen Palms is?¡±

    Even after thinking for a long time, she couldn''t recall hearing about such a skill from anywhere. She felt embarrassed by her ownck of knowledge. However, Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue were both leaders of their respective factions, and grandmasters at that. Perhaps they had heard of the skill before.

    When they saw the expectant look in Yu Yanluo¡¯s eyes, Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue exchanged a look. They both felt their faces heat up as they replied, ¡°The name is impressive, but we haven¡¯t heard of it either.¡±

    ¡°His hand seal does not seem to be doing anything, and there are ws everywhere. It looks a bit like¡­¡± Yan Xuehen began to say something, but then stopped.

    ¡°Like a scammer from the streets,¡± Yun Jianyue finished bluntly.

    How could they know that the hand seal was just a movement Zu An had seen actors perform on television?

    Zu An took a step forward. Suddenly, all sorts of hidden runes in the surroundings activated, extending in all directions. Soon afterward, loud rumbles quickly came from the distant mountains. All those present were stunned. Suddenly, it was as if the entire mountain hade alive.

    ¡°Nothing more than a farce!¡± Fuyou snorted and pounced forward. The wind that apanied his charge made it hard for Zu An¡¯s group to even breathe.

    Suddenly, the walls off to the side broke open, and a giant yellow dragon flew out. It had a massive head with terrifying teeth, sharp ws, and many scales covering its body.

    ¡°Is this the dragon energy of this mountain¡¯s vein?¡± Yan Xuehen eximed, widening her eyes in shock.

    She had some skill in rune formations, so she naturally knew that some great mountain veins had dragon vein legends. If cultivators trained there, they would achieve twice the results with half the effort. If an imperial tomb of a dynasty were ced there, the vein could extend the fate of an entire country, bringing them long-term prosperity.

    However, that only existed in legends; no one had seen it before. Even Yan Xuehen had thought that dragon veins were nothing more than a vague and nebulous concept. She hadn¡¯t expected to actually see one for herself today.

    Fuyou was also caught unprepared. His fist surged with red radiance as he sent it smashing forward. The golden dragon shed with the red light, releasing a st of dazzling radiance. The entire tunnel quaked and shook. If not for the fact that the tomb¡¯s defensive formations were still somewhat effective, they would have all been buried alive.

    ¡°Hmph, is that all?¡± Fuyou called out; he had only felt his palms be a bit numb. The power of the attack was great, but it wasn¡¯t enough to threaten him.

    However, Zu An¡¯s expression remained firm. Countless golden dragon auras rushed out from the surrounding walls, ceiling, and ground. Every single one contained mighty power, surrounding and attacking Fuyou.

    Just then, Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen¡¯s expressions changed as well. If they were in Fuyou¡¯s ce, they might have been instantly ripped to shreds by the endless streams of dragon energy!

    Most importantly, Zu An had only just recently reached the master rank. Why was he able to bring forth such a powerful attack?

    Yan Xuehen was suddenly shaken. She remembered that when they had arrived at the mountain range and Zu An observed the shape of the mountain, he hadmented that this ce contained a powerful dragon vein.

    It was already quite difficult for an ordinary spiritual mountain to have a single dragon vein; and yet, this ce¡¯s mountain range undted up and down continuously. So it was actually hiding so many dragon veins! That was why Zu An could borrow such great power.

    Besides that, it was all probably because of ¡®One Drop of Heaven¡¯s Essence¡¯, wasn¡¯t it? Didn¡¯t that mean that in the future, as long as he was in a dragon vein, he would beparable to an earth immortal?

    The two women both felt a bit dizzy. If news of such a thing got out, it could shock the entire world!

    It was one thing for them to know, as they were close to him, but the other powers wouldn¡¯t hesitate to rope him in. If they couldn''t rope him in, they would definitely do everything they could to eliminate him. That was especially true for Zhao Han and the Fiend Emperor.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s eyes shone brightly.You¡¯re so handsome!When she first met Ah Zu, she had seen him as a young and immature little boy. Now, he was already a big, mature man who could be relied on! She thought,Oh my, why am I acting like this?

    Dragon energy swirled all around them, and endless golden dragons attacked Fuyou.

    Fuyou roared in anger. He had taken the most direct route, so he couldn''t avoid all the golden dragons. He could only use his arms and legs, releasing streaks of red light to destroy the golden dragons. However, whenever he destroyed one, another quickly took its ce. Even with his cultivation, he found it a bit hard to take them on.

    Soon afterward, his body was repeatedly pierced by the golden dragons. One after another, spurts of blood burst out of him, causing him to roar unceasingly.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Unfortunately, he had just been revived and hadn¡¯t fully recovered his strength yet. As he was now covered in injuries, his movements grew slower and slower. His injuries became greater and greater in number as well.

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue were both excited. They hadn¡¯t expected Zu An to actually be able to kill someone at the earth immortal level!

    It was different from killing the Golden Crows before. That had been achieved through relying on the Sun ying Bow¡¯s power, as well as the support of Spirit Mountain Ten Shamans and the three women. This time, even though Zu An was also borrowing the power of the dragon veins, One Drop of Heaven¡¯s Essence was something he had learned himself, so it was still his own skill.

    Just as Fuyou was about to be finished, a white figure shed over. Nine white figures immediately appeared, blocking all of the iing dragon energy around him.

    ¡°Disperse!¡± Xiang Liu called out. Two kinds of light, green and ck, swirled around him. A powerful domain emerged, destroying all of the nearby dragon energy.

    Favorite

 Chapter 1470: Heaven Never Bars Oneâ€™s Way

    <h4>Chapter 1470: Heaven Never Bars One¡¯s Way</h4>

    ¡°Xiang Liu!¡± Zu An and the others eximed, instantly recognizing the new arrival. Xiang Liu looked extremely delicate, but he was actually much stronger than the tough-looking Fuyou.

    Xiang Liu¡¯s gaze swept over them in surprise. He supported Fuyou while remarking, ¡°Hey, how can you be so careless?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s something strange about that brat!¡± Fuyou spat. His entire body was covered in all sorts of injuries, and he seemed somewhat weakened. He shot Zu An a re, although there was a hint of fear in his eyes. Just then, he really had tasted death.

    Xiang Liu looked at Zu An curiously, saying, ¡°So little brother was actually so formidable. I really made an error in judgment earlier.¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°Your majesty¡¯s bearing also leaves me in admiration. As we carry mutual respect, how about we just stop things here?¡±

    Seeing as I¡¯ve been holding up both of Gonggong¡¯s subordinates here for so long, the Fiend Emperor should be alone with him. Together with the Golden Crow Crown Prince to help him, they should be able to deal with that guy, right?

    When Xiang Liu returns and sees that something has happened to his master, he¡¯ll definitely be furious. He¡¯ll definitely go all out against the Fiend Emperor to get revenge after, and the result will be one dead, one injured.

    Then, if we show up at the very end, won¡¯t we have thestugh?

    Sigh, I really am a genius!

    ¡°You seem to look quite confident,¡± Xiang Liu said in surprise. ¡°Did you think that by stalling me, the Fiend Emperor would act against our master?¡±

    Zu An shivered inwardly. He carefully controlled his expression, thinking,Is this guy a freaking mind reader?At the same time, he asked probingly, ¡°Are you not worried at all?¡±

    Xiang Liu chuckled. ¡°Why would I be worried? On the contrary, you should be more concerned about thatpanion of yours.¡±

    Even though he knew that the two sides looked united, but were actually divided at heart, the two had still formed an alliance previously.

    Zu An instantly felt discouraged. Was Gonggong really already so strong that the Fiend Emperor couldn''t win, even when Gonggong hadn¡¯t made aplete recovery yet?

    Xiang Liu slowly walked over, saying, ¡°The dragon energy summoning skill you used just now was quite interesting. Unfortunately, arge portion of the dragon energy has been used on Fuyou, so it will not be able to deal with me.¡±

    After all, Fuyou was also at the earth immortal rank. Seriously injuring him would require a huge amount of power. Meanwhile, the dragon energy wasn¡¯t endless. It was already much weaker than before, and it would take some time to recover.

    Xiang Liu didn¡¯t give Zu An any time to react. As soon as he finished speaking, two streaks of divine radiance, one ck and one green, shot at Zu An.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Fortunately, after Zu An had arrived in this world, he had always been wandering along the edge of life and death. His strength wasn¡¯t necessarily the greatest, but his fighting experience was definitely top-tier. Even though Xiang Liu had still sounded kind on the surface, Zu An had remained alert.

    He swiftly used ¡®Descending Dragon Eighteen Palms¡¯, summing the dragon energy to rush at the two iing divine radiances. A huge explosion ensued.

    Xiang Liu staggered, while Zu An flew backward and mmed into a wall, his body buried in a pile of rubble. Zu An¡¯s cultivation was still very far from that of an earth immortal. The fact that he could almost end Fuyou¡¯s life through the dragon energy was already something to be proud of.

    However, it was precisely because of that battle that too much of the dragon energy had been used up. Furthermore, Xiang Liu was even more powerful than Fuyou.

    Xiang Liu clicked his tongue in wonder, saying, ¡°You were actually able to react in that instant even with your cultivation rank. That level ofbat and reactive strength is difficult to find throughout the entire world.¡± Apart from that, what left him even more surprised was that his attacks were poisonous, but Zu An didn¡¯t seem to be affected at all.

    Zu An crawled out of the pile of rubble and spat out a mouthful of sand. Sometimes, being praised by an enemy wasn¡¯t something to be happy about.

    Because Xiang Liu had just attacked without warning while speaking, Yan Xuehen was worried that Zu An would end up in trouble again, and that Xiang Liu would hurt him. As such, she harrumphed and thrust her Flying Snow Sword at Xiang Liu.

    ¡°Your sword technique is not bad, but unfortunately, your cultivation iscking,¡± Xiang Liumented while deflecting the sword with a single finger, neutralizing its sharp strikes one after another.

    The recoil that traveled back to Yan Xuehen through the sword made her internal energies stir, and caused her sword strikes to slow down.

    Then, Xiang Liu seized an opportunity to catch her sword between his fingers. A wave of ck and green energy rushed along the sword, forcing back the cold energy on its surface and reaching the hilt almost instantly.

    Yan Xuehen naturally knew the attack was poisonous. She wanted to let go of her sword, but a strange suction forcetched on to her and prevented her from escaping.

    Fortunately, just then, Yun Jianyue took out the Empress Lantern, briefly interrupting Xiang Liu. She then took the chance to move close to Yan Xuehen, grabbing her and pulling her back.

    ¡°Thank you!¡± Yan Xuehen eximed. In the past, she would have cursed her nemesis and asked why Yun Jianyue would save her. However, after everything they had gone through, she was already used to it.

    Before Yun Jianyue had a chance to reply, her expression suddenly changed, as Xiang Liu recovered. He opened his mouth and fired a streak of ck energy that flew toward the Empress Lantern. The brightly shining Empress Lantern instantly grew dim as if it had been blown out, falling out of the air.

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue were both stunned. They had both lost their connection to their respective treasures at the same time. Xiang Liu seemed to be able to corrode the ki around magic weapons.

    Xiang Liu raised his hand. The two women suddenly felt the presence of danger. Unfortunately, their internal energies were disrupted and they couldn''t evade.

    Fortunately, Yu Yanluo rushed forward. She used the Dragonsnake¡¯s Nine Transformations to activate the power of the Holy Pearl. A deep yellow light appeared in her eyes.

    ¡°Nuwa¡¯s power?¡± Xiang Liu eximed in surprise. Ayer of petrification quickly appeared on the surface of his body.

    Just as quickly, however, green and ck energies moved around his body, undoing the petrification wherever they passed. He couldn''t help but say with a sigh, ¡°If we were at the same cultivation rank, I would not have been your match.¡±

    As soon as he finished speaking, he instantly appeared next to Yu Yanluo. He didn¡¯t want to give her another chance to use the Medusa¡¯s Eye.

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue were grandmasters, however. They had already recovered in the short time Yu Yanluo bought for them. They quickly worked together to ward off Xiang Liu. However, the two both thought nervously,Why isn¡¯t Ah Zuing to help us yet? We can¡¯t hold on for much longer!

    Zu An had wanted to help out earlier, but as soon as he got up, he had been stunned once again. He had turned around to see that there was a room beyond the crushed wall behind him. Inside, there was something that resembled an altar. More importantly, there was a groove in the altar that looked somewhat familiar.

    He was startled. The group had struggled against Gonggong¡¯s subordinates alone; what of the even more frightening Gonggong?

    There¡¯s no way to seed in this type of situation at all!

    But this doesn¡¯t make sense.

    Something as terrifying as Gonggong definitely has something that can counter him.

    What about those golden whips from before?

    No, that was just the power Emperor Yao left.

    ording to what Gonggong said, several other things were arranged by Yu the Great. Then¡­

    He took out the pocket-sized Nine Cauldron and ced it into the altar¡¯s groove. The ninth Nine Cauldron sank into it, releasing a translucent divine light. The entire altar shone.

 Chapter 1471: Revival

    <h4>Chapter 1471: Revival</h4>

    A brilliant light burst out of the altar. Shining streaks extended in all directions, and the entire tomb released a dense wave of energy. At that instant, it was as if the entire tomb hade alive.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Gonggong¡¯s crystal skull suddenly raised his head and he eximed, ¡°Yu the Great¡¯s aura!¡±

    The Fiend Emperor was surprised, thinking,That Yu the Great seems to be this guy¡¯s greatest enemy. An opportunity hase¡­

    ¡°Follow me!¡± Gonggong called out. The dark aura around him had already transformed into a ck-robed human body. Apart from his head, which was still a skull, the other parts of his body weren¡¯t too different from a normal person''s. With a wave of his sleeves, he turned into a cloud of ck energy and disappeared.

    The Fiend Emperor naturally wouldn¡¯t miss out on such a good chance. His body flickered and also disappeared from his original location. For those at the earth immortal level, spatial distance wasn¡¯t much of a hindrance.

    Only the Golden Crow Crow Prince was left behind, a stupefied expression on his face. He subconsciously thought about following them, but how in the world would he keep up with earth immortals?

    The giant, silent hidden tomb felt like a giant beast carefully stalking its prey. The crown prince shivered inwardly. He waved his arms while shouting, ¡°I haven¡¯t gotten on yet! I haven¡¯t gotten on yet!¡±

    A secondter, a golden sh of light appeared, and the Fiend Emperor suddenly appeared next to him. He grabbed his son¡¯s shoulder, and the two of them disappeared once again.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An had just ced the Nine Cauldron on the altar. Soon afterward, he heard something rumbling. A huge crack opened in the ceiling, and a flight of stairs extended downward from it.

    Xiang Liu seemed to have recalled something from the past, briefly appearing absent-minded.

    Zu An took the chance to pull the three women to his side, then used Grandgale to instantly move toward the stairs.

    Xiang Liu snapped out of his daze. He said to Fuyou, ¡°Stay here. I¡¯m going to follow them and take a look.¡± He disappeared as soon as he spoke.

    Fuyou was wounded by the dragon energy, so focusing on his recovery was what was the most important thing to him. He naturally had no objection.

    ¡­

    As Xiang Liu headed deeper inside, the descending staircase suddenly began to turn indistinct. Then, it disappeared. Even the hole in the ceiling was gone, leaving a perfectly smooth surface, as if nothing had ever been there.

    Suddenly, the surrounding space distorted. Then, one after another, Gonggong, the Fiend Emperor, and the crown prince appeared.

    ¡°Master!¡± Fuyou quickly greeted Gonggong.

    ¡°What happened to you?¡± Gonggong asked, shocked to see Fuyou¡¯s severe injuries.

    The Fiend Emperor was also shocked. Judging from their earlier interactions, he knew that Zu An¡¯s real fighting strength definitely couldn''t be evaluated purely by his cultivation rank, but he still hadn¡¯t expected it to be this ridiculous. An earth immortal had been injured this badly?

    Even though Fuyou was weaker than the Fiend Emperor, he wasn¡¯t that much weaker. Didn¡¯t that imply it would be really dangerous for the Fiend Emperor to act against Zu An¡¯s group in the future too? He felt d that Fuyou had helped him test the waters first. Otherwise, if he faced their group with his previous impressions, he might have ended up paying the price.

    ¡°That kid was able to use dragon energy. I was caught unprepared and suffered as a result,¡± Fuyou said hatefully. He had actually been defeated by an ant he looked down on! It really was quite humiliating.

    ¡°So the dragon vein power from earlier was because of him,¡± Gonggong said in surprise. He looked around him and asked, ¡°Where are they then?¡±

    ¡°A hole suddenly appeared in the ceiling, revealing a flight of stairs¡­¡± Fuyou gave them a recount of what had just happened.

    ¡°Yu the Great!¡± Gonggong spat, gritting his teeth as he realized something.

    He turned into a cloud of ck energy and searched the entire chamber, trying to figure out where exactly the secret space was. However, the tomb had been meticulously designed by Yu the Great. The runes in it wereplex and profound, so not even Gonggong would necessarily be able to find it within a short amount of time.

    When he saw Gonggong disappear again, this time, the Fiend Emperor didn¡¯t follow him, but instead remained in ce.

    Off to the side, Fuyou frowned and asked, ¡°Why are you still here?¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The Fiend Emperor looked at him with a smile, saying, ¡°You¡¯re injured, so I¡¯m keeping youpany here, of course.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t need you to keep mepany. Hurry and go help master,¡± Fuyou said, letting out a cold snort.

    ¡°No, you do need it,¡± the Fiend Emperor said as he surreptitiously walked behind Fuyou. Behind his back, an incredibly long and sharp fingernail emerged from his hand.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An brought the three women up the stairs. Only then did they discover that the tomb contained a hidden floor, filled with all sorts of grand statues and refined murals. All the decorations surrounded a giant bronze coffin at the very center.

    ¡°What is that¡­¡± At first, Zu An and the others wanted to see the contents of the murals, but they couldn¡¯t help but have their attention drawn by the giant bronze coffin. Gonggong¡¯s coffin had already been quite impressive, butpared to the one before them, it was substantially smaller.

    ck and green energies suddenly swirled through the air, and Xiang Liu appeared again! He was about to attack Zu An¡¯s group when he saw the bronze coffin in the chamber. As if he had just recalled some unpleasant memory, he eximed with a mix of fear and awe, ¡°Yu the Great!¡±

    The others were surprised. The one resting inside was Yu the Great?!

    Zu An suddenly understood what was happening. It was no wonder that ever since he had entered the dungeon, his Nine Cauldron had felt as if something were summoning it. Earlier, he had needed to use it to activate the mechanism too. He hadn¡¯t expected that the medicine cauldron he had gotten from Shen Xuzi at the Royal Academy would really be one of the legendary Nine Cauldrons!

    However, there was something else that left him confused. If it was one of the Nine Cauldrons, why was it so small? The Nine Cauldrons from the legends were massive objects!

    Xiang Liu quickly recovered from his surprise. He burst into madughter, eximing, ¡°Hahahah! In the past, we all felt being sealed was a fate worse than death. Now, however, we who were defeated have been revived. Meanwhile, you, the victor, have already be nothing more than bones. Who could have predicted this wild change in circumstances?¡±

    Zu An and the others gave him a look of surprise. Ever since they had met him, except for the start when he had been in the form of a frightening serpent with nine human heads, Xiang Liu had quickly taken human form; from then on, he had maintained the appearance of a refined and elegant young master. This was the first time they had seen him lose hisposure.

    Zu An couldn''t help but ask, ¡°All of you managed to survive until now, so couldn¡¯t the even stronger Yu the Great have survived too?¡±

    Perhaps due to the joy he felt from seeing his old enemy die, Xiang Liu wasn¡¯t in a rush to attack them anymore. Instead, he replied, ¡°That is different. Under normal circumstances, we would not have been able to survive for that long either. We would not have been able to withstand the corrosion of time. Even if we ascended to heaven, that would not mean we could really live forever.¡±

    Zu An keenly seized the implied meaning within his words.Does that mean you can still die after achieving immortality?

    ¡°However, we were sealed while we were still at our strongest, and had our freedom restricted. For all that time, we really wished we were dead instead. However, there was one benefit that came with that. Because we were sealed, we were spared from the ravages of time, and would naturally be revived if the seal were broken,¡± Xiang Liu said as he looked at the giant bronze coffin. ¡°But who in this world would want to be sealed? Being sealed is not too different from death.¡±

    Zu An and the others all nodded inwardly. A seal could indeed prolong one¡¯s life, but that meant one would lose their freedom, and would even lose consciousness. As such, one wouldn¡¯t even be able to experience a prolonged life; for the sealed individual, it wouldn¡¯t feel like the case. Rather, they would be trapped for countless ages; if the seal were never undone, it really would be a fate worse than death.

    ¡°Yu the Great was the victor in the past, so of course, he must have already lived out his life how he wished. The countless ages between then and now should be enough for him to have died several times over,¡± Xiang Liu said, looking at Zu An¡¯s group. He continued, ¡°Enough. I have already answered your questions. I advise against any futile resistance; just follow me back to meet master. I can guarantee that all of you will keep your lives.¡±

    Zu An suddenly widened his eyes as he looked behind Xiang Liu and eximed, ¡°Yu the Great¡­ has been revived?¡±

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 Chapter 1472: King Meets King

    <h4>Chapter 1472: King Meets King</h4>

    ¡°What?!¡± Xiang Liu eximed in shock, quickly turning around.

    Unfortunately, the bronze coffin behind him was still resting in ce quietly. When he realized he had been tricked, he immediately brandished a palm, and ck and green energies surged outward to protect him.

    In an instant, powerful dragon energy rushed forth as Zu An¡¯s attack arrived. The moment it made contact, Xiang Liu felt his internal energies running amok chaotically. He thought,The power of this dragon vein really is formidable¡­ But he¡¯s already used up most of the remaining dragon energy, so what can he even do now?

    Suddenly, however, he noticed a ck glint being thrust toward him out of the corner of his eye. It was a strangely-shaped dagger. Normally, even if the dagger were several timesrger, it still wouldn¡¯t be able to do much against him; and yet, the weapon made him feel the true threat of death.

    As such, he didn¡¯t dare to receive it directly. His body dissipated as he teleported away from his original location. A momentter, he appeared several zhang away. He looked down and saw that the clothes had been cut. Just a bit more, and it would have cut through his skin.

    He sighed in amazement, saying, ¡°Little brother, even though your cultivation is nothing special, when you start fighting, you really are not bad at all. I almost ended up being done in! What is with that dagger of yours? It was enough to even make me feel fear.¡±

    Zu An felt a bit depressed.Just a bit more¡­

    The Poisonous Prick¡¯s ability was indeed quite unique, but it was useless if it didn¡¯t hit! There had already been several battles where the Poisonous Prick had failed to activate its effect.

    In the past, when Zu An had watched TV, he hadn¡¯t understood why Ultraman would only use his Shining Attack at the very end. Now, after fighting countless battles, he finally began to realize that only after wearing the enemy down and seizing an opening, when one was confident in one¡¯s ability to deal a fatal blow, would using such skills be able to decide victory and defeat.

    After all, if he yed Doudezhu with his friends and used his Quad 2s and Joker right off the bat, wouldn¡¯t he lose for sure?[1]</a>

    After working his way through those thoughts, Zu An felt much more relieved. In the future, he had to be even more careful when using the Poisonous Prick. Otherwise, not only would he fail, his trump card could end up being exposed.

    He put away the Poisonous Prick and asked with a smile, ¡°Do you want to know its name? You¡¯ll know it even more intimately if you just let yourself have a taste.¡±

    Xiang Liu smiled and said, ¡°In a different situation, I might have decided to y around with you for a bit. However, for some reason, I have a bad premonition today, so it seems best to just deal with things as quickly as possible.¡±

    He vanished as soon as he finished speaking. Zu An¡¯s group quickly raised their weapons to protect themselves. Unfortunately, Xiang Liu was so fast that they could barely see him, and they were quickly sent flying.

    However, after all of the life and death experiences they had gone through along the way, their coordination was outstanding, and they managed to survive. Still, they couldn¡¯t do much more than that. With the difference in strength between them and their opponent, anyone else at the same level would likely have long since been defeated.

    Even so, Zu An¡¯s body was tough. He could recover from any injury with shocking speed, and was able to serve as a meat shield. Furthermore, with the Heaven Devouring Sutra, he could neutralize even an earth immortal¡¯s attacks to some degree. With him shielding them, Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue¡¯s profound skills had a chance to shine. Together with Yu Yanluo¡¯s support and crowd-controlling methods, they really didplement each other¡¯s strengths well.

    As the battle reached its climax, Zu An suddenly looked behind Xiang Liu with an expression of shock and eximed, ¡°Yu¡­ Yu the Great?¡±

    Xiang Liu sneered and retorted, ¡°Do you think I would make the same mistake twice?¡±

    He prepared to unleash an even more vicious attack. He knew that even though Zu An¡¯s group had the numerical advantage and excellent teamwork, there was a huge difference in their cultivation. As time went on, he would have more and more chances to take them down one by one.

    However, he suddenly felt his fine hairs stand on end, sensing that a powerful aura had appeared behind him. It was extremely familiar. He quickly turned into a clump of ck and green energy, dodging to one side. He reappeared a secondter in a corner of the room, and only then did he look in the direction of the aura.

    Nearby, Zu An and the others watched the altar nervously.

    The giant bronze coffin suddenly stood up on its own, and its cover automatically opened. A tall, heroic-looking man slowly walked out of it.

    The Nine Cauldron that had been inserted into the mechanism in the corner shook all over and vibrated loudly, as if it were summoning something.

    The man looked around the chamber. In the end, his gazended on Xiang Liu. As he looked at the man, the ck and green energies surrounding Xiang Liu instantly dispersed.

    ¡°Yu the Great! So it was you after all!¡± Xiang Liu eximed, looking much like a cat with all of its hair standing on end. He clenched his teeth as he stared at the tall man. The two had fought before, so he couldn''t be more familiar with the aura before him.

    The tall, heroic man had a faint smile as he remarked, ¡°Xiang Liu, long time no see.¡±

    Zu An and his group exchanged looks, seeing the shock in each other¡¯s eyes. This person really was the legendary Yu the Great! No wonder he had such a terrifying aura.

    When he thought about Shun asking him to face Yu the Great, Zu An immediately set aside that thought. Considering the powerful pressure Yu the Great was giving off, even if he had the Sun ying Bow, his odds of sess were poor.

    ¡°Impossible! That is impossible! How could you possibly have survived until now?!¡± Xiang Liu suddenly cried. He refused to believe that Yu the Great had willingly sealed himself for so long.

    The heroic man replied, ¡°Correct. There is no way I could have lived for this long. This is nothing more than a fragment of will that I left behind.¡±

    ¡°A fragment?¡± Xiang Liu repeated. He was surprised at first, but soon felt overjoyed. He eximed, ¡°Haha, you have really gone too far with your gamble this time! Do you think a mere will fragment is enough to defeat us? We did lose to you in the past, but now, we willpletely wash away this humiliation!¡±

    His body split into nine as soon as he finished speaking, each body unleashing his ultimate attack at Yu the Great. The most terrifying thing was that every single copy was just as powerful as his original body.

    Zu An was shocked. These were probably Xiang Liu¡¯s nine heads, using an innate talent from his bloodline! The price of such a technique was undoubtedly high; otherwise, the group would have long since been defeated by it. It was clear that Xiang Liu viewed Yu the Great as his greatest enemy. Even when he was facing a mere soul fragment, he still used all of his strength.

    Zu An immediately looked at Yu the Great to see how he would deal with the move.

    Yu the Great slowly raised his hand, then suddenly pointed forward. The space in front of him rippled like ake''s surface, and brilliant light flickered all around him. The copies of Xiang Liu suddenly shattered, before gathering in one spot and turning back into the original Xiang Liu.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Ugh!¡± Xiang Liu kneeled down and coughed out a mouthful of blood that sizzled when it hit the floor, quickly melting arge hole through it. He eximed with an ashen face, ¡°How is this possible? Why is your cultivation even greater than before?¡±

    Yu the Great gave him an indifferent look and didn¡¯t answer the question.

    In an instant, Xiang Liu suddenly realized what had happened. After Yu the Great defeated them, his cultivation had definitely made further breakthroughs, reaching even greater heights. He slowly asked, ¡°Why did you not kill me?¡±

    Yu the Great finally said, ¡°Your blood is poisonous. If I killed you, everything within thousands of miles would be deste. That would truly bring harm to the bnce of the world. Furthermore, your nature is not bad, and you only follow Gonggong because of the faction you are part of. You have not done much evil, so you can leave.¡±

    Xiang Liu was stunned. His gaze carried a hint of admiration as he looked back and said, ¡°Forget it. Gonggong¡¯s designs to rule the world will all be for naught now, anyway.¡± Soon afterward, he left dejectedly, disappearing into the distance.

    A ck mass of energy appeared in the chamber almost as soon as he left. The skeleton-headed Gonggong asked, ¡°Where is Xiang Liu?¡±

    He had been searching the entire tomb for the room, but due to the disruption of the various formations, it had been rather difficult. Only when Xiang Liu faced Yu the Great had he finally sensed it through a spatial distortion, allowing him to rush over. However, when he saw the poisonous blood on the ground, his expression darkened. It seemed Xiang Liu had already encountered trouble.

    Yu the Great gave him a look, remarking in an emotionless voice, ¡°I had not expected you to still be revived in the end.¡±

    ¡°Was that not your n to begin with? You wanted to use me to absorb Emperor Yao¡¯s remaining strength, no? That way, you would no longer have any karma on you,¡± Gonggong retorted with a sneer.

    Zu An was shocked. What was this? Why did it sound as if Yu the Great was actually incredibly two-faced? Could it be that all of this was just a part of his n? When he recalled Shun¡¯s opinion of the man, his heart sank.

 Chapter 1473: A Ten Thousand-Year Score to Settle

    Chapter 1473: A Ten Thousand-Year Score to Settle

    Yu the Great replied with a cold look, ¡°What are you saying? I do not understand.¡±

    ¡°Ah yes, you do not understand, even though you should understand better than anyone else,¡± Gonggong remarked sarcastically. He continued in a profound tone, ¡°And here I thought you had already transcended and obtained eternal life. It seems you are nothing more than a remnant soul. Did you really believe just this soul fragment alone would be enough to defeat me?¡±

    Before Yu the Great could reply, someone sighed and said, ¡°That¡¯s what Xiang Liu said earlier too, and yet in the end¡­¡±

    Gonggong suddenly turned around. He stared at Zu An and asked, ¡°In the end¡­ What?¡±

    ¡°He was defeated with a single move,¡± Zu An replied.

    He was still unsure what was going on with Yu the Great. All sorts of scenarios ran through his mind. He was scared that Gonggong would end up acting carelessly, instantly getting defeated by Yu the Great. It would be really bad if he had to face Yu the Great alone afterward.

    He sighed inwardly. Not long before, he had been hoping for Gonggong to be vanquished as soon as possible; now, however, he was actually worried about that guy. The world really was unpredictable like that.

    ¡°Did you kill him?¡± Gonggong asked, staring at Yu the Great. Xiang Liu was his most reliable subordinate, and thus very important to him.

    Yu the Great didn¡¯t answer, instead saying, ¡°Gonggong, it has been such a long time. It is time to settle things between us.¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    He slowly walked forward while speaking. An extremely pure imperial aura emanated from his entire body. There wasn¡¯t a single speck of worldly desire in his eyes. Instead, they seemed to be open to the vast universe, looking as if there were a gxy swirling within them. Endless currents of daows flowed through them.

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue had been trapped at their respective cultivation ranks for a long time already. And yet, from a single look at the soul fragment¡¯s eyes, they felt something tremble deep within them. The cultivation issues that had trapped them for many years immediately loosened. Endless inspiration rushed into their minds. They had a feeling that as long as they took some time to focus on that state, they would gain enlightenment soon afterward.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s cultivation wasn¡¯t as high as theirs, but her method of growing stronger was also different from that of an ordinary person. The Holy Pearl within her shook strangely. She sensed that the Medusa bloodline seemed to be showing signs of further awakening.

    Zu An was thinking about something else, however. Previously, because of Shun¡¯s influence, he had ended up subconsciously thinking of Yu the Great as a viin. However, Yu the Great¡¯s every movement was natural and harmonious, to the extent that Zu An didn¡¯t feel any fear or pressure. Instead, it gave him a sense of intimacy, as well as a feeling of respect and cheerful submission.

    Such an aura was far morefortable than the sinister auraing from Gonggong. Could such a person really be the final boss he had been imagining?

    No, I can¡¯t judge him by his outward appearance. Did you forget what happened with those guys, Yue Buqun and Divine Lord Zhuge? It was incredible just how deep their schemes ran![1]

    Gonggong let out a cold snort. The soul fragment¡¯s imposing manner clearly made him very ufortable. He waved his hands, and seemingly endless streams of ck energy condensed into sinister evil spirits and monsters, rushing toward his opponent.

    Even though the creatures were only made of ck energy, all of them gave off pressure even more terrifying than that of a great dragon. Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue both believed that if they were in Yu the Great¡¯s ce, they couldn''t take on even a single one of the monsters.

    However, right when the terrifying spirits were about to reach Yu the Great, they melted away like ice before a zing sun.

    ¡°Yu the Great, your cultivation seems to have improved,¡± Gonggong said, his expression changing.

    Zu An rolled his eyes. This guy was clearly just a skeleton, and yet he could produce such rich expressions. Who else could do such a thing?

    A hint of disappointment appeared on Yu the Great¡¯s face as he said, ¡°When I became the ruler of the country in the past, I received the respect of countless people. With the power of faith, I was indeed able to reach a new level.¡±

    ¡°Power of faith?¡± Gonggong cried. ¡°That power of faith should have all been mine! You stole what was mine!¡±

    Yu the Great¡¯s gaze carried a hint of pity when he looked at Gonggong. He said, ¡°I know that your me Emperor faction has never been able to ept your defeat against the Yellow Emperor in the pursuit of the throne. From Shennong to Chiyou, to the first Gonggong, and then to you¡­ You all resisted generation after generation, and yet were defeated again and again. Could it be that you still have not woken up and realized it yet?¡±

    ¡°You have no right to preach to me!¡± Gonggong roared furiously. ¡°I admit that with the power of faith, I would never be a match for you at your strongest. Right now, however, you are nothing more than a soul fragment. What are you acting all smug for?!¡±

    ¡°Why do you think I left behind this soul fragment?¡± Yu the Great asked, looking at him with a mysterious expression.

    Gonggong replied coldly, ¡°Was it so you could speak to me when my seal was undone?¡±

    ¡°Who would have thought that after being sealed for tens of thousands of years, you learned how to make a joke,¡± Yu the Great said with a chuckle ¡°The reason why I left behind this soul fragment back then was to prevent you from bringing ruin to the world if your seal was undone.¡±

    ¡°Hahahah!¡± Gonggong roared toward the sky, causing the entire tomb to tremble. Only afterward did his smile fade, and he eximed, ¡°Once I destroy your remnant soul, you will understand just who here is joking!¡±

    Afterward, he raised his hands. The entire tomb began to shake violently, as if an earthquake had begun.

    Yan Xuehen quickly warned the others, ¡°Everyone, be careful! If the shaking is this bad even with the tomb¡¯s formations, it means that something major is about to happen!¡±

    The surrounding walls suddenly broke apart as soon as she finished speaking, and bursts of water rushed in. Gradually, more and more cracks formed in the walls, and a deluge of water rushed forth!

    Only then did Zu An remember that Gonggong was known as a deity of water! He quickly used his Blue Mard ability to create a bubble around the three women and himself.

    Gonggong looked at him in confusion, clearly surprised as to why Zu An had such a high affinity with water. However, his target this time was Yu the Great, so he didn¡¯t want to waste time on such trifles.

    The torrential waters quickly filled the tomb. The formations surrounding the tomb could no longer hold on, breaking apart inch by inch. Eventually, the entire tomb came crashing down!

    That wasn¡¯t all, though. Following the tomb¡¯s copse, the entire mountain also rumbled and began to fall apart!

    Zu An was shocked, quickly fleeing with the three women. Fortunately, Yu Yanluo excelled in controlling the earth element. By working together, they managed to escape the cave before it copsed.

    Yun Jianyue was a bit confused, saying,¡°Gonggong¡¯s power is indeed great, but this kind of skill is more suited to dealing with arge number of enemies, right? How could it hurt Yu the Great?¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°Did you forget that Yu the Great was an earth element cultivator? The mountain and tomb are actually his home territory. Gonggong flooded the ce to destroy that environment and create his own home turf advantage.¡±

    ¡°Not bad, Little An. Your knowledge really isn¡¯t something one would expect from someone who has only recently entered the master rank at all,¡± Yun Jianyue remarked, her eyes shining.

    Even Yan Xuehen gave him a look of surprise, clearly sharing the same sentiment.

    Zu An sighed. The reason why he had realized that was because he had discovered that following the mountains¡¯ copse, he could no longer summon dragon energy. An earth element cultivator like Yu the Great would no doubt have experienced an even greater impact.

    Just then, a cloud of ck energy appeared on the water''s surface, staring at the mountains in the distance that had sunk beneath the water.

    Suddenly, a streak of green light flickered through the air, and Yu the Great suddenly appeared from within. There was something surrounding him that resembled a translucent shield.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes narrowed. Wasn¡¯t that his Nine Cauldron?

    However, the cauldron had be several timesrger, bing a translucent bubble that protected Yu the Great. The surging waters couldn''t harm him in the slightest.

    1. These are characters from other novels. ?

 Chapter 1474: Heartbroken

    Chapter 1474: Heartbroken

    As he looked at the torrential waters, Yu the Great¡¯s gaze turned cold. He said, ¡°For your own selfishness, you did not hesitate to gather the rivers andkes within thousands of miles to create another great flood. Are you trying to leave the entire world underwater?¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Gonggong eximed, seemingly agitated. He continued, ¡°You still have not abandoned that false righteousness of yours. Once I kill you, of course I will make all the waters return!¡±

    Yu the Great coldly remarked, ¡°Who knows how many innocent beings will lose their lives that way?¡±

    Zu An also nodded. This Gonggong really was a ssic viin! He willfully ughtered the innocent. On the contrary, Yu the Great¡¯s attitude could truly convince the masses.

    Gonggongughed sinisterly, retorting, ¡°Innocent beings? If you want what is best for the people, you should just let me kill you quickly. That way, themon people will be saved sooner.¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Yu the Great was speechless.

    ¡°What, are you not willing to?¡± Gonggong harrumphed. ¡°In the end,pared to your own life, what does the world matter? Those are nothing more than pretenses to appeal to the will of the people. Ultimately, we are not so different. It is just that I do not feel like putting on an act.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. This guy¡¯s logic was so well-thought-out that he didn¡¯t even know how to argue against it.

    Yun Jianyue nodded, suddenly feeling as if Gonggong understood her. In all her years of fighting against Yan Xuehen, that was how she had felt. The other woman had always imed the moral high ground and the entire world thought of her as a goddess, while she had be known as a witch.

    Yu the Great looked coldly at Gonggong and remarked, ¡°So after being sealed for all this time, the only thing you know how to do is talk big?¡± It was clear that he wasn¡¯t affected by Gonggong¡¯s taunts at all.

    Gonggong spat furiously, ¡°As expected of a hypocrite through and through. I will kill you today!¡±

    As if sensing his anger, the floodwaters around him surged. Soon afterward, however, the water level descended rapidly.

    Yu Yanluo couldn¡¯t help but marvel, asking, ¡°Did Yu the Great use some kind of magic ability to disperse the waters?¡±

    ¡°I cannot tell. However, I can feel a world-destroying pressure,¡± Yan Xuehen said, shaking her head.

    Yun Jianyue expressed her agreement. She had also sensed that Gonggong was preparing for his ultimate move.

    As the water level had quickly retreated, the water bubble created by Blue Mard couldn''t be maintained. As such, Zu An boarded the Wind Fire Wheels and took the three women to a distant mountain peak.

    However, he didn¡¯t have the time to enjoy the amazing feeling of being surrounded bydies. Instead, he quickly said, ¡°The water is withdrawing quickly. I suspect there might be a monstrous tsunamiing.¡±

    He had the Blue Mard ability, so he was rtively close to the water element. Previously, he had keenly sensed that the water had all begun gathering in one direction. He had suddenly recalled his experiences in the Weak Water as a result.

    Sure enough, as soon as he spoke, a white line appeared on the horizon. However, all those present were extremely strong. They quickly saw that it wasn¡¯t a white line, but clearly a giant wave. As it got closer and closer, it grew taller and taller, as if it would even reach the heavens. Zu An felt that even the huge wave in the movie Interster seemed like nothing inparison.

    Zu An and the others sensed its terrifying pressure even from far away. All of their expressions changed. If the huge wave crashed down, forget about them, even the great mountain they were standing on would end up being pulverized.

    Zu An had experienced something simr before with the Weak Water. However, back then, it had been nothing more than an illusion the Weak Water created, and not truly a huge and terrifying wave.

    Gonggong¡¯s skill had summoned water from all of the rivers andkes within a thousand miles, so the wave contained vastly more water than the Weak Water.

    Zu An¡¯s group felt they had really screwed up this time! They wanted to avoid it, but with such a huge wave approaching them, they wouldn¡¯t have any ce to hide even if they wanted to!

    Just then, Yu the Great made his move. He scattered some earth all around him. Yun Jianyue¡¯s eyes widened when she saw him. She eximed, ¡°That¡¯s it? He doesn¡¯t think a bit of dirt can stop this crazy heaven-reaching tsunami, does he?¡±

    Forget about the huge ocean wave, even a cup of water seemed as if it could wash the dirt away.

    However, to their surprise, the handful of earth grew into a gigantic dam as soon as it struck the earth. It kept growing to match the height of the wave.

    Gonggong¡¯s eyes narrowed. He cried, ¡°Breath Soil? You actually had that with you?!¡±

    Yu the Great said indifferently, ¡°Normally, I could control the water without it, but you always break the rules and cause chaos with your divine strength, so of course I needed something appropriate to restrict you.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, you really are something!¡± Gonggong spat through gritted teeth. With a wave of his hand, the huge tsunami copsed back into floodwater.

    ¡°What is Breath Soil? Why did Gonggong give up as soon as he heard its name?¡± Yan Xuehen asked in confusion.

    Zu An exined, ¡°Breath Soil is said to be a treasure from heaven¡¯s imperial court. It¡¯s soil that can grow limitlessly. There was a rumor that back then, Gun was killed not because he failed to control the water, but rather because he stole the Breath Soil. Yu the Great is Gun¡¯s son, so the fact that he has the Breath Soil proves that the rumor was probably true.¡±

    The three women were all amazed when they heard that. There was actually something that amazing? Judging from its description, itpletely countered Gonggong¡¯s flood! No wonder he had given up and stopped trying.

    Yun Jianyue couldn''t help but look at Zu An, asking, ¡°Little An, why do you know so much about ancient times? These are things even we¡¯ve never heard of before.¡±

    Yan Xuehen and Yu Yanluo nodded in agreement. That had be especially evident after they entered the secret dungeon they knew nothing about. It was almost as if Zu An came from this world.

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°I know many things. We can spend some time together under the candlelight, and I¡¯ll slowly tell you everything then.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± Yu Yanluo said.

    Her agreement was one thing, but Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen both subconsciously agreed too! Only then did they feel that it was a bit inappropriate, and they pinched him on the waist, eximing, ¡°Damn kid, you even have the guts to take advantage of us?¡±

    After some time, things began to change on the battlefield. Gonggong stepped onto a pir of water, muttering to himself as if he were summoning something. Soon afterward, one after another, whirlpools appeared on the water''s surface. Then, countless giant waterspouts began to form. Wherever the waterspouts passed, they destroyed entire mountain peaks.

    Zu An inwardly cried out when he saw what was happening. This was a battle between freaking immortals! Just getting caught up in the aftershocks even slightly would be enough topletely wipe out nobodies like them.

    ¡°You said you had that power of faith to rely on, right? Then, I will end your faith right here!¡± Gonggong harrumphed. He intended to destroy all of the ordinary creatures of the world, to sever the source of Yu the Great¡¯s faith and weaken his power.

    Yu the Great raised his hand. A huge cauldron floated up in front of him, then it divided into nine slightly smaller cauldrons. However, even though they were ¡®smaller¡¯, they were still massive.

    Yu the Great then slowly intoned, ¡°Yu forged nine cauldrons. Five went to the yang positions, four to yin. The world shall be subdued!¡±

    As soon as he finished speaking, the nine cauldrons flew off in nine directions. They all fell at the same time like shooting stars. With a loud rumble, the entire world began to feel heavier, and earth elemental energy was stirred up all across the terrain.

    The results were nearly instantaneous. The rampant waterspouts seemed to have lost their support and disappeared one by one. The heaven-reaching flood also gradually receded, revealing the earth once more.

    The three women all cried out in surprise. ¡°Yu the Great¡¯s move was truly formidable!¡±

    Meanwhile, Zu An felt heartbroken. He grumbled, ¡°The Nine Cauldrons he¡¯s using seem to be mine!¡±

 Chapter 1475: World Formation

    Chapter 1475: World Formation

    Even though they had be muchrger, the overall design was more or less the same. Furthermore, they gave Zu An a familiar feeling. Of course, the Nine Cauldrons were much stronger now than when they had been with him; they had clearly regained their true form.

    Zu An watched as Yu the Great used them to subdue the world. As they were being used to keep the world in check, there was clearly no way to get them back. Zu An felt as if his heart were leaking blood. He knew the Nine Cauldrons were something Yu the Great had created, but he was their owner now! And it was he who had brought them into this world and opened up Yu the Great¡¯s true tomb.

    The distant Yu the Great gave him a look, as if he had heard Zu An¡¯s grumbling.

    Zu An began to struggle to breathe due to the great pressure. He quickly said in a sincere tone, ¡°Great one, please use it however you like. It¡¯s no problem at all.¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    These two were on a much higher level than Xiang Liu and the Fiend Emperor. Even the battle¡¯s aftereffects would be enough to pulverize Zu An¡¯s group. It was still best for him not to draw attention to himself.

    Gonggong¡¯s expression turned serious. Just how was a skull able to produce so many expressions, though?

    When he saw that the waterspouts had been subdued, he quickly condensed a thousand-meter-long water de. As he swung it, it cut through the nearby mountains like tofu.

    Zu An was speechless. He quickly took to the air on the Wind Fire Wheels, carrying the women with him. Almost the instant he left, the mountain below him began to fall apart, revealing a smooth surface cut apart by the water de.

    Zu An¡¯s expression turned grim due to the hair-raising sensation. The de was practically a manifestation of heaven¡¯s judgment! How was a human like him supposed to go against something like that?

    Yan Xuehen gently pushed him aside, saying, ¡°Our injuries have already pretty much recovered. We can fly by ourselves. We do not need you to carry us anymore.¡±

    Yun Jianyue also gave him a sidelong nce. Ever since she had entered the Unknown Region, this damn kid had taken advantage of her countless times. She thought, It¡¯ll be best if I don¡¯t talk to Honglei about these things to prevent any misunderstandings.

    ¡°Sorry, I got used to it,¡± Zu An apologized in embarrassment. However, his thoughts were running wild. If Yu Yanluo was like a fine soft jade in his arms, Yan Xuehen was like a cold jade, and Yun Jianyue was a fiery Wuyang Jade. Each had its merits; it was really hard to say which one was better.

    The three women had strange expressions as they thought, Why does that not sound right?

    However, their attention was quickly drawn to the battle below. Yu the Great drew a circle above his head, quickly forming a translucent barrier in the shape of a Nine Cauldron. In that instant, Zu An thought that he was watching Lord Conqueror perform his ultimate move.[1]

    Suddenly, Gonggong shouted loudly, and the sword mmed into the barrier around Yu the Great! It wasn¡¯t just a single de, however; several more followed it, ovepping on top of each other, and an incredibly loud noise rang out. Blinding radiance erupted from the center of the battlefield, and the sky was filled with mist.

    The powerful energies battered Zu An¡¯s party to the point that they couldn''t even stand still, and they were forced back several kilometers. Fortunately, because they were high up in the sky, their view wasn¡¯t blocked. They could still see what was happening.

    When the seemingly endless mist finally dissipated, Yu the Great gradually reappeared. The Nine Cauldron was still shining brightly without any sign of damage.

    Zu An¡¯s group waspletely stunned. Gonggong¡¯s terrifying attack couldn''t even break through Yu the Great¡¯s defense? Were earth element cultivators all that strong when they reached such a level?

    Yu the Great said slowly, ¡°I have already given you a chance. Now, it is my turn.¡± The sky suddenly dimmed after he spoke, as if a giant meteor had begun falling.

    Gonggong eximed in horror, ¡°So you were using the Nine Cauldrons to create a formation using the world¡¯s power!¡±

    Zu An and the others finally saw clearly that it wasn¡¯t a meteor at all, but a Nine Cauldron that had been made countless timesrger! It descended from the heavens, crashing down toward Gonggong.

    Gonggong wanted to run away, but it was just too big; he had nowhere to hide at all! He let out a roar, and the ck energy all around him surged. His body then transformed significantly; countless arms made of water shot out from behind him as he became a giant. Every single arm was as thick as a mountain. He roared toward the sky as he tried to bear the weight of the cauldron.

    Boom!

    The enormous Nine Cauldron collided with the giant Gonggong had turned into. The ground beneath Gonggong¡¯s feet immediately cracked, as if not even the earth itself could support the weight. However, Gonggong did eventually manage to stop it!

    Zu An and the others sighed in admiration. However, soon afterward, something else happened.

    Many of the giant arms around Gonggong stopped being able to hold on, bursting under the pressure and turning into a downpour of rain. Meanwhile, Gonggong himself began to be forced to the ground, as his legs could no longer endure. Soon, he was forced to get down on one knee, barely carrying the weight on his back.

    ¡°Gonggong can¡¯t hold on anymore!¡± Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue eximed, arriving at the same conclusion.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, someone else had realized the same thing: The Fiend Emperor. He was d that he had decisively chosen to defect instead of fighting against Gonggong¡¯s enemy. Instead, he had taken the chance to quickly suck Fuyou¡¯s cultivation dry.

    As the emperor of the Fiend races, he naturally had ess to some of the Blood race¡¯s essence absorption skills in the imperial pce¡¯s treasury. The reason he hadn¡¯t used them much was because he had considered them a corrupt path, and as the cultivation he absorbed would be impure anyway, he would be better off cultivating properly by himself.

    However, he didn¡¯t mind using them in order to recover from his injuries and obtain some immediate fighting strength. Afterpleting the process, he had been brimming with confidence, intending to settle things with Gonggong.

    And yet, as soon as he caught a nce of Gonggong¡¯s battle with Yu the Great, the Fiend Emperor¡¯s heart instantly sank. Both of them were far stronger than he was! Like hell he was going to fight Gonggong!

    However, soon afterward, he felt moved. As one of the world¡¯s strongest individuals who had reached the pinnacle of cultivation, he had always walked a path with an unknown future. Now that he was able to witness a battle between two powerful individuals, he felt the dao within him stir. Countless insights filled his mind.

    If he returned and cultivated in seclusion for a few months, slowly digesting the insights, he had hope of breaking through the bottleneck he had been stuck at for the past few centuries. The human race¡¯s Zhao Han wouldn¡¯t be his match at all! At that time, he would let the entire world know who was truly number one.

    Gonggong roared angrily. His aura suddenly erupted, and his muscles bulged massively. He forced the cauldron above him back a bit; it even looked almost as if he could eventually stand back up.

    However, a streak of light fired out of Yu the Great¡¯s eyes, striking the enormous cauldron projection. The cauldron instantly shone with light, pressing down once more.

    Gonggong gritted his teeth, and all his muscles trembled. Slowly, he was forced to bend again. First, his legs gave way; next, he couldn¡¯t even straighten his waist anymore. In the end, he waspletely crushed under the force of the cauldron, his body nowhere to be seen.

    A whileter, the cauldron began to fade before disappearingpletely. There was a huge crater in the ground, but Gonggong¡¯s body was gone. Apart from the giant crater, there was nothing abnormal remaining.

    ¡°Could it be that Gonggong found a chance to flee to a different ce? Can¡¯t earth immortals ignore the boundaries of space to a certain degree?¡± Yu Yanluo wondered.

    Yan Xuehen shook her head, saying, ¡°No, that giant cauldron contained restrictivews. The space around it could not be passed through. Furthermore, the surface of the earth might seempletely normal, but I can vaguely sense incredible power within it. If I am not mistaken, Gonggong has beenpletely sealed underground. Of course, there is a high chance that he was not physically sealed underground, but rather in a special space.¡±

    ¡°I did not expect you to already have such a level of knowledge with just that bit of cultivation,¡± Yu the Great remarked, giving her a look. His voice carried a hint of praise; he clearly approved of her deduction.

    Gonggong had emerged with such powerful momentum, and yet he was defeated so quickly. Whether it was Zu An¡¯s side or the Fiend Emperor¡¯s, they both sighed in pity.

    Yu the Great decided to leave after speaking. He hadpleted his mission and was about to disappear; he wanted to take the chance to see the world onest time.

    Suddenly, Zu An called out, ¡°Please wait! You¡¯ve damaged my possessions, so you have topensate me somehow, right?¡±

    1. Lord Conqueror is a character from the Chinese series Storm Riders. ?

 Chapter 1476: Rune Weapon Chart

    Chapter 1476: Rune Weapon Chart

    Both Golden Crows were stupefied when they heard Zu An¡¯s response. Is this kid drunk? He even dares to speak like that to someone so terrifying?

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince was secretly happy. He had always found that kid¡¯s lips extremely annoying, but now, he felt great instead. He thought, Actually, it would be even better if you talked more. That way, if you offended Yu the Great, just a single breath from him would erase you from existence!

    Yu Yanluo and the other women looked at Zu An worriedly. They didn¡¯t approve of him talking to Yu the Great that way either. The difference in strength between the two of them was just way too big.

    Zu An was left sweating. He had needed to brace himself to say that. The main reason he had decided to speak up was because, judging from his words and actions, Yu the Great didn¡¯t seem to be evil; rather, he seemed more like a defender of righteousness.

    Furthermore, after what he had experienced in the previous Unknown Regions, whether it was Qin Shihuang, Ying Zheng, or Shang Emperor Wu Geng, they had all given him good stuff. And yet, this Unknown Region clearly looked as if it would close soon. Yu the Great was going to leave, and yet nothing had happened. How could he not panic?

    He hade all the way to this Unknown Region and almost died several times. And yet, not only had he not gotten anything, he had ended up losing a bunch of important stuff. It really was too much!

    ¡°How did I damage your possessions?¡± Yu the Great asked unhappily, abruptly turning around.

    In the distance, the Golden Crow Crown Prince burst intoughter. This guy freaking deserves it! Someone like him had iting!

    Yu Yanluo tugged on Zu An¡¯s sleeves nervously. However, Zu An calmly deduced that since he hadn¡¯t received any Rage points, this guy wasn¡¯t even mad at all. As such, he said, ¡°The Nine Cauldron, of course. I brought it here, and I was also the one who used it to undo that spatial seal of yours. However, you split it into nine and used it to beat Gonggong.¡±

    Even now, he couldn¡¯t understand how the pocket-sized Nine Cauldron he normally just used to make pills would actually be able to disy so much power.

    Yu the Great said calmly, ¡°The Nine Cauldron was something I created, so it was my weapon to begin with.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s entire body felt uneasy beneath Yu the Great¡¯s gaze. He thought, This guy might already be on par with the immortals in strength, right? And yet he stayed in the mortal world. How is that fair?

    He checked the system¡¯s backend and saw that he still hadn¡¯t received any Rage points. He thus calmed down a bit, saying, ¡°The Nine Cauldron was created by senior, but due to the passage of time, senior passed on long ago. This Nine Cauldron changed hands several times, and eventually ended up in mine. I brought it into this world, and I am also its owner.¡±

    Now, even the Fiend Emperor felt some admiration for Zu An. Is he mad? He dares to negotiate with Yu the Great? What¡¯s the difference between this and courting death?

    The Fiend Emperor thought that if anyone else dared to talk to Yu the Great like that, he would no doubt have already killed them. However, what happened next almost made the Fiend Emperor¡¯s eyes pop out of their sockets.

    ¡°What you say is not unreasonable,¡± Yu the Great suddenly said with a nod. He gave Zu An a careful look. Suddenly, he eximed in surprise, ¡°Oh? Even with your level of cultivation, you still seem to have received the recognition of this world. It really is quite amazing.¡±

    ¡°Recognition of the world?¡± the Fiend Emperor repeated, suddenly feeling jealous. What kind of concept was being recognized by the world? No matter how powerful he was, he had still never received the recognition of his world. Zhao Han was no different.

    All those who received the recognition of the world had to have great fortune. As long as Zu An continued to cultivate in this world, his cultivation speed would be countless times higher than in the outside world. It was to the extent that if anyone wanted to treat him badly, that person would be rejected by the world and experience bad luck thereafter.

    After arriving in this world, the Fiend Emperor had killed the Four Perils and undone countless important seals. He had obtained so many key pieces to this trial, and yet he hadn¡¯t obtained the acknowledgement of the world. Just what had Zu An done to enjoy such good fortune?

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince felt even more jealous. Why?! This ant just jumps around annoyingly! What right does he have to enjoy all of this? Why does he get all the benefits?

    Zu An himself hadn¡¯t expected to obtain the world¡¯s recognition. Could it be because he hadpleted Yi¡¯s heroic path, shooting down the nine suns who had been causing chaos from above? If he were topare it to a game, he had probablypleted the equivalent of this world¡¯s S-rank hidden quest, as well as the Fiend Emperor¡¯s S-rank main quest. In addition, his Nine Cauldron had been critically important. As such, all in all, he had proven more useful than the Fiend Emperor¡¯s group.

    Just then, Yu the Great spoke up again. ¡°Now that I think about it, the two of us were brought together by fate. However, the Nine Cauldron has already been used to subdue the world, so I cannot return it to you. I will simply give you something else aspensation.¡±

    The Fiend Emperor¡¯s eyes lit up, and he began breathing heavily. How could something this guy gave out be low-quality in any way? After he left, he definitely had to seize it from Zu An.

    Even though Zu An was lucky, the difference in strength between them was too great. Furthermore, in order to deal with Gonggong, the Fiend Emperor had even absorbed all of Fuyou¡¯s cultivation. He was now thirty percent stronger than he had been at his previous peak.

    Zu An finished sorting out his thoughts. He was quite rxed as he replied, ¡°The Nine Cauldrons are so precious that I won¡¯t be satisfied with any ordinary goods!¡±

    Yu the Great was speechless. So were all the others.

    This guy was always able to say the most shameful things as if they were proper and right. Do you not see who you¡¯re talking to?

    Yan Xuehen felt that even more strongly than the others. If he weren¡¯t so fearless, there¡¯s no way he would have dared to bed me!

    Yu the Great took a deep breath, as if trying to calm himself down. He didn¡¯t waste any more words, however. With a tap of his finger, a streak of golden light flew into Zu An¡¯s forehead.

    Zu An felt as if a lot of information had entered his mind in an instant. Only after a while did he realize what had happened: Yu the Great had passed on a skill.

    The keyboard system in his head went off. ¡°New Unknown Region skill has been detected: ¡®Rune Weapon Chart¡¯. Would you like to register this skill?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Zu An responded, overjoyed. It was good that he had mustered up the courage to ask aboutpensation. Otherwise, wouldn¡¯t he have missed out on this chance?

    The Rune Weapon Chart was quickly registered to the F1 key. An icon that resembled a rune and a sword appeared on its surface.

    The Rune Weapon Chart¡¯s exnation appeared in Zu An¡¯s mind. As he quickly read through it, his breathing quickened.

    To put it simply, the skill could turn any weapon in the world into Zu An¡¯s own. He had gained proficiency as well as strong affinity with any and every weapon. As long as it was a weapon he had seen before, he would be able to materialize one to use for himself.

    At first, Zu An had thought that Yu the Great would give him an earth element skill. He hadn¡¯t expected it to be this skill! Technically, didn¡¯t it belong to the metal element?

    Of course, the element wasn¡¯t the most important part. What mattered most was its sheer power. Zu An¡¯s defensive and healing abilities were both extremely strong. However, what hecked when fighting against stronger opponents was an offensive skill that was strong enough to keep up. Thus, this skill was exactly what he needed!

    Others could technically use any weapon once they reached a certain level of cultivation, but they would only be able to specialize in one for the rest of their lives. After all, each weapon had its advantages and disadvantages, and only if one devoted one¡¯s life to a weapon would its potential be fully unearthed. However, this skill would save Zu An a ton of time. He would be able to bring the full power of any weapon out, making him a true weapon master.

    The weapon affinity part was something he didn¡¯t understand too well. However, that was a minor issue; the most powerful feature was the weapon materialization. As long as he had seen it before, he could reproduce it. If he could study enough of the world¡¯s heaven-grade, immortal-grade, or even deity-grade weapons, wouldn¡¯t it mean the equivalent of always having a massive weapon armory? Just the sheer amount alone would crush his opponents to death.

    Of course, it didn¡¯te without limitations. For example, he had to have seen it himself. At the same time, there was a time limit to the materialized weapons; he couldn''t use them forever. In addition, they were a bit weaker in grade and skillpared to the real deal.

    Still, that was already enough! If the quality couldn¡¯t be high enough, he would rece it with quantity!n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Besides, if the materialized version were the exact same as the original, wouldn¡¯t that just be unreasonable?

 Chapter 1477: Robbery

    <h4>Chapter 1477: Robbery</h4>

    ¡°As a new Unknown Region secret skill has been registered, a new ability of the keyboard system has been unlocked: The Forging System.¡±

    Zu An was surprised. Previously, the other secret manuals had unlocked the lottery, the Valkyrie, and other such features. What was the deal with the forging feature? When he saw that it had something to do with weapons, he thought,As expected of the Rune Weapon Chart.

    At the moment, however, he didn¡¯t have the time to thoroughly understand the new Forging System. Reading the Rune Weapon Chart¡¯s exnation had already taken too much time.

    ¡°Hm? Yourprehension is truly formidable. You have already grasped it so quickly? Normally, even the most stunning geniuses would have to spend a long time before they couldprehend it,¡± Yu the Great remarked in surprise. seemingly having sensed something.

    Meanwhile, the three women felt proud of Zu An. They had already known about his transcendent aptitude, but now that it was someone as powerful as Yu the Great giving the praise, they also felt a sense of pride.

    However, Yun Jianyue was soon stunned.What am I feeling proud for? What does this have to do with me?

    She snuck Yan Xuehen a look and saw that the other woman seemed ecstatic. She harrumphed inwardly.There¡¯s no need to be that happy about your disciple finding a good man, right? It¡¯s not as if it¡¯s your man.

    Hmph, I¡¯ll have to urge Honglei to settle her rtionship with him. It would be best if she seized the main wife position and made that stone cold woman¡¯s disciple serve her as a concubine.

    But¡­ Honglei is still cultivating the Heavenly Devil¡¯s Temptation. If I told her to get with him ahead of time, her cultivation would suffer for the rest of her life. Wouldn¡¯t that harm her?

    At first, Zu An had only had one woman, which would have been fine. If Honglei¡¯s cultivation turned out to be lower, that would be eptable, as she would have found a good husband regardless. Now, however, he had so many pretty women around him. If Honglei¡¯s cultivation ended up lower than all of theirs, wouldn¡¯t she be easily bullied?

    Yun Jianyue felt really conflicted. Both choices were bad¡­ She couldn¡¯t just do it herself, right?

    She was stunned as soon as that thought emerged. Her cheeks heated up.Pah pah pah! What the hell is wrong with me? Why would I have such absurd thoughts?

    ¡­

    Unlike them, the Golden Crow Crown Prince was filled with jealousy and hatred.This guy got lucky again! He really is my fated enemy. Why aren¡¯t the heavens hacking him to death?!

    The Fiend Emperor wondered what Yu the Great had given Zu An. Whatever it was, it had to be something extraordinary.

    In previous years, the human emperor Zhao Han had sent some people into an Unknown Region, and seemed to have obtained an immortal secret. Even though that method seemed to have failed, Unknown Regions really did turn out to be full of hope. Could it be that the secret had already been passed on to Zu An?

    ¡­

    Yu the Great gave Zu An a deep look, then looked into the distance. He said, ¡°I initially nned to take a look around this world before I disappeared, but now that I have passed on this skill to you, my energy cannotst for much longer.¡±

    Zu An did feel a bit apologetic, saying, ¡°Senior, it was my fault.¡±

    ¡°It is alright. This is the will of heaven¡­¡± Yu the Great replied with a chuckle. Then, his body began to fade. In the end, he turned into specks of starlight.

    To begin with, he had been nothing more than a safety measure in case Gonggong came back to life. That had been his sole mission. Now that his mission wasplete, he had to leave. No one could resist the power of time, not even someone as powerful as Yu the Great.

    Zu An sighed. However, he suddenly noticed that a deep vortex appeared in the spot Yu the Great had disappeared from. There was a familiar auraing from within.

    Yan Xuehen eximed happily, ¡°That seems to be the aura of our world!¡±

    ¡°This Unknown Region has been sessfully conquered. We can return to our original world now,¡± Zu An added excitedly. He had entered Unknown Regions before, and thus had experience. The three women cheered excitedly when they heard his exnation.

    Meanwhile, Zu An smiled. This Unknown Region was different from the ones he had experienced before; the cultivations of those inside had all been too high! It had made them constantly feel as if they were walking on thin ice. He was curious as to whether this world really did exist, or if it was just a special secret dungeon.

    While he was lost in thought, he suddenly shivered. He looked toward one side immediately.

    ¡°Your vignce is indeed excellent. You noticed me as soon as I appeared,¡± the Fiend Emperor said. The Golden Crow Crown Prince also followed beside him, ring at Zu An¡¯s group with an unkind expression.

    Zu An was on guard inwardly, but he didn¡¯t reveal anything unusual on the surface. He said, ¡°It was thanks to our cooperation that we dealt with this Unknown Region¡¯s dangers. We can finally return.¡±

    ¡°Return?¡± The Fiend Emperor sneered. ¡°I have already spent a long time in this ce and fought countless powerful beings. Even though I received some small spoils, they were almost all used to open the tomb. So far, I have received almost nothing. Are you telling me to return just like that?¡±

    Zu An looked as if he had suddenly ¡®realized¡¯ what was going on. He said, ¡°Ah, my memory really is poor. Didn¡¯t I promise to give your majesty information regarding the immortal medicine? Your majesty helped us earlier, and I¡¯ve always been someone who clearly separates gratitude and grudge. I definitely wouldn¡¯t lie to my friends. I¡¯ll immediately tell you the information about the immortal medicine. I hope your majesty can keep your promise to settle all of our past conflicts.¡±

    Yan Xuehen and the other women quietly stood next to him. They were all a bit worried. Wasn¡¯t Ah Zu trusting the other side too much? What if the Fiend Emperor went back on his word? However, when they recalled Zu An¡¯s usual wit, they concluded that he had already considered those things.

    ¡°Oh, that is no problem,¡± the Fiend Emperor said as his breathing quickened. As he was nearing the end of his lifespan, he needed such immortal medicines the most.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The Golden Crow Crow Prince panicked, eximing, ¡°Father emperor, you cannot let yourself be fooled by that brat! If he really did know anything about the immortal medicine, he would have eaten it a long time ago, Why would he possibly leave it to us?¡±

    The Fiend Emperor¡¯s expression was overcast; he clearly shared the same sentiment.

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°Your majesty, it looks as if the crown prince does not wish for you to live for too long.¡±

    The Fiend Emperor¡¯s eyelids twitched, but he still said coldly, ¡°Do not try to sow dissent between us. Hurry and tell me your information about the immortal medicine.¡±

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince didn¡¯t rx at all, because he knew that what Zu An had said really was effective; it was especially so toward the royal family, as they didn¡¯t share much affection with each other.

    Zu An rxed his shoulders and said, ¡°I¡¯ve never seen the immortal medicine before, but along the way, I found out that Spirit Mountain¡¯s Treasure Mountain contained an immortal medicine. In the past, someone even used that immortal medicine to revive a dead person¡­¡±

    Then, he shared the rest of the immortal medicine information with the Fiend Emperor¡­ after covering up the important parts, of course.

    Yun Jianyue and the other women looked at him worriedly. The look in their eyes seemed to convey, ¡®Will this really be enough to fool him?¡¯

    Zu An shot back a look that seemed to say ¡®Don¡¯t worry.¡¯ He knew he couldn''t fool the Fiend Emperorpletely, but the smarter a person was, the more they would be carried away by their own ns. They wouldn¡¯t be willing to give up even the slightest chance, and would thus lie to themselves. That was even more the case with the Fiend Emperor, who was nearing the end of his life. His desire for immortal medicine had already turned intoplete zealotry.

    ¡°Good, good, good!¡± the Fiend Emperor eximed. No matter howposed he was usually, he couldn''t contain the rapt joy on his face. With his knowledge, if Zu An randomly created a lie about the immortal medicine, he would have easily seen through it. However, Zu An¡¯s description was very detailed. He knew there was no way it could have been created on the spot, and that at least arge portion of it was true.

    Zu An took the chance to say, ¡°Fiend Emperor, I have already told you what I know. This exit might close at any time. You should hurry and head to Spirit Mountain to look for the immortal medicine. Otherwise, this ce might close forever.¡±

    The Fiend Emperor looked in Spirit Mountain¡¯s direction. However, he didn¡¯t seem too inclined to move. He said with a smile, ¡°There is no rush.¡±

    Zu An and the others suddenly felt pressured. He asked, ¡°Why?¡±

    The Fiend Emperor reached a hand toward Zu An, asking, ¡°What did Yu the Great give you just now? How about you hand it over?¡±

 Chapter 1478: You Wonâ€™t Have a Chance Anymore

    Chapter 1478: You Won¡¯t Have a Chance Anymore

    Off to one side, the previously grim-faced Golden Crow Crown Prince started feeling happy. As expected of my father!

    He looked at Zu An with a smug expression, thinking, Little bastard, what are you going to do now? He even prayed inwardly, Hurry and refuse! That way, Zu An would have provoked his father, creating a proper excuse to kill him.

    He didn¡¯t know why he hated Zu An so much, though. After all, before he met Zu An, he had been the leader of the Fiend Races¡¯ younger generation, and fully deserved his title as number one. Most importantly, it wasn¡¯t his status that made it so; it was because he really was that talented. Whether in terms of his cultivation rank or his realbat strength, he was the best among the younger generation.

    He was publicly known to be unrivaled among those at the same level. He would often challenge opponents at a higher level than himself, because he often stood a good chance of winning. That was why he had always been high-spirited and incredibly proud.

    And yet, he had coincidentally ended up running into Zu An, and then been defeated by him, even though Zu An¡¯s cultivation was lower than his! It had made him feel as if all of his past experiences were a joke.

    At first, he hadn¡¯t been willing to admit defeat. He had convinced himself that Zu An could only win through scheming. Even though their second meeting in the pce caused him to be severely wounded in an instant, he had still retained his confidence, because that was an ambush.

    Eventually, however, after the events in the Imperial Tomb and the various encounters in the Unknown Region, he was shocked to discover that the person he had previously looked down on was someone he actually had to look up to. He didn¡¯t even think there was any chance he could beat Zu An in the future either.

    The worst part of it all was that Zu An¡¯s cultivation was lower than his! That was the final nail in the coffin. As such, he really wanted his father to get involved and eliminate his personal demon.

    Just then, Zu An said, ¡°Fiend Emperor, I¡¯ve already told you the information about the immortal medicine, and yet you¡¯re still unsatisfied and covet my belongings. This isn¡¯t how a good partner acts, is it?¡±

    The Fiend Emperor said calmly, ¡°Only a child would be picky about what they want. I have always taken everything.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. If he didn¡¯t know who the Fiend Emperor was, he would have thought he was talking to some damned perverted online friend from his previous world.

    The Fiend Emperor looked at all those present and said, ¡°Out of consideration for our cooperation, as long as you hand over what Yu the Great gave you, I can spare your lives. I hope you consider this carefully.¡±

    Naturally, he didn¡¯t actually n to let Zu An off. He was only saying so to lower Zu An¡¯s guard. At the same time, he was trying to drive a wedge in their group¡¯s friendship. After all, the White Jade Sect Master, the Devil Sect Master, and even the Medusa Queen were formidable individuals in their own right. If they worked together, their power would be far more than the sum of its parts. Even though he wasn¡¯t scared, considering how Zu An had obtained the recognition of the world, he still had to deal with the situation carefully.

    After all, Yu the Great had given the benefits to Zu An alone. The three women hadn¡¯t obtained anything. There was no reason for them to take a risk for him. If Zu An couldn''t bear to hand it over, the women would definitely change their attitudes. Their rtionship with Zu An would start to crack¡­

    ¡­At least, unless they were all passionately in love with him. If that were the case, they would only side with Zu An no matter what choice he made.

    The Medusa Queen was one thing, but the White Jade Sect¡¯s ice goddess and the Devil Sect¡¯s ughtering witch? Would those two ever like a man, and the same man, no less? What a joke!

    Ast Zu An didn¡¯t reply, the Fiend Emperor continued with a sneer, ¡°What, are you unwilling to hand it over? Could it be that you want yourpanions to lose their lives because of your own selfishness?¡±

    Zu An smiled and replied, ¡°Why is the Fiend Emperor ying these games? There¡¯s no harm in telling you this, though. What Yu the Great gave me is a skill, and it has nothing to do with immortality. Fiend Emperor, your cultivation is already extraordinary, and you¡¯re one of the strongest in this world. Why would you care about this skill of mine?¡±

    ¡°A skill!¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince eximed, breathing heavily. How could a skill Yu the Great had given out be mediocre? He thought, Even if my father doesn¡¯t need it, I need it!

    The Fiend Emperor frowned slightly. He couldn''t help but feel a bit disappointed when he heard that it was a skill. In his current state, what he needed the most wasn¡¯t some powerful secret manual. However, he didn¡¯t trust what Zu An said about it being unrted to immortality that easily. Whether or not it was rted, he had to take a look at it himself first.

    As for whether Zu An¡¯s strength would skyrocket after learning Yu the Great¡¯s skill¡­ It would be strange if he could learn it that quickly. Even for the Fiend Emperor and Zhao Han, who were the greatest geniuses in the present world, it would have taken them at least several months to learn an extraordinary secret manual at Zu An¡¯s level. Even at his current cultivation rank, the Fiend Emperor would need at least a few days to fullyprehend an extraordinary skill.

    What level was Zu An at right now, though? He wouldn¡¯t necessarily be able to make much progress even after a year.

    The Fiend Emperor said indifferently, ¡°My nature is rather greedy. For all these years, I have always wanted everything that is good. I will not treat you unfairly if you give me this skill of yours. Once we return to the outside world, you will have your share of high position and wealth.¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An sneered. Offering him a high position and wealth like that? Could the Fiend Emperor be any more fake? He hadn¡¯t even bothered going into the details, so it was easy to see that he didn¡¯t have a shred of sincerity.

    Of course, even if there had been sincerity, there was no way Zu An would hand the skill over. As such, he replied, ¡°Please forgive me, but I have never been too interested in glory or wealth, so I can only let down your good intentions.¡±

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince almost burst outughing when he heard the reply. Very good, keep going, court death! The more the better!

    The Fiend Emperor¡¯s face darkened and he eximed, ¡°Hmph, don¡¯t me me for not asking you nicely!¡±

    If not for his reservations about the world¡¯s favor toward Zu An, why would he have bothered talking for so long with someone whose cultivation was so far beneath his own?

    Suddenly, however, the passage rippled. The aura of the world seemed to have turned chaotic.

    Yun Jianyue said seriously, ¡°This tunnel can¡¯t hold on for much longer. If we keep stalling, all of us will be trapped in this world until we die.¡±

    The Fiend Emperor frowned. He waved his hand toward the Golden Crow Crown Prince. A gentle force wrapped around the prince, sending him flying toward the passage. The Fiend Emperor said, ¡°You should leave first.¡±

    He was confident he could quickly deal with Zu An¡¯s group, but he still had to search Spirit Mountain for the immortal medicine. It would be very bad if the passage closed before he could escape. The Fiend Races still needed someone to rule them, after all. As such, he had sent the crown prince out as a precaution.

    Even though the Golden Crow Crown Prince wanted to personally witness that despicable person Zu An being crushed with his own eyes, if he really ended up locked inside the Unknown Region forever, it would be toote for regrets. He wasn¡¯t like his father, who was close to passing away. He still had many years to enjoy. He actually had some darker thoughts; if he left and the passage closed, wouldn¡¯t that make him the new Fiend Emperor?

    Because the Fiend Emperor was blocking the passage entrance, Zu An¡¯s group could only watch as the Golden Crow Crown Prince left.

    The group¡¯s atmosphere turned grave. Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue both felt pessimistic. They really didn¡¯t know how to deal with the Fiend Emperor. He seemed to be injured from the fight against the Qiongqi, but he already seemed to have recovered. His aura was even more imposing than it had been at his previous peak, as if he had improved further.

    At the moment, their only hope was Zu An¡¯s Sun ying Bow, But they only had one chance. The Fiend Emperor wouldn¡¯t necessarily give him a chance. Unless¡­ Unless someone sacrificed themselves to stall the Fiend Emperor, buying Zu An a chance to use the bow.

    As for the skill Yu the Greathad passed on, they believed that with Zu An¡¯s aptitude, he would undoubtedly be able to learn it quickly; however, no matter how quickly he learned, there was no time left.

    Yu Yanluo was calmer than the others. She was already very happy to be with Zu An. They would survive together or die together.

    The Fiend Emperor said just then, ¡°I will give you onest chance; otherwise, it will be toote for regret.¡±

    Zu An sighed and replied, ¡°Do you have that much confidence that you can really defeat me?¡±

    The Fiend Emperor looked at him as if he were stupid, asking, ¡°Are you telling a joke right now?¡±

    Even Yan Xuehen and the other women looked at Zu An strangely. Isn¡¯t this guy going a bit too far with his bluff?

    ¡°Then you can make your move. If I attack first, you won¡¯t have a chance anymore,¡± the Fiend Emperor said. He was still the most powerful being in the world; he really couldn''t bring himself to act first against a junior.

    ¡°You might end up regretting that,¡± Zu An said. As soon as he finished speaking, several waves of blue radiance suddenly appeared behind him. It was as if mirrors had appeared in the air. Weapons gradually appeared one after another, every single one giving off the aura of a heaven-grade weapon.

 Chapter 1479: Gatling the Savior

    Chapter 1479: Gatling the Savior

    Yan Xuehen and the others had fought by Zu An¡¯s side, so they had naturally seen some of his strongest moves before. What they were seeing now was clearly his Blue Luan Sword Formation.

    However, even though the sword formation was extraordinary, it had one fatal weakness, which was that Zu An¡¯s cultivation rank still wasn¡¯t high enough. Perhaps against others of the same level or those who were at a lower rank, the skill would have an overwhelming advantage. If he faced someone whose cultivation was way higher than his, though, the power of the sword formation would becking.

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue had given him advice on how to improve it in the past, which was to refine arge amount of heaven-grade or better weapons and use them in ce of condensed sword ki. That way, its power would greatly increase.

    Still, heaven-grade weapons were hard to find in this world. Every single one would be fought over by many different factions when it appeared. Even for the Devil Sect or the White Jade Sect, although those forces did have some heaven-grade weapons, they were exceedingly precious. They were often reserved only for those with high status or power.

    If Zu An wanted to rece all of the Blue Luan Sword formation¡¯s swords, who knew just how many heaven-grade weapons it would take? It didn¡¯t seem realistic at all; immortal or deity-grade were out of the question.

    They had been together for a long time, and hadn¡¯t seen Zu An obtain any new weapons, let alone refine any. So where had so many heaven-grade weaponse from?

    Wait, why do they look so familiar?

    Tai¡¯e Sword, Poisonous Prick, Violetme Snake Pike, Universe Ring, Gold Brick, Wind Fire Wheels¡­

    Hm? Why are the Crescent Ring and Flying Snow Sword there too?

    The two of them began to question life a bit. They reflexively looked down, but their weapons were clearly still with them. They could use them at any time!

    The Fiend Emperor¡¯s expression changed as well. As he looked at the suspended weapons, he eximed in surprise and fury, ¡°Yan Xuehen, Yun Jianyue, have the two of you gotten with him too? You actually gave him your weapons?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled the Fiend Emperor for +444 +444 +444¡­

    It wasn¡¯t his fault for thinking that way. After all, a cultivator¡¯s weapon was something they nurtured extremely carefully and bound to their soul. It basically reached a point where the weapon would remain as long as the owner remained, but if anything happened to the weapon, the owner often experienced a powerful bacsh too.

    As such, normally, no one would lend their weapon to another. Otherwise, if the other person bore any malice, they could easily inflict serious damage to one¡¯s soul. And yet, both of these women had actually given their weapons to Zu An, proving that they already had the highest level of trust for Zu An. Their rtionships were closer than even husband and wife!

    How was that possible, though?!

    Even if they were on the same side, the Fiend Emperor had heard of the two women¡¯s reputations before. How could two women who were that prideful possibly have that kind of rtionship with Zu An?

    Even though he was now old and didn¡¯t care much about beauty, he was still a man. What man could remain calm upon seeing so many extraordinary beauties devote themselves to the same man?

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue were rmed. They both shouted, ¡°Pah, what kind of nonsense are you saying?!¡±

    However, the two didn¡¯t bring out their weapons to disprove it, as Zu An had produced the scene before them using an unknown weapon. If they did that, the Fiend Emperor could potentially find an opening.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The heaven-grade weapons behind Zu An quickly flew toward the Fiend Emperor. Every single one carried terrifying strength and power!

    They were, naturally, created from the Rune Weapon Chart. Zu An had never had the time to refine the heaven-grade weapons he had for the Blue Luan Sword Formation. Now, he had discovered that the materialized weapons could actually synergize with the sword formation, so there was obviously no reason for him to hold back.

    Faced with the iing weapons, the Fiend Emperor¡¯s feet moved slightly. It was as if he were just going for a stroll, and yet he avoided the weapons one after another. Even the closest one barely came within an inch of his body, unable to harm him at all.

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue were both shaken when they saw that scene. Just how incredible was his movement skill? Was the difference in strength between the two parties really so great? They both felt that even if they used everything they had, they wouldn¡¯t even be able to touch a corner of the Fiend Emperor¡¯s clothes.

    Zu An frowned slightly. He organized the weapons into a dense, surrounding his opponent.

    As it was called the Blue Luan Sword Formation, there was no way it would only be able to release sword ki normally. Apart from that, the sword ki could be organized into an intricate formation.

    When he saw the concentrated formation, the Fiend Emperor was finally forced to treat it a bit more seriously. Still, it cut a single strand of his hair.

    However, he didn¡¯t show any rm, instead nodding in praise and saying, ¡°You are still so young, and yet you were able to cut a strand of my hair. That would already be enough to make your name renowned throughout the world.¡±

    The three women nodded in agreement. After all, the Fiend Emperor and Zhao Han were at the peak of the world, synonymous with invincibility. In the past hundred years or so, there weren¡¯t many who had seen them fight.

    Yun Jianyue was even more moved. After all, her cultivation was higher than Zu An¡¯s. Back then, in the human race¡¯s Imperial Pce, she hadn¡¯t even met Zhao Han, and yet she was seriously injured; to say nothing of even touching a single strand of hair.

    ¡°Unfortunately, these weapons seem to be a bit weaker than true heaven-grade weapons,¡± the Fiend Emperor said, already having sensed some things about the move. He had seen Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue¡¯s weapons before; the weapons Zu An wielded were inferior. He continued, ¡°Of course, even so, if there were thousands or ten thousand of these weapons, they could be a threat to me. Unfortunately, right now¡­ They are far from enough!¡±

    As soon as he finished speaking, a Golden Crow incarnation suddenly appeared around him, smashing straight through the of weapons. The materialized weapons all shattered.

    When he saw the fragments disappear into specks of starlight, the Fiend Emperor revealed an expression that seemed to say ¡®as expected¡¯. He remarked, ¡°It appears these were all materialized through some method. I did not expect you to have such a trump card. My son¡¯s defeat was not in vain.¡±

    He didn¡¯t suspect that it was the skill Yu the Great had given Zu An; he assumed no one could learn such a skill so quickly.

    Zu An had to admit that the Fiend Emperor¡¯s cultivation was astonishing; he had been able to see through the skill from just observing a single move. He sighed regretfully. The amount of heaven-grade weapons he had seen was too small. Recreating the sword formation with only the weapons he had was pushing it too far.

    ¡°You have already made your move. It is my turn now,¡± the Fiend Emperor said, instantly vanishing from his position.

    Then, Zu An¡¯s group felt a terrifying pressure that made all their fine hairs stand on end. They all knew their opponent would attack them a momentter. However, because earth immortals surpassed the limitations of space, they couldn''t deduce where the attack wasing from at all. They could only await their ¡®judgment¡¯.

    Yan Xuehen suddenly had a thought. Should I use my body to block the Fiend Emperor¡¯s attack? Then, that could buy Zu An a bit of time to use the Sun ying Bow.

    Either way, after what had happened between the two of them, she didn¡¯t know how to face Chuyan anymore anyway¡­

    Yan Xuehen drew the Flying Snow Sword. She prepared to use her forbidden skill, but suddenly, Zu An took her in his arms. She was stunned, thinking, What is he doing?

    She didn¡¯t suspect that he was using her as a shield; rather, she briefly thought he wanted to die together with her. However, when she saw that he was also carrying Yu Yanluo and Yun Jianyue, those feelings instantly vanished into thin air.

    The Fiend Emperor suddenly appeared out of thin air. A giant golden hand imprint mmed down toward the group. If it hit, all of them would be instantly crushed into a bloody paste.

    Just then, however, a loud sound rang out. Arge cauldron projection suddenly appeared around them, blocking the attack.

    ¡°Nine Cauldron?¡± the Fiend Emperor eximed, quickly retreating when he saw it. His eyes were filled with fear. After all, he had just seen Yu the Great use the item to take down Gonggong, so how could he not be afraid?

    Don¡¯t tell me Yu the Great isn¡¯t dead yet? he thought. He released his divine will to sense his surroundings, but he didn¡¯t detect Yu the Great¡¯s aura.

    Furthermore, after the cauldron took the blow, it immediately cracked and scattered apart. He reacted quickly, saying,, ¡°So it was just something you materialized with that mysterious ability of yours! Hahaha, not even the Nine Cauldron could stop me. What else will you bring out now?¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Zu An replied, not wasting any more time on words. A burst of light flickered, and a ck, barrel-like object suddenly appeared in his hands. The part he was holding was extremely clunky-looking, while the body was made up of several cylindrical tubes bound together. The many holes in its front gave off a mysterious killing intent.

 Chapter 1480: Dongfengâ€™s Blossom

    Chapter 1480: Dongfeng¡¯s Blossom

    ¡°What is this?¡± the Fiend Emperor eximed, his eyes narrowing. He had never seen such a thing before in all of his years of dominating the world. It waspletely unfamiliar to him.

    The item in Zu An¡¯s hands appeared to be a magic weapon, but it wasn¡¯t deity or immortal-grade. It wasn¡¯t even heaven-grade, and yet the Fiend Emperor sensed a chilling aura of killing intent from it that exceeded many famous treasures.

    It wasn¡¯t just him. Even Yan Xuehen and the other women¡¯s eyes widened in surprise. They had fought together for so long, but they had never seen Zu An use the weapon.

    A mysterious glint flickered in Zu An¡¯s eyes. He slowly chanted, ¡°Na¡­ mo¡­ Gat-ling bodhisattva. Six barrels empty your bullets; in one breath, three thousand six hundred rotations. Pass your mercy and sorrow onto the people of the world.¡±

    The Fiend Emperor, Yan Xuehen, and the others were a bit confused. As there were daoist sects, there were naturally also monks. They knew what a bodhisattva was. But what did this thing have to do with a bodhisattva?

    They naturally had no way of knowing that the chant was nothing more than a popr inte phrase from Zu An¡¯s previous world. The only thing that was on the same level as the buddha gatling was the magical maxim[1].

    Zu An¡¯s main limitation was that he had seen too few high-grade weapons in this world, and thus, the amount he could materialize was limited. They couldn¡¯t pose enough of a threat against the Fiend Emperor.

    However, when he thought about the problem of hiscking firepower, he quickly recalled the weapons that appeared in the battlefields of his previous world. The problem was that he came from a world of science and technology, but this was a world of cultivation; thus, he wasn¡¯t sure whether he could sessfully materialize things.

    And yet, he had given it a try anyway, and it actually worked!

    Zu An immediately felt a burst of confidence, his back straightening as he held the gatling gun. He said, ¡°Fiend Emperor, you were acting pretty smug a moment ago¡­¡±

    When he heard the provocative tone in Zu An¡¯s voice, the Fiend Emperor¡¯s face darkened. He replied, ¡°Do you really think a long, dark cooking spoon is enough to defeat me?¡±

    ¡°Cooking spoon?¡± Zu An repeated with a strange expression. He continued, ¡°Then you should have a taste of this cooking spoon.¡±

    He didn''t say anything else and pulled the trigger, aiming at the Fiend Emperor. The pitch-ck muzzle sprayed out blue mes, and countless bullets sprayed out with an ear-piercing roar.

    The Fiend Emperor felt disdain at first, but in the next instant, his expression immediately changed.

    What the hell is being fired from it? Arrows? No, they¡¯re much smaller, as if they¡¯re only arrowheads.

    They¡¯re extremely fast, too. I almost couldn¡¯t react in time. Every single one has an auraparable to sharp sword ki.

    For those reasons, he didn¡¯t dare to take it directly. He quickly used his unique movement skill to evade.

    Unfortunately, the gatling gun¡¯s strongest point was that it could cover a wide area. The bullets sprayed outward, saturating the space between them far better than the ten or so heaven-grade weapons Zu An had previously summoned.

    No matter how much the Fiend Emperor dodged, there were always some bullets he couldn''t avoid. Helpless to do anything else, he could only summon his golden wings. The feathers quickly turned into golden sword ki,ing together to stop all the iing bullets.

    Zu An sighed in amazement. The Fiend Emperor really was formidable. Even the gatling¡¯s rapid fire rate and concentrated bullets couldn''tnd a single decent hit.

    However, Yan Xuehen and the others were even more shocked than he was. The Fiend Emperor being stronger made sense, and the golden sword ki was indeed formidable, but that was only in terms of defense.

    And yet, Zu An was the one beating down the Fiend Emperor right now! If the story got out, it would cause people¡¯s jaws to drop, right?

    Furthermore, the strange weapon in his hands seemed to have horrific power that could even fell armies. Even soldiers would be mowed down by the weapon unless they set up a defensive formation ahead of time!

    The Fiend Emperor was starting to regret his decision. He had wanted to test out his opponent¡¯s weapon, which was why he hadn¡¯t immediately cut through space to evade. Now, however, it would be toote even if he wanted to do that. It took a very short time to teleport, but the weapon¡¯s firing interval was even shorter!

    Each and every hidden weapon had great power. Of course, they wouldn¡¯t be lethal against those who were truly strong. After all, any random strike from such cultivators could destroy a mountain. These kinds of hidden weapons were stillcking in that regard.

    However, their fire was just too concentrated! The Fiend Emperor could still take on a hundred of them, but the weapon could fire several thousand in just a single breath! If he rxed even a little bit, he could end up being shot full of holes!

    After all,pared to their various offensive methods, the defenses of cultivators were notably weaker. Normally, it wasn¡¯t much of a problem, as they had many methods of evasion or defense. They wouldn¡¯t be so stupid as to take everything on directly with their bodies.

    How could the Fiend Emperor have anticipated something that released such a powerful stream of firepower, though? He could only passively defend.

    The golden sword energy made from his feathers was much stronger than a single one of the ¡®hidden weapons¡¯, but due to the difference in number and frequency between them, he could only trade one sword for a few of the projectiles at a time. As such, he actually suffered quite a few losses.

    If Zu An¡¯s supply of hidden weapons was limitless, even though the Fiend Emperor¡¯s cultivation was much higher, he could end up dying from exhaustion. However, he didn¡¯t panic. He didn''t believe that a weapon so powerful could be limitless.

    Sure enough, after some time, the ck barrel began glowing red from the heat. Then, with a loud boom, it exploded. Considering how tough Zu An¡¯s body was, however, the heat and explosion couldn''t hurt him.

    He cried out in regret. The materialized gatling was a bit less durable than a normal gatling, but it shouldn¡¯t have been destroyed that quickly. He also began feeling dizzy

    He thought in surprise, I was clearly shooting bullets just now, so why does my body feel empty instead?

    He shivered. Looks like the Rune Weapon Chart doesn¡¯te without a price. What it exhausts should be the ki inside me. Fortunately, I have several divine skills that grant me tremendous amounts of ki. A normal master rank cultivator might have already been sucked dry after making those heaven-grade weapons and the gatling.

    A figure suddenly appeared by Zu An¡¯s side. The Fiend Emperor was clearly unwilling to give him another chance.

    Yan Xuehen, Yun Jianyue, and Yu Yanluo harrumphed. They had been watching Zu An, and knew he was probably at his weakest. They all rushed forth to protect him.

    The Empress Lantern appeared. The Crescent Ring followed, drawing a crescent moon-shaped arc in midair, but it didn¡¯t take the initiative to attack. Instead, it quietly released moonlight that, when paired with the Empress Lantern, could grant it even greater restrictive power.

    Yu Yanuo¡¯s eyes shone with the highest-grade amber light. Now that she had the Holy Pearl and Dragonsnake¡¯s Nine Transformations, the Medusa¡¯s Eye no longer put her body on the brink of copse whenever she used it.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s entire body flickered with brilliant runes. Then, she charged forward, wrapped in a blizzard of wind and snow.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    After experiencing several life and death situations together, their teamwork had be excellent.

    The surface of the Fiend Emperor¡¯s body began to petrify. Together with the Empress Lantern and the moonlight¡¯s radiance, his movements became considerably slower than before. Yan Xuehen¡¯s explosive attack soon followed. Even though the Fiend Emperor¡¯s cultivation was much higher than theirs, due to their excellent cooperation, his full-power attack didn¡¯t work as he intended.

    Of course, the three women were sent flying by the terrifying energy. The ki and blood within their bodies surged powerfully. Stopping a second attack would be impossible.

    Fortunately, Zu An had already caught his breath. He pulled the three women back.

    The Fiend Emperor sneered, calling out, ¡°Do you all think you can escape?¡± He knew none of them were faster than him alone, let alone when all four were moving together.

    The next second, however, his eyes almost popped out of their sockets. With a wave of Zu An¡¯s hand, a golden war chariot suddenly appeared in front of him. He and the three women boarded, and it quickly flew through the air.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that our Golden Crow race¡¯s Golden War Chariot?¡± the Fiend Emperor wondered. In that instant, he began to question life. Because he was nearing the end of his life, he had already given both the Golden War Chariot and the Sun ying Bow to his son.

    Is it possible that my son let his war chariot get stolen by Zu An, but he didn¡¯t dare to tell me?

    However, he quickly shook his head. The carriage did look like the Golden Crow race¡¯s war chariot, but upon closer inspection, it was different. The Golden War Chariot he had was pulled by six young dragons, while this war chariot had six fully mature dragons. It seemed to be at an even higher grade.

    The chariot Zu An had materialized was actually the one he had seen Xi He using. Its grade was naturally a bit higher than the Fiend Emperor¡¯s, so it was fast enough to prevent the Fiend Emperor from immediately catching up.

    He thought, Now that the Fiend Emperor feels some apprehension, the gatling might not be able to injure him a second time.

    Should I give him a taste of Dongfeng¡¯s express delivery then?

    Dongfeng lights up the skies with blossoming flowers and a thousand trees, then descends like a rain of stars!

 Chapter 1481: Is A Thousand Miles Far?

    Chapter 1481: Is A Thousand Miles Far?

    Just do it!

    At that moment, Zu An had already begun to recall the Dongfeng missiles from his previous world. He actually started to feel some regret that as an online keyboard warrior, he had mostly neglected military matters. That was why his knowledge regarding weapons wasn¡¯t that much greater than an ordinary person¡¯s. He wasn¡¯t like some other big shots, who knew every detail about the most advanced and sophisticated weapons of different countries.

    After thinking about it for some time, he decided that if he wanted power and speed to the point that the Fiend Emperor couldn''t dodge it, he had to go with the hypersonic Dongfeng-17.

    Almost as soon as he began to imagine it, the surrounding air rippled like water. A strange weapon slowly emerged right before the women¡¯s eyes. Its head was sleek and t, resembling an erged arrowhead, but the object was muchrger and moreplex than an arrow.

    What is that thing?

    The three women immediately sensed a terrifying aura from the object. Their expressions changed. Their instincts as powerful cultivators told them that it was enough to threaten their lives.

    The Fiend Emperor¡¯s expression also changed. Where was this guy getting so many strange weapons? That gatling bodhisattva or whatever it was had already scared him a bit. Thus, he knew he couldn''t let Zu An do what he wanted. He charged forward again, nning to stop Zu An before he could use the item.

    However, Zu An had already anticipated the move, and the chariot evaded in midair.

    The Sun Goddess¡¯ Golden War Chariot was an item that carried the sun from east to west each morning. It was capable of reaching shocking speeds. Even though this one was an imitation, it was already strong enough to evade, reaching a safe distance.

    The Fiend Emperor missed, which made him feel absolutely terrible. His opponent was clearly much weaker than him; as long as he closed the distance, he could finish Zu An within three moves. However, Zu An constantly brought out something strange that allowed him to escape. He was only at the master rank, so why did he have so many pseudo-deity-grade objects?

    Suddenly, the Fiend Emperor was horrified. He recalled what Yu the Great had mentioned. Could it be that this was the benefit of receiving the world¡¯s recognition?

    As there was no way for him to fight in close quarters, he tried a long range attack. The first thing he thought of was the Puppet Curse from before. He had been able to sessfully restrict his opponent as soon as they entered the secret dungeon.

    Still, he didn¡¯t know how Zu An had undone the move. The previous time, his soul had suffered a rebound because his technique was suddenly broken, which had almost made him suffer considerably in the fight against the Four Perils. At the very least, though, he hadn¡¯t been injured that severely.

    He didn¡¯t know whether Zu An¡¯s method of undoing the seal was single-use, or whether it could be repeated. After some hesitation, he didn¡¯t take the risk. This brat has all kinds of skills. If my soul gets hit by a rebound now, I might just die here.

    For the first time, he regretted giving the crown prince the Sun ying Bow. Otherwise, he would have brought it out and shot down his opponent already.

    While he was feeling conflicted, a Dongfeng-17 had already taken form. However, Zu An wasn¡¯t satisfied with just one. If he wanted Dongfeng to purge the earth, how could just a single missile achieve his goal?

    Thus, he continued using the Rune Weapon Chart. Another dozen or so missiles began to appear in the air behind him.

    In an instant, Zu An suddenly felt his body grow weak. He felt as if he were a robust man who was thrown into a neglected harem of three thousand. At first, it felt great, but eventually, he waspletely emptied out, feeling as if he would turn into a mummy.

    He was starting to feel a bit rmed. He had known that making the weapons wouldn¡¯te without a price, but at this point, he was worried that his blood essence would be sucked dry. That would be too great of a loss.

    As such, he frantically used the Primordial Origin Sutra and all his other methods to absorb the ki around him. If he could absorb it, he did, including the remaining power of the dragon vein.

    He had to admit that because heaven and earth had just been isted from each other, the ki in the Unknown Region was countless times purer than that of the outside world. That was why he was able to endure such consumption. If he were outside, he wouldn¡¯t dare to do such a thing; otherwise, he would have already beenpletely emptied out.

    Even so, he discovered that it still wasn¡¯t enough. He quickly asked the three women, ¡°Give me your strength, hurry!¡±

    The three women were close enough to him that they had sensed his entire body bing like a ck hole, swallowing all the ki around him. They were extremely shocked and worried. When they heard that, however, they didn¡¯t hesitate and pressed their soft bodies against him, intending to pass on all their ki without holding back.

    Their expressions changed as soon as their bodies made contact. They felt their ki flow out as if a dam had burst, even before they could do anything! Thus, they also experienced what it felt to bepletely emptied out.

    If it had been anyone else, they would have suspected that person of taking the chance to suck all of their cultivation dry. However, they had already fought together so many times. Their rtionship was special, so they naturally didn¡¯t have such worries. Instead, they were worried that Zu An wouldn¡¯t have enough, so they tried to offer up everything they had, letting Zu An absorb everything frantically.

    Almost instantly, they felt their bodies grow weak. Their faces were red, and they found it difficult to stand still. They could only barely support themselves by leaning against him. However, the powerful absorption force emanating from Zu An¡¯s body caused their ki to drain away even more quickly, leaving them gasping for breath and dripping with sweat.

    If the Fiend Emperor had seen such a thing at any other time, his masculine instincts would make him feel extremely unhappy. However, he couldn¡¯t waste time with such thoughts, because all of his fine hairs stood on end as he felt a lethal threating from the strange weapons.

    He didn¡¯t dare to show any negligence. Golden mes surrounded his entire body, and a giant Golden Crow projection appeared behind him. His eyes flickered with red light. He spread out his vast wings, then released a shrill scream at his opponent.

    Zu An¡¯s expression was cold as he stood on the war chariot, looking down on his opponent like a judge. With a single thought, mes ignited at the ends of the Dongfeng missiles. Smoke surged from their tails, and theyunched into the air one by one.

    The three women¡¯s bodies were alreadypletely limp, and they leaned against Zu An¡¯s legs. They were utterly shocked as they watched the scene unfold with wide eyes.

    Dongfeng lights up the skies with blossoming flowers and a thousand trees, then descends like a rain of stars!

    Zu An backed up, quickly driving the Golden War Chariot away.

    As the ming ¡®arrows¡¯ flew toward him with tremendous speed, the Fiend Emperor¡¯s eyes narrowed. With a wave of his hand, an enormous wave of golden sword radiance shed outward.

    Boom!

    Engulfed in a gigantic mushroom cloud, everything within several dozen li was razed to the ground.

    Even though Zu An¡¯s group had already retreated as quickly as they could, the terrifying st wave extended outward at a visible rate in all directions. They were shaken up even while on the Golden War Chariot. The six dragons wailed in pain.

    Zu An shivered, sending the war chariot even farther away.

    Shit¡­ I wasn¡¯t affected by nuclear radiation, was I? Doesn¡¯t radiation affect childbirth?

    But we¡¯re all cultivators and are still vigorous and healthy. Our cells are extremely strong, so it¡¯s different from the ordinary people of my previous world.

    He felt somewhat relieved when he thought of that.

    ¡°Did the Fiend Emperor die?¡± the three women wondered, their mouths hanging open as they looked at the terrifying mushroom cloud. They struggled to remain seated in the war chariot.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    What kind of weapon was that? How were the ¡®arrows¡¯ so powerful? They were alreadyparable to legendary forbidden curses!

    Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°The moment the explosion happened, he instantly traveled through the air and moved far away.¡±

    The women sighed in regret. Yan Xuehen said worriedly, ¡°The earth immortal rank is truly amazing. They can even escape the boundaries of space, moving a thousand miles away if they want to. That is why almost no one can kill an earth immortal.¡±

    Yun Jianyue harrumphed. ¡°Little An has done pretty well already. After all, who would even be brave enough to think about killing an earth immortal? Even if we haven¡¯t killed the Fiend Emperor, your power is already great enough to shock the world.¡±

    Zu An knew she was trying to make him feel better. His expression became a bit strange as he replied, ¡°Who says I can¡¯t kill him?¡±

    Was a thousand miles far? Earth immortals could instantly move a thousand miles away, but Dongfeng¡¯s express delivery had a targeting range of several thousand miles!

    As soon as he finished speaking, several remaining Dongfeng-17s suddenly rushed out of the mushroom cloud and rose into the air, disappearing into the horizon almost instantly.

 Chapter 1482: You Just Had to Go for the Mental Blow Too?

    Chapter 1482: You Just Had to Go for the Mental Blow Too?

    ¡°Flying swords?¡± Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue eximed in surprise.

    Upon reaching the highest level of the grandmaster rank and cultivating a yin soul, a cultivator could attach that yin soul to a flying sword and use it to kill even from a thousand miles away. At their cultivation rank, the two grandmasters could use the flying sword skill, but their range was limited. It wouldn¡¯t be as effective even a moderate distance away.

    However, Zu An was clearly at the beginning of the master rank. At his current level, he was still cultivating the hero form. He hadn¡¯t even finished a single one of the seven forms and was far, far away from the three souls¡¯ life soul. And yet, he could control a flying sword a thousand miles away?

    How could they know that there was a radar diagram in Zu An¡¯s mind? It was likely because he had materialized theplete Dongfeng-17 system, and the radar was a necessaryponent in order to truly make use of the missiles. As such, he had simply locked onto the Fiend Emperor using the radar. The remaining 17 Dongfeng-17 missiles followed the Fiend Emperor on their own.

    A thousand miles away, the air rippled and the Fiend Emperor reappeared. However, unlike his usual confident and arrogant demeanor, he was battered and exhausted. His yellow robes were in tatters, making him look like amon roadside beggar.

    No, he was even worse off than a beggar at the moment. His clothes were filled with holes, and blood dripped out of them; he had clearly been injured quite badly.

    In truth, he had just barely managed to move out of the way. Even though he had avoided the nuclear warhead¡¯s explosion, he couldn¡¯tpletely avoid getting hurt. He shivered inwardly when he recalled what had just happened.

    What were those ming arrows? Why did they have such destructive power?

    If he hadn¡¯t been an earth immortal who could control space, he might have just perished right there and then.

    That brat Zu An was clearly only at the master rank. Normally, there should have been no way for him to have such terrifying offensive methods, right? The Fiend Emperor was shocked, unable to understand the situation.

    He looked in the direction of where he had just been and sneered, remarking to himself, ¡°Even though I do not know how he did it, master rank is just master rank in the end. I instantly moved a thousand miles away. What can he do to me now?¡±

    For some reason, however, he still felt a strong sense of unease. He didn¡¯t ignore the feeling; at the earth immortal rank, one¡¯s sixth sense was no longer imaginary, but rather a source of true premonitions.

    ¡°I feel as if this ce is still a bit unsafe,¡± he muttered, leaping through space again as soon as he spoke. Only after moving three thousand miles away did he feel a bit at ease.

    ¡°Hmph. I am already four thousand miles away. Can he still do anything to me?¡± he muttered. After recovering from his earlier shock, he had regained his usual domineering nature.

    The Fiend Emperor figured Zu An would definitely have had to pay a great price for using such a terrifying weapon. There was no reason to face him head on. As such, he nned to avoid Zu An for the time being, only returning to deal with him once he was ovee with weakness.

    At that instant, he felt a bit of regret. If he hadn¡¯t pushed so far and had just headed to Spirit Mountain to look for the immortal medicine, he wouldn¡¯t have been forced into his current state. As soon as that thought emerged, however, he was ovee with rage.

    Who was he? He was the Fiend Emperor who inspired fear and awe throughout the world! He had remained unmatched for so many years, and yet today, he had actually been forced to use real tactics by a young brat!

    Zu An had been able to reach the master rank at such a young age, and his strength even exceeded the normal limits of the master rank. It was to the point that he even posed a threat to the Fiend Emperor. What would happen if he were allowed to properly grow up?

    I have to end him now!

    Killing intent appeared in the Fiend Emperor¡¯s eyes as he concluded that he definitely had to erase Zu An from the world.

    Suddenly, he sensed something. He reflexively raised his head. He saw several specks of light suddenly appear in the air.

    ¡°Shooting stars?¡± he eximed in surprise, which gave way to puzzlement. How were there shooting stars in the daytime?

    Eventually, however, he saw what the shining things were, and he was filled with horror. They were none other than the ¡®arrows¡¯ that had a trail of fire behind them! He tried to flee, but the ¡®arrows¡¯ were simply too fast, arriving next to him almost instantly. How could he know that in the world they came from, Dongfeng-17s could reach Mach 10, or ten times the speed of sound? He no longer had any time to dodge.

    The Fiend Emperor¡¯s entire body erupted with powerful energy as he shed directly with the missiles. An enormous Golden Crow image appeared behind him, its golden wings shining with light, and endless streams of golden sword ki flew forth. His body was set aze with Golden Crow Sacred Fire, so intense it almost seemed solid; it encased him in a golden barrier of light.

    Just then, the Dongfeng-17s struck him.

    Boom!

    All 17 missiles exploded at once, creating a mushroom cloud countless timesrger than before. The harsh, blinding light was visible even from a thousand miles away. The enormous st waves quickly swept through everything in the vicinity. The nearby nts and trees were vaporized on the spot, and even the hardest rocks melted intova.

    The entire world trembled. People and intelligent monsters alike felt indescribably shaken. Such terrifying eruptions had already happened several times in session today. Could it be the very end of the world?

    Zu An quickly drove the Golden War Chariot close to the site of the explosion. He warned the three women ahead of time, ¡°All of you need to protect yourselves with your skills. Otherwise, the substances in the air will harm you, making you wish you were dead instead.¡±

    ¡°Is it really that serious? The explosion has already ended!¡± Yun Jianyue replied skeptically.

    ¡°Even though the explosion has ended, the area still contains powerful radiation¡­ Ahem, you may be wondering what radiation is. It¡¯s hard for me to exin it to you in a short amount of time. Suffice to say that it¡¯s invisible, but causes harmful changes to the body, resulting in a disease no medicine can cure,¡± Zu An exined. He thought for a bit, then added, ¡°On top of that, your future children might end up bing deformed too.¡±

    Yun Jianyue harrumphed. ¡°As if there¡¯s any man in this world who could make me bear a child for him!¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression became unnatural as she said, ¡°I will do no such thing either.¡±

    Despite their protests, they couldn''t help but look at Yu Yanluo, each adding ayer of protection around the chariot.

    Naturally, high-level cultivators had a defensive membrane around them to begin with. Furthermore, the Golden War Chariot had powerful defenses. Consequently, Zu An wasn¡¯t all that worried about the radiation anymore.

    The Golden War Chariot arrived in the air above the explosion site. It has already been some time, and yet extreme heat continued to surge. Fortunately, both Zu An¡¯s party and the chariot were powerful enough to endure it.

    As the thick smoke and dust gradually dissipated, they saw a massive crater below; it was clearly the aftermath of the nuclear explosion. It was countless timesrger than the previous crater.

    ¡°The Fiend Emperor couldn¡¯t have survived this, could he?¡± Yu Yanluo asked, her voice shaking a bit. The explosion¡¯s power had really scared her badly. Let alone her, even Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue had never before witnessed any weapon with such destructive force.

    Zu An didn¡¯t reply. Through the radar, he had sensed that the Fiend Emperor was caught off guard and didn¡¯t have time to escape. However, the Fiend Emperor was just too strong; Zu An couldn¡¯t be certain he had sessfully killed his opponent.

    If the Fiend Emperor was alive, Zu An had to see him; if he was dead, Zu An had to see the corpse. Otherwise, it would be impossible to feel at ease. However, at the center of a nuclear explosion, even a corpse would be burned to ashes, right?

    Zu An quickly realized he was overthinking things, as he saw a figure slowly crawl out from the surging smoke and dust. The group felt nervous. Could the Fiend Emperor even survive something like this?

    When the smoke cleared a bit, they finally saw that it was indeed the Fiend Emperor. However, he was in pitiful condition. Every hair on his body, as well as his clothes, had already turned into scattered ash. However, the women didn¡¯t see anything offensive of ¡®that¡¯ sort, as the Fiend Emperor was barely recognizable.

    Half of his body was missing, revealing bones sticking out of the remaining half, with a few strips of bloodied flesh attached. He looked like a rack of pork ribs, the sort that hung in the meat shops of Zu An¡¯s previous world. The difference was that his body was bloody in ces, but charred in others. Apart from the bits of flesh that remained, he was almost more skeleton than man. His inner organs were also a mess. Only his heart seemed to still be in good shape, still throbbing weakly.

    The Fiend Emperor looked up at Zu An. The brain that peeked out of his half-skeletal head looked extremely horrific.

    ¡°Hahahah, the power of your attack was indeed great. However, you were still unable to kill me. Once I recover, I will definitely reduce you to ashes. I will throw all the women around you into brothels to serve as prostitutes. Every single person with any connection to you will wish they were dead!¡± the Fiend Emperor snarled. However, as his tongue was already destroyed, he used his consciousness to speak directly to Zu An¡¯s group instead.

    You have sessfully trolled the Fiend Emperor for +1024 +1024 +1024¡­

    His words were truly disgusting. However, there was no other way for him to vent the hatred and anger he felt. After all, he was the glorious Fiend Emperor of this generation! Apart from Zhao Han, who could just about match him, he was unrivaled in this world. And yet, right now, he had been tormented badly by an ant.

    He really had been a bit too careless this time. He hadn¡¯t expected the ming ¡®arrows¡¯ to be able to hit him from several thousand miles away. Now that he was prepared, he wouldn¡¯t give Zu An another chance.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression changed. She said, ¡°Oh no. The Golden Crow Sacred Fire has extremely powerful healing abilities. If he escapes, we will not be able to find him again.¡±

    Yun Jianyue added nervously, ¡°Hurry and stop him!¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Unfortunately, she knew that was wishful thinking. Forget about the fact that they had already used up all of their strength; even if they were at their strongest, they still wouldn¡¯t have been able to stop him. Earth immortals could cross space in an instant. How were they supposed to do that?

    Sure enough, ripples began to appear behind the Fiend Emperor; they were clearly about to send him away. This time, Zu An could no longer materialize his weapons, and had no way of knowing where the Fiend Emperor was going.

    Suddenly, however, Zu An said, ¡°Fiend Emperor, I forgot to tell you a secret.¡±

    ¡°What secret?¡± the Fiend Emperor replied. He knew Zu An was definitely up to something, but he still couldn''t help but ask. Of course, however, he wasn¡¯t stupid. Half of his body was already within the void. A secondter, he would be transported away, so he wasn¡¯t scared of Zu An pulling any tricks.

    ¡°That secret is¡­¡± A strange expression appeared on Zu An¡¯s face as he eximed, ¡°Your wife really is great!¡±

    He immediately used the Goldensnake King¡¯s Eye. However, he was worried that it still wouldn¡¯t be strong enough, so he also activated Fragrant Barf at the same time.

 Chapter 1483: Flesh and Bones

    Chapter 1483: Flesh and Bones

    The three women all looked at Zu An as soon as he spoke those words, their expressions unkind.

    You have sessfully trolled Yu Yanluo for +666 +666 +666¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +666 +666 +666¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +666 +666 +666¡­

    The scene of the Second Empress being pressed beneath Zu An inadvertently appeared in the Fiend Emperor¡¯s mind. He eximed in shock and fury, ¡°Impossible! You must be provoking me to make me stay behind!¡±

    Even though that was what his reason told him, his emotions forced him to believe it. The image of the Second Empress being toyed with in all sorts of different ways filled his mind.

    Nooo!

    When he saw that the Fiend Emperor didn¡¯t leave, just as nned,, Zu An sighed in relief. He added fuel to the mes, adding, ¡°Why would I lie to you? I was even on the Second Empress¡¯ bed back then¡­¡± Then, he described the details of the bed in the Second Empress¡¯ room clearly.

    Whenever the Goldensnake King¡¯s Eye was used on a target, just a single look would make them think their partner had an affair with the user. The skill wasn¡¯t all that useful normally, but in such a situation, it was actually extremely useful.

    Meanwhile, Fragrant Barf would make the target unable to help but fight the user to the death. Unless Zu An was certain he could win, it was unwise to use the skill too often.

    However, the one Zu An was facing this time was an earth immortal. He hadn¡¯t been sure how useful the skills would be, so he had just brought them out to piss the Fiend Emperor off as much as possible.

    The Fiend Emperor¡¯s hopes hit rock bottom. How could Zu An know the details so clearly unless he really had spent some time in the Second Empress¡¯ bed? Even though he already had one foot in the grave and it had already been many years since hest spent the night in the Second Empress¡¯ room, what man could tolerate his own wife doing such a thing?

    ¡°I¡¯m going to kill you!¡± he eximed, feeling his blood boil. He set aside all thoughts of fleeing through space, instead dragging his ruined body along the ground to lunge at Zu An.

    However, Zu An was already prepared. He slowly raised the Sun ying Bow.

    When he saw the Sun ying Bow, the Fiend Emperor was horrified. Why was that item in Zu An¡¯s hands?

    Previously, the Golden Crow Crown Prince had had his Sun ying Bow taken away by a mysterious power. Not even the Fiend Emperor had been able to stop it. Then, the mysterious power had severed their connection with the Sun ying Bow.

    Back then, the Fiend Emperor had been extremely shocked by how mysterious and great that power was. He had even vaguely suspected that what happened had been carried out by the highest will of this world. And yet now, the Sun ying Bow had reappeared in Zu An¡¯s hands! Could it be that the will of this world had gifted it to him?

    The Fiend Emperor¡¯s entire body trembled when he thought of that. His reason told him to leave quickly, but he was stillpletely overwhelmed by anger. All he wanted was to kill Zu An as quickly as possible.

    Even though Zu An had the Sun ying Bow, he didn¡¯t have any Sun ying Arrows. Furthermore, he had just summoned so many powerful weapons, and he had even made the three women help him. They ally helpless on the war chariot, and Zu An was likely also nearly at the end of his strength. He probably couldn''t summon such ridiculous weapons anymore, so the Fiend Emperor believed that he had a good opportunity.

    If he had been clear-headed, he definitely wouldn¡¯t have taken such a huge risk. However, he was under the effects of ¡®Fragrant Barf¡¯ and ¡®Goldensnake King¡¯s Eye¡¯, which meant his mind was filled only with thoughts of killing Zu An. Now that he had found another reason, that desire had magnified endlessly, to the point that he truly felt he had to kill Zu An.

    When Zu An saw the Fiend Emperor rush at him, he knew he didn¡¯t have the extra strength to produce another powerful Dongfeng missile. It was to the extent that he couldn''t even create an ordinary weapon. However, he still had weapons he didn¡¯t need to materialize!

    A ck glint flickered in the center of his palm, and he put the Poisonous Prick on the bowstring.

    The first reason he didn¡¯t use thest Sun ying Arrow was that it used up way too much of his strength. At the moment, he couldn''t supply it with any more power. The second reason was that he really didn¡¯t want to squander thest arrow just like that. After experiencing Dongfeng¡¯s baptism, the Fiend Emperor was barely clinging to hisst breath.

    As such, Zu An used what remained of his strength to pull back the bowstring just a bit, preparing to loose his ¡®arrow¡¯.

    The Fiend Emperor saw Zu An¡¯s move, but his thoughts were foggy. When he saw that it was just a small dagger, he thought to himself, Just how powerful can a trifling dagger even be? The desire to kill Zu An had alreadypletely overtaken his mind. He would rather take some damage if it meant achieving his objective.

    As Zu An released the bowstring, a streak of dark light flew forward. The Fiend Emperor clenched his teeth, turning to one side and taking the blow with the most damaged part of his body. Either way, he nned to use the Golden Crow Sacred Fire to recreate that half of his body again. A few more injuries wouldn¡¯t make that much of a difference.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Spurt!

    The dark glint stabbed into the Fiend Emperor¡¯s body, then emerged from the other end. He gritted his teeth, thinking, As expected of the Sun ying Bow. Even though the bowstring had clearly only been drawn back a little bit and the shot had only used ten to twenty percent of its power, it was still strong enough to pierce through his body. However, that was all it did.

    The Fiend Emperor quickly rushed over to the Golden War Chariot. His hands were like ws, extending toward Zu An¡¯s head. He nned to remove Zu An¡¯s head, then extract his soul. He would teach him what it meant to want death!

    However, his body suddenly trembled, ck runes swirling across its surface. A look of disbelief and shock spread across his face. In moments, he could no longer hold on and fell stiffly from the carriage.

    Thud!

    The others craned their necks to look down when they heard the Fiend Emperornd. However, they saw that he was already a corpse, left in pieces from the impact.

    ¡°The Fiend Emperor¡­ really died?¡± Yu Yanluo eximed in disbelief.

    Zu Annded the Golden War Chariot. Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen inspected the corpse on the ground. They both nodded, saying, ¡°Yes. He could not be any more dead than this.¡±

    Even though their cultivation couldn''t catch up to the Fiend Emperor¡¯s, there was no way their judgment would be wrong.

    Yan Xuehen couldn''t help but give Zu An a look. She eximed in shock, ¡°Even though that dagger of yours isn¡¯t deity-grade, the effects areparable. It really is an inevitable kill¡­ Who would have thought that not even the Fiend Emperor would be an exception? Being your enemy really is an unfortunate thing.¡±

    Zu An sighed in relief, saying, ¡°You don¡¯t have to be that worried. There¡¯s no way I¡¯d use this to prate you anyway.¡±

    Yan Xuehen immediately felt her cheeks heat up. She looked at him in shame and annoyance.

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +100 +100 +100¡­

    Zu An was stunned. He thought, What is she even thinking, for her to be that angry?

    However, there was no time to dwell on that. He took the bones and meat that remained of the Fiend Emperor with him. In that instant, it all started to feel a bit ridiculous. It was as if he had grabbed a handful of KFC.

    He then said, ¡°We can¡¯t stay here much longer. Let¡¯s get out of here quickly.¡±

    The three women also sensed that there was a strange, life-eroding force around them. They didn¡¯t hesitate at all and got onto the Golden War Chariot, quickly leaving the ce. The carriage roared through the skies at high speed.

    The three women suddenly looked at Zu An with unhappy expressions. In the end, it was Yun Jianyue who spoke up first. ¡°Your wife is really great? Tsk tsk, Little An, you¡¯re quite simr to those ¡®flower-picking¡¯ scoundrels from our Holy Sect, no?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face heated up. He replied, ¡°Uh, that wasn¡¯t real, but rather just a skill of mine. I used it to provoke the Fiend Emperor and keep him from escaping. You guys don¡¯t have to think too much about it¡­¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± the three women replied, clearly not believing him.

    They asked him all sorts of questions about the Second Empress. Zu An had to go to great lengths in order to convince them that he and the Second Empress really didn¡¯t have anything to do with each other. Eventually, however, they finally rxed.

    Yun Jianyue couldn''t help but pinch his ears, saying, ¡°To be honest, let alone the Fiend Emperor, even I would have wanted to beat him up if I had been the target of those words.¡±

    Yan Xuehen and Yu Yanluo nodded in sympathy. Zu An was about to say something when the Golden War Chariot under them suddenly broke apart, turning into specks of light in midair.

    The group was caught off guard and fell. Yan Xuehen, Yun Jianyue, and Yu Yanluo had just given all of their ki to support Zu An, and then had needed to struggle to resist the radiation. How could they muster any strength to fly? They quickly plummeted through the air.

    Yan Xuehen wasn¡¯t all that scared while she was falling, because she knew Zu An would save her. However, what she was curious about was which order she would be saved in.

    The first one should be Yu Yanluo, right? After all, they are proper lovers, she thought. Despite her reason telling her that, she felt a bit bitter inside, almost as if she were secretly hoping for something. She didn¡¯t know why she would think such senseless things, but that was what she was thinking.

    But that ¡®Love Is More Solid than Gold¡¯ skill has already been undone, right?

    She suddenly felt a warm sensation as a sturdy arm wrapped around her. When she sensed the aura that couldn''t be more familiar, she was shocked and happy. However, she suddenly panicked.

    Why did he save me first? Oh no, this is bad! Little sis Yu and that witch will definitely suspect us now! How am I going to exin this to them?!

    Ah Zu, you¡­ Didn¡¯t I tell you to be a bit more mindful in front of others?

    To her shock, Zu An quickly began moving his hands toward her waistband.

    An explosion went off in Yan Xuehen¡¯s head, her mind going nk. She thought, What is he doing? Has he gone mad?

    Perhaps because she didn¡¯t have enough strength, or she couldn''t react fast enough, she couldn¡¯t stop him from undoing her waistband. Her heart immediately began to pound. She had no idea how to face him.

 Chapter 1484: Itâ€™s Everywhere

    Chapter 1484: It¡¯s Everywhere

    He¡¯s way too daring! This ispletely reckless! The witch and Yu Yanluo are still here! Yan Xuehen thought, her heart beating crazily.

    She reflexively nced toward the two other women. She saw a bright red band fly out, wrapping neatly around their waists. She quickly realized that Zu An was using the Primal Skysilk to rescue the others. She couldn''t help but feel a bit disappointed when she thought of that.

    She was startled by that thought. Why am I having these kinds of thoughts? Isn¡¯t his skill already gone? Don¡¯t tell me that was just a trick Zu An and Mo Xi yed together?

    No, I saw it myself. Besides, Mo Xi wasn¡¯t his ve at that time, so there was no reason for her to work with him. Additionally, I sensed something being cut at the soul level.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Ah!¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s chaotic thoughts were quickly interrupted by two delicate cries. As she reflexively looked in their direction, her expression turned strange.

    Perhaps intentionally, but perhaps not, the Primal Skysilk wrapped around Yun Jianyue and Yu Yanluo¡¯s waists in a way that made both of them simultaneously m into each other before finally enveloping both of them. As a result, there was no way the two of them would continue falling; however, they were stuck facing each other, their bodies pressed tightly together. They were just way too close to each other!

    Each of them felt a soft sensation against their chest. After being pressed against each other so tightly, it was natural that the one whose physique was a bit worse felt inferior¡­

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s face heated up. However, she was still the Devil Sect Master. She reacted quickly, hooking her finger around the chin of the beauty before her. She remarked, ¡°As expected of the number one beauty who has left so many men bewitched. Even a woman like me can¡¯t help but want to give you a kiss.¡±

    After her initial shock, Yu Yanluo snapped out of her daze. She had been with a man before, so how could Yun Jianyue¡¯s ¡®paper tactics¡¯ work on her? She reached out and gave Yun Jianyue¡¯s chest a squeeze, saying, ¡°Big sis Yun, your physique is so amazing. Any man who married you would really be blessed.¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s entire body trembled; naturally, her defenses were broken. She shot Zu An a hateful look, eximing, ¡°Damn brat, are you doing this on purpose?!¡±

    Zu An was stupefied. No wonder online posters in his previous world had always shouted for pretty young women to be stuck together. It really was an incredible sight! However, he was forced to reply, ¡°Ahem, I really didn¡¯t. I was just in a rush to save you two, so it ended up catching both of you together.¡±

    ¡°Then why did you go to get that stone cold woman¡­¡± Yun Jianyue muttered unhappily. However, when she saw Yan Xuehen¡¯s loosened dress and the long Primal Skysilk, she realized what had happened and swallowed her words back down. However, she still looked upset.

    The group descended. Only then did they notice that the Fiend Emperor¡¯s corpse had already be aplete mess from the fall. The sight made them fall silent for a moment. After all, this was still the glorious emperor of an age, someone who had inspired awe throughout the world. The fact that he had ended up in such a state was simply too tragic.

    ¡°What do we do now?¡± Yan Xuehen asked, freeing herself from Zu An¡¯s arm. She was worried that the other two would notice something and quickly changed the topic. ¡°If the Fiend races find out that you killed the Fiend Emperor, they might just hunt you down wherever you go!¡±

    If news of the Fiend Emperor¡¯s defeat first got out, Zu An would enjoy a great reputation. However, apart from that, there wouldn¡¯t be any other benefits. Instead, it would only create problems for him.

    First, it would make the human emperor Zhao Han feel wary. After all, in this world, only the Fiend Emperor was on par with him. If Zu An could kill the Fiend Emperor, didn¡¯t that mean that he could kill Zhao Han too?

    Second, it would draw the attention of many hidden experts. There were many people who couldn''t win against the Fiend Emperor, but could theoretically defeat Zu An. They would definitely go after Zu An for the sake of fame.

    Third, even though Zu An¡¯s current cultivation was outstanding among his peers, he was only at the hero form of the master rank. That rank wasn¡¯t sufficiently intimidating to deter challengers.

    Lastly, the Fiend races had many wild and ambitious individuals. They could use revenge for the Fiend Emperor as a pretext to unite all of the Fiend races. If that happened, Zu An would be in huge danger.

    Yu Yanluo suggested, ¡°Why not pretend to be the Fiend Emperor and rule the Fiend races in his ce for now?¡± She had already separated from Yun Jianyue, her red cheeks revealing how embarrassed he was.

    In the past, Zu An¡¯s impersonation of Cloudcenter Duke had been extremely sessful. Yu Yanluo reflexively suggested the n because the previous time had left her with a deep impression. However, that meant Zu An could really end up with the Second Empress. How annoying¡­

    ¡°Pretend to be the Fiend Emperor?¡± Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen both eximed. They had already been around him for a long time and understood him well. They knew about his ¡®Face of a Thousand Identities¡¯ skill, so the idea tempted them. However, after thinking about it, both women shook their heads.

    ¡°This n is unreliable. Impersonating the Fiend Emperor might work in the short term, but you won¡¯t be able to fool those he¡¯s truly close to.¡±

    ¡°The main problem is that the Fiend Emperor is at the earth immortal rank. Zu An cannot imitate his power, even with that skill. The Fiend King Court is filled with old monsters, and their eyes are all viciously sharp. If they recognize that you are a fake, they will act immediately.¡±

    ¡°Besides, the Fiend Emperor nearing the end of his lifespan is something everyone knows about. The ceremony this time was to pass on the position to the crown prince. Even if you impersonated the Fiend Emperor, you couldn¡¯t keep the throne either.¡±

    ¡­

    Each of them bounced ideas off the other, speaking about all sorts of possibilities.

    Zu An nodded as he listened. If it were a normal person, he could just impersonate them without too many worries, but the Fiend Emperor was too special. There would be countless eyes on him. He couldn''t live openly as such a figure.

    ¡°If those options don¡¯t work, what is Ah Zu supposed to do?¡± Yu Yanluo asked worriedly. When she thought about the situation her lover would have to face once they left, her heart began to beat nervously.

    Yun Jianyue replied with a smile, ¡°Isn¡¯t that easy enough? You¡¯re all losing your heads with worry¡­¡±

    Suddenly, she noticed something. She fell silent and looked in a certain direction. Zu An and the others followed suit.

    A chubby figure ran toward Zu An¡¯s group, leaving them all stunned. He eximed, ¡°You don¡¯t know how happy I am to see you guys!¡±

    Zu An eximed in surprise, ¡°Wu Liang? You didn¡¯t die?¡±

    The one who had appeared was naturally that damn fatty Wu Liang. He said with a chuckle, ¡°Pah pah pah, what do you mean die? That¡¯s so ominous and unlucky sounding. This young master¡¯s ancestor passed on a life-saving method that fortunately allowed me to keep my life.¡±

    Now, even Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue were shocked. Someone who could escape alive from Gonggong¡­ Even though Gonggong hadn¡¯t been fully revived at the time, it was still shocking. Just how ridiculous was that life-saving method? Still, it was taboo to ask about the secrets of other cultivators. They couldn''t really ask more about it.

    ¡°I saw that terrifying explosion earlier and quickly rushed over to see what happened. Then, I ran into you guys,¡± Wu Liang said as he looked around vigntly. ¡°Right, howe I only see you? Where is the Fiend Emperor?¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°All around you.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean, all around me?¡± Wu Liang asked, sounding a bit stunned and confused about what had happened.

    Zu An pointed at the ground, saying, ¡°Look, that piece you¡¯re stepping on is part of him.¡±

    Wu Liang was bewildered, quickly leaping aside in shock.

    However, Zu An simply continued to say, ¡°That thing you¡¯re stepping on right now is also part of him. And that one, that one¡­ All of it is.¡±

    Wu Liang was speechless.

 Chapter 1485: This Fatty Is So Wise

    Chapter 1485: This Fatty Is So Wise

    ¡°Fiend Emperor, you¡¯ve died such a terrible death!¡± Wu Liang eximed, falling to his knees and grabbing a pile of what might have been internal organs or misceneous flesh. He looked as if the one who had died was his own father.

    Zu An couldn''t help but say, ¡°Uh¡­ There¡¯s no one else here. You don¡¯t have to show your loyalty or anything.¡±

    ¡°What about the Golden Crow Crown Prince?¡± Wu Liang asked. He didn¡¯t get up, merely looking around frantically.

    ¡°He was sent out of the Unknown Region by the Fiend Emperor ahead of time,¡± Zu An replied with a smile.

    ¡°Oh,¡± Wu Liang said, immediately climbing to his feet. The tears on his face were already gone without a trace. He tossed the flesh in his hands aside nonchntly, asking, ¡°Is the Fiend Emperor really dead?¡±

    Zu An was nearly dumbfounded. He replied, ¡°Look at what condition he¡¯s in. Could he still have survived?¡±

    Wu Liang was speechless for a moment. He moved closer, looking disdainful as he asked, ¡°Big bro, just how did the Fiend Emperor die, and like this, no less?¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The group was stunned, as they had been wondering how to answer such a question. They hadn¡¯t managed to reach a conclusion yet.

    Yun Jianyue pointed at the sky, saying, ¡°Heavenly judgment suddenly descended, and the Fiend Emperor just ended up like that.¡±

    ¡°Heavenly judgment?¡± Wu Liang repeated, looking as if his eyes would pop out.

    Yun Jianyue retorted with a sneer, ¡°Otherwise, what do you think happened? Do you think we were the ones who killed him?¡±

    Wu Liang rubbed his hands and said with a chuckle, ¡°Sect master must be joking.¡±

    With the Fiend Emperor¡¯s cultivation, even if another ten of them showed up, it still wouldn¡¯t be enough for them to even stand a chance. How could they possibly reduce the Fiend Emperor to such a state?

    Yan Xuehen and the others had strange expressions, but they sighed inwardly in relief. They had been there when it happened, and yet they were pretending they didn¡¯t know a thing! With the difference in strength between both ends, no one would believe them even if they said Zu An had killed him.

    ¡°Was that terrifying explosion the heavenly judgment?¡± Wu Liang asked, feeling a twinge of fear as he looked at where the explosion had happened. After cultivating for so many years, he had never seen such terrifying destructive power before.

    ¡°Exactly. Back then, we saw several shooting stars suddenly fall from the skies, and then there was a huge mushroom cloud,¡± Zu An added, lying through his teeth.

    ¡°No wonder it was so powerful. So it was heavenly judgment!¡± Wu Liang gulped.

    Previously, he had witnessed the power of those from the heavens when he was traveling with the Fiend Emperor and his son. The Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s Sun ying Bow had been seized by a mysterious power that not even the Fiend Emperor could stop. If such a power were to summon heavenly judgment, it could very well disy such tremendous strength.

    ¡°By the way, I saw two terrifying explosions. The second one was even stronger than the first. Don¡¯t tell me there were two heavenly judgments?¡± Wu Liang asked as he realized something.

    ¡°Yeah. When the first heavenly judgment happened, the Fiend Emperor sessfully escaped it. That was why there was a second one,¡± Zu An replied. His face didn¡¯t even turn red as he spoke. The three women all felt strange, but they also knew what was most important, so they didn¡¯t dare tough.

    Wu Liang sighed and said, ¡°As expected of the Fiend Emperor. He really was incredible, even able to escape heavenly judgment once.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re absolutely right,¡± Zu An said. ¡°The Fiend Emperor was already invincible beneath the heavens, but he ended uping into contact with those above the heavens.¡±

    Wu Liang¡¯s expression was strange. Beneath the heavens¡­? Above the heavens¡­? Could such a thing even be exined like that?

    ¡°Right, why would the Fiend Emperor suffer heavenly judgment?¡± he asked, unable to figure it out at all.

    ¡°How would I know? Maybe he was just too arrogant and too ugly, so he drew their disgust,¡± Zu An said willfully.

    Wu Liang was speechless. He thought, Hey, is that something a human being should say?

    Yan Xuehen also felt that Zu An¡¯s wording was too ridiculous. She quickly said, ¡°It might be because the Fiend Emperor desired the immortal medicine, and so the will of this world could not tolerate him.¡±

    Wu Liang immediately expressed that he understood, but he couldn''t help but say with a sigh, ¡°We¡¯ve received quite a bit of information about the immortal medicine during my trip with the Fiend Emperor. It seems this world really does have an immortal medicine! Unfortunately, it has nothing to do with us.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not going to go and look for it?¡± Zu An asked in surprise. Wu Liang was someone he knew to always be of the greedy sort, and yet he didn¡¯t seem interested at all.

    ¡°Even the Fiend Emperor was blown to pieces! Would I add myself to the casualties for no reason?¡± Wu Liang¡¯replied, his face heating up. He had actually already gone to look for the immortal medicine after he barely escaped from Gonggong¡¯s hands. Unfortunately, he hadn¡¯t found anything.

    Fortunately, he had eventually found some other good things, so the trip hadn¡¯t been made in vain. Of course, he couldn''t tell Zu An such things. They had too many people on their side. If they had any ill intentions toward him, he¡¯d be done for.

    Yun Jianyue suddenly cried out in surprise, ¡°Oh no, that exit might close soon!¡±

    Perhaps because the nuclear explosion was too powerful, the entire world¡¯s spatial elements had be extremely unstable. The spatial vortex also showed signs of copse.

    All those present shivered. If the exit closed, they would be forced to remain here forever! Even though this ce was rich with ki, they all had too many things to worry about in the outside world. They weren¡¯t willing to be trapped within. That wasn¡¯t even factoring in that if they really stayed behind, no one could guarantee that this entire world wouldn¡¯t be destroyed once the passage closed.

    Whoosh!

    Wu Liang quickly began running toward the spatial vortex with everything he had. The others hadn¡¯t expected his chubby body to actually be so nimble! However, what drew even more attention was the pair of small wings that had grown on his back.

    The chubby body and small wings didn¡¯t seem to match at all. The group had no idea how they could even help him fly.

    ¡°It¡¯s a magic artifact. That damn fatty has quite a few good things,¡± Yun Jianyue said with a sigh of admiration.

    Zu An didn¡¯t have the strength to create another Golden War Chariot. He took out the Wind Fire Wheels, then picked up the three women before immediately following behind Wu Liang. Owing to the sheer speed of the Wind Fire Wheels, Zu An quickly caught up, even with the three women in tow.

    Wu Liang frantically pped the wings behind him. Huge drops of sweat slid down his chubby cheeks. When he heard the activity behind him, he turned around and just happened to see Zu An¡¯s group. His eyeballs almost popped out of their sockets.

    What? Am I seeing right? Zu An has the human race¡¯s number one beauty on his back, the Devil Sect Master in his left arm, and the White Jade Sect Master in his right. Most importantly, none of them look embarrassed at all, as if they were alreadypletely used to this.

    For a man to have a woman in each arm is already enough to draw envy, let alone right now when he has three; besides, and every single one iss an extraordinary beauty! Most importantly, these women aren¡¯t even in the service industry, but rather all giants of their respective fields!

    Damn this Zu An, just how did he do that? Is there still any justice in this world?

    If there really is heavenly judgment, this guy needs to be hacked to death! How are other men supposed to even live?!

    ¡°What are you looking at?¡± Zu An couldn¡¯t help but ask, noticing Wu Liang¡¯s strange expression.

    ¡°Hahah, I¡¯m envious of Brother Zu¡¯s blessings. Do you have any tricks that you could share with this brother?¡± Wu Liang asked with a chuckle.

    The three women¡¯s faces all turned bright red. Yu Yanluo was one thing, because she was Zu An¡¯s proper lover, but Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue immediately felt that the hand around their waist was especially hot. However, they had already used up all of their strength and couldn''t fly anymore. They could only let Zu An carry them.

    Yun Jianyue shot Wu Liang a hateful look, saying, ¡°Damn fatty, if I hear a single rumor once we leave this ce, I¡¯m going to rip your tongue straight out of your mouth.¡±

    The Devil Sect Leader''s killing intent was tangible. Wu Liang shivered and asked weakly, ¡°That¡¯s not fair¡­ What if it was one of them who leaked that information?¡±

    Yun Jianyue said indifferently, ¡°I¡¯ll still pull out your tongue.¡±

    Wu Liang was speechless. However, he also noticed that Yan Xuehen¡¯s gaze was ice-cold, knowing that she probably had simr thoughts. He felt a bit unhappy. These women already did what they wanted to do, and yet they didn¡¯t want anyone else to talk about them? His previous jealousy immediately disappeared without a trace. Brother Zu can have these violent and domineering women to himself and work hard for them. Please don¡¯t let them roam free and harm other men!

    ¡°Please don¡¯t worry, Sect Master Yun. I absolutely won¡¯t tell a third person about what happened here once we leave,¡± Wu Liang said, raising his hand in a pledge.

    At the same time, he added inwardly, Unless someone adds money.

    The glorious Devil Sect Master and White Jade Sect Master were famous arch-enemies! Now, however, they were lovers serving the same man. Tsk tsk. If such explosive news were released, it would definitely sell for a good price.

    I only promised not to tell a third person, I didn¡¯t say I wouldn¡¯t tell the fourth or fifth. Hahahah, this fatty is so wise!

    The group quickly moved along. Fortunately, the exit wasn¡¯t too far away, so they managed to arrive in time.

    Just as they let out sighs of relief, however, their expressions changed. The spatial vortex was rapidly shrinking. It had initially been a few dozen or so meters wide, but now, it was just a few meters wide.

    At the rate it was shrinking, it could simply disappearpletely a secondter!

 Chapter 1486: Forging System

    Chapter 1486: Forging System

    When he saw the closing spatial vortex, Wu Liang frantically pped the small wings on his back. At the same time, white silk suddenly shot out of his hands and through the vortex, then rapidly began to contract. It pulled Wu Liang through to the other side, his chubby body disappearing quickly.

    Zu An¡¯s group was amazed. This fatty really did have a lot of treasures! Just how many tombs had he looted? The tool he had used resembled spider silk. Perhaps he had gotten it from looting some great Spider race ancestor.

    However, Zu An didn¡¯t waste any time even while specting about such things. He quickly used Grandgale, instantly sending himself and the three women into the spatial vortex. Almost as soon as he passed through, the vortex shrank to a point too small for anyone to pass through.

    The next moment, the group emerged from the spatial vortex, and they quickly looked around. When they saw the familiar giant Fiend Ancestor statue before them, they knew they had finally returned to the Fiend races¡¯ Imperial Tomb. They sighed in relief. They were finally back! They had been worried that they would be trapped in that world forever.

    Yan Xuehen quietly left Zu An¡¯s arms. She looked around and said with a sigh, ¡°I thought we would reappear in that pool we first entered from, but we actually appeared here. It is good that there are no Fiend Race guards around, or else it would have been a bit troublesome.¡±

    Suddenly, a low, muffled voice said, ¡°This ce is a restricted area. Normally, only the emperor and crown prince have the right to enter. Of course there are no guards assigned here.¡±

    They followed the source of the sound and saw a chubby man sticking to a wall like a pile of mud that had been flung at it. When he finally freed himself from the wall, they saw that his face was swollen and blood was dripping out of his nose. The spider silk had clearly stuck to the wall and pulled him into it.

    Zu An couldn''t help but remark with a chuckle, ¡°Chubby master, you have a bag full of tricks, don¡¯t you? It¡¯s almost as if they never run out.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s really not worth mentioning at all. You were able to escape easily even with three women with you. I¡¯m really nothing special,¡± Wu Liang said. His tone was very humble, but his expression was full of pride, as if to say ¡®please keep praising me, please¡¯.

    Zu Anpletely ignored that and asked, ¡°Chubby master, what do you n on doing now?¡±

    As Zu An had begun talking about more important matters, Wu Liang¡¯s expression turned serious as well and he replied, ¡°I was about to ask you that. Considering how outstanding you all are, why don¡¯t you just follow the Second Prince? You would all definitely be put in important positions. Furthermore, with your grudge against the crown prince, the only one who can face him right now from among the Fiend races is the Second Prince.¡±

    Either way, after the events in the Unknown Region, Zu An¡¯s group already knew that it was the Second Prince who had sent him to assassinate the Golden Crow Crown Prince. There was no need to hide that fact anymore.

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°Thank you for your good intentions, chubby master, but we¡¯re already used to our freedom, so we really can¡¯t get used to serving another. I¡¯m more curious as to why someone like you would actually serve another.¡±

    Wu Liang wasn¡¯t surprised by their refusal. He replied, ¡°What do you mean, serve him? I didn¡¯t want to stick to him either, but that guy just paid so much¡­ If you ever found some divine weapon for me, I¡¯d even pretend to be your father.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s group waspletely speechless. As expected, this damned fatty didn¡¯t have any moral principles!

    Wu Liang cupped his hands and said, ¡°I was really scared pretty badly in that secret dungeon. This chubby master¡¯s heart is still pounding. I need to loot this Imperial Tomb a bit more to calm down, so I won¡¯t stick around to chat with you guys. I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll meet again some day!¡±

    Immediately afterward, he turned into a spinning ball. A hole opened up in the ground, and he disappeared.

    Yun Jianyue couldn''t help but say with a sigh, ¡°The Pangolin race¡¯s Earth Escape skill really is unmatched.¡±

    Yan Xuehen nodded. She remarked with a strange smile, ¡°If the Second Prince were to learn that his ancestor¡¯s tomb was cleaned out by that man, I wonder what kind of expression he would have.¡±

    The others all smiled knowingly when they imagined that happening.

    Zu An said, ¡°There¡¯s a huge army standing guard outside of the Imperial Tomb. All of you should take some time to stabilize your condition here. Then, we can figure out a way to leave.¡±

    He had just spread out his spiritual senses. Even though there was no one in the tomb, the exterior would no doubt be heavily guarded. Leaving without anyone noticing would be difficult, so there would definitely be conflict.

    The three women nodded. They brought out various pills to take, then sat down in ce to stabilize their condition.

    Zu An stood guard nearby to watch the surroundings. He had to admit that even though he couldn''t see their beautiful eyes anymore because they were meditating, it didn¡¯t take anything away from their beauty.

    Yu Yanluo was as gorgeous as a rose. Even more valuable than her beauty was the gentle and peaceful aura that surrounded her, which could make anyone who saw her feel a sense of intimacy. No wonder she had left so many men infatuated.

    Yun Jianyue wasn¡¯t surrounded by her usual killing intent. Now, it was reced with a poised and elegant demeanor. She was like a newly blossomed peony¡­ Ah, her chest is really big.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s pure and wless face was like a freshly cooked egg, to the point that one could hardly help wanting to take a bite. Hm? Why is her face a bit red? The hint of pink makes it look even more appetizing.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s long eyshes trembled gently. Her thoughts didn¡¯t seem to be very peaceful.

    Zu An thought, She¡¯s known for her Unshakable Daoist skill and normally cares about tranquility of mind more than anything. Why does she seem to be the most uneasy of the three?

    Yan Xuehen suddenly opened her eyes. She stared at Zu An in annoyance and protested through ki transmission, ¡°Stop staring at me!¡±

    Zu An smiled and replied, ¡°It¡¯s your fault for being so pretty.¡±

    Yan Xuehen bit her lip, feeling that there was nothing she could do about Zu An¡¯s mischief. She could only close her eyes again and try to ignore him.

    ¡°Alright, alright, I won¡¯t look at you then, okay? You should get some good rest,¡± Zu An replied. In truth, he knew that the White Jade Sect¡¯s cultivation method was special. It would be bad if he ended up messing with her to the point that she began to vomit blood, like Xiaolongnu[1].

    Yan Xuehen felt warm inside when she heard the concern in his voice. However, she quickly gathered her thoughts and didn¡¯t let herself get distracted anymore.

    Zu An withdrew his gaze, intending to take the chance to look at the newly unlocked Forging System he had received after registering the Rune Weapon Chart. A holographic image of a furnace appeared in his sea of consciousness. Its surface was covered in profound runes. Zu An didn¡¯t know much about runes and couldn''t recognize them at all, so he thought, I should copy these runes and study them with Yan Xuehenter.

    He read the rted exnations in the meantime. The furnace was indeed a ce where magic weapons could be forged. However, it couldn¡¯t be used with normal fire, and had to have a true me.

    Well, things thate from the Keyboard System are always extraordinary. If normal mes could forge magic weapons, the results wouldn''t be that strong anyway.

    Fortunately, he had just obtained the White Lotus me. He had previously stored it in the Nine Cauldron, but after Yu the Great took the cauldron, he had begun to store it in his tailbone. That acupoint could store a me, and he had the right attribute, anyway. However, he would risk cultivation deviation by doing so; if the me grew out of control, it would be dangerous.

    When the White Lotus me entered the furnace, the runes suddenly lit up. The entire furnace seemed to havee alive, radiating brilliant light. It had sessfully been activated!

    Then, Zu An noticed that the White Lotus me had turned into a small ember at the bottom of the furnace; it made no attempts to leave, as if it had found a home. He thought, This is great. Otherwise, he would have had to find some other way of storing the violent true me.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    A new message appeared in Zu An¡¯s mind, and he quickly checked it. It said that the Forging System had three key functions.

    The first was that if one had a forging blueprint and the corresponding materials, it could create a weapon or magic artifact. Zu An focused on the words ¡®forging blueprint¡¯. Materials were easy enough to understand, but what was that?

    Standard-issue weapons used by the army orrge ns often had corresponding blueprints. However, heaven-grade, immortal-grade, and deity-grade items were all created through coalescing the essence of the world. Why would they have blueprints?

    Zu An looked at the second function, which was to repair, upgrade, or even advance the weapon to a higher grade. He was truly happy to see it. The Tai¡¯e Sword had been damaged, so he could use the function to repair it.

    Upgrading an item improved its quality. Just like the games he had yed, there would be differences in strength between weapons of the same grade; upgrading a weapon could greatly increase its power within the range of its grade.

    As for advancement, as long as enough materials were provided, a weapon could have its grade improved. For example, heaven-grade could be turned into immortal-grade. Immortal-grade could even be turned into deity-grade.

    Zu An began breathing heavily when he saw that function. Didn¡¯t that mean he could mass-produce deity-grade weapons in the future? If he yed around with a bunch of normal-grade weapons in the spring, he could harvest a batch of deity-grade weapons in the fall!

    However, when he saw the conditions required, his excitement soon faded. Advancing the grade of an item required a ridiculous amount of resources, as well as some special, rare items. Such things were so rare that they were as hard to obtain as a weapon of the same rank. For example, the Great Origin Cmity Gold he had obtained was one of them. Such things had mary value on paper, but would never appear for sale. Even if one had the money, one wouldn¡¯t necessarily be able to find it.

    Other than the ridiculous resource cost, whether or not a weapon could break through into a higher level depended on whether it even had enough growth potential to begin with. With sufficient potential, an item could be taken all the way to deity-grade; however, for most items, advancement by a single grade was all one could possibly hope for. An ordinary weapon couldn''t reach deity-grade no matter how many resources one poured into it, and it wouldn¡¯t necessarily be able to reach even earth-grade.

    The third function of the Forging System was to melt down and reforge weapons. One couldbine several weapons, along with the necessary resources for reforging, and a new weapon would emerge. It would at least be of the same grade, but its attributes and abilities would bepletely random, not connected to the original weapons.

    It could produce a weapon worse than the ones that were thrown in, or one that was substantially better. However, there was no consistency involved; all the results would be random. Even throwing in the exact same weapons and materials in twice would result inpletely different results, with no corrtion whatsoever.

    However, the reforging function had a very small chance to produce a weapon that was higher-grade than theponents. For example, throwing in several immortal-grade weapons could even produce a deity-grade weapon! Of course, the Keyboard System strongly warned the user that the chance was low, and to strongly reconsider making any such choice.

    Zu An thought, Who in the world would put precious immortal-grade weapons in just for that tiny chance of getting a deity-grade weapon?!

    Freaking gambling dogs again! I hate gambling dogs!

    1. Xiaolongnu is the female protagonist of the wuxia novel ¡®The Return of the Condor Heroes¡¯ by Jin Yong. ?

 Chapter 1487: And You Said You Two Were Innocent!

    Chapter 1487: And You Said You Two Were Innocent!

    Zu An thought about his experience with the Lottery System and the Valkyrie System. His luck really wasn¡¯t anything special. Overall, however, his pulls bnced each other out, but the process involved was always a rollercoaster. He hadn''t expected the Forging System to be another wild ride, and yet it turned out that way all the same. However, seeing as he had signed himself up for it, he had to see it through to the end, even if it cost him some tears.

    Thus, he began to look through the different functions. At the same time, he checked what he would need to repair the Tai¡¯e Sword.

    Just like that, some time passed. Eventually, some activity began happening nearby. Yun Jianyue was the first to wake up. Yan Xuehen was a bit slower due to her prior exchange with Zu An. Meanwhile, Yu Yanluo had the lowest cultivation, so she woke upst. But she had the Holy Pearl, so she wasn¡¯t that much slower than the two grandmasters.

    ¡°The two of you have recoveredpletely!¡± Zu An eximed, feeling surprised and happy. They had been much faster than he expected.

    ¡°No, we haven¡¯t recoveredpletely, but it was at least enough for us to protect ourselves now,¡± Yun Jianyue replied proudly. At the grandmaster rank, the power they could channel was nearly endless, so they could recover quickly. It was just that they had never expected Zu An to be like an insatiable wolf cub, crazily devouring their energies to the point that they werepletely drained of strength.

    Zu An exined the situation outside. The Golden Crow Crown Prince had clearly made special arrangements, because there were threeyers of armies inside the tomb and threeyers outside. The ones who led them were old acquaintances: Grand Secretary Heichi Fei and Left Guard General Ma Tian.

    The former was a firm supporter of the crown prince¡¯s faction, while thetter was the Fiend Emperor¡¯s trusted aide. Both sides wanted information from the Imperial Tomb as quickly as possible.

    ¡°This level of security will really make it a bit annoying for us to get out,¡± Zu An said with a frown.

    He could change his appearance, but the three women couldn''t. The uniforms the Second Empress had given him had already been destroyed, too. Furthermore, even if they still had the uniforms, there were just too many guards outside. If a few guards suddenly came out, their stories wouldn¡¯t match up.

    ¡°Why do we have to sneak out?¡± Yun Jianyue replied with a strange expression. Zu An was stunned, not quite understanding her point. Yun Jianyue continued, ¡°The Fiend Emperor has already died. Aren¡¯t we powerful grandmasters? How would these people outside be able to stop us? Is there any reason to be all sneaky?¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help butugh. Right; now that there was no earth immortal stopping them, the old freaks from the Fiend King Court wouldn¡¯t stick around as guards all day either. Couldn''t the group just do whatever they wanted?

    The army did have formations and all sorts ofrge-scale magic weapons to deal with higher level cultivators, so the group could end up suffering a bit if they faced such things head-on. However, as long as they weren¡¯t trapped in a formation, even an army would have no way of stopping cultivators like them from leaving at all.

    Looks like I¡¯m still too young. I can¡¯tpare to the mindset of big shots like them.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, outside the Imperial Tomb, Heichi Fei patrolled the surroundings with a group of people.

    Considering his identity, he actually didn¡¯t need to get involved personally. However, the current situation was just too important. His nephew, the Golden Crow Crown Prince, had personally entrusted him with the task of keeping an eye on the tomb. He also had his own worries, so he continued to patrol the surroundings waiting for news from the Fiend Emperor.

    Sigh. I really didn¡¯t expect the Fiend Emperor to have set his eyes on that old woman back home. Still, she does have some good points.

    What do I do if the Fiend Emperores out and mentions that? Should I just y dumb, or should I warn him to take care of his health?

    Both choices would make me seem like an idiot.

    Suddenly, a soldier approached Heichi Fei on horseback. He was startled, recognizing that it was a special messenger who worked for the crown prince. Usually, only the most urgent tasks would be handed to such messengers. Thus, he quickly greeted the messenger and sent all the people around him away in order to receive the news alone.

    The messenger took out a letter sealed in mecquer. Suchcquer was special; unless the appropriate tool was used to open it, it would explode and destroy the contents inside. Even if one¡¯s cultivation was high, it would be impossible to prevent that. The technique was used to pass on information that required absolute military secrecy.

    Heichi Fei opened the mecquer. When he saw the contents of the message, his eyes narrowed. His expression changed greatly. He ran quickly to call over his subordinates, ordering them, ¡°Follow me back to the Fiend King Court!¡±

    The others asked doubtfully, ¡°So we don¡¯t have to wait to receive the Fiend Emperor anymore? What if the Fiend Emperor ends up ming us¡­¡±

    ¡°Like hell¡­¡± Heichi Fei almost blurted out, but he caught himself in the nick of time. He said, ¡°That¡¯s not something you need to worry about. I know what¡¯s really important. We¡¯re going back first!¡±

    Sensing his anger, the others didn¡¯t dare to ask any more questions. As such, Heichi Feimanded his own troops to ride back to the Fiend King Court.

    Meanwhile, Left Guard General Ma Tian noticed what had happened. He frowned, wondering, ¡°What in the world are they up to?¡±

    He was just about to send someone to investigate when he also received a message from the crown prince. When he saw the contents, his expression also changed drastically to one of hesitation and inner conflict.

    A whileter, he finally made up his mind. He put on his armor and mounted his horse. Then, he called over a trusted deputy officer and said, ¡°Stay here with some of the men. If the Fiend Emperores out, contact me immediately.¡±

    Then, he left quickly with his remaining subordinates, just like Heichi Fei.

    Many of the soldiers were startled by the sound of hoofbeats in the middle of the night. They all looked at each other in dismay. Even though they didn¡¯t know what had happened, it was clearly a major event

    When Zu An¡¯s group emerged from the Imperial Tomb and saw that the number of soldiers outside seemed to have decreased by half, they were also stunned. Even so, their departure from the Imperial Tomb still drew attention. A group of soldiers quickly surrounded them.

    Many of the soldiers expressed their loyalty by loudly shouting ¡®long live the emperor¡¯, but they were stunned to see that it was actually Zu An¡¯s group standing there.

    Zu An¡¯s group didn¡¯t feel like arguing with the soldiers, instead flying directly into the air. The soldiers snapped out of their daze, sending ear-splitting bugles ringing through the camp. A swarm of soldiers poured out, filling the skies with arrows.

    However, after the battles between deities the group had witnessed inside the Unknown Region, they werepletely unfazed by such military tactics. Even though the archers were supported by a formation, they still didn¡¯t pose much of a threat; their arrows could be stopped with the mere wave of a hand.

    The only thing that posed a real threat was a pair of heavy crossbows installed on a sentry tower. The crossbow was engraved with all sorts of runes and powered by arge ki stone, making it as powerful as an artillery piece from Zu An¡¯s previous world.

    Zu An had almost been killed by a simr weapon when he was in the capital. Back then, the enemy had used a military crossbow. The pain caused by its bolt was still fresh in his memory. The one installed on the sentry was much stronger, however.

    While the group wondered how they would destroy the heavy crossbows, arge cluster of vines suddenly emerged next to the tower. They knocked down all the soldiers operating the crossbows, then wrapped around the tower and pulled it down toward the ground. The tower couldn''t endure their weight and came crashing down.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An was surprised. He looked in the direction of the vines and saw a green-d figure waving at him from the darkness, clearly gesturing for them toe over. Zu An didn¡¯t hesitate and rushed over. The other three women hesitated for a moment, but then they also followed.

    When they arrived, the figure waved a hand, causing many nts to grow wildly out of the ground and form a thorny cage that prevented the army¡¯s experts andrge-scale rune masters from following. By the time the cage of thorns was cleared out, Zu An¡¯s group had vanished without a trace.

    ¡­

    Several dozen miles away, Zu An¡¯s group finally escaped from their pursuers.

    Yu Yanluo was about to thank the green-d person, but that person cried out and threw her beautiful figure into Zu An¡¯s arms. She sobbed, eximing, ¡°I thought you would nevere back out!¡±

    Zu An embraced the woman¡¯s thin and trembling body firmly, gently patting her tofort her.

    Yu Yanluo swallowed her words of gratitude back down. She reflexively looked at the two grandmasters, but saw that they were staring directly at her, as if hinting for her to do something as the main lover.

    She was left in a tough spot. Zu An was hugging the other woman so tightly, which meant they clearly shared feelings. How could she make herself the bad guy by interfering?

    And you said you and the elf princess were innocent!

    You have sessfully trolled Yu Yanluo for +99 +99 +99¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +99 +99 +99¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +99 +99 +99¡­

 Chapter 1488: Major Changes in the Fiend King Court

    Chapter 1488: Major Changes in the Fiend King Court

    The three women were all world-ss beauties, so their standards for beauty were naturally high. Even so, they had to admit that the Elf Princess really did have a stunning oval-shaped face. She had delicate and graceful brows, and her bright eyes seemed almost as if they could speak. She had a straight and refined nose, and her pink lips were curved slightly in a seductive manner. Anyone who saw them would feel the urge to give them a kiss. Her figure was also slender and fair. Under the moonlight glow, ayer of faint light surrounded her, as if she were the main character within the forest.

    Yan Xuehen thought, Chu Chuyan, you littless, what were you thinking back then? You actually took on such a beautiful woman as your maid?

    Look, now she¡¯s after your husband!

    Zu An finally realized that the current situation was inappropriate when he saw the Rage pointsing from the three women through the backend. He quickly pushed the youngdy in his arms away a bit, asking, ¡°Snow, why are you here?¡±

    Qiao Xueying suddenly noticed the three women off to the side, sensing that they were looking at her with interrogative stares that were almost tangible. She felt a bit embarrassed. She sorted out her hair, which had be a bit messy after she jumped into Zu An¡¯s arms, and replied, ¡°I knew that you went into the Imperial Tomb, so I was worried about you the whole time. A while back, there was some activity by the Imperial Tomb; there was a rumor that some special secret dungeon opened in the tomb, and that the Fiend Emperor himself personally entered.

    ¡°Afterward, the Golden Crow Guards surrounded the Imperial Tomb and didn¡¯t let anyone get closer. Many experts in the Fiend King Court were extremely interested in this secret dungeon, but with the Fiend Emperor¡¯s prestige and the Golden Crow Guards guarding that ce, no one dared to do anything publicly. That was why they could only hold back their curiosity and hide in their respective residences. However, they kept paying close attention to what was happening here.

    ¡°Then, the Golden Crow Crown Prince came out and caused quite themotion. Many people began to stir restlessly, but the Crown Prince dered that the Fiend Emperor woulde out soon, getting things under control that way.

    ¡°At the same time, though, more news began to appear, saying that other people had entered the secret dungeon, and that they seemed to be going against the crown prince. When the crown prince emerged, rumors spread that those people were all dead.¡±

    Qiao Xueying continued with tearful eyes, ¡°But I knew you went inside too. Even though people all said you were dead, I didn¡¯t believe it. After all, we already¡­¡±

    She gave the other three women a look and didn¡¯t finish her sentence. The ability to share half of their lifespan was the Elf King Race¡¯s greatest secret. If that information were leaked, a huge disaster would befall the Elf race.

    Zu An naturally knew what she meant. He couldn''t help but hold her hand, saying, ¡°I¡¯ve made you worry.¡±

    Qiao Xueying blushed and replied, ¡°Everything is fine now that you¡¯ve returned safely.¡±

    Yun Jianyue coughed and said, ¡°What¡¯s the situation in the Fiend King Court right now? If I recall correctly, the princess was detained by the Golden Crow Guards and unable to act freely, right?¡±

    Yu Yanluo, you really are a pushover. She¡¯s stealing your man right in front of you, and yet you¡¯re not even saying a thing. I have to be the one to step in!

    Wait, why do I have to do anything? What does this have to do with me?!

    Hmph, all of this is for Honglei. I¡¯m guarding her disciple¡¯s man in her ce. Sigh, look how much this master does for you.

    Qiao Xueying replied, ¡°Both the Fiend Emperor and the Golden Crow Crown Prince went missing, and many things happened in the Fiend King Court, so no one bothered to keep an eye on me. That made it much easier for me to move.¡±

    She had a special skill that could make her presence appear weaker. That was how she had hidden for several days without being discovered.

    ¡°But even though the Fiend King Court was astir, people still feared the Fiend Emperor¡¯s strength. That was why nothing too extreme happened, at least until the Golden Crow Crown Prince emerged two days ago.¡±

    ¡°Two days ago?¡± Zu An¡¯s group repeated in surprise. The Golden Crow Crown Prince had clearly left only a day before them!

    ¡°Yes, he exited the day before yesterday,¡± Qiao Xueying replied. Then, she looked at Zu An with her quick-witted gaze, as if she were scared that he would disappear. The time she had spent waiting was probably the greatest torture of her entire life. She had been worried that Zu An would really die in the secret dungeon, or that he wouldn''t be able to emerge in time and be trapped inside forever.

    Zu An¡¯s group exchanged a look, seeing the shock in each other¡¯s eyes.

    Yan Xuehen slowly said, ¡°There has actually been precedent for this. Spatial vortexes always have a chance of changing the flow of time. A difference of just two days like this is actually not too unexpected.¡±

    She was knowledgeable, and had quickly thought of several past cases. The party thus sighed in relief.

    Qiao Xueying took the chance to secretly size up the women. That rascal Zu An! He can¡¯t get rid of his bad habit of flirting with women no matter where he goes!

    ording to the intelligence she had gathered, the Medusa Queen seemed to have already consummated her rtionship with Ah Zu.

    Sigh, as expected of the number one beauty who bewitched all of the capital¡¯s aristocrats. There really is a lot of pressure just being around her.

    Additionally, that Devil Sect Master who spoke up earlier clearly seems to have a special rtionship with Zu An. I have to make sure nothing happens here. This woman doesn¡¯t seem to be inferior at all, even while standing next to Yu Yanluo. Most importantly, her chest is really big¡­

    She couldn''t help but look down at her feet, feeling extremely annoyed. The Elf race¡¯s beauty was publicly acknowledged by the world, and their slim and graceful figures were considered exceptional. However, they had one disadvantage that had always been passed down, which was that they were ordinary in the chest department.

    She secretly moved some distance away from Yun Jianyue so the contrast wouldn¡¯t be that strong.

    This is a formidable opponent! The Devil Sect Master¡¯s cultivation is also too high, so I can¡¯t win against her¡­

    Oh, thank goodness Sect Master Yan is here!

    She¡¯s Chuyan¡¯s master, and Chuyan and I were once sisters, so we should be on the same side. I should privately get closer to her, and then it¡¯ll be much easier to deal with Yun Jianyue.

    Hmph, the Devil Sect Master has already been famous for many years, but how old is Ah Zu? She¡¯s actually a cougar?! Does she know no shame?n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Snow, why are you smiling?¡± Zu An asked, suddenly noticing the strange expression between Qiao Xueying¡¯s brows. He thought that she was feeling odd and expressed his concern.

    ¡°What do you mean, why am I smiling? I¡¯m not,¡± Qiao Xueying replied, her face heating up. She had been looking forward to Yan Xuehen beating up Yun Jianyue, thinking about ending up all alone with Zu An. She had been so happy that her expression ended up selling her out.

    Worrying that the three women would notice something, she quickly changed the topic. ¡°Right, something major happened the day before yesterday when the Golden Crow Crown Prince came back. He publicly used the Second Prince of sending an assassin after him in the Imperial Tomb to disrupt the ceremony. The morning court session broke out into amotion, as that was an extremely serious usation. If it could be confirmed, even someone like the Second Prince wouldn¡¯t necessarily be able to avoid execution.¡±

    Zu An chuckled and replied, ¡°But I¡¯m pretty sure there must be no way to confirm it.¡±

    Qiao Xueying nodded slightly, saying, ¡°You¡¯re right. The Second Prince naturally denied it. The officials close to him all voiced their support, asking the crown prince to bring out proof. The crown prince brought out several corpses, but it turned out he had killed them himself. The crown prince said that they had been bought out by the Second Prince, but both sides stuck to their story, and the debate only grew more heated.¡±

    ¡°The dead can''t testify. I don¡¯t think that would be enough to convict the Second Prince,¡± Zu An remarked, feeling a bit puzzled.

    Even though the crown prince¡¯s moral character wascking, he absolutely wasn¡¯t stupid. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have be the leader of the five great experts among the Fiend races¡¯ younger generation. Why was it that even though he couldn''t convict the Second Prince, he would still cause such amotion in the morning court session?

    ¡°The Golden Crow Crown Prince mentioned that there was someone else who could serve as a witness. He seemed to be some kind of descendant of the Pangolin race. However, he died in the dungeon,¡± Qiao Xueying said, recalling the rumors she had heard. As the Elf race¡¯s princess, she had far more ess to information than an ordinary person. She continued, ¡°As you said, the dead can¡¯t testify, so he can¡¯t convict the Second Prince. Still, the exnation he gave really was too detailed andplete, so people all secretly believe it can¡¯t have been something he made up.

    ¡°Besides, seeing as everyone knows the Second Prince has never epted the crown prince, it wouldn¡¯t be all that surprising if he had done it.¡±

    Zu An suddenly realized something. Proof was only important for ordinary people. For some people, they didn¡¯t need to go through all that trouble if they wanted something done. As long as the big shots in the court believed it had happened, there would be no need for proof. At worst, they would just find some scapegoat and it would be enough. Either way, the investigations of the court always ended the way they wanted them to.

    It looks like the Golden Crow Crown Prince has decided to go on the offensive against the Second Prince!

    ¡°By the way, why are there suddenly fewer Golden Crow Guards outside?¡± Zu An asked, puzzled. He had searched with his divine sense when they first left the secret dungeon. At the time, the Golden Crow Guards had surrounded the Imperial Tomb withyers uponyers of guards. Now, fewer than half of them were left. If not for that, Zu An¡¯s group wouldn¡¯t have been able to escape from them so easily.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I noticed that a few troops left in a hurry. Then, Heichi Fei and Ma Tian also took their respective armies with them,¡± Qiao Xueying exined. She had been there the whole time, but she didn¡¯t really know what happened either.

    Suddenly, bursts of fiery light erupted from the Fiend King Court¡¯s direction. Zu An¡¯s expression changed. He said, ¡°There¡¯s something major happening in the Fiend King Court. We should hurry over and see what¡¯s happening!¡±

 Chapter 1489: Internal Strife

    Chapter 1489: Internal Strife

    Previously, in order to travel faster, Heichi Fei and Ma Tian had ordered their subordinates to move on their own. Meanwhile, they used their own respective skills to return to the Fiend King Court more quickly. The two didn¡¯t stop and headed directly for the Imperial Pce.

    There was already a servant waiting for them, who quickly brought the two of them to the Imperial Study. Both of them were confused. Could it be that the Fiend Emperor had already emerged ahead of time? Otherwise, who would dare to use the Imperial Study?

    After guiding the two of them inside, the servant closed the door behind him. The closing door felt as if it had been mmed on the two men¡¯s hearts. Only then did they notice the situation inside the room, however.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince sat in the main seat. Next to him was his guardian Elder Wu. Both men were quite surprised. Elder Wu¡¯s existence was supposed to be top secret, so why had he shown himself in public?

    There were others as well, off to the side: Commandant of Guards Wu Li, Chief Attendant Wu Fa, and Imperial Secretariat Director Lei Xin.

    The Commandant of Guards was in charge of the pce guards. The Chief Attendant was the head of the Fiend Emperor¡¯s secretary division. The Imperial Secretariat Director was the one who implemented concrete government affairs. At present, thest position was held by the Fourth Prince, but because he was too young and usually spent his time eating, drinking, and ying around, the relevant government affairs were managed by Director Lei Xin.

    Wu was the unique surname of the Golden Crow royal family. As such, the three officials essentially represented the Fiend King Court, the central army, the government, and even the royal family¡¯s will.

    Apart from those three important figures, the two men noticed that Right Guard General Niu Dao, Prosperous King Wu Cheng, Composed King Wu Pei, and Martial Guard General Nine Suns King Wu Cheng were all present. Those four, along with Left Guard General Ma Tian, jointly managed the King Court¡¯s elite Golden Crow Guards. Seeing as they were all gathered inside, there was clearly something major happening.

    Just then, Commandant of Guards Wu Li said, ¡°As the Grand Secretary and General Ma have already arrived, we can begin.¡±

    Chief Attendant Wu Fa nodded and took out an imperial decree, dering, ¡°The Fiend Emperor has a decree. All subjects shall receive the decree!¡±

    A powerful aura emanated from the decree. It was none other than the Fiend Emperor¡¯s unique might, something no one could fake.

    ¡°Long live the emperor!¡± all those present eximed, quickly bowing respectfully.

    Only then did Wu Fa read the contents of the decree. As it turned out, it passed the imperial throne to the Golden Crow Crown Prince, appointing him as the new Fiend Emperor.

    Everyone in the room was shocked, especially Left Guard General Ma Tian. Even though he had always carried goodwill toward the Golden Crow Crown Prince, ultimately, he was still the Fiend Emperor¡¯s trusted aide. That goodwill was only due to the fact that the Golden Crow Crown Prince was the heir apparent to the throne.

    But now, the Fiend Emperor hadn¡¯t even appeared, and yet the Golden Crow Crown Prince was already in a hurry to inherit the throne. That¡­ was a bit inappropriate, wasn¡¯t it?

    He could only test the waters by asking, ¡°May I ask where his majesty the Fiend Emperor is right now?¡±

    Wu Fa released a deep sigh. A few teardrops fell from his eyes as he replied, ¡°His majesty, he¡­ has passed on.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡±

    The decree appointing the crown prince to the throne was surprising, but they had all felt that it was to be expected. And yet, upon hearing that, they felt as if they had just received news that a meteor falling from the heavens was about to end the entire world.

    ¡°How did the Fiend Emperor die?¡± the generals in the room eximed. They were all shaken. The Fiend Emperor¡¯s position in their hearts was on par with Zhao Han¡¯s in the human world. He had always been a supreme being for countless years, the strongest in thend. He was their metaphorical backbone.

    Not too long before, they had been waiting to meet the Fiend Emperor, and yet now, they had received a report that the Fiend Emperor died?

    How could the unrivaled Fiend Emperor possibly die?! Who could kill him?

    Commandant of Guards Wu Li replied, ¡°The Fiend Emperor passed on in the special secret dungeon. As for the reason, I fear we have no way of knowing anymore.¡±

    Ma Tian asked with a frown, ¡°Did the Crown Prince not previously say that the Fiend Emperor was dealing with some small matters and would emerge soon? Why is there news that the Fiend Emperor died inside?¡±

    If not for the fact that the Fiend Emperor was too strong and the Crown Prince had no chance of scheming against him, the people in the room might have wondered if he had done something.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince rubbed his eyes andmented, ¡°I do not know either! Back then, father emperor was clearly fine, but who would have thought that something would happen to him so soon? This crown prince is filled with endless sorrow!¡±

    Heichi Fei nodded inwardly. This nephew of mine has the mindset of a ruler. Whether he¡¯s happy or sad right now, at least he¡¯s already quite skilled at expressing the emotion he wants to express.

    ¡°Then how did the crown prince learn that the Fiend Emperor had already passed on?¡± Right Guard General Niu Dao asked curiously.

    ¡°Let me answer this question. There is a secret room in the Imperial Pce that contains divine tokens belonging to the royal family¡¯s lineage. Whenever a member of the royal family is born, a drop of blood essence is used to create a token. That way, if anything happens to any member of the royal family, the Imperial Pce will immediately find out,¡± Elder Wu said from behind the Crown Prince. He continued, ¡°It is unfortunate, but not too long ago, the divine token that represents the Fiend Emperor shattered.¡±

    Even though the Fiend Emperor was immensely powerful, he had left behind the same kind of divine token when he was born too.

    ¡°Fiend Emperor!¡± those present eximed in shock and rm. As individuals in positions of incredible power, such techniques weren¡¯tpletely foreign to them. However, this was the first time they had personally received confirmation.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince said, ¡°The secret dungeon we entered was truly special. There were all sorts of powerful beings inside. Father emperor might have identally encountered something.¡±

    That was truly what he believed. Even though he knew the Fiend Emperor had stayed behind to deal with Zu An¡¯s group, no matter how broadly his thoughts traveled, he couldn¡¯t possibly believe that Zu An¡¯s group could pose any threat to his father. It was most likely because he had ended up provoking another being on par with Yu the Great or Gonggong.

    ¡°Could there truly be someone more powerful than the Fiend Emperor?¡± the others eximed with ashen expressions, their eyes filled with horror.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince quickly said, ¡°It was not that there was someone more powerful than father emperor, but rather that the ce was extremely strange. Additionally, when I came back, the spatial passage was already about to close. Perhaps father emperor could not leave in time, or something happened to him in the spatial passage.¡±

    Spatial passages often contained chaotic streams of spacetime. Even for dungeons that had been open for a long time, no one dared to move recklessly when they were in such spatial passages. As such, if something really had happened to the Fiend Emperor there, it would still just about be understandable.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Prosperous King Wu Cheng couldn¡¯t hold back his doubts and asked, ¡°Then why did his majesty Fiend Emperor have the crown prince return first, while remaining in that dangerous ce himself?¡±

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince knew that these individuals, whom his father had ced in important positions, were all the most trusted of aides. Thus, he could only calm himself down first and say, ¡°This was supposed to be an absolute secret, but I have no choice but to talk about it here. The reason father emperor remained inside was because he received clues about an immortal medicine. He went to look for it¡­¡±

    Then, he gave them a rough ount of the information surrounding the immortal medicine. Of course, he excluded Zu An and the others¡¯ presence. Either way, they had no doubt already been killed by his father, lying dead in the secret dungeon.

    ¡°Immortal medicine¡­¡± several people murmured.

    Now, no one in the room had any more doubts. They all knew just how irresistible immortal medicines were for those who were nearing the end of their lifespan. Even they suspected that the Fiend Emperor might have died not too far from the immortal medicine. After all, anything that incredible would definitely have powerful beings protecting it.

    Chief Attendant Wu Fa said, ¡°As the Fiend Emperor has already passed, the crown prince will seed to the throne. This is a decree that the Fiend Emperor left behind.¡±

    The generals still had some hesitation, but Heichi Fei quickly took the lead in kneeling toward the Crown Prince, dering, ¡°This subject pays his respects to the emperor. Long live, long live, long long live!¡±

    As even the Crown Prince¡¯s uncle, the Grand Secretary himself, had begun to kneel, Commandant of Guards Wu Li and Chief Attendant Wu Fa both followed suit.

    Imperial Secretariat Director Lei Xin, as well as the five generals who controlled the Golden Crow Guards, were a bit hesitant at first. However, when they saw the grandmaster Elder Wu giving them a pointed look, they also kneeled one after another.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince was overjoyed. He quickly walked forward to help them to their feet, calling out, ¡°Everyone, please rise!¡±

    ¡°Thank you, your majesty!¡±

    After they rose again one after another, Chief Attendant Wu Fa said, ¡°Second Prince harbors unfilial thoughts. Previously, even when thete Fiend Emperor was still here, he dared to assassinate the Crown Prince. If he finds out that thete Fiend Emperor has already passed and that the Crown Prince has taken the throne, he will definitely rebel. Rather than waiting for him to prepare for a rebellion, we should take the chance to nip him in the bud!¡±

    The others shivered. They were going to go all-out against the Second Prince!

 Chapter 1490: Orphan and Widow

    Chapter 1490: Orphan and Widow

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince hurriedly said, ¡°Absolutely not! Even though my second brother and I have some conflict, we are still brothers after all. Now that I have just risen to the throne, if I immediately target my own family, what will other people think of me?¡±

    All those present were important figures from the Fiend King Court, and anyone who could achieve such a position was naturally intelligent. They all sneered inwardly when they saw his act of brotherly affection.

    If we even believed something like that, wouldn¡¯t we be utter fools?

    Sure enough, Chief Attendant Wu Fa immediately said, ¡°Your majesty might still carry brotherly affection, but the Second Prince might not be as gracious as your majesty! Thete Fiend Emperor already decided to pass the throne onto your respected self and even took you into the Imperial Tomb, and yet the Second Prince actually dared to send assassins into the Imperial Tomb. Now that thete emperor is no longer here to keep him in check, will he not go even further out of control? With thete Fiend Emperor¡¯s tacit approval, the Second Prince¡¯s troops have made a name for themselves, and he became one of the Fiend Races¡¯ four great generals. Who knows how many soldiers and leaders he has who are loyal to him?!

    ¡°At this point, even if the Second Prince resigned himself to his fate, would his subordinates do so? They would definitely incite him to take up arms. If that happened, the Fiend races would be divided by internal strife. Brothers would turn against brothers, fathers would be separated from sons. As the ruler of the Fiend races, you cannot make your decisions solely based on brotherly affection and allow more of themon people to suffer.¡±

    The others in the room all shivered. They were all a part of the Fiend King Court¡¯s upper echelons and knew that Chief Attendant Wu Fa had always been at odds with the Second Prince. In the past, the two of them had even fought in the morning court session due to a personal conflict of interests. They hadn¡¯t expected him to immediately want to settle things as soon as the opportunity arose!

    Sigh, it seems that it¡¯s still best to offend as few people as possible. Otherwise, you¡¯ll be doomed without even knowing the reason why.

    Still, they had to admit that Wu Fa had a glib tongue. He was actually able to paint internal conflict between brothers as something incredibly righteous, almost as if not doing so would be a terrible crime instead!

    Sure enough, the Golden Crow Crown Prince said excitedly, ¡°Chief Attendant, what you say makes sense. I almost made a huge mistake based on personal rtionships.¡±

    The five generals below exchanged a look, seeing the strange expressions in each other¡¯s eyes. They all knew the Crown Prince was putting on an act, and he himself knew he was acting too, but they had to perform in the y with him.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Commandant of Guards Wu Li coughed and said, ¡°In that case, I believe decisive action in aplex situation would be best. We should apprehend the Second Prince before he has a chance to react to the situation. Otherwise, if he finds out that thete Fiend Emperor has passed away, things might be troublesome.¡±

    Just then, Heichi Fei said, ¡°When thete Fiend Emperor was here, his power alone was enough to prevent anyone with wild schemes from doing anything. Now that thete Fiend Emperor has passed away, though, those scoundrels might be restless. However, the Golden Crow royal family¡¯s prestige has already be deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, so they will likely use one of the princes as their catspaw. The princes are still young and can easily be swayed and controlled by these people, which might cause your majesty to fight with your own family. As such, this old subject suggests protecting the princes first, to prevent them from being exploited.¡±

    The others present shivered. This guy really was vicious! Not only did he want to deal with the Second Prince, he also wanted to seize all of the other princes within his in one go! He had referred to it as ¡®protection¡¯, but they all knew it actually referred to keeping them under control. For all they knew, some of the princes could even lose their heads amid the chaos.

    Imperial Secretariat Director Lei Xin finally couldn''t take it anymore and said seriously, ¡°That may cause too much of amotion. The three King races, Peacock, Golden Peng, and Elf, might not stand by idly.¡±

    Wu Li said, ¡°The Great Golden Peng King has already died; what could that junior who remains do? The Great Elf King is currently in prison and cannot do anything. The Peacock Wise King is under house arrest and no longer has his previous influence at all.¡±

    Lei Xin said with a frown, ¡°Even so, the three King races¡¯ power still cannot be disregarded. They still y a critical role in the Fiend King Court. Even if thete Fiend Emperor were still here, he could notpletely ignore their voices.¡±

    Ma Tian and the others all voiced their agreement. As thete Fiend Emperor¡¯s trusted aides, they did support the crown prince¡¯s ascension to the throne, but they didn¡¯t approve of any ns that were too extreme.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince spoke up. ¡°Regarding the three King races, there is no need to be too worried. Shi Zhentian and Hu Qianxiao will help us keep them in check. Their races are powerful and have always desired the positions of the three King races, so we can make use of that to keep the others in check.¡±

    The others were startled. So the crown prince had already made preparations to exploit the Lion and Tiger races to keep the three King races in check!

    Over the past few years, the Lion race and Tiger race had rapidly grown in strength. That was why they were no longer content with their lower positions. Such thinking waspletely expected. However, the two races that normally didn¡¯t get along couldn¡¯t possibly have expected that they would both end up being used by the crown prince.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince swept his sharp gaze across those present before asking, ¡°Are there any other objections?¡±

    Seeing as he had already arranged everything properly and had activelye up with a n, what else could the others say? If they really voiced any other opposition, they wouldn¡¯t necessarily be able to leave the room again. Even the grandmaster Elder Wu was watching them carefully!

    Thus, no one opposed the Golden Crow Crown Prince. He nodded in satisfaction and said, ¡°Then I will leave the arrest of my second brother to Sir Commandant of Guards and General Ma. Uncle, please move with General Wu to protect my third brother. Sir Chief Attendant and Prosperity King, the two of you will protect my fourth brother. Director Lei and Pce General, protect my fifth brother¡­¡±

    He thoroughly and methodically assigned each of them tasks. Naturally, he assigned more men to deal with the Second Prince. Quite a bit of the other generals¡¯ Golden Crow Guards ended up being transferred over to carry out that task.

    Elder Wu had the highest cultivation among them. Additionally, Heichi Fei, Commandant of Guards Wu Li, Chief Attendant Wu Fa, and the like were core members of the crown prince faction; the five generals¡¯ rtionship with the crown prince was also quite good normally. As such, even though not all of them were fully willing to go through with the n, they didn¡¯t dare speak up.

    Next was the matter of the Third and Fourth Prince. They were already adults and had their own subordinates, so they couldn''t be looked down on either.

    The final subject was the youngest prince. Even though he had the Second Empress supporting him, she was just a woman. Furthermore, he was still too young and there was no chance of him seeding to the throne. That was why Director Lei and Pce General, who were the least loyal, were tasked to deal with him.

    After arranging things, the Golden Crow Crown Prince opened the door and looked toward the exterior of the pce. ¡°I must congratte all of you on your victorious return here ahead of time. I will definitely remember everyone¡¯s contributions today.¡±

    The others were shaken. Today¡¯s affair was rather aggressive, but if theypleted their tasks, they would be the Fiend Emperor¡¯s most trusted aides. Previously, they had always needed to step aside for various old monsters, but in the future, the entire structure of the court would be controlled by them.

    After realizing that, even those with unhappy expressions became a bit more excited. They all cupped their hands in greeting and left with renewed fighting spirit.

    ¡­

    By the time Zu An¡¯s group arrived at the Fiend King Court, the city gate was already closed, not permitting entry or exit.

    Not even Qiao Xueying¡¯s identity as the Elf Princess was enough. When shereturned, she said angrily, ¡°The ones at the city gates are managed by Commandant of Guards Wu Li. I will remember this!¡±

    They had already noticed that more and more ces in the city had begun with mes. The sounds of fighting had be more and more intense. They knew that something major was definitely happening inside the city.

    Zu An quickly said to Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue, ¡°I have to enter the city because of the Elf and Snake races. This matter isn¡¯t rted to you guys, so I don¡¯t want you to take the risk¡­¡±

    Yun Jianyue cut him off before he could even finish. ¡°Damn punk, what are you saying? We¡¯ve already gone through so much together. Do we need to be that polite to each other? Even if I didn¡¯t care about you, I¡¯d have to help out little sis Yu here.¡±

    Yan Xuehen didn¡¯t say anything, but her act of taking Yu Yanluo¡¯s hand already dered her stance.

    Qiao Xueying looked worried. The three¡¯s rtionship was far better than she had imagined! Things would be a bit tricky now.

    When he saw their decision, Zu An dropped all pretenses. If the soldiers wouldn¡¯t let them in, they would just force their way in.

    The guards of the Fiend King Court werepetent, and it normally wouldn¡¯t be so easy to trespass, but because the main force had already been transferred away from the city gate, it wouldn¡¯t be too difficult for them to go through at all.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in the South Alley, where high officials and nobles gathered, a beautiful woman held a little boy tightly in the depths of the youngest prince¡¯s manor. She watched the ughter happening outside, her expression grave.

    The cruel scenes unfolding made the little boy¡¯s voice tremble a bit as he said, ¡°Mother, I¡¯m scared¡­¡±

 Chapter 1491: Shattering of a Past Dream

    <h4>Chapter 1491: Shattering of a Past Dream</h4>

    The woman was dressed invish pce clothes. The pearls and jade embedded in her dress flickered beneath the light of the mes all around them, but they paled inparison to her stunning beauty.

    She had a beautiful oval face, with skin as fair as snow. Beneath her curved brows was a pair of starry eyes that were incredibly charming. Her pink lips had a seductive glint. Her chest wasrge and full, her waist was delicate, and her bottom was round, drawing a perfect arc that granted her both the pure freshness of a youngdy, and the mature air of a young, married woman. It really was hard to imagine how suchpletely distinct styles could coexist within a single person.

    However, at that moment, her expression was filled with worry. She held her child close and said, ¡°Don¡¯t be scared, mother will protect you.¡±

    A resolute look appeared between her brows as she spoke. However, even though her tone was serious, there was a natural charm to her voice that could make even the toughest of men melt, making her sound both lovely and yful.

    All the soldiers who heard her felt as if they were suddenly infused with endless energy. There was only a single thought on their minds, which was that they had to protect the Second Empress and not let any scoundrels get near her.

    Still, even though her subordinates were fighting for her while soaked in blood, the Second Empress didn¡¯t look happy at all. She knew just how much of a difference in strength there was between her side and the opposition. This would do nothing but buy her a bit more time.

    She absolutely hadn¡¯t expected the Golden Crow Crown Prince to go mad like this, to actually suddenly target his brothers in the Fiend King Court.

    Don¡¯t tell me he isn¡¯t scared of the Fiend Emperor¡¯s rebuke once hees out?

    Fortunately, she had some trusted aides in the pce. When they learned that the Golden Crow Crown Prince had secretly summoned his subordinates, she had been worried that her son would be in danger and wanted to bring him into the Imperial Pce. However, not long after she arrived, Director Lei Xin andMartial Guard General Wu Chenghad arrived with arge force of Golden Crow Guards.

    They kept saying they wanted to bring back the young prince with them to prevent viins from harming him, but how could the Second Empress agree to that?

    Both sides argued for a while. The Second Empress was still the Fiend Emperor¡¯s main wife, so at first, the Golden Crow Guards held some reservations; however, the generals the Golden Crow Crown Prince had sent quickly cast aside their emotions. When their argument reached a certain point, a fight broke out, and things quickly got out of hand.

    Even though the Second Empress had managed to gather some trusted aides over the years, she had left her pce in a hurry to find her son and couldn''t bring too many people with her. As such, she had been left with only the guards around the youngest prince¡¯s manor and the few men she had brought, forcing them to endure bitterly. If not because all those men were willing to risk it all for her, the youngest prince might have already been taken away.

    The Second Empress didn¡¯t get involved, because neither Director Lei Xin or Martial Guard General Wu Cheng did either. Both sides wanted to keep thatst bit of respect for each other. After all, she was the empress of the Fiend races; neither man wanted tomit such an offense. Meanwhile, the Second Empress knew that Lei Xin and Wu Cheng were both famous experts in the Fiend King Court. If she faced them one on one, she could have a chance, but if they faced her together, and with all of their subordinates at that, she knew she wouldn¡¯t have any chance.

    In that case, seeing as they weren¡¯t willing to interfere, holding so many people back was already worth it. The only hope she had was that the longer she held on, and the more forces in the Fiend King Court were alerted, someone woulde and save them.

    However, who would evene to save her at such a time. It was clearly the Golden Crow Crown Prince who had started this entire affair, and he was going to be the new Fiend Emperor. Who would take the risk of offending the new Fiend Emperor to save her and her son?

    Her thoughts drifted to the old Fiend Emperor. The two of them hadn¡¯t shared many emotions over the years, but the Fiend Emperor¡¯s presence had at least provided her with a sense of security. Now that he had entered the secret dungeon, even her own subordinates dared to offend her.

    She hoped for the Fiend Emperor to emerge from the secret dungeon as quickly as possible. That way, these people wouldn¡¯t be able to cause her any more trouble. However, sheughed bitterly soon after.Even if the Fiend Emperor came, so what? The crown prince was the one who decided on this. Would the Fiend Emperor really turn hostile toward the crown prince for my sake?

    She knew that the old Fiend Emperor was nearing the end of his lifespan. Meanwhile, the crown prince was already destined to be the new Fiend Emperor. After being a part of the royal family for so many years, she knew full well how an emperor thought. If he could live long enough, the Fiend Emperor would definitely have stood at her side, and he would even have punished the crown prince severely. But because he was nearing the end of his life, he would definitely stand with the crown prince.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    She felt helpless when she realized that. It was a pity that guy Zu An hadn¡¯t been able to assassinate the crown prince. Otherwise, none of this would have happened. Seeing as the crown prince had already emerged and she hadn¡¯t heard anything, that meant Zu An had already died inside.

    What a pity¡­ He was a pretty interesting little guy. More importantly, he was pretty handsome too.

    ¡­

    By the time she emerged from her thoughts, the battle was already nearing its end. Most of the guards were lying in puddles of blood, and most of her subordinates had already passed away. The ones who remained had retreated to her side. They were surrounded by Lei Xin and Wu Cheng¡¯s Golden Crow Guard subordinates.

    Countless shining des that dripped with blood were aimed at the Second Empress¡¯ people, giving off a mysterious sense of pressure.

    ¡°Second Empress, please don¡¯t trouble us anymore. It¡¯ll be better for all of us,¡± Lei Xin said, looking at the beautiful woman in front of him with aplicated expression. Even in such a situation, she was still devastatingly beautiful! No wonder thete Fiend Emperor had be infatuated with her.

    The Second Empress moved a strand of hair from her forehead behind her ear. She protected her child with her body, replying, ¡°The only way you will get to my son is over my dead body.¡±

    Lei Xin and Wu Cheng¡¯s expressions changed. Lei Xin asked, ¡°Second Empress, is there a need to go so far?¡±

    It was well known that the Second Empress was thete Fiend Emperor¡¯s wife. Even after the Golden Crow Crown Prince ascended to the throne, they would still have to respectfully call her Empress Dowager, so Lei Xin really didn¡¯t want to be involved in a conflict with her. If he wasn¡¯t careful and ended up taking on the criminal charge of killing the empress, if others turned against him, the Golden Crow Crown Prince could just end up abandoning him to appease themon people¡¯s anger. After all, he wasn¡¯t a part of the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s main faction. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have been sent to deal with the youngest prince, the trickiest mission.

    The Second Empress said with a sneer, ¡°You have already rebelled and plotted to harm the prince. Are you really asking me if I have to do this?¡±

    Off to one side, Wu Cheng said, ¡°Second Empress has misunderstood. We came here to protect the youngest prince and not to harm him.¡±

    The Second Empress looked around the entire ce. She looked at the guards who were lying in pools of blood around the manor. She said with a coldugh, ¡°They were the ones who were protecting the youngest prince. Your words might fool a little child, but do you think I would be fooled?¡±

    Lei Xin and Wu Cheng both had expressions of shame. However, a high-ranking officer who was the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s trusted aide eximed, ¡°The situation has already reached this point. What is the point of saying all this? You cannot ruin his majesty¡¯s great ns!¡±

    The Second Empress¡¯ expression turned into one of joy. She asked, ¡°His majesty? Has the Fiend Emperor returned?¡±

    The trusted aide didn¡¯t reply, and simply attacked alongside hispanions.

    Lei Xin and Wu Cheng shivered inwardly. The crown prince was already the new Fiend Emperor. If they messed up this task, or they didn¡¯t do their share of work, they¡¯d definitely have to pay the price for it in the future. In that case, what was an empress from the past regime worth? In their position, they had already long given up on acting based on their own feelings. Their main consideration was for the interests of their ns and their aspirations.

    ¡°We¡¯ve offended you!¡± the two eximed, quickly making up their minds to attack together. In such a situation, they naturally wouldn¡¯t fight one on one fairly like in the world of warriors. After all, the Second Empress was a strong cultivator in her own right, so it was best to deal with her as quickly as possible.

    ¡­

    After a while, the Second Empress groaned, falling at the youngest prince¡¯s side. Her morous pce dress was already dyed with red spots like blooming roses. How could she face so many powerful opponents by herself?

    She tried to struggle to her feet several times, but unfortunately, she was seriously injured and failed. The few surviving guards wanted to support her, but they didn''t dare to offend her.

    Things had already reached the point that any pretenses could be skipped.

    The trusted aide secretly waved his hand, striking the hilt of one of his subordinates¡¯ des. The de swiftly flew toward the youngest prince.

    Lei Xin and Wu Cheng¡¯s expressions changed. Even though they had known that the so-called protection the Golden Crow Crown Prince had spoken of wasn¡¯t anything good, they had thought it would just be house arrest. They had never expected it to actually be murder!

    How vicious! What a malicious older brother!

    They moved slightly, but in the end, they still didn''t stop it from happening. At this point, they could only walk their current path to the end.

    The Second Empress wanted to stop the de, but in her current state, she couldn''t even do things that were normally extremely simple for her. Sheughed helplessly, then threw her body in front of the young prince.

    ¡°Your highness!¡± the guards cried in rm. Unfortunately, they were all wounded too. They werepletely spent and couldn''t act in time at all.

    The Second Empress knew that if she died, her son wouldn¡¯t live either. Still, she had no other choice. Suddenly, an absurd thought appeared in her mind.

    Just how great would it be if a hero came to save this damsel in distress?

    She had always liked such folk stories when she was young, and she had really loved the scenes of heroes saving beauties. She had dreamed countless times about meeting an outstanding hero like that.

    However, after she married the Fiend Emperor, she never had such thoughts again. After all, what hero in this world couldpare to the Fiend Emperor?

    And yet, the Fiend Emperor was as different from the heroes she imagined in her youth as could be. As such, that dream hadpletely shattered.

    She hadn¡¯t expected to remember such a thing in the current situation.It seems one¡¯s final thoughts really can¡¯t be controlled¡­

    Sheughed in self-mockery.

    Suddenly, a foreign yet familiar voice spoke by her ear. ¡°The Second Empress really is a woman among women. You can evenugh in this situation.¡±

 Chapter 1492: Wife, You Donâ€™t Want

    <h4>Chapter 1492: Wife, You Don¡¯t Want</h4>

    The Second Empress was stunned to see a shadow in front of her. Suddenly, there was a man blocking her view. He had a handsome visage and was dressed in silver robes. There was a faint smirk on the corners of his lips, and his demeanor was extremely confident and free.

    Is this the hero I imagined back then?the Second Empress thought, her heart beating more quickly. She felt as if she had returned to when she was just a young girl.

    However, she quickly snapped out of her daze. She wasn¡¯t a little girl anymore. Those immature fantasies had long been buried at the bottom of her heart.

    ¡°Why are you here?¡± she eximed as she finally recognized who it was. She was both surprised and happy.

    Zu An replied with a smile, ¡°Does the Second Empress not want to see me?¡±

    When she met his scorching gaze, the usually flirtatious Second Empress felt her cheeks heat up. However, she quickly thought of something and eximed in rm, ¡°Be careful of the de¡­ Where did the de go?¡±

    Her shock gradually gave way to confusion. Judging from the speed at which the de had been traveling, it should have long since arrived! Furthermore, Zu An was facing her and had his back to the de.

    ¡°Are you talking about this?¡± Zu An asked as he turned around. The Second Empress saw a de floating in the air,pletely still, as if an invisible hand were holding it in ce.

    ¡°Huh? Um¡­¡± The Second Empress murmured, wondering just how he had done such a thing.

    If it were a ki barrier, the de should have shed fiercely with it, rather than being so calm. The scene before her eyes looked as if the de had suddenly decided to recognize Zu An as its master, submissively remaining in ce.

    The deputy general who hadunched the de shouted, ¡°Who are you? You dare meddle in others¡¯ business?!¡±

    He was a part of the crown prince''s faction. He could even holler at Lei Xin and Wu Cheng, so why would he treat Zu An with any respect? Besides, even though the Golden Crow Crown Prince and Zu An shared a grudge, Zu An was still fairly unknown in the Fiend King Court. Not all of the crown prince¡¯s subordinates recognized him.

    ¡°Noisy!¡± Zu An snapped, waving his hand. The floating de suddenly turned around. Then, it flew backward at several times its previous speed, slicing through the deputy general¡¯s body like a streak of light.

    ¡°Ah¡­ Ah¡­¡± The deputy general looked down at his chest, an expression of disbelief on his face. After following the crown prince for so many years, now that the crown prince had risen to the throne, it was finally time for him to shine! And yet, he had ended up dying before he could enjoy anything?

    The Second Empress also covered her red lips in disbelief when she saw what had happened. Even though she didn¡¯t know what the deputy general¡¯s name was, his attack had been really tricky and vicious. He was a strong individual. Even if his cultivation was weaker than Zu An¡¯s, it shouldn¡¯t have been by that much. And yet, such an expert had been killed instantly?

    The Second Empress was briefly dazed.Is there something wrong with the world? Don¡¯t tell me his cultivation increased again in the short time since Ist saw him?

    But even though his ki aura seems to have be stronger than before, it isn¡¯t anything too substantial!

    ¡­

    In the distance, several beautiful women stood. When she saw the look of adoration the Second Empress directed toward Zu An, Yun Jianyue said to Yu Yanluo, ¡°That guy is flirting with women again. Why aren¡¯t you doing anything about your man?¡±

    Yu Yanluo didn¡¯t reply, and merely gave Qiao Xueying a look. She thought to herself,If I say something but the Elf Princess doesn¡¯t, won¡¯t Ie off as a jealous wife?n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Qiao Xueying¡¯s gaze became a bit dangerous. She cursed Zu An ruthlessly inside, but she didn¡¯t say anything either. She was in front of Chuyan¡¯s master at the moment, so she had to appear dignified and reserved, or else she¡¯d be seen as too fierce and lose an opportunity.

    Yan Xuehen thought,This guy Zu An¡¯s tastes really are a bit unusual. He¡¯s even going to go after the Fiend Emperor¡¯s wife? Even though she¡¯s pretty, she already has a child!

    However, something else quickly took priority. Zu An¡¯s cultivation seemed to have gone through a huge transformation! Could it be that his mentality and temperament had both advanced after he killed the Fiend Emperor? Even though Yan Xuehen couldn''t really tell where exactly the changey, Zu An now gave off an inexplicable sense of danger.

    It was strange; after all, she was a grandmaster! Who would believe her if she said she sensed danger from someone who had only recently broken through into the master rank? And yet, that was exactly what she felt.

    Yun Jianyue clearly sensed something and gave Yan Xuehen a look. She quietly asked, ¡°Stone cold woman, do you feel it too?¡±

    ¡°Yes, but it is hard to say just how he has changed. His ki aura clearly has not improved that much,¡± Yan Xuehen said, also feeling confused.

    ¡°It¡¯s probably something to do with his mentality,¡± Yun Jianyue began. She thought for a bit and said, ¡°He killed the Fiend Emperor in a head-on fight. That must have given him the conviction that he¡¯s unrivaled.¡±

    Yan Xuehen nodded inwardly. One¡¯s mentality could indeed have a huge effect on one¡¯s overall strength. Anyone who could defeat the Fiend Emperor was already unmatched in this world. Zu An¡¯s circumstances were a bit special, but no matter how special it was, the change in his mentality was real.

    The others finally reacted to the situation. Lei Xin and Wu Cheng both raised their weapons, pointing them at Zu An with vignt expressions. In response, Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue exchanged a look and suddenly vanished from their original location.

    Lei Xin and Wu Cheng were both master rank cultivators. They were powerful experts in the eyes of most people. However, they were still quite a distance away from the grandmaster rank. Their attention waspletely focused on Zu An, so how could they realize that two grandmasters were ambushing them? The major acupoints on their backs suddenly felt numb, and they were restrained instantly.

    Both of them scowled miserably when they sensed the terrifying auras of the two women.What the hell is this? Grandmasters are ambushing us?

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue¡¯s expressions remained calm. Seeing as they were outnumbered, they naturally had to take down the leaders first. Why would they slowly y around in one-on-one duels?

    The Second Empress¡¯ beautiful eyes widened in disbelief. She had already recognized that these two were Zu An¡¯spanions. Previously, she had mocked this guy for being a skirt chaser, saying he always had pretty women around him. How could she have expected that the two were actually glorious grandmasters?

    Zu An supported the Second Empress to her feet, calling out, ¡°You have rebelled against the emperor and attempted to harm the Second Empress and the young prince. Now that the leader has been captured, as long as the rest of you lower your weapons, we will let bygones be bygones!¡±

    He used the Lion¡¯s Roar skill as he spoke. The skill wasn¡¯t that useful against the strongest experts, but it was extremely effective against those who were weaker than him. Sure enough, when they saw their leaders being captured or killed, the Golden Crow Guards were shaken up. When they heard the terrifying roar, they either threw away their weapons and ran for their lives, or kowtowed toward the Second Empress and the others, confessing their crimes.

    Zu An looked back at the Second Empress and asked, ¡°How does your highness n on dealing with them?¡±

    The Second Empress felt a bit dizzy when she saw what had happened. She had been in a critical situation mere moments prior, and yet now, the situation waspletely reversed. Moreover, it was all due to the man in front of her.

    However, she wasn¡¯t a normal woman and didn¡¯t have time to be a fool. She quickly understood the current situation and replied, ¡°We cannot let those who fled get away!¡±

    Those who had fled were clearly the crown prince¡¯s trusted aides, and the ones who had stayed were ordinary Golden Crow Guards who had no choice but to follow orders. They were still in the dark regarding what had happened. If they let the fleeing guards escape, it would increase the crown prince¡¯s strength and grant the crown prince information. Neither oue was desirable to the Second Empress.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s eyes shone with a faintblueradiance. A thinyer of rock began to cover the fleeing Golden Crow Guards as their bodies began to petrify. They suddenly looked as if they were moving in slow motion. Yu Yanluo wasn¡¯t willing to kill them, so she only used a bit of her Medusa¡¯s Eye power.

    Suddenly, countless vines rushed out of the ground, quickly wrapping the guards up. If the Golden Crow Guards focused on defense, they wouldn¡¯t be that easy to deal with; however, their confidence had already been stolen by Zu An, and their movements had been affected by Medusa''s Eye. As such, Qiao Xueying was able to lock them in ce without much difficulty.

    She and Yu Yanluo exchanged a look. They hadn¡¯t expected to work together so well even though it was the first time. However, when they recalled their awkward rtionship, both of them reflexively looked away.

    The remaining soldiers began to be restless. They all worried that they would be next when they saw what had happened. However, the Second Empress immediately spoke up to appease them. Her voice was gentle and pleasant to listen to, with a special charm that calmed their momentary restlessness.

    Afterward, she turned to look at Zu An, saying, ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Zu An was still supporting her, and she could feel the heat from his hand. With her status, physical contact with another man was actually taboo; however, he had helped her so much, so how could she tell him to let go? How could she turn on her benefactor like that?

    Zu An looked at her beautiful eyes from up close. He said through ki, ¡°Wife, you don¡¯t want¡­ Ahem, sorry. Your highness, you don¡¯t want your son to be killed by his other brother either, right?¡±

    The Second Empress shook her head and said, ¡°Of course not.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression turned serious again. He asked, ¡°Do you want your son to be the new Fiend Emperor?¡±

    The Second Empress¡¯ eyes immediately shone with an unusual radiance. She grabbed him and pulled him toward a back room.

    Favorite

 Chapter 1493: The Reason I Chose You

    Chapter 1493: The Reason I Chose You

    The women nearby widened their eyes.

    Yu Yanluo opened her mouth. She began to say something, but then hesitated. However, Qiao Xueying said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Even though Ah Zu says some irresponsible things sometimes, he¡¯s actually an extremely reliable man. He won¡¯t be confused by beauty so easily. I think the Second Empress probably has something she wants to discuss with him alone.¡±

    Yu Yanluo nodded toward her courteously, but she was actually upset inside. This Elf Princess sounded as if she had already been with Zu An for a long time. It really did make her feel a bit ufortable.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Meanwhile, Yun Jianyue looked at Yan Xuehen, who was closest to her. She remarked, ¡°Stone cold woman, is that woman that thirsty? She¡¯s really pulling another man into her room in front of so many people?¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s face heated up. She replied, ¡°Even though that guy is usually a bit frivolous, he is not that unreliable. We should trust him.¡±

    Yun Jianyue replied with a doubtful expression, ¡°You want me to trust that this guy can hold himself back in front of beauty? I¡¯d sooner believe that you¡¯ve fallen in love with him.¡±

    Yan Xuehen panicked, eximing, ¡°What kind of nonsense are you saying, witch?!¡±

    ¡­

    The two women began to fight with each other again. Director Lei Xin and Martial Guard General Wu Cheng both frowned when they heard that. After some hesitation, Lei Xin said, ¡°Even though the Second Empress is normally a bit¡­ enchanting, I have never heard of her doing anything improper over the years. Female heroes, could it be that you have misunderstood somehow?¡±

    Wu Cheng said in agreement, ¡°Right. On the contrary, I am more worried about thatpanion of yours. The Second Empress is seriously injured and powerless right now. If thatpanion of yours does something to her, she cannot resist!¡±

    ¡°Nonsense!¡± both women blurted out at the same time. ¡°He¡¯s not that despicable and shameless!¡±

    When they felt the killing intent that suddenly erupted from the two women, both Lei Xin and Wu Cheng felt shivers run down their spines. They didn¡¯t dare to say anything else.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, the main subjects of the discussions outside entered the room. After the Second Empress closed the door, she stared at Zu An with burning eyes, eximing, ¡°What did you mean by what you just said?¡±

    ¡°What else could I have meant? It¡¯s exactly as I said,¡± Zu An replied with a chuckle.

    The Second Empress began breathing quickly. Her chest rose and fell, her beautiful figure swaying back and forth. However, she didn¡¯t be muddle-headed from emotion, and quickly calmed down. She asked, ¡°And what are you relying on to make that im?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s cultivation wasn¡¯t bad, but the new Fiend Emperor¡¯s session was a huge affair. It was likely out of his power.

    When he saw her look of suspicion, Zu An said calmly, ¡°The Fiend Emperor has died.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± The Second Empress¡¯ face instantly turned pale.

    Her husband had died? That powerful being had actually died? Even though she had known his lifespan was nearing its end, she hadn¡¯t expected that day to arrive so soon.

    However, she discovered that she didn¡¯t really feel any grief when she learned that he had passed away. After all, she had simply been forcefully seized by the Fiend Emperor because of her beauty. Soon afterward, the Fiend Emperor had be worried about his worsening condition due to heaven and man deterioration, so they had rarely spent time together. Naturally, they hadn¡¯t formed strong feelings as a result.

    At the moment, she felt more rmed than anything else. The only reason why she had been respected by the Fiend races for so many years was because she was the Fiend Emperor¡¯s wife. Now that she had lost her backing, what were she and her son supposed to do?

    No wonder the Golden Crow Crown Prince dared to do something like this! So the Fiend Emperor has already died.

    ¡°How did he die?¡± the Second Empress asked, wiping the corners of her eyes. She had thought she would at least shed some tears for that husband of hers, but she discovered that there wasn¡¯t anything on her fingers.

    ¡°You probably wouldn¡¯t believe me even if I told you. I can only tell you that he died in the secret dungeon,¡± Zu An replied. The woman was still the Fiend Emperor¡¯s wife, after all. Even though it didn¡¯t seem as if they shared any feelings, telling her that he was the one who had killed him just didn¡¯t feel like a good idea.

    ¡°So that was what happened,¡± the Second Empress replied, not asking for any more details. Either way, the Fiend Emperor was already dead, so she was more concerned about what they were going to do now. She asked, ¡°How are you prepared to help me?¡±

    As the Fiend Emperor had died, what followed would be a power struggle between the different brothers. Even if they took down the crown prince, there was no Fiend Emperor to settle the dispute.

    However, Zu An¡¯s cultivation was quite strong, and he even had two grandmaster helpers, the Snake Race¡¯s Medusa Queen, and the Elf Princess. He had enough influence to affect the heir to the throne.

    ¡°Wait, wait, wait. There¡¯s something else you should be concerned about before all of that,¡± Zu An said, waving his finger. He asked, ¡°Why should I help you?¡±

    The Second Empress was stunned. However, she wasn¡¯t a simple-minded person and quickly said, ¡°You and the Golden Crow Crown Prince share a grudge. With his nature, there is no way that he would tolerate your existence. Furthermore, you have also had a negative encounter with the Second Prince. Even though it is not too great of a grudge, there is no affection between you either. You are naturally much closer to us than them.¡±

    Zu An replied with a smile, ¡°Is that why you think I have to choose your side?¡±

    When she heard the coldness in his voice, the Second Empress felt a weight fall in her stomach. She quickly realized that she might have gone too far with her cleverness. She added, ¡°Of course not. Our friendship has not reached that level. You can choose a different prince, or you can choose not to get involved either. Either way, you are not part of the Fiend races.¡±

    Zu An sighed and replied, ¡°Your highness is an intelligent person after all. But is that all you have to say to me? If you want my help, you have to offer me some benefits, right?¡±

    The Second Empress bit her lips, her face darkening. However, when she thought about how she had almost died, and the despair and powerlessness she felt while embracing her son, the look in her eyes suddenly became resolute. She waved her hand, and some kind of mechanism seemed to activate. A sound barrier appeared in the room. That way, no one else could hear the contents of their conversation.

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue both frowned. They had been quietly listening to the drama that was unfolding, but the people inside had cut them off? Yun Jianyue felt unhappy, preparing to barge in to find out what was happening.

    However, Yan Xuehen stopped her, saying, ¡°Forget it. They are probably talking about some secrets. It is normal for us not to be able to hear them.¡±

    Yun Jianyue replied with a frown, ¡°Are you not scared that she¡¯ll end up stealing your disciple¡¯s man?¡±

    Yan Xuehen thought, It¡¯s not just my disciple¡¯s man¡­ However, she replied, ¡°Worry not. I believe he is not one of those men who act on lustful impulses.¡±

    Yun Jianyue harrumphed in dissatisfaction. ¡°You seem to understand him really well. It¡¯s almost as if the two of you have been really intimate with each other before.¡±

    Despite what she said, she still gave up any thoughts of entering. Either way, the Second Empress was seriously injured, and Zu An was a monster who had even killed the Fiend Emperor. Would someone like that really end up being eaten up by her?

    Meanwhile, the Second Empress walked toward Zu An with light and graceful steps. She stared at Zu An with her beautiful eyes, asking, ¡°Do you think I am beautiful?¡±

    Zu An was stunned. Why is she doing this stuff now? Don¡¯t tell me she¡¯s going to try to seduce me with so many people outside? Still, he instinctively nodded and replied, ¡°Extremely!¡±

    ¡°Please look at me,¡± the Second Empress said as she stood within reach of him. While she spoke, her fingers brushed past her waist. Then, her dress loosened, gradually exposing her fair, satin-like skin.

    In that instant, even the candle me in the room seemed to have dimmed, all of the light gathering on the wonderful figure at the very center of the room. As if she had be shy, her snow-white skin carried a hint of peach blush. Her beauty really was enough to make the entire world seem colorless inparison.

 Chapter 1494: Call Him Father

    Chapter 1494: Call Him Father

    This scene before Zu An was enough to make any man among the Fiend races go crazy. The Second Empress was the most famous beauty among the Fiend races. Her special status made countless people feel an innate desire to dominate her.

    However, the Fiend Emperor¡¯s existence had always prevented anyone from acting on those thoughts. They could only fantasize about her in their dreams. Some people with the means to do so hadmanded female servants to wear makeup and clothes simr to the Second Empress; even so, they got bored fairly quickly, and their longing for the Second Empress only grew stronger as a result.

    And yet, such a woman who could make any Fiend race man go crazy was now taking off her clothes right in front of Zu An. No one would be able to resist something like that, right?

    However, Zu An¡¯s expression remained extremely calm. He replied, ¡°Do you think I¡¯ve never seen a woman or something? Would I lose my head over a woman when it came to something this important?¡±

    The Second Empress¡¯ cheeks heated up. For many years, she had been extremely confident about her own body. Any random look would make her subordinates go crazy, while a smile would make them lose their souls. She hadn¡¯t expected there to actually be a man who would refuse her.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Ahh¡­ This is so embarrassing¡­ I really want to run away and hide¡­

    That thought appeared in her mind, but she was apetent individual and quickly recovered. She said, ¡°Whether it is the Medusa Queen, the Elf Princess, or the two grandmasters, they are all incredibly beautiful. Of course it would not be so easy to charm you with beauty¡­¡±

    She felt a bit of regret when she thought of that. How did I forget about that? Now, I¡¯m in this kind of situation¡­

    She quickly sorted out her thoughts and continued, ¡°I was not trying to tempt you with beauty. Rather, I am trying to express my sincerity. This is nothing more than a down payment.¡±

    ¡°Down payment?¡± Zu An repeated with a strange expression. Her wording had been rather unusual just then.

    The Second Empress endured the embarrassment she felt as she calmly put on her clothes again. Even Zu An was surprised by just how alluring the scene of her getting dressed was. It really expanded his horizons. Who said women were only beautiful when they took off their clothes?

    Soon, the Second Empress finished putting on her clothes again, her face heating up. She turned around and walked back outside toward her crying son. With her back to Zu An, she was able to gradually calm down.

    Shortly afterward, the young prince walked back in with her, seemingly confused. He didn¡¯t know why his mother would spend so much time in the room with this handsome uncle.

    The Second Empress brought the young prince up to Zu An, saying, ¡°Hurry and kowtow toward him. In the future, he will be your adoptive father.¡±

    Zu An was a bit surprised. The Second Empress really was a talented woman; she quickly grasped what was important in this situation. She had shown him everything just then, and now, she was making her son establish such a rtionship with him. Her actions were full of sincerity. From today onward, they would all share benefits and interests together.

    The young prince was unwilling, protesting, ¡°No, I have father emperor!¡±

    ¡°Father emperor is already¡­¡± the Second Empress began, but after some hesitation, she didn¡¯t say it. He was still too young, and the news would be a bit too cruel. She kneeled down on the ground, held his shoulders, and said seriously, ¡°Your eldest brother wanted to kill you just now. Do you remember how humiliated you felt?¡±

    ¡°I do!¡± the young prince eximed. Her eyes were filled with anger, but he also felt a deep sense of powerlessness. He was still too young and didn¡¯t know how to fight against his powerful eldest brother.

    The Second Empress said, ¡°Your father emperor cannot protect you anymore in the future. From today on, your adoptive father will protect you and help you defeat your eldest brother. Do you understand?¡±

    The youngest prince had really been frightened badly by what happened today. Furthermore, he was still young and listened to his mother closely. He quickly gave up his objections and respectfully kowtowed toward Zu An, following his mother¡¯s instructions. He said reluctantly, ¡°I greet adoptive father.¡±

    Zu An picked him up and hugged him, remarking, ¡°Who¡¯s a good child?¡± He thought, As expected of the Second Empress¡¯ son, this kid is pretty cute.

    When she saw Zu An treat her son in such an intimate way, the Second Empress sighed in relief. At the same time, her impression of him also slowly improved.

    Zu An carried the young prince while saying to the Second Empress, ¡°In that case, let¡¯s join forces in the future. Tell me what you have at your disposal first, and then we can decide what to do.¡±

    Seeing her hesitation, he asked with a frown, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t have a single trusted aide after all these years?¡±

    ¡°I do, but I don¡¯t know if they¡¯ll be of any use,¡± the Second Empress said. As she had maintained a position of power for so long, it was natural for her to have some hesitation about sharing all of her secrets. After thinking for a bit, she eventually said, ¡°I have a trusted aide in the Imperial Pce, Central Regr Attendant Bi Cui. He was the one who informed me, and that¡¯s why I knew someone wanted to act against the youngest prince. That was why I quickly left the pce to protect him.¡±

    Zu An nodded. A Central Regr Attendant was a eunuch in the pce who was in charge of passing on the Fiend Emperor¡¯s imperial orders and official documents, and thus had arge amount of authority. The Fiend races¡¯ Imperial Pce had several Central Regr Attendants; if the Second Empress had one who was loyal to her, that would provide them with support in the Imperial Pce.

    The Second Empress continued, ¡°There¡¯s also the young prince¡¯s teacher, Imperial Secretariat Right Confidential Assistant Bo Jin. He¡¯s a famous schr who¡¯s known for being kind.¡±

    Zu An thought that having someone with a voice in the court would indeed be very useful in the future. However, Bo Jin wouldn¡¯t be of much use in tonight¡¯s chaos.

    ¡°Apart from that, there¡¯s also my mother¡¯s Xiao n. They have a portion of the Fiend King Court¡¯s City Defense Army under them, but those soldiers are far from as capable as the Golden Crow Guards. Additionally, though, they¡¯ve been able to maintain a private army of several hundred men around their manor. That private army is much stronger,¡± the Second Empress said.

    ¡°Your surname is Xiao?¡± Zu An asked, a little surprised. The Fiend races¡¯ special way of handling titles meant many names were ultimately forgotten.

    The Second Empress replied in the alternative. Then, she told Zu An about the Xiao n, as well as how to contact them amid the chaos.

    Afterward, Zu An saw that she had fallen silent for a while. He was stunned, asking, ¡°That¡¯s it?¡±

    The Second Empress¡¯ face turned red. She was the empress, and yet she only had those people on her side. It was honestly a bit shameful. Eventually, she said, ¡°This can¡¯t be med on me. The Fiend Emperor became guarded against me a few years ago and prevented me from interfering with the court. Furthermore, even though I got close to some people, they might not still be reliable after what happened today.¡± She paused for a moment, then continued, ¡°Besides, don¡¯t I have you now? You¡¯re my greatest strength!¡±

    Zu An was speechless. What you say makes so much sense that I have nothing to refute it with.

    Still, he quickly sorted out his thoughts, saying, ¡°These people aren¡¯t enough. We need to first release the Great Elf King and get the help of the Elf King race. Then, we can head over to the Peacock Wise King and Little Golden Peng King. If we can convince them to side with us, we¡¯ll have a much greater chance of sess.¡±

    His rtionship with the Peacock race wasn¡¯t bad, whether it was through Kong Nanwu or Kong Qing. However, while he¡¯d had a chance to meet the Little Golden Peng King in the garden previously, they were only acquaintances.

    The Second Empress was a bit hesitant, saying, ¡°I think it would be better if we didn¡¯t go to the Peacock Wise King.¡±

    ¡°Why is that?¡± Zu An asked, stunned.

    The Second Empress replied with a conflicted expression, ¡°When you seized back the Elf Princess, the crown prince changed his crown princess candidate to Kong Nanwu. Even though they haven¡¯t officially been wed, with that level of rtionship, they would definitely help the crown prince.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He had almost forgotten about that! Even though Kong Nanwu didn¡¯t like the crown prince and had escaped to the south, now that things had already been decided, once the crown prince became the emperor, she would be the new empress! The Peacock King race would naturally take that chance to rise to power. No matter how good their personal rtionship was, there was no way the Peacock Wise King would stand by his side.

    But during my bet with the crown prince, he lost the crown princess to me. That means Kong Nanwu should be mine¡­

    Zu An dismissed that thought as soon as it appeared. That gamble had just been used to piss off the Golden Crow Crown Prince; the Peacock Wise King¡¯s side definitely wouldn¡¯t admit to it. If the king hadn¡¯t gone mad, he would definitely help the Golden Crow Crown Prince sit on the imperial throne.

    Sigh, what a pity about Kong Nanwu though. A flower like her has no choice but to marry a pile of manure.

    He sorted out his thoughts, then walked out with the Second Empress. The women, who had been closely paying attention to the situation, sighed in relief when they saw that.

    However, Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen frowned. With their grandmaster cultivation, their memories were exceptional. The Second Empress¡¯ waistband wasn¡¯t tied the same way as before!

 Chapter 1495: Great Elf King

    Chapter 1495: Great Elf King

    They were actually doing that kind of thing in the room?

    The two women were shocked and furious. However, they couldn''t act up in front of so many people. They could only re at Zu An.

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue +222 +222 +222¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen +222 +222 +222¡­

    Yan Xuehen felt even angrier because she had even said he wasn¡¯t that kind of person in front of Yun Jianyue. And yet now, those words had immediatelye back to bite her.

    After Zu An emerged, he gathered everyone and shared what he and the Second Empress had just agreed on. Then, he said, ¡°Let¡¯s go and save the Great Elf King first. His prestige has always been high, so if he leaves, things will be much easier.¡±

    Qiao Xueying¡¯s eyes shone brightly. Ah Zu remembered my father all this time! He really is good to me.

    Zu An walked up to Lei Xin and Wu Cheng. He said coldly, ¡°I¡¯ll give you two a chance. If you bow down to the Second Empress and the young prince now, I¡¯ll make the two of you lords. Once the young prince ascends to the throne, you¡¯ll be dragons among subjects.¡±

    The two looked at each other in dismay. The young prince as the emperor? What kind of joke is this?!

    He¡¯s still so young! What right does he have to fight over the throne with the crown prince?

    Seeing that the two remained silent, Zu An said straightforwardly, ¡°If they aren¡¯t willing, just kill them.¡±

    ¡°Sounds good!¡± Yun Jianyue eximed. She had been angry to begin with. She immediately took out her Crescent Ring.

    When they sensed the thick killing intent in the air, Lei Xin and Wu Cheng were horrified. Why aren¡¯t you acting like a normal person? Shouldn¡¯t you have tried to move us first or rope us in?

    Then, we would act all reluctant, and you¡¯d give us even better conditions! How can you just skip immediately to killing?

    When they felt the Crescent Ring draw closer and closer to their necks, the two of them didn¡¯t dare to show any hesitation. They immediately got down on their knees and eximed, ¡°We are willing to take on her highness and the young prince as our masters! We will obey your orders.¡±

    They were helpless in the current situation. They nned to agree for now, then find a chance to runter.

    Zu An continued, ¡°Then let¡¯s start with some self-expression. Hmm¡­ There¡¯s nothing else we need you to do right now, so just curse the crown prince in front of everyone. Curse that his son won¡¯t have a butthole, that his daughters¡­¡±

    The women¡¯s faces heated up. This guy is really hateful! Just where did he learn all of these disgusting words from?

    Lei Xin and Wu Cheng were stupefied. They wanted to refuse, but when they saw the trembling Crescent Ring, they still chose to obey.

    ¡°I, Lei Xin, hope that the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s son will be born without a butthole, that his daughters¡­¡±

    ¡°I, Wu Cheng, hope¡­¡±

    The two shook in fear as they repeated those terrible words.

    The Golden Crow Guards looked at them as if they were dead people. There was no way their cursing of the crown prince could be hidden. In the future, even if they said they were forced to by Zu An, the crown prince would still carry a grudge and make them pay. Lei Xin and Wu Cheng both clearly understood that as well. They thought to themselves, Now that we¡¯ve fully offended the crown prince, we have no choice but to rely on the Second Prince now.

    As for the little prince, he¡¯s just a baby. How is he supposed to be a Fiend Emperor?

    That was why they didn¡¯t even consider it.

    However, immediately afterward, Zu An said, ¡°Right, repeat those curses against the Second Prince too. Same thing.¡±

    Lei Xin and Wu Cheng were bbergasted.

    Are you not going to give us any chance to live?!

    In the end, they could only repeat the curses out of helplessness. They could end up really suffering in the future by saying those things, but if they didn¡¯t, they would die right there and then. It wasn¡¯t that hard of a choice to make.

    ¡­

    After wrapping things up, Zu An and the Second Empress headed toward the Imperial Prison.

    Along the way, Zu An asked Lei Xin and Wu Cheng about the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s current ns. When he learned that the troops had been divided into four different groups, he couldn''t help but give the crown prince some credit. He didn¡¯t n on letting a single brother go! Even if the Fiend Emperor hadn¡¯t died, he might have just died from anger if he found out what happened.

    The group strutted straight into the Imperial Prison. The prison guards immediately acted as if they were facing a great enemy, pointing weapons at them and asking what they were doing.

    However, Zu An quickly pushed the Second Empress forward to let her take care of the situation. Sure enough, when they saw the Second Empress, the guards¡¯ attitudes improved a bit. Because of the Second Empress¡¯ beauty and unique charm, the soldiers all had good impressions of her.

    The Second Empress said gently, ¡°We came here to escort the Great Elf King out. I must trouble the hardworking men here to help us with this.¡±

    When they heard her gentle plea, the soldiers immediately felt as if they were melting. However, they were still quite troubled, responding, ¡°Your highness, his majesty issued the decree that unless he gave the order himself, the Great Elf King was not to leave this ce.¡±

    The Second Empress said, ¡°It was the Fiend Emperor who sent me to release the Great Elf King.¡±

    The soldiers were startled, asking, ¡°Does your highness have an Imperial Edict?¡±

    The Second Empress shook her head, but replied, ¡°Could it be that you think this empress is lying to you? Who in this world would dare to forge an Imperial Edict? If something happened, it would not be something this empress could shoulder on my own.¡±

    When they saw her getting angry, the guards didn¡¯t dare to say anything else. They all moved out of the way.

    Qiao Xueying couldn''t hold herself back anymore. She was the first to rush forward. Zu An was worried that something might happen to her and followed behind her. The Second Empress wanted to get the Great Elf King on her side, so she naturally followed along as well.

    After some hesitation, Yu Yanluo also went into the Imperial Prison. She had to go and meet the Great Elf King, whether because of his status as the Elf King or as Qiao Xueying¡¯s father. Meanwhile, Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue stayed outside to prevent Lei Xin and the others from misbehaving.

    The Great Elf King was locked up at the very bottom of the Imperial Prison. When Zu An saw him, he couldn''t help but sigh. This guy is damned handsome, almost at my level!

    He looks like the freaking elf prince from The Lord of the Rings! But of course, he looks much more mature.

    However, the Elf King had several thick stakes digging into his back, and he was surrounded by chains binding him to the walls.

    ¡°Dad!¡± Qiao Xueying called out, quickly rushing over.

    The Great Elf King was moved when he saw her. He wanted to hug his daughter, but he couldn''t move his body.

    Qiao Xueying eximed tearfully, ¡°The Fiend Emperor actually made you suffer so much!¡±

    Zu An took out the Poisonous Prick and cut the chains. He was about to remove the stakes when the Second Empress stopped him.

    ¡°These are Dragon Imprisoning Nails that can restrain even a giant dragon¡¯s powerful body. They have to be undone through a special method,¡± the Second Empress said while swiftly moving her hands in a special pattern, removing the stakes one by one. However, she was injured, making the process difficult. She soon found it hard to continue.

    The Great Elf King suddenly said, ¡°The Dragon Imprisoning Seal has already been undone. Your highness does not need to be troubled for the rest.¡±

    Afterward, he began to transfer his ki. His robes quickly surged, and the remaining three nails popped out from his back one by one, shooting into the walls to the side. The long Dragon Imprisoning Nails stabbed deep into the hard walls. It was easy to see just how powerful their impact was!

    Then, a powerful aura surged outward. Zu An sighed in amazement. As expected of one of the three elders of the Fiend Races! The Elf King¡¯s power was at least at the grandmaster rank.

    The Great Elf King bowed toward the Second Empress, saying, ¡°I greet the Second Empress. Has his majesty allowed me to leave?¡±

    The Second Empress shook her head. Qiao Xueying ran over, saying tearfully, ¡°It would be strange if the Fiend Emperor let you go. He¡¯s already dead.¡±

    ¡°The Fiend Emperor died?¡± the Great Elf King repeated, trembling. The explosive news was clearly hard for him to immediately take in.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An said, ¡°That¡¯s right. The Fiend Emperor died in an Unknown Region inside the Imperial Tomb. I personally witnessed it.¡±

    The Great Elf King looked at him in surprise, asking, ¡°This little brother is?¡±

    Previously, Zu An had easily cut the chains forged of cold steel surrounding him. He was definitely a capable individual.

    Qiao Xueying blushed, saying, ¡°Dad, he¡¯s the Zu An I told you about before.¡±

    ¡°That was you?¡± the Great Elf King asked, an extremely strange andplicated expression suddenly appearing on his face. He looked at Zu An as if he were feeding his family¡¯s pearls to swine.

    ¡°I greet the elder,¡± Zu An said, feeling a bit embarrassed. After all, he was taking the other man¡¯s daughter, so he felt a bit of guilt.

    The Second Empress said, ¡°The two of you should slowly get to know each otherter. Ah Zu, you should tell the Elf King about more pressing matters.¡±

    The Great Elf King was surprised. Judging from the Second Empress¡¯ tone, it seemed she favored him! Still, he just couldn''t figure out how these two had gotten acquainted with each other no matter how he thought about it!

 Chapter 1496: Most Handsome in the World

    <h4>Chapter 1496: Most Handsome in the World</h4>

    Zu An nodded. They were pressed for time, so he quickly exined the purpose of their visit.

    The Great Elf King initially gave the impression of being the quiet, handsome type. However, when he heard what Zu An said, his expression dramatically brightened. His ¡®cool, handsome older man¡¯ demeanor suddenly gave way to looking like a drama actor.

    ¡°So we are going to assist the young prince¡­¡± the Great Elf King trailed off after hearing the exnation, not expressing any strong opinion on the matter. Instead, he said to the Second Empress¡¯ group, ¡°Can I talk to Zu An alone for a bit?¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± the Second Empress replied. His reaction was within her expectations. She nodded toward the others, then walked away.

    The Great Elf King didn¡¯t feel any strong emotions when he saw her flirtatious smile or beautiful figure. The Elf Race didn¡¯tck handsome men and beautiful women, after all. It wasn¡¯t as stunning as what he saw when he looked in the mirror every morning.

    The others quickly followed the Second Empress into an outside room. Qiao Xueying wanted to stay behind, but the Great Elf King said, ¡°Snow, you should go as well.¡±

    Qiao Xueying jumped in fright, eximing, ¡°Dad, you can¡¯t bully Ah Zu!¡±

    The Great Elf King had grandmaster rank cultivation. It was still a bit dangerous for Zu An to be alone with him.

    The Great Elf King glowered.As expected, when a girl is of age, she must be married off.He replied, ¡°He just saved me. Is your dad the type of person who turns his back on his benefactors?¡±

    Qiao Xueyeing stuck out her tongue, then left while pouting. She kept looking back as she left; it was unclear whether it was because she hadn¡¯t seen her father for a long time, or because she didn¡¯t want to be separated from her lover again.

    When the others left, Zu An cupped his hands toward the Great Elf King and said, ¡°Respected uncle, I wonder what you want to talk to me about.¡±

    The Great Elf King coldly said, ¡°You have already tricked my daughter into bed, and yet you are still calling me uncle?¡±

    Zu An was speechless.Snow actually told her father about that?

    As if seeing through his thoughts, the Great Elf King said, ¡°Snow shared half of her lifespan with you, and as the Elf King, I naturally know the conditions needed for that to happen. Since ancient times, not many elves have been willing to give up half of their life to use that skill. I initially thought that she must have found the most excellent young man in the entire world¡­¡± He trailed off as he inspected Zu An closely, before continuing, ¡°But now that I look at you, you don¡¯t seem like anything special.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    The Great Elf King then said, ¡°Forget it. Even though you are pretty ordinary, you are better looking than most of the other ugly bastards out there. If Snow has already shared half her lifespan with you, you are probably not that bad. I trust my daughter¡¯s judgment.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, father-inw,¡± Zu An said, sighing in relief.I guess this issue has finally been dealt with. As expected, no matter what world it is, meeting your girlfriend¡¯s parents isn¡¯t an easy matter.

    The Great Elf King¡¯s eyelids twitched when he heard Zu An call him ¡®father-inw¡¯. He replied, ¡°You have not officially wed yet. Just call me uncle for now.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.Didn¡¯t you justin about me calling you that?

    ¡°We can talk about you and Snowter,¡± the Great Elf King said, his expression suddenly turning serious. He continued, ¡°You said you were going to support the young prince. Were you serious?¡±

    When he saw Zu An nod, he raised his voice somewhat, continuing, ¡°That is not a wise choice. The prince is still so young; how can he be the Fiend Emperor? Asking me to gather the entire Elf race for this cause is practically the same as asking them all to perish.¡±

    Zu An exined, ¡°The Golden Crow Crown Prince and I share a grudge that can¡¯t be resolved. If he bes the Fiend Emperor, he¡¯ll never let me go. Simrly, it would be unfavorable for your Elf Race.¡±

    The Great Elf King knew about the Golden Crow Crown Prince pursuing his daughter. Many people had advised him to agree to it, because it would bring tremendous glory. If Snow became the empress, the Elf race would share in her glory and rise above the other two king races.

    However, he alone knew that Snow had already shared half of her life with another man, and that she wasn¡¯t a virgin anymore. If she married into the royal family, it would be impossible to hide that fact. At that point, it wouldn¡¯t be a blessing for the Elf race, but rather a disaster.

    That was why he hadn¡¯t agreed to the marriage from the start. The ¡®Half-Life Destiny¡¯ was the Elf King race¡¯s greatest secret, so he couldn''t talk about it either. The Fiend Emperor had just taken it as a challenge to his authority and found a pretext to throw him into prison.

    However, even if he didn¡¯t support the crown prince, it didn¡¯t mean he absolutely had to support the Second Empress and her son.

    Zu An exined his reasoning and added, ¡°Supporting the young prince was because I had no other choice. Furthermore, the youngest prince¡¯s age is both a disadvantage as well as an advantage!¡±

    ¡°Advantage?¡± the Great Elf King asked with a frown. ¡°I cannot see any advantages.¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°If a young emperor rose to the throne, he would have to rely on the assistance of virtuous and wise elder ministers. At that time, who else would be more suited to that role than you?¡±

    The Great Elf King said with a hint of dissatisfaction, ¡°Working with the court¡¯s politics would only make me grow wrinkles faster and ruin my stunning features.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He really hadn¡¯t expected the Elf King to give that kind of reply! Even at the other man¡¯s age, he was still a freaking narcissist?!

    He could only approach the situation from a different angle and say, ¡°Respected uncle, even if you don¡¯t care much about political power, you must consider the interests of the Elf race! I don¡¯t believe you would be willing to be thrown into prison again, causing the entire Elf race to suffer instability, right?¡±

    Seeing as the Elf King still seemed rather indifferent, Zu An thought of something and said, ¡°Furthermore, if you really be the most powerful minister in the Fiend races, together with your mighty cultivation, you¡¯ll have the entire Fiend race territory to supply you with the treasures you need. You can even search the treasury of the Imperial Pce, and you¡¯ll be the first to enjoy the precious items traded from the human side. There are many skin care products that have miraculous effects, you know?¡±

    The Great Elf King¡¯s eyes lit up when he heard that. He said, ¡°Hm, I must indeed consider things for the Elf race. Then we will support the youngest prince.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He seemed to have found some way of dealing with this narcissistic father-inw of his.

    The two of them walked out while chatting with each other joyfully. When she saw their smiles, the nervous Second Empress sighed in relief. At the same time, she was curious as to just how the normally aloof and proud Great Elf King had ended up bing sofortable with Zu An. Just how had Zu An done it? After all, this matter was of vital importance. Even if he had a close rtionship with the Elf Princess, the Great Elf King wouldn¡¯t be convinced so easily, right?

    I have to properly thank Zu An afterward. He¡¯s helped me so much.

    When he emerged, the Great Elf King¡¯s eyesnded on Yu Yanluo. He eximed in surprise, ¡°Hm? How extremely beautiful. Could this be the new Medusa Queen?¡±

    Yu Yanluo nodded with a smile, saying, ¡°I greet the Great Elf King.¡±

    The Great Elf King sighed and remarked, ¡°You really look like your mother. Your mother was one of the very few whom I felt was as beautiful as myself.¡±

    The others present were speechless.

    Qiao Xueying was stupefied.Was my dad also a pursuer of Yu Yanluo¡¯s mother?

    Ah, that¡¯s so freaking embarrassing!n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Fortunately, the Great Elf King quickly recovered from his daze and said to the Second Empress, ¡°I n to sort things out back in the n first. That will take a bit of time. Try to see if you can rope in some more forces. Our two ns alone might not be enough to affect the current Fiend King Court¡¯s situation.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Great Elf King!¡± the Second Empress replied with a nod. Inwardly, however, she felt quite hard-pressed. Who could she even rope in now?

    Her eyes shifted to Zu An. When she saw his confident appearance, her anxious heart gradually calmed a bit.

    ¡°Snow, follow dad back. Dad needs your help.¡± the Great Elf King said, waving toward Qiao Xueying. He had been locked in the Imperial Prison for so long and didn¡¯t know the recent developments in the n. He needed his daughter by his side.

    Qiao Xueying was a bit unwilling to separate from her lover, but she knew how important the situation was. She could only reluctantly follow her father.

    After they exited through the Imperial Prison¡¯s gate, the Great Elf King was stunned to see Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue. He eximed, ¡°Huh? The human race actually had beautiesparable to us Elves? Snow, are you not embarrassed?¡±

    Qiao Xueying was stunned, asking, ¡°What does this have to do with me?¡±

    ¡°Elves were a bit more beautiful than other races to begin with, and you had the world¡¯s most handsome man as your father, and yet your appearance is only on par with them. This really does leave your father a bit ashamed!¡± the Great Elf King remarked in dissatisfaction.

    When she saw Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue look at him as if they were looking at someone with mental deficiencies, Qiao Xueying covered her face. She really wanted to say ¡®I don¡¯t know this man!¡¯

    Favorite

 Chapter 1497: New Ally

    Chapter 1497: New Ally

    After the Great Elf King left with Qiao Xueying, Zu An¡¯s group separated into two. Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue stayed behind to monitor Lei Xin and Wu Cheng, while Zu An headed to Golden Peng Manor with the Second Empress and Yu Yanluo.

    The Peacock Wise King¡¯s daughter Kong Nanwu had be the Crown Princess, so they were naturally allied with the Crown Prince. He couldn''t really ask for their help. However, the death of the Little Golden Peng King¡¯s father had a high chance of being rted to the Fiend Emperor. Their faction definitely carried some resentment toward the crown prince, so there was a chance of roping them in.

    Along the way, Zu An carried the young prince. The young prince was a bit ufortable with calling a stranger his adoptive father at first and didn¡¯t let Zu An carry him at all, but after a while, he felt that Zu An wasn¡¯t all that scary, and he was pretty good-looking.

    With the Second Empress¡¯ encouragement, he reluctantly epted Zu An. Because he had been scared badly the entire night, he unknowingly fell asleep in Zu An¡¯s broad and sturdy arms.

    When she saw her son¡¯s sleeping face pressed up against Zu An¡¯s shoulder, the Second Empress felt warm inside. Normally, my son isn¡¯t close to anyone but me; I didn¡¯t expect him to be so close to Zu An already. Most importantly, Zu An is treating him well too, and doesn¡¯t seem impatient at all. Is this heaven¡¯s will?

    Yu Yanluo was a bit jealous when she saw that. She thought, Ah Zu seems to like this child quite a bit. I should give birth to a child for him too.

    Her face began to heat up when she thought about their intimate rtionship. However, she quickly realized that with the Medusa¡¯s bloodline, she could only give birth to a daughter. She wouldn¡¯t necessarily be able to give him a son¡­ She couldn''t help but feel a bit of regret when she thought of that.

    The group quickly arrived at Golden Peng Manor. Upon seeing the Second Empress, the guard stationed outside was shocked and moved. When he learned that she wanted to meet the Little Golden Peng King, he enthusiastically rushed over to make the report, as if doing it faster would leave the Second Empress with a better impression.

    Zu An couldn''t help but remark, ¡°Your highness really is charming.¡±

    ¡°But unfortunately, a certain someone is not even willing to take a second look,¡± the Second Empress replied quietly.

    Zu An knew she was still a bit bitter about what had happened in the bedroom. He smiled and didn¡¯t exin himself.

    However, Yu Yanluo had a strange expression. Her eyes darted between the two of them, wondering if she had missed something.

    Soon afterward, the guard came back and said apologetically, ¡°Your highness, our young master went to the city outskirts to go hunting. He is in a vi outside of the city and has not returned yet.¡±

    ¡°He left the city to go hunting?¡± the Second Empress repeated, her beautiful brows furrowing.

    ¡°Yes,¡± the guard replied. He couldn''t help but lower his head when he sensed her disappointment, as if he felt upset that he couldn''t help her with her worries.

    Zu An chuckled. He stopped the Second Empress from saying anything else and pulled her away.

    The guards at the gate widened their eyes when they saw that. Who is that man? Why is he pulling the Second Empress so casually like that? More importantly, it looks as if the Second Empress is used to this.

    Don¡¯t tell us he¡¯s a pce eunuch? But he¡¯s acting so carefree! What eunuch acts like that?

    ¡­

    Zu An¡¯s group wasn¡¯t in the mood to attend to the guards¡¯ thoughts.

    However, the Second Empress couldn''t help but grumble, ¡°Why are you pulling me away? They¡¯re clearly lying!¡± As a woman with feelings toward a man, especially a man she admired, it was easy to see what they were thinking.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°That¡¯s true, but do you think that they would dare make up this kind of lie on their own?¡±

    ¡°Are you saying this was the Little Golden Peng King¡¯s idea?¡± the Second Empress asked in surprise. She was intelligent too, after all. Previously, it was only because she really wanted to rope in the Little Golden Peng King that she had overlooked that possibility.

    Zu An nodded and replied, ¡°It¡¯s probably because the Little Golden Peng King saw the chaotic situation and guessed our intentions. He doesn¡¯t wish to get involved in this matter, so he found an excuse to send us away.¡±

    ¡°Things will be troublesome if he isn¡¯t willing to join us,¡± the Second Empress said, sounding a bit worried.

    Yu Yanluo said, ¡°That might not necessarily be a bad thing. That means the Little Golden Peng King hasn¡¯t sided with the Crown Prince or the Second Prince. Otherwise, they would have already joined the conflict and used this chance to capture us while we were alone. The fact that he chose to remain neutral in this situation is actually favorable for us.¡±

    The Second Empress¡¯ eyes lit up. She couldn''t help but give Yu Yanluo a few more looks. She had thought that the beautiful Medusa Queen was just a pretty flower vase. She hadn¡¯t expected the woman to actually be so knowledgeable!

    ¡°What Ah Luo says is right. Not siding with either one of them is already the biggest help. His position is special, and we aren¡¯t all that close to him. Sticking around over there would just be a waste of time,¡± Zu An said.

    ¡°Ah Luo?¡± the Second Empress murmured to herself. When she heard the form of address Zu An used, she couldn¡¯t help but think, That really is too intimate. The two¡¯s affection for each other is much deeper than I thought.

    Yu Yanluo muttered, ¡°It¡¯s a pity that the Little Golden Peng King doesn¡¯t have any sisters, or else Ah Zu might have had a way.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    The Second Empress couldn''t help but smile. She knew that Yu Yanluo was hinting at his rtionship with the Elf Princess. At the same time, she was curious just what Zu An had done to convince so many beautiful women to stay around him.

    ¡­

    Soon afterward, their group arrived at the Ocean races¡¯ residence. This time, it was different from the Little Golden Peng King¡¯s reception, and they were quickly invited inside.

    Chi Wen ran all the way over to greet them, but of course, he ignored Zu An, the only man. His eyes werepletely focused on Yu Yanluo and the Second Empress. However, when he recalled the strength of Zu An¡¯s fist, he still tactfully shifted his eyes away from Yu Yanluo¡¯s body.

    Hmph, the Medusa Queen is your woman, but I can look at the Second Empress all I want, right?

    In the past, he could only admire the Second Empress from a distance. Now that she was up close, his eyes were wide open and extremely enthusiastic. He was at her every beck and call, introducing everything and trying to get closer.

    The Second Empress responded respectfully. She experienced such things often and didn¡¯t find dealing with it too hard at all. In contrast, Zu An giving her the cold shoulder was what left her feeling awkward.

    They quickly arrived at the guest hall. There was a familiar, beautiful figure in the room, filling the area with a sense of peace.

    Today, Shang Liuyu was representing all the Ocean races, which was why she was dressed in a luxurious and wide-sleeved dress rather than her usual white silk dress. Her outfit¡¯s material was made from extremely precious ck Glimmer Beast scales, as well as the silk of the Rainbow Frost Silkworm. It was also decorated with beautiful coral pieces that had sparkling pearls embedded inside.

    Meanwhile, the guest hall wasn¡¯t illuminated by fire the way it would be in other ns, but rather a massive luminescent pearl. The gentle light it cast over her body made her seem even more alluring.

    The current Shang Liuyu was no longer the willful and carefree woman from Brightmoon Academy, but rather the Ocean races¡¯ respected princess. Of course, the only things that remained the same were her spotlessly white bare feet. Their graceful, natural arcs made even her extravagant dress pale a bit inparison.

    When she saw Zu An, a faint smile appeared on Shang Liuyu¡¯s face. However, when she saw the child Zu An was carrying, her smile instantly froze. Her first reaction was, His child is already so big?

    When she recognized that it was the young prince, she sighed in relief. She suppressed her curiosity and said with a smile, ¡°You aren¡¯t someone who would die easily after all. But if you were no longer in this world, it would be much duller.¡±

    The Second Empress was a bit shocked. The first reason was that she was the glorious Second Empress, and yet she wasn¡¯t the first one Shang Liuyu greeted. The second reason was that judging from her tone, Shang Liuyu¡¯s rtionship with Zu An seemed even closer than her intelligence had stated.

    Zu An sighed and said, ¡°I was supposed to die, and I even met the king of hell, but when he heard that I had one greatest regret, which was that I couldn''t see big sis Shang anymore, he let me go.¡±

    When Chi Wen heard that while sneaking looks at the Second Empress, his mouth couldn''t help but turn crooked. This guy Zu An won¡¯t really be my brother-inw, will he? But his way of flirting is really messed up. It¡¯d only be able to fool naive little girls. My aunt is so wise and hates slick-mouthed people. There¡¯s no way she¡¯ll tolerate this.

    However, Shang Liuyu had an ambiguous smile as she replied, ¡°Look at you, you¡¯re always speaking so confidently. Then now that you¡¯ve seen me, perhaps it¡¯s time for you to return to the king of hell?¡±

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°The king of hell has also known of the Mermaid Princess¡¯ beauty for a long time, but he never had the chance to meet you. As such, he gave me a mirror and allowed me to remain in this world of the living for a few more years. That way, I can make a few more memories of the Mermaid Princess before going back.¡±

    He then took out King Qin¡¯s Mirror of Souls, as if to prove what he had said. However, when he saw the reflection, his face immediately turned red and he put it away. He almost forgot that the mirror now had special skills. My bad¡­

    Shang Liuyu didn¡¯t know that she had been taken advantage of. On the contrary, sheughed so hard her entire body shook, saying, ¡°It¡¯s been a while, but you¡¯re still the same.¡±

    Chi Wen was instantly stunned when he saw herugh so happily without any intention of scolding Zu An. Little Aunt, this isn¡¯t like you at all! I always get scolded whenever I flirt with women like this; why is it that you suddenly can¡¯t see through his schemes?

    The Second Empress¡¯ expression was also strange. She suddenly recalled Yu Yanluo¡¯s earlier roast and immediately felt a bit of regret. Why didn¡¯t the Little Golden Peng King have any sisters? Additionally, she suddenly gained a lot of confidence in the sess of their trip.

    Shagn Liuyu and Zu An teased each other for a bit longer; then, she nodded toward Yu Yanluo. Finally, she turned to the Second Empress and said, ¡°Your highness has visited at such ate time. There must be a reason for your visit.¡±

    The Second Empress cursed inwardly, So you finally remembered me! However, she still gave a rough ount of her visit¡¯s purpose. Chi Wen¡¯s expression changed greatly when he heard that; he was clearly shocked.

    In contrast, Shang Liuyu seemed to have seen iting. She replied, ¡°Your highness, to be honest, if not for Ah Zu, I wouldn¡¯t have even opened the door for you today.¡±

 Chapter 1498: Stopped

    Chapter 1498: Stopped

    The Second Empress was shocked. She hadn¡¯t expected Shang Liuyu to be so ruthless. Sheughed inwardly in self-ridicule. She had been the glorious Fiend Empress, and yet now that the Fiend Emperor had died, she had nothing left.

    Of course, that was just a thought. She quickly recognized the reality of the situation and didn¡¯t continue to throw around her weight as the empress. After all, she was the one who hade to ask for help today. Furthermore, Shang Liuyu¡¯s willingness to meet them because of Zu An was already a good start.

    However, now that she thought about it, Zu An really was close to a lot of people. Shang Liuyu had clearly said that so she would recognize the need to be grateful to Zu An. Just what kind of rtionship did he have with this mermaid princess, that she was willing to go so far?

    The Second Empress sorted out her thoughts, then told Shang Liuyu about the reason behind her visit. Before the princess could refuse, she took the initiative to propose some favorable conditions.

    Sure enough, Shang Liuyu didn¡¯t immediately refuse; instead, she merely pretended to be concerned, using it as a pretext to ask for more benefits for the Ocean races. However, the Second Empress was no pushover either, so there was no way she would yield blindly.

    Zu An was stupefied as he watched them. These two delicate and pretty women were actually so fierce in their war of words! Their way of speaking really was fierce and direct. They even proposed conditions that couldn¡¯t possibly be eptable to the other. He thought one side would just storm off in anger, but instead, they slowly negotiated and gradually showed signs of reaching an agreement.

    Chi Wen was eager to give it a try too. His eyes continued to wander across the Second Empress¡¯ stunning face and figure. In the end, he couldn''t help but say, ¡°I want to raise a condition! I want¡­¡±

    Before he could even finish his sentence, Shang Liuyu shot him a look and snapped ¡°Get out!¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Chi Wen moved quietly and dejectedly toward a corner, pretending to be invisible again. He had been scared of his little aunt ever since he was little. Even though she was ridiculously beautiful, she never hesitated to actually beat him up, leaving him deeply traumatized.

    Yu Yanluo was a bit worried to see what was happening. None of the beauties around Ah Zu¡¯s side were easy to deal with! What were they supposed to do if they didn¡¯t get along and fought with each other?

    Hmph, I can seek out Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue for help in the future. We¡¯ve all gone through so much in the Unknown Region and are already really close.

    If Shang Liuyu wanted to pressure her with the Ocean races¡¯ power, she would be more inclined to seek out Yan Xuehen. After all, Yun Jianyue was a bit too violent.

    With the friendship we developed along the way, she should help me, right?

    Shang Liuyu and the Second Empress¡¯ negotiation eventually reached a conclusion. The Second Empress granted the Ocean races all sorts of favorable conditions in return for the Ocean races¡¯ support of the youngest prince ascending to the throne. Shang Liuyu was very satisfied. She had obtained many benefits that would normally be impossible for the Ocean races to gain.

    Meanwhile, the Second Empress was also satisfied. Even though the Ocean races¡¯ forces in the Fiend King Court weren¡¯t too powerful, their strength among the Fiend races overall couldn¡¯t be overlooked. Things would be much less difficult now that she had their support.

    As for all the things she had to give up, it was just an empty check for now. After all, her son still hadn¡¯t obtained the throne yet, and none of those things were theirs to begin with. They couldn¡¯t consider public assets their own property, could they? If she could gain the imperial throne, she felt the price would be worth it.

    Then, Shang Liuyu expressed her sincerity and had Chi Wen gather the Ocean races¡¯ forces in the Fiend King Court so they could lend the Second Empress a helping hand. As for herself, she wouldn¡¯t personally make an appearance. The first reason was that she had always preferred peace and quiet. She didn¡¯t like to participate in such matters.

    The second reason was to ensure her own safety. If the youngest prince¡¯s side lost tonight, she could still push the me onto Chi Wen. After all, he was known to be a famous hedonistic son and it wouldn¡¯t be strange for him to do something like that. That way, if another prince rose to the throne, it couldn''t be med on the Ocean races.

    Of course, Chi Wen had absolutely no idea that he was being used as a scapegoat like that. When he heard that he was tasked to help the Second Empress, he happily left to gather their men.

    ¡­

    Zu An then took the Second Empress and Yu Yanluo to the Demon race¡¯s residence. With Princess Suolun as their mediator, they were able to smoothly meet with the Demon race¡¯s representative in the Fiend King Court. Simr to the Ocean race encounter, the Second Empress and the Demon race¡¯s people haggled back and forth.

    It was clear that the Demon race wasn¡¯t willing to join their side, and they didn¡¯t want to support the youngest prince. However, they really couldn''t withstand the sheer amount of benefits the Second Empress was offering them¡­

    In the end, after giving them a ton of benefits, the Second Empress was able to sessfully recruit them. Just like the Ocean races, the agreement was only to allow Princess Suolun to bring some of her subordinates with her. That way, even if something happened, the me would just fall on Princess Suolun, and they could im it was because she and Zu An had a deep personal friendship. That would be her own personal action, unrted to the Demon race.

    The Second Empress cursed them for being wily old foxes, but she knew that the fact that they could reach such an agreement was already quite good.

    When they emerged from the Demon race¡¯s residence, the Second Empress looked at Zu An with a smile, asking, ¡°Are there any other little sisters you are close to? Should we make another trip?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression darkened. He replied, ¡°What in the world are you saying? There aren¡¯t that many of them.¡±

    The Second Empress said, ¡°I am not teasing you. I am being serious. I realized that as long as there is a woman you are close to, that faction will basically agree.¡± She then gave Yu Yanluo a look.

    Yu Yanluo thought, What are you looking at me for?

    The Second Empress said with a smile, ¡°Little sister Yu, we were in such a rush that I have not had time to talk to you yet. I am grateful for your support in this situation too. If we seed, I will definitely help you restore the Snake race to its former glory.¡±

    In the past, the Snake race had been a powerful n among the Fiend races. Unfortunately, after the Medusa Queen disappeared, the entire Snake race had ended up in a poor situation.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s eyes lit up. Even though she knew the Second Empress was just trying to buy her good intentions, she still couldn''t help but feel happy. After all, the Snake race¡¯s power among the King races was already negligible. She was the only one who could pull weight. The Second Empress¡¯ promise was already extremely generous.

    Even though she knew the empress was only doing it to rope in Zu An, she still expressed her thanks. The two of them immediately started acting more familiar. They even began to chat while holding hands as if they had already been close friends for many years.

    Zu An clicked his tongue distastefully. Women always became friends quickly, but didn¡¯t they also leave each other quickly?

    ¡­

    Then, the group joined up with other forces. The Elf King had also gathered his forces, but the ones who led the troops were Qiao Xueying and Qiao Heng, whom Zu An was close to. The Great Elf King didn¡¯t show himself.

    After they returned and talked things over, the Elf race¡¯s elders hadn¡¯t agreed to that risk. Their line of thinking was simr to that of the Ocean races. The Demon race was the same and adopted simr ns of action.

    The Second Empress couldn''t help but feel slightly disappointed when she saw that the Great Elf King hadn¡¯t arrived. After all, this was a crucial moment. Having someone powerful on their side could be the deciding factor between victory and defeat.

    When he saw her concern, Zu An consoled her, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m here.¡±

    The Second Empress forced a smile. She was confused about why he had so much confidence; he was just a master rank cultivator. He wouldn¡¯t necessarily be able to affect the situation much.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The Second Empress¡¯ Xiao n had also rushed over when they received the news. Together with the Demon race and Ocean races¡¯ troops, as well as the Golden Crow Guards led by Lei Xin and Wu Cheng, they marched straight toward the Imperial Pce.

    Regardless of the dynasty, the Imperial Pce would always be a powerful symbol of political significance. As long as one controlled the Imperial Pce, one would practically have won half the war already.

    With the Second Empress¡¯ identity, they had a justification to carry out their n. Thus, the group ughtered their way up to the Imperial Pce¡¯s gates.

    However, they were quickly stopped by a group of soldiers. The Imperial Pce was the crown prince¡¯s territory. How could they let others defile this ce?

    The Second Empress walked forward and called out, ¡°Am I not allowed to return to the Imperial Pce either?¡±

    ¡°The crown prince has ordered that no individuals without assigned tasks are to enter the pce,¡± a soldier refused in a robotic tone.

    ¡°What crown prince? You need to call him his majesty now,¡± a loud and clear voice called out.

    Zu An frowned. The voice was a bit familiar.

    A tall and sturdy figure appeared at the top of the wall, and behind him were some familiar people. The ones behind him were the Lion race¡¯s princes, Shi Min, Shi Gong, and Shi Rong; the man in front was naturally the Lion King Shi Zhentian.

    Arge group of Lion race warriors followed behind them, aiming their crossbows at the group and the Golden Crow Guards outside.

    The Second Empress¡¯ expression changed. She eximed, ¡°Shi Zhentian, are you rebelling against the nation?¡±

    ¡°The one who is rebelling is you!¡± Shi Zhentian sneered. ¡°The new Fiend Emperor has already nominated and appointed me to the Imperial Pce defenses. Did you lead all these people here to start a rebellion?¡±

    As they looked at Zu An, Shi Min and the other princes¡¯ eyes were filled with cold smiles. Who cares if you win in the beginning? Aren¡¯t we the ones who will have thestugh? Just wait and see how we¡¯ll deal with you!

 Chapter 1499: Crazy Taunting

    Chapter 1499: Crazy Taunting

    ¡°New Fiend Emperor?¡± the Second Empress replied, glowering. ¡°There is only one Fiend Emperor in this world; where did this ¡®new Fiend Emperor¡¯e from?!¡±

    Even though she had already learned of the Fiend Emperor¡¯s death from Zu An, her legitimacy and authority all came from the Fiend Emperor, so she was naturally unwilling to admit that he had died.

    The soldiers of the various forces under theirmand were all a bit shaken up when they heard that the Fiend Emperor had already died. After all, the Fiend Emperor was the spiritual backbone of the Fiend races. Those normal soldiers only calmed down after hearing the Second Empress¡¯ refutation. After all, regardless of which side they were on. all ordinary soldiers needed something to believe in.

    The Crown Prince¡¯s faction naturally supported the royal family. If other people were starting a rebellion, they had to follow the Crown Prince in quelling the disaster. Meanwhile, the Second Empress¡¯ side believed that the Crown Prince was conspiring to do evil, so they had to deal with the matter for the Fiend Emperor and the Second Empress. Both sides believed they were standing on the side of righteousness. That was how they maintained morale.

    Shi Zhentian said coldly, ¡°Your highness, everything was going quite well for you. Once the morning court began tomorrow and the Crown Prince officially ascended to the throne, you would be respected as the Empress Dowager. But you just had to do what you absolutely should not have done, and got involved in some things you absolutely should not have gotten involved in.¡±

    Even though his tone was absolutely ruthless, Shi Zhentian secretly observed the empress. He thought, This woman really is freaking beautiful!

    She had been the glorious Second Empress whom no one dared to touch. But now that thete emperor had died and she had joined a rebellion, there was no way for her to serve as the Empress Dowager anymore. The Crown Prince wouldn¡¯t tolerate her.

    If he arrested her and took her back to the Lion race¡¯s territory, wouldn¡¯t he be able to enjoy the Fiend Emperor¡¯s joy everyday? When he thought of that, he immediately felt some heat down there that could erupt at any moment.

    The Lion race naturally had a high libido. Every single powerful lion had a huge harem. In their opinion, the stronger a man was, the more beautiful women they should possess. That was merely a matter of course.

    Shi Min and the others sensed their father¡¯s intentions. They felt that someone with a status as respectable as the Second Empress wasn¡¯t someone they could even think about. Even the Medusa Queen was out of their reach. Apart from her incredible reputation, she could be someone the Crown Prince or another great figure would want.

    There was also the Elf Princess who had almost be the Crown Princess. Even though that hadn¡¯t ended up happening, who knew what kind of thoughts the Crown Prince had toward her? Who would dare touch someone like that?

    Still, there were other women at Zu An¡¯s side, especially the one that looked like a block of ice; subduing her would definitely bring them an incredible feeling of achievement.

    There was also an incredibly beautiful woman who was full of killing intent. Could she be from the Cow race? She also gave off a proud and haughty air that really made one¡¯s desires go crazy!

    Furthermore, as soon as they thought about how each and every one of the women was at Zu An¡¯s side, the princes all felt an even stronger urge to obtain those women. After all, they had suffered quite badly because of Zu An.

    A loudugh emerged from some distance away as someone called out, ¡°Hahaha, why is it so lively here?¡±

    Then, another group arrived in the area The one in the lead was tall and strong. His body was covered in colorful patterns, and there was a Íõ character on his forehead. Just one look was enough to identify him as the Tiger King Hu Qianxiao.

    Surprisingly, he didn¡¯t have any Tiger race princes behind him; it was unknown what they were up to. However, the warriors around him all had fierce expressions and powerful auras. They were all strong cultivators.

    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Shi Zhentian asked. He couldn''t help but frown when he saw Hu Qianxiao. The two races had always hated each other, so they naturally didn¡¯t like seeing the other side.

    ¡°What else? I was scared that you wouldn¡¯t be able to properly protect the Imperial Pce, so I came to help you out,¡± Hu Qianxiao replied with augh. At the same time, he scanned the surroundings with his eyes. When he saw the Second Empress and the forces around her, he suddenly began to think to himself.

    ¡°What a joke! Does this king need your help?¡± Shi Zhentian sneered.

    ¡­

    Suddenly, a loud noise came from the distance, apanied by terrifying energy. Those present all turned toward the source of the sound. Many of them were shaken up. This was the energy of a battle between grandmasters, and it wasn¡¯t just one or two!

    The source of the noise seemed toe from the Second Prince¡¯s manor. The Crown Prince and the Second Prince¡¯s battle on that side must have reached its climax.

    Hu Qianxiao frowned. The Crown Prince had led his men to ambush the Second Prince, and that sort of situation shouldn¡¯t have been the case. How did the Second Prince¡¯s side have such strong forces?

    Zu An said just then, ¡°Stop wasting our time. Either repent for the error of your ways and swear loyalty to the Second Empress and the youngest prince, or suffer execution. Stop blocking the way here.¡±

    The Second Empress¡¯ beautiful face contorted. Wasn¡¯t this going way too far? Shi Zhentian and Hu Qianxiao were both grandmasters who had been famous for a long time. They were well known for their strength. Furthermore, the Lion race and Tiger race had so many powerful individuals. They didn¡¯t have a good chance of victory if a fight really broke out.

    Forget about her, even the Ocean races¡¯ and Demon race¡¯s people frowned. They thought, Why are we following someone so brainless this time? Did we make the wrong choice?

    Chi Wen had a huge smile as he thought, Heh, this kid is courting death! The Lion and Tiger Kings should just kill him. That way, the Medusa Queen will end up grieving, and I¡¯ll have a chance to get closer to her.

    But that means we¡¯ll be in danger too¡­ I won¡¯t be able to help the Second Empress be the ruler.

    When he thought about how sad the Second Empress would be, Chi Wen hesitated.

    Sigh, I¡¯m good at everything, but I just have too much love for the world. I can¡¯t bear to see women suffer.

    Meanwhile, Qiao Xueying¡¯s eyes shone as she looked at Zu An. She had absolute confidence in him. The two of them had even fought against such a terrifying being in the secret dungeon. Who cared about the Lion and Tiger Kings?

    On the other side, Hu Qianxiao¡¯s face darkened. Shi Zhentian was even more furious.

    ¡°How brazen!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Zhentian for +444 +444 +444¡­n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    You have sessfully trolled Hu Qianxiao for +222 +222 +222¡­

    Shi Min and the other princes were full of curses. They hadn¡¯t expected this at all! It was fine if Zu An treated them as his opponents, and yet he dared to provoke their father!

    ¡°Noisy!¡± Zu An harrumphed. His powerful voice spread in all directions, causing many of the soldiers on the walls to fall off. Even Shi Min and the others felt their energies stir. They were horrified.

    Shi Zhentian¡¯s expression changed. He eximed, ¡°The Lion¡¯s Roar Skill? When did you steal my n¡¯s Lion¡¯s Roar Skill?!¡±

    He was naturally able to tell that Zu An had used the Lion¡¯s Roar skill to release his sound wave attack.

    Zu An replied indifferently, ¡°That shoddy method of yours? I learned it from just a nce.¡±

    Off to the side, Yun Jianyue had a strange expression as she thought, This punk really is good at taunting others.

    ¡°This old one is going to kill you!¡± Shi Zhentian eximed, unable to hold himself back.

    He leaped down from the pce gate and pounced toward Zu An, brandishing his fist as he approached. A giant golden lion projection appeared, roaring as it charged at Zu An. The difference in their sizes made it seem as if it could devour Zu An in a single bite.

    It was the Lion race¡¯s ultimate skill: Mad Lion¡¯s Hegemon Fist!

    However, Zu An didn¡¯t move. A streak of sword energy that was as bright as snow suddenly appeared from the side, surrounded by fine snow. Yan Xuehen had used her Snowke Sword! The sharp sword energy scattered the powerful golden lion.

    Yun Jianyue was stunned. Isn¡¯t this stone cold woman usually ice-cold to everyone? But she seems to care quite a bit about Zu An.

    Still, with how energetic she is, it¡¯s starting to make my value drop! We honorable grandmasters now seem as if we¡¯ve be his bodyguards or something.

    ¡°Grandmaster rank!¡± Shi Zhentian spat, his eyes narrowing. He hadn¡¯t expected this ice-cold woman to actually be a grandmaster! After all, he had seen these two fight at the All Races General Assembly. Even though the way they had fought was quite ingenious, their auras hadn¡¯t even reached the level of master rank.

    He didn¡¯t have time to think more about it, though. A fight quickly broke out between the two of them.

    Shi Min and the others looked at each other in dismay. They had mysteriously lost to the two women at the General Assembly. Back then, they had felt really ashamed, not knowing what happened. Now, it seemed their loss wasn¡¯t so bad at all! Oddly, they felt a bit happier when they thought of that.

    When the Second Empress saw that, she ordered her subordinates to attack the pce gates. They had to seize the chance to enter the Imperial Pce. She had trusted aides who would support her inside.

    Chi Wen screamed as he charged at the forefront. Now that the grandmaster wasn¡¯t fighting anymore, he, the powerful Dragon race prince, was naturally unstoppable. He wanted to show off as much as possible in front of the Second Empress. Who knows, she might even dream of me at night.

    However, he discovered that a streak of moonlight moved even faster than him.

    Huh?

    Why did the moon suddenly appear in front of the pce gates?

    Only then did he see a beautiful figure standing in front of him. The Crescent Ring in her hands smashed down on the pce gates. Even though the defensive formations flickered and held, a corner still copsed.

    Chi Wen was speechless. That guy Zu An¡¯s women are all so strong! Is he not scared that if they stiffen up their legs, his thing might just break?

    The Second Empress¡¯ side immediately received a huge morale boost. The Xiao n¡¯s private army took the lead and charged forth. Lei Xin and Wu Cheng exchanged a look. They had no way out now, so they could only lead the Golden Crow Guards under them and brace themselves. The Elf, Demon, and Ocean races¡¯ people swiftly followed.

    The impact of their simultaneous charge was too great. The Lion race¡¯s defensive line was almost instantly broken through. Under the circumstances, it could just break apart entirely.

    Hu Qianxiao cursed the Lion race for being useless. He couldn''t just watch the scene continue. He quickly rushed forth to stop the valiant Yun Jianyue, thus barely stabilizing the situation.

    Up in the air, Shi Zhentian had been fighting intensely; was shocked and angry when he saw the situation below. He roared at Zu An, ¡°Weren¡¯t you boasting arrogantly just now? Why don¡¯t youe up if you have the skills? Is hiding behind women all you know how to do?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Zhentian for +666 +666 +666¡­

 Chapter 1500: Iâ€™m Worried That Youâ€™ll Just Die

    Chapter 1500: I¡¯m Worried That You¡¯ll Just Die

    Shi Zhentian was furious. Not only had he almost failed to guard the gates, he had even beenughed at by his old enemy. It was all that brat Zu An¡¯s fault!

    It was clearly the Second Empress leading the troops this time, but for some reason, all of his anger was directed at Zu An.

    This brat is just too good at taunting people!

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Zhentian for +444 +444 +444¡­

    When she heard his provocation, the Second Empress quickly grabbed Zu An¡¯s arm, eximing, ¡°Don¡¯t be so reckless!¡± She worried that Zu An was still too young and hot-blooded, assuming he was acting based on emotions.

    In the distance, Chi Wen was fighting while drenched in blood, feeling proud of himself. I just performed so many of the Ocean races¡¯ incredible skills and defeated so many enemies! My handsome image must have left the Second Empress with a deep impression, right?

    However, he didn¡¯t want her to see that he really cared about that either, so he only secretly looked at the Second Empress out of the corner of his eye. And yet, the Second Empress wasn¡¯t even looking at him at all. Instead, she was tugging on Zu An¡¯s arm with a worried expression. Her eyes were filled with affection! Chi Wen immediately felt depressed.

    Heavens, are you messing with me right now?! Sigh, throughout history, all those who have endless love like me have been destined for regret! It seems as if I won¡¯t love again in this life of mine¡­ Chi Wen thought, looking as if his parents had died or something.

    The Lion race¡¯s reinforcements and the Golden Crow Guards who had stayed behind with the Crown Prince all rushed to the top of the wall. They all aimed their rune-imbued crossbows at the people below.

    Chi Wen was busymenting, so he didn¡¯t immediately notice it.

    Someone shouted from one side, ¡°Be careful!¡± Then, a huge pile of vines wove together to form a web, blocking the shower of crossbow bolts.

    Only then did Chi Wen realize that he had been saved. He reflexively turned around, saying, ¡°Thank¡­ you?¡±

    When he saw Qiao Xueying¡¯s slender and elegant figure under the moonlight glow, he suddenly felt as if beautiful music were ying in his ears. Oh no! It seems as if I¡¯m able to love again!

    ¡°Oh, beautiful Elf Princess, please let me introduce myself¡­¡± he began, showing Qiao Xueying a smile that thought was handsome.

    Unfortunately, Qiao Xueying cut him off before he could even finish, saying, ¡°Introduce, my butt! Hurry and fight!¡±

    Chi Wen¡¯s smile immediately froze on his face. Why is this Elf Princess not warm at all?

    Regardless, he thought, that only proved Qiao Xueying was straightforward in nature, and that she wasn¡¯t the type of woman to put on airs. Ahhhh, I¡¯m in love!

    ¡­

    Just then, more reinforcements arrived from the Imperial Pce¡¯s side. They seemed to be preparing an even more formidable defensive formation.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s eyes shone with light. The Medusa¡¯s Eye made the strong cultivators who had arrived slowly begin to petrify, their movements slowing down.

    Chi Wen¡¯s jaw practically dropped to the ground. He thought, The women around Zu An are all freaking violent! I should just stay a bit farther away from her¡­

    Hmph, it¡¯s still the Elf race¡¯s princess who seems the most gentle and delicate.

    Huh? Wait¡­ the Elf Princess seemed to be really close to Zu An on the way here too¡­

    Motherf¡­ how the hell is this fair? Why do all of these beauties have something to do with him?

    Princess Suolun used the chance the Medusa Queen provided to lead the Demon race into battle, breaking the enemy¡¯s defensive points one after another. As she charged and moved around in the battle formation, her excellent figure gave off a stirring sense of beauty.

    Chi Wen¡¯s eyes lit up. People always say that Demon race women taste quite excellent, but I¡¯ve never tried it before.

    Hm¡­ This Demon race Princess matches my tastes, whether it¡¯s her face or her figure. I¡¯ll pursue her then! There¡¯s no way this woman has something to do with that bastard too, right?

    Zu An didn¡¯t notice the Rage points continuouslying from the little dragon in the backend. He looked up at Shi Zhentian indifferently, saying, ¡°I¡¯m just worried that if I get involved, you¡¯ll lose your life immediately.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    Shi Zhentian was stunned at first. Then, he doubled over withughter. He was almost hurt by Yan Xuehen¡¯s Snowke Sword as a result, eximing, ¡°Are you trying to make me die fromughter?¡±

    Meanwhile, the brothers Shi Min, Shi Gong, and Shi Rong, alsoughed in the midst ofbat when they heard Zu An. Is there something wrong with this guy¡¯s head? It¡¯s one thing to win against us through schemes and craftiness, but you even dare to provoke our father?

    Do you know who our father is? He¡¯s one of the strongest experts among all the Fiend races!

    He could kill you as easily as crushing an ant!

    However, Zu An didn¡¯t waste any more time with words and took out a bow. Then, an arrow that looked illusory appeared.

    Shi Min sneered. ¡°He was actually nning to mount a hidden attack! What a pity that he¡¯s not at a high enough level. That bow and arrow won¡¯t even be able tond a scratch on father.¡±

    ¡°Third brother is wise, as expected!¡± the two brothers next to him eximed, both giving him a thumbs up.

    Only Shi Zhentian frowned as he floated in midair. He hadn''t noticed anything at first, but then he had suddenly felt an uneasiness he couldn''t really exin.

    There¡¯s no way I¡¯m scared of that brat, right?

    How is that possible?!

    He wanted tough, but he couldn''t. Suddenly, he remembered where he had seen that bow before. Isn¡¯t that the freaking¡­

    Just then, a brilliant streak of light flew toward him, making him think he had seen a shooting star. It was the first time he had seen a shooting star so close up¡­ as well as thest time.

    ¡­

    Shi Zhentian was full of regret.

    Ever since the day he was born, life had always gone the way he wanted, with everyone around him worshiping and praising him. He had been publicly acknowledged to be the most outstanding genius of thest few centuries. There was even an ancient prophecy in the n that imed a golden lion would lead the Lion race to glory they had never experienced before.

    People had always thought that he was the one the prophecy was talking about.

    When he was little, he had already be the young king of the entire Lion race. He had been undefeated among his peers. He had even been able to beat up some kids older than him badly.

    Whenever he went out to y in the wild, if he didn¡¯t fall off a cliff, he had been captured by some big bird, or surrounded by ferocious beasts. However, he could always turn misfortune into fortune, falling into some bird¡¯s nest or beast valley and obtaining various secret manuals, divine skills, and wondrous treasures¡­ Compared to his fortuitous encounters, the opportunities found by juniors like Shi Ling and others amounted to nothing at all.

    The older he grew, the stronger he grew as well, without end. Forget about people his age, even older generation experts weren¡¯t a match for him. Thus, in order to gain battle experience, he had taken the initiative to separate himself from his father. He had begun to wander across the prairie.

    He hadn¡¯t been satisfied with friendly battles, because he knew his opponents would hold back some of their trump cards. The benefits he would gain from such fights would be limited. As such, he had only done one thing: Whenever he passed by a tribe, he stole the wife of the strongest person there.

    The greatest grudges came from none other than murdering one¡¯s father, or stealing one¡¯s wife. Only that way could he make so many experts willing to fight him to the death. Such life and death struggles would truly decide who was stronger.

    Of course, there was another reason why he had sought out such experts, which was that the women of strong cultivators were often the greatest beauties. ying around with them really was quite fun.

    Just like that, he had wandered the world for a few years, soon leaving all the experts of the prairie terror-stricken. At that point, he could no longer find worthy opponents anymore. As such, he had returned to the Lion King Court, then challenged his father.

    After a great battle, the former Lion King had been killed in battle, and Shi Zhentian won. He had thus be the new Lion King.

    That wasn¡¯t particrly shocking for the Lion race, however. Changes of leadership among Lion Kings were often apanied by bloody battles. Only then could they ensure that every Lion King was the strongest, thus bringing the entire race the greatest glory.

    However, directly killing the Lion King like that still wasn¡¯t thatmon. Most of the time, the former Lion King would just leave in disgrace upon realizing he wasn¡¯t a match.

    Of course, the Lion race didn¡¯t have any concept of patricide. It had happened more than once or twice in history. That was why, even though it was a bit inappropriate, it had still been considered eptable.

    Then, Shi Zhentian had taken over his father¡¯s harem. He hadn¡¯t emerged from the imperial pce for three months after that. He soon discovered that during those three months, he felt even more tired than when he was fighting against strong experts outside. However, he had been happily tired. His father¡¯s wives really were incredible; their taste really was quite excellent.

    People in the Lion race were all used to it; every new Lion King did the same. On the prairie, women were precious strategic resources who could continuously give birth toter generations. In contrast, the human race neglected the wives of the former ruler. That merely seemed like a waste to them.

    Thus, after decades of Shi Zhentian¡¯s rule, he had unified the different Lion race tribes on the prairie and forced back the powerful Hyena race bit by bit. He soon expanded his territory there to the limit.

    Afterward, however, he was no longer satisfied with the prairie, and thus aimed at the Fiend King Court. He wanted to seize even more benefits for the Lion race. Why were there only three king races, the Peacock, Great Peng, and Elf races, under the Fiend Emperor? The Lion race had every right to be a fourth King race, or to even be above the other king races!

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince had recognized his great strength and ambition, so the two sides had hit it off. Shi Zhentian knew that after tonight, there would be a shuffling of the Fiend races¡¯ power structure. The more chaotic the situation became, the more opportunities the Lion race would have.

    The Peacock King race, Golden Peng King race, and Elf King race had remained powerful for too long. It was time for them to be reced. That would bring a kind of glory the Lion race had never experienced before. However, he wasn¡¯t satisfied with just that.

    Who says the Fiend Emperor¡¯s position has to be held by the Golden Crow race? Am I, Shi Zhentian, not fit to be the Fiend Emperor? he thought. However, thete Fiend Emperor had just been too strong, which temporarily suppressed his ambitions.

    When he was told that thete Fiend Emperor had already died by the Golden Crow Crown Prince, he had been wild with joy. The heavens really are helping me!

    No wonder I had so many miraculous encounters ever since I was young. I am a child blessed by fate!

    Thete Fiend Emperor died unexpectedly in the secret dungeon and wasn¡¯t able to pass on his cultivation to the Golden Crow Crown Prince. Does that brat really think I¡¯ll yield to him?

    I¡¯ll work with him to get rid of other powerful enemies first, but once I gain great authority, that will be a chance for me to be the new Fiend Emperor!

    His ns were clearly perfect, so why had something unexpected happened?

    This little monster Zu An, just where did hee from? Who the hell says he¡¯s just reached the master rank?N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Bullshit!

    I have so many regreeeeets!

    You have sessfully trolled Shi Zhentian for +555 +555 +555¡­

    Can I have just one more chance?

    Unfortunately, his consciousness quickly plunged into endless darkness.

    ¡­

    When the onlookers saw a lump of badly-mangled flesh fall from the air, a deep silence fell over the entire ce. Many people rubbed their eyes in confusion, thinking that perhaps they were mistaken.

    Some of them thought Shi Zhentian was just wounded. However, with a loud noise, his body broke into pieces from the fall.

    Those present finally reacted to what had happened.

 Chapter 1501: I Admit That I Was Shooting My Mouth Off

    <h4>Chapter 1501: I Admit That I Was Shooting My Mouth Off</h4>

    The entire ce was absolutely silent. People began to think,Is the entire world broken somehow?

    The glorious Lion King Shi Zhentian, who had been famous in the Fiend races for a long time, had been instantly killed?

    If such beings as the Fiend Emperor or Human Emperor had killed him instantly, no one would find that strange. Simrly, if he had lost to Fiend race giants such as the Peacock Wise King, Great Elf King, Dragon King, or Demon King, they would also be able to understand.

    However, what kind of situation was this? Shi Zhentian had lost to a young junior, and furthermore in an instant, without even leaving behind an intact corpse?

    Zu An lowered his Sun ying Bow. He looked at Shi Zhentian¡¯s corpse and sighed, saying, ¡°I told you that you¡¯d die immediately. Why did you have to go that far?¡±

    He had used the divine weapon, the Sun ying Bow, just then. Or, to be more precise, its proper name was the Red Bow. The Sun ying Bow had been seized from the Golden Crow Crown Prince by the Celestial Emperor; it seemed to have been reforged somehow, making it even more powerful than its original form.

    The arrow was a special white one. It wasn¡¯t one of the arrows the Golden Crow Crown Prince used; even though those arrows were also very formidable, the bow only becameplete with the white arrows. Combined, they could even shoot down the suns in the sky.

    Of course, Shi Zhentian wasn¡¯t worthy of using the true white arrow on. Instead, Zu An had used the Rune Weapon Chart to materialize an arrow. It was weaker than the true white arrows, but it was still enough to defeat a grandmaster. Furthermore, Shi Zhentian had underestimated him and focused most of his attention on Yan Xuehen. By the time he had reacted, it was already toote.

    Those present unwittingly stopped fighting. Yun Jianyue looked toward Yan Xuehen and asked, ¡°Stone cold woman, why is that guy so strong?¡±

    With their cultivation, even though they were far apart, they had no issue talking through ki at all.

    Yan Xuehen was alsopletely shocked. After thinking for a while, she said, ¡°I have heard that some exceptional swordsmen keep their swords sheathed for decades to nurture sword intent. Once their swords leave the scabbard, the sword energy soars into the heavens and carries boundless power. Ah Zu¡­ Judging from the current situation, he should be like that. It must be because, in the secret dungeon, he first shot down the suns in the sky, then killed the Fiend Emperor. Even though he used all sorts of methods, the fact that he killed the Fiend Emperor is still real.

    ¡°We were still underestimating him before. He has already truly nurtured the spirit of the unrivaled. Whenever he decides to attack, it is with absolute confidence. This punk really is a genius! He actually achieved a resultparable to those exceptional swordsmen who do not raise their sword for decades or over a century, or maybe even longer!

    ¡°Now, whenever he ends a strong opponent with a single strike, his unrivaled intent will grow stronger. This will continue until he bes a true unrivaled being.¡±

    ¡°But he¡¯s only a master rank cultivator at the hero form stage¡­¡± Yun Jianyue trailed off mid-sentence. After being around him for so long, she already knew better than anyone that this guy¡¯s strength couldn''t be evaluated through normal means. She wondered, ¡°Then, if he could easily kill Shi Zhentian, doesn¡¯t that mean he could easily kill us too?¡±

    That scene had really left her a bit stunned. She had even begun to question life a bit.

    ¡°He cannot,¡± Yan Xuehen reflexively replied.

    ¡°How do you know?¡± Yun Jianyue asked, looking at her in confusion.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s face reddened. She couldn''t just say that he had already shot all over her before, right? She quickly said, ¡°It is mainly because Shi Zhentian didn¡¯t know about Zu An¡¯s strength and was a bit careless. We know about Zu An¡¯s strength, so if we are careful, we can avoid his shot.¡±

    She frowned after saying that. It was clearly a normal reply, so why did she feel a bit strange?

    Yun Jianyue nodded slowly. That arrow had almost made her break down mentally.

    Meanwhile, the other geniuses also reacted one after another. The once quiet pce gates suddenly erupted with noiseparable to a food market.

    The Lion race princes atop the wall werepletely ashen-faced. Shi Rong¡¯s voice shook a bit as he began, ¡°Third brother, there¡­ There isn¡¯t anything wrong with my eyes, right? Hey, third brother?¡±

    He discovered that his third brother had already taken to his heels and fled, but stumbled several times while running, as if his legs had gone limp.

    ¡°Fuck!¡± Shi Gong and Shi Rong both cursed.

    Previously, they had always disapproved when they heard people say that their third brother was the most crafty and treacherous one among them. Now, that had indeed turned out to be the case after all. His father had died, and yet he didn¡¯t have any thoughts of getting revenge?

    The worst part is that he didn¡¯t even call us before running!

    The two of them didn¡¯t hesitate either and simply ran for their lives. However, when they fled, the rest of the Lion race people lost all morale. Everything came crashing down like andslide.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression was extremely warm and gentle. She thought to herself that her eye for men was much better than her mother¡¯s.

    But, ah¡­ Being too outstanding is also a problem¡­ He¡¯ll definitely attract more and more women. Who knows how many will try to get in? It¡¯ll be impossible to stop¡­

    The Second Empress¡¯ heart was pounding. She was a bit distracted by the sight of the handsome man next to her. The shock of what had happened just then was somethingpletely unprecedented for her! Previously, when Zu An had spoken those ¡®bold, visionary words¡¯, she had felt only suspicion and worry. She had never expected him to really be that strong. Apart from the Fiend Emperor, he was pretty much the strongest man she had ever seen.

    No, even the Fiend Emperor wasn¡¯t as handsome as him. Besides, at his age, he was old enough to even be my grandfather. Ah Zu is still in his prime, so how can the Fiend Emperorpare to him?

    When she saw her son¡¯s wide eyes, her face turned a bit red.I really made the best decision by making him my child¡¯s father.

    Her other thoughts were unknown, but she subconsciously brought her legs together. A slight blush crept across her fair neck.

    ¡­

    Qiao Xueying looked at Zu An with starry eyes. Now that one side of the pce gate¡¯s defenses had copsed, their troops could just charge directly in. She wouldn¡¯t have to do anything herself anymore.

    My big brother Ah Zu is bing more and more handsome. He was just a weak little chick when I first met him.

    When she recalled how the two of them had fought before, a happy smile appeared on Qiao Xueying¡¯s small mouth.The two of us really are a quarrelsome but loving couple¡­

    The Demon race¡¯s Princess Suolun¡¯s eyes sparkled. When she first met Zu An, she had already been shocked by his strength and handsomeness. However, back then, he had still been going against others of the younger generation. Now, even a grandmaster like Shi Zhentian had been killed in a single move?

    Was he hiding his cultivation?

    Ahhh! The most handsome men really do keep a low profile! Those other, ugly men are clearly far inferior, and yet they always like to boast and show off.

    While she was deep in thought, her eyes couldn''t help but dart toward the big-mouthed Dragon race prince.

    Chi Wen opened his mouth, his jaw almost dropping to the ground. That scene just then was just far too shocking.

    Is this guy still human?

    No, he¡¯s definitely some reincarnated old monster who deliberately hid his age. That has to be it! Otherwise, this doesn¡¯t make any sense!

    He silently warned himself that in the future, he had to stay a bit further away from Zu An¡¯s women. Even though those women were all top-notch, there were so many beautiful women in this world, and there was no reason to court death for no reason.

    That guy can shoot down grandmasters with just a single move! wouldn¡¯t he be able to crush me like an ant?

    Not only should I not offend him, I have to start kissing up to him.

    Still, with what happened between us before, I really don¡¯t want to¡­ Kissing up will be a bit hard¡­

    Wait, little aunt¡¯s rtionship with him isn¡¯t that bad. There¡¯s definitely some story between them. As long as I give them a push and make him my uncle-inw, won¡¯t that be the best way to kiss up?

    He immediately felt great when he realized that.

    Zu An turned his attention to Hu Qianxiao. The other man immediately froze, eximing, ¡°Misunderstanding, it¡¯s all a misunderstanding!¡±

    Shi Zhentian was his old enemy. They had fought several times and were evenly matched each time. Now that Shi Zhentian had been shot down by a single arrow, wouldn¡¯t that mean the same fate awaited him if they fought? Furthermore, the Lion race¡¯s side had alreadypletely broken down, and the Crown Prince¡¯s Golden Crow Guards had lost their morale. It was just his men left! Like hell they¡¯d keep fighting.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Misunderstanding?¡± Zu An asked, raising a brow.

    ¡°Indeed, it¡¯s a misunderstanding! I admit that I was shooting my mouth off earlier,¡± Hu Qianxiao replied, wiping the sweat on his forehead. ¡°Everyone knows that Shi Zhentian and I are enemies. Now that you¡¯v killed him, I couldn''t be happier!¡±

    ¡°But you just said you¡¯d sided with the Crown Prince and came to stop us,¡± Zu An said, remaining expressionless.

    ¡°Who says I¡¯ve sided with the Crown Prince? The Crown Prince forced us to!¡± Hu Qianxiao eximed, then quickly bowed toward the Second Empress and the youngest prince. ¡°I have renounced my wrong ways and turned to a better path! I bow down to the Second Empress and the young prince as my masters.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. However, after his moment of silence, he said, ¡°Honestly, I¡¯m more used to your previous arrogant self.¡±

 Chapter 1502: Committee of Elders

    Chapter 1502: Committee of Elders

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare!¡± Hu Qianxiao eximed in embarrassment.

    Meanwhile, however, he felt truly depressed inside. When had he ever spoken in such a submissive manner before? Even if he had been facing the Fiend Emperor, he could at least serve as a guest, right? At least the Fiend Emperor wouldn¡¯t kill him for no reason, and would feel some apprehension toward the Tiger Race¡¯s forces and the views of the other races.

    However, today¡¯s situation was different! Shi Zhentian had just been killed, so killing him too wouldn¡¯t make much of a difference either. Between that and the fact that there were two grandmasters on the other side, he decisively chose submission.

    Even though he wanted ¡®face¡¯, what was that worth if even his life would be forfeit? For example, Shi Zhentian was now lying on the ground, his face already smashed rotten.

    The most unusual thing was that no one present looked down on his behavior; instead, they simply acted as if it were only natural. They had clearly been frightened quite badly by the arrow.

    Zu An remained quiet for a moment. He and Hu Qianxiao didn¡¯t share much enmity. If he really thought about it, this guy had even helped him out byughing at Shi Zhentian.

    However, he suddenly thought of something else and remarked, ¡°I heard you and Bluefield Country¡¯s ruler had some kind of rtionship?¡±

    The women all perked up their ears when they heard that. Yu Yanluo, Yan Xuehen, and Yun Jianyue in particr had even spent some time in Bluefield Country before. They all thought, We were already suspicious that he had something to do with Tushan Yu. Now, it looks like there was something strange after all!

    You have sessfully trolled Yu Yanluo for +66 +66 +66¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +66 +66 +66¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +66 +66 +66¡­

    The others were all really curious about what was going on too. Bluefield Country¡¯s ruler Tushan Yu was a famous beauty among the Fiend races. It would be hard to call her the number one beauty, but if they were to debate which one was the most alluring, then among the entire Fiend races, it was likely that only she and the Second Empress would be qualified topete for that title.

    Still, the Second Empress was the Second Empress in the end. Her presence carried a noble and superior aura. That was why most people discussed Tushan Yu more, always calling her the ¡®Seductive Fox¡¯. Even though her normal behavior didn¡¯t carry any of those intentions, those who saw her always thought that way.

    There was also the fact that over the past few years, rumors of Tushan Yu being Hu Qianxiao¡¯s private property had be pretty widespread; many people among the Fiend races had heard about that affair. Today, however, they were hearing about some new drama.

    Hu Qianxiao quickly exined, ¡°That¡¯s a misunderstanding! In the past, Bluefield¡¯s ruler and I spent some time together, so I took care of her out of consideration for our old affection to prevent other people from bullying her. But in the end, some senseless people began to spread falsehoods.¡±

    Zu An replied with an ¡®oh¡¯. He told Hu Qianxiao after ncing at the Second Empress, ¡°If you want to rely on our help, it¡¯ll depend on whether the Second Empress and the young prince want to ept you.¡±

    Hu Qianxiao sighed in relief when he heard that. As long as you aren¡¯t opposed to it, it¡¯s all good. The Second Empress definitely won¡¯t refuse assistance from a powerful group.

    Sure enough, the Second Empress nodded and said, ¡°As the Tiger King is willing to renounce your wrong ways, the young prince and I will naturally wee you¡­¡±

    At the same time, she spoke a few words of encouragement. Hu Qianxiao was so moved he was about to cry. After all, keeping his life was at least guaranteed now! Sigh, for a grandmaster to have to live like this, how pathetic¡­

    Still, when he recalled that terrifying arrow from before, he still felt that his choice was correct.

    Now that Hu Qianxiao had changed sides, the Golden Crow Guards left by the pce gates no longer had any backing. The Second Empress¡¯ faction quickly gained control over them.

    Lei Xin, Wu Cheng and the others had initially been unhappy that they were forced to support the young prince. But now, they suddenly felt that the chances of the young prince rising to the throne were growing greater and greater. For all they knew, they could really be dragons among subjects! That meant their fate would be bright and optimistic, no longer doomed!

    The other Golden Crow Guards likewise felt inspired. After upying the pce gate, they were easily able to take over the Imperial Pce. Together with the Second Empress¡¯ trusted aide Central Regr Attendant Bi Cui working from inside, the entire pce quickly fell under the Second Empress¡¯ control.

    While her subordinates were running around, the Second Empress kneeled down by her son¡¯s side. She pointed at the distant Zu An and said, ¡°Remember, if you really be the Fiend Emperor, you have to thank him.¡±

    The little prince nodded, saying, ¡°Adoptive father¡¯s arrow is really strong. I want to learn how to cultivate from him!¡±

    The Second Empress had a doting smile when she heard her son say that. When she looked at Zu An, her eyes shone.

    ¡­

    Unlike how smoothly Zu An was having things, the Golden Crow Crown Prince wasn¡¯t having an easy time at all. He had sent his subordinates to capture the other princes, but he understood his greatest enemy well. That was why he had gathered all of his elite troops to face the Second Prince¡¯s manor.

    Initially, he had thought that defeating the Second Prince wouldn¡¯t take much time at all. However, his brother seemed to have already anticipated this a long time ago and had been waiting in the manor for them ahead of time. A fight had thus broken out without much of a prelude.

    The Golden Crow Guards led by the Golden Crow Crown Prince were all the most elite of elites, but the Second Prince¡¯s men weren¡¯t bad either. As one of the Fiend Races¡¯ four great generals, he had elite soldiers who had fought many battles.

    In theory, that army wasn¡¯t supposed to be his private army, and without the Fiend King Court¡¯s token, he couldn''t transfer them however he pleased. But that was only in theory. Over the years, he had privately roped in arge number of trusted aides, secretly turning them into his own private troops. Tonight, they finally showed their use.

    The elite Golden Crow Guards faced off against the Second Prince¡¯s war-hardened soldiers. Their tactics were all excellent, and neither side showed the other any weakness. Just like that, they shed over and over. Blood and flesh flew in all directions, and the battle was incredibly bitter. Both sides¡¯ officers and soldiers had simr skills, capable of all the things the other side was. There was no way for either side to pull a fast one on the other, making it a war of attrition.

    When he saw the state of the battle, the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s eyelids twitched. This bastard actually prepared this well? He had thoughts of rebelling after all!

    ¡°Elder Wu, help me take down that evildoer!¡± he secretly ordered. It wasmon knowledge that to defeat one¡¯s enemy, it was wise to take down the leader first.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    A grunt of acknowledgment came from midair. Then, an elder suddenly appeared above the battlefield and rushed at the Second Prince. Even though the Second Prince was also a strong cultivator, he didn¡¯t stand a chance against the might of a grandmaster.

    Suddenly, however, there was another ripple. A figure rushed out from the Second Prince¡¯s manor, stopping Elder Wu. The two exchanged blows. The terrifying st wave that ensued shook the entire Fiend King Court!

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince recognized the other person. He eximed in shock and anger, ¡°Sixth Uncle, is the Committee of Elders not supposed to avoid interfering with matters of the Fiend King Court?!¡±

    The Golden Crow royal family had some elders who joined the Committee of Elders, spending their time in seclusion. The Fiend Emperors had formed an agreement with them that only when there was a matter rted to the survival of the Fiend Races would they make an appearance. Otherwise, they were not allowed to show themselves randomly.

    Of course, these elders were all individuals nearing the end of their lifespans. All of them relied on secret dungeons or formations to enter hibernation, which was why they could live a bit longer. They weren¡¯t really willing to recklessly use up their lifespan either. That was why, as time passed, people among the Fiend races had stopped considering their presence when making decisions.

    The individual who was called Sixth Uncle wasn¡¯t thete Fiend Emperor¡¯s blood brother, but rather his cousin in the n. He was someone who had only joined the Committee of Elders a few years prior. That was why the Golden Crow Crown Prince recognized him.

    Sixth Uncle replied indifferently, ¡°You brothers are fighting against each other, so how can this old one remain unconcerned?¡±

    Elder Wu said coldly, ¡°It is clearly the Second Prince who has rebelled with malice. Furthermore, thete Fiend Emperor has already perished, and the Crown Prince is already the new Fiend Emperor. Old Six, why are you not bowing down to him yet?¡±

    ¡°New Fiend Emperor?¡± Sixth Uncle sneered. ¡°Who said so?¡±

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince raised his head proudly and said, ¡°I was designated as the Crown Prince by my father for so many years, and I even experienced the Imperial Tomb¡¯s trial, receiving the recognition of the Fiend Ancestor. Now, father emperor has passed on, so of course I am the undisputed new Fiend Emperor.¡±

    Sixth Uncle looked at him and replied, ¡°Oh, in that case, then I believe thete Fiend Emperor has already passed on all of his cultivation to you, right?¡±

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s face turned rigid when he heard that. It was none other than his greatest sore spot.

    The Fiend Emperor had died mysteriously in the secret dungeon and hadn¡¯t even had time to pass on his cultivation. Otherwise, the Crown Prince wouldn¡¯t need to lead so many troops to kill his brothers; he could have just relied on his earth immortal cultivation to make sure not a single person in the Fiend King Court couldin.

 Chapter 1503: Disbelief

    Chapter 1503: Disbelief

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince said with a sullen look, ¡°Something happened to father emperor in the secret dungeon before he had a chance to pass on his cultivation to me. However, I have already received the acknowledgment of the Fiend Ancestor in the Imperial Tomb. The ceremony was also carried out under the agreement of my father. Everyone in the Fiend King Court saw that, so there are no problems with me seeding as the Fiend Emperor.¡±

    Sixth Uncle sneered. ¡°It¡¯s useless to talk about all of that nonsense. The position of Fiend Emperor has always been taken by the strongest.¡±

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s face darkened. The other party clearly didn¡¯t intend for him to be the Fiend Emperor. It was meaningless no matter what they said.

    The only thing that he didn¡¯t understand was how the Second Prince had roped in Sixth Uncle. After entering the Committee of Elders, one wouldn¡¯t care about worldly matters anymore. After all, heading into the world would mean using up one¡¯s lifespan!

    The Second Prince smiled happily when he saw the Crown Prince¡¯s conflicted appearance. He had paid a huge price to request the help of Sixth Uncle. He had first needed to find a life-prolonging great treasure, and then had promised Sixth Uncle many things he normally couldn''t obtain. After all, everyone had their price. If they weren¡¯t willing, the price just wasn¡¯t high enough.

    At present, however, it quickly became useless for them to talk anymore, as the battle reached its climax. It was more bitter than any of the battles the Second Prince had experienced in his entire life.

    With each breath, many people died. However, as the very yers of the chess match, they didn¡¯t care. All they were worried about was the final result.

    As the battle intensified, it wasn¡¯t just the ordinary soldiers; even the high-level officers began to fall in battle.

    Left Guard General Ma Tian and one of the Second Prince¡¯s generals took each other out. Ma Tian¡¯s cultivation was actually a bit higher than his opponent¡¯s, but his many years in the capital living like a prince had already made him lose the valor of his youth.

    He initially thought that things would be much easier once he killed his opponent, but that opponent had nned to use his own life as bait to begin with, and grasped the chance to deliver a lethal blow to his neck.

    Ma Tian clutched his neck, his mouth gurgling with noise; he was unable to say a word. Blood sprayed out unceasingly, and he fell to the ground while filled with endless regret.

    Commandant of Guards Wu Li and an Elephant race expert fought fiercely, but neither side could win and instead both suffered. Wu Li hadn¡¯t expected the Elephant race to have been roped in by the Second Prince too. The Elephant race had incredible strength and their defenses were great too. That was why, even though Wu Li was a famous expert in the Fiend King Court, he was still seriously injured in the battle.

    Then, both sides identally fell into the chaotic battlefield. Both had already fought fiercely, to the point that they couldn''t even recognize friend from foe anymore. The two both ended up being sliced into a bloody paste.

    Of course, the Elephant race expert¡¯s body was tougher, so hested slightly longer. Unfortunately, a lone cultivator was stillparatively weaker than an army supported by a formation. No matter how great the Elephant race¡¯s defenses were, he didn¡¯t stand a chance against the desing from all directions. He quickly followed in Wu Li¡¯s footsteps.

    Up in the air, Elder Wu was also having a hard time against Sixth Uncle. Normally, only rarely did grandmasters fight each other to the death. The first reason was that they were all strong, and every one of them had many trump cards, so it wasn¡¯t easy to decide victory and defeat. The second reason was that even if they could win, it would be a difficult victory. That was why it rarely reached such a point.

    However, things were different today. Neither side held back at all, some even fighting with the intention of trading wound for wound. Soon, blood scattered all over the sky. However, a battle between grandmasters wouldn¡¯t end so quickly. It was hard to say who was close to winning.

    The Second Prince hadn¡¯t lifted a finger the entire time, but he turned to the Golden Crow Crown Prince and said, ¡°In the end, this is between the two of us. As the situation isn¡¯t going to be decided by the others any time soon, why not settle it personally?¡±

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince frowned. He looked around and saw that the battle situation was indeed tricky. It couldst until daybreak before things were decided. He felt a bit of regret. If he had known it would be like this, he would have brought Hu Qianxiao and Shi Zhentian with him. However, he had been a bit worried about the two of them because their ambitions were too great. Keeping them at his side could cause unpredictable things to happen.

    At the time, he¡¯d had the confidence that his men were enough to defeat the Second Prince. But he hadn¡¯t expected the Second Prince to be so prepared! Furthermore, his troops had many powerful individuals!

    Seeing that the Crown Prince didn¡¯t reply, the Second Prince sneered. ¡°Hahahah, you¡¯re too cowardly to even ept something like this? The sessive generations of Fiend Emperors have all been powerful heroes. When has there ever been a fool like you?¡±

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince could feel his soldiers¡¯ morale drop when the Second Prince spoke those words. With how things were, he couldn''t shrink back even if he wanted to. When he heard that, he said with a sneer, ¡°Fine. In that case, let''s do it. I am going to let you know once and for all who the number one of this generation is!¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    He had been publicly acknowledged to be the head of the younger generation¡¯s five great cultivators. He had absolute confidence in defeating the Second Prince.

    However, the Second Prince¡¯s attitude was confident too. He retorted, ¡°Haha, it was only because you were the Crown Prince, so people were just feeding your ego. Did you really think you were the leader of the extreme five?¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll let you properly witness it yourself!¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince spat, his expression full of cold killing intent. You¡¯re not that freak Zu An! Do you think this Crown Prince is scared of you?

    Golden wings sprouted behind him as soon as he finished speaking. Every single feather was a streak of sword energy that swept straight at the Second Prince.

    ¡°Very good!¡± the Second Prince responded without dodging. A pair of ck wings also appeared behind him, and every feather was also a sharp sword. He faced the Golden Crow Crown Prince.

    Golden and ck sword energy wove together in the sky, erupting into dazzling brilliance.

    The evenly matched sh left the Golden Crow Crown Prince extremely shocked. The Second Prince¡¯s cultivation actually wasn¡¯t beneath his in the slightest. Had he been holding back all of these years?

    But how is that possible? the Crown Prince thought. His True Sun Eyes could see through anyone whose cultivation ranks were lower than his. His cultivation should be lower than mine!

    As if he had seen through the Crown Prince¡¯s confusion, the Second Prince pointed at the jade pendant around his waist, saying, ¡°I had a fortuitous encounter in the past where I obtained this. This thing can hide my aura. Otherwise, do you really think I would be inferior to you?¡±

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince felt a bit ufortable. He had a bad premonition. However, he quickly tossed those thoughts out of the way. He had really lost confidence from losing to that bastard Zu An. However, before he ran into Zu An, he had been undefeated!

    ¡°How can anyone who always hides aplish anything?!¡± the Golden Crow Crown Prince eximed, letting out a cold snort. His aura suddenly surged, his body turning into a golden streak of light. He rushed at his opponent at a speed the naked eye couldn''t track.

    ¡°Golden Crow Radiant Flow is something I know as well!¡± the Second Prince retorted, turning into a streak of ck light. The two sides instantly shed.

    The Second Prince was incredibly shocked by the battle too. He had looked down on this older brother of his as well! He had thought that his older brother just had better conditions, and that was why he had the Crown Prince position. Now, it seemed he really did have some skill.

    At the same time, he felt even angrier. This guy is the Crown Prince, so he was blessed with a huge amount of resources. Previously, he even received the blessing of the Fiend Ancestor in the Imperial Tomb, which increased his cultivation quite a bit. Meanwhile, I only had myself to rely on ever since I was little. He only had to work seventy or eighty percent, while I had to go a hundred and twenty percent!

    Everything else could disappoint, but hard work wouldn¡¯t. Day after day, he had cultivated, umting great strength. He had ughtered his way through a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, tempering his iron-blooded will¡­

    Just like that, he had relied on himself to forcibly reach a pointparable to the Crown Prince, who had had the entire country¡¯s resources and the Fiend Emperor¡¯s personal pointers. If not for the fact that the Crown Prince had received the acknowledgment of the Fiend Ancestor and increased his cultivation again, the Second Prince would have been able to easily prevail.

    Damn it all! Why are the heavens so unfair?! he thought. That unfairness made his fighting spirit surge even more powerfully.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince was more and more shocked the longer they fought. However, his talent was something the Fiend Emperor and other experts had long approved of. He knew there was no way out now, so the two continued to fight.

    ¡­

    After a long time passed, a powerful light suddenly shone in the distance. It was filled with destructive energies, and it drew the attention of all those present. Just how terrifying was that power? Who was fighting over there?

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s expression changed, because that was the direction of the Imperial Pce. Something had clearly happened at the Imperial Pce. Still, what he cared about most was that it was clearly the aura of the Sun ying Bow. The Sun ying Bow had been lost in the Unknown Region, so why had it reappeared here?

    Because of his momentary distraction, a streak of ck light rushed toward him. With a loud noise, a st of bloody mist erupted from the middle of his back. Then, the ck light quickly flew away, not giving him any chance to retaliate.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince clutched his chest, his expression full of disbelief.

    Am I going to¡­ die?

 Chapter 1504: Doing All the Work for Another

    Chapter 1504: Doing All the Work for Another

    I was known as the child blessed by the heavens, someone most of my peers looked up to in admiration! It wasn¡¯t only because of my status, but also because of my cultivation. I had my father personally instruct me, and my talent was extraordinary. That was why my cultivation advanced so quickly.

    I can still remember second brother following behind me, begging me to teach him some things before. Back then, I saw him like an ant. He would be really, really happy if I just told him even a little bit. How could I have known that I would die to that person?

    Just how did he reach this level? Did he sell his soul to the devil?

    No, his cultivation isn¡¯t actually that high, and his real strength is lower than mine. But I could feel that for some reason, I couldn''t use all of my strength.

    Could it be that my will faltered after being defeated by Zu An again and again?

    Meanwhile, the Second Prince¡¯s will remained firm, and he was always filled with resentment over the unfairness of life, so that was why he was able to disy a hundred and twenty percent of his strength. Between my weakness and his strength, that was why I was defeated by him.

    I can¡¯t ept this!

    I was clearly about to be the Fiend Emperor, so why did this happen?

    ¡°Crown Prince!¡± Elder Wu, who was fighting in the distance, felt as if his eye sockets were splitting apart. He immediately flew over.

    However, a ck ripple suddenly appeared in the sky. A slender, pitch-ck sword reached out from within. It was like a sickle from hell. A treacherous arc shed through the air, and Elder Wu¡¯s head flew off his shoulders.

    Elder Wu had been focused on saving the Crown Prince, while the rest of his attention was tied up in remaining on guard against Sixth Uncle¡¯s attacks. How could he have anticipated that there would be another grandmaster rank cultivator here?

    The spinning head vaguely made out a handsome, fiendish figure walking out from the ck vortex. His mouth opened wide and he eximed, ¡°Dark elf!¡±

    Unfortunately, he was unable to utter another word before falling into eternal darkness.

    After cultivating to his level, his regeneration ability had be extremely powerful. Even if he was seriously injured, he would be able to slowly recover given some time. He could even regrow a severed arm or leg.

    However, that was only if he didn¡¯t suffer a fatal blow. The head was the most important part of the body. There was noing back after losing one¡¯s head.

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince recognized the dark figure. He was the Dark Elf King¡¯s younger brother, Duantian Chou. He was a famous genius from the Dark Elves. He had never expected the Second Prince to have even gotten someone like that on his side! The loss this time wasn¡¯t entirely unreasonable.

    The Second Prince¡¯s side clearly had the advantage in their trump cards, and on top of that, Duantian Chou had remained in hiding all this time. When he interfered, victory and defeat had instantly been decided. How treacherous!

    Still, he wasn¡¯t willing to die just like this. He secretly used the Golden Crow Sacred Fire to repair his crushed heart. The Golden Crow Sacred Fire was the Golden Crow Royal Family¡¯s most powerful self-healing ability; in the past, he had been able to recover even after having the entire lower half of his body blown up by Zu An. Naturally, he was able to regenerate his heart too.

    He was worried that the Second Prince would notice something, so he didn¡¯t even dare to use the Golden Crow Sacred Fire too overtly, and he pretended to be dead. He carefully circted it around his heart to secretly recover. He knew he had already suffered a crushing defeat today, but as long as he was still alive, there would be chances to make aeback.

    Soon, however, a strong gust of wind swept past. The Second Prince¡¯s voice soon reached his ears. ¡°Do you know how far I went for the sake of defeating you, just how thorough my research has been in all these years? Every single detail of your life, every single skill you have, I know it all like the back of my hand. I even know clearly how long you canst with women. Did you really think I would make the mistake of overlooking you ying dead?¡±

    He swiftly thrust his hand through the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s body. When it left, it was clutching a heart wrapped in golden mes, which throbbed slowly.

    The Second Prince threw the heart into his mouth and swallowed it. A satisfied smile appeared on his face as he said, ¡°Ah, the hearts of the strong are truly delicious. I can feel my body surge with power. I am bing bigger, and I am bing stronger!¡±

    The Golden Crow Crown Prince could no longer hold on. He spat out a mouthful of blood and died just like that.

    The Second Prince lifted up the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s corpse like that of a dead dog, calling out, ¡°The Crown Prince has already died. Cease your futile struggle. I will spare those who surrender!¡±

    When they saw the Golden Crow Crown Prince¡¯s corpse, the Crown Prince¡¯s many trusted aides immediately wept bitter tears and howled in pain. Then, they drew their swords to end their own lives. They knew that as the Crown Prince¡¯s trusted aides, there was no good end awaiting them. Rather than begging the Second Prince to kill them, they would rather do it themselves; there was no need to trouble the other side.

    Afterward, the morale of the lower-level soldiers fully crumbled, leaving them without any intention of resisting. They all threw their weapons away and kneeled toward the Second Prince in surrender.

    When he saw the Crown Prince¡¯s people all bowing toward him, the Second Prince finally couldn''t hold it in anymore. He clutched his face andughed madly. ¡°HA HA HA HA¡­¡±

    He had waited for this day for far too long. Decades of painstaking plotting, even for someone with a will as firm as his, had carried doubts; he had felt uncertain several times along the way. After all, anyone would think this taskcked the slightest chance of sess.

    But this impossible feat¡­ I¡¯ve achieved it!

    Now that I¡¯ve taken in the Crown Prince¡¯s subordinates, there¡¯s no one stronger than me in the entire Fiend King Court! Who else would be fit for the position of Fiend Emperor but me?!

    Duantian Chou spoke up in his sinister voice. ¡°Second Prince, now that the Crown Prince has been eliminated, what is most important is entering the pce and taking control over everything, then summoning all of the officials into the pce for an audience.¡±

    A near-crazed glint flickered through his eyes. At that time, the Great Elf King would have to move to the pce as well. Duantian Chou would kill him when he least expected it, and the thousand-year grudge between the Elves and the Dark Elves would reach its conclusion.

    My big brother will definitely bepletely shocked, right? His expression will no doubt be really interesting then, hehe~

    No one knew what he was thinking, but Duantian Chou¡¯s eyes carried a hint of zealotry and strange madness.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The Second Prince reflexively made some space between them. The Dark Elves were all crazy, and they were crazy people who were good at killing. No one was willing to be within three feet of a Dark Elf; otherwise, their life and death would no longer be in their hands.

    ¡°Fine. We are heading to the Imperial Pce!¡± the Second Prince then replied.

    They quickly incorporated the Crown Prince¡¯s troops into their own ranks, then marched toward the Imperial Pce. Soon afterward, they heard sounds of battle. The Second Prince frowned.

    A subordinate came to report, ¡°I believe they are Grand Secretary Heichi Fei and Right Guard General Niu Dao¡¯s men.¡±

    The Second Prince sneered. The Crown Prince had really underestimated him. If he had gathered all of his forces, I might not have won, and yet he just had to split up his troops. If he didn¡¯t end up losing, who else would?

    The sounds of ughter slowly became quieter and quieter. When the Second Prince came closer, he saw that it had indeed been Heichi Fei and Niu Dao fighting against each other. Niu Dao was carrying the Third Prince. The two bothy in pools of blood, already dead.

    From the looks of it, Niu Dao, who was loyal to thete emperor, had thought he only had to capture the Third Prince. He hadn¡¯t agreed with Heichi Fei¡¯s decision to kill the Third Prince, so a dispute had started, leading to an internal conflict.

    Niu Dao wasn¡¯t a match for Heichi Fei. Furthermore, his opponent had the Crown Prince¡¯s support, so the numerous Golden Crow Guards couldn''t just stand to the side without doing anything. In the end, he had faced impossible odds and was killed by Heichi Fei.

    ¡°Hmph, you should learn to adapt to the times!¡± Heichi Fei remarked, spitting on the ground. Suddenly, he saw the Second Prince¡¯s group and eximed, ¡°Crown Prince, you have returned¡­ Huh? Why is it you?!¡± The first half of his sentence was full of joy, but thetter half suddenly increased in pitch, his voice filling with shock.

    The Second Prince¡¯s gaze shifted to Niu Dao and the Third Prince¡¯s corpses. He thought, The Crown Prince really did take care of everything for me.

    I felt that my brothers were a bit annoying anyway. Now, it looks as if I don¡¯t have to deal with them myself.

    ¡°Why can it not be me?¡± the Second Prince replied, happily admiring Heichi Fei¡¯s look of rm. He waved his hand and asked, ¡°Is he the one you were waiting for?¡±

    His subordinate brought over a wooden stretcher that had the Crown Prince¡¯s corpse tied to it. It also carried the heads of Elder Wu, Commandant of Guards Wu Li, Left Guard General Ma Tian, and a few others.

    When he saw that, Heichi Fei felt as if his entire body had fallen into a frozen cer. He screamed, then turned to run. However, a ck vortex suddenly appeared in front of him, and a slender sword emerged from it, sending his head flying.

    Duantian Chou gave his sword a lick and said, ¡°The taste of blood is so delicious, especially the blood of the strong.¡±

 Chapter 1505: Match Made in Heaven

    <h4>Chapter 1505: Match Made in Heaven</h4>

    The Second Prince¡¯s face twitched. This Duantian Chou was really a freak through and through. Not even he could take it. Still, he had to admit that the Dark Elf was an incredibly sharp de. As long as he used that de well, he would be the nightmare of any enemy.

    Heichi Fei¡¯s soldiers finally realized what had happened, and a huge uproar broke out. They ran in all directions to escape. Even though the Heichi n¡¯s trusted generals tried to stop them, it was of no use. In the end, they all simply fled for their lives together.

    Unfortunately, how could the Second Prince let them run? His subordinates quickly drew crossbows, shooting them down one by one. As the ones who were running at the very forefront were shot down, people began to surrender one after another, and others also lowered their weapons.

    Once the leaders of the Crown Prince¡¯s forces were killed, taking in the rest of their army was easy. As for how they could discern if the new troops were still loyal to the Crown Prince, there was actually a very easy solution. They would just force the new additions to report on each other. That way, they would be forced to remain united; the ones who did make a report would incur grudges, and thus have no way of turning back. That was just how human nature worked.

    The group continued in the Imperial Pce¡¯s direction. As they got closer, they encountered another troop that was heading there. The Second Prince recognized the identity of the leaders. They were Chief Attendant Wu Fa and Composed King Wu Pei.

    Wu Fa and Wu Pei also saw the Second Prince. Both of them were surprised and said something simr to what Heichi Fei had said not too long ago. ¡°Why is it you?¡±

    After dealing with the Fourth Prince, they had suddenly noticed that something strange was happening at the Imperial Pce. After considering things a bit, they decided to head to the Imperial Pce first.

    They figured that the Crown Prince had more than enough power to deal with the Second Prince, but the Imperial Pce¡¯s defenses had been left a bit neglected. If the Second Prince or some other individual with wild ambitionsunched a surprise attack and took hold of the Crown Prince¡¯s main base, things would be troublesome. As such, they had decided to provide reinforcements first. How could they have known that they would encounter the Second Prince¡¯s main army here?

    ¡°Why can it not be me?¡± the Second Prince said once again; however, he didn¡¯t seem annoyed at all. Rather, he seemed to be enjoying it a lot.

    He had never gotten along with Wu Fa. In his earlier years, at the morning court sessions, the other person had always gotten in his way. As a result, on several asions, he had even received punishment from his father. Now, he had such a good opportunity, so he naturally had to properly enjoy Wu Fa¡¯s shameful disy of terrified pleas.

    ¡°Were you waiting for them?¡± the Second Prince asked, having his subordinates bring out the Crown Prince and the others¡¯ corpses again.

    Sure enough, an uproar broke out in the other camp. Many of them turned pale with fright.

    Wu Fa and Wu Pei¡¯s faces were ashen. Wu Pei¡¯s knees buckled, although Wu Fa remained a bit calmer. He didn¡¯t run like Heichi Fei, but rather remained in ce. He nced at the Second Prince¡¯s group, then shifted his gaze to the two people at the prince¡¯s side. He said resentfully, ¡°Lou Chen, Xue Han? So it was you who leaked information. No wonder the Crown Prince lost.¡±

    Lou Chen and Xue Han were both pce eunuchs with the rank of Regr Attendant. They were the greatest secretaries of the Fiend Emperor. Wu Fa was actually the two¡¯s immediate superior, but he was an outer minister, while they were internal servants of the Imperial Pce. As such, he didn¡¯t actually have that much control over them.

    Xue Han¡¯s expression became extremely unnatural, while Lou Chen just sneered, ¡°A talented person chooses a patron of integrity. You treated us like dogs, so of course we would report to them. The Second Prince treats us like knights of the state, so we naturally treat him with respect too. This is something right and proper.¡±

    Wu Fa roared withughter, replying, ¡°You two castrates even want to be state knights? How absurd!¡±

    Lou Chen and Xue Han¡¯s faces quickly turned entirely red. They cursed with shrill voices, ¡°You bastard, you won¡¯t meet a good end!¡±

    Wu Fa glowered. He coldly said, ¡°What is the use of mere words? How about we go for a round?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re already cornered, and yet you still want to fight with us? Do you even have the right?¡± the two Regr Attendants cursed.

    ¡°You¡¯re courting death!¡± Wu Fa eximed furiously. He rushed straight at the two of them.

    The eunuchs¡¯ expressions changed and they retreated. Even though their cultivation was weaker than Wu Fa¡¯s, they still had a chance if they worked together. However, the situation waspletely in their favor right now. Why did they have to take the risk of fighting him? Both wanted to enjoy lives of glory and wealth in the future. Their lives were precious; how could they risk it all here?

    As the two of them withdrew, the Second Prince¡¯s men were left feeling a bit rmed. After all, Wu Fa was after the two eunuchs. No one else wanted to stand in his way.

    Suddenly, Wu Fa¡¯s body bent at a ny degree angle, and he moved directly toward the Second Prince. He knew that with their old grudge, the Second Prince definitely wouldn¡¯t let him go. As such, he gave up on running or begging and instead decided to go directly for the leader. That way, he could have a chance at survival.

    However, there wasn¡¯t the slightest look of rm on the Second Prince¡¯s face. Instead, there was a mocking smile on the corners of his lips.

    Wu Fa immediately panicked.Don¡¯t tell me he already knew about my ns the entire time?

    But an arrow on a bowstring has to be fired!

    Suddenly, he saw a thin ck sword. After that, he saw his own back.

    My back?

    A burst of red blood appeared before his eyes, and his life ended.

    When he saw Duantian Chou lick the blood off his sword with a look of excitement, the Second Prince frowned. This guy was clearly using a thin sword, and yet it felt as if he were wielding a machete. He always beheaded his opponent, and never left them alive.

    He had still wanted to slowly torment Wu Fa, in order to watch his old enemy wail in pain at his feet. That was something that would have brought him tremendous satisfaction. Instead, it was Duantian Chou who had gotten all excited, but he wasn¡¯t able to.

    When he saw Wu Fa die like that, Wu Pei¡¯s legs grew weak. He quickly kneeled on the ground and pleaded, ¡°I was coerced by the Crown Prince before. I am willing to serve the Second Prince!¡±

    The Second Prince nodded in satisfaction. He needed useful people right now, so the more people sided with him, the better. Later on, once he had proper control over the Fiend King Court, he would slowly clean it up.

    Following Wu Pei¡¯s surrender, the other Golden Crow Guards began to surrender too. The Second Prince was able to incorporate them into his troops easily. When he saw his increasingly powerful army, he felt incredible. His losses when facing the Crown Prince had been quite severe, but now that he had taken in so many surrendered troops, his forces had actually increased in strength.

    It seems I¡¯m blessed by the heavens.

    They quickly arrived at the Imperial Pce gates. However, the chaotic situation they had expected didn¡¯t materialize. On the contrary, the pce gates were tightly shut, and it was heavily guarded. There weren¡¯t any openings in the defense.

    The Second Prince frowned when he saw that. He had a bad feeling.

    Wu Pei had just surrendered and wanted to show himself off a bit in front of his new master, so he walked up and boldly said, ¡°Many of these pce gate guards are my subordinates or my old friends. I¡¯ll head over and have them open up the gate.¡± He was one of the Golden Crow Guards¡¯ five greatmanders, so he did have the right to say such a thing.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The Second Prince nodded slightly. A peaceful resolution would be best; otherwise, a fight in the Imperial Pce would sound bad if news of it got out.

    But who would have thought that after Wu Pei spoke just a few sentences, he woulde running back with arrows on his tail? If he hadn¡¯t fled quickly, he would have been instantly turned into a porcupine. He pulled out an arrow from his bottom while exining to the Second Prince with an ashen expression, ¡°Something is wrong with them! They¡¯re normally really obedient to me. Should I go and try again?¡±

    The Second Prince pushed him away. He gestured for his subordinates to bring out the Crown Prince and the others¡¯ corpses. His subordinate hollered, ¡°The Crown Prince has already been executed. Do not put up senseless resistance. Our Second Prince is generous and kind; he will let bygones be bygones. Once he rises to the throne, he will reward everyone.¡±

    Just then, a cold voice replied from the pce gates, ¡°Thete Fiend Emperor passed on the throne to the youngest prince in hister years. Is the Second Prince trying to start a rebellion?¡±

    ¡°Passed on the throne to the youngest prince?¡± the Second Prince repeated, briefly stunned. Then, he roared withughter and eximed, ¡°Who is the one telling jokes at this hour?¡±

    The others under him also roared withughter. The youngest prince was still so young; it hadn¡¯t even been too long since he was weaned. How could he possibly be the Fiend Emperor?

    ¡°How brazen!¡± came a furious roar, apanied by tremendous power. Theughter of the army was immediately suppressed. Many people even felt their heart rates quicken. They didn¡¯t dare to mess around again.

    The Second Prince¡¯s expression changed. Then, he stared at the figure at the pce gate. The strong cultivators under him also stared in that direction with grave expressions. Anyone with that level of skill was definitely not to be trifled with.

    ¡°Hm? Aren¡¯t you that¡­ Zu An?¡± the Second Prince called out in surprise. The other person shared a grudge against the Crown Prince, and because of his rtionship with the Medusa Queen, he was well-known in the Fiend King Court. Even though he had changed his name, how could someone like that escape the intelligencework of such influential individuals?

    ¡°The Second Empress is there as well!¡± several people eximed, getting on their tiptoes. They saw the Second Empress dressed in phoenix robes, looking noble and morous. She looked mysteriously alluring against the backdrop of the Imperial Pce and several fiery lights.

    The Second Prince frowned. This young and beautiful stepmother had always held a kind of forbidden allure for him. But she was his father¡¯s woman, so he could only dare to fantasize about her asionally.

    And yet, right now, she stood by Zu An¡¯s side, cute and helpless-looking, as if they were a match made in heaven. He felt a wave of anger surge within him.

    You have sessfully trolled the Second Prince for +288 +288 +288¡­

 Chapter 1506: Do You Really Have No Idea?

    <h4>Chapter 1506: Do You Really Have No Idea?</h4>

    It wasn¡¯t just the Second Empress at Zu An¡¯s side; there was also the Medusa Queen, Elf Princess, the Demon Princess¡­ And what was going on with those other two women with ridiculously powerful auras?

    Judging from their figures and temperaments, they seemed to be the two who had represented the Snake race in the General Assembly¡¯spetition. However, back then, they had been masked. No one could have expected the two to be so beautiful.

    The Second Prince was a Fiend race prince, so there had always been countless beautiful women at his side ever since he was little. However, he rarely saw women who were this stunning.

    Just what kind of superpower does this Zu An have? How is he able to have so many extraordinary beauties at his side?

    You have sessfully trolled the Second Prince for +303 +303 +303¡­

    However, that was just his instinctive jealous reaction. He was an outstanding individual among his peers, so he quickly turned his attention away from the women and looked at the golden-robed youngest prince. He called out sternly, ¡°Fifth Brother, you dare to selfishly wear the emperor¡¯s robes? Do you know that this is a crime punishable by n eradication?!¡±

    The youngest prince was still quite young, and a little intimidated by his fierce Second Brother. His entire body trembled as his brother shouted at him, and he reflexively shrank back.

    Suddenly, however, a pair of warm and steady hands rested on his shoulders. Zu An called out again, ¡°You¡¯re so easily talking about n eradication. Has the Second Prince forgotten that you¡¯re part of his n?¡±

    The young prince immediately felt a sense of peace. He instinctively grabbed onto Zu An¡¯s sleeves, as it made him feel even safer than holding onto the Second Empress.

    The Second Empress felt both gratified and a bit strange. In that instant, it was hard even for her to describe what she was thinking.

    The Second Prince choked. He almost felt that if he were to say he had fought all the way from the King Court to the Imperial Pce without batting an eyelid, Zu An would ask him if his eyes were dry.

    He sneered. ¡°The Fiend Emperor position is not one you can maintain just because you wear the imperial robes. Toward such disgraceful behavior, today, I am going to clean up my own family¡¯s affairs.¡±

    ¡°Thete Fiend Emperor personally said to pass on the position to the youngest prince. With this as proof, the youngest prince¡¯s position is justified. Second Prince, don''t make a mistake you¡¯ll regret!¡± Zu An cried, then raised the Sun ying Bow, which immediately caused the Second Prince¡¯s faction to cry out in rm.

    The Sun ying Bow was a famous divine weapon among the Fiend races. It had always been in the Fiend Emperor¡¯s possession until recent years, but because he was nearing the end of his life, he had passed it onto the next generation¡¯s Fiend Emperor. Over time, the Sun ying Bow had be the symbol of imperial power.

    Now, when they saw the Sun ying Bow in Zu An¡¯s hands, how could the onlookers not feel shocked?¡±

    ¡°Why is the Sun ying Bow in your hands?¡± the Second Prince eximed, shocked and angry. In the past, the thing he had carried the greatest reservations toward was none other than the Crown Prince¡¯s Sun ying Bow. Even though he was confident that he had a high chance of defeating the Crown Prince, if his opponent had the Sun ying Bow, things would be tricky.

    For some time, he had been praising himself for his own battlefield tactics having prevented the Crown Prince from getting a chance to bring out the Sun ying Bow. And yet, to his surprise, the bow was nowhere to be seen even after the Crown Prince was killed! The Second Prince had been puzzled as to where his brother had hidden the Sun ying Bow. Never would he have thought that it would actually appear in Zu An¡¯s hands!

    Zu An said indifferently, ¡°Of course it was given to me by the Fiend Emperor back then. Don¡¯t tell me you think I would steal something like this?¡±

    Yu Yanluo, Yan Xuehen, and Yun Jianyue, who knew the truth, had strange expressions. However, no one else doubted Zu An at all. The Fiend Emperor was so powerful that no one could have his possessions unless he gave them away.

    The Second Prince was bewildered, asking, ¡°But why would Father Emperor give you the Sun ying Bow? Was it not with the Crown Prince before? You probably stole it from him.¡±

    Zu An sneered. ¡°The Golden Crow Crown Prince was always with thete Fiend Emperor in the secret dungeon. Would you try to steal it from him in that kind of situation?¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°You went into the dungeon too?¡± the Second Prince eximed in shock. The Crown Prince and Fiend Emperor¡¯s trip into the secret dungeon was no secret. Those at the upper echelons all knew of it.

    ¡°Of course. Inside the dungeon, the Golden Crow Crown Prince was cruel and unscrupulous, and he evenunched a surprise attack on thete Fiend Emperor. That was why, out of bitter disappointment, the Fiend Emperor seized his right to have the Sun ying Bow. Before his death, he gave me the Sun ying Bow and asked me to support the youngest prince in taking the throne,¡± Zu An said calmly. The youngest prince was too young, which would naturally draw a lot of criticism. He needed a proper pretext in order to take the imperial throne.

    However, there was still the Crown Prince to worry about. As such, he suddenly came up with an excuse. It not only solved the issue of the Crown Prince¡¯s legitimacy, but also allowed the youngest prince to have a proper reason for ascending to the throne.

    Yan Xuehen and the other women were left in admiration. This guy really was sharp. This way, not only would they avoid the problem of bing hated by all the Fiend races after killing the Fiend Emperor, it would even deal with the issue of legitimacy between the Crown Prince and the youngest prince.

    The Second Empress was also somewhat surprised. This was the first time she had heard the details surrounding the Fiend Emperor¡¯s death. She suspected that there had to be something else, but she sensibly chose not to ask more about it. This exnation was favorable for both mother and son.

    Amotion broke out among the onlookers. This was the first time many people had learned of thete Fiend Emperor¡¯s death. Many of them even wept bitter tears. They were incredibly shocked, because there was way too much to take in from what Zu An had just said.

    The Second Prince thought,So that¡¯s what happened in the dungeon. No wonder¡­Still, even if it was true, he wouldn¡¯t acknowledge it. He retorted, ¡°Hmph, what kind of joke is this? The Crown Prince has always received the favor of Father Emperor, and the position was already passed onto him. What motive would he have to harm my father?¡±

    He was putting on a bit of an act too. After all, he never could have expected to have to speak up for the Crown Prince. He coughed, then continued, ¡°Let alone the fact that the Fiend Emperor¡¯s cultivation is extraordinary. Even if the Crown Prince did plot against him, there would be no chance for him to hurt Father Emperor.¡±

    His answer received the agreement of his subordinates.Right, who is the Fiend Emperor? He is unrivaled! Even if the Crown Prince attacked him, how could anything have happened to him?

    Now, even the Second Empress¡¯ people looked at Zu An with a bit of suspicion.

    Zu An seemed to have already guessed that the Second Prince would call things into question like this. He exined in a calm and unhurried manner, ¡°It was because there were clues regarding an immortal medicine in the secret dungeon. Thete Fiend Emperor defeated the guardian of the immortal medicine and was about to obtain it when the Crown Prince seeded in his n. At the time, thete Fiend Emperor was seriously injured and unable to recover.¡±

    ¡°Immortal medicine?¡± An uproar arose once again. All those present became a bit excited when they heard about such a legendary substance. They hadn¡¯t expected it to really exist!

    Everything now made sense. The Fiend Emperor and the Crown Prince previously shouldn¡¯t have been in conflict¡­ but if the Fiend Emperor had obtained an immortal medicine, he would continue being the Fiend Emperor. How could the Crown Prince ept that? It made sense for him to take a risk out of desperation.

    When he heard the discussion taking ce, Zu An struck while the iron was hot. ¡°Thete Fiend Emperor passed on the position to the youngest prince right before his death. But out of consideration for his young age, he ordered for the Second Empress to rule in his ce and assist the youngest prince into adulthood.¡±

    ¡°Rule in his ce?¡± the Second Empress repeated, startled. She felt that all of this was really incredible. She really didn¡¯t know how this guy had thought of such a wonderful method. Now, she could properly hold a position in office. She looked at Zu An with an expression of happiness and gratitude.He really is considerate, even helping me solve all of these problems.

    Zu An¡¯s exnation only seemed natural. Even many of the Second Prince¡¯s subordinates believed him.

    Still, the Second Prince refused to ept the result. He protested, ¡°What nonsense! Even if Father Emperor gave up on the Crown Prince, he should have passed the role to me. Why would he give it to my young Fifth Brother? Wouldn¡¯t that be cing the Fiend races in danger?¡±

    Zu An retorted indifferently, ¡°Do you really have no idea why he didn¡¯t pass the position to you? How could a bastard child like you have the right of inheritance?¡±

    The Second Prince was speechless.

    You went there?!

    His rage red up and he spat, ¡°I have never heard of a young child bing the Fiend Emperor. The position of Fiend Emperor has always gone to the most powerful. If you refuse to adapt to circumstances, do not me me for disregarding brotherly affection!¡±

    You have trolled the Second Prince for +444 +444 +444¡­

    ¡°Brotherly affection?¡± Zu An repeated, pointing at the cross off to the side. ¡°Is this so-called brotherly affection killing your older brother and parading through the streets with his corpse?¡±

    The Second Prince glowered.

    ¡°When have our Fiend races¡¯ affairs needed the interference of a human like you?¡± Regr Attendant Xue Han screamed shrilly. His showing in front of Chief Attendant Wu Fa had been a bitcking, so he naturally wanted to speak up here to earn back the Second Prince¡¯s impression of him.

    Just then, a tiger roared as a yellow and ck figure rushed up to Xue Han, grabbing his throat and twisting. With a crack, Xue Han¡¯s body drooped like a dead dog in the figure¡¯s hand.

    Hu Qianxiao roared withughter, eximing, ¡°When have the Fiend Emperor¡¯s affairs needed a eunuch¡¯s thoughtless remarks?¡±

    Suddenly, a ck ripple appeared by the pce gate. A slender sword stabbed toward the Second Empress and the youngest prince.

 Chapter 1507: Undisclosed Strength

    Chapter 1507: Undisclosed Strength

    Hu Qianxiao¡¯s vicious assault was too sudden to stop. He eliminated Xue Han in a clean and efficient manner. Xue Han was a Regr Attendant with decent cultivation, but he didn¡¯t even have a chance to retaliate against the attack.

    The Second Prince was quite surprised. ording to his intelligence, Hu Qianxiao and the Crown Prince had had secret dealings, and the Tiger King should have been roped in by his brother. Why was Hu Qianxiao siding with the Second Empress?

    Most importantly, he was evenpletely into it. Don¡¯t tell me he was bewitched by that slut, the Second Empress, and he¡¯s showing off this side of himself to gain her favor?

    In his opinion, that was the only rational exnation. As for Zu An, even though that guy was quite active and annoying, the Second Prince didn¡¯t treat him as a big deal at all. Someone like that wasn¡¯t even worthy of being his opponent.

    Even though it was a bit regrettable that Xue Han had died, it was a good way to lure out the tiger. He looked in the Second Empress¡¯ direction. A smirk appeared on his lips.

    Almost at that exact moment, a ck ripple appeared in the air above the pce gates. A long and slender sword stabbed directly toward the youngest prince.

    The Crown Prince was already dead, and both the Third and Fourth Princes had been eliminated by the Crown Prince. Now, as long as he killed the youngest prince, the Second Prince would be the sole sessor. With the youngest prince¡¯s death, the forces that gathered around him wouldpletely copse. Hadn¡¯t the same thing happened not too long ago?

    As for Hu Qianxiao, he was indeed a bit tricky, but he was a smart person. Once the broader situation was settled, he wouldn¡¯t necessarily take the risk because of a woman.

    ng!

    With a loud noise, the sword that had been about to remove the youngest prince¡¯s head was blocked by a curved crescent moon.

    The Second Prince¡¯s eyes immediately widened. The one who had interfered was actually the exceptionally beautiful, huge-chested woman by Zu An¡¯s side.

    Duantian Chou was a glorious grandmaster with astounding assassination skills. And yet, this woman, who looked like a beauty who had been raised to be a member of a harem, was actually able to stop his lethal strike!

    Duantian Chou was clearly surprised as well. However, he didn¡¯t continue fighting zealously. Instead, the ck vortex opened, and he instantly reappeared in the air more than a hundred meters away.

    That was the way of the assassin. When an attempt failed, one would retreat far away. He was very thankful that he had always respected that absolute principle, because the instant he left, an ice-cold sword had already thrust at his original position. It even froze the surrounding air into ice!

    If he had been even a tiny bit slower, that horrifyingly cold sword would have sealed the air around him. He wouldn¡¯t have been able to leap through space anymore.

    There were two grandmasters!

    It wasn¡¯t just him who was horrified; so were the Second Prince¡¯s people. They could never have expected the youngest prince to have such support.

    Yun Jianyue harrumphed, then rushed at Duantian Chou by running through the air.

    Duantian Chou almost wanted tough when he saw her. Who does this woman think I am? Does she actually dare to chase after me, one of the greatest assassins?

    Untold numbers of strong cultivators had died by his hand. As long as the white-d woman didn¡¯t help, he was confident he could destroy the long-haired woman.

    Hmph, when experts are of a simr level, such a massive chest can only be a hindrance. Furthermore, even her hair is so long. She¡¯s full of openings!

    Even though this woman¡¯s cultivation is high, how could shepare to me in terms of killing people?

    After all these years, he had actually encountered several opponents at the same level. However, all of them, without exception, had merely had high cultivations but weren¡¯t good at killing. In the end, they had died while filled with regret.

    Soon afterward, however, the smile faded from his face.

    What is going on with this almost tangible killing intent? Why does this woman who looks as if she came from a brothel have such strong killing intent?

    Compared to her, the number of people I¡¯ve killed almost makes me seem like the little brother¡­

    The Second Prince frowned when he saw Duantian Chou at a disadvantage. He said to the elder at his left, ¡°Sixth Uncle, I¡¯ll have to trouble you.¡±

    The elder sighed and replied, ¡°Sigh, getting a sry from you really isn¡¯t easy. Didn¡¯t we already agree that I would only help you deal with Elder Wu?¡±

    If he had been asked to deal with some random army, something he could have just dealt with easily, he wouldn¡¯t really mind. However, this was a grandmaster, so he was a bit unwilling.

    The Second Prince said with a serious expression, ¡°I¡¯ll pay more. I¡¯ll double our earlier agreement.¡±

    The elder¡¯s eyes lit up and he replied, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll help you deal with the white-d woman. The rest is none of my business.¡±

    The Second Prince nodded. He knew someone from the Committee of Elders would never act against the youngest prince.

    The elder walked toward the pce gate step by step. It was as if there were invisible stairs beneath his feet. He looked straight at Yan Xuehen and asked, ¡°This miss over there, which master and sect did you study under? That sword was quite stunning.¡±

    What was stunning about her definitely wasn¡¯t limited to just that sword. Her clothes were purer than snow, and her long hair scattered behind her, making her look even more beautiful. If he had met her when he was younger, even someone like him might have fallen for her.

    Now that he was older, though, he really couldn''t do it anymore¡­ Ahem, women would only slow down the speed of my sword draw.

    Yan Xuehen didn¡¯t reply. What the elder got in return was nothing but a sword amid snow.

    Zu An smiled when he saw that. This was just how she always was; ice-cold face, ice-cold sword, ice-cold personality.

    I¡¯m the only one who knows how hot it is underneath that frozen, icy shell.

    The elder¡¯s expression changed. At first, he had treated his opponent as a junior, judging her based on her young appearance. He hadn¡¯t expected that there wouldn¡¯t be the slightest trace of immaturity in her attacks. On the contrary, it felt as if she had already been at the grandmaster rank for a long time.

    He didn¡¯t dare to show any carelessness and gathered his attention. Soon, streaks of terrifying light erupted in the air. Both of them knew that a battle here would harm their own side, so they both tacitly agreed to fly above the clouds and battle there.

    The Second Prince retracted his gaze. Those battles wouldn¡¯t end for some time. In the end, it would still depend on him to settle things. Thus, he waved his hand, and his elite troops roared as they charged at the pce gates.

    He had a hundred and twenty percent confidence in his own elite troops. Together with the Golden Crow Guards he had taken into his own army, he had more than enough to spare for defeating the youngest prince¡¯s men.

    Hu Qianxiao was a bit conflicted. The Second Prince¡¯s military strength was a bit greater, so it was difficult to say who would win.

    Is there a need for me to get heavily involved in this battle? Or should I step forward when the situation is a bit clearer?

    He turned around to look at Zu An atop the city gate. Zu An¡¯s expression was calm, giving him a mysterious and unpredictable air.

    Thus, Hu Qianxiao gritted his teeth and roared, charging at the Second Prince. The shock of witnessing Shi Zhentian being shot down by a single arrow was just too great. In the end, he really didn¡¯t want to experience that himself.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Even though the Second Prince¡¯s forces were strong, he was a bit weaker in terms of high-level cultivators. Meanwhile, Hu Qianxiao was a grandmaster himself, which would prove to be of critical importance in the battle.

    The Second Prince sneered when he saw the other man rush at him. Hu Qianxiao suddenly felt rmed. He quickly extended his tiger tail to one side,shing out in that direction.

    This was his trump card, something he had refined into a magic weapon ever since he was young. It wasn¡¯t inferior to the best heaven-grade weapon and could even temporarily reach the power of immortal-grade. Even a grandmaster would be seriously injured from his strike.

    Pa!

    A loud and crisp noise rang out. Hu Qianxiao screamed loudly and jumped while clutching his butt. His vicious tail already had a chunk of its flesh ripped out, dripping with blood. If not for his hard work refining that part, it might have already been torn off.

    A strange and ugly person with only a few sparse patches of hair on his head cracked open a grin, revealing his sharp, pitch-ck teeth. Every single tooth was like a sharp dagger, and a chunk of tiger skin dripping with blood hung from them. It clearly came from Hu Qianxiao¡¯s tail. His tongue wrapped around it and he swallowed. With a chuckle, he said, ¡°Not a bad vor¡­¡±

    Hu Qianxiao was shocked and furious, eximing, ¡°Heichi Suiya!¡±

    The ¡®monster¡¯ Heichi Suiyaughed sinisterly, replying, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to still remember this old one¡¯s name.¡±

    Atop the pce gates, when she saw Zu An¡¯s confused expression, the Second Empress exined gently, ¡°Heichi Suiya is the infamous traitor of the ck Teeth race. He had great talent, but his schemes were dishonest. In order to grow his cultivation, he trained in a skill that let him devour other creatures. The ck Teeth race¡¯s skills lie in their mouths. Heichi Suiya took it to a new level, relying on his sharp teeth to be a grandmaster.

    ¡°Back then, because he harmed too many creatures and even hurt the children of aristocrats in the Fiend King Court, he ended up provoking public anger. That was why the ck Teeth race¡¯s leader banished him from the n. Without the protection of the ck Teeth race, he received the scorn of all and was forced toy low for many years. People all thought he had died, but it turns out he sided with the Second Prince.

    ¡°Right, the Second Prince¡¯s wife is also from the ck Teeth race, but the ck Teeth race has more loyalty to the Crown Prince. The Second Prince has never received their favor.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, The Second Empress really is considerate. I didn¡¯t even have to take the initiative to ask about these things!

    The Second Prince really did have to work really hard. He already began to n all this so many years ago.

    Hu Qianxiao roared angrily, ¡°You¡¯re nothing more than an insignificant has-been. Do you think this king is scared of you?!¡±

    As the king of beasts, he also had his pride. He had initially only nned to do the bare minimum today, but he had actually been bitten by this guy, who had even swallowed his flesh with that smug expression.

    Unforgivable! How am I going to survive in my social circles after this?

    The two began to fight fiercely. However, the Second Prince didn¡¯t even give them another look and looked off to one side, saying, ¡°Sir Fu, I¡¯ll need to trouble you.¡±

    Cackle cackle cackle¡­

    With a sinisterugh, a giant bat suddenly flew into the sky.

    The soldiers nearby, and even some of the stronger cultivators, felt their blood boil. Then, they screamed miserably as their blood left their bodies and flew toward the bat in midair.

 Chapter 1508: The Ignorant Are Fearless

    <h4>Chapter 1508: The Ignorant Are Fearless</h4>

    The Second Prince was extremely satisfied with the situation. He had already known for a long, long time that the throne wouldn¡¯t be his, but rather his big brother¡¯s.

    If it had only been because he was inferior in terms of ability and talent, that would be one thing, but he was clearly notcking in those two areas, and perhaps he was even a bit better. Was it only because his mother wasn¡¯t the empress that he couldn''t be the emperor?

    He hadn¡¯t been able to ept that, but he had known that there was no chance of the Fiend Emperor passing on his position to him.

    If you won¡¯t give it to me, I¡¯ll fight for it myself.

    That was why, all those years ago, he had volunteered for the army to develop his strength. Because they often fought against the human side, which had the advantage, being in the military was actually extremely dangerous. The chances of dying were extremely high. Let alone the Crown Prince, even nobles with a bit of authority didn¡¯t want their children to be a part of that.

    Still, the Second Prince had persisted to the end, and had eventually be one of the Fiend races¡¯ four great generals.

    Even so, his father had never even given him a proper look and only treated him as a sharp de for the Crown Prince in the future. Once the Crown Prince became the emperor, his role would be to help open up new territory.

    The Second Prince had known all that, so he took the chance while he was in charge of the troops to aggressively rope in all kinds of strong individuals. Putting aside everything else, there were already four grandmasters on his side.

    Even though Duantian Chou¡¯s cultivation was high, he had been the easiest of the four to convince. The Dark Elves were mortal enemies of the Elf race, and the Elf race was currently one of the Fiend King Court¡¯s three great ns. If the Elf race represented the government, the Dark Elves naturally represented the underworld.

    If the Dark Elves wanted to change that perception, the only way was for the King Court to change, and for those in power to be reced entirely. As such, they had easily hit it off.

    Sixth Uncle hadn¡¯t been too hard either. He cared about his lifespan, and had just entered the Committee of Elders. He hadn¡¯tpletely cast aside the secr world like those other old freaks. As such, by appealing to his desires, the Second Prince hadn¡¯t had too hard a time recruiting him.

    Heichi Suiya had suffered from difficulties in the past. Furthermore, the Second Prince¡¯s first wife was from the Heichi n too. With that kind of rtionship, it wasn¡¯t too difficult for him to draw Heichi Suiya over.

    However, the tricky part was that the reason why Heichi Suiya was hated by so many people was because he had to eat other creatures; they couldn''t be ordinary creatures either, but rather ones with cultivation. Both humans andfiendswere fine. If he went without eating someone, he would go berserk. Hewas someone who seemed impossible to raise.

    Fortunately, the Second Prince had constantly been at war and thus had ways to get Heichi Suiya some ¡®food¡¯, such as human captives or soldiers who vited important rules. Sometimes, when he didn¡¯t have enough, he had found some remote viges, pretending to be a human or monster to plunder them and wipe them out. The vigers were then used to fill Heichi Suiya¡¯s belly.

    Sir Fu had been the most troublesome. He was a notorious figure even among the Blood races. He had taken many disciples in the past, then enved them, in order to capture all kinds of powerful cultivators to absorb.

    He had even set up aplicated system for that. The top three disciples would receive abundant rewards, and the ones in the middle wouldn¡¯t be rewarded or punished, but the worst one among them would have all of their blood essence sucked dry. As a result, his disciples would work frantically, as no one wanted to be that unluckyst-ce individual.

    The struggle between the disciples had been extremely fierce. There were disciples who had thought about rebellion or escaping, but no one had seeded. On the contrary, their ends were even more miserable, and they had lived lives worse than death.

    Over the span of several decades, it was rumored that there was only a single disciple who had sessfully escaped, someone named Mosquito Daoist. She had be an infamous monster in both the Fiend and human worlds. If a single disciple could be that strong, it was easy to see just how formidable the master was.

    And yet, in the end, everything had turned against Sir Fu. His disciples finally couldn''t take it anymore and had worked with Sir Fu¡¯s enemies, sessfully overthrowing his rule. The battle had been extremely bitter; almost all the disciples had died, while Sir Fu had only escaped with serious injuries.

    The Second Prince had coincidentally been able to save him. Of course, he knew such a monster would never develop any sort of gratitude for that. As such, he had never treated it as a big deal, and instead opted to keep Sir Fu on his side through benefits.

    In the past, Sir Fu had needed to rely on his ve disciples to find targets for bloodsucking, but afterward, he gained ess to the vastly greater manpower and resources at the Second Prince¡¯s disposal. Sir Fu was naturally happy to stay.

    However, for the Second Prince, it had been extremely difficult to shelter Sir Fu, because his desire for blood wasn¡¯t any lower than Heichi Suiya¡¯s. Comparatively, at least Heichi Suiya ate anything, which meant the corpses would disappear without a trace. In contrast, Sir Fu only sucked blood and didn¡¯t eat the flesh. The characteristics of those he sucked the blood out of were really obvious.

    If such a thing were exposed, it would be really troublesome despite the Second Prince¡¯s status. Not only had he needed to assign someone to secretly look for prey, he had to help clean things up after. It really was a special kind of suffering¡­n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The four grandmasters were all formidable, but the price he¡¯d needed to pay to recruit them was too great. Furthermore, they hadn¡¯t dared to make any moves while the Fiend Emperor was still alive.

    Sometimes, the Second Prince had even wondered whether he had invested too much. What was the point of gathering allies who didn¡¯t dare to act against his father?

    And yet, in the end, he concluded that the heavens must have pitied him, because his father had unexpectedly died in the secret dungeon. Only the self-important Crown Prince had been left. What else was there to say? He had to go for it!

    Even so, he hadn¡¯t let Heichi Suiya or Sir Fu make any moves, because the two devils were just too notorious and would easily bring about negative consequences.

    However, the way things stood, there was nothing he could do. He hadn¡¯t expected the other side to have three grandmasters! He knew that the longer he waited, the more variables would appear. As such, he had decisively brought the two out.

    As for the consequences, as long as he became the Fiend Emperor, it wouldn¡¯t matter. He wouldn¡¯t necessarily even have to personally handle things; countless people would proactively help him solve such problems.

    Sir Fu¡¯s cultivation really was ridiculous. Even the Second Prince felt his blood start to stir despite being so far away. When he saw many of his own troops caught up in friendly fire, however, he remained expressionless. At the moment, the only thing he cared about was if the youngest prince could be captured. In order to achieve his objective, small sacrifices were tolerable. At worst, he would just offer the sacrificed soldiers¡¯ families somepensation and they would feel deeply grateful.

    Just then, Sir Fu quickly reached the Imperial Pce¡¯s entrance. The Second Empress¡¯ trusted aides and the Xiao n¡¯s experts rushed out to stop him; however, with a mere wave of Sir Fu¡¯s hands, those people exploded into a bloody mist, their bodies instantly sucked dry and turning into shriveled corpses.

    The Elf race, Demon race, and Ocean races¡¯ people all backed up in fear. In order to leave themselves a way out, they hadn¡¯t sent any grandmaster-level forces over. As such, no one among them dared to have a direct confrontation against these kinds of terrifying devils.

    The one who ran the fastest was Chi Wen. Even though he was enchanted by the Second Empress¡¯ beauty, how could a beauty¡¯s favorable opinionpare to his life? If he were sucked dry into a shriveled corpse, none of that would matter anymore!

    Just like that, the only ones left were Zu An and the pale-faced Yu Yanluo.

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡± Qiao Xueying eximed, worried about the safety of her lover. Unfortunately, the Elf race expert behind her grabbed her firmly, not letting their princess throw her life away.

    Sir Fu grabbed toward the youngest prince. A terrifying wave of absorption force spread outward. The Second Empress could only frantically use her cultivation to stop her blood from leaving her body. She wanted to protect her son, but there was nothing she could do.

    Thankfully, Zu An was there! Quickly, he stood protectively in front of the youngest prince. When she saw that man¡¯s calm demeanor, the Second Empress sighed a bit in relief.

    However, her heart quickly rushed up to her throat from nervousness. Even though Zu An had shot down the grandmaster Shi Zhentian with a single arrow earlier, now, it seemed as if that had been due to the power of the divine weapon, the Sun ying Bow. The enemy was already so close that he had no opportunity to use the Sun ying Bow at all. Furthermore, how was he going to protect both the Medusa Queen and the young prince?

    Sir Fu noticed that the young man was strangely calm. He sneered inwardly.

    The youngsters these days really aren¡¯t capable of sound judgment. This old one has already dominated the world for so many years, but perhaps he doesn¡¯t know of the terror I represent.

    The ignorant really are fearless! Once this old one sucks away all of your cultivation, you¡¯ll be scared out of your wits. Let¡¯s see if you¡¯ll still try to act cool then.

    I hate these kinds of pretty boys. Back then, my most beloved disciple Mosquito Daoist was led astray by none other than such a pretty boy!

    The pearl this old one spent so much effort nurturing ended up being fed to a pig!

    You have sessfully trolled Sir Fu for +999 +999 +999¡­

    Zu An felt a bit strange when he saw the string of Rage points in the backend.

    I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve provoked him before! Why is he so angry at me?

    However, the blood stirring within him didn¡¯t allow for even a moment of hesitation. He immediately activated the ¡®Ikuu Experience Card¡¯!

    Favorite

 Chapter 1509: Too Kind

    <h4>Chapter 1509: Too Kind</h4>

    Skill description: If your back hurts, it might not be because of a de. If you are screaming your heart and lungs out, it might not be because of pain. What rests on your shoulders might not necessarily be responsibility. Things you are forced to learn might not be a lesson!

    Skill effect: Only effective on men. Once a target is selected, it will force them to experience a woman¡¯s perspective. They will feel as if they were being powerfully filled by a strong and robust man. One of the four scenarios above will be chosen, and they will continue to scream ¡®Ikuu ikuu~¡¯.

    Note: This skill is ineffective against those without any intimate experiences.

    Such amonstrous viin as Sir Fu had definitely had his fair share of oppressing others with sexual acts. Either way, there was no way he could be an innocent virgin. His entire body trembled, and he started shaking. In his mind, he was no longer the great devil who left others terror-stricken, but rather a weak, shivering little bat.

    Arge group of burly men surrounded him. Elephant race, Bison race, Rhinoceros race, Donkey race¡­ There was even the Whale race and the Dragon race¡­ All of them had onemon trait, which was that they were big. Really, really big.

    Their sizes made Sir Fu feel inferior. He hid in the corner and trembled in fear. On top of that, they all looked a bit familiar¡­

    Was I the one who killed them?

    I can¡¯t remember¡­

    Those guys didn¡¯t give him any time to think. They grabbed him roughly. He struggled frantically, but in front of these burly men, he was just like a petite little flower. His arms and legs were soon spread out like the ´ó character.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Then¡­ Then he learned that his body actually had many, many holes! His mouth could do more than just eat; his butt could do more than defecate¡­

    ¡­

    Sir Fu almost had a mental breakdown from what he was experiencing. His entire body shook. He wanted to scream, but his mouth couldn''t open any wider. Two streaks of tears slid out of the corners of his eyes. Never could he have imagined that a great viin like him would have such a pitiful encounter and be ravaged like this. He was actually¡­

    Able to feel so good?

    Suddenly, the gate to a whole new world seemed to have opened up for him. Soon, something seemed to emerge from the depths of his body. He couldn''t control it at all. It rushed out like a surging river!

    All of the fine hairs on his back stood up. His entire body shivered. That ¡®something¡¯ gushed out relentlessly. Such a feeling was sore, yet refreshing, and yet also gave him a feeling of emptiness.

    Huh?

    What¡¯s leaving me seems to be my cultivation!

    He was horrified when he realized what was happening. He finally snapped out of his daze. He wanted to keep his cultivation from leaving him, but it was as if a dam had burst. After the opening was made, how could he still stop it?

    He was shocked and furious. He was usually the one who sucked out the blood essence and cultivation of others, and yet today, someone else was sucking away his cultivation?

    He sneered.You want topete against me in absorption?

    Sorry, but you¡¯ve run into this master today!

    He quickly used his evil skill on the opponent¡¯s blood essence. As long as he absorbed blood essence more quickly, it was his opponent who would die!

    Who canpare to me in sucking¡­ Ikuu ikuu!

    Sir Fu¡¯s face suddenly turned red. He didn¡¯t know the meaning of that phrase, but he felt a humiliation that originated from his very soul. He could only endure the shame while continuing to suck the opponent.

    I¡¯m going to suck, suck, and suck some more!

    Huh? Why can¡¯t I suck out anything?

    Sir Fu was horrified. He discovered that his skill wasn¡¯t working as intended.

    If his absorption was like an ocean whirlpool, that guy¡¯s suction was like a ck hole amid the cosmos. Zu An¡¯s technique even seemed to be the ancestral version of his own; it was far more profound and mysterious.

    Don¡¯t tell me this is the legendary skill of the Blood races that has been lost since¡­ Ikuu ikuu!

    The scene really was a bit strange in the eyes of everyone else.

    At first, Sir Fu had been charging at the youngest prince. Zu An had stood in his way, so Sir Fu had to face Zu An first. They had all thought that it would be an effortless victory, and Zu An would be instantly sucked into a shriveled corpse.

    However, they hadn¡¯t expected Sir Fu to suddenly stop. Then, a smile had appeared on his face. It was very strange, and yet somehow resembled a look of satisfaction. It really was hard to describe.

    Then, Sir Fu¡¯s body had begun trembling quickly. In a different time and ce, many people would have thought he was going through ¡®that¡¯.

    The worst part was what he continuously shouted. It seemed to sound like ¡®ikuu¡¯! Even though they didn¡¯t know what it meant, people¡¯s imaginations ran wild, making their faces red from embarrassment.

    ¡°What in the world is going on, Sir Fu?!¡± the Second Prince cried out with a frown. He had never heard of Sir Fu showing mercy. Was he nning on capturing the young prince alive?

    We can¡¯t allow that! It¡¯ll make things trickier. The Crown Prince is one thing, but the young prince is still so young. I can¡¯t take on the bad name of killing my younger brother. Hurry up and kill him already!

    Just then, Zu An put his hand on Sir Fu¡¯s body. Sir Fu¡¯s entire body began to shake even more powerfully, and he began screaming louder and louder too.

    The Second Prince wasn¡¯t shocked, and was actually happy to see that. After all, what was Sir Fu¡¯s strongest point? He had already trained his skill to the point that every single one of his pores could suck out blood essence. And yet, Zu An was putting a hand on him? Wasn¡¯t he just courting death?

    However, his smile quickly froze on his face, because Zu An wasn¡¯t sucked into a shriveled corpse. Sir Fu let Zu An keep a hand on him, and the two of them froze as still as statues.

    ¡­And yet, they weren¡¯t entirely still, because Sir Fu¡¯s entire body continued shaking. He kept uttering the ¡®ikuu ikuu¡¯ sounds that were difficult to understand.

    Zu An had started using his Heaven Devouring Sutra with everything he had. He had used the Ikuu Experience Card to catch Sir Fu off guard, then seized the opening.

    The Heaven Devouring Sutra was an extremely miraculous technique. He had been worried that it wouldn¡¯t be able to suck out Sir Fu¡¯s cultivation, but if he had even a single opening, no matter how high the opponent¡¯s cultivation was, they would fall victim to the skill.

    In the past, Zu An hadn¡¯t really used the skill to absorb the cultivation of others. The first reason was that he felt that it would harm the natural harmony of the world, and the second was that the cultivation he acquired would be impure. The more he absorbed, the easier it would be for there to be problemster. As such, he had only used the Heaven Devouring Sutra to absorb and neutralize the skills of opponents who were at a higher level than himself. He hadn¡¯t taken their cultivation into his own body.

    However, this Sir Fu was different. He was incredibly vicious, and just then, he had cruelly ughtered so many innocent people. Zu An didn¡¯t feel the slightest bit of mental pressure when facing him.

    Furthermore, Sir Fu was a grandmaster, so Zu An didn¡¯t have any way of ambushing him at such a short distance. If he were just protecting himself, it would have been fine, but it was too hard to protect the young prince and Yu Yanluo at the same time.

    That was why Zu An had simply used the Heaven Devouring Sutra. Together with the Ikuu Experience Card skill, he had begun to forcibly absorb Sir Fu¡¯s cultivation. He had been a bit worried at first, because Sir Fu was even stronger than the other Blood race individuals he encountered before.

    And yet, once he began to absorb his opponent¡¯s cultivation, he found that Sir Fu¡¯s skill was a bit familiar. It was really simr to that of Mosquito Daoist, but one was a female mosquito, while one was a male bat, so he hadn¡¯t made the connection. Once it started, however, Zu An felt the energy inside of him rise drastically. He had to admit that just like Mosquito Daoist, this Sir Fu was just too kind to him.

    Soon, Sir Fu¡¯s eyes became dimmer and dimmer, eventuallypletely fading away. He had sucked countless people dry, and yet met the same fate himself in the end. In a sense, it was a fitting end for him. Furthermore, he had been trapped in the ¡®ikuu¡¯ fantasy the entire time, so he passed away happily.

    Meanwhile, Zu An only felt as if a roaring sea of energy had entered him. All of his meridians felt as if they were about to explode. If not for the fact that his body had been tempered several times and be incredibly tough, and without the Heaven Devouring Sutra¡¯s profundity, he could have already exploded like a balloon.

    No one else knew what had happened, only seeing the two standing quietly together. The Second Prince had a bad feeling and quickly shouted, ¡°Sir Fu, we must end things as quickly as possible! Do not dy any longer!¡±

    ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t think he can answer you anymore,¡± Zu An replied. The White Lotus me surged from his hand as he spoke, burning Sir Fu¡¯s corpse into ashes.

    The main reason for that was because such absorption skills were hated by the entire world. He didn¡¯t want anyone to find out anything from examining Sir Fu¡¯s body, making him into a public enemy.

    However, the scene was horrifying in the eyes of others. Sir Fu had charged with such impressive momentum, and yet he was stopped by a single hand. Afterward, he continuously started mumbling ¡®ikuu¡¯ or something. Before anyone could understand what was happening, fire had erupted from Zu An¡¯s hand, and just like that, the famous Sir Fu was turned to ashes.

    It looked as if Zu An hadn¡¯t used that much strength, but when Sir Fu refused to listen to his warning, Zu An had exerted a bit more force and killed him.

    Just how ridiculous was such strength?

    Favorite

 Chapter 1510: The Wind Is So Noisy Today

    Chapter 1510: The Wind Is So Noisy Today

    The Second Empress blinked her beautiful eyes. She discovered that in the end, she had still underestimated this man. Even though she knew he was really strong, killing Shi Zhentian with a single arrow was just too ridiculous. She had subconsciously attributed it to the power of the Sun ying Bow.

    But now, Zu An had actually killed the great devil-like Sir Fu, who had already been infamous for so many years. Just what kind of concept was that?

    Previously, when she only examined his ki aura, Zu An had seemed to only be at the early master rank in the hero form stage. She had been worried for him back then. Now, she only felt that he had to be trying to hide his power, deliberately keeping his cultivation lower. When she thought of that, Zu An¡¯s presence instantly became much greater in her mind.

    The young prince recovered from his rm and quickly ran over to his mother¡¯s side. He tugged on her sleeves and said excitedly, ¡°Mother empress, mother empress! I want to be just as strong as adoptive father in the future!¡±

    A look of surprise appeared in the Second Empress¡¯ eyes. After all, in the past, the one her son had admired was his father, thete Fiend Emperor. However, thete Fiend Emperor rarely fought, so her son had never really witnessed his strength. That was why the shock of Zu An¡¯s power was something he had no frame of reference for at all. She didn¡¯t know whether it was a good or bad thing for her son to admire Zu An so much.

    Yu Yanluo felt a strange sense of pride when she saw the mother and son¡¯s expressions of shock and admiration. Is killing a grandmaster that special? In the Unknown Region, he killed the unrivaled Fiend Emperor. He even shot down the suns in the sky!

    Qiao Xueying¡¯s eyes shone as she thought, Ah Zu is so, so much stronger than before! Hmph, he actually hid it from me! I¡¯ll definitely let him have itter! When she saw Yu Yanluo looking at Zu An with a proud expression, she couldn''t help but feel a bit jealous. I clearly got here before you!

    Chi Wen, who had fled into the distance, was absolutely horrified. I really was courting death before! I actually tried to steal the woman of someone this scary?

    I was upset when little aunt made mepensate him with so many heaven-grade weapons. I thought little aunt and this guy had something going on between them, and thought she was trying to raise an outsider man using the Dragon Pce¡¯s treasures. I almost thought she was betraying our people back then¡­

    But little aunt was actually helping me! I had no idea that she saved my life!

    Forget it, forget it, I¡¯ll definitely stay far away from his women. Yup, I should just go after my Demon Race princess.

    He looked dotingly at Princess Suolun, but what he saw was her star-struck expression as she looked at Zu An. He immediately suffered another mental blow.

    She treated me so coldly when she looked at me. Isn¡¯t she the proud and cold type?

    She¡¯ll excuse herself after just a few sentences with me.

    But judging from how she looks right now, if Zu An started a conversation with her, she would probably be the one to invite him inside first!

    Screw all of you!

    Sigh, what a shallow world. Thank goodness I¡¯m so handsome I can still fight in this battle.

    ¡­

    Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen, who were fighting high up in the sky, had been paying attention to the situation below the entire time. When they saw Sir Fu suddenly attack Zu An, both of them were rmed. They subconsciously wanted to save him, but their opponents kept them busy and didn¡¯t let them go.

    However, just as they were starting to feel worried, Zu An had already easily dealt with Sir Fu. There weren¡¯t even any bones left.

    The two women were a bit speechless. Yun Jianyue struggled a bit as she sent a ki transmission. ¡°Stone cold woman, is this that so-called ¡®unrivaled conviction¡¯?¡±

    Yan Xuehen was also a bit stunned. In her mind, even though Zu An had unexpectedly nurtured the belief that he was the strongest in the Unknown Region, something others could take centuries to grasp, he still had to borrow the power of the Sun ying Bow because of his own low cultivation rank.

    And yet, he had defeated a grandmaster bare-handed, just like that? How was this possible?!

    Was all of themon sense I developed over the years wrong?

    Is there something wrong with us, or is there something wrong with the world?

    Seeing as Yan Xuehen didn¡¯t reply, Yun Jianyue asked, ¡°Stone cold woman, say, if we were to fight him, who would win?¡±

    A bitter smile appeared on Yan Xuehen¡¯s face as she replied, ¡°I do not know.¡±

    She really didn¡¯t know. At first, even though Zu An did have unrivaled conviction, they had thought they knew enough about Zu An¡¯s various skills. As long as they watched out for them, winning against him wouldn¡¯t be too difficult. However, after witnessing Sir Fu¡¯s tragic death, that belief wavered.

    ¡­

    The two female grandmasters weren¡¯t the only ones who witnessed the scene. The Second Prince¡¯s subordinates witnessed it too.

    Heichi Suiya, in particr, was also someone most people viewed as a devil. His cultivation method shared some simrities with Sir Fu¡¯s, so they had often shared their feasting experiences with each other. He naturally knew that Sir Fu¡¯s cultivation might even have been a bit higher than his own. And yet, someone so terrifying was disposed of so easily. What the hell was he still fighting for?

    The only reason he had sided with the Second Prince was because he was fed well and didn¡¯t have to constantly be on the run anymore. As such, he didn¡¯t have any desire to fight anymore. He found an opening to slip away, then fled for his life.

    Hu Qianxiao knew fighting Heichi Suiya wouldn¡¯t end without serious injuries. Thus, he didn¡¯t stop him.

    While running away, Heichi Suiya ran into the Second Prince¡¯s camp. When he saw the soldiers in his way, his bloodthirsty nature filled his mind. He opened his mouth and swallowed up hundreds of elite soldiers in a single gulp. Panic quickly spread through the entire camp.

    The Second Prince¡¯s eyelids twitched when he saw that. Just what kinds of bastards had he ended up raising?!

    He had invested so much and sacrificed countless lives to raise these two devils, and yet one was killed instantly, while the other ran from his fight. Not only that, thetter had even eaten his own troops, causing his army to be disorderly!

    Unfortunately, there was nothing else he could do. These two were too strong, so he had to treat them politely. If Heichi Suiya wanted to run, the prince couldn''t stop him either.

    ¡­

    However, just because the prince couldn''t stop him, that didn¡¯t mean Zu An couldn''t.

    At that moment, Zu An felt as if he were filled to the brim with energy. A burst of sinister energy suddenly spread across his chest. He knew it was probably because of the impurities formed from Sir Fu absorbing the blood essence of too many people.

    He just happened to see Heichi Suiya swallow up several ordinary people. If he let this kind of monster go, who knew how many innocent lives would be harmed? As such, he picked up the Sun ying Bow. The Rune Weapon Chart produced a white arrow, and he fired it at the back of the opponent¡¯s head.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The fleeing Heichi Suiya was rmed. He reflexively turned his head, and for the first time, he saw a shooting star from up close. When he saw that there was no way for him to avoid it, he opened his mouth to bite it. All of his cultivation was focused on his teeth. He could even bite through a mountain, so he was confident he could stop the attack.

    However, he split apart¡­

    A zing radiance rushed through him. His entire body exploded into a st of light, turning into a dazzling meteor shower.

    The fighting by the pce gate had already reached its most intense point. Most people were only focused on the enemy in front of them, and thus, not many people had witnessed Sir Fu¡¯s death.

    However, this scene was just too blinding, drawing the attention of all those present. They saw Heichi Suiya explode, and the entire battlefield instantly fell dead silent.

    The Second Prince¡¯s heart beat crazily. He suddenly realized that the reason why he was able to sessfully kill the crown prince was because there had been a ¡®shooting star¡¯ like that in the Imperial Pce¡¯s direction that distracted the crown prince.

    That light had actually been fired by Zu An? Sir Fu had been killed in a single attack, and Heichi Suiya had been shot down by a single arrow?

    The ground clearly wasn¡¯t moving, but he felt as if his body were swaying from side to side. Was there something wrong with this world?

    Above the pce gate, Zu An felt as if the explosive and chaotic ki inside him had be much morefortable. However, it still hadn¡¯t bepletely peaceful yet. Thus, he raised his head. Another white arrow appeared, and he aimed it at Duantian Chou, whom Yan Xuehen had begun fighting[1].

    Duantian Chou was horrified. He had been paying attention to the fight below too, and just happened to see Heichi Suiya die from a single arrow. Then, he saw another shooting star rushing at him. All of his ki was being locked onto. He couldn''t avoid it at all.

    He knew he probably couldn''t stop its power either. However, the Dark Elves were famous assassins with unmatched escape abilities. He bit the tip of his tongue and sprayed out a streak of blood essence. Then, an identical clone remained where he was, while the other copy rushed into the distance.

    A blinding streak of radiance passed. His substitute was blown to pieces, while his main body also coughed out a mouthful of blood. He had used an ultimatest resort skill that consumed half of his blood essence. He wouldn¡¯t use it except in a situation where he would otherwise die for certain.

    However, he had managed to survive.

    Hmph, just wait until I recover. Then, I¡¯ll slowly¡­

    Huh? Why are my surroundings so weird?

    The ck vortex hadn¡¯t brought him away. Instead, he had entered a mysterious space.

    ¡°A Beauty Mirror?¡± Duantian Chou screamed in rm. He immediately realized what this was.

    The onlookers noticed that the vortex Duantian Chou created had suddenly turned into a mirror. Then, the handsome Great Elf King appeared. He reached out his hand, and the mirror quickly shrank. He picked it up and admired his own reflection. At the same time, he used his hand to sort the hair by his temples, saying, ¡°Oh my, the wind is so noisy today. This king¡¯s hair was almost ruined.¡±

    1. The author actually made an error here initially, as Duantian Chou was previously fighting Yun Jianyue and Sixth Uncle was fighting Yan Xuehen. The only way it would make sense is if they switched targets, so the line was changed a little to reflect that. ?

 Chapter 1511: Great Elder

    Chapter 1511: Great Elder

    ¡°Qiao Xugong, how can you take advantage of others¡¯ difficulties like this? Are you proud of yourself for stabbing an injured person in the back?!¡± Duantian Chou protested, his miniature figure barely discernible in the mirror. He kept flinging himself from side to side, but he was trapped inside the entire time, only able to helplessly vent his anger at the Great Elf King.

    Zu An was stunned. This weird father-inw of his was actually named Qiao Xugong?

    Still, that makes sense. He wasn¡¯t the Great Elf King from birth, and he had his own name. But once he became the Great Elf King, people rarely called him by his real name. That¡¯s probably why most people forgot about his name.

    However, when he heard this name, he suddenly felt the urge to ask his close female friends, Between me and Xugong, who is more handsome?

    Also, isn¡¯t this guy a bit much?

    Still, he saw that no one seemed surprised at all. They must have already be used to such scenes from being a part of the Fiend King Court.

    ¡°Take advantage of others¡¯ difficulties? Backstabbing?¡± the Great Elf King replied, showing the mirror a perfect smile. ¡°Isn¡¯t this what you Dark Elves are best at? I¡¯ve merely learned a trick or two, and yet you already can¡¯t take it anymore?¡±

    ¡°F*ck!¡± Duantian Chou cursed. ¡°Don¡¯t show me that disgusting smile of yours!¡±

    The Great Elf King was in a good mood and was about to continue, but when he heard that, he immediately erupted in fury. ¡°You actually think such a handsome, refined, amiable, and wless smile is disgusting? Are you blind?!¡±

    Duantian Chou naturally wouldn¡¯t back down. The two quickly began to curse each other.

    Those present were speechless.

    The Second Prince¡¯s expression changed several times. With the arrival of the Great Elf King, today¡¯s battle was likely already lost. If he didn¡¯t quickly leave and bring Sixth Uncle with him, good things woulde to those who¡­

    Wait!

    His eyes quickly widened, because he saw that Zu An had added another arrow and aimed it at Sixth Uncle.

    Sixth Uncle was also horrified. He had already been panicking when he saw Sir Fu and Heichi Suiya¡¯s deaths, starting to entertain thoughts of fleeing. As a grandmaster, which ce wouldn¡¯t wee him?

    However, this long-hairedrge-chested woman was just too vicious. She had brought out all kinds of powerful and mysterious skills, preventing him from leaving.

    Motherf*cking¡­ We don¡¯t even share any grudges! Do you have to go all out like this?

    However, he had no idea that Yun Jianyue was actually furious right now.

    That idiot Zu An actually helped the stone cold woman first! Why didn¡¯t he help me first?

    We clearly knew each other first, and we even lived together in the Imperial Pce for so long. Our friendship should be greater!

    And yet that punk is just like other stinky men, all bing enamored by that stupid stone cold woman¡¯s aloof and fairy-like act.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    All men should die!

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +444 +444 +444¡­

    Sixth Uncle didn¡¯t know why his opponent¡¯s aura suddenly erupted and she attacked with twice her previous ferocity. Several injuries quickly appeared on his body. Then, he saw Heichi Suiya explode from an arrow, leaving himpletely overwhelmed by fear.

    Dark Elves could escape through spatial skills. Normally speaking, only they ambushed others. If they wanted to leave, it would be really hard for others to pursue them. Even so, Duantian Chou had managed to avoid the arrow by sacrificing half of his own blood essence to create a substitute. That meant his aura had already beenpletely locked onto by that arrow. Even if he escaped through space, he wouldn¡¯t truly have escaped. That was why he had to choose such extreme measures.

    Sixth Uncle didn¡¯t have such a survival skill! If he were hit by an arrow, he would just explode on the spot! Thus, he reacted quickly. He immediately gave up resistance and pleaded with a smile, ¡°This is a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding! We are all our own people!¡±

    His sudden change in behavior caught Yun Jianyue off guard too. She was briefly at a loss for what to do too.

    ¡°Our own people?¡± Zu An sneered. He kept his arrow aimed at Sixth Uncle.

    Sixth Uncle broke out into a cold sweat. He quickly said, ¡°Young prince, I am your Sixth Uncle! I even bought candies for you when you were little! Right, I have nothing to do with the Second Prince, but I came to preside over things because the Crown Prince ruthlessly killed his brothers today. That does not mean I support him!

    ¡°Compared to the Second Prince, I feel like the young prince is more suited to bing the Fiend Emperor! You are now thete Fiend Emperor¡¯s sole direct descendant, and your mother is the empress. Of course you are the one with the most qualifications to be the Fiend Emperor!¡±

    He blurted out all sorts of reasons in one go. Even he hadn¡¯t known he could be so good at bootlicking, and that he could speak so quickly.

    The onlookers were a bit rmed. They really had widened their horizons today. Not only had they seen so many grandmasters fight against each other, they had even witnessed grandmasters being instantly killed. Now there was even a grandmaster begging for his life!

    Hu Qianxiao suddenly teared up. My grievances have finally been justified, someone understands my pain! I am the glorious Hu Qianxiao! If not for the fact that I was really going to die, do you think I would suddenly be a kitty cat?!

    The Second Prince¡¯s nose started to be crooked from anger. Just what kind of idiots had he ended up raising? He had built everything up with such difficulty, and yet all of it became a joke!

    Zu An hesitated. Suddenly, his expression changed and he turned in another direction.

    The winds became violent and the clouds rushed around. A terrifying aura spread from the clouds, and several faces gradually condensed in the sky. All of them were incredibly old, but their auras were powerful. Even Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue both backed up. These were clearly just projections, yet their auras were stronger than the two women¡¯s own. That was especially true for the one in the lead. His aura wasn¡¯t too far from the past Fiend Emperor!

    ¡°Great Elder, your respected self has finally arrived,¡± Sixth Uncle said, tears streaming from his eyes when he saw the figures.

    ¡°Silence, you disgraceful thing,¡± the Great Elder said, shooting him a look. Two streaks of light surrounded Sixth Uncle¡¯s body, as if the Great Elder could instantly turn him into smoke. Sixth Uncle¡¯s entire body shivered. He didn¡¯t dare utter another sound.

    The Second Empress quickly tugged on Zu An¡¯s arm and hinted for him to put his arrow away. She quietly said through ki, ¡°These are some of the royal family¡¯s elders. Many of them are even older than the Fiend Emperor. They are usually sealed in the Imperial Tomb and have extremely shocking cultivations.¡±

    Zu An nodded. Sixth Uncle also seemed to be from the Committee of Elders, but he had only joined a few years ago. He was just like an intern at most.

    These individuals all had extremely high cultivations. They were all people whose lives were nearing their end, but they couldn¡¯t break through to a higher realm, so they had sealed themselves up. They hoped that the world would change one day, upon which they would see if there was a chance to break through and obtain a new life. They hadn¡¯t sent their real bodies, but rather cast projections of themselves; it was probably in order to preserve their lifespan.

    ¡°I greet the elders!¡± the Second Prince eximed, his eyes shining with a look of excitement. He had initially thought that everything was over today. But now that the n elders hade, there was a chance of things turning out for the better.

    No matter how high that bastard Zu An¡¯s cultivation is, could it be higher than the elders? Especially Great Elder, whose strength isparable to father emperor¡¯s; he alone could deal with this entire situation!

    Let alone the fact that there are still other elders!

    The Great Elder nodded slightly, then swept his gaze around the room. Soon afterward, his eyesnded on Zu An, as well as the Sun ying Bow in his hand.

    The Great Elf King coughed and asked, ¡°May I ask why we are suddenly honored with the elders¡¯ presence?¡±

    His status was high, and because of his naturally proud nature, he wasn¡¯t as scared of these elders as ordinary people. When he saw the Great Elder look at thatcking son-inw of his, he was worried they¡¯d start fighting. After all, even though his son-inw looked a bit ordinary, and far, far from being as handsome as himself, at least he was decent at shooting. He was still pretty satisfied with his son-inw.

    In his eyes, there were only three grades for beauty in this world. The first was, of course, himself. No one else was his equal. The second was merely ordinary-looking people. They were just too far from his own beauty. As for the others, all of them were ugly clowns.

    Pretty leather bags were still leather bags. Once you saw one, you¡¯d seen them all. As for ugly clowns, they could be ugly in all kinds of fantastic and odd ways. That was why the fact that thiscking son-inw of his could reach the normal category was already quite amazing.

    The Great Elder harrumphed. ¡°The entire Fiend King Court has be such a huge mess. Did I even have a choice but toe?¡±

    The Second Empress spoke up just then, saying, ¡°Great Elder, that cannot be med on us, but on the Second Prince. He went after his brothers, and we were merely acting out of self-defense. I hope Great Elder can bring justice to us all.¡±

    As the empress, she was naturally the one with the most qualifications to speak. Furthermore, she was extremely beautiful, and together with the young child in her arms, she really was lovely and pitiful. It was hard for others to develop animosity toward her.

    The Great Elder followed her line of sight and saw the Crown Prince¡¯s corpse bound up in the Second Prince¡¯s group, as well as Elder Wu¡¯s head. His expression immediately darkened.

 Chapter 1512: Widow Maker

    Chapter 1512: Widow Maker

    When he sensed the Great Elder¡¯s gaze, the Second Prince grew nervous. He quickly exined, ¡°Great Elder is wise. The one who harmed my brothers was not me, but the Crown Prince. After father emperor perished, he was worried that these brothers would threaten his ce on the throne, so he sent troops into the night to assassinate us. I was only helplessly acting out of self-defense.

    ¡°Third brother and fourth brother were both killed by the Crown Prince¡¯s people. I did not harm a single one of my other brothers. If the Great Elder does not believe me, you may ask everyone here. Many of them can attest to me regarding this,¡± he concluded. As for the Crown Prince, he had wanted to kill him, so he was naturally left out.

    The Great Elder¡¯s gazended on the Golden Crow Guard leaders and the other important ministers. Those people immediately felt as if they had beenpletely seen through. They didn¡¯t dare utter a lie. All of them shuddered, reporting to the Great Elder about what had happened. What they said wasn¡¯t too different from the Second Prince¡¯s story.

    ¡°The Fiend Emperor has died¡­¡± the Great Elder muttered, seeming a bit absent-minded.

    Even though the Fiend King Court was now an absolute mess, for someone of his level, it was still limited in scale. It was instead the Fiend Emperor¡¯s death that was of more severe consequence. An era hade to an end, and the Fiend races had also reached a moment of crisis.

    He gathered his thoughts, then looked at the Second Prince and the young prince, asking, ¡°Is that why the only ones left with the Fiend Emperor¡¯s bloodline are the two of you?¡±

    The Second Prince was delighted, saying, ¡°Indeed. I ask the Great Elder to preside over this greater situation.¡±

    There were only two sessors left. Compared to his young brother, it was easy to see who was more fit to be the Fiend Emperor.

    He had been overwhelmed with hatred to learn that all of his painstaking efforts over the years would be for nothing; he thought that the heavens had no appreciation for those who worked hard. In the end, however, he discovered that the heavens weren¡¯t treating him that poorly. How could those grandmasters who had perished beforepare to even a single sentence from the Great Elder?

    The Second Empress grew nervous. She also understood thatpared to the Second Prince, her own son didn¡¯t stand much of a chance. If they let the Great Elder make the decision, everything would be over.

    Fortunately, a smooth and steady voice called out, ¡°The Fiend Emperor passed on his throne to the young prince before he passed away. The Sun ying Bow is proof!¡±

    Zu An raised the Sun ying Bow in his hands high into the air as he spoke. When they saw it, the elders were all shocked.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°The Fiend Emperor lost his life? What happened?¡± the Great Elder asked, his eyes shining brightly as he stared at Zu An.

    Zu An felt as if a divine will were scanning over him. The light seemed simr to a lie detector. If most people were to have such a light shine on them, they would be badly frightened and confess everything in great detail. If they were questioned closely enough, they would likely even admit to peeping on the woman next door in the bath when they were younger.

    However, Zu An wasn¡¯t like everyone else. He had already met many powerful beings, and he had even joked around with those at the Fiend Emperor or Human Emperor¡¯s level. He had even witnessed the power of multiple Celestial Emperors before. Even though the Great Elder was formidable, he wasn¡¯t even worth mentioningpared to those people.

    As such, he calmly received the elder¡¯s gaze, then repeated everything he had previously said again. The Great Elder was surprised. After all, any normal person would tremble in fear beneath his gaze. When had they ever responded so confidently? It even made him be uncertain whether his skill was of any use.

    However, he quickly dismissed that thought. This youngster¡¯s cultivation rank is still so low; how could he hide things from me?

    ¡°The Crown Prince is quite daring!¡± the Great Elder eximed, criticizing the Crown Prince harshly out of formality. He then turned to Zu An. There seemed to be a strange light burning in his eyes as he asked, ¡°Is there still any more of that immortal medicine you mentioned earlier?¡±

    Zu An sneered inwardly. Sure enough, these old monsters who already had one foot in the grave all had a special desire for things that could prolong their lives.

    He shook his head and replied, ¡°The Fiend Emperor didn¡¯t obtain it either. Furthermore, the secret dungeon has already closed. I fear it will have to wait until the next time the dungeon opens again.

    Disappointed looks quickly spread across the elders¡¯ faces. The Great Elder knew that the next time such a secret dungeon opened again would definitely be a long time away. Who knew, it could take hundreds of years, or even more than a thousand years. He couldn''t even wait for another few decades.

    He gave Zu An a doubtful look, wondering whether this youngster was hiding anything from him. Alright, I¡¯ll have to find a chance to ask him in private. He obviously won¡¯t speak the truth in front of so many people.

    When he saw that the elders were slowly being swayed, the Second Prince immediately panicked and called out, ¡°I am opposed to this. The seeding Fiend Emperor has always been the one publicly acknowledged to be the strongest. Only then can he lead the Fiend races in defeating our enemies and bring us to prosperity. How could the Fiend Emperor pass on his position to a child? Isn¡¯t this just putting the entire Fiend Races in danger? I suspect that Zu An has lied about the imperial edict!¡±

    The elders exchanged a look. They felt the what the Second Prince said made some sense. Throughout the history of the Fiend Races, there had never been a young child who became the Fiend Emperor.

    The Second Empress became dejected. This was her son¡¯s greatest weakness! She had initially thought that she could rely on Zu An¡¯s powerful assistance to take the throne, but now that the Committee of Elders had appeared, the n was probably going to fail.

    Just then, Zu An replied in a loud and clear voice, ¡°If such simple reasoning was something even a blockhead like you could think of, do you think the Fiend Emperor wouldn¡¯t have thought of it? Let me ask all of you, who¡¯s the greatest enemy of the Fiend races?¡±

    ¡°The Human Emperor Zhao Han, of course!¡± the Second Prince blurted out. That was also what everyone else present thought.

    Throughout the years, that name had weighed down on the Fiend races like a mountain. That was especially the case for older people, as they had personally witnessed Zhao Han¡¯s terror. For example, the elders¡¯ expressions were all unpleasant.

    ¡°Right? For someone like the Human Emperor Zhao Han, regardless of whether it is the youngest prince or you, the Second Prince, you¡¯re both kids who aren¡¯t worth mentioning at all. So is there any difference at all whether you take the position or the young prince does?¡± Zu An continued.

    ¡°I¡­¡± the Second Prince wanted to retort, but no matter how confident he was in himself, he didn¡¯t dare im that there would be any difference in front of Zhao Han. He would be crushed by a single finger all the same. Like hell Zhao Han would care if his opponent was a weaker or stronger ant; it was still an ant either way.

    A cold and clear voice rang out, saying, ¡°I feel that what Zu An says makes some sense. As it makes no difference who bes the Fiend Emperor for the Humans, seeing as how much turmoil and bloodshed the Fiend races have experienced in this time, what we need more at this time is someone kind-hearted to lead everyone in our recovery. We cannot allow our people to continue this bloodshed.¡±

    A beautiful figure dressed in an ocean blue wide-sleeved dress appeared; her curves flowed naturally like moonlight. Beautiful pearls and coral were embedded in her dress, making her easily recognizable by all.

    ¡°Mermaid Princess!¡±

    The ordinary soldiers were merely shocked by this Mermaid Princess¡¯ beauty, but the higher-level figures of the Fiend King Court knew just how much influence she had in the Ocean races. If she said something like that, it clearly represented the will of the Ocean races.

    The Ocean races support the young prince!

    Zu An sighed in relief. Shang Liuyu had always been hiding in the shadows, but now, just like the Great Elf King, even though she had said she wouldn¡¯t join to leave a way out for her n, she still stepped forward when it mattered.

    With the Elf race and Ocean races taking the lead, the Demon races and other representatives came forward to support the young prince.

    Hu Qianxiao almost smacked his thigh until it was swollen from regret. These fes were normally so proud of themselves, and yet they were all so good at bootlicking when it mattered!

    I was just distracted for a moment and ended up falling behind¡­

    Thus, he also quickly expressed his loyalty with great fervor and passion. It was to the point that the other powers cast sidelong looks. Is this guy really the Tiger race¡¯s leader? He¡¯s not the Dog race leader doing an impersonation, right?

    The Second Prince¡¯s face became extremely pale when he saw so many of the Fiend races¡¯ great powers support the young prince. He knew everything was over, and that he was finished.

    Suddenly, a rainbow light suddenly descended from the sky, and a voice called out ¡°Our Peacock King Race also supports the young prince. Furthermore¡­¡± The one who arrived paused for a moment. He turned to look at the Second Prince and continued, ¡°the Second Prince killed the Crown Prince, and he has even caused the entire King Court to be covered in rivers of blood. He must be punished properly.¡±

    ¡°Peacock King Race!¡±

    The onlookers cried out in rm when they saw the one who had arrived. Two of the three great king races were here, and both of them supported the young prince.

    After all, the Peacock King, the Great Elf King, and the Great Golden Peng King all had extraordinary status. They were practically only second to the Fiend Emperor among the Fiend races. Their words, to a certain extent, could represent the will of the Fiend races.

    The Peacock Wise King had now antagonized the Second Prince in such a manner. Things probably couldn''t be settled peacefully between them.

    In truth, the Peacock Wise King was also furious at the moment. He hadn¡¯t approved of the Crown Prince¡¯s actions today, nor had he joined in.

    But how could he have thought that that piece of trash would be killed instead despite having the initiative? The crown prince¡¯s death normally wouldn¡¯t have much to do with him either, but what really made him go crazy was that the Fiend Emperor had determined the Crown Prince¡¯s wife not too long ago. The Crown Princess was none other than his own daughter, Kong Nanwu!

    He had actually been a bit hesitant about the marriage, but even before it went through, his precious daughter had be a widow. How could he not be furious?

 Chapter 1513: Netherworld Seal

    Chapter 1513: Netherworld Seal

    The Second Prince¡¯s expression changed. He realized what was going on too.

    In the end, the Crown Prince had been too ambitious today. If he hadn¡¯t divided his men to take out his brothers, and had instead rallied the Peacock Wise King, Lion race, Tiger race, and the others to move together, there was no way the Second Prince would have had any chance.

    But thinking back, even if the Crown Prince won against me, he would still have to face this monster Zu An. He still would have done all that work only to help someone else.

    ¡°Peacock Wise King, it was not that I wanted to kill the Crown Prince, but rather that he wanted to kill me. I was merely acting out of self-defense,¡± the Second Prince said, gradually calming down. He knew he had no chance for the throne now and that it would already be good if he could simply keep his life. He could still seize an opportunity in the future.

    ¡°Self-defense?¡± the Peacock Wise King sneered. ¡°I don¡¯t care what kind of grudge you share with each other. You¡¯ve caused my daughter¡¯s reputation to be harmed, so you deserve death!¡±

    Then, a streak of divine rainbow light swept toward the Second Prince. The Second Prince¡¯s expression changed. They were all a part of the Fiend King Court, so he knew fully well just how formidable that light was!

    He tried to dodge, but he was surrounded by the light. He felt as if his entire body had frozen. The only thing he could do was frantically use his cultivation. Ayer of ck mes rose from his body, resisting the light. However, smoke was already starting to pour out of his entire body. It didn¡¯t seem long before hepletely turned to ashes.

    Zu An was surprised. He hadn¡¯t expected Kong Nanwu¡¯s father to be so strong! Hmm, he¡¯s pretty good-looking too. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to father such a beautiful daughter.

    He couldn''t help but give the Great Elf King a nce. He personally thought that thiscking father-inw of his was slightly more handsome, but the Peacock Wise King had an aura of power around him. He seemed much more reliable than that silly and narcissistic father-inw.

    Suddenly, a streak of golden light rushed forth, blocking the Peacock Wise King¡¯s rainbow light.

    The Peacock Wise King¡¯s face darkened. He looked in its direction, calling out, ¡°Little Golden Peng King, are you going to stop me?¡±

    With a flicker of golden light, a young, golden-armored prince appeared on a nearby rooftop. It was none other than the current Great Golden Peng King race¡¯s Little Golden Peng King.

    Those present sighed in amazement. That movement skill was really fast! No wonder the Fiend races publicly acknowledged the Great Peng race to be number one in speed. Only the royal family¡¯s Golden Crow Radiant Flow wasparable.

    The Little Golden Peng King smiled and said, ¡°Wise King, please quell your anger. I know you are angry right now, but many princes have already been killed and the Fiend Emperor bloodline has almost be extinct. Only the Second Prince and the young prince remain. If you kill the Second Prince too, well, the young prince is still too young. If something unexpected happened, would the Fiend Emperor¡¯s bloodline not bepletely finished?¡±

    He smiled apologetically to the Second Empress afterward, continuing, ¡°I hope that your highness can forgive me. I am not cursing the young prince, but rather speaking out of consideration for all the Fiend races.¡±

    The Second Empress harrumphed. As a mother, how could she have good intentions toward the other party when she heard such unlucky words?

    The Peacock Wise King frowned. If he persisted in such a situation, wouldn¡¯t he take on the crime of ending the Fiend Emperor¡¯s bloodline?

    What is the Little Golden Peng King trying to do?

    His father died mysteriously back then, so he should hate the Golden Crow family. If there¡¯s anyone who wants the Fiend Emperor¡¯s bloodline to end, he should be one of the most likely suspects. Why is he defending them now?

    Several elders nodded just then. The Great Elder said, ¡°Indeed, what the Little Golden Peng King says is not entirely without reason.¡±

    The Peacock Wise King said with a sneer, ¡°The Second Prince has enveloped the King Court in a storm of blood. Are we supposed to just let things be then?¡±

    The Little Golden Peng King nodded slightly, saying, ¡°Both the Crown Prince and the Second Prince bear responsibility for today¡¯s disaster. The Crown Prince has already died, so that is one thing, but the Second Prince cannot escape his crimes. However, I have just received news that the Netherworld Seal has started to move. The Ghoul races have started to invade. We can send the Second Prince to deal with that situation to wash away his crimes.¡±

    ¡°Netherworld Seal!¡± the various Fiend race people eximed, their expressions changing. They whispered to one another, looking as if they were about to face a huge disaster.

    ¡°Netherworld Seal? Ghoul races?¡± Zu An asked in confusion. He had never heard anything about that before.

    The Second Empress seemed to notice his confusion and exined considerately, ¡°The so-called Ghoul races are the collective term to refer to certain pitch-ck, sinister beings. They seem to originate from another terrifying world. A long, long time ago, the Fiend races forced back the invading Ghoul races by uniting with the other races of the world. Then, the opening they invaded through was sealed up. That is the so-called Netherworld Seal.¡±

    Zu An was rmed. The Scaled Deathworm he had encountered in the Yu n¡¯s mines also seemed to be a monster that had invaded from another world. He wondered if such worms could be considered part of the Ghoul races too.

    ¡°The war against the Ghoul races was bitter and cruel. Countless powerful individuals died, or else the humans would not have had a chance to rise up,¡± the Second Empress continued. However, only then did she seem to have realized that Zu An was a human. She quickly showed him an apologetic smile. Her watery eyes seemed as if they could speak, making it hard for anyone to be angry at her. She eventually continued, ¡°Additionally, the Ghoul races are really too powerful. Over time, the Netherworld Seal has be less secure. Every so often, ghouls have begun to pass through. Of course, in terms of scale, they have always been much fewer in number than in the past. As such, the Fiend races often send out armies to wipe out those invading ghouls, while also sending some experts to strengthen the Netherworld Seal.¡±

    Zu An nodded. It was just like the way this world had all kinds of secret dungeons; whether it was humans or fiends, they could head into secret dungeons in search of treasure. For those ghouls, this world was simr to a secret dungeon. They naturally wanted to invade this beautiful and fertile world, while the natives resisted fiercely.

    ¡°Even though the intruding ghouls are not too numerous, we still have to pay heavily to deal with them. It is just as the Little Golden Peng King said; the invading ghouls are much greater in number than in the past. Eliminating them will definitely be an extremely dangerous job,¡± the Second Empress continued, her voice full of hesitation.

    The Great Elder¡¯s projection soon looked toward the Second Prince and asked, ¡°Are you willing to defend the Netherworld Seal and make up for your crimes that way?¡±

    The Second Prince was conflicted. He naturally knew how dangerous the Netherworld Seal was. In the past, the armies sent there had all suffered casualties of at least twenty percent of their men. The scale was even greater this time, so it would definitely be even more dangerous. Even if it wasn¡¯t entirely without a chance of survival, the men he had raised so carefully would definitely suffer severe casualties there.

    At any other time, he definitely wouldn¡¯t take on such a damned job. However, considering today¡¯s situation, if he didn¡¯t ept, he wouldn¡¯t necessarily be able to keep his life. Thus, after weighing the pros and cons, he gritted his teeth and said, ¡°I am willing!¡±

    The Great Elder¡¯s gaze shifted to the Second Empress. He asked, ¡°What does the Second Empress think?¡±

    The Second Empress nodded slightly and replied, ¡°If the Second Prince offers himself up respectfully for the Fiend races, I naturally have no objections.¡±

    Zu An frowned and asked through ki, ¡°Will it really be fine to release a tiger back into the mountains just like that?¡±

    The Second Empress replied gently, ¡°It will be fine. Firstly, the Netherworld Seal does need someone strong to deal with the situation. Whenever there is activity from that side, it takes several years before the situationes under control again. Furthermore, the scale is even greater than before, so the amount of time needed will be even longer. In the end, what the Little Golden Peng King said is reasonable. The young prince is still too little, and the royal family bloodline is almost extinct. The military forces of the respective races will not be absolutely loyal to us, and each of the four great generals has a powerful army of their own. Keeping the Second Prince as a de to hold those ambitious individuals in check is a good thing.¡±

    Her voice was lovable and dainty, just like Big Sis Chiling from Zu An¡¯s previous world. It was really hard for one to refuse her soft and gentle tones.

    Zu An warned her, ¡°Still, when the de is this sharp, a moment of carelessness might lead to it easily biting the master instead.¡±

    The Second Empress smiled sweetly, her face full of charming allure, and replied, ¡°Don¡¯t I still have you?¡±

    Zu An was rmed. She really was an alluring woman through and through! She was clearly already a married woman, and yet she was still acting like a young female student. The worshipful gaze she sent his way was clearly a soft expression, and yet it made his entire body harden. The dirty thoughts that suddenly appeared made him shiver.

    It seems this is because of the cultivation I absorbed from Sir Fu earlier. I have to find a chance to properly adjust and refine it away, or else something really bad might happen.

    Seeing as the Second Empress wasn¡¯t opposed to the suggestion, the Great Elder turned to the Second Prince and said, ¡°In that case, you will be appointed to deal with the Netherworld Seal affair. If the Ghoul race matter persists for a day longer, you are not to return to the Fiend King Court a day earlier. Set out immediately!¡±

    The Second Prince gave the Imperial Pce a deep look, his gaze filled with unwillingness. However, he still clenched his teeth and said, ¡°I will do as you bid!¡±

    Afterward, the elders appointed the young prince as the new Fiend Emperor. Even though he was still young, only he alone would satisfy the different powers. His age naturally ceased to be an issue.

    Apart from that, what had to be dealt with was dealt with, and what had to be rewarded was rewarded. The most dangerous people had already been dealt with by Zu An ahead of time. Sixth Uncle was brought away by the Committee of Elders, so only Duantian Chou remained.

    This guy had the blood of countless people on his hands. People unanimously wanted him dead. Just then, however, the Great Elf King asked the others to let him take the Dark Elf away.

    Zu An naturally had to help his father-inw out with this favor. He didn¡¯t oppose the request and only asked out of curiosity, ¡°Respected uncle, what do you n to do with him?¡±

    The Great Elf King replied, ¡°Of course, I am going to use this mirror to admire myself every day, to make him look at me.¡±

    Zu An was still confused. Then, the Great Elf King continued proudly, ¡°To kill him through beauty!¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    After the main offenders were dealt with, the rest were simply left for the Second Empress to deal with. Zu An didn¡¯t have to get too involved.

    ¡­

    Then, the Imperial Pce began to prepare for the young prince¡¯s ascension to the throne.

    Because of the chaotic situation that had taken ce today, Zu An didn¡¯t dare to leave the Imperial Pce, to prevent idents from happening. He remained in one of the Second Empress¡¯ side chambers. If the Second Empress ended up in any danger, he could be the first to rush over and provide assistance. Meanwhile, he could meditate and adjust his own condition in the room.

    ¡­

    After some time passed, the Second Empress called out in her lovely and gentle voice, ¡°Can Ie in?¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

 Chapter 1514: Regent

    Chapter 1514: Regent

    The voice outside the door really was a bit too cute and lovely. Zu An felt heat stir within him when he heard it. However, he quickly calmed himself down and said, ¡°Pleasee in.¡±

    The door quickly opened. A woman dressed in an empress¡¯ splendid attire walked in. It was apparent that she had to use her status as the Fiend Empress to convince the masses.

    A look of surprise flickered through Zu An¡¯s eyes when he saw the Second Empress close the door behind her.

    The Second Empress said gently, ¡°My status is special, so it would be difficult to avoid gossip if we were seen in the same room together.¡±

    Zu An nodded to express his understanding of her reasoning. However, he thought inwardly, A woman and a man are alone in the middle of the night¡­ If you close the door, won¡¯t people be even more suspicious?

    ¡°Has your highness finished dealing with everything?¡± he asked curiously. The young prince had been chosen as the next Fiend Emperor, so the entire Imperial Pce was busy preparing for the official ceremony the next day. The young prince was still too little and needed his mother to take care of everything, so she definitely had to be busy beyond belief.

    ¡°There are so many things to do, so how can it all be done already?¡± the Second Empress replied, yawning and stretching. Her wonderful curves came into full view. Then, she smiled toward Zu An and continued, ¡°Butpared to those things, it is more important for me to not give you the cold shoulder.¡±

    Her figure swayed back and forth as she walked to a special rhythm. Her entire body constantly emanated an irresistible aura of seduction.

    Zu An felt as if the ki he had finally gotten under control was showing signs of surging randomly again. He couldn''t help but frown. Mi Li had previously warned him that even though there were quick results from absorbing others¡¯ cultivation like this, there were also many hidden dangers. That was especially true for someone like Sir Fu, whose ki had been absorbed from countless others to begin with, making it even more impure.

    The Second Empress arrived at his side. She sat down on a chair as if she had just returned to her own home¡­ Actually, it was a room in her own pce, so calling it her home wasn¡¯t wrong.

    She maintained a distance that was neither too close nor too far. The Second Empress¡¯s cherry lips opened slightly, and she began to report on some of the more important details regarding what she had done so far.

    ¡°You already know that the Second Prince was sent out to defend the Netherworld Seal. Apart from that, even though the Crown Prince scheming against thete Fiend Emperor and tonight¡¯s events are matters of rebellion, all of the various forces have reached apromise that we will not release this to the public and preserve his reputation. The first reason is so that we can appease the forces loyal to the Crown Prince, and the second reason is as a way of consoling the Peacock Wise King.

    ¡°Otherwise, the Crown Prince schemed against the Fiend Emperor and killed his brothers; these are crimes that would bepletely deserving of n eradication,¡± she continued, her expression turning a bit strange. ¡°It is known that the Peacock Wise King''s daughter was about to wed the Crown Prince. If we really looked into it, she would also end up being involved. That is why it is better for everyone if this matter is not dealt with too severely.

    ¡°Still, I know you and the Crown Prince shared a grudge, so I was worried that you would not be too happy. That is why I came here to talk to you about it,¡± the Second Empress continued. Her skin was as fair as snow. She looked at Zu An with her misty eyes, carrying a pitiful expression that seemed to contain endless affection.

    Zu An knew that this woman was using her charm skills on him again. He calmly said, ¡°He¡¯s already dead; I¡¯m not so narrow-minded. We¡¯ll just do things as you nned.¡±

    The Second Empress sighed in relief when she heard that. She sounded much happier as she continued, ¡°By the way, the Peacock Wise King has been looking for a chance to nullify the contract between his daughter and the crown prince. He thought about letting her marry the young prince, as that would not be too bad of a choice. That way, she would still be the new empress and there would be no difference. Still, I thought that the young prince really was too young and that it would be unsuitable, so I refused. Do you know the real reason I refused, though?¡±

    When he saw her yful expression, Zu An thought, You¡¯re a married woman for better or for worse; why do you act like a young girl sometimes?

    He thought for a bit, then replied, ¡°There¡¯s no way the other forces would agree to that. The Peacock race didn¡¯t contribute much to the young prince¡¯s rise to the throne. Why would they allow that n to gain so many benefits?¡±

    The Second Empress revealed a look of surprise. She hadn¡¯t expected Zu An¡¯s political intuition to be so sharp. However, she shook her head with a smile, saying, ¡°That is indeed part of the issue too. However, the main reason is because of you.¡±

    ¡°Me?¡± Zu An repeated, now truly stunned.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The Second Empress leaned forward a bit, lowering her full chest onto the small desk to the side. She rested her chin on her arm and looked at Zu An with a pensive expression, saying, ¡°It is because I heard that in the past, the Crown Prince made a bet with you, and that the stakes were his Crown Princess. Then, sure enough, he lost. The Crown Princess is your spoil of war, so how can I overstep my ce?¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He had almost forgotten about that. Back then, he had only said that to anger the Golden Crow Crown Prince, and he hadn¡¯t even known who the Crown Princess was.

    The carriage outside the capital containing Kong Nanwu¡¯s beautiful and refined figure appeared again in his mind. A thought shed through. This¡­ doesn¡¯t seem to be that bad?

    However, he quickly restrained that thought. What was wrong with him today? Why was he being affected by such random thoughts?

    After all, he was no longer the way he had been when he first came to this world. He had already met so many beautiful women and fought through so many life and death battles. He had experienced shocking events others wouldn¡¯t have gone through even across ten lifetimes! His will should already have been extremely steady. In theory, he shouldn¡¯t have produced such thoughts, or at the very least, not so frequently.

    When she saw his expression, the Empress adjusted herself to show him a more beautiful angle, continuing, ¡°The tricky thing right now is the Crown Princess¡¯ side. Once she returns, I will find a way to y matchmaker. With your current identity as Regent, you are more than qualified to take her as your wife. Not even the Peacock Wise King would refuse. They chose the wrong side before, so this kind of conclusion is already more than they can ask for.¡±

    ¡°Regent?¡± Zu An asked, stunned.

    The Second Empress exined, ¡°When the young prince ascends to the throne tomorrow, he will make you the Regent. The young prince is still too little, so in the future, you¡­ and I will both support him in ruling the court. Please do not refuse. You are his adoptive father, and you had the greatest contribution in his rise to the throne. You deserve everything.¡± She stared deeply at him, her eyes filled with sincerity and gratitude.

    Zu An actually felt that this was a bit of a pain. He requested, ¡°Can you call me something other than Regent?¡±

    ¡°Why is that?¡± the Second Empress asked, stunned. She thought he was looking down on this position, but it was already the greatest price she could offer. The Regent position wasn¡¯t thatmon, but it had existed a few times throughout the Fiend races¡¯ long history. It was basically being under one person, but above the rest of the world! Before the Fiend Emperor became an adult, to a certain degree, he would be the emperor. If Zu An wasn¡¯t even satisfied with that, what did he want?

    Could it be¡­

    For some reason, the Second Empress¡¯ neck turned a bit red. A hint of bashfulness appeared on her face, almost as if she were secretly hoping for something.

    ¡°It¡¯s just the name that sounds a bit unlucky,¡± Zu An said, thinking about Dorgon and Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang. Dorgon had served as a Regent for the Shunzhi Emperor, but waster used of many crimes. Eventually, he had his coffin opened up, and his remains were exhumed and flogged in public.

    However, when he heard the Second Empress nervously exin the position of Regent in the Fiend races¡¯ history, Zu An knew he was overthinking things. He said, ¡°It¡¯s mainly because I¡¯m a human, and there¡¯s no way I can remain here for a long time. It¡¯s unsuitable for me to have such an important position.¡±

    The Second Empress sighed in relief when she heard his response. To be honest, she had been a bit worried about that. After all, the rtionships between historical Regents and Fiend Emperors had always been rather poor. After all, once the Fiend Emperor grew up, he had to rule himself. Meanwhile, many of the Regents had gotten used to their positions of power and became unwilling to return the authority.

    Zu An¡¯s cultivation was profound and immeasurable. If he really did covet status, the young prince would be in trouble in the future. Even though she had a good impression of Zu An, she was a mother first and foremost. She definitely cared about her son¡¯s interests first.

    Thus, the Second Empress smiled sweetly and said, ¡°It does not matter. We do not need you to deal with too many political affairs. There are ministers who will help you. You can return to the human side whenever you want. Your position of Regent will always be here.¡±

    Zu An wanted to refuse at first, but after thinking about it, whether it was Yu Yanluo¡¯s Snake race, Snow¡¯s Elf race, or even the Ocean races and Demon races who had gotten some concessions, they needed someone of status to help them get what they were promised. With the position of Regent, many things would be much easier to deal with. Still, it would make things a bit troublesome for him once he returned to the human side.

    Sensing his worry, the Second Empress remembered her previous suspicion. Her heart rate sped up. She looked at Zu An carefully. This man had sharp brows and bright eyes. He had an outstanding temperament; he wasn¡¯t inferior to even the Great Elf King, and his body was even more manly.

    The memory of him shooting down Shi Zhentian with a single arrow, and how he had killed such famous and powerful individuals as Sir Fu and Heichi Suiya, reyed in her mind. Even Duantian Chou and Sixth Uncle were utterly terrified of him.

    Isn¡¯t this the perfect lover I was imagining all this time? A knight in shining armor, riding on a white horse!

    As she looked at him that way, the Second Empress¡¯ snow-white skin was soon covered in ayer of captivating redness.

    Zu An seemed to have thought of something. He touched his own face in confusion, asking, ¡°Is there something on my face?¡±

    The Second Empress lowered her head in embarrassment. She hadn¡¯t expected that she could still be as shy as a youngdy even though she was already a mother. She bit her lip, then got up. She walked up to Zu An, and then slowly kneeled down under his puzzled gaze.

    Zu An was stunned. He quickly tried to lift her to her feet, asking, ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    The Second Empress stopped him, saying, ¡°You don¡¯t need to say anything. I know.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. What do you know?

 Chapter 1515: Whoever Starts the Trouble Should End It

    Chapter 1515: Whoever Starts the Trouble Should End It

    Regardless of what the Second Empress knew or not, Zu An quickly understood what she was about to do. He reached out his hand to hold her chin. He said with a conflicted expression, ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to do this, your highness!¡±

    The Second Empress moved the hair in front of her eyes behind her ear. She raised her head to look at the man towering above her, her eyes filled with a lovely expression, and replied, ¡°You already refused me once before. If you refuse me again, I will really be too embarrassed. That¡¯s why¡­ Please don¡¯t refuse me again.¡±

    She still remembered the despair she had felt today very clearly. Just then, however, Zu An seemed to have arrived from the heavens. Not only had both mother and son not needed to die, they had even reached the highest point of authority they could ever hope for. She still felt as if she were dreaming when she remembered all of those things.

    All of that had been brought to her by the man in front of her. Even though the two had shared some friendship, things were different now. Back then, she had been the glorious Second Empress, while he was just a human who had just entered the master rank. The Fiend King Court had quite a few master rank individuals, and he hadn¡¯t been all that different from them. The only difference was probably that he was a little more handsome.

    Now, the Fiend Emperor was already dead, so her status as the Second Empress had already lost its meaning. In contrast, Zu An had be someone who could easily kill grandmasters, an unrivaled individual who could keep the entire Fiend King Court under control. She couldn''t behave with any pride or self-reliance in front of him.

    As such, she was actually quite frightened. Zu An could choose to help the young prince, or he could choose to support someone else. Their rtionship was just that brittle, so brittle that she didn¡¯t even know how topletely bring the two of them together.

    In the end, the way for a man and a woman to be closer was really simple. If she wanted to seize this man, the simplest and most direct method was clear.

    Still, she was a bit embarrassed. Normally, with her beauty and charm skills, just a single look or smile could make many people hell-bent on pursuing her, and she didn¡¯t have to do too much at all. And yet, this man seemed to have really expensive taste and didn¡¯t seem to care about any of her tricks.

    If I really want to rope him in, I can only¡­

    For better or for worse, she was now the Empress Dowager, so she still felt a bit of mental resistance toward such a thing. But when she raised her head and saw Zu An¡¯s handsome appearance, her face suddenly reddened.

    It doesn¡¯t seem like I¡¯m really missing out here, though!

    That was especially the case when she remembered his confident and unrivaled appearance. He perfectly matched the fantasy she¡¯d had of a dream lover in her youth. As such, she only hesitated for a second, then made her decision.

    When he saw her teary-eyed appearance, Zu An was a bit stunned. She¡¯ll be heartbroken if I don¡¯t agree? I really don¡¯t know how to refuse now¡­

    This woman is just too good at this stuff, isn¡¯t she?

    While he was confused about what to do, a cool breeze blew past his legs.

    ¡°That¡¯s not too good¡­¡± Zu An muttered, seemingly trying to refuse, but as a man, he knew just how weak that kind of refusal was.

    At first, the Second Empress was shocked by what she saw. The sight really was beyond her wildest imaginations. Her face immediately turned bright red.

    In the past, she had thought that the Fiend Emperor was the strongest man. But now, she knew that in certain matters, he had been too far from this handsome young man in front of her¡­

    In that instant, she even began to wonder whether this man really was a human, or if he was a kind of fiend!

    ¡­

    Zu An¡¯s eyes widened, and he released a long sigh. Objectively, the Second Empress was still quite underripe in this regard. Compared to Yu Yanluo or Little Qing, she was much morecking. Of course, however, that was due to the Snake race¡¯s unique skill.

    Even so, the Second Empress¡¯ status was different. She was someone who had just convinced everyone in the pce, and she was wearing the most respected dress of the empress. She was adorned with a phoenix crown and a multicolored gown. Right now, she was the woman with the noblest status among all the Fiend races.

    Such a unique sight paired with the sheer psychological shock really was something that was hard for others topare to.

    Zu An couldn''t help but run his fingers through her hair. Her hair really is as smooth and sleek as satin¡­

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Yan Xuehen adjusted her breathing in a quiet room within the pce. She had just fought a great battle against a grandmaster, causing her energies to stir violently. After all, she had just recently recovered from her serious injuries.

    Of course, that wasn¡¯t the most important point. What affected her most was that the shock of Zu An killing several grandmasters in a row was just too great. After all, none of those grandmasters were weaker than her, and yet they had all died so easily at Zu An¡¯s hands.

    Naturally, because they had fought together through so many life-and-death situations, she knew his true strength wasn¡¯t that ridiculous. But even so¡­ it was a bit absurd.

    At the moment, her emotions were in just as much of a mess as her logic. After all, in her cultivation realm, every individual was a stunning genius, and they all had their own pride. Before she met Zu An, that pride had been very steady, and her mentality had also spurred on her strength.

    However, after everything that had happened, that pride waspletely shattered. She knew that if she couldn''t calm herself down, her unsteady dao heart could prevent her from making any further cultivation progress.

    As such, she had found a quiet meditation room far from Zu An to think over her gains and losses in the Unknown Region. In particr, she wanted to digest the powerful shock Zu An had brought her tonight.

    Yan Xuehen had also seen that Yun Jianyue had sought out a quiet ce to recover with a serious expression. She was probably in a simr situation.

    ¡­

    After a long time passed, she finally managed to stabilize her almost-shattered dao heart. Suddenly, however, there was a knock on the door outside.

    ¡°Who is it?¡± Yan Xuehen asked, opening her eyes.

    With her grandmaster cultivation, she had already seen a dainty and slender youngdy standing there. The other woman paced back and forth for a while and raised her hand to knock on the door several times, but she hesitated and gave up each time.

    It was the Elf race¡¯s Princess Snow.

    She naturally knew about Snow and Zu An¡¯s rtionship from their recent interactions. That silly disciple of mine¡­ By having such a pretty maid, aren¡¯t you basically leading the wolf into the house?

    She really couldn''t understand how Chuyan could feel at ease with having this woman, whose appearance wasn¡¯t inferior to her in the slightest, as a maid. Was she blind?

    There¡¯s no way the Chu n could have been blind either. The people in Brightmoon City can¡¯t all be blind either, right?

    Is this the kind of beauty a maid should have?

    She didn¡¯t know that when Snow was in Brightmoon City, she had been under the Elf race¡¯s seal. It had sealed both her stunning features and weakened her aura.

    Even though she knew it was Qiao Xueying outside, Yan Xuehen didn¡¯t expose her. She just felt that their rtionship was a bit awkward, and thus hoped Snow would leave on her own.

    However, Snow continued to knock on the door. After some hesitation, Yan Xuehen still asked the rhetorical question, ¡°Who is it?¡±

    ¡°Sect Master Yan, it¡¯s me, the Elf race¡¯s Qiao Xueying,¡± a clear voice replied.

    Snow¡¯s voice really was as pretty as an oriole¡¯s. No wonder that guy likes her¡­

    Seeing as Snow had paid her a visit like this, Yan Xuehen couldn''t refuse her. She sorted out her thoughts and said, ¡°Pleasee in!¡±

    Using her divine sense, she could see that there was a gift in Snow¡¯s hands. Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression became a bit cold. Hmph, this girl stole my precious disciple¡¯s man! I won¡¯t eat her gift even if I have to die from starvation!

    Soon afterward, a beautiful figure pushed open the door and came in. Qiao Xueying clearly had a few reservations. She opened the case in her hands, revealing all sorts of exquisite refreshments and fruits. ¡°I heard big sister Chu mention what the sect master¡¯s favorites were, so I came to bring some of these fruits. I hope the sect master won¡¯t turn your back on them.¡±

    Yan Xuehen sneered. You used to call her young miss Chu, but now, you¡¯re calling her big sister Chu? But I guess you¡¯re still quite tactful, willing to be the younger one.

    Even so, in order to help my precious disciple vent, I can¡¯t ept these gifts.

    She was about to refuse when Qiao Xueying handed over another silver case, saying, ¡°I begged my father for one of the Elf race¡¯s Flower Jade Pills. I hope it can aid in the sect master¡¯s speedy recovery.¡± She knew Yan Xuehen had been injured based on their earlier interactions.

    A look of surprise flickered through Yan Xuehen¡¯s eyes. The Elf Princess had clearly thought through her gifts. Most importantly, this Flower Jade Pill was no ordinary medicine, but rather the Elf Race¡¯s highest-grade recovery medicine. Every single pill had miraculous restorative effects. This gift was quite precious.

    She wanted to refuse, but she had already used up all of her own medicines in the Unknown Region. She really did need such medicine to aid in her recovery, and also to stabilize her dao heart.

    ¡°Many thanks!¡± Yan Xuehen replied, feeling a bit ashamed. Didn¡¯t I already make the decision not to ept her gifts? But how can I refuse when she¡¯s giving me so much?

    Qiao Xueying sighed in relief when she saw that Yan Xuehen had epted it. Then, she asked about how Chu Chuyan was doing. As far as she knew, that was their sole connection. She couldn''t just ask about Ah Zu right off the bat, right?

    It just happened that because she had spent so much time in the human world, Qiao Xueying was quite good at reading people¡¯s bodynguage. Even though Yan Xuehen intended to refuse her in the beginning, after talking for a bit, she had to admit that the Elf Princess was quite good at friendly conversation. The two quickly began to chat happily with each other.

    When Qiao Xueying left, however, Yan Xuehen sneered. This Elf Princess is pretty sharp! She¡¯s actually trying to use me to help her deal with Yu Yanluo and the other women.

    Still, she could understand that as well. Zu An had just too many women around him. As Qiao Xueying had expressed her good intentions, and she did share sisterly bonds with Chuyan, allying against the others was a good idea.

    Yan Xuehen suddenly thought of something. What do these things have to do with me? They can just fight it out in the harem themselves!

    She suddenly became a bit uneasy. She could no longer calm down her dao heart. After some hesitation, she decided to have a chat with Zu An. Whomever started the trouble should end it. For all she knew, she could potentially find some solution with him.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

 Chapter 1516: I Came at the Wrong Time

    Chapter 1516: I Came at the Wrong Time

    As she left through the door, Yan Xuehen hesitated for a moment. She thought, What if Zu An is together with Yu Yanluo? If she barged in in the dead of night, there was a high chance that there would be a misunderstanding.

    She took a few steps back, but her mind was a mess. She couldn''t calm herself down to meditate at all. In the end, she clenched her teeth and decided to continue forward.

    Even if it¡¯s embarrassing to look for Zu An, it should be fine for me to seek out Yu Yanluo for some chit-chat, right? she thought, surprising herself with her own wit. She thus sought out a pce maid to ask about Yu Yanluo¡¯s whereabouts.

    The pce maid recognized Yan Xuehen as one of the grandmasters who had fought in the skies for the Second Empress¡¯ side. Yan Xuehen looked so quiet and transcendent that it was hard to refuse her. As such, she respectfully replied, ¡°The Medusa Queen needed to take care of some Snake race affairs and has already left the pce.¡±

    ¡°Left the pce?¡± Yan Xuehen repeated, stunned. However, she quickly realized what was happening. The Second Empress had definitely promised the Snake race some generous conditions, so Yu Yanluo had needed to hurry back to discuss things with her nsmen and bring some people over to the Fiend King Court to see things through. After all, the Snake race¡¯s rise was already inevitable, and they definitely didn¡¯t have enough representatives in the Fiend King Court.

    ¡°Then what about Zu An?¡± she asked, feigning nonchnce. However, sheughed inwardly in self-mockery. Why did she have to go this far with a maid?

    ¡°The Regent is overseeing her highness and the young prince from a nearby residence to prevent any evildoers from starting any trouble in the pce,¡± the maid replied.

    She and her fellow maids grew excited as soon as they heard the name ¡®Zu An¡¯. Word of Zu An¡¯s powerful achievements had quickly spread throughout the entire Imperial Pce. This world worshiped the strong, let alone someone who was so handsome on top of that.

    When she saw the maids¡¯ starstruck eyes, Yan Xuehen thought, Zu An really is always surrounded by these love affairs. My¡­ disciple will probably end up encountering a lot of future troubles.

    Regent¡­ That woman really is going all out!

    As the White Jade Sect¡¯s master, she naturally knew what kind of authority a Regent symbolized in the history of the Fiend races.

    Her pretty brows couldn''t help but furrow when she thought about how Zu An was located near the Second Empress¡¯ chambers.

    Don¡¯t tell me fiend women don¡¯t understand the concept ofying low?

    Of course, even though she was a bit unhappy, she didn¡¯t think too much of it. There were just too many things that had happened during the night, and it was almost daybreak. At dawn, the young prince would ascend to the throne, and everyone present would be awfully busy. They would all have too many responsibilities, so how could anything happen?

    She expressed her thanks to the maid, and with a tap of her toes, she swiftly floated into the distance.

    The maids¡¯ little mouths hung wide open. They all had looks of envy. One eximed, ¡°If I were as formidable as Lady Yan¡­ No, even just a tenth of how amazing she is would be enough!¡±

    ¡°Hmph, even a wench like you has such high demands? I¡¯d be fully satisfied if I could have even a tenth of her beauty,¡± another remarked.

    The other maids all stared at her, replying, ¡°Isn¡¯t your requirement even higher?¡±

    ¡­

    Yan Xuehen naturally wasn¡¯t paying attention to the conversation of the maids behind her. She quickly arrived outside the Second Empress¡¯ chambers.

    She had always enjoyed peace and quiet. She didn¡¯t want her unannounced visit to Zu An¡¯s ce to be known by more people, so she didn¡¯t rm the guards outside. Her figure was like a wisp of smoke as she quickly entered the empress¡¯ pce.

    Her divine will slowly spread out. Soon afterward, she cast her gaze onto a side chamber. Her usually cold gaze gave way to a hint of a gentle smile. That was Zu An¡¯s aura. Her gait quickened as she walked over, but she suddenly slowed down again. There was another person¡¯s aura there.

    It was the Second Empress!

    The gentle look between her brows instantly disappeared. What were a grown man and woman all alone in a room together for?

    Still, she quickly calmed herself down. Zu An had already be the one the Second Empress relied on the most. It was understandable for her to discuss national affairs with him.

    She felt more at ease now when she thought of that. As such, she stopped in ce and admired the moon for a bit. She decided not to disturb their official business for the time being.

    She nned to seek out Zu An after the two finished their chat. She didn¡¯t want to meet with the Second Empress, in order to avoid trouble. She had always enjoyed peace and quiet, and didn¡¯t like such social affairs.

    Just like that, she continued to stand there for an indeterminate amount of time. At some point, a cold wind blew past, bringing with it a leaf thatnded on Yan Xuehen¡¯s head.

    Yan Xuehen removed the leaf from her head, feeling a bit surprised. The Fiend races¡¯ territory was located in the northern frontier, and it was winter right now, and yet there were still green leaves. She had to admit that the Fiend races¡¯ royal family really was impressive. They were able to raise many trees that could only be found in the sunny south.

    But why are they still not done after chatting for so long?

    She hadn¡¯t probed the interior with her divine sense out of courtesy and her own pride. But now, she found it a bit hard to hide her curiosity.

    If it were anyone else, with the Unshaken Daoist Manual that Yan Xuehen cultivated, she wouldn¡¯t even have that thought. However, when it was rted to Zu An, she felt as if her heart were being wed at.

    After some hesitation, she muttered to herself, ¡°I have to see if something unexpected happened inside. Zu An won against those grandmasters, but he might have an internal injury that has only red up now¡­¡±

    When she thought of that, it was even harder for her to resist. She quickly extended her divine sense inside. For a grandmaster, divine sense was just like one¡¯s eyes. Even if there was a wall in between, they could see everything clearly.

    Hm? Why is the Second Empress copsed on the ground? Wait, she seems to be kneeling on the floor.

    What¡¯s up with Ah Zu? Why are his eyes closed as if he¡¯s in pain?

    From her viewing angle, she could only see the Second Empress from behind. The empress¡¯ body was blocking what was happening, so she couldn''t exactly see what was going on.

    As such, she extended her divine sense a bit deeper to look from a different angle. However, when she did that, her pretty eyes immediately widened. She waspletely shocked by the scene.

    She saw the Second Empress supporting her heaping mounds, then lowering her head just like that¡­

    There¡¯s even something like that?!

    Is this woman not scared of choking to death?

    In the end, the problem was that Yan Xuehen was too detached from the secr world and naturally gave off a distant air to the people around her. People all treated her like a goddess and chose their words carefully. Nobles were always scared of being shown disgust by such a goddess; between that and her upbringing, she was as innocent as a white sheet of paper in this regard. Even though she had shared physical intimacy with Zu An, she still knew far less than even young virgins and unmarried maidens.

    If it were the Devil Sect¡¯s Yun Jianyue, she would have already known what they were doing just from seeing the empress¡¯ back.

    Still, no matter how innocent Yan Xuehen was, she still knew what was happening when she saw the scene. She glowered. Ayer of ice began to spread outward from her, covering everything in the vicinity.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +999 +999 +999¡­

    When Yan Xuehen¡¯s divine will entered the room, Zu An had already noticed it. However, while he was in heaven, his reaction speed was naturally a bit slow. Only when he saw the backend explode with Rage points did he snap out of his daze.

    I¡¯m finished! I¡¯m done for!

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s gaze waspletely cold. She turned around and left.

    Zu An panicked and got up to chase after her.

    The Second Empress felt a bitter chill sweep over her. She reflexively covered herself with her clothes. She wondered why she suddenly felt cold, but how could she have expected Zu An to suddenly stand up? She clutched her mouth and moved to one side, holding onto the table as she began to cough fiercely.

    Zu An felt apologetic when he saw that. If he just ran away from the situation, that would be trashy of him and it would create a rift between them. It wouldn¡¯t be good for their cooperation in the future. As such, he gently patted her back to help her sort out her condition.

    When the empress recovered a bit, Zu An quickly ran out the door. However, how could he possibly catch up to Yan Xuehen?

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± a tender voice called out. It turned out that the Second Empress had emerged while holding her clothes tightly around her, a pitiful look on her face. What had just happened left her confused. She thought that perhaps she had done something wrong.

 Chapter 1517: Should I Run or Not?

    Chapter 1517: Should I Run or Not?

    The Second Empress had followed Zu An in a hurry, carelessly pulling her clothes over her body. However, it left plenty of her fair skin visible, making her appear even more lovely and attractive.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing,¡± Zu An said. He couldn''t tell her that Yan Xuehen had shown up, right?

    ¡°Was I not good enough in some way?¡± the Second Empress asked; she seemed on the verge of tears, looking incredibly innocent and charming.

    Zu An immediately felt a me ignite within him. Even though this woman had said she was repaying him out of gratitude, she had constantly been using her charm skill on him. Her intentions definitely weren¡¯t as pure as she made them seem.

    He felt as if his head would explode after Yan Xuehen¡¯s visit; he had no idea what he was supposed to do. Now, this woman was even ying tricks on him!

    It¡¯s all her fault!

    Even though his reason told him this had nothing to do with her, he had just absorbed Sir Fu¡¯s cultivation. The chaotic nature of that power, which he had done his best to suppress, once againpletely erupted.

    Isn¡¯t this woman trying to seduce me? Then, let¡¯s see if you¡¯ll still be in the mood to think such crooked thoughts.

    He picked her up directly off the ground and carried her in his arms. The Second Empress really did have a special innate talent. She was clearly tall and slender, and yet when he picked her up, her body felt soft and boneless.

    When she sensed the passion in Zu An¡¯s eyes, a slight grin appeared on the corners of the Second Empress¡¯ lips. She felt as if she had won at a certain small game.

    However, at the same time, her heart pounded fiercely with even more nervousness and anticipation than back when she was newly wed. After all, she had only been aiming for the empress position back then and didn¡¯t have any feelings or¡­ desire for ¡®him¡¯.

    And yet, when she saw that Zu An wasn¡¯t bringing her back into the previous room but rather into her own chambers, the Second Empresspanicked slightly, starting to struggle. She protested, ¡°Don¡¯t go there! There are people there¡­¡±

    The empress¡¯ chambers naturally had arge number of maids and eunuchs. Evente at night when the eunuchs went back to the outer areas, there were always some personal maids left behind in the pce.

    ¡°So what?¡± Zu An replied, his tone carrying a hint of unquestionable intent.

    ¡°You really are an overbearing man!¡± the Second Empress eximed, biting her lip. His powerful arms made her feeble strugglespletely useless. Furthermore, her own conflicted heart wasn¡¯t that resolute either.

    Being seen by someone else would really be a big problem! There are no absolute secrets in the world unless I silence everyone forever. But those maids are all my trusted aides. I¡¯m alreadycking manpower, and it would be even more difficult to find trustworthy new people.

    But if I firmly reject him, it might offend him¡­

    Just like that, as those two thoughts continued to sh, she unknowingly arrived in her own chambers.

    When they heard the activity, the maids inside came out to greet the Second Empress, but when they saw that her clothes were messy and that she was lying in Zu An¡¯s arms with a look of embarrassment, their jaws almost seemed about to fall off.

    The Second Empress was very embarrassed, and she gave the maids a threatening look. The maids all shuddered and didn¡¯t dare to raise their heads again.

    Just like that, Zu An carried the Second Empress into her room. The Second Empress¡¯ slender hand gently waved and closed the door, and she activated a sound isting formation.

    However, when he saw her movements, Zu An coldly said, ¡°Shut down the formation.¡±

    ¡°But¡­¡± the Second Empress began, somewhat nervously. She raised her head and saw his domineering expression. She was shaken. This man seemed to be embarrassing her on purpose!

    However, after some hesitation, she still undid the formation.

    Zu An walked around the resting chamber. As he breathed in the expensive fragrances and the familiar sweet scenting from the Second Empress¡¯ body, he couldn''t help but smile, saying, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to be back here again.¡±

    The Second Empress¡¯ face turned bright red. She knew he was talking about the time when the Elf Princess had been brought into the room. Back then, she had been forced to listen to them all night, and she had also been curious as to how the Elf Princess¡¯ dainty physique could withstand such a fierce battle. She hadn¡¯t expected to personally receive the answer herself today.

    When she thought of that, her heart trembled. She said with a yful pout, ¡°Your face was so scary before.¡±

    Last time, they had needed to go through so much difficulty to help the Elf Princess escape. She had even generously saved them back then. Now, just how much had transpired since then? Zu An had already be someone she had to look up to.

    Zu An didn¡¯t reply to her, and instead threw her onto the phoenix seat.

    Even the Second Empress¡¯ skin was heating up. This was a ce even the Fiend Emperor had considered off-limits. Previously, she hadn¡¯t even dared to think that another man would defile this ce. It wasn¡¯t just her; no man among all the Fiend races would dare to have such a thought.

    Furthermore, this man had deliberately taken down the formations, clearly intending to shatter her pride and fully tame her. As a woman who was proficient in charm skills, she naturally understood a man¡¯s heart too.

    For some reason, though, she didn¡¯t feel any disgust. That heavy pressure instead made her feel a kind of indescribable expectation.

    Her expression was extremely conflicted. She had clearly just received news of her husband¡¯s death this evening, and yet she was already following another man to bed. I really am a bad woman¡­

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, the maids in the pce shook in fear. They weren¡¯t even in the mood to watch the drama unfold.

    After all, as they came from the Imperial Pce, they knew the pce¡¯s rules. The massive Imperial Pce constantly had people who died for various reasons. That was precisely because they had seen something they shouldn¡¯t have seen and heard something they shouldn¡¯t have heard.

    After what happened today, not even dying eight times would be enough. Still, they were the Second Empress¡¯ most trusted aides. Her highness wouldn¡¯t kill them, right?

    The maids hesitated as to whether or not they should flee, when a mature voice suddenly spoke up from one side. ¡°Stop thinking nonsense already and guard your respective positions. Do not let anyone else approach this ce.¡±

    ¡°Aunt Xiao!¡± the maids quickly greeted her respectfully. The mature female official before them was someone from the Second Empress¡¯ family. She was the one in charge of the Empress Pce¡¯s various matters, big or small.

    ¡°As long as you are loyal to her highness, her highness will definitely not let you down,¡± Aunt Xiao said as constion, which finally dispelled their misgivings. After all, this kind of thing had already happened, and it would clearly happen again. Even if they were silenced and other people reced them, there would still be a chance of news leaking out.

    However, along with the encouragement came words of reality. Aunt Xiao¡¯s expression turned cold and she continued, ¡°But after tonight, if any rumors start to spread, I will not investigate all of you one by one. All of you here will die! Understand?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± the maids replied, shivering. No wonder her highness didn¡¯t do anything before. She knew Aunt Xiao would take care of thingster.

    Aunt Xiao nodded in satisfaction. However, a frown appeared on her face when she looked at the tightly shut door. Her highness really is acting willfully.

    Still, as someone who had followed the empress here and taken care of her since she was little, and furthermore remained unmarried the entire time, she saw the empress like her own daughter. She knew that even though the Second Empress looked bright on the surface, she had actually been cold and quiet in the pce, and always been extremely lonely.

    Aunt Xiao had witnessed how impressive the Regent was tonight. He wasn¡¯t a bad choice for her highness.

    Fortunately, she still had at least a bit of restraint, at least closing the door. The formation should be active, right¡­

    As soon as that thought emerged, however, a noise emerged from inside. Aunt Xiao was speechless.

    What is up with this girl? Does she have to go that far?

    She had no experience with such things herself, and the pce had always been a lonely and empty ce for her too. When had she ever experienced such a shock before? She quickly left with a reddened face, dragging the excitedly listening maids out with her.

    ¡°We will stand guard a bit farther out. We cannot let anyone within several dozen meters¡­ no, several hundred meters!¡± Aunt Xiao ordered with a flushed face. The two inside really had gone crazy! The youngdy was still the empress! Even though the Fiend Emperor had died, this was still the Fiend races¡¯ Imperial Pce. Who knew how many people were watching it?!

    ¡­

    Just like that, after half a night, Aunt Xiao finally couldn''t take it and knocked on the door. She called out, ¡°Your highness, it is already daybreak. We have to carry out the young prince¡¯s ascension to the throne. Your highness also needs to wear the ceremonial dress.¡±

    The Second Empress¡¯ ceremonial dress was extremely grand andplex. It was something arge group of maids needed to help with.

    ¡°I got it~¡± azy, extremely sweet voice called out from inside. It even made Aunt Xiao, who was also a woman, shiver.

    Inside the room, on the phoenix seat, the Second Empress¡¯ skin was covered in ayer of beautiful rosiness. She looked at the man next to her with tender feelings, her eyes misty and beautiful. She said, ¡°I¡¯ve discovered that the noble title I gave you before was just too fitting, my dear¡­ Steady Aim Duke.¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

 Chapter 1518: End of an Age

    <h4>Chapter 1518: End of an Age</h4>

    After daybreak, the grand ceremony began on the altar outside the Imperial Tomb. The first task was to announce the death of thete Fiend Emperor, and the second was to announce the ascension of the new Fiend Emperor.

    The Second Empress thus became the Empress Dowager. Because the young prince was still too young, there were many duties she had to take over.

    All of the representatives of the different ns attended the ceremony, gathering below the altar. They all sighed in amazement. It was said all across the world that the Second Empress was incredibly beautiful. Today, they discovered that her reputation was fully justified.

    Furthermore, herplexion even looked a bit rosier than usual. Many people thought,Your husband just died, and yet you¡¯ve be even more beautiful. Which man did you end up giving yourself to?

    Of course, those were just yful thoughts. Not even enemy ns would really believe such a thing had really happened. Her son was now the new Fiend Emperor, and she had be the true ruler of the Fiend races. People tended to be in good moods during happy asions, so it was natural for her face to be glowing like that. As for the loss of her husband, it was the royal family, the ce thatcked feelings and affection the most.

    The Second Empress walked along the carpet and up the stairs. It was the most important moment. As the Empress Dowager, she had to receive the bows of the new emperor. At the same time, she had to crown the new emperor in thete Fiend Emperor¡¯s ce. She was dressed in splendid clothes; her long dress dragged behind her along the stairs, resembling a phoenix tail.

    At first, she walked in a graceful and poised manner. Suddenly, however, her figure trembled and her beautiful brows furrowed.

    Aunt Xiao, who was following beside her, was startled and quietly asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing,¡± the Second Empress said, shaking her head. A hint of bashfulness flickered across her face.

    Just then¡­ ¡®that¡¯ had trickled out. She had actually been trying hard to control it along the way. However, the stairs were so long that it really challenged her willpower.

    That guy really does pour like a waterfall¡­

    She hadn¡¯t slept all night, and dawn had broken before she realized it. Then, Aunt Xiao and the others had led the maids in to get her dressed. Time was just too tight, so she hadn¡¯t had time to bathe at all.

    Fortunately, her dress was extremely grand, so it was also extremely sturdy. It prevented a shameful disy. She took a deep breath, then continued up the stairs.

    In people¡¯s eyes, the Second Empress¡¯ every action was dignified and noble. Apart from being a bit too lovely and charming, there wasn¡¯t a single w they could pick at.

    However, the Second Empress¡¯ thoughts returned to the previous night¡¯s charming and gentle events. Zu An had deliberately told her to deactivate the formation. She had guessed what he was thinking, and hadn¡¯t been all that willing deep down, but she was just as unwilling to offend him over such a thing.

    Thus, at first she had decided to use silence to express her rejection. Unfortunately, Zu An had charged straight in like a battering ram. The empress had been utterly defeated from practically the first encounter. As she had her own sense of pride, she had bitten down on her red lips to put up a weak final defense; however, the more she did that, the more Zu An took advantage of her.

    She hadn¡¯t thought too much of it, and just assumed her charm hadpletely drawn out the instincts hidden deep within him. She even felt a bit of pride. Still, Zu An was just way too rough! It really was too¡­ too good.

    Before absolute force, her resistance waspletely meaningless. Soon afterward, she had be unable to hold it in, giving Aunt Xiao a real fright.

    She had never let herself go like that before, nor had she ever experienced such a feeling, where every single one of her cells was cheering with everything they had. At that instant, she had felt as if she had lived all her previous years for nothing. She was unsure whether she could ever feel as happy as she did at that moment again.

    And yet, the moments that followed hadpletely overturned even that admiration¡­

    She hadn¡¯t expected that not only was Zu An so formidable in cultivation, he was also even so¡­ formidable in ¡®that¡¯ kind of thing. No, he was even better at thetter. She was pretty confident that he was unmatched in that field. At that moment, she finally understood why he had so many stunning beauties around him.

    Whether it was the Medusa Queen, the Elf Princess, the two ridiculously beautiful grandmasters, or even the Ocean races¡¯ Mermaid Princess¡­ Any one of them would be a woman whom most people could only long for but never obtain. And yet, those women all surrounded Zu An!

    She had found it really strange before. Had these women all gone mad? They were all the best of the best, and yet they had to wrong themselves and share a man? However, after the previous night, she finally understood. She was still too naive.

    After a long night of battle, she discovered that not only was she not tired today, she was even glowing with life. Even the injuries from the conflict from the night before werepletely healed.

    As the Fiend Empress, she naturally had more knowledge and experience than most. She had experienced such intimate contact before, so she immediately noticed that Zu An¡¯s blood essence carried extraordinary aptitude. It was absolutely amazing for women.

    Even though she usually had a charming demeanor, that was just to win over the court ministers. No one had ever heard of her having any ambiguous rtionships with others; she had never been a particrly licentious woman. However, the previous night had changed herpletely, and she just couldn¡¯t get enough.

    At first, she had only nned to borrow Zu An¡¯s transcendent aptitude blood essence to nurture herself. Eventually, however, she unknowinglypletely fell under his spell. For a moment, she even had thoughts about birthing his child. She hadpletely opened her body and mind to him.

    However, when the celebration began, she gradually recovered her reason. Her status was way too sensitive. If she gave birth to another son as the Empress Dowager, that would be a catastrophic event. As such, she had to purge those thoughts for now. At least¡­ at least until the court¡¯s situation stabilized. Then, there would be a chance.

    Aunt Xiao quietly observed her expression the entire time. When she saw the empress¡¯ sweet smile, others wouldn¡¯t know, but she definitely knew what was going on.

    Do you really have to act like that while looking that beautiful¡­Aunt Xiao thought inwardly. However, she quickly recalled what she had heard the previous night, and she couldn''t help but bite her lip.

    ¡­

    The Second Empress finally arrived at the top of the stage. Then, she crowned the young prince ording to tradition.

    Just like that, the Fiend races¡¯ new Fiend Emperor came to be!

    The different n representatives all showed the new Fiend Emperor a bow. When they saw his young and tender appearance, they all had their own thoughts. One thing they all acknowledged, however, was the end of an age.

    Then, the new Fiend Emperor and the Second Empress led their subjects in the sacrifices toward the previous Fiend Emperors, and particrly thete Fiend Emperor. Only afterpleting all the prior tasks did they start the festivities.

    The new emperor started to bestow rewards on the different ministers. The first was Zu An, who was given the title of Regent.

    When those of lower status first learned of that, they were all shocked. They all began to wonder just what kind of ridiculous person this was, that he would be given such an outstanding position. However, those who truly had authority weren¡¯t surprised in the slightest. The only reason why the young prince had been able to be the new Fiend Emperor had been due to Zu An¡¯s support, after all.

    Still, even though Zu An¡¯s status was great, he didn¡¯t have any foundation in the Fiend King Court. Furthermore, he was even a human. There was no way he would be able to shake the authority of the old hierarchy. As such, no one was particrly opposed to it.

    Then, the Elf race, Snake race, Ocean races, Demon races, and Tiger races all obtained generous rewards. They were the ones who had contributed considerably in the previous night¡¯s battle. The Peacock race and Great Peng race were also given some rewards to appease them.

    The Golden Crow Guards¡¯ high-ranking officers werepletely changed. Furthermore, the Second Empress aggressively promoted the Xiao n and the trusted aides she had built up over the years.

    As for Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen, they had also done a lot. The Second Empress wanted to reward the two of them, but their statuses on the human side were special and they didn¡¯t want to get too involved with the Fiend races. As such, they were simply tactfully thanked.

    ¡­

    The different forces congratted Zu An. Zu An replied to them nonchntly, then looked around for a certain ice-cold figure. Unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t find her no matter where he looked.

    He felt dejected.This is bad. Big sis Yan didn¡¯t just leave out of anger, did she?

    Her temperament is already like Xiaolongnu[1]</a>;how can her tendencies be the same too?n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    It wasn¡¯t just him. Even Yun Jianyue was looking for Yan Xuehen. The two of them were clearly sworn enemies that couldn''t coexist, and yet now, she felt a bit unnatural when she didn¡¯t see the other woman around. She just felt that something was missing. However, she really couldn''t find Yan Xuehen, so she asked around. She found out that Qiao Xueying had sought Yan Xuehen out the previous night, so she went to the Elf race.

    When she saw Yun Jianyue arrive, Qiao Xueying was rmed. After all, she had just contacted Yan Xuehen the previous night to face the other women together. Yun Jianyue¡¯s disciple was naturally one of her targets.

    When she saw Yun Jianyue arrive, Qiao Xueying¡¯s first reaction was to think,Could it be thatst night¡¯s events were exposed?

    It had to be said that the pressure the Devil Sect Master gave off really was quite great.

    <hr>

    1. Xiaolongnu is the fictional female protagonist of the novel¡®The Return of the Condor Heroes¡¯byJin Yong. In the novel, her physical appearance is described as follows: "Skin as white as snow, beautiful and elegant beyond convention and cannot be underestimated, but appears cold and indifferent". She trains the protagonistYang Guoin martial arts, and they eventually fall in love.?</a>

    Favorite

 Chapter 1519: Agate of Enlightenment

    Chapter 1519: Agate of Enlightenment

    ¡°Sect Master Yan disappeared?¡± Qiao Xueying asked. She had felt very worried that Yun Jianyue was there to criticize her, but when she heard the reason for the visit, she sighed in relief. ¡°I don¡¯t know either. She left after our chat. I didn¡¯t notice anything strange back then.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Then what did you chat with her about yesterday?¡± Yun Jianyue asked, also feeling confused. Yan Xuehen wasn¡¯t someone who couldn''t distinguish between what was important and what wasn¡¯t. Had something unexpected happened?

    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ nothing,¡± Qiao Xueying said, her face heating up. ¡°I was just asking about big sister Chu¡¯s current situation.¡±

    She couldn''t tell Yun Jianyue that they had been discussing how to deal with her disciple, right?

    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± Yun Jianyue asked with a frown. Generally, there wasn¡¯t anyone in the Fiend King Court who could threaten the stone cold woman. Even if their cultivation was higher than hers, there was no way a battle wouldn¡¯t cause anymotion at all.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Qiao Xueying said, nodding quickly.

    ¡°Snow, what happened?¡± the Great Elf King asked as he walked over, making sure to flip the strand of hair in front of his forehead. It was a move he had perfected over many years, as it would fully disy his exceptional appearance and carefree attitude. Each time, it always made a group of youngdies or aunties scream.

    However, he never really showed off because he really did like someone. After all, in his opinion, there wasn¡¯t a single woman who was as good looking as him. The reason he did it was to enjoy the looks of shock and adoration toward his stunning beauty.

    It was just a pity that Yun Jianyue wasn¡¯t that type of woman. Furthermore, because of the annoyance she felt from not being able to find Yan Xuehen, she only found his disy even more pretentious. She said, ¡°In that case, then, I¡¯ll ask around somewhere else.¡±

    She knew that the Great Elf King was probably worried that she would bully his daughter, and that was why he had arrived. As Qiao Xueying had said she didn¡¯t know, Yun Jianyue really didn¡¯t feel like dealing with this crazy narcissist.

    Seeing that she was about to leave, the Great Elf King couldn''t help but say with a sigh, ¡°You were born with a passable face, but it¡¯s a pity that you¡¯re blind.¡±

    ¡°Blind?¡± Qiao Xueying repeated, stunned.

    ¡°Otherwise, why would she be indifferent toward my stunning appearance? If she isn¡¯t blind, she definitely can¡¯t be a woman,¡± the Great Elf King quickly replied.

    Qiao Xueying was speechless. She found it a bit hard to handle her crazily narcissistic dad and shot back, ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because she¡¯s seen a man who¡¯s more handsome than a certain someone that she¡¯s acting like that?¡±

    ¡°How could that be? In this world, whose looks canpare to mine?¡± the Great Elf King eximed furiously.

    Qiao Xueying harrumphed, then didn¡¯t feel like paying him any more attention. She reflexively nced toward Zu An, who was on the elevated stage. A hint of pride appeared on her beautifulplexion.

    ¡°So it was him,¡± the Great Elf King harrumphed. ¡°You¡¯re just in your honeymoon phase. As a father, I¡¯ll just forgive you. Right, once things are finished, you should go back to the Elf King Manor. I¡¯ve already arranged for a few elders to personally instruct you on how to deal with the n¡¯s affairs. You know that I was locked up in the Imperial Prison for a period of time, and too many things have umted in the n. Recently, the Empress Dowager has massively promoted the Elf race, so we need someone to take care of all those things now.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that your work? Why aren¡¯t you doing it?¡± Qiao Xueying asked nervously.

    She still had to find her sweetheart afterward. It was one thing when he had been on the human side, and she could only think about him due to the physical distance. But now, he had finallye all the way to the Fiend race territory, and yet the two still rarely spent time together!

    The Great Elf King proudly raised his chin and replied, ¡°Theseplicated matters are too much work; it¡¯ll damage my perfect skin and elerate my aging. I naturally need to leave them to you.¡±

    Qiao Xueying looked wronged, protesting, ¡°Excuse me, are you not worried about the same thing happening to me?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re still young, so it¡¯s fine,¡± the Great Elf King replied, waving his hand. However, when he saw her pouting, seemingly really unwilling, he changed the subject. ¡°Do you really like that kid?¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that a rhetorical question? If I didn¡¯t like him, would I give him half my lifespan?¡± Qiao Xueying asked, looking at him as if she were looking at an idiot.

    The Great Elf King didn¡¯t get upset as he replied, ¡°Then there¡¯s even more of a reason for you to do these things.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Qiao Xueying asked, soundingpletely confused.

    The Great Elf King¡¯s expression wasn¡¯t as frivolous as before, but instead filled with a wise air as he replied, ¡°From what I know, that brat always has a lot of women around him, and they¡¯re all the world¡¯s most powerful individuals. The Medusa Queen, the White Jade Sect¡¯s inheritor, the Devil Sect¡¯s saintess, the Ocean races¡¯ Mermaid Princess, even the Demon races¡¯ princess¡­ In terms of beauty, none of them are inferior to you, and those people all have powerful forces behind them. At the same time, because of their status, their experience and skills absolutely aren¡¯t something a naive youngdy like you canpare to. Won¡¯t you bepletely swallowed up by those women at this rate?

    ¡°Additionally, from my perspective, that White Jade Sect Master Yan and Devil Sect Master Yun both seem to carry more than just a positive impression of that kid. If you don¡¯t umte some skills and experience, how will you fight them?¡±

    Qiao Xueying rolled her eyes, retorting, ¡°Are you crazy? They¡¯re Chu Chuyan and Qiu Honglei¡¯s masters. Why would they like their own disciples¡¯ man?¡± She sneered. ¡°Whatever.¡±

    She just assumed her narcissistic dad was being dumb again. Still, even though she didn¡¯t believe that the two seniors would like Zu An, she still acknowledged her father¡¯s advice. She felt that she had to deal with the Elf race¡¯s affairs to raise her own personal skills, as well as to prepare for the future.

    ¡­

    Even after the coronation ceremony ended, the Second Empress had many things to take care of. Zu An couldn''t seek her out during the day, as a result.

    Yu Yanluo nned to establish a new office in the Fiend King Court for the Snake race. The Second Empress had granted them a new residence and several other awards. There were many things that the two of them, as master and servant, had to take care of.

    Apart from that, her gains in matters of cultivation had been great too. She had received all kinds of insights, which she needed to slowly digest in seclusion to break through into the master rank. Because she had the Holy Pearl and her bloodline talent, together with the Boulder Topaz precious to earth element cultivators that Zu An had given her, there was no risk at all for her breakthrough this time. She didn¡¯t even need anyone else to watch over her.

    ¡­

    Yan Xuehen had disappeared off to who knew where, and Zu An didn¡¯t know where Yun Jianyue was either. Qiao Xueying had also left in a hurry¡­

    He looked around and saw that everyone had left, so he decided that it would be best to return to the Imperial Pce. When he arrived, he withdrew a batch of goods from the treasury. He had always been worried about his Tai¡¯e Sword being damaged; as he had some free time now, it was the perfect time to fix it.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Previously, the Rune Weapon Chart had unlocked the Forging System. It allowed him to repair weapons, but he needed all sorts of materials. In the past, it might have been a bit difficult, but with his current status and authority, the materials issue had suddenly be extremely easy to solve.

    He had mentioned it in passing to the Second Empress the previous night. The Second Empress was alreadypletely submissive and obedient by that point, simply giving him her token. Together with his status as the Regent, none of the guards of the treasury had dared to stop him.

    When he returned to his room, Zu An was a bit excited. His rewards this time were a bit unexpected.

    First off, he had arge batch of heaven-grade ores. That was the bare minimum for repairing heaven-grade weapons. Furthermore, he even had eleven Meteor Spark Pills. Such items were extremely precious, and they were all the Fiend Races Imperial Pce had in their treasury. The pills weren¡¯t for people to eat, but rather, were used to forge weapons.

    He nned to use up the Cmity Gold he had gotten from the Jade Garden rock betting game to increase the Tai¡¯e Sword¡¯s grade too. However, for something like Cmity Gold, not even true fire was guaranteed to be able to melt it. The Meteor Spark Pills were needed as supplementary materials. Such pills could greatly increase the power of all kinds of fire. At the same time, rather than being explosive, they uniformly distributed the fire, greatly increasing the sess rate of the process.

    The previous night, when the Second Empress heard what Zu An was thinking, she had felt that using up Cmity Gold on a heaven-grade weapon wasn¡¯t really worth it. Zu An didn¡¯t think so, however. The Tai¡¯e Sword had a special meaning to him. As he had managed to actually get some Cmity Gold this time, he would naturally have a chance to obtain other exceptional metals in the future too.

    Seeing how he had already made his decision, the Second Empress didn¡¯t say anything else. They had quickly entered another round of crazy ups and downs again.

    However, whether it was therge batch of heaven-grade ores or the precious Meteor Spark Pills, they weren¡¯t really why Zu An was excited.

    What he was most excited about was that he had found the Agate of Enlightenment, one of the three divine objects Mi Li had said she needed to reconstruct her body!

 Chapter 1520: Divine Weapon

    Chapter 1520: Divine Weapon

    The Agate of Enlightenment wasn¡¯t actually a piece of agate. It was a translucent honey-like liquid, but more viscous, stored in a ki stone bottle. The bottle had all kinds of runes and formations around it to prevent the medicinal qualities from leaving the bottle.

    When Zu An opened the lid, rich natural ki rushed out. He had only sensed a simr density of ki from the Xia Dynasty secret dungeon, but at that moment, the concentration was even greater than in that dungeon.

    Apart from that, there was an ancient and profound air about it that seemed to carry the great dao of the world, as if there werews of the cosmos carved within. Even the slightest contact could bring great benefits, giving a cultivator vague signs of a breakthrough.

    The reason why the Golden Crow Crown Prince had been able to gain such high cultivation and be the leader of the five extremes above all of his peers, apart from his superior aptitude and pointers from the Fiend Emperor, was partly due to the Agate of Enlightenment. It allowed cultivators toprehend the dao and achieve breakthroughs more easily.

    However, even the Golden Crow Crown Prince with his distinguished status had only received a single drop of this Agate of Enlightenment each year. It was easy to see just how precious it was.

    And yet, Zu An had simply taken the entire bottle. Of course, out of consideration for the Second Empress, he still left behind a small bottle for the young prince¡¯s cultivation. However, if there hadn¡¯t been enough Agate of Enlightenment to begin with, he would probably have taken the rest too. At worst, he would have justpensated the mother and son in a different way.

    Zu An activated the forging system. Arge cauldron projection appeared in the room. He then sent in a strand of White Lotus me. The great cauldron instantly erupted into zing mes. Fortunately, the Second Empress¡¯ pce was supported by special runes, or else a normal house wouldn¡¯t be able to hold such arge cauldron or such blistering mes.

    He then added the heaven-grade ores to it. They were the most basic materials needed for the Tai¡¯e Sword¡¯s repair. Such ores would both help to regte the me¡¯s temperature, and melt to repair the Tai¡¯e Sword.

    Zu An was about to put in the Tai¡¯e Sword when he suddenly thought of something. He quickly took it back.

    ¡°Beautiful master, hurry and wake up~¡± he repeatedly called out to Mi Li. He had forgotten that her soul was still in the Tai¡¯e Sword and almost roasted her alive.

    ¡°What is it?¡± After Zu An called out for a long time, azy voice finally replied. The voice sounded a bit upset, as if she had been woken up from her sleep.

    A wonderful figurey down on a seat off to the side. She wasn¡¯t dressed invish pce wear the way she usually was, and instead had some soft, light-colored clothes. She was like a stay-at-home married woman who had been roused awake and came down to open the door.

    Her beautiful hair was bundled up in a simple manner around her neck and shoulders, a hairstyle pre-Qin Dynasty women often wore. She rested her chin on her hand, her soft hair casually falling down across her snow-white skin and swaying with the wind. Her usually lively and heroic demeanor surprisingly gave way to a hint of gentle charm.

    The light of the fireing from therge cauldron in the center of the room was like a winding milky stream against her body, highlighting her incredible curves.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An thought to himself, Is this woman really not a reincarnated gourd spirit?

    However, after the previous night¡¯s battles, he was now just like a saint. He quickly recovered and said, ¡°Beautiful master, I hope you¡¯ve been well.¡±

    ¡°It would¡¯ve been better if you hadn¡¯t woken me up,¡± Mi Li replied, rolling her eyes.

    ¡°Master, you really slept quite deeply. I almost lost my life in that Unknown Region!¡± Zu An began to grumble.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you still fine?¡± Mi Li replied, then yawned while covering her red lips, her movements graceful and noble.

    Zu An was speechless.

    ¡°Master, you might not know, but I had to be a substitute for the ancient deity Yi in the Unknown Region. I even shot down the suns in the sky! Later, I even killed the Fiend Emperor. When I came out, I even killed several grandmasters¡­¡± He gathered his thoughts and then began to tell her about what had happened in her absence with a big smile. Even though he didn¡¯t say it directly, his excitement clearly hinted for her to praise him.

    ¡°I know that already. Seeing as your Puppet Curse is gone, the Fiend Emperor is obviously dead,¡± Mi Li said tly. She remained calm, as if she were listening to something that couldn''t be more expected.

    Zu An was now at a loss. Is it because I didn¡¯t do good enough, or does this woman not care about me at all?

    When she saw his expression, Mi Li grinned and said, ¡°Alright, fine. Actually, I saw everything that happened in the dungeon.¡±

    ¡°You saw everything?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°Of course. How could I sleep in such a dangerous situation? I was always secretly watching. I have to say, brat, you really do have some skill,¡± Mi Li replied.

    Zu An¡¯s expression immediately brightened. Looks like my beautiful master still loves me.

    ¡°As for those grandmastersst night, they¡¯re nothing special. In the Unknown Region, everything else was secondary. The most precious thing you gained was that unrivaled conviction. As long as you continue to win, you¡¯ll be stronger and stronger,¡± Mi Li continued. If Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue were here, they would definitely feel great admiration. She had been able to deduce the reason behind Zu An¡¯s increase in strength from a single nce.

    ¡°Then what if I lose?¡± Zu An asked with a frown.

    ¡°If you had that thought, you would no longer have that unrivaled conviction,¡± Mi Li said calmly.

    Zu An shivered, seemingly understanding. Suddenly, he thought of something and asked, ¡°Master, seeing as you saw everything, what exactly is going on with the Celestial Emperors? Are there really immortals in this world?¡±

    ¡°Of course there are,¡± Mi Li said, getting up from the seat and walking over to the window to look into the sky. There was a somewhat wistful expression in her eyes as she continued, ¡°In the past, when I saw the ancient records, I thought they were just myths. I didn¡¯t expect them to really have existed! The Unknown Region you went to was a bit different from other secret dungeons. It could be a world that really exists.¡±

    ¡°Really exists?¡± Zu An asked, shocked. Didn¡¯t that mean the Celestial Emperors, Sun Goddess, Spirit Mountain¡¯s Ten Shamans, and the Mt. Wu Goddess¡­ were all individuals who actually existed?

    Mi Li nodded and said, ¡°That world is a bit strange. If my suspicions aren¡¯t wrong, someone snipped a segment of the river of history and cast it there.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed. He asked, ¡°Is there really someone that powerful?¡± To be honest, such a skill was already beyond his understanding.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to think about those things right now,¡± Mi Li slowly said. ¡°There are too many temporal and spatialws involved in the process, so not even I canprehend it. However, I do have some guesses¡­¡±

    Zu An waited for her to continue, but when he saw that she didn¡¯t say anything, he thought she was waiting for him to y along. He quickly asked about it, but she didn¡¯t say anything. Mi Li instead replied, ¡°It won¡¯t be of any help to you if I tell you about these things now. When it¡¯s time in the future, you¡¯ll naturally know them yourself.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He hated it the most when others made things mysterious like this on purpose.

    Mi Li didn¡¯t seem to want to continue talking about the topic with him, however. She changed the subject, asking, ¡°You didn¡¯t call me out just to show off, right?¡±

    Zu An finally remembered his objective. He handed over the bottle in his hands, replying, ¡°Beautiful master, do you see what I have here?¡±

    Mi Li opened up the lid and gave it a look. Her previously calm and aloof demeanor was immediately reced with pleasant surprise. She eximed, ¡°Agate of Enlightenment!¡±

    When he saw her be as happy as a little girl, Zu An immediately felt better. He thought, This woman usually always acts so profound and immeasurable. She reallycks the emotions of a normal girl.

    ¡°Out of the four things you mentioned before, I¡¯ve already gathered two of the Five-Colored Springflower, Agate of Enlightenment, and One Life Water. There¡¯s still one more item that you never told me about, though. Can you tell me now? That way, I can keep it in mind. Otherwise, I might have missed out on this Agate of Enlightenment in the Fiend races¡¯ Imperial Treasury,¡± Zu An said out of curiosity.

    ¡°Once you find the One Life Water, I¡¯ll naturally tell you the fourth item then. Telling you now is still meaningless,¡± Mi Li said, a blush suddenly spreading across her white cheeks.

    Zu An thought he had misheard her. He was about to ask again when Mi Li pointed at therge cauldron at the center of the room, asking, ¡°What are you trying to do here?¡±

    Sure enough, Zu An was distracted. He replied, ¡°Wasn¡¯t the Tai¡¯e Sword damaged? This is a good chance to fix it.¡±

    Mi Li could sense that the heaven-grade ores were starting to melt inside the cauldron. She nodded and said, ¡°The skill you obtained in the dungeon is not bad. Together with these heaven-grade ores, you should be able to repair it sessfully.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s also this,¡± Zu An said, bringing out a piece of metal and waving it around. ¡°I n to throw this in too. I even got some Meteor Spark Pills to help with its refinement.¡±

    ¡°Cmity Gold!¡± Mi Li eximed. With her knowledge and experience, she naturally recognized it. Her expression became a bit conflicted as she said, ¡°This is something that can refine true divine weapons. Don¡¯t you feel that it¡¯s a bit of a waste to use it on the Tai¡¯e Sword?¡±

    Zu An shook his head and replied, ¡°How is this a waste? The Tai¡¯e Sword is the supreme treasure of your Chu State and Qin State. Now, it¡¯s even where your soul resides. It¡¯s different from normal heaven-grade weapons.¡±

    A strange look shed through Mi Li¡¯s eyes when she heard him say that so naturally. However, she quickly covered it up and replied, ¡°What a rare disy of filial piety. But there¡¯s no need for you to feel any disappointment, because the Tai¡¯e Sword was a divine weapon to begin with.¡±

 Chapter 1521: Key Upgrade Materials

    <h4>Chapter 1521: Key Upgrade Materials</h4>

    ¡°Divine weapon?¡± Zu An repeated, stunned. Even though the Tai¡¯e Sword had always been extraordinary, apart from being extremely tough, only its domain ability was special. That power had been really useful in the beginning, but eventually, as the cultivation of his enemies grew greater and greater, the usefulness of its pressure had be more and more dubious.

    It was definitely at the level of a heaven-grade weapon, but if one were to call it deity-grade, then it didn¡¯t really fit the description. It wouldn¡¯t even be good enough to call an immortal-grade weapon.

    Mi Li harrumphed when she saw his expression. ¡°What does an ignorant kid like you know? The Tai¡¯e Sword is the sword of the son of heaven, reaching into the skies above and reaching the earth below. When this sword makes an appearance, all under the heavens must submit. It was naturally a genuine deity-grade weapon, but due to the corrosion of time and the seals that were ced on it, it fell to its current heaven-grade.¡±

    Zu An thought that made sense. He couldn''t help but ask something else that had been puzzling him, though. ¡°Sealed? Who sealed it?¡±

    ¡°It was probably Ying Zheng. He hated me in the past, and the Tai¡¯e Sword was even the Chu State¡¯s divine sword. He was worried that I would use the Tai¡¯e Sword, which was why he ced a seal on it,¡± Mi Li replied.

    ¡°Probably?¡± Zu An asked with a weird look. ¡°You¡¯re not even sure about such an important thing?¡±

    Mi Li¡¯s expression became a bit strange. She replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know. I feel as if some of my memories are a bit blurry, and recently, I seem to have awakened some other memories¡­¡±

    ¡°What memories?¡± Zu An quickly asked.

    Mi Li¡¯s face reddened. She snapped, ¡°It has nothing to do with you! Right, greet me as your master again.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.This woman really is fickle. But why does she like hearing me call her master so much?

    Still,he didn¡¯t mind, and called her ¡®master¡¯ again as requested. Mi Li beamed with joy and murmured, ¡°One day¡­ It will definitely be interesting.¡±

    ¡°When did you be the type for riddles?¡± Zu An muttered, really speechless.

    ¡°Okay, okay,¡± Mi Li said, putting away her smile. ¡°Let¡¯s use this chance to repair and upgrade the Tai¡¯e Sword.¡±

    Zu An nodded. The other heaven-grade ores were already gradually melting inside the big cauldron. The White Lotus me had also begun burning more fiercely. Strong ki filled the room.

    He ced the Tai¡¯e Sword inside the big cauldron while controlling the White Lotus me. He covered the cauldron while asking worriedly, ¡°You live inside. Won¡¯t the mes affect you?¡±

    ¡°It will affect me a bit,¡± Mi Li said with a nod. ¡°But my soul isn¡¯t inside the sword right now, so it shouldn¡¯t be too great.¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll do my best to be gentle, or else you¡¯ll be affected,¡± Zu An replied. He began to adjust the fire afterward. The White Lotus me in the cauldron visibly became weaker.

    ¡°No,¡± Mi Li said, quickly stopping him. ¡°How can the refinement of a divine weapon be so easy? Not even your White Lotus me is guaranteed to be strong enough, and it needs the assistance of the Meteor Spark Pills, so how can you choose to lower the temperature?¡±

    Zu An also understood that principle. He replied, ¡°Then, if you can¡¯t take it, let me know. Compared to a divine weapon, I care more about your safety.¡±

    ¡°I know that already,¡± Mi Li said with a hint of a gentle expression in her eyes. How many people could refuse the temptation of a divine weapon? If it were someone else with an ambitious and faulty character, they wouldn¡¯t necessarily care about her if they could create a deity-grade weapon.

    Then, Zu An activated the Forging System. He discovered that it was really intuitive. Even if one knew nothing about forging, it didn¡¯t matter. It was enough as long as one controlled the fire¡¯s output.

    There was something simr to a speedometer above the cauldron, with a certain range in the center that shone with light. That range moved constantly. As long as one controlled the fire¡¯s strength to keep the needle within the region, that was good, because it meant that the fire was at a suitable level. The range moved very quickly, and the needle was very sensitive. Just a slight bit of carelessness would make it leave the optimal region. Its sensitivity was so high that it was a taskpletely impossible for ordinary cultivators.

    Fortunately, Zu An grasped every strand of ki very carefully. As such, he was able to just barely keep the fire within the right range. Even so, it was still really strenuous. He didn¡¯t dare to show any carelessness.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The heaven-grade ores gradually turned into scarlet liquid that poured onto the Tai¡¯e Sword. Soon, the Tai¡¯e Sword became like a ck hole, absorbing the scarlet liquid.

    Mi Li¡¯s beautiful brows furrowed. She took a few steps back to avoid Zu An¡¯s gaze. Then, she secretly tugged on her cor, while her other hand gently fanned her neck. Even though her soul was outside, the Tai¡¯e Sword was still where she was rooted. She could still feel waves of heat.

    The process continued for a while, before Zu An heard a ¡®Ding!¡¯ He was overjoyed, quickly turning around to Mi Li to announce the good news. ¡°It¡¯s already been sessfully repaired, beautiful¡­ master¡­¡±

    Mi Li awkwardly tightened her cor before replying, ¡°Then throw the Cmity Gold in. Use this chance to see if you can return it to its former glory.¡±

    ¡°Oh, alright,¡± Zu An said, then threw the iparably precious Cmity Gold into therge cauldron. He didn¡¯t even give it another look, and instead turned around to look at Mi Li, asking, ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a bit hot. Can¡¯t I fan myself?¡± Mi Li replied, shooting him a look.

    ¡°Of course you can,¡± Zu An said, finally realizing what was happening. In a sense, the Tai¡¯e Sword was also Mi Li¡¯s body. Now that it was being cooked like this, it would be weirder if she didn¡¯t feel hot.

    A scene suddenly appeared in his mind.Mi Li couldn''t take it anymore, and she removed all her clothes¡­

    ¡°Just what kind of nonsense are you thinking for there to be that disgusting smile on your face?¡± Mi Li asked suspiciously.

    ¡°What? I wasn¡¯t, I didn¡¯t! You can¡¯t just say whatever you want!¡± Zu An quickly refuted her three times. At the same time, he felt a bit weird. Wasn¡¯t he in good condition right now? Why did he still have so many strange thoughts?

    At the same time, he felt the ki within him be very restless. However, he just attributed it to being like that because he had been controlling the White Lotus me, so he didn¡¯t pay too much attention to it.

    ¡°From now on, you¡¯re not allowed to look behind you,¡± Mi Li harrumphed. She knew that once the divine weapon was being refined, the temperature would grow much, much hotter. She would have to focus on neutralizing the heat, and that meant she would need to open her cor further to help dissipate the heat.

    ¡°Understood!¡± Zu An immediately replied. Inwardly, he thought,But I can still see with my divine sense.

    As if guessing his thoughts, Mi Li continued, ¡°Normally, one needs to have earth immortal rank cultivation in order to have a chance of refining a deity-grade weapon. Even though your current cultivation isn¡¯t bad, you¡¯re still far from the correct condition. Fortunately, the Tai¡¯e Sword was a divine weapon to begin with, so you only need to restore it to its former glory. The difficulty is much lower than forging apletely new divine weapon.

    ¡°Even so, it shouldn¡¯t be something someone of your level should be able to aplish. Fortunately, you have this strange,rge cauldron that can lend you a helping hand. But you still need to be a hundred and twenty percent focused. Everything will be for nothing if you end up making a mistake.¡±

    Zu An nodded. He knew that if he had been really tensed up earlier, the difficulty would only have been even higher. If he got distracted and looked behind him, the entire process could result in failure.

    Seeing as he had heard her message, Mi Li calmed down and said, ¡°Then you should hurry and begin.¡±

    Zu An nodded. He activated the White Lotus me, sending the heat toward the Cmity Gold. However, as Cmity Gold was one of the world¡¯s most unique treasures, it actually didn¡¯t react at all.

    Under Mi Li¡¯s instruction, he put in the Meteor Spark Stones one after another. The White Lotus me¡¯s power immediately climbed considerably. It was thanks to the forging system¡¯s great cauldron being special; otherwise, there wouldn¡¯t necessarily be any furnace in this world that could endure such crazy power.

    ¡­

    The process continued for a while before the Cmity Gold Finally began to show signs of melting. Strands of golden energy that contained naturalws were guided toward the Tai¡¯e Sword at the very center by the big cauldron.

    The Tai¡¯e Sword absorbed the wispy golden threads, and its entire body began to gradually release ayer of brilliant light. As it absorbed more golden threads, sparkling radiance began to flow along the surface of the sword¡¯s body.

    Suddenly, a voice called out in Zu An¡¯s head.

    The system has detected that the forged weapon can be upgraded to immortal-grade. The required materials are True Dragon Blood, True Dragon Bones, and Breath of Rulers from the Lion or Tiger race. Would you like to continue with the upgrade?

    Favorite

 Chapter 1522: Sword Energy Soars

    <h4>Chapter 1522: Sword Energy Soars</h4>

    The Forging System really simplified many, many things. If Zu An had to make a weapon from scratch, he would have to pay attention to a lot of things, and he would need all kinds of skills and techniques. Such things were usually secrets that weren¡¯t given to outsiders, so there wouldn¡¯t even be any chances for him to learn them. After all, which master cksmith didn¡¯t pass down their knowledge one generation after another to a single disciple?

    However, Zu An¡¯s forging process had been reduced to only requiring a true me and controlling the temperature. Even the goods needed were listed by the Forging System.

    Most of the real masters of the world all relied on an ocean of experience in order to slowly grasp the effectiveness of various materials. There were so many different materials in the world, so finding out the correct form was like finding a needle in a haystack. And yet, Zu An was able to see the correct answer just like that! If any master cksmiths were to find out, they would definitely scream that he was cheating!

    Zu An wasn¡¯t really thinking about the ingenuity of the system, though. What he was worried about was where he was going to get the materials needed for the breakthrough.

    True Dragon Bones, True Dragon Blood?

    His first reaction was to grab Chi Wen and see if it would work. After all, he was the son of the Dragon King and would probably meet the requirements.

    However, he quickly gave up on that thought. That guy was a mixed-blood born of the Dragon King and merfolk, so he wouldn¡¯t necessarily be considered a true dragon. Furthermore, out of consideration for Shang Liuyu, there was no way Zu An would do anything to him.

    Zu An suddenly thought of something. He seemed to still have a dragon corpse in the Brilliant ss Bead, which was the red dragon he had killed outside Brightmoon City in the past. Thinking back, that dragon had beenpletely schemed against. Its true strength had been pretty high. Still, he didn¡¯t know whether it could be considered a true dragon.

    Also, what was going on with the Breath of Rulers from the Lion race or Tiger race? Even though the Lion King and Tiger King were always at odds with each other, both had to admit the other¡¯s strength. Both had the power to be king of the beasts. But the Breath of Rulers¡­

    When he recalled how Hu Qianxiao had acted as tame as a tabby cat, Zu An really found it hard to associate him with such a term. He wanted to drag Hu Qianxiao over and ask about it, but there wasn¡¯t any time to do that. Furthermore, he could make a mistake with the fire if he got even a bit distracted.

    ¡°You should give that golden glove you got from the Lion Race Prince a try,¡± Mi Li said, her red lips opening subtly.

    She was sitting on the bed, her hand once again loosening her clothes some more. She was actually a soul body, so it didn¡¯t make that much of a difference whether she removed her clothes or not, but it was still a sort of human instinct.

    The true fire¡¯s ferocious power was both smelting the Tai¡¯e Sword and affecting her soul body. If it weren¡¯t because her cultivation was profound and she had tremendous knowledge that let her remain clear-headed, she would have already been burned to ashes a long time ago.

    Zu An felt as if Mi Li sounded a bit strange, but his eyes lit up when he heard her suggestion. He took out a golden glove from inside the Brilliant ss Bead. There was a faint power swirling along the surface that was very simr to Shi Zhentian¡¯s when he was alive. It was the spoil of war he had obtained from the Lion race¡¯s prince in the past. It was probably a weapon that Shi Zhentian had carried with him for many years before giving it to his precious son.

    ¡°I wonder if this will work¡­¡± Zu An muttered as he threw the glove into the cauldron, as if what he threw in weren¡¯t a heaven-grade weapon.

    He had already made up his mind that if this didn¡¯t work, there was no point in wasting the True Dragon blood and bones. Instead, he would stop the breakthrough for the time being and find out what the Breath of Rulers was from Hu Qianxiao first.

    However, when the golden glove entered therge cauldron, it erupted with golden radiance. The glove also trembled a bit, clearly sensing a threat.

    Unfortunately, not even the Cmity Gold used to refine deity-grade weapons could withstand the Meteor Spark Pill-boosted White Lotus True mes, let alone a mere heaven-grade glove. Soon afterward, the golden glove couldn''t take it anymore and began to gradually melt.

    A ¡®Ding!¡¯ went off in Zu An¡¯s mind. He noticed that the Breath of Rulers requirement had been satisfied. He shouted joyfully, ¡°Master, it really worked!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t turn around!¡± Mi Li immediately warned him.

    Only then did Zu An remember what Mi Li had said before. He quickly stopped and said, ¡°Sorry, I almost forgot.¡±

    Still, he couldn''t help but remember the previous sight. He suddenly felt that it was really hot today.

    ¡°Continue. I remember that you have a dragon corpse on you too,¡± Mi Li said, once again loosening the clothes she had briefly tightened.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An nodded. He took out a big pot from the Brilliant ss Bead. It was where he had stored the dragon blood in the past. Even though the Brilliant ss Bead did prevent things from spoiling, if he left the blood in the red dragon¡¯s corpse, it would likely have long since congealed. That was why he had used arge pot to store the dragon blood, along with some special medicine to prevent it from solidifying.

    He had been nning to find a good chance to sell it before, but life was unpredictable. Eventually, he hadpletely forgotten about it. He hadn¡¯t expected it to be of use today.

    Dragon blood was really precious. Zu An initially wanted to leave some behind to use itter, but the Forging System didn¡¯t say anything even after he poured most of it in. Helpless to do anything else, he could only add the rest.

    Ding!

    The Forging System released a confirmation noise.

    Zu An initially felt a bit of heartache. But after thinking about it, he realized it was precisely because the requirements were high that he could make a legendary divine weapon!

    Then, he began throwing in the True Dragon Bones in as well. Even though therge cauldron was much smaller than the dragon bones, there were no issues with putting them in at all. It was as if the contents were entering a pocket space.

    Zu An had initially nned to throw the entire red dragon corpse inside, but Mi Li stopped him. Dragon flesh was a good ingredient that could be useful in the future. As such, he did his best as a butcher. Fortunately, he could now condense sword energy around his hand, so separating flesh from bone wasn¡¯t too difficult.

    When all of the material entered therge cauldron, it began being refined at a visible rate. Eventually, white, red, and gold energies entered the Tai¡¯e Sword, which then released a dragon¡¯s cry. Then, streaks of ancient symbols and chains appeared on the sword¡¯s surface.

    ¡°That¡¯s the Tai¡¯e Sword¡¯s seal!¡± Mi Li cried out in rm.

    The Tai¡¯e Sword swirled with a streak of divine brilliance. The faintly visible chains all broke apart.

    Congrattions! The forged weapon has sessfully broken through into the immortal grade!

    The Forging System released a notification.

    Zu An noticed that even though there were raging mes separating them, the Tai¡¯e Sword gave off a cold glint. Compared to before, it looked countless times sharper. Fierce sword intent filled the room. He was overjoyed, having never expected the upgrade process to have undone its seal.

    ¡°Don¡¯t lose focus. Continue carefully, and bring it back to its true former glory in this final push,¡± Mi Li reminded him; the happiness in her voice was audible.

    Zu An nodded. The cauldron only seemed to have used up a small amount of the Cmity Gold, and yet it was already enough to upgrade the Tai¡¯e Sword to immortal-grade. Soon after, however, his expression became serious. That meant breaking through into deity-grade would be much harder than immortal-grade.

    Sure enough, when he began to approach deity-grade, the meter began changing far more quickly than before. Under Mi Li¡¯s guidance, Zu An threw in the remaining Meteor Spark Pills one after another. He didn¡¯t dare to show even the slightest bit of carelessness and did his best to control the power of every wisp of fire.

    Time seemed to pass extremely slowly. Even with Zu An¡¯s willpower, he felt as if he couldn''t really hold on. Keeping the raging mes under control within the indicated region felt like dancing on a steel wire. He was drenched in sweat, and even his vision was bing blurry.

    Fortunately, he had the Primordial Origin Sutra and had shocking regenerative strength. As such, he was able to grit his teeth and continue. If it had been another cultivator, even if their cultivation was higher than his, they wouldn¡¯t necessarily have been able to continue for so long.

    He could feel the heat getting to him more and more. His clothes werepletely drenched, which felt very sticky and ufortable, to the point that it was starting to affect his control of the needle. As such, he released a st of ki, blowing all his clothes away.

    The heat inside the cauldron had left Mi Li very ufortable too. She had already removed her outer garments and only left behind her most intimate wear. The fine skin of her elbows and legs waspletely exposed.

    The sudden removal of Zu An¡¯s clothing shocked her. When she saw his muscles dripping with sweat, she immediately felt a bit strange. The memory of when she had been inside Chu Chuyan¡¯s body appeared in her mind again.

    However, she quickly dispelled those thoughts. With a wave of her hand, a screen appeared, blocking the line of sight between the two of them. She finally calmed down a bit then.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, master?¡± Zu An asked, surprised to hear the activity behind him.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. You should just focus on what you¡¯re doing,¡± Mi Li said, doing her best to calm down.

    Zu An nodded. He focused all of his attention on controlling the White Lotus True me. The ki within him was already at maximum output. Sweat poured down like a waterfall. He felt as if he really was losing too much water from his body today.

    ¡­

    Just like that, the process continued for a long time. The Cmity Gold became smaller and smaller over time. A whileter, a notification appeared in Zu An¡¯s mind.

    The system has detected that this weapon can be upgraded to deity-grade. Materials required: High-grade Taotie Horn, High-grade Queen Scaled Deathworm Scales, Feather Mountain Spring Water. Do you wish to proceed with the upgrade?

    Zu An was a bit rmed. These were all really precious things. Even someone as powerful as Zhao Han wouldn¡¯t necessarily even be able to gather a single item, and yet he had all of them. This really felt as if it were something the will of heaven desired.

    One after another, he took the materials out from within the Brilliant ss Bead and ced them inside the cauldron. Soon afterward, a blinding light shot out from the cauldron. Then, a terrifying sword intent rushed into the heavens. Even though there were defensive formations in the Second Empress¡¯ pce, the roof was instantly blown off, unable to stop the sword energy from leaving.

    Sword energy soars over thirty thousand miles! One sword will inspire awe throughout neen provinces!

 Chapter 1523: Son of Heavenâ€™s Sword

    Chapter 1523: Son of Heaven¡¯s Sword

    All the powers in the entire Fiend King Court were shocked.

    In the ancestral grounds, the elders opened their eyes, eximing, ¡°Another divine weapon hase into being?¡±

    Their eyes were filled with zing radiance. What kind of an item was a divine object? Even the Fiend races¡¯ royal family only had a single one, the Sun ying Bow! The number of divine weapons in the world was pitifully small. Every single one had tremendous power that could affect the bnce between different powers.

    The Great Elder was startled and was about to head out to take a look, but the Second Elder stopped him, saying, ¡°Forget it. How can the lifespan you have left be squandered away repeatedly like this? No matter how powerful a divine weapon is, it cannot make us live longer.¡±

    The Great Elder felt that made sense. After all, they relied on a special ce like the ancestralnd to rest; only then could they slow down the rate of their lifespan¡¯s deterioration. They would use up quite a bit of their lifespan each time they left.

    They had just left once yesterday. If they went out again today¡­

    Sigh, we¡¯re too old. We can¡¯t do it that often.

    ¡°What Old Second says is right. Then, I will send some people outside to look around first,¡± the Great Elder said. The elders¡¯ ce of seclusion always had some servants standing guard outside, awaiting instructions. Finding out what happened first before acting would save them some longevity.

    ¡°Don¡¯t call me Old Second!¡±

    ¡°Alright, Old Second.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡­

    The expression of the Elf King, who had been looking in a mirror, suddenly changed. He looked up in the direction of the sword energy. He vanished from his original location, and a momentter, he reappeared near the Imperial Pce.

    The Peacock Wise King, the Little Golden Peng King, Hu Qianxiao, and other strong individuals also rushed over when they heard the news. However, they were all stopped by the Imperial Pce¡¯s guards. Only the three kings who had special statuses were allowed in.

    ¡­

    Inside the Imperial Pce, Zu An put away the Tai¡¯e Sword.

    When it had just been upgraded to immortal-grade, the sword glittered like frost and snow. It looked sharp and fierce. However, now that it had broken through into the deity grade, the cold light had disappeared; it returned to its previous simple and profound appearance.

    A streak of divine light swirled along the sword¡¯s surface. One could vaguely make out a dragon¡¯s figure within. There was also a seemingly endless pressure emanating from it. It was clearly just a sword, and yet it seemed as if it carried the weight of the world.

    Mi Li excitedly eximed, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to see the Tai¡¯e Sword at its peak again!¡±

    Zu An turned around, and blood almost gushed out of his nose. Mi Li had walked out from behind the screen out of excitement. Her clothing was very light, with her soft and smooth skin on full disy.

    It was as if a youngdy dressed in a tank top and booty shorts also had an incredibly mature temperament. At that moment, Zu An seemed to have witnessed the majesty of towering peaks and elegant rivers in Mi Li¡¯s body.

    Zu An had often seen bikinis in his previous world, so Mi Li¡¯s outfit wasn¡¯t really that skimpy inparison. Still, that was before factoring in who was wearing it. Normally, Mi Li wore thickyers of splendid clothes, which was why the sight carried such a powerful visual impact.

    Mi Li¡¯s eyes widened. She reached out her hand and sucked her clothes back onto her body, then snapped, ¡°Have you seen enough yet?¡±

    ¡°Not at all!¡± Zu An eximed, his eyes burning a bit. He didn¡¯t know why, but he felt as if he were burning up inside. All sorts of random thoughts rushed into his mind.

    Yang Guo and Xiaolongnu were also disciples[1]¡­

    Also, what was that again? Riding your master¡­

    Mi Li noticed that Zu An¡¯s gaze was so fierce it was almost tangible. She could even feel it on her skin. Her expression immediately became a bit unnatural as she said, ¡°You were using the White Lotus True me for so long, and you were always in front of the furnace, which is why your inner energies are much livelier now. You should quickly gather your thoughts and calm yourself down.¡±

    Zu An realized something. He had just absorbed Sir Fu¡¯s cultivation, so his energies were already a bit unstable. He had finally managed to tame it after tossing and turning with the Second Empress all night. But now, he had used up a ton of energy refining the divine weapon, causing the suppressed energy to run amok again.

    When the divine sword came out of the furnace, he had been enveloped in its power, making him feel restless. He wanted to vent his excess energy.

    In order to shift his attention, Mi Li looked at the Tai¡¯e Sword in his hands and asked, ¡°Do you know what kind of power the Tai¡¯e Sword has now that it has returned to its peak?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me the Domain of Power can now be used on earth immortals?¡± Zu An asked, his eyes lighting up. He thought about how useful the Domain of Power had been in the past when it was just a heaven-grade weapon. Now that it was deity-grade, it wasn¡¯t entirely inconceivable for it to be able to face an earth immortal.

    Mi Li shook her head and said, ¡°The domain has increased in its power, and there¡¯s no longer a limit to its uses, but earth immortals all have their own domains. Furthermore, which one of themcks a powerful will? There¡¯s little chance of the domain defeating them on its own.¡±

    When she saw Zu An frown, she continued, ¡°You don¡¯t need to feel disappointed, because the Domain of Power is just one of the Tai¡¯e Sword¡¯s secondary functions.¡±

    ¡°Oh. Then what is its strongest function?¡± Zu An asked, getting a bit excited. The Domain of Power was already so great; how amazing was its primary function going to be?

    ¡°It¡¯ll make the power of your sword stronger,¡± Mi Li replied.

    Zu An waspletely confused. Any decent weapon would have that kind of effect, right?n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Mi Li knew he had misunderstood when she saw his expression. She exined, ¡°The Tai¡¯e Sword is the sword of the son of heaven. It uses the heaven, earth, mountains, and rivers as the form of the sword. The higher your status, the closer you are to being a ruler, and the more you can use the world¡¯s resources as your own. The power of this sword will also increase ordingly. Currently, you are the Fiend races¡¯ Regent, someone who only has a single person above you, but countless people below. Together with your noble title on the human side, you can just barely release the power of the Tai¡¯e Sword. Of course, if you be a true monarch, its power will grow even greater.¡±

    ¡°The mountains and rivers as a sword?¡± Zu An repeated, looking at the longsword in his hands. He couldn''t help but be a bit shocked. Just how great would its power be when he used it?

    ¡°I¡¯m going to test out my new home,¡± Mi Li said. She wasn¡¯t used to looking so messy in front of Zu An, especially when his bulging muscles were making her feel strange things too. ¡°You¡¯ve already gathered almost all of the things I need. I need to sleep to recover my strength and prepare for that day.¡±

    After saying that, she didn¡¯t wait for Zu An any longer. She turned into a streak of light and entered the Tai¡¯e Sword. The sword vibrated a bit in response.

    Zu An was confused. Didn¡¯t I only gather two of the materials? She didn¡¯t even tell me thest one. Why do I feel as if she¡¯s already sure I can find it?

    Suddenly, he sensed some ki rippling outside. He grabbed the Tai¡¯e Sword and rushed into the sky. At the same time, three figures appeared near him. It was none other than the Great Elf King, the Peacock Wise King, and the Little Golden Peng King.

    ¡°Which wind brought all three of your respected selves together?¡± Zu An asked, looking at them coldly. They had clearlye with unkind intentions.

    The Peacock Wise King and Little Golden Peng King¡¯s gazes bothnded on his sword. However, the Great Elf King¡¯s gaze stopped on Zu An¡¯s exposed upper body instead. He frowned and said, ¡°Your face is pretty normal, but all of those muscles really don¡¯t match the standard of a beautiful man.¡±

    ¡°Where did you obtain that divine weapon from?¡± the Little Golden Peng King asked, his gaze no longer as calm as before. His eyes were filled with longing.

    ¡°This sword is named the Tai¡¯e Sword. It¡¯s a weapon that has apanied me for a long time. What, does the Little Golden Peng King wish to give it a go?¡± Zu An replied indifferently.

    Even though the Great Elf King looked down on Zu An¡¯s muscles, he still moved closer to him. His intentions were clear. If they were going to fight, he was going to stand by his son-inw.

    The Little Golden Peng King shivered inwardly, saying, ¡°Regent must be joking. We merely came out of curiosity, and had no thoughts of seizing it.¡±

    Of course, if they had arrived and discovered that the divine weapon was in the hands of a weak individual, they wouldn¡¯t have minded killing that person and taking it for themselves. But Zu An really was someone they couldn''t see through. Just his aplishments the previous night had already left them all shaken. Now, he had another divine weapon! Who would dare to mess with him?

    Could it be that he was still holding backst night?

    The three kings couldn''t help but think of that. When they looked at the half-exposed man in front of them, they suddenly felt as if he had be even bigger and taller.

    The Peacock Wise King added with a smile, ¡°That sword energy made this one think that something dangerous happened here in the Imperial Pce. As it is the Regent¡¯s possession, there is naturally no problem.¡±

    He seemed to recall that Nanwu and Zu An seemed to have had something between them in the past. Since she couldn''t be the Crown Princess anymore, what about a different path?

    They exchanged some perfunctory greetings, then bid each other farewell. They even agreed to help Zu An take care of the aftermath and send off those who hade to find out what happened.

    Zu An had a strange expression. He only felt the energy within him surging crazily. He really wanted to give the upgraded Tai¡¯e Sword a try. Unfortunately, these guys hadn¡¯t even given him a chance.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in the Imperial Pce of the human race, Emperor Zhao Han¡¯s eyes were closed. Suddenly, he opened his eyes and looked north. He muttered to himself, ¡°Another divine weapon has appeared?¡±

    That was the Fiend races¡¯ territory. Another divine weapon on their side wasn¡¯t good news for the humans.

    His mood immediately worsened when he thought of that. He shouted toward the door, ¡°Little Wen, why has Sang Hong and Zu An¡¯s group not returned yet?¡±

    Outside, Eunuch Wen replied respectfully, ¡°Sir Sang¡¯s group seems to have been held up by some affairs.¡±

    Zhao Han sneered. ¡°First, it was a Fiend race spy, then a vicious monster attack. Now, there is some bandit attack¡­ With all of this dilly-dallying, do they treat this emperor as a fool? Give him the order that he has ten days to return to the capital. Otherwise, there is no need for him to ever return!¡±

    1. Yang Guo and Xiaolongnu are the protagonists of the novel ¡®The Return of the Condor Heroes¡¯ by Jin Yong. Yang Guo joined the Ancient Tomb School as Xiaolongnu¡¯s disciple, and the two developed a romantic rtionship. A romantic rtionship between master and apprentice is regarded as highly taboo ording to the prevailing norms of the wulin (martial artists''munity). ?

 Chapter 1524: The Fiend King Court Will Not Tolerate One So Outstanding

    Chapter 1524: The Fiend King Court Will Not Tolerate One So Outstanding

    ¡°Understood!¡± Eunuch Wen replied, shivering when he sensed the anger in the emperor¡¯s tone.

    Sir Sang really has offended his majesty this time! Isn¡¯t he usually the careful sort who knows how to guess his majesty¡¯s intentions? Just what is happening this time?

    He didn¡¯t dare to ask anything further and quickly left. The emperor was angry, so he didn¡¯t even dare to send the lesser eunuchs to take care of it; instead, he personally headed out to handle it. He quickly had Zhuxie Chixin send the order to the diplomatic mission through the Embroidered Envoy.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    He was moving quickly through the imperial garden when suddenly, a melodious and sweet voice called out, ¡°May I ask why Eunuch Wen is in such a hurry?¡±

    If it were anyone else asking, Eunuch Wen would have erupted into fury and not given them any time. However, he didn¡¯t dare treat the one who was asking with any carelessness. He could only reply, ¡°I greet the Crown Princess!¡±

    Standing nearby were several pce maids surrounding a beautiful woman. Who else could it be but Bi Linglong?

    Because there were no important events at the pce today, she wasn¡¯t dressed asvishly as usual. She had a simple emerald green hairpin in her hair, and was dressed in a long white dress made of soft fabric; around her waist was an borate jade belt. With a light sway of her body, the entire dress moved like flowing clouds, making her figure look even more sweet and fair. She also had a fiery red fox fur coat draped across her shoulders, which made her fair skin look as if it had a slight blush.

    Even though Eunuch Wen frequently saw her in the pce, he still praised her inwardly. The Crown Princess really was an absolutely incredible beauty! When he thought about the Crown Prince¡¯s slow-wittedness, he once again felt as if a pearl were being fed to a swine. He sighed inwardly.

    However, he quickly lowered his head and tossed out that outrageous thought. He said, ¡°Replying to the Crown Princess. This old servant was going to see where Sir Sang¡¯s envoy is right now.¡±

    Bi Linglong nodded and replied, ¡°Indeed, their envoy has been acting a bit strangely. They should have already returned a long time ago.¡±

    That guy Zu An really is a dummy!

    The two of them had met through the special mirror, but because so many people were watching, there had been many things they couldn''t say. They didn¡¯t even dare to spend too much time talking to each other.

    Eventually, she¡¯d had the Eastern Pce¡¯s members send all sorts of letters to the Imperial Envoy asking about different things. Of course, they were all under the pretext of official business.

    She had believed that with Zu An¡¯s wit, he would definitely understand her intentions and quickly reply. Even though it would surely be under the pretext of official business as well, she always felt really happy whenever she received his letters. Furthermore, considering that guy¡¯s nature, he would definitely have a way of sharing some real information with her.

    And yet, even after the Eastern Pce sent countless letters, it was as if all of them had been swallowed up by an ocean.

    Of course, it wasn¡¯t as if they had beenpletely swallowed up. They still received many replies, but they were either sent from Sang Hong or someone else. Not a single one was from Zu An!

    A youngdy¡¯s thoughts were just that strange. Her reason told her that there was no way his messages would really contain anything, but she couldn''t help but get angry when he didn¡¯t write anything.

    ¡°What the Crown Princess says is correct. The fleet is moving abnormally slowly,¡± Eunuch Wen said. He noticed that the princess didn¡¯t trouble the maids and instead held up an exquisite umbre alone. The surface of the umbre had simple yet elegant plum blossom designs, which added a bit of vibrancy to the garden.

    He was stunned at first. Even though it was snowing a bit, the ki surrounding cultivators could usually disperse the snow quickly. As such, cultivators normally wouldn¡¯t bring umbres in such weather. For example, he hadn¡¯t.

    However, he quickly realized that it was a matter of aesthetics, which youngdies cared about. The Crown Princess was indeed extremely pretty. With the umbre, her appearance looked even more captivating.

    Eunuch Wen suddenly snapped out of his daze.

    I¡¯m a eunuch; why do I care if she¡¯s pretty or not? Sigh, it really is one tragic story after the next.

    Then, he responded to some more of Bi Linglong¡¯s questions before leaving in a hurry.

    Bi Linglong looked toward the northwest; it was unclear what she was thinking. Her beautiful brows furrowed into a concerned arc.

    ¡­

    ¡°Achoo!¡±

    In the distant Fiend races¡¯ Imperial Pce, Zu An rubbed his nose. He felt a bit strange. He was clearly feeling hot and restless, so why would he sneeze?

    He felt as if his aura was about to erupt! Zu An felt the urge to continue venting, but he still retained some of his reason. Being too reckless in the Imperial Pce wasn¡¯t a good idea. As such, with a kick off the ground, he swiftly flew over to the mountains beyond the Fiend King Court.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in the Golden Crow Ancestral Land, someone quickly came with a report. When the elders heard what had happened, they all voiced their surprise. ¡°The new divine weapon is in the Regent¡¯s hands?¡±

    A rather irritable elder named Wu Fan said with a sneer, ¡°The royal family¡¯s current generation really has no sense of honor. They actually let a human control the entire situation and be the Regent. Is he going to lead the Fiend races to prosperity? He doesn¡¯t have that ability at all¡­¡±

    He continued to talk non-stop. When the Great Elder saw that Wu Fan was about to mock the new Fiend Emperor, he finally couldn''t take it, because he had been there the previous day too. He replied, ¡°That brat isn¡¯t that weak. He killed several grandmasters yesterday.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, I¡¯ve heard you say that already. In the end, wasn¡¯t it because of the Sun ying Bow¡¯s power? He himself is nothing more than a brat who has just broken through the master rank¡¯s hero form stage.¡± Wu Fan said with a coldugh.

    ¡°But he killed the Blood races¡¯ Sir Fu with his bare hands, and it seemed to have been done almost instantly too!¡± another elder retorted. He had been there the previous night too.

    ¡°Sir Fu? Even though that guy is infamous for his atrocities, after absorbing the blood essence of so many people, his cultivation was mixed and impure. Eventually, it would have been easy for the ki to reject him, which would lead to deviation and death. I think he just happened to have reached the moment of deviation and that brat took advantage of it,¡± Wu Fan said forcefully with the courage of his convictions.

    ¡°But¡­ How can there be that big of a coincidence?¡± another elder asked.

    ¡°Then let me ask you, could any of us kill Sir Fu in a single move?¡± Wu Fan countered.

    Now, the others all fell silent. There were actually some people who could defeat Sir Fu in a single move, as they were all old monsters from the Fiend races¡¯ royal family with profound and immeasurable skills. Still, Sir Fu wasn¡¯t someone who would fight fairly. His skills had been obtained through endless ughter. Someone like that definitely had top-notch survival skills. They were confident they could defeat him in one move, but not kill him in a single move.

    ¡°Then doesn¡¯t that exin everything now?¡± When he saw the others standing speechless, Wu Fan sneered. ¡°Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.¡±

    Even the Great Elder was now convinced, saying, ¡°That kid is quite lucky. He managed to obtain two divine weapons at such a young age.¡±

    Wu Fan harrumphed. ¡°In my opinion, it¡¯s nothing good. Having two divine weapons at such a young age is like a child parading around the street with money. He¡¯ll definitely bring disaster upon himself. Let this old one go, and I¡¯ll be sure to bring back the divine weapon, which can be considered saving his life.¡±

    The Great Elder frowned and said, ¡°He is now the Regent, though. Just seizing it doesn¡¯t seem too good, right?¡±

    ¡°The Sun ying Bow was our Fiend races¡¯ divine weapon to begin with. Thete Fiend Emperor merely ced it in his hands so it could return to us. It¡¯s only reasonable for us to take it back now,¡± Wu Fan said with a snort ¡°He¡¯s still so young, and yet he¡¯s already a Regent and wants to hold two divine weapons?

    ¡°The Fiend King Court will not tolerate one so outstanding!¡±

 Chapter 1525: Arrogance to Deference

    Chapter 1525: Arrogance to Deference

    The Great Elder remained quiet for a while, saying, ¡°What you say makes a bit of sense. I headed out for a bit yesterday, and my lifespan can¡¯t withstand doing that too often. I¡¯ll just hand this matter to you. However, he is a Regent now, so try to have a talk with him. At the very least, have him leave the Sun ying Bow with the Royal Family.¡±

    The Royal Family¡¯s supreme treasure being with a human really was a bit uneptable. It was just that too many shocking things had happened the previous night, so he hadn¡¯t been able to address that issue.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Leave it to me. If he isn¡¯t willing, I¡¯ll ovee him through virtue,¡± Wu Fan said with a sneer, brandishing his fist. He thought inwardly, How can a single Sun ying Bow be enough? He nned to seize the other divine weapon too. Only then would it be worth the use of his lifespan.

    As for the chance of defeat, he didn¡¯t even consider it at all. After all, as far as he was concerned, this was just a trifling brat who had just entered the master rank. Even if Zu An had some secrets and could face a grandmaster through the power of a divine weapon, he was still far, far away from a true expert.

    If not for the fact that Zu An had be the Fiend races¡¯ Regent, not only would Wu Fan seize the weapon, he would also take the chance to take Zu An¡¯s life. Sparing him was already showing him incredible generosity, so what reason did that brat have to be unhappy?

    The Great Elder then added, ¡°Right, I heard him mentioning immortal medicine before. You should go and ask about that too.¡±

    He had asked Zu An the previous night, but Zu An had told him that the immortal medicine had disappeared into the secret dungeon, that he hadn¡¯t seen it himself, and that it was just a rumor. The Fiend Emperor hadn¡¯t obtained it either, so he didn¡¯t have too much hope. However, Wu Fan was probably going to use force this time, so it would be a good chance to see if he could force out some information. That youngster could be hiding something.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, as long as he knows anything, I promise he¡¯ll pour everything out,¡± Wu Fan said,ughing confidently. Then, he formed a translucent clone that flew out.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An felt the energy within him be more and more chaotic. For fear of damaging the Imperial Pce, he flew all the way to the great mountains on the outskirts. He wanted to use the Tai¡¯e Sword to release the violent energy inside him, while testing out the power of a deity-grade weapon.

    Suddenly, however, he sensed something. He looked up and noticed a figure hiding on a tree a dozen or so meters away.

    ¡°Your vignce isn¡¯t that bad,¡± a skinny figure said after walking out from behind a branch.

    He was dressed in a meticulously tailored, skintight ck outfit decorated with tree leaves and flower patterns. Between that and his handsome appearance and sharp ears, he was clearly a Dark Elf.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Zu An asked. The man staring at him clearly hadn¡¯te with good intentions.

    ¡°I¡¯m someone who has always been merciful enough to let those who die to my sword hear my name. That way, when they go to hell, they won¡¯t die without knowing how they died,¡± the Dark Elf replied, smiling sinisterly. ¡°Remember, my name is Duan Genggou.¡±[1]

    ¡°Broken like a dog?¡± Zu An repeated, stunned. Were his parents stupid? Why would you give your kid such a bad name?[2]

    However, Duan Genggou sounded extremely proud as he replied, ¡°In this dangerous world¡­ No matter how high your cultivation is, you need to learn about carelessness. Those who don¡¯t know anything about it soon lie within graves overgrown with weeds.¡±

    Zu An was amused, replying, ¡°Judging from your earlier actions, I can¡¯t see any caution from you at all!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because I have absolute certainty, so I naturally don¡¯t need to be careful,¡± Duan Genggou replied with a rxed expression as he slowly drew a thin sword.

    ¡°You¡¯re here to kill me?¡± Zu An asked, his expression turning cold.

    ¡°Congrattions! You¡¯re right. Right, I forgot to introduce myself fully to you. Duan Tianchou can be considered a distant cousin of mine,¡± Duan Genggou said. His tone sounded as if it were full of praise, but his expression was terrifyingly cold.

    ¡°You¡¯re here to get revenge for Duan Tianchou? Did you know I defeated Duan Tianchoust night? Do you think your cultivation is higher than his?¡± Zu An replied, a bit dumbfounded. He didn¡¯t mind taking the chance to get a bit more information, though. These Dark Elves¡¯ methods were all tricky and sinister.

    ¡°That guy Duan Tianchou¡¯s cultivation wasn¡¯t bad.¡± Duan Genggou replied. His expression became unpleasant, as if he had suffered at the other person¡¯s hands before. He continued, ¡°But that was only because he relied on his status as the Dark Elf King¡¯s younger brother to receive abundant resources. He was always arrogant and ignorant. If he didn¡¯t have all of those resources, he would be nothingpared to me.¡±

    ¡°Judging from your tone, you seem to only be on par with Duan Tianchou at best, and it seems you might even be a bit worse. Just where did you get the courage toe and kill me? Are you Fish Leong[3]?¡± Zu An asked, finding it a bit strange. Dark Elves were normally cautious and sharp. What was wrong with this one?

    ¡°Who is Fish Leong?¡± Duan Genggou replied, stunned, but he didn¡¯t bother with the details. ¡°I¡¯ve already carefully investigated yesterday¡¯s events. You merely borrowed the power of the divine weapon Sun ying Bow, and back then, Duan Tianchou had a grandmaster hindering him.¡±

    He paused for a moment, gauging the distance between them before saying. ¡°If you were more than sixty meters away, I would definitely lose. If it were thirty meters, I would still do my best to avoid conflict with you. But what you absolutely shouldn¡¯t have done was appear so close to me. The Sun ying Bow won¡¯t move faster than my sword.¡±

    In truth, the main reason he had spoken so much was to close the distance between them. The Dark Elves had always been good at assassination and close-rangebat. Now that both sides were less than five meters from each other, he had absolute confidence. Within such a distance, he was the one who controlled the opponent¡¯s fate.

    He had been quite lucky this time. He had only been nning to look around the Fiend King Court and see if he could make his way in somehow. And yet, he had suddenly heard that Duan Tianchou died, and then the main culprit just happened to appear so close to him. Didn¡¯t that mean the Sun ying Bow was practically presenting itself before him? It was simply good news after good news!

    What was unfortunate was that there seemed to be rumors of a new divine weapon appearing inside the Fiend King Court, but he probably had no chance of getting involved in that. After all, the Fiend King Court was full of powerful individuals, and caution was king.

    Suddenly, however, he felt that there was something wrong with Zu An¡¯s expression. It was almost pitying, and yet somehow tyrannical. Still, Duan Genggou couldn''t help but sneer.

    This kid is probably too young to have heard of my great reputation. Duan Genggou is a name many people hate, but no matter how those people gnash their teeth in anger, what can they do to me?

    Then, I¡¯ll let you witness the despair that I, Duan Genggou have brought upon others!

    Heughed sinisterly and prepared to thrust his sword. In this world, no sword was faster than those of the Dark Elves!

    F*ck! What the hell is this?

    Suddenly, his expression froze. He stopped and looked in another direction. Zu An also sensed something and looked in the same direction.

    An elder with thick brows and big eyes approached from a distance. He was clearly far away, and yet with just two casual steps, he quickly appeared nearby.

    ¡°Earth to Inches?¡± Duan Genggou muttered, his eyes narrowing. This guy seems to be even faster than my sword!

    The elder examined them, and as his gazended on Zu An, he remarked, ¡°So you are Zu An?¡±

    Duan Genggou was shocked. This guy didn¡¯t even give me a single look. What is the meaning of this?!n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Still, he didn¡¯t get upset. Those who weren¡¯t cautious didn¡¯t live long. He intended to gauge the situation first. The elder gave off a deep and unpredictable air.

    Zu An nodded and replied, ¡°That¡¯s right. And you are? Is there something you need from me?¡±

    The one who had arrived was, of course, the Committee of Elders¡¯ Wu Fan. He was about to speak, but he noticed Duan Genggou¡¯s hand movements. With his cultivation, he was naturally able to tell that the Dark Elf was about to attack.

    He was startled. Zu An was the new Regent, so as a big shot from the Fiend races¡¯ Committee of Elders, it wouldn¡¯t be good if news got out that he had immediately used force. Instead, he considered exploiting the Dark Elf¡¯s methods to kill Zu An. The Dark Elf also had grandmaster rank cultivation. With so little distance between them, Zu An would be dead for sure.

    Then, he would seize the two divine weapons from the Dark Elf, and he could even dere to the world that he had helped Zu An get revenge.

    This is what¡¯s called being a wily old fox!

    When he thought of that, he felt incredibly proud of himself, his noise practically pointing at the sky with haughtiness. He said, ¡°You should deal with your affairs first. I will talk to you afterward.¡±

    Duan Genggou frowned. This old man was up to no good, trying to reap the rewards after all was said and done.

    But he miscalcted! He probably doesn¡¯t know that Dark Elves always deliver a killing blow in a single move. It will be faster than he can imagine. Afterward, I¡¯ll take Zu An¡¯s corpse into a spatial rift. This elder won¡¯t be able to catch me no matter how high his cultivation is.

    ¡°Alright,¡± Zu An said with a nod. Then, he looked at Duan Genggou.

    Duan Genggou felt happy. The ignorant truly didn¡¯t know fear! He had no intention to show any mercy. He raised his sword and thrust it forward. In this world, no sword was faster than those of the Dark Elves!

    Suddenly, Zu An raised his sword, and a dazzling radiance emanated from it. It was sword energy, as blinding as a sun.

    Off to one side, the previously haughty and rxed Wu Fan¡¯s eyes narrowed.

    Duan Genggou waspletely dumbstruck. Was he dreaming, or was there something wrong with the world today? Who in this damn world can produce such ridiculous sword energy?

    He tried to avoid it, but he discovered that his entire body had been locked down by the terrifying sword energy, so he couldn''t dodge at all. He could only watch as his sword was melted by the sun-like radiance. Then, the light entered his body. The heaven-grade armor he bought at an immense prise instantly disintegrated. Then, his body also turned into a bloody mist from the devastating power.

    It was the aura of the divine weapon that had just appeared in the city!

    Motherf*cker! Who said that this guy used a bow? He clearly uses a freaking sword!

    That bastard Duan Tianchou scammed me!

    ¡­

    After the sword energy swept through Duan Genggou, it didn¡¯t disappear; instead, it continued forward and cleaved an entire mountain in half, forming a giant valley.

    Zu An only felt as if the restless energy inside of him had calmed down a little. He looked down at the Tai¡¯e Sword. Was this the power of mountains and rivers?

    Then, he suddenly thought of something. He looked at the shocked Wu Fan and asked, ¡°What did you want to say to me just now?¡±

    Wu Fan¡¯s once proud expression was nowhere to be seen, reced with a ttering smile. He said, ¡°I heard the Great Elder say that an outstanding young man became the new Regent. He talked about your incredible valor, so I had a great longing and wanted to witness his glory myself. Now that I have met you, young master really is just as incredible and amazing as I have heard!¡±

    1. Duan is the surname. Geng means ¡®age¡¯ or ¡®seventh of the ten heavenly stems¡¯. Gou means ¡®careless, negligent¡¯. ?

    2. Same pronunciation, different meaning. ?

    3. Are you Fish Leong¡¯ is ng for ¡®Do you not know shame?¡¯, or ¡®Where in the world did you get the courage to do that?¡¯ ?

 Chapter 1526: Departure

    <h4>Chapter 1526: Departure</h4>

    Zu An gave him a confused look. Based on the elder¡¯s earlier attitude, what he had wanted to say was clearly different. He replied, ¡°You came all the way from the Committee of Elders just to say that?¡±

    Based on what the Second Empress had said, everyone in the Committee of Elders was close to the limit of their lifespans, and each trip would consume quite a bit of their lifespan. As such, they didn¡¯t show themselves unless it was something huge.

    Wu Fan immediately broke out into a cold sweat, saying, ¡°Uh¡­ In truth, I wanted to ask you about the immortal medicine. You know we are all already so old, without much time left. We care about that kind of thing most.¡±

    His change in attitude couldn''t really be med on him. Just what kind of a monster was this kid?! Was that terrifying sword really something a master at the hero form level could release? The power of that sword had made even him, a bystander, shiver in fear. Duan Genggou, who faced the attack head on, had been instantly turned to ash by the sword energy.

    Even though his cultivation was much higher than Duan Genggou¡¯s, he didn¡¯t believe he could defend against the sword either. Even if he could, he would have to pay a bitter price. For someone like him who already had half a foot in the grave, any sort of serious injury like that was intolerable. As such, he had immediately gotten rid of his earlier haughtiness, bing extremely friendly.

    The Great Elder was right after all! It seems Sir Fu didn¡¯t lose because of deviation, but was defeated fair and square.

    He couldn''t understand why someone so young had such terrifying skills. He definitely had to discuss it with the others once he returned to themittee.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I already tell the Great Elderst night?¡± Zu An replied with a frown. He felt the energy inside him still burning fiercely. He had the urge to release another attack.

    When he saw Zu An¡¯s expression, Wu Fan felt all of his fine hairs stand on end. He noticed that Zu An was prepared to attack him. He secretly put up his guard while making his tone sound even more harmless, saying, ¡°It is mainly because the Great Elder could only ask about that in a hurry and did not hear the details too clearly. However, if you are busy, I will not disturb you any longer and will bid you farewell here.¡±

    After saying that, he prepared to leave. When he recalled his previous bold, visionary words, his old face heated up.Forget it, I¡¯ll just getughed at by the others. It¡¯s better than losing more of my lifespan here.

    ¡°Wait!¡± Zu An called out. Wu Fan was so scared he trembled. However, when he heard what Zu An said next, he sighed in relief. Zu An continued, ¡°It wasn¡¯t easy for you to make this trip, so I¡¯ll tell you again¡­¡±

    Zu An thought,I am the Fiend races¡¯ Regent now, after all.Furthermore, the young prince still needed to rely on the help of the Committee of Elders, so he couldn''t make their rtionship too awkward.

    Wu Fan suddenly felt a bit overwhelmed by favor, even feeling the urge to cry. He had never expected that he, a Fiend race elder, would go through such an experience today.

    Then, Zu An repeated the information about the immortal medicine in the dungeon. He even talked about his encounter with Yayu, hinting that even if the immortal medicine could prolong one¡¯s lifespan, it would only turn one into a freakish monster at most.

    He hoped that would be enough to make them give up on the immortal medicine. Otherwise, constantly being eyed by a group of elders with profound cultivations wouldn¡¯t be good.

    When he heard the legends surrounding the immortal medicine, Wu Fan was quite shocked. He cupped his hands and bid Zu An farewell. Just as he was about to leave, however, a figure suddenly arrived beside him. It was a woman with long hair that reached all the way down below her waist, gently beating against her back as she walked; it could make the hearts of those who saw it throb.

    When he saw the woman¡¯s appearance, Wu Fan thought,Was there actually someone this beautiful in the Fiend King Court? With grandmaster rank cultivation, no less?

    Why didn¡¯t I have any impression of this? Don¡¯t tell me some n¡¯s junior recently broke through?

    While Wu Fan was confused, Yun Jianyue was also shocked. Previously, she had been looking everywhere for Yan Xuehen but hadn¡¯t found her, so she had gone to ask Zu An about it. And yet as soon as she arrived at the Imperial Pce, she learned that Zu An had flown toward the city outskirts, so she also went there.

    Halfway there, she sensed a terrifying sword and worried that Zu An had encountered something dangerous. As such, she had quickened her pace. When she arrived, she had scanned Zu An¡¯s surroundings with her divine sense, and discovered that there was actually an elder with deep and immeasurable skills present.

    She couldn''t see through him, which meant his cultivation was higher than hers. As such, she assumed he hade to trouble Zu An. As such, she just took out the Crescent Ring and prepared to fight alongside Zu An at any time.

    Wu Fan was a bit confused, but he was also a bit annoyed. It was one thing to worry about Zu An, but did he now have to act deferential to anyone from the younger generation? His expression turned cold. He nned to use the chance to properly lecture the unknown woman.

    Suddenly, however, he heard Zu An ask, ¡°Big sis Yun, why are you here?¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Yun Jianyue looked at the nearby Wu Fan vigntly while moving close to Zu An, asking, ¡°Are you okay?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Zu An replied.

    Wu Fan was stupefied. So this woman knew Zu An! She was strong and beautiful; that didn¡¯t make sense at all!

    Sigh, if I had been this amazing when I was younger, the women around me would only have be more numerous!

    He showed the two a smile of goodwill and said, ¡°Then I bid you farewell, Regent!¡±

    Afterward, he turned into a rainbow and disappeared into the distance.

    Yun Jianyue asked in surprise, ¡°Why did that guy sound so respectful to you?¡±

    Zu An reflexively replied, ¡°Maybe he¡¯s just a naturally good-natured guy.¡±

    ¡°I noticed that a divine weapon¡¯s aura suddenly erupted. Are you really okay?¡± Yun Jianyue asked, grabbing Zu An¡¯s hand and taking a look. Only then did she notice that he wasn¡¯t wearing anything over his upper body. His strong and healthy muscles glistened under the sunlight. Her expression became a bit unnatural as she continued ¡°Look, even your clothes burst, and yet you¡¯re still saying you¡¯re fine.¡±

    Zu An chuckled and replied, ¡°I¡¯m really fine. I ran into a Dark Elf earlier, but I killed him with a single blow.¡±

    Yun Jianyue was stunned. Then, her gazended on the long sword scar across the earth, as well as the ravine between the distant mountains. She asked, ¡°Were you the one who did all this?¡±

    ¡°What, do you suddenly feel as if you don¡¯t know much about me at all?¡± Zu An replied with a chuckle. His gazended on Yun Jianyue.

    Big sis Yun really is big. It¡¯s almostparable to Big Manman. I wonder how they feel¡­

    Huh? Wait, what is wrong with me today? Why do I keep having these random thoughts?

    Yun Jianyue was still in shock and didn¡¯t notice his particrly intrusive expression today. She thought,How is his sword this strong?Then, her gaze moved to the longsword in his hands and she sensed the unique pressure of a divine weapon. She was startled, asking, ¡°So the divine weapon in the Imperial Pce came from you?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. The Tai¡¯e Sword has been sessfully upgraded to deity-grade,¡± Zu An said proudly. His gazended on Yun Jianyue¡¯s hair that reached all the way down to her bottom. He thought to himself, if the hair were tied into two ponytails, wouldn¡¯t it be an incredible set of reins¡­

    ¡°Deity-grade¡­¡± Yun Jianyue muttered, already so shocked she was starting to grow numb. This guy was just way too mysterious! He always managed to do somethingpletely outside expectations. He had even been able to kill the Fiend Emperor, so making a divine weapon didn¡¯t seem all that amazing in hindsight.

    ¡°It¡¯s good as long as you¡¯re fine,¡± she said. She didn¡¯t even feel like asking him how he had aplished that. She recalled her purpose for heading over and continued, ¡°Right, do you know where that stone cold woman went?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t. I was looking for her in the pce after the ceremony, but I didn¡¯t find her,¡± Zu An replied. Inwardly, he thought,Did Yan Xuehen just leave out of anger because of yesterday¡­

    Hm? Why does big sis Yun smell so good? I really want to move closer and get a better whiff¡­.

    No, she¡¯s Honglei¡¯s master! You can¡¯t offend her in any way!

    But he quickly came around and thought that it wasn¡¯t a big deal at all.Isn¡¯t Yan Xuehen Chuyan¡¯s master? I¡¯ll just get both masters and disciples together¡­

    Wait! What in the world is wrong with me today? Why do these kinds of thoughts keep appearing?

    Yun Jianyue fell silent for a moment. Then, she said with a sigh, ¡°The stone cold woman probably already left. You know what kind of personality she has. It isn¡¯t that weird for her to leave without saying anything.¡±

    With Yan Xuehen¡¯s cultivation, no one in the Fiend King Court could do much to her without causing amotion. Furthermore, they had been in the Imperial Pce, where it was even more unlikely for something to happen. That meant there was only a single possibility, which was that she had left on her own.

    She paused for a moment, then looked up. She suddenly noticed Zu An staring at her. She was stunned at first, but then she shouted in annoyance, ¡°Damn brat, what are you looking at?¡±

    ¡°Big sister¡¯s beauty, of course,¡± Zu An blurted out.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s heart skipped a beat. She could feel the intense masculinitying from Zu An¡¯s body, which made her feel a bit unnatural too. The way they had spent their time together as ofte had really blurred a lot of lines. If he had been anyone else, it would be fine, but he was Honglei¡¯s man. She absolutely couldn''t make a mistake here and let that stone cold womanugh at her.

    After thinking for a bit, she said, ¡°That stone cold woman still has the Prime Souldew from Lord Sui¡¯s Tomb. Is she nning to use it all for herself? Hmph, as if I¡¯m gonna let that happen!¡±

    Zu An recalled how he had been forced to use the Keyboard Come skill to escape from the Snow Lady in Great Snowy Mountain. That had caused his body to almost copsepletely. Back then, Yan Xuehen seemed to have used almost the entire bottle to save him. If that matter were exposed, wouldn¡¯t their rtionship end uppletely out in the open?

    When he saw Yun Jianyue turn around to leave, Zu An panicked and grabbed her arm. Yun Jianyue was startled when she felt the heating from his hand. She wondered why he was burning up so much.

    She turned around and asked with an ambiguous expression, ¡°What, are you even going to take advantage of this big sis?¡±

    Zu An stared straight into her eyes and replied, ¡°And what if I am?¡±

 Chapter 1527: A Test Lingering on the Brink of Death

    Chapter 1527: A Test Lingering on the Brink of Death

    Yun Jianyue was stunned. She hadn¡¯t expected this guy to actually admit it just like that, so she didn¡¯t even know how to behave anymore. When she saw his scorching gaze, she began to panic a bit inwardly. She pped his hand away and said, ¡°Stop causing trouble.¡±

    She subconsciously tightened her clothes around her, then said, ¡°Both the stone cold woman and I gained a lot of benefits from this trip to the Unknown Region. The two of us have been stuck at our current level for many, many years, but we witnessed beings of a higher level, and powers even higher than the earth immortal rank, such as true immortals. We even witnessed the trace of power that was revealed when the Celestial Emperor bestowed the Sun ying Bow upon you. These things wouldn¡¯t be too useful for an ordinary person, but for us grandmasters who have been stuck at this level for so many years, they¡¯re more precious than any treasure.

    ¡°I merely sealed up and preserved what I¡¯ve seen and heard, and I need time to slowly digest andprehend it all. I kept youpany before because your affairs weren¡¯t over yet. Now that you can already fend for yourself, I feel reassured. With your current strength, as well as the Fiend races¡¯ Committee of Elders, the Elf race, and other supporters, there shouldn¡¯t be anyone else who can harm you in the Fiend King Court. It¡¯s time for me to return and tend to my own affairs.¡±

    She felt a bit troubled as she spoke those words, adding, ¡°That stone cold woman is really devious. She definitely went back to cultivate in seclusion. She didn¡¯t even say a thing before she left! And now, I¡¯m the one who has t-to¡­¡±

    ¡°Has to what?¡± Zu An asked curiously when he suddenly heard her stutter.

    ¡°Nothing,¡± Yun Jianyue said, her face heating up. She couldn''t say she had ended up really treating Yan Xuehen as a sister of hers after their experiences together, right?

    Pah, the two of us are famous enemies! We¡¯ll decide who¡¯s better through a fight to the death the next time we meet!N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Hmph, that hypocritical stone cold woman took all of the Prime Souldew to use on herself. It¡¯s a good thing everyone took their share of Feather Mountain¡¯s spring water, or else she would have taken all of that for herself too.

    ¡°Is it possible for you to stay?¡± Zu An asked, feeling dejected. He had fought alongside Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue through so many difficult situations, and they had gone through so much, that they had unknowingly developed strong affection for each other, almost as if they were one family. Now, however, Yan Xuehen had already left. If Yun Jianyue also suddenly left, he would feel as if he had been abandoned by the entire world.

    He didn¡¯t know why he had such a strong negative feeling either. It was clearly just a temporary separation and not permanent, and he knew it was something that had to happen eventually.

    When she heard his reluctant tone, Yun Jianyue¡¯s normally fierce nature softened a bit. She said, ¡°Little An, I¡¯ve already been gone for a long time. Our Holy Sect isn¡¯t as stable as the stone cold woman¡¯s White Jade Sect. Those guys fight and scheme against each other day and night, always trying to harm others for personal benefit, trying to take their ce. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if a heap of trouble in the Holy Sect built up while I was away. Those problems won¡¯t go away unless I deal with them.¡±

    At the same time, she was worried as to how her disciple Qiu Honglei was doing. Even though Honglei¡¯s ce of seclusion was safe, there was no way she could peacefully remain in seclusion if something major happened in the sect. Still, she didn¡¯t speak of that reason, perhaps because she didn¡¯t want to talk to Zu An about Honglei¡¯s affairs.

    When she saw him remain silent, Yun Jianyue sighed and said, ¡°I really have to go. We¡¯ll meet again someday.¡±

    She turned around to leave. With her grandmaster cultivation, she could have disappeared in a sh, but for some reason, she decided to walk slowly. It was almost as if she didn¡¯t realize that she didn''t want to leave either.

    A pair of strong arms hugged her from behind, and a voice called out, ¡°Don¡¯t go!¡±

    Yun Jianyue immediately became angry. Her many years of instinct almost made her attack, but when she realized that it was Zu An, her movements stiffened. She bit her lip and asked in annoyance, ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want you to go!¡± Zu An replied in a rude and unreasonable tone. He didn¡¯t know why either, but his thoughts were incredibly messy. He seemed to have be much braver than usual, too.

    A hint of a conflicted expression shed across Yun Jianyue¡¯s face. She replied, ¡°Kid, you¡¯re getting more and more daring, aren¡¯t you? You even dare to take advantage of me now? Let go already!¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Zu An eximed, lookingpletely unaffected. He smelled Yun Jianyue¡¯s fragrance from just beyond his nose and thought, Big sis Yun isn¡¯t the type to wear perfume. Why does she smell so good?

    His actions were already bordering on disrespectful. No matter how much Yun Jianyue deceived herself with the idea that it was just a hug between an older sister and a younger brother, it had be inexcusable. She glowered, eximing, ¡°I am Honglei¡¯s master!¡±

    Zu An moved closer to her ear and replied quietly, ¡°I know, but so what?¡±

    Ears were normally sensitive to begin with. Yun Jianyue immediately felt her entire body shiver when she felt the hot air he breathed out. Sheughed out of sheer anger. Not even those from the Devil Sect would ignore things like status. She eximed, ¡°Damn punk, are you the one from the Devil Sect or am I?!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I only know that I don¡¯t want you to leave,¡± Zu An said, hugging her tightly. He felt as if his brain had be aplete mess, and his body was also really worked up.

    ¡°Let me go! If you keep going¡­ Mm!¡± Yun Jianyue eximed in shame and anger. She was just about to act when her mouth was suddenly plugged up. Her eyes immediately widened, and an explosion went off in her mind!

    I was forcefully kissed?

    If there had been anyone around them, their eyes might have just popped out. Who was Yun Jianyue? She was the Devil Sect Master, an infamous demon! Untold numbers of people had died at her hands. Even though she excelled at charm skills, she had always remained pure in romantic affairs. Her temperament was intimidating and invible.

    There had been nock of daring and malicious individuals from the Devil Sect who figured that she probably had her needs too from being alone for so many years. As such, they had sought her out for dual cultivation, under the pretext that it would help them mutually improve their cultivation. Even when they were refused, however, they still hadn¡¯t given up. Some of them had even entertained sinister thoughts of using some despicable drugs to take advantage of her.

    And yet, all of them had died miserably. Some of them had ¡®it¡¯ forcefully pulled out by the roots, while others had red hot iron wires stabbed straight into ¡®that area¡¯¡­ From then on, no one in the Devil Sect dared to have any such thoughts about her.

    As for those outside the sect, there were rumors that someone had simply stared a little too long, but she had gouged out their eyeballs¡­

    As such, even though everyone in the world knew she was ridiculously beautiful, she was a thorned rose to them, a vicious and merciless demon. No one had dared to try anything else because of that. They had learned a lesson from their predecessors and didn¡¯t even dare to let their eyes roam around her body for fear that she would be in a bad mood and do something ferocious. And yet now, there was someone who dared to hug her, and moreover force a kiss on her?

    Yun Jianyue was also a bit stunned. For countless years, she hadn¡¯t even let any man within three inches of her, so nothing of this sort had ever happened. That was why she hadn¡¯t immediately reacted. But after her initial shock, she quickly felt ashamed and furious!

    Her natural instincts trained across countless years couldn''t be changed. She sent her elbow straight at Zu An¡¯s chest. A muffled sound followed. If it were anyone else, even if they weren¡¯t seriously injured, a few bones would break. In contrast, she had no idea what Zu An¡¯s body was made out of, but not even a single bone had broken.

    Yun Jianyue felt the taste of blood surge within her mouth, realizing that Zu An was injured. She felt a bit of regret that she had attacked too fiercely. It would have been bad if she really hit a vital point. However, even though she thought it was enough to make him back off, he continued to kiss her as if he didn¡¯t care about his life anymore. He even stuck his tongue in!

    Yun Jianyue finally couldn''t take it anymore. She pushed Zu An with all of her strength, no longer holding back. Still, Zu An wasn¡¯t stupid either. No matter how tough his body was, he couldn''t endure sessive attacks from a grandmaster. He grabbed her arms.

    Yun Jianyue struggled frantically. She discovered that her strength seemed to have been sucked away like a ck hole. She couldn''t muster any more.

    When she recalled what Zu An told her before, she finally understood how Sir Fu had died. However, what was fortunate was that Zu An had only neutralized her force and hadn¡¯t absorbed her cultivation.

    ¡°You damn punk, don¡¯t force my hand!¡± she cursed. Even though her mouth was blocked, she could still send ki voice transmissions.

    As an infamous great demon, she naturally wouldn¡¯t be restrained so easily. She had more than ten ways to fully retaliate. If they were used, Zu An would be seriously injured even if he didn¡¯t die.

    Still, Zu An still didn¡¯t respond. He only continued his offense. Yun Jianyue was embarrassed and irritated. She wanted to attack, but she was also worried about really hurting him. She was suddenly left in a dilemma.

    Soon, she began to feel a bit strange. Even though she was a senior, she was as innocent as a young maiden. How could she stop the teasing of a veteran like Zu An?

    When she felt his strong arms, especially when he didn¡¯t even have clothes over his torso, her breathing also quickly became hurried from his masculine energy. A blush spread across her cold and dignified face for the first time. Her struggling arms also slowly lost their strength, no longer as resolute as before.

    What am I doing right now?

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s brain felt as if it were turning to mush.

    This is Honglei¡¯s man! Wouldn¡¯t I beughed at to death by the stone cold woman in the future?!

    When she thought of that, she finally recovered a hint of reason. She was about to push him away, but Zu An¡¯s hand clenched. She groaned, and her entire body went limp.

 Chapter 1528: I, Yun Jianyue, Have Never Been Inferior!

    Chapter 1528: I, Yun Jianyue, Have Never Been Inferior!

    This scoundrel! Who knows how many women he¡¯s practiced this kind of skill with? Yun Jianyue thought, feeling annoyed inside.

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +55 +55 +55¡­

    She was suddenly stunned. She realized that even though she was a bit angry, she wasn¡¯t angry at the fact that he was disrespectful, but rather that he and another woman¡­

    She panicked when she realized that. When had she started to feel that way? After all, in the past, she would gouge out a man¡¯s eyes if he even looked at her disrespectfully. By that standard, after what Zu An had just done, who knew just how many times the ashes of his remains would have been flung around?

    As someone from the Devil Sect, she wasn¡¯t like the robotic stone cold woman. She still had her emotions and desires. It was just that she had never seen any man she liked. But Zu An was different. Ever since she first met him in the Imperial Pce, she had already felt that he was different from other men.

    After they had ¡®lived together¡¯ in the Imperial Pce, she stopped treating him as a normal man, and instead showed him a bit of intimacy.

    After being around each other for the past few months, that feeling became stronger and stronger. She had even begun treating him as her own dear little brother. Only now did she realize that the reason for that was only for Honglei¡¯s sake, leading her to subconsciously trt to avoid ¡®other¡¯ things.

    Sigh, this guy really is a man who can move hearts¡­.

    Still, her reason still managed to win over in the end. She finally managed to push him away a bit, giving her a moment to breathe. She snapped, ¡°Did you not consider that I am Honglei¡¯s master?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Zu An said, thinking, It¡¯s not as if I haven¡¯t done something simr before. But the bit of clear-headedness that remained in his mind stopped him from talking about Yan Xuehen.

    When she saw that his lips were moving closer again, Yun Jianyue felt angry and panicked. She pushed him away again, eximing, ¡°If you haven¡¯t, then think about it now! Me or Honglei, who are you going to pick?¡±

    If she came from a righteous background, there was no way she would do such a thing. But after being in a ce like the Devil Sect for so long, she didn¡¯t have as many misgivings around etiquette.

    She looked deep within herself and thought, Even if my disciple holds a grudge and I¡¯mughed at by the stone cold woman or even the entire world, so what? As long as I, Yun Jianyue, like him, I don¡¯t need anyone else¡¯s approval!

    When she thought of that, her confidence surged greatly. She stared at Zu An, waiting for his response. As long as he chose her, so what if she went crazy with him today?

    I haven¡¯t experienced what that¡¯s like after all these years. This little fe is pretty charming. I won¡¯t be losing out by giving myself to him.

    ¡°Why do I have to choose?¡± Zu An replied as he was faced with her expectant gaze, reaching out for her. ¡°I want everything!¡±

    ¡°You want everything?¡± Yun Jianyue repeated, her entire body trembling. She was stupefied. There was actually someone this shameless in this world?

    She was ashamed and angry as she began to struggle again. But this time, Zu An didn¡¯t give her a chance and just firmly hugged her. His embrace was so firm that she found it a bit hard to breathe.

    Zu An¡¯s upper body waspletely exposed. His strong and lively muscles wore down Yun Jianyue¡¯s mental strength. She was a demoness, but before that, she was a woman. When a man she liked was so close to her, all of her resistance began to crumble under his continuous attacks.

    She released a deep sigh. If this guy chose me instead of Honglei in this kind of situation, then he would just be a fickle man. I might have just looked down on him even more. Even though this is a bit shameless, at least he didn¡¯t abandon Honglei.

    Forget it, whatever¡­ At worst, I just won''t meet with him again. That way, there won¡¯t be any difficult choices between me and Honglei.

    When she thought of that, her tense body gradually rxed. Her hands also slowly stopped iling, and she even gradually started to proactively respond to him.

    She was the glorious Devil Sect Master, someone who left countless people terror-stricken just from hearing her name. How could she just let him do whatever he wanted like a weak little girl in such a situation?

    Now that she was also receiving him passionately, the two of them began to kiss even more intensely. Fewer and fewer clothes covered their bodies.

    Suddenly, Yun Jianyue felt great pressure. Then, she slowly descended down to the meadow below. However, her usually strong nature quickly returned. With a twist of her waist, she flipped Zu An under her. She hooked her finger around Zu An¡¯s chin, saying, ¡°You¡¯re the pet I¡¯ve chosen, so of course I have to be on top.¡±

    With a wave of her hand, her clothes began to extend, turning into thick strips of cloth. They wrapped around the surrounding trees, forming a firm tent. Her long hair fluttered around in the wind. Together with her stunning facial features, she was like a rose in spring.

    The proud and domineering nature she had carried for so many years made it so that she had to take control of this situation. As if to prove that she hadn¡¯t been so easily pushed down, she was the one who undid his belt.

    However, when the reveal happened, she was stillpletely shocked.

    Is this guy¡­ really a human?

    In that instant, she even felt a bit scared.

    Zu An took the chance to take back the initiative while she was in a daze. Yun Jianyue snapped out of her daze, instinctively trying to seize the initiative back again. However, Zu An didn¡¯t give her the opportunity. At such a critical juncture, her entire body was frozen, so how could she still move around recklessly?

    Yun Jianyue clenched her teeth to prepare herself, but surprisingly, Zu An seemed to be in no rush. Instead, he continuously kissed her. His gentleness made her body meltpletely.

    ¡°You punk, don¡¯t think I didn¡¯t know you sent that strange ki into my body,¡± Yun Jianyue said, gently biting his ear. She didn¡¯t sound angry, and only sweetness and loveliness remained. ¡°If I weren¡¯t willing, nothing you did would have worked.¡±

    She looked deeply at her lover with her misty eyes. She had been deemed the greatest user of charm skills throughout the Devil Sect¡¯s history; it was just that she usually felt it beneath her to use it. Now that she was with her lover, she naturally didn¡¯t have to hold back at all. She showed him her most charming side.

    When she thought about all of the beauties at this guy¡¯s side, especially the stone cold woman¡¯s disciple¡­ Even though she wouldn¡¯t go so far as topete with Chu Chuyan, she still didn¡¯t want to be defeated.

    I, Yun Jianyue, have never been inferior to another in my entire life!

    How could Zu An still hold himself back? He was about tounch his attack when Yun Jianyue suddenly reached out her hand to stop him. He looked at her in confusion.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s cheeks were covered with a peach-colored blush as she said, ¡°Promise me that this is the only time, and you can¡¯t tell anyone else, especially Honglei¡­ and also that stone cold woman.¡±

    ¡°Fine!¡± Zu An replied in a dry, rough voice. In such a situation, any man would agree to any condition, after all.

    Yun Jianyue sighed in relief. She showed him a seductive and moving smile that she normally never showed anyone else. She gently embraced Zu An,pletely giving herself to him.

    After a muffled growl, the typically domineering and imposing Devil Sect Master, one who had caused rivers of blood to flow and countless people to howl in suffering, shed blood and tears for the first time.

    ¡­

    She didn¡¯t know how much time had passed, but her expression suddenly changed. She eximed, ¡°Damn punk, no wonder you were so daring! So you already broke through to the essence mortal form stage, producing an inner demon!¡±

    She hadn¡¯t noticed it before. Only when theypletely joined did she understand why his energies were so chaotic. It was clearly because Zu An had absorbed Sir Fu¡¯s cultivation that his cultivation realm soared greatly. Then, he had reached the second stage of the master rank, the essence mortal form.

    When one first reached the master rank, one would have a me ignited by the root, the cyx. As one¡¯s cultivation realm rose, it would move from the cyx to the navel region, which represented the essence form. This stage would purify and refine all of one¡¯s ki essence, making it undergo a qualitative change, freeing one from all sorts of desires so one could focus on cultivation. Such desires didn¡¯t only refer to lust, but rather all greed, anger, foolishness, love, hatred¡­n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The most dangerous part of this stage was that it was easy for an inner demon to appear. If one failed to deal with it, one would easilypletely lose one¡¯s reason and be dominated by desire. In more serious cases, one would lose all of one¡¯s cultivation and perish.

    When a cultivator reached such a point, they would often need their n elders or masters to watch over them, assisting them in passing the trial. However, Zu An was too much of a monster. He could even kill the Fiend Emperor and some grandmasters. Yun Jianyue subconsciously considered him to be at the same level as herself. Furthermore, it had already been too long since she passed that stage herself, so she had already forgotten about such details. As such, only now did she recognize Zu An¡¯s dangerous situation.

 Chapter 1529: Drunk?

    Chapter 1529: Drunk?

    ¡°Inner demon? What is that?¡± Zu An asked. He was feeling muddle-headed and didn¡¯t immediately react to what she said.

    ¡°Don¡¯t move around randomly!¡± Yun Jianyue snapped, rolling her eyes. She was so annoyed she reached out and smacked him. She finally caught her breath with some difficulty, then patiently exined to him what the inner demon that easily appeared at the essence form stage was.

    Zu An had a nk expression as he replied, ¡°This inner demon doesn¡¯t seem all that bad. I feel absolutely amazing right now, better than at any other time.¡±

    Yun Jianyue was speechless. What else can I even say? Of course you feel better now than at any other time.

    She actually felt simr at the moment. Still, she was a grandmaster and had a firm will. She quickly gathered her thoughts and said, ¡°The reason why people develop inner demons is because inner demons are extremely enticing, making them do many things they normally wouldn¡¯t dare to. Furthermore, even though they bring momentary joy, they¡¯re actually extremely harmful¡­ If you be immersed in this feeling, it will be too difficult to return from it.¡±

    Even though letting Zu Anpletely fall into his inner demon and bringing him back to the Holy Sect wouldn¡¯t be a bad choice, she didn¡¯t want a young man with endless prospects to end up like that.

    ¡°Why do I have to return from it?¡± Zu An asked, an evil grin on his face. ¡°I¡¯m even happier than before, and I feel much more confident and free.¡±

    Yun Jianyue rolled her eyes. Why isn¡¯t this guy listening at all? She tried to persuade him patiently, but she just couldn''t deal with this guy¡¯s stubbornness.

    Yun Jianyue bit down on her red lip and said, ¡°Little An, if you keep doing this, I won¡¯t like you anymore!¡±

    ¡°I know you¡¯re lying,¡± Zu An replied, not falling for it at all. You can lie with your mouth but¡­ That ce won¡¯t.

    Yun Jianyue bit him. This guy¡¯s previous respectful behavior was a bit cuter. Still, she patiently exined, ¡°There¡¯s actually no need for you to do this. I didn¡¯t know that you had an inner demon, but didn¡¯t I still agree? So, if youpletely recover, what¡¯s the difference? But if you let your cultivation deviate, I¡¯ll actually dislike you instead.¡±

    Zu An finally became a bit nervous when he heard her say that. He reflexively sat up straight and asked, ¡°You¡¯re not lying to me?¡±

    ¡°Of course not,¡± Yun Jianyue said, furrowing her brows. She almost lost herposure again. Just talk if you¡¯re going to talk! Why are you moving?!

    ¡°But you said we would only do it once, as if you were going to pull up your pants and ignore me from now on,¡± Zu An said a bit unhappily.

    ¡°Pull up my pants and ignore you?¡± Yun Jianyue repeated, feeling irritation boiling inside of her. If not for the fact that she knew he was suffering from an inner demon and that he was confused, she would have already beaten his head into a pulp.

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +44 +44 +44¡­

    She did her best to suppress her rage, then consoled him, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I was just using an excuse to convince myself at that time.¡±

    She was really embarrassed when she said that. She only said so because she didn¡¯t want his inner demon topletely control him. Once he recovered, she had to properly settle things.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Really?¡± Zu An asked, suddenly feeling encouraged. His eyes even began to shine.

    ¡°Of course,¡± Yun Jianyue said through gritted teeth.

    ¡°Then what about Honglei? What if you force me to make a choice then?¡± Zu An mumbled.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you want everything? I won¡¯t force you to make that choice either. Won¡¯t it be fine if both Honglei and I serve you?¡± Yun Jianyue replied. However, even though her voice was endlessly alluring, rage bubbled within the depths of her eyes.

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +119 +119 +119¡­

    You punk, if it weren¡¯t because I know you¡¯re in an inner demon state, I would have already smacked you to death!

    Fortunately, it was so sudden that Zu An became embarrassed instead, eximing, ¡°Ah? How embarrassing would that be¡­¡±

    Yun Jianyue trembled. This guy sounds embarrassed, but his body is getting even more excited.

    She had finally managed to convince Zu An, however. Only then could Yun Jianyue start to control the chaotic ki in his body, sending it back along the proper channels.

    She was a grandmaster who had been famous for many years. She was one of the best teachers in the field of cultivation. Furthermore, there were probably no other teachers who could sense his ki flow¡¯s details as she could at the moment, allowing her to guide him bit by bit.

    However, as Zu An¡¯s ki slowly returned to the regr track, his cultivation also fully reached the peak of the essence form stage. At that time, the inner demon also reached its peak.

    Yun Jianyue secretly endured the suffering, but she could only patiently do her best to appease him. Up until this point, even she hadn¡¯t known that a glorious demoness like her could actually be so patient.

    ¡°Little An, why are you grabbing my hair?¡± she asked. She didn¡¯t get a reply, but she quickly understood. She was embarrassed and furious, snapping, ¡°Damn brat, are you treating me like a horse?¡±

    ¡°What? Did you say we should do it together with Yan Xuehen another day?¡± she eventually eximed in surprise.

    Even someone like Yun Jianyue from the Devil Sect had to admit that after he was afflicted by this inner demon, this guy¡¯s imagination really was pretty amazing.

    Who is Yan Xuehen? And who am I, Yun Jianyue?

    We have countless admirers in this world, and any man who could obtain either one of us would already be beyond lucky.

    Let alone the fact that we¡¯re arch-nemeses, and yet this damn kid dares to go after both of us?

    Still, she didn¡¯t retort. She consoled him while his temperament was unstable. She would settle things after his messy meridians were sorted out.

    Suddenly, she was startled. Wait, that¡¯s actually not a bad idea¡­!

    Even though she was willing to do this kind of thing with Zu An right now, their identities were too awkward. Even though she was letting down Honglei, they were all on the same side. Their rtionship had always been good too, so they could just deal with it in private.

    But Yan Xuehen was different! White Jade Sect and the Holy Sect were famous enemies. They had been rivals for many years. If Yan Xuehen found out about it, wouldn¡¯t she be utterly humiliated?

    However, if Yan Xuehen were dragged down too, neither one of them couldugh at the other. The righteous side couldn''t use it to attack Yun Jianyue, and because it had happened to both of them, people would only direct their attention to Yan Xuehen.

    Either way, I¡¯m already a heinous demoness beyond redemption, right? I¡¯ve done so many bad things already, so it¡¯s not that surprising for me to do something like this.

    Instead, if Yan Xuehen, that untainted goddess in everyone¡¯s eyes, did this kind of thing, hehe¡­

    When she thought about that, Yun Jianyue became more and more excited. All of her earlier gloominess was instantly swept away.

    Still, she was a bit hesitant. Even though they were enemies, she had to admit that Yan Xuehen was a top-ss woman. If she suffered the same fate, wouldn¡¯t Zu An be let off way too easily?

    Forget it, everything is for the sake of our Holy Sect¡­

    As such, she began to fan the mes, provoking Zu An to do something to Yan Xuehen. Zu An naturally pped his chest proudly, as if he were giving his word. Furthermore, because his mind still wasn¡¯t the clearest, he blurted out that he had already seeded.

    Yun Jianyue didn¡¯t pay too much attention to it and just assumed he was boasting. After facing her for so many years, she knew Yan Xuehen¡¯s personality better than anyone else. Would she let Zu An do that kind of thing to her?

    However, her expression quickly changed, because this kid only went wilder and wilder. He even said that he was going to one day seize both the masters and disciples together.

    ¡°Hey, are you drunk?¡± Yun Jianyue hissed through gritted teeth. This little rascal really was irritating.

    Still, she wasn¡¯t much better off right now. After all, she had guarded her purity for so many years; how could she still be fine after tossing and turning for so long? Furthermore, she had to focus her attention on helping him purify his ki and break through into a new stage. She didn¡¯t have the energy to retort at all.

    In order to simplify matters and persuade him to y along, she could only just let him say what he wanted and agree to it all. Either way, there was no way such a thing would really happen. That stone cold woman wouldn¡¯t let him close to her at all, let alone participate in such preposterous suggestions.

    ¡­

    After an unknown amount of time had passed, the messy ki inside of Zu An finally calmed down.

    Yun Jianyue was already so tired that fine sweat was dripping down her face. She thought that if she hadn¡¯t been a grandmaster with a special constitution, and if she hadn¡¯t been proficient in the Holy Sect¡¯s different secret skills, thus making her body far more durable and flexible than normal female cultivators, how could she possibly have endured all of this?

    The entire process was more than ten times harder than her own breakthrough at the essence form stage.

    Zu An also gradually recovered his mental rity. When he recalled his earlier hot-headedness, he was also a bit apologetic. He was about to apologize when his expression suddenly changed and he said, ¡°I feel as if my cultivation can still climb higher.¡±

 Chapter 1530: Naught But a Kun Fish Fry

    Chapter 1530: Naught But a Kun Fish Fry

    With Yun Jianyue¡¯s hard work clearing up his meridians, Zu An¡¯s ki became much calmer. At the same time, the inner demon also gradually came under control. When he became clear-headed again, he didn¡¯t dare to believe what he was seeing. He actually had such an intimate experience with big sis Yun?

    Still, he quickly remembered every scene from before. Previously, everything that happened had been because he was spurred on by the inner demon, but that didn¡¯t mean he had lost his memories. At that instant, he even felt that the inner demon wasn¡¯t all that hateful after all.

    When he saw the traces on Yun Jianyue¡¯s body, Zu An felt a sense of pity. He wanted to properly console her. However, his energy suddenly became restless again. His expression changed. He quickly asked Yun Jianyue about it.

    ¡°You¡¯re still not done?¡± Yun Jianyue eximed, her expression changing. Even though she was a world-famous demoness, she wasn¡¯t that different from a young noble virgin in terms of ¡®that¡¯. She had needed to rely on her grandmaster constitution to endure, and thought that phase had finally ended. How could she have predicted that it was just the beginning?

    Zu An cried bitterly, ¡°I previously absorbed all of Sir Fu¡¯s cultivation. He was a grandmaster who was famous for many years, so you know how great his cultivation was. How could it be that easily digested?¡±

    Yun Jianyue knew about Zu An¡¯s Heaven Devouring Sutra and felt that what he said made sense. If Sir Fu¡¯s cultivation could only provide a single rank, he wouldn¡¯t deserve to have been a grandmaster.

    ¡°You should focus on adjusting your condition now. Either way, your inner demon is now more or less dealt with,¡± Yun Jianyue said, biting her lip. Her once-domineering expression had given way to a mix of annoyance and yful pouting.

    She tried to get up to leave afterward, but Zu An hugged her firmly and said, ¡°I have no experience in this field! What if I end up experiencing cultivation deviation? That¡¯s why I need big sis to help me.¡±

    Wouldn¡¯t he be a dummy if he had such a great big sister but didn¡¯t use her?

    He had to admit that even though Yun Jianyue was from the Devil Sect, she was the real deal in the field of cultivation. When she was instructing Zu An earlier, they hadn¡¯t wasted any time with detours. He had been able to break through into the essence form stage at the fastest possible rate.

    Yun Jianyue was a bit hesitant, but she also knew that what he said was true. Sir Fu had absorbed too many strong individuals¡¯ blood and cultivation, making his ki muddled and vtile. If she hadn¡¯t purified all the ki once over for Zu An, he might have already experienced cultivation deviation. If she left him to his own devices and something happened, all of their efforts would have been for nothing.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Alright then, I¡¯ll help you this one time. But you¡¯re not allowed to move around randomly!¡± Yun Jianyue replied, staring at Zu An fiercely. Earlier, she¡¯d had to help him with his inner demon while also enduring all of the outrages hemitted. She didn¡¯t want to go through that again.

    ¡°No problem!¡± Zu An immediately agreed.

    ¡°But that¡¯s what you saidst time too!¡± Yun Jianyue replied with a skeptical expression.

    ¡°If you already knew I wouldn¡¯t follow that, why are you still asking me?¡± Zu An asked with a big smile.

    ¡°Little An, I¡¯m going to bite you to death!¡± Yun Jianyue snapped, baring her fangs, but in the end, she didn¡¯t do anything.

    ¡­

    After a long time passed, Yun Jianyue felt as if the number of times she had rolled her eyes was far greater than in the first half of her life. It really was the way old stores always described it. Sometimes, one could go three years without much business, but after getting some, it would alle at the same time.

    Thankfully, Zu An had recovered his intellect from his inner demon, so Yun Jianyue didn¡¯t have to work as hard as before. She was even able to calm herself down before examining his condition. Still, a blush covered her entire body.

    Yun Jianyue released a long sigh. After quite some time, her wet hair was left askew. She eventually said in a weak voice, ¡°The hero stage is when the impure me is created, and the essence stage is when the impure me is at its strongest. It¡¯s really easy to be possessed by an inner demon then, if you¡¯re not careful. The core form stage is when the impure me is fully under control.

    ¡°Currently, your cultivation has received a boost from Sir Fu¡¯s lifetime of cultivation, which is why you¡¯ve saved decades, or perhaps even more than a centurypared to others. I didn¡¯t expect your talent to be that high, that you could immediately control the impure me. In the past, I forgot how many times I failed before I was able to just barely get it under control.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s nose immediately pointed into the sky. He said with a smile, ¡°All this was because big sis Yun taught me by example.¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s face heated up a bit. Why does this phrase sound so strange today?

    However, she suddenly remembered all the dregs of society back at the Devil Sect. Even though they didn¡¯t dare to behave disrespectfully in front of her, they were really brazen in their private discussions. Once, when she was passing by, she had seen some people clutching their waists while saying ¡®only cows die from overwork; no fields are ruined from being plowed¡¯.

    So by now, those guys probably would have had their bodies worn out by women, because those men were no good, right¡­?

    Still, she quickly tossed that thought out of her mind and said, ¡°Honestly, you should be thanking me. I really wonder if I owed you a debt in myst life or something.¡±

    Zu An smiled and was about to reply when his expression changed again. He eximed, ¡°Oh no, it seems as if it can still go higher!¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief. She didn¡¯t say anything and struggled to leave. However, Zu An wrapped his arms around her again and said, ¡°My dear big sis, help me onest time, please!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what you saidst time too!¡± Yun Jianyue protested.

    Zu An replied, ¡°This is really thest time! Sir Fu¡¯s cultivation is almost exhausted~¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s face turned red and white. Still, she knew this was an opportunity cultivators could only beg for. If she could help Zu An be a bit stronger, she had to do it.

    Sigh, I¡¯m really about to be ruined from this plowing¡­

    After an unknown amount of time passed, Zu An finally calmed down. He sat up to meditate and adjust his cultivation.

    Meanwhile, Yun Jianyue instructed him, saying ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to have covered that much distance, actually going from the hero form stage through the essence form stage, and all the way from the core form stage to the power soul stage! Even though you¡¯re only at the early power soul stage, you¡¯ve already reached a level that¡¯s surpassed by none. From now on, you need to cultivate properly and find some treasures to nurture your heart. Then, you can truly reach the peak of the power soul stage.¡±

    Masters at the power soul stage didn¡¯t have to rely on external forces anymore. They had powerful physical strength. It was the stage many people called the ¡®power to uproot mountains¡¯ stage, so it was easy to imagine just how mighty it was.

    This little monster Zu An has already had his body refined several times by the Primordial Origin Sutra. To a certain extent, his body is even a bit tougher than others at the power soul stage, even though he hasn¡¯t finished it yet. So, once he reaches the peak of this level, his strength will climb drastically once more.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s face was rosy. Her earlier fatigue had already beenpletely swept away. In the end, that was all due to Zu An¡¯s abundant ¡®essence¡¯.

    Sigh, I passed on knowledge to him, while he granted me liquid¡­

    Her face turned red when she thought of that. As expected of the legendary transcendent aptitude! Not only had her hidden injuries beenpletely healed, her cultivation rank that had remained at a bottleneck for so long was also showing signs of a breakthrough.

    I really want to haul this kid back with me to the Holy Sect to cultivate with me every day. Then, wouldn¡¯t I be able topletely trample on that stone cold woman?

    Still, she abandoned that tempting thought. Zu An had a brighter future. If he were really tied down now, she wouldn¡¯t necessarily like such a man either.

    Meanwhile, Zu An was digesting all of the knowledge Yun Jianyue had passed onto him. He was suddenly startled, because he could feel arge diagram lighting up within his body.

    It was the Kun Peng diagram!

    Previously, when Yan Xuehen used her own body to save him, the diagram had appeared when he first broke through into the master rank.

    He wasn¡¯t all that surprised, because the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra gave him a new bird diagram whenever he broke through a major cultivation rank. They always came with their respective special abilities.

    However, the Kun Peng diagram was the first one that had gone dark again after it first appeared. It hadn¡¯t appeared again no matter how Zu An tried to bring it out. He hadn¡¯t expected it to appear again today, and fully activated, no less.

    If Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue found out they had both helped himplete the Kun Peng together, just what kind of reaction would they have?

    He gave up on that thought quickly. Instead, he began to inspect what kind of skill the Kun Peng had given him.

    Naught but a Kun fish fry in the beginning, but devours all once evolved!

    When he saw the message from the Keyboard System, Zu An was filled with confusion.

 Chapter 1531: Return to True Self

    Chapter 1531: Return to True Self

    Long, long ago, it was recorded that there was a fish fry that dwelled deep in the dark north, named Kun. It was sorge that it couldn''t be cooked in a single pot¡­

    The young Kun was thousands of miles long; it could transform into a bird, bing a Peng. The Peng¡¯s wingspan was thousands of miles wide as well. When it took flight, it could cover the skies like clouds. It would nest deep in the south instead¡­

    Various records all stated that the Kun could transform into a Peng. That Peng wasn¡¯t quite the same as the Fiend races¡¯ Great Peng race, though. It was clearly many, many timesrger and stronger.

    The Kun grew through feasting. There were different types of Kun depending on how they feasted, such as the Corpse Kun, Bright Kun, Blue Kun, Earth Kun, Herbivore Kun, Bone Kun, Giant Kun, Spirit Kun, Vicious Kun, Devouring Kun¡­ The Kun¡¯s skills werepletely reliant on such feasting.

    Meanwhile, the Kun Peng diagram in Zu An¡¯s body had awakened the Kun Peng¡¯s power. Feasting on enemies would make him stronger, and there were no side effects.

    Zu An was really happy to see that at first. The Heaven Devouring Sutra could swallow the cultivation of his enemies, but there were a lot of side effects, so he didn¡¯t want to use it recklessly. However, when he saw the word ¡®feasting¡¯, his eyelids couldn''t help but twitch. Wouldn¡¯t he be just like a wild beast, a cannibal? He wanted to throw up just thinking about it.

    Just then, however, a noise went off in his mind due to a message from the Keyboard System. Because he had the Heaven Devouring Sutra, the two skills were merged to form a new ability.

    He didn¡¯t have to feast as the initial description suggested; instead, he would just have to kill his opponent. At the same time, the entire cultivation system would be reconstructed. It would no longer be the path of an ordinary cultivator, but rather an entirely new numerical system.

    Something simr to an experience bar appeared in his mind. Subsequently, whenever he killed an enemy, that experience bar would grow. Once it was maxed out, his level would increase. Furthermore, there was the number 69 next to the experience bar. It was clear that he was currently at Lv. 69.

    ¡®Isn¡¯t this a bit too ridiculous?¡¯ Zu An thought, unable to help but mock the Keyboard System. Why did it seem almost as if he were in a game? It didn¡¯t even feel like cultivation anymore.

    He had discovered that as his cultivation rank increased and he unlocked more of these smaller systems, the system also became much smarter. At the very least, it could respond to some of his simpler questions.

    The current systemyout has been modified into the format easiest for the user to understand. There are other interface models, but based on the user¡¯s knowledge and background, the user would not be able to understand them.

    That was the keyboard¡¯s reply.

    Zu An was speechless. He was actually being looked down on by this damn keyboard!

    Still, he had to admit that it made some sense. This was indeed a much easier way for him to understand what was going on. Thus, he swiftly checked his own condition. He discovered that he couldn''t tell whether he was at the core form or power soul stage anymore.

    He couldn''t help but be a bit worried. Big sis Yun was teaching me how to temper my heart at the power soul stage, but the entire stage is now gone?

    Yun Jianyue suddenly voiced her surprise. ¡°Huh? What¡¯s going on? Why do I feel as if your impure me has disappeared? Wait, why can¡¯t I sense your cultivation anymore? What happened? Did you be a normal person?¡±

    Yun Jianyue really was shocked. Previously, even though Zu An was mysterious, she had still been able to more or less tell what cultivation rank he was at. For a grandmaster, it would be strange if she couldn''t recognize the cultivation rank of someone at a lower rank than her. But now, she couldn''t sense the slightest bit of ki from him. He didn¡¯t even feel like a cultivator; he now seemed no different from an ordinary person¡­ apart from being a bit more handsome.

    There was no way his cultivation rank was higher than hers either. For those with higher cultivation than her, it was hard for her to see through them too, but she could at least sense the powering from their bodies and know not to provoke them.

    Did something happen when I was helping him before? Did I make his cultivation deviate and turn him into a cripple?

    She was so scared she was about to cry when she thought of that. But I didn¡¯t do anything wrong before!

    This won¡¯t do. I have to find Yan Xuehen to take a look. Her daoist faction might know a bit more about these things.

    She couldn¡¯t waste time worrying about Yan Xuehen finding out what had happened. All she wanted was to save Zu An as quickly as possible.

    Zu An had a strange expression when he saw Yun Jianyue¡¯s nervous appearance. He grabbed her hand and said, ¡°Big sis Yun, I¡¯m probably okay.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean you¡¯re okay? I can¡¯t even sense your cultivation anymore! Are you really no different from a pretty boy now?¡± Yun Jianyue eximed, her voice shaking a bit. Even though she didn¡¯t mind having a pretty boy like that, she still didn¡¯t want Zu An to be a cripple.

    ¡°I really am okay,¡± Zu An said. He thought for a bit, then realized that his words were a bit powerless. As such, he took out the Tai¡¯e Sword and casually brandished it to one side. Blinding sword ki fired outward, causing a huge explosion.

    When she saw a nearby mountain split apart, leaving behind a new valley, Yun Jianyue blinked. It seemed that the whole process seemed to be beyond her grandmaster rank perception.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°You clearly don¡¯t have any ki fluctuationsing from you though¡­¡± Yun Jianyue muttered, unable to understand. Furthermore, she couldn''t sense the slightest bit of a cultivator¡¯s energy when he attacked. Just what the heck was going on with this world?

    ¡°It might be because my cultivation method is a bit special, so it¡¯s changed somehow¡­¡± Zu An trailed off, not knowing how to exin it either. However, he finally convinced her that he was fine and that he was now in the best possible condition.

    Yun Jianyue examined Zu An¡¯s body for a long time, but she didn¡¯t find anything strange, so she sighed in relief. Then, a strange smile appeared on her face. She said, ¡°If you were to ambush someone in your current state, you really would be unstoppable.¡±

    After all, in the eyes of other cultivators, Zu An was no different from an ordinary person. They wouldn¡¯t even put up any precautions against him. How could they possibly react if he suddenly attacked them? For someone like Yun Jianyue from the Devil Sect, a surprise attack wasn¡¯t really dishonorable. On the contrary, if it seeded, that was the embodiment of wisdom.

    Zu An shook his head slightly, saying, ¡°I don¡¯t think I even need to use surprise attacks anymore.¡±

    After thinking to herself for a bit, Yun Jianyue didn¡¯t say anything else. Zu An had finally obtained the conviction of the invincible, so there was no need to make it waver.

    ¡°You really scared me to death just now,¡± Yun Jianyue said, getting dressed while holding her chest. ¡°Seeing as you seem fine now, it¡¯s time for me to go too.¡±

    Zu An jumped in fright and quickly hugged her, eximing, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you weren¡¯t going to go?¡±

    A gentle expression appeared on Yun Jianyue¡¯s face when she sensed his warm hug. She replied, ¡°I only said that before to appease your inner demon state. I already told you that I¡¯ve been away for too long and the Devil Sect is a mess. I have to go back, or else there will be¡­ problems.¡±

    Zu An knew that she was speaking the truth, but he still couldn''t hide his disappointment. He asked, ¡°Then was everything else you agreed to real or fake?¡±

    Yun Jianyue raised her brows. A hint of dangerous intent appeared in her eyes. She asked, ¡°What did I agree to?¡±

    Zu An had an embarrassed smile. He discovered that now that his inner demon was gone, he had many more misgivings. He could only say, ¡°You know.¡±

    ¡°Damn punk, why didn¡¯t I realize you were this daring before? You actually dare to have those kinds of dreams?¡± Yun Jianyue harrumphed. Still, she came from the Devil Sect and usually went against established practices, so she nonchntly said, ¡°As long as you can convince that stone cold woman, I have no objections.¡±

    She assumed that if this guy treated Yan Xuehen disrespectfully, her Snowke Sword would fly straight over to him. There was no way Yan Xuehen would ever agree to such a ridiculous request. As such, she wasn¡¯t losing out on anything by giving out such a nk check. If that scenario never happened, it would be because of Yan Xuehen, and she wouldn¡¯t have to be the bad guy.

    If you¡¯re going to hate someone, go and hate Yan Xuehen~ she thought, suddenly feeling that she really was smart.

    However, she hadn¡¯t expected Zu An¡¯s eyes to light up as he asked, ¡°Really?¡±

    Yun Jianyue was stunned. What is up with this guy¡¯s strange confidence?

    Why do I suddenly feel as if I¡¯ve dug a huge pitfall for myself?

    However, she quickly tossed that absurd thought aside. How could the stone cold woman possibly agree to that?!

    ¡°Of course,¡± she said, intending to send him off so she could get away. ¡°Alright. I really have to leave now.¡±

    ¡°Why not stay here and keep mepany for three more days?¡± Zu An asked somewhat reluctantly.

    ¡°Three days?¡± Yun Jianyue eximed, turning red-faced. Forget about three days, she wouldn¡¯t evenst another three hours. She really could break if she stayed here!

    As such, she refused no matter how sweet-sounding Zu An¡¯s words were. In the end, Zu An couldn''t really keep her from her important tasks and reluctantly let her leave.

    After refusing Zu An¡¯s offer to send her off, Yun Jianyue waved her hand casually. She wanted to leave in a confident and easy way, but as soon as she flew into the air, she felt her legs weaken. She staggered and almost fell straight down. She shot Zu An an annoyed look, and only then did she stabilize herself and disappear into the horizon.

 Chapter 1532: The Sound of a Heart Shattering

    Chapter 1532: The Sound of a Heart Shattering

    When he saw Yun Jianyue¡¯s look of shame and anger, Zu An couldn''t help butugh. Her reaction was the greatest praise to a man. In the end, however, he reluctantly waved toward Yun Jianyue. It was time for him to return to the Imperial Pce too and get used to the new system.

    ¡­

    In the following days, it turned out to not be too convenient for him to live in the Imperial Pce. Instead, he took up residence in a nearby ce.

    Various officials of the Fiend King Court all came to congratte him and give him blessings as the new Regent. After all, what had happened that night was too shocking. They all knew that the young prince had been able to be the new Fiend Emperor almost purely through Zu An¡¯s strength.

    Furthermore, the Second Empress treasured him greatly. There were even some rumors of something between them. After all, one was a young widow, while the other was handsome and confident. It was easy to make that association.

    Still, that kind of thing was also quitemon among the Fiend races. It wasn¡¯t something too shocking. Furthermore, no one had any proof, so they merely gossiped a bit during their leisure time. Many men were even jealous of Zu An¡¯s happiness.

    Of course, many youngdies who had witnessed Zu An¡¯s handsomeness that night were also jealous of the Second Empress. They thought, This is a woman who already had a child, and yet she¡¯s taking such a handsome young man for herself! It¡¯s like feeding young grass to an old cow¡­

    However, the ones who arrived were all respected figures. Even though they were all amazed, feeling that the Regent was even more handsome than the rumors imed, they were more surprised about something else. The Regent didn¡¯t seem to have the slightest bit of a ki aura around him. It was as if he were an ordinary person without any cultivation.

    Of course, even though they were curious, none of them suspected anything. After all, he had just killed several grandmasters not too long ago. They all just assumed that his cultivation had already reached the point of returning to one¡¯s true self, and that they just couldn''t see it. As such, they all remained polite and courteous. Nothing unpleasant happened.

    Zu An also received them patiently. After all, he didn¡¯t have much of a foundation in the Fiend King Court right now. Making more friends was better than having more enemies. Of course, that wasn¡¯t the most important thing. The most important thing was that the emissaries all brought abundant gifts, so why would Zu An refuse to meet them?

    Money and precious metals were the basics, but in order to stand out more, they also carefully selected other valuable treasures to offer up. Many of them were helpful for cultivation, medicine, and health, while others were useful for pill refinement and forging. How could Zu An not be excited?

    After taking stock of everything and collecting it into his Brilliant ss Bead, even Zu An couldn''t hide the smile on his face.

    As expected, wealthes quickly with authority! I worked so hard to gather all of my wealth alone, and yet it¡¯s less than what I¡¯ve received over the past few days.

    ¡°May I ask what happened that put such a huge smile on your face?¡± someone asked with a softugh. Zu An turned around and saw a beautiful figure standing nearby, wearing a long dress covered in blue scales.

    ¡°Big sis Shang!¡± Zu An eximed happily.

    The person was none other than Shang Liuyu. She wasn¡¯t dressed in the luxurious princess gown she had worn that night, but rather something more simr to the shy scale dresses he often saw in his previous world¡¯s nightclubs. That kind of dress was very alluring, and yet on her body, it seemed elegant. He had no idea how she was able to aplish such a thing. Her hair was decorated simply with a piece of coral that added a moving, fiery red color to her beautiful hair.

    However, the most eye-catching things were still her wless exposed feet. Whenever she stepped on the ground, a faint ripple of water spread out from beneath her feet. They seemed to vaguely form a lotus diagram, giving her an air of detachment from this world¡¯s vulgarities.

    Shang Liuyu was also a bit lost in her thoughts at the moment. She blinked as she looked at the man in front of her. She knew he had always been good-looking, but she had never been someone who cared too much about appearance. But today, wasn¡¯t he a bit too attractive¡­

    Compared to how he usually looked, he almost seemed to have a faint holy glow around his entire body. He looked pure and refined. When she saw him, it was as if a great azure sea appeared in her mind, with floating clouds and a gentle breeze¡­ She always had a vaguely pleasant impression of him for some reason.

    However, her expression quickly changed. She asked, ¡°Why did your cultivation disappear?¡±

    Compared to his changes in appearance, she was more concerned with that. The Fiend races worshiped power above all. There were countless ambitious individuals with sinister designs in the Fiend King Court. If Zu An didn¡¯t have his cultivation anymore, wouldn¡¯t he be quickly chewed up until there weren¡¯t even bone fragments left?

    ¡°Really?¡± a pleasantly surprised voice asked all of a sudden. Then, a distinctivelyrge mouth appeared. Who else could it be but Chi Wen?

    He was really excited, as if he had heard the best news ever. As the Dragon King¡¯s ninth son, he had always been full of mettle. And yet, after he met this guy, he had faced setback after setback. The power Zu An disyed in the battle a few days prior had already left him in absolute despair. Thus, when he heard that Zu An had be a normal person, it was like music to his ears.

    ¡°Huh? You were here too?¡± Zu An asked in surprise.

    Chi Wen glowered. He snapped, ¡°You only care about my little aunt, so of course you didn¡¯t notice me.¡±

    Shang Liuyu¡¯s face heated up. She shot her nephew a look and eximed, ¡°Watch your mouth!¡± Then, she looked at Zu An worriedly.

    Zu An said with a slight smile, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m fine. Actually, I¡¯m better than ever.¡±

    Concerned that she wouldn¡¯t believe him, he reached out a hand and fired a streak of sword ki. A nearby flower vase quickly had a hole sted through it. The cut was incredibly smooth, and otherwise didn¡¯t damage the vase at all. His control over his power was extremely fine.

    Shang Liuyu sighed in relief when she saw that. In contrast, Chi Wen felt incredible despair. He had thought he could make aeback, and yet harsh reality had struck, raining on his parade once again. He was left feeling incredibly gloomy.

    Up until this point, he had even made sure to dress up in the Dragon Pce¡¯s most luxurious clothes. He had thought he looked really handsome, and thus went to pay the Demon race¡¯s Princess Suolun a visit.

    As for Yun Jianyue, Yan Xuehen, the Medusa Queen, and the Elf Princess, even though they were goddess-like beauties, they were too close to Zu An. After taking his own safety into consideration, he didn¡¯t dare to set his eyes on them.

    However, Princess Suolun was different. He had already asked around and found out that she wasn¡¯t Zu An¡¯s woman. He thus felt his opportunity hade. As such, he had chosen a beautiful pearl from the Dragon Pce as a gift, then dressed himself up in an ¡®incredibly handsome¡¯ fashion to visit Princess Suolun.

    Princess Suolun had received him and expressed her thanks for his gift. But for some reason, their conversation just seemed a bit dry, and her expression had remained rather indifferent. It was almost always Chi Wen talking, bragging about his recent achievements. Meanwhile, the princess¡¯ responses were always ¡®oh¡¯, ¡®haha¡¯, or ¡®I see¡¯.

    Even though Chi Wen really wanted to deceive himself into believing that she was captivated by him, he still had some self-awareness. Compared to Zu An¡¯s appearance that night, he really wasn¡¯t making much of an impression at all.

    But Zu An already had so many beauties! There was no way that the glorious Demon race¡¯s Princess Suolun would willingly lower herself to serve as a concubine, right? That was practically impossible! As such, he had released a deep sigh andunched a second assault on Princess Suolun.

    It might just be a youngdy¡¯s reservations, so maybe she had feelings for me, but was just too embarrassed to show it!

    However, who would have thought that after just a few words, Princess Suolun would yawn and get up, saying she was going to take a bath?

    Chi Wen¡¯s eyes had lit up. She¡¯s going to take a bath, so soon after we started talking? Don¡¯t tell me¡­ She¡¯s actually seducing me?

    Or maybe she¡¯s beenpletely won over by my charm and feels as if she has to dress up a bit better before meeting me? Women care a lot about their appearance, after all.

    Maybe after being so close to me, she became infatuated with my masculinity and became a bit¡­ down there, so she had to wash up?

    He became more and more excited. He wanted to stay there longer, but he ended up getting shooed away by the Demon race¡¯s staff. He was furious!

    These people really don¡¯t have an eye for good things at all! If not for Princess Suolun, this prince would have already taught them a lesson!

    But for the sake of not leaving Princess Suolun with a bad impression, he hadn¡¯t caused any trouble, and just quietly left to show his own elegant demeanor.

    ¡°Princess Suolun is definitely secretly watching me, heheheh¡­¡± When he thought such beautiful thoughts, Chi Wen¡¯s eyes rolled upward and his mouth hung wide open; he even unwittingly stuck out his tongue.

    Shang Liuyu gave her nephew a look of disdain. What is wrong with this kid again?

    She turned to Zu An and said, ¡°Now that the dust has settled here, I have to return to the Ocean races too.¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An was surprised. He was just about to ask more about that when someone came to report that Princess Suolun had arrived to visit him.

    Chi Wen¡¯s eyes immediately lit up. Princess Suolun actually knew I was here and came looking for me?

    She¡¯s so caring and considerate¡­ Where can you find a better woman in this world?

    Once I return, I¡¯ll definitely beg my father to agree to our marriage.

    Then, he saw that Princess Suolun was wearing a fine, extravagant long dress. She¡¯d had makeup done on her pretty face; she wore some powder, and her lips were bright red. Her skin was glowing, and her hair was glossy. Her freshly-bathed body gave off an almost misty air.

    ¡°Princess!¡± Chi Wen eximed as he ran over with a big smile, thinking he had to find a chance to tell her that there was no need for her to go through so much trouble when they met each other, that he liked it no matter what she looked like.

    And yet, who would¡¯ve thought that Princess Suolun didn¡¯t even seem to have seen him? She had a brilliant smile as she sprinted toward Zu An in high spirits, eximing, ¡°Big brother Zu!¡±

    Chi Wen was dumbstruck.

 Chapter 1533: Wedding

    Chapter 1533: Wedding

    ¡°Princess,¡± Zu An said, nodding in greeting. He had to admit that he had a good impression of Princess Suolun. When they were exploring together, she had been willing to stand by his side many times. Besides, she was also pretty.

    In the end, Princess Suolun didn¡¯t throw herself into his arms; perhaps it was due to her reservations as a youngdy, or it was just because she had noticed that there were others present.

    ¡°Big sis Shang, you were here too,¡± Princess Suolun said, blushing with shame. Doesn¡¯t this mean she saw how I was behaving in front of big brother Zu?

    Shang Liuyu voiced her agreement. Then, she gestured toward Zu An, saying, ¡°Clouds gather yet unfold¡¯ karma rises and disperses. All of these are merely transformations of the world, and yet a sh in the grand scheme of things. I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll meet again some day.¡± She left immediately afterward.

    Zu An couldn''t help but sigh in amazement. Ever since the first time he had met Shang Liuyu, he had always taken notice of her free and confident air. She had an extremely unique charm.

    Now that his little aunt had left, Chi Wen could only follow. However, when he passed Princess Suolun, he couldn''t help but call out, ¡°Princess~¡±

    The princess really smells good¡­ I wonder if it¡¯s because she just took a bath or if she wore something else¡­ Or maybe it¡¯s the makeup.

    Princess Suolun eximed in surprise ¡°Huh? You were here too?¡±

    Chi Wen almost vomited blood on the spot. I¡¯ve poured out so much of myself to you, and yet you didn¡¯t even see me?

    However, when he saw her beautiful appearance, he still suppressed his displeasure and tried to tter her.

    Princess Suolun replied to him nonchntly. She didn¡¯t slip up on any of the usual courtesies, but she couldn''t hold back her indifference and estrangement.

    Chi Wen could only console himself by thinking that this woman¡¯s personality was just a bit cold. That was what everyone else had said when he asked around before, and when he went to the Demon races¡¯ temporary official residence, it was indeed that way. She clearly treated everyone like that. As such, he tried to act elegant as he said goodbye to Princess Suolun. Then, he followed his little aunt out.

    When he reached the door, however, he heard a burst of lovableughter. He couldn''t help but turn around. What he saw was that Princess Suolun didn¡¯t have her usual high and noble appearance at all, and instead had a huge smile on her face. She took the initiative to enthusiastically chat with Zu An about something, and her body rocked back and forth withughter.

    In that instant, Chi Wen felt as if he had heard something shatter. He thought, I shouldn¡¯t be here. I should have moved a bit faster. If I had left through the door, I wouldn¡¯t have had to see such a heartbreaking scene¡­

    Meanwhile, Princess Suolun was enthusiastically inviting Zu An to visit the Demon race¡¯s territory whenever he had a chance. Zu An naturally agreed. Who wouldn¡¯t like such a trip done at public expense? He could enjoy some different scenery then!

    Of course, he definitely didn¡¯t have time at the moment. He had to return to the human side. His heart began to sink when he thought about that side¡¯s affairs.

    ¡­

    After Zu An saw Princess Suolun out, he received a few more representatives from the various races. Eventually, however, he got some time to himself. He decided to jump over the courtyard wall and go for a stroll around the outside perimeter.

    Sigh, themon people all want to be the emperor, but being the emperor is so tiring! I¡¯m only a Regent, and yet I won¡¯t even be able to take it anymore at this rate.

    Suddenly, a melodiousugh that resembled a silver bell rang out. Someone called out, ¡°Big brother Zu, where were you nning to go now?¡±

    A youngdy dressed in green appeared. She was petite and lithe, and her hair was tied up in pretty pigtails. A natural and fresh aura emanated from her entire body.

    ¡°I came here to find my Snow, of course,¡± Zu An said. His mood also became much better when he saw her.

    ¡°Tsk, there¡¯s not even an ounce of sinceritying from your voice. You didn¡¯t look for me once these past few days,¡± Qiao Xueying said with a pout; she was clearly a bit unhappy. She had previously been dragged back to the Elf King Manor by her father to learn how to handle various political affairs. All this time, she had been hoping that Zu An would look for her, and yet he had never arrived. Finally, she couldn''t focus on her work anymore, and left to look for him.

    ¡°I was really busy too! I finally found some time to run over here,¡± Zu An said, gesturing toward the endless stream of guests who were lined up outside his door.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to personally visit those smaller ns at all. Just send some random subordinates to deal with them,¡± Qiao Xueying said, hugging his arm. ¡°Let¡¯s go! I¡¯ll show you around the Fiend King Court. This ce ispletely different from Brightmoon City!¡±

    Because of her rtionship with the Crown Princess, they had never been able to show themselves publicly together. Now, they didn¡¯t need to have such misgivings anymore. She felt that the sky was bluer than ever before, and that the sun was brighter and warmer.

    ¡°That sounds great!¡± Zu An replied. He had already been in the Fiend King Court for quite some time, but he had always been busy with different things, so he¡¯d never had a chance to look around at all.

    Qiao Xueying had a huge smile when she saw him agree. She hugged his arm just like that as they strolled through the Fiend King Court.

    However, she suddenly wrinkled her nose after they walked a few steps. She moved her head closer and gave his clothes a sniff, remarking, ¡°What a strong fragrance. Were you with other women just now?¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An was speechless. He replied, ¡°You¡¯re from the Elf race, not the Dog race, so why is your nose so sharp? I was with a few women. The Ocean races¡¯ Mermaid Princess and the Demon race¡¯s Princess Suolun¡­ But that was all proper business. It¡¯s not what you¡¯re thinking.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, you¡¯re the one with the dog nose.¡± Qiao Xueying harrumphed. ¡°I hadn¡¯t expected Miss Shang to be the Mermaid Princess¡­ but that Princess Suolun definitely harbors bad thoughts toward you.¡±

    She didn¡¯t suspect Shang Liuyu, who had a special status, and they had previously interacted back at Brightmoon Academy. But Princess Suolun was different.

    ¡°No way, no way. She only came for proper business,¡± Zu An said.

    ¡°Proper business? Have you seen how her eyes look like slits when she looks at you?¡± Qiao Xueying shot back. However, When she saw that Zu An didn¡¯t reply, she felt a bit guilty. ¡°What? Do you think I¡¯m being a bit annoying right now?¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help butugh, saying, ¡°Not at all. I just remembered that you were just like this when I first met you back in Brightmoon City.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s your fault for being so annoying back then,¡± Qiao Xueying replied, blushing with embarrassment when she remembered what had happened in the past. ¡°Right, back then, you said my boyfriend would definitely have uremia. What does that mean?¡±

    Zu An staggered. He hadn¡¯t expected a joke he made back then to end up biting him in the ass. He replied, ¡°It¡¯s nothing, haha. Pah pah pah, children¡¯s words carry no harm!¡±

    He just happened to see some tanghulu being sold on the side of the street, so he bought some for her.

    ¡°I don¡¯t even like tanghulu! I like melon seeds,¡± Qiao Xueying said. Despite that, she still licked the tanghulu with her little tongue. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect the Fiend King Court to have tanghulu that tastes so good, though.¡±

    Her face suddenly turned red as she licked it. She hit Zu An lightly with her fists, eximing, ¡°You scoundrel, I know what that uremia you were talking about meant!¡±

    Zu An became depressed. Wasn¡¯t buying tanghulu for her basically giving her hints? No wonder they said married women weren¡¯t as innocent as little girls anymore¡­

    After the two of them y-fought for a while, Qiao Xueying exined the surrounding environments to him, as well as introducing several famous spots. Every single ce was rted to the glorious history of a powerful figure in the Fiend races. Everything was very interesting.

    When he felt the warm and soft sensation next to him, Zu An thought, Even t washboards have their pros. He couldn''t help but feel gentle when he heard the excitement and high spirits in Qiao Xueying¡¯s voice. He said, ¡°Snow, I have a gift for you.¡±

    ¡°Do we need to be so formal to each other?¡± Qiao Xueying replied. Despite that, the eagerness in her eyes was obvious.

    Zu An held her hand, then ced a ring on her slender finger.

    ¡°This ring looks so ugly,¡± Qiao Xueying said. Despite sounding as if she looked down on it, however, her expression was full of joy. There was one simrity between this world and Zu An¡¯s previous one, which was that rings weren¡¯t randomly given out. They often represented love or marriage.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t a normal ring; it¡¯s called the Universe Ring. It can change in size, and it can also serve as a defensive artifact for you¡­¡± Zu An exined the Universe Ring¡¯s functions and use to her. He didn¡¯t need this kind of treasure anymore, but it was really useful for Snow.

    ¡°Big brother Zu, you¡¯re so good to me!¡± Qiao Xueying eximed. She naturally knew the value of a heaven-grade weapon. She couldn''t hold back her feelings and jumped into Zu An¡¯s arms. She got up onto her toes and kissed him.

    While the two of them were flirting with each other, someone suddenly coughed lightly and remarked, ¡°Ahem, did Ie at a bad time?¡±

    ¡°Ah, dad!¡± Qiao Xueying eximed, suddenly looking like a frightened rabbit. She quickly ran off to one side to hide herself, covering her face in embarrassment.

    Zu An was also a bit embarrassed when he saw the outstanding Great Elf King. He said, ¡°Greetings, respected uncle.¡±

    ¡°You already stole my daughter, but you still have the nerve to call me uncle?¡± the Great Elf King harrumphed in dissatisfaction. ¡°There¡¯s quite a bit of gossip going around surrounding Snow. Seeing as we¡¯ve bumped into each other today, let¡¯s set the marriage day. You¡¯re the Regent now, so you shouldn¡¯t have so many misgivings. Let''s decide on a date and get this marriage over with.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Zu An eximed, stunned.

 Chapter 1534: Huge Loss

    <h4>Chapter 1534: Huge Loss</h4>

    Zu An was at a loss. He had so many beautiful women at his side. If he married her but didn¡¯t marry the others, he would be favoring one and discriminating against the others!

    ¡°Hm? What, are you not willing?¡± the Great Elf King continued, glowering when he saw Zu An¡¯s reaction.

    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I? Father-inw must be mistaken!¡± Zu An eximed, quickly revealing an apologetic smile. ¡°I was just caught off guard with happiness. Father-inw didn¡¯t even want me to greet you too intimately not too long ago.¡±

    The Great Elf King choked. Zu An had indeed called him ¡®father-inw¡¯ from their first greeting, and yet it was he who had told Zu An to call him uncle with a cold expression. He really had kicked himself in the foot there¡­

    He cleared his throat and continued, ¡°Then you agree?¡±

    ¡°Of course! Taking Snow as my wife would be my honor!¡± Zu An replied decisively. This wasn¡¯t a question that would allow for hesitation. He could only agree for now and think about the consequencester.

    Of course, he was also being sincere. Even though he had been separated from Snow for a long time, their affection was still deep. Furthermore, she had even shared half of her lifespan with him, so how could he let her down now?

    Snow¡¯s eyes shone brilliantly when she heard that. Her fairplexion revealed both embarrassment and happiness. She had been clinging enthusiastically to Zu An before, and yet now, she was so embarrassed she didn¡¯t even dare to look at him too much.

    The Great Elf King¡¯s expression cleared up a bit. He suddenly felt that this seemingly ordinary man now looked a bit more handsome.

    Zu An then said, ¡°But the Medusa Queen and I have already pledged our undying love, and I can¡¯t let her down either. We might have to get married together.¡±

    He figured that he might as well take the chance to wed Yu Yanluo too. Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue had already left, so he didn¡¯t have to worry about them. As for the Second Empress, her status made it so that they could never reveal their rtionship publicly.

    Either way, he would be getting married under the identity of Regent, so it was fine even if the news got back to the human side. What did the marriage of a Regent here matter to the aunties and uncles back on the human side?

    ¡°Medusa Queen?¡± the Great Elf King repeated, his brows furrowing. ¡°She¡¯s alright in terms of appearance. Letting her in the harem wouldn¡¯t be shaming our Elf Race too much.¡±

    ¡°Dad¡­¡± Qiao Xueying tugged on his sleeves worriedly.

    Zu An spoke up and said, ¡°Father-inw might have misunderstood. I don¡¯t intend to make the Medusa Queen a concubine.¡±

    The Great Elf King immediately erupted with fury. ¡°What? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re going to make our Elf Princess a concubine?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled the Great Elf King for +666 +666 +666¡­

    ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant¡­¡± Zu An began, but before he could even finish, he was already cut off again.

    ¡°Hmph, you damn kid, do you think this king is scared of drawing blood?¡± the Great Elf King said threateningly. However, he quickly remembered that Zu An had easily killed several grandmasters, so he no longer had as much confidence. ¡°Even if I can¡¯t do it alone, our Elf race still has many strong individuals.¡±

    Zu An exined, ¡°Father-inw has misunderstood! I¡¯m not making either the Medusa Queen or Snow be a concubine, but rather, I think our family shouldn¡¯t have so many rules. We won¡¯t decide who is higher and lower; they¡¯ll all be wives.¡±

    ¡°Hah!¡± the Great Elf King sneered. ¡°That¡¯s just wishful thinking. Even the Fiend Emperor and Human Emperor only have a single empress. The rest are all just concubines. Are you more formidable than the two of them?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯ve just never had this kind of intention. That doesn¡¯t mean they couldn¡¯t make such a thing happen,¡± Zu An said, his tone full of sincerity. ¡°Regardless of whether father-inw believes me or not, that¡¯s what I really think.¡±

    ¡°Nonsense,¡± the Great Elf King snapped, feeling that Zu An¡¯s answer waspletely rebelling against social norms.

    He was just about to say something else when Qiao Xueying stopped him, saying, ¡°Dad, I¡¯m still young. There¡¯s no rush for this kind of thing¡­¡±

    The Great Elf King was about to be even angrier when he quickly said to himself, ¡°This won¡¯t do¡­ Getting too angry will harm my liver and cause my skin to wrinkle¡­¡±

    He took a few deep breaths, then said to Zu An, ¡°Think things over properly. I don¡¯t want to hear such childish words again in the future.¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Afterward, he didn¡¯t wait for Qiao Xueying to retort, and simply took her away.

    ¡­

    When they got some distance away, the Great Elf King finally let go of his daughter. Qiao Xueying pouted and asked, ¡°Dad, why did you break us up?¡±

    ¡°Dumb girl, do you understand that willingly putting yourself in these kinds of losing situations won¡¯t do you any good?¡± the Great Elf King snapped angrily as he looked at his daughter.

    ¡°Who said I was doing that? Look, big brother Zu even gave me something great,¡± Qiao Xueying said, reaching out a hand for him to see.

    When he saw the red fruit in her hands, the Great Elf King¡¯s eyelids twitched. He asked, ¡°You were won over by just a single tanghulu?¡±

    In that instant, he even began to wonder if he had carried her the wrong way back then when he was at war. Of course, he didn¡¯t suspect his wife of doing something that would let him down while she was pregnant. After all, he was so handsome; how could she have betrayed him for another man?

    Qiao Xueying¡¯s face reddened. She shouted, ¡°Look at the ring, the ring!¡±

    Only then did the Great Elf King notice the ring on her finger. He knew he had ended up thinking the wrong thing. He remarked, ¡°Hmph, this ring¡¯s appearance is so rough. It doesn¡¯t even have any engravings; how ugly! You can tell¡­ Huh? This is a heaven-grade weapon?¡±

    He was the Great Elf King, so he naturally had great knowledge. He quickly recognized it.

    ¡°Yeah. This thing can both be used in battle and change in size. Big brother Zu gave it to me so I could protect myself, and he even made it into a ring. He clearly thought about it a lot,¡± Qiao Xueying said, gently rubbing the ring with a blissful smile on her face.

    ¡°Hmph, look at how you¡¯re acting from just a trifling heaven-grade artifact. You need to grow up!¡± the Great Elf King said; despite his words, however, his mood had still improved considerably.

    Heaven-grade weapons weren¡¯t too rare for the Great Elf King Manor, but they were still precious. Furthermore, there were also good and bad heaven-grade weapons. The aura this item gave off and the fact that it could change meant that it was of high quality among heaven-grade weapons.

    That brat at least has some conscience.

    ¡°Go back with me and stay there obediently. A woman will fall at a disadvantage if she¡¯s too proactive,¡± the Great Elf King lectured his daughter with a meaningful and sincere tone.

    Qiao Xueying pouted and grumbled, ¡°Weren¡¯t there many aunties who went after you? They were much more proactive than me, and yet you weren¡¯t opposed to it.¡±

    The Great Elf King almost choked on his own saliva. He retorted, ¡°Why else do you think I¡¯m speaking to you like this? It¡¯sing from someone experienced! If you weren¡¯t my daughter, would I say all of this? Sigh, who would¡¯ve thought that I would father a daughter who would cost me so much? Is this retribution?¡±

    ¡°Can you use nicer words? If you keep acting like this, I¡¯m going to smash that mirror of yours!¡± Qiao Xueying eximed.

    ¡°You dare? ¡­Hmph, I won¡¯t say those things anymore, alright¡­¡± the Great Elf King muttered.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An was hesitant about whether to chase after them. Suddenly, however, several Golden Crow Guards came to report that the Second Empress wanted to meet him.

    Zu An was a bit confused. The Second Empress had sent for him in a very straightforward manner, which meant there was something important to take care of. As such, he followed them to a grand and imposing building.

    ¡°The Crown Prince Manor?¡± Zu An eximed, startled. In that instant, he even wondered whether the remaining forces of the Crown Prince were trying to harm him.

    However, all of those suspicions were quickly erased when he saw an extravagant carriage. The curtains fluttered, and a pleasant fragrance wafted through the air. It was the Second Empress¡¯ personal carriage.

    The Second Empress quickly emerged with the assistance of a maid. She was dressed in a light golden pce gown. Even though it wasn¡¯t as grand as what she had worn during the offering rituals and other ceremonies, she was still gorgeous and noble. Her hair was tied up gracefully, embedded with all sorts of precious gemstone decorations. She wore red phoenix eye makeup and had bright red lips. As she walked, her waist elegantly swayed back and forth in an alluring rhythm.

    ¡°Greetings, your highness!¡± Zu An eximed. He had to show proper etiquette while they were in front of other people.

    ¡°There is no need for excessive formality, Regent. Do you know why I called you over here today?¡± the Second Empress asked. Her demeanor had only be more dignified after she became the Empress Dowager, but when she saw Zu An, her gaze became gentler. Only she knew how powerful this man was, in every sense of the word.

    ¡°I must request for your highness¡¯ enlightenment,¡± Zu An said, his expression warm. No one else could guess just how wild the two of them had been in private.

    The Second Empress didn¡¯t keep him in suspense. With a look, her subordinates by the doorway quickly tore off the red silk on the door, revealing the new words ¡®Regent Manor¡¯.

    ¡°I initially wanted to prepare a new King Manor for you, but that would take a long time. The ce you are residing in currently is too simple and crude, so I remodeled the Crown Prince Manor a bit for you. The only ce in the entire Fiend King Court that is fitting for you, apart from the Imperial Pce, is the former Crown Prince¡¯s manor,¡± the Second Empress said, gesturing for him toe inside and take a look.

    Zu An followed her in. Before he could even admire the grandeur of the architecture inside, he was frightened to see many people kneeling on the ground. In particr, there were several women kneeling at the forefront; even though their heads were lowered, it was clear that their bodies were charming and their skin was fine. Just a quick nce told him that they were all outstanding beauties.

    When she saw his shock, the Second Empress said with a smile, ¡°I helped you to change out the servants and maids. You can take a look and see if they are to your liking. Right, the ones in the front were the Crown Prince¡¯s former concubines. If you find any of them to your liking, you can keep them to warm your bed. The Fiend King Court¡¯s winters get quite cold at night.¡±

    Zu An jumped in fright and said, ¡°There¡¯s no need. I don¡¯t have that kind of fetish.¡±

    The Crown Prince knew how to enjoy himself, huh? Even though he didn¡¯t formally take on a Crown Princess, he still had so many concubines in the manor.

    ¡°Is that so?¡± the Second Empress replied, giving him a look. She clearly didn¡¯t believe him at all after their intimate experience. ¡°If you don¡¯t want them, we¡¯ll send them to the government brothel.¡±

    She clearly still had a grudge from the Crown Prince¡¯s prior bullying.

    Zu An was speechless.

    Favorite

 Chapter 1535: Coming Out

    Chapter 1535: Coming Out

    Zu An glowered and said, ¡°Aren¡¯t you practically forcing me to do something wrong here? Just let them go; they¡¯re all pitiful women.¡±

    He had to say that those who caught the Crown Prince¡¯s eyes were all top-quality beauties. Together with the temptation of the fact that they had belonged to another man¡­ He knew that if it had been before he crossed over, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to resist such a temptation. But now, he naturally wouldn¡¯t do such a thing.

    ¡°Pitiful? These people lived lives of luxury and normally strutted around, bullying themon people. Can you really call them pitiful people?¡± the Second Empress sneered. Then, she looked around before saying with a chuckle, ¡°But seeing as you requested it, I have to grant you that favor. There is no way we can just let them go, but we can choose not to send them to the government brothel. We will keep them under house arrest for a while. They were the people closest to the Crown Prince, so we cannot be certain if any of them are concealing malice.¡±

    Zu An nodded. He knew her worries were reasonable. The youngest prince¡¯s throne wasn¡¯t all that stable, so they had to be exceptionally careful with such things.

    After handling the Crown Prince manor¡¯s staff, Second Empress took Zu An inside to look around, while introducing the different parts of his new home.

    Zu An recalled just how frightening housing prices had been in his previous world. Buying a house in the capital would have been nothing more than an extravagant hope for countless people, let alone one so big.

    As he looked around, Zu An felt as if he were touring Prince Gong Mansion[1] from his previous world. It really wasrge and luxurious, and yet also peaceful and elegant. That Crown Prince really had known how to enjoy himself.

    And yet, in the end, all of this had be his? He had been so used to being a ve to hisndlord in his previous world that he felt as if he were dreaming.

    ¡°The room up ahead was the Crown Prince¡¯s study. Normally, no one is allowed close to it,¡± the Second Empress said. She paused for a moment, then ordered her subordinates, ¡°I have something to discuss with the Regent. All of you are to stand guard outside.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± the pce maids replied, all bowing slightly.

    Zu An followed the Second Empress into the study. They didn¡¯t close the door, as closing it in front of so many eunuchs and maids could cause rumors to go out of control. It wouldn¡¯t be good for them if such news got out.

    When the Second Empress entered, she walked up to the desk. Zu An asked with a smile, ¡°Your highness, do you have any orders for me?¡±

    The Crown Prince Study was top-notch in terms of privacy. Their conversation wouldn¡¯t reach outside ears. The Second Empress had taken him all the way here to speak to him. Could it be that there was something she wanted to say that she couldn''t speak of publicly in the pce? Or were there spies afoot?

    ¡°How could I dare to order you? Only you can order me around, my great perfect shot king~¡± the Second Empress replied when she was sure no one else could hear them, the dignified appearance she had presented fading away. She looked at him with a flirtatious expression.

    Zu An immediately thought of the events of that night when he heard her special tone. A me ignited inside him. The Second Empress bit her red lip and looked at him with a smile, her misty eyes seemingly giving him a silent invitation. This woman really was a natural-born subus!

    How could Zu An hold himself back anymore? He threw himself forward!

    ¡°Don¡¯t dirty my clothes, or else they¡¯ll be able to tell outside¡­¡± the Second Empress quickly warned him.

    Zu An replied a bit dejectedly, ¡°Then what do we do?¡±

    Even though the Second Empress was dressed rtively simply today, she was still a respected Empress Dowager. Even her most basic clothes needed many maids to put on. She walked up to a desk, then bent her upper body over a table. She raised her dress a bit, then turned around to look at him, saying, ¡°Like this¡­¡±

    Zu An felt as if he were about to erupt like a volcano. What man could resist such a temptation? He immediately pressed himself against her.

    ¡°Ah~¡± Second Empress held her hands tightly in front of her mouth for fear that the sound would reach outside. Her eyes were filled with happiness.

    ¡­

    ¡°No wonder you took me so deep inside. And here I thought you really had something important you wanted to say to me.¡±

    ¡°What, is this not important enough?¡±

    ¡°...Yeah, it is pretty important.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re so annoying~ If only I didn¡¯t have so many followers around me. There¡¯s no way to send them all away¡­¡±

    ¡°Hm? Aren¡¯t all of your attendants your trusted aides? Many of them were the same maids who were at your pcest time.¡±

    ¡°You know my status is sensitive, so it¡¯s better if fewer people know. I don¡¯t want my son to think I¡¯m a bad mother either.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t he already calling me ¡®dad¡¯? It¡¯s fine even if he knows.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re so annoying~¡±

    ¡­

    A whileter, a maid suddenly reported, ¡°Your highness, the Medusa Queen hase. She seems to be looking for the Regent.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± The two inside both trembled. Only after a few seconds passed did the Second Empress reply, ¡°Invite her into the lounge to wait a bit. Make sure to bring out some tea and take good care of her.¡±

    ¡°Understood~¡± the maid replied as she slowly left, but she was a bit curious. Her highness¡¯ voice seemed to be a bit strange, sounding strangelyzy and sweet. It left her a bit rmed.

    The two inside breathed heavily. They had both be far more sensitive because there were people standing guard outside. Between that and the stimtion of the Medusa Queen¡¯s arrival, it was as if sparks had met explosives.

    The Second Empress stood up. She carefully lowered her dress and sorted out her clothes to make sure there weren¡¯t any wrinkles or other traces. A radiant smile and a pink blush spread across her face as she remarked, ¡°I really am jealous of the Medusa Queen, that she can be with you all the time even in public.¡±

    Zu An adjusted the side table, which had almost copsed, propping it back up. He replied, ¡°You can too. Just call for me whenever you miss me, your highness.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re the one who said it. You¡¯d better not go back on your word!¡± the Second Empress replied, her eyes lighting up.

    ¡°Of course,¡± Zu An said. He had to admit that the Second Empress really was naturally charming. He really wondered just what in the world thete Fiend Emperor had been thinking by leaving her all alone.

    The Second Empress sighed inwardly. She knew that considering their status, that waspletely impossible. She said, ¡°Let¡¯s go back out. We don¡¯t want the Medusa Queen to wait for too long.¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    However, after taking only a few steps, she suddenly let out a strange noise. Her face immediately turned red. She looked at Zu An in embarrassment.

    Zu An was a bit worried, asking, ¡°Won¡¯t we be found out by the maids?¡±

    After all, whether it was an Empress Dowager or an empress, there was no way they could wash their own clothes. Those would all be given to the servants to take care of. How could they hide anything then?

    The Second Empress bit her lip and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll use my cultivation to hold in the stuff inside my body.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He recalled some movie lines from his previous world. But that female master had forced it out; why was the empress doing the opposite?

    ¡­

    The two of them quickly arrived at the lounge together. Even the Second Empress, an incredible beauty in her own right, couldn''t help but be surprised to see a stunning figure wrapped in a snow-white fox coat; and yet, it didn¡¯t make the Medusa Queen seem too bulky, and only made her seem noble and elegant. It was almost like seeing a plum blossom tree amid a pure snowy mountain.

    When she saw Yu Yanluo¡¯s exceptional appearance and starry, resplendent eyes, the Second Empress sighed. It seemed trying to win over Zu An purely through her own beauty would be impossible.

    However, she soon gathered her thoughts. After exchanging a few words with Yu Yanluo while maintaining a gentle attitude, she noticed that Yu Yanluo was holding a heater. She thus ordered her subordinates to send skilled workers to create warming instations in the Snake race¡¯s new residence.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s eyes lit up. She immediately developed a much better impression of the Second Empress. It really was very difficult for the Snake race to endure the Fiend King Court¡¯s winters.

    The two chatted happily for a while longer before the Second Empress got up to leave. Her status was special, so Yu Yanluo didn¡¯t find it too strange either. As the other woman started to leave, she couldn''t help but quietly say s with a sigh, ¡°Your highness¡¯plexion is so good. It doesn¡¯t seem as if¡­¡±

    She wanted to say that the Second Empress didn¡¯t look like a new widow at all, but she quickly realized that it would be a bit disrespectful, so she shut her mouth.

    Zu An thought, She¡¯s been irrigated day after day, so how can she not look great? However, worried that she would notice something, he quickly asked, ¡°Huh? You already broke through into the master rank?¡±

    ¡°Yes! With the help of the Holy Pearl, it became much easier to awaken my bloodline power,¡± Yu Yanluo said, looking quite proud. Suddenly, she gave Zu An a look. Her expression immediately changed as she eximed, ¡°Huh? Something¡¯s not right with you!¡±

    1. Prince Gong''s Mansion, also known as the Prince Kung Mansion, is a museum and tourist attraction located in Xicheng District, Beijing, just north of the Shichahai Lake. It consists ofrge siheyuan-style mansions and gardens. Originally constructed for Heshen, an official highly favored by the Qianlong Emperor, it waster renamed after Prince Gong, a Manchu prince and influential statesman of thete Qing dynasty, who inhabited the mansion in thete 19th century. ?

 Chapter 1536: Ambush

    Chapter 1536: Ambush

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Zu An asked, startled. Could it be that she¡¯s already found out about what I did with the Second Empress earlier? Is it because I still have some of the Second Empress¡¯ smell on me?

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you have any ki aura around you? You don¡¯t seem any different from a normal person,¡± Yu Yanluo said, looking at him worriedly.

    Zu An couldn''t help but blush with shame. She¡¯s showing me such concern, and yet I¡¯m thinking all of these nonsensical thoughts. He replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m fine. This is only because my cultivation method is a bit special¡­¡±

    Yu Yanluo was still worried after she heard his exnation. Only after she checked his pulse and sensed that there was nothing wrong did she feel at ease. She said, ¡°Your cultivation method really is unique. Anyone who lowers their guard around you might end up paying a heavy price.¡±

    Zu An chuckled, replying, ¡°You¡¯re making me sound like a tiger dressed up as a pig or something.¡±

    ¡­

    After the two chatted for a while longer, Yu Yanluo¡¯s attention returned to the residence. She said, ¡°I went over to your ce to look for you. When I heard that the Second Empress bestowed a new Regent Manor on you, I came over to give this ce a try. I didn¡¯t expect you to really be here, though. To be honest, the Second Empress really treats you quite well.¡±

    Zu An thought, It was more than just ¡®well¡¯. We couldn''t possibly know each other better! She knows what parts of me are longer and shorter, and I know her depth.

    ¡°Still, you practically promoted the youngest prince single-handedly. This is actually something you deserve,¡± Yu Yanluo said with a sigh. In the past, it wouldn¡¯t have been difficult for her to gift Zu An with such a residence. After all, she had once been one of the wealthiest n leaders in the world. But after what had happened to the Yu n, that wasn¡¯t so easy anymore.

    ¡°Alright, let''s not think about those things anymore. Come and pick a courtyard you like!¡± Zu An said, pulling her into the manor to look around.

    ¡°Ah¡­ We¡¯re not rted to each other yet, so this is a bit improper, right¡­¡± Yu Yanluo protested weakly, but despite that, she still couldn¡¯t hold back from following him. She looked around with her beautiful eyes. All women had a sort of natural desire for decoration, after all.

    ¡°What do you mean we¡¯re not rted to each other?¡± Zu An replied, wrapping his arm around her slender waist. ¡°The Great Elf King came up to me to discuss my marriage with Snow, but I said I wanted to take both of you as my wives at the same time.¡±

    ¡°Ah?!¡± Yu Yanluo eximed, feeling both pleasantly surprised and embarrassed. However, after being the Yu n¡¯s lord for so many years, she quickly realized that replying like that in front of the Great Elf King definitely wouldn¡¯t make him happy. Furthermore, her own status was special¡­

    She sighed and said with a conflicted expression, ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about me too much. I still have my status as Cloudcenter Duke¡¯s madam, so it won¡¯t be good for your reputation if I marry you. You and Miss Qiao can get married by yourselves.¡±

    Zu An held her hand, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯ll be the marriage between the Regent and the Medusa Queen. Who cares what Madam Yu in Cloudcenter thinks? You don¡¯t have to worry about such things.¡±

    Yu Yanluo was really moved by his words, nodding slightly. Still, she retained enough of her intellect to reply, ¡°Even though the Fiend races¡¯ territory and the human territory are far from each other, many merchants stille and go between them. If news got back, it wouldn¡¯t escape the ears of those with ulterior motives.

    ¡°The rest of the world believes Cloudcenter Duke hasn¡¯t died yet. If you ever need to use Cloudcenter Duke¡¯s resources, as the Commandery Duke¡¯s wife, I¡¯ll naturally have a lot of say in that. In that case, I¡¯ll be able to help you aplish some things. Right now, the world looks peaceful, but there are actually many sinister ns brewing in the shadows. We can¡¯t give up Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s foundation so easily just like that.¡±

    ¡°But you¡¯ll be wronged then,¡± Zu An said with a frown.

    ¡°That¡¯s not being wronged at all! I don¡¯t want to bepletely bound to the Fiend races either; I want to return to the Yu n one day too. This feels pretty good to me,¡± Yu Yanluo said to make him feel better. ¡°Alright! Let¡¯s stop thinking about these things. Hurry up and take me in to choose a room.¡±

    ¡°In that case, I just won¡¯t get married for now. We¡¯ll just wait until the situation bes clearer,¡± Zu An said. When he sensed Yu Yanluo¡¯s meticulous care, he felt that he really was the most fortunate man in the entire world.

    Yu Yanluo was a bit worried, saying, ¡°But if you do that, won¡¯t the princess¡¯ side¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Snow isn¡¯t in a rush either, and she¡¯s still really young to begin with,¡± Zu An said as he pulled her inside to choose a room.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s frown gradually disappeared when she saw the elegant and secluded rooms inside.

    ¡­

    Whenever there were some people who were happy, there were others in the world who weren¡¯t so happy.

    At the moment, Sang Hong was feeling quite distressed. In order to stall for time for Zu An toe back, he had really racked his brains in every way to slow down the Imperial Envoy¡¯s return to the capital. If it wasn¡¯t mountain brigands, it was bandits. He had even assumed the role of a just and incorruptible official, helping the nearby provinces¡¯mon people preside over injustices.

    In the end, however, the capital couldn''t take it anymore. The emperor was furious and had sent a messenger criticizing him, forcing him to return as quickly as possible. When he felt the clear wrath in that decree. Sang Hong could onlyugh bitterly to himself. He had no idea what kind of punishment awaited him once he returned to the capital.

    Still, what was happening to him was nothing significantpared to the bigger issue of Zu An¡¯s disappearance. Just how great of a crime was colluding with the Fiend races?!

    The only thing that was worth being happy about was finally receiving the news that his daughter-inw Zheng Dan was pregnant. Previously, many letters from home had gone missing due to the distance of Cloudcenter Commandery, its messy political situation, and various problems with the Devil Sect and bandits.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Of course, he knew it wasn¡¯t Zheng Dan who was pregnant, but rather Qien¡¯er who was pregnant. However, in order to pull the wool over people¡¯s eyes and make them think it was Sang Qian¡¯s posthumous child, they h ad decided to deliver the message that way.

    ¡°Finally¡­ In the end, I didn¡¯t be the Sang n¡¯s greatest sinner,¡± Sang Hong murmured, shedding tears of joy. He felt that everything he had done so far was worth it. That outrageous bet had all been worth it.

    ¡°But unfortunately, I still can¡¯t contact Ah Zu,¡± he muttered. He had tried to contact Zu An through the recording mirror, but for some reason, he couldn''t reach Zu An at all.

    His majesty had eventually sent a specialist to monitor his quick return to the capital, so he couldn''t even use the mirror as easily anymore. Otherwise, the emperor could discover that Ah Zu was in the Fiend race territory.

    ¡°Sir Sang, Silkworm City is just up ahead,¡± an imperial guard approached and said, pointing at the distant city wall.

    Sang Hong frowned. Silkworms eat mulberry leaves¡­ This city¡¯s name isn¡¯t auspicious for me at all¡­[1]

    Still, he couldn''t help butugh soon afterward. It was because the city was good at raising silkworms and was a major producer of silk that it had obtained its name. They weren¡¯t that far from the capital city, anyway. What kinds of problems could even happen when they were in the emperor¡¯s domain?

    Silkworm City¡¯s local officials rushed out to greet the Imperial Envoy. They said that, as the city was small, it couldn¡¯t hold many people. In response, Sang Hong expressed his understanding. This wasn¡¯t the first time such a thing had happened. As such, he had the apanying Armed Escort Division remain outside the city while he took a dozen or so of his own attendants into the city.

    Gao Ying had remained in Cloudcenter Commandery to continue serving as its military officer, maintaining the bnce of power there. Pei You had been worried that Gao Ying wouldn¡¯t be able to keep the various forces of Cloudcenter Commandery under control on his own, so he had stayed behind to help out.

    Of course, Sang Hong wasn¡¯t all that convinced by that answer. That guy could just have stuck around to hang out in Cloudcenter¡¯s brothels because he was reluctant to return. After all, he¡¯d be constantly under his n¡¯s watchful eye if he were back in the capital. He couldn''t do whatever he wanted there.

    The Embroidered Envoy¡¯s Xiao Jianren, as well as Dai Seventh and Chen Eighth, had both returned to their posts ahead of time. They were part of the Embroidery House, so they couldn¡¯t waste time with the main troop.

    After experiencing an enthusiastic evening banquet, Sang Hong returned to his room while feeling a bit tipsy. He was normally a careful person and never drank too much, but because his daughter had gotten pregnant, the huge weight on his chest had finally been moved aside. He drank a bit more as a result of his happiness.

    He slept into the night in a daze, when he was suddenly roused awake by a noise outside. He looked out the window and saw fiery light flickering fiercely. The smell of smoke spread through the air.

    ¡°A fire!¡± he eximed, quickly reacting to what was happening. He hurriedly grabbed some clothes and ran out.

    The members of the Imperial Envoy ran out one after another. Many of them were still sleeping. The others quickly rushed over to wake them up, while the ry station¡¯s men all did their best to put out the fire. The entire ce was an absolute mess.

    When he looked at the raging fire, Sang Hong suddenly felt as if he had been jolted awake. Such a ferocious me definitely wasn¡¯t natural! As a connoisseur of scheming himself, he felt goosebumps all over his body.

    ¡°Go! We¡¯re leaving this city!¡± he called out, quickly summoning his subordinates and rushing to flee. As long as he could reunite with the army outside the city, he would be safe. Unless the attackers had a massive army, there was no way they could defeat the elite Armed Escort Division made up of several hundred members. However, this ce was too close to the capital, so such a thing would be impossible.

    Suddenly, arge group of masked marksmen appeared around the ry station, firing a concentrated barrage of arrows that covered every angle. Several of Sang Hong¡¯s men immediately copsed.

    Sang Hong was about to deal with the archers when a ck rift suddenly opened up behind him. A slender, pitch-ck sword stabbed at the vital point beneath his ribs with lightning speed, striking like a viper!

    1. ¡¯Mulberry¡¯ in Chinese is ¡®Sang¡¯, the same character as Sang Hong¡¯s surname. ?

 Chapter 1537: Anything Is Possible with Determination

    <h4>Chapter 1537: Anything Is Possible with Determination</h4>

    In the end, Sang Hong was still a powerful cultivator who had already been famous for a long time. In such a moment of imminent peril, he had managed to avoid the most dangerous attack. However, there was still a deep, bloody gash across his chest. It was as expected of a dark elf¡¯s attack; they were the best of the best in terms of assassination.

    ¡°Shadow Group!¡± Sang Hong eximed, recognizing the assassin¡¯s outfit. He couldn''t help but yell in shock and anger, ¡°How brazen! You actually dare to assassinate the Imperial Envoy!¡±

    Even though the Shadow Group was famous for being mysterious, as long as one paid enough money, they were able to go after any target. However, as an assassin organization, they still had some unwritten rules. They were willing to assassinate officials, but they were still careful about their targets. The targets usually weren¡¯t individuals with especially sensitive statuses.

    For example, even though Sang Hong¡¯s official position wasn¡¯t that high, he was still the Imperial Envoy, making him an important minister. He represented the dignity of the court. If even an Imperial Envoy could be killed, the court would definitely be furious, not hesitating to pay any price to punish the offender. That was why assassin organizations like the Shadow Group normally didn¡¯t take such risks in their assignments.

    ¡°Hah, I don¡¯t know anything about an Imperial Envoy or anything like that. All I know is that you¡¯ve offended the wrong person, and they don¡¯t want you to return to the capital,¡± the ck-d assassin said with a sinisterugh. Then, he rushed at Sang Hong like a swooping owl.

    The others from the Imperial Envoy¡¯s group came out to offer their assistance. Unfortunately, another group of assassins rushed forth. Even though there were capable members among the Imperial Envoy¡¯s group, they had been roused awake by a sudden fire in the middle of the night and didn¡¯t even have their clothes on properly, let alone being equipped with weapons. Some hadn¡¯t even escaped from the fire in time. How could they be a match for several well-prepared killers? They quickly copsed in pools of blood. It was a one-sided massacre.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Just then, the recording mirror in Sang Hong¡¯s room shone, receiving a call from the other side. Unfortunately, it was hidden within fiery mes, and no one could hear anything. As the mes eventually covered everything, the mirrorcrackedfrom the heat, its surface dimming.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An frowned as he watched the recording mirror darken. If that happened, it either meant his call had been refused, or there was something wrong with the mirror itself.

    Previously, he had been inside the Xia Dynasty¡¯s Unknown Region the entire time. He hadn¡¯t been able to contact the outside world then. After he emerged, he had been caught up in the struggle over the Fiend Emperor position. Now, he finally had some free time and wanted to contact Sang Hong, and yet he discovered that he couldn''t.

    ¡°Could it be that something happened to them?¡± Zu An muttered with a frown. He looked toward the south and sank into his own thoughts.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± a gentle voice called from behind him. Yu Yanluo sat up on the bed, holding the covers in front of her chest. Her beautiful hair fell across her snow-white skin like a waterfall. It really was one of the most beautiful sights in the world.

    ¡°Sorry for waking you up,¡± Zu An said somewhat apologetically. He gave her a summary of what had happened. ¡°It¡¯s already been quite some time since I left the human side, so it¡¯s time for me to go back.¡±

    Yu Yanluo voiced her understanding, even though her expression was full of reluctance. She was now the Snake race¡¯s leader, and she had been able to secure many benefits for them. That left her with many things to do, so she really couldn''t leave. Still, she didn¡¯t stop him in the end and instead consoled him gently, saying, ¡°You came to the Fiend Races because of me, so how can I stop you from going back?¡±

    When he saw her broken-hearted expression, Zu An said quietly, ¡°I¡¯ll try to clear your name when I return. One day, you¡¯ll be able to return to the Yu n.¡±

    Even though Yu Yanluo did have the Medusa bloodline, she was also half-human. Furthermore, with the way she had conducted herself over the years, she had never done anything to let down the human race. And yet, in the end, she had been schemed against and had no ce left to stay on the human side. That was a debt that had to be repaid.

    Yu Yanluo was a bit moved too. Compared to the Fiend races, she was still more used to life with the humans. But in the end, she still shook her head and said, ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to give yourself that much pressure. Based on what I know, Zhao Han is only treating you as a de. A de is something that can easily be thrown away. If you¡¯re ever unhappy with the human side, you can just return here. You¡¯re the Fiend races¡¯ Regent here, and you even have me and little sister Snow, the Mermaid Princess, as well as the Demon race¡¯s Princess. All of them are close to you. You and the Second Empress already have that kind of rtionship too. You don¡¯t have to put up with anyone you don¡¯t want to.¡±

    Zu An chuckled in embarrassment, saying, ¡°So you already knew.¡±

    ¡°Her smell is all over you; it wasn¡¯t hard to figure out at all,¡± Yu Yanluo said with a sigh.

    ¡°Sorry,¡± Zu An said, sweating nervously.

    Yu Yanluo shook her head and replied, ¡°You don¡¯t have to be apologetic. Actually, I was more worried that your rtionship with the child emperor and his mother wouldn¡¯t be too secure. After all, the Regents of the Fiend races have never met good ends. But now, it seems I was worrying too much. With that level of rtionship, our interests actually align, and we can make decisions together.¡±

    As someone who came from a great n, she looked at things from a different perspective than other women. Great ns would usually send their children off to other ns in marriage. Feelings were secondary; making sure that families were well-matched in social status and creating alliances was the most important. Zu An and the Second Empress only maintained a secret rtionship, and yet they had achieved the same result. From that perspective, it was more than worth it.

    Of course, from a lover¡¯s perspective, Yu Yanluo was still a bit jealous. However, this guy¡¯s body had already been tempered several times by the Primordial Origin Sutra and was way too tough. Even someone like her couldn''t take it alone,so itwas still best to have morepanions to share the burden. Besides,pared to ordinary women, it was better to have someone with the Second Empress¡¯ status help out.

    ¡­

    In the following few days, Zu An began to arrange his departure. When the Second Empress heard that he was going to leave, she actually had the strongest reaction of anyone. After all, she and her son didn¡¯t have anyone else to rely on at the moment. Previously, it had purely been through Zu An¡¯s strength that they could keep everyone else in check.

    However, Zu An finally managed to convince her after a long time. The young prince had already ascended to the throne, but he was still too young. He was only the Fiend Emperor in name. And yet, now the Committee of Elders supported the young prince. The Great Elf King, the Peacock Wise King, the Ocean races, and the Demon race were all friendly with him, and he also had Hu Qianxiao, who was a smart person. As long as the Second Empress let things take their course and didn¡¯t start anything that caused public anger, there wouldn¡¯t be any issues.

    Furthermore, Zu An had the Wind Fire Wheels now. If something did happen, he could return as quickly as possible.

    The Second Empress felt relieved when she heard him exin those things. However, because he was going to leave, she kept clinging to him for the next few days. It was as if, after she had found out he was leaving, she was scared that she wouldn¡¯t be able to enjoy a certain kind of pleasure again for a long time.

    ¡­

    On the other hand, when Qiao Xueying learned that Zu An was going to return to the Human race, she excitedly said that she was going to follow him, but was stopped by the Great Elf King. In order to preserve his own beauty, he didn¡¯t want to be bothered with the n¡¯s affairs and had begun to raise his daughter as his sessor. She had to learn many things, so how could he just let her go like that?

    Qiao Xueying was naturally unwilling. Compared to being his sessor, she would much rather stay by Zu An¡¯s side. However, the Great Elf King exined Zu An¡¯s terrible situation on the human side, and that this side was actually his foundation, but once he left, this ce wouldn¡¯t necessarily remain stable. Snow was then convinced that she had the responsibility to watch over Zu An¡¯s home as his woman.

    Furthermore, when he was young, the Great Elf King had used to be a veteran yboy. He knew what kind of woman would remain the most important in a man¡¯s heart. The more power and bargaining chips the girl had, the more initiative they would hold. After all, his daughter¡¯s beauty was still far toockingpared to his own and she couldn''t really stand out among all of Zu An¡¯s extraordinary partners. She would have to rely on other things.

    Qiao Xueying was still a bit hesitant at first, but when she heard about her father¡¯s ¡®path of the yboy¡¯, she immediately changed her mind. She took the initiative to tell Zu An that she would help him watch over this part of his foundation. Zu An was incredibly moved when he heard that.

    ¡­

    In the end, Zu An set off on his path back to the human side. Because his identity as the Regent was sensitive, apart from a small group of people, the public was only informed that he had gone into seclusion. Then, he secretly got on the Wind Fire Wheels and flew south.

    He turned around and looked at the Fiend King Court as it grew smaller and smaller. Zu An muttered to himself, ¡°I originally only came to protect Yu Yanluo and was just passing by. How could I have known that I would y around here for so long¡­¡±

    He couldn''t help but massage his sore back. Those women had all known he was going to leave, so all of them had been incredibly enthusiastic. With that level of intensity day after day, even a back made out of iron would break down!

 Chapter 1538: Intrusion of Bad Guys

    <h4>Chapter 1538: Intrusion of Bad Guys</h4>

    Zu An flew quickly through the sky on the Wind Fire Wheels. When he saw the white clouds all around him, he was deeply moved. The Wind Fire Wheels had practically no offensive power, but their function was just too powerful! They pretty much turned the user into a private jet.

    In truth, all cultivators above the master rank could fly, but unless they reached the earth immortal rank, they could not keep flying forever. Furthermore, this world was much bigger than Zu An¡¯s previous one. It was not something a master rank could traverse quickly. Such a distance was something that only an earth immortal, who could ignore the limitations of space to some extent, could move freely through. As such, the Wind Fire Wheels actually increased his mobility tremendously.

    Zu An thought about the many things he had to take care of back in the capital. He had been away for too long without exchanging any letters. His friends were definitely worried sick.

    Right, I have to deliver a message for the Peacock Wise King.

    He recalled the situation from a few days ago when he had visited the Peacock King Manor. From here on out, he needed the Peacock Wise King¡¯s support to ensure the stability of the Fiend King Court. Considering the friendship he had with Kong Nanwu and Kong Qing, the Peacock Wise King was naturally someone deserving of arge investment.

    When he arrived at the Peacock King Manor, however, the Peacock Wise King wasn¡¯t at home. Instead, Kong Qing, Paper Bride, and his other old acquaintances who had emerged to receive him with great hospitality. When they thought back to how they had almost killed each other back in Cloudcenter Commandery, and yet were now friends, that left them quite moved.

    Paper Bride, in particr, had mysterious skills. She was quite beautiful herself. If he hadn¡¯t been busy all this time, Zu An would likely have tried to get closer to her. Her Paper Puppet Technique was quite unique.

    After they talked for a while, the Peacock Wise King finally received news of Zu An¡¯s arrival and hurriedly rushed over. In many situations, such a small detail was already enough to know what kind of attitude a person had toward someone. It was obvious that the Peacock Wise King was showing Zu An the highest level of courtesy, so Zu An naturally returned the favor. They all chatted with each other happily.

    The Peacock Wise King soon discovered that what he could obtain from Zu An was even greater than what he had received from thete Fiend Emperor. He naturally found Zu An more and more pleasing as time went on.

    Later, when he heard that Zu An was going to leave for a while, he immediately struck his own chest, guaranteeing that he would do his best to support the Second Empress and the young prince. At the same time, he entrusted Zu An with contacting his daughter Kong Nanwu on the human side, telling her not to hurry to return to the fiend side. At the moment, she still bore the reputation of being the former Crown Princess. Even though they hadn¡¯t truly gotten married, many people among the Fiend races knew about the engagement.

    If she returned to the fiend side now, those with ulterior motives could abuse the situation. They could potentially ask for her to remain faithful to the Crown Prince and be buried with him or something like that. At that point, the Peacock race would be in a really tough spot. As such, it would be best for Kong Nanwu to stay on the human side for some time. Once the storm passed, the Peacock Wise King would find another n to marry Kong Nanwu off to.

    Furthermore, the king had entrusted Zu An with the task of taking care of Kong Nanwu. Even though his daughter had always been quite sharp, and her cultivation wasn¡¯t low either, the human race was full of powerful cultivators. If her real identity were ever revealed, she would still be in danger.

    Meanwhile, Zu An¡¯s performance on that night had already won the Peacock Wise King¡¯splete respect. He already treated Zu An as an equal. Asking Zu An to pay some attention to a junior was no doubt within his capability.

    Zu An naturally agreed to that. Forget about anything else; after Kong Nanwu had given him that special feather in the past, there was no way he would let anything happen to her.

    Furthermore, the Peacock Wise King was a smart individual. His first reason for entrusting her to Zu An¡¯s care was that he really was worried that something would happen to his daughter; the second was that it was like a transaction, so Zu An could feel at ease about the Fiend King Court.

    Still, Zu An could never have expected that he had still underestimated the Peacock Wise King. The king had a third reason, but that was something he would only find out about in the future¡­

    ¡­

    Apart from that, the most important thing was Sang Hong¡¯s situation. Zu An had tried to contact him several times, but the call never went through. He was now almost certain that something had happened on the other side.

    Even before factoring in Zheng Dan and Sang Qien, he and Sang Hong had already formed a rtionship equal in value to master and disciple, perhaps even a close friendship. As such, when Zu An suspected that something had happened, not even the Fiend King Court¡¯s beauties or the glory and splendor of his new Regent identity could keep him on the fiend side. He quickly rushed back.

    Zu An wasn¡¯t even in the mood to enjoy the view of the mountains and rivers along the way; he just wanted to get back as quickly as possible. ording to the information he obtained from different channels, Sang Hong¡¯s group should have been about to reach the capital. As such, the location of the incident likely wouldn¡¯t be too far away either.

    After flying tirelessly for several days in a row, he finally reached the human side. He clearly sensed that the climate there was much warmer. He sighed in amazement. No wonder the Fiend races¡¯ culture was tougher. They lived in a far harshernd and had to survive in such an environment; thus, they had to be much tougher in order to thrive.

    Zu An continued flying for several more days before finally reaching a spot that wasn¡¯t too far from the capital. Along the way, he retraced the path the Imperial Envoy had been scheduled to take, eventually arriving at Silkworm City.

    After a brief investigation, his expression turned ugly. Themon people were still discussing what had happened that night. They talked about how a huge fire had suddenly broken out in the middle of the night by the ry station, and how all of the Imperial Envoy¡¯s people had been burned to death inside. Some imed there were still survivors, while others made rather far-fetched ims, iming that the Imperial Envoy uncovered some conspiracies set by the local officials, so the local officials had risked it all and tried to destroy the Imperial Envoy.

    Themon people¡¯s information was too inconsistent, however. When Zu An got a rough sense of what had happened, he looked for the local authorities. Of course, he didn¡¯t use his personal identity, but rather the Embroidered Envoy title. That identity was far better at intimidating the officials.

    However, he only learned that a group of Embroidered Envoys had arrived to investigate a few days prior, then brought all of the evidence and involved personnel to the capital. Furthermore, the official who was in charge of the ry station had been burnt to a crisp in the mes. Silkworm City¡¯s County Magistrate had been locked up, but he had died in prison. They didn¡¯t know whether he hadmitted suicide to escape punishment or if someone had silenced him.

    The only useful piece of information Zu An obtained was from the many charred corpses found in the wreckage. When hepared them to the information he had, he recognized arge portion of them to be the ry station and Imperial Envoy¡¯s personnel. He didn¡¯t find Sang Hong¡¯s corpse among them.

    Zu An sighed in relief. Even though things boded ill for Sang Hong, as long as there was no proof of his death at the scene, there was still hope.

    Then, he realized he couldn''t find anything else, so he decided to return to the capital first, heading there directly. By the time he arrived in the capital¡¯s vicinity, the sky had already brightened again; he quickly found a spot tond outside the city gates.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    There were countless strong people in the capital, as well as the city defenses and all kinds of defensive formations. Flying straight in would immediately bring forth huge retaliation from the city defense formations. As such, no matter how incredible any visitors were, none of them dared to fly brazenly in.

    Zu An gazed at the grand city walls in the distance. Whether it was the city outskirts or the lively scenes from inside, such as themoners selling vegetables or the merchants carryingrge amounts of goods¡­ All of it seemed to continue almost endlessly.

    When he saw all that, Zu An suddenly felt as if he were gazing upon a scene from a lifetime ago. It was like a different world whenpared with the cold scenery of the fiend side. He thought,As expected, it¡¯s still the human side that¡¯s better¡­ No wonder Yu Yanluo still has lingering feelings about this ce.

    Zu An was worried that someone with ill intentions would recognize him. As such, he put on an ordinary face before entering the city.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, at Sang Manor, a group of bailiffs roughly kicked the door aside. Then, a group of men stormed in and searched the area like wild animals. The entire manor was thrown into disarray.

    ¡°What are you all doing?¡± a voice called out.

    Two beautiful figures supported each other. One was a beautiful youngdy; her sole weak point seemed to be that her waist seemed to be a bit wide. The other was an elegant and beautiful woman dressed in a married woman¡¯s outfit. The two really were like twin lotus flowers on a stalk, each having their own charm.

    The eyes of the one leading the charge lit up.

    Favorite

 Chapter 1539: Coercion

    <h4>Chapter 1539: Coercion</h4>

    One of the two women present was youthful and beautiful, and yet her appearance carried a hint of a mature air. The other had more of a ssical and dignified appearance, with the bearing of a properdy.

    Because the bailiffs were usually in charge of the marketce, they couldn''t help but be a bit rowdy themselves. When they saw the women, they couldn''t help but whistle in admiration.

    The young man in the lead was dressed in embroidered robes, but they didn¡¯t do much to hide his deer-faced, rat-eyed appearance. His eyes swept wantonly across the two women¡¯s bodies. He clicked his tongue and said, ¡°There have always been rumors that the Sang n managed to bring back an incredibly charming daughter-inw, but in my opinion, the Sang n¡¯s young miss isn¡¯t so bad either.¡±

    ¡°Young master¡¯s opinion is wise. These two women indeed both have their own distinctive traits.¡±

    ¡°But didn¡¯t the rumors say that the Sang n¡¯s youngdy was slim? Why does she look a bit chubby today?¡±

    ¡°What do you understand? That¡¯s called being well-rounded! The feeling will be too wonderful for words. If they¡¯re too skinny, it¡¯ll just hurt a bit.¡±

    ¡­

    The other bailiffs surrounded the young master, all voicing their critiques without restraint.

    Previously, Zheng Dan and Sang Qien had been in thedy¡¯s chambers discussing the disappearance of Sang Hong¡¯s Imperial Envoy fleet. Both of them were intelligent, but the amount of information they had ess to was limited. The two had both been at their wits¡¯ end due to the situation.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. With Ah Zu there, nothing will happen to father-inw,¡± Zheng Dan said reassuringly, gently holding Sang Qien¡¯s hands.

    ¡°Yes, I hope so,¡± Sang Qien replied, reflexively touching her swelling belly.That¡¯s the father of my child you¡¯re talking about¡­

    The two of them hadn¡¯t actually been all that close before, and even during their most intimate moments, it had been pitch-ck. And yet, right now, she felt a deep sense of attachment to that most familiar stranger.

    Right at that moment, a disturbance had suddenly urred outside. The two women had both emerged to take a look. Because Sang Qien was pregnant, Zheng Dan was worried that her condition wouldn¡¯t be at its best; thus, she stood protectively in front of her sister-inw.

    ¡°Who are you? You dare cause trouble in the Sang n?!¡± Zheng Dan yelled, staring furiously at the one in front.

    Sang Qien said quietly through ki, ¡°Sister-inw, he¡¯s Yi Zhibing, the son of Yi Chun; he¡¯s someone who has always liked to oppress the people. He¡¯s famous for his wretched character.¡±

    Zheng Dan had spent a long time in Brightmoon City, so she still wasn¡¯t too familiar with the people of the capital. However, she frowned slightly when she heard Sang Qien¡¯s exnation. Even though the young man had a bad reputation, he definitely couldn¡¯t be stupid. Otherwise, there was no way he could have thrived for so long in the capital, which was full of powerful cultivators. And yet, such a person had barged straight in. That meant something big had probably happened.

    ¡°The Sang n? Oh, I¡¯m so, so scared!¡± Yi Zhibing replied, pping his chest and putting on an exaggerated expression. His appearance really was as lowly as lowly could be. Shortly afterward, his expression changed and he said, ¡°Sang Hong is suspected to have colluded with the Fiend races, conspiring with them to harm the Imperial Envoy fleet. I¡¯ve received orders to carry out an investigation. Men, search this entire ce!¡±

    At the same time, his eyes wandered across Zheng Dan¡¯s body. He had heard from his circle that this woman who had just gotten married had a kind of traditional beauty to her appearance. Now that he had seen her for himself, he found that to indeed be the case. Even her angry voice sounded like that of a wise and virtuous woman. Her voice was enough to make him feel as if his bones were melting.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Understood!¡± the bailiffs replied, rushing into the courtyard like wolves. They overturned trunks and boxes, turning the entire ce into aplete mess. The Sang n¡¯s staff had been about to fight back at first, but when they heard about such a huge crime, and that the bailiffs represented Capital Magistrate Yi and were acting under orders, they didn¡¯t dare to anymore.

    Zheng Dan¡¯s long brows rose. She replied, ¡°Nonsense! My¡­ father-inw has always been loyal and true to his majesty. How could he possibly have colluded with the Fiend races?!¡±

    When they were in Brightmoon City, Sang Hong had been famous for being part of the emperor¡¯s faction. How could he possibly have done something like that?

    Sang Qien added furiously, ¡°Exactly! Just whose orders are you acting under? My father is the honorable Vice Minister of Finance. There haven¡¯t even been three trials yet, so how can he be convicted of a crime so quickly?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why we¡¯re here to investigate!¡± Yi Zhibing replied with a sinisterugh. Then, he gave a subordinate a look and said, ¡°Search this entire ce carefully; don¡¯t let a single corner go. This kind of proof would definitely be hidden in the most secretive ces.¡±

    Sang Qien sneered, saying, ¡°Hah, you can search all you want, but our Sang n has a clear conscience.¡± Inwardly, however, she was worried for her father¡¯s safety.

    Zheng Dan frowned. Even though Sang Qien had always been a resourceful person, all she had been in contact with ever since she was little were schemes between the nobility. She didn¡¯t understand just how difficult those from the lowest rungs of society were to deal with at all. With her status, Zheng Dan initially hadn¡¯t known either; however, she had been the boss of thergest gang in Brightmoon City! She naturally knew how easy it was for them to leave a familypletely destitute and homeless.

    Sure enough, a bailiff soon emerged to report, ¡°Young master, we¡¯ve found some suspicious items.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Lead the way!¡± Yi Zhibing replied, as if he had anticipated the answer. He didn¡¯t even need his subordinates to lead the way, quickly rushing in a certain direction.

    Sang Qien and Zheng Dan quickly followed along, and the group quickly arrived in Sang Qien¡¯s chambers. The bailiffs had left it an absolute mess. Clothes had been tossed everywhere, and the bedding had been overturned.

    ¡°What in the world are you doing?!¡± Sang Qien eximed, her little facepletely red. Even though there weren¡¯t any strict rules prohibiting men and women from entering each other¡¯s rooms, the chambers of an unmarried woman were still something few men entered. Now, however, this group had barged right in without any reservations and caused such a mess.

    Zheng Dan gently patted Sang Qien¡¯s shoulder, as if to tell her not to let anger overtake her. With a wave of her hand, a st of air sent the bailiffs who had overturned everything staggering back. She was an outstanding cultivation genius, after all; dealing with ordinary bailiffs wasn¡¯t difficult at all.

    ¡°Are you trying to rebel?!¡± Yi Zhibing quickly shouted.

    The eyes of the bailiff who had always remained silently at his side narrowed. He stared directly at Zheng Dan, his hand wrapping around the hilt of his de.

    Zheng Dan was shocked. She immediately felt as if some energy had locked onto her. The capital really was different¡­ Even a bailiff had such a high level of cultivation! Still, she figured that made sense. If they didn¡¯t have any skills, how could they carry out any arrests in a ce like the capital?

    Sang Qien said coldly, ¡°Young master Yi, there¡¯s no need for you to try to scare us. There¡¯s no imperial decree, nor is there an arrest warrant from the Commandant of Justice. If you treat us like prisoners, your own vitions wille first. There will be nothing for us to fear if this matter reaches the court.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve long heard of young miss Sang¡¯s sharp mouth. Today, I¡¯ve seen that it is indeed the case,¡± Yi Zhibing said, although he didn¡¯t get angry. He continued, ¡°Still, you¡¯ll soon regret saying that.¡±

    Then, he gestured with his eyes. A bailiff off to one side quickly shouted, ¡°Young master, we¡¯ve found something here.¡±

    A hiddenpartment by the bed opened up, revealing several sealed letters inside. Yi Zhibing seized them and said, ¡°Haha, there¡¯s proof of Sang Hong colluding with the Fiend races right here. Is there anything else you two want to say?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re clearly framing us!¡± Sang Qien eximed, vexed.There have always been rumors that you won¡¯t be in your right mind for three years after bing pregnant. How could I have forgotten to guard against something like this?!

    ¡°Be careful, or else I¡¯ll report you for nder too,¡± Yi Zhibing said with augh. ¡°This is clearly something I found in your room. So many people here can attest to that. Why are you ming me now?¡±

    ¡°Right, exactly! We all saw it ourselves!¡± the bailiffs around him all said simultaneously.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t even look at the letter, so how do you know it¡¯s proof of colluding with the Fiend races? The only way would be if you personally forged this evidence,¡± Zheng Dan said coldly. When she was a gang leader, she had seen such methods often. She had just never expected officials in such high positions to use such crude and simple methods.

    Yi Zhibing choked. Only after a while did he catch his breath again. He said, ¡°Hmph, whether or not this information is rted to the Fiend races or not is something you can debate in prison. Men, bring them away!¡±

    ¡°Sir!¡± the bailiffs replied as they surrounded the two women.

    Sang Qien¡¯s expression changed. At the moment, she was covered by her spacious robes, but if she reached the prison, wouldn¡¯t her pregnancy ultimately be revealed? The Sang n¡¯s reputation wasn¡¯t nearly as important as her child. What if she ended up being treated roughly and something happened to the child? That was what she was most worried about.

    Zheng Dan had clearly thought of that as well, so she stood in front of Sang Qien. She hesitated, wondering whether to take Sang Qien with her and run away. Even though the bailiff was tricky, if she and Sang Qien worked together, there was still a chance that they could get away. However, they would be wanted criminals. The capital was full of experts, so at that point, they really wouldn¡¯t have any ce left to stay. However, if they just willingly let themselves get captured, she knew it would only be more dangerous. She thus found herself in a dilemma.

    Yi Zhibing waved his hands, gesturing for his subordinates to stand guard outside for the time being. He said, ¡°Let me have a chat with these two women first.¡±

    When the bailiffs closed the door, Zheng Dan asked coldly, ¡°What do you want to talk about?¡± She wanted to see whether she could find a chance to seize him and turn him into a hostage.

    Yi Zhibing sized up her wonderful figure. He clicked his tongue and said, ¡°You have such an incredible body, such an incredible face; and yet, your fate is so cruel. Your husband died as soon as you got married, and you are still so young and youthful; and yet, you can only squander it as a widow.¡±

    When she heard the frivolous tone in his voice, Zheng Dan¡¯s expression turned cold. She snapped, ¡°Shut up!¡±

    ¡°I only said that because I want to make a deal with you,¡± Yi Zhibing said, feeling that this young woman was incredibly endearing even when she got angry. He found it a bit too difficult to hold back. He raised the letter in his hands and began, ¡°Madam, you don¡¯t want anything to happen to this n, do you?¡±

 Chapter 1540: Not Even an Immortal Can Save You Now

    <h4>Chapter 1540: Not Even an Immortal Can Save You Now</h4>

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Zheng Dan asked, although she naturally knew what he was saying. She only pretended otherwise because she was secretly gauging the distance between them to see if there was a suitable opportunity for a surprise attack.

    Even though Yi Zhibing¡¯s character was rotten, and his aptitude seemed low, he had quite the providing father. He had definitely gotten ess to more cultivation resources than Zheng Dan had been able to obtain in a more rural location. Meanwhile, even though Sang Qien¡¯s father had a high rank, as an honest official, he hadn¡¯t been able to provide her with a sea of cultivation resources either. Because of that, the difference between their cultivation wasn¡¯t all that great. If Zheng Dan couldn''t restrain him immediately, that would end up startling the bailiffs outside. She wouldn¡¯t get a second chance then.

    ¡°Madam is an intelligent person. Do you really still not know what I¡¯m getting at?¡± Yi Zhibing replied, greedily admiring Zheng Dan¡¯s body. ¡°The Sang n¡¯s safety rests on just a single thought from the madam. As long as I¡¯m happy, I can pretend this proof doesn¡¯t exist. The Sang n will naturally be safe then. Also, your n back in Brightmoon City won¡¯t be involved either. Otherwise¡­¡± He didn¡¯t finish his sentence, but his threatening intent was evident.

    ¡°That was clearly something you forged. Even if this issue is dealt with, you can use the same method to frame us again,¡± Zheng Dan said coldly. At the same time, she gave Sang Qien a look,hintingfor them to both take action together.

    ¡°Heh, madam really is smart,¡± Yi Zhibing said, his smile fading. He continued coldly ¡°I won¡¯t waste any more time with you. As long as the madam can please me, nothing will happen to the Sang or Zheng ns.¡± He was like a knife, and they were like fish on a chopping board. He wasn¡¯t scared of being direct.

    In the past, Sang Qian had been incredibly proud and arrogant, and had bullied Yi Zhibing. Unfortunately, Sang Qian¡¯s cultivation had been higher than Yi Zhibing¡¯s at the time, so he couldn''t even get revenge. He had thought he¡¯d never get another chance, and yet the heavens seemed to pity him today! This time, they had ced the Sang n¡¯s fate in his hands.

    Sang Qian had died, so Yi Zhibing couldn''t get revenge on him anymore, but he could still get revenge on the other man¡¯s wonderful wife! What other revenge could bring one more joy than dominating and firing crazily into the wife of one¡¯s enemy?

    On top of that, a single wife wasn¡¯t enough to satisfy Yi Zhibing. He even set his eyes on Sang Qian¡¯s little sister. Still, considering how she was still a distinguished daughter who hadn¡¯t married yet, she could end up reacting too strongly if he forced her, keeping him from achieving his objective.

    As such, he didn¡¯t show any desire for Sang Qien at first. He only focused his thoughts on Zheng Dan for the time being. Even though her husband had died as soon as she got married, she was someone who had gotten married before. She wouldn¡¯t have as much resistance toward such a thing as an unmarried woman. If he obtained her, the Sang n¡¯s reaction wouldn¡¯t be as strong as before. Then, as he would frequentlye and go from the Sang Manor, wouldn¡¯t getting to Sang Qien be easy enough?

    Just the thought of having both in bed made his blood boil. It would be even better if Sang Hong¡¯s spirit could watch that happen! Wouldn¡¯t his revenge be the best thing in the world then? His excitement made his entire body feel as if it were about to burst.

    Zheng Dan¡¯s gaze turned cold as she thought,The time is now!Just like that, she moved swiftly to attack!

    Yi Zhibing was rmed. He hadn¡¯t expected a ssical beauty like Zheng Dan to actually be so experienced. Whether it was in terms of her timing or her fighting experience, she wasparable to someone from the world of warriors.

    Yi Zhibing was forced to go on the defensive while dodging to one side. However, his feet felt a bit sluggish. As it turned out, Sang Qien had flung out a ribbon and wrapped it around his ankles, causing him to stagger. He cursed inwardly.I did want the two of them together, but not like this!

    The two women were fully experienced inbat. They weren¡¯t like unmarried noble daughters in the slightest! They were more like veterans from the battlefield! Yi Zhibing was caught unprepared, so how could he retaliate at all?

    Zheng Dan was happy to see the result, and tried to strike Yi Zhibing¡¯s throat to restrain him. However, a sh of blue light appeared from his body, blowing the two women back. Next, The bailiffs outside heard the activity and rushed in. The one in front was none other than the head constable. He stood in front of Yi Zhibing and stared both women down.

    Zheng Dan and Sang Qien¡¯s faces were pale. They knew they had missed their best opportunity. Things would be difficult now.

    Yi Zhibing stood up. He looked as if he had just recovered from shock. He took out a pendant from around his waist, saying, ¡°Thank goodness I had this pendant my dad bought at a high price. It can even stop the attack of a master rank cultivator! You two brats can¡¯t do a thing to me.¡±

    A hint of despair appeared in Zheng Dan and Sang Qien¡¯s eyes. Such a treasure made Yi Zhibing practically invincible. What else could they do?

    Just then, Yi Zhibing¡¯s expression contorted and he spat, ¡°Fine, seeing as you didn¡¯t want to listen while I was talking nicely, you leave this young master with no choice but to use force. Men, remove all their clothing for me!¡±

    The head constable couldn''t help but frown, asking, ¡°Young master, isn¡¯t that a bit inappropriate?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s inappropriate? The Sang n is already done for, and sooner orter, they¡¯ll be thrown into the government brothel. We brothers might as well enjoy them for ourselves first,¡± Yi Zhibing replied, his mind ovee with lust. To think that mere moments before, he had almost been done in!

    The bailiffs¡¯ eyes all turned red with lust when they heard him. Many of them threw themselves at the women like wolves.

    However, some bailiffs looked at each other in dismay. They found such behavior a bit hard to ept. Still, they didn¡¯t dare to stand in young master Yi¡¯s way. The only thing they could do was choose not to participate.

    When she saw the men move toward them, Zheng Dan stood in front of Sang Qien, fending them off one after another.With her cultivation, how could they harm her at all? Still, there were just too many of them, so the situation soon reached a stalemate.

    Yi Zhibing¡¯s expression became a bit unpleasant. He hadn¡¯t sent his men at the women out of kindness, but rather because he knew the women¡¯s cultivation was high. Even he wouldn¡¯t be able to deal with them, so he sent out his subordinates to wear them out first. However, from the looks of it, there was no way to capture the two quickly. Thus, he looked at the bailiff next to him and said, ¡°Brother Wang, I¡¯ll need your help.¡±

    The bailiff frowned slightly, clearly unwilling to join in. However, Yi Zhibing said, ¡°What¡¯s our mission this time? These two women are resisting arrest right now, and furthermore, they¡¯ve injured quite a few of the bailiffs. We won¡¯t be able to handle the responsibility if we let any of them escape!¡±

    That bailiff frowned when he heard that, but he finally moved. He reached out toward the two women, and a metal glove that flickered with light suddenly appeared on his hand. When it made contact with the metal glove, Zheng Dan¡¯s dagger immediately broke into several pieces.

    Yi Zhibing smiled. Bailiff Wang had had a miraculous encounter in his earlier years and obtained an earth-grade weapon; it was considered particrly formidable within the earth-grade. As such, even though his individual cultivation wasn¡¯t too stunning in the capital, he had been able to rely on his glove; his name had thus left countless criminals terror-stricken. Compared to that, these two dainty women weren¡¯t much at all.

    Sure enough, after a few moves, the situation soon turned critical for the weaponless Zheng Dan and Sang Qien. Eventually, while they were evading, they identally tripped on a fallen chair, revealing a huge opening as they staggered.

    How could Bailiff Wang miss out on such a great opportunity? His fingers immediately turned into chains that wrapped around their bodies. In all his years, those who were restrained by his iron glove became powerless, unable to resist further.

    Despair appeared in the two women¡¯s eyes, as they had just seen Yi Zhibing¡¯s despicable and shameless nature. They knew that if they fell into his hands, they would meet a horrible end.

    Suddenly, a streak of sword light shed past them, cutting the long chains into several pieces. A tall and slender figure appeared at their side and carefully supported them, asking, ¡°Are you two alright?¡±

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡± Zheng Dan eximed, recognizing the face she yearned for day and night. Her eyes became a bit wet as she threw herself into his arms enthusiastically.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Sang Qien was shocked and happy. However, her rtionship with Zu An was very awkward. They were clearly so familiar with each other that they knew every inch of each other¡¯s body, and yet their rtionship was actually a bit estranged. As such, she wasparatively more restrained.

    Meanwhile, Bailiff Wang was shocked. When he saw that the fingers had been cut off from his iron glove, even though Zu An had his back turned, he still didn¡¯t dare to do anything.

    Yi Zhibing recognized Zu An and eximed, ¡°Wow, who do we have here? Isn¡¯t this the human traitor who colluded with the Fiend Races?!¡± In the past, he had suffered quite badly along with Yu Nan when theypeted over a courtesan queen. Zu An¡¯s face remained fresh in his memory.

    Zu An supported both women as he looked around. When he saw the messy situation, his expression darkened and he said, ¡°So you were the ones who did this.¡±

    ¡°And so what if we were? The Sang n hasmitted a huge crime, and we came on orders to investigate. I advise you to cooperate and wait to be captured. Otherwise, resisting arrest is a tremendous crime,¡± Yi Zhibing said with a sneer. This guy didn¡¯t even have the slightest bit of ki aura. Had he ended up bing crippled somewhere?

    There¡¯s no Bi Ziang to stand up for you this time. Just watch as I deal with you properly,he thought as he waved his hand, gesturing for his subordinates to capture the man.

    The bailiffs had all thought that they would be able to enjoy two charming beauties, and yet now, things were suddenly incrediblyplicated. They had been frustrated and annoyed to begin with, so they didn¡¯t see what had just happened clearly at all. When they received the signal, they charged with a roar, their eyes filled with lust and desire.

    ¡°No, don¡¯t!¡± Bailiff Wang yelled, horrified. He tried to stop them, but it was already toote.

    Zu An waved his hand, and a streak of sword energy hacked outward. A streak of bloody mist appeared from the bailiffs'' bodies, and they fell like broken sacks.

    Yi Zhibing was shocked, but also happy. He eximed, ¡°You actually publicly killed court officials? You¡¯re finished! Not even an immortal can save you if theye for you! You¡¯re done!¡±

    Sang Qien and Zheng Dan couldn''t help but look at Zu An worriedly. This was precisely the reason they had held back before: The Zhou Dynasty had always been extremely strict with their rules andws. Even if one were wrongly used, one had no choice but to go through the legal path of righting wrongs. Otherwise, practically anything would be a grave offense, let alone publicly killing court officials. That would be treated as a full-on rebellion!

    However, Zu An didn¡¯t pay Yi Zhibing any attention. Instead, he asked Zheng Dan just what exactly had happened. He had just returned to the capital, nning to first get some intelligence from the Sang Manor. And yet, as soon as he arrived, he had seen the mess that was taking ce, putting the two women in a dangerous situation; he had been overtaken with fury. Only now did Zheng Dan give Zu An a rough ount of what had happened to them.

    When Yi Zhibing saw how close they were, he finally reacted and said, ¡°Haha, the Sang n has always been careful about their family matters, and yet their daughter-inw was already colluding with an outsider! What were you still acting like a chaste woman in front of me for?!¡±

 Chapter 1541: Against Someone Like You?

    Chapter 1541: Against Someone Like You?

    Yi Zhibing was furious. He had been so close to his wonderful n working, and yet Zu An just had to meddle at thest second! He could tell that Zu An¡¯s rtionship with Zheng Dan was special. Even the way the Sang n¡¯s young miss looked at him was full of tender feelings.

    How dare you?!

    This was clearly his own blessing, and yet someone else hade swooping in first. How could he stand it?

    You have sessfully trolled Yi Zhibing for +366 +366 +366¡­

    Zheng Dan and Sang Qien were both so angry their entire bodies were shaking. Whether it was their n¡¯s reputation or their own integrity as women, those words went too far!

    Yi Zhibing gave the other bailiffs, who were standing off to the side in a daze, a look and said, ¡°What are you staring nkly for? All of you, charge! Don¡¯t let this traitor get away, or else all of us are screwed!¡±

    He assumed that, even though Zu An¡¯s attack was pretty good, he had the numbers advantage. Furthermore, he was carrying out a mission as an official. If they started fighting, the more ruthless Zu An was, the worse his crimes would be.

    Either way, he was the glorious Capital Magistrate¡¯s son. He didn¡¯t think Zu An would actually dare to kill him. As for those bailiffs, if they died, then so be it. That would be enough to leave Zu An doomed.

    ¡°Noisy!¡± Zu An snapped, his expression darkening. He waved his hand, sending a wave of sword ki at Yi Zhibing.

    Yi Zhibing, who had begun to have an expression of immense pleasure, quickly narrowed his eyes. He could feel that a terrifying aura had locked onto him, and that he wouldn¡¯t get away no matter how he dodged.

    ¡°Young master, be careful!¡± Bailiff Wang eximed in horror. He quickly moved to protect Yi Zhibing. Magistrate Yi had sent him mainly to ensure his son¡¯s safety. If something happened to Yi Zhibing, there would definitely be severe consequences once he returned.

    However, he had just witnessed the power of Zu An¡¯s sword. He didn¡¯t dare to show the slightest bit of carelessness, so he instantly raised the Iron Hand. The Iron Hand elongated, turning into a shield that blocked the attack for Yi Zhibing.

    The very reason he had be so famous as a bailiff was because the Iron Hand could attack and defend at the same time. Before this Iron Hand of his, the varied and strange weapons in the world of warriors were mere child¡¯s y. However, he had no confidence in his ability to block Zu An¡¯s sword.

    Soon after, he saw the result. He looked at the shattered Iron Hand in his hands, and looked down to see a bloody gash across his chest. In an instant, the sword ki had ripped directly through his body.

    Bailiff Wang copsed to the ground like a broken sack, his life shing before his eyes. He had once believed he was someone who had conscience and resolve. Even though he had been born to a humble background, he made up for it with effort.

    The teachings he had received weren¡¯t that amazing, but through work and talent, he managed to acquire a certain set of skills. That had allowed him to stand out in his local county government office. He had even managed to stumble upon the earth-grade weapon, the Iron Hand. Back then, he felt as if he had been chosen by the heavens, thinking he had been assigned to uphold virtue and condemn evil.

    As his official rank climbed higher and higher, he had eventually reached the capital and became a bailiff there. However, what he saw left him bewildered. He had discovered that almost every single officialmitted crimes, and that his immediate superior and the colleagues around him were all just as filthy. He wanted to change all that, and yet he discovered that he was powerless.

    Eventually, as his status and position climbed even higher, he had stopped being as hot-blooded as before. He had begun to consider his own interests too, as well as the interests of his family and loved ones. As such, he had be more and more taciturn. The bit of conscience he had left prevented him from participating in some vile and filthy acts, but that was all.

    Only now did he realize that sometimes, when the difference in power was too great, not doing anything was the same as helping a viin do evil. He suddenly felt regret. If he had kept to his morals, and always fought against evil¡­ Even if he died somehow through unexpected circumstances, he would have died as an honorable man. And yet, right now, he was about to die protecting shameless scum¡­

    I regret this so much!

    That was thest thought in his mind as the light faded from his eyes.

    Even though all those thoughts shed through Bailiff Wang¡¯s mind, it all took ce in the time it took for sparks to fly off flint. The streak of sword light passed through his body and continued toward Yi Zhibing.

    Yi Zhibing tried to move out of the way, but he discovered that he couldn''t at all. Fortunately, blue light flickered around him as the pendant around his waist shone again. His entire body was blown back several steps by the tremendous force. His insides were stirred wildly, but he wasn¡¯t too affected otherwise.

    When he saw the result, Yi Zhibing smiled arrogantly again, saying, ¡°Hahaha, this pendant of mine can even block the full-power attack of a master rank cultivator. Who do you think you are? Do you want to do something to me? Why don¡¯t you draw your sword and give it a try?¡±

    Judging from what he had seen, even though Zu An¡¯s cultivation wasn¡¯t low, he definitely wasn¡¯t at the master rank. Furthermore, Zu An looked just like a normal person, so who knew what power he had borrowed to produce that sword ki? Meanwhile, Yi Zhibing had an artifact that could block a full-power strike from a master rank cultivator, so what did he have to fear?

    ¡°Draw my sword? Against someone like you?¡± Zu An remarked indifferently, sending out another strand of sword ki.

    Previously, he had seen that Yi Zhibing¡¯s cultivation wasn¡¯t that high, which was why he hadn¡¯t used that much strength. Furthermore, the bailiff had absorbed a portion of the strike, which was why the sword ki hadn¡¯t hurt Yi Zhibing. However, this time would be different.

    Even as the terrifying aura locked onto him again, after his previous experience, Yi Zhibing wasn¡¯t scared. Heughed mockingly and began, ¡°Don¡¯t even bother wasting your¡­¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Before he could even finish his sentence, he heard a crack noise. When he looked down, he saw that the pendant that had protected him through countless situations was beginning to be covered in fine cracks. A momentter, it exploded into pieces!

    Pu!

    Yi Zhibing¡¯s body erupted into a bloody mist. Following a burst of intense pain, he felt his entire body bing as light as a feather, as if his soul were about to leave. He gasped, ¡°You¡­ actually dare to kill me? My dad is Magistrate Yi Chun¡­ Ah¡­¡±

    When they saw Yi Zhibing lying in a puddle of blood, twitching and clearly dying, amotion broke out among the bailiffs. The group who hadn¡¯t attacked the two women ran for their lives. However, Zu An didn¡¯t trouble them. He wasn¡¯t someone who enjoyed killing. ording to the two women¡¯s descriptions, those people¡¯s crimes weren¡¯t enough for them to deserve death.

    Actually, the bailiff with the Iron Hand hadn¡¯t needed to die either. But seeing as he had rushed forward to take the attack, throwing his life away, what could Zu An have done?

    ¡°Big brother Zu, things are going to be troublesome now¡­¡± Sang Qien said worriedly when she saw Yi Zhibing take hisst breath. ¡°Even though Yi Zhibing is hateful, he¡¯s the Capital Magistrate¡¯s beloved son. Now that he¡¯s died, there¡¯s no way Yi Chun will leave this matter alone.¡±

    Regardless of which era it was, someone in such a position would definitely be an important minister of the court.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing to be concerned about,¡± Zu An said casually. Then, he looked at the two women and asked, ¡°Are you two alright?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re¡­ fine,¡± Sang Qien replied, blushing. His voice is so gentle¡­ Still, it was hard for her to hide her concern. This time, they had publicly killed people in the manor, so it would probably be unlikely for things to end peacefully now.

    Why is big brother Zu not worried at all? she thought. She didn¡¯t know that after all of the things Zu An had experienced on the fiend side, a trifling Capital Magistrate really wasn¡¯t someone he would worry too much about.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. Little Qien, was the child affected?¡± Zheng Dan asked as she supported Sang Qien with great concern. The two of them had been mutually dependent on each other for survival, so they had grown very close. Furthermore, after finding out about the Sang n¡¯s ns, she had realized that Sang Qien was already on Zu An¡¯s side. That had naturally made her feel even more reassured.

    ¡°The child?¡± Zu An asked, stunned. Only then did he notice Sang Qien¡¯s overly spacious dress, as well as the way she gently tapped her own back to alleviate soreness. ¡°You¡¯re pregnant?¡±

    Zheng Dan rolled her eyes and retorted, ¡°You even have the nerve to ask about what you did yourself?¡±

    Zu An was stunned. Only then did he remember what had happened that night. He was shocked but happy, murmuring, ¡°This¡­ is my child?¡± He had suddenly be a father. He really was at a loss for what to do.

    Sang Qien lowered her head in embarrassment. She said in a very soft voice, ¡°Yeah¡­¡±

    Zu An was so excited he wanted to pick Sang Qien up and spin twice in the air, but he quickly realized that she was pregnant and that wouldn¡¯t be appropriate. As such, he simply squatted down in front of her and pressed his ear against her belly to hear his child.

    Sang Qien¡¯s face turned red. As the young miss of a noble n, how could she possibly let a man get that close to her own body? Still, she didn¡¯t resist this ¡®unfamiliar¡¯ man at all. Instead, she gently ced her hand on his head, suddenly feeling very close to him. She murmured, ¡°How can it be that easy to hear the child¡­¡±

    Zheng Dan was a bit jealous when she saw how happy Zu An was. If she had known that it would be like this, she wouldn¡¯t have been greedy, forcing that stuff out of her body because she thought it wouldn¡¯t be a good idea to get pregnant so early.

    Sang Qien had been sensitive to begin with. She quickly sensed something and promptly supported Zu An to his feet, saying, ¡°Big brother Zu, I heard that the court is discussing my father¡¯s disappearance. Judging from what I know, things seem to be really unfavorable for you and my father. Now, you¡¯ve even killed Yi Zhibing and these people¡­ Should we leave the capital first?¡±

    Zu An shook his head and replied, ¡°It¡¯s fine. You two should just stay here. I¡¯m going to pay the Imperial Pce a visit first.¡±

    He prepared to leave, but Sang Qien grabbed his sleeves. She was clearly worried that he wouldn¡¯te back if he went into the Imperial Pce. After all, that was a ce full of powerful experts, and it even had the emperor overseeing it. It was on an entirely different scalepared to Yi Zhibing.

    Zheng Dan said with a chuckle, ¡°Little Qien, don¡¯t worry. If he says it''s fine, he definitely has a way.¡±

    ¡°Dandan really does understand me,¡± Zu An said, showing Zheng Dan a smile. Then, he said a few more words of constion to Sang Qien before leaving.

    Sang Qien was stunned. She suddenly felt a bit jealous. It was clear that her sister-inw had spent more time with big brother Zu and they understood each other better.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in the court, the arguments were already growing more and more out of hand.

    ¡°Sang Hong has colluded with the Fiend races; his entire family ought to be executed down to the third generation!¡±

 Chapter 1542: Counterattack

    Chapter 1542: Counterattack

    The entire court was a huge mess. As they argued about Sang Hong¡¯s case, they were divided into two factions.

    King Qi, who was standing in front of the ministers, secretly gave Zhao Han a look. He wasn¡¯t able to pick up much from the emperor¡¯s expression. He sighed and thought, This older brother of mine really is hard to predict. I can¡¯t tell what kind of attitude he has at all.

    He looked at the civil and military officials around him, only to discover that many of the people he was used to seeing had gone missing as ofte.

    The two brothers Vanguard General Qin Zheng and Defense General Qin Se had led their armies to battle due to the Fiend races ughtering an entire city. The Fiend races had sent one of the four great generals, the Flying Leopard King, to lead the other side; that had left them evenly matched. It would take some time before the battle ended and they could return.

    Secretariat Assistant Director Yu Nan had shamed the royal family, as he had married a princess but been implicated in a love rivalry with Zu An in a brothel. As such, he had admitted responsibility and resigned. His father, Imperial Secretariat¡¯s Left Confidential Assistant Yu Xuanchong, had also been affected by that affair. Even though his proposal for resignation had been rejected by the emperor, his prestige had still suffered a lot of damage.

    Then, a huge fiasco had urred surrounding Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s Yu n. Yu Xuanchong hadn¡¯t had the face to continue serving as the Imperial Secretariat¡¯s Left Confidential Assistant. In that case, the emperor had approved his resignation.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Those people all formed part of the backbone of King Qi¡¯s forces! Now, his allies in the upper echelons of the court only consisted of Waterfront Duke Chief Attendant Pei Zheng, King Fufeng, and Great Western General Zhao Cang. Compared to the great influence he had wielded in the past, he really did seem much lonelier now. Still, his many years of influence weren¡¯t for nothing. There were still many middle-rank officials who supported him.

    This time, he was borrowing the Sang Hong incident tounch a fierce counterattack and seize a bit of initiative back after the past few months'' decline. The line ¡®Sang Hong has colluded with the Fiend races and ought to have his whole family executed down to the third generation¡¯ had been spoken by one of his men.

    Hmph, the emperor has repeatedly attacked my forces. How can I appease my anger unless I get revenge?

    Just then, Bi Ziang gestured with his eyes, and an official on his side stepped forward and retorted, ¡°Those words are incorrect. Sir Sang was the Imperial Envoy who was attacked on the way back. He is a victim. Why are you now using him of colluding with the Fiend races?¡±

    Sang Hong was a part of the emperor¡¯s faction, but it didn¡¯t really matter whether he was involved or not. What mattered was that Zu An was also involved. Zu An was now an important minister in the Eastern Pce, and a useful servant of Bi Ziang¡¯s younger sister. If Zu An were to be convicted of a crime, it would easily end up involving Bi Ziang and his sister.

    ¡°Based on the time frame, the Imperial Envoy should have returned to the capital a long time ago, but they continued to stall for time using all manner of excuses. They only picked up their pace when his majesty personally issued a decree. Then, however, something happened as soon as they arrived at Silkworm City. How could there be such a coincidence in this world?¡± someone from King Qi¡¯s side replied.

    ¡°That means nothing. There were constant reports from the Imperial Envoy along the way. They encountered all kinds of unexpected events, and every single one is backed with proof that can be looked into,¡± said War Chariot General Liu Guang and a subordinate of General Liu Yao. They were the older brothers of the empress, so they naturally stood at the emperor¡¯s side. Otherwise, if King Qi rose to the throne, they would be cast away.

    ¡°During the fire that night, why was it that all the other members of the Imperial Envoy died, and yet Sang Hong was the only one to disappear mysteriously?¡± another official harrumphed.

    ¡°You said it yourself; he disappeared mysteriously. Why do you insist that Sir Sang colluded with the Fiend races to harm the Imperial Envoy fleet?¡± said a subordinate of Central Secretarial Supervisor Meng Yi. The Meng n was also a core pir of the emperor¡¯s faction.

    ¡°We found proof left behind at the scene of the crime. Sang Hong¡¯s personal keepsake and a letter ofmunication with the Fiend races,¡± Chief Attendant Pei Zheng reported after giving a subordinate of his a look.

    ¡°Something like that happened?!¡± The entire King Court erupted intomotion. Many of them had never heard that im before.

    Crown Princess Bi Linglong, who was sitting in a side room, frowned. The crown prince was really too stupid, so he couldn''t appear in such a grand ceremony. If he said some kind of terrible joke out loud, that really would give King Qi¡¯s faction a free de. As such, as apromise, they had allowed Bi Linglong to remain in a side room with pearl curtains blocking her view.

    At that moment, she reflexively looked toward the emperor. From what she heard, the Embroidered Envoy had immediately arrived at Silkworm City, bringing all of their witnesses and evidence back to the capital under a seal. Why did King Qi¡¯s faction know about that?

    A hint of anger shed through the emperor¡¯s eyes. He was clearly unhappy with the way King Qi was exploiting every weakness. Faced with his subjects¡¯ unspoken conclusions, however, he said indifferently, ¡°This emperor has already sent the Embroidered Envoy to investigate this affair. The case is still ongoing.¡±

    He didn¡¯t confirm or deny anything, but those present were smart. They quickly realized that there was indeed evidence of that sort.

    With that, the momentum of King Qi¡¯s faction immediately surged. Just then, Capital Magistrate Yi Chun added, ¡°This subject has already sent my men to investigate the Sang n. I believe there will be a result soon.¡±

    When they heard that, the representatives of the Liu, Bi, Meng, and several other ns all felt a grim premonition. They were all old foxes. They knew that, as King Qi had sent his people, that meant his side would most likely find the evidence they needed.

    Another member of King Qi¡¯s faction pressed the matter and said, ¡°This subject has received intelligence that the reason Sang Hong le[t stalling for time is to wait for Zu An to return. Zu An was not actually with the rest of the fleet at the time; rather, he went with the Medusa Queen to the fiend side.¡±

    Suddenly, another huge bomb had been dropped, causing amotion to break out. It seemed that King Qi¡¯s side wasn¡¯t satisfied with just dealing with Sang Hong. They wanted to wipe out the Eastern Pce¡¯s great minister too.

    There was no happiness or joy to be seen on King Qi¡¯s face, however. Inwardly, his thoughts were ice-cold. That brat Zu An is just too cunning. He said he was going to ally with me to deal with the emperor, but he kept ruining my great ns.

    It would have been one thing if it were just some normal affair, as that would just be the price of obtaining the emperor¡¯s trust. However, the situation in Cloudcenter Commandery was definitely intolerable. He had painstakingly invested in his ns there for over ten years, and yet it had all been ruined because of Zu An.

    Either way, Jiang Luofu had already obtained the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra from Zu An, so King Qi no longer felt that the brat had any value left. He had to take the chance to eliminate Zu An. At the same time, that would also eliminate a powerful minister from the Eastern Pce.

    Bi Linglong¡¯s expression turnedpletely cold. With her understanding of Zu An, what the official had said was most likely true. When she thought about how worried she had been about him while he hadn¡¯t even sent her a single letter, but as it turned out, he had eloped with another woman, she was furious.

    Still, anger was anger, but she had to save him regardless. She gestured, and one of the Eastern Pce¡¯s officials quickly retorted, ¡°That is nder! Sir Zu has always been loyal. How could he possibly do something like that?¡±

    King Qi¡¯s official replied, ¡°Our spy from the Fiend races has brought us intelligence that Zu An has appeared on the fiend side. You can have the Embroidered Envoy verify the source.¡±

    He took out some proof and had a nearby eunuch present it. Just like that, the Eastern Pce¡¯s power waned.

    Just then, however, Commandant of Justice Jiang Boyang said, ¡°I believe there must be some kind of misunderstanding here. We need to investigate this matter more closely first.¡± Because of his daughter Jiang Luofu, he actually had a good impression of Zu An.

    The officials who were friendly with Zu An, but had previously maintained neutrality, began to speak up one by one. For example, the officials under the Minister of Ceremonies all more or less had some rtionship with people from the Royal Academy. On top of that, Zu An¡¯s rtionship with the teachers in the Royal Academy was quite close.

    ¡­

    When he saw that the situation was showing signs of turning the other way, Magistrate Yi Chun said, ¡°If it really were as you say, and Zu An were still with the Imperial Envoy, he and Sang Hong definitely wouldn¡¯t have let the evildoers achieve what they wanted with their cultivation. However, the entire fleet was murdered in Silkworm City, and yet the two of them are nowhere to be seen.

    ¡°Once is a coincidence; twice can still be a coincidence. But if it happens that many times, how can it still be a coincidence?

    ¡°The document we delivered to his majesty records Zu An¡¯s appearances on the fiend side. It is irrefutable evidence.

    ¡°This subject asks your highness to convict Zu An of treason!¡±

    ¡­

    He had always been good at judging cases. His powerful and resonant arguments left the other side speechless. After all, the proof they had was far too unfavorable for Zu An.

    Bi Linglong couldn''t sit still anymore. She said, ¡°The crime of treason is no small matter. Sir Zu is missing right now, so we cannot hear a one-sided story. It will not be toote to question him in detail once he returns.¡± She could only try to stall for time now. She had to drag out the case as much as she could.

    However, no one could have expected King Qi¡¯s side to be so prepared. They had already had information on Zu An being on the fiend side before, and yet they had kept it to themselves. This time, they had used the Imperial Envoy case as the nail in the coffin.

    ¡°The Crown Princess¡¯ words are incorrect. As Zu An has alreadymitted treason, why would hee all the way back here just to be punished?¡± Yi Chun sneered.

    Bi Linglong was very worried. She looked toward her father and older brother with a pleading expression. However, considering how bad things looked, they both chose to remain silent.

    Suddenly, as Bi Linglong began to feel despair, a loud and clear voice suddenly called out, ¡°It sounds like someone was looking for me!¡±

    When she heard that familiar voice, Bi Linglong¡¯s eyes immediately widened. However, she was worried that the emperor would notice something, so she immediately looked down and tried to remain calm.

 Chapter 1543: Goddess and Moonlight

    Chapter 1543: Goddess and Moonlight

    Suddenly, however, the emperor gave Bi Linglong a look. Bi Linglong had thought she¡¯d hidden it quite well, but for an earth immortal, not a single detail in this ce could escape detection. For example, when King Qi¡¯s faction had been exchanging looks with each other, and even the emperor¡¯s own officials who were loyal to him, he knew exactly which camp they really belonged to.

    Previously, when Bi Linglong heard that Zu An had returned, her heart rate had elerated a bit. Even though she quickly hid it, there was no way it could escape his detection. Zu An had been an important official of the Eastern Pce to begin with; he was a capable general under Bi Linglong. It was normal for her to be happy when she saw his return. However, the fact that she was hiding it was problematic.

    The emperor frowned, hisplexion turning a bit ugly. Even though Bi Linglong was his daughter-inw, because he had previously sent his own soul fragment into the Crown Prince¡¯s body, he actually considered her equivalent to a child bride. He wouldn¡¯t allow any other man to corrupt her.

    Of course, he didn¡¯t think too deeply about what he had sensed. He didn¡¯t think that the two of them would ever brazenly do something that crossed the line that way. Still, that didn¡¯t mean he wouldn¡¯t punish themter.

    A tall and slender figure slowly walked into the main hall. Discussions immediately broke out amid the court. There were some who were shocked, some who were happy, and some whose mood turned grim¡­ There were all kinds of reactions.

    Zu An bowed toward the emperor and said, ¡°I greet your majesty!¡±

    The officials of King Qi¡¯s faction finally reacted to the situation. One eximed, ¡°Who let this traitor in? Guards, arrest him!¡±

    Zu An gave him a cold look and retorted, ¡°Who did you say was a traitor?¡±

    For some reason, when the official was caught in Zu An¡¯s gaze, he immediately felt a chill run through his entire body. He shrank back in fear, briefly unable to respond.

    How could he know that recently, Zu An had killed the Fiend Emperor in an Unknown Region? Even though many special conditions had lined up, Zu An had still killed one of the most powerful beings in the world. Later, he had killed many famous grandmasters during the Fiend King Court¡¯s upheaval. An unrivaled killing intent had already naturally gathered around him, sufficient to easily intimidate any normal cultivator

    The emperor and King Qi both gave Zu An a look of surprise. They clearly noticed how strange Zu An¡¯s body was.

    Bi Linglong was a bit confused. Why couldn''t she sense any ki aura from Zu An¡¯s body? Could it be that they were too far away? He looked just like a normal person right now! A look of deep concern appeared between her brows when she realized that. Could it be that something had happened to him on the trip that made him lose all of his cultivation?

    Many officials in the court had simr thoughts. They were caught off guard by Zu An¡¯s return at first, but they now realized that he was practically a cripple. What did they have to fear? As such, they immediately thought of using violence.

    Magistrate Yi Chun took the lead and said, ¡°Zu An, I have conclusive proof that you and the Medusa Queen were on the fiend side this whole time¡­¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, I did send her to the Fiend races¡¯ territory before,¡± Zu An said, directly confirming the im.

    The court erupted into amotion. Many people who had spoken up for him before had expressions of pity and regret. He¡¯s still too young; he doesn¡¯t use his head before he speaks.

    Bi Linglong was also upset, panicking. We all know that you definitely sent the Medusa Queen to the Fiend Races, but you can¡¯t admit to it out in the open like this! If you refute it, we can still try to help you find a way out, but we can¡¯t do anything to save you if you admit to it.

    King Qi¡¯s faction was overjoyed by the unexpected turn of events. They all began to denounce and condemn Zu An for colluding with the Fiend races andmitting treason.

    Zu An calmly replied, ¡°I admit that I sent the Medusa Queen to the Fiend Races, but when did I admit to treason?¡±

    Yi Chun asked with a sneer, ¡°Is there a difference?¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± Zu An said, sweeping his gaze across the ministers. He noticed thatpared tost time, there were already many people missing. He continued, ¡°Even though Madam Yu has the Medusa bloodline within her, that¡¯s something from the previous generation. That¡¯s not something she can control. Furthermore, half of her blood is human too. Why must you insist on treating her as a fiend?

    ¡°Madam Yu¡¯s reputation over the years is something I believe everyone knows about. She¡¯s always been kind and charitable. In terms of public achievements, the mine industry shemands has also made tremendous contributions to the court. Privately, she¡¯s always done all kinds of kind things, helping many people in need. Has anyone ever heard of her harming anyone in all of these years?¡±

    ¡°Hah! Even if she hasn¡¯t yet, that doesn¡¯t mean she won¡¯t in the future. Those who aren¡¯t human all have wicked hearts!¡± Yi Chun eximed in a loud and powerful voice. ¡°What she did was merely to bribe the hearts of the people. That way, it would be much more convenient for the Fiend races to do whatever they wanted.¡±

    ¡°Everything you¡¯ve just done is what we call groundless, convicting one of a crime that has never happened. Commandant of Justice Jiang, can our court¡¯sws be carried out like this?¡± Zu An called out, looking toward Jiang Boyang to solicit his opinion. Jiang Boyang was the Commandant of Justice, which was the highest position in the judicial system.

    Jiang Boyang stroked his beard and replied, ¡°This dynasty¡¯sws indeedck any such rule.¡±

    Yi Chun looked at Zu An and sneered. ¡°Yu Yanluo secretly sent supplies to the Fiend races; you can¡¯t deny that proof, can you?There have already been reports from Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s officials. If you haven¡¯t looked at them yet, I advise you to look through them first before speaking to me.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m aware of that as well,¡± Zu An exined. ¡°Those were merely the most basic goods for survival. She does have half Snake race blood. There isn¡¯t anything too wrong with taking care of her people a bit, no? After all, she didn¡¯t send any strategic supplies, unlike a certain someone¡­¡±

    King Qi raised his brows slightly. Fortunately, Yi Chun reacted quickly and replied, ¡°Stop trying to change the topic and talk about unrted things. Who knows if she sent any strategic resources or not? Furthermore, even if it was normal goods, that¡¯s still prohibited by the court. Aren¡¯t you rambling on and on like this because you want to say you haven¡¯t colluded with the Fiend races?¡±

    Zu An smiled and replied, ¡°So I¡¯ve colluded with the Fiend races if my rtionship with Madam Yu is on the good side? From what I know, in the past, Madam Yu¡¯s unmatched beauty was famous in the capital. There are still many in the court who have good rtionships with her, and even his majesty and King Qi were previously her good friends. Could it be that you want to say that they¡¯ve colluded with the Fiend races too?¡±

    The emperor and King Qi¡¯s faces both twitched. This guy really did know how to poke at their sore spots! In the past, they had indeed pursued Yu Yanluo, asking for her hand in marriage. However, back then, because of the fiercepetition over the throne, both of them had cared a lot about their reputation. They hadn¡¯t wanted to ruin their prestige over a woman.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The other nobles had all been aware of the emperor and King Qi¡¯spetition, so even though they had beenpletely smitten by Madam Yu¡¯s beauty and fawned over her, none of them had dared to do anything else to her.

    In spite of that, while Yu Yanluo had remained in the capital for many years, she had never favored any particr individual. Then, she had left the capital suddenly, taking the hearts of countless nobles with her.

    Later, when they learned that she had married Cloudcenter Duke, the hearts of the capital¡¯s men shattered. There was even a rumor that on that day, the emperor had flown into a terrible rage, smashing many teacups. King Qi had also shut his door and refused guests for three days before returning to normal.

    Many people in the court knew about that. They were all interested in seeing how this would y out.

    Yi Chun coughed before saying, ¡°Ahem, who are his majesty and King Qi? How can you bepared to them? In the past, no one knew about Yu Yanluo¡¯s Medusa bloodline¡­¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know about her Medusa bloodline when I first met her either,¡± Zu An immediately replied before continuing, ¡°Furthermore, Madam Yu showed me great favor in the past. This is something that his majesty can attest to. When ites to someone who showed me great favor, and nevermitted evil in the past, how could I leave her alone when something happened to her? Doesn¡¯t that go against the system of values the court has proimed over the years?¡±

    The court had always regarded ¡®loyalty¡¯ as its foremost value. However, because the emperor who founded the dynasty had been a minister of the Meng Dynasty, and the method he had used to seize the throne wasn¡¯t all that honorable, they couldn''t use the word ¡®loyalty¡¯ and had instead reced it with ¡®piety¡¯ and ¡®justice¡¯. Meanwhile, if Zu An didn¡¯t return kindness, he would be considered an unjust sort.

    With that opening, the Eastern Pce¡¯s people immediately regained their resolve and once again spoke up for him. The way they quoted the ssics left even Zu An blushing with shame.

    Yi Chun frowned, thinking, This kid is crafty as expected, and difficult to deal with. He could only reply, ¡°Justice is still rtive. If you¡¯re discussing justice in rtion to the Fiend races, aren¡¯t you just colluding with the Fiend races?¡±

    ¡°Sir Yi, please don¡¯t be so narrow-minded,¡± Zu An said calmly. ¡°Madam Yu was being attacked, but while I was escorting her out, I stumbled upon a spatial rift. Terrifying monsters from another world, called Scaled Deathworms, invaded through it. It was precisely because of Madam Yu¡¯s help that I was able to kill those invading monsters and also close up the rift, thus saving the lives of countless people living in Cloudcenter Commandery.¡±

    He concluded, ¡°In my opinion, Madam Yu shouldn¡¯t be punished, but should instead be rewarded!¡±

    One thing Zu An had really wanted to do on this trip was to restore Yu Yanluo¡¯s identity so she could properly return. Whenever he had seen her stare nkly towards the south, even though she always said she was fine when he asked her, anyone with eyes could see the loneliness in her gaze.

    Yi Chun sneered. ¡°Who knows if you¡¯re telling the truth or not? You might have been trying to destroy the Yu n¡¯s mines on purpose so the court couldn''t make use of the ki stones inside for some time. That way, if the court¡¯s resources were dyed, wouldn¡¯t that further strengthen the case for your act of treason?¡±

    Zu An seemed to have already anticipated that response. He quickly retorted, ¡°If Sir Yi doesn¡¯t believe me, you can ask White Jade Sect Master Yan. She was also there at the time.¡±

    He felt amazing when he said that. Having more wives really is awesome; they¡¯re so great.

    However, Yun Jianyue was the Devil Sect Master, someone viewed as a viin by the court. He couldn''t bring out her name.

    When they heard him say Yan Xuehen¡¯s name, the court became lively once more. If Yu Yanluo was a goddess they pursued but couldn''t obtain, Yan Xuehen was like a ray of moonlight cast across their hearts. Almost all of them had at one point been enamored by her purity and elegance.

    Unlike Yu Yanluo, Yan Xuehen was too powerful, and she was also a daoist with a special identity. That had made it hard for them to even try to pursue her. Even so, that white-d goddess often appeared in their dreams. The court¡¯s officials all began to recall her figure fondly, as if they were remembering their own youth.

    When he heard the name Yan Xuehen, Yi Chun was also a bit at a loss for words. If she really was willing to testify to such a thing, no one would doubt her words. Furthermore, Yan Xuehen had always been cold in nature, while utterly detesting evil. Zu An wouldn¡¯t talk recklessly about someone like her.

    Suddenly, a messenger quickly entered to report, ¡°Most of the bailiffs who were sent to the Sang n were killed! The casualties are severe.¡±

    Yi Chun was horrified. He immediately rushed forward and eximed, ¡°What about my son?!¡±

 Chapter 1544: Too Naive

    Chapter 1544: Too Naive

    Yi Chun had always loved his son dearly. How could he not be nervous when he learned that most of the men he had sent were dead?

    The messenger was frightened by Yi Chun¡¯s sudden movements and looked toward the emperor. When he saw the emperor nod, he said, ¡°ording to what those who escaped said, the lead Bailiff Wang and young master Yi were¡­¡±

    ¡°Were what?¡± Yi Chun asked, panicking when he saw the messenger hesitate. ¡°Was he injured? Was it serious? Where is he? Hurry and take me there!¡±

    He had heard a bit about his son¡¯s unsavory record over the past few years, but he had assumed it wasn¡¯t too big a deal. Ordinary people couldn''t really do much about it, and Yi Zhibing had always been quite sharp. He knew who to provoke and who to stay away from. Even if he identally offended some people, they would still be lenient out of respect for him. After some proper punishment, he would then be let off. As such, Yi Chun wondered who had punished Yi Zhibing this time.

    The messenger was a bit troubled. He secretly broke free from Yi Chun¡¯s grasp, took a step back, and said, ¡°Young master Yi¡­ has been killed.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s been killed, that¡¯s not too bad, I¡¯ll find some medicine¡­¡± Yi Chun muttered absent-mindedly before suddenly realizing what had happened. ¡°What?!¡±

    The entire ce immediately became as noisy as a marketce. Yi Chun¡¯s official rank wasn¡¯t the highest, but it definitely wasn¡¯t low. People normally turned a blind eye to Yi Zhibing¡¯s actions out of respect for Yi Chun, and yet now, Yi Zhibing had been killed by an unknown person.

    Even the emperor was a bit surprised. There was actually someone who dared to kill publicly in the capital, and to kill an official, no less! Could it be that the Devil Sect¡¯s people were here to cause trouble again?

    Yi Chun felt as if he had been struck by thunder. His entire body fell limp to the ground. The officials next to him quickly rushed over to support him, and only after a while did he recover again. However, he pushed those officials away, looking at the messenger with a murderous gaze and asking, ¡°Who was the killer? Who dares do something so demented?!¡±

    The messenger hesitated for a moment. He looked at the emperor again.

    The emperor was stunned, thinking, Don¡¯t tell me it was someone you can¡¯t name? However, out of consideration for Yi Chun¡¯s anger, he couldn''t let his ministers feel abandoned. As such, he waved his hand and said, ¡°Say what you think.¡±

    The messenger then said hesitantly, ¡°From what we know¡­ the killer seems¡­ to be Sir Zu An.¡±

    ¡°Zu An?¡± several people eximed, simultaneously looking at Zu An. None of them had expected it to be him!

    ¡°This old one is going to kill you!¡± Yi Chun roared like a furious lion, pouncing directly at Zu An.

    You have sessfully trolled Yi Chun for +999 +999 +999¡­

    This youngster¡¯s glib tongue had already left Yi Chun really annoyed, and now, it turned out Zu An had killed his son! How could he still tolerate it?

    No longer concerned with the court, charged straight at Zu An, locking onto him with a powerful aura. In his anger, he didn¡¯t hold back at all. He wanted to kill Zu An without giving him any chance to speak.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Bi Linglong cried out as she stood up nervously.

    She wanted to save Zu An, but he was unfortunately too far away. Furthermore, even if she had been at his side, there was just too big of a difference in cultivation between her and Yi Chun. She couldn''t save Zu An even if she wanted to. She could only watch as Zu An was caught up in such a terrifying situation, as if he would be blown to pieces at a moment¡¯s notice.

    Unexpectedly, however, Zu An didn¡¯t run at all. He stood in ce with a calm expression. Soon after, two figures suddenly rushed forth, unleashing palm strikes to intercept Yi Chun.

    Yi Chun staggered briefly. When he stabilized himself again, he looked at the two people in front of him and asked, ¡°Sir Jiang, Sir Murong, what is the meaning of this?¡±

    Jiang Boyang also looked at the ring elder next to him with a bit of surprise. He hadn¡¯t expected Murong Tong to actually step forward to help Zu An too. After all, it was actually Zu An who had caused the string of events that caused Murong Tong to be demoted from the crucial position of Security Officer to his current ¡®half-retired¡¯ position of Supervisor of Attendants. The two sides had even erupted into conflicts several times. Out of all the people who wanted Zu An dead, he should have been near the top of the list. Now, however, he had saved Zu An!

    Murong Tong said with a sour expression, ¡°There are too many points of suspicion in this case. It will not be toote after we investigate things clearly.¡±

    He naturally didn¡¯t like Zu An, but his good granddaughter Murong Qinghe always talked about Zu An whenever she visited. The fact that Murong Qinghe liked the Chu n¡¯s youngest Chu Youzhao was no secret. Meanwhile, Zu An was the Chu n¡¯s son-inw, so they could end up bing family in the future. As such, no matter how much Murong Tong disliked Zu An, he couldn''t just watch as Zu An died right before his eyes.

    Jiang Boyang said in agreement, ¡°Indeed. If selfish actions were allowed in the court, we would quickly be aughingstock.¡± After all, as the Commandant of Justice, maintaining the dignity of thew was his responsibility to begin with.

    mes practically began to appear in Yi Chun¡¯s eyes. He wasn¡¯t in the mood to listen to others¡¯ advice at all. He charged after yelling, ¡°That little bastard killed my beloved son. Today, I won¡¯t be satisfied unless he dies!¡±

    Just then, Eunuch Wen called out in his shrill voice, ¡°Silence!¡±

    Yi Chun finally stopped. Everyone in the capital knew Eunuch Wen was the emperor¡¯s trusted aide. His words usually represented the emperor¡¯s attitude.

    Sure enough, Emperor Zhao Han glowered, saying, ¡°The entire court has be like the markets. This is uneptable!¡±

    All the subjects present all bowed apologetically and eximed. ¡°We fear the emperor!¡± At the same time, they all looked at Yi Chun with disdain. Didn¡¯t you say you weren¡¯t going to stop no matter who stood in your way? Keep going then, if you have the ability!

    Yi Chun didn¡¯t dare to do anything else. He simply kneeled low to the ground andined tearfully, ¡°Your highness, my son was carrying out official business while under orders this time, and yet he was cruelly killed by this evildoer Zu An! I ask that your highness upholds justice!¡±

    The emperor frowned, but he couldn''t ignore the death of the son of one of his ministers. As such, he looked at the other person involved and asked, ¡°Zu An, did you go to the Sang manor, and were you the one who killed Yi Chun¡¯s son?¡±

    King Qi frowned. Zu An should have been part of the emperor¡¯s faction, so for him to receive protection was to be expected. However, after facing him for so many years, King Qi understood his older brother¡¯s naturally cold demeanor better than anyone else. He knew the emperor already greatly disliked Zu An, and letting his subjects attack Zu An as they wanted had been a reflection of that. But now, he seemed to have changed his mind.

    The emperor¡¯s question was full of implied meanings. As long as Zu An denied it tly, Yi Chun¡¯s revenge would be out of the question. Eventually, if they stalled long enough, the issue would pass.

    Bi Linglong looked expectantly at Zu An, thinking, This guy has always been intelligent, so he should be able to pick up on this.

    Unexpectedly, however, Zu An nodded and said, ¡°Before I entered the pce, I indeed visited the Sang manor first. I did kill Yi Zhibing.¡±

    The entire court erupted noisily once again. Jiang Boyang and Murong Tong both shook their heads as they returned to their positions. Now, not even the Eastern Pce¡¯s people would be able to do anything.

    Yi Chun¡¯s entire body shook as he berated Zu An with curses. If he hadn¡¯t been afraid of the emperor, he would have already attacked Zu An.

    You have sessfully trolled Yi Chun for +444 +444 +444¡­

    The emperor was speechless. So was Bi Linglong.

    King Qi gave Zu An a look of surprise. Why is this kid still so calm?

    Killing an official was no different from treason, let alone in the present situation where the victim¡¯s family was still present.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Bi Linglong was very worried. She let go of her reservations and asked, ¡°Sir Zu, what happened at the Sang manor exactly that made you decide to do such a thing?¡±

    Many of those present felt admiration for her. The Crown Princess really is sharp, obtaining a chance for him to defend himself so easily.

    Sure enough, Zu An took the opportunity and said, ¡°When I found out that something happened to Sir Sang, I was incredibly worried. When I returned to the capital, I wanted to see how the Sang n was doing first. However, in the midst of their difficult situation, I encountered Yi Zhibing brazenly attacking young miss Sang and the Sang n¡¯s daughter-inw. As such, I took action out of righteous indignation.¡±

    The expressions of the ministers present changed a bit. As fellow members of the court, they had actually heard things about Yi Zhibing¡¯s nature here and there. As such, few of them doubted his story. Still, all of them were old foxes, so they wouldn¡¯t rush in to ¡®uphold justice¡¯ or anything in the current situation. That was especially true where doing so could offend another member of the court.

    King Qi sneered. He had thought Zu An had some other trump card. Was that it? The young are too naive after all. Too simple.

 Chapter 1545: Feng Shan Ceremony

    <h4>Chapter 1545: Feng Shan Ceremony</h4>

    The court wasn¡¯t a ce to discuss right or wrong. After all, there weren¡¯t many things in the world that were absolutely right or wrong to begin with. King Qi knew it would simply be wishful thinking if Zu An wanted to get away scot-free with just that exnation.

    Sure enough, Yi Chun immediately protested, ¡°Nonsense! I understand my son¡¯s character better than anyone! How could he possibly do something like that?!¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    You have sessfully trolled Yi Chun for +258 +258 +258¡­

    The low amount of Rage points, however, showed that he wascking a bit of confidence.

    Zu An sneered and said, ¡°You¡¯re his father, so of course you feel that your son is good in every way. However, as for what kind of character Yi Zhibing had, that¡¯s something the officials andmon people of the capital couldn''t be more aware of. Sir Sang was acting as the Imperial Envoy and his crimes haven¡¯t yet been confirmed, but Yi Zhibing already went knocking on their door to frame them, forging evidence to frame a court official. That isn¡¯t all; he was even more brazen and wanted to do disgraceful things to the Sang n¡¯s daughter and daughter-inw. His majesty, I wish to invite the Sang n¡¯s staff in. We can immediately uncover Yi Zhibing¡¯s crimes with just some simple questions.¡±

    Yi Chun spat furiously, ¡°What you are saying is simply venomous nder! My son is dead, so of course you can misrepresent the truth however you want. The dead can¡¯t testify, after all!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Yi Chun for +400 +400 +400¡­

    ¡°What do you mean, the dead can¡¯t testify?¡± Zu An replied calmly. ¡°There were so many bailiffs there too. Just bring them over and question them.¡±

    ¡°Fine, then let¡¯s ask them to see what happened,¡± Yi Chun said with a sneer. Those were all his subordinates, whom he had carefully trained and selected. How could they possibly say things that were unfavorable to him?

    Zu An wasn¡¯t stupid. He replied, ¡°I propose that we have the libationer or the Royal Academy¡¯s people interrogate them to make sure that they¡¯re telling the truth.¡±

    ¡°What kind of status does the libationer have? Why would we disturb him for something like this?¡± Yi Chun quickly refused, adding, ¡°What, don¡¯t tell me you suspect that even the bailiffs who carry out thews of the court would lie?¡±

    Many of the officials of the court had their own thoughts. There had been rumors that Zu An¡¯s rtionship with the Royal Academy was good. Now, it seemed that was indeed the case.

    ¡°Even your son died, and yet you¡¯re treating it like a trifling matter. In that case, I have nothing else to say,¡± Zu An said with a shrug, as if to imply ¡®It¡¯s not as if he¡¯s my son.¡¯ Yi Chun was so angry he almost vomited blood on the spot.

    Waterfront Duke¡¯s Chief Attendant Pei Zheng spoke up, saying, ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about other things for now. The court hasws; how can we allow someone to act willfully on their own? Whether or not Yi Zhibing did anything to the Sang n¡¯s women can be slowly investigatedter. Right now, there¡¯s no way around the fact that Zu An has killed a court official.¡±

    King Qi nodded inwardly. The death of his son had made Yi Chun¡¯s anger rush to his head. He had almost been misled by Zu An. Meanwhile, King Qi couldn¡¯t personally step forward and speak, but what Pei Zheng had just said was precisely the argument he would have made: No matter how well Zu An defended himself, everyone else could just ignore all of it. All they had to do was to focus on the single issue of him killing court officials.

    Sure enough, when they heard the argument, many people who had been on Zu An¡¯s side changed their expressions. They knew that even if what Zu An said was true, it still wasn¡¯t enough justification for killing court officials.

    Compared to the injustice suffered by one or two people, what the emperor cared more about was thew of the entire country. If he tacitly allowed such a thing to happen, wouldn¡¯t that encourage themon people to challenge the authorities?

    Sure enough, the emperor¡¯s expression darkened as he said, ¡°Zu An, do you have anything else to say for yourself?¡±

    ¡°I do,¡± Zu An replied with a calm expression.

    However, his attitude made King Qi and the others sneer inwardly.The way things are, it¡¯s already meaningless no matter what you say.

    Bi Linglong worriedly tried to think of a way to save Zu An.

    ¡°Speak!¡± the emperor continued, now feeling a bit upset as well.Why is this kid so calm? Could it be that this emperor¡¯s presence isn¡¯t intimidating enough?

    Zu An swept his gaze across the entire ce, making sure to not leave out anything. Then, he slowly said, ¡°The Fiend Emperor has died.¡±

    The fiend side and human side were too far apart for information to travel back and forth quickly. Zu An had rushed straight back on the Wind Fire Wheels, which far exceeded the speed at which human spies could move between the two ces.

    ¡°What?!¡±

    Now, the entire King Court really became chaotic. The noise far exceeded the previous few times.

    After all, even though Yi Chun¡¯s son had died, that was that. In the end, he was still just a nobody who wouldn¡¯t really change much of anything. However, the Fiend Emperor¡¯s death could affect the entire world.

    ¡°Is what you say really true?¡± the emperor asked, leaning forward. The Fiend Emperor was the only oneparable to him in the entire world. The two of them had been rivals for so long, and yet now, the other had suddenly died? Even someone as shrewd as him was incredibly shocked.

    ¡°I saw it personally¡­¡± Zu An began, then exined the entire story of the Fiend Emperor being killed in the secret dungeon. Of course, he hid the fact that he had been the one responsible. After all, he had made use of a favorable situation; his real cultivation was still far from the Fiend Emperor¡¯s. It would only be more troublesome for him in the future if others became more guarded against him.

    Even so, the entire court¡¯s officials clicked their tongues in wonder when they listened to the story. They hadn¡¯t expected the legendary Unknown Regions to actually exist.

    Only Bi Linglong¡¯s eyes shone brilliantly. She had fought together with Zu An in a secret dungeon before¡­ even though she had spent most of that time with her legs behind his back. She was likely the only one in the entire court who suspected that Zu An wasn¡¯t telling the truth. After all, she had personally witnessed just what kind of power he had revealed in the other secret dungeon.

    ¡°I never expected the Fiend Emperor to actually die like this¡­¡± the emperor muttered to himself in a daze.

    Suddenly, Zu An spoke up again. ¡°I wish to report to your majesty that I even have information on the new Fiend Emperor. The Fiend races wish for a ceasefire with us. Furthermore, the new Fiend Emperor is willing to call himself your majesty¡¯s nephew, and at the same time, to present a mary tribute to the emperor every year.¡±

    That wasn¡¯t his own idea, but something that the entire upper echelon of the Fiend races had agreed to. Thete Fiend Emperor was now dead, so the Fiend races no longer had the power to resist Zhao Han. If they didn¡¯t hold negotiations and Zhao Han went personally, they could all end up being doomed.

    Even though the Fiend races were more aggressive than humans, they weren¡¯t stupid. They were at a disadvantage right now. Lowering their heads and paying some tribute for a few years was still something they could ept. Once the new Fiend Emperor grew up and the Fiend races gathered enough strength again, they could think about changing things.

    ¡°How is that possible?!¡± King Qi eximed. Even though he had sat still indifferently the entire time, even he couldn''t hold himself back from shouting.

    The humans and fiends had fought for so many years. Even though the humans had forced the fiends all the way north into horrible conditions, the fiends had never yielded in the slightest. If this were real, the consequences would be too hard for even King Qi to endure.

    Forget about him, not even the emperor believed it. Fortunately, there was no need for him to speak, as countless subjects began to criticize Zu An for uttering nonsense without thinking.

    In response, Zu An calmly took out an borately packaged book, saying, ¡°These are the credentials of the new Fiend Emperor. I invite your majesty to look it over.¡±

    Those present were stupefied. Many of them even began to grit their teeth.Why didn¡¯t you take that out sooner? Do you really need us to jump up and down like that before you took it out to p us in the faces?

    The emperor couldn''t even wait for the eunuchs to take it. He reached out his hand and pulled it through the air to him, then quickly flipped through the contents. There was no way to falsify such a thing, especially when the seal of the state and the Fiend Emperor¡¯s personal seal were both there. As he quickly skimmed the contents, he couldn''t help but roar withughter. Hisugh reverberated through the capital city¡¯s skies, leaving countlessmon people confused.

    How could his subjects still not know what was going on? They all bowed toward him and cheered, ¡°Long live the emperor! Long live!¡±

    Bi Qi, who had been so quiet the entire time he had practically seemed asleep, said to the emperor, ¡°Your majesty has conquered thends, and now, you have fully subdued the Fiend races. This glorious achievement is somethingpletely unprecedented; it is heaven¡¯s mandate that your highness became our ruler. You have brought order to the masses, and peace to all under the sky. This is simply a divine achievement!¡±

    The other ministers smacked their thighs, all thinking,Why didn¡¯t I think of these words and say them sooner?They then petitioned the emperor to hold a Feng Shan ceremony.

    That ceremony had always been extremely sacred, from the dawn of human civilization. Since ancient times, there had been countless emperors, but only a small fraction had dared to hold the Feng Shan ceremony, with every single one achieving shocking contributions. The emperors ofter generations had known they couldn''tpare, so they hadn¡¯t dared to defy worldly opinion and recklessly carry out such a ceremony.

    Even Zhao Han, who had already be undefeated in the world, still hadn¡¯t dared to do such a thing. Now, however, it seemed to have be a possibility.

    Inwardly Zhao Han was ecstatic, but he pretended to refuse on the surface. His ministers were all sharp-witted, and began to advise him to hold the ceremony. Even though the emperor hadn¡¯t agreed, they all knew he was already tempted.

    When he saw the entire court¡¯s excitement, Yi Chun waspletely stupefied.Everyone is so happy; who will still remember my dead son?

 Chapter 1546: Marquis Shen

    Chapter 1546: Marquis Shen

    It was likely that the only one who felt even colder than Yi Chun was King Qi. In order to face the emperor over the years, he had painstakingly created the reputation of a wise and virtuous king. He had always lived as if he were walking on thin ice. Together with the support of thete emperor¡¯s trusted aides, he had just barely been able to match the emperor in terms of power and prestige.

    However, the past two years seemed to have been extremely unlucky for him. Bad things had happened to the officials on his side again and again. He had begun to panic a bit as he watched his forces being whittled down bit by bit, and thusunched a fierce counterattack. He had thought he had a chance to salvage the situation at first; and yet now, something like this had happened?

    For the Fiend Emperor to refer to himself as a nephew before the emperor, just what kind of incredible contribution was that? Countless generations of human emperors had failed to do that, and yet now, Zhao Han had actually aplished it.

    If King Qi allowed Zhao Han to hold the Feng Shan ceremony and the entire world heard of it, no one could everpare to his prestige again in the future! King Qi¡¯s lifetime of hard work facing Zhao Han would end up as nothing more than a joke.

    Meanwhile, all of this had been caused by Zu An! King Qi seethed with rage, thinking, Did I owe him something in myst life or something? The losses to my forces began right when he arrived at the capital. If I had known things would turn out like this, I should have just crushed this ant to death back then!

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Jing for +444 +444 +444¡­

    King Qi could no longer hold back anymore. He couldn''t be bothered to signal his subordinates first before asking, ¡°For something so important, why didn¡¯t the Fiend Emperor send an emissary, instead allowing you, a human, to pass it on?¡±

    His voice made the entire court immediately calm down. It wasn¡¯t just King Qi¡¯s faction; even those from the Eastern Pce and emperor¡¯s factions were confused. Indeed, that didn¡¯t make sense.

    Zu An slowly said, ¡°All of this happened by chance. I witnessed thete Fiend Emperor¡¯s death in the secret dungeon, then obtained an important message he entrusted to the Fiend King Court. As soon as I came out of the dungeon, I encountered the crown prince using the army to ruthlessly ughter his own brothers. No one expected that the Second Prince had also been actively plotting at the time, and he rebelled¡­ In the midst of that, I contributed a bit to help the youngest emperor ascend to the throne. Afterward, I returned to the human side. That was why they entrusted me to deliver this message. As long as his majesty agrees, official diplomats will soon be sent to settle the details of this affair.¡±

    Even though Zu An had downyed the situation, the people present were all shocked. It was easy to imagine just how bloody and cruel the struggle for the imperial throne was. However, it was hard to imagine how someone like Zu An had been able to join in on the struggle, let alone help the youngest prince seize the throne.

    Many people began to secretly size up Zu An. There wasn¡¯t even the slightest ki auraing from his body. Had he really been able to do something like that? Could he have been seriously injured during that battle, making him lose all his cultivation?

    More importantly, however, the Fiend Emperor¡¯s letter was present, so they had no choice but to believe it! Even King Qi had nothing else to say. His expression waspletely dark, and his thoughts imprable.

    Central Secretariat Assistant Director Pei Lian said, ¡°Sir Zu is a human, and yet he helped the Fiend Emperor. Isn¡¯t that a bit inappropriate?¡±

    He was Pei Zheng¡¯s son, another person from King Qi¡¯s faction. He had always been rather quick-witted and keenly seized an angle of attack. With him taking the lead, the officials of King Qi¡¯s factions all voiced their opinions. They also brought up the usation of collusion with the Fiend races from earlier.

    Zu An remained calm as he looked at them, replying, ¡°If I hadn¡¯t joined in, then the Fiend races¡¯ new emperor would either be the exceptionally talented leader of the Fiend races¡¯ Five Young Extremes, the Golden Crow Crown Prince; or otherwise, the powerful and scheming Second Prince. Let me ask everyone, would it have been more beneficial for us if one of them became the Fiend Emperor, or if a child became the Fiend Emperor?¡±

    The others were left at a loss for words. They were naturally able to distinguish which one on the throne would be more beneficial! If it had been anyone other than the youngest prince on the throne, they would never be willing to be the nephew of the Human Emperor and show such weakness. However, the youngest prince¡¯s actions were so natural that not even the elders of the Fiend races had any objections.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zhao Han spoke up just then, saying, ¡°Alright, as the Fiend Emperor wishes to pay tribute to us as a nephew, that is something worth celebrating. Pass down the order that the entire country¡¯s borders are to have three days of amnesty!¡±

    ¡°Long live the emperor! Long live, long live!¡±

    ¡­

    After another round of ttery from the ministers, the members of the Eastern Pce said, ¡°Sir Zu has brought back such a great achievement; he ought to be rewarded! That way, the people will be encouraged to work harder¡­¡±

    Zhao Han nodded. His mood was quite good, so he found even Zu An a bit more pleasing than before. He asked, ¡°What do our ministers feel is a suitable reward to give?¡±

    Those present looked at each other in dismay. It was quite a difficult question to answer. If their armies had invaded the Fiend races¡¯ territory and forced the Fiend races into submission, this would only be the contribution of an ordinary diplomatic emissary. Just some simple rewards from the Department of Ceremonies would already be enough.

    Right now however, the Fiend races¡¯ strength still existed, and their armies were at an impasse. The humans had never expected the Fiend races to just admit defeat. And yet, Zu An had relied on his strength alone to achieve such a result. It really was a groundbreaking achievement.

    Another official spoke up to curry favor with the Eastern Pce, saying, ¡°This kind of achievement is unprecedented. Considering that Sir Zu is now already a count, these contributions are already enough to make him a special king!¡±

    ¡°A king?¡± The emperor¡¯s eyelids couldn''t help but twitch when he heard that suggestion.

    King Qi¡¯s expression was alsopletely cold. How can a loach like this beparable to me?

    Many people in the court quickly reacted and criticized the official. One replied, ¡°Sir Zu¡¯s contributions are not small, but making him a king is going too far. The reason why the Fiend races were willing to surrender is because of his majesty¡¯s prestige; their apprehension is the main reason. In the end, most of the contributions belong to his majesty.¡±

    With that person taking the lead, the others immediately praised Zhao Han for how heroic and powerful he was. Even King Qi had no choice but to go against his true thoughts and offer praise.

    Zhao Han was very happy as he said, ¡°All of you speak too formally. Zu An¡¯s contributions in this matter cannot be overlooked either.¡±

    The court¡¯s members were all sharp. They quickly realized that the thought of making Zu An a king had already been dismissed. As such, they began to discuss what other reward would be suitable.

    When he saw the changes in the court, Zu An wasn¡¯t all that affected. He thought to himself that, if these people knew he was the Regent of the Fiend races, what kind of reaction would they have?

    Another official proposed, ¡°Then, should we just give him the title of duke?¡±

    At first, people felt that it was a bit absurd, but after thinking about it, Zu An really had brought back many contributions. He was already a count. If he were only raised a single rank as a reward, that would be a bit too cold. It would be embarrassing to the royal family.

    However, Zu An was just too young! In just a few years, he had gone from being a nobody to bing a count. Now, he could even be a duke. The court had so many important ministers, and yet how many were dukes? Every duke was at the peak of officialdom. Now, a youngster could be added to their ranks¡­ Just the thought of it was a bit strange.

    Even Bi Ziang was full of jealousy. He felt that his talent was exceptional and that he was also among the best of his peers. He had always merely treated Zu An as his little sister¡¯s dog, which if one thought about it, would at least make him a Bi n servant.

    And yet, Zu An was now a duke! His position was the same as Bi Ziang¡¯s own father¡¯s! Meanwhile, as the young master, he himself was still far off; how could his normally arrogant self tolerate this?

    In contrast, Bi Linglong¡¯s eyes shone. Unlike her big brother, she only hoped for Zu An to reach higher and higher positions.

    The court discussed the situation; in the end, they gradually came to the consensus that they would grant Zu An the lowest grade of the duke rank. Dukes were separated into three types; from high to low, there were State Dukes, Commandery Dukes, and County Dukes.

    Previously, Jian Yanyou had been Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s Duke. Themandery had been his fiefdom. Meanwhile, County Dukes had cities as their feudal fiefdoms. Brightmoon Duke Chu Zhongtian was that kind.

    Meanwhile, Zu An didn¡¯t have any foundation, so there was no way he would be given such arge fiefdom as Brightmoon City. Whether it was King Qi¡¯s faction or the emperor¡¯s faction, both of them had reached the consensus that Zu An had been promoted too quickly and needed some appropriate suppression. As such, they all began to discuss which remote and impoverished small city to grant him.

    Suddenly, Yi Chun stood up, crying in grief and indignation, ¡°This person conspired to murder my son and ruthlessly killed the bailiffs. Are we going to let this matter pass like this?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Yi Chun for +996 +996 +996¡­

    The entire court immediately calmed down; they were all embarrassed. They seemed to have really forgotten about that. Subsequently, they began to noisily debate what to do.

    King Qi¡¯s faction seized the opportunity and tried to convict Zu An of a crime. Many people from the emperor¡¯s faction were jealous that Zu An had risen in rank too quickly, so they didn¡¯t speak up too much for him either. Meanwhile, the Eastern Pce was naturally acting under the Crown Princess¡¯ wishes, but they found themselves to be a bit too weak alone. They were heavily pressured by King Qi¡¯s people.

    The emperor frowned. He naturally understood King Qi¡¯s intentions. There was no way he could let his glorious contribution be muddled; otherwise, what dignity would he have left during the Feng Shan ceremony?

    As such, he immediately settled things and said, ¡°This emperor will send the Embroidered Envoy to investigate the Sang n situation. However, regardless, Zu An¡¯s act was wrong. Out of consideration for his contributions to the human race¡­ Hmm, in that case, the title of duke that he ought to have will be reduced to that of marquis. Recently, Shen Land just happens to have had a vacancy open up, so we can grant that as Zu An¡¯s fiefdom and grant him the title of Marquis Shen.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. Deep throat?[1]

    Just what the heck did I do to deserve this? I¡¯ve never gotten a single normal title!

    1. Simr pronunciation to ¡®Marquis Shen¡¯. ?

 Chapter 1547: Dancing on the Tightrope of Life and Death

    <h4>Chapter 1547: Dancing on the Tightrope of Life and Death</h4>

    Zu An didn¡¯t really care whether he was a duke or a marquis. After all, he was someone who had even been an emperor before in Yinxu. The difference between those two ranks was negligible to him.

    The human side was much more convoluted and borate, and promotions all had strict regtions and restrictions. One¡¯s family status and background would also be taken into consideration. Giving him the title of king was definitely impractical, but he had thought that with such a huge contribution, he would at least be a duke, even if it was the lowest level county duke.

    In the end, however, he was still reduced to a marquis. Even though the superficial reason was that he killed Yi Zhibing, as long as the emperor wanted to, he could have just investigated the Sang n first. Considering Yi Zhibing¡¯s actions, not even death would have wiped out his crimes.

    And yet, the emperor hadn¡¯t looked into it and had chosen to punish him first. Yi Chun and the others probably felt that the emperor was protecting him, but Zu An understood very clearly that the reason was that the emperor didn¡¯t want to make him a duke.

    Previously, when he drank with Sang Hong, they had talked about the emperor. Even though Zhao Han was talented and courageous, he was too ambitious, and he treated his subjects rather coldly. Zhao Han clearly wanted to take the contributions of the Fiend Races¡¯ submission all for himself. If Zu An¡¯s reward was too great, everyone else would think that the contribution belonged to him. That was something Zhao Han absolutely couldn''t tolerate.

    But can¡¯t you give me a better title? Phoenix Man, Green Hat, Great Lady Count, and now you¡¯re calling me Deep Throat? What¡¯s next for duke?

    When he saw how Zu An¡¯s expression darkened, Zhao Han merely thought that Zu An was unhappy. It actually made him feel a bit proud of himself.No matter how much trouble this brat causes, aren¡¯t his future prospects stillpletely within my grasp?

    King Qi wore a pensive expression. He naturally saw through the emperor¡¯s thoughts.Zu An is definitely unsatisfied with this¡­ It¡¯s not as if I¡¯ve never thought about roping him in. But there¡¯s never been anything good anytime I¡¯ve involved him. He¡¯s the main cause behind the deterioration of my forces. This sort of hateful person deserves this kind of result.

    Even Bi Ziang, who was on the same side as Zu An to a certain degree, sighed in relief; so did many others. If Zu An had be a duke, they would suddenly feel really ashamed.

    Everyone in the court was satisfied, except Yi Chun. Was his son¡¯s death going to be settled just like that? He tried to say something else, but the emperor frowned. Now, even those who were previously on his side admonished him.

    In the eyes of others, a whole duke title had been used aspensation for his son¡¯s life. It seemed to be a bit too much for him to be unsatisfied with that. That was just how the world worked; everything depended on a bnce. The idea of lives being priceless was just something people talked about; in reality, they all had their own estimates.

    Yi Zhibing¡¯s character was something people all knew about clearly. As such, most people believed what Zu An said, and concluded that Yi Zhibing¡¯s death was fully deserved.

    When he sensed the emperor¡¯s dissatisfaction, Yi Chun¡¯s heart felt ice-cold. He knew that the emperor¡¯s mood was currently good and that if he continued to disrupt the emperor¡¯s Feng Shan ns, he could be in danger. Helpless to do anything else, he could only ept his fate. He stared hatefully at Zu An.

    You have sessfully trolled Yi Chun for +555 +555 +555¡­

    Zu An¡¯s expression remained calm the entire time, as if he had already expected this.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Then, the court began to enthusiastically discuss the Fiend races¡¯ situation. Many people began to ask Zu An about any rted information. They were all very excited, because this was the human race¡¯s greatest victory in over a thousand years.

    ¡­

    When the morning court session was dismissed, several groups of subjects flocked over to congratte Zu An. Whether they liked or hated him, they had to admit that he now yed a critical role in the court. Zu An responded to all of them politely.

    Soon afterward, a lesser eunuch reported that the emperor had summoned Zu An to his study. Zu An shivered, but he followed the eunuch to the Imperial Study. It was called a study, but it had already been modified into a secluded cultivation chamber by Zhao Han. Only a few trusted aides had the qualification to be summoned to it.

    Greeting the emperor respectfully, Zu An quickly said, ¡°Your majesty, Sir Sang is innocent. The criticism about colluding with the Fiend races isplete nonsense.¡±

    ¡°I naturally have my own thoughts. I¡¯ve already sent people to look into it,¡± Zhao Han said casually in passing, then looked at him and asked, ¡°How did the Fiend Emperor really die? Tell me the details.¡±

    The Fiend Emperor had been the only person in this world who was a match for him. If even he had died, didn¡¯t that mean Zhao Han could die from a simr cause?

    Zu An was already prepared for this situation. As such, he filled in the various details, things he hadn¡¯t shared openly in the court session. Of course, he removed many details of his participation in the story, instead emphasizing the roles of various powerful immortals in the secret dungeon.

    Zhao Han¡¯s eyes shone when he heard what had happened. He couldn''t even sit still anymore and began to pace back and forth across the study. His heaving chest gave away just how stirred up he was as he eximed, ¡°I hadn¡¯t expected there to really be immortals in this world!¡±

    Just like the Fiend Emperor, he had been stuck at his current cultivation rank for a long time. Even though he had seen some historical records, as time went on, he had begun to feel that they were just made-up rumors. He had even begun to suspect that there was no path ahead for him. Now that he had learned that there were immortals after all, how could he not be moved?

    Zu An quickly said, ¡°At the time, the Fiend Emperor was also really excited, but it was because of his curiosity that he was done in¡­ At some point, the road between heaven and man was severed. That Unknown Region alsopletely closed. It might not open up again for thousands of years.¡±

    He was worried that Zhao Han would get so worked up that he would insist on visiting personally. Thete Fiend Emperor was now dead, so how could the Fiend races stop him?

    Of course, if the Committee of Elders worked together with the Fiend King Court¡¯s defensive formations, they would still have a fighting chance. However, after that battle, the casualties would definitely be severe. Zu An had finally established himself a bit over there; he didn¡¯t want all of it to be destroyed just like that.

    ¡°Road between heaven and man severed¡­¡± Zhao Han muttered, thinking about the Celestial Emperors severing heaven and earth. He continued to himself, ¡°No wonder I wasn¡¯t able to make any progress after so many years¡­ but just how can I repair it and break through?¡±

    As he talked to himself, his expression changed several times; sometimes he was overtaken by happiness, and sometimes he had a worried frown.

    Zu An thought,Don¡¯t tell me this guy really thought of a way to break through while the road between heaven and man is severed¡­

    I¡¯ll have really bitten off more than I can chew then.

    Fortunately, Zhao Han wasn¡¯t able toe up with any ideas for a long time, so he set aside the thought for now. He asked Zu An, ¡°Right, what happened with the immortal medicine you mentioned?¡±

    ¡°That was just some trick. The only case of immortal medicine I know involved a person who ended up bing a monster from head to toe. Calling that immortality would really be a bit forced,¡± Zu An said, thinking inwardly,Sure enough, this guy with one foot in the grave is also interested in this.He told the story of Yayu again. He had already practiced this story with the Fiend races¡¯ Committee of Elders; there were no holes in his delivery.

    Sure enough, Zhao Han revealed a look of disappointment and said, ¡°So that was it.¡±

    Then, Zhao Han asked Zu An for some more details about the secret dungeon, especially the parts rted to the Fiend Emperor. Fortunately, Zu An was already prepared for all of them.

    After a while, Zhao Han suddenly asked, ¡°What happened to your cultivation? Are you really a cripple now?¡±

    ¡°I was injured in the secret dungeon and the Fiend King Court. I should be able to recover if I rest for a period of time,¡± Zu An replied ambiguously.

    Zhao Han nodded. He didn¡¯t care whether or not Zu An¡¯s cultivation returned. In fact, if Zu An really had be a cripple, that would only leave him even more assured. He thus waved his hand, gesturing for Zu An to leave. He was very satisfied with this conversation. Even though he hadn¡¯t really obtained anything, he had found out that there was still a path ahead. For someone like him, that was more important than anything else.

    ¡­

    Zu An was suddenly stopped by someone not long after he left the Imperial Study. That person said, ¡°Congrattions, Sir Zu, for being promoted to marquis.¡±

    ¡°So it was Eunuch Lu¡­¡± Zu An replied, recognizing the eunuch who was always at the empress¡¯ side. The two exchanged some conventional greetings before he asked, ¡°Huh? Why don¡¯t I see her highness?¡± This guy always stuck around the empress like the most loyal bootlicker, after all. Zu An almost always saw the empress near him.

    ¡°I did not expect Sir Zu to still remember her highness,¡± Eunuch Lu replied, an expression of suffering mixed with expectation shing through his eyes. ¡°Her highness has been cultivating in a hot spring by the city outskirts for the past few days. She is waiting for Sir Zu to wish her good health.¡±

    Zu An felt a bit of a headache when he thought of that. Empress Liu Ning was an outstanding beauty, but Zhao Han was still alive! The previous time had only been out of anger and for revenge. Only after he cooled his head had he realized that it was nothing short of dancing on the tightrope of death. One¡¯s shoes couldn¡¯t help but get wet if one walked by the river. Furthermore, the empress was using him for her recovery, so he couldn¡¯t help but feel that he was losing out somehow.

    He looked for a chance to refuse, but Eunuch Lu didn¡¯t give him that opportunity, saying, ¡°Her highness has already reminisced about Sir Zu so many times. Her patience is already at its limit. Sir Zu, please do not disappoint her highness. An angry woman is willing to do anything.¡±

    The threat was clear.

    Zu An felt as if he were like a fresh and plump Chinese cabbage that a subus desired. He was about to say something, but Eunuch Lu seemed to have noticed something and quickly flew into the distance.

    ¡­

    The clear and melodious sound of rings and ornaments touching each other filled the air. An elegant and refined fragrance wafted through the air, but its owner¡¯s usually sweet-sounding voice seemed a bit cold. ¡°There were no messages at all from Sir Zu all this time, and I thought something happened. So it was because you found something better.¡±

    Favorite

 Chapter 1548: Danger Approaches

    <h4>Chapter 1548: Danger Approaches</h4>

    When he turned around, Zu An saw a beautifully dressed woman slowly walking over. There was a red beauty decoration in the center of her forehead, and she wore her hair in an exquisite flower braid with all sorts of delicate ornaments. The tassels on her clothes slowly shook as she walked, practically tugging on the hearts of those nearby. Despite her extravagant outfit, however, she still looked incredibly elegant and refined. Only Bi Linglong couldbine both of those looks together so perfectly.

    ¡°I greet the Crown Princess!¡± Zu An greeted her, bowing. They were in front of many eunuchs and maids, so he had to show her the proper etiquette she was due.

    ¡°I don¡¯t deserve such respect.¡± Bi Linglong replied, looking away. ¡°Right, you¡¯re not Sir Zu anymore. I should call you Marquis Shen now, right?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Bi Linglong for +55 +55 +55¡­

    Zu An was a bit confused.Just how did I end up offending her?

    If you keep causing me trouble, I¡¯m going to teach you what ¡®Deep Throat¡¯ really means!

    ¡°The Crown Princess must be joking around. Forget about ¡®Marquis Shen¡¯, even if I became a duke or king, I would still belong to the Crown Princess¡­ and Crown Prince,¡± Zu An said with a smile.

    ¡°Hmph, Sir Zu is quite ambitious,¡± Bi Linglong said. Even though her tone was harsh, her anger still subsided quite a bit. Her face also turned a bit red.He says he belongs to me, but why does he keep staring at my dress?

    She was a bit unsatisfied, continuing, ¡°You still haven¡¯t paid the Eastern Pce a visit so long after the morning court session finished. Could it be that you don¡¯t view me¡­ and the Crown Prince as important anymore?¡±

    ¡°His majesty wanted me to go to the Imperial Study after the court session ended, and I just got out. That was why I didn¡¯t have time yet. I hope the Crown Princess can forgive me,¡± Zu An replied. He didn¡¯t get upset when he saw that Bi Linglong was acting like a pampered little girl. He actually found her quite adorable.Sigh¡­ Damn this world that treats beauties better.

    Bi Linglong also knew the reason for that, which was why she was so close.

    ¡°So his majesty invited you¡­¡± Bi Linglong casually talked to Zu An about official matters while gesturing for her subordinates to not follow them. Soon after, the two arrived at a distant pavilion. It was a ce where others could still see her so there wouldn¡¯t be any suspicions, but they wouldn¡¯t have to worry about other people eavesdropping on them.

    ¡°What did his majesty ask you about just now?¡± Bi Linglong asked through ki while keeping up the superficial conversation.

    ¡°How the Fiend Emperor died, and also some other details about the Unknown Region,¡± Zu An replied. There was no need for him to hide any of that.

    ¡°He didn¡¯t make things difficult for you at all, did he?¡± Bi Linglong asked nervously. After all, the two of them had faced Zhao Han¡¯s split soul in Westhound Tomb in the past, which was why she instinctively felt worried for Zu An.

    When he saw the look of worry in her eyes, Zu An felt warm inside. He replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Am I not still fine right now?¡±

    Bi Linglong sighed in relief. Then, she asked doubtfully, ¡°Does the Fiend Emperor¡¯s death have something to do with you?¡±

    ¡°Do you think I have that kind of skill?¡± Zu An replied. He didn¡¯t n to let anyone else know about what happened in the secret dungeon. There was no way of recreating the conditions in the dungeon, so there was almost no chance of him killing an earth immortal again. As such, saying it out loud was meaningless and would only make hispanions overly optimistic. Furthermore, if he wasn¡¯t careful and Zhao Han found out, he would really have shot himself in the foot then.

    ¡°It¡¯s naturally impossible for other people, but that¡¯s hard to say for you,¡± Bi Linglong said, an almost reverent look in her eyes as she looked at Zu An. After all, she had personally witnessed him defeating Zhao Han¡¯s split soul. Before that, she had thought that Zhao Han was invincible, to the point that she couldn''t even muster the slightest thought of going against him. However, after the secret dungeon, she had discovered that Zhao Han was also just a person, and he could be defeated.

    ¡°Once we have a chance, tell me about everything that happened in the dungeon in detail,¡± Bi Linglong continued excitedly. Such a secret was something only Zhao Han normally had the right to ask, but because of her rtionship with Zu An, she could naturally ask about it too.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Sure,¡± Zu An said with a nod.When will there be a chance for us to be alone in the future?

    The secret tunnel that led to her chambers could definitely be used, but Zhao Han was no longer in seclusion. Trying to steal his daughter-inw right under his nose¡­ if Zu An did that, wouldn¡¯t he be treating an earth immortal as a joke?

    ¡°Right, why did Eunuch Lu look for you?¡± Bi Linglong asked, looking in the direction Eunuch Lu had left in. She clearly saw them together.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. He just told me to pay the empress a visit if I have the time. She probably wants to know about what happened in the Unknown Region too,¡± ZuAn said. He naturally couldn''t tell her the real reason.

    Bi Linglong nodded and replied, ¡°She is the empress, so you have no choice but to go if she summons you. Still, I think it''s best if you stay a bit further away from that woman.¡±

    ¡°That woman?¡± Zu An repeated, keenly noticing how she addressed the empress. ¡°Why is that?¡±

    ¡°No particr reason. She doesn¡¯t like me, so I don¡¯t like her either. I don¡¯t want you to associate with her. Can I not feel that way?¡± Bi Linglong replied with a pout.

    ¡°Of course, of course you can!¡± Zu An replied hurriedly. He hadn¡¯t expected the battles between mother-inw and daughter-inw to exist even in this world of cultivation. After all, the empress wasn¡¯t the crown prince¡¯s birth mother; she was only his aunt.

    ¡°You¡¯d better not be lying to me. That woman always acts flirtatiously, so you have to be careful not to be infatuated with her,¡± Bi Linglong said, staring at him.

    Zu Anughed in embarrassment, replying, ¡°Come on, there¡¯s no way I¡¯d do that. Do I seem as if I¡¯m tired of living?¡±

    Help me, someone! How am I supposed to reply to something like that? Should I just confess that I already slept with the empress?

    ¡°You even dared to touch me, so who knows whether you will or not¡­¡± Bi Linglong muttered to herself. Her face heated up a bit. But when she heard him agree, she was still delighted. ¡°If I find out that you lied to me, you¡¯ll definitely regret it.¡±

    When Zu An saw her dangerous smile, the faces of several famous actresses from his previous world appeared in his mind. He shivered. Still, he had no choice but to get through this situation somehow.

    Sigh, when I was a shut-in keyboard warrior on the forums in the past, all I dreamed about was having girls in both arms. But now that I have that, I¡¯ve realized that the life of a yboy isn¡¯t so easily enjoyed¡­

    Fortunately, Bi Linglong couldn''t stay together with him for too long, as they were still in the pce. After exchanging a few more words, she left, escorted by several eunuchs and maids.

    Zu An found a hidden ce to change his outfit. Then, he headed to the Embroidery House.

    ¡­

    Previously, Zu An had asked the emperor about Sang Hong¡¯s situation. Unfortunately, the emperor had been more interested in the Fiend Emperor¡¯s death and only gave a vague reply. Thus, Zu An had to look into it alone.

    When he arrived at the Embroidery House, he headed to his own workspace. Every Golden Token Envoy had their own specialized ¡®office¡¯. If he just barged into another Golden Token Envoy¡¯s office, their subordinates likely wouldn¡¯t show him the same amount of respect.

    He saw two men, one balding on top and one in front, ying cards as soon as he entered. Zu An glowered. Even though he wasn¡¯t here that often, weren¡¯t these guys cking off a bit too much?

    ¡°Boss!¡± Dai Seventh and Chen Eighth eximed, quickly throwing the cards aside when they saw him. They had obsequious smiles on their faces as they brought him some tea. ¡°You¡¯re finally back!¡±

    Even Xiao Jianren rushed over when he heard the news. He only saw that it was Zu An when he moved closer. Comparatively, he was much more reserved than the other two as he called out, ¡°Sir Eleven!¡±

    Their department had clearly be an idle branch without their leader.

    Zu An didn¡¯t waste any time and cut straight to the chase. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you follow Sir Sang?¡±

    Xiao Jianren said with a bitter expression, ¡°We wanted to be at Sir Sang¡¯s side too, but Sir Sang kept stalling for time. The court sent people to ask about that several times, and we received reports from the Embroidery House toe back and exin the situation. We couldn''t contact Sir Eleventh and had no choice but to return to the capital.¡±

    ¡°What exactly happened at Silkworm City?¡± Zu An asked. He knew that they couldn''t really act independently in that kind of situation. He didn¡¯t have any intention of ming them. However, all of the information regarding Silkworm City had been sealed off, and the evidence had been brought to the capital by the Embroidered Envoy. He hadn¡¯t been able to find out anything.

    Dai Seventh and Chen Eighth looked at each other in dismay. They were too low in rank and didn¡¯t know anything.

    Fortunately, Xiao Jianren was always reliable and said, ¡°I suspected that sir would be concerned about this, which is why I¡¯ve been secretly paying attention and investigating. ording to what I know, that night when Sir Sang encountered that huge fire in the ry station, many assassins suddenly rushed forth and ughtered everyone else in the Imperial Envoy fleet. Of course, currently, Silkworm City has only informed the public about the casualties caused by the fire¡­¡±

    After Zu An listened to the exnation, he said seriously, ¡°Apart from the one in charge of the ry station, there is likely something wrong with Silkworm City¡¯s Defense Captain too. It was he who separated Sir Sang from the Armed Escort Division.¡±

    ¡°Sir Eleven is wise and all-seeing after all.¡± Xiao Jianren discreetly praised him before saying, ¡°Silkworm City¡¯s Defense Captain has been captured, but he died before he could be questioned.¡±

    Zu An remarked with a frown, ¡°A bizarre death is a trail in itself.¡±

    ¡°Indeed,¡± Xiao Jianren said with a nod. ¡°Our Embroidery House followed the trail. There is a very high chance of Shadow Group¡¯s participation.¡±

    ¡°Shadow Group?¡± Zu An asked with a frown. He had interacted with Shadow Group¡¯s assassins before. There were quite a few Dark Elves among them. He had thought it was a structure established by the Fiend races, but after his dealings with the Fiend races, it didn¡¯t seem to have anything to do with them.

    ¡°My colleagues have already looked at the evidence, and they did find some unfavorable evidence in Sir Sang¡¯s room. However, there is a high chance that it was nted by a viin. They already reported this to their superiors, but there were no other instructions,¡± Xiao Jianren said in confusion.

    Zu An figured that the emperor definitely knew that Sang Hong had been wrongly med, but why hadn¡¯t he spoken up and instead let King Qi nder Sang Hong? Even the Sang n¡¯s women had ended up being humiliated.

    ¡°Is Sir Sang dead or not?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Xiao Jianren said, shaking his head. ¡°From what I know, Sir Sang likely escaped from the ry station. However, the situation at the time was too dangerous. Even though we didn¡¯t find a corpse, things don¡¯t look very good for him.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression darkened when he heard that. Even though he and Sang Hong had been enemies in the beginning, eventually, for various reasons, they had ended up on the same side. Sang Hong was one of the few allies he could rely on. Sang Hong was like a senior, but also a friend. Whether it was for public or private reasons, Zu An didn¡¯t want anything to happen to him.

    However, Shadow Group assassins had been everywhere that night, and even Silkworm City¡¯s people had been bribed. The situation really didn¡¯t look too good.

    Just then, however, Xiao Jianren said, ¡°But personally, I feel that Sir Sang had a high chance of surviving.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Why do you say that?¡± Zu An quickly asked.

    Xiao Jianren then said, ¡°Our Embroidered Envoy mobilized all of our men to investigate this affair, but even after we searched as much as we could, we didn¡¯t find Sir Sang¡¯s whereabouts at all. If he really had died, we would have found his corpse. There¡¯s a high chance that he was captured by Shadow Group¡¯s people. Of course, there¡¯s also a chance that he was rescued by someone else.¡± However, his voice became much softer when he voiced the second possibility, because the odds were just too low.

    Zu An was actually overjoyed at the potential turn of events. As long as Sang Hong wasn¡¯t dead, there was still a chance!

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, on the emperor¡¯s side, Eunuch Wen bowed respectfully and asked, ¡°What orders does your majesty have for this servant?¡±

    ¡°Go and investigate Zu An and the Crown Princess¡¯ rtionship,¡± Zhao Han said. The expression of concern Bi Linglong had shown when she heard that Zu An was in trouble appeared in his mind. He felt an inexplicable sense of annoyance.

 Chapter 1549: Alarmed

    <h4>Chapter 1549: rmed</h4>

    ¡°Ah?¡± Eunuch Wen eximed in surprise, thinking he had heard incorrectly.

    ¡°Furthermore, let no one else know about this,¡± Zhao Han continued, glowering. ¡°I just feel that their interaction does not fit that of a ruler and her minister. I hope I am overthinking. If there is something, you are to immediately notify this emperor.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± Eunuch Wen replied, feeling quite shocked. Even though the emperor downyed the situation, there was no way he would make Eunuch Wen investigate such a thing if he didn¡¯t already have a certain level of suspicion!

    The crown princess was noble and refined; she was practically the standard of an elegant and noble courtdy. Not even the slightest w could be picked out from her etiquette after she had married the crown prince. Many people secretly thought that her beauty was wasted on someone like the crown prince, but that was something they only dared to think in private. The crown prince was the future sessor to the throne. Who dared to criticize him?

    Someone like the crown princess who came from a great n was supposed to know the severity of such an action. There was no way she would do anything that crossed the line. That meant the issue had to lie with Zu An.

    Even though many people said that Zu An was a bit wild, Eunuch Wen actually thought he was quite an excellent youngster.He even secretly slips me some silvers from time to time.

    Zu An was bold, but it wasn¡¯t to the point that he would dare to actually touch the Crown Princess, right? That was a crime punishable by the execution of nine generations!

    Even though he felt that it was impossible, Eunuch Wen didn¡¯t show his true thoughts at all. He bowed respectfully to Zhao Han and replied, ¡°Understood~¡±

    Zhao Han nodded and waved his hand, gesturing for Eunuch Wen to withdraw. In truth, with his cultivation, it wouldn¡¯t be hard for him to monitor Bi Linglong and Zu An at all. But he was the emperor with endless things to tend to, so how could he be so leisurely?

    Furthermore, after learning the details regarding the Fiend Emperor¡¯s death, especially the existence of the Unknown Region¡¯s immortals, he had actually gained many insights. He needed time to think properly in seclusion. For all he knew, he could even have a chance of making a breakthrough. The end of his lifespan was approaching; he needed to seize everyst second.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An still didn¡¯t know that danger was approaching. He had, however, found many materials in the Embroidery House. His Golden Token Envoy identity held more authority than Xiao Jianren, granting him ess to some information Xiao Jianren didn¡¯t.

    Zu An found it a bit strange that Zhuxie Chixin wasn¡¯t in the Embroidery House. He wondered where that man had gone. ording to Xiao Jianren, Zhuxie Chixin had been gone for quite some time. He was probably carrying out some kind of top-secret mission. Zu An didn¡¯t think too much of it, however. The Embroidered Envoys had countless secret missions. It wasn¡¯t something to make a huge fuss over.

    Zu An¡¯s attention quickly returned to Sang Hong¡¯s case. He and Xiao Jianren analyzed the situation for a long time. They found a file within a scroll that imed to have found some Shadow Group assassins¡¯ corpses within a small alley in the city.

    After the matter, Embroidered Envoys had interrogated the nearby residents, but they still didn¡¯t know what had happened that night. Because the alley was some distance away from the ry station and the surroundings were quiet, people hadn¡¯t heard any noises. They had just felt that the night was a bit cold, causing them to pull their covers tighter around them when they slept.

    Xiao Jianren picked up a magnifying ss and looked through the file. He soon voiced his surprise. ¡°This shouldn¡¯t be! All of the local officials were bribed, so they transferred away the city¡¯s guards ahead of time. Shadow Group¡¯s assassins had the overwhelming majority, so how could so many assassins have died?¡±

    Zu An pointed at thetter parts of the file and said, ¡°That¡¯s why the Embroidery House¡¯s people believe that they weren¡¯t actually assassins from Shadow Group. After all, the alley was too far from the ry station. The local people didn¡¯t hear any sounds of killing either.¡±

    Xiao Jianren suddenly thought of something and asked, ¡°Sir Eleven, if those ck-d individuals faced someone whose cultivation was much higher than them, is there a chance that they were killed without producing any activity?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not entirely out of the question,¡± Zu An replied. He thought to himself and said, ¡°Furthermore, if they had a special cultivation method or certain special skills, they would be able to silently dispatch those assassins. After all, the people living in that alley were just ordinary people. Even if there was a bit of sound, they probably wouldn¡¯t have heard it.¡±

    ¡°Then is there a chance that these were Shadow Group assassins, and they were chasing after Sir Sang, but in the end, a powerful individual suddenly saved Sir Sang?¡± Xiao Jianren asked contemtively.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes lit up and he replied, ¡°That is indeed a possibility.¡±

    When he saw Zu An¡¯s excitement, Xiao Jianren quickly reminded him, ¡°Sir, please don¡¯t feel too happy yet. Currently, it seems that Sir Sang falling into Shadow Group¡¯s hands is the most likely possibility. There¡¯s only a very small chance of him being rescued by a passing expert.¡±

    He found it a bit strange. Wasn¡¯t Sir Eleven a bit too concerned with the safety of Sir Sang? Could it be that they had developed a friendship after the trip? But he had never seen them interact before on the way to Cloudcenter Commandery¡­

    ¡°What you say is reasonable¡­¡± Zu An said, calming down. Then, he assigned Xiao Jianren to start an investigation from several angles, hoping to find Sang Hong¡¯s whereabouts as soon as possible. Then, he hurriedly changed and left the pce.

    The Sang n¡¯sdies were probably frightened at the moment. After all, Sang Hong was in danger, and Zu An had just publicly killed Yi Zhibing. Both of those could be considered a huge disaster.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Sure enough, when Zu An rushed back to the Sang manor, he discovered that it was cold and cheerless. Even most of the servants were gone. The entire ce seemed deserted. Those people had clearly gotten worried that they would be involved and had run away. Zu An quickly entered and saw that the aged Mu Yi was criticizing those servants who had fled; after all, the Sang n normally treated their staff extremely well.

    Meanwhile, Sang Qien was trying tofort Mu Yi, saying, ¡°The Sang n is currently facing a big disaster. They have families as well, so it is merely human nature to not want to be involved.¡±

    Even though that was what she said, she still couldn''t help but sigh. In the past, she had always been direct and efficient in her speech. Now, she sounded a bit gloomier.

    Mu Yi muttered in annoyance, ¡°It¡¯s all my fault for being out before, almost allowing the two of you to be bullied by that Yi bastard. If something had really happened, how would I face your father?¡±

    Zheng Dan said, ¡°Mu Yi, you were also looking for¡­ information surrounding father-inw. How could you have known that something like this would happen?¡±

    Mu Yi said gratefully, ¡°Thank goodness Sir Zu arrived in such a timely manner. But he is still too young and reckless. Yi Zhibing is Magistrate Yi¡¯s beloved son; how could he just let things end like this? Furthermore, many bailiffs were killed too¡­ Should I just escort the two of you out of the capital until things quiet down a bit?¡±

    Sang Qien and Zheng Dan both shook their heads and replied, ¡°He told us to wait for him.¡±

    Mu Yi thought,These two haven¡¯t even gotten married, and yet they¡¯re so obedient to him already.Still, she knew that their rtionship really was a bit melodramatic. Furthermore, she and Sang Hong had yed a part in it too, so that was a joke she had to keep to herself.

    Someone said with augh, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve already taken care of things. There¡¯s no need to be scared anymore.¡±

    ¡°Big brother Zu!¡± Sang Qien and Zheng Dan eximed, standing up in excitement and happiness when they saw his familiar figure.

    ¡°Be careful,¡± Zu An said, walking over to support Sang Qien back to her seat.

    Mu Yi took the sight in with a grateful expression. She nodded toward Zu An, then left to give the three young people some space. Sang Qien blushed when she noticed Mu Yi¡¯s actions, but when she felt Zu An¡¯s care, she also felt warm inside.

    Meanwhile, Zheng Dan was a bit jealous. Even though she didn¡¯t know what had happened between the two of them at first, after being around Sang Qien all this time, she couldn¡¯t help but notice the changes to Sang Qien¡¯s belly. When she asked about it, she had then learned about the Sang n¡¯s ns, which made her feel both angry and embarrassed.

    However, after thinking about it some more, she knew this was the only way she could properly be with Zu An. The fact that she didn¡¯t have to hide things anymore from the Sang n was also a good thing. Still, thinking through it rationally was one thing; she still felt as if she had stolen someone¡¯s man.

    Fortunately, she wasn¡¯t a simple-minded person. She quickly scolded herself; the Sang n was experiencing great difficulties at the moment, and yet she was actually in the mood to be jealous!

    ¡°Sir Zu, just how did you deal with this situation?¡± Sang Qien asked, blinking. She was really curious. After all, it was something she couldn''t understand at all.

    Zu An thus gave them a rough ount of what happened. Whether it was Sang Qien or Zheng Dan, both of them were incredibly shocked. What Zu An had gone through as ofte was just too unbelievable!

    ¡°The court is going too far! How can they only give you the rank of marquis after this many contributions?!¡± Sang Qien cursed for a while. However, she soon said in amazement, ¡°I really want to go with big brother Zu to experience the beauty of the Fiend races¡¯ territory.¡±

    Zheng Dan was also in a daze. In the past, they had experienced all kinds of amazing things when she and Zu An braved several risks together. Otherwise, there was no way she would have fallen in love with him. However, after marrying into the Sang n, she couldn''t be with him anymore. Her life had be many times more boringpared to before.

    At the same time, she sighed inwardly. Back then, her cultivation had clearly been a bit higher than Zu An¡¯s back in Brightmoon City, and yet now, his cultivation had already shot into the sky. She could now only admire him from a distance. When she thought about how even if she went with him to the Fiend races¡¯ territory, she would only drag him down, she felt even more bleak and dejected.

    However, seemingly sensing her downcast mood, Zu An held Zheng Dan¡¯s hand tightly in constion.

    Sang Qien was a bit distracted when she saw Zu An¡¯s actions. Normally, she should have been upset when an outsider man was so close to her sister-inw, but she didn¡¯t feel angry at all. Instead, she felt warm, as if they were one family.

    ¡°Right, respected uncle¡¯s case is still being investigated, but they should be able to clear up the usation of colluding with the Fiend races soon,¡± Zu An said. ¡°The Fiend races have already submitted to Zhao Han, so the rtionship between the two sides will be much better. Who would try to cause trouble at such a time? Anyone who tried to ruin this kind of event would be in for a world of hurt.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s just no chance of my father colluding with the Fiend races to begin with. Someone clearly framed him,¡± Sang Qien said angrily. ¡°ording to how you described the court¡¯s events, it¡¯s most likely King Qi¡¯s side that¡¯s making a fuss out of nothing and wants tounch a counterattack using my dad¡¯s situation. His majesty really is something too! He didn¡¯t try to protect my dad¡¯s reputation. If big brother Zu hadn¡¯t rushed back, the consequences really would be too horrible to imagine.¡±

    She really was a bit angry. Her dad had already been ignored once by the emperor over Brightmoon City¡¯s affairs, and now, it had happened again? No matter how loyal the Sang n was, their hearts now felt cold.

    Zu An quickly supported her and said, ¡°Don¡¯t get too angry, or else it might end up harming the child.¡±

    Sang Qien blushed and mumbled, ¡°I¡¯m not that weak¡­¡± Still, she still couldn''t help but rub her belly. Her expression was radiant with a mother¡¯s happiness.

    ¡°Right, I even found out another piece of information. Respected uncle is only missing right now; he might still be alive. However, we don¡¯t know whether he was captured by Shadow Group or if he was saved by someone else¡­¡± Zu An exined, sharing the information he had gotten from the Embroidery House with the two women.

    ¡°This is the best news we¡¯ve heard in a while,¡± Sang Qien said, her eyes filled with tears. ¡°As long as my dad is still alive, there¡¯s still a chance.¡±

    ¡­

    The three of them talked for a long time, until the sky began darkening. However, Zu An still had to leave the Sang manor in the end. After all, in the eyes of others, he was still an outsider. Staying behind wouldn¡¯t be good for anyone¡¯s reputation.

    He returned to his own count manor, which had now been turned into a marquis manor. After showing himself around the area for a bit, he then secretly slipped out. He was now a first-time father. How could he just stay at home alone?

    He bought arge variety of goods for little children, then returned to the Sang manor again. He slipped in under cover of darkness. He had already learned all about the Sang manor¡¯s defense formation information a long time ago, so he wouldn¡¯t trip the rms.

    Still, when he entered Sang Qien¡¯s room, he hesitated, worrying that he would end up scaring her if he visited her sote at night. After all, they weren¡¯t that close, and yet they weren¡¯t strangers either.

    After thinking about it, he decided to visit Zheng Dan first. The first reason was that he wanted to get closer to Sang Qien through her, and the second reason was that he had sensed she was a bit down during the day, so he wanted to have a proper talk with her.

    Thus, he snuck into Zheng Dan¡¯s room. When he smelled her familiar scent and thought about the dark ce they had been in before, he felt something burn within him. He took off his clothes and jumped into the covers. Zheng Dan was naturally frightened, but when she sensed that it was him, shepletely rxed.

    ¡°Ah Zu~¡± Zheng Dan tried to say something, but Zu An quickly kissed her, interrupting everything she had to say. ¡°Mmm~¡±

    A short period of separation would already feel long for newlyweds; and yet, the two had been apart for so long. Zheng Dan¡¯s body also quickly softened.

    Even while sparks were flying, however, a quiet voice suddenly said. ¡°Big brother Zu, I¡¯m still here.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s entire body stiffened. He was dumbfounded.

 Chapter 1550: Empressâ€™ Anger

    <h4>Chapter 1550: Empress¡¯ Anger</h4>

    ¡°Little Qien, why are you here?¡± Zu An asked in embarrassment. He hadn¡¯t expected the two women to be sleeping in the same bed. Things like tribadism began to appear in his mind. However, he quickly got rid of those thoughts. After all, whether it was Zheng Dan or Sang Qien, neither one of them seemed like someone who would do something like that.

    ¡°Because many people died in my room, I was too scared to stay there by myself, so I came to my sister-inw¡¯s ce,¡± Sang Qien said weakly, looking very embarrassed.

    Zheng Dan gave Zu An a pinch. This guy had immediately plugged up her mouth as soon as he appeared, not even letting her say anything.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An felt a headacheing on. Even though the Sang n already knew about his rtionship with Zheng Dan, they had still pretended not to know on the surface. They had unknowingly reached a tacit understanding, as that would at least look better on the surface. And yet now, he had been doing all of that with Sang Qien¡¯s sister-inw right in front of her face! That was a bit too much.

    Sang Qien bit her lip and said, ¡°I¡¯m going back to my room then. I won¡¯t be disturbing you two.¡±

    Ah! This is so embarrassing!Zheng Dan thought, her cheeks turning red.She was way too ashamed to continue. She grabbed Sang Qien and said, ¡°Don¡¯t go! So many people just died there; it¡¯s not a good ce to stay in. Just stay here.¡±

    Sang Qien was stunned.Stay here? And watch you two?

    Zu An also snapped out of his daze. He said apologetically, ¡°It¡¯s all my fault. I was in so much of a rush during the day that I ended up dirtying your room.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. That Yi bastard was really disgusting. Not even death would erase his crimes. Many of the servants left today and we don¡¯t have enough manpower. Tomorrow, we¡¯ll sort out the room again, and then I¡¯ll change to another room,¡± Sang Qien said, feeling a bit strange as she said those words.

    This guy had stolen her sister-inw in her very own house, and yet she was moving aside to help him achieve his goals, implying that she wouldn¡¯t disturb them. Just what was going on here?! She also felt that the mood inside was too strange. She had to get out no matter what.

    Zu An also grabbed her all of a sudden, saying, ¡°I actually wanted to see you first, but I was scared that I would scare you in the middle of the night. That¡¯s why I came to Dandan to talk things over. Seeing as you¡¯re here too, that¡¯s even better.¡±

    Afterward, he took out all the infant goods from his Brilliant ss Bead and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t know what to buy and had no experience. Take a look and see if any of them are useful.¡±

    Sang Qien was a bit embarrassed, saying, ¡°It¡¯s my first time too¡­¡±

    Still, a woman¡¯s instinct made her pretty good at such tasks. Furthermore, she had still learned some things about being a mother. She pointed to some of the objects, leaving the other two enlightened. Now that the topic had shifted to the child, she forgot about leaving. Her face began to light up as they chatted, and her mood brightened considerably.

    Now, it was Zheng Dan¡¯s turn to feel a bit strange. Her lover was talking with another woman about their child in her bed. Why did such a strange thing actually seem so natural?

    Zu An suddenly took out two swords and said, ¡°These are the Yin Yang Swords, and they¡¯re a pair. They¡¯re most powerful when used together. The two of you don¡¯t have weapons you can use, so it should be perfect to give you one each.¡±

    The two swords¡¯ attributes were different. No one else was like him, capable of dual-wielding elements, which was why he couldn''t give them to the same person. However, he could just give them one each. The swords became stronger when they were together, so he could also bring the two closer together that way.

    ¡°Heaven-grade weapons!¡± Zheng Dan and Sang Qien both cried out in rm. They were knowledgeable and naturally recognized the weapons¡¯ aura.

    They were both quite happy. After all, heaven-grade weapons were things that very few geniuses could use even among their great sects. Whether it was the Zheng or Sang n, they had never owned weapons at that level before. Each one waspletely capable of serving as their respective ns¡¯ inheritance treasure.

    Zheng Dan¡¯s worry was quickly scattered by excitement. But then, she immediatelyposed herself and asked, ¡°What will you do if you give us your heaven-grade weapons?¡± She knew Zu An used swords, so she felt worried for him.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I have even stronger ones,¡± Zu An said. However, he didn¡¯t tell them about the Tai¡¯e Sword¡¯s divine grade, or else they would really be frightened.

    ¡°Ah Zu, you¡¯re so great~¡± Zheng Dan eximed. If Sang Qien weren¡¯t present, she would have already showered his neck with kisses like before.

    ¡°Thank you, big brother Zu!¡± Sang Qien replied, feeling a bit shyer. After all, the two of them weren¡¯t as close to each other as he was with Zheng Dan. Still, after several events, the distance between them was already unwittingly closing.

    When he saw the women¡¯s happy appearance, Zu An recalled a proverb from the online forums of his previous world that was ¡®guaranteed to cure all diseases¡¯: ¡°When your girlfriend is angry, there¡¯s nothing a bag can¡¯t solve.¡± Bags had lost all meaning in this world, but heaven-grade weapons had simr effects.

    Sigh, unfortunately, I really don¡¯t have many heaven-grade weapons¡­ I already gave out most of them and I don¡¯t really have that many left. Should I go and see if Chi Wen has any more?

    It had already been too long since Zheng Danst saw Zu An. They had just too much to say. Meanwhile, Zu An and Sang Qien had felt a bit estranged at first, but now that they had the child and Sang Hong¡¯s safety as a shared topic, their conversation grew closer and closer.

    Zheng Dan noticed that Zu An kept sitting on the edge of the bed to avoid suspicion. She pulled aside the covers and said, ¡°You should get in. It¡¯s already the middle of winter. It¡¯ll be cold if you stay like that.¡±

    Sang Qien¡¯s face turned red. After all, she was sharing a bed with Zheng Dan right now! Still, she pursed her lips and didn¡¯t say anything in the end.

    ¡°I¡¯m actually not cold,¡± Zu An said. With his cultivation, he wasn¡¯t scared of the cold anymore. Of course, despite what he said, his body was quite honest, jumping straight in.

    ¡°Move over to the other side,¡± Zheng Dan said, pushing Zu An into the center. Even though the two of them were really brave in private, Sang Qien was present, so she was still embarrassed. She naturally wanted Sang Qien to take on a share of the embarrassment too.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Sang Qien eximed, jumping in fright. She quickly moved over to the side.

    When he saw her on guard against him as if he were some thief, Zu An almostughed. He remarked, ¡°You¡¯ll fall out if you move any farther away. You can¡¯t let yourself catch a cold.¡±

    Sang Qien¡¯s face heated up. Only after hearing him say that did she stop moving away in embarrassment. Zu An knew it was her naturally reserved instinct as a youngdy, so he didn¡¯t try to tease her too much. Instead, he continued their earlier topic. Sure enough, as the conversation went on, Sang Qien calmed down.

    Zheng Dan chatted with them, but sleepiness soon overtook her. She unknowingly fell asleep. The two women really had been scared badly. Now that Zu An hade back, with him to protect them, they immediately rxed. Together with the fact that she knew that Sang Qien was there so they couldn''t do anything, fatigue overtook her, and she naturally fell asleep.

    Zheng Dan was very familiar with Zu An, so she was able to naturally fall asleep. However, Sang Qien wasn¡¯t so lucky. How could she possibly sleep in such a situation? Her heart pounded as she sensed the masculine aura of the man beside her. She didn¡¯t even know where to put her hands and feet.

    ¡°Let me listen to the child a bit,¡± Zu An said.

    When she heard him talk about the child, Sang Qien¡¯s gaze became much gentler as she responded, ¡°Mm.¡±

    Zu An moved deeper into the covers and pressed his ear against her belly. Sang Qien¡¯s body trembled slightly when she felt his touch. However, she still stuck out her stomach so it was easier for him to hear it.

    ¡°I can hear the sound of his heartbeat!¡± Zu An whispered excitedly. He had tried during the day, but there had been too much clothing in the way. He hadn¡¯t been able to hear it too closely.

    Sang Qien¡¯s face warmed up as she said, ¡°I think the child knows that his dad is here.¡±

    Zu An was very excited. He pressed his head against different parts of her stomach to hear more sounds. Sang Qien was both ufortable and embarrassed, thinking,This man normally seems pretty bold and impressive; why is he as immature as a child right now?

    Sang Qien¡¯s hand, which had nowhere to go, ended up caressing his hair.This is my man, my child¡¯s father¡­

    ¡­

    With such physical contact, the two of them had bepletely familiar with each other. Sang Qien unwittingly ended up in his arms. Because she was pregnant, she had her back to him; she cuddled up like a little cat in his embrace. However, her face quickly heated up.This guy isn¡¯t acting as decent as he was in the beginning. He said he was just listening to the child, but why is his hand moving higher and higher?

    That especially became the case when his nose pressed up against her neck. The hot air practically felt as if it would make Sang Qien melt. She pursed her lips. In the end, however, she tacitly allowed him to do what he wanted.

    And yet, Zu An clearly wasn¡¯t satisfied. When she sensed something pressing against her, Sang Qien began to panic, whispering, ¡°No~¡±

    This was Zheng Dan¡¯s room. She was still present!

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in a hot spring vi on the city outskirts, Empress Liu Ning had justpleted her bath. Shey down on her bed, rxing.

    Eunuch Lu secretly sized up the woman on the bed. Her skin was radiant, and her close-fitting dress further entuated the mature fullness of her body. It really was an rming sight. Because the empress had just taken a bath, there was still a bit of steaming from her body. Together with her skin being a bit pink from the heat, she really was beautiful and alluring.

    Eunuch Lu naturally knew why she had dressed up so meticulously and why she had taken a bath. When he thought about ¡®that man¡¯, he really felt both love and hate. He hated that he didn¡¯t have anything down there, while Zu An could enjoy the goddess he yearned for day and night. However, whenever he thought about how Zu An had subdued the empress, his empty heart was filled with a strange feeling of satisfaction and stimtion.

    ¡°You dog of a servant, have you seen enough yet?¡± the empress remarked. Her eyes, which were decorated with phoenix-colored makeup, swept over him and gave him a look as if she knew his intentions. Her gaze was filled with contempt and loathing as she asked, ¡°Did you send the message or not? Why isn¡¯t he here yet?¡±

 Chapter 1551: Heads Will Tumble

    <h4>Chapter 1551: Heads Will Tumble</h4>

    When he noticed the empress¡¯ irritation, Eunuch Lu quickly said in an obsequious tone, ¡°Replying to your highness, this servant personally made a trip to the Imperial Pce and passed on the words to Sir Zu.¡±

    ¡°Then did he agree?¡± Empress Liu Ning asked. She had waited expectantly for so long, and yet Zu An never appeared. Her neglected body was starting to burn with a hint of evil me.

    ¡°I think he agreed,¡± Eunuch Lu said, trying to recall what had happened.

    The empress quickly sat up straight. Her voice became an octave higher as she snapped, ¡°You think?!¡±

    Eunuch Lu hurriedly exined, ¡°Your highness is such an incredible beauty; which man in this world could refuse you? If your highness invited him, wouldn¡¯t he be eagerly rushing over?¡±

    The empress harrumphed, replying, ¡°Don¡¯t think everyone else is like you. He¡¯s different from normal men.¡±

    Eunuch Lu was so moved that he was about to cry.So her highness did know what I thought of her! Everything I¡¯ve done over the years was worth it!He thought for a bit before replying, ¡°I believe it¡¯s because Sir Zu has just returned to the capital and was held up by someone. He should be here a bitter.¡±

    ¡°I hope it¡¯s as you say,¡± the empress said as she gently brushed a finger across her body.This body is so beautiful; how can he be willing to give it up?

    ¡­

    However, she didn¡¯t know that Zu An had alreadypletely forgotten about her, instead enjoying the Sang n¡¯s warmth.

    Sang Qien cuddled docilely in Zu An¡¯s embrace. She had been worried about hurting the baby in her belly, so she had her back to him on purpose. However¡­ How could a distinguished daughter like her, who was as innocent as a white sheet of paper, possibly withstand the methods of a seasoned veteran like him? Furthermore, Zu An was the child¡¯s father, so she already considered him her man.

    At first, she was still a bit embarrassed, but after some resistance, she eventually yielded. In the end, she even took the initiative to adjust her body so she could receive him better. Her entire body trembled. She could only tightly purse her lips so as to not wake Zheng Dan up.

    ¡­

    By the next morning, Zu An had already gone to the pce. Even though a morning court session wasn¡¯t held every day, whether due to his Eastern Pce position or Embroidered Envoy identity, he had to show himself; it was even more important right now when Sang Hong¡¯s situation hadn¡¯t been dealt with yet.

    After Zu An left, Zheng Dan sat down on a grooming chair, applying her makeup while calling out to her sister-inw, ¡°Little Qien,e here. I¡¯ll help you with your grooming.¡±

    ¡°I think it¡¯s better if I don¡¯t. I¡¯ve heard that makeup isn¡¯t good for children,¡± Sang Qien replied with a smile while fixing the bed. Compared to her usual pale appearance, she looked much more radiant today.

    ¡°Alright, fine. I¡¯m no match for your pregnancy,¡± Zheng Dan said with a pout, bing a bit upset.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Come on, that¡¯s not what I meant. Won¡¯t this child still call you ¡®mom¡¯ in the future?¡± Sang Qien quickly exined.

    ¡°I¡¯m not really angry, you know?¡± Zheng Dan replied with a sigh. ¡°But I should also pretend to be pregnant. That way, the outside world will eventually be able to ept the situation.¡±

    She knew about the Sang n¡¯s ns. She was amazed that the Sang n really had carried it out, but she was also a bit moved. That was because it meant the Sang n tacitly approved of her rtionship with Zu An. They wouldn¡¯t have to be all secretive anymore. When she found out that she would be the child¡¯s mother in name, the two women¡¯s rtionship had also be much closer.

    Unlike the other great ns where the women fought with each other, the two didn¡¯t feel the need to fight against each other at all. On the contrary, to a certain degree, their interests were aligned. Furthermore, they had been mutually dependent on each other for survival in the Sang n for some time, so they were already like real sisters. As such, she had made that joke on purpose.

    ¡°Hmph, where would you find a pregnant woman as pretty as you?¡± Sang Qien replied, unable to help but sigh. After all, Zheng Dan was a widow now, but she was nothing like the other widows in the capital who always looked grim and miserable. She was probably the most gorgeous widow in the entire capital.

    Even though she was Zheng Dan¡¯s sister-inw, Sang Qien didn¡¯t feel angry at all. On the contrary, she felt a bit of sympathy, as they were both women. Zheng Dan had married her big brother because of the family, but her big brother had died before they could even get married properly. This woman would probably have to spend the rest of her life alone.

    Thank goodness there was big brother Zu¡­

    Sang Qien¡¯s face heated up when she thought of that man. Her sister-inw had clearly already been close to him for some time. If something hadn¡¯t happened to her big brother, wouldn¡¯t he have died from anger?

    Still, her big brother had already passed on. What mattered most was the Sang n¡¯s future. This entire matter was quite unfair to Zheng Dan, but things would be much easier with her cooperation.

    ¡°Hmph, if it were anyone else saying something like that, I¡¯d pull their tongue out,¡± Zheng Dan harrumphed, recovering a hint of her domineering manner as the boss of Brightmoon City¡¯s gang. She suddenly asked, ¡°Ah, Little Qien, why are you sorting out the covers? You can just have some servants take care of it!¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need. Our Sang n iscking personnel right now, so I should do what I can to keep my body in shape,¡± Sang Qien said, blushing. She blocked Zheng Dan¡¯s view with her body and hastily rolled up the bedsheet.

    Zheng Dan quickly walked up behind her. She craned her neck and asked, ¡°Is there something making you feel guilty?¡±

    Sang Qien jumped in fright. She couldn''t help but give Zheng Dan a pinch. Her chest rose and fell as she eximed, ¡°You scared me! Don¡¯t appear suddenly like that!¡±

    ¡°Those who don¡¯t do shameful things in the middle of the night won¡¯t be scared of ghosts knocking on their door,¡± Zheng Dan said, giving her an ambiguous smile.

    ¡°What ghosts? You¡¯ll end up scaring and hurting your adopted son,¡± Sang Qien said, rubbing her belly awkwardly.Was she hinting at something by mentioning the middle of the night?

    ¡°Once my adopted son grows a bit bigger, he might end up picking up a stick to bother his sleeping father all the time,¡± Zheng Dan said with a pursed smile, rubbing Sang Qien¡¯s belly.

    ¡°Why is that?¡± Sang Qien asked, confused.

    ¡°Because his father keeps prodding him when he¡¯s asleep, of course,¡± Zheng Dan said with augh, running away as if she were scared of being attacked.

    Sang Qien¡¯s face instantly turned entirely red. She naturally knew that Zheng Dan had probably seen everything after waking up in the middle of the night! She was ashamed and distressed. She quickly ran after Zheng Dan to get her revenge. The two sisters-inw began to y-fight for a while.

    Zheng Dan pleaded for mercy, crying, ¡°I was wrong, I was wrong! Don¡¯t let the baby get hurt!¡±

    Inwardly, however, she was quite moved.You silly girl, if I hadn¡¯t created that opportunity for you on purpose, how could you two have be like a real couple so quickly?

    Whether it was the Zheng n¡¯s business or her past experience as a gang leader, both of them had given her considerable awareness of danger. Even though Zu An hadn¡¯t said anything, she more or less had a sense of just how formidable her rivals in love were. Even though she had been one of the best in Brightmoon City, she still seemed to pale a bit inparison now.

    Sang Qien¡¯s situation probably wasn¡¯t much better. Only if they banded together would there be a chance of facing the sharks raised by that yboy king of the sea.

    ¡­

    ¡°Achoo!¡± Outside the Eastern Pce, Zu An rubbed his nose.Did I catch a coldst night?

    ¡°Sir Zu seems to be in quite high spirits. Did something good happenst night?¡± a guard asked, winking at him. He had dark circles around his eyes and looked somewhatcking in nutrition. He was naturally Piao Duandiao, who loved frequenting brothels.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that obvious? Sir Zu has established such a world-shocking achievement, and he was promoted to marquis yesterday. Is that not good enough for you?¡± Jiao Sigun replied, still just as stiff and righteous as before.

    When he saw the two guards of the Eastern Pce, Zu An immediately felt a sense of familiarity. He interacted with them closely, just like before. He wrapped his arms around them naturally,ughing and chatting with them; he remarked, ¡°It¡¯s been a while, but the two of you haven¡¯t changed all that much, I see.¡±

    When they saw that even though Zu An¡¯s status had risen so much, he still treated them as well as before, the two guards¡¯ smiles grew even bigger. They chatted happily for a while.

    Soon, however, an attendant arrived with a report, saying, ¡°Sir Zu, the Crown Prince has asked for an audience.¡±

    ¡°Crown Prince?¡± Zu An asked in surprise. Still, he couldn''t continue to chat leisurely with the guards anymore.

    When Zu An and the attendant entered the main hall, they discovered that that fatty, the Crown Prince, seemed awfully happy as he yed games with the eunuchs. Zu An bowed and asked, ¡°What does the Crown Prince need me for?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t need you for anything. It was Linglong who wanted to see you. Hurry up and go in already,¡± the Crown Prince replied, waving his hand as if he were shooing away Zu An for disturbing his own fun.

    Zu An suddenly realized what was happening.That¡¯s what I thought; why would this dumb prince look for me?He then walked inside.

    ¡­

    Not too far away, Eunuch Wen secretly watched their interactions. Then, he summoned a lesser eunuch and gave him instructions. Even after the other eunuch left, however, he still didn¡¯t feel at ease. He felt that he had to look around himself. If he really saw something happen between Zu An and the Crown Princess, countless heads would tumble as a result.

 Chapter 1552: Warning

    <h4>Chapter 1552: Warning</h4>

    Zu An didn¡¯t know what danger was approaching, but he still sensed a mysterious threat. Just as he entered the inner hall, he had been about to praise Bi Linglong inwardly for always being so beautiful and elegant when he suddenly received a string of Rage points.

    You have sessfully trolled Bi Linglong for +33 +33 +33¡­

    Even though it wasn¡¯t arge amount, it never seemed to end.

    Zu An really wanted to ask Bi Linglong why she was so angry, but there were still maids and servants present, so he couldn''t really say anything. Instead, he said with a bow, ¡°I greet the Crown Princess!¡±

    ¡°Sir Zu may be at ease,¡± Bi Linglong said, waving her hand. Whether it was her expression or her bodynguage, there was nothing different from the usual.

    You have sessfully trolled Bi Linglong for +33 +33 +33¡­

    Except this!

    Zu An even began to think,Could it be that she found out about what happened in the Sang manorst night?

    Subsequently, the two interacted in a very formal manner. Bi Linglong praised Zu An for his contributions from Cloudcenter Commandery, while also expressing sympathy and concern for the trouble encountered by his fleet in Silkworm City. In return, Zu An expressed his gratitude. The entire process seemed to be orderly and routine. They both knew the conversation was pointless, but they had to do it in front of everyone else.

    After some time, Bi Linglong asked Zu An about the Fiend races¡¯ situation. Zu An was just about to reply when she suddenly stopped and had her personal maid Rong Mo watch the surroundings.

    Rong Mo pouted so deeply that one could hang a teapot from her mouth. She clearly knew that the Crown Princess had something secret to talk to Zu An about that others couldn''t hear. However, while normal maids were one thing, why did she have to move out of the way too? She was the one the Crown Princess had trusted the most before Zu An arrived; practically nothing had been hidden from her. Now, Bi Linglong hid many things from her!

    Is this Zu An guy just here to fight against me for her majesty¡¯s favor?

    Even though she didn¡¯t feel particrly happy, she didn¡¯t dare to go against the Crown Princess¡¯ intentions. She took the maids outside and guarded the area from behind the curtain. The pce had its rules; she didn¡¯t dare let the Crown Princess interact with a man in a room alone.

    However, that amount of distance was already enough for the two inside. Zu An kept his back toward the outside while asking Bi Linglong with a smile, ¡°And what are you so upset about?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not. Which eye of yours saw that I was upset?¡± Bi Linglong retorted coldly.

    You have sessfully trolled Bi Linglong for +51 +51 +51¡­

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°Every eye I have.¡±

    Bi Linglong¡¯s expression stiffened. After a while, she asked, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you send me any letters at all while you were in the Imperial Envoy fleet?¡±

    Zu An suddenly realized what was going on. So that was the reason! He replied, ¡°You are the Crown Princess, after all. Wouldn¡¯t I have harmed you if I sent you letters?¡±

    Bi Linglong frowned and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t tell you to write me any private letters. Even if it was just an exchange of official business exining a bit about what you saw and heard, I would have been able to sense your sincerity. But apart from the first one you sent in the beginning, you didn¡¯t send anything else to the Eastern Pce.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because too many things happened along the way, so I didn¡¯t have the time to write anything¡­¡± Zu An replied with a grimace. To be honest, he really had forgotten about that.

    ¡°Oh? Then, Sir Zu, please tell me what kind of huge event you encountered along the way that you didn¡¯t write any letters after traveling for tens of thousands of miles,¡± Bi Linglong said with a sneer.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know about tens of thousands of miles, but¡­¡± Zu An replied. He thought that Bi Linglong getting angry was quite adorable, so he didn¡¯t mind. He began to tell her about all the things that had happened along the way.

    Even though Bi Linglong had already learned about most of the events from her intelligence sources and public documents, she still couldn''t help but be drawn in when she heard him talk about many details she hadn¡¯t heard yet. Whenever Zu An exined the more dangerous situations, she nervously cried out in rm too. How could she still be bothered to be upset?

    ¡°Right, I came here to bring you some souvenirs,¡± Zu An said, taking out some small gifts from the Brilliant ss Bead. They weren¡¯t all that precious, especially for a Crown Princess who had seen all kinds of expensive treasures. However, they were quite special and carried a hint of another world¡¯s style.

    Sure enough, Bi Linglong¡¯s gloomy face lit up. She sifted through the small items, asking where they came from and what kinds of stories they had. Zu An replied to each question one by one. He was d that he had already prepared himself beforehand, or else he might not have been able to pass this trial.

    Eventually, Bi Linglong picked up a pretty decorated case and asked, ¡°Hm? Is this makeup?¡±

    ¡°It is. This is a product from Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s most famous makeup store, which is extremely popr. The style is a bit different from the capital¡¯s,¡± Zu An replied. He had bought ten sets of them before, but he hadn¡¯t been able to give them out even after several tries. Currently, he had only been able to give out a single set to the Hub of Freedom¡¯s Tang Tian¡¯er.

    ¡°Why would a man like you know so much about makeup? Did one of your girlfriends help you pick it out?¡± Bi Linglong asked, looking at him with suspicion.

    Zu An thought,This Rouge Spice store really has something wrong with it.He was always in a tough spot whenever he tried to give their products out. However, he reacted quickly and said, ¡°Of course I didn¡¯t know anything, so I just told the store owner to give me an entire set.¡±

    Bi Linglong felt more relieved then. She opened them up bottle by bottle and said, ¡°It is indeed totally different from the capital¡¯s style. Every single kind carries the style of a different ce. Unfortunately, I can¡¯t use them.¡±

    ¡°Why is that?¡± Zu An asked, stunned.Should I just toss all of these out? Why can¡¯t I give any of them away?

    ¡°As the Crown Princess, everything I use has to undergo strict scrutiny in the pce. If I suddenly use a product I¡¯ve never used before, it won¡¯t escape the notice of my servants. At that time, I can¡¯t just say you gave them to me from Cloudcenter Commandery, can I?¡± Bi Linglong replied with a sigh.

    Zu An figured that made sense. It would be reasonable for her to be given some other kinds of gifts, but makeup was a bit too intimate.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think it through carefully enough. I¡¯ll take these with me,¡± Zu An said, thinking to himself that he would throw them away as soon as he left. These things wereplete poison! He could never give any of them out.

    However, Bi Linglong grabbed his hands and replied, ¡°Who said I didn¡¯t want them? Even if I can¡¯t use them in public, I can still keep them as a memento, right?¡±

    Zu An was quite surprised. Bi Linglong was scared that he would be disappointed and was actually so considerate!

    ¡°Right, what exactly happened in the Unknown Region?¡± Bi Linglong pretended to ask nonchntly, but she was really nervous deep down. After all, the Unknown Regions were just too incredible. To a certain degree, they were top-secret information that only the emperor had the right to know about at present.

    Zu An didn¡¯t hesitate and began to share what had happened with her. Of course, he took out the details about his female friends. Seeing as Zu An didn¡¯t disappoint her, a big smile quickly appeared on Bi Linglong¡¯s face.

    ¡­

    Two hours passed just like that. Even though Bi Linglong felt a bit reluctant, she could only let Zu An go. After all, there was always a limit to how much time she could spend with another man.

    Soon after Zu An left the Eastern Pce, he suddenly stopped and called out, ¡°What brings Concubine Bai here? Why are you hiding and noting out to meet me?¡±

    A delicate figure walked out from behind a rock in a garden. Her long and slender brows were elegant, and her nose was small and exquisite. Between that and her cherry lips, she looked like a small white flower amid cold winds. She gave off a lovable and dainty air.

    ¡°Just how did you know it was me?¡± Concubine Bai asked, her voice sounding incredibly delicate and her expression full of surprise. After all, she had a special concealment skill. Even though she hadn¡¯t been hiding deliberately, she still shouldn¡¯t have been immediately exposed.

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°Your highness has a special, fairy-like fragrance of a hundred flowers around you. It would be quite difficult to ignore it even if I wanted to.¡±

    ¡°Sir Zu really is brazen,¡± Concubine Bai said, blushing slightly. Of course she didn¡¯t believe him when he said he had noticed her through her smell. He had only said that to tease her.

    ¡°I¡¯m being wronged here! The spice bag that your highness gave mest time was really helpful. I was really moved, so how could I dare to treat you disrespectfully?¡± Zu An replied. Her spice bag was really useful for hiding one¡¯s cultivation realm and it had helped him a lot before. Of course, he didn¡¯t need it anymore, but he still had to show his gratitude. He even wondered whether to give her a set of Rouge Spice¡¯s makeup products.

    Concubine Bai smiled, clearly already used to his way of speaking. She said, ¡°Let''s talk about other thingster. I came today because of an important matter. Have you offended Eunuch Wen somehow?¡±

    ¡°Eunuch Wen?¡± Zu An asked, stunned. ¡°I haven¡¯t. Why do you say that?¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°I inadvertently noticed that he seems to be investigating you. He was monitoring you from nearby not too long ago too. At that time, I deliberately sought him out to stall for time and don¡¯t know if that helped you at all,¡± Concubine Bai said, looking at him with a pensive expression; she appeared worried, but also inexplicably amused.

    Zu An shivered inwardly. Even though Concubine Bai sounded nonchnt, she was talking about tracking Eunuch Wen¡¯s movements! This woman didn¡¯t seem to be as weak and helpless as she looked on the outside. But more importantly, why was Eunuch Wen monitoring him?

    He still wasn¡¯t all that familiar with the Imperial Pce and hadn¡¯t been able to memorize the appearances of some lesser eunuchs. Even if he noticed that they were nearby, he wouldn¡¯t think too much about it.

    Meanwhile, however, Eunuch Wen was someone he frequently ran into. As such, even though he had sensed the eunuch nearby, Zu An hadn¡¯t thought there was anything strange about it. Only now that Concubine Bai reminded him did he realize that something was off.

 Chapter 1553: Bitter Waiting

    <h4>Chapter 1553: Bitter Waiting</h4>

    Don¡¯t tell me even Eunuch Wen is interested in the Unknown Region and wants some information from me?

    Or maybe he¡¯s actually one of King Qi¡¯s spies? What, is he trying to do something to help King Qi right now?

    Zu An quickly dismissed those thoughts. Eunuch Wen was the emperor¡¯s most trusted subordinate. If even someone like that had been bought out by King Qi, Zhao Han would have already died several times over.

    There¡¯s no way he¡¯s here to get between me and the Crown Princess, is he?Zu An thought in horror.

    When she saw his expression, Concubine Bai knew her reminder had been useful. She didn¡¯t talk any more about that; instead, she said, ¡°Sir Zu, I heard that you encountered people from the Devil Sect during this trip too. Were there any dangers back then?¡±

    Zu An had already suspected Concubine Bai had a rtionship with the Devil Sect for a long time. She was clearly asking because she was curious about the Devil Sect¡¯s affairs. As such, he returned the favor and said, ¡°Thank you for your concern, Concubine Bai. It wasn¡¯t anything major. Although, I met the Devil Sect Master along the way.¡±

    ¡°Ah! I heard that the Devil Sect¡¯s Master Yun Jianyue was a bloodthirsty murderer and a people-eating[1]</a>demoness,¡± Concubine Bai said in surprise.

    Zu An couldn''t detect anything unusual from her expression. He thought to himself,No wonder this woman was able to do so well in the Imperial Pce!He couldn''t pick out any problems at all. He muttered, ¡°That woman indeed eats people¡­¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The charming and gentle events between the two of them appeared in his mind. An appreciative smile unknowingly appeared on his face.

    Concubine Bai was stunned. She had merely used that term as an expression; why did Zu An¡¯s reply make it seem as if Yun Jianyue really did eat people?How is that possible? Why would she do that?

    Fortunately, Zu An snapped out of his daze and shared his experiences in that time with her. Of course, things rted to the Unknown Region were too sensitive. He only picked some of his interactions with Yun Jianyue to share.

    However, that was enough to make Concubine Bai listen with keen interest. She couldn''t help but sigh, saying, ¡°I¡¯m so envious of all of the amazing experiences you¡¯ve gone through in the vast world outside.¡±

    She suddenly felt rather alone and dejected. She was more like a canary bound to the world within the Imperial Pce. Most importantly, her status was quite awkward. She was the crown prince¡¯s concubine in name, but in reality¡­

    When he saw the dejected look on her face, Zu An felt pity for her. He blurted out, ¡°I¡¯ll take your highness out for a stroll if there¡¯s a chance in the future.¡±

    Concubine Bai was stunned at first, but then her small face flushed with color. She said, ¡°I¡¯ve stayed here for too long, so it¡¯ll be bad if other people see us. I¡¯ll be leaving for now.¡± She didn¡¯t wait for Zu An¡¯s reply and left in a hurry.

    When he saw her leave like a frightened rabbit, Zu An couldn''t help butugh.I wasn¡¯t trying to feed you a carrot or anything; what are you acting so scared for?

    Still, he soon recalled Eunuch Wen. His mood quickly darkened. He couldn''t just go over and ask the man why he was following him, right? He nned to discuss it with Bi Linglong when he went to the Eastern Pce the next day. As he already knew Eunuch Bai suspected the two of them, he had to avoid meeting with her even more.

    In the past, he would have felt very nervous in such a situation. At the moment, though, the best strategy was to do nothing. Either way, there was no way Eunuch Wen would be able to get any proof.

    When he left the Imperial Pce, Zu An first made a trip back to his residence to show his face. Otherwise, going straight to the Sang manor would easily draw unwanted attention.

    Someone leaped out excitedly to greet him as soon as he arrived at his ce, eximing, ¡°Brother-inw~¡±

    Zu An was stunned. A young man with pretty features ran over and picked up his hands in excitement. It was none other than the cross-dressing Chu Youzhao.

    Nearby, the tan-skinned Murong Qinghe blinked. She normally felt that her big brother Chu was quite mature and earnest, but why was it that he always acted like such a child whenever he met his brother-inw? To a certain degree, he even looked a bit¡­ feminine.

    ¡°Huh? Why are you here?¡± Zu An asked. He thought to himself that these two really were always around each other. He wondered how they were going to deal with the truthter.

    Two beauties together¡­ Just the thought alone is great.

    ¡°What, you didn¡¯t want to see me?¡± Chu Youzhao replied, looking crestfallen.

    ¡°No way!¡± Zu An eximed, taking out a small pile of gifts. ¡°Your brother-inw even brought you a bunch of local goodies.¡±

    He couldn''t help but praise his own wit. Before leaving, he had sent some of his Fiend race subordinates to purchase gifts. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to deal with so many people once he came back.

    ¡°Brother-inw is so great!¡± Chu Youzhao eximed. Her mood immediately became as bright as the sun in summer. Even though she came from a big n, she had always been raised as a son and taught how to live properly. These kinds of things had all been forbidden. However, that had only increased her sense of longing.

    Forget about her, even Murong Qinghe craned her neck over. After all, these were things that could only be obtained from the Fiend King Court, and were rarely seen on the human side. When Zu An saw that, he picked up another bag and gave it to her. Murong Qinghe was shocked and happy, eximing, ¡°There¡¯s even some for me?¡±

    ¡°The Lesser Return Pill little sister Qinghe gave mest time was really helpful, so I¡¯m just repaying the favor a bit. I¡¯m actually the one who¡¯s embarrassed here,¡± Zu An said sincerely. When he was injured by the Snow Lady in the Great Snowy Mountains, the Lesser Return Pill she gave him had helped him take on a good share of the injuries.

    Murong Qinghe had a brilliant smile as she replied, ¡°Big brother Zu speaks too politely! You are big brother Chu¡¯s brother-inw, so you¡¯re naturally also¡­ ahem. It wasn¡¯t much, so big brother Zu doesn¡¯t need to thank me like that.¡±

    If the situation didn¡¯t involve Chu Youzhao, she was always a formidable and valiant girl. But whenever it did involve Youzhao, she became a star-struck dummy.

    They chatted for a while longer. Chu Youzhao asked curiously, ¡°Right, why weren¡¯t you homest night?¡±

    Zu An was rmed. Wouldn¡¯t things be blown out of proportion if he told her he had stayed at the Sang manor? He replied, ¡°I went out on a trip and came back reallyte. That¡¯s probably why we didn¡¯t run into each other.¡±

    He knew that Chu Youzhao¡¯s status was special and the n had strict rules. She had to return to the Qin n very early each day. The first reason was that they were worried that a girl like her would get in trouble, and the second was that her crossdressing could be exposed.

    ¡°Youzhao, he¡¯s lying to you,¡± an aloof and ice-cold voice suddenly said.

    Zu An¡¯s entire body froze. He looked toward the source of voice in disbelief.

    A beautiful, watery-blue figure stood by the entrance. Her eyes were bright; her skin was fair like snow. Her facial features looked as if they had emerged from a drawing. However, there was a natural hint of icy coldness to her expression. A cold winter breeze blew past, sending her beautiful hair dancing and her dress fluttering. She looked like an ice queen. Fortunately, the fiery red silk band around her waist added a hint of liveliness and tender beauty to her appearance.

    ¡°Big sis!¡± Chu Youzhao eximed, happy and surprised. She jumped straight into the other woman¡¯s arms. Only when the woman hugged her little sister did a hint of gentleness appear in her ice-cold eyes.

    Murong Qinghe¡¯s first reaction when she saw her sweetheart hug such a beautiful woman was disbelief. But when she heard the words ¡®big sis¡¯, she realized that this was Chu first miss!

    When Chu Chuyan first arrived at the capital, it had caused a stir among the young nobles. She had been on par with Madam Yu back in the day. In the past, Murong Qinghe had had the chance to meet her; and yet, even as they met again, she was still shocked by Chu Chuyan¡¯s astonishing beauty.

    More important was the distinct, otherworldly air Chuyan gave off. That aura, as if it came from a goddess above the clouds, made Murong Qinghe envious. Still, she didn¡¯t feel great. She just didn¡¯t want her big brother Chu to be so intimate with another woman, even if she was his big sister.

    What is up with the Chu n anyway? They have no boundaries at all between men and women! Also, does big brother Zu not have any objections to his wife and her little brother being together?

    Zu An naturally had no objections. He actually felt very moved as he called out, ¡°Chuyan~¡±

    At the same time, he was curious. The item around her waist seemed to be the Primal Skysilk! Hadd Yan Xuehen given it to her?

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s eyes resembled a snowy peak as she stared at Zu An calmly, saying, ¡°You said that you came back reallyte to Youzhao, but I waited here all night yesterday and didn¡¯t see you.¡±

    Zu An began to sweat buckets.

 Chapter 1554: Wasted Effort

    <h4>Chapter 1554: Wasted Effort</h4>

    ¡°You came out of seclusion! Last time, I heard Yan¡­ Ahem, I heard Sect Master Yan say that you were cultivating in seclusion, and that you were at an important breakthrough point in your cultivation, so I didn¡¯t even dare to disturb you out of fear of affecting your cultivation.¡±

    Zu An wasn¡¯t telling a lie. The two of them were newlyweds, and yet they had already been separated for so long.

    When she felt the sincerity in his words, Chu Chuyan¡¯s expression finally became a bit less cold. She said, ¡°I was going to spend some more time in seclusion, but master suddenly came back to tell me that rather than cultivating alone in seclusion, it could be better for me to cultivate in the secr world for a while. That, and she told me to go and have a contest with the Devil Sect¡¯s Saintess. That¡¯s why I came out.¡±

    Zu An was surprised and happy. He asked, ¡°Yan¡­ The sect master returned? Was she injured at all?¡±

    He had suspected that she suddenly left without saying anything; even though he knew she was more than strong enough to protect herself, he had still been worried that something unexpected had happened to her. Now that he learned that Yan Xuehen had returned safely, he felt a huge burden disappear.

    Chu Chuyan gave him a confused look, unsure as to why he was so concerned about her master. She replied, ¡°Master¡¯s cultivation is so high; how could anything have happened to her?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good then, that¡¯s good,¡± Zu An said, sighing in relief. Then, he realized that his question was a bit strange. He quickly added, ¡°I fought alongside Sect Master Yan previously, so we can be considered friends now. She suddenly left the Fiend races¡¯ territory back then, so I was worried that something could have happened to her.¡±

    ¡°Master mentioned that briefly to me before. But you say the two of you are friends?¡± Chu Chuyan asked with a strange expression. She understood her master¡¯s nature better than anyone. Yan Xuehen was more like a frozen mountain than any other being in the world! She already lived in her own world of indifference. Chu Chuyan really couldn''t imagine her being friends with Zu An.

    Furthermore, if they¡¯re friends, wouldn¡¯t Zu An be my senior?

    Zu An¡¯s expression stiffened. He replied, ¡°She didn¡¯t tell you anything?¡±

    Looks like Yan Xuehen still can¡¯t face our rtionship after all and is subconsciously running away.

    Chu Chuyan shook her head and said, ¡°She didn¡¯t mention that your rtionship was that great, but seeing as you were able to entrust a gift to me through her, your rtionship probably isn¡¯t bad.¡±

    ¡°Gift?¡± Zu An asked, stunned. How could he have possibly had the nerve to ask Yan Xuehen to bring a gift for another woman? That would just be scattering salt on the wound!

    Chu Chuyan looked down at the red silk band. A hint of redness appeared on her face as she said, ¡°I really like this Primal Skysilk. Thank you.¡±

    Zu An finally realized what had happened. He chuckled and said, ¡°It¡¯s good that you like it.¡±

    Inwardly, he sighed deeply.What is the meaning of this, Yan Xuehen? Are you trying to say goodbye forever?

    ¡°Right, there was something strange about master this time,¡± Chu Chuyan suddenly said.

    ¡°What was strange?¡± Zu An asked, his heart skipping a beat.

    ¡°Sometimes, she just sat there by herself in a daze. A silly smile appeared on her face for a while, but it was reced by anger the next moment. It made me worry that something was wrong with the Unshakable Daoist Manual¡¯s cultivation, but she said that she was fine whenever I asked,¡± Chu Chuyan replied, furrowing her brows. Then, she looked at Zu An suspiciously and asked, ¡°You¡¯ve been with her for so long. Do you know the reason?¡±

    Everyone had a bit of a gossipy side to them, and Chu Chuyan was no exception. She really wanted to know what her master had encountered, to the point that she wouldn¡¯t be told about it.

    Zu An looked a bit embarrassed. He naturally knew the reason, but he couldn''t say it¡­ He could only say, ¡°It might be because she saw some immortals in the Unknown Region. That might have left her quite shocked.¡±

    ¡°Immortals?¡± Chu Youzhao asked, a curious look on her face as she hung from her big sister¡¯s elbow. She quickly grabbed Zu An¡¯s arm instead and cried, ¡°My good brother-inw, hurry and tell me about it!¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    When she saw how Chu Youzhao was acting, Chu Chuyan frowned a bit. The Chu n had needed to go through a huge ordeal to raise Chu Youzhao as a true heir. Why did she look like a little girl again?

    Murong Qinghe¡¯s ears perked up too. Zu An couldn''t help butugh. Either way, these were all people he was close to. Considering Murong Qinghe and Youzhao¡¯s rtionship, Qinghe was an insider too. As such, he gave them a rough summary of what had happened in the Unknown Region. Of course, he gave them a simplified version and didn¡¯t go into too much detail. He could tell Chu Chuyan about such things, but knowing too much would only be bad for the two girls.

    Still, it was already enough to leave the two girls astonished. Even Chu Chuyan was a bit stirred. For some reason, she felt as if her master had be a different person or something. Yan Xuehen had also begun to act a bit unfamiliar around her, to the point that Chu Chuyan felt as if her master was scared of being seen or something.

    In fact, her master had only given her a very simple ount of her experience in the Unknown Region. Chu Chuyan didn¡¯t know that much. When she heard Zu An¡¯s version now, her pretty eyes sparkled with amazement. Still, with her keen perception, she noticed that he was withholding some details. However, she didn¡¯t suspect anything and just assumed it was because of the two girls off to the side. She could just ask him about those things in privateter.

    Suddenly, Zu An btedly asked, ¡°Right, you said that you were going topete with the Devil Sect¡¯s Saintess?¡±

    Chu Chuyan nodded slightly and replied, ¡°Indeed. Previously, Master and the Devil Sect Master agreed that their disciples were to have severalpetitions. However, the first meeting was originally going to take ce a few years from now, but for some reason, master suddenly changed her mind. I¡¯m not sure if the Devil Sect¡¯s side will agree or not.¡± Her brows furrowed slightly. She just felt as if she had been a bit rushed this time, as if her master were chasing her out.

    Zu An gave her a careful look. He sensed her ki aura and eximed in surprise, ¡°You¡¯ve already reached the ninth rank?¡±

    Chu Chuyan responded in the affirmative, adding, ¡°Master used a lot of effort to help me, and the White Jade Sect has favored me as well, offering me all sorts of cultivation resources. That¡¯s why I was able to improve quickly. If I had emerged when we originally nned, there was a high chance I would have reached the master rank.¡±

    That was something she couldn''t understand. At this rate, she should have been able to break through into the master rank before leaving seclusion. At that time, she would have had more confidence against the Devil Sect¡¯s Saintess.

    Still, she had always admired and respected her master, knowing that she was experienced and knowledgeable. She believed the sect master definitely had something in mind, and she missed Zu An a lot. That was why she had agreed to leave the mountain.

    ¡°Big sis is so amazing!¡± Chu Youzhao eximed, her gaze full of adoration. She thought,As expected of my big sis, my idol!

    Murong Qinghe was also shocked. Just how old was Chu Chuyan? Less than twenty, right? And yet she was already at the ninth rank!I am a genius too, butpared to Chu Chuyan, the difference is way too huge!

    The Fiend races¡¯ younger generation had individuals at a higher rank than her, but on average, they were practically on par with middle-aged uncles on the human side. Furthermore, the Fiend races attached more importance to bloodline power.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s expression suddenly changed. She grabbed Zu An¡¯s hand and examined him, asking, ¡°What happened to you? Why are you even weaker than when we first met? Don¡¯t tell me that your injuries ended up affecting your cultivation¡­¡±

    This was a world that relied on cultivation. If Zu An had be an ordinary person, his days would be much more difficult. In that instant, she even thought she had to work harder to be stronger, because only then could she protect him.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m fine. It¡¯s just that my cultivation method is a bit strange, so it¡¯s hard for others to detect my ki aura,¡± Zu An said reassuringly. Then, with a light wave of his hand, he sliced a fluttering leaf nearby in half.

    ¡°That¡¯s a relief then,¡± Chu Chuyan said, letting out the breath she had been holding. She suddenly thought of something and said with a strange expression, ¡°I almost got distracted by you! Where did you spend the night yesterday?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s fine hairs stood on end. Even though Chu Chuyan knew about his rtionship with Zheng Dan, telling the truth would only get him into deep trouble. Fortunately, he had already thought of an excuse. He replied, ¡°I was investigating the Sang n¡¯s situationst night. Sang Hong went missing after an assassination attempt. I hold a share of the responsibility too¡­¡±

    Chu Youzhao and Murong Qinghe had both heard people from their ns mention the affair. They both spoke up to console him, saying it wasn¡¯t his fault.

    A strange look flickered through Chu Chuyan¡¯s eyes. She replied, ¡°Sang Hong? I know where he is.¡±

 Chapter 1555: Desperate Action

    <h4>Chapter 1555: Desperate Action</h4>

    ¡°What?!¡± Zu An eximed, feeling both shocked and happy. He grabbed her arm and asked, ¡°Where is Sang Hong?¡±

    Everyone was looking for Sang Hong at the moment, and Sang Qien was really worried too. Zu An was a good friend of Sang Hong¡¯s now too, and had been worried that something really dangerous had happened to him. Now that he had received news, how could he not be happy?

    Chu Chuyan had a strange expression. She looked into the room and replied, ¡°He was inside your house. You never came back, so of course you didn¡¯t know.¡±

    Zu An was confused. His first reaction was that she was messing around. But when he saw that she wasn¡¯t kidding at all, he quickly reacted and ran inside.

    Chu Chuyan followed him in and said, ¡°When I left the White Jade Sect, I wanted to go to the Fiend races¡¯ territory to find you. But knowing your nature, I figured you probably wouldn¡¯t spend too long on that side and would definitelye back. I was worried that I would miss you along the way and that we¡¯d be far from each other again. That¡¯s why I came back to the capital to wait for you.

    ¡°When I passed by Silkworm City, I just happened to see Sang Hong being chased by a group of ck-d men, so I saved him in passing. Unfortunately, I arrived toote and couldn''t save the others in the Imperial Envoy Fleet.¡±

    Zu An suddenly realized what had happened! No wonder the Embroidered Envoy¡¯s records had mentioned that it was especially cold around that area that night; so it was because Chuyan had used her Snowke Sword! He should have realized that earlier.

    Chu Chuyan brought Zu An to a secluded room; it was a ce where all manner of junk was normally piled up, so few people in the manor ever went there. She said, ¡°I hid him here. Because the Imperial Envoy Fleet affair was definitely rted to many, many things, I was worried that news would get out and didn¡¯t even let those in your own manor know. I waited all this time for you toe back, but you never returned even in the evening!¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but chuckle bitterly inside when he heard the hidden grudge she carried. She had probably only snuck in at night to preserve the secret, but he had already ran over to the Sang manor by then.

    When the door opened, Zu An saw Sang Hong sleeping, hidden in the shadows. His condition wasn¡¯t that good; his entire body was wrapped in bandages. It was easy to imagine how many injuries he had received from the battle that night. His face was incredibly pale, clearly the result of excessive blood loss. Zu An quickly moved over to check his condition. Fortunately, Sang Hong had received prompt treatment; even though his injuries were severe, there was no danger to his life.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Chuyan, I really am thankful for what you did. If not for you, he probably wouldn¡¯t have survived,¡± Zu An said as he fed Sang Hong a pill he had obtained from the Fiend King Court, looking at Chu Chuyan gratefully.

    ¡°We¡¯re one family; what are you thanking me for?¡± Chu Chuyan replied. She couldn''t help but grin. ¡°If I remember right, we even used to be enemies with him in Brightmoon City, and yet we¡¯ve gone to such lengths to save him. The events of the world truly are hard to predict.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why the entire Brightmoon City affair, for me, was a thorough and crushing defeat. Only, meeting all of you was my greatest reward,¡± Sang Hong said with a sigh. He had gradually woken up, and just happened to have heard their conversation.

    ¡°Respected uncle, you¡¯re awake?¡± Zu An replied as he supported Sang Hong.

    Sang Hong smiled at him and said, ¡°If not for the young miss, this old life of mine would have been done in at Silkworm City.¡±

    ¡°Just what exactly happened in Silkworm City? People all said you had been colluding with the Fiend races,¡± Chu Youzhao asked curiously. When she saw that everyone else was looking at her, she quickly added, ¡°I don¡¯t believe that, of course.¡±

    Murong Qinghe¡¯s eyes widened. She was also curious about that. The case of the Imperial Envoy Fleet¡¯s destruction had been the focal point of discussion between the great ns recently.

    Sang Hong gave the two a look. After being in the capital for so long, he recognized the girls as well. He thought for a bit, then said, ¡°That night, I encountered Shadow Group¡¯s assassins¡­¡±

    He had been roused awake by a great fire in the middle of the night. When he rushed out, he had been surrounded by an organized group of ck-d assassins. He had done his best to break out, but he had been seriously injured and couldn''t shake them off. Just as he felt absolute despair, Chu Chuyan had saved him.

    Chu Youzhao and Murong Qinghe were both shocked when they heard the story. After all, they were from distinguished families. Even though they had some experience, when had they ever been through something so dangerous?

    Even someone like Zu An, who had often wandered along the brink of life and death, was surprised. He thought to himself that the chances of survival in such a situation really were slim. He felt a bit conflicted inside, saying, ¡°It¡¯s all my fault for not being with the Imperial Envoy Fleet that you almost died.¡±

    He had been sent to guard the fleet, and was supposed to manage the Armed Escort Division that followed it. However, he had headed into the Fiend races¡¯ territory due to his own selfish desires, causing Sang Hong¡¯s protection to be much weaker.

    Sang Hong shook his head and said, ¡°This matter has nothing to do with you. Seeing as they wanted to act against me, they would have already been plotting actively. If they could even bribe the local officials, you would have been factored in if you were there, and they would have sent even more people. You would have been in danger as well. With more enemies, I might not even have had the good fortune of being able to escape.¡±

    Even though he hadn¡¯t seen the Embroidered Envoy¡¯s reports, as an old fox of the political circles, he had immediately realized that there was something wrong with Silkworm City¡¯s local officials. Zu An just revealed a weak smile and didn¡¯t argue.

    Just then, Chu Youzhao couldn''t help but exim, ¡°What kind of background does Shadow Group have? They even dare to try and assassinate the Imperial Envoy! Isn¡¯t that rebelling against the state?!¡±

    Murong Qinghe added, ¡°I heard a rumor that even the Embroidered Envoy couldn¡¯t identify the one behind Shadow Group, and only managed to track down some mid-rank leaders.¡±

    Zu An thought,That¡¯s not just a rumor; the Embroidery House really doesn¡¯t know who the boss of Shadow Group is.Of course, there was also the chance that only the emperor and Zhuxie Chixin knew who it was, and ess to such information wasn¡¯t given to the Golden Token Envoys.

    Sang Hong suddenly said, ¡°Ah Zu, I want to meet with the emperor.¡±

    Zu An replied with a frown, ¡°Your injuries are still so serious. Let''s discuss things after your injuries improve a bit.¡±

    In Sang Hong¡¯s current condition, he couldn''t move around as he pleased. Despite that, he insisted, ¡°I can¡¯t wait any longer. The one behind the scenes knows I haven¡¯t died and won¡¯t leave the matter at that. I¡¯m too scared to even return to the Sang manor for fear of bringing the girls harm. If I hadn¡¯t been unconscious when Chu First Miss brought me here, I wouldn¡¯t have agreed toe here either.¡±

    ¡°Respected uncle, you¡¯re treating me like an outsider here. Why would I be worried about those things?¡± Zu An replied. He continued, ¡°Right, who¡¯s the one behind all of this?¡±

    Sang Hong looked around at the others. He didn¡¯t say anything.

    Murong Qinghe realized something and said, ¡°I¡¯m going to withdraw for a bit.¡±

    However, Chu Youzhao quickly grabbed her and said, ¡°Little sister Qinghe is one of us; you can trust her.¡±

    Murong Qinghe was really happy when she heard her big brother Chu say that.

    ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t trust you two, but rather that this matter is too important. Knowing will only bring you harm. I don¡¯t want to do that to the two of you,¡± Sang Hong exined.

    Zu An knew Sang Hong was right. Thus, he said, ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll bring you to the pce immediately.¡±

    ¡°It would be best if you change your outfit a bit to mislead others,¡± Sang Hong reminded him, ¡°I suspect that there are people watching your house. After all, our rtionship ismon knowledge.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. We can just go straight there,¡± Zu An calmly replied. There was a mysterious confidence in his voice.

    Chu Chuyan was still worried, saying, ¡°I¡¯ll escort you all.¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t want to worry her. Furthermore, they had been separated for so long that he didn¡¯t want to be apart from her again, so he agreed.

    Chu Youzhao made a fuss about going as well, but Chu Chuyan refused, saying, ¡°You two should wait here for more information. That way, we¡¯ll have someone to provide support too.¡±

    When she heard her big sister¡¯s unquestionable tone, even though Chu Youzhao was unwilling, she could only agree.

    Zu An quickly arranged a carriage to send Sang Hong out; he and Chu Chuyan sat by his side. The carriage moved straight toward the Imperial Pce. Zu An was now a count and a famous person from the Eastern Pce, so few people caused his carriage trouble. Along the way, he asked, ¡°Respected uncle, is the one behind the scenes King Qi?¡±

    ¡°So you already knew after all,¡± Sang Hong said, unsurprised. ¡°Indeed, he likely didn¡¯t want Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s events to return to the capital. I have proof of his misconduct. He probably wanted to wipe away all the evidence.¡±

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t all that hard to predict,¡± Zu An said. He remained silent for a moment before saying, ¡°At the time, I obtained clues from the wooden sword, after which you investigated some more details. Those would definitely have a huge effect on King Qi. Still, I didn¡¯t expect him to be so bold and take such a risk out of desperation.¡±

    ¡°King Qi has already suffered losses again and again. If I present the proof found in Cloudcenter Commandery to the entire court, his decades of hard work will only be more of a lost cause. He can¡¯t be med for taking desperate action,¡± Sang Hong said before shooting a nce at Chu Chuyan. ¡°Chu First Miss is exceptionally sharp, actually arranging for your honorable brother to monitor Miss Murong to keep her from sending out any information.¡±

    It was no secret that the Murong n backed King Qi. Chu Chuyan nodded slightly in response.

    Meanwhile, Zu Anughed and wrapped his arm around Chu Chuyan¡¯s shoulder, saying, ¡°Of course my wife is smart!¡± However, when he realized that Sang Hong was another father-inw of his, he suddenly felt that such a public disy of affection was a bit inappropriate.

    Chu Chuyan blushed and secretly gave him a pinch. With her nature, she wasn¡¯t used to being so intimate in front of other people. Zu An was about to say something when his expression changed.

    Suddenly, the carriage walls ruptured. Several dozen military crossbows turned the carriage into a porcupine!

 Chapter 1556: Death Courting Topic

    <h4>Chapter 1556: Death Courting Topic</h4>

    Chu Chuyan quickly made her move. A longsword appeared in her hand, and cold frost condensed all around her, blocking all the crossbow bolts. Her body trembled, ki and blood surging violently; after all, the shots came from military crossbows with extremely great power. She didn¡¯t hesitate even for a moment, grabbing Zu An and Sang Hong before jumping out through the shattered carriage wall. They would just be sitting ducks if they stayed in ce.

    However, the enemy seemed to have anticipated that such a thing would happen. Arge, thick crossbow bolt flew at her, shrouding the group in terrifying energy. This one was different from the hail of bolts, however; it came from a city defense crossbow!

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s expression changedpletely. After all, the power of a city defense crossbow could even break through a city wall! Furthermore, they were often supported by all kinds ofplex formations that allowed them to lock onto their enemies. There was no way to avoid the bolt; they could only face it head on. Even though she was already at the ninth rank, she wouldn¡¯t necessarily be able to stop the bolt, let alone while protecting two other people.

    She was very confused. Military crossbows were all heavily regted, and city defense crossbows were even higher priority. Other cities could collude with outsiders to use them that way, but wasn¡¯t using one in a ce as important as the capital equivalent to open rebellion? With a grave expression, she raised her longsword, nning to use the Snowke Sword to intercept the bolt.

    Even though she thought about many things, it all happened in the time it takes for sparks to fly off flint. The city defense crossbow¡¯s bolt was about to reach them. The terrifying power it carried was enough to st the entire area to smithereens.

    Unlike Chu Chuyan, Zu An was no stranger to such weapons. After all, he had been ambushed by one before and lost half his life as a result. If not for the fact that his body was incredibly tough, reforged by the Primordial Origin Sutra, he wouldn¡¯t even have been able to hold onto the other half of his life.

    However, things were different now. Zu An drew his sword, unleashing a sharp wave of sword ki. The giant bolt with its terrifying aura was cut in half down the middle like tofu. The sword ki continued forward, sting straight through the city defense crossbow cart hidden in a nearby home, not giving it a second chance to attack again.

    The entire street fell silent; all those present were stunned. A bolt that massive had actually been cut through so easily?

    Sang Hong had been a bit worried at first, but now his eyes were filled with shock.This kid became even stronger than before in the few months we were apart! No wonder he had such confidence, saying he could protect me.

    Chu Chuyan was also somewhat stunned, because her master hadn¡¯t really gone into detail about the trip. Thus, she hadn¡¯t known how strong Zu An really was. On the contrary, when they reunited, she had discovered that there wasn¡¯t any ki auraing from Zu An¡¯s body, making her worry that he had lost his cultivation. She had intended to protect him properly before, but now, it was hard to say who was protecting whom anymore.

    The assassins around them snapped out of their daze. They released all their bolts and rushed out from their hiding ces. They weren¡¯t wearing ck clothes and masks this time; instead, they were dressed in rough hemp clothes, just like the ordinary civilians living in the area. However, their expressions were nothing like those of ordinary civilians, the vicious looks in their eyes revealing that they weren¡¯t real peddlers or carriers.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s expression turned serious. In that instant, she had noticed that there were several eighth rank and ninth rank cultivators present. Such a force was already enough to make someone the boss of any given locality. She didn¡¯t understand why they would be willing to act as assassins.

    Even though she didn¡¯t fear anyone in a one-on-one fight, the assassins seemed to excel in cooperation. They sealed off all paths of retreat, and the almost tangible killing intenting from them made the air feel stiff.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Cooperative skills were often used by lower-level cultivators, especially in the army. Through teamwork, a group of lower-level cultivators could create a force capable of even taking on master rank experts. However, cooperative formations often required long years of training. Only then could the cultivators move and fight together seamlessly.

    High-level cultivators all had their own pride, and they had their own methods to focus on. They usually didn¡¯t have much time to train together with others for a long time. And yet, eighth and ninth ranked experts were actually fighting in unified formations, and so proficiently at that! Just who had the skill to raise so many high-level deathsworn soldiers?

    Even though Chu Chuyan was shocked, she didn¡¯t hesitate to move. She held her sword at the ready, her dress fluttering as her hair began to emanate an icy-blue radiance. She was about to use her most powerful skill to stake it all against her opponents. In such a situation, victory and defeat could be decided in an instant; holding back was meaningless.

    Even though she saw that Zu An¡¯s sword was exceptional, they were clearly outnumbered. Furthermore, their opponent excelled at formations, while the two of them could only fight together back to back. However, they could at least hold on until the City Defense Guards arrived.

    Suddenly, however, Zu An brandished his sword. Seeing as he couldn''t avoid them, he didn¡¯t even bother trying. The swarming assassins felt as if they were going to go blind. Zu An¡¯s sword was as dazzling as a sun, powerful and direct. It left them with nowhere to run.

    Afterward¡­ There was no ¡®afterward¡¯.

    The assassins had been raised as deathsworn soldiers since they were young. They had received the best training and resources, as well as suitable cultivation methods. They had also worked incredibly hard, because in the cruel elimination system they had grown up under, they could only survive if they were stronger than theirpanions. The house never raised trash.

    Of course, as their cultivation ranks rose, their minds had be more open too. After all, eighth and ninth rank cultivators were all powerful figures in the outside world. Who was willing to spend their lives as a deathsworn soldier forever?

    However, they had received constant reminders of the ice-cold reality that awaited. Some of theirpanions had felt as if they could make it on their own and tried to escape, but they had been fed poison when they were young. When they betrayed the house and didn¡¯t receive the antidote, the suffering they went through had made them wish they were dead instead. Since that incident, the rest had never dared to have such thoughts again.

    Of course, in order to appease them and avoid obstructing their cultivation and enthusiasm, the deathsworn had been promised that as long as theypleted this mission, they would be sent to be local officials. They could also marry and have children then. The glory that awaited had filled them with motivation.

    We just need toplete this mission¡­

    Another brother from the house was supposed to havee along, but when he heard that promise, he had immediately chosen to take on another mission, iming that such promises were very ominous. At the time, everyone else hadughed at him for being cowardly, but now, they knew that he was the one who was truly wise. Unfortunately, they didn¡¯t even have a chance to feel regret anymore.

    When she saw the fallen corpses, Chu Chuyan was a bit stunned. There were so many horrifying assassins present, and yet they had been dealt with in an instant?

    A middle-aged man, who had been hiding in the shadows with his sword drawn, widened his eyes. His jaw almost dropped to the ground. He swore, ¡°F*ck this! I thought my cultivation was already pretty fast, but how can itpare to this brat¡¯s? No way, no way, I won¡¯t go even if you pay more. I¡¯m running away!¡± He quickly pulled his conical bamboo hat down over his face, then left through a secret path.

    If Zu An had seen him, he would have recognized the assassin as ¡®Cash Warrior¡¯ Ding Run, whom he had met during the Brightmoon City escort mission. In thest few years, Ding Run had already earned quite a few resources and several opportunities, thus breaking through into the master rank. He had thought that this assignment would pay handsomely, and yet he had almost lost his life in the process.

    Zu An patted the dazed Chu Chuyan and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Then, he picked up Sang Hong and continued toward the Imperial Pce.

    Along the way, Chu Chuyan secretly sized up Zu An several times. A blush appeared on her face from time to time. Back in Brightmoon City, she had always put on the appearance of a capable woman, but deep down, she was a youngdy who liked to dream. At first, when she had been married to this ¡®trash¡¯ husband, she had felt tremendous disdain. But now, when she looked at him, why did she feel that he was a bit like the sword immortal protagonist of ¡®Dominating Sword Immortal¡¯s Ny-Nine Days of Searching For Love¡¯?

    No wonder master didn¡¯t tell me about what happened in the secret dungeon. She was scared that it would affect my dao heart and affect my conviction for cultivation!

    Master really was worried about too many things. He¡¯s not some random person; he¡¯s my husband!

    ¡­

    The group quickly arrived at the Imperial Pce. Chu Chuyan remained outside, while Zu An brought Sang Hong inside. He first arranged for a proper ce for Sang Hong to stay, then headed straight to the Imperial Study.

    Just then, he happened to run into Eunuch Wen, who was shocked to see him return. The eunuch said, ¡°Sir Zu came at a good time. His majesty was about to send for someone to summon you to have an audience with him.¡±

    Zu An was stunned.The emperor already found out about what happened so quickly?

    As expected of an earth immortal!

    He sensed the fragrance of sandalwood wafting through the air when he entered the Imperial Study. The emperor¡¯s eyes were closed in meditation.

    Zu An was about to mention Sang Hong when the emperor suddenly asked, ¡°So¡­ what do you think about the Crown Princess?¡±

    Favorite

 Chapter 1557: Harsh Criticism

    <h4>Chapter 1557: Harsh Criticism</h4>

    Bi Linglong was both pretty and elegant, but Zu An couldn''t just reply ¡®your daughter-inw is so great¡¯, right? After thinking about it for a bit, he said, ¡°The Crown Princess has always been someone who has cared for her subordinates. She has always handled matters with fairness and without bias¡­ Everyone in the Eastern Pce has only ever spoken praises of her.¡±

    He didn¡¯t know why the emperor would ask him something like that, but he definitely couldn''t include anything about her appearance or femininity in his reply.

    The emperor remained expressionless as he suddenly replied, ¡°Oh? You¡¯ve spoken so many praises about her, but not a single one was about her treatment of the Crown Prince?¡±

    Zu An was rmed.This guy came prepared after all. No wonder Eunuch Wen was secretly following me.Thus, he said, ¡°Everyone in the pce knows how well the Crown Princess treats the Crown Prince, so that¡¯s why I didn¡¯t bother to mention it.¡±

    ¡°Did you not mention it, or did you subconsciously choose not to?¡± The emperor harrumphed.

    Zu An¡¯s expression remained neutral as he replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know what your majesty is trying to say.¡±

    The emperor frowned. Normally, whenever he became upset, all of his subjects shook in fear. In contrast, Zu An¡¯spletely calm demeanor left him feeling really unhappy. He could only continue, ¡°I heard that you and the Crown Princess were in the same room for many hours; is that so?¡±

    Zu An thought,As expected.He calmly replied, ¡°That¡¯s correct. Today, the Crown Princess was curious about what happened in the Unknown Region, so she summoned me to ask me about it. We were worried that the information would be heard by people who shouldn¡¯t know it, which is why everyone else was sent away.¡±

    There were no ws in his reply. Not only did he justify their reason for being alone, he also added that they weren¡¯t trulypletely alone. The servants had still been able to see what the two of them were doing from behind the curtains.

    The emperor stared at Zu An with sharp eyes. His expression eased a bit when he didn¡¯t notice anything off. However, he asked, ¡°Seeing as you know it¡¯s a secret, why did you tell the Crown Princess?¡±

    Zu An revealed a bit of surprise. He ¡®cautiously¡¯ replied, ¡°The Crown Princess is the wife of the Crown Prince, and she¡¯s always received your majesty¡¯s favor. I thought that seeing as she wasn¡¯t an outsider¡­¡±

    ¡°Of course Linglong isn¡¯t an outsider,¡± the emperor said with a cough. After a brief pause, he said, ¡°She seems to especially appreciate you too.¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°Being able to receive the Crown Princess¡¯ appreciation is this subject¡¯s glory. I¡¯ll definitely strive to the utmost for her in the future. I won¡¯t hesitate to shed hot blood and sweat for her.¡±

    The emperor frowned. Why did those words sound a bit strange?

    He recalled how the two of them had been involved in a scandal before; but then the libationer himself had stepped forward to clear their names, and thus he couldn¡¯t really believe that the two had anything going on. Still, he felt a bit irritated when he recalled that incident.

    Unfortunately, there wasn¡¯t any proof. He couldn¡¯t pick out any problems from Zu An¡¯s responses either. As such, he decided to look around first, to let Eunuch Wen continue his investigation first. He changed the subject, saying, ¡°Right, I heard that you wanted to meet with this emperor. What is it?¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°I¡¯ve already found Sir Sang Hong.¡± Sure enough, the emperor sat up a bit straighter in response. Zu An continued, ¡°I brought him here to meet your majesty.¡±

    The emperor asked unhappily, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you report something so important earlier?¡±

    Zu An thought,You were so ready to criticize me earlier that I didn¡¯t have a chance to say anything.However, he could only say, ¡°I was ambushed by mysterious assassins on the way to the Imperial Capital. The other party even used army crossbows and a city defense crossbow.¡±

    After killing the elite assassins in that battle, he had sensed his Keyboard System¡¯s experience bar advancing by arge margin. He was already close to reaching level 70. He looked at the emperor, really wanting to know what level Zhao Han was at ording to the experience system.

    ¡°City defense crossbow?¡± the emperor repeated, his face twitching in anger when he heard what had happened. City defense crossbows had been used in the city again and again, proving that to a certain extent, the army was no longer under his control.

    ¡°So many people surrounded and attacked you, and yet you were still able to safely escort Sang Hong to the Imperial Pce?¡± the emperor asked, sizing up Zu An curiously. He could see through almost anyone in this world, but for the first time, he felt as if he couldn''t see through this youngster.

    ¡°The reason why Sir Sang survived Silkworm City was that he just happened to meet mydy from the Chu n. This time, we had her escorting us as well. That was why we were able to protect Sir Sang,¡± Zu An said. He didn¡¯t want Zhao Han to overestimate him and be on guard for no reason. It was still better to bow his head in this situation.

    Sure enough, when he heard that Chu Chuyan was also there, the emperor felt relieved. He said, ¡°I remember that Chu First Miss came to the capital once before. Her talent was indeed exceptional. Now, having saved an important minister of the court; she deserves to be rewarded.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s achievements in the past two years had already made his position skyrocket. The emperor really didn¡¯t want to promote him any more than he had to, which was why he changed the one being rewarded to Chu Chuyan instead, even if the Chu n had previously made him quite unhappy.

    Zu An didn¡¯t notice those tactics, however. Instead, he felt rather proud that even the emperor had recognized Chu Chuyan¡¯s exceptional cultivation aptitude.

    Just then, Sang Hong arrived at the Imperial Study, supported by eunuchs. The emperor gestured for Zu An to withdraw so he could talk to Sang Hong alone.

    ¡­

    With the emperor there, Zu An didn¡¯t have to worry about Sang Hong¡¯s safety anymore. After he left the study, however, he still had to wait for Sang Hong and couldn''t leave the pce. He reflexively wanted to seek out Bi Linglong to talk about what happened today, but he quickly realized that the emperor already suspected him, even sending Eunuch Wen to monitor him. Seeking her out would only be courting death.

    Zu An wondered whether to visit Concubine Bai again and see if he could get any more intelligence out of her. However, not long after he left the pce, he was stopped by someone. He was stunned when he saw who it was, eximing, ¡°So it was Eunuch Lu! What happened to your eyes?¡±

    Eunuch Lu¡¯s eyes were ck and blue, as if something had hit him in the head. He looked at Zu An with a strange expression, replying, ¡°Sir Zu still has the nerve to ask that? This is all thanks to Sir Zu¡¯s actions.¡±

    ¡°What does it have to do with me?¡± Zu An asked in confusion.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Eunuch Lu¡¯s face turned even darker as he replied, ¡°It seems Sir Zu really has forgotten what you promised her highness.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. Only then did he remember that he had said he would visit the empress when he had some time. However, after enjoying some time in thefort of the Sang manor the previous night, he hadpletely forgotten about that.

    Furthermore, Chu Chuyan had returned today; where could he have found the time to visit the empress? As such, he said with an embarrassed smile, ¡°There were too many unexpected things holding me up. I¡¯ll visit the empress another day to make up for it.¡±

    ¡°I was hoping that you would choose a different day, actually¡­¡± Eunuch Lu replied, giving him a look. ¡°But there¡¯s no need for Sir Zu to feel so bothered. Her highness has already returned to the pce and has personallye to meet you. She¡¯s waiting right now. Or perhaps¡­ Do you want her highness toe to find you?¡±

    Zu An was speechless again.What kind of sick joke was this? Even though Liu Ning had kneeled and called him ¡®daddy¡¯ before, she was still the mother of the empire! Making her meet with a subject on her own¡­ If another person saw that, there would be countless usations of misconduct already!

    However, hecould only say, ¡°I¡¯ll have to trouble Eunuch Lu to lead the way.¡± Publicly offending the empress would really cause endless trouble. He had to deal with it somehow.

    ¡­

    Zu An followed Eunuch Lu all the way to the empress¡¯ resting chambers. He noticed that there were clearly fewer eunuchs and maids around; they had most likely been sent away on purpose. He walked into the pce; there were even fewer servants inside.

    A prating and rxing fragrance wafted through the air. Zu An could only recognize the rose scent base, but it seemed to be mixed with many other elegant fragrances. The fragrance was strong and passionate, just like the empress herself.

    Upon arriving just outside the pearl curtains, Eunuch Lu bowed and said, ¡°Your highness, Sir Zu has arrived.¡±

    ¡°I see. You can leave,¡± the empress saidzily. Zu An saw that she was lying down. She wore a sparkling dress embedded with fine gemstones, making her look dazzling. However,pared to her perfect curves, the gems didn¡¯t seem all that amazing. That was especially true because the material seemed to be translucent, further entuating her curvaceous body.

    ¡°Understood,¡± Eunuch Lu said. He felt a bit depressed, but he didn¡¯t dare to express anything. He only gave Zu An a look of envy.

    When the door closed, Zu An bowed and said, ¡°I greet your highness.¡±

    ¡°Oh my, I wouldn¡¯t dare to receive such respect from you. Does this empress even exist in your heart?¡± the empress sneered, clearly unhappy.

    You have sessfully trolled Liu Ning for +745 +745 +745¡­

    Zu An jumped in fright. This woman was already so angry?! He didn¡¯t wait for her to act up and quickly said, ¡°Your highness can¡¯t me me for this! His majesty already suspects us, and he even sent Eunuch Wen to investigate me!¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± the empress eximed. She quickly sat up in fear, causing waves to ripple across her body.

 Chapter 1558: Frank and Open

    <h4>Chapter 1558: Frank and Open</h4>

    ¡°What? Zhao Han suspects us?¡± the empress asked, feeling a chill run down her neck. Her heart was beating so hard that she could almost hear it.

    Zu An thought to himself,Why are you still bothering me if you¡¯re so scared, to the point that I can¡¯t even refuse you?However,on the surface, he said, ¡°I don¡¯t know the exact details either. It¡¯s just that I received information telling me to be careful. Furthermore, I discovered that Eunuch Wen was secretly investigating me.¡±

    He spoke vaguely on purpose. Otherwise, if the empress found out that Eunuch Wen was actually tailing him to check on him and the Crown Princess, the empress would think that he was lying to her.

    The empress¡¯ expression darkened. She called out, ¡°Little Lu!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Eunuch Lu replied, hurrying back like a gust of wind. There was a hint of excitement on his face.Could it be that her highness pitied my loyalty and is willing to let me watch from the side?!However, he was soon disappointed; when he entered, he saw that the two were still fully clothed.

    The empress was too preupied to figure out what he was thinking; instead, she quickly told him what she had heard.

    Eunuch Lu was shocked. If something like this were exposed, it would be hard to say what would happen to them, but for someone like him who was deeply involved, it would absolutely amount to nine generations of execution! Even though he was a eunuch, so he couldn''t have any descendents, he still had an older brother. The Lu n in the capital had be arge n too.

    ¡°Go and look into this matter. Make sure not to alert anyone with your investigation,¡± the empress warned him.

    ¡°This servant understands,¡± Eunuch Lu said, feeling deeply worried as he left. This was rted to the rest of his life! He had to make sure it wasn¡¯t ruined because of such a thing.

    ¡­

    After Eunuch Lu left, the empress gradually calmed down.

    Zu An said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. If the emperor had really noticed anything, there¡¯s no way we could even have a chat here.¡± Inwardly, he thought,As expected of Zhao Han¡¯s woman.Such a level of bravery definitely wasn¡¯t something an ordinary woman couldpare to.

    ¡°Little boy, you gave me quite the fright,¡± the empress said,ughing and patting the seat next to her. ¡°Come and have a seat over here; are you scared that I¡¯ll bite?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression was strange as he thought,Isn¡¯t that exactly what I¡¯m scared of?He replied, ¡°Your highness, this situation hasn¡¯t calmed down yet. It would be better if we stay a bit more low-profile.¡±

    ¡°What are you scared of? If he had some real proof, we wouldn¡¯t even be able to keep living. Seeing as we¡¯re still alive, that means he hasn¡¯t found anything. In that case, why don¡¯t we enjoy the present?¡± the empress replied charmingly as she moved closer.

    Zu An had to admit that mature beauties were soft and supple.This woman really is dancing around the grave! She already knows the Emperor is investigating her, and yet she still isn¡¯t holding back at all?

    Because the empress had moved closer, the strong fragrance she wore had begun surrounding Zu An. It made the dead of winter suddenly feel a bit hot.

    Zu An felt his mouth be a bit dry. When he remembered Bi Linglong¡¯s concern, he sat upright and still, wanting to push her away. However, his hand seemed to have entered arge ball of cotton. He remarked awkwardly, ¡°Would you believe me if I said this wasn¡¯t on purpose?¡±

    The empress let out a lovelyugh, saying, ¡°Of course I believe you. If you wanted to, you could just do what you wanted, and I¡¯d be weing you. Why would you use such a clumsy method?¡±

    Zu An coughed and said, ¡°Your highness, I just came from the Imperial Study and don¡¯t know when his majesty will be looking for me. I have to head over first.¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you hate him quite a bit? Why does it now seem as if you¡¯re so scared of him?¡± the empress asked, gently stroking his chin. Her expression was hard to read.

    Zu An was shocked. His attitude toward the emperor was the greatest of secrets. How did she know?

    Seemingly seeing through his confusion, the empress gave him a flirtatious look. Then, she giggled and said, ¡°You used so much force that night, almost as if you were taking it out on your enemy¡¯s wife. Did you think I wouldn¡¯t notice that?¡±

    Zu An felt a me ignite inside him when he heard this. However, his reason was still in control. He forcefully suppressed it and said, ¡°Your highness must be joking. I really must go now.¡±

    The empress sighed deeply and said, ¡°You call me ¡®Ning¡¯er¡¯ when you feel good, but you call me ¡®your highness¡¯ when you don¡¯t. My heart is starting to grow cold.¡±

    Zu An was briefly speechless. This woman had suddenly yed the ¡®deep feelings¡¯ card, so he didn¡¯t even know what to do anymore.

    The empress put away her frivolous smile and asked, ¡°Do you see me as an unfaithful wife, and thus look down on me?¡±

    Zu An quickly said, ¡°That¡¯s definitely not what I meant! It¡¯s just that the current situation is tense¡­¡±

    Both he and the empress were mature adults. The first time had been quite stimting, but the risk was just too great. Any rational person wouldn¡¯t take such a huge risk. After all, he still had too many people he cared about.

    The empress¡¯ smooth hand pressed against Zu An¡¯s lips as she replied, ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to make so many excuses. I already took the initiative to seek you out several times. You definitely look down on me. However, do you know why I keep impatiently seeking you out? Do you really think I¡¯ve just felt neglected and can¡¯t hold it in anymore?¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t know what to say in response and could only remain silent.

    The empress then said, ¡°In my earlier years, my cultivation was quite high. Furthermore, my big sister was still in this world; her cultivation was also great. But perhaps it was precisely that which drew Zhao Han¡¯s suspicion. He silently allowed something to happen, which caused my big sister to die an untimely death, and I was left with dao injuries that couldn¡¯t be healed. My cultivation was thus lost, and I became an ordinary person. How could I not feel hatred inside? That joyous night we spent together wasn¡¯t only to get revenge on that man, but also to borrow your help in restoring my cultivation.¡±

    ¡°Restore your cultivation?¡± Zu An repeated, surprised by her frankness.

    The empress gave him a look and said, ¡°Judging from your expression, you already have some idea, right? After that night, I discovered that my dao injuries actually showed signs of healing. For the sake of recovery, I looked through every possible channel, and yet I waspletely helpless. And yet, a single night with you was better than so many years of my efforts. That meant there could only be one possibility; that you have the legendary transcendent aptitude. Your blood essence is an unrivaled divine medicine in itself.¡±

    Zu An had a strange expression. He really had be Xuanzang[1]</a>now¡­ If news of this got out, wouldn¡¯t he be sucked dry by countless vixens along the way?

    He also put away the feigned politeness he had shown in the beginning, almost returning to his previous identity as the Fiend races¡¯ Regent. He said, ¡°Seeing as your highness has spoken so inly, there¡¯s no harm in me being more direct as well. Our interaction is indeed beneficial for you, but there are only endless dangers for me. Why should I take such a huge risk?¡±

    The empressughed. The fact that Zu An had changed his tone meant that their rtionship had now taken a step further. She replied, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that Zhao Han already suspected us? We¡¯re already grasshoppers on the same rope. If you help me recover quickly, I can help you keep Zhao Han in check. Furthermore, I am still the empress. I can provide you with even more benefits in the future.¡±

    Zu An frowned slightly and said, ¡°Zhao Han is an earth immortal. Even if you recover, how much can your cultivation help?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s hard to say,¡± the empress said mysteriously before continuing, ¡°However, there are still other benefits.¡±

    Zu An was stunned, asking, ¡°What benefits? What are you doing? Ah¡­¡±

    The empress moved her head slightly, brushing her messy hair behind her ears. A glossy luster flickered on her lips. She said with a proud smile, ¡°You said you didn¡¯t want it, but your body is quite honest.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. The empress moved over to his ear and whispered, ¡°With Zhao Han¡¯s nature, he won¡¯t tolerate your existence. You can vent all of the frustrations you have with him on his wife. Isn¡¯t that enough?¡±

    Zu An thought,You always use this move. Do you think I¡¯ll fall for it?

    Ah, Little An, how can you be such a disappointment?!n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in the Eastern Pce, Bi Linglong looked at her maid Rong Mo in pleasant surprise. She asked, ¡°Really? Sir Zu entered the pce again?¡±

    Didn¡¯t that mean they had another chance to meet again?

    The emperor wasn¡¯t in seclusion, so the two of them couldn''t meet as they wished, and the number of times Zu An could enter the pce was limited. The two were like separated lovers. Being able to meet again was always a good thing.

    ¡°It¡¯s a hundred percent true!¡± Rong Mo reported to Bi Linglong with a big smile. ¡°But he seems to have been summoned by Eunuch Lu, the empress¡¯ subordinate, and didn¡¯te to the Eastern Pce. Hmph, this Sir Zu really is something. He¡¯s already forgotten who he belongs to.¡±

    Bi Linglong glowered. Then, she got up and said, ¡°Oh, now that you mention it, she¡¯s already returned to the pce, and yet I haven¡¯t paid her a visit yet.¡±

 Chapter 1559: Plots Revealed

    <h4>Chapter 1559: Plots Revealed</h4>

    ¡°Mother Empress?¡± Rong Mo asked, staring nkly for a moment. Only after a while had she realized that the crown princess was talking about the empress. As the crown princess¡¯ personal maid, she naturally knew that the crown princess and the empress¡¯ rtionship wasn¡¯t good.

    But after thinking about it, she thought it made sense to an extent. There weren¡¯t many mothers and daughters-inw that got along. Furthermore, the empress wasn¡¯t even the crown prince¡¯s mother, and yet she acted like Bi Linglong¡¯s senior. Both of them were particrly stubborn in nature, so they naturally didn¡¯t like each other.

    ¡°Okay then!¡± Rong Mo said with a huge smile. She was looking forward to the moment when the crown princess saw that brat Zu An¡¯s double-crossing actions. She wanted to see what he would say to try and regain the crown princess¡¯ favor then.

    ¡­

    Soon afterward, Bi Linglong brought a group of maids to the Empress Pce. They were quickly stopped by the maids and eunuchs outside, who said, ¡°We greet the crown princess.¡±

    ¡°I heard that Mother Empress has returned. As a junior, I should pay her a visit,¡± Bi Linglong said in a neutral tone.

    ¡°Understood. We will bring her the report now,¡± the empress¡¯ servants replied, looking at each other in dismay. After all, the rtionship between the empress and the crown prince could only be considered ordinary at best. Each time, the crown prince¡¯s side only paid a visit to go through the motions. They never came here at all otherwise. Had the sun risen in the west today?

    Bi Linglong frowned and asked, ¡°Why are you all out here?¡±

    The maid replied, ¡°Her highness is a bit tired and needs to rest, so she had us stand guard outside.¡±

    Bi Linglong gave the pce a look, saying, ¡°You don¡¯t need to go through all that trouble. I¡¯ll just follow you into the pce.¡± Then, she walked straight in.

    The maids didn¡¯t dare to stop her. They could only run a bit faster to notify the empress beforehand. However, as the crown princess, Bi Linglong had her status to worry about and couldn''t run in with them. She could only walk a bit faster.

    When they arrived at the Empress Pce, a faint voice called out from inside, ¡°So it was Linglong. This empress was sleeping just now, so please wait for a moment.¡±

    Bi Linglong was a bit confused. Why did the empress¡¯ voice sound so charming right now? Her voice even seemed to be trembling a bit. Still, it could indeed be because the empress had been sleeping, so she didn¡¯t read too much into it as she said, ¡°I¡¯ve disturbed Mother Empress¡¯ rest.¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Meanwhile, her eyes darted around, but she didn¡¯t see Zu An. She couldn''t help butugh when she thought of that. Why would the empress ever allow Zu An into her own resting chambers? Her previously irritable mood calmed down a bit when she thought of that. She couldn''t help but shoot Rong Mo an annoyed look. It was all this girl¡¯s fault for gossiping all the time. She had almost med a good person.

    Rong Mo felt really wronged too. Just now, she really had seen Zu An being called away by Eunuch Lu!

    The empress quickly got dressed and came out. But for some reason, Bi Linglong felt that even though the empress wasn¡¯t asvishly dressed as usual, she looked much prettier than usual. She practically seemed to be glowing. Her fair skin was covered with a faint blush, just like a youngdy. Even Bi Linglong had no choice but to admit that this was the mother of a country, a beauty among beauties.

    ¡°Why did Linglonge today?¡± the empress asked, greeting her with a smile. But underneath her clothes, her body couldn''t help but tremble slightly. She thought about what had just happened,ining inwardly about Bi Linglong¡¯s sudden arrival. Of course, she didn¡¯t show anything on the surface.

    ¡°I heard that Mother Empress returned to the pce, so of course I had toe and pay a visit. I recently obtained some precious medicines, and since I¡¯m here, I¡¯ll share some with your respected self,¡± Bi Linglong said, gesturing toward the maid at her side. Not a single w could be picked out from her words and actions.

    ¡°Linglong really is considerate¡­¡± the empress replied.

    The two continued to go back and forth like that. After exchanging a bunch of courtesies, Bi Linglong still couldn''t help but ask, ¡°Hm? Why don¡¯t I see Sir Zu here?¡±

    The empress¡¯ heart was beating crazily, but she didn¡¯t reveal anything on the surface. She replied, ¡°I did call over Sir Zu to ask him a few questions, but he already left not too long ago. I believe he should now be back by the Imperial Study, waiting.¡±

    She didn¡¯t deny that Zu An had visited. As Bi Linglong had asked such a thing, it was clear that she knew Zu An had visited. If the empress denied that, she would only appear more suspicious.

    ¡°So that¡¯s what happened,¡± Bi Linglong said, finally calming down. After chatting a bit more, she found a pretext to leave.

    The empress made a perfunctory attempt to keep her, but then both sides separated.

    ¡­

    As the empress watched Bi Linglong leave, she put away her smile. She hadn¡¯t expected Zu An¡¯s arrival to be discovered.

    Looks like I have to be more careful; otherwise, it would be really annoying if Zhao Han found out.

    Wait, hold on. Why does she care that much about the behavior of a subject?

    Don¡¯t tell me¡­ Is she using this to try and attack me?

    She did have some awareness of what their rtionship was really like, at least. The more she thought about the situation, the more she thought that was possible. Bi Linglong could even have received some rumors from Zhao Han, thus trying to bring her down this way.

    She shivered when she realized that. Normally, in such a situation, it would be best not to have any more interactions with Zu An, but she also couldn''t give up on her own recovery. She really was conflicted.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An had already returned to the Imperial Study¡¯s vicinity. He secretly wiped the cold sweat on his forehead as he thought,I¡¯m really putting my heart to work these days¡­ I almost got caught in the act by Bi Linglong!

    The empress really did have a special kind of charm to her, but it was just too dangerous to stay around her.

    Suddenly, a lesser eunuch emerged. He was surprised when he saw Zu An, saying, ¡°Sir Zu, what a coincidence! His majesty is looking for you.¡±

    Zu An had a strange expression.Don¡¯t tell me the emperor noticed I was messing around with his wife?

    Still, the way things were, he could only brace himself and go for it. He was secretly d that he had used the water element to wash away his body¡¯s smell. Otherwise, if the emperor detected the empress¡¯ scent all over him, he would be dead for sure.

    He was stunned when he came in. He discovered that not only was Sang Hong there, but other important court members were also present, such as Central Secretariat Supervisor Meng Yi, Imperial Secretariat¡¯s Right Confidential Assistant Bi Qi, War Chariot General Liu Guang, Rear General King Liang Zhaoyi¡­ All of them were the emperor¡¯s most trusted ministers.

    When he saw Zu An arrive, the emperor said, ¡°Bring Sir Sang back to get some good rest. Furthermore, I will assign twenty Armed Escort Guards to serve as his personal bodyguards.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, your majesty!¡± Sang Hong eximed. Even though he was injured, he still bowed to show his gratitude.

    After all, the Armed Escort Division was the private army of the Imperial Pce. They usually only ensured the safety of the Imperial Pce. From time to time, some of them were dispatched to be used by Imperial Envoys, but they were rarely assigned to protect a single person. Twenty Armed Escort Guards didn¡¯t sound like arge number, but what they represented was the emperor¡¯s attitude. That way, no one would dare to brazenly mess with him anymore.

    Zu An also felt happy for Sang Hong. That meant his survival was guaranteed. There was no way Zu An could constantly protect Sang Hong, but now that the emperor had made his stance clear, there was no chance of King Qi¡¯s people trying anything else.

    ¡­

    When the two left, the emperor frowned. He reflexively looked up above him. There was nothing on his head, but why did Zu An keep ncing at that area? Furthermore, there was a hint of a pitying expression in Zu An¡¯s eyes. Such a feeling really wasn¡¯t good.

    Suddenly, King Liang interrupted his train of thought by saying, ¡°Your majesty, King Qi actually publicly used assassins in the Imperial City. This crime cannot be pardoned. Please punish him!¡±

    Liu Yao also got up and said, ¡°King Qi has the ambition of a wild wolf. His crime is far more severe than this. Previously, he set up arrangements in Cloudcenter Commandery to plot a rebellion. After he was defeated, he surrounded the Imperial Envoy fleet to wipe out the evidence. Adding up all the things that have happened over the years, he ought to be executed for his crimes!¡±

    The others all got up to denounce King Qi, advising the emperor to set his hand against King Qi. Their side already had the advantage, so it was the best time to act against King Qi.

    However, Zhao Han didn¡¯t reveal anything. Instead, he looked at Bi Qi and Meng Yi, asking, ¡°What do the two of you think?¡±

    Bi Qi and Meng Yi exchanged a look. In the end, Bi Qi said, ¡°This subject thinks¡­¡±

    ¡­

    When they were some distance away from the Imperial Study, Sang Hong said quietly to Zu An, ¡°King Qi is finished.¡±

    Zu An was surprised, asking, ¡°Is the emperor going to make his move?¡±

    ¡°That might not necessarily be the case,¡± Sang Hong said, shaking his head. ¡°Even though King Qi¡¯s forces have suffered considerably recently, he still has a lot of power and resources at his disposal. If he¡¯s pressured too far, he might be driven to desperate action. His majesty probably won¡¯t adopt such extreme measures, but King Qi no longer has any ce left for him in the capital.¡±

    Unlike ordinary kings, King Qi intended to fight over the imperial throne. If he left the capital, the political center of the empire, he wouldpletely give up his struggle for the throne. The forces that supported him would gradually crumble.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in a secret room within King Qi Manor, there was also a gathering. The one in the lead was none other than King QI.

    ¡°My king, with how things are, should we make our move?¡± one of the members asked.

    Half of King Qi¡¯s face was hidden in the shadows. After remaining silent for a bit, he suddenly said, ¡°Fine!¡±

 Chapter 1560: The Terror of Linked Sword Heart

    <h4>Chapter 1560: The Terror of Linked Sword Heart</h4>

    As Zu An brought Sang Hong out of the pce, they discovered that many of the guards were pointing and gesturing into the distance. The guards were all discussing something excitedly, as if they had seen a big celebrity. When he looked up, Zu An couldn''t help but smile.

    It turned out Chu Chuyan was waiting outside the entrance. She stood there in the cold wind, her long hair and dress dancing through the air. With her stunning beauty, she looked like a beautiful beingpletely separate from the mortal world.

    It wasn¡¯t just the pce guards; even themoners passing by in the distance couldn''t help but give her a few nces. Some people even wanted to try and strike up a conversation, but as soon as they took a few steps, Chu Chuyan¡¯s ice-cold aura scared them off. They didn¡¯t dare to offend her further.

    Even Sang Hong said with a sigh, ¡°Chu First Miss is like a goddess after all. This level of beauty is something only Madam Yu couldpare to back in the day.¡± When he recalled those past events, he suddenly felt as if he had be a few years younger.

    Initially, he had nned to make use of the Chu n cutting off their rtionship with Zu An in order to find some way to make his own daughter into Zu An¡¯s main wife. However, Chu Chuyan was so strong of apetitor that in that instant, he suddenly lost his confidence in that n.

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡± Chu Chuyan eximed. When she saw Zu An arrive, a smile appeared on her cold face, as if it were the first thawing of spring. Then, she nodded slightly toward Sang Hong.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go. We¡¯ll send Sir Sang back to his manor first,¡± Zu An said. He couldn''t help but take Chu Chuyan¡¯s hand. It would be such a waste if he didn¡¯t show off such a beautiful wife.

    Sure enough, when the onlookers saw that Chu Chuyan not only didn¡¯t resist, but even leaned against him naturally, their expressions were filled with jealousy.

    You have sessfully trolled the onlookers for +110 +110 +110¡­n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An couldn''t help butugh when he saw the Rage points. He suddenly remembered how he had taken Chu Chuyan with him into a casino in order to earn more Rage points.

    Perhaps because she also remembered the past, a blush appeared on Chu Chuyan¡¯s ice-cold face. She asked via ki transmission, ¡°Ah Zu, did you do something to let me down?¡±

    Zu An was rmed, replying, ¡°Why would you ask that?¡±

    ¡°I just feel inexplicably as if you did something you felt apologetic for, making you treat me so attentively,¡± Chu Chuyan said, shooting him a suspicious look.

    ¡°I¡¯m hurt that you would wrongfully use me like that!¡± Zu An eximed, although he thought to himself that a woman¡¯s sixth sense really was terrifying. Could it be that this was White Jade Sect¡¯s Linked Sword Heart, which Yan Xuehen had mentioned before, and that Chu Chuyan was one of the few geniuses who had reached that level?

    Fortunately, an Armed Escort Guard suddenly arrived with a new carriage, cutting the conversation short. Zu An quickly brought the two toward Sang Manor.

    Along the way, Sang Hong shared everything that happened at the pce. He then said, ¡°Even though we know that the one behind the Silkworm City attack is King Qi, there is no proof. Afterward, he was driven into desperation and tried to assassinate me in the capital, but failed. The capital is different from Silkworm City. No matter how powerful he is, there is no way he canpletely hide all traces. As long as his majesty sends people to investigate this issue, he will find the truth.

    ¡°Furthermore, his crimes in Cloudcenter Commandery are already known. That is already enough to convict King Qi. On top of that, the Qin n¡¯s great generals are on the front lines and cannot return immediately. As a result, King Qi¡¯s military forces are at less than half strength.¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s expression changed slightly. The Qin n was her mother¡¯s family, after all.

    ¡°But respected uncle said his majesty won¡¯t do anything to King Qi, right?¡± Zu An asked curiously.

    ¡°You are still young. You underestimate King Qi¡¯s ability too much,¡± Sang Hong exined. ¡°If I can speak in a rather disgraceful manner, King Qi is the heir of this dynasty¡¯s great ancestor. That is why he has inherited the great ancestor¡¯s core forces. Between that and his efforts over the years, in certain ways, his power has even exceeded his majesty¡¯s. There are also rumors that his personal strength is on par with his majesty¡¯s own.¡±

    Zu An was shocked when he heard that, eximing, ¡°He¡¯s also an earth immortal?¡±

    ¡°Even though there is no conclusive proof, I suspect the truth is not too far off. That is why he was able to gather such prestige over all these years,¡± Sang Hong said. ¡°Of course, I believe that he is still inferior to his majesty, or else he would not have been content to remain a subject for so long.¡±

    Zu An nodded. With this information, many things began to make sense.

    King Qi was weaker than the emperor, but the difference likely wasn¡¯t that great. The emperor would have to pay a huge price to deal with King Qi. At present, the emperor¡¯s lifespan was nearing its limit, so he was definitely unwilling to squander any at all. That was also why he hadn¡¯t made his move against King Qi yet. However, if his life was really nearing its limit, he would definitely fight against King Qi. Otherwise, his silly son would definitely have no chance of defeating King Qi, who was in his prime.

    King Qi wasn¡¯t stupid; he knew that day would eventuallye. As such, even though time was clearly in his favor, he still took risks, rebelling in some ways such as enacting his ns in Cloudcenter Commandery.

    ¡°But this time, King Qi has given up information that can be used against him. His majesty would never give up such a good opportunity. If things do notpletely fall apart, it will definitely result in King Qi leaving the capital and returning to his fiefdom,¡± Sang Hong continued seriously. ¡°All people move toward benefits and avoid harm. If King Qi leaves the capital and shows that he no longer has the ability to seize the throne, many members of his faction will start to leave him. Even the ns that are part of his core forces will start to consider that possibility. All sorts of doubts will begin brewing. Then, King Qi¡¯s strength will gradually weaken, ultimately ending up beingpletely cut off. There will be far fewer consequences if his majesty acts against him then.¡±

    Zu An was inplete awe as he listened. Even though Sang Hong¡¯s cultivation wasn¡¯t too outstanding in the capital, his keen perception of the politicalndscape was top rate. His deductions from just a bit of information he had received after what happened were all reasonable and fair.

    Chu Chuyan couldn''t help but ask, ¡°What will happen to the Qin n in the future?¡±

    Sang Hong replied, ¡°With the Qin n¡¯s prestige in the military, as long as they do not rebel along King Qi in the end, nothing too major should happen to them. Of course, the Qin n will never again have as much authority as they have right now.¡±

    Chu Chuyan nodded. She didn¡¯t care too much about authority. As long as nothing too serious that would make her mother sad happened, that would be enough.

    ¡­

    Time passed quickly as they talked, and they arrived at the Sang manor before they realized it. Sang Qien and Zheng Dan had already received news ahead of time and were waiting by the entrance.

    ¡°Dad!¡± Sang Qien eximed. She was much more excited than Zheng Dan. She had already lost her big brother, and thought her father had died too. How could she not be happy to see him return safely?

    ¡°Sang Qien!¡± Sang Hong eximed, tears flowing profusely from his eyes.

    ¡°Big brother Zu, thank you¡­¡± Sang Qien said, looking gratefully at Zu An. Suddenly, she froze as she saw Chu Chuyan next to Zu An. Her expression stiffened as she said, ¡°Chu¡­ Chu First Miss.¡±

    Sang Hong¡¯s face heated up. He naturally knew that his daughter was still too immature, so he spoke up to ease the awkwardness, saying, ¡°Little Qien, it was thanks to Chu First Miss saving me that I was able to keep this old life of mine.¡±

    Sang Qien was stunned. How could she still be bothered to focus on her love rivalry? She quickly expressed her gratitude.

    ¡°Lady Sang is too courteous,¡± Chu Chuyan replied politely.

    ¡­

    The group headed inside. Sang Qien naturally talked to her father about their long time apart from each other. Meanwhile Zu An helped them exin the situation.

    Zheng Dan pulled Chu Chuyan aside for some chit-chat, as they were from the same hometown. She said, ¡°Big sister seems to have be even more beautiful and elegant than before.¡±

    Chu Chuyan was cold in nature and wasn¡¯t too used to such enthusiasm. However, she was too embarrassed to push Zheng Dan away. She replied, ¡°Miss Zheng, long time no see.¡±

    She naturally knew about Zheng Dan¡¯s rtionship with Zu An, so she wasn¡¯t too happy deep down. But when she thought about how Zheng Dan had remained at Zu An¡¯s side when he was in trouble, and how they had all fought together, she couldn''t bring herself to act up either. She sighed inwardly. As the other party already called her big sister, she couldn''t just protest now, right?

    Thus, she quickly sorted out her thoughts and chatted with Zheng Dan. Seeing that Chu Chuyan was ying along, Zheng Dan felt as if a weight had lifted from her chest. To a certain extent, that meant Chu Chuyan had already epted her.

    As they chatted, the two girls became much closer. Zheng Dan keenly sensed Chu Chuyan ncing toward Zu An several times. She couldn''t help but ask with a smile, ¡°Why does big sister seem so reluctant to be apart from Ah Zu?¡±

    Chu Chuyan blushed and replied, ¡°I wasn¡¯t looking at him at all¡­¡± However, after some hesitation, she quietly asked, ¡°Does Lady Sang also¡­ like Ah Zu?¡±

    ¡°Pfft!¡±

    Zheng Dan had felt her throat was a bit dry from all the talking, and had begun sipping on some tea. When she heard that, she immediately spat it out.

    Favorite

 Chapter 1561: Torturing of the Soul

    <h4>Chapter 1561: Torturing of the Soul</h4>

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Chu Chuyan asked, startled by her reaction.

    Zheng Dan wiped the corners of her mouth with her handkerchief in embarrassment. She gave Sang Qien a look, but she really didn¡¯t notice anything strange. She replied, ¡°Why would you ask something like that?¡±

    Chu Chuyan hesitated for a moment before saying, ¡°Earlier, when she first saw Ah Zu again, her eyes were filled with pleasant surprise and friendly affection. Later, when she noticed me, her expression clearly changed. It was because of that drastic change that I noticed something.¡±

    Zheng Dan suddenly empathized with Zu An. This woman was just too sharp¡­ Still, she didn¡¯t immediately refute the statement, instead replying with a smile, ¡°Which youngdy wouldn¡¯t like such a dashing man like Ah Zu? It¡¯s nothing unusual.¡±

    She had to take the chance to send some wind Sang Qien¡¯s way. Otherwise, if Chu Chuyan didn¡¯t have any mental preparation and suddenly learned that Sang Qien was carrying her husband¡¯s child, the shock would be too great.

    Sigh, I really am going way too far for this family¡­ Ah Zu better thank me properlyter.

    Chu Chuyan was briefly stunned, clearly not expecting that kind of answer. However, after thinking about it for a moment, what Zheng Dan said seemed to make sense to her. After all, Zu An was no longer the notorious good-for-nothing from Brightmoon City.

    ¡­

    After some time passed, Zu An got up to leave. Now that Sang Hong was back and Chu Chuyan was also present, he couldn''t just stay the night at the Sang manor, right? He told the Armed Escort Guards to protect the Sang manor well, then left with Chu Chuyan.

    On the way back, Chu Chuyan wanted to say something several times, but then stopped. Zu An found it rather amusing. He grabbed her hand and said, ¡°If you have something to say, you should just say it. Is there anything you can¡¯t say just between the two of us?¡±

    When she sensed the heat of his palm, Chu Chuyan felt warm inside. She shook her head slightly and replied, ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡±

    ¡°Is it really nothing?¡± Zu An asked curiously.

    ¡°It really is nothing,¡± Chu Chuyan said with a smile. No matter how he asked, that was her reply.

    Zu An waspletely confused. He even began to wonder if Chuyan had found out that Sang Qien was pregnant with his child. He thought about telling her the truth, but it was a matter that would affect the Sang n¡¯s reputation. Furthermore, Sang Qien hadn¡¯t gotten married yet. It wouldn¡¯t be too good if he talked about it without discussing things with them first.

    But Chuyan isn¡¯t an outsider¡­

    ¡­

    While Zu An was lost in conflicted feelings, they arrived back at his manor. Chu Youzhao and Murong Qinghe rushed out when they heard the news of their return.

    ¡°Big sis, brother-inw!¡± Chu Youzhao eximed, running around the two of them a few times. She finally calmed down a bit when she saw that they weren¡¯t hurt.

    Chu Chuyan pinched her little sister¡¯s cheeks dotingly. Then, she gave them a rough summary of what had happened. The two girls¡¯ eyes widened as they listened; they were clearly surprised to hear about an attack in the middle of the capital¡¯s streets.

    Then, Chu Chuyan told the two of them, ¡°It¡¯s alreadyte, so I¡¯ll send you two back first.¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Chu Youzhao protested with a pout, ¡°But I want to stay with big sis¡­¡±

    Chu Chuyan said with a smile, ¡°I have to pay the Qin n¡¯s seniors a visit anyway.¡± Even though the Qin n¡¯s two leaders had gone off to war, there were still many other elders at the manor.

    Then, she looked at Zu An and added, ¡°You shoulde with me to the Qin n too.¡±

    Zu An was a bit embarrassed, replying, ¡°It would be strange if I went, right?¡±

    His rtionship with the Qin n couldn''t be considered bad, but it wasn¡¯t good. It would be fine if he went alone, but if he went with Chu Chuyan, he could end up being the target of some people¡¯s ridicule and mockery.

    Chu Chuyan raised a brow and replied, ¡°Sigh, it seems you really do think we¡¯re divorced, so you have nothing to do with the Qin n anymore.¡±

    Zu An revealed a forced smile and replied, ¡°I¡¯ll go! I¡¯ll go, okay?¡±

    Even someone with Chu Chuyan¡¯s ice-cold nature could actually y such tricks too?!

    When she heard that Zu An was also going to go and that they wouldn¡¯t be separated just yet, Chu Youzhao didn¡¯t protest anymore.

    ¡­

    The group sent Murong Qinghe back first, then went to the Qin n together.

    When they heard about Chu Chuyan¡¯s arrival, the thick-browed Qin Guangyuan and his handsome brother Qin Yongde personally emerged to receive her. Many of the Qin n¡¯s women emerged as well; they all surrounded Chuyan and praised her beauty.

    Off to the side, Zu An was a bit embarrassed. Technically, he was the Chu n¡¯s young master, so he was rted to the Qin n as well. However, in order to protect the Chu n, he and Chuyan had decided to get a divorce in name.

    Fortunately, Qin Guangyuan found an opening to chat with him, asking, ¡°I heard that you were attacked in the capital while escorting Sang Hong?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. They seemed to be Shadow Group¡¯s assassins, but they used military crossbows and a city defense crossbow,¡± Zu An said, observing his reaction while speaking. The Qin n was the number one military n in the army, so that could have something to do with them.

    Sure enough, Qin Guangyuan¡¯s expression changed when he heard that. However, it was hard to say what he was thinking. His expression was somewhat gloomy. Sensing that he seemed to have realized something, Zu An chuckled and didn¡¯t say anything else. Qin Guangyuan was a smart person too; he had definitely immediately thought of King Qi, and he naturally understood what kinds of consequences that event had brought.

    Just like that, Zu An spent a few awkward hours with the Qin n. Chu Chuyan then got up and said she was going home.

    Qin Yongde couldn''t help but say, ¡°The Qin n is your home in the capital! It¡¯s already sote; where are you going now?¡±

    Chu Chuyan gave Zu An, who had been sitting awkwardly the entire time but never left, a look. A hint of gentleness appeared on her face as she replied, ¡°I¡¯m going back to Ah Zu¡¯s ce.¡±

    Many people from the Qin n frowned. They all spoke up and said, ¡°The two of you have already gotten a divorce. It¡¯s not proper for the two of you to stay together, is it?¡±

    Even though not even the pickiest member of the Qin n would dare state that Zu An wasn¡¯t outstanding, they weren¡¯t in the same faction. The more outstanding he was, the worse it would be for the Qin n, so they naturally couldn''t bring themselves to have any good impression of him.

    Meanwhile, Chu Chuyan was just too charming. Even if she had already gotten married before, she still had nock of outstanding pursuers. It wouldn¡¯t be difficult to select a great n for her to be married to one day. That would be much more beneficial for both the Qin and Chu n. However, if Chu Chuyan lived with Zu An and news of that got out, which n would dare to take her in, no matter how pretty and outstanding she was?

    Chu Chuyan said with a smile, ¡°In the past, because of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, Ah Zu agreed to a divorce in name in order to not drag down the Chu n. But in my heart, he has always been my husband.¡±

    Zu An felt warm inside when he heard that. He couldn''t help but hold her soft and smooth hand. Chu Chuyan, who was usually shy and bashful in that regard, actually acted out of character and gripped his hand, clearly as an expression of her firm resolve to the Qin n.

    When she saw that, Chu Youzhao thought that the scene really was wonderful, as it matched the romance she had dreamed about ever since she was little. On the other hand, however, she felt strangely lonely. Still, she was a young girl and didn¡¯t think too much about it. She quickly leaped forward to give the two of them her support.

    The Qin n wanted to protest further, but Qin Guangyuan reached out his hand to stop them. Then, he looked at Chu Chuyan and said, ¡°Cousin, you¡¯ve always been smart. As you¡¯ve already made your decision, as an older brother, I can only wish you happiness.¡±

    Then, he turned around to look at Zu An, saying, ¡°Brother Zu, I hope you can treat Chuyan well and not fail to live up to her sincerity.¡±

    Zu An was rather surprised by Qin Guangyuan¡¯s change in attitude. He said with a smile, ¡°But of course.¡±

    ¡­

    The two of them left the Qin n and walked along the main street. The capital, which was usually bustling with activity, now seemed a bit somber and deste. There were troops patrolling everywhere.

    Chu Chuyan couldn''t help but say, ¡°I wonder just how many plots and schemes are happening behind the scenes today.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s something for the Emperor and King Qi to think about. It has nothing to do with us,¡± Zu An replied, holding her small, ice-cold hand. As he smelled her delicate and graceful fragrance, he only felt extremelyfortable and peaceful. He didn¡¯t even want to think about the two brothers¡¯ fight at all.

    ¡°Then why don¡¯t you take me around the capital? It¡¯s been a long time since I was here,¡± Chu Chuyan replied with a big smile, hooking her arm around his. She leaned against his shoulder.

    When he saw Chu Chuyan act like a little girl, Zu An¡¯s affection surged. At the same time, he felt guilty, because he was a total yboy. He gave up on the thought of giving her the cosmetics he had bought from Cloudcenter Commandery, instead taking her around the streets. As long as she gave something a second look, he bought it for her.

    The whole trip filled Chu Chuyan with happiness andughter. She suddenly asked, ¡°Why are you acting like my master when she came back, giving me all of these good things?¡±

    As she said that, she suddenly paused. Her eyes werepletely clear as she continued, ¡°There¡¯s definitely something that happened between the two of you that you¡¯re hiding from me.¡±

    Favorite

 Chapter 1562: Battle Within the Harem

    <h4>Chapter 1562 ¨C Battle Within the Harem</h4>

    Zu An felt as if his entire body were soaked in sweat. He asked, ¡°Why would you think something like that?¡±

    It was one thing if it involved other women, but Yan Xuehen was Chu Chuyan¡¯s master! If Chuyan learned the truth now, there really could be chaos. The only thing he could do was to gradually make the two of them ept such a rtionship¡­

    As soon as that thought appeared in his mind, Zu An couldn''t help butugh to himself bitterly. To be honest, he didn¡¯t have any hope in that regard at all.

    ¡°It¡¯s because the two of you are both just way too good to me,¡± Chu Chuyan said with a confused expression. ¡°My master especially. She always used to be ice-cold and really strict with me. I was even a bit scared of her. But when she came back this time, she was suddenly much warmer, and she also looked at me with a lot of care.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. Big sis Yan, you really aren¡¯t trying your best here! Weren¡¯t you known for cultivating some kind of emotionless state?

    Fortunately, he reacted quickly and said, ¡°We¡¯re the people closest to you, so what¡¯s so strange about being good to you? Wouldn¡¯t it be stranger if we treated you badly?¡±

    ¡°But my master¡¯s transformation is just too¡­¡± Chu Chuyan muttered skeptically.

    Zu An exined, ¡°It¡¯s probably because she met too many powerful beings in the Unknown Region. We almost died many times. That experience definitely left her with a huge impression, so that¡¯s probably why her mental state has changed a bit.¡±

    Chu Chuyan nodded slightly, replying, ¡°I think that¡¯s the case too. I could clearly feel that my master¡¯s strength has increased a bit. Furthermore, she quickly entered seclusion. ording to what the others at the sect are saying, she should be able to reach a new level in her cultivation this time.¡±

    Zu An sighed in relief when he saw that Chu Chuyan was convinced.

    ¡­

    Just like that, the two of them wandered around the capital. The capital was the most bustling city in the world; apart from a few areas, most city districts didn¡¯t have a night curfew. That was partly why people from other ces all had a yearning for the capital. The two ate while strolling through the streets; Zu An felt as if he had returned to the night markets of his previous world.

    Chu Chuyan had always been raised carefully and not allowed to indulge in many different things. Furthermore, she had always carried the entire Chu n¡¯s safety on her back. She had never felt so rxed before. Her ice-cold expression was gradually reced withughter and smiles. As she hugged Zu An¡¯s arm, a blissful glow radiated from her face.

    No men with impure motives hit on her along the way. The first reason was that the capital was different from other ces, with much better public security. After what had happened today in particr, there were patrolling guards everywhere. The second reason was that by now, almost any sensible person recognized Zu An. They knew he was a rising star. Who would stick their head out and willingly get in trouble?

    As such, the two of them were able to stroll around untilte into the night before they returned home reluctantly, still wishing for more.

    When they returned to the manor, the two of them sat side by side on a windowsill. Chu Chuyan leaned against Zu An¡¯s chest, and they both just admired the moon in the sky. They shared everything that had been on their minds while they were separated, including their thoughts about each other.

    There were endless things to talk about between lovers. Soon, it was alreadyte at night. The two of them both unwittingly fell asleep by the windowsill, leaning against each other side by side.

    ¡­

    This continued until the next morning, when the servants were shocked to find the two of them sleeping like that. Thankfully, the two of them had high cultivations; otherwise, sleeping like that in the middle of winter would have easily made them extremely sick.

    A clear and melodious bell rang through the air, notifying all the pce officials to report to the morning court session.

    Zu An wasn¡¯t surprised at all. After what had happened the previous day, it would be strange if there were no morning court session today. With his current identity, he needed to attend the morning court session too. Thus, he let Chuyan sleep for a while longer, because it was still too early.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Chu Chuyan nodded slightly. After cleaning up a bit, she returned to the room to cultivate in meditation. Zu An was full of admiration. People all said that Chu Chuyan had exceptional talent, but her level of diligence in cultivation was far above most cultivators of the world.

    ¡°I¡¯ll try toe back as soon as the court session is over. I¡¯ll take you around the Royal Academy,¡± Zu An said.

    The previous night, during their conversation, he had learned that Chu Chuyan was given some tasks toplete by her teacher and had to pay the libationer a visit, while bringing over some gifts. He realized he still hadn¡¯t met his friends at the academy after returning to the capital.

    ¡°I¡¯ll wait for you,¡± Chu Chuyan said, sounding gentler than her usual ice-cold nature.

    ¡­

    When Zu An arrived at the Imperial Pce, sure enough, many officials rmended vigorously investigating the attack that had happened the previous night. Others said to investigate what had happened at Cloudcenter Commandery because Sang Hong had brought back new proof. Of course, the attack on Sang Hong¡¯s Imperial Envoy fleet also had to be investigated.

    Even though no one said King Qi¡¯s name, they all knew that the target was King Qi. He was in the wrong to begin with, so even if King Qi¡¯s faction wanted to retort, now wasn¡¯t the time at all.

    A whileter, other officials suddenly pointed out each dynasty and generation¡¯s rules. Kings had to return to their fiefdoms after they matured, and there was no reason for them to remain at the capital. At the same time, they mentioned how only a few kings in history had remained in the capital, and how that hadn¡¯t been a blessing for the world. In the end, they suggested for King Qi to return to his fiefdom.

    The entire court instantly broke out into amotion. Every single person present knew what King Qi had been fighting for all these years. If he returned to his fiefdom, wasn¡¯t that the same as demanding his life?

    Some of the middle and lower-ss officials from King Qi¡¯s faction who weren¡¯t privy to insider details protested, but after arguing for a while, they suddenly realized something. Why weren¡¯t the heavy hitters of their faction saying a thing?

    Every person who had the right to be in the court was smart. They had onlye to their misunderstanding due to ack of information. When they saw how the other members of their faction were acting and associated it with what had happened the previous day, all of them woke up to the truth.

    The morale of King Qi¡¯s faction instantly plummeted. Thus, they were pushed back bit by bit. Eventually, the matter was practically set in stone.

    Zu An didn¡¯t find it too surprising, because he realized that King Qi seemed to be too calm. He didn¡¯t see King Qi¡¯s forces back at all from start to finish. Could it be that King Qi had really just acknowledged his fate here?

    Of course, Zhao Han¡¯s strategy was excellent. Not a single one of those disgraceful things had been pointed at King Qi. It seemed almost like a silent offer: ¡®I won¡¯t pursue this matter, so you should obediently crawl back to your fiefdom.¡¯

    ¡­

    When the court session ended, Zu An reported to the Eastern Pce¡¯s morning roll call as usual. He found a chance to ask Bi Linglong, ¡°Is King Qi really just going to ept his fate and return to the fiefdom?¡±

    ¡°How can it be that easy?¡± Bi Linglong replied. She looked beautiful today, because she had put special care into her makeup. ¡°But the current situation isn¡¯t in his favor, so he is lying low for now. I believe that he will start his counterattack soon.¡±

    Zu An asked her about what King Qi¡¯s counterattack could potentially look like. Bi Linglong shook her head and replied, ¡°King Qi is someone with deep ns and distant thoughts; how can they be things that a junior like me can presumptuously try to guess at? Does Sir Zu have anything else to report? If not, then you can withdraw.¡±

    Zu An was surprised by her cold tone. He wondered if she had eaten something wrong this morning. What happened with the empress doesn¡¯t seem to have been exposed, though? He could only continue, ¡°There have been some important events at home recently, so I want to ask for a few days of vacation¡­¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Bi Linglong cut him off before he could finish.

    Zu An was a bit annoyed now. He suddenly got up and asked, ¡°Why?¡±

    Bi Linglong looked up at him. There was no emotion visible on her face as she replied, ¡°The Eastern Pce has too many things to take care of, and you are the crown Pprince¡¯s chambein. You were out for a long time and were away from the Eastern Pce. Too many documents have already umted here. You¡¯ve finally returned, and yet you want to ask for a vacation?¡±

    ¡°I really am a bit busy these days. I promise I¡¯ll work overtime to deal with it all,¡± Zu An replied, feeling puzzled. Even though his position as crown prince¡¯s chambein had a high status, the work was almost all taken care of by the people under him. The one who made the decisions was the crown princess. When did they ever need him to deal with documents?

    ¡°What can you even be busy with? Isn¡¯t it just keeping that Chu n womanpany?¡± Bi Linglong retorted coldly. ¡°From what I know, the two of you have already been divorced. She is no longer your spouse, so why do you have to stay with her?¡±

    Zu An suddenly realized what was happening. He couldn''t help but look at her with a smile, saying, ¡°So you were jealous.¡±

    ¡°You rascal, I am the crown princess; why would I be¡­ jealous of you?¡± Bi Linglong replied, her expression stiffening. ¡°Servants, bring all of the documents that have umted in this time to Sir Zu.¡±

    She got up to leave afterward, not even giving him a chance to retort. Soon after, Rong Mo quickly delivered a huge pile of documents to Zu An. She had a huge smile on her face as she enjoyed his misery.

    Zu An was also stunned. With the amount there was, forget about a single day, he wouldn¡¯t even be able to finish it all if he worked three days and three nights in a row!

    Chuyan is still waiting for me at home¡­

 Chapter 1563: Unjustly Attacked

    <h4>Chapter 1563 ¨C Unjustly Attacked</h4>

    While Zu An was wondering what to do, suddenly, a chubby lesser eunuch approached bearing a message. Surprisingly, it was one of the empress¡¯ eunuchs, Little Zhuo. He said that the empress needed to talk to Sir Zu about something.

    Normally, Zu An was a bit apprehensive of the empress, but he was actually quite happy about the summons. He quickly agreed and followed Little Zhuo. He was scared of giving Bi Linglong a reason to keep him, so he urged Little Zhuo to start moving.

    Bi Linglong rushed over when she heard the news, but Zu An was already long gone. She was so upset she swept all of the documents to the ground.

    Rong Mo added fuel to the fire, remarking, ¡°That Zu guy is so ungrateful! Did he forget who raised him up? He only knows how to betray those who treat him well.¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Bi Linglong snapped, suddenly turning around and ring at her. ¡°Strike your own mouth to show your repentance!¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Rong Mo was stunned. What is up with the crown princess? I was cursing to make her feel better, so why am I now in trouble?

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Little Zhuo rushed straight to the empress¡¯ pce before he realized what had happened. When had he ever moved so quickly before in his life?

    ¡°Brother Little Zhuo, thanks a bunch!¡± Zu An cupped his hands toward him, then went straight into the pce.

    Little Zhuo was really moved. As a lesser eunuch, he had been bullied quite badly ever since he first arrived at the pce. Sir Zu was now a marquis, and yet he hadn¡¯t changed at all. Sir Zu didn¡¯t treat him as a servant, but as a normal person.

    Someone as kind as him will definitely have good things happen to him.

    ¡­

    Inside, Zu An saw that the empress was dressed in ordinary clothes, but it didn¡¯t hide her mature figure at all as it rocked back and forth beautifully. The rhythm her waist swayed with was something that was difficult for youngerdies topare to.

    The empress was a bit surprised to see Zu An arrive, eximing, ¡°Huh? You actually came so quickly.¡±

    Zu An had just escaped from a ¡®sea of bitterness¡¯, so his mood was quite good as he replied, ¡°What is your highness saying? How could I dare to ignore your imperial decrees?¡±

    ¡°Tsk.¡± The empress didn¡¯t fall for his smooth talking at all; she replied, ¡°I sought you out several times before, and yet you used all sorts of excuses and didn¡¯t evene in the end.¡± She was clearly still bitter about that.

    Zu An chuckled in embarrassment. He didn¡¯t argue with her; instead, he asked, ¡°Right, why did your highness suddenly summon me? The rumors haven¡¯t settled yet, so it¡¯s not suitable for me toe too often.¡±

    The empress stretched out her body, putting her incredible figure on full disy. She said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve looked around over the past few days. Zhao Han¡¯s attention should bepletely focused on dealing with King Qi right now, so he doesn¡¯t have time to be distracted by anything else.¡±

    ¡°How does her highness think things will y out from here on out?¡± Zu An took the chance to ask. The empress was the mother of the empire, and her n was extremely powerful as well. She viewed things from a different perspectivepared to ordinary people.

    The empress gestured for him to sit down, and as he did, she even poured him a cup of tea. Then, she said, ¡°How else can it y out? There¡¯s no way King Qi will just sit still. He¡¯ll probably find some reason to cling to the capital for now, such as an illness. Then, he¡¯ll start to think up some schemes.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t seem to be worried,¡± Zu An remarked, surprised by how calm she was.

    ¡°What is there to be worried about?¡± the empress asked, pointing toward the Imperial Study. Her expression was difficult to read as she continued, ¡°Even though I do have some grievances toward that man for certain reasons, I can¡¯t help but admit that he is the strongest in the entire world. He has never been defeated.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression was strange as he thought, He already lost once before in the Westhound Tomb secret dungeon. Of course, he didn¡¯t say that out loud.

    ¡°No,¡± the empress suddenly began, a lovable smile on her face. ¡°There is one area he has lost to you in.¡±

    Zu An felt his body heat up. A mature woman was proactive and enthusiastic after all,pletely missing the bashfulness of a young girl. In his previous world, the gossip and teasing of the office¡¯s olderdies really had been enough to make any man¡¯s face red with embarrassment.

    When she saw his strange expression, the empress nced at him and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I didn¡¯te here to devour you today. I haven¡¯tpletely absorbed what you left inside my bodyst time yet.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He asked, ¡°Then what did your highness need me for?¡±

    ¡°I heard that young wife of yours came to the capital. Should we bring her into the pce, and then let this empress look after her?¡± the empress offered. ¡°I¡¯ve already heard quite a few rumors in the past few days, rumors that praised her as some goddess. I want to see just how she¡¯s grown up.¡±

    Zu An broke out into a cold sweat, replying, ¡°No, that¡¯s alright¡­ It¡¯s not too convenient.¡±

    What kind of a joke is this? No one wants a fire to start in their harem; I¡¯d be insane to agree to something like this!

    ¡°What, are you scared that I¡¯ll reveal our rtionship to her? Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m not that stupid. If you don¡¯t want to, then forget it,¡± the empress said, not forcing the matter. Instead, she continued, ¡°Then tell me about the two of you; when did your rtionship improve? When was the first time you slept together? Could her frail body really handle a beast like you? I almost couldn''t take it myself¡­¡±

    Zu An was speechless. What kinds of words are you using?

    ¡­

    When he finally escaped from the empress, Zu An wasn¡¯t so foolish as to rush back to the Eastern Pce. He quickly left the pce, thinking that he¡¯d wait until Bi Linglong¡¯s anger subsided for the time being.

    He was about to rush back to his ce, but he noticed that quite a few people¡¯s eyes were drawn in a certain direction. He thought of something, then followed their gazes. He saw a beautiful figure in an icy blue dress. Who else could it be but Chu Chuyan? He ran over with a pleasant surprise, asking, ¡°Chuyan, weren¡¯t you cultivating at home?¡±

    A faint smile appeared on Chu Chuyan¡¯s face when she saw him. She replied, ¡°For some reason, it was really easy for me to enter meditation at the sect, but I just can¡¯t seem to calm down as easily here. That¡¯s why I came over to the pce to wait for you, as I¡¯d be able to see you sooner then.¡±

    When he heard his usually reserved wife speak such warm words, Zu Anughed heartily. He grabbed her arm and began to walk inrge strides. Everyone else stared enviously at them.

    ¡­N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Inside the Eastern Pce, the crown princess sat in a room by herself. There was a mirror on the table. Surprisingly, the image it reflected was of Zu An holding hands!

    There were special formations all around the Imperial Pce, and they could be used for monitoring purposes. With Bi Linglong¡¯s status, it wasn¡¯t too difficult for her to gain ess. When she saw how pure and aloof Chu Chuyan looked, Bi Linglong felt a bit absentminded. No wonder that guy ran away so quickly.

    However, what made her unhappy was how lovey-dovey the two of them were. That was what she yearned for even in her dreams, and yet because she knew what kind of identity she had, she could never openly be with Zu An on the streets like true sweethearts.

    Pa!

    She mmed the face of the mirror against the table. There was no expression visible on her face.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An and Chu Chuyan headed toward the Royal Academy as nned. Chu Chuyan thought they had to announce their arrival and wait for a while, but Zu An took her straight in. The guards along the way didn¡¯t stop them, and instead, quite a few people nodded toward him in greeting.

    Chu Chuyan eximed in surprise, ¡°Huh? You seem to be quite well received here.¡±

    The first time she visited the capital, she had learned just how proud Royal Academy¡¯s people were. The rear mountain area in particr was like a forbidden zone. It wasn¡¯tpletely impossible to enter, but the difficulty was very high.

    ¡°But of course. Your husband is just that charming,¡± Zu An said with augh.

    Chu Chuyan was about to scold him, but when she remembered how many sweethearts he had, she couldn''t help but frown.

    Suddenly, they heard the sound of weapons shing. Both of them were surprised. The academy¡¯s rear mountain was an extremely peaceful ce; why were there people fighting there?

    When they went in, they saw that two rather pretty youngdies were fighting. They didn¡¯t seem to be exchanging pointers, and instead looked more as if they were fighting to the death. They even cursed each other from time to time.

    Judging from the conversation, it seemed they liked the same man, saying that he was handsome and strong, that he was the most perfect man in the world. They cursed each other as whores with no sense of shame, each saying that the other woman was the reason why they couldn''t meet their lover for a long time¡­

    Chu Chuyan nced at Zu An with a pensive expression. Judging from how familiar he was with the academy, he clearly came here frequently.

    Zu An began sweating profusely, eximing, ¡°This wasn¡¯t my fault!¡±

    Just then, the two youngdies really did start fighting for real. They both used their ultimate moves against each other. Their skills were almost on par with each other, and it seemed as if they were about to take each other down.

    Chu Chuyan kicked off the ground and with a wave of her hand, their swords were knocked away. She remarked, ¡°It is just a man; must the twodies go this far?¡±

    The two women were shocked by her cultivation. But when they heard that, they couldn''t help but point at the distant Zu An, retorting, ¡°Sure, you can sound righteous right now, but what if we were fighting over your man? Would you just bow and give way?¡±

    Chu Chuyan was stunned. Many names appeared in her mind. Qiu Honglei, Zheng Dan, Qiao Xueying¡­ In that instant, she experienced all kinds of feelings. Sweet, sour, bitter¡­

    Zu An knew that things were going in a bad direction. He quickly rushed forward and said, ¡°Ladies, please don¡¯t get angry. ording to what you¡¯re saying, it sounds as if it¡¯s been a long time since you¡¯ve seen your lover. Rather than fighting against each other like this, how about we calm down and chat a bit first? Just who was it that disappointed the two of you? How about I find that heartless rat to settle things?¡±

    ¡°Hmph, you¡¯re the heartless rat. You dare speak ill of our big brother Xiu?!¡± the two girls eximed in unison, pointing their swords at him.

    Zu An was speechless.

 Chapter 1564: Message

    <h4>Chapter 1564: Message</h4>

    Zu An looked rather sullen as he thought,What does that have to do with me?

    Wait, why does this ¡®big brother Xiu¡¯ sound familiar? Don¡¯t tell me¡­

    Just as the two swords were about to make contact with his body, a hoe suddenly appeared beside him. With just a casual touch, it sent both women flying. A simple-looking old farmer stood in front of the two women, snapping, ¡°Do not make trouble!¡±

    ¡°Sir¡­ Sir Seventh,¡± both women said in unison. When they saw who it was, they kept quiet out of fear.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s eyes lit up.Sir Seventh? This is most likely the Libationer¡¯s seventh disciple Wang Shuyang! In the past, dad had nothing but praise for this man, because he was someone who truly worried for themon people.

    Chu Chuyan had heard the legends surrounding Sir Seventh in the past. She carried the utmost admiration toward such a noble and clean-living man. However, she hadn¡¯t expected Sir Seventh to actually look like an old farmer. She couldn''t see any trace of a capable individual¡¯s bearing from him. Still, she quickly realized his appearance made perfect sense.

    Wang Shuyang lectured the two women for a while, but he didn¡¯t make things too hard for them. He let them go afterward. In response, Zu An cupped his hands and expressed his thanks, then introduced Chu Chuyan.

    Wang Shuyang revealed a simple and sincere smile, remarking, ¡°Miss Chu is elegant in appearance, as expected.¡±

    Of course, despite what he said, his eyes remained pure. It was as if the most beautiful women in this world couldn¡¯tpare the rice paddy in his hands.

    ¡°Sir Seventh, what were they fighting over exactly?¡± Chu Chuyan couldn''t help but ask after returning the greeting. When she thought of her previous suspicions that the women had been fighting over Zu An, she couldn¡¯t help but smile.

    ¡°It seems to be about a popr student in the academy. I do not know the details, as I do not usually pay much attention to these things,¡± Wang Shuyang replied. He then enthusiastically told Zu An, ¡°Sir Zu, that hybridized rice paddy idea you suggested really provided me with great benefits! I found that infertile male variant you spoke of and seeded in creating a crossbred paddy, but that crossbred paddy¡¯ster generations quickly returned to being normal paddies. I had no solutions for that¡­¡±

    When she saw him consult Zu An respectfully, Chu Chuyan¡¯s eyes widened. She assumed that Wang Shuyang was already at the peak of agricultural knowledge, to the extent that even the libationer shouldn¡¯t have known more than him in that field. And yet, someone like that was consulting Zu An?

    Wait, Zu An knows about this stuff?

    She had thought she already understood Zu An quite well, but she had never heard of him having knowledge of such a field. She was worried that with his nature, he might have just shot his mouth off and fooled Wang Shuyang.

    She wondered whether to have a good talk in private with Ah Zu about the subjectter. After all, Wang Shuyang was someone who really did care about the well-being of the world¡¯smon people; he was lofty and unsullied. It wasn¡¯t right for Ah Zu to deceive him. At the same time, she was worried that Ah Zu could be exposed by the question from Wang Shuyang. If that happened, it would really be bad for his reputation.

    However, Zu An seemed to take the matter very seriously as he said, ¡°This isn¡¯t too difficult of a problem. There¡¯s something called the ¡®Three Type Form¡¯. The infertile male variant you found can be the source nt. Find two partners for it. Call one the preserved type, and the other the restored type.

    ¡°The first partner should look very simr to the mother variant. It should have a robust amount of pollen and a developed stigma. If you use its pollen for the source nt, you should collect daughters. They will look exactly the same as the source nt. They also have small stamens and shriveled anthers, original forms that are infertile.

    ¡°The other partner should be entirely different from the source nt, usuallyrger. It should have have a robust amount of pollen and a developed stigma. If you use its pollen on the source nt, you should collect sons. They will be stronger than both of their parents.

    ¡°Then, nt in separate locations a breeding farm and a control farm to produce the infertile type and the preserved type¡­¡±

    Chu Chuyan was stunned when she heard Zu An exin the details. She thought she was pretty smart herself, but even though she knew what the individual words Zu An said meant, when they were strung together, she had no idea at all.

    Is he trying to deceive Wang Shuyang right now?she thought. However, when she saw the shock and admiration on Wang Shuyang¡¯s face, she suddenly felt that something was wrong with the world.Why does Ah Zu know about these things?! He even made the number one farmer Wang Shuyang feel sincere respect!

    Wang Shuyang tugged on Zu An¡¯s hand and said enthusiastically, ¡°Sir Zu really is a great genius! Even after this humble one¡¯s decades of study, my knowledge cannotpare to these few pieces of advice at all!¡±

    Zu An replied in embarrassment, ¡°Sir Wang is the true expert. I¡¯m nothing more than an armchair strategist.¡±

    What he said was true. All he provided was some bits and pieces he remembered from watching documentaries. He could give a rough summary, but if he were to really carry it out, he would definitely be fumbling around in the dark.

    Wang Shuyang naturally didn¡¯t know that. He said, ¡°Sir is humble, as expected. If the students at the academy could have just one percent, no, one ten-thousandth of sir¡¯s schrly knowledge and character, that would be the academy¡¯s blessing.¡±

    When she heard Wang Shuyang¡¯s praise, even the usuallyposed Chu Chuyan¡¯s mouth hung wide open. Even after Wang Shuyang ran off excitedly to test out what Zu An said, Chu Chuyan still couldn¡¯t recover from her shock. She nced at Zu An from time to time.

    Zu An couldn''t help but touch his face, asking, ¡°What, is there something on my face?¡±

    Chu Chuyan sighed and said, ¡°I¡¯ve suddenly discovered that I actually don¡¯t understand you.¡±

    ¡°Haha, there¡¯s a lot of things you don¡¯t know. Your man is a thick book you need to flip through slowly,¡± Zu An said proudly.

    When she saw that familiar nature of his, a smile appeared on Chu Chuyan¡¯s face. She shot back, ¡°Hmph, you really have no sense of shame.¡±

    ¡­

    Just like that, the two of them continued up the mountain. Zu An exined which teacher¡¯s territory each area was. He had already visited a few times before, so he was already familiar with the area. However, he actually felt a bit disappointed, because it didn¡¯t seem as if Jiang Luofu was at the academy.

    ¡°Up ahead is Hei Baizi¡¯s ce. Xie Xiu took him as his master,¡± Zu An said, although as soon as he finished speaking, he was stunned to see a group of female students surrounding the courtyard. He wondered out loud in confusion, ¡°What¡¯s going on? Is Hei Baizi taking female disciples now?

    The two of them walked over, and only then did they see what was happening. It turned out that Hei Baizi was lecturing Xie Xiu. Meanwhile, the female students were all noisily discussing something. The topic seemed to be the target of the criticism, Xie Xiu. Some of them said Xie Xiu deserved it, but they were immediately attacked by all their fellow students.

    ¡°I¡¯m just a simple passerby, but I feel that it isn¡¯t right for such a bright young man to be ndered like this.¡±

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t paying attention before, but when I saw that so many people in the academy were ndering him, I wanted to know more. Then, I ended up bing a fan of this guy.¡±

    ¡°Even if you don¡¯t love him, don¡¯t hurt him. Also, if you like big brother Xiu, don¡¯t fight against other people. We should all remain in our own groups.¡±

    ¡°The one we love has sparkling eyes; his smile is like the cheerful sunlight¡­¡±

    ¡°That old man is going way too far! What did big brother Xiu do wrong for him to be punished like this?!¡±

    ¡°Are you tired of living? Do you not know how high Hei Baizi¡¯s status is in the academy? He can stop you from graduating with a mere word.¡±

    ¡°What, then do I have to just watch as he bullies big brother Xiu? No way! I have to report him to the superiors!¡±

    ¡°Exactly! We¡¯ll report him to the academy! We¡¯ll even find the libationer if we have to!¡±

    The students were getting more and more excited. Zu An and Chu Chuyan looked at each other in dismay. Just what in the world was going on?

    While Xie Xiu was being punished, he suddenly noticed Zu An. It was as if he had suddenly found his savior. He cried, ¡°Please save me!¡±

    Hei Baizi also saw Zu An, and couldn''t help but feel happy. He rushed out and said, ¡°Brother Zu came at a great time. I¡¯ve finally developed a solution to win at the five-in-a-row game you developedst time. Come in,e in, let¡¯s y a round.¡±

    Chu Chuyan was now even more shocked. Hei Baizi was known to be unrivaled in chess. Judging from his tone, it seemed he had lost to Zu An and wasn¡¯t satisfied yet!n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An had a bitter smile as he replied, ¡°That five-in-a-row of mine was nothing more than a cheap trick; there¡¯s no way it wouldn¡¯t escape the eyes of a true expert like you. If you¡¯re saying you¡¯ve seen through it, you¡¯ve naturally done so. There¡¯s no need for furtherpetition.¡±

    ¡°Winning is winning; losing is losing. How can it be as simple as my having solved it just by saying so? Quick, let¡¯s give it a try. Xiu¡¯er, go and set up the board,¡± Hei Baizi said, not letting go of him. He had an impatient expression.

    When Xie Xiu saw that his master didn¡¯t have any intentions of criticizing him, he was overjoyed. He quickly rushed in to grab a chessboard for them.

    ¡°But I still have to apany mydy to see the libationer,¡± Zu An said, feeling a huge headache.

    ¡°How can meeting the libationer be as interesting as a game of chess? I¡¯ll just call someone to bring her there,¡± Hei Baizi said, waving his hand and calling someone over.

    Chu Chuyan couldn''t help but chuckle. She said to Zu An, ¡°You should just y some games with him. The sect told me to pass on the message to the libationer alone too.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He was curious about what the White Jade Sect wanted to say to the libationer.

 Chapter 1565: Donâ€™t Be Led Astray By Big Brother Zu

    <h4>Chapter 1565: Don¡¯t Be Led Astray By Big Brother Zu</h4>

    As it was a confidential task assigned by the White Jade Sect, however, Zu An couldn''t really ask anything else about it. He nodded, indicating that he hoped everything would go smoothly. Then, he was forced to y five-in-a-row with Hei Baizi. Xie Xiu brought them tea as if he had just received a great amnesty.

    The students outside all began to discuss with each other.

    ¡°Who is that person? Even Hei Baizi is treating him with such respect.¡±

    ¡°Is he another chess saint?¡±

    ¡°No way! There¡¯s no one better at chess than Hei Baizi. Even the libationer said that in terms of chess, he wouldn¡¯t necessarily be a match.¡±

    ¡°Sigh, I suddenly think that this man is really handsome. He doesn¡¯t seem to be worse than big brother Xiu at all!¡±

    ¡°Wow, what a traitor. Big brother Xiu is the most handsome man in the world.¡±

    ¡°But this man is also pretty handsome! Besides, he¡¯s not the same type of handsome as big brother Xiu. He seems a bit more masculine¡­¡±

    Before the student could even finish, she was immediately assaulted with a barrage of words from the others.

    ¡°What? Are you saying that big brother Xiu isn¡¯t manly?¡±

    ¡°That¡­ That¡¯s not what I meant¡­¡±

    ¡°Have you all really not heard of him? That¡¯s Zu An, who just achieved a great contribution to our country. He¡¯s so young, and yet he¡¯s already a marquis! Furthermore, he¡¯s the most popr subject from the Eastern Pce. His future prospects are limitless.¡±

    ¡°So that¡¯s who he was!¡±

    ¡­

    Chu Chuyan couldn''t help but smile when she heard their conversations. It was as if she had returned to her life back at Brightmoon Academy. Even though she hadn¡¯t participated in such things at all back then, her little sister Huanzhao was quite interested in such affairs and would often talk about them next to her, just like the students right now.

    Hmph, it¡¯s fine as long as they don¡¯t go after Ah Zu,she thought. What did the number of girls who liked Xie Xiu have to do with her, anyway?

    Just then, a figure hurriedly rushed down from the mountains, moving very quickly. If Chu Chuyan hadn¡¯t quickly moved to the side, they would have bumped into each other.

    ¡°Sorry, sorry,¡± said the other figure, bowing hastily. She was a woman with delicate and refined features. Even though she was rushing, there was still an indescribable schrly air to her.

    ¡°Huh? Miss Xie?¡± Chu Chuyan voiced her surprise when she saw who it was.

    The other woman was stunned. When she raised her head and saw that it was Chu Chuyan, she was also surprised, replying, ¡°Miss Chu?¡±

    The one who had appeared was none other than Xie Daoyun. She had heard about Zu An¡¯s arrival at the academy, and was so happy that she sprinted out of her training study, but she hadn¡¯t expected to run into Chu Chuyan¡¯s arms.

    ¡°It¡¯s been a while; Miss Xie is still as elegant as ever,¡± Chu Chuyan said, feeling happy to meet an old friend in a foreign ce.

    Previously, in Brightmoon City¡¯s social circles, the two couldn''t really be considered confidantes, but they had been friends who admired each other¡¯s talents.

    ¡°Miss Chu¡¯s gracefulness is truly stunning,¡± Xie Daoyun said with a sigh. Chu Chuyan had already been called a fairy by everyone in Brightmoon City. Now, that immortal demeanor was even more evident; she had an enviably aloof air.

    The two of them exchanged conventional greetings, but then Chu Chuyan recalled how Xie Daoyun seemed to be in a hurry. That didn¡¯t seem to match her usual gentle and quiet nature, so Chu Chuyan couldn''t help but ask with a smile, ¡°What made Miss Xie run so quickly? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re rushing to see a lover?¡± She rarely made such jokes; it was just because she was in a good mood that she decided to say that.

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s entire body trembled. Her face turned red at a visible rate. She replied, ¡°What¡­ What lover? Miss Chu has misunderstood.¡±

    Chu Chuyan smiled but didn¡¯t say anything. As someone who had experienced that herself, how could she not understand Xie Daoyun¡¯s reaction? Of course she didn¡¯t believe the response.

    Xie Daoyun snapped out of her daze and exined, ¡°I heard that my little brother got into trouble, so I rushed over to see what happened.¡±

    ¡°So that was it. That Xie Xiu is the same as he was back in Brightmoon Academy,¡± Chu Chuyan remarked. She couldn''t help but smile. ¡°There are quite a few women outside Hei Baizi¡¯s courtyard. All of them seem to be here for him. Some were even fighting against each other.¡±

    Xie Daoyun stomped her feet and said, ¡°That brat has always caused those around him to worry. I¡¯ll go and take a look first. The two of us should meet up again if we have a chance in the future.¡± Then, she lifted her dress and swiftly ran over.

    As Chu Chuyan watched her break out into a small run, while still looking so graceful and refined, she wondered just who it was that had the good fortune of catching her eye.

    Suddenly, her smile froze. She turned around and looked in Zu An¡¯s direction, but she quickly shook her head. Those two hadn¡¯t interacted much, so how could that be possible? She thought to herself,I shouldn¡¯t be overly suspicious like this over nothing.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An admitted defeat, saying, ¡°Your respected self really is a saint in chess. You were able toe up with a solution so quickly.¡±

    On the other side, Hei Baizi stroked his beard proudly, but he still said humbly, ¡°Sir Zu overpraises me. Compared to you, who invented this out of nothing, my skills aren¡¯t that special.¡±

    The two of them praised each other for a bit, then Hei Baizi gave the two youngsters some time. It was obvious that he was about to head out to boast for a while. Before he left, he even helped them chase away the female disciples huddled around the courtyard.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Xie Xiu took out all sorts of things to entertain Zu An, saying, ¡°Brother Zu, if you hadn¡¯te today, I might have really had ayer of skin shaved off!¡±

    Zu An chuckled and asked, ¡°What kind of heaven-angering thing did you do now?¡±

    Xie Xiu became a bit gloomy as soon as he began exining, ¡°Ultimately, it¡¯s all because master had a distant rtive, a niece. He insisted on sending me to meet her at night, and said she¡¯d jump into ake and drown herself if I didn¡¯t. I thought she was just saying that to scare me, but she really did it! Fortunately, there are many capable people in the academy, and they managed to save her life in the end. After the fact, master was naturally furious.¡±

    Zu An said seriously ¡°Brother Xie, this is where I have to criticize you a bit. It¡¯s only natural for an outstanding man to have many pursuers, but you can¡¯t cause trouble only to abandon them in the end.¡±

    He thought back to Brightmoon Academy, where a female student had likewise attempted suicide when Xie Xiu left her; he also recalled the two women who had been fighting over Xie Xiu outside. He already saw Xie Xiu as the standard of an irresponsible yboy.

    Xie Xiu immediately protested, ¡°I¡¯ve never caused trouble, and why would I abandon them?¡±

    ¡°Heh¡­¡± Zu An muttered. He knew Xie Xiu¡¯s ins and outs. This kid was nothing more than a yboy with affairs everywhere. Compared to him, Zu An was like a pure little virgin.

    When he saw Zu An¡¯s expression, Xie Xiu knew the other man didn¡¯t believe him. He exined in a pained manner, ¡°Brother Zu, even though I¡¯m fickle in love, my eyes are still quite proud. My master¡¯s niece is really¡­ Well, it¡¯s not easy to put into a few words. Either way, she isn¡¯t my type. I already refused her several times, but what could I do if she didn¡¯t listen? She just insisted on doing that kind of thing. It¡¯s only because of my reputation in the academy that everyone thought I abandoned her.¡± He felt so wronged he seemed about to break out into tears.

    Zu An recalled Hei Baizi¡¯s appearance. He couldn''t help but smile.

    ¡°If you weren¡¯t always seducing women in the academy day after day, why would you have a bad reputation?¡± Xie Daoyun suddenly chimed in. Even though she was upset, her voice was still extremely delicate and gentle. It was easy to picture a refined and schrly woman just from her voice alone.

    ¡°Miss Xie,¡± Zu An said, nodding toward Xie Daoyun.

    Xie Daoyun blushed a bit. She sweetly replied, ¡°Big brother Zu.¡±

    Xie Xiu couldn''t help but be depressed. He replied, ¡°Isn¡¯t Zu An the same? He has so many women, so why aren¡¯t you scolding him?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s the same as you?¡± Xie Daoyun harrumphed. ¡°He treats others sincerely and has never yed with their feelings. There¡¯s even less of a chance of him doing something like easily abandoning them.¡±

    Xie Xiu was stunned, saying, ¡°I properly end each of my rtionships before starting another one, and yet I¡¯m worse than him who has his feet on several different boats at the same time?¡±

    Zu An almost choked on his tea. He retorted, ¡°Xiu¡¯er, this is where you¡¯re not being sincere. I was consoling you just a moment ago.¡±

    Xie Daoyun ground her knuckles against her little brother¡¯s head, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t try and make your stunts seem so great. Also, have you not seen how outstanding the women at big brother Zu¡¯s side are? Do you think they¡¯re all so stupid that they would be deceived so easily? You¡¯d better not be led astray by big brother Zu.¡±

    Xie Xiu felt really attacked. He protested, ¡°Sis, whose big sister are you really?¡±

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, at the peak of the rear mountain, Chu Chuyan looked at the painting on the wall curiously. However, she quickly withdrew her gaze as she said, ¡°Libationer senior, my sect told me to bring you a message saying that they agree to what was discussed back then. They will appear at the designated ce at the designated time.¡±

 Chapter 1566: News of Death

    <h4>Chapter 1566: News of Death</h4>

    Xie Daoyun quickly began grumbling to Zu An about her little brother¡¯s womanizing. She pointed at the assortment of gifts on the table, saying, ¡°Look, all of these are from the academy¡¯s female disciples. That¡¯s not all; there are also things to wear and use, whiche from those women.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but chuckle, replying, ¡°What¡¯s so bad about that? Getting gifts is better than not having anyone who would give you gifts.¡± He thought,These gifts are all pretty precious. Those female students really are liberal with money¡­

    ¡°Yeah, this just shows how awesome your little brother is!¡± Xie Xiu eximed, feeling proud when he heard someone supporting him.

    ¡°Do you think they¡¯re treating you well for nothing? They all desire your body,¡± Xie Daoyun said in an intimidating tone.

    Xie Xiu grumbled, ¡°It¡¯s hard to say who wants whom. Either way, it¡¯s not as if I¡¯m losing out on anything.¡±

    Xie Daoyun felt so annoyed she grabbed his ears, retorting, ¡°My Xie n has always been strict with our education and never permitted our people to take advantage of others. How did we end up producing someone like you?¡±

    ¡°I treat every single rtionship seriously; we mutually consent. What do you mean by taking advantage of others?¡± Xie Xiu protested, sounding a bit upset, as if his romantic affairs were being ndered.

    ¡°Then why did you abandon them?¡± Xie Daoyun retorted, seemingly taking it to heart.

    ¡°I¡¯m someone who¡¯s very dedicated to love. If I don¡¯t love them, I won¡¯t waste time deceiving them. Is there something wrong with that?¡± Xie Xiu replied with an innocent expression

    Zu An could tell that Xie Xiu wasn¡¯t just messing around, but rather that he actually believed it. Still, such behavior really was rather irresponsible. He wanted to say something, but when he thought about how he was also a yboy, he really felt a bit guilty¡­

    ¡°Won¡¯t waste time? What you¡¯re doing is just getting bored with old things!¡± Xie Daoyun eximed. As a woman, Xie Daoyun was quite sensitive toward the topic. She was so upset she started lecturing her little brother again.

    Zu An finally stopped the siblings from arguing. Xie Daoyun was a bit embarrassed, saying, ¡°I¡¯ve made a fool of myself in front of big brother Zu.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing like that. On the contrary, I feel as if I¡¯ve returned to Brightmoon City. It¡¯s a sense of reuniting with friends from my hometown,¡± Zu An said with a smile.

    Xie Xiu immediately felt much better when he heard that.As expected, it¡¯s still men who understand other men best!

    After they chatted for a while longer, Xie Xiu felt a bit curious about what was happening on the Fiend races¡¯ side. He asked, ¡°Big brother Zu, I heard that you made a huge contribution on the Fiend races¡¯ side. Can you tell us more about that side? Do they really eat people?¡±

    Xie Daoyun was full of curiosity too. She had only learned about that side from books ever since she was little. Neither of the siblings had ever been to the Fiend races¡¯ territory themselves.

    Zu An couldn''t help but chuckle, saying, ¡°They¡¯re not that scary¡­¡± Then, he began to tell them about the Fiend races¡¯ local customs and living conditions. The two siblings clicked their tongues in wonder.

    ¡°Right, I came back with a special gift this time. It should suit you quite well,¡± Zu An said, taking out the Exotic Witchsand from his Brilliant ss Bead. He had obtained it from the Fiend King Court¡¯s Jade Garden.

    ¡°Exotic Witchsand?¡± Xie Daoyun remarked, recognizing what it was before Zu An even introduced it. She was so excited her entire body was shaking. ¡°This item can be used to create the legendary forbidden rune formations! Even master only used it in the past, but doesn¡¯t have any left. He¡¯s been searching all this time, and yet never found any!¡±

    Such a thing would be precious for other cultivators, but it didn¡¯t have much use for Zu An. However, for rune cultivators, it was equivalent to a divine item. That was why Xie Daoyun couldn''t believe it was real.

    After her initial shock, Xie Daoyun quickly refused, saying, ¡°Big brother Zu, this item is too precious! I can¡¯t take it.¡±

    Zu An pulled her hand over and ced it into her hands, replying, ¡°If not for the protection talisman you gave me, I would already have lost my life. Compared to saving my life, this Exotic Witchsand is nothing.¡±

    Xie Daoyun instinctively pulled back her hand when they made contact. However, after she pulled her hand back, she couldn''t really continue her protests. Her elegant face immediately turned red as she said, ¡°My protection talisman wasn¡¯t that amazing at all¡­ But thank you, big brother Zu.¡±

    Zu An let go, feeling satisfied when he saw her take it.

    Xie Daoyun pursed her lips. At that moment, she looked very conflicted. She seemed happy, but also worried.

    Xie Xiu suddenly remarked in a strange tone, ¡°Who said just a moment ago that gifts were only given because someone wanted your body?¡±

    ¡°Do you want to die?!¡± Xie Daoyun cried out, feeling ashamed. She ran over to beat him up.

    Xie Xiu dodged while reaching his hand out to Zu An, asking, ¡°Brother Zu, what about my gift?¡±

    Zu An nced at the mountain of gifts on the side. He smiled and replied, ¡°You already have so many women to give you gifts, so there¡¯s no need for me to go through the trouble.¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Xie Xiu quickly cried out, ¡°Brother Zu, you really are the type to neglect friends for love!¡±

    Zu An quietly stuck out his foot, and Xie Xiu lost his center of bnce, falling into Xie Daoyun¡¯s clutches. He was disciplined on the spot. The entire room was filled with cheerfulughter and chatter.

    ¡°What are you all chatting so happily about?¡± someone asked curiously just then. It turned out that Chu Chuyan had returned.

    Xie Daoyun stopped beating up her little brother, recovering her usual wise, virtuous, anddylike demeanor. She replied, ¡°It¡¯s just a fight between siblings. We¡¯ve made a joke out of ourselves in front of Miss Chu.¡±

    Xie Xiu couldn''t help but ask with a sigh, ¡°Miss Chu, just what did you eat to grow that big? Why do you seem more and more like an immortal now?¡±

    Xie Daoyun shot her little brother a re, snapping, ¡°Watch your mouth.¡± She knew about her little brother¡¯s yboy nature and was scared that he would go after Chu Chuyan.

    Xie Xiu wrinkled his nose. He wasn¡¯t crazy enough to do something like that. Even though Chu Chuyan was pretty, she was a bit too outstanding. If someone so outstanding yed his temperamental game of love, he would already be dead without knowing how he died. A woman at that level was someone he wouldn¡¯t even touch. Staying away would save him endless trouble.

    Everyone else in the world was jealous of the beauties at Zu An¡¯s side, but only he sympathized with Zu An. Zu An didn¡¯t have much chance to y at all! Women of that caliber would definitely be far fewer in number than what he had.

    Zu An was confused.Why do I sense pity in Xie Xiu¡¯s eyes when he looks at me?However, he didn¡¯t have the time to think about that, as his attention quickly returned to Chu Chuyan. He asked, ¡°Did you finish what you have to do?¡±

    Chu Chuyan voiced her confirmation. Thus, Zu An got up and said, ¡°I need to see the libationer for something, so you should wait here for me.¡±

    Chu Chuyan replied in surprise, ¡°But the libationer has already left.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Zu An eximed, stunned.

    Chu Chuyan said, ¡°I passed on what my sect entrusted to me. When he looked through it, he flew into the sky. I don¡¯t know where he went after that.¡±

    Zu An was immediately dejected. Once the libationer disappeared, who knew when he could be found again?

    Chu Chuyan continued, ¡°Right, I¡¯ve always thought that little sister Zheng Dan was quite good, but because of her family, she¡¯s never had much room to do much. So, I asked the libationer to take her on as his disciple, but he said that he wouldn¡¯t receive any more disciples. Later, however, when he heard of Zheng Dan¡¯s past, he decided to ce her under his first disciple.¡± She paused for a moment, then looked at Xie Daoyun, saying, ¡°At that time, Zheng Dan will be sisters under the same master as Miss Xie. I hope Miss Xie can look out for her.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Xie Daoyun replied, briefly distracted. Then, she eventually reacted, saying, ¡°We used to be fellow students, and we came from the same ce. Of course we need to watch out for each other.¡±

    She was a bit curious why Chu Chuyan would do so much for Zheng Dan. She had heard the rumors about Zheng Dan and big brother Zu before, though. Could it be that Zheng Dan had already received Miss Chu¡¯s recognition?

    Sigh, Chu Chuyan¡¯s nature really is something else. I can¡¯t even muster any feeling of going against her.

    Zu An was overjoyed by the unexpected good news, because he had wanted to seek out the libationer precisely to solve Zheng Dan¡¯s issue. With her aptitude and temperament, being neglected in the Sang n was just too much of a waste. He hadn¡¯t expected Chu Chuyan to be on the same wavelength, thinking the same thing.

    More importantly, that act meant she already epted Zheng Dan¡¯s presence. He didn¡¯t have to worry as much about their rtionship anymore.

    ¡°Right, what did you need to see the libationer for?¡± Chu Chuyan suddenly asked, curious.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, not important at all,¡± Zu An replied with a big smile on his face.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in the Imperial Pce, the emperor received top-secret information from the Embroidery House. He replied with a grim expression, ¡°Golden Token Seven[1]</a>died?¡±

 Chapter 1567: New Mission

    <h4>Chapter 1567: New Mission</h4>

    However, Zu An didn¡¯t know what was happening in the pce. He was really happy; after all, he had met his old friends, and Zheng Dan¡¯s cultivation issue was also solved. Chu Chuyan had even taken the initiative to solve it herself. Because his mood was good, he felt even happier chatting with the Xie duo.

    They all began to recall various things that had happened in Brightmoon City, and also talked about the various things they ran into during their cultivation. The atmosphere became more and more enthusiastic.

    Only Xie Daoyun seemed to have something on her mind. Even though she had a happy smile, no one noticed the lonely expression that appeared on her face from time to time.

    When Zu An and the others left, the usually frivolous Xie Xiu suddenly became serious when he saw Xie Daoyun lost in thought. He said, ¡°Big sis, stop staring already. Brother Zu is a good person, but he¡¯s definitely not the best partner for a woman. You should just stop thinking about it, as it¡¯ll just make you feel worse.¡±

    His big sister was so outstanding, and her family background was so good too. With such a strong rtionship with the academy, normally, she would have the qualifications to be the main wife of a great n. However, she continued to stick around Zu An, even though all of the women around him were ridiculously outstanding. Was his sister really going to be a concubine?

    Xie Daoyun immediately jumped like a startled rabbit. Her face turned entirely red with embarrassment as she shot back, ¡°Who said I like him? Damn kid, look at all of the things you¡¯re doing! And yet you still have the nerve to lecture someone else?¡±

    She grabbed his ears and twisted them, making Xie Xiu cry out in pain. He really wondered where his big sister had practiced the move; it was so fast and urate that he couldn''t even avoid it at all.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, after Zu An left, he visited Shen Xuzi and several other people he knew. Then, he left the academy.

    On the way back, Chu Chuyan said with a sigh of admiration, ¡°Sigh, I¡¯ve discovered that I really don¡¯t understand you at all. I didn¡¯t expect you to actually have so much knowledge. Even those sirs from the academy have to consult you.¡±

    Zu An replied with a smile, ¡°Do you feel as if you¡¯ve picked up treasure?¡±

    ¡°Exactly, I¡¯ve picked up a treasure. It seems my luck is pretty good,¡± Chu Chuyan said, feeling really happy knowing that he had received the respect of the Royal Academy¡¯s people. Her usually ice-cold face now had a smile.

    Zu An was stunned. He couldn''t help but say with a sigh of admiration, ¡°Your smile really is beautiful.¡±

    A blush appeared on Chu Chuyan¡¯s face as she replied, ¡°Then you should make me smile more. You¡¯d better not make me cry.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He couldn''t help but feel as if she were referring to something.

    While he was trying to figure out what it was, Chu Chuyan quickly took the initiative to grab him with her small, ice-cold hand. She asked him some more about what he had experienced on the Fiend races¡¯ side.

    The two of them unknowingly arrived at the Sang manor. They paid the wounded Sang Hong a visit, then told him that Zheng Dan was permitted to study under Great Disciple Yan Xiangu by the libationer.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The news surprised everyone in the Sang manor. Although Sang Hong was the Imperial Envoy and he had previously worked in the Imperial Secretariat, both his prestige and cultivation were far beneath Yan Xiangu¡¯s.

    Yan Xiangu was the libationer¡¯s first disciple. His cultivation was rumored to be number one among the libationer¡¯s disciples, and his achievements in rune formations were even more outstanding. Many of the rune formations in the empire¡¯s armies, official manors, and even the court itself came from him. If one could be his disciple, then it was easy to imagine just how brilliant one¡¯s future prospects would be.

    Zheng Dan couldn''t help but give Chu Chuyan a hug. She was practically choking with emotion as she said, ¡°Big sis, thank you.¡±

    When she heard that Xie Daoyun could study under Yan Xiangu, she had felt incredibly jealous. She had never thought that her aptitude was at all inferior to anyone else¡¯s, but because she came from a merchantpany, her background was far inferior to that of a great n such as the Xie n. Between that and the fact that she had married into the Sang n, but then something had happened to the Sang n and her husband had died before she even got married properly, she had been left incredibly discouraged. How could she have anticipated that she would get the chance to improve her cultivation again?

    When she saw the two of them so close, Sang Qien couldn''t help but feel a bit of envy. She thought that with Chu Chuyan¡¯s outstanding decisions, just that single act alone had already won over her sister-inw¡¯s favor. On the other hand, she had worked so hard for so long to form an alliance with her sister-inw, and yet the effects might not have been as good.

    Still, Sang Qien quicklyughed to herself. It wasn¡¯t as if Chu Chuyan didn¡¯t know about her rtionship with Zu An, so there was no way this was to ruin their rtionship. She was really justining pettily.

    Chu Chuyan couldn''t handle Zheng Dan¡¯s enthusiasm. She struggled free from Zheng Dan¡¯s arms a bit before saying, ¡°Actually, I¡¯m not the only one who¡¯s happy. Ah Zu has always been concerned about your future too. If I hadn¡¯t said anything today, he would probably have found a way to visit the libationer. Right, Ah Zu?¡±

    Zu An chuckled in embarrassment. He hadn¡¯t expected his thoughts to have beenpletely exposed. Still, while Chu Chuyan was just cold-natured, she definitely wasn¡¯t stupid. She knew many things very clearly.

    Now, it was Zheng Dan who felt a bit embarrassed. She was still the Sang n¡¯s daughter-inw, after all. Even though Zu An had already been well integrated into the Sang n, it still felt a bit strange doing this right in front of Sang Hong.

    ¡°We should find another day to bring you to the academy to formally carry out the procedure. Anyway, Xie Daoyun is your senior sister and we all know each other. She¡¯ll take care of you,¡± Zu An said to Zheng Dan.

    Zheng Dan voiced her agreement, then gave Sang Hong an inquiring look.

    Sang Hong felt at ease inside. This daughter-inw of his really was clever and loyal, still giving him face even in such a situation. As such, he chuckled and said, ¡°This is an incredibly joyous matter, so why would I stop you? When the timees, this old one will go with you to pay Sir Yan a visit. I¡¯ve mingled in the capital for so many years. Even though I have many enemies, I¡¯ve still left behind something of a just image. I¡¯ve also exchanged some letters with Sir Yan in the past, so there is a bit of friendship there. Spending some time reminiscing with him about the past will be a good thing.¡±

    Zheng Dan sighed in relief. If it were just the libationer¡¯s words, she didn¡¯t know whether Yan Xiangu would really treat a disciple who was suddenly forced into his hands with that much care. But with that level of rtionship, he would definitely take better care of her.

    Chu Chuyan initially wanted to leave with Zu An and spend time alone with him, but the Sang n didn¡¯t let them go at all. They kept the two behind to hold an evening banquet as gratitude. The two of them couldn''t refuse, so they stayed behind. By the time they returned, it was already dark.

    ¡°Ah Zu, is there something wrong with Miss Sang¡¯s body?¡± Chu Chuyan asked, recalling how Sang Qien had to get up several times, and seemed to have symptoms of nausea. She couldn''t help but say, ¡°If not for the fact that she hasn¡¯t gotten married yet, I would have thought that she was pregnant.¡±

    Zu An began sweating. How was he supposed to exin that? He couldn''t just say ¡®yes, we have a child¡¯, right? If he did that, the sweet and warm atmosphere they had built over the past few days would instantly turn into hell on earth.

    ¡°Maybe it was because something happened to Sang Hong recently, causing her to get sick from fright,¡± Zu An said ambiguously, then changed the topic.

    Fortunately, Chu Chuyan didn¡¯t think too much about it. The two finished washing up, and quickly arrived at their own time of bliss.

    Still, Chu Chuyan was a bit embarrassed. Even though the two of them had already experienced getting married, early on, they had only been husband and wife in name. Later, when their affection grew deeper, they had been apart longer than they were together. Whenever the two of them were passionate with each other, if they weren¡¯t treating injuries, they had been in the process of it. They had never spent their time as proper lovers like this before. Two days prior, they had unknowingly fallen asleep while admiring the moon, but today, there was no escaping it.

    Chu Chuyan was like a young maiden, huddled under the covers against the corner of the wall. Her heart was pounding. When he saw her shy appearance, Zu An couldn''t help but chuckle. He quickly and efficiently dove under the covers.

    ¡°Wait, behave yourself!¡± Chu Chuyan cried, although her voice was no longer as cold as before. There was now a hint of worldliness in it.

    However, Zu An didn¡¯t reply. His mouth wasn¡¯t free enough to do anything else.

    When the sun shone from high up, even icebergs would begin to melt. What followed was like immortal music from above the clouds. The twopletely returned to the level of familiarity they had once had with each other.

    ¡°You¡¯re still so warm~¡± Zu An couldn''t help but say with a sigh.

    Chu Chuyan was already beside herself with embarrassment. She yfully hit the man on her body, which brought about another round of violent storms.

    ¡­

    In the following few days, several changes took ce in the capital. King Qi was issued a diplomatic note from the court to return to his fiefdom, but the day he was supposed to leave, he suddenly grew ill.

    With his cultivation, no one believed he would catch a cold or something like that. However, soon afterward, news emerged that something had happened with his cultivation method, creating a risk of deviation. He had even fainted mysteriously several times.

    Thus, it seemed he couldn¡¯t leave for the time being, although that could only be dyed temporarily. Of course, King Qi could no longer appear in the court session, and his faction was no longer the way it had been before. As such, people all thought his copse was at hand.

    That same day, Zu An was summoned into the Imperial Pce. Zhao Han went right to the point, saying, ¡°This emperor needs you to leave the capital and take care of something.¡±

 Chapter 1568 â€“ Violet Mountain

    Chapter 1568 ¨C Violet Mountain

    Zu An became a bit dejected. He had constantly been on the brink of life and death for a long time, but now that he finally had some leisure time to spend with Chuyan, this guy was making him do something again! Not even donkeys on a production team would be used to that extent!

    ¡°Can I refuse?¡± Zu An asked, thinking to himself that not a single task the emperor had made him do had ever been easy; naturally, he wasn¡¯t all that willing.

    Zhao Han was stunned. He had never expected Zu An to give such a reply. Normally, even the most important ministers wouldn¡¯t dare to show the slightest bit of arrogance around him. When had they ever negotiated with him before? He thought, This kid has gotten much braver recently!n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°You cannot!¡± he replied.

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Han for +244 +244 +244¡­

    Still, the emperor did need Zu An to work for him, so he didn¡¯t act violently. Instead, he said directly, ¡°Golden Token Seven, who was in charge of Yi Commandery¡¯s affairs, suddenly died. Recently, Zhuxie Chixin has not been around, and the other Golden Token Envoys have their own responsibilities to take care of. You are to go and investigate what happened.¡±

    Zu An immediately received several key pieces of information from the exnation. So Zhuxie Chixin wasn¡¯t in the capital, as expected! He wondered what Zhuxie Chixin had to do that prevented him froming back for so long.

    Apart from that, the other Golden Token Envoys were probably scattered throughout the world, managing their respective regions. They were all up to their necks in work and not as free as he was.

    Huh? Wait, why does the name Golden Token Seven sound so familiar?

    He finally remembered who it was. Previously, the Imperial Envoy fleet had passed by King Yan¡¯s fiefdom on their way to Cloudcenter Commandery. The Golden Token Envoy there had contacted him, and the two had even fought together. At the time, Golden Token Seven had been deeply worried. Didn¡¯t that mean what he found might very well have been real, and that a mistake had ended up getting him silenced?

    In that instant, many thoughts passed through Zu An¡¯s mind, but he didn¡¯t report them to the emperor. Whether he was loyal to the emperor or not, it was best not to talk about such unconfirmed suspicions and give others false hope. Otherwise, if something happenedter, it could easily create grievances.

    ¡°Alright,¡± Zu An agreed.

    The first reason was that he had fought side by side with Golden Token Seven before and they could barely be considered friends, so he couldn''t just watch without doing anything. The second reason was that he also wanted to see just what was going on in the dark behind the scenes. If he could find the many powers that resisted the emperor, it could be useful to get into contact with them.

    The emperor then said, ¡°Also, there is another thing. There is a Violet Mountain in Yi Commandery. The court will carry out a great Fengshan ceremony there soon. You should go there and root out any potential trouble ahead of time.¡±

    Yi Commandery was where King Yan¡¯s fiefdom was. Meanwhile, Violet Mountain was the most famous mountain in Yi Commandery, perhaps even the entire empire. Whenever the sun rose from the east, ayer of violet covered the mountain peak, bringing to mind themon sayings about ¡®violet energy¡¯. That was how it had received its name.

    People all thought the mountain hid a great treasure. But even after tens of thousands of years, countless capable individuals hadn¡¯t found anything after searching the mountain. In the end, people all tacitly agreed that there was nothing special about the mountain and that it was just a vestige left behind by the heavens.

    Still, sessive generations of the royal family had continued to produce all manner of literature on it, making its status climb higher and higher. That was why there was no better choice for the Fengshan ceremony.

    Zu An had heard of those things before, but as a transmigrator, he didn¡¯t have as much of the adoration that most natives of this world felt. What he was more concerned with right now was whether Zhao Han was being serious. During the morning court session, all of his subjects had proposed that he carry out the Fengshan ceremony. At the time, Zhao Han had humbly refused it, and yet he was already having people prepare for it immediately afterward.

    ¡°That might be beyond my individual capability,¡± Zu An said, feeling a bit reluctant. He was supposed to investigate Golden Token Seven¡¯s death, and he was also in charge of the Fengshan Ceremony¡¯s security? That was just a difficult and unrewarding situation.

    Zhao Han tossed him amand token, saying, ¡°All of King Yan¡¯s Embroidered Envoys will be at yourmand. Furthermore, you can use this token to order the local officials¡¯ cooperation. However, the local officials belong to King Yan, so you have to know where to draw the line. Do not order them around willfully.¡±

    ¡°Understood,¡± Zu An replied, fiddling with themand tile in his hands. Things will be much easier with this.

    When he saw Zhao Han fall silent, Zu An knew it was a sign to leave. He bowed, then asked to withdraw. However, just as he reached the door, he was suddenly stopped.

    Zhao Han remarked, ¡°I¡¯ve heard that you¡¯ve been visiting the Empress frequently recently?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s heart immediately shot up to his throat. Why does it always have to be that one thing you¡¯re worried about that has to freaking happen?!

    Still, he was someone who had gone through his fair share of dangerous experiences, so he quickly replied, ¡°That¡¯s correct. Her highness summoned me to ask me about what happened in the Unknown Region.¡±

    Zhao Han frowned, but he couldn''t find any problems with the response. Previously, he had just questioned Zu An about thetter¡¯s interaction with the crown princess. Any normal person would definitely feel guilt. If they had a guilty conscience, there was no way they would approach the Empress again. With that, he felt more reassured; he said, ¡°Acknowledged. You can leave.¡±

    When Zu An emerged from the Imperial Pce, he secretly wiped his sweat. The Empress really is a dangerous person! Sure, it is fun, but it¡¯s really easy to lose your life in the process¡­

    Not long after he left the Imperial Study, two imperial guards approached from a distance, calling out, ¡°Sir Zu, Sir Zu~¡±

    When he looked at them, he saw that it was Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun. Zu Anughed and eximed, ¡°Wow, what a coincidence!¡±

    The two of them replied with a scowl, ¡°What do you mean, a coincidence? We came all the way here to wait for sir.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He pointed at the Eastern Pce, asking, ¡°You were looking for me over there?¡±

    The two of them voiced their agreement. Then, Piao Duandiao moved over to Zu An¡¯s side and quietly said, ¡°Recently, the crown princess¡¯ temper hasn¡¯t been too good. Sir Zu needs to be careful.¡±

    Jiao Sigun added quietly, ¡°That maid Rong Mo said a lot of bad things about you. If you don¡¯t go back and apologize, there might be a lot of trouble.¡±

    Zu An felt warm inside. The two of them really treated him as their friend, which was why they spoke so honestly. After all, if their words were overheard by anyone else, both of them would be done for in the Eastern Pce.

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s fine. They¡¯ll sort themselves out as long as I pay the Eastern Pce a visit.¡±

    Both of the guards expressed their suspicion about the matter. However, Zu An didn¡¯t bother exining himself. He followed the two of them to the Eastern Pce.

    ¡­

    Zu An first paid the master of the Eastern Pce, the crown prince, a visit. That fatty only knew how to y all day, so Zu An was chased away quickly, as if his presence would take away from ytime.

    Zu An thought to himself that ever since he had gotten rid of the emperor¡¯s split soul inside of the crown prince, thetter seemed to have be even more stupid than before. Soon afterward, however, he entered Bi Linglong¡¯s office.

    Bi Linglong was sitting in front of an office table, her back perfectly straight. Her posture was extremely proper, as if she were an imperial mother overseeing the world. But upon closer inspection, Zu An could sense that she was cking off a bit too. It seemed as if she couldn''t handle the weight of her chest and was secretly using the desk to support herself¡­

    Bi Linglong seemed to not have seen Zu An at all as she focused on the documents in her hands. Zu An didn¡¯t mind, so he continued to quietly watch her just like that.

    After a long time passed, a hint of redness appeared on Bi Linglong¡¯s neck. It was obvious that she couldn''t stand his scorching gaze anymore.

    ¡°Sir Zu really is quite the busy official. It¡¯s been such a long time already. It seems we have to invite you before you show your face here,¡± Bi Linglong said; she was clearly upset and still didn¡¯t look at him. The pen in her hand continued to sort out the paperwork in front of her.

    Zu An sighed and said, ¡°I came here to say goodbye to you.¡±

    Bi Linglong was startled. The pen in her hand trembled, sttering ink all over the document. She suddenly raised her head to look at him, no longer able to keep herposure.

 Chapter 1569 â€“ Slipped

    Chapter 1569 ¨C Slipped

    When she heard the seriousness in Zu An¡¯s voice, Bi Linglong couldn''t be bothered to maintain her anger. She quickly asked nervously, ¡°What happened?¡±

    ¡°I was ordered to go on a trip to Yi Commandery by his majesty¡­¡± Zu An exined the mission Zhao Han had just given him in detail.

    This was the first time Bi Linglong had received news of the situation. Her expression changed slightly when she heard the exnation. Seeming extremely unhappy, she furrowed her brows and muttered, ¡°You just came back, and yet you¡¯re already being sent to Yi Commandery?¡±

    In that instant, Zu An felt warm inside. He could tell that she treated him as one of her own from her tone.

    Bi Linglong¡¯s resentment also vanished into thin air. When she heard Zu An share everything about his mission without hiding anything, it indicated to her that they were truly close. She suddenly felt like she had no reason to get so angry at him.

    ¡°What can I do? It¡¯s my duty,¡± Zu An said with a sigh.

    Bi Linglong naturally knew that it wasn¡¯t really because of his duty, but because the emperor was so powerful they didn¡¯t have any way of going against him. When she thought of that, she said with a sigh, ¡°It¡¯s really unfair for you. You have to be careful along the way. I¡¯ll wait for you toe back here.¡±

    When he heard her reveal her true feelings, Zu An couldn''t help but walk over and wrap his arms around her thin waist. Then, under her shocked gaze, he kissed her. Bi Linglong¡¯s body trembled. She instinctively wanted to push him away, but he didn¡¯t move at all. Soon afterward, his familiar aura made her entire body gradually soften.

    The two of them continued to kiss each other for a while just like that. Bi Linglong eventually got a chance to catch a breather, saying, ¡°You really are daring. The crown prince is still outside¡­¡±

    ¡°So what?¡± Zu An replied, kissing her even more passionately when he heard her warning.

    Bi Linglong¡¯s waist bent like a willow tree. Her body was pushed back until it pressed against her desk. When she felt a familiar pressure, her entire face grew red as she protested, ¡°We¡¯ll be done for if his majesty finds out about what we¡¯re doing!¡±

    She couldn''t be bothered to deal with that stupid crown prince anymore, but she couldn''t ignore the emperor. He had earth immortal rank cultivation. If his divine senses swept out, not a single area of the Imperial Pce could escape his detection.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. He doesn¡¯t have the energy to bother with these things right now,¡± Zu An said, feeling confident in his im. If Zhao Han were always monitoring the pce, he and the empress would already have been dead a long time ago.

    Bi Linglong didn¡¯t know about that, and the emperor¡¯s power left an impression that was hard to erase within her. However, now that she was being embraced by her sweetheart, her entire body grew soft. She didn¡¯t have any strength to resist. As such, she yielded after making a show of resistance. The two returned to their most intimate moment in the secret dungeon.

    Because she was worried that they would be found out by the emperor and the servants, or perhaps even the crown prince outside, Bi Linglong was more sensitive than usual. Zu An experienced it firsthand and felt as if he were constantly enveloped in trembling waves. The two of them soon reached a state where their bodies and souls connected. The two of them had never done it like this before, nor had it ever felt so wonderful.

    After they hugged each other for a long time, Bi Linglong finally came to her senses. She pushed Zu An away and lowered her dress. She carefully sorted out the wrinkles on it and said with a trembling voice, ¡°You annoying man, you only know how to bully others every time.¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Are you still upset?¡± Zu An replied. When he saw the beautifulplexion that remained on her face after the wonderful time they shared, he felt a sense of tenderness.

    ¡°Who would be upset at you?¡± Bi Linglong replied, feeling a bit guilty. When she looked at his ambiguous smile, she could only protest yfully, ¡°Alright, alright. It¡¯s your fault for only keeping Chu Chuyanpany and ignoring me this whole time.¡±

    Zu An was betweenughter and tears as he said, ¡°She is my wife. Who would I stay with, if not with her after being apart for so long?¡±

    ¡°She clearly divorced you already; what do you mean she¡¯s your wife?¡± Bi Linglong replied somewhat unhappily. ¡°Then what am I to you?¡±

    She regretted it as soon as those words left her mouth. Then, she felt a bit alone and dejected. She knew that their rtionship could never be known to the world, which made her feel extremely frustrated.

    Just then, Rong Mo called out from outside, ¡°Crown princess, Sir Jiang is outside and requests an audience.¡± It was clear that as Bi Linglong¡¯s personal maid, she knew that meeting with a man alone in private for so long wasn¡¯t reasonable. As such, she found a pretext to remind Bi Linglong.

    Bi Linglong also realized that. She sorted out her clothing again, and after making sure that there was nothing out of ce, she called out loudly, ¡°Let Sir Jiang in.¡±

    Soon afterward, a handsome young man walked in and said, ¡°I greet the crown princess.¡± He quickly froze, because he discovered that the crown princess¡¯plexion was much better than before. However, he quickly caught himself and said to Zu An, ¡°Greetings, Sir Zu.¡±

    Zu An had seen this person before. He was the crown prince¡¯s aide-de-camp, Jiang Gui. Whenever the crown prince went on a trip, he would be at the very front of the fleet. He was one of the Eastern Pce¡¯s most important officials.

    To some extent, he was an acquaintance. He was the son of Jiang Boyang¡¯s third son, Jiang San. His mother was a daughter of the Yu n, so he was actually a rtive of Yu Yanluo. Apart from that, Jiang Luofu was Jiang Boyang¡¯s daughter, so she was Jiang Gui¡¯s aunt.

    In the Great Zhou Dynasty, apart from the Yu n, the Jiang n was probably the n most known for its attractiveness. Every single son and daughter was beautiful and handsome.

    On top of that, Jiang Gui had inherited both the strengths of the Jiang n and the Yu n. Ever since he was little, he had been known as the capital¡¯s most handsome man¡­ until Zu An entered the capital. Only then was his title seized. He was really unhappy about that and felt that Zu An¡¯s appearance wasn¡¯t that much better than his own, and Zu An¡¯s cultivation didn¡¯t seem all that much stronger either. Jiang Gui¡¯s only weakness was that he came from a distinguished n, which meant that everything had gone too smoothly for him and he had never experienced too many setbacks. As such, he¡¯d never gotten many opportunities to show off.

    Of course, as the son of a distinguished n, he had his own pride and self-restraint. Even though he didn¡¯t feel great inside, it wasn¡¯t to the point that he would loathe Zu An. It was just that he felt a sense ofpetition.

    However, from Zu An¡¯s perspective, between Jiang Gui¡¯s rtionship to Yu Yanluo and Jiang Luofu, this guy was just like his own nephew, and not apetitor at all. He gave the other man a smile, then looked for an opportunity to say goodbye to Bi Linglong.

    Bi Linglong felt a bit ¡®guilty¡¯, so she was more than happy for him to leave earlier. She naturally permitted it.

    When he saw that, Jiang Gui was a bit surprised. People all said that Zu An was an important person to the crown princess, but from the looks of it, their rtionship didn¡¯t seem to be that good. He suddenly felt more spirited when he thought of that. He immediately told Bi Linglong the reason for his meeting, and exined the solutions he proposed in a clear and logical manner. He just needed Bi Linglong to choose one of them.

    Even though Bi Linglong was the crown princess, she was young and beautiful. Furthermore, her husband, the crown prince, was clearly an idiot. As such, many young and outstanding men felt an indescribable sense of favor and fantasy about her. Still, it wasn¡¯t to the point where they would have any bad thoughts.

    However, it was normal for young men to feel admiration. If the crown princess merely showed them a smile, they would already feel happy for a long time. That was also why the crown princess¡¯ prestige was so high. With such a group of energetic young talents to support her, how could her reputation not be good?

    Jiang Gui looked at the crown princess with great expectation. He figured that he had prepared really well, so this time, she would definitely have a whole new level of respect for him.

    Look, there¡¯s a slight smile that she can¡¯t even hold back on the corner of her lips. She clearly feels admiration toward mypetence!

    Unfortunately, he had no idea that Bi Linglong was busy thinking about what had happened before he entered. It was as if she were in a dreand. She wasn¡¯t paying him any attention.

    ¡­

    After Zu An left the Eastern Pce, he found a ce to change his outfit before heading to the Embroidery House. He had to investigate just what had happened to Golden Token Seven.

    When they saw him enter, Xiao Jianren, Dai Seventh, and Chen Eighth all rushed out to wee him. It was natural for them to feel excited, because their superior really was hard to get a hold of. Their colleagues were all dying from work, while they were dying from boredom.

    It wasn¡¯t really that big of a deal to not have work, but the Embroidery House looked at how much one did to decide on rewards and promotions. As such, doing nothing carried its own problems.

    Zu An gave them a rough exnation of his new task. He asked Xiao Jianren where he would have to go to get the corresponding information about Golden Token Seven.

    Sure enough, as he knew all of the Embroidery House, Xiao Jianren quickly came up with an answer. He brought Zu An to the ce where the Embroidery House¡¯s most confidential information was kept.

    The guards there stopped Dai Seventh and Chen Eighth, making them feel a bit unhappy.

    Xiao Jianren proudly said, ¡°This is a ce where senior officers have conversations. Lower-level soldiers like you two should just wait off to one side.¡±

    Dai Seventh and Chen Eighth had helpless expressions, but they knew that the Embroidery House cared a lot about hierarchy. They could only wait outside for the other two.

    ¡­

    Soon afterward, under the guidance of Xiao Jianren, Zu An obtained the corresponding case file. When it came to information surrounding Golden Token Seven, there was only an asterisk that said that he was male.

    Zu An thought, You don¡¯t say. After fighting side by side with Golden Token Seven, he naturally knew the other person was male.

    As if seeing through his displeasure, Xiao Jianren said, ¡°The eleven Golden Token Envoys are the best hidden individuals in the Embroidery House. It¡¯s rumored that apart from Zhuxie Chixin and his majesty himself, no third person knows about them.¡±

    Then, he added, ¡°If one day an ident befalls Sir Eleven and you perish, the information the other Golden Token Envoys will have about you will only be about the same.¡±

    Zu An frowned. This guy really had a way with words¡­ No wonder he hadn¡¯t gotten that far in the Embroidered Envoy despite being so talented.

    Fortunately, Xiao Jianren lived up to expectations. With his help, Zu An was able to collect the corresponding file about Golden Token Seven¡¯s death. It recorded that one day, Golden Token Seven had passed by a pool, and then he slipped and fell in the water. He had died by drowning.

    Zu An waspletely stunned. A glorious Golden Token Envoy had fallen into water and drowned?

 Chapter 1570 â€“ Ulterior Motive

    <h4>Chapter 1570 ¨C Ulterior Motive</h4>

    ¡°This cause does seem a bit ridiculous, but it¡¯s unlikely to be false,¡± Xiao Jianren said, pointing at the scroll and continuing, ¡°This is an independent investigation report issued by the Embroidered Envoy in Yan State. It matches what the local officials say as well.¡±

    ¡°How could a Golden Token Envoy just drown?¡± Zu An wondered. He still didn¡¯t believe that result, let alone that it could happen to Golden Token Seven, whom he had met before.

    ¡°If it¡¯s false, that means either the Embroidered Envoy system has beenpromised, or the local authorities have colluded¡­¡± Halfway through his sentence, Xiao Jianren¡¯s expression grew grave. He continued, ¡°If that really is the truth, that is just too terrifying.¡±

    As someone from the Embroidered Envoy system, he understood the Embroidered Envoy very well. Those who worked in their field didn¡¯t need to have the greatest ability, but loyalty was number one. They were known to be the ones least likely to betray the empire. If all of the Embroidered Envoys in Yan State were colluding with the local authorities, it went without saying what that implied.

    ¡°It might not be that bad,¡± Zu An said. When he saw how Xiao Jianren looked as if he were facing a great enemy, heughed and continued, ¡°I interacted with Golden Token Sevenst time in Yi Commandery. If there had been something wrong with the local Embroidered Envoys, he would definitely have asked me for help.¡±

    Xiao Jianren sighed in relief and said, ¡°That¡¯s good then.¡±

    If there really were something wrong with all of the Embroidered Envoys in Yan State, that would be world-shaking.

    Zu An then said, ¡°If most of the Embroidered Envoys in Yan State are still dependable, Golden Token Seven¡¯s death bes quite interesting.¡±

    Xiao Jianren nodded. He was someone who had climbed up from the lowest level, and he had much more experience in dealing with cases than Zu An. He quickly analyzed the details and said, ¡°There are several possibilities. The first is that Golden Token Seven didn¡¯t actually die from drowning, but he was just made to look as if he did. However, there were so many Embroidered Envoys there, so there¡¯s no way they couldn''t detect his cause of death. So, that possibility isn¡¯t very likely.¡±

    Zu An rolled his eyes and replied, ¡°Aren¡¯t you just stating the obvious there?¡±

    Xiao Jianren then said, ¡°Of course not. There¡¯s quite a bit of room for foul y here. For example, a Golden Token Envoy could be knocked unconscious first, or have his movement restricted, before being thrown into the water. If that were investigated, his cause of death would be drowning. As for the drug that might have rendered him unconscious, it could have disappeared as time went on, or the individuals involved could have covered it up quite easily. THat would be much easier than changing something like the cause of death.¡±

    Zu An felt admiration as he listened. As expected, only a veteran like Xiao Jianren would know the reasoning behind the case. He asked, ¡°So you¡¯re implying that there are still some Embroidered Envoys who have betrayed us in Yan State?¡±

    Xiao Jianren nodded and said, ¡°If my suspicions are right, there should be. There shouldn¡¯t be too many of them, but their statuses definitely can¡¯t be low. Otherwise, it would have been hard to cover all of these things up.¡±

    Just then, he suddenly cried out in surprise, eximing, ¡°Wait! Why does this ckwater Pool look a bit familiar?¡±

    Xiao Jianren suddenly ran over to the archive room in a hurry. Then, he returned with a stack of files. After flipping through them, he said, ¡°It is the one I remembered after all! Ningzhi County¡¯s Three Rivers Vige, located south of Yi Commandery, has a ckwater Pool. Those who pass by asionally go missing and drown, with quite a few cultivators among them. The local officials have never been able to find out the reason why, causing all kinds of strange legends toe from this ce.¡±

    ¡°Even we couldn''t find out the reason?¡± Zu An asked, stunned. ¡°Is there some kind of monster hiding there?¡±

    Xiao Jianren shook his head and said, ¡°Some Embroidered Envoys, as well as people from the academy, were invited to investigate the area. Their searches all resulted in the conclusion that it was just a normal pool, and that it was just a bit deeper than usual at most. They didn¡¯t notice anything strange. Later, they found some local rogues who hadmitted bad deeds because of money, and those people seemed to have made up all sorts of strange rumors to escape from their crimes. From then on, that situation was just ignored.¡±

    Zu An said seriously, ¡°Either way, a normal cultivator could be done in by ordinary people, but that¡¯s impossible for a Golden Token Envoy.¡±

    ¡°Unfortunately, there¡¯s just not enough information. We have to investigate the scene of the crime to know more,¡± Xiao Jianren said. He flipped through the file, but couldn''t find any new information.

    Zu An said, ¡°Then you should spend a few days collecting the corresponding material. When the timees, you¡¯lle with me on a trip to Yi Commandery.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± Xiao Jianren replied, his eyes lighting up. He finally had a mission! He was so bored that he had almost started growing mold.

    When he left the Embroidery House, Zu An changed his clothes. He was just about to leave the Imperial Pce when Little Zhuo sought him out, saying, ¡°Sir Zu, her highness is calling you over.¡±

    Zu An was a bit shocked. This empress really was daring! The emperor was already investigating them, and yet she still kept inviting him. He wanted to refuse at first, but after thinking about it for a bit, he figured that seeing as he was about to leave the capital, this woman could start some trouble if he didn¡¯t make things clear.

    He realized that he couldn''t really read the empress. She seemed to carry a strange madness deep within her, to the point that he wouldn¡¯t be surprised no matter what he ended up hearing about her.

    ¡­

    Soon after, Little Zhuo arrived in front of the empress¡¯ chambers. He invited Zu An inside, but remained outside to guard the entrance.

    Zu An nodded toward him with a smile. Along the way, he had discovered that this lesser eunuch seemed to be especially attentive toward him. Zu An came from a modern world, so he wouldn¡¯t look down on others the way the people of this world did. His attitude was naturally nicer than that of most others too.

    When he entered the pce, he saw the empress dressed in white casual clothing, practicing her cultivation. Time hadn¡¯t left any traces on her body. Her abdomen was as smooth as a youngdy¡¯s, and her body was soft and graceful. Rather than describing it as training, it looked more as if she were carrying out an elegant dance.

    With Zu An¡¯s insight, he could tell that the empress was practicing a very profound martial skill. It was only because the empress¡¯ ki flow wasn¡¯t strong enough to support theplete disy of this skill that she had to resort to a slower sequence of movements.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    When she saw Zu An enter, the empress smiled. She gestured toward him and said, ¡°Come over here and help me raise my leg.¡±

    Zu An had a strange expression. He walked next to her, and then under her guidance, he raised one of her calves until she was standing on a single leg. The other leg pointed straight toward the roof, her two legs forming a vertical line. Then, her arms slowly extended to either side, forming a cross. From the side, it suddenly became a bit hard to tell which limb was an arm and which one was a leg.

    Zu An was quite shocked by her flexibility, but the empress suddenly sighed and said, ¡°Sigh, I¡¯ve still gotten old. I could do this without anyone¡¯s help in the past.¡±

    ¡°Your highness is injured. Your meridians were damaged for so many years, so it¡¯s natural for you to experience some setbacks. However, it¡¯s clear that you¡¯re recovering quickly,¡± Zu An said. He had only used a bit of strength to help her. It was still mainly because of her that she was able to achieve such a stance.

    The empress turned to him and showed him a charming smile, saying, ¡°This wasrgely thanks to your efforts.¡±

    Zu An felt himself tremble. This woman really is an alluringdy. Looking at the astonishing scene in front of him made it take quite a bit for him to calm down again. He asked, ¡°Um¡­ can your highnesse down for now?¡±

    The empress shook her head slightly and said, ¡°My skill is a bit special and requires me to maintain this stance. I finally have some hope of recovering, so I can¡¯t bezy.¡±

    There was nothing Zu An could do. He could only say, ¡°Right, I came to tell your highness something. I¡¯ll need to leave the capital soon.¡±

    ¡°Are you going to Violet Mountain?¡± the empress asked. However, she didn¡¯t seem surprised at all.

    Zu An asked in surprise, ¡°Your highness already knew?¡±

    After all, the emperor had just told him about that, and yet she already knew about it so quickly. He had still underestimated the power of the empress in this pce.

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t too hard to guess. Zhao Han doesn¡¯t have many people he can make use of at his side. There¡¯s no one more suitable than you,¡± the empress said with a chuckle, but she turned serious again soon afterward. She said, ¡°You need to be careful this time. This matter definitely isn¡¯t as simple as you imagine it to be.¡±

    Zu An was surprised, saying, ¡°I hope your highness can give me some pointers.¡±

    However, the empress simply smiled and didn¡¯t reply to his request. She said, ¡°You¡¯ll leave soon, and we¡¯ll be apart for a long time again. Why not use this chance toe and give me a bit more guidance? Lend my recovery a helping hand?¡±

    Zu An had a strange expression. Why did he feel as if he had to sell his body to obtain intelligence. After a while, he asked, ¡°How do I give you guidance?¡±

    ¡°Just like this. I¡¯ve already prepared myself. This time, I want to see if I can use my old technique with your help,¡± the empress said. Her eyes had a soul-hooking allure to them.

    When he saw the woman standing in a cross position, Zu An was briefly stunned.

 Chapter 1571 â€“ Heartbeat

    <h4>Chapter 1571 ¨C Heartbeat</h4>

    Zu An had just left the crown princess¡¯ ce and was still feeling rather aplished. Furthermore, he had always been rather on guard against the empress, and his vignce told him to maintain some distance from this woman. However, Little An was just too disappointing!

    Little An was really being wronged here, though. It wasn¡¯t that it was disappointing, but rather that this woman had too many tricks up her sleeves.

    ¡­

    Two sighs filled the air at the same time, but each of them represented something different.

    It was as if an borate lock, after being sealed away for many years, had finally met the key it was destined for. Once the lock was unraveled, the empress gradually sensed the ki that had previously disappeared starting to return.

    At the same time, her five senses became even more sensitive than usual. She had a lovable smile on her face and was about to say something when she suddenly frowned, as if she sniffed something in the air. She eximed, ¡°Huh? Why does there seem to be another woman¡¯s smell on you?¡±

    Zu An immediately broke out into a sweat. Does this woman have the nose of a freaking dog? She can even smell something like that?

    He had already used water element magic to wash his entire body after leaving the Eastern Pce, but that wasn¡¯t a true shower. He had only washed his outer clothes.

    ¡°No way!¡± Zu An replied. He began to use his own ki to help circte her ki, not giving her a chance to think about anything else.

    The empress figured that made sense as well. The pce¡¯s women all belonged to the royal family. Apart from herself, who would be so brazen? Afterward, though, she was bombarded by his surging ki to the point that she didn¡¯t have the room to think about such things at all.

    Zu An took the chance to ask, ¡°What did your highness mean when you told me that Violet Mountain wasn¡¯t so simple?¡±

    The empress was feeling incredible, so her tone was no longer as proud as before. On the contrary, it was soft and considerate as she exined, ¡°I don¡¯t know the exact details, but ording to my sources, there seems to be arge cast over Violet Mountain. There¡¯s a storm approaching. Furthermore, I¡¯m proficient in celestial divination methods, and have seen that there¡¯s a huge danger approaching Violet Mountain; there are ten parts to it, at that. Whenever such signs appear, rivers of blood and mountains of corpses follow, with few survivors. That¡¯s why I gave you that warning.¡±

    Zu An was surprised. He knew that the master of celestial divination was the academy¡¯s Qi Yaoguang. He hadn¡¯t expected the empress to be good at it too.

    When he heard how serious she sounded, he couldn''t help but feel a bit pessimistic about e situation. He prepared to ask the empress where she got her information from. Normally, there was no way she would tell him, but in her current state, everything was under his control. He felt as if her very life were at his mercy, so he just asked about it.

    However, as soon as he spoke, Little Zhuo¡¯s high-pitched voice suddenly called out from outside, ¡°I pay my respects to your majesty. Long live, long live, long live!¡±

    The two inside the chambers were horrified. Zu An immediately wanted to pull out, but just then, the empress also instinctively lowered her leg to stand up. When those two forces met, both of them were suddenly prevented from separating.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    If not for Zu An¡¯s body being as well-tempered as steel, the chicken would have flown the coop, allowing the eggs to be broken.

    However, the more they panicked, the harder it was for them to get out of this situation. Furthermore, when they thought about how they would be dead for sure if the emperor noticed them, both of their minds went nk. Their bodies became countless times more sensitive.

    Zu An grunted. Fortunately, he was able to stop the sounds in his throat. Meanwhile, the empress felt as if endless volcanoes were erupting inside of her. In that instant, she almost fainted on the spot.

    Fortunately, both of them retained their final vestiges ofposure and finally separated. The empress¡¯ face was iparably pale as she muttered, ¡°I¡¯m done for, I¡¯m finished.¡±

    Zhao Han was no fool. If he saw the two of them together, and furthermore like that, there was no way he wouldn¡¯t be able to figure out what had happened. What awaited them went beyond saying. It wasn¡¯t just the two of them who would wish they were dead, too; they would even end up dragging down their ns.

    A hint of viciousness flickered through the empress¡¯ eyes. In that case, she would have nothing to lose, and could just unleash all of her resentment over the years and let Zhao Han have a taste of her wrath. In that instant, countless nasty and vile words to attack Zhao Han formed in her mind.

    Fortunately, Zu An grabbed her and shook his head. Then, he opened a cupboard in the corner and entered.

    The empress felt panicked and angry. What kind of cultivation did Zhao Han have? How could anyone escape his detection by hiding there?! Still, there wasn¡¯t anything else they could do. She quickly sorted out her clothes, then nervously faced the situation.

    ¡°Damn servant, what are you making such a racket for?¡± Zhao Han snapped angrily. He was clearly a bit unhappy with Little Zhuo¡¯s loud voice.

    Little Zhuo kneeled down and kowtowed while shaking, saying, ¡°This servant deserves death, this servant deserves death.¡±

    Zhao Han frowned, but he couldn''t just punish the servant for something like that. Furthermore, this was someone from the empress¡¯ pce. He ignored Little Zhuo and headed straight in.

    The empress just happened to emerge to greet him, saying, ¡°Your humble wife greets your majesty.¡±

    Empress Liu Ning was scared witless. Her mind was an absolute mess. Her body couldn''t help but shake a bit, perhaps because of fear or because of what had happened just then.

    Zhao Han was about to say something when his eyes suddenly lit up. The empress¡¯plexion was especially rosy today. Furthermore, her timid appearance was entirely different from her usual proud and unruly self, making even him feel indescribable pity for her. He reflexively walked forward to support her, saying, ¡°Empress, please rise.¡±

    When his hands touched her, the empress felt a kind of rejection. She subconsciously moved aside.

    Who was Zhao Han? He immediately sensed that, and glowered. This woman was still the same as ever.

    However, the empress gradually calmed down, because she discovered that Zhao Han hadn¡¯t noticed Zu An. Otherwise, he would have immediately acted up and wouldn¡¯t have helped her up in such an amiable manner. She was incredibly shocked, and didn¡¯t know how Zu An had done such a thing at all.

    Zhao Han was publicly acknowledged as number one. If his divine sense reached out, not a single action in the capital could escape his notice. It was just that normally, he wouldn¡¯t waste his energy like that. However, at such a short distance, he should have discovered Zu An¡¯s presence in the cab without even using his divine sense.

    Inside the cupboard, Zu An was really thankful. It was thanks to the Keyboard System being reliable as always. Hidden in the Dark wouldpletely hide his aura when he was inplete darkness, and not even the emperor could sense him then.

    Zhao Han asked,¡°Why is your body shaking so much? Could it be that you are scared of this emperor?¡± There was a hint of mockery in his voice as he spoke.

    Zu An had a strange expression. The rtionship between these two seemed a bit strange. Both of them were probably hiding something.

    ¡°Your highness inspires awe throughout the world. How could your humble wife not fear you?¡± the empress replied with her head lowered.

    Zhao Han couldn''t help but frown when he heard her indirect response. He said, ¡°Raise your head. Why is your face so red?¡± He couldn''t help but feel a bit strange. Wasn¡¯t this woman¡¯s beauty a bit too abnormal today?

    Now, the empress had already fully calmed herself down. After living in the pce for so many years, her mind was already incredibly strong. She said, ¡°It is because I was training my skills earlier.¡±

    ¡°Training?¡± Zhao Han replied with a sigh. ¡°It seems you really aren¡¯t willing to be a normal person.¡±

    The empress asked in response, ¡°Your majesty, who would be willing if they were in my situation?¡±

    Zhao Han was a bit unhappy, but he still said, ¡°This emperor will have men bring over more medicine. Earlier, the local regions brought over a precious treasure. It might be of use for your injuries.¡±

    ¡°Thank you,¡± the empress said, although she sneered inwardly. Zhao Han always spoke such wonderful promises, but if he really had tried to help her recover, would there really not have been the slightest turn for the better?

    No, I¡¯m sure he feels that a crippled empress is much more suitable to his interests.

    But now, I¡¯ve already found a solution. I don¡¯t need to be bothered by his insincere courtesy anymore.

    ¡°You are always like this,¡± Zhao Han said, seeming to have sensed the implications behind her tone. He couldn''t help but feel a bit angry. He wanted tosh out, but he still endured it in the end. ¡°It¡¯s fine. You still carry a grudge about what happened back then, so this emperor won¡¯t me you.¡±

    Zu An suddenly wanted to know more about this drama. Just what had happened back then to make someone as unstoppable as Zhao Han give in to a woman like this?

 Chapter 1572: Meeting and Separation

    <h4>Chapter 1572: Meeting and Separation</h4>

    The empress said indifferently, ¡°Your majesty speaks too seriously. This humble wife¡¯s loyalty to you is without equal. How could I dare to carry a grudge?¡±

    Her heart suddenly skipped a beat when she said that, because she could feel the thing that had been shot into her earlier seemingly about to flow out. No matter how shrewd she was, saying such words to Zhao Han in this situation still made her feel a bit embarrassed.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zhao Han harrumphed in response, clearly a bit unhappy about her attitude. However, when he noticed her brief frown, he still asked out of concern, ¡°What is it? Your body seems to be ufortable. Should this emperor call over the imperial physician?¡±

    ¡°There is no need. This humble wife is not ufortable at all right now. On the contrary, I feel better than ever before,¡± the empress replied. She felt a trembling from her very soul as she recalled what had just happened.

    At first, when she heard that Zhao Han wasing, she had been utterly horrified. However, after they averted disaster, she had begun to reminisce about what had just happened. It really was an experience like no other. Perhaps she would never feel more bliss in this lifetime.

    Inside the cab, Zu An had a strange expression. This woman seemed to be saying those things for him to hear! He thought,Sigh, it¡¯s still people like her who know how to mess around in the pce best.

    Zhao Han just assumed the empress was saying the opposite of what she was thinking and didn¡¯t suspect anything. He said, ¡°This emperor is going to carry out the Fengshan ceremony in Violet Mountain soon. You shoulde with me.¡±

    ¡°This humble wife has heard about the Fengshan matter too. I need to congratte your majesty forpleting such a glorious achievement. You have reached a level no one has reached before, and no one will reach in the future,¡± the empress replied. Her tone was humble, but it seemed to be somewhatcking sincerity and enthusiasm. ¡°But this humble wife is already a cripple and cannot move as I want to, so I will not participate in the Violet Mountain events. I hope that your majesty can forgive me.¡±

    Zhao Han carefully looked at her, seemingly trying to discern whether she was speaking her true thoughts. The empress had alreadyposed herself, however, and she calmly looked back at him. If there was anyone in the world who wasn¡¯t scared of Zhao Han, it was her.

    After a while, Zhao Han sighed and said, ¡°It¡¯s fine. Then you should remain in the capital and slowly nurse your body. In the meantime, you can help me look after the capital.¡±

    The empress¡¯ eyelids lowered as she said, ¡°This humble wife finds it difficult to even take care of herself, so how could I have the extra energy to take care of the capital¡¯s situation?¡±

    Zhao Han¡¯s expression darkened. The empress¡¯ words always carried some sharpness to them, which really made him annoyed. A whileter, he said, ¡°Empress, help me carry out a divination for this trip. For some reason, this emperor just cannot feel at ease.¡±

    Zu An suddenly realized what was going on. No wonder the emperor¡¯s temper was so good this entire time. It was because he hade to ask the empress for something!

    Even someone as powerful as Zhao Han still has to ask the empress to carry out a divination! It seems like her skills in this field are far greater than I imagined.

    The empress replied, ¡°It is very auspicious, of course!¡±

    Zu An had a strange expression when he heard the response.That¡¯s exactly the opposite of what she just told me!

    Zhao Han was a bit unhappy too, saying, ¡°You did not even carry out a divination, and yet you are already saying that it is very auspicious?¡±

    The empress calmly replied, ¡°Your majesty is without equal throughout the world. In the past, the Fiend Emperor was just about the only one who could face you, but he has already died. Who else in this world is even worth mentioning? Even if there are some covert plots, they will be nothing before your absolute strength.¡±

    ¡°Hahaha, well put,¡± Zhao Han said, feeling great joy. It wasn¡¯t just because those words perfectly scratched his itch, but also because the empress had revealed some information; namely, that there were some schemes involved. That meant the empress had indeed carried out a divination and that she wasn¡¯t just speaking nonsense. Besides, her judgment regarding this matter was simr to his own, so there wasn¡¯t anything else worth worrying about.

    ¡°Empress should get some rest then. This emperor will not disturb you any longer,¡± Zhao Han said. As he had already achieved his objective, he naturally didn¡¯t feel like staying behind.

    ¡°This humble wife respectfully sends off your majesty!¡± the empress said, kneeling down on the ground in respect.

    When he saw her obedient posture and beautiful face, Zhao Han felt that the empress was especially moving today. When he thought about how he hadn¡¯t really shown her much care, he wondered whether it was a waste of a wonderful resource.

    He swallowed his saliva and reached a hand out to her.

    The empress noticed his movement, and a hint of surprise flickered through her eyes. She was a woman, and a fully mature woman at that. How could she not know what the meaning in his gaze represented? She hadn¡¯t expected the normallypletely emotionless Zhao Han to actually feel something for her today.

    At that instant, she was a bit rmed. She didn¡¯t know what to do now. She thought,Should I resist? But with his cultivation, what would that do?

    But what if I didn¡¯t resist? Then everything would be exposed! Both Zu An and I would be beyond dead.When she thought of that, she started to feel nervous. Even her body couldn''t help but start to tremble.

    Fortunately, Zhao Han lowered his hand, and his intoxicated expression gradually grew firm. He didn¡¯t have much of his lifespan left, so he couldn''t use up even the slightest bit of his vitality. He nodded toward the empress, then left without turning back again.

    When he left, the empress fell to the ground, her body nowpletely weak. Zu An emerged from the cab and supported her. The empress reached out an arm and wrapped it around his neck, saying, ¡°I really almost had my soul scared out of me just now¡­¡±

    Zu An smiled bitterly as he replied, ¡°Did you think it was any different for me?¡±

    This was exactly what he had always worried about before. Back then, the first time he had screwed the empress was mainly because he had just been screwed over too badly by Zhao Han back in Westhound Tomb, so he had formed a bit of a mental knot. It had just been a form of revenge. However, once he calmed down, he had realized the risks of such a thing were too high. He had just made a trip close to the gates of hell just now, after all.

    However, after having learned that even Zhao Han had to consult her, Zu An gradually felt that the empress wasn¡¯t just a grumbling wife in the harem as he had thought. She still had many secrets waiting for him to uncover.

    He was about to ask about Violet Mountain when the empress seemed to guess his intentions. She reached out a hand and pressed it against his mouth, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t say anything.¡±

    Zu An had a strange expression as he thought,This woman is really crazy! Zhao Han just left, no?!

    ¡­

    By the time Zu An left the Imperial Pce, his legs felt a bit unsteady. When he recalled what had just happened, he couldn''t help but sigh. The empress¡¯ entire body really was made of water. Still, he quickly sorted out his thoughts. He immediately used Blue Mard to use some nearby water to clean his body. Then, he returned to his marquis manor.

    There, Chu Chuyan was wearing a white dress. She was leaning against the railing, lost in thought as she stared into the sky. The sight formed a beautiful and natural scene.

    In that instant, Zu An felt a sense of peace, as if his body and soul had been cleansed. He couldn''t help but feel annoyed. Why had he been in such a rush earlier? He couldn''t help but feel a wave of guilt. Before the deed, he had been as depraved as a demon; afterward, he had be as holy as a buddha.

    When she saw Zu An, Chu Chuyan''s expression revealed a hint of happiness as she said, ¡°You¡¯re back.¡±

    ¡°What are you looking at?¡± Zu An asked as he walked over, stopping a few steps in front of her; it was as if he was scared he would defile her by getting any closer.

    ¡°I was watching as the white clouds gathered and dispersed, dispersed and gathered. Aren¡¯t human meetings and separations like that as well?¡± Chu Chuyan replied with a light sigh.

    Zu An was surprised. He could tell that she was leaving. He couldn''t focus on anything else anymore and instead just grabbed her hand, asking, ¡°You¡¯re leaving?¡±

    Chu Chuyan voiced her agreement, saying, ¡°I was so happy being with you all this time, to the point where I forgot I still have to fight against that Devil Sect Saintess.¡±

    Zu An quickly said, ¡°You guys haven¡¯t even set a time yet. There¡¯s no rush, right?¡±

    ¡°That was the case before, but¡­¡± Chu Chuyan paused, her face reddening as she continued, ¡°But because I was so happy being with you, the Unshakable Daoist Manual I cultivated had a backslide. I feel as if my cultivation realm has be a bit unstable. If I continue to stay by your side, my cultivation might even fall. If that happens, I won¡¯t be a match for the Saintess. In that case, I¡¯ll be ruining the White Jade Sect¡¯s reputation. Besides¡­ I don¡¯t want to lose to her.¡±

    Zu An was a bit upset, remarking, ¡°This Unshakable Daoist Manual really is good for nothing. Just what kind of nonsense is Yan Xuehen teaching you?¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s beautiful brows furrowed as he said, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t disrespect my master.¡±

    Zu An had a strange expression. He thought to himself,Is this considered disrespecting her? If you knew what I¡¯ve done to her body, what kind of reaction would you have?

 Chapter 1573: State Teacher

    <h4>Chapter 1573: State Teacher</h4>

    In the end, Zu An didn¡¯t try to dissuade Chu Chuyan from her decision. After all, this battle was really important for her. He didn¡¯t want her to lose her sense of identity either. If she gave up everything for him, she would no longer be the beautiful woman he had met in Brightmoon City.

    Still, he wondered how Honglei was doing. If she lost too badly, perhaps she would have a hard time on her side too.

    Sigh, both of them are equally important to me! What do we do now¡­

    ¡°When are you nning to leave?¡± Zu An asked with a sigh.

    ¡°I was waiting for you the whole time. I was going to leave after talking to you,¡± Chu Chuyan said reluctantly.

    Zu An was stunned.

    Chu Chuyan seemed to have realized that it was too sudden too. She exined in embarrassment, ¡°I need to spend some time alone in the mountains and clear my thoughts, to slowly return to that emotionless state. Then, I can go to the Devil Sect to find Qiu Honglei, so I don¡¯t have much time.¡±

    Zu An was dumbfounded. He eventually said, ¡°I really have to have a talk with your master and change that cultivation method of yours. It really doesn¡¯t match how a human should behave.¡±

    Chu Chuyan and Yan Xuehen seemed toe from the same mold. If he didn¡¯t add a bit more worldly spice to their lives, then forget about bing an immortal, perhaps they would really be frozen women.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Chu Chuyan smiled and said, ¡°That might be a bit difficult. Master is quite fierce, so she might give you a beating.¡±

    Zu An cursed to himself,She¡¯s never given me a beating, but I¡¯ve given her one quite a few times.

    ¡°Alright, I really have to leave. I¡¯ll have to trouble you to take care of Youzhao in the capital,¡± Chu Chuyan said as she got up and gave him a peck on the lips. Then, she left like a drifting cloud.

    ¡°Okay,¡± Zu An said. After some hesitation, he decided not to tell her about Violet Mountain. She was about to face a great battle, so there was no need to worry her and disturb her. That was the case even though the Unshakable Daoist Manual was a skill with such damned characteristics.

    As he watched her depart into the distance, Zu An couldn''t help but feel a bit lonely. The courtyard which had previously been full of joy and happiness now felt especially spacious and empty. It no longer heldd the warmth of a family.

    ¡­

    In the following days, Zu An¡¯s mood became much more sullen. The only thing he could do was distract himself by focusing on work. He collected information about Yi Commandery, as well as any information he could get about Golden Token Seven. He also sent Xiao Jianren, Dai Seventh, and Chen Eighth out to Yi Commandery ahead of time.

    In the few days he had left, he brought Zheng Dan to the Royal Academy again, paying Yan Xiangu a visit to formalize the discipleship.

    Seeing as the Sang n was still going through with the posthumous child n, Zheng Dan couldn''t always stay in the academy. Otherwise, there was no way they would get away with it. As such, they had decided Zheng Dan would just visit the ce from time to time. After obtaining Yan Xiangu¡¯s guidance, she would cultivate at home. Such a request wasn¡¯t really showing Yan Xiangu too much respect, but with Xie Daoyun to smooth things over, the process went rather smoothly.

    After all, Yan Xuehen always cultivated in seclusion too. There was no need for Zheng Dan toe up the mountain for quite some time.

    Zu An was a bit curious. This Yan Xiangu was quite mysterious. Zu An had visited the academy several times, and yet never seemed to have met him before.

    ¡­

    Zu An and Zheng Dan descended the mountain after the fact.

    Xie Daoyun secretly stopped Zu An, then bashfully gave him a satchel. When she saw the surprise in his eyes, she quickly exined, ¡°Don¡¯t think too much about it. The Exotic Witchsand you gave mest time was too precious, and I didn¡¯t have much to give you. After thinking about it, I asked for a Peace Talisman for you. You need to carry it with you at all times. I hope it can turn your misfortune into blessings.¡± Even though that was what she said, however, her red face seemed to be implying something else.

    ¡°Thank you, little sister Daoyun,¡± Zu An said as he received the satchel that still carried a bit of her body temperature. Xie Daoyun had given him several talismans before, and each time, they were of great use to him. But this time, she didn¡¯t exin what the talisman¡¯s use was. He only knew that it came from a temple or monastery. It carried her sincerity, so he naturally wouldn¡¯t refuse it.

    When she heard the way Zu An addressed her, Xie Daoyun¡¯s heart skipped a beat. She didn¡¯t dare to look straight at him. After saying that, she quickly turned around and fled the scene.

    ¡­

    When they left the mountain, Zheng Dan couldn''t help but tease him, asking, ¡°Did Miss Xie give you some lover¡¯s gift just now?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression darkened. He said, ¡°It¡¯s just an exchange between friends; don¡¯t think too much about it. It¡¯ll be bad if this ends up affecting Miss Xie¡¯s reputation.¡±

    Zheng Dan said with a sneer, ¡°She even gave a man a satchel, and yet you¡¯re worried about her reputation?¡±

    Zu An said impatiently, ¡°She¡¯s your senior sister now, and she helped you a lot. It¡¯s not that good for you to be talking behind her back like this, is it?¡±

    Zheng Dan became a bit depressed. She said, ¡°If I had known I would need my man to sell his body, I wouldn¡¯t have agreed toe.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not a problem at all. We¡¯re still not too far away, so I¡¯ll go back and tell Master Yan that you don¡¯t want to join the academy,¡± Zu An said, pretending to drag her back.

    Zheng Dan quickly pleaded, ¡°Ah! I was just kidding! I¡¯m actually hoping that you find more formidable women like this so you can take even better care of me.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.The way this woman thinks really is different from other women.

    ¡­

    While the two of them were arguing yfully, Xie Daoyun returned to Yan Xiangu¡¯s ce of seclusion. She called out, ¡°Master, you called for me?¡±

    Yan Xiangu¡¯s aged voice emerged from inside. ¡°You should go to Violet Mountain and see if the mountain¡¯s form has been tampered with. His majesty is about to hold the Fengshan ceremony there, so there is a chance that some evildoers will arrange some schemes.¡±

    Xie Daoyun couldn''t help but be stunned. She replied, ¡°The State Teacher is overseeing Violet Mountain! Is there a need for me to go?¡±

    When the Great Zhou Dynasty unified the entire world in the past, they had obtained the support of many people from the nine daoist sects. Among them, the extremely outstanding leader of the Righteous Sun Sect had been greatly rewarded for his merits and was granted the title of State Teacher. Violet Mountain, a ce rich with legends and history, had been made into his ce of daoist rites. He was someoneparable to the libationer. In fact, many people in the world of warriors wondered whose cultivation was higher between the State Teacher and the libationer.

    But the State Teacher was all the way over by Violet Mountain, and he normally secluded himself. That was why he wasn¡¯t as famous as the libationer. However, none of the true experts of the world dared to look down on him. As such, Xie Daoyun didn¡¯t think anyone could set up any traps by Violet Mountain.

    The stone gate remained silent for a long time before Yan Xiangu spoke again. ¡°You should not willfully trust anyone. Not even those close to you are dependable, let alone someone who is aplete stranger to you.¡±

    Xie Daoyun asked in shock ¡°Could it be that something went wrong on the State Teacher¡¯s end?¡±

    If news of such a thing spread, it would bepletely earth-shattering!

    ¡°That is not what I meant. It is better to be prepared just in case,¡± Yan Xiangu slowly said.

    Too many possibilities filled Xie Daoyun¡¯s mind at that moment. She wasn¡¯t able to calm down at all for a long time. Eventually, she said, ¡°Master, if something really is wrong with the State Teacher, this disciple¡¯s skills are stillcking. I fear I will not be able to notice anything there.¡±

    Even though she believed her talent wasn¡¯t bad, and her skills in formation methods had advanced tremendously, she was still nothingpared to the State Teacher.

    ¡°Do not undervalue yourself. Just do as I have taught you, and you will be able to deduce if there are any traps in Violet Mountain,¡± Yan Xiangu reassured her.

    Xie Daoyun sighed in relief when she heard what her master said, replying, ¡°That makes me feel at ease.¡± At the same time, she felt a bit sad. She was going to leave for Violet Mountain soon, which meant that she couldn''t meet her big brother Zu for some time¡­

    She was shocked as soon as that thought appeared.Xie Daoyun, Xie Daoyun, what are you doing? Did you not see enough of what your little brother has done? A woman who¡¯s too aggressive usually won¡¯t be treasured!

    Still, she felt conflicted. Big brother Zu really had too many outstanding women at his side. If she didn¡¯t be a bit more proactive, then perhaps¡­

    ¡°Your mind seems to be a bit restless recently. Is it because of that man today?¡± Yan Xiangu suddenly asked.

    ¡°Of course not!¡± Xie Daoyun immediately replied. Then, she protested, ¡°Teacher, when did you be so gossipy too?¡±

    ¡°Hahaha, your teacher was young once as well, and that Zu An is quite outstanding¡­¡± Yan Xiangu continued. However, when he sensed his disciple outside was about to explode, he continued, ¡°If that is not the case, you can just leave today. Rather than reading ten thousand books, it might be better to go on a ten thousand mile trip after all. I believe that this journey will allow your cultivation to make new breakthroughs.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± Xie Daoyun replied. When she heard her master bring up cultivation, she became serious.

    She quickly went on her way to Violet Mountain. She had no idea that just three days after she left the capital, the court would issue an order stating that on that day, Violet Mountain¡¯s Righteous Sun Sect had experienced a huge fire that destroyed many of their buildings. In light of Violet Mountain¡¯s buildings carrying great history, Marquis Zu An was to bring the Armed Escort Division and a group of skilled workmen for repair and renovation as a sign of the court¡¯s grace.

 Chapter 1574: Criticism

    <h4>Chapter 1574: Criticism</h4>

    Over the subsequent few days, Zu An gradually appeased the upset Bi Linglong. However, he still spent most of his time keeping Sang Qien and Zheng Danpany.

    When she learned that he was going to leave, Sang Qien was very reluctant. However, she knew there was nothing they could do about it, as it was an order from the court.

    Meanwhile, Sang Hong was enjoying a rather rare period of leisure in life. The only thing he was a bit dejected about was that his daughter and daughter-inw seemed to care much more about Zu An than himself. Sometimes, it seemed like he was the outsider, not Zu An.

    Fortunately, he was quite satisfied with Zu An. Zu An was his daughter¡¯s man, as well as his daughter-inw¡¯s man, so he was supposed to be family, someone so close they couldn''t be any closer¡­Huh? Why does this sound a bit weird?

    In any event, the two of them had worked together for so long, and he was indebted to Zu An several times over for saving his life. Their rtionship was alreadyparable to that of father and son. The only other thing he could hope for was for his daughter to give birth to a good grandson, and for the child to have a bit of his father¡¯s excellence. Then, he could rest in peace.

    Still, he was worried that something would go poorly on Violet Mountain, so he constantly called over Zu An to tell him about different aspects of Yi Commandery¡¯s officialdom. At the same time, he helped Zu An n for all kinds of situations that could appear.

    With such a veteran of the political circles to guide him, Zu An felt that he had obtained quite a bit of valuable intelligence. He had much more confidence in the Violet Mountain trip now.

    One day, Zu An was chatting with Sang Qien and Zheng Dan about everyday things in the courtyard under the sunlight, when a servant suddenly brought in a delicate and refined invitation card. It was an invitation sent personally by Lady Nan Xun from Scarlet Invitation.

    Both of the women were rmed when they saw what was happening. Zheng Dan said with a sigh, ¡°You really are close to courtesans wherever you go¡­¡±

    Off to one side, Sang Qien said jealously, ¡°Sister-inw might not know it, but this Scarlet Invitation is the capital¡¯s most popr brothel; its reputation is even a bit higher than that of the government brothels, all because of this courtesan Nan Xun they host. Not only is she an exceptional beauty, but she also excels at all of the four arts of zither, go, calligraphy, and painting, as well as singing and all sorts of other musical instruments. Countless high officials and nobles rush there from all over the capital to see her. Normally, even an ordinary ticket costs over a thousand silver, and that can only give you a single nce of her from afar. Even so, those tickets are too hard to find for purchase; let alone one she wrote herself.¡±

    Even though she and Zu An didn¡¯t have any real rtionship on the surface, he was still the father of her child. His being so close to a courtesan from a brothel made her feel really awful.

    Zheng Dan seemed to have suddenly realized what was going on. She eximed, ¡°I remember now! Just before Ah Zu went to Cloudcenter Commandery, he apparently won Lady Nan Xun¡¯s favor in apetition with the other young masters. That night, he was invited behind the curtains, bing the target of countless men¡¯s envy.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Zheng Dan for +177 +177 +177¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Sang Qien for +177 +177 +177¡­

    Zu An felt a bit depressed, replying, ¡°What do you mean, behind the curtains? We only had a normal chat that night.¡±

    Zheng Dan and Sang Qien both rolled their eyes. One was a famous courtesan, and the other was a womanizer. Those two had been in a room alone, and yet they only had a normal chat?Do you think we¡¯re stupid?N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An felt helpless.Why does no one ever believe me when I¡¯m telling the truth?

    ¡­

    Eventually, Zu An finally cated the two women with great difficulty. Then, he went to Scarlet Invitation.

    Of course, it wasn¡¯t because he was really consumed by lust, but rather that he had suddenly remembered his promise to the Peacock Wise King. Because he had just reunited with Chu Chuyan and the women around him were always at each other¡¯s throats, he had almost forgotten about that. Now that he had received such an invitation, how could he not pay a visit?

    When he arrived at Scarlet Invitation, it was still afternoon, so the ce wasn¡¯t open yet. However, information traveled quickly in a brothel. When they learned that Nan Xun had invited a man over, all of the women came over to see just what kind of awesome person he was.

    ¡°Who¡¯s that big brother over there? He¡¯s so handsome! No wonder Lady Nan Xun took the initiative to invite him.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t even know who he is? He¡¯s the most popr person in the Crown Prince¡¯s pce, as well as the youngest marquis in the empire. He¡¯s the one with incredible achievements, Sir Zu!¡±

    ¡°Ah! For a man like this, if he¡¯s willing to ransom me, I¡¯m willing to be a concubine, or even just a maid!¡±

    ¡°Keep dreaming! Why would he do that for you? If he wants to, I¡¯m even willing to pay my own ransom for him.¡±

    ¡°Compared to his status, I appreciate his skills in the arts more. That ¡®Sword and Song¡¯ he gifted General Qin is something that makes me tremble every time I read it.¡±

    ¡°I like his ¡®See You In My Dreams¡¯ more. I heard he wrote that just for Nan Xun! If anyone wrote a poem like that for me, I would be satisfied even if I died there and then. But I know myself. Only a courtesan queen could enjoy that kind of happiness.¡±

    ¡°That may not be. That popr ¡®A Chinese Ghost Story¡¯ that has been circting was rumored to have been written by him too. Wasn¡¯t that something written for all the women in our trade? It perfectly describes our helplessness and sadness.¡±

    ¡°Sir Zu, I love you!¡±

    ¡­

    A flock of beauties rushed over. In their eyes, the story where several women had been forced to go out and seduce passing schrs by their boss was really simr to their current situation. They were also kind and good women! However, for various reasons, they could only prostitute themselves. They felt a sense of empathy. From their perspective, Zu An¡¯s ¡®A Chinese Ghost Story¡¯ had been writtenpletely out of pity for them, so they naturally felt closer to him.

    Zu An couldn''t really handle their enthusiasm. Fortunately, Nan Xun swiftly came out and ordered them to stop. Only then was she able to escort him into her own small courtyard. Nan Xun was the courtesan queen of Scarlet Invitation, so no one wanted to offend her.

    Still, some other courtesans were a bit unhappy, muttering, ¡°That wench only knows how to take everything for herself!¡±

    As they entered the small courtyard, the beautiful Nan Xun had a smile on her face the entire time. She took out a fragrant handkerchief and helped Zu An wipe the lipstick and rouge that were all over his face and clothes.

    ¡°Sir Zu is still as popr as ever. I could hear their shouts of endearment even from far away,¡± Kong Nanwu said as she carried a cute and fluffy little white fox in her arms. She was so beautiful, she really looked as if she hade straight out of a painting.

    When the little white fox saw Zu An, it jumped out of her arms excitedly, but was stopped by Kong Nanwu¡¯s hand and firmly pressed into herp. It could only continuously wiggle its tail at Zu An to show its goodwill.

    Zu An couldn''t help butugh. If he recalled correctly, this little fox was named Huhu, right? Why did it now seem like a puppy? Still, the little fox was too pretty, so he couldn''t help but go over and give its fluffy fur a rub. He thought,Hmm¡­ I should tell Tushan Yu to transform so I can give her a try too.

    Huhu also feltfortable and closed its eyes. Its eyes curved upward with happiness.

    However, Kong Nanwu lightly smacked Zu An¡¯s hand away. She carried the little fox with her as she moved backward. She shot him an annoyed look and said, ¡°Huhu is a girl; how can you just touch her however you want?¡±

    Zu An chuckled in embarrassment. He had really forgotten that she was a girl and subconsciously treated her as a pet.

    Kong Nanwu continued, ¡°The reason why Huhu likes you so much is thanks to the ¡®Strange Tales¡¯ story you gave us. She felt really immersed in that world. This story of yours is quite incredible because it wasn¡¯t just Huhu who felt like that; Nan Xun did as well. Even the other women from Scarlet Invitation were really moved. All of them empathized with the story from their own different perspectives, but the results were the same. Young master truly is a great genius.¡±

    Zu An was the one who was a bit embarrassed now. He said, ¡°That was nothing more than the wisdom of my predecessors. I¡¯m merely benefiting from their greatness and wasn¡¯t of much help myself.¡±

    ¡°Young master is too humble,¡± Kong Nanwu said with a sigh. People were very different from each other, as expected¡­ Because she had spent so long hiding in Scarlet Invitation, she had seen too many people boast wildly about themselves to get the favor of beautiful women. Even if they only had a bit of skill, they would be able to multiply it tenfold. Compared to them, Zu An was simply a humble gentleman. No wonder he had been able to write such a marvelous and moving story.

    Zu An chuckled. Who could understand the loneliness of being someone whose true words were never believed? He said, ¡°Oh, by the way, the feather that thedy gave mest time was greatly helpful, so I wanted to specially thank you today.¡±

    ¡°I actually feel a bit of regret for giving that to you,¡± Kong Nanwu said, her gaze turning a bit dangerous. ¡°Because of you, I somehow became a widow without even getting married. I wonder how you n topensate me for that?¡±

    Zu An was a bit embarrassed, saying, ¡°So thedy already knew about the Fiend King Court¡¯s situation.¡±

    Kong Nanwu gave him a deep look and replied, ¡°Should I call you young master or Regent?¡±

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°Actually, you can call me uncle.¡±

    Kong Nanwu was speechless. She had felt that the pace of the conversation waspletely within her control, but in that instant, she suddenly became a bit dumbfounded.

    ¡°When we were at the Fiend King Court, the Peacock Wise King and I referred to each other as brothers, and he even said that he would have his niece pay me a visit out of respect,¡± Zu An said with a deadly earnest expression. ¡°But thedy and I already knew each other beforehand, so we can continue our rtionship on our own.¡±

    ¡°Pfft!¡± Off to the side, Nan Xun could no longer hold back herughter. ¡°Mydy, who would have thought that you would end up like this one day?¡±

    The little fox wasughing even harder, rolling on the carpet. Her four cute little paws waved toward the sky.

    ¡°All of you, shut up!¡± Kong Nanwu snapped, no longer able to remain as calm as before. She stared at both of the maids with a reddened face, then looked at Zu An resentfully.

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°I was joking just now, but Peacock Wise King really did tell me to take good care of you. The situation in the Fiend King Court is quiteplicated, so it¡¯s best if you don¡¯t return for a while.¡±

    ¡°I more or less understand the reasoning,¡± Kong Nanwu said as she pouted and looked at Zu An. ¡°You¡¯ve left me in such a sorry state; are you really not going to repay me at all?¡±

    ¡°I wonder what thedy wants?¡± Zu An replied, sensing something in her words and became vignt. He had frequently heard about how resourceful this Peacock Manor¡¯s princess was, often toying with others until they spun round and round in her palm. He definitely couldn''t grow careless here.

    A proud look flickered through Kong Nanwu¡¯s eyes as her n seeded. She said, ¡°I want¡­¡±

 Chapter 1575: Entrust

    <h4>Chapter 1575: Entrust</h4>

    ¡°I want¡­¡± Kong Nanwu couldn¡¯t help but chuckle when she saw Zu An¡¯s vignt appearance. ¡°I want a new story like ¡®Strange Tales¡¯. Even though ¡®A Chinese Ghost Story¡¯ is good, I¡¯m already so familiar with it that it doesn¡¯t give me that new and fresh feeling anymore.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± Zu An asked, feeling a bit stunned. He had thought that she would ask him something that was extremely difficult. He hadn¡¯t expected it to actually be something so easy.

    When she saw him rx, Kong Nanwu couldn''t help but say, ¡°Young master, this isn¡¯t a simple matter at all. After all, a story like Strange Tales is something an ordinary person won¡¯t be able toe up with even if they spend their entire lives on it. Please don¡¯t bring out any random story to try and appease me half-heartedly.¡±

    Nan Xun covered her smile with her hand as she said, ¡°As young master was able to write ¡®A Chinese Ghost Story¡¯, how could he be someone ordinary? I¡¯m sure that was just something he wrote casually.¡±

    When he saw the two women look at him with eyes full of expectation, Zu An wiped at his cold sweat. If not for the wisdom of his predecessors, how could he possiblye up with a brilliant story? He thought for a bit, then said, ¡°Then I¡¯ll tell you about the story of ¡®Painted Skin¡¯. A long time ago¡­¡±

    He didn¡¯t tell the story exactly the way it had been in Strange Tales, but rather added some plot from the movies Painted Skin 1 and 2. After all, these were youngdies, so they were fairly interested in romance.

    Sure enough, when they heard the story, Nan Xun and the little fox both sobbed tearfully. Kong Nanwu was moreposed than the other two, but her eyes were also red; clearly, she had been deeply affected.

    ¡°That female ghost is just too pitiful. She paid such a huge price for love, and yet she was the one who had to bear all of the tragedy in the end, not obtaining a thing out of it all,¡± Nan Xun said, wiping away her tears. To a certain degree, she was also a female ghost, so she sympathized even more with the lead role.

    Kong Nanwu frowned and said, ¡°I feel as if that female ghost was a bit¡­ green tea. Is that how you use that term?¡± She asked Zu An for confirmation. Green tea was ng she had picked up from him, after all. When he gave her his approval, she then continued, ¡°She knew he was a husband with a wife, and yet she still insisted on going along with it. She even used all kinds of tricks to insert herself between them.¡±

    As the Peacock King Race¡¯s princess, her status was noble. If she ever got married, she would be the main wife. For example, she had almost be the Crown Princess. That was why she naturally felt a kind of vignce against such mistresses.

    Nan Xun replied unhappily,¡°Why are you making it sound so bad? She was only doing it out of love too.¡±

    The little fox replied in her small voice, ¡°I think that man was really bad. He already had a wife, and yet he still had that kind of rtionship with another woman!¡±

    When they heard her words, the women in the room couldn''t help but look at Zu An, giving him a huge headache. He asked, ¡°What are you all staring at me for?¡±

    ¡°That male lead actually wasn¡¯t that bad; he didn¡¯t really do anything. Eventer on, when he thought his wife was a monster, he didn¡¯t leave her. It was to the extent that in order to prove that he wasn¡¯t someone who only judged based on appearances, he even cut his own eyes out and became blind¡­¡± Kong Nanwu trailed off, looking at Zu An with a strange expression. There was a trace of a smile hanging from the corners of her lips as she continued, ¡°Could it be that the young master felt that the male lead was too fickle, so you subconsciously painted him in a better light?¡±

    Zu An grumbled, ¡°It¡¯s not as if that guy in the story was modeled after me¡­¡±

    He continued to try to exin himself for a long time. In the end, even though the three women said they believed him, they still had a ¡®we understand¡¯ look on their faces, making him feel a deep sense of powerlessness.

    Soon afterward, Kong Nanwu asked Zu An about the events on Violet Mountain. Someone as well-informed as her had naturally learned about his court mission. She said, ¡°Young master, this Violet Mountain trip might be full of dangers. I¡¯ve received information stating that many evildoers are heading in that direction with unknown intentions.¡±

    Zu An was stunned, asking, ¡°Where did you obtain that information from?¡±

    For better or for worse, he was the Regent of the Fiend races. His status was supposed to be higher than hers, right? Despite that, he hadn¡¯t even received any information yet, so why did she know about that?

    ¡°I¡¯ve been on the human side for some time now, so I still have some things I¡¯ve gained,¡± Kong Nanwu replied. She downyed the situation, but she couldn''t hide her proud smile.

    Zu An couldn''t really push her about the details either. He said, ¡°Thank you for your reminder, Lady Kong.¡±

    At the same time, he felt a bit strange.Just what is going on? Why are even those fes from the world of warriors getting involved with Violet Mountain?

    After all, the empire had already pretty much roped in most of the elites. Even though the world of warriors still had some powerful individuals, they werepletely insignificantpared to the massive court. They couldn''t even get away if the court went after them.

    Kong Nanwu picked up the wine pot off to the side and poured out two cups. She brought one of them up to Zu An, her fair wrist being exposed within her sleeves and reflecting on the jade cup¡¯s surface. She said, ¡°Cheers! I wish the young master a safe journey.¡±

    ¡°Thank you!¡± Zu An replied as he received the cup and drained it in one go. At the same time, he felt a bit regretful. Weren¡¯t peacocks green? Why was she so white?

    ¡­

    After arranging various affairs in the capital, Zu An brought a group consisting of the Armed Escort Army and several craftsmen to Violet Mountain.

    Zhao Han clearly cared a great deal about the ceremony. The number of men he had sent out this time exceeded the previous Imperial Envoy fleet. It wasn¡¯t just more people, either; there were even two Armed Escort Army generals apanying them.

    One man with a dark-reddishplexion was named Wang Bolin. He always had a miserable look on his face, as if everyone else owed him money or something.

    The slightly younger one was named Zhang Zijiang. He always had a smile on his face no matter who he was talking to. However, a glint asionally flickered through his eyes, showing that he wasn¡¯t as kind as he looked on the surface.

    Even though the two of them had different tendencies, Zu An could sense hostility from both of them.

    Still, that couldn''t be med on them. The two of them were quite capable figures in the Armed Escort Division and had even worked as deputy generals for many years. Whether in terms of their ability or prestige, they had already received people¡¯s acknowledgment.

    These two normally butted heads with each other, because both of them wanted to stand out and be the new Armed Escort Division General. And yet, after fighting for so many years, that vacant space had been given to a guy named Zu An.

    If he hade from an influential n and had a great reputation, that would be one thing. However, he was so young, even younger than many of the new recruits from the Armed Escort Division! On top of all of that, he had been born to a poor background! There were rumors that he used to be a drafted son-inw, at that!

    As such, even though Zu An had disyed outstanding achievements in the past two years, they still didn¡¯t feel good about it. With such a mon enemy¡¯, the two rivals actually felt a sense of unity for the first time.

    In the end, Zu An had Bi Linglong to thank. When she learned that these two deputy generals were heading out to Violet Mountain, she had made sure to warn him. Otherwise, how would Zu An have been able to so clearly deduce what they were thinking?

    ¡°Even though Linglong has been throwing a fit recently, she still really cares about me, it seems,¡± Zu An muttered to himself. When he thought about how Bi Linglong was upset, but wasn¡¯t willing to admit it with that proud expression she had, he couldn''t help but grin.

    ¡°Brother Zu is thinking about another woman again. Look at that lewd smile on your face,¡± someone said, patting him on the shoulder. Someone wearing a silver mask appeared in front of him. Even though the person was masked, he had eyes that were even brighter than peach blossoms. Who else could it be but Xie Xiu?

    When he saw Xie Xiu, who was more beautiful than many women, Zu An inadvertently thought,Is this kid not scared that he might be kidnapped by a dude and r*ped one day?

    ¡°Xiu¡¯er! So you had some free time and decided to visit me? Did those female fans of yourse too?¡± Zu An replied. He still remembered all the women who had followed Xie Xiu during hisst trip to the Royal Academy.

    Xie Xiu shivered. He looked around and quietly asked, ¡°Can you lower your voice? I actually snuck out this time.¡±

    ¡°You came all the way to see me off even in this kind of situation? You¡¯re a loyal brother,¡± Zu An said while looking around. He was surprised to find that he couldn¡¯t see a certain graceful figure anywhere.

    ¡°Stop looking already. My big sis isn¡¯t here,¡± Xie Xiu said, rolling his eyes.

    Zu An chuckled in embarrassment, asking, ¡°Is your big sister busy with cultivation recently?¡±

    Xie Xiu shook his head and said, ¡°Apart froming out here to see you off, there was something else I have to entrust you with, which is the mission my big sis epted. It seems she had to go to Violet Mountain too, and she already left a few days ago¡­¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    He gave a rough exnation of what happened. However, because the trip had been conducted in secret, he didn¡¯t have too many details either. ¡°Even though my big sis¡¯ cultivation isn¡¯t bad, she doesn¡¯t have much experience with the world of warriors. Even though she isn¡¯tpletely inexperienced, everyone who came and went from Brightmoon City had some status. They all knew she was the precious daughter of a city lord, so they wouldn¡¯t really try anything. After she came to the capital, she spent all her time studying in the rear mountain, hardly ever engaging in conversations with random people. But this time, she left on a journey all alone¡­¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re worried that something might happen to her out there?¡± Zu An replied with a chuckle. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to be a bit of a sis-con.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s a sis-con?¡± Xie Xiu replied, confused. He shook his head and continued, ¡°Your journeys this time are simr, which is why I wanted to ask you to take care of her. I wanted to go with you too, but that old bastard Hei Baizi seems to have gone crazy or something, giving me a load of tasks to do. I don¡¯t have any time to leave the capital. If something happened to my big sis, how would I exin things to my folks?¡±

    Zu An had a strange expression.Is this really an obedient and filial handsome chap¡­

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Your big sis is my good friend too. Of course I¡¯ll watch out for her,¡± he said, patting his chest reassuringly. He thought to himself,The two of us really do share some affinity with each other. Xie Daoyun was actually sent out to Violet Mountain too.

    ¡°It¡¯s enough as long as she¡¯s safe; you don¡¯t have to take care of her too well,¡± Xie Xiu said vigntly. ¡°Otherwise, if you took care of her all the way to bed, that would be bad.¡±

    Zu An glowered. He retorted, ¡°Do I look like that kind of person to you?¡±

    Xie Xiu gave him a careful look, then nodded seriously and replied, ¡°You do!¡±

 Chapter 1576: Despair

    <h4>Chapter 1576: Despair</h4>

    ¡°What kind of person is brother-inw?¡± remarked a ¡®young man¡¯ with pretty features, who rushed over when he heard the conversation. Who else could it be but Chu Youzhao?

    Zu An couldn''t help but sigh in amazement. Even though she was also a handsome ¡®young man¡¯, Youzhao was still a bit cuter. Xie Xiu still had one of ¡®those¡¯ in the end.

    Of course, the tan-skinned Murong Qinghe was inseparable from Chu Youzhao. She was secretly observing Xie Xiu as well, her brows slightly furrowed. The otherdies in the capital had made it sound as if his handsomeness was unparalleled in this world. Some had even said they had found meaning in life through liking him, and that they were able to approach life with greater positivity because of him, and other such things.

    However, after seeing Xie Xiu several times, she still felt that her big brother Chu was more handsome. It was to the extent that she even felt big brother Zu was more handsome than him. Just what in the world made all the other women so infatuated?

    Xie Xiu knew Murong Qinghe was obsessed with the Chu n¡¯s heir and that they were always together, so he immediately dropped all interest in her. Furthermore, the Xie n and Chu n had always been close to each other to begin with. For him, he only liked women who werepletely dedicated to him. Other people¡¯s wives and girlfriends? That was all heresy. He really didn¡¯t understand what kind of pervert would like such a thing.

    When their eyes met, they immediately separated. Neither one of them considered the other in the slightest.

    Because there were so many attractive men and women gathered in one spot, many people came over to see what was happening. Xie Xiu was worried that he would draw the attention of some crazy women if his identity was exposed. He cupped his hands toward Zu An and said, ¡°Brother Zu, I¡¯ll be entrusting you with my sister¡¯s safety. Also, remember not to take care of her too much.¡± After saying that, he put on his mask again and disappeared into the crowd.

    Chu Youzhao quickly realized something and asked, ¡°Why do you need to take care of his big sister?¡±

    Her big sister wasn¡¯t there, so she had to protect her brother-inw from random vixens in her ce. She couldn''t let them steal him away while she was busy.

    Zu An gave her a rough summary of what had happened. Murong Qinghe was confused, saying, ¡°Miss Xiees from a literary family and isn¡¯t too familiar with the dangers and ways of the world of warriors. However, why did he tell you to take care of her? Also, who says it that way?¡±

    Zu An began to sweat. He couldn''t just say that Xie Xiu was telling him not to take his sister to bed, right? He just found some random excuse to appease her.

    ¡­

    Eventually, the group began to hurry the onlookers along. Chu Youzhao reluctantly bid Zu An goodbye.

    Murong Qinghe looked at Chu Youzhao in confusion, thinking that her big brother Chu was usually pretty manly. Why was it that whenever they met big brother Zu, he started acting like a girl? Besides, wasn¡¯t their rtionship a bit too good?

    She was suddenly shocked, thinking,Could it be that big brother Chu likes men?

    She felt very conflicted when that thought emerged. She wanted to ask about it, but she was too scared to. In the end, she could only console herself and say that it was probably because her big brother Chu was still too young, and thus felt a natural adoration toward outstanding heroes. Big brother Zu was indeed much more formidable than the other young masters in the capital. Together with being his brother-inw, such admiration was normal.

    Zu An naturally didn¡¯t know that his rtionship with Chu Youzhao had ended up being distorted in such a way. When he returned to the departing group, Deputy General Zhang Zijiang said with a smile, ¡°It seems Sir Zu¡¯s friends all have outstanding backgrounds. It really is quite enviable.¡±

    Off to the side, Wang Bolin harrumphed, clearly believing that Zu An hadn¡¯t risen to his current position by relying on his own background.

    Zu An just smiled and ignored their hostility. He didn¡¯t feel like exining himself either. He was already someone who only viewed people like the Fiend Emperor and Zhao Han as hispetitors, so why would he care about such things?

    The group headed toward Violet Mountain. Along the way, Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang came to Zu An several times to discuss ns and arrangements for the trip.

    ¡°I know that the two of you are veteran generals in the army and are familiar with these details. We¡¯ll just do things ording to your suggestions,¡± Zu An replied politely.

    Wang Bolin only felt more disdain toward Zu An when he saw how meekly Zu An acted. Zhang Zijiang still maintained his respect on the surface at first, but after a few days, he saw that Zu An didn¡¯t give any suggestions at all and that the two of them were deciding everything. Furthermore, he couldn''t sense the slightest ki auraing from Zu An, as if he were just an ordinary person, so he couldn''t help but start to feel disdain too.

    Perhaps this Zu An had had some ability in the past, but he had most likely suffered some great damage to his cultivation. His position had to bepletely because of his connections.

    Unfortunately, our Great Zhou Dynasty only cares about strength. Those who don¡¯t have the skills to match their status only have disaster awaiting them.

    Their changes in attitude didn¡¯t escape Zu An¡¯s notice. However, he didn¡¯t take it to heart. In his opinion, the logistics of their trip, such as where to set up camp, the repair of the buildings on Violet Mountain, and eliminating hidden dangers, didn¡¯t need his involvement. These two hadn¡¯t realized the true danger yet.

    ¡­

    Just like that, a few days passed. Suddenly, the scouts reported that an intense battle was happening in a valley several dozen miles out. The fight didn¡¯t involve any authorities, so it was likely bandits.

    Zu An said, ¡°Seeing as they¡¯re just bandits, just leave it to the local officials. We have a bigger mission at hand, so we can¡¯t let ourselves be hindered by that.¡±

    Because Zhao Han was the one he thought of as his opponent, he didn¡¯t really want to make enemies with the rebels fighting against the court. He had his rtionship with Yun Jianyue, too. If he recalled correctly, the Devil Sect seemed to have its own rebel army. It wouldn¡¯t be good if he ended upmitting friendly fire.

    However, Zhang Zijiang said with a resolute expression, ¡°We are the army of the son of heaven and have the duty of supporting the ruler in governing the country. As we have encountered it, how can we just overlook it?¡±

    Even though the Armed Escort Division in the Imperial Pce sounded amazing, there weren¡¯t many areas that needed military intervention, so there weren¡¯t any opportunities to umte merit. The Violet Mountain trip was a task where they only had to go through the motions. His majesty was unmatched; which idiot would dare to go against him?

    He assumed the Violet Mountain mission was nothing more than part of the process. It wasn¡¯t some great contribution. However, if they dealt with a group of bandits along the way, that would be different. Even though the world was at peace, because of the rebels led by Lu Sanyuan, there were always sparks of conflict here and there. That left the court with a huge headache.

    If he could suppress this group of bandits and establish a great achievement, perhaps he would be able to rise up. Even if Zu An had already taken the position of Armed Escort Division leader, he could go elsewhere, such as the Bright Tiger or First Riders divisions.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An said seriously, ¡°We have our own mission and we don¡¯t have much intelligence about the enemy. If we acted hastily and held up our mission, it would be a great crime that would be punished upon our return.¡±

    Just then, Wang Bolin sneered. ¡°How can some trifling bandits be anything major? If Sir Zu is worried, this one is willing to lead fifty members of the Armed Escort Division to eliminate the enemy.¡±

    He didn¡¯t even wait for Zu An to agree. He took fifty Armed Escort Division members he was close to and headed directly west.

    Zhang Zijiang panicked when he saw that. If Wang Bolin took all the achievements, wouldn¡¯t he be left in the dust? As such, he pointed at fifty other Armed Escort Division Guards and said, ¡°Sir Zu, please rest here for a bit. This one will be back soon.¡± He also took fifty men and rushed out afterward, for of fear of being outdone by Wang Bolin.

    The entire Armed Escort Division now noticed the strange things happening with their superiors. They saw that the deputy generals didn¡¯t give their leader any respect, and yet the leader couldn''t do a thing. As such, the way they looked at Zu An also became a bit strange.

    Only the group who had followed Zu An to Cloudcenter Commandery before felt resentful. However, they made up just too small a proportion of the Armed Escort Division, and couldn''t affect the overall situation at all.

    Zu An¡¯s expression remained calm. He looked toward the valley in the southwest. He thought to himself,I¡¯ve already done what I could.I hope the volunteer army on that side will aplish what they wish for.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in the valley, a graceful and gentle-looking figure was fleeing for her life. There was a rebel army all around her. For some reason, they all insisted on chasing her down. When she felt the exhausted ki within her, a hint of despair flickered across her face.

 Chapter 1577: Regret

    <h4>Chapter 1577: Regret</h4>

    The woman was none other than Xie Daoyun, who had set out toward Violet Mountain ahead of time. She had passed through the vicinity a few days ago, but because of her beautiful appearance, she had drawn a lot of attention in a tavern. Some coarse men had quickly started catcalling and hitting on her.

    Even though she was normally gentle and quiet, she wasn¡¯t so kind to people who harassed innocent women. She had immediately taught them a fierce lesson. After all, back in Brightmoon City, she hadn¡¯t been someone normal hoodlums would provoke, let alone now after she studied for two years under Yan Xiangu.

    Still, she was too kindhearted. Even though she had taught them a fierce lesson, the men had gathered theirpanions and returned. Their cultivation ranks were much higher, but they still weren¡¯t too difficult to deal with for the runemaster Xie Daoyun.

    She fended them off easily. Even though she was kind, she wasn¡¯tpletely naive. Feeling a bit annoyed that these people didn¡¯t know when to stop, she had decided to break some of their arms and legs. However, she still couldn''t bring herself to take their lives.

    She had thought that the skills of a runemaster would be enough to scare them off, but soon afterward, even more people¡­ No, at this point, it was an ¡®army¡¯ing after her.

    As the daughter of an official¡¯s n, judging from their tattered clothes and random assortment of weapons, she quickly deduced that it wasn¡¯t actually an army of the court, but rather some kind of local rebel army.

    Even though Xie Daoyun¡¯s cultivation wasn¡¯t low, there wasn¡¯t much she could do against an entire army. As such, she fought back while trying to break free, but there seemed to be someone among them who was very good at tracking and always found her trail again. She was never able to truly shake them off.

    The two sides had chased after each other just like that, eventually crossing paths with the Armed Escort Division.

    After several days of such a high-intensity chase, Xie Daoyun was alreadypletely exhausted, both physically and mentally. The rebel army seemed to excel at such things and always rotated its members out during the chase, while she was alone and couldn''t rest at all. After so many days, Xie Daoyun had already used up almost all of her internal energy. She felt that the moment she closed her eyes, she would fall asleep. However, all of the rune formations she had studied required concentration in order to fully disy their power.

    She was only able to rest for fifteen minutes under a tree before a small rebel army troop caught up. She gritted her teeth. She wondered to herself,Just what in the world is going on here? Why is this army able to go all over the ce without anyone stopping them?

    But in the end,ints were justints. She could only depend on herself at that moment. She had grown up in an official¡¯s family ever since she was little, so the rebel army had always been portrayed as savage and cruel. She was even a woman, so just thinking about what would happen to her if she ended up in their hands made her tremble with fear.

    The rebel army surrounded her, but no horses approached. They were still a bit apprehensive, clearly because of how much they had suffered at her hands before. Many of the rebel soldiers raised their bows and fired at her. Others threw their hatchets and spears at her.

    Xie Daoyun gritted her teeth. Her hands quickly formed a sea, and a transparent blue barrier appeared in front of her, blocking all the arrows and spears. Soon afterward, however, the formation in front of her began to flicker. She tottered on the verge of copse.

    The rebel army had quite a few cultivators in their ranks too. They quickly deduced her current state. Someone eximed, ¡°That woman¡¯s internal energy is about to run out. Keep going, everyone!¡±

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s face turned incredibly pale. She changed her hand seal and made a throwing motion. All of the arrows she had stopped were thrown back. Bitter screams emerged from the rebel army¡¯s side. Clearly, many people couldn''t dodge in time and were hurt by the arrows. Unfortunately, most of them were still blocked.

    Then, the soldiers screamed and charged at her. It was easy to see just how excited they were from their reddened eyes. This beautiful young woman would be in their clutches soon!

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s fingers moved quickly. She formed a new seal, then pressed it into the ground. A faint red formation shone on the ground, and the surroundings exploded. The rebel army suffered bitterly. Meanwhile, Xie Daoyun borrowed the cover of the smoke and dust to run for her life.

    Still, it only bought her a bit of time. There were many strong people in the army, and some of them rode on beasts that were even faster than many cultivators. Xie Daoyun was alreadypletely spent too. After merely a kilometer or so of running, she heard roars behind her. The rebels flung countless javelins outward, cutting off her retreat.

    Xie Daoyun was startled and stopped. In that brief moment, however, she waspletely surrounded by the rebel army.

    The rebel army¡¯s mounted riders formed a circle around her, blowing deafening whistles. It was clear that they were very excited now that the pretty woman they had been chasing for so long was finally going to be theirs.

    A hint of despair flickered through Xie Daoyun¡¯s eyes. There wasn¡¯t even a single sliver of energy left inside her now. However, the look was soon reced with a resolute expression. She would rather end her own life than fall into this army¡¯s hands.

    Still, she was sad that she would never see her father, mother, or little brother, and never be able to see that person again¡­

    All of a sudden, the rebel soldier closest to her was hit in the head by an arrow. Everyone around him was shocked and turned around. They heard the sound of hooves, and a mounted army dressed in dazzling golden armor rushed over.

    ¡°What kind of army is this?¡± someone eximed in surprise. The rebel army rearranged their formation, stillpletely shocked. Wasn¡¯t the enemy force equipped way too well? How could ordinary regions'' armies have such elite armor and weapons? Not even a king¡¯s most elite troops couldpare to them, right?!

    Meanwhile, Xie Daoyun was overjoyed at the unexpected good news. She was the daughter of an official¡¯s family, and she had stayed in the capital for quite some time. She recognized the army as the Armed Escort Division! Furthermore, big brother Zu was the leader of that very army. Her life was already hanging by a thread, and yet he hade to save her! Could it be that they were destined to meet by fate?

    As a woman from a wealthy family who enjoyed the arts, she really liked romance stories. She had heard too many simr stories. She hadn¡¯t expected it to happen to her one day, though. In that instant, she felt so blessed that she was about to cry.

    Soon afterward, the cavalry rushed over. They were equipped with military crossbows that had been fortified with formations. A rain of bolts followed. The small rebel army troop couldn''t block them even if they raised their shields; the projectiles prated straight through. They all screamed bitterly as they copsed.

    ¡°Retreat! Hurry and contact the big boss and second boss!¡± a survivor screamed. The rebel army wasn¡¯t in the mood to resist at all anymore. All of those who remained began to run.

    This Armed Escort Division began to pursue the fleeing enemy. The two generals at the front in particr looked like vicious tigers; their cultivations were clearly a level higher than everyone else. Furthermore, the two of them seemed to bepeting against each other, as if they were scared that they would be outdone by the other in terms of kill count. The rebel army¡¯s small troop was almost instantly dispatched.

    When they looked at the fragmented remains of the rebel army, the two generals looked as if they still hadn¡¯t fully expressed themselves. However, out of consideration for their status, they couldn''t really steal kills from their subordinates, so they went over to Xie Daoyun¡¯s side.

    ¡°May I ask where thisdy is from? Why are you fighting against this rebel army?¡± the red-faced man in front asked in admiration. After all, due to the support of formations, armies usually weren¡¯t things an individual cultivator could deal with. The fact that this schrly-looking young woman had been able to hold out for so long against the rebel army meant that she was quite incredible. It was unfortunate that she wasn¡¯t a man, or else he would have be sworn brothers with her.

    Meanwhile, the other, white-faced general voiced his surprise. ¡°You are a disciple from the rear mountain?¡± He was a more meticulous thinker and recognized traces of the academy¡¯s style from her tattered, blood-soaked clothes.

    ¡°Thank you for saving me, generals. I am a disciple of the academy¡¯s Sir Yan, Xie Daoyun¡­¡± Xie Daoyun looked around while replying, but she didn¡¯t see that familiar figure. She couldn''t help but feel a bit sullen.Looks like stories are just stories after all. How could real life have been such a coincidence?

    When they heard that this was Yan Xiangu¡¯s disciple, Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang were both overjoyed by the unexpected good news. After all, the army¡¯s countless formations practically all came from the academy. Yan Xiangu was the leading figure in that process, and he would only make talismans and magical artifacts for the highest-ranked generals in the army. Now that they had saved her, didn¡¯t it mean she was now in their debt?

    Furthermore, they had vaguely heard of Xie Daoyun¡¯s reputation. It was rumored that in recent years, Yan Xiangu had taken in a disciple with exceptional talent, and she waspletely capable of seeding him. Someone like that had been provided assistance while she was in a moment of crisis. How was she going to repay them in the future?

    Both of them were extremely excited, but Xie Daoyun felt a bit dejected. She asked, ¡°Why are the two generals here?¡± After all, the Armed Escort Division was one of the Emperor¡¯s personal armies. They normally didn¡¯t leave the capital.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°We came on orders to go to Violet Mountain¡­¡± the two replied. When they realized her identity, their attitudes had be much nicer.

    Xie Daoyun was about to say something when her gaze suddenly darted to one side. Her expression changed greatly as she asked, ¡°Why did you only bring this amount of people? This is bad!¡±

    She was the respected Yan Xiangu¡¯s disciple. If it had just been that small troop, how would she have been left in such a poor state? What she had faced before was a full army, and the cultivation of their leader was extremely high. That was why all of her internal energy and mental strength had been fully consumed. The group that had chased after her was but a small troop. However, once the main group received a message about what had happened, they would rush over!

    Sure enough, as soon as she spoke, the earth quaked and mountains shook as the main army showed themselves. Countless rebel army soldiers rushed forth from different directions in the forest,pletely surrounding them.

    Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang¡¯s expressions changed. There were at least a couple thousand people here! They only had a hundred; like hell they could fight off the attack! They had thought that it was just a small group of ruffians, so they had rushed over excitedly to earn contributions. And yet, it was actually a rebel army on such arge scale! Had the local officials been eating shit all day or something? How could they just let such arge army exist?

 Chapter 1578 â€“ Fleeing Within Calamity

    Chapter 1578 ¨C Fleeing Within Cmity

    When the rebel army saw how well-equipped the troops in the valley were, all of their eyes turned red. As a rebel army, they were always trying to make ends meet. Everything they had was obtained through stealing. That was why their clothing and armor were all of different colors, tattered and full of patches in many ces. Their equipment had all been taken from dead officials or bought from the ck market after changing hands several times.

    In contrast, the small, hundred-man army before them was made up of soldiers riding tall horses and dressed in shining armor. Their weapons looked extremely sharp too.

    If there were a thousand of such troops¡ªno, just five hundred of them¡ªthey would immediately lower their heads and run. Fighting against an army like that would just result in too many losses. However, there were only a hundred of them. In the rebels¡¯ eyes, the troops were nothing more than a hundred fat sheep. If theypletely looted the soldiers, they would be able to fully upgrade their equipment. With such gear, invading some local cities in the future would be countless times easier.

    The rebel army had a rule of ¡®finders keepers¡¯, in order to give them incentive to fully disy their strength. Several rebels roared, charging at the Armed Escort Division¡¯s hundred-man army.

    Upon seeing such ravenous men charge at them, seemingly intent on stripping them of everything they had, many of the Armed Escort Division members shivered inwardly. However, no matter what, the Armed Escort Division was the emperor¡¯s personal army. Even though they usually remained in the capital, they were still elites. Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang were skilled individuals too. After their initial rm, they quickly leaned against the mountain behind them and prepared to face their enemy.

    As cavalry, their greatest advantage was their mobility. However, now that they werepletely surrounded and the terrain wasn¡¯t in their favor, they could end up being annihted by ten times their number before they could even break out of the enemy encirclement. As such, the best n they had was to hold their ground.

    Armies all had formations. Even small groups of three to five could maintain a formation, while medium groups numbered from dozens to a hundred. Larger formations could epass several thousand to ten thousand people.

    The Armed Escort Division was one of the emperor¡¯s five armies. What they trained in normally was more defensive formations, which just happened to be in line with what they needed right now. As such, even though the rebel army was attacking them from all sides, Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang still did their best to maintain their formation, struggling bitterly under the crazy barrage of attacks.

    Xie Daoyun didn¡¯t hold back either. She had finally recovered a bit of energy, and used all kinds of support formations to help the Armed Escort Division. However, she had fought against this rebel army before and understood their strength well. The difference in numbers was just too high. They could perhaps hold on for a short while, but they would definitely copse in time.

    ¡°Sirs, are there any other friendly armies nearby? We should issue a signal to call for assistance,¡± she asked. She had already spent a long time in the capital and knew that the Armed Escort Division didn¡¯t normally leave, and if they did, it wouldn¡¯t be with such a small force

    Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang both remained silent, feeling a bit ashamed. After all, Zu An had even warned them that they didn¡¯t have enough intelligence about the enemy and to be careful of an ambush, but they hadn¡¯t listened. They had even bragged and looked down on him. If they now asked him for help, perhaps they would just die of embarrassment. They both thought that they had to hold on for a bit longer, and if the rebel army decided to back out because of the difficulty, that would be the best-case scenario. After all, the two of them were quite skilled.

    Their formation was like a steel shell, and with Xie Daoyun¡¯s help, they forced back many waves of the rebel army. After several rounds of attacks only resulted in a pile of corpses, the rebel army also began to stir restlessly. Their morale began to fall visibly, raising Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang¡¯s spirits. As expected, every cloud had a silver lining, and things would work out eventually.

    Xie Daoyun quickly told them, ¡°The two of you have to be careful of two leaders from the rebel army. One has a knife wound scar across his face, while the other looks like a crooked buddhist monk. Both of them are strong cultivators.¡±

    ¡°Knife face, buddhist monk?¡± Zhang Zijiang repeated, his expression changing. ¡°Could it be the Twin Dragon Mountains¡¯ Scarface Yang Shen and Monk Lu Zhi?¡±

    The strongest individual among the rebel armies was naturally Lu Sanyuan. It was rumored that he was backed by the Devil Sect. Apart from him, however, several other armies were quite notorious, and the Twin Dragon Mountains were one such army. The duo of Scarface Yang Shen and Monk Lu Zhi was especially ferocious and they had high cultivations. Local officials had sent out armies to destroy them several times, but they had always failed. However, the Twin Dragon Mountains weren¡¯t nearby! Why was this army here, so far from home?

    They didn¡¯t even have time to argue, because a tremendous roar filled the air. A fierce-looking monk slowly walked out from among the rebel army¡¯s ranks; each step carried a world-shaking air. He was like a giant, more than twice the size of a normal person. His body bulged with muscles, and draped across his chest was a ne made of human skulls. In his hands was a boulder the size of a small mountain, which was why his footsteps were so heavy. The monk roared, then flung the massive boulder at the Armed Escort Division Army.

    ¡°Defense!¡± Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang quicklymanded, feeling horrified. A streak of blue light rippled around them.

    However, they knew that once the massive boulder descended, their Armed Escort Division¡¯s formation would be a huge mess. The two of them both rushed forth with their des, unleashing a flurry of sword ki at the boulder.

    Even though their cultivation ranks weren¡¯t low, they were still apprehensive about the boulder. They didn¡¯t know if their attacks would be enough to stop it. However, to their surprise, as soon as the sword energy approached the boulder, it exploded on the spot like tofu. They were stunned, not having expected their sword ki to be so powerful.

    However, the next second, they saw rock fragments fall toward the soldiers below. Every single one was like an artillery shell, causing earthquakes to ripple across the ground. They finally realized that there was actually a hidden attack inside the boulder! It was meant to explode on its own once it reached the Armed Escort Division, sending endless rubble down on its defensive formation.

    Xie Daoyun, who was quite adept at formations, was left in admiration. As the emperor¡¯s personal guards, the formation was naturally top-tier, because anyone who had the ability to threaten the safety of the emperor would likely be at the highest ranks of cultivation. As such, these formations normally focused on blocking the most powerful attacks. However, in all things, with strengths came weaknesses. Even though the formation¡¯s defensive ability was extremely high, its energy consumption was huge.

    The monk looked very rough, but he was actually quite a meticulous thinker, having recognized the weakness of their formation. That was why he hadunched such a targeted attack.

    Sure enough, as the shower of rocks rained down on the Armed Escort Division¡¯s defensive formation, the soldiers¡¯ expressions became pale. The rate of energy consumption was too much!

    Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang were shocked and angry. They had tried to stop the boulder, but they could only weaken it by a little. How could that be enough? They could only watch as their formation crumbled. If the defenses were broken through, the hundred soldiers would likely be divided up quickly andpletely ughtered.

    The two acted decisively, charging directly at the monk. This guy had just flung a mountainous boulder after adding so many tricks, so he had to be in his weakest state. As long as they took down the leader first, the rebel army would likely just break down on the spot.

    Unexpectedly, however, the monk stood in ce without any intention of running away. There wasn¡¯t the slightest trace of fear visible in his eyes. Both of the deputy generals were suspicious, but a drawn arrow had to be released. They continued to charge at their opponent, although they held back a bit just in case.

    Suddenly, a scar-faced man shed forward from behind the monk. There was a cruel smirk on the corner of his lips. Then, a trace of cold light appeared. The two deputy generals suddenly felt as if all of their fine hairs were standing on end.

    Fortunately, they had held back a bit and were able to block with their weapons. With a brittle crack, their weapons broke into pieces. Blood erupted from their chests as well, as the two of them were blown backward. However, Xie Daoyun quickly formed a seal, creating a gentle force behind them and neutralizing a considerable portion of their momentum.

    The two barely managed to stand up again. When they saw their shattered chest tes and the broken mirror armor inside, they were horrified. After all, they were the Armed Escort Division¡¯s deputy generals, and their armors were naturally of the highest grade. In theory, the inner mirror armor especially should have been able to block a ninth rank expert¡¯s full-strength strike, and yet both of their mirror armors were shattered by a single sh of their opponent¡¯s weapon!n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°You¡¯re a master rank?¡± they both eximed, rm and puzzlement in their eyes. Any master could be a noble in the court, so why would they choose to live as rebels?

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s face turned even paler. It was precisely because she had faced the monk that she had ended up in such a difficult situation. Now, another master rank had actually joined the fray; didn¡¯t that mean they were even more doomed?

 Chapter 1579 â€“ Just You By Yourself?

    Chapter 1579 ¨C Just You By Yourself?

    The scar-faced man didn¡¯t continue to attack, instead looking at the two of them proudly. He said, ¡°Your cultivation ranks aren¡¯t bad. If you surrender to me, I can spare your lives.¡±

    Wang Bolin replied furiously, ¡°We are court officials. How can we live as traitors?!¡±

    ¡°Indeed! If you surrender to the court, I might be able to speak up for you to make your sentence more lenient so you can serve the court,¡± Zhang Zijiang also said in agreement.

    Even though their official ranks weren¡¯t too high, they were still proper members of the court. They were normally treated very well, so why would they ever be bandits? That wasn¡¯t even factoring the fact that their families were in the capital. If they became bandits, their families would all be executed without exception.

    When he heard their reply, Yang Shen¡¯s expression darkened. The scar on his face was like a sinister centipede as he replied, ¡°You¡¯re courting death!¡±

    He shed toward them again with his de. A tremendous streak of de energy flew forth, filled with such power that it looked as if the entire mountain would be cleaved in half.

    The two deputy generals remained inside the Armed Escort Division formation. They knew that if they just relied on their own strength, they wouldn¡¯t be able to block such a terrifying de attack. As such, they could only order their subordinates to withstand the blow.

    Soon afterward, light blue, transparent runes appeared above them, facing the huge de. As soon as the de energy struck, the formation began to crack.

    The two deputy generals grimaced inwardly. If they had over a thousand people, they might have had a chance of stopping a master rank, but they only had a hundred right now. Not even the most elite Armed Escort Guards could continue to stop such attacks, let alone the fact that their formation was already weak from the earlier battle.

    When she saw that the formation runes were about to shatterpletely, Xie Daoyun¡¯s hands quickly formed a seal. A rune quickly flew outward and stuck to the cracking formation, and only then did the formation avoid instantly breaking.

    However, the formation soon continued to crack audibly. Many of the guards felt their legs buckle, their bodies swaying unsteadily from side to side. At the center of the formation, Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang were in an even worse state, each coughing out a mouthful of blood.

    Xie Daoyun, who was supporting them from one side, wasn¡¯t having a good time either. Her face was incredibly pale. She felt that she had exhausted way too much mental strength. Her head was in so much pain that it felt as if it would explode. She knew she had already used up quite a bit of her very source¡¯s energy. For cultivators like her, the most important thing was mental strength; if her mind sustained harm, there would be irreversible repercussions.

    Fortunately, however, the de that carried terrifying killing intent stopped eventually. The scar-faced man gave Xie Daoyun a look of surprise, clearly recognizing the importance of her role in the battle. As the Armed Escort Division had already lost its ability to resist, and he still cared about his status, he didn¡¯t continue to attack. Instead, he sent his subordinates out while ordering, ¡°I want that woman alive!¡±

    ¡°We got it! That woman belongs to the big boss, haha! No one is allowed to steal her,¡± some rebels remarked, and the rest of the rebel army roared withughter.

    This woman really did have a special sort of schrly air to her, like that of a precious, delicate, and sweet daughter. She was really different from the kinds of women they normally interacted with. This was the kind of woman they yearned for even in their dreams. However, as their boss had already given the word, who would dare to try andpete against him? At worst, they could just wait for a while until their boss got tired of her. Then, all of them would have a chance to get a sip of such delicious soup.

    When they thought of that, all of them excitedly rushed toward the Armed Escort Division soldiers. They wouldn¡¯t be able to fight over the woman, but wasn¡¯t everything elsepletely up for grabs? Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang in particr were dressed in all sorts of good stuff. The rebels definitely had to strip them clean.

    Several minor leaders began to target the two deputy generals. Meanwhile, the others knew their own limits and went after the other normal soldiers. Those people¡¯s equipment was also enviable, and they definitely carried other things such as cultivation resources and pill medicines. For this rebel army, all of it was good stuff.

    The scar-faced man frowned. The reason he wanted Xie Daoyun was naturally not for sexual gratification, but rather because the significance of having a runemaster like that for an army was immeasurable. That was why he had insisted on capturing her all this time. Of course, there was no reason for him to exin all that to his crude soldiers.

    Xie Daoyun naturally didn¡¯t know what he was thinking. She thought they just wanted to make her the boss¡¯ woman. Ever since she was young, she had heard about how violent and cruel the rebel army was, and how the womenfolk of officials who fell into their hands were humiliated. When she pictured how bitter her life would be if she fell into their hands, she gritted her teeth. She took out a dagger and brought it up to her own throat.

    Just then, however, a gust of wind swept over her with a clear sound. The short sword slipped from her grasp as she fell to the ground, her face incredibly pale. Could it be that she couldn''t even end her own life?

    Suddenly, someone remarked with a sigh, ¡°Why does little sister Daoyun have to fret over such trifles?¡±

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s entire body trembled when she heard the voice. She turned to look in disbelief. When she saw a figure that couldn''t be more familiar, she thought she was dreaming. How is this possible? Why is he here? Is this just some illusion I¡¯m seeing before I pass away?

    She had already been disappointed once before. If that happened again, she really wouldn¡¯t be able to take it.

    ¡°General Zu!¡± Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang eximed, both overjoyed as well. They had thought they were dead for sure, and yet reinforcements had suddenly arrived. Even though they had looked down on him before, now they were about to cling to him and call him daddy.

    Only when she heard the way they addressed him did Xie Daoyun realize that Zu An really hade. She was incredibly shaken. She was about to call out to him, but a feeling of weakness overcame her. She had been incredibly mentally and physically drained over the past few days and was just barely holding on. Now that she had seen someone she could rely on, she gave up herst traces of persistence. The entire world spun around her as she fell over.

    Zu An was rmed and quickly rushed over to catch Xie Daoyun. When he saw this woman, who usually cared so much about her etiquette, in such a sorry state, he realized just how much bitterness she had experienced. He quickly infused a bit of his own ki into her.

    Xie Daoyun thus finally recovered a bit. She slowly opened her eyes and saw that she was in Zu An¡¯s arms. Her face quickly turnedpletely red as she murmured, ¡°I¡­ I didn¡¯t faint on purpose.¡±

    She came from a distinguished n and had read her fair share of romantic novels. There were always scenes of female leads fainting when the male lead appeared, upon which the man woulde over to carry her. They often even spun a few times in the air. In the past, she had felt that such a thing was just too fake and cheesy, but today, she had actually yed out that very cliche!N?v(el)B\\jnn

    What if big brother Zu thinks of me as a woman who would y those kinds of tricks?

    When he saw her rm, Zu An couldn''t help butugh. He replied, ¡°Whether or not you faint is something your body decides, not you. How can that be faked?¡±

    Xie Daoyun sighed in relief when she heard him say that. She pushed lightly against his chest so she could stand up on her own, saying, ¡°Thank you, big brother Zu.¡±

    Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang looked to either side, but they didn¡¯t see any other Armed Escort Guards. Their joy instantly turned to horror. They asked, ¡°General Zu, where are the others? Did you order for them to encircle our enemy from other directions?¡±

    When he saw the pair¡¯s expectant looks, Zu An was stunned. He replied, ¡°Why would I do that? I was worried that our trip to Violet Mountain would be affected, so I had them continue along. Meanwhile, I came here to look around alone.¡±

    Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang both felt depressed, moaning, ¡°We¡¯re finished, we¡¯re done for!¡±

    If they had the Armed Escort Army, forget about the rebel army, they could even fight a master rank. However, if just a single person had arrived, they were dead for certain.

    And he said we were reckless? For better or for worse, we came with a hundred soldiers! This guy didn¡¯t even bring a single person! What the hell is this?!

    At first, when they saw Zu An¡¯s sudden appearance, the rebel army was given a fright. Just then, they all reacted, realizing that it was just one more person, so how could he be a match for all of them? Furthermore, they still had their big boss and second boss present. As such, they screamed as they charged again.

    ¡°Pretty boy, let go of the woman our boss has chosen!¡±

    ¡°This old one is going to cut up those filthy hands of yours!¡±

    ¡°You even dare to touch the madam of our Twin Dragon Mountains? Brat, are you tired of living?¡±

    ¡­

    When she heard such filthy speech, Xie Daoyun felt both ashamed and angry. At the same time, she looked at Zu An with worry. Even though she knew he was formidable, no matter how strong he was, he was still just a single person.

    Suddenly, her worry dissipated as she was leftpletely stunned, because she noticedyers of golden ripples appear in the sky behind Zu An. One after another, longswords began to appear from those ripples. Every single one of them exuded a terrifying pressure, as if they were all heaven-grade weapons!

 Chapter 1580 â€“ Internal Psychological Warfare

    <h4>Chapter 1580 ¨C Internal Psychological Warfare</h4>

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s eyes widened. She really hadn¡¯t had many chances to see Zu An fight. However, as someone from a prestigious family, she still had good judgment. Still, she couldn''t really figure out what type of attack it was. Even so, she was incredibly shocked.

    At first, Scarface Yang Shen had an expression of contempt because Zu An didn¡¯t have any ki aura whatsoever. The only thing noticeable about him was that he was somewhat handsome. However, when Yang Shen saw the scene, his expression immediately changed. He roared, ¡°Retreat! All of you, retreat right now!¡±

    In that instant, he felt his entire body tremble. In all the years he had spent doing as he pleased, this was the first time he had felt such a thing. Unfortunately, his subordinates were all excitedly charging toward their ¡®spoils of war¡¯. How could they still hear him?

    Just then, Zu An didn¡¯t forget to ask Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang, ¡°Is this the Devil Sect¡¯s rebel army?¡±

    The pair¡¯s jaws practically dropped to the ground when they saw the disy in the air. When they heard the question, they reflexively shook their heads and replied, ¡°No, they are the Twin Dragon Mountains bandit group.¡±

    When Zu An saw the injuries on Xie Daoyun and the damage sustained by the Armed Escort Division, he had already been quite unhappy. It didn¡¯t seem like the work of a righteous army that was fighting for their freedom and beliefs. Now that he heard that they had nothing to do with the Devil Sect, however, he wasn''t worried about hurting Yun Jianyue or Qiu Honglei¡¯s feelings.

    As such, he just released the Blue Luan Sword Formation. After all, he now had the Rune Weapon Chart to make copies of many weapons. Even though their power didn¡¯t match up to real heaven-grade weapons, they were perfect for such an area-of-effect attack.

    Swords flew forth like streaks of golden light, resembling a barrage of missiles that crashed into the rebel army¡¯s ranks. Each one exploded in a radius of over a dozen meters, and there were thousands of the swords.

    ¡­

    After the purge of firepower, only a sted, empty circle remained in front of the Armed Escort Division. There were no corpses or blood, only an uneven pit in the ground.

    The rear guard of the rebel army blinked. Where had theirrades, who had charged ahead, gone? Only after a while did they realize the answer. They all screamed and ran for their lives, moving even faster than when they had previously charged forth.

    The rebel army wasn¡¯t necessarily good at many other things, but they had to be good at running. Those who weren¡¯t good at running away already had weeds growing all over their graves.

    The rebels didn¡¯t care about army discipline or anything like that. They were used to breaking up and fleeing in all sorts of different directions, and onlyter would they find a chance to regroup. That was always what had left officials¡¯ armies with the biggest headaches.

    Scarface Yang Shen had thought about saving his subordinates, but when he witnessed the power of the sword formation, he decisively turned tail to run. What kind of a joke was this? Where the hell had this monstere from? He would just be throwing his life away if he continued! He saw that Monk Lu Zhi was already running far ahead of him with his stocky legs and cursed to himself, What a disloyal bastard! He didn¡¯t even give me a heads-up before running away.

    He had learned the importance of running away over the years. He didn¡¯t use his master rank ability to fly, because that would just be practically begging the enemy to chase him. After witnessing the power of Zu An¡¯s attack, he didn¡¯t even have any confidence in escaping through flight.

    His n was sessful. The rebel army had several thousand members; as they began to run, they covered the entire area, and they had all kinds of different appearances. When the two leaders entered the crowd, they didn¡¯t look all that different from the other rebel army soldiers.

    Zu An wasn¡¯t someone who enjoyed wanton killing. When he saw the rebel army escaping, after some hesitation, he didn¡¯t decide to wipe all of them out. Just then, however, he felt a mysterious aura enter his body. The experience bar seemed to have moved a bit. He had broken through Level 70, and even advanced a bit more.

    Even though none of the rebel army members were all that strong, there were some with unique talents. Furthermore, there had been quite a few of them. When all of them were added up together, they had be a good amount of experience points for him.

    Zu An thought, thank goodness he was someone with a bottom line. Otherwise, if it were anyone else, wouldn¡¯t they leave the world strewn with mountains of corpses and seas of blood for the sake of growing stronger?

    Just then, both Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang snapped out of their daze, muttering, ¡°You can¡¯t let the leader go¡­¡±

    They both shut up halfway through their sentence. They thought to themselves that Sir Zu was so powerful, how could he not know about the risks of letting the leader go? With his ability, it wasn¡¯t a big deal even if he let them go. If he had done so, he definitely had his own considerations, perhaps even seeking an opportunity for bigger returnster.

    Questioning him now would only make us look immature.

    When they thought about how they had questioned Zu An and even looked down on him before, both of their faces heated up. Zu An had even warned them before, but they hadn¡¯t listened and gone on their own with their men. Then, everything had almost ended up in a disaster, and they had needed Sir Zu to save them.

    That was just how human nature was. The words spoken previously by Zu An had only made them think that he was cowardly and timid. However, after they saw his devastating power, they were quickly convinced that Zu An¡¯s earlier words were actually profound and that they hadn¡¯t understood because they were slow-witted, and there were things they hadn¡¯t considered.

    ¡­

    Zu An had no idea what internal psychological battles the pair was going through. He gave the Armed Escort Division soldiers a look. Even though they seemed injured, fortunately, there was no danger to their lives. The medicine they carried with them was enough to stabilize the situation.

    After dealing with his subordinates, he then turned to Xie Daoyun and asked, ¡°How is your condition?¡±

    ¡°My mind has been exhausted quite severely, but I¡¯ll be fine after some rest,¡± Xie Daoyun replied with a reddened face.

    In reality, the mental strain she was talking about was the most troublesome thing for a runemaster. She wouldn¡¯t necessarily be able to recover after readjusting herself for several years. However, that wasn¡¯t what she was worried about at all. Instead, her heart was beating like crazy. The image of Zu An in the air with swords glistening behind him, and how with a wave of his hand the rebel army had been turned to dust, was just so handsome¡­

    ¡°Your mind is exhausted?¡± Zu An replied. He thought for a bit, then said seriously, ¡°You can¡¯t treat something like that lightly. It might affect your cultivation prospects if this isn¡¯t taken care of properly.¡± After thinking about it, he took out a small jade bottle and said, ¡°Drink this.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Xie Daoyun reflexively asked, but she still drank it without question

    She was actually someone who had been raised strictly. Because the seniors in the n had been used to seeing all sorts of unscrupulous methods used in the court, they had warned her that she absolutely couldn''t eat or drink things strangers gave her, especially if it was a man. However, those many years of concern didn¡¯t do a thing when she was with Zu An.

    As soon as the substance entered her mouth, her eyes lit up. She felt incredibly rich ki flow down her throat, spreading through her entire body. All of the wounds she had suffered were nourished, and even the bit of pain in her head, as well as the dizziness and nausea she felt, were greatly alleviated. She felt much more refreshed.

    The substance almost seemed like liquefied natural ki. There wasn¡¯t much of it, because how could ki have that much mass? It was just like the ancient legendary natural ki her teacher had mentioned in the past.

    Zu An said in passing, ¡°It¡¯s spiritual spring water from Feather Mountain, which was created from condensed natural ki. It should be helpful for your soul.¡±

    He had had quite a few divine items for treating the soul, such as the Five Aggregates Root and Milk of Purple Frost, but he had already used them up. Now, he only had this Feather Mountain spring water that he had acquired from hisst trip to the Unknown Region. Even though Feather Mountain¡¯s spring was miraculous, he was concerned that it wouldn¡¯t necessarily be the right treatment for her needs.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang¡¯s eyes widened. Sir Zu really invested heavily in chasing after women! He was even willing to give out such a spiritual substance? Even though they were envious, they still understood their limits; let alone the fact that they had offended Zu An not too long ago. The two of them sighed, really wishing they were women too. If they were, they could have been able to get some benefits too.

    They exchanged a look with each other and saw each other¡¯s faces. When they each imagined what the other would look like as a woman, both of their stomachs churned, and they almost threw up.

    Meanwhile, Xie Daoyun stared at Zu An in infatuation. Even though she had never heard of Feather Mountain¡¯s spiritual spring, she could sense how incredible it was. It was definitely an incredible treasure!

    Sir Zu has given me so many precious things such as the Exotic Witchsand, and now, he¡¯s even given me this rarely seen divine substance¡­

    Is he actually interested in me too? Ah, but he has a wife! No, Miss Chu clearly already divorced him¡­

 Chapter 1581 â€“ Appearance of a Great Treasure

    <h4>Chapter 1581 ¨C Appearance of a Great Treasure</h4>

    Zu An didn¡¯t know that the youngdy next to him was going through an emotional rollercoaster. When he saw her stare nkly, he nervously asked, ¡°Did it not work?¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    He hadn¡¯t experienced any soul injuries before, so he wasn¡¯t sure whether Feather Mountain¡¯s spiritual spring would be effective for such an injury.

    ¡°No, ah¡­ I mean, it works, and it works really, really well,¡± Xie Daoyun said, shaking her head briefly before quickly nodding. In that instant, she felt a bit strange. Her thoughts were usually pretty clear, so why was she suddenly feeling so muddle-headed?

    ¡°It¡¯s good that it¡¯s effective,¡± Zu An said, sighing in relief.

    Xie Daoyun gave him a look. When she saw him look at her with such a warm and gentle expression, her heart skipped a beat. She lowered her head because her face was heating up.

    A whileter, she finally summoned the courage to speak. She opened her mouth and was about to say something, but Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang had already detained some members of the rebel army and returned, saying, ¡°General, we¡¯ve captured some of them for interrogation. Their status in the rebel army doesn¡¯t seem to be that low.¡±

    The situation was way too messy, so there were some unlucky individuals who hadn''t gotten away. They had been arrested by the Armed Escort Division after they recovered from their initial shock.

    The two deputy generals felt ashamed and embarrassed, so they wanted to at least do something to earn back a bit of favor. As such, they had quickly sifted through the captives and brought a few of the leaders up to Zu An.

    When he saw their huge change in expression, Zu An found it a bitical. However, he didn¡¯t make things too difficult for them, saying, ¡°I¡¯ve troubled the two of you.¡±

    ¡°It was no trouble, no trouble at all!¡± Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang replied, sighing inwardly in relief. They had still been really nervous not too long ago, fearing that he would harbor hard feelings and wouldn¡¯t forgive them. But now, it seemed that Zu An had already let the previous matters pass.

    The two of them suddenly felt a bit of shame. Sir Zu¡¯s cultivation was so incredible that they weren¡¯t even on the same level. Why would he bother arguing with them? They thought, We were just too superficial.

    Zu An¡¯s attention shifted to the rebel army leaders. He asked, ¡°Why were you all chasing after Miss Xie?¡±

    The leaders looked at him in fear. This man had just killed so many of their brothers with just a raise of his hand. Compared to him, the legendary bloodthirsty killers from the world of warriors were like little brothers.

    ¡°Reply¡­ Replying to sir, at first we received news from some of my brothers that they got into a fight with a pretty girl in the town. We¡¯re all from the same mountain, so we naturally had to help them out,¡± one began.

    With someone taking the lead, the others all tried to make themselves sound useful.

    ¡°But who would have thought that all of the brothers we sent would be beaten up? We all thought it was outrageous! At the same time, we were interested in where that woman¡­ no, that female hero was so formidable, so we sent more people to investigate the situation. But then we suffered another setback again, so more and more people went out when they heard the news. We had to get revenge for our brothers, and we wanted to see her for ourselves¡­¡±

    Wang Bolin sneered and said, ¡°It was probably because you heard that Miss Xie was pretty.¡±

    Xie Daoyun blushed a bit, looking rather embarrassed. This rebel army had really done a number on her.

    ¡°That¡­ That is true too¡­¡± the leaders replied. When they saw Zu An¡¯s sharp gaze, they didn¡¯t dare to hide the truth. ¡°In our line of trade, if the subject isn¡¯t money, then it¡¯s women. A chick as pretty as this Lady Xie¡­ Ahem, we¡¯ve never seen a woman as pretty as her before, so a lot of people got excited.¡±

    ¡°But we definitely didn¡¯t participate in it! It was onlyter that we followed big boss and second boss here.¡±

    ¡°Right, right. We were in the back and didn¡¯t follow the others. The ones in the front suddenly disappeared after that attack, so we were scared silly, and then¡­ and then you guys captured us.¡±

    ¡­

    When he heard them continuously express their innocence, Zu An remarked, ¡°Isn¡¯t it going a bit too far to send out an entire army after a single woman?¡±

    ¡°It seemed big boss was interested in her, so he gave the order that we had to capture her alive. Weunderlings obviously had to listen to his order,¡± the group of rebel leaders talked over each other one after another as they tried to exin. In the end, what they were saying was that the faulty with their boss, and that they were innocent.

    Zhang Zijiang said, ¡°This general has heard a bit about Scarface Yang Shen. I have never heard of him being a perverted man. The reason he wanted to capture Lady Xie was probably not out of lust, but rather because he valued her identity as a runemaster. A runemaster is invaluable to an army.¡±

    The rebel leaders seemed to have suddenly seen the light. One said, ¡°I was going to say, big boss doesn¡¯t usually care about these things, and yet he insisted on having this woman. We thought it was because she was too pretty and just happened to suit his tastes.¡±

    Another rebel leader immediately corrected him, ¡°This woman is obviously a goddess, so it¡¯s only natural for us to have misunderstood big boss as having those thoughts.¡±

    The rebel army leaders were used to kissing up during their day to day lives, so they were really good at ying supporting roles. Now, Xie Daoyun was the one feeling embarrassed.

    Zu An thought for a long time after he heard that, then suddenly said, ¡°There is another problem. Your Twin Dragon Mountains¡¯ territory isn¡¯t here; it¡¯s quite far from this ce. Why did so many of you appear here?¡±

    Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang were shocked. They¡¯d had simr suspicions earlier, but they hadn¡¯t thought about it for too long. Now that they had time to think about it in more detail, that was indeed strange.

    The leaders looked at each other in dismay. They all closed their mouths, no longer as slick-tongued as earlier.

    Zu An glowered when he saw that, saying, ¡°Separate them and interrogate them one by one.¡±

    Often, interrogating people together wouldn¡¯t provide any information. Only if they were separated would they quickly provide the desired results,

    Xie Daoyun said, ¡°There¡¯s no need for all that trouble. I have some Truth Talismans. If you apply one to them, they¡¯ll reply to whatever you ask.¡±

    Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang¡¯s eyes widened. They thought, As expected of Master Yan¡¯s disciple; she even had a legendary Truth Talisman.

    Still, Xie Daoyun knew that the Truth Talisman had its limitations. It was precious, but its target¡¯s cultivation couldn''t be too high, and they couldn''t be good at controlling mental force. Making such a talisman was difficult too, so it really wasn¡¯t all that amazing. It wasn¡¯t all that useful normally. The reason she had some was because her master had wanted to train her talisman crafting, so he had made her create the difficult Truth Talisman as practice. That was why she had a few on her.

    The rebel army leaders were horrified. They quickly said, ¡°There¡¯s no need to go through that much trouble! We¡¯ll speak, we¡¯ll speak¡­¡±

    If they were honest, perhaps they would receive lenient treatment, but if they were interrogated like that, they wouldn¡¯t have any room for negotiation anymore.

    One after another, they gave a rough summary of what had happened. It turned out the Twin Dragon Mountains hadn¡¯t been aiming for this ce, but rather, were heading toward Yi Commandery. It was rumored that the criminal leader Lu Sanyuan had sent out a great invitation. He had said that a great treasure would appear in Yi Commandery, and he had invited everyone to get together and cooperate in a great undertaking.

    ¡°Lu Sanyuan!¡± Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang eximed in surprise.

    That guy was the most famous among the rebel armies! He was someone who had given his majesty and the court a huge headache. They hadn¡¯t expected to end up attracting such a big fish!

    Zu An was no stranger to Lu Sanyuan. In the past, when he was arrested and brought to the capital, Lu Sanyuan¡¯s rebel army had apparently shed with the official army.

    However, he was more concerned about something else. He asked, ¡°A great treasure is appearing?¡±

    Is it really a treasure, or is the treasure a metaphor for Zhao Han?

 Chapter 1582: Moving Through the Night

    <h4>Chapter 1582: Moving Through the Night</h4>

    Both Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang were excited to obtain such important information. The danger was worth the risk! If they escorted these criminals back to the capital, it would definitely be a tremendous contribution. It was all thanks to Sir Zu¡¯s heroic prowess!

    It was natural for their attitudes to change so suddenly. After all, having witnessed Zu An¡¯s strength, they had realized howughable their prior jealousy was. They were never even in the same race to begin with.

    Sir Zu¡¯s future was limitless; a trifling Armed Escort Division General position wasn¡¯t the end point of his career. Once he was promoted, as his former subordinates, they would have a greater chance of recing him than others. If they didn¡¯t cling onto him now, they would be fools.

    After asking the bandits a few more things and seeing that they didn¡¯t have much more intelligence, the deputy generals decided to regroup with the main army first.

    Zu An said to Xie Daoyun, ¡°I heard that you were going to Violet Mountain from your little brother. Our destination this time is also Violet Mountain, so why don¡¯t we just travel together? We¡¯ll be able to look after each other too.¡±

    Xie Daoyun blushed a bit. She knew he was only saying that out of respect for her. Was she qualified to look after him?

    ¡°Thank you, big brother Zu,¡± she eventually replied. She really had been frightened badly by the prior events and didn¡¯t want something simr to happen again. Staying with the Armed Escort Army was much safer.

    Most importantly, I can be together with big brother Zu¡­

    She secretly snuck Zu An a look, her heart pounding.

    ¡­

    Along the way, Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang gave their own mounts to Zu An and Xie Daoyun like trueckeys. Even though master rank cultivators could fly, it still consumed a lot of ki and exhausted them.

    Zu An thought about Xie Daoyun¡¯s condition and decided not to refuse their good intentions. However, Xie Daoyun really was too weak at the moment, and because her mind had been exhausted severely, she swayed from side to side on the horse and almost fell several times. Zu An was really worried, so he decided to put her in front of him and ride the same horse together.

    Xie Daoyun instinctively opened her mouth, but in the end, she didn¡¯t say anything. When she felt his strong arms, she felt as if streaks of electricity were running through her entire body. Her heart began beating quickly.

    ¡°Your healthes first. I hope little sister Daoyun doesn¡¯t mind,¡± Zu An said tofort her.

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind. Thank you, big brother Zu,¡± Xie Daoyun said, pursing her lips. She had a lot of things to say, but she didn¡¯t even know how to start because of how nervous she was feeling.

    When she felt his warm and strong body, it gave her a strange sensation of peace. Carried by the horse¡¯s rhythmic movements, fatigue overtook her quickly. Her head leaned to one side, and she fell asleep while resting against Zu An¡¯s chest.

    ¡­

    When she woke up, she discovered that she was already lying on a bed. She was incredibly shocked! She immediately stood up and removed the covers to look down. When she saw that her clothes were still intact, she sighed in relief. Then, she couldn''t help butugh to herself. What was she worried about? Big brother Zu wasn¡¯t that kind of person.

    Only then did she have a chance to size up her surroundings. She discovered that she was inside a tent, and it was already dark outside. The Armed Escort Division had probably already set up camp.

    She could vaguely make out a bonfire burning outside. There were many soldiers gathered around the bonfire, loudly chatting about something. When she pricked up her ears, she overheard that those who had witnessed Zu An¡¯s power during the day seemed to be talking with theirpanions about how he had defeated a thousand man army. Cries of shock filled the air. It was clear that just hearing about it left them amazed.

    When she sensed their adoration for Zu An, Xie Daoyun couldn''t help but smile. A proud feeling couldn''t help but arise within her. She was stunned when she realized that, though. Why did she feel that way?

    Suddenly, the covers moved as Zu An walked in. He said, ¡°Hm? So you were already awake.¡±

    Xie Daoyun touched her cheek in embarrassment, replying, ¡°I really acted rather clumsily and let Sir Zu see a poor side of me.¡± A woman from a wealthy family such as her definitely wouldn¡¯t meet any guests without getting herself ready, let alone under covers. She feltpletely exposed.

    Sensing her embarrassment, Zu Anughed and said, ¡°Little sister Daoyun is so pretty. Even though you¡¯ve just woken up, you¡¯re still as beautiful as a sunrise. Why would it be a poor side of you?"

    ¡°Actually, when I covered you up, I was wondering whether to remove your outer clothes so you could sleep morefortably. But when I realized that would be a bit rude, I gave up on the thought. I¡¯m d I didn''t do anything, or else it might have tarnished little sister¡¯s reputation and integrity.¡±

    ¡°Big brother Zu~¡± Xie Daoyun quickly protested yfully in response to his teasing. Subsequently, the two of them joked around with each other for a bit. The atmosphere noticeably eased up quite a bit; in the end, she wasn¡¯t as shaken up and ufortable as before.

    ¡°I really have to thank big brother Zu for today, or else the consequences would have been unimaginable,¡± Xie Daoyun said. She wanted to get up and bow toward him, but she realized that she was still under the covers, so she quickly returned to bed.

    Zu An indicated that there was no need for her to be so courteous, then said, ¡°To be honest, it¡¯s pretty incredible how we were brought together. You left several days before us, and yet we still encountered each other. Actually, Xie Xiu even asked me to take care of you when we met. To that day woulde so quickly!¡±

    ¡°Looks like I didn¡¯t dote on that brat for nothing,¡± Xie Daoyun said with a grin. She felt a warm sense of being home when she heard that response. However, she suddenly noticed that Zu An¡¯s expression was a bit strange, as if there was something he couldn''t talk about. She couldn''t help but ask, ¡°Big brother Zu, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but chuckle. He said, ¡°It¡¯s just that I remembered what he warned me about before I left. He said I should take care of you, but not take care of you all the way to bed. And yet now, the very first time I met you, I ended up taking care of you in bed.¡±

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s face quickly turnedpletely red. She cried, ¡°What kind of nonsense is that damned brat spouting? Big brother Zu is a gentleman; why would you act like a yboy like him? He really is judging a nobleman with the heart of the petty!¡±

    Zu An felt a bit of guilt, because he wasn¡¯t really as good as she made him out to be. He asked, ¡°How do you feel right now?¡±

    ¡°Thanks to big brother Zu¡¯s spiritual spring, I feel much better than before, but I¡¯m still really tired. My entire body feels especially exhausted,¡± Xie Daoyun said as she rubbed her temples, giving off a hint of delicate beauty.

    ¡°Spiritual fatigue isn¡¯t so easy to recover from, after all,¡± Zu An said as he carried a te he had brought inside next to the bed. ¡°You¡¯ve been on the run for several days in a row, so you must be hungry. Use this chance to eat a bit. Unfortunately, the army doesn¡¯t pay much attention to food, so I hope little sister Yun is okay with it.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not such a finicky person,¡± Xie Daoyun said. When she confirmed that her clothes and pants were intact, she decided to get out of bed. As she saw the te of food, her eyes lit up. ¡°Barbecue? I¡¯ve always wanted to eat this, but the people back at home never let me.¡±

    ¡°I just casually roasted it, so it might not be to your taste,¡± Zu An said, handing her amb rack.

    Xie Daoyun began looking for utensils, but when she saw him demonstrate how to eat it, she realized that she was supposed to eat it with her hands. She blushed a bit. That really didn¡¯t match a distinguished daughter¡¯s behavior.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Still, she actually liked new things, so she just took it with her hands. At first, she cared a bit about how she looked. She ate slowly and even tried to pay attention to what she looked like to Zu An while eating. But in the end, she was no match for her body¡¯s honesty. She had been chased for several days in a row and hadn¡¯t had time to eat a proper meal. Her stomach was already rumbling with hunger, so she quickly wolfed it down.

    The two of them had endless things to talk about. The atmosphere became more and more enthusiastic. However, when Xie Daoyun finished eating, she felt a bit of guilt. She had always been taught not to speak while eating. Just now, however, big brother Zu had seen her behaving crudely.

    Ah, that¡¯s not even the most important part. I¡¯m together with another man, alone in the same room in the middle of the night. What ifter, big brother Zu¡­

    While all kinds of thoughts ran through Xie Daoyun¡¯s mind, Zu An said, ¡°Then, I won¡¯t disturb little sister¡¯s rest. I¡¯ll give an order forbidding anyone from entering this ce. You should get some rest. I¡¯ll be leaving.¡±

    When she saw him leave, Xie Daoyun couldn''t help but feel a bit disappointed and frustrated. She had been worried that he would do something, wondering whether resisting would ruin their rtionship. And yet, now that he had left so directly, it made her question life itself.

    Zu An naturally didn¡¯t know what she was thinking. When he returned to his own tent, he quickly changed into his Golden Token Eleven outfit. In order to prevent others from associating his two identities, he made sure to have them visibly leave in separate directions.

    He had to make a trip to Yi Commandery at night and see if Xiao Jianren had found out anything. At the same time, he needed to make sure that no one suspected that Zu An and Golden Token Eleven were the same people by ying both roles while they were far away from each other.

    Favorite

 Chapter 1583: Coroner

    <h4>Chapter 1583: Coroner</h4>

    Normally, that should have been impossible. Not even a master rank cultivator could travel back and forth over such a long distance in a single night. However, Zu An was different. He had the Wind Fire Wheels to help him, which was practically like a private jet from his previous world¡­ No, the Wind Fire Wheels were even faster than a private jet.

    After Zu An made sure all the military affairs of the camp were in ce, he warned everyone else not to disturb him in the evening.

    After his achievements during the day, his prestige in the army had skyrocketed. The soldiers were all in admiration of him. No wonder General Zu was so formidable; he cultivated so bitterly even at night. They all vowed inwardly not to disturb him.

    Just in case, Zu An left Daji behind, dressed in his clothes. Meanwhile, he secretly snuck out. When he found a secluded area, he flew into the sky. After reaching a certain distance away, he took out the Wind Fire Wheels and rushed toward Yi Commandery.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    They were close to ten thousand kilometers away from Yi Commandery, so Zu An didn¡¯t dare to waste any time and used the Wind Fire Wheels at full output. As he rushed through the sky, he resembled a shooting star. Once he broke through the sound barrier, the air around him became as viscous as water. It was only because of his body¡¯s current toughness that he was able to endure the powerful winds. An ordinary cultivator would likely have melted on the spot.

    ¡­

    After flying all night, Zu An finally reached Yi Commandery City in the middle of the night. Even with his current cultivation, he was still a bit exhausted.

    He quickly found an opportunity tond. These cities usually had defensive formations, but they weren¡¯t that effective against master rank and higher cultivators. Of course, as long as arge-scale enemy force didn¡¯t invade, how could a few grandmasters be a threat to such a massive city?

    He had passed by Yi Commandery once before on his way to Cloudcenter Commandery, so navigating around wasn¡¯t difficult at all. He looked around the city and finally found the secret signal Xiao Jianren had left behind. Fortunately, it was already the dead of night, which saved him a lot of difficulty.

    He followed the source of the signal and eventually reached a remote courtyard. He searched around with his divine sense and didn¡¯t notice anything strange. Thus, he silently climbed the wall and went inside.

    He saw some candles flickering in the distance, apanied by some dancing human shadows. He was stunned. Why weren¡¯t they asleep yet even though it was already sote at night? He felt rather gratified, as Xiao Jianren was still pretty reliable and was no doubt still investigating the case. Once they went back, Zu An nned to make a report to apply for his promotion.

    He was about to head in and offer praise when he suddenly heard Xiao Jianren¡¯s voice. ¡°Miss Zhang, next time youe to the capital, I¡¯ll take you around the overhead walkway. That¡¯s the most lively ce in the capital, a feeling that¡¯spletely different from Yi Commandery¡¯s.¡±

    ¡°What are you saying, Sir Xiao? If we¡¯re going to the capital, we definitely have to taste the capital¡¯s delicious food! They sell roast duck wrapped in a flour bun dipped in a special sauce. That¡¯s the real deal,¡± came a rather lowly voice from off to the side; it was Dai Seventh.

    ¡°Stuff like that roast duck is just for duping foreigners. If we¡¯re going to talk about the capital¡¯s food, of course it¡¯s the charcoal fire pot that¡¯s really good, especially the mutton hot pot we enjoy during the winter. That¡¯s what really hits the spot,¡± Chen Eighth chimed in.

    Zu An was confused. Who was this Lady Zhang they were talking about? Why did their words sound so much like simping?

    When he snuck a look, he saw that his three subordinates were currently surrounding a tall and gorgeous woman and trying to woo her. The woman had a tall ponytail and was dressed in tight clothing. Her appearance was neat and tidy, and yet she also had a strong and vigorous air about her. The two perfectly proportioned legs beneath her leather armor, in particr, made one feel that if one could be sped between them, perhaps the feeling would take them straight to heaven.

    The woman¡¯s face was beautiful to begin with, and together with her shocking long legs and the heroic air about her appearance, it added even more charm. It was no wonder the three grown men werepletely infatuated with her. However, Zu An had sent them here to investigate a case; why were they actually flirting with a woman?

    The woman with the tall ponytail seemed a bit uninterested in their enthusiastic wooing. She said, ¡°The reason for my visit is to discuss Sir Seven¡¯s case with all of you.¡±

    Xiao Jianrenughed and replied, ¡°Work and life need bnce, right? Miss Zhang, you¡¯re a bit too tense. You might be able to develop a new sense of spirituality if you rx a bit.¡±

    Zu An was a bit speechless. The usually wooden and inarticte Xiao Jianren was actually so good at conversation all of a sudden? Zu An hadn¡¯t expected him to actually have this kind of taste.

    The ponytailed woman frowned. She was about to say something, but she suddenly sensed something. She suddenly turned toward the entrance and cried, ¡°Show yourself!¡±

    Xiao Jianren and the others were stunned and all turned around. However, when they saw Zu An¡¯s figure, their expressions changed greatly. Their smiles faded as they said, ¡°We greet Sir Eleven!¡±

    Zu An said coldly, ¡°All of you really are working hard, still investigating the case sote into the evening.¡±

    How could Xiao Jianren and the others not hear the mockery in his voice? They felt guilty and didn¡¯t dare to retort. Meanwhile, when the ponytailed woman heard that it was Golden Token Eleven, she sized him up curiously.

    After all, there had only been ten Golden Token Envoys for a long time. Every single one of them had been assigned to oversee one area, and they were all influential and critical individuals. And yet, in recent years, a Golden Token Eleven had suddenly appeared. The different rumors she had heard all made that person seem extremely mysterious. It was hard to say what that person¡¯s real cultivation rank was.

    However, the woman had believed that as he could be one of the Golden Token Envoys, just like her adoptive father, he likely wouldn¡¯t be too weak. And yet, now that they¡¯d met, only two words appeared in her mind: That¡¯s it?

    Even though this person looked pretty well-built, she didn¡¯t sense the slightest ki aura from him, and he even seemed to be a bit out of breath. He looked just like a normal person! Could it be that his majesty had ended up just promoting someone randomly from his family? Or had this person relied entirely on his brain and taken the path of intellect?

    As he was a Golden Token Envoy, then he definitely had his secrets, so she didn¡¯t dare to look down on him and also greeted him. ¡°Golden Token Seven¡¯s subordinate, Zhang Zitong, greets Sir Eleven!¡±

    Zu An was stunned. This woman was actually Golden Token Seven¡¯s subordinate! She looked like a capable individual. He only had people like the middle-aged Xiao Jianren who had already been stuck at his rank for a long time, while Golden Token Seven had actually found a long-legged hottie. Had he been looking for a subordinate or a freaking secretary?

    He had often heard the phrase ¡®if you have something to do, let the secretary do it; if there¡¯s nothing to do, then do her¡­¡¯ He subconsciously began to suspect the woman¡¯s rtionship with Golden Token Seven, and he even wondered whether Golden Token Seven¡¯s death had anything to do with her.

    Zhang Zitong was already used to simr looks after so many years, but she still felt rather angry inside.

    This guy was staring at my legs right from the get-go, and there¡¯s still a bit of a wretched look in his eyes! No wonder Xiao Jianren and the others are like that. If the upper beam isn¡¯t straight, the lower beam will be crooked!

    You have sessfully trolled Zhang Zitong for +250 +250 +250¡­

    Zu An was stunned when he noticed the Rage pointsing in, but he could roughly guess why she was angry. Even so, he didn¡¯t really take it seriously and just nodded toward her. He turned to Xiao Jianren and said, ¡°I sent you here ahead of time to investigate. Did you obtain any useful information?¡±

    ¡°I did, I did¡­¡± Xiao Jianren said guiltily, then took out a file and handed it to him. It was a summary of the most recent discoveries.

    Zu An scanned the contents. His expression darkened as he said, ¡°There¡¯s not much to see here. This is all you¡¯ve found after being here for so long?¡±

    Xiao Jianren replied, ¡°Sir Eleven¡¯s criticism is well deserved. But this matter really does seem purely like a freak ident. I really couldn''t find any holes in their report.¡±

    Zu An frowned and said, ¡°Then call over the coroner who autopsied Sir Seven¡¯s corpse. I want to personally ask him some things.¡±

    Zhang Zitong spoke up just then, saying, ¡°I was the one who carried out the autopsy on Sir Seven.¡±

    ¡°You?¡± Zu An replied, stunned. Even though this woman was outstanding, he hadn¡¯t expected her to be a forensic investigator at all.

    ¡°Can a coroner not be female?¡± Zhang Zitong replied, raising her head to look straight at him. ¡°I vow with my reputation and my life on the line that there were absolutely no mistakes in my autopsy report. Even though Sir Seven was my superior, he treated me extremely well. He took me in when I was wandering the streets when I was a child. In my heart, I already considered him my real father. I wish for his killer to be discovered more than anyone else here!¡±

 Chapter 1584: Nowhere to Begin

    <h4>Chapter 1584: Nowhere to Begin</h4>

    Chapter 1584: Nowhere to Begin

    When he saw how Zhang Zitong was so worked up that her face was turning a bit red, Zu An asked nonchntly, ¡°Do you think Sir Seven was murdered?¡±

    ¡°Indeed,¡± Zhang Zitong said with a nod. ¡°Sir Seven was always cautious, and his cultivation was high. How could he possibly lose his footing and drown? Still, the problem is that there were no problems with his corpse at all. All of the evidence suggests he really did die an idental death.¡± She felt a sense of grief and indignation as she spoke, as if she med herself for not being capable enough to get revenge for him.

    Zu An looked at Xiao Jianren, asking, ¡°Did you examine Sir Seven¡¯s body?¡±

    Xiao Jianren was stunned, replying, ¡°Lady Zhang already examined it¡­¡± His entire body trembled halfway through his sentence. He also realized that he had made a mistake.

    Zu An gave him a look, thinking,This fe actually made that kind of mistake? Looks like his withered wood really did experience spring again, and he let this womanpletely confuse him.

    Zhang Zitong wasn¡¯t stupid. She quickly responded, ¡°What, are you suspecting me of faking the report?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing more than routine business, Lady Zhang. Please don¡¯t mind it too much,¡± Zu An said. He then asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Sir Seven¡¯s corpse? Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s already been buried?¡±

    ¡°Of course not,¡± Zhang Zitong replied, glowering. Despite Zu An¡¯s words, it was clear that he already suspected her. It would be strange if she could feel happy in such a situation. She said, ¡°Sir Seven¡¯s remains are stored in the house. There are people watching over it right now.¡±

    The house she was talking about naturally wasn¡¯t the Embroidery House back in the Imperial Pce, but rather the office where the local Embroidered Envoys worked. They were all designed the same way as the Embroidery House in the capital.

    Zu An was on a timer tonight, so he immediately cut to the chase, saying, ¡°Let¡¯s head over and take a look.¡±

    Even though she wasn¡¯t happy with being suspected, Zhang Zitong still felt admiration. This Golden Token Eleven was indeed more professional than his subordinates. She quickly led the others to the Embroidered Envoy office in Yi Commandery. The Embroidered Envoys were all moved when they saw Zu An¡¯s Golden Token uniform. A Golden Token Envoy had finally arrived! Ever since something happened to Sir Seven, they had be like drifting reeds, every day full of worries and anxiety.

    Zhang Zitong quickly brought Zu An¡¯s group to the back garden, indicating for the guards to open up the doors. Cold air rushed out from inside. She exined, ¡°I was worried that Sir Seven¡¯s remains would dpose, erasing any evidence we could find, so I found a frozen coffin to store him in. Apart from that, I found a runemaster to preserve his corpse with various runes.¡±

    Such methods naturally couldn''t keep the corpse in its optimal state forever, or else everyone who could do so would. However, keeping the corpse in good condition for a few months wasn¡¯t a problem. Zu An walked up to the frozen coffin and gently removed the cover, revealing a shriveled figure lying inside.

    He sighed. The body was indeed Golden Token Seven. He had fought alongside Golden Token Seven before when he was passing by Yi Commandery. Even though the other man had worn a mask back then, there was no way to falsify his build and aura. However, this was the first time Zu An saw Golden Token Seven¡¯s true appearance. The man had an ordinary face; he was someone who, if thrown into a crowd, wouldn¡¯t be given a second look.

    Such a face was actually the most suitable for a Golden Token Envoy. After all, if all of them were as handsome as Zu An, they would draw attention wherever they went. How would they even do work?

    Zu An reached out to touch Golden Token Seven, then sent in his ki to examine the body¡¯s condition. He discovered that there weren¡¯t any other injuries, nor were there any signs of poisoning. Of course, he wasn¡¯t a specialist in the field. Afterpleting his inspection, he gestured for Xiao Jianren to step forward.

    That guy Xiao Jianren was quite a genius; he even knew how to perform autopsies. If not for his usual slowness of speech, he wouldn¡¯t have had his talents buried in the Embroidery House for so many years.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Xiao Jianren put on a glove and took out a knife. He bowed toward Golden Token Seven and said, ¡°I apologize for the offense, sir.¡±

    Zhang Zitong¡¯s eyelids twitched as she muttered, ¡°I already sealed up the wound after examining Sir Seven¡¯s body. Now, we¡¯re going to do it again¡­ I didn¡¯t think Sir Seven would have to go through the suffering of des even after passing.¡±

    Xiao Jianren¡¯s hand trembled when he heard what she said, worrying that he would make his goddess unhappy.

    Zu An said seriously, ¡°I worked together with Sir Seven before, so I know what kind of person he was very well. I believe he would want to find out who the real murderer was too, and wouldn¡¯t mind these kinds of things.¡±

    Xiao Jianren felt a bit of relief when he heard Zu An say that. His de went in and cut open Golden Token Seven¡¯s body, carefully examining the insides.

    Zhang Zitong couldn''t keep watching. As she turned around and walked away, she nced toward Zu An and asked, ¡°Sir Eleven has worked with Sir Seven before?¡±

    Zu An nodded and replied, ¡°That¡¯s right, and it was just a few months ago.¡±

    Zhang Zitong was a bit surprised. She hadn¡¯t expected these two to have such a rtionship. A light flickered in her eyes and she opened her mouth, but in the end, she swallowed her words back down.

    Zu An felt his stomach churn as he watched Xiao Jianren work. A forensic investigator¡¯s work really wasn¡¯t something a normal person could do. He shifted his gaze and asked the ponytailed woman, ¡°Who¡¯s the one Sir Seven trusts the most among you guys?¡±

    Zhang Zitong proudly stuck out her chest and replied, ¡°Sir Seven was always introverted and usually kept his distance from people. If he really trusted anyone, it would be me. After all, we were like father and daughter for many years.¡±

    ¡°Then did he leave you any statements, or perhaps something like a letter?¡± Zu An asked. He didn¡¯t have any clues at all in this case, leaving himpletely lost.

    Zhang Zitong shook her head in confusion, replying, ¡°He didn¡¯t. Why is Sir Eleven asking that?¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°Thest time I met him, he shared with me that he was investigating an extremely important matter. Based on how nervous he was, it seemed to be really serious, and he said that it could get him in big trouble. Do you have any impression of the huge issue he was talking about?¡±

    Zhang Zitong looked at him in surprise, replying, ¡°I¡¯ve followed Sir Seven for so many years. Why have I never heard him mentioning something like this?¡± She looked a bit suspicious as she thought,You¡¯ve only met with Sir Seven once. If there really was something important, why would he tell you?

    Zu An was a bit puzzled when he saw that she wasn¡¯t lying from her expression.Is she really telling the truth, or is she just pretending to not know?

    If it was the former, why hadn¡¯t Golden Token Seven told her?Could it be that he didn¡¯t trust her¡­?

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Xiao Jianren had already finished his autopsy. He sealed up the corpse while shaking his head, reporting to Zu An, ¡°The cause of death is without a doubt drowning, and there were no other injuries. There were no signs of being bound or tied up, nor were there any signs of poisoning. Of course, there¡¯s a chance that he was fed a drug in a very small amount, which would make it undetectable now that so much time has passed.¡±

    When she heard that, Zhang Zitong said decisively, ¡°That¡¯s impossible. When I received news of Sir Seven¡¯s death, my first suspicion was that he was drugged, then drowned in the water. I immediately focused my investigation on that, but I didn¡¯t detect any sign of a drug.¡±

    Zu An frowned. There was no way of confirming whether what she said was true or false. If he had known it would be like this, he would have grabbed a few of those Truth Talismans from Xie Daoyun. However, this woman was an Embroidered Envoy, so a Truth Talisman wouldn¡¯t necessarily prove useful anyway.

    ¡°Bring me to the location where the ident took ce,¡± Zu An said.

    ¡°When we found Sir Seven¡¯s remains, we searched the ckwater Pool. There were no suspicious traces,¡± Zhang Zitong replied.

    Seeing that Zu An was still unconvinced, she could only bring them over. However, inwardly, she was still unconvinced that there was anything else he could find from the crime scene. It had already been so long; what else could they even find? This guy waspletely wasting time.

    Is he just going through the motions so he¡¯ll have something to report backter?

 Chapter 1585: Occult Conversation

    <h4>Chapter 1585: ult Conversation</h4>

    After serving as a member of the court for so long, Zhang Zitong had seen all kinds of officials. Many of them clearly didn¡¯t do much, and yet always bragged about themselves so others would think they did a lot. It was none other than those kinds of people who did very well in the court, and whenever there were promotions, they had a higher chance of being promoted than others.

    Golden Token Eleven appeared to be investigating a lot, but they were all things that other people had already investigated, and he hadn¡¯t found out anything new. It was just repeatedbor. Thus, Zhang Zitong assumed he was precisely that kind of person, and she was naturally dissatisfied.

    Still, he was an Embroidered Envoy. Now that Sir Seven had died, if something serious happened, there would be no one left to protect her. She wasn¡¯t so stupid as to show her true thoughts. Unfortunately, she didn¡¯t know that Zu An had the Rage system and could deduce her thoughts based on the number of Rage points he received.

    Zu An was a bit confused.Why does this woman dislike me so much? Could it be that she really is guilty at heart and doesn¡¯t want me to keep investigating?

    He left behind the others to look for other clues. However, he took Xiao Jianren and Zhang Zitong with him as they headed to ckwater Pool. Along the way, he asked without batting an eyelid, ¡°Was there anything strange about Sir Seven before the ident?¡±

    Zhang Zitong replied, ¡°Sir Seven was a habitually silent man, but nothing strange could be seen about him. The only strange part was that he seemed especially busy, as if he had something brooding in his heart.¡±

    Zu An continued, ¡°Where was he supposed to go that day for his assignment?¡±

    Zhang Zitong shook her head and replied, ¡°How could we, as subordinates, know of our superior¡¯s ns? Embroidered Envoys have always been secretive to begin with, let alone Golden Token Envoys.¡±

    Zu An was a bit annoyed. She didn¡¯t know a thing! There was no way to get started on this case at all. He asked, ¡°What about things he left behind? Did Sir Seven leave anything behind?¡±

    Before the ponytailed woman could reply, Xiao Jianren handed him a file, saying, ¡°I looked into the things Sir Seven left behind. Everything is recorded here, especially¡­¡±

    Zu An nodded slightly. It seemed this guy hadn¡¯t wasted the entire time flirting. He had still done quite a bit of work.

    Xiao Jianren exined all of the items one by one, then said, ¡°These are all somemon items that all Embroidered Envoys have. There was nothing strange about them.¡±

    Zu An went over the list of items, but didn¡¯t say anything.

    Even though the city gates were closed, the Embroidered Envoys had a high status. In order to avoid trouble, they didn¡¯t even interact with the city defense. They found a secluded ce to climb over the walls. Zhang Zitong and Xiao Jianren both took out hooks. Yi Commandery was a big city with defensive formations everywhere. Even though they were Silver Token Envoys, they still couldn''t just jump over.

    Zu An frowned slightly. He didn¡¯t have much time, and couldn¡¯t just slowly wait for them. As such, he grabbed their shoulders, then kicked off. The three of them flew over the tall wall.

    Zhang Zitong¡¯s mouth opened slightly. Judging from his ki aura, orck thereof, Zu An had clearly seemed no different from an ordinary person, so she had thought that he was either promoted through nepotism or his strength as a schr. She hadn¡¯t expected his cultivation to be so high!

    It looks like he¡¯s already reached master rank! Doesn¡¯t that mean he might be one of the best among the Golden Token Envoys?

    Xiao Jianren felt mysteriously satisfied when he saw her shocked expression. It was almost as if the more formidable Sir Eleven was, the more he could bask in his superior¡¯s limelight.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Now that he thought about it, Sir Eleven¡¯s growth really was fast. When they first met, Sir Eleven¡¯s cultivation rank had practically been the lowest out of the Golden Token Envoys. Just how much time had passed before he broke through into the master rank?

    ¡°Lead the way. Where is the ckwater Pool?¡± Zu An asked. Realizing that a lot of time had already passed, he didn¡¯t let them go after jumping over the wall and decided to just fly with the two of them.

    ¡°Over¡­ Over there,¡± Zhang Zitong said in embarrassment.

    She had always been proud and cold among the Embroidered Envoys. Apart from Sir Seven, she hadn¡¯t been too close to anyone. Even though she had worked together with her colleagues before, she¡¯d had almost no physical contact even after so many years. This was the first time she had been so ¡®intimate¡¯ with another man.

    However, she couldn''t produce even the slightest hint of those kinds of thoughts, because the other man seemed to be focused on the mission, practically looking down on her cultivation. He had grabbed her shoulder as if he were carrying a little chick, which dealt her quite the mental blow.

    ¡­

    Flying was much faster, and they quickly arrived at a cliff. There was a waterfall there, and they could vaguely make out a misty pool underneath.

    ¡°This is the ckwater Pool,¡± Zhang Zitong said, pointing downward.

    She was starting to feel a bit of admiration for Zu An. They had flown for so long, yet he didn¡¯t seem red-faced in the slightest. At the very least, in terms of cultivation, his ability was immeasurable. Could it be that her earlier impression of him had been wrong?

    Zu An nced down and saw that the pool was extremely deep. The water was very clear, but looking at it from a distance, it did appear ck. He figured that was likely where the name came from.

    ¡°Could it be that Sir Seven fell in the stream, and was then swept into the ckwater Pool?¡± he wondered as he looked at the waterfall. The water flowed extremely quickly, and the rocks nearby were very slippery. Even cultivators would have a chance of losing their footing.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s too likely,¡± Zhang Zitong said, shaking her head. ¡°Sir Seven didn¡¯t have any external marks. No matter how sturdy a cultivator¡¯s body was, if they fell from such a height, even if they didn¡¯t break any bones, they would have some scrapes and bruises. But when I checked earlier, there weren¡¯t any of those.¡±

    When he heard that, Zu An took the two of them and jumped straight into the pool below, then muttered, ¡°Sir Seven drowned to death down there? But it doesn¡¯t make sense no matter how I think about it¡­¡±

    Forget about an Embroidered Envoy, not even the lowest-level bronze token would drown that way!

    ¡°Are there really no monsters in this ckwater Pool?¡± Zu An said while scanning around with his divine sense. However, the ckwater Pool was too deep, and his divine sense didn¡¯t cover that much area underwater. After a certain depth, it didn¡¯t reach much further.

    ¡°There aren¡¯t. If there were any, there¡¯s no way our local Embroidered Envoy would have no record of them,¡± Zhang Zitong said, sounding much more respectful.

    Xiao Jianren sighed. He had already gotten used to this woman¡¯s proud nature. Now that she was acting like this, he actually felt a bit ufortable. He thought,If I be a Golden Token Envoy, she¡¯ll probably treat me much better too, right¡­

    ¡°Still, I¡¯ve heard some rumors surrounding ckwater Pool. People seem to go missing here often,¡± Zu An said.

    Zhang Zitong replied, ¡°We looked into all of the recent cases. All of them were because of some murderers or bandits, who med those rumors to distract the masses.¡±

    Zu An nodded. That was in line with the intelligence he had received before. He asked, ¡°Recent cases? What about older ones?¡±

    Zhang Zitong was a bit hesitant, but she still replied, ¡°Apart from the few cases we investigated, the next oldest case dated back thirty years. I wasn¡¯t born yet at that time, and there aren¡¯t many members of the Yi Commandery Embroidered Envoy who have been around since then. No one knows what happened. But ording to the files, there were someplex cases that didn¡¯t have many clues. The ignorant local people thus began to create strange legends.¡±

    Zu An frowned. It looked as if the ckwater Pool really could have some secret inside.

    ¡°I¡¯m heading down for a look,¡± he said. He didn¡¯t wait for a response and dived straight in. With his Blue Mard skill, he quickly descended. His figure swiftly disappeared from their line of sight.

    When she saw how quickly he moved, Zhang Zitong was frightened, asking, ¡°Will Sir Eleven be okay?¡±

    ckwater Pool was rather inauspicious, after all; another Golden Token Envoy had drowned there already.

 Chapter 1586: Witness

    <h4>Chapter 1586: Witness</h4>

    Xiao Jianren stuck out his chest and proudly said, ¡°My boss has been through all kinds of troublesome situations! How can this shallow pool trouble him at all?¡±

    ¡°The ckwater Pool definitely isn¡¯t shallow,¡± Zhang Zitong corrected him. ¡°Still, I doubt he¡¯ll find anything. Our men already searched several times underwater, so if there were any clues, they would have already found them a long time ago.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s hard to say¡­¡± Xiao Jianren began, but even though he was speaking up for his own leader right now, he didn¡¯t have much confidence. He had already followed this case for a long time, but he hadn¡¯t found any clues at all. If not for the fact that a Golden Token Envoy drowning to death was too strange, he would already havee to the conclusion that this was just an ident too.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An used his Blue Mard ability to form a water bubble around him, then searched all around the ckwater Pool.

    There was actually quite arge variety of nts and fish inside, but there was nothing wrong. It didn¡¯t seem as if there were any evil spirits present. The only thing worth noting was that the water was especially cold. However, it was normal for such deep pools to be a bit cold, especially seeing as it was still the middle of the night.

    Zu An looked all around him but didn¡¯t see anything strange. As such, he continued down for close to a hundred meters. However, his brows inadvertently furrowed. Wasn¡¯t this pool a bit too deep? For normal cultivators, unless they were of the water element, such a depth would already be really difficult for them.

    He went down for more than a hundred meters again, then finally arrived at the very bottom. There was no longer any light present at all. He took out a luminescent pearl, and by borrowing the dim light, he discovered that there was silt all around, but no nt life. asionally, some animal remainsy strewn in the silt. The area was full of a deathly still sensation. It seemed quite normal for it to look that way, though.

    After looking around a bit, Zu An didn¡¯t notice anything strange, so he decided to return to the surface. He remembered that he had seen simr kinds of underwater worlds in documentaries before. He hadn¡¯t expected to be able to personally experience one in this world.

    When he remembered the contents of those documentaries, however, his expression suddenly froze. He immediately stopped, staring at the pool floor. He finally realized what was wrong. In those documentaries, there had always been creatures even in the depths of the ocean. There were all kinds of strange and grotesquely-shaped fish, bone-eating critters, and other sorts of life. This pool was barely a few hundred meters deep, and yet not even the slightest bit of life was present. It wasn¡¯t normal at all!

    Thus, Zu An returned to the pool¡¯s bottom. He reached out his hand and pressed against the dirt, releasing his aura to investigate the surroundings. His expression suddenly changed. There was still more space underneath the surface! Rather than the bottom of a pond, it looked more like a cover created using a profound formation.

    Suddenly, arge hand reached out from the soil, grabbing at his neck. Its skin was a greenish-gray color with veins bulging from it, and it was surrounded by death energy. It was shaped like a human hand, but it was definitely not. Why would a human hand have scales all over it?

    Zu An jumped in surprise. He quickly dodged backward, causing the hand to miss. However, it didn¡¯t give up and continued to reach out. Zu An¡¯s expression grew cold, and a glint flickered amid the dark water, severing the greenish-gray hand. The arm¡¯s owner seemed rmed, instantly returning underground.

    Zu An frowned. He looked at the severed hand, but didn¡¯t see any blood flow out. Instead, it turned into greenish-ck smoke, dissipatingpletely. He eximed in surprise, ¡°Hm?¡±

    Suddenly, more than ten hands suddenly reached out, grabbing toward Zu An from all directions. He didn¡¯t have anywhere to evade! Just a single mistake and he would bepletely smothered by the interweaving hands!

    If I can¡¯t dodge, then I won¡¯t!

    A streak of sword radiance sliced outward, its incredible power hacking the thick and sturdy arms into several pieces. A miserable scream emerged from underground. The voice was extremely sharp and even seemed to have something of a stinging effect on one¡¯s mind.

    However, Zu An¡¯s mind was extremely stable, so he naturally didn¡¯t feel fear. He didn¡¯t hesitate and rushed straight up before thrusting his sword downward. With the help of Blue Mard, his mobility underwater wasn¡¯t affected at all. As his longsword traveled downward, a wave of blue runes appeared on the surface of the pool¡¯s bottom. The formation that had been arranged was clearlying into effect. However, it broke apart under the Tai¡¯e Sword¡¯s power almost instantly.

    The silt before Zu An disappeared, reced with empty space. This was clearly the true bottom of the pool.

    ¡°Great immortal, please spare me, please!¡± a creature begged in a low and small voice, kneeling and repeatedly hitting the ground. It knew it had no choice. Judging from the previous interaction, it already knew it was definitely no match for Zu An. Furthermore, it didn¡¯t have any idea why that sword had such a terrifying aura, as if the de could instantly destroy it at any time.

    Zu An was a bit surprised. He had seen so many thick and solid hands that he expected there to be some kind of massive creature living there. He hadn¡¯t expected it to be so small. Most importantly, its appearance was way too strange. Its mouth resembled a sharp bird¡¯s beak, and its body was as skinny as a monkey''s. There was something resembling a tortoiseshell on its back too. It looked a lot like the legendary Japanese creature known as a Kappa.

    ¡°What kind of a creature are you?¡± Zu An directly asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m just a little turtle from this ckwater Pool. I want nothing more than a life detached from worldly affairs. A few centuries ago, I stumbled upon a fortuitous encounter and gained consciousness. That was how I began to cultivate in this pool,¡± the monster respectfully replied.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Turtle?¡± Zu An repeated in surprise. He had already been in this world for a long time, so he knew that the Fiend races were different from monsters. The Fiend races had more noble bloodlines. If nothing strange happened, they would naturally be able to take human form.

    Meanwhile, monster bloodlines were different. They were no different from ordinary nts and animals. However, some of them developed consciousness through certain opportunities and coincidences; after a long period of cultivation, there was a chance for them to gain humanoid forms too. The Fiend races weren¡¯t the same as those monsters. In their opinion, such monsters were just lower-level creatures, even though many evolved monsters weren¡¯t weak at all.

    Furthermore, monsters usually retained their animal instincts. High-level beasts tended to be just as intelligent as humans; however, these monsters were usually extremely proud of what they were and what they looked like, so they found it disdainful to take human form.

    Zu An asked coldly, ¡°So, all of those mysteries of ckwater Pool were because of you? Just how many people have you harmed over the years?!¡±

    When it saw Zu An¡¯s expression grow fierce, the turtle was so scared it began to shudder all over. It protested, ¡°Great immortal has misunderstood! I¡¯ve already turned over a new leaf! I¡¯ve only cultivated earnestly in the past century and haven¡¯t eaten anyone in that time!¡±

    ¡°So you¡¯re admitting that you ate people before?¡± Zu An retorted coldly.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t, I didn¡¯t!¡± the turtle cried, constantly waving its hands. ¡°It was just that those people had bad motives and wanted to hurt me, and ended up losing their lives as a result. I felt that it would be a waste to let them go either way, which was why¡­ But I definitely, absolutely never had the intention of proactively harming them!¡±

    ¡°Would a monster like you really be so kind?¡± Zu An replied, naturally not believing a single thing it said.

    ¡°I¡¯m telling the truth! I wanted to be the deity of this ckwater Pool, so why would I recklessly be some murderous evil being?¡± the turtle monster quickly exined.

    ¡°A water deity?¡± Zu An repeated, a bit stunned. He felt that things were getting weirder and weirder. At the moment, however, he was more concerned about something else. He asked, ¡°Roughly a month ago, someone dressed simrly to me fell into this ckwater Pool. Do you have any memory of that?¡±

    ¡°I do! I do!¡± the turtle monster hurriedly replied with a nod.

    ¡°Why did he drown here? Was it because of you?¡± Zu An asked sternly.

    ¡°Ah! He was already dead when he fell into the water, I think?¡± the turtle monster said with a dumbfounded expression.

 Chapter 1587: Mysterious Woman

    <h4>Chapter 1587: Mysterious Woman</h4>

    ¡°Dead?¡± Zu An repeated, surprised. After all, the evidence had previously stated that Golden Token Seven drowned. If he had died before falling into the water, how could that have escaped the notice of so many Embroidered Envoys who specialized in forensics?

    ¡°You¡¯re just trying to make up some excuse to say it has nothing to do with you, right?¡± Zu An retorted. He had inspected Golden Token Seven himself. That was death by drowning without a doubt, so he naturally didn¡¯t believe the turtle monster. It was probably just scared that Zu An would retaliate if it spoke the truth.

    ¡°Absolutely not!¡± the turtle spirit eximed. It pointed toward the sky and vowed, ¡°Even if I harmed some cultivators before, it was all out of self-defense! I¡¯m a kind spirit!¡±

    Zu An sneered. Several greenish-gray hands had suddenly rushed out from the ground. If his cultivation had been a bit lower, he might have already been strangled to death. He couldn¡¯t possibly believe its words.

    As if sensing Zu An¡¯s thoughts, the turtle spirit immediately shivered and continued, ¡°Even if I wanted to harm others, I need to absorb the essence of others to benefit my cultivation! What would a dead person do for me? I had no reason to harm him!¡±

    ¡°Absorb their essence?¡± Zu An repeated, thinking about Mosquito Daoist and Sir Bat. They had been monsters that sucked out the blood essence of others, practicing extremely sinister methods. However, Golden Token Seven hadn¡¯t shown any signs of having his cultivation sucked out.

    ¡°I only do it asionally, I swear! I only retaliate when they try to harm me. Humans aren¡¯t tasty,¡± the turtle monster quickly exined. ¡°I mainly absorb the sun and moon¡¯s essence to cultivate.¡±

    Zu An suddenly remembered what it had said before. He asked, ¡°What did you mean when you said you wanted to be a water deity?¡±

    The turtle monster exined, ¡°It¡¯s just that themon people nearby began to believe in my existence and offer me incense. As time went on, I eventually became able to borrow the faith of those incense offerings to cultivate, which is much faster than cultivating by absorbing the essence of the sun and moon. For folks like me, we call such circumstances bing a deity. I¡¯ve onlypleted half of the process so far. Recently, the nearby people have gradually begun to believe that there¡¯s a mysterious being in ckwater Pool, and there are some people who asionallye to offer sacrifices. However, it hasn¡¯t happened on arger scale yet.¡±

    Zu An glowered, replying, ¡°Aren¡¯t you just deceiving themon people then?¡±

    In ancient times, these kinds of beings were considered evil spirits, which local governments went to great lengths to get rid of.

    ¡°Of course not! I nned to return the favor too, providing thend with timely rain and pleasant winds. All I want is peace for everyone!¡± the turtle monster quickly exined.

    ¡°You can affect the weather?¡± Zu An asked in surprise.

    ¡°I¡¯m a water creature, after all. With the help of their faith, it wouldn¡¯t be too difficult to send down some rain within a certain range,¡± the turtle monster said, sounding quite proud. ¡°Of course, past that range, I wouldn¡¯t be able to do much.¡±

    Zu An inwardly clicked his tongue in wonder. He hadn¡¯t expected these monsters to have such upgrade paths. Of course, that kind of divine power was vastly different from the upgrade path he imagined, but it did share some resemnce to his previous world¡¯s earth deity and river deity stories.

    After he heard the details regarding the evolution of a water deity, Zu An gradually started to believe that this turtle really wasn¡¯t rted to Golden Token Seven¡¯s death. He said, ¡°Tell me about what happened that day in detail. If you¡¯re a water deity, nothing that happens here in ckwater Pool should be beyond your notice, right?¡±

    The turtle monster nodded hurriedly and said, ¡°That is indeed the case. Roughly a month ago, I was cultivating in my cave when I suddenly heard the sound of something falling into the water, as if some heavy object had fallen into this pool. I secretly left to take a look, then saw that there was a corpse floating there.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re certain that he was already dead at that time?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°Of course,¡± the turtle monster replied. ¡°Even though I¡¯m not as incredible as sir immortal, I can at least discern whether someone is alive or dead. Back then, there was also a woman standing there. If I¡¯m not mistaken, she was probably the one who threw him in.¡±

    ¡°A woman?¡± Zu An repeated in surprise. Many possibilities instantly appeared in his mind.

    He took out a tree branch and began to draw in the water, quickly reproducing Zhang Zitong¡¯s appearance. In order to learn ¡®Face of a Thousand Identities¡¯, he had studied art in depth. He had even received the guidance of Yu Yanluo before, so drawing just couldn''t be easier for him. Even though he had only met Zhang Zitong once before, he already remembered all of her distinctive features. At the same time, the Blue Mard skill allowed him to draw in water just as easily as if it were on paper.

    When it saw how lifelike the woman¡¯s image was, the turtle monster was shocked. It thought,Are you the water deity or am I? Sir immortal really is unfathomable.

    As such, its tone became far more respectful as it said, ¡°Replying to sir immortal, I am not certain. That woman was wrapped in ck robes and had a mask over her face. I could not see what she looked like.¡±

    ¡°Were there any distinctive features on that woman¡¯s body?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°There was nothing special of note. Sir immortal must know that under my current circumstances, I do not want too many people to see my true form. As such, I did not dare to get too close back then,¡± the turtle monster replied. It seemed to feel that such a reply wasn¡¯t of any value, so in order to not anger him, it did its best to recall everything that happened that night. ¡°Right, I believe that woman said something.¡± It thought for a bit then continued, ¡°I think it was ¡®The earlier you¡¯re found, the better!¡¯¡±

    ¡°The earlier he¡¯s found, the better?¡± Zu An repeated, feelingpletely baffled. What did that mean? If the woman had been disposing of a corpse here, why would she hope for him to be found sooner?

    He asked more questions. However, he couldn''t obtain any new information, and thus said to the turtle monster, ¡°I¡¯ll look into what you¡¯ve told me. You¡¯re not allowed to go anywhere in that time, or else I¡¯ll kill you once I find you.¡±

    The turtle monster nodded and bent down in rm, replying, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare to fool sir immortal! Furthermore, I¡¯ve already spent centuries here, and yet I¡¯ve only made a little bit of progress in bing a water deity. If I run away, I¡¯ll have to start all over again. I don¡¯t have that much time left!¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An nodded. He kicked off the pool bottom, flying out of the ckwater Pool like a bullet.

    Zhang Zitong had been standing by the edge of the pool in boredom, listening to Xiao Jianren¡¯s enthusiastic and clumsy efforts to start a conversation. She had felt that time was passing very slowly. When she saw Zu An appear, however, she and Xiao Jianren sighed in relief.

    Xiao Jianren quickly walked up and said, ¡°Sir, did you find out anything?¡±

    Zhang Zitong thought,I already sent my men to investigate before. What else could he even find?

    Zu An nodded and said, ¡°I did find out some things. Sir Seven wasn¡¯t drowned here, but rather elsewhere. Then, his corpse was tossed here.¡±

    He sighed inwardly, because he had reflexively assumed that Golden Token Seven had drowned here in ckwater Pool. All he could say was that the forensic investigators of this generation hadn¡¯t developed their methods enough. In his previous world, they could easily havepared the waterposition in his lungs with ckwater Pool¡¯s water. They would have immediately noticed a difference.

    Zhang Zitong was confused. She couldn''t figure out how Zu An had been able to figure something like that out from just a single trip into the water.

    ¡°As expected of Sir Eleven, you are profound as always! There is that possibility, indeed. Wepletely overlooked that before!¡± Xiao Jianren quickly showered Zu An with praise.

    Zu An ignored him and looked at Zhang Zitong, asking, ¡°Where were you on the third evening ofst month? Do you have a witness to vouch for your alibi?¡±

    ¡°Are you suspecting me?¡± Zhang Zitong replied, glowering.

    ¡°That night, Sir Seven¡¯s corpse was thrown into this pool by a woman,¡± Zu An said, paying close attention to Zhang Zitong¡¯s expression as he spoke.

    ¡°I was carrying out a mission that night. Those in our line of work usually move in secret; where would I find a witness?!¡± Zhang Zitong retorted furiously. ¡°Sir Eleven only took a single trip underwater, and yet you found out that Sir Seven was tossed into the water by a woman? Are you really not just making up random stories?!¡±

 Chapter 1588: Clues

    <h4>Chapter 1588: Clues</h4>

    It was natural for Zhang Zitong to think that way. After all, her group had already gone underwater several times. Apart from being a bit colder and deeper than usual, there had been nothing else strange about the pool at all. And yet now, this Golden Token Eleven had shown up and used her of all sorts of things. After going underwater just once, he had said that some woman had flung Sir Seven¡¯s corpse into the pool¡­

    Even if you¡¯re going toe up with some lie, you have to make it reasonable, right? Are these things you can find out from an underwater investigation?

    It wasn¡¯t just her; even Xiao Jianren was a bit doubtful.Is boss sounding her out? But he doesn¡¯t seem to be lying¡­

    Zu An said indifferently, ¡°It¡¯s not your concern to figure out how I obtained this intelligence; I have my ways. Right now, I advise you to find a way to prove your innocence, then find out if Sir Seven had any dealings with other women.¡± He couldn''t tell them all about the turtle monster, limiting what he could say.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t Sir Eleven¡¯s assumptions too outrageous? There¡¯s no material evidence or witness testimony. You¡¯re telling us to investigate this just based on what you¡¯re saying?¡± Zhang Zitong replied unhappily.

    Zu An frowned slightly and snapped, ¡°I¡¯m not holding a discussion with you. This is an order!¡±

    Zhang Zitong¡¯s expression changed a bit, but in the end, she could only helplessly lower her head and reply, ¡°Understood!¡± Even so, anyone could sense the unwillingness in her voice.

    Just then, Xiao Jianren said, ¡°Lady Zhang, our leader has never spoken empty words. He definitely has his reasons for saying such things.¡±

    Zu An nodded. It seemed this guy hadn¡¯tpletely lost his head over an infatuation. If Xiao Jianren had continued to speak up for that woman under the circumstances, Zu An would have to question his ability to judge the situation.

    A strange expression flickered through Zhang Zitong¡¯s eyes, but she didn¡¯t say anything else.

    ¡°Also, the woman who tossed the corpse in here might not be the killer. However, I can¡¯t figure out what her purpose for doing so was,¡± Zu An said with a frown.

    ¡°What does sir mean?¡± Xiao Jianren asked curiously.

    ¡°If that woman didn¡¯t want anyone to find Sir Seven¡¯s corpse, she could have tied a rock to his body and let it sink to the bottom. That way, no one would have been able to find it so quickly,¡± Zu An said seriously. ¡°Furthermore, if they really wanted to destroy any evidence, there would have been all sorts of methods avable. She would have had no reason to go through all that trouble and throw him into ckwater Pool.¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    This was a world of cultivation, full of people with supernatural abilities. It wasn¡¯t as hard to get rid of a corpse as it was in his previous world. There were a multitude of ways to make a corpse disappear; there was no need to go through all of this at all.

    The turtle monster had heard a woman say ¡®The earlier you¡¯re found, the better¡¯. Could it be that she had done this so Golden Token Seven¡¯s corpse would be found earlier? However, if that was the case, she could have just dumped the corpse near the government office or the downtown area. Wouldn¡¯t that be easier? ckwater Pool was still rather remote.

    Too many possibilities shed through Zu An¡¯s mind. However, none of those possibilities had sufficient information to support a conclusion.

    Xiao Jianren said in admiration, ¡°Sir really is detailed and meticulous! You were even able to conclude that.¡±

    Zhang Zitong¡¯s mouth widened. She didn¡¯t look down on Xiao Jianren¡¯s obsequious attitude, because she was thinking simr thoughts. This man had been able to deduce the most unusual point of this case so quickly! As expected of a Golden Token Envoy.

    But just where did he get that information from¡­

    She naturally didn¡¯t believe that he had gotten the information from a single trip underwater. She suspected that he had already obtained information from other channels beforehand and that he was only talking about it now.

    Zu An nced toward the horizon. It was already quitete, so he ordered Xiao Jianren to continue the investigation, following the trail he had just found. At the same time, he warned him to be careful of Zhang Zitong. Finally, Xiao Jianren was to investigate if Golden Token Seven had had any involvement with other women in his missions.

    Xiao Jianren picked up on Zu An¡¯s implied message and asked, ¡°Sir Eleven isn¡¯t following us to the city?¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°I still have other issues to investigate, so I won¡¯t be traveling with you.¡±

    Xiao Jianren nodded. This leader of his has alwayse and gone mysteriously. However, most Golden Token Envoys were like that, so he didn¡¯t really harbor any suspicions.

    ¡­

    After separating from the other two, Zu An summoned the Wind Fire Wheels and rushed back. He had already used up a lot of time, so he couldn''t waste any now.

    Along the way, he thought about all the suspicious factors in Golden Token Seven¡¯s case. Actually, he would be able to roughly find out what had happened if he just asked Zhuxie Chixin, because previously, Golden Token Seven had already said he had reported his investigation to Zhuxie Chixin.

    However, Zhuxie Chixin was also hard to track down, and he hadn¡¯t returned to the capital for a long time. Zhao Han hadn¡¯t revealed anything about his whereabouts either, so Zu An didn¡¯t know what the two of them were plotting.

    By the time Zu An returned to camp, the sky was just beginning to brighten. There were already quite a few people moving around. Fortunately, he had already warned Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang not to disturb him, so no one hade over to wake him up.

    However, he quickly noticed a figure wandering around his tent. He was rmed, thinking that it was someone with bad intentions. When he saw who it was, though, he sighed in relief. He called out, ¡°What is little sister Daoyun doing?¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± the beautiful figure eximed, jumping in fright. Xie Daoyun turned around quickly, looking troubled when she saw Zu An. She asked, ¡°Big¡­ Big brother Zu, why are you over there?¡±

    She had drunk Feather Mountain¡¯s spiritual spring water the previous day, and after a whole night of sleep, she had already recovered a lot both mentally and spiritually. The first thing she had thought after waking up was that she had really shown Zu An an embarrassing disy and wanted to apologize to him, while salvaging his impression of her at the same time.

    However, it now seemed a bit awkward for her to be visiting a man¡¯s room so early in the morning. She was scared that he would misunderstand. While she was feeling conflicted, Zu An had called out to her from behind, so she was naturally scared.

    ¡°I went out for a stroll just now,¡± Zu An said with a smile.

    ¡°Did big brother Zu go out to cultivate? No wonder your cultivation is so high, even though you¡¯re still so young,¡± Xie Daoyun said, noticing the traces of frost in his hair, and how he looked a bit haggard. Of course, she didn¡¯t suspect that he had traveled several thousand kilometers away in a single night.

    Zu An knew she had misunderstood, but that was fine, seeing as he didn¡¯t have to exin himself further. He asked, ¡°Has your mind recovered a bit?¡±

    ¡°Yes; thank you, big brother Zu,¡± Xie Daoyun replied. Because the wind was fairly strong around them, she gently moved some messy strands of hair behind her ear.

    ¡°It¡¯s too windy outside. Why don¡¯t we go inside and talk more?¡± Zu An offered, noticing that Xie Daoyun seemed to have put on some makeup today. Her lips were bright red.

    ¡°Okay,¡± Xie Daoyun replied. If it were any other man, she would never go into their room like this, but Zu An was different.

    Zu An recalled Daji before entering. He and Xie Daoyun chatted for a while inside the tent, sharing information about what had happened as ofte. Thinking about Golden Token Seven¡¯s case, Zu An feigned casual interest as he asked, ¡°That Truth Talisman of yours is quite incredible. What cultivation rank is it effective against?¡± He really wanted to find out whether there was something wrong with the tall-ponytailed woman.

    When the conversation moved to her area of expertise, Xie Daoyun became excited. She exined the principles behind the creation of the Truth Talisman before concluding, ¡°It¡¯s useful against those around the sixth or seventh rank. Still, the human heart is aplicated thing. If you encounter those with strong wills, a Truth Talisman might not be able to do anything, which is also why the court rarely uses them except as an auxiliary tool.¡±

    After listening to the exnation, Zu An realized that the talisman wouldn¡¯t be too reliable against that woman. Sensing his disappointment, Xie Daoyun considerately asked, ¡°Did Sir Zu encounter something troublesome recently?¡±

    ¡°Not particrly. I was just asking about it out of interest,¡± Zu An replied with a smile.

    Xie Daoyun pursed her lips and said, ¡°Then I was the one worrying about nothing. With big brother Zu¡¯s current cultivation and status, there probably aren¡¯t many things that would be too difficult for you.¡±

    ¡­

    The two of them chatted for a while longer. Zu An discovered that Xie Daoyun really was talented, knowing all sorts of things. As such, he pretended to casually ask about what she thought about the possibility of a strong cultivator being silently killed, while everything looked normal on the outside. Of course, he had to keep the Embroidered Envoy and other such details a secret, but no one else knew about Golden Token Seven¡¯s case, so he didn¡¯t have to worry about her finding out.

    Xie Daoyun just treated it as a regr conversation topic. She thought for a bit and replied, ¡°A powerful water element cultivator could make it look as if that person died by drowning. However, you described the victim as a high-rank cultivator. If there were no traces of fighting on the outside, that wouldn¡¯t be too likely.

    ¡°Still, I heard my teacher mention that there were certain shamans who excelled in mind control, which can kill without leaving any trace. But ever since the founding of the Zhou Dynasty, that group was practically erased from existence. It¡¯s rumored that they went back to live in the forest in seclusion, so not many people know about them. If such an expert participated, doing that would be much easier.¡±

 Chapter 1589: A New Dawn

    <h4>Chapter 1589: A New Dawn</h4>

    ¡°Shamans?¡± Zu An repeated, suddenly thinking of someone. Previously, an assassination attempt had been made on him in the capital, and one of the attackers then was a woman named Jia Sili. She hade from the southern border and seemed to be good at spiritual attacks. Back then, she had actually gifted him with amand token.

    After the matter, the Embroidered Envoy had looked into her, finding out that she was from the Shaman Sect. However, the shamans usually acted mysteriously, and only rarely did they make an appearance in the world of warriors. As such, Zu An¡¯s thoughts hadn¡¯t immediately gone in that direction.

    In order to not drag Xie Daoyun into the situation, Zu An chatted with her about some other topics. Xie Daoyun felt that she had really been able to show her ability in front of him, so she was in high spirits too. She told him everything she knew.

    Zu An asked curiously, ¡°I heard that you came to Violet Mountain to examine the formations? If I recall correctly, the State Teacher is there.¡± His mission would take ce in Violet Mountain, so he had naturally done his research on the ce beforehand.

    Xie Daoyun was a bit hesitant, but when she thought about how Zu An was different from other people, she replied, ¡°My teacher might be a bit worried about the State Teacher¡­¡±

    When he heard what she said, Zu An was surprised. He really hadn¡¯t considered that a point of suspicion before, because the State Teacher had already reached the very peak of his life. Even if the dynasties changed, he would still remain the State Teacher at most. There was no way he could be the emperor, right?

    ¡°This is just a preventative measure. The chance of there being something wrong with the State Teacher is extremely lowm¡± Xie Daoyun exined.

    Zu An voiced his agreement. ¡°Right, I heard that the State Teacher was someone from the daoist sects. Do you know anything about the nine daoist sects?¡±

    After the Great Zhou Dynasty was established, apart from the State Teacher¡¯s Righteous Sun Sect, the other sects had all gone into seclusion. Ordinary people didn¡¯t know much about them.

    In the past, Zu An had felt that this all had nothing to do with him, so he hadn¡¯t paid it too much attention. But now that he had work to do at Violet Mountain, he felt that it would still be better if he collected relevant information ahead of time.

    Xie Daoyun had studied in the Royal Academy, so she knew a bit more than ordinary people about certain secret information. She exined, ¡°The nine daoist sects were indeed formidable a few centuries ago, but after the Great Zhou Dynasty established its empire, they withdrew into the mountains and forests, no longer maintaining their former glory.

    ¡°Actually, it wasn¡¯t just the daoist sects. The Devil Sect, Buddhist Sect, Shaman Sect, and other sects ended up that way as well. The court rose above all, and all those with talent went there to be its officials. Few people wanted to work bitterly for a sect. So, after centuries passed, the sects found it harder and harder to maintain their influence. Their reputation thus began to decline as a result. Many of them even disappeared into the great rivers of history.

    ¡°In the past, I asionally heard master mentioning the nine daoist sects. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t have known all this,¡± Xie Daoyun said. She tried to recall what she had heard, then exined, ¡°The State Teacher¡¯s Righteous Sun Sect is rumored to have only been mid-tier whenpared to the other nine sects. However, because of his tremendous contributions, once he became the State Teacher, the Righteous Sun Sect rose up with him. Now, they¡¯re at their most powerful. For most ordinary people now, it¡¯s practically the only daoist sect they know.

    ¡°Apart from the Righteous Sun Sect, the one with the greatest prestige should be the White Jade Sect. The White Jade Sect¡¯s generations of fairies have always been renowned throughout the world. With their beauty and kindness forming the backbone of their reputation, they¡¯ve always enjoyed favor, whether it¡¯s from the officials or themon people.¡±

    The beautiful features of Yan Xuehen and Chu Chuyan appeared in Zu An¡¯s mind. He thought to himself,If that sect formed a female idol group, they would definitely be really popr.

    ¡°Apart from those two sects, the others and their branches aren¡¯t known bymon people, but their strength is no lower than the White Jade Sect¡¯s. For example, there¡¯s the Jadefall Pce, a group whose reputation is on par with the White Jade Sect,¡± Xie Daoyun continued.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes lit up when he heard that. Big Manman had mentioned that she would take on a master from Jadefall Pce. He hadn¡¯t expected it to be one of the nine great sects too.

    ¡°Apart from that, there¡¯s the Heavenly Sorrow Sect, which is rumored to have thirty-three branches. That sect was indisputably the most powerful a few centuries ago. But several centuries ago, something major seems to have happened. The Heavenly Sorrow Sect suffered serious damage, which caused their strength to decline greatly and forced them to give up their position as the most powerful. But a dying camel is stillrger than a horse, so they¡¯re still about mid-tier among the nine sects.

    ¡°The Kunlun Void Sect is another sect in a simr situation. It apparently experienced a disaster centuries ago that made its strength suddenly deteriorate. It¡¯s now be a mid-tier sect, just like the Heavenly Sorrow Sect.¡±

    Zu An asked curiously, ¡°Exactly what kind of disaster happened several centuries ago?¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Xie Daoyun shook her head and said with a frown, ¡°That, I don¡¯t know. That¡¯s something only they know, and the academy doesn¡¯t seem to have any records either. I fear that only the important figures of those sects know exactly what happened.¡±

    Zu An nodded, expressing his understanding. Xie Daoyun continued, ¡°The five I mentioned were the strongest of the nine sects. Whether in terms of their resources and history or of their strength, they¡¯re on the stronger side. The other four sects are substantially inferior; their names are Mount Luofu, Purity Temple, Emptiness Isle, and Supreme Mystery Cave. Very few of their inheritors make an appearance in the world, and in private discussions, those from the academy have begun to wonder whether they¡¯ve alreadypletely vanished.¡±

    Zu An secretly made a note of all the information. He couldn''t help but say with a sigh, ¡°I really have to thank little sister Daoyun for all of this. Otherwise, I really wouldn¡¯t have had any way of knowing all these secrets.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m d that I was able to help big brother Zu,¡± Xie Daoyun said, blushing when she heard Zu An thank her. She was clearly extremely happy.

    Zhang Zijiang suddenly asked respectfully from outside, ¡°Sir Zu, should we rest for one more day here or¡­?¡±

    He was worried that Zu An wanted to sleep or cultivate some more, so he didn¡¯t dare to mention any military affairs. His voice was quiet too, as if he was scared of disturbing Zu An.

    Zu An moved aside the curtains and said, ¡°Let¡¯s depart, so as to not dy our task.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± Zhang Zijiang replied, sighing in relief. However, he saw Xie Daoyune out from the tent too. He immediately paled in horror.

    I¡¯m finished; I¡¯m done for! I disturbed Sir Zu during his happy time! Is he going to make things hard for me in the future? I¡¯m definitely going to lose to Wang Bolin in the future now¡­

    When she saw his ambiguous expression, Xie Daoyun guessed what kind of misunderstanding Zhang Zijiang had arrived at. She opened her mouth to exin, but she couldn¡¯t really bring herself to say anything. While she was hesitating, Zhang Zijiang left guiltily, leaving her alone with her embarrassment and nervousness.

    ¡­

    Then, the Armed Escort Division set out. Xie Daoyun naturally didn¡¯t dare to ride on the same horse as Zu An, unlike the previous day. Even so, she discovered that the way the other soldiers looked at her had be a bit strange, and their attitudes toward her had also be more respectful. Xie Daoyun bit her lip; her face was bright red. For some reason, though, she actually didn¡¯t hate it all that much. Instead, she felt strangely expectant.

    Just like that, a day quickly passed before they set up camp again in the evening. Xie Daoyun nervously sat alone in her tent, wondering whether to let her big brother Zu in if he came to look for her. While she was wondering about that, however, Zu An never showed up, even as she unknowingly drifted off to sleep.

    Meanwhile, Zu An quickly rushed to Yi Commandery, where he found Xiao Jianren and Zhang Zitong discussing something together. He deliberately coughed to get their attention.

    ¡°Sir Eleven!¡± Xiao Jianren greeted him, already used to his bossing and going mysteriously, but Zhang Zitong jumped in fright.

    Zu An asked, ¡°Were there any results from your investigations?¡±

    Xiao Jianren replied, ¡°We already investigated the mission Miss Zhang was a part of; she wasn¡¯t lying. Apart from that, we¡¯re still looking into the women Sir Seven came into contact with. Currently, there are some clues, but we need a few more days to reach a conclusion.¡±

    Zu An nodded to express that he understood. Then, he looked at Zhang Zitong and asked, ¡°Are there any shamans here in Yi Commandery?¡±

    ¡°Shamans?¡± Zhang Zitong repeated, staring nkly for a moment. Ordinary cultivators wouldn¡¯t necessarily even know about the existence of shamans, but she was part of the Embroidered Envoy. She quickly replied, ¡°There are very few shamans in existence. ording to what I know, the only one who matches that description might be King Yan Manor¡¯s guest.¡±

 Chapter 1590: Breaking Into the Camp

    <h4>Chapter 1590: Breaking Into the Camp</h4>

    ¡°King Yan Manor?¡± Zu An replied in surprise. Why was King Yan Manor now involved?

    Unlike the kings of Chinese history, who had usually been rather idle, this world was full of war. In order to ensure the peace and safety of the empire, they had their own troops and provisions. It wouldn¡¯t be wrong to consider them rulers of their own countries. Of course, because Zhao Han was extremely powerful and the court had a great number of talents, they didn¡¯t dare to disobey orders from the central pce.

    But now, Golden Token Seven¡¯s death involved King Yan. If it really had been caused by his side, it would be aplete rebellion. The consequences would be too horrible to imagine.

    However, Zu An also quickly realized something. In their previous interaction, Golden Token Seven¡¯s mood had been grave. Just what could weigh so heavily on the mind of a Golden Token Envoy who oversaw an entire region, and yet be impossible to find any concrete evidence of or proim to the public? Apart from the rebellion of a king, what else could there be? Furthermore, it definitely wasn¡¯t a minor issue; it was likely on the level of treason.

    When he realized that, Zu An thought gravely,It seems this trip to Violet Mountain is going to be more dangerous than I imagined.He looked at Zhang Zitong and asked, ¡°Do you know anything about that shaman?¡±

    Zhang Zitong shook her head and said with a frown, ¡°I only know that the shaman¡¯s surname is Huo. People all call him Sir Huo, but he usually remains in seclusion and rarely shows himself. The information on him is scarce, too. If not for my Embroidered Envoy status, I might not even havve known of his existence.¡±

    ¡°Sir Huo¡­¡± Zu An muttered, quietly storing the name away in his memory.

    Zhang Zitong offered, ¡°Why don¡¯t I arrest this Sir Huo for questioning?¡±

    Xiao Jianren was horrified, eximing, ¡°You absolutely mustn¡¯t! After all, Sir Huo and Sir Seven having something to do with each other is only a suspicion, and we have no evidence. What if he refuses to admit to it and bites us back? Furthermore, he¡¯s King Yan Manor¡¯s guest. If King Yan files aint about us, we¡¯ll all have to bear the consequences!¡±

    Zhang Zitong¡¯s expression changed. In reality, she knew that what he said was true. Furthermore, King Yan didn¡¯t even have to file aint. With his influence in Yi Commandery, he could easily make a Silver Token Envoy disappear. Even if he wanted to get back at them in overt ways, King Yan would be seen as being in the right. Still, she just couldn''t stand the fact that there was a suspect right before her eyes, and yet she couldn''t question them at all.

    Zu An said seriously, ¡°This matter is indeed pressing, and anything that involves King Yan is a serious issue. I want both of you to try and see if you can obtain more intelligence on Sir Huo over the next few days. If you can find out about his movement patterns, that should be even better. Be careful not to alert them. Furthermore, continue investigating the women Sir Seven has interacted with. Contact me in the same way as usual. I¡¯ll return in a few days.¡±

    They had already found out what they had to look into; the rest would take some time. There was no need for him to rush over every night anymore. To be honest, even he was finding it a bit difficult.

    Xiao Jianren was used to Zu An¡¯s sudden appearances and disappearances. Furthermore, whenever his boss appeared, so did new clues, so he only felt admiration and assumed Zu An was investigating other clues elsewhere.

    After bidding the two of them farewell, Zu An stepped on the Wind Fire Wheels and hurried back.

    ¡­

    Zu An didn¡¯t use up as much time this trip, so he returned to the camp a bit earlier than before. It was daybreak, the time when people tended to be the sleepiest. Zu An had been running around for several days, rarely getting any shut-eye. He wanted to find a chance to get some proper sleep.

    Hended near the camp. As he prepared to sneak back in, he suddenly noticed a few figures moving around furtively. He stopped and focused on them, and his expression grew strange. Weren¡¯t they all members of the Twin Dragon Mountain rebel army from before?

    Had these people eaten the heart of a bear or something? Just where had they gotten the courage to actually ambush the army¡¯s main camp? Most importantly, what could they even aplish with their numbers?

    Now, even though it was very early in the morning, there was no way the Armed Escort Division wouldpletely drop their guard. In fact, even if the entire rebel army showed up, the odds of their surprise attack seeding were still practically nonexistent.

    However, Zu An¡¯s confusion was soon cleared up. The rebels clearly didn¡¯t dare to attack the camp. Judging from their movements, it looked as if they nned to set fire to the army¡¯s covered wagons.

    The rebels took out bows and crossbows, smearing oil over their ammunition. They didn¡¯t even dare to get closer to the camp, nning to shoot fire arrows outside.

    ¡°All of you, be quiet! We¡¯ll all be finished if we¡¯re discovered!¡±

    ¡°Do you think I need you to teach me? Where¡¯s the fire? Hurry up and take out the fire starters.¡±

    ¡°Huh? Where did they go? Did we drop them somewhere?¡±

    They looked around, but why couldn¡¯t they find any fire starters?

    ¡°Are these what you¡¯re looking for?¡± a voice called from behind them. A hand appeared in front of the rebels, filled with fire starters.

    The rebel group was horrified. When had this person taken the fire starters from them? If he had decided to slit their throats, wouldn¡¯t they be long dead already?

    ¡°Retreat!¡± they cried, tacitly agreeing to run in different directions so some of them could get away even if they had to sacrifice some unlucky ones.

    Unfortunately, their imaginations were too limited. They hadn¡¯t expected the other person to be able to simultaneously catch all of them. Zu An used the Heaven Devouring Sutra, and a wave of suction force pulled all of them back.

    ¡°Please spare us, great one!¡± the rebels cried. When had they ever seen such a thing? All of them were ashen-faced as they continued to kowtow for forgiveness.

    Zu An asked with a frown, ¡°Why are you trying to set our things on fire?¡±

    Even though the group¡¯s cultivation ranks weren¡¯t bad by the standards of the rebel army, they hadpletely bitten off more than they could chew by ambushing such a great camp. Moreover, judging from their appearances, they didn¡¯t seem like the sort who weren¡¯t afraid of death either.

    ¡°We were only acting under orders! We were supposed to create a disturbance here to cover our big boss¡¯ movements,¡± the rebels exined, quickly spilling the beans as soon as Zu An released his master rank power.

    Zu An asked in surprise, ¡°Where is your big boss?¡±

    ¡°He should have already made his way into the main camp by now,¡± the rebels replied.

    Zu An was surprised and furious. He had seen Scarface Yang Shen¡¯s cultivation before; the opponent was a master rank cultivator. Even though he couldn''t face an army head-on, it wouldn¡¯t be too difficult for him to infiltrate the camp.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Could it be that he¡¯s still going after Xie Daoyun? Or maybe he wants to get revenge? If he¡¯s allowed to kill some of the Armed Escort Division¡¯s officers, the losses will be too great.

    He restrained the rebels and tossed them over to some patrolling soldiers who had rushed over after discovering the disturbance. Zu An rushed toward the main camp, leaving afterimages into his wake.

    ¡­

    At the same time, a blue light flickered from the center of the camp. It was the radiance of a formation, bearing Xie Daoyun¡¯s unique rune patterns.

    Zu An was a blur as he arrived at the scene as quickly as possible. He appeared just in time to see Xie Daoyun¡¯s hands form a seal, but it was smashed apart by Scarface Yang Shen¡¯s palm.

    Yang Shen pressed a hand down on Xie Daoyun¡¯s shoulder and yelled, ¡°Stay back!¡±

    Wang Bolin, Zhang Zijiang, and the others had brought their soldiers over when they heard the activity. However, Yang Shen had noticed that he was exposed, bringing his de up against Xie Daoyun¡¯s neck. As the one he feared the most was Zu An, he did his best to ce Xie Daoyun¡¯s body between the two of them.

    ¡°Let her go!¡± Zu An barked sternly. At the same time, he couldn''t understand what was happening. What was Yang Shen doing? Why had he taken such a huge risk to invade their camp and capture Xie Daoyun?

    When she saw Zu An, Xie Daoyun¡¯s nervous heart quickly rxed. She told Yang Shen, ¡°You won¡¯t get away. I advise you to surrender quickly, as there might be a chance for you to live then.¡±

    A hint of viciousness flickered through Yang Shen¡¯s eyes, making the scar on his face look even more threatening. He said, ¡°Even if I can¡¯t get away, I¡¯ll just take thedy with me on the road to hell. However, I fear that sir over there might not wish for you to die.¡±

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s face turnedpletely red when she heard those words. The gazes of everyone presentnded on Zu An before wandering between the two of them.

    Zu An said with a frown, ¡°Let Miss Xie go, and I¡¯ll let you live today.¡±

    Yang Shen spat on the ground and retorted, ¡°As if I¡¯d believe the rotten lies of officials. Tell your subordinates to get lost. Once I¡¯m able to leave safely, I¡¯ll naturally let her go.¡±

    There was no way Zu An would believe him. He replied indifferently, ¡°Do you really think there¡¯s nothing I can do in this situation?¡±

    ¡°I admit that your cultivation is profound, but there¡¯s no way you can move faster than my de at this distance,¡± Yang Shen said with great confidence.

 Chapter 1591: Resolute

    <h4>Chapter 1591: Resolute</h4>

    Yang Shen had absolute confidence in the situation. Without confidence, it was impossible to be strong in this world, to say nothing of bing a big shot in the world of warriors. He was someone who had gathered many people to form the Twin Dragon Mountains, which was a force of considerable power.

    The formation of countless golden swords was indeed terrifying, but because of it, he concluded that Zu An was better at long-range attacks. Now that they were up close and he had a hostage right in his grasp, that sword formation was useless.

    When he saw so many people around him holding back their attacks out of fear, Yang Shen couldn''t help but feel a bit proud. He thought to himself,In the future, I¡¯ll be able to boast about this for sure!

    ¡®This old one returned with a hostage after being surrounded by an enormous army, something practically no one has aplished. Not a single one of those damned officials was able to stop me!¡¯

    Hmph, wait. I can¡¯t brag about this myself; that¡¯ll lower my status. I can make my subordinates spread some rumors first. That way, if someone else asks about it, I can act a bit more humble.

    Just then, however, a strange bird seemingly appeared before him. Immediately afterward, a shrill, ear-piercing noise instantly made his mind go nk. Then, a tremendous suction force manifested in front of him. Yang Shen couldn''t react as Xie Daoyun was sucked right out of his hands, leaving him horrified.

    Yang Shen instinctively reached forward, but he discovered that his hostage was already in Zu An¡¯s hands. Zu An stared back at him coldly, and his heart sank. He knew everything was over now.

    However, he was still a valiant individual. Now that he knew that it was meaningless to run, he brandished his de directly at Zu An. It seemed that Zu An was a long-range fighter, so perhaps he would have a chance in close quartersbat. As it was a matter of life and death, his de brought out all of his potential.

    As he unleashed a massive shining de that seemed capable of splitting heaven and earth, he suddenly gained enlightenment. He made sure to take note of the feeling so he could properly digest it in the future and be even stronger.

    This pretty boy might have higher cultivation than me, but he underestimated me too much, and he probably wanted to show off in front of that woman. Look at that arm that¡¯s still wrapped around her waist! He won¡¯t even be able to fight properly like that.

    I¡¯ll send both of them to the Yellow Springs of the underworld with this de. They¡¯ll at least have that to be grateful for.

    Just then, Zu An moved. He drew his sword in one hand.

    A hint of disdain appeared in Yang Shen¡¯s eyes.We¡¯re so close and my attack is already about to reach you. Do you really think you still have time?

    In the next second, however, he could no longer see. A streak of golden light suddenly appeared; at that instant, it was as if he were standing right next to a sun. His de appeared dull inparison as it melted. Then, he felt an intense pain suffuse his entire body. He fell to the ground like a broken sack.

    What a formidable sword!

    That was the only thought in his mind. At the same time, he was curious as to why Zu An hadn¡¯t killed him. With the power of that sword, there was no reason for the enemy to spare him.

    The Armed Escort Guards¡¯ jaws practically fell to the floor. Many of them hadn¡¯t seen Zu An¡¯s sword formation that forced back thousands, and had only heard about it from their colleagues. They had been skeptical, but now, they were fully ovee by shock. They had never seen such a gorgeous sword. There weren¡¯t many more formidablebatants in the whole army, right?

    Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang both dripped with sweat. When they recalled how they had treated Zu An, they realized that they really had been dancing around their own graves then!

    Thank goodness Sir Zu is magnanimous and didn¡¯t stoop to our level¡­

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s eyes shone brilliantly. They had been fellow students before, and if it had just been another fellow student who surpassed her, perhaps she would have been unhappy and tried to catch up to them. However, her big brother Zu was different. His current strength only made her feel a deep sense of admiration, mixed with a hint of adoration.

    Which youngdy wouldn¡¯t like such an outstanding hero? Furthermore, his arm was around her, and he could only fight with one hand¡­ When she felt the heat from Zu An¡¯s arm seemingly entering the depths of her body, her heart beat so quickly it felt as if it would burst out of her chest.

    ¡­

    Zu An didn¡¯t know what the others were thinking. Instead, he stared at Yang Shen and said, ¡°Speak! Why did you take such a huge risk to capture her?¡±

    Previously, he had thought that it was only because Yang Shen thought highly of Xie Daoyun¡¯s abilities as a runemaster, and thought that it would greatly increase the strength of the Twin Dragon Mountain army. Now, however, that suspicion had been overturned. After all, no matter how precious a runemaster was, it wasn¡¯t worth such a risk. There was definitely something else going on.

    However, that wasn¡¯t what the onlookers were thinking. They all stared at Xie Daoyun in Zu An¡¯s arms. They all looked as if they were watching some really interesting drama.

    This rebel army leader could have offended anyone else, but he just had to touch our general¡¯s woman.

    Zhang Zijiang thought to himself,I¡¯ve already offended Sir Zu¡­ Even though he said he didn¡¯t mind, there¡¯s no way he didn¡¯t feel any offense.

    Should I try to get on the madam¡¯s good side? Maybe if I can please Miss Xie and make her happy, I¡¯ll be able to get some benefits that way.

    Yeah, Miss Xie looks like a cultured person. I have to find some gifts that such people like.

    Wang Bolin had simr thoughts. However, an anxious look spread across his face. He felt that couldn''tpare to Zhang Zijiang in that aspect. That guy was better at bootlicking than him!

    My future prospects look bleak¡­

    The other Armed Escort Army soldiers didn¡¯t have such conflicted thoughts. They were more interested in Xie Daoyun¡¯s looks, and all sized up their general¡¯s future madam.

    Xie Daoyun had always been pretty to begin with, but because of her temperament and how she dressed herself, she looked quite simple and elegant. But now that she was in Zu An¡¯s arms and being stared at by so many people, her face had turned red, making her look extremely charming. She now looked even more beautiful than a rose.

    Yang Shen released a deep sigh, saying, ¡°I guess this is my fate. I didn¡¯t expect her to have such a formidable man.¡±

    When she heard those words, Xie Daoyun couldn''t take it anymore. She buried her face straight into Zu An¡¯s chest.

    Zu An looked at Yang Shen and said, ¡°You haven¡¯t answered my question.¡±

    Yang Shen roared withughter, replying, ¡°I, Scarface Yang Shen, am no unknown in this world of warriors. I¡®ve always loathed the bullshit court and hate those traitors who defect to the court the most. Now that I¡¯ve fallen into your hands, why would I wag my tail and beg for mercy? That would just make me aughingstock to all the heroes of the world!¡±

    After heughed a few times, his entire body trembled and he took hisst breath. Even in death, his head didn¡¯t lower in the slightest. Before he passed away, however, many memories shed before his eyes.

    In truth, Yang Shen was the child of an official. In the past, his father had been a local county magistrate, but he was used of misconduct, of being involved in a vile gang rape incident. After doing the deed, the culprits had even cruelly chopped off the woman¡¯s feet. The court had been furious and ordered a thorough investigation, upon which the regional officials had arrived to carry it out.

    The truth of the incident was that a girl from a wealthy family had gotten lost during a temple fair and been kidnapped by some local hoodlums. The next day, the family had found her again and told the world that she had only lost her shoes.

    Meanwhile, the hoodlums responsible had already been killed formitting other crimes. As the culprits were already dead, if the matter was investigated thoroughly, the youngdy¡¯s reputation would be ruined. With how much her family cared about their reputation, she would have no choice but to die a meaningless death. In order to protect the youngdy, her father had thought of a way to cover up the case.

    However, that method had ended up bing a political weapon. When the county learned the truth and went back to report it, the court hadn¡¯t believed them. They had believed that the officials were just shielding each other, thus ordering the matter to be investigated further.

    The county had had no choice but to send more people to investigate. In order to provide their higher-ups with an exnation, the new officials had forced Yang Shen¡¯s father to pay bribes to purchase their peace and safety.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Yang Shen¡¯s father had been an honest official, but with the way things were, he had been forced to borrow money. He lost his entire fortune while gathering arge sum to offer up; he thought it would end there, but soon afterward, another order came down. He was used of wrongdoing and had his post stripped from him before being thrown into prison. As a proud man, he couldn¡¯t ept the humiliation, and thus died in grief and indignation.

    Yang Shen¡¯s mother had then gathered evidence of all the letters that hade and gone. She had nned to report the county officials, but a good friend of Yang Shen¡¯s father swindled her out of the evidence after being bribed by those same officials. Yang Shen¡¯s mother thus perished in sorrow as well.

    Yang Shen had witnessed the darkness of the court, nting a seed of hatred deep in his heart. Subsequently, he had wandered through the world of warriors and suffered untold bitterness. He had wandered near the gates of hell many times before eventually acquiring the skills he had today.

    The first thing he had done after returning to his hometown was to get revenge. He had killed the officials who deceived his family, as well as his father¡¯s treacherous friend. All the people rted to the case werepletely eradicated.

    Naturally, an order hade down for Yang Shen¡¯s arrest as a result. As events unfolded one after another, he had ended up bing a bandit in the end. Still, he had always wanted to overthrow the court to fully purge the officialdom of its darkness.

    Unfortunately, he couldn''t do any of that anymore¡­

    ¡­

    Zu An hadn¡¯t expected Yang Shen to be so resolute, not even giving him the chance to negotiate. After a moment of silence, he ordered his subordinates, ¡°Give him a proper burial and hand out an order that this matter is to be kept secret. Not even the slightest bit of information can be leaked.¡±

    At the same time, he became more and more curious. Why would this man rather die than exin why he had captured Xie Daoyun?

    Favorite

 Chapter 1592: Meeting of Enemies

    <h4>Chapter 1592: Meeting of Enemies</h4>

    Zhang Zijiang couldn''t help but quietly say, ¡°Sir, this Scarface Yang Shen is a great criminal. Taking him down is a huge achievement!¡±

    Zu An shook his head and replied, ¡°Yang Shen was still a strong and courageous person; there¡¯s no need to shame him. Eliminating the Twin Dragon Mountain rebel army should already be enough of a contribution to benefit all the officers and soldiers.¡±

    ording to the court¡¯sws, even though Yang Shen was already dead, he would still be dragged back to experience a thousand cuts. Then, his head would be passed along to differentnds to be shown around. However, even though he was an enemy, Zu An considered him worthy of respect and didn¡¯t want him to experience such humiliation after his death.

    ¡°Understood!¡± Zhang Zijiang replied and withdrew. If it were anyone else, he would definitely have continued to argue with them. However, Zu An had already brought him a lot of shock in a short period. Right now, Zu An was at the peak of prestige, so Zhang Zijiang didn¡¯t want to go against his orders.

    Furthermore, Sir Zu wasn¡¯t the sort of official who only knew how to talk and dream. He had already thought of giving them a share of the contributions for eradicating the Twin Dragon Mountain army. That was already enough.

    Xie Daoyun blinked, dazed. As she looked up at Zu An, she began to feel that he was taller and more powerful than ever. His cultivation was high, but he was still able to retain a kind heart.

    Big brother Zu really is a great hero!

    ¡­

    The other soldiers cleaned up the area, then tactfully withdrew, leaving Zu An and Xie Daoyun alone.

    Only then did Xie Daoyun realize what was happening. She suddenly leaped out of Zu An¡¯s arms, but then she felt her knees suddenly buckle, and she almost fell.

    Zu An chuckled and asked, ¡°Is little sister Daoyun injured?¡±

    Xie Daoyun pursed her lips. She shook her head and said, ¡°I¡¯m not. When Yang Shen approached the tent, my formation was activated, so I immediately woke up. Then, big brother Zu arrived.¡±

    Just how many times has big brother Zu saved me now? I¡¯ve always heard that a life saving debt can¡¯t be repaid unless¡­

    Ah, what am I thinking? Do you have no sense of shame?

    When he saw her expression change several times, Zu An couldn''t help but say with a sigh, ¡°It¡¯s still runemasters like you who have the most methods. Even a master rank expert ended up falling into your trap.¡±

    When she heard that, Xie Daoyun¡¯s cheeks turned a bit hot. She had actually set up the formation because she was expecting Zu An. Last time, he had appeared so suddenly and caught her off guard, which was why she set up a small formation outside. She had been incredibly happy when the formation activated, thinking that big brother Zu had finallye to look for her. How could she have anticipated that it would be the ugly Scarface?

    ¡°Right, do you know why he wanted to capture you?¡± Zu An asked the question that had been bothering him.

    Xie Daoyun hurriedly shook her head and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know either.¡±

    She really was a bit stunned. Back when she lived in Brightmoon City, and even after moving to the capital, she had normally stayed inside and rarely gone out. There was no way she could have had any interactions with Yang Shen, let alone forming a grudge. It didn¡¯t make any sense for Yang Shen to have taken such a huge risk to capture her.

    ¡°Little sister Daoyun, if you can¡¯t figure it out, just don¡¯t think about it. I¡¯m here to protect you,¡± Zu An said, remembering what Xie Xiu had entrusted him with. He thought,I definitely can''t let anything happen to her.Fortunately, he didn¡¯t need to go all the way to Yi Commandery anymore. Even if something happened again, he would be present to take care of her.

    Xie Daoyun interpreted things differently, assuming Zu An was just expressing his goodwill. Today had made her heart beat faster than ever before. She said, ¡°Big brother Zu, you can call me Ling¡¯er; that¡¯s my nickname. My mom and dad both call me that.¡± Then, she ran back into her tent without even turning around.

    Zu An stood still in confusion.What¡¯s the meaning of this? Could it be that she considers me her senior?

    ¡­

    After the incident, their group hurried along to Yi Commandery. Zu An and Xie Daoyun chatted about cultivation during the day, and shared poetry and songs in the evening. They talked about all sorts of topics. Xie Daoyun felt admiration for Zu An¡¯s knowledge and experiences, as well as his different way of thinking. Meanwhile, Zu An admired how she was brimming with talent. Just like that, they learned more about each other.

    As the saying went, however, joyous times always passed quickly. They arrived near Yi Commandery roughly ten dayster. A group of troops was waiting at the city outskirts, carrying all manner of streamers and banners. They were clearly Yi Commandery¡¯s local officials, who hade out to wee them.

    Zu An just happened to recognize the ones in front, so he introduced them to the people around him. ¡°The man with the stern looking face and a goatee is Yi Commandery¡¯s Governor Zhang Jie. The general with the longnce next to him is Martial Supervisor Yang Sheng. That fairly handsome middle-aged man is Yi Commandery¡¯s City Lord Liao Ling. His Boundless Sword Energy is quite unique¡­¡±

    Zhang Zijiang sighed in admiration, remarking, ¡°Sir Zu really is intelligent. You only passed by Yi Commandery once, and yet you already know so much about the local officials¡­¡±

    Wang Bolin frowned. That bastard had cut in front of him to tter Zu An again! Damn it!

    Zu An didn¡¯t feel much about the praise, but Xie Daoyun really enjoyed it. When other people praised Zu An, she felt as if they were praising her.

    ¡­n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The two sides quickly met, then exchanged conventional greetings. When Zu An introduced Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang to Yi Commandery¡¯s officials, both of them couldn''t help but puff out their chests, their previous bootlicking nowhere to be seen. Even though there were many people present with higher official ranks than them, they came from the capital and were from the emperor¡¯s private army. They still felt a sense of superiority when facing such local officials.

    Yi Commandery¡¯s officials naturally didn¡¯t want to offend them. They all greeted the deputy generals and imed to have long looked forward to meeting them, which made the two feel great.

    Only Yi Commandery City Lord Liao Ling remained silent. With his personality, he didn¡¯t really approve of his colleagues¡¯ actions. When they saw that he didn¡¯t give them any face, Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang couldn''t stand it.

    Concerned that some unnecessary conflict could arise, Zu An introduced Xie Daoyun to Liao Ling just in time, saying, ¡°Lady Xie is Master Yan Xiangu¡¯s disciple. The two of you actually have some rtionship.¡±

    Liao Ling¡¯s proud nature was partly because of his background from the Royal Academy. As he had spent some time studying there, he and Xie Daoyun could be considered fellow alumni. Thus, his eyes quickly lit up as he eximed, ¡°So it was Great Sir¡¯s disciple! As expected, you do have a schrly air about you.¡±

    ¡°I greet my senior!¡± Xie Daoyun replied, showing him a gentle and refined greeting; there was a hint of happiness on her face too. Even when they came from different ces, the academy¡¯s disciples all felt a sense of familiarity around others from the academy. They naturally felt closer to their schoolmates than normal people.

    The officials had previously only treated Xie Daoyun as a close female friend Zu An brought along with him. Many of them had even thought that Zu An was quite daring, to have actually brought a beautiful youngdy with him when carrying out his majesty¡¯s orders. Was he not scared that he would be criticized severely if that were reported to the capital¡¯s Imperial Censors?

    Upon learning that Xie Daoyun was Yan Xiangu¡¯s disciple, however, they immediately treated her with more importance. They politely greeted her and asked about how Yan Xiangu was doing.

    Yan Xiangu was the empire¡¯s number one runemaster. Whether it was the Imperial Pce¡¯s inner courtyards, the local manors, or the military barracks, their countless formations were the result of his brilliance. Countless officials wanted to obtain a magic artifact from him, but unfortunately, Yan Xiangu rarely created objects for personal use. As such, his works only became more and more precious over time.

    For local officials such as the ones from Yi Commandery, they couldn¡¯t even vainly hope for one of Master Yan¡¯s works. Still, if they had a chance to get to know his disciple, by improving their rtionship, perhaps they would be able to obtain some magic artifacts from her. Even if they couldn¡¯tpare to Master Yan¡¯s, as an important disciple of his, she would most certainly be a great master too. How could the officials not be excited when they thought of that?

    Zhang Zijiang and Wang Bolin saw that Zu An seemed to appreciate Liao Ling quite a bit, so they naturally didn¡¯t want to make trouble for him for no reason. They took the chance to praise Xie Daoyun more, thinking that making her happy was the same thing as making Zu An happy.

    Being praised so much left the usually gentle and refined Xie Daoyun highly embarrassed. She instinctively moved behind Zu An.

    When they saw that, the old foxes of the officialdom exchanged a few looks. It seemed this woman¡¯s rtionship with Zu An ran quite deep.

    Fortunately, the sound of hooves interrupted the awkward situation. Those present turned around and saw a pair of ck armored horsemen approaching quickly. Their steeds were handsome and their armor was bright and fierce. Their equipment wasn¡¯t inferior to that of the emperor¡¯s personal army, the Armed Escort Division, at all. When he saw the two horsemen, Yi Commandery¡¯s Governor Zhang Jie couldn''t help but frown.

    Zu An looked pensive as he observed the sight. It seemed that Yi Commandery¡¯s local officials didn¡¯t really get along with King Yan Manor. He recognized the iing troops¡¯ outfits. They were King Yan Manor¡¯s ck Cavalry, and he shared ¡®imcable enmity¡¯ with the one at the very front.

    Favorite

 Chapter 1593: Old Friends Reunited

    <h4>Chapter 1593: Old Friends Reunited</h4>

    The one leading King Yan¡¯s side was Xiang Minister Sun Xun. Previously, when Zu An and Sang Hong had passed by Yi Commandery, they hade into conflict with Sun Xun¡¯s son Sun Ji in the Hub of Freedom. Because people¡¯s identities were kept secret in the Hub of Freedom, Sun Ji hadn¡¯t known that Zu An was an Imperial Envoy, and had wanted to abuse his status as the local bully to kill him.

    However, as the saying went the ns of the gods superseded those of man. Sun Ji had encountered a nefarious viin who ended up ughtering his entire group.

    Sun Xun had been shocked and furious. Judging from the conflict in the Hub of Freedom, he had suspected Zu An, but fortunately, Zu An had been able to discover the true killer, thus preventing a conflict.

    However, even though Sun Xun had epted that result on the surface, his true thoughts were unknown. After all, that had only happened because of his son¡¯s sh with Zu An; that conflict was the only reason his son¡¯s life had been taken by such a viin.

    In such a situation, a petty-minded person would easily take out their anger on Zu An. Anyone who could end up with a prodigal son such as Sun Ji definitely couldn¡¯t be not much better himself.

    Sun Xun¡¯s group quickly arrived before the others. They got off their horses and greeted Zu An¡¯s group. ¡°This one greets Sir Zu and the army in ce of King Yan!¡±

    ¡°King Yan has shown us courtesy!¡± Zu An cupped his hands and replied courteously. At the same time, he was surprised that this man hadn¡¯t provided even a single Rage point. Judging from that, he could see just how sophisticated Sun Xun was.

    Meanwhile, Governor Zhang Jie suddenly put on a fake smile and said, ¡°Sir Zu¡¯s trip came about for his majesty¡¯s Fengshan ceremony, and yet King Yan only sent you here without showing his own face. Isn¡¯t he being rather negligent?¡±

    Even though King Yan¡¯s status was high, Zu An was in charge of something as important as the Fengshan ceremony. Furthermore, the ones he had brought with him were the emperor¡¯s own Armed Escort Division. To a certain degree, they represented the emperor himself. Normally, King Yan should havee to greet them in person.

    When those words were spoken, the atmosphere quickly turned strange. Zu An hadn¡¯t expected the conflict between Yi Commandery¡¯s local officials and King Yan to have reached such a level. He hadn¡¯t interacted with Yi Commandery¡¯s officialdom that much when he was just passing by en route to Cloudcenter Commandery, so he hadn¡¯t noticed that.

    Sun Xun replied calmly, ¡°The king naturally wanted toe and greet Sir Zu, but an esteemed guest arrived at the manor, so he was unable to leave. As such, he sent me to receive all of you. Furthermore, my king has specially prepared a banquet for everyone, so I invite sirs to enjoy it together.¡±

    Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang couldn''t help but frown when they heard that. Who was this esteemed guest? Didn¡¯t that imply the guest was more important than Zu An¡¯s group? There couldn¡¯t be a greater blow to their face than that!

    Those in Governor Zhang Jie¡¯s group had different expressions. Some had eager looks on their faces, hoping both sides would have a falling-out on the spot.

    They had heard that Zu An was a stubborn and reckless young man who didn¡¯t even give King Qi any face. In the past, he had even broken the legs of King Qi¡¯s heir. They all felt that there would be something interesting to watch today.

    To their surprise, however, Zu An simply said with a smile, ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to trouble Sir Sun to lead the way.¡± He had been worried that he wouldn¡¯t have a chance to get to know King Yan Manor¡¯s guest, Sir Huo. How could he let such a good opportunity go?

    However, Yi Commandery¡¯s officials didn¡¯t know about that. Their eyes were wide open, and many of them felt a hint of disdain. Their thoughts went in different directions..

    Didn¡¯t they say this guy was really brave? He looks like a coward to me.

    Those assorted rumors are probably fake. The crown prince¡¯s faction probably spread them just to nder King Qi¡­

    Meanwhile, Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang had a different opinion, thinking Sir Zu definitely had his reasons for doing such a thing. After all, they had seen just how powerful Zu An was. They already practically prostrated themselves in admiration for Zu An.

    Sun Xun was also stunned. He hadn¡¯t expected Zu An to be so agreeable, which made him develop a hint of contempt as well.

    Hmph, this is nothing more than an up-anding youngster. How can he put on airs in front of King Yan?

    At the same time, he was a bit annoyed. He had actually said that on purpose to provoke Zu An and make him do something irrational. That way, he would have something to use as a pretext to start a fuss. After all, Yi Commandery was his and King Yan¡¯s domain. Unless the emperor came himself, who else could challenge them?

    It was clear that he still hadn¡¯t gotten over the grief of his son¡¯s death. He had nned to take the chance to get revenge, but he hadn¡¯t expected Zu An to not y along at all.

    ¡°This way, please!¡± Sun Xun said. Yi Commandery¡¯s officials were all watching, so there was nothing he could do. He could only lead all of them toward King Yan Manor in the city.

    Either way, at least, he had managed to cut down this bastard Zu¡¯s dignity in public. He had wanted to pick a fight with these people from the court at first, but now that they were all so frightened and cowardly, what meaning was there left if he persisted?

    I¡¯ll just take care of this task first. I still have to show them basic courtesy in public. Who knows what other annoyances might spring up if the conflict gets too intense and those from the court find out?

    As Zu An had agreed, Yi Commandery¡¯s officials naturally followed as well.

    Still, there was no way the entire Armed Escort Army would be able to enter the city. Thus, Officer Yang Sheng took them nearby to set up camp. Wang Bolin volunteered to stay behind. After all, the army had a rule stating that at least one of the three senior officers had to be in the army. If something happened and they had no leader, things would be troublesome.

    Zu An patted his shoulder and said encouragingly, ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to bother you for that.¡±

    Wang Bolin stuck out his chest proudly. At the same time, he snuck Zhang Zijiang a look.You might be good at ttery, but even if I can¡¯t beat you in ttery, I can work harder than you, right? Sir Zu is so heroic and outstanding, he¡¯ll definitely be able to see who¡¯s more reliable.

    When he saw Wang Bolin¡¯s provocative look, Zhang Zijiang sneered.What a fool!

    ¡­

    Yi Commandery was arge and lively city that wasn¡¯t inferior to Brightmoon City at all. Apart from themon people, one could meet merchants and cultivators from all around the world.

    However, because Zu An¡¯s group had such an impressive lineup, many people still came over to take a look.

    ¡°Just who could be so important that both King Yan Manor and the Governor Manor have to wee him?¡±

    ¡°That man is so young, and yet he already has such status. Is he a prince?¡±

    ¡°Ah, he¡¯s so handsome! If I identally stumbled and fell in front of him, do you think he would fall in love with me like in those romance stories?¡±

    In a distant tavern, two beautiful figures sat in surprise. They both lowered the teacups in their hands, wondering, ¡°Why is he here too?¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    One of the twodies was young and lively, while the other was mature and dignified. However, they were simr in that both of them were astonishing beautiful.

    ¡°Master, this is definitely a predestined affinity dictated by the heavens! I¡¯m going to seek him out!¡± the younger woman said excitedly.

    The mature woman¡¯s expression became a bit unnatural. She replied, ¡°Did you forget that we can¡¯t show ourselves in public? He has so many officials around him; how are you going to meet with him?¡±

    ¡°Come on, I¡¯ll just go at night if I have to¡­¡± the young woman protested.

    The mature woman harrumphed. ¡°What, just so you can watch as he flirts with that girl next to him?¡±

    The youngdy was stunned. Only then did she notice Xie Daoyun next to Zu An. The two of them were smiling as they chatted with each other, looking very close.

    ¡°Ahhh! I¡¯m so upset!¡± the young woman screamed.

 Chapter 1594: Great Happiness

    <h4>Chapter 1594: Great Happiness</h4>

    You have sessfully trolled Qiu Honglei for +311 +311 +311¡­

    The two women were naturally the master and disciple, Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei. They had been discussing something in a tavern before hearing all the noise happening outside. At first, they had wondered which damn official was showing off and nned to teach them a lesson, but they hadn¡¯t expected to actually see Zu An.

    Unfortunately, Zu An was parading himself around in too high-profile a manner, collecting countless Rage points from all the jealous onlookers. Furthermore, he was chatting with the officials around him, so he didn¡¯t notice Qiu Honglei¡¯s rage points.

    ¡°I¡¯m so angry! I¡¯m so angry! Here I am, missing him every single day, and yet look at how much fun he¡¯s having with another girl!¡± Qiu Honglei grumbled, thinking about how bitterly she had cultivated so she could have a normal rtionship with Zu An. Because of how hard she worked, she had almost experienced cultivation deviation. As such, she was really shaken up by the sight. She picked up the bowl next to her, seemingly about to throw it.

    Yun Jianyue jumped in fright and quickly reached out to stop her, protesting, ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    Qiu Honglei looked at her in confusion, replying, ¡°Master, this isn¡¯t like you! Your precious disciple is being bullied by that stupid man right now. It would be one thing if you didn¡¯t get mad on my behalf, but you¡¯re actually stopping me?¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression became a bit strange as she replied, ¡°Don¡¯t forget the purpose of our mission this time. What if we end up startling our target and ruin everything? Besides, there are so many powerful cultivators and soldiers outside right now. Things will be really annoying if we start any trouble.¡±

    Qiu Honglei pulled back her hand angrily, saying, ¡°Master, I feel as if you¡¯ve be a bit different from before.¡±

    Yun Jianyue asked in rm, ¡°How so?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t really exin it either¡­¡± Qiu Honglei trailed off with a frown. She just felt that her master seemed to have changed, as if Yun Jianyue felt a bit scared of being with her. Of course, she wouldn¡¯t dare to say so out loud. She continued, ¡°Master has never had so many misgivings when doing things before. Those officials and soldiers are all just useless nobodies. How can they be worth mentioning before the two of us?¡±

    Perhaps they would have some trouble if they were in an open field, but at the moment, they were in a city withplex terrain everywhere. For them, It wouldn¡¯t be difficult to throw off any pursuers at all.

    Yun Jianyue harrumphed. ¡°Your master is just domineering in nature; she¡¯s not an idiot. Why would I want to go through all that unnecessary trouble?¡±

    Qiu Honglei wrinkled her nose. She continued to nce toward the street, clearly still eager to give it a try.

    Bang!

    Yun Jianyue lowered the window and said, ¡°Stop looking already and focus on your own situation. Once everything is taken care of, I won¡¯t stop you from seeing Zu An.¡±

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s anger quickly turned to happiness. She grabbed Yun Jianyue¡¯s arm and said, ¡°Master is the best after all.¡±

    The sensation rubbing against her arm left her inwardly shocked.Master is so big! I wonder who will have the blessing of bing my martial father.However, she quickly dispelled that thought. Which man in this world could be a match for her master?

    Yun Jianyue stiffly brushed Qiu Honglei¡¯s arm away when she felt her disciple¡¯s affection. A hint of guilt flickered across her face.I¡¯m not that great of a master.

    Qiu Honglei didn¡¯t treat it as anything important. Her master was usually dignified, so it was natural for her to not be used to such intimacy. She said, ¡°Master, you have toe with meter.¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Why would I go with you?¡± Yun Jianyue eximed. Inwardly, she was frightened down to her very soul.

    Qiu Honglei was a bit surprised that Yun Jianyue had suddenly raised her voice, but she still replied, ¡°To clean up that heartless rat, of course! And that vixen at his side, too.¡±

    Yun Jianyue sighed in relief when she realized that it wasn¡¯t what she had been thinking of. She asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t it enough for you to go? With your current cultivation, I reckon that there aren¡¯t many girls who could be your match anymore.¡±

    Qiu Honglei muttered, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that Ah Zu¡¯s cultivation improved a lot? I might not be able to win against him, so of course I need you to help me beat him up!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not ¡®might¡¯. You would definitely lose,¡± Yun Jianyue said, thinking back to the battle at the Fiend Court. She couldn''t help but sigh in amazement. She really had no idea what that brat had eaten to grow so quickly. She continued, ¡°But don¡¯t worry. With your rtionship, there¡¯s no way he would hurt you.¡±

    After what had happened between the two of them at the Fiend King Court, her feelings toward Zu An were veryplicated, and she didn¡¯t want to meet him again for some time, so how could she meet him with Qiu Honglei? Just the thought alone left her feeling restless.

    ¡°There¡¯s no way he would hurt me normally, but it¡¯s hard to say what would happen if I wanted to teach that girl a lesson,¡± Qiu Honglei muttered.

    Yun Jianyue rolled her eyes and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. With my understanding of that brat, he isn¡¯t the type to forget favors and vite justice. If you really are worried, you can just let that girl Chu Chuyan do it. She¡¯s not even doing a thing as his proper wife, so what are you getting so worked up for?¡±

    ¡°What proper wife? They already divorced each other!¡± Qiu Honglei grumbled unhappily. ¡°But master, your idea isn¡¯t bad. That woman Chu Chuyan always puts on a superior and aloof look; it¡¯s so annoying! Not only would she be able to chase away all of Zu An¡¯s sweethearts, Ah Zu would realize that she¡¯s not some saint, and she¡¯s just a normal woman.¡±

    Yun Jianyue had always been annoyed by Yan Xuehen¡¯s detached and aloof nature too. She was rather proud when she heard that. She said, ¡°She can do the dirty work for you, and we¡¯ll just enjoy the benefits from the sidelines. That¡¯s what a witch should be like.¡±

    ¡°We?¡± Qiu Honglei asked, stunned.

    Yun Jianyue realized her slip of the tongue and quickly exined, ¡°We¡¯re like mother and daughter, so your affairs are naturally my affairs.¡±

    A huge smile quickly appeared on Qiu Honglei¡¯s face. She grabbed Yun Jianyue¡¯s arm and leaned her head against her master¡¯s shoulder, saying, ¡°Master is the best! I was raised by master ever since I was little, so of course I already treat you as my mother! If master isn¡¯t going to get married in the future, I¡¯ll just be your daughter and call you mom~¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t do that!¡± Yun Jianyue suddenly screamed.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Qiu Honglei responded, staring at her in confusion. She didn¡¯t understand why Yun Jianyue had such a strong reaction.

    ¡°I¡­¡± Yun Jianyue trailed off, her face turningpletely red. She felt very restless and uneasy, and yet frustrated that she couldn''t exin herself. ¡°The sect is full of hidden dirt and concealed corruption. There¡¯s a ton of idle gossip constantly going around. If you really call me mom, then people will really think that you¡¯re my illegitimate daughter. Your master¡¯s reputation will bepletely ruined then!¡±

    Qiu Honglei giggled and asked, ¡°Didn¡¯t master previously teach me that a good reputation is something only those hypocritical fairies such as Yan Xuehen and Chu Chuyan cared about? Since when have we witches cared about that?¡±

    ¡°Damn girl, you¡¯re talking back to your master now? If I say you can¡¯t, then you can¡¯t, or else I¡¯m going to rip that mouth of yours off!¡± Yun Jianyue cried, feigning anger to hide the rm she was feeling inside.

    ¡­

    While the master and disciple were bickering with each other, Zu An found a chance to ask Sun Xun, ¡°May I ask Xiang Minister Sun who King Yan¡¯s guests are?¡±

    A hint of ridicule shed through Sun Xun¡¯s eyes. Other people would usually avoid each other in such a situation, and yet this guy was taking the initiative to ask.Don¡¯t tell me that he feels as if he hasn¡¯t been embarrassed enough yet?

    A hint of joy appeared in his mind, and he deliberately raised his voice as he said, ¡°They are the White Jade Sect¡¯s Sect Master Yan and the Heavenly Sorrow Sect¡¯sSect Master Guan, as well as some experts from their sects. These are people who would not ept it even if you invited them. They made a rare trip to Yi Commandery, so our king naturally does not dare to be negligent in their treatment.¡± His implication was that their status was higher than Zu An¡¯s, and that King Yan wouldn¡¯t dare to be negligent in their treatment, but he would for Zu An.

    Forget about Yi Commandery¡¯s officials; even Zhang Zijiang frowned. This Sun bastard was going too far. He was absolutely striking at Sir Zu¡¯s dignity!

    The kindhearted Xie Daoyun looked at Zu An worriedly, but Zu An didn¡¯t get angry at all. On the contrary, he was actually really happy. White Jade Sect¡¯s Sect Master Yan was here?

    Favorite

 Chapter 1595: Pair

    <h4>Chapter 1595: Pair</h4>

    Previously, Zu An hadn¡¯t even been able to say goodbye to Yan Xuehen in the Fiend King Court, so he had always been worried about her. Later, even after the relief of learning that she had already returned to the White Jade Sect from Chu Chuyan, he had still felt a bit empty inside. There were just too many things between the two of them that they had to properly talk about.

    When Sun Xun saw how Zu An seemed almost stupefied, heughed proudly. This kid had really brought it upon himself. Did he really think he was all that just because he was a marquis and had led an Imperial Envoy before? Sect Master Yan and Sect Master Guan were both grandmasters, practically the most powerful beings in the world. Did he really think he couldpare to them?

    Yi Commandery¡¯s officials had wanted to see Zu An make a fool of himself, but now, they felt that King Yan¡¯s decision made sense. After all, Sect Master Yan and Sect Master Guan were both incredibly famous. Sect Master Yan in particr not only had profound cultivation, but was also rumored to be exceedingly beautiful as well, with an aloof and transcendent aura. Even the emperor treated her as a respected guest.

    Many of Yi Commandery¡¯s officials had felt conflicted in joining King Yan Manor¡¯s banquet, but now, they were highly expectant. They really wanted to see whether the legendary Sect Master Yan was as much of a goddess as the rumors stated.

    Zhang Zijiang¡¯s mouth hung open.Holy smokes! Two grandmasters? Those aren¡¯t people I can afford to provoke.

    Even though Zu An had already shown that he was extremely powerful, that was only inparison to people. Apart from earth immortals, grandmasters were already at the very peak of the world! Compared to them, Zu An was still far off.

    Only Xie Daoyun was worried about how Zu An felt. In order to alleviate the awkward situation, she spoke up and exined, ¡°The Heavenly Sorrow Sect¡¯s Sect Master Guan Chouhai is a grandmaster who has been famous for many years. But after the current dynasty was established, the great sects all withdrew into seclusion, so most people gradually forgot his name.¡± She didn¡¯t introduce Yan Xuehen, because she felt that someone so popr didn¡¯t need any introduction.

    Zu An asked curiously, ¡°What level of grandmaster is Guan Chouhai at?¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Xie Daoyun was stunned, replying, ¡°Grandmasters have ranks between them? That, I don¡¯t know. But judging from his prestige in the past, he should be quite strong among grandmasters.¡±

    Zu An realized that the higher the cultivation rank was, the fewer people there were at that rank. Even the divisions of cultivation ranks at the grandmaster level were a secret for most cultivators. If he hadn¡¯t received exnations from the two grandmasters Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue, he wouldn¡¯t necessarily have known about that.

    ¡­

    Zu An was very expectant and in high spirits along the way. Eventually, the whole group finally arrived at King Yan Manor. Zu An sized up the grand king manor before him. King Yan had invited them over when he and Sang Hong passed by Yi Commandery, but they hadn¡¯t epted in order to avoid trouble.

    A delicate fragrance wafted out of the door from within. The group could vaguely make out blossoming roses. They were red, pink, white¡­ It made one wonder whether every single type of rose in the entire world was inside. Even though it was currently a bleak winter, the gorgeous roses added an air of springtime to the entire garden.

    ¡°How beautiful!¡± Xie Daoyun cried, her eyes sparkling. There weren¡¯t many women who could resist such a scene.

    A proud look appeared in Sun Xun¡¯s eyes as he said, ¡°Our king is someone who appreciates flowers, and his noble and unyielding self especially appreciates roses. Every single rose here is precious, and almost every single one was personally nted by the king in his earlier years. After several decades, it has reached this condition.¡±

    Even Zhang Jie and the other local officials who didn¡¯t get along with King Yan couldn''t help but admire King Yan Manor¡¯s flowers.

    Only Xie Daoyun frowned slightly. Zu An keenly picked up on it and asked considerately, ¡°What is it?¡±

    Xie Daoyun gave Sun Xun a look, then said quietly, ¡°King Yan says he loves flowers, but this garden only has rare varieties without any ordinary roses. Just from that alone, we can tell that he isn¡¯t someone who really likes flowers and that he¡¯s only doing it to show off.¡±

    Because King Yan Manor had made things difficult for Zu An, she had subconsciously developed a bad impression of them.

    ¡°It¡¯s still little sister Ling¡¯er who¡¯s the sharpest, haha!¡± Zu An remarked. He naturally didn¡¯t have any good impression of King Yan either. Whether it was because of the time King Yan had captured Qiu Honglei and fought a great battle against Yun Jianyue, or his potential implication in Golden Token Seven¡¯s murder, it would be hard for Zu An to develop a good impression of the man even if he wanted to.

    ¡­

    The group continued forward under Sun Xun¡¯s lead. Soon after, a middle-aged man dressed in official robes emerged with a group of people to wee them.

    After listening to the introductions of the officials beside him, Zu An learned that the man was King Yan¡¯s heir Zhao Huang. Even though he was called King Yan¡¯s heir, because King Yan was an elder who could be considered the emperor¡¯s uncle, he was actually of the same generation as the emperor. He had already remained an heir for several decades, but he still had no prospects for inheriting the position of king yet.

    ¡°Pleasee inside. Father king is already waiting for everyone inside,¡± Zhao Huang said. He looked like a surprisingly calm and steady person, someone who had quite the presence.

    Zu An¡¯s group followed him into a courtyard. However, troubled expressions soon spread across the faces of Yi Commandery¡¯s officials. Even the good-natured Xie Daoyun couldn''t help but frown.

    The spacious courtyard was extremely beautiful and more than suitable for entertaining guests, but there was already a banquet going on, and it seemed a bit excessive. King Yan was seated in the highest seat, with several tables of guests to either side. They were clearly all high in status, and King Yan was chatting happily with them.

    Xie Daoyun was a bit annoyed. Wasn¡¯t King Yan being a bit too disrespectful here? How could he start the banquet with someone else before the guests arrived? Didn¡¯t that mean he was looking down on those who arrivedter?

    ¡°Everyone, pleasee inside,¡± Zhao Huang said, his face not conveying anything unusual. He continued to courteously invite them.

    Zu An¡¯s group was very upset, but they couldn''t act up. They could only follow him inside for the time being. Soon afterward, however, their gazes were drawn to King Yan¡¯s left side.

    There, they saw a woman dressed in a daoist robe. She had beautiful eyes, snow-white skin, and long ck hair. Even though there was a white veil over her face, they could still tell that she was exceptionally beautiful. However, her cold and distant expression vaguely gave off a dignified and unquestionable air, a reminder that she was a grandmaster who inspired awe throughout the world. Was this the legendary Sect Master Yan? As expected of a goddess from the heavens above! The group¡¯s anger immediately dissipated the moment they saw her.

    However, there was something that caught their attention even more. There was a young woman dressed in blue seated next to Yan Xuehen. Her figure was sweet and graceful, and she was also veiled. Her beautiful, starry eyes were less imposing than those of the woman next to her, and the fiery red waistband around her slender waistline also added a charming air to her appearance.

    The two women seated there made all of the roses in the garden appearckluster.

    ¡°Who is this woman? She¡¯s actually not inferior to Goddess Yan,¡± many officials from Yi Commandery muttered with expressions of shock.

    Only Xie Daoyun recognized her. She couldn''t help but turn around to give Zu An a look. However, she saw that Zu An was looking in that direction in a daze. He looked excited and overjoyed. In that instant, she suddenly felt a bit sad.

    Zu An hadn¡¯t expected to find not only Yan Xuehen here, but also Chu Chuyan! He was so excited he didn¡¯t even know what to say.

    The two women¡¯s expressions were initially extremely cold; they remained indifferent as they replied to the conventional greetings around them. When they saw more people arrive, they both frowned. They preferred peace and quiet and didn¡¯t like such banquets to begin with, let alone with so many others joining. They were about to get up and leave when they suddenly saw Zu An at the forefront. They were bothpletely stunned.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s entire body trembled. She was filled with rm! She reflexively wanted to turn around and leave.Meanwhile, Chu Chuyan was shocked and happy. She really hadn¡¯t expected to bump into Zu An here!

    Favorite

 Chapter 1596: Trying to Steal a Chicken, but Ending Up Losing the Rice Used to Lure it

    <h4>Chapter 1596: Trying to Steal a Chicken, but Ending Up Losing the Rice Used to Lure it</h4>

    Zu An hadn¡¯t expected Chu Chuyan to be present either, leaving him both happy and worried. He was happy to be reunited with them, but what worried him was that he was meeting both of them together.

    By then, King Yan had already seen all of the guests. He said with a chuckle, ¡°You all arrived at the perfect time. Hurry and take a seat.¡±

    Zu An smiled and walked directly toward the two women.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s cold eyes revealed a smile, but Yan Xuehen panicked inwardly. She said through ki, ¡°Don¡¯te over here. If you dare to expose our rtionship in public, I¡­ I¡­¡± In that instant, she didn¡¯t even know how to threaten him.

    Zu An grinned and replied, ¡°What are you going to do?¡±

    Yan Xuehen was in a tough spot. This kid was going more and more overboard. She shot back, ¡°I will never forget it for the rest of my life!¡±

    ¡°Hmm, making you remember it for the rest of your life doesn¡¯t seem to be too bad of an idea, actually,¡± Zu An said. He really felt a sense of aplishment when he saw that she was nervous, but had no way of showing it.

    Just like that, the two spoke to each other from a distance. In the eyes of Xie Daoyun, who knew a bit more than the others, she just assumed Zu An was flirting with Chu Chuyan. But how could she possibly know that the one he was teasing was the glorious Sect Master Yan?

    In the end, Zu An still gave up on the thought of sitting with them, and sat down at the table next to them instead. The table already had a set of dinnerwareid out, which meant there was already someone sitting there. However, Zu An pretended he hadn¡¯t seen anything; he called over a maid and said, ¡°Bring me a new set of bowls and chopsticks.¡±

    The maid gave King Yan¡¯s heir, Zhao Huang, a troubled look. This was clearly supposed to be his seat.

    Zhao Huang looked a bit unhappy, but he couldn''t say too much. He could only tactfully remind Zu An, ¡°White Jade Sect¡¯s Master does not like to have unfamiliar people near her. I fear that she is not too used to having unfamiliar people sit at her side.¡±

    Zu An said casually, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I can just ask her.¡± Then, he turned to Yan Xuehen and said, ¡°Sect Master Yan, I wonder if you would mind me sitting here?¡±

    Yan Xuehen felt her teeth bing a bit sore as she gritted them in irritation. She really wanted him to get out of her sight. At the moment, however, she could tell that King Yan Manor was making things troublesome for Zu An, so how could she just do nothing? She merely replied with an unhappy expression, ¡°I am not so petty-minded.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression seemed to imply ¡®as expected¡¯. Then, he looked at Zhao Huang and replied, ¡°Young master, do you see? Sect Master Yan doesn¡¯t mind.¡±

    Zhao Huang was speechless, overwhelmed with rm. He had previously heard of Yan Xuehen¡¯s reputation as a goddess, and her stunning disciple was even beside her. He had managed to obtain a chance to sit next to her with great difficulty. Even if they couldn''t be close, smelling their fragrance was still delightful.

    Now, however, all of his hard work of appearing like a gentleman in front of these two women had ended up benefiting another. He had even ended up losing his seat! The most upsetting thing was that after what Sect Master Yan had just said, he couldn''t really say anything either.

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Huang for +678 +678 +678¡­

    Zhao Huang was about to take the next seat when Zu An suddenly called out to Xie Daoyun. ¡°Lady Xie,e and have a seat over here.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t call her by her nickname in front of everyone in public, after all. That was just something they shared in private! Still, Xie Daoyun felt a bit sad.He sounds so unfamiliar with me in front of Chu Chuyan.

    Both Yan Xuehen and Chu Chuyan aimed sharp looks at Xie Daoyun. Zu An didn¡¯t want to neglect her even in such a situation! It looked as if their rtionship seemed to be quite out of the ordinary.

    However, Yan Xuehen quickly realized something.What does this have to do with me?She quickly looked away, recovering her usual indifferent attitude.

    Meanwhile, Chu Chuyan recognized Xie Daoyun, and a thoughtful expression appeared on her face.

    In that instant, Zu An felt several waves of killing intent aimed at him. He couldn''t help but smile bitterly. A certain Chinese proverb said that when there was only one person, they could manage to do things by themselves, but with two people, they could work together and make things easier. However, with too many people, it could be counterproductive instead.

    This is the awkward situation I¡¯m in right now¡­

    When he saw Xie Daoyun take the seat, forcing him to sit all the way off to one side, Zhao Huang¡¯s face twitched. He almost burst out in anger on the spot.

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Huang for +699 +699 +699¡­

    Fortunately, King Yan spoke up just then. ¡°Huang¡¯er, help Sir Zhang and the others to their seats.¡±

    Zhao Huang took a deep breath and adjusted his mood. He seated Zhang Jie and the others, while he himself took an end seat. He hoped that would make him look as if he had an outstanding bearing in front of Yan Xuehen¡¯s disciple. Still, he was incredibly angry!

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Huang for +55 +55 +55¡­

    Yi Commandery¡¯s Zhang Jie and the other officials watched the scene unfolds as bystanders. They discovered that they seemed to have looked down on this Zu An! They had felt very wronged and stifled previously, but now, things had be much more interesting.

    Sun Xun frowned, thinking,Was this guy just pretending earlier?However, with so many kings present, it wasn¡¯t his ce to speak up.

    King Yan said with a smile, ¡°Sir Zu is young and outstanding, as expected. This level of boldness is worthy of admiration.¡± Even though he had a smile on his face, there was an intimidating undercurrent to his tone

    Zu An remained unconcerned, replying, ¡°King Yan overpraises me.¡±

    At first, when Sun Xun had started causing trouble for him, he had assumed the man was just acting out of pettiness for the circumstances surrounding his son¡¯s death. Now, however, everything made sense. Zu An was representing the court on this trip. If King Yan hadn¡¯t incited Sun Xun into acting the way he did, there was no way the man would dare to be so bold.

    Zu An figured that it was probably because Cloudcenter Commandery had uncovered the Pegasus Merchant Group¡¯s scandals, causing King Yan¡¯s ns in Yan Commandery to suffer great setbacks. Thus, this old man had probably hated him for quite a while.

    King Yan frowned. This brat seemed to be more difficult to deal with than he had expected!n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Suddenly, a woman remarked, ¡°Young hero? Great boldness? Isn¡¯t King Yan exaggerating here?¡±

    Silence fell across the whole ce in the wake of those words. The woman was clearly trying to start an argument, and didn¡¯t even show King Yan any respect. Just who could such a fierce individual be?

    Zu An was a bit surprised. He looked toward the other table and saw who had spoken. She was a youngdy with graceful looks, but the overbearing arrogance on her face made others subconsciously feel ufortable. Of course, overall, she was still a beauty. The purple and white clothes she wore were especially unique. Between that and the special style of her upper garment, she looked just like a pretty butterfly. If it were anywhere else, she would definitely be the center of attention. However, with Yan Xuehen and Chu Chuyan present, she clearly paled a bit inparison.

    Yan Xuehen, Chu Chuyan, and even Xie Daoyun gave Zu An a suspicious look, thinking,Is this some woman he yed around with before but abandoned? Is she getting revenge on him right now?After all, they all knew just how much of a yboy he was.

    Zu An was also starting to question life. He clearly didn¡¯t know who the woman was, so why did her expression carry so much hatred?

    ¡°Little Die, great uncle is confused. What are you trying to say?¡± King Yan asked. He didn¡¯t get angry at all, and instead pretended to be confused as he spoke. He clearly wanted to see Zu An make a fool of himself.

    ¡°Great uncle?¡± Zu An muttered, startled.Could it be¡­

    Just then, Zhang Zijiang exined through ki transmission, ¡°Sir Zu, she is King Qi Manor¡¯s Princess Xiaodie. I heard that she was sent to an immortal mountain for her studies, but it turned out to have been Heavenly Sorrow Sect.¡±

    As someone who had served as a member of the Imperial Pce for so long, he knew more about the royal family than other people. Finally recognizing who the woman was, he quickly told Zu An.

    ¡°King Qi¡¯s daughter?¡± Zu An asked, now fully understanding the situation. No wonder she had been so hostile from the get-go.

    Zhao Xiaodiecontinued, ¡°That person has a wretched look in his eyes, and he went straight for the women as soon as he arrived. I don¡¯t see any talent or heroism in him. All I see is a bold pervert.¡±

    Yan Xuehen pursed her lips to stop herself fromughing.This little girl really speaks mynguage! That scoundrel deserves a good scolding.

    Meanwhile, Chu Chuyan frowned a bit. She naturally didn¡¯t like anyone cursing her lover.

    Zu An didn¡¯t take it personally. He picked up a wine cup and said calmly, ¡°Thedy says I¡¯m a pervert, but you don¡¯t see me getting closer to you. Perhaps that might be something for you to reflect over?¡±

    Pfft!

    Several people couldn''t hold themselves back fromughing and almost spit out wine everywhere. Wasn¡¯t this kid using an indirect method to call her ugly?

    Zhao Xiaodie was speechless.

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Xiaodie for +444 +444 +444¡­

 Chapter 1597: Are You Still Young If Your Blood Isnâ€™t Hot Anymore?

    Chapter 1597: Are You Still Young If Your Blood Isn¡¯t Hot Anymore?

    The reason why Zhao Xiaodie had started causing trouble for Zu An was because she had heard that he was the reason for all of her father¡¯s ns falling through. Her big brother had even had his legs broken before, putting Zu An on her cklist for a long time as someone she often cursed. Now that she had met the real person, she naturally had to teach him a good lesson.

    And yet, how could she have expected that she would be the one made to look like a fool when she hadn¡¯t even aplished anything yet?

    She came from a noble background. Her father was King Qi, someone who was only beneath a single person and above all others. Even in Heavenly Sorrow Sect, she had always been surrounded by attention, with nock of pursuers. She had tremendous confidence in her appearance. When had she ever experienced such a thing before?

    ¡°You little bastard, what did you say?¡± Zhao Xiaodie spat, mming the table as she stood up. She looked almost as if she were about to bite him.

    Zu An replied with a sigh, ¡°I hadn¡¯t expected thedy to already be suffering from hearing loss at such a young age. I really feel bad for you.¡±

    The onlookers all had strange expressions. This guy really isn¡¯t showing Princess Butterfly any respect!

    Chu Chuyan and Xie Daoyun had strange expressions. They were the ones who knew best how nasty Zu An¡¯s tongue was. Back in Brightmoon City, countless people had almost died from anger because of him. They hadn¡¯t expected that even after all these years, this skill of his hadn¡¯t declined at all.

    Yan Xuehen became a bit absentminded. This guy had also angered her quite badly when they first met. This kid really could make one¡¯s teeth ache so much that they couldn¡¯t help but want to take a bite out of him¡­

    Suddenly, she shivered and quickly returned to her normal ice-cold demeanor, so no one else would notice anything strange.

    ¡°Ah! Ah! Ahhhh!¡± Zhao Xiaodie screamed, almost fainting on the spot from anger.

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Xiaodie for +777 +777 +777¡­

    She was just about to draw her sword when a young man next to her stopped her.

    ¡°Sir¡¯s harsh treatment of thedy is not how a gentleman ought to act,¡± the man said, giving Zu An a cold look.

    Zu An gave him a look. He had to admit that this guy was somewhat handsome. His skin was fair, and his figure was tall and slender. He had single eyelids and thin lips, clearly the type who could easily make women scream, but whom other men would all find annoying and look down on.

    However, Zu An couldn¡¯t help but feel disdain when he saw the man¡¯s white clothes, white trousers, andrge, luxurious outer garment, befitting a precious noble son. Why did he look like a chicken elder brother, or some pimp from the sex industry? Zu An really wanted to toss him a basketball to see what he¡¯d do with it.

    ¡°And this gentleman over here is?¡± Zu An replied. Even though he called the man a gentleman, the mockery in his tone was unmistakable.

    The young man scowled.

    You have sessfully trolled Zhi Yin for +222 +222 +222¡­

    Zhao Xiaodie said, ¡°This is my senior brother Zhi Yin. He¡¯s the most talented disciple of Heavenly Sorrow in the past few decades; and yet, he¡¯s also humble in nature, always behaving like a nobleman. Naturally, a wretched and uncouth individual such as you can¡¯t possiblypare.¡± There was a hint of admiration in her expression when she looked at the man beside her.

    When he heard his junior sister praise him like that, Zhi Yin¡¯s mood improved considerably. He reflexively looked toward Chu Chuyan, wanting to see her reaction. Upon first hearing that the White Jade Sect had taken in an outstanding disciple, he had initially felt a bit ofpetitiveness. The moment he saw her, however, he hadpletely given up such thoughts, because he was absolutely enamored by her beauty. He had thought that even losing to her would be a blissful thing. Actually, even better, she should just step on me as hard as she can with those beautiful jade-like feet of hers¡­

    Unfortunately, there wasn¡¯t even the slightest ripple in Chu Chuyan¡¯s expression. He couldn''t help but feel a bit disappointed.

    Zu An was shocked when he noticed Zhi Yin¡¯s expression. This damn toad is lusting after a swan¡¯s flesh?!

    ¡°Even someone like this can be considered Heavenly Sorrow¡¯s best genius in decades?¡± Zu An eximed, looking appalled. ¡°There have always been rumors that my Great Zhou Dynasty already roped all of the world¡¯s heroes into the court, causing the sects to end up quite barren. I thought that was a bit of an exaggeration before, but today, it seems as if that really is the case after all.¡±

    Yan Xuehen had a strange expression. This kid really had no filter at all! Wasn¡¯t her White Jade Sect cursed to suffer that way too?N?v(el)B\\jnn

    After all, theck of geniuses joining the sects was something that really weighed on the hearts of the different sects. Even though they had done their best to gather and nurture some good seeds, the differencepared to several hundred years prior was too obvious. After another hundred years or so, when the older generation passed on, the new generation would still be much smaller than thest.

    Sure enough, the Heavenly Sorrow Sect¡¯s representatives exploded on the spot. All of them loudly berated Zu An, flooding him with Rage points.

    Just then, a middle-aged man who was sitting at the first table to the left of King Yan slowly said, ¡°The young should not be too hot-blooded.¡±

    Zu An gave him a look. The other person was dressed in voluminous robes, and the beard around his mouth was his most distinctive feature; his face was decent-looking, too. He was the definition of a handsome middle-aged man, and even had a hint of a bad boy aesthetic. He wore a smirk that seemed to have a devilish charm, giving him a slick and untrustworthy air. Still, some people found such a sly, lecherous appearance appealing. The grandmaster rank pressure he constantly exuded gave him an awe-inspiring air that could intimidate many people at first nce.

    Yan Xuehen and Chu Chuyan¡¯s ki transmissions reached Zu An¡¯s ear at the same time. ¡°Be careful; he is Heavenly Sorrow¡¯s Sect Master Guan Chouhai.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I know what I¡¯m doing,¡± Zu An replied, nodding toward the two of them. He then replied to Guan Chouhai. ¡°Can you still be considered young if your blood isn¡¯t hot anymore?¡±

    Yan Xuehen and Chu Chuyan were both stunned.

    This is what you meant by ¡®don¡¯t worry¡¯?!

    Guan Chouhai was also stunned. He hadn¡¯t expected this youngster to dare to speak to him that way.

    King Yan had a strange expression. This kid really is courting death¡­ But that¡¯s fine too. I¡¯ll just borrow Sect Master Guan to take care of one of my enemies. This can serve as a kind of payback for what happened in Cloudcenter Commandery.

    Meanwhile, Sun Xun began to question life. Previously, this kid had acted incredibly subservient to him on purpose, not reacting at all. Thus, he had simply assumed Zu An was a pushover. And yet, now that Zu An faced King Yan and the grandmaster rank Heavenly Sorrow Sect Leader, why did he not show them the slightest bit of respect? Did that mean this kid didn¡¯t even consider him worth anything, and that he didn¡¯t even have the qualification to make Zu An angry?

    Yi Commandery¡¯s officials were both happy and worried. They were happy that Zu An wasn¡¯t a pushover the way they had thought. Perhaps he would even be able to borrow his power to beat down the powerful King Yan. However, they were worried to see how rashly he was behaving even in front of a grandmaster. He didn¡¯t seem to be particrly reliable, but rather the reckless sort.

    Xie Daoyun was full of concern. She had naturally heard what kind of power a sect master of one of the nine daoist sects had! Even though her big brother Zu was formidable, he would no doubt suffer if he had to face someone who had already been famous for decades.

    When he heard what Zu An said, Guan Chouhai¡¯s gaze immediately became dangerous. He said, ¡°Very good. Zhi Yin, why don¡¯t you and this sir exchange some pointers? Let¡¯s see just how hot-blooded he can be.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Guan Chouhai for +100 +100 +100¡­

    With his status as a senior, there was no way could act. Wouldn¡¯t that be losing face to Yan Xuehen? It was enough to have his disciple teach Zu An a lesson.

    Xuehen will probably approve of my generosity, right?

    There was a hint of infatuation in his gaze when he looked at Yan Xuehen. Even after all these years, she was still just as stunning as when they had first met.

    Zu An frowned, thinking, What the hell is this? The young are my rivals in love, and so are these old bastards?

    Having too many lovers always results in these kinds of problems¡­

    ¡°Yes, master!¡± Zhi Yin greeted Guan Chouhai respectfully, then said to Zu An, ¡°This sir over here, please give me some pointers!¡±

    He could sense his master¡¯s anger, so he had already decided that he was going to properly discipline this kid who didn¡¯t know how big the world was. He nned to just barely leave Zu An with his life intact.

    Zu An gave him a disdainful nce. Then, he shook his head and replied, ¡°You¡¯re not qualified.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Zhi Yin eximed, thinking he had heard incorrectly. When he realized what had happened, the courteous smile on his face instantly disappeared. His pretty boy face turnedpletely red.

    You have sessfully trolled Zhi Yin for +666 +666 +666¡­

    An even bigger uproar filled the ce. The onlookers all had the same thought: Is this Zu guy serious?

    Zhi Yin was a disciple Guan Chouhai had personally nurtured, and furthermore the most talented one in the past few decades! His cultivation was already on par with the master rank, which meant he could even face an older generation expert. In terms of their cultivation, the gap was no doubt as wide as the distance between the dirt on the ground and the clouds in the sky. It should have been Zu An¡¯s honor that Zhi Yin was even willing to fight him, and yet he dared to say something like that?

 Chapter 1598 â€“ New Challenge

    Chapter 1598 ¨C New Challenge

    The entire courtyard went crazy. Everyone present thought Zu An had lost his mind! Those who were somewhat closer to him silently cursed a bit, while those who were in the other camp and more hostile openly berated him.

    A hint of anger appeared in Chu Chuyan¡¯s eyes. These guys knew nothing about Ah Zu¡¯s power! Previously, she had personally witnessed Ah Zu¡¯s sword and realized that his skills were unfathomable then.

    This Zhi Yin¡¯s cultivation wasn¡¯t bad, but he still wasn¡¯tparable to Ah Zu. On the other hand, while Ah Zu¡¯s statement was true, it still meant he had fully offended the Heavenly Sorrow Sect. If the Sect Master got angry and wanted to get revenge against him, things would be troublesome.

    As far as Chu Chuyan knew, no matter how strong Zu An was, he was still far from an older generation grandmaster. She was worried and wondered whether to ask her master for help in stopping Sect Master Guan.

    Yan Xuehen had a strange expression. Out of those present, she was probably the only one who knew that Zu An wasn¡¯t kidding. Forget about Zhi Yin alone, even if Guan Chouhai interfered, he wouldn¡¯t necessarily have a good time. Even though Zu An¡¯s cultivation hadn¡¯t reached the level of grandmaster yet, his strength was very strange and unique. He couldn''t be evaluated through normal means.

    Suddenly, another voice called out from the crowd, ¡°I am Armed Escort Division¡¯s Zhang Zijiang! I will exchange pointers with this one in Sir Zu¡¯s ce.¡±

    The previously noisy courtyard suddenly fell silent in the wake of the deration. Those present focused their gazes on the general next to Zu An. Didn¡¯t his challenge only prove that Zhi Yin was too strong for Zu An, forcing someone else to do it in his ce?

    Indeed, the Armed Escort Division was the emperor¡¯s personal army. This degree of open-mindedness and faith really¡­ left others with nothing to say.

    Forget about everyone else, even Zu An gave Zhang Zijiang a look of surprise. His cultivation wasn¡¯t weak, butpared to Heavenly Sorrow¡¯s most outstanding disciple, he was still a bit inferior. His life could be at risk if they really fought.

    Zhang Zijiang couldn''t help but stick out his chest when he saw Zu An¡¯s gaze. He thought to himself, Sir Zu was ced in such an awkward situation just now. He should be really thankful toward me for helping him out of this situation.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    That Wang Bolin has always looked down on me for my bootlicking, but that guy has no idea that bootlicking isn¡¯t so easily done! You have to bootlick in someone¡¯s time of need, which is way better than just praising them when they¡¯re already perfect.

    Still, the one thing he really did have to worry about was that, while he had helped out Sir Zu, Heavenly Sorrow could end up directing their anger at him. When he saw Zhi Yin looking at him with the gaze of a hungry predator, he thought to himself, I¡¯m not going to be beaten to deathter¡­ Right?

    Even though he believed that he was quite talented, he didn¡¯t think he could win against Heavenly Sorrow Sect Master¡¯s personal disciple. The reason he had stepped forward was just because he had been going all out with his bootlicking.

    Forget it, I¡¯ll just take some injuries at worst. I deliberately shared my identity already. I¡¯m a deputy general of his majesty¡¯s personal army. Don¡¯t tell me Heavenly Sorrow¡¯s people would really dare to kill me?

    The Heavenly Sorrow Sect was different from a rebel army such as the Twin Dragon Mountains. The rebel army was an enemy of the court, so of course they would fight to the death, but the Heavenly Sorrow Sect still bowed down to the court on the surface.

    There¡¯s no way they would dare to kill me. Yeah, that¡¯s for sure.

    Zhi Yin gave Zu An a look. When he saw that Zu An didn¡¯t have any intention of fighting, he gave Zhang Zijiang a look and said, ¡°You¡¯re not qualified!¡±

    Afterward, he sat down again. However, he suddenly realized that his words seemed to be an imitation. He was so angry that he drained his wine ss in a single gulp to eliminate his resentment.

    Zhang Zijiang was stunned. Even though he had been worried about being beaten to death, he was still furious when the opponent looked down on him that way. He eximed, ¡°Damn brat, what did you say?¡±

    He was a glorious court officer, the Armed Escort Division¡¯s Deputy General, and yet he was being looked down on like this? He shouted noisily and prepared to charge over, but his subordinates tactfully held him back.

    Zhagn Zijiang sighed in relief, thinking, These guys still know what to do. If they hadn¡¯t held me back and I really charged out there, who knows what would have happened?

    Meanwhile, when Zhi Yin saw how angry Zhang Zijiang was, he felt a bit better. He thought to himself, I can¡¯t let our rtionship with the court get too messy, and thus ordered the gloomy-looking youngster next to him, ¡°Ninth junior brother, you should exchange some pointers with this general. It¡¯ll be good training for the Great Sects Competition.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. What was the Great Sects Competition Zhi Yin was talking about?

    ¡°Sure!¡± the youngster replied with a nod, then stood up. He looked at Zhang Zijiang and said, ¡°Heavenly Sorrow¡¯s Cai Yu requests an exchange!¡±

    Zhang Zijiang now became a bit nervous. If he went up against Zhi Yin, it would be fine even if he lost, as the other guy still had a certain amount of reputation. However, if he fought against a youngster, he couldn''t really brag if he won, and he would lose everything if he lost.

    He was at a loss for what to do, but suddenly, a burst of ki erupted from the depths of the king manor. Everyone present was a cultivator, so they instantly deduced that it came from a battle. Soon after, the sounds of fighting and weapons shing filled the air.

    A guard rushed into the room and hurriedly spoke to King Yan. King Yan¡¯s face visibly darkened. The grandmasters present keenly picked up on the guard¡¯s report: An assassin had infiltrated the area, and Sir Huo was giving chase.

    Guan Chouhai chuckled and said, ¡°King, it seems there has been an unexpected guest. Should this one lend a hand?¡±

    ¡°There is no need to trouble Sect Master Guan,¡± King Yan said with a forced smile, ¡°All of you can continue; there is already someone taking care of things.¡±

    Zu An suddenly stood up and said, ¡°The king is acting as the host. A fight here would be truly uncivilized, and it would be bad no matter which side got hurt. Why not change the method ofpetition?¡±

    ¡°How so?¡± Zhi Yin asked, suddenly raising his head. He wasn¡¯t scared of a challenge; he was only scared that Zu An wouldn¡¯t ept. As Zu An hade up with an idea, Zhi Yin had to take the chance to properly discipline him.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we see who can capture this uninvited guest first, and consider that person the winner?¡± Zu An asked with a smile. He had also noticed the mention of Sir Huo, giving rise to a suspicion he was nning to confirm.

    Zhang Zijiang had been feeling annoyed already. When he heard that, he quickly became excited and agreed, saying, ¡°Sir Zu¡¯s suggestion is wonderful!¡± Then, he showered him with praise, leaving even Zu An a bit embarrassed.

    King Yan frowned. He was about to refuse when Zhi Yin nodded and said, ¡°Fine!¡±

    Then, Zhi Yin got up and moved toward the direction of the fight. Cai Yu followed close behind. Zhao Xiaodie seemed to be the one who was most excited about some action happening. She also went after them.

    In contrast, Zu An got up leisurely, while Zhang Zijiang also followed behind him like an obedient child. He clearly still remembered the thought ofpeting against Cai Yu.

    King Yan couldn''t really stop them now and could only say, ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to trouble all of you.¡±

    At the same time, he gave Sun Xun a look, indicating for him to go and monitor the situation so as to prevent all the guests from starting a huge mess and looking at things they weren¡¯t supposed to look at. Sun Xun nodded and silently disappeared.

    ¡°The young are too impulsive, and cannot refuse a challenge. I hope that the king does not take offense,¡± Guan Chouhai said, quickly deflecting the me onto Zu An; his implication was that his own disciple was just adapting to the situation and that Zu An was the first to act.

    King Yan expressed his understanding, saying, ¡°We should just let the juniors settle their problems. Haha, let us continue drinking.¡± He picked up his wine ss and raised it toward both Guan Chouhai and Yan Xuehen.

    However, Yan Xuehen was a bit absent-minded. What is that kid doing? Why did he suddenly want a battle?

    No, he¡¯s definitely not after Zhi Yin and has another objective.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, after Zu An left his seat, he began to spread his divine sense throughout the manor. However, this manor seemed to have some special formation in ce that made his divine sense¡¯s range much smaller than usual. Fortunately, he still had the jade badge¡¯s help, allowing him to pick up some vague clues. He found a chance to send Zhang Zijiang away, then headed toward a certain courtyard.

    The jade badge wasn¡¯t omnipotent, after all, and the intelligence of smaller creatures was often limited. Unless they just happened to have seen something, they would only have very vague information about things they had seen before. He only suspected that the assassin had gone to that area, but he had to investigate carefully to find out exactly where they were.

    Thus, Zu An arrived in front of a room. He was about to push open the door when it suddenly opened. A ck-d woman suddenly appeared, holding a de and pressing it against his body. She hissed, ¡°Don¡¯t make a single sound, or else I¡¯ll kill you!¡±

 Chapter 1599 â€“ Past Stories

    <h4>Chapter 1599 ¨C Past Stories</h4>

    Even though the woman was masked and dressed entirely in ck, her wonderful figure still gave her away. Her long legs in particr were especially eye-catching beneath her tight ck outfit.

    What is Zhang Zitong doing all the way over here? Zu An thought in confusion.

    Recognizing a woman by her legs wasn¡¯t all that amazing of a skill. In his previous world, there were some gentlemen who could recognize a woman by her chest. There were even some who could recognize a woman from her cries. Now that was really, really impressive.

    When she saw him standing there in a daze, Zhang Zitong reflexively loosened her grip on the de a bit. She said, ¡°As long as you cooperate, there won¡¯t be any danger to your life. Otherwise, don¡¯t me me for being vicious.¡±

    Zu An could recognize her, but she had no idea that he was Golden Token Eleven. Thus, he replied with a smile, ¡°Alright. But could you stop pushing it any further? It¡¯s about to go in.¡±

    Zhang Zitong¡¯s face turned red and she reflexively pulled the de backward. This guy seems to be teasing me¡­

    But his smile is so handsome¡­

    If people such as Xiao Jianren, Dai Seventh, or Chen Eighth had said such things to her, she would already have gotten angry. But it was really hard for her to get mad at this person.

    Suddenly, there was a mor in the distance. A group of guards rushed in their direction. However, Zu An pushed Zhang Zitong down slightly, making her squat.

    As an Embroidered Envoy, what kinds of people hadn¡¯t Zhang Zitong seen before? Her current stance quickly made her furious, because she thought he was taking advantage of her.

    You have sessfully trolled Zhang Zitong for +404 +404 +404¡­

    ¡°Who are you?¡± an elderly voice called out.

    Only then did Zhang Zitong realize that Zu An was using his body to cover her. What kind of nonsense was I thinking? Then, she became very nervous, to the point that she didn¡¯t even dare to breathe again.

    Zu An turned around and saw a gray-haired elder standing nearby, looking at him vigntly. The elder was very skinny, almost like a skeleton, with a somewhat sinister appearance. His aura was a bit weak, as if he had one foot already in the grave.

    However, the elder¡¯s eyes were bright and sharp. Upon closer inspection, it was as if there were two whirlpools spinning within them. If one stared into them for too long, it would feel as if one could sink into them at any moment. There was also a pattern between his brows, shaped like a vertical eye. Even though the eye was closed right now, it gave off a dangerous air.

    Zu An thought in surprise, Could this be Sir Huo? He calmly replied, ¡°I¡¯m a guest King Yan invited. Not too long ago, I made a bet to see who could help King Yan capture the assassin first. That¡¯s why I¡¯m investigating here.¡±

    ¡°Guest?¡± the elder replied with a hint of surprise. A guard came up to him and whispered into his ear, clearly attesting to Zu An¡¯s status. The elder nodded and continued, ¡°Then can I ask if sir has discovered anything? That assassin was running precisely in this direction.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Zu An replied, pretending to be quite troubled. ¡°Then it looks as if my luck isn¡¯t that good, or else I would have already won the bet.¡±

    The elder gave him a closer look. At the same time, he sent out his ki to check the room. When he didn¡¯t notice anyone else, he nodded and said, ¡°Our guest should return to the banquet as quickly as possible. That assassin is really dangerous.¡±

    Then, he took the others with him and they continued their search.

    ¡­

    When they left, Zu An looked down at the squatting Zhang Zitong, saying, ¡°Alright, they¡¯ve already left.¡±

    ¡°They left?¡± Zhang Zitong asked in surprise. She hadn¡¯t expected to get through this situation so easily. She continued, ¡°That old man is really treacherous. He might have just pretended to leave before circling back.¡±

    Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°He really didn¡¯t notice you. You can get up, unless you like this kind of squatting posture?¡± He knew that with his aura covering Zhang Zitong, there was no way the elder would have noticed her unless he came very close.

    Zhang Zitong¡¯s face turned red. She quickly jumped up and hissed, ¡°Who likes squatting here like this?!¡± Then, she asked in confusion, ¡°Why did you help me?¡±

    After all, she wasn¡¯t stupid. She quickly realized that he was the one who had taken the initiative to help her, and that it wasn¡¯t because she had threatened him.

    Zu An didn¡¯t want to exin everything to her; instead, he simply said, ¡°It¡¯s just because you¡¯re pretty, and your legs are long too. I¡¯ve always been someone who''s fond of beauty.¡±

    Zhang Zitong¡¯s expression quickly distorted. If anyone else had said such a thing to her, she would only have thought of them as an annoying pervert, but this person had just said it so naturally. She felt a mysterious sense of sincerity from him. She cupped her hands and asked politely, ¡°May I ask what the young master¡¯s surname is? I will definitely return this life-saving grace in the future¡±

    ¡°My surname is My, given name Husband. Make sure to remember it,¡± Zu An casually replied.

    ¡°My Husband?¡± Zhang Zitong repeated, stunned. This man was so handsome, but wasn¡¯t his name a bit poorly chosen? She replied, ¡°Thank you, My Husband. We will meet again.¡± Then, she kicked off the ground and disappeared into the night sky.

    Zu An didn¡¯t see her off, because she was a Silver Token Envoy. If she got caught even after the amount of help he gave her, she would be way too weak.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zhang Zitong sighed in relief after she sessfully escaped from King Yan Manor. She turned around and looked at the glistening king manor. That man¡¯s handsome smile appeared in her mind. She thought, Just where did My Husbande from? He was actually able to arrive as a guest of King Yan¡¯s, and he even helped me¡­

    Anyone who can be invited to King Yan¡¯s banquet can¡¯t possibly be a nobody. Once I get back, I¡¯m going to look around. I should be able to find out more about him.

    My Husband really is a special name. Wait, what?

    She repeated the name a few times to herself before she finally realized what was going on. Her face quickly turnedpletely red.

    You have sessfully trolled Zhang Zitong for +233 +233 +233¡­

    ¡­

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Meanwhile, back at the King Manor, when Zu An received the Rage points, he couldn''t help but chuckle. This woman didn¡¯t seem to be all that sharp¡­ It had taken her so long to react, after all. Then again, if she really had been smart, she wouldn¡¯t have done something as foolish as barging into King Yan Manor to find clues about Sir Huo.

    ¡°Did you encounter something happy? Why do you have such a big smile on your face?¡± a clear and cold voice called out from behind Zu An. Chu Chuyan was standing under the plum blossoms, her dress fluttering in the wind. She really was graceful and charming.

    Even though they were already married, whenever he saw her, Zu An still felt a brief moment of shock. His smile grew even bigger as he said, ¡°Of course I¡¯m happy, because I got to see you guys here!¡±

    ¡°You guys?¡± Chu Chuyan repeated with a suspicious expression.

    Zu An was startled. He quickly replied, ¡°I fought side by side with Sect Master Yan at the Fiend King Court, so for better or for worse, we¡¯re friends now. Of course I¡¯m happy to see her.¡±

    Chu Chuyan felt relieved when she heard that. However, she then said worriedly, ¡°Ah Zu, I know what kind of person you are. Please don¡¯t have any improper thoughts toward master. Master has never felt anything for any man in all these years. If she finds out, she¡¯ll definitely show you her sword and make sure you won¡¯t be able to think any bad thoughts in your next life.¡±

    Zu An had a strange expression as he thought to himself, Your master did show me a sword, but I showed her a spear¡­ Eventually, he replied, ¡°I don¡¯t think Sect Master Yan would be so unreasonable. For example, that Heavenly Sorrow¡¯s Guan Chouhai seems to be particrly attentive to her, and yet I don¡¯t see her getting that annoyed.¡±

    ¡°You still have the nerve to say that? You¡¯ve already offended Heavenly Sorrow so badly that I¡¯m worried for your life! I was worried that Sect Master Guan would suddenly attack you and was about to ask master to help you.¡± Chu Chuyan said, still feeling some fear when she remembered what had happened.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m not scared of that Guan guy,¡± Zu An said, grabbing her soft and cool hand. ¡°Furthermore, your master and I are at leastrades in battle, so she won¡¯t just sit around without doing anything.¡±

    ¡°So that was what you were thinking! I shouldn¡¯t have been worried for you,¡± Chu Chuyan said, pouting yfully. If there were anyone else present, their jaws would no doubt have dropped. She was normally cold no matter who she faced, and yet she actually had such a cute side!

    ¡°You still haven¡¯t talked about Guan Chouhai and your master¡¯s involvement,¡± Zu An said with great interest.

    ¡°What else could there be? It¡¯s nothing more than Sect Master Guan always chasing after my master,¡± Chu Chuyan said, starting to feel excited as the subject moved toward gossip. ¡°Back then, Sect Master Guan had incredible talent. He was secretly chosen to be Heavenly Sorrow Sect¡¯s next Sect Master when he was only in his teenage years. There was even a chance for him to be the strongest among the nine daoist sects. Because he was rather handsome and schrly in appearance, it wasn¡¯t just the Heavenly Sorrow Sect; countless youngdies from the other sects were infatuated with him. There were even rumors of him refusing women who were practically throwing themselves at him.

    ¡°However, Sect Master Guan met my master in the Daoist Sect Great Meeting and fell in love at first sight. He vowed he wouldn¡¯t take anyone but her as a wife. He visited the White Jade Sect countless times, and he even became a servant in the White Jade Sect for a while to please master. He tried to get along with everyone at master¡¯s side. Back then, some people even joked that Heavenly Sorrow was helping the White Jade Sect raise a good disciple.¡±

    ¡°And then?¡± Zu An asked somewhat nervously. With that degree of infatuation and him being quite attractive to begin with, not many women could resist, right?

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing after that.¡± Chu Chuyan said, shaking her head. ¡°Master doesn¡¯t like him. At first, she patiently told him that she didn¡¯t like him, but when he didn¡¯t listen and instead pestered her even more, master decided to just ignore him. I actually suspect that the reason why master behaves so coldly toward men might be because of that.¡±

    Zu An was stunned, thinking, That might actually be a possibility.

    Suddenly, someone coughed lightly. The two of them turned around and saw Yan Xuehen with a menacing expression.

 Chapter 1600 â€“ You Donâ€™t Want Anyone Else to Know, Do You?

    <h4>Chapter 1600 ¨C You Don¡¯t Want Anyone Else to Know, Do You?</h4>

    ¡°Mas¡­ Master!¡± Chu Chuyan cried, jumping in fright. After all, she had been talking about her master behind her back. Strictly speaking, that was quite ¡®unfilial¡¯.

    Yan Xuehen said coldly, ¡°You have been away from your seat for so long that it will seem rude to others. You should hurry and return to your seat.¡±

    Chu Chuyan thought to herself, My master normally doesn¡¯t care about what other people think at all. However, she had a guilty conscience and didn¡¯t dare to argue. She meekly replied, ¡°Yes, master¡­¡± Afterward, she gestured toward Zu An with her eyes, showing that there was nothing she could do. Then, she left quickly, almost as if she were running away.

    Only Zu An and Yan Xuehen were left. The mood quickly turned awkward.

    Fortunately, Zu An was rather shameless. He moved closer, but before he could say anything, Yan Xuehen recoiled as if she had been burned. She quickly took a few steps back and snapped, ¡°Don¡¯te any closer!¡±

    Zu An lookedpletely helpless as he asked, ¡°Am I really that scary to you?¡±

    A ¡®terrifying¡¯ memory appeared in Yan Xuehen¡¯s mind. She looked away, her figure so cold that even the plum blossoms above looked as if they were shivering in fear.

    Zu An sighed and said, ¡°You left without even saying goodbyest time. I was worried that something had happened to you, and only when I heard from Chu Chuyan that you had returned to the White Jade Sect did I feel a bit more at ease.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°What¡¯s in the past is in the past,¡± Yan Xuehen said, cutting him off. ¡°I came here to remind you to stay some distance away from Chuyan. With her greatpetition at hand, she needs to remain at peace with herself in order to bring out her greatest strength. The time she spent with you in the capital filled her with unsteady emotions. If she fights in that kind of state, she will most likely lose. She finally regained her mental state recently, and yet you showed up. If you really wish the best for her, then do not disturb her in this time.¡±

    Zu An cursed, ¡°Your Unshakable Daoist Manual really is a troublesome skill. It has all sorts of faults.¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Yan Xuehen snapped, shooting him a look. ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to disgrace our sect¡¯s skills.¡±

    ¡°Fine, fine, fine, I misspoke,¡± Zu An said. He knew how sacred the Unshakable Daoist Manual was to those from the White Jade Sect, so he changed the subject and moved closer to her, saying, ¡°Maybe Chuyan can¡¯t be disturbed because of her fight, but you don¡¯t have anypetitions. It¡¯s fine if Ie looking for you, right?¡±

    ¡°No way!¡± Yan Xuehen quickly cried out.

    ¡°Why not?¡± Zu An replied, looking at her calmly and leisurely. Seeing this woman, who was usually like a frozen queen, be so worked up really did feel unique.

    ¡°There is no ¡®why¡¯. if I say no, then it is a no,¡± Yan Xuehen said, turning around to leave. After taking two steps, she stopped and said, ¡°I have already forgotten about what happened before. Nothing happened. I do not wish to harm anyone, especially Chuyan.¡±

    Zu An grabbed her sleeve, protesting, ¡°But you¡¯ve hurt me!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve hurt you?¡± Yan Xuehen repeated; she was so angry she actuallyughed. Just who had hurt whom? ¡°Are you this much of a scoundrel in front of Chuyan too?¡±

    Zu An sighed and said,¡°You haven¡¯t seen my truly scoundrelly side.¡±

    Yan Xuehen was rmed. Was that not enough, when you did whatever you wanted with my body? Of course, she would never dare to say that out loud and quicklyposed herself. She replied, ¡°Oh? Then may I ask this distinguished sir what your truly scoundrelly side looks like?¡±

    Zu An cleared his throat and looked at her strangely, saying, ¡°Big sis Yan, you don¡¯t want that thing between us to be known by Chuyan, right?¡±

    Yan Xuehen was stunned. Then, a deep blush visibly appeared on her neck. How could someone as intelligent as her not understand the implications behind those words?

    What followed was an exceptional amount of Rage points.

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +499 +499 +499¡­

    When he saw that she was about tosh out, Zu An quickly chuckled apologetically, saying, ¡°Big sis Yan, I was just joking around. I¡¯m not that kind of person.¡±

    He had seen so many of those damned plotlines, and all of his online guy friends had thought that sentence had a mysterious power. He had always jokingly used those words online and hadn¡¯t known how it would feel in reality.

    When she heard his sincere tone, Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression eased a bit. She said, ¡°That¡¯s good. Otherwise, Chuyan would really have chosen the wrong person.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but examine her features from up close. Her skin really was exquisite, making him want to kiss her. Of course, he knew that could only be wishful thinking. He said, ¡°Big sis Yan, you seem to have lost some weight.¡±

    Yan Xuehen almost rolled her eyes. Who wouldn¡¯t lose weight from being so vexed and tormented day after day? She retorted, ¡°If you could keep some distance away from me and start treating me with the same amount of respect as others do, I wouldn¡¯t be losing weight.¡±

    ¡°Is there really a need to be like this? We can just keep things separate. There¡¯s no conflict,¡± Zu An said, sounding vexed.

    ¡°You should just forget about everything,¡± Yan Xuehen replied, her expression clear. She was an extremely talented cultivator, and also the leader of a sect. Her will was extremely firm. She wouldn¡¯t be easily tied up by romantic affairs. She didn¡¯t wait for Zu An to reply and simply turned to leave.

    Zu An was about to say something when he saw Sun Xun walk over from close by. He quickly shut his mouth.

    Sun Xun was a bit surprised when he saw Yan Xuehen departing. Her beauty was really enough to produce ripples in any man¡¯s heart.

    Zu An shrugged and said, ¡°It seems my luck isn¡¯t so good. I didn¡¯t find anything.¡±

    Sun Xun said expressionlessly, ¡°In that case, I suggest that Sir Zu return to your seat. It really would not be too good for you to move around recklessly in your host¡¯s house.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s reasonable,¡± Zu An said. He had already saved Zhang Zitong, so there was naturally no need to stay behind anymore.

    Along the way, Sun Xun remarked with an insincere smile, ¡°Sir Zu really is more impressive than meets the eye. I have a whole new opinion of you.¡±

    It was clear that Zu An was an unusual person from the way he had behaved on the way to the manor. Sun Xun had been too careless before and hadn¡¯t provided King Yan with the correct information, which was why such a huge disturbance had happened in the room. King Yan would definitely criticize him for thatter.

    Zu An smiled and replied, ¡°It¡¯s fine; everyone has times when they can¡¯t see properly.¡±

    Sun Xun was speechless. This kid really knows how to console people!

    You have sessfully trolled Sun Xun for +366 +366 +366¡­

    ¡­

    When they returned to their seats, Zu An noticed that the Heavenly Sorrow Sect¡¯s disciples had returned one after another, clearly not having found anything either. Their expressions were all unpleasant. They clearly sighed in relief when they saw that he had returned without anything either.

    ¡°That assassin really is formidable. They were actually able to get away even with so many people after them,¡± Zhao Xiaodie said with a sigh. ¡°Or maybe someone on the inside deliberately helped them get away.¡± She gave Zu An a look after saying that.

    In truth, she was just casting me baselessly. After all, there were so many people from Heavenly Sorrow present, and yet they hade back with nothing. It really was quite embarrassing. She had no idea that she had actually hit the nail on the head.

    However, King Yan said disapprovingly, ¡°A small thief like that is nothing significant. Let us not let it disturb our festivities today.¡±

    When the guests saw that the host didn¡¯t mind, the atmosphere quickly returned to how it had been before.

    Zu An remarked with feigned ease, ¡°When I was chasing after the assassin earlier, I ran into an elder in your respected home. I could tell that he was an expert who excelled in spiritual power from a single nce. The king¡¯s manor really is full of talents!¡±

    ¡°The one you are speaking of is most likely Sir Huo. He is someone from the southern border and is indeed good in that field,¡± King Yan said proudly. Having many capable people under him was clearly something he was extremely proud of.

    Guan Chouhai said, ¡°As that Sir Huo excels in spiritual attacks, if the target was able to escape, they have to have been good at such skills too, or perhaps they had an appropriate defensive treasure on them. The king can carry out an investigation from that angle.¡±

    King Yan replied happily, ¡°Many thanks for your reminder, Sect Master Guan!¡±

    ¡­

    Then, the mood became joyous and harmonious. Heavenly Sorrow¡¯s disciples forgot about their earlier displeasure and began to chat about the uingpetition.

    Zu An remembered them mentioning that before too, so he turned around and asked Chu Chuyan, ¡°What is that Great Sect Competition they¡¯re talking about?¡±

    Meanwhile, Zhi Yin and the others just sneered, thinking, This brat is quite clever, knowing that we won¡¯t answer him if he asks us. But he really isn¡¯t the brightest. Actually asking Miss Chu? Everyone knows that Miss Chu is very cold-natured and normally keeps a great distance from people.

    Even someone as outstanding as Zhi Yin could only leave resentfully whenever he tried to talk to her with kind words. This brat was actually asking her in such a rude and direct way? It would be strange for Miss Chu to reply to him.

    However, his eyes soon widened, because Chu Chuyan actually smiled at that brat! He thought, Why?! She¡¯s never shown me a smile before!

 Chapter 1601 â€“ Wordless Edict

    <h4>Chapter 1601 ¨C Wordless Edict</h4>

    Chu Chuyan showed Zu An a smile as she exined, ¡°The Great Sects Competition is a convention that was created over a thousand years ago. Many years ago, the daoists divided themselves into the nine sects. Every single one believed that their theories and cultivation methods were correct. They were all very proud people too, so fights easily broke out whenever there were disagreements. That caused all nine sects to suffer severe casualties.

    ¡°Later, the sages from the nine sects realized that things couldn''t continue that way, as it would not only cause their geniuses to perish, but also easily form grudges that couldn¡¯t be dissolved. However, there was already a grudge between the nine sects, so there was no way for the fighting topletely end. As such, someone proposed the idea to hold a greatpetition within the nine sects. This way, the disciples could fight on a stage, and with the elders watching, it was easier for them to keep it under control.

    ¡°The great sect leaders at the time felt that method would not only eliminate conflict, but also motivate their disciples to cultivate earnestly. Thus, the tradition continued. Out of consideration for the ns¡¯ cultivation resources, they chose to hold it once every ten years. Now, it¡¯s been just about ten years since thestpetition.¡±

    ¡°This kind ofpetition should have some benefits, right? Otherwise, it would just be known as some kind of chicken-ribspetition,¡± Zu An remarked. He thought about how in his previous world, just glory alone wasn¡¯t enough for the athletes in basketball and serpetitions to do their best.

    ¡°Of course there are,¡± Chu Chuyan said with a smile. The eyes of Heavenly Sorrow¡¯s disciples widened. When had they ever seen her smile so brilliantly? Meanwhile, Chu Chuyan continued, ¡°The winning sect can obtain the daoist treasure ¡®Wordless Edict¡¯ for ten years. That text will remain in that sect for them to consult.¡±

    Zu An was stunned, asking, ¡°Wordless Edict?¡±

    Now, even King Yan¡¯s people were interested. They looked as if they were still chatting with their friends, but their ears perked up in Chu Chuyan¡¯s direction.

    ¡°The Wordless Edict is a text rumored to have been passed down by a daoist ancestor. It¡¯s imed that the daoists¡¯ ultimate secrets are recorded in it. However, even after all of these years, not even the most stunning talents have been able toprehend its mysteries,¡± Chu Chuyan said, a hint of longing in her expression.

    ¡°Does the Wordless Edict really not have any words?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen it before, but it¡¯s rumored that it is indeed the case,¡± Chu Chuyan said with a nod. ¡°Still, the book is truly profound. Even though there are no words, the contents seem to carry the great dao of the universe. Even though the sects haven¡¯t been able toprehend its ultimate secrets, they¡¯ve still gained a lot of enlightenment from its contents. It¡¯s to the extent that just staying closer to the Wordless Edict can improve one¡¯s cultivation speed.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s that amazing?¡± Zu An asked, inwardly thinking to himself that he had to get his hands on the book one day. Naturally, he wouldn¡¯t say that in front of the two sects.

    Chu Chuyan continued, ¡°Apart from the Wordless Edict, the top ten disciples of thepetition can participate in the Daoist Secret Dungeon that opens once a year. That¡¯s a tremendous opportunity for the younger generation, and the reason why the disciples sent to participate in thepetition always try their hardest.¡±

    Zu An nodded. The different powers all had their corresponding dungeons; for example, even Brightmoon City¡¯s Academy had its own. If this was a dungeon that the nine daoist sects shared, it was definitely a ce full of treasures and cultivation secrets. Such a thing was obviously extremely alluring for younger cultivators.

    Suddenly, he thought of something and asked out of concern, ¡°Aren¡¯t you going topete against the Devil Sect¡¯s Saintess? Doesn¡¯t that mean joining thepetition will be really dangerous?¡±

    If Chu Chuyan joined this Great Sects Competition first, wouldn¡¯t that mean she had to face Qiu Honglei while she wasn¡¯t at her strongest? The Devil Sect had always antagonized the daoist sects. She could be injured in the battle. Meanwhile, if she fought against Qiu Honglei first before joining thepetition, that would also be dangerous. Even though the daoist sects imed to be unified and hold the same beliefs, they actually viewed the other sects aspetitors. Furthermore, with the allure of a prize, there was no way they would hold back. Whichever situation it was, it was going to be really dangerous for her.

    Chu Chuyan felt warm inside when she sensed Zu An¡¯s concern. She replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I don¡¯t need to join the Great Sects Competition. The White Jade Sect¡¯s candidate spot will be taken by one of my senior brothers. The great sects have given me a special condition. As long as I can win against the Devil Sect¡¯s Saintess, I can obtain a spot for entering the secret dungeon.¡±

    Zu An sighed in relief when he heard that. Still, he felt even more worried afterward. After all, Chu Chuyan had to win in order to further her prospects. However, if she won, that meant Qiu Honglei had to lose. The Devil Sect was no doubt using simr strategies to encourage Qiu Honglei, but there could punishment waiting if she lost.

    Zu AN really was torn, as he didn¡¯t want to see either one of them lose. In that instant, he felt the helplessness of fate. There were some things one really couldn''t get the best of both worlds for.

    ¡­

    While the two of them were chatting, the Heavenly Sorrow disciples¡¯ mouths hung wide open. Zhi Yin in particr felt his head ringing.

    He still remembered the first time he had met Chu Chuyan. Back then, she had apparentlye to the Heavenly Sorrow Sect to deliver a letter. He had thought that she was a goddess the moment he saw her, instantly falling for her. He had even thought of what to name their kids. The son would be Zhi Chu, the daughter would be Zhi Yan¡­ No, how can we only have two children if we get married? That would be such a waste of a beauty! We need at least ten!

    In that time, he had immediately ended his rtionships with other female disciples and wholeheartedly pursued her. Unfortunately, Chu Chuyan was way too cold and rarely said anything. When he thought about it, he didn¡¯t even remember her saying too much to him. The words that had left him with the greatest impression were ¡®oh¡¯, ¡®ah¡¯, ¡®alright¡¯, ¡®I see¡¯, and so on. The longest sentence he had ever heard from her was ¡®thank you, senior brother¡¯!

    The good thing was that her voice was so pleasant to listen to that even a single word had made him feel incredible. Furthermore, he had felt a sense of superiority because she had spoken even less to other disciples than she did to him. Afterward, when he tallied everything up, he found that she had said a whopping 78 words to him!

    Unfortunately, that sense of superiority waspletely shattered in this instant. Never could he have expected that the usually silent and ice-cold beauty would be so enthusiastic in conversation with another man. The most important part was her warm smile! There wasn¡¯t even any trace of coldness left!

    What right does he have to deserve this?!

    Zhi Yin felt anger bubbling within him. He almost vomited blood on the spot.

    You have sessfully trolled Zhi Yin for +888 +888 +888¡­

    When he saw the surge of Rage points, Zu An gave Zhi Yin a strange look. Why is this little pretty boy throwing a fuss now?

    However, he lost interest after a single nce. He continued to chat with Chu Chuyan, but worrying that he was leaving Xie Daoyun alone for too long, he even introduced them to each other. They had been acquaintances back in Brightmoon City, so they weren¡¯t all that unfamiliar.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Secretly, however, the two women had some other thoughts going on behind the scenes. Chu Chuyan tried to guess the nature of Xie Daoyun and Zu An¡¯s rtionship, and Xie Daoyun felt that Chu Chuyan and Zu An weren¡¯t like a divorced couple at all.

    Meanwhile, Yan Xuehen watched everything unfold indifferently. She thought to herself, This kid really is energetic in his skirt-chasing. He really deserves a proper beating.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zhi Yin¡¯s entire body trembled with rage. His fists were tightly clenched under his sleeves, his nails digging into his hands.

    Next to him, Zhao Xiaodie eventually noticed something. She muttered, ¡°That Chu girl looks all cold on the surface. I didn¡¯t expect her to be such a kissass! She¡¯s so enthusiastic just because she¡¯s talking to an important official.¡±

    Zhi Yin suddenly turned around and snapped, ¡°Shut up! You¡¯re not allowed to speak ill of her!¡±

    His sudden outburst drew people¡¯s attention. The other guests looked at the two of them with surprise, wondering just what had happened.

 Chapter 1602: Remarry

    <h4>Chapter 1602: Remarry</h4>

    Zhao Xiaodie was shocked and angry, not having expected her good intentions to be rewarded with an angry reprimand from Zhi Yin instead.

    Zhi Yin was handsome, and he was also Heavenly Sorrow Sect¡¯s most talented disciple. He was quite popr among the sect¡¯s women. Furthermore, he had taken care of Zhao Xiaodie when she was new to the sect, which was why had a good impression of him. Even though it wasn¡¯t to the point of feeling love, she still attached more importance to him than other men.

    She saw that Zhi Yin felt anger and great pain. When she thought about how, back when she had arrived at the Heavenly Sorrow Sect, Zhi Yin had been at Chu Chuyan¡¯s beck and call but received only cold treatment in return, she hadn¡¯t been able to hold herself back from speaking up against the injustice.

    ¡°Are you yelling at me right now?¡± Zhao Xiaodie replied with a scowl. After all, she was the daughter of King Qi, someone of noble status. When had she ever experienced such treatment before?

    After Zhi Yin shouted at her, he saw several other people looking at him and was inwardly shocked. Only then did he snap out of his daze and quickly apologize. ¡°Sorry, junior sister. I didn¡¯t do that on purpose. That wasn¡¯t what I meant; I must have just be a bit absent-minded¡­¡±

    After Zhi Yin¡¯s panicked exnation, Zhao Xiaodie¡¯s expression finally eased a bit.

    Meanwhile, Guan Chouhai took in the sight. He couldn''t help but sigh.It seems this disciple of mine is following the same disastrous path as his master.

    In this world, what is love¡­

    He couldn''t help but give Yan Xuehen a look. Her skin was fine like jade, and her beauty was simply outstanding. Furthermore, she seemed to look even more mature and stunning than ever. That sensation seemed to exist in harmony with her aloof and untainted beauty. How could there be a woman so perfect?

    When she sensed Guan Chouhai¡¯s scorching gaze, Yan Xuehen was unhappy. As such, she asked King Yan for permission to excuse herself. Due to her nature, she had never liked such gatherings to begin with. If Zu An hadn¡¯t arrived, she would have long since left.

    King Yan naturally tried to stop her, but when he saw that she remained unmoved, he could only say with a sigh, ¡°In that case, this king will see off Goddess Yan.¡±

    Xie Daoyun couldn''t help but move closer to Zu An. She quietly asked, ¡°Sect Master Yan really is an outstanding individual among those of the previous generation. My dad was apparently infatuated with her at one point in time too. My mom was pretty jealous over it for a while.¡±

    Zu An was a bit surprised, replying, ¡°Huh? If I¡¯m not mistaken, didn¡¯t City Lord Xie used to like Yu Yanluo?¡±

    In truth, there weren¡¯t many men from that generation who hadn¡¯t liked Yu Yanluo.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t men all like that? If they see a pretty woman, they fall in love with them,¡± Xie Daoyun said, and then her face reddened. She said in embarrassment, ¡°Big brother Zu, I¡¯m not criticizing you here. I know you¡¯re not like that.¡±

    Zu An was speechless, thinking,Yan Xuehen and Yu Yanluo are both women whom men from the previous generation dreamed about. If they found out what kind of rtionship I have with the two of them, I¡¯d probably be hunted down by all of the big shots of the world, right?

    Yan Xuehen refused King Yan¡¯s urging for her to stay and left. Chu Chuyan was a bit reluctant, but she didn¡¯t dare to go against her master¡¯s words. She could only give Zu An an apologetic look.

    Zu An wasn¡¯t in that much of a rush. Being able to meet them here was already an unexpected joy. Either way, as long as they were in Yi Commandery, there would be more than enough opportunities for them to meet.

    Guan Chouhai also got up to leave when he saw Yan Xuehen leave. Additionally, when they saw Chu Chuyan leave, Zhi Yin and the others immediately felt as if the evening banquet had be dull and senseless. They naturally followed their sect master out.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An also took the chance to leave. If Yan Xuehen and Chu Chuyan both left, staying behind with these old foxes would only leave him tired. After all, he and King Yan found each other irritating.

    Even though King Yan acted as if he wanted Zu An to stay on the surface, those with discerning eyes could tell that there was much less sincerity than when he had tried to keep Yan Xuehen.

    After leaving King Yan Manor, Zu An initially nned to look for the two girls, but Zhang Jie and the other Yi Commandery officials sought him out, trying to get closer to him. They had felt a bit of disappointment when they saw that he didn¡¯t retaliate at all against Sun Xun¡¯s mockery. However, after seeing how tough he had been in the king manor, they immediately changed their attitudes.

    Local officials represented the interests of the court, and were used by the emperor to keep the local kings or other nobles in check. As such, they didn¡¯t get along with King Yan. It would be one thing to go against weaker kings or nobles, but against the powerful ones such as King Yan, their work as local officials became very difficult. As they had finally met the kind of court representative they longed for, they naturally had to use him to change the situation.

    Zu An felt quite helpless. He had no way to chase these people away and could only respond to them. By the time he was done, Yan Xuehen and Chu Chuyan had long since left.

    Along the way, Zhang Jie invited them to stay in his side courtyard. The conditions there were much better than they would be at a ry station.

    Naturally, Zu An tactfully declined. The first reason was that he couldn''t really tell what this man¡¯s motives were, and didn¡¯t want to rashly make a decision that would leave him bound up in the same camp. The second was that he had many secrets too. If he lived in Zhang Jie¡¯s courtyard, the maids and servants would all be keeping an eye on him.

    Zhang Jie didn¡¯t force the issue, and personally apanied Zu An to Yi Commandery¡¯s ry station and arranged the best room for him.

    ¡­

    When Zu An finally managed to see off all the officials, he sat down on a chair and released a long sigh.

    ¡°It must have been tiring to greet and see off all those officials,¡± Xie Daoyun said with a smile. She took a porcin bottle from her waist and poured out a small blue pill, dissolving it into a cup of water. ¡°This is Sobering Relief Tea. Please give it a try, big brother Zu.¡±

    ¡°I really do feel even more tired than after a great battle,¡± Zu An said, taking the teacup. When he smelled its refreshing fragrance, he felt his spirits immediately being roused. He remarked, ¡°Little sister Ling¡¯er really is ingenious, making this Sobering Relief Tea into a pill that can be carried with you.¡±

    ¡°That can¡¯t really be helped,¡± Xie Daoyun said as she sat down next to him. Her waist and back were perfectly straight, truly giving off the air of a distinguished daughter from a refined family. ¡°My father often needs to deal with social niceties andes back drunk as mud. That little brother of mine always causes trouble, oftening back dead drunk from brothels. A long illness makes a patient into a good doctor, in the end. That was how I created this Sobering Relief Pill. Actually, I¡¯m quite grateful to little sister Xiaoxi. If not for her help, I wouldn¡¯t have had the skill to create it at all.¡±

    ¡°Ji Xiaoxi?¡± Zu An asked, stunned. That young and tender girl appeared in his mind. He couldn''t help but feel warm inside.

    ¡°Yup. Her father is a divine physician, after all, even though his temperament is a bit strange. Fortunately, Xiaoxi isn¡¯t like her father and has a kind nature. She went out of her way to help me make this,¡± Xie Daoyun. When she thought of that girl, who was like a cute little sister, a smile spread across her face.

    Zu An thought about the time when he encountered a huge disaster and was arrested by the Embroidered Envoy. Ji Xiaoxi had given him some medicine, pretending to kiss him to do so¡­ He wondered whether she was doing well. There was also the adorable Huanzhao; was she still fretting over cultivation every day in the academy?

    Sigh, it¡¯s a pity that I¡¯ve never had a chance to return to Brightmoon City!

    ¡°Big brother Zu? Big brother Zu?¡± Xie Daoyun suddenly called out to him several times in confusion.

    ¡°What were you asking about?¡± Zu An asked, sounding apologetic. She seemed to have been saying something, but his mind had been elsewhere.

    Xie Daoyun blushed. After some hesitation, she still said, ¡°You met Miss Chu again today. Your rtionship seems to be really good. Why don¡¯t you two¡­ remarry?¡±

 Chapter 1603: New Clues

    <h4>Chapter 1603: New Clues</h4>

    ¡°Remarry?¡± Zu An repeated in surprise. Soon after, he said with a sigh, ¡°That might not be a good choice in the short term.¡±

    After all, Chu Chuyan was cultivating that shoddy Unshakeable Daoist Manual, and even talking with her would affect her mental state and cultivation. If they got married again and constantly messed with each other, how was she supposed to cultivate?

    Furthermore, if they decided to talk about remarriage, all sorts of older generation individuals would get involved.

    I don¡¯t really mind on my end, but Chu Chuyan is in the White Jade Sect, and Yan Xuehen would definitely get involved. Just the thought of having to ask her for Chu Chuyan¡¯s hand in marriage¡­

    That was a possibility he simply didn¡¯t dare to think about.

    Furthermore, he still had other close female friends to think about, such as Big Manman, Qiu Honglei, Yu Yanluo¡­ It was one thing for him to have gotten married before knowing them. But now that they had all shared ¡®that¡¯ kind of rtionship, getting married to another woman would definitely make them feel hurt.

    Sigh, the life of a yboy isn¡¯t so easily enjoyed¡­

    Xie Daoyun didn¡¯t know what Zu An was thinking. When she saw his surprised expression, she didn¡¯t know why, but she suddenly felt a bit happy. She said, ¡°Big brother Zu, don¡¯t let that bother you too much. When the time is right, the heavens will decide who to bring together.¡±

    Zu An chuckled and replied, ¡°Thank you for consoling me, little sister Ling¡¯er.¡±

    Xie Daoyun actually felt a bit guilty. Her thought process made her feel like a bad woman. She felt so uneasy that she was too embarrassed to remain. After chatting a bit more, she got up to leave.

    After Zu An saw her back to the room, he secretly changed into his Golden Token Eleven outfit. He rushed toward the Embroidered Envoy¡¯s secret meeting spot in the darkness.

    ¡­

    As soon as Zu An entered, he smelled a strong medicinal fragrance, and saw the normally calm Xiao Jianren running around in circles. Xiao Jianren nced toward the inner room from time to time, seemingly wanting to say something, but stopping several times.

    Dai Seventh and Chen Eighth were much bolder as they spoke up.

    ¡°Miss Zhang, do you really not need us to help you apply the medicine?¡±

    ¡°Miss Zhang, I have experience! In the past, I was always the one who patched up the old female boars who fought at the vige entrance. All those who were treated all said that I did a good job!¡±

    ¡°There is no need to trouble this big brother!¡± Zhang Zitong snapped, clearly holding back anger.

    ¡°Oh,¡± the two said, taking several steps back. Their Mediterranean Sea and M-shaped bald patterns made aical sight together.

    Chen Eighth was still unresigned. He wanted to say something else, but Xiao Jianren stopped him, saying, ¡°Let¡¯s not anger Lady Zhang anymore.¡±

    Dai Eighth said with a snicker, ¡°This is where you¡¯recking in knowledge. A woman might not remember someone who make herugh, but she¡¯ll probably like a man who makes her cry¡­¡±

    Xiao Jiarnen smacked his head before he even finished. ¡°Look at all that cliched garbage you¡¯re spewing. Are you about to take a civil service exam or something?¡±

    The door suddenly opened, and the tall and slender Zhang Zitong charged at him. She was just about tosh out when she suddenly saw Zu An in the corner. She quickly bowed and said, ¡°I greet Sir Eleven!¡±

    Xiao Jianren and the others jumped in fright. They only noticed Zu An¡¯s presence when they turned around. They quickly followed suit in greeting him and exchanged looks with bowed heads.

    ¡°Sir Eleven really is mysterious. None of us noticed anything even when you were already so close to us. If you were a thief, we would already be dead.¡±

    ¡°Ah!! I¡¯m screwed! Do you think Sir Eleven heard the things we were saying? Do you think his impression of us would be lowered?¡±

    ¡­

    Zu An ignored the guilty men and looked at the bandages around Zhang Zitong¡¯s leg. He asked, ¡°Was that inflicted by a guard from King Yan Manor?¡±

    Zhang Zitong was shocked. No wonder Xiao Jianren always said their Sir Eleven was profound and unfathomable. He clearly seemed to have disappeared for several days, and yet he actually knew she had just escaped from King Yan Manor.

    Xiao Jianren and the others looked at her long legs with worry. They all wondered whether it would leave a scar. If a scar were really left behind on such beautiful legs, that really would be a loss for all men.

    ¡°Yes. A few days ago, we were looking into Sir Huo¡¯s information, but because he rarely made an appearance, it was hard to gather anything useful. For the sake of my duty to investigate the truth for Sir Eleven, I decided to personally look around the king manor¡­¡± Zhang Zitong exined, feeling guiltier and guiltier as she spoke.

    ¡°You¡¯ve just been causing trouble!¡± Zu An berated them. ¡°Who do you think you are? King Yan Manor is a ce full of powerful cultivators, and King Yan is a grandmaster himself. You¡¯re just a trifling Silver Token Envoy, and yet you dare to trespass into King Yan Manor?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t rush in blindly, though¡­ I learned that he was inviting some esteemed guests and that he¡¯d probably be too busy, which was why I used that opening to investigate¡­¡± Zhang Zitong trailed off; she didn¡¯t have much confidence, as she really had acted a bit impulsively.

    If she hadn¡¯t been saved by that person, she might just have been finished in King Yan Manor. Because she had gone using her own personal identity, the Embroidered Envoy wouldn¡¯t even have been able to defend her. Golden Token Seven had already passed away, leaving her branch leaderless; furthermore, Embroidered Envoys had to obey the court¡¯sws. As she had barged straight into a king¡¯s manor, it would have been perfectly reasonable and fair even if they decided to kill her.

    ¡°Then should I be thanking you for being so resourceful?¡± Zu An retorted with a sneer.

    ¡°This subordinate knows that she has made a mistake!¡± Zhang Zitong replied, realizing that she had acted a bit too impulsively this time. However, she was still a bit unsatisfied. How gentle and handsome had that young master¡¯s smile been when he saved her in the king manor? It really was like the difference between heaven and earthpared to Sir Eleven.

    Xiao Jianren and the others quickly came forward to smooth things over, saying, ¡°Sir Eleven, Miss Zhang did manage to sessfully escape from King Yan Manor in the end, and didn¡¯t leave behind anything else to worry about. That should be a sign of herpetence in itself.¡±

    Zu An sneered and replied, ¡°Do you think she escaped through her own abilities? Wasn¡¯t it because someone saved her?¡±

    Zhang Zitong was shocked, thinking,How does he know?However, she quickly remembered that Golden Token Envoys were at the peak of prowess. It was normal for them to have their own intelligenceworks.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, I met a young master in the manor¡­¡± Zhang Zitong recounted what had happened. Her cheeks unknowingly heated up a bit.

    ¡°There were quite a few guests who attended the banquet today, but the only one who matches your description is Sir Zu from the Eastern Pce,¡± Xiao Jianren deduced.

    Zhang Zitong¡¯s face turned red.I didn¡¯t say he was young and handsome, right? Did I really make it that obvious?

    ¡°Sir Zu? Why would he save me?¡± she wondered. As a Silver Token Envoy, she naturally knew that the one apanying the Armed Escort Division on a mission from the emperor was Zu An. However, she had never seen him before, so she didn¡¯t recognize him.

    ¡°Maybe it was out of respect for our¡­¡± Xiao Jianren began, sticking his chest out proudly, but he noticed that Sir Eleven was still there and quickly changed his tone. ¡°It was probably out of favor for Sir Eleven. In the past, we went to Cloudcenter Commandery and worked together. He must have done it out of consideration for our shared past.¡±

    ¡°So that was it,¡± Zhang Zitong said. She was still a bit confused, though. She hadn¡¯t even been in her uniform, so how had Sir Zu known that she was part of the Embroidered Envoy? Still, that doubt was quickly reced by joy. After all, she finally knew who her benefactor was.

    ¡°Then, what did you find out from this trip?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°That Sir Huo is indeed good at mental attacks. The patterns on his forehead form something that resembles a vertical eye. It¡¯s normally closed, but when it opens, it unleashes tremendous power. Anyone who looks directly at it is caught in a hypnotized state they can¡¯t escape from. I suspect that Sir Seven fell unconscious and drowned precisely because of that skill,¡± Zhang Zitong said seriously.

    Zu An frowned. After thinking for a while, he shook his head and said, ¡°If even you could escape from him, I don¡¯t believe that Golden Token Seven could have fallen victim to his skill.¡±

    Zhang Zitong¡¯s cultivation wasn¡¯t weak; otherwise, there was no way she could have be a Silver Token Envoy at such a young age. But even so, she was still just a Silver Token Envoy. There was still quite a difference between her and Golden Token Seven.

    Zhang Zitong quickly exined, ¡°I naturally wouldn¡¯t have seeded by relying on my own strength alone. Before the investigation, I already made preparations. I applied for a magic treasure that has strong defensive properties against spiritual attacks. Furthermore, I encountered a simr treasure through a chance encounter in my earlier years, which was why I recovered at a crucial moment and managed to escape.

    ¡°Even so, the Embroidery House¡¯s magic treasure instantly shattered under his attack. That protective treasure I carry with me has cracks in it as well. I don¡¯t think I would be able to escape if I had to go through that again.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Zu An asked. ¡°Then what level do you think his cultivation has reached?¡± He had met Sir Huo before, but the other party hadn¡¯t used all his strength then, so it was hard to say how strong he was.

    ¡°It should at least be at the master rank,¡± Zhang Zitong said decisively. She still felt lingering fears when she recalled the power she had encountered.

    Zu An nodded. The Embroidered Envoys didn¡¯t always need to have powerful cultivation, but their judgment needed to be sharp.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Then, the group discussed the intelligence they had on Sir Huo for a while longer. They now had a much better picture of him than before. Still, they didn¡¯t have any real details.

    Seeing their troubled expressions, Zu An said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about Sir Huo anymore. Leave it to me to investigate.¡± He was worried about the possibility of them continuing to act rashly. Next time, he wouldn¡¯t necessarily just happen to be there to save them.

    The three subordinates sighed in relief. After all, a master rank shaman was just too powerful; they just couldn''t deal with that at all.

    Xiao Jianren suddenly smacked his head and eximed, ¡°Right, boss! We have clues for the investigation into the women Sir Seven came into contact with while he was still alive!¡±

 Chapter 1604 â€“ Repay

    <h4>Chapter 1604 ¨C Repay</h4>

    ¡°Oh?¡± Zu An asked. He hadn¡¯t expected much from this side of the investigation. After all, Golden Token Envoys were always secretive when carrying out their missions, let alone when it came to their interactions with women. It waspletely expected for Xiao Jianren to not find anything, and the fact that he had found something was actually strange.

    Xiao Jianren stuck out his chest proudly, saying, ¡°Recently, I¡¯ve been skipping sleep and meals to look through the different files, and I even asked Sir Seven¡¯s colleagues. Finally, I found some clues. At some point in the past, Sir Seven seemed to be especially attentive regarding information surrounding the Hub of Freedom.¡±

    ¡°Hub of Freedom?¡± Zu An repeated in surprise. That name was familiar to him. In the past, he had visited the ce while passing through Yi Commandery. It was a mysterious money-squandering establishment, so it made sense for Golden Token Seven to have been investigating the ce.

    Xiao Jianren continued, ¡°On a certain day before the incident, a colleague bumped into Sir Seven while he was talking to a woman about something. That woman was extremely beautiful, but what left the deepest impression was her smile. That colleague had never seen a sweeter smile. Just a single look at her smile made that colleague feel as if he had just eaten honey.¡±

    He was a bit troubled as he continued, ¡°It''s just a pity that was all we managed to find. We don¡¯t know that woman¡¯s identity at all. We wanted to get a portrait of that woman done, but that guy actually couldn''t recall her appearance at all. He only remembered that her smile was really, really sweet.¡±

    The Embroidered Envoy, as a specialized intelligence organization, frequently captured suspicious people; thus, they had artists who specialized in drawing portraits of criminals. As long as there was a witness, they could draw a portrait with a seventy to eighty percent simrity to the person¡¯s real appearance. However, that colleague had only remembered the sweet smile and no other traits. Even the most brilliant artist would be helpless in such a situation.

    ¡°I have an idea of who it is,¡± Zu An said. If they were talking about the Hub of Freedom, and a woman with a sweet smile¡­ A familiar name appeared in his mind.

    ¡°Your respected self even knows about this?¡± Xiao Jianren replied in shock. Even Zhang Zitong looked at him with wide eyes. It was precisely because the trail seemed to have ended there that she had felt pressured to investigate the King Manor.

    Zu An nodded and said, ¡°I have something I need to take care of, and will take my leave now. Please don¡¯t act on your own again in the meantime.¡± Afterward, he disappeared into the night sky.

    Xiao Jianren couldn''t help but sigh in admiration as he looked at Zu An, remarking, ¡°Sir Eleven really is mysterious and profound, someone to admire and look up to¡­¡±

    In the past, Zhang Zitong would have just cursed him for being a bootlicker. But now, she actually felt simr.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, after Zu An left the meeting point, he went to the city outskirts. He still remembered where to go in order to visit the Hub of Freedom. Of course, along the way, he changed out of his Golden Token Envoy uniform. After all, the Hub of Freedom wasn¡¯t some honorable ce. If he went in his official uniform, people would just run away from him.

    When he arrived at the meeting ce, the person waiting was about to ask him for a secret code, but Zu An didn¡¯t want to go through all that trouble and took out his jade badge. The other person initially looked prideful, but when he saw the number 333 on the jade tile, his expression quickly changed. He didn¡¯t ask anything else and called someone over with an exquisite carriage, then invited Zu An to enter.

    Zu An knew about the process already, so he entered. The carriage quickly began to move. He stroked the jade token in his hands. The Hub of Freedom had given him the token previously; it was roughly equivalent to the highest-rank VIP card. For the sake of safety, the transportation process was extremelyplicated. Fortunately, he had the token to save him a lot of time.

    ¡­

    After Zu An rested for a while in the carriage, it eventually came to a halt and the driver called out, ¡°Esteemed guest, we¡¯ve arrived.¡±

    Zu An got off the carriage. He was surprised to discover that it had stopped at a paved pathway; nearby was the sparkling and luxurious Hub of Freedom. Normal guests had to have their heads covered, and were taken through a long, hidden path before entering. He hadn¡¯t expected the jade badge to bring him directly to the entrance.

    Soon afterward, a beautiful servant came to wee him, saying, ¡°Esteemed guest, this way please~¡± After guiding him to a luxurious room and closing the door, the servant asked with a smile, ¡°There is an auction with many precious items today. Does the esteemed guest want to have some fun?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have any interest in that. I¡¯m looking for someone,¡± Zu An said, shaking his head. He had joined the auctionst time, but that had only led to a heap of trouble.

    The maid had an understanding expression as she asked, ¡°Does our respected guest have any girls you are familiar with?¡±

    If this guest hadn¡¯te to join the auction, and judging from his temperament, he didn¡¯t seem like the type to gamble either¡­ That meant there was only one possibility. She was even a bit eager to give it a try herself. If this person didn¡¯t have anyone he preferred, she could just rmend herself. This person was a respected jade token guest, and he was handsome too. He wasn¡¯t like the other jade token guests, who were old and ugly. If she could get on his good side, it would be worth it if he took her in as his concubine¡­

    ¡°I¡¯m looking forady named Tang Tian¡¯er,¡± Zu An said directly. At the same time, he was a bit worried. Tang Tian¡¯er was apparently the first miss of the Zhenhai Merchant Group. She had onlye here out of personal interest, so he wouldn¡¯t necessarily be able to find her.

    When she heard that, the maid was clearly a bit disappointed. She replied, ¡°Tang Tian¡¯er? There doesn¡¯t seem to be someone with that name here.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An frowned. He thought that maybe she hadn¡¯t used her real name, so he described Tang Tian¡¯er¡¯s characteristics to the maid.

    The maid suddenly realized who he was talking about and said, ¡°So our guest was talking about big sis Tang. But I fear that our guest will be disappointed. Big sis Tang has to preside over the auction and won¡¯t be able toe. Additionally, she usually doesn¡¯t receive customers¡­¡±

    Zu An gave her a silver ingot and said with a smile, ¡°You just need to tell her my jade token number. She¡¯lle here.¡±

    The maid was a bit surprised, but when she sensed that his temperament seemed to be unusual, she didn¡¯t dare to say anything else and replied, ¡°Okay~¡±

    Even though she hadn¡¯t volunteered herself sessfully, she was still happy about getting a silver ingot. But unfortunately, he¡¯ll definitely be disappointed. Big sis Tang has never received guests. In the past, there were jade token guests who favored her, but it never worked out for them.

    Zu An sat down and closed his eyes to get some rest. A whileter, he opened his eyes upon hearing a flurry of hurried footsteps, followed by the door opening. A woman with a big smile appeared in his room. Even though this wasn¡¯t the first time, he was still a bit taken aback by her sweet smile. That alone really was enough to improve one¡¯s mood. No wonder the Embroidered Envoy had only remembered her smile.

    ¡°One of the girls told me, but I didn¡¯t believe it at first. It really was you!¡± Tang Tian¡¯er eximed happily.

    Zu An replied with a smile, ¡°Miss Tang, it¡¯s been a while, but you¡¯re still so pretty.¡±

    Tang Tian¡¯er harrumphed. ¡°You really have no conscience. You¡¯ve already seen everything I have, and yet you still call me ¡®Miss Tang¡¯ in such an unfamiliar way. Do you know that I gave up on presiding over the auction because of you? Who knows how much trouble that will cause?¡±

    Zu An felt a bit embarrassed. Previously, when he was on the run in Cloudcenter Commandery, he had entered her room and used her bathtub to cover himself.

    ¡°Forget it. Out of consideration for the fact that you mailed me a set of Rouge Spice products and still have a bit of a conscience, this girl can barely forgive you,¡± Tang Tian¡¯er said as she sat down right next to Zu An. She rested her chin on her hand and looked at him with her bright and sparkly eyes. It was as if she were looking at a cherished toy.

    Zu An was so moved he almost shed tears. He had bought ten sets of Rouge Spice makeup, but trying to give them away had always gotten him in all sorts of trouble. Now, there was finally someone who recognized their value.

    ¡°Right!¡± Tang Tian¡¯er suddenly smacked herself, seemingly having remembered something. She reached into her waist bag and groped around, then took out an air-dried flower before saying, ¡°Those Blue Earthflowers you mentioned before? I was able to finally get some from the Fiend races¡¯ Fox Merchant Group with extraordinary difficulty! I heard from the Fox Merchant Group that a group of thieves almost took it, so your luck is pretty good¡­¡±

    Zu An had a strange expression as he heard her chatter away. The Fox Merchant Group? Previously, he had gone to the Fox Merchant Group in Bluefield Country to buy the flowers, but he was told that thest batch had been purchased by an esteemed guest. He hadn¡¯t expected it to have been bought for him by Tang Tian¡¯er¡­ He felt warm inside and said, ¡°Thank you, little sister Tian¡¯er.¡±

    Tang Tian¡¯er¡¯s pretty nose wrinkled. She replied, ¡°Is a ¡®thank you¡¯ all I¡¯m going to get? Why don¡¯t I feel any sincerity?¡±

    ¡°Then what does little sister Tian¡¯er want from me in return?¡± Zu An asked, smiling bitterly.

    Tang Tian¡¯er moved closer. The dimples around her smile were especially enchanting as she replied, ¡°How about you devote your whole body to me?¡±

 Chapter 1605: Cheated

    <h4>Chapter 1605: Cheated</h4>

    Zu An stared nkly for a moment, then said, ¡°Sure. Should we start now?¡± He began to remove his clothes as he spoke.

    Sure enough, Tang Tian¡¯er couldn''t take it. She harrumphed and jumped aside, staying away from him as she remarked, ¡°Hmph, what a scoundrel¡­¡± Zu Anughed at the sight. Tang Tian¡¯er couldn''t help but pout yfully with her red lips, saying, ¡°Why are you so shameless~¡±

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting little sister Tian¡¯er to just be joking around,¡± Zu An said. Of course, he hadn¡¯t really intended to take off all of his clothes. It was just to test her. They were both old foxes, so what was the point of ying these kinds of games?

    Tang Tian¡¯er harrumphed and changed the topic. ¡°Right, it¡¯s been a long time since we¡¯ve met. I heard that you went to the Fiend races¡¯ territory?¡±

    ¡°Little sister Tian¡¯er really is in the know,¡± Zu An said in surprise.

    ¡°But of course. Don¡¯t you see what kind of field I work in?¡± Tang Tian¡¯er remarked proudly. Then, she asked him several things about the Fiend races¡¯ territory.

    Zu An shared what he had seen and experienced on that side. Even though he hid the more sensitive details, it was enough to shock Tang Tian¡¯er.

    ¡°Sigh, I really want to go with big brother Zu and tour the Fiend races¡¯ territory! I¡¯ve always been interested in that side, but I would never dare to go by myself. I¡¯ve heard that the Fiend races really will eat people¡­¡± Tang Tian¡¯er said, looking like a weak little white rabbit.

    Zu Anpletely ignored her act, retorting, ¡°You frequently do business with the Fox Merchant Group, and yet you¡¯ve never been to the Fiend side? Who are you trying to fool?¡±

    ¡°Ah, big brother Zu caught me,¡± Tang Tian¡¯er said, although she didn¡¯t seem embarrassed at all. Zu An knew that this was just her nature, and it was also the nature of her upation, so he didn¡¯t take it to heart.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The two chatted for a while longer. However, Zu An hadn¡¯t forgotten the purpose of his visit. He said with feigned nonchnce, ¡°You¡¯re always at the Hub of Freedom. Do you know a Golden Token Seven from Yi Commandery?¡±

    A look of surprise flickered through Tang Tian¡¯er¡¯s eyes. Then, she said with a smile, ¡°How heartbreaking! I thought you came here to spend some time with me, but it was actually because you wanted to get some information.¡±

    Zu An had a wronged expression as he said, ¡°If you don¡¯t believe me, you can go and look around. I just arrived in Yi Commandery today, and yet I came straight here to talk to you. Otherwise, would I have been in such a rush to see you? That youngdy from your Hub of Freedom was trying to flirt with me, but I didn¡¯t even pay her any attention. Isn¡¯t that proof that I just wanted to see you?¡±

    ¡°Looks like you still have a bit of a conscience,¡± Tang Tian¡¯er said. She asked, ¡°Why do you have a rtionship with Golden Token Seven?¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°We¡¯re both officials from the court, so we have some connection that way.¡±

    Tang Tian¡¯er then said, ¡°I do know Golden Token Seven. The Hub of Freedom operates in a legal gray area, and Golden Token Seven is the leader of Yi Commandery¡¯s intelligence, so we naturally had some dealings with each other. Of course, a social butterfly like me was sent over to persuade him. However, Golden Token Seven was always immovable. He¡¯s never had a lustful side, and he doesn¡¯t care about riches either. He really was quite the headache to deal with.¡±

    ¡°Lustful?¡± Zu An repeated with a frown. He couldn''t help but give Tang Tian¡¯er another look. He had to admit that her appearance was exceptional, and she was exceptionally sweet. It made others unable to help but want to get closer to her.

    ¡°Ah, are you getting jealous right now?¡± Tang Tian¡¯er replied as she moved closer. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Haven¡¯t you seen what I¡¯m capable of? I have a kind of drug that can confuse others. Who can really take advantage of this girl?¡±

    Zu An still couldn''t help but remind her, ¡°It¡¯s impossible to keep your feet dry if you keep walking by the riverbank. Things won¡¯t end well if you run into someone truly strong.¡±

    ¡°After all these years, you¡¯re the only one I¡¯ve lost to.¡± Tang Tian¡¯er harrumphed. ¡°I¡¯ve already learned from that experience and changed the drug¡¯s formtion. Next time, even a great dragon will still be done in.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. This woman really was quite good at creating such drugs.

    ¡°But I¡¯m still really happy that you care so much about me,¡± Tang Tian¡¯er added, smiling brilliantly.

    Zu An became a bit absent-minded when he saw her sweet smile, which carried more sincerity than her usual courteous demeanor. However, this woman was really good at acting, and what she said was usually half truth and half lie. It was quite hard to tell whether anything she said was real or fake.

    ¡°Did you meet with Golden Token Seven around the sixth ofst month?¡± Zu An took the chance to ask.

    ¡°Can you not ask about another man when we¡¯re together? The mood is all spoiled now¡­¡± Tang Tian¡¯er grumbled, but she still replied, ¡°I did meet with him that day. It was the day the Hub of Freedom offered a mary token of appreciation to him. He could choose not to take it, but we had to offer it.¡± Afterward, she looked at him nervously and said, ¡°You are a court official too. You''re not here to arrest me because of our bribes, right?¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He replied, ¡°Look at how your legs are still dangling back and forth. I don¡¯t even see a trace of nervousness.¡±

    ¡°Ah, you¡¯ve seen through me. It seems my acting skills have worsened recently,¡± Tang Tian¡¯er said, sounding a bit distressed.

    Zu An continued, ¡°Did you visit ckwater Pool after?¡±

    ¡°ckwater Pool?¡± Tang Tian¡¯er replied, stunned. ¡°That ce is haunted; why would I go there?¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t go there?¡± Zu An asked in surprise. What was going on then?

    ¡°I¡¯m just too busy everyday; where would I have the time to go to such deste outskirts?¡± Tang Tian¡¯er asked, looking at him in confusion. ¡°I¡¯m confused as to why you asked me about that.¡±

    Zu An stared straight into her eyes, but he couldn''t tell whether she was telling the truth or not. After some time, he said, ¡°I heard someone say that the day Golden Token Seven died, you appeared at ckwater Pool, and that it was you who threw his corpse into the water.¡±

    Tang Tian¡¯er¡¯s expression changed. She replied, ¡°You suspect me?¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t say anything. He quickly thought about many things. Just what was going on? The turtle spirit had said that a woman tossed the corpse into the water, and then said ¡®The earlier you¡¯re found, the better¡¯. Later, Xiao Jianren¡¯s investigation found Tang Tian¡¯er to be thest woman Golden Token Seven had met before he passed away. However, why was she saying she had never been to ckwater Pool? Was she saying so just to get away with a crime?

    Seeing that Zu An had fallen silent, Tang Tian¡¯er put away her smile. Her expression also became ice-cold as she said, ¡°If you believe that I was the one who harmed Golden Token Seven, you can just arrest me and bring me to justice.¡±

    Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°I believe you, of course. Forget about the fact that I don¡¯t think you¡¯re the killer, even if you were, with our level of friendship, there¡¯s no way I would arrest you.¡±

    He wasn¡¯t like Detective Conan, who was hell-bent on punishing injustice, or anything. No matter how helpless the killer was, and even if they had no choice, that guy would still punish them ording to thew.

    Tang Tian¡¯er¡¯s expression turned from grief to happiness as she said, ¡°Big brother Zu is the best. I didn¡¯t misjudge you after all.¡±

    Zu An got up and said, ¡°I need to go and confirm some things, so I¡¯ll have to excuse myself first.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re leaving so soon?¡± Tang Tian¡¯er asked, sounding reluctant.

    ¡°Are you going to be in Yi Commandery this whole time?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°Not for certain. Sometimes, I visit the Hub of Freedom; other times, I return to deal with some affairs of the Zhenyuan Merchant Group,¡± Tang Tian¡¯er said. She then changed the topic, adding, ¡°But big brother Zu, seeing as you¡¯re in Yi Commandery, I won¡¯t return to Cloudcenter Commandery for a while. You cane and see me whenever you want. I¡¯ll always keep my door open for you.¡±

    Zu An ignored herst sentence. She wasn¡¯t even that old, and yet she acted as if she had a lot of experience. No wonder she was the most famous social butterfly in a chaotic ce such as the Hub of Freedom.

    After she saw him leave, Tang Tian¡¯er¡¯s smile gradually disappeared. As the candle¡¯s me flickered, her body was eventuallypletely shrouded in darkness.

    ¡­

    When Zu An left the Hub of Freedom, he rushed toward ckwater Pool in the city outskirts. At night, its water was like ink, looking sinister and eerie.

    Zu An called out with a cold snort, ¡°Come out!¡± However, even after he shouted a few times, there wasn¡¯t any activity.

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed. He jumped into the pool, but as he went deeper, he discovered that the cave at the bottom of the pool was alreadypletely deserted. There wasn¡¯t any trace of the turtle monster left! He searched all around the cave, but he couldn¡¯t find any clues.

    Eventually, however, he found a row of crooked words carved on a stone: ¡®Bastard Sun, this turtle will leave then!¡¯

    Zu An¡¯s expression immediately changed drastically. Previously, the turtle monster had spoken with a deadly earnest expression, saying that it had taken hundreds of years to gradually gather some faith offerings, and that it wouldn¡¯t easily abandon all of its work. That was why he had trusted it. He hadn¡¯t expected to have really been fooled by the monster!

    Suddenly, he realized something. When he was investigating ckwater Pool, the greenish-gray arms that had reached toward him hadn¡¯t carried a trace of divinity, and had the aura of malicious spirits with endless resentment. The turtle was so good with words that he had actually been fooled!

 Chapter 1606: Do You Want to Live

    <h4>Chapter 1606: Do You Want to Live</h4>

    Zu An¡¯s expression darkened. He changed clothes and returned to the Embroidered Envoy¡¯s meeting point, gathering all the rted personnel.

    ¡°Did Sir Eleven¡¯s investigation bring about any results?¡± Xiao Jianren asked sleepily. He felt guilty and quite apologetic because his leader had been working hard outside, but he had been sound asleep.

    Zhang Zitong noticed that there was still some dew on Zu An¡¯s clothes, indicating that he had clearly been running around all night. She felt a bit of admiration for him.

    Zu An asked, ¡°Who was it that told you Sir Seven was with a sweet smiling woman?¡±

    ¡°It was a colleague from Yi Commandery,¡± Xiao Jianren said, giving Zhang Zitong a look.

    Zhang Zitong exined, ¡°It was a Bronze Token Envoy from here. His name is Jiang Zhong. Did something happen?¡±

    ¡°Bring me to see him,¡± Zu An said sternly. All this was just too much of a coincidence. The turtle monster had said that a woman threw Golden Token Seven into the water, while that Envoy had described the woman¡¯s appearance. It was evident that they had been trying to draw attention to the Hub of Freedom. If not for the fact that he just happened to know Tang Tian¡¯er, perhaps he really would have continued to investigate in the Hub of Freedom¡¯s direction.

    Zhang Zitong and the others exchanged a look, sensing that something wasn¡¯t right. At the moment, however, they didn¡¯t dare to ask more and said, ¡°Sir Eleven, Jiang Zhong just happens to be on vacation today. His home is to the west of the city. Should we send someone to bring him here?¡±

    ¡°Lead the way. We¡¯ll go straight there,¡± Zu An ordered.

    All his subordinates shivered, because that meant there was definitely something wrong with Jiang Zhong. Zhang Zitong didn¡¯t dare to treat the matter carelessly and led the group toward the west of the city.

    ¡­

    All of them were silent along the way. They quickly arrived at a tattered residence. Zu An didn¡¯t say anything as he kicked the door open and went in.

    However, he quickly became dejected, because the courtyard was too quiet. If Jiang Zhong were present, he would have rushed out to see what was going on. There was no way there wouldn¡¯t be any reaction at all.

    Soon afterward, Xiao Jianren came out to report the result of his investigation, saying, ¡°Jiang Zhong isn¡¯t at home!¡±

    Zhang Zitong¡¯s expression changed. It was already the dead of night, and yet an Embroidered Envoy wasn¡¯t resting at home? Where else would they go? After all, the Embroidered Envoys all had their own special rules. Even when they had the day off, they had to always be on call. There could always be some mission they would have to tend to.

    ¡°Ask around with the neighbors,¡± Zu An ordered.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Xiao Jianren nodded, then led his subordinates to search the surroundings. Meanwhile, Zu An took the chance to ask Zhang Zitong, ¡°What is this Jiang Zhong normally like?¡±

    ¡°His behavior was always a bit slick, but you won¡¯tst long in our line of trade if you can¡¯t adapt to circumstances,¡± Zhang Zitong replied. ¡°There wasn¡¯t much else. Anyone who could work as one of us has definitely had their background thoroughly investigated.¡±

    Zu An sneered. ¡°Is that so? I don¡¯t think you¡¯re even the slightest bit slick.¡±

    Zhang Zitong was a bit hard-pressed as she replied, ¡°With my personality, it is indeed easy for me to offend people. It¡¯s all thanks to Sir Seven¡¯s care. I already viewed him like my adoptive father, which is why I really want to find out his killer as soon as possible. Is there really something wrong with this Jiang Zhong?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s already missing, and yet you still think there¡¯s no problem?¡± Zu An replied expressionlessly.

    Xiao Jianren ran back while gasping for breath, saying, ¡°Boss, the neighbors said that they saw him in the evening, and they even saw his house light on, so they assumed that he was sleeping inside.¡±

    Zu An frowned. He went inside the room and looked around. When he saw the messy bedding, he checked the temperature inside and said, ¡°It seems he left not too long ago.¡±

    Xiao Jianren¡¯s expression changed. He asked, ¡°We¡¯ve just begun to investigate him, and yet he¡¯s already fled?¡±

    The surrounding Embroidered Envoys¡¯ expressions quickly became unnatural. They were all professionals, so they realized that there was only one possibility: there was a mole among them.

    When their gazesnded on her, Zhang Zitong asked with a scowl, ¡°Do you suspect me of leaking information?¡±

    Xiao Jianren chuckled in embarrassment, replying, ¡°That¡¯s not my intention¡­¡± He naturally didn¡¯t want to suspect her, but Jiang Zhong was her subordinate. Furthermore, she had indeed been following Golden Token Seven¡¯s case.

    Zu An said, ¡°It has nothing to do with her. I was paying attention to her the whole time and she didn¡¯t leak out any information.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t just her. There had been no suspicious activity among any of the people who traveled with them. With such a huge difference in cultivation, not a single movement from these people could escape his notice.

    Zhang Zitong quickly sighed in relief. Her impression of him improved a bit further. However, she soon realized that Golden Token Eleven had neverpletely dropped his suspicion of her, and that he had still been secretly watching her.

    Zu Anmanded, ¡°Order the arrest of Jiang Zhong. Find him as soon as possible.¡±

    Someone epted the order and passed it down. Zhang Zitong finally couldn''t take it anymore and asked, ¡°Just what is going on? Why did Jiang Zhong suddenly run? What¡¯s happening with him?¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°Someone deliberately led us to investigate the Hub of Freedom¡­¡± He gave them a rough summary of what had happened.

    ¡°Who is the mastermind behind all of this? These schemes really run deep¡­¡± Xiao Jianren cried out in rm.

    Zhang Zitong said with a frown, ¡°What I¡¯m more curious about is how Jiang Zhong just happened to obtain information at such a crucial time.¡±

    That was also what Zu An couldn''t figure out. They spoke for a while longer, but couldn''t figure anything out either, so he had them continue to investigate Jiang Zhong¡¯s trail. He himself returned to the ry station.

    ¡­

    The next day, Zu An wanted to find Yan Xuehen and Chu Chuyan, but when he arrived at their residence, he discovered that the beauties were already long gone. Zu An gritted his teeth. Yan Xuehen really was quite the vicious individual. Not only had she refused to meet him, she hadn¡¯t let Chuyan meet him either.

    Sigh, but the rtionship between us three really is annoying. I really have no idea how to deal with this in the future¡­

    Zu An walked into an alley with a heavy mood. Suddenly, a small butterfly fluttered in front of him, leaving him surprised.There are actually butterflies in the middle of winter? This world really ispletely different.

    A few more butterflies flew over to him, then swirled around him like leaves. They added something of a warm feeling to the cold winter day.

    Zu An reached out his hand. The butterfly in front of him fluttered its wings and stopped on his finger. It treated his finger as a flower petal, then lowered its head to bite him.

    A smile appeared on Zu An¡¯s face. He was about to stroke the butterfly when he suddenly felt a stinging pain. His expression changed. He quickly flung the butterfly away and looked at his hand. There was a bit of blood on the tip of his finger. Furthermore, the blood was turning a bluish color; the butterfly was clearly poisonous.

    Suddenly, augh that sounded like silver bells rang out. A pretty youngdy sat on a tree nearby. Her colorful clothes made her look like a brilliant butterfly as they fluttered in the wind. Meanwhile, the little butterflies just happened to stop on her finger, looking lovable and cute.

    ¡°It was you?¡± Zu An eximed, glowering This youngdy was naturally the Princess Butterfly he had met yesterday, Zhao Xiaodie.

    ¡°I advise you not to rashly use your ki. After being afflicted by my poison, the more of your skills you use, the faster you¡¯ll die,¡± Zhao Xiaodie said. Then, she suddenly changed her tone and continued, ¡°No, actually, you won¡¯t die that quickly. The poison will first flow through your meridians and turn your entire body numb, then invade your internal organs. Then, your innards will start to gradually melt, ultimately turning into a puddle of viscous goop. Most importantly, your consciousness will be intact the entire time. You¡¯ll experience the fear of your entire body melting. Hehe, just the thought of it alone is really interesting.¡±

    Zu An said gravely, ¡°I am an Imperial Envoy bearing his majesty¡¯s mission, and yet you¡¯ve used such vicious assassination methods on me. Not even your father King Qi will be able to deal with the consequences.¡±

    ¡°Tsk, you want to use the emperor to scare me?¡± Zhao Xiaodie replied with a disdainful smirk. ¡°You¡¯re right. If this matter is exposed, it will be really tricky. But you¡¯ll be nothing more than a puddle of blood, so who would know that I did it? This alley is so secluded that no one wille here. Won¡¯t it be fine if I just toss your brain into some random ditch, thus erasing all evidence? Right, I still haven¡¯t told you that even though your entire body will melt, your brain won¡¯t, have I?¡±

    She had deliberately described the illness in great detail, intending to see Zu An copse in fear. However, Zu An¡¯s apathetic mood really dampened her spirits a bit. She thought,Is this just the despair of inevitable death? Then I should try and give him a bit of hope.

    ¡°Of course, this princess isn¡¯tpletely insensitive to people¡¯s feelings. If you beg me, I¡¯ll consider giving you the antidote,¡± Zhao Xiaodie said, looking down on him from above. She sounded amused as she asked, ¡°Do you want to live?¡±

    Favorite

 Chapter 1607: Fortunes Rise and Fall

    <h4>Chapter 1607: Fortunes Rise and Fall</h4>

    Zu An sighed and remarked, ¡°Women need to pay more attention when they wear dresses, especially when they¡¯re high up. You¡¯re letting others see everything.¡±

    Zhao Xiaodie was briefly distracted and instinctively pressed down on her dress. Then, she floated down like a butterfly and spat, ¡°Bastard, you¡¯re courting death!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Xiaodie for +452 +452 +452¡­

    ¡°What are you trying to aplish here?¡± Zu An asked with a frown.

    ¡°Kneel and kowtow to this princess a hundred times. If my mood improves, who knows, I might just give you some antidote to alleviate your suffering,¡± Zhao Xiaodie said, a cruel smile appearing on her face.

    She didn¡¯t want to kill him that quickly, but if this guy wanted to get the antidote with just a hundred kowtows, that would be nothing short of delusion. First, she would use this method to destroy his self-respect. Once he began to kowtow, everything after would be much easier. She could just turn him into one of her dogs in that case.

    Zu An said calmly, ¡°If I recall correctly, yesterday should have been the first time we met. Why do you carry so much hostility against me?¡±

    Zhao Xiaodie said with a sneer, ¡°Only the weak would care about something like that, as if one needed a reason to act against them. But this princess¡¯ mood today is quite good, so there¡¯s no harm in telling you. You plotted against my big brother, and even wantonly destroyed my father emperor¡¯s ns. Those things are already more than enough to offend me, and yet you still have the nerve to ask me why? I really never expected you to be so naive.¡±

    ¡°Plotted?¡± Zu An repeated, looking at her with a strange expression. Did this woman spend so much time in the mountains that her brain had turned to mush from cultivation?

    Zhao Xiaodie got the impression that Zu An was looking down on her strength, making her unhappy. She said, ¡°I understand my big brother¡¯s aptitude best. Even though he wasted a lot of his energy on women and secr affairs, his cultivation definitely wasn¡¯t something you could deal with. I really don¡¯t know what kind of shameful and despicable methods you used to plot against him.¡±

    As she continued to speak, she couldn''t help but frown, asking, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you defending yourself?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s reaction was quite strange. Normally, he should have been rolling on the ground in pain after being affected by her poison. Hisposure left her with an uneasy feeling.

    ¡°Why do I have to defend myself?¡± Zu An replied nonchntly. ¡°I¡¯m just calmly watching your strange performance.¡±

    His calm demeanor made Zhao Xiaodie feel as if she were a clown. She erupted into a rage.

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Xiaodie for +499 +499 +499¡­

    However, Zhao Xiaodie wasn¡¯t stupid. She didn¡¯t lose her head from anger. She calmly stared at Zu An, asking, ¡°You weren¡¯t poisoned? How is that possible?¡±

    Even a master rank cultivator would be half-dead after being affected by her poison! Of course, a master rank wouldn¡¯t let themselves be poisoned so easily.

    Zu An looked at his finger. The wound on his fingertip had already healed. His Primordial Origin Sutra not only granted his body incredible regeneration prowess, but also had detoxification effects. At the very least, no poisons thus far had been able to do much to him.

    When she saw him stand in ce without moving, Zhao Xiaodie just assumed Zu An was pretending to be calm, but was actually secretly dealing with the poison. As such, she didn¡¯t give him the chance to recover and rushed at him. If he started to fight and used his ki, it would be impossible to suppress the poison anymore.

    What surprised her, however, was that he didn¡¯t seem rmed at all! Still, she wasn¡¯t worried. She had always been a Heavenly Sorrow disciple with outstanding talent to begin with, second only to senior brother Zhi Yin. Wasn¡¯t someone like this, without any ki fluctuations, extremely easy to deal with?

    She raised her hand. Her red fingernails were even sharper than a de. The red color came from a nail polish she had made bybining all sorts of poisonous flowers; it was both beautiful and deadly. Just like that, she brought her fingernail straight up to Zu An¡¯s neck. She controlled her power perfectly; her strike was powerful enough to seriously injure him, while also preventing him from dying immediately.

    When she saw Zu An raise his hand, she sneered.Is he only realizing that he needs to put up a defense now? It¡¯s already toote!Such reaction speed was even lower than the ordinary disciples of her sect. She really didn¡¯t know how that trash big brother of hers had lost to this guy.

    After a moment, however, she was stunned. He had clearly just been in front of her, but she quickly lost track of him. In an instant, Zu An¡¯s hand arrived first, despite only moving after hers. He grabbed her wrist, using her own momentum and twisting. A tremendous force overwhelmed Zhao Xiaodie, and she could no longer move her hand. Her body spun in a circle, and the sharp, bright fingernails she had aimed at Zu An now rushed toward her own neck.

    Zhao Xiaodie¡¯s pupils narrowed. Even she wouldn¡¯t be able to deal with her own poison!n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Pu!

    Zu An felt his hand be empty. Zhao Xiaodie had disappeared, reced with countless fluttering little butterflies. Soon afterward, the butterflies gathered again several zhang away, reforming into Zhao Xiaodie.

    ¡°Hm? How interesting!¡± Zu An remarked, feeling a bit of admiration toward the skill. Turning into butterflies to avoid an attack seemed pretty awesome.

    Meanwhile, Zhao Xiaodie looked at him with extreme horror. She could no longer actcent like a cat toying with a mouse. She eximed, ¡°Just what is your cultivation realm?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know either,¡± Zu An replied in annoyance. Ever since the Rune Weapon Chart and the Heaven Devouring Sutra¡¯s effects had merged, his cultivation system had bepletely different from the norm. His current level of 70 didn¡¯t tell him anything.

    Zhao Xiaodie just assumed he was hiding the truth from her. She said with a sneer, ¡°I admit that I did look down on you earlier. But I¡¯m going to get serious now.¡±

    She could sense a bit even from her powerful sect master. This Zu An probably cultivated some special method that hid his aura. There was no way he could be stronger than the sect master, right?

    As soon as she spoke, her clothes rippled and she fluttered around Zu An like a butterfly. She remained on guard against his previous skill, not daring to rashly close the distance again. Instead, she nned to confuse him with a misleading movement skill and find an opportunity to take advantage of him. Her Rainbow Butterfly Steps skill was one that even her master praised. Naturally, it would be more than enough against this bastard.

    ¡°Hm? Why are there openings everywhere?¡± Zhao Xiaodie muttered in confusion. No matter how she looked at it, he seemed just like an ordinary person. So what had happened earlier?

    After some hesitation, she clenched her teeth and attacked Zu An from behind. Either way, she could just transform into butterflies and escape, so she was in an invincible position.

    Just then, Zu An¡¯s hand moved again. Zhao Xiaodie jumped in fright. When she recalled what had just happened, she immediately turned into butterflies to protect herself and escape.

    Suddenly, she saw a strange,rge bird, and an invisible sound wave rippled outward. Her mind went nk. The butterflies looked as if they had been battered by a snowstorm and fell from the sky, scattering all over the ground. In the end, theybined back into her body.

    When Zhao Xiaodie snapped out of her daze, she discovered that Zu An¡¯s hand was already pressed against her shoulder¡¯s major acupoint. She couldn''t muster the slightest bit of ki anymore.

    ¡°Do you want to live?¡± Zu An asked next to her ear, sounding amused. Zhao Xiaodie was filled with grief and indignation. She hadn¡¯t expected her own words to be returned to her so quickly!

    Favorite

 Chapter 1608: I Have Never Heard Such a Weird Request

    <h4>Chapter 1608: I Have Never Heard Such a Weird Request</h4>

    Zhao Xiaodie gradually calmed down from her initial rm. Her previous arrogant expression returned as she retorted, ¡°What, do you really dare to kill me? I¡¯m the daughter of King Qi, someone with a title conferred by the court, Princess Butterfly! If you really do anything to me, that will be a crime punishable by nine generations of executions!¡±

    Zu An nodded and said, ¡°If the court finds out, it will indeed be a bit tricky.¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°You¡¯re still not letting me go after realizing that?¡± Zhao Xiaodie replied, feeling a hint of pride when she heard Zu An¡¯s tone softening. She instinctively wanted to shake off his hand, but unfortunately, Zu An already restricted her in a way that meant she couldn''t muster the slightest bit of strength. She couldn''t move at all.

    Zu An smiled. He moved Zhao Xiaodie¡¯s hand, bringing her glistening red nails up to her neck. He said, ¡°This poison of yours is pretty formidable, but I don¡¯t believe that you have immunity against your own poison. Still, you¡¯ll be nothing more than a puddle of blood, so who would know that I did it? This alley is so secluded that no one wille here. Won¡¯t it be fine if I just toss your brain into some random ditch, thus erasing all evidence? Oh, right. You said that even though your entire body will melt, your brain won¡¯t, right?¡±

    When she heard those familiar words, Zhao Xiaodie was nearly brought to tears. She really hadn¡¯t expected retribution to arrive so quickly. With her status and her high cultivation, when had she ever been so close to another man? She could even feel the heating from his palm.

    In the past, she had dreamed about being held that closely by her lover, but she could never have expected her first intimate experience to be in this kind of situation. However, she didn¡¯t feel any infatuation, nor did she feel any anger. All that remained was horror.

    She understood the terror of her own poison better than anyone. The process of melting in which her mind remained clear as her body gradually dissolved really would make her wish she were dead. She had an antidote, but her acupoint was sealed and she couldn''t bring it out. There was no way he would feed it to her, either.

    ¡°Nooo!¡± Zhao Xiaodie cried out in rm. She knew she had lost as soon as she said that, but she didn¡¯t dare to take any risks. After all, this was someone who dared to smash her big brother¡¯s knees to bits. Who knew what else he was willing to do? Her life was justing into bloom; how could she die here?

    ¡°Oh?¡± Zu An replied, sounding amused. ¡°Then how about you kneel down and kowtow three hundred times to me? My mood may improve and I may spare your life.¡±

    ¡°I clearly only asked for a hundred!¡± Zhao Xiaodie cried in a panic.

    Zu An retorted with a scowl, ¡°What, can¡¯t I make you do three hundred?¡±

    Zhao Xiaodie bit her lip and looked away silently. In response, Zu An brought her hand toward her neck again and continued, ¡°What, you don¡¯t want to? Then you can¡¯t me me for being merciless.¡±

    Zhao Xiaodie took a deep breath, but her chest still rose and fell rapidly. It was clear that she waspletely terrified, but she feigned calm as she eximed, ¡°If you¡¯re going to kill me, then kill me! As a member of the royal family, if I have to be humiliated so badly in order to live, I might as well just die! But there¡¯s no way others won¡¯t find out. If you really kill me, there will always be clues. If that happens, whether it¡¯s my father, the emperor, the court, or the Heavenly Sorrow Sect, they won¡¯t let you go!¡±

    ¡°Are you threatening me?¡± Zu An replied with a cold expression. Then, he took her fingernail and drew it across her neck.

    When she felt the stinging pain and smelled a trace of blood, Zhao Xiaodie cried out in a panic, ¡°Nooo! The antidote! Quick, give me the antidote!¡±

    ¡°Are you going to kowtow?¡± Zu An asked coldly.

    ¡°I¡¯ll do it!¡± Zhao Xiaodie wailed tearfully. This guy really was a devil!

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you do it earlier? You just had to be disciplined first,¡± Zu An said coldly. ¡°Where is the antidote?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s in my inner pocket, in the green porcin bottle!¡± Zhao Xiaodie said quickly. She could feel the poison spreading through her wounds. If not for the fact that she had a strong resistance to poison from being around poisons all the time, nearly half of her body would already have rotted.

    Zu An didn¡¯t need to worry about her ying tricks. He reached out and searched the area near her chest. When he found the antidote, he fed it to her.

    ¡°Cough cough~¡± Zhao Xiaodie coughed fiercely. When she felt Zu An let her go, she quickly took the antidote and smeared it over the wound across her neck. This guy really was a devil! He actually dared to try to kill her so brazenly!

    Zu An calmly watched her go through the process before asking, ¡°Are you going to kowtow now?¡±

    Zhao Xiaodie clenched her teeth. She raised her head proudly and said, ¡°I was in the wrong before. I apologize for my actions.¡±

    Zu An sneered and replied, ¡°If an apology meant anything, why would this world needws?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re acting out of self-interest right now, aren¡¯t you? If you have the skill, why don¡¯t you bring me to court?¡± Zhao Xiaodie muttered.

    Zu Anughed in annoyance, replying, ¡°You wish.¡± How many officials would really dare to trouble King Qi¡¯s daughter?

    Zhao Xiaodie took a deep breath. She looked at him with a conflicted expression, saying, ¡°I already apologized to you. What else do you want?¡±

    ¡°I want you to kowtow,¡± Zu An replied bluntly.

    Zhao Xiaodie said through gritted teeth, ¡°I am still a princess. I have my pride, you know?¡±

    Zu An continued to stare at her coldly without any intention of changing his mind. Zhao Xiaodie braced herself and said, ¡°You know, I¡¯ve actually already seen through your ns. You wouldn¡¯t actually dare to kill me. In that case, let¡¯s both take a step back. I¡¯ll apologize to you, and I¡¯ll offer you a generous gift. You can choose from all kinds of treasures and divine weapons.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Anything I want? Do you have ''One Drop of Heaven¡¯s Essence or some Agate of Enlightenment?¡± Zu An asked. If he really could get the materials he needed to recreate big sis empress¡¯ body, not only would he let Zhao Xiaodie go, he would even consider treating her well.

    ¡°What are those?¡± Zhao Xiaodie asked, dumbfounded. She came from the royal family and had even studied at a top-tier sect, the Heavenly Sorrow Sect, so her knowledge was quite impressive. And yet, those were things she had never even heard the names of.

    Zu An asked with a scowl, ¡°Then how about you get me a deity-grade weapon?¡±

    Zhao Xiaodie cried out in a panic, ¡°There are only so many deity-grade weapons in the world! If they aren¡¯t in the hands of the Fiend Emperor, they¡¯re in the human emperor¡¯s. Where would I find such a thing for you?¡±

    Zu An sneered and said, ¡°You keep saying no to this and that, even after saying you¡¯d let me choose what I want? Forget it, just kowtow.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re clearly just making things hard for me!¡± Zhao Xiaodie cried, feeling as if she were losing her mind. ¡°Then why don¡¯t I find a way to get you an immortal-grade weapon? I¡¯ll also find some top-tier medicines. This is already an extremely generous reward! Don¡¯t go too far, because you wouldn¡¯t actually dare to kill me either way!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Xiaodie for +555 +555 +555¡­

    Even though immortal-grade weapons were rare, with her father King Qi¡¯s prestige, she still had a chance of getting one.

    But father will definitely ask me why. If I tell him about what happened, won¡¯t he skin this guy alive?

    Hmph, look at how smart I am! I¡¯ll definitely make this bastard kneel and beg for forgivenesster.

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare to kill you?¡± Zu An repeated, the air turning as cold as his expression.

    Zhao Xiaodie felt all of her fine hairs stand up. Even though Zu An hadn¡¯t done anything yet, she felt an aura of death manifest. She hadn¡¯t expected that this seemingly harmless person would be able to give off such a terrifying pressure.

    How could she know that after Zu An killed the Fiend Emperor in the secret dungeon and executed the grandmasters at the Fiend King Court, he had developed the most powerful presence imaginable? How could she possibly go against that?

    ¡°I was wrong¡­¡± Zhao Xiaodie sobbed, bursting into tears. ¡°But I really can¡¯t kowtow! Why don¡¯t you just whip me with three hundred strikes¡­¡±

    ¡°Whip you?¡± Zu An replied with a strange expression. ¡°Keep dreaming!¡±

    Zhao Xiaodie was confused, saying, ¡°What I¡¯m saying is that you should beat me up to vent your anger.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face heated up. He coughed a few times to hide his embarrassment, replying, ¡°I don¡¯t hit women!¡±

    ¡°Just hit me! Just count it as me begging you! As long as you can vent out your anger, that should be fine!¡± Zhao Xiaodie pleaded with tears in her eyes. Kowtowing would really be too humiliating! But if she were beaten up, that would be different. That would only be because she was weaker than him, so it wouldn¡¯t bring her dignity any damage.

    Zu An said with a strange expression, ¡°In all the years I¡¯ve been alive, I¡¯ve never heard such a weird request.¡±

 Chapter 1609: Imposter

    <h4>Chapter 1609: Imposter</h4>

    Seemingly worried that Zu An would continue to make her kowtow, Zhao Xiaodie took out a whip and put it into his hands, saying, ¡°Just use this to hit me! As long as you can vent out your anger, that should be fine.¡±

    Zu An looked at the small whip in his hands, then nced at her strangely, remarking, ¡°Could it be that you have some weird fetish?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Zhao Xiaodie eximed in bewilderment, clearly not understanding what he meant.

    ¡°Just hit me already!¡± she continued, her rm nearly bringing her to tears again. She was scared that he would refuse and bring up kowtowing again, so she began to encourage him. ¡°Could it be that you wouldn¡¯t dare to hit me?¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare?¡± Zu An repeated. He knew that she was provoking him, but when he saw her provocative expression, he found it a bit hard to resist. He brought the whip down straight across her bottom.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Zhao Xiaodie screamed in pain. Zu An was a bit hesitant, but Zhao Xiaodie said, ¡°Keep going, I can take it.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He brought the whip down again. He could visibly see Zhao Xiaodie¡¯s bottom tremble. However, her robes really were high-quality, not showing any sign of damage after two strikes. Zhao Xiaodie groaned and bit her red lip tightly, tears filling her eyes.

    Zu An thought to himself,Should I just let it go? This is just bullying a little girl a bit too much.However,when he remembered her bossy and aggressive appearance, and thought about how terrible a state he would have been left in if he were weaker, he still hardened his heart and brought the whip down again.

    Zhao Xiaodie suddenly groaned. Her cry of pain seemed to carry a hint of some unknown feeling, too. However, Zu An didn¡¯t think too much about it and assumed her voice was distorted from pain. He nned to just whip her a couple dozen or so more times and then be done with it. Either way, cultivators¡¯ bodies were pretty tough, and wouldn¡¯t be broken from just a few dozenshes. Martial artists liked to show off other kinds of weapons, but wasn¡¯t the whip pretty interesting too?

    However, as Zu An brought the whip down, Zhao Xiaodie¡¯s cries became stranger and stranger, sounding more like moans than screams. Additionally, her whole body trembled slightly, as if she were holding back something.

    ¡°If you can¡¯t take it anymore, you can choose to beg. If my mood is good, I might just forgive you,¡± Zu An said. Inwardly, he thought,I¡¯m really not suited to being a viin. Am I really about to give up that quickly?

    Zhao Xiaodie shook her head, still maintaining a proud expression. Zu An recalled how arrogant and despotic she was; if he couldn''t teach her a good lesson today, she would just hurt even more people in the future. As such, he brought the whip down again.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zhao Xiaodie finally couldn''t take it anymore, letting out a sweet and intimate cry. Then, she fell to the ground, unable to even stand up again. Her entire body shook intensely. Her eyes were watery as she looked at Zu An, no longer carrying any hints of crafty and unruly pride. Instead, her face waspletely red and her gaze was filled with several different emotions.

    Zu An was stunned. As an experienced person, how could he not tell what was going on with her? He had never expected to run into an M! No wonder she hadn¡¯t given him any Rage points the entire time he was hitting her. How could he possibly continue? He threw the whip away and leaped back, eximing, ¡°What the hell?!¡±

    Only after a long time had passed did Zhao Xiaodie crawl to her feet. Her chest rose and fell intensely; she clearly hadn¡¯t recovered from the wonderful sensation. She rubbed her heated cheeks, and there was a flustered expression in her eyes as she muttered, ¡°What is going on with me?¡±

    Only after a moment did she realize what had happened. She had actually shown such an embarrassing side in front of him?

    Ahhh! I should¡¯ve just kowtowed! All of this is his fault! I¡¯m going to make him pay for this one day!

    But that kind of feeling just now seemed quite¡­ incredible?

    ¡­

    Zu An didn¡¯t know that he had just unlocked a whole new world for her. He was a bit speechless even when he returned to the ry station. He really was unlucky today! Not only had he not met Yan Xuehen and Chu Chuyan, he had even encountered a crazy woman.

    Not long after he returned, Wang Bolin sought him out and said, ¡°Sir Zu, we need to hurry to Violet Mountain to finish the task his majesty entrusted to us.¡±

    Zu An thought,This guy really is honest.He had wanted to stay a few more days in Yi Commandery to spend time with Yan Xuehen and Chu Chuyan, but now that they had already left, it was meaningless for him to stay any longer. Instead, he would be caught up in the battle between the local officials and King Yan. As such, he nodded and said, ¡°Alright, pass down the order to prepare for departure!¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± Wang Bolin replied, feeling overjoyed.It looks like Sir Zu is a serious and earnest person, not one of those slick bastards who love to smooth-talk their way into their positions. Hmph, no matter how good at bootlicking that Zhang Zijiang is, won¡¯t he be no match for me when dealing with a practical leader like this?

    ¡­

    Then, Zu An went over to inform Xie Daoyun. He saw that she was sitting in front of a desk, drawing something. He couldn''t help but remark with a smile, ¡°Little sister Ling¡¯er really is hardworking. You¡¯re always working hard at drawing talismans even during your spare time.¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Xie Daoyun jumped in fright. She quickly hid the talisman in front of her under the table and cried out in rm, ¡°Big brother Zu, why don''t your feet make any noise when you walk?¡±

    Zu An had vaguely noticed a person¡¯s outline on the paper. His expression grew strange. Why did it seem as if Xie Daoyun had been caught reading a banned book by a teacher?

    She¡¯s not drawing dirty things, is she?Zu An thought, but he immediately rejected the suspicion. How could a wise and virtuousdy like her do such a thing?

    However, he suddenly remembered Zhao Xiaodie. She normally had a proud and crafty appearance, and yet she was actually an M deep down!Sometimes, one¡¯s preferences really can be unpredictable¡­

    In order to help alleviate Xie Daoyun¡¯s awkwardness, Zu An said considerately, ¡°I was out for a bit and just came back.¡±

    ¡°Were you looking for Miss Chu?¡± Xie Daoyun asked. She had looked for Zu An as soon as she woke up, but he hadn¡¯t been there. She was very intelligent and had guessed where he went.

    Zu An nodded and said, ¡°Unfortunately, they already left. I don¡¯t know where they went either.¡±

    Xie Daoyun tried to console him and said, ¡°Big brother Zu shouldn¡¯t feel too discouraged. Those who are destined to meet again will meet again. You¡¯ll see them again soon.¡±

    She suddenly remembered how even though she left the capital on her own, she had ended up being reunited with him when she was in a moment of crisis. Wasn¡¯t that even more of a once-in-a-millennium fated encounter?

    ¡°Little sister Ling¡¯er¡¯s words are always so pleasant,¡± Zu An said, his mood improving quite a bit. He then told her the reason for his trip.

    Xie Daoyun replied, ¡°I also just happen to need to go to Violet Mountain toplete my mission.¡± She paused for a moment, then suddenly asked, ¡°Big brother Zu, can you find a set of clothes for me? I want to dress up as one of your personal soldiers.¡±

    Zu An asked in confusion, ¡°Why?¡±

    Xie Daoyun said, sounding embarrassed, ¡°My mission this time is to see if there are any dangerous formations set up on Violet Mountain. If I did that openly, it would imply that I don¡¯t trust the State Teacher, which would be quite disrespectful to him and attract the gossip of others. It would be really bad if that ended up causing conflict between the academy and the State Teacher.¡±

    Zu An figured that made sense. If there really was something wrong with the State Teacher, then her investigation could prove dangerous. It was safer for her to follow by his side. As such, he took out a set of clothes from his Brilliant ss Bead and said, ¡°I don¡¯t have any new ones, but this is a set I¡¯ve worn before. Should I ask the others?¡± He was always changing identities, so he had naturally prepared spare uniforms.

    Xie Daoyun took the outfit and said, ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. This set is good enough.¡± If another man had worn those clothes before, she would never wear them, but her big brother Zu was different from other people.

    Zu An sighed in relief before saying, ¡°Little sister Ling¡¯er should change into them quickly. We¡¯re going to leave soon.¡± He thought to himself,After I leave Yi City, investigating Golden Token Seven¡¯s case might be difficult. I¡¯m going to have to run around back and forth all night again.

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s face turned a bit red as she asked, ¡°Can big brother Zu go outside first? I¡¯m going to change.¡± Even though she had a really favorable impression of him, how could she do such a thing right in front of him?

    Zu An was a bit embarrassed. He quickly left and helped her close the door, saying, ¡°Sorry, I was a bit absent-minded just now.¡±

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, the usually quiet and secluded area around Violet Mountain was full of people. As it turned out, the nine daoist sects had all gathered to hold their greatpetition at Violet Mountain. Their disciples were busy registering themselves by the mountain gate.

    Just then, two leaders from a group in the distance spoke to each other through ki.

    ¡°Master, do you think they¡¯ll be able to recognize us as fakes?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. The daoist sects don¡¯t actually interact with each other that often. The ones we¡¯re impersonating are just some fairly unimportant elders. It would be strange if they could recognize us.¡±

    The two had ordinary appearances, but their voices were very pleasant to the ear.

 Chapter 1610 â€“ Infatuation

    <h4>Chapter 1610 ¨C Infatuation</h4>

    One of the two, a youngdy, muttered quietly, ¡°The powerful cultivators of the nine daoist sects are all here. The two of us are from the Devil Sect, so I can¡¯t help but feel as if we¡¯re walking straight into a tiger¡¯s den.¡±

    The older one scolded her. ¡°It¡¯s the Holy Sect! What Devil Sect?¡±

    The youngdy couldn''t help but grumble, ¡°That¡¯s what everyone calls it though, and I think it sounds pretty good.¡±

    ¡°Other people call us the Devil Sect to nder us. Why are you also saying it? Did your brain rot or something?¡± the older one replied in annoyance.

    ¡°But doesn¡¯t even master call us the Devil Sect sometimes?¡± the youngdy retorted, sticking out her tongue. She hugged the older one while acting like a spoiled child.

    The other disciples all nced at them. They thought to themselves, That woman is so ugly, and yet is still trying to act cute; how disgusting. But that little tongue of hers is still pretty cute¡­

    The youngdy shot all of them a look and said, ¡°If not for the fact that we can¡¯t let our identities be exposed today, I would already have dug out their eyes.¡±

    The older woman said with a slight smile, ¡°That¡¯s more like our Devil¡­ Ahem, Holy Sect¡¯s style. Focus. We¡¯re almost at the mountain gate. They seem to be checking something there.¡±

    ¡­

    The two of them quickly arrived at the mountain gate. There was a group of Righteous Sun Sect disciples standing there, all standing with upright postures. Their ki surged powerfully around them, showing that they had excellent cultivations.

    The olderdy sighed, saying, ¡°Just a single Righteous Sun Sect already has so many talented people; even the disciples watching the gate are so strong. Things are going to be more and more difficult for our Holy Sect in the future.¡±

    The youngdy tried to make her feel better by saying, ¡°Master, don¡¯t think too much of it. These were clearly carefully selected talents, put here to serve as a shop front. It¡¯s definitely not representative of their disciples¡¯ average level. Those daoist hypocrites love doing that kind of thing.¡±

    The older woman nodded in agreement, saying, ¡°You¡¯re right. That stone cold woman¡¯s sect in particr loves doing these things. Your master was too worried for nothing.¡±

    Naturally, these two were the Devil Sect¡¯s Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei. They had both changed their appearance. Even someone such as Zu An, who was very familiar with them, would find it difficult to recognize them.

    ¡°Guests, please wait for a moment,¡± a Righteous Sun Sect disciple called out when they arrived in front of the mountain, approaching them and adding in a refined and courteous manner, ¡°Do these guests here have an invitation letter?¡± Afterward, seemingly concerned that the guests would be unhappy, he quickly added, ¡°Each year, many peoplee to admire Violet Mountain. There are many people joining the Nine Sects Competition this time and it is impossible to recognize everyone. In order to prevent ourpetition from being disturbed by bystanders, we have decided to go through this process. I hope that seniors can forgive us for this.¡±

    Yun Jianyue nodded slightly. Qiu Honglei then handed over a jade tile with a big smile. The Righteous Sun Sect disciple sighed in relief when he saw the jade tile. It was a specially made invitation tile made by the Righteous Sun Sect. It wasn¡¯t something outsiders could imitate.

    But which sect is this junior sister from? Her mental cultivation really is powerful. She clearly looks so¡­ and yet she can still be so optimistic. She really is a model for us to learn from.

    When he saw the information on the jade tile, he couldn''t help but exim in astonishment, ¡°So it was Emptiness Isle¡¯s Elder Peng; it¡¯s an honor! Please follow this path up the mountain; that is where the golden peak is located. There will be a disciple there to arrange your check-in¡­¡± As he spoke, he called over a junior brother to guide them.

    Yun Jianyue nodded and walked in that direction. Qiu Honglei quickly followed along, thinking that her master was reallyposed. I¡¯m about to die from nervousness at the thought of being exposed.

    ¡­

    When they left, some of the Righteous Sun Sect disciples secretly conversed through ki.

    ¡°I heard that the nine sects have had different levels of development for some time. Many of the sects have already fallen. But I thought that no matter how bad it was, it couldn¡¯t be to that extent, right? But today, I¡¯ve realized the truth. This is all the people who came from Emptiness Isle? And it¡¯s only an elder leading the way. The disciple¡¯s cultivation doesn¡¯t seem to be all that impressive either.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s going on with that Elder Peng in front? I¡¯ve never heard of this person before, and yet she put on such arrogant airs, not even willing to speak much with us. She clearly looks down on us.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve actually heard of a strange-tempered woman from Emptiness Isle surnamed Peng. But she usually remains in seclusion and rarelyes out. Between that and her irascible temper, no one likes her. That¡¯s why it¡¯s best not to provoke her. She is still an elder, after all.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°We¡¯re not that dumb, okay?¡±

    ¡°Also, their looks are quite¡­ unique. They don¡¯t look anything like our majestic sect.¡±

    Their leader scolded them just then. ¡°One¡¯s appearance is dictated by nature. All of you, watch your mouths!¡±

    ¡°Yes, senior brother!¡± the others replied, shivering. They didn¡¯t dare to keep joking around in private anymore.

    ¡­

    Because Violet Mountain was located in Yi Commandery, there had long been many myths and legends surrounding it since ancient times. In the past, because the Righteous Sect¡¯s Sect Master at the time, Wang Wuxie, had supported the founding emperor, he was given Purple Mountain as his own dao rite for his contributions. Furthermore, he had been given the title of State Teacher.

    Even though Violet Mountain was only a few hundred li from Yi City, its status in Yi Commandery was extraordinary. They were outside the jurisdiction of the local government or King Yan Manor.

    The vast Violet Mountain Range extended for thousands of li. However, everyone often calls Violet Mountain the territory of the Righteous Sun Sect. Apart from the main peak Crouching Cloud Crown, there is also Heavenly Lake Peak, White Dragon Peak, Heavenly Bamboo Peak, Watchful Heart Peak, Restful Heart Peak, Immortal Rock Cliff, Thunder Peak, and other smaller peaks. Even smaller peaks than these were too many to count.

    Those peaks were often upied by the sect¡¯s elders and other individuals with extraordinary status. They cultivated on those peaks with their disciples.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An¡¯s group proceeded toward Violet Mountain. A journey of several hundred li would take at least a few days for an army from the ancient world, but this was a world of cultivation. The Armed Escort Division was a carefully selected army consisting solely of cultivators. Their mounts were of excellent breeds, so they arrived at the foot of Violet Mountain in just half a day.

    When he heard Xie Daoyun¡¯s description, Zu An couldn''t help but sigh in amazement at the Righteous Sun Sect¡¯s history. No wonder they hade to lead the nine daoist sects.

    ¡°The violet ki that rises each day in Violet Mountain is of great benefit to cultivation, and it can promote the growth of all kinds of spiritual medicines and mineral resources. That¡¯s why the Righteous Sun Sect has only grown stronger and stronger over the years,¡± Xie Daoyun exined as she followed behind him in a normal soldier outfit. She really was pretty and especially endearing.

    Zu An asked Xie Daoyun curiously, ¡°Just what kind of background does this violet ki have? Has no one been able to figure it out in the past thousand years?¡±

    ¡°Many learned people have entered the mountains to investigate before, but they all returned without any new information,¡± Xie Daoyun said, shaking her head. ¡°In thest hundred years, Violet Mountain became the dao rite of the Righteous Sun Sect. After that, no one was allowed to enter the mountains to investigate.¡±

    Zu An chuckled and remarked, ¡°If it were me, I wouldn¡¯t want my territory¡¯s secrets to be known by the entire world either.¡±

    Nearby, Zhang Zijiang and Wang Bolin spected as they watched the two chat happily. If they had such a pretty personal attendant, how great would that be? Every night back at their tents would simply be wonderful. The two reflexively looked at the boorish men around them. They immediately felt their stomachs churn.

    Zu An then asked more about the State Teacher, Wang Wuxie. Xie Daoyun replied, ¡°The State Teacher is an exceedingly talented individual. In the past, the Righteous Sun Sect was actually one of the lower mid-ranked sects. It was through his own strength alone that the sect reached its current heights.

    ¡°He rose above all of his peers in the Righteous Sun Sect at a young age, then seized the victory in the Nine Sects Competition, establishing the record of being the youngest one to win in history. His appearance was also handsome and refined, capturing the hearts of countless female cultivators back then. Unfortunately, even until now, he has never gotten married.¡±

    Zu An was stunned, saying, ¡°He¡¯s the State Teacher and even part of the daoist sects. He can still take on a wife and have children?¡±

    ¡°Of course. Among the nine sects, apart from the White Jade Sect and a few other daoist sects that don¡¯t practice marriage, the other sects have no such restrictions. Of course, as cultivators, they don''t really encourage it either.¡±

    Zu An thought, What kind of stupid rules are these? It¡¯s really harming my rtionship with Yan Xuehen and Chu Chuyan.

    ¡°You made him sound so amazing, and yet he never got married his whole life. Does he not like women?¡± Zu An asked curiously.

    Xie Daoyun replied with a blush, ¡°What are you thinking? The reason why he¡¯s never gotten married is because of one woman.¡±

    Zu An was stunned, asking, ¡°Just which woman has such charm, to leave such an outstanding man in that state?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve met that woman before,¡± Xie Daoyun said with a smile.

    Zu An was stunned. Suddenly, his expression changed and he asked, ¡°It¡¯s not the White Jade Sect¡¯s Sect Master Yan again, is it?¡±

    ¡°Who else could it be?¡± Xie Daoyun replied with an expression that seemed to be saying ¡®of course¡¯.

    Zu An was speechless.

 Chapter 1611 â€“ One Mistake in Judgment Leads to a Lifetime of Regret

    <h4>Chapter 1611 ¨C One Mistake in Judgment Leads to a Lifetime of Regret</h4>

    ¡°I used to be really curious too. Just what kind of woman could leave so many outstanding men enamored, choosing to pursue her their entire lives? After meeting her yesterday, though, I learned that she truly is stunningly beautiful,¡± Xie Daoyun said, sighing. She had an astonished expression as she recalled her meeting with Yan Xuehen the previous day.

    Zu An was a bit speechless. He had learned that Heavenly Sorrow Sect¡¯s Sect Leader was one of Yan Xuehen¡¯s pursuers, and now, there was another one. Furthermore, it was the State Teacher, someone with an extraordinary position in the current dynasty.

    Just how many pursuers does Yan Xuehen have that I don¡¯t know about?

    Now it almost seems as if, out of the people from the previous generation I¡¯ve met, half of them seem to have liked Yu Yanluo, while the other half liked Yan Xuehen. Of course, there were shameless individuals who liked both, such as Xie Daoyun¡¯s father.

    Then what about Yun Jianyue? Her appearance clearly isn¡¯t inferior to Yan Xuehen, so why did she have such few pursuers?

    However, he quickly realized that Yun Jianyue came from the Devil Sect.As the sect master, she had to maintain a strong and fierce demeanor andcked the approachable impression Yan Xuehen gave off. Those people probably feared her, so there was no way she couldpete with Yan Xuehen.

    There was also another factor he wasn¡¯t considering, though. He hadn¡¯t met too many people from the Devil Sect yet. Yun Jianyue had likely captured the hearts of countless people there.

    ¡­

    Just then, a disturbance urred in front of Violet Mountain. The appearance of two women immediately drew the attention of all those who wereing and going.

    One was dressed in a white dress purer than snow, while the other wore an icy-blue gown. Their clothes fluttered around like their beautiful ck hair. Violet Mountain was known for its purple ki that appeared every morning, but these two seemed to be surrounded by a mystical energy too; it seemed some women really did glow, inevitably drawing people¡¯s attention from birth. Furthermore, with two of them standing together, it really was a feast for the eyes.

    The two women had veils over their faces that only revealed their beautiful eyes. However, not only did it not tarnish their beauty at all, it actually left quite a bit for the onlookers¡¯ imaginations. There was a cold and detached look in the women¡¯s gazes. Their skin was as exquisite and pure as snow, as if they were two snowy peaks that stood apart from the world with an icy, aloof, and sacred air. They didn¡¯t give off the slightest hint of worldliness.

    The previously busy mountain gate fell silent, as people couldn¡¯t help but look at the women. They felt as if they were having an encounter with goddesses for the first time and werepletely stupefied. Many of them didn¡¯t even dare to stare directly, as they felt a mysterious sense of inferiority.

    Such women were only supposed to exist in the heavens. How could the onlookers meet anyone like that in this world? Furthermore, there were two of them. Were they mother and daughter? Their temperaments seemed to have been cut from the same mold, with the only difference being that one was a bit more mature and the other more youthful.

    However, the onlookers quickly dismissed that thought. How could a goddess birth a child for a man? They were definitely sisters! Those present were all outstanding talents, but at that moment, outrageous thoughts appeared in their minds one after another. It was as if their souls had been stolen away.

    Sigh, after meeting goddesses like these, how can we ever like normal women again?

    The two women walked toward the Righteous Sun disciples at the mountain gate. However, the disciples seemed to be frozen in ce and didn¡¯t react at all, causing the women to frown slightly.

    The disciples¡¯ leader suddenly seemed to wake up from a dream and quickly swallowed. He said with great difficulty, ¡°Did the two fairiese to sightsee on Violet Mountain? I really must apologize. We n to hold a Great Sects Competition on Violet Mountain, so no outside guests will be allowed in.¡± He regretted it as soon as he finished speaking. He had actually called them fairies the way amoner would! He felt as if he had tarnished the Righteous Sun Sect¡¯s reputation.

    Meanwhile, other people shot him murderous looks from every direction. This guy is actually refusing such beautiful women? Did he turn stupid from too much cultivation?

    Even if they¡¯re not people from the nine sects, you still have to let them in somehow!

    The woman in the icy blue gown took out a jade token and handed it over. The leader felt his heart rate elerate just from looking at the small part of her wrist that was exposed; his throat went dry. He believed he had a firm will, and yet he had never met someone with a hand this beautiful and perfect.

    However, he had been chosen to preside over weing the different sects, so he was still extremely talented. He quickly gathered his thoughts, then carefully received the jade token. When he saw the information recorded on it, he eximed in shock, ¡°So it was the White Jade Sect¡¯s Sect Master Yan! This junior is the Righteous Sun Sect¡¯s Watchful Heart Peak Master Zhang Xi. I wascking in manners earlier and hope that the sect master does not mind.¡±

    The onlookers suddenly realized what had happened, and felt that this exined everything. Apart from the White Jade Sect¡¯s Goddess Yan, who else could be so elegant and outstanding? They had heard that she recently took in an outstanding disciple. That was probably the one at her side, right? They hadn¡¯t expected her style to beparable to her master.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Why the heck did that Righteous Sun disciple give them his name? Is he trying to rmend himself? they thought. Still, they knew that if they were his ce, they would want these two goddess-like figures to remember their names too.

    The two women were, naturally, Yan Xuehen and Chu Chuyan. Perhaps because she wanted to avoid Zu An, Yan Xuehen had dragged her disciple all the way from Yi Commandery to Violet Mountain early in the morning. When she saw the disciple apologize, she didn¡¯t say anything and only nodded slightly in return. It was a gesture of appreciation from a senior toward a junior, but that was also all it was. As long as it wasn¡¯t rted to Zu An, she could face anything with absoluteposure.

    As expected of the strongest of the nine sects, just a single disciple from one of their peaks had a great deal of cultivation andposure. Even then, however, the nod was enough to make Zhang Xi excited. Even though he was quite steady at heart, he was still a man. He instinctively wanted to show off in front of a beauty. As such, he continued, ¡°Your esteemed sect¡¯s Elder Li already brought his disciples up the mountain earlier. They are currently stopping over at the Divine Water Pavilion. This junior will bring you two to them.¡±

    Many people around them cursed him for being shameless. Wasn¡¯t this guy supposed to be receiving guests here? And yet, he was abandoning his duty to hang around women!

    Sigh, those who are closest always benefit the most. Ah, we¡¯re so jealous!

    Chu Chuyan knew her master¡¯s nature. She quickly said, ¡°There is no need. My master prefers peace and quiet, so she will not stay with the other disciples. We will just head up on our own. Thank you for the trouble, senior brother.¡±

    Even though her voice was soft and pleasant to listen to, it still carried a hint of coldness that almost seemed to push people a thousand miles away.

    A hint of disappointment flickered through Zhang Xi¡¯s eyes. The women had already tactfully refused, so there was no way he could insist. As such, he said, ¡°Then please head up the mountain. Once you reach the pce, there will definitely be disciples there to make further arrangements for you.¡±

    His expression was calm, but all sorts of emotions swirled within him. She actually called me senior brother! She called me senior brother! How can there be a voice this beautiful in this world? Ah, I¡¯m going to die!

    As the onlookers watched the two leave, only leaving behind a faint lingering fragrance, all those present by the entrance suddenly felt a sense of disappointment and loss.

    ¡­

    Even after a long time passed, Chu Chuyan¡¯s face continued to appear in Zhang Xi¡¯s mind. He muttered to himself, ¡°In the past, I didn¡¯t understand why the glorious sect master would suddenly dedicate his entire life to Sect Master Yan after a single meeting. Today, I finally understand. What is the meaning of love in this world¡­¡±

    He suddenly shivered as he spoke. He quickly ordered the disciple next to him, ¡°Hurry, hurry and inform the Pure Yang Pce that Sect Master Yan has arrived!¡±

    Each sect naturally had their own special method of passing on information.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, atop Violet Mountain¡¯s highest peak, Golden Peak, inside the Pure Yang Pce, a middle-aged man in a robe sat on a praying mat in meditation. Purple ki surged around him as he took in and released the surrounding energies. He was clearly cultivating an extremely profound skill. Even though there were already some signs of age on his face, hisplexion was still excellent. He was very handsome, and the purple ki lingering around him gave him the air of an immortal.

    He was none other than the court¡¯s State Teacher, the Righteous Sun Sect¡¯s Wang Wuxie!

    All of a sudden, a little bell nearby rang. He suddenly opened his eyes. After all, normally, no one would dare to disturb him during his cultivation. That meant the information was extremely important. Could it be that someone wasing to cause trouble at the bottom of the mountain? His expression turned cold. Even though all the members of the different sects were experts, things were now different from before, so even someone like him couldn''t underestimate them.

    Suddenly, a row of gold letters appeared on the wall in front of him. When he saw the contents, he was so excited he immediately sat up from his praying mat. Even his breathing quickened slightly as he muttered to himself, ¡°Xuehen, so you still came to Violet Mountain after all?¡±

 Chapter 1612 â€“ Jadefall Palace

    Chapter 1612: Jadefall Pce

    At Wang Wuxie¡¯s cultivation realm, he had long reached a point where not many things could make him feel strong emotions. Normally, all the members of the Righteous Sun Sect called him emotionless in private, saying that he was unfathomable, but their jaws would undoubtedly drop if they saw what he was acting like at that moment.

    Wang Wuxie¡¯s expressions had turned uncharacteristically rich. He appeared nostalgic, happy, and yet also in pain¡­ To think suchplicated expressions could actually coexist on one person¡¯s face at the same time!

    Wang Wuxie walked over to the ce where he had been meditating. He opened a secretpartment below it and took out a scroll. He slowly unfolded it, revealing the image of a young, beautiful woman wielding a sword. Her white dress and long hair fluttered in midair. She looked as if she were a goddess dancing in the clouds. However, her expression in the picture carried a hint of anger...n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    When he saw the woman¡¯s lovely appearance, Wang Wuxie recalled some memories from the Nine Sects Competition of that time. A slight smile appeared on his lips. The picture was something he had personally drawn. Only by drawing the scene of their first meeting had he been able to even slightly alleviate his longing for her.

    If Yu Yanluo were present, she would definitely havemented that even though the drawing was only made with above-average skill, there were decades of feelings contained within. That have it much more charm and grace, making it no worse than the work of any great master.

    If Zu An were present, he would immediately recognize the woman in the drawing as his big sis Yan. However, the youngdy looked much more underripe than the mature and ice-cold Yan Xuehen he knew.

    As he stared at the woman in the picture, Wang Wuxie remained absentminded for a stick of incense¡¯s time. Afterward, he slowly exhaled. Heughed self-deprecatingly, muttering, ¡°Wang Wuxie, Wang Wuxie, aren¡¯t you always unting yourself as some extraordinary genius? The real person has already arrived, and yet you only dare to stare nkly at this inanimate thing?¡±

    He carefully rolled up the drawing, seemingly scared of damaging it in the slightest. He returned it to the secretpartment. Then, he sorted out his clothes before walking away with a big smile. His heart burned with red-hot passion, as if he had returned to the times of his youth.

    He pushed open the door. As the sunlight hit his face, even though he had lived on Golden Peak for so many years, he felt that it was more beautiful than ever before. However, as soon as he took a single step, he was struck by biting cold winds that wailed past him.

    Wang Wuxie waspletely stunned, and his boiling blood gradually calmed down. He was the Righteous Sun Sect¡¯s Master, as well as the State Teacher. He was no longer that immature brat who could give up everything else for the sake of love.

    As he stood there by the entrance, his deep and profound gaze fell upon the winding road beneath him. He knew that Yan Xuehen was standing somewhere on those stairs. He stood there in the cold winds for a long time without moving; it was as if he had be a sculpture. In the end, however, he closed the door again, cutting off the sunlight.

    He understood Yan Xuehen too well. She was most likely here to bring her disciple to the Great Sects Competition. Even if he met her, so what?

    She didn¡¯t ept me back then; how could she be willing to ept me now?

    Heughed self-deprecatingly. Even though they had been separated for several decades and never met once, he had collected every bit of information he could get about her. Yan Xuehen¡¯s ice-cold personality was something he understood better than anyone else. If they didn¡¯t share any fate, what was the point of forcing things? He would only make everyone in the world look down on him.

    The only thing worth feeling gratified about was that even after all these years, Yan Xuehen was still alone. She had never thought highly of another man.

    That means that it isn¡¯t my fault for not being charming enough. Perhaps I¡¯m still the most special one in Xuehen¡¯s heart.

    After centuries have passed, when the world of warriors talks about our past, perhaps it will be considered a beautiful tale.

    His heart gradually calmed down when he thought of that.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, at the foot of the mountain, Zhang Xi and the other disciples were all restless. They clearly still hadn¡¯t recovered from the shock of seeing Yan Xuehen and Chu Chuyan. They naturally didn¡¯t dare to have any thoughts about a glorious senior like Yan Xuehen, but Chu Chuyan was their peer. She was like the little sister next door! Perhaps they could still have the slightest sliver of a chance.

    Suddenly, a slight disturbance happened not too far away.

    ¡°How big¡­¡±

    No one knew who had started the conversation, but several voices rose and fell. Even though they deliberately suppressed their voices, because of how many people there were, Zhang Xi could still vaguely hear them.

    ¡°What do they mean, how big? Don¡¯t tell me monsters havee to attack Violet Mountain?¡± Zhang Xi muttered in shock. He didn¡¯t have time to focus on his lingering feelings for Chu Chuyan anymore and quickly looked into the distance. At the same time, he reflexively moved his hand to the hilt of his sword.

    However, the moment he saw what was happening, Zhang Xi couldn''t help but sigh in admiration. He finally understood what those people were saying. He too remarked, ¡°How big!¡±

    A group was moving toward the gate; they were clearly from another sect. The one in the lead was arge, tall man with some stubble around his mouth. His appearance lent him a sense of imposing pressure.

    Next to him was a middle-aged daoist nun who was actually quite good-looking, but because she always had a frown on her face as if everyone owed her money, and they had just seen the extraordinary beauties Chu Chuyan and Yan Xuehen, her looks didn¡¯t do anything for the onlookers.

    However, all of their attention was drawn to the youngdy next to her. She was dressed in a red top and ck dress, giving her both the energetic air of youth and a hint of dangerous beauty. This youngdy¡¯s appearance actually seemed to be on par with that of Sect Master Yan¡¯s disciple!

    The onlookers were all shocked. Just what was happening today? They were actually fortunate enough to encounter so many extraordinary beauties!

    Compared to Yan Xuehen and Chu Chuyan¡¯sposed demeanor, this youngdy looked much more enthusiastic. Her charming smile and pretty eyes made her extremely captivating. However, what drew the most attention was her chest; her top looked as if it were about to burst with every step, taking the hearts of the men present up and down as her chest moved. There wasn¡¯t a single exposed area, but that couldn''t stop their imagination from going crazy.

    If the feeling Yan Xuehen¡¯s disciple gave off was akin to an ice-cold cier, this young woman made the onlookers feel as if they were next to a volcano¡­ no, as if they were about to be volcanoes themselves, ready to erupt at a moment¡¯s notice.

    ¡°Ah, I¡¯m going to die, I¡¯m going to die! How can there be such a beautiful woman in this world? If I could make her my wife, I¡¯d lose at least 20 years of my life, right? But which man wouldn¡¯t be willing to ept such a burden?¡±

    Many of the disciples present no longer had Chu Chuyan in their minds. She was beautiful, but she was just too cold and seemed quite difficult to approach. However, this woman looked like the open-minded and enthusiastic sort. She would no doubt be easy to get along with.

    Even Zhang Xi became a bit absent-minded, trapped by the woman¡¯s massive¡­ smile.

    ¡°Hmph!¡± the middle-aged daoist nun harrumphed. A chilly pressure spread outward, and the onlookers¡¯ bodies trembled. This woman¡¯s cultivation was actually incredibly high! It seemed to be at the grandmaster level.

    Zhang Xi also trembled, and only then did he remember his role. He scolded himself inwardly, thinking that he had really cultivated for nothing all these years. How could he have so many filthy emotions within him?

    He quickly stepped forward and greeted them. ¡°May I ask if senior came here to participate in the daoist sects¡¯petition?¡±

    Someone at that cultivation rank definitely wasn¡¯t someone a junior like him could stop. He naturally couldn¡¯t ignorantly ask for a jade token. However, the middle-aged woman gave him a look of disdain, as if she felt that he didn¡¯t have the right to talk to her.

    While Zhang Xi was overwhelmed with embarrassment, the youngdy helped him out of his conundrum, saying, ¡°Hello, senior brother. We¡¯re from Jadefall Pce. This is our invitation jade token.¡± Afterward, she handed him the token.

    The woman¡¯s bright and beautiful smile made Zhang Xi feel dizzy. In that moment, he immediately made a pledge of undying love.

    Mom, I think I¡¯m experiencing true love!

    It¡¯spletely different from what I felt toward those junior and senior sisters, Xiao Youchu, Chen Rongyu, Gu Hengbo, Li Xiangjun, Kou Baimen, Ma Xiann¡­

    Uh¡­ Let¡¯s not talk about junior sister Chu Chuyan for now.

    He received the jade token in a daze. When he saw the contents, he immediately broke out into a cold sweat. All of the fluttering feelings within him disappeared. He bowed respectfully to therge, tall man, saying, ¡°So Jadefall Pce¡¯s Pce Lord came personally! Please forgive my negligence!¡±

 Chapter 1613 â€“ Mystery to All, All to One

    <h4>Chapter 1613 ¨C Mystery to All, All to One</h4>

    Zhang Xi was incredibly shocked. After all, Jadefall Pce Lord Wan Tongtian had been extremely well-known among the nine sects for a long time, and had been a grandmaster for many years. On top of that, the middle-aged daoist nun at his side had grandmaster rank cultivation too. Two grandmasters had actuallye to this greatpetition today! So Jadefall Pce was actually this powerful?

    The other sects normally either had their sect master or a single elder leading their representatives. Rarely would two grandmasters arrive together. After all, they needed someone to remain back at the sect to oversee things, so as to avoid someone taking advantage of their unprotected home. However, Jadefall Pce had sent two grandmasters at once just like that! That meant there were at least two more grandmasters overseeing things back at their home base.

    As expected of Jadefall Pce, one of the most powerful of the nine sects! People had long thought that the sect was in decline, but just how much time had it taken for them to have recovered this much power?

    ¡°The Righteous Sun Sect really is regressing!¡± Wan Tongtian remarked with a snort. If not for the sake of showing respect for Violet Mountain, he would already have retaliated against the disciples¡¯ disy.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    At the same time, he remembered when Pei Mianman had first entered Jadefall Pce. At the time, the sect¡¯s disciples hadn¡¯t been much better either. If not for the fact that he wasn¡¯t the perverted type, perhaps even he would have been infatuated by her.

    On the other hand, she was Huo Ling¡¯s disciple. Wan Tongtian reflexively nced at the middle-aged daoist nun apanying the group with an extremely conflicted expression. In the end, he released a deep sigh.

    Zhang Xi and the others trembled. Even though they were the best among their peers, what was any of that worth in front of a grandmaster? They couldn''t even say the slightest thing in protest.

    ¡°I thought that, because the Righteous Sun Sect had Violet Mountain and the court¡¯s resources, their younger generation would be incredibly formidable. However, it seems they aren¡¯t all that special,¡± a youngster at Wan Tongtian¡¯s side sneered. He had a wild and unruly expression, and he had a resemnce to Wan Tongtian. The two were clearly father and son.

    However, while Wan Tongtian was no spring chicken, his son looked quite young. Despite the boy¡¯s youth, he had the air of a sharp sword. His gaze alone delivered a sharp blow to the disciples present.

    When he heard the criticism of his sect, Zhang Xi cursed himself for forgetting his manners. He mustered his courage and said, ¡°A disappointing disciple like me is obviously not worth mentioning, but I have several senior brothers who are ten times, or even a hundred times better than me.¡±

    At the same time, he was incredibly shocked. The young boy was clearly far younger than he was, and yet seemed to have far higher cultivation. A few years prior, he had heard that the Jadefall Pce Lord had a genius son named Wan Guiyi. The boy had already dominated the entire younger generation of the sect at an extremely young age. This was probably that very son.

    ¡°A hundred times stronger than you?¡± Wan Guiyi sneered, clearly unconvinced. ¡°The only senior you have who¡¯s worth anything is that Wu Xiaofan, who¡¯s only passable. I¡¯vee here this time precisely to see whether he¡¯s as formidable as the legends say.¡±

    Zhang Xi¡¯s expression turned serious as he replied, ¡°I believe that senior brother will not disappoint your respected self.¡±

    Wu Xiaofan was Crouching Cloud Peak¡¯s chief disciple, as well as the personal disciple of their Sect Leader Wang Wuxie.

    Normally, all of the different peakspeted fiercely against each other. Their rtionships weren¡¯t that good. For example, even though the chief disciples of Violet Mountain¡¯s various peaks didn¡¯t normally beat each other up as soon as they met, they were still oftenpared to each other. That was why their rtionship usually wasn¡¯t too great.

    However, there was one exception, which was their great senior brother Wu Xiaofan. They had all been convinced by his strength, to the extent that none of them felt even the slightest bit of jealousy. That was because he was just too strong, and his personality was also good.

    With only a small gap in strength, one could still chase after an opponent with everything one had, and perhaps even feel a bit jealous. However, if they were way, way stronger, there could only be admiration left. The disciples¡¯ great senior brother Wu Xiaofan was precisely that kind of person. That wasn¡¯t only true in the Righteous Sun Sect; he even seemed to have the potential to be number one among all of the daoist sects¡¯ younger generations.

    Wan Guiyi looked toward Violet Mountain¡¯s tallest peak, and a strong fighting spirit arose within him. He eximed, ¡°I hope so!¡±

    ¡­

    Then, Zhang Xi arranged for some disciples to bring the guests to their pce. When they left, all of the Righteous Sun disciples sighed in relief. They discovered that all of their backs were dripping with cold sweat. The pressure of a grandmaster was actually so terrifying!

    Soon afterward, several of them began to quietly discuss things among themselves. ¡°That female elder was way too terrifying! We only gave her disciple a few looks, and yet it felt as if, if this weren¡¯t Violet Mountain, she would have killed all of us!¡±

    Zhang Xi said, ¡°That¡¯s Jadefall Pce¡¯s Elder Huo Ling. She has always been known for her irritable temper. Furthermore, because of her great strength, when she was Senior Wan¡¯s fellow disciple, the two ended up fighting. They even fought over the Jadefall Pce Lord position. In the end, Senior Wan ended up being a bit stronger and became the Pce Lord, while she took the second peak of Jadefall Pce, Haze Peak. Whether in terms of status or power, it isn¡¯t beneath the Pce Lord¡¯s Jadefall Peak at all.¡±

    He was the chief disciple of Watchful Heart Peak, so he knew much more about the daoist sects than ordinary disciples.

    ¡°So that was it. No wonder she was so fierce.¡±

    ¡°I feel as if that disciple of hers is even fiercer.¡±

    ¡°Right, right! She is fierce!¡±

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Jadefall Pce¡¯s representatives continued up the mountain. The Pce Lord and his son walked at the forefront, while Elder Huo Ling and her disciples followed far behind them. The Righteous Sun Sect disciples who saw that clicked their tongues. Jadefall Pce¡¯s internal rtionships didn¡¯t seem to be that good.

    Wan Tongtian looked behind him. When he saw Elder Huo Ling walking that far behind him, he couldn''t help but frown slightly, but there was nothing he could do. He waved his hand, and an energy barrier appeared around him. Then, he asked the youngster next to him, ¡°Guiyi, do you know why your father gave you this name?¡±[1]

    The youngster nodded and replied, ¡°It is recorded in our sacred texts: ¡®Profound mystery birthed all things; all things of the world return to one¡¯. I understand the high hopes father has ced onto me clearly.¡±

    Wan Tongtian nodded in gratification, saying, ¡°I gave you your name ording to the ancient texts, so I hope you can represent our sect in the future. Our Jadefall Pce used to be at the very top of the nine sects, but by the time your father took over, it was already in decline. I cannot allow Jadefall Pce to continue to decline under my rule. I have done my best to expand our foundation, but even though Jadefall Pce has shown signs of recovery, it is still far from when we were at our peak.

    ¡°I was already starting to be discouraged, but you simply brought me too great of a pleasant surprise. The revival of our Jadefall Pce might have to fall to you,¡± Wan Tongtian said, beginning to look excited. ¡°With your aptitude and your current cultivation, none of the other so-called chief disciples of the other sects canpare to you. What Heavenly Sorrow¡¯s Zhi Yin, or the White Jade Sect¡¯s Lou Wucheng¡­ Even though those people all have great reputations, they are actually nothing at all. The only one among all of the nine sects¡¯ younger generations who could be a match for you is Wu Xiaofan.¡±

    Even though Wu Xiaofan¡¯s name meant ¡®little ordinary¡¯, he wasn¡¯t little or ordinary at all.

    No, perhaps he had been pretty ordinary in his youth, and he had only been able to do odd jobs in the Righteous Sun Sect at first. His aptitude hadn¡¯t been anything special, and he had learned all of the sect¡¯s teachings very slowly. He had been mocked and bullied quite often by the others.

    However, he was honest and considerate, and he hadn¡¯t let it bother him. On the contrary, he had admitted that he was slow and often sincerely asked the other senior brothers and sisters for guidance. That made it so the others were too embarrassed to make fun of him.

    Apart from that, Wu Xiaofan was also extremely hardworking. He had always believed that, if his aptitude wasn¡¯t good enough, he would just make up for it with hard work. Thus, he had gradually begun to catch up to the other people around him. The others were soon shocked to discover that he even began to learn things more quickly than he did. That was especially true when he practiced mental cultivation, which he learned much more quickly than any powerful fighting skills.

    Because he wasn¡¯t good at those fighting skills, he often still lost to the people around him during the n¡¯s internalpetitions. One day, however, he had stumbled upon an opportunity. Wang Wuxie had noticed him, discovering that the boy had already reached a level of mental cultivation far above that of his peers.

    After secretly observing Wu Xiaofan, Wang Wuxie had discovered that the boy had one great strength, which was his ability to remain focused. He could achieve a state in which, whenever he did something, he could remainpletely undistracted by anything else.

    Many people were stunning and extraordinary in this world. However, the smarter one was, the quicker their thoughts would change, making it difficult for them to focus on one thing. As a result, it was easy for them to develop all kinds of inner demons.

    However, Wu Xiaofan was exactly the opposite. His thoughts were sluggish, but that meant he could concentrate on something for a long time. Wang Wuxie didn¡¯t even think he himself could reach that level. Apart from that, Wu Xiaofan¡¯s best trait was his pure and innocent heart.

    As such, Wang Wuxie had made an exception and taken him as his disciple. That had caused quite the disturbance in the Righteous Sun Sect. Many people had been unconvinced and couldn''t understand why their sect master would choose such an ordinary person as his disciple, especially someone who was often defeated by the other disciples. They had even suspected that Wu Xiaofan was the sect master¡¯s illegitimate son.

    Wang Wuxie hadn¡¯t tried to exin anything. He simply gave Wu Xiaofan a specialized cultivation n, teaching him in line with his aptitude. After half a year, Wu Xiaofan¡¯s cultivation shot through the roof, and he shocked the entire sect with his abilities.

    The disciples of the other peaks had remained unconvinced and thought that it was only because the sect master had personally taught Wu Xiaofan. However, Wang Wuxie didn¡¯t say anything and quietly left the sect for some time. Meanwhile, Wu Xiaofan remained at Crouching Cloud Peak and cultivated alone.

    Just like that, half a year passed. The disciples of the other peaks worked hard the entire time, believing that without his master¡¯s instruction, they would be able to surpass Wu Xiaofan again. However, when they faced each other, the disciples of the other peaks all suffered miserable defeats. The gap between them was even greater than the first time they had fought.

    Only then did Wang Wuxie exin how Wu Xiaofan was special. All the members of the Righteous Sun Sect finally epted the exnation wholeheartedly.

    Many people wanted to imitate Wu Xiaofan, but they couldn''t copy this freakish single-minded devotion at all. In the end, they could only helplessly give up.

    ¡­

    Wan Guiyi had heard all of those things before. A look of excitement appeared in his eyes as he said, ¡°Only someone like that is worthy of being my rival.¡±

    Meanwhile, Elder Huo Ling, who was following far behind them, said to the youngdy beside her, ¡°Manman, you need to make your master look good this time and surprise everyone with your abilities during thispetition.¡±

    The fierce woman who had left all the men present captivated was naturally Pei Mianman. When she heard that, she replied with a helpless smile, ¡°Master, just how long has it been since I joined the sect? Even though I¡¯ve improved quickly, I¡¯m still far from those chief disciples.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to undervalue yourself. I understand your aptitude best, and you aren¡¯t inferior to any of the chief disciples. The only weakness you have is ack of time.¡± Elder Huo Ling harrumphed. ¡°But your strength is special. It can¡¯t be evaluated purely by your cultivation rank.¡±

    Pei Mianman stuck out her tongue and said, ¡°It seems I can¡¯t fool master after all.¡±

    A proud expression appeared on Elder Huo Ling¡¯s face as she said, ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about other things for now. Either way, your achievements definitely can¡¯t be inferior to that Wan Guiyi¡¯s. Of course, if you could beat him, that would be even better. I hate seeing Wan Tongtian praising his son like that the most.¡±

    ¡°If I could win against him that quickly, would I even need to find a master?¡± Pei Mianman replied, rolling her eyes. ¡°Sigh, master, why are you going through all of this trouble? If you had backed down a bit back then¡­ Wan Guiyi would definitely have been born to you and the Pce Lord.¡±

    1. Gui = return, yi = one. ?

 Chapter 1614: Doubts

    Chapter 1614: Doubts

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Elder Huo Ling snapped, her expression changing. She shot Pei Mianman an angry look, saying. ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to bring that up again; otherwise, don¡¯t me your master for bing angry!¡±

    Pei Mianman stuck out her tongue. She was the only one in all of Jadefall Pce who dared to speak to her master in such a way. Normally, no one would dare to breathe even a word of the subject in front of Elder Huo Ling for fear of being torn apart.

    Even though Elder Huo Ling was still quite good-looking, she was so fierce that people rarely paid any attention to her appearance. Still, in her youth, she had been one of Jadefall Pce¡¯s flowers. Back then, she and Wan Tongtian had been known as a golden couple.

    By then, Jadefall Pce had already fallen. However, they finally produced two talented geniuses, and thus naturally had to raise them carefully.

    Both disciples had begun to develop some mutual admiration after being around each other for so long. Eventually, all those who knew them expected them to get married and have a child. However, they belonged to different peaks, and thus carried the glory of each peak on their shoulders. Thus, they had often been forced to fight each other to gain resources for their respective peaks.

    At first, the two of them had held back a bit because of their feelings. However, as time passed and their masters urged them further on, they gradually stopped doing so. The two were both proud, and neither one believed that they were weaker than the other. In each of their minds, even though they had held back in the past, their opponent simply disregarded that and crossed the line. As such, their friendly rivalry eventually turned into real anger.

    It was quite strange, however. Both of them were talented, and their cultivation speed and ranks were simr. Even after using all of their abilities, they still couldn''t win against each other. Still, the longer that went on, the more they both wanted to find out who woulde out on top.

    Just like that, several decades passed. They clearly liked each other, but because of their personalities, neither one of them wanted to lose to the other. They both wanted to win properly against the other before expressing their real feelings. And yet, even after decades of fighting, neither one of them could decide the winner.

    Later, when the position of pce lord opened up, some misunderstandings urred between them. As such, their rtionship became more and more strained. In the end, they became two old rivals who couldn''t stand each other.

    As they grew older, however, the matter of Wan Tongtian¡¯s marriage couldn¡¯t remain under his own control. After all, it was rted to the prosperity of the entire sect.

    Ever since then, Elder Huo Ling¡¯s temper had grown worse and worse, leaving the rest of Jadefall Pce frustrated and annoyed. Eventually, even those from Haze Peak began to gradually disperse. Many people had left because they couldn''t stand her.

    However, Elder Huo Ling had never really cared. In her opinion, it didn¡¯t really matter if those with ordinary talent left. She didn¡¯t feel bad about that at all. Only one concern always gnawed at the back of her mind, which was that she didn¡¯t really have an inheritor. In time, as Wan Guiyi grew older and disyed his talent, she felt more and more anxious.

    She had never once lost to Wan Tongtian. Could it be that her disciple would lose to his descendant? And that descendant was that woman¡¯s son, no less? Just the thought of that practically drove her mad. As such, she searched the entire world for good saplings to raise. However, even though there were many with outstanding cultivation, none of them were to her liking.

    Fortunately, the heavens pitied her, and she had eventually stumbled upon Pei Mianman by chance. She had been overjoyed, concluding that this was the descendant fate had ordained for her.

    At the time, Pei Mianman just happened to have been worried that Chu Chuyan would only continue to widen the gap between them after joining the White Jade Sect, leaving her quite depressed. She had epted Elder Huo Ling¡¯s invitation, and they had quickly hit it off. The lively Pei Mianman¡¯s arrival brought a touch of new beauty to the once gloomy and depressing Haze Peak.

    Thus, a hint of constion had appeared in Elder Huo Ling¡¯s sealed and overcast heart. Because she had never gotten married and could only watch as Wan Tongtian and Wan Guiyi enjoyed the love between father and son, the frustration she felt had grown day by day. However, Pei Mianman was lively and likable, so Elder Huo Ling couldn''t help but begin to treat her like a daughter.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    As such, Elder Huo Ling naturally put her heart and soul into teaching Pei Mianman over the years. This time, she had even brought her disciple to join the Nine Sects Great Competition to reveal her to the world. At the same time, it was to show those who had mocked and pitied her that she wasn¡¯t inferior to anyone else in this world, so her disciple wouldn¡¯t lose to anyone else¡¯s disciple either.

    When she saw her master get angry, Pei Mianman sighed and didn¡¯t dare to push the issue anymore. In truth, the situation between her master and the pce lord was too pitiful. They clearly could have be wonderful partners, and yet they just had to have ended up as enemies like this.

    I definitely won¡¯t be like master and let mypetitive feelings ruin my chances at a lifetime of happiness.

    But honestly, what is wrong with the pce lord? He¡¯s a grown man; couldn¡¯t he have been a bit nicer with his words? If he had been like Ah Zu, he would already have had many kids with master.

    A hint of gentleness appeared on her face when she thought of Ah Zu. It had already been a long time since she saw him. She wondered where he was now. Even after getting a rare opportunity to leave Jadefall Pce, shecked the opportunity to look for him. Perhaps that skirt-chaser was spending his time happily with some vixen somewhere.

    ¡­

    Achoo!

    Just then, as Zu An¡¯s group happened to arrive at the foot of Violet Mountain, he suddenly couldn''t help but sneeze.

    ¡°Did big brother Zu catch a cold?¡± Xie Daoyun asked out of concern. At the same time, she found it a bit strange. The bodies of cultivators were special; it was rare for them to get anymon illness.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t. It might be that someone is thinking about me,¡± Zu An said, rubbing his nose. He looked at the majestic Violet Mountain, thinking it had to be at least a few thousand meters tall; it seemedparable to Mt. Everest. In his previous world, a ce like this would practically be devoid of human life; in this world of cultivation, however, it was such a normal ce to be.

    Zu An gave the nearby Wang Bolin an order. ¡°General Wang, we might disturb the State Teacher¡¯s ce of cultivation if we all head up the mountain. Stay with the rest here at the foot of the mountain, but be ready to head up after I give you the signal.¡± Then, he had Zhang Zijiang choose some of his personal guards to apany him up the mountain.

    ¡°Understood!¡± Wang Bolin replied, secretly feeling happy. It seems that, in the eyes of Sir Zu, I¡¯m worth trusting after all! He handed such an important task to me and not that bootlicker.

    Zhang Zijiang was also really happy. It seems my bootlicking really worked! That stupid Wang is doing all the hard work, and yet he¡¯s keeping me at his side.

    ¡­

    Zu An had no idea what they were thinking. The group, now smaller, thus proceeded up the mountain. A refreshing feeling swept over them as soon as they started climbing.

    Zu An couldn''t help but say, ¡°This Violet Mountain really is a cultivation paradise.¡±

    Zhang Zijiang remarked, ¡°I heard that whenever the sun rises, the sunlight covers the mountain in gold. At the same time, the peak produces violet ki, which is really good stuff for cultivation! Sir Zu should give it a try if you ever have the chance.¡±

    Zu An nodded. He thought to himself, This violet ki might be richer than ordinary ki, but as someone who has even used primordial ki, can this violet ki reallypare?

    It was clearly winter, and yet the pine and cypress trees were green, and the wild flowers were rich with color. Peaches and apricots rested among jade trees, and even medicinal herbs grew in innumerable quantities. From time to time, the cries of red-crowned cranes emerged from the clouds, making the ce feel like a mysticalnd.

    Zu An thought, Should they really be holding construction projects in this kind of ce? It almost feels as if they¡¯re ruining this ce¡¯s original beauty. However, as they went higher and higher, he discovered that there were more and more people around. He couldn''t help but feel a bit strange. Were there always so many people on Violet Mountain?

    Soon afterward, the group arrived at the mountain gate and saw some of the Righteous Sun Sect disciples looking absent-minded, as if something had stolen their very souls.

    ¡°Which sect are you from? Right now, the nine daoist sects are holding their greatpetition, so unrted people shouldn¡¯te to cause trouble,¡± A disciple with a sword at his waist said, shooing them away.

    Zu An¡¯s group didn¡¯t look like daoists at all, and the one in the lead didn¡¯t even have any ki aura, seeming to be an ordinary person. The general next to him was the only one who seemed to have some skill. They figured that it was just some noble son who had gone on a trip to admire Violet Mountain. Such things had often happened before.

    If it were an ordinary sect, they wouldn¡¯t dare to show these soldiers negligence. However, the leader of their Righteous Sun Sect was the empire¡¯s State Teacher, so they naturally didn¡¯t have to fear any court officials.

    Zu An was a bit surprised. He hadn¡¯t expected the Great Sects Competition to be at Violet Mountain! Zhao Han had decided to hold his Fengshan ceremony here, while the nine sects had gathered all of their experts to hold a greatpetition. Was it really just a coincidence?

 Chapter 1615 â€“ Public Authority For Private Grievances

    Chapter 1615 ¨C Public Authority For Private Grievances

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s thoughts were in line with Zu An¡¯s. She thought to herself, I really made the right choice in changing my outfit this time. Violet Mountain might seem calm, but it somehow feels as if there¡¯s something brewing.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zhang Zijiang stormed over and shouted, ¡°Are you freaking¡­ Ahem, we are the Armed Escort Division. We came on his majesty¡¯s orders to repair the pces on Violet Mountain. This one is our leader and general, Marquis Zu!¡± He almost went straight to cursing, but when he realized that the disciple belonged to the Righteous Sun Sect, he swallowed his dirty words back down.

    Zu An¡¯s forehead darkened. Why are you adding ¡®marquis¡¯ to my title? It sounds weird.

    ¡°Armed Escort Division?¡± the Righteous Sun Sect disciple repeated, his expression changing. He knew that the Armed Escort Division was one of the emperor¡¯s personal armies.

    Zhang Xi received the news and hurried over, saying, ¡°So it was Sir Zu and General Zhang! The State Teacher told us about you before. Excuse me for not going out to meet you, truly.¡±

    He had already lost count of how many things he had to apologize for today. No wonder none of his martial brothers from the other peaks had been willing to take on this role. Still, it was a good thing that he hade, or else he wouldn¡¯t have been able to interact with White Jade Sect¡¯s junior sister Chu so closely, nor could he have experienced the joy of seeing that junior sister from Jadefall Pce. When the other disciples heard about it, they¡¯d definitely go crazy from jealousy.

    Not only were there disciples from the other daoist sects by the mountain gate, some other sects had arrived too. There were also honored guests who had been invited by the Righteous Sun Sect. However, most of the people who didn¡¯t belong to the nine sects were just there to join in the lively atmosphere. After all, it was normally quite difficult for them to see the legendary figures of the nine sects. It would be beneficial for their disciples to have the chance to experience the aura of the strong. That was precisely why the Righteous Sun Sect had arranged for some of their disciples to be in charge of checking jade tokens.

    When those people saw how the two sides were chatting in a friendly manner, they all felt a bit jealous. The Righteous Sun Sect and the court¡¯s rtionship really was good. No wonder they had been able to obtain so many resources and grow so quickly.

    Apart from that, however, some people keenly noticed that something was strange. Why did the leader look like a useless pretty face? There wasn¡¯t even the slightest trace of ki auraing from him. Wasn¡¯t he just a normal person? He was probably just some hedonistic son of a great n who had gotten to his position through nepotism.

    The court has already fallen this far? You can even get to that kind of position through nepotism?

    Didn¡¯t the court always tell us that as long as we worked hard and improved our cultivation, we would get positions matching our strength?

    The disciples of the smaller sects felt angry, as if they had been deceived. In contrast, the disciples of the nine daoist sects were secretly delighted.

    The court is so corrupt! The Righteous Sun Sect is bound to them, so it seems they don¡¯t have many good days left. At that time, it¡¯ll be our turn to shine!

    Zu An was confused when he saw all the Rage pointsing in from the backend for no apparent reason.

    I didn¡¯t do anything to these guys! Why are these people so angry?

    Don¡¯t tell me that once someone reaches a certain level of handsomeness, one can draw the jealousy of the same sex just by standing there?

    His mood quickly lifted as he thought of that.

    ¡­

    Afterward, Zhang Xi arranged for some disciples to escort them up the mountain.

    Along the way, Zhang Zijiang secretly moved over to Zu An¡¯s side and said, ¡°Sir Zu, I didn¡¯t expect Violet Mountain to be the ce where the nine sects have gathered! There are so many people here, and they¡¯re all powerful individuals. It¡¯ll be much more difficult for us to safely do our workter!¡±

    They had said they were going to repair the buildings as a pretext, but the real reason was to establish a vanguard for the emperor¡¯s Fengshan ceremony, to get rid of all kinds of hidden dangers ahead of time. Now, however, there were hidden dangers everywhere! How were they even supposed to get rid of them?

    ording to what the Righteous Sun disciple said, the ones who had arrived were all the elite disciples of the different sects. There was nock of grandmasters among those who led their sect¡¯s disciples. Even if they used the army, there was no way they could face so many powerful cultivators!

    Zu An¡¯s expression remained calm as he said, ¡°Everything will be fine.¡±

    Zhang Zijiang¡¯s eyes lit up. He immediately gave Zu AN a big thumbs up and said, ¡°Big brother Zu is outstanding as expected! You aren¡¯t like this subordinate, who begins to panic when he encounters a bit of trouble¡­¡±

    Xie Daoyun actually felt a bit of secondhand embarrassment from all the praise. Just how is this guy able to say so many ridiculous things without batting an eyelid?

    Zu An sighed inwardly. No wonder people all wanted to be officials. He had once thought that excessive praise was a bit corny, but that was only because he hadn¡¯t been the one to receive it. Now that he had reached his current position, he realized that it really was intoxicating. One couldn''t help but want them to continue.

    However, his willpower was different from that of others, so he quickly snapped out of it. He found a chance to ask the disciple at the forefront, ¡°How often do the sects hold this greatpetition?¡±

    The disciple knew that Zu An¡¯s rank wasn¡¯t low, so he didn¡¯t dare to show negligence. He promptly replied, ¡°Once every ten years, sir.¡±

    ¡°When was thest instance held?¡± Zu An asked, and the disciple replied with the date. When Zu An calcted it in his mind, he realized it was indeed ten years prior. That clearly wasn¡¯t an excuse they had just put together on the spot at thest minute. He then asked, ¡°Then are the greatpetitions always held at Violet Mountain?¡±

    ¡°That is not necessarily the case. The nine sects alternate for each greatpetition. This time, it just happened to be our Righteous Sun Sect¡¯s turn,¡± the disciple replied.

    Zu An asked a few more questions, but he couldn''t find any issues and could only leave the matter be.

    Soon afterward, the group arrived at the Guidance Pce. The Guidance Pce was built next to a mountain, and it had beautiful architecture. There were all kinds of auspicious beasts sculpted on the corners and eaves. The pce was grand and majestic, but also solemn and dignified. It could make one feel the sheer size of the world when one stood in front of it, causing them to feel extremely insignificant inparison.

    The Guidance Pce was rumored to have been built for the purpose of guiding immortals down to the lower realm. Of course, no one had ever seen any true immortals, so that saying was always treated as nothing more than folklore.

    Now, the Guidance Pce was the ce the Righteous Sun Sect used to receive guests. Previously, when the nine sects arrived with their disciples, they had been brought there after they passed through the main gate, upon which they were received by the various peak lords of the Righteous Sun Sect. Afterward, disciples had led them to their respective dwellings.

    The disciple who led the way arranged a ce for Zu An¡¯s group to stop at for the time being, saying, ¡°Everyone, please wait for a moment. The sect master will arrive soon.¡±

    Zu An chuckled, refraining frommenting. Strictly speaking, they were the Imperial Envoy. Any local officials, even if they were kings of the area, had toe out to wee them. However, Wang Wuxie had extraordinary status, so he probably had his own pride.

    Just then, cries of rm filled the air. A streak of purple ki emanated from the Golden Peak. Only when it got closer did the onlookers see that it was actually a handsome middle-aged man, flying while surrounded by purple ki. The nine sects¡¯ experts, who had been resting in their respective chambers, suddenly opened their eyes and looked in the direction of the purple ki.

    In Jadefall Pce¡¯s courtyard, Wan Tongtian¡¯s expression grew grave. He remarked, ¡°It¡¯s been a while since Ist saw him, but Wang Wuxie¡¯s cultivation seems to have advanced again.¡±

    Elder Huo Ling harrumphed. ¡°Prioritizing the interests of others will only sacrifice your own.¡±

    Wan Tongtian¡¯s expression changed. However, he was already used to Elder Huo Ling¡¯sints about him. Furthermore, he felt a bit guilty toward her for what had happened before, so he ignored what she said.

    Inside the Heavenly Swallow Sect¡¯s courtyard, Guan Chouhai chuckled and said, ¡°That guy, Wang Wuxie, didn¡¯t evene out to greet us. Just who could be worth a personal visit from him?¡±

    Inside Emptiness Isle¡¯s courtyard, Qiu Honglei tugged on the sleeves of the person next to her, saying, ¡°Master, master, this Wang Wuxie is pretty strong. Can you win against him?¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression turned grave. She said, ¡°In the past, I would definitely have lost. Now, not necessarily.¡±

    Qiu Honglei curled her lips and retorted, ¡°It sounds as if you¡¯d still most likely lose. Otherwise, with your personality, you would already be bragging about how you¡¯d grind him into the dirt.¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression stiffened as she snapped, ¡°Damn girl, would you believe me if I say I¡¯m going to rip your mouth off your face?¡±

    Qiu Honglei began to beg for mercy. ¡°Ah, master, I was wrong! Right, why did master¡¯s cultivation increase so quickly recently? If there are any shortcuts, could you share some of those secrets with me? That way, I¡¯ll have a higher chance to win against Chu Chuyan.¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression became a bit unnatural as she said, ¡°You¡¯ll naturally experience it in the future. There¡¯s no rush.¡±

    She stormed off in a huff afterward, and Qiu Honglei was left all alone in confusion. What do you mean, I¡¯ll naturally experience it in the future? Just what kind of mystery is master trying to create?

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in the White Jade Sect¡¯s courtyard, Chu Chuyan stood by the bedside while looking at the purple ki. There was some shock in her eyes as she remarked, ¡°The State Teacher¡¯s cultivation really is formidable. Master, do you want toe and see too?¡±

    Yan Xuehen calmly sipped on some tea, not even turning her head. She replied, ¡°What does that have to do with me?¡±

    ¡°Master, I heard that the State Teacher pursued you in the past. Did you ever feel anything for him before?¡± Chu Chuyan asked, a mischievous look suddenly appearing in her eyes. Only in front of her master would she show such a side.

    ¡°Never,¡± Yan Xuehen said. Her expression was calm, as if she were talking about something unrted to her. ¡°When did you be so gossipy?¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Chu Chuyan replied, finding it a bit hard to believe. ¡°The State Teacher is quite the handsome man, and his cultivation is high. I heard many people say that back then, many female cultivators liked him, and yet master never approved of him. If master doesn¡¯t even like someone as perfect as him, just what kind of man do you like?¡±

    Shatter!

    A loud and clear sound rang out. Yan Xuehen had lost her grip on her teacup and let it fall to the ground.

    When she saw her disciple¡¯s suspicious expression, she snapped with a scowl, ¡°Did you forget the most important part of cultivating the Unshakable Daoist Manual? Why is your mind always filled with romance? Go and copy the Frozen Heart Sutra a hundred times as punishment!¡±

 Chapter 1616: This Day Will Change

    Chapter 1616: This Day Will Change

    ¡°Huh?¡± Chu Chuyan¡¯s breath caught in her throat as she recalled the fear she had felt when she first joined the sect. Copying the Frozen Heart Sutra clearly wasn¡¯t a good memory for her.

    She moved closer to Yan Xuehen and sat at her side. She said quietly, ¡°I could tell that master had some thoughts on your mind for some time. I was just saying those things out of consideration for you¡­¡±

    ¡°Is that the kind of thing you should be saying to help me feel better?¡± Yan Xuehen replied, shooting her a look.

    However, she felt helpless deep down. In the past, she could have just used her prestige as Chuyan¡¯s master to apply pressure and discipline her. But now, she felt too strange. She felt guilty toward Chuyan, and in the future¡­ Chu Chuyan would get married first in the future. She, her master, could end up having to pamper Chuyan as ater wife! What kind of thing was that?!

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s entire body trembled. A blush briefly appeared on her skin. What am I thinking? How could I possibly have any further rtionship with that guy?!

    She didn¡¯t know whether she was upset at Zu An or at herself. She suddenly got up and said coldly, ¡°A hundred times! I¡¯d better not see even one less time!¡±

    Afterward, she didn¡¯t give Chu Chuyan the chance to throw a tantrum and turned around to leave. Chu Chuyan was left all alone and in distress.

    Sigh, I used to always warn Snow not to gossip. Now, why couldn''t I remember to not do that myself?

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An¡¯s group was enjoying some tea and resting in the Guidance Pce. Suddenly, he noticed something. He looked up and saw a middle-aged man descend to the za in front of the pce, before walking toward Zu An¡¯s group with a steady and stable gait.

    No matter how much of a narcissist Zu An was, he had to admit that with this guy¡¯s style and bearing, he would definitely steal the hearts of countless female cultivators. There were some strands of white hair at his temples, but it didn¡¯t make him look old. Instead, they simply gave him a mature and graceful air. That was obvious from all the young female disciples who were clutching their chests and blushing, as if they were about to faint.

    This guy¡¯s freaking handsome! He¡¯s almost at my level.

    ¡°Sirs havee from afar. Excuse this poor daoist for not going out to meet you and showing negligence in your treatment,¡± Wang Wuxie said, cupping his hands toward Zhang Zijiang. His armor was the shiniest among the group, and his cultivation seemed to be the highest. Thus, Wang Wuxie reflexively thought that he was their leader.

    ¡°Armed Escort Division Deputy General Zhang Zijiang greets the State Teacher!¡± Zhang Zijiang replied, feeling a bit embarrassed. He quickly introduced Zu An, saying, ¡°This is Marquis Sir Zu, general of the Armed Escort Division. He is our leader.¡±

    Wang Wuxie was a bit stunned. He looked at Zu An with a hint of surprise. He had actually made an error in judgment? This person didn¡¯t have the slightest ki auraing from him, and he looked like a little pretty boy. Who would have thought that he was the one in charge?

    ¡°So it was Sir Zu. As expected, you are young and outstanding, worthy of admiration!¡± Wang Wuxie remarked. He had experienced all kinds of things, so he didn¡¯t show any awkwardness and naturally exchanged greetings with Zu An. There was no trace of contempt on his face.

    ¡°The State Teacher is too polite,¡± Zu An said, returning the greeting. ¡°I¡¯vee this time on his majesty¡¯s orders to repair the pces on Violet Mountain¡­¡±

    He took out the Imperial Edict and read it afterward. Of course, he wasn¡¯t so stubborn as to want the State Teacher to kneel as he read it. Fortunately, Wang Wuxie was still respectful during the entire process, so they still got along.

    ¡°Many thanks for his majesty¡¯s benevolence¡­¡± Wang Wuxie said toward the capital.

    Zu An was left in admiration. This handsome big brother really was impressive! He was even able to speak ttery in such an outstanding manner. He thought, This Zhang Zijiang still has a ways to go.

    There were many disciples from all sorts of different sects outside. They were curious to find out just what kind of important figure would be able to make Wang Wuxie greet them personally. After all, there were sect leaders among the previous guests, but he had nevere out to greet them.

    However, when they saw that it was just a young man, they were disappointed. That was especially true when they saw that the young man waspletely ordinary. Apart from being a bit taller and more handsome than average, and looking as if he had some money, he didn¡¯t seem to have anything else going for him. Not a single ki fluctuation emanated from him; he was clearly just a normal person.

    Of course, that was just what the men thought. Several female cultivators¡¯ eyes were glittering.

    ¡°Look, there¡¯s a really handsome big brother there!¡±

    ¡°But he looks a bit delicate.¡±

    ¡°What do you understand? He¡¯s much better than those crude muscleheads! I really want to give him a hug.¡±

    The male cultivators were allpletely confused.

    You have sessfully trolled the surrounding male cultivators for +444 +444 +444¡­

    Zu An felt helpless when faced with the storm of Rage points. Thedies like a handsome man; what did I do wrong?

    He looked at the disciples outside, then said to Wang Wuxie to test the waters, ¡°The State Teacher¡¯s mountain seems to be quite lively.¡±

    Wang Wuxie smiled and said, ¡°The nine sects are holding a greatpetition that they hold every ten years. There are indeed more people than usual.¡±

    ¡°Apetition between the daoist sects? Then our repair of the temples might be a bit troublesome¡­¡± Zu An said, thinking to himself, This guy isn¡¯t holding anything back from me. Is it because he has a clear conscience or because he¡¯s confident in his backing?

    ¡°There will be no issues. Thepetition between the great sects will be carried out mostly on Golden Peak. You may carry on with your repairs of the other ces as usual. Once the repairs are close to being done, thepetition should be just about finished too. At that time, the rest of Golden Peak can be repaired,¡± Wang Wuxie replied.

    ¡°May I ask how long thepetition will continue for?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°Roughly half a year, I suppose. The exact time frame is difficult to say, as it will depend on the final battle oues,¡± Wang Wuxie chuckled. ¡°Seeing as Sir Zu is so interested in thispetition, why not make a guest appearance and judge the fights? There will be sect masters and elders in attendance as non-voting delegates. For the sake of fairness, I even specially invited some virtuous and prestigious seniors from the world of warriors to serve as witnesses.¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t really have much interest at first. He was about to refuse when he suddenly thought of something, and subsequently agreed. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll have to trouble the State Teacher for that.¡±

    He thought to himself that based on the State Teacher¡¯s earlier statement, the man didn¡¯t seem to want the Armed Escort Division toe to Golden Peak. In that case, he would just have to personally see if there are any secrets hidden there.

    Wang Wuxie was speechless. He had just made the offer out of politeness. How could he have known that this guy would actually just agree in such a straightforward manner? After all, all the other guest judges would be extremely famous figures from the world of warriors. If they weren¡¯t sect leaders, they were highly experienced elders. Even the weakest among them were at the master rank, with many grandmasters among them.

    Just where does someone like you with no cultivation get the courage to sit together with them?

    However, as Wang Wuxie had already spoken those words, he couldn''t take them back. He said with a nod, ¡°Once thepetition starts, I will send someone to inform Sir Zu. For now, you should all get some rest first. If there is anything you need, you may contact the sect¡¯s disciples. This poor daoist has something to tend to, so I will leave for now.¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°The State Teacher should do what he needs to do first.¡±

    ¡­

    When Wang Wuxie left,a Righteous Sun Sect disciple quickly came to lead them to their residence. The people nearby began to discuss among themselves.

    ¡°So this is a marquis from the court, and he could even be a general? I feel as if any random disciple from our sect would be better than him!¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Just which n did this hedonistic sone from? The court has such a mediocre person in such a high position? It really makes one feel bitter and hateful!¡±

    ¡°Maybe he¡¯s a prince and carries a magic artifact to hide his aura. It¡¯s normal if you can¡¯t tell,¡± a female cultivator couldn''t keep herself from retorting. At least he¡¯s handsome, okay?

    ¡°Are you still dreaming of bing the wife of a king? Keep dreaming! The princes of the world are all well-known, and none of them look like him.Besides, he said his surname was Zu, not Zhao.¡±

    ¡°Besides the fact that the leader is just a pretty face, even the cultivation of that deputy general next to him isn¡¯t all that. Forget about chief disciples, even some other true disciples could defeat him. I really don¡¯t understand how the great sects were defeated by these guys back then.¡±

    ¡°Lower your voices! The court is most adept at military formations. Don¡¯t think this deputy general¡¯s cultivation is low. If he¡¯s good atmanding an army formation, forget about a chief disciple, not even our sect masters would be able to stop it.¡±

    ¡°Brother Li, are you going a bit too far? If a grandmaster came out, he¡¯d really be nothing inparison.¡±

    A group of debate warriors promptly began to argue over the strength of an army.

    Just then, an old and gray-haired old monk came over from the foot of the mountain. There was a cute little novice monk at his side.

    Zhang Xi quickly asked, ¡°May I ask where the two of you are from?¡± These two monks definitely weren¡¯t from the daoist sects. However, their temperaments looked impressive, so he didn¡¯t dare to treat them negligently.

    The old monk didn¡¯t reply. He only raised his head toward Golden Peak and muttered to himself, ¡°This day is about to change.¡±

 Chapter 1617: Master Jian Huang

    <h4>Chapter 1617: Master Jian Huang</h4>

    Zhang Xi looked up in confusion and saw a blue sky without a single cloud. The weather was clearly excellent!

    A whileter, the old monk finally lowered his head. He turned to the little monk next to him and said, ¡°Jie Se, give this person the item.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± the chubby little monk replied, taking out a jade token and handing it over. ¡°We were invited by the State Teacher to attend the gathering.¡±

    Zhang Xi thought,This little monk has quite the kind smile, but why does he have this kind of religious name?[1]</a>

    When he received the jade token, he was filled with veneration. He bowed toward the old monk and said, ¡°So it wasTranquility Temple¡¯s Master Jian Huang. This junior has offended you.¡±

    The old monk put his palms together and said, ¡°Form is emptiness; emptiness is form. Young benefactor didn¡¯t recognize me, and this old one isn¡¯t some formidable person, so where is there any offense?¡±

    ¡°This master is too humble,¡± Zhang Xi said, bowing respectfully. Tranquility Temple was an extremely famous sect in the world of warriors. In terms of their background, they were stronger than even his Righteous Sun Sect.

    Tranquility Temple was a Buddhist sect, but ever since the Righteous Sun Sect became the predominant sect in the past century, the influence of Buddhism had declined. Their reputation had be less prominent than before. However, as the chief disciple of Watchful Peak, Zhang Xi had received the teachings of a peak lord. He knew a bit more about the secrets of the world than ordinary people.

    This Master Jian Huang was an abbot of Tranquility Peak, someone with profound cultivation. When Tranquility Temple was at its pinnacle, the temple had been home to four divine monks, as well as countless other apprentices with the Jian surname. However, following a hundred years of the court¡¯s prosperity and the changes that had taken ce within the Buddhist sects in the past, no one knew how many of them were left after so many years had passed.

    This time, their sect master had arrived alongside a small novice monk. It seemed as if Tranquility Temple wascking in talent after all.

    Then, Zhang Xi arranged for someone to bring them up the mountain, but he was gracefully turned down with the words ¡®those of Buddhism pursue all through simplicity¡¯.

    The master and disciple ascended the mountain just like that. Along the way, the small novice monk couldn''t help but grumble, ¡°Master, this name you gave me is really awful. Those Righteous Sun Sect disciples who were assigned to wee guests at the entrance have clearly undergone strict training and normally wouldn¡¯tugh unless they couldn¡¯t hold themselves back. But when they heard my name, all of themughed!¡±

    The old monk said solemnly, ¡°Jie Se, the ¡®Se¡¯ in our Buddhism refers to all things with form, all things that are tangible. It does not refer to the female charms, lust, or desires that the secr world believes it to mean. In Buddhism, to have color refers to the principle that nothingness is everything. The reason why this master gave you that name is to constantly remind you to be vignt, to see past the fabricated.¡±

    The chubby little monk gave him a doubtful look, replying, ¡°Then why can¡¯t you hold back yourughter either right now?¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°You are mistaken; I did notugh,¡± the old monk said as he rubbed his face, ttening the wrinkles that had curved up.

    ¡°You¡¯re clearlyughing!¡± the little monk replied angrily. ¡°I know it¡¯s because your master gave you the name Jian Huang, which made you aughingstock for many years. You were never happy about that, so it just passed on from one generation to the next and you made all of us suffer too.¡±[2]</a>

    ¡°You are speaking nonsense. I was not thinking that, not at all,¡± the old monk instinctively replied. He immediately put his hands together and said, ¡°Amitabha Buddha, this old one has erred.¡±

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An¡¯s group was brought to a side courtyard. Even though it wasn¡¯trge, the pavilions and kiosks were all elegant and refined. There was even a pond in the center with all sorts of rarely seen nts and flowers grown inside. Greenery covered the artificial rock garden off to one side like a nket. In terms of elegance and peacefulness, it wasn¡¯t inferior to the Imperial Pce¡¯s Imperial Garden at all.

    When the Righteous Sun Sect¡¯s disciples left, Xie Daoyun couldn''t help but pat her chest and say, ¡°I was almost scared to death at the Guidance Pce earlier! Fortunately, the State Teacher¡¯s attention was focused on you. If he had noticed me, that would be really awkward.¡±

    Zu An chuckled and replied, ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to Master Yan¡¯s talisman that was able to hide your aura, so the State Teacher didn¡¯t notice anything.¡±

    Zhang Zijiang was a bit confused, asking, ¡°Why does Lady Xie not want the State Teacher to notice you? Could it be that Master Yan and the State Teacher have some kind of conflict between them?¡±

    ¡°Of course not¡­¡± Xie Daoyun replied. She was a bit tongue-tied, not knowing how to exin herself.

    ¡°There must be a reason why Lady Xie needs to do this. General Zhang, there¡¯s no need to inquire too much about it,¡± Zu An said to help Xie Daoyun out of the situation.

    Zhang Zijiang chuckled and said, ¡°I was being rude. I will leave first to arrange for a dwelling ce.¡± Afterward, he gave Zu An a knowing expression, then left in high spirits.

    Zu An was confused, thinking,What is that guy so happy for?

    Xie Daoyun said with a moved expression, ¡°The State Teacher really is a giant among men; his temperament is truly incredible. It really is hard to imagine that there could be something wrong with such a person.¡±

    ¡°Are those who are attractive always good people?¡± Zu An replied with a chuckle. ¡°But the State Teacher¡¯s charms really are lethal toward women. I saw many women go crazy over him earlier. I didn¡¯t expect little sister Ling¡¯er to also like that kind of style.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t!¡± Xie Daoyun replied, panicking. ¡°I was justmenting impartially. Besides, he¡¯s not even the most handsome out of those I¡¯ve seen before.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Zu An replied with interest. ¡°I wonder who little sister Ling¡¯er thinks is the most handsome?¡±

    Xie Daoyun blushed and said, ¡°Not telling you.¡±

    Zu An chuckled and didn¡¯t think too much of it. Right now, his biggest headache was Golden Token Seven¡¯s death, as well as whether Violet Mountain¡¯s greatpetition had anything to do with the emperor¡¯s Fengshan ceremony. Unfortunately, he couldn''t make any progress in either investigation because both casescked information.

    Just then, all those who had ascended the mountain decided on which rooms to take. Zu An, as the most important official, was naturally given thergest room in the center. Zhang Zijiang and the other guests surrounded and protected him. Wang Bolin was specially left a spot, or else it would really look bad. Of course, they still yed some tricks, cing Wang Bolin¡¯s room in a spot quite some distance away from Zu An.

    However, that left Xie Daoyun in an awkward spot. She discovered that there weren¡¯t any rooms for her. She couldn''t help but ask, ¡°General Zhang, what about me?¡±

    Zhang Zijiang pointed at Zu An¡¯s room and said, ¡°You¡¯re going to live with Sir Zu, of course.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Xie Daoyun replied, her face turningpletely red.

    Even Zu An, who was writing some letters at a table, couldn''t help but frown. He looked over in confusion.

    Zhang Zijiang thus said with a deadly earnest expression, ¡°It is mainly because your current status is as Sir Zu¡¯s personal attendant, so you have to be close to him and take care of his everyday needs. If there is anything at night, you need to immediately heed his call and send a message. If you live separately, those from the Righteous Sun Sect will definitely suspect your identity. Furthermore, your skin is so fair. If they begin to suspect you, they will easily discover that you are female. You have shown yourself at King Yan Manor before, so it won¡¯t be too difficult for the State Teacher to recognize you.¡±

    Xie Daoyun was a bit ill at ease. She said, ¡°But¡­ but¡­¡±

    She hadn¡¯t expected things to end up like this at all! Otherwise, she definitely wouldn¡¯t have dressed up as Zu An¡¯s attendant.

    Zhang Zijiang chuckled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Lady Xie will live in the outer room, with a partition separating you two inside. If our general needs something, you will have to go over and make arrangements. I do not believe that Sir Zu would trouble you in the middle of the night.¡±

    He secretly winked at Zu An as he spoke. At the same time, he was really in admiration of himself.How am I so smart? This bootlicking is already at the level of perfection!

    If these two stay together in one room and sparks fly, won¡¯t a fire start immediately? What will a partition do?

    Sir Zu should know what to do then. He¡¯ll definitely praise me for mypetence.

    Hmph, Mister Wang, you only know how to do things in a slow-witted manner. How can youpare to me?

    Zu An was speechless when he saw Zhang Zijiang¡¯s proud expression. After everything, the look he had gotten earlier was just for that?

    He was about to say something when Xie Daoyun nodded and said, ¡°What General Zhang says is reasonable. I will just stay here.¡±

    Either way, there¡¯s a partition in the middle, which makes it more or less how servants live. Also, big brother Zu is a gentleman. He won¡¯t do anything disrespectful in the middle of the night either,she thought. However, even though she told herself that, her face was still as red as the sunset.

    When he sensed her awkwardness, Zu An walked over and suggested, ¡°The scenery outside isn¡¯t bad. Why don¡¯t we go out for a walk together? We¡¯ll see if there¡¯s anything special about Violet Mountain along the way.¡±

    ¡°Okay~¡± Xie Daoyun replied, exhaling, in relief.Big brother Zu really is considerate, helping me out of my trouble.

    Zhang Zijiang chuckled. ¡°There is something else here that needs to be put in order. I will not be going with you.¡±

    What kind of a joke is this? Why would I disturb their alone time? All of my earlier bootlicking would be for nothing!

    ¡­

    Zu An and Xie Daoyun left the courtyard. There were all kinds of figures all around them along the way; they were clearly the disciples of different sects. This was a rare opportunity, so they were either observing Violet Mountain¡¯s various sights curiously, or discussing cultivation with each other. Many were old friends who had finally reunited. There were also some young and vigorous male disciples trying to hit on the female disciples of other sects. It made the men of those other sects re at them angrily.

    Of course, the overall mood was still rather friendly. No one dared to cause trouble in such a ce, because that would embarrass their sect, and they could also easily lose their ce in thepetition that was scheduled to happen soon.

    Just then, twodies walked over, conversing at a volume only they could hear.

    ¡°What¡¯s so special about this Violet Mountain? In the past, I ughtered my way in and then back out¡­¡±

    ¡°Okay, okay, you¡¯re really awesome, master. But this is already the eight hundredth time you¡¯ve bragged about that.¡±

    ¡°Did I really talk about it that many times?¡± the older one asked in surprise.

    ¡°Of course,¡± the youngdy replied. She was about to say something when her eyes suddenly lit up and eximed, ¡°Master, look, it¡¯s Ah Zu!¡±

    The older one¡¯s entire body immediately trembled. She felt the urge to turn around and run on the spot.

 Chapter 1618: Absolute Nonsense

    Chapter 1618: Absolute Nonsense

    The two women were none other than the master and disciple, Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei. After sessfully sneaking into Violet Mountain, Yun Jianyue had initially nned to carry out some meditation, but she couldn''t stop Qiu Honglei¡¯s enthusiasm toward everything on Violet Mountain and insistence on going to look around together. Unable to change her mind, and worried about her disciple wandering around alone while surrounded by so many daoist experts, Yun Jianyue had decided to apany Qiu Honglei.

    As the two strolled around, Yun Jianyue secretlymented on the cultivation of the passing disciples and their cultivation patterns. Coincidentally, they happened to pass by and see Zu An.

    ¡°Master, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Qiu Honglei asked, noticing something strange about her master. She couldn''t help but give Yun Jianyue a strange look.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I don¡¯t want to see that person!¡± Yun Jianyue snapped. She took a deep breath, and only then did she calm down her restless heart a bit.

    ¡°Huh? Didn¡¯t the two of you even fight side by side together? You should be friends now for better or for worse, right?¡± Qiu Honglei asked out of confusion. ¡°Could it be that Zu An did something to let you down? Tell me what he did! I¡¯ll be sure to teach him a lesson for you!¡±

    It had already been a long time since they met, so Qiu Honglei was really excited. Her tone was much more casual than usual.

    Yun Jianyue was rmed. She thought to herself, It wasn¡¯t Ah Zu who did something to let me down; rather, we did something to let you down¡­ However, she reacted quickly. She grabbed her disciple, who was itching to rush over, and said, ¡°What I¡¯m saying is that I don¡¯t want you to see him.¡±

    Qiu Honglei broke out into tears, protesting in clear dissatisfaction, ¡°Why? I obediently listened to you and cultivated in secret, and only now have I been allowed to go outside. Why can¡¯t I see him yet?¡±

    ¡°There are too many things going on right now, and I¡¯m worried that you might not be able to control yourself,¡± Yun Jianyue patiently exined. ¡°Did you forget who we are right now? There are so many of those supposedly dignified, upright figures all around us right now. If we¡¯re exposed, what will await us?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not scared! With our strength, even if we can¡¯t win against these stupid daoists, they can¡¯t stop us from getting away either.¡± Qiu Honglei harrumphed.

    ¡°Just where do you get your confidence from?¡± Yun Jianyue replied, rolling her eyes. If they really began fighting, there were so many people present that even she wouldn¡¯t necessarily be able to escape from Violet Mountain.

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t it from you, master? You keep talking about how you can ughter your way in and out of Violet Mountain however you wish. But now that I¡¯m talking about really doing it, you can¡¯t take it anymore?¡± Qiu Honglei retorted with a re, seemingly starting to doubt her master¡¯s previous boasts.

    Yun Jianyue choked before replying, ¡°Back then, there was only a single sect master here. All of the nine sects¡¯ daoists are here; is that the same thing?¡±

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t it easy enough to deal with back then when we were facing those Emptiness Isle people?¡± Qiu Honglei replied. However, her tone grew visibly weaker.

    ¡°Emptiness Isle didn¡¯t send any of their real experts this time, most likely because they knew that their chances of victory in this Great Sects Competition weren¡¯t great. They were just sending some people to get by. They didn¡¯t even send a grandmaster.¡± Yun Jianyue said, giving her a look. ¡°Even so, didn¡¯t we still lose some people? These daoists can¡¯t be looked down upon at all.¡±

    ¡°Whose fault is it that you wanted to look cool and didn¡¯t want to interfere?¡± Qiu Honglei muttered to herself.

    ¡°What did you say?¡± Yun Jianyue snapped, raising her voice.

    ¡°Nothing,¡± Qiu Honglei replied, sticking out her tongue. ¡°I was just going to talk to him a bit secretly¡­ No one else would even know. Ah Zu is a smart person too, and definitely won¡¯t tell anyone.¡±

    Yun Jianyue sighed and said, ¡°Even if you didn¡¯t reveal anything, it would make things really dangerous for uster on. With that brat¡¯s nature, do you think he would just watch if we¡­ I mean, if you were put in danger? That he could just sit by without doing anything?¡±

    ¡°Even though Ah Zu always has a mischievous smile on his face, he¡¯s a true hero deep down. Even if the entire world were his enemy, he definitely wouldn¡¯t just stand there without doing anything; otherwise, why would I like him?¡± Qiu Honglei replied, a gentle expression appearing on her face.

    Yun Jianyue felt a headache when she saw her disciple¡¯s look of infatuation. If she finds out about me and Zu An, what should I do then? Ah, enmity leads to sin! She sighed and continued, ¡°In that case, you definitely can¡¯t expose your identity to him, because you¡¯ll be putting him in danger too. I don¡¯t think you want him to be endangered, do you?¡±

    Qiu Honglei was stunned when she heard that. She nodded and said, ¡°Master, what you say makes sense. I can¡¯t be so selfish.¡±

    Yun Jianyue couldn''t help but sigh in relief when she saw that she had convinced her disciple. Suddenly, Qiu Honglei clung to her arm and said with a big smile, ¡°Master, I¡¯ve noticed that you¡¯ve changed recently.¡±

    ¡°How so?¡± Yun Jianyue asked, her gaze darting toward Zu An from time to time. When she recalled the time they had spent in the Fiend King Court, her mind started to drift a bit.

    ¡°The Holy Sect¡¯s people always talk in private, saying that even though master is so pretty, you¡¯ve never been close to another man. They all thought that you were just another martial fanatic and didn¡¯t understand love at all, but now, I¡¯ve discovered that they were wrong. You actually understand love pretty well,¡± Qiu Honglei said with a look of admiration. ¡°It¡¯s probably just that you¡¯ve never found a man that you liked. Don¡¯t worry, this disciple will definitely help you look around for someone. I¡¯ll definitely find a perfect man for you.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, who wants someone from you?!¡± Yun Jianyue snapped, feeling inexplicably guilty. ¡°Who¡¯s been gossiping unnecessarily in the sect? I¡¯m going to rip off their mouths!¡±

    ¡°Ah! I was just joking around¡­¡± Qiu Honglei trailed off, naturally unwilling to speak their names. She knew fully well about her master¡¯s nature, that Yun Jianyue really would act on her threats. She was about to say something when her expression suddenly stiffened. She tugged on Yun Jianyue¡¯s sleeves and asked doubtfully, ¡°Master, why does that attendant at Ah Zu¡¯s side look a bit like a girl?¡±

    Yun Jianyue had beenpletely focused on her internal turmoil, so she only noticed the attendant now. Her expression darkened and she hissed, ¡°It is indeed a woman!¡±

    The attendant had red lips and bright teeth; her skin was fair and supple. Where would anyone find such a pretty man?!

    Qiu Honglei noticed that Yun Jianyue was walking toward Zu An and quickly grabbed her, protesting, ¡°Master, what are you doing?!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m helping you kill those adulterers!¡± Yun Jianyue said through gritted teeth.

    ¡°Master, didn¡¯t you just say that we couldn¡¯t meet him right now?¡± Qiu Honglei asked, stunned.

    ¡°Everything has its time and ce. We were actually concerned for his sake, and yet he was actually having such a good time behind my¡­ er, the back of my precious disciple,¡± Yun Jianyue muttered unhappily. The worst part was that she didn¡¯t recognize the woman, so she was clearly someone Zu An had gotten together with after the Fiend King Court.

    Even though she knew this guy was a skirt-chaser, she hadn¡¯t expected him to be like this. She recalled what had happened between the two of them. When she thought about how she was still frightened out of her mind by her inability to escape from those feelings, and yet he waspletely fine and already flirting with another woman, she found it almost impossible to control herself.

    I¡¯m the freaking Devil Sect Master. Do I not have my pride?

    ¡°It¡¯s not that serious; it¡¯s not that bad at all,¡± Qiu Honglei said, starting to sweat. ¡°I know that woman.¡±

    She hadn¡¯t expected her master to actually care so much about her. She felt more and more moved. I really have to choose a good man for my master in the future so she isn¡¯t bullied by any men.

    ¡°You know her?¡± Yun Jianyue asked, turning around when she heard that. She looked at Qiu Honglei in suspicion. Is it another one ahead of me? Just how many women does this rascal have?

    ¡°Uh, she¡¯s Brightmoon City Lord Xie¡¯s daughter, Xie Daoyun. We met a few times before in Brightmoon City,¡± Qiu Honglei exined. ¡°She and Ah Zu were fellow students, so it¡¯s expected for them to be together.¡±

    If she really let her master go over there and cause a huge fuss, wouldn¡¯t everything her master had warned her about happen? Not even she would be able to face Ah Zu herself! If they were going to interfere when fellow ssmates were chatting, she would seem really jealous! It would only benefit that vixen.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s eyelids twitched and she asked, ¡°Do students always act so touchy with each other nowadays?¡±

    Qiu Honglei raised her head. She saw that the two were hugging each other, as if they were flirting. She was speechless.

    ¡°Let this master help you get rid of this adulterous couple,¡± Yun Jianyue said through gritted teeth.

    Qiu Honglei felt a bit strange. Why did her master seem even angrier than her? It was almost as if it were her man who had cheated. However, she said with a cold smile, ¡°There¡¯s no need at all. Why do we have to do anything?¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Yun Jianyue was stunned, asking, ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Master, did you forget that the Chu girl just happens to be on Violet Mountain too? She¡¯s naturally the one who should be taking care of these kinds of things. Why would considerate women like us dare to do something so petty?¡± Qiu Honglei replied. Even though she had a smile, it was filled with a dangerous air.

    Yun Jianyue couldn''t help but chuckle too, saying, ¡°That¡¯s more like a demoness.¡±

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An held Xie Daoyun while asking, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with your foot?¡±

    ¡°I twisted it by ident just now. I think it should be okay though,¡± Xie Daoyun said, standing back up with a reddened face. She had been thinking about how they were going to sleep in the same room, leaving her in a daze. She had been so distracted that she actually fell down the stairs, straight into his arms.

    ¡°It¡¯s good as long as you¡¯re okay,¡± Zu An said, sighing in relief. At the same time, he turned around and looked into the distance. Why did he seem to have felt two waves of killing intent just now?

    Because he was handsome and had all kinds of girls trying to start conversations with him, causing jealous men to constantly send him Rage points, and because of his concern for Xie Daoyun, he actually hadn¡¯t noticed the Rage points the two Devil Sect women sent him.

 Chapter 1619: Joy and Sorrow

    Chapter 1619: Joy and Sorrow

    Then, Xie Daoyun took out a talisman and applied it to her ankle. The swelling disappeared at a visible rate. Zu An clicked his tongue in wonder, remarking, ¡°If someone had a bunch of these talismans, wouldn¡¯t they be invincible?¡±

    Xie Daoyun shook her head and said, ¡°To a certain extent, cultivators can recover on their own. This treatment talisman merely activates one¡¯s innate potential and speeds up healing. In the end, it still depends on one¡¯s own ability. After a certain point, it won¡¯t be able to treat injuries anymore.¡±

    Zu An now had a rough idea of what was happening. This thing was like a catalyst, capable of speeding up a process, but it couldn¡¯t create something from nothing. If the user was exhausted and couldn''t recover anymore, it wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything.

    ¡°I¡¯m better now, so let''s continue and look around at other ces,¡± Xie Daoyun said, standing up and gently stretching her ankle a bit.

    Zu An voiced his confirmation, and they began to look around again. However, there were so many people present that they couldn''t find anything noteworthy. Just like that, they roamed all around the mountain. Along the way, the Righteous Sun Sect disciples attentively showed them the way. The two of them moved quickly and passed through many ces.

    ¡°Did you notice anything?¡± Zu An asked. They were naturally not there just to go on a scenic tour. His greater purpose was to apany Xie Daoyun as she investigated whether or not there were any hidden formations present.

    Xie Daoyun shook her head and said, ¡°Apart from the great formation that protects the Righteous Sun Sect, there aren¡¯t any signs of other formations. But that¡¯s to be expected. The daoist sects¡¯ greatpetition is now at hand, and there are peopleing and going from all sorts of different ces. There¡¯s nock of exceptional individuals among them. If the State Teacher really wanted to mess around somehow, there¡¯s no way it would be so easy for me to notice.¡±

    ¡°Then where should we look next?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°Let¡¯s end it here for now. I¡¯ll keep observing over the following days and think over how I should continue this investigation,¡± Xie Daoyun said with a frown. She looked just like a top student who had stumbled upon a hard question.

    ¡°That sounds good,¡± Zu An said. He thought for a bit, then took out a mask and gave it to her. When he saw her puzzled expression, he exined, ¡°This mask can hide your appearance. If you¡¯re going to secretly look around Violet Mountain¡¯s formations, it will definitely be extremely dangerous. You¡¯re dressed as a man right now, but your skin is too fair, and you look quite attractive. It will be too easy for you to be targeted, and that won¡¯t be favorable for what you want to do.

    ¡°This mask was something I stumbled upon coincidentally. It can make you lookpletely ordinary, and no one will give you a second look on the streets.¡±

    He should have given it to her before, but at the time, he had thought that rather than having a normal-looking face next to him, having an attractive attendant would be much more pleasant. However, after he sensed the two waves of killing intent, he grew vignt. He naturally didn¡¯t want Xie Daoyun to be in danger anymore.

    ¡°Thank you, big brother Zu,¡± Xie Daoyun said, her face turning pink. Her eyes were full of happiness, because he seemed to be praising her on her beauty.

    ¡­

    Then, Zu An and Xie Daoyun returned to their courtyard. Soon afterward, some Righteous Sun Sect disciples delivered their evening meals. Because there were just too many guests on Violet Mountain, it wasn¡¯t convenient to eat together at all. Zu An didn¡¯t mind that, though.

    The meals that the Righteous Sun Sect disciples brought over were quite sumptuous too. Because this was a cultivationnd, there wasn¡¯t much meat and fish, but there were still many mountain delicacies paired with spiritual flowers and unique herbs; they were all beneficial to cultivation.

    Zhang Zijiang couldn''t help but say with a sigh, ¡°The Righteous Sun Sect really has quite the powerful backing! This meal is enough tost me for an entire month!¡±

    As a court general, and furthermore someone in a formidable position such as the Armed Escort Division, the amount of cultivation resources he was assigned naturally wasn¡¯t low. Even so, the amount they received in a month was onlyparable to what he had received here for a single meal. Furthermore, there were so many people present, so just how much were they all going to eat? As such, his shock waspletely understandable.

    ¡°I believe that only the more important groups were given such abundant meals. But even so, this Righteous Sun Sect is quite the local tyrant,¡± Zu An said, shaking his head. That Wang Wuxie appeared pure and holy, but he clearly still couldn''t help but show off a bit.

    ¡­

    He and Zhang Zijiang then discussed the matter of Violet Mountain¡¯s repairs. At the same time, they nned to arrange their troops at various chokepoints to be prepared against any hidden dangers.

    Zhang Zijiang left while in heavy spirits, because things had be much more difficult with so many daoist cultivators present. Fortunately, Sir Zu had said that he would deal with things involving the nine sects¡¯ higher-level individuals, so he just had to go back and make a concrete n himself.

    Eventually, only Zu An and Xie Daoyun were left in the room. The atmosphere quickly became a bit awkward.

    Zu An said, ¡°It¡¯s already quitete. Little sister Ling¡¯er should get some rest early.¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Huh? Oh, okay¡­¡± Xie Daoyun said, thinking to herself, Why do these words sound like what my parents tell each other?

    Zu An then said, ¡°You can sleep in my bed.¡±

    ¡°Oh. What?¡± Xie Daoyun eximed in surprise. Wasn¡¯t big brother Zu being too direct?

    Even though I have a good impression of him, my parents haven¡¯t approved of this yet, and there aren¡¯t any third parties involved¡­ Isn¡¯t this just an illicit sexual rtionship?!

    As she came from a literary family, she had always had an extremely strict upbringing in this respect.

    Actually, I wouldn¡¯t really mind if it was with big brother Zu, but he is still in love with Chu First Miss. What kind of status would I have if I joined like that¡­

    In that instant, too many possibilities shed through her mind.

    Zu An was stunned. He knew she was thinking strange things. He said, ¡°I figured that, seeing as the attendant¡¯s room only has a single simple bed, it won¡¯t be that fitting for little sister Ling¡¯er. I just happen to have something to do tonight and won¡¯t be back that soon, so you can sleep in my room.¡±

    In order to reim his innocence, he didn¡¯t even wait for her reply and just left through the door afterward.

    ¡­

    ¡°Ah, that was so embarrassing!¡± Xie Daoyun cried as she jumped into her own bed. She pulled the covers over her head and rolled around back and forth, awkwardly kicking her feet in the air. After a long time passed, herpletely red face emerged from the covers. She looked in the direction Zu An left in and muttered to herself, ¡°Big brother Zu really is a gentleman. He even made up an excuse to leave and stay in a different room in order to make me feel better.¡±

    She sat up in the bed, and an absentminded expression spread across her face; her thoughts were inscrutable.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An left the courtyard to look for Chu Chuyan. While wandering around with Xie Daoyun, he had heard the disciples of the sect discuss the White Jade Sect¡¯s two goddesses and their beauty. Judging from their description, he had quickly realized that Yan Xuehen and Chu Chuyan had arrived at Violet Mountain, which filled him with joy.

    It was finally evening, and he had taken care of everything else. He couldn''t hold himself back anymore. However, as soon as he left his courtyard, he noticed a white figure sneakily fluttering by and called out, ¡°Show yourself!¡±

    He was still feeling restless from the two waves of killing intent this morning. He hadn¡¯t expected them to already being after him! He rushed toward the figure. However, that person¡¯s movement skill was extremely profound, and they swiftly twisted to one side to avoid his grip.

    Unfortunately, with Zu An¡¯s current cultivation, how could they evade so easily? He was about tosh out when he saw an annoyed and displeased, yet incredibly charming face. He asked, ¡°Chuyan, why are you here?¡±

    ¡°You probably didn¡¯t want to see me tonight, right?¡± Chu Chuyan harrumphed. She turned and started walking away.

    Zu An quickly followed along and replied, ¡°No way! When I heard the disciples discussing how two goddesses had arrived from the White Jade Sect in the afternoon, I knew it was you. I went to look for you as soon as I had the chance.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to apany that charming and lovely attendant of yours?¡± Chu Chuyan replied coldly.

    Zu An was stunned, but then replied with augh, ¡°So you were jealous! You were even sneaking around¡­ Was it to catch an adulterer? So? Did you discover how loyal I am to you?¡±

    ¡°Who¡¯s jealous of you?¡± Chu Chuyan harrumphed. ¡°The reason I came here was to remind you that there are people here who are hostile toward you. You have to be on guard.¡±

    Zu An was stunned, asking, ¡°What information did you receive?¡±

    Chu Chuyan said, ¡°In the afternoon, someone sent me a paper strip that hinted at something between you and that attendant¡­ Hmph, I don¡¯t care who you fool around with, but you were targeted and had no idea. If I hadn¡¯te to warn you, you might have died without even knowing why.¡±

    Zu An felt warm inside. Even though Chu Chuyan was normally ice-cold, and this time, she was clearly jealous, she was still more concerned with his safety. He couldn''t help but gently hold her hands, saying, ¡°I did feel two waves of killing intent in the afternoon, but I didn¡¯t notice who it was.¡±

    ¡°Judging from your description, they¡¯re probably people from a certain faction of the nine sects,¡± Chu Chuyan said. She tried to shake him off, but couldn''t, so she just let him continue. She said with a serious expression, ¡°This time, many powerful cultivators from the nine daoists sects arrived. Just who did you offend?¡±

    ¡°If it¡¯s anyone I¡¯ve offended recently¡­ then it¡¯s probably the Heavenly Sorrow Sect,¡± Zu An replied. He thought to himself, Could it be that Zhao Xiaodie told the sect about that time?

    That wasn¡¯t too likely, was it? She was the one who had proactively begged for forgiveness, and that situation was just too embarrassing. She was likely too ashamed to talk about it.

    When she remembered what had happened in King Yan Manor, Chu Chuyan thought that was most likely the case too. She replied, ¡°As long as you know what¡¯s going on. Heavenly Sorrow Sect¡¯s Guan Chouhai has cultivation on par with my master¡¯s. Even though he wouldn¡¯t go so far as to bully juniors, you still need to be careful.¡± She turned around to leave afterward.

    ¡°I¡¯m not even scared of him. Don¡¯t I still have you and big sis Yan?¡± Zu An replied, following along with a smile.

    Chu Chuyan said, ¡°She¡¯s my master, and yet you¡¯re calling her big sis. You¡¯re clearly trying to take advantage of me.¡±

    ¡°Ah,e on. We can just have our own rtionships with each other, right?¡± Zu An said.

    ¡­

    As the two of them continued to chat, they unwittingly arrived at Chu Chuyan¡¯s residence. Chu Chuyan said helplessly, ¡°You¡¯ve already seen me back, so you can go back already.¡±

    ¡°You might have done what you wanted to do with me, but I still haven¡¯t talked about why I was looking for you,¡± Zu An said with a smile.

    ¡°What do you need me for?¡± Chu Chuyan replied, a faint blush creeping across her face.

    ¡°Lovesickness, of course,¡± Zu An said, sizing up the beauty in front of him. Her lips were slightly open, moist and sparkling like morning dew. He couldn''t help but move closer.

    Chu Chuyan bit her lip slightly, saying, ¡°But master isn¡¯t letting me meet you¡­¡±

    Before she could even finish, she moaned as Zu An forcibly kissed her. She struggled a bit, but then, her body gradually softened. No matter how cold the Snowke Sword was, how could it stop the blistering heat of a couple in love?

    At first, Chu Chuyan¡¯s hands instinctively covered her chest. But soon afterward, she unwittingly wrapped her arms around her lover¡¯s neck; she was embarrassed, but proactively responded to Zu An¡¯s passionate kiss.

    Suddenly, both of them stopped. A rather elegant male voice called out from outside, ¡°Fairy Chu, Heavenly Sorrow¡¯s Zhi Yin wishes to meet with you.¡±

 Chapter 1620: Immortal Sword

    Chapter 1620: Immortal Sword

    At that moment, Chu Chuyan¡¯s cheeks werepletely red. When he saw her exquisite and refined cheeks, Zu An couldn''t help but be amazed by her beauty when her icy exterior melted.

    However, how could they have expected the sudden appearance of such an earache of a voice? Chu Chuyan was so frightened that she quickly stopped Zu An¡¯s mischievous hands. The room fell silent for a moment, and she feigned calm as she said, ¡°It is already veryte. Why has senior brothere to look for me?¡±

    Outside, Zhi Yin was overjoyed. In the past, Chu Chuyan had always been aloof and indifferent whenever she spoke to him, like the snow on the highest point of a mountain. And yet today, she wasn¡¯t as cold as she usually was, and there was even a hint of sweetnessing from her voice.

    Could it be that all of my efforts have finally resulted in an opening, that she¡¯s finally sensed my deep affection? he thought, quickly bing more enthusiastic as he continued, ¡°The weather today is not bad, so I came here to invite Fairy Chu to admire Violet Mountain¡¯s evening scenery.¡±

    He had arrived without much hope at all, but he strongly believed that if he didn¡¯t try, there would be a one hundred percent chance of failure. If he tried, no matter how small the chance was, it wouldn¡¯t necessarily be zero. Now, however, he had suddenly discovered that the chances of sess were gradually climbing.

    Just the thought of admiring the evening scenery with Chu Chuyan alone, and how the disciples of the other sects would cast countless looks of envy, made him feel as if he would explode from excitement.

    ¡°Ah!¡± A cry of rm emerged from inside.

    Zhi Yin was stunned. What¡¯s the meaning of ¡®ah¡¯? Is she agreeing or not? Furthermore, Fairy Chu¡¯s voice sounds a bit strange. It seems to be trembling a bit.

    ¡­

    Inside, Chu Chuyan was frantically pinching the man on top of her. This guy actually took the chance to bully me! She was caught so off guard that she had almost really embarrassed herself. However, Zu An didn¡¯t reply as he showered her in a storm of kisses.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s breath quickened greatly. She couldn''t help but lean backward and bite down on her lip, struggling to endure and trying her best to not make any sound.

    ¡°Fairy Chu, Fairy Chu?¡± Zhi Yin called out. When he heard no reactioning from inside at all, he began to panic. Could it be that Fairy Chu is changing and preparing to go out with me?

    ¡°Thank¡­ Thank you for your good intentions, senior brother. It is already dark and I have already headed to bed, so I will not be apanying¡­ senior brother,¡± Chu Chuyan stuttered from inside.

    Zhi Yin was a bit disappointed, but he became excited soon afterward, because Chu Chuyan was normally too cold and had never said such a long sentence to him at once before.

    It looks like her impression of me really is different! Also, her voice isn¡¯t as ice-cold as before, and there seems to be a bit of shyness¡­ Could it be that Fairy Chu really does feel something toward me now?

    She¡¯s probably just refusing me because of her reserved nature. Maybe she wants to use this chance to size me up?

    He put away his disappointed expression when he thought of that and said in a charming tone, ¡°As it is inconvenient for Fairy Chu, we can do this another day. Zhi Yin will not disturb you anymore.¡±

    He thought his bearing was absolutely perfect in terms of grace and elegance, and that he had definitely left her with a good impression. He immediately raised his chin and stuck out his chest when he thought of that. As he left, he looked like a proud rooster.

    Not long after he left, he bumped into someone. The other person called out in surprise, ¡°Zhi Yin?¡±

    ¡°Lou Wucheng?¡± Zhi Yin eximed. When he saw who it was, his expression turned grave.

    Lou Wucheng¡¯s master Li Changsheng was an elder of the White Jade Sect, as well as Sect Master Yan¡¯s senior. It was rumored that his cultivation was even a bit higher than Sect Master Yan¡¯s. In his younger years, he had let Yan Xuehen take the position was because he wasn¡¯t too interested in the management of the sect and secr affairs. He had chosen to focus on cultivating his Immortal Sword.

    Zhi Yin¡¯s own master Guan Chouhai was a rather prideful person, and he always showed disdain when some of the sect masters of the nine sects were mentioned. However, whenever Li Changsheng was brought up, his expression always turned grave, and he carried quite a bit of apprehension toward the Immortal Sword.

    Lou Wucheng was thest disciple of Li Changsheng, and it was rumored that he was already an inheritor of the Immortal Sword. He could contend for the number one spot among the daoist sects¡¯ younger generation.

    What made Zhi Yin even more unhappy was that this guy was quite handsome too. Even though Lou Wucheng¡¯s looks were a bit inferior, it was still enough to charm hundreds of women. Inparison to Zhi Yin, he had tanned skin and a more masculine build. People had always criticized Zhi Yin on those grounds, so he naturally treated Lou Wucheng as a formidable opponent.

    Furthermore, Lou Wucheng was Fairy Chu¡¯s proper senior brother. The two were from the same sect, so they had more chances to grow closer to each other than others. Just the thought of that alone drove Zhi Yin mad with jealousy.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    When he saw the direction Zhi Yin had emerged from, Lou Wucheng¡¯s expression became a bit unpleasant as he asked, ¡°What are you doing around my junior sister¡¯s courtyard sote at night?¡±

    ¡°Violet Mountain isn¡¯t your home; are you trying to tell me what to do?¡± Zhi Yin sneered. ¡°Furthermore, Fairy Chu isn¡¯t your junior sister alone. She also calls me senior brother.¡±

    Lou Wucheng glowered. His fingers unwittingly began to stroke the hilt of his sword.

    Zhi Yin¡¯s expression turned serious. He prepared himself while saying, ¡°What, do you want to fight? Others might fear your Immortal Sword, but I don¡¯t.¡±

    Lou Wucheng lowered his fingers from his sword and said, ¡°I¡¯ll definitely personally experience whether your sword is as formidable as your mouth during the greatpetition.¡±

    He knew Zhi Yin had quite the formidable reputation too. There was almost no chance of subduing him without causing a disturbance. With the great daoist sects¡¯petition imminent, Violet Mountain prohibited private battles. All those who vited the rule would lose their qualifications. He didn¡¯t want to do something rash and foolish now.

    Zhi Yin sneered and said, ¡°Likewise.¡±

    Lou Wucheng didn¡¯t pay him any more attention. He turned around and walked toward Chu Chuyan¡¯s courtyard.

    ¡°What are you going over there sote in the evening for?¡± Zhi Yin asked, suddenly panicking. Even though he didn¡¯t have any sort of rtionship with Chu Chuyan yet, he felt really unhappy seeing another man approach her.

    ¡°Do we martial siblings need an outsider like you toment on what we do?¡± Lou Wucheng retorted with a sneer.

    ¡°Martial siblings?¡± Zhi Yin sneered. ¡°She doesn¡¯t even want to live together with a senior brother like you. Do you really have no sense of tact?¡±

    Lou Wucheng choked. He quickly said, ¡°That¡¯s only because Sect Master Yan prefers peace and quiet, so that¡¯s why they are residing here alone. It doesn¡¯t have anything to do with little sister Chu.¡±

    ¡°I advise you not to go. Fairy Chu has already gone to bed. You¡¯ll just be wasting your time by going,¡± Zhi Yin said. He couldn''t help but carry a sliver of pride, as if he knew some great secret about Chu Chuyan.

    Lou Wucheng roared withughter and said mockingly, ¡°If a woman says she¡¯s going to sleep, isn¡¯t that just tactfully dealing with a fly? You even believed something like that?¡± Afterward, he walked over confidently.

    Zhi Yin¡¯s expression changed several times. Could it be that it really is what this guy said, that Fairy Chu was only saying that to half-heartedly chase me away? No, there¡¯s no way! Fairy Chu treats me differently from the others; there¡¯s no way that could be the case!

    However, he couldn''t bring himself to walk away. He decided to stick around and see how things ended up for Lou Wucheng.

    ¡­

    Inside the room, Zu An looked at the beauty beneath him with a mysterious expression, saying, ¡°You and that chicken¡­ Ahem, what kind of rtionship do you have with Zhi Yin? Why is heing to find you sote at night?¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s entire body trembled. This guy was teasing her in the way that annoyed her the most. However, she was worried that he would think strange things and exined, ¡°It¡¯s just that back then, I once paid the Heavenly Sorrow Sect a visit to deliver a letter. That was when I first met him. Back then, he always tried to find me for a conversation, but I never paid him much attention.¡± She breathed heavily as she spoke. Her face was a bright pink. Her beautiful eyes were half open, and her words were hard to make out.

    ¡°That¡¯s more like my obedient wife~¡± Zu An said, nodding in satisfaction. He lowered his head to kiss her again.

    Chu Chuyan groaned. She felt as if she had already forgotten the Snowke Sword she cultivated for all these years. There seemed to be a me burning inside of her, melting all the snow into water.

    Zu An suddenly frowned. However, Chu Chuyan was in a different ce mentally, so her reaction was a bit slower. She quietly asked, ¡°What is it?¡±

    Zu An nced toward the door. Soon afterward, Lou Wucheng called out, ¡°Junior sister~¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s beautiful brows furrowed. Even with her usual indifferent nature, she still couldn''t help but be a bit annoyed. Will this never end? Why do they keep bothering me at this kind of time? Still, she couldn''t just ignore him. She could only ask, ¡°Why are you here, senior brother?¡±

    Lou Wucheng¡¯s heart skipped a beat. He thought, Why does Chu Chuyan¡¯s voice sound so sweet and beautiful today? After he calmed down a bit, he said confidently, ¡°Junior sister, this Violet Mountain is known for its rich violet ki, which holds a lot of mysteries. Normally, even the great sects cannote here to explore this ce. We have managed to obtain the rare chance to be guests of Violet Mountain, so how about we look around? We might be able to find some of this ce¡¯s secrets.¡±

    He knew that with Chu Chuyan¡¯s personality, it wasn¡¯t too likely for her to agree to an evening date. But if he used the mysterious purple ki as the reason, not many cultivators would be able to refuse, especially someone like her who cared a lot about her mental strength.

    The rich violet ki only appeared when the rising sun emerged each day. That kind of investigation would mean that they would spend the night together. Even though nothing would happen, it would be very beneficial toward bringing their rtionship closer.

    ¡°Mmm~¡± A soft moan emerged from inside the room. It sounded really sweet and uncontroble, but also flustered and annoyed.

    ¡°So junior sister agrees?¡± Lou Wucheng asked, overjoyed. At the same time, he found it really strange.

    Why does junior sister¡¯s voice sound so strange? Could it be that something bad happened while cultivating?

    His thoughts didn¡¯t go anywhere else, because Chu Chuyan was usually incorruptible, like a fairy in the clouds. How could he possibly imagine that she was pressed beneath a man?

    A whileter, Chu Chuyan called out, ¡°I apologize, senior brother. I am cultivating, so I will not be going out.¡±

    Lou Wucheng sighed in relief. She was cultivating, as expected. He asked, ¡°Does junior sister need me to help with anything? Just now, your voice sounded as if there could be some danger of deviation.¡±

 Chapter 1621: Unjustified Enmity

    Chapter 1621: Unjustified Enmity

    ¡°I don¡¯t need your help!¡± Chu Chuyan quickly raised her voice, seemingly quite shaken up. She realized that it was quite different from how she usually spoke, so she continued, ¡°Actually, the Heavenly Sorrow Sect¡¯s Zhi Yin also arrived, and then you showed up as well, which caused some disruption in my mental state. If senior brother wishes to help me, then please leave as quickly as possible.¡± She seemed to be gritting her teeth and speaking with great difficulty.

    Lou Wucheng was stunned. He knew that Sect Master Yan¡¯s Unshakable Daoist Manual was a skill that would easily encounter trouble if one felt emotions too strongly. He quickly cupped his hands and said, ¡°So junior sister was cultivating! It is all that brat Zhi Yin¡¯s fault. Senior brother will deal with him now. We still have a lot of time, after all, so we can find a different day to explore this ce together.¡±

    He quickly left afterward. Zhi Yin, who was outside the courtyard, felt a bit nervous at first. However, when he saw Lou Wucheng emerge alone, he immediately felt much more confident.

    I knew Fairy Chu wouldn¡¯t follow any man out. Look, didn¡¯t you just end up embarrassing yourself?

    When he saw Lou Wucheng rush at him angrily, Zhi Yin couldn''t help but say smugly, ¡°Who was it who appeared to be making a solemn vow? And yet look at you now; you¡¯vee out all ashen-faced and alone.¡±

    ¡°You bastard, you actually have the nerve to say something like that?¡± Lou Wucheng cried, sending his fist directly at Zhi Yin. This guy had almost caused his junior sister to go through cultivation deviation!

    Zhi Yin erupted into fury, retorting, ¡°You¡¯re the one who messed up after shooting your mouth off; why are you venting your anger on me? Do you think I¡¯m scared of you?¡±

    The two of them quickly shed. Fortunately, both of them knew how far to go and only used their fists and feet without any ki. Otherwise, if others found out, their qualifications for the tournament would be endangered. However, after fighting for a while, they only got angrier. They unwittingly began to use theirbat skills.

    Suddenly, a voice chastised them, barking, ¡°What are you all doing? Cease at once!¡±

    Unfortunately, the two of them were already fullymitted. They were already at a point where they had to beat the living daylights out of the opponent even if they had to lose their qualifications.

    Suddenly, a cold harrumph resounded. It was as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over them. They saw a trace of white cloth sweep outward from the corners of their eyes, and they werepletely separated. Furthermore, in that instant, all of their meridians were frozen so they couldn''t keep fighting at all.

    Lou Wucheng was the first to recognize the person. He quickly said, ¡°I greet Sect Master Yan!¡±

    Only then did Zhi Yin notice that there was now a white-d woman in front of him. Even though she was masked, there seemed to be a dreamy halo surrounding her. He actually started to feel a hint of inferiority when he saw her. He said, ¡°This junior greets Sect Master Yan.¡±

    At the same time, he was horrified. Even though Yan Xuehen was known to be a grandmaster, the fact that she could stop the two of them with a single move was just too ridiculous, right? After all, whether it was Lou Wucheng or the younger generation¡¯s other most outstanding disciples, they wouldn¡¯t even lose against some of their elders, let alone with two of them at the same time!

    ¡°What are the two of you doing? Do you want to be disqualified from the Great Sects Competition?¡± Yan Xuehen snapped coldly. Her gazended on Lou Wucheng.

    She didn¡¯t really care about Zhi Yin, seeing as he was from Heavenly Sorrow Sect, but Lou Wucheng was the White Jade Sect¡¯s seeded yer. If he really ended up disqualified because of this, that would seriously harm the White Jade Sect.

    Other than when she was in front of Zu An, she actuallymanded a lot of respect. These two who considered themselves unequaled in the world didn¡¯t even dare to breathe too loudly before her.

    When she saw that the two of them remained silent, Yan Xuehen couldn''t help but call Lou Wucheng out, asking, ¡°Wucheng, why don¡¯t you tell me what happened?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s all his fault; he came in the middle of the night to disturb junior sister Chu. She was cultivating at the time, and she almost went through deviation because of him,¡± Lou Wucheng said, giving Zhi Yin a hateful re.

    Zhi Yin waspletely stupefied. He immediately retorted, ¡°Nonsense! Fairy Chu was clearly still fine when I left; it was you who went to disturb her. What are you ming me for?!¡±

    This thick-browed guy usually looks pretty honest. Why is he so shameless right now?

    The two were about to fight again when a white figure flickered away. Yan Xuehen was nowhere to be seen. Only a faint cold fragrance filled the evening air.

    Previously, Yan Xuehen had already started to panic. Wang Wuxie had made such a huge fuss when personallying down to Golden Peak. As one of the most influential individuals among the nine sects, how could she not know which person he was receiving?

    She hadn¡¯t expected that even though she had tried to avoid him and left Yi Commandery toe to Violet Mountain, he would follow right behind them! She couldn''t even shake him off. In that instant, she had even had a strange thought. Could it be that there really was some sort of great string of fate binding them together?n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Still, she had quickly stopped herself. In order to clear away her messy thoughts, she had found a quiet ce in Violet Mountain to meditate in. And yet, right after she finally got herself under control, she heard that had something happened to Chuyan. How could she not be shocked?

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, after Lou Wucheng left, Zu An asked unhappily, ¡°Why are there so many men looking for you in the middle of the night?¡±

    That chicken brother was one thing, but Lou Wucheng was also a disciple from the White Jade Sect, Chu Chuyan¡¯s proper senior brother. He was someone she likely interacted with quite a bit normally, so Zu An suddenly felt a sense of danger.

    ¡°How could I know they would suddenly go crazy today?¡± Chu Chuyan replied, then suddenly grinned. ¡°Actually, there have always been a lot of people pursuing me. If you don¡¯t treat me well, be careful or¡­ Ah!...¡± She quickly gave in and pleaded, ¡°I was joking! I normally only focus on cultivating! Other than you, I don¡¯t bother with anyone else!¡±

    Zu An finally felt a bit of satisfaction. In truth, he understood Chu Chuyan¡¯s nature better than anyone else. Just then, however, his instincts as a man made it so that he couldn''t help but assert his dominance on her body.

    Chu Chuyan sounded as if she held a small grudge as she said, ¡°Ah Zu, you hurt me just now.¡±

    ¡°Sorry,¡± Zu An said apologetically and gently kissed her. After the storm came warm sunlight.

    Chu Chuyan moaned, then wrapped herself tightly around her lover. After everything that had happened, she was already fully invested.

    Suddenly, Yan Xuehen hurriedly called out from outside, ¡°Chuyan, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Both people inside the room trembled. Chu Chuyan¡¯s entire body stiffened. As for Zu An, he couldn''t help but¡­

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s head wentpletely nk. She couldn''t help but let out a loud and clear cry like that of a phoenix.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression quickly changed multiple times. In the past, perhaps she would still have been a bit confused, but after that experience, how could she not know what was happening?

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +911 +911 +911¡­

    She didn¡¯t know why she was so angry either. Was she really angry for her disciple¡¯s sake, or was it for something else?

    ¡°How is junior sister (Fairy Chu)?¡± came two voices. As it happened, Lou Wucheng and Zhi Yin hadn¡¯t been in the mood to keep fighting once Yan Xuehen left. They had also been worried about Chu Chuyan, so they had followed along. Still, the two of them were much slower than Yan Xuehen and had only arrived now.

    ¡°Get lost!¡± Yan Xuehen yelled, her voice carrying the force of an unmelting avnche. With a wave of her hand, a powerful force swept outward, instantly sending both of them several li away.

    When they crawled back to their feet, both men were terrified and left in a sorry state. After all, even though Yan Xuehen was normally cold and aloof, she had always carried herself well. No one had ever even heard her speak any vulgar words, and yet now, she was clearly extremely angry. They naturally didn¡¯t dare to continue pushing their luck and could only return with heavy moods.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Chu Chuyan kneeled on the ground, looking embarrassed and ashamed as she asked Yan Xuehen for forgiveness. ¡°Master, I was wrong.¡±

    Yan Xuehen gave her a look. At that moment, Chu Chuyan¡¯s face waspletely red, and her normally neat and tidy hair was a mess. Her clothes had also been put on hastily, but she didn¡¯t look sloppy at all. On the contrary,pared to her usual cold appearance, she now had a hint ofzy charm. Even as a woman, Yan Xuehen was a bit moved. She had to admit that a beauty like this really was blessed by the world.

    Still, when she saw that Chu Chuyan¡¯s body was still shaking uncontrobly underneath her spacious clothes, and smelled the lingering scent in the air, she suddenly felt incredibly annoyed and frustrated but had nowhere to vent it. She hissed, ¡°Where is that Zu bastard? Why isn¡¯t heing out to meet me?!¡±

    Chu Chuyan still looked down in shame. She thought, How could Ah Zu possibly dare to stay behind? Wouldn¡¯t you tear him apart?

    But that rascal really did run quickly. I wonder if he even put his clothes on properly.

    Yan Xuehen was about to unleash another rebuke when she saw Chu Chuyan kneeling pitifully in front of her. Her eyelids couldn''t help but twitch. Even though she was angry, she still helped Chuyan back up and said, ¡°I know what you¡¯re usually like. It was probably that stinky brat who forced you. You should get some rest. I¡¯m going to find him and teach him a proper lesson.¡± She started to grit her teeth as she spoke.

    Chu Chuyan jumped up in rm. She knew her master¡¯s nature and was scared that Yan Xuehen would just kill Zu An out of anger. She quickly clung to her master¡¯s legs and said, ¡°Master, all of this was voluntary! It doesn¡¯t have anything to do with him!¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s face turned white and red. Countless thoughts surged within her. In the end, she sighed and said, ¡°What unjustified enmity!¡±

    Chu Chuyan was a bit confused, thinking, Why is this called unjustified enmity? However, when she thought about how her actions were practically inexcusable by the standards of the White Jade Sect, she didn¡¯t dare to say anything else.

    A whileter, Yan Xuehen looked at her disciple coldly and asked, ¡°Do you know why I disallowed you from staying with him for the time being?¡±

    ¡°Disciple knows that master was worried that my mood would change greatly, which would affect the Unshakable State and possibly cause me to lose to the Devil Sect¡¯s Saintess,¡± Chu Chuyan replied, a hint of guilt appearing in her eyes. She really had been too willful today and betrayed her master¡¯s expectations, as well as the White Jade Sect¡¯s nurturing.

    As if seeing through her thoughts, Yan Xuehen shook her head and said, ¡°Actually, it wouldn¡¯t even matter that much if you lost to the Devil Sect¡¯s Saintess. I don¡¯t care all that much about the White Jade Sect¡¯s prestige. However, even if you can lose to the Devil Sect¡¯s Saintess, you definitely can¡¯t lose to Qiu Honglei!¡±

 Chapter 1622: Rumors and Slander

    <h4>Chapter 1622: Rumors and nder</h4>

    ¡°Why?¡± Chu Chuyan asked. Perhaps due to the excitement she had just experienced, her thoughts were fuzzy. She had always thought that her battle with Qiu Honglei was tied to the pride of the White Jade Sect and the Devil Sect, to the extent that it even touched on the sh of good versus evil. As such, she didn¡¯t dare to treat the matter carelessly. However, who would have thought that her master would actually say that those things weren¡¯t important?

    ¡°Silly child,¡± Yan Xuehen said with a sigh. ¡°You know about Qiu Honglei¡¯s rtionship with Zu An too, don¡¯t you? If you lost to her, wouldn¡¯t you be beneath her for the rest of your life?¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s face reddened. She said weakly, ¡°I know Qiu Honglei, and I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be like that¡­¡±

    Her voice became softer and softer. She realized that emotions weren¡¯t something that followed logic at all. If she really lost to Qiu Honglei, perhaps she really wouldn¡¯t be able to raise her head ever again in front of her rival for the rest of her life. She would always be suppressed by Qiu Honglei¡­

    ¡°Even if Qiu Honglei doesn¡¯t understand that now, she will in the future,¡± Yan Xuehen said, giving her disciple a look. ¡°Furthermore, she is Yun Jianyue¡¯s disciple. Yun Jianyue has always wanted to climb atop me her entire life, but she has unfortunately never seeded. If there is a weakness to exploit in her disciple, she will definitely begin to provoke Qiu Honglei. She will only be able to satisfy thatughable desire for victory through her disciple suppressing mine.

    ¡°Yun Jianyue is the Devil Sect Master, so she has always achieved her goals through means fair or foul. Qiu Honglei is studying under her, so she will definitely use all kinds of methods to subdue you. She might even take your ce and make you serve her. Eventually, you might not even have the face to remain at Zu An¡¯s side anymore. Could it be that you really want things to reach that point?¡±

    The blush on Chu Chuyan¡¯s face disappeared, reced with an incredible pallor. She realized that such a situation really did have a high chance of happening.

    ¡°So, this battle is not for the White Jade Sect¡¯s sake, but rather for yours. And yet, for a moment of pleasure, you¡­ How could your master not be angry?¡± Yan Xuehen said resentfully. However, the one who angered her the most was still that rascal.You clearly promised me that you wouldn¡¯te and disturb Chuyan, and yet you went back on your word!

    ¡°Master, I know I was wrong,¡± Chu Chuyan said, taking a deep breath. Her expression gradually became steady as she continued, ¡°I won¡¯t meet with him again for the meantime, and will focus all of my attention on thepetition.¡±

    Yan Xuehen nodded in appreciation and said, ¡°As long as you understand. With your intelligence and cultivation, it will not be toote even though you have only realized this now.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, master,¡± Chu Chuyan said, although she felt a bit strange. Her master was really different from before. In the past, she definitely wouldn¡¯t have cared about such romantic matters. But now, her master was giving advice for her future battles in the harem?

    However, when she saw that her master was still angry, she didn¡¯t dare to keep asking about such things. Inwardly, she was still really moved.Master probably really sees me as a daughter. That must be why she¡¯s thinking about things in such detail for my sake.

    When she saw Chu Chuyan recover her usual calm, Yan Xuehen felt relieved. When she looked at the messy bedding and smelled the lingering scent in the air, she felt a bit too embarrassed to stay. She thus left with a scowl.

    Chu Chuyan was left in the room alone with her hands covering her face. She murmured, ¡°Ah¡­ that was so embarrassing¡­¡± When she thought about being seen by her master, she wanted dig a hole in the ground with her toes out of embarrassment.

    ¡­

    As Yan Xuehen left the room, she resembled a white cloud. She quickly arrived outside Zu An¡¯s residence and said coldly, ¡°Mister Zu, get out here right now.¡±

    ¡°Who dares to speak such words of disrespect toward our General Zu?!¡± Zhang Zijiang eximed, thinking to himself,What a great opportunity to get on Zu An¡¯s good side!He excitedly picked up his weapon and ran out, making sure that Zu An could hear his expression of loyalty. And yet, before he could even see who the enemy was, he saw a white blur in front of him. Then, his body rolled back into his room and he fainted on the spot.

    The other soldiers in the rooms were a step toote. They just happened to see an exceptional beauty gently wave her sleeve, and were horrified. However, as they still had their duty to carry out, they still mustered the courage to raise their des. Unfortunately, all of their hands trembled.

    ¡°Ahem, it doesn¡¯t have anything to do with you guys. All of you can return, ¡±Zu An said just then, emerging and sending the soldiers back.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The soldiers felt as if they received a great pardon. When they returned to their rooms, they were all filled with admiration.As expected of Sir Zu! He¡¯s able to remain calm andposed even in front of a woman with such terrifying strength! He really is profound and unfathomable.

    When the others returned to their room, Zu An greeted Yan Xuehen. ¡°Big sis Yan, it has been a long time, but your grace is still as elegant as before.¡±

    Yan Xuehen retorted coldly, ¡°Who is your big sis?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +444 +444 +444¡­

    Zu An didn¡¯t feel embarrassed at all as he replied, ¡°You, of course. I still can¡¯t forget the scene of how we fought side by side back then¡­¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯te here to reminisce about the past,¡± Yan Xuehen said, directly interrupting him. This rascal never had anything good to say. Who knew what he was really talking about when he said ¡®battle¡¯? She retorted, ¡°You know what you did, and yet you still have the guts to face me right now?¡±

    Zu An lookedpletely innocent as he asked, ¡°What did I do? I¡¯ve been here the entire time. Is there some kind of misunderstanding? Big sis Yan, if you don¡¯t believe me, you can ask anyone here.¡±

    Yan Xuehen sneered. ¡°Oh? Then what you are saying is that another man stormed into Chu Chuyan¡¯s room?¡±

    Zu An was speechless.This woman normally looks as if she doesn¡¯t care about anything, and yet she¡¯s so fierce when she attacks.

    Seeing as it was now rted to Chuyan¡¯s reputation, he had to admit, ¡°Uh¡­ it was my fault earlier. But I didn¡¯t know that you would just happen toe back at that time either.¡±

    ¡°Oh? So it¡¯s my fault in the end?¡± Yan Xuehen retorted, so angry that she was brought toughter.

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +518 +518 +518¡­

    ¡°That¡¯s not what I¡¯m saying. But seeing as Chuyan and I are married to begin with, even if we get a bit worked up, it¡¯s not some unforgivable thing, right?¡± Zu An replied helplessly.

    ¡°The two of you have already divorced,¡± Yan Xuehen corrected Zu An, leaving him speechless. However, she felt that pretext was a bit of a stretch, so she could only continue, ¡°You clearly promised me that you wouldn¡¯t approach her for some time as it would affect her condition. Could it be that you actually want that Devil Sect witch to win instead, so you¡¯re deliberately messing with Chuyan?¡±

    ¡°Of course not!¡± Zu An quickly exined, ¡°I just¡­ just couldn''t hold back my emotions.¡±

    ¡°Couldn¡¯t hold back your emotions¡­¡± Yan Xuehen felt all sorts of things when she heard those words. When she finally sorted out her thoughts, she said, ¡°On top of that, you actually bullied Chuyan while Lou Wucheng and Zhi Yin were outside. Do you realize that Chuyan¡¯s reputation will bepletely ruined if this is exposed?¡±

    Zu An was left in an awkward position. He really had acted a bit too impulsively back then.

    Yan Xuehen also felt a bit strange discussing such things. She said with an unnatural expression, ¡°I came to once again warn you not to disturb Chuyan again. Otherwise, don¡¯t me me for breaking all ties with you.¡± She didn¡¯t wait for him to respond and flew away.

    ¡­

    Zu An was a bit annoyed at first. Suddenly, however, he realized something and a smile spread across his face.

    When Zu An returned to his room, Xie Daoyun emerged, looking worried and wrapped only in a coat. She asked, ¡°Big brother Zu, what did Sect Master Yan say to you? The pressure she gave off just then was so scary!¡±

    Zu An¡¯s conversation with Yan Xuehen had been blocked off by a powerful wall of energy. No one apart from them had been able to hear what they were saying.

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s nothing; it was just a bit of a misunderstanding. Things have already been cleared up.¡±

    Xie Daoyun was really impressed, saying, ¡°Big brother Zu, you¡¯re so amazing! You¡¯re able to remain calm even in front of an angry grandmaster! There¡¯s no way I could do something like that.¡±

    ¡°For better or for worse, Sect Master Yan and I are acquaintances. It¡¯s different from when you faced the libationer,¡± Zu An said to console her, then said, ¡°Alright, you should go to sleep. It¡¯s already quitete.¡±

    He noticed that his bed was still neat and orderly, which meant that she hadn¡¯t actually gone to sleep. He knew she was shy, so he didn¡¯t force the issue. Furthermore, now that he had returned, it would seem a bit suspicious for him to call her over to sleep in his bed. He was worn out from constantly running back and forth, and the great battle he had just experienced with Chuyan. Thus, he was fast asleep as soon as he hit the bed.

    Xie Daoyun was in the room right next to him. As she heard his breathing, she found it hard to fall asleep.

    ¡­

    Another night quickly passed just like that. However, the next day, all sorts of rumors suddenly spread all across Violet Mountain. All of them said that the White Jade Sect¡¯s Fairy Chu had actually already gotten married before, and her husband was Zu An, who was currently on the mountain. The stories were told in vivid detail, shattering countless people¡¯s hearts. All of Violet Mountain was thrown into amotion.

 Chapter 1623: Disturbance

    <h4>Chapter 1623: Disturbance</h4>

    ¡°Have you heard? The White Jade Sect¡¯s Fairy Chu actually got married before!¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no way that¡¯s true, right? She looks so aloof and extraordinary like a goddess, and yet she¡¯s already a madam?¡±

    ¡°She looks so pure and incorruptible normally. I hadn¡¯t expected her to have lost her maidenhood a long time ago.¡±

    ¡°You really can know someone for a long time without knowing their true nature¡­ She looks so proud and cold on the surface, but she might have already done all kinds of things with her man behind the scenes.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s probably just nder, right? I don¡¯t believe that such a lofty and unsullied fairy would be that kind of woman.¡±

    ¡°You can deceive others, but please don¡¯t deceive yourself. I have a friend from the White Jade Sect who has reliable news. Fairy Chu indeed got married before she entered White Jade Sect.¡±

    ¡°Ah¡­ My heart is about to break.¡±

    ¡­

    Zhang Zijang proudly reported the news to Zu An early in the morning. ¡°Sir Zu, I thought that you were profound and unfathomable before, but today, I must truly prostrate myself in admiration toward you! Even a goddess such as Miss Chu from the White Jade Sect was actually your woman! My respect for Sir Zu gushes forth relentlessly like a river¡­¡±

    ¡°Sir Zhang, you already recovered from being knocked out by Sect Master Yan so quickly?¡± Xie Daoyun asked when she saw Zu An¡¯s expression growing more and more unpleasant, quickly stopping him from saying any more.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, I¡¯m tougher than I look. If I hadn¡¯t gone out too quickly without trying to evade, not even Sect Master Yun would be able to make me faint so easily,¡± Zhang Zijiang said without even feeling the slightest bit of shame.

    Zu An asked, his expression darkening, ¡°Is that what everyone outside is talking about?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not everyone,¡± Zhang Zijiang began. He thought to himself for a bit and said, ¡°Some people are loyal supporters of Fairy Chu and feel that these things are all just rumors. Some people stepped forward and exined that Fairy Chu actually only married you in name and that they weren¡¯t truly husband and wife. Not long after you got married, you were captured by the court, while Fairy Chu was taken in as a disciple by the White Jade Sect. The two of you had already been divorced by then. In my opinion, those people really don¡¯t know anything. How could they understand Sir Zu¡¯s charms? How could the two of you only be husband and wife in name?¡±

    ¡°Sir Zhang!¡± Xie Daoyun cried as she saw Zu An¡¯s expression grow darker and darker. She couldn''t help but warn Zhang Zijiang not to continue.

    Zhang Zijiang was stunned. Then, a ¡®knowing¡¯ expression appeared on his face. He was talking about another woman in front of Lady Xie, so of course she wouldn¡¯t be too happy about that.

    Zu An felt as if his lungs were about to explode. He naturally didn¡¯t feel that his rtionship with Chu Chuyan was anything embarrassing. However, for this information to be exposed at the present time, it was clear that the one who had started it had impure motives.

    People loved gossip, and once gossip started, it was easy to add fuel to the me. A single mistake and Chu Chuyan¡¯s reputation would bepletely ruined. Furthermore, her battle with Qiu Honglei would happen soon. If she ended up being affected by this situation, things would be really troublesome. Furthermore, the Unshakable Daoist Manual she cultivated had all kinds of restrictions too.

    When Zu An thought about those things, he couldn''t just stay still anymore. In a sh, he rushed toward the White Jade Sect¡¯s courtyard.

    ¡°Who is that Zu An? He was actually Fairy Chu¡¯s man? I really envy every single moment of his life¡­¡±

    ¡°You still don¡¯t know? He¡¯s an important official of the court. The State Teacher even came out personally to wee him a few days ago.¡±

    ¡°Damn it! It seems even an eminent and unapproachable goddess in our eyes is nothing more than a toy in the hands of those with authority.¡±

    Discussions filled the air all around Zu An. He thought,It seems the way young people think is simr no matter where you go¡­

    However, he wouldn¡¯t stoop so low as to fight with ordinary people. He headed straight for Chu Chuyan¡¯s courtyard in rm. Right as he approached, he saw Yan Xuehene out.

    When she saw him, Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression darkened as she snapped, ¡°You still have the nerve toe here? Did you forget what I told you yesterday?¡±

    Zu An panicked and said, ¡°Big sis Yan, I didn¡¯te here to anger you on purpose. It¡¯s just that I heard too many rumors surrounding Chuyan and was worried that something would happen to her. That¡¯s why I came here to take a look.¡±

    ¡°Did you spread those rumors on purpose to confirm your rtionship?¡± Yan Xuehen asked, staring at him.

    Zu An sighed and asked, ¡°Big sis Yan, could it be that I¡¯m such a disgraceful and shameless person in your eyes?¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression eased a bit as she replied, ¡°You are disgraceful and shameless, but I believe that you weren¡¯t the one who did this.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.Are you praising me or cursing me here?n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Chuyan is tougher than you think. Her only weakness is you. Rumors spread by others won¡¯t be able to affect her,¡± Yan Xuehen said calmly.

    ¡°Can I meet with her?¡± Zu An asked worriedly.

    ¡°Meeting her will only cause her emotions to stir, so it¡¯s better if she remains alone,¡± Yan Xuehen said bluntly. ¡°Don¡¯t forget what I told you yesterday.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed several times. In the end, he could only sit down on the steps in frustration.

    When she saw his dispirited appearance, Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression shifted a bit. After a moment, she asked, ¡°Do you have any idea just who spread these rumors?¡±

    Zu An shook his head. He looked really puzzled as he replied, ¡°There aren¡¯t many who know about my rtionship with Chuyan, and practically none of them are here on Violet Mountain. I really can¡¯t be sure who did this. But I do have a suspicion¡­¡±

    Then, he told her about the two mysterious waves of killing intent and the warning Chuyan had received on the slip of paper from the previous night.

    Yan Xuehen said grimly, ¡°I believe the one who left that message for Chuyan is the same as the one who spread the message. The other party is not only aware that you and Chuyan were married, but they also know that the two of you still share feelings. That is why they tried to send Chuyan to catch¡­ hmph, catch a vixen.[1]</a>¡±

    Zu An rolled his eyes, saying, ¡°Lady Xie and I are innocent. I don¡¯t care too much about myself, but aren¡¯t you tarnishing her reputation by saying that?¡±

    Yan Xuehen thought,You¡¯re defending her right now, and yet you still im you¡¯re innocent?!

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +66 +66 +66¡­

    Zu An was stunned.What did she suddenly get angry for?

    However, after ¡®that¡¯ had happened, it was to be expected that Yan Xuehen was angry. Zu An said, ¡°I was the one being careless that night and didn¡¯t think of this possibility.¡±

    Yan Xuehen suddenly said, ¡°Why do I have a feeling that a certain female friend of yours is doing this out of jealousy?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face heated up. He had actually suspected that at first too, but it hadn¡¯t seemed that usible when he thought about it. None of his female friends were here, and it couldn''t be Xie Daoyun, could it?

    Yan Xuehen opened her mouth. She wanted to say that this style was a bit simr to Yun Jianyue¡¯s. But Yun Jianyue was a senior and not one of his girls, so there was no reason for her to do something so senseless.

    ¡­

    Achoo!

    Meanwhile, in Emptiness Isle¡¯s courtyard, Yun Jianyue sneezed. She said with a smile, ¡°That stone cold woman is definitely pissed off right now! Even though I can¡¯t see it myself, just thinking about it makes me feel great.¡±

    Inside the same room, Qiu Honglei said a bit worriedly, ¡°Master, isn¡¯t this a bit too much? It¡¯s too shameless.¡±

    ¡°Hey, youngdy, aren¡¯t you making a mistake here? We¡¯re the Devil Sect witches! Aren¡¯t we supposed to be despicable?¡± Yun Jianyue retorted, rolling her eyes.

    Qiu Honglei said somewhat awkwardly, ¡°But this willpletely offend Chu Chuyan¡­ how are we supposed to live together in the future? Furthermore, if Ah Zu finds out, he¡¯ll definitely me me.¡±

    Yun Jianyue harrumphed. ¡°You still want to have a good rtionship with her? The two of you are inplete opposition against each other. Could it be that you want to y a game of fake sistership?¡± She gave her disciple a serious look and continued, ¡°Only one of you has to be the winner, while the other can only bow down as the loser. I definitely don¡¯t want the loser to be you.¡±

    If she bes the loser, then what will I be?She chased that thought away as soon as it appeared.Hmph, I¡¯m only doing this for my silly disciple¡¯s sake.

    Qiu Honglei muttered, ¡°Why do I feel as if master cares more about the harem¡¯s struggles than even I do?¡±

    ¡°What did you say?¡± Yun Jianyue snapped, raising a brow.

    ¡°Nothing,¡± Qiu Honglei quickly answered. She grabbed her master¡¯s arm and said, ¡°But master! Isn¡¯t the highest level of charm techniques about seizing the heart of a man? If I fight with Chu Chuyan like this, I¡¯ll only make Ah Zu feel disgusted with me if I go too far. Even if I win, what meaning will there be left?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll deal with that brat. Either way, I was the one who did all this. If he wants to me someone, he can just me me,¡± Yun Jianyue said proudly. Inwardly, however, she was a bit worried. She had indeed gone a bit too far this time.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in Jadefall Pce¡¯s courtyard, Pei Mianman finished her cultivation for the day. She looked out the window at the gossiping disciples and couldn''t help but ask curiously, ¡°Master, what are those disciples chatting about? It seems to be noisier than usual today.¡± In order to satisfy her master¡¯s wishes, she had spent all her time cultivating bitterly. She didn¡¯t know what was happening outside at all.

    Elder Huo Ling waved her hand, and a wave of energy shut out the outside world. She said coldly, ¡°Just some senseless things not worth mentioning. Compared to those chief disciples, you have a disadvantage in terms of cultivation time, so you need to seize the time before the great battles. You are almost at your bottleneck, so you cannot ck off.¡±

    ¡°Okay,¡± Pei Mianman replied with a nod. She wiped away the fine sweat from her chest.

    I definitely can¡¯t lose to Chuyan¡­

    As the disturbance continued to get more and more intense, the nine daoist sects¡¯ greatpetition drew near.

 Chapter 1624: Uproar

    <h4>Chapter 1624: Uproar</h4>

    Even though the drama surrounding Fairy Chu was quite intense, the Great Sects Competition was more important. The disciples who were qualified toe with their seniors to Violet Mountain were either outstanding individuals handpicked by their sects, or they were reserve forces the sect considered to have great potential and sent to gain experience. Regardless of which kind of disciple they were, they cared a lot about thepetition.

    Today was to be the first day of thepetition. The matches would ur on Violet Mountain¡¯s main peak, Crouching Tiger Mountain¡¯s Golden Peak. The reason it was called Golden Peak was that whenever the sun came out and the sunlight scattered across the mountain, the entire mountaintop would be tinted gold, creating a beautiful sight. Additionally, unlike most mountaintops, Golden Peak had a wide, t teau rather than a normal pointed peak. Apart from the Pure Sun Pce Wang Wuxie lived in and some other important buildings of the sect, it held arge za that could be used for martial arts.

    Normally, Golden Peak was a restricted area in the Righteous Sun Sect. Only the sect master and the elders of the great peaks, as well as certain important inheritors, could enter freely. The other disciples could only go there briefly during important ceremonies. The reason for that was because, apart from looking golden, Golden Peak had another special use; rich violet ki filled the entire ce at sunrise, which was extremely beneficial to cultivation. Such a precious cultivation resource naturally couldn''t be unconditionally released to the public. For example, even though disciples had gathered from many different ces for the Great Sects Competition, they still hadn¡¯t been able to enter the peak at sunrise.

    Today, however, as the Great Sects Competition that happened only once every ten years finally began, the Righteous Sun Sect opened Golden Peak up for the first time, using it as the location of thepetition.

    The disciples of the different sects were naturally extremely excited. They began to use their own cultivation skills to greedily absorb the rich violet ki around them. Their spirits all felt extremely refreshed, and their cultivation progressed many times more quickly than usual. They were all overjoyed, wondering just how shocking their cultivation would grow if they could cultivate here long-term.

    The sect masters and elders were also filled with admiration for the mysterious violet ki around them. They thought to themselves,This Wang Wuxie really is quite generous, actually letting us all enjoy this ce.

    ¡­

    Zu An said to Xie Daoyun, ¡°Little sis Ling¡¯er, you should look around to see if there are any formations while everyone¡¯s distracted.¡±

    They hadn¡¯t found anything when they looked around together, but they hadn¡¯t gotten a chance to visit a restricted area such as Golden Peak then. At present, the sects¡¯ disciples were all focused on absorbing the violet ki, inevitably leading to some disorganization. It was the perfect opportunity for Xie Daoyun to look around without being noticed. Thus, Xie Daoyun voiced her agreement and quietly blended into the crowd.

    Zu An began to absorb the surrounding violet ki to see what it was all about, and he was soon stunned. This violet ki was extremely simr to his primordial ki, but it was much thinner. Even so, it was still much higher-quality than normal ki. No wonder everyone present looked so infatuated.

    In the Heavenly Sorrow Sect¡¯s group, Guan Chouhai couldn''t help but give hiscent disciple a look, saying, ¡°Zhi Yin, the great battle is about to begin, and yet you still look so dispirited. It is just a woman; is there a need to go that far?¡±

    At the moment, Zhi Yin was no longer in his previous high spirits. He even had a thinyer of unshaven stubble growing on his chin. That was somethingpletely unheard of for someone such as him, who cared a lot about his appearance. Additionally, his eyes were strangely unfocused.

    Guan Chouhai was a grandmaster, so he naturally knew that one¡¯s vitality was the best reflection of one¡¯s strength and condition. Zhi Yin likely wasn¡¯t even at seventy percent of his best condition. He would definitely pay the price for that during the greatpetition. And yet, Zhi Yin was the seeded yer of Heavenly Sorrow Sect, someone who represented their sect¡¯s pride. How could Guan Chouhai not be worried?

    Zhi Yin said helplessly, ¡°That¡¯s easy for master to say. If you found out that Sect Master Yan actually had a man, I don¡¯t believe you could remain that calm either.¡±

    The surrounding disciples were all shocked. They thought to themselves,Has Zhi Yin gone mad? He actually dares to speak like this to the sect master?

    However,Guan Chouhai didn¡¯t get angry and simplyughed, saying, ¡°Fairy Yan is different from other women. She is a cold and aloof woman who seems to havee from the starry streams of heaven; why would she like a man from the secr world? If there really were a man for her in this world, it would be none other than me, Guan Chouhai.¡±

    Zhi Yin rolled his eyes. He really didn¡¯t even feel like retorting anymore.Master, just where do you get your confidence from?

    Guan Chouhai patted his shoulder to encourage him. Then, he nced at the nearby Zhao Xiaodie and asked, ¡°What is wrong with you, Xiaodie?¡±

    Zhao Xiaodie was rmed. She forced a smile and said, ¡°Something¡¯s wrong with me? Not at all.¡±

    ¡°Not at all?¡± Guan Chouhai sneered. ¡°You have been acting strange for a few days. Compared to how you usually are, aren¡¯t you a bit too quiet? Sometimes, it almost looks as if you are shedding silent tears, while other times, you have a dumb smile on your face, as if someone broke you.¡±

    ¡°Master~¡± Zhao Xiaodie cried, feeling extremely embarrassed. However, the memory of Zu An beating her viciously couldn''t help but appear in her mind again. Her legs couldn''t help but close tightly.

    ¡°All of you had better readjust your condition quickly. The greatpetition will begin soon. Your matches during the first day should not be too hard, so use this chance to the fullest,¡± Guan Chouhai said, his smile fading. Apart from Zhi Yin, Zhao Xiaodie was the second most important disciple to him. Furthermore, it was because of her special identity that he cared more about her than others. And yet, they had both ended up like this somehow. If he didn¡¯t know any better, he would almost have thought that they had recently broken up or something.

    ¡°Understood!¡± both disciples replied. Even though Guan Chouhai was rather tolerant, he was still quite frightening whenever he became upset. The two of them could only force themselves to focus.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, within Jadefall Pce¡¯s ranks, Wan Guiyi retracted his gaze and said with a sneer, ¡°Heavenly Sorrow Sect¡¯s Zhi Yin has such a huge reputation, and yet all I see is trash. On top of that, the White Jade Sect¡¯s Lou Wucheng looks half dead too. I refuse to believe that a swordsman can be anything special if they¡¯re in low spirits, even if he has his Immortal Sword.¡±

    Wan Tongtian said seriously, ¡°The two of them seem to have suffered an extreme emotional blow recently, but you cannot be careless. It is not entirely impossible that this might end up being an opportunity for them. It would be one thing if they remain trapped by their feelings, but if they break free, they might reach a higher level.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just a woman, and yet they look as if they¡¯re about to die. How can women be as interesting as cultivation?¡± Wan Guiyi remarked disdainfully. ¡°The ssics have stated that when you cultivate the sword, the first thing you need to sever is love. If you don¡¯t have a woman in your heart, your sword will be divine!¡±

    Elder Huo Lingughed coldly and remarked with a furious expression, ¡°Not bad, Mister Wan. So this is the kind of thing you taught him all this time? So that is what you thought back then.¡± Next to her, Pei Mianman¡¯s expression didn¡¯t look much better; she was also a woman after all.

    Wan Guiyi harrumphed. He looked away and ignored her. As a son, he naturally didn¡¯t carry any good impression of this woman who was rumored to have been his mother¡¯s love rival.

    On the other hand, Wan Tongtian quickly apologized while wiping some cold sweat. He said, ¡°Junior sister, I really did not teach him that way. This child has be so extreme that I am even a bit worried that he might end up alone his entire life and end my lineage entirely.¡±

    ¡°You should have been the one to do that,¡± Elder Huo Ling retorted as a parting shot, then dragged her disciple off to the other side of the group.

    Wan Tongtian was left all alone in the wind.

    ¡­

    Elsewhere, two monks, one old and one young, silently watched everything that was happening. The chubby little monk said with a sigh of amazement, ¡°The daoist sects are so lively! Every single one has so many powerful people. Master, do you think it¡¯s because they¡¯re allowed to have wives and get married?¡±

    The old monk struck his head with a wooden fish and retorted, ¡°Are you saying that you want us Buddhists to allow marriages and children too?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant. I was just wondering what Sect Master Wan meant when he talked about ending their lineage,¡± the chubby little monk asked curiously.

    ¡°It refers to not having a wife and fathering a son, leaving no one to carry on your ancestral line. At that point, you will naturally be without any sessor,¡± the old monk exined.

    The chubby little monk voiced his surprise, asking, ¡°Then, doesn¡¯t that mean every single person in our Buddhist sect is going to have their lineage ended?¡±

    The old monk¡¯s breath stopped for a moment, and only after a while did he exhale, saying, ¡°Jie Se, you are quite intelligent, as expected.¡±

    The two monks were naturally Tranquility Temple¡¯s Master Jian Huang and the little monk Jie Se.

    ¡°I think so too,¡± the chubby little monk said, sticking out his chest. ¡°Master, what do you think about women?¡±

    ¡°Jie Se, that is not something you should be concerned with,¡± the old monk said seriously. ¡°You only need to remember that women are like tigers, that¡¯s all.¡±

    The chubby little monk grumbled, ¡°Tigers eat people; don¡¯t tell me women do too? Their mouths are so small, so how can they even eat that?¡±

    What he got in return was another strike from the rod. The old monk sounded a bit angry as he remarked, ¡°Just what kind of nonsense do you think all day long?¡±

    The little novice monk looked at him with a simple and honest expression, saying, ¡°Master, I feel that you are the one whose thinking has deviated.¡±

    The old monk was stunned. Then, he brought his hands together and said, ¡°Amitabha Buddha, I havemitted a sin.¡±

    ¡­

    After the disruption caused by so many people trying to make the most out of the violet ki, Wang Wuxie saw that it was about time and stepped forward. He didn¡¯t even have to say a word for everyone present to calm down. All of them felt a mysterious pressure that made them reflexively fall silent.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The sect masters of the other sects frowned slightly. Wang Wuxie¡¯s cultivation seemed to have advanced again. Clearly, Violet Mountain was a precious ce, as expected.

    ¡°The sects should already have emphasized to all of you what the significance and reward of thispetition are, so I will waste no time on repeating that. I will only reaffirm one thing. Any act intended to take another¡¯s life will result in immediate disqualification,¡± Wang Wuxie said. His voice wasn¡¯t that loud, but those present all heard him extremely clearly.

    Wan Guiyi suddenly said, ¡°Thepetition ought to be one where everyone goes all out. des don¡¯t have eyes, after all, so how can a judgment be made if someone unintentionally wounds their opponent?¡±

    All of the disciples felt admiration inwardly. This guy actually dared to directly challenge Wang Wuxie! Just where did he get the guts to do so?

    Jie Se, the little monk, said with a sigh of amazement, ¡°Master, that person is really fierce.¡±

    Master Jian Huang didn¡¯t respond to him at all. He only closed his eyes while muttering the sutras, as if he needed to purify the impure thoughts he had just had.

    Wang Wuxie gave Wan Guiyi a deep look, then replied, ¡°There is no need for everyone to worry about that. I have invited sect masters and elders to serve as judges. Apart from that, I have even invited Tranquility Temple¡¯s prestigious Master Jian Huang to serve as a witness. Also¡­¡± His expression suddenly became a bit unnatural as he said, ¡°We also have the court¡¯s Sir Zu as a special honored guest. Together, we should be sufficiently capable of judging the fairness of every fight.¡±

    As soon as he said those words, the ce immediately erupted into amotion again.

 Chapter 1625: I Will Testify

    <h4>Chapter 1625: I Will Testify</h4>

    After all, mere moments before, Wang Wuxie had introduced the White Jade Sect¡¯s Yan Xuehen and Elder Li, the Heavenly Sorrow Sect¡¯s Guan Chouhai, Jadefall Pce¡¯s Pce Master Wan Tongtian and Elder Huo Ling, the Kunlun Void Sect¡¯s¡­ Which one of them wasn¡¯t extraordinary? Among them, only Emptiness Isle¡¯s Elder Peng wasn¡¯t very famous. However, as someone who was capable enough to be a sect elder, she was definitely extraordinary in her own right. Apart from that, Tranquility Temple¡¯s Master Jian Huang was a legendary figure too. Strictly speaking, quite a few of the daoist sects¡¯ upper level figures were his juniors. And yet, a brat like Zu An had ended up being mentioned on the same level as them?

    Furthermore, just two days prior, it had been exposed that he and Fairy Chu had previously been husband and wife, making him the target of many people¡¯s envy. This time, he had even be an esteemed guest judge! It was like adding a drop of water to a pot of oil, making it explode.

    ¡­

    Zu An looked at the explosive amount of Rage points that rushed in. He thought to himself,If Yan Xuehen¡¯s rtionship with me were revealed now, would the Rage points double?

    However, when he thought about how these sect masters had been Yan Xuehen¡¯s pursuers for so many years, and that he wouldn¡¯t necessarily be able to leave the mountain alive if they found out, he could only give up on that thought.

    Amid Emptiness Isle¡¯s ranks, Qiu Honglei secretly tugged on Yun Jianyue¡¯s sleeves and said, ¡°Master, the rumors we spread a few days ago have already gone into effect. Ah Zu is now a public enemy and hated by everyone. Will he be in danger?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he¡¯s the court¡¯s Imperial Envoy right now. Whether it¡¯s Wang Wuxie or the other sect masters, none of them would dare to let anything happen to him,¡± Yun Jianyue said. She paused for a moment, then added, ¡°Furthermore, even if they didn¡¯t bother, not even all of these youngsters added up together would be a match for him.¡±

    Qiu Honglei sighed in relief when she heard that. At the same time, she found it a bit strange. Why did she feel as if her master had more confidence in Ah Zu than she did?

    ¡­

    Over on Jadefall Pce¡¯s side, Pei Mianman¡¯s eyes shone brightly. She had never expected to run into Ah Zu here!The heavens have really pitied me! Is this the so-called ¡®decree of fate¡¯?

    Elder Huo Ling noticed her disciple¡¯s excitement and asked in confusion, ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I just got a bit excited when I thought about the uingpetition,¡± Pei Mianman said. She didn¡¯t dare to tell the truth. She knew that her master hated men due to her past trauma. If she told her master about her rtionship with Ah Zu, it could cause quite the dispute.

    Suddenly, a tall figure stood up from the Heavenly Sorrow Sect¡¯s side and protested, ¡°I¡¯m opposed to this!¡±

    The eyes of many female disciples lit up as they thought,This senior brother is so handsome!

    After asking around, they quickly learned that he was none other than the glorious Zhi Yin. Furthermore, he had been left in a very dispirited state because of the rumors surrounding Chu Chuyan. They all felt heartbroken.Big brother Zhi Yin, hurry ande into my arms!

    At the same time, they were really upset.Isn¡¯t Chu Chuyan too scheming? She¡¯s clearly already been married, and yet she always pretends to be some pure youngdy, seducing all of the sects¡¯ young men.

    Chu Chuyan was famous for being the idol of the daoist sects. Many martial brothers liked her. Normally, because Chuyan was just too beautiful and she carried herself like an immortal, everyone else simply felt a bit ashamed of their inferiority. Now that they knew that she had been married, however, all of them suddenly gained confidence. Ignoring everything else, at least they were still virgins, right? At least they had that edge over her. Once they got the impression that they were at the same starting line, they all began to hate Chu Chuyan out of envy.

    ¡°What are you opposed to?¡± Wang Wuxie asked, his expression turning a bit unpleasant. He was being interrupted by these juniors one after another!Do you think I don¡¯t care about dignity?

    Zhi Yin took a deep breath, then pointed at Zu An and said, ¡°All of the others are seniors of virtue and prestige in the world of warriors, so we naturally ept them wholeheartedly as judges of this great daoistpetition. But Zu An isn¡¯t even as old as us, and his cultivation seems ordinary. How can he stand side by side with the seniors and be a judge?¡±

    ¡°I agree!¡± Lou Wucheng added as he suddenly stood up. ¡°I feel that Zu Ancks the qualifications to act as a judge of thispetition.¡±

    Previously, he had always been annoyed whenever he saw Zhi Yin¡¯s pretty boy face. Today, he actually felt a bit of admiration for the other man¡¯s courage.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zhi Yin also gave him a look, thinking to himself,Why do I suddenly find the sight of him so pleasing?The two of them even felt as if they were kindred spirits.

    The White Jade Sect¡¯s Elder Li secretly frowned. He naturally knew that his disciple liked this junior sister of his, but he hadn¡¯t expected that Lou Wucheng would act out of jealousy in his love rivalry. He couldn''t help but feel a bit disappointed. Of course, he knew having some kind of drive was important when cultivating the Immortal Sword, so he couldn''t really speak up and decrease his disciple¡¯s spirits. He could only patiently watch as things developed.

    Zhi Yin said loudly and clearly, ¡°As long as Sir Zu can win against me or Brother Lou, I will be convinced and believe that he has the qualifications to judge thispetition. I will also apologize to him.¡±

    Lou Wucheng nodded, adding, ¡°Right. I will even let him give me three strikes first!¡±

    Both of these men had already been beyond frustrated and furious when they thought about how the woman of their dreams was already in the shape of another man. They wanted to take the chance to properly discipline that pretty boy piece of trash. That way, Chuyan would also see just how worthless her man was.

    Wang Wuxie was a bit troubled. To be honest, he also felt that Zu An wasn¡¯t worthy, but he was a guest who had been personally invited. These juniors didn¡¯t have any right to intervene.

    He was about to speak up when Zu An leaned casually into his chair and said contemptuously, ¡°Even people such as you think you¡¯re worthy of facing me?¡±

    The entire ce rose up into amotion. Many people even cursed Zu An for being shameless.

    Pei Mianman was worried and anxious. She thought,What¡¯s wrong with Ah Zu? Why can¡¯t I sense any ki aura from him?With his previous strength, it shouldn¡¯t have been a problem for him to win against Zhi Yin and Lou Wucheng, but now¡­

    Her expression suddenly grew resolute. If these two went too far, she had to protect Ah Zu even if she had to suffer her master¡¯s punishment afterward.

    Wan Guiyiughed and said to Wan Tongtian, ¡°Father, I¡¯m a fan of that guy¡¯s personality.¡±

    Wan Tongtian had a strange expression as he replied, ¡°This young man is indeed bold. But even if you want to boast, you need the strength to back up your words.¡±

    Wan Guiyi said seriously, ¡°Even though he looks ordinary, he¡¯s still able to remain so calm in this kind of situation. If he really were ordinary, he definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to do this. I believe he definitely has a trump card.¡±

    Wan Tongtian nodded in appreciation, saying, ¡°You have good judgment. He is better than those two fools, Zhi Yin and Lou Wucheng.¡±

    Pei Mianman felt a bit of relief when she heard the two of them talk. She felt that she really had been worried over nothing just now. When had Ah Zu ever been on the losing end of this kind of situation?

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, on Tranquility Temple¡¯s side, the little chubby monk Jie Se couldn''t help but say to the old monk next to him, ¡°No wonder master let me experience the world. This world has so many spectacr things in it!¡±

    Master Jian Huang was still paying no attention to outside matters. He continued to mutter to himself, ¡°I have sinned, I have sinned¡­¡±

    When she heard the discussions of everyone around her, Qiu Honglei wanted to stand up and speak up for Zu An. However, Yun Jianyue grabbed her and stopped her, hissing, ¡°What are you doing? Are you going to expose yourself here?¡±

    Qiu Honglei said angrily, ¡°That Zhi Yin and Lou Wucheng are going too far! I can¡¯t keep watching this.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. That kid isn¡¯t so easily bullied. You just need to sit back and enjoy the show,¡± Yun Jianyue said, not looking worried at all. Considering everything they had gone through, what did this trifling conflict count as?

    ¡­

    When he saw how the entire crowd was mocking his superior, Zhang Zijiang realized that now was his moment to shine. He stood up and called out, ¡°What do you babies know? Our Sir Zu¡¯s cultivation is profound and immeasurable! He wiped out a powerful army with a single sword before. The two of you really don¡¯t have the qualifications to face him!¡±

    The entire ce fell silent. Then,ughter erupted. Even the sect masters had strange expressions. Wiping out an entire army alone¡­ Some of them could do that, but there were many prerequisites for that to happen. For example, the enemy army couldn''t be made up of too many elites, they couldn''t excel in formation skills, and they couldn¡¯t be too numerous¡­ Zu An was just a young man; how could he have such strength?

    ¡°An army? Are you messing with me right now?¡± Zhi Yin retorted mockingly. ¡°Then may I ask which army Sir Zu wiped out? Please tell us so that we can worship him.¡±

    ¡°It was¡­¡± Zhang Zijiang choked, because he remembered Zu An had given him the order not to publicly disclose the matter of the Twin Dragon Mountains¡¯ Scarface Yang Shen. Military orders had to be obeyed. If he went against that, he could end up losing his head before he earned any brownie points with Zu An.

    When he saw that Zhang Zijiang was hesitating, Zhi Yin sneered and continued, ¡°What, you went too far with your boasting and got exposed? If you don¡¯t have the skill, you can only use lies to make yourself sound better. At that point, you can only use even more lies to fill in the holes.¡±

    Zhang Zijiang¡¯s face becamepletely red. Just how many years had it been since he felt so wronged?

    While he was feeling at a loss for what to do, a cold voice suddenly called out, ¡°I can vouch for Sir Zu. He definitely has the qualifications to judge this battle.¡±

    The entire ce fell silent once more. That was because the one who spoke was the Snow Queen Yan Xuehen.

    Now, even Wang Wuxie and Guan Chouhai, two older generation figures who had just thought they were watching something interesting, looked at her in shock. They understood Yan Xuehen¡¯s nature better than anyone. Why would she speak up for another man so enthusiastically?

 Chapter 1626: Sign of Big Disaster

    <h4>Chapter 1626: Sign of Big Disaster</h4>

    Is she acting this way because of Chu Chuyan and Zu An¡¯s rtionship? A sort of ¡®love me, love my dog¡¯ thing?

    But that doesn¡¯t make sense either! With her usual nature, it would already be quite tolerant of her to not try to break up Chu Chuyan and Zu An after their marriage. How could she go so far as to protect that man?

    People all had different suspicions. The big shots of the different sects barely remained calm, but the younger generation was left in absolute disarray.

    After all, Zu An and Chu Chuyan¡¯s rtionship had really raised a storm two days prior. Now, Sect Master Yan was even expressing such a stance. Didn¡¯t that mean she approved of their rtionship?

    Ahhh! Just what kind of superpower does that pretty face have?!

    You have sessfully trolled the disciples for +233 +233 +233¡­

    Amid the crowd, Qiu Honglei said to Yun Jianyue in dissatisfaction, ¡°Master, it looks like our previous n isn¡¯t going to work.¡±

    Furthermore, judging from Yan Xuehen¡¯s appearance, it even seemed she was actually pretty satisfied with Ah Zu as a son-inw. If she acted as a matchmaker between Zu An and Chu Chuyan, everything they had just done would only amount to shooting themselves in the foot!

    Yun Jianyue was also a bit confused, wondering, ¡°What in the world is going on with that stone cold woman? This doesn¡¯t match her personality at all!¡±

    She had fought against Yan Xuehen for countless years, and probably understood her better than anyone else. No matter which direction she looked at it from, there should have been no reason for Yan Xuehen to speak up for Zu An.

    Could it be that after all of that in the Fiend race territories, she really does treat Zu An as a friend already?

    ¡­

    Just then, Wang Wuxie cleared his throat and said, ¡°Sir Zu naturally has the qualifications to be a judge; it has already been decided. There is no need for further discussion. Everyone should focus on thepetition toe.¡±

    He thought to himself,Seeing as Yan Xuehen is covering for Zu An, I have to show her some consideration.

    Huh? Wait, is she covering for Zu An for my sake?

    After all, I was the one who proposed to have Zu An as a judge.

    When he thought of that, his resolve became firmer. He even felt a bit absentminded for a moment.

    Zhi Yin and Lou Wucheng opened their mouths, but in the end, they didn¡¯t dare to say anything else. Such huge backers as Wang Wuxie and Yan Xuehen had already spoken. If they continued to press the issue, that would seem way too rude.

    Zu An didn¡¯t even move his fingers during the entire process, but he earned a huge batch of Rage points nheless. He thought,Big sis Yan still cares about me after all. She isn¡¯t going to stand around and let others bully me.

    Wang Wuxie sat down. He allowed the masters of the other peaks to introduce the details of thepetition.

    As there were nine sects, they had decided to have nine groups. The group stage would have them fight against each other in a rotation. The winners would obtain three points, while ties would result in one each. The losers would obtain zero points. In the end, only the first ce of each group would automatically receive the qualification to enter the daoist sects¡¯ secret dungeon. The rules were quite strict, so none of the disciples wanted to lose. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t necessarily even have a chance of getting one of the spots.

    Of course, for the sake of fairness, the greatest disciples of each sect were put into different groups to prevent them from meeting too early and causing someone weaker to be the leader of their group.

    Apart from that, the top eight in every group would be part of an eliminationpetition against each other. Four of them would then enter together with the previous first cers, granting a total of thirteen individuals the qualification to enter the secret dungeon. To a certain degree, the eliminationpetition would be the most bitter fight, because that would be theirst chance.

    The rules were actually quitexpared to before, however. In the past, apart from the nine first cers in the group stage, only a single winner among the others had qualified, leaving only ten people who had the right to enter the secret dungeon. As such, each time, several people had always lost their limbs or even be cripples. The elimination round had always been more intense than the fight to be number one in the group stage.

    This time, however, the great sects had decided that leaving open a single slot for everyone else was just too cruel. In order to encourage the other outstanding disciples of the sects, they had decided to increase the number of slots to four.

    ¡­

    When he heard these familiar rules, Zu An was a bit dazed. The structure was practically the same as it had been in the sportspetitions of his previous world.

    The national ser team doesn¡¯t have much time left¡­

    Fortunately, he didn¡¯t have to waste any more energy on calcting the odds of the national ser team.

    Just then, Watchful Heart Peak¡¯s Feng Wuchang took out a transparent crystal and said in a bright and clear voice, ¡°For the sake of encouraging the disciples of the nine sects and increasing people¡¯spetitiveness,e and have your cultivation tested ording to the list. Then, we will start dividing everyone into groups.¡±

    Every greatpetition would only have a bit over ten slots at most. Most people were doomed to only make the winners look better. No matter how hard they tried, there was no way they could defeat the legendary representative disciples of each sect. As such, there hadn¡¯t been all that many who wanted to participate, and even if they did, they had often held back without going all out.

    That wasn¡¯t what the elders of the nine sects wanted at all. They wanted their disciples to cultivate earnestly. Thus, someone had thought of a solution, which was to test the disciples¡¯ cultivation before they participated. Even though one¡¯s cultivation rank didn¡¯t represent one¡¯s real strength, they were still corrted in most cases.

    With that vague ¡®ranking¡¯ list, the disciples would be motivated. Even if they couldn''t win against those bastards who were blessed by the heavens, they could still fight against those in another sect whose cultivations were around the same as theirs, right?

    Some people¡¯s cultivation ranks turned out to be quite high. Others had lower cultivation ranks, but they were still quite young and were better than others at their age¡­ In either case, it was something to be proud of. Even though ssical literature always said to not care too much about fame and profit, wasn¡¯t that what all those who lived in this world cared about? Who didn¡¯t want to brag in their circles?

    Furthermore, if they had a good showing in the test, even if they couldn''t get one of the quotas, they could still catch the attention of their sect¡¯s leaders. Then, they stood a chance of getting more cultivation resources. Even though they couldn''tpare to the representative disciples now, who said they would never catch up?

    Don¡¯t look down on the poor and young now!

    When they saw the disciples¡¯ eager expressions, the sect masters all nodded in appreciation. Only by stirring their disciples¡¯ enthusiasm would their sects prosper.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Of course, there was another reason for the test. That way, when they divided the disciples into groups, the distribution would be more even. Otherwise, the strongest people could identally end up being put in the same group, causing the leading candidate of that group to waste too much energy and make it unfavorable for themter when they had to strive against the best of the other groups.

    As for whether or not those representative disciples would make it out of the group stage, they didn¡¯t even consider that possibility. Anyone who could be one of the most important disciples was definitely far above their peers. There was no way they wouldn¡¯t be able to make it out of the group stage.

    ¡°Righteous Sun Sect, Zhang Xi!¡± Feng Wuchang began, calling out the names on the list. As the ones hosting this event, they naturally had to be the first ones. Furthermore, it couldn''t be someone who was too weak, or else it would hurt their sect¡¯s reputation; however, they couldn''t immediately bring out their trump card Wu Xiaofan. As such, Zhang Xi from Watchful Heart Peak was their best candidate.

    Zhang Xi sorted out his clothes. He walked toward the stage with aposed expression. Because he had been the one receiving guests by the entrance, practically everyone recognized him.

    The result quickly came out: Eighth rank!

    A smallmotion broke out in the za. The Righteous Sun Sect really was powerful now; even the disciple who watched the entrance was at the eighth rank! After all, over half the people present were far from his level.

    Zhang Zijiang¡¯s expression turned grave. He said quietly to Zu An, ¡°This person¡¯s strength is already enough to make him a city lord. I hadn¡¯t expected the disciples of these sects to have already reached this level! We¡¯ll have to make a report once we go back. If this trend continues, that won¡¯t be a good thing for the court!¡±

    What the f*ck is this? A young disciple¡¯s cultivation is already almost at my level! That¡¯s unforgivable!

    Zu An said calmly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. These sects have limited resources and can only produce a few elite cultivators. Their foundation and reserves are too sparsepared to the court¡¯s.¡±

    Zhang Zijiang thus felt a bit more relieved.

    Zhang Xi vaguely picked up on the surrounding discussions. He couldn''t help but stick out his chest proudly. He thought,I should be able to get the attention of many junior sisters like this, right? But my heart still belongs to Fairy Chu and Fairy Pei.

    Suddenly, he remembered the rumors surrounding Chu Chuyan. His expression darkened.Forget it, it looks like Fairy Pei is my true love in this life.

    ¡­

    Then, the other disciples went onto the stage one after another. Their cultivation ranks were much lower. Most of them were around the sixth or seventh rank.

    Zu An couldn''t help but sigh when he saw that. Sixth rank was already enough to make them a publicly known genius in Brightmoon Academy, and yet it was the lowest level here. Still, he understood that quite well. In his previous world, if one were to pick anyone from a provincial-level prestigious high school in China¡¯s experimental program, they would basically be equivalent to a top student from rural towns and counties. Even if the worst student of Peking University were pulled out, they would most likely be equivalent to a top scorer in some cities.

    ¡°Jadefall Pce, Pei Mianman.¡± Feng Wuchang continued to call for disciples to check their cultivation ranks.

    Zu An suddenly raised his head when he heard that name. At the same time, all around him, people audibly swallowed their saliva. Forget about the younger disciples, even the elders of the sects couldn''t help but give her a few extra looks.

    Calmness Temple¡¯s Master Jian Huang even forgot his chanting of ¡®I¡¯ve sinned, I¡¯ve sinned¡¯. He couldn''t help but raise his head to look. What reced his muttering was ¡®the sign of big disaster, big disaster!¡¯.[1]</a>

 Chapter 1627 â€“ Envy, Jealousy, and Hatred

    <h4>Chapter 1627 ¨C Envy, Jealousy, and Hatred</h4>

    A beautiful figure in a red and ck dress walked onto the stage. Her stunning eyes and enthusiastic smile gave people a good impression of her from the very first nce. However, the most eye-catching thing about her was still the waves that rippled when she walked. It made people wonder just how that thin cloth was able to hold it all in.

    Zu An was shocked and overjoyed. He had actually been a bit upset when the emperor sent him to Violet Mountain. And yet, not only had he been able to meet Chuyan and Yan Xuehen, now, he could also meet Pei Mianman! It really was unexpected and happy.

    Even Yan Xuehen couldn''t help but give the youngdy a second look. As Chuyan¡¯s master, and after all of the things that had happened with Zu An at the Fiend King Court, she had needed to look into Zu An¡¯s history. As such, she naturally knew of Pei Mianman¡¯s existence. She had to admit that this girl was the pr opposite of Chuyan. One was as cold as ice, while the other was enthusiastic like fire. She wondered just how these two had ended up bing such close friends.

    If not for the fact that Chuyan was cultivating on her own and hadn¡¯te along, Yan Xuehen would have lectured her a bit on her choice of acquaintances. Isn¡¯t bing close friends with this kind of woman just inviting a wolf right into the house?

    When she saw Pei Mianman¡¯s dynamic figure, she couldn''t help but furrow her brows. She¡¯s still so young; just what in the world did she eat to grow so big?

    ¡­

    ¡°Huh? Why is she also part of the nine sects?¡± Qiu Honglei cried out in surprise with a strange expression. Another familiar person had shown up, adding another variable to worry about.

    ¡°Is that girl from the Cow race or something?¡± Yun Jianyue muttered, feeling strangely vexed. She was usually quite confident in ¡®that¡¯ respect, and yet now, it seemed there were horizons beyond horizons. ¡°Why do you have so many love rivals, and why do they only ever seem to grow more and more powerful?¡±

    Having talked to her disciple all the time, and with Honglei not holding much back, Yun Jianyue already knew practically everything Qiu Honglei knew about Zu An. She naturally knew who Pei Mianman was. Upon finally seeing her for herself, even though she was the Devil Sect Master, Yun Jianyue could still feel a mysterious pressure.

    ¡°I¡¯m pretty helpless here too¡­¡± Qiu Honglei said, propping up her chin with her hand. ¡°But if you look at it from another perspective, that just means Ah Zu really is charming and I didn¡¯t choose the wrong person.¡±

    Yun Jianyue couldn''t help but turn around and stare at her, muttering ¡°Why did I raise such a dumb disciple?¡±

    This girl is normally pretty smart, but why is she bing dumber and dumber? She isn¡¯t even on guard against me at all and tells me everything.

    Qiu Honglei giggled and said casually, ¡°Isn¡¯t it great that I have a smart master to take care of those things?¡±

    Yun Jianyue suddenly asked, ¡°Then what if one day, your master bes your enemy too?¡±

    Qiu Honglei was stunned. However, she quickly shook her head and said, ¡°That won¡¯t happen. No matter what kind of situation we¡¯re in, I¡¯ll stand on the same side as master.¡±

    Yun Jianyue was speechless.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, the other disciples¡¯ reactions weren¡¯t any less intense. They all began to ask about the identity of this woman, whose beauty wasn¡¯t inferior to Chu Chuyan¡¯s, and whose chest was just too impressive. When they learned who it was, many of them stated that they would be Miss Pei¡¯s dogs in the future, and that following Fairy Chu or whatever was just heresy.

    Because she had already gotten married before, Chu Chuyan¡¯s reputation among the daoist sects had already suffered. However, some people not only felt that there was nothing wrong with her being previously married, but even became more excited.

    Despite that, Pei Mianman¡¯s breathtaking entrance suddenly made her even more popr than Chu Chuyan.

    ¡°I think I¡¯m really in love with Lady Pei. Her smile is so big¡­ Ahem! I mean, so round¡­ Wait, no! So warm.¡±

    ¡°Is that even love, or are you just after her body? What a pervert.¡±

    ¡°What, are you not the same?¡±

    ¡°My feelings for her are different from yours!¡±

    ¡­

    However, their discussions were soon reced with sighs of admiration, because Pei Mianman ced her hand on the measuring crystal.

    A dazzling light appeared as the ranking was announced: Ninth rank!

    This delicate and pretty woman was actually at the ninth rank! Many of the arrogant sect disciples all felt their souls leave their bodies. What the hell had they spent all those damn years of cultivation for?

    Even Wang Wuxie and the other sect masters couldn''t help but give her a second look. Apart from Wan Guiyi, Jadefall Pce actually had such an outstanding disciple? Could it be that in the future, Jadefall Pce would be the number one daoist sect?

    Only Huo Ling raised her chin proudly, enjoying the looks of jealousy she was receiving from the different powers.

    Qiu Honglei couldn''t help but mutter, ¡°Master, is there something wrong with our Holy Sect¡¯s Heavenly Devil Temptation?¡±

    Yun Jianyue replied in confusion, ¡°Of course not. Why are you asking that?¡±

    ¡°I spent so much time in seclusion for the sake of cultivation before, and I couldn''t even be around big brother Zu. On several asions, my cultivation almost deviated; only then did I reach my current level of cultivation. She doesn¡¯t seem to have gone through much, and yet she easily reached roughly the same level,¡± Qiu Honglei said, starting to wonder whether the Holy Sect¡¯s spiritual cultivation method was inferior to those of the orthodox sects.

    Yun Jianyue almost died from anger right there and then. She said, ¡°First of all, her cultivation isn¡¯t at your level. Second, she definitely has to have encountered some opportunities to have cultivated so quickly. This cultivation speed definitely isn¡¯t something those Jadefall Pce disciples can reach.¡±

    Those like Wan Guiyi, who had been nurtured with the entire sect¡¯s best resources, could naturally reach that level. However, it hadn¡¯t even been that long since Pei Mianman had joined Jadefall Pce. Normally, there should have been no reason for her to have advanced so quickly. That meant the only exnation could be that she¡¯d had some special encounters.

    ¡°Oh~¡± Qiu Honglei said with a deep sigh, clearly not too convinced by the exnation.

    ¡­

    None of the disciples who followed could surpass Pei Mianman in cultivation. That continued until the Heavenly Sorrow Sect¡¯s Zhi Yin.

    ¡°Peak stage of the ninth rank!¡±

    Even Watchful Peak¡¯s master, Feng Wuchang, gave him another look. Even though this youngster looked like a pretty boy, his talent was quite high. Apart from Wu Xiaofan, no one else in the Righteous Sun Sect even came close to him.

    ¡°As expected of a representative disciple!¡±

    The disciples were all excited and began to discuss who would win thepetition.

    ¡°I support big brother Zhi Yin!¡±

    ¡°I think Lou Wucheng has a higher chance. He obtained the true inheritance of the Immortal Sword. We can personally witness the power of the Immortal Sword now.¡±

    ¡°Wu Xiaofan should be the number one among the daoist sects¡¯ younger generation, right?¡±

    ¡°Tsk, isn¡¯t that only because the Righteous Sun Sect is now the strongest, and that¡¯s what they¡¯ve been bragging about? In my opinion, Wan Guiyi from Jadefall Pce isn¡¯t inferior to him.¡±

    ¡­

    Soon afterward, the representative disciples of the nine sects came out one after another.

    White Jade Pce¡¯s Lou Wucheng, peak stage of the ninth rank;

    Kunlun Void Sect¡¯s Liang Ling, peak stage of the ninth rank; n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Mount Luofu¡¯s Luo Dongjiang, mid stage of the ninth rank;

    Purity Temple¡¯s Qiu Chanzi, mid stage of the ninth rank;

    Emptiness Isle¡¯s Peng Wuyan, mid stage of the ninth rank;

    Supreme Mystery Cave¡¯s Shi Dingtian, mid stage of the ninth rank.

    ¡­

    Among them, Emptiness Isle¡¯s Peng Wuyan drew quite a bit of attention. Normally, because cultivators gathered the natural ki of the world into their bodies, their skin was normally in excellent condition. Even if the cultivator wasn¡¯t ridiculously handsome or beautiful, they definitely wouldn¡¯t be ugly. However, this Peng Wuyan was exceptionally ugly, to the extent that others wouldn¡¯t want to give her a second nce.

    In the meantime, everyone had already gotten used to seeing the White Jade Sect¡¯s Fairy Chu and Jadefall Pce¡¯s Lady Pei. The Heavenly Sorrow Sect¡¯s Princess Butterfly was also present. They were all top-tier beauties. When they saw Peng Wuyan now, they all felt a stark contrast, almost as if it hurt their eyes.

    Zu An was a bit confused. He had noticed Peng Wuyan sneaking a few secret looks at him. He clearly didn¡¯t have anything to do with her, so why would she pay attention to him?

    Could it be because I;m handsome?

    Shortly after, however, a cry of rm rang out, because Righteous Sun Sect¡¯s Wu Xiaofan stepped forward to test himself. Wu Xiaofan had thick eyebrows and big eyes. He looked very ordinary as well, just like any normal, honest person.

    However, his cultivation wasn¡¯t ordinary at all: Master rank! He was so young, and yet he had already reached the master rank! His cultivation speed had to be unprecedented, right?

    The sect masters and elders all offered Wang Wuxie their congrattions. Their overwhelming jealousy was evident.

    Wang Wuxie had a humble expression, as if to downy the situation. Inwardly, though, he felt ecstatic, only hoping they would praise him more.

    Only Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue had ordinary expressions. In the past, the two of them would have been shocked by such cultivation speed. But after seeing a monster like Zu An, they could only conclude that this Wu Xiaofan was still far toocking. The two couldn''t help but give Zu An a look.

    Meanwhile, Zu An was secretlyparing these elites with the Fiend races¡¯ younger generation. The Fiend races¡¯ cultivation ranks were a bit higher. At the very least, master rank wasn¡¯t something to be that happy about. However, the Fiend races relied on awakening their bloodlines to a certain extent, so the rate at which their strength increased was faster than it was for humans to begin with. In contrast, the humans relied on studying and slowly umting their strength. At first, they wouldn¡¯t necessarily be able topare to the Fiend races, but in the upper bounds of theter stages, they could actually reach higher peaks.

    Suddenly, more people gasped. As it happened, Jadefall Pce¡¯s Wan Guiyi¡¯s cultivation was shockingly also at the master rank.

    Wu Xiaofan had previously been assumed to be the number one among the younger generation. That was why his being at the master rank wasn¡¯t too big of a surprise. However, what no one had expected was that there was actually someone else on par with him. Now, thispetition would be even more interesting to watch.

    It was now Wan Tongtian¡¯s turn to stick out his chest in pride as he received everyone¡¯s seemingly enthusiastic, but inwardly envious, congrattions. I don¡¯t care! The more jealous you are, the happier I am!

    Even Wang Wuxie was feeling a bit jealous. Wan Tongtian gave birth to a good son! If Xuehen and I had ended up together in the past, our child¡¯s talent would definitely be even higher than Wan Guiyi¡¯s.

    He couldn''t help but feel a bit downcast when he thought of that. He reflexively nced at Yan Xuehen, and was stunned by what he saw. She seemed to be staring at Zu An absentmindedly.

 Chapter 1628: Danger

    <h4>Chapter 1628: Danger</h4>

    Could it be that she really is satisfied with this martial son-inw?

    But that doesn¡¯t match Yan Xuehen¡¯s nature at all! Isn¡¯t she supposed to be the type who tells all men to get lost? Just sparing his life alone should already be tremendous mercy. How could she possibly allow him to stay around her disciple?

    What was even harder for him to understand was the expression in Yan Xuehen¡¯s eyes. There almost seemed to be something different in her eyes when she looked at Zu An, an expression he had never seen before. He couldn''t really understand what that look meant, but it made him a bit ufortable.

    However, he quicklyughed at himself.What in the world am I thinking? I¡¯m actually jealous of some young junior.

    ¡­

    The cultivation rank test concluded shortly after. Some were happy, while others were not. There were well-known representative disciples, such as Wu Xiaofan; there were also dark horses that made a sudden appearance, such as Pei Mianman. People all wondered who would win, and who could get second ce in their groups¡­ They all tacitly agreed that the first ce belonged to the representative disciples of the nine sects, but as for the other spots, they didn¡¯t even dare to specte.

    When it was time to divide everyone into groups, the sects¡¯ seniors gave their members a final speech before thepetition began.

    Guan Chouhai told Zhi Yin, ¡°Wu Xiaofan and Wan Guiyi breaking through into the master rank is a bit unexpected, but you do not need to feel too discouraged. Cultivation rank does not represent your ultimate strength, which also depends on your battle skills, adaptability, mental state, and other such things. You are just one step away from master rank yourself, so the difference between you is not that significant. As long as you deal with the situation appropriately, you will still have a chance to win.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your teachings, master!¡± Zhi Yin replied with a nod. Fighting spirit burned in his eyes once more.

    He was Heavenly Sorrow Sect¡¯s most outstanding disciple, after all. Even though he felt discouraged because of Chu Chuyan, love wasn¡¯t his entire world. After being spurred by Wu Xiaofan and Wan Guiyi¡¯s results, he had gradually awakened his pride again. Weren¡¯t all his years of bitter cultivation precisely to shine in this greatpetition?

    The lot drawing quickly concluded, and the Watchful Peak Master dered the official start to the greatpetition. The nine groups would start theirpetition at the same time.

    The Righteous Sun Sect had already divided up the different areas of Golden Peak to set uppetition stages. Fortunately, Golden Peak was extremelyrge, so it wasn¡¯t too difficult to hold everyone. Every single elevated stage had formations put in ce by Righteous Sun Sect¡¯s peak masters and elders in order to prevent the disciples¡¯ battles from damaging the ce.

    One after another, the disciples got on stage topete ording to the order in which they had drawn lots.

    Meanwhile, Xie Daoyun returned to Zu An¡¯s side and shook her head slightly. She hadn¡¯t noticed any signs of killing formations when she looked around. She had been worried that perhaps it was because her own cultivation wasn¡¯t high enough, and thus used a special method her teacher taught her. However, there was still no reaction.

    Zu An told her with a smile, ¡°That¡¯s a good thing. You can just enjoy your vacation now, as well as thispetition between the nine sects. Who knows, you might even be able to learn a bit through them.¡±

    Xie Daoyun voiced her agreement and obediently stood at his side. Even though the Royal Academy¡¯s teachers had abundant resources, she stillcked real fighting experience. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have been in such a sorry state after leaving the capital and running into the Twin Dragon Mountains.

    Thepetition soon began. Xie Daoyun had thought that the battles would be spectacr and brilliant, but they often ended with just a few moves.

    When he saw her disappointed expression, Zu An exined with a smile, ¡°Battles are often decided quickly when there¡¯s a difference in strength. Those situations where both parties arepletely evenly matched are a rare sight.¡±

    ¡°Ah, I see,¡± Xie Daoyun said, shivering. As she watched more closely, however, she gradually picked up more things. The two fighters tried to sound each other out at first, and then whenever there was a chance, they struck like lightning. She could sense that she was learning some things she hadn¡¯t known before.

    Meanwhile, Zu An¡¯s attention was mainly on Pei Mianman. He didn¡¯t really care if anyone else won or lost.

    When Pei Mianman¡¯s turn finally came, however, the audience all gasped in surprise. This woman was just too much for the eyes. Most importantly, not only were ¡®they¡¯ big, she also had such a beautiful face and charming smile. It was difficult for others not to have a good impression of her.

    ¡°Purity Temple, Yuan Kun. Please¡­ Please exchange some pointers with me,¡± a young disciple said, cupping his hands toward her. His voice trembled a bit; it definitely wasn¡¯t because of fear, however, but because he was too moved. After all, facing a beauty like this on the same stage meant that they couldn''t help but make physical contact. If they managed to hit it off on stage and could be friends after, perhaps things would even be able to develop a stage further¡­

    ¡°Jadefall Pce¡¯s Pei Mianman. I hope that senior brother will be lenient,¡± Pei Mianman said with a smile. When he saw her smile, Yuan Kun immediately felt dizzy.

    ¡°Miss Pei really is pretty, and her smile is so beautiful,¡± Xie Daoyun said. Even as a woman, she couldn''t help but sigh in praise.

    Zu An couldn''t help but chuckle. Big Manman was always like this, showing anyone a big smile. But if one really had any untoward thoughts about her, one would probably pay the price.

    Sure enough, when Yuan Kun heard Pei Mianman ask him to be lenient, even though he continuously told himself to calm down, his heart began pounding so hard his soul felt as if it would leave his body. Even though her cultivation was high, his wasn¡¯t that low either. Furthermore, he didn¡¯t think a dainty-looking junior sister such as her could be that great at fighting. He thought of letting her make three moves first so she could sense his generosity, and they could also interact with each other longer. Then, in the end, he would look for an opportunity to defeat her so she could admire his strength¡­

    However, as soon as that thought emerged, he sensed a ck me sweep toward him. He was horrified, and quickly raised his sword to defend himself. But who would have thought that the ck me would be so powerful, it burned his sword directly to ashes?

    He was greatly rmed and quickly used all sorts of cultivation skills and methods to get rid of the ck mes. No matter what he did, though, the ck me just wouldn¡¯t leave him. Feeling helpless, he could only tear off his sleeves and leap off the stage. Only then did the ck mes retreat.

    Pei Mianman cupped her hands and said with a smile, ¡°Senior brother let me win.¡±

    Yuan Kun¡¯s expression was a bit awkward. He looked as if he wanted to cry, but couldn''t. Previously, he had felt that her smile was bright and beautiful. Now, he only felt that it was a little scary.

    He actually hadn¡¯t brought out too many of his trump cards, and yet he had already been forced off the stage before even touching the corners of her clothes. How could he say anything in front of the crowd? He cupped his hands and left in a sorry state.

    Many spectators were in an uproar. They hadn¡¯t expected this delicate and pretty flower to be so formidable! Furthermore, it was clear that she had a lot of fighting experience. Now, none of them were willing to judge her by her appearance anymore.

    ¡°Miss Pei is so amazing,¡± Xie Daoyun said, her little mouth hanging wide open.

    Zu An was also a bit surprised. Big Manman¡¯s cultivation had increased by a considerable amount! It seemed that Jadefall Pce wasn¡¯t known as arge and powerful sect for nothing. They had quite the resources backing them.

    Meanwhile, Qiu Honglei said with a sigh, ¡°I heard about her amazing talent when I was back in Brightmoon City. Now that we¡¯ve met, she doesn¡¯t seem to be worse than me.¡±

    ¡°She is indeed no worse than you. She¡¯s still hiding her strength,¡± Yun Jianyue said, feeling a headacheing on. ¡°Why are all of the women at that brat¡¯s side such monsters?¡±

    Qiu Honglei said proudly, ¡°My Ah Zu is just that amazing.¡±

    Yun Jianyue was speechless.Sigh, this stupid disciple of mine. Is that something you should be feeling happy over?

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Yan Xuehen¡¯s eyes also narrowed. She naturally noticed that something was different. She was a bit worried. The Devil Sect¡¯s Qiu Honglei was already a formidable opponent. She hadn¡¯t expected Pei Mianman to also be so powerful.

    A hint of surprise flickered through Wang Wuxie¡¯s eyes as well. Soon after, however, his expression turned pensive. Either way, this female disciple wasn¡¯t in the same group as Wu Xiaofan, which meant he had a good show to enjoy now.

    Nothing too interesting happened in the matches afterward, but there were still some small dark horses. Even though their cultivation ranks were lower, they still won against opponents at higher ranks. However, it was only a single rank at most. Trying to challenge anything more than that was practically impossible for them.

    When it was time for the seeded yers toe out, their opponents all had ugly expressions. Most of them chose to concede on their own. At any other time, perhaps some strong fighters would muster the courage to fight it out. Even if they lost, the experience of fighting would be invaluable. However, in thispetition, apart from the top scorer of each group making it in for certain, the next eight would still have to take part in a cruel elimination tournament.

    Not only would they have to obtain as many victories within their groups as possible to ensure that they could enter that tournament, they also had to prepare for the elimination round itself. Furthermore, the battles would all take ce in the span of a few days. If they exhausted too much strength while fighting against the representative disciples, there would be a high chance of it costing themter on in the knockoutpetition.

    However, that didn¡¯t mean no one wanted to give it a try. For example, Peng Wuyan had an opponent. Perhaps because Emptiness Isle had always been in thest ce among the nine sects and Peng Wuyan¡¯s reputation wasn¡¯t that high, her opponent decided to give it a try. After all, as long as he could win against this weak-looking representative disciple, he would be able to make it out of the group stage and wouldn¡¯t even have to join the bitter elimination tournament.

    Unfortunately, reality was cruel. He was quickly beaten off the stage by Peng Wuyan, and his injuries were quite severe. It was obvious that he couldn''t continue fighting for a while, thus losing any chances of making aeback.

    This ugly woman really is vicious!

    The surrounding disciples¡¯ eyes were full of fear as they looked at the woman on the stage.

    Zu An understood why she would be so ruthless here; it was clearly to serve a warning to the others. Otherwise, they would think that she was easy to bully ande to challenge her one after another. Even if she could defeat them, she would end up wasting a lot of strength. That would definitely cost herter on when she had to face the other representative disciples, so it was better to just get it over with now. As for the seriously wounded disciple, he deserved it. As he had been willing to make the gamble, he should have been prepared for the consequences.

    However, the wounded disciple¡¯s sect didn¡¯t think of it that way. Someone from Mount Luofu called the fight into question, protesting, ¡°This Lady Peng was too vicious, and that clearly goes against thepetition¡¯s rules. She ought to have her participation qualification revoked!¡±

    Yun Jianyue had felt really refreshed after seeing her precious disciple deal with a daoist sect¡¯s elite so easily. When she heard that, she couldn''t help but erupt into fury, retorting, ¡°Disgraceful! His skills were too weak; what does it have to do with my disciple?!¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The elder from Mount Luofu, Elder Xu, couldn''t just sit still any longer after being lectured that way and retorted, ¡°Previously, Sect Master Wang told us that the fights needed to be carried out within certain parameters. Your disciple clearly could have won easily, and yet she decided to be so merciless and crippled our disciple to the point that he cannot participate in thepetition anymore. That clearly goes against the rules and she should be punished.¡±

    On the stage, Qiu Honglei felt a bit rmed. She dide from the Devil Sect, after all, and had instinctively used this person as an example for the others. She hadn¡¯t expected the daoist sects to have so many rules! If this really got out of hand and her identity got exposed, she would be in danger.

 Chapter 1629: Stumbling Block

    <h4>Chapter 1629: Stumbling Block</h4>

    Yun Jianyue immediately cursed Mount Luofu¡¯s Elder Xu loudly. Elder Xu didn¡¯t want to be outdone, so the two immediately began to berate each other.

    When had the disciples ever seen such a thing? It was just like students encountering teachers fighting. They all watched with great interest.

    Meanwhile, the sect masters had strange expressions. They had already known about the temper of Emptiness Isle¡¯s Elder Peng for some time. Now, it seemed that was indeed the case.

    Yun Jianyue was getting more and more worked up. It was one thing for Qiu Honglei, seeing as she didn¡¯t have too much experience in such a situation, but who was she? She was the Devil Sect Master who had walked through mountains of corpses and seas of blood! Even if her identity got exposed, who could keep her here? Even though she couldn''t win against them if they joined hands, with her cultivation, she could still get away without a problem.

    As for Qiu Honglei, she wouldn¡¯t be able to get away, but Yun Jianyue didn¡¯t believe that they would make things difficult for her. Otherwise, these sect masters had their own wives and children back at home, right? Even though someone like Wang Wuxie didn¡¯t have wives or kids, he had his precious disciple. Furthermore, the Righteous Sun Sect was sorge. If Yun Jianyue really went crazy, it would all go to the afterlife with her. As such, she had nothing to fear at all, let alone considering the fact that their side hadn¡¯t even done anything wrong this time.

    Mount Luofu¡¯s Elder Xu discovered in disappointment that he couldn''t beat his opponent¡¯s argument. He gave Wang Wuxie a look and requested help, asking, ¡°Sect Master Wang, you need to uphold justice for the seriously wounded disciple below!¡±

    Wang Wuxie, who had just been watching the show with great relish, froze up. But he quickly nodded and looked at the other sects, asking, ¡°What does everyone else think of matter?¡±

    Guan Chouhai, Wan Tongtian, and the others cursed him for being an old fox. He had tossed a hot potato straight to them. No matter which side they stood up for in such a situation, they would end up offending one side!n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Even though Mount Luofu and Emptiness Isle were both near the bottom in terms of rank, so the other sects weren¡¯t too scared of offending them, speaking up would just be adding an enemy for themselves where there was no reason for them to get involved in the first ce. As such, they all looked away, waiting for someone else to be the first to speak. Only then would they try to smooth things over. That way, they wouldn¡¯t offend anyone and everyone would be happy.

    Unfortunately, all of them were smart, and none of them wanted to be the idiot who began this conversation. As for Yan Xuehen, she was rather cold to begin with. No one even considered that she would say anything from the start.

    When it seemed almost as if the awkward silence was going to persist indefinitely, Zu An called out in a frivolous tone, ¡°If I recall correctly, the rules were that you couldn''t kill on purpose, nor were you allowed to cripple someone. That little bro down there might be injured, but there¡¯s no danger to his life, and he¡¯ll be as good as new after resting for a while. We can¡¯t really call that crippling him, no?

    ¡°If your Mount Luofu is willing to take out some treatment medicine, he might even be able to participate in thetter half of thispetition. That¡¯s why Emptiness Isle¡¯s Lady Peng here didn¡¯t vite any rules, in my opinion.¡±

    The onlookers had strange expressions. They hadn¡¯t expected it to be this brat who would take the hit! But that was fine too, because his opinion was actually in line with what they were all thinking. However, if they had said so, they would end up offending Mount Luofu. Now, all of Mount Luofu¡¯s hatred was focused on this kid instead.

    Yan Xuehen reflexively nced at Peng Wuyan.Hmph, her appearance is less than impressive, so I don¡¯t think Zu An is doing this out of lustful intentions.

    This kid is actually pretty righteous, hm?

    Qiu Honglei, who had felt a bit restless, was now happy.I didn¡¯t expect Ah Zu to still help me even though I look like this! Is this the sign of two hearts beating as one? He still cares about me after all!

    Even Yun Jianyue became a bit absent-minded. After so many years, she had already gotten used to always being the one to deal with everything herself and having to shield others. That was why she hadn¡¯t held back at all as she berated Elder Xu. She had even been prepared to unleash a great ughter upon Violet Mountain. But now, a man had suddenly helped her take on a share of her burden. Such a feeling really wasn¡¯t bad¡­

    Pah pah pah! What am I thinking right now? He doesn¡¯t even know who we are, and Honglei looks like that right now. This perverted guy clearly isn¡¯t doing this for the sake of beauty, but to uphold justice.

    If our Devil Sect¡¯s witch ends up with a man full of righteousness, won¡¯t we be a totalughingstock¡­

    Elder Xu shouted, ¡°What does someone without an ounce of cultivation like you know?!¡±

    Their disciple could perhaps be able to continue fighting with treatment, but what meaning would there be left? After being forced to forfeit so many rounds, there was already no chance of him obtaining a slot in thepetition.

    This disciple was a candidate Mount Luofu cared quite a bit about, too. They had initially wanted to see whether they could use the chance to get another slot. Now that they had lost the opportunity, Mount Luofu was naturally unhappy.

    Zu An¡¯s expression grew cold as he replied, ¡°I am the court¡¯s Imperial Envoy. Can I interpret this as you looking down on the court?¡±

    Elder Xu¡¯s expression changed. Even though Mount Luofu was long-established in terms of history, its strength was far from that of the court. How could they dare to offend them? He could only reply, ¡°Hmph, this is apetition between our daoist sects, part of our internal affairs. Why are you bringing in the court?¡±

    Zu An shrugged and replied, ¡°Because I am a judge, and I am also the Imperial Envoy. Simrly, Sect Master Wang is the host, but he is also the State Teacher.¡±

    Wang Wuxie hadn¡¯t expected to be dragged into this battle. Zu An¡¯s implication was clear: Both of them were working for the court, so they had to stand on the same front.

    Even though he was unhappy, he could only helplessly ept this reality. He coughed and was about to smooth things over when Yan Xuehen suddenly said, ¡°I feel that what Sir Zu said is reasonable. Even though this disciple¡¯s injuries are serious, it has not reached the level of permanent damage. Furthermore, Emptiness Isle¡¯s Lady Peng was only acting out of consideration for the followingpetition. Being a bit swifter in defeating her opponent than usual is pardonable.¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s prestige was very high. When she spoke up, the others quickly chimed in as well.

    Wang Wuxie was stunned.Is this still the Yan Xuehen I know?

    When did the woman who was as arrogant and cold as a frozen mountain suddenly be so warmhearted and understanding?

    Something is strange!

    Unfortunately, he couldn''t figure out what was wrong no matter how he thought about it, so he could only deal with the problem right in front of him for the time being. He was worried that Mount Luofu would direct their anger at Yan Xuehen, so he spoke up to console Elder Xu. At the same time, he used his identity to bring out a bottle of medicine for that disciple¡¯s injury. Only then did he barely appease Mount Luofu¡¯s dissatisfaction.

    When Qiu Honglei returned to her camp, she secretly told Yun Jianyue, ¡°Master, I think Sect Master Yan is actually a pretty good person.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, she always puts on that fake and superficial air of self-righteousness. It¡¯s nothing more than an attempt to bribe the hearts of others,¡± Yun Jianyue said with a hint of envy when she saw how enthusiastically those sect masters treated Yan Xuehen.

    Master, you¡¯re just jealous¡­Qiu Honglei thought. She opened her mouth, but she was worried that she would be beaten, so in the end, she didn¡¯t say anything.

    ¡­

    Then, the groups continued their fights. With that pitiful contestant from Mount Luofu as an example, almost no one challenged the representative disciples again; instead, they tried to win a few more fights against others to get the best chance of seizing the number two spot.

    Zhao Xiaodie was one of them. She was unlucky enough to have ended up in the same group as Wu Xiaofan, so she sensibly admitted defeat. However, she didn¡¯t hold back against anyone else, always dispatching her opponents cleanly and swiftly. Most of the time, her Rainbow Butterfly Steps were enough to defeat her opponents. Against the stronger ones, once she brought out her poison, her opponents often had no choice but to concede. Of course, right after her victory was decided, she quickly provided the antidote, so there were no debates about fairness the way there had been with Qiu Honglei.

    Because she had felt ill at ease, she had previously stayed inside and rarely left. As such, this was the first time the other disciples had seen her. They were all surprised by her beautiful appearance, making her resemble a colorful butterfly. Furthermore, because she was really strong and had only lost to Wu Xiaofan, she had be even more popr.

    Many people began to privately ask about who this beautiful woman was. When they learned that she was actually King Qi¡¯s daughter, quite a few men¡¯s eyes began to shine. The look in their eyes was a sort of ¡®I don¡¯t want to work hard anymore¡¯ expression. For all sorts of reasons, she had be a goddess on the same level as Chu Chuyan and Pei Mianman in thispetition.

    Zhao Xiaodie definitely noticed the enthusiastic expressions. At any other time, she would have felt extremely proud of herself, but she didn¡¯t care about any of it at all. She only nced toward a certain figure on the stage from time to time.

    ¡°There¡¯s definitely a scandal here!¡± Yun Jianyue suddenly remarked with a snort.

    ¡°What scandal?¡± Qiu Honglei eximed, jumping in fright.

    Yun Jianyue nudged her chin toward the butterfly-like woman and said, ¡°Something has definitely happened between Zu An and that woman. Look at that resentful expression; it¡¯s full of strong feelings of love and hate.¡±

    ¡°Really? Why can¡¯t I see anything?¡± Qiu Honglei replied, giving her a doubtful look. She continued, ¡°Master, I¡¯ve discovered that ever since you came back from the Fiend races¡¯ territory, you¡¯ve be an expert at romance.¡±

    Yun Jianyue was rmed. She replied without batting an eyelid, ¡°I was the one who taught you those charm skills. What¡¯s so strange about me knowing about these things?¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Qiu Honglei replied skeptically.

    Meanwhile, Yan Xuehen also had doubts. She had also keenly sensed the way Zhao Xiaodie looked at Zu An. She thought,Wasn¡¯t King Qi¡¯s rtionship with Zu An bad? The two of them even had some conflict when they were at King Yan Manorst time¡­

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An¡¯s attention waspletely focused on Pei Mianman. Big Manman won several victories in a row. Unfortunately, she was about to face another opponent who was on a win streak: Heavenly Sorrow Sect¡¯s Zhi Yin!

 Chapter 1630 â€“ Push of the Iron Mountain

    <h4>Chapter 1630 ¨C Push of the Iron Mountain</h4>

    Zhi Yin shook his snow-white cloak when he got on the stage. Between that and his handsome smile, the women who were watching the battle all screamed.

    ¡°Big brother Zhi Yin is so handsome! I¡¯m going to die~¡±

    ¡°We have to protect the world¡¯s greatest big brother, Zhi Yin, together!¡±

    ¡°Big brother, you can do it!¡±

    ¡­

    When he heard the female disciples¡¯ encouragement, Zhi Yin¡¯s previously gloomy mood due to Chu Chuyan¡¯s situation finally eased a bit. He looked at the woman across from him and suddenly became a bit absentminded.

    He had thought that Chu Chuyan was the world¡¯s prettiest woman, but he hadn¡¯t expected there to be someone else who wasn¡¯t inferior to her at all. The woman in front of him had a beauty that was entirely different from Chu Chuyan¡¯s. Every frown and smile she made seemed to tug at his very soul! Of course, the most rming feature she had was the movement of her chest. It really made one¡¯s eyes and heart jump along with it.

    He took a deep breath and secretly warned himself not to do anything that would let down Fairy Chu, reminding himself that he was fully devoted to her. Only then did he say to Pei Mianman, ¡°Lady Pei, you should forfeit. With your strength, you absolutely have the qualification to be the second ce in our group. Obtaining a spot in the quota shouldn¡¯t be too difficult of a matter for you.¡±

    Pei Mianman sorted out her hair, which had be a bit messy due to the wind. She said with a smile, ¡°Thank you for your reminder, senior brother. However, I still want to give it a try.¡±

    Zhi Yin¡¯s smile froze when he heard the response. Just then, a strange silence fell. Ever since that Mount Luofu disciple who had overestimated his own abilities and was seriously injured as a result, Pei Mianman was the first one who had challenged a representative disciple. Many people were worried for her. After all, this was such a pretty woman with such a big smile, so how could they not have a good impression of her?

    The sect masters exchanged a look. Apart from Heavenly Sorrow Sect¡¯s Guan Choutian, whose expression was a bit ugly, the others all nodded.

    Wang Wuxie couldn''t help but say in praise, ¡°As cultivators, we should be facing challenges head-on like this and strive to be number one.¡±

    The others immediately surrendering as soon as they encountered a representative disciple really weren¡¯t what the leaders had had in mind when they nned the Nine Sects Great Competition. Thispetition was supposed to forge the disciples into something stronger.

    Guan Chouhai thought, This guy sure speaks nice words, but isn¡¯t this only because she isn¡¯t challenging your Wu Xiaofan?

    He naturally wasn¡¯t worried that Zhi Yin would lose, but Pei Mianman¡¯s cultivation wasn¡¯t low. After fighting with her, he will definitely be a bit worn out. Then, once the first-ce participants from each group fought, it would be disadvantageous for him.

    Mount Luofu¡¯s Elder Xu had an even unhappier expression. Earlier, why hadn¡¯t there been any words of praise when their disciple challenged Peng Wuyan? Wasn¡¯t it all because Pei Mianman was pretty?

    Yan Xuehen gave Pei Mianman a careful look and nodded inwardly. This woman¡¯s talent wasn¡¯t bad, but her steadfast will and courage were even rarer traits. It was a pity that Yan Xuehen hadn¡¯t met her earlier; if she could have taken Pei Mianman as a disciple too, her achievements would definitely have been on par with Chu Chuyan¡¯s.

    However, she suddenly remembered her rtionship with Zu An; in that case, both of her disciples would have been swindled by that brat Zu An! She practically wouldn¡¯t even be able to sleep at night from anger.

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +20 +20 +20¡­

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Qiu Honglei tugged at Yun Jianyue¡¯s sleeves, asking, ¡°Master, who do you think will win?¡±

    Yun Jianyue thought to herself for a bit and replied, ¡°It¡¯s hard to say. That big-boobed woman was holding back before, but that pretty boy is Heavenly Sorrow Sect¡¯s representative disciple. He¡¯s definitely a tough opponent.¡±

    Qiu Honglei was speechless. Her master¡¯s habit of giving people nicknames hadn¡¯t changed, but they really were big¡­

    ¡­

    On Tranquility Temple¡¯s side, the little monk Jie Se asked a simr question. ¡°Which benefactor below does master think will win?¡±

    Master Jian Huang had a profound look as he replied, ¡°Who do you want to win more?¡±

    ¡°I hope Lady Pei wins. Her courage in facing a challenge is admirable,¡± Jie Se reflexively replied.

    ¡°Is her bravery what you admire?¡± Master Jian Huang harrumphed. ¡°Copy our ts a hundred times when we go back, then write the heart sutra from memory a hundred times.¡±

    Jie Se was speechless.

    ¡­

    Xie Daoyun secretly asked Zu An, ¡°Big brother Zu, can Miss Pei win?¡± After all, they had been fellow students before at Brightmoon Academy, so she naturally felt closer to Pei Mianman than Zhi Yin.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± Zu An said with a frown. Then, he sent Pei Mianman a ki transmission, saying, ¡°Big Manman, there¡¯s no need for you to take the risk here. Second ce is already practically yours.¡±

    That pretty boy Zhi Yin was Heavenly Sorrow¡¯s representative disciple, after all. With Big Manman¡¯s previous cultivation, she definitely wouldn¡¯t have been his match, but he didn¡¯t know how much she had improved since then.

    Pei Mianman had a huge smile as she replied, ¡°You know, I was a genius before I met you. I don¡¯t want to lose to anyone.¡± If she didn¡¯t even dare to face Zhi Yin, how was she going to beat Chuyan?

    When he sensed the firmness of her resolve, Zu An couldn''t really try to convince her further. After remaining silent for a moment, he said with a smile, ¡°Then Big Manman can just fight to your heart¡¯s content. If there are any consequences, I¡¯ll help you cover it up.¡±

    A bright and beautiful smile appeared on Pei Mianman¡¯s face. The two of them were already connected in body and spirit, so there was no need to say too many words of gratitude.

    Meanwhile, Zhi Yin only felt everything in front of him blur. This Lady Pei¡¯s smile really was beautiful! He thought, I should be a bit more lenientter. I can¡¯t make her loss look too ugly.

    As such, he gestured for her to start in a noble manner, saying, ¡°Lady Pei, please make your move.¡±

    His confident appearance left many youngdies star-struck.

    ¡°Big brother is so handsome!¡±

    ¡°As expected of Heavenly Sorrow Sect¡¯s noble prince!¡± n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡­

    Pei Mianman didn¡¯t decline and slowly drew her longsword, replying, ¡°I¡¯ll be offending big brother.¡±

    Then, her longsword thrust toward her opponent, unleashing a wildly powerful wave of energy. The longsword clearly looked graceful and thin, and yet it unleashed incredible power when it was thrust forth! Her fighting style really was ferocious. Most importantly, every single sh contained an extremely vicious power, as if she were a general who had survived battles involving thousands of people. The disciples nearby with low cultivations even found it a bit hard to breathe.

    The expressions of the disciples from the nine daoist sects changed. Thepetitors who had lost to her before fully epted their defeat. Previously, they had felt that this woman just relied on that strange ck me of hers and that her true strength wouldn¡¯t have been sufficient to win against them, but at this moment, they all subconsciously thought that she hadn¡¯t been using her full strength before at all.

    A reminiscent smile appeared on Zu An¡¯s face. In the Yinxu secret dungeon, Pei Mianman had lived for many years as the war goddess Fu Hao, someone who left enemies terror-stricken on the battlefield! That level of boldness had already been etched into her bones. If anyone mistook her for some dainty flower vase, they would pay a big price for that error in judgment.

    Sure enough, Zhi Yin hadn¡¯t expected her attack to be so overwhelming. He couldn''t help but be a bit flustered. Fortunately, his movement technique was profound, and he was always able to just barely avoid the attacks. However, he had already long forgotten his previous thoughts of going easy on his opponent. On many asions, he wanted to counterattack, but now that he had lost the initiative, seizing it back wouldn¡¯t be so easy.

    Sword ki flew across the battlefield and their clothes fluttered around. The surrounding disciples were dazzled by the battle, shocked by Pei Mianman¡¯s ferocious attacks and in awe of Zhi Yin¡¯s advanced movement skill. This was the first time they had seen a representative disciple put in such a tough situation.

    Suddenly, with a loud and clear sound, a white cloth fluttered through the air. It turned out that Zhi Yin hadn¡¯t evaded in time, and Pei Mianman¡¯s sword had sliced through the cloak he was wearing!

    The entire battlefield erupted with gasps. They hadn¡¯t expected that the first one left at a disadvantage would be Zhi Yin! Could it be that a representative disciple was going to lose for the first time?

    In the previous daoist sectpetitions, there had been instances of representative disciples experiencing upsets, but it was extremely rare. Only three or four instances had ever been recorded. Every single one had been used by the sects as teaching material for their disciples. Those individuals had practically been nailed to a pir of humiliation for over a thousand years. Could it be that Zhi Yin was going to be the newughingstock?

    However, others had deeper insights. Jadefall Pce¡¯s Wan Guiyi sneered and said, ¡°That was only because Zhi Yin was trying to act handsome, always wearing that hindrance of a cloak. Now, he has paid the price for it. But now, he has obtained an opportunity.¡±

    Sure enough, after losing his cloak, Zhi Yin¡¯s movements became much more agile. After avoiding the sword strike, he brought his knee downward. When his foot made contact with the ground, it struck with enough force to produce cracks. Borrowing that force, he leaned into his opponent¡¯s sword.

    Pei Mianman¡¯s de immediately bent like a crescent moon, groaning under the pressure. Fortunately, her reaction was extremely quick. She did several somersaults backward, all the way to the edge of the stage; only then did she finally neutralize the tremendous force. Even so, there was still an unnatural blush on her face. She was clearly injured.

    ¡°Push of the Iron Mountain!¡± those who knew the skill shouted.

    The other representative disciples also narrowed their eyes. This was Zhi Yin¡¯s ultimate skill. It used his entire body as a conduit to transfer the force of the earth. Its power was rumored to feel like the weight of a mountain. They had finally seen it for themselves today! As expected, its strength was exceptional.

    Zhi Yin didn¡¯t press the attack, instead saying elegantly to Pei Mianman, ¡°The fact that you were able to pressure me this far is already something to be proud of. However, if you still refuse to use your ck mes, you might not have another chance.¡±

    His gestures and movements made a group of female disciples scream again.

    ¡°He¡¯s so good! I really¡­¡±

    Of course, the male disciples next to them all wrinkled their noses and rolled their eyes.

    ¡°Then senior brother needs to be careful,¡± Pei Mianman said. At the same time, a ring of raging ck mes surrounded her entire body.

 Chapter 1631 â€“ Sword Destroyed

    <h4>Chapter 1631 ¨C Sword Destroyed</h4>

    Pei Mianman shouted lightly, and a dragon made of ck mes wrapped around her longsword. Then, she attacked her opponent again.

    The heat of the ck mes spread outward. Even the air around the entire stage began to ripple. As the powerful heat spread throughout the entire ce, even the people on the other eight stages began to feel its destructive power.

    All of the disciples were horrified. Pei Mianman hadn¡¯t been using all of her ck mes¡¯ power at all!

    At first, most of the disciples had just been enjoying the view of Pei Mianman¡¯s movements, but the fact that they could participate in thispetition meant they were their ns¡¯ elites. There was no way they would only think about romance. As such, they had all been studying the essence of the two opponents¡¯ fighting skills while continuing to admire the beauty of her ¡®movements¡¯.

    After learning his lesson, Zhi Yin didn¡¯t dare to underestimate his opponent¡¯s attack. The golden radiance of earth elemental power surged around him, then gathered around his palm. His hand became as tough as a weapon, quickly blocking the ck mes around him.

    After her earlier attacks, which had been for the sake of testing out her opponent, Pei Mianman didn¡¯t hold back anymore. She immediately used her ultimate skill, calling out, ¡°ming Rose!¡±

    Roses made of endless ck mes blossomed like celestial flowers on the stage. Every single one was just like Pei Mianman herself, beautiful and dangerous.

    ¡°This attack really is too beautiful¡­¡± Xie Daoyun muttered to herself, looking dazzled.

    Zu An recalled seeing Pei Mianman use the skill previously in Brightmoon City, but ming Rose was now countless times stronger.

    When she heard the gaspsing from all directions, Elder Huo Ling stuck out her chest proudly. This disciple she found really had exceptional talent. There was even a chance for her to be the best among the younger generation one day.

    Wang Wuxie secretly sent Yan Xuehen a ki transmission, saying, ¡°These ck mes are a bit strange. What does Sect Master Yan think about them?¡±

    He naturally wanted to just call her Xuehen, but he had been bluntly corrected when he did so in the past. He didn¡¯t want to increase her negative impression of him, so he changed back to a proper form of address.

    Sure enough, Yan Xuehen still responded to him, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t know.¡±

    Even though it was just two words, Wang Wuxie was already perfectly satisfied. He had been scared that she would distance herself from him because of what had happened in the past, but the fact that she had replied meant that there was still a chance in the future.

    Then, he discussed the situation with the other sect masters. The others were also surprised, and couldn''t see through the origin of the ck mes. They just thought of it as a powerful variant of fire elemental energy.

    Only Master Jian Huang had a pensive expression, muttering, ¡°Could it be¡­¡±

    ¡­

    In that time, the battle had already taken a different turn. Zhi Yin¡¯s entire body surged with earthen yellow light as he used the power of the earth element to face the ck roses. The earth element was known for its defensive characteristics, and was quite sturdy. However, as the ck roses exploded one after another, the yellow barrier around him began to tremble. Eventually, it couldn''t hold on anymore and shattered, sending smoke and dust into the air.

    ¡°Did Zhi Yin lose?!¡±

    Many people stood up out of concern, trying to see what was happening inside. However, judging from Pei Mianman¡¯s serious expression, the more intelligent onlookers could tell that it was nowhere near that simple.

    Suddenly, a sphere flew fiercely out of the smoke and dust, as fast as an artillery shell. The ck roses were all destroyed when they made contact with the sphere, which didn¡¯t stop at all and continued straight at Pei Mianman. She hurriedly raised her longsword to block the sphere, but with a loud noise, she was blown back more than ten meters before finally stabilizing herself. When she saw the small nick in her sword, her expression became extremely grave.

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

    Heavy collisions rang out again and again. Each sound seemed almost to strike against the audience¡¯s hearts. Even the contestants of the other eight stages couldn''t help but stop. They felt their internal energies stir and couldn''t keep fighting at all.

    Forget about the surroundingpetitors, those with lower cultivations vomited blood on the spot. The elders all used their skills to protect their disciples, and only then did the weaker spectators return to normal.

    A figure slowly stepped out from amid the smoke and dust. His figure was tall, and his hair was graceful. He was dribbling a ball in his hand. The same terrifying noise resounded whenever the ball made contact with the ground.

    The spectators¡¯ expressions changed. Just the sound of the ball hitting the ground alone was so powerful; just how terrifying would it be if that ball made contact with one¡¯s body?

    Even Wu Xiaofan and Wan Guiyi, who had just been watching the battle with amusement, now straightened up. They looked at the ball in Zhi Yin¡¯s hands with serious expressions. Was this his trump card?

    ¡°I originally prepared this for the others, but I didn¡¯t expect you to force me to bring it out ahead of time. Now that you¡¯ve made me use the Shadowless Ball, you can be proud of yourself even if you lose,¡± Zhi Yin said, starting to feel annoyed. However, when he saw the charming and delicate woman on the other side, he really couldn''t bring himself to get mad. Still, he didn¡¯t dare to hold back now. The ball in his hand vanished as soon as he spoke.

    Pei Mianman was rmed. Her body flickered as she left her original location.

    Boom!

    A huge crater appeared in the ground where she had just been standing. The ck ball that had been in Zhi Yin¡¯s hand was rapidly spinning inside.

    ¡­

    ¡°This power seems to be on par with an immortal-grade weapon!¡±

    The sect elders were all knowledgeable and immediately recognized that the Shadowless Ball in Zhi Yin¡¯s hands was extraordinary. They all gave Guan Chouhai looks of admiration and envy. After all, even with the resources at a daoist sect¡¯s disposal, immortal-grade weapons were still extremely hard to obtain. They hadn¡¯t expected him to find one for his disciple. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Guan Chouhai¡¯s expression was conflicted. He couldn''t bring himself to feel happy at all. He had initially nned for Zhi Yin to catch Wu Xiaofan off guard in the following struggles between the representative disciples. He hadn¡¯t expected that trump card to be revealed ahead of time so early! Now that Wu Xiaofan could prepare himself, it wouldn¡¯t be as effective.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Pei Mianman seized the chance to thrust her sword at Zhi Yin. She wanted to take the opportunity to defeat him while he wasn¡¯t in control of his weapon. However, as soon as she carried out her attack, she suddenly sensed danger.

    Zu An also sent a frantic warning through ki transmission: ¡°Be careful!¡±

    Pei Mianman didn¡¯t take the time to think and dodged to one side. A terrifying wind brushed past her. Fortunately, her body was extremely flexible, allowing her to carry out a difficult evasive movement. Her posture made many of the spectators¡¯ eyeballs almost pop out of their sockets.

    However, Pei Mianman wasn¡¯t in the mood to pay attention to these things at all. Instead, she clutched her arm with an expression of pain on her face. She hadn¡¯t been able topletely avoid the attack, and the Shadowless Ball had lightly brushed her arm. Even so, she felt half of her body turning a bit numb. She couldn''t help but feel rmed by the Shadowless Ball¡¯s power. Furthermore, the sound it made when it hit the ground could make one¡¯s internal energies stir and one¡¯s ki distribution unstable, so the opponent¡¯s reactions would also be slightly slower.

    ¡­

    Zu An¡¯s expression grew stranger and stranger as he watched the skinny, tall, and handsome man continue to dribble the Shadowless Ball, sometimes even between his legs. Is this guy also a transmigrator?

    However, his thoughts quickly changed direction, because he noticed that Zhi Yin wasn¡¯t just dribbling the ball, but actually adjusting his position for the best opportunity to attack.

    Soon afterward, the ck ball shot out without any warning, mming toward Pei Mianman. At first, she tried to use the ck mes to guard against the Shadowless Ball, but it was just too ferocious. The ck mes broke apart as soon as they made contact with the ball. She didn¡¯t dare to take a hit from it head-on, so she could only do her best to evade.

    Her opponent clearly kept dribbling the ball, but it seemed to be sending countless shadows at her. Furthermore, the ball could return like a boomerang, which was really hard to defend against.

    The entire stage was quickly filled with balls. However, Pei Mianman seemed to have a kind of intuition that could only have been polished on the battlefield, constantly allowing her to just barely avoid it at thest moment.

    Boom!

    On several asions, the ball mmed into the defensive barrier around them, causing the barrier to flicker and eventually producing cracks, as if it would break at any time.

    Wang Wuxie¡¯s expression changed a bit. He reached out his hand and sent out some violet ki, gradually stabilizing the stage.

    The sect masters thought to themselves that Wang Wuxie¡¯s cultivation seemed to have only grown harder and harder to measure. However, the most shocking thing was that Zhi Yin¡¯s attacks with the Shadowless Ball were so terrifying that not even a barrier created by so many elders could withstand them.

    The proud Wan Guiyi¡¯s expression changed a bit as well. He had to admit that he had looked down on this pretty boy. If they really fought, he wouldn¡¯t necessarily be able to win easily.

    ¡°Manman, you should just admit defeat!¡± Elder Huo Ling called out as she stood up nervously. The armrest of her chair had been unwittingly crushed to pieces already.

    As Pei Mianman¡¯s master, she naturally knew what kind of situation her disciple was in. Even though she looked as if she could avoid the attacks at the moment, she would be hit sooner orter. Furthermore, how could an immortal-grade weapon be so easy to endure? Elder Huo Ling knew that with Pei Mianman¡¯s talent, the only thing shecked was time. Losing to Heavenly Sorrow Sect¡¯s representative disciple wasn¡¯t too embarrassing.

    When the others heard the usually unyielding Elder Huo Ling speak that way, they all assumed that Pei Mianman had no chance of making aeback. However, Pei Mianman bit her lip and stubbornly shook her head. Right at that moment, the Shadowless Ball roared toward her. She could no longer evade and could only raise the longsword in her hand to face it head-on.

    Crack!

    The longsword that had already been full of cracks shattered into several pieces on the spot. Meanwhile, the Shadowless Ball continued to rush at her chest without any signs of stopping.

 Chapter 1632: Falling Out

    <h4>Chapter 1632: Falling Out</h4>

    ¡°Ah!¡± Elder Huo Ling cried out in rm.

    She quickly stood up, but Guan Chouhai took a step forward and ended up right in front of her, saying, ¡°Elder, I don¡¯t think we seniors should participate in the battles between juniors.¡±

    Elder Hou Ling¡¯s expression became unpleasant. However, what he said was reasonable and she couldn''t retort against it. Furthermore, if she really wanted to go against Guan Chouhai, she wouldn¡¯t be able to take him down in a short amount of time. Meanwhile, Manman would already be seriously injured by that time.

    Zu An also suddenly got up, intending to save her, but he suddenly thought of something and sat back down.

    Yan Xuehen, who had always been secretly watching Zu An, also retracted her gaze. She thought to herself,This Miss Pei seems to be quite important to Zu An.

    Many disciples who were watching couldn''t help but cover their eyes. All of them had seen the power of Zhi Yin¡¯s Shadowless Ball. If not for the seniors protecting this ce, even the stage would have been destroyed. Now, it was going to m straight into Pei Mianman¡¯s chest, so how could she possibly take it? Most importantly, even if she survived, would those breasts be okay? If not, what would be the point then?!

    Many men cursed Zhi Yin! This guy normally seemed elegant and graceful, but why hadn¡¯t he struck anywhere else this time and gone for her chest? Would he be able topensate her for her loss?

    In contrast, some female cultivators were really excited. The pressure Pei Mianman had given them was way too great. They wanted their big brother Zhi Yin to teach this vixen a lesson.

    However, the moment the Shadowless Ball was about to hit Pei Mianman, arge bronze cauldron projection surrounded her.

    Bang!

    With a loud noise, thebronze figure trembled slightly, and the Shadowless Ball was sent flying back. Zhi Yin caught the Shadowless Ball as it returned. He was full of shock.What is this situation?

    It wasn¡¯t just him; even the sect masters were all moved. They all stuck out their necks to see what was going on.

    The projection wasn¡¯t actually arge cauldron; rather, it was a strange bird with gorgeous patterns around it. It looked a bit like a cauldron, because the bird¡¯s legs and tail appeared to form the supports of one. It looked somewhat simr to an owl, but it was much stranger and more ferocious-looking. Its eyes in particr almost seemed to be alive. They were full of a strange, mysterious air.

    What kind of weapon was this? It could actually block the attack of an immortal-grade weapon! That was what the spectators were puzzled about. They all looked at Wan Tongtian and Elder Huo Ling.

    Wan Tongtian was also stunned. This wasn¡¯t something Jadefall Pce had given her. He gave Elder Huo Ling an inquiring look.

    However, Elder Huo Ling was alsopletely confused. But if she as the master admitted that she didn¡¯t know, wouldn¡¯t the others allugh their heads off? As such, she stuck out her chest, looking extremely proud.

    When the others saw that, they felt even more admiration. They thought to themselves,Elder Huo Ling really did hide her strength well!In the future, they had to try and build a rtionship with her for sure.

    Qiu Honglei asked Yun Jianyue, ¡°Master, just what is that? It looks so strong.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Yun Jianyue said, shaking her head. ¡°But that kid definitely knows, so you can just ask himter.¡±

    Qiu Honglei followed her gaze and saw the smile on Zu An¡¯s lips, as if he had already known that this would be the result.

    Of course Zu An knew what it was. The object was Fu Hao¡¯s owl statue, which Big Manman had obtained from the Yinxu secret dungeon. He hadn¡¯t expected her to activate its protective effect.

    Suddenly, Fu Hao¡¯s Owl transformed, actually taking the form of a giant owl. As it appeared, the entire stage was surrounded by a ck, ink-like darkness. The disciples outside couldn''t see what was happening inside at all.

    Wang Wuxie and the others were all shocked, thinking,What is this?They all extended their auras to sense what was going on. They discovered that their ki, which could normally pass through most things, became incredibly sluggish in the darkness. They could only reach in a bit, even after a long time. With their cultivation, if they were standing at the edge of the stage, they would naturally be able to see what was happening inside; however, with their status, how could they bring themselves to do that?

    They were all shocked. The darkness was already approaching the grandmaster level! What kind of incredible weapon was this?

    Only Guan Chouhai was worried. He reflexively wanted to move toward the stage. However, Elder Huo Ling moved in front of him with a smile and said, ¡°Sect Master Guan, I don¡¯t think we seniors should participate in the battles between juniors, now, can we?¡±

    Guan Chouhai choked. He hadn¡¯t expected his words to be so quickly sent right back at him.

    Suddenly, several roars emerged from the stage, apanied by heavy impacts at an urgent pace. It was clear that Zhi Yin was sending the Shadowless Ball in every direction. The formation around the stage flickered crazily, clearly on the verge of copse because of the Shadowless Ball.

    The disciples were all incredibly shocked. Zhi Yin¡¯s Shadowless Ball was just too strong, right? One would be seriously injured by a mere brush from it!

    Only Wu Xiaofan, Wan Guiyi, and a few others¡¯ expressions grew grave as they muttered, ¡°Zhi Yin might be defeated here.¡±

    Even though Zhi Yin¡¯s Shadowless Ball was powerful, it was still something they could understand; however, this domain of darkness Pei Mianman disyed waspletely outside theirprehension. They didn¡¯t even think they could do much better than Zhi Yin. Zhi Yin could rely on the Shadowless Ball to defend himself through offense, but what about them?

    ¡­n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Meanwhile, on the stage, Zhi Yin was extremely rmed, because he discovered that he couldn''t see a thing. Normally, when one¡¯s cultivation reached a certain point, there was actually no need to use one¡¯s eyes anymore, as they could use their senses to perceive their surroundings. But he couldn''t sense a thing! There was only extremely thick darkness.

    Helpless to do anything else, he could only frantically send out his Shadowless Ball, hoping he could hit his opponent by chance. It was just too quiet for him, and the dead silence was absolutely frightening. He could only show his fighting spirit through shouting.

    Meanwhile, Pei Mianman was hiding only a few meters away from him. The reason why it had been so hard for her to evade the Shadowless Ball was because Zhi Yin could see her. Now, however, it wasn¡¯t hard for her to avoid these aimless attacks. In such darkness, she reigned supreme.

    She silently waited for an opportunity. Sure enough, it was difficult for one to show no openings in a ce where they couldn''t sense anything, and she soon found one.

    Jadefall Haze!

    A terrifying wave of heat spread outward. It was like a mist, but also like the sunset; it was beautiful and dangerous.

    ¡­

    Outside the battlefield, Elder Huo Ling¡¯s eyes lit up. She could sense her own absolute skill¡¯s aura. Furthermore, whenever that skill was used, it could often decide victory and defeat.

    Sure enough, with a loud noise, a figure flew out of the stage. They werepletely scorched ck, and their hair was also a mess. Their clothes were tattered like that of a beggar on the street.

    ¡°Zhi Yin?¡±

    There were only two people on the stage. It was clear that it wasn¡¯t Pei Mianman, whose body would have surged with waves, so it could only be the other one. Even though they couldn''t associate this sorry figure with the handsome and noble prince they had seen before, this was the reality! The spectators were left in disbelief.

    ¡°Zhi Yin actually lost?¡±

    ¡°And he lost so badly?¡±

    ¡°I knew that this pretty face didn¡¯t have much skill. He only knew how to act cool all day. Now, he¡¯s be history¡¯s fifth representative disciple to be upset.¡±

    All sorts of gossip surrounded him. Zhi Yin was already seriously injured, so how could he still endure such a thing? Blood sprayed out of his mouth, and he passed out.

    ¡°My disciple!¡± Guan Chouhai cried out and quickly rushed to Zhi Yin¡¯s side. When he checked Zhi Yin¡¯s condition, he discovered that many of his bones were broken, and his meridians were in an even worse state from the power of the fire element. He couldn''t help but roar furiously at the stage, ¡°How dare you attack so mercilessly!¡±

    The darkness on the stage gradually scattered. Pei Mianman¡¯s figure rocked back and forth as she appeared. When she heard that, she opened her mouth, as if she wanted to defend herself, but for some reason, she said nothing.

    Guan Chouhai was shocked and furious. He had never expected Zhi Yin to lose! After all, Zhi Yin was Heavenly Sorrow Sect¡¯s best disciple, someone who represented the dignity of both Heavenly Sorrow Sect and himself! Heavenly Sorrow Sect had been truly humiliated by this event.

    Not only would Zhi Yin be nailed to the pir of shame for the rest of history, as his master, he would also follow in that humiliation. Furthermore, he would be an eternal sinner to the Heavenly Sorrow Sect. Just from the thought that hundreds of yearster, Heavenly Sorrow Sect¡¯s disciples would still be ming him, he felt a chill run from head to toe.

    When he saw that Pei Mianman didn¡¯t respond to him, he was even more furious, roaring, ¡°You witch, just what kind of sinister thing did you use to scheme against Zhi Yin?!¡±

    He had already made up his mind that he absolutely couldn¡¯t acknowledge the battle¡¯s results. Furthermore, he believed that Pei Mianman¡¯s true strength was indeed lower than Zhi Yin¡¯s. She must have won purely through that strange bronze statue, as a fluke.

    Elder Huo Ling retorted furiously, ¡°Guan Chouhai, what kind of bullshit are you uttering out of that mouth of yours right now? So if my disciple wins, it¡¯s a scheme, but if your disciple wins, it¡¯s right and proper?¡± Her nature had always been fiery to begin with. Now, she couldn''t hold back her curses anymore.

    Guan Chouhai was a sect master; when had he ever been cursed at before? He glowered and responded, ¡°What is that ink-like darkness? Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s a skill from your Jadefall Pce.¡±

    ¡°Is it your business as to whether we have such a skill or not?¡± Elder Huo Ling retorted. In truth, she was actually really curious about what that move was. Of course, there was no way she would give in here.

    Guan Chouhai sneered and shouted, ¡°It had no sign of an orthodox sect¡¯s righteous disy of strength at all! It was like some treacherous trick of the Devil Sect. If you don¡¯t exin this properly, for all we know, some damned bastard ended up in our daoist sects to cause trouble!¡±

 Chapter 1633: Making the Whole World His Enemy

    <h4>Chapter 1633: Making the Whole World His Enemy</h4>

    Yun Jianyue was furious when she heard that.What¡¯s wrong with the Devil Sect? Did the Devil Sect eat your food or something?!

    She was about to say something in protest when Qiu Honglei, who was familiar with her temper, quickly grabbed her and said, ¡°Master, calm down, calm down!¡±

    If they got involved now, wouldn¡¯t they be attacked from all sides? After all, Golden Peak was full of daoist sect experts. The two of them, who were from the Devil Sect, would be torn apart.

    Yun Jianyue finally calmed down, but she red at the distant Guan Chouhai, clearly remembering this grudge.

    Guan Chouhai was confused.What did I do to offend Emptiness Isle?However, he had more important things to worry about. He criticized Pei Mianman for using a dishonest weapon and not fighting in a proper way. In response, Elder Huo Ling naturally showered him with criticism.

    However, the other sects all spected wildly. They had never seen Fu Hao¡¯s Owl either. They wanted to take the chance to use Guan Chouhai to get more information on it.

    As for Yan Xuehen, she didn¡¯t care too much about worldly affairs anyway, so she had no reason to speak up in such a situation.

    Guan Chouhai said to Pei Mianman, ¡°Lady Pei, bring out your bronze owl for everyone to examine. That way, we¡¯ll know if it¡¯s some kind of sinister object. This is for your sake too, or else you might be carrying something evil without even knowing it. If something bad happens, you might not be able to turn back.¡±

    Pei Mianman tightly pursed her lips. She couldn''t exin the origins of Fu Hao¡¯s Owl Either, and who knew what they do with their examination? Would they just use the pretext of finding an evil object to confiscate it from her? Furthermore, it was a symbol of her having been married to Zu An for several decades in Yinxu. How could she let someone else mess with it?

    When he saw her remain silent, Guan Chouhai¡¯s smile grew colder and colder. He continued, ¡°Are you not speaking because you¡¯recking in confidence?¡±

    The disciples all had strange expressions. The male disciples all thought,Anyone who looks like Lady Pei is definitely innocent!But they were scared of Guan Chouhai¡¯s reputation, so none of them dared to say a thing.

    The female disciples, on the other hand, had different thoughts. They felt that this woman was a vixen, that someone so big could never be honest. They felt a natural hostility toward her. Furthermore, some of them were fangirls of Zhi Yin. When they saw him in such a miserable state, they immediately directed their anger at her, so they immediately voiced their support.

    Elder Huo Ling snapped furiously ¡°That weapon is my disciple¡¯s personal object; how can it be brought out for everyone to examine? I think Zhi Yin¡¯s ball or whatever is more evil. Why don¡¯t you have him hand over his weapon for us to examine?¡±

    Guan Chouhai reached out his hand and summoned Zhi Yin¡¯s Shadowless Ball as soon as he heard that, saying, ¡°The ball is right here. This one has no objections to all of you examining it at all.¡±

    Elder Huo Ling choked. She hadn¡¯t expected her impulsive action to end up doing her in. However, as Guan Chouhai took the chance to walk onto the stage, she blocked his path and protested, ¡°Either way, I will not allow you to bully my disciple!¡±

    Guan Chouhai¡¯s expression darkened as he replied, ¡°Elder, please do not be confused. If that is an evil object, it will not only harm your Jadefall Pce, but also bring danger to all of the daoist sects.¡±

    Elder Huo Ling said furiously, ¡°Don¡¯t give me that bullshit. Either way, I won¡¯t let you touch Manman.¡±

    Guan Chouhai said coldly, ¡°Elder seems to be obstinately persisting on the wrong path. Then, don¡¯t me this one for offending you.¡±

    The two were about to sh when Wan Tongtian also took a step forward and called out, ¡°What, could it be that Brother Guan believes our Jadefall Pce doesn¡¯t have anyone left in it?¡±

    In that instant, Guan Chouhai was nked from two sides. As long as he acted, a fierce battle would definitely follow.

    Elder Huo Ling¡¯s previously fierce expression became a bit gentler. This was the first time she found Wan Tongtian a bit pleasing to look at in decades.So senior brother still cares about me¡­

    The White Jade Sect¡¯s Elder Li chuckled and walked over, saying, ¡°How about we have a discussion? Let¡¯s not ruin the mood here.¡± Despite those words, he stood in between Guan Chouhai and Wan Tongtian; he was clearly trying to help Guan Chouhai.

    His choice was unsurprising. Jadefall Pce¡¯s Wan Guiyi was already a famous genius, while this Pei Mianman had suddenlye out of nowhere and defeated the famous representative disciple Zhi Yin. Jadefall Pce¡¯s future prospects were limitless, which meant there was a danger of the other sects being forced to bow down to them in the future. No other sect was willing for such a situation to appear. They naturally wanted to take the chance to pressure Jadefall Pce.

    Wan Tongtian naturally saw through his intention. He was shocked and angry, replying, ¡°What is the meaning of this, Brother Li?¡±

    Li Changsheng smiled, saying, ¡°We¡¯re all old acquaintances, so I didn¡¯t want our rtionship to sour. How about we all take a step back and have this valiant female disciple bring out that weapon for us to take a look? I promise that as long as it isn¡¯t some evil object, I¡¯ll definitely return it to its rightful owner.¡±

    Wan Tongtin and Elder Huo Ling¡¯s expressions were both ugly. The condition of ¡®as long as it isn¡¯t an evil object¡¯ was very vague. Who knew what they¡¯d say once they got their hands on it? However, it was two against two right now, so they didn¡¯t have the advantage. They could only wait until the other sects voiced their opinions.

    Kunlun Void Sect¡¯s Elder Xuan Dou stroked his beard and said, ¡°This old one believes that there is no harm in checking either. After all, the innocent are without guilt, so it can also appease people''s curiosity.¡±

    Kunlun Void, Jadefall Pce, and Heavenly Sorrow were the sects with the greatest histories, and had been the most powerful once upon a time. The longer their history was, the more entangled their grudges had be. They all hoped the others would have a bad time so that they couldpletely dominate their rivals. Even though the three sects had all fallen and were far from their past glory, that habit, which had been etched into their bones, was still there.

    Mount Luofu¡¯s Elder Xu, Purity Temple¡¯s Vice Manor Lord He Yuan, and Supreme Mystery Cave¡¯s second cavern master all voiced their agreement. They all naturally spoke some seemingly high-sounding words. However, they all had their own thoughts. They were all lower-ranked among the nine sects. Their strength had always been beneath that of Jadefall Pce, so they naturally hoped for their rival to be weakened, so as to be able to take their ce.

    When she saw that, Qiu Honglei couldn''t help but say, ¡°Master, I¡¯ve discovered that these orthodox sect¡¯s people are even more shameless than the Devil Sect. Our side is clearly bad, while these people have endless vicious schemes inside, and yet they always speak as if they¡¯re righteous.¡±

    Yun Jianyue sneered and replied, ¡°You¡¯ve only realized this now? Compared to our Devil Sect¡­ Ahem, our Holy Sect, there¡¯s no real difference inside. The only part we¡¯recking is that we¡¯re not as good at this superficial stuff, which is why we¡¯re always cursed by others. On the contrary, they¡¯vepletely fooled the dumb masses.¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Qiu Honglei muttered, ¡°But from what I¡¯ve seen, master is pretty proud of that. You¡¯ve never made us change either.¡±

    ¡°Of course I¡¯m proud of it! If we were also that fake, wouldn¡¯t we be just as bad as them?¡± Yun Jianyue replied, as if that were only proper and to be expected.

    Qiu Honglei was speechless. It seemed that the Holy Sect¡¯s situation couldn''t be changed for some time.

    ¡­

    Wan Tongtian and Elder Huo Ling were both shocked and furious. Their sects¡¯ strength alone naturally couldn''t face the cooperation of all of the others.

    As such, Wan Tongtian said to Wang Wuxie, ¡°Brother Wang, you are the official host here. Are you not going to say something?¡±

    Wang Wuxie didn¡¯t actually care. Either way, the Righteous Sun Sect was the strongest. However, seeing as the majority supported an examination, he didn¡¯t want to make them all upset. Furthermore, Li Changsheng was also in support of an examination. Li Changsheng was an elder of the White Jade Sect, and he was also Yan Xuehen¡¯s senior. In Wang Wuxie¡¯s mind, his will naturally represented Yan Xuehen¡¯s will.

    As such, he said with a smile, ¡°Seeing as everyone feels like there should be an examination, I do not think there is any harm in it either. Sect Master Wan, Elder Huo Ling, there is no need for the two of you to be worried. We are all people with our own pride. We would not be so corrupt as to desire your treasures in front of so many disciples¡¯ faces.¡±

    Wan Tongtian¡¯s expression darkened when he heard that.Sigh, as expected.As such, he secretly asked Elder Huo Ling, ¡°Junior Sister, should we just let them examine it? Either way, we¡¯re here; if they really want to pull something, it won¡¯t be toote for us to fall out then.¡±

    Elder Huo Ling looked extremely unhappy. Even though she was normally rather irritable in temper, she wasn¡¯t the type to bepletely devoid of logic. She knew that at the moment, because of the difference in strength, there would be no benefits for Jadefall Pce if things really turned sour.

    Still, she felt that it would be really humiliating if she really let them examine that object. Her disciple had won against a representative disciple, and yet what she had obtained wasn¡¯t glory; instead, she had only encountered doubts.

    ¡­

    While they were stuck in a dilemma, a cold voice suddenly called out, ¡°None of you seemed to have asked me for my opinion.¡±

    The spectators followed the source of the sound and saw Zu An. At that moment, he seemed to be harboring some kind of hidden rage.

    When she heard Zu An speak, the previously apprehensive Pei Mianman smiled sweetly. But she quickly began to worry again. After all, the ones here were all sect masters!Even though Ah Zu is strong, he¡¯s still too youngpared to them¡­

    Yun Jianyue harrumphed. ¡°I was just about to say¡­ That womanizer of yours definitely wouldn¡¯t give up the chance to be a hero.¡±

    Qiu Honglei was worried that her master would get upset, so she quickly said, ¡°I only admire him more for that. Even if the world is against him, he¡¯ll still protect his women.¡±

    ¡°Are you really not jealous at all?¡± Yun Jianyue asked, looking at her in shock.

    ¡°What do I have to be jealous about?¡± Qiu Honglei replied, her eyes sparkling. ¡°In my eyes, if I were the one on the stage, he would definitely make the whole world his enemy for my sake.¡±

    Yun Jianyue was stunned. She opened her mouth, but didn¡¯t say anything.

    Mount Luofu¡¯s Elder Xu harrumphed. ¡°This is our daoist sects¡¯ internal affair. Why would we ask for your opinion?¡±

 Chapter 1634: You Overrate Yourself

    <h4>Chapter 1634: You Overrate Yourself</h4>

    The two sides had already been unhappy with each other because of the injuries inflicted by Peng Wuyan, leaving Elder Xu with pent-up anger he hadn¡¯t been able to vent out. Now that Zu An had stepped forward, he finally saw a means of venting his frustration. He felt incredibly refreshed!

    ¡°I don¡¯t really care about your daoist sects¡¯ affairs, but what I see is someone who lost but isn¡¯t willing to admit it, and is instead trying to use other methods to nder the winning disciple. As a judge, how can I not do a thing?¡± Zu An replied with a sneer.

    ¡°Well said!¡± Elder Huo Ling loudly voiced her agreement.

    To be honest, she had actually looked down on Zu An a bit. After all, the world of warriors and the court were somewhat at odds with each other. In the eyes of the world of warriors, Zu An couldn''t help but appear like a hired thug. Furthermore, he didn¡¯t even have any cultivation, so they assumed he was just a pretty boy who had gotten his position through nepotism. Right now, however, when they werepletely surrounded on all sides, it was actually the very same pretty boy she had looked down on who was supporting her disciple. She felt both moved and ashamed.

    As Zu An spoke, he walked directly onto the stage. He supported the somewhat weak Pei Mianman and asked, ¡°How do you feel? Hurry and get some rest. I¡¯ll take care of the rest.¡±

    ¡°Okay~¡± Pei Mianman replied, giving him a deep look. The emotions in her eyes looked as if they were about to spill out.

    Even though she had won against Zhi Yin, in terms of real cultivation, she was stillcking. His frantic retaliation had left her with injuries too, and her ki had been exhausted severely. Unfortunately, the sect masters wanted to examine her, so she hadn¡¯t gotten a chance to rest.

    As expected, it¡¯s still Ah Zu who cares the most about me.

    ¡°Ah, my goosebumps are about to fall off,¡± Yun Jianyue muttered, making a show of rubbing her arm and shivering. ¡°Do they think everyone here is dead or something? They¡¯re still showing each other a public disy of affection.¡±

    Qiu Honglei exined, ¡°Others don¡¯t know about their rtionship. I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll notice anything.¡±

    Yun Jianyue couldn''t help but shoot her a look, saying, ¡°Sometimes, I really wonder whether you¡¯re going to get jealous.¡±

    Qiu Honglei smiled and replied, ¡°Witches such as us, who wish for the entire world to be in chaos, are the ones who should make others jealous. Being jealous of others is a sign of powerlessness. Isn¡¯t that what master taught me before?¡±

    Yun Jianyue was speechless.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, the other disciples didn¡¯t think too much of it because they didn¡¯t know about Zu An and Pei Mianman¡¯s rtionship. Still, many of the male disciples were incredibly jealous. Helping Lady Pei when she was in such a hopeless situation would definitely win a good impression from her, right?

    However, they knew themselves. In such a situation, they wouldn¡¯t dare to step forward for her even if they had three galldders in their body.

    Elder Xu said with a sneer, ¡°This is no longer merely about thepetition, but rather concerns the safety of all the daoist sects, and perhaps even themon people. Once, a long time ago, a disciple of the daoist sects stumbled upon a treasure and their cultivation advanced greatly. However, no one expected it to be an evil object. One day, all of the blood essence of the sect¡¯s disciples was swallowed up, creating a great tragedy. Afterward, the experts of the different sects had to rush to seal that evil object, and paid a great price to do so. We are merely doing this to avoid repeating that disaster.¡±

    The sect representatives inwardly nodded. Apart from making things difficult for Jadefall Pce, they had also expressed their agreement because they thought of that event.

    Still, now that it involved Big Manman¡¯s interests, how could Zu An entertain such a im? He retorted, ¡°Isn¡¯t that apletely groundless usation? In my experience, there have always been people in the world who hypocritically talk aboutpassion, duty, integrity, but in reality are nothing more than treacherous bastards.¡±

    Elder Xu roared furiously, ¡°What did you say?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Xu Chuan for +711 +711 +711¡­

    The other sect masters who had supported the examination of Pei Mianman¡¯s treasure became unhappy as well.

    ¡°Whomever is getting worked up right now, that is who I was talking about,¡± Zu An said with a smile, staring directly at Elder Xu.

    The nearby younger disciples couldn''t help butugh. They could only lower their heads and hope their smiles wouldn¡¯t be seen.

    ¡°Disrespectful!¡± Xu Chuan snapped, practically about to explode from anger. The insultsmonly used on the forums of another world were absolutely lethal against the inhabitants of this world.

    ¡°Who¡¯s disrespectful?¡± Zu An quickly replied.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°You are the disrespectful bastard!¡± Elder Xu instinctively replied. However, when he saw people¡¯s strange expressions, he immediately realized that he had fallen for Zu An¡¯s trick. His face turned dark purple.[1]</a>

    You have sessfully trolled Xu Chuan for +888 +888 +888¡­

    Just then, one person stood up and said, ¡°This brother over here, there is no meaning in just being all talk. This is a world that relies on cultivation. Mount Luofu¡¯s Luo Dongjiang wishes to ask you for an exchange of pointers.¡±

    That person was Mount Luofu¡¯s representative disciple, Luo Dongjiang. When he saw that his elder was about to faint from anger, he stepped forward to help Elder Xu out of embarrassment.

    With that reminder, Elder Xu finally came to his senses.Right, what kind of status do I have? And yet I¡¯m trying to argue with a youngster. It just lowers my status.

    Worried that Zu An wouldn¡¯t ept, he even tried to provoke him. ¡°Rather than saying that this old one is bullying you, how about having Dongjiang exchange some moves with you? Don¡¯t worry, he will make sure to hold back and not endanger your life.¡±

    Even though there wouldn¡¯t be danger to Zu An¡¯s life, superficial wounds were stillpletely expected. Luo Dongjiang naturally picked up on that implication and nodded slightly toward Elder Xu.

    The disciples all looked at Zu An sympathetically. A hero who saved a damsel in distress wasn¡¯t an easy role to y. This pretty boy didn¡¯t even have the slightest ki fluctuationsing from him and seemed just like a normal person. Any normal disciple could crush him, let alone a representative disciple. He had probably stepped forward previously because he was relying on his identity as a court official, right? But in this world of conflict, people only respected the strong. Who cared about one¡¯s status?

    Many disciples from Heavenly Sorrow Sect cheered loudly. They wanted Luo Dongjiang to properly discipline Zu An. The first reason was that the two sides already had a grudge from the events at King Yan Manor, and the second was that the situation involved Zhi Yin and their sect¡¯s glory, so they naturally viewed Zu An as the enemy.

    Only Zhao Xiaodie muttered, ¡°You¡¯re all looking down on him too much¡­¡± She had faced Zu An before. Back then, he had been able to toy with her easily. Even now, she could still feel a throbbing from her bottom that reached all the way to her soul.

    ¡°What did you say, senior sister?¡± a gloomy-looking young man asked, turning around. He was the ninth junior disciple, Cai Yu. He had previously challenged Zu An, but nothing had been settled then, so he held a grudge.

    ¡°Nothing,¡± Zhao Xiaodie said with a forced smile. No one would believe her even if she said anything, so she could only let them see it for themselves.

    ¡­

    Zu An gave Luo Dongjiang a look of disdain and remarked, ¡°You? You¡¯re not qualified.¡±

    The entire ce rose up into amotion. This level of confidence really was something else! Even Wang Wuxie and the other sect leaders were a bit confused, thinking,Is this kid really that awesome, or does he only know how to shoot his mouth off? But isn¡¯t this going a bit too far even for bragging?

    Tranquility Temple¡¯s fatty Jie Se asked Master Jian Huang, ¡°Master, what do you think?¡±

    Master Jian Huang said slowly, ¡°The way he spoke was extremely calm, without the slightest bit of cowardice. There wasn¡¯t even the slightest sliver of emotion, almost as if he were merely stating the obvious.¡±

    The little monk Jie Se replied in surprise, ¡°Could it be that he is actually a hidden expert?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll find out soon,¡± Master Jian Huang said, staring at the stage.

    Luo Dongjiang¡¯s entire face was red as he drew his sword and thrust it at Zu An, eximing ¡°Then let me see if your distinguished self¡¯s skills are really as formidable as your mouth!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Luo Dongjiang for +444 +444 +444¡­

    In his rage, hepletely forgot about Elder Xu¡¯s warning. He didn¡¯t hold back in the slightest.

    Qiu Honglei nervously grabbed Yun Jianyue¡¯s elbow and asked, ¡°Master, is he really as awesome as you said he was?¡±

    Yun Jianyue was getting a bit annoyed. She brushed Qiu Honglei¡¯s hand away and snapped, ¡°Are you doubting your master¡¯s judgment?¡±

    Qiu Honglei chuckled awkwardly. She normally had a hundred percent confidence in her master, but when it came to Zu An, she couldn''t help but be a bit flustered.

    Luo Dongjiang¡¯s sword was about to hit Zu An, but he didn¡¯t move at all. Many people sneered in disdain, thinking,Looks like this guy has already lost his wits.Still, they figured that made sense. Luo Dongjiang¡¯s full-power attack wasn¡¯t something too many of them could react to.

    Just then, a white figure flickered and Luo Dongjiang¡¯s sword was deflected by a gentle force. He looked up in shock to see Wang Wuxie at the center of the stage.

    Wang Wuxie said, ¡°This matter is something that can be considered at length. There is no need for it to be a life and death conflict.¡± He still had his identity as the State Teacher, after all. If a court Imperial Envoy died here and he didn¡¯t do a thing, things would be much more troublesome.

    With Wang Wuxie stepping forward, Luo Dongjiang naturally didn¡¯t dare to disrespect him. He could only re hatefully at Zu An.

    Zu An said indifferently, ¡°You should thank the State Teacher for saving your life just now.¡±

    Luo Dongjiang was stunned. That was actually what he had wanted to say. He hadn¡¯t expected the opponent to say it first. He thought,Does this guy have absolutely no sense of shame?

    You have sessfully trolled Luo Dongjiang for +999 +999 +999¡­

    Everyone else present thought the same thing. Wang Wuxie twitched. He felt a bit of regret for saving Zu An just then.

    Even after thousands of years pass and this brat¡¯s tomb is opened up, everything else will have already rotted, but his mouth will definitely still be fine.

    Elder Xu was about to explode from anger. He spat, ¡°You little rascal¡­ Seeing as you say that Dongjiang isn¡¯t qualified to face you, I will impart my teachings to you. I just hope that you will not hide behind Sect Master Wang!¡± He didn¡¯t even care about being a senior who bullied juniors anymore. He seized Zu An¡¯s response as a pretext tosh out.

    You have sessfully trolled Xu Chuan for +999 +999 +999¡­

    Zu An gave him a look and shook his head, saying, ¡°You overrate yourself too much. I don¡¯t even need to use my hands to deal with you.¡±

    Elder Xu was speechless.

 Chapter 1635: Golden Peakâ€™s Silence

    <h4>Chapter 1635: Golden Peak¡¯s Silence</h4>

    Zhang Zijiang couldn''t help but remark to Xie Daoyun, ¡°Lady Xie, say, why are there so many stupid people in this world? Sir Zu is clearly speaking the truth, and yet not only do these people not feel grateful, they are all rushing at him for a beating.¡±

    He was starting to feel a bit of regret. Just now, he had been a bit frightened by the sect masters¡¯ prestige and hadn¡¯t remembered to promptly praise Sir Zu. He had missed such a great opportunity for nothing!

    When she saw how this man was about to smack his thigh rotten from regret, Xie Daoyun had a strange expression. She replied, ¡°It¡¯s normal for them to misunderstand. After all, big brother Zu¡¯s situation is a bit special.¡± If she hadn¡¯t personally witnessed big brother Zu fight, even she wouldn¡¯t have been able to imagine how his seemingly powerless appearance could hide such strength.

    Tranquility Temple¡¯s little monk Jie Se tugged on Master Jian Huang¡¯s sleeves, saying, ¡°Master, I feel that great senior brother¡¯s name isn¡¯t a good fit for him anymore.¡±

    Master Jian Huang remained silent for a long time. In the end, he sighed and said, ¡°Once we return to the temple, help your master change his name.¡±

    Jie Se¡¯s great senior brother¡¯s Buddhist name was Jie Kuang, because he was just too arrogant and egotistical. However,pared to this guy, he didn¡¯t even have the right to call himself arrogant anymore.[1]</a>

    ¡°Xu Chuan, you are a power form stage master rank cultivator, and yet you have the nerve to bully a youngster? If you want to fight, I¡¯ll fight against you!¡± Elder Huo Ling roared furiously. Even though she also felt that Zu An¡¯s words were way too egotistical, he was still helping Manman, so she couldn''t just stand by without doing anything.

    Elder Xu was about to die from resentment.Are you blind? Just who was bullying whom just now?Still, he knew he wasn¡¯t a match for Elder Huo Ling, so he ignored her challenge and just looked at Zu An. He asked, ¡°Are you nning to hide behind a woman again?¡±

    Zu An said indifferently, ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for you to make your move. It¡¯s you who doesn¡¯t seem to have the courage.¡±

    ¡°Damn it all! None of you had better stop me!¡± Elder Xu yelled, his eyes erupting with red light. He rolled up his sleeves and jumped onto the stage.

    The sect masters nodded inwardly.This brat really was too infuriating. We couldn¡¯t take it even as spectators.

    The disciples were even more excited. They had thought that they were only going to watch disciples fight, but now, they would be able to see the judges face each other! This trip really hadn¡¯t been made in vain! The only regret was that one of the judges was a bit too weak, so the fight could end too quickly.

    Elder Huo Ling panicked and wanted to rush forward, but she was stopped by the other sect representatives.

    ¡°Elder, as Sir Zu has already spoken such words, he clearly has some confidence. There is no need for you to worry about him.¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Even though that was what they said, they were clearly happy to see this unfortunate situation. They didn¡¯t think Zu An really had anything to rely on.

    Now that she had been stopped, Elder Huo Ling couldn''t go over there even though she wanted to.

    Elder Xu walked over to Zu An and stopped i n front of him, saying, ¡°You can make your move first.¡±

    He cared about his status, after all. Even though he was furious, he still couldn''t make the first move against a junior. It was more appropriate for the other party to attack first, and for him to retaliate after.

    ¡°If I make my move, you might not have a chance anymore,¡± Zu An said with a calm expression. ¡°Besides, I¡¯ve already said that I don¡¯t even need to use my hands to deal with you.¡±

    Elder Xu was so angry heughed. He replied, ¡°Fine, then I want to see how you wouldn¡¯t give me another chance if you moved first!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Xu Chuan for +666 +666 +666¡­

    The surrounding sect masters, and even Huo Ling, felt that Zu An really was going too far in terms of exaggerating his own abilities.

    Elder Xu couldn''t be bothered with the world of warriors¡¯ rules. His fist mmed toward Zu An. As a power form master rank cultivator, this fist had the power to uproot mountains. The surrounding disciples all clutched their ears in pain because of the sound waves from his punch¡­ no, from the blinding sh of power created by the friction of his fist moving through the air. The boundaries around the stage began to split apart, and the entire stage was eventually brought to the edge of copse.

    When they sensed that terrifying power, the few master rank sect elders, as well as Wu Xiaofan and Wan Guiyi of the younger generation disciples, were horrified. Was this the strength of a power form master rank cultivator?! If they were hit directly by such a fist, not even fragments of bone would remain, right?

    Even Zhang Zijiang and Xie Daoyun both felt nervous. They had seen Zu An fight before, but back then, it had only been against a hero form master rank cultivator, Scarface Yang Shen. Right now, this Elder Xu was three whole cultivation realms above, at the power form stage! His attack¡¯s strength far, far exceeded that of Yang Shen¡¯s.

    Only Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue remained expressionless. They feltpletely calm.

    A huge explosion erupted. The stage Elder Xu was onpletely copsed, and even the surrounding stages were affected, several of them breaking down. Fortunately, Wang Wuxie and a few others acted promptly, forming a new barrier and preventing the st waves from harming all of the disciples.

    ¡°That Zu guy is dead, right?¡±

    ¡°If he doesn¡¯t die from this, what is he, a god?¡±

    ¡°Still, he is a court official, after all. Mount Luofu¡¯s future seems a bit troublesome.¡±

    Zhao Xiaodie voiced her rm. She nervously looked at the smoke and dust, with an expression that seemed to carry a mix of anxiety and relief.

    The ninth disciple Cai Yu remarked, ¡°Junior sister cares about senior brother after all. That pretty boy is dead for certain. In a way, that is also a form of justice for senior brother.¡±

    Zhao Xiaodie forced a smile, her expression extremely conflicted.Shouldn¡¯t I be happy that that bastard died? But why do I just feel empty inside?

    However, she keenly sensed the sect masters all staring at the stage with grave expressions, as if they had seen something appalling.

    ¡°Look, there¡¯s golden light in the sky!¡±

    No one knew who shouted, but everyone present looked up. They suddenly saw golden ripples appear one after another. Furthermore, there was a figure floating in front of those ripples.

    Who else could it be but Zu An?! He was holding Pei Mianman, as well. Perhaps because she had fainted or because she was embarrassed, her head was buried into his chest.

    ¡°He doesn¡¯t even let a single chance to flirt with a woman go,¡± Yun Jianyue cursed. She clearly looked down on his actions.

    Meanwhile, Yan Xuehen also looked down slightly, her expression seemingly bing thirty percent colder than normal.

    Xie Daoyun had been worried at first, but when she saw that Zu An was fine, she sighed in relief. But when she saw him carrying Pei Mianman in his arms, she felt sour inside. Still, she quickly remembered that he had carried her just like that before, and her mood quickly improved a lot.

    He actually escaped that attack and even had the leisure to save Pei Mianman?

    Elder Xu waspletely shocked. He had clearly locked onto Zu An, but had suddenly lost track of him in an instant.

    ¡°That guy was pretending to be a pig to eat a tiger!¡±

    Wan Guiyi, Wu Xiaofan, Lou Wucheng, and the other representative disciples¡¯ eyes all shone. They all felt a strong fighting spirit surge within them. They had never expected that there would actually be a peer with such profound cultivation on Golden Peak! As for the other disciples, all they had left now was jealousy, envy, and hatred.

    ¡°If I could be saved by a heroic young master like this one day, it would be worth it even if I died!¡±

    Many female disciples were afflicted by starry-eyed infatuation.

    The other male cultivators cursed inwardly.Why don¡¯t you all look in a mirror?Still, their hearts were also pounding in their chests. They were all young men; which one of them hadn¡¯t dreamed about bing unmatched heroes who descended from above to save their sweethearts?

    However, as they grew older, they had alle to believe that that was nothing more than an illusion. They hadn¡¯t expected to witness it for themselves today. There really was light in this world!

    Just then, the golden ripples gradually condensed into shining longswords. Every single one of them released pressure at least on par with the heaven-grade.

    ¡°How does he have so many incredible weapons?¡± Wang Wuxie and the others wondered. Now, even they were flustered.

    Meanwhile, Elder Xu, who was at the center of it all, realized that something wasn¡¯t right. He wanted to run, but he discovered that he had already been locked onto by a terrifying aura. He couldn''t escape at all! In that instant, the golden longswords all flew forth. They were like streaks of flowing light, instantly enveloping him within.

    ¡°Mount Luofu Defense!¡± Elder Xu cried in horror, quickly using his most powerful defensive skill. A projection shaped like Luofu Mountain surrounded his entire body and released a sturdy aura. At the same time, he took out his greatest weapons and treasures, seemingly not even caring about money anymore.

    Unfortunately, the golden light in the sky seemed to purge everything in its path. All of his treasures and weapons shattered one by one. In the end, the mountain projectionpletely copsed¡­

    ¡°Sir Zu, please be lenient!¡± Wang Wuxie quickly advised.

    While carrying Pei Mianman in his hands, Zu An turned around slightly and replied, ¡°Can you give me a reason to do so?¡±

    Wang Wuxie wanted to say ¡®do it to give me face¡¯, but he suddenly realized that his face wouldn¡¯t necessarily be suitable. He was suddenly moved and quickly said, ¡°He held back when he struck you before and didn¡¯t n to kill you!¡±

    Whether it was because of the unwritten rules of the orthodox sects or because he didn¡¯t want to kill a court official, most of Elder Xu¡¯s power had been directed at the surrounding stage. Of course, if Zu An couldn''t block it, he would have been seriously injured. However, there would have been no danger to his life.

    Zu An nodded when he heard that. The sword light closest to Elder Xu suddenly stopped just an inch from his forehead.

    Elder Xu gulped. He released the breath he had been holding, then fainted on the spot. Only then did the spectators see just how bitter of a state he was in. He didn¡¯t have a single piece of clothing intact, and there were bloody sword scars all over his body. It was clear that if Zu An hadn¡¯t held back, Elder Xu would already be nothing more than a pile of mincemeat.

    It had to be stated that a master rank cultivator at the power form stage had both ridiculous strength and constitution. Meanwhile, Mount Luofu Defense was Mount Luofu¡¯s most powerful fighting skill, known as the greatest defensive skill of the daoist sects, and yet Elder Xu had actually still been injured to such an extent!

    No one knew who spoke up, but that person said, ¡°He really didn¡¯t seem to have used his hands from start to finish¡­¡±

    Whether it was the young disciples of Golden Peak or the aged sect masters, all of them were silent.

 Chapter 1636: Message

    <h4>Chapter 1636: Message</h4>

    Wan Guiyi, Wu Xiaofan, and Lou Wucheng all lowered their heads in shame and sat down. They seemed to have every ounce of strength sucked out of them. Several seconds before, they had still had the burning fighting spirit and the will to challenge Zu An. They had felt that he was worthy of being their opponent. Now, however, they discovered that they were far from that.

    At the same time, they were a bit rmed. They were all known as the ones with the greatest talents, the greatest geniuses among the younger generation. They had believed that they wouldn¡¯t lose to any of their peers, and that even if there was a difference, it would be close. And yet they had ended up encountering Zu An¡­

    Is this monster still human?!

    ¡°Ah Zu is so handsome!¡± Qiu Honglei cried, grabbing Yun Jianyue¡¯s arm and shaking it excitedly. She was so excited that she seemed almost to be trying to share her pride in her man.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing surprising. It¡¯s still not as special as when your master ughtered her way in and out of Violet Mountain,¡± Yun Jianyue said with a hint of disdain, but inwardly, she thought to herself,That kid is indeed a bit handsome.However, as far as she remembered, Zu An¡¯s sword ki had been blue. Why had it be gold?

    Zu An was also confused about that. After he passed Level 70, his sword formation¡¯s color had changed on its own. However, he hadn¡¯t looked too deeply into it, seeing as it still looked cool.

    Meanwhile, Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression moved a bit. She was a bit regretful, thinking that she shouldn¡¯t have made Chuyan cultivate in seclusion. Once she found out that she had missed this scene, she¡¯d definitely be really upset.

    But I¡¯m doing this for her sake. Otherwise, if she had seen Zu An carrying Pei Mianman so intimately, she might have just died from anger.

    ¡­

    Amid the court¡¯s ranks, Zhang Zijiang proudly told the other soldiers, ¡°Don¡¯t you remember what I said? Our Sir Zu¡¯s strength is unparalleled. It¡¯s just some trifling sect elder; how can he be Sir Zu¡¯s match?¡±

    Xie Daoyun thought to herself,That¡¯s not what you said earlier. You were clearly so worried.However, she wasn¡¯t in the mood to argue over such things. She rested her chin on her hand and looked at that man with a smile, thinking,Big brother Zu is so handsome. Of course, if he didn¡¯t have that woman in his arms, he would be even more handsome.

    ¡°Why is this guy so strong?!¡±

    Compared to the others¡¯ excitement, the Heavenly Sorrow Sect¡¯s disciples were all deeply distressed. After all, they had been opposed to Zu An before.

    Cai Yu had looked down on Zu An for not epting his challenge, but now his face fluctuated between red and white. In the end, he threw the sword in his hand onto the ground. Zu An¡¯s cultivation was higher than he could possibly have imagined! What was the point of even training in the sword anymore?

    ¡­

    Tranquility Temple¡¯s little monk Jie Se turned to Master Jian Huang and asked, ¡°Master, would you be able to receive that attack?¡±

    Master Jian Huang smiled and replied, ¡°I share no grudge with Benefactor Zu. Why would I need to consider something like that?¡±

    ¡°Master, you¡¯re cheating.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s called being resourceful.¡±

    ¡­

    Zu Annded on the ground again. He brought thepletely red-faced Pei Mianman in front of Elder Huo Ling, saying, ¡°Elder, Miss Pei has exhausted her ki quite severely and needs rest.¡± They were in front of too many people, so it wasn¡¯t too appropriate to expose their rtionship.

    ¡°Alright. Thank you, young master,¡± Elder Huo Ling said, snapping out of her daze and quickly receiving Pei Mianman. At the same time, she took out a pile of Jadefall Pce¡¯s medicines for Pei Mianman to take. She secretly gave Wan Tongtian a look. In the past, if he had done that for her, they wouldn¡¯t have had to carry such bitterness against each other.

    Zu An then turned around to look at the crowd, saying, ¡°I feel that Lady Pei won in an honorable manner and there is no need for further investigation. What do you all think?¡±

    All of the sect elders¡¯ expressions immediately became conflicted. The ones who had supported Guan Chouhai began to hesitate. Now that Jadefall Pce had Zu An¡¯s support, it would be hard to predict who the final victor would be. After all, this Zu An¡¯s cultivation was unexpectedly strong. Furthermore, he represented the court, so there was no need to make an enemy out of him.

    Guan Chouhai¡¯s expression changed several times. However, this was rted to Heavenly Sorrow Sect¡¯s glory, so there was no way he would back out. He thought to himself,That move was formidable, but I refuse to believe that you can defeat a grandmaster at your young age!

    He was about to say something when Yun Jianyue said with a smile, ¡°I agree with what Sir Zu says. Everyone saw Miss Pei win against Zhi Yin, so there is no need to argue about anything else.¡±

    Guan Chouhai¡¯s expression changed. Emptiness Isle had never said anything, but now that they did speak, it was actually in support of Zu An. However, it was merely Emptiness Isle. He didn¡¯t have to fear them.

    He was just about to speak when an icy voice called out, ¡°Let us let matters on the stage be decided on the stage. If a senior stepped forward every time someone lost, thispetition wouldpletely lose its intended meaning.¡±

    The others were all shocked. None of them had expected Yan Xuehen, who was as cold as a frozen mountain, to speak. Furthermore, she had voiced a different opinion from Elder Li, who was also from the White Jade Sect!

    There¡¯s something strange! Isn¡¯t that stone cold woman treating Zu An a bit too well? It¡¯s not like her at all,Yun Jianyue thought as she stared at Yan Xuehen with a pensive look.

    Qiu Honglei couldn''t help but grumble, ¡°Why do I feel as if master treats Ah Zu even better than I do? It¡¯s not like you! For example, just now, you spoke out for Ah Zu even before Sect Master Yan did.¡±

    ¡°Is that the same thing? Aren¡¯t I just doing that for you?!¡± Yun Jianyue cried, almost jumping.

    ¡°Really? I thought it was because, after you and Sect Master Yan made that trip around the Fiend Races, you ended up bing friends,¡± Qiu Honglei said with a big smile.

    ¡°That¡¯s part of the reason too, I guess,¡± Yun Jianyue said, feeling a bit guilty. She avoided eye contact and changed the topic. ¡°Let¡¯s just wait and see how things end up.¡±

    ¡­

    Just then, Wang Wuxie stepped forward and said, ¡°What Sect Master Yan says makes sense. This is apetition, so we as seniors should indeed refrain from interfering. Brother Guan, have worthy nephew Zhi Yin rest for now. With his strength, he should be able to obtain a quotater.¡±

    Even after witnessing Zu An¡¯s strength, he had been a bit hesitant at first, but now that Yan Xuehen had spoken, he naturally pushed the boat with the current. At the same time, he secretly implied to Guan Chouhai that the Heavenly Sorrow Sect still had a chance.

    Now that the host had spoken, the ones who supported Guan Chouhai all changed sides and echoed what he said. Guan Chouhai cursed them for being opportunists, but he knew that with the way things had turned out, there was no meaning in persisting with the issue. He could only harrumph and storm off in a huff. The other disciples quickly carried Zhi Yin away.

    While leaving, Zhao Xiaodie couldn''t help but give Zu An a look. She felt as if she hated him, and yet didn¡¯t. She was starting to be really confused.

    ¡­

    Guan Chouhai and the others left. Meanwhile, because most of the stages had been destroyed, there was clearly no way of continuing thepetition. As such, Wang Wuxie dered that thepetition would be stopped briefly and would continue the next day.

    The crowd gradually dispersed, but they were all excitedly discussing the previous fights. Zu An¡¯s battle in particr was just too spectacr, leaving all of the disciples filled with endless envy.

    However, the older generation¡¯s sect masters were a bit moreposed. They had been extremely shocked at first, but they quickly realized that Zu An hadn¡¯t revealed any trace of a domain in his attack. He clearly hadn¡¯t reached the grandmaster rank yet. Furthermore, even though that attack was formidable, they could tell that it was a long range attack. If Zu An had to fight in closebat, things could be troublesome for him.

    After thinking through those things, the sect masters sighed in relief, recovering their usual cheer. At the same time, they exined the situation to their disciples to calm them down. That task was quite important. The ordinary disciples were one thing, as they had just been enjoying the drama. However, the mental shock the elite disciples had experienced was extremely great! If they ended up developing inner demons and self-doubts, that would really be bad.

    ¡­

    After she returned to Jadefall Pce¡¯s side, Pei Mianman wanted to find Zu An to tell him about everything she had gone through, but everyone from Jadefall Pce took up too much time congratting her on her feat of defeating the Heavenly Sorrow Sect¡¯s representative disciple. Furthermore, Elder Huo Ling was very worried about her injuries, and almost always remained at her side to help with her treatment. There was no chance for Pei Mianman to privately seek him out at all.

    When Yan Xuehen returned, Chu Chuyan quickly asked her what happened. She had seen a huge burst of golden light and felt as if she had sensed Zu An¡¯s aura. Helpless to do anything else, Yan Xuehen could only tell her about what had happened. Chu Chuyan listened, her eyes sparkling.

    ¡°Those people looked down on Ah Zu way too much! Master, you haven¡¯t seen Ah Zu really fight yet. I can still clearly recall the magnificence of his sword right now!¡± Chu Chuyan eximed. She was no longer ice-cold like before; instead, she was like a little girl showing off her favorite toy. She continued to tell her master about all sorts of different things rted to Zu An.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Yan Xuehen sighed and thought,You silly girl, I know way more than you¡­She didn¡¯t want to continue talking about the subject and said, ¡°That brat is good in every other way, but he¡¯s just a bit too fickle in love. You didn¡¯t see how he was carrying Pei Mianman in front of everyone else. That littledy was probably so happy she was going to faint from excitement.¡±

    Chu Chuyanughed helplessly and said, ¡°That guy is really annoying in that respect; almost all of the women around me have something to do with him. If you weren¡¯t my master, he might already have gotten his hands on you too.¡±

    ¡°Cough cough!¡± Yan Xuehen had been leisurely sipping on some tea, but she choked as soon as she heard that.

    Chu Chuyan was startled and quickly patted her back apologetically, saying, ¡°Master, I was just giving an example! Please don¡¯t be angry¡­¡±

    Yan Xuehen wiped at the corners of her lips and replied without batting an eyelid, ¡°Weren¡¯t you curious as to who gave you that warning? I have deduced that it might have been Ah¡­ Ahem, one of that Zu brat¡¯s lovers. However, I still have not found anyone who fits the bill. Now that I think about it, could it be Pei Mianman?¡±

    Chu Chuyan shook her head and replied, ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be her. We were close friends when we were in Brightmoon City. I understand her personality well¡­¡±

    ¡°She is your close friend, and yet she is still fighting over your man?¡± Yan Xuehen suddenly retorted coldly.

    Chu Chuyan was a bit at a loss for words. Only after a moment did she say, ¡°Manman is someone who dares to love and dares to hate. Even if she liked Ah Zu, she would fight against me overtly and not do such a despicable thing.¡±

    Yan Xuehen wanted to say something else, but she suddenly felt that she wasn¡¯t in the position to talk about such things with her status. As such, she got up to leave, feeling grumpy as she said, ¡°You should just continue cultivating in seclusion.¡±

    Chu Chuyan looked in the direction of where Zu An was staying through her window. Her gentle expression carried a hint of hesitation as she muttered, ¡°I wonder what Ah Zu is doing, is he with Manman right now? Hmph!¡±

    ¡­

    Zu An naturally wasn¡¯t carrying out romantic endeavors at the moment, though. His expression was grave because he had just received a secret message from the Embroidered Envoy.

 Chapter 1637: Wishes Fulfilled

    Chapter 1637: Wishes Fulfilled

    The Embroidered Envoy had specialized ways of exchanging messages. Lower-level information would be passed along through ry stations or flying pigeons. Meanwhile, Golden Token Envoys could transmit messages through their golden token, which was simr to a pager from Zu An¡¯s previous world. However, there were limitations to that. The first was that the amount of information that could be sent was limited, and the second was that it took a lot of resources to send a message each time. Only extremely urgent reports would be sent through that method.

    Zu An looked at the message he had received. Zhang Zitong had sent it to him through Yi Commandery¡¯s Embroidered Envoy channel. Because of Golden Token Seven¡¯s death, coupled with the fact that she had the highest status in Yi Commandery¡¯s Embroidered Envoy system, she had the ability to use it. It was against the rules, but it wasn¡¯t too difficult for her to do.

    The message said that they had found out that Sir Huo would leave the manor today. She wanted to take the chance to arrest Sir Huo, then interrogate him about the death of Golden Token Seven. Because they couldn''t find Zu An, they could only use such a method to contact him.

    Zu An was speechless. He thought to himself, Where did this woman get the confidence to arrest Sir Huo? Didn¡¯t she already suffer enoughst time? Still, he realized that it was indeed a good opportunity. After all, Sir Huo had always remained in King Yan Manor without evering out. Now, he had finally left, so it was no wonder that Zhang Zitong couldn''t hold herself back.

    As such, he found Zhang Zijiang and Xie Daoyun to tell them a few things, then secretly left the mountain. After the first day ofpetition, it was already dark. He wasn¡¯t too scared of people noticing him. As soon as he left Violet Mountain¡¯s territory, he got onto the Wind Fire Wheels to rush toward Yi Commandery.

    ¡­

    On Violet Mountain, Master Jian Huang opened his eyes. He looked toward a small fiery light departing over the horizon, remarking, ¡°A shooting star approaches the earth, the sign of a big disaster. That day is quickly approaching after all.¡±

    A little baldy stuck his head in from outside, replying, ¡°Sign of big breasts? Master, are you talking about Jadefall Pce¡¯s Lady Pei?¡±

    Master Jian Huang picked up the wooden fish and struck his head, snapping, ¡°Make another hundred copies of the heart sutra as punishment!¡±

    ¡°You were the one who said it¡­¡± the little monk Jie Se said, clutching his head and running away while defending himself. However, what he got in return was an even stronger beating.

    ¡­

    Zu An continued flying. With the Wind Fire Wheels¡¯ speed, he arrived at Yi Commandery soon after. He went directly to the Embroidered Envoy¡¯s secret meeting ce, and saw that they were preparing something inside and were about to head out.

    However, Zhang Zitong was an exception. She wasn¡¯t dressed in her usual Embroidered Envoy uniform or her all-ck garb; instead, she was wearing an extremely revealing outfit. Her legs were in full view, and there was a veil covering her face. Her clothes were covered in sparkling decorations, which made her look like the Western dancers from China that Zu An had seen before. Meanwhile, Xiao Jianren and the other Embroidered Envoys¡¯ eyes couldn''t help but dart across Zhang Zitong¡¯s body. Her appearance was clearly quite deadly against them.

    Several people inside were startled when they saw Zu An arrive, calling out, ¡°We greet Sir Eleven!¡±

    Zhang Zitong thought to herself, He alwayses like a ghost. She wondered just how high his cultivation was.

    Zu An gave the entire ce a look. He saw that Xiao Jianren and the others looked as if they were ready to go and frowned. Then, he asked Zhang Zitong, ¡°Did you not learn your lesson when you almost lost your life in King Yan Manor?¡±

    Zhang Zitong bit her lip, but her stubborn expression remained as she replied, ¡°I was a bit too recklessst time, but it¡¯s different this time. We can ambush him, seeing as he¡¯s alone. If we miss this chance, who knows how long it will be before any more clues about Sir Seven appear? I was the one who asked them for help, so please don¡¯t me them, Sir Eleven.¡±

    Zu An said with a snort, ¡°I fought against that Sir Huo before. It doesn¡¯t matter how many you have; you¡¯d just be throwing your lives away.¡±

    Zhang Zitong¡¯s face turned pale. She opened her mouth to defend herself, but she also felt that she couldn''t.

    Zu An asked, ¡°Where is that Sir Huo going after leaving the manor?¡±

    Zhang Zitong¡¯s expression turned a bit strange. Xiao Jianren helped her by replying, ¡°He¡¯s going to the city¡¯srgest Wishes Fulfilled.¡±

    ¡°Why isn¡¯t he going to the Hub of Freedom?¡± Zu An asked curiously. Just the name alone sounded like some ce for prostitution. However, the best ce for that in Yi Commandery was supposed to be none other than the Hub of Freedom. However, he quickly realized that King Yan and Hub of Freedom didn¡¯t seem to really get along. As a follower of King Yan Manor, it made sense for Sir Huo to not go there.

    ¡°He hasn¡¯t been doing anything for so long. Why would he suddenly go to Wishes Fulfilled? Is there something wrong here?¡± Zu An continued. They had spent a lot of effort investigating Sir Huo. If he was a fan of brothels, they would have found that out a long time ago rather than just now, right?

    Xiao Jianren sounded a bit upset as he replied, ¡°It¡¯s because that old thing¡¯s preferences are rather special. He likes them a bit y¡­ younger. A batch he likes finally seems to have arrived.¡±

    ¡°Human filth!¡± Zhang Zitong couldn''t help but curse.

    Zu An shot Zhang Zitong an angry look and said, ¡°The court clearly prohibits such things. Your Yi Commandery¡¯s Embroidered Envoy dares to y around with these things?¡±

    Zhang Zitong looked a bit ashamed too, replying, ¡°In the past, when Sir Seven was here, there were strict investigations. After Sir Seven passed away, the Embroidered Envoy system slowed down. Furthermore, Wishes Fulfilled has its own backing too¡­¡±

    Zu An took a deep breath and said, ¡°After we catch that old bastard, this Wishes Fulfilled can just be shut down too.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± Zhang Zitong replied excitedly. With the support of a Golden Token Envoy, they naturally didn¡¯t have to worry so much anymore. After a while, she suddenly realized what he had said and asked, ¡°Is Sir Eleven going to get involved personally?¡±

    Zu An replied impatiently, ¡°If I didn¡¯t, could it be that I¡¯d let one of the court¡¯s glorious Silver Token Envoys impersonate a Western dancer to seduce him?¡±

    Zhang Zitong¡¯s face turnedpletely red. That had indeed been her n.

    Xiao Jianren immediately sighed in relief, saying, ¡°Things will definitely go smoothly with Sir Eleven here.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear so much ttery. Hurry up and tell me the details.¡± Zu An harrumphed.

    ¡°Let me exin. I know more about Yi Commandery¡¯s situation¡­¡± Zhang Zitong said, moving closer to him and opening a map. She exined things in detail. They were so close to each other that Zu An could feel how soft her skin was. The air nearby was filled with her body¡¯s fragrance, too.

    Zu An carefully listened to the entire n, asking some questions about the details. When they were about to leave, he said to Zhang Zitong, ¡°Go and change your clothes. Embroidered Envoys don¡¯t need to sell their bodies toplete their missions.¡±

    Zhang Zitong¡¯s face was a bit red as she replied, ¡°Understood!¡± She quickly hid inside the room and began to change her clothes. A few minutester, she came out again, having recovered her usual valiant appearance.

    Xiao Jianren and the others were full of admiration. As expected of Sir Eleven! He wasn¡¯t shaken at all even by such temptation, unlike how useless we are.

    ¡­

    Under the cover of darkness, the group quickly approached Wishes Fulfilled. The others all got into position, while Zu An silently watched everything from above. Xiao Jianren and Zhang Zitong couldn''t sense where he was at all. They once again sighed in admiration at how profound and mysterious he was.

    Roughly an hourter, Sir Huo appeared in their field of view. He had clearly deliberately changed his appearance, most likely because he didn¡¯t want King Yan Manor¡¯s people to find out either.

    The Embroidered Envoys couldn¡¯t carry out their n on the main street. After all, a ce such as Wishes Fulfilled had peopleing and going all around it. It would be practically impossible not to alert them that way.

    Just then, Sir Huo arrived at Wishes Fulfilled. Soon after, the brothel madam weed him in and invited him to a private room.

    ¡°Sir, please wait a bit. Your youngdy will be here soon,¡± the madam said, picking up the silver ingot and leaving happily while shaking her plump bottom.

    Sir Huo felt disgusted looking at that. He harrumphed and remarked, ¡°How can a fat woman like thatpare to a thin and delicate little girl?¡±

    He couldn''t help but lick his lips as he spoke. He took out a pink pill and tossed it into his mouth. Then, he picked up the teacup on his table and finished it in one go. Soon after, he felt a warm feeling spread through his stomach. A satisfied smile appeared on his face. He¡¯d be able to show his manhood to that little girl soon.

    However, his expression suddenly changed. He looked at the teacup and eximed, ¡°Poison!¡±

    He quickly got up. Suddenly, the window next to him opened and Several Embroidered Envoys rushed in. In an instant, Soul Reaping Chains wrapped around his arms and legs.

    Normal Embroidered Envoys would have been useless against someone like Sir Huo. The ones who hade along were Zhang Zitong, Xiao Jianren, and the two other Silver Token Envoys from Yi Commandery. Their cooperation was tightly-knit, and they didn¡¯t even give Sir Huo a moment to respond.

    The Embroidered Envo¡¯s Soul Reaping Chains were infamously formidable. If ordinary cultivators were restrained, they wouldn¡¯t be able to use any of their ki. They could only await their fate. Sure enough, Sir Huo¡¯s entire body trembled, and he seemed to grow weak.

    Suddenly, however, the patterns on his forehead activated. They almost seemed to have be a living eye.

    ¡°Don¡¯t look at his eye!¡± Zhang Zitong cried out.

    However, it was still toote. The four Silver Token Envoys¡¯ expressions immediately lost focus. Just like that, they stood in ce rigidly, falling into an illusion.

    Sir Huo sneered. He leisurely removed the Soul Reaping Chains around him, then shook his entire body. He opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of tea, forcing out the poison he had just swallowed.

    ¡°It¡¯s just some trifling Silver Token Envoys, and yet you actually think you can catch this old one?¡± he remarked as he walked up to Zhang Zitong. He frowned when he looked at her from up close, saying, ¡°You have some looks, but you¡¯re a bit too old¡­¡±

    The pink pill he had just taken began to activate. He suddenly licked his lips, saying, ¡°I¡¯ve never tried a Silver Token Envoy before. You have some long and pretty legs, so this old one will make a special exception for you to celebrate this great day.¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    He was about to touch her when a mocking voice suddenly called out from behind him, ¡°Do you know? Those who celebrate prematurely have never experienced good consequences.¡±

 Chapter 1638: An Impossible Mission

    Chapter 1638: An Impossible Mission

    Sir Huo turned around. He suddenly saw an Embroidered Envoy sitting by the window, whose outfit didn¡¯t look quite the same as those of the other Embroidered Envoys. When he examined the patterns up close, he discovered that they were actually dark gold.

    ¡°Golden Token Envoy!¡± Sir Huo muttered, his pupils narrowing. With his status, he naturally knew about the prestige of a Golden Token Envoy.

    ¡°I came here to ask you a few questions this time. I hope you will cooperate,¡± Zu An said casually, as if he were talking about something absolutely trivial.

    Sir Huoughed out of annoyance, retorting, ¡°What, you think I have to answer just because you ask a question?¡± An ordinary person would indeed fear the Embroidered Envoy, but people like him always wandered along the border of darkness. He even had the support of King Yan, so why would he be scared?

    ¡°I am only informing you. You do not have the privilege to refuse,¡± Zu An said, ncing at the other Embroidered Envoys. Their expressions continuously changed, but apart from being unconscious, everything else about them waspletely normal. They seemed to be experiencing some kind of nightmare.

    Sir Huo roared withughter, as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world. He said, ¡°You should have moved together with them just now. Then, I might really have been taken down.¡±

    Now that it was just one-on-one, he wasn¡¯t scared of anyone. Furthermore, this person didn¡¯t seem to have any great ki auraing out from him, so he was probably one of the weaker ones among the Golden Token Envoys.

    ¡°There was no need,¡± Zu An said indifferently. The main reason he had done so was because he had wanted to personally witness the mental attack first. Otherwise, if he encountered someone who specialized in this field in the future, he could end up being caught off guard. Furthermore, he had really wanted to know whether or not Sir Huo had the ability to subdue Golden Token Seven.

    ¡°How arrogant!¡± Sir Huo snapped. The patterns on his forehead activated again, forming a vertical eye. It released a strange light in Zu An¡¯s direction.

    Zu An felt his vision blur. The interesting and appealing environment of Wishes Fulfilled was reced by several massive concrete buildings. All sorts of cars filled the roads, and from time to time, he could even see trams moving in his direction from afar.

    The streets were so packed with pedestrians that shoulders often brushed and feet were stepped on. Women were dressed in light and fashionable clothing, while men¡­ well, inparison, they seemed not to care that much about their outfits.

    Nearby,mercials depicting all kinds of celebrities yed on the digital screens of shopping malls. Even Zu An¡¯s favorite, Xiaolongnu, was there¡­

    This illusion really is formidable; it can even make these things? Zu An thought with a sigh. He said, ¡°This world really is nostalgic¡­ If I hadn¡¯t been prepared for this, I might have beenpletely lost here.¡±

    As soon as he spoke, he drew his sword and brandished it. Sword ki shed outward and covered the entire world. The entire world began to shatter, and Wishes Fulfilled reappeared in front of him.

    Sir Huo¡¯s eyes were filled with rm. He clutched the eye on his forehead, and blood seeped out between his fingers. His other hand shook as he pointed at Zu An, muttering, ¡°You¡­ Just who are you?¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The power of that sword had actually destroyed the illusion he created! Just what level of cultivation was this? Since when did Golden Token Envoys have that kind of ability?

    With a flick of Zu An¡¯s finger, several streaks of energy struck Sir Huo,pletely restraining his movements. He said, ¡°I am the one asking the questions now.¡±

    Sir Huo¡¯s eyes darted from side to side as he said, ¡°Apologies, great sir, but there seems to be a bit of a misunderstanding here¡­ I am King Yan Manor¡¯s guest, and I normally respect thew greatly. I have done nothing bad!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t try to control me with King Yan¡¯s name,¡± Zu An said, giving him an indifferent look. His gaze was so sharp, it almost seemed to sting.

    Sir Huo shivered. This person in front of him was just too mysterious. He asked, ¡°May I ask what this sir wishes to know? This old¡­ This one will definitely tell you everything I know.¡±

    Zu An chuckled and remarked, ¡°To be honest, I liked that arrogant act of yours from earlier more.¡±

    Sir Huoughed apologetically and said, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare to act arrogant in front of great sir.¡±

    ¡°How exactly did Golden Token Seven die?¡± Zu An suddenly asked.

    At first, Sir Huo¡¯s expression froze before changing a bit. Then, he said, ¡°I was also quite curious about that. Actually, even the king was also curious. He has been investigating how Golden Token Seven died this whole time.¡±

    Zu An said with a scowl, ¡°It seems you¡¯re the type who won¡¯t cry until you see a coffin.¡±

    Sir Huo urgently replied, ¡°Sir, I really didn¡¯t fool you!¡±

    ¡°If you still won¡¯t talk about it, I¡¯ll have to resort to torture,¡± Zu An said coldly.

    ¡°What does your respected self want me to say?¡± Sir Huo replied. He wanted to cry, and yet no tears came out. At the same time, his eyes secretly darted around. He clearly felt that there wasn¡¯t much that could be used for torture in the area.

    Zu An didn¡¯t waste any time with words. He immediately used the Ikuu Experience Card on Sir Huo.

    If your back hurts, it might not be because of a de. If you are screaming your heart and lungs out, it might not be because of pain. What rests on your shoulders might not necessarily be responsibility. Things you are forced to learn might not be a lesson!

    Skill effect: Only effective on men. Once a target is selected, it will force them to experience a woman¡¯s perspective. They will feel as if they were being powerfully filled by a strong and robust man. One of the four scenarios above will be chosen, and they will continue to scream ¡®Ikuu ikuu~¡¯.

    Note: This skill is ineffective against those without any intimate experiences.

    The Embroidered Envoy¡¯s torture methods were more thorough, but there was no time to return. Furthermore, it would be hard to ensure that there weren¡¯t any spies from King Yan¡¯s side. As for this old bastard, he deserved to be punished for his disgusting fetish. He had to have a taste of being bullied by others.

    ¡°Ahhh!¡± Sir Huo screamed miserably. In his mind, severalrge and burly men suddenly appeared. They held his arms down, then tore off his pants¡­

    ¡°Ikuu ikuu!¡±

    Soon after, Sir Huo¡¯s entire body was shaking on the ground. He mumbled all sorts of unclear words.

    Zu An was stunned. Why is this guy so disappointing? He already came that fast? As such, he stopped the skill. He looked at the old man, who was curled up into a ball, and asked, ¡°Are you going to talk now?¡±

    Sir Huo trembled as he clutched his bottom. Then, as if he had been burned, he quickly pulled his hands back. His face was a bit unnaturally red as he said, ¡°Sir, I really wasn¡¯t lying to you.¡±

    Zu An glowered and said, ¡°It seems you still haven¡¯t had enough.¡± As such, he activated the Ikuu Experience Card again.

    ¡°Nooooooooo!¡±

    Another round of miserable screams emerged.

    Zu An gave him a look. He really found the sight a bit harsh on the eyes, so he went over to the window to get some fresh air. A whileter, he asked, ¡°Are you going to talk now?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what to say¡­¡±

    ¡°Ikuu Experience Card!¡±

    ¡­

    A whileter, Zu An asked again, ¡°Now?¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t talk, I absolutely won''t!¡± Sir Huo replied; surprisingly, his attitude just seemed to have be tougher and tougher. ¡°Why don¡¯t you do that again to me if you have the skill?!¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression quickly turned incredibly strange. When he saw that the old guy¡¯s expression was gradually starting to turn into one of pleasure, he wondered whether Sir Huo was just struggling to hold on, or if he had actually changed¡­

    When he thought about what Sir Huo did to little girls normally, disgust appeared on Zu An¡¯s face. He didn¡¯t use the Ikuu Experience Card anymore, and instead raised his hand. A small ck hole appeared in the center of his palm and he said, ¡°Last chance. If you still won¡¯t speak, I¡¯ll suck all of your cultivation away, then throw you out on the streets.¡±

    When he saw the ck hole in Zu An¡¯s palm, a hint of fear flickered across Sir Huo¡¯s face. He cried, ¡°I¡¯ll speak, I¡¯ll speak!¡±

    In this world, there was nothing more important than cultivation. Cultivation was money, cultivation got you beauties¡­ If he became a cripple, King Yan would definitely abandon him. Furthermore, with all the enemies he¡¯d made over the years, he would absolutely wish he were dead. More importantly, once one had a taste of what it felt like to be at the top, they wouldn¡¯t be willing to stay at the bottom.

    When he saw Zu An staring at him coldly, Sir Huo gulped and quickly said, ¡°Golden Token Seven was investigating King Yan Manor¡¯s military supplies, so King Yan wanted to get rid of him.¡±

    ¡°King Yan Manor¡¯s military supplies?¡± Zu An eximed in surprise. No wonder Golden Token Seven¡¯s mood had been so grave; it turned out he had been investigating something rted to a king and didn¡¯t dare to recklessly make a report without proper evidence. Zu An continued, ¡°Be more specific!¡±

    Once he began to speak, Sir Huo let go of his earlier misgivings. He exined, ¡°Over the years, King Yan has secretly raised several personal troops and roped in many powerful experts. In order to aplish that, he needed a huge amount of money. As such, he was secretly doing business with the Fiend races, sending the court¡¯s military supplies and some standard goods to the Fiend races for money, precious ores, medicines, and other such things. Golden Token Seven apparently caught onto some traces of that exchange, so King Yan was furious and said he had to be eliminated.¡±

    Zu An finally understood what was happening. Previously in Cloudcenter Commandery, he had found out that the Pegasus Merchant Group had King Yan behind it.

    Now, afterbining all of this information together¡­ All of the private industries in Cloudcenter Commandery were rted to King Qi, so King Yan wanted to borrow someone else to do his dirty work. If King Qi¡¯s forces were driven out, he could then take their ce. Unfortunately, I ruined everything right when he was on the cusp of sess, so it¡¯s no wonder he hates me so much.

    As for Golden Token Seven finding out about these things, he was no doubt horrified. After all, a king was doing business with the enemy and raising a personal army, which are clear signs of rebellion. That¡¯s why he didn¡¯t dare to say anything before he found concrete proof. Otherwise, if he falsely used a king, that would only bring his own n a great disaster. Still, he never expected King Yan to strike first, and so viciously!

    ¡°How many private troops has King Yan raised?¡± Zu An asked.

    Sir Huo shook his head and replied, ¡°I do not know. All of those things are top-level secrets. A follower like me does not have ess to much information.¡±

    ¡°Do you really not know, or are you just pretending?¡± Zu An asked, bringing the Heaven Devouring Sutra closer to Sir Huo¡¯s head.

    Feeling as if his cultivation was about to leave his body, Sir Huo was horrified. He replied, ¡°I really don¡¯t know! But I know that King Yan has an ount book that records his trade with the Fiend races, as well as the people involved.¡±

    ¡°Where is that ount book?¡±

    ¡°It is in a private room behind King Yan¡¯s study. There are manyyers of mechanisms, but there is no way any outsiders could obtain it.¡±

 Chapter 1639: Fishy

    Chapter 1639: Fishy

    ¡°Why?¡± Zu An pressed on.

    Sir Huo replied, ¡°King Yan Manor¡¯s security is strict, and King Yan¡¯s study is even better guarded, being a ce of the utmost importance. Furthermore, King Yan has roped in formidable individuals from all over the world of warriors, and set them to stand guard near the study. The study has heavyyers of defenses as well, so there is naturally no way to obtain the ount book.¡±

    ¡°What kind of mechanisms are there?¡± Zu An shouted.

    Sir Huo¡¯s expression changed. He replied, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that you really are going to go after that ount book? It¡¯s impossible.¡±

    ¡°I ask, you answer. I don¡¯t need anything else from you,¡± Zu An said coldly.

    Sir Huo swallowed and said, ¡°The exact mechanisms are a secret, held to the highest level of confidentiality, so I do not know. However, I know that the ount book¡¯s storage has a self-destruct mechanism in ce. If anything unusual happens, the ount book will be destroyed. This is something King Yan identally revealed when he drank too much one day.¡±

    Zu An figured that, considering how the ount book practically carried all the evidence of King Yan¡¯s conspiracy, it was only natural for him to guard it so carefully. Afterward, he asked a few more questions. When there was nothing else he could get, he knocked Sir Huo unconscious.

    Then, he started waking up the other Embroidered Envoys. However, after being trapped in the illusion, they couldn¡¯t be woken up by normal shouts, so he could only use his Hundredwarble skill a bit to rouse them.

    ¡°Don¡¯t look into his eyes!¡±

    When they woke up, they all rushed to the corners of the room. However, when they saw the situation, they were all stunned. Zhang Zitong¡¯s expression was full of disbelief as she looked at Sir Huo on the ground, eximing, ¡°Sir Eleven has already subdued him?¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t reply. Xiao Jianren immediately ttered him by saying, ¡°Sir Eleven truly is profound and unfathomable! Even someone as formidable as Sir Huo was so easily subdued!¡±

    ¡­

    Zhang Zitong had a conflicted expression. She had believed herself to be one of the best among Yi Commandery¡¯s Embroidered Envoys, and yet even she hadn''t been able to do a thing against Sir Huo.

    It seemed that Sir Huo hadn¡¯t used all of his strength in King Yan Manor! However, under threat of losing his life, he hadn¡¯t held back at all just now. Zhang Zitong had immediately entered the illusion and couldn''t escape at all.

    ¡°I¡¯ve already asked him practically everything I had to ask. I¡¯ll task you with watching over him,¡± Zu An said, then repeated the intelligence he had received to them.

    Xiao Jianren eximed in shock, ¡°King Yan is actually plotting a rebellion?!¡±

    Whether it was the smuggling of military goods to the Fiend races or the raising of private troops, they were both huge crimes! The Silver Token Envoys all looked at each other in dismay, because they knew what that signified.

    ¡°No wonder they would take such a huge risk and kill Sir Seven!¡± Zhang Zitong said through clenched teeth.

    Those present nodded inwardly. They hadn¡¯t been able to figure out just why someone would so brazenly kill a Golden Token Envoy. The risk and reward hadn¡¯t lined up at all! Now, they finally understood. King Yan had found out that Golden Token Seven was investigating him, so he¡¯d had no choice but to kill him.

    ¡°Sir Eleven, we¡¯ll immediately report this discovery to the higher-ups,¡± Zhang ZItong said with an expression full of hatred.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An shook his head and replied, ¡°We don¡¯t have conclusive proof. That¡¯s also the reason why Golden Token Seven didn¡¯t report this matter.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t there a human witness right here?¡± Zhang Zitong asked, pointing at Sir Huo on the ground.

    The normally imposing Sir Huo now looked more like a worn-out old man. His pants were pulled slightly down with half of his goods exposed. They looked seriously ravaged. Zhang Zitong¡¯s expression immediately became a bit strange. Could it be that Sir Eleven always remained indifferent to me because he likes this type?

    Zu An didn¡¯t know that his image was breaking down in the heart of a youngdy. He exined, ¡°A human testimony isn¡¯t enough to bring down King Yan. He could just deny it tly, and then there would be no real way to get revenge for Sir Seven.¡±

    Xiao Jianren was startled, asking, ¡°Could it be that Sir Eleven ns to find that mysterious ount book?¡±

    Zu An nodded. Finding the ount book wasn¡¯t enough, either; he had to investigate and find other conclusive proof ording to the information recorded on it.

    ¡°Could this be a trap?¡± Zhang Zitong asked worriedly.

    ¡°That¡¯s why I need you to investigate a bit, and find me everything you can about where that ount book is stored,¡± Zu An ordered.

    ¡°Understood!¡± Zhang Zitong, Xiao Jianren, and the others cupped their hands and epted the order. Normally, such a secretive affair was something that outsiders had no way of investigating. But they were the Embroidered Envoy, so they had their ways.

    ¡°Right, this matter is extremely important, so be sure not to leak any information. Otherwise, you might quickly follow Sir Seven to the grave,¡± Zu An warned them. If King Yan became vignt, getting rid of a few Embroidered Envoys in his territory wouldn¡¯t be too difficult.

    Zhang Zitong and the others shivered. Their expressions became grave.

    Zu An nodded. He was about to leave when he suddenly remembered something and turned around, saying, ¡°This Wishes Fulfilled can¡¯t be allowed to continue. Be careful while taking care of this. Don¡¯t let King Yan notice anything.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. This is our area of expertise. We won¡¯t let King Yan suspect anything,¡± Zhang Zitong replied.

    Zu An thus felt relieved, and quickly disappeared into the darkness.

    ¡­

    He hurried through the night. By the time he returned to Violet Mountain, it was already veryte in the evening, and Xie Daoyun was sleeping soundly in the outer room. When she was awake, she was like a gentle and refineddy, but she wasn¡¯t so honest when she was sleeping. Half of the covers were about to touch the ground, exposing her thin undergarments. Her fair skin was faintly discernible.

    Zu An couldn''t help but chuckle. This silly girl really didn¡¯t have any sense of vignce. He carefully walked over to properly cover her up again.

    ¡°Who?!¡± Xie Daoyun cried as she suddenly woke up.

    Their eyes met. Zu An couldn''t really lower the covers in his hand, but he couldn''t raise them any higher either. He replied awkwardly, ¡°Would you believe me if I said I was helping you with your covers?¡±

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s fair skin immediately turned red. She snatched her sheets from his hands and replied hurriedly, ¡°Thank you, big brother Zu!¡±

    Zu An thought, What is going on? The gentlemanly image I took so much care to craft ispletely ruined now! If he had known it would end up like this, he wouldn¡¯t even have bothered. In order to ease the awkwardness, he asked, ¡°Did anyonee looking for me tonight?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Xie Daoyun said, shaking her head. She suddenly remembered something and added, ¡°Right, Jadefall Pce¡¯s side sent over some gifts as thanks, and they came with a message from Lady Pei saying that she¡¯s recovering with the help of her master right now. She¡¯lle over a few dayster to personally express her gratitude.¡±

    Zu An was moved. He figured that Big Manman was probably with her master all the time and couldn''te over, and she was worried that if he headed over now, he could bump into her master, so she had sent the message to warn him.

    ¡°Big brother Zu, did you finish what you had to do?¡± Xie Daoyun asked. She felt that it was rude to be lying down, but when she thought about standing up, she realized that she wasn¡¯t dressed appropriately.

    ¡°More or less. I might have to run around a few more times,¡± Zu An said. He noticed her awkwardness and got up, adding, ¡°Little sister Ling¡¯er should sleep well. I won¡¯t be disturbing you.¡± Then, he went into the inner room quickly, practically running inside.

    ¡°Ah¡­ That was so embarrassing!¡± Xie Daoyun muttered as she grabbed her nkets and buried her head under them. ¡°Big brother Zu won¡¯t think I was trying to seduce him on purpose, will he?¡±

    She had actually always dressed formally due to nervousness. But how could a pampered daughter like her endure something like that? She knew that her big brother Zu was a gentleman, and as he had said that he was leaving tonight, she had changed back into morefortable clothing to sleep in. She hadn¡¯t expected him to just happen to see her like that!

    She was ashamed and annoyed when she thought of that. She wasn¡¯t upset at Zu An, but rather at herself. She didn¡¯t know how to clear things up at all.

    ¡­

    When Zu An returned to his bed, his mind was filled with the sight of that ¡®sleeping beauty¡¯. However, he quickly shook those thoughts out of his head and began to think about King Yan¡¯s ount book. Was he supposed to report it if he got his hands on it? After all, the enemy of his enemy was his friend, right?

    However, the memory of fighting alongside Golden Token Seven appeared. The hesitation in his mind gradually disappeared.

    It seems I need to find a time to contact Yi Commandery¡¯s governor.

    But running back and forth really is too tiring. It would be great if I had a cloning skill.

    Wait, if I cloned myself, would I end up cucking myself?

    ¡­

    By the next day, the Righteous Sun Sect already finished repairing the arenas. The sects continued thepetition.

    At the end of the day, the nine groups¡¯ first ce members had been decided. Apart from Zhi Yin¡¯s group being upset, the other eight groups all had representative disciples leading them. The eight individuals with the best achievements apart from those first ce winners thus began their brutalpetition.

    Zhi Yin had be one of them as well. After an entire night of treatment from Guan Chouhai using all sorts of spiritual herbs, he had barely managed to recover a bit of fighting strength. Meanwhile, his opponent came from Kunlun Void Sect. He initially nned to take advantage of Zhi Yin¡¯s seriously wounded state, but he ended up exposing an opening.

    Zhi Yin seized it and left him confused with a Push of the Iron Mountain, then the Shadowless Ball brutally took down his opponent. He was full of resentment from his previous loss, so he used the Shadowless Ball at its full strength. Each dribble was terrifying, and it always attacked unpredictably.

    The other disciples clicked their tongues when they saw the fight. Even the seriously injured Zhi Yin had such ridiculous strength! It was easy to see just how much of a difference there was between the representative disciples and other disciples. At the same time, they felt even more admiration for Pei Mianman. She had actually defeated Zhi Yin at his best! Just what kind of a monster was she?

    Apart from Zhi Yin, the Heavenly Sorrow Sect¡¯s Zhao Xiaodie also sessfully seized a spot. Her figure that was as beautiful as a butterfly left Golden Peak¡¯s spectators with a deep impression. Between that and her status as a princess, her reputation climbed higher and higher, to the point where it was on par with the two publicly acknowledged goddesses, Chu Chuyan and Pei Mianman.

    Thest two spots were both seized by the Righteous Sun Sect. One was the disciple who had been weing guests by the gate, Zhang Xi, while the other was the chief disciple of Thunderous Peak. The spectators sighed in admiration once again; the Righteous Sun Sect was the most powerful, as expected. Out of the thirteen spots, they had actually seized three!

    Over the next few days, thepetition would decide who the number one among the youngest generation was, so the four who had made it out of the group stage wouldn¡¯t join. After all, the reason why they had taken second ce in their groups was that they had already lost to the ones in first ce. In order to be the true number one of the daoist sects, one couldn''t afford even a single loss.

    Thus, the ninebatants were set to draw lots to see who they would face. One of them would draw a bye, while the others would face each other viciously.

    The results of the lot drawing were revealed:

    Righteous Sun Sect Wu Xiaofan versus Mount Luofu Luo Dongjiang;

    Jadefall Pce Wan Guiyi versus Purity Temple Qiu Chanzi;

    White Jade Sect Lou Wucheng versus Supreme Mystery Cave Shi Dingtian;

    Kunlun Void Liang Ling versus Emptiness Isle Peng Wuyan.

    Meanwhile, Pei Mianman luckily drew a bye!

    Yun Jianyue was really annoyed by the result. She muttered, ¡°There¡¯s definitely something fishy about that big-boobed woman getting a bye! That rascal probably messed with the results!¡±

 Chapter 1640: Luring a Tiger from Its Domain

    Chapter 1640: Luring a Tiger from Its Domain

    Qiu Honglei rolled her eyes and replied, ¡°It¡¯s not as if he picked these lots for us. We picked them ourselves, so what could he have done?¡±

    Yun Jianyue harrumphed. ¡°Either way, there are more than enough ways to fix the results. I¡¯m sure he saw that the big-boobed woman was injured and that fighting in her state would be disadvantageous, so he gave her a bye for more time to recover.¡±

    ¡°Master, why do you keep calling her ¡®big-boobed woman¡¯? You¡¯re clearly not that small yourself,¡± Qiu Honglei replied with a strange expression. ¡°Besides, I feel as if you¡¯re a bit too nervous for no reason.¡±

    Yun Jianyue was rmed, but she quickly said, ¡°Hmph, look at this heartless disciple of mine. Your master is clearly worrying for your sake, and yet you¡¯re saying things like this.¡±

    Qiu Honglei wrapped her arm around Yun Jianyue¡¯s with a big smile, replying, ¡°Master is the best~¡±

    Yun Jianyue released a deep sigh and said, ¡°In the future, you¡¯ll find out that your master isn¡¯t actually that great.¡±

    Qiu Honglei was stunned. But she quickly said, ¡°I don¡¯t care. Master is definitely the one who¡¯s been the best to me ever since I was little.¡±

    The other disciples all nced in their direction. This Peng Wuyan was clearly so ugly, and yet she was still trying to act cute and throw a tantrum? They really found it a bit hard to watch.

    ¡­

    Now that thepetition for the day had finished, all the sects returned to their temporary quarters. The sect seniors helped their disciples review the matches that had happened, going over what went well, what didn¡¯t, and how to improve. However, representative disciples were given preferential treatment by their sect leaders or elders. They analyzed their opponents¡¯ condition and put together battle ns.

    As a judge, Zu An had much more leisure time. When he had some free time, he went directly to Jadefall Pce to reunite with Big Manman after such a long time. They still hadn¡¯t had a proper conversation yet.

    When he arrived at Jadefall Pce, the disciples at the entrance immediately became much more respectful when they saw him. After Zu An expressed his intentions, they didn¡¯t stop him and let him enter.

    Zu An chuckled in self-mockery. A few days prior, these disciples definitely wouldn¡¯t have been so agreeable.

    His arrival immediately created a disturbance. Many disciples came out to secretly observe him. After all, they were simr in age, to the extent that Zu An was younger than some of them, and yet he had been able to defeat a master rank cultivator at the power form stage! That was just way too shocking. Furthermore, Zu An had helped out Jadefall Pce, so most of them had a good impression of him.

    The female disciples in particr were starry-eyed when they looked at him. Some of the more daring ones even tried to start a conversation, but they were quickly stopped by the ones around them.

    ¡°What are you doing?!¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t I just say hi?¡±

    ¡°Tsk, we all know what you¡¯re really thinking. But he clearly came for junior sister Pei. Do you think you¡¯re better than junior sister Pei?¡±

    When they recalled Pei Mianman¡¯s stunning features and domineering chest, the excited and high-spirited female disciples immediately felt as if they had been sshed with cold water. Theypletely gave up on their ns of talking to Zu An.

    ¡­

    When he saw the discussions all around him, Zu An couldn''t help but chuckle. Suddenly, a young man with a wild and arrogant expression blocked his path. He saw that it was Jadefall Pce¡¯s representative disciple, Wan Guiyi, and asked, ¡°Can I help you with something?¡±

    This person always has his nose pointed at the sky; he¡¯s not here to challenge me, right?

    Wan Guiyi¡¯s expression changed. In the end, he said with a conflicted expression, ¡°Just how do you cultivate?¡±

    That was what he just couldn''t figure out. They were clearly simr in age, and he was the sect¡¯s publicly acknowledged genius. In the past, he had thought that he was number one among his peers. He could never have imagined that the difference between him and Zu An would be so big.

    ¡°Guiyi, you must not treat Sir Zu with disrespect,¡± Wan Tongtian spoke up just then.

    He had received a report from the disciples and quickly arrived to wee Zu An. However, he just happened to see his son stop Zu An, which made him break out into a cold sweat. He knew what his son was like better than anyone else. Wan Guiyi loved to challenge strong individuals; things would be really troublesome if he said something wrong. That Zu An always had a smile on his face, but he was extremely ruthless when he took action. If Wan Guiyi got seriously injured from issuing a challenge, that would end up affecting his matchter.

    ¡°Pce Lord Wan!¡± Zu An said, cupping his hands toward Wan Tongtian.

    When he saw Zu An¡¯s friendly expression, Wan Tongtian felt rather overwhelmed by favor, replying, ¡°The favor Sir Zu showed us earlier will be remembered by this one.¡±

    A few days prior, he had actually looked down a bit at this pretty face. He had thought that the court was simply bing more and more corrupt, letting a youngster without any skill take on such an important position. Now, however, he just sighed at the court¡¯s power. They really had a gxy of talent under them! The gap between the court and the sects from the world of warriors was growingrger andrger.

    ¡­

    The two exchanged some greetings, then Zu An left to find Pei Mianman. Before leaving, he stopped and replied to Wan Guiyi, ¡°Maybe I¡¯m just lucky?¡±

    Wan Guiyi was stunned. What kind of a reply is this? Then were all my years of hard work a joke?

    Zu An didn¡¯t realize that something he had said without much thought would make this youngster question life. Right now, the only thing on his mind was Big Manman.

    When Pei Mianman saw him, she was happy and surprised. After all, she had even sent a message telling him to onlye after some time had passed.

    ¡°Miss Pei, how is your recovery going?¡± Zu An asked. Because Elder Huo Ling was watching vigntly nearby, he didn¡¯t dare to act too familiar.

    After all, Chu Chuyan and Yan Xuehen were both here too. The rumors about him and Chuyan had already created such a hugemotion; if people found out that he also had a rtionship with Pei Mianman, the whole ce could turn into a hellish battleground.

    ¡°Thank you, Sir Zu. I¡¯ve recovered around sixty to seventy percent,¡± Pei Mianman replied politely. She knew that her master hated romantic talk the most, and was worried that Elder Huo would be hurt if she found out. Thus, with the two¡¯s tacit teamwork, neither one of them exposed their real rtionship.

    ¡°Only sixty to seventy percent?¡± Zu An replied. He couldn''t help but frown. Even if she had two extra days to restpared to the others, sixty to seventy percent was bad news against the other representative disciples.

    Elder Huo Ling sighed and said, ¡°Heavenly Sorrow¡¯s Zhi Yin is still a respectable genius, after all. His final strike left Manman with a serious injury. The fact that we were able to get to where we are was already the best result after doing everything we could.¡±

    It was only because Zu An had helped them before that she had such a good temper right now. If another male disciple had tried to approach Manman at any other time, they would already have been chased away.

    Zu An said to Pei Mianman through ki, ¡°Manman, I¡¯lle and help you at night.¡±

    Pei Mianman¡¯s face turned red. She quickly replied, ¡°No, don¡¯t! Master will still be here.¡±

    Zu An frowned. That was a problem. If Elder Huo Ling and Manman were going to stick to each other that way, he really wouldn¡¯t have any way of meeting her. However, he suddenly thought of something and asked, ¡°Do you have Wan Tongtian or Elder Huo Ling¡¯s handwriting?¡±

    Pei Mianman was confused for a moment, but she replied, ¡°I do. In the past, Pce Master Wan and master wrote some cultivation tips for important disciples like us.¡±

    Zu An smiled and replied, ¡°Then that makes things easy.¡±

    He found a chance to distract Elder Huo Ling, then secretly received a small booklet from Pei Mianman. Afterward, he got up and bade them farewell. He left in a light and cheerful manner.

    As Elder Huo Ling looked at him, she looked a bit confused, remarking, ¡°Why do I feel that this Sir Zu is acting a bit strange?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. I think he¡¯s quite a good person,¡± Pei Mianman replied with a guilty conscience.

    ¡°Hmph, that kid is probably just after your looks. You should stay some distance away from him in the future.¡± Elder Huo Ling suddenly harrumphed.

    Pei Mianman grimaced inwardly before replying, ¡°Master, but he helped me!¡±

    ¡°If he hadn¡¯t helped you, do you think I would have let him evene that close to you?¡± Elder Huo Ling replied with a stiff expression. ¡°That brat had a really treacherous smile on his face. He was probably thinking of something filthy.¡±

    Pei Mianman¡¯s face reddened. She thought to herself, My master clearly doesn¡¯t have much rtionship experience, so why is she so sharp?

    ¡°Just remember this. All men in this world are trash,¡± Elder Huo Ling said resentfully.

    Pei Mianman wanted to say that there were still good men in this world. But knowing her master¡¯s past, she didn¡¯t want to anger her any further. She was really worried, thinking, If Zu An really is going toe at night, and my master finds out, what am I supposed to do¡­

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An hurriedly returned to his own courtyard. He took out Wan Tongtian¡¯s letter and began to copy its style.

    ¡®Junior sister, in the past, idents arose from many causes, and there were quite a few misunderstandings. I have always felt ill at ease, and have many things I wish to say to you¡­ Let us meet under the willow tree under the moonlight by the edge of the heavenlyke after dark. Under the flowering tree, I will wait until we see one another¡­¡¯

    Then, he took out another letter.

    ¡®Senior brother, at midnight, let us talk at the peak of the heavenlyke. There is something I want to tell you¡­¡¯n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Elder Huo Ling looked strict and unreasonable, but Zu An knew that those kinds of people only became that way because of hatred born of unrequited love. Inside, she was probably still like a young girl who definitely longed for love. As long as Wan Tongtian stepped back a bit, she would most likely ept him.

    In contrast, Wan Tongtian was a bit more troublesome. After all, his child was already so big. If Zu An wrote in a way that was too romantic, firstly, that wouldn¡¯t sound like Elder Huo Ling¡¯s style at all, and secondly, Wan Tongtian could just refuse to go out of anger. He would be easier to convince with official business.

    Zu An finished preparing everything. However, when he saw the two letters, he still couldn''t help but shake his head. Even though he had learned how to draw from Yu Yanluo and made good progress, his writing was stillcking in maturity. It could be enough to fool normal people, but it was a stretch to think his forgery would convince two grandmasters.

    Suddenly, Xie Daoyun gently called out by the entrance, ¡°Big brother Zu, what are you busy with right now?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes lit up. There¡¯s a way!

 Chapter 1641: Matchmaker

    Chapter 1641: Matchmaker

    ¡°Little sister Ling¡¯er, can you help me copy these two letters using the same handwriting?¡± Zu An asked, standing up and pulling out a chair for her.

    Xie Daoyun was a runemaster, and what they were best at was none other than writing. Copying handwriting could be difficult for most people, but it was extremely easy for them.

    ¡°Sure~¡± Xie Daoyun replied as she sat down and picked up the letter. However, the smile on her face gradually froze.

    When he saw her strange reaction, Zu An quickly asked, ¡°What is it? Is this handwriting hard to imitate?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not it,¡± Xie Daoyun said hesitantly. After a moment of hesitation, she finally said, ¡°Whichdy is big brother Zu nning to have a lovers¡¯ rendezvous with?¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but chuckle, saying, ¡°You¡¯ve misunderstood. It¡¯s not for me, but¡­ for a mission requirement. Do you think I¡¯d need to forge someone else¡¯s handwriting if it were for me?¡± He was too embarrassed to exin who the Jadefall Pce couple was; otherwise, she could end up being frightened and refuse to do it.

    ¡°Right!¡± Xie Daoyun replied, her face lighting up. She grinned from ear to ear. She rolled up her sleeves a bit, revealing her snow-white wrist as she began to make copies of the letters.

    ¡°Is it too hard?¡± Zu An asked worriedly. Whether it was Wan Tongtian or Elder Huo Ling, they clearly had distinct styles of handwriting. That was what had troubled him previously.

    ¡°It might be hard for other people, but big brother Zu shouldn¡¯t forget what my specialty is,¡± Xie Daoyun said, her face shining with confidence. She quickly finished the two letters.

    While checking them, Zu An discovered that there was no difference at all from Wan Tongtian and Elder Huo Ling¡¯s style. He sighed in amazement, remarking, ¡°I really never expected that such graceful hands could write such strong and powerful words!¡±

    Xie Daoyun blushed and said, ¡°I¡¯m d that I was able to help big brother Zu.¡±

    ¡°You should get some rest. I¡¯m going out for a bit,¡± Zu An said as he put the letters away and walked toward the exit.

    ¡°Big brother Zu~¡± Xie Daoyun called after him. ¡°Are youing back tonight?¡±

    Zu An was stunned, saying, ¡°It might be veryte by the time I return.¡± He was going to help Big Manman with her treatment, and that would take most of the night. However, he couldn''t spend the night there; it would be bad if Jadefall Pce¡¯s people found out.

    Xie Daoyun sighed in relief when she heard that he wasing back. She said, ¡°Then I hope big brother Zu¡¯s mission is a sess!¡±

    Zu An had a strange expression, but after waving to her, he disappeared into the night sky.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in Jadefall Pce¡¯s courtyard, Elder Huo Ling and Pei Mianman were discussing their ns for the next few days of thepetition.

    Pei Mianman responded to her master somewhat absent-mindedly. She was busy trying to figure out what Ah Zu had meant before he left.

    Suddenly, Elder Huo Ling¡¯s expression turned cold. With a brush of her sleeves, she caught something that had flown in through the window and crumpled it up. She immediately rushed outside and looked around with sharp eyes. Unfortunately, there was no one in sight, and only a few crickets were chirping in the vicinity.

    ¡°Master, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Pei Mianman asked, following her out.

    ¡°There was a formidable individual here just now,¡± Elder Huo Ling said, her expression serious. There weren¡¯t many on Violet Mountain who could deliver a letter without being discovered. However, none of them would need to act so sneakily. Could it be that there were other strong cultivators who had snuck in?

    While thinking, she picked up the letter. She scanned it with her divine sense but didn¡¯t pick up any hidden traps, so she opened it up. Her heart immediately skipped a beat when she read the words in front of her. As she read through the contents, her expression changed several times. She was filled with countless shifting emotions.

    ¡°Master, what does it say?¡± Pei Mianman asked. She had never seen such an expression from her master¡¯s face before. She couldn''t help but get up on her tiptoes to look at the letter.

    ¡°Nothing. Just something someone senseless wrote. There¡¯s no need to pay it any heed,¡± Elder Huo Ling said as she quickly put it away. ¡°Let¡¯s continue with what we were talking about earlier.¡±

    Pei Mianman replied with an ¡®oh¡¯. She couldn''t really continue asking about it now.

    Previously, Pei Mianman was the one who had been absent-minded. Now, it was Elder Huo Ling¡¯s thoughts that were wandering. She looked calm on the surface, but a mix of emotions stirred inside her.

    Why would that rascal write this kind of letter to me?

    But who else could it be but him? How could I not recognize his handwriting?

    And who else in this entire ce could deliver a message like this but him?

    Don¡¯t tell me that because we fought together earlier, he remembered how we were when we were younger?

    But he already has a wife and a child! What meaning is there left in writing these things to me?

    Hmph, who does he think he is? Does he think that I¡¯ll meet him just because he wrote this?

    And he even arranged a meeting at the farthest and most secluded Heavenly Lake Peak. Just what is he trying to do?

    ¡­

    After a while, Pei Mianman noticed that there was something strange about her master. She said cautiously, ¡°Master, you must be really tired from helping me recover over the past few days. Maybe it would be best if you got some rest.¡±

    ¡°Your master isn¡¯t tired,¡± Elder Huo Ling reflexively replied. But after a moment of hesitation, she still got up and said, ¡°I suppose that¡¯s not a bad idea. You should take some time to adjust your condition.¡±

    After saying that, she returned to her room. Her hand trembled a bit as she took out that letter, reading the contents word for word. At times her expression was filled with sorrow, and at other timesughter. A momentter, she suddenly got up and said to herself, ¡°Hmph, I want to see just what you have to say to me!¡±

    She got up and prepared to leave, but she quickly returned to her room again. She had a conflicted expression. However, she still took out a mirror and some makeup from her storage pouch. When she looked at the set of familiar yet unfamiliar makeup products, a hint of grief appeared on her face. It was something that Wan Tongtian had given her back then. Just how many years had passed since shest used it? Thirty years? Or had it already been fifty¡­?

    Fortunately, things kept in a storage pouch didn¡¯t go bad. She sat down in front of the dressing table. As she applied the cosmetics to her face, she seemed to recall those past days of glory. The strict and stern look at the corners of her eyes gradually softened, even being reced with a hint of a youngdy¡¯s bashfulness.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Pei Mianman felt very restless in her room. Suddenly, the window creaked quietly. She immediately turned around and saw a familiar figure.

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡± she cried out, surprised and happy. She quickly ran over to receive him, asking, ¡°Why are you here? Master is still next door.¡±

    Zu An jumped in and gave her a big hug. When he felt that familiar pressure against his chest, he said with a chuckle, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. She won¡¯t be back for quite some time.¡±

    At first, his n had just been to pretend to be Wan Tongtian and write the letter to Elder Huo Ling, but he eventually thought that would be way too cruel. If Elder Huo Ling waited an entire night in the cold winds, the resentment she built up would be enough to rip Wan Tongtian apart¡­ As such, he had changed his n to writing letters to both of them. He had already created a chance for them, so whether or not they¡¯d take it would be up to their fate.

    Pei Mianman wasn¡¯t stupid. She quickly asked, ¡°So you were the one who wrote that letter?¡±

    ¡°Who else? Do you think some third wheel drew her away?¡± Zu An replied, feeling rather proud of his own wit.

    ¡°Just what did you write that could actually draw my master away?¡± Pei Mianman asked, her eyes full of curiosity.

    ¡°Ahem, either way, it¡¯s something good,¡± Zu An said. He was too embarrassed to exin it in detail to her. If she found out that he had messed with her master like that, she could get upset. When he saw that she was about to press the issue, however, he quickly changed the topic. ¡°You left your window open just for me. Manman, you and I are really always of the same mind.¡±

    There were always defensive formations in ces where cultivators lived. If the owner didn¡¯t approve of it, it would be quite difficult for others to enter silently.

    Pei Mianman¡¯s face turned red and she said, ¡°Hmph, I just forgot to close the window. As if I¡¯d leave it open just for you.¡±

    ¡°Hurry and let big brother take a look at your body. Let me see how your recovery is going,¡± Zu An said, smiling as he reached toward her.

    ¡°You¡¯re so annoying~¡± Pei Mianman replied, but judging from her tone, she didn¡¯t seem to be annoyed at all.

    The two naturally nestled against each other as they talked about what had happened while they were apart. They were full of happiness from reuniting after having been apart for so long.

    ¡­

    A whileter, Zu An said, ¡°Your recovery is way too slow. The followingpetition will be really dangerous for you. I¡¯ll help you with my primordial ki.¡±

    ¡°No~¡± Pei Mianman replied, looking away with a red face. After being together for so long, how could she not know what his treatment method really was?n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An couldn''t help butugh, replying, ¡°Then why are you moving over to the bed while saying that?¡±

    Pei Mianman was really embarrassed. She grabbed a nearby pillow and chased him all around while hitting him with it. However, as they fought, both of them couldn''t help but move under the covers.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t¡­ you say you were going to treat me? Why have you just been¡­ kissing me¡­¡± Pei Mianman trailed off, her voice starting to tremble a bit.

    Zu An looked up from her embrace and said with a smile, ¡°This is the preparation work before the treatment.¡±

    ¡°You really are an annoying rascal, but I can¡¯t help but like that~¡± Pei Mianman replied, her eyes misty. Her beautiful arms gently embraced him, naturally coordinating with him.

    The two of them had been apart for a long time. Now, they were like dry wood that caught fire and turned into a raging inferno, or clouds that had gathered water vapor for so long that just the slightest stir would cause them to burst.

    ¡°Mmm~¡± A sweet and tender moan emerged. Pei Mianman¡¯s entire body was covered in an enchanting pink hue.

    Zu An didn¡¯t forget to use his primordial ki to treat her. However, such an injury always made the patient¡¯s body several times more sensitive than normal. Thus, Pei Mianman was soon utterly defeated. She continued to beg her big brother for mercy. However, she didn¡¯t know that the more she pleaded like that, the more encouraging it was to a man.

    The two of them werepletely intoxicated by the treatment for some time, but Zu An¡¯s expression suddenly changed.

    What the hell? Why does this keep happening?

    Are the heavens messing with me right now?

    When she felt his hesitation, Pei Mianman askedzily, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Soon after, however, she found out the answer. She heard light footsteps outside. Then, a cold and clear voice called out, ¡°Manman, it¡¯s me, Chuyan.¡±

 Chapter 1642: Freeloader

    Chapter 1642: Freeloader

    When she heard Chu Chuyan¡¯s voice, Pei Mianman¡¯s entire body instantly tensed up. She couldn''t help but tremble all over.

    Zu An cried out inwardly. He hadn¡¯t expected this kind of situation to happen all over again! Previously, he had been discovered by Yan Xuehen, and intended to learn from that lesson. But how could he have known that Big Manman would do¡­ that?

    The two of them embraced each other tightly, as if they wanted to fully merge with each other. It was the moment when they shared the most intimate feelings. If there had been no one else present, they would definitely have had endless sweet words to share with each other. However, there was someone outside, and it was quite the special person too.

    ¡°Manman?¡± Chuyan called out in confusion. She was curious about theck of response, even after such a long time.

    ¡°Huh? Chuyan?¡± Pei Mianman replied, sounding a bit flustered. She pushed Zu An off her and to the side, and quickly put on her clothes.

    ¡°I only found out that you had alsoe to Violet Mountain from my master. You were injured during thepetition, so I came with an Ice Heart Pill to help you recover sooner,¡± Chu Chuyan said, although she found it a bit strange. From how Pei Mianman sounded, could it be that she had been sleeping?

    Zu An was shocked, remembering that Yan Xuehen had used the Ice Heart Pill before. It was White Jade Sect¡¯s greatest medicine! It was even better than Ji Dengtu¡¯s Soul Return Pill. It was extremely precious, and even Sect Master Yan Xuehen only had a few of them on her! Chu Chuyan had actually brought over such a pill for Pei Mianman?

    Pei Mianman was also from the daoist sects now, so she had naturally heard of the Ice Heart Pill¡¯s value. She was shocked and moved. She hadn¡¯t expected Chuyan to give her something this precious. Meanwhile, behind Chuyan¡¯s back, she had stolen¡­

    She felt really vexed and med herself. She even found Zu An a bit less pleasing to look at.

    ¡°Please wait for a moment!¡± Pei Mianman called out, quickly putting on her clothes. However, when she stood up, she felt something was off. She gave Zu An an annoyed look. It¡¯s all this guy¡¯s fault!

    Zu An felt helpless too, thinking, Why does this scene feel a bit familiar?

    Suddenly, Pei Mianman pushed him toward the window and gestured for him to get lost, leaving him dejected. Why did he feel like the third wheel here?

    Still, he didn¡¯t have the courage to face Chu Chuyan¡¯s eyes that were as pure as a frozen mountain. He could only leave with a guilty conscience.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Pei Mianman quickly sorted out the messy bedding, then ran over to the door and said, ¡°Chuyan, sorry about that. I¡¯ve been really tired because of the treatment recently. I was asleep just now.¡±

    Now, Chu Chuyan actually felt a bit embarrassed. She replied, ¡°It¡¯s all my fault for disturbing your rest.¡±

    ¡°Not at all! I finally get to meet my good friend again, so I¡¯m extremely happy!¡± Pei Mianman said while inviting her in. After all, Chuyan hade with such a precious gift, so if she didn¡¯t even let her in, it really would seem a bit inappropriate. It could even give Chuyan some doubts.

    Chu Chuyan didn¡¯t refuse her invitation. After all, back in Brightmoon City, because of her naturally cold personality and the need to maintain a dignified appearance for her n¡¯s business, she had basically never had friends. Pei Mianman had practically been the only one she could call a close friend.

    ¡°The reason I came here sote is that I don¡¯t want others to know about our rtionship. There have been a lot of rumors going around about me recently, so I was worried that I¡¯d end up bringing you unnecessary attention,¡± Chu Chuyan exined when she saw Pei Mianman¡¯s messy hair and sleepy appearance.

    ¡°What kinds of rumors?¡± Pei Mianman asked while pouring some tea for her. She was stunned to hear Chuyan¡¯s exnation.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t know about it?¡± Chu Chuyan asked; it was her turn to be surprised.

    Pei Mianman exined in embarrassment, ¡°My master locked me up in my room and has been watching over me for the sake of this tournament. I haven¡¯t had much contact with the outside world at all.¡±

    ¡°So that was what happened,¡± Chu Chuyan said, her face turning a bit red. When the topic was rted to Zu An, she couldn¡¯t help but be a bit embarrassed. She continued, ¡°It¡¯s actually not that big of a deal.¡±

    She handed over an embroidered case while saying, ¡°This Ice Heart Pill is something the sect gave me to use for myself, but I won¡¯t be using it anytime soon. Meanwhile, you¡¯re injured, so I hope it can be of use.¡±

    ¡°How can I take something like this that could save your life? Hurry and store it away. I¡¯m already pretty much all healed up from the sect¡¯s care,¡± Pei Mianman hurriedly said, trying to refuse.

    Jadefall Pce¡¯s treatment alone had only allowed her to recover by sixty to seventy percent, but with Ah Zu¡¯s help, she was already mostly healed. Of course, she couldn''t tell Chuyan about that.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I can just ask my sect for another one,¡± Chu Chuyan said as she pushed the case over. ¡°Don¡¯t be like this. We¡¯re good friends, aren¡¯t we?¡±

    When she heard Chuyan call her a good friend, Pei Mianman¡¯s heart skipped a bit. A hint of guilt appeared on her face.

    Afterward, Chu Chuyan talked to her about what had happened in the time since they hadst seen each other. However, both of them tacitly chose to avoid anything rted to Zu An. In that instant, it was almost as if they had returned to their carefree time back in Brightmoon City.

    Suddenly, a strange sound came from Pei Mianman¡¯s body. Chu Chuyan was stunned and looked at her in confusion.

    ¡°My stomach has been a bit ufortable recently¡­¡± Pei Mianman exined while cursing Zu An to death inwardly. He had actually left so much inside her!

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s expression turned strange. Back in Brightmoon City, she would really have believed it. Now that she had some experience, though, she found the sound a bit familiar. She sniffed the air and gave the messy bedding a look. When she thought about Pei Mianman¡¯s strange reaction, she already started forming guesses.

    ¡°Then I won¡¯t be disturbing your rest anymore,¡± she said, getting up to leave.

    When she saw Chuyan¡¯s expression change from gentle topletely cold, Pei Mianman felt her insides tremble. She couldn''t help but call out, ¡°Chuyan!¡±

    Chu Chuyan stopped, but she didn¡¯t turn back around. She asked in an icy cold tone, ¡°What is it?¡±

    Pei Mianman felt distraught. She said weakly, ¡°Whether you believe it or not, I will always see you as my best friend.¡±

    Chu Chuyan didn¡¯t reply. She stood in silence for a long time before nodding slightly. Then, she left.

    When she left, Pei Mianman looked at the Ice Heart Pill that had been left on the table. Her face heated up in embarrassment. She grabbed her hair and screamed, ¡°Aaah! I was almost ruined by that idiot!¡±

    ¡­

    Achoo!

    Just as Zu An returned to his room, he couldn''t help but sneeze.

    The sound woke up Xie Daoyun, who had been lying down in the other room. She held her covers as she sat up, calling out, ¡°Big brother Zu, you¡¯re already back?¡±

    Zu An gestured to indicate that she didn¡¯t need to get up, replying, ¡°Yeah. Go back to sleep and don¡¯t worry about me.¡±

    After he returned to his room andy down, he was so embarrassed that he couldn''t fall asleep. Previously, Yan Xuehen had found out that he was with Chuyan, but this time, Big Manman had been found out by Chuyan.

    Just what kind of freaking bad luck is this? Should I find Chuyan and apologize?n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    But I ran away so fast, maybe she didn¡¯t find out¡­ If I go and apologize now, there¡¯s no way Yan Xuehen won¡¯t find out.

    Just the thought of that hell made his entire body tremble.

    Meanwhile, outside, Xie Daoyun found it hard to sleep as well. I wonder if big brother Zu saw my new sleepwear or not¡­

    Zu An thought, Seeing as I can¡¯t sleep, I might as well stay awake. He remembered that he hadn¡¯t pulled the Keyboard System for a long time. He was usually busy and didn¡¯t have time to do it, so tonight was the perfect time.

    He counted up his points and saw that he had amassed a total of 718,836 Rage points. Most of those points had been gathered right here on Violet Mountain, thanks to his scandal with Chuyan drawing so much hatred.

    In that instant, he even wondered whether to announce his rtionship with Big Manman and Yan Xuehen. His Rage points would probably multiply, but he wouldn¡¯t necessarily be able to leave Violet Mountain alive¡­

    When he thought about the consequences that could ensue, he shuddered. Then, he began his pulls. After doing this for so long, he didn¡¯t feel anything special anymore. Before, he would have burned some incense, taken a bath, prayed to Buddha, or whatever else. Now, he was extremely calm and just went straight to the pulls.

    Thank you for ying!

    Thank you for ying!

    ¡­

    When he saw the familiar words, Zu An wasn¡¯t shaken at all. He even wanted tough.

    Midway, however, the keyboard stopped on the number 9.

    Congrattions on obtaining a Fortune Pill!

    Zu An was stunned. This name is familiar! He had managed to get a Fortune Pill when he first arrived in this world. That was precisely what he had relied on to go crazy in the casinos. However, for his current self, it wasn¡¯t that special. What, was he going to go to a casino and go through all that again? At this point, he could just rob them outright.

    Hm? Maybe I should give it a try next time.

    He continued the pulls, but began to frown as he watched the ¡®Thank you for ying¡¯ and Ki Fruits alternating. Why wasn¡¯t there even a single Tiger Talisman from the pulls?

    He only had the two goddesses Daji and Mo Xi right now, so he wanted to try for another one with the Tiger Talismans. Even though they weren¡¯t all that useful in terms ofbat, they could at least serve as extra hands to take care of some things.

    Suddenly, the indicator stopped on the F key.

    Congrattions on obtaining Freeloader!

    Zu An was dumbfounded.

 Chapter 1643: I Gave You an Opportunity But You Didnâ€™t Cherish it

    Chapter 1643: I Gave You an Opportunity But You Didn¡¯t Cherish it

    Freeloader skill description: They can be found everywhere in reality, games, and novels. Their best skill, freeloading, allows them to purchase or exchange for items even without money or other valuable goods. For the sake of freeloading, freeloaders do not fear any trouble. This kind of bravery is something worth learning from for all of us. However, their poor traits of being cheap and stingy has harmed the interests of the creators of value, thus drawing the disdain and contempt of others.

    A certain well-known freeloader was once quoted: If I don¡¯t pay once I¡¯m done, it¡¯s not prostitution, right?

    Another freeloader often asserted: Freeloading brings happiness. If you freeload once, you feel great once. If you always freeload, you always feel great.

    Skill effect: Once Freeloader is used, the negative cost of using any skill can be ignored. Uses left: 3.

    Special reminder! There is a limit to freeloading. If the cost exceeds a certain amount, the freeloader will be bitterly punished.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An waspletely baffled when he finished reading the skill¡¯s effects. There had been so many freeloaders online in his previous world, and the novels he followed had often begged their readers to not freeload anymore. He hadn¡¯t expected to find the same concept even in this world.

    Still, even though the skill¡¯s effects were rather simple, the shorter the wording was, the greater the consequences would be.

    This skill was actually a bit ridiculous. After all, many skills in this world followed the principle of equivalent exchange. The greater its strength was, the greater the cost would be. But Freeloader couldpletely ignore that cost. The only thing that was worth noting was that the skill didn¡¯t seem to be omnipotent. It seemed that not even Freeloader could handle the cost if it was too great. For example, if he wanted to destroy the entire world, even if he used the Freeloader skill, he would be instantly reduced to ashes from the rebound.

    He wondered where the limit of the skill was. However, it had a limit on its uses, so he couldn''t just recklessly test it. Meanwhile, he could just die if he used it in a real battle¡­

    He quickly finished his pulls. Apart from the Fortune Pill and Freeloader skill, he also obtained 720 Ki Fruits, leaving him quite satisfied with the result.

    Next, he summoned Mo Xi. Her tanned skin shone with an enchanting glow, and she herself was like a beautiful leopardess. Her well proportioned thighs were full of explosive youthfulness. Even though this wasn¡¯t the first time Zu An had seen them, he still sighed in amazement. Mo Xi was theplete opposite of Daji. Daji was delicate and soft, a beauty that could bring down an entire country. Meanwhile, Mo Xi was more like a heroic general.

    Yup, her tanned skin coupled with her outfit makes her look more like those hot babes at the beach.

    Compared to Daji, Mo Xi was more proud. Previously, she had never fully obeyed Zu An¡¯s orders, and only barely epted when he brought out Ki Fruits. As such, Zu An used the Ki Fruits to make her do what he needed her to do, unlike in Daji¡¯s case, where he just gave them to her without any conditions.

    However, Zu An had already thought things through by now. Even though the goddessescked souls, they still had things such as impression and favor. If he treated her exploitatively, she would probably treat him the same way. When she reached higher and higher levels, she would be even harder to control. Instead of that, it would be better for him to try to create a good rtionship now, treating it like a dating sim.

    ¡°Open your mouth~¡± Zu An said as he took out the Ki Fruits. Together with what had been left over from before, he had 1,634 in total. As Daji had already made her seventh rank breakthrough, her Ki Fruit requirements had grown higher; so, rather than feeding her, he nned to raise Mo Xi¡¯s rank first.

    When she saw the Ki Fruits, Mo Xi¡¯s previously cold eyes clearly lit up. After a moment of hesitation, she moved closer, then obediently raised her head and opened her mouth.

    Zu An almost had a nosebleed when he saw this. These goddesses had all been exceptional beauties in life. Even though they werecking souls, even their instinctive actions were just too beautiful.

    Then, Zu An tossed the Ki Fruits into Mo Xi¡¯s mouth one after another. Valkyries normally wouldn¡¯t allow him to touch their bodies. However, in the process, he identally touched her soft lips, and at times he even touched her tongue. However, she didn¡¯t show any signs of a negative reaction.

    Zu An finally understood why so many people online felt that feeding carried a kind of joy. At first, he had nned to just dump the fruits all at once to save time and energy. But now, he changed his ns and fed them to Mo Xi one by one. He found it quite amusing in its own way.

    ¡­

    Zu AN fed Mo Xi a total of 1,210 Ki Fruits, raising her up to the peak of the fifth rank. He didn¡¯t feed her the remaining 424, because they weren¡¯t enough to bring her to the peak of the sixth rank. It was better to just save them for emergencies.

    Mo Xi seemed as if she still hadn¡¯t fully expressed herself. The Ki Fruits were just too delicious for valkyries. She couldn''t hold herself back and even licked his finger.

    In that instant, every single hair on Zu An¡¯s body stood on end. He thought to himself, She licks my fingers if I hold the fruits, but what if the fruits were ced elsewhere¡­ He immediately got rid of those thoughts as soon as they appeared. Scum, brute, shameless!

    When Mo Xi confirmed that there were no more Ki Fruits, she got up and waited for her mission. After all, that was what they always did. She got paid for what he needed her to do.

    As if sensing her intentions, Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°There¡¯s nothing I need you to do. You can just rest.¡±

    Mo Xi was stunned, clearly surprised that he didn¡¯t need her to do anything. Her expression seemed to be a bit gentler. Then, she returned to her special space.

    ¡­

    The next morning, Xie Daoyun saw that Zu An seemed to be constantly massaging his hands. She couldn''t help but ask out of concern, ¡°Big brother Zu, is your hand injured?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. It¡¯s just a small thing,¡± Zu An replied. Inwardly, he thought, I fed Mo Xi a total of 1,210 Ki Fruits one by one! How could my hand not be sore?

    Xie Daoyun took out a talisman and stuck it to his hand, saying, ¡°This is a Pain Relief Talisman. It can alleviate fatigue and pain.¡±

    Zu An felt a refreshing sensationing from his hand. He immediately showered her in praise. Even though Xie Daoyun¡¯s fighting strength wasn¡¯t that high, she really was a top-notch support unit! Her talismans were extremely practical! She seemed to be able to do anything.

    When she heard his praise, Xie Daoyun felt really sweet inside. Her eyes looked like crescent moons as she smiled.

    ¡°Little sister Ling¡¯er, why don¡¯t we watch the representative disciples¡¯ matches together? I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll be quite interesting,¡± Zu An said.

    Xie Daoyun was a bit moved, but she still shook her head in the end and replied, ¡°I have to check Violet Mountain for formations. People are all focused on Golden Peak because of thepetition, so the security is a bit morex elsewhere. It won¡¯t be as easy to find another chance as good as this.¡±

    Previously, they had only checked the main peaks. However, Violet Mountain was extremely vast. She had always had a feeling of unease, so she decided that it was better to continue investigating.

    ¡°I understand. Your mission is important,¡± Zu An replied. He knew that she had a mission and didn¡¯t force her. However, he handed her an alert arrow from the Embroidery House and said, ¡°Activate this if you encounter any danger. I¡¯lle immediately.¡±

    ¡°Okay. Thank you, big brother Zu,¡± Xie Daoyun replied, feeling really warm inside as she held the alert arrow. Inwardly, she thought, Big brother Zu really treats me well.

    ¡­

    When Zu An arrived at Golden Peak, he reflexively looked for Chu Chuyan. After all, he felt really guilty after what had happened the previous night. Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t see her. Normally, though, she woulde to observe apetition between the representative disciples. Could it be that she was really angry this time?

    He turned around to look at Pei Mianman. Pei Mianman clearly saw him, but she pretended not to. Furthermore, her usual charming smile was nowhere to be seen.

    ¡°What did they say to each other yesterday?¡± Zu An muttered to himself, feeling ufortable. He wanted to ask her, but he couldn''t do so in front of everyone else right now.

    Hm? What is going on with Elder Huo Ling and Wan Tongtian? Why do both of them look as if they¡¯re spitting with rage?

    I gave you two a chance, but you didn¡¯t make use of it! Zu An thought mockingly.

    Just then, Wang Wuxie finished the conventional opening remarks and speech. He formally announced the beginning of the day''spetition.

    Because today was the day of the battle between the representative disciples to see who was the best, there weren¡¯t too manypetitors. There was no need to have several fights at the same time, unlike the matches a few days prior. Instead, the battles would be held one by one for the disciples of the nine sects to view. After all, it would be a rare opportunity for them.

    The first match was between the Righteous Sun Sect¡¯s Wu Xiaofan and Mount Luofu¡¯s Luo Dongjiang. When both of them got on the stage, the entire peak fell silent as the spectators watched the two.

    Wu Xiaofan lookedpletely ordinary. No one would give him a second look if they saw him on the streets. In contrast, Luo Dongjiang was much more handsome and impressive in appearance. He had a lofty presence, worthy of his reputation as a representative disciple.

    However, no one on Golden Peak dared to look down on Wu Xiaofan. After all, they had heard just too many legends surrounding him. Many of them began to quietly discuss who would win. The overwhelming majority thought that Wu Xiaofan was going to take the win, but some people supported Luo Dongjiang. After all, Luo Dongjiang had beenpletely unstoppable in the group stage. Furthermore, everyone liked a good underdog story.

    ¡°Luo Dongjiang isn¡¯t weak. This is a good chance to see what Wu Xiaofan¡¯s trump card is,¡± Jadefall Pce¡¯s Wan Guiyi remarked expectantly. At the same time, he couldn''t help but give his father a look. Normally, his father would be discussing strategies with him, as well as giving him some pointers.¡±

    What is going on today? Why isn¡¯t he saying anything?

    He¡¯s even avoided my gaze several times. It makes him look as if he did something to let me down¡­

 Chapter 1644: Wailing of the Cold Cicadas

    Chapter 1644: Wailing of the Cold Cicadas

    Wan Guiyi couldn''t help butugh. What could his father even do to him to let him down? His attention quickly returned to the stage.

    Mount Luofu¡¯s Luo Dongjiang looked toward the honest and simple-looking man across from him, saying, ¡°Brother Wu, everyone believes that you are number one among the younger generation. This humble one will have to experience it for myself.¡±

    Wu Xiaofan shook his head and said, ¡°How can I dare to im to be number one among the younger generation? Sir Zu showed that he was already stronger than me a few days ago.¡±

    Luo Dongjiang choked. Aren¡¯t you stating the obvious? He even defeated our Elder Xu, so we can onlypare him to the older generation. Why would he fight juniors like us?

    He just assumed Wu Xiaofan was messing with him, making him angry. He didn¡¯t say anything else and drew his sword. A powerful wave of earth energy spread out from beneath his feet, and a dragon made of earth quickly swam around him, faint dragon cries following in its wake.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Mount Luofu excelled with the earth element. This was none other than Mount Luofu¡¯s extreme art, Earth Dragon¡¯s Cry.

    The dragon created a chaotic whirlwind of earth as it moved. It released a ferocious pressure so strong that even the surrounding disciples seemed to be able to feel the weight of the earth bearing down upon them. Many of the disciples sighed in amazement; they had been looking down on this Mount Luofu disciple a bit because of how helpless he was against Zu An, but now things were different.

    Wan Guiyi, Lou Wucheng, and the other candidates stared at Wu Xiaofan to see how he would deal with the situation. However, even though Luo Dongjiang¡¯s aura grew stronger and stronger, Wu Xiaofan remainedpletely calm, as if he didn¡¯t have any intention of interrupting his opponent.

    Many of the disciples felt that Wu Xiaofan was underestimating his opponent too much. After all, Luo Dongjiang was also a representative disciple. Even if there was a difference between them, how great could it be? If he just kept letting his opponent gather strength, he would definitely pay the price for it when they foughtter.

    ¡°Earth Dragon¡¯s Cry!¡± Luo Dongjiang cried as he finished charging his power. His entire body spun rapidly, bing one with the earth dragon around him, and he charged at Wu Xiaofan surrounded by an overwhelming aura of destruction. The barrier around the stage began flickering continuously; the technique¡¯s berserk power was clearly activating the defenses around the arena perimeter.

    ¡°The earth element usually excels at defense rather than offense. I didn¡¯t expect its offensive power to actually be so powerful!¡±

    ¡°As expected of Mount Luofu¡¯s extreme art!¡±

    The disciples cried out in rm. However, Wan Guiyi and the other representative disciples were more concerned about something else. They wondered how they would deal with this attack if they were in Wu Xiaofan¡¯s ce.

    ¡°These representative disciples do seem to have some skills¡­¡± Zhang Zijiang couldn''t help but say with a sigh. However, when he saw that Zu An¡¯s expression waspletely calm, he quickly changed the topic, adding, ¡°But of course, they are still far toocking whenpared to Sir Zu.¡± Not letting go of any chance to deliver ttery was a crucial skill for any court official.

    On the stage, Wu Xiaofan still didn¡¯t move an inch. Even as the berserk earth energy arrived right in front of him, he only raised his hand, causing a faintyer of purple energy to appear around it. Then, with a seemingly nonchnt push, a powerful burst of ki suddenly erupted outward from his hand with an ear-splitting noise.

    The frighteningly powerful earth dragon suddenly stopped, a visible force rapidly coursing through its body. It quickly began to break apart inch by inch until itpletely turned to dust.

    Luo Dongjiang had been preparing to unleash his sword skills from within the earthen whirlwind, but he suddenly stopped. The earth dragon had been intended to conceal his real attack, but now that it had copsed, he felt the ki and blood within him stir. The hardest thing for him to ept was that Wu Xiaofan¡¯s counterattack felt as if it had stripped him of his clothes, practically leaving himpletely naked in front of the crowd.

    How is this possible?!

    Luo Dongjiang was shocked. He had known that there was a difference between him and Wu Xiaofan, but he hadn¡¯t expected it to be so great! Earth Dragon¡¯s Cry was already his most powerful attack; he had initially thought that his opponent would either dodge or use a lot of energy to stop the earth tornado. Subsequently, he would deliver a decisive blow, catching Wu Xiaofan off guard while his energy was spent. And yet, he had never expected that he would be the one caught off guard!

    However, he had already gathered his strength and had to use it. Even though he didn¡¯t have the earth dragon to conceal his move, he still used his most powerful sword skill. Dazzling sword radiance erupted from the stage, engulfing Wu Xiaofan within.

    A momentter, though, that radiance dimmed. Wu Xiaofan struck the sword with his palm, directly neutralizing the attack before going on the offensive.

    Luo Dongjiang was rmed. He wanted to back up and evade, but his internal ki was aplete mess after his opponent¡¯s strike. In that moment of stagnation, Wu Xiaofan¡¯s palm instantly struck his chest.

    Pfft!

    Blood gushed out of Luo Dongjiang¡¯s mouth as his body was flung backward like a sandbag. Wu Xiaofan didn¡¯t continue to chase after him; instead, he cupped his hands modestly and said, ¡°You went easy on me!¡±

    Luo Dongjiang slowly got back on his feet and wiped blood from the corner of his mouth. He waspletely dejected as he replied, ¡°Thank you for being lenient, senior brother.¡±

    Even though he had vomited blood and been left in a sorry state, he could sense that Wu Xiaofan hadn¡¯t gone all out. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t even be able to stand up right now. He normally thought so highly of himself, and yet it turned out that he hadn¡¯t even been able to bring out his opponent¡¯s full power. When he thought of how sorry a state he¡¯d be left in if he went against Zu An, he felt extremely discouraged.

    All the disciples from Mount Luofu were left downcast. Earlier, their elder had lost to a youngster, and now, their representative disciple had also lost bitterly to another representative disciple. It seemed Mount Luofu wouldn¡¯t be able to raise their heads proudly for at least ten years.

    Wan Guiyi cursed inwardly, That trash, Luo Dongjiang! He had wanted to see whether some of Wu Xiaofan¡¯s trump cards could be forced out, and yet Luo Dongjiang had been defeated by just two smacks.

    The other representative disciples¡¯ expressions weren¡¯t that much better. They had all been hoping for Luo Dongjiang to exhaust most of Wu Xiaofan¡¯s strength, as he was their greatest opponent, but who would have thought that he would win that easily?

    ¡­

    ¡°Master, this Wu Xiaofan is pretty strong,¡± Qiu Honglei secretly said to Yun Jianyue.

    ¡°You¡¯re not weak either. You¡¯ll have a higher chance of winning against him than that Chu girl,¡± Yun Jianyue replied.

    Qiu Honglei rolled her eyes and replied, ¡°That¡¯s only because of the charm skill¡¯s advantage on men. But judging from how inflexible and square he looks, it¡¯s probably not going to be that effective.¡±

    ¡°You can know someone for a long time without understanding their true nature. The more inflexible and square one looks, the more desires they may be bottling up,¡± Yun Jianyue said in a carefree manner. She believed that, no matter how formidable these youngsters were, she could still crush them with a single hand. Except for that brat, of course.

    She reflexively nced at Zu An in the distance. She saw him look toward Jadefall Pce from time to time, and couldn''t help but sneer. He really is a womanizer after all.

    ¡­

    Wu Xiaofan cupped his hands and said, ¡°Brother Luo, don¡¯t feel discouraged. It¡¯s mainly because you lost your drive because of Sir Zu a few days ago, which is why you weren¡¯t able to reveal all of your strength today. I was able to win thanks to that unfair advantage.¡±

    The audience immediately looked toward Zu An, but he just waved toward them with a smile as if he were in a parade. The crowd waspletely thrown off. There was no trace of this guy¡¯s previous domineering and tyrannical air!

    Luo Dongjiang knew that Wu Xiaofan was giving him face. A hint of gratitude shed through his eyes. He cupped his hands and backed off.

    Wang Wuxie nodded, admiring his disciple¡¯s humility. The height of one¡¯s achievements could bepletely determined from their temperament. That was sometimes even more important than talent.

    However, he quickly remembered the exception that was Zu An and his expression stiffened. He quickly said, ¡°The first fight¡¯s victory goes to the Righteous Sun Sect¡¯s Wu Xiaofan. Next, Jadefall Pce¡¯s Wan Guiyi will fight against Purity Temple¡¯s Qiu Chanzi.¡±

    Wan Guiyi got up and walked toward the elevated stage. Pei Mianman smiled toward him and said, ¡°Good luck, senior brother!¡± They were from the same sect, after all, so she naturally hoped for him to win.

    To her surprise, however, Wan Guiyi simply gave her an unhappy look and started to mutter to himself, ¡°No woman in one¡¯s heart, sword will strike like the divine¡­¡±

    Pei Mianman was speechless.

    Elder Huo Ling immediately erupted with fury. She red hatefully at Wan Tongtian and spat, ¡°As expected, like son, like father!¡±

    Jadefall Pce¡¯s disciples were already used to seeing the two of them fight. However, weren¡¯t those words backward?

    Only Wan Tongtian knew what she was really saying. His expression changed several times. In the end, he swung his sleeves and harrumphed, grumbling, ¡°A real man doesn¡¯t fight with women!¡±

    The exchange didn¡¯t escape Zu An¡¯s ears. He couldn''t help but give Wan Tongtian a look. This kid really is something! If this continues, they really might end their lineage.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, the two contestants got onto the stage. Wan Guiyi maintained his usual over-the-top behavior. His opponent was a delicate-looking boy, Qiu Chanzi.

    ¡°Oh my, how cute!¡±

    Many female cultivators cried out in rm. Previously, when the nine groups were fighting against each other, the disciples had all been more concerned with their own opponents. They had only watched some of their fellow sect members¡¯ fights at most, as they hadn¡¯t had much time to pay attention to other things.

    For many of them, this was their first opportunity to find out that Purity Temple¡¯s Qiu Chanzi was such an adorable young man.

    Tranquility Temple¡¯s little monk Jie Se harrumphed and said, ¡°That kid¡¯s cuteness level is actually close to rivaling mine.¡±

    Master Jian Huang struggled to stop himself from hitting Jie Se with the wooden fish.

    ¡°Senior brother, please go easy on me,¡± Qiu Chanzi said with the manners of a good student. Anyone who saw him would want to give him a big hug.

    Wan Guiyi waved his hand impatiently and replied, ¡°Don¡¯t give me that nonsense. Just start the fight.¡± Wu Xiaofan had won so straightforwardly that he was feeling quite a lot of pressure. He also wanted a clean victory.

    Qiu Chanzi lowered his head as if he felt wronged

    All the female disciples were filled with righteous indignation. They all denounced Wan Guiyi¡¯s attitude as evil.

    ¡°Hmph, women,¡± Wan Guiyi said, simply ignoring them. With his pride, he naturally felt it beneath him to attack first. At the same time, however, he was a bit impatient and snapped, ¡°Are you going to make your move or not?¡± The fangirls were starting to make him feel more and more irritated.

    Qiu Chanzi suddenly looked up. A strange smile appeared on his face as he replied, ¡°Senior brother, I have already made my move!¡±

    Now the spectators were shocked. After all, this Qiu Chanzi had clearly appeared to be a cute and kind little boy. Everyone who saw him would want to pinch his cheeks and hug him. However, his face was now warped in an eerie way, and his temperament now seemed strange and scary. Furthermore, his entire body emanated an aura of inexplicable madness.

 Chapter 1645: Fists for Giggling Freaks

    Chapter 1645: Fists for Giggling Freaks

    The spectators were incredibly shocked. Qiu Chanzi had always been very polite in the group stage and treated everyone well. Even those who had been defeated by him epted it wholeheartedly. Why had he suddenly be like this, as if he were possessed by a demon?

    Seeing people¡¯s skeptical looks, Purity Temple¡¯s Vice Temple Master wiped off some cold sweat while exining, ¡°Qiu Chanzi is not possessed by a demon; rather, his nature is a bit strange. He seems to have two personalities. Furthermore, because his cultivation method is special, he always enters this kind of state whenever he encounters a difficult situation.¡±

    The other sect leaders felt more at ease when they heard that. It turned out Qiu Chanzi had been holding back so far! Now that he was facing a powerful enemy like Wan Guiyi, he couldn''t hold back any of his skills. Still, his current state really was a bit frightening.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Yun Jianyue was smacking her thigh andughing. She remarked, ¡°This kid isn¡¯t bad! Let¡¯s try to get him into our Devil Sect if there¡¯s a chance. He has the potential to be a great devil!¡±

    Qiu Honglei rolled her eyes and replied, ¡°Master, didn¡¯t you tell me not to call us the Devil Sect?¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s smile froze. She hastily replied, ¡°It¡¯s different when I say it,pared to when you say it.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that a double standard?¡±

    ¡°Whatever! You should be watching thepetition seriously right now.¡±

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, on the stage, Wan Guiyi was also shocked. He finally realized that something was off. It was the middle of winter, so why did he hear cicadas? Furthermore, even though he had always been rather prideful, it was strange for him topletely lose his cool. The mysterious sense of restlessness he felt seemed toe from the cicada noises all around him.

    With a flick of his finger, his longsword instantly left its scabbard. He didn¡¯t grab the sword, insteadunching it at Qiu Chanzi.

    Even though the sword was flying hilt-first at Qiu Chanzi, a burst of sword ki flooded the entire stage. Wherever the de passed, its sharp sword ki left long gashes all across the stage.

    The disciples watching were all incredibly shocked. This Wan Guiyi¡¯s sword ki seemed to be a bit too strong! How did even this casual attack have such power?

    Even Wu Xiaofan¡¯s eyes widened a bit. He carefully watched the battle.

    Just then, Wang Wuxie turned to Zu An and asked, ¡°Sir Zu, what do you think about Wan Guiyi¡¯s sword skill?¡±

    The other sect masters and elders also looked toward him. Before, they wouldn¡¯t have cared about his opinion at all. There had been no way they would ask him about what he thought. However, after that shocking battle, they no longer viewed him as a junior. Between that and the fact that he already held such an important post in the court at such a young age, his future prospects were clearly limitless. They all naturally wanted to improve their rtionship with him.

    ¡°He¡¯s like a sword himself. He seems like a rough diamond that was born to wield the sword,¡± Zu Anmented. He couldn''t help butugh at himself. In the past, he had always been the ones fighting to the death while other judges and eldersmented on his performance. He hadn¡¯t expected to be the one evaluating someone else now.

    Wang Wuxie couldn''t help but say to Wan Tongtian, ¡°Brother Wan, you¡¯ve given birth to an excellent son.¡± He secretly nced at the nearby Yan Xuehen as he spoke. He was filled with regret.

    ¡°Not at all, not at all,¡± Wan Tongtian replied. He merely sounded polite on the surface, but he was so happy that it was almost as if his tail were wagging.

    Elder Huo Ling harrumphed. She clearly became more annoyed the more formidable Wan Guiyi showed himself to be. She remarked, ¡°They both use swords, but in my opinion, he is still far toockingpared to Sir Zu.¡±

    The others¡¯ expressions changed. Elder, how can you just kill the conversation like that?

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, several changes had taken ce on the battlefield. Qiu Chanzi crouched slightly before leaping high into the air, avoiding Wan Guiyi¡¯s vicious attack.

    Many of the experienced spectators frowned when they saw the move, thinking that it didn¡¯t seem like a particrly wise choice. Those who hadn¡¯t reached the master rank could only float in the air for a short time. Additionally, their mobility decreased substantially in the air. Wouldn¡¯t Qiu Chanzi just be a living target then?

    Wan Guiyi¡¯s sword hilt missed and smashed into the barrier around the stage. The barrier flickered, and the sword wasunched backward along its original trajectory. He seemed to have already anticipated that, though, and easily grabbed it; his move made him look incredibly handsome. Many of the younger female disciples screamed in amazement. Unfortunately, Wan Guiyi was an unromantic man, and only felt that their cheers were a bit noisy.

    He looked up at Qiu Chanzi, clearly recognizing an opening, and said, ¡°You¡¯repletely courting death!¡±

    He transformed into a streak of light, rushing into the air toward Qiu Chanzi. He was confident that with the speed of his sword, there was no way Qiu Chanzi, who had just expended his strength, could avoid it. Earlier, Wu Xiaofan had dealt with Luo Dongjiang with just two palm strikes; winning here with two moves would be just as good.

    However, his expression quickly froze, because the attack that he had believed would definitelynd missed!

    He had already broken through into the master rank and could move through the air at will. He quickly turned to look behind him, and saw Qiu Chanzi reappear a hundred or so meters away. Rings of blue patterns suddenly surged around Qiu Chanzi.

    Wan Guiyi felt a headacheing on. What is going on here? Don¡¯t tell me this kid is going to release ridiculous sword ki just like that Zu An?

    Zu An¡¯s ridiculous and overwhelming disy that day had clearly left an unforgettable impression on his still rather immature mind.

    The ripples quickly grewrger andrger until a giant cicada projection manifested behind Qiu Chanzi. It gently pped its wings and released screams that made everyone present tremble in fear. The disciples who were watching felt their ki and blood stir chaotically. Their mood also became strangely irritable.

    On the judge¡¯s seat, Wang Wuxie noticed that something wasn''t right. With a swing of his sleeves, a wave of faint purple energy surrounded and covered the stage. Only then did the surrounding disciples gradually calm down.

    Meanwhile, Wan Guiyi, who was at the center of the stage, wasn¡¯t so lucky. His entire body trembled and the ki inside him was stirred up. His eyes began to turn red, and he appeared to be on the verge of copse.

    ¡°Heheheh¡­ I avoided it~¡± Qiu Chanzi said as he grabbed his hair and revealed an extremely pleased smile. His eyes were full of madness.

    Many people present felt that something wasn¡¯t quite right with this kid. Only Zu An felt that the sight was somewhat familiar. In his previous world, this kind of character appeared quite often in anime. Should I call him a crazy freak or a sicko?

    Guan Chouhai couldn''t help but voice his surprise. ¡°Brother He, what is going on with him? Why does this feel a bit simr to a grandmaster¡¯s domain?¡±

    Purity Temple¡¯s He Yuan stroked his beard and said with a smile, ¡°This is the result of a fortuitous meeting Qiu Chanzi experienced when he was young. He obtained a strange cicada. After refining it into his own soul pet, he became this way. He thus decided to change his name to Qiu Chanzi. As his cultivation climbed, the power of the winter cicada also grew stronger and stronger.¡±[1]

    ¡°I wonder what kind of ancient monster this winter cicada is.¡±

    The sect masters began to discuss the winter cicada¡¯s origins. Unfortunately, none of them coulde to a conclusion despite their extraordinary experiences.

    Only Wan Tongtian had a displeased expression. After all, the one in the current predicament wasn¡¯t one of their sons.

    ¡­

    Yun Jianyue couldn''t help but say with a sigh, ¡°These daoist sects really have a great number of talented people. I didn¡¯t expect the previously harmless-looking Qiu Chanzi to be so formidable. Honglei, you can¡¯t lower your guard in the following battles.¡±

    Qiu Honglei nodded. Qiu Changzi had been publicly acknowledged as the weakest among the representative disciples, and yet he had ended up hiding his real skills so well. She didn¡¯t dare to show any more carelessness toward anyone.

    ¡°Heh, it¡¯s time for me to attack now, right?¡± Qiu Chanzi said as he tilted his head to the side. The cicada projection behind him pped its wings, and he seemed to merge with it. He flew straight at Wan Guiyi. Even the air around him seemed to be torn apart as he charged forward.

    Jadefall Pce¡¯s disciples all cried out in rm, worried for their senior brother. The winter cicada¡¯s unfolded wings were like two-hundred-meter-long des! Anyone struck by them would likely be instantly bisected at the waist.

    Wan Guiyi clearly intended to retaliate, but the cicada noises were giving him a huge headache. His reaction speed was significantly slower than normal. He could only barely raise his sword, gathering a st of sharp sword ki to face his opponent.

    Jadefall Pce¡¯s people all felt very nervous. Wan Guiyi¡¯s sword seemed significantly weaker than usual.

    Boom!

    The winter cicada projection smashed directly into Wan Guiyi¡¯s sword ki and released blinding light. In that instant, it was as if space itself distorted. No one could see what was happening inside.

    Suddenly, a longsword quickly spun through the air. Then, it stabbed directly into the stage floor, revealing just how sharp it was.

    The disciples¡¯ expressions all changed. That was Wan Guiyi¡¯s sword! If a swordsman lost his own sword, it was easy to imagine what his current situation was.

    Could it be that Wan Guiyi was going to lose? That would be an upset no less surprising than Zhi Yin¡¯s loss!

    Suddenly, the rays of light on the stage gradually disappeared, revealing two figures within.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Wan Guiyi¡¯s entire body was covered in blood; even standing still seemed difficult for him. However, Qiu Chanzi was standing in front of him without moving, as if he werepletely frozen.

    Qiu Chanzi looked down at the finger his opponent had thrust through his chest. His expression was full of disbelief as he muttered, ¡°How is this possible?¡±

    Wan Guiyi¡¯s entire body was covered in wounds, but his gaze was still extremely sharp. He was just like the sword that was embedded in the ground beneath him. He said, ¡°A true swordsman can use every single part of their body as a sword.¡±

    ¡°So that was it. Hehe,¡± Qiu Chanzi said with a giggle, seeming to have suddenly understood.

    What he got in response was a fist. Blood and snot flew through the air, drawing out two long arcs. Qiu Chanzi¡¯s body fell outside the arena like a broken sack.

    Purity Temple¡¯s He Yuan eximed furiously, ¡°Wan Guiyi, you already won! Why did you have to be so vicious?!¡±

    Wan Guiyi replied with a sneer, ¡°Isn¡¯t it gross for a grown man to be giggling all day? The only things this one has to give to giggling freaks are these fists!¡±

    1. ¡¯Qiu¡¯ is a surname *, but it can also mean ¡®autumn¡¯. ¡®Chan zi¡¯ means ¡®cicada¡¯. ?

 Chapter 1646: Driven Insane

    Chapter 1646: Driven Insane

    He Yuan was about to say something else when Wan Tongtian suddenly stood up and said, ¡°Brother He, these kinds of things can happen in apetition. It isn¡¯t too appropriate to trouble the juniors, is it?¡±

    He still remembered how all of them had been praising Qiu Chanzi¡¯s cocky behavior earlier, so now that the tides had turned, there was naturally no need to give them any face.

    He Yuan¡¯s expression changed several times. He didn¡¯t actually fear Wan Tongtian, but this was Wang Wuxie¡¯s territory. There was no way he could just let something happen without doing anything, but¡­

    He gave the nearby Zu An a look, and didn¡¯t say anything in the end. Instead, he left with a grave expression to check Qiu Chanzi¡¯s injuries. Zu An had helped Jadefall Pcest time. Mount Luofu¡¯s Elder Xu had been unconvinced, and that had led to their sect absolutely humiliating themselves. He didn¡¯t want to repeat that disaster.

    Soon after, Wang Wuxie dered Wan Guiyi¡¯s victory. The next round was going to be between the White Jade Sect¡¯s Lou Wucheng and Supreme Mystery Cave¡¯s Shi Dingtian.

    When Wan Guiyi returned to Jadefall Pce¡¯s camp, the disciples all enthusiastically congratted him on his victory.

    ¡°Is there even anything to be happy about?¡± Wan Guiyi muttered, his expression unpleasant.

    The others were stunned. Why do you look as if you lost or something? In that instant, they didn¡¯t even know what to say.

    Wan Guiyi was extremely unhappy, because Wu Xiaofan had won so easily and defeated his opponent in just two moves. Meanwhile, his body was in tatters and he had been left in such a sorry state. Compared to Wu Xiaofan, the difference was too clear.

    His junior brother Yu Cai was the one who understood his temperament the best, remarking, ¡°Senior brother shouldn¡¯t feel too discouraged. That Purity Temple¡¯s Qiu Chanzi was clearly much stronger than Mount Luofu¡¯s Luo Dongjiang. He was naturally a bit trickier to deal with.¡±

    Wan Guiyi harrumphed. ¡°The truly strong don¡¯t need any excuses. Even if he is stronger, I should have been able to easily take him down.¡±

    Yu Cai was speechless. Sigh, senior brother¡¯s overflowing confidence¡­ What can we even say?

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Lou Wucheng and Shi Dingtian were already standing on the stage.

    Lou Wucheng was the inheritor of the Immortal Sword. Apart from his exceptional talent, his appearance was also top-tier. Even though the White Jade Sect didn¡¯t really have it explicitly written anywhere that that was a requirement, their disciples were practically all handsome and beautiful. Even just standing there casually with his white clothes fluttering in the wind made him look impressive and courageous.

    Quite a few female disciples cried out.

    ¡°Ah, senior brother Lou, my idol!¡±

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t your idol senior brother Zhi Yin?¡±

    ¡°Hey, stop getting all hung up on the details. Today, my idol is senior brother Lou!¡±

    ¡­

    Unlike Wan Guiyi, Lou Wucheng nodded toward the disciples around him in a good-natured manner. His bearing was outstanding and handsome, with no ws to be picked out. He even gave his martial aunt, Yan Xuehen, a look. He felt a bit of regret that junior sister Chuyan wasn¡¯t here; otherwise, he would have made sure to show her a good performance.

    Unlike the confident and heroic-looking Lou Wucheng, Shi Dingtian looked around with a rather uneasy expression. He looked just like a country bumpkin who had entered a city for the first time. However, after what had just happened with Qiu Chanzi earlier, no one dared to look down on him just in case he was another tiger disguised as a pig.

    Lou Wucheng cupped his hands and greeted Shi Dingtian. ¡°Greetings, brother Shi!¡±

    ¡°Hello, hello.¡± Shi Dingtian hurriedly returned the greeting.

    Lou Wucheng wasn¡¯t in a rush to attack. He nned to test out his opponent first.

    After Qiu Chanzi¡¯s fight, the spectators all knew that these representative disciples really hadn¡¯t brought out everything they had during the grouppetition. Almost all of them had been hiding their real strength¡­ apart from that trash Zhi Yin, of course.

    He even took out everything and still lost. I wonder just where he got the confidence to chase after my junior sister Chu.

    Lou Wucheng slowly raised his sword and said, ¡°This sword is three feet seven inches in length, eight pounds in weight. He is my best friend, and I am always extremely happy whenever I am with him.¡±

    He took the initiative to introduce his weapon. In truth, however, it didn¡¯t really matter whether he introduced his weapon or not, seeing as everyone knew that his ultimate skill was the Immortal Sword. That meant his weapon was naturally a sword too.

    He actually wanted to take the chance to test out his opponent. After all, Shi Dingtian didn¡¯t have a great reputation, and Lou Wucheng had only learned that he was Supreme Mystery Cave¡¯s representative disciple after arriving at Violet Mountain. Shi Dingtian hadn¡¯t used any weapons in the group stage.

    Shi Dingtian was stunned. He clearly didn¡¯t know that there could be such exchanges on the stage, so he instinctively replied, ¡°My best friend is cky the Second.¡±

    Now, it was Lou Wucheng¡¯s turn to be stunned. He had been waiting for his opponent to continue, but Shi Dingtian had just stopped there! Helpless to do anything else, he could only take the initiative to ask, ¡°What kind of weapon is cky the Second?¡±

    Is cky the Second the second sword he uses? Is he a dual wielder? I¡¯ll have to be careful of his other handter.

    ¡°cky the Second isn¡¯t a weapon; he¡¯s a dog,¡± Shi Dingtian replied in a deadly earnest manner.

    Lou Wucheng was speechless.

    As if he were worried that Lou Wucheng wouldn¡¯t understand, Shi Dingtian continued to exin, ¡°Didn¡¯t you introduce your best friend? cky the Second is my best friend. I¡¯m always happy when I¡¯m with him. But Cave Master didn¡¯t let me bring him with me this time.

    ¡°Still, I met many people this time at Violet Mountain, like the ones in the grouppetition and now you. I don¡¯t feel lonely anymore with all of you here with me. Besides that, there is one way in which you¡¯re better than cky the Second; it can only bark while you guys can talk.¡±

    Pfft!

    The disciples watching couldn''t hold it in anymore. All of them roared withughter. Meanwhile, the disciples who had fought with Shi Dingtian during the group stage all had unhappy expressions. They hadn¡¯t expected to bepared to a dog. Even Wang Wuxie gave Supreme Mystery Cave¡¯s Cave Master Mu a strange look.

    Cave Master Mu¡¯s face waspletely red. The reason why he hadn¡¯t let Shi Dingtian bring the dog was because he was scared of being embarrassed. In the end, however, it had still happened.

    This damn Lou Wucheng, just fight if you¡¯re going to fight! What are you talking about these things for?!

    ¡­

    Yun Jianyue remarked in amusement, ¡°I wonder if this kid really is stupid, or if he¡¯s just pretending. You¡¯ll definitely have to be careful if you end up facing him after.¡±

    Qiu Honglei rolled her eyes and replied, ¡°I haven¡¯t even fought in this round, and yet you¡¯re already telling me to think about the next round?¡±

    ¡°With your current ability, winning this round shouldn¡¯t be an issue, no?¡±

    ¡°Weren¡¯t you just saying that I couldn¡¯t underestimate any of my opponents?¡±

    ¡°Hm? Did I say that?¡±

    ¡­

    Lou Wucheng¡¯s face twitched. He took a deep breath, seemingly trying to calm himself down before saying, ¡°I was asking about your weapon.¡±

    ¡°Weapon?¡± Shi Dingtian replied, stunned. ¡°Oh, I used to use a de, but the two Cave Masters said that this was just a tournament and that we had to be careful. I was scared that I would identally kill someone, so I didn¡¯t bring it.¡±

    With that, Wu Xiaofan, Wan Guiyi, and Kunlun Void¡¯s Liang Ling all suddenly opened their eyes. This kid spoke quite the bold words! Even the other sect masters looked toward Cave Master Mu with displeased expressions.

    Cave Master Mu wiped away some cold sweat while exining in embarrassment, ¡°Kids do not really know what they are saying. Please do not take it to heart, everyone.¡±

    Zu An looked at Shi Dingtian with an amused expression. This kid probably has a bit of a reputation¡­ I hope you give that Lou bastard a good beating. He actually has those intentions toward my Chuyan? If I weren¡¯t a judge right now, I would consider just doing it myself.

    Lou Wucheng¡¯s eyes twitched. He now felt that trying to start a conversation before the match was a mistake. He said, ¡°You can use a de, it¡¯s fine.¡±

    Seeing as Shi Dingtian clearly had a weapon, and yet had chosen to use his fists, wouldn¡¯t Lou Wucheng be bullying his opponent by using a sword? He¡¯d be aughingstock if news of that got out.

    ¡°No no no no,¡± Shi Dingtian said, quickly waving his hands. ¡°I¡¯m not good at holding myself back and I don¡¯t know when to stop. This is pretty good. I don¡¯t have to worry about beating you to death if I only use my hands.¡±

    Now, even Yan Xuehen couldn''t help but give him a second look. This kid really was a bit strange.

    Next to her, Li Changsheng frowned slightly. He carefully examined Shi Dingtian to determine whether what he said was serious, or if he was just trying to anger his opponent.

    ¡°Amitabha buddha,¡± Master Jian Huang said with a worried sigh. ¡°This benefactor also has a pure and innocent heart. If he joined my Tranquility Temple, he would be able to reach great heights.¡±

    The little monk Jie Se muttered in dissatisfaction, ¡°Master, are you saying I don¡¯t have a pure and innocent heart?¡±

    Master Jian Huang gave him a nce and replied, ¡°Why don¡¯t you take a look at your own name first?¡±

    Jie Se was speechless.

    ¡­N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Lou Wucheng was finally angered. He said coldly, ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll have to experience your respected self¡¯s almighty skills for myself.¡±

    His longsword left its sheath as soon as he spoke. Sword shadows appeared all around him. However, in the next instant, all of his sword shadows vanished and moved unpredictably. Only a few geniuses could vaguely keep up with his sword¡¯s profound trajectory.

    Zu An was quite surprised. Is this the glorious Immortal Sword?

    To a certain extent, it carried some resemnce to the Snowke Sword. However, the Snowke Sword carried more of the poignant and ice-cold characteristics of snow, while the Immortal Sword had the profound feeling of a majestic peak, as if there really were an immortal from the heavens above who was bestowing immortality.

    Shi Dingtian brandished his fists in rm, and just happened to strike the tip of the sword. Both of their bodies trembled, and a wind blew around them. However,pared to Wan Guiyi and Qiu Changzi¡¯s ferocity, this battle clearly seemed smaller in scale.

    Lou Wucheng wasn¡¯t surprised that his opponent could receive his attack at all. After all, Shi Dingtian was also a representative disciple himself. He said indifferently, ¡°Even though I only used forty percent of my ki, the fact that you could stop it already makes you quite good among our peers. No wonder you had that level of arrogance. But if you don¡¯t use your weapon, don¡¯t me me for being too harsh.¡±

    He paused for a moment after saying that. For some reason, he felt a strange urge to ask, ¡°How much of your ki did you use just now?¡±

    Shi Dingtian was stunned. After hesitating for a moment, he replied, ¡°I think thirty percent.¡±

    Lou Wucheng roared furiously, ¡°I¡¯ll kill you!¡±

 Chapter 1647: Let People Off Whenever Possible

    Chapter 1647: Let People Off Whenever Possible

    The spectators nearby roared withughter. The scene that was ying out on the stage was just way too hrious! They hadn¡¯t expected Supreme Mystery Cave¡¯s representative disciple to be such an interesting person.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Some people even began to secretly gamble on whether he really was that ignorant, or if he was pretending to infuriate Lou Wucheng; still, more people were leaning toward thetter. After all, it was a bit hard to believe that a representative disciple was stupid to that extent.

    Zu An wanted tough when he saw that. If this guy had a Keyboard System, his speed of earning Rage points wouldn¡¯t necessarily be any slower than Zu An¡¯s own.

    When there were some people who felt happy, there were naturally others who felt unhappy. Lou Wucheng belonged to thetter category. He believed that he had acted rather courteously, yet this Supreme Mystery Cave brat was going too far. In his anger, he could no longer hold himself back. He thrust his sword out, and the entire weapon seemed to vanish, save for the cold glint at its tip. It struck toward the major acupoint on Shi Dingtian¡¯s shoulder like a viper¡¯s tongue.

    Wan Guiyi, Wu Xiaofan, and the others nodded. This Lou Wucheng hadn¡¯t let down his reputation; he did have skill with the sword.

    Only Li Changsheng frowned. He felt that his disciple¡¯s mental state was too restless right now. Lou Wucheng¡¯s sword skill had gone against the original intent of immortality.

    Shi Dingtian was startled and quickly dodged in rm. His movements weren¡¯t all that refined, but he was very quick. His dodge was so fast that it seemed to break through human limits. Still, no matter how fast he was, he still wasn¡¯t as fast as Lou Wucheng¡¯s sword. At that moment, he felt as if an immortal were looking down on him, one that constantly targeted his vitals.

    It seemed as if he wouldn¡¯t be able to dodge, so he unleashed a punch directly at his opponent¡¯s longsword head on. His fist seemed as tough as metal; in an instant, he exchanged several dozen moves with the sword tip. Thebatants¡¯ powerful ki shed against each other, producing waves of shockwaves through the air.

    Boom!

    Fortunately, the stage had been specially prepared for such a fight. Otherwise, the spectating disciples could have been injured by the sounds alone.

    ¡°This Shi Dingtian really is tough. He¡¯s actually able to take on Lou Wucheng¡¯s Immortal Sword with his bare fists!¡±

    Many of the spectators cried out in rm.

    Because the results of this battle would affect the White Jade Sect, Yan Xuehen also paid some attention. She also wondered just how Shi Dingtian¡¯s body was so tough with his level of cultivation, and just what kind of cultivation he had gone through.

    But if we were topare hardness, he¡¯d still be far from that guy¡­

    Yan Xuehens¡¯ cold cheeks turned a bit red.

    ¡­

    Wang Wuxie noticed that as he nced at her from time to time. He couldn''t help but be a bit absentminded.

    Herplexion is so fine today. After so many years have passed, she seems to have grown prettier and prettier, while I¡¯ve only grown old¡­

    He felt severalplex emotions, and started looking rather dejected.

    ¡­

    Suddenly, there were cries of rm as several new developments took ce on the stage.

    The two opponents had already separated. Lou Wucheng¡¯s clothes were still as pure as snow; he had one arm behind his back, his other hand holding a longsword at an angle. There was a droplet of blood on the sword¡¯s tip.

    Meanwhile, Shi Dingtian was in a much worse state. His fists were already bloody. The clothing around his shoulders, chest, and legs was all tattered, with faint sword scars visible on his skin.

    ¡°I fear that you might die if you still don¡¯t bring out your weapon,¡± Lou Wucheng said. After that aggressive barrage of attacks, his anger had already beenrgely vented. However, not only did he want to win, he wanted to win in a handsome manner. If he defeated Shi Dingtian while thetter waspletely unarmed, it wouldn¡¯t be all that glorious even if he won.

    Shi Dingtian scratched his head and said, ¡°You are a bit more formidable than the others. I really might not be able to win against youpletely unarmed.¡±

    His opponents from the group stage all had grim expressions. Why does this guy have to put it like that?

    ¡­

    Just then, Cave Master Mu shouted from the judges¡¯ side, ¡°Dingtian, as brother Lou over here is so generous, you should just use a weapon to exchange pointers with him.¡± This was a once in a decadepetition, so it was an important matter for every sect. He didn¡¯t want to lose and leave just like that.

    Shi Dingtian was a bit troubled, replying, ¡°But I didn¡¯t bring any weapons¡­¡±

    Cave Master Mu was also troubled. He didn¡¯t use a de himself, and if he provided his weapon, that would seem as if he were interfering with the fight. The White Jade Sect¡¯s side would definitely be against it.

    Suddenly, a charitable disciple near the arena shouted, ¡°I have a de. Here, you can borrow it!¡±

    Anyone who could participate in thispetition was an elite from their n. None of them were scared of things getting out of hand. They really wanted to see these two on the stage beat the crap out of each other.

    However, someone nearby roared withughter. ¡°Your weapon isn¡¯t even earth-grade! And yet you have the nerve to suggest using it to fight against the Immortal Sword?¡±

    The first person¡¯s neck turned red. He retorted, ¡°Haven¡¯t you heard what the proverbs say? Even a match bought with a copper coin can light the most expensive incense. Why can¡¯t my weapon be used in apetition?¡±

    While the two were arguing, Shi Dingtianughed in a silly manner and said, ¡°It¡¯s enough, it¡¯s enough. It¡¯s fine as long as I have a de.¡±

    Lou Wucheng scowled. What do you mean, it¡¯s fine as long as you have a de? Are you looking down on me that much?

    When that person below saw that Shi Dingtian supported him, he felt so excited he started turning red in the face. He raised his de and called out, ¡°Here, take it!¡±

    Shi Dingtian was about to take it when he turned around and said to Lou Wucheng, ¡°I¡¯m getting my weapon now, so don¡¯t attack me from behind, okay?¡±

    Lou Wucheng¡¯s eyes twitched. He clenched his teeth and hissed, ¡°Who do you think I am? Why would I do something so despicable?¡±

    The White Jade Sect¡¯s disciples all voiced their support as well. They all felt that this brat had really gone too far.

    In contrast, Supreme Mystery Cave¡¯s disciples were all holding back theirughter. This was clearly not the first time such a thing had happened.

    Soon after, Shi Dingtian picked up the de. Lou Wucheng asked coldly, ¡°Can we continue the fight now?¡± He had been made to look like a joke by this brat again and again. He really was starting to have murderous thoughts.

    ¡°Yup,¡± Shi Dingtian replied, but by the time he finished speaking, Lou Wucheng had already moved.

    Kicking off the arena with the tips of his toes, Lou Wucheng rose several hundred meters into the air. He spread out his arms in midair like a cross, and the outline of an immortal pce vaguely appeared behind him.

    All of the disciples near the arena suddenly felt waves of cold bleakness and a sort of sorrow, as if they stood detached from the world. At the same time, they could vaguely sense a mysterious power, as if they were being watched by some deity.

    ¡°Heavens! Is that really the legendary Immortal Pce?¡±

    Many people were moved. Even though this was a world of cultivation, they had never seen true immortals before. Even though this immortal pce was just a projection, they felt that this was what an immortal pce was supposed to look like.

    ¡­

    Both Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue frowned slightly. This Immortal Pce looked impressive, but had no substance. They had sensed the true aura of the Heavenly Court¡¯s immortals in the Fiend races¡¯ Great Xia Dungeon. This Immortal Pce was just toockingpared to that feeling from back then.

    The two couldn''t help but look toward Zu An. They thought to themselves, This kid¡¯s luck really is ridiculous! The fact that they were able to reach their current position, apart from aptitude, was partly because of luck. Butpared to Zu An, they were really nothing.

    When had they ever had such an incredible encounter in all those years before they met Zu An? And yet, after they met him, they had discovered that incredible things appeared one after another. They hadn¡¯t even gotten a moment to catch their breath.

    Both of them were grandmasters, so their senses were extremely sharp. They immediately noticed that they were both looking at Zu An.

    Yun Jianyue thought, Isn¡¯t the way that stone cold woman is looking at this brat a bit strange? It isn¡¯t like her normal nature at all! Could it be that she¡¯s just like me¡­ worried for our disciple¡¯s feelings?

    Yan Xuehen thought to herself, This Emptiness Isle¡¯s Elder Peng doesn¡¯t have a great reputation, but she seems to be quite a bit stronger than I imagined.

    Although, why is she looking at Zu An like that? Could it be that she¡¯s going to do something bad to him? Maybe it¡¯s because Zu An helped Emptiness Isle¡¯s disciple before and she¡¯s grateful, right?

    But that look in her eyes is really strange¡­

    Just then, Lou Wucheng slowly raised his sword at Shi Dingtian. The massive Immortal Pce seemed to have received an order and crashed down directly toward his opponent. Many disciples could feel the pressure and instinctively shuddered.

    ¡°Is this the Immortal Sword?¡± Wan Guiyi muttered to himself. They were both sword users, so his expression was full of excitement.

    Even the sect masters couldn''t help but give Li Changsheng a look. The Immortal Sword really did have a well-deserved reputation. In their eyes, Lou Wucheng¡¯s sword was still a bit immature. For example, many details of the immortal pce were still indistinct. It seemed a bit faint and didn¡¯t give off enough pressure. But if Li Changsheng were the one to use the skill, would they be able to stop his attack?

    Supreme Mystery Cave¡¯s youngster is finished!

    That was what all the spectators were thinking. After all, that silly brat had no chance of blocking such a powerful sword!

    Only Zu An looked at Shi Dingtian with excitement. He didn¡¯t believe thetter would lose so easily.

    ¡­

    Right at that moment, Shi Dingtian suddenly gripped his de in both hands. He shouted, then raised the de. He made a simple cleaving motion. However, with that alone, a massive line of de ki extended more than a hundred meters away!

    The de ki smashed into the immortal pce. All of the natural ki on Golden Peak rippled intensely. Then, the entire pce was sliced in half down the middle. The de radiance¡¯s power also crumbled, bing much smaller in size. It looked as if it were about to disappear, but it continued to slice toward Lou Wucheng.

    Lou Wucheng¡¯s ki and blood were a mess from having his immortal pce destroyed. In that instant, he even found it a bit hard to move. When he saw the de of light shooting at him, his eyes contracted rapidly.

    Suddenly, there was a brittle crack. Shi Dingtian¡¯s de was only normal steel, so it could no longer endure such power. It shattered into countless fragments that flew away in the wind. The de radiance also disappeared at the same time.

    Lou Wucheng used the chance to recover, then rushed at his opponent. He had arge chance of winning in such a situation.

    When he was partway there, however, he suddenly jumped backward and made some distance beneath them. His pride as a swordsman wouldn¡¯t allow him to take advantage of his opponent¡¯s difficult situation. He said, ¡°Brother Shi¡¯s sword skill is outstanding; it leaves me in awe. As it is difficult for us to decide a true victor, how about we just end things here and be friends?¡±

    In his opinion, victory would already have been easily obtained. Taking the initiative to offer a tie was already showing Shi Dingtian quite a bit of respect.

    For some reason, he suddenly felt the urge to ask, ¡°By the way, what great name was given to that attack of yours?¡±

    Shi Dingtian scratched his head and replied, ¡°That move? Master Long taught it to me. He said that if people can¡¯t beat you, you have to let them off whenever possible. He also said that anyone can make mistakes, so you should forgive them. Sigh, what¡¯s wrong, brother Lou?¡±

    Lou Wucheng was so angry that his eyes turned ck. He vomited blood and fainted.

 Chapter 1648: Are You All From the Devil Sect?

    Chapter 1648: Are You All From the Devil Sect?

    All the disciples around the stage were stunned. Lou Wucheng had clearly been at an advantage, so why had he vomited blood and fainted?

    Then again, weren''t the words of the kid across from him just a bit too much¡­?

    ¡°This fight¡­¡±

    The grandmasters looked at each other in dismay as well. Normal disciples wouldn¡¯t necessarily be able to tell exactly what had happened, but naturally, they could.

    If Shi Dingtian had been holding a normal de, victory would have been decided long beforehand. However, his de had shattered, cing victory within Lou Wucheng¡¯s grasp. Then, Lou Wucheng had wanted to show his opponent mercy, but ended up fainting out of anger.

    The judges really didn¡¯t know how to evaluate the match. If they said that Shi Dingtian had won, the White Jade Sect¡¯s Li Changsheng likely wouldn¡¯t allow himself to lose that much face. However, if they said Lou Wucheng had won¡­ Well, he was lying on the ground unconscious.

    While the other judges were conflicted, Li Changsheng said indifferently, ¡°Wucheng¡¯s temperament is stillcking, and he was both restless and impatient against his opponent. His loss this time is not undeserved.¡±

    As he had taken the initiative to say that, the others sighed in relief. They naturally dered Shi Dingtian¡¯s victory.

    Amotion broke out. The spectators hadn¡¯t expected another huge upset to happen! Lou Wucheng, one of the candidates favored to take the crown, had ended up losing to an unknown, foolish kid.

    Li Changsheng floated over to the stage. He reached out and sent over some ki, and Lou Wucheng gradually woke up. When he saw his master¡¯s ice-cold expression and heard the disdain directed at him, he couldn''t help but feel ashamed. He really wanted to run away and crawl into a hole.

    Just then, Zu An suddenly said, ¡°I feel that his temperament isn¡¯t that bad. From the very start, he wasn¡¯t willing to take advantage of an unarmed opponent;ter, he had a chance to turn the tide and grasp victory, but he didn¡¯t take advantage of his opponent. That attitude matches the lofty and unyielding character of a swordsman. I believe that if he continues to train with single-minded devotion, his achievements in the sword will be limitless.¡±

    The oncepletely disheartened Lou Wucheng was stunned. Even the junior disciples who normally looked up to him carried disdain in their eyes, and yet this rival in love, whom he had loathed the most, had actually spoken up for him. He couldn''t help but feel all sorts of emotions well up, and even wanted to burst into tears. He quickly looked away for fear that others would see him crying.

    With Zu An taking the lead, Wang Wuxie and the others naturally spoke some praises for Lou Wucheng too. After all, the White Jade Sect still had their pride, and doing them this favor wasn¡¯t too difficult.

    Yan Xuehen gave Zu An a look of surprise. Didn¡¯t these two have a bad rtionship? Yet he actually spoke up for him! Could it be because Lou Wucheng is from the White Jade Sect, so Zu An is showing favor to everyone rted?

    Her fair cheeks became a bit hot when she thought of that.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Pei Mianman¡¯s eyes were glistening. She thought, Ah Zu is bing more and more like a model for everyone else! Ah, but this almost makes him seem like my elder¡­

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s eyes were also sparkling. She remarked, ¡°Ah Zu is such a kind person.¡±

    Yun Jianyue harrumphed. ¡°Hmph, being too kind has never been a good thing in our Holy Sect.¡±

    ¡°Ah Zu isn¡¯t even from the Holy Sect,¡± Qiu Honglei said indifferently. She rested her chin on her hand as she gazed at her lover in the distance.

    ¡°Stop acting like a love-struck dummy; it¡¯s almost your turn. Don¡¯t mess things up now,¡± Yun Jianyue snapped. For some reason, she suddenly felt strangely irritated when she saw her disciple acting like this.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Wang Wuxie had already dered the conclusion of the third fight. The fourth fight was between Kunlun Void Sect¡¯s Liang Ling and Emptiness Isle¡¯s Peng Wuyan.

    When they saw the two step forward, the busybodies in the audience quickly began specting as to who would win the fight.

    Most of them favored Liang Ling, as Kunlun Void Sect had once been a great sectparable to Jadefall Pce and Heavenly Sorrow; they had once been considered the three great sects. Even though they had fallen quite a bit, Emptiness Isle was even worse off.

    Meanwhile, this Peng Wuyan¡¯s appearance really was hard to exin¡­ The way she had fought during the group stage was so fierce too. As such, they were instinctively biased toward the rather handsome Liang Ling.

    However, Zu An secretly sized up the ugly woman on the stage. He just felt that she was a bit familiar somehow. Could it be because he had helped her out before?

    ¡­

    Yan Xuehen, who had been secretly observing him, frowned. Just how much of a skirt chaser is this guy? You won¡¯t even let this woman go?

    ¡°Kunlun Void Sect¡¯s Liang Ling!¡± the young man on the stage cupped his hands and called out.

    Qiu Honglei said with a big smile, ¡°Let¡¯s not waste any more time with words and just fight. We don¡¯t want things to end up like thest round, do we?¡±

    Liang Ling choked. When he recalled Lou Wucheng¡¯s bitter end, he realized that sometimes, speaking too much really wasn¡¯t a good thing. Still, he was suddenly a bit confused. This woman was clearly so ugly, but why was her smile somewhat pretty?

    Ah, what the hell. Something must be wrong with me.

    He began to doubt his own tastes. With a darkened expression, he took out his spear. He wanted to say dies first¡¯, but when he recalled his opponent¡¯s viciousness during the group stage, she really didn¡¯t seem like the type who needed him to give her a handicap. As such, he shouted, ¡°Then please be careful, miss!¡±

    His entire body suddenly erupted into raging mes as he spoke. Then, his spear rapidly spun, forming a screw-shaped dragon of mes. It destroyed everything in its path as it surged toward Qiu Honglei. Even with the protection of the arena¡¯s formations between them, the surrounding disciples still felt its horrifying temperature.

    This Liang Ling¡¯s reputation might not beparable to Wu Xiaofan and Lou Wucheng, but his control over the me element has already reached such a degree!

    There were many, many fire element cultivators in the world, but they could be divided into ranks. Those ranks could partly be determined through the color of the mes, with purer mes being more translucent and burning hotter; additionally, one¡¯s degree of control was also extremely important. There were many fire element cultivators present, and they were naturally able to see that Liang Ling was the very best of all of the fire element cultivators who had fought thus far.

    Of course, Pei Minaman¡¯s ck mes seemed to be an exception. Most people had never seen mes that could be ck and have such ridiculous power. It was clearly some kind of strange variant me.

    ¡­

    As she watched the giant me dragon rush at her, Qiu Honglei¡¯s expression remained calm. She crossed her arms in front of her, and a pair of short des instantly appeared in her hands. At the same time, a wall of light suddenly took form in front of her.

    The roaring dragon smashed into the wall of light, forming a miniature mushroom cloud. Then, a deafening explosion followed. The flickering mes even seemed to distort space itself.

    After some time, the me dragon disappeared, revealing Liang Ling¡¯s spear pressed up against the wall of light. However, it couldn''t move even an inch forward.

    ¡°Wall of Sighs!¡±

    There were many powerful cultivators present, and they immediately recognized the name of the move.

    ¡°She was actually a light element cultivator!¡±

    Even the grandmasters in the judges¡¯ seats were shocked.

    The light element was one of the rarest elements among cultivators. Meanwhile, the Wall of Sighs was the most famous defensive move of those cultivators. It was practically impossible to prate by cultivators of the same level, making opponents sigh in despair. That was where the name came from.

    The grandmasters couldn''t help but look at Emptiness Isle¡¯s Elder Peng with envy. They hadn¡¯t expect the weakest sect, Emptiness Isle, to have picked up such a talented individual.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s brows were slightly raised. She was in such high spirits she almost jumped up and told them the truth. The expressions of those self-righteous idiots would definitely be a sight to see then!n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An was in a daze. He couldn''t help but remember Qiu Honglei, who was also of the light element. He thought, I wonder how she has been doing recently.

    ¡­

    The sect masters and elders began discussing Peng Wuyan, but they quickly came to a conclusion. Even though the light element was rare, it didn¡¯t excel in offense. Against the fire element, which was famous for its offensive power, it wasn¡¯t really at an advantage.

    Even though the power of the Wall of Sighs was extremely great, there was no way it could be maintained forever. In this kind ofpetition where thepetitors were simr in cultivation, just rxing even a little bit would often result in the opponent clinching a victory.

    Yun Jianyue sneered, ¡°What do you all understand?¡±

    Only Master Jian Huang felt rather excited. He muttered to himself, ¡°This person is extremely suited to our Tranquility Temple¡¯s legacy! If she cultivated Buddha¡¯s Light, wouldn¡¯t we be able to bring endless believers?¡±

    The little fatty Jie Se couldn''t help but grumble, ¡°Master, our Buddhist sect is a ce of tranquility; how could we allow a woman to enter?¡±

    ¡°Why not? So many married women who are infertile havee to pray at our temple. Don¡¯t they all have their desires fulfilled in the end?¡± Master Jian Huang harrumphed. ¡°Furthermore, the Buddhist sect has nuns too.¡±

    Jie Se curled his lips. Hmph, master keeps trying to recruit people as soon as he sees someone he likes. That Sect Master Peng should watch out.

    ¡­

    By then, Liang Ling had already reacted to the situation. He retracted his spear and tried to strike from different directions. His opponent had to exhaust a considerable amount of ki to maintain the Wall of Sighs, so continuing his offense would be beneficial to him.

    Sure enough, the Wall of Sighs quickly disappeared. However, Qiu Honglei fired a bullet of light. It was extremely fast and instantly arrived in front of her opponent.

    Liang Ling was horrified, and quickly brandished his spear to block it, making his entire body tremble. Several more light bullets flew toward him, and he dodged in rm. However, he suddenly realized that even though these light bullets were fast, they were a bitcking in power. As such, he gathered mes around his spear and brandished it like a dragon, dispersing all the iing bullets.

    However, out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly noticed a light bullet that was several timesrger than the previous ones. The terrifying pressure made all his fine hairs stand on end. Still, he reacted quickly. Even though the light sphere¡¯s power was great, it was too slow. There was no way it would hit him.

    As such, while the sphere of light was approaching, he pretended to strike it with his spear; in reality, however, he dodged it at thest moment and thrust his spear at his opponent. As long as he could get within close range, this woman would be finished. She wouldn¡¯t have the chance to use the Wall of Sighs again at all.

    Meanwhile, Yun Jianyueughed in disdain. ¡°What a fool!¡±

    At the same time, Liang Ling was shocked to discover his opponent¡¯s des instantly appearing in front of him. They moved inpletely unpredictable patterns and repeatedly struck at his vitals.

    Liang Ling finally woke up from his daze. He had used a feint earlier, so why couldn''t that giant ball of light be one too? His opponent had anticipated that he would dodge that way, and had seized the opportunity to attack him. They were a mere three inches apart, a distance spear-wielders werepletely helpless in; let alone in his current state, as his strength was spent. His opponent¡¯s grasp over timing was just too vicious.

    As they tore at his body, the short des in Qiu Honglei¡¯s hands turned into two streaks of flowing light. Streaks of bloody mist quickly flew through the air.

    In just a few breaths of time, a hundred and eight wounds appeared on Liang Ling¡¯s body. He fell to the ground like a doll that had been torn to shreds.

    The entire Golden Peak immediately fell absolutely silent. This had initially been an evenly matchedpetition, but victory had been decided so quickly! Wasn¡¯t this woman a bit too vicious in the way she fought?

    Kunlun Void Sect¡¯s elder roared furiously, ¡°You are so young, yet already so merciless. Are you all from the Devil Sect?!¡±

 Chapter 1649: Proud Yun Jianyue

    Chapter 1649: Proud Yun Jianyue

    ¡°What are you crying about? It¡¯s not as if he¡¯s dead!¡± Yun Jianyue cried out as she mmed the table and stood up too.

    At the same time, she sneered inwardly. You still haven¡¯t seen a truly merciless scene. If this weren¡¯t a daoistpetition, that guy would already have been chopped up into eight pieces. There¡¯s no way he would have gotten away with just some injuries.

    Zu An was rmed. Why does this Elder Peng¡¯s personality seem a bit simr to big sis Yun¡¯s? However, heughed inwardly. He really did have quite the imagination. Big sis Yun was way prettier than this woman, after all.

    The main reason no one took that possibility seriously was because this was clearly a gathering of the orthodox faction. If those two from the Devil Sect arrived, wouldn¡¯t they just be throwing their lives away?

    Wang Wuxie had a huge headache. What was going on today? The judges were fighting even more aggressively than thepetitors. Were they going to start another conflict?

    He was about to say something when a low and deep voice called out from below, ¡°Elder, I haven¡¯t lost yet.¡±

    The spectators turned around and saw that Liang Ling, who had been lying t on the stage, slowly stood back up. There was ayer of mes surrounding his entire body.

    When the Kunlun Void Sect Elder saw that, his expression immediately changed. He cried out, ¡°You absolutely must not!¡±

    At the same time, however, there was a huge explosion as Liang Ling¡¯s entire body erupted into mes. His aura, which had be extremely weak, surged once more; additionally, all his wounds quickly healed at a visible rate.

    The sect masters watching sighed. With their knowledge and experience, they naturally recognized that this was Kunlun Void Sect¡¯s ultimate skill, Inferno Rebirth. Through igniting their blood essence, they could quickly recover in a short amount of time.

    Even though the effects were powerful, however, the cost was just as severe. After using the skill, one would be lucky to get away with only serious injuries. Some users even died or became crippled. Furthermore, even if one recovered, there was a chance of it affecting one¡¯s upper limit. As such, the skill was normally never used, except by those who knew they were going to die. And yet, Liang Ling had used it in the current situation. Even if he won, there was no way he could fight in the next round.

    Kunlun Void Sect¡¯s Elder Xuan Dou struck his thigh and continued, ¡°Sigh, why did you have to go that far? Did you lose your mind?¡±

    Liang Ling had a resolute expression as he said, ¡°I can lose, but I won¡¯t lose that easily.¡± As he looked at Qiu Honglei, his eyes were filled with high-spirited fighting intent.

    ¡­

    Even Zu An couldn''t help but feel some admiration when he saw that.

    Though there were all sorts of mediocre individuals in thispetition, there were also quite a few excellent youngsters. For example, this Liang Ling was a bit hot-headed, but his unyielding nature proved that he was a real man through and through. The nine daoist sects were part of the righteous faction, and the disciples they had raised had some skill, as expected.

    ¡°As you wish!¡± Qiu Honglei replied, putting away her carefree smile. With her short des in hand, her figure turned into afterimages as she rushed at Liang Ling.

    Liang Ling didn¡¯t retaliate with his spear; instead, he turned his entire body into a zing tornado of fire. Scarlet mes appeared all around him, and burned the entire stage until its surface became a dark red. Streaks of red veins ran across the ground likeva.

    Qiu Honglei seemed to have been burned. She quickly kicked off the ground to cancel her charge and jumped back. However, the giant me tornado at the center scattered into several smaller pirs of me, attacking the surrounding area.

    Even though the ce was protected by formations, the arena¡¯s stage still turned into a sea of fire. No matter how outstanding Qiu Honglei¡¯s movement skill was, she still had nowhere to go. Helpless to do anything else, she could only fly into the air.

    Liang Ling seized the opportunity and rushed into the air, surrounded by mes. His opponent hadn¡¯t reached the master rank yet, so her mobility was greatly reduced in the air.

    Just then, the mes flooded the entire arena. The formation flickered rapidly, clearly under tremendous pressure. It was doing everything it could to prevent the battle from affecting the spectators around the stage.

    The whole stage was like a volcano on the verge of erupting. There was crimsonva everywhere, and the air inside was quickly burning up. There was nowhere to run inside the arena.

    Amid the mes, Qiu Honglei¡¯s figure just looked insignificant, as if she would be swallowed up at any time.

    Heavenly Sorrow Sect¡¯s Cai Yu said with a sigh, ¡°As expected of Kunlun Void Sect¡¯s representative disciple, this level of skill is on a different level. Emptiness Isle¡¯s ugly woman might be defeated.¡±

    Zhi Yin¡¯s expression became grim. Even though this Liang Ling was formidable, the current result had only been achieved because of Inferno Rebirth activating his potential. If he were the one on the stage, all he would have to do was hold out until Liang Ling used up all of his strength. Winning wouldn¡¯t be too difficult. He would even have been able to use both the Push of the Iron Mountain and the Shadowless Ball to attack from the very start. That way, Liang Ling wouldn¡¯t have had a chance to use his ultimate move. However, there was no such opportunity left for him after his loss in the group stage.

    When he remembered the cause of all that, he stared hatefully at the distant Jadefall Pce¡¯s Pei Mianman.

    It¡¯s all this woman¡¯s fault!

    However, when he saw her expansive chest and her eyes that looked as if they could smile, he discovered that he couldn''t bring himself to be mad at her at all.

    Sigh, I didn¡¯t expect the daoist sects to have another being on the same level as Fairy Chu in both looks and cultivation. It would have been great if I just hadn¡¯t underestimated my opponent from the beginning.

    After thinking things over, he felt that there was no way he would lose if they fought again. But the more he thought about that, the more depressed he felt.

    ¡­

    Suddenly, a powerful wave of light shed into existence. Many people couldn''t help but close their eyes. They screamed, ¡°What the heck? I can¡¯t see anything!¡±

    In the air, Qiu Honglei¡¯s entire body erupted with blinding light, making her look like a sun.

    The sect masters all sat up. This seemed to be a blinding skill from the light element. Because the light element was so rare, many of them had only read about it in certain texts. Now that they were able to see it for themselves, there was no way they would give up such an opportunity. Even though the blinding light made all of their disciples cover their tear-filled eyes, with their cultivation, it naturally didn¡¯t have too much of an effect on the sect masters.

    However, that didn¡¯t apply to Liang Ling. Even though he was surrounded by tornadoes of fire, he had been watching Qiu Honglei the whole time. In that instant, the damage the powerful light inflicted against him was greater than what the spectating disciples suffered. He felt a wave of stinging pain, and a vast expanse of white temporarily robbed him of his sight.

    That was no small matter. He could only send his mes in the direction he remembered his opponent had been in. However, why would Qiu Honglei be foolish enough to remain in the same ce? She quickly appeared behind Liang Ling, and the des in her hands crossed. A V shaped de of light shot out.

    ¡°Holy Cross sh?¡± someone eximed, recognizing the origins of the move. That light condensed from sword ki could slice through metal and jade alike. It was incredibly sharp.

    Liang Ling finally noticed that something was strange. He quickly summoned mes behind him, but he was still a bit toote.

    Boom!

    The light crashed down on the spiraling pir of fire. The terrifying mes were actually torn apart directly. The raging mes seemed to be suppressed by something, and clearly became much smaller. Liang Ling¡¯s true self also appeared from within the mes as he quickly tried to defend himself with his spear.

    Blinding radiance flickered, and he was knocked out of the sky. There were clear marks left on the spear, and his hands were drenched with blood as well. The clothes in front of his chest were torn apart, revealing a deep wound beneath them.

    ¡°Do you still want to continue?¡± Qiu Honglei asked with a smile.

    The expressions of those present turned strange. This woman was clearly ugly, but her movements almost seemed like those of an exceptional beauty. At first, they found it a bit revolting. But as they continued to watch her, they found her more and more charming.

    Is this the so-called power of the strong?

    Liang Ling remained silent on the ground for a while. In the end, he said in an extremely bitter tone, ¡°There¡¯s no need. Thank you for being lenient; I¡¯ve lost.¡±

    He previously thought that he had lost because he was careless and let himself be ambushed. He clearly still had many stronger moves that he hadn¡¯t used yet; losing during a once in a decadepetition, just like that, had been too hard to ept. That was why he had recklessly used Inferno Rebirth.

    However, as the fight continued, he had discovered that this woman was actually profound and iprehensible. Anyone who could be a representative disciple definitely wasn¡¯t stupid. He knew that the cost of Inferno Rebirth would grow greater and greater if he continued to fight, and his chances of victory were low. What reason was there left in continuing?

    Wu Xiaofan, Wan Guiyi, and the other representative disciples carefully sized up Qiu Honglei. This woman was stronger than they had imagined.

    As Liang Ling had admitted defeat, Elder Xuan Dou couldn''t really say anything. He quickly rushed out to feed Liang Ling some of the Kunlun Void Sect¡¯s medicines.

    Meanwhile, Wang Wuxie and the other sect masters looked at Yun Jianyue with conflicted expressions, remarking, ¡°Emptiness Isle usually remains secluded, but when they do make an appearance, they really dazzle the world.¡±

    After all, in the past, Emptiness Isle¡¯s sole purpose seemed to have been to make the other sects look better. And yet, this disciple seemed to be ridiculously strong! Liang Ling didn¡¯t even seem to have pushed her to the limit yet.

    ¡°I agree, I agree~¡± When she saw these orthodox sect representatives who normally cursed her to death now praising her, Yun Jianyue felt like someone who had found a watermelon ice in the middle of the desert. She wondered just what kind of expression they would show her if they took the crown and revealed who they really were! She almostughed out loud when she thought about how her scheme would turn these daoist sects into aughingstock.

    ¡°As we have already decided the top four, we will rest for a day and carry out the semifinals the day after tomorrow,¡± Wang Wuxie remarked.

    Just like that, the day¡¯spetition came to an end. The disciples excitedly discussed the previous matches. Many of them ran over to Emptiness Isle to curry favor with them. Now that they had such a formidable disciple, Emptiness Isle would no longer be the weakest in the future. It was a ce worthy of their shows of goodwill.

    Yun Jianyue normally hated this kind of social interaction the most, but at the moment, she was actually delighted. After all, the more enthusiastic these people were, the more interesting their reactions would be once the truth was revealed.

    Her tail was practically about to point to the sky when Yan Xuehen suddenly appeared in front of her, saying, ¡°You are very simr to an acquaintance of mine.¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

 Chapter 1650: Selection

    Chapter 1650: Selection

    Yun Jianyue thought in rm, Did the stone cold woman find out? She was about to say something, but she was also worried that defending herself would only make her look more suspicious.

    Fortunately, after giving her a look, Yan Xuehen shook her head in the end and said, ¡°Sorry, I must have mistaken you for the wrong person.¡± She left immediately afterward. Many people tried to strike up a conversation with her along the way, but she only nodded slightly in their direction.

    Yun Jianyue gritted her teeth as she watched Yan Xuehen leave. Damn that woman and her looks; no wonder men are always trying to tter her.

    ¡­

    Next, they were about to draw the lots for the next round. Four winners had been decided so far, so together with Pei Mianman, there were fivepetitors in total. There would be another bye.

    In the past, some people had raised doubts about the system being too random. What if one person continuously pulled byes? Wouldn¡¯t they be at a huge advantage?

    Eventually, however, the most powerful sect at the time had stated that luck was a part of strength. The higher-ups of the different sects hadn¡¯t had many objections to that. After all, the higher one¡¯s cultivation became, the more they understood that statement. Half of one¡¯s aplishments relied on one¡¯s own talent and efforts, while the other half was up to fate. The greater a cultivator¡¯s luck was, the more miraculous encounters they would experience, and they would have greater room for growthpared to others.

    However, after so many years, no one had actually gotten the bye again and again. In fact, there were some who had gotten a bye, but because they hadn¡¯t experienced the previous round, they hadn¡¯t been able to keep up with their fight¡¯s intensity¡­

    For various reasons, the rule had thus been kept.

    Soon after, the Righteous Sun Sect¡¯s Wu Xiaofan, Jadefall Pce¡¯s Wan Guiyi, Supreme Mystery Cave¡¯s Shi Dingtian, Emptiness Isle¡¯s Peng Wuyan, and Pei Mianman all arrived in front of a box. The box was specially made by the daoist sects, and itpletely blocked off ki perception. Between that and the fact that so many sect masters were in the judges¡¯ area watching over the process together, there was no possibility of cheating.

    Thepetitors were starting to feel a bit nervous. After all, the luck of their draw here could very well affect their path to victory.

    For Wu Xiaofan, if his opponent was too strong and he had to exhaust too much strength, someone else could potentially steal victory from him. For the others, if they encountered the strongest contestant Wu Xiaofan, their paths could just end at the semifinals.

    Zu An waved toward Pei Mianman and called out, ¡°Lady Pei!¡±

    He didn¡¯t want to walk over to her, because Elder Huo Ling was always right beside her. It wouldn¡¯t be convenient at all for them to talk in front of her. However, if he called out to her, Elder Huo Ling couldn''t stop her froming to him.

    When she saw Zu An wave, Elder Huo Ling sneered. Our Manman might treat everyone with a smiling face, but deep down, she¡¯s more guarded than anyone else. She has always kept her distance from everyone, even after all this time staying at Jadefall Pce. I¡¯ve never even heard of her getting close to anyone.

    This brat only helped Manman once, and yet he thinks that he can call her over as he pleases¡­ Huh?

    Her eyes widened, because Pei Mianman actually went over to Zu An in high spirits, without a shred of reluctance.

    The onlookers all exchanged looks with each other; some more daring individuals even had suggestive smiles on their faces. A gracefuldy and a noble man made a perfect match. No matter how powerful Sir Zu was, he was still a young man deep down. After all, what man could resist such a great smile?

    Only Qiu Honglei felt extremely depressed. Her lover was flirting with another woman, and yet she couldn''t even reveal her real identity¡­

    ¡°Sir Zu, is there something you need?¡± Pei Mianman asked as she looked at Zu An. She was quite the actress herself, and knowing that there were still people watching, she didn¡¯t greet him intimately.

    Zu An took out a pill and said, ¡°You were injured during the previouspetition. I have a spiritual pill here that will be helpful to you.¡± After some hesitation, he broke the pill in half and handed it over.

    Many people had strange expressions. Isn¡¯t this guy too stingy? You¡¯re giving out a pill, and yet you¡¯re only giving her half? You¡¯re trying to pursue a girl, and yet you¡¯re not willing to spend on her. Looks like this kid is doomed to be alone.

    Pei Mianman stared nkly for a moment, thinking, My wounds are already pretty much healed, and you were the one who personally took care of that at night. Still, seeing as Zu An had told her to eat it, she didn¡¯t suspect anything and just took it. She swallowed it without any hesitation.

    Elder Huo Ling couldn''t stop her in time, and waspletely stunned. What is going on? Why is this girl randomly eating something another man gave her? Let alone an incredible beauty like Manman? She asked Zu An with a scowl, ¡°What did you feed her?¡±

    ¡°Treatment medicine. Didn¡¯t I already say it earlier?¡± Zu An replied with a shrug.

    ¡°What is the name of this medicine?¡± Elder Huo Ling snapped. However, she realized that asking him so directly was a bit too harsh, as he had helped Manman before, so she added, ¡°I have given her arge amount of medicines. I am worried that the medicines might have negative interactions.¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t have a name. I made it myself,¡± Zu An said with a chuckle. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it won¡¯t cause any problems.¡±

    What he had given Pei Mianman was the Fortune Pill. He wanted to help her draw a good matchup. The reason he had split it in half was because he could end up needing to use it againter. Either way, the drawing of lots wouldn¡¯t take too long, so half a Fortune Pill would be enough, right?

    ¡°Manman, do you feel ufortable at all?¡± Elder Huo Ling asked as she nervously held Pei Mianman¡¯s hand. Meanwhile, she internally decided to properly lecture her disciple once they went back. This foolish girl really doesn¡¯t have any vignce toward outsiders! How can you just eat something another man gives you without even asking about it? What if he gave you poison?

    ¡°Not at all. Sir Zu¡¯s medicine seems to work really well,¡± Pei Mianman replied with a big smile.

    Elder Huo Ling grabbed Pei Mianman¡¯s arm and checked her condition. When she discovered that her disciple¡¯s injuries were pretty much already healed, she was stunned. Were this medicine¡¯s effects really that good?

    The sect elders all stared at Zu An. They had been worried that he was going to tamper with the drawing of lots, but when they saw that he had only fed Pei Mianman a pill, they weren¡¯t so concerned anymore.

    However, Wan Guiyi continued to stare at Zu An. He was also from Jadefall Pce, and judging from Elder Huo Ling and Pei Mianman¡¯s reactions, he could tell that the pill was indeed astonishing. He thought to himself, If this guy divided that pill in half, could it be that the other half is for me? Both Pei Mianman and I are from Jadefall Pce, after all. I¡¯m wounded as well, and it¡¯s a bit more serious than hers.

    At any other time, he definitely wouldn¡¯t make any unreasonable requests. However, this was rted to thepetition results, so he didn¡¯t want to give up on any opportunities.

    When he saw Wan Guiyi looking at him impatiently, even having an uncharacteristic ¡®currying favor¡¯ sort of smile, Zu An was stunned for a moment. He said, ¡°Girls can just leave their usernames and get attention, but guys have to work for it.¡±

    What kind of a joke is this? The other half is also for Manman; there¡¯s no way I¡¯d give it to you.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Wan Guiyi didn¡¯t understand Zu An¡¯s words, but he more or less understood the meaning, leaving him quite depressed.

    ¡­

    Then, they began to draw lots. Zu An wanted Pei Mianman to go first so others wouldn¡¯t end up grabbing the bye before her. However, after thinking about it, that would be letting down the Fortune Pill¡¯s reputation. Furthermore, it could draw suspicion from the others.

    One after another, thepetitors took jade tokens from the chest.

    Pei Mianman looked at the jade token in her hand, and was stunned. Elder Huo Ling gave it a look, and quickly became ecstatic.

    ¡°She drew another bye? Is there a mistake?¡±

    Many of the disciples looked at the judges with doubt. They wondered whether, because Pei Mianman was pretty, these old perverts had gone against the rules and messed with the results.

    Wang Wuxie and the others were also stunned. However, it wasn¡¯t as if there had never been an instance of someone pulling two byes. As such, their expressions quickly returned to normal. Either way, there was no way she¡¯d pull it three times in a row, right?

    Some parties were happy, while others weren¡¯t so happy. Wan Tongtian was one of thetter, because this meant Wan Guiyi had to fight the strongestpetitor, Wu Xiaofan.

    In contrast, Wan Guiyi didn¡¯t feel dispirited at all. Instead, his eyes were filled with fighting spirit. In his eyes, the only one worthy of being his opponent was Wu Xiaofan. This was the perfect opportunity to settle things.

    Meanwhile, Emptiness Isle¡¯s Peng Wuyan had to face Supreme Mystery Cave¡¯s Shi Dingtian.

    Qiu Honglei looked at her opponent and said with a big smile. ¡°Senior Shi, please go easy on me in the next round.¡±

    Shi Dingtian scratched his head and said, ¡°You¡¯re really strong. I might not even be able to beat you.¡±

    ¡°Then, if you can¡¯t beat me, you can just surrender too,¡± Qiu Honglei said with a smile.

    Shi Dingtian was stunned. He didn¡¯t know how to continue. In the end, he said, ¡°The two cave masters want me to return with a good ranking, so I can¡¯t just surrender¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just joking,¡± Qiu Honglei replied casually. She nced at Zu An out of the corner of her eye. Unfortunately, because of her current identity, she couldn''t talk to him.

    Ahhhh! I want this mission to end already!

    ¡­

    Over the next two days, Zu An kept his attention on Yi Commandery¡¯s situation. However, neither Xiao Jianren nor Zhang Zitong contacted him, so he figured that they hadn''t finished their investigation yet.

    Meanwhile, Xie Daoyun had been very busy. She had traveled all across Violet Mountain to investigate every potential source of trouble. However, Zu An noticed her expression bing more and more rxed. After all, she had examined the ce the way her master had asked her to, but still hadn¡¯t noticed the existence of any killing formations; that implied both the State Teacher, as well as the Righteous Sun Sect, were still trustworthy.

    Zu An had Zhang Zijiang and Wang Bolin carry out the repairs of Violet Mountain¡¯s various pces, while assigning his own people to different ces to make sure nothing was wrong. Sometimes, however, he wondered whether the preparations were too excessive. There were so many daoist sect experts present. Who would be so reckless as to go against the emperor?

    Whenever he had some downtime, he sought out Pei Mianman, but Elder Huo Ling was always around her, as if she were worried that her own daughter would be misguided by the wrong crowd.

    Zu An didn¡¯t dare to impersonate Elder Huo Ling and Wan Tongtian¡¯s handwriting to send each other letters again. That ¡®date¡¯ the two had had clearly wasn¡¯t a joyous one. If he did it again, the two weren¡¯t stupid and would definitely notice that something was strange.

    If they found out that I was the one causing trouble, maybe they would really go crazy out of embarrassment.

    Most importantly, after what Big Manman had gone through that night, she didn¡¯t seem all that willing to y along anymore. She didn¡¯t tell him what had happened between her and Chu Chuyan when he asked either.

    Seeing as Zu An couldn''t go to Manman, he could only brace himself and try to meet with Chu Chuyan. Unfortunately, Yan Xuehen stopped him. He tried to take the chance to get closer to Yan Xuehen, but she wasn¡¯t affected in the slightest.

    After a while, Yan Xuehen finally couldn''t take it anymore. She looked at him with a cold expression and asked, ¡°What are you trying to do? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re trying to court both the master and disciple?!¡±

 Chapter 1651: An Unexpected Weapon

    Chapter 1651: An Unexpected Weapon

    Zu An suddenly sounded a bit shy as he replied, ¡°How can I ept that? But if big sis Yan is willing, I¡¯m not entirely opposed to it¡­¡±

    Yan Xuehen was speechless. She almostughed out of irritation from how shameless this guy was. She had never expected him to say that!

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +444 +444 +444¡­

    She took a deep breath and reminded herself to retain an emotionless state, and that she couldn''t get angry. Then, she suddenly revealed a hint of a sweet smile and said, ¡°With my rtionship with Chuyan, there is no way that could happen. I will give you one final chance. If you had to pick one between the two of us, who would you pick?¡±

    She thought to herself, If this guy picks me, that means he¡¯s a fickle person. In that case, even if it meant she was hated by Chuyan, she would still have to end their rtionship. She couldn''t let this scoundrel deceive her.

    If he picks Chuyan¡­ Isn¡¯t that just how it should be? I¡¯ll properly congratte them, and my heart should be able to bepletely calm, like before.

    ¡°If I chose you, would you start a rtionship with me?¡± Zu An suddenly asked as he looked at her pure, snow-white features.

    ¡°I would,¡± Yan Xuehen said, although her heart gradually became ice-cold. Hmph, he is filth who forgets about his past rtionships as soon as he sees a new person. He would definitely make the choice that pleased another woman most the moment he met them too.

    Zu An looked at her for a while, then said, ¡°Only a child would make a choice. An adult¡­ would want it all.¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s eyes widened. She had never expected him to say such a shameless thing in such a righteous way!

    ¡°Get lost!¡± she snapped as she stormed off angrily. For some reason, however, she sighed inwardly in relief.

    When he saw her leave with a cold expression, Zu An realized that he really had provoked her too much this time. Sigh, I¡¯m really not good at speaking against my conscience. If I had known it would be like this, I should have just said I¡¯d choose her to make her feel better.

    ¡­

    Time quickly passed, and the semifinals arrived.

    The judges sat down one after another. After the previous few days, even though they were still unfamiliar with each other, they at least knew who the others were. They all nodded toward each other with a smile.

    Heavenly Sorrow¡¯s Guan Chouhai suddenly asked with a chuckle, ¡°Who do you all think has a higher chance of winning in the first round?¡±

    Previously, Zhi Yin¡¯s loss had made him lose a lot of face. However, due to the events of the past few days, especially the upsets that had urred, his mood had gradually improved.

    Wan Tongtian said with a chuckle, ¡°It will be Wu Xiaofan, of course. He was able to win against Mount Luofu¡¯s representative disciple Luo Dongjiang effortlessly, while Wan Guiyi had so much trouble against Purity Temple¡¯s Qiu Chanzi.¡±

    Mount Luofu¡¯s Elder Xu and Purity Temple¡¯s Vice Temple Lord gave him an angry look. They both thought, Thank you oh so much for reminding us of that.

    Zu An thought to himself, This Wan Tongtian¡¯s emotional quotient really is low. No wonder even though he and Elder Huo Ling had feelings for each other, they ended up hating each other instead.

    Wang Wuxie said with a chuckle, ¡°Brother Wan speaks too harshly. Xiaofan was just lucky in that round. Worthy nephew Luo is not so weak; it might just be that their styles were just a poor match, so nephew Luo could not bring out his full strength. As for Purity Temple¡¯s Qiu Chanzi, the Winter Cicada¡¯s Cries impressed even us judges, so few among his peers could win against him to begin with. Worthy nephew Wan¡¯s ability to win proves that his sword intent has already reached a level that follows his very heart¡¯s desires. That is why his chances of winning this match are quite high.¡±

    Elder Xu and Purity Temple¡¯s Vice Temple Lord¡¯s expressions immediately became much better. Receiving the recognition of Wang Wuxie made them both feel great. Even Wan Tongtian had a grin on his face. This mister Wang was handsome and spoke well; he was indeed someone worth getting to know.

    Meanwhile, Zu An had a strange expression. He remembered how, in his previous world, students would all encourage each other when they were about to take a test; he hadn¡¯t expected the people of this world to be the same!

    ¡­

    The Righteous Sun Sect Elder who was presiding over the tournament officially dered the start of thepetition. Wan Guiyi and Wu Xiaofan were already standing to either side of the stage. When their eyes met, the very air around them seemed to grow still.

    Apart from the Righteous Sun Sect and Jadefall Pce¡¯s disciples, the other spectators were also clearly divided into two sides.

    One group supported Wu Xiaofan. After all, he had the greatest reputation and treated others with warmth and respect. It was hard for others to dislike him.

    However, arge group of people supported Wan Guiyi. There were more female cultivators among them. Even though Wan Guiyi had a bit of ¡®eighth-grade syndrome¡¯ and was a bit haughty, he was handsome. Due to his looks, his ¡®chuunibyou[1]¡¯ and arrogance actually gave him a unique charm.

    Wan Guiyi saw that Wu Xiaofan was empty-handed. He frowned and asked, ¡°Are you not nning to use any weapons even against me?¡± At the same time, inwardly, he cursed Luo Dongjiang ruthlessly again for not even bringing out any of Wu Xiaofan¡¯s real strength. He didn¡¯t even know what kind of weapon his opponent used.

    Wu Xiaofan had a gentle expression as he replied, ¡°All of my skills are in these hands of mine. Whether or not I have a weapon does not make a big difference.¡±

    Wan Guiyi harrumphed. He didn¡¯t say anything else. His finger flicked toward his sword, which quickly left the scabbard. It was as if a streak of lightning had appeared on the stage.

    Gasps filled the air all across Golden Peak, because most of the students hadn¡¯t even clearly seen him draw the sword.

    Qiu Chanzi also suddenly got up. He noticed that Wan Guiyi¡¯s sword was actually a bit faster than when they had faced each other. He thought, So he was still holding back his strength and is only going all out against Wu Xiaofan¡­ He suddenly looked a bit dejected when he thought of that. He couldn''t help but scratch his head, turning his hair all messy like a bird¡¯s nest.

    ¡°This Wan guy¡¯s sword isn¡¯t bad. Give him another ten years to grow and he¡¯ll definitely be a great enemy of our Holy Sect,¡± Yun Jianyue said with a sigh.

    Qiu Honglei was startled, asking, ¡°Master, you¡¯re not thinking of getting rid of him, are you?¡±

    There were daoist cultivators everywhere. If they went after an important disciple like Wan Guiyi, their identities would easily be put at risk.

    ¡°What are you thinking? Your master isn¡¯t one to bully juniors,¡± Yun Jianyue said. ¡°That¡¯s a fight between you guys. I won¡¯t take any part in it.¡±

    Qiu Honglei realized that even though her master came from the Devil Sect, she had always been proud. She had never stooped so low as to do such despicable things. From a certain perspective, she was more upright than some of these righteous sects¡¯ people.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Meanwhile, intense waves of ki emanated from the battlefield. Wu Xiaofan had seen Wan Guiyi¡¯s sword-drawing skill before, however. Even though it was even faster this time, to his surprise, he didn¡¯t panic. He sent a palm forward; the wind it emanated shed with the sword energy, producing a powerful st wave. The tough stage surface started to shatter, and the pieces were sucked up by the wind, sending sand and stone everywhere.

    Watchful Heart Peak Master Feng Wuchang¡¯s eyes twitched. He was the one in charge of the stage preparation. Only the most precious stone materials were used to make the stages, and there were even defensive formations applied to them. And yet, these little monsters were getting more and more ridiculous with their fights, destroying a stage every round.

    This is all money being thrown away! The State Teacher isn¡¯t the one managing these things, so of course he doesn¡¯t care! When he thought about the expenses they had incurred, Feng Wuchang felt as if he was about to cry.

    ¡°Huh? Wan Guiyi is actually taking the advantage!¡±

    Many disciples were incredibly shocked. Most of them had favored Wu Xiaofan more, but Wan Guiyi was the one who was heavily pressuring his opponent.

    Wan Guiyi¡¯s body had already turned into several afterimages, not once touching the ground from start to finish as he spun around above Wu Xiaofan¡¯s head. Countless copies of him attacked Wu Xiaofan from time to time.

    Meanwhile, Wu Xiaofan sent endless palm strikes above his head, forming a terrifying storm in the air and neutralizing Wan Guiyi¡¯s attacks again and again.

    However, the more experienced spectators could tell that Wu Xiaofan¡¯s position was extremely unfavorable. After all, if one always remained on the defensive, one would eventually slip up. He had spent the entire match defending and rarely had a chance to attack. If he showed any openings, it would quickly cause issues for him.

    Sure enough, the glint of a sword¡¯s edge suddenly shed out of the endless sword shadows. Wan Guiyi¡¯s real body rushed forth, unleashing a stunning strike toward Wu Xiaofan¡¯s ribs. It cut through the ki around Wu Xiaofan at a visible rate, thrusting toward his ribs.

    However, Wu Xiaofan reacted quickly too. His palm mmed against the side of the sword, redirecting it to one side. Then, he kicked into the air, widening the gap between them.

    Wan Guiyi didn¡¯t chase after him, instead standing in ce with his sword. He said coldly, ¡°You won¡¯t be my match if you still refuse to use a weapon.¡±

    ¡­

    Qiu Honglei couldn''t help but say mockingly, ¡°Master, I¡¯ve discovered that these disciples all have something wrong with their heads. They clearly have the advantage, and yet they don¡¯t press the attack and just love to show off. It¡¯s so inflexible and stupid.¡±

    Yun Jianyue replied, ¡°That might be true for the others, and if they waste their chances and die as a result, they deserve it. But this Wan Guiyi is fully devoted to the sword. He looks down on winning through flukes, which is what makes his sword so formidable, and his future achievements potentially limitless. Of course, he has his ws too. If he encounters a Devil Sect opponent, he¡¯ll just die prematurely without fully realizing his talent.¡±

    ¡­

    Back on the stage, Wu Xiaofan sighed and said, ¡°Previously, I felt that because Brother Wan was injured, it wasn¡¯t too appropriate for me to use a weapon. However, I didn¡¯t expect you to be so strong, leaving me at a disadvantage as a result.¡±

    As he spoke, he suddenly lowered his palms, before slowly raising them again. A golden light flew out from his abdomen. When the light scattered, it revealed a toothpick floating in front of him. It was pointing in Wan Guiyi¡¯s direction.

    Wu Xiaofan said with a serious expression, ¡°Mine is very big. You¡¯ll have to endure it.¡±

    1. Chuunibyou is a Japanese colloquial term typically used to describe early teens who have grandiose delusions, who desperately want to stand out, and who have convinced themselves that they have hidden knowledge or secret powers. ?

 Chapter 1652: Itâ€™s Really Big

    Chapter 1652: It¡¯s Really Big

    Zu An, who had been sipping on some tea, spat out everything in his mouth. He thought, What the hell?

    The disciples were also stunned. Isn¡¯t it just a toothpick? How is it big?

    However, when they remembered Wu Xiaofan¡¯s reputation, they wondered whether maybe there was something about the situation they just hadn¡¯tprehended yet.

    Wan Guiyi¡¯s expression was grave; naturally, he took the situation seriously, because he could feel that he had been locked onto by a mysterious energy.

    ¡°Brother Wan, please be careful,¡± Wu Xiaofan reminded his opponents. Then, he pushed his hands together. The toothpick-like object turned into a small streak of light and flew toward his opponent.

    Wan Guiyi got on his guard, and quickly used his movement skill to evade to one side, but he was still a moment toote. Blood erupted from his arm as the toothpick rushed past. He suddenly turned around to see that, after the toothpick passed by him, it turned around again like a pocket-sized flying sword. More importantly, it moved unpredictably, and it was extremely fast, almost as if it didn¡¯t follow thews of physics.

    Thus, he didn¡¯t dare to dodge anymore; instead, he brought his sword down toward the toothpick-like needle.

    ng!

    A loud and clear noise resounded as Wan Guiyi urately struck the toothpick.

    The crowd erupted with cries of rm; they were all filled with admiration, as Wan Guiyi had been able to hit such a small toothpick precisely even in such a situation. After all, they couldn''t even see it clearly because of how fast it was, let alone intercept it.

    The toothpick was knocked away, but it quickly attacked again from a different angle. Thus, Wan Guiyi¡¯s expression changed, and he brought out all of his sword skills. The entire stage flickered with cold shes of light, and sword ki flew all around the ce.

    However, the toothpick was even more strange and unpredictable. It moved so quickly, it formed a visible trail due to the friction as it moved through the air. It practically formed a spherical cage around Wan Guiyi as it attacked him from all kinds of different directions.

    ¡­

    In the elevated judges¡¯ area, Guan Chouhai¡¯s expression changed. He muttered, ¡°Is this a sword control skill?¡±

    A true sword control skill was something only those at the life soul stage could use. Once one cultivated a yin soul, it could be attached to an object. Then, a cultivator could truly behead someone from a thousand miles away.

    Of course, there were a few exceptionally talented individuals who could perform a simplified form of a flying sword technique within a shorter range. However, even a simplified sword control technique was extraordinary, and would be very difficult to defend against. Every single person who could do such a thing was a truly outstanding genius.

    Wang Wuxie said humbly, ¡°It cannot be considered a true sword control skill. It is nothing more than his own soulbound magic weapon.¡± Even though he downyed it, the others could still sense the pride in his voice.

    They all looked at Wan Tongtian, feeling curious as to why, even though his son was in such a disadvantageous position, the father didn¡¯t seem worried in the slightest. Could it be¡­

    Soon after, they received their answer. Wan Guiyi no longer brandished his sword against the toothpick, but instead held it in front of him. Then, a shockinglyrge wave of sword ki arose. With him at the center, arge projection of his sword appeared on the stage. Now, no matter how tricky and difficult to deal with the toothpick was, it bounced off whenever it made contact with the longsword projection.

    Wan Guiyi¡¯s eyes widened as he said with a sneer, ¡°If we¡¯re talking about swords, I¡¯m the expert here!¡± As he spoke, he brought the sword in his hands down. The massive de of sword ki came crashing down on Wu Xiaofan.

    Wu Xiaofan¡¯s eyes rapidly contracted. A barrier of light instantly gathered around him. The sword ki struck the barrier, causing an enormous explosion. Smoke and dust soared into the air. The entire stage was cleaved in two!

    Watchful Peak¡¯s Feng Wuchang¡¯s eyes twitched. All of this is money!

    Aside from him, however, everyone else was more concerned with who had won and who had lost. Countless pairs of eyes stared at the debris-filled ruins.

    Wu Xiaofan¡¯s figure gradually emerged. Unlike before, his clothes were already in tatters. He had clearly been wounded by the sword ki, and his face was covered in dirt. This was the first time he had been left in such a sorry state.

    ¡°You actually stopped it?¡± Wan Guiyi eximed, stunned. ¡°But it doesn''t matter. Let¡¯s see how many you can take!¡± Another massive de of sword ki mmed down as soon as he finished his sentence. It had alreadypletely locked down on his opponent; there was no way for Wu Xiaofan to avoid it.

    Wu Xiaofan¡¯s expression turned grave. With a wave of his hand, the toothpick stopped its futile attacks and returned to him.

    Wan Guiyi sneered. Are you going to use something so delicate to stop my massive sword? I¡¯ll just cut that sword, and you with it!

    Earlier, he had been very frustrated by the toothpick¡¯s flexibility and unpredictability. Now that he finally had a chance to fight against his opponent head-on, how could he not be excited?

    However, his smile quickly froze on his face. His eyeballs almost popped out of their sockets.

    ¡°It really is so big!¡±

    No one knew who first said those words, but the attention of all those present was drawn to the item in Wu Xiaofan¡¯s hands.

    The once-delicate toothpick seemed almost as if it had consumed some miracle drug. It began to grow until it became a thirty-meter-long staff. It was no smaller than the opposing giant sword at all; in fact, it was likely even a bit bigger!

    Wu Xiaofan roared and swept the giant staff toward the sword.

    A deafening explosion resounded as both sides¡¯ ki destroyed each other! Bothbatants staggered, a bit of blood trickling out from the corners of their mouths. They had both received considerable injuries from the exchange.

    Wan Guiyi finally realized why Wu Xiaofan had said ¡®Mine is very big. You¡¯ll have to endure it.¡¯ Even so, a vigorous fighting spirit ignited in his eyes. He raised his giant sword and brought it down, calling out, ¡°Again!¡±

    Wu Xiaofan also roared endlessly, no longer appearing as calm andposed as before.

    The massive staff and the giant sword shed countless times. The terrifying ki that erupted from the collisions actually required many of the judges to work together to control the stage area and prevent the surrounding spectators from getting injured.

    The disciples of the nine sects were horrified. If any of them had to face such terrifying power directly, wouldn¡¯t they be instantly crushed into meat paste?

    Lou Wucheng, Zhi Yin, and the other proud disciples all had ugly expressions. They knew that they would have been in quite the difficult situation if they were the ones fighting instead.

    Just then, Jadefall Pce¡¯s people all got up and cried out in rm. They saw Wan Guiyi being knocked down by a strike. He struggled to crawl to his feet, his entire body dripping with blood. Unfortunately, his injuries were too severe, causing him to fail again and again. Eventually, he stabbed his sword into the ground, clenched his teeth, and barely managed to stand up.

    Meanwhile, Wu Xiaofan slowly descended from the air. His clothes were already tattered like a beggar¡¯s, and his body also dripped with blood, clearly as a result of his opponent¡¯s sword ki. However, he could still stand calmly. Victory and defeat had already been decided.

    Wan Guiyi was unwilling to give up. He tried to attack with his sword again, but the movements that normally seemed so easy now seemed impossible.

    Wu Xiaofan sighed and said, ¡°I had an unfair advantage in today¡¯s fight. If Brother Wan hadn¡¯t been injured before this fight, I might not have been able to win today.¡±

    The spectators all approved of those words. Wu Xiaofan was the one people all publicly acknowledged as being number one in the younger generation, after all. Whether in terms of his cultivation or temperament, those were both great enough to convince them all.

    However, some sharp-eyed spectators noticed that his hands, which were both behind his back, trembled continuously. Wu Xiaofan was definitely in extremely poor condition. Thus, he was likely telling the truth. If the two of them had fought at their peak, it would indeed be hard to say who was stronger.

    Wan Guiyi remained silent for a while. Eventually, he harrumphed and said, ¡°A loss is a loss. Why bother making excuses?¡± Then, he used his sword as support and walked toward the edge of the stage, one step after another.

    Wan Tongtian felt really sorry watching his son, and quickly flew over to help him.

    ¡°Father, sorry,¡± Wan Guiyi said, unable to hold on. He fell straight into his father¡¯s arms.

    Wan Tongtian¡¯s eyes were full of tears as he replied, ¡°No, my child. You¡¯ve already done extremely well.¡±

    The distant Elder Huo Ling snorted as she saw the scene. Then, she said to Pei Mianman, ¡°You have to win next time, and let these daoist sects see just who is more reliable from our Jadefall Pce.¡±

    Even though Pei Mianman¡¯s foundation was weaker, after two byes in a row, she would likely have the advantage after saving her strength for two rounds. Taking the final victory wasn¡¯t entirely out of the realm of possibility.

    Pei Mianman said helplessly, ¡°Senior brother fought for the glory of our Jadefall Sect. There¡¯s no reason to throw stones at him while he¡¯s down, is there?¡±

    Master¡¯s resentment toward the pce lord really is too much¡­

    ¡°A loss is a loss; what glory is there from that?¡± Elder Huo Ling harrumphed. She felt extremely irritated, but she also gave up on her thoughts of going over and ridiculing the other side.

    ¡­

    Tranquility Temple¡¯s Master Jian Huang suddenly released a deep sigh.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°What is it, master?¡± the little monk Jie Se asked curiously.

    ¡°I feel that our Buddhist sect¡¯s prospects are worrisome,¡± Master Jian Huang said with furrowed brows.

    ¡°Why do you say that?¡± Jie Se asked as he rubbed his bald head, feeling a bit confused.

    ¡°Look at these daoist sect disciples, and how abundant in talent all of them are. Then, look at our Buddhist sect¡¯s inheritors,¡± Master Jian Huang said as he gave Jie Se a look. He shook his head while sighing and looked extremely downcast.

    Jie Se was speechless. Why did I even bother trying to start a conversation with master¡­

    ¡­

    Watchful Heart Peak Master Feng Wuchang quickly dered Wu Xiaofan the winner of the first round. Then, he began the nextpetition. Emptiness Isle¡¯s Peng Wuyan would fight Supreme Mystery Cave¡¯s Shi Dingtian.

    He gave the destroyed stage a look and thought to himself, Thank goodness I was prepared and had several reserve stages ready.

    Before Qiu Honglei went on stage. Yun Jianyue said with a serious expression, ¡°Be careful up there. These daoist sects are full of tricks.¡±

    After witnessing Wu Xiaofan and Wan Guiyi¡¯s fight, her previous contempt was now gone. Qiu Honglei couldn''t use her charm skill in front of so many prying eyes, and many of her other skills couldn''t be used either. There was a chance that she wouldn¡¯t win.

 Chapter 1653: Allâ€™s Fair in War

    Chapter 1653: All¡¯s Fair in War

    Qiu Honglei nodded. Then, she kicked off andnded gently on the stage.

    Many people nodded to themselves when they saw that. Even though this woman was a bit ugly, her etiquette in her actions was still top-tier. They wondered just how she had managed to merge twopletely contradictory characteristics into one person.

    Shi Dingtian walked over with his characteristic simple and honest expression. He scratched his head from time to time, which drew quite a few amused looks.

    Compared to the crazy affair that was thest battle, this fight would definitely be much more mediocre. If they had found out that these two would be the ones fighting before thepetition, not many spectators would have bothered showing up to watch. Even so, thebatants¡¯ performances as dark horses made those present look forward to the battle.

    The disciples spected as to who would win the fight among themselves. The overwhelming majority supported Shi Dingtian. After all, Peng Wuyan was quite unattractive, and the way she fought was a bit too ruthless. As such, most of the people present didn¡¯t really like her. In contrast, Shi Dingtian had an honest and straightforward nature that made it hard for others to dislike him. Seeing as they had to root for someone, he naturally gained more support.

    Meanwhile, in the judges'' section, Zu An was leaning more toward Peng Wuyan. For some reason, he felt a mysterious sense of intimacy with the woman.

    What the heck is wrong with me? Is there something wrong with my perception of aesthetics?

    He began to even question life when he realized that.

    ¡­

    After Watchful Heart Peak Master Feng Wuchang dered the start of the fight, the formations around the stage lit up to prevent the battle¡¯s effects from harming the spectating disciples.

    Shi Dingtian had a de in hand as he greeted Qiu Honglei. The weapon was something Supreme Mystery Cave had specially prepared for him. Judging from the aura it was giving off, it was clearly a heaven-grade weapon.

    Tranquility Temple¡¯s Jian Huang and Jie Se both sighed inwardly. As expected of the daoist sects! Even Supreme Mystery Cave, which was in dire straits, had such resources to spare. It was easy to imagine just how powerful they had been in their most glorious era.

    Qiu Honglei didn¡¯t reply to the greeting; instead, she said unhappily, ¡°You didn¡¯t even use a de against other opponents, so why are you using it against me? Is it because you think I¡¯m ugly, so you¡¯re not holding back at all?¡±

    When they heard those words, many of the female disciples felt a bit of sympathy as well. The way they looked at Shi Dingtian became a bit strange.

    Yun Jianyue inwardly gave her a thumbs up. As expected of my most talented disciple of the past few decades! Even with such an ugly face, she can still turn it into an advantage.

    Shi Dingtian¡¯s face immediately turned entirely red. He quickly tried to defend himself, protesting, ¡°That¡¯s not it at all! It¡¯s because Cave Master Mu told me that I¡¯d be looking down on my opponent if I appear barehanded, so I should use all of my strength now as a sign of respect for my opponent!¡±

    Many of the sect leaders in the judges'' area looked at Cave Master Mu. Cave Master Mu was a bit embarrassed. He knew that his disciple was simple and honest, and any other exnation would have been hard for him to understand. He had to use that exnation to ¡®trick¡¯ Shi Dingtian into being a bit more serious. However, even if he could deceive that silly disciple of his, how could he deceive these old foxes?

    Qiu Honglei sneered. Shi Dingtian was ill at ease and quickly said, ¡°Then I just won¡¯t use it, okay?¡± He put the de away.

    Cave Master Mu almost vomited blood when he saw that. He had finally managed to make that foolish disciple of his use the de, and yet, after just a single sentence from this woman, Shi Dingtian had discarded that advice!

    Qiu Honglei nodded in satisfaction, saying, ¡°That¡¯s more like it. I¡¯m about to start, so you have to be careful.¡±

    ¡°Thank you¡­ Thank you for your reminder, miss,¡± Shi Dingtian said, feeling really moved. Even though this girl does look a bit fierce, she¡¯s the first one to worry about me. She¡¯s really a great person!

    Qiu Honglei chuckled. Then, she raised her hand and fired a shining sphere. Shi Dingtian was surprised and quickly dodged. He had seen her use the move before, so it wasn¡¯t too big of an issue or anything. Qiu Honglei didn¡¯t give him a chance to react, however, continuouslyunching shining spheres of light at him.

    Shi Dingtian dodged from side to side. However, he eventually started feeling that avoiding the spheres was too troublesome and decided to just hit them. His fists unleashed ferocious winds with each strike, and always managed to knock the spheres of light away.

    Meanwhile, Kunlun Void Sect¡¯s Liang Ling watched the battle. He thought that Peng Wuyan was just wasting her ki for nothing, and wondered when she would use the move that had taken him out before.

    Sure enough, after several rounds of fast light spheres, several massive light bullets followed. If Shi Dingtian took them head-on, he would probably be seriously injured.

    ¡­

    In the judges'' area, Cave Master Mu stroked his beard with a smile. He had previously advised Shi Dingtian on how to deal with that attack.

    Sure enough, when Shi Dingtian saw the massive projectiles, he didn¡¯t wait for them to get close and simply jumped, choosing to attack Qiu Honglei from above. Two massive fists mmed down toward where his opponent was standing. The entire stage shook violently.

    Feng Wuchang¡¯s eye twitched. It seemed this stage probably wouldn¡¯tst long either.

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    However, not only Shi Dingtian was stunned; even Cave Master Mu stood up straight. Qiu Honglei had already disappeared! The next second, she appeared behind Shi Dingtian, as if she had already anticipated his reaction.

    ¡°How fast!¡±

    Countless people cried out in rm. Only then did they remember that the legendary light element excelled in speed.

    The short swords in Qiu Honglei¡¯s hand lit up. Shi Dingtian suffered several dozen strikes aimed toward his vitals in an instant.

    Liang Ling gritted his teeth. He had almost been chopped into pieces by that very same attack! The other spectators also remembered that scene. Could it be that this round would be decided just like that?

    However, their eyes soon widened, because Shi Dingtian was sliced to shreds by the des¡­

    And yet, it was just a substitute! His true body was already more than thirty meters away.

    The spectators finally realized that Shi Dingtian was of the wind element, so he could keep up with his opponent¡¯s speed!

    Qiu Honglei harrumphed. With a sh, she instantly appeared next to Shi Dingtian and attacked again.

    Shi Dingtian could face others bare-handed, but he was at a significant disadvantage against his opponent¡¯s sharp des. His arms were quickly drenched with blood.

    Cave Master Mu looked extremely anxious and nervous. He couldn''t help but call out, ¡°Hurry and use your weapon!¡±

    However, Shi Dingtian didn¡¯t seem to have heard him and stubbornly refused to bring the de out.

    ¡°A true gentleman doesn¡¯t speak during a match,¡± Yun Jianyue remarked, unhappy with Cave Master Mu¡¯s mid-match coaching.

    ¡°It¡¯s your disciple¡¯s fault for tricking him into not using a weapon!¡± Cave Master Mu retorted, fuming.

    ¡°Even then, that¡¯s something thebatants on the stage have decided on. What¡¯s a senior like you getting involved for? Mister Wang, are you going to turn a blind eye to this type of behavior?¡± Yun Jianyue immediately shot back angrily.

    Wang Wuxie had a strange expression. He had never expected to be caught up in this too. Even though he looked down on Qiu Honglei¡¯s actions a bit, the rules were the rules, so he could only remind Cave Master Mu, ¡°Judges are not permitted to interfere.¡±

    Cave Master Mu¡¯s face turned entirely red. He wanted to say something, but Zu An couldn''t help but say with a chuckle, ¡°There is no need for Cave Master Mu to be too upset. Suffering a bit on stage might serve as a solid reminder if he ends up facing some despicable individuals in the future. At the very least, no lives will be lost on this stage. I feel that this Lady Peng¡¯s choice is quite wise.¡±

    Cave Master Mu was stunned when he heard that, but he felt that it made some sense. If that foolish disciple of his encountered the Devil Sect¡¯s monsters in the future, there was no way they would follow the rules. Rather than suffering then and bringing about a huge disaster, Shi Dingtian would be better off gaining some experience here. The thought calmed Cave Master Mu down, and he no longer argued with Yun Jianyue.

    Yun Jianyue shot Zu An a smile. This kid understands us after all. Even if we change our appearances, he actually still stands on our side. Doesn¡¯t that mean it¡¯s fate?

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, several new developments had urred during the match. Shi Dingtian realized that he couldn''t win against his opponent like this, so he turned around and ran. He was also quite fast, being of the wind element. He turned into a wisp of smoke, and using a special movement skill, he avoided Qiu Honglei¡¯s attacks one after another.

    ¡°What kind of movement skill is that? Why is it so incredible?¡±

    The disciples in the audience all talked among each other. Even Supreme Mystery Cave¡¯s disciples were stunned, because none of them recognized it.

    The White Jade Sect¡¯s Lou Wucheng had been feeling a bit unhappy that he lost to Shi Dingtian. He had thought that it was simply because he had been too emotional and thus revealed too many openings. However, he now realized that if Shi Dingtian hadbined such a mysterious movement skill with de ki, he could well have lost even without making those mistakes.

    This Miss Peng was a bit too despicable, actually preventing Shi Dingtian from using a de through her words!

    Still, it really was weird. Even though Lou Wucheng had lost to Shi Dingtian, he was actually hoping for him to win now. After all, the stronger the one he had lost to was, the more that proved his own strength. Otherwise, if Shi Dingtian ended up being eliminated easily, wouldn¡¯t he look even worse?

    Kunlun Void Sect¡¯s Liang Ling had simr thoughts. When he saw Qiu Honglei battering Shi Dingtian with attacks, he felt rather pleased. He actually hoped that she would take the crown, because that would mean he had only lost to the final victor.

    Meanwhile, Qiu Honglei gritted her teeth as she discovered that her attacks couldn''t hit the erratically moving Shi Dingtian. If she could use her Empress Lantern, she would already have frozen this stupid kid a long time ago. Why would she have to go through so much trouble?

    As such, she gave up on her attacks and roared angrily, ¡°Hey, brat, are you only going to run? Can you even call yourself a man?¡±

    Shi Dingtian scratched his head and said, ¡°But you¡¯re too strong. I can¡¯t win against you¡­¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Then just admit defeat if you can¡¯t win.¡± Qiu Honglei harrumphed.

    ¡°But Cave Master Mu will scold me if I do that¡­¡± Shi Dingtian replied, scratching his head.

    ¡°Then just how many months and years will this fight continue for if you just keep running like this?¡± Qiu Honglei shouted angrily.

    ¡°Then I won¡¯t run anymore, okay?¡± Shi Dingtian replied after thinking for a bit.

    Cave Master Mu spat the tea he had been sipping out of his mouth. Even this kid wasn¡¯t usually so stupid, right?

    Shi Dingtian added, ¡°But you can¡¯t use that shing skill either. My eyes can¡¯t handle that.¡± Qiu Honglei¡¯s blinding attack scared him quite a bit. What if she used that when they were fighting up close?

    Cave Master Mu finally nodded in appreciation. This silly disciple of his had finally grown up and learned how to negotiate.

    ¡°Fine!¡± Qiu Honglei replied with a nod.

    Shi Dingtian sighed in relief. Then, he charged with a shout, his entire body surging with ki. His eyes were wide open, making him look even more imposing than before.

    Qiu Honglei grinned. Suddenly, a blinding sun appeared on the stage.

 Chapter 1654: Something Fishy

    Chapter 1654: Something Fishy

    ¡°Ah!¡± Shi Dingtian eximed. He had never expected her to actually do that! He clutched his eyes and screamed miserably.

    Forget about him, even the spectators clutched their eyes in pain. Ah, we¡¯re going freaking blind!

    Qiu Honglei seized the chance to attack. Shi Dingtian was blinded and in intense pain. He could only instinctively brandish his fists to protect himself, but how could that kind of passive defense be enough? He quickly suffered several attacks from Qiu Honglei before ultimately, a ball of light mmed into his body with a huge explosion. He could no longer hold on and fell from the stage.

    The whole sequence of events happened too quickly. By the time the spectators recovered from the powerful light, they saw Shi Dingtian lying on the ground. Everyone on Golden Peak was speechless. They had expected an evenly-matchedpetition and hadn¡¯t expected it to be decided so quickly. However, this Peng Wuyan¡¯s way of winning was just too¡­ despicable.

    Sure enough, Cave Master Mu couldn''t take it anymore. He mmed the table and got up, ring furiously at Qiu Honglei as he screamed, ¡°Shameful! How can you fight like that?!¡±

    Qiu Honglei said disapprovingly, ¡°I was already lenient, or else his injuries would be more serious.¡±

    She had actually held back because of this foolish kid¡¯s simple nature, deciding to strike with her fists instead. Otherwise, there wouldn¡¯t be a single shred of skin intact on Shi Dingtian¡¯s body, and he would be just like Liang Ling from a few days prior.

    Cave Master Mu choked. He naturally knew that she had held back, but he was more concerned about what she had done beforehand. He said, ¡°You already agreed to not use that blinding skill, so why did you immediately use it to trick him?¡±

    Before Qiu Honglei could speak, Yun Jianyue quickly stepped forward to protect her disciple. She retorted, ¡°Don¡¯t you know that all¡¯s fair in war? Who cares whether you believe them or not on the battlefield? You¡¯d just end up dying without even knowing how.¡±

    Cave Master Mu shouted angrily, ¡°This isn¡¯t the battlefield, but an arena!¡±

    ¡°See how dumb your disciple looked? He¡¯d probably be the same on the real battlefield too. Suffering a bit and learning a lesson today is better than him losing his life in the future, right?¡± Yun Jianyue said, clearly not agreeing with Cave Master Mu¡¯s logic.

    ¡°You¡¯re making such a despicable thing sound so proper and up right. Are you part of the righteous sects or the Devil Sect?!¡± Cave Master Mu roared angrily.

    Yun Jianyue was clearly upset as she shot back, ¡°A loss is a loss; if you can¡¯t take it, then don¡¯tpete! The junior loses, so the elder steps forward? You¡¯re even beneath the Devil Sect at this point!¡±

    Now, Guan Chouhai, Elder Xu, and the others¡¯ expressions became unpleasant. Why the heck are we getting caught up in the coteral damage too?

    Cave Master Mu mmed the table and got up, yelling, ¡°Peng, I¡¯ve already endured you for a long time!¡±

    Yun Jianyue also erupted with fury, shooting back, ¡°What, do you want to fight? This old one will keep youpany!¡±

    Both of them began rolling up their sleeves. The disciples below didn¡¯t really mind, as they weren¡¯t involved and actually wanted to see the elders really start fighting.

    However, as the official host, Wang Wuxie couldn''t let that happen. He quickly stepped forward to say, ¡°Please calm down, both of you. Harmony is a virtue, harmony is a virtue.¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Cave Master Mu said, ¡°Brother Wang, you have to distinguish between right and wrong here! Isn¡¯t this one from Emptiness Isle going too far?¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Wang Wuxie trailed off. He also felt that Peng Wuyan¡¯s actions were a bit despicable. However, there was nothing in the rules prohibiting what she had done, so he couldn''t really openly condemn it. After some time, he looked toward Tranquility Temple¡¯s Master Jian Huang and said, ¡°Master, you are a person of virtue and prestige. What does your distinguished self think about this matter?¡±

    me can never catch up to me as long as I shift it fast enough!

    ¡°Amitabha buddha~¡± Master Jian Huang said as he brought his hands together. ¡°This is an internal dispute within the daoist sects. This old one belongs to the Buddhist sects, so I fear that it is not my ce to intervene.¡±

    What, do you think I don¡¯t know how to shift the me too?

    Wang Wuxie cursed him for being an old fox. He could only ask the other judges now. However, no one present was stupid. They had just been watching the drama; which one of them would want to draw all of the hate?

    Wang Wuxie started to feel a headacheing on. If the others didn¡¯t say anything, he would have to. In the end, he would be the one to draw ire.

    However, his gaze suddenlynded on Zu An. His eyes couldn''t help but light up as he asked, ¡°Sir Zu, do you have any opinions on this matter?¡± This kid still looks young and vigorous. He¡¯s not as cunning as those old foxes. Can¡¯t I just use him as a shield?

    Zu An looked at all the other judges. He sneered, as he could more or less guess what they were all thinking. However, he wasn¡¯t scared of things getting out of hand. When he heard that, he replied, ¡°Lady Peng was indeed a bit shameless earlier.¡±

    Cave Master Mu immediately stuck out his chest when he heard that. For the first time, he felt that this kid didn¡¯t look so gad.

    Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei¡¯s expressions changed a bit. Could it be that Zu An was going to speak for the other side?

    Before they could even get mad, however, Zu An already seemed to have changed his perspective, continuing, ¡°Still, the rules are still in ce and nothing has been vited. So, even though it doesn¡¯t really align with the nobility of the daoist sects, nothing about it deserves punishment. As such, there¡¯s nothing I can do to reprimand her either. In fact, Cave Master Mu should be more concerned with something else. It¡¯s a good thing that Shi Dingtian¡¯s nature is pure and honest, but those who are too pure can easily be exploited.¡±

    Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei¡¯s feelings changed from worry to joy. They thought to themselves, As expected of the one we favor! He always takes our side no matter what.

    Zu An couldn''t help but feel a bit of regret when he sensed the passion in their eyes. Is my charm a bit too great? If I help them, what if they can¡¯t help but fall in love with me?

    Sigh, I just can¡¯t seem to learn how to keep some distance from women.

    When he heard Zu An support Emptiness Isle, Cave Master Mu surged with anger. However, when he heard the rest of the statement, he had a pensive expression. This was indeed a big problem¡­ That child Dingtian was too simple.

    Meanwhile, Wang Wuxie tried to appease Cave Master Mu, speaking up about some of Shi Dingtian¡¯s outstanding points to tter him. When the others heard that, they also pitched in some words of praise. Cave Master Mu¡¯s anger thus gradually settled.

    ¡­

    As the day¡¯s fights had concluded, Feng Wuchang gave a small speech, then dered that the next round would be held on the following day. However, before then, they would draw the lots for the battle.

    There was only one winner, and there were three people left. Both Righteous Sun Sect and Emptiness Isle¡¯s disciples hoped to get the bye. If they got it, they would have more time to rest, and they could only use Pei Mianman to wear out thest opponent.

    As for Pei Mianman, they all already assumed that she would have to fight. After all,petitors who got the bye twice in a row were already rare in the history of this daoistpetition. Getting it a third time was even more unheard of.

    Even Pei Mianman thought the same way. Elder Huo Ling even helped her analyze her opponents, and they discussed whether Wu Xiaofan or Peng Wuyan would be a better opponent for her.

    Wu Xiaofan was likely stronger, so their first thought was that Peng Wuyan would be a better choice. However, considering that Peng Wuyan was of the light element, which could counter the darkness element a bit, facing her wouldn¡¯t be that easy either.

    In contrast, Wu Xiaofan and Wan Guiyi had really beaten each other up badly today, so it was more important to eliminate Wu Xiaofan before he recovered. Otherwise, even if Pei Mianman won against Peng Wuyan, she would have to face Wu Xiaofanter, who would practically have recovered after some rest. That made victory seem more difficult.

    Pei Mianman nodded, feeling that defeating the seriously injured Wu Xiaofan would be better. Apart from that, she had a strange sense that this Peng Wuyan seemed to have some mysterious hostility against her. She had never met that woman before, nor had they ever interacted before meeting at Violet Mountain. She couldn¡¯t have offended Peng Wuyan in any way, right?

    If she hadn¡¯t seen the other woman¡¯s looks, she would have suspected that Peng Wuyan had a thing with Zu An. However, no matter how much of a skirt-chaser Ah Zu was, his standards were rather high. He wouldn¡¯t stoop so low as to have a rtionship with that kind of person¡­

    She walked onto the stage, and was just about to draw her next opponent when she ran into Zu An.

    ¡°Lady Pei, you should eat the other half of this pill too,¡± Zu An said as he unfolded his hand and handed her the other half of the Fortune Pill with a smile. After all, the pill had a time limit. It had likely already passed over the course of the two fights, so Pei Mianman had to take it again.

    Pei Mianman was stunned. However, she didn¡¯t doubt him and ate it.

    Elder Huo Ling was toote to stop her. She couldn''t help but give her disciple a re. Does this stupidss have no memory? Why is she eating whatever a man gives her again? Then, she gave Zu An an unkind look and asked, ¡°What did you give her now?¡±

    The others also looked at Zu An curiously. Why was this Zu An always feeding Pei Mianman things to eat? More importantly, why was Pei Mianman ying along so obediently?

    ¡°Treatment medicine. Didn¡¯t I already tell you earlier?¡± Zu An replied with a smile.

    Elder Huo Ling frowned and asked, ¡°Didn¡¯t she already eat it once?¡±

    ¡°This medicine of mine is a bit special. It needs to be eaten in multiple doses within a short amount of time. That¡¯s why I broke it in half earlier,¡± Zu An lied without batting an eyelid.

    Wan Guiyi almost choked on his own breath when he heard the exnation. What the hell was I thinking before? That he would give me the other half?

    Hmph, this bastard is definitely after junior sister Pei¡¯s beauty. Still, can looks put food on the table? Being strong is the most important thing! I suddenly feel that Peng Wuyan is much more attractive than junior sister Pei.

    Elder Huo Ling was also left speechless by Zu An¡¯s reply. She couldn''t find anything else to retort with and could only harrumph. She stood by her disciple to prevent him from feeding her any other strange things.

    The drawing of lots quickly concluded. When the results came out, there was another uproar.

    Pei Mianman had actually drawn another bye!

    ¡°There¡¯s definitely something wrong!¡± Yun Jianyue cried out as she mmed the table and stood up. She quickly shifted her focus and red at Zu An, asking, ¡°Just what did you feed that woman?¡±

 Chapter 1655: Hidden Room

    <h4>Chapter 1655: Hidden Room</h4>

    Forget about Yun Jianyue, even Wang Wuxie and the other sect masters looked at Zu An with wide eyes. They had carried out this greatpetition countless times, but such a thing had never happened before.

    After all, these representative disciples were the best of the best. To be the best, apart from talent, they had to have incredible luck too. Those who advanced further in thepetition all had astonishing luck. They all kept each other in bnce, so there was no way someone could draw byes the entire time. As such a thing had never happened before in history, that meant there was definitely something weird with the drawing of lots.

    Still, they had all been watching the entire process carefully. If something really had been done, how could it escape their notice? The only suspicious part was that Zu An had fed Pei Mianman a strange pill right before she went up to draw her position.

    ¡°It¡¯s just healing medicine,¡± Zu An said with a shrug. He thought to himself,This damned woman really forgets favors. I even helped their Emptiness Isle before.

    Yun Jianyue frowned and remained silent. She felt as if he had done something, but she couldn''t figure out what it was no matter how she thought about it.

    ¡°Take out that pill you used earlier and let us take a look to see if there¡¯s anything strange about it,¡± Guan Chouhai harrumphed. Even though Heavenly Sorrow had already lost their candidate early and their reputation had fallen a grade, he and this brat had alreadye into conflict several times.

    Previously, a sect master like him wouldn¡¯t have cared all that much if a youngster shed with him. But for some reason, he just felt really annoyed whenever he saw Zu An, as if the younger man had stolen something he really cherished.

    Wang Wuxie felt a simr sensation. Even though Zu An¡¯s strength had won his respect, after the past few days of interactions, he inexplicably disliked the other man.

    The world was just that strange sometimes. Often, people just subconsciously disliked someone from their first meeting. There wasn¡¯t necessarily much meaning behind it either.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have any more. That pill was pretty precious, so I only had one,¡± Zu An said, refusing.

    ¡°Then what are the medicinal ingredients? What are the effects? There¡¯s nock of pill experts here. I¡¯m sure we can reach a fair assessment,¡± Guan Chouhai continued.

    Zu An¡¯s expression suddenly turned serious. He retorted, ¡°Sect Master Guan, do you not feel that asking for someone¡¯s pill prescription is an extremely disrespectful thing?¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    In this world of cultivation, whether it was cultivation texts, formations, or medicine prescriptions, they were all secrets that a sect would never let outsiders know.

    Guan Chouhai became embarrassed. He had indeed overstepped his boundaries. Thus, he quickly exined, ¡°I want to figure out how you were able to make Miss Pei draw three byes in a row.¡±

    Zu Anughed and replied, ¡°Could it be that you really believe it¡¯s possible to make someone draw three byes in a row by eating a pill? Is there really something like a fortune pill in this world?¡±

    ¡°You¡­!¡± Guan Chouhai eximed, stunned. He discovered that others were looking at him as if he were mentally deficient now. His face inadvertently heated up..

    Elder Huo Ling cried furiously, ¡°Are you done yet? All of you questioned Manman when she won the match, and you¡¯re even doubting her for pulling a bye? What, can only good things be enjoyed by your sect, and if anyone else gets anything, then there¡¯s something wrong?¡±

    ¡°Elder speaks too seriously.¡±

    Wang Wuxie and the others wiped away their sweat. They didn¡¯t dare to have such a reputation attached to their names. In the end, as they couldn''t find any concrete proof, they could only ept the result. Pei Mianman had gotten byes all the way to the finals.

    ¡­

    The disciples dispersed, discussing the dazzling details of the fights. However, the most-discussed topic was Pei Mianman pulling three byes in a row. They also wondered whether Zu An had helped her or not.

    Some people concluded that he hadn¡¯t. After all, they were total strangers and he didn¡¯t need to take such a big risk. Furthermore, there were so many powerful cultivators there. If he really had done something, he would definitely have been found out.

    However, others concluded that he had. They felt that Zu An must have thought that Pei Mianman was just too big and too pretty, and had thus bent the rules out of a desire for her body. How contemptible!

    ¡°Ahhh! I¡¯m so angry! The others might not know anything, but I know that damn brat definitely did something,¡± Yun Jianyue said. She was still upset even after drinking two cups of tea in a row.

    Qiu Honglei smiled and filled her cup again, saying, ¡°But you didn¡¯t act up on Golden Peak.¡±

    ¡°That kid has some kind of way to sense others¡¯ anger. I¡¯m scared of exposing us, okay?¡± Yun Jianyue said angrily. After going on so many adventures with Zu An, she knew a bit about his abilities.

    ¡°Alright, master. I¡¯m the one who has to fight, but I¡¯m not even that upset.¡± Qiu Honglei said as she walked over and massaged her master¡¯s shoulders. ¡°Besides, what could he even do in front of so many people? You were watching too. Don¡¯t tell me you really think he could escape your detection?¡±

    ¡°If it were anyone else, then no. But that kid has created too many miracles. He definitely has a way,¡± Yun Jianyue harrumphed. She felt really annoyed as soon as she recalled how he and that big-boobed woman had been exchanging looks.

    ¡°Huh? Master, you¡¯re making Zu An sound as if he¡¯s omnipotent! Even I didn¡¯t know he was that great,¡± Qiu Honglei said with a chuckle. However, the higher the status of her lover was in her master¡¯s mind, the happier she became.

    Sensing that a misunderstanding was on the verge of happening, Yun Jianyue was startled and said, ¡°I¡¯m doing all this for you, of course! Right, we can¡¯t only be worried about thepetition. How is the investigation going?¡±

    Qiu Honglei put away her smile and began, ¡°I started looking around and saw¡­¡±

    Yun Jianyue nodded as she listened. Her expression became a bit more grave.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, people were still wondering just what Zu An had done. Pei Mianman was naturally no exception. After all, she knew that her injuries had already beenpletely healed. Making her eat some kind of medicine was clearly an excuse Zu An had made up on the spot, so it was probably rted to the lot drawing.

    In the end, she couldn''t suppress her curiosity and found a chance to secretly ask Zu An, ¡°Ah Zu, just how did you do it?¡±

    Zu An smiled and replied, ¡°I already told all of you the truth, didn¡¯t I? That thing is called a Fortune Pill, but none of you believed it.¡±

    Pei Mianman eximed in shock, ¡°Is there really something that incredible in this world?¡±

    ¡°Do you still remember the seven and a half million silver I won in Brightmoon City from the casinos?¡± Zu An replied with a grin.

    ¡°That was also because you ate one of those?¡± Pei Mianman asked. She naturally knew about that event, as it had caused such a stir across the entire city. People had all wondered how Zu An had done it. She hadn¡¯t expected to receive the answer today!

    Seeing Zu An nod, she eximed with a huge smile, ¡°Ah Zu, you¡¯re so good to me!¡± If there hadn¡¯t been so many disciples around them, she would already have leapt into his arms.

    Yan Xuehen was also curious as to how Zu An had done such a thing, and intended to ask him while pretending to have just been in the area coincidentally. However, when she saw the two of them flirting with each other, she turned around and left.

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +55 +55 +55¡­

    Wang Wuxie had wanted to find a chance to start a conversation with her, but when he saw her darkneed expression, he swallowed and didn¡¯t look for trouble.

    Why is Fairy Yan upset? Could it be because the White Jade Sect¡¯spetitor didn¡¯t make it to the finals? But that¡¯s Li Changsheng¡¯s disciple¡­

    Zu An was startled when he saw the Rage points. He quickly turned around and saw Yan Xuehen departing.

    Just then, someone let out a cold snort. It turned out Elder Huo Ling was nearby. She gave Zu An a vignt look and said, ¡°Sir Zu, Manman still has an important match to prepare for. Please do not disturb her and cause her to be distracted.¡± As soon as she finished speaking, she took Pei Mianman and left after.

    Zu An was speechless.This damn spinster is acting like the damn school directors of my previous world. She¡¯s making things difficult for me and Manman for no reason!

    Helpless to do anything else, he could only return to his residence. He intended to find Yan Xuehen to see what was going on, but his expression suddenly changed and he took out the Embroidered Envoy¡¯s golden tile. There was a row of characters on it, which said that the Envoys in Yi Commandery had already obtained information on where King Yan Manor¡¯s ount book was stored.

    As such, he left behind a note informing Xie Daoyun

 Chapter 1656: Six Major Barriers

    <h4>Chapter 1656: Six Major Barriers</h4>

    ¡°On my Wind Fire Wheels, I¡¯m drifting through my youth... Drifting, drifting, it''s so thrilling¡­¡± Zu An sang as he rushed to Yi Commandery. However, his entire demeanor immediately turned serious as soon as hended. After all, it was still better to have a bit of a leader''s awe in front of subordinates.

    Zhang Zitong, Xiao Jianren, and the others were already waiting at the secret location they had decided on beforehand. In order to maintain secrecy, they hadn¡¯t even brought any of Yi Commandery¡¯s Embroidered Envoys for fear of King Yan noticing anything. They were discussing something among themselves.

    Zu An had to admit that Zhang Zitong¡¯s legs were just too eye-catching, especially when she was offset by Xiao Jianren and the others¡¯ less desirable figures. It gave him the impression of a ¡®crane among chickens¡¯. After a while, he coughed lightly.

    ¡°We greet Sir Eleven!¡±

    Zhang Zitong and the others started to feel excited when they noticed his arrival. They all bowed down to greet him.

    Zu An tried to think of some words of encouragement the way people in his previous world would to improve their rapport, but he couldn''t think of anything after a long time. At that moment, he felt that he really wasn¡¯t suited to acting like a leader; he could only clear his throat and go straight to the point, asking, ¡°Have you already found where the secret ount book is kept?¡±

    ¡°Indeed,¡± Zhang Zitong replied as she opened a map. ¡°ording to our investigation over the past few days, we¡¯ve noticed that there are six major barriers to securing the ount book.¡±

    Zu An nodded and gestured for her to continue.

    In summary, the map was an outline of King Yan Manor¡¯s territory. The dark areas were ces they didn¡¯t have any intelligence on, but overall, the map was still prettyplete.

    Zhang Zitong pointed at some ck marks on the map and said, ¡°The first barrier is King Yan Manor¡¯s guards. The patrol is a three-shift system. Judging from our observations as ofte, they¡¯re all quite good at what they do and don¡¯t leave any gaps during shift changes. Furthermore, there are all kinds of hidden rm systems in the manor. Even though we¡¯ve observed them for years and found some, there are definitely some we don¡¯t know about. The reason I was caught when I infiltrated the king manor was precisely because I tripped one of those rms.¡±

    Zu An said seriously, ¡°Even if there are practically no gaps in the shift changes, there are still openings that can be exploited. For the Embroidered Envoy, that shouldn¡¯t be an issue. As for the hidden rms, we should just deal with them ordingly when we encounter them.¡±

    He hade and gone as he pleased through all sorts of Imperial Pce areas for quite some time without much danger, so he already understood how such rms worked like the back of his hand. He was confident that they wouldn¡¯t be an issue.

    When she heard how rxed Sir Eleven sounded, Zhang Zitong thought,As expected of a Golden Token Envoy; he¡¯s much more formidable than I am.As such, she continued, ¡°The second barrier is that even if we avoid the patrols around the manor, some guards always remain outside of King Yan¡¯s study without moving at all. All of them are elites. Even if we could defeat them, it would alert the other forces all across the manor.¡±

    Even though the patrols around the perimeter were strict, they followed a set path around the manor, so there would be opportunities there. If they ran into a guard, they would just have to find another path. However, King Yan¡¯s study was their main destination, so they couldn''t avoid it.

    Xiao Jianren then said, ¡°Sir, we¡¯ve tried to think of various feasible ns of action before you arrived, but no matter what we use, whether it¡¯s poison or a surprise assault, we have no confidence that we won¡¯t disturb the others in the manor. So, this is the step we¡¯re stuck on.¡±

    ¡°How many guards are there in the study?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°Around thirty to forty. All of them are the best among the guards,¡± Zhang Zitong replied. She only had rough estimates for that kind of top-secret information.

    Zu An thought to himself for a bit and said, ¡°It¡¯s fine, I¡¯ll deal with them.¡±

    The Silver Token Envoys¡¯ eyes immediately widened. They really couldn''t figure out how Sir Eleven could so easily deal with something they had been stuck on for so long. However, as he wasn¡¯t talking about it in detail, they couldn''t ask how he would take care of it either. They once again sighed in amazement at how mysterious and incredible Sir Eleven really was.

    ¡°The third barrier is that there is a special formation around the study, which only King Yan can activate. Any other attempts will alert him, and as King Yan is a grandmaster, we will immediately be done for if he is alerted,¡± Zhang Zitong said worriedly.

    In her eyes, a grandmaster was an unmatched being. Even though Golden Token Eleven was formidable, there was definitely some distance between him and a real grandmaster. After all, even the Chief Commander Zhuxie Chixin was rumored to still be half a step away from grandmaster rank. There was no way his subordinate could be more formidable than him, the leader, right?

    Zu An thought to himself for a bit, then said, ¡°That shouldn¡¯t be too big of an issue. We just need to draw King Yan away. As long as he can¡¯t return for some time, whether we alert him or not makes no difference.¡± Even though he didn¡¯t fear King Yan, there was no need to face him directly.

    ¡°Sir¡¯s n is incredible!¡± Zhang Zitong eximed excitedly. As expected of Sir Eleven, he was able to deal with something that had troubled them for so long. ¡°But how can we draw King Yan away?¡±

    Zu An thought for a bit before saying, ¡°Yi Commandery¡¯s Governor Zhang and King Yan don¡¯t seem to get along with each other. Is that so?¡±

    He still hadn¡¯t spent much time in Yi Commandery. What he had seen with his eyes wouldn¡¯t necessarily be true. However, Zhang Zitong was an Embroidered Envoy from Yi Commandery, so she would definitely know the real rtionship between the Governor Manor and King Yan.

    Zhang Zitong nodded and said, ¡°Indeed, they don¡¯t get along.¡±

    Zu An nodded and said, ¡°Then we¡¯ll ask the governor to please make an appearance and lure King Yan away.¡±

    ¡°But even if King Yan leaves, the formation will remain. That¡¯s something King Yan spent arge sum on a formation master to create. We definitely won¡¯t be able to crack it!¡± Zhang Zitong replied. After some hesitation, she continued, ¡°I¡¯ve heard that an outstanding disciple of Master Yan from the Royal Academy is following the Imperial Envoy Sir Zu. Is there a way to ask her for help?¡±

    Zu An was stunned. Hearing someone talk about his other identity right in front of him really felt strange. He said, ¡°I¡¯ll try to find a solution to the formation.¡±

    He could ask Xie Daoyun, but he didn¡¯t really want to involve her in something so dangerous. After all, she wasn¡¯t a fully independent individual; she had the Xie n and Royal Academy behind her. She would most likely have her own misgivings.

    ¡°The fourth barrier is that there are all sorts of mechanisms and traps in the study, as well as a special secret path. Without knowledge of their principles, not only would it be extremely dangerous, it would likely be impossible to get past them,¡± Zhang Zitong said, her expression grave.

    Zu An asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t that something the Embroidered Envoy should specialize in? Don¡¯t tell me you can¡¯t find a suitable person to deal with that?¡±

    ¡°The one who was best in that field was Sir Seven¡­¡± Zhang Zitong said with an awkward expression. She continued, ¡°But I followed him in some missions and received some of his pointers. I can give it a try then.¡±

    Zu An nodded. As Zhang Zitong was a Silver Token Envoy, she had to be reliable in that field. After all, she had even dared to barge into the king manor on her own.

    ¡°The fifth barrier is that once we break into the secret room, we¡¯ll encounter a special area of absolute darkness, filled with four dark deathsworn soldiers that King Yan raised through a lot of effort. Such ces are extremely difficult for a normal cultivator to do much in, so they definitely wouldn¡¯t be a match for those deathsworn soldiers,¡± Zhang Zitong exined.

    Zu An was a bit surprised. He asked, ¡°How do you know so much about the inside of that secret room?¡±

    ¡°In the past, the building of these secret rooms needed a lot of skilled workers. Even though King Yan Manor went through great efforts to hide it, there were still some clues. Our Embroidered Envoy was able to investigate all sorts of things,¡± Xiao Jianren said, finally seeing a chance to show off. He was quite proud as he spoke those words. After all, that information was the result of his investigation efforts.

    Zu An nodded and gave him a few words of encouragement. Between that and Zhang Zitong¡¯s look of admiration, Xiao Jianren felt even more proud.

    Zu An sank into his own thoughts. A ce of absolute darkness¡­ He certainly wasn¡¯t unfamiliar with such things. He thought back to Peng Wuyan from the daoists¡¯petition. If he had the help of her skills, those dark deathsworn soldiers would simply be a joke.

    However, he started to feel a bit worried. Peng Wuyan¡¯s light element seemed as if it could counter Big Manman and Fu Hao¡¯s Owl Statue.

    ¡°Sir Eleven? Sir Eleven?¡± Zhang Zitong called out in confusion. After all, Zu An¡¯s mind seemed to be wandering.

    ¡°I¡¯ll take care of that. What¡¯s the sixth barrier?¡± Zu An replied. However, the entire room fell silent, leaving him confused. He asked, ¡°What is it?¡±

    Zhang Zitong looked at him with a conflicted expression, saying, ¡°It¡¯s just that we¡¯ve discussed these issues for a long time, and yet they all seemed insurmountable to us. However, for Sir Eleven, they don¡¯t seem to be that big of a deal.¡±

    Zu An chuckled and said,, ¡°Leave the ttery until after we¡¯re done. What¡¯s the sixth barrier?¡±

    Zhang Zitong replied, ¡°The sixth barrier is that the small box in which the ount box is stored has a lock on it that¡¯s extremely hard to open. Furthermore, if the ount book is removed, that will trigger the activation of another mechanism, which will make the entire room self-destruct. The ount book and the person in the room will thus bepletely destroyed.¡±

    ¡°Hm? Why do I feel as if your tone is a bit more rxed now than when you were talking about the other things?¡± Zu An asked, noticing the small change.This woman isn¡¯t thinking of relying on me for everything, is she? I¡¯m not omnipotent.

    ¡°I actually have a solution for that problem. I have some past experience and I¡¯m quite good at dealing with locks,¡± Zhang Zitong said a bit shyly.

    Zu An was stunned. He asked, ¡°What did you do in the past?¡±

    ¡°In the past, I wandered through the streets,mitting some petty theft. When I encountered Sir Seven, he saw that my talent wasn¡¯t bad, so he took me in as an Embroidered Envoy¡­¡± Zhang Zitong said, sounding embarrassed.

    ¡°So Miss Zhang had such a difficult life when you were younger. It¡¯s a sad story,¡± Xiao Jianren couldn''t help but say considerately.

    Zhang Zitong nodded toward him out of respect, but her gaze remained calm.

    Zu An said seriously, ¡°No wonder you wanted to get revenge for Sir Seven.¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zhang Zitong¡¯s eyes immediately became wet.It¡¯s still Sir Eleven who understands me best.

 Chapter 1657: A Condition

    Chapter 1657: A Condition

    After discussing some details of the n with the Silver Token Envoys, Zu An then left quickly. However, he didn¡¯t return directly to Violet Mountain, instead paying the governor manor a visit. He had to admit that the manor¡¯s security was a bit tighter than that of other governor manors. He wondered if that was because of King Yan¡¯s influence.

    Of course, the guards were still far inferior to those of King Yan Manor. Between that and the fact that Zu An was already a long-time expert in such infiltrations, he quickly arrived outside Governor Zhang¡¯s room.

    ¡°Who is it?!¡± Zhang Jie called out. He was the governor of themandery, after all. Furthermore, Zu An had deliberately avoided hiding his presence, so Zhang Jie instantly leaped out of bed and looked at the window in rm.

    Zu An saw the pretty woman at Zhang Jie¡¯s side and thought to himself, This fe really knows how to y, huh?

    Then again, which authority figure in this world didn¡¯t have a few concubines in their harem? As such, he didn¡¯t really pay it any mind and replied seriously, ¡°Golden Token Eleven!¡±

    Zhang Jie was shocked and quickly got up, saying, ¡°Please wait just a moment, Sir Eleven.¡±

    The concubine was a bit annoyed that she had been woken up in the night, but she didn¡¯t dare to say a thing when Zhang Jie shot her a look.

    Zu An didn¡¯t go inside, and instead admired the moon outside the courtyard. Fortunately, Zhang Jie didn¡¯t have him wait for too long; he quickly draped a coat over himself and came out, asking carefully,

    ¡°May I ask what honorable intent Sir Eleven has for visiting us sote at night?¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t give a direct reply, instead asking, ¡°How does Sir Zhang really feel about King Yan?¡±

    After some hesitation, Zhang Jie replied, ¡°King Yan is devoted to the empire and guards thesends in the court¡¯s ce¡­¡±

    Zu An sneered when he heard those half-hearted, cliched words. He said, ¡°But ording to my investigation, it seems that you and King Yan haven¡¯t gotten along with each other for quite some time. Doesn¡¯t that imply you aren¡¯t loyal to the court, and that you¡¯re even dragging down King Yan, who is fully devoted?¡±

    Zhang Jie became a bit rmed. He replied, ¡°This humble official is left in fear! In truth, King Yan is arrogant and despotic, overstepping his authority all over this region. This humble official is loyal to his majesty and cannot tolerate that, which is why we have engaged in many conflicts.¡±

    Even though his official rank was higher than Zu An¡¯s, Golden Token Envoys often represented his majesty¡¯s own intentions. As such, there was no way he wouldn¡¯t be scared, making him refer to himself as a humble official.

    ¡°What kind of overstepping? Why don¡¯t you tell me a bit about that?¡± Zu An asked, sounding unconvinced.

    Zhang Jie was a bit hesitant as he asked, ¡°Sir Eleven, could it be that his majesty also ns to censure King Yan?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t ask things you shouldn¡¯t be asking,¡± Zu An said bluntly. The Embroidered Envoy had a special status, so exining the situation was sometimes inappropriate.

    Sure enough, Zhang Jie wasn¡¯t surprised. He respectfully told Zu An about the things King Yan had done over the years to abuse his authority.

    ¡°Do you have any proof?¡± Zu An asked.

    Zhang Jie shook his head and said, ¡°There are some witnesses, but that isn¡¯t enough to convict King Yan of any crimes. On the contrary, it would only worsen the rtionship with King Yan Manor and make future work more difficult.¡±

    Zu An had an ambiguous smile as he said, ¡°It looks like Governor Zhang really wants King Yan to be convicted of a great crime.¡±

    ¡°This humble official doesn¡¯t dare!¡± Zhang Jie eximed, wiping away cold sweat from his forehead in rm.

    ¡°Find a reason to meet with King Yan tomorrow. The farther away it is from the king manor, the better,¡± Zu An said, finally expressing his true intentions after having sounded out Zhang Jie for a while.

    Zhang Jie was rmed. An old fox like him could naturally guess what was happening, though. Didn¡¯t that mean Sir Eleven was going to enter King Yan Manor? Still, after his earlier lesson, he didn¡¯t dare to ask any further. He could only say with a miserable expression, ¡°Sir Eleven, this humble official doesn¡¯t have a good rtionship with King Yan. I might not be able to bring him away¡­¡±

    Zu An said indifferently, ¡°You¡¯re the leader of amandery and haven¡¯t backed down against King Yan after all these years. Don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t have any methods.¡±

    Zhang Jie took out his handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his temples again. He said, ¡°This humble official will think of a way; I will do my best¡­¡±

    Zu An knew that if an old fox was saying such things, that meant they had already agreed. He nodded and disappeared into the night.

    As he watched Zu An leave, Zhang Jie muttered to himself, ¡°Golden Token Envoys really are profound and mysterious. This Sir Eleven is even more so¡­¡±

    ¡­

    After leaving the governor manor, Zu An hurried to Violet Mountain. He had too many things he had to deal with today. Even with the Wind Fire Wheels, it was alreadyte into the night by the time he returned.

    He didn¡¯t go back to his own residence; after some hesitation, he went to Yan Xuehen and Chu Chuyan¡¯s ce. However, he couldn''t just announce himself at the front entrance with howte it was, or else it would only create more rumors. As such, he snuck in instead.

    As soon as he opened the window, an ice-cold sword appeared in front of his throat. A cold voice said, ¡°How brazen!¡±

    Zu An instinctively moved backward. The other person was surprised by his quick reaction and thrust the sword forward.

    Zu An dodged backward while quietly stating his identity, saying, ¡°Big sis Yan, it¡¯s me!¡±

    The longsword froze briefly when Yan Xuehen heard his voice. She eximed, ¡°It¡¯s you?¡± Then, she snapped coldly, ¡°Shameless!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +777 +777 +777¡­

    Yan Xuehen had felt very restless after the tournament. As such, she had started to meditate. However, just now, she had sensed someone¡¯s presence. She had thought that it was some daring scoundrel from the nine sects who was up to no good, but it was actually Zu An.

    This guy hade for Chuyan so furtively in the middle of the night, and furthermore, he had even arrived when most people were supposed to be asleep! It went without saying what kind of motives he had.

    ¡°You misunderstood! I didn¡¯te for Chu Chuyan, but for you!¡± Zu An said as he looked at Yan Xuehen. As the moonlight scattered across her white clothes, it seemed to surround her in a hazy veil. He had to admit that his big sis Yan was really pretty even when she was angry.

    Yan Xuehen was stunned when she heard that he hade for her. She was immediately filled with embarrassment, snapping, ¡°Why would you look for me in the middle of the night? Get lost!¡± She turned around and tried to walk back in afterward.

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +77 +77 +77¡­

    When he saw how she was trying to create some distance between them, Zu An panicked and quickly grabbed her, saying, ¡°I have something to say to you.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing to say between us,¡± Yan Xuehen snapped. She flung his hand away and coldly said, ¡°I believe I already exined it clearly to you before.¡±

    ¡°I really do have something important to say this time!¡± Zu An replied, briefly at a loss for what to say.

    For some reason, both of them had tacitly agreed to speak very softly, as if they were scared that someone else would hear them.

    Yan Xuehen gave the surroundings a look. After some hesitation, she said, ¡°We¡¯ll talk outside.¡± Afterward, she walked outside.

    Zu An felt happy and followed her. They quickly arrived at a bamboo forest outside the courtyard, where Yan Xuehen stopped and said, ¡°Speak. What is it that you need to find me in the middle of the night for?¡±

    Zu An had a strange expression as he replied, ¡°You weren¡¯t thinking that I came here to assault you in the middle of the night, right?¡±

    A trace of redness shed across Yan Xuehen¡¯s face as she said, ¡°If you have something to say, then say it. Otherwise, I¡¯m leaving.¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An quickly said, ¡°Actually, I wanted to ask for your help.¡± Then, he told her that he needed an expert in formations to help him with King Yan Manor¡¯s study.

    Compared to Xie Daoyun, Yan Xuehen was a more qualified candidate. After all, they had already worked together several times and couldn''t be more familiar with each other. Furthermore, both she and Yun Jianyue knew about his Embroidered Envoy identity.

    ¡°You¡¯re going to go against King Yan?¡± Yan Xuehen asked with a frown.

    ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m out to take him down, but Golden Token Seven died and I need to investigate something,¡± Zu An said seriously. ¡°Back then, Golden Token Seven helped me once. Even though we weren¡¯t friends, I can¡¯t just stand by and do nothing now that he¡¯s died mysteriously.¡±

    Yan Xuehen remained silent for a moment before saying, ¡°King Yan¡¯s status is special. Even with my identity as the White Jade Sect Master, just a bit of carelessness would result in tremendous danger.¡±

    When he heard how apathetic her tone was and how she seemed to be refusing him the same way she would refuse anyone else, Zu An couldn''t help but feel downcast. He said, ¡°In that case, I won¡¯t force you either. I¡¯ll try to think of another way.¡± He turned around to leave afterward.

    Yan Xuehen said calmly, ¡°King Yan Manor study¡¯s formations are definitely troublesome. Where would you be able to find another way in such a short time?¡±

    ¡°Sect Master Yan doesn¡¯t need to trouble yourself over that,¡± Zu An said. He waved his hand and didn¡¯t even stop.

    When she felt theck of emotion in his tone, Yan Xuehen trembled. She bit her lip and had a troubled expression. In the end, as she saw him recede into the distance, she couldn''t help but say, ¡°It¡¯s not as if I said I wouldn¡¯t help!¡±

    This damn kid didn¡¯t even speak any more ttery when asking me for a favor, and now he¡¯s already leaving!

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +222 +222 +222¡­

    Zu An was stunned. He turned around in disbelief and asked, ¡°You¡¯re really willing to help me?¡±

    Besides, if she was agreeing to help, why did she seem a bit angrier than before?

    Yan Xuehen harrumphed. ¡°I can help you, but I have a condition.¡±

    ¡°Forget about one condition, I¡¯ll agree to even ten conditions. I can even devote my whole body to you!¡± Zu An replied. He was overjoyed by the turn of events and ran back.

    ¡°Keep dreaming.¡± Yan Xuehen harrumphed. She felt her heart beating a bit faster than normal for some reason. She asked, ¡°How did you make Pei Mianman draw a bye today at Golden Peak?¡±

    Zu An was stunned, replying, ¡°That¡¯s it?¡±

    ¡°Is that not enough?¡± Yan Xuehen asked, furrowing her brows slightly when she recalled that scene. It had been bothering her all day, but she hadn¡¯t been able to bring herself to ask.

    Meanwhile, in a distant tree¡¯s shadow, Wang Wuxie had an expression of utter shock. He muttered to himself, ¡°Why are the two of them together?!¡±

 Chapter 1658: Semi-Finals

    Chapter 1658: Semi-Finals

    Wang Wuxie had needed a lot of willpower to finally cut off all of his feelings. Even though he had known that Yan Xuehen wasing to Violet Mountain, he had remained calm, and even restrained himself from visiting her.

    However, after sharing the judges'' section for several days, and seeing her beautiful figure every day, he couldn''t help but reminisce about his past. When he saw that Yan Xuehen now seemed even prettier than before, she had be the only thing on his mind whenever he returned to his Pure Yang Pce.

    Tonight, he got even more carried away by a sudden impulse. This night, he couldn''t sleep at all, so he decided toe and see if he could see her.

    Of course, he still knew not to go too far and didn¡¯t dare to get too close. After all, if he were somehow misunderstood as a pervert, he would be forever done for. Not only would his own reputation bepletely swept away, Yan Xuehen¡¯s impression of him would also be utterly ruined.

    As such, he had just given her residence a look from a distance. All he wanted was to sense her presence a bit. The wind would carry a bit of her scent, too. For him, that was already enough.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    And yet, as soon as he arrived, he was met with a strange scene. His goddess was actually meeting privately with another man in the middle of the night!

    However, when he saw that it was Zu An, his horrified and broken heart gradually calmed down.

    There¡¯s no way anything would happen between the two of them. Yan Xuehen probably just sees him as a nephew.

    Still, he felt really annoyed somehow. He perked up his ears to listen in on their conversation, but he discovered that there was a sound barrier around them so he couldn''t hear anything at all!

    A man and a woman are meeting alone in the middle of the night, and even made sure others can''t overhear them. This is a bit suspicious!

    He dismissed that thought as soon as it appeared.

    I know Xuehen¡¯s nature better than anyone. She has always been indifferent to anything worldly. There¡¯s no way she would be the type of woman who would meet a man in the middle of the night!

    It¡¯s probably rted to her disciple Chu Chuyan. That should be the only topic those two would talk about.

    ¡­

    In truth, Zu An was exining the Fortune Pill¡¯s effects to her. Yan Xuehen was incredibly shocked, eximing, ¡°There is actually a pill like that in this world?¡±

    ¡°It is pretty amazing, but I don¡¯t have any more of them. I¡¯ll give you one if I can get my hands on it again next time,¡± Zu An said with a smile.

    ¡°Who wants something like that from you?¡± Yan Xuehen replied with a nonchnt expression. However, the grin on her mouth gave her real thoughts away.

    ¡°So that seven and a half million silvers you won in Brightmoon City was because of this thing?¡± she continued. She was smart and had quickly made the connection.

    It was now Zu An¡¯s turn to be surprised. He replied, ¡°You even knew about that?¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s face heated up. Recently, she had talked to Chuyan about all sorts of things rted to him. In order to make sure her master wouldn¡¯t have any prejudices against Zu An, Chuyan had willingly shared everything she knew about Zu An. In the past few months of interaction, apart from bedroom matters, Chuyan had told her pretty much everything.

    Yan Xuehen had felt a guilty conscience, but hadn¡¯t been able to hold her desire for gossip back either. In the end, she had listened to all of it.

    ¡°You are Chuyan¡¯s husband, so of course I have to look into your background a bit,¡± she said. Both of them became quiet.

    Zu An practically felt as if his head would explode. This wasn¡¯t something strength could help deal with. Can any transmigratorse and help me out right now?

    Yan Xuehen felt a bit ufortable. She tried to sound calm as she said, ¡°Anyway, I¡¯ve already agreed to it. Just look for me when you need my help.¡± After a pause, she added, ¡°And make sure you don¡¯t bother Chuyan.¡±

    Zu An nodded and replied, ¡°Alright.¡±

    Both of them stood there a bit awkwardly for a moment. Why did it feel as if they were doing something behind Chuyan¡¯s back? More importantly, everything had gone so smoothly too.

    Yan Xuehen couldn''t stay any longer and turned around to return.

    Zu An also felt a bit restless. He knew that trying to make her stay was meaningless, so he left in a heavy mood.

    ¡­

    Wang Wuxie released a long sigh of relief when he saw that the two of them hadn¡¯t engaged in any intimate interactions in the end. I was just going to say, how could Fairy Yan have that kind of rtionship with a man?

    In particr, when he saw Zu An leave with an expression full of worry, he secretly felt refreshed. Fairy Yan probably hadn¡¯t agreed to him being with Chuyan.

    And what is with this brat? Do you think that a disciple of White Jade Sect is that easy to pursue? In the past, even someone as outstanding as me only wasted my efforts.

    Perhaps because he saw Zu An dejected, or because Yan Xuehen was still as pure as before, Wang Wuxie¡¯s mood improved. As he returned, his gait was even a bit lighter than usual.

    ¡­

    The next day, the excitingpetition continued. Even though there was anotherpetitor, people all believed Pei Mianman¡¯s sess was all down to good luck, and that she wasn¡¯t really stronger than the other two.

    The other disciples took a seat excitedly, but on the Heavenly Sorrow Sect¡¯s side, Zhang Xiaodie couldn''t help but ask Zhi Yin beside her, ¡°Senior brother, who do you think will win today¡¯spetition?¡±

    As ofte, the usually high-spirited Zhi Yin had always been in a poor mood. He hadn¡¯t even shaved the beard stubble that was growing on his face. Guan Chouhai was worried about his condition, so he had told the other disciples to talk to Zhi Yin whenever possible to help him escape the shadow of defeat.

    ¡°Normally, with Wu Xiaofan¡¯s strength, Peng Wuyan wouldn¡¯t have a chance at all. But Wan Guiyi was unexpectedly strong and inflicted him with serious injuries. Even though the Righteous Sun Sect definitely spent a lot of effort and used a lot of medicines to help him recover, there hasn¡¯t been much time. It¡¯s hard to say who will win,¡± Zhi Yin exined, although he only felt more dejected.

    I was supposed to be the one up on the stage talking cheerfully right now! Ahhhhh!

    Zhao Xiaodie said with a sigh, ¡°Senior brother has prating insight, as expected. This is indeed an evenly matched fight.¡±

    She couldn''t help but give Zu An on the elevated seats a nce. What is with me these past few days? That scoundrel bullied me like that back then, and I¡¯ll definitely make him pay for it one day.

    ¡­

    When Wang Wuxie arrived at the elevated stage, he reflexively nced at Yan Xuehen and Zu An. When he saw that they weren¡¯t giving each other looks, he sighed in relief. After greeting the sect masters, he cleared his throat and got up to make some opening remarks. Then, after speaking about some things to take note of on the stage, he dered the formal start of thepetition.

    Qiu Honglei spun some small curved des on her fingers as she got on stage. Her steps were light and quick, showing how rxed her mood was.

    Many people even felt as if they were seeing things incorrectly. With the incredible confidence Peng Wuyan was showing off, she came off like an incredibly stunning youngdy.

    Comparatively, Wu Xiaofan¡¯s attitude was much more grave. He had already brought out the extraordinary toothpick ahead of time. It floated in front of him, ready to attack at any time.

    Qiu Honglei couldn''t help butugh when she saw that. She remarked, ¡°Isn¡¯t this going a bit too far, Brother Wu? At first, Senior Brother Wan didn¡¯t even use his weapon against me, and yet you¡¯ve already taken it out. Could it be that you feel like I¡¯m even stronger than Senior Brother Wan?¡±

    Jadefall Pce¡¯s Wan Guiyi harrumphed when he heard that, looking a bit annoyed. However, he didn¡¯t carry any ill will toward Peng Wuyan. On the contrary, he felt that the sense of power she gave off was beautiful.

    Other candidates often supported the one who had defeated them, as the further their opponent went, the more their own strength would receive recognition. However, Wan Guiyi was different. He was hoping for Peng Wuyan to win more because of his belief in the will of the strong.

    Wu Xiaofan slowly replied, ¡°Both you and Brother Wan are extremely strong, so this one wouldn¡¯t dare to underestimate you. Furthermore, I am still wounded, so I must go all out. I hope junior sister Peng can forgive me for this.¡±

    ¡­

    Under the stage, Cave Master Mu couldn''t help but smack Shi Dingtian in the back of his head, saying, ¡°Look at how he deals with this situation. He¡¯s nothing like how stupid you were, just giving up on your weapon.¡±

    Wu Xiaofan from the Righteous Sun Sect was also known for being too simple and honest, butpared to him, their brat seemed even dumber.

    Shi Dingtian grumbled, ¡°But it¡¯s hard for me to control myself if I use a weapon. I didn¡¯t even want to use a weapon in the beginning¡­ Also, didn¡¯t we already get the highest ce in quite a few years? I¡¯m already pretty satisfied.¡±

    Cave Master Mu was a bit annoyed at his disciple¡¯s upetitive nature. This kid actually would have had a chance of winning it all!

    ¡­

    On the stage, Qiu Honglei said, ¡°Since you¡¯re still injured, I¡¯ll give you three moves. You can attack first.¡±

    This was part of the battle n Yun Jianyue had set for her. The opponent was injured, so the longer the fight went on, the more advantageous it would be for her. Furthermore, it would be easy for her opponent to reveal openings due to his injuries while attacking.

    However, Wu Xiaofan shook his head and replied, ¡°You havee from afar as a guest, so it is already improper for me to use weapons against you. How can I let my junior sister show me such consideration? Junior sister should make the first move.¡±

    ¡°Everyone always says you¡¯re rather slow, but I don¡¯t quite think so,¡± Qiu Honglei said with a chuckle. Seeing as he hadn¡¯t fallen for it, she didn¡¯t say anything else. With a shout, she fired a round of light bullets. Lights of many different intensities flew forth in an interweaving pattern.

    ¡°It¡¯s the same thing again,¡± many people below grumbled. This girl always uses the same move. Don¡¯t you get tired of the same thing?

    However, Liang Ling and the others were watching carefully to see how Wu Xiaofan would deal with the attack.

    Wu Xiaofan didn¡¯t jump into the air to avoid the giant sphere of light. Instead, he shifted a few meters to the side to avoid it. At the same time, he neutralized Qiu Honglei¡¯s follow-up attacks too.

    Liang Ling was stunned. Why had he been stupid enough to jump into the air during his match?

    He finally understood the move after thinking about it for a while. It turned out that the fast-moving spheres of light seemed chaotic, but many of them had just been used to cut off his paths of evasion. After a while, the spheres would trick an opponent into thinking there would be more projectiles if they dodged to the side. That was why he had instinctively dodged into the sky when the big sphere of light flew toward him.

    It was easy to think through now, but back then, both he and Shi Dingtian had fallen for it. Wu Xiaofan had managed to see through it so quickly¡­ As expected of him.

    ¡­

    When Qiu Honglei saw that the opponent had seen through her tricks, she stopped attacking for a moment. She looked at the fine weapon in front of Wu Xiaofan and couldn''t help but ask with a chuckle, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you attacking me with that toothpick?¡±

    Wu Xiaofan said calmly, ¡°In my current state, I might not be able to defeat you through its attacks.¡± Using the weapon with the same sword control skill he had used against Wan Guiyi would seriously injure her but not eliminate her even if it hit. Meanwhile, he would exhaust a ton of ki.

    ¡°Since you feel you can¡¯t win against me in your current state, why not just admit defeat? That way, you won¡¯t ruin your condition further and let that affect your future cultivation,¡± Qiu Honglei said, using her strategy of breaking down her opponent¡¯s fighting spirit again.

    Wu Xiaofan shook his head and replied, ¡°This humble one might not be able to hurt you, but it can still be big.¡±

    As soon as he spoke, the toothpick grew, bing a shockinglyrge rod.

 Chapter 1659: Demonic Blade

    Chapter 1659: Demonic de

    Cries of rm resounded from Golden Peak. Even though this wasn¡¯t the first time, it was still very shocking to see.

    Humans had always worshipedrge things. That could be traced back to the mural paintings of ancient times.

    Only Wan Guiyi had an ugly expression. This was the massive staff that had defeated him. Even though he had been injured at the time, a defeat was a defeat. He was really curious about how Peng Wuyan nned to face Wu Xiaofan¡¯s terrifying rod.

    Wu Xiaofan quickly made his move and sent the massive staff crashing down. Terrifying ki rippled in all directions. The tip of his weapon even caused the space around it to warp!

    Qiu Honglei naturally didn¡¯t dare to face the attack head-on. She quickly evaded to one side.

    The power of the staff covered the entire stage with cracks.

    Watchful Peak¡¯s Elder Feng Wuchang wiped away cold sweat. Fortunately, he had asked the sect master to apply a seal on the whole ce. Otherwise, the attack would have already crushed the stage to rubble!

    When Wu Xiaofan saw Peng Wuyan evade, he swept his staff horizontally. It practically covered the entire stage with its massive figure, leaving the opponent with no room to evade at all.

    Many spectators felt nervous. Wouldn¡¯t they be turned into a bloody paste if they were struck by that massive staff? Even though this Peng Wuyan wasn¡¯t that pretty and she was a bit too fierce, she didn¡¯t deserve to die, right?

    Suddenly, there were many cries of surprise. It turned out that with a twist of Peng Wuyan¡¯s body, she had ended up standing on top of thatrge rod! She kicked off lightly with her toe tips, rushing viciously at Wu Xiaofan along the staff¡¯s body.

    ¡°Wonderful!¡± Wan Guiyi eximed, crying out in admiration. As expected of the strong woman he favored! This ability to adapt really was exceptional.

    Wu Xiaofan¡¯s big stick was quite strong. Being able to change size was a huge strength, but it did have a disadvantage. It was more powerful the farther away it was, but when the enemy was close, it became harder to wield. If Peng Wuyan could get close, the big staff would immediately be half as effective. Quite a few others recognized that fact. It was now Righteous Sun Sect¡¯s turn to feel nervous.

    Even though Wu Xiaofan looked unfazed, hisrge staff suddenly shrank, bing the size of a toothpick again.

    Peng Wuyan was left with no footing and almost fell. Her opponent¡¯s toothpick quickly transformed into a streak of light and rushed straight at her.

    ng!

    She blocked the attack with her two des. Meanwhile, Wu Xiaofan took the chance to make some distance between them again.

    ¡°This Wu Xiaofan indeed has some skills,¡± Heavenly Sorrow Sect¡¯s Zhao Xiaodie said with a sigh of amazement. She had been wondering what he was going to do as Peng Wuyan had closed the distance. She hadn¡¯t expected him to deal with it in such an effortless manner.

    ¡°He is indeed formidable. However, this Peng Wuyan seems to be stronger than I imagined her to be,¡± Zhi Yin said, frowning as he looked at Peng Wuyan. Why were the women of this tournament all so strong? He even wondered who was stronger between himself and this Peng woman.

    Wu Xiaofan gave Qiu Honglei a vignt look. Even though he had averted danger, he was actually quite nervous and didn¡¯t dare to attack like that again. Instead, he brought the toothpick close to himself. Then, it changed into itsrge defensive staff form.

    Qiu Honglei was a bit unhappy when she saw how he was acting. She remarked, ¡°What is a grown man like you acting all passive for? Are you making a delicate girl attack first? That¡¯s not what a real man should be like at all.¡±

    ¡°Delicate girl?¡±

    The crowd immediately hissed in displeasure. Her viciousness had left all of them with a deep impression.

    Zu An was a bit absent-minded. This woman really gave him a familiar feeling. That kind of tone was even more familiar.

    ¡­

    On the stage, Wu Xiaofan remained unshaken, replying, ¡°I am wounded, so I hope junior sister can understand.¡±

    Qiu Honglei felt a bit helpless when she saw that he wouldn¡¯t yield. Still, she couldn''t just waste time like this. With a harrumph, she brandished her twin des and attacked. Even though she was beautiful, as someone who had grown up in the Devil Sect, herbat style was naturally very fierce and direct.

    The des released a sharp and clear noise when they collided. Her presence immediately became more imposing, and the entire stage was covered by her power. Even the light around her seemed to be a bit distorted.

    The various sects¡¯ disciples were all shocked. The representative disciples couldn''t help but sit at the edge of their seats. This woman seemed to have been holding back earlier!

    The sect masters looked at her des. They had lookedpletely ordinary at first, but now, they seemed to be a bit different!

    Wu Xiaofan¡¯s expression changed. He naturally didn¡¯t dare to look down on her either. Arge staff was difficult to maneuver, so he shrank it down to the size of Sun Wukong¡¯s golden staff. Then, he swept it toward the ground, sending a chunk of the floor at his opponent. After that, he charged while swinging his staff, carrying with it a powerful momentum.

    Feng Wuchang didn¡¯t have time to feel heartbroken over the destruction of the stage. He was more concerned with the results of the battle. After all, Wu Xiaofan was from the Righteous Sun Sect!

    ¡°Wu Xiaofan is actually still able to bring forth such vigorous ki despite being seriously injured!¡± Lou Wucheng eximed as his eyes flickered brilliantly. He felt a sense of danger.

    Perhaps he had been careless in his fight against Shi Dingtian, but whether it was Peng Wuyan or Wu Xiaofan, he felt he would most likely lose if he had to fight against them.

    Qiu Honglei had a grave expression. Her des intersected, forming a V-shaped de of light that rushed at her opponent.

    The floor of the stage had been reinforced by special formations, making it incredibly sturdy; despite that, before the cross-shaped de of light, it was instantly cut into several pieces like a hot knife through butter. The des of light didn¡¯t stop, and crashed straight into Wu Xiaofan¡¯s domineering staff.

    A huge explosion resounded, and the entire stage rocked back and forth. The barrier around the stage flickered crazily. Meanwhile, the pieces of the floor that had been cut apart were sted into dust by the impact¡¯s power.

    The spectators were all horrified. Was this really the level of power two disciples could produce? If not for the protection of the barriers, just the st waves alone would have injured arge number of people.

    ¡­

    Qiu Honglei turned into a streak of light, attacking from all directions as she moved around.

    Meanwhile, Wu Xiaofan stood in ce. The staff in his hands spun like the wind, always managing to deflect his opponent¡¯s attacks.

    As he watched them fight, Wan Guiyi was left inplete admiration. He had thought that Wu Xiaofan was only good at shamelessly using that huge staff as an absolute defense method, but now, he learned that Wu Xiaofan¡¯s staff technique was actually quite profound.

    What was even more surprising was the weight behind each strike of the staff; despite that, Wu Xiaofan was still able to use it so nimbly. Still, that didn¡¯te without a price. He basically didn¡¯t move at all. It was clear that he couldn''t use both the heavy staff and nimble movements.

    Qiu Honglei naturally picked up on that. After another sh, her arms spread out to the sides as she retreated, resembling a Ê® character.

    Many disciples were confused. She had finally managed to close the distance, so why was she retreating again?

    Wu Xiaofan also looked at her with confusion. Qiu Honglei smiled, and at that moment, her two daggers floated in front of her.

    Then, two became four, four became eight¡­ Soon after, the sky was covered with copies of the daggers. With a point of Qiu Honglei¡¯s finger, those des roared toward Wu Xiaofan.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this just a futile move? With that huge staff to protect him, what use are long-range attacks?¡± Heavenly Sorrow Sect¡¯s ninth disciple Cai Yu couldn''t help but mutter.

    Zhi Yin harrumphed. ¡°What do you understand? She¡¯s just shing with Wu Xiaofan to exhaust his ki in a war of attrition.¡±

    Meanwhile, Wan Guiyi also nodded inwardly. As expected of the woman I favor. She noticed that Wu Xiaofan needs to consume ki to use his staff so quickly. He¡¯s still wounded, so he might not be able to maintain it for long.

    Sure enough, Wu Xiaofan frowned. However, he didn¡¯t have any other choice. He could only erge his staff to block all of the flying daggers.

    His figure trembled slightly as the ki inside of him stirred. However, he didn¡¯t have time to worry about that. He looked toward the sky vigntly, muttering, ¡°Where did she go?¡±

    A secondter, he immediately had a bad feeling. Powerful killing intent surged from behind him.

    ¡°So that attack was just a pretense! But when did she get behind me?¡± Wu Xiaofan muttered, although he didn¡¯t have time to think. He activated all his ki,pletely unconcerned with appearances as he frantically dodged to the side.

    Even so, although he avoided getting hit in a vital position, the opponent still managed to stab her dagger into his ribs.

    ¡°Ahhh!¡±

    The Righteous Sun Sect¡¯s people were all incredibly shocked. Even if one didn¡¯t die, that kind of attack would leave serious injuries, right?

    The other disciples had conflicted expressions. They hadn¡¯t expected that the publicly acknowledged number one, Wu Xiaofan, would actually be defeated. Furthermore, he had lost to someone who waspletely unknown before all of this.

    However, Qiu Honglei didn¡¯t look happy at all. She didn¡¯t feel her de stabbing into flesh; rather, it was as if it had struck something extremely tough.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Wu Xiaofan shouted, then brandished therge staff in his hands.

    Even though Qiu Honglei did her best to evade, the weapon still brushed past her arm and half of her body went numb. She retreated roughly ten meters away and stared at Wu Xiaofan¡¯s chest. As she had pulled out her dagger, his clothes had been ripped apart by the de¡¯s ki, revealing a yellow-green set of flexible armor.

    ¡°The Righteous Sun Sect¡¯s Green Scale Armor!¡±

    The sect masters all looked at Wang Wuxie in shock. They hadn¡¯t expected him to give something so precious to his disciple.

    The Green Scale Armor was a heaven-grade defensive artifact that could block the attack of heaven-grade weapons. To a certain degree, it could even reduce an immortal-grade weapon¡¯s attacks. It was rumored to have previously been worn by Wang Wuxie himself!

    Wu Xiaofan had been strong to begin with. However, with this set of armor, he was even more invincible. Like hell there was even a point in fighting anymore!

    Wang Wuxie could see their dissatisfaction, so he was also a bit embarrassed. He said, ¡°I didn¡¯t give it to him before because I didn¡¯t want him to depend on it. But since his injuries yesterday were a bit too serious and he wasn¡¯t able to make a full recovery in such a short time, I gave it to him for protection.¡±

    That made the others feel a bit more at ease. No wonder Wan Guiyi had been able to wound him yesterday¡­ It seemed this Mister Wang still had some sense of shame.

    With such serious injuries, giving Wu Xiaofan such a set of armor was understandable. Although, it was a pity for that Emptiness Isle woman. Her tactics were truly outstanding. Without the set of armor, Wu Xiaofan would already have lost.

    They looked at Elder Peng from Emptiness Isle, waiting for her to vent her frustrations at Wang Wuxie. However, she remainedpletely calm. There was even a sneer on her lips.

    Don¡¯t tell me she still has more cards to show? they thought, shocked.

    Wu Xiaofan said apologetically, ¡°Wearing this set of precious armor has given me an unfair advantage. I hope that junior sister doesn¡¯t take offense.¡±

    Qiu Honglei sneered and replied, ¡°Who says you¡¯ve won?¡±

    Wu Xiaofan sighed and said, ¡°Your attacks won¡¯t be able to break through my defense.¡± Judging from their earlier exchange, he already had a rough idea of the upper limit of her attacks. With his strength and this armor protecting him, he was already in an invincible position.

    Qiu Honglei didn¡¯t reply. Her expression was grave. How could she possibly lose in thispetition in front of those other women¡¯s eyes?

    She brought the des in her hands together. The two daggers seemed to absorb each other, connecting to form an S-shaped curved de. Then, a terrifying pressure emanated from them. At the same time, an overwhelming killing intent filled the air.

    ¡°This is¡­¡±

    The sect masters¡¯ expressions all changed.

 Chapter 1660: Interrogation

    Chapter 1660: Interrogation

    ¡°It seems a bit like Devil Sect Master Yun Jianyue¡¯s Crescent Ring,¡± Guan Chouhai muttered.

    ¡°It is a bit simr, especially with all of the killing intent,¡± Wan Tongtian said with a frown. The dense killing intent clearly made them ufortable.

    ¡­

    As the others were talking to each other, Wang Wuxie had his own thoughts. He didn¡¯t involve himself in the conversation.

    Yun Jianyue frowned slightly when she heard them mention her name, but she wasn¡¯t too worried. Qiu Honglei had never used these des before in the world of warriors, so she wasn¡¯t scared of them finding out anything.

    She suddenly heard Zu An¡¯s voice call out, ¡°This is far from Sect Master Yun¡¯s Crescent Ring.¡±

    Yun Jianyue raised her brows. She looked at him with an ambiguous smile.

    ¡°Oh? I¡¯ve heard that Sir Zu faced Sect Master Yun in the past. You must have a very deep impression,¡± Wang Wuxie said as he looked at Zu An. As the State Teacher, he naturally knew more about court matters than his fellow daoists. Zu An had been famous during the Imperial Pce invasion, and then enjoyed a meteoric rise in the Eastern Pce.

    However, when Wang Wuxie had first seen that Zu An didn''t have even the slightest bit of ki fluctuations around his body, he assumed that Zu An had lost all of his cultivation in the Fiend races¡¯ territory from his serious injuries. How could he have known that this kid was even more formidable than the rumors said?

    The other sect masters all looked at Zu An. They hadn¡¯t expected him to have already faced Yun Jianyue!

    ¡°We indeed had a deep interaction¡­¡± Zu An said with a reminiscent smile.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s face reddened. What is this damn brat thinking right now?

    Yan Xuehen gave him a confused look. Why do those words sound so strange?

    ¡°That witch has always been cold-blooded and ruthless. The fact that Sir Zu was able to keep your life after facing her is quite a rare experience,¡± the White Jade Sect¡¯s Li Changsheng said, sounding deeply moved.

    Yun Jianyue narrowed her eyes. This damn White Jade Sect is always opposing me. I should pay them a visit one day, and let them experience what it really means to be cold-blooded and ruthless.

    Wan Tongtianughed heartily and said, ¡°I was able to see Sir Zu fight. It¡¯s not all that surprising for him to be able to escape from that witch¡¯s clutches at all.¡± Since Zu An had helped him before, he had quite a good impression of him.

    ¡°Witch?¡± Yun Jianyue muttered with a dangerous expression. Still, seeing as he was praising Zu An, a smirk appeared on her lips. She couldn''t bring herself to get angry.

    ¡°She¡¯s actually not as scary as you¡¯re all making her out to be. She looks pretty fierce on the surface, but she¡¯s actually quite soft inside,¡± Zu An said, speaking up for her. He just didn¡¯t feel all that great listening to others talk badly about her.

    Yan Xuehen gave him a look, then shifted her gaze. They had all fought together while risking their lives, so it wasn¡¯t that surprising for him to speak in such a way.

    However, the others didn¡¯t think the same way. Their expressions all changed as they said, ¡°Sir Zu, please speak cautiously. That witch is absolutely heartless, an absolute criminal wanted by the court. Please remember to not make friends with her at all costs.¡±

    Wan Tongtian, who carried good intentions for Zu An, emphasized further in a sincere tone, ¡°Indeed, Sir Zu, those witches are best at deceiving people. Do not let yourself be fooled by that side of theirs.¡±

    Zu An frowned. In the end, he didn¡¯t say anything else. His time in the online forums of his previous world had taught him how difficult it was to convince others. These people¡¯s impressions were already set in their ways and they couldn''t coexist with the Devil Sect. Anything he said here would be meaningless.

    However, Yun Jianyue waspletely amused. She thought to herself, This kid is surprisingly loyal. I¡­ My disciple didn¡¯t choose the wrong person.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, there were new developments happening on stage. With the emergence of Qiu Honglei¡¯s curved de, both her weapon and her entire figure began to flicker with ovepping afterimages.

    Wu Xiaofan was shocked. What kind of skill was this? Which one was her real self?

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s de sliced outward. A line of explosions erupted across the entire stage. Wu Xiaofan didn¡¯t dare to take the attack head-on and quickly dodged; a huge groove instantly appeared in the spot he had been standing on. The entire stage was almost sliced in two.

    Feng Wuchang was heartbroken over how much money they were going to lose, even as he worried for Wu Xiaofan. The power of his opponent¡¯s sword was actually so great! It was clearly a heaven-grade weapon at the very least. Would Xiaofan be able to stop it?

    When they saw Wu Xiaofan evade in a panic, the spectators erupted into discussions. Even though he was injured, the Green Scale Armor made up for that. And yet, he was still being pressured right now! Wasn¡¯t this Peng Wuyan a bit too strong?

    On Zhao Xiaodie¡¯s side, she couldn''t help but frown. She gave Zhi Yin an inquiring look and said, ¡°Senior brother, master rank cultivators can anticipate attacks beforehand with their souls. Shouldn¡¯t all those under the master rank be easily crushed? Why does the current situation almost seem backward?¡±

    Zhi Yin replied with a sneer, ¡°Do you really still believe that Peng Wuyan is only at the mid-stage of the ninth rank?¡±

    Zhao Xiaodie was stunned, saying, ¡°But the test previously said¡­¡±

    Zhi Yin shook his head and added, ¡°She probably used some kind of skill to hide her cultivation. I believe that was precisely to catch us off guard.¡±

    He felt even worse when he thought about how he had been kicked out beforehand. In order to make sure that this pretty junior sister of his didn¡¯t look down on him, he added, ¡°Actually, the idea of master rank cultivators overwhelming all those beneath that cultivation stage only applies to ordinary ninth ranks. For representative disciples like us from the great sects, we all have special ways of weakening the soul advantage of master ranks. I believe the others also have that ability.¡±

    ¡°Senior brother is incredible!¡± Zhao Xiaodie eximed; she was sincere in her admiration. As someone who was also from the Heavenly Sorrow Sect, she knew just how strong Zhi Yin was. These people were proud of themselves, and had enjoyed countless miraculous encounters ever since they were young. Meanwhile, challenging opponents above their current cultivation rank was something others wouldn¡¯t even dream of doing.

    ¡­

    Wu Xiaofan was left with no choice. He could only erge his staff. Whenever he swung it, it was as if a mountain crashed down.

    He knew that he would only be worn out quickly if he continued like this and could even copse from his injuries, but he didn¡¯t dare to show any hesitation either. He had already mustered all of his fighting spirit. If he didn¡¯t face her with his full power, he even suspected that he could be cleaved in two by that de. Even though he had the Green Scale Armor covering him, he still didn¡¯t have much confidence when he sensed the opponent¡¯s overwhelming killing intent.

    Is this woman really from the righteous faction? Why does she have such a sinister weapon?

    As the massive staff came at her, Qiu Honglei didn¡¯t dodge this time. Instead, she brought her curved de straight down. A de beam, filled with killing intent that almost seemed tangible, emerged. It actually sliced the massive staff image apart!

    ¡°What?!¡± Wan Guiyi eximed as he stood up. He had faced Wu Xiaofan before, so he naturally knew that the staff was a projection of ki, but it was so powerful it felt real. Back then, even his own sword ki couldn''t slice through that staff, and yet this woman had managed to aplish it!

    As expected of the woman I appreciate! Her entire figure gives off the aesthetic of strength!

    Wu Xiaofan was also stunned when he saw his staff projection sliced through. He had no choice but to continuously back up. He retreated all the way to the edge of the stage, where he had nowhere left to run.

    ¡°This Wu Xiaofan is no good too. Everyone praises him as if he¡¯s some deity, and yet he¡¯s been beaten up like this by a woman.¡±

    Even though the truly strong understood how powerful the twopetitors were, there were far more ordinary disciples. They weren¡¯t on the stage, so they couldn''t really understand what Wu Xiaofan was going through. They just saw him being forced back again and again. Furthermore, when they remembered all the rumors about how strong he was, they immediately developed feelings of contempt, as if they could do better if they stepped up themselves.

    Wu Xiaofan turned a deaf ear to these remarks. His gaze was steady as a burst of violet ki suddenly surged around him.

    ¡°Mist of Violet Ki!¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The sect masters on the elevated section looked at Wang Wuxie in shock. They hadn¡¯t expected him to have already passed on his ultimate skill to his disciple! Furthermore, because of Wu Xiaofan¡¯s exceptional talent, he had actually learned it.

    Wang Wuxie continued to observe the situation on the stage without any noticeable changes in emotion.

    With the support of the violet ki, even the winds around the massive staff carried hints of violet luster now. One strike after another, it smashed apart Qiu Honglei¡¯s sword ki.

    ¡°That¡¯s more like it! How could Wu Xiaofan possibly have an undeserved reputation?!¡± many of Wu Xiaofan¡¯s supporters immediately cried out in excitement.

    Qiu Honglei rubbed the bruise on her arm. It had just been brushed by that staff, and yet it had made half of her body numb. Her expression was cold as she suddenly raised her hand. Ayer of dazzling light covered the surface of the curved de.

    ¡°Could it be that she still has some other secret move that she hasn¡¯t used yet?¡± the disciples eximed as they all extended their necks.

    ¡°Huh? Why did her de disappear?¡± Zhao Xiaodie eximed. She had also been watching the fight closely. She suddenly cried out in rm.

    Only then did the spectators see that after the light passed, the de in Peng Wuyan¡¯s hands had disappeared.

    On the stage, Wu Xiaofan was both nervous and vignt. Violet ki surged all around him, as if he was guarding against something.

    A momentter, a spatial rift suddenly appeared in front of him. Only those who were close to him could see that countless stars appeared within that spatial rift. It was like a portal that led to a gxy beyond. In an instant, a terrifying de of light shed outward from the rift. It almost instantly sliced through all of the violet ki around Wu Xiaofan, then crashed into the Green Scale Armor he wore.

    Boom!

    A deafening noise resounded. A st of bloody mist erupted from Wu Xiaofan¡¯s body. The famous Green Scale Armor was left with a clear crack, and soon grew dim. Wu Xiaofan himself was knocked off the stage by a tremendous force, and his body fell heavily to the ground. He struggled to raise his head, but he still fainted in the end.

    The entire ce fell dead silent.

    All the spectators looked at the woman on the stage. What kind of monster was this? She had defeated Wu Xiaofan without even any visible injuries on herself, other than being a bit out of breath! Even though Wu Xiaofan was injured, her performance was a bit too absurd, right? Why did such a woman previously not have any reputation among the daoist sects at all?

    The Righteous Sun Sect¡¯s people hurriedly rushed forward. When they saw that Wu Xiaofan had only fainted from serious injuries and that there was no risk to his life, they all sighed in relief. Wang Wuxie remained on the elevated area and didn¡¯t head out, however.

    Meanwhile, the spectators all congratted Yun Jianyue. Now that Emptiness Isle had such a talented disciple, they were destined for a glorious path ahead of them! The pupil could even surpass the master, raising their sect to the point of bing the leader of the daoist sects!

    ¡°Not at all, not at all. We were just lucky, haha~¡± Yun Jianyue humbly replied, although she was practically unable to suppress herughter. The feeling of seeing these daoists who normally cursed her to death now congratting her really wasn¡¯t bad at all. She wondered just what kind of amazing reactions they¡¯d have if the truth was revealed one day.

    Wang Wuxie suddenly said, ¡°If I recall correctly, that de is the Moon Demon de used by the Devil Sect¡¯s Great Demon Ding Tianle a century ago. It is an important treasure of the Devil Sect. Why would it end up in Lady Peng¡¯s hands?¡± He stared at her with his sharp eyes as he spoke.

 Chapter 1661: Moving Through the Night

    Chapter 1661: Moving Through the Night

    The others were shocked. They all looked at Yun Jianyue with ill expressions. They had felt that Peng Wuyan¡¯s style wasn¡¯t quite like that of the daoist sects from the very start. Could it be¡­

    Zu An also looked at Peng Wuyan in shock. No wonder he¡¯d always had a familiar feeling! Could this really be the one he knew? He stared at the woman¡¯s face, but he didn¡¯t see anything strange.

    Yun Jianyue was also surprised, but she remained calm. She said, ¡°Twenty years ago, we discovered a group of Devil Sect disciples wandering around Emptiness Isle, so we eliminated them and found a de. It was none other than this Moon Demon de.¡± Ding Tianle had gone missing over a century ago, and the de had never made another appearance. Couldn''t she make up whatever story she wanted?

    Sure enough, the others clearly loosened up when they heard her reply. They all said in praise, ¡°Elder Peng is a heroic woman, as expected. The Devil Sect¡¯s viins ought to all be eliminated!¡±

    Yun Jianyue narrowed her eyes. She engraved those words firmly in her heart. She nned to pay them backter.

    Wang Wuxie frowned, but he couldn''t find any proof either. He could only say, ¡°Lady Peng is quite fierce and doesn¡¯t seem to resemble a member of the righteous sects. It might be because of this demonic de¡¯s influence. As she is an inheritor of a daoist sect, using a weapon from the Devil Sect might draw scorn if news gets out.¡±

    Zu An said with a chuckle, ¡°I don¡¯t share that sentiment. Whether or not a de is demonic or not depends on the user. It has nothing to do with the weapon itself. des are used to kill, so what¡¯s the difference between the daoist sects¡¯ and the Devil Sect¡¯s des? The Devil Sect stole the daoist sects¡¯ weapons to bring chaos to the innocent. Could it be that the same weapon would thus be evil? On the contrary, if the orthodox faction were to use a demonic de in a righteous manner, helping the dying and healing the injured, that de would no longer be a demonic de.¡±

    Yan Xuehen nodded to herself. This kid does have some knowledge. He isn¡¯t someone who only knew how to womanize.

    Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei had even bigger smiles on their faces. This little rascal really is a good match for us.

    Wang Wuxie wasn¡¯t pleased at all. He said seriously, ¡°This de is different from a normal de; it was the Great Demon Ding Tianle¡¯s de. Who knows how much blood it has shed over the years? Together with it being a heaven-grade weapon, it already has a spirit soul of its own and can imperceptibly influence the user¡¯s will. Martial niece Peng¡¯s ruthlessness in her fights is likely a sign of that.¡±

    The other sect masters nodded. That was indeed a possibility.

    Yun Jianyue harrumphed. ¡°Our Emptiness Isle naturally has a way of dealing with this demonic nature. I do not need Brother Wang to worry about it.¡±

    Wang Wuxie wanted to say something else, but Yun Jianyue couldn''t help but say with a sneer, ¡°What is it? Could it be that Brother Wang can¡¯t take a loss either, and ising up with some excuse to invalidate a match?¡±

    Wang Wuxie¡¯s expression changed. As the other party had brought that up, what else could he say? He was the State Teacher, the current number one person among the nine sects. Furthermore, Yan Xuehen was even still watching from the side. How could he do the same thing as the other sect leaders?

    ¡°I was merely worried that martial niece might head down the wrong path. As Emptiness Isle is aware of this matter already, I will not say anything else,¡± Wang Wuxie said calmly. Then, he congratted Emptiness Isle for winning.

    The other sect leaders all inwardly admired his temperament.

    The general assembly quickly scattered. The sects¡¯ disciples all passionately discussed the results of the battle. This was the first time they had witnessed Peng Wuyan¡¯s real strength. She wasn¡¯t inferior to Wu Xiaofan and Wan Guiyi! Her victory wasn¡¯t a fluke the way many people had been thinking.

    Yun Jianyue and QIu Honglei had been discussing whether to privately seek out Zu An. After all, there was only one final round left, so the effects of being exposed wouldn¡¯t be as severe as before. However, the sects all came to curry favor with them, making it so that the two didn¡¯t have any freedom to move around at all. They could only put on fake smiles and deal with them.

    ¡­

    Zu An descended from Golden Peak, then found a chance to look for Yan Xuehen. However, as soon as he got closer, he saw the white-d Yan Xuehen walk out.

    ¡°Shush! Chuyan is meditating inside. Don¡¯t disturb her,¡± Yan Xuehen said. It was almost as if she had already been waiting inside for a long time and only came out when she sensed his arrival.

    ¡°Oh,¡± Zu An said. He couldn''t help but be a bit curious. ¡°Just when is her match with the Devil Sect¡¯s Saintess?¡±

    The battles here were wrapping up, but he hadn¡¯t seen Qiu Honglei anywhere. Only Chu Chuyan was here, cultivating bitterly alone. He had heard them discuss that only if Chuyan won would she have the right to enter the secret dungeon. Now, the other thirteen spots had already been decided.

    ¡°A few dayster. Normally, they would already be here, but I don¡¯t know why I still haven¡¯t seen any sign of them yet,¡± Yan Xuehen said. She was also a bit curious.

    Zu An was surprised. He asked, ¡°The fight will take ce here? But there are daoist sect experts everywhere here! Won¡¯t they be ripped apart by these people?¡±

    Yan Xuehen rolled her eyes and retorted, ¡°So you still have a brain in that head of yours after all, remembering that these are daoist sect members! Do you think we¡¯d do things like the Devil Sect? Regardless, I still respect that witch a bit. She actually dared to propose holding the battle here. That level of courage is something few men from the righteous sects canpare with.¡±

    Zu An was surprised. He asked, ¡°It was big sis Yun who suggested doing the fight here?¡±

    ¡°Of course. Both sides discussed the location of the fight several times before, but neither side was satisfied. Eventually, that witch said we might as well just hold it in our own dao rite, so the matter was decided just like that,¡± Yan Xuehen said. ¡°But don¡¯t worry. We already sent people to investigate the area to make sure that there are no Devil Sect movements. I believe that she¡¯s just doing this to raise her prestige in the Devil Sect. But as the righteous faction, how can we allow her to carry out her schemes as she wishes?¡±

    Zu An frowned. He just felt that Yun Jianyue wouldn¡¯t be that reckless. The Twin Dragon Mountain rebel army he encountered had received news to move in this direction, so there was definitely some kind of n being carried out. However, he just didn¡¯t have enough information to make any judgments. For now, he¡¯d just wait until he could contact Yun Jianyue, and ask her directly then.

    ¡­

    Violet Mountain was full of disciples. Even if the two of them tried to take more secluded paths, it would still be hard to not draw attention. As such, Yan Xuehen had Zu An take the lead while she followed far behind. That way, no one would see the two of them walk together and carry any suspicions.

    Zu An thought, This woman really knows how to carry herself like a celebrity. Still, he was the one asking her for help, so he couldn''t really say anything. Thus, he walked ahead by himself. He could hear the ¡®Fairy Yan¡¯ greetings in the distance and thought, Her reputation among the daoist sects really is high.

    Eventually, they finally arrived at the back half of the mountain, where there were fewer people. Zu An found a secluded ce and took out the Wind Fire Wheels. He gestured toward her and said, ¡°We have to hurry. We won¡¯t make it in time if we dilly-dally.¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s face reddened as she replied, ¡°I can fly myself.¡± She had needed him to carry her on his back when she was injured, and the two of them had flown on the Wind Fire Wheels just like that. She naturally couldn''t go through that again.

    Zu An retracted his hand with regret. He had just offered out of habit. To be honest, though, he really missed the feeling of her soft waist.

    The two rushed into the sky and headed toward Yi City. Along the way, Zu An tried to start some idle conversation, but Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression remained cold as she said, ¡°I am just helping you with a business deal. There is nothing else I have to discuss with you.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression darkened. He replied, ¡°We were clearly already friends on the Fiend races¡¯ side, so why do I feel as if we¡¯re getting further and further apart?¡±

    Yan Xuehen said, ¡°Our status dooms us to never be suitable as friends.¡±

    Zu An opened his mouth, but he didn¡¯t know what to say either. Just like that, the two of them entered an awkward silence.

    ¡­N?v(el)B\\jnn

    By the time they arrived outside Yi Commandery, the sky was already starting to grow dark.

    Zu An found a ce tond and said, ¡°Let¡¯s change clothes here first.¡± He didn¡¯t move away, and began to change right there and then.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s heartbeat quickened. She turned to one side.

    ¡°Are you not going to change?¡± Zu An asked, not moving. ¡°Aren¡¯t you worried that King Yan Manor¡¯s people will find out that the White Jade Sect¡¯s Master Yan is here?¡±

    Yan Xuehen was left in a difficult situation. She said, ¡°I didn¡¯t bring anything.¡± She did have some clothes in her storage pouch, but the style was too obvious. They would immediately know that it was her even if she changed.

    Zu An now remembered that with her personality, there was usually no need for her to do anything secretive at all. He took out a set of ck clothes and gave it to her, saying, ¡°I have some. You should change into them on your own.¡±

    Yan Xuehen received them. When she saw the ck color, she felt an instinctive dislike. Then, she suddenly asked, ¡°Why do you always have female clothing on you?¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°I know what you¡¯re like; it was obviously prepared for you.¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s ice-cold lips couldn''t help but curl into a grin when she heard that. She quickly took the clothes and hid in the trees, saying, ¡°You''re dead if you try to peep on me with your soul sense!¡±

    Zu An replied helplessly, ¡°You¡¯re already a grandmaster, so you can clearly shield yourself with a soul barrier.¡±

    Yan Xuehen was rmed. Why did I suddenly overlook that? She quickly changed clothes and emerged.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes couldn''t help but light up. A goddess was a goddess! Even in all-ck stealth wear, it didn¡¯t cover up her beauty at all. On the contrary, it further entuated her figure in a way that her white clothes didn¡¯t.

    Yan Xuehen felt really ufortable. She was about to say something when she suddenly saw a beautiful figure next to Zu An. Her expression changed as she asked, ¡°Tell me, how did you change her clothes?¡±

 Chapter 1662: Like a Vacation Stroll

    Chapter 1662: Like a Vacation Stroll

    Zu An gave the ck-d Daji a look and replied, ¡°Her? She changed her clothes by herself, of course.¡±

    This wasn¡¯t the first time Yan Xuehen had seen Daji. When she saw the voluminous gown wrapped around Daji, her expression immediately turned a bit suspicious.

    Zu An suddenly realized what she was thinking. He burst intoughter and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. she only put on anotheryer outside her own clothes. Are you worried that she changed in front of me?¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s face heated up. She replied, ¡°Whether she takes them off or not has nothing to do with me. Why would I be worried?¡±

    Even though this wasn¡¯t the first time she had met Daji, she still couldn''t help but be amazed by the woman¡¯s beauty. She was so beautiful, and yet she didn¡¯t have a soul.

    Zu An chuckled. He reached out his hand to grope Daji, but his hand was smacked away. He said, ¡°See? We¡¯re just master and servant. There¡¯s nothing vulgar, despite what you were thinking.¡±

    Yan Xuehen grinned, but she wasn¡¯t willing to admit to anything. She said, ¡°Lady Daji is so guarded against you even without a soul. Are you still not going to admit that you¡¯re a lecher?¡±

    Zu An was speechless. However, he didn¡¯t get angry. He replied, ¡°What did you call me? Why don¡¯t you call me that again?¡± For some reason, when someone like her said that, it sounded strangely nice.

    ¡°Lech¡­¡± Yan Xuehen began, but halfway through, she realized something and harrumphed. Then, she changed the topic. ¡°Do we need her to be with us this time?¡±

    Zu An said seriously, ¡°Yes. We¡¯ll need herter. It¡¯ll be hard to exin if she appears out of nowhere.¡±

    Yan Xuehen knew that there would be others thereter. This guy isn¡¯t holding anything back and is even telling me about something so secret¡­

    ¡°Please don¡¯t say anything once we start, to avoid your identity being exposed. I¡¯ll take care of everything,¡± Zu An warned her.

    ¡°When have I ever spoken that much to anyone other than you to begin with?¡± Yan Xuehen instinctively replied. Then, she was stunned, and her cheeks heated up a bit.

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°I almost forgot how cold you normally are. Let¡¯s go.¡±

    He took the lead and flew toward the city afterward. Watching his back recede into the distance, Yan Xuehen bit her lip and followed along.

    ¡­

    Even though there were normally a lot of guards patrolling Yi City, the ce wasn¡¯t at war. With the pair¡¯s cultivation, they didn¡¯t end up alerting anyone. They quickly arrived at the secret rendezvous point.

    Zhang Zitong and Xiao Jianren were already waiting there. They became vignt and moved their hands to their des, calling out, ¡°Show yourself!¡±

    Zu An raised his golden token and replied, ¡°It¡¯s me!¡±

    ¡°Sir Eleven!¡± All of them sighed in relief when they heard his familiar voice.

    ¡°These two are¡­?¡± Zhang Zitong asked, quickly noticing Yan Xuehen and Daji beside him. Even though they were masked and dressed in all-ck stealth wear, those stunning eyes showed that they were definitely extraordinary beauties.

    Her expression became a bit strange. What kind of a rtionship did Sir Eleven have with them? Why had he brought them on such a dangerous mission?

    Yan Xuehen directly ignored Xiao Jianren and the others. She looked at this woman and thought, This woman¡¯s legs are so long.

    This damn kid has beauties all around him, and even his subordinates are like this. As expected of a womanizer.

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +111 +111 +111¡­n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°They are the helpers I¡¯ve brought with me,¡± Zu An said. He was confused as to why Yan Xuehen had suddenly be angry, but he couldn''t ask her about it now. He looked at the Silver Token Envoys and asked, ¡°Has King Yan left his manor yet?¡±

    Xiao Jianren replied, ¡°I¡¯ve been watching him all this time. He just left about a stick of incense¡¯s time ago.¡±

    Zu An nodded and replied, ¡°Good!¡±

    He then assigned them their missions. Zhang Zitong would follow him into the manor, while Xiao Jianren and the others would receive them outside just in case, as well as alert them if King Yan returned ahead of time.

    Xiao Jianren was a bit jealous that he was being left out. However, this mission wasn¡¯t one in which the more people there were, the better it was. Besides, he wasn¡¯t particrly skilled in cultivation. If he joined the infiltration of such a tiger¡¯s den, he would most likely be a hindrance. As such, he quickly calmed down and said, ¡°Understood. Sir Eleven and Lady Zhang, please be careful!¡±

    Zhang Zitong nodded. She had already changed into stealth wear as well. She followed Zu An to the manor¡¯s surrounding area. When she looked at the patrolling servants, she lowered her voice and said, ¡°The security outside the manor is extremely professional and strict. Even with my observations of the patrol and my experience insidest time, I barely managed to grasp a pattern. But there are some areas I¡¯m still not sure of. You should follow¡­ huh?¡±

    She saw that their group had already jumped in before she could even finish her sentence. ¡°Don¡¯t do anything reckless!¡± she hissed as she quickly followed along. Soon, however, she waspletely stunned.

    The ice-cold woman walked at the very forefront, moving as if this were her own home. Guards patrolled around them from time to time, but didn¡¯t run into them a single time.

    When he saw Zhang Zitong¡¯s shocked look, Zu An thought to himself, Yan Xuehen is a glorious grandmaster who can cover this entire ce with her divine sense. Theyout of this entire king manor is bright and clear to her.

    Zhang Zitong didn¡¯t understand. She thought to herself, Just some random friend of Sir Eleven is so formidable¡­ Sir Eleven really is unfathomable!

    ¡­

    Under Yan Xuehen¡¯s lead, the group quickly arrived near the study. Although it was called that, it was actually arge courtyard surrounded by a wall. The infrastructure inside was beautiful and exquisite. Everything had clearly been designed with utmost care.

    There was an older-style building at the very center that vaguely exuded a mysterious pressure. That was clearly where King Yan spent most of his time. His grandmaster pressure had already umted there after a long time.

    There were guards outside, with even tighter security around the courtyard and main entrance. There were manyyers of guards guarding both positions, making it impossible to escape their detection.

    Zhang Zitong said nervously, ¡°Those guards in front are all sentries that don¡¯t move. There are also hidden guards watching. There are no gaps in their coverage, so there¡¯s no way for us to sneak in.¡±

    Sir Eleven hadn¡¯t told her how they were going to deal with this problem, so she was full of worries.

    Zu An nodded toward Daji. She nodded slightly, then slowly walked in.

    Zhang Zitong widened her eyes. She reflexively wanted to pull Daji back, but couldn¡¯t reach her. She nervously asked Zu An, ¡°Sir Eleven, what is she doing? She¡¯ll be found out!¡±

    ¡°The n is for her to be found out,¡± Zu An said with a smile.

    Zhang Zitong was stunned when she heard the reply. She really couldn''t figure out what he meant.

    ¡°Who is it?!¡± the guards eximed as they noticed Daji. They all surrounded her.

    However, Daji didn¡¯t say anything as she slowly undid her veil. The guards were shocked at first by her extraordinary beauty, but then they remembered their duty. They were about to draw their des when they saw a strange light emerge from her eyes. Their movements stopped. Then, a confused and lost expression appeared in their eyes, and they seemed to be entranced.

    ¡°What is going on?¡± Zhang Zitong waspletely stunned. This mysterious woman hadn¡¯t done anything apart from removing her veil. Why had they be like this? Now, even she wanted to see what this woman looked like. How could she have such a ridiculous amount of charm?

    Zu An nodded in admiration. As Daji¡¯s strength rose, her Voice of the Devil also increased in grade. Her skill could now be used on many people at once. On top of that, she was already at the seventh rank. No matter how elite King Yan¡¯s soldiers were, there was no way he would be so extravagant as to use seventh rank or higher experts to watch the entrance. The guards thus immediately fell for her skills. Fortunately, there weren¡¯t many guards in the courtyard. If there had been more, Daji¡¯s skill wouldn¡¯t necessarily have been effective.

    Zu An walked in confidently and leisurely while gesturing for Yan Xuehen and Zhang Zitong to follow along.

    At first, Zhang Zitong was a bit nervous because the guards¡¯ eyes were still open. However, there was no reaction in their eyes as the group passed at all. Forget about her, even Yan Xuehen was a bit shocked. Daji¡¯s skill really was a bit too horrifying.

    Fortunately, Zu An could still be considered good-natured. Otherwise, if he wanted tomit evil, he would be far scarier than those great demons of the Devil Sect.

    ¡­

    The group quickly stopped in front of the study¡¯s entrance. Zhang Zitong was a bit rmed. She had thought that this was going to be a tiger¡¯s den, but how was it that under Sir Eleven¡¯s lead, this all felt like a vacation stroll?

    She shook her head and did her best to snap out of her daze. She pointed at a faintly discernible light blue formation on the window and said, ¡°This is a formation created by a runemaster after King Yan spent a tremendous amount of money. Using force to break through it would easily rm everyone here. Even King Yan himself would notice something.¡±

    She secretly looked at Daji while speaking, but unfortunately, Daji¡¯s veil was already back on. Zhang Zitong couldn''t see what she really looked like at all.

    Zu An didn¡¯t have to say anything. Yan Xuehen walked over and made some hand seals. Daoist symbols appeared around her slender jade-like fingers, and with a gentle tap on the door, blue began shining. The entire formation appeared in front of her.

    Zhang Zitong was startled, thinking that they had tripped some kind of rm. She quickly grabbed her weapon in preparation of an attack, but everything remained calm. Nothing happened. She only saw Yan Xuehen standing in front of the entrance while carefully examining the formation runes on the door.

    After some time, Yan Xuehen suddenly moved. A translucent, cold rune appeared between her fingers again. Then, aplicated and mysterious imprint appeared. Several snow-white, translucent formations spun around her body.

    Zhang Zitong¡¯s mouth hung open. To her, the entire process carried a sort of quiet and elegant beauty. Even though the mysterious woman was dressed all in ck, she was like a goddess above the clouds. Zhang Zitong really didn¡¯t know where Sir Eleven had found someone this formidable.

    Suddenly, Yan Xuehen pointed toward the formation in front of her, and the magic rune entered it. The formation around her also spun rapidly, and the blue formation around the door turned white.

    Ka-cha!

    Finally, the door slowly opened.

    Zu An gave Yan Xuehen a big thumbs up, and entered the room first. He swept his divine sense outward, and immediately frowned. He sensed a great deal of killing intent inside.

 Chapter 1663: Darkness

    Chapter 1663: Darkness

    The entire room lookedpletely ordinary, no different from a regr study. However, Zu An could clearly sense several spots full of killing intent, where if he was even the slightest bit inattentive, he would die on the spot.

    He remembered that Zhang Zitong had mentioned these mechanisms before. With his and Yan Xuehen¡¯s cultivation, normal mechanisms couldn''t hurt them at all. However, if activating them would alert the others in the manor, that would make things troublesome.

    As such, he said to Zhang Zitong, ¡°It¡¯s your turn to shine!¡±

    Zhang Zitong immediately snapped to attention. She had felt as if she were about to go blind with envy from how dazzling the others Zu An brought with him were. As an Embroidered Envoy herself, how could she let other women outshine her?

    It was finally her turn. She stood at the forefront, then carefully examined theyout of the room. A whileter, she said, ¡°All of you, stand there and don¡¯t move.¡±

    She kicked off the ground as soon as she spoke. Then, she leaped several meters away toward another position.

    Zu An stared at the spot she had just jumped over. There was some killing intent concentrated in the area, clearly a trap waiting to be activated.

    Then, Zhang Zitong sometimes moved and sometimes stopped. Sometimes, she took several steps forward, while at other times, she backed up a few meters. Sometimes, she jumped through the air, while other times, her back arched and she turned to one side. It was as if there was something invisible in the air that she wanted to avoid.

    At first, she proceeded at a careful but steady pace. Suddenly, however, her expression changed and she bent backward all the way down, almost as if her back had broken. Her body ended up beingpletely supported by her arms. She then flipped backward a few times. During the entire process, her long legs were especially stunning.

    Yan Xuehen thought to herself, This woman¡¯s flexibility is quite good. If not for the fact that she had noticed a nearly-transparent thread stretched through the air, she would have thought that this woman was trying to seduce Zu An on purpose. That was because Zhang Zitong seemed to be dancing this entire time. She almost seemed to be showing off her legs in all sorts of ways.

    After avoiding that potential disaster, Zhang Zitong sighed in relief. She patted her chest, then proceeded. The others could tell that she was much more careful than before. In the end, she arrived at the wall behind the desk. There was an eagle statue on the wall.

    She took a deep breath. Then, as if she didn¡¯t have any bones in her body, she twisted into a stance that waspletely impossible for a normal person. One hand rested on the table to support her, while her legs split in opposite directions. One foot remained on the ground, while the other hooked upward along the wall.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s breath caught in her throat. She could vaguely sense the many nearly-transparent threads near the statue. No wonder this woman was holding herself in such a strange position.

    But¡­

    She looked at Zu An next to her. This guy¡¯s eyes were about to pop out of their sockets!

    Finally, Zhang Zitong¡¯s legspletely straightened. Unfortunately, the tips of her toes were still an inch from the statue. She couldn''t reach it even after several attempts.

    She gritted her teeth, and did her best to lower herself further. She groaned painfully, and her toe tips finally touched the falcon statue. Her body trembled as she used her tiptoes to rotate the wings of the eagle to one side. With a rumble, a slit appeared in the previously seamless floor, revealing a secret path.

    Zhang Zitong sighed in relief. She then retracted her foot. Her whole body trembled, as those movements had really exhausted her greatly. She gestured toward Zu An and said, ¡°You cane straight over now. The system has been deactivated.¡±

    Zu An and the others walked over. Sure enough, they didn¡¯t run into any dangers.

    When he saw how she was dripping with sweat, Zu An said in amazement, ¡°It¡¯s a good thing we had you with us today. Otherwise, it would have been quite hard to activate this mechanism.¡±

    Zhang Zitong¡¯s legs were exceptionally long, and she was really flexible too. Apart from her, no one else could perform such movements.

    Zhang Zitong¡¯s eyes immediately lit up when she heard his praise. She had finally proven her worth! There was no ipetent trash among the people at Sir Eleven¡¯s side.

    Zu An couldn''t help but look at Yan Xuehen. Her body was also really soft, and he had personally experienced how supple and strong it was. She should also be able to do this, right¡­

    When she sensed his gaze, Yan Xuehen clearly realized something. She gave him an annoyed look.

    ¡­

    The group slowly descended the stairs into a cave. Along the way, Zu An asked Zhang Zitong, ¡°Why do you know so much about the traps here?¡±

    Zhang Zitong replied, ¡°Sir Seven previously taught me that there are only so many styles of traps in this world. As long as you can identify the source, everything else merely makes some slight alterations to the foundation.¡±

    Zu An nodded. He thought back to his previous world¡¯s feng shui. Even though people always made it sound mysterious and profound, it was just that the ancients had always followed the same rules when they designed imperial tombs. As such, people in the present were able to retrace that knowledge to find those tombs.

    As they continued downward, the lighting dimmed more and more. Zhang Zitong clearly became nervous. She said, ¡°Sir Eleven, we¡¯ll soon reach the ce of absolute darkness. Not only will there be no light, one¡¯s ki senses will also be greatly reduced. I heard that even a master rank cultivator could be done in if they came to this kind of ce. Have you thought of a way to deal with this?¡± They had already gotten this far. She really didn¡¯t want everything to be for nothing.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Zu An said, his tone extremely calm. He continued forward just like before.

    When Zhang Zitong sensed that he was prepared and recalled everything leading up to this point, she also calmed down.

    Not long after, their surroundings becamepletely dark. ven though Zhang Zitong knew it was useless, she still reflexively took out a match to start a fire.

    Still, even though it clearly lit up, the light seemed to be sucked away by something. There was only an extremely small red point at the very tip, and nothing around it could be seen.

    ¡°Put out the fire, or else we¡¯ll be painting targets on our backs,¡± Zu An reminded her.

    Zhang Zitong¡¯s face heated up. She normally wouldn¡¯t make such a mistake, but people always had an indescribable fear of darkness.

    A low voice called out in front of them. ¡°I don¡¯t know how you arrived here, but now that you¡¯re here, everything will end now.¡±

    Then, an ear-splitting grinding noise filled the air; it was the sound of des being drawn. They were deliberately drawn slowly, almost as if the wielders were trying to erode their enemies¡¯ fighting spirits with the sound.

    Zhang Zitong nervously clenched her weapon. Unfortunately, the sword ki she released seemed topletely dissipate into nothing. She couldn''t sense where her enemies were at all. She could only estimate that there were eight to ten enemies from the sounds of the des being unsheathed.

    These warriors had been carefully selected. All of them were blind from birth, and they always remained in this dark room. They already knew everything within like the backs of their hands. Thus, while their enemies felt blinded, they themselves felt the same as always. If a fight broke out, it would be nothing more than a one-sided ughter.

    ¡°Sir, what do we do?¡± Zhang Zitong asked, but she suddenly felt a prating chill. It was as if she wasn¡¯t in an underground room of darkness, but rather amid snowy mountains full of roaring winds. Even with her cultivation, she couldn''t help but shiver. She felt as if all of her blood would freeze over.

    Suddenly, she was shocked to discover that the de sounds had stopped. Cold sweat dripped down her temples. Could it be that they¡¯ve already hidden themselves in the shadows and are waiting to attack us?

    Zu An said just then, ¡°Let¡¯s continue.¡±

    Zhang Zitong was stunned. She murmured, ¡°Those people¡­¡±

    ¡°They¡¯ve already been dealt with,¡± Zu An replied. This darkness might have been effective against master ranks, but what about a grandmaster?

    Even though Yan Xuehen¡¯s soul was being restricted a bit by the material used to build the space, she didn¡¯t need to care about that at all. The room wasn¡¯t that small, but it wasn¡¯t thatrge either. All she had to do was unleash a blizzard and freeze everything apart from the three of them.

    No matter how good those warriors were at hiding in the dark, they couldn''t do much against an area of effect attack. They were instantly overwhelmed.

    In the darkness, Yan Xuehen was walking at the forefront when she felt someone grabbing her hand. What else could that familiar feeling be but Zu An¡¯s hand? She tried to pull her hand away while asking through ki, ¡°What are you doing? Let go!¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°This ce is pitch-dark and I can¡¯t see, so I¡¯m scared.¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Yan Xuehen was speechless. She thought, This guy has already fought against who knows how many terrifying beings. He even dared to kill the Fiend Emperor and sleep with the Second Empress. Someone like that knows fear?

    She shook his hand away with a scowl. Unfortunately, his hand seemed to be stuck to hers and he didn¡¯t let go. However, she didn¡¯t dare to make too much of a disturbance for fear of Zhang Zitong overhearing it.

    Zu An said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, no one can see right now.¡±

    For some reason, his words carried a mysterious charm that made Yan Xuehen gradually stop struggling. In the outside world, she was the White Jade Sect Master, as well as Chuyan¡¯s master. She had too many things to worry about, so there was simply no chance for the two of them.

    However, in this ce that waspletely dark, no one knew who she was, nor could they see what she was doing. This thing that had always left her vexed seemed to have disappeared. In that instant, she felt as if this dark ce became a bit warmer. She didn¡¯t even really want to leave anymore.

    Suddenly, Zhang Zitong called out, ¡°Sir Eleven, it doesn¡¯t seem as if we¡¯ll be able to find the exit here.¡± She couldn''t find anything even after groping around.

    Normally, with their group¡¯s resourcefulness, if they could see, it wouldn¡¯t be too hard to find the exit at all. However, they couldn''t see a thing and could only rely on touch. This space wasn¡¯t that small either, so it wasn¡¯t easy to find an exit. More importantly, time was of the essence. It would be really tricky if King Yan came back.

 Chapter 1664: Speed Is a Crucial Asset in War

    Chapter 1664: Speed Is a Crucial Asset in War

    Zu An frowned. The situation was indeed a bit tricky. He asked Yan Xuehen through ki, ¡°Big sis Yan, can you sense if there are any exits around us?¡±

    Yan Xuehen shook her head slightly and replied, ¡°The only thing I can sense is that there aren¡¯t any clear exits in this room. It¡¯s probably hidden by some kind of mechanism.¡±

    ¡°Then can you find that mechanism?¡± Zu An continued.

    ¡°This room¡¯s material is special. The walls, floor, and ceiling all contain Souldrain Stones, and there are also special formations that greatly reduce the efficacy of the soul here. The soul can only explore a very small area. It might be difficult to find anything quickly,¡± Yan Xuehen answered. As she felt the warmthing from his hand, her cheeks turned red. Fortunately, they were inplete darkness, so she didn¡¯t have to be scared of other people seeing her. ¡°Also, I can¡¯t see any formation patterns, so there¡¯s no way for me to break the formation here.¡±

    ¡°This King Yan really did invest quite a lot here. He actually managed to create such an incredible ce,¡± Zu An said with a sigh. Her hand is so soft¡­

    Zhang Zitong asked worriedly, ¡°Then doesn¡¯t that mean we¡¯repletely stuck here? Sooner orter, King Yan will notice that something is strange here.¡±

    Zu An frowned. After all, the amount of time he could keep the guards outside distracted with Daji was also limited. ¡°There¡¯s no other way, I guess,¡± he said with a sigh. He raised a hand and called out, ¡°Let there be light!¡±

    As soon as he spoke, a beam of light suddenly appeared in the room. As it appeared in the midst of absolute darkness, the two women reflexively narrowed their eyes.

    However, Yan Xuehen reacted even more quickly. She quickly flung Zu An¡¯s hand away in a firm and decisive motion.

    Zhang Zitong slowly opened her eyes, gradually limating to the light. Even though it wasn¡¯t as bright as daylight, they were all powerful cultivators. This degree of light was already enough for them to see inside the area.

    ¡°Sir Eleven, how did you manage to do this?!¡± Zhang Zitong eximed, feeling shocked and overjoyed. After all, she had tried to start a fire, but the light had always been absorbed by the special formations around them. And yet, the lighting from his hand didn¡¯t seem to be affected by the surrounding space at all.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that right now. Hurry up and look for the mechanism,¡± Zu An shouted.

    ¡°Oh!¡± Zhang Zitong eximed as she quickly looked around. This was her forte.

    When Zhang Zitong left, Yan Xuehen snapped with an unhappy expression, ¡°You lied to me!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +100 +100 +100¡­

    ¡°How did I lie to you?¡± Zu An asked in confusion. His mind moved quickly to try and find a solution.

    ¡°You clearly could have used a light, and yet you continued to touch in the dark¡­¡± Yan Xuehen trailed off, too embarrassed to continue, but her gaze waspletely cold.

    Zu An suddenly let out a cry. Then, his body fell weakly to one side.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Yan Xuehen eximed, startled. She instinctively caught him.

    ¡°You should know already, right? I have to pay a price to use this skill,¡± Zu An said weakly.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression changed. She realized that he had used that mysterious Soulspeak skill, so she quickly sent ki into his body, saying ¡°Alright, don¡¯t speak anymore and adjust your breathing. I¡¯ll help supply you with ki.¡±

    Zu An grunted in response andy down in her arms. Her touch was ice-cold and soft. He really wanted to be like this forever.

    Yan Xuehen was suddenly stunned. But when she remembered the price he had needed to pay, she bit her lip and didn¡¯t say anything. She could only try to convince herself that, because she was wearing a mask right now, no one knew who she was.

    When she saw Zu An faint, Zhang Zitong was terrified. She was just about to approach when Yan Xuehen said coldly, ¡°Finding that mechanism so he doesn¡¯t have to use this skill anymore would be the best form of help for him.¡±

    Zhang Zitong shivered and didn¡¯t dare to waste any more time. She quickly looked around. At the same time, she thought to herself, Sir Eleven¡¯s rtionship with this woman really is special. He immediately fainted in her arms.

    Yan Xuehen kneeled down on the ground and rested Zu An¡¯s head on her thighs. When she saw that his eyes were tightly closed and his brows were furrowed, she couldn''t help but feel a bit of pity.

    This fellow was always doing things like this! He had actually used his Soulspeak in such an exaggerated manner, even in such a situation.

    Meanwhile, Zu An was actuallyughing inwardly. Even though this big sis Yan of his said she didn¡¯t like him, didn¡¯t she still treat him pretty well?

    He had used Keyboard Come to create a beam of light. Of course, for fear of the rebound, he hadn¡¯t dared to add the words ¡®God said¡¯ before it. This wasn¡¯t the first time he had summoned light, so the side-effects were still at a tolerable degree. Of course, it was still better to act as if he was in a bit more pain in front of Yan Xuehen¡­

    A whileter, Zhang Zitong eximed happily, ¡°I found it!¡± Then, she jumped onto several floor tiles in a certain pattern.

    Ka-ka-ka!

    With the sound of a mechanism activating, a secret door opened, revealing a hidden room behind it.

    Zu An was actually a bit unhappy that this woman had found the mechanism so quickly. He couldn''t even rest here for a bit longer!

    Yan Xuehen said with concern, ¡°We found the exit. You don¡¯t have to release the light anymore.¡±

    Zu An then ¡®slowly¡¯ opened his eyes and said, ¡°Ah, we already found it?¡± Then, the light in his hands went out.

    Yan Xuehen supported him to his feet and asked, ¡°How do you feel right now?¡±

    ¡°My body feels alright, but I feel a bit dizzy. I think I¡¯ve exhausted my mind a bit too much,¡± Zu An replied. He knew that Yan Xuehen was a grandmaster and could sense his condition through the ki she sent into him. There was no way of hiding that his body was fine, so he could only im to be in trouble on the mental side. After all, there was no way of examining one¡¯s mental strength.

    Sure enough, Yan Xuehen frowned. However, she continued to support him as they entered the room.

    The room inside didn¡¯t contain any special formations or Souldrain Stones. Zhang Zitong quickly lit a torch. The inside of the room was rather simple, with a stone tform and a chest on it. The entire thing gave off an ¡®I have something really important inside¡¯ feeling.

    Zhang Zitong exined, ¡°This is the Exquisite Sevenfold Lock. It¡¯s an extremely tricky device that fewer than ten experts in the world can unlock.¡±

    She didn¡¯t get the reaction she was hoping for out of them, so she could only add unhappily, ¡°I just happen to be one of them.¡±

    She took a hair clip out of her hair as she spoke. Upon closer inspection, one end of it resembled a fine curved needle. She gently inserted the needle through the opening and tilted her head to one side, trying to hear the fine noisesing from the inside of the lock.

    Yan Xuehen looked at her with astonishment. She thought to herself, Why are all of the women at Zu An¡¯s side so skilled?

    Ka-cha!

    After a while, the lock sprung open with a light click.

    Zu An leaned against Yan Xuehen¡¯s soft body. He wondered, ¡°Even though this lock is incredible, isn¡¯t it a bit too simple as the final barrier?¡±

    Compared to the others, this one seemed easier.

    Zhang Zitong replied, ¡°I believe King Yan had absolute confidence in the previous barriers, so he didn¡¯t spend too much attention to this. But apart from this lock, he set up another trap inside. If this ount book is removed, it will activate an rm, and the entire room will self-destruct.¡±

    Zu An nodded. It was easy to be negligent once one reached this final step, thinking they had already seeded.

    Zhang Zitong took out an ount book that looked identical. ¡°Which one of you is confident in using your hands? We need to swap the two ount books.¡±

    Yan Xuehen reflexively looked at Zu An. Zu An¡¯s expression immediately turned strange. Yan Xuehen quickly reacted to what Zhang Zitong said. Her face becamepletely red and she pushed him away.

    In order to hide her awkwardness, she stepped forward and said, ¡°Let me try.¡±

    Zhang Zitong looked at her in a daze. How was this woman¡¯s voice so beautiful? It wasn¡¯t like something from this world at all.

    Yan Xuehen took the booklet from her. She calmed herself down, then suddenly moved.

    ¡°It¡¯s done,¡± she said as she handed the ount book to Zu An. Even though she wasn¡¯t particrly great in terms of dexterity, for better or for worse, she was still a grandmaster. This sort of thing wasn¡¯t too difficult for her.

    Zhang Zitong rubbed her eyes. She didn¡¯t dare to believe what she was seeing. She hadn¡¯t even seen the other woman move. She¡¯s that fast? Just what level of cultivation does she have?!

    Zu An took it from her. His expression soon turned grave. Even calling this King Yan daring wasn¡¯t enough of an adjective!

    ¡­

    Then, the group left King Yan Manor. When the nervously watching Xiao Jianren saw them, he sighed in relief. He asked, ¡°Did you seed?¡±

    Zu An nodded. Everything had gone smoothly. He had thought that something unexpected could happen, but when he thought about it, having Yan Xuehen at his side wasplete overkill. It would be stranger if something had happened.

    ¡°Is King Yan still at the governor manor?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°Indeed. Governor Zhang was even more reliable than we imagined and has been holding him up all this time,¡± Xiao Jianren replied.

    Zu An nodded and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go and visit the governor manor.¡±

    ¡°King Yan is still there¡­¡± Xiao Jianren said hesitantly.

    ¡°It¡¯s precisely because he¡¯s there that I¡¯m going. How can you catch a criminal if the criminal isn¡¯t there?¡± Zu An replied nonchntly.

    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Xiao Jianren reflexively replied. Only after taking some steps back did he react and exim in rm, ¡°What? We¡¯re going to arrest King Yan?¡±

    ¡°What else?¡± Zu An replied as he raised the ount book in his hands. ¡°We already have proof. Speed is a crucial asset in war.¡±

    ¡°With just the few of us?¡± Xiao Jianren swallowed with difficulty.

    ¡°It¡¯s enough,¡± Zu An replied casually, leaving all of the Silver Token Envoys ashen-faced.

 Chapter 1665: Frontal Clash

    Chapter 1665: Frontal sh

    ¡°Enough?¡± Xiao Jianren eximed, aghast.

    Are you kidding me? King Yan is a grandmaster, and this is his terrain! There are experts everywhere, and he even has his own private army! We¡¯ll be blown away instantly!

    He had always felt that Sir Eleven was profound and mysterious, but that depended on who you wereparing him to! His decision this time really was way too reckless!

    ¡°Sir, perhaps it would be better if we took some more time in making our decision?¡± Xiao Jianren continued, swallowing nervously. He felt that perhaps it would still be better if he convinced Sir Eleven otherwise. ¡°We haven¡¯t investigated the contents of the ount book yet. Just an ount book alone isn¡¯t enough to bring down a king!¡±

    Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°Being swift and resolute in your actions is important. He¡¯ll find out that the ount book has been stolen soon, and he¡¯ll start to destroy the evidence. We need to detain him first, then track further evidence through the ount book. Without their leader, King Yan Manor¡¯s people will be much easier to investigate.¡±

    ¡°But what if the ount book is fake? ndering a king is a serious crime¡­¡± Xiao Jianren replied weakly in a final protest.

    ¡°I previously investigated some issues in Cloudcenter Commandery. The ount book¡¯s contents more or less match what I saw. So, there should be no issues with it,¡± Zu An replied.

    Seeing that he had already made his decision, Xiao Jianren sank into utter despair. He gave Zhang Zitong a look, hoping for her to speak up and advise him. However, all he saw was a look of adoration on her face, as if she had already beenpletely won over by his heroic nature.

    He loosened his cor and stuck out his chest. Then, with a light cough, he said, ¡°We Embroidered Envoys have always wandered along the brink of death. For the sake of righteousness, for the sake of upholding the court¡¯sws, I will advance despite any difficulty!¡±

    When he sensed that Zhang Zitong was looking at him in a favorable manner, he felt that the Embroidered Envoy uniform he was wearing seemed a bit more handsome.

    Zu An gave him a strange look. What the heck is this guy doing?

    Yan Xuehen gestured for him to talk with her off to one side. Zu An followed her to a corner, where she asked with a frown, ¡°Are you really going to arrest King Yan?¡±

    ¡°Does it look like I¡¯m joking?¡± Zu An replied. Then, he added, ¡°I know that big sis Yan¡¯s status is special, so I won¡¯t trouble you further. I don¡¯t need you to interfere in the following arrest. You can return to Violet Mountain first.¡±

    Yan Xuehen was a bit unhappy. That was clearly not what she meant. She looked at Zu An and asked, ¡°Didn¡¯t you exhaust a lot of mental strength, and isn¡¯t your body weak?¡±

    With the strength he had disyed in the Fiend King Court, even if he couldn''t sessfully capture King Yan, it wouldn¡¯t be too difficult for him to keep his life. However, he had just used the Soulspeak ability, leaving him in a weakened state.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Thanks to big sis Yan feeding me ki and protecting me, I¡¯m still in good shape. But it¡¯s still not quite enough. How about you give me a bit more?¡± Zu An replied as he moved closer to her with a bashful expression.

    ¡°Get lost!¡± Yan Xuehen snapped, realizing that she had fallen for his schemes again. Her expression turnedpletely cold. Inwardly, however, she wanted tough. This guy was such a scoundrel. Just how had someone like Chuyan ended up liking him?

    Zu An had a strange expression. This woman¡¯s words were harsh, but she hadn¡¯t even gotten angry at all¡­

    However, he also became serious and said, ¡°Big sis Yan, I know that you¡¯re worried about me, but you are the White Jade Sect Master. It isn¡¯t suitable for you to get involved in King Yan¡¯s arrest. Please return to Violet Mountain first. I¡¯ll look for you afterpleting this.¡±

    ¡°Who is worried about you?¡± Yan Xuehen retorted, rolling her eyes. ¡°Also, once you¡¯re done, stay as far away from me as possible. You¡¯re not allowed to look for me.¡± She turned around and left afterward.

    ¡­

    Zhang Zitong ran over when she saw Yan Xuehen leave, asking, ¡°Why is she leaving?¡±

    That other mysterious woman had also disappeared mysteriously. Now that someone with such incredible cultivation left, their side had been weakened again.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Just our current group is still enough,¡± Zu An said, waving his hand. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Xiao Jianren and the others¡¯ faces turned pale. However, the way things stood right now, they could only brace themselves and continue. Still, they all thought that they were dead for certain. All they were hoping was that the court would empathize with their loyalty and take care of their families.

    When they left, Yan Xuehen actually returned. She couldn''t help but stomp her feet a bit, muttering, ¡°That kid really is too unreliable. How can King Yan be so easy to deal with?!¡±

    She bit her lip. In the end, she was still too worried and secretly followed along.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in the governor manor, there were all sorts of festivities going on. The music was beautiful, and the dancers were even more alluring. However, the mood at the main table wasn¡¯t so enthusiastic.

    King Yan looked at Zhang Jie with narrowed eyes, saying, ¡°It has been so many years since Sir Governor has invited me to a feast. I wonder what all of this is about?¡±

    Zhang Jie said with a smile, ¡°Your respected self is a great king who rules over a great region. I am merely a governor assigned here by his majesty, so we should be cooperating to begin with. Because of various past events, there may have been some misunderstandings between us, so I invited King Yan for all of us to get closer to each other.¡±

    King Yan had an ambiguous smile as he replied, ¡°Why do I feel that this banquet of Sir Zhang¡¯s seems to harbor malicious intentions?¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    He naturally didn¡¯t believe the excuse. Their positions were naturally in opposition, so how could they possibly just get along? They weren¡¯t three-year-old children. Unfortunately, he couldn''t figure out Zhang Jie¡¯s motive. He could only continue to sound things out while signaling for his subordinates to be on alert.

    Just like that, they continued, but King Yan didn¡¯t notice anything. He was starting to get a bit annoyed, feeling that staying here waspletely meaningless. As such, he got up to leave. He didn¡¯t change his mind no matter how much the other party tried to keep him.

    Zhang Jie grimaced inwardly. He had already done everything he could to keep King Yan here. He wondered if Sir Eleven had finished what he wanted to do on his side.

    Not long after King Yan left his seat, a cold voice suddenly called out, ¡°So it turns out it was this lively here.¡±

    Zhang Jie¡¯s eyes lit up. At the same time, he was a bit confused as to why Sir Eleven would be here.

    ¡°Embroidered Envoy?¡± King Yan said with a frown. He gave Zu An¡¯s clothes a look. Golden Token Envoy!

    He didn¡¯t hesitate to ask directly, ¡°Did Golden Token Seven die? And this distinguished one is?¡±

    ¡°Golden Token Eleven,¡± Zu An said, showing him the golden token.

    King Yan harrumphed. He said in a haughty tone, ¡°Nowadays, the Embroidered Envoy seems to act without any rule or order. You aren¡¯t even going to show this king any courtesy upon meeting me?¡±

    Zu An calmly replied, ¡°If it were another time, it would indeed be correct to greet King Yan. However, things are a bit special today. King Yan, you¡¯ve been exposed.¡±

    King Yan¡¯s subordinates¡¯ expressions all changed as soon as they heard those words. They instantly drew their swords. It seemed that a battle was on the verge of breaking out.

    Zhang Jie swallowed. What is going on? Didn¡¯t Sir Eleven say that he was investigating a case? Why does it look as if he¡¯s going to arrest King Yan? Most importantly, he only brought a few people! Who¡¯s going to capture whom here?!

    King Yan was also stunned. Then, he burst intoughter that made all of the tiles in the governor manor tremble.

    He suddenly turned to look at Zhang Jie, saying, ¡°Amazing. I was wondering why Sir Zhang suddenly went out of his way to invite me. So it was because of this.¡±

    ¡°A misunderstanding, there has to be some kind of a misunderstanding here!¡± Zhang Jie eximed, wiping away his sweat. How could he have anticipated that Golden Token Eleven would be so direct and reckless, carrying out an arrest right in the governor manor? He hadn¡¯t even sent notice ahead of time so preparations could be made.

    Even if Zhang Jie could survive this conflict, after the fact that a king hadmitted mutiny got out and news reached the court, as the governor, it went without saying that his head would fly. His thoughts moved rapidly as he began thinking about how he could shift the me onto Golden Token Eleven.

    When he saw Zhang Jie¡¯s distress, Xiao Jianren actually felt a bit calmer. It wasn¡¯t just me after all, even a glorious governor feels this way! It¡¯s Sir Eleven who was too reckless this time.

    Zu An took out the ount book and said, ¡°King Yan is suspected of colluding with the Fiend races, smuggling military goods, and harboring a private army. Please cooperate with us in this investigation. If anyone else resists, it will be viewed as conspiring against the empire!¡±

    King Yan¡¯s subordinates¡¯ expressions changed again when they heard those words. After all, the power of the emperor and the court was deeply embedded in their hearts. Which one of them dared to bear the crime of treason?

    When he saw the ount book in Golden Token Eleven¡¯s hands, King Yan¡¯s eyes rapidly contracted. He immediately realized that Zhang Jie had invited him to a feast to lure the tiger from its den. He gave Zhang Jie a resentful look, then said with a harrumph, ¡°I do not know what Sir Eleven is saying. Is any random ount book enough to wrongly use this king? What a joke.¡±

    He released his grandmaster power as he spoke. A terrifying power enveloped the entire governor manor. Those with lower cultivations immediately copsed onto the ground and found it hard to breathe. Even elites like Xiao Jianren and Zhang Zitong could only barely hold on, without much fighting strength left.

    Zhang Jie was covered in cold sweat too. At the same time, his expression changed several times. He began to weigh his options, wondering whether to try to arrest King Yan with Golden Token Eleven, or work with King Yan to oppose Golden Token Eleven. After fighting against King Yan for so many years, the governor manor had umted some hidden strength.

    ¡°Any random ount book?¡± Zu An replied, remaining unfazed. He opened the ount book and began to read. ¡°... fourth of the eighth month, eight thousand jin of fine iron left Yi Commandery in secret to Cloudcenter Commandery and reached the Fiend race territory through the Pegasus Merchant Group¡­ eighteenth of the ninth month, ten thousand jin of rice reached the Fiend race territory in the north by route of water¡­¡±

    As he chose a few to read aloud, Governor Zhang Jie¡¯s expression quickly turned grave. Even many of King Yan Manor¡¯s followers revealed looks of shock. After all, the smuggling was an absolute secret that not everyone knew about.

    ¡°Shut up! Stop deluding people with lies!¡± King Yan eximed furiously. He reached out, and a massive hand immediately appeared above the ount book.

 Chapter 1666: The Best Backer

    Chapter 1666: The Best Backer

    King Yan didn¡¯t move from his original position. And yet, with just a seemingly casual grab of his hand, it was as if a dark cloud covered everything. All of the Embroidered Envoys werepletely surrounded.

    Zu An harrumphed and stretched out a hand to face it.

    A loud noise resounded. All of the nearby houses rocked back and forth. However, King Yan¡¯s terrifying w dissipated.

    The onlookers werepletely stunned. The legendary Golden Token Envoys were known to be formidable, but wasn¡¯t this one a bit too much? He was actually able to stop the attack of a grandmaster! Perhaps King Yan didn¡¯t use all of his strength?

    King Yan was overwhelmed with shock. He hadn¡¯t gone all out, but in order to make sure he seized back the important ount book, he had used roughly seventy percent of his strength. He had thought that it would be way more than enough to deal with a Golden Token Envoy, as he was aware of how strong they were on average.

    However, when they shed just now, he felt as if his power had popped like a needle against a balloon. It was as if something had sucked it all away.

    That¡¯s probably a skill he saves for self-defense. Golden Token Envoys shouldn¡¯t be underestimated after all.

    He made his move again,pletely vanishing from his original location. He didn¡¯t dare to be careless this time and used practically all of his strength. He had to seize that ount book back!

    That terrifying power made it hard for the others present to even breathe, let alone try to move out of the way. Xiao Jianren wanted to rush over to help, but he discovered that his entire body seemed to be frozen in ce. He couldn''t control himself at all.

    Governor Zhang¡¯s expression changed. He hadn¡¯t expected King Yan to actually go all out! Even though his own cultivation wasn¡¯t low, there was still a tremendous difference between him and King Yan. After some hesitation, in the end, he still didn¡¯t choose to help.

    Those present all thought that this Golden Token Eleven was dead for certain, and that he would soon pay the price for his recklessness. But who would have thought that he would suddenly raise his hand?

    King Yan was stunned. This guy is still able to move under my pressure, and so quickly at that? But what kind of skill is this? Why can¡¯t I see anything amazing about it at all?

    He intended to cripple the hand the opponent raised, but then when he saw the golden token in the center of Golden Token Eleven¡¯s palm, he suddenly recalled a rumor. His eyes rapidly contracted.

    The Embroidered Envoy monitored the entire world. Their cultivation clearly wasn¡¯t that high, but why were they like tigers among the world¡¯s endless officials? It was because they received orders from the son of heaven! Rumor had it that they could invite the emperor himself to act!

    However, King Yan quickly calmed himself down. He had heard that in order to request the help of the emperor, the Embroidered Envoy had to carry out a kind of ceremony. That dy would be more than enough for him to seize the ount book back several times over. He even wondered whether to just take the life of this Golden Token Envoy who was ridiculously overestimating himself.

    However, right at that instant, an even more terrifying power suddenly surged from the golden token. King Yan¡¯s aura was already terrifying enough, butpared to this, it was like a firefly¡¯s flicker of lightpared to the brilliance of the sun and moon.

    A golden figure appeared in midair. The boundless aura of the emperor spread in all directions. Even those who could still barely hold on under King Yan¡¯s pressure now kneeled down on the ground, trembling.

    ¡°You¡­ You¡­¡± King Yan murmured. Even he was so scared that all of his hairs were standing on end. He had never expected the Golden Token Envoy to bring out the emperor so quickly!

    Only Zu An remainedpletely calm. He stood in ce and stared at the projection in midair. It was identical to Zhao Han¡¯s appearance.

    When he first witnessed Zhao Han¡¯s power back in Brightmoon City, he had beenpletely in awe. However, as he grew and even learned about the higher cultivation ranks beyond grandmaster rank, he now knew more about the presence in the sky. He wondered, Is this Zhao Han¡¯s yin spirit or yang spirit?

    Even though Zu An didn¡¯t fear King Yan, why would he fight personally if he didn¡¯t have to?

    When he defeated Elder Xu from Purity Temple on Violet Mountain, the opponent had just been at the master rank. They weren¡¯t that different in level, so he could barely exin it. However, if he defeated King Yan, things could be really tricky. This was a well-known, bona fide, old-school grandmaster! He wouldn¡¯t be able to talk himself out of such a thing. Emperor Zhao Han would definitely start to be guarded against him. Being paid that kind of attention by such a terrifying being wasn¡¯t a good thing.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Zhao Han¡¯s projection asked as he slowly opened his eyes. He swept his gaze over the area, then his eyesnded on Zu An.

    Zu An pointed at King Yan and called out, ¡°King Yan is nning a rebellion!¡±

    Zhao Han frowned. His gaze turned to King Yan.

    King Yan almost vomited blood on the spot. He red at Zu An and eximed, ¡°Nonsense. When did I rebel?!¡± He didn¡¯t dare to put on even the slightest of airs in front of the emperor.

    You have sessfully trolled King Yan for +444 +444 +444¡­

    Zu An harrumphed. ¡°I am a Golden Token Envoy his majesty personally designated, someone in charge of investigating ournds. What could it be other than a rebellion for you to attack me?¡±

    King Yan replied in a panic, ¡°What do you mean, attack you? It was only because you were speaking nonsense, so I wanted to talk some reason into you.¡±

    ¡°Talk reason? I believe you wanted to destroy the evidence, no?¡± Zu An retorted as he raised the ount book in his hands. King Yan was left dismayed.

    Zhao Han asked, ¡°What exactly is going on?¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°This ount book records King Yan¡¯s illicit dealings with the Fiend races, including proof of smuggling military goods and raising a personal army.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m being wronged! I don¡¯t know where he got that random ount book to frame me, but I¡¯ve always dedicated everything to earnestly defend this area for your majesty! I definitely don¡¯t have even the slightest wrong thought!¡± King Yan cried out in an aggrieved tone at nearly the same time, because he knew that he could still have a chance at survival if he absolutely refused to admit to the truth.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Zu Anughed and replied, ¡°Then in that case, why did the king suddenly act up in rebellion, attacking me to seize the ount book in my hands?¡±

    ¡°It was only because you were unjustly using this king, so I wanted to teach you a lesson, that¡¯s it. It¡¯s nothing like the destruction of evidence you were talking about!¡± King Yan responded quickly. He felt as if his mind had never worked faster in his life than at this moment. He was dripping with cold sweat. Under Zhao Han¡¯s re, even though it was just a projection, it was enough to make even breathing difficult.

    Zhao Han didn¡¯t give Zu An a second nce. Instead, he looked at Governor Zhang and said, ¡°Zhang Jie, speak. What exactly happened here?¡±

    Zhang Jie¡¯s expression changed several times. If he continued to support King Yan here, Golden Token Eleven would most likely be done for. If he supported Golden Token Eleven, King Yan would be finished. However, if he supported Golden Token Eleven, then there was no turning back. He would bepletely opposed to King Yan. If this matter concluded without King Yan being used of any crime, he would then end up facing King Yan¡¯s ruthless revenge.

    After some hesitation, his expression became resolute as he began, ¡°Replying to your majesty. While managing Yi Commandery over the years, I¡¯ve heard some rumors surrounding King Yan¡­¡±

    Even though he was expressing support for Golden Token Eleven, he didn¡¯t use the most harsh sounding words. He didn¡¯t say that he had discovered that King Yan was colluding with the Fiend Races. That way, if something unexpected really happened, there would still be a chance of turning back.

    ¡°Zhang Jie, you ignorant man!¡± King Yan eximed, feeling shocked and furious. This was a trap set up by Zhang Jie after all!

    Zhao Han glowered, saying, ¡°Arrest King Yan for now. Zhang Jie will work with Golden Token Eleven to investigate the rted evidence.¡±

    ¡°This humble servant has epted the order!¡± Zhang Jie replied, overjoyed. His enemy of so many years had finally been taken down!

    In contrast, King Yan Manor¡¯s people were absolutely devastated. They were loyal and devoted to King Yan, to the extent that if it were just Golden Token Eleven and Zhang Jie here, they would still protect King Yan and ughter their way out. However, with the descent of the emperor, they hadpletely lost all will to resist. Over the years, Zhao Han had already be a deity-like presence in the hearts of his people. He was invincible!

    King Yan¡¯s expression changed. He seemed to be preparing for a final struggle. After all, Zhao Han hadn¡¯t personally arrived, so it wasn¡¯t as if he didn¡¯t have any chance¡­

    That projection gave him a look as soon as that thought emerged. King Yan immediately felt goosebumps and kneeled down in ruin, saying, ¡°This subject has been treated unjustly. I will wait for my innocence to be proven in court!¡±

    Zu An gave Xiao Jianren and Zhang Zitong a look, saying, ¡°What are you all just standing around with nk stares for?¡±

    They finally snapped out of their daze and rushed over to bind King Yan in Soul Reaping Chains. Even though he was a grandmaster, once he was locked up in those chains, he wouldn¡¯t be able to use his cultivation anymore. Still, they were left in a daze. They had actually arrested the tyrannical King Yan just like that?

    Zhang Jie, on the other hand, was still fairly clear-headed. He gestured for everyone else to cooperate and arrest the followers who hade with King Yan. Otherwise, they could end up causing further trouble.

    Zhao Han nodded when he saw that King Yan had been locked up. Then, he said to Zu An, ¡°You there. This emperor has something to ask you.¡±

    Zu An followed the projection to a distant courtyard. The massive head in the air turned into a streak of golden light, eventually taking Zhao Han¡¯s appearance. Apart from his body being sparkling and translucent, it wasn¡¯t much different from Zhao Han¡¯s true form

    Zu An clicked his tongue. You can even do that with your spirit? No wonder they say an earth immortal¡¯s spirit can wander ten thousand miles in a single night. I wonder if the Zhao Han back at the Imperial Pce has to exhaust anything to do this.

    Zhao Han stood there with his hands behind his back as he asked nonchntly, ¡°How are Violet Mountain¡¯s repairs progressing?¡±

    ¡°Everything is proceeding in a regr and thorough manner,¡± Zu An answered, although he naturally knew the emperor wasn¡¯t actually asking about that. He added, ¡°But the nine daoist sects¡¯ greatpetition is being held right now, so there are experts gathered all around Violet Mountain. I worry that perhaps their presence might be unfavorable to your majesty.¡±

    ¡°People like them?¡± Zhao Han sneered in response.

    Zu An thought to himself, Look at this guy showing off. He¡¯s actually a bit like me in that regard.

    ¡°Continue your investigation then. This emperor is leaving.¡± Zhao Han¡¯s golden figure disappeared as soon as he finished speaking.

    Zu An suddenly muttered to himself, ¡°The emperor''s decree, carried by the grace of heaven¡­¡±

    ¡°Do you know how many Embroidered Envoys do not dare to summon this emperor their entire lives?!¡± Zhao Han snapped as he reappeared. He did his best to remain calm, but he couldn''t hold back a sharp and vicious re.

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Han for +666 +666 +666¡­

    After all, an ordinary Embroidered Envoy didn¡¯t have the right to summon the emperor just like that. They needed to be granted an Imperial Edict during special missions. Even so, most of them chose not to use it in the end. The first reason was that the power of the Imperial Edict was normally already enough, and the second was because they didn¡¯t want to appear useless in front of the emperor.

    However, Golden Token Envoys were different. They didn¡¯t need to use an Imperial Edict. They could summon the emperor purely through their token. Of course, the emperor needed to specially grant them that ability before leaving the capital.

    In all these years, there hadn¡¯t been many instances in which Zhao Han had to make an appearance, and yet this kid had already summoned him several times! Zu An had even summoned him twice in session! In that instant, he almost felt as if he were being made a fool of.

    ¡°I just wanted to see if there were any limits to this summoning. Otherwise, I really wouldn¡¯t feel that safe if I encountered another situation like today¡¯s again without your majesty¡¯s help,¡± Zu An said with a sincere expression.

    ¡°You are not permitted to summon this emperor unless it is an emergency! Do not do this again!¡± Zhao Han harrumphed and disappeared.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

 Chapter 1667: Other Hidden Motives

    Chapter 1667: Other Hidden Motives

    The whole affair caused a massive disturbance, as even the emperor himself had personallye. The important officials from Yi Commandery rushed over when they heard the news, including Yi Commandery¡¯s Martial Supervisor Yang Sheng and Yi City Lord Liao Ling.

    Of course, some of King Yan¡¯s officials also arrived without knowing about the situation. When they heard that King Yan had been detained, their expressions changed greatly. However, Zhang Jie didn¡¯t give them the chance to leave. He seized the chance to take all of them into custody too.

    The only regretful thing was that Yan State¡¯s Xiang Minister Sun Xun hadn¡¯te. It was rumored that he was away.

    When Zu An returned to the courtyard, the way people looked at him was different. Previously, even though his status as an Embroidered Envoy was frightening, there were quite a few local bigwigs present, so they hadn¡¯t been that scared. However, after finding out that he could summon the emperor at any time, who wasn¡¯t scared of him?

    They had heard that Embroidered Envoys could summon the emperor, but that the ceremony was incrediblyplicated. When had they ever summoned the emperor just like that, so quickly and easily?

    Furthermore, this Sir Eleven was clearly different from other Embroidered Envoys. ording to the intelligence they had gathered, when other Embroidered Envoys summoned the emperor, it would just be an emotionless projection that would disappear after he was summoned. But this time, it was as if the emperor himself had reallye!

    ¡°Sir Eleven has both wisdom and bravery, as expected. He was able to capture King Yan so quickly,¡± Zhang Jie said, giving him a thumbs up. He couldn''t hold himself back from offering praise.

    The others also rushed over to praise Zu An. Even the normally aloof Liao Ling¡¯s expression changed a bit when he looked at him. Zu An¡¯s mood wasn¡¯t all that great, however, because he had just met with Zhao Han. He didn¡¯t feel as good about all of the praise as usual.

    ¡­

    After he ordered Zhang Jie to arrest any rted individuals, he found a chance to meet with King Yan alone. Normally, that wouldn¡¯t be too appropriate, but his prestige was extremely high at the moment. Who would dare to criticize his actions?

    The previously high and mighty King Yan was bound up in Soul Reaping Chains. He looked just like an old man with one foot already in the grave. He sat quietly in the corner just like that, as if he would decay away at a moment¡¯s notice.

    When he saw Zu An arrive, King Yan raised his head. A hint of resentment shed through his eyes as he said, ¡°Very good! This king never expected to be pecked in the eye by the goose he was hunting.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Li for +555 +555 +555¡­

    Zu An said coldly, ¡°You should have anticipated that this would happen to you one day from the moment you decided to conspire with the Fiend races.¡±

    He felt a bit strange after saying that. He was the glorious Fiend races¡¯ Regent, the adoptive father of the little emperor and the lover of the Second Empress. And yet, he was using someone else of conspiring with the Fiend races?

    Sigh, even though I told the Second Empress to do her best to cut off any news about me being the Regent, the Fiend race territories are so big. The court will find out sooner orter one day.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    King Yan harrumphed. There was no one else here, so he didn¡¯t bother defending himself meaninglessly.

    Zu An calmed himself down and said, ¡°I came here to ask you about something this time. How did you kill Golden Token Seven?¡±

    King Yan gave him a cold look and shot back, ¡°What, do you think a rebellion isn¡¯t enough of a criminal usation, so you want to use me of even more?¡±

    Zu An said indifferently, ¡°We¡¯re all people in the know. Is there any meaning in your quibbling here?¡±

    ¡°Heh.¡± King Yan sneered and said, ¡°And I was wondering just how brilliant and heroic of a man you are. It turns out you thought that I was the one who killed Golden Token Seven!¡±

    Zu An was rmed, replying, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re not?¡±

    ¡°Of course not,¡± King Yan said, his eyes flickering. It seemed almost as if he had learned something interesting, which gradually calmed his mood. He continued, ¡°With how things are, there would be no reason for me to lie about something like this.¡±

    Zu An frowned. Compared to the crimes of smuggling and rebellion, killing Golden Token Seven indeed seemed unimportant. However, it was hard to say too. After all, those crimes he had been used of could end up not being proven. There was a chance that he just didn¡¯t want to admit to the murder of Golden Token Seven.

    As if sensing that Zu An didn¡¯t believe him, King Yan continued, ¡°It¡¯s true that Golden Token Seven always got in this king¡¯s way, so I loathed him and had thoughts of getting rid of him. However, his status was too sensitive. He was someone his majesty personally appointed. In a ce like Yi Commandery that is full of the emperor¡¯s eyes, touching him would have been the same as publicly rebelling against the empire. This king knows at least that much.¡±

    ¡°But all of the evidence so far seems to point toward you,¡± Zu An said, looking into his eyes.

    ¡°Were you the one who captured Sir Huo?¡± King Yan suddenly came to a realization and said angrily, ¡°That guy doesn¡¯t do things properly and just causes more trouble.¡±

    That person was normally antisocial and strange. Sometimes, he left to do some mysterious things, only to return a few dayster. Thus, he hadn¡¯t been too worried at first, thinking it was a normal urrence. Only now did he realize that something had happened to Sir Huo.

    ¡°Do you have nothing left to say?¡± Zu An replied with a sneer. ¡°Back then, Golden Token Seven was hit by a spirit element attack. That was how he died in such a mysterious way.¡±

    ¡°So it was because of Sir Huo that you suspected me,¡± King Yan said, suddenly realizing the truth.

    ¡°You have the strongest motive. You have a spirit element expert, Sir Huo, under you as well. Who else could it be but you?¡± Zu An retorted. His expression was calm, but all kinds of possibilities appeared in his head.

    ¡°Since you¡¯ve captured Sir Huo, then did he confess to killing Golden Token Seven?¡± King Yan sneered.

    Zu An frowned. Indeed, Sir Huo didn¡¯t seem to have admitted to that when he was caught. The group had then focused on Golden Token Seven and King Yan¡¯s grudge, however. Then, they had all begun to search for the ount book proving King Yan¡¯s betrayal. Everything seemed to be rational and clearly structured¡­

    Seeing that Zu An had fallen silent, King Yan harrumphed. ¡°This king knew that I would be the biggest suspect following Golden Token Seven¡¯s death. That¡¯s why I sent some people to investigate this case as well.¡±

    ¡°Oh? You had your own investigation?¡± Zu An asked. His surprise was real this time. ¡°Who did you send?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s something I can¡¯t tell you.¡± King Yan said mysteriously.

    Zu An frowned slightly. He didn¡¯t know whether King Yan was deliberately making thingsplicated, or if something really had happened. Still, that helped him make many connections between the details he knew.

    ¡°There¡¯s just one thing that I don¡¯t understand. You should have investigated the Hub of Freedom back then. Why did you investigate me instead?¡± King Yan spoke up again. His expression was full of confusion.

    Zu An thought of something and said, ¡°So you actually bought out that Embroidered Envoy.¡±

    Previously, the traitor¡¯s description had ended up involving the Hub of Freedom¡¯s Tang Tian¡¯er. However, they hadn¡¯t expected him to know Tang Tian¡¯er personally.

    ¡°Was that Embroidered Envoyter silenced?¡± Zu An asked. Later, Xiao Jianren¡¯s group had investigated everywhere, even going to his home, but there was no news of him at all.

    ¡°There was someone who wanted him silenced, but it wasn¡¯t me,¡± King Yan replied with a chuckle, as if he had thought through some things.

    ¡°Where is he now?¡± Zu An asked. This traitor didn¡¯t seem to just be a simple nobody.

    ¡°You haven¡¯t even told me why you didn¡¯t investigate the Hub of Freedom and instead came after me. Why do I have to tell you that?¡± King Yan bluntly refused.

    Zu An frowned. That subject was rted to too many things. Tang Tian¡¯er was his friend, so he didn¡¯t want to involve her.

    ¡°Even though I don¡¯t know why you weren¡¯t willing to investigate the Hub of Freedom, I¡¯ll still give you a word of advice. In the case of Golden Token Seven¡¯s death, the Hub of Freedom is likely involved,¡± King Yan said with a smile. After the initial rm of being arrested, he seemed to have realized some things. He was more rxed now.

    Zu An asked him about a few more things, but he didn¡¯t say a word. Zu An gritted his teeth when he saw that. He really wanted to use the Ikuu Experience card against this guy. However, after some hesitation, he didn¡¯t do so and instead left the prison.

    ¡­

    Zu An summoned Zhang Zitong and Xiao Jianren, ordering them to work with Zhang Jie¡¯s officials to investigate the ount book¡¯s details, as well as to secure any rted human testimonies and evidence.

    The two of them were both excited. This was a big case! If they seeded, they would obtain several years¡¯ worth of merits!

    Zu An then talked to Zhang Jie, Yang Sheng, Liao Ling, and other local officials of Yi Commandery. He had them track down the rest of King Yan¡¯s people, and tasked them to detain people such as King Yan¡¯s heir and Xiang Minister Sun Xun as quickly as possible.

    After assigning all of those tasks, he left. He had too many doubts that he had to look into.

    ¡­

    As soon as he left the governor manor, he suddenly felt something. He turned to look in a certain direction. He saw a figure slowly walking out from behind arge tree. Even though she was dressed all in ck, with that familiar figure and outstanding aura, who else could it be but Yan Xuehen?

    ¡°Big sis Yan!¡± Zu An eximed. His previously irritable mood suddenly became calm.

    ¡°I was not doing this because I was worried about your safety or anything! I just sensed the emperor¡¯s power, so I could not hold back my curiosity and came to take a look,¡± Yan Xuehen said with an unnatural expression.

    Zu An sighed and said, ¡°You¡¯re finally here! I was almost killed by the emperor just now.¡± He had a weak expression. He closed his eyes and fainted, falling to one side. A cry of rm filled the air, and then he could feel that he was leaning against a soft body.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Yan Xuehen asked nervously. She checked his pulse. However, her expression quickly changed and she pushed him away, eximing, ¡°You tricked me again!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +33 +33 +33¡­

    However, Zu An wasn¡¯t pushed away. In fact, hetched onto her like as if they were stuck together.

    ¡°Let go!¡± Yan Xuehen cried, struggling more fiercely. However, in the end, she didn¡¯t use her grandmaster rank power out of fear of identally hurting him.

    Zu An sighed and said, ¡°Big sis Yan, it looks like you clearly worry about me. Why do you have to lie to yourself?¡±

    ¡°Who is worried about you? I already told you that I suddenly noticed the emperor¡­ Mmm¡­¡± Her mouth was covered by scorching hot lips before she could even finish her sentence. Her beautiful eyes immediately widened, and her mind also went nk.

    A whileter, she finally snapped out of her daze and pushed him away. She was both ashamed and annoyed, snapping, ¡°What are you doing?¡± Meanwhile, she reflexively looked around.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, there¡¯s no one else here,¡± Zu An said, looking at her with a smile. An icy peak crowned with a touch of rosiness really was an incredibly beautiful sight.

    ¡°Is this an issue of whether there¡¯s anyone around us or not? You actually dare to treat me with disrespect!¡± Yan Xuehen cried. Her entire body was shaking, perhaps because of anger or rm.

    ¡°Is this called disrespect? Then what would you call what we did before?¡± Zu An retorted, looking directly into her eyes.

 Chapter 1668: Two Hours

    Chapter 1668: Two Hours

    ¡°You¡­!¡± Yan Xuehen trailed off, staring at Zu An. Her chest rose and fell intensely, showing just how shaken up she was. After some time, she took a deep breath and said, ¡°I already said that I¡¯ve already forgotten what happened at that time.¡±

    ¡°Did you really forget?¡± Zu An replied. He gave the Rage system a look, but he didn¡¯t see any Rage points. He couldn''t help but grin.

    ¡°Of course!¡± Yan Xuehen replied, her expression turning cold. She immediately turned around to leave.

    Zu An sighed and said, ¡°If you really forgot, you would already have fought me to the death the moment you were kissed just now.¡±

    With Yan Xuehen¡¯s normal personality, forget about kissing her, just being touched by a man would result in that very hand being chopped off.

    Yan Xuehen almost fainted on the spot. She turned around and stared at him with an unkind expression, eximing, ¡°Are you an idiot? You won''t be satisfied unless I kill you or something?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +99 +99 +99¡­

    Zu An roared withughter, saying, ¡°Of course I¡¯m satisfied. I¡¯m actually really happy. This just means I¡¯m actually still important to you!¡±

    Yan Xuehen took a deep breath to calm herself down, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t be too much of a narcissist. The only reason I haven¡¯t killed you is because you¡¯re Chuyan¡¯s husband. It¡¯s just that I don¡¯t want her to feel brokenhearted.¡±

    ¡°Fine, fine, fine. I believe you,¡± Zu An said, looking at her with a big smile. This woman is quite interesting when she¡¯s upset.

    Yan Xuehen almost stamped off in fury when she heard his clearly insincere words. She snapped, ¡°What is your real intention?¡± She made up her mind that if he dared to say any more of those foolish words, she would immediately draw her sword and cut his tongue off.

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +222 +222 +222¡­

    Zu An put away his smile and said with a serious expression, ¡°I know that there are many, many problems standing in our way, and I don¡¯t know how to deal with them. I don¡¯t want to make you unhappy either¡­ In that case, why don¡¯t you just be my two-hour girlfriend? Then, we¡¯ll part ways and I won¡¯t get involved with you anymore.¡±

    ¡°Two-hour girlfriend? What do you mean?¡± Yan Xuehen asked with a frown. She clearly should have felt relieved when he said that he wouldn¡¯t get involved with her anymore, but why didn¡¯t she feel happy at all?

    ¡°It¡¯ll take about two hours to return to Violet Mountain from here. Let¡¯s just be lovers during the trip back. Once we return to Violet Mountain, we¡¯ll just be strangers. I¡¯ll forget everything and not bother you anymore,¡± Zu An exined.

    Yan Xuehen was stirred up inside. If she could get him to stop being involved with her anymore in exchange for that, it wasn¡¯t all that bad of a deal¡­

    Her reason finally won out in the end. There had to be a resolution between the two of them eventually. Spending two hours together as lovers, then sealing up those memories, could serve as a way to fully calm herself down. She wouldn¡¯t have to worry about her own personal gains and losses anymore.

    She took a deep breath and said, ¡°Fine, but you¡¯re not allowed to do anything strange!¡±

    ¡°If we¡¯re going to be lovers, then of course we have to do what lovers do,¡± Zu An said. However, when he saw her expression change abruptly, he quickly exined, ¡°But we definitely won¡¯t do what you¡¯re thinking. After all, we have to fly back.¡±

    He suddenly recalled what had happened in Bluefield Country. Doing it all the way up there wasn¡¯tpletely impossible, and that fox queen was soft and amazing¡­

    ¡°I just can¡¯t help but feel as if that smile of yours holds bad intentions,¡± Yan Xuehen said, frowning slightly. However, when she thought about how they were going to be flying, she thought that he wouldn¡¯t really have any opportunity to do anything over-the-top. As such, she agreed and said, ¡°Fine. I hope you abide by your word.¡±

    Zu An happily ran over and grabbed her hand. It was cold to the touch, as if he were holding jade.

    Yan Xuehen trembled all over. She reflexively wanted to pull her hand back, crying out, ¡°What are you doing?!¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this normal between lovers?¡± Zu An asked, looking at her in confusion.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s breath caught in her throat. She then thought about how this was only going tost two hours. After some hesitation, in the end, she didn¡¯t resist.

    The two of them walked together under the evening sky just like that. The chirping of the bugs around them from time to time only made the ce seem even more peaceful.

    When she felt the heating from his hands, Yan Xuehen felt ufortable all over. In order to ease the awkwardness, she asked, ¡°What exactly happened over at the governor manor?¡±

    Zu An gave her a rough description of what had just happened. As he breathed the faint fragrance wafting through the air, he really felt happy.

    ¡°The emperor is really strong, so I didn¡¯t even dare to get too close earlier for fear of being discovered,¡± Yan Xuehen said. She still felt some lingering fear.

    ¡°Was that an earth immortal¡¯s yin or yang soul?¡± Zu An asked. She was a grandmaster who had already been famous for a long time, so she probably knew more about that than him.

    ¡°Judging from what you were saying, that was definitely his yang soul. But even though he¡¯s made an appearance several times, I¡¯ve never heard of him revealing his yang soul. Looks like he really does treat you differently,¡± Yan Xuehen said, feeling moved.

    ¡°What do you mean, he treats me differently? Isn¡¯t it just because he was worried that something strange was happening here on Violet Mountain?¡± Zu An replied disdainfully.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Yan Xuehen asked, stunned. She clearly picked up the implications behind what he said.

    Zu An didn¡¯t hide the truth and told her that Zhao Han had sent him to repair Violet Mountain¡¯s pces, but his real mission was to check for hidden dangers there.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Yan Xuehen grinned and said, ¡°So you were suspicious that the people of the daoist sects were actually here because they wanted to act against the emperor. In that case, why did you tell me about this? I¡¯m also from the daoist sects.¡±

    Zu An stared calmly into her perfect, wless face and said, ¡°Because we¡¯re lovers. Lovers are the closest and most intimate people to each other in the entire world. Why would I hide this from you?¡±

    Yan Xuehen was deeply touched. Was that the weight of the term ¡®lovers¡¯?

    However, she still couldn''t handle his scorching gaze and shifted her gaze slightly, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. The emperor is so formidable. Not even the nine sects added up together would be his match. Why would we overestimate ourselves and do something like that?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s hard to say for certain¡­¡± Zu An trailed off. His expression suddenly changed and he said, ¡°Oh no. If I can summon the emperor at any time with the golden token, can he monitor everything I¡¯m doing through the golden token if he wants?¡±

    He was a huge criminal. There were too many opportunities for the emperor to find out his secrets.

    Yan Xuehen couldn''t help but smile when she saw how nervous he was. She said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. He only left a trace of aura on your golden token. It¡¯s just enough for him to sense ande to you when needed. There¡¯s no way he could constantly monitor you unless he actually stored a portion of his yang soul in that token. But that would be too dangerous for an earth immortal, because if you encountered some really powerful foe and that portion of soul got destroyed, that would deal a serious blow to the emperor¡¯s strength.¡±

    She looked at Zu An before continuing,¡± Even though you have a lot of secrets, in the emperor¡¯s eyes, there¡¯s no way you would be worth taking that big of a risk. Furthermore, you usually store your golden token in the storage subspace too. Even if he did do something to the token, he still cannot monitor your actions.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but sigh before bing much more rxed. He said, ¡°It seems you were always watching over me. You even know that I kept the golden token in my storage space.¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression became a bit unnatural. She harrumphed. ¡°I¡¯m not blind, you know.¡± Then, she continued, ¡°Right, judging from what you were saying just now, it sounds as if you believe King Yan when he says he wasn¡¯t the one who killed Golden Token Seven?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. That old fox wouldn¡¯t tell me the truth even after ending up in his current situation, still telling me to investigate the Hub of Freedom,¡± Zu An sneered. ¡°In that case, he deserves everything that¡¯sing to him.¡±

    ¡°It sounds as if you don¡¯t really want to investigate the Hub of Freedom,¡± Yan Xuehen said, blinking. She carefully observed his reaction.

    After some hesitation, Zu An still nodded and said, ¡°I won¡¯t hide it from you. I have a friend in the Hub of Freedom who treats me quite well. Why should I investigate them just because of what King Yan said? Either way, King Yan had the motive and ability. The proof is already enough.¡±

    ¡°Your friend from the Hub of Freedom is a woman, right? And definitely a really pretty woman,¡± Yan Xuehen sneered. However, she still felt warm inside, because he had shared such a deep secret.

    Zu An¡¯s expression stiffened. He replied, ¡°What does this have to do with being pretty or not? The main thing is that she¡¯s my friend.¡±

    ¡°But of course. They can¡¯t be your friends if they¡¯re ugly, though,¡± Yan Xuehen said, rolling her eyes. She seemed to have seen straight through him.

    Zu An was speechless. This woman looked like a cold and silent beauty, and yet she had such a sharp tongue to her too?

    Yan Xuehen suddenly said, ¡°You should keep some distance from the Hub of Freedom in the future. There are no benefits to being too close to them.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He picked up some implications from her words and asked, ¡°Why?¡±

    After some hesitation, Yan Xuehen slowly said, ¡°Don¡¯t tell anyone else what I¡¯m about to tell you, and especially not to those from the court.¡±

    Zu An shivered and replied, ¡°Alright!¡±

    ¡°Because of the White Jade Sect¡¯s history, I learned that the Hub of Freedom might have some connection to the Meng Dynasty¡¯s royal family,¡± Yan Xuehen slowly said.

    ¡°Meng Dynasty? The previous dynasty?¡± Zu An asked, shocked.

    Yan Xuehen nodded and exined, ¡°The reason for the Zhou Dynasty¡¯s power is that it was built on the Meng Dynasty¡¯s foundation. In the past, the Meng Dynasty was also a glorious age. The daoist sects received a lot of benefits back then¡­ But there was a dispute between brothers over the throne, so once the emperor ascended, he was always on guard against his brothers and other imperial n members. The seeding emperors never let go of those policies, not allowing the other n members to gain any authority.

    ¡°That behavior alone wasn¡¯t that surprising, but it just so happened that the emperors who seeded the throne all had rather short lifespans. Because of that, some important ministers became elders. Because the emperors were young, as the wars with the Fiend races continued, authority was gradually seized by those elders instead.¡±

    Zu An sighed and said, ¡°The ancestor of this dynasty was none other than the subject with the greatest authority back then.¡±

    After arriving in this world, he had frantically tried to gather historical knowledge. Even though this part of history had been modified, after bing an Embroidered Envoy, he had still been able to ess some information ordinary people didn¡¯t have.

    Yan Xuehen nodded slightly and said, ¡°That¡¯s right. The founding ancestor of this dynasty had established tremendous prestige in the wars against the Fiend races. In time, taking over the Meng Dynasty was only to be expected. The other elders who were protecting the Meng Dynasty had already been beaten down for many years, so they no longer had the strength to stop him.

    ¡°Of course, it was still a glorious dynasty in the end. The Meng Dynasty was dissatisfied with the Zhou Dynasty¡¯s ancestor taking the throne. They gathered their forces andunched severalrge scale rebellions. But in the end, they were all defeated. The court¡¯s officials also carried out a cruel suppression of the Meng Dynasty¡¯s faction. From then on, news of the Meng Dynasty rarely appeared again.¡±

    She paused for a moment, then added, ¡°And the Hub of Freedom rose up in that time.

    ¡°There are fewer than three people total in all of the White Jade Sect who know of this. So, I hope you won¡¯t make things difficult for me.¡±

    Zu An was beyond shocked. He hadn¡¯t expected the Hub of Freedom to be rted to the previous dynasty! The Embroidered Envoy didn¡¯t necessarily know about that. The only reason why Yan Xuehen had such information was probably because the White Jade Sect and Meng Dynasty had had quite a considerable rtionship back then.

    He couldn''t help but hold Yan Xuehen¡¯s hands and say in a moved tone, ¡°You even told me such a great secret of the White Jade Sect?¡±

    Yan Xuehen blushed. She pursed her small lips and said, ¡°Aren¡¯t we lovers? You said that lovers don¡¯t have to keep anything from each other.¡±

    Under the moonlight, her features glistened like sparkling jade. There was ayer of hazy light covering her entire body that made her look absolutely enchanting. Zu An was really moved. He couldn''t hold himself back and pulled her into his firm embrace.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s body stiffened. She instinctively wanted to push him away, but after raising her hand several times, in the end, she gently hugged his shoulder. Either way, it was just going to be for a short time¡­

 Chapter 1669: I Have a Friend

    Chapter 1669: I Have a Friend

    Yan Xuehen had the ¡®two-hour¡¯ excuse that helped her rx considerably. She clearly also nned to devote everything to this two-hour romance, as only then would she be able to end their rtionship without any regrets. Then, she couldpletely cut off those emotions.

    After their embrace, their rtionship clearly became a bit more natural. The two of them held hands as they walked together.

    Perhaps it was because Yan Xuehen was embarrassed, or maybe because she felt awkward, but in the end, she couldn''t hold herself back and asked, ¡°Are you not going to investigate Hub of Freedom at all after knowing about their background?¡±

    ¡°What is there to investigate? It has nothing to do with me,¡± Zu An said, looking at her carefully. ¡°Furthermore, even if there is a rtionship, it¡¯s nowhere as important as you. I don¡¯t care about anything else during these two hours. Spending time with you is the most important thing.¡±

    Yan Xuehen was a bit rmed. Was this the so-called feeling of a romantic rtionship? She felt both happy and bashful right now. At the same time, there were some mysterious feelings of rm mixed in.

    The two wandered around under the moonlight just like that. No one said anything, as if they both really treasured the brief period of peace and silence.

    After walking together for a while longer, Yan Xuehen looked in Violet Mountain¡¯s direction. In the end, she couldn''t help but say, ¡°If we continue like this, we won¡¯t reach Violet Mountain even by the time the sky bes bright again.¡±

    Zu An figured that what she said made sense. There could end up being all sorts of rumors if the two of them just happened to be missing during dawn. As such, he took out the Wind Fire Wheels. Then, he made an inviting gesture to Yan Xuehen.

    Yan Xuehen reflexively shook her head and said, ¡°I can fly on my own.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re lovers, so shouldn¡¯t we be intimate and passionate?¡± Zu An said with a chuckle.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s cheeks heated up. ¡°Didn¡¯t we already agree that there wouldn¡¯t be any of those kinds of things?¡±

    The hug and hand holding were the most she could tolerate.

    ¡°We have less than two hours of time left,¡± Zu An said, his frivolous expression gone. Instead, his voice was full of a sense of loss and loneliness.

    When she saw his expression, Yan Xuehen felt a mysterious pain within her. She thought, Right, there are only two hours left. Either way, it¡¯s not as if it¡¯s something ridiculous. I¡¯ve ridden on the Wind Fire Wheels with him before. Upon having that thought, she no longer resisted. With a light kick off the ground, she arrived at his side.

    Zu An took her into his arms and carried her firmly. They soared into the sky together on the Wind Fire Wheels. Yan Xuehen felt as if arcs of electricity were running through her entire body as she rested in his arms. There was a strong air of masculinity all around her. She felt goosebumps all over, and her breath quickened. Even though there were cold winds roaring past her ears, she could only feel his gentle and warm exhaling breath.

    ¡°What did you say just now?¡± Yan Xuehen suddenly asked, feeling a bit embarrassed. Even though there were roaring winds around them, she was a glorious grandmaster! They were so close, and yet she actually couldn''t hear what he said¡­ Her head was definitely a mess because of how she was being carried.

    Zu An raised her arm and said, ¡°I told you to do it like this.¡±

    Yan Xuehen trembled under his touch. She quickly said, ¡°Don¡¯t¡­ Don¡¯t touch me. I¡¯ll move by myself.¡±

    However, when she spread her arms out, she was a bit confused. She asked, ¡°What is the meaning of this? This will just increase the air resistance of our flight.¡±

    ¡°Just stay like that,¡± Zu An said as he gently held her soft, willowy waist, then rested his chin on her shoulder. The two of them remained close to each other just like that.

    ¡°What¡­ What are you¡­¡± Yan Xuehen trailed off, her voice trembling a bit. Their cheeks were pressed against each other. They were so close to each other that they could hear each other¡¯s breathing.

    ¡°This is a ssic pose from a love story from my hometown, between the male and female lead¡­¡± Zu An slowly replied, seemingly reminiscing about something.

    ¡°What love story?¡± Yan Xuehen asked, stunned. She was quite knowledgeable, but why had she never heard of such a thing before?

    ¡°A long time ago, there was a young man named Jack and a wealthy miss named Rose¡­¡± Zu An told the story the way he remembered it.

    Yan Xuehen couldn''t help but frown as she listened. ¡°Why do I feel strange? Doesn¡¯t this Rose have a fiance who loves her dearly? Why would she do something to let down her fiance and her family?¡±

    Zu An choked. He hadn¡¯t expected her to focus on that detail. He hurriedly exined, ¡°Uh¡­ she was forced into an arranged marriage. She doesn¡¯t actually love that fiance. She and Jack are true lovers, and this was the happiest time of her life. For the sake of love, she bravely broke the shackles of their engagement. Meanwhile, for her sake, Jack gave up his life¡­¡±

    Yan Xuehen suddenly said, ¡°Are you telling me this story because you¡¯re implying that I should break the rules and be with you?¡±

    Zu An was speechless. Isn¡¯t there something wrong with the way this woman thinks? He replied, ¡°Uh¡­ That¡¯s not what I meant. It¡¯s just that we¡¯re flying through the sky, so I instinctively felt like doing this ssic pose. At the same time, I wanted to share a story with you¡­¡±

    Yan Xuehen grinned. It wasn¡¯t that often that she got to see him looking hard-pressed. But does this kid really think I don¡¯t know what he¡¯s nning? She continued, ¡°If Rose and Jack really loved each other, then after Jack died for her, she should have just remained alone for the rest of her life. Why did she still marry another man and give birth to so many children?¡±

    Zu An scratched his head and said, ¡°As for that¡­ I guess we can just say that their culture is different. Sacrificing yourself for love wasn¡¯t considered something worthy of advocating for¡­¡±

    Yan Xuehen shook her head and said, ¡°I just feel that your story is strange. There are many parts that don¡¯t make sense.¡±

    Zu An felt a bit dejected. It really was as Yun Jianyue said; Yan Xuehen really was a stone cold woman! She had actually focused on the plot holes in such a touching story of romance.

    However, Yan Xuehen felt a bit conflicted too. In Zu An¡¯s story, Jack and Rose had kissed each other after embracing each other like this. What was she going to do if he kissed her here?

    Even though she wasn¡¯t willing to admit it, she knew that she wasn¡¯t resisting him as much as before. After all, the two had already experienced the most intimate things together. They had already kissed once before, so what was another¡­

    Ahhh! Yan Xuehen, Yan Xuehen! What kind of nonsense are you thinking?!

    The only thing I agreed to with him was these two hours. This can be considered an ending to our ill-fated rtionship.

    But apart from a kiss, I definitely won¡¯t let him do anything else!

    Especially those mischievous hands of his. If he dares to move them wantonly, I¡¯ll definitely freeze them!

    Let alone anything that goes even further¡­

    That memory of Great Snowy Mountain couldn''t help but surface in her mind. Her skin turned a faint pink, and her entire body became a bit softer.

    A whileter, she pursed her lips. Why is this kid so obedient today? He¡¯s not kissing me, and his arm is only gently hugging my waist. He¡¯s not doing anything else?

    A whileter, she couldn''t help but bite her lip. They were almost at Violet Mountain, and yet he still hadn¡¯t kissed her. There wasn¡¯t going to be another chance.

    However, as they arrived near Violet Mountain, Zu An only hugged her gently. He didn¡¯t do anything else.

    ¡°This is the first time I¡¯ve been unhappy with how fast the Wind Fire Wheels are,¡± Zu An said with a sigh. He let her go and continued, ¡°Let¡¯s just separate here. There are many grandmasters on the mountain and divine senses are sweeping around everywhere. Your reputation will be harmed if we are noticed by them.¡± He waved toward her and headed up the mountain with a forlorn expression.

    Countless scenarios of Zu An pestering Yan Xuehen had run through her mind, including how she would deal with them one after another. She hadn¡¯t expected him to just give up so easily. At that instant, she felt really out of sorts.

    She had already prepared herself, thinking that she would devote herselfpletely to this two-hour romance. It was to the extent that as long as he didn¡¯t cross that final line, she could have epted anything. That was how she had wanted to end things so that she wouldn¡¯t have any regret and could have a proper conclusion. Then, she could just forget about everything she felt about him. After that, she could face him and Chuyan as a proper senior. From then on, there would only be a Sect Master Yan, never again that ¡®big sis Yan¡¯.

    However, things hadn¡¯t gone ording to her ns. This guy had suddenly be a proper gentleman, leaving her confused.

    Her lips opened and closed several times, but after some hesitation, she didn¡¯t say anything for a long time. How could she be the one to speak about such things first?

    ¡­

    When she changed her clothes and returned to her courtyard, she saw that Chu Chuyan was waiting for her.

    ¡°Master, where did you go?¡± Chu Chuyan asked, sighing in relief when she saw Yan Xuehen return.

    ¡°I went out for a stroll.¡± Yan Xuehen said, feeling a bit annoyed. She couldn''t just say that she had gone on a two-hour date with Chuyan¡¯s husband, right?

    Chu Chuyan looked at her in surprise, saying, ¡°Master seems to be annoyed by something. Maybe you can tell me about it and I¡¯ll see if I can help you?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re overthinking things. I¡¯m fine,¡± Yan Xuehen said. She naturally didn¡¯t want to say too much.

    Chu Chuyan didn¡¯t back down, continuing, ¡°Master, we¡¯ve already lived together for so long. How could I not be able to tell that you have something on your mind? I know that you don¡¯t want me to be distracted, but master is also important to me.¡±

    Yan Xuehen knew that she couldn''t deceive her quick-witted disciple that easily. She shook her head, feeling a guilty conscience as she said, ¡°You won¡¯t be able to help me with this.¡±

    Sigh, just how would she view her own husband if she found out the truth?

    ¡°That¡¯s hard to say,¡± Chu Chuyan said, clinging to Yan Xuehen¡¯s arm. ¡°Master definitely knows far more than I do in terms of cultivation matters, but master might not have as much experience in secr affairs. I might be able to offer a different insight.¡±

    For better or for worse, she had operated a great n in Brightmoon City for so many years. She naturally knew more about the secr world than her aloof master.

    Yan Xuehen was about to refuse, but she couldn''t withstand Chuyan¡¯s eager gaze. She could only say, ¡°Um¡­ Actually, this is what happened. I have a friend, and they¡­ unknowingly made a mistake. But if they spoke about this mistake, it would harm the ones closest to them. However, if they didn¡¯t talk about it, it would make them feel really restless and uneasy.¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°If it¡¯s the ones closest to them, they¡¯d definitely forgive that person for that unintentional mistake,¡± Chu Chuyan replied. At the same time, she wondered who this friend her master was talking about was. Martial Uncle Chen? Martial Aunt Xiao?

    Yan Xuehen shook her head and said, ¡°This kind of mistake isn¡¯t one that the closest person to them could forgive. If they found out, the two would no longer be the closest people to each other, and they could even be enemies.¡±

    ¡°So it was like that¡­ Then that is a bit tricky,¡± Chu Chuyan said. She frowned and became silent.

    Yan Xuehen smiled bitterly. It¡¯s more than just tricky¡­

    Chu Chuyan suddenly raised her head. ¡°Master, that friend of yours¡­ If they had a chance, would they make that mistake again?¡±

    Yan Xuehen waspletely stunned when she heard the question.

 Chapter 1670: Missing

    Chapter 1670: Missing

    Yan Xuehen had never considered the question before. Now that Chu Chuyan had mentioned it, she began to think to herself again. In the past, Zu An had risked his life several times to save her, to the point that his body had ended up on the brink of copse. Would she really just stand there without doing anything and watch him die?

    When she thought of that, she slowly said, ¡°They would probably do it again.¡±

    Chu Chuyan said with a smile, ¡°In that case, what else is there for that friend to feel vexed over? Even though it was an inadvertent mistake, it¡¯s enough that they don¡¯t regret it. As for the consequences, they could just deal with thatter. They could just cross the bridge when they got there, as they could always find a way.¡±

    Her master normally had a calm and collected demeanor. She was aplete ice queen from the peak of a frozen mountain. She didn¡¯t have even a touch of worldly vulgarity. That was why Chu Chuyan didn¡¯t think that this honorable master of hers could be the very friend she was talking about. Her first thought was that it was someone Yan Xuehen knew.

    However, with her master¡¯s nature, she only had a few people she would consider friends in her circle, and none of them seemed to really match her earlier description. There was no way it could be the Devil Sect¡¯s Yun Jianyue, right?

    When Yan Xuehen heard her disciple¡¯s advice, she mysteriously felt better. She said, ¡°Chuyan, thank you.¡±

    Chu Chuyan smiled and replied, ¡°I¡¯m happy that I was able to take on a share of master¡¯s worries.¡±

    Yan Xuehen was rmed and quickly said, ¡°I will find a chance to pass this on to that friend of mine.¡±

    Chu Chuyan didn¡¯t suspect her. She happily started discussing the followingpetition.

    ¡­

    The next morning, the various sects¡¯ disciples gathered at Golden Peak, eager to see who would be the final champion. They all spected as to who woulde out on top.

    Based on days of observation, more of them favored Peng Wuyan. After all, Pei Mianman had struggled even against Zhi Yin during the group stage, and she had even been injured quite a bit. Zhi Yin hadn¡¯t even reached the master rank yet!

    Meanwhile, Peng Wuyan had more aplishments and had won against many representative disciples. She had even won against Wu Xiaofan, who had been widely acknowledged as number one!

    Of course, Pei Mianman¡¯s supporters insisted that because Zhi Yin had an immortal-grade weapon, his real strength was no lower than the master rankpetitors, Wu Xiaofan and Wan Guiyi.

    The judges also appeared one after another. Wang Wuxie naturally sat in the main seat. His eyes secretly darted toward Yan Xuehen¡¯s position. When he saw that familiar white figure, he immediately became a bit happier. Even though he had already gotten over his past crush and didn¡¯t vainly hope to have anything between the two of them, just being able to see her was already something that filled him with delight.

    However, intentionally or otherwise, Yan Xuehen was ncing toward Zu An¡¯s direction. Not only had that so-called two-hour love not granted her the fulfillment she was looking for so that she could cut off all of her feelings, it had only left her even more perplexed. Fortunately, after the enlightenment Chu Chuyan had granted her, her current n was just to take things one step at a time.

    Zu An noticed Yan Xuehen¡¯s gaze. He nodded slightly toward her, then continued to talk with the people around him.

    Yan Xuehen suddenly felt a bit empty. She was used to him brazenly calling her ¡®big sis Yan¡¯ and taking all sorts of ¡®disgraceful¡¯ liberties with her. Now that he was suddenly acting so estranged, however, she didn¡¯t know how to react.

    She was suddenly a bit stunned when she recalled what they had agreed on, that they would have nothing to do with each other after the two-hour lovers'' experience. Don¡¯t tell me he really ns to follow through with that?

    That was what she had been hoping for, and yet when it really happened, she was actually caught off guard.

    When he saw Yan Xuehen¡¯s beautiful brows furrow, the Heavenly Sorrow Sect¡¯s Guan Chouhai couldn''t help but ask, ¡°What seems to be on Sect Master Yan¡¯s mind? Perhaps we can offer you some thoughts if you share it with us. With our cultivation and abilities, there are few things in this world that we cannot solve.¡± With so many people here, he couldn''t bring himself to be so shameless as to call her Fairy Yan.

    Wang Wuxie frowned slightly. He had almost forgotten that Guan Chouhai was previously a fervent pursuer of Yan Xuehen as well. However, he wasn¡¯t too worried. Someone as sleazy as Guan Chouhai wasn¡¯t even a threat to one such as himself. He refused to believe that someone as pure and aloof as a goddess would favor someone like him.

    Sure enough, Yan Xuehen said coldly, ¡°Sect Master Guan must have misunderstood. I am only curious as to why the other contestant has not arrived yet.¡±

    The previous night, when her disciple asked her the same question, she had felt a bit touched. But this Guan Chouhai had nothing to do with her. What right did he have to try to help her with her worries?

    When he sensed the coldness in her tone, Wang Wuxie almostughed out loud. This Guan bastard really overestimates himself. I¡¯m too embarrassed to even try to get her attention, and yet even someone like you thinks you can?

    However, he quickly thought about what Yan Xuehen had said. He looked at the stage and sure enough, only Pei Mianman was there. Peng Wuyan was nowhere to be seen. It wasn¡¯t just her; Emptiness Isle¡¯s Elder Peng and the other disciples hadn¡¯te at all.

    Wang Wuxie frowned. He summoned Feng Wuchang and said, ¡°Junior brother, please check on the situation for me.¡±

    Feng Wuchang nodded. Then, he flew in the direction of Emptiness Isle¡¯s courtyard.

    The disciples below immediately broke out into amotion.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me Peng Wuyan didn¡¯te because she was scared?¡±

    ¡°What kind of joke is that? Peng Wuyan¡¯s cultivation is clearly higher, so why would she be scared?¡±

    ¡°Then something probably happened. There¡¯s no way this Pei girl is going to win thispetition entirely through luck, right?¡±

    ¡­

    All sorts of discussions happened below. Zu An was also stunned. The luck pill¡¯s effects weren¡¯t supposed tost so long, right? Why had Pei Mianman won again without fighting?

    Suddenly, a figure rushed back angrily. It was none other than Emptiness Isle¡¯s Elder Peng. Feng Wuyan couldn''t even catch up to her as he followed behind her.

    All those in the judges¡¯ seats became a bit uneasy when they saw how she was acting and hurriedly asked, ¡°What exactly happened, Elder Peng?¡±

    ¡°Wuyan went missing!¡± Elder Peng replied, her expressionpletely overcast.

    The ce erupted with noise. Was Pei Mianman¡¯s luck really just that good?

    Guan Chouhai asked curiously, ¡°What do you mean, she went missing?¡±

    Elder Peng shot him a look and replied, ¡°Are your ears not working? What else can missing mean? She wasn¡¯t in her room when I went to look for her this morning! The disciples and I looked all over, but didn¡¯t find her anywhere.¡±

    Guan Chouhai immediately swallowed his next words down. He had almost started a fight with her on the spot, but stopped when he realized how distressed she looked.

    The elders in the judges¡¯ seats looked at each other in dismay. In all of the years of the great daoistpetition, such a thing had never happened before.

    Wang Wuxie couldn''t help but ask, ¡°Could it be that she encountered something and had to leave?¡±

    ¡°How could that be?¡± Elder Peng directly retorted. ¡°She has no one she knows here, and she has her championship match here today. How could she leave? Someone definitely kidnapped her!¡±

    ¡°But that should be impossible. With Violet Mountain¡¯s security, it should be really hard for any outsiders toe in. Furthermore, worthy niece Peng¡¯s cultivation is already at the very top among her peers. With Elder Peng residing in the same residence, who else could have taken her away without drawing any attention?¡± Wang Wuxie immediately replied in return. This was Violet Mountain¡¯s territory. If any security breaches were to happen, a lot of responsibility would fall on him.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Elder Peng sneered. ¡°Sure, it might be difficult for anyone among her peers to harm her, but what if it was someone of the older generation? It seems there are some people who do not wish for our Emptiness Isle to take the championship.¡±

    The expressions of the people in the judges¡¯ area immediately changed when they heard those words.

    Even Wan Guiyi couldn''t help but look at his father. If Peng Wuyan disappeared, the one with the most to gain would naturally be Jadefall Pce. That way, Pei Mianman would win again without needing to fight and be the winner. He still carried a rather good impression of Peng Wuyan, who gave off a presence of power. Furthermore, with his personality, he couldn¡¯t be satisfied with such under-the-table tricks.

    Wan Tongtian almost strangled his son when he saw those looks. If even his son was looking at him like that, what about everyone else?

    As such, he hurriedly exined, ¡°I was together with junior sister Huo Ling to help with Manman¡¯s training the entire day yesterday. We taught her how to deal with today¡¯spetition, so how could we have done such a thing?¡±

    ¡°You were together with Elder Huo Ling?¡± Guan Chouhai replied with an ¡®oh¡¯ of surprise. There was an amused look in his eyes.

    When she saw people¡¯s gossipy gazes, Elder Huo Ling¡¯s face reddened for the first time. Wan Tongtian panicked and said, ¡°Mister Guan, it¡¯s not as filthy as you are imagining. We were just chatting normally.¡±

    When she saw him frantically try to exin himself, Elder Huo Ling only felt really annoyed. She got angrier and angrier.

    ¡°You stayed in the same room and chatted together for an entire night? That sounds quite normal to me, alright,¡± Guan Chouhai said mockingly. The Heavenly Sorrow Sect and Jadefall Pce had never gotten along that well, so he wasn¡¯t worried at all about any further drama that could ensue.

    ¡°Mister Guan, it seems we really can¡¯t expect anything good toe out of the mouth of a dog!¡± Elder Huo Ling snapped furiously. She fired back with curses.

    Guan Chouhai was still a sect master for better or for worse. Being cursed in front of so many people was something he couldn''t just swallow down. He also mmed the table and got up, retorting, ¡°What, are others even not allowed to talk about the things that you did, or you might have done yourselves?¡±

    ¡°Enough!¡± When he saw that these two important individuals were arguing like mere juniors, Wang Wuxie couldn''t continue to listen. He said, ¡°We need to discuss the case of worthy niece Peng¡¯s disappearance. Do not drag in anything else.¡±

    He looked at Elder Peng afterward and continued. ¡°Worthy niece Peng¡¯s cultivation isn¡¯t low, and you were also there by her side. I just cannot figure out who across all of Violet Mountain would have the ability to silently kidnap her.¡±

    People¡¯s gazes all fell onto Elder Peng. Right¡­ Elder Peng¡¯s cultivation might not be the highest here, but kidnapping her disciple without alerting her at all would be practically impossible.

    ¡°There was a mysterious person who left a letter yesterday, saying that there was something they wanted to discuss with me and that it was rted to today¡¯spetition. Even though I felt that it was rather underhanded, it was rted to today, so I didn¡¯t dare to lower my guard. I set out to meet with them just as the letter stated,¡± Elder Peng said with an annoyed expression. ¡°But I didn¡¯t find the one who arranged the meeting at all.¡±

    Wan Tongtian and Elder Huo Ling both cried out in surprise. They seemed to have thought of something simr.

    Wang Wuxie looked at them and asked, ¡°Did you two think of any clues?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± The two both replied in unison. How could they let anyone else know about their awkward incident? Wouldn¡¯t that make them aughingstock in the daoist sects?

    Elder Peng continued and said, ¡°I went straight back after. I thought that there was nothing to it and just assumed it was a mischievous prank. Now that I think about it, something probably happened to Wuyan during that time.¡±

    The White Jade Sect¡¯s Li Changsheng asked curiously, ¡°Did you not think to confirm whether your disciple was still there, thus only noticing that she disappeared today?¡±

    ¡°Wuyan fought several battles in a row. What she needed the most at that time was rest, and not to be babysat until thest minute,¡± Elder Peng said while staring coldly at Wan Tongtian and Huo Ling.

    Wan Tongtian and Huo Ling both felt annoyed. They harrumphed to express their disagreement.

    Then, Elder Peng continued to cause havoc on Golden Peak. She imed that the sects weren¡¯t willing to see their disciples lose, so some older generation figures acted without any regard for their own status.

    Now, even the Kunlun Void Sect, Supreme Mystery Cave, and the other sect representatives¡¯ expressions became unhappy. Even Wang Wuxie didn¡¯t look that happy, because their disciples had all lost to Peng Wuyan.

    However, the others couldn''t help but look at Wang Wuxie. It was one thing if they lost; there was no reason for them to do something so shameless. It was different for Wang Wuxie, though. Wu Xiaofan was Wang Wuxie¡¯s disciple, the one who was publicly acknowledged as having the greatest chance of winning thispetition. Wang Wuxie had even given him the Green Scale Armor, proving just how much he wanted him to win. Furthermore, this was Violet Mountain¡¯s domain. Wang Wuxie¡¯s cultivation was high as well, so he had the motive and ability to do such a thing.

    When he saw the looks of suspicion, Wang Wuxie¡¯s face heated up. This really was a frustrating situation!

    Yan Xuehen spoke up and asked, ¡°Could it be that Devil Sect¡¯s Yun Jianyue did this? I feel that this fits her style of doing things.¡±

 Chapter 1671: The One Who Was Investigating

    Chapter 1671: The One Who Was Investigating

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s deration left everyone present shocked.

    As she looked at Yan Xuehen, Elder Peng¡¯s eyes widened. This stone cold woman really is my sworn enemy! I already changed my appearance like this, and yet she could still sense my aura?

    Wang Wuxie asked Yan Xuehen, ¡°Sect Master Yan, why do you think that?¡±

    Zu An also looked at her. Unlike everyone else who was rmed, he was instead pleasantly surprised. Big sis Yun also came?

    Yan Xuehen and Zu An¡¯s gazes separated as soon as they met. She replied, ¡°The Devil Sect¡¯s arranged day ofpetition with us is about to arrive. Normally, they should havee earlier to familiarize themselves with the situation, but they are nowhere in sight even after all this time. That means either they are overestimating themselves too much, or they are not using their real identities.¡±

    The daoist sects¡¯ leaders all frowned. Even though they didn¡¯t like that Devil Sect witch, they had to admit that she definitely wasn¡¯t just an egotistical fool. It was unlikely for her to overestimate herself that much.

    ¡°What Sect Master Yan says makes sense. Even though I already had our disciples strengthen patrols around Violet Mountain, they would not be able to stop someone like Yun Jianyue,¡± Wang Wuxie said.

    ¡°I feel like that may not necessarily be true. Even though Yun Jianyue is formidable, we have so many people here. If she came here in an honorable way, we would be too ashamed to try to ambush her. But if she stirred up trouble first, we would have a reason to act as well. It would be her loss then,¡± Wan Tongtian suggested.

    ¡°Heh, we can only say that Brother Wan doesn¡¯t understand that witch¡¯s nature enough. Yun Jianyue always does things that arepletely outside everyone¡¯s expectations. Sometimes, it evenes off as deranged,¡± Guan Chouhai said with augh.

    Elder Peng narrowed her eyes slightly. I¡¯ll remember that.

    She naturally wouldn¡¯t admit to such a reputation. She continued to argue noisily about how it was definitely someone here who had taken her disciple. In the end, the others could only agree to let her investigate all of their residences, but as expected, there were no discoveries. Wang Wuxie tried to appease her while expressing that he would definitely do his utmost to help her find her disciple.

    Thus, the greatpetition could only temporarilye to a close. Those present all returned to their own residences.

    Everyone present on Violet Mountain was anxious. After all, if even someone with Peng Wuyan¡¯s level of cultivation could be kidnapped without a sound, wouldn¡¯t it be even easier to kidnap everyone else?

    The elders were also worried. They told their important disciples to not leave their line of sight to avoid repeating such a disaster.

    It was to the extent that even Yan Xuehen returned to her courtyard and didn¡¯te back out. She had some lingering fears. What if that mysterious person had taken Chuyan while she was awayst night?

    ¡­

    Zu An returned to his room. He also warned Xie Daoyun to not run around Violet Mountain for the time being, for her own safety. After all, that Peng Wuyan seemed even stronger than her. Of course, if it really was Yun Jianyue who had done this, he didn¡¯t have much reason for concern. But if it wasn¡¯t, that would make things much more worrisome.

    Suddenly, he received news that Emptiness Isle¡¯s Elder Peng was looking for him. He felt his scalp turn numb. He had seen how much of a troublemaker she was. Even all of those sect masters were at their wits¡¯ end with her. Why is she looking for me? Don¡¯t tell me she thinks that I kidnapped Peng Wuyan?

    Even though he wasn¡¯t all that willing, he was worried that she would do something irrational because of her disciple¡¯s disappearance. As such, he came out to greet her, asking, ¡°Has Elder Peng found any new clues?¡±

    Elder Peng didn¡¯t reply and just stared at him. Zu An was a bit stunned when he saw how she was looking at him. He could only continue, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Elder Peng. I¡¯ve also given the order for my subordinates to search around Violet Mountain. I¡¯ll definitely contact you as soon as there¡¯s any sign of Miss Peng.¡±

    Elder Peng finally retracted her gaze. She gave Xie Daoyun, Zhang Zijiang, and the others a look and slowly said, ¡°I have some things to discuss with Sir Zu alone.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He couldn''t figure out what she had to say to him. Could it be that she had evidence that Peng Wuyan really had been captured by a daoist sect elder? Was that why she had sought him out, so he could make things right?

    Xie Daoyun and Zhang Zijiang were a bit worried. This Elder Peng¡¯s cultivation was really high. Being with her alone while she was enraged didn¡¯t seem safe at all.

    However, Zu An wasn¡¯t scared and gave them a look that seemed to say ¡®don¡¯t worry¡¯. He told them to wait outside. Then, he looked at the middle-aged woman across from him and asked, ¡°Is there anything Elder Peng wishes to talk to me about?¡±

    Elder Peng stared at him, then suddenly chuckled. She said, ¡°Sir Zu loves to fondle the flowers and trample the grass as expected. You even have a great beauty cross-dressing as a man with you during this trip to Violet Mountain.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes immediately widened. It wasn¡¯t because she had recognized Xie Daoyun¡¯s real identity, but because of her voice. Previously, her voice had clearly been that of an old-fashioned middle-aged woman. It had also carried a hint of aloofness that kept others from getting too close. However, her voice was now extremely charming and pleasant, and there was also a natural pride to it. It was as if she considered everyone else trash. There was only one person who could perfectlybine those two entirely different feelings.

    Zu An looked at her inplete shock and eximed, ¡°Big sis¡­ big sis Yun?¡±

    ¡°Sir Zu has colluded with the Devil Sect Master after all.¡± Elder Peng said, returning to her previous voice. She sneered as she looked at him.

    Zu An was startled. Had he been fooled? What the heck? I won¡¯t be able to wash this off even if I jumped into the yellow springs of hell! Am I really going to take the me for Peng Wuyan¡¯s disappearance?

    Wait¡­

    He looked at the woman doubtfully. How could her voice possibly be that simr?

    When she saw his conflicted and stunned expression, Elder Peng suddenlyughed. Then, she removed her face mask. Long hair scattered down, revealing her gorgeous features.

    ¡°Big sis Yun!¡± Zu An eximed, feeling happy and surprised. He couldn''t help but run over and give her a big hug.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Yun Jianyue asked. She hadn¡¯t expected him to be so direct either. After pushing him away, she gave him an annoyed look.

    ¡°This kind of feeling is definitely big sis Yun,¡± Zu An said happily.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s face heated up. This damn brat really was daring! He didn¡¯t hold himself back at all.

    Zu An suddenly voiced his surprise. ¡°Was that Peng Wuyan really stolen by you? Just how did you make yourself look so much like Elder Peng? We couldn''t even tell today at all.¡±

    Yun Jianyue harrumphed. ¡°Your eyes were full of those other pretty sisters, so of course you couldn''t recognize me.¡±

    When Zu An realized what she was implying, he eximed in surprise, ¡°So Elder Peng was you the entire time?¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± Yun Jianyue said proudly. ¡°That Elder Peng was just an unknown elder from Emptiness Isle, and Emptiness Isle has always resided far away, in a ce that isn¡¯t all that close to the other eight sects. Wang Wuxie had never seen her, so I was able to bluff my way through just by changing my appearance a bit.¡±

    ¡°But Emptiness Isle¡¯s disciple was really strong¡­¡± Zu An trailed off. His expression suddenly changed. ¡°She was Honglei?¡± No wonder he had always felt a sense of familiarity from her.

    ¡°You only realized now? I don¡¯t even know whether to call you smart or stupid,¡± Yun Jianyue said with a sigh.

    Zu An panicked, eximing, ¡°But she went missing yesterday! We have to find her as soon as possible!¡±

    Even though he had been worried about Peng Wuyan¡¯s disappearance before, they didn¡¯t have too much to do with each other. However, if it was Qiu Honglei, things were different.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. That¡¯s just something I said to fool them,¡± Yun Jianyue said. Her attitude waspletely different from how furious she had sounded at Golden Peak before.

    ¡°But where is she then?¡± Zu An asked, still not fully convinced.

    Yun Jianyue was a bit annoyed. She snapped, ¡°What, you don¡¯t even believe my words? Are you scared that I¡¯d sell your little lover away or something?¡±

    Zu An said apologetically, ¡°I¡¯m just worried, okay? It¡¯s been so long since I saw her that I got a bit worked up.¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you say that again in front of that Chu girl? She just happens to be here too,¡± Yun Jianyue said with a sneer.

    Zu An had an awkward expression. It wasn¡¯t just Chu Chuyan; there was Yan Xuehen too! If she found out what was happening right now, wouldn¡¯t things immediately be blown out of proportion?

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I sent Honglei out on a mission,¡± Yun Jianyue said.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An was stunned. He said, ¡°No wonder you put on that performance today. You wanted to dy thepetition. But what kind of important thing is it that you guys can¡¯t even be bothered with such an importantpetition anymore?¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression suddenly became extremely conflicted. She looked at Zu An for a while before asking, ¡°Can I trust you?¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He reached out to hold her hand before saying, ¡°We¡¯ve already fought through life and death so many times. I thought that was something we didn¡¯t have to worry about anymore.¡±

    ¡°Heh, didn¡¯t you and that stone cold woman also go through life and death together?¡± Yun Jianyue replied, clearly unsatisfied with his reply.

    Zu An said in embarrassment, ¡°It¡¯s different. We have the most intimate rtionship.¡±

    Sigh, the mouths of men really are unreliable.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s face heated up. She muttered, ¡°Hmph, why are you bringing that up¡­¡± She pushed him away before continuing, ¡°That matter was only because it was an emergency. You were saved, and I was satisfied, so we¡¯re both even. Don¡¯t bring it up again. Also, you have to call me master in front of Honglei. In the future, we¡¯ll go back to how we were before.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. Perhaps it was because she came from the Devil Sect, but Yun Jianyue was clearly a bit more at ease about such a thing than Yan Xuehen. However, that kind of carefree attitude only made him feel that she was farther from him. In that instant, he didn¡¯t even know what to do anymore.

    ¡°Our rtionship is special, so I¡¯ll count you as trustworthy. Even so, you can¡¯t tell anyone about what you¡¯re about to hear. Otherwise, I might bepletely ruined forever,¡± Yun Jianyue said, her expression grave.

    Zu An shivered. He had never seen her act so serious before. He nodded and said, ¡°I understand!¡±

    When she sensed his sincerity, Yun Jianyue asked, ¡°Did you go to arrest King Yanst night?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to find out so quickly,¡± Zu An said. Although he was a bit surprised, it wasn¡¯t too unexpected. Violet Mountain wasn¡¯t that close to Yi Commandery, but news of something that major also traveled quickly. She was the Devil Sect Master, so it wasn¡¯t that shocking for her to know. That was before factoring in that she knew about his Golden Token Eleven identity.

    ¡°Why did you have to act against King Yan? Don¡¯t tell me it was really because he was going to rebel,¡± Yun Jianyue said as she looked at him. ¡°Judging from my understanding of you, you¡¯re not all that loyal to Zhao Han either.¡±

    Zu An exined, ¡°The main reason was that I was investigating the murder of Golden Token Seven in Yi Commandery, and it ended up involving these things. Golden Token Seven and I weren¡¯t friends, but I didn¡¯t want him to pass away just like that either.¡±

    ¡°He didn¡¯t kill Golden Token Seven,¡± Yun Jianyue directly said.

    ¡°How do you know?¡± Zu An asked, a bit surprised at how certain she was.

    ¡°King Yan was also investigating Golden Token Seven¡¯s death,¡± Yun Jianyue began, before pausing for a moment. ¡°And the one he entrusted that task to just happened to be me.¡±

 Chapter 1672: Behind-the-Scenes Story

    Chapter 1672: Behind-the-Scenes Story

    ¡°What?¡± Zu An eximed, feeling truly shocked. He had never expected her to have connections with King Yan!

    His shock wasn¡¯tpletely unfounded. King Yan was famed for his contributions in fending off the Devil Sect and their rebel army, receiving countless awards for it. That was why they were known as sworn enemies, and no one would associate them together.

    ¡°Is it that surprising?¡± Yun Jianyue replied with a chuckle. ¡°This is precisely the reason why I had to confirm whether you were worthy of my trust or not.¡±

    Zu An shook his head with a frown, saying, ¡°If I remember correctly, Honglei was captured by King Yan Manor. I even had to figure out a way to save her. Just when did you two get in contact with each other?¡±

    ¡°Before then, there were some rumors and nder going around in the court, iming that King Yan was suspected of having befriended some undesirable parties. That was why we worked together to put on that y. We just didn¡¯t expect the one who showed up to be you,¡± Yun Jianyue said, sounding a bit apologetic.

    Zu An immediately figured out many things. King Yan and the Devil Sect being in contact made perfect sense. King Yan was someone with such great ambitions, so of course he wouldn¡¯t be satisfied with just being the court¡¯s hired hand. He was already a king himself, so he couldn''t even get promoted beyond that.

    Even if he wiped out the Devil Sect, so what? Could it be that he would be a candidate for the throne? On the contrary, that would do nothing but make him lose his soldiers and generals. Furthermore, even though he was a part of the royal family, he wasn¡¯t from the same faction as Zhao Han. Their bloodlines were rather far apart from each other. As the sayings went, ¡®When the leader falls, everyone rted suffers the same way, and when the birds have flown away, the bow is stored away.¡¯ He understood these principles well.

    As such, although he looked like he was doing his best to subdue the Devil Sect on the surface, he was actually in close contact with them. That way, he could endlessly obtain the court¡¯s military supplies while gaining additional rewards and honors. With that, he had much more room for maneuvering. Thus, both the illegal smuggling and the nurturing of a private army went smoothly.

    Meanwhile, the Devil Sect didn¡¯t want someone like King Yan to constantly bother them either, so they easily hit it off. Each year, the Devil Sect was in charge of offering some sacrifices so King Yan could obtain battle achievements, while they would borrow King Yan¡¯s protection to strengthen themselves.

    It was no wonder Zu An¡¯s rescue of Qiu Honglei had been so strange back then. She had even said something strange along the lines of ¡®what if I did something to let you down¡¯. So this was what she had been talking about at the time! At the time, Qiu Honglei hadn¡¯t been in danger at all. She had known the truth, but she couldn''t exin herself. She could only hint at it ambiguously.

    Meanwhile, Golden Token Seven¡¯s words from back then had be easier to understand as well. As a Golden Token Envoy assigned by the emperor to monitor the region, he had likely suspected King Yan and the Devil Sect¡¯s rtionship for quite some time. After getting involved in the rescue of Qiu Honglei and finding out certain details, he had likely already confirmed that the two sides were working together. Afterward, he said some profound and regretful-sounding words to Zu An. It turned out to have been because he was worried that his life would be in danger if he continued to investigate King Yan.

    Later, things had gone just as Golden Token Seven anticipated. He had died mysteriously not long after that.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression changed several times before she finally calmed down a bit. Then, she said, ¡°I know you¡¯re smart. You¡¯ve probably already thought through what happened.¡±

    Zu An nodded. In the end, he sighed and said, ¡°You guys really fooled the entire world this time. If King Yan hadn¡¯t been captured, you would never have told me the truth, right?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s as you say. If King Yan hadn¡¯t been captured, I wouldn¡¯t have told you about these things, but¡­¡± Yun Jianyue trailed off, looking at Zu An with dignified, yet charming eyes. She continued, ¡°It¡¯s only because of our rtionship that I told you the truth. Otherwise, I would have said something else.¡±

    Zu An hugged her with a smile, saying, ¡°Looks like big sis Yun really does consider me as one of your own. Otherwise, you wouldn¡¯t have told me this secret that¡¯s so important to the Devil Sect.¡±

    ¡°Stop acting so cheeky,¡± Yun Jianyue said, moving to one side to avoid his touch. ¡°I already told you to treat me like your master in the future. Otherwise, Honglei will find out that something is strange sooner orter.¡±

    Zu An had a strange expression. When he thought about how their bodies had pounded against each other, it really was hard for him to treat her as a senior.

    ¡°Ahem.¡± Heposed himself and continued, ¡°But judging from what you¡¯re saying, King Yan is still the biggest suspect regarding Golden Token Seven¡¯s death.¡±

    Yun Jianyue shook her head and replied, ¡°King Yan expressed that he wanted to kill Golden Token Seven several times, but he couldn''t act because of Golden Token Seven¡¯s status. As such, he contacted our Holy Sect several times. But because I knew that you were a Golden Token Envoy, I was worried that you could have some kind of rtionship with Golden Token Seven, and thus didn¡¯t agree.¡±

    Zu An was moved. He looked at her with a grateful expression and said, ¡°You were already worrying for my sake even though we didn¡¯t have the most intimate rtionship yet! Big sis Yun, you care about me after all.¡±

    Yun Jianyue harrumphed. ¡°Hmph, that was because I owed you the favor from the Imperial Pce. It¡¯s not what you¡¯re thinking.¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t argue with her, and just continued to look at her with a big smile.

    ¡°What are you looking at? We have more important things to take care of,¡± Yun Jianyue snapped with a hint of annoyance. She thought she had finally figured out how to deal with him, but she hadn¡¯t expected him to be so thick-skinned, leaving her puzzled at what to do.

    Zu An put away his smile and asked, ¡°Could it be that King Yan asked someone else to take care of it?¡±

    Yun Jianyue shook her head. ¡°That¡¯s not possible. Back then, after something happened to Golden Token Seven, he contacted the Holy Sect shortly after, requesting our help in finding out what happened in that situation. There was no reason for him to fool me.¡±

    Zu An nodded and acknowledged what she said. King Yan and Yun Jianyue were coborators; there was no reason to lie to her about this.

    It was no wonder that back in the prison, King Yan had said that he had someone look into it, but he wasn¡¯t willing to say who it was. He hadn¡¯t wanted his rtionship with the Devil Sect to be exposed, as that would alsopletely destroy everything he had. He hadn¡¯t wanted to share something like that with Golden Token Eleven.

    But he probably never expected the Devil Sect Master to actually be so close to me.

    ¡°Then did big sis Yun find out anything?¡± Zu An asked.

    Yun Jianyue replied, ¡°I thought that King Yan had some ability, and with my Holy Sect¡¯spetence, we would easily find out the truth. But even though we investigated and investigated, all the clues disappeared. We continued for a long time, but didn¡¯t manage to find any valuable information. I could sense that there was a powerful force backing this ordeal, one that wasn¡¯t weaker than King Yan at all, and is hiding in the shadows.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He said, ¡°All of Yi Commandery is King Yan¡¯s territory. With your Holy Sect¡¯s help, how could there be any powers that you don¡¯t know about?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what we couldn¡¯t figure out either,¡± Yun Jianyue said with a frown. ¡°But King Yan is quite the ambitious and ruthless individual. Since he couldn''t find the mastermind, he decided to push things in the direction that would be most beneficial to him. You just happened to have arrived in Yi Commandery, so he bribed an Embroidered Envoy named Jiang Zhong to mislead you and make you investigate the Hub of Freedom instead.¡±

    Zu An suddenly understood what had happened. He asked, ¡°Why did he want me to act against the Hub of Freedom?¡±

    King Yan¡¯s Pegasus Merchant Group previouslypeted against the Zhenyuan Merchant Group. Could it be that the Hub of Freedom has something to do with the Zhenyuan Merchant Group?

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s reply was quite surprising to him, however. ¡°The Hub of Freedom and Yi Commandery¡¯s Governor Zhang have a good rtionship. Furthermore, Zhang Jie has been at odds with King Yan over various matters over the years, but he couldn''t do anything to retaliate because of Zhang Jie¡¯s status. He always viewed Governor Zhang as a thorn in his side, so he wanted you to investigate the Hub of Freedom, and then Zhang Jie, thus eliminating this opponent of his.¡±

    Zu An was rmed. Zhang Jie? He seemed to have overlooked the governor¡¯s existence. Someone who could face King Yan in Yi Commandery for so long¡­ Why would someone like that put on such an ipetent and powerless appearance?

    ¡°But even though you clearly fell into his trap, why didn¡¯t you investigate the Hub of Freedom, instead investigating King Yan?¡± Yun Jianyue asked, touching on the question that had left King Yan the most puzzled the entire time. King Yan had felt that his scheme was already quite brilliant, and yet it hadn¡¯t aplished anything. Its failure truly kept him up at night.

    There was no need for Zu An to hide such a thing from Yun Jianyue, so he replied, ¡°I have a friend in the Hub of Freedom. We talked, and I believe they wouldn¡¯t deceive me.¡±

    ¡°You left out their name on purpose, so it must be a woman, right? And definitely a ridiculously pretty woman,¡± Yun Jianyue retorted with a sneer. ¡°You¡¯re really something, you know? No matter where we go, regardless of whether it¡¯s great sects or hidden organizations, your lovers are everywhere.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +200 +200 +200¡­

    Zu An chuckled in embarrassment, replying, ¡°What do you mean? It¡¯s just a friend, a friend.¡±

    ¡°A friend, just like me?¡± Yun Jianyue blurted out, but she quickly regretted it. Hadn¡¯t she just ended up dragging herself into this mess now too?

    ¡°There¡¯s no way she and I are as close as me and big sis Yun,¡± Zu An quickly said with an upright expression. It was the truth, so he had absolutely no guilt in saying it.

    ¡°Who¡¯s close to you?¡± Yun Jianyue retorted, starting to feel a bit ufortable. Her thoughts were unreadable as she said, ¡°If King Yan found out that he was defeated because of your fickleness in love, he would likely just die from anger.¡±

    Zu An could onlyugh in self-mockery. He was worried that Yun Jianyue would use this as a pretext to start a fuss and quickly asked, ¡°I am actually really curious as to how King Yan bribed Jiang Zhong. After all, Embroidered Envoys are always strictly examined. All of them are individuals with clear backgrounds and firm wills. Jiang Zhong¡¯s rank wasn¡¯t low, so how did King Yan bribe him?¡±

    It hadn¡¯t been that long since the Embroidered Envoy was set up, so it wasn¡¯t likely for there to be be that much corruption yet.

    Yun Jianyue said seriously, ¡°King Yan didn¡¯t bribe him, but instead saved his life.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. So that was what happened!

    Yun Jianyue didn¡¯t wait for him to ask further and continued, ¡°Back then, Jiang Zhong was about to be silenced by a mysterious group of people, but King Yan just happened to save him. That was how he ended up working under King Yan.¡±

    ¡°Silenced?¡± Zu An repeated in shock. Someone dared to kill an Embroidered Envoy to keep a secret? Who in this world dared to do such a thing? Could it be an internal conflict within the Embroidery House?

    Yun Jianyue said, ¡°This is also the only thing we gained from our investigation. The ones who tried to kill him were assassins from the Shadow Group.¡±

    ¡°Shadow Group?¡± Zu An eximed in surprise, not expecting to hear the mysterious organization¡¯s name again. From Brightmoon City to the capital, and even until now, he had already interacted with them several times. The organization seemed even more mysterious than the Hub of Freedom. For better or for worse, he could find the Hub of Freedom¡¯s money-squandering establishment. But no one had ever seen what kind of ce the Shadow Group was in.

    ¡°That Jiang Zhong seemed to have been roped in by the Shadow Group by some method. Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t know too much about the Shadow Group, and we weren¡¯t able to find any valuable intelligence either,¡± Yun Jianyue said, sounding quite vexed.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Why would he be silenced?¡± Zu An asked after a pause.

    ¡°That involves the disappearance of a batch of gunpowder,¡± Yun Jianyue said. She paused for a moment before continuing, ¡°The reason I came to Violet Mountain this time was partly to investigate that.¡±

 Chapter 1673: Unforeseen Event

    Chapter 1673: Unforeseen Event

    Zu An was stunned. How had this situation ended up involving gunpowder?

    Even though this was a world of cultivation, gunpowder existed. It just happened to be much weaker than in Zu An¡¯s previous world, so it couldn''tpete against the methods of cultivators in this world. Still, it was good in terms of how cost-effective it was. It was easy to acquire, so it was usually used for mining or military purposes.

    As if seeing through his confusion, Yun Jianyue exined, ¡°Back then, the court was supposed to send a batch of gunpowder to Yi Commandery and it was to be received by King Yan, but it was plundered midway. The Embroidered Envoy in charge of that case was Jiang Zhong. Later, through his investigation, he discovered that it was stolen by the Devil Sect. The case was closed just like that.¡±

    Zu An sighed and said, ¡°If it had been anywhere else, that conclusion would be fine, but he already knew that King Yan and the Devil Sect were secretly allies!¡±

    Yun Jianyue gave him a look, clearly unhappy with him calling her sect the Devil Sect. She replied, ¡°You¡¯re right. We knew that we hadn¡¯t done such a thing, and King Yan believed us. That meant there was something wrong with the one who came to the conclusion.

    ¡°King Yan went to investigate Jiang Zhong¡¯s background, but just happened to run into him while he was being tracked by a group of mysterious pursuers who were trying to silence him. King Yan¡¯s subordinates thus took the chance to rescue him.¡±

    ¡°Where is Jiang Zhong right now?¡± Zu An asked. He had tried to find the man after realizing that there was something wrong with him, but hadn¡¯t been able to find Jiang Zhong at all.

    ¡°He was probably hidden or killed by King Yan,¡± Yun Jianyue said, shaking her head. She clearly didn¡¯t care much about a nobody like that.

    ¡°Later, King Yan interrogated Jiang Zhong. Jiang Zhong was at the end of his rope and could only seek out King Yan,¡± she continued, ¡°It seems that Jiang Zhong went too far in gambling and lost his family fortune, umting arge amount of debt and causing his marriage to fail. He fell deeper and deeper into debt until Shadow Group found a chance to purchase him.¡±

    ¡°Gambling is indeed a vicious poison,¡± Zu An remarked. He thought to himself, There really is something wrong with Yi Commandery¡¯s Embroidered Envoy system. Its subordinates had already reached such a state, and yet they hadn¡¯t noticed anything ahead of time.

    ¡°But Jiang Zhong didn¡¯t know about the Shadow Group¡¯s details, so he only listened to orders. His line of contact with his superiors was already nowhere to be found,¡± Yun Jianyue said. As the Devil Sect Master, she clearly held some reservations toward the mysterious Shadow Group.

    ¡°What about the batch of gunpowder that disappeared?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°Judging from my investigation since then, the trail ended at Violet Mountain. So, I suspect that the batch of gunpowder has already been delivered to Violet Mountain,¡± Yun Jianyue answered.

    ¡°What?!¡± Zu An eximed in shock. This was gunpowder that was used by the court to supply the military! What was it going to be used for in a ce like Violet Mountain?

    When he then thought about how the emperor would hold the Fengshan Ceremony here, however, it wasn¡¯t hard for him to guess the objective.

    ¡°But I don¡¯t know where it¡¯s hidden. Furthermore, there¡¯s no way such arge amount of gunpowder was delivered here without causing any activity at all. That means there¡¯s only one possibility, which is that a certain important figure is covering it up,¡± Yun Jianyue said.

    ¡°Are you suspecting Wang Wuxie?¡± Zu An asked in rm. All of Violet Mountain was Wang Wuxie¡¯s territory. In such a situation, he was the most suspicious one.

    ¡°Wang Wuxie is indeed suspicious,¡± Yun Jianyue said, shaking her head. ¡°It isn¡¯t impossible for it to be the other daoist sects either. Many people came to Violet Mountain ahead of time for this great daoistpetition. If they were here to serve as the receiving end, the Righteous Sun Sect couldn''t really just examine their possessions either.¡±

    ¡°So that¡¯s why you pretended to be Emptiness Isle¡¯s Elder Peng. You were investigating this matter,¡± Zu An said, having thought through many things. No wonder he had always sensed such a familiar feeling from Peng Wuyan. He was d that he hadn¡¯t gotten into any conflict with them so far, and had even helped them several times. Otherwise, he could have ended up being hated by them!

    He asked, ¡°Right, where are the real Elder Peng and Peng Wuyan then?¡±

    ¡°I killed them,¡± Yun Jianyue said with a displeased expression. ¡°I¡¯m a demoness who kills without batting an eyelid, after all.¡±

    Zu An frowned. Even though he knew about her identity, based on their interactions, he hadn¡¯t really seen that vicious side of hers. He still felt a bit ufortable when he heard that.

    ¡°Look at how scared you got,¡± Yun Jianyue said, rolling her eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s too much of a waste to kill someone just like that. I locked them up and n to just release them after all this. Who knows, I might even be able to nt a seed in the daoist sects for the future.¡±

    Zu An sighed in relief. He quickly asked with a chuckle, ¡°How has the investigation been going so far?¡±

    ¡°Honglei and I have been investigating this matter the entire time, but unfortunately, there haven¡¯t been any results,¡± Yun Jianyue said. Her expression became a bit strange as she continued, ¡°But sometimes, not being able to find out anything can tell us a lot of things.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He asked, ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°I was also suspicious of the daoist sects before, but they are still just guests. It would have been practically impossible for them to sneak in that batch of gunpowder without alerting me,¡± Yun Jianyue said. She paused for a moment, then continued with a serious expression, ¡°And the only one on all of Violet Mountain who could do such a thing may be Wang Wuxie.¡±

    ¡°He seems quite refined and elegant, and he¡¯s even the State Teacher. It¡¯s not too likely for him to do such a thing, right?¡± Zu An wondered. He recalled his impression of Wang Wuxie and how he hadn¡¯t really noticed anything strange.

    ¡°Refined and elegant?¡± Yun Jianyue sneered. ¡°That¡¯s only because you haven¡¯t seen how much of a fool he was when he pursued that stone cold woman in his youth.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. Yan Xuehen was indeed beautiful, so it wasn¡¯t that surprising for those from the previous generation to like her. On the contrary, it would be stranger if Wang Wuxie hadn¡¯t liked her.

    Yun Jianyue continued with a serious expression ¡°The reason I sought you out today is because I wanted to help speak up a bit for King Yan, and also because I wanted to remind you that King Yan has been scheming in Yi Commandery for so long. Do you really think you could deal with him that easily?¡±

    Zu An was startled, saying, ¡°Then what you¡¯re saying is¡­¡±

    ¡°King Yan has tens of thousands of elite troops. If someone were to instigate conflict, something major could easily happen,¡± Yun Jianyue continued. ¡°Furthermore, from what I know, you didn¡¯t catch King Yan¡¯s heir or Sun Xun, right?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me they would really dare to start a rebellion?¡± Zu An eximed, his expression changing a bit. Zhao Han was still here, and the court was flourishing. Wouldn¡¯t starting a rebellion just result in all of them being wiped out?

    ¡°You can¡¯t assume that everyone would be that rational. When pushed to the limit, it isn¡¯t too surprising for people to start acting unreasonably,¡± Yun Jianyue slowly said.

    Zu An was about to speak up when he suddenly noticed something. He took out the Embroidered Envoy golden token. There was a piece of information on it: ¡®King Yan¡¯s army haspletely surrounded Yi City, demanding the release of King Yan. Yi City is in danger of being broken through.¡¯

    Zu An¡¯s expression darkened. He knew that these people wouldn¡¯t be able to cause much trouble, and that they would definitely be subdued by Zhao Han and the court with terrifying efficiency. However, the lives of Yi City¡¯smon people, as well as Xiao Jianren, Zhang Zitong, and the others, weren¡¯t guaranteed. He got up and said, ¡°I¡¯m going to pay Yi City a visit!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll go with you. After all, without King Yan as a backer, our Holy Sect won¡¯t be having as easy a time anymore,¡± Yun Jianyue said as she also got up. She put on Elder Peng¡¯s mask again.

    ¡­

    Xie Daoyun paced back and forth uneasily. Zhang Zijiang said with a chuckle, ¡°Don¡¯t be too worried, Lady Xie. Sir Zu¡¯s cultivation is unmatched, so he won¡¯t be in danger.¡±

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s face turned a bit red. She quietly said, ¡°I¡¯m not worried, but that Elder Peng is a senior of the daoist sects. If she was able to raise a disciple as formidable as Peng Wuyan, her cultivation must be deep and immeasurable. Big broth¡­ Sir Zu is still young, after all.¡±

    Just then, the door opened with a groan. Zu An and Yun Jianyue walked out from inside. Xie Daoyun quickly rushed over to greet them. Zhang Zijiang no longer had a frivolous appearance and also looked at Zu An with a nervous expression.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine, but I have to go out on a trip. You need to be careful,¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°What kind of pressing matter is it, Sir Zu?¡± Xie Daoyun asked worriedly.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Something minor happened over at Yi City and I¡¯m heading over to deal with it. It¡¯s nothing dangerous,¡± Zu An said tofort her, not wanting her to worry.

    Xie Daoyun released a sigh of relief.

    Zu An initially thought of asking Zhang Zijiang to look into the batch of gunpowder in Violet Mountain. But after thinking about it a bit, he thought, Wouldn¡¯t it be great if Zhao Han got sted to pieces? Why am I worrying about that guy?

    Afterward, he waved at the two of them and left.

    ¡­

    When they left, Yun Jianyue suddenlyughed and said, ¡°That Lady Xie seems to care quite a bit about you.¡±

    Zu An said with an embarrassed smile, ¡°She¡¯s a friend, so it¡¯s just a friend¡¯s concern.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s another friend again. You have quite a few of these pretty female friends, don¡¯t you,¡± Yun Jianyue retorted with a sneer.

    Zu An gave her a look of surprise. There was a hint of amusement on his face as he asked, ¡°Is big sis Yun jealous?¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s face heated up. She red at him and said, ¡°Get lost! I was just speaking up for our Honglei!

    ¡°Why are youughing? I¡¯m going to rip your mouth off! What, you don¡¯t believe me?

    ¡°You¡¯re still going to continue smiling?¡±

    ¡­

    When the two of them got to the base of the mountain, Zu An took out the Wind Fire Wheels and invited Yun Jianyue to ride with him.

    After some hesitation, however, she still shook her head and said, ¡°I¡¯ll just fly on my own.¡± She clearly wanted to keep some distance from him.

    Zu An thought, As expected of Yan Xuehen¡¯s nemesis. The two of them have the exact same way of thinking. Thus, he didn¡¯t force the issue. After they flew into the air, he found something to talk about to dissolve the awkwardness, asking, ¡°Right, was that turtle spirit at the bottom of ckwater Pool also something you guys arranged?¡±

    Back then, it was precisely because the turtle had mentioned that a woman had tossed Golden Token Seven into the pool that he had suspected the Hub of Freedom.

    Yun Jianyue was stunned. She asked, ¡°What turtle spirit? Back then, it was because King Yan knew that you had managed to narrow the trail to some woman that he had Jiang Zhong lead you to the Hub of Freedom.¡±

    ¡°You guys don¡¯t know about that turtle spirit?¡± Zu An asked in surprise. He had always thought that the turtle spirit was something arranged by King Yan, and that it was his way of shifting me onto Tang Tian¡¯er. He had assumed that King Yan had only miscalcted due to not knowing about his rtionship with her. But judging from what Yun Jianyue was saying, King Yan didn¡¯t even know of the turtle spirit¡¯s existence!

    ¡°I really didn¡¯t. I was still curious as to how you found out Golden Token Seven¡¯s death was rted to a woman. So it was because of a turtle spirit in ckwater Pool?¡± Yun Jianyue replied. She was the Devil Sect Master and was full of knowledge, so she naturally knew about some legends.

    Zu An told her what had happened at ckwater Pool. Yun Jianyue frowned, and after a pause, she suddenly asked, ¡°Did you consider that perhaps that turtle spirit didn¡¯t deceive you?¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An was stunned. He replied, ¡°Then why did it leave in such a guilty manner, even leaving behind that message?¡±

    Yun Jianyue chuckled and replied, ¡°Brat, you¡¯re normally pretty sharp, but aren¡¯t you a bit muddled right now? Think about it. If you were that turtle spirit and there was someone who could take your life at any time out there, would you still dare to continue staying there?

    ¡°As for that incense burning or whatever, it¡¯s nothingpared to its life. Only if it kept its life could it slowly gather all that again. There would be no need to take the risk of staying there at all.

    ¡°As for the message it left, its losses were way too great this time, so it¡¯s normal for it to have been a bit bitter.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. Suddenly, all kinds of thoughts filled his mind.

 Chapter 1674: Banners Raised

    Chapter 1674: Banners Raised

    When he first saw the words in ckwater Pool, Zu An had been pretty upset due to the feeling of betrayal. Furthermore, when heter discovered that Jiang Zhong had been bribed by someone, he had instinctively associated these two things together and thought that the turtle spirit was in cahoots with King Yan.

    However, now that Yun Jianyue had told him that King Yan wasn¡¯t Golden Token Seven¡¯s killer, the turtle spirit working with King Yan was a much more unlikely scenario. Zu An hadn¡¯t been particrly prepared the first time he found it. Furthermore, if not for his incredible perception, no one would even have noticed its existence at the bottom of theke. That meant the chance of it being deliberately nted to mislead him was extremely low. As such, the answers it had given to keep its life before could be real. After all, there was no reason for it to hide any information.

    In that case, then, a woman really had thrown Golden Token Seven¡¯s corpse into the pool, just as the turtle spirit said. However, why would that woman say something so strange? As she was discarding a corpse, why would she hope that someone would find it sooner? Also, just who was that woman?

    Zu An suddenly thought of something. Could that woman really be Tang Tian¡¯er?

    However, he quickly became confused again. The turtle hadn¡¯t seen that woman¡¯s appearance. The reason he thought of Tang Tian¡¯er was that, ording to Jiang Zhong, Golden Token Seven met with her several times. Although Jiang Zhong had already been bought out by King Yan by then¡­ Everything seemed to have circled back to the very start!

    Zu An suddenly felt that he was on the edge of realizing something, but he couldn''t really put his finger on it.

    Yun Jianyue said, ¡°Ah Zu, there has always been something that I¡¯ve wanted to ask you about.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Zu An asked as he snapped out of his daze and looked at Yun Jianyue beside him.

    Yun Jianyue hesitated for a bit, seemingly considering how to word what she was about to say. She then said, ¡°Ever since I met you, you never seemed to be all that loyal to your ruler. I even feel as if you already treat Zhao Han as a potential enemy. In that case, why are you still helping Zhao Han? Whether it¡¯s our Holy Sect or King Yan, both of us want to bring down the emperor. The enemy of your enemy is your friend, so why did you make things hard for King Yan and lose those potential helpers?¡± She paused for a moment, her expression bing a bit conflicted before she continued, ¡°Also, you led these troops here to Violet Mountain to help Zhao Han get rid of hidden dangers. I feel that everything you¡¯re doing ispletely meaningless.¡±

    Zu An said with a serious expression, ¡°Big sis Yun, that¡¯s where you¡¯re wrong. Even though King Yan had thoughts of rebelling, he wouldn¡¯t dare to go against Zhao Han even if he had ten galldders. If I¡¯m not mistaken, everything he¡¯s been doing has been in preparation for when Zhao Han dies, to go against the crown prince. So, there¡¯s no chance that he would work with me against Zhao Han. As such, he naturally can''t be myrade.

    ¡°But you, big sis Yun, are different. You¡¯re someone who really dares to go against Zhao Han publicly, and you even dared to invade the Imperial Pce. That¡¯s why I really admire you and our rtionship is really good.¡±

    When she heard him mention the past, Yun Jianyue remembered the time she had spent hiding in the Imperial Pce. A hint of a warm smile appeared on her face.

    ¡°As for all of the things I¡¯m doing right now, it¡¯s all just about umting opportunities,¡± Zu An continued.

    ¡°umting opportunities?¡± Yun Jianyue repeated, stunned. She was a bit confused. People usually looked for opportunities. What was ¡®umting opportunities¡¯?

    Zu An didn¡¯t exin the phrase, just changing the subject to ordinary matters. He said, ¡°Right, big sis Yun, I heard that yourpetition with the White Jade Sect would be happening in a few days. Why haven¡¯t you made an appearance yet?¡±

    Yun Jianyue had an ambiguous smile as she asked, ¡°What, are you scouting for that little female friend of yours?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face heated up. He replied, ¡°I¡¯m just as worried for Honglei! Honestly, I don¡¯t even want either side to fight. It¡¯s going to suck no matter who loses. Both sides are equally important.¡±

    ¡°Equally important?¡± Yun Jianyue repeated,ughing out of irritation. ¡°You really are quite something! You actually managed to make something so shameless seem righteous!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +66 +66 +66¡­

    Zu Anined, ¡°Then what else am I supposed to do? Am I supposed to support one side in beating the other?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re in front of me, and yet you¡¯re not saying anything biased in favor of Honglei? You¡¯re probably like this in front of that stone cold woman too, so I guess you have a bit of a conscience,¡± Yun Jianyue said, her mood improving a bit. ¡°But the time you spent with that stone cold woman¡¯s disciple and Jadefall Pce¡¯s big-boobed woman really left Honglei feeling wronged.¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    It took some time for Zu An to realize that she was talking about Pei Mianman. This woman really loved her nicknames. He reacted quickly and said, ¡°Come on, I didn¡¯t know your identity before! But I still felt a mysterious sense of familiarity, and didn¡¯t I help you guys out several times?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s more like it. And I thought your tastes had changed,¡± Yun Jianyue said with a smile, leaving Zu An speechless.

    After messing with him for a while longer, Yun Jianyue said with a serious expression, ¡°I have my own ns against the White Jade Sect. But since your rtionship with the other side is really good, telling you will only put you in a difficult position. I nned to juste up with some excuse to trick you, but I don¡¯t want to do that anymore. I just won¡¯t tell you. I hope you can understand.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. Then, he looked at Yun Jianyue, a smile appearing on his lips.

    ¡°What are you looking at? Are you upset?¡± Yun Jianyue asked, surprised.

    ¡°Not at all. I just feel that you have a free and carefree kind of beauty,¡± Zu An said. He couldn''t help but sigh in admiration. Those two really had entirely opposite personalities¡­ No wonder they had be enemies.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear that bootlicking. That stuff doesn¡¯t work on me,¡± Yun Jianyue replied. Despite that, the smile between her brows still sold out her true thoughts.

    ¡­

    The two chatted for a while, and quickly arrived near Yi Commandery. Yun Jianyue couldn''t show her real identity in public, so she descended first.

    Zu An changed into his Embroidered Envoy clothes, then hurried to Yi City. He could see banners flying all over the ce even from far away, with armies spreading across the field. It felt as if a ck cloud had surrounded the city.

    Meanwhile, Yi City¡¯s gates were tightly shut, with soldiers stationed on the walls. With Zhang Jie in the lead, Yi Commandery¡¯s officials all had nervous expressions. They knew that if they really fought, there was no way some city defense guards could win against the other side¡¯s seasoned field army.

    King Yan Manor¡¯s strength in the city wasn¡¯t small either. If they coordinated between inside and outside, how could Yi City possibly be defended?

    As such, Zhang Jie nervously called out for the other side to calm down, saying that there were a ton of misunderstandings.

    Unfortunately, it wasn¡¯t of any use. In King Yan¡¯s army, King Yan¡¯s heir Zhao Huang rode atop arge and tall horse. Just then, he waved his hand, and war drums resounded among his troops. His army immediately surged with killing intent and began to march slowly toward Yi City. Their footsteps, for the people on the city walls, seemed to demand their very lives.

    ¡­

    Xiao Jianren, Zhang Zitong, and the Embroidered Envoys also arrived at the city gate tower. Because of their status, they had a duty to defend the territory.

    When they saw the enemy¡¯s ck expanse of an army encroaching, their hearts beat nervously. Normally, they only had to face a small number of enemies; when had they ever seen a battlefield of this scale? In such a situation, individual strength was practically negligible. If they really fought, every breath could end up being theirst. They also felt a bit of despair. Where is Sir Eleven? Why hasn¡¯t he appeared yet?

    Still, they knew that Sir Eleven wouldn¡¯t be able to do much to change the situation even if he came.

    Meanwhile, Zu An was observing King Yan¡¯s army. Even after being in this world for so long, this was the first time he had seen such a battlefield.

    The Chu n¡¯s private army in Brightmoon City and the Armed Escort Division that was apanying him on the current mission technically hadn¡¯t fought on a real battlefield.

    King Yan¡¯s army was one that had fought against the Fiend races and rebel armies for a long time. They all carried an almost-tangible killing intent that could make many cultivators shiver in fear, unable to bring out their true strength. Their strict formation, their superior armor¡­ Those details showed that they were even higher in quality than the Chu n¡¯s private army.

    Zu An noticed many cannon-like objects in the army, engraved all over with runes. They were clearly abination of cultivation techniques with gunpowder technology. Meanwhile, Yi City¡¯s walls flickered with blue light; they were clearly activating their defensive formations. However, it was hard to say how long its soldiers, who had low morale, could hold on for.

    Zu An couldn''t wait any longer. If they really started fighting, it would be toote to stop them. War was cruel. Regardless of how it ended, the ones who suffered would be the lowest-level soldiers and themon people.

    ¡°Halt!¡± he called out as he flew right over King Yan¡¯s army. With his cultivation, his shout was enough to reach every corner of the battlefield. King Yan¡¯s army quickly noticed him. A group of soldiers immediately pointed their arrows at him.

    Zu An¡¯s eye twitched when he saw the ck glint of the bows and the glimmering runes on the arrowheads. If he really ended up being targeted by a hail of arrows, he would have no choice but to avoid them even with his current ability.

    Xiao Jianren and Zhang Zitong said excitedly, ¡°It¡¯s Sir Eleven! Sir Eleven came!¡±

    After going through all they had, they now had a mysterious sense of trust in Golden Token Eleven, as if they had found their pir of confidence as soon as he appeared.

    King Yan¡¯s heir Zhao Huang waved his hand, temporarily stopping his subordinates from firing. He clearly recognized who it was. He called out, ¡°Sir Eleven, you actually dare to appear in front of me? This really is quite unexpected.¡±

    Many people next to him voiced their anger and shouted, ¡°Young master, it was precisely this person who conspired against King Yan!¡±

    Zu An remained calm as he replied, ¡°Young master, Sir Sun, do you know what your actions today are called? Rebellion is punishable by nine generations of execution.¡±

    Zhang Jie and the others wiped away cold sweat when they heard that. This Golden Token Eleven really is fierce¡­ He¡¯s actually provoking the other side even in such a critical moment?

    Sure enough, Zhao Huang¡¯s face twitched. He said,¡°I don¡¯t know what kind of end we¡¯lle to, but I know that none of you wille to a good end.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Huang for +444 +444 +444¡­

    Sun Xun, who had remained silent the entire time, spoke up. ¡°We are only doing this to bring justice for King Yan and save him. If Sir Eleven could convince Zhang Jie to release King Yan, that would be better for everyone.¡±

    These two were clearly ying the carrot and stick game.

    Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°If we agreed to your conditions just because you brought your troops, everyone else would follow your example. Wouldn¡¯t the entire world be in trouble then?¡±

    Zhang Jie and the others¡¯ expressions changed. Even if what you¡¯re saying is true, is this the time for it? What face do they have left if you refuse them so ruthlessly?

    Sure enough, Zhao Huang erupted into a rage. ¡°Since you''re the main culprit behind all this, I''ll just have to take you down!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Huang for +666 +666 +666¡­

    With a wave of his hand, the countless arrows aimed at Zu An were released. They were full of blue light and covered every possible angle of escape.

 Chapter 1675: Appeased

    Chapter 1675: Appeased

    Zhang Jie, Xiao Jianren, and the others immediately cried out in rm. Even though Sir Eleven¡¯s cultivation wasn¡¯t low, there was no way he could face an entire army¡¯s attacks alone!

    That wasmon knowledge in this world of cultivation. Cultivators normally had shocking abilities, but unless they reached a certain point, they would have no choice but to run if they faced a proper army. After all, the army had all kinds of formations to defend against a cultivator¡¯s attacks, and they could alsobine the strength of all the individual cultivators within them.

    Furthermore, the army had many formations that made all sorts of heavy weaponry stronger. Armor Prating Arrows, City Defense Crossbows, Rune Cannons, and other weapons could even st apart city walls with the help of formations, let alone human flesh. The army had nock of cultivators either. When they attacked together, it usually wasn¡¯t something a single cultivator could defend against.

    The storm of arrows that had been fired at Zu An just happened to be Armor Prating Arrows specialized in sting through the ki barriers around cultivators. Such a concentrated attack was impossible to avoid. Additionally, all the soldiers on the city walls were too far away. They couldn''t help out even if they wanted to.

    Could it be that another Golden Token Envoy was about to fall here?

    ¡­

    Zu An didn¡¯t try to dodge the iing arrows at all. He still lookedpletely calm.

    Just then, a terrifying aura descended from above. The clouds in the sky began to gather. The overbearing rain of arrows seemed almost to have been stopped in time, as they all froze in midair without moving at all.

    When they saw that, all those present were immediately overwhelmed with shock. When they saw the roiling clouds above them, they seemed to remember something.

    King Yan¡¯s forces were horrified, while Yi Commandery¡¯s officials were rapt with excitement. ¡°It¡¯s his majesty! His majesty is here!¡±

    Only then did they remember that Golden Token Envoys could summon the emperor¡¯s power! No wonder Sir Eleven had beenpletely calm from the start until now.

    Clouds surged in the skies, gradually gathering into a giant head. It was none other than Zhao Han¡¯s appearance.

    ¡°Long live your majesty! Long, long live!¡± Zhang Jie cried out as he took the lead in kneeling down atop the city walls. He was incredibly moved because things were taking apletely new turn!

    Zhao Huang¡¯s expression changed. He quickly kneeled down. With him in the lead, King Yan¡¯s entire army knelt down to exim ¡®long live your majesty¡¯. The sound was extremely shocking.

    ¡­

    On Violet Mountain, Wang Wuxie, who had been seated at Pure Yang Pce in meditation, suddenly opened his eyes. He took the surrounding violet ki into his body. His expression was grave as he muttered, ¡°When will I be able to reach this level?¡±

    Meanwhile, Tranquility Temple¡¯s Master Huang was teaching his naughty and mischievous disciple. Just then, he sensed something and looked in Yi Commandery¡¯s direction, muttering, ¡°Hasn¡¯t the emperor made an appearance more often recently? This is an omen of the changing times¡­¡±

    ¡­

    Above Yi City, Zhao Han shared simr thoughts. His giant head red at Zu An furiously and snapped, ¡°What is it now?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Han for +888 +888 +888¡­

    His anger wasn¡¯t surprising at all. Other Embroidered Envoys were always fearful whenever they used his strength. They wouldn¡¯t necessarily summon him even once in their entire lives. And yet, this kid had summoned him three times in the span of just a few days! Was he being made a fool of?

    The worst part was that his heaven and man deterioration was encroaching, so he had always remained in the Imperial Pce while trying to make it appear as if he wasn¡¯t sleeping. It would be stranger if he weren¡¯t irritated from being woken up like this all the time!

    Zu An bowed respectfully. He pointed at King Yan¡¯s troops and said, ¡°King Yan¡¯s heir has started a rebellion and Yi City is in imminent peril. This subordinate can no longer think of any solution, so I can only rely on your majesty¡¯s strength.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t have the ability to deal with this situation with his own strength. However, with so many people on this battlefield, using his abilities would easily give away his real identity as Zu An. Besides, even if he went all out here, there wouldn¡¯t be any benefits to gain anyway.

    In that case, why did he have to use up his own efforts for the sake of the public? Either way, Zhao Han was a destructive weapon that would be wasted if left unused.

    Furthermore, he had summoned Zhao Han several times on purpose, to see if he could weaken the emperor¡¯s soul. At the same time, he wanted to see more of the emperor¡¯s strength in order to prepare more precautionary measures against his abilities. Even though he had faced off against Zhao Han in the secret dungeon, that was just a soul fragment. Its abilities were very different from the main body¡¯s offensive skills. He gave the rain of arrows that were still suspended in the air a look, and his expression couldn''t help but be a bit more grave.

    When Zhao Han heard that, his gaze swept over those present. He quickly came to a decision regarding the situation and shouted, ¡°Zhao Huang, how brazen of you!¡±

    As soon as he spoke, although there was no sign of him doing anything, all of the arrows in the sky instantly crumbled into powder. Those present gasped in rm.

    Zhao Huang¡¯s entire body trembled as he kneeled down on the ground and said respectfully, ¡°Your majesty is wise and enlightened. This humble servant was forced to act out of helplessness. I only did this out of concern for father king¡¯s safety. I know that he was framed by a crafty scoundrel, and did not want them to cause father king further harm.¡±

    Setting King Yan aside for the time being, Zhao Huang was the most powerful person in all of Yi Commandery. Almost everyone else usually looked up to him. However, in front of Zhao Han, even though they were still cousins in theory, he couldn''t summon forth even the slightest bit of pride.

    ¡°Is this the reason why you moved your troops?¡± Zhao Han replied, looking at him coldly.

    Zhao Huang¡¯s entire body was ice-cold. He was almost t on the ground at this point. He couldn''t muster a single word to say.

    Next to him, Sun Xun said, ¡°Reporting to your majesty. King Yan has always been loyal and devoted to your majesty over the years, and has suppressed the rebel armies in Yi Commandery for many years. He has received many awards from the court, and yet he was charged with a criminal usation by some strange scheme. If news of this got out, it will easily make the hearts of the soldiers throughout all the differentmanderies turn cold¡­¡±

    Zhao Han frowned slightly. The world wasn¡¯t too peaceful right now. He had the Fiend races as a powerful enemy, and there was also the Devil Sect rebel army and other local tyrants. There were even some remnant evils from the previous dynasties. As such, he had assigned the imperial family¡¯s members to guard different ces. That was how the Zhao n had been able to keep everything under control. The death of King Yan wasn¡¯t a big issue in and of itself, but if it ended up shaking the confidence of the imperial n, that would be much more troublesome.

    Even though he had those thoughts, he remained unfazed on the surface. He said, ¡°This emperor has already assigned someone to look into this case. The truth of whether or not King Yan was unjustly med will soone to light.¡±

    After Sun Xun¡¯s reminder, Zhao Huang also gradually calmed down a bit. He clenched his teeth and said, ¡°Pardon this subject for speaking forthrightly. Governor Zhang has always been at odds with father, and the proof of rebellion was brought forth by this Sir Eleven alone. If the case is assigned to them, even if father has done no wrong, he will end up bing a criminal. This humble subject knows about their evil ns, and that once their plots are in ce, father will undoubtedly die. It was out of a moment of desperation that I made this mistake. I hope for your majesty¡¯s forgiveness.¡±

    Zhao Han replied coldly, ¡°Are you suggesting that this emperor is ipetent in his selection of appointments?¡±

    ¡°This humble subject doesn¡¯t dare!¡± Zhao Huang said as he immediately kowtowed in apology.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zhao Han then said, ¡°This emperor has my own thoughts regarding King Yan¡¯s case. Do you think that these random excuses about some conspiracy can fool this emperor?¡±

    ¡°Your majesty is wise and outstanding! Of course no one can deceive you,¡± Zhao Huang said, sighing in relief. Judging from the emperor¡¯s tone, it seemed there was a chance of averting this disaster.

    Just then, Zhao Han continued, ¡°Out of consideration for your devotion to saving your father, I will show mercy in dealing with this case. However, an offense is an offense. Zhao Huang will forfeit his sry for three years and lose his military rank. All officers rted will lose three grades in military rank.¡±

    Zhang Jie immediately revealed a look of disappointment. Even though this punishment wasn¡¯t light, in rtion to the rebellion that had just happened, it was practically nothing. However, he didn¡¯t dare to speak up, because he could tell that his majesty wanted the matter to be dealt with quietly.

    ¡°Thank you, your majesty!¡±

    Zhao Huang and the others all kowtowed to express their gratitude.

    Zhao Han turned to Zu An and said, ¡°You only have three days to investigate whether Golden Token Seven¡¯s case has anything to do with King Yan. Otherwise, be prepared to offer me your head!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Han for +444 +444 +444¡­

    This damn rascal was sent to investigate Golden Token Seven¡¯s case and eliminate dangers from the Fengshan Ceremony, and yet instead of doing that, he almost forced a king into rebellion!

    On the city walls, Zhang Jie¡¯s expression changed. As an old fox of the court, he naturally understood the emperor¡¯s intentions. What could they even find out within three days? This was clearly a sign to wrap up the case quickly and properly appease King Yan¡¯s side.

    Zu An seemed to have anticipated that. He calmly replied, ¡°Understood!¡±

    Zhao Han could even tolerate something like rebellion? It seemed that something more important had his attention, giving him no choice but to set the issue aside.

 Chapter 1676: Lucky Stroke

    <h4>Chapter 1676: Lucky Stroke</h4>

    After giving the order, the floating head in the sky gradually dissipated. The officials both inside and outside the city bowed and said, ¡°We respectfully bid your majesty farewell.¡±

    With Zhao Han¡¯s appearance, the potential for rebellion had all butpletely dissolved. Zhao Huang and his troops left Yi City¡¯s surroundings, allowing all the officials on Yi City¡¯s walls to sigh in relief.

    Zu An flew over to the city gates. Zhang Jie greeted him and said, ¡°It is all thanks to Sir Eleven¡¯s prompt arrival today, or else the consequences would have been too horrible to imagine.¡± When he saw that Zu An remained quiet, as if he had something on his mind, he continued, ¡°Sir Eleven must feel a lot of pressure from what his majesty said earlier. I have managed to collect quite a bit of evidence recently and will give all of it to sir.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Sir Zhang.¡± Zu An sneered. This Zhang Jie really was crafty. On the surface, he seemed to be acting out of concern for Zu An, but in reality, he was pushing Zu An closer and closer to the pit of hell.

    The emperor already expressed that he didn¡¯t want to bring down King Yan, and yet this man is now handing me evidence of his crimes. Is he trying to start another rebellion?

    After they exchanged some more words and ended the conversation, Xiao Jianren and Zhang Zitong both surrounded Zu An and asked, ¡°Sir Eleven, is there anything you need our help with? We won¡¯t hesitate to be of service!¡±

    They were clearly worried that something could happen to Zu An because of the emperor¡¯s three-day time limit.

    Zu An nodded slightly and said, ¡°It¡¯s fine. You all should just continue the investigation as previously assigned. As for this case, I¡¯ve alreadye up with a corresponding n.¡± Afterward, he quickly disappeared.

    His two subordinates sighed in admiration. They were stillpletely baffled, and yet Sir Eleven already had a way of dealing with the situation. He really was mysterious and unfathomable!

    After Zu An left the city, Yun Jianyue quickly reappeared. She sighed as she looked at him, remarking, ¡°You were really toying with the emperor like a monkey, but he didn¡¯t treat you much better either. Should I be praising you or should I feel bad for you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m already used to it,¡± Zu An said, his expression remaining calm. ¡°He loves ying these sorts of power games and gets pleasure out of feeling as if he has the fate of others in his palm. If not for that, I might have actually followed him loyally.¡±

    Yun Jianyue clicked her tongue and said, ¡°You were never the sort of person to be content with following another. Sometimes, I even feel as if you aren¡¯t from this world. The way you think is way too different from that of other people.¡±

    Zu Anughed and replied, ¡°There¡¯s no harm in telling you this, then. I actually transmigrated from a different world.¡±

    ¡°Tsk, if you¡¯re from a different world, I¡¯m a goddess descended from the heavens,¡± Yun Jianyue retorted, snickering. She naturally treated what he said as a joke.

    However, her smile quickly faded and she asked, ¡°What are you nning to do now? You only have three days left.¡±

    ¡°I n to visit the Hub of Freedom. There are many things I need to confirm,¡± Zu An replied. Many of the things that had happened recently appeared in his mind. He already had a rough idea as to what was happening.

    ¡°I¡¯ll talk things over with King Yan¡¯s side and tell them not to cause any more trouble. At the same time, I¡¯ll see if I can improve the rtionship between you two, so I won¡¯t be keeping youpany in the Hub of Freedom,¡± Yun Jianyue said. She definitely didn¡¯t want to have to deal with another one of his women.

    Zu An nodded. Time was pressing, so they didn¡¯t say much more and quickly parted ways.

    ¡­

    Zu An went straight to the Hub of Freedom. Even though it was extremely hidden from other people, after several trips there, he was alreadypletely familiar with the way. He had a special token, so the guards of the Hub of Freedom didn¡¯t trouble him. Soon after, someone guided him to Tang Tian¡¯er¡¯s residence.

    Tang Tian¡¯er just happened to emerge from her room just then. Her characteristic sweet smile was on her face as always. Zu An had to admit that in a money-squandering establishment like the Hub of Freedom, both Tang Tian¡¯er¡¯s appearance and her attitude were perfect.

    Tang Tian¡¯er was surprised by his visit. She waved her hand to dismiss everyone else and invited him into her room. She poured some tea while saying with a smile, ¡°I was just about to look for you, yet you came to me instead. Doesn¡¯t this mean our two hearts are beating as one?¡±

    Zu An said with a sigh, ¡°Sometimes, I really can¡¯t tell if that¡¯s really what you think or if you¡¯re just putting on an act.¡±

    Tang Tian¡¯er suddenly looked as if she were about to cry. She replied, ¡°Your words are really hurtful, you know?¡±

    Zu An ignored her and asked, ¡°You were looking for me?¡±

    ¡°Of course! Something so major happened in Yi Commandery, and you were given a three-day restriction by the emperor. I was worried about your safety!¡± Tang Tian¡¯er replied.

    ¡°Your sources of information are surprisingly sharp,¡± Zu An said with a hint of surprise. He had practically traveled directly from Yi City, and yet Tang Tian¡¯er already knew what had happened.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget what our Hub of Freedom does for a living,¡± Tang Tian¡¯er said with a smile. There was a bit of pride on her face.

    ¡°Then you should know why I came here to visit you today, right?¡± Zu An replied, staring straight into her eyes.

    Tang Tian¡¯er¡¯s eyes remained clear. There wasn¡¯t a hint of rm in them as she replied, ¡°You¡¯re probably worried about how to deal with the emperor¡¯s three-day time limit. But there¡¯s no need for you to be too worried. If you really can¡¯t solve the case in three days, our Hub of Freedom can guarantee your protection and safety.¡±

    ¡°The Hub of Freedom really is generous in your speech,¡± Zu An said with a harrumph. ¡°You know I¡¯m not here for that.¡±

    ¡°Then why are you here?¡± Tang Tian¡¯er replied, giving him a look of confusion with an innocent and pure appearance.

    ¡°The case of Golden Token Seven¡¯s deathst time,¡± Zu An said bluntly. ¡°The one who threw the corpse into ckwater Pool was you, right?¡±

    Tang Tian¡¯er¡¯s expression changed. She replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about. Wasn¡¯t all of that done by King Yan? ording to what I know, there was a traitor among your Embroidered Envoy who was bought out by King Yan, who then deliberately tried to frame us.¡±

    Zu An looked at her with a gaze full of disappointment. He didn¡¯t say another word and got up to leave.

    When she saw his expression, Tang Tian¡¯er trembled inside and quickly got up, shouting, ¡°Wait!¡±

    Zu An stopped in front of the door, but he didn¡¯t turn around.

    Tang Tian¡¯er gritted her teeth and asked, ¡°Are you here as Golden Token Eleven or as Ah Zu right now?¡±

    ¡°Is there a difference?¡± Zu An asked calmly.

    ¡°If you came as a Golden Token Envoy, then what I just said is my reply,¡± Tang Tian¡¯er said. She paused for a moment, then added, ¡°If it¡¯s as Ah Zu, then I have something else to say. Does he have any interest in hearing me out?¡±

    Zu An turned around and looked at her in shock. To be honest, he hadn¡¯t had much confidence in getting anything out of this exchange after having discovered that Tang Tian¡¯er seemed to be deliberately lying to him.

    When she saw him turn around, Tang Tian¡¯er¡¯s sweet smile returned. She ran over and grabbed his arm to bring him back to his seat. She said, ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since we friends have met, so why are you in such a rush to leave?¡±

    ¡°Do you really see me as a friend?¡± Zu An asked with a sigh.

    Tang Tian¡¯er felt wronged and replied, ¡°If I really didn¡¯t treat you as a friend, would I have given up so much?¡±

    Zu An was rmed. He remembered how she had helped him when he hid in her bathtub. He had to admit that if she really was trying to fool him, there would have been no need for her to go that far at all.

    Tang Tian¡¯er slowly said, ¡°The one who brought Golden Token Seven to ckwater Pool was indeed me.¡±

    Zu An was rmed. He asked, ¡°Was Golden Token Seven killed by the Hub of Freedom?¡±

    Tang Tian¡¯er shook her head and replied, ¡°Golden Token Seven was already dead. I only brought his corpse there to discard it.¡±

    ¡°Why did you have to do that?¡± Zu An asked in confusion.

    ¡°I knew about the turtle spirit under ckwater Pool, so I wanted to use its eyes to provide the officials with some information, which was that Golden Token Seven was already dead when he was thrown into the water. Meanwhile, his cause of death was supposedly drowning, so they would definitely have harbored suspicions,¡± Tang Tian¡¯er exined. Her little mouth inadvertently turned downward in a pout as she continued, ¡°But I never expected you to be the one who came to investigate this case.¡±

    Zu An was surprised. He said, ¡°So you wanted us to suspect that it was a spirit element expert who attacked him, and the most famous practitioner of those methods in all of Yi Commandery was none other than King Yan Manor¡¯s Sir Huo.¡±

    ¡°Indeed. King Yan wanted to seize the Zhenyuan Merchant Group¡¯s market share in Cloudcenter Commandery, and he has been aggressively attacking the Hub of Freedom over the past few years in Yi Commandery. I naturally wanted to get some revenge,¡± Tang Tian¡¯er said confidently.

    Zu An frowned slightly. To be honest, she had enough motive, but he still felt that she was just saying that as an excuse and was still hiding something. However, he didn¡¯t keep pressuring her and instead asked, ¡°ording to what that turtle said, you seemed to be muttering to yourself that you hoped the corpse would be found earlier. Were you not worried that the turtle spirit would expose you?¡±

    ¡°I let it see me on purpose,¡± Tang Tian¡¯er said with a mischievous smile. ¡°ording to the Hub of Freedom¡¯s intelligence over the past few years, an important coborator of King Yan was a mysterious woman, but we could never track down her identity. We wanted to use that turtle spirit to implicate that woman and King Yan Manor, then use the Embroidered Envoy to find out her identity. But who would have thought that you didn¡¯t follow that trail and found us instead! That was what I couldn''t figure out.¡±

    Zu An had a strange expression. The mysterious woman she was talking about was likely Yun Jianyue. King Yan and the Devil Sect working together was likely something not even most of King Yan Manor or the Devil Sect¡¯s higher-ups knew. Only someone such as Golden Token Seven, with his abundant experience, had been able to detect something strange.

    By an even bigger coincidence, King Yan had also wanted to redirect the disaster onto the Hub of Freedom, so he had described the woman¡¯s appearance in a way that pointed to Tang Tian¡¯er. The original framing attempt had ended upseedingby a lucky stroke.

    Still, the problem remained: Who was the true culprit behind Golden Token Seven¡¯s death?

 Chapter 1677: Exposed

    <h4>Chapter 1677: Exposed</h4>

    Zu An didn¡¯t hold back and directly asked that very question.

    Tang Tian¡¯er shook her head and said, ¡°I know who Golden Token Seven¡¯s killer is, but please forgive me for not being able to tell you. I can only say that it was definitely not our Hub of Freedom.¡±

    Zu An fell silent for a moment. He synthesized all of the information he had collected in his mind and seemed to realize something.

    When she saw that, Tang Tian¡¯er couldn''t help but feel a bit worried. She asked, ¡°Are you upset with me right now?¡±

    Zu An shook his head and replied, ¡°I¡¯m already really grateful that you can tell me this much. Why would I be upset with you?¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Tang Tian¡¯er asked, feeling a bit suspicious. ¡°You aren¡¯t ming me?¡±

    ¡°Of course. If it were someone else, they definitely wouldn¡¯t have told me as much as you did. I don¡¯t even have enough time to feel grateful, so why would I me you?¡± Zu An replied with a smile. ¡°You¡¯re with the Hub of Freedom, so you definitely have your own misgivings. After you admitted those things frankly, if I stillined, I would just be ungrateful.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m happy that I was able to help you then,¡± Tang Tian¡¯er said, the smile returning to face. ¡°You finally came here for a visit, so why don¡¯t you rx for a bit here? I¡¯ll let you experience the true feeling of freedom!¡±

    ¡°I still have something to take care of, so I¡¯ll have to take you up on that another day,¡± Zu An said, declining tactfully.

    Tang Tian¡¯er didn¡¯t try to keep him and said, ¡°I¡¯ll definitely take good care of you once you finish dealing with this matter.¡±

    Zu An nodded. After bidding her farewell, he returned to Yi City. He gathered Xiao Jianren, Zhang Zitong and the other Silver Token Envoys in the meeting room.

    ¡°Sir Eleven, did you find out any useful information?¡± Zhang Zitong asked out of concern. Her tall and slender figure really made her stand out among the other Silver Token Envoys. It made the normally stern and harsh meeting room seem a bit brighter.

    ¡°I did get some results,¡± Zu An replied.

    Xiao Jianren had been admiring Zhang Zitong¡¯s legs, but when he heard that, he eximed in surprise, ¡°Please share it with us, Sir Eleven!¡± Even though Sir Eleven was the one who had been given the three-day deadline, as Sir Eleven¡¯s direct subordinate, if something went wrong, he definitely wouldn¡¯t get away.

    The other Embroidered Envoys all looked at Zu An with wide eyes.

    Zu An looked around him and slowly said, ¡°We¡¯ve been making a mistake this entire time. King Yan¡¯s smuggling and formation of a private army are part of one case, while the murder of Golden Token Seven is another case entirely. We subconsciously mixed the cases together, and thus came to a misunderstanding.¡±

    Zhang Zitong couldn''t help but voice her dissent. ¡°Sir Eleven, Sir Seven was investigating King Yan¡¯s rebellion for a long time, so King Yan hated him bitterly. Could it be that after Zhao Huang¡¯s cries of grievance and the trouble today¡­ You believe them?¡±

    Xiao Jianren quickly said seriously, ¡°Miss Zhang, I believe you¡¯ve misspoken. Our Sir Eleven has never been the type to act timidly. He definitely has a reason for saying what he said.¡±

    Zu An nodded inwardly.Looks like this guy hasn¡¯t beenpletely blinded by infatuation.

    Zhang Zitong, however, still seemed a bit unconvinced. She insisted, ¡°Either way, King Yan has the strongest motive and the most ability. Furthermore, we even have a testimony and material evidence. I don¡¯t believe that there was any mistake.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about the material evidence for now. The human evidence should be Sir Huo, right? However, has Sir Huo ever admitted to killing Golden Token Seven this whole time?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°Of course he wouldn¡¯t admit to something like that. We often encounter those who clearly made mistakes, yet still feel as if they were wronged,¡± Zhang Zitong said, still unconvinced.

    ¡°I¡¯ve already sent for someone to bring him here. We can just ask him,¡± Zu An said with a chuckle.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The Silver Token Envoys all had grave expressions. As individuals who had worked in this field for a long time, they could sense that something was off. However, they couldn''t really pinpoint where the problem was exactly, either.

    Suddenly, an Embroidered Envoy rushed over and reported in rm, ¡°Sir Eleven, Sir Huo is dead!¡±

    ¡°Dead?¡± The expressions of all the Silver Token Envoys changed.

    ¡°How did he die?¡± Zu An asked calmly, as if he had already anticipated the situation.

    ¡°He appears to havemitted suicide,¡± the Embroidered Envoy replied. After working in this field for so long, Embroidered Envoys usually had some coroner abilities, so they had already roughly guessed the cause of death.

    Xiao Jianren couldn''t help but say with a frown, ¡°Something isn¡¯t right. That Sir Huo didn¡¯t seem to be someone that cowardly¡­¡±

    ¡°He was probably silenced,¡± Zu An said slowly, leaving the others in shock.

    ¡°Silenced?¡± Zhang Zitong asked in confusion. ¡°He was locked up in an Embroidered Envoy prison. Who would have the ability to silence someone like him?¡±

    The other Silver Token Envoys also voiced their agreement. ¡°Exactly! Could it be that since he knew he couldn¡¯t escape, he decided to just end it all?¡±

    ¡°We were a bit harsh on him in an attempt to obtain a confession. Spirit element cultivators like him have weak bodies, so it¡¯s expected for him to have been unable to hold on.¡±

    ¡­

    After listening to the others talk over one another, Zu An said calmly, ¡°The premise for your assumptions is that he was indeed the killer of Golden Token Seven. But what if he wasn¡¯t? As someone who had cultivated to his level, who would be willing to just die like that?¡±

    When they heard his response, the others¡¯ expressions changed. If Sir Huo really had been silenced, there could be something wrong with the Embroidered Envoy¡¯s internal system. They all looked at each other nervously.

    Zu An said, ¡°The reason why we believed so strongly that King Yan and Sir Huo were the killers of Golden Token Seven was because someone was secretly guiding us to those conclusions.¡±

    Xiao Jianren was stunned. He replied, ¡°But that¡¯s not right. No one guided us to that conclusion. We investigated those things ourselves¡­¡±

    However, midway through his sentence, he was suddenly stunned. Then, his expression changed several times, and he looked at Zhang Zitong.

    The other Silver Token Envoys also looked at her. Anyone who could be a Silver Token Envoy waspetent in dealing with situations; apart from cultivation, they weren¡¯t all that different from Golden Token Envoys. They were all intelligent. Thus, although they hadn¡¯t realized it before, Zu An¡¯s reminder made them quickly realize that the one who had first mentioned Sir Huo seemed to be Zhang Zitong.

    Zhang Zitong had an expression of shock. She stared furiously at Zu An and eximed, ¡°You¡¯re suspecting me?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Zhang Zitong for +111 +111 +111¡­

    Xiao Jianren couldn''t help but ask, ¡°Sir Eleven, is there some kind of misunderstanding? Sir Seven treated Miss Zhang with great importance. Why would she do something like that?¡±

    The Silver Token Envoys nearby all nodded.

    Zu An didn¡¯t exin and only looked straight at Zhang Zitong. He said, ¡°At first, intentionally or otherwise, you mentioned King Yan Manor or Sir Huo as possibilities. Later, you deliberately rushed into King Yan Manor, forcing us to go against King Yan Manor.

    ¡°Afterward, whenever we hit a dead end or went somewhere else, you always redirected us back to King Yan.¡±

    The other Silver Token Envoys shivered. When they recalled everything that had happened, Zhang Zitong had indeed done such things. It was just that at the time, they had felt that she was enraged by Golden Token Seven¡¯s death and was in a rush to get revenge, so they hadn¡¯t suspected her.

    Zhang Zitong took a deep breath before saying, ¡°Sir Eleven, I actually felt respect for you before, but you¡¯ve really disappointed me this time. We Embroidered Envoys need proof when we do things. Isn¡¯t this a bit too forced, to charge me with a crime with just this?¡±

    ¡°Of course there is proof,¡± Zu An said with a sigh. ¡°You¡¯ve hid it quite well all this time, but unfortunately, you were in too much of a rush when you were trying to use King Yan. You actually knew King Yan Manor¡¯s secret study¡¯s details perfectly. You even knew the exact weight of that ount book. In order to make it so that the recement wouldn¡¯t trigger the rm at all, you had to have held that ount book before.¡±

    Zhang Zitong¡¯s expression changed. She said, ¡°I already said that as long as people are involved, there will always be some clues. I merely looked into the artisan who participated in the creation of the secret room to find out that information.¡±

    ¡°Ah, I also looked into that artisan you talked about. They worked on the construction of King Yan Manor, but they only worked on the outside of the study. They didn¡¯t know a thing about the interior. How could you have obtained this information from them then?¡± Zu An asked, looking at her coldly.

    ¡°I¡­¡± Zhang Zitong finally revealed a bit of rm. ¡°There are a few other craftsmen I didn¡¯t give the names of, to ensure their safety. This was something I promised them.¡±

    ¡°Then you can tell us their information now. We¡¯ll look into it ourselves,¡± Zu An said, pointing at the others. ¡°Even the lowest among us are Silver Token Envoys. I believe none of us would leak this information.¡±

    ¡°Right, Miss Zhang, hurry and tell us. We will definitely ensure their safety!¡± Xiao Jianren said as he looked at Zhang Zitong nervously. There was even a pleading look in his eyes.

    ¡°Sure. They¡¯re at¡­¡± Zhang Zitong said, gradually bing quieter. Xiao Jianren couldn''t help but move closer to her to listen.

    Suddenly, Zhang Zitong twisted his arm, revealing a dagger from her sleeves and pressing it against his neck.

    Xiao Jianren had constantly been trying to find ways to get closer to her, and yet she had always maintained some distance from him. He hadn¡¯t expected their first close interaction to be in this kind of situation! His face fell, turning ashen.

    The other Silver Token Envoys¡¯ bodies wentpletely taut in preparation for a battle. With her reaction, how could they still not know what was happening?

    Zu An looked at her calmly and asked, ¡°Do you think you can still get away?¡±

    Zhang Zitong¡¯s face paled. A hint of stubbornness and unwillingness appeared on her face. She asked, ¡°When did you begin to suspect me?¡±

 Chapter 1678: Revived from the Dead

    Chapter 1678: Revived from the Dead

    ¡°From the first time we met,¡± Zu An slowly said.

    Zhang Zitong couldn''t understand. She asked, ¡°Is it because that turtle spirit in ckwater Pool said that it was a woman who threw Golden Token Seven¡¯s corpse into theke? Do you think that was me?¡±

    Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°No. I just had a feeling that something was off with you from the moment we met.¡±

    ¡°What kind of reason is that?!¡± Zhang Zitong eximed, feeling really wronged. After working in this field for a long time, she knew about the power of intuition too. Once one developed suspicions toward someone, even if all of the evidence suggested that they were innocent, one still wouldn¡¯t be able to get rid of those doubts. In the end, one would find proof that they were guilty. She had never expected to end up losing to that so-called intuition.

    Zu An gave her a look, then looked at her long legs and said, ¡°You are quite attractive, and your figure is tall and slender. That¡¯spletely different from the Embroidered Envoy¡¯s style. Look at these people around you; they¡¯re more like what you¡¯d expect from an Embroidered Envoy.¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Xiao Jianren and the others wanted to cry. Is Sir Eleven praising us or cursing us?

    Zhang Zitong¡¯s face reddened. She had never expected to obtain such praise from him, but she couldn''t bring herself to feel happy about it at all. She protested, ¡°I was raised by Sir Seven ever since I was little. I already exined this to you before!¡±

    ¡°Any parents who could produce a daughter of your appearance and temperament couldn¡¯t possibly be ordinary people. Golden Token Seven might have not realized he had fallen into this trap, or perhaps he didn¡¯t want to think about it, but I¡¯m different. I noticed that something was off immediately. You¡¯re too outstanding and pretty,¡± Zu An slowly said. He paused before continuing, ¡°Which means you definitely shouldn¡¯t have been an Embroidered Envoy.¡±

    Zhang Zitong gave him a long look and said, ¡°Even though I¡¯ve never seen Sir Eleven¡¯s face, I can feel that you¡¯re a handsome and outstanding individual. Why is it that you can be a Golden Token Envoy, but I¡¯m being suspected?¡±

    Zu An smiled and replied, ¡°Just a single person like me is enough. Others are unable to share such a good fate.¡±

    Zhang Zitong was speechless.

    Even Xiao Jianren and the other Silver Token Envoys thought to themselves, Isn¡¯t this Sir Eleven a bit too shameless?

    ¡°Alright, you¡¯ve already asked what you wanted. It¡¯s time for you to let him go, right?¡± Zu An continued as he walked toward Zhang Zitong.

    ¡°Don¡¯t move!¡± Zhang Zitong cried as she put more pressure on the dagger, the de already digging into Xiao Jianren¡¯s skin. With just a bit more force, it would cut through his neck.

    Zu An¡¯s brows furrowed. He said, ¡°I believe you understand how Xiao Jianren has treated you all this time. Are you really going to threaten us with his life?¡±

    When he heard that, Xiao Jianren felt ashamed. His actions as ofte really were too humiliating.

    Zhang Zitong¡¯s expression changed several times. In the end, she lowered the dagger in her hands and said apologetically to Xiao Jianren, ¡°Sorry.¡± Afterward, she gently pushed him forward, then brought the de up to her own neck.

    Even so, Zu An was already prepared. With a flick of his finger, the dagger was knocked flying. The other Silver Token Envoys seized the chance to rush forward and restrain her with Soul Reaping Chains. Surprisingly, however, Zhang Zitong didn¡¯t seem to have any intention of resisting.

    Zhang Zitong looked up at Zu An. She said with a sad smile, ¡°Sir Eleven, I know I¡¯ll undoubtedly die, but I still want to say this. Being able to work together with you made this was the happiest period of my entire life.¡±

    When Xiao Jianren and the others heard that, they weren¡¯t that surprised. Judging from their interactions, they more or less knew thatpared to Sir Eleven, they were nopetition whatsoever.

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed. He walked up to Zhang Zitong and opened her mouth. He saw a strand of ck blood. There was clearly poison hidden in her teeth. His finger quickly moved to seal her blood cirction and stop the poison from spreading.

    Zhang Zitong smiled bleakly and said, ¡°It¡¯s useless. The poison is meant to end my life, and it¡¯s extremely strong. There is no¡­ antidote¡­¡± Her voice gradually became quieter and quieter. Her eyes also gradually lost color.

    Xiao Jianren¡¯s expression grew dark, but he knew that this was the best end for her. Otherwise, only endless torture would await her in the Embroidered Envoy¡¯s prison. It would be better to just end her life here. Still, he thought, But why do I want to cry?

    Zu An didn¡¯t hesitate and took Zhang Zitong into the inner room, saying, ¡°Wait outside. You¡¯re not allowed in no matter what you hear.¡± Then, he mmed the door shut.

    Xiao Jianren and the other Silver Token Envoys looked at each other in dismay. What was the meaning of Sir Eleven¡¯s actions? Zhang Zitong had already activated the poison between her teeth. Did he really think he could still save her?

    Zhang Zitong was also confused. Zu An had carried her into the room while she was on her deathbed, then ced her on the table. ¡°What is he doing? Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡± she muttered in rm. Even though she was about to die, she still felt that all of this was¡­ ridiculous.

    Zu An moved his finger closer, then gave her body a push.

    ¡°Ah~¡±

    When they heard that sound, Xiao Jianren and the others looked at each other in dismay. What was Sir Eleven doing? Could it be that he wanted to interrogate her all the way to herst breath?

    After some time, muffled groans emerged from the room every so often. They were clearly being suppressed on purpose. They seemed to carry a hint of pain, but also a hint of¡­ pleasure?

    Xiao Jianren and the others werepletely stunned. What the heck were the two really doing inside? Zhang Zitong had already taken poison and was about to die. How did she still have the energy to make those sounds?

    Eventually, Zhang Zitong¡¯s voice couldn''t be suppressed anymore. Her screams filled the air unceasingly, sounding sweet and seductive. She couldn''t hold them back at all.

    The people outside were all experienced, so they immediately realized what kind of sound that was. Their expressions became incredibly strange as they thought, Sir Eleven really is someone who doesn¡¯t like to waste resources¡­ She¡¯s already about to die¡­

    Still, they felt that that kind of action was a bit¡­ brutish. They patted Xiao Jianren¡¯s shoulder, their eyes full of sympathy.

    Xiao Jianren immediately panicked and cried, ¡°You guys are definitely misunderstanding! It¡¯s definitely not what you¡¯re thinking!¡±

    ¡°You can fool your brothers, but don¡¯t fool yourself. We know how you¡¯re feeling right now,¡± the other Silver Token Envoys said, feeling even more sympathetic. Many of them even felt a bit sour inside, because who wouldn¡¯t like a pretty coworker like Zhang Zitong?

    Xiao Jianren scowled and retorted, ¡°You don¡¯t understand Sir Eleven. I believe that he¡¯s definitely not that kind of person! Even if he were, he¡¯s definitely saving Miss Zhang, or has some other intentions. It¡¯s definitely not because of lust.¡±

    The others chuckled and felt that arguing further was pointless. They didn¡¯t try to console him anymore.

    A loud cry emerged from inside, and silence fell.

    The Envoys outside felt their hearts beating quickly and their throats bing dry. They also felt that staying there wasn¡¯t too good, so they all left to provide the two with some privacy.

    After some hesitation, Xiao Jianren also left. However, he didn¡¯t go too far and stood guard outside the courtyard to prevent anyone else from getting closer.

    Zhang Zitong¡¯s entire body dripped with sweat. Her hair stuck to her skin, and her face waspletely red as she looked at the man at her side. Her expression was one of shock, but also full of embarrassment.

    Zu An pulled back his finger and said, ¡°Alright. Even though the poison hasn¡¯t beenpletely eliminated, there should be no danger to your life. Cultivate properly for a while and you should be able to recover.¡±

    ¡°You¡­ What kind of trick is this? Why are you even able to cure poison like this?¡± Zhang Zitong asked. More importantly, it just had to be through something so embarrassing¡­

    Her voice was a bit hoarse, perhaps because of all of the noise she had made. As a woman, she had really shown this man an unbearably humiliating side of herself. If he had been her lover, that would be one thing, but strictly speaking, he was a stranger. She didn¡¯t even know what he looked like.

    Zu An was a bit embarrassed. The Primordial Origin Sutra¡¯s thirdyer could help another eliminate poison to a certain degree, but the side effect was also clear. It easily made a woman¡¯s body be several times more sensitive, as if they were¡­

    He coughed lightly and said, ¡°That¡¯s not important. There¡¯s something I¡¯m quite curious about, though. Back then, Golden Token Seven saved you and raised you himself. He was someone who showed you tremendous favor. You also said that you treated him like your adoptive father. Why, then, did you betray him?¡±

 Chapter 1679: Assassin

    Chapter 1679: Assassin

    When she heard what he said, Zhang Zitong¡¯s expression revealed a hint of pain. Perhaps because she had already shown her most embarrassing and private side to him, the way she looked at Zu An became gentler, and she didn¡¯t hold back from revealing some information that wasn¡¯t critical. She exined, ¡°Sir Seven did treat me really well. If he hadn¡¯t been the one who forced my n toplete ruin, I might really have treated him as my adoptive father.¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An repeated in surprise, ¡°Forced your n to ruin?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Zhang Zitong said, a hint of hatred shing through her eyes. ¡°I was still young back then. I remember that one day, Golden Token Seven appeared in my n¡¯s home with some people. My father was really scared at the time, but still went out to greet him. Then, for some reason, both sides began to fight, and then my n was wiped out.

    ¡°If not for the fact that my nanny risked her life to send me out, I might have also died in that disaster. But in order to save me, my nanny swapped the clothes of her own child with mine, to die in my ce. Furthermore, she eventually also died because of an arrow wound.¡± As she spoke about the past, her eyes clearly became red, either out of grief or hatred.

    Zu An frowned. He asked, ¡°Your n belonged to an official? When did this happen?¡±

    A n that required a Golden Token Envoy to personally deal with it definitely couldn¡¯t be an average one.

    ¡°My father¡¯s tabooed name was Zhiquan. In the past, he was an Imperial Censor, but this all happened thirteen years ago,¡± Zhang Zitong said with a voice full of grief.

    Thirteen years before the present, Zu An still hadn¡¯t transmigrated to this world yet. He naturally didn¡¯t know Imperial Censor Zhang. He said, ¡°I¡¯ll help you look into this matter if I get a chance in the future, to find out what happened.¡±

    Sure enough, whether it was Zhang Zitong¡¯s appearance or aptitude, they were features that an ordinary pair of parents couldn''t produce. Even though Zu An wasn¡¯t willing to admit it, this cultivation world was even more cruel in that respect than his previous world. The stronger the bloodline of the parents was, the more outstanding their posterity would often be. In contrast, it was difficult for ordinary people to produce even a single individual with cultivation aptitude.

    Zhang Zitong had a distressed smile as she replied, ¡°What would be the use even if you looked into it? Our Zhang n has already been wiped out. The dead can¡¯t be revived. Furthermore, I¡¯ve already gotten revenge for my n, so I don¡¯t have any regrets left in this life.¡±

    ¡°If some injustice really took ce, there might still be a chance of righting that wrong. I believe you wouldn¡¯t want your Zhang n to still carry a shameful name even after death, right?¡± Zu An asked, seeing the resolve to die in her eyes. He knew that afterpleting her revenge, she had lost all her will to live. That made things really troublesome, as it would be hard to get any more useful information from her. Thus, he had to give her some hope first.

    Sure enough, Zhang Zitong¡¯s previously dull eyes revealed a sliver of emotion. Zu An used the opportunity to say, ¡°From what I know, you were taken in by Golden Token Seven and raised by him at a young age. ording to what you said earlier, you were the only one left of your n. At that age, I don¡¯t believe that you could have already developed any thoughts of carrying out an infiltration and waiting for revenge.¡±

    After a moment of hesitation, Zhang Zitong still replied, ¡°Someone appeared in front of me back then. He asked me if I wanted revenge, and as I was in the pits of despair, I agreed immediately.

    ¡°I trained with them for a year or so. Later, he told me that there was an opportunity for revenge, which was to join the Embroidered Envoy. So, I pretended to be an orphan on the streets. I pretended to have coincidentally bumped into Golden Token Seven, and sure enough, he ended up favoring me. However, he had no idea that it was all a plot.¡±

    In truth, if not for the embarrassment from the treatment that had mysteriously made her feel closer to Zu An, she wouldn¡¯t reveal such information. However, she didn¡¯t even feel as if telling him these things was that big of a deal anymore.

    Zu An frowned slightly and said, ¡°Normally, with Golden Token Seven¡¯s cautious nature, any traces of cultivation shouldn¡¯t have escaped his notice.¡±

    Zhang Zitong exined, ¡°My benefactor didn¡¯t teach me any cultivation on purpose, only training my will and other aspects. Golden Token Seven thought that I was more mature than others because I had to wander the streets, so he didn¡¯t suspect anything.¡±

    Zu An nodded. He asked, ¡°Who was the one who raised you?¡±

    To ce that chess piece more than ten years in the past, only to reap the benefits now¡­ just how great of a scheme was that?

    Zhang Zitong shook her head and said, ¡°That person has shown me great favor. There¡¯s no way I could tell you that information.¡±

    Zu An scowled and said, ¡°Since you were an Embroidered Envoy for so many years, you should understand their methods. There are ways of making you speak.¡±

    Zhang Zitong looked away. She bit her lip and asked, ¡°In that case, why did you save me then?¡± She clearly knew about those methods too. Her voice now carried a hint of fear.

    She took a deep breath to calm herself down and said, ¡°I knew this day woulde back then, so I already made my preparations. Even if all my acupoints are sealed, I still have ways of ending my own life. The only reason I haven¡¯t used them is because you went through so much to save me just now, so I didn¡¯t want to waste your goodwill.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He didn¡¯t know if what she said was true or not, but there were many mysterious things in this world. Perhaps she really did have something like that. As such, he changed his approach and asked, ¡°Have you thought about this before? What if that so-called great benefactor was actually the one who truly forced your n into ruin? Otherwise, why would he have just happened to appear in front of you when you were at your lowest point? On top of that, everything just lined up afterward and you were nted into the ranks of a Golden Token Envoy, and as the right hand of Golden Token Seven, no less?¡±

    Zhang Zitong was stunned. Her expression immediately changed, because she realized that there was truly such a possibility. But as someone who had worked as an Embroidered Envoy and spy for so many years, she was incredibly strong-willed. She quickly calmed down and said, ¡°Please don¡¯t try to drive a wedge between us. I won¡¯t fall for it.¡±

    ¡°You should get some rest. Don¡¯t think about suicide for now. I won¡¯t order anyone to punish you immediately either,¡± Zu An said, then got up to leave.

    Zhang Zitong was rmed. She reflexively asked. ¡°Where are you going?¡±

    The Embroidered Envoy had been her home, but now, for her current self, it was no different from a devil¡¯s nest. The only thing that brought her a bit of warmth was this Sir Eleven. If he left, perhaps she would immediately bepletely swallowed up in darkness.

    ¡°Since you aren¡¯t willing to talk, I can only look for others,¡± Zu An said with a chuckle. He pushed open the door and walked out.

    Xiao Jianren rushed over when he saw him leave. He asked without thinking, ¡°Did you finish?¡± His face heated up afterward. He really wanted to fan himself.

    Zu An was confused. What the heck are you asking? Still, he replied, ¡°How can things be finished that easily? She¡¯s been saved for now. We¡¯ll keep her restrained here. Don¡¯t let anyone get closer to her.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± Xiao Jianren replied with an eager smile. ¡°Sir¡¯s way of saving someone is a bit unique¡­ Judging from how sir is dripping with sweat, you must be exhausted.¡±

    Even though he liked Zhang Zitong, he had merely been infatuated by her beauty and long legs. That was just a man¡¯s instinctive reaction. If one were to ask if he loved her, things definitely hadn¡¯t gone that far. That wasn¡¯t even considering the fact that Zhang Zitong hadn¡¯t returned those feelings at all.

    Now that this shocking disaster of a plot against Golden Token Seven¡¯s life had been revealed, he wouldn¡¯t dare to get involved any further. Even though he had felt terrible while waiting in the courtyard, after so much time, he had also thought things through. For Sir Eleven to take Zhang Zitong in was already quite a good conclusion.

    After their two years of interactions, he had already beenpletely won over by Sir Eleven.

    ¡°I do feel a bit tired,¡± Zu An said, not realizing the misunderstanding. After exchanging a few more words, he quickly left.

    Xiao Jianren was a bit envious. He wanted to find a chance to properly consult Sir Eleven about just what kind of skill it was that could bring so much pleasure and cure poison.

    When she heard what was being said outside the door, Zhang Zitong couldn''t help but cover her burning cheeks.

    Ah¡­ So embarrassing¡­

    But Sir Eleven really is a warm and gentle person. He still didn¡¯t pressure me in this kind of situation. Just how did someone like that survive in the Embroidered Envoy?

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, after he left, Zu An went straight to the governor manor. Zhang Jie was a bit surprised by his quick return.

    ¡°We¡¯ve hooked a big fish this time,¡± Zu An said as he picked up a teacup and sipped it. Then, he gave Zhang Jie a rough summary of Zhang Zitong¡¯s identity as a spy.

    Zhang Jie was surprised, asking, ¡°Then what can we even get from an interrogation? A spy like her would definitely be extremely cautious. Be careful that she doesn¡¯t end up taking her own life!¡±

    Zu An nodded and said, ¡°She did try to take her own life, but was saved. She didn¡¯t reveal too much even after a day of interrogation. However, it¡¯s fine. I¡¯m going on a trip to request a Truth Talisman from Master Yan¡¯s disciple Miss Xie. I should be able to get what I want from her then. I¡¯ll have to entrust her care to Sir Zhang. Help me ensure the safety of the Embroidered Envoy¡¯s surroundings.¡±

    Zhang Jie¡¯s expression became serious. He said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Sir Eleven. These are special circumstances, so I¡¯ll definitely increase the number of personnel to ensure Zhang Zitong¡¯s safety.¡±

    Zu An nodded and said, ¡°I¡¯m pressed for time, so I must leave.¡± Afterward, he quickly left.

    Zhang Jie immediately summoned his subordinates and assigned them security tasks.

    ¡­

    Late in the night, Zhang Zitong was curled up on her bed. She had her arms around her legs, a nk look on her face. However, when she heard a light noise outside, she was overjoyed. Had Sir Eleven hurried back?

    Suddenly, a ck-d individual rushed in. A glistening de shed straight at her.

 Chapter 1680: Revenge Plot

    Chapter 1680: Revenge Plot

    Zhang Zitong was stunned. She instinctively rolled to the side to avoid the lethal sh, but her body was restricted, so she couldn''t use ki to counterattack. When she saw the de sh at her again, she no longer had the strength to avoid it. She could only watch it descend in despair.

    Suddenly, she felt a bit of relief. Either way, death was what she had been looking for. It didn¡¯t make that much of a difference whether she died to poison or to this de.

    However, after the de struck her, she likely wouldn¡¯t look so pretty anymore, right? She really didn¡¯t want Sir Eleven to return and see such an ugly scene.

    Suddenly, a fist smashed toward the de, knocking it away. An imposing figure appeared in front of Zhang Zitong, making her heart skip a beat. It was Sir Eleven!

    Zu An looked at the ck-d individual across from him. Their clothes were wrapped firmly around their body and he couldn''t detect any special characteristics. The assassin had clearlye prepared.

    The ck-d individual was also stunned when they saw Zu An and bolted for the exit without a moment¡¯s hesitation. Just then, however, several Soul Reaping Chains cut off their escape route, with Xiao Jianren and other Silver Token Envoys in the lead.

    They were all Silver Token Envoys, and with their special coordinated skills and Soul Reaping Chains, even a powerful cultivator would give up after a short futile struggle. That wasn¡¯t even considering the fact that there was a Golden Token Envoy watching over the scene menacingly.

    The ck-d individual suddenly turned to look at Zu An, their eyes seemingly filled with anger from being deceived.

    You have sessfully trolled Zhang Jie for +444 +444 +444¡­

    When he saw the name, Zu An thought, As expected. He said, ¡°Sir Zhang, I didn¡¯t expect you toe yourself.¡±

    The others present were all shocked to hear those words. They had only assumed this person was an assassin who hade to kill Zhang Zitong. How could they have anticipated that it would actually be such an important figure?

    Apart from Zhang Jie, was there anyone else more important who could be called Sir Zhang?

    The ck-d individual was shocked, but he still replied in a hoarse voice, ¡°What are you saying? I don¡¯t understand.¡± He was clearly carrying out his final struggle and didn¡¯t want to admit his identity.

    Zu An didn¡¯t bother exposing him further and continued, ¡°You actually had me fooled all this time. King Yan used Golden Token Seven¡¯s death to make me investigate the Hub of Freedom and discover your rtionship with the Hub of Freedom. That way, you would fall from power.

    ¡°But there was another mysterious force that tried to lead me to investigate King Yan. At first, I did fall for it and thought that it was King Yan who had done the deed. After all, he had the motive and the ability.

    ¡°Along the way, though, there were so many aspects that I just couldn''t understand or solve. Only after experiencing everything I¡¯ve gone through over the past two days did things finally line up.

    ¡°The only thing left was to find out the identity of that mysterious force. Actually, many things might lookplicated, but there is a simple principle one needs to follow to find the truth, which is to look at who has the most to gain from the situation. That party is the most suspicious.

    ¡°If King Yan really fell because of Golden Token Seven or a rebellion, who would be the biggest winner? Of course, that would be you, Yi Commandery¡¯s governor. You¡¯ve fought so bitterly with King Yan over the years. Even though you purposely put on that rather mediocre appearance in front of me, how could anyone who could sh with King Yan for so many years be so ipetent?¡±

    After listening to the exnation, the ck-d individual knew that arguing any further was meaningless. He removed his mask. As expected, it was Yi Commandery¡¯s Governor, Zhang Jie.

    Xiao Jianren swallowed with difficulty. He felt as if everything he was seeing wasn¡¯t real.

    When a case involved someone as important as King Yan, if not for his trust in Sir Eleven, he would even have wondered whether everyone involved would be silenced after the fact.

    Zhang Zitong looked at Zhang Jie. Her expression changed several times.

    ¡°I should have known that this was a trap as soon as you mentioned Zhang Zitong¡¯s situation in front of me,¡± Zhang Jie spat, overwhelmed with hate. He had still been careless in the end. Most importantly, this kid really had gone all out in setting the trap. Master Yan¡¯s reputation in the field of formations and talismans was too well-known, and he had heard of the Truth Talisman too. He had really been scared that Zhang Zitong would speak the truth.

    ¡°King Yan was just captured and King Yan¡¯s heir publicly started a rebellion. Even though his majesty reached apromise and quelled the situation, he definitely wouldn¡¯t feel too happy about it inside. In the future, he¡¯d deal with them sooner orter. This victory was far too thorough for you. Even the most cool-headed person would be muddled by victory,¡± Zu An said, then paused for a moment. ¡°But I didn¡¯t expect you toe personally.¡±

    ¡°If I hadn¡¯t personally taken care of it and ended up like her, things would only have be even more annoying,¡± Zhang Jie said as he red at Zhang Zitong. If not for her, his ns would have beenpletely wless.

    Zhang Zitong lowered her head apologetically, However, when she thought about how he had been about to kill her, there was also a hint of unwillingness and despair in her expression.

    ¡°I have one question. Even though your official rank is high, strictly speaking, you¡¯re only an official appointed by the court. Would you really have the power to achieve all of this yourself?¡± Zu An wondered, feeling confused.

    That was precisely why he hadn¡¯t suspected Zhang Jie at first. Put nicely, Zhang Jie was an important regional governor, but in more direct terms, he was just a pawn for someone else. He would still be a government employee anywhere else, and would have had no reason to go so far in trying to get rid of King Yan. If every single subordinate of Zhao Han were this capable, just the thought of that alone would be quite terrifying.

    ¡°Hmph, what do you understand? In the past, Zhang Zhiquan saved my life. How can I not y my part in his revenge?¡± Zhang Jie spat hatefully.

    Zu An was surprised by the answer. He looked at Zhang Zitong and said, ¡°You¡¯re both named Zhang. Are you actually rtives?¡±

    Before Zhang Zitong could say anything, Zhang Jie quickly said, ¡°The rtionship couldn¡¯t be more distant. You probably couldn¡¯t even find any records of us having family history. Otherwise, after Zhang Zhiquan¡¯s criminal affair, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to sit in my current position.¡±

    ¡°Then, what you said about Zhang Zhiquan saving your life, the court doesn¡¯t know about it either?¡± Zu An asked, finding it a bit strange. After all, upon reaching such a high position, a strict political background check should have been carried out.

    ¡°He saved me from a terrible situation when I was young. I was only able to walk the path of cultivation because of his assistance. Brother Zhiquan was a man of noble character and wouldn¡¯t boast about something like this. I didn¡¯t tell anyone else about it either and just stored it in my heart, so of course no one knew about it,¡± Zhang Jie replied.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to be the emotionally righteous type,¡± Zu An said with a chuckle. ¡°And yet today, you were about to kill the sole remaining survivor of your benefactor¡¯s lineage. Isn¡¯t talking about these things quiteughable now?¡±

    ¡°All of this was merely for the sake of the ultimate revenge! I believe she¡¯s willing as well,¡± Zhang Jie said with a sneer.

    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Zhang Zitong also said, but inwardly, she couldn''t help but feel a ripple of doubt. She was willing to give up her life for this matter, and that was why she had firmly chosen to end her own life. Still, being killed by someone else suddenly felt really different from ending her own life.

    ¡°Just what did that Zhang Zhiquan do that resulted in his entire family being executed?¡± Zu An asked curiously. ¡°And what is the ultimate revenge you¡¯re talking about?¡±

    Zhagn Jie sneered. ¡°Even if I had the courage to tell you, you wouldn¡¯t necessarily have the guts to stomach it.¡±

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°I might not have other skills, but I¡¯ve always been quite brave. I¡¯m all ears.¡±

    Zhang Jie gave Xiao Jianren and the others a look, saying, ¡°If they hear about this, they won¡¯t be able to live after.¡±

    Xiao Jianren and the others¡¯ expressions changed. After being Embroidered Envoys for so long, they¡¯d had their fair share of contact with darkness. They naturally knew that what he was saying might not have been spoken just to scare them. There was indeed a chance that hearing the truth would mean that they would undoubtedly die.

    Zu An waved his hand and said, ¡°All of you, wait outside for me. You¡¯re not allowed to get close to this ce.¡±

    Xiao Jianren immediately panicked. ¡°Sir Eleven, be careful not to be fooled! He might be using this as a chance to send us away!¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, This guy at least has some loyalty. He definitely didn¡¯t want them to take the risk now. He replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I know what I¡¯m doing.¡±

    Xiao Jianren and the others could only leave helplessly.

    ¡­

    Zhang Jie was a bit surprised when he saw them leave. He remarked, ¡°You are quite bold, aren¡¯t you? Are you not scared of me attacking you now?¡± He was a master rank cultivator, after all, and Golden Token Envoys usually didn¡¯t reach that level.

    Zu An remained quite calm as he said, ¡°I¡¯ve already cleared the room for you. You can say what you want to say.¡±

    Zhang Jie slowly said, ¡°The case of the Zhang n¡¯s eradication involves the previous dynasty¡¯s imperial descendant¡­¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

 Chapter 1681: Truth of the Throne

    Chapter 1681: Truth of the Throne

    Zu An shivered. He hadn¡¯t expected this to actually be connected to the previous dynasty.

    Zhang Zitong¡¯s eyes widened. She hadn¡¯t actually known the real reason behind her parents¡¯ deaths and the eradication of the n. This was the first time she was hearing about it.

    ¡°Since you¡®re a Golden Token Envoy, you should have heard of Chief Attendant Dongfang Bai, right?¡± Zhang Jie asked.

    Zu An nodded. There were four Chief Attendants in the current dynasty, and Dongfang Bai was their leader. His son Dongfang Han was the Yellow Gate Attendant Minister, someone he had met previously.

    However, because Dongfang Bai didn¡¯t leave much of an impression, the more famous Chief Attendant Waterfront Duke Pei Zheng, Big Manman¡¯s grandfather, actually had more practical authority. However, Big Manman wasn¡¯t the daughter of his first wife, and her father was only Pei Zheng¡¯s fifth son, which was why her status in the n wasn¡¯t that high.

    Zhang Jie seemed to have seen through his thoughts. He continued, ¡°You¡¯re wondering why despite being the leader of the four Chief Attendants, Dongfang Bai, doesn¡¯t seem to have much of a presence, right?¡±

    ¡°Why is that?¡± Zu An asked. He hadn¡¯t been too interested in that before, since they hadn¡¯t had many dealings with each other, but now that it was rted to the death of Zhang Zitong¡¯s parents and even the previous dynasty, he couldn''t help but be interested.

    ¡°Dongfang Bai¡¯s wife is the princess of the previous dynasty¡¯s Qi State. The Qi State Princess is the daughter of the previous dynasty¡¯s Emperor Zhao,¡± Zhang Jie exined.

    Zu An knew Meng Emperor Zhao, who had been thest emperor in the Meng Dynasty with practical authority. The young emperors who seeded him had all given up their authority to important ministers. In the end, the Meng Dynasty had been reced by the Zhou Dynasty.

    ¡°But, Dongfang Bai wasn¡¯t the Qi State princess¡¯ first husband,¡± Zhang Jie said, his expression seeming to carry a hint of sympathy as he spoke.

    ¡°Oh, who was her first husband?¡± Zu An asked. He didn¡¯t really know that much about the matter of the previous dynasty, but he wasn¡¯t too surprised to hear of her remarriage. After all, she was a princess, someone of imperial kinsmen and peerless beauty. She couldn''t just remain a widow forever, right?

    ¡°The son of the Meng Dynasty¡¯s former Secretariat Director Qian Xuan. Back then, Qian Xuan opposed the grand director of this dynasty, colluding with the dynasty¡¯s enemies in an uprising. That secret was leaked, and he was executed, while the Qian n also had three generations punished. Of course, the Qi State¡¯s princess had a special identity and wasn¡¯t included in the punishment. Later, she entered an arranged marriage with Dongfang Bai,¡± Zhang Jie said, full of sighs as he talked about past events.

    Zu An knew that the grand director Zhang Jie spoke of had been the Meng Dynasty¡¯s most important minister at the time. In reality, whether he was a grand director or a great ancestor, he had been the one with the greatest authority. And yet, in the end, the one who had formally established the Zhou Dynasty was still Zhao Han. These titles of grand director and great ancestor were all titles that Zhao Han had assigned afterward.

    ¡°So was it just because he took the previous dynasty¡¯s Qi State princess as his wife that Dongfang Bai was no longer viewed with importance in the court?¡± Zu An asked, sounding surprised. He didn¡¯t really understand why Zhang Jie was saying these things now.

    ¡°Of course it wasn¡¯t only because of that. Do you know about the current dynasty¡¯s Imperial Director Zhen Xueyi?¡± Zhang Jie asked.

    Zu An nodded. The Imperial Director was in charge of supervising the various affairs of the imperial n. He had even personally interacted with the man before, due to the rumors surrounding him and the crown princess. In order to prove his innocence, the Imperial Director, libationer, and others hade to interrogate him. However, he didn¡¯t have too deep of an impression of Zhen Xueyi. He only remembered the other man as an old fox who was really good at shifting me.

    ¡°His surname isn¡¯t actually Zhen; rather, he¡¯s a n member of Meng Emperor Zhao¡¯s wife, Empress Huang. Because the Zhen ncked male offspring, he was adopted into the Zhen n. However, his bloodline as part of the Huang n still remains. His connection to the previous dynasty isn¡¯t as estranged as that of Dongfang Bai, but he upies an important position. Why do you think that is?¡± Zhang Jie continued, looking at Zu An with a sneer.

    Zu An shook his head. A lot of information regarding the past dynasty had been cut off. He couldn''t investigate anything even if he wanted to. Fortunately, there were still some elders still alive from the previous dynasty whom he could ask directly.

    Zhang Jie didn¡¯t provide the answer and instead threw out another question. ¡°Why do you think the Meng Dynasty, with its powerful foundation, ended up being reced by the current dynasty¡¯s Zhao n?¡±

    Zu An thought for a bit, then replied, ¡°I reckon that it¡¯s because the Meng Dynasty¡¯s emperors didn¡¯t live that long. Between that the struggle over the throne, the Meng Dynasty was able to greatly suppress the authority of the imperial n. That was why this dynasty¡¯s great ancestor and grand director had an opportunity to exploit.¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zhang Jie was a bit surprised when he heard Zu An¡¯s reply. He said, ¡°You actually put it this bluntly¡­ You¡¯re not like the other Embroidered Envoys who will defend this dynasty no matter what. I wonder just how you passed the political background check.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. As a transmigrator, he naturally viewed things from a different perspective. He hadn¡¯t expected it to end up sounding so weird in the eyes of others.

    ¡°Very good, very good! Kid, with this level of backbone, it sounds like it wasn¡¯t a waste for me to tell you about these things,¡± Zhang Jie suddenly said happily.

    Zu An frowned and said, ¡°You kept rambling about this and that, but you didn¡¯t give me the most valuable piece of information yet. Are you stalling for time? My patience is limited.¡±

    Zhang Jieughed heartily and said, ¡°Please don¡¯t be so impatient. The reasons you spoke of were indeed very important, but you¡¯re missing an even more crucial piece of information. Meng Emperor Zhao¡¯s sons all died prematurely, to the point where there weren¡¯t even any mature sons who could seed in the world. That was why he had no choice but to select some of the imperial n¡¯s children to seed the empire.¡±

    ¡°Princes dying young isn¡¯t too rare, let alone the fact that even Meng Emperor Zhao himself didn¡¯t live for that long. That means there was something wrong with his genes,¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°Genes?¡± Zhang Jie repeated, stunned. He clearly hadn¡¯t heard of the word before. ¡°It indeed isn¡¯t that rare, but what if it wasn¡¯t an ident, but rather brought about artificially?¡±

    ¡°Artificially?¡± Zu An repeated in shock. ¡°Who would dare to do something like that?¡±

    ¡°ording to what you said just now, the one who has the greatest to gain is the most suspicious,¡± Zhang Jie said with a sneer.

    ¡°You¡¯re saying that it was the current dynasty¡¯s great ancestor, the founding emperor?¡± Zhang Zitong suddenly said, unable to hold back anymore after listening to the whole conversation from one side. After all, this was rted to the case of the Zhang n¡¯s eradication.

    ¡°Correct,¡± Zhang Jie said bluntly. ¡°Only the grand director had that kind of ability at the time.¡±

    ¡°But something isn¡¯t right here. Even though information on this topic was quite limited, Meng Emperor Zhao had a good reputation and was known as a wise ruler. Why would the grand director dare to do something like that?¡± Zu An asked in confusion. Based on the avable resources, the grand director had still been a loyal minister under Meng Emperor Zhao. Onlyter, when the younger emperors ascended to the throne, had imperial authority begun to slip.

    ¡°It naturally wouldn¡¯t have been possible if it were just the great ancestor alone. But what if he had the help of Emperor Zhao¡¯s wife, Empress Huang?¡± Zhang Jie replied with a sneer.

    ¡°Empress Huang?¡± Zu An repeated, stunned. She was already an empress, so why would she collude with a minister to go against her own husband? However, when he remembered the rtionship between himself and the current Empress, his expression suddenly grew strange.

    ¡°Empress Huang didn¡¯t have any children herself, and she was the type who was prone to jealousy. She couldn''t bear to see the other concubines continue to bear children. Her rtionship with the great ancestor was quite good, so the two hit it off,¡± Zhang Jie slowly said. ¡°In the span of a few years, Emperor Zhao¡¯s princes all died young. He thought that he was justcking in fortune and didn¡¯t suspect anything.

    ¡°But when dealing with the fourth prince, the doctors and eunuchs involved were worried that things could fall through and that they could be exposed. Because they couldn''t bear the guilty conscience anymore, they secretly sent the fourth prince out of the pce. They dered to the public that the prince had died. One of the doctors contacted a friend of his outside the pce, which was Zitong¡¯s father, Zhang Zhiquan. He had always been someone of upright and honorable character, and chose to help. He helped bring the fourth prince out of the pce. From then on, though the fourth prince was forced to wander the world destitute, for better or for worse, he was able to survive.

    ¡°At the time, those involved thought that one day, the truth woulde to light and they could bring the fourth prince back to be the emperor. Then, not only would they not be punished for their mistake, they would even have established great contributions. However, over time, the grand director became too strong, sessfully seizing the Meng Dynasty. This matter thus naturally fizzled out.

    ¡°Meanwhile, that fourth prince ended up dying an untimely death for reasons unknown as well. Still, he did leave behind a bloodline among the people, which led to the imperial descendant I mentioned just now.¡±

    Zhang Jie¡¯s voice was full of emotion as he spoke about the past. ¡°But as time went on, the truth couldn¡¯t be concealed forever. In the end, the Zhao n still found out about this. Because of the importance of this matter, they couldn''t carry out a public hearing, which was why Golden Token Seven led his men to eradicate the n. At the same time, his job was to ask about that imperial grandson¡¯s whereabouts.¡±

    Zhang Zitong sobbed tearfully. She had finally learned the truth of her parents¡¯ passing after so many years.

    Zu An sighed. He had previously thought that there was no reason for a Golden Token Envoy to deal with an Imperial Censor that way, but if it involved the imperial throne, it all made sense. After thinking to himself for a while, he asked, ¡°Then where is that imperial descendant now?¡±

 Chapter 1682: Curse Arts

    <h4>Chapter 1682: Curse Arts</h4>

    ¡°Some say that he died, while others say that he was captured and locked up in secret¡­ Who can say for certain?¡± Zhang Jie said,ughing in self-mockery. ¡°Furthermore, even if the imperial descendant is still in this world, so what? What could he even aplish?¡±

    Zu An actually agreed with that analysis. The Zhou Dynasty already had a firm control over the world. Between that and the presence of an unstoppable being like Zhao Han, who would throw away their lives for an imperial descendant of the previous dynasty?

    However, he suddenly noticed that something was strange. He asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t you a surviving member of the ¡®evil¡¯ foreign regime then?¡±

    ¡°Surviving evil?¡± Zhang Jie sneered. ¡°Who would want to have anything to do with those crazy bastards?¡±

    ¡°Then why did you talk for such a long time about that previous dynasty¡¯s imperial descendant? And what¡¯s the purpose of taking such a huge risk?¡± Zu An asked. Even though his tone was a bit harsh, many things he had been confused about were finally cleared up. Previously, he¡¯d had no way of understanding the previous dynasty¡¯s secrets.

    ¡°I already told you. It¡¯s to get revenge for brother Zhang, of course,¡± Zhang Jie said calmly.

    ¡°No, that doesn¡¯t make sense,¡± Zu An said with a sneer. ¡°You were able to be such an important official in this kind of frontier region, so you must have already reached the peak of your career. There¡¯s no way you would take such a risk to deal with a single king.¡±

    Even though King Yan was part of the imperial n, he wasn¡¯t from the same branch as Zhao Han¡¯s direct line, but rather his uncle. Even if Zhang Jie wanted to get revenge, there was no reason to target him.

    Zu An paused for a moment before continuing, ¡°Besides, you wanted to end her life too. You can¡¯t justify that as showing her father favor, right?¡±

    When she heard that, Zhang Zitong looked at Zhang Jie with a hint of fear. She hadn¡¯t thought too much about that under the pretext everything was for the sake of revenge, or perhaps she hadn¡¯t been willing to think more about it. Now that the main act of revenge had concluded and she was reminded of it once more, she realized that something was strange.

    Zhang Jieughed and said, ¡°You are quite sharp, perhaps the smartest among all the Embroidered Envoys I know. But since you¡¯re that smart, have you considered why I told you all of these things?¡±

    ¡°Stalling for time¡­¡± Zu An said. He naturally knew Zhang Jie¡¯s goals, but he had confidence in his own strength and had wanted to get more information. That was why he had yed along with the game.

    His expression suddenly changed midway through his sentence, because Zhang Jie¡¯s temperament gradually became strange. All of the candles in the room flickered. They were clearly still lit, but the entire room suddenly became dark. It was as if all of the light were being sucked away by something. The shadows in the room seemed to leap at Zhang Jie together, as if they were living beings.

    Zu An suddenly realized something and eximed, ¡°You were that shaman who killed Golden Token Seven!¡±

    He had examined Golden Token Seven¡¯s corpse. Golden Token Seven¡¯s cultivation wasn¡¯t low, and together with the support of assorted Embroidered Envoy equipment, he would normally have had a fighting chance even against a master rank cultivator. However, there had been no signs of resistance at all, as if he had died in his sleep.

    At first, Zu An had thought that the killer was Sir Huo from King Yan Manor. However, even though Sir Huo¡¯s cultivation wasn¡¯t bad, Golden Token Seven had been investigating King Yan Manor for some time, so there was no way he wouldn¡¯t have been on guard against that famous follower at all. Sir Huo¡¯s cultivation wasn¡¯t high enough that he could ignore such vignce. As such, Zu An had always been curious as to who that mysterious shaman was. Now, he had finally obtained his answer.

    However, he was still a bit confused. He asked, ¡°If you¡¯re a shaman, how did you escape the court¡¯s background check?¡±

    An important official such as Zhang Jie would definitely have been investigated heavily. There was no way the court wouldn¡¯t have known if he were a shaman¡­

    Zhang Jie chuckled and said, ¡°I¡¯m not a shaman, but I just happen to have cultivated a secret technique that invites a shaman to possess me, granting me the abilities of a shaman. The only issue is that the process takes quite a bit of time.¡±

    The reason why he hadn¡¯t used the shaman¡¯s power to silence Zhang Zitong was because he had been worried that the Embroidered Envoy would find out that the true culprit of the case was still atrge, but he didn¡¯t need to have such misgivings anymore.

    His eyes turnedpletely ink-ck as he said, ¡°Seeing as I could kill Golden Token Seven, then I naturally don¡¯t mind killing another Golden Token Envoy.¡±

    Zu An wondered what kind of freakish thing this shaman possession was. Why were there so many strange and inexplicable skills in this world? However, he didn¡¯t hesitate anymore, because he could already sense that Zhang Jie had a skill that could threaten him. He didn¡¯t appear to move at all, but Soul Reaping Chains instantly appeared in his hands and shot toward Zhang Jie.

    The Soul Reaping Chains were the Embroidered Envoy¡¯s standard-issue weapon. They were extremely effective in restricting all kinds of abilities. Zu An didn¡¯t want to expose his other identity, so he didn¡¯t use a sword.

    Zhang Jie clearly had some reservations toward the Golden Token Envoy¡¯s Soul Reaping Chains. He tried to move out of the way while aiming his pitch-ck gaze directly at Zu An.

    Zu An felt as if the air around him had be extremely viscous, and his eyelids became very heavy. A strong sense of drowsiness came over him. For some reason, the Soul Reaping Chains that had been rushing fiercely toward Zhang Jie¡¯s weak point also weakened.

    With a thud, Zhang Zitong also copsed on her bed. Zhang Jie¡¯s attack hadn¡¯t been aimed at her, but the side effects alone were already too much for her to handle.

    Drawing on his previous experience with Sir Huo, Zu An quickly closed his eyes and summoned Hundredwarble at the same time. The most effective retaliation against a spirit element attack was often a spirit element counterattack.

    Sure enough, Zhang Jie had a pained expression, and his hypnosis skill also weakened.

    However, Zu An didn¡¯t have it easy either. This sleep-inducing skill was just way too powerful! It still affected him even though his eyes were closed. Fortunately, with his experience against Sir Huo, as well as Hundredwarble¡¯s retaliation, it wasn¡¯t enough to make him fall asleep.

    The previous time, against Sir Huo, he had been able to break through the illusion and wake up. However, he didn¡¯t dare to take such a risk against the much more powerful Zhang Jie. He wouldn¡¯t necessarily be able to wake up, and it would be very bad if Zhang Jie decided to deliver a lethal blow while he couldn''t move.

    The door mmed open with a loud bang. Xiao Jianren and the other Silver Token Envoys rushed in. When they heard sounds of fighting and realized that something had happened, they hurried over to help.

    However, when Zhang Jie¡¯s pitch-ck gaze met his, Xiao Jianren groaned and fell straight to the ground. He didn¡¯t excel inbat prowess. Furthermore, because of Zhang Zitong, his emotions had been thrown into turmoil, so his mental strength was at its weakest. That was why he was the first to fall.

    The other Silver Token Envoys only endured for a second longer before copsing. Only two Silver Token Envoys managed to stay awake despite feeling extremely drowsy. They still gritted their teeth and tossed their Soul Reaping Chains around Zhang Jie¡¯s body.

    Most of Zhang Jie¡¯s attention was on Zu An, and he had only used a bit of strength to deal with the others. These two individuals were Silver Token Envoys who had extremely steady wills, which was why they were able to hold on.

    Zhang Jie released a cold snort, and two copper coins flew toward the two.

    Zu An noticed that the naturalws surrounding those two copper coins were extremely strange and cried out, ¡°Be careful!¡±

    However, he was still toote. The two Silver Token Envoys had already brandished their Soul Reaping Chains and struck the copper coins.

    How could a copper coin endure the power of a Silver Token Envoy¡¯s full-powered attack? The two copper coins immediately exploded into pieces. However, at the same time, those two Silver Token Envoys¡¯ bodies suffered the very same fate.

    Curse Arts!

    The strange skills of shamans could often link one¡¯s life with an object. If the object survived, so did the person. If the object was destroyed, so was the person.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes turned red from that sight. He hadn¡¯t expected this to end up involving two Silver Token Envoys! In reality, because he had been so busy as ofte, and because these were Golden Token Seven¡¯s Silver Token Envoys, he hadn¡¯t even taken special note of their names. He only remembered that one was surnamed Yan while the other was Tao. They were a bitzy normally, but they had actually been so fearless and valiant in front of a great enemy, ultimately dying to the unknown danger.

    While Zhang Jie was distracted, the viscous aura of drowsiness finally weakened. Zu An made his move. Resplendent sword radiance erupted, dispelling all of the darkness in the room.

    At that moment, a hint of fear shed through Zhang Jie¡¯s eyes. He began to run, but he noticed that something was strange about his body. He was shocked to discover that his entire right arm was missing! It had been sliced up by the sword ki.

    Zu An frowned. Zhang Jie shouldn¡¯t have been able to avoid that sword, so why had he only lost an arm?

    Zhang Jie¡¯s face was filled with rm and horror. He could no longer remain calm, because he knew that he had brushed past the gates of hell just then.

    The substitute puppet he carried had already turned to powder. Normally, the existence of that puppet should have been equivalent to him having an extra life. Thus, he had assumed he was absolutely safe. And yet, he hadn¡¯t expected this sword to be so formidable! Not only had it destroyed his puppet, it had even carried enough power to get rid of his arm!

    He didn¡¯t dare to show any hint of negligence. He used his left hand to fish out a small straw doll shaped like a human as he spat, ¡°Blood for blood! I¡¯ll let you have a taste of the pain of losing an arm too!¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Suddenly, he twisted the doll¡¯s right arm, ripping it right off.

    At the same time, Zu An¡¯s right arm suddenly began to burst with blood. His whole arm was being torn apart!

 Chapter 1683: Doubt

    <h4>Chapter 1683: Doubt</h4>

    In the past, Zu An had obtained ¡®The Book¡¯ from Lu Sheng in a secret dungeon, which allowed him to have a kind of natural premonition against danger. In that instant, a few scenes had appeared in his mind. He quickly dodged to the side, then frantically used the Primordial Origin Sutra to protect his entire body.

    Still, his opponent¡¯s Curse Arts were too treacherous. It wasn¡¯t something he could avoid on a physical level.

    As the straw doll¡¯s right arm was torn off, Zu An felt a mysterious power envelop his shoulder. Then, a tearing pain came from his arm. His flesh wascerated and blood poured out. Fortunately, after several instances of the Primordial Origin Sutra¡¯s refinement, his body had be incredibly tough. As such, his arm wasn¡¯t immediately removed by the Curse Arts.

    He quickly used the Primordial Origin Sutra to treat that arm. The wounds healed at a visible rate. However, that mysterious power didn¡¯t disappear. It still continued to tear at his flesh.

    The endless cycle of tearing, regenerating, and tearing again could leave even someone with Zu An¡¯s willpower shocked. The pain wasn¡¯t the main thing; the most important part was that the mysterious power hadn¡¯t disappeared. His body would eventually break down.

    However, he suddenly thought of something and began to use the Heaven Devouring Sutra. A ck hole appeared over his shoulder, gradually sucking in the mysterious power. His shoulder¡¯s rate of copse slowed, and his flesh healed once again.

    Meanwhile, Zhang Jie waspletely stupefied. The sight before himpletely toppled anything he knew. How could there be someone who could emerge unscathed against his Curse Arts? He suddenly felt a sense of fear. He was no longer as calm as before and didn¡¯t dare to toy with his prey like before. He twisted the straw doll¡¯s neck to immediately take his opponent¡¯s life.

    Zu An felt some pain around his neck, but he had already figured out his enemy¡¯s patterns. He used the Heaven Devouring Sutra at full power to absorb all of the mysterious power.

    ¡°How?!¡± Zhang Jie eximed, almost breaking down when he saw that Zu An was still fine. He bit his tongue, causing blood to spray everywhere. Then, he muttered a strange incantation. All sorts of ck patterns began to appear on his face.

    The atmosphere of the room quickly became extremely strange, as if something was about to be summoned.

    Zu An didn¡¯t dare to take any more risks. This guy¡¯s Curse Arts were way too strange; who knew what would happen if he let Zhang Jie continue? As such, he quickly shouted, ¡°What you lookin¡¯ at?¡±

    Zhang Jie was stunned. He instinctively replied, ¡°I¡¯m staring at you, shithead!¡±

    His summoning ceremony was briefly interrupted, and what he was met with instead was a dazzling de of light.

    Ah, I have so many regrets! Really! Why the hell did I have to pay attention to him? I didn¡¯t even use my strongest move yet! Nooooo!

    Those were Zhang Jie¡¯sst thoughts before passing on. His regrets were so strong that even after he took hisst breath, his eyes remained open. When he died, the strange atmosphere also gradually disappeared. Even that terrifying and powerful aura vanished without a trace.

    Zu An wiped away some cold sweat as he thought,These shamans¡¯ skills really are hard to defend against. I was almost done in just now¡­He then woke up all of the unconscious people in the room.

    When Xiao Jianren and the others learned that Zhang Jie was the main culprit, they all sighed in relief. However, when they learned of the deaths of their colleagues, their moods sank again. Those in their trade all knew that such a day woulde sooner orter. They wondered when the same fate would befall them too.

    Zu An said, ¡°Give the two of them a proper burial and generously support their families. Furthermore, I¡¯ll do my best to give them spots in the Hall of Honor.¡±

    ¡°Sir is noble and righteous!¡± Xiao Jianren and the others replied, feeling greatly shaken.

    The Hall of Honor was the highest honor for Embroidered Envoys after they passed on. There were many Embroidered Envoys who died each year, but those who could make it into the Hall of Honor were pitifully few in number. Not only was it a recognition of their achievements, it would also ensure three generations of their families¡¯ riches and honor.

    Zu An gave Zhang Zitong a look and continued, ¡°It was thanks to Zhang Zitong¡¯s report that exposed Zhang Jie in this case. She cooperated with us in trapping him, which was why we were able to take down the main culprit.¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zhang Zitong was shocked. She looked at him with a conflicted expression.

    Xiao Jianren and the others were stunned, but all those who had reached their current positions were intelligent. They realized that Sir Eleven wanted to protect her, so they naturally didn¡¯t voice any objections.

    ¡­

    The room was just too bloody. With Xiao Jianren and the others dealing with the aftermath, Zu An took Zhang Zitong to another room.

    ¡°Don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be grateful to you. All you¡¯ve done was just to prevent me from returning to my previous faction, as well as to draw out the ones behind me,¡± Zhang Zitong said after remaining silent for a long time.

    She and Zhang Jie didn¡¯t share much of a friendship, and this was the first time she had heard of his rtionship with her father. Furthermore, he had even tried to kill her, so if he died, then so be it. However, she really couldn''t understand why Sir Eleven would release her. In the end, that was the only reason she could think of.

    Zu An replied calmly, ¡°If not, what other use would you have for me?¡±

    Zhang Zitong¡¯s face turned pale.RIght, what am I getting so worked up for?

    Zu An said, ¡°Seeing as you¡¯ve already died once, take good care of this life and start anew. After all, your parents¡¯ grudge hasn¡¯t been cleansed away yet. Furthermore, Tao Qing and Yan Ke were your colleagues. If you try to kill yourself, will you be able to face them for their sacrifice?¡±

    Zhang Zitong¡¯s expression changed several times. After some time, she nodded and said, ¡°Alright.¡±

    Zu An sighed in relief inwardly. Apart from those reasons, the other reason he had kept her alive was because she was rted to the previous dynasty¡¯s imperial descendant, which could be useful in the future. After all, they were Zhao Han¡¯s enemies, so they could be helpful.

    ¡­

    After taking care of the situation, Zu An went straight to the Yi City Lord Manor. He found City Lord Liao Ling and gave him a summary of the events that had transpired.

    There weren¡¯t many officials he trusted in this ce, but Liao Ling was an exception. The fact that he had been able to cultivate such a pure and proud sword ki meant that his moral conduct was also reliable.

    Liao Ling was shocked to hear the truth behind Zhang Jie. He reflexively doubted the conclusion, but when Zu An gave him all of the evidence, he couldn''t help but waver.

    Then, Zu An told him to properly manage Yi Commandery; otherwise, Zhang Jie¡¯s trusted aides could start a rebellion out of desperation. As for why he couldn¡¯t just let King Yan¡¯s people take care of the situation, he was concerned that they would take the chance to carry out aplete purge. If that happened, the bnce of power in Yi Commandery would fall out of equilibrium.

    Liao Ling understood that principle well. Even though he was still a bit skeptical about the circumstances surrounding Zhang Jie, he agreed to keep the situation under control.

    ¡­

    After making those arrangements, Zu An found some free time to summon the emperor. However, even after he tried many times, the emperor still didn¡¯t respond. Even so, Zu An didn¡¯t give up and just continued to call out.

    A whileter, an impatient voice resounded from the golden token. ¡°If you don¡¯t have a proper reason this time, this emperor will make sure you pay for it!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Han for +233 +233 +233¡­

    He was clearly annoyed about being summoned like a monkey again and again. This time, he didn¡¯t send over his divine sense and only sent his voice. He thought that he definitely had to properly disy his authority in front of Zu An the next time he saw him.

    Zu An gave him a rough summary of what had just happened.

    ¡°Zhang Jie, a shaman?¡± Zhao Han eximed in shock, clearly realizing that this was no small matter. He forgot all about the annoyance of being summoned. After some time, he asked in a serious tone ¡°The motive?¡±

    He clearly couldn¡¯t trust Zu An that easily, but he was still curious as to why such an important official as Zhang Jie would take such a huge risk.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know the exact details, but there is definitely a mysterious force behind him,¡± Zu An said, although he didn¡¯t report the information about the previous dynasty¡¯s imperial descendant.

    Zhang Jie had told Zu An all of that information firstly because he had needed to buy time to gain the shaman powers, and secondly to nt a vicious scheme. He knew that once Zu An found out about the imperial n¡¯s secrets, the emperor definitely wouldn¡¯t tolerate his existence any longer, and that he would settle things sooner orter.

    As such, Zu An wouldn¡¯t be so stupid as to reveal everything now.

    ¡°Mysterious force¡­¡± Zhao Han muttered. He fell silent for a while, seemingly thinking about something. The silence went on for so long that Zu An even thought he had already left.

    Suddenly, Zhao Han said in a suspicious tone, ¡°Zhang Jie is a master rank cultivator. If he had that shaman ability, how did you end up killing him instead?¡±

    Favorite

 Chapter 1684: Did I Come at a Bad Time?

    Chapter 1684: Did I Come at a Bad Time?

    Zu An had already anticipated that he would be asked that question. He replied calmly, ¡°It was thanks to the other Silver Token Envoys¡¯ help that we were barely able to take him down. We lost Tao Qing and Yan Ke, two Silver Token Envoys, in the process. Forgive my boldness for asking this, but I hope your majesty will permit them to join the Hall of Honor and generously console their families.¡±

    Zhao Han remained silent for a long time. He then said, ¡°I will permit it!¡±

    That was tantamount to epting the exnation. After all, whether it was Zhang Jie or Zu An, they could be considered important in the eyes of ordinary people, but they were both just ants to Zhao Han. He didn¡¯t really care about a battle between ants.

    ¡°Thank you, your majesty!¡± Zu An replied. It was the first time he had thanked the emperor sincerely.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°How is the investigation in Violet Mountain going?¡± Zhao Han asked.

    ¡°I¡¯ve assigned the Armed Escort Division to renovate the mountain while secretly examining potential points of danger. For now, though, everything looks ordinary. The Great Daoist Sects Competition is also nearing its end¡­¡± Zu An gave a rough ount of what had happened.

    ¡°Hmph. Emptiness Isle and Supreme Mystery Cave? Those declining sects were actually still able to produce disciples this excellent? It seems the court has indulged them too much these past few years,¡± Zhao Han muttered to himself.

    Zu An observed a moment of silence for Emptiness Isle and Supreme Mystery Cave, especially Emptiness Isle. It really was a sudden and unexpected disaster! They clearly weren¡¯t that powerful, and yet they had been screwed over by Yun Jianyue.

    ¡°What happened with the disappearance of Emptiness Isle¡¯s disciple?¡± Zhao Han suddenly asked.

    ¡°We still don¡¯t know right now. The daoists are currently investigating the situation,¡± Zu An said. There was naturally no way he would tell the truth.

    ¡°You do not have to worry about these things; just remember your mission. As for getting involved randomly in needless things and almost forcing King Yan Manor to rebel, this emperor still has yet to settle that debt with you.¡±

    Zu An cursed inwardly. I was clearly investigating what happened to Golden Token Seven, so what do you mean ¡®getting involved randomly¡¯?

    ¡°This emperor is already en route to Violet Mountain. Your only job is to keep an eye on Violet Mountain. Don¡¯t create any more side issues,¡± Zhao Han said coldly.

    Even though he could have arrived from the capital to Violet Mountain in an instant using his earth immortal rank strength, this time, he wasing for the Fengshan Ceremony. He had to keep the proper etiquette that was required, so he had to bring most of the procession from the capital with him to Violet Mountain. Along the way, he also had to summon officials from the local regions, and from time to time, he even showed himself to themoners.

    ¡°Understood!¡± Zu An replied, thinking to himself that he had to let big sis Yun know ahead of time. Otherwise, they would be in danger once Zhao Han came to Violet Mountain.

    Before leaving, Zhao Han warned him, ¡°Unless you notice some ridiculous, world-changing conspiracy, do not randomly summon me again! Otherwise, you will have to pay the price with your life!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Han for +400 +400 +400¡­

    It was obvious that after being summoned again and again by Zu An, he was furious.

    Zu An wanted to see what Zhao Han looked like when he was this angry. He was sure that it was the same as those old freaks from the Fiend races without much of their lifespan left. They had to spend most of their time in a meditative sleep. Each time he woke up the emperor was equivalent to eating away at his lifespan.

    Sigh, I really want to mess with him again¡­ Zu An thought, but he knew that doing so would only cause him to be ripped apart by a furious Zhao Han.

    ¡­

    After saying his goodbyes to Zhao Han, Zu An entered the prison King Yan was being kept in. King Yan was taking his anger out on a jailer who was bringing his meal. As someone who normally enjoyed avish lifestyle, being locked up inside day after day really wasn¡¯t pleasant.

    ¡°What seems to be the matter with this king today? Who made you upset?¡± Zu An asked, walking over with a big smile.

    King Yan harrumphed impatiently when he saw Zu An. He snapped, ¡°You are asking a question you already know the answer to!¡±

    Zu An found a chair and sat down in front of King Yan¡¯s bed, saying, ¡°If the king doesn¡¯t wish to cooperate, even if there¡¯s an intent to right your wrongs, there¡¯s nothing that can be done, you know?¡±

    King Yan trembled. His expression immediately changed into a smile as he asked, ¡°Does Sir Eleven have any advice for me?¡±

    Zu An then said unhurriedly, ¡°Over the past few days of investigations, I discovered that there were many suspicious elements to Golden Token Seven¡¯s case, as if someone was deliberately pushing us in your direction. Please think about whether or not you¡¯ve offended anyone. Who would be the most likely to do such a thing?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s definitely Zhang Jie, it¡¯s definitely him!¡± King Yan yelled, mming the table and standing up. ¡°That bastard is full of evil schemes. He bears so much animosity against me and wishes to get rid of me more than anything else. There¡¯s no one else who could do such a thing but him!¡±

    Previously, he had been worried that pointing fingers at Zhang Jie would only have the opposite effect, so he could only hint at it. But when he heard what Sir Eleven said, he wasn¡¯t stupid. He realized that there was something interesting going on and didn¡¯t have such misgivings anymore.

    ¡°I indeed found some clues rted to him,¡± Zu An said vaguely.

    King Yan was delighted. He said, ¡°If Sir Eleven can help me purge the injustice, King Yan Manor will definitely remember Sir Eleven¡¯s favor.¡±

    Zu An replied coldly, ¡°Why would an official need any favors from you when judging our cases impartially?¡±

    This time, he hade precisely to sway King Yan. Zhang Jie was already dead, so it would be a bit too much of a waste to not take advantage of the situation. If he could get King Yan to owe him a favor, they would share some good karma in the future instead. After all, this guy wasn¡¯t all that loyal to the empire. Between that and his rtionship with the Devil Sect, he could even be of some use in the future.

    ¡°Yes, of course, yes. Sir Zu is impartial and leaves this humble king in admiration,¡± King Yan said with an apologetic smile. He had felt that the other party was absolutely repulsive before, but now, he actually found Sir Eleven a bit cute.

    ¡°But let¡¯s make this clear, this is this and that is that. Golden Token Seven¡¯s death might be unrted to you, but the things on that ount book still need to be investigated to see if there are any issues,¡± Zu An said. He still had to scare the other party a bit and apply some pressure, after all. He couldn''t let King Yan feel as if he had gotten away too easily.

    Sure enough, King Yan¡¯s expression changed, but he reacted quickly too and said, ¡°Those things were definitely set up to frame me by that bastard Zhang Jie. I believe that Sir Eleven¡¯s eyes are as bright as a torch and will definitely be able to uncover the truth.¡±

    Zu An nodded in satisfaction. By letting him out this way, King Yan would really think that he was doing him a favor.

    ¡­

    After arranging things in Yi City, Zu An nned to return to Violet Mountain. However, he wondered where Yun Jianyue had gone.

    While he was sitting in his room in a daze, a sweet voice suddenly spoke by his ear. ¡°Which girl is this handsome big brother thinking about now?¡±

    When he heard the familiar yet unfamiliar voice, Zu An was happy and surprised. He looked in its direction and saw an exceptionally beautiful youngdy by the windowsill. Her eyes were sparkling, and she was beaming widely. She had beautiful features and fair skin, and her lips were full and rosy. Even though she was just a beautiful youngdy on the outside, she was full of a charm and allure that didn¡¯t match her age at all.

    ¡°Honglei!¡± Zu An eximed, not having expected to reunite with her here. He had heard that she was sent out on a mission from Yun Jianyue. He rushed straight to the windowsill and immediately took her into his arms. The two of them had really spent more time apart than together.

    Qiu Honglei was also really moved. She had been able to recognize Zu An at Violet Mountain, and yet he hadn¡¯t been able to do the same. That had made her miss him more and more.

    As the two of them tightly embraced each other and shared their pent-up emotions, they eventually kissed. After all, before this, apart from thatst step, the two of them had already done pretty much everything. They were already extremely familiar with each other¡¯s bodies.

    While the two of them were kissing passionately, a light cough suddenly came from off to the side. A voice called out, ¡°Did Ie at a bad time?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +66 +66 +66¡­

 Chapter 1685: Code Names

    Chapter 1685: Code Names

    The two of them jumped in fright. Qiu Honglei quickly pushed Zu An away. She normally always carried herself in a flirtatious manner, but she was now incredibly embarrassed.

    Zu An was also a bit embarrassed. What the heck is this? No wonder they always say that a rabbit doesn¡¯t eat the grass by its own burrow! As expected, that easily leads to problems¡­

    Fortunately, he was quite thick-skinned and quickly calmed down, saying, ¡°So it was big sis Yun, haha¡­ I was actually just worrying about you.¡±

    Yun Jianyue was a bit annoyed, but she knew that getting angry here was meaningless. It waspletely normal for lovers to kiss each other. She couldn''t just run over and tell Honglei ¡®my disciple, I actually have an affair with your man¡¯, right?

    She replied with a snort, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t die anytime soon. But you seem to have wrapped up your work pretty quickly, hm? You cleaned up Zhang Jie¡¯s forces so quickly.¡±

    Zu An chuckled in embarrassment and said, ¡°Zhang Jie was a court official, after all. There was no way for him to build an entire fort for himself like King Yan.¡±

    Furthermore, with the help of City Lord Liao Ling, his trusted aides had all been detained before they could even react. That was why they hadn¡¯t repeated the fiasco with King Yan this time.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you quite the little genius here? King Yan was praising you the entire time after returning,¡± Yun Jianyue said. She couldn''t help but smile when she thought back to what had happened. Suddenly, she added, ¡°Right, Honglei, give him that thing we found.¡±

    Qiu Honglei seemed to snap out of her daze. She took out a small paper slip and gave it to Zu An.

    ¡°What is this?¡± Zu An eximed, his expression changing a bit as soon as he received the paper strip, because he could sense that the material was different.

    It was high quality paper that wasn¡¯t easily damaged by water or fire. The booklets each Embroidered Envoy carried with them were all made out of this paper, recording their missions and other clues. The special material was meant to guard against damage. Among the Embroidered Envoy, these booklets often served a simr purpose to his previous world¡¯s ckboxes.

    For example, if something strange happened to the Embroidered Envoy, the problem could often be identified by checking the booklet. That was often the case when two Embroidered Envoys were working together. If one died and one lived, and the deceased¡¯s booklet showed signs of tampering and other traces, thatpanion would be suspected. That was a way to keep Embroidered Envoys in check by setting them against each other.

    Qiu Honglei replied, ¡°This is something King Yan Manor obtained from their investigation earlier. Back then, Golden Token Seven died too mysteriously, so King Yan sent his men to investigate the cause. There¡¯s nock of capable individuals in the king manor. One of them followed all sorts of clues to find this strip of paper Golden Token Seven found.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, No wonder we didn¡¯t find any useful clues from Golden Token Seven¡¯s remaining possessions. They were probably all collected by King Yan Manor first.

    He opened the slip of paper and saw a string of strange names recorded on it. Many of them had some circles drawn around them. It was clear that these names had left Golden Token Seven quite frustrated.

    ¡°Stranger, salted fish, servant, tomato, stone, olddy-killer, malva nut, chick,ndowner¡­¡± Zu An read off as he memorized the contents of the strip of paper. He was a bit stunned. ¡°These are¡­?¡±

    These things that had been recorded seemed like totally random nonsense. If it hadn¡¯t been recorded in Golden Token Seven¡¯s booklet, the paper would have just been thrown away as trash.

    Yun Jianyue shook her head and said, ¡°We don¡¯t know either. But it clearly has a significant rtionship with Golden Token Seven¡¯s death.¡±

    Zu An examined the contents again. Some of the items looked like things one would find in a food market, while some were materials. Were there some names too? He didn¡¯t know what kind of hidden message Golden Token Seven wanted to record. He couldn''t figure out the code at all.

    Qiu Honglei quietly said, ¡°I¡¯ve actually heard a rumor that there¡¯s a group of mysterious people nning to go against that damn emperor. These might be the nicknames of those people.¡±

    Yun Jianyue was shocked. She asked, ¡°Howe I didn¡¯t know about that? Why didn¡¯t you tell me about that before?¡±

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s face heated up as she said, ¡°I only learned of this by ident two days ago. Zhao Lu told me about it to get closer to me, but I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s true or not.¡±

    Zhao Lu was King Yan¡¯s grandson, the son of King Yan¡¯s heir Zhao Huang. He was the most famous hedonistic son in all of Yi City.

    Zu An thought, Qiu Honglei really does have astonishing charm after all! Even King Yan¡¯s heir, who was used to seeing beautiful women, waspletely infatuated.

    ¡°Is it possible that he was just deliberately misleading us?¡± Yun Jianyue asked, still upset that her precious disciple had forgotten her master because of a man. She had actually told Zu An something so important first.

    Qiu Honglei shook her head slightly and said, ¡°I still have this degree of discernment in my opinion. Furthermore, Zhao Lu definitely doesn¡¯t have the ability to scheme like that. King Yan Manor¡¯s people were all rmed as ofte, so they were all busy thinking about how to free King Yan. That¡¯s why they weren¡¯t as careful about these kinds of secrets.¡±

    ¡°It looks like King Yan¡¯s side managed to find out quite a lot,¡± Yun Jianyue said, sounding a bit dissatisfied. They were clearly allies, and yet the other side had hidden something so important from her.

    Zu An was still staring at the names. His first reaction when he heard the information was to believe it, because he had also noticed that there was a crisis brewing amid the seemingly peaceful world. Furthermore, if it were to be directed at Zhao Han, the Fengshan Ceremony was the best chance. However, Zhao Han had the most powerful cultivation in the entire world. Would they really be able to defeat him?

    Who could have given someone the name ¡®salted fish¡¯? Did theye from the Ocean races?

    What about ¡®tomato¡¯? Did they like to eat tomatoes or something?

    As for that ¡®olddy-killer¡¯, just who was it wjp was so shameless as to take on that kind of name? He was probably some edgy narcissist.

    Besides that, the term ¡®chick¡¯, in a certain ce, had an entirely different and rather humiliating meaning in hookups.

    ¡­

    As Zu An looked through the names, he more or less guessed their intentions. As dealing with Zhao Han was such a huge thing, they didn¡¯t dare to reveal their real names, lest they end up paying a disastrous price. That was why they referred to each other with nicknames instead.

    Previously, he had thought that Golden Token Seven was silenced because his investigation had resulted in knowledge of King Yan¡¯s rebellion. Now, it seemed he had found out about something even more terrifying, and that was why he was killed. He wondered whether Zhang Jie was a part of the name list.

    The three then discussed who these individuals could be. After all, anyone who wanted to go against the emperor had to be a big shot. After thinking about it for a while, they ended up looking at Violet Mountain¡¯s nine daoist sects.

    ¡°Do you still remember that batch of gunpowder I told you about? My investigation showed that they went missing near Violet Mountain,¡± Yun Jianyue said.

    ¡°Do you think Wang Wuxie is included here?¡± Zu An asked as he thought of something. One nickname seemed to match his personality.

    ¡°Indeed, if these people really wanted to go against Zhao Han, Violet Mountain¡¯s Fengshan Ceremony would be the best chance. Furthermore, Violet Mountain is Wang Wuxie¡¯s territory. Without his involvement, there would be no way of aplishing these things.¡±

    Zu An nodded. He thought of what Xie Daoyun had mentioned before. The academy¡¯s Yan Xiangu had been worried that Wang Wuxie might be disloyal, so he had secretly sent Xie Daoyun to see if there were any killing formations set up. It seemed Wang Wuxie was indeed the most suspicious one.

    Apart from him, Zu An felt that King Qi definitely took up another slot. After all, there was no one who wanted to defeat Zhao Han more than him.

    ¡­

    While they were discussing those things with each other, on the distant Violet Mountain, Wang Wuxie was cultivating in Pure Yang Pce. For some reason, he just couldn''t calm himself down. There had been all sorts of things happening recently around Violet Mountain. Emptiness Isle¡¯s missing disciple still hadn¡¯t been found, so they couldn''t hold the final round of the greatpetition either¡­

    Suddenly, a disciple reported, ¡°Sect master, a White Jade Sect disciple came to deliver a letter.¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Wang Wuxie was stunned. Then, he suddenly became a bit excited and said, ¡°Hurry and invite them in!¡±

    If it had been any other sect, he naturally wouldn¡¯t act like that. But White Jade Sect had¡­ that person. That ridiculously beautiful figure appeared in his mind.

    A White Jade Sect disciple stepped forward and said, ¡°Greetings, State Teacher. This is Sect Master Yan¡¯s personal letter. I hope State Teacher will read it.¡±

    ¡°Yan¡­ Sect Master Yan?¡± Wang Wuxie repeated, his heart rate even speeding up a bit. He hadn¡¯t expected Yan Xuehen to take the initiative to contact him!

    In that instant, he was surprised and suspicious. After all, it wasn¡¯t in line with Yan Xuehen¡¯s personality at all. However, he became a bit scared soon afterward. Could it be that Yan Xuehen was writing with the intent topletely break off rtions¡­? There was actually a chance of that.

    When he opened the letter, he discovered that he had never been more nervous in his life. His hands shook slightly as he took out the letter. However, that beautiful and elegant handwriting was indeed Yan Xuehen¡¯s¡­

    When he finished the contents, his nervous expression suddenly changed to one of mad joy. He said, ¡°Go back and tell Sect Master Yan that this king won¡¯t disappoint her.¡±

 Chapter 1686: Ambush

    Chapter 1686: Ambush

    At the Pure Yang Pce, after waiting until nightfall, Wang Wuxie got up from his meditation. He walked outside, his steps seeming especially light and carefree. However, he returned soon after to check and sort out his appearance in front of the copper mirror. When he saw his handsome appearance in the mirror, he nodded in satisfaction. Then, he walked out inrge strides.

    The letter he had received from the White Jade Sect disciple during the day said that Yan Xuehen would meet him tonight at midnight, at a certain location.

    At the time, he had been muddle-headed, and only told the disciple that he definitely wouldn¡¯t disappoint Sect Master Yan. That was mainly because he didn¡¯t want others to know about their private meeting. Otherwise, if news got out, it would harm Yan Xuehen¡¯s reputation.

    Even though he was really confused as to why Yan Xuehen would make such an arrangement, that was a letter sent by a White Jade Sect disciple. Furthermore, it was Yan Xuehen¡¯s own handwriting, so there was no way it could be falsified.

    Maybe Yan Xuehen has started to feel a bit lonely after being alone for so long, and aftering to Violet Mountain, she realized that among all of her pursuers, I¡¯m the one she feels closest to. So, she¡­

    When he thought of that, Wang Wuxie¡¯s mood immediately improved. He couldn''t help but grin. He stopped in a remote gazebo near Watchful Heart Peak and thought, Yan Xuehen really did spend a lot of time choosing a proper location!

    This kind of quiet and peaceful ce wasn¡¯t known even to many Righteous Sun Sect disciples. However, it certainly matched Yan Xuehen¡¯s personality, as she preferred peace and quiet. She definitely didn¡¯t want their conversation to be seen by someone else.

    Wang Wuxie saw a white-d figure seated next to the gazebo. Even though it was just the outline of her back, the faint glimmering moonlight was enough to perfectly reveal her fair and graceful figure. Even though Wang Wuxie had always focused on training his emotions and mind, he seemed to be just as nervous as he had been when he was just a young man again.

    Why did she arrange a meeting with me in the middle of the night? Does she want to discuss Peng Wuyan¡¯s disappearance, or¡­ Does she have something else she wants to say to me?

    If it¡¯s the former, there¡¯s no need to be so secretive, but if it¡¯s thetter¡­

    When he thought about how what he had dreamed about day and night could finally ur tonight, he felt as if every single cell in his body were cheering.

    After Wang Wuxie sorted out his clothes again, he walked over and softly called out to her, ¡°Xuehen, I¡¯m here.¡± He didn¡¯t dare to speak too loudly for fear that someone else would hear, which would be rude to such a beauty.

    However, the figure didn¡¯t respond. Wang Wuxie was stunned. He thought to himself, Could it be that my voice was too soft? As such, he raised his voice a bit, but she ignored him again. Only her dress fluttered gently in the evening wind.

    ¡°Could it be that she fell asleep?¡± Wang Wuxie muttered, thinking that perhaps she had waited here for too long and was a bit upset, so she ignored him.

    Sigh, I should havee here earlier. How could I actually have had Xuehen wait for me here? She really shouldn¡¯t have, he thought.

    Thus, he apologized while walking closer, but there was still no reaction. He was now a bit confused and called out, ¡°Xuehen?¡±

    He instinctively reached his hand toward her shoulder out of concern that something might have happened to her. However, his expression suddenly changed and he quickly moved backward.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Even so, he was still a bit toote. The white daoist figure suddenly exploded, leaving burn marks on his hand. More importantly, a puff of white smoke emerged, and he identally inhaled a bit of it. He soon felt a bit dizzy.

    This is bad! I¡¯ve been poisoned!

    In that instant, a dazzling sword shed toward him from one time. If Lou Wucheng were present, he would have immediately felt ashamed of his inferiority, thinking that the sword he had disyed before was shameful inparison.

    A white pce appeared in the night sky. It was different from the blurry pce disyed by Lou Wucheng. Every single brick of the pce, every single tile, and even the exquisite designs were fully visible. It gave off the proud and overwhelming air of an immortal, as if it would forever be above others, something others could never question.

    This was the true Eternal Sword!

    It was rumored that the enemies who had died beneath this sword even had peaceful smiles on their faces after being killed by it. It was as if they felt joy from witnessing power at the immortal level, or they had received an award from an immortal.

    When Wang Wuxie saw the mysterious intent attacking him, he seemed almost to see a glimmer of hope in the pursuit of immortality. As long as he reached out his hands and embraced that power, perhaps he could even awaken the enlightenment of immortality. Still, as one of the leaders of the nine daoist sects, he was an exceptional person in his own right. He quickly snapped out of his daze and realized that this was the dao Li Changsheng pursued.

    I, Wang Wuxie, will use my own dao to reach immortality. How can I borrow the dao of another to ascend to immortality?

    His body erupted powerfully with violet ki. A projection of a violet mountain vaguely manifested around him and shed with the immortal pce. An enormous explosion resounded. The nearby gazebo was instantly sted to pieces, destroying all the nts in the area.

    Wang Wuxie used the recoil of the explosion to fly far away. Even though he didn¡¯t fear Li Changsheng, this was definitely a part of a great scheme. Li Changsheng definitely wouldn¡¯t be alone.

    Sure enough, as he withdrew, two streaks of golden light chased after him likeets. They carried terrifying strength, as if they could st apart an entire mountain peak.

    ¡°Heavenly Sorrow Sect¡¯s Twin Vajra Armbands!¡± Wang Wuxie muttered, shivering. Guan Chouhai was here too! His expression turned grave. His sleeves lengthened and stretched outward, suddenly bing asrge as gs. A mysterious, gentle force sent the Twin Vajra Armbands flying back.

    Just then, a figure leapt out from the rear of the area. He extended his arms, and the armbands returned to them once more. Then, they flew out to attack again.

    Among the nine daoist sects, the earth element cultivator Guan Chouhai¡¯s blows were incredibly heavy; not even Wang Wuxie dared to face them directly. His palms shone with violet ki that suddenly divided into two different colors, one ck, one white. They formed a great taiji diagram of yin and yang and struck at Guan Chouhai¡¯s waist. The power of absolute annihtion gathered around the taiji diagram; the attack was intended to kill!

    Even though Wang Wuxie tried to maintain a calm and refined demeanor, he was definitely not excessively pedantic and inflexible. There was no way he would hold back in this kind of situation at all.

    Guan Chouhai was surprised, as Wang Wuxie¡¯s movement skill was too strange. He couldn''t react in time and the attack mmed into him. However, he didn¡¯t explode or die on the spot. Instead, he stomped on the ground. His body trembled strangely, and a simr taiji diagram was sent right back at Wang Wuxie.

    ¡°Constetion Reversal!¡± Wang Wuxie muttered, shivering. He hadn¡¯t expected Guan Chouhai to have mastered that legendary earth element skill! This skill was able to borrow the abundant power of the earth to neutralize and send an attack right back.

    He didn¡¯t dare to waste any time on defense. Instead, he took the chance to fly in the other direction. As long as he managed to get out of the trap, as the Righteous Sun Sect¡¯s Sect Master, this was his terrain. He would then have the ability to counterattack.

    However, not long after, several streaks of sword lights flew in his direction. They formed an intricate sword formation that looked as if it could dice up anything into mincemeat.

    Wang Wuxie¡¯s expression turned extremely serious. He didn¡¯t dodge and simply stretched his palm out. A palm projection made of surging violet ki passed through the sword formation, moving to grab the one controlling it.

    That person didn¡¯t expect Wang Wuxie¡¯s move to be so profound. When the palm was about to reach his neck, a streak of lightning flickered. He instantly vanished from his original location, reappearing on a tree several dozen zhang away. He still felt lingering fear as he looked at Wang Wuxie.

    ¡°Lightning sh? Xuan Bajing, I didn¡¯t expect you to have secretlye too,¡± Wang Wuxie said as he looked at the one on the tree. At that moment, his heart really hit rock bottom.

    Xuan Bajing was the Kunlun Void Sect¡¯s Sect Master. This time, the Kunlun Void Sect delegation had been led by elders, so Wang Wuxie hadn¡¯t even considered that Xuan Bajing would secretly arrange an ambush here.

    The eight swords flying through the air all returned to Xuan Bajing. They entered their scabbards on his back like peacock feathers.

    ¡°As expected of Wang Wuxie. Even with the three of us working together, we only managed to inflict some light injuries on you, while you managed to hurt us,¡± Xuan Bajing said with a sigh.

    Wang Wuxie couldn''t even bring himself to feel happy. Even though he had managed to fend off those attacks rather well, he had still lost his chance to escape. Li Changsheng and Guan Chouhai were already closing in. He could already tell that he was surrounded.

    He couldn''t help but glower at Li Changsheng. He spat, ¡°It¡¯s always been said that the Immortal Sword is the sword skill closest to an immortal''s. It should be incredibly pure and noble, and yet you¡¯ve used it to do something so despicable! It isn¡¯t worthy of its name at all!¡±

    How could he still not realize what was going on? All of this had been a setup. A White Jade Sect disciple had contacted him, even using Yan Xuehen¡¯s handwriting to trick him¡­ who else could do that but Li Changsheng?

 Chapter 1687: One Breath Three Essence

    Chapter 1687: One Breath Three Essence

    ¡°What Brother Wang says is wise indeed; it is just that Brother Wang¡¯s cultivation is too high, and this is also your Righteous Sun Sect¡¯s territory. This humble Li had no choice but to use this kind of n. I am overwhelmed with guilt inside too,¡± Li Changsheng said with a look of shame. He clearly didn¡¯t like this n all that much either.

    Wang Wuxie snorted and said, ¡°You speak so nobly, but you behave like a crook. Li Changsheng, what is the point in pursuing a so-called great dao anymore? You are destined to share no karma with immortality in this life.¡±

    Li Changsheng¡¯s expression remained calm as he replied, ¡°Since ancient times, how many have even achieved immortality? It is nothing special if I cannot reach it in the end.¡±

    When he saw that Li Changsheng seemingly wasn¡¯t offended at all, Wang Wuxie felt as if he had punched a pillow. He asked, ¡°Just how did you get Yan Xuehen¡¯s handwriting? Furthermore, in such a way that I didn¡¯t even see any ws.¡± That was what he couldn''t understand, as well as the reason why he had gotten caught in this trap so easily.

    Li Changsheng asked in surprise, ¡°You didn¡¯t even suspect that junior sister Yan could be a part of this n?¡±

    Wang Wuxie said with a sneer, ¡°Fairy Yan is such an outstanding person. Why would she wallow in a mire with you bastards?¡± He had never loved another woman so much in his life, and he had absolute confidence in his discernment.

    Li Changsheng said with a sigh, ¡°There have always been rumors that Wang Wuxie adored junior sister Yan, and that indeed seems to be the case today. Indeed, the letter was not written by junior sister Yan, but rather something I created by piecing together some ordinary letters of hers. Even though the message was not written by junior sister Yan, every single character was personally written, so that is why you did not notice anything was strange.¡±

    Only someone like him, who was also from White Jade Sect, would have a chance of having ess to so many of Yan Xuehen¡¯s letters without drawing suspicion.

    Xuan Bajing couldn''t help butugh. He said, ¡°The letter actually isn¡¯t perfect at all, as it was pieced together. At first, I was worried that you would be too sharp and wouldn¡¯t fall for it, but I didn¡¯t expect you to still take the bait. Now it seems that you, Wang Wuxie, aren¡¯t as smart as the rumors say, huh?¡±

    ¡°Brother Wang is extremely smart in other ways, but when ites to Fairy Yan, you be much dumber,¡± Guan Chouhai said with a smile. ¡°Men really are stupid. When it involves the woman they adore, they¡¯ll deceive themselves even if there are some oddities.¡±

    Wang Wuxie couldn''t take such humiliation and shot back ¡°Guan Chouhai, even someone like you has the nerve to talk about me? I still remember how much of a bootlicker you were to Yan Xuehen. Meanwhile, I wouldn¡¯t lower myself to do such things.¡±

    Guan Chouhai furiously replied, ¡°I can¡¯t stand this smugness of yours. The courtship process still has an aspect of face to it, you know. After all, there¡¯s a reason why good women don¡¯t like those who are too passive. How much have you spoken with Yan Xuehen, and how much have she and I talked? It might just be that she¡¯s more familiar with me than you.

    ¡°So, mister Wang, you really have no self-awareness. If Yan Xuehen really does end up feeling emotions for someone, it can only be me. Why would she ever make an appointment in the middle of the night with someone like you?¡±

    ¡°Stop trying to look like a good guy! You¡¯re despicable!¡± Wang Wuxie snapped. He didn¡¯t even want to waste any energy on being mad at Guan Chouhai. He understood Yan Xuehen¡¯s nature best. Why would she ever like someone like Guan Chouhai?

    Guan Chouhai could feel the contempt in Wang Wuxie¡¯s eyes. He really couldn''t take it anymore and began to scream about how he would fight him to the death.

    Xuan Bajing couldn''t continue to watch and said, ¡°Brother Guan, we have more pressing matters to take care of. Don¡¯t waste time getting jealous in this kind of ce.¡±

    Guan Chouhai looked embarrassed. However, he still changed his mind.

    When he felt several energies target him, Wang Wuxie shivered. He wanted to stall for a bit more time and said, ¡°There is one thing that I cannot understand. Even though I did not treat all of you particrly well, at the very least, I did not abuse my power to oppress anyone. Why did you join together to go against me today?¡±

    He spoke while looking around out of the corners of his eyes. Someone had already secretly isted their surroundings. Even if they fought, no one outside would detect the activity. It seemed that it wouldn¡¯t be possible to alert the Righteous Sun Sect¡¯s people, so he could only rely on himself to break out of the encirclement.

    Li Changsheng sighed and said, ¡°Brother Wang was flush with sess the past few years, so of course you would not understand the struggles of others.¡±

    Xuan Bajing harrumphed. ¡°And to think that in the past, our Kunlun Void Sect was the brightest and best among the daoist sects, and yet we¡¯ve been oppressed by the court until we reached our current state. Only a henchman like you who clung to the court was well-off. As for the other sects, which one of us hasn¡¯t suffered bitterly?¡±

    Wang Wuxie said in surprise, ¡°It seems you all n on a rebellion.¡±

    He knew that the emperor wasing to Violet Mountain for the Fengshan Ceremony. If they were targeting him at this time, they were clearly going to go against the emperor.

    ¡°Brother Wang is intelligent, as expected.¡± Li Changsheng said, nodding in praise. ¡°If Brother Wang is willing to cooperate with us, our nine sects can naturally work together in harmony and face Zhao Han together.¡±

    ¡°Even if I agreed now, would you really believe me?¡± Wang Wuxie replied. He naturally wouldn''t let such random words sway him.

    Li Changsheng said with a smile, ¡°Of course, we would need Brother Wang to show us a bit of sincerity.¡±

    Wang Wuxie didn¡¯t ask what that so-called sincerity was, as it would probably be to let them seal his meridians and allow them to detain him. How could he ever agree to something like that?

    ¡°So was Emptiness Isle¡¯s Peng Wuyan also seized by your side?¡± he asked bluntly. They had looked everywhere, and yet Peng Wuyan was nowhere in sight. He had no idea who had such magical abilities, to silently kidnap a rather strong disciple on Violet Mountain without causing the slightest disturbance.

    Li Changsheng shook his head and said, ¡°We do not know what is going on with that either. It seems there are other formidable individuals hidden on Violet Mountain.¡±

    ¡°Just how many sects are involved in this matter?¡± Wang Wuxie asked. He thought to himself that if all eight sects had joined, that could very well spell the end of his Righteous Sun Sect.

    Li Changsheng stroked his beard and said with a smile, ¡°Brother Wang will naturally know if you join us.¡±

    Xuan Bajing felt a bit impatient and snapped, ¡°What¡¯s the point of wasting all this time with him? He¡¯s clearly stalling for time.¡±

    Guan Chouhai looked rxed as he said, ¡°If he wants to stall for time, then let him. Either way, he¡¯s already been poisoned. The longer this goes on, the stronger the poison¡¯s effects will be.¡±

    Wang Wuxie had already begun to feel his vision blurring a bit. He recalled that white smoke he inhaled and asked with a frown, ¡°What kind of poison did you use?¡± He knew that with his cultivation, normal poison had no chance of being effective.

    ¡°Brother Wang¡¯s cultivation is too high, so we can only tell you after you¡¯ve been fully subdued,¡± Guan Chouhai said with a smug expression. Seeing this greatest rival in love fall like this had clearly made him really happy. This guy normally always looks at me with contempt, but look at you now!

    Suddenly, Wang Wuxie moved. He knew he would be in a worse situation the longer he waited.

    The other three quickly made their moves too. Normally, with their status, there was no way they would work together to face a single opponent. However, Wang Wuxie was too strong, and their objective today was too important. If they failed, none of them would be able to handle the consequences.

    The four of them quickly shed together. Light flickered as they all brought out the most powerful techniques they knew. Energies shed, destroying everything around them. Even a master rank cultivator could die from the st waves if they were present. In just a few breaths of time, the four of them had already exchanged dozens of moves. Every moment was surrounded by peril. A single mishap could result in their deaths.

    A whileter, they separated again. Wang Wuxie was in the center, gasping for air. He already had many wounds on his body, and his hair was no longer styled as elegantly as usual. He had clearly suffered serious injuries. The other three¡¯s clothes were damaged, indicating that they were also injured.

    Li Changsheng sighed and said, ¡°It has always been said that you were number one among the daoist sects, but we were never quite convinced. Now that I have experienced it myself, I ept it wholeheartedly.¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    After all, they were all sect master-level individuals, people who had equal status to Wang Wuxie. They had even ambushed him, and yet they couldn''t take him down immediately even after working together. Judging from that, it was clear just how strong Wang Wuxie was.

    Wang Wuxie understood his current predicament well, though. The reason why he hadn¡¯t lost yet against these three was because they hadn¡¯t really worked together. Furthermore, they didn¡¯t trust each other either. They had still held back some of their strength to guard against an ambush from each other. That was why he had been able to just barely hold on.

    However, he knew that they could make countless mistakes, while he would be finished if he made even one. Furthermore, he could already feel the poison invading his meridians. His ki was already declining to the point where he couldn''t endure it for much longer. If this continued, he would lose without a doubt.

    He no longer tried to fight vainly. Suddenly, he let out a great roar, and his body split into three copies that ran in three different directions.

    ¡°One Breath Three Essence?¡± Li Changsheng and the others cried out in rm. At that moment, they couldn''t figure out which one was the real one.

 Chapter 1688: Shaman

    Chapter 1688: Shaman

    Helpless to do anything else, each of the three could only intercept the figure closest to them. However, after trading a few blows, they immediately noticed that something wasn¡¯t right. Even though Wang Wuxie¡¯s cultivation was high, there was no reason for them to not even be able to identify the fakes at all.

    ¡°The one over here is fake!¡±

    ¡°The one over here is fake!¡±

    ¡°The one over here is fake!¡±

    All three of them cried out at almost the same time. Then, they were all stunned. If the ones they faced were all fake, where was the real one?

    They suddenly sensed something and looked in the same direction, where they saw a streak of purple light shoot toward the horizon like a rainbow. The three clones Wang Wuxie had produced were clearly nothing more than a trick, while his real body tried to break out of the encirclement.

    Wang Wuxie¡¯s move really was outstanding, as they couldn¡¯t even identify the fakes without attacking them. However, they didn¡¯t have any time to marvel at his tactics, because capturing him was a more pressing issue. In order to chase after Wang Wuxie, the three of them all used their brilliant abilities. Unfortunately, now that he had the initiative, how could they catch up?

    Wang Wuxie''s expression was cold. Once he gathered his people from the Righteous Sun Sect again andunched his counterattack, these people were going to pay the price. Apart from that, he could also contact some people who hadn¡¯t participated in this affair. For example, Yan Xuehen definitely wouldn¡¯t participate in such a despicable thing.

    Suddenly, a golden …d-shaped symbol appeared in front of him. It was small at first, but it quickly grew in size. By the time it reached him, it was massive. His fists traced a streak of purple light, smashing apart the …d symbol. However, his body also shook a bit from the impact, and he had no choice but to stop for a moment. Guan Chouhai and the others took the chance to surround him again.

    ¡°That move of Brother Wang was truly impressive,¡± Guan Chouhai said with a sigh. Producing three clones that could fool them was already exceptional.

    Wang Wuxie didn¡¯t feel the slightest bit happy. Rather, he looked straight ahead and said, ¡°Master Jian Huang, I did not expect you to have joined in on this too.¡±

    ¡°Amitabha buddha!¡± an old monk replied as he brought his hands together and slowly walked out from the trees. Who else could it be but Tranquility Temple¡¯s Master Jian Huang? He said, ¡°This old one didn¡¯t want to participate in this affair at first, but the State Teacher¡¯s cultivation is too high. It simply wouldn¡¯t do if I didn¡¯t.¡±

    Wang Wuxie said seriously, ¡°Your distinguished self is a person of virtue and prestige. Why would you take the risk of doing such a treacherous and despicable thing with them?¡±

    Master Jian Huang¡¯s expression remained calm as he replied, ¡°I believe Benefactor Wang also knows the reason clearly.¡±

    Wang Wuxie was silent for a moment. Before the prosperity of the daoist sects, the Buddhist sects had held the position of the state religion. Now, Tranquility Temple had long since lost their former influence, so how could they not be dissatisfied? However, he hadn¡¯t expected them to retaliate so boldly.

    Still, it really wasughable. The daoist sects and Buddhist sects were working together just to restore the Buddhist sects¡¯ former glory.

    ¡°There will only be more problems the longer we stall. Let¡¯s just deal with him as quickly as possible,¡± Xuan Bajing said. After all, this was Wang Wuxie¡¯s territory. Things would get troublesome very quickly if he could get away sessfully.

    ¡°Benefactor Wang, apologies,¡± Master Jian Huang said, and Buddhist light suddenly erupted from behind him. Then, he slowly brought his hand together. The extremely slow movement instantly created an illusion of countless palms in front of Wang Wuxie.

    ¡°Thousand Hand Bodhisattva?¡± Wang Wuxie remarked. He could tell that this was Master Jian Huang¡¯s special domain. He couldn''t show even the slightest bit of carelessness anymore. In order to face Master Jian Huang¡¯s palms, the violet ki around him turned into countless fists.

    He frowned slightly. Master Jian Huang¡¯s attack looked impressive, but in reality, he was holding back quite a bit. He¡¯s probably on guard against Li Changsheng and these others too. It seems that whether or not I¡¯ll be able to get out of this will depend on how well I exploit theirck of trust.

    Li Chansheng, Guan Chouhai, and Xuan Bajing made their move. They were much more serious than before, as they had almost let Wang Wuxie get away earlier. They couldn''t afford to be careless again. If Wang Wuxie managed to escape from an encirclement of enemies just as strong as himself, not only would they have no dignity left, but if news got out and Zhao Han found out, they wouldn¡¯t be able to handle the consequences.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Wang Wuxie¡¯s purple ki manifested in all sorts of different forms. Sometimes he attacked, and other times he defended. It really was erratic and unpredictable. However, his opponents were all on par with him. Even if they were still scheming against each other, when they joined forces, it still wasn¡¯t something he could deal with alone.

    After exchanging dozens of moves, they separated briefly. Wang Wuxie gasped for breath. He had taken a few more heavy strikes to his body, putting him in imminent danger. The others didn¡¯t dare to get closer for the time being, though. Sensing his desperate yet firm resolve, none of them wanted to be the sacrifice he took down with him.

    In that instant, a brief period of silence and calm overcame the ce.

    Suddenly, someone called out in surprise ¡°What are you all doing here?¡±

    All those present turned around and saw that the Righteous Sun Sect¡¯s Watchful Heart Peak Master Feng Wuchang was looking at them in shock. After all, they were on Watchful Heart Peak. He had clearly sensed that something was strange, and thus hade over to take a look. He hadn¡¯t expected to see such an rming sight.

    ¡°Silence him!¡± Guan Chouhai cried out, panicking.

    If Feng Wuchang ended up talking about what he had just seen, the Righteous Sun Sect would mobilize all their power and they would be in danger. Furthermore, there were still some other sects on the mountain who hadn¡¯t joined the plot. There were also troops from the court.

    Just then, Xuan Bajing, who was the closest to Feng Wuchang, made his move. Lightning flickered, and he instantly appeared in front of Feng Wuchang. His palm crashed down from above.

    Even though Feng Wuchang¡¯s cultivation wasn¡¯t low, it still wasn¡¯t much at all before a grandmaster. Now that he was being crushed by the enemy¡¯s domain, he couldn''t budge even an inch. He could only watch as the giant hand bore down on him.

    Suddenly, a streak of violet ki flickered. Wang Wuxie instantly appeared in front of Feng Wuchang. He blocked Xuan Bajing¡¯s palm while saying, ¡°Junior brother, hurry and contact the other peak masters¡­¡±

    Before he could even finish his sentence, he felt a sharp pain. He looked down and saw the end of a short de sticking out of his chest. Xuan Bajing took the chance to strike his major acupoints, seriously wounding him. Wang Wuxie vomited a mouthful of blood, which contained a bit of misty energy that forced Xuan Bajing back. However, he didn¡¯t have the strength to pursue the opponent anymore.

    These people had set up an ambush on Watchful Heart Peak. As a peak master, how could Feng Wuchang have failed to notice anything? Unfortunately, by the time Wang Wuxie realized that, it was already toote.

    Feng Wuchang was already far away, clearly fearing retaliation. He sighed and said, ¡°Brother, I want to climb higher too, you know? With you here, that¡¯s simply impossible.¡±

    Wang Wuxie was so angry he actuallyughed. He asked, ¡°So that¡¯s why you colluded with outsiders? Do you even have the ability to protect everything in the Righteous Sun Sect?¡±

    Feng Wuchang replied, ¡°Senior brother, you need not trouble yourself with that.¡±

    Wang Wuxie didn¡¯t waste any more time with him, and instead red hatefully at the others. He spat, ¡°I might be finished today, but even if I can¡¯t drag one of you down with me, I can still make sure that you won¡¯t be able to make a full recovery for several decades. Which one of you wants to be that unlucky one?¡± He had already given up all hope of escaping. He only wanted to drive a wedge between them to leave behind some hope for the future.

    ¡°Amitabha buddha, Benefactor Wang speaks too seriously. We do not have any intention of taking your life,¡± Master Jian Huang said.

    Wang Wuxie¡¯s expression was cold as he replied, ¡°What, could it be that you are still hoping for me to cooperate with you?¡±

    ¡°Why not?¡± Guan Chouhai replied with augh. ¡°Big sis shaman, it¡¯s about time for your entrance.¡±

    Wang Wuxie shivered. Could it be¡­

    Suddenly, a ck figure slowly walked over from the distance, saying in a hoarse voice, ¡°So many of you came out to surround Wang Wuxie, and you even used such despicable tactics to seed. It really is disgraceful.¡± It was an old woman whose entire body was wrapped in a ck cloak.

    ¡°Shaman Sect¡¯s Great Elder Wu Wuyan!¡± Wang Wuxie eximed, his hopes turning to ashes. Then, he sent a palm toward his own forehead, clearly trying to end his own life.

    The ck-cloaked old woman moved. A straw doll suddenly appeared in front of her, and she bowed three times to it. Then, Wang Wuxie was frozen in ce, and his vision blurred.

 Chapter 1689: A Question

    Chapter 1689: A Question

    That old woman walked up to Wang Wuxie and asked, ¡°Who are you?¡±

    ¡°I am¡­ Wang Wuxie¡­¡± Wang Wuxie replied in a mechanical monotone, his expressionpletely vacant.

    ¡°You need to obey me in the future and do whatever I tell you to do,¡± the old woman named Wu Wuyan said in her gravelly voice.

    ¡°I¡­¡± Wang Wuxie began, struggles visible on his face. His entire body trembled continuously. It was clear that even though he was in such a muddle-headed state, he still wasn¡¯t willing to be the ve of another.

    When she saw that, Wu Wuyan took out the straw doll again. She bit the tip of her finger and sent a drop of her blood onto Wang Wuxie¡¯s forehead, then smeared another drop over the straw doll¡¯s head. Then, she muttered a string of cryptic words to herself. ck runes surrounded Wang Wuxie¡¯s entire body. Then, his gaze becamepletely empty.

    Wu Wuyan once again said, ¡°From now on, you will listen to me.¡±

    The expressionless Wang Wuxie replied woodenly, ¡°Understood.¡±

    ¡­

    The others watched the whole process with fearful expressions. These shamans¡¯ methods were too frightening! Even though Wang Wuxie had been seriously injured already, and Feng Wuchang had even collected hair, astrological details, and personal items and offered them to Wu Wuyan to achieve such a result, this was still Wang Wuxie! The glorious number one of the daoist sects had actually be Wu Wuyan¡¯s puppet!

    No wonder Wang Wuxie¡¯s first reaction when he saw her had been to try to end his own life. He had clearly understood that he would be restrained after being weakened, but he was still a bit toote.

    They all wondered whether, if they were in his ce one day and ended up in the clutches of a shaman, would they also be turned into puppets through a simr method?

    When she saw their expressions, Wu Wuyan snickered sinisterly. She said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we only managed to deal with Mister Wang because all of the conditions were just right. This old one doesn¡¯t have the ability to restrain all of you too.¡±

    The others¡¯ expressions eased up a bit when they heard what she said.

    Wu Wuyan gave Feng Wuchang a look. She took out a pitch-ck porcin bottle and gave it to him, saying, ¡°Peak Master Feng, I¡¯ll leave the rest to you then. Add this gu poison to the other peak masters¡¯ food. I believe you should be capable of doing that.¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Master Jian Huang said in confusion, ¡°The heavens value virtue. This gu poison won¡¯t take their lives, will it?¡±

    ¡°Old monk, you really are hypocritical,¡± Wu Wuyan said with a harrumph. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s just a drug that will prevent them from causing trouble and ruining our ns. It won¡¯t take their lives.¡±

    Master Jian Huang put his hands together and said, ¡°Very good, very good.¡±

    Feng Wuchang took the ck porcin bottle, then reached out his palm again, asking, ¡°Where¡¯s the antidote?¡±

    Wu Wuyan narrowed her eyes and asked, ¡°What are you going to do with an antidote?¡±

    Feng Wuchang harrumphed. ¡°I need at least some guarantee of safety, right? Otherwise, what if you fed me some of this poison? Wouldn¡¯t I meet a tragic end then?¡±

    Guan Chouhaimented, ¡°Brother Feng¡¯s misgivings aren¡¯tpletely unfounded. Elder Wu, you should just give it to him.¡±

    In reality, with their cultivation, normal poison wouldn¡¯t be able to hurt them at all. However, if it was poison made by a shaman elder, they would no longer have such confidence. If not for the fact that they had their statuses to think about, they would have considered asking for the antidote themselves. Now, through Feng Wuchang, they could have some preparation against the poison.

    Wu Wuyan harrumphed, then handed over two red pills before saying, ¡°Use them carefully. I don¡¯t have any more.¡±

    Feng Wuchang¡¯s expression changed. He asked, ¡°This is it?¡± There was no way that he would trust her a hundred percent, so he had to secretly find someone to test the antidotes out. But there were only two, so he wouldn¡¯t necessarily be able to confirm if they worked.

    Wu Wuyan chuckled and replied, ¡°If I gave you more, what if you decided to secretly give all of the peak masters the antidote?¡±

    Guan Chouhai and the others nodded. She had a right to her misgivings too. Their n was extremely important, so they couldn''t tolerate any mistakes.

    Feng Wuchang¡¯s expression changed several times. In the end, he put the antidote away and didn¡¯t push the issue anymore.

    ¡°Right, what about that Emptiness Isle girl? Did you all capture her?¡± Li Changsheng asked as she looked at Wu Wuyan and Xuan Bajing.

    ¡°What girl? Our n was to take care of Wang Wuxie and our biggest concern was him discovering our n ahead of time. Why would we do something troublesome like that?¡± Xuan Bajing replied. Wu Wuyan also shook her head.

    Guan Chouhai and Li Changsheng exchanged a look, wondering, ¡°Could it be that it really was done by the Devil Sect¡¯s Yun Jianyue?¡±

    Master Jian Huang said seriously, ¡°There seems to be a third force hidden on Violet Mountain. All of us need to be careful.¡±

    Guan Chouhai nodded in agreement and said, ¡°It would be best if we continued to investigate in secret. With the main event at hand, we have to eliminate any unpredictable variables.¡±

    The others all nodded. After discussing some more things, they went their own ways.

    Wu Wuyan took out a little bell and shook it gently. Wang Wuyan¡¯s expression gradually returned to normal, and he silently hurried back to Pure Yang Temple. Many disciples saw him and greeted him along the way, and he always nodded in return like usual. There seemed to be nothing strange about his demeanor at all.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in Yi Commandery, Zu An had initially nned to go straight back to Violet Mountain. However, because of Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei¡¯s arrival, he wasn¡¯t in such a rush to return after this reunion. They continued to specte about the identities of those who actually dared to go against Zhao Han.

    Suddenly, one of Zu An¡¯s subordinates reported, ¡°Sir Eleven, there is a youngdy surnamed Tang who wishes to meet you. She said you would agree after hearing this.¡±

    Zu An was stunned and said, ¡°Bring her to the lobby. I¡¯ll go there soon.¡±

    The subordinate epted the order and left. Yun Jianyue remarked with a mysterious smile, ¡°Our Sir Zu always seems to have a beauty waiting to rush into his arms wherever he goes, doesn¡¯t he?¡±

    Qiu Honglei looked at him with a suspicious gaze, asking, ¡°Who is this Miss Tang?¡±

    ¡°Who else can it be? It¡¯s the one from the Hub of Freedom,¡± Yun Jianyue said, rolling her eyes.

    Qiu Honglei eximed in surprise, ¡°Big brother Zu actually has such a close rtionship with that woman?¡±

    After working with King Yan for such a long time, they naturally knew about Lady Tang from the Hub of Freedom. They hadpeted with King Yan Manor in many ways, and this Tang Tian¡¯er was quite mysterious. It seemed she had strong connections with both the Hub of Freedom and the Zhenyuan Merchant Group.

    Zu An chuckled awkwardly and said, ¡°It¡¯s not what you¡¯re thinking; we¡¯re just friends. She probably came to talk about official business with me. Wait a bit for me, and I¡¯ll exin it all to you two.¡± He apologized and left afterward.

    Only then did Yun Jianyue exin Zu An¡¯s rtionship with Tang Tian¡¯er to Qiu Honglei. After all, that was also the reason why King Yan hadn¡¯t been able to shift the me to the Hub of Freedom.

    Qiu Honglei suddenly realized what was going on. She couldn''t help butin to Yun Jianyue, ¡°Master, look at what happened after you made me cultivate in seclusion! I clearly came first, and yet I suddenly feel as if all these vixens seized that opportunity!¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s eyes twitched. She felt that she was being criticized somehow too. She retorted impatiently, ¡°It¡¯s your man who¡¯s a skirt-chaser; what does it have to do with me?¡±

    ¡°Master, are there any drugs that can make him dead set on only loving me alone? I heard that the shamans have a love gu poison. I wonder if it works¡­¡± Qiu Honglei muttered.

    Yun Jianyue was startled and said, ¡°You absolutely cannot mess with the shamans¡¯ gu poisons. Furthermore, something isn¡¯t right with your thinking. That Zu guy is pretty loyal, and his rtionship with Chu Chuyan and the other sweethearts is great. You can¡¯t let this way of thinking ruin everything for you!¡±

    Qiu Honglei gave her a strange look before saying, ¡°Master, you used to teach me that men were just toys and that you didn¡¯t mind just killing all men off forever. Why are you now telling me to get along with the other women peacefully?¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s face heated up. Then, she said angrily, ¡°As if I care about your business. Don¡¯t ask me for help with this in the future anymore.¡±

    Qiu Honglei quickly tugged on her elbow and said, ¡°Master, I was joking, okay? Don¡¯t get upset¡­ Huh? Master, you seem to have be bigger again. How did you do it? Can you teach me?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s provocations appeared in Yun Jianyue¡¯s mind. She didn¡¯t dare to tell the truth. She replied, ¡°You¡¯re not that small either, so why do you care about these things?¡±

    Qiu Honglei grumbled, ¡°It¡¯s that Pei girl¡¯s fault for being too ridiculous¡­¡±

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An arrived in the lobby. A beautiful figure stood within, sipping on some tea. Perhaps because she had served as the spokesperson of the Hub of Freedom for a long time, no ws could be picked out from her bearing and etiquette at all. Even just watching her enjoy some tea was a feast for the eyes.

    ¡°May I ask what Lady Tang has visited me for?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°Hmph, you call me ¡®little sis Tian¡¯er¡¯ when you need me for something, but when you don¡¯t, you call me ¡®Lady Tang¡¯. Sigh, men are all just like pig feet after all,¡± Tang Tian¡¯er said as she lowered her teacup. She no longer had her usual sweet smile; instead, her expression carried a hint of hidden bitterness.

    Zu An¡¯s breath caught in his throat. He could only ask, ¡°Did youe here because of Zhang Jie? I really am a bit sorry because of that.¡±

    Tang Tian¡¯er shook her head and replied, ¡°Zhang Jie wasn¡¯t even one of my men, so why would I be upset about that?¡±

    Zu An was stunned. ording to what Zhang Jie had told him, the man had imed to have ties with the former dynasty¡¯s imperial n. Meanwhile, Tang Tian¡¯er was someone from that faction.

    ¡°Still, to a certain degree, he could be considered my ally. So, the events that transpired have left me a bit frustrated,¡± Tang Tian¡¯er said. She paused for a moment before asking, ¡°If Sir Eleven hears about our rtionship, will hee to arrest me?¡±

    Zu An said impatiently, ¡°You¡¯re my good friend, so why would I arrest you?¡±

    When she heard him call her a good friend, a big smile appeared on Tang Tian¡¯er¡¯s face. She said, ¡°The reason I came here today was just for one thing. Do you really intend to continue working loyally for the emperor?¡±

 Chapter 1690: A Terrifying Question

    Chapter 1690: A Terrifying QuestionN?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An stared nkly for a moment. Then, he cautiously replied, ¡°I receive the court¡¯s official sry and I am an Embroidered Envoy, which views loyalty as the highest priority. Why would I not dedicate myself to the service of my country?¡±

    Tang Tian¡¯er sighed and said, ¡°It seems you aren¡¯t really treating me as your friend¡­ You aren¡¯t even willing to tell me the truth.¡±

    Zu An smiled and replied, ¡°Aren¡¯t you full of secrets yourself? I didn¡¯t ask you to share them all, did I?¡±

    ¡°But I clearly told you more about me than the other way around!¡± Tang Tian¡¯er said with a pout, clearly not too happy with his response.

    Zu An said with a sigh, ¡°I even told you about my Golden Token Eleven status. Do you really still think I don¡¯t treat you as a friend?¡±

    Tang Tian¡¯er was stunned. Then, the usual sweet smile returned to her face, her mood clearly improving considerably.

    ¡°Now, what really brought you here today?¡± Zu An took the chance to ask.

    ¡°Can I not look for you if I don¡¯t need anything?¡± Tang Tian¡¯er harrumphed, but she still said, ¡°I do have something I need to tell you this time. Think about whether the emperor is still worth your time after you listen to what I have to say.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Zu An asked, quickly turning serious when he heard that it had something to do with the emperor.

    ¡°You probably understand the reason why the court and the Fiend races are currently fighting, right?¡± Tang Tian¡¯er asked.

    ¡°If I recall correctly, it was because a certain small city waspletely massacred by the Fiend races, and then the emperor sent the Qin n¡¯s two State Dukes and their armies to retaliate out of anger, right?¡± Zu An replied

    Now that he thought about it, it had already been a long time since the Qin n set out to war, but the Fiend races¡¯ side wasn¡¯t to be trifled with. The two sides had fought bitterly and ended up in a deadlock. Later, Zu An had returned from the Fiend races¡¯ territory with a peace offer, creating a turning point.

    However, that campaign of mass ughter had always felt strange. As the Fiend races¡¯ Regent, the intelligence he received had stated that the Fiend races hadn¡¯t actually done such a thing, and that they believed it was just human race nder. Still, he hadn¡¯t really taken it to heart, because there was a chance that they had just refused to admit to it. Furthermore, the Fiend King Court didn¡¯t have that much control over distant regions. There was a chance that some local leaders had sufficient autonomy tomit such actions and refuse to admit to it.

    Tang Tian¡¯er suddenly said, ¡°It wasn¡¯t the Fiend races whomitted the ughter, but rather the emperor.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Zu An eximed in shock. His first reaction was disbelief. After all, even though Zhao Han¡¯s character was a bit on the poor side, he was still considered apetent emperor. That small city had been full of his own people, so why would he do something like that?

    ¡°You know that our Hub of Freedom excels at gathering information. We noticed that there was something strange with that ughter, so we sent our people to look into it. Recently, we confirmed that,¡± Tang Tian¡¯er said. She paused for a moment before asking, ¡°Didn¡¯t your immediate superior Zhuxie Chixin go missing recently?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. He seems to have gone somewhere to carry out a secret mission,¡± Zu An said seriously.

    ¡°What secret mission? Wasn¡¯t it just to massacre that city¡¯s citizens?¡± Tang Tian¡¯er replied, her expression ice-cold.

    Zu An frowned and asked, ¡°Why would they do that?¡±

    ¡°ording to the evidence we¡¯ve collected since then, Zhuxie Chixin seemed to be using the lives of an entire city to make some evil pill. The analysis of the higher-ups of the Hub of Freedom suggests that Zhao Han¡¯s heaven and man deterioration is drawing closer, or perhaps he received some type of injury, so he¡¯s using the lives of an entire city¡¯smoners as well as their blood essence to replenish himself. But Zhao Han is already unmatched in this world, and I¡¯ve never heard of him facing anyone recently, so it¡¯s likely the former.¡±

    Zu An suddenly understood what was happening. He naturally knew what was going on with Zhao Han. In the past, the split soul in the crown prince¡¯s body had been killed in Westhound Tomb Secret Dungeon. The damage that had resulted was naturally considerable. Only, he hadn¡¯t expected the emperor to be so deranged, to actually use the poption of an entire city to refine medicine.

    At the same time, he finally knew what was going on with that mysterious name list. He had been wondering why anyone would suddenly be so daring as to face Zhao Han, but they had to have found out that Zhao Han was injured through their own channels. That was why they had begun to grow restless.

    ¡°You seem to already believe me,¡± Tang Tian¡¯er said, a bit surprised when she saw his expression. She had thought she would have to exin quite a bit to convince him.

    ¡°Do you have proof?¡± Zu An asked. Even though he was mostly convinced, he didn¡¯t show his real feelings on the surface.

    ¡°We don¡¯t. An entire city¡¯s poption was killed, so what proof is there to gather? This is just the most likely conclusion we came to after examining many different parties¡¯ intelligence,¡± Tang Tian¡¯er said. She then added, ¡°That is, unless we were to arrest Zhuxie Chixin and interrogate him.¡±

    Zu An naturally knew that wasn¡¯t possible. He asked gravely, ¡°Did youe here to ask for my cooperation?¡±

    Tang Tian¡¯er shook her head and said with a smile, ¡°Not at all. I¡¯m just telling you about it so you don¡¯t end up being yed by him~¡± Then, she waved toward Zu An and said, ¡°I still have other things to take care of, so I¡¯ll be leaving first. Let¡¯s talk some more when we have a chance in the future.¡± Then, she left in high spirits, her mood clearly quite good.

    Zu An sank into his own thoughts. There would eventually be a showdown between him and Zhao Han. He had just been making ns for the sake of self-preservation before, but now, he also had those innocent souls to fuel his decision.

    As for Tang Tian¡¯er telling him about it, and yet not requesting anything from him, he could understand that as well. It was most likely to nt a seed for the time being. Then, if something really happened, perhaps he would no longer stand by Zhao Han¡¯s side.

    However, she had no idea that he also wanted to take down Zhao Han. Of course, if he told her about that now, the Hub of Freedom would likely just suspect that he was trying to get into their system and be more wary of him. His current situation was still better.

    ¡°Tsk tsk, look at you. The pretty girl has already left, and yet you¡¯re still staring in that direction,¡± Yun Jianyue said mysteriously.

    Qiu Honglei was by her side, feeling rather strange. Why did she feel as if her master had ended up saying her line? Shouldn¡¯t I be the one who¡¯s upset here?

    It¡¯s probably because my master really loves me, and is worried that I might sound jealous and draw resentment. Then, Chuyan might have apetitive edge over me.

    Sigh, my master really is the greatest! She¡¯s always thinking about me, and yet I¡¯m making her out to be some viin. I have to properly repay her in the future.

    Zu An replied with a hint of irritation, ¡°What the heck are you thinking, big sis Yun? She actually just told me a shocking piece of information.¡±

    When they heard his serious tone, the two women forgot all about their jealousy. They asked, ¡°What is it?¡±

    Zu An then told them about the ughter of the city. Qiu Honglei was filled with rage after hearing about such injustice. She spat, ¡°He really doesn¡¯t have even a shred of humanity! That dog emperor dares to do something not even a beast would do!¡±

    Yun Jianyue sneered and added, ¡°Compared to these emperors¡¯ desires, how much are the lives of ordinary people worth? Especially for someone like Zhao Han, who was rather cold to begin with. But with how despicable his behavior has been, his downfall isn¡¯t far off.¡±

    She had already made up her mind to spread such information as far as possible to shake Zhao Han¡¯s foundation. After all, the Devil Sect had always been pitted against the court.

    After they discussed things with each other for a bit, Zu An asked, ¡°What are you two nning to do now? Are you still going back to Violet Mountain?¡±

    Qiu Honglei showed him an ambiguous smile before asking, ¡°Do you want me to return and fight against that Miss Pei?¡±

 Chapter 1691: Night Scout

    Chapter 1691: Night Scout

    Zu An keenly sensed the danger hidden behind the question. However, he still spoke the truth. ¡°Of course I don¡¯t want you guys to fight.¡±

    Both of them were equally important to him! It would be annoying for him regardless of who lost.

    ¡°Oh, then it seems you don¡¯t want me to go against that big¡­ Ahem, Miss Pei for first ce, right?¡± Qiu Honglei replied, looking a bit downcast. She looked as if she was about to cry.

    Yun Jianyue mentally gave her a thumbs up. As expected of my outstanding disciple! This is what a Devil Sect demoness should be like!

    Zu An quickly said, ¡°I don¡¯t actually care who ends up winning, I just don¡¯t want either one of you to lose. Whether you or Manman loses, I don¡¯t want to see that. After all, both of you have worked so hard.¡±

    There was another reason he couldn''t really say. It would have been fine if they lost to someone else, but these were their futurepetitors. It would be a bit too hard to ept if they lost then.

    Yun Jianyue sneered and retorted, ¡°What, are they supposed to fight to a draw in a martial artspetition? Isn¡¯t that just too much wishful thinking?¡±

    Zu An sighed and said, ¡°I¡¯m in a tough spot here too, you know?¡±

    ¡°This isn¡¯t really any of your business. Who wins and who loses all depends on their skill. What are you worrying about them for?¡± Yun Jianyue replied disdainfully.

    Qiu Honglei said in a cute and pitiful manner, ¡°Ah Zu, if you care so much about that Miss Pei, I can lose to her for you. Either way, I¡¯m not the real Peng Wuyan, so even if I lose, it¡¯ll just be Emptiness Isle who gets embarrassed.¡±

    Yun Jianyue raised her eyebrows. Isn¡¯t my Honglei bing more and more formidable?

    Even though she also knew such tricks, due to her personality, she hade to find such tactics embarrassing as her strength grew. As such, she was only a charm master in name. In reality, she clearly wasn¡¯t even as effective as her disciple. The only time she had ever used her charm skills was the dance she had performed in the secret dungeon for Zu An. Her heart rate sped up a bit when she recalled that situation.

    Zu An naturally knew that Qiu Honglei was saying those things on purpose, but he didn¡¯t feel disgusted by it. Seeing a woman he liked y around a bit was actually an interesting experience in itself. He said, ¡°Forget it, forget it. You should just fight if you have to. I won¡¯t get involved any further.¡±

    Qiu Honglei smiled sweetly like a blossoming flower. She didn¡¯t say anything else and leaned into his embrace.

    Yun Jianyue nodded in satisfaction. Honglei¡¯s skills are bing more and more natural. As expected of the inheritor I favor.

    However, she didn¡¯t feel as happy as she had expected. In particr, when she saw the two stick together so intimately, she seemed to feel a bit¡­ restless? She couldn''t help but feel shocked. Yun Jianyue, Yun Jianyue, you¡¯re so shameless! How can you be jealous of your own disciple?

    She quickly stopped herself from thinking about it from Qiu Honglei¡¯s perspective. However, that meant she could only direct her anger at Zu An. It''s all this damn rascal¡¯s fault!

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +300 +300 +300¡­

    Zu An was frightened when he saw all of those Rage points. When he looked at Qiu Honglei in his arms, he finally realized what was going on. Still, that only made him feel distraught. This isn¡¯t my fault, you know? It was Honglei who leaped over herself!

    In his eyes, the two of them had already received the master¡¯s approval, so there wasn¡¯t anything he really had to worry about. He could only cough lightly and say, ¡°Why don¡¯t we first return to Violet Mountain then? For some reason, I just feel that something big is about to take ce there. I¡¯m worried that something will happen.¡±

    He didn¡¯t really care about the other daoists, but Chuyan, Big Manman, and Xie Daoyun were all on Violet Mountain. As for Yan Xuehen, her cultivation was so high that he didn¡¯t really have to worry.

    Yun Jianyue nodded and said, ¡°Fine, those daoist sects should just disappear as soon as possible.¡±

    Peng Wuyan had ¡®disappeared¡¯ for quite some time. It was a good time to return and put on a show of the return of the king. Just the thought of revealing their identities after they won and seeing the reactions of those daoist sect hypocrites improved Yun Jianyue¡¯s mood.

    ¡­

    It was alreadyte, which made it easier for them to hurry back. However, that also resulted in another problem: How were they going to return to Violet Mountain?

    As a grandmaster, Yun Jianyue could naturally fly. Meanwhile, Qiu Honglei could perform short-term flight, but flying the entire trip wasn¡¯t quite within her abilities. She had to be carried by either Yun Jianyue or Zu An.

    She wanted to be with Zu An, but she couldn''t really show it. As such, she said, ¡°I¡¯ll just go with master.¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s eyes widened. Her disciple was still shooting looks at Zu An while saying that, as if she really wanted to throw herself into his arms, and yet she had still said otherwise. She¡¯s clearly saying this out of consideration for me. Looks like I¡¯ve raised a good disciple after all.

    She harrumphed and said, ¡°Forget it. You¡¯ve been apart for a long time and definitely have a lot to say to each other. I won¡¯t get in the way anymore.¡± She didn¡¯t wait for their reaction and disappeared into the sky afterward.

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +488 +488 +488¡­

    Zu An blinked. This woman sounds so generous on the surface, and yet she¡¯s clearly upset inside.

    Qiu Honglei didn¡¯t know what was going on and said with a sigh, ¡°Master really cares a lot about me! Ah Zu, we have to treat her respectfully in the future.¡±

    Now, it was Zu An¡¯s turn to feel conflicted. How does she want to be respected though¡­ However, he couldn''t really exin himself either, and could only reply ambiguously. Then, he took out the Wind Fire Wheels and wrapped an arm around her slender waist, saying, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Qiu Honglei was wearing a cherry blossom-colored long skirt with exquisite flowers embroidered on it. When they flew into the sky and the ends of her skirt fluttered, it made her figure seem even more fair and graceful. As he held her in his arms, Zu An felt as if Honglei¡¯s bodycked any bones.

    The two flew together and chatted about what they had seen and heard while they were apart. They had actually already talked about many things, but as lovers who were passionate about each other, they never ran out of things to say.

    As they talked for a long time, their emotions got stronger and stronger. Both of them unknowingly began to kiss each other. Qiu Honglei moaned. She was a bit embarrassed at first, but then she gradually responded in an enthusiastic, yet underripe manner. Her lips were soft and beautiful.

    While the two of them werepletely lost in their own world, someone suddenly coughed from off to the side. Only then did they realize that they were already at Violet Mountain, and Yun Jianyue was watching them from nearby.

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +666 +666 +666¡­

    ¡°Master~¡± Qiu Hongleiined. She quickly left Zu An¡¯s arms.

    Zu An was a bit embarrassed. When he saw the Rage points, he couldn''t help but look at Yun Jianyue with a pensive expression.

    Yun Jianyue only responded with an upset expression before telling Qiu Honglei, ¡°We¡¯re already near Violet Mountain, so there are all sorts of people watching. You should return to Peng Wuyan¡¯s appearance.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Qiu Honglei muttered. She turned to Zu An and said, ¡°Big brother Zu, you should go first. I don¡¯t want you to see me change into that appearance.¡±

    Over the course of thepetition, Peng Wuyan had be famous for two things. The first was that she was strong, and the other was that she was ugly. Qiu Honglei hadn¡¯t really cared before, since her identity hadn¡¯t been exposed; however, now that Zu An knew, she naturally didn¡¯t want to leave her lover with any bad impressions.

    At first, Zu An wanted to exin himself to Yun Jianyue, but with how things were, he couldn''t really do anything. He could only say goodbye.

    ¡­

    When Zu An returned to his courtyard on Violet Mountain, Xie Daoyun sat up and called out, ¡°Who is it?¡± Zu An¡¯s entry had clearly triggered the defense formations she set up.

    ¡°It¡¯s me,¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°Big brother Zu!¡± Xie Daoyun eximed happily. She pushed away her covers and weed him. She was dressed in silk pajamas. Together with her drowsy eyes and slightly messy hair, she looked especially lovely and adorable.

    With her upbringing, she definitely wouldn¡¯t ever show such a personal side in front of anyone else. Even in front of another woman, she would make sure to retain perfect etiquette, let alone a man! But after being around Zu An for so long, she had gradually gotten used to it.

    ¡°I was worried that you might have ended up being kidnapped by the wolves on this mountain,¡± Zu An remarked.

    ¡°Big brother Zu is so mean! There are no wolves on this mountain,¡± Xie Daoyun said, her face turning red. ¡°But I was actually worried about you after you left for a few days.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Nothing major happened, and I¡¯ve already dealt with everything,¡± Zu An said as he gave her a rough ount of what had happened in Yi Commandery. Xie Daoyun was incredibly shocked as she listened. She hadn¡¯t expected Yi Commandery¡¯s governor to do such a thing.

    ¡°Right, has anything happened on Violet Mountain?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°Nothing really. We still haven¡¯t found Emptiness Isle¡¯s Peng Wuyan. Elder Peng seems to have disappeared too,¡± Xie Daoyun said. She thought for a bit before continuing, ¡°Right, Watchful Heart Peak seemed to have had some activity. Some of the test formations I left behind there were destroyed, but when I went over to check them, I didn¡¯t notice anything. I only know that a battle happened there. Even though it was covered up, if it could destroy a formation I secretly set up, it definitely couldn¡¯t have been on a small scale. But no one else even sensed such a battle, so I¡¯m starting to question my own judgment.¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Oh? There was an extremely intense battle, but no one noticed anything?¡± Zu An asked in surprise. Violet Mountain had been quite an eventful ce recently. He decided to take a look.

    Xie Daoyun suggested apanying him, but he refused her suggestion. She was dressed in her pajamas and had been sleeping soundly before, so there was no need to disturb her.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in Jadefall Pce, Pei Mianman was sleeping. Suddenly, she woke up and shouted, ¡°Who is it?¡±

    ¡°Looks like you¡¯re still pretty vignt,¡± a woman said with augh. ¡°Even I¡¯m starting to feel something. No wonder that brat likes you so much.¡±

 Chapter 1692: Accidental Meeting

    <h4>Chapter 1692: idental Meeting</h4>

    Pei Mianman was startled and followed the source of the sound. What she saw was a great beauty whose hair reached all the way down to her bottom. She was devastatingly beautiful, but at the same time, had a dangerous aura. Anyone could tell from just a nce that approaching her for no reason wasn¡¯t a smart choice. Pei Mianman called out, ¡°Devil Sect Master Yun Jianyue?¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s long hair was just too unique. After Peng Wuyan¡¯s recent disappearance, as people had all suspected it was her doing, she had often been talked about. Elder Huo Ling had even specially warned Pei Mianman to avoid her in every way possible if she ever encountered her.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this little girl sharp?¡± Yun Jianyue remarked, nodding in appreciation. Her eyes couldn''t help but dart toward Pei Mianman¡¯s chest. This girl had been sleeping soundly a moment ago, so not even the covers could hide the impressiveness of her chest.

    ¡°Where¡¯s my master?¡± Pei Mianman asked. She was actuallypletely tense, ready to retaliate at a moment¡¯s notice. After all, Elder Huo Ling was right next door. Her master was always incredibly worried about her, so there was no way she wouldn¡¯t notice a thing if someone barged in like this.

    ¡°Huo Ling? She was lured away by a small trick of mine,¡± Yun Jianyue said with a chuckle. She clearly didn¡¯t treat Elder Huo Ling as a big deal at all.

    Pei Mianman¡¯s eyes darted around. She said, ¡°I heard Ah Zu say that his rtionship with you was pretty good. Ah Zu is here too, so should I bring you to see him?¡±

    She naturally suspected that Yun Jianyue hadn¡¯te with good intentions, so she wanted to try to use her rtionship with Ah Zu to get on her good side.

    ¡°As expected, you¡¯re a smart girl,¡± Yun Jianyue said, a bit surprised by her reaction. ¡°But I came here to invite thedy as a guest. Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t make things difficult for you, as a favor to that brat.¡±

    ¡°But I think right here is a good ce. Or perhaps I could consult you for guidance once thepetition is over?¡± Pei Mianman asked to test the waters. At the same time, she was a bit nervous.

    Why is master not back yet? Also, why isn¡¯t the pce lord responding either? Could it be that they didn¡¯t even notice the arrival of Yun Jianyue?

    ¡°Little girl, don¡¯t try to y these tricks with me. I won¡¯t make things hard for you because of that kid. But if you go too far, don¡¯t forget that I¡¯m the so-called ruthless and cold-blooded Devil Sect Master you all speak of,¡± Yun Jianyue said in an awe-inspiring tone. The atmosphere in the room instantly turned ice-cold.

    Pei Mianman felt as if she had been targeted by a wave of terrifying energy and couldn''t move at all. She could only release a helpless sigh. She had wanted to put up a struggle at first, but now that she saw the difference between them, despair sank in. She even had a feeling that even though her master was also a grandmaster, the difference in pressure between them was worlds apart. She really didn¡¯t know just how Ah Zu could remainpletely normal around a woman this terrifying.

    Helpless to do anything else, she could only put on her clothes under Yun Jianyue¡¯s supervision and follow her out. But even so, she wasn¡¯t all that frightened. Zu An had mentioned their rtionship to her before, to the extent that they were already friends.

    They¡¯re already on the level of friends, so no matter how I think about it, there¡¯s no reason for her to harm me. But then, why is she taking me away?

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An arrived at the part of Watchful Heart Peak Xie Daoyun had spoken of. He looked all around and quickly noticed some abnormalities. Even though the traces had been swept clean, he could still detect some nts and trees having been ruined. The most noticeable was the vacant expanse that should have held a gazebo; there was nothing at all now.

    He could tell from the scale of the destruction that the battle was between master rank or stronger cultivators. But how could not a single person have noticed anything despite there being so many grandmasters present?

    He immediately realized something and suddenly turned around. He saw Watchful Heart Peak¡¯s Master Feng Wuchang standing there.

    ¡°So it was Sir Zu. What are you doing here sote at night?¡± Feng Wuchang asked in rm.Why is this guy here? Could it be that we were exposed?

    ¡°I couldn''t sleep, so I decided to go for a stroll,¡± Zu An replied without batting an eyelid. ¡°Though I am curious as to why peak master would be here when it¡¯s sote already.¡±

    Feng Wuchang reacted quickly, replying, ¡°What else could it be but Peng Wuyan¡¯s disappearance? As the peak master of Watchful Heart Peak, as well as the one presiding over matters rted to thispetition, I need to be on the lookout to see if there is anything strange to prevent another disappearance.¡±

    Zu An nodded. The exnation was reasonable.

    Feng Wuchang was worried that he would ask more questions, so he changed the topic. ¡°When did Sir Zu return? I haven¡¯t seen you around recently¡­¡±

    ¡°I left for an errand a few days ago and just returned,¡± Zu An casually replied. As he couldn''t find any more clues, he decided to say goodbye and leave.

    When Feng Wuchang watched him leave, his previous smile gradually disappeared.I need to report this immediately so we can figure out how to deal with this Zu brat as quickly as possible.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, after Zu An left, he was full of doubts. This Feng Wuchang was very suspicious, and yet his behavior on the surface was so natural. He didn¡¯t have any proof, but his sixth sense told him that the peak master was suspicious. As such, he went straight to the White Jade Sect¡¯s side courtyard. Xie Daoyun¡¯s cultivation wasn¡¯t high enough, but just because she couldn''t sense anything didn¡¯t mean Yan Xuehen couldn¡¯t.

    This path to Yan Xuehen¡¯s room was already extremely familiar to him. He didn¡¯t go for the main entrance, but rather arrived by the window. After learning his previous lesson, he didn¡¯t go straight in; instead, he gently tapped on the window.

    ¡°Who is it?¡± Yan Xuehen asked coldly.

    ¡°It¡¯s me,¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°You¡¯re back?¡± Yan Xuehen called out. Her voice carried a hint of happiness at first, but then she seemed to have thought of something and snapped in annoyance, ¡°Get lost!¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +110 +110 +110¡­

    Zu An was speechless. He said, ¡°You¡¯ve misunderstood. I came because I really have something to talk about.¡±

    Did this woman think I was here to attack her in the middle of the night or something?

    ¡°It is already sote; a man and a woman should keep their distance. Those things can wait until tomorrow,¡± Yan Xuehen said. Her tone was cold, but she didn¡¯t get angrier.

    Zu An could only add, ¡°It¡¯s an emergency!¡±

    There was a moment of silence. Zu An almost thought that Yan Xuehen had already gone to sleep, but then, the window opened. Yan Xuehen was already properly dressed and appeared in front of him as she said, ¡°Speak. What is it?¡± She had already made up her mind that if he was deceiving her, she would be sure to give him a proper beating.

    ¡°This is what happened. Did you notice anything strange on this mountain two days ago? For example, a battle between powerful individuals?¡± Zu An asked.

    Yan Xuehen shook her head and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t.¡±

    Zu An then told her about what he and Xie Daoyun had discovered.

    Yan Xuehen began to think to herself before saying, ¡°Then, ording to what you are saying, there really might have been an intense battle that took ce without my notice. Someone probably arranged some special formations nearby ahead of time to seal off any leakage of energy. That is why no one noticed anything.¡±

    ¡°Who has that level of ability?¡± Zu An quickly asked.

    ¡°The daoist sect masters are practically all capable of that. However, the most adept among them would have to be Kunlun Void¡¯s Sect Master Xuan Bajing. However, he did note to Violet Mountain this time,¡± Yan Xuehen said while thinking to herself.

    Zu An¡¯s brows furrowed. He just felt as if something shocking had happened, and he just happened to have missed it all.

    Yan Xuehen said, ¡°I¡¯ll help you ask around tomorrow. I still have some level of a rtionship with the sect masters.¡±

    Zu An was a bit worried. He said, ¡°You need to be careful. If you really encounter those involved in a sinister plot, then things will be tricky.¡±

    Yan Xuehen smiled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I know what I am doing. There are so many people in the nine sects; there is no way that all of them have allied together, right?¡±

    Zu An figured that made sense, so he didn¡¯t say anything else.

    Yan Xuehen asked, ¡°Where have you been as ofte?¡±

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s quite cold outside. Why don¡¯t you invite me in for some hot tea?¡± However, what he got in return was a window m. He waspletely stunned as he stared at the tightly shut window in front of him. Why did this woman always change her attitude so fast?

    Inside, Yan Xuehen actually grinned. This kid really wasn¡¯t good at telling lies. Why would he be scared of a bit of cold with his cultivation?

    Zu An couldn¡¯t really look for Chu Chuyan now, so he could only leave helplessly.

    When he recalled how upset Yun Jianyue had been along the way, he decided that he would have to talk things out with her this time. At the same time, he could try to appease her anger a bit.

    When he arrived at Emptiness Isle¡¯s courtyard, he couldn''t really report his visit, so he secretly snuck into Yun Jianyue¡¯s room.

    ¡°Who is it?¡± Yun Jianyue called out, clearly sounding extremely vignt.

    ¡°It¡¯s me,¡± Zu An said.

    ¡°One moment!¡± Yun Jianyue replied, sounding a bit flustered.

    When Pei Mianman, who was next to her, saw that, her eyes lit up.

    Favorite

 Chapter 1693: Another Disappearance

    <h4>Chapter 1693: Another Disappearance</h4>

    However, just when Pei Mianman was about to call out, she had her acupoints sealed by Yun Jianyue first. Then, she was thrown into a wardrobe off to the side. She blinked in confusion.

    Why was the glorious Devil Sect Master Yun Jianyue suddenly so rmed? Could it be that she was scared of Ah Zu? Why was Ah Zu was looking for her sote into the night? In that instant, all kinds of possibilities filled her mind.

    Yun Jianyue closed the wardrobe door. She was about to open the door when she remembered something. She opened the wardrobe again, and seeing Pei Mianman¡¯s shocked expression, struck another acupoint to knock her unconscious. When she saw Pei Mianman faint, she sighed in relief. Then, she closed the wardrobe door again.

    ¡°What were you doing? Why did it take so long?¡± Zu An asked in confusion.

    Yun Jianyue was rmed, but she didn¡¯t show it on the surface. She said, ¡°Don¡¯t I have to at least get dressed if you visit me in the middle of the night?¡±

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°You know, I wouldn¡¯t mind if you didn¡¯t wear anything either.¡±

    Yun Jianyue was stunned for a moment before snapping, ¡°Damn kid, are you looking for a beating right now?¡±

    Zu An darted into the room and said with an apologetic smile, ¡°I was just joking with you, haha.¡±

    ¡°What are you sneaking around like this for?¡± Yun Jianyue asked. Despite that, she still closed the door again.

    Zu An looked around. Yun Jianyue¡¯s heart quickened and she asked, ¡°What are you looking for?¡±

    ¡°Honglei isn¡¯t here, right?¡± Zu An asked. If she found out that he was looking for her master in the middle of the night, that would be a bit troublesome.

    Yun Jianyue sighed in relief, saying, ¡°She¡¯s not. She already went to bed. Why are you here?¡±

    ¡°The main reason is that some things happened on Violet Mountain,¡± Zu An said. He then told her about Xie Daoyun¡¯s discoveries and asked for her opinion.

    ¡°To achieve the results you¡¯re describing, someone would have had to arrange a huge formation,¡± Yun Jianyue said. She thought for a bit before replying, ¡°ording to what I know, the Shaman Great Elder Wu Wuyan is quite adept in that field.¡±

    ¡°Shaman Great Elder?¡± Zu An asked, stunned. He had almost paid dearly because of a shaman not too long ago, so hearing about them again was naturally startling.

    ¡°The shamans don¡¯t have a so-called sect master. They all believe they¡¯re servants of the shaman god. Meanwhile, this great elder is their spokesman in this world, practically the one with the greatest authority among the shamans. Wu Wuyan is a seasoned grandmaster herself, and has unfathomable cultivation. Together with her shaman skills that are difficult to prepare against, there¡¯s almost no one who would be willing to provoke her,¡± Yun Jianyue said seriously.

    ¡°Who would provoke people like that?¡± Zu An replied, then exined what had happened when he faced Zhang Jie again.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°The shamans¡¯ curse arts aren¡¯t as terrifying as you imagine. They often collect the hair and fingernails of their targets, and they need their astrological information too. Only then will their skills be the most effective,¡± Yun Jianyue exined. ¡°As for that Zhang Jie you described, strictly speaking, he isn¡¯t a shaman. Otherwise, there¡¯s no way the court wouldn¡¯t have noticed him. It¡¯s probably some possession technique he learned from the shamans that temporarily invited a powerful shaman into his body so he could borrow their abilities.

    ¡°From what you described, someone that powerful would be at least at the level of a shaman elder. It might even be Wu Wuyan herself.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression became serious. If just borrowing her ability had already made Zhang Jie so hard to deal with, just how troublesome would the person herself be?

    ¡°The shamans aren¡¯t entirely without faults either,¡± Yun Jianyue said to console him. ¡°They excel at scheming against others from behind and aren¡¯t great at a frontal sh. That¡¯s why the best way to deal with them is to fight them in close quarters.¡± Afterward, she taught Zu An some methods to deal with them.

    Zu An was filled withplete admiration. As expected of the Devil Sect Master! Her knowledge and experience were something few people couldpare to.

    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll increase my vignce for now, and I¡¯ll also pay that Feng guy some attention. You can leave now,¡± Yun Jianyue said, as if to chase him out.

    ¡°Do you really want me to leave that badly?¡± Zu An replied with augh. ¡°Honestly, you¡¯re a bit suspicious right now. Weren¡¯t you upset with me before? Why do you seem¡­ guilty instead?¡±

    Yun Jianyue endured her urge to nce at the wardrobe and quickly replied, ¡°What guilt? Also, what do you mean by angry? Brat, stop making things up.¡±

    Zu An looked at her ridiculously charming face and said gently, ¡°You know I can sense if someone is angry or not. Honestly, I was actually really happy to see you angry. That means you actually do care about me, which is why you would be jealous.¡±

    ¡°Who¡¯s jealous?!¡± Yun Jianyue snapped, her face heating up. She pushed him toward the exit and said, ¡°Go, leave already. Stop bothering me!¡±

    Zu An suddenly turned around and took her waist into his embrace. Then, without waiting for her reaction, he gave her alluring lips a kiss.

    Yun Jianyue stiffened. In that instant, a streak of electricity seemed to run through her entire body. Her mind went nk for a few seconds. However, she finally reacted when Zu An¡¯s tongue reached deeper. She pushed him away in shame and annoyance, snapping, ¡°You stinky brat, what are you doing?!¡±

    ¡°Am I stinky? You can give it a taste again,¡± Zu An said with augh, and moved closer to kiss her again.

    Yun Jianyue was speechless. At first, she struggled intensely, but she didn¡¯t use her grandmaster rank power. As such, there was no way she could struggle free from his powerful arms. Her resistance gradually grew weaker, and her temperature increased. Her body became softer and softer too.

    She was a mature woman, and she hadn¡¯t used any of the charm skills she had practiced for so long. As such, her body was like a volcano on the verge of erupting. In the past, it hadn¡¯t really mattered much when she was feeling pent-up, but previously, Zu An had opened up a brand new world for her. That volcano had be active once more, and Zu An was the only one who could make her erupt.

    After a while, she finally got a chance to breathe. Hesitantly, she said, ¡°What we¡¯re doing isn¡¯t right¡­¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t say anything. Instead, he rained down scorching hot kisses on her cheek and neck.

    Yun Jianyue moaned.This man is just too good at this¡­

    Unlike Yan Xuehen, as someone from the Devil Sect, she knew much more about these things. She didn¡¯t have as many reservations, despite knowing that she couldn''t continue to have an ambiguous rtionship with Zu An like this, as it would only hurt Honglei. However, when she thought about how Pei Mianman was in the wardrobe, she suddenly felt a bit mischievous.

    The Devil Sect¡¯s people had always believed in thew of the jungle. They were trained to steal good things from others since they were young. She remembered that when she was little, her senior sister had a toy that she really liked, so her master had encouraged her to steal it. Then, after struggling for a while, she had sessfully stolen that toy from her senior sister. When she saw her sobbing senior sister, she had suddenly realized that she didn¡¯t like the toy that much. Instead, she liked the feeling of sess that came from stealing the item more.

    She felt as if she had returned to her childhood. Not only did she like this toy, she could even enjoy the happiness of stealing it from someone else. She felt guilty toward Honglei, but she didn¡¯t carry such misgivings toward other women.

    In that instant, she even felt a bit of regret. Why had she decided to make Pei Mianman faint? Wouldn¡¯t it have been even better if she had to see everything?

    As soon as Yun Jianyue had that thought, her entire body began to shake uncontrobly. This was a kind of excitement that came from her very soul!

    Suddenly, she groaned. She discovered that while her imagination was running wild, that kid had already taken the chance to enter her. She looked at therge and tall man in front of her. As the Devil Sect Master, she didn¡¯t like this kind of submissive position. She bit her lip and seized the initiative, saying, ¡°I want to be on top!¡±

    Zu An knew that she cared a lot about her pride and didn¡¯t fight her over that. He looked at her with a smile and said, ¡°Go ahead, sect master.¡±

    ¡­

    The next day, on Violet Mountain¡¯s peak, the nine daoist sects¡¯ representatives gathered once more. It turned out the missing Emptiness Isle disciple had already been found.

    ¡°Elder Peng, how did you find her?¡± Heavenly Sorrow Sect¡¯s Guan Chouhai asked curiously.

    ¡°Why do you care? Since she¡¯s already here, we can just start the finalpetition now, right?¡± Yun Jianyue harrumphed.

    ¡°Come on, don¡¯t be like this. What if the Devil Sect Master is already here on this mountain? You should exin it to us so we can take some precautions,¡± the White Jade Sect¡¯s Li Changsheng said. He was worried that Yun Jianyue could be a variable that would end up affecting their great scheme.

    ¡°It had nothing to do with the Devil Sect,¡± Yun Jianyue replied. She was in high spirits today, so she didn¡¯t feel like bickering with the others today.

    They were about to ask more when Elder Huo Ling ran over with a nervous expression, crying out, ¡°My disciple is missing!

 Chapter 1694: Identity Exposed

    Chapter 1694: Identity Exposed

    ¡°What?!¡± the daoists eximed in shock. They had just found Peng Wuyan, yet Pei Mianman was now missing?

    However, Zu An was even more shocked than the daoist sect members. He quickly arrived in front of Elder Huo Ling and urgently asked, ¡°What? How did she disappear?¡±

    Qiu Honglei was also stunned. She hadn¡¯t expected Pei Mianman to disappear at all. She didn¡¯t even have time to feel jealous, and just looked at her master to see if she had any solutions.

    Yun Jianyue remained expressionless, however. This brat was full of honeyed wordsst night, and yet today, all of his attention is now on another woman?

    The surrounding people also cast sidelong looks. Why is this kid so panicked? Could it be that he really ended up liking that Miss Pei?

    Still, when they recalled Pei Mianman¡¯s stunning features and physique, they felt that it was only too natural for someone as young as him to feel that way.

    Elder Huo Ling¡¯s expression changed several times, but she didn¡¯t have time for anything else and exined, ¡°I went out for some businessst night. When I returned, everything was normal, but when it was time to leave this morning, Manman didn¡¯t seem to have woken up yet. It was when I went to her room that I noticed that she was gone. Then, Jadefall Pce¡¯s disciples and I looked everywhere, but we still didn¡¯t find her. That was why we came here to see if anyone knew anything.¡±

    Wang Wuxie shook his head and said, ¡°We only just now heard about her disappearance. We do not know anything either.¡±

    The others began to discuss the situation in a lively manner. They clearly didn¡¯t know where Pei Mianman had gone either.

    The disciples gradually found out about what happened and erupted into rm. Unlike Peng Wuyan, who was safe because of her appearance, Pei Mianman was an incredible beauty! With that bewitching figure, if she went missing, it wasn¡¯t hard to imagine what could happen at all. Many people felt pity when they thought of that. Such a stunning individual actually ending up like that would just be too sad.

    Zu An was more worried about Pei Mianman¡¯s safety. He quickly asked Elder Huo Ling for more details. ¡°Manman¡¯s cultivation isn¡¯t low, and you and Pce Lord Wan are both grandmasters. How could she have been silently kidnapped just like that with both of you overseeing your residence?¡±

    Wan Tongtian¡¯s expression became a bit unnatural as he said, ¡°Ahem, I had some affairs to deal with and also left for a bit. It might have happened then.¡±

    The others had strange expressions when they heard that. They had all heard about Wan Tongtian and Elder Huo Ling¡¯s hatred for each other, and yet both had gone out in the middle of the night. It was hard for them to not suspect anything. Fortunately, the subject was Pei Mianman¡¯s safety, so it wasn¡¯t the time to crack jokes.

    Elder Huo Ling said, ¡°It¡¯s actually quite strange. When I went to examine Manman¡¯s room, there were no signs of a battle.¡±

    The others had strange expressions as they said, ¡°Lady Pei¡¯s cultivation isn¡¯t low though. How could she have been captured silently like that?¡±

    Even though Pei Mianman had been able to get this far partly due to luck, she had disyed her strength during the group stage. Furthermore, that Fu Hao Owl Statue of hers was quite miraculous. She was a top-tier expert in the world of warriors. Even if a grandmaster had faced her, unless theyunched an ambush, it shouldn¡¯t have reached a point where she didn¡¯t even have the slightest ability to retaliate.

    Those present exchanged their opinions. After a while, they looked toward Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei.

    ¡°What are you looking at me for?¡± Yun Jianyue snapped impatiently.

    Yan Xuehen, who had remained quiet the entire time, said, ¡°Pei Mianman¡¯s disappearance seems simr to Miss Peng¡¯s. I wonder who Miss Peng was kidnapped by, and how she was rescued? We might be able to obtain some clues that will aid Miss Pei¡¯s rescue through this information.¡± She knew about Zu An and Pei Mianman¡¯s rtionship. Furthermore, Chu Chuyan and Pei Mianman were also close friends, so she couldn''t just watch without doing anything.

    Guan Chouhai and the others couldn''t help but give her a look. This woman was usually quite aloof and indifferent. Why did she suddenly seem so engaged in this matter? However, most of them were looking at Yun Jianyue, waiting to hear her speak about how Peng Wuyan had been saved.

    Only Zu An knew that Qiu Honglei¡¯s disappearance was fabricated. How could Yun Jianyue provide any useful clues in this situation?

    Yun Jianyue coughed lightly and said, ¡°That is rted to a secret of our sect, but since this is rted to martial niece Pei, I cannot hide it anymore. Our sect left a tracking talisman on Peng Wuyan. If she goes missing for a certain period of time, it activates on its own. I sensed it and swiftly looked for her, and found her in a cave. The strange thing was that it was just her inside. The one who kidnapped her was nowhere to be seen.¡±

    Elder Huo Ling urgently asked, ¡°Where is that cave?¡±

    Yun Jianyue replied somewhat awkwardly, ¡°What are the chances of it being in the same ce? They would definitely have known that the ce was exposed once the kidnappers saw that Wuyan was no longer there. Would they continue to hide people there?¡±

    The representatives from Jadefall Pce felt that the exnation was reasonable. They all had disappointed expressions.

    Guan Chouhai looked at Qiu Honglei and asked, ¡°Martial niece Peng, who exactly was it that kidnapped you? Do you not remember anything?¡±

    Qiu Honglei shook her head. ¡°I was cultivating at the time, but then I was suddenly knocked unconscious by someone. When I woke up, I was in that cave. I don¡¯t know what kind of objective the other party had either, nor did they ask me for anything. Later, I was rescued.¡±

    That was what Yun Jianyue had told her to say before, so there was no chance that they would have holes in their story.

    ¡°Someone who could render you unconscious without alerting anyone has to at least be at the grandmaster rank. But which grandmaster in this world would attack a junior without any regard for their status?¡± Master Jian Huang muttered to himself.

    Li Changsheng said, ¡°It is most likely the Devil Sect Master, Yun Jianyue.¡±

    Yun Jinayue¡¯s brows rose when she heard that. She replied, ¡°Couldn¡¯t it be the dark elves?¡±

    The dark elves excelled at ambushes and assassination. Even if they didn¡¯t have grandmaster rank cultivation, such a thing would actually be possible for them.

    ¡°Shadow Group?¡± The others¡¯ expressions changed. The Shadow Group was an assassin organization they were all a bit apprehensive about.

    Li Changsheng shook his head and said, ¡°Our daoist sects have all gathered together today. There is no reason for the Shadow Group to offend all of us. They have never engaged in any losing transactions.¡±

    ¡­

    None of them were able toe up with a conclusion even after analyzing the situation.

    Elder Huo Ling was really starting to panic. She asked Yun Jianyue about the cave and quickly left to look for it.

    Zu An was about to leave too when Yun Jianyue secretly told him, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Nothing will happen to her.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He noticed that she seemed to be implying something. He was about to ask her about it when he heard her say clearly, ¡°Thepetition has already dragged on for so many days, and my disciple has already returned. Can we continue now?¡±

    A huge uproar followed. Wan Tongtian looked at her unhappily and said, ¡°All of us dyed thepetition when your disciple went missing before. Now, when our Jadefall Pce¡¯s disciple has gone missing, you instead want the match to start? What is the meaning of this?¡±

    The others all looked at Yun Jianyue, especially the young disciples. They were full of righteous anger and shot her indignant gazes.

    It wasn¡¯t just them; even Qiu Honglei was a bit confused. Why had her master done such a thing even though she knew about Pei Mianman¡¯s rtionship with Zu An? Why would she raise such a disrespectful request at a time l ike this?

    Zu An frowned. He knew Yun Jianyue definitely had a reason for doing such a thing, so he began to specte about what was happening.

    When faced with their questioning, Yun Jianyue didn¡¯t back down at all. She said, ¡°Our daoist sects came all the way here from afar to conduct this greatpetition at Violet Mountain and can¡¯t stay here forever. We¡¯ve already been away for long enough.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Once we decide who the winners are, we still need to send the disciples into the secret dungeon. All that needs to be done in order. We¡¯ve already stalled for long enough. If we wait any longer, just how much longer are we going to dilly-dally for?

    ¡°In my opinion, that mysterious individual hiding in the dark must have done all of this to ruin our greatpetition. Even if Pei Mianman returns, there could be other annoyances. Thispetition could never continue then. As long as thepetition reaches its conclusion, that mysterious person will likely cease their schemes.¡±

    The others felt a bit angry when they heard her analysis, but they gradually began to feel that her argument made some sense. After all, they hadn¡¯t learned anything from Peng Wuyan¡¯s return, and yet Pei Mianman had been captured now. No matter how they looked at it, there seemed to be a troublemaker doing all of this on purpose.

    Watchful Heart Peak¡¯s Feng Wuchang said, ¡°What Elder Peng has said is reasonable. However, with Lady Pei missing right now, we cannot continue thepetition even if we want to.¡±

    Zu An gave him a strange look. Shouldn¡¯t Wang Wuxie have been the one to speak in such a situation? To be honest, wasn¡¯t Wang Wuxie a bit too quiet todaypared to before? He hadn¡¯t even snuck any looks at Yan Xuehen.

    Yun Jianyue proudly said, ¡°You¡¯ve all seen how Wuyan prevailed over so many strong opponents, and Jadefall Pce¡¯s Lady Pei only won because of luck. If they really fought, I¡¯m sure everyone has their own ideas as to who would win. In that case, why don¡¯t we just proim Wuyan the victor and be done with it?¡±

    The others looked at each other in dismay. They had to admit that the cultivation Peng Wuyan had disyed before was a bit higher.

    Yan Xuehen said, ¡°Often, it is difficult to tell who would win and who would lose without an actual fight. If we only made decisions based on what we expected, Miss Pei might not even have made it out of the group stage. As for Lady Peng, she also fought against powerful opponents to reach where she is today.¡±

    The other sect masters had been a bit tempted at first, but they began to hesitate when they heard what she said.

    Yun Jianyue gritted her teeth. This stone cold woman really is my arch-nemesis! She¡¯ll still go against me even when I¡¯ve changed my identity!

    Suddenly, someone screamed shrilly, ¡°That Elder Peng is fake! She¡¯s actually the Devil Sect Master, Yun Jianyue!¡±

 Chapter 1695: All Cards Revealed

    <h4>Chapter 1695: All Cards Revealed</h4>

    Those present on Golden Peak were all rmed. Even Zu An felt something drop in his stomach. Why was Yun Jianyue¡¯s identity being exposed right now?

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s expression changed slightly. She quickly looked at her master. Meanwhile, Yun Jianyue turned to look in the direction of the mountain entrance.

    There was a group of people quickly approaching. The one in the lead was a disheveled, but rather fierce-looking middle-aged woman. Her appearance normally wouldn¡¯t be anything special, but her features were those of Emptiness Isle¡¯s Elder Peng. Meanwhile, there was a youngdy standing by her side who also had a distinctively unattractive face.

    Jadefall Pce¡¯s Wan Guiyi widened his eyes. He had previously thought that there was an air of strength in her appearance, so how could he forget that face? He quickly looked at Qiu Honglei with wide eyes.

    Golden Peak had previously been filled with noise, but it was nowpletely silent.

    Guan Chouhai and the others looked at Yun Jianyue and her disciple, then looked at Elder Peng and her disciple. They instinctively kept their distance from both parties.

    ¡°What is going on?¡± Zu An secretly asked through ki.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Yun Jianyue replied with a serious expression. ¡°Something must have happened in the ce I locked them up in. If I had known this was going to happen, I would have just taken their lives.¡±

    The other group of people also walked over. Guan Chouhai was stunned and called out, ¡°Elder Lian?¡±

    A white-haired elder in the group cupped his hands and replied, ¡°Sect Master Guan!¡±

    Many people from the daoist sects had met this elder before. They all greeted him in a friendly manner. However, they suddenly noticed the issue. There were two Elder Pengs and two Peng Wuyans. What exactly was going on here?

    Wan Tongtian asked gravely, ¡°Elder Lian, what is going on here?¡±

    The elder gave the middle-aged woman next to him a look and said, ¡°Junior sister Peng, you should tell them.¡±

    That Elder Peng said, ¡°I was on my way to Violet Mountain with Wuyan to participate in this Great Daoist Competition, but I ended up falling victim to an ambush near Violet Mountain by the Devil Sect and was imprisoned. Then, they used some strange drugs and smeared them on my face, which weter found out was actually in order to create masks to impersonate us.¡±

    The others¡¯ gazes shifted to Yun Jianyue and her disciple. They were all on guard.

    Yan Xuehen also looked at her in surprise. Could this really be Yun Jianyue? They really were meant to sh with each other!

    ¡­

    Zu An had a huge headache. They hadn¡¯t even dealt with Manman¡¯s situation, and yet now something was happening to Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei. He couldn''t just walk away from all of this, right? There was nothing he could do but watch the situation y out for the time being, though.

    Yun Jianyue remained calm and retorted, ¡°Nonsense. Elder Lian, you actually dare to collude with the Devil Sect bastards to nder me? This really is a disgrace to our Emptiness Isle!¡±

    Fuming with anger, Elder Lian eximed, ¡°You demoness, what nonsense are you speaking?!¡±

    ¡°Am I wrong? You were found to have been colluding with the Devil Sect, but then you slinked off for fear of punishment, betraying Emptiness Isle. Now, when Emptiness Isle has earned the greatest glory in all of our history, you¡¯re actually stepping forward to start trouble! Just how much do you hate Emptiness Isle?¡± Yun Jianyue retorted, firing round after round of attacks, leaving even Elder Lian a bit stunned.

    Zu An was left in admiration. As so many people recognized Elder Lian, Yun Jianyue had decided to not dispute his identity, instead dering that he had betrayed Emptiness Isle.

    Emptiness Isle was rather secludedpared to the other sects and wasn¡¯t all that connected. As such, there were many people who hadn¡¯t even seen Elder Peng before. If Elder Lian really had betrayed Emptiness Isle, there would be no way for them to confirm that for some time.

    Sure enough, the others also increased their distance from Elder Lian for fear of him being a Devil Sect spy.

    ¡°You witch, cease your venomous nder!¡± Elder Lian shouted angrily. After being thrown for a loop by Yun Jianyue, he could only say that, as he was unable to provide any useful evidence.

    ¡°If I really were Yun Jianyue, I would have killed you all as soon as I captured you. Why would I give you the chance to ruin things?¡± Yun Jianyue harrumphed. Inwardly, however, she was a bit worried. The fact that Emptiness Isle¡¯s representatives had been rescued meant something had happened on their Holy Sect¡¯s side. She wondered just what was going on.

    Many people nodded when they heard that. They had long heard of Yun Jianyue¡¯s bloodthirsty nature, so why would she leave behind living witnesses? As such, they became even more vignt when they looked at Elder Lian¡¯s group.

    Elder Lian¡¯s group grew nervous when they saw the shift in attitude. Elder Peng cursed, ¡°Who knows what kind of motive they had for leaving us alive? The Devil Sect¡¯s bastards have always been crafty and cunning. How would we know why they did such a thing?¡±

    Li Changsheng coughed lightly and said, ¡°Ahem, you might not know about this, but they¡¯ve already entered the finals of thepetition, as well as being the ones favored to win.¡±

    That Elder Pengughed and said, ¡°Do you really have no idea what our Emptiness Isle is capable of? How could someone we raised possibly win against Righteous Sun, White Jade, Jadefall Pce, Kunlun Void, and Heavenly Sorrow, all sects with tremendous resources?¡±

    The others were stunned when they heard that. They had felt that Qiu Honglei was a bit too much even for a dark horse. Now that they thought about it, it really was too strange. Her performance didn¡¯t really match Emptiness Isle¡¯s expected strength!

    Only Peng Wuyan¡¯s face was entirely red. There was no need to degrade her for the sake of proving their identity, right? For better or for worse, she was a representative disciple, and she had her pride too.

    Yun Jianyue quickly retorted, ¡°What a joke. Our Emptiness Isle has experienced tremendous changes in the past few decades. Furthermore, after picking up some excellent saplings, what¡¯s so strange about making a name for ourselves in thispetition? You keep looking down on Emptiness Isle, and yet you¡¯re still denying that you¡¯re monsters from the Devil Sect!¡±

    Even Qiu Honglei herself was almost convinced by what her master said. She suddenly felt that she was still far toockingpared to her master in this field.

    Elder Lian and Peng were so angry they were panicking. They began to berate the other side, but unfortunately, how could they be Yun Jianyue¡¯s match in a verbal assault? They were pushed back bit by bit. More and more people began to think that Yun Jianyue was the real one.

    Suddenly, Yan Xuehen, who had already remained silent for so long, said, ¡°It is simple enough to determine who is real and who is fake. We can seal up both of your acupoints, and then, once we examine your bodies, it will be clear who is the fraud.¡±

    Yun Jianyue cursed inwardly.This stone cold woman is my nemesis after all.She snorted and replied, ¡°What kind of a joke is this? If I let myself be restrained by all of you, wouldn¡¯t I just be meat on a chopping block? If you all had any ulterior motives, our Emptiness Isle would be done for!¡±

    What she said was reasonable. Which cultivator in this world would be willing to hand their fate to another?

    Yan Xuehen said indifferently, ¡°The daoist sects are part of the righteous faction, and there are so many young disciples watching. We will not do anything that will bring down our own reputations.¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Elder Peng and Elder Lian, who had always been at a disadvantage, snapped out of their daze. They shouted, ¡°We are willing to go through this examination!¡± Then, they acted as if they were surrendering themselves for inspection.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression changed several times. This was clearly an overt plot, but she couldn''t y along! If her identity was checked, there would be no way for her to escape. Furthermore, she would be restrained, so it would be impossible for her to resist even if she wanted to.

    When they saw her expression, the others finally realized what was happening. The sect masters all moved closer to surround Yun Jianyue.

    ¡°Hahaha, so the daoist sects only amount to this, huh? You all shoot your mouths off constantly, and yet in the end, our Devil Sect¡¯s disciple still took the first ce!¡± Yun Jianyue dered as she decided to just drop the act. Her outfit exploded, revealing her long hair. There was a bewitching and dangerous beauty to her appearance.

    After seeing that, Qiu Honglei also returned to her true appearance. Ki surrounded her entire body in preparation for a battle.

    Amotion broke out all across Golden Peak! The daoist sects and Devil Sect were sworn enemies. Many younger disciples had listened to stories of the Devil Sect¡¯s cruelty growing up. Yun Jianyue was especially famous for the seas of blood and the mountains of corpses she had created.

    However, they had only heard of her, but they had never seen her in person. They hadn¡¯t expected her to be such an extraordinary beauty! Apart from her, Qiu Honglei was also stunning. Just a single smile from her was enough to make most of the disciples flustered.

    Only Wan Guiyi had a nk expression. Why had she changed? Compared to this weak-looking appearance, he preferred the strong beauty from earlier.

 Chapter 1696: Imminent Battle

    <h4>Chapter 1696: Imminent Battle</h4>

    Tranquility Temple¡¯s little monk Jie Se widened his eyes and eximed, ¡°Oh my goodness, what a great living transformation!¡±

    Master Jian Huang couldn''t help but shoot him a re. He replied, ¡°Weren¡¯t they living people before too?¡±

    ¡°Master always calls women rouge, powder, and skeleton. We only saw the skeleton before, but only now is there rouge and powder!¡± Jie Se said with a sigh of admiration.

    Master Jian Huang smacked Jie Se¡¯s round head and snapped, ¡°Women really are the only thing filling that head of yours all day.¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Jie Se felt wronged and replied, ¡°I¡¯m still young, so isn¡¯t it normal for me to be young and vigorous? I don¡¯t want to be like master, who''s so old that you don¡¯t even have any reaction anymore.¡±

    Master Jian Huang¡¯s expression immediately became dangerous. He said, ¡°Copy the Heart Sutra two hundred times tonight. You¡¯re not allowed to sleep until you finish it.¡±

    Jie Se immediately cried out in rm. ¡°Master, you¡¯re only doing this out of pettiness¡­¡±

    ¡°Three hundred times,¡± Master Jian Huang said, his expression frightening.

    Jie Se had an expression of loss on his face, but in the end, he really didn¡¯t dare to challenge his master any further.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, on the Heavenly Sorrow Sect¡¯s side, all of the disciples were stupefied. Cai Yu muttered to himself, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that witch to have such looks¡­¡±

    Yun Jianyue was also incredibly beautiful, but she still had her identity as the Devil Sect Master, so Cai Yu subconsciously treated her as someone from thest generation and didn¡¯t dare to have any bad thoughts. However, it was different for Qiu Honglei. She was young and pretty, and had an especially dainty and weak appearance that made others cherish her. She looked like a gentle, kind, and distinguished daughter! There wasn¡¯t a trace of a Devil Sect witch in sight!

    Zhi Yin¡¯s breathing quickened. He had beenpletely infatuated with Chu Chuyan before, yet today, he finally saw someone whose beauty wasparable to hers.

    Previously, even though Pei Mianman was pretty, he had lost to her and thus developed a bit of a mental shadow. As such, he found her a bit less attractive. However, Qiu Honglei was different. She made him unable to help but feel a sense of protectiveness. He even began to wonder if there was some sort of misunderstanding. How could this woman be a witch? Even though he didn¡¯t know the whole story, he knew that she had definitely been wronged somewhere just from looking at her appearance.

    Zhao Xiaodie was a bit absent-minded. Before joining this Great Daoist Competition, she had absolute confidence in her appearance. She was a goddess with countless pursuers in the Heavenly Sorrow Sect. And yet, aftering to Violet Mountain, she had encountered Chu Chuyan, Pei Mianman, and now Qiu Honglei, who were all exceptional beauties. She suddenly felt a bit overshadowed. That wasn¡¯t even factoring in the two seniors, Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue. She had never felt so inferior before.

    The disciples of the other sects were more or less the same too. Even Wu Xiaofan couldn''t help but give her a few extra nces. They had never expected to be defeated at the hands of such a delicate and pretty woman.

    Only Supreme Mystery Cave¡¯s Shi Dingtian had a rather normal expression. For him, her appearance wasn¡¯t even as interesting as his dog''s.

    ¡­

    Li Changsheng coughed and said, ¡°Outstanding. I didn¡¯t expect the Devil Sect¡¯s Saintess to have already cultivated the charm arts to such a superb level. Yun Jianyue, you¡¯ve really found a worthy sessor.¡±

    When they heard his cough, the disciples felt as if thunder had resounded in their ears. All of them trembled and quickly snapped out of their daze. When they recalled the thoughts they had, they all felt incredibly ashamed. At the same time, they consoled themselves by thinking that this woman was just so cunning that they had fallen for her charm arts, and that it wasn¡¯t because they were excessively perverted.

    Only Xie Daoyun had a worried expression as she looked at Zu An. She naturally recognized Qiu Honglei. The other woman had made all of the men in Brightmoon City go crazy for her, after all.

    However, Xie Daoyun had also heard that Qiu Honglei had gone all the way to Chu Manor and requested to be Zu An¡¯s concubine, and that she was Chu Chuyan¡¯s rival in love. Later, even though she had failed, her rtionship with big brother Zu had clearly remained quite close. Now that the master and disciple were in trouble, how could big brother Zu just stand to the side without doing anything?

    It would be one thing if they met in a different ce, as with big brother Zu¡¯s cultivation, it wouldn¡¯t be too much trouble to save them. However, there were so many daoist experts on Golden Peak right now, and Sir State Teacher was present. If Zu An helped the Devil Sect under so many prying eyes, how was he supposed to remain in the court in the future?

    Yan Xuehen also understood that point. Furthermore, she knew that Zu An and Yun Jianyue were extremely close. There was no way he would just watch everything with his hands folded. When she thought about how Yun Jianyue¡¯s whims had put Zu An in this predicament, she couldn''t help but shoot Yun Jianyue a re.It¡¯s all this woman¡¯s fault!

    Yun Jianyue could feel the provocative look, so she also shot Yan Xuehen an angry re. If not for this stone cold woman¡¯s meddling, she wouldn¡¯t even have been exposed.

    Just then, Wang Wuxie asked, ¡°Sect Master Yun, why have you caused trouble in Violet Mountain? Do you really think that the daoist sects are pushovers?¡±

    Yun Jianyue said proudly, ¡°The world is sorge, I can go wherever I please, so why would I have so many misgivings? But this time, my disciple didn¡¯t even use any underhanded means and even held back on her strongest skills for fear of exposing her identity. Even so, she still surmounted all difficulties and even took first ce. Is that all the daoist sects amount to?¡±

    When they heard that, the young disciples of the daoist sects all felt their faces heat up. They had actually let the inheritor of the Devil Sect take first ce!

    Wu Xiaofan and the others had conflicted expressions. Wu Xiaofan in particr had been a bit unconvinced about losing to Qiu Honglei at first, because he was injured going into the fight. Now that he learned that she had actually been holding back, all that remained was a feeling of shame.

    Wan Tongtian harrumphed. ¡°Who says she took the number one ce? She still hasn¡¯t fought with Jadefall Pce¡¯s martial niece, so how can you just say that she¡¯s the first ce winner?¡±

    Yun Jianyue retorted, ¡°My disciple is here, so why don¡¯t you bring that niece of yours here to fight her?¡±

    Wan Tongtian angrily replied, ¡°You clearly know that she¡¯s missing¡­¡± He suddenly realized something and asked, ¡°Did you kidnap her because you wanted your disciple to take first ce?¡±

    Yun Jianyue said indifferently, ¡°Your own Jadefall Pce didn¡¯t keep a good eye on your disciple. What does this have to do with me?¡±

    At the same time, she secretly said to Zu An, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, that Pei girl is hidden in my room¡¯s wardrobe. She isn¡¯t hurt.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s worries were finally set at ease. But soon after, his expression changed. Then, didn¡¯t that mean she had seen everything between him and Yun Jianyue?Just what kind of a weird fetish does this Yun Jianyue have?

    As if guessing what he was thinking, Yun Jianyue blushed. She gave him an annoyed look and added, ¡°What kind of nonsense are you thinking? She was unconsciousst night.¡±

    Zu An chuckled awkwardly when he heard that, but then sighed in relief.

    ¡­

    Nearby, Yan Xuehen saw the two of them exchanging looks and knew that they were definitely up to something. For some reason, she felt a bit unhappy.

    ¡­

    Just then, Li Changsheng added, ¡°Witch, aren¡¯t you acting a bit too arrogant here? Since you¡¯re so fond ofing to Violet Mountain, you should just remain here for a hundred and eighty years to quell your evil tendencies.¡±

    Yun Jianyue sneered. ¡°Are you daoist sect people nning on going against the etiquette of the world of warriors by using your advantage in numbers?¡±

    Guan Chouhai replied with augh, ¡°Sect Master Yun, what use is such sophistry? Against those like you who have walked the crooked path, there is naturally no need to talk about any so-called etiquette.¡±

    ¡°As expected of you, Mister Guan. You¡¯re actually able to talk about something so despicable in a dignified manner,¡± Yun Jianyue said, her expression cold. ¡°Still, even if all of youe at me together, even if I can¡¯t win, none of you can stop me if I want to leave.¡±

    The conspirators from the daoist sects exchanged a look. They knew that what she said was true. Previously, they had needed to ambush Wang Wuxie, and they even had Feng Wuchang working for them from the inside; that was the only reason they had seeded. Right now, Yun Jianyue was in tip-top shape. It wouldn¡¯t be so easy to keep her here. With their important mission to take care of as a priority, they didn¡¯t want to suffer any serious injuries.

    Feng Wuchang chuckled and said, ¡°We might not be able to keep you here, but we can definitely keep your disciple here.¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression changed. She snapped, ¡°What right does a trifling peak master have to interrupt when we¡¯re talking?!¡± She appeared right in front of Feng Wuchang and sent a palm straight at his head as soon as she spoke.

    Feng Wuchang¡¯s body instantly turned ice-cold. He felt an endless sea of blood and a mountain of corpses in front of him. Yun Jianyue seemed to havee from the very depths of hell. He actually couldn''t muster even the slightest strength to resist!

    Just as the palm was about to make contact with his head, a Buddhist sound filled the air, and a golden buddha suddenly appeared amid the world of corpses and blood. It reached out a hand to stop her lethal attack.

    Yun Jianyue gave Master Jian Huang a displeased look and called out, ¡°Baldie, are you going to make our Holy Sect your enemy too?¡±

    Master Jian Huang put his palms together and said, ¡°Amitabha buddha, this old one is quite indebted to Benefactor Feng¡¯s treatment as ofte, so I have epted this piece of karma. That is why I cannot remain a bystander.¡±

    Guan Chouhai, Li Changsheng, and the others cried, ¡°Witch, you actually dare to hurt one of us? Do you really think we wouldn¡¯t act at all?¡±

    They began to surround Yun Jianyue. A battle seemed on the verge of breaking out at any time. With them taking the lead, Kunlun Void¡¯s Elder Xuan Dou, Mount Luofu¡¯s Elder Xu, Purity Temple¡¯s Sect Master and Vice Sect Master, Supreme Mystery Cave¡¯s Cave Master Mu, and the others also moved closer.

    Yan Xuehen frowned, but she didn¡¯t move. After what they had gone through in the secret dungeon, she couldn''t bring herself to surround and attack Yun Jianyue.

 Chapter 1697: Predestined Showdown

    <h4>Chapter 1697: Predestined Showdown</h4>

    Even when she saw so many powerful cultivators from different sects surrounding her and her disciple, Yun Jianyue didn¡¯t feel any fear. She said, ¡°Wow, look at all of you. Since even your so-called orthodox faction doesn¡¯t want to y by the rules, if something unexpected happens to my disciple, don¡¯t me me for bringing chaos to your families.

    ¡°Whether it¡¯s your wives, children, aging parents, or even your beloved disciples, if even a single one of them survives, my name isn¡¯t Yun Jianyue!¡±

    As the Devil Sect Master, her words naturally carried great intimidation. The others¡¯ expressions changed when they heard her threat. They knew that Yun Jianyue¡¯s word was as good as gold in the current scenario. If they couldn''t kill her and let her escape, there would definitely definitely be absolute chaos back home. Who could stop a grandmaster if they were determined to kill all of your loved ones? Let alone the fact that this was the Devil Sect Master! The power at her disposal was unimaginable.

    The only solution was to end her today on Golden Peak. Without their leader, the Devil Sect¡¯s various factions would start to fight against each other for the position of sect master, so they wouldn¡¯t have to worry about revenge anymore. Still, killing Yun Jianyue wasn¡¯t so easily done!

    Nevertheless, if the daoist sects gave up just because of a few threatening words despite gathering so many powerful cultivators, they really wouldn¡¯t have any face left. How were they supposed to retain a footing in the world of warriors then?

    They were stuck in a tough spot, but suddenly, Master Jian Huang said, ¡°Amitabha buddha. Conflict in the world of warriors is best dealt with using some reason. Why must we fight to the point where even our families are put at risk?¡± As someone from the Buddhist sects and a figure with prestigious standing, he did have the right to smooth things over.

    Yun Jianyue said with a sneer, ¡°An old vegetarian monk like you doesn¡¯t have any family, so what are you scared of? Don¡¯t tell me the fat little monk at your side is your illegitimate child?¡±

    The little monk Jie Se immediately felt a bit of resentment.You can call me ¡®little monk¡¯, but did you have to add the word ¡®fat¡¯? It¡¯s not as if I ate your family¡¯s rice¡­

    ¡°Amitabha buddha. Tranquility Temple has always attached great importance to our rules. Who would believe the unfounded ravings of Sect Master Yun?¡± Master Jian Huang said calmly, clearly not all that affected by her words.

    ¡°Whatever, I don¡¯t feel like arguing with you. You don¡¯t want to fight, and yet you aren¡¯t letting me go either. What do you even want then?¡± Yun Jianyue asked, sweeping her gaze over those present with a swing of her sleeve. They all looked away, unwilling to look straight at her.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An was full of admiration. He had already gotten used to Yun Jianyue¡¯s kind side. It wasn¡¯t that often that he got to see her Devil Sect Master side. Now, she had seized absolute initiative from a position of total disadvantage. Such a presence really was impressive. Still, it really was hard for him to make the connection between her domineering side and the charming and pleading woman from the previous night.

    Master Jian Huang said, ¡°This old one suggests a gentleman¡¯s agreement. How about both sides have apetition? If the daoist sects win, Sect Master Yun¡¯s disciple will remain as a guest and cultivate in Violet Mountain. If the daoist sects lose, we will let Sect Master Yun leave. That would be quite fair; what does everyone think?¡±

    Yun Jianyue roared withughter and replied, ¡°Why not? Who wants to fight a round against me? If I lose, I¡¯ll ept whatever happens!¡±

    The others had strange expressions. Wasn¡¯t this woman too confident in herself? Even though she was formidable, this was Golden Peak. There were several individuals on the same level as her. Did she really have faith that she wouldn¡¯t lose? Wang Wuxie, in particr, had remained number one among the daoist sects for so many years already. In theory, he was supposed to be a bit stronger than her.

    Only Yan Xuehen knew that they had experienced many miraculous encounters with Zu An in the secret dungeon, to the extent that they had even sensed the auras of true immortals. Her strength had already reached new breakthroughs. These people might be in for some pain if they were evaluating her through the information they had before.

    Guan Chouhai said, ¡°No, we¡¯re in a position of absolute advantage. We finally managed to surround this witch. If we go one on one, we¡¯ll be letting her off easy.¡±

    At the same time, he secretly cursed Master Jian Huang.Did that old monk go senile? Wang Wuxie is clearly injured and controlled by Shaman Arts. His strength is nowhere near his peak. How are we supposed to win against her?n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Master Jian Huang frowned when he heard that.This Guan Chouhai really is muddle-headed. With such an important mission to take care of, it¡¯ll only be disadvantageous to us if we keep her here. We¡¯re better off finding some random excuse to send her away. Don¡¯t tell me you actually want to lose our forces just to keep Yun Jianyue here?

    Yun Jianyue looked at Guan Chouhai and sneered. She retorted, ¡°Mister Guan, how about we fight a round first? I¡¯ll give you this round for free. Even if I win, we won¡¯t count it.¡±

    Guan Chouhai¡¯s expression changed. He yelled, ¡°You witch! Do you think I¡¯m scared of you?!¡± At the same time, he was rmed. Why did he get the feeling that she was absolutely certain of her victory? Furthermore, he could tell that it definitely wasn¡¯t some false bravado.

    Li Changsheng stepped forward to smooth things over. He said, ¡°Brother Guan, please do not act recklessly. How about we do a two out of three? That way, our daoist sects¡¯ advantage would not be wasted.¡±

    Yun Jianyue said angrily, ¡°I only have me and my disciple, so where would we find a third?¡±

    Zu An was a suitable candidate, and there would definitely be no issues with winning a round. However, she didn¡¯t want to involve him in this trouble.

    Emptiness Isle¡¯s Elder Peng sneered and said, ¡°I¡¯m sure you can win two rounds yourself, no? You can use your disciple to buy you some time in the middle, and that should be enough time for you to recover. Of course, since you¡¯re so confident, you can also fight all three rounds alone.¡±

    ¡°Your thoughts are as disgusting as expected,¡± Yun Jianyue said, shooting her a cold look.

    Even though she had confidence, that didn¡¯t mean she had gone crazy. Her cultivation had made a huge breakthrough before, but there were so many talents here in the daoist sects. Fighting three rounds was still too difficult.

    Elder Peng almost went crazy from anger. She was about to fire off a round of verbal abuse, but Yun Jianyue considered it disdainful to even bicker with her further.

    ¡°We¡¯ll either decide everything through a single round, or just fight to the end. Wang Wuxie, aren¡¯t you the number one among the daoist sects? Why haven¡¯t you said a thing all this time? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re too scared to fight against me?¡± Yun Jianyue called out, directly issuing Wang Wuxie a challenge.

    Yan Xuehen gave Wang Wuxie a strange look. He really was a bit too quiet today. Normally, he would have long since stated his opinion.

    ¡­

    Golden Peak immediately erupted with noise. Many people even felt admiration for Yun Jianyue. Even though she was a woman, her powerful presence wasn¡¯t inferior to any man¡¯s. Wang Wuxie was the daoist sects¡¯ publicly acknowledged number one. As she had taken the initiative to challenge him, that meant her confidence was definitely real.

    Suddenly, Wang Wuxie said, ¡°His majesty is about toe to Violet Mountain to carry out the ceremony. I need to assist him, so it is not convenient for me to act here. I hope that Sect Master Yun can forgive me.¡±

    His excuse was reasonable, so no one suspected anything. Instead, they began to wonder what sort of important matter the emperor and Wang Wuxie had to work together toplete.

    Suddenly, a cold and clear voice called out, ¡°Lady Qiu and I just happen to have a decisive battle arranged. Why don¡¯t the two of us fight a round to decide whether she stays or leaves?¡±

    Long hair fluttered around an icy blue dress. It was as if a woman of snow hade down from the Great Snowy Mountains.

    Lou Wucheng and Zhi Yin both eximed in excitement, ¡°Fairy Chu!¡±

    Zu An¡¯s heartbeat also quickened. Who else could it be but Chu Chuyan?

    It had seemed that their fight was nothing more than a pretense for Yun Jianyue¡¯s real ns before, so he had thought that the decisive battle could just be avoided. He hadn¡¯t expected this kind of situation to happen, as if the battle had been decided by fate itself!

 Chapter 1698: Sisters

    Chapter 1698: Sisters

    Chu Chuyan had spent the entirepetition cultivating in seclusion in preparation for her battle against Qiu Honglei. Today, however, such a bigmotion had broken out on Golden Peak. As she was wondering what happened, an enthusiastic disciple came up to her and exined the situation: Emptiness Isle¡¯s Elder Peng was actually an imposter from the Devil Sect!

    Chu Chuyan was extremely beautiful and had a refined and aloof temperament, making her quite popr among the daoist sects. As such, several people sought an opportunity to talk to her.

    When she heard about the entire course of events, she was shocked. She hadn¡¯t expected Qiu Honglei to have already been there for some time, and to have actually fought through many rounds of the Great Sects Competition, no less. Now that she knew what was happening on Golden Peak, she could no longer continue to cultivate and hurriedly rushed out, thus arriving just in time for the earlier scene. That was why she had taken the initiative to suggest the battle.

    Qiu Honglei raised her brows when she saw Chuyan arrive. She immediately felt apetitive drive grow within her. She took a step forward and was about to agree to the proposal.

    However, Yun Jianyue blocked her path and said to Chu Chuyan, ¡°Honglei has fought so many battles and defeated your fellow daoist disciples. If not for what happened today, she would have already been decided as the winner. If you want to fight against her, why don¡¯t you face those daoist colleagues of yours and take first ce first?¡±

    Even though she was at odds with that stone cold woman, she understood Yan Xuehen¡¯s ability. Her disciple definitely wasn¡¯t weak either. Furthermore, Chu Chuyan¡¯s talent was exceptional too, meaning that her cultivation was likely equal to Qiu Honglei¡¯s. It was hard to say who would win if they really fought. She definitely didn¡¯t want the situation to end in a coin flip.

    Qiu Honglei was quite tired from everything that had happened recently, too. She had already fought many rounds, exposing many of her skills. In contrast, Chu Chuyan had been cultivating in seclusion, preparing for this battle the entire time. Even the slightest mistake would cost Qiu Honglei and her master a great deal.

    Chu Chuyan frowned. She didn¡¯t know what to say in response.

    Guan Chouhai said, ¡°Niece Chu, we appreciate your good intentions. However, eliminating the Devil Sect and defending justice is our generation¡¯s responsibility. You only need to watch from the sidelines.¡±

    His concerns were actually the opposite of Yun Jianyue¡¯s. He had witnessed Qiu Honglei prevail over representative disciples again and again. Even the publicly acknowledged number one of the daoist sects¡¯ younger generation, Wu Xiaofan, had lost to her. Even though Chu Chuyan¡¯s cultivation was excellent, her prior performance hadn¡¯t exceeded Wu Xiaofan¡¯s. In his opinion, the chances of winning wouldn¡¯t be in their favor if the two sides fought, so he didn¡¯t feel like there was a need to take such a risk.

    Yan Xuehen said, ¡°Witch, Chuyan¡¯s battle against your disciple has already been agreed upon between the daoist sects and the Devil Sect. Are these excuses you are producing a result of your fear?¡±

    Guan Chouhai immediately felt conflicted when he heard the sweetheart of his dreams speak up. If he continued to insist otherwise, wouldn¡¯t that make her unhappy?

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s beautiful eyes narrowed. She retorted, ¡°Stone cold woman, why would I be scared?¡± Even though she knew that Yan Xuehen was taunting her, she still couldn''t help but be a bit upset.

    Master Jian Huang said, ¡°This old one thinks that this is a good idea. There was already a battle scheduled to begin with, and there wouldn¡¯t be any unfair controversies.¡± Meanwhile, he sent a ki transmission to Guan Chouhai, telling him to stop causing trouble.

    Guan Chouhai understood the reasoning behind it, but he couldn''t really swallow his resentment after having been publicly ridiculed by Yun Jianyue.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Li Changsheng said, ¡°This daoist also approves of thispetition. Niece Chu¡¯s cultivation is not low, and I do not think that she is any weaker than the Devil Sect witch.¡± He was part of the White Jade Sect too, after all. When he spoke up, all the other daoists voiced their agreement.

    The younger disciples had excited expressions. In a battle between the older generation, they wouldn¡¯t even be able to learn much because the difference in level was too high. However, a fight between younger generation disciples was different. Even if they were stronger, it would still be within a reasonable degree. Watching powerful younger cultivators fight would bring extraordinary benefits to their own cultivation.

    Furthermore, putting aside everything else, Chu Chuyan was extremely popr! If she fought against another beauty like Qiu Honglei, just watching such a battle would be a feast for the eyes.

    Wan Tongtian harrumphed. ¡°I don¡¯t care who fights whom; I only care for the safety of our Jadefall Pce¡¯s disciples. Witch, as long as you hand over niece Pei, I can choose not to make things difficult for you today.¡± Pei Mianman was his junior sister Huo Ling¡¯s precious disciple. She represented Jadefall Pce¡¯s future, so they definitely couldn''t let anything happen to her.

    Yun Jianyue said with a chuckle, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. There¡¯s someone who cares about her even more than you, who will save her. There¡¯s nothing for you to worry about.¡±

    The onlookers thought she was talking about Elder Huo Ling. Only a few people actually knew that she was referring to Zu An.

    Yun Jianyue was about to say something else when Qiu Honglei said, ¡°Master, please let me fight. This is something we already decided on. I won¡¯t disappoint you.¡±

    When she saw the determination in her disciple¡¯s eyes, Yun Jianyue knew that Qiu Honglei wanted to prove herself. After some hesitation, she didn¡¯t refuse and said, ¡°Fine. Your master believes that you¡¯ll definitely get what you want!¡±

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s face heated up. Master really has a big mouth. What is Chu Chuyan going to think after hearing that?

    Yan Xuehen had a weird expression. These young girls seem to be more courageous in their love. It really is enviable¡­

    ¡­

    Surprisingly, Chu Chuyan was stillpletely calm. She slowly walked forward and said, ¡°Little sister Qiu, if you would!¡±

    Qiu Honglei had a lovely smile as she replied, ¡°Miss Chu, you aren¡¯t much older than me. You might even have to call me big sister.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll know after this fight,¡± Chu Chuyan replied, her expression cold. She slowly raised her longsword.

    Those present were confused. What was going on with these two women? Why were they fighting over who would be the big sister when this battle was rted to such an important event?

    Xie Daoyun knew the insider details, so she couldn''t help but give Zu An a look. When she saw his serious expression, she thought that her big brother Zu was definitely really anxious. One was his wife, while the other was a girlfriend he was really close to. She started to feel a headache thinking about it.

    A gust of wind blew past, and Qiu Honglei¡¯s des instantly left their scabbards. The two stood facing each other. A battle was on the verge of breaking out. There was no stage, nor were there any restrictions. As such, the disciples and the other sect members all retreated far away to avoid getting needlessly hurt.

    Qiu Honglei said with a big smile, ¡°This is the daoist sects¡¯ territory, and I am a guest. How about I take the first move?¡±

    Many people cursed this Devil Sect witch for being shameless, using words to try and seize the initiative. However, it was understandable too, because of the importance of the battle. They were worried that Chu Chuyan¡¯s pride would keep her from handling the situation.

    Fortunately, Chu Chuyan said, ¡°Guests are chosen by the host. The Devil Sect¡¯s witches all deserve punishment. Apologies!¡± Her longsword seemed to turn into an icicle and stabbed straight toward Qiu Honglei¡¯s brow.

    ¡°What high-sounding words,¡± Qiu Honglei retorted with a sneer. With a twist of her waist, her entire body bent like a crescent moon, avoiding the deadly attack. At the same time, the two short des shone with a vicious glint that resembled moonlight. They drew two strange arcs, one aimed at her opponent¡¯s throat, the other right behind her.

    ¡­

    The spectating disciples gasped. Even though the battles during the Great Sects Competition were intense, they had still maintained basic etiquette. They were rarely this ferocious right from the start. More importantly, this level of ferocity wasing from two delicate-looking beauties. As their figures darted around, they looked like goddesses who had descended into this mortal world. They were so stunning that many of the onlookers couldn''t even take their eyes off the battlefield, causing them to overlook the killing intent concealed behind each move.

    As the two went back and forth, each attack was aimed at the opponent¡¯s vitals. Xie Daoyun¡¯s eyes widened. Why were the women at big brother Zu¡¯s side so terrifying in battle? For some reason, she felt her entire body turn a bit cold. She reflexively wrapped her arms around herself. Her expression was full of worry and helplessness.

 Chapter 1699: Dance of Ice and Snow

    Chapter 1699: Dance of Ice and Snow

    Whenever Chu Chuyan attacked with her sword, snowkes flew. A giant snowke projection even condensed around the tip of her sword. Meanwhile, Qiu Honglei¡¯s des flowed with divine radiance like two crescent moons.

    The snowke shed with the curved des. The snowke projection was shattered, but the ice turned into finer snowkes that swept toward Qiu Honglei like a ruthless blizzard. Every single snowke in the blizzard contained incredibly sharp sword ki, and they were everywhere, making it impossible to properly defend against. They could dice living things into mincemeat.

    Many of those with higher cultivations could recognize the danger behind the move. They thought, Chu Chuyan really is a genius among geniuses! She was already able to cultivate the Snowke Sword to such a miraculous level at such a young age!

    However, the usually calm andposed Fairy Chu¡¯s sudden disy of ferocity left them a bit surprised. They all thought that it was because of her hatred for evil ways. They felt that she really was their role model.

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s entire body erupted with brilliance. Whenever the snowkes entered the light around her, they disappeared like snow on a torch. After a momentary sh, the two of them separated again.

    Many daoist sect disciples sighed in amazement at the Devil Sect witch¡¯s formidable strength. She had actually managed to neutralize Fairy Chu¡¯s killing move in such a de-emphasized manner. However, after thinking about it, they realized she was the Peng Wuyan they had previously seen. It would be stranger if she wasn¡¯t strong. On the contrary, the one they had to wonder about was Chu Chuyan.

    Only Wu Xiaofan, Wan Guiyi, and the other representative disciples knew just how terrifying the Snowke Sword was. The wave of cold that swept out after it scattered even made them shiver. Chu Chuyan¡¯s cultivation was much higher than they had imagined. When they thought about howpetitive they had been earlier, only to find mountains towering over them one after another, they suddenly felt ignorant and narrow-minded.

    Xie Daoyun watched the battlefield carefully, as if she was scared of missing any detail. However, she quickly discovered with frustration that even though their battle hadn¡¯tsted for that long, it was enough for her to understand just how wide the difference was between herself and them. If she fought against either one of them, her chances of victory would be extremely small. That was, unless she had the time to set up a formation beforehand. Then, she could have a chance.

    ¡­

    Qiu Honglei made her move again. With a wave of her hand, a ball of light shot rapidly at Chu Chuyan.

    Wu Xiaofan, Shi Dingtian, Liang Ling, and the others¡¯ expressions changed. This was the move they had suffered from earlier. Even though the attack looked simple, it was really difficult to deal with because of its variable speed.

    Surprisingly, Chu Chuyan didn¡¯t dodge. Instead, she blew a light stream of air. A streak of cold energy condensed a piece of ice in front of her. When the ball of light hit the ice, it was reflected right back.

    Now, it was Qiu Honglei who was in a difficult position. After realizing that her attack had been countered, she naturally couldn¡¯t continue using it.

    The spectators¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief. Even some sect master-level figures were filled with shock. This Chu Chuyan really is exceptionally talented! She actually mastered the Snowke Sword to this extent? We never even thought about using cold ki that way.

    Yun Jianyue gave Zu An a strange look. She thought, Is this kid not scared of getting frozen solid if the girl¡¯s mouth is that cold?

    ¡­

    Qiu Honglei rushed at Chu Chuyan with a shout. The short des in her hand turned into moonlight. Then, a vague projection of the moon appeared behind her. Beneath the moonlight, her strike seemed impossible to dodge.

    Wu Xiaofan and the others had grave expressions. It seemed they had still underestimated this ¡®Peng Wuyan¡¯. They felt as if their very souls were trembling.

    Guan Chouhai and the others from the older generation understood the reason for that. They hadn¡¯t expected these two juniors to have already reached the threshold of producing their own domains! It seemed that breaking through to the grandmaster rank was only a matter of time for them. Their cultivation talent really was ridiculously great!

    Qiu Honglei moved with such extreme speed that the weaker spectators could only see faint afterimages. Many disciples sighed in astonishment. Qiu Honglei was actually thirty percent faster than when she had fought against Wu Xiaofan before! They all felt a bit worried for Chu Chuyan.

    The little monk Jie Se asked Master Jian Huang, ¡°Master, are light element cultivators the fastest in this world?¡±

    Master Jian Huang replied, ¡°No element is stronger or weaker than another, but there are differences between proficiencies. There are also wind element cultivators who are particrly fast. There are some fire element experts whose speed is not inferior either. In the end, it depends on the difference between the cultivators themselves. If you canprehend thews and principles of space, even speed itself bes meaningless.¡±

    The little monk Jie Se¡¯s expression was full of admiration. ¡°Since master understands so much, you¡¯ve definitelyprehended the principles of space, right?¡±

    Master Jian Huang gave him a nce, then ignored him.

    ¡­

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s attacks were like lightning. They carved deep grooves into the ground, and even some of the spectators were affected. Fortunately, the elders present quickly protected them.

    Chu Chuyan was slowly pushed back. Whenever she took a step, it left an ice flower tainted with blood. Qiu Honglei unleashed a flurry of skills, shattering the flowers one after another.

    The Heavenly Sorrow Sect¡¯s Zhao Xiaodie couldn''t help but say with a sigh, ¡°It seems this Chu Chuyan isn¡¯t a match for that witch...¡±

    She came from a noble family and had an outstanding appearance. She was supposed to gather people¡¯s adoration. And yet, in the daoist sects, Chu Chuyan had been above her, whether in terms of appearance or ability. People had always gathered around Chu Chuyan and called her a fairy, so it was difficult for Zhao Xiaodie to not feel jealous. Furthermore, from what she had heard before, Chu Chuyan even seemed to be that Zu guy¡¯s wife.

    As such, she was a bit excited to see Chu Chuyan at a disadvantage. However, when she thought about how this was rted to the prestige of the daoist sects, and that they would lose all face if Qiu Honglei won, she felt rather conflicted.

    Zhi Yin shook her head slightly and said, ¡°That may not be the case. Fairy Chu is probably not consuming too much ki by leaving behind these snowkes.¡±

    Even though he had been defeated in the group stage, he was still one of the disciples with the greatest talent among the daoist sects. He could still notice such details.

    Sure enough, as Chu Chuyan backed up further, Qiu Honglei¡¯s advance also seemed to be a bit slower than before. Even though it wasn¡¯t that clear, in the eyes of experts, the slight decrease in speed was already enough for many things to change. Qiu Honglei also realized that the situation wasn¡¯t to her benefit, and intended to break free from the situation.

    How could Chu Chuyan give her that chance, though? The longsword in her hand flew around, covering everything within fifty meters in frost. It was as if several days of snowfall happened in an instant. She turned into snow-white shadows that surrounded Qiu Honglei and attacked her.

    Wu Xiaofan, Wan Guiyi, and the others began breathing quickly. The figures weren¡¯t afterimages left by Chu Chuyan¡¯s speed; rather, they were more like her clones. Every single one looked just like Chu Chuyan herself, but they didn¡¯t have any facial details. However, when the others looked at the clones, they felt as if they were looking at the real Chuyan. They actually couldn''t figure out the principles behind the attack! That was why they were extremely shocked.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s attack didn¡¯t carry the slightest hint of vulgarity. Rather, it looked almost as if she were dancing. It really was beautiful.

    However, Qiu Honglei recognized the danger behind the beautiful disy. She tried to dodge, but her feet seemed to have sunk into ice and snow. Cold ki crept up her calves. Even though she used her ki to disperse the ki, the slight dy was enough for several white figures to arrive in front of her. Her path of escape was cut off.

    It was as if, in the next second, ten thousand swords would pierce her heart.

    ¡­

    Guan Chouhai and the other sect masters couldn''t help but give Yan Xuehen a look. They thought to themselves, Only someone like her could produce such an outstanding disciple!

    However, the White Jade Sect¡¯s Li Changsheng had already produced quite the outstanding disciple in Lou Wucheng. Seeing as Chu Chuyan was above him as well, could it be that the daoist sects would be ruled by the White Jade Sect in the future?

    In the nine sects, it seemed that only Jadefall Pce, which had two representative-level disciples in Wan Guiyi and Pei Mianman, couldpare with them.

 Chapter 1700: Enchanting Both Men and Women

    Chapter 1700: Enchanting Both Men and Women

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s shadows attacked Qiu Honglei from several different directions. Quite a few even passed directly through her body.

    The spectators craned their necks toward the stage. Many people wondered if victory and defeat had already been decided right there and then. They had never expected that Chu Chuyan could actually be this strong! Most people were extremely excited. After all, she represented the daoist sects, so her victory brought them glory too.

    Only Wan Guiyi was a bit sulky. He had been quite drawn to Qiu Honglei¡¯s strength previously. After watching her fight round after round, he had actually developed a good impression of her without realizing it. Now, however, her appearance had changed so much. Still, even though she no longer had that beauty of strength from earlier, she was still the same person after all. He really didn¡¯t want to see her just lose like that.

    Xie Daoyun looked at Zu An worriedly. These two sweethearts of his were fighting intensely. He¡¯d definitely be really hurt if Qiu Honglei ended up dying during this decisive battle, right? However, apart from a frown, Zu An didn¡¯t look too rmed. She then looked at Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen, and saw that both of them were calm too. She suddenly thought, Maybe the result hasn¡¯t been decided yet¡­

    Suddenly, the icy white energy gradually scattered, revealing Qiu Honglei inside. There was ayer of glowing moonlight surrounding her entire body that protected her. She wasn¡¯t injured at all.

    ¡°Wall of Sighs!¡± many daoist disciples cried out in surprise. They had seen her use this skill once before, but that wall could only defend against a single direction. They hadn¡¯t expected her to be able to protect her entire body! They had to admit that this Devil Sect witch was really strong.

    The light around Qiu Honglei withdrew. She said with a sneer, ¡°Is that all?!¡±

    The two des in her handbined together to form an S-shaped de. Then, she thrust it forth, and endless waves of S-shaped de ki flew toward Chu Chuyan.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s expression changed. She didn¡¯t dare to face the attack directly. She kicked off the ground and darted to one side. Mere moments after, the de ki hacked through a centuries-old tree behind where she had just been standing. The cut waspletely smooth, like a mirror¡¯s surface. If a person were to take the blow directly with their body, even if they had ki protection, they would likely still be cut in half.

    Xie Daoyun clicked her tongue in wonder. She was one of the few who knew what was actually happening. She had thought that Chu Chuyan was too vicious earlier, but now, it seemed that Qiu Honglei wasn¡¯t any better. There was something she was confused about, though. Since they were all good friends of big brother Zu, weren¡¯t they supposed to be getting along? Why were they fighting like irreconcble adversaries?

    Qiu Honglei didn¡¯t hold back at all. Instead, she continued to brandish her Moon Demon de. Towering trees copsed wherever the de ki passed. Buildings were destroyed, giant boulders crushed¡­

    When they saw the destruction, the eyelids of many of the disciples from the Righteous Sun Sect twitched. Some couldn''t help but mutter, ¡°Why is that Chu Chuyan only running away?! So many of the buildings on this mountain are being destroyed!¡±

    Watchful Heart Peak¡¯s chief disciple Zhang Xi shot them a look. He immediately defended his goddess. ¡°It¡¯s not as if you haven¡¯t seen that Moon Demon de¡¯s power before. Even Senior Brother Wu¡¯s powerful violet ki and the Green Scaled Armor couldn''t stop it. Wouldn¡¯t Fairy Chu be stupid if she took the attack directly?¡±

    Some disciples couldn''t help but retort, ¡°But if this continues, Golden Peak might even be entirely destroyed¡­¡±

    Still, they couldn''t win against Chu Chuyan¡¯s fans, who retorted, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the sect elders definitely won¡¯t let that happen.¡±

    ¡­

    Chu Chuyan seemed to overhear their discussions and deliberately avoided important structures like the Pure Yang Pce. Instead, she flew over to the peaks next to it.

    Qiu Honglei naturally continued the hunt. The two continued like that, one advancing and the other retreating. As their ki shed, it caused thunderous rumbles. A string of explosions detonated along the mountain peaks, causing countless boulders to tumble down. Fortunately, this entire ce was the Righteous Sun Sect¡¯s territory, so there were no homes for ordinary people. Otherwise, the losses would have been disastrous.

    The disciples were envious as they watched. Both of these women were actually already at the master rank! Furthermore, from the looks of it, their cultivations were stable in that realm. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t be able to fly so freely.

    The sect masters on Golden Peak cared about their status and pride, so they didn¡¯t fly over themselves. After all, the twopetitors were still within their grandmaster rank divine perception.

    ¡°Little sister Chu, do you only know how to run? In that case, why don¡¯t you just admit defeat? Don¡¯t worry, as long as you call me big sis a few times, I won¡¯t make things hard for you,¡± Qiu Honglei said. Even though she had a smile on her face, however, she didn¡¯t loosen up on the attacks at all. Her attacks were heavy, and her opponent¡¯s window to evade grew smaller and smaller.

    ¡°Little sister Qiu, did you forget how passionate you were when you called me big sister back in Brightmoon City? Why do you suddenly want me to call you big sister?¡± Chu Chuyan replied. She looked calm on the surface, as if she didn¡¯t feel anything about her current disadvantaged situation.

    Many people on Golden Peak were confused. Why were they fighting over who would be called big sister? Why did they keep bickering over that?

    Suddenly, Chu Chuyan waved her long sleeves. Her icicle-like longsword immediately split into two, then two split into four, and four into eight¡­ Eventually, several dozen swords appeared all around her. When Qiu Honglei¡¯s sword ki struck at her again, the swords around her fired outward. They shed with the des of light like meteors, releasing a blinding sh.

    Xie Daoyun couldn''t help but give Zu An a look. Chu Chuyan¡¯s sword technique was quite simr to his skill. Could it be that big brother Zu had secretly taught it to her?

    Yun Jianyue frowned slightly as well. She didn¡¯t seem to recall the Snowke Sword having such a skill, and it was quite simr to that brat Zu An¡¯s attack.

    Meanwhile, Yan Xuehen was in a bit of a daze. She thought, Chuyan really is a genius among geniuses! She was able to derive this kind of attack from the Snowke Sword just from watching Zu An.

    ¡­

    In the distance, Chu Chuyan and Qiu Honglei continued fighting at the center of the brilliant light. The longsword and curved de shed with loud and clear rings.

    Qiu Honglei was thinking about how to win when she suddenly heard Chu Chuyan say, ¡°I¡¯ll cover you. Find a chance to run then. Once you leave, there¡¯ll be nothing to worry about for your master.¡±

    Qiu Honglei was stunned. Only then did she understand that Chu Chuyan had begun flying toward this mountain peak on purpose. It was to bring her farther away from Golden Peak. For a moment, she looked conflicted. Then, she smiled sweetly and said, ¡°I can also get away once I defeat you.¡±

    While speaking, her waist twisted. Unlike her previous ferocious attacks, she now practically appeared to be dancing, carrying a mysterious and enchanting sense of charm.

    The disciples on Golden Peak all blushed, their breaths quickening. In that instant, they suddenly felt as if the goddess like Chu Chuyan wasn¡¯t as incredible anymore, and that she couldn''tpare to the Devil Sect witch. They began to feel that this Devil Sect woman was the most beautiful woman in the world. Many of them were so infatuated they couldn''t even control themselves anymore.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Even Wu Xiaofan and Wan Guiyi, who had strong willpower, felt their blood boiling.

    ¡°Amitabha buddha!¡± Master Jian Huang spoke the name of Buddha.

    The other sect masters also quickly lectured their own disciples. ¡°That is the Devil Sect¡¯s Heavenly Devil Temptation. All of you, close your eyes and calm your minds! Focus on the self!¡±

    The disciples became a bit more clear-headed again when the sect masters¡¯ pressure surrounded them. They quickly closed their eyes, but deep down, they were still incredibly flustered. Many of them still couldn''t help but sneak some looks, but once that happened, theypletely lost control.

    The sect masters and elders quickly flew around to knock those disciples who had lost themselves unconscious. At the same time, they were really rmed. Wasn¡¯t this Qiu Honglei¡¯s charm skill too absurd? Forget about the ordinary disciples, even they were starting to feel something. That was equally true for men as well as women.

    Xie Daoyun groaned, and couldn''t help but fall weakly to the ground. The memory of her nightwear being seen by big brother Zu flooded her mind, but the scene quickly changed. She didn¡¯t know why, but big brother Zu appeared under her covers. Even though she was a bit flustered, she didn¡¯t resist him¡­

    Zhao Xiaodie bit her red lips. An image of Zu An whipping her appeared in her mind. Her body couldn''t help but twist around.

    Even Chu Chuyan blushed. The intimate times she had spent with Zu An appeared in her mind. Her body couldn''t help but increasingly soften¡­

 Chapter 1701: Indecisive

    Chapter 1701: Indecisive

    Chu Chuyan was shocked when she realized that. The Devil Sect¡¯s charm skills were even effective on women?

    Yun Jianyue raised her chin proudly when she saw the results.

    Are you kidding me? If our charm skills were only effective on men, who would spend all that time cultivating it? Wouldn¡¯t that mean it could only work on half the poption?

    Of course, it wasn¡¯t without ws. Women were different from men. If they were as innocent as a white sheet of paper, the effects of the dance would be a bit weaker. However, if they had experienced intimate moments with a man, the effects would be much greater.

    Yun Jianyue looked around the area. It wasn¡¯t that effective on Miss Xie, as expected.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Hm? Why is King Qi Manor¡¯s little princess reacting like that? Could it be that she already has a lover?

    That stone cold woman¡­ Huh?

    She suddenly discovered that Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression was a bit strange. There was a faint pink hue on her usually snow-white skin. Even though it wasn¡¯t that clear, as someone who had fought against her for so many years, Yun Jianyue was probably the one who understood her the best in this entire world.

    Why is she reacting like that?

    Even though the effects were extremely weak, with her cultivation and her nature, Honglei¡¯s Heavenly Devil Temptation shouldn¡¯t have had even the slightest effect on her!

    Don¡¯t tell me she has a man?

    But how is that possible?!

    Yun Jianyue immediately discarded that suspicion. If even this stone cold woman could have a man, it would be like the sun rising in the west.

    Could it be that something went wrong with her cultivation recently?

    She began to feel eager to challenge her rival. Could she use this chance to finally win against Yan Xuehen?

    However, when she looked at Guan Chouhai and the others who were still eyeing her like tigers, she gave up on that thought in the end.

    ¡­

    Just then, something changed on the battlefield. When she saw Chu Chuyan fall for her move, Qiu Honglei suddenly vanished from her original location.

    A momentter, a hole seemed to be torn open in the sky behind Chu Chuyan. It was daytime, and yet the inside of that hole contained flickering starlight. Qiu Honglei appeared from within the tear. The demon de in her hands was like a moon as it hacked down on Chu Chuyan.

    This was her ultimate move, Neb Rend!

    The spectators all felt incredibly nervous. Even Zu An couldn''t help but lean forward.

    The move was full of destructive power, putting Chu Chuyan in danger. The curved de was about to cut into her when Qiu Honglei suddenly hesitated. The de in her hands moved a split second slower.

    Yun Jianyue cursed her disciple for being foolish inwardly. Why are you showing her mercy at such a critical time? You really are too soft-hearted.

    At almost the same time, wind and snow swept around Chu Chuyan¡¯s entire body. Her entire figure almost instantly turned into a blizzard. When the de shed past, it only passed through the wind and snow. It didn¡¯t manage to harm Chu Chuyan¡¯s real body.

    Qiu Honglei was stunned. Even though she had held back, judging from the current situation, it seemed that she might not have been able to hurt Chu Chuyan even if she didn¡¯t. She smiled and said, ¡°Little sister Chu, let¡¯spete against each other next time. Big sister is leaving now.¡± She turned into a streak of light and fled toward the horizon afterward.

    The blizzard gradually calmed down, and Chu Chuyan appeared again. In the end, she let go of the Primal Skysilk and didn¡¯t chase after her.

    The spectators were all shocked. Guan Chouhai and the others flew into the sky and were about to intercept Qiu Honglei when Yun Jianyue blocked their path. The Crescent Ring vibrated as it spun around her, seemingly ready to deliver a thunderous blow at a moment¡¯s notice.

    Guan Chouhai shouted furiously, ¡°Witch, what is the meaning of this?!¡±

    Yun Jianyue said with a sneer, ¡°I was about to ask all of you the same question. You¡¯re powerful sect masters, and yet you¡¯re going after a junior without any regard for your own identity.¡±

    Guan Chouhai harrumphed. ¡°We said that we were going to have a decisive battle, and yet your disciple ran before the fight was even finished. What are we supposed to do about that?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s obviously the result of her resourcefulness,¡± Yun Jianyue said with a smile. She thought to herself, Qiu Honglei didn¡¯t let me down after all. She really is smart. As soon as she made up her mind, she chose to run without dillydallying at all.

    She no longer had any misgivings. Even though there were many powerful experts here, none of them could keep her from escaping.

    ¡°If she¡¯s fled, that naturally means she lost,¡± Guan Chouhai said with a coldugh. ¡°ording to the agreement, you¡¯ll stay here for several decades. Don¡¯t worry. I believe that with his character, Brother Wang won¡¯t make things difficult for you. You¡¯ll just have your vicious tendencies smoothed over through the daoist ways.¡±

    Wang Wuxie remained expressionless, as if he hadn¡¯t even heard anything.

    Li Changsheng added, ¡°Your Devil Sect¡¯s people will sell your souls for gain, as expected. She is clearly your beloved disciple, and yet in a moment of life and death, she abandoned you. How cold-hearted.¡±

    Yun Jianyue rolled her eyes and retorted, ¡°Do you think our Holy Sect¡¯s people are all as inflexible as your so-called orthodox sects? Now that she¡¯s left, I don¡¯t have anything tying me down anymore. Do you still think you can keep me here?¡±

    The others¡¯ expressions changed. It wasn¡¯t impossible to keep her from leaving, but to do so, one of them could have to pay a bitter price of blood. Which one of them would want to be that unlucky person?

    Only Zu An sighed in relief. This was actually the best result for him.

    The Kunlun Void Sect¡¯s Elder Xuan Dou said, ¡°I heard that the Devil Sect Master Yun killed people without a second thought, but words are just words. Today, it seems that you are also a liar who goes back on your words.¡±

    Yun Jianyue looked at him with contempt and said, ¡°Don¡¯t try to y those little games with me. Those ordinary disciples might not have noticed anything, but there¡¯s no way you haven¡¯t. If my disciple hadn¡¯t held back, that Chu girl might already have been a corpse by now.¡±

    Meanwhile, Chu Chuyan had just returned. She remainedpletely calm and didn¡¯t say anything.

    The others frowned slightly when they heard that. They had indeed sensed that Qiu Honglei had shown mercy in that instant, and that was also what they found the hardest to understand. A Devil Sect witch had actually held back against an orthodox disciple? Could it be that she was worried that she would end up incurring great enmity from Yan Xuehen by killing Chu Chuyan, and so there would be an even smaller chance of the Devil Sect master and disciple leaving together?

    Yan Xuehen knew what was going on. She naturally didn¡¯t want her disciple to feel wronged and said, ¡°Witch, you should understand that my Chuyan also held back just now.¡±

    Yun Jianyue harrumphed, but she didn¡¯t argue. She was quite frustrated inwardly, though. What was going on with these two? Had they ended up fighting over the same man for so long that they ended up getting along with each other? It was one thing for that Chu girl, but Honglei had grown up in the Holy Sect, so why was she suddenly growing so indecisive too?

    What in the world? Are they really going to put on this kind and loving pretense?

    She felt extremely annoyed. With a wave of her sleeve, she said, ¡°Whatever. They¡¯re pretty much equal in strength, so you¡¯ll ept a draw, right? Since we didn¡¯t lose, can I leave now?¡±

    The daoist sect masters exchanged a look. With their status, forcing her to stay here seemed a bit inappropriate, and yet letting her go just like that would be losing too much dignity.

    Just then, Zu An said, ¡°Sect Master Yun, since you were the ones established this bet, I can¡¯t say too much. But if we meet again in the future, I won¡¯t let you leave so easily.¡±

    Yun Jianyue harrumphed. ¡°Look at this pretty boy talking all big. Those words would sound more believable if it were your emperor who spoke them. But my mood is pretty good today, so I won¡¯t argue with you guys. Don¡¯t start begging me for mercy if we bump into each other in the future.¡± She swung her sleeves afterward, then instantly disappeared into the distance.

    Yan Xuehen cursed inwardly. These two really were quite the actors! If not for the fact that she knew about their rtionship, she might have just been deceived too.

    Guan Chouhai asked Zu An with a frown, ¡°Sir Zu, isn¡¯t it rather inappropriate for you to just let that witch go?¡±

    Many people cursed inwardly. Look at this damn old fox, immediately shifting the me onto Zu An.

    However, they knew it was to protect the dignity of the daoist sects. After all, they had to listen to the court¡¯s decisions too.

    Zu An said seriously, ¡°His majesty¡¯s Fengshan Ceremony is at hand, which is the most important thing. Letting all these side issues affect the timing and location of the setting will only bring trouble.¡± After mingling around the capital for so long, he had already learned how to thrive in such situations. Sure enough, when the others heard that, they didn¡¯t say anything else.

    Zu An was worried about Pei Mianman¡¯s safety and didn¡¯t continue to chat with them. Instead, he hurried to the courtyard from the previous night. When he arrived at that familiar room, he found the wardrobe Yun Jianyue had told him about. When he opened it up, he saw a hiddenpartment. Pei Mianman was lying there like a sleeping beauty.

    He undid her seals, and Pei Mianman gradually woke up. When she saw that it was him, she jumped into his arms enthusiastically and cried, ¡°Ah Zu, I thought that I wouldn¡¯t be able to see you anymore!¡±

    Zu An sighed in relief. It seemed that she really didn¡¯t know what had happened the previous night.

    Suddenly, he felt a chill behind him. He turned around and saw that both Yan Xuehen and Chu Chuyan were quietly standing by the door, staring at the two of them embracing each other lovingly. He immediately got a huge headache.

 Chapter 1702: Champion

    Chapter 1702: Champion

    ¡°Oh, you two are here,¡± Zu An said with an awkwardugh. ¡°That Yun Jianyue really is devious and actually tied her up to let her disciple win.¡±

    Pei Mianman jumped in fright and left Zu An¡¯s arms. For some reason, she always felt a bit flustered whenever she saw Chu Chuyan. However, she quickly stopped that train of thought. She had clearly spent more time with Zu An, so why did she feel guilty?

    Still, even though that made logical sense, the feeling was an entirely separate matter.

    Yan Xuehen smiled and said, ¡°If that witch knew that you were talking behind her back like that, she would definitely make sure you pay the price for thatter.¡±

    ¡°With big sis Yan covering me, I don¡¯t need to be scared of her,¡± Zu An said. Inwardly, he thought, I haven¡¯t gotten even with Yun Jianyue yet. We were tossing and turning right in this room the previous night, in all kinds of high-difficulty positions, but she didn¡¯t tell me that Manman was hidden right here.

    There was a bit of surprise in Chu Chuyan¡¯s eyes. Even though she had heard that they¡¯d spent some time together in the Fiend races¡¯ territory, wasn¡¯t their tone with each other a bit too familiar? However, she didn¡¯t think too much about it either, and instead walked over to support Pei Mianman, asking her if she was unwell at all. After all, Manman was one of her few friends over the years.

    When she heard the concern in Chu Chuyan¡¯s voice, Pei Mianman sighed. Chuyan, if you were just a bit worse of a person, I wouldn¡¯t have to feel so conflicted.

    The others from the daoist sects also followed. Elder Huo Ling received the news as well and rushed over. When she saw that Pei Mianman was safe, she immediately took her disciple firmly into her arms. She was so moved she couldn''t even utter any words.

    When he saw the faint glimmers of tears at the corners of her eyes, even though Zu An was still a bit unhappy about this elder, he acknowledged that she really did treat Manman well.

    After all, Manman¡¯s history was special. Even though she had been born under the Pei n, she basically hadn¡¯t experienced any real familial warmth.

    ¡°Now that the Devil Sect witches¡¯ plot has been thwarted, Miss Pei¡¯s discovery really is delightful news,¡± Guan Chouhai said with a smile. However, he quickly thought of another issue and asked, ¡°But how should we decide the victor of thispetition?¡±

    Elder Huo Ling gave him a re and said, ¡°Our Manman has already reached the finals and her opponent was the Devil Sect witch. She ran away herself, so the victor is obviously Manman.¡±

    Feng Wuchang said, ¡°It¡¯s a bit inappropriate to just decide things like that, right? Perhaps we should hold another battle topensate for the witch¡¯s disappearance. Whether it is in terms of character or cultivation, Wu Xiaofan has earned people¡¯s approval. I feel that it is quite suitable for him to take Qiu Honglei¡¯s ce.¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Cave Master Mu said, ¡°Our Supreme Mystery Cave was also defeated by that witch. Why is only Wu Xiaofan allowed to enter the finals, while our Shi Dingtian cannot?¡±

    Wang Wuxie finally spoke up and said, ¡°We can let Wu Xiaofan and Shi Dingtian fight a round. The one who wins will enter the finals.¡±

    Wan Tongtian sneered and said, ¡°What a joke. All of you have your own excuses. Can I say that the reason why Wan Guiyi lost to Wu Xiaofan was because he was seriously injured, and that if they had fought a fair battle, he might not have lost? Since we¡¯re doing it all over again, why not let Wan Guiyi fight another round too?¡±

    The other sects¡¯ representatives also began to argue noisily when they heard that. The room suddenly became as noisy as a food market.

    Xie Daoyun, who was hiding in a corner, wrinkled her nose. Before she came to Violet Mountain, she had thought that these daoist sect seniors were all mighty and lofty individuals, and yet once she got to know them, they seemed no different from the peddlers and carriers of the markets.

    Li Changsheng coughed lightly and said, ¡°From my perspective, perhaps we should Chu Chuyan take the ce of the witch to fight a round against Lady Pei?¡±

    His disciple had previously lost to Shi Dingtian in a fair battle, so that was why he didn¡¯t suggest a rematch. However, Chu Chuyan was also from the White Jade Sect. As long as they won, the Wordless Edict would still belong to their sect, so it would still be a huge win.

    The entire ce fell silent then. They quickly concluded that Chu Chuyan was the most suitable candidate. Firstly, she had great prestige among the daoist sects. Secondly, they had all witnessed her great battle against Qiu Honglei. There was definitely nothing wrong with her strength.

    Just then, Chu Chuyan said, ¡°I do not wish to join thepetition. My mission was merely to face the Devil Sect¡¯s Saintess, and I have alreadypleted that task.¡± Whether it was because of Zu An or Pei Mianman, she didn¡¯t want to fight and ruin their rtionship.

    Pei Mianman was stunned when she heard that. She looked at Chuyan with a conflicted expression.

    The others panicked when they heard that Chu Chuyan didn¡¯t want to fight. They all advised her to change her mind. However, she was like a block of ice. No matter what they said, she didn¡¯t react in the slightest.

    ¡°Since Chuyan is unwilling, you should not trouble her further,¡± Yan Xuehen said. She naturally understood her disciple¡¯s intentions.

    That brat Zu An really is blessed. The girls might look as if they¡¯re fighting against each other, but they¡¯re all quite kind inside.

    The others all gave in when they heard her speak up. They didn¡¯t try to advise Chuyan any further.

    Only Guan Chouhai grumbled, ¡°But if Miss Chu doesn¡¯t participate, it¡¯ll be quite hard to convince the masses of this result¡­¡±

    Zu An replied with a smile, ¡°What¡¯s so difficult about that? We can just make Miss Pei the victor.¡±

    Pei Mianman¡¯s face heated up. If not for the fact that so many people were watching right now, she would have tugged on his sleeves. She had never even had any thoughts of taking first ce before.

    Guan Chouhai said in dissatisfaction, ¡°Even though Miss Pei¡¯s cultivation isn¡¯t weak, she got byes all the way here. What she relied on was luck. That won¡¯t convince everyone.¡±

    Elder Huo Ling said unhappily, ¡°Hmph, the fact that she defeated your disciple is at least a genuine victory. Are you going to say that your disciple is that much weaker than the other representative disciples?¡±

    Guan Chouhai choked. Zhi Yin was also full of resentment. He had finally managed to get over that loss, and yet he was getting kicked in the gut again.

    Zu An remarked, ¡°So what if it was through luck? Cultivation relies firstly on effort, and secondly on luck. Miss Pei already disyed her true strength in her fight against Zhi Yin. Furthermore, the byes she acquired indicate that her luck is superior to that of ordinary people. That means her future potential is clearly limitless. She is definitely as good of a candidate for first ce as anyone else here.¡± When he saw that they were still hesitating a bit, he added, ¡°If we really let Wu Xiaofan, Shi Dingtian, and the others who lost to Qiu Honglei take first ce, wouldn¡¯t the Devil Sect die fromughter?¡±

    The daoist sects suddenly woke up to that realization when they heard him say those words. They no longer argued any further.

    ¡­

    Just like that, Pei Mianman somehow ended up winning the entirepetition. Perhaps because she hadn¡¯t obtained victory through a battle, the congrattory banquet seemed a bit cheerless. The others¡¯ reactions weren¡¯t as enthusiastic as expected. Many disciples weren¡¯t convinced that Pei Mianman deserved to be in first ce. While she had only defeated Zhi Yin alone as a formidable opponent, hadn¡¯t the other representative disciples all gone through a lot more?

    Zhi Yin felt even more unhappy when he sensed resentment everywhere. However, after thinking about it, the only one he lost to had ended up bing the champion, which didn¡¯t seem as hard to ept anymore.

    During the awards ceremony, Wang Wuxie presented all sorts of treasures to the top ten. Even though the items were really precious, they weren¡¯t anything special for Zu An at his current level.

    Only when the Wordless Edict was handed to Jadefall Pce did Zu An give it a second look, as his divine sense could reach Pei Mianman.

    The book lookedpletely ordinary and was made of an unknown material. From the looks of it, it was like a stone carving. As expected, it only had a single character. However, there was a profound and mysterious air to it.

    Zu An thought to himself, I have to look for a chance to examine it.

    ¡­

    In contrast, the daoist sects¡¯ reactions were much calmer. After all, the Wordless Edict had already been passed along the daoist sects for over a thousand years, and yet countless brilliant geniuses hadn¡¯t been able to see through its secrets. Many people even wondered if the book even contained any secrets at all.

    The little monk Jie Se asked the old monk next to him, ¡°Master, do you know the secret of this Wordless Edict?¡±

    ¡°If I knew that, I would be the leader of the daoist sects right now,¡± Master Jian Huang snapped impatiently, as if he were looking down on his disciple for asking such a stupid question.

    ¡°Does our Buddhist sect have anything on the same level as the Wordless Edict?¡± Jie Se asked, feeling a bit envious of that Wordless Edict.

    ¡°Of course. The Pattra Sutra is on the same level as the Wordless Edict,¡± Master Jian Huang said, but his expression suddenly grew dim. ¡°Still, it is something that even I have unfortunately only heard of, but never seen. There may not even be many disciples left in this world who have truly seen it.¡±

 Chapter 1703: Requesting Help

    Chapter 1703: Requesting Help

    ¡°Then isn¡¯t that the same as not having one?¡± Jie Se asked with a pout.

    Master Jian Huang didn¡¯t bother saying anything else and just gave his disciple¡¯s bald head a vicious beating.

    Then, Wang Wuxie dered the opening of the daoist sect''s secret dungeon the next day. The nine winners of the group stage and the four second-ce group stage members with the best results, together with Chu Chuyan, made up the candidates who had the right to enter the secret dungeon.

    Among them, Emptiness Isle¡¯s Peng Wuyan took Qiu Honglei¡¯s spot. Even though she hadn¡¯t fought, she was still a representative disciple, so people were still okay with that.

    Wan Guiyi suddenly found Peng Wuyan¡¯s familiar face extremely unfamiliar and puzzling. It was clearly the same appearance, but why didn¡¯t it possess that aesthetic of strength anymore?

    ¡­

    After the announcement, the crowd gradually scattered. The various sects began to prepare their disciples for the next day¡¯s secret dungeon exploration. At the same time, many of them enthusiastically discussed the Devil Sect Master and Saintess. Even though they were all speaking righteously on the surface, the two women had clearly left a deep impression on them.

    The murderous great demoness was actually so beautiful! That Devil Sect Saintess was also a beauty, not inferior to Fairy Chu at all. Furthermore, her dance had left them with a rich aftertaste even now¡­

    After Zu An returned to his room, he opened up the Rage system. He had collected a total of 84,593 Rage points. He wanted to get some Faith in Brother Spring and other medicines for Chu Chuyan and Pei Mianman. After all, he couldn''t enter the secret dungeon this time and couldn''t watch over them on their end. Even though with their cultivation, it wasn¡¯t supposed to be that dangerous for them, secret dungeons were always ces that no one truly knew everything about. It was still better to be careful.

    When he pressed the button to start, ¡®Thank you for ying!¡¯ messages continued to show up, but they couldn''t make him feel a thing anymore.

    In the end, however, the keyboardnded on the R key.

    Congrattions! You have won a Nickname Card!

    You can temporarily change a person¡¯s name.

    This wasn¡¯t the first time Zu An had obtained the item. The first time he got it, he had thought that it was useless rubbish, but he had discovered that this thing was actually quite the miraculous item in the right situation.

    At any other time, obtaining the Nickname Card would have made him really happy, but he didn¡¯t feel the same way right now at all. After all, he hadn¡¯t obtained any treatment medicines or defensive artifacts.

    For some reason, his eyes twitched whenever he thought of this daoist sect dungeon, as if something bad was going to happen.

    Suddenly, there was a light knock on the door. Zu An looked up and saw Xie Daoyun standing timidly by the entrance. He asked with a smile, ¡°What is it, little sister Ling¡¯er?¡±

    Xie Daoyun hesitated a bit, then took out two talismans and said, ¡°Big brother Zu, these are two Last Breath Talismans that I drew myself. Even though the effects aren¡¯t as good as teacher¡¯s, they can still be helpful. You should give these to Miss Chu and Miss Pei.¡±

    Zu An was briefly stunned, but then he was extremely happy. He had been feeling worried about what to give the two women and hadn¡¯t expected Xie Daoyun toe forward in his time of need.

    ¡°Thank you so much, little sister Ling¡¯er!¡± Zu An said. He suggested, ¡°Why don¡¯t you give it to them? You know both of them, after all.¡±

    Xie Daoyun shook her head and said, ¡°I actually came to Violet Mountain secretly and didn¡¯t reveal my identity, so I can¡¯t show myself in public. It would be the same thing if big brother Zu gives it to them. I saw that you were really frustrated just now and kept sighing, so I knew that it was probably out of worry for the two of them.¡±

    Zu An said gratefully, ¡°Little sister Ling¡¯er really understands people well. Whomever has the fortune of marrying you truly will be blessed.¡±

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s cheeks turned red. She pouted yfully and replied, ¡°Big brother Zu~¡±

    Zu Anughed and said, ¡°Then I¡¯ll be going. I¡¯ll be sure to tell them that it was your goodwill.¡±

    Xie Daoyun blushed and didn¡¯t say anything else.

    When she saw how Chu Chuyan and Qiu Honglei had fought against each other, she had thought to herself that improving her rtionship with the two wouldn¡¯t necessarily be too bad of an idea¡­

    ¡­

    Zu An arrived in front of the White Jade Sect¡¯s area For some reason, Yan Xuehen didn¡¯te out to see him, so he went straight to Chu Chuyan and gave her the Last Breath Talisman.

    Chu Chuyan was surprised and happy, saying, ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Zu An told her that it was something prepared by Xie Daoyun, but then Chu Chuyan¡¯s expression became a bit strange. However, she still said, ¡°Please thank her for me. I thought that she was a good person back in Brightmoon City. She doesn¡¯t put on airs like a normal noble at all.¡±

    After chatting for a bit, they inadvertently ended up talking about thepetition. Zu An asked, ¡°You¡¯re not wounded, right?¡±

    Chu Chuyan shook her head slightly and said, ¡°I¡¯m not. Even though my battle with Miss Qiu was fierce, neither of us really went all out. That¡¯s why it only looked frightening.¡±

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°That¡¯s good then, that¡¯s good.¡±

    Chu Chuyan suddenly said with a sigh, ¡°Back then in Brightmoon City, she was crying and begging to call me big sister, and saying she was going to be your concubine, and yet she came here to try and be the big sister. If I had known things would end up like this, I would have just agreed back then.¡±

    Zu An immediately began to sweat. Even though she looks pretty calm and aloof on the surface, she¡¯s probably not that happy about this. She has to have gone through a lot to ept all of this¡­

    A whileter, Chu Chuyan suddenly said, ¡°You should head over to Manman. You probably have one for her too, right?¡±

    Zu An said with an awkward smile, ¡°It wasn¡¯t me who prepared it for her. It was Miss Xie.¡±

    Chu Chuyan merely chuckled. Zu An couldn¡¯t meet her clear and cold gaze anymore and ran away.

    When he left, Yan Xuehen appeared in the room and remarked, ¡°That kid is so fickle. Is he really worth it?¡±

    Chu Chuyan held the talisman close. There was a gentle smile on her face as she murmured, ¡°Why did I have to bump into him back then? Maybe it¡¯s fate¡­¡±

    Yan Xuehen sighed and said, ¡°It really might just be fate.¡±

    Chu Chuyan gave her a look of surprise. Why did it almost seem as if her master felt those emotions stronger than she did?n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An ran over to Jadefall Pce¡¯s area. Because of Pei Mianman¡¯s disappearance, Elder Huo Ling was even more strict now, not leaving her side for any reason. She interrogated anyone who approached her disciple like a criminal. Thus, Zu An didn¡¯t have the chance to share any intimate words with Pei Mianman, and left after giving her the Last Breath Talisman.

    When he left, Elder Huo Ling stared at her disciple and said, ¡°Manman, tell me honestly. What is your rtionship with him?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s previous instances of assistance could be exined, but he had helped her be first ce, and he had even given her something so precious. That was definitely not something that could be exined just with infatuation.

    Helpless to do anything else, Pei Mianman could only vaguely describe her rtionship with Zu An. After all, just the thought of her master always getting in their way was a headache to think about.

    ¡°There are no good men in this world!¡± Elder Huo Ling cried, turning pale from fright when she heard about their private rtionship. She felt as if her precious pearl had been swallowed by a swine. But when she thought about how Zu An had helped her, she still added, ¡°But this kid isn¡¯t that bad. He¡¯s at least a bit better than Wan Tongtian back then.¡± Then, she added with a frown, ¡°But he is a bit too fickle. I heard that he has an unclear rtionship with that White Jade Sect¡¯s Chu girl.¡±

    Pei Mianman carefully exined, ¡°They were actually husband and wife before¡­¡±

    Elder Huo Ling immediately cried out in rm before she could finish, ¡°No way, no way, then aren¡¯t you going to be a concubine? Someone like you deserves a man who ispletely devoted to you!¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re already divorced¡­¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s still not okay. Why would you want something another woman doesn¡¯t even want?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not really it¡­¡±

    ¡­

    The next morning, the daoist sects all gathered on Golden Peak. The Righteous Sun Sect¡¯s elders started to open up the secret dungeon. Zu An was then surprised to discover that the so-called secret dungeon was actually hidden in the Wordless Edict!

    The Wordless Edict opened up, and a group of daoists performed a ritual. Streaks of ck and blue light shone from the book, casting out a wormhole-like gate of light nearby. The qualified candidates bid their sects goodbye, then entered the gate one after the other.

    Chu Chuyan and Pei Mianman also secretly said goodbye to Zu An. Zu An wanted to suggest that they work together inside, but he was worried that his suggestion would produce the opposite effect. The two were good friends, though. If they really encountered something, they would know what to do.

    When people were finished entering, the portal disappeared. The Wordless Edict returned to normal. The gate would open up again half a monthter. As for what they could acquire in the secret dungeon, that would depend on their own luck.

    Because the Wordless Edict now belonged to Jadefall Pce, Wan Tongtian and Elder Huo Ling guarded it together to prevent something from happening to it, lest danger befall the disciples inside. The other sects were worried, so they also ced experts nearby.

    Zu An felt a bit more at ease when he saw that.

    ...

    After leaving Golden Peak, he intended to say something to Yan Xuehen, but he didn¡¯t see her anywhere. He assumed that she was probably hiding from him, so he could only return to his own ce out of helplessness.

    When he returned, he saw that Xie Daoyun was lying in bed asleep. He found that a bit strange. Suddenly, he frowned and stared deeper inside.

    A woman with hair that cascaded down her back like a waterfall walked out, remarking, ¡°Tsk tsk, our Sir Zu is pretty blessed, no? He has a beautiful mistress wherever he goes.¡±

    ¡°Big sis Yun!¡± Zu An eximed happily. He saw the beautiful woman behind her too and said, ¡°Honglei! So both of you came.¡±

    Qiu Honglei said with a smile, ¡°It almost feels as if we¡¯re disturbing your happy time.¡±

    Zu An replied with a smile, ¡°What are you saying? You two know why Miss Xie came here too. I was just worried that you two would be noticed by those daoists.¡±

    Yun Jianyue said with a snort, ¡°In my eyes, those daoist sects are nothing at all.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but ask, ¡°You might not be worried, but what about Honglei?¡±

    Yun Jianyue rolled her eyes and retorted, ¡°Doesn¡¯t she still have you? If the two of us worked together, I refuse to believe that anyone could do anything to her.¡±

    Qiu Honglei was speechless. Master, this isn¡¯t what you used to say when you tried to stop me and Ah Zu from getting together¡­

    Zu An said with augh, ¡°That¡¯s true.¡±

    ¡°Ah¡­ It pisses me off just thinking about it! Honglei had a chance of looking around that daoist secret dungeon too, and then we could have just looted all of those daoists¡¯ treasures. That would have been really exciting to see,¡± Yun Jianyue said. She was a bit upset, especially since today was the day the others had gone inside the dungeon.

    Zu An asked curiously, ¡°Just how did those Emptiness Isle people escape? Did you find out why?¡±

    ¡°I haven¡¯t had time yet. There¡¯s something more important to take care of right now,¡± Yun Jianyue said with a cough.

    Qiu Honglei seemed to have woken up from a daze. She said, ¡°Ah Zu, actually, we came here today because we needed your help with something. We need you to rescue someone for us.¡±

 Chapter 1704: Spy

    Chapter 1704: Spy

    ¡°Fine!¡± Zu An immediately agreed.

    ¡°You¡¯re not even going to ask who it is we want you to save? You¡¯re just going to agree?¡± Qiu Honglei asked, stunned.

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°If it¡¯s you two asking me for help, forget about one favor, even if it were ten or a hundred, I¡¯d still brave any dangers to achieve them.¡±

    Qiu Honglei had a strange expression as she thought, Wasn¡¯t it just me who was asking for a favor? Why are you saying ¡®you two¡¯?

    ¡°Look at this slick kid. I really wonder just what part of you Honglei likes so much,¡± Yun Jianyue said, rolling her eyes as if she were looking down on him.

    Zu An smiled. This woman really is interesting. She¡¯s going so far as to put up an act even in front of her disciple¡­

    Even though Qiu Honglei felt that the other two¡¯s expressions were a bit strange, she didn¡¯t think too much about it. She said, ¡°Ah Zu, this is the situation. You should know the Imperial Pce¡¯s Concubine Bai, right?¡±

    ¡°Concubine Bai?¡± Zu An repeated, stunned. He suddenly recalled the beautiful woman who always gave off the scent of flowers. He continued, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me she¡¯s the one you want to save?¡±

    Yun Jianyue said with a nod, ¡°Rouxue is my junior sister. In the past, she received a mission from the Holy Sect to infiltrate the Imperial Pce as a spy, but we suddenly lostmunication with her a few days ago. ording to our sources, her identity might have been exposed. That¡¯s why we need your help.¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An was a bit surprised. He hadn¡¯t expected that delicate and gentle woman to be someone from the Devil Sect. Still, it wasn¡¯t all that shocking. After all, Concubine Bai had seemed to offer some help when Yun Jianyue and the others invaded the Imperial Pce. After he rescued Yun Jianyue, her attitude had always been rather good to him.

    Seeing as he didn¡¯t say anything, Yun Jianyue continued, ¡°From what I know, Rouxue has actually treated you quite well.¡±

    Zu An sighed and said, ¡°So it was because of that. I thought it was because she thought I was handsome, so she had a good impression of me.¡±

    Qiu Honglei and Yun Jianyue were speechless. They both thought, I¡¯ve never seen such a shameless person in my life.

    Zu An put his smile away and said, ¡°But from what I know, the emperor is already on the way to Violet Mountain. Was Concubine Bai brought out, or was she imprisoned in the pce? Or perhaps¡­¡± He refrained from mentioning the worst oue. There was a high chance that she had already been secretly executed.

    Qiu Honglei shook her head and said, ¡°Our current intelligence is also limited. After our assault on the Imperial Pce, we lost a lot of our eyes in the pce. There¡¯s been practically no useful information for us to obtain. In the end, we could only ask for your help.¡±

    Yun Jianyue harrumphed. ¡°Rouxue¡¯s identity is one of the Holy Sect¡¯s greatest secrets. No more than three people know her identity. If not for the fact that we¡¯re treating you as one of our own, there¡¯s no way we would have told you even if something happened to her.¡±

    ¡°Master~¡± Qiu Honglei called out, giving her an upset look. Her master¡¯s temper was one thing, but they were asking for help right now¡­ Couldn''t she sound a bit nicer?

    Yun Jianyue naturally guessed what Qiu Honglei was thinking. She thought, This silly child, did she get confused from all of those battles? Why is she suddenly scared of upsetting that brat?

    Qiu Honglei quickly realized that with both master and disciple asking him for help, if he refused, they would have really chosen to trust the wrong person.

    Sure enough, Zu An quickly nodded and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Leave this to me. But you two need to be mentally prepared, because I might not be able to save her.¡±

    ¡°Ah Zu really is the best!¡± Qiu Honglei eximed as she clung to his arm happily. She thought, He didn¡¯t get angry even though master was so rude to him. He¡¯s definitely so nice because of me! He really is so good to me.

    Yun Jianyue felt a bit annoyed when she saw the two so close together. She said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I know this situation is a bit difficult. Whether you seed or not, we¡¯ll remember this favor.¡±

    ¡°Oh!¡± Zu An suddenly added. ¡°If Concubine Bai is your junior sister, why has her cultivation always seemed to be nothing special?¡±

    She had loaned him her spice bag that hid her cultivation, but that spice bag¡¯s effects were limited. Yun Jianyue was a grandmaster, so wasn¡¯t this junior sister of hers a bit toocking?

    ¡°That little white flower in her hair is a special seal on her cultivation. After all, she was entering the imperial family, so having a high cultivation would only be a bad thing,¡± Yun Jianyue exined. ¡°Furthermore, Rouxue walks a different path from me. She cultivates another special technique of the Holy Sect that¡¯s a bit simr to the Voice of the Devil, but it doesn¡¯t excel in fighting.¡±

    Zu An suddenly understood everything. It was no wonder that, regardless of what kind of outfit Concubine Bai had, she always had that little white flower on her head. He had thought that it was just because she liked flowers before. If her cultivation technique was simr to the Voice of the Devil, could it also be a type of charm skill? Indeed, Concubine Bai had a gentle and delicate air about her that made men unable to help but want to cherish her. Was the flower fragrance she gave off also a unique trait of her cultivation?

    Of course, he couldn''t ask these two about such things.

    Seeing as Zu An had agreed, Yun Jianyue nodded. She was about to leave with Qiu Honglei when she suddenly noticed her disciple¡¯s reluctant gaze. After some hesitation, she said, ¡°I¡¯ll wait for you two outside.¡± She turned around and left afterward. If she didn¡¯t see them doing it, she wouldn¡¯t get as annoyed.

    Qiu Honglei felt a bit embarrassed. Suddenly, she didn¡¯t know what to do.

    Zu Anughed when he saw her bashful appearance. He remarked, ¡°Where did that flower courtesan who enchanted everyone in all of Brightmoon City go? Why is the Devil Sect Saintess who left all of those daoist sect disciples speechless with her dance suddenly so shy?¡±

    ¡°Come on, you¡¯re different from other people!¡± Qiu Honglei replied with a pout.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Yun Jianyue was nearby, leaning against a tree. Even though she looked calm on the surface, she actually perked up her ears. She felt a bit irritated as she listened to their lovers¡¯ talk. Still, she knew that she didn¡¯t have the right to feel angry in the current situation. She felt even worse when she realized that.

    Suddenly, she shivered and backed up roughly a dozen meters. She looked in a certain direction vigntly. There, a woman in white was standing in the entryway. Her stunning facecked all expression, as if she were a thousand-year-old cier.

    ¡°If I decided to ambush you just now, you might have already died,¡± Yan Xuehen said with a frown. ¡°That¡¯s not like you. Why were you so distracted?¡±

    Yun Jianyue was relieved, but she didn¡¯t dare to admit it on the surface. She retorted, ¡°Wow, what a shameless boast. I was clearly baiting you on purpose earlier. You don¡¯t know how lucky you are.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Yan Xuehen replied, staring nkly for a moment, but she didn¡¯t suspect much. After all, with Yun Jianyue¡¯s cultivation, her opening statement was a bit excessive.

    Yun Jianyue was really confused. She fired back, ¡°Why are you suddenlying to your disciple¡¯s ce when she¡¯s in the secret dungeon? Won¡¯t rumors start if news of that gets out?¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s ice-cold expression revealed a hint of a blush. She was rmed, wondering if Yun Jianyue somehow knew about her and Ah Zu. However, she was a smart person and quickly calmed down. She retorted, ¡°Isn¡¯t there someone else who¡¯s also running to their disciple¡¯s ce?¡±

    Yun Jianyue was rmed. At that moment, both women panicked, standing stiffly in ce.

    Fortunately, Zu An came out to check on the situation when he heard the noise. He was extremely happy to see Yan Xuehen, saying, ¡°Big sis Yan, you also came.¡±

    Yan Xuehen saw that Qiu Honglei¡¯s upper body was practically sticking to him. Her expression turned cold as she said, ¡°Sir Zu, you are a court official, yet you are ying around with a Devil Sect witch. Furthermore, the daoist sects have gathered all over this mountain. If they found out about this, how would you deal with that situation then?¡±

    ¡°Stone cold woman, can you clean your mouth before you speak? Who are you trying to scare here? The two of them are perfect for each other, so stop trying to drive a wedge between them,¡± Yun Jianyue snapped in annoyance. She just felt like Yan Xuehen was trying to help her own disciple by spouting some so-called righteousness.

    Yan Xuehen frowned. Her expression became even colder.

    Sensing that the temperature in the entire courtyard seemed to be dropping, Qiu Honglei was too embarrassed to be so intimate with Zu An anymore. She quickly stood up and greeted Yan Xuehen respectfully. ¡°Many thanks to senior and Lady Chu for helping me that day.¡±

    Yan Xuehen said indifferently, ¡°I am different from those who let lust dominate their thoughts. Why would I ever let you go on purpose?¡±

    Yun Jianyue said with a smile, ¡°This stone cold woman is always so hypocritical. She clearly did it, and yet she can¡¯t admit it. You didn¡¯t join those people in going against me, so I still owe you a favor. If you ever end up surrounded by the Holy Sect¡¯s people, I¡¯ll let you go once too.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t need it!¡± Yan Xuehen snapped, looking away.

    The two were arguing against each other on the surface, but they both knew that after fighting together in the Fiend races¡¯ territory, there was no way they could do something so shameless as attacking the other side with a group. Of course, they were still on opposing sides. If they faced each other in a fair battle, they would still fight properly.

    Yun Jianyue gave her a look of disdain and said, ¡°Hmph, if you ever find a man, sooner orter, you¡¯ll definitely lose him because of that duplicity of yours.¡±

    However, she almostughed in self-mockery after saying that. If Yan Xuehen were to look for a man, the line to talk to her would probably reach all the way from Violet Mountain to the capital. Who would be willing to let her go?

    Unbeknownst to her, those words struck a sore spot, leaving Yan Xuehen rmed for a moment.

    Because of Yan Xuehen, Qiu Honglei couldn''t continue to talk intimately with Zu An. Furthermore, there were all sorts of troublesome things to take care of back in the Devil Sect, so they found some excuse to leave. Soon after, only Zu An and Yan Xuehen were left in the courtyard.

    ¡°And here I was thinking you would never look for me again,¡± Zu An said happily. After all, she had been avoiding him whenever he looked for her.

    Yan Xuehen was startled. She quickly said, ¡°I came because there¡¯s something important to talk about. I think there¡¯s something wrong with Wang Wuxie right now.¡±

 Chapter 1705: Royal Family Chaos

    Chapter 1705: Royal Family Chaos

    ¡°What kind of problem?¡± Zu An asked, stunned. When he saw her serious expression, he didn¡¯t dare to joke any further.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s pretty brows furrowed. She replied, ¡°Think about it. When Yun Jianyue was exposed, as the leader of the daoist sects, wasn¡¯t Wang Wuxie a bit too quiet?¡±

    Zu An recalled the previous situation and reflexively nodded. Back then, Wang Wuxie seemed to havecked more presence than even Watchful Heart Peak Master Feng Wuchang. Furthermore, Wang Wuxie hadn¡¯t interfered when Yun Jianyue was about to attack Feng Wuchang. It was actually Master Jian Huang who had saved him.

    ¡°Also, when the secret dungeon was opened, Wang Wuxie didn¡¯t say much either. His behavior just seems really strange,¡± Yan Xuehen continued. Even though she was frowning, she was still extremely beautiful.

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°Maybe his condition has just been poor these past few days. He said earlier that he had something he needed to work with the emperor on for the Fengshan Ceremony. Maybe his attention isn¡¯t on the daoist faction right now? His cultivation is so high, there¡¯s no way someone could be impersonating him the way Yun Jianyue impersonated Elder Peng, right?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s an impersonation. He¡¯s probably still Wang Wuxie, but I just feel that something is strange¡­¡± Yan Xuehen trailed off, hesitating for a moment. Eventually, she said, ¡°You¡¯ve probably heard that Wang Wuxie pursued me in the past¡­¡±

    ¡°What do you mean, pursued? He was crazily infatuated with you,¡± Zu An said with a sigh. After all, no one wanted another man to keep thinking about their woman.

    ¡°That was nothing more than his one-sided attention. I¡¯ve never liked him,¡± Yan Xuehen quickly replied. She was stunned after she said that, too. Why did she have to exin such a thing to him?

    Zu An felt a bit happy when he heard the enthusiasm in her reply. He asked, ¡°What does him liking you have to do with what you just said?¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s face turned a bit red. She said in embarrassment, ¡°Ever since I arrived at Violet Mountain, I¡¯ve gotten the impression that Wang Wuxie was no longer as¡­ crazy as before. However, asionally, he still¡­ looked at me with that strange gaze. I didn¡¯t want him to have any misunderstandings, so I pretended not to notice. However, he hasn¡¯t looked at me once over the past few days.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help butugh. He remarked, ¡°Isn¡¯t it a bit saddening when you find out one of your fans no longer cares that much about you?¡± He had even seen a few of those expressions himself, so he had a pretty strong impression.

    Yan Xuehen frowned and snapped,¡°I¡¯m talking about something serious here. If you continue to act like that, I¡¯m going to be angry!¡±

    Zu An set aside his joking demeanor and said, ¡°This really is quite strange. Then perhaps we should look around Pure Yang Pce tonight?¡±

    Yan Xuehen shook her head and said, ¡°Forget it. Wang Wuxie¡¯s cultivation is extremely high. If we went over and got discovered, that would only cause a lot ofplications.¡± She didn¡¯t want her close rtionship with Zu An to be known by those from the daoist sects.

    Zu An was stunned. He asked, ¡°If you don¡¯t want to look into it, why did youe to talk about this with me?¡±

    Yan Xuehen said emotionlessly, ¡°I just wanted to warn you, that¡¯s it.¡± She left in annoyance afterward.

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +222 +222 +222¡­

    Zu An felt a bit strange as he watched her leave, thinking, What is she suddenly getting angry for?

    A whileter, he finally realized what just happened. I really am dumb! She just came to see me, and that was just some random excuse! And there I was, digging into her excuse.

    However, he had a huge smile on his face when he realized that.

    ¡­

    When he returned to his room, Zu An took out his recording mirror and began to dial a special rune code. A whileter, the call sessfully connected. A ripple spread across the mirror surface like water, and a beauty with a red beauty mark between her brows appeared.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Did anything major happen?¡± Bi Linglong asked in surprise.

    After all, the cost of activating the recording mirror was quite high. Not even the court would use such a method unless it was extremely important. That wasn¡¯t even ounting for the fact that she was the crown princess. If someone saw that she was secretly talking to a man through the recording mirror, that would cause huge problems. Fortunately, she was away from the capital and had a bit more freedom.

    ¡°Can¡¯t I just call you if I miss you?¡± Zu An replied with a sigh. ¡°I thought that you wouldn¡¯t be doing so well after I left, but your face is glowing with health. You¡¯re even a bit prettier than when I left the capital now¡­ Sigh, I feel so broken-hearted.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, no way,¡± Bi Linglong said with a scoff. She subconsciously touched her face. Even though she knew that he was ttering her, she still couldn''t help but feel happy. She said, ¡°You¡¯re the one who''s rosy from ear to ear. I reckon that you have quite a few beauties at your side.¡±

    Zu An cried out inwardly in guilt, but there was no way he would admit to it.

    After the two of them chatted for a while, Zu An finally began to ask indirectly about Concubine Bai¡¯s situation. Bi Linglong¡¯s expression immediately changed. She said, ¡°I was just wondering why you contacted me. So it was because of another woman!¡±

    The screen blurred, and the recording mirror turned into an ordinary mirror. Bi Linglong had clearly hung up on Zu An, leaving him speechless.

    A whileter, the recording mirror suddenly rippled. Bi Linglong was clearly calling him back. Zu An tapped the mirror to activate it, and Bi Linglong appeared again with an ice-cold expression.

    ¡°His Majesty had Concubine Bai apany him when he left the capital. I do not know anything else,¡± Bi Linglong said coldly.

    Zu An was stunned. He asked, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t the emperor have brought his own wife? Isn¡¯t it a huge scandal to bring his daughter-inw?¡±

    Bi Linglong corrected him unhappily, ¡°His majesty only has one daughter-inw, and that¡¯s me. Concubine Bai is nothing more than a concubine of the crown prince. Even though it¡¯s a bit inappropriate to bring her, it isn¡¯t anything to make a huge fuss over either.¡± After a brief pause, she continued, ¡°Furthermore, Concubine Bai was his majesty¡¯s woman to begin with. It was because he was worried about the crown prince¡¯s¡­ slow nature that he had her serve him. Then, Concubine Bai gave birth to the imperial grandson not long after.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed. He replied, ¡°You¡¯re implying that the child is actually the emperor¡¯s?¡±

    Apart from ying around with mud every day, what else did the crown prince know? He had never even touched such a pretty crown princess after so many years, so how could he possibly impregnate Concubine Bai in such a short amount of time?

    ¡°I never said that,¡± Bi Linglong said expressionlessly. She continued, ¡°But her status is quite special. Even if you are a pervert, keep your paws off her.¡± She cut off the call again immediately afterward. Zu An tried to call her again, but there was no response.

    Zu An was a bit flustered by this information. Even though he¡¯d had his guesses earlier, he was still a bit rmed now that it had been confirmed.

    This Zhao Han really does y hard! He gave his own concubine to his son to be his concubine, but then he wanted his own son to call his older brother dad?

    Still, this was the same man who had previously sent a split soul into the crown prince¡¯s body, and had also prepared his daughter-inw, the crown princess, for himself in the future. Now that Zu An thought about it again, it wasn¡¯t that strange anymore.

    After receiving that information, Zu An wasn¡¯t all that worried about Concubine Bai¡¯s safety anymore. At the very least, there would be no threat to her life for some time. However, could the Devil Sect¡¯s n be considered a sess now? The future imperial grandson even carried their bloodline¡­

    When he thought about thatplicated rtionship, after a while, Zu An sighed. He muttered, ¡°The imperial family really is messy!¡±

    ¡­

    There wasn¡¯t much left for him to do in Violet Mountain. Chu Chuyan and Pei Mianman had both gone into the dungeon and wouldn¡¯te out for a while. As such, Zu An decided to take on the role of messenger to report on their work and to greet the emperor¡¯s troops, which would also let him look into Concubine Bai¡¯s situation. Concubine Bai¡¯s identity was very sensitive, so there was no way the emperor would let his subjects deal with her. He probably still kept her by his side.

    Zu An woke up Xie Daoyun, who had been knocked unconscious by Yun Jianyue, and told her where he was going. He thought of escorting her back along the way too.

    However, Xie Daoyun shook her head and said, ¡°The task teacher assigned me isn¡¯tplete yet. I need to stay at Violet Mountain for a while longer.¡±

    Zu An was a bit surprised. Just what kind of mission had Yan Xiangu given her, for her to have to stay here for so long? Still, he couldn''t ask too many questions. He left after telling her a few more things.

    Next, he went to Yan Xuehen¡¯s courtyard to bid her farewell. Of course, the pretext was that the emperor had summoned him.

    When she listened to what he had to say, Yan Xuehen said indifferently, ¡°Just leave if you¡¯re leaving. Why are you telling me?¡±

    Zu An stared at her perfect face before saying, ¡°I was worried that you wouldn¡¯t be able to find me if you ever needed me.¡±

    ¡°Who would look for you?!¡± Yan Xuehen snapped with a frown. She immediately turned around.

    Zu An knew that this was just how she was and didn¡¯t push the issue. He waved toward her, then walked out.

    Just as he was about to leave, Yan Xuehen said gently, ¡°Take care of yourself.¡±

    ¡°I will,¡± Zu An replied, immediately feeling his mood improve a lot. He turned around and opened his arms toward her before saying, ¡°We might not see each other for a long time. Can I get a hug as a goodbye?¡±

    He thought she would tell him to get lost, but to his surprise, after a moment of hesitation, Yan Xuehen slowly walked over and hugged him lightly. She knew that Zu An wouldn¡¯t be in any real danger with his current cultivation. Still, the one he was facing was Zhao Han¡­ Furthermore, after recalling what Yun Jianyue had said earlier, she was suddenly a bit worried that if she gave up on this chance, she could end up with some irredeemable regret.

    At first, Zu An was stunned when he sensed the cold and soft body in his arms. Then, he was overjoyed and took her firmly into his arms.

    Yan Xuehen was extremely embarrassed. She instinctively wanted to push him away, but was no match for how tightly he was holding her. She gradually stopped resisting so much.

    ¡°It¡¯s a good thing that there are no White Jade Sect disciples in this courtyard. Chuyan also went into the secret dungeon¡­¡±

 Chapter 1706: Execution

    <h4>Chapter 1706: Execution</h4>

    The two held each other quietly. As the sun began to set outside, their shadows reached into the distance¡­n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Yan Xuehen was a bit rmed when she saw their reflection in the shadows.Just what am I thinking about right now?

    She was about to push him away when Zu An suddenly lowered his head and kissed her gently. Yan Xuehen¡¯s eyes widened, perhaps out of embarrassment, maybe out of anger. Her neck turned red at a visible rate.

    She was just about to explode when Zu An suddenly let go of her first. He waved his hand while smiling, saying, ¡°With big sis Yan¡¯s caring kiss, I¡¯m sure this trip will go extremely smoothly!¡± He didn¡¯t give her a chance to act up and slipped into the distance afterward.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s cold expression gave way to a smile when she saw him flee for his life. She muttered, ¡°He really is a rascal¡­¡±

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An¡¯s mood was incredible after what had just happened. He sped along while riding on the Wind Fire Wheels, continuing for several days.

    Finally, he encountered the emperor¡¯s troops near a small city. The emperor had left to conduct the Fengshan Ceremony, so the procession was extremely grand. Lines of troops stretched for several dozen li, and there were tens of thousands of people. Zu An didn¡¯t show himself rashly; instead, he saw some familiar people in the group and snuck in while they were setting up camp.

    The ones who seemed to be in charge of the outpost work were the thick-browed and big-eyed Qin Guangyuan, and the more delicate-featured Qin Yongde. Even the Murong n¡¯s young miss was present, dressed in military attire. Between that and her tanned skin, she really looked valiant and outstanding. Their group was actively discussing theyout of the camp.

    When they saw Zu An, they were startled. However, this was a reunion of friends, so the mood quickly became lively. Murong Qinghe was especially happy to see him, perhaps because of Chu Youzhao. The only regret was that Chu Youzhao hadn¡¯te with her on this trip.

    Zu An naturally knew the reason. Chu Youzhao was a crossdresser, after all. She could continue the act in the capital with the Qin n covering up for her, but it was hard to keep her identity a secret in the long term in an army.

    After talking to them for a bit, Zu An learned roughly howrge the Fengshan procession was. Apart from the empress, who was recuperating from her illness, almost all of the other top-tier figures of the capital were present. They were all familiar faces.

    King Qi, Zhao Jing, was here; however, his heir, Zhao Zhi, hadn¡¯te. They were likely worried about putting all their eggs in one basket.

    Apart from him, there was also the Director of the Imperial Secretariat Pei Ming, who could be considered Big Manman¡¯s great-uncle. The Imperial Secretariat¡¯s Right Confidential Assistant Bi Qi, the crown princess¡¯ father, had alsoe; he was apanied by the crown princess¡¯ older brother, Bi Ziang. The Imperial Secretariat¡¯s Left Confidential Assistant had previously been Yu Xuanchong, but because of the scandals surrounding Yu Nan and then Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s Yu n, he had been dismissed from office and wasn¡¯t present.

    The Imperial Secretariat¡¯s five important ministers hadn¡¯te and remained in the capital to deal with governmental affairs. Zu An cried out inwardly in disappointment. He had wanted to catch up with Sang Hong and ask about Sang Qien¡¯s situation. He wondered how she was doing with her pregnancy.

    The Central Secretariat Supervisor Meng Yi and Secretariat Director Lian Yu were both present. So was the Emperor¡¯s subordinate Chief Attendant Pei Zheng, Pei Mianman¡¯s grandfather; and Chief Attendant Dongfang Bai, whose wife was the previous dynasty¡¯s princess. Zu An recalled Zhang Jie mentioning them when he talked about the previous dynasty.

    The Nine Ministers¡¯ Supervisor of Attendants Murong Tong, Commandant of Justice Jiang Boyang, and Imperial Director Zhen Xueyi had also arrived. The Supervisor of Attendants¡¯ responsibility was ensuring the safety of the emperor, so that his presence was to be expected. Unfortunately, Jiang Luofu wasn¡¯t present.

    As for Zhen Xueyi, Zu An also remembered what Zhang Jie had said. Zhen Xueyi also had a strong connection with the former dynasty, but his treatment was vastly differentpared to Dongfang Bai. However, when Zu An was thrown into prison over his scandal with Bi Linglong, Zhen Xueyi had secretly helped him a bit, so that was a favor he had to remember.

    When the emperor set out on a journey, his safety was definitely the number one priority. King Liang, Zhao Yi, was the Rear General. He followed the emperor with the elites of the capital¡¯s first six battalions. However, the six battalions¡¯ respective military officers hadn¡¯te, and were instead guarding the capital with another group of people. King Qi¡¯s heir Zhao Zhi was none other than the Reserve Diary Officer.

    Apart from those people, there was also theWar Chariot General Liu Yao. Zu An had previously met him all the way back in Brightmoon City. Even though back then, he had thought that this man¡¯s cultivation was really high, it now seemed fairly average. With their resources, the fact that such individuals only had their current levels of cultivation meant that their talent was really ordinary.

    Compared to the six battalions, the two higher-level figures¡¯ forces were moreplete. Left Guard General Lu He was the brother of Eunuch Lu, who always followed at the empress¡¯ side. Right Guard General Guo Zhi was someone whom Zu An had frequently interacted with back in the Imperial Pce. Gueri Warfare General Zhao Yuan was only part of a rather distant branch of the imperial family, and he also had the title King Guangling.

    Apart from that, there were the divisions named Fierce Tiger, Armed Escort, High Rider, Unique Force, and so on. Zu An himself was an officer of the Armed Escort Division, so he was technically supposed to be part of the procession.

    When he saw that almost all of the major figures of the capital had appeared, Zu An couldn''t help but be a bit curious. He said, ¡°The court¡¯s bigwigs are all here. Are they not scared that something might happen back at the capital?¡±

    Qin Guangyuan exined, ¡°That is why the middle-level officials in charge of specific government affairs all remained in the capital. Together with the capable crown princess and otherpetent individuals from the Eastern Pce, assisting the crown prince in presiding over the empire¡¯s affairs isn¡¯t too big of a problem.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not what I¡¯m worried about,¡± Zu An said. He naturally knew about Bi Linglong¡¯s ability. He continued, ¡°It¡¯s more that the high-level military strength of the court has all left, so what if the Devil Sect or rebel army decides to incite trouble in the capital again?¡±

    Murong Qinghe said with a smile, ¡°There¡¯s something big brother Zu is overlooking. There are still the eight dukes in the capital. Those old monsters are always cultivating in seclusion within their manors. If something really does happen, they definitely won¡¯t just remain bystanders.¡±

    Qin Yongde added, ¡°The eight dukes are powerful, all having grandmaster rank cultivation. Who would dare to stir up trouble in the capital? But strictly speaking, there are only seven dukes now, and that has to do with Brother Zu.¡±

    Zu An was startled. He replied, ¡°The Shi n?¡±

    Qin Guangyuan nodded and said, ¡°Right. To be honest, the Shi n was the n with the weakest background out of the eight great ns. Their n leader needed some more time to reach the grandmaster rank, but you single-handedly destroyed the entire n, so he no longer had a chance. That matter really caused quite the stir among the capital¡¯s great ns.¡±

    Zu An had a nk look on his face for a moment. He had already provoked such a giant as the Shi n not long after he transmigrated¡­ The naive truly were fearless!

    He had already known about the so-called eight dukes for a long time, but had rarely seenanyof them. They were simr to the Committee of Elders in the Fiend King Court. They normally rarely showed themselves and only appeared when there were big events.

    Zu An found a chance to ask about Concubine Bai, but the others only replied with bewilderment.

    ¡°His majesty did bring some concubines, but Concubine Bai is the Crown Prince¡¯s concubine. There¡¯s no reason for her to be here, right?¡±

    Zu An could tell from their dumbstruck looks that only a few people knew about the emperor¡¯s rtionship with Concubine Bai. As for the more important ministers, they likely had their guesses, but there was no way they would mention such things to their children.

    ¡­

    After figuring out recent developments from them, he went to look for Zhao Han. After all, Zhao Han was too powerful. It wouldn¡¯t be a good thing if his sneaky actions were found out.

    With his status, it wasn¡¯t too difficult for him to meet with the emperor. Eunuch Wen quickly emerged to bring him to the giant imperial tent. There were threads of gold and pieces of jade and agate everywhere, making it extraordinarily extravagant.

    When a servant went in to announce Zu An¡¯s arrival, an indifferent voice called out, ¡°Enter.¡±

    When Zu An entered the tent, he saw that even though the outside of the tent was luxurious, theyout inside was extremely simple. Inside, Zhao Han was on a soft seat. In front of him were two pots of precious incense. The tent wasn¡¯t inferior to any top-notch cultivation paradises in this world; it had clearly been reinforced with special rune formations. At the same time, the incense likely had many precious ingredients added to them to aid in enhancing cultivation and longevity.

    Zhao Han didn¡¯t even open his eyes when he heard Zu An enter, asking, ¡°What are you doing here?¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°Violet Mountain¡¯s affairs have already been wrapped up, so I wanted to make a report to your majesty. I didn¡¯t dare to disturb your majesty further, so I made a special trip all the way back.¡±

    Zhao Han then opened his eyes. When he recalled how he had been summoned like a monkey in a performance show again and again, his face twitched slightly. When he heard those words, however, he felt a bit better and said, ¡°Not bad, you¡¯ve shown some progress.¡±

    Zu An then told him about what he had discovered on Violet Mountain. He didn¡¯t hide Yun Jianyue¡¯s appearance. After all, with so many people there, this man would find out even if he didn¡¯t report it.

    ¡°That witch Yun Jianyue really is daring. But the daoist sects really are declining as they struggle. They actually only found out at the finals,¡± Zhao Han said with a snort, showing clear dissatisfaction.

    Zu An replied, ¡°The more the daoist sects decline, the more it proves that the court is flourishing. Your majesty should be happy.¡±

    Zhao Han raised a brow and said, ¡°It¡¯s been a while, but it seems you¡¯ve learned how to speak properly, brat.¡±

    ¡°This subject is only speaking the truth,¡± Zu An said with wless etiquette.

    Zhao Han nodded in approval and asked, ¡°Was there anything else strange at Violet Mountain?¡±

    ¡°There wasn¡¯t,¡± Zu An replied. After some hesitation, he chose not to mention Wang Wuxie¡¯s situation. The first reason was that he didn¡¯t have proof, and the second was that even if there was something wrong with Wang Wuxie, why did he have to warn Zhao Han? It wasn¡¯t as if he really was a loyal ve.

    ¡°You¡¯ve dealt with the Violet Mountain task decently,¡± Zhao Han said, his expression easing. He continued, ¡°You¡¯ve returned at a good time. There just happens to be something that I need you to take care of.¡±

    Zu An cursed inwardly.This guy immediately gave me something to do as soon as I returned!Of course, though, he still said, ¡°I will do my utmost.¡±

    ¡°It isn¡¯t anything too hard. I only need you to secretly execute a woman,¡± Zhao Han said casually.

 Chapter 1707: Repay Kindness

    <h4>Chapter 1707: Repay Kindness</h4>

    Zu An replied in shock, ¡°This¡­ might not be too appropriate, right?¡±

    Zhao Han sounded as if he wanted Zu An to act against a certain concubine, making him begin to wonder just who the woman in question was.Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s Concubine Bai?

    ¡°What is so inappropriate about that? Whatever this emperor says is suitable, that is what is suitable,¡± Zhao Han said indifferently. ¡°Zhuxie Chixin is not here right now, and the highest-ranked Embroidered Envoy present is you. Who else would go, if not you?¡±

    Zu An was startled. It seemed this wasn¡¯t the most glorious affair, so Zhao Han wanted to make use of the Embroidered Envoy. And yet, he was worried that an ordinary Embroidered Envoy wouldn¡¯t be able to keep the secret, so he chose Zu An.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°I will naturally share in your majesty¡¯s burden. I wonder which woman it is?¡± Zu An asked, although he already had his guesses. If that task fell into his hands, the odds of rescuing Concubine Bai would be much higher than if others were assigned to it.

    ¡°There is a white tent in this camp. It is the woman inside. Eunuch Wen will take you there. Deal with it cleanly and do not let anyone else know.,¡± Zhao Han said, then closed his eyes again. He clearly wasn¡¯t in the mood to entertain Zu An any further.

    ¡°Understood!¡± Zu An replied. He looked calm on the surface, but he was actually quite frightened. He rapidly thought of a solution while also trying to figure out why Zhao Han would speak in riddles like this.

    When he left the imperial tent, Eunuch Wen was already waiting outside. He received Zu An with a big smile and said, ¡°This way, please, Sir Zu.¡± He had clearly already received orders from the emperor.

    Zu An couldn''t help but quietly ask, ¡°Eunuch Wen, there is no one the emperor trusts more than you. Why didn¡¯t his majesty send you for this task?¡±

    Eunuch Wen smiled when he heard that and replied, ¡°This only proves how much more trust his majesty has in Sir Zu.¡±

    In truth, it had been something he was supposed to take care of. However, since this youngster had juste back, he would be perfect for the task. In the end, such an affair was nothing good, so he couldn''t be happier to have someone else take care of it.

    Zu An could sense Eunuch Wen¡¯s happiness from his smile. He wondered whether Zhao Han was handing him this task in preparation for silencing him in the future.

    In that case, rather than leaving it to a trusted aide like Eunuch Wen, the emperor could just leave it to Zu An, who would be abandoned sooner orter. That was likely why he hadn¡¯t minded letting Zu An find out a bit.

    Zu An found it hard to feel happy when he realized that. However, after thinking about it, he had to face Zhao Han directly sooner orter, so it didn¡¯t really matter.

    There were patrolling soldiers everywhere along the way. The security in the area was clearly made extremely strict to guard against assassins, while at the same time preventing people froming and going as they wished.

    Just like that, they went along a winding path until they finally arrived at a white tent. The tent was isted, a fair distance away from any others. It had clearly been set up that way intentionally. The patrolling soldiers noticed people approaching, but when they saw Eunuch Wen, all of them bowed and withdrew.

    Eunuch Wen told Zu An, ¡°That person is inside. There is also a nanny who watches over her, but the other one is your target.¡±

    Zu An asked again to test the waters, ¡°Eunuch Wen, just who is the person inside?¡±

    Eunuch Wen replied with a vague smile, ¡°When working in the imperial family, there are questions that you shouldn¡¯t ask. Even if you know them, you need to pretend that you don¡¯t. That is the key to personal longevity.¡±

    Zu An cursed him for being an old fox inwardly, but said, ¡°Thank you for the reminder, Eunuch Wen.¡±

    He walked toward the tent afterward. Before he even reached it, however, he smelled a familiar flower fragrance. He sighed¡­ It was Concubine Bai after all. Such a unique smell was something that no cosmetics could ever imitate.

    He secretly extended his divine sense and discovered that even though Eunuch Wen hadn¡¯t gotten closer, he kept secretly watching the situation from a distance. The emperor clearly didn¡¯t trust Zu An that much and wanted Eunuch Wen to monitor the situation.

    Isn¡¯t Zhao Han just testing me right now?Zu An thought with a scowl as he arrived at the tent entrance. A rough voice said from inside. ¡°What are you acting all high and mighty like some noble for?¡±

    Concubine Bai replied in a gentle, but pained voice, ¡°I only wanted some water. I won¡¯t move anymore.¡±

    ¡°You only know how to do trifling things,¡± the rough voice grumbled. Then, there was a loud noise, as if someone had been given a p to the face. ¡°Endure it! You don¡¯t have much time left to live, anyway.¡±

    Then, there was a baby¡¯s cry. The rough voice added mockingly, ¡°Who are you acting all flirtatious for? Men might fall for it, but it¡¯s nothing more than a pretense. It¡¯s disgusting.¡±

    Zu An moved aside the curtains with a frown and walked in. He saw that there was a simple bed inside. Concubine Bai was huddling inside, a handprint on her fair face, clearly from the p just then. Her temperament was quite gentle, but in the current situation she couldn''t help but sob, making her look more and more pitiful.

    Meanwhile, there was a rough, crude older woman sitting on the chair next to her. At that moment, she was gorging herself on some exquisite food on the table. The food had all been prepared for the imperial family, concubines, and other nobles. From the looks of it, she was taking all of Concubine Bai¡¯s share.

    Zu An thought to himself,For better or for worse, Concubine Bai came from the Devil Sect. Why would she let herself be abused to this degree?

    However, when his aura locked onto her figure on the bed, he immediately received his answer. A special seal restrained her. She couldn''t use her cultivation at all, so she was even weaker than an ordinary woman.

    When Concubine Bai saw him walk in, a look of hope and joy filled her despairing face. After all, regardless of how one looked at it, their rtionship was quite good.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± the chubby nanny asked, looking at him with a frown. Food sprayed out of her mouth from time to time as she spoke.

    Zu An turned away to avoid getting it on his clothes. He said indifferently, ¡°His majesty sent me to execute the criminal.¡±

    When she heard that, Concubine Bai¡¯s look of joy immediately turned into shock. However, she quicklyughed in distress and didn¡¯t say anything.

    The nanny asked with a frown. ¡°Why isn¡¯t it Eunuch Wen?¡±

    ¡°Do you think there¡¯s anyone in this entire camp who would dare to lie about any imperial edict?¡± Zu An snapped impatiently. When he recalled what this woman had been doing to Concubine Bai, he found it really hard to develop any goodwill for her. He continued, ¡°Eunuch Wen is watching outside. If you¡¯re worried, you can go out there and ask him.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± the nanny said, wiping her hands on her clothes to get rid of the food grease. ¡°You should¡¯vee earlier so I wouldn¡¯t have to waste so much time here.¡±

    She walked to the exit afterward, clearly not intending to spend even a second more than she had to. However, when she reached the entrance, Zu An struck her unconscious with his hand.

    Concubine Bai had been lying numb on the table. When she saw that, her eyes widened. Zu An moved closer and quietly asked her, ¡°What exactly happened for you to end up like this?¡±

    Concubine Bai smiled bitterly and replied, ¡°It¡¯s a long story.¡±

    Zu An knew that time was pressing, so there was no chance for him to slowly listen to her talk. He said, ¡°Tell meter once I rescue you.¡±

    Then, he supported Concubine Bai, helping her sit upright. Her body really gave off an enchanting flower fragrance mixed with a hint of a milky scent. Zu An had initially nned to undo her restrictions, but he soon discovered that it was beyond his level.

    ¡°Don¡¯t waste your time anymore. This is a seal applied by his majesty. Unless he himself were to arrive, there would be no way to undo it,¡± Concubine Bai said, shaking her head and looking at Zu An with her beautiful eyes. ¡°I¡¯m already extremely grateful that you even thought of saving me. But this matter is extremely important. It will be really bad if it ends up involving you. You should just kill me toplete your task.¡±

    Zu An shook his head and replied, ¡°How could I kill you?¡± He had already received Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei¡¯s requests. Furthermore, Concubine Bai had helped him quite a bit in the Imperial Pce. How could he possibly kill her?

    Concubine Bai didn¡¯t know about Zu An¡¯s rtionship with the Devil Sect and was stunned when she heard that. Her neck reddened, and her voice became even more gentle. Her tone also became more sincere as she said, ¡°You really can¡¯t save me. Eunuch Wen is watching outside, and his majesty is also here. If something happens, he only needs to reach out a hand and everything will be over. If you really want to help me, then help me pass a message to someone.¡±

    She paused for a moment, partly because she was embarrassed, but also because she felt really sad. She then said, ¡°I understand the young master¡¯s goodwill. If there is a next life, this humble one will surely repay you.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

 Chapter 1708: One for Another

    Chapter 1708: One for Another

    Zu An said seriously, ¡°You can send that message once you escape yourself. For now, first take off your clothes.¡±

    Concubine Bai was stunned. In that instant, she felt as if she hadpletely misjudged the person in front of her. Was he going to assault her in her moment of crisis?

    However, when she saw him take off the chubby nanny¡¯s clothes, she knew that she had misunderstood him. An awkward look shed across her beautiful face as she said, ¡°That won¡¯t work. You won¡¯t be able to fool a three-year-old child if you only change the clothes.¡±

    Whether it was their age, appearance, or build, there wasn¡¯t a shred of simrity between them. If such a thing really worked, everyone in the world would have to have gone blind.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that. I have my ways,¡± Zu An said as he took off the nanny¡¯s clothes while feeling really conflicted. Just what kinds of women did he remove the clothes from with his own hands? Chuyan, Manman, Yanluo, Xuehen, big sis Yun¡­ Which one of them wasn¡¯t an extraordinary beauty? And yet today, they were being wronged like this. He was removing the clothes of such arge, disgusting woman.

    Fortunately, the nanny wore a lot of clothes, so he didn¡¯t touch anything he didn¡¯t want to. Soon after, he finished removing her outer garments. When he turned around, he saw Concubine Bai sitting in bed with her eyes wide, looking in his direction. Her clothes were still untouched.

    Zu An couldn''t help but frown. He asked, ¡°Why are you wasting time right now?¡±

    Concubine Bai was embarrassed as she replied, ¡°I¡­ can¡¯t muster any strength. I can¡¯t take them off.¡±

    Zu An then remembered that her restrictions were special. That Zhao Han really is something. Even some random seal he made is enough to turn a powerful cultivatorpletely harmless.

    After some hesitation, Concubine Bai asked, ¡°Will we really be able to fool them if I change my clothes?¡±

    ¡°Trust me, it¡¯ll work,¡± Zu An said with a nod.

    Concubine Bai bit her lip. She looked conflicted, but she still said, ¡°Then please help me take them off.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. Just what kind of situation had they gotten in already? He wanted to be a gentleman, and yet he always ended up in these kinds of situations where he had to make mistakes.

    Still, he knew that there was no time. After some slight hesitation, he didn¡¯t refuse her, saying, ¡°Sorry.¡±

    Concubine Bai pursed her lips and moved her hand aside. She knew the importance of the situation and didn¡¯t demand something melodramatic such as making Zu An close his eyes. However, when his hand touched her body, she still couldn''t help but shake all over. Ayer of redness covered her skin.

    Zu An had a strange expression. This woman was clearly a mother, and yet she was acting like a maiden when embarrassed. He said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much. I¡¯m only taking off your outer garment. You¡¯ll still be wearing your inner clothing.¡±

    Concubine Bai voiced her understanding and knew that she was overreacting too. However, when his hand pressed against her body, she felt as if electricity ran through her entire body. It was something she had never experienced before.

    Even though Zu An did his best to avoid touching her as much as possible, he still couldn¡¯t avoid making contact sometimes. He sighed inwardly at how soft her body was, and how amazing she smelled. Compared to that big nanny, it really was like the difference between heaven and earth.

    In order to ease their mutual awkwardness, he took the chance to ask, ¡°Why was that nanny so terrible to you? No matter how dire of a situation you¡¯re in, you¡¯re still a concubine.¡±

    Concubine Bai exined, ¡°Nanny Ping is an old face in the pce, and quite a few young maids and other neers have been bullied by her before. In the past, because of something minor, a young maid was tormented to death. After I learned of that fact, I punished her for it. She probably still harbors a grudge over that incident.¡±

    Zu An nodded. In a ce that was as freakish and dangerous as the Imperial Pce, there weren¡¯t many nannies who were normal.

    Finally, after a rather intimate process, he sessfully removed her dress. Concubine Bai felt very embarrassed and ill at ease. She hugged her knees as she curled up on her bed like a little white flower amid frigid winter winds.

    However, she still summoned her courage and said, ¡°Even if I change clothes, it won¡¯t fool anyone.¡±

    Zu An frowned and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I have a way.¡±

    He didn¡¯t swap their clothes, and instead took out a wardrobe. Under Concubine Bai¡¯s shocked gaze, he put the nanny¡¯s clothes inside. Concubine Bai noticed that when he put the clothes inside, he seemed to be hesitant. He grimaced and muttered something under his breath.

    However, Zu An still put them in. A whileter, he took them out again and said, ¡°Alright, you can change into them now.¡±

    The wardrobe was ¡®Pin Ru¡¯s Wardrobe¡¯, which he had obtained from the system in the past. As long as the clothes were ced inside, then put on someone else, they would look just like the original owner. The effect was only useless against Zu An, perhaps the creator of the wardrobe had been worried that he would do some filthy things with it¡­

    Concubine Bai was surprised. However, when Zu An put her clothes on Nanny Ping, her eyes widened. She was shocked to discover that therge and stocky Nanny Ping had actually taken on her exact appearance!

    ¡°Just what kind of ability is this?¡± Concubine Bai eximed. She was quite knowledgeable herself, but the sight before her was still beyond her wildest imaginations.

    ¡°That¡¯s a secret,¡± Zu An said with a chuckle. In truth, he didn¡¯t really understand the principles behind it either. Rather than trying to exin it, it was better to act a bit mysterious to get by for the time being.

    Concubine Bai looked at the man in front of her with a strange expression. Even though she had already known that he was different when she met him in the pce, she had always been quite confident in her ability to see through him. She knew he had his secrets, but only now did she realize how arrogant she had been. This man was actually full of mysteries!

    Zu An walked over again. He put on her clothes while saying with a frown, ¡°Your current condition might make things a bit hard.¡±

    Nanny Ping had a rough and tough appearance, and was normally quite vigorous. If she suddenly became weak and passive, her appearance would easily draw suspicion.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Concubine Bai¡¯s face reddened. She said, ¡°I have a pill in my satchel that can temporarily stimte one¡¯s energy. Even though it won¡¯t be enough to break the emperor¡¯s seal, it shouldn¡¯t have any problem returning me to the level of a normal person.¡±

    Zu An asked, ¡°Won¡¯t it have a lot of side effects?¡± He knew the Devil Sect loved to use things that ignited their own blood essence.

    Concubine Bai shook her head slightly and said, ¡°There are some side effects, but I¡¯ll be able to recover after a period of time. We don¡¯t really have the luxury of worrying about those right now, anyway.¡±

    Zu An figured that what she said made sense. With her life being at risk, they could worry about everything elseter. Thus, Concubine Bai guided him toward her most personal area. He felt a soft and incredible sensation. Both of them were stunned.

    Concubine Bai began breathing quickly. She bit her lip and said, ¡°It¡¯s¡­ a bit further inside.¡±

    Zu An focused his attention, and finally took out the drug and fed it to her. A flush of rosiness returned to Concubine Bai¡¯s face. A whileter, she said, ¡°I can move now. I¡¯ll put on the clothes on my own.¡±

    Zu An nodded. After letting her go, he quickly set up the room.

    Suddenly, however, he noticed something. Concubine Bai made a shushing motion and looked vigntly at the door.

    ¡°Sir Zu, why is it not finished yet after all this time?¡± Eunuch Wen called out, seeming to have already moved closer to the tent.

    ¡°It¡¯s already done,¡± Zu An said, striking Nanny Ping¡¯s lethal acupoint and moving her to the bed. Concubine Bai coordinated with him and stood next to him.

    Eunuch Wen pushed aside the curtains and walked straight in. He gave Concubine Bai a look, and her heart immediately began to race. However, Eunuch Wen didn¡¯t seem to have noticed anything strange. Instead, he moved closer to the bed to examine the corpse. Even though she wasn¡¯t breathing anymore, he secretly blew apart her meridians while examining the corpse. Now, she really couldn''t be more dead.

    Zu An felt a sense of lingering fear. Fortunately, he hadn¡¯t used that fake death pill Ji Xiaoxi had given him, or else Concubine Bai would really have died even though she was pretending.

    Eunuch Wen got up afterward, seemingly satisfied. He said to the two of them, ¡°Take care of the corpse. Don¡¯t let anyone else find out about this.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± Zu An replied. Suddenly, however, his expression changed.

    That was because at the same time, Eunuch Wen sent him a ki transmission that said, ¡°Once you¡¯re done with this, kill Nanny Ping too.¡± Then, before leaving, he patted Zu An¡¯s shoulder and gave him a look, implying that this was the emperor¡¯s will.

 Chapter 1709: Ominous Premonition

    Chapter 1709: Ominous Premonition

    Zu An sighed in relief. He thought, The imperial n really is a dark ce¡­ They don¡¯t even hesitate in silencing others.

    To be honest, if not for the fact that he had some status and skill, he likely would have just been killed off immediately too. Still, ording to Zhao Han¡¯s arrangements, he would no doubt be silenced sooner orter.

    When she was certain that Eunuch Wen had left, Concubine Bai sighed in relief. She almost copsed on the spot. Even though the whole interaction hadn¡¯t taken that long, her heart was all the way up in her throat. She had thought that she was dead for sure, so how could she not feel excited now that she had another lease on life?

    Still, Zu An¡¯s way of saving her was just too outrageous. She had been worried that she wouldn¡¯t be able to fool Eunuch Wen. Fortunately, everything had gone smoothly. That feeling of escaping from the brink of death was apletely new one to her.

    The look she gave Zu An was full of adoration and respect as she asked, ¡°What do we do now?¡±

    ¡°This skill of mine can¡¯t be maintained for too long,¡± Zu An said. As time went on, unless Pin Ru¡¯s Wardrobe was also next to them, the target would definitely return to their original appearance. Leaving a wardrobe in the tent wouldn¡¯t be that conspicuous, but he couldn''t just keep it with him wherever he went, right?

    He continued, ¡°But we¡¯ve already set up camp today, and there are patrolling soldiers everywhere. We¡¯ll easily startle people if we leave. Once the army continues its march tomorrow, I¡¯ll find a way to send you out of here.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± Concubine Bai said. She understood the current situation. She had just been condemned to execution, so Eunuch Wen and even the emperor could have left some people to watch them. If something strange happened now, they could both end up being killed very quickly. She looked at Nanny Ping¡¯s body lying on the bed and asked, ¡°How do we deal with her corpse?¡±

    Zu An stored the corpse straight into the Brilliant ss Bead. Even though it couldn''t store living things, storing corpses wasn¡¯t an issue. He said, ¡°I¡¯ll leave tomorrow with the excuse of disposing of the corpse. I don¡¯t think Eunuch Wen and the others will suspect anything.¡±

    Concubine Bai voiced her understandin, remarking, ¡°You¡¯ve thought about this more deeply than I have.¡±

    ¡­

    Then, Zu An took Concubine Bai out of the tent while Pin Ru¡¯s Wardrobe was still active. There hadn¡¯t been any people stationed around the tent to begin with, and those who passed by saw that it was just Nanny Ping, so no one paid them too much attention.

    However, it became a bit awkward in the evening, as Eunuch Wen had had someone arrange a tent for Zu An. Concubine Bai had nowhere to go, so she could only hide inside. However, things in the army were always simplified as much as possible; so, there was only a simple bed in the tent, and it was extremely narrow. When she saw that, Concubine Bai was a bit troubled.

    However, Zu An said, ¡° You should sleep on the bed. I¡¯ll just meditate off to the side.¡± This was an extremely important matter, so he didn¡¯t dare to have Concubine Bai leave his sight. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t necessarily be able to respond in time if something happened.

    Concubine Bai shook her head and replied, ¡°You¡¯ve already saved my life, so how can I let you suffer such an injustice? You should sleep on the bed and I¡¯ll meditate.¡±

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°Your body is already so weak, so don¡¯t be overly polite. I¡¯m pretty tough and have already gotten used to this.¡±

    Concubine Bai¡¯s face turned red as she asked, ¡°You always let the woman sleep in the bed while you stay off to the side?¡±

    Zu An was speechless. His expression darkened as he said, ¡°I meant I¡¯m used to meditation. Either way, a single night isn¡¯t that long. It isn¡¯t too strange for cultivators.¡±

    Concubine Bai understood her current situation, so she didn¡¯t force it any further. After freshening up in a simple way, she withdrew under the covers. Still, how could she sleep so easily? She carefully peeked at the man near her, blinking herrge eyes from time to time. She saw that Zu An seemed to have closed his eyes earlier when she was preparing for bed and looked like he was sleeping. He really was acting like a gentleman.

    Ah¡­ why did I have to say that I¡¯d repay him in the next life if he passed on a message for me? Now, he¡¯s even saved my life, which is way more than passing on a message. Just how am I going to repay him?

    ¡°Is there something on my face?¡± Zu An, who had been meditating, suddenly opened his eyes and asked. He had clearly noticed that she had been staring at him the entire time.

    Concubine Bai said in embarrassment, ¡°For some reason, it¡¯s a bit hard for me to fall asleep.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s nothing strange after what you just experienced,¡± Zu An said with a nod. He then asked, ¡°Right, there was no time earlier, but why does the emperor want you dead?¡±

    After some hesitation, Concubine Bai said, ¡°Actually, Ie from the Devil Sect¡­¡±

    Zu An nodded and said, ¡°I know.¡± As she was willing to tell him the truth so frankly, it seemed that he hadn¡¯t saved her in vain.

    Concubine Bai eximed in surprise, ¡°You knew?¡±

    Zu An voiced his confirmation and said, ¡°The reason I came here is that Yun Jianyue entrusted me with the task of rescuing you.¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Concubine Bai¡¯s face immediately lit up. She said, ¡°You didn¡¯t have to tell me about these things, and I would have felt even more grateful to you.¡±

    Zu An chuckled and replied, ¡°What, you aren¡¯t grateful anymore?¡±

    ¡°Of course I am. I don¡¯t even know how to repay you anymore¡­¡± Concubine Bai said, feeling a bit embarrassed.

    Zu An instinctively blurted out, ¡°There¡¯s a joke from my hometown that goes like this. When a woman is saved by a man, if the man is ugly, she¡¯ll say that she¡¯ll work hard to repay the favor in her next life. If the man is handsome and her type, she¡¯ll say that she can¡¯t repay this tremendous favor with anything else, other than to devote everything to him¡­¡±

    After saying that, he immediately realized that it was a bit inappropriate and quickly added, ¡°Uh¡­ I just thought of some things from the past. I¡¯m not implying anything.¡±

    Concubine Bai¡¯s face turned bright red. It was unclear whether she believed him or not. After a moment of silence, she said, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you and senior sister to be so familiar with each other. She even asked you for help with this kind of thing.¡±

    If not for the fact that she had been undercover in the Imperial Pce, there wouldn¡¯t have been any way for Yun Jianyue and the others to carry out their assassination so easily. The reason Yun Jianyue had been able to leave so easily after was actually because of her help behind the scenes. She had always been aware of Yun Jianyue and Zu An¡¯s connection, so she had done her best to provide Zu An with help in various ways. She had thought that she was the one who knew everything behind the scenes, but she now discovered that his rtionship with Yun Jianyue was even deeper than she had thought. In that instant, she felt like a little clown.

    Zu An didn¡¯t want to talk too much about Yun Jianyue, as he was worried that a junior sister like her would notice something. He said, ¡°Even if your identity was exposed, there should be no reason for the emperor to kill you. After all, you are his¡­ Ahem, you are the mother of the imperial grandson, right?¡±

    Concubine Bai¡¯s expression grew serious as she said, ¡°Actually, I always had a feeling that the emperor already knew about my identity a long time ago, but he just left me to my own devices. That¡¯s why I was caught off guard by all of this too.¡± She paused, but a whileter, she slowly said, ¡°With my understanding of the emperor, he seems to have had some kind of bad premonition. All of this seems to be¡­ preparation for what happens next.¡±

    ¡°What happens next?¡± Zu An repeated in surprise. Who was Zhao Han? He was the number one most powerful being in the entire world! Even if there was some kind of conspiracy on Violet Mountain, how could he be so weak as to need to prepare for the event of his death?

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand it either,¡± Concubine Bai said. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because he had some sort of premonition, or maybe his heaven and man deterioration is drawing closer than expected, but he¡¯s been getting rid of some unstable variables. If something were to happen to him, as the mother of the imperial grandson, I could cause quite a bit of trouble. My Devil Sect background is a potential risk to the crown princess¡¯ side, and I could even seize control over the court. He probably wasn¡¯t willing to take that risk.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, No wonder Bi Linglong never liked Concubine Bai that much. So it was because of her political acumen allowing her to understand the threat Concubine Bai had to her position. After all, she and the crown prince were only husband and wife in name, never mind producing a child.

    However, the spection Concubine Bai proposed was really interesting. Could it be that Zhao Han really did sense the threat of death approaching?

 Chapter 1710: King Guangling

    Chapter 1710: King Guangling

    The two of them talked for a while longer until drowsiness gradually overtook Concubine Bai. After all, she had been sealed, and had also gone through such a frightening experience. Later, she had even eaten a drug that activated her hidden potential. Her body was a bit weak as a result. Thus, she unwittingly fell asleep.

    Zu An didn¡¯t really mind, and continued cultivating while meditating. Nothing melodramatic or intimate happened all night. Concubine Bai didn¡¯t invite him into the bed with her and slept soundly from start to finish, and she actually slept quite well. She was quite the quiet sleeper, not exposing her thighs in the middle of the night or anything like that.

    Zu An remainedpletely calm. He wasn¡¯t as inexperienced as he had been in the past, when he would have been hopeful for those kinds of things.

    The next morning, when Concubine Bai woke up, she was startled at first. However, when she saw that Zu An was still seated in the same position, as steady as a boulder, she smiled. It had been a long time since she hadst slept so well. She was actually quite surprised at herself. As someone from the Devil Sect and a survivor of a ce as dangerous as the Imperial Pce for so many years, she actually trusted a man like this¡­

    Zu An sensed her movements and opened his eyes, asking, ¡°You¡¯re awake?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Concubine Bai replied, feeling a bit embarrassed. After all, she felt as if these were words that a married couple would say to each other. Just how many women would reveal such an intimate sight in front of a man?

    ¡°Then let¡¯s clean up and prepare to set out. If I¡¯m not mistaken, Eunuch Wen should have already informed the surrounding guards,¡± Zu An said as he got up. Daytime was different from nighttime. The patrolling soldiers were far more tense at night. In order to guard against any potential dangers, they paid far more attention to any suspicious behavior. In the day, however, they were more rxed.

    ¡°Am I going to leave just like this?¡± Concubine Bai asked, and was about to put on her clothes when Zu An stopped her.

    ¡°You should put on Nanny Ping¡¯s outfit again. Just in case, you should act like a corpse,¡± Zu An said. That way, just in case someone checked in on them, he would be able to exin things.

    ¡°Okay,¡± Concubine Bai said, although she felt an instinctive rejection of Nanny Ping¡¯s clothes. They were dirty and oily, and they also had a strange smell. However, she understood the seriousness of the issue and didn¡¯t refuse.

    Zu An took out a small chest. After some hesitation, he said, ¡°I¡¯ll have to trouble you to lie inside here. I don¡¯t know if you¡¯ll fit. If it¡¯s too small, I¡¯ll look for arger one.¡±

    Even though he stored all kinds of daily use items in the Brilliant ss Bead, who in the world would always keep a chest nearby to store a corpse with them? Even this chest was something he had barely managed to find.

    Concubine Bai looked at the chest in surprise and asked, ¡°Would such a small chest be able to hold Nanny Ping? Won¡¯t people grow suspicious?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s precisely because it¡¯s small that people won¡¯t suspect that there¡¯s someone inside. As for Nanny Ping¡¯s body being toorge, either way, it¡¯s already a corpse to those in the know. It should be able to just barely fit.¡±

    ¡°Then what about my corpse? Won¡¯t they suspect that?¡± Concubine Bai asked worriedly. She¡¯d naturally be fine once she escaped, but Zu An might get in trouble.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An showed her a small bottle in his hand and said, ¡°Eunuch Wen gave this to me yesterday. It¡¯s some kind of corpse-dissolving powder. You are a pce concubine, after all. Even if you die, your corpse can¡¯t be wantonly touched by men. So, your body was supposed to be dissolvedpletely to take care of the situation.¡±

    The medicine was extremely precious, and he only had enough to dissolve a single corpse. As for why Eunuch Wen hadn¡¯t done the deed himself, it could be because he didn¡¯t want to get involved too heavily and end up being killed down the line by the emperor. He had already remained in the Imperial Pce for many years, and so had already be a cunning old fox.

    Concubine Bai was full of admiration. She said, ¡°This situation that already left me in absolute despair has been dealt with so smoothly and rationally. It really is inconceivable.¡±

    ¡°Alright, enough with the ttery already. Can you fit inside?¡± Zu An asked worriedly.

    ¡°It should be fine,¡± Concubine Bai said with a blush. Then, under Zu An¡¯s shocked gaze, she first sat down in the chest, and her body trembled. Her legs moved behind her head, while her arms wrapped around her body and twisted at an exaggerated angle. In the end, she contorted herself into a sphere.

    Zu An was a bit absent-minded as he looked at the bowling ball-shaped woman in front of him. He remarked, ¡°Now this is what I call inconceivable.¡±

    Concubine Bai said in embarrassment, ¡°My body is a bit more flexible than usual, and I learned some body arts in the Holy Sect. That¡¯s why I¡¯m able to do this.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, How is this just a bit more flexible? You¡¯re already practically boneless.

    Just who the heck came up with the Devil Sect¡¯s skills? Whether it¡¯s Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei¡¯s charm skills, or Concubine Bai¡¯s body arts, they really are lethal to all men!

    ¡°I¡¯ve scared you, haven¡¯t I?¡± Concubine Bai asked, feeling a bit worried when she saw his stupefied appearance.

    ¡°Not at all. It¡¯s incredible,¡± Zu An said sincerely with a sigh of admiration.

    Now, it was Concubine Bai¡¯s turn to be embarrassed. Being stared at like this made her feel as if all her secrets had beenpletely exposed.

    Fortunately, Zu An quickly snapped out of his daze and took out the Fake Death Pill Ji Xiaoxi had given him. He said, ¡°Eat this. You¡¯ll quickly enter a fake death state. That way, no one will be able to sense your aura anymore.¡±

    There would be many strong individuals in the emperor¡¯s procession. If her aura were exposed, many imperial guards could realize that there was someone living inside. All of their efforts would be in vain then.

    Concubine Bai nodded and swallowed the pill without any hesitation. She knew she wouldn¡¯t be aware of anything else that happened once she took the pill. Still, she felt that this man in front of her was worthy of her trust.

    When he saw her gradually fall asleep, to the point that even her heartbeat and breath were almost nonexistent, Zu An sighed inwardly. Xiaoxi¡¯s drug really is incredible. He couldn''t help but touch his lips when he remembered that kind and pure littledy. He still remembered the soft sensation from when she had given him the drug. He really owed her a lot. But this world was so big, he didn¡¯t know when he would next meet her.

    After sorting out his thoughts, he closed the container and brought Concubine Bai outside. He had to admit that her body was really light. It was almost as if the chest didn¡¯t have any weight at all.

    The camp was packing up to move again, so the surroundings were a bit noisy. However, the trip was quite smooth. Perhaps because Eunuch Wen had already informed the others, none of the imperial guards stopped him.

    However, when Zu An reached the outermost area of the camp, there just happened to be troops passing by. The one in the lead was d in golden armor and had sharp eyes. They were a group of elite troops.

    Zu An cried out inwardly because the other figure was King Guangling, Zhao Yuan. He led the most elite troop of the entire Imperial Guard. Their status was quite a bit higher than his own Armed Escort Division. Most importantly, this man had always been on good terms with King Qi. The two of them were more than allies.

    Sure enough, Zhao Yuan frowned when he saw Zu An, calling out, ¡°Halt. State your intent!¡±

    ¡°Does General Zhao have guidance for me?¡± Zu An replied, not calling him by his noble title so as to not lose out in his presence. After all, their official ranks were simr, and between that and his position in the Eastern Pce, perhaps he was even ranked a bit higher.

    ¡°So it was Sir Zu,¡± Zhao Yuan said, pretending to have just recognized who he was. ¡°I wonder what Sir Zu is doing in such haste?¡±

    ¡°There is a matter that requires me to make a trip outside,¡± Zu An said, feeling a bit regretful. If he had known that it would be like this, he would have changed into his Golden Token Envoy attire. Then, no one would dare to question him. He thought, Sigh, I¡¯ve made a blunder!

    ¡°The army is about to set out. Could it be that Sir Zu¡¯s matter is more important than his majesty¡¯s procession?¡± Zhao Yuan said in surprise. Then, his gaze moved to the chest in Zu An¡¯s hands. ¡°I wonder what is stored in Sir Zu¡¯s chest?¡±

    The chest was a bit conspicuous, so it was hard to not notice it.

    ¡°There is no need to try to pressure me with his majesty¡¯s name. I am precisely acting under his majesty¡¯s orders. There is something rted to my task inside,¡± Zu An said unhappily. ¡°Could it be that the general wishes to look inside?¡±

    ¡°If Sir Zu doesn¡¯t mind, then please open it up for us to examine,¡± Zhao Yuan said with an apologetic expression. ¡°Please do not feel offended, as this is just procedure. Anything and anyone that leaves must be examined. I am not only targeting Sir Zu.¡±

    Even though that was what he said, his expression seemed to be saying ¡®I am targeting you; what are you going to do about it?¡¯

 Chapter 1711: Exposed

    Chapter 1711: Exposed

    Zu An coldly said, ¡°Please rethink this, Sir Zhao. There are some things that are better left unknown for your sake.¡±

    Zhao Yuan¡¯s expression changed a bit. As someone who worked in the Imperial Pce, he naturally knew that the imperial family had many secrets that couldn¡¯t be known by outsiders. He knew that what Zu An said wasn¡¯t a joke.

    However, when he looked at Zu An, after some hesitation, he felt that it was most likely a bluff. As such, he said with a smile, ¡°Sir Zu speaks too seriously. I am merely doing my job. Furthermore, I have not received any orders regarding anyone carrying something with them to carry out a mission.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression became unpleasant. He replied, ¡°Are you suggesting that I am lying to you?¡±

    Zhao Yuan smiled and said, ¡°What is Sir Zu saying? You are also a general who manages the Armed Escort Division. You should know about the responsibilities of Imperial Guard leaders. It will be better for everyone if we do the checks properly.¡±

    Zu An looked at him coldly. Actually, Concubine Bai was wearing Nanny Ping¡¯s clothes, so she¡¯d look just like her for the time being. As such, he didn¡¯t actually fear an investigation. Still, exining Nanny Ping¡¯s corpse would be another huge headache. If things stalled, Pin Ru¡¯s Wardrobe could lose its effects.

    Furthermore, Zhao Yuan was clearly troubling him, and there were so many soldiers watching. If he backed down here, then the Armed Escort Division wouldn¡¯t have any pride left. It would be more difficult for him to operate in the pce too.

    ¡°Then what if I refuse?¡± Zu An scowled and replied bluntly.

    Zhao Yuan¡¯s expression turned cold as he said, ¡°Then don¡¯t me me for taking action.¡±

    Afterward, the soldiers all drew their des and surrounded Zu An. A battle seemed to be on the verge of erupting.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Still, what kinds of dangerous situations had Zu An experienced? He naturally didn¡¯t treat these people as a big deal. Once he released Concubine Bai, there wouldn¡¯t be any proof left. He could juste up with any old excuse to deal with the emperor after.

    Suddenly, a sharp and thin voice coughed and asked, ¡°May I ask what is going on here?¡±

    ¡°So it was Eunuch Wen,¡± Zhao Yuan said. His expression also became a bit more respectful when he saw the eunuch. He said, ¡°This general was conducting a routine investigation, but Sir Zu refused. That is why myrades acted out of suspicion¡­¡± He described what happened, but exaggerated the situation. Anyone who heard his exnation would feel that there was something wrong with Zu An.

    Eunuch Wen gave Zu An a look, and his gazended on the chest in his hands. Zu An keenly sensed a wave of energy locking onto the chest and thought, Thank goodness I fed Concubine Bai that Fake Death Pill.

    Eunuch Wen clearly believed that it was Nanny Ping¡¯s corpse and thought that this kid had acted pretty quickly. Still, the conflict with Zhao Yuan had almost caused a disaster. He cleared his throat, then said casually, ¡°His majesty indeed sent Sir Zu to carry out a task. It is this one who forgot to let General Zhao know.¡±

    Zhao Yuan¡¯s expression changed. He immediately put on a smile and said, ¡°So there were arrangements from his majesty! Why didn¡¯t you tell me earlier, Sir Zu? It¡¯s a misunderstanding, definitely a misunderstanding.¡±

    Zu An watched him put on an act before retorting coldly, ¡°I said it earlier, but wasn¡¯t it you who didn¡¯t believe me and kept arguing noisily?¡±

    Zhao Yuan¡¯s smile immediately froze. He thought, I said that so everyone would have a way out of this situation! Little bastard, why aren¡¯t you acting like how a normal person would?!

    Zu An ignored him. He exchanged a few more sentences with Eunuch Wen, then left.

    As he watched Zu An leave, Zhao Yuan scowled.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An took Concubine Bai several hundred li away before stopping. He found a secluded forest to release her.

    Inside the chest, she was still curled up into a ball. Perhaps because of the Fake Death Pill, her fair face was now even more deathly pale. And yet, it only made her seem even more lovely.

    Zu An was suddenly a bit stunned. He remembered that when Ji Xiaoxi had given him the Fake Death Pill, she hadn¡¯t told him how to use it. He didn¡¯t even know how long it would take for her to wake up again. What if it took a few days? He didn¡¯t have that much time to watch over her!

    Still, his cultivation was very high and his knowledge had developed greatly as well. He roughly understood the principles of the Fake Death Pill. As such, he helped improve Concubine Bai¡¯s blood cirction to stimte her body into waking up earlier.

    He was worried that she would feel really ufortable and consideredying her body t first. But after trying several times, he discovered that her arms and legs were tightly bound around each other. If he used too little strength, nothing would happen, but if he used more strength, he could hurt her. As such, he didn¡¯t try anymore and tried to just wake her up first.

    Just like that, under the powerful cirction of his ki, a bit of color gradually returned to Concubine Bai¡¯s face. Then, her seemingly stopped heartbeat began again, albeit weakly. After a while, she started breathing lightly too.

    Concubine Bai gradually woke up with a groan, batting her eyelids gently.

    Zu An sighed in relief, asking, ¡°You¡¯re awake?¡±

    Perhaps because Concubine Bai was in a near-death state, her mind was still a bit nk. She stared at the man in front of her in a daze, her thoughts unclear. She was briefly stupefied. Zu An was startled. He quickly waved his hand in front of her face, for fear that the pill had turned her into a human vegetable.

    Concubine Bai finally snapped out of it. She said in embarrassment, ¡°I¡¯m fine. I was just a bit muddle-headed after waking up again.¡±

    She wanted to get up, but she was shocked to discover that she was still curled up in her special stance. She pleaded, ¡°Can you help me a bit? I can¡¯t undo it right now.¡±

    If she were in her usual state, there would naturally be no problem. But right now, she was still sealed by the emperor, and she had been in the fake death state for so long. Her body had be much stiffer.

    When he saw her troubled condition, Zu An couldn''t help butugh. He wondered what he would have to do to get her to teach this technique to his other sweethearts. Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei surely wouldn¡¯t be too difficult to convince since they all came from the Devil Sect, but with Yun Jianyue¡¯s nature, she wouldn¡¯t necessarily be willing to learn it. Meanwhile, Yan Xuehen¡¯s side would be even harder¡­

    When she recovered, Concubine Bai got up and sorted out her clothes. Then, she bowed and said, ¡°Young master has saved my life. This humble one¡­¡± She trailed off as she suddenly remembered the joke he had told her before. At that moment, she didn¡¯t even know what to say.

    Zu An clearly realized that as well. He coughed awkwardly and said, ¡°You¡¯re treating me like a stranger with our rtionship. I believe that if I were in your situation, you would help me too.¡±

    Concubine Bai felt warm inside when she saw him try to console her. At the same time, she became a bit mischievous, saying, ¡°That¡¯s hard to say though. Even though we were friends, I wouldn¡¯t necessarily have taken such a huge risk to save you.¡±

    When she saw Zu An¡¯s expression stiffen, she giggled and said, ¡°But after this, forget about saving the young master, as long as you need anything, you only need to give the word. I¡¯ll be willing.¡±

    Zu An had a strange expression as he thought, Is she hinting at something, or did she say that unintentionally? The Devil Sect¡¯s women all seem to be really good at saying things that toy with others¡¯ feelings.

    He quickly gathered his thoughts and asked, ¡°What kind of ns do you have next? Return to the Devil Sect?¡±

    Concubine Bai shook her head. She said dejectedly, ¡°That ce merely treats me as a tool too. What¡¯s the point in returning¡­¡± She realized that the statement was inappropriate midway through her sentence and stopped. Instead, she said, ¡°I n to make a trip to the capital. I want to see my child.¡±

    Zu An said with a frown, ¡°It¡¯s too dangerous to go back with your current identity. Furthermore, you still have a seal on your body¡­¡±

    Concubine Bai said with a smile, ¡°Young master, don¡¯t worry. I know what I¡¯m doing. I won¡¯t expose myself and put the young master in danger. As for the restriction, it¡¯ll gradually undo itself after some time. I am from the Devil Sect, after all, and with the pill I took before, I have the ability to protect myself.¡±

    Seeing as she had already made up her mind, Zu An couldn''t say much else. As a mother, Concubine Bai¡¯s love for her child seemed to surpass all worries of danger.

    After giving her some things to protect herself with, Zu An returned to the emperor¡¯s procession. After all, if he didn¡¯te back, that would be suspicious. He nned to show himself before returning to Violet Mountain. Being around big sis Yan and Yun was much more fun than being near the moody emperor.

    However, when he arrived at the giant army again, he discovered that everyone with some importance in the court was present. When they saw him arrive, all of them had extremely inscrutable expressions.

    Zu An wondered what they were doing. They all had weird looks on their faces. He nned to just blend in with the crowd after greeting the emperor respectfully, but to his surprise, Zhao Han suddenly said with a sneer, ¡°You¡¯ve really pulled the wool over my eyes, Fiend Races¡¯ Regent!¡±

 Chapter 1712: Dispute

    <h4>Chapter 1712: Dispute</h4>

    Unlike the carriages of the period shows Zu An had watched in his previous world, it was hard to even call what Zhao Han was riding on a carriage. There were four beasts pulling the cart, and the carriage itself was so big it resembled a miniature pce. The entire carriage flickered with light blue runes that represented formations in charge of the carriage¡¯s stability, wind resistance, and other such things designed to grant as muchfort to those inside as much as possible. They wouldn¡¯t even feel any movement.

    Almost all of the court¡¯s important officials were present, as if it were an imperial assembly. After Zhao Han spoke, they all looked at Zu An with different expressions. Some were full of shock, while others were delighted to see him suffer. Some were worried, while others were just watching because they wanted to see something interesting¡­

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed several times as well. At first, he had thought that his rescue of Concubine Bai had been exposed or something, and wondered how to exin himself. He hadn¡¯t expected it to be because of this. He had known that his identity as the Regent would be exposed sooner orter, but he hadn¡¯t thought it would be this quick. Thus, he was caught off guard.

    However, he didn¡¯t choose to argue against it as that would be meaningless. The human emperor¡¯s judgment wasn¡¯t like thew in his previous world, which would need some kind of proof. He even felt the urge to run. Even though Zhao Han was extremely strong, with Zu An¡¯s current level of cultivation and confidence, it wasn¡¯t as if there was no chance of escaping at all.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Suddenly, Zu An heard a familiar voice at his side. ¡°There¡¯s no need to be so rmed. Even though the Regent identity will bring you some trouble, it can also serve as your very own protective talisman.¡±

    Zu An was briefly stunned. Then, he eximed happily, ¡°Big sis empress, you woke up?¡±

    Ever since Mi Li had gone to sleep that time, she had gone in and out of dormancy. Zu An had already gotten used to life without her.

    ¡°Call me master!¡± Mi Li corrected him in annoyance.

    ¡°Big sis master¡­¡± Zu An called out happily. For some reason, he always felt much calmer whenever she appeared.I really am a natural-born moocher after all!

    ¡°Quit it with your slick tongue! Deal with your current predicament first,¡± Mi Li warned him.

    Zu An nodded. He had already regained hisposure, so he bowed to Zhao Han and said, ¡°This matter is a long story. Previously, I had many misgivings, so I didn¡¯t immediately report to your majesty. I hope for your majesty¡¯s forgiveness.¡±

    Zhao Han was stunned. He had thought that with Zu An¡¯s personality, he would definitely at least argue a bit. Then, after such a shameful performance, he could simply bepletely crushed and subdued. He hadn¡¯t expected Zu An to admit to it in such a straightforward manner.

    The elders in the court had all kinds of exaggerated expressions. Some of those who were close to Zu An had hoped that the usation wasn¡¯t true, and had wondered if they could speak up for him. And yet, judging from the looks of things, all of that would have beenpletely useless.

    Bi Ziang was present as well, but with all of the court present here, his usual proud and arrogant nature had to take a backseat. In front of so many bigwigs, he was as insignificant as an ant. At the moment, however, his jaw was about to fall off. He had previously held absolute confidence in front of Zu An, and he hadn¡¯t treated it as that big of a deal no matter how the other man acted. He had seen Zu An as nothing more than his little sister¡¯s pet. No matter how formidable the other man was, he was nothing more than the Bi n¡¯s dog.

    But now that he had learned that Zu An was actually the Fiend races¡¯ Regent, everything changed! The Fiend races were known for being vicious savages who were addicted to killing, and their powerful ns made them the human race¡¯s greatest enemy. What kind of concept was ¡®Regent of the Fiend races¡¯? Forget about Bi Ziang, even those on his father¡¯s level would be a bit inferior in status!

    Just who was the dog here?

    King Qi, who was standing at the forefront of the gathered subjects, raised his brows. He had thought that this brat was nothing more than a frolicking little clown who frequently ruined his ns. But now, he couldn''t help but reevaluate Zu An again.

    Chief Attendant Pei Zheng stepped forward and said, ¡°Your majesty, this youngster hasmitted the crime of deceiving our ruler. Furthermore, he has colluded with the Fiend races to hide such a high position; he truly has ravenous designs. I hope that your majesty will execute this youngster for his crimes and investigate the Fiend races¡¯ defeated remnants!¡± His voice was incredibly impassioned, as if full of anger, and yet also full of extreme excitement.

    His reaction wasn¡¯t that surprising. A year or two prior, King Qi had been incredibly powerful, making others confident that he would be the next emperor. And yet, ever since this brat Zu An came to the capital, everything had changed. Several low to mid-level officials of King Qi¡¯s faction had been stripped of their positions; after some time, even the core forces of King Qi¡¯s faction, such as Secretariat Assistant Director Yu Nan and Imperial Secretariat¡¯s Left Confidential Assistant Yu Xuanchong, had been overthrown one after another. Decades of ns in Cloudcenter Commandery had beenpletely ruined. Right now, the King Qi faction¡¯s forces had already deteriorated to the extreme.

    That all had something to do with Zu An. Pei Zheng had only been able to watch his meteoric rise without being able to do a thing. Now, he had finally found a chance to retaliate, so how could he not be excited?

    Zu An thought to himself,Big Manman¡¯s grandfather really is a letdown.If this man knew about his rtionship with his granddaughter, would he still attack so ruthlessly?

    Guard General Liu Yao also stepped forward and said, ¡°Indeed. Our dynasty punishes those who have secretly colluded with the Fiend races with three generations of executions. This Zu hasmitted a deliberate vition. He has received benevolence from your majesty, and yet he actually served as the Fiend races¡¯ Regent! This is another tremendous crime!¡±

    Many people¡¯s expressions became a bit strange. King Qi and the emperor¡¯s faction were usually awfully busy arguing over every little thing. And yet today, they actually both stood on the same front against Zu An.

    The emperor nodded slightly and said, ¡°What you say carries some reason.¡±

    Just then, Bi Qi, who rarely expressed his opinion, surprisingly said, ¡°Your majesty, this humble subject feels that this is inappropriate. We were previously suspicious as to why the conditions for the Fiend races¡¯ armistice were so favorable for us, and we were worried that they could be plotting something. Now, it is clear that it must have been because of Sir Zu¡¯s influence. As such, if we look at it from this perspective, Sir Zu was actually acting in the human race¡¯s interests. Not only has he not done anything wrong, he actually carries merit.¡±

    Bi Ziang was stunned. He hadn¡¯t expected his father to actually speak up for Zu An at such a critical moment!

    That Zu bastard might be a trusted aide little sis raised up, but he¡¯s already the Fiend races¡¯ Regent! There¡¯s no way he¡¯d be willing to let the Bi n order him around! Even little sis herself might not be able to control him now.

    Father has never been one to act on impulse, so there¡¯s no way he doesn¡¯t understand that. Why would he take such a huge risk here?

    Pei Zheng sneered and retorted, ¡°Then ording to what Sir Bi is saying, this Mister Zu should not be punished for colluding with the Fiend races, but should instead be rewarded? Then what purpose would thew of our empire serve? In the future, everyone would be able to act like him and collude with the Fiend races. Would we even be a country anymore?¡±

    Bi Qi was a leading figure of the crown prince¡¯s faction, so the two sides often shed with each other. Pei Zheng found Bi Qi¡¯s personalitypletely unbearable, so that was why he immediately fired back. Soon after, those who were on good terms with Bi Qi and Pei Zheng argued with each other. The ce became extremely noisy at once.

    Zhao Han frowned when he saw the familiar scene. These two sides were always arguing. Just looking at it made him angry.

    This time, however, the different sides unexpectedly broke up into two new factions. Some of them approved of Bi Qi¡¯s opinion, while others demanded Zu An¡¯s execution with Pei Zheng. It was quite a novel sight.

    As such, Zhao Han looked at Jiang Boyang and said, ¡°Boyang, you are the Commandant of Justice, someone who is in charge of the court¡¯sws. What do you think about this matter?¡±

    Jiang Boyang bowed and said, ¡°This subject believes that colluding with the Fiend races is the most severe offense. Because of that, Sir Zu deserves execution for his crimes.

    ¡°However, he has helped the human race receive great benefits in the negotiations this time. If we deny him of this contribution, we may receive criticism. Furthermore, he is the Fiend races¡¯ Regent, so if something happens to him, would the Fiend races really just leave the matter at that? Perhaps the peace talks we have just begun will once again return to the mes of war. That is not something that would bring themon people happiness.

    ¡°This is not something that can strictly be decided throughw, so this subject does not dare to make a decision. I can only hope that your majesty¡¯s wise and brilliant self cane to a righteous judgment.¡±

    All of the other subjects cursed him for being an old fox, not offending either side and being so cunning.

    Zu An thought to himself,It¡¯s still Principal Jiang¡¯s pops who cares more about me. Pei Zheng, why don¡¯t you learn a bit from him?

    Zhao Han declined toment and looked at Zhao Jing, asking, ¡°King Qi, what do you think?¡±

 Chapter 1713: Olive Branch

    <h4>Chapter 1713: Olive Branch</h4>

    Now, people¡¯s gazes all fell on King Qi. Many of them knew just how badly Zu An had screwed King Qi over the past few years. If his majesty wanted him to speak, that meant Zu An was done for.

    At the same time, the King Qi faction¡¯s people frowned slightly.His majesty really is crafty. He clearly wants to execute Zu An, and yet he didn¡¯t say it and instead had King Qi speak. Doesn¡¯t this mean he wants King Qi to take responsibility?

    Even though Zu An was an orphan, he had befriended quite a few ns. Otherwise, there wouldn¡¯t have been so many people speaking up for him. Furthermore, his identity as the Regent was troublesome. If the Fiend races learned that King Qi had caused his death, they could very well try to settle the debt with their king.

    King Qi smiled and said, ¡°Sir Zu has indeed made a mistake, but it is as Sir Jiang said; he has brought back contributions for our human race. As such, dealing with him so quickly would only make the hearts of our people grow cold. Furthermore, having a human as the Regent is better than the Fiend races putting one of their own in that position, no?¡±

    Those present were all shocked, especially those from King Qi¡¯s faction. They hadn¡¯t expected him to actually speak up for Zu An. They understood clearly just how much King Qi hated that Zu bastard. Could it be that King Qi was taking a step back to advance even more quickly? Was it that he knew that the emperor wouldn¡¯t agree with him, so he deliberately spoke this way? Was he actually hoping for the emperor to deal with Zu An himself?

    Our king really is brilliant!

    The emperor was a bit surprised, clearly not expecting King Qi¡¯s answer. He replied, ¡°Then ording to what King Qi is saying, we should not punish him for colluding with the Fiend races?¡±

    King Qi nodded and said, ¡°Not only should we not punish him, we should reward him greatly. After all, he has brought back an incredible achievement. Furthermore, his identity as the Regent is very favorable for us. It will be much easier to aplish our interests in the Fiend races¡¯ territory through him in the future.¡±

    Amotion erupted when the others heard those words. Even though Pei Zheng had been arguing for Zu An¡¯s execution, he couldn''t say anything anymore out of respect for King Qi.

    However, the emperor¡¯s faction didn¡¯t have such misgivings. They all began to ridicule the other side, with one person even saying with a sneer, ¡°He has already be the Fiend races¡¯ Regent. King Qi, who do you really think he will help more, the Fiend races or the human race?¡±

    King Qi didn¡¯t seem to agree and replied, ¡°That is but a simple matter. Just make Sir Zu a king as well. If he is a king on both sides, I trust that as a human himself, he will definitely care more about our side.¡±

    King Qi¡¯s faction stared at him, their jaws hanging open. They had thought that King Qi was just backing off so the emperor would end up doing what he wanted, but now, it seemed that King Qi was serious!

    Bi Ziang was full of jealousy as he looked at Zu An. Previously, the noble rank of count had already made him incredibly envious, and now, Zu An could even be a king? Just how old was he? Furthermore, granting someone outside of the royal family the title of king was exceedingly rare even throughout previous dynasties!

    He was getting angrier and angrier. In that instant, he had discovered that he now had to look up to the person he had previously seen as a ve. He found it hard to calm his emotions for a long time.

    Zu An was also surprised to hear that King Qi would speak up for him. However, Mi Li¡¯s voice said in his mind, ¡°What is there to be surprised about here? That¡¯s just how the world works. Good people or bad people? Only the immature would care about those things. For most people, they only care about whether the other person is useful or not.

    ¡°A useful person, no matter how bad one¡¯s rtionship with them is, is naturally shown much higher tolerance. On the contrary, no one pays a useless person any attention no matter how kind they are.

    ¡°This is precisely the value ofworking. Now, with your new identity, King Qi has a higher evaluation of you. The way he treats you is naturally different.¡±

    Zu An frowned. He felt that her wording was a bit too extreme somehow, and yet he didn¡¯t exactly know how to argue against it.

    Zhao Han coughed and said, ¡°What King Qi says has some justification. However, bestowing the title of king is still too shocking. This needs to be discussed carefullyter.¡±

    It was clear that he didn¡¯t want to pursue Zu An¡¯s responsibility in this matter any further. The other subjects weren¡¯t stupid. Even though some people were a bit unhappy, they wouldn¡¯t go against the emperor and King Qi¡¯s intentions publicly. Thus, they quickly began to discuss how Zu An would be dealt with. He wasn¡¯t to be punished or rewarded for now, but he wouldn¡¯t be allowed to leave for the time being, either.

    Zu An felt a huge headache. He had been about to reunite with his beautiful sisters in Violet Mountain, and yet now, he had been tied down here.

    Still, he knew that this matter was an important one. The fact that they hadn¡¯t decided to pursue it in an extreme manner was already quite good for him. He had already been mentally prepared to fight for his life.

    ¡­

    After the court assembly ended and Zu An left, he was suddenly startled and looked to his left. He only saw an Embroidered Envoy standing there. The patterns on his clothes werepletely different from those of any other Embroidered Envoy. It was none other than the Chief Commander Zhuxie Chixin, who had been missing for a long time already.

    Zu An took the initiative to greet him, saying, ¡°Chief Commander, long time no see.¡±

    The other important ministers gave him a look full of disgust. It was clear that they all avoided Zhuxie Chixin, as they viewed him as nothing but trouble to interact with. However, that was precisely what the two wanted anyway, as they didn¡¯t want others to listen in on their conversation.

    Zhuxie Chixin voiced his acknowledgment. ¡°It seems you¡¯ve experienced quite the meteoric sess as ofte. It really makes one unable to help but develop a whole new level of respect.¡±

    Zu An was surprised when he sensed the envy in Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s tone. He suddenly understood why Zhao Han knew about his Regent identity. It was likely this person who had brought the information back from the front lines.

    ¡°Chief Commander speaks too seriously; it was nothing more than a fluke. Aren¡¯t I still Chief Commander¡¯s subordinate?¡± Zu An replied without batting an eye.

    Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s expression finally eased up a bit. He said, ¡°Do not be impatient. If you do well working for his majesty, you will be properly rewarded.¡±

    Zu An sneered inwardly.This guy and Zhao Han are really good at bullshitting. They¡¯re only good at giving empty promises.

    However, he didn¡¯t show it as he asked, ¡°Where has Chief Commander been? Many things have happened in the Embroidered Envoy system as ofte.¡±

    ¡°I carried out a secret mission. You should know our rules; don¡¯t ask about what you¡¯re not supposed to,¡± Zhuxie Chixin responded coldly.

    Zu An sneered inwardly when he sensed the strong bloody aura on Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s body.I know what kind of atrocities youmitted without you having to say it, anyway.

    ¡°Chief Commander seems to have already broken through the door of the grandmaster rank,¡± he remarked. Even though Zhuxie Chixin didn¡¯t deliberately show it off, he could keenly sense the changes to the other man¡¯s aura.

    Zhuxie Chixin was stunned. He hadn¡¯t expected to be seen through like that. But now that he had finally made progress in his long-cherished wish, he couldn''t help but be a bit proud. He said, ¡°I suddenly obtained an opportunity and was able to have a sessful breakthrough.¡±

    ¡°Congrattions, congrattions!¡± Zu An replied, although he felt extremely cold inside. The so-called opportunity was probably from that massacre, right?

    ¡­

    The two separated soon after, and Zhuxie Chixin returned to his troops. Zu An secretly asked Mi Li, ¡°Master empress, when did you wake up, by the way?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t remember.¡± Mi Li said with a grin. ¡°A certain someone seemed to be pursuing both the master and disciple. I may have already been awake then.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He asked, ¡°Are you a pervert? Do you have a hobby of peeping on others or something?¡±

    Mi Li¡¯s expression grew cold as she snapped, ¡°What did you say?¡±

    ¡°Nothing,¡± Zu An muttered. ¡°I just feel as if you never even fell asleep in the first ce.¡±

    Because Mi Li¡¯s inner ki had suffered great damage, he hadn¡¯t suspected anything the first time she fell asleep. However, he had always found it a bit weird when she slept on subsequent asions.

    ¡°If you hadn¡¯t done anything shameful, there wouldn¡¯t have been anything to worry about regardless of whether I slept or not,¡± Mi Li said with a snort.

    Zu An thought to himself,Who would want everything they did to bepletely exposed to someone else?

    Suddenly, he was startled. He turned around and saw a middle-aged man dressed in official robes and a jade belt walking over. It was none other than King Qi. Zu An hadn¡¯t expected him to approach directly, and asked, ¡°Does the respected king have any wisdom to share with me?¡±

    ¡°Sir Zu is too polite. Ah, no, I should call you Regent now,¡± King Qi said with a smile.

    Zu An looked at him with suspicion. He couldn''t figure out what King Qi¡¯s intention was.

    ¡°Weren¡¯t you quite surprised just now?¡± King Qi continued, getting straight to the point.

    ¡°I was indeed,¡± Zu An said with a chuckle.

    ¡°Brother emperor seems to have wished for you to be punished. There are quite a few of his ministers who share his intentions,¡± King Qi said with a sigh.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t there many followers of the king who are the same?¡± Zu An added calmly.

    ¡°That¡¯s different,¡± King Qi said, shaking his head. ¡°Sir Zu has been faithful and true to brother emperor these years, and yet in the end, you were nothing more than a lone official. Sir Zu is quite intelligent, so you should understand that an official all on his own won¡¯t have a good end.¡±

    Zu An paused for a moment before saying, ¡°Respected king, after what¡¯s happened between the two of us, what you¡¯ve just said seems a bit meaningless.¡±

    King Qi nodded and said, ¡°Indeed. This king did hate you for ruining my ns, but that¡¯s already a thing of the past. Today is a different day, and we need to look forward.¡±

    ¡°Because of my identity as the regent?¡± Zu Anughed mockingly.

    ¡°I won¡¯t deny that¡¯s a factor,¡± King Qi said. ¡°But in the end, there are no eternal enemies, only eternal interests. I¡¯ve been watching coldly as a bystander as ofte. Brother emperor doesn¡¯t seem to have truly taken you in, but rather, is preparing to throw you away. You should have also sensed this.¡±

    ¡°What does respected king really wish to say?¡± Zu An asked seriously.

    ¡°Do you still remember the agreement of cooperation we made in the past? Why don¡¯t we have another alliance?¡± King Qi offered, not hiding his intentions at all.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°Respected king, even if I agree, you might not trust me, and there is no way I¡¯ll trust you. Is there any meaning in such cooperation?¡±

    ¡°That problem did exist in the past,¡± King Qi said with a nod. His expression suddenly became mysterious before he continued, ¡°But what if we be one family?¡±

    Favorite

 Chapter 1714: Love in the Air

    <h4>Chapter 1714: Love in the Air</h4>

    Zu An was stunned, saying, ¡°The king must be telling jokes. Your respected self is an important part of the imperial family, while I¡¯m just amoner. No matter how great our rtionship is, it isn¡¯t to the point that we can be considered one family, right?¡±

    He wondered whether King Qi had lost his mind a bit from urgency.It¡¯s one thing to try to rope me in, but this kind of messed-up excuse really is going a bit too far¡­

    Even if the two of them became allies, they would definitely each have their own ulterior motives. They couldn''t even be said to have a good rtionship then, let alone bing one family.

    King Qi remained unfazed. He said with a smile, ¡°This king has a beloved daughter named Xiaodie. She¡¯s always been pretty since she was little and is quite adorable. When she was older, I sent her to the ssical daoist sect, the Heavenly Sorrow Sect, to cultivate. Her cultivation talent is outstanding too. It isn¡¯t that I am ttering her on purpose; she really is talented and good-looking.¡±

    He paused for a moment, and suddenly thought of something. He said with a smile, ¡°Sir Zu has spent quite a bit of time on Violet Mountain as ofte. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve already met her.¡±

    Zu An reflexively nodded and said, ¡°I have. Your esteemed daughter is indeed beautiful.¡±

    But her personality is a bit strange. She seems to lean toward M¡­he thought. Of course, there was no way he would dare to say that out loud to King Qi. Otherwise, if he found out that Zu An had previously whipped his precious daughter, he could immediately be hostile.

    King Qi had a proud father¡¯s expression when he heard Zu An¡¯s praise. He said, ¡°She is of age now, too. ording to what I¡®ve heard, Sir Zu is unmarried. I believe the two of you would make a great pair, a match made in heaven¡­¡±

    Zu An was stunned when he heard that. He had never expected King Qi to make such a suggestion.

    Mi Liughed in his mind and remarked, ¡°Not bad, not bad! It seems your livelihood is getting better and better! Even that king wants you as a son-inw.¡±

    Zu An replied in annoyance, ¡°Stop making fun of me already and help me figure out what King Qi is really thinking.¡±

    Their souls were tied together, so speaking mentally was much easier. They could have an entire conversation without even a second passing in the real world.

    ¡°What else? He¡¯s trying to rope you in,¡± Mi Li said casually. ¡°You are the Fiend races¡¯ Regent now, and you have extraordinary status. After weighing his interests, he¡¯s decided that roping you in is much better than making you his enemy.¡±

    ¡°But isn¡¯t he investing a bit too much? His eagerness is definitely abnormal,¡± Zu An said doubtfully. ¡°The two of us have had our share of interactions, and because of our previous conflicts, we share quite the grudge¡­¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to worry about that,¡± Mi Li exined. ¡°He doesn¡¯t have many ulterior motives right now, and he wouldn¡¯t offer his daughter if he weren¡¯t serious. He likely keenly sensed that there¡¯s actually a rift between you and Zhao Han. He knows that you¡¯re someone he can fight for, so he went as far as to seek you out.

    ¡°Furthermore, judging from his urgency and how he¡¯s proposing such generous conditions, it doesn¡¯t seem to only be because of your identity as the Regent. He probably has another huge n against the emperor in motion and needs your support. As such, all the rest doesn¡¯t matter.¡±

    Zu An was startled.Could it be something on Violet Mountain?

    Even though he knew that King Qi carried some sincerity this time, he still said apologetically, ¡°Thank you for your generous intentions, but I already have a wife. Furthermore, I already have many sweethearts too¡­¡±

    ¡°You are talking about the Qin n¡¯s granddaughter, right?¡± King Qi replied, seemingly unbothered. ¡°From what I know, you¡¯ve already divorced and she isn¡¯t actually your wife. If it¡¯s just sweethearts, what¡¯s the big deal for a great man to have many concubines? Xiaodie is from the imperial n and isn¡¯t someone who would easily get jealous. She won¡¯t stop you from having your sweethearts then.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    Mi Li said, ¡°Agree to it. If you refuse this condition, you¡¯ll have thoroughly offended him. At that point, if both Zhao Han and King Qi want to get rid of you, do you really think you¡¯re so awesome that you can fight both of them off?¡±

    Zu An shivered. Taking both of those parties as enemies really wasn¡¯t a wise choice. However, he wasn¡¯t willing to give up on his marriage for that. Thus, he said, ¡°I wish to say thanks for the king¡¯s good intentions. The youngdy and I have encountered each other on Violet Mountain and experienced some interesting events.¡±

    ¡°Oh? There was something like that?¡± King Qi replied in surprise. He hadn¡¯t expected his precious daughter to actually have a good rtionship with Zu An. He thought to himself,How is this kid that good at getting the attention of pretty girls?

    Zu An nodded and said, ¡°It¡¯s because I am familiar with the youngdy that I can¡¯t hurt her feelings through a transactional rtionship. It would be better if things happened naturally.¡± He didn¡¯t agree, nor did he refuse. Instead, he provided an ambiguous reply.

    ¡°Hm¡­¡± King Qi muttered with a frown. He was a bit dissatisfied with the result.

    Zu An said, ¡°King, there¡¯s no harm in telling the truth. In the past, it wasn¡¯t that I intentionally wanted to make you my enemy, but rather that it was just the result of fate. There¡¯s no sh of interests between us that can¡¯t be overlooked. Furthermore, considering my friendship with the princess, we can naturally grow our rtionship from here. I hope that the king doesn¡¯t still harbor former hatred.¡±

    King Qi¡¯s worry turned to happiness as he said, ¡°Haha, but of course.¡±

    ¡­

    When King Qi left, Zu An sighed deeply and said, ¡°Big sis master, I feel as if something really big has happened! Even though I can vaguely sense it, I don¡¯t know exactly what happened. I can¡¯t help but feel a bit uneasy somehow.¡±

    ¡°What is there to worry about?¡± Mi Li replied, sounding rxed. ¡°Either way, even if the worst happens, you¡¯ll have someone above you as a shield. You should actually be grateful that there¡¯s someone like King Qi to draw Zhao Han¡¯s attention away from you. Otherwise, he would have already found out and destroyed all of those ns of yours.¡±

    Zu An chuckled in embarrassment and asked, ¡°It¡¯s not that serious, right? He doesn¡¯t know many of the things I¡¯ve done.¡±

    ¡°You haven¡¯t experienced the imperial family¡¯s education and don¡¯t know how they think,¡± Mi Li said, shaking her head, ¡°For example, the emperor doesn¡¯t like you, so you won¡¯te to a good end. It¡¯s just that you still have a bit of use left for him.

    ¡°Furthermore, after he lost his split soul in the Westhound Tomb Secret Dungeon, though he doesn¡¯t know what happened inside, it was just your group that emerged. For the emperor, he would rather kill you than leave even a chance for the perpetrator to escape. Once he deals with King Qi, you¡¯ll be next.¡±

    ¡°So that¡¯s why you told me to agree to King Qi¡¯s arranged marriage,¡± Zu An said with a sigh.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you usually a huge pervert? Is there something wrong with you today? I¡¯ve seen that Zhao Xiaodie before. Even though she isn¡¯t as good as that Chu girl, she¡¯s still an incredible beauty in her own right. It¡¯s not as if you¡¯re losing out,¡± Mi Li said, a bit annoyed at Zu An¡¯s behavior in this situation.

    ¡°That woman is a bit weird¡­ And I don¡¯t have to sell my body, do I?¡± Zu An grumbled unhappily.

    Mi Liughed. She reached out a slender finger and hooked it around his chin, saying, ¡°Tsk tsk tsk, I didn¡¯t expect you to have a bit of a backbone!¡±

    Zu An suddenly realized something and asked, ¡°You saw Zhao Xiaodie before? Then doesn¡¯t that mean you were awake a long time ago?¡±

    ¡°Yup, or else I would have missed a spectacr sight,¡± Mi Li said with a sigh. ¡°Kid, you really are quite the charmer! You actually even got together with their masters. Even though those two women are both extremely beautiful, who knows how much older they are than you. It seems you have quite the unique taste¡­¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Her expression suddenly changed when she said that. She snapped, ¡°Brat, you don¡¯t have such thoughts about me too, do you?¡±

 Chapter 1715: Foot of the Mountain

    Chapter 1715: Foot of the Mountainn/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An rolled his eyes and replied, ¡°Am I someone who would abuse my master and ancestors?¡±

    Mi Li figured that made sense. She had just said it in passing, anyway.

    The two spoke a bit more about various things that had happened as ofte, and other matters rted to cultivation.

    ¡°Big brother Zu~¡± a beautiful figure riding a vermilion horse called out as she rushed over. She had long legs and a slender waist, and rode atop arge and tall horse with tremendous mastery. She looked like a valiant and powerful female general.

    ¡°And there¡¯s another woman looking for you,¡± Mi Li said, then rolled her eyes and disappeared.

    ¡°Little sis Qinghe, brothers Qin!¡± Zu An greeted them, cupping his hands. Apart from Murong Qinghe, the Qin n brothers had alsoe.

    The brothers both returned the greeting. The way they looked at him was extremely conflicted, however.

    Murong Qinghe spoke her thoughts first. ¡°Big brother Zu, I heard that you became the Fiend races¡¯ Regent?¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He replied, ¡°Even you guys have heard about that?¡±

    ¡°It was true?¡± Murong Qinghe cried out in rm. Her pretty face was full of shock.

    It wasn¡¯t just her; even the usuallyposed Qin Guangyuan was currently really shaken up. Meanwhile, the frivolous Qin Yongde was even more stupefied. He was so shocked he couldn''t even say a thing.

    After all, the Qin n was already practically one of the Great Zhou Dynasty¡¯s greatest ns. With such a family background, they were already pretty much the most prestigious of young masters! They had previously viewed this ¡®brother-inw¡¯ of theirs from a lofty position, and had even felt a bit of disdain toward him. And yet, Zu An had disyed shocking talent, so their opinions had subsequently improved for the better. Even so, there was no way they would look up to him or anything like that.

    But now that they had learned that he was actually the Fiend races¡¯ Regent, they truly felt inferior. When the difference in status was too great, sometimes, there wouldn¡¯t even be any feelings of jealousy.

    ¡°It was nothing more than a coincidence. It¡¯s not that big of a deal,¡± Zu An said humbly.

    ¡°What do you mean, it isn¡¯t that big of a deal?!¡± Murong Qinghe cried. She immediately began to pester him about how he had be the Regent. Because of Chu Youzhao, her rtionship with Zu An had also grown closer. Furthermore, Chu Youzhao wasn¡¯t here, so she had already returned to her tomboy behavior. She almost put her arm around Zu An out of sheer enthusiasm.

    The Qin n brothers were also curious. They both asked about the subject as well. Helpless to do anything else, Zu An could only tell them about the events in the Fiend races¡¯ territory.

    At the same time, he learned from them that a huge disturbance had happened in the capital not too long ago. Several important ministers had once again appealed to the emperor to send King Qi back to his own fiefdom instead of allowing him to stay in the capital. Previously, King Qi¡¯s faction and the emperor¡¯s faction had constantly entered a heated debate over that matter. Both sides had even started quoting the ssics. But now that King Qi¡¯s side had weakened so greatly, they clearly didn¡¯t have as much influence as before.

    Meanwhile, King Qi had also personally expressed that he would return to his fiefdom. After he attended the Fengshan Ceremony, he would return directly to hisnd and not the capital.

    The Qin n brothers sighed, saying regretfully that it was the end of an era. At the same time, they were full of worry regarding the future. After all, the Qin n was part of King Qi¡¯s faction. Now that King Qi had left the capital, it signified his defeat. That meant the Qin n would experience the consequences of following him not long after.

    ¡­

    A few more days passed, and the emperor¡¯s group arrived at Yi Commandery. King Yan had alreadye out ahead of time with his men to wee them. Thus, they entered the city.

    The emperor privately criticized King Yan, as the uprising that had taken ce was crossing the line a bit. King Yan appeared to be ovee with fear and trepidation, but he actually sighed inwardly in relief. After all, the fact that the emperor was willing to scold him meant that the matter was already a thing of the past.

    Sure enough, the emperor merely applied a few punishments to King Yan Manor that were neither too severe or too light. At the same time, he shuffled around some of the people in Yi Commandery¡¯s officialdom. He didn¡¯t actually do that much to King Yan Manor. People all knew the emperor¡¯s intentions, so they didn¡¯t tactlessly say anything.

    Zu An watched with the cool gaze of a bystander. He just felt that the atmosphere was a bit weird. Rarely would one get a chance to see King Qi and the emperor¡¯s faction on such good terms.

    Mi Li said in his mind, ¡°This isn¡¯t that strange. Right now, both King Qi and the emperor want to get rid of each other, and they¡¯re about to reveal their cards. In such a critical moment, they naturally don¡¯t want to take the risk of offending any major powers on the other side. Otherwise, what if they end up supporting the other side?¡±

    Zu An nodded inwardly. As expected, the stronger you were, the more people would want you on their side no matter where you went.

    Just then, an official suddenly arrived to report on an important military matter. It turned out that Yi Commandery had discovered the main force of a rebel army nearby. The leader was none other than Lu Sanyuan. There were many branches of the rebel army in the world, but Lu Sanyuan was their leader. It was rumored that he and the Devil Sect were closely linked. Not only was his cultivation high, he was also good at using weaponry. The official armies had suffered quite badly at his hands.

    Zhao Han promptly ordered King Yan to put down the chaos. King Yan said, sounding troubled, ¡°Your majesty, from what I know, it doesn¡¯t seem to be Lu Sanyuan¡¯s rebel army alone! The mountain and forest bandits have all gathered nearby, as if some kind of incredible treasure had appeared here or something. Previously, Zhang Jie¡¯s rebellion caused our King Yan Manor to suffer quite considerable damage. Right now, my manor¡¯s strength alone might not be able to deal with just that demon Lu Sanyuan, let alone so many rebel armies!¡±

    Zu An recalled what happened when he had rescued Xie Daoyun. He knew that what King Yan said was indeed the case. Bandits and rebels from all over had been gathering in this region. They all wondered who could be spreading such a rumor to draw them over.

    Zhao Han asked the corresponding officials for some intelligence and realized that what King Yan said was true. As such, he ordered the Left Guard General Lu He to lead the capital¡¯s six main armies to coordinate with King Yan. In truth, he was also aware of what King Yan really wanted, to use the chance to take Yi Commandery¡¯s troops under hismand. However, how could he possibly allow King Yan to grasp two entire armies in his hand at the same time?

    King Qi spoke up in opposition and said, ¡°Brother emperor, the six main camps are to ensure your majesty¡¯s safety. If the main forces are transferred away, wouldn¡¯t that be rather unsuitable?¡±

    Zhao Han smiled and said, ¡°Thank you for your worries, King Qi, but even without the six main armies, we still have the Right Guard General Guo Zhi and Supervisor of Attendants Murong Tong¡¯s troops. Furthermore, with this emperor¡¯s cultivation, is there a need for such protection?¡±

    King Qi bowed and said, ¡°What brother emperor says is indeed the case. It was I who was worried for nothing.¡±

    The brothers Liu Yao and Liu Guang both offered to help shoulder the burden, saying that they were going to put down the revolt together. They figured that dealing with the rebels with the six armies would be a breeze. There was no better chance for them to rack up military achievements. Furthermore, their official ranks just happened to make them the six main armies¡¯ direct superiors. That was why assuming such a role was also reasonable.

    Zhao Han remained quiet for a moment, then agreed.

    Only King Yan and Lu He both frowned. These two idiots always managed to screw things up somehow. They were worried that the two could be a hindrance. However, because of their pride in their high positions, they didn¡¯t continue to argue.

    ¡­

    Just like that, the Liu n brothers took half of the main army and left, while the rest of the procession continued the march to Violet Mountain. A few dayster, they finally arrived at the foot of Violet Mountain.

    Zu An looked worriedly at the golden peak hidden within the clouds. He wondered if Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei were still there. If they bumped into Zhao Han, there really wouldn¡¯t be anywhere to run. There were also Chuyan, Manman, and the others. He wondered if they had left the daoist secret dungeon yet.

    On top of that, big sis Yan was also there¡­

 Chapter 1716: Offering Ceremony

    <h4>Chapter 1716: Offering Ceremony</h4>

    Soon after, Wang Wuxie led a group of disciples out to wee the imperial procession.

    Zu An carefully observed what was happening. He saw that apart from Wang Wuxie, the Righteous Sun Sect¡¯s peak masters had alle too, clearly afraid of showing even the slightest bit of disrespect. However, the daoist sects¡¯ other eight sect leaders weren¡¯t there; whether it was because they had already left, or some other reason, was unclear. With so many people watching, Zu An couldn''t really ask about that either.

    When he saw Wang Wuxie, Zhao Han acted extremely amicably. After all, Wang Wuxie was the State Teacher and someone from the daoist sects. The two of them had shared a friendship for several years.

    Soon after, Wang Wuxie brought the group to Guidance Pce, located halfway up the mountain. Then, he informed the emperor that the altar had already been properly arranged on Golden Peak.

    Zhao Han nodded in satisfaction. Then, he ordered the others to wait at Guidance Pce while he went on to conduct the offering to the heavens.

    The offering to the heavens was a process of connecting with the heavens. In theory, only the emperor and empress had that right. The presence of other subjects would only ¡®defile¡¯ the divinity of the ceremony.

    Of course, the main reason was that he didn¡¯t want King Qi to have any part of that divinity, lest the people thought King Qi also had the right to the mandate of heaven or something like that.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    However, Bi Qi immediately expressed his concern. ¡°Your majesty, won¡¯t this be a bit dangerous?¡±

    Zhao Han said with augh, ¡°There are civil and military officials on the mountain and below the mountain. What kinds of hidden dangers could there be? Furthermore, I will even have the State Teacher with me.¡±

    Now, the Armed Escort Army¡¯s Zhang Zijiang and Wang Bolin also wanted some credit. They reported, ¡°This general has already investigated the areas of Golden Peak. Everything is normal!¡±

    The others then looked at Wang Wuxie. This man was still rather deferential to the court, and he was a famous expert, so they couldn''t really say too much.

    Shortly after, Zhao Han followed Wang Wuxie to Golden Peak. Of course, even though there weren¡¯t any important ministers with him, he still had Eunuch Wen and Zhuxie Chixin, as well as a group of Embroidered Envoys and personal Imperial Guards.

    ¡­

    When they left, Zu An finally found Xie Daoyun in a corner. He secretly approached her to ask about what had happened since he left.

    Xie Daoyun clearly sighed in relief when she saw him return safely. She knew what he wanted to ask about and quietly replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on, but the secret dungeon hasn¡¯t opened up again ording to the set time. Meanwhile, his majesty¡¯s arrival date was also moved up. The daoist sects were worried that they would be suspected of ulterior motives if they remained on Violet Mountain, so they left first. Now, only the Righteous Sun Sect¡¯s people are left on Violet Mountain.¡±

    Zu An asked in surprise, ¡°The daoist sects¡¯ secret dungeon still hasn¡¯t opened?¡±

    Normally, time flowed quite differently inside a secret dungeonpared to the outside world. It was typically much faster. In some of them, many years could pass inside, despite only a few months passing outside. Chu Chuyan and the others had also been inside the dungeon for many days already, and were supposed to have emerged already.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, big brother Zu. Miss Chu and Miss Pei both have high cultivation and they have always been extremely intelligent. They¡¯ll definitely be fine,¡± Xie Daoyun said tofort him.

    Zu An forced a smile, but he was still full of worry.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zhao Han followed Wang Wuxie up to Golden Peak. The two chatted with each other along the way, but the emperor couldn''t help but sigh when he saw that Wang Wuxie was simply being a yes-man. He remarked, ¡°Haven¡¯t you be a lot more taciturn recently? The two of us fought side by side in the past, yet now, it feels like we¡¯ve be a bit estranged.¡±

    Wang Wuxie replied, ¡°The ruler is the ruler, while a subject is a subject. Your majesty will definitely be above everyone else alone.¡±

    Zhao Han seemed to be a bit shaken by those words. After a sigh, he didn¡¯t say anything else.

    Soon after, they arrived at Golden Peak. A tall tform had been built there, with everything needed for the offering to the heavens prepared beforehand.

    Zhuxie Chixin swept his gaze over the area and saw that Golden Peak had already practically been cleared out. Apart from a few Righteous Sun Sect disciples who were in charge of the ceremony, there weren¡¯t any other random people. He sighed in relief. However, he still stationed some Imperial Guards and Embroidered Envoys at various key points around Golden Peak, protecting the emperor at the center.

    Then, Wang Wuxie led Zhao Han to a giant furnace. Zhao Han tossed a torch inside to ignite it. ced inside were all sorts of precious ki stones, medicinal ingredients, ores, and other such things.

    Strands of smoke carrying a rich fragrance slowly rose and condensed in one area in the sky. This was how the sincerity of the human world was to be conveyed to the heavens.

    Then, Zhao Han bowed in front of various memorial tablets of the deities to express his respect. Even though he was already unmatched, he was still full of reverence toward such matters rted to the heavens. After all, there had always been legends of immortals throughout history. Even though no one had seen any true immortals for thousands of years, he still carried that longing. He hoped that one day, he would also be able to ascend to the immortal realm.

    Once he began to kneel, no one on Golden Peak dared to remain standing. All of them also kneeled down in respect.

    Then, some Righteous Sun Sect disciples carried over a jade te with clear mountain spring water inside. After Zhan Han used the water to freshen up, he wiped away the remaining water and received some incense from the side. He bowed to an ancestral tablet on the altar three times. Then, he took some jade silk and other precious articles that Wang Wuxie had prepared and walked up the stage step by step. During the whole process, he was full of respect toward the ancestral tablet.

    The tform was incredibly holy and divine. In the entire world, only he alone had the right to be there. Everyone else remained where they were, far away.

    Zhuxie Chixin looked all around him. For some reason, he just felt a bit nervous somehow, and yet he couldn''t exactly pinpoint why either. He could only silently pray that nothing bad would happen.

    Sometimes, however, one¡¯s worst fears were precisely what came true. Suddenly, there was a deafening explosion. The entire tform was engulfed in fiery light as a huge mushroom cloud rose. Several explosions rang out all across Golden Peak. The Embroidered Envoys and Imperial Guards were all caught off guard and suffered severe casualties.

    ¡°Your majesty!¡± Zhuxie Chixin cried in horror. The center of the explosion was none other than the elevated stage the emperor was on! In that instant, the emperor was devoured by mes, and Zhuxie Chixin couldn''t sense the slightest trace of his aura anymore.

    Even though his majesty¡¯s cultivation is high, how can it be certain that nothing happened if he¡¯s at the very center of the explosion?

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, halfway up the mountain, the other subjects remained respectfully. But since the emperor wasn¡¯t there anymore, they had begun cking off a bit and secretly chatting with each other through ki.

    Suddenly, the world trembled, and even the tiles of Guidance Pce began to tumble down piece by piece. Smoke and dust flew everywhere. Many people instinctively cried out. Zu An struck aside a few pieces of falling tile to protect Xie Daoyun, who was next to him.

    A whileter, they all finally managed to get away from Guidance Pce. They looked in the direction of the explosion. They saw mes rush into the heavens where Golden Peak had been. Smoke surged and covered everything. Their expressions all changed.

    ¡°Your majesty!¡± Bi Qi cried as he took the lead in rushing to the mountaintop, and others followed him.

    Zu An observed the scene that was taking ce on Golden Peak. He suddenly thought of something. Yun Jianyue had mentioned that Golden Token Seven noticed a batch of gunpowder disappearing near Violet Mountain, and that it might have very well been stored away by a certain Righteous Sun Sect individual. So this was what they had been nning to use it for!

    The previously happy and excited Zhang Zijiang and Wang Bolin¡¯s faces turned deathly pale. They muttered to themselves, ¡°We¡¯re done for, we¡¯re done for!¡±

    They had been in charge of eliminating any potential dangers on Violet Mountain, and yet this huge oversight had urred. Their entire families would be executed for this!

    Furious rebukes suddenly filled the air nearby. As it turned out, Bi Qi and the other ministers had been stopped by a formation barring their way. They had begun berating the Righteous Sun Sect disciples and asking them what they were doing.

    However, the Righteous Sun Sect disciples didn¡¯t say anything in response. They disappeared after activating the formation.

    Xie Daoyun cried out in rm. She said with great frustration, ¡°Huh? This is the Righteous Sun Sect¡¯s great formation that protects the entire mountain. I did notice it before, but I didn¡¯t think it would be used like this¡­¡±

    Zu An patted her shoulder to make her feel better. This wasn¡¯t her fault. Who would be able to imagine that the renowned Righteous Sun Sect would use their greatest defense formation to separate the emperor from his officials?

    He looked in Golden Peak¡¯s direction and thought,No wonder Wang Wuxie seemed so strange. So he nned to face the emperor here.

    But no matter how daring he was and how high his cultivation was, Wang Wuxie was facing Zhao Han as his opponent. Zu An wondered who else was involved in this matter. There was also the huge amount of gunpowder to consider. Would it be enough to st that old bastard Zhao Han to death?

 Chapter 1717: Ambush

    <h4>Chapter 1717: Ambush</h4>

    The area halfway up the mountain was engulfed in chaos, but Golden Peak was even more so.

    Zhuxie Chixin and the others didn¡¯t have time to focus on their own injuries and sprinted toward the spot at the center of the stage, calling out, ¡°Your majesty! Your majesty!¡±

    Wang Wuxie¡¯s expression also changed, and he followed them over too.

    Smoke and waves of heat filled the air in all directions. Those present felt their hair and beards being instantly scorched. If not for the ki armor protecting them, they could already have been burned to death from the extreme temperature.

    The Embroidered Envoys and guards who were fortunate enough to survive all rushed over to save the emperor. Unfortunately, they were blown back several times by the heat.

    When Wang Wuxie saw that, he waved his sleeves. A wave of powerful ki immediately scattered the smoke. The others were left in admiration when they saw that, thinking,As expected of the State Teacher.His level of cultivation really was admirable.

    The smoke gradually scattered, leaving them surprised to discover that the altar had already disappeared, having been reced by a deep crater. It was easy to imagine just how great the power of the explosives was. Their expressions darkened. If even the altar had ended up like this, everything boded ill for his majesty¡­

    Wang Wuxie continued to wave his sleeves. The smoke became fainter and fainter, revealing what was within. Those present noticed a golden sphere of light inside, with a figure in its center.

    ¡°Your majesty!¡± Zhuxie Chixin and Eunuch Wen eximed, overjoyed. Who else could it be but Zhao Han?

    He walked out with an ashen expression and called out, ¡°What is going on here?¡±

    The crown he wore had already fallen off, and his hair was disheveled. There were scorched ck marks and signs of damage on his dragon robes. It was clear that the terrifying explosion had affected him. In all these years, when had he ever been left in such a sorry state? He was absolutely furious. At that moment, the only thought in his mind was that he wanted to kill.

    Zhuxie Chixin and Eunuch Wen exchanged a look. Who knew how many heads would to tumble because of this¡­

    That guy Zu An and the Armed Escort Army had been sent out ahead of time to clear out any potential dangers; what the hell were they doing? Could it be that he really had colluded with the Fiend races and wanted to get rid of his majesty together with them?

    Wang Wuxie kneeled straight down and said while trembling, ¡°Your majesty, please forgive me. It was because this poor daoist was ipetent that there were traitors among my sect¡¯s leadership. That was why so much gunpowder was delivered to Golden Peak.¡±

    When they saw the usually arrogant State Teacher shaking, Eunuch Wen and Zhuxie Chixin could understand how he was feeling. After all, now that something so huge had happened, there was no way his Righteous Sun Sect could get away scot-free.

    However, they didn¡¯t suspect Wang Wuxie. After all, he was the State Teacher, someone who was already incredibly respected. Furthermore, he had stood at the emperor¡¯s side when he was at his lowest point. The emperor even viewed him as a friend. How could someone like that possibly betray the emperor?

    Zhao Han didn¡¯t suspect him and quickly supported him, saying, ¡°Wuxie, there is no need for you to be like this. This isn¡¯t your fault.¡±

    He would only falsely pretend to support them if it were anyone else, but he really did treat Wang Wuxie differently. He personally supported the man to express how much he cared.

    Suddenly, something unexpected happened. A strange expression shed through Wang Wuxie¡¯s eyes. Then, while the emperor was supporting him, his hands suddenly mmed into the emperor¡¯s chest.

    As the number one of the daoist sects, how powerful was his cultivation? As he disyed the powerful skills he had cultivated for so many years, violet ki appeared in his hands. He was so fast that Zhao Han, who was right next to him, couldn''t react. He was struck firmly by those palms.

    However, he reacted quickly as well. His entire body erupted with golden light that instantly devoured the violet ki. Then, his palm hacked straight through Wang Wuxie¡¯s defenses and struck his body.

    Wang Wuxie¡¯s daoist robes exploded fiercely, and his chest caved in by a few inches. His body mmed heavily into the ground like a broken sack. He vomited a mouthful of blood that carried fragments of dark red innards. It was clear that he wouldn¡¯t survive.

    Zhuxie Chixin and Eunuch Wen were rmed. They instinctively rushed at Wang Wuxie to attack. When he saw that the man was about to be ripped apart, however, Zhao Han called out, ¡°Stop!¡±

    A hint of unnatural redness had appeared on his face. It was clear that Wang Wuxie¡¯s attack had dealt him considerable damage. However, his gaze was as sharp as lightning as he stared at Wang Wuxie and asked, ¡°Why?¡±

    That was what he couldn''t figure out. Between their friendship and his current standing in the Righteous Sun Sect, there was no reason for Wang Wuxie to betray him.

    Wang Wuxie¡¯s strange expression faded. Perhaps because of ast dying sh, the murkiness in his eyes also scattered. He recovered a bit of rity, gasping in a tone full of anger and helplessness, ¡°Shamans!¡±

    ¡°The shamans¡¯ possession arts?¡± Zhao Han muttered with a frown.

    He had only instinctively retaliated against Wang Wuxie¡¯s move just then. However, just how powerful would such a reaction be? Only someone with cultivation as profound as Wang Wuxie could barely keep his body intact. He was already at his deathbed and couldn''t hear what Zhao Han was saying at all.

    Wang Wuxie felt endless frustration and regret. His aptitude was outstanding, and his cultivation had been growing by the day. He had even seen the door to the earth immortal stage recently, and yet who could have thought that he would be plotted against in the name of love and fall in such a wretched manner?

    ¡°Xuehen, you¡¯vee¡­¡± he murmured as he raised his hand to a certain ce in the sky, seemingly struggling to grasp something.

    He seemed to have seen a goddess who resided in the clouds, walking toward him with a look of pity and tenderness. She even reached out her hand, as if to save him.

    And yet, no matter how he reached out his hand, in the end, their hands never touched. In the end, he departed this life with deep regrets.

    ¡°Your majesty, how do you feel right now?¡± Eunuch Wen and Zhuxie Chixin asked with concern, surrounding Zhao Han.

    However, Zhao Han suddenly looked up, his gaze resembling that of a ferocious tiger ready to devour everything. Both of them were so frightened their entire bodies quivered. They didn¡¯t dare to take even half a step closer. Both of them realized that after Wang Wuxie¡¯s betrayal, Zhao Han no longer trusted anyone, not even them.

    Suddenly, there was a ripple in the distance and runes appeared. There were clearly people being transported into the area.

    The Embroidered Envoys and Imperial Guards all drew their weapons to surround the emperor. The arrival of trespassers at this point in time was definitely bad news.

    ¡°Haha, as expected of your majesty! You actually managed to kill the number one of the daoist sects despite his ambush, and you even look perfectly fine,¡± a good-looking middle-aged man with a neatly trimmed beard said as he strutted out. The guards tried to stop him, but they were all blown back with just a wave of his hand, sustaining serious injuries.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s eyes narrowed. This aura was clearly that of a grandmaster! Furthermore, it didn¡¯t seem as if the other man had just entered that level either; rather, he was an experienced veteran.

    Zhao Han frowned, clearly recognizing him. He called out, ¡°Guan Chouhai?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect your majesty to still remember me,¡± Guan Chouhai said with a sign. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to make your majesty my enemy today either.¡±

    ¡°Even someone like you?¡± Zhao Han remarked,ughing in contempt. ¡°You¡¯re not qualified.¡±

 Chapter 1718: Pure Yang Art of Youth

    Chapter 1718: Pure Yang Art of Youth

    As the Heavenly Sorrow Sect Master, Guan Chouhai¡¯s presence was definitely notable no matter where he went. He was normally extremely prideful and arrogant. If it were anyone else saying those words, he would already have erupted into a violent rage. However, when it was Zhao Han saying it, his expression remainedpletely natural. He slowly said, ¡°Your majesty is correct. I am obviously not worthy of making your majesty my enemy, and my task today is nothing more than dealing with some nobodies on the sidelines. As for your majesty, there will naturally be someone to face you.¡±

    Zhao Han¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly. He naturally knew that there was someone backing Guan Chouhai, but he still wasn¡¯t sure exactly who it was.

    Zhuxie Chixin suddenly asked furiously, ¡°What are you staring at me for?¡±

    Guan Chouhai smiled and said, ¡°I have long heard that the Embroidered Envoy¡¯s Chief Commander is his majesty¡¯s most loyal dog, ruthless in his deeds and powerful in cultivation. All who hear your name shiver in fear. I came here to experience your prowess today.¡±

    Zhuxie Chixin reflexively nced at Zhao Han. Seeing as he wasn¡¯t given the signal to stop, he knew that the emperor wanted him to give it a try. As such, he turned to Guan Chouhai with a cold gaze and called out, ¡°Guan Chouhai, you actually dare to rebel against the empire? This official will make sure to dismember your body into ten thousand pieces today!¡±

    A long iron chain suddenlyshed out from his hands as soon as he spoke. There was a sickle vaguely visible on the end of the chain. This was the weapon Zhuxie Chixin had used for many years to take the lives of countless people. Their appearance always left terror in their wake, as courtiers often said; many people were terrified of the weapon.

    However, Guan Chouhai didn¡¯t feel any fear. He raised his hands, and two streaks of golden light fired out from his wrists. The Twin Vajra Armbands knocked the reaper¡¯s sickle away.

    Both of their bodies trembled from the impact. Zhuxie Chixin sighed. As expected of the Heavenly Sorrow Sect Master, who had already been famous for many years! His cultivation was profound and exceptional.

    Guan Chouhai was also shocked. ording to his intelligence, even though Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s cultivation was high, he was only supposed to be a pseudo-grandmaster who hadn¡¯t truly entered the grandmaster rank. As such, he had thought that it would be easy enough to deal with the man. And yet, when they shed, Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s strength left him quite shocked.

    What pseudo-grandmaster? This is clearly a proper grandmaster!

    Even so, he was still someone who had already been famous for many years. Although he was surprised, he didn¡¯t let it affect the fight. He immediately continued the assault on Zhuxie Chixin. After all, The Soul Reaping Chains were a long-range weapon. Fighting in close quarters was unavoidably their weakness.

    However, Zhuxie Chixin didn¡¯t feel rmed at all. With a flick of his wrist, the Soul Reaping Chains rapidly withdrew and turned into a scythe. He shed diagonally with it, and then even the space in front of him itself seemed to be sliced apart.

    Guan Chouhai blocked with both arms in front of him, and a stone wall faintly appeared in midair. However, despite its exceptional defensive strength, the wall was actually sliced in half by Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s scythe! Then, the sickle de smashed into the Twin Vajra Armbands, causing blinding light to erupt.

    The two were blown back a dozen or so meters from the tremendous impact. Guan Chouhai shivered. Why did Zhuxie Chixin have such a strong aura of death lingering around him? Even though it was rumored that many officials had died under his hands, it wouldn¡¯t be enough to produce such a thick aura of death energy, right?

    ¡°Interesting!¡± Guan Chouhai roared,ughing. With a shake of his hands, the Twin Vajra Armbands turned into countless copies, then attacked from all sorts of different directions.

    Zhuxie Chixin brandished the scythe in his hands, blocking the iing armband attacks one by one. However, his face paled a bit whenever he blocked one of them. It was known that Guan Chouhai was a powerful earth element cultivator, and today, Zhuxie Chixin saw that it was indeed the case. The armbands looked small, but it felt as if there were a mountain behind each strike. If he hadn¡¯t recently entered the grandmaster rank, perhaps he would have already copsed after just two strikes. Even so, he could do nothing but defend against the Vajra Armbands that covered the sky. There was no chance for him to retaliate.

    Many loyal Embroidered Envoysunched their Soul Reaping Chains at Guan Chouhai when they saw what was happening. They were soldiers who would give up their lives for the emperor and had been personally promoted by Zhuxie Chixin, so they naturally didn¡¯t care as much about honor as the martial world¡¯s warriors.

    Guan Chouhai¡¯s expression changed a bit. At any other time, even though the Embroidered Envoys were tricky by the standards of normal cultivators, he wouldn¡¯t treat them as a big deal at all. However, he and Zhuxie Chixin were facing off intensely. If these Embroidered Envoy elites joined in and activated a formation centered on Zhuxie Chixin, things would be much more difficult.

    Just then, eight flying swords flew over, each charged with electricity. They instantly passed through the very center of the group of Embroidered Envoys. The Envoys didn¡¯t even have a chance to assemble into an array before exploding into a bloody mist.

    As he watched his own trusted aides being murdered, Zhuxie Chixin felt as if his eyes were splitting apart. However, he waspletely preupied with his opponent and could only endure his anger as he fended off Guan Chouhai¡¯s attacks.

    ¡°Xuan Bajing?¡± Zhao Han muttered. He had been watching the fight, silent and expressionless. The death of such low-ranking guards wasn¡¯t enough to make him feel the slightest emotion. He was curious about just who else was involved in the scheme.

    A streak of lightning flickered and the Kunlun Void Sect Master appeared out of thin air. Eight sword cases fanned out behind him like a peacock¡¯s tail. He cupped his hands toward Zhao Han and said, ¡°I greet your majesty.¡±

    Zhao Han¡¯s expression was ice-cold as he said, ¡°Seeing as you have all rebelled, you must be quite dissatisfied with how your statuses have fallen over the years.¡±

    Xuan Bajing smiled and said, ¡°We naturally cherish our past days more. Even though we are unworthy, we do not wish for our daoist sects to ultimately fall in another hundred or so years under our management.¡±

    If the current trend continued, then among the daoist sects, perhaps only the Righteous Sun Sect would remain. Meanwhile, the other great sects would only decline day after day until nothing remained.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zhao Han looked at him coldly and said, ¡°Perhaps your sects would have fallen in another century if you all did nothing. But now that you¡¯ve done something so disgraceful today, there is a greater chance that your sects might vanish into smoke this very day.¡±

    Xuan Bajing sighed and said, ¡°If we are fated to be destroyed, we might as well give it our best shot while we still have some strength.¡±

    Zhao Han frowned and remarked, ¡°Just the two of you alone wouldn¡¯t even have enough strength to struggle.¡±

    Xuan Bajing smiled and replied, ¡°Your majesty is supremely clever, as expected. You will naturally know the truth soon.¡±

    Eunuch Wen said in a rather dark manner, ¡°I have long heard of the wonders of Sect Master Xuan¡¯s eight swords. This humble one wishes to experience then for myself.¡±

    He had just witnessed his majesty injured by explosives, followed by Wang Wuxie¡¯s ambush. Even though the emperor looked fine on the surface, that wasn¡¯t necessarily the case in reality. As such, Eunuch Wen wanted to buy some time for him to recover.

    Zhao Hao didn¡¯t stop Eunuch Wen. He stood there with his hands behind his back, calmly watching everything that was happening.

    Xuan Bajing said, ¡°In earlier years, before the emperor made such breakthroughs in his cultivation, assassins often infiltrated the pce. However, they were all killed by an expert in the pce. Now that I think about it, Eunuch Wen was most likely that protector. I really must experience your skills for myself today.¡±

    After he spoke, eight flying swords swiftly rushed at Eunuch Wen. They suddenly disappeared mid-flight, and only the electricity left in the air proved that they were still there.

    Eunuch Wen roared, and his arms spread out. A blue barrier of light immediately appeared around him. In that instant, eight swords attacked his vitals from eight different directions, but all of them were blocked by the barrier.

    Xuan Bajing eximed in shock, ¡°Pure Yang Art of Youth? So there was actually someone who cultivated that technique!¡±

    The power of the Pure Yang Art of Youth was tremendous, but extremely few people were able to cultivate it. The main reason for that was the strict condition it required. One had to cultivate the method from their youth, and if they ever lost their purity, no matter how aplished in the method they were, it would be worthless.

    Who would want to remain a virgin their entire life, even if it meant having unmatched martial prowess?

    Even the temple monks who never took wives could run into instances in which they inadvertently lost their yang origin. To lose all those years of cultivation because of a single night¡­ That really would be a tragedy.

    In the end, it seemed only someone such as Eunuch Wen was suited to the skill.

 Chapter 1719: Revenge

    Chapter 1719: Revenge

    Xuan Bajing was startled. He didn¡¯t dare to treat his opponent lightly anymore, and began to treat Eunuch Wen as an opponent of the same level. His expression became grave. With a gesture from his hand, the eight flying swords returned and circled around him.

    Mechanical cracking noises filled the air, and the eight flying swords actuallybined together to form one giant sword. Xuan Bajing roared, then brandished that sword at Eunuch Wen. As it swung, an evenrger sword arrived almost instantly in front of Eunuch Wen¡¯s head. It smashed directly against the blue barrier around Eunuch Wen.

    A huge explosion erupted. Even with Eunuch Wen¡¯s Pure Yang Art of Youth, he couldn''t block such great force. The blue barrier shattered on the spot. He immediately used a movement skill to evade, managing to barely avoid the giant sword.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Lightning shed in the skies. Xuan Bajing instantly disappeared from his original location, and reappeared at Eunuch Wen¡¯s side. He brandished his palm at his opponent. At the same time, the giant sword turned into eight flying swords again and moved with him. They attacked with shocking speed from all sorts of tricky angles.

    Eunuch Wen harrumphed. Two bursts of blue light appeared in his hands, and he blocked Xuan Bajing¡¯s attacks with his fists. At the same time, the ki armor around his entire body prevented the eight flying swords from hurting him.

    Zhao Han stopped watching them when he saw that they were evenly matched. He looked at a certain point on Golden Peak and coldly said, ¡°Zhao Jing, I know you¡¯re here. Why are you hiding in the back while sending this useless cannon fodder one after another?¡±

    Guan Chouhai and Xuan Bajing¡¯s faces reddened. Who would ever call them useless cannon fodder, normally? They were powerful figures from the daoist sects, and yet they couldn¡¯t exactly retort against Zhao Han. Even though they were grandmasters, they were still pretty far from the earth immortal rank. They really couldn''t refute what he said.

    A figure slowly walked out from an alley. His movements were lofty, and there was an aura of nobilitying from his every move. Who else could it be but King Qi, Zhao Jing?

    The other officials were all trapped midway up the mountain. No one knew how he had even gotten tere.

    ¡°Brother emperor has excellent insight, as expected. There is nothing that can fool you,¡± King Qi said with a sigh. There was a confident smile on his face, as if another one of his ns had nowe to fruition.

    Zhao Han calmly looked at him and said, ¡°You have fought against this emperor for so many years, but it seems that in the end, you still could not help but take a risk out of desperation.¡±

    King Qi replied with an indifferentugh, ¡°Aren''t brother emperor¡¯s words a bit hypocritical? Even if I didn¡¯t act here, I would have been dealt with by brother emperor sooner orter. Did you not force all of this?¡±

    Zhao Han shook his head and said, ¡°Our battle is just an internal struggle between brothers. But now that you¡¯ve colluded with outsiders, you might very well destroy my Great Zhou Empire.¡±

    King Qi¡¯s expression darkened. He retorted with a hint of anger, ¡°Brother? Have you ever even treated me as a brother?! ording to thew, the throne should have been mine to begin with, and yet you would rather pass it on to that idiotic son of yours than me. Did you really view me as your brother?!¡±

    Zhao Han said calmly, ¡°The throne has always been inherited by the eldest son since ancient times. You have only grown so frustrated because of your own delusions.¡±

    King Qiughed loudly and said, ¡°You refuse to even admit to the agreement made between the Great Ancestor and the second emperor. Even calling you someone who recounts history but omits your ancestors wouldn¡¯t be going overboard.¡±

    ¡°You scoundrel!¡± Zhao Han eximed, his expression cold. ¡°I am still the emperor. Is your disgraceful behavior respecting the ancestors, then?¡±

    ¡°With things as they are, what is the point in pretending to be so high-minded? There are no ignorantmon people here, so what meaning is there left in you acting all high and mighty?¡± King Qi looked at him in disdain. He didn¡¯t want any of this act.

    ¡°Are you finally showing your true colors?¡± Zhao Han asked, sweeping his gaze across area. ¡°There is no way you would be so daring as to do something like this if it were just you alone. Who are your other helpers? All of you shoulde at me together. If I am not mistaken, there should be some shamans, right? The only one who could use puppetry arts on Wang Wuxie would be Great Elder Wu Wuyan, I believe.¡±

    ¡°It is this old one¡¯s glory to be remembered by your majesty,¡± a voice said with a sinister cackle. The hunched-over Wu Wuyan walked over from another direction. Her walking stick tapped against the ground with a mysterious rhythm, as if it resonated with some dao of the world. Even Zhao Han had to give her a second look.

    ¡°I had not expected your cultivation to make another breakthrough in recent years. No wonder Wang Wuxie fell to your schemes,¡± Zhao Han said with a sneer.

    ¡°I have always respected Sect Master Wang¡¯s demeanor and character, but unfortunately, we stood on opposing sides. Even irises and orchids in the way need to be removed,¡± Wu Wuyan said, giving Wang Wuxie¡¯s corpse a look. She had something of a grieving expression as she continued, ¡°It is a bit of a pity for someone so exceptional to die just like that.¡±

    Several people¡¯s expressions grew strange. Judging from her tone, could it be that she even had some other feelings for him¡­?

    ¡°Look at this cat weeping crocodile tears over a dead mouse,¡± Zhao Han said with a harrumph. ¡°You shamans have always yed by any means fair or foul, so there is nothing surprising there. However, there is another certain someone who acts like some kind and generous master; and yet, after doing this kind of thing, what kind of buddha are you still cultivating?!¡±

    ¡°Amitabha buddha!¡± Tranquility Temple¡¯s Master Jian Huang replied as he slowly walked out from another direction. ¡°Your majesty¡¯s cultivation is amazing indeed. This old one thought that he had hidden himself quite well, but I had not expected to still be discovered.¡± Then, he said to the others nearby, ¡°The rest should alle out now too. His majesty already noticed your presence a long time ago.¡±

    Afterward, Feng Wuchang, the little monk Jie Se, and the other daoist sects¡¯ trusted aides emerged one after another. King Qi, Wu Wuyan, and Master Jian Huang formed a three-pointed triangle around Zhao Han. Meanwhile, Feng Wuchang and the others faced the remaining Embroidered Envoys and Imperial Guards on Golden Peak.

    Zhao Han¡¯s attention shifted to Feng Wuchang as he said, ¡°This emperor was wondering how someone with Wang Wuxie¡¯s cultivation would end up suffering like this. So there was a traitor like you working from the inside.¡± Even though he hadn¡¯t seen the entire process, he instantly understood everything the moment Feng Wuchang appeared.

    Feng Wuchang grimaced inwardly. He hadn¡¯t wanted toe to Golden Peak while the superhumans were fighting it out. He would die from any random ident, but the others wouldn¡¯t let him leave! They had insisted on himing. He had really gambled a bit too much this time. No one trusted anyone else, so they wouldn¡¯t give anyone the chance to stay out of the fight.

    Fortunately, those individuals had promised to deal with Zhao Han. He only had to deal with the Embroidered Envoys and Imperial Guards, so he felt a bit of relief. Even though he was vastly inferior to the emperor, he was still one of Righteous Sun Sect¡¯s peak masters. Some Embroidered Envoys and Imperial Guards were still no big deal. Besides, Master Jian Huang had even brought his precious disciple. At the very least, as a senior figure, he couldn''t fall behind a little monk, right?

    He chuckled in embarrassment and said, ¡°Apologies, your majesty. I didn¡¯t have much of a choice either.¡±

    The others secretly cursed him. This guy really was shameless in his acting! He was still acting all servile in front of the emperor, even now.

    Zhao Han harrumphed. He had already gotten used to seeing these kinds of games being yed during his career as a ruler. He naturally understood Feng Wuchang¡¯s intentions, but he didn¡¯t want to waste any more time with him. He said, ¡°Wuxie and I have experienced a lot together, so I¡¯ll help him get some revenge first.¡± He lunged at Feng Wuchang immediately after finishing his sentence.

    Feng Wuchang¡¯s eyes narrowed. He instinctively wanted to run. With his master rank cultivation, he was capable of moving extremely quickly. However, he discovered that he couldn''t move at all! It was as if he had been locked onto by a predatory beast!

    Immediately after, a bright yellow hand arrived in front of him. It grabbed him, then gently closed.

    Boom!

    A scalp-numbing, muffled noise filled the air. Feng Wuchang¡¯s entire body was instantly crushed into a clump of bloody mush.

    From start to finish, Zhao Han hadn¡¯t moved even half a step from his original location.

    Those on King Qi¡¯s side all felt cold sweat run down their temples. After all, King Qi, Wu Wuyan, and Master Jian Huang had already surrounded Zhao Han and were about to attack him at a moment¡¯s notice. And yet, a powerfulpanion of theirs had been instantly destroyed during the time it took for sparks to fly off a flint. The three of them actually hadn¡¯t been able to move in time.

 Chapter 1720: Proof

    <h4>Chapter 1720: Proof</h4>

    Meanwhile, at the halfway point of the mountain, those present were panicking due to the activity going on above them. Even the emperor had personally gotten involved! It was easy to imagine just how terrible the situation on Golden Peak had be.

    They all tried many different things to deal with the barrier, but how could the Righteous Sun Sect¡¯s mountain defense barrier be that easy to break through? As such, they gathered back at Guidance Pce to discuss what to do.

    These important ministers could take up the whole day without achieving anything under normal circumstances, let alone now that something so major had happened. Certain members of King Qi¡¯s faction in particr had clearly received some instructions to be a hindrance, making it even more difficult for them toe to a conclusion.

    Zu An didn¡¯t even feel like wasting time with them. Instead, he moved over to the window and looked at Golden Peak with a pensive expression.

    Suddenly, the Central Secretariat Assistant Director Pei Lian asked loudly, ¡°Zu An, didn¡¯t you bring people here to Violet Mountain to get rid of the potential dangers? Why was such a big problem overlooked?¡±

    He was Chief Attendant Pei Zheng¡¯s second son, and he had taken the daughter of War Chariot General Liu Guang as his wife. That meant he was pretty much as diehard a fan of King Qi as could be.

    The noisy pce quickly fell silent. The other officials all looked in his direction, their expressions somewhat unhappy.

    Zu An was stunned. He replied, ¡°Previously, there was nothing wrong at all during my inspection. Afterward, however, I was always at his majesty¡¯s side, which you all know about, and couldn''t pay attention to what happened here anymore. That was probably when all of this happened.¡±

    Pei Lian sneered and retorted, ¡°Who knows if you did that on purpose or not? You are the Fiend races¡¯ Regent. It¡¯s entirely possible that you colluded with some bastards to go against his majesty.¡±

    Many people nodded when they heard what he said. Whether it was King Qi¡¯s faction or the emperor¡¯s faction, they all felt his exnation was likely.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Xie Daoyun waspletely stupefied.Fiend races¡¯ Regent?! Just how many days has it been? Did I somehow miss out on something here?

    Pei Lian said to Murong Tong, ¡°Sir Murong, you are the Supervisor of Attendants in charge of his majesty¡¯s safety. What do you think about this?¡±

    The Supervisor of Attendants was one of the nine ministers, and he was indeed in charge of the emperor¡¯s safety. However, his actual authority had gradually been stripped away over the years, so his was nothing but a useless ¡®high¡¯ position. And yet today, the emperor¡¯s other personal guards had all followed him onto Golden Peak, so as the Supervisor of Attendants, he had surprisingly be the one most suited to deal with the situation.

    Murong Tong frowned, but he was still biased in favor of Zu An. He said, ¡°Sir Zu, today¡¯s matter really is significant. I will keep you imprisoned for now, and we will go through the entire sequence of events in our investigation after. If you turn out to have been wrongly used, I will naturally release you. I will even offer you my sincere apologies then.¡±

    The others nodded. Murong Tong was already showing extreme benevolence here. With his age and status, as well as his promise to apologize, he was already showing a lot of sincerity.

    Murong Qinghe had previously been quite troubled at first. When she heard that her grandfather was being quite partial, she sighed in relief. This was probably the most suitable n.

    The officials¡¯ attention all shifted to Zu An. However, he frowned and said, ¡°Forgive me, but I can¡¯t agree to that.¡±

    For starters, he had grudges against many people present, and would be no different than meat on a chopping block if he agreed. If something really happened, it would be way toote for regrets then.

    Furthermore, something incredibly important was happening on Golden Peak. He was more concerned with how to get involved in a way that tipped the final result in his favor. If he was imprisoned here, all those ns would go to shit!

    Whether Zhao Han won and came back, or another power did, both oues wouldn¡¯t be all that great for him.

    An uproar broke out when the officials heard his refusal. Many people who didn¡¯t like him voiced rebukes as if he were the criminal mastermind behind the whole event, calling for him to be executed on the spot.

    Bi Ziang watched the scene unfold as a bystander, thinking,This Zu An¡¯s background is still too shallow in the end. He climbed so far up thedder, but he¡¯s nothing more than a pavilion in the air. How can hepare to distinguished heirs such as us?

    The brothers Qin Guangyuan and Qin Yongde asked loudly, ¡°Brother Zu, are you worried that your safety will not be guaranteed? You do not need to worry about that. With our friendship, the Qin n will definitely ensure your safety. Anyone who dares to act against you will be our Qin n¡¯s enemy.¡±

    Zu An looked around the area. At the moment, the Qin n¡¯s two leaders were both fighting on the front lines. These two brothers had always been quite reliable, and it was well-known that they would be the future sessors. When they made such a promise, no one doubted whether they could represent the Qin n in that regard.

    Unfortunately, Zu An still refused the olive branch they offered, saying, ¡°Thank you for your good intentions, Qin brothers, but I have something I need to do. I can¡¯t allow myself to be imprisoned right now.¡±

    Many officials immediately sneered and retorted, ¡°What do you still have to do? Could it be to scheme against his majesty on Golden Peak?¡±

    It wasn¡¯t just King Qi¡¯s faction who spoke up. Even many people from the emperor¡¯s faction voiced that suspicion. They had already begun to surround Zu An while speaking. If one person took the initiative, a fight would immediately break out. In such a situation, even the officials who were normally on good terms with Zu An couldn''t really speak up for him.

    Suddenly, Xie Daoyun stood in front of Zu An and stretched out her arms, blocking their way and saying, ¡°I can speak up for big brother Zu¡¯s sake, proving that he definitely wasn¡¯t involved in the conspiracy against his majesty.¡±

    ¡°Who are you?¡± many important ministers asked doubtfully. They were confused as to who this nobody was, for them to speak such words.

    Xie Daoyun was both beautiful and sharp. She keenly picked up on their doubts and removed her mask, as well as her hair tie. Her long hair fell down, and her stunning features were revealed.

    ¡°Lady Xie?¡± many people eximed in recognition.

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s father was a city lord. Even though he was a big shot in his region, he wasn¡¯t worth much attention in front of major court officials such as them. However, she had another identity; she was the disciple of the academy¡¯s Master Yan, whom no one could look down on. After all, many of the talismans and formations of the court and the great ns came from Master Yan himself.

    ¡°Miss Xie, why are you here?¡± Pei Zheng asked with a frown.

    ¡°My master gave me a mission to see whether there were killing formations or anything of the sort set up here, but I never expected that the Righteous Sun Sect¡¯s great defense formation would be used to block our path,¡± Xie Daoyun said, her voice full of frustration because she had clearly failed her mission this time.

    Just then, Bi Qi asked, ¡°Miss Xie, why do you say that Zu An did not participate in today¡¯s events?¡± He could tell that she seemed to want to speak up for Zu An, so he gave her an opportunity to answer.

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s face reddened. After some hesitation, she raised her head and said, ¡°Because he was always with me while he was on Violet Mountain.¡±

    ¡°He was with you?¡± many people repeated with a frown. Things would indeed be a bit troublesome if Xie Daoyun served as his alibi.

    Another official said with a sneer, ¡°It is not that we are suspecting you, Miss Xie, but rather that Violet Mountain is so big. There is no way the two of you were always together, so there is still a chance that he did some things behind your back.¡±

    Xie Daoyun took a deep breath, then said in a shaking voice, ¡°That¡¯s impossible, because¡­ because we were under the same roof at night.¡± Her face became entirely red before she even finished her sentence.

    Zu An also looked at her with shock. He had never expected her to sacrifice her reputation for his sake.

    An uproar broke out all across Guidance Pce, as was only natural for those who loved drama. They all looked at Zu An and Xie Daoyun with strange expressions, because that news was just too shocking.

    Bi Ziang even started to feel a bit jealous. After all, this Miss Xie, whether in terms of her figure or her background, was an excellent choice, and yet she had ended up being taken by this brat.

    On top of that, when they thought about how the incredible beauty Chu Chuyan had also belonged to this man at one point in time, many people felt hatred born of envy.

    The Qin n¡¯s brothers were a bit unhappy too.This brat is clearly Chuyan¡¯s husband, and yet he¡¯s always ying around all day. How are Chuyan and the Qin n supposed to even deal with this?

 Chapter 1721: Reunion

    <h4>Chapter 1721: Reunion</h4>

    Murong Qinghe blinked, her expression nk.

    Big brother Zu really is amazing; he has so many beauties at his side! Also, they¡¯re each more beautiful than the next!

    Alright, I can¡¯t let big brother Chu hang around him too much, or else he¡¯ll imitate this yboy behavior!

    The Qin n brothers were quite unhappy. Their brother-inw was living with another woman! Even though he had already divorced their little sister, they still felt as if it were a p to their faces somehow.

    Mi Li sighed, remarking, ¡°Kid, you really are a master at picking up women! This littledy is clearly a virgin, and yet she¡¯s willing to sacrifice her own reputation to save you. Just what did you feed her?¡±

    ¡°Can you quit it with the sarcastic remarks?¡± Zu An snapped, too annoyed to respond properly. He was both moved and worried for Xie Daoyun.

    ¡­

    After the initial shock, those in Guidance Pce gradually snapped out of their daze.

    Pei Zheng said, ¡°Even if you were in the same room as him, there is no way you could have been together every waking second. He is the Fiend races¡¯ Regent and has a great deal of ability. You would never have known it even if he secretly did some things.¡±

    ¡°Exactly! Miss Xie, please don¡¯t be deceived by this guy.¡±

    ¡°Colluding with the Fiend races is a crime that can get your entire n executed! Furthermore, this involves an assassination attempt on his majesty, so please reconsider, Miss Xie!¡±

    The officials all began to speak, one after another. Xie Daoyun¡¯s face paled. She wasn¡¯t only responsible for herself; she had her parents and brother to worry about, as well as the entire Xie n.

    Zu An walked over and patted her shoulder, saying, ¡°Miss Xie, there¡¯s no need for you to speak like this for my sake.¡± He couldn''t call her by her nickname in front of everyone, so he deliberately spoke up to take the responsibility away from her.

    Xie Daoyun shook her head. Despite usually being quiet and gentle, she insisted stubbornly, ¡°Big brother Zu, I know you¡¯re being wrongly used here, so of course I need to speak up for you!¡±

    Mi Li had just been watching the whole scene with amusement, but now, she couldn''t help but frown. Being fed such a public disy of affection really didn¡¯t taste that good¡­

    King Liang harrumphed and said, ¡°Whether or not you were wronged, we can just slowly figure it outter. This matter today is extremely important, so we cannot let him move as he pleases. Restrain him first; otherwise, who knows what could happen.¡±

    Even though King Liang was actually looked down on a bit in terms of both ability and character, his status was pretty high among the gathered officials. Now that he had spoken up, the others all voiced their agreement.

    Quite a few people looked around. Only then did they realize that King Qi had also disappeared at some point. The expressions of Bi Qi, Pei Zheng, and some others changed a bit. They could roughly guess what was happening. However, the matter was extremely important, so no one dared to say anything. They could only detain Zu An first for the time being.

    With King Liang taking the lead, the others all rushed at Zu An. Pei Zheng had the most authority among those gathered, so he didn¡¯t personally interfere. However, his subordinates didn¡¯t hold back.

    Those officials who could follow the emperor in his procession all had high ranks and decent cultivation. If they all surrounded someone, their victim would have a hard time even with three heads and six arms.

    The moment Zu An was about to be captured, a horrifying roar erupted, causing all of Guidance Pce to tremble. If not for a special formation, it would likely have copsed then and there.

    As for the officials who had begun to charge, their faces turned deathly pale and they clutched their ears in pain. Those with weaker cultivations even began to bleed from their ears and noses.

    ¡°Is that the Fiend races¡¯ Lion¡¯s Roar Skill?¡± Pei Zheng and some others eximed, their expression changing. Even they felt awful after hearing the sound. Zu An¡¯s cultivation was much higher than they imagined!

    Another person cried, ¡°You¡¯re still saying you aren¡¯t colluding with the Fiend races? You even learned a king race¡¯s secret skill!¡±

    Zu An had no other choice, however. So many people had attacked him, but he didn¡¯t want to create any blood feuds. In the end, only the Lion¡¯s Roar skill qualified as a suitable area of effect skill.

    Those with lower cultivations copsed, as expected. Guidance Pce quickly became much less active.

    Even the bigwigs couldn''t just still still anymore. They were about to act when Xie Daoyun suddenly tossed out a talisman. Then, a formation flickered around Zu An¡¯s feet. She quickly called out, ¡°Big brother Zu, you should hurry and run!¡±

    Zu An was stunned, asking, ¡°What about you?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t be in danger because of my identity,¡± Xie Daoyun said. She was an important disciple of Master Yan, making her extremely special. Furthermore, Zu An¡¯s crime was still unproven, so she had room to plead innocent too.

    Zu An frowned. He grabbed her hand and jumped into the formation. Blue light flickered, and both of them quickly disappeared. At the same time, the formation also gradually scattered. The officials were all left with ugly expressions. They had let Zu An get away even with so many people present!

    Pei Zheng and his subordinates quickly surrounded the ce where the two had just been. He said coldly, ¡°This ce is locked down by the Righteous Sun Sect¡¯s mountain defense formation, so this transport formation can¡¯t have taken them that far. Everyone, hurry and look for them. You have to catch that wicked bastard!¡±

    Many people rushed out to carry out his order. However, Meng Yi, Bi Qi, and some others exchanged a look. They didn¡¯t chase after Zu An. At present, they were more worried about the situation on Golden Peak. The only thing that was worth being thankful for was that the emperor was the most powerful man in the world. Even in the event of some sinister plot, he would likely be able to survive it just fine.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in a secluded area of the forest several hundred meters away from Guidance Pce, blue runes slowly materialized, followed by two figures. They were none other than Zu An and Xie Daoyun. Their first reaction was to look all around them. When they saw that no one was paying attention to the area, they sighed in relief.

    Only then did they realize that their hands were tightly held together. Xie Daoyun pulled her hand back as if she had been zapped by electricity. She said with a red face, ¡°Big brother Zu, you actually could have left me alone. They wouldn¡¯t have done anything to me¡­¡±

    Zu An shook his head and replied, ¡°You saved me, so how could I leave you and run away alone?¡±

    Suddenly, someone remarked with a sneer, ¡°Tsk tsk tsk, what a sappy pair of lovebirds we have here. Did I perhapse at a bad time?¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Xie Daoyun jumped in fright. She quickly turned around and saw two beauties walking over. One had long hair that stretched all the way down her back, while the other one was cute and seductive. They were none other than Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei, who had just caused a huge disturbance on Golden Peak not too long ago. When she remembered their identities, especially that of the infamous demoness Yun Jianyue, Xie Daoyun¡¯s face paled.

    Zu An eximed in happiness and surprise, ¡°You two didn¡¯t leave?!¡±

    Qiu Honglei sighed deeply and said, ¡°We asked you for help earlier, and yet you never came back after all this time, so how could we leave? We were waiting for news from you, and yet it turns out you were flirting with some other woman.¡±

    Xie Daoyun said in annoyance, ¡°Miss Qiu, for better or for worse, we¡¯re fellow townsfolk from Brightmoon City. Do you really have to pretend to not know me?¡±

    Qiu Honglei suddenly put on an ¡®aha!¡¯ expression and replied, ¡°Oh my, so it was Miss Xie! I¡¯m so sorry. I must have been so worked up that I ended up saying some unpleasant things.¡±

    Xie Daoyun was speechless.

    Mi Li mused, ¡°Haha, interesting. Watching these women fight is pretty amusing. Brat, do you think a harem is so easily enjoyed?¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He asked, ¡°Master empress, can you offer me any good tips? What should I do in this kind of situation?¡±

    ¡°Maybe you should just ignore it,¡± Mi Li replied, seemingly having a great time. ¡°Oh, and another one ising.¡±

    Zu An was startled. He looked in a certain direction and saw a white figure slowly floating over.

    ¡°Stone cold woman, you really are like a haunting spirit¡­ Why are you always there wherever I go?¡± Yun Jianyue remarked in annoyance. Why was this woman always at Ah Zu¡¯s side?

    Yan Xuehen gave her an indifferent look and said, ¡°My disciple hasn¡¯te out from the secret dungeon all this time. I only came here out of worry for her. What does that have to do with you?¡±

    Yun Jianyue put an arm around Qiu Honglei proudly and said, ¡°Sorry, my good disciple is right here.¡±

    Yan Xuehen was stunned. She snapped, ¡°Witch, I¡¯m not in the mood to argue with you today.¡±

    ¡°But I¡¯m all ready to go!¡± Yun Jianyue replied.

    ¡­

    Mi Li couldn''t help butugh when she saw the two bicker. She said, ¡°The sixth sense of a woman really is just too urate. Even though they don¡¯t know about each other¡¯s rtionship with you, they subconsciously dislike each other.¡± She sighed and added, ¡°I¡¯ve really enjoyed myself this time! I was about to go crazy from sleeping all the time. It seems I might have something fun to watch every day in the future.¡±

    Zu An had a weird expression. This woman knew everything about him, as expected! She had clearly been sleeping, and yet she even knew about all of those things.

    He coughed lightly and said, ¡°We don¡¯t have time to fight right now. I want to take a look around Golden Peak. Do either of you have a way for us to get there?¡±

 Chapter 1722: Death

    Chapter 1722: Death

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s beautiful brows furrowed slightly. She said, ¡°The Righteous Sun Sect has always been number one among the daoist sects, and their mountain defense formation is unquestionably formidable. The only way I could find a way to break through would be if we could find a weak point. But the Righteous Sun Sun Sect¡¯s mountain defense formation has never been activated before, and no one has seen it either. Finding some weaknesses might be¡­¡±

    She had spent the whole time nearby, waiting for Chu Chuyan and the others toe out. Initially, upon hearing that the emperor wasing, she hadn¡¯t really wished to interact with him, so she had decided to just stay far away. However, when she sensed the tremendous explosion and the battle that had taken ce, she naturally decided to head over to see what was going on.

    Yun Jianyue harrumphed. ¡°Why even bother? If we attack it together, I refuse to believe that we can¡¯t st open a path.¡±

    Yan Xuehen rolled her eyes and muttered, ¡°An impulsive and reckless woman with too much muscle and not enough brain.¡±

    ¡°What did you say?!¡± Yun Jianyue eximed, erupting into a rage.

    Zu An felt a huge headache. These two really just naturally didn¡¯t get along¡­ They always started fighting as soon as they met.

    Mi Li remarked with amusement, ¡°These two can be considered powerful and famous individuals in the world of warriors, and yet they¡¯re like two little girls when they¡¯re jealous.¡±

    Zu An could only say, ¡°It¡¯s not that they¡¯re jealous, but rather that their natural dispositions are just a bad match.¡±

    ¡°Hm¡­ I want to see what kind of reaction they¡¯ll have if they find out what kind of rtionship the other has with you. Would they start fighting with each other even in bed?¡± Mi Li wondered with a smile.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°A master should act the part, right? Isn¡¯t your behavior a bit too over the top?¡± Zu An remarked in annoyance.

    ¡°I¡¯m worrying for your sake here! By the way, which of these girls do you actually like?¡± Mi Li asked with great interest.

    Zu An was stunned. After a while, he replied, ¡°I refuse to answer that question.¡±

    ¡°Heh, men,¡± Mi Li retorted with a sneer. ¡°Isn¡¯t it just that you want them all? But for someone like you who¡¯s always sneaking around, you might just lose them all if you¡¯re exposed.¡±

    Zu An was dumbstruck. He asked, ¡°Why is this what you¡¯re concerned about? Isn¡¯t Zhao Han still fighting up there?¡±

    ¡°What does his fight have to do with me?¡± Mi Li harrumphed. ¡°It¡¯s these women of yours who all have to pour me tea respectfully in the future. Of course I have to keep my eyes on them.¡±

    Zu An asked in surprise, ¡°They¡¯ll serve you tea?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m your master, so isn¡¯t that only natural?¡± Mi Li replied, before suddenly realizing what he was thinking. She couldn''t help but snap in annoyance, ¡°Damn kid, what kind of nonsense are you thinking right now?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for +333 +333 +333¡­

    Xie Daoyun suddenly said weakly, ¡°I might actually have a way.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    The others all looked at her with strange expressions.

    After all, even these grandmasters couldn''t do anything. Furthermore, Yan Xuehen was a runemaster herself. And yet, this junior actually had a solution?

    Now that so many eyes were on her, Xie Daoyun was a bit embarrassed. She said, ¡°Actually, the reason I came to investigate Violet Mountain was to see if there are any killing formations. Because I had to examine many ces, I set up some transport formations to make it easier for me to move around. I just happened to leave one by Golden Peak too. I was going to secretly destroy it before, but I didn¡¯t expect something like this to happen today.¡±

    Qiu Honglei couldn''t help but voice her puzzlement. ¡°But now that the mountain defense formation is activated, it should restrict all transport formations. Your transport formation should also have be useless, right?¡±

    Yan Xuehen said seriously, ¡°I think I have an idea of what Miss Xie is saying. This mountain defense formation should not have any weaknesses, or at the very least, it should be imprable in the short term. But with this formation she has created, we will have an opening to exploit. If we modify it a bit, we should have a way of getting through.¡± She was also knowledgeable about formations, so she quickly followed Xie Daoyun¡¯s line of reasoning.

    Xie Daoyun hurriedly nodded. Her expression suggested she had found someone who truly understood her.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s face heated up, but she quickly changed the topic. ¡°Then let¡¯s get moving already. What are we wasting time here for?¡±

    Yan Xuehen paid her no mind. After asking Xie Daoyun a few questions about where she had set up the transport formations, she then discussed how they would get through the mountain defense formation.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, on Golden Peak, the atmosphere was very tense because Zhao Han had suddenly killed Feng Wuchang.

    When he saw that his side¡¯s morale was dropping, Zhao Jing harrumphed and no longer held himself back. A tremendous aura erupted. Divine splendor surged behind him and rushed into the heavens.

    The civil and military officials at Guidance Pce, halfway up the mountain, all trembled. There was actually another aura at the earth immortal rank!

    The emperor had been publicly acknowledged as an earth immortal over the years, so everyone knew about his aura. However, this new aura was entirely different from the one they were familiar with. It was actually a newly ascended earth immortal!

    At first, Bi Qi and the others hadn¡¯t been all that worried about the emperor¡¯s safety. But now, they immediately lost confidence.

    On Golden Peak, Zhao Han looked at Zhao Jing and said, ¡°You¡¯ve ascended to earth immortal rank, as expected. You have hidden it quite well these years.¡±

    Zhao Jing said indifferently, ¡°In terms of talent, I am no worse than you. You relied on your advantage of age to seize the throne, and afterward, you had the entire empire¡¯s resources to aid your cultivation. That was how you became the first one to break through into the earth immortal rank. With enough resources and time, catching up to you was not too difficult.¡±

    ¡°Catch up to me?¡± Zhao Han repeated,ughing mockingly. He looked amused, as if he didn¡¯t really feel like arguing.

    Zhao Jing was annoyed, but his brother¡¯s many years of umted prestige still remained. He still didn¡¯t dare to act rashly. However, because his earth immortal rank power spread out and countered some of Zhao Han¡¯s pressure, the others had clearly be more confident too.

    A splendid and magnificent pce suddenly appeared in midair. It targeted Zhuxie Chixin and Eunuch Wen, who were fighting intensely.

    ¡°Immortal Sword?¡± Zhao Han muttered with a frown. Just then, however, Zhao Jing took a step toward him, as if to stop him from rescuing them.

    A figure with an aloof and transcendent bearing suddenly appeared out of thin air. A longsword that resembled a lunar pce thrust out.

    Eunuch Wen had been using all of his power to face Xuan Bajing¡¯s attacks. How could he have anticipated that someone else would suddenly appear behind him? By the time he reacted to what was happening, it was already toote. He could only hurriedly use the Pure Yang Art of Youth to shield his back. He thought to himself that as long as he evaded the attack, the emperor would be able to bail him out.

    However, the immortal sword calmly thrust forward, and the faint barrier behind Eunuch Wen was instantly sliced apart. Then, the longsword sliced right through with irresistible force, sending sword ki straight into his heart.

    Eunuch Wen roared. The Pure Yang Art of Youth he had cultivated his entire life fiercely exploded. He only had a single thought in his mind, which was to at least drag one opponent down with him even if he had to die to do it.

    Unfortunately, the one behind him backed off immediately after approaching and wasn¡¯t injured at all. He appeared next to Zhuxie Chixin a secondter.

    Zhuxie Chixin was shocked. Fortunately, Eunuch Wen had been there to at least buy him a bit of reaction time. The death energy around him surged ferociously. It was so dense that even the Imperial Guards that were farther away paled, then fell; their life force had been seized by the death energy.

    When it approached his body, the spotlessly white longsword instantly turned ash gray, as if it were losing its spiritual nature. Even Li Changsheng groaned, clearly not having expected Zhuxie Chixin to possess such concentrated death energy.

    Even so, he was a grandmaster who was famous for many years. He suddenly erupted with dazzling splendor. In a moment of imminent peril, he recalled his sword and blocked the reaper¡¯s scythe.

    Zhuxie Chixin was about tounch another attack when his expression changed. When he looked down toward his chest, he saw a golden armband there. It was rapidly spinning and vibrating after sting straight through from behind him!

 Chapter 1723: Weaken

    Chapter 1723: Weaken

    Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s opponent was Guan Chouhai, a grandmaster who had already been famous for many years. Meanwhile, he had just advanced to the grandmaster rank himself. Even though he was able to go toe to toe with Guan Chouhai because of the death energy around him, as time dragged on, he would still end up at a disadvantage.

    Just now, he had dealt with Li Changsheng for the time being, and thought he would have enough time to deal with Guan Chouhai after. However, he had actually underestimated the power of a daoist sect master.

    Guan Chouhai didn¡¯t let go of the fleeting opportunity that appeared and used the Twin Vajra Armbands to deliver a lethal strike.

    A wave of terrifying death energy suddenly erupted. Even cultivators as powerful as Li Changsheng and Guan Chouhai had to quickly dodge backward to evade. All of the nts and trees within a range of over a hundred meters instantly withered away. Meanwhile, Zhuxie Chixin was at the center of the destruction, on his knees. He inhaled more than he exhaled; it was obvious that he was going to die.

    The others¡¯ expressions changed. Li Changsheng¡¯s expression was grave as he remarked, ¡°For this much death energy to have gathered around you¡­ Just how many people have died at your hands?¡±

    Even though Zhuxie Chixin was the Chief Commander of the Embroidered Envoy and had killed many officials, there was still no way he could have produced so much death energy that way. It wouldn¡¯t be enough even if he ughtered every official in the court.

    Zhuxie Chixin naturally knew what was happening, but he didn¡¯t have the strength to reply. Instead, he turned to the distant emperor with a look of confusion.

    ¡°Amitabha buddha. Those whose entire existence is enveloped in murder will receive their due punishment,¡± Master Jian Huang said, bringing his hands together. As a Buddhist sect member, he usually preached benevolence and even spoke some words of pity for great evildoers. But when he sensed the death energy around Zhuxie Chixin, surprisingly, he expressed that the man deserved death.

    King Qi stared at Zhao Han, his gaze also carrying confusion. He said, ¡°You clearly had the chance to save them. Why did you just watch them fall with folded arms?¡±

    Zhao Han said indifferently, ¡°With Wang Wuxie¡¯s cultivation, he still ended up in that state. That means he was betrayed by his own people, and it had to be those he trusted the most, no less. With that prior mistake to learn from, how could I make the same error? This is the only way I can tell who is actually loyal and who is a traitor.¡±

    The others now understood that Zhao Han had been worried that Zhuxie Chixin or Eunuch Wen would betray him, which was why he hadn¡¯t moved.

    When he heard that reply, Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s expression was full of shock and anger; he seemed to be thinking ¡®I should have known¡¯. Then, he could no longer hold on, and his head lolled to one side.

    Wu Wuyan couldn''t help but say with a sigh, ¡°You are cold and ruthless after all. You had no reaction even after seeing those most devoted and loyal to you die. I have always heard that there are three types of people: Men, women, and the emperor. Today, I finally understand what that means.¡±

    King Qi said, ¡°Great Elder is mistaken. It is only Zhao Han who is especially merciless. If I were the emperor, I definitely would not be so callous.¡± He still needed all of their cooperation, so he didn¡¯t want anyone to carry ill feelings.

    Meanwhile, the Embroidered Envoys and Imperial Guards were facing off intensely against the daoists led by Elder Xuan Dou and the little monk Jie Se far away. They clearly understood that this ce was a battlefield far above their level, and that just the traces of a st wave would erase them from existence. As such, they didn¡¯t pay too much attention to what was happening. Otherwise, morale would only plummet.

    Zhao Han said with a sneer, ¡°You really know how to talk. If you were in my position, you would naturally do the same thing. The position of emperor is a lonely existence.¡±

    ¡°I will prove that I am different from you,¡± King Qi replied coldly. Then, he looked at Wu Wuyan and said, ¡°Great Elder, if you would.¡±

    Wu Wuyan nodded. She formed a hand seal, then chanted some cryptic words. A translucent straw doll appeared in front of her.

    Zhao Han sneered. ¡°You¡¯re actually going to use curse arts against this emperor? Wu Wuyan, have you gone mad?¡±

    Wu Wuyan didn¡¯t reply. Her hand produced seven needles of light, and she stabbed them straight into that straw doll. A visible ripple spread out.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zhao Han had just been expecting to watch her make a fool of herself, but his expression suddenly changed. At the same time, his body trembled. Several rings of ck light appeared around him, and ck runes visibly stabbed into his body. His calm demeanor finally broke as he eximed, ¡°Why is this effective against me?¡±

    Wu Wuyan had a proud expression as she said, ¡°As long as I know your astrological information and have things such as your skin and hair, my curse arts will be effective. This is how our skills work.¡±

    Zhao Han asked gravely, ¡°How did you obtain these things from me?¡±

    With Zhao Jing present, his astrological information was easy enough to share. However, as for things like skin and hair, he was always careful about them. There was no chance King Qi could get his hands on one of those.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t your majesty always have precautions around such things? Then why are you asking me?¡± Wu Wuyan replied with a smile.

    Zhao Han scowled as he looked at the dying Eunuch Wen. That dog of a servant betrayed this emperor after all!

    It was always Eunuch Wen who took care of his basic needs. If anyone could have a chance of obtaining such things, no one else was more suspicious. He was even starting to regret feeling somewhat bad over his choice to not save Eunuch Wen. Otherwise, perhaps he would have been tricked right there and then.

    King Qi, Master Jian Huang, Li Changsheng, and the others all looked at Wu Wuyan with shock. They hadn¡¯t held much faith that such a n would seed, and yet the effects were far greater than they expected.

    Were the shamans¡¯ curse arts really formidable to such a degree? Previously, they had been able to take down Wang Wuxie by working together, so even though they had been a bit surprised, it wasn¡¯t to this extent. But now, the unmatched emperor was actually suffering from these curse arts? They couldn''t help but feel nervous themselves. After all, how would they defend themselves if Wu Wuyan used such skills against them?

    Wang Wuxie had instantly been enved because of a simr skill. The skill Wu Wuyan had just used was clearly at an even higher level. Then, what would happen to the emperor? Would he be killed right there and then, or would he be turned into a ve just like Wang Wuxie?

    When he saw the others looking at him, Zhao Han sneered and said, ¡°Do you really think such sorcery can work against this emperor?¡± His entire body erupted with golden light, and the ck rings around him were immediately shattered.

    Wu Wuyan¡¯s previously proud expression changed tremendously. She immediately vomited a mouthful of blood, and she looked a bit dispirited and listless. She was as pale as a corpse, and she couldn''t even stand up straight anymore. Her body fell weakly to the ground.

    King Qi and the others were horrified. They hadn¡¯t even seen Zhao Han do anything, and yet the powerful Shaman Great Elder had lost her fighting strength just like that?

    Wu Wuyan quickly said, ¡°My secret technique didn¡¯t work as intended, but he didn¡¯t get through thispletely unscathed either. He¡¯s had his cultivation weakened by at least twenty percent and might not be able to recover for a short time. The rest will be up to you.¡±

    Zhao Jing was overjoyed to hear the news. He had actually been a bit doubtful when he saw Zhao Han being affected by the curse arts. His invincible brother emperor couldn''t possibly be done in so easily! On the contrary, he had even wondered whether Zhao Han was ying tricks on them.

    However, this situation was much more reasonable. Even though Wu Wuyan had lost her fighting strength, Zhao Han had also lost twenty percent of his fighting prowess. That was already an incredible achievement. Previously, he hadn¡¯t had much confidence in facing the unrivaled Zhao Han. But now, he had much more confidence than ever before.

 Chapter 1724: Primordial Spirit Appearance

    Chapter 1724: Primordial Spirit Appearance

    Zhao Han¡¯s expression was ice-cold. When he raised his hand, streaks of ck runes were faintly visible on it. He said, ¡°These shamans¡¯ strange skills do have something to them after all. It seems I underestimated you. However, if you really believe that this is enough to deal with this emperor, you are far too naive.¡± As soon as he spoke, two streaks of golden light suddenly fired from his eyes. They were so fast that the others couldn''t even react at all.

    Wu Wuyan was engulfed by the golden light and shrieked in pain. Her body began to burn at a visible rate. Her flesh and blood were almost instantly burned up, leaving behind only a skeleton. Then, in a gust of wind, her corpse turned to ashes and blew away without a trace.

    The conspirators on Golden Peak shivered. In contrast, the Right Guard General Guo Zhi¡¯s Imperial Guards and the remaining Embroidered Envoys got a morale boost. Earlier, Eunuch Wen and Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s deaths had made them lose all confidence. It was to the extent that they had even begun to doubt their invincible emperor for the first time. But in that instant, they all knew that his majesty was still his majesty. No one could rival his might. As long as they followed him, they would inevitably achieve the ultimate victory.

    Elder Xuan Dou and the other daoist experts immediately felt a lot more pressure. Even though their individual strength exceeded that of the Imperial Guards and Embroidered Envoys, their opponents were good at coordinated attacks using ingenious formations, resulting in the two sides being evenly matched. Now that the other side¡¯s morale had increased, their own side was at a disadvantage.

    ¡°Amitabha buddha!¡± Master Jian Huang eximed in shock and anger. He created a giant …d symbol and sent it at Zhao Han. In truth, he had begun preparing his move when Zhao Han attacked Wu Wuyan, but he was still a bit too slow. That was why it seemed as if he had started reacting afterward.

    The …d symbol grewrger andrger, eventually weighing down on Zhao Han like a mountain. Even the officials at Guidance Pce stopped and looked at Golden Peak. Even though they were blocked by the mountain defense formation and couldn''t see what was happening up there, they could sense a terrifying pressure. It was as if all of Violet Mountain would be crushed beneath it.

    Zhao Han snorted. Suddenly, a golden figure flew out from behind his head. It looked exactly like him, except it was muchrger. It rapidly grew in size, almost instantly bing asrge as the …d symbol. With a mere wave of its hand, the terrifying symbol was smashed apart.

    ¡°He separated his primordial spirit from his body!¡± Master Jian Huang cried as he coughed out blood, dyeing his white beard red.

    Just then, the giant golden figure sent a palm pressing down that seemed to cover everything. Master Jian Huang could no longer see anything else; there was only that giant palm left. It was as if everything in the world had disappeared. As the leader of a Buddhist sect, he naturally had exceptional cultivation and skills. But in that moment, he was shocked to discover that he couldn''t retaliate in the slightest! He could only watch as the golden palm crashed down on him.

    He realized something. A battle at the primordial spirit level couldpletely break through the various domains and principles of the world, unless he also cultivated a primordial spirit. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t even have the qualifications to resist. He felt incredibly sullen. He had several trump cards and had thought he was only a hair behind the emperor in terms of strength. However, that hair was actually as wide as a heavenly moat. He couldn''t use any of his trump cards and was facing death.

    Just then, King Qi shouted. Then, a golden figure also flew out from the top of his head. A magnified version of King Qi brandished his fist at Zhao Han. Zhao Han¡¯s primordial spirit frowned; he could only turn around and block.

    A terrifying ripple spread outward. Even the nearby Pure Yang Pce was submerged within its power and was directly blown to ashes.

    This Pure Yang Pce was the most sacred ce of the Righteous Sun Sect, a symbol of the sect. The most powerful of defense formations had definitely been set up there. Furthermore, it was also the ce where Wang Wuxie had usually cultivated in seclusion. This was where he had absorbed the essence of the sun and moon and bathed in the benefits of violet ki. As such, the daoists had always considered it unlikely to ever be destroyed. And yet, before the st waves of two earth immortal experts, it couldn''t even hold on for a moment.

    Li Changsheng and the other grandmasters¡¯ expressions changed. They all took out their magical weapons to protect themselves. However, they were too close and didn¡¯t have much confidence in stopping the power of a battle between earth immortals.

    Just then, the long, drawn-out sound of a bell filled the air. Then, a giant bronze bell descended from above, covering all those on Golden Peak. When the terrifying energy made contact with the giant bell, it vibrated intensely and rang in tremendous waves.

    Violet Mountain began to quake and rumble. Countless birds in the forest flew away in rm. The officials stuck halfway up the mountain paled in fright. Those with higher cultivation ranks only felt their stomachs churn, while those with lower cultivations vomited blood and fainted on the spot. Guidance Pce also began making strange noises, with tiles and beams falling. No one dared to remain inside.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An and the women were researching how to pass through the mountain defense formation. When they saw what was happening, their expressions all changed.

    Xie Daoyun had the lowest cultivation among them. Her face turned pale and her body rocked back and forth, and she seemed about to fall. However, Zu An quickly held her hand and infused arge amount of ki. Only that way could he protect her from any injuries.

    A whileter, the ringing that could make one¡¯s blood vessels directly explode finally eased up a bit. Zu An¡¯s expression was incredibly serious as he wondered, ¡°What kind of a bell is that? Why is it so formidable?¡±

    However, who could have thought that before he could even receive an answer, he felt a wave of faint killing intent? Zu An instinctively looked up and discovered that the other women were all ring at him holding Xie Daoyun¡¯s hand.

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +111 +111 +111¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +111 +111 +111¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Qiu Honglei for +111 +111 +111¡­

    Xie Daoyun suddenly realized something and quickly pulled her hand back. Her pretty face was a bright pink. However, it only left Zu An in an even more awkward position.

    Mi Li almost burst intoughter. She eximed, ¡°This is great, this is great! How can the happy fate of a man with several partners be so easily enjoyed?¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Fortunately, Yan Xuehen spoke up to ease his awkwardness, saying, ¡°That is most likely Tranquility Pce¡¯s deity-grade weapon, the Tranquility Bell. It seems this scheme against the emperor runs quite deep, to the point that they will have to suffer terrifying consequences after being exposed. The fact that they brought out the Tranquility Bell means they already have no choice left.¡±

    Yun Jianyue looked in the direction of Golden Pce and said, ¡°It felt as if there were two earth immortal rank individuals fighting. That battle should already be nearing its climax.¡±

    Qiu Honglei said weakly, ¡°I¡¯m a bit worried about whether this is a suitable time to go there¡­ We might just end up getting in trouble¡­¡±

    No one made fun of her, because what she said was indeed the truth.

    Yun Jianyue asked seriously, ¡°Stone cold woman, how much longer will it take for you to crack that formation?¡±

    ¡°It is unlikely that this great mountain defense formation can bepletely undone in a short amount of time. However, if it is just to make a small door for us to pass through, then around an incense stick¡¯s amount of time should be enough,¡± Yan Xuehen replied. She couldn''t help but give Xie Daoyun a look. This girl really was a formation genius. Without her help, such a thing likely wouldn¡¯t have been so easy.

    Zu An said, ¡°Let¡¯s do that first then. We¡¯ll see if there¡¯s a suitable opportunity to cross over afterward.¡±

    The women nodded, agreeing with his n. After all, if there was a good opportunity up there and they missed out on it because they didn¡¯t do anything, perhaps such a thing would never appear again.

    On Golden Peak, a small and exquisite bell in Master Jian Huang¡¯s hand spun frantically. The massive bell in the air was none other than its projection. With the protection of the bell, all those present on Golden Peak at least managed to keep their lives. Even the Imperial Guards and Embroidered Envoys were included. That couldn''t be helped, because the daoists were tangled up with them and wouldn¡¯t separate for some time, so he had to save them all.

    King Qi staggered a bit. He was clearly not Zhao Han¡¯s match.

    When Master Jian Huang saw that, he chanted several Buddhist sutras. Then, a giant buddha suddenly appeared behind him, rushing into the clouds to fight against Zhao Han.

 Chapter 1725: Besiege

    Chapter 1725: Besiege

    Li Changsheng and the others were extremely shocked. They hadn¡¯t expected Master Jian Huang to keep this secret so well.

    Was he actually also an earth immortal?

    They quickly gave up on that thought, because they didn¡¯t sense the pressure unique to an earth immortal. They were all sect masters, so they quickly understood the naturalws behind the skill. This was probably a secret method of Master Jian Huang¡¯s sect, or perhaps he was borrowing the power of a divine weapon that allowed him to temporarily produce a buddha projection simr to a primordial spirit. It could temporarily fight at the level of an earth immortal.

    However, when they saw Master Jian Huang¡¯s deathly pale expression, they realized that the skill definitely came with serious consequences. Furthermore, it only meant he had the right to join the fight; the projection¡¯s real power still wasn¡¯tparable to that of a true earth immortal.

    Sure enough, the buddha projection was powerfulpared to them, but when it shed with Zhao Han¡¯s primordial spirit, it staggered just from a single exchange. It trembled all over and almost broke down on the spot.

    Fortunately, King Qi rushed in promptly as the main force to stop Zhao Han. Then, he was barely able to stabilize the situation a bit with the help of the buddha projection. The two sides turned out to be evenly matched above the clouds. It was hard to say which side would win.

    Below, Li Changsheng and the others were startled. They all looked toward Zhao Han¡¯s flesh body at the center. Even though they weren¡¯t earth immortals, they were still daoist sect masters with a lot of powerful skills and resources. They knew that the body was extremely weak once the primordial spirit left. If the flesh body was destroyed, as long as one wasn¡¯t a true immortal, the primordial spirit would also dissipate no matter how powerful it was.

    Of course, normally, an earth immortal wouldn¡¯t fear such a thing. After all, once the primordial spirit appeared, it would be unstoppable. Their enemies wouldn¡¯t even have a chance to approach their body.

    However, things were different now. Zhao Han¡¯s primordial spirit was fighting in the clouds above and was held up by both King Qi and Master Jian Huang. The Imperial Guards and Embroidered Envoys were preupied. Zhuxie Chixin and Eunuch Wen had both died too, so no one was protecting his body.

    When he realized that, Li Changsheng couldn¡¯t hold himself back anymore. He turned into a streak of light and rushed straight at Zhao Han¡¯s body. The Immortal Sword in his hands produced countless sword shadows, almost instantly arriving next to Zhao Han. The body of an earth immortal was sturdy, but he had confidence that without the primordial spirit, no matter how sturdy it was, it wouldn¡¯t be able to stop his Immortal Sword.

    When his sword was about to pierce through the center of Zhao Han¡¯s forehead, however, Zhao Han¡¯s closed eyes suddenly opened. He stared at Li Changsheng with a sharp gaze.

    Li Changsheng shivered. He didn¡¯t have time to think about why Zhao Han still had consciousness even though his primordial spirit was fighting above. His first reaction was to quickly evade while using his most powerful skill. Defensive formations appeared one after another before him.

    However, it was still toote. Zhao Han raised his fingers and urately stopped him, mping down on the real sword¡¯s body. Then, his other hand pressed forward gently. The defense formations were like tofu as they broke downyer byyer. In the end, his finger struck Li Changsheng¡¯s chest.

    Li Changsheng immediately felt as if he had been struck by lightning. His body flew out into the distance in an arc, before crashing to the ground a dozen or so meters away.

    Xuan Bajing and Guan Chouhai, who had had a simr idea, immediately stopped moving. Then, they quickly pulled back, cold sweat running down their backs. If they had been the ones at the forefront, they would have ended up just like Li Changsheng. When they thought of the emperor¡¯s power, the two grandmasters, who were normally arrogant and self-important, felt a wave of despair. They couldn''t help but continue to withdraw. They even had thoughts of retreating and giving up. After all, while Zhao Han was being held off by King Qi and Master Jian Huang, they could run away first. Then, at least they¡¯d be able to keep their lives.

    Just then, Li Changsheng supported himself with both hands and propped up his upper body while trembling. There was a strand of blood at the corner of his lips. He was deathly pale, but he didn¡¯t have the luxury of worrying about that. He roared with all of his might, ¡°His body is only being controlled by a yin soul right now, it doesn¡¯t have his original strength! Don¡¯t be scared, everyone!¡±

    The master rank was divided into five stages: The hero, essence, core, power, and air mortal forms. Above that was the wisdom form; upon attaining that level, one would be a grandmaster. The next cultivation realm after that was the ascension form. At that stage, one would produce a yin soul. This yin soul was still rather weak and can only leave the body for a short while. Furthermore, it feared the sun.

    Once one cultivated the first of the three immortal souls, the life soul, the yin soul would be powerful and no longer fear the sun. It could attach itself to an object, making it so that one could use a flying sword to behead someone a thousand miles away. However, the yin soul didn¡¯t have a real form, nor could it interact with the physical world. It needed to borrow another person or object to interact with the world.

    Eventually, once one cultivated the earth soul, one would produce a yang soul that was entirely different from a yin soul. The yang soul had a physical form, and it was not much different from a real person.

    Above that came the cultivation of the heaven soul. Higher even than that was the primordial spirit. Just now, Zhao Han had revealed none other his primordial spirit.

    Meanwhile, these grandmasters were all top-tier figures with their own pride in the world of warriors. They naturally all cultivated a yin soul. If Zhao Han only had a yin soul in his body, they wouldn¡¯t fear it at all.

    Guan Chouhai and Xuan Bajing were stunned when they heard that. If it was just the yin soul, even though the emperor could rely on his earth immortal body and inner ki, making him much stronger than normal yin soul grandmasters, it wasn¡¯t to the point that it was impossible to win.

    However, they didn¡¯t easily trust those words. They were worried that Li Changsheng was only saying so because he was scared that he wouldn¡¯t be able to get away after being seriously injured, and couldn''t bear to see them run away. He could only be saying such a thing to deceive them into vainly throwing their lives away.

    When Li Changsheng saw their gazes wander around, he immediately guessed what they were thinking. He yelled, ¡°Come on! Think with your damn heads! If he had been at his full strength, how could I still be alive after taking a hit from him?¡±

    Guan Chouhai and Xuan Bajing exchanged a look. They both agreed with that reasoning. After all, at this point, there was no way Zhao Han would hold back.

    But Xuan Bajing still had his misgivings. He said, ¡°But¡­ He still has a yang soul.¡±

    The symbol of an earth immortal was the cultivation of a yang soul. Furthermore, what had leaped into the skies earlier was clearly an even more powerful primordial spirit. If there was still a yang soul inside Zhao Han that hadn¡¯t left, they would really just be throwing their lives away for nothing.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Li Changsheng frowned and said, ¡°For some reason, just now, I couldn''t feel the existence of his yang soul. It¡¯s probably because King Qi and Master Jian Huang are keeping it preupied, so it can''t tend to two duties.¡±

    If Zu An were present, he would have immediately realized that in Westhound Tomb, he had killed that very yang soul. These people didn¡¯t know the whole story and could only suspect that King Qi and the others were holding it up. After all, King Qi was also an earth immortal. Now that he was fighting at full strength, Zhao Han couldn''t even keep a yang soul inside his flesh body. Furthermore, together with that buddha projection Master Jian Huang had created, Zhao Han¡¯s attention had to all be focused there.

    Li Changsheng continued, ¡°I was in too much of a hurry and didn''t understand those things yet. I didn¡¯t have enough confidence. If I had shed against him directly, I wouldn¡¯t have lost so quickly. You all still have a chance!¡±

    When he saw that they were still hesitating, he continued furiously, ¡°What kind of situation are we already in?! And yet all of you are still acting afraid of the slightest thing? If we lose, you¡¯ll all die miserably, so why not just go all out?!¡±

    Guan Chouhai and Xuan Bajing were both outstanding individuals from their generation. After their initial rm, they recovered their reason. They knew that there was a chance to escape, but that meant they would end up constantly fleeing from the court like rats. Whether it was the Heavenly Sorrow Sect or Kunlun Void Sect, they would definitely be finished for sure. Both grandmasters would end up being condemned by their sects for all of history.

    This was their only chance to defeat Zhao Han!

    As such, they exchanged a look, and both of them attacked Zhao Han. Guan Chouhai released countless armbands from his hands, aiming straight at Zhao Han¡¯s head. Xuan Bajing sent out his eight swords to strike at Zhao Han¡¯s various vitals.

    Zhao Han¡¯s expression grew cold. He produced two figures to face both attacks.

    Guan Chouhai and Xuan Bajing¡¯s eyes suddenly narrowed, because they discovered that the two figures were identical clones of themselves! What was even more shocking was that these figures actually carried simr weapons. One had a set of vajra armbands, while the other had eight swords flying around it.

 Chapter 1726: Iâ€™m So Stupid

    Chapter 1726: I¡¯m So Stupid

    When the daoists rushed at Zhao Han, the Right Guard General Guo Zhi roared and tried to bring his Imperial Guard subordinates with him to provide help. He naturally knew that the body would be extremely weak once the primordial spirit left. It had to remain in an absolutely safe ce.

    But how could the daoists let him do as he wished? Elder Xuan Dou and little monk Jie Se¡¯s group did everything they could to stop their retaliation, giving them no way of providing Zhao Han with aid.

    At the same time, both sides watched the situation around Zhao Han¡¯s body carefully. Just then, they noticed that two more people had suddenly appeared there. One was a handsome middle-aged man with an eye-catching beard and a voluminous robe. He had a charming smirk that gave off something of a slick and sleazy air. The other one had apletely gloomy expression, and lightning flickered all around him. Behind him was a sword case shaped a bit like a tortoiseshell. Eight swords flew all around him.

    Guan Chouhai was shocked. He had been trying to think of ways to deal with Zhao Han, and had never thought that such a situation would appear. This person looked exactly like him, with the same appearance and even the same temperament. Even the decorations on his clothes and his weapons were the same. Forget about other people, not even he himself or his women would be able to tell the difference!

    Also, where did Zhao Han go? Could all of this just be an illusion?

    Suddenly, the ¡®Guan Chouhai¡¯ on the other side brandished his hands, sending countless vajra armbands at him. They shed straight against his own Twin Vajra Armbands.

    ng, ng, ng!

    A concentrated burst of loud and clear noises rang out as the armbands filled the air.

    Guan Chouhai felt sullen as he realized that the other side wasn¡¯t an illusion, but rather a tangible presence. But he just couldn''t figure out how that could be! The Twin Vajra Armbands were Heavenly Sorrow Sect¡¯s treasure, which was passed down from generation to generation. Why did the clone have an exact copy of it? Could it be that the Twin Vajra Armbands weren¡¯t actually a pair, but rather four copies? If he could seize those two as well, wouldn¡¯t his own strength skyrocket?

    However, before he could think any more about that, the ¡®Guan Chouhai¡¯ on the other side spun his entire body rapidly. Then, he rushed straight through the midst of the armbands, arriving in front of the real Guan Chouhai near-instantly.

    ¡°Spiral of the Venom Dragon?¡± Guan Chouhai eximed, immediately recognizing his unique secret art. However, the clone¡¯s attack had already arrived, hands spinning like a drill bit. He didn¡¯t have time to think and could only face it head-on.

    Since he had created the move, he naturally understood its weaknesses. He quickly cut between the clone¡¯s hands and pried them apart. At the same time, he pulled back and stomped against the ground, channeling the power of the earth to use his Constetion Reversal. Not only did he send all of his opponent¡¯s power right back, it also carried his own strength. If even Xuan Bajing faced this skill, he would most likely be seriously injured.

    But to his surprise, the clone flipped his body and stomped the ground, causing his body to tremble all over as the tremendous force was then transmitted back through his hands!

    ¡°Constetion Reversal?!¡± Guan Chouhai eximed in horror. This was a secret skill that was kept within Heavenly Sorrow Sect. Why did the clone know it too?! He used the Constetion Reversal skill again on instinct, sending the power back again.

    Boom!

    With a powerful explosion, both of them were sent flying by the tremendous force. Blood filled Guan Chouhai¡¯s throat and trickled out from his mouth. Using that much power in such a hurry was something not even he could endure. The only saving grace was that a bit of blood came out of his opponent¡¯s mouth as well. The clone¡¯s injuries weren¡¯t light either.

    Meanwhile, Xuan Bajing was simrly dumbstruck. Guan Chouhai had wondered whether there was another pair of Twin Vajra Armbands, but apart from the few swords that Kunlun Void¡¯s ancestors had passed down to Xuan Bajing, most of the eight swords were things he had spent much time and effort to collect over the years. How could the other side have eight identical swords? This definitely had to be an illusion!

    However, a flying sword quickly cut through his sleeves and sent a streak of blood flying through the air.

    Xuan Bajing was stunned. Even though he had deduced that this was very likely to be an illusion, he didn¡¯t dare to let the enemy attack him. What if the de passed through his head, but it wasn¡¯t an illusion? He wouldn¡¯t even have a chance to cry then. Helpless to do anything else, he could only defend himself with his own flying swords.

    Sixteen flying swords shed against each other. Xuan Bajing was known for his flying swords, already having reached a superb level of prowess with his eight swords. And yet, no matter how high his sword skill was, no matter what kind of tricks he used, the enemy¡¯s swords were always able to swiftly retaliate.

    In the past, he had really enjoyed seeing his opponents¡¯ frustration against his flying swords. Now, it was his turn to experience the same thing. He felt incredibly sullen. It was as if he were fighting against himself. It waspletely impossible to decide victory.

    However, he was still a sect master. He quickly calmed down. It didn¡¯t make sense at all for him to lose to a fake.

    You can imitate my face and my sword, but don¡¯t tell me even your way of thinking is identical?

    As such, he suddenly recalled his eight swords and merged them together to form a giant sword. Then, he thrust it forward. His opponent¡¯s swords were instantly knocked flying when they made contact with the giant sword.

    The other ¡®Xuan Bajing¡¯ quickly reached out his hand. The eight flying swords returned, also formed a giant sword.

    The two giant swords shed. The powerful sh waspletely real, and could only result in serious injuries or even death. If their cultivations were really the same, they would both lose.

    Suddenly, a strange smile appeared on Xuan Bajing¡¯s lips. The next second, lightning radiance flickered and he was gone. In an instant, his giant sword also scattered into thin air.

    Without its target, the clone¡¯s full-powered attack missed. The surging ki and blood within him seemed to leave him feeling extremely ufortable.

    In that moment of weakness, a streak of lightning appeared at his side. Xuan Bajing instantly materialized.

    Thunder sh Art!N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The sword in his hand stabbed straight into his opponent¡¯s ribs like a streak of lightning.

    The clone¡¯s entire body flickered with electricity. He instinctively tried to dodge, but he was still a bit toote and was hit. Xuan Bajing smirked in self-satisfaction. He didn¡¯t know where this fake came from, but a fake could only be a fake; how could it be his match?

    The clone looked down at his injury, but there was no rm on his face. Instead, he raised his head with a strange smile.

    Xuan Bajing frowned when he saw that smile. He couldn''t figure out why the clone would have such an expression.

    Suddenly, his expression changed. He looked down at his own ribs, and saw that there was actually a drip of blood on his clothes. Then, the blood quickly spread out, dyeing that side of his clothes red. He felt a wave of intense pain. He could no longer stand stably and kneeled down on one knee. He had to stab his sword into the ground to prevent himself from falling.

    ¡°How?!¡± he eximed in shock. He didn¡¯t understand this at all. The attack that should have defeated his opponent had clearlynded, so why had the injurynded on himself? Even if it was an illusion, there was no way he would attack himself! With his many years of cultivation and experience, he couldn''t understand how such a thing had been achieved at all. Earth immortals really were unfathomable¡­

    ¡­

    Guan Chouhai shivered when he saw Xuan Bajing copse. He didn¡¯t even vainly think of injuring Zhao Han anymore. He only had a single thought in his mind: Run!

    Unfortunately, even though that was what he wanted to do, the ¡®Guan Chouhai¡¯ on the other side wouldn¡¯t allow that to happen. The Twin Vajra Armbands covered the skies and wrapped around his legs. Helpless to flee, he could only deal with the counterfeit first. But when he thought about how Xuan Bajing had clearly won against the fake, and yet had lost first, he felt despair.

    The two of them exchanged more than ten blows before he suddenly thought of something. If Xuan Bajing hurt himself when he hurt the fake, what if I do the exact opposite? Would I be able to hurt this counterfeit instead?

    Victory is often grasped from the jaws of defeat!

    There were simr principles in the daoist sects. When he thought of that, he immediately moved and mmed his fist heavily against his own chest. He didn¡¯t dare to strike his own head for fear of killing himself, but he still didn¡¯t hold back. He had to strike while the enemy was unprepared.

    ¡°Pfft!¡± A mouthful of blood gushed out and he felt his ki and blood surge. His entire body¡¯s meridians were filled with iparable pain. However, he wasn¡¯t concerned with his own injuries, and instead looked at the other side expectantly.

    And yet, to his shock, the other ¡®Guan Chouhai¡¯ waspletely unharmed. There was a mocking smile on his face.

    ¡°Motherf*cker! I was too rash! I¡¯m so stupid, so¡­¡± Guan Chouhai muttered, feeling so angry that he fainted on the spot.

 Chapter 1727: Painstaking Efforts

    Chapter 1727: Painstaking Efforts

    The whole sequence of events happened too quickly, leaving Li Changshengpletely stupefied.

    Previously, he had even had the extravagant hope that they could hurt Zhao Han¡¯s physical body a bit, potentially having a decisive impact on the overall situation. But who would have thought that these two would be defeated so quickly?

    Xuan Bajing¡¯s loss was still excusable, since his move was quite brilliant. Despite that, he had been the one who was injured.

    As for Guan Chouhai¡¯s loss, that was nothing more than a joke. Xuan Bajing had managed to test out the enemy¡¯s special ability for him, and yet he had ended up knocking himself out!

    Li Changsheng had thought that Guan Chouhai was pretty sharp. Why had his brain gone to shit today?

    The two clones charged at Li Changsheng, Xuan Bajing, and Guan Chouhai just then, nning to take the chance topletely eliminate them.

    Guan Chouhai fainting was one thing, but Li Changsheng and Xuan Bajing were filled with despair. They were seriously injured and didn¡¯t have any strength to fight back. They could only watch as inevitable death encroached.

    Just then, Elder Xuan Dou and little monk Jie Se, who had previously been watching the situation together with some daoists, quickly rushed over to rescue their own sect elders. Unfortunately, even though their cultivation ranks were high, these were the attacks of a grandmaster who had cultivated a yin soul. Miserable screams filled the air one after another. They suffered a huge amount of casualties almost immediately.

    When he saw Elder Xuan Dou, whom he had just been fighting with, getting killed so easily, Jie Se was so frightened his face turned deathly pale. He thought, It¡¯s not as if these guys are even from Tranquility Temple; it¡¯s daoists dying and not monks! He turned and ran for his life.

    But how could those two figures let him go? They immediately gave chase, their weapons still dripping blood.

    Jie Se began screaming for his life. ¡°I¡¯m going to die, I¡¯m going to freaking die! Master, save me!¡±

    The buddha projection in the air suddenly raised its hand and struck toward ¡®Guan Chouhai¡¯ and ¡®Xuan Bajing¡¯. A hand appeared amid the clouds, and a momentter, it crashed down on them like Mt. Tai. Even though the two were formidable, they were no match for the buddha projection that wasparable to an earth immortal¡¯s primordial spirit. They quickly dodged backward.

    With a cold snort, Zhao Han¡¯s primordial spirit also interfered, striking aside the buddha¡¯s hand. Seemingly having noticed Master Jian Huang¡¯s weakness, he took the chance to aim his finger at Jie Se. His seemingly ordinary finger looked as if it were crushing an ant. It was so overwhelmingly powerful that Jie Se couldn''t resist in the slightest, and could only watch as that finger pressed down.

    Master Jian Huang naturally wouldn¡¯t just let that happen without doing anything. The buddha projection quickly rushed over to save him. However, Zhao Han¡¯s primordial spirit had a strange smile as it took the chance to attack the buddha projection.

    Previously, with King Qi as the main force and Master Jian Huang as the support, both sides had maintained excellent teamwork and managed to briefly hold Zhao Han off. And yet now, with the disciple as bait, Master Jian Huang took the initiative to attack. That produced a crack in their coordination.

    For Zhao Han, there was no way he would let such an opportunity go. A fist, a palm, and a finger struck the buddha projection. It flickered continuously, and in the end, it could no longer hold on, dissipating into the air.

    Below, the seated Master Jian Huang didn¡¯t vomit blood, but no one would think he waspletely fine. His skin began to crack all over, as if he were made of broken ss. A cold wind blew across Golden Peak, and a chunk of skin fell from his face, revealing a pitch-ck void behind it. Then, his entire body could no longer hold on, fully breaking apart piece by piece. With a gust of wind, he dissolved into ashes.

    When he saw Master Jian Huang try to help his disciple, King Qi immediately realized that the situation was bad. He quickly rushed over, but he was still toote. The buddha statue was already broken. Even someone with his level of mental strength felt a brief moment of rm when he saw Master Jian Huang turn into ashes. After all, without the monk¡¯s support, he was definitely not Zhao Han¡¯s match.

    Zhao Han seemed to have foreseen that. After killing Master Jian Huang, he used the momentum to continue his assault.

    King Qi defended himself in a panic. Unfortunately, Zhao Han had been number one in this world for too long and was full of experience, not giving him any opportunities. Soon after, King Qi¡¯s defenses broke down bit by bit. In the end, a fist imprint mmed into his chest, causing his massive figure to copse. He could no longer hold on and returned to his body once more.

    Zhao Han exhaled in relief. Taking down two powerful opponents in session so quickly was difficult even for someone of his cultivation. He practically hadn¡¯t held back at all. All of his cultivation had erupted in the shortest possible amount of time.

    It was one thing to deal with Master Jian Huang, but in the end, King Qi was an earth immortal too. Zhao Han had needed to exhaust himself quite a bit in order to seriously injure him. Now, however, he had already dealt with the most troublesome pair. With his earth immortal power, he could return to his strongest state in just a few seconds. Everyone else was nothing more than an ant before him.

    And yet, somethingpletely unpredictable suddenly happened. A sacred Buddhist sound filled the air, and lotus flowers fell from the skies. The little monk was nowpletely calm, his previous rm gone. Rings of light appeared behind his bald head. His entire figure also became incredibly holy and dignified.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zhao Han¡¯s expression changed greatly. He quickly evaded backward, but unfortunately, he had just defeated two great enemies. He had just spent his strength and wasn¡¯t able to recover yet.

    At the same time, Jie Se¡¯s hands suddenly began to move around, instantly applying several magical seals to Zhao Han¡¯s body.

    Zhao Han¡¯s primordial spirit returned to his body. His tall and mighty figure staggered a bit, and he sat down on the ground. He had always viewed others from an invincible standpoint; when had he ever shown such a sorry state to others before?

    Guo Zhi and the other Imperial Guards were horrified when they saw that. They rushed over to help him. However, Jie Se¡¯s hands joined together and a red light swept outward. The remaining Imperial Guards and Embroidered Envoy swere instantly lit aze, turning into ashes in the blink of an eye.

    The civil and military officials halfway up the mountain were shocked. Why was there another earth immortal¡¯s aura now? The sessive appearances of earth immortals made even the calmest ones, Meng Yi and Bi Qi, sit up straight. Even though his majesty was formidable, things were going to turn dangerous if this continued! As such, they gave the order for the army waiting below to bring up the Rune Siege Cannons. They had decided to st through the Righteous Sun Sect¡¯s mountain defense formation.

    Zhao Han¡¯s face was dark red. He stared at the nearby Jie Se with hatred in his eyes and spat, ¡°You aren¡¯t the little monk. Who exactly are you?¡±

    Jie Se brought his hands together, saying, ¡°This poor monk is naturally Jie Se. However, this monk also had another name in the past, Ruhua. I believe your majesty knows that name.¡±

    ¡°So it was you!¡± Zhao Han eximed, his eyes narrowing.

    King Qi was gasping for breath too, but he was filled with even more shock. He also knew that name. Ruhua had been the abbot of a generation in Tranquility Temple, as well as the master of the current abbot, Master Jian Huang. He was rumored to have been the most outstanding genius in Tranquility Temple in the past thousand years, as well as the one who had had the highest chance of breaking through into the earth immortal rank.

    Unfortunately, Zhao Han had risen up and suppressed an entire generation. Ruhua had known that he could not surpass Zhao Han, and due to his age, he had passed away with great regret.

    But who would have thought that he actually hadn¡¯t died, and had even be Master Jian Huang¡¯s disciple?!

    ¡°No, something¡¯s not right. The way you interacted with Master Jian Huang before couldn''t have been fake. If you were his master, how could you have put on such a perfect appearance?¡± Zhao Han asked gravely. He clearly had his own informants on Violet Mountain and knew about such details clearly.

    ¡°Without this method, how could we have hidden from your majesty?¡± Monk Ruhua replied with a smile. ¡°Actually, not even Jian Huang knew about this. In order to deceive the entire world, I sealed my sea of consciousness. Normally, I really was just Jie Se. Only in that instant did I recall everything and learn of my own ns.¡±

    Zhao Han said with a sneer, ¡°It was an excellent scheme, as expected. But you Buddhists always preach about a heart ofpassion, and yet in the end, you even deceived your own disciple, sacrificing his life to scheme against me. What buddha are you even cultivating at this point, what dao?!¡±

    King Qi¡¯s entire body turned ice-cold. Hadn¡¯t he also been used like a tool in this scheme? If Ruhua had informed him of his real identity beforehand, then together with Master Jian Huang and the others, they could have had a chance of winning against Zhao Han. But this man just had to have chosen the most treacherous method. Now, so many people had died so miserably, while he and Zhao Han were both in terrible states. Only Ruhua was still in his strongest state.

 Chapter 1728: To Rope Him In

    <h4>Chapter 1728: To Rope Him In</h4>

    ¡°Amitabha buddha, if I do not go to hell, who will?¡± Ruhua replied as he put his hands together. He had a solemn expression as he said, ¡°If I can eliminate you, the enemy of the buddha, some sacrifices must be made.¡±

    The Buddhist sect had thrived during the previous dynasty, but in the past century, Zhao Han had oppressed them greatly. Now, they were already struggling while at death¡¯s door. That was why calling him the enemy of the buddha wasn¡¯t too surprising.

    Zhao Han sneered and retorted, ¡°Some sacrifices must be made? But doesn¡¯t it seem as if you¡¯re only sacrificing other people?¡±

    Ruhua shook his head and said, ¡°If this poor monk¡¯s sacrifice had been enough to defeat you, I would already have honorablymitted to it.¡± His expression was steady and without any shame or guilt. These were clearly his true thoughts.

    Zhao Han could sense Ruhua¡¯s resolve, so he didn¡¯t waste time bickering anymore. Instead, he asked curiously, ¡°Just how did you be that little monk? Was it through that rumored Reincarnation Technique of your Buddhist sect?¡±

    If rebirth really existed, why would there even be a need to painstakingly pursue immortality?

    Ruhua nodded slightly and said, ¡°Apart from our Buddhist sect¡¯s secret technique, we also used the daoist sects¡¯ One Breath Threefold rity as reference. When this poor monk realized that the situation was already against me, I separated my yang soul. Then, through a secret technique, I became an infant and cultivated once more. This was an extremely risky endeavor, but fortunately, I seeded in the end.¡±

    Zhao Han nodded. It was simr to how he had attached his own yang soul to the Crown Prince Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s body. However, that kind of possession was only done as ast resort, and was full of unwanted side effects. The most severe restriction was that it would be impossible to surpass his original body¡¯s cultivation, and he couldn''t do it more than three times. That was rted to the natural heavenly dao of the universe. Otherwise, wouldn¡¯t all earth immortals just be able to continue on and on like that?

    In contrast, Monk Ruhua¡¯s decision was a bit more brilliant. Was it able to go against the principles of heavenly dao?

    He wanted to ask more, but Monk Ruhua didn¡¯t wish to continue the conversation and said, ¡°Your majesty¡¯s cultivation is brilliant, and your ability to regenerate is naturally shocking as well. You are likely stalling for time to recover as much as possible, no?¡±

    Zhao Han sneered. ¡°My flesh injuries are one thing, but why don¡¯t you try and recover from damage to the primordial spirit that quickly?¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Ruhua was quite confused when he heard that. He asked, ¡°But why is it that this poor monk doesn¡¯t feel even a bit of fear from your majesty, as if everything is still in the palm of your hand?¡±

    ¡°Because this emperor still has more people on my side,¡± Zhao Han said with a smile. While his opponents were confused, he looked in a certain direction and called out, ¡°Marquis, why don¡¯t youe out now?¡±

    Afterward, a group of people slowly appeared. The one in the lead was quite handsome, but his expression was a bit conflicted as he said, ¡°It seems we¡¯vee at the wrong time.¡±

    Zu An was in quite an awkward position. Previously, they had managed to open up a path in the formation with the help of Yan Xuehen and Xie Daoyun. He had thought that once the two sides fought to a certain point, he would thene out to collect the spoils. Who could have expected that he would end up in such a situation?

    Almost everyone on Golden Peak had been wiped out. Zhuxie Chixin, Eunuch Wen, and Guo Zhi, as well as those Embroidered Envoys and Imperial Guards, had all died. Many of those were people he had even interacted with and had some friendship with. It was quite a sight for them to end up in such a state. Zhao Han¡¯s current condition wasn¡¯t too great either.

    Meanwhile, that fat little monk was actually a hidden earth immortal? Zu An couldn''t help but give Ruhua a second look, thinking,This guy really hid his schemes well! He was always getting hit in the head by Master Jian Huang, and yet he was actually the master?

    While Zu An was looking at Ruhua, the remaining people on Golden Peak were also looking at his group.

    Zu An was quickly overlooked because both sides were more than familiar with him. It was the people at his side who drew more attention: The aloof and indifferent Yan Xuehen, the domineering and stunning Yun Jianyue, the endlessly charming Qiu Honglei, the graceful and elegant Xie Daoyun¡­

    Why are there so many damn beauties at his side? Was he on vacation with his women or something?

    After the earlier battle, Golden Peak had been left in tatters. Now that these beauties had appeared, many people suddenly felt as if they were a bit out of ce. Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue in particr were known arch-enemies. Why were they now standing next to each other like sisters?

    The women were likewise sizing up the situation. They were shocked by the scene on Golden Peak. The buildings on Golden Peak had already beenpletely destroyed, and the ground seemed to have been plowed through several times. It even felt as if Golden Peak had sunk a bit lower than when they first arrived. That was clearly the result of the great battle.

    Yan Xuehen shivered inwardly when she saw Li Changsheng. It was already obvious that he had participated in the ambush against Zhao Han. When she recalled how much he had distanced himself from her recently, it was likely because of that. Her heart plummeted. A single mistake in this situation could end up in theplete destruction of the White Jade Sect.

    Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei both had huge smiles, in contrast. After all, for them, the daoists and the emperor were both their enemies. What more could they ask for if the two sides took each other out? The only regrettable thing was that the monk had an absolute advantage right now. For the Devil Sect, he was also a great enemy.

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s feelings were in turmoil. As someone who came from an official¡¯s n, she had received a patriotic upbringing. When she saw the emperor in his current state, she felt her heart rush into her throat.

    Not good, not good! I didn¡¯t notice a thing even though something so big happened! If something happens to the emperor, will he me me? Will it end up involving the Xie n?

    Teacher is definitely really disappointed in me. At this point, I might not have the shamelessness to remain in the academy¡­

    Zhao Han¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly when he saw Yun Jianyue.This brat was actually with the Devil Sect Master? As expected, he already had bad intentions.He suddenly recalled that during her invasion of the pce, Zu An had been there too. The reason why she had been able to sessfully escape could very well have been his help.

    However, he quickly set those thoughts aside and instead said gently, ¡°No, you havee at just the right time.¡±

    Zu An cursed inwardly.This bastard usually always bosses me around, and yet he¡¯s calling me marquis and kindly asking me for help now!

    Sure enough, Zhao Han said, ¡°Marquis, these people have started a rebellion. Hurry and execute them here.¡±

    Zu An replied with a hint of bashfulness, ¡°Your majesty, that might be a bit unsuitable, right? I still have some crimes on my name right now, you know?¡±

    Zhao Han knew that he was talking about the matter of being the Fiend races¡¯ Regent. As such, he said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, this emperor will pardon you. Furthermore, you will have established great contributions. This emperor will consider making you a king. Then, those rotten schrs of the court will stop worrying about you colluding with the Fiend races.¡±

    The human race was at its peak, and the Great Zhou Dynasty was flourishing. Life as a king on this side was naturally morefortable than life on the Fiend races¡¯ side. He believed that any normal person would think that way.

    But this kid is actually threatening me in this kind of situation? Hateful!

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Han for +100 +100 +100¡­

    Just then, King Qi shouted, ¡°Don¡¯t believe him! The wishes of our deceased ancestors state that those who are not of the Zhao surname cannot be kings! He is just deceiving you!¡± He didn¡¯t have any choice at present. If he let Zhao Han overturn the situation here, everything would really bepletely over.

    Zhao Han said with a sneer, ¡°Rules are made by people. After establishing such contributions, why would he be denied the privilege of bing a king?¡±

    King Qi asked through clenched teeth, ¡°Zu An, do you still remember what I said to you? I believe that you also know just how superficial Zhao Han¡¯s words are. If hepletely recovers, he will definitely settle things properly! Rather than gilding the lily, providing help in one¡¯s hour of need is much better. If you help me ascend to the throne, I can definitely give you far more than Zhao Han! Apart from the status of a king, there is also the matter I talked with you aboutst time. I can give you Xiaodie. That way, we can be one family, and you won¡¯t have to worry about betrayals!¡±

    The four women, Yan, Yun, Qiu, and Xie, all looked at Zu An when they heard that.So this little bastard already had secret talks of marriage with King Qi Manor¡¯s princess!

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +110 +110 +110¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +110 +110 +110¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Qiu Honglei for +110 +110 +110¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Xie Daoyun for +110 +110 +110¡­

    Zu An felt a chill run down his back when he felt their murderous intent. He thought,Did this King Qi bastard lose his mind? How can you say something like that in front of all these people?!

 Chapter 1729: You Didnâ€™t Expect That, Did You?

    <h4>Chapter 1729: You Didn¡¯t Expect That, Did You?</h4>

    Zu An released a light cough and said, ¡°King Qi, things such as feelings need both parties to be each other¡¯s sunshine. Interfering like that would make a rtionship cease to be pure.¡±

    He didn¡¯t have much of a rtionship with Zhao Xiaodie to begin with, let alone speaking of marriage. But if he refused King Qi outright when thetter was betrothing his daughter in front of everyone, that would really be too much of a blow to his pride. As such, Zu An wanted to refuse in a more tactful manner.

    But who would have thought that the women next to him would immediately raise their ears?

    Be each other¡¯s sunshine?

    You have trolled the women around you for +111 +111 +111¡­

    Zu An¡¯s entire body started growing numb when he saw the increasing Rage points.

    Fortunately, Zhao Han spoke up, helping him out of his awkwardness. ¡°Zu An, you know just how much Zhao Jing has suffered over the years because of you. His prestige has taken a huge blow. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t be taking such desperate actions today like a cornered dog. After forcing him into such a position, do you really think he will actually tolerate you?

    ¡°Even if we take a thousand steps back and he barely manages to overlook it, would all those people who follow him ept you? A few days ago, you saw for yourself how they were itching to get rid of you.¡±

    Zu An nodded slightly and said, ¡°What your majesty is saying makes a bit of sense.¡±

    King Qi immediately panicked when he saw Zu An¡¯s changing attitude. He continued, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve already forgotten that a bunch of the same people who wanted you executed were among his own trusted aides? I¡¯ve lost quite a few men over the years and just happen to need people. On the contrary, he isn¡¯tcking people at all. How could they possibly allow ater like you to climb above them?¡±

    Zu An nodded again and said, ¡°What King Qi said makes a bit of sense.¡±

    Zhao Han and Zhao Jing were both speechless. The two of them realized that this brat was actually waiting for the best offer, and that he wasn¡¯t about to make a quick decision at all.

    Zhao Han gave the brooding Yan Xuehen a look, saying, ¡°Sect Master Yan, I believe that Li Changsheng¡¯s actions were all of his own ord. You have always maintained an unsullied and pure character. There is no need for you to follow his bad example. As long as you help this emperor, I will just let White Jade Sect¡¯s matter pass.¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s eyes moved a bit. She had indeed been worried that this matter would endanger the White Jade Sect.

    King Qi shouted, ¡°Fairy Yan, Li Changsheng and many White Jade Sect disciples were involved in this matter. With Zhao Han¡¯s breadth of mind, how could he possibly pretend that this kind of thing never happened? After the matter, he will definitely settle things for good! Rather than live with that worry, why not just get rid of that possibility and side with Li Changsheng? You could even establish tremendous achievements! Has the White Jade Sect not been oppressed enough by that man over the years? If I rise to the throne, I will definitely reverse the limitations he imposed. On the contrary, I will greatly support your daoist sects!¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s pretty brows furrowed. She didn¡¯t have much interest in achievements, but she knew that what he was saying was the truth. Would Zhao Han really let things go after Li Changsheng had participated in this rebellion?

    Seeing as she still didn¡¯t reply, King Qi then looked at Yun Jianyue and said, ¡°Sect Master Yun, the Holy Sect¡¯s Marshal Lu is also a part of this affair. We are actually natural allies. Once the matter passes, I will inform the world about everything and restore your reputation, as well as cancel your arrest warrants. Your Holy Sect will be able to stand proudly before the world.¡±

    Zu An was full of admiration as he listened. He had to admit that this man really was good at adapting to situations and making the most of them. No wonder he had been able to gain such prestige and be a publicly revered great sage.

    Yun Jianyue frowned when she heard that. She was the sect master, and yet she actually hadn¡¯t known about Lu Sanyuan¡¯s participation in this affair. Over the years, Lu Sanyuan had fought in one ce after another with his volunteer army. His reputation had grown greater and greater with each battle, his prestige climbing higher and higher. She had almost started to feel as if she couldn''t control him anymore.

    After all, the Devil Sect wasn¡¯t one unitedmunity. Just as the daoists were divided into nine major sects, the Devil Sect had many factions as well. Yun Jianyue and Lu Sanyuan were leaders of different factions. In the past, when the court¡¯s influence was too great, they had had the same powerful enemy, and hadn¡¯t minded putting aside their differences. But over the years, more and more rifts had grown in their rtionship.

    Now, it turned out he had even kept something so major from her! He had unknowingly put the entire Holy Sect at such a huge risk! Yun Jianyue felt irritation brew within her as soon as she thought of that.

    Zhao Han couldn''t help but curse and say, ¡°Zhao Jing, you really have no respect for your ancestors at all! They went through so much effort to get to where we are today, and yet you¡¯ve nowpletely sold yourself out!¡±

    It wasn¡¯t unreasonable for him to be upset. A hundred years prior, the Buddhist and daoist sects had been shockingly powerful. The world had only known those powers and not cared about the court. The Zhou Dynasty had used the war against the Fiend races and several generations of effort as an opportunity to finally subdue the Buddhists, daoists, and even the Devil Sect. And yet now, Zhao Jing was actually tossing all that effort straight down the drain!

    Zhao Jing didn¡¯t give an inch either, retorting, ¡°Hmph, you only oppressed them out of your own selfish desires. Only by allowing the arts free expression can we improve together.¡±

    Both sides were growing more and more red-faced when Ruhua coughed lightly and asked, ¡°Could it be that you have all forgotten about this poor daoist?¡±

    The ce suddenly fell silent.

    Right! He¡¯s the one with the strongest cultivation here! If we were going to rope in someone, it should be him!

    Zu An said with a respectful expression, ¡°Your majesty, King Qi, it¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to help, but rather that an earth immortal isn¡¯t someone I can defeat. I really am unable to help as I would like to.¡±

    Zhao Han said, ¡°Even though he seeded in his plot against me, he was also injured by me. He isn¡¯t even close to his strongest condition right now. If you all work together, you can defeat him.¡±

    Zu An and the other women exchanged a look. In the end, they didn¡¯t move.

    Ruhua revealed a smile and said, ¡°Your majesty, please don¡¯t trouble them anymore. Zu An is a smart person and naturally doesn¡¯t wish to get involved in these dirty waters. This is something between the two of us, so let¡¯s not trouble others anymore.¡±

    Afterward, he walked toward the emperor slowly, each step slow and heavy. It was clear that with Zhao Han¡¯s prestige, even though the emperor was injured, he still had to act carefully.

    Zhao Han¡¯s expression remained calm as he asked, ¡°Ruhua, aren¡¯t you curious as to why I¡¯m not rmed in the slightest even now?¡±

    Ruhua suddenly paused and said, ¡°I am indeed a bit curious.¡±

    Zhao Han had said that it was because of Zu An¡¯s group, but it seemed as if that group didn¡¯t want to help. They couldn¡¯t be his trump card.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zhao Han looked at King Qi. A mocking smile appeared on his lips as he asked, ¡°Zhao Jing, aren¡¯t you feeling quite proud of yourself now that you¡¯ve managed to injure me?¡±

    ¡°What can I say? I do feel a bit proud.¡± King Qi harrumphed. ¡°You¡¯ve unted yourself as invincible, but in the end, this was it.¡±

    Zhao Han said calmly, ¡°The only thing I didn¡¯t anticipate was Ruhua¡¯s century-long scheme. However, all of your ns were nothing more than a joke to me.¡±

    King Qi roared withughter and eximed, ¡°Look around you! Your old friend, your trusted aides, and even those Embroidered Envoys and Imperial Guards who were absolutely loyal to you have all died. Even you yourself have fallen like this. Don¡¯t you find your words a bitughable?¡±

    ¡°Ignorant,¡± Zhao Han said with a sneer. ¡°The Phoenix Nirvana Sutra you obtained before¡­ You must have thought that it was the will of the heavens for you to receive it, right? I regret to inform you that what you cultivated was just something I forged. I actually have to thank Zu An over here for that.¡±

    Zu An narrowed his eyes slightly. Zhao Han mentioning such a thing now was clearly to drive a wedge between him and King Qi¡¯s rtionship, to destroy any chance of them bing allies.

    However, King Qi remained calm. He gave Zu An a nce, then said calmly, ¡°Brother emperor, I know you far too well. How could you possibly let me have any chance of getting my hands on such a skill? I never believed it was real from the beginning. My efforts to obtain it were nothing more than a cover to numb you. You didn¡¯t expect that, did you? Don¡¯t you feel quite disappointed right now?¡±

    He grinned as he spoke, looking satisfied that he had seen through the scheme.Zhao Han, you bastard, you think too highly of yourself! All of your scheming is nothing more than the tricks of a clown before me.

    Zu An was a bit surprised. These two brothers weren¡¯t easy to deal with after all! The fact that King Qi had been able to face the emperor for so many years was proof in itself of his skill.

    However, Zhao Han wasn¡¯t shocked at all. He replied, ¡°Oh? It seems you¡¯re not as stupid as I thought¡­ but not as smart, either. Do you really think the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra was the only thing I fed you over the years?

    ¡°Are you not curious as to why, even though you were wandering at the life soul grandmaster rank for all that time, you were suddenly able to break through into the earth immortal rank? Do you really think it was because of your luck?¡±

    No one knew what King Qi was thinking, but his expression changed greatly.

    Zhao Han suddenly reached out his hand and grabbed toward him. A soul projection was sucked straight out of King Qi¡¯s flesh, entering his palm.

 Chapter 1730: Wedding Clothes for Another

    Chapter 1730: Wedding Clothes for Another

    Just then, Zhao Han had appeared to be at the end of his rope, even going so far as to haggle with King Qi over Zu An¡¯s group. But who could have expected the situation to suddenly be reversed like this?

    Before Zu An had time to react, Ruhua moved even more quickly. With a roar, he shot toward Zhao Han like an artillery shell. He had been most worried about what other methods Zhao Han could be hiding, but he hadn¡¯t expected it to be something like this at all! How could he still just watch without doing anything?!

    Just then, Zhao Han waved his sleeve. A meticulously crafted jade ruler¡¯s seal, carved with nine dragons, flew out. A secondter, those dragons seemed toe alive as they surrounded the seal! A powerful imperial aura spread out, making those present feel an intense urge to worship it.

    ¡°A deity-grade weapon!¡±

    ¡°The Human Emperor¡¯s Seal!¡±

    Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen¡¯s expressions changed. They both recognized the object.

    Zhao Han was the most powerful cultivator in this world, and he was also the ruler of an empire. He had endless riches at his disposal, which naturally included divine weapons. However, he was really just too strong. He could subdue the world¡¯s powerful beings with just a turn of his hand, and didn¡¯t need to use a divine weapon at all. Over time, the people of the world had already forgotten about the existence of the Human Emperor¡¯s Seal.

    The Human Emperor¡¯s Seal turned toward Ruhua and attacked him by unleashing a vast and profound aura. Even Zu An¡¯s group, which wasn¡¯t its real target, felt its earth-shattering power. In that instant, it was as if the heavens itself were going to copse.

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue both took measures to protect the people around them. After all, Qiu Honglei and Xie Daoyun had weaker cultivations, so only then did they feel a bit better.

    Ruhua didn¡¯t dare to face the Human Emperor¡¯s Seal head-on. Instead, he chanted an incantation, and an intricate brass bell appeared above his head. It was filled with Buddhist light, and mysterious voices chanting Buddhist scriptures emanated from it. As the flickering light and sacred scriptures surrounded him, a giant bell projection formed. It blocked the iing Human Emperor¡¯s Seal.

    Dooooooong!

    The bell rang with along and drawn-out noise. All of Golden Peak seemed as if it had been swept through by a hurricane. Not a single de of grass remained wherever the force passed.

    Li Changsheng and Xuan Bajing raised their respective sect treasures to protect themselves. However,, their bodies trembled and they fainted on the spot. They had been secretly adjusting their internal energy and finally managed to recover a bit of strength, and yet in that instant, their efforts were all for naught.

    Guan Chouhai had just managed to regain a bit of consciousness, and yet he was immediately met with the terrifying noise. He raised the Twin Vajra Armbands in a hurry, but the powerful shockwave sent his armbands straight into his forehead. With a loud ng, he fainted once more while foaming at the mouth. His hands and feet twitched a few times.

    The Human Emperor¡¯s Seal shed with the Tranquility Bell in a trial of strength. At that moment, Ruhua couldn''t move at all and could only focus on controlling his weapon to defend against the Human Emperor¡¯s Seal as much as possible.

    Zhao Han had King Qi¡¯s yang spirit detained. A malicious smile appeared on his face as he said, ¡°My foolish little brother, I know that you have never been satisfied being under me, and that you would have just as easily reced me in a different situation. Unfortunately, you have never been anything more than a little clown in my eyes. Everything was within my grasp all this time.¡±

    King Qi¡¯s yang spirit had a warped and malicious expression, as if he wanted to say something, and yet couldn''t at all.

    Zhao Han could roughly guess his thoughts. He said with a smile, ¡°You must be thinking that this is strange. Why is it that even though you are clearly already an earth immortal, you cannot resist in the slightest?¡±

    He paused before continuing, ¡°You thought that your talent was unparalleled, and yet you could not break through into the earth immortal rank after remaining at the grandmaster level for so long. That was why I arranged a ¡®miraculous encounter¡¯ for you and allowed you to receive a certain cultivation method. As soon as you cultivated it, you felt that you could break through into the earth immortal rank, so you studied it more and more.

    ¡°Unfortunately, you never could have expected that I was the one who prepared all those things. That cultivation method¡¯s true name is ¡®Wedding Clothes for Another¡¯. As the name implies, all of your cultivation is just for another. This skill allows the strong to devour the weak. That is why even though I might not be able to win easily against other earth immortals, against you, you cannot muster any strength to resist as long as I will it!¡±

    While he was speaking, endless rays of light gathered toward the forehead of King Qi¡¯s yang spirit. Then, it flowed into Zhao Han¡¯s body through his hand, causing his aura to grow more and more powerful. His strength was gradually restored to its peak.

    Perhaps due to the damage to his yang spirit, King Qi¡¯s flesh also shriveled up. His tall and stalwart body now looked like a withered corpse. Atst, he understood everything. He knew that he had already been utterly crushed.

    A hint of despair shed through his eyes. However, he was still a hero of his generation. Knowing that he was definitely going to die in this situation, his yang spirit suddenly erupted with dazzling brilliance. He chose to detonate his own yang spirit!

    After all, he was one of this world¡¯s strongest beings and own3ed countless secret texts. Now that he had chosen self-destruction, not even Zhao Han could stop him.

    Boom!

    How powerful was the explosion of an earth immortal¡¯s primordial spirit? Zhao Han¡¯s expression changed a bit. He quickly brought back the Human Emperor¡¯s Seal to protect himself.

    No one knew what motives he had, but Ruhua surrounded the others present within the Tranquility Bell as well; only then were Guan Chouhai and the other unconscious experts saved from the fate of dying while unconscious.

    ¡­

    Halfway up the mountain, the officials all looked at the mountaintop in horror. Just what kind of explosion could produce such power?

    The officials of King Qi¡¯s faction couldn''t help but remark, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t we be throwing our lives away too if we went up and got ourselves involved?¡±

    Many people agreed, adding, ¡°That¡¯s right, an earth immortal rank battle isn¡¯t something we mortals can participate in.¡±

    Murong Tong eximed furiously, ¡°What kind of nonsense are you saying? The court has taken care of you so well for so many years; when it really needs our help, how can we get cold feet?!¡±

    Murong Qinghe said in agreement, ¡°Exactly, exactly! Even if we can¡¯t join the fight, with so many of us together, we¡¯re not a force to look down on either! Furthermore, the armies below will arrive soon. With the support of military formations, even if we face an earth immortal, so what?!¡±

    She knew why her grandfather had to voice his opinion so firmly. If something really happened to the emperor, the other officials could turn out fine, but not her grandfather. He was the Supervisor of Attendants and had the duty of ensuring the emperor¡¯s safety to begin with. There was no way he would avoid responsibility! His punishment would be dismissal at best, and at worst, it could even be an execution of the entire n down to the third generation! Furthermore, with the Murong n¡¯s conviction, now wasn¡¯t the time to cower either.

    When he heard that, Meng Yi nodded and said, ¡°Indeed. His Majesty is in danger, so we absolutely need to help him!¡±

    At the same time, he secretly conversed with Bi Qi and the other core forces serving the emperor. Now that King Qi had gone missing, they all suspected that he was on Golden Peak. As such, they secretly wanted to detain King Qi¡¯s faction.

    Currently, King Qi¡¯s faction was far from its previous prestige. The Fengshan Ceremony was a clear disy of the dominance of the emperor¡¯s faction.

    The officials of King Qi¡¯s faction also had simr suspicions. All of them had heavy moods. Something so important could only have been told to a few participating people, so most of the faction hadn¡¯t known what would happen beforehand. They were all extremely rmed.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Soon after, the officials agreed on a decision. They quickly rushed out to help the emperor. Additionally, they decided to retrieve the siege cannons that had been waiting beneath the mountain. Murong Tong took Murong Qinghe with him to personally handle them, intending to st open the formation as quickly as possible.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, on Golden Peak, all of the light and smoke dispersed. A giant pit that was several dozen meters wide had appeared, the result of King Qi¡¯s self-destruction. It was easy to imagine just how devastating the power of an earth immortal¡¯s suicide was.

    Nine shining dragons swirled around the Human Emperor¡¯s Seal as Zhao Han reappeared with the item in hand. Apart from the scorched ck traces on his clothes, however, he hadn¡¯t really suffered any damage from the explosion. He looked at the deep crater in the ground. He had a hint of a forlorn expression as he said, ¡°He at least had a resolute character. It is no wonder that he was able to fight against this emperor for all these years.¡±

    Ruhua knew that there was already no way to reverse the result, so he wasn¡¯t in a rush to attack. Instead, he looked at Zhao Han with a hint of puzzlement and asked, ¡°If your majesty already had a way to restrain King Qi, why didn¡¯t you use that ¡®wedding clothes¡¯ or whatever skill on him from the start?¡±

    Zhao Han sneered and replied, ¡°If I hadn¡¯t acted like this, how could I have drawn out someone like you who was hiding so well?¡± He paused, then looked at Zu An and continued, ¡°As well as some individuals who seem to have some ulterior motives?¡±

    Favorite

 Chapter 1731: Plea

    Chapter 1731: Plea

    Zhao Han no longer concealed his own aura while speaking. He released his earth immortal might, making it difficult for the others present to even breathe. His body swirled with brilliance. Previously, there had been some faint ck runes binding him, but now, none of them could be seen anymore. The curse Wu Wuyan had sacrificed her entire life to apply had clearly lost its effects.

    Zu An felt a bit down. He had nned toe in to reap all the benefits after the two sides killed each other, but why was he now facing Zhao Han at his strongest?

    King Qi, didn¡¯t you fight against the emperor for so many years? And yet now, you¡¯ve already had your body and soul destroyed. Not only was the damage you inflicted negligible, you even helped him recover to his peak! How useless¡­

    Still, he knew that wasn¡¯t King Qi¡¯s fault. Zhao Han, that cunning bastard, had already thought of many ways to give King Qi a fake skill over the past few decades, and yet he had acted as if it all hinged on Zu An giving King Qi the fake ¡®Phoenix Nirvana Sutra¡¯. Even Zu An had been fooled, so it wasn¡¯t surprising that King Qi had fallen for Zhao Han¡¯s trap.

    Ruhua immediately turned tail to run the moment he saw what was happening. He knew that with how things stood, their ns had already gone down the drain. For the sake of seriously injuring Zhao Han, he had sustained quite intense injuries himself. He was definitely not a match for Zhao Han in his current condition. Of course, even at his strongest, he still wouldn¡¯t be a match.

    ¡°You want to run?¡± Zhao Han remarked with a sneer. Ruhua had made him suffer so much. If he let the monk get away, his name wouldn¡¯t be Zhao Han. Thus, he vanished from his original location. A secondter, many Zhao Han clones appeared around Ruhua.

    Zu An had witnessed the dark elves¡¯ space-leaping methods, and he had seen Xuan Bajing¡¯s lightning skills. Butpared to Zhao Han, all of them seemed like mere child¡¯s y. He had been watching the whole situation closely, and yet he hadn¡¯t noticed any traces of Zhao Han flying at all. It was as if the emperor had directly warped through space! He had heard that as the world¡¯s strongest, Zhao Han had alreadyprehended thews of space. Now, he saw that it was true.

    Ruhua¡¯s expression was grave. His monk robes fluttered as he did his best to defend himself. The two earth immortals seemed to have left the bounds of spatialws. The onlookers only saw afterimages several seconds old, while their real bodies couldn''t be sensed at all.

    Zu An sighed in pity. For some reason, Zhao Han didn¡¯t send out his primordial spirit, and instead fought against Monk Ruhua with his physical body.

    Xie Daoyun was bewildered. She tugged on Zu An¡¯s clothes and asked him through ki transmission, ¡°Big brother Zu, should we help his majesty or not?¡±

    Her instincts told her to help the emperor, but when she saw King Qi¡¯s miserable end and remembered how her father seemed to have been really close to King Qi, she realized that if the emperor won, he would get his revenge. The Xie n would probably be in trouble then.

    Zu An remained quiet. Qiu Honglei suddenly said, ¡°Ah Zu, it¡¯s far too dangerous here. We should use this chance while that monk is holding up the emperor to run.¡±

    The Devil Sect viewed the emperor as their enemy. She knew that once the battle was decided, there was no way he would let the Devil Sect¡¯s people go. Furthermore, the emperor appeared to have the advantage right now. It wasn¡¯t something their participation could affect at all.

    However, Yun Jianyue seemed eager to pick a fight, saying, ¡°Brat, this emperor is probably not as strong as he¡¯s making himself out to be. He was definitely at least a bit affected by the earlier battles. Why don¡¯t we just use that earth immortal rank monk as our main force and go for broke? What was that thing you said before? Try to turn a bike into a motorcycle or something?¡±

    Unlike her disciple Qiu Honglei, she had fought a great battle against an earth immortal in the Fiend Races'' secret dungeon. Together with how much their cultivation ranks had increased, earth immortals were no longerpletely invincible beings to her.

    Zu An couldn''t help butugh. This woman really did love her risks. In the past, she had dared to assault the pce. Even after all this time, her nature hadn¡¯t changed in the slightest! Still, he wasn¡¯t sure if that was a good idea. After all, Ruhua would certainly be defeated, while he couldn''t see any openings left by Zhao Han. Even if he took out the Sun ying Bow, he didn¡¯t have any way of targeting Zhao Han, which made itpletely meaningless. It would only alert Zhao Han to the existence of that trump card.

    However, if he retreated here, he would really feel that giving up this opportunity was a huge waste. After today, perhaps he would never have such a good chance to bring down Zhao Han. On top of that, after the day¡¯s events, there was no way Zhao Han would tolerate his existence in this world.

    While he was feeling conflicted, Yan Xuehen¡¯s voice manifested in his ear, saying, ¡°No matter what choice you make, I will always stand by your side.¡±

    Zu An was shocked and happy to hear that. He had never expected Yan Xuehen to say such a thing! After all, she had always been cool and indifferent, and she had never publicly stated her love. Even now, he wasn¡¯t sure about their rtionship.

    Those words were more convincing than anything else, however. If there hadn¡¯t been other people around, Zu An would almost certainly have been unable to resist taking her hand.

    When she sensed his excitement, Yan Xuehen became a bit embarrassed. She looked away on purpose, avoiding eye contact.

    Of course, her feelings weren¡¯t the only reason for her decision. Li Changsheng was her senior brother and had considerable status in the White Jade Sect. Now that he had joined in on the plot, the White Jade Sect had already been ced at the crossroads of danger. There was no way Zhao Han wouldn¡¯t try to get revenge on the sect after the fact!

    And yet, the way she had lived for so many made her unable to decide on something like rebellion. As such, she decided to just give the power of choice to Zu An, and she would just follow him.

    ¡­

    At that moment, however, victory was already decided. Zhao Han passed through Ruhua¡¯s body like a streak of light.

    However, it was surprising that there were no holes left in Ruhua¡¯s body. Normally, after all, such arge person passing through an opponent¡¯s body would definitely leave arge wound.

    Upon closer inspection, though, there were many fine injuries on Ruhua instead. Every wound was rather peculiar. There were no traces of blood, and they seemed to have been left by some kind of destructive power.

    Normally, once cultivators passed the seventh rank, they gained powerful regenerative abilities. For earth immortals, both the strength of their flesh or their regeneration ability were at a terrifying level. They could usually recover quickly from such small wounds.

    And yet, those wounds remained,pletely covering Ruhua. The flesh around them was trying to heal, but was stopped by some kind of invisible force that made it copse and break apart. Such a sight was incredibly ufortable to see.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue had grave expressions. They both exined at the same time, ¡°This is the result of Zhao Han using his spatial abilities, causing those wounds to remain in that state. Without removing his aura from one¡¯s body, the wounds would only growrger and eventually devour the whole person.¡±

    Zu An frowned. This ability seemed to counter his own regenerative abilities that he was quite proud of. Back when he was in Westhound Tomb, he had faced Zhao Han, but that was just a split soul. It was still quite far from the real body. Furthermore, he had taken advantage of the situation in that fight. There wouldn¡¯t necessarily be such a good opportunity this time.

    Zhao Han didn¡¯t continue attacking, and stood with his hands behind his back. He said proudly, ¡°You¡¯ve lost!¡±

    Ruhua¡¯s once bright eyes were now a bit dim. He said, ¡°You¡¯re right. I¡¯ve lost. All those bitter decades of effort, and yet fate supersedes our efforts¡­¡± His voice was full of regret and disappointment. Afterward, his head slumped, and no signs of life remained.

    Zhao Han then looked at Zu An and said, ¡°It should be your turn now. Should I call you the Fiend races¡¯ Regent or Zu An?¡±

    In that instant, Zu An felt as if he were being stared at by a massive primordial beast. All the fine hairs on his body stood on end. Earlier, this man had been calling him marquis in such an intimate manner, and yet now, it was just a chilly ¡®Zu An¡¯.

    Xie Daoyun said in a trembling voice, ¡°Your majesty, Sir Zu has cautiously and conscientiously eliminated all kinds of dangers on Violet Mountain, but this is an earth immortal level battle, so it is pardonable that he could not uncover anything. I hope that your majesty can be lenient out of thought for his hard work.¡±

    Most of the people present had all sorts of ulterior motives; only Xie Daoyun was on the purer side. Furthermore, she had always been a proper citizen and was an academy student, one who didn¡¯t have any thoughts of going against the emperor. The only thing she was worried about was her big brother Zu¡¯s safety.

    She had the lowest cultivation rank out of those present. She was clearly frightened out of her mind and even her voice was shaking, but she summoned her courage and pleaded with the demon king-like emperor.

 Chapter 1732: You Shouldnâ€™t Have Come

    Chapter 1732: You Shouldn¡¯t Have Come

    When they saw Xie Daoyun¡¯s delicate figure shaking in the cold wind, the other beautiful women had strange expressions on their faces.

    This woman really is good at acting innocent! She¡¯s still acting like this despite our current situation?

    But if even such a weak person was willing to speak up for Zu An in this kind of situation, it just went to show just how great her courage was. After all, several grandmasters had been crushed by Zhao Han just like that. If he got angry at this point, just a single look would be enough topletely erase her from existence.

    Just what kind of crazy superpower did this brat Zu An have to make her so dead set on him? She would even dare to protect him in such a situation?

    This kid¡¯s ability to pick up women really is on an entirely different level¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +111 +111 +111¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Qiu Honglei for +111 +111 +111¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +111 +111 +111¡­

    Zu An felt his scalp be a bit numb when he saw the Rage points, but overall, he still felt more moved. He really hadn¡¯t expected Xie Daoyun to take such a risk to plead for him. After all, as long as she was determined to be involved with him, she wouldn¡¯t be able to escape the consequences. It could even end up affecting her n.

    ¡°All of his hard work?¡± Zhao Han repeated. Even he was a bit surprised.This littledy looked pretty smart, but why does she seem a bit slow now?

    ¡°Was this kid really getting rid of hidden dangers, or was he the one nting trouble for me?¡± he wondered as he looked at the sacrificial altar that had already vanished without a trace. ¡°He investigated for so long, and yet he couldn''t even detect all of that gunpowder hidden here?¡±

    Even though Xie Daoyun¡¯s body was still shaking, her voice was quite a bit calmer than before as she continued, ¡°Your majesty, when Sir Zu was investigating, Golden Peak¡¯s stage hadn¡¯t been built yet. Later, he was transferred away and always remained at his majesty¡¯s side. This matter might not be his fault¡­¡±

    Zhao Han almostughed. He replied, ¡°It¡¯s not his fault? Then is it this emperor¡¯s?

    ¡°That kid already had thoughts of disloyalty for a long time. He was even trying to gain some benefits out of this earlier. If this emperor continues to feign ignorance, how will I unite and lead the people in the future?!¡±

    When she felt his awe-inspiring voice, Xie Daoyun¡¯s face paled. She wanted to say something else, but Zu An stopped her, saying, ¡°Little sister Ling¡¯er, there is no need to continue.¡±

    Little sister Ling¡¯er?

    The three other women immediately perked up their ears.

    They even shared nicknames? They really are acting close!

    Even though this wasn¡¯t the time to act jealous, they still couldn''t hold themselves back.

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue, Qiu Honglei, and Yan Xuehen for +66 +66 +66¡­

    Zu An had a helpless expression, but he still prepared for battle. Even though Zhao Han was powerful, just waiting to be captured without doing a thing wasn¡¯t his style.

    However, Zhao Han seemed topletely overlook him, and instead looked at Xie Daoyun. He had an appreciative expression as he asked, ¡°Who is this youngdy? This emperor seems to sense the academy¡¯s aura.¡±

    Xie Daoyun bowed slightly and revealed her identity to him.

    ¡°So it was Brightmoon City Lord Xie Yi¡¯s daughter. As expected, valiant fathers do not bear useless daughters. Now, you have even be Yan Xiangu¡¯s disciple; your future aplishments will not be beneath those of your father,¡± Zhao Han said. The more he looked at her, the more he appreciated her. This girl was educated and well-bnced. She looked weak on the surface, but she had exceptional insight and bravery deep down.

    After so many years, he had only sensed something simr from Bi Linglong. If the crown princess had not already been there, Xie Daoyun would bepletely fit to wed the crown prince.

    When he thought of Bi Linglong, he suddenly frowned. He looked at Zu An and asked, ¡°Just what exactly happened in that secret dungeon the crown prince went into? What are you and the crown princess still hiding from me?¡±

    Even though both Zu An and Bi Linglong had already exined things seamlessly, he didn¡¯t actually believe them. After all, his yang spirit had been attached to the crown prince, so how could it possibly be destroyed so easily?

    Judging from the emperor¡¯s tone, it seems like the brat might even have a thing with the Crown Princess?!

    Yun Jianyue, Yan Xuehen, and Qiu Honglei all looked at Zu An. They didn¡¯t even feel any anger at this point, and instead felt a bit of respect. Just how many things were there that they didn¡¯t know about?

    When he heard Zhao Han mention that, Zu An knew clearly that the emperor had abandoned all thoughts of feigning civility. No doubt there would be a reckoning today. He secretly warned the three women to prepare for battle while pretending not to understand what the emperor was saying. He replied, ¡°I have already exined everything that happened to your majesty. Why would you ask about that now?¡±

    Zhao Han harrumphed. He was about to say something when he suddenly thought of something else. He turned around and looked at Xie Daoyun, asking, ¡°Why did youe to Violet Mountain?¡±

    Xie Daoyun was stunned at first, but she still exined her mission properly.

    ¡°Yan Xiangu sent you to examine Violet Mountain¡¯s formations?¡± Zhao Han asked. His expression changed a bit when he heard the exnation, as if he had realized something.

    Zu An suddenly realized something as well. He figured out many things that had previously left him puzzled. As such, he called out, ¡°Since you¡¯ve already been here for so long, why didn¡¯t you show yourself and say hello?¡±

    The women all looked at him in confusion. They didn¡¯t understand who he was talking to. In contrast, Zhao Han appeared as if he were facing a great enemy. He looked in a certain direction with a grave expression.

    A rift suddenly opened up in midair and a figure slowly walked out. This person had silver hair, but even though he was on the older side, it was clear that he had been incredibly handsome in his youth.

    Most importantly, there was a sort of transcendent air to his presence, and yet he wasn¡¯t as threatening as Zhao Han. However, no one dared to look down on him, because there was a mysterious and profound feeling emanating from him.

    ¡°The libationer?¡± Xie Daoyun eximed, stupefied. She had never expected to see such a person in this situation.

    It wasn¡¯t just her; even Yan Xuehen was a bit absent-minded. As the spokesperson of the White Jade Sect, she had also met the libationer several times. It could even be said that they shared a level of friendship. However, she hadn¡¯t expected to see him here.

    Yun Jianyue had a nervous expression. She said secretly through ki, ¡°Ah Zu, the situation doesn¡¯t look too good. You should take Honglei with you and get away, I¡¯ll protect you two. We should try to save as many of our group as possible.¡±

    She was usually a fearless person, so now that she had spoken such discouraging words, it meant she didn¡¯t even have a shred of confidence.

    If it were just Zhao Han alone, perhaps they would have a small chance by working together. But if the libationer joined in, even thatst shred of hope would disappear. Even a single person getting away was something to be incredibly happy about.

    Unlike Yan Xuehen, her Devil Sect background made her an enemy of the libationer. She naturally assumed he was her enemy.

    Zu An said in constion, ¡°Things might not be as bad as you think.¡±

    Yun Jianyue was stunned. Before she could grasp the meaning of Zu An¡¯s response, however, the libationer looked at Zu An in confusion and said, ¡°Not even his majesty was aware of my presence. Why were you able to see through it?¡±

    Zu An smiled and replied, ¡°I just made a blind guess. It might just be my usual good luck.¡±

    It naturally wasn¡¯t just a blind guess. Over the years, he had received all sorts of information, and yet he hadn¡¯t been able to connect it all together even after all this time. Only when Xie Daoyun mentioned that Academy Master Yan had sent her and Zhao Han¡¯s expression changed did he finally understand many things he had previously been clueless about.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Of course, his various hurried inferences weren¡¯t enough. It was to the extent that he hadn¡¯t even thought it through at all. But Zhao Han¡¯s pressure was imminent, so he had just given it a shot. He hadn¡¯t expected it to actually work!

    Seeing that he wasn¡¯t willing to talk about it, the libationer didn¡¯t force the issue either. Instead, he looked at Zhao Han.

    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t havee here!¡± Zhao Han said, his eyes narrowing. His expression was much more serious than when he had faced King Qi.

    ¡°And yet here I am,¡± the libationer said with a sigh. His expression was one of great sorrow, and yet it carried equally great resolve.

 Chapter 1733: Great Formation

    Chapter 1733: Great Formation

    All of the women were smart. They quickly realized that something was strange about the conversation. The libationer didn¡¯t seem to be here to help the emperor, but rather¡­ to go against him? The younger ones, Xie Daoyun and Qiu Honglei, were puzzled. Only Yan Xuehen had a pensive expression.

    Zhao Han looked at the libationer and asked, ¡°Is it still because of thest dynasty¡¯s affairs?¡±

    Zu An was startled.As expected!

    The libationer remained silent. Zhao Han couldn''t help but say, ¡°During the Meng Dynasty, you were beaten down and pushed aside. You were nothing more than a marginalized idle prince. You were never treated as well as you have been in this dynasty, and you now receive the admiration of countless people. Isn¡¯t your life far better than it was during the Meng Dynasty?¡±

    Apart from a few of the women, the others all widened their eyes in disbelief. The libationer was actually a prince of the previous dynasty?! They had never heard such a thing before, and there were no records of it at all! The news caused a huge uproar.

    The libationer shook his head slightly and replied, ¡°Do you think I am doing this because I care about those people?¡±

    ¡°Then it seems you are still discontent that your Chen n¡¯s world was reced by our current dynasty,¡± Zhao Han said with a sneer. ¡°As expected of raising an ungrateful wretch. It is useless no matter how well you are treated.

    ¡°But I am quite curious. You are already so old, and you do not even have any descendants. Why would you take the risk to rebel like this? What are you really after?¡± Zhao Han asked. He just couldn''t figure that out. He wasn¡¯t stupid; he knew how sensitive the libationer¡¯s identity was, and yet had still given him a respectable position.

    Apart from his cultivation indeed being quite brilliant, however, the libationer had never taken a wife and didn¡¯t have any children. It was hard to remain on guard against someone like that.

    The libationer¡¯s expression remained calm as he replied, ¡°If it were just ruling this world, why would I care? But there is something you absolutely should not have done, which is harming her descendants.¡±

    ¡°Her?¡± Zhao Han repeated, stunned. However, he quickly realized who the libationer was referring to. He couldn''t help but roar withughter, eximing, ¡°I had long heard of the rumors between the two of you. I didn¡¯t expect you to be the affectionate sort!¡±

    ¡°Affectionate sort?¡± The women couldn''t help but give the libationer a look. They really couldn''t associate such an elder of virtue and prestige with those two words.

    Zu An was moved. He recalled that in the past, when he first arrived at the academy¡¯s rear mountain, he had seen a picture of a courtdy in the libationer¡¯s room. Could it have been her?

    ¡°I ask, what is love in this world¡­¡± the libationer said with a long sigh, not refuting Zhao Han¡¯s statement. His expression was full of sorrow.

    Zu An had a weird expression as he thought,Is this guy going to copy Li Mochou and follow that up with ¡®to make a solemn vow of life and death¡¯...

    ¡°You make it sound beautiful,¡± Zhao Han said with a sneer. ¡°But unfortunately, the one you loved was your sister-inw!¡±

    The others¡¯ eyes widened when they heard the shocking news. Even though this wasn¡¯t the time to enjoy a good drama, the libationer was someone of extraordinary status! Any drama rted to him was irresistible!

    ¡°Let one''s actions be guided by emotions, but restrained by propriety. I do not believe that there was anything improper. I only regret that I met her a bit toote,¡± the libationer replied. Perhaps because of his great age, or because so many years had passed, he had already epted that reality. Zhao Han¡¯s words weren¡¯t able to stir up many emotions in him.

    ¡°You never even went to bed with her?¡± Zhao Han asked with a frown. He said with a mocking tone ¡°If you like a woman, you naturally need to obtain her. Those are nothing more than words of jealousy you used to console yourself.¡±

    The libationer frowned slightly. He clearly found Zhao Han¡¯s words unpleasant. He retorted, ¡°Someone like you naturally would not know what love really is.¡±

    Zhao Han gave him a look of disdain and said, ¡°I think you are the one who doesn¡¯t know how to make love.¡±

    The libationer was speechless.[1]</a>

    Zu An almost burst outughing, while the women¡¯s faces turnedpletely red. They had never expected the two individuals who had the greatest statuses in the world to argue against each other like hoodlums on the streets. But currently, it seemed as if the libationer was on the losing side.

    The libationer took a deep breath and said, ¡°It was one thing when your father and grandfather usurped the Chen n¡¯s world, but you even used those venomous schemes to make the Chen n¡¯s offspring die prematurely. Those young princes died one after another, At first, I thought that the Chen n might have done some wrong and was being punished by the heavens, butter, I learned that it was all because of your Zhao n.

    ¡°I have always beenzy in nature. In the past, I was already treated as a wastrel who ignored my responsibilities. But my surname is still Chen. Since I now know the truth, a debt still needs to be paid.¡±

    Zhao Han replied with augh, ¡°In the end, wasn¡¯t it still only because things happened to that woman¡¯s children? But I just can¡¯t figure it out. Those weren¡¯t even your descendants, but rather the descendants of your enemy. You would even get revenge for them?¡±

    ¡°The grudge between me and my older brother is something of the previous generation. The children have no part in that,¡± the libationer said, his mood shifting. Even though he had said that this was only for the sake of the one he loved in the past, in reality, how could he possibly tolerate letting an entire dynasty be overtaken by despicable means?

    Zhao Han said mockingly, ¡°You were a loser back then, and now, you are still destined to be a loser. I am standing right here! What can you even do to me?¡±

    The libationer shook his head and said, ¡°You are right. I did not expect that King Qi and the others would be unable to weaken you at all. In terms of cultivation, in a one-on-one battle, I am still a bit beneath you.¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°In that case, why are you still forcing yourself?¡± Zhao Han asked. ¡°So much time has already passed, and your status is revered in our Great Zhou Dynasty. That is something your previous Meng Dynasty cannot possiblypare to. It was our Great Zhou Dynasty that gave you the chance to show your talent, allowing you to gain so much. Why are you still letting yourself be affected by the past?

    ¡°This emperor isn¡¯t some small-minded being. I can pretend that nothing happened today. In the future, you will continue to be the Royal Academy¡¯s libationer, the model that all cultivators of this world look up to. If you are still unwilling, I can even provide you with beautiful concubines and maidservants to continue your Chen n. What do you think?¡±

    Zu An was a bit surprised.When did Zhao Han be so agreeable?

    However, he quickly realized that it was because the libationer was too strong. Even if he was a bit inferior to Zhao Han, it was probably not too great a difference. If a huge battle really did ur, Zhao Han would definitely have to pay an extremely great price. Furthermore, the emperor¡¯s heaven and man deterioration was drawing near. If he indeed paid such a price, his death could end up drawing closer. That wasn¡¯t a risk he wanted to take. Furthermore, the Royal Academy was too important to him. The court, armies, and even the local officials andmon people needed the Royal Academy¡¯s research and technologies.

    The libationer sighed and said, ¡°I have to admit that your conditions are tempting, and you are a formidable emperor as well. Unfortunately, we stand on different sides. That is not something that can be changed so easily.¡±

    Zhao Han¡¯s eyes narrowed. He knew that the libationer had already made up his mind and further persuasion was meaningless. As such, he gave up on those thoughts and said, ¡°Then, I want to see just what ability you have to seek revenge for myself!¡±

    He was a hero of a generation, after all. Even though he was worried that he would have to pay a considerable price if he fought against the libationer, in a situation where a battle was unavoidable, there was no way he would let himself be tied up in worries and show openings for the enemy to exploit.

    The libationer smiled and said, ¡°Then please assess me as you wish, your majesty.¡± His hands spread open as he spoke. His entire body suddenly floated into midair. An invisible aura spread out all around him.

    Then, the entirety of Golden Peak suddenly flickered with a burst of azure light that carried the unique brilliance of runes. It wasn¡¯t just Golden Peak; every other peak across the entire Violet Mountain Range surged with blue radiance as well. The ground rocked and rumbled, and naturalws swirled around. An aura of destion filled the air.

    If there were someone watching from above, they would notice that the entire Violet Mountain Range had formed a single giant formation. Compared to that formation, the Righteous Sun Sect¡¯s mountain defense formation was like an infant. It wasn¡¯t even worth mentioning.

    The officials who had been trying to st open the Righteous Sun Sect¡¯s defense formation with their siege cannons were horrified. Was the entire world experiencing an upheaval?

    No wonder the Righteous Sun Sect is so powerful! The true formation appears when the mountain defense formation is attacked?

    Zu An had studied ¡®One Drop of Heaven¡¯s Essence¡¯ and had a deep understanding of feng shui geomancy. He keenly sensed that the power of the entire Violet Mountain Rage seemed to have been transferred by the mysterious formation. It seemed simr to the power of the mountain range he had exploited back in the secret dungeon, but upon closer analysis, it was also substantially different.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s eyes sparkled. She was an expert in formations and could sense how shockingly profound the formation was. So it turned out formations could even be designed this way! It really was spectacr. She had never thought of such a thing before.

    There was a bit of confusion in Xie Daoyun¡¯s expression at first. Then, it changed as she murmured, ¡°Why¡­ Why does this feel simr to the things I arranged a few days ago?¡±

 Chapter 1734: Banishment

    <h4>Chapter 1734: Banishment</h4>

    Xie Daoyun was a genius in formations, so she quickly sensed what was wrong.

    Zu An was stunned when he heard her exnation. He asked, ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    Yan Xuehen and the other women also looked at her.

    Xie Daoyun bit her lip. Then, she quickly exined, ¡°Previously, I was investigating whether there were any special formations buried underViolet Mountain for my master, right? This was the State Teacher¡¯s territory, and master was worried that the State Teacher could have disloyal thoughts¡­¡±

    Her expression paled halfway through her sentence, as if she had just realized something. However, she continued, ¡°Because the State Teacher¡¯s cultivation was too high, I was worried that I wouldn¡¯t be able to meet master¡¯s expectations. So, master passed some formations to me and said I could use them to check if there were any killing formations. I didn¡¯t find anything strange during my rough inspection of the ce, so I set up the formations my master taught me to check in more detail. Back then, everything was normal, and I was even about to celebrate thepletion of the task¡­¡±

    Yun Jianyue said with a sneer, ¡°It looks like Yan Xiangu supports the libationer after all, and he even secretly helped him set up this great formation. Violet Mountain is Wang Wuxie¡¯s domain, so it wouldn¡¯t have been too convenient for him to secretlye here and set up the formation. That was why he sent you instead.

    ¡°In order to not draw any suspicion at all, he even kept you in the dark. That way, while you thought you were removing hidden dangers, you were actually building a powerful killing formation.¡±

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s face turnedpletely pale. She couldn''t imagine her most respected teacher exploiting her like that. She protested, ¡°There¡¯s no way, there¡¯s no way!¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    She suddenly thought of something and quickly argued, ¡°Even though master¡¯s achievements in formations are far above mine, I¡¯ve already spent a considerable amount of time in this field too. If there really had been a killing formation on a scale asrge as this one, there¡¯s no way I wouldn¡¯t notice a single thing!¡±

    Yun Jianyue frowned. Indeed, that didn¡¯t make sense.

    Meanwhile, Yan Xuehen gave Xie Daoyun a sympathetic look and said, ¡°If my suspicions are correct, the libationer and Master Yan already arranged the other parts of the formation many years ago. You only added the final pieces. Neither the portion they arranged before nor the key parts you built recently pose any threat on their own. That was why Wang Wuxie did not suspect you. The formation could then only be activated if all the pieces were put together and activated through a special method. At that point, there would no longer be any need to hide anything.¡±

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s face paled. She was smart enough to realize that that hypothesis was feasible. It seemed her master had indeed deceived her.

    The libationer said just then, ¡°Daoyun, do not me your master. I was the one who nned all of this. He does not actually know of it.¡±

    Xie Daoyun pursed her lips. Her master had already reached such an incredible level in formations, and there were rumors that the disciple had already surpassed the master. How could the libationer¡¯s actions be hidden from him? He clearly had to be in the know as well.

    Zhao Han harrumphed. ¡°Look at you, still trying to cover things up for Yan Xiangu. It seems you are quite worried about a possible defeat today, and that I will take my anger out on him.¡±

    The libationer smiled and replied, ¡°Isn¡¯t your majesty a bit too confident? I might not necessarily be defeated today.¡±

    Zhao Han¡¯s expression changed as he said, ¡°I want to see just what kind of formation can defeat me then.¡±

    As soon as he spoke, he vanished from his original location. After a moment, however, blue ripples suddenly spread in the air, as if something had mmed against them. Zhao Han reappeared near his original location. His expression turned a bit grave as he eximed, ¡°Spatial restriction?¡±

    Previously, the Righteous Sun Sect¡¯s mountain defense formation paired with some of the shamans¡¯ formations had achieved a simr restrictive effect. However, with Zhao Han¡¯s cultivation, those restrictions hadn¡¯t been able to disy their full effects. The reason he had pretended to be affected was to see if he could draw out bigger fish.

    However, this great formation the libationer had activated actually prevented him from leaving. At that instant, he had an ominous premonition.

    Still, he calmed himself down and remarked, ¡°By borrowing the power of the Violet Mountain Range, you have indeed created quite the shocking formation. But the fact that you used up so much of your energy on this spatial restriction means its offensive ability will have decreased correspondingly. I refuse to believe that you can still injure me.¡±

    Even though ¡®adults can have everything¡¯ was a principle, most other things had their own principles as well. Having everything wasn¡¯t so easy.

    The formation was good at restricting spatial movements, but it was a bit weaker in other aspects. Its power could be enough to kill other powerful cultivators, but it would be a bitcking against Zhao Han.

    The libationer could personally enter the formation, but if he entered, Zhao Han was still confident that he could win a one-on-one fight. If the libationer didn¡¯t enter, however, Zhao Han just had to wait. Time was on his side. He knew that even someone of the libationer¡¯s ability couldn''t maintain a formation of such a scale for that long. Once the formation weakened, that would provide a chance to kill the libationer.

    And yet, the libationer seemedpletely unsurprised. He replied, ¡°Indeed, with your cultivation, trying to kill you through a great battle wouldn¡¯t be all that realistic. But who said this was an offensive formation?¡±

    Zhao Han was stunned. Only then did he realize that even though the formation gave off great power, he didn¡¯t sense any offensive properties to it at all. He asked gravely, ¡°What kind of formation is this?¡±

    The libationer said calmly, ¡°I¡¯ve spent a long time researching how to defeat you. Even though I believed that with my cultivation, I could fight against you, I didn¡¯t have that much confidence in winning. That was why I began to think about the issue from other perspectives. In the end, heaven doesn¡¯t disappoint those who are determined, so I finally found a solution.¡±

    He paused for a moment before looking at Zhao Han and said, ¡°Since I can¡¯t defeat you, I¡¯ll just banish you to a ce of nothingness you¡¯ll never be able to return from. The result will be no different from killing you.¡±

    When he heard those words, Zhao Han¡¯s expression changed greatly.

    At his cultivation realm, he naturally knew that this wasn¡¯t the only world in the universe. There were many other worlds. For example, the secret dungeons were smaller worlds in their own right. Of course, apart from secret dungeons, there wererger-scale worlds too.

    However, between worlds, there was vast and endless spatial chaos. Even earth immortals wouldn¡¯t be able to endure such destructive astral winds forever. They could end up beingpletely destroyed by the chaos before they even arrived in another world.

    That was why, since ancient times, those who stood at the very peak of cultivation wanted to be immortals. On one hand, they would gain endless longevity, while on the other, they could move freely through the chaos in search of legendary worlds.

    The libationer¡¯s method was none other than to banish Zhao Han into a chaotic void stream. If the void stream was close enough to this world, perhaps he would be able to hold on and return. However, the libationer had schemed for so many years. How could he possibly make such a mistake?

    When he thought of that, Zhao Han could no longer remain calm. With a roar, he turned into a giant golden statue. His giant fist seemed to carry world-destroying might as it smashed toward the void.

    ¡°Break!¡±

 Chapter 1735: Caught Up in Disaster

    <h4>Chapter 1735: Caught Up in Disaster</h4>

    Zhao Han knew this was no small matter. If he were to be banished to an unknown ce in the void, even someone of his cultivation rank would have no choice but to just wait for death. As such, he didn¡¯t hold back in his attacks at all. His entire body transformed into a giant golden-armored divine general. The giant buddha Master Jian Huang created had been imposing, but inparison, it was like an infant.

    Such arge manifestation was something not even the mountain defense formation could hide. The officials halfway up the mountain were all incredibly moved. They all kneeled down and loudly shouted ¡®Long live the emperor!¡¯

    In contrast, King Qi¡¯s officials all paled when they saw what was happening. Even though King Qi hadn¡¯t told them about the n, the smarter ones were able to guess the truth. Now that the emperor had shown such power, didn¡¯t it signify King Qi¡¯s inevitable loss?

    Even though they were far away, all the officials couldn''t help but kneel while trembling all over, to say nothing of those who remained on Golden Peak.

    Fortunately, the libationer¡¯s great formation was in ce, so Yun Jianyue and the others were just about able to hold on. However, they couldn''t help but feel their very souls trembling. They were just that insignificant, actually unable to bring forth even the slightest will to fight.

    Zu An also felt some fear toward giants. He sensed that his dao conviction was beginning to waver. As such, he quickly looked down at the spot beneath his own waist. Only then did he manage to calm himself down.

    ¡­

    When Zhao Han used all of his strength, just how powerful was he? When his fist smashed outward, it left the faint outline of a ck opening in the azure sky. It was a sign that space itself had been sted open by the force of his punch!

    His fully-powered fist moved so quickly that it almost instantly smashed into the formation around him. The translucent formation surged with blue light, followed by a sound that resembled ss shattering. Where hisfistmade contact, it actually left a hole in the formation.

    The libationer¡¯s expression changed. He rushed forth, turning into a white afterimage and stopping Zhao Han from breaking out. Then, he used his body to block the hole, using all of his power to repair the formation.

    The publicly acknowledged number one expert in the world was Zhao Han, but if one were to talk about the one who had the most knowledge in the world, that title still belonged to the libationer.

    That was apparent just from his numerous disciples, and how every disciple studied something entirely different. Some people even suspected that if the libationer hadn¡¯t been so distracted by so many different fields and focused on cultivation, his aplishments could have been even higher than Zhao Han¡¯s. As such, by using everything he had learned, he forcibly maintained the formation.

    In almost the same instant, shining runes appeared in the midst of the great formation. Immediately after, a vortex appeared. At first, it was quite small, but it grewrger andrger over time.

    Then, the space within the formation began to crack. All of the buildings, trees, sand, and stones¡­ They all fell into the vortex.

    ¡°Out of the way!¡± Zhao Han roared furiously as he tried to leave through the opening he had just created.

    With his cultivation, the vortex shouldn¡¯t have been able to do anything to him. However, the libationer had schemed for many years, and on top of that, he had used the power of the entire Violet Mountain Range to support the formation. The entire space would soon be transported into an empty void. Thus, even Zhao Han couldn''t help but be a bit nervous. He could no longer unleash another full-powered attack, so he could only hope to leave through the opening he had made.

    Unfortunately, the libationer continued to remain there while using all his techniques, preventing Zhao Han from leaving through the hole. He tried to st the libationer back, but although the libationer¡¯s cultivation was lower than his, it wasn¡¯t too much weaker. There was no way of deciding victory and defeat within a short amount of time.

    Meanwhile, the great formation was activating extremely quickly. It had only been a few breaths of time from when the vortex first appeared, but space had already begun to copse into a sphere, and it was going faster and faster. Even Zhao Han couldn''t resist the force and began to be drawn inside.

    ¡°Stop!¡± Zhao Han yelled, no longer having time to think about fighting the libationer. Instead, he used all of his cultivation, his body erupting with golden brilliance. All kinds of strange mythical beasts¡¯ shadows appeared around him. They were clearly the embodiment of his various skills.

    However, that still wasn¡¯t enough. He took out the Human Emperor¡¯s Seal and held it above his head. The divine weapon aura it emanated engulfed him, finally letting him stabilize his position.

    Zhao Han roared withughter and cried out, ¡°Is that all this formation can do?!¡±

    He felt much more confident now. As long as he could hold on, the vortex would naturally disappear. Then, he could slowly deal with the libationer.

    Having felt the terrifying power of the vortex, Zu An had decided to bring the four women away. However, he was surprised by what was happening. He realized that as long as the Human Emperor¡¯s Seal was shot down, Zhao Han himself would have no chance of resisting the vortex.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Just as he took out the Tai¡¯e Sword, though, he saw the libationer raise his hand. A painting scroll flew out from the libationer¡¯s sleeves and gradually unfurled, revealing the figure of an exceptional beauty within.

    Zu An was surprised. That seemed to be the drawing that had hung in the libationer¡¯s bedroom! It lookedpletely ordinary, so he had thought that it was nothing more than a keepsake for the libationer to reminisce about his former love. Could it also be a deity-grade weapon?

    The painting scroll unfolded and quickly wrapped itself around the Human Emperor¡¯s Seal. In an instant, the divine weapon¡¯s aura briefly vanished.

    However, it was only for an instant. The painting scroll erupted into mes, and momentster, it crumbled into ash. It was clearly not a deity-grade weapon and couldn''t stop the real deal¡¯s power.

    The libationer had an expression of grief. When he looked at the ashes, he felt a moment of absent-mindedness.

    And yet, the instant in which the Human Emperor¡¯s Seal aura was isted was already enough. Without the protection of the Human Emperor¡¯s Seal, Zhao Han could no longer resist the absorption of the vortex and fell into it. The vortex¡¯s terrifying suction force was strong enough to have absorbed the entirety of Violet Mountain if not for the formation; thus, Zhao Han lost his bnce and was unable to stop himself.

    Just as he was about to bepletely sucked into the vortex, however, he suddenly reached out and grabbed the libationer¡¯s shoulder. He had a sinister expression, even as he resembled a drowning man who had managed to grab onto a reed; it seemed he would never let go.

    However, the libationer¡¯s footing was far more stable than a reed. With his cultivation, it wasn¡¯t too difficult for him to stop himself. If they persisted for a while longer and the vortex copsed, everything would be alright.

    And yet, just then, the libationer suddenly let out a deep sigh and said, ¡°Your majesty has already fallen into this state. Did you think I would still cherish life?¡± Right after he finished speaking, he kicked off from the ground and rushed into the great formation.

    ¡°NOOOOOO!¡± Zhao Han screamed.

    How could he possibly still hold on when the libationer mmed into him, after all? Both of them immediately fell into the vortex. Despite that, he still tried to struggle. To some extent, it showed just how profound his cultivation was, as he was still able to toss and turn inside the vortex.

    In the end, though, he couldn''t resist its pull and still disappeared within.

    At the same time, when the libationer¡¯s protection disappeared, the great formation¡¯s opening was fully exposed. Its powerful suction force spilled out. Guan Chouhai, Xuan Bajing, Li Changsheng, and some of the corpses that remained were instantly sucked in.

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed. He quickly grabbed the women and flew away, saying, ¡°We need to leave!¡±

    Everything had happened too fast. A moment before, he had been thinking about how to knock down the Human Emperor¡¯s Seal to get rid of Zhao Han, but then the situation changed rapidly.

    The women also understood the severity of the situation. They all used their fastest movement skills to flee. Unfortunately, even Zhao Han couldn''t stop the suction force of the spatial vortex, so how could they?

    The weakest of them, Xie Daoyun, was the first one to fail. She screamed in rm as she fell backward, pulled by the powerful vortex. Zu An felt his heart sink, but he rushed over using Grandgale without the slightest hesitation.

    He was about to bring her back when he heard another scream of rm. Qiu Honglei had also lost her footing and was being pulled back. Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression changed greatly and she tried to grab her disciple, but she only grabbed empty air.

    Just as Qiu Honglei was about to be dragged past the edge of the vortex, Zu An quickly threw Xie Daoyun outward, using the recoil force to quickly arrive at the edge and grab Qiu Honglei¡¯s hand.

    Favorite

 Chapter 1736: Regardless of Perils

    <h4>Chapter 1736: Regardless of Perils</h4>

    When she saw Zu An rushing to save her without any hesitation despite the danger, Qiu Honglei¡¯s eyes turned red as she cried, ¡°Ah Zu!¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t have any time to reply. He immediately used Grandgale to move quickly. Unfortunately, perhaps because of the great formation, the distance he could move was greatly reduced, and he could only move within its range. Whenever he appeared again, he was pulled back by the vortex¡¯s terrifying suction force. Even using Grandgale several times only brought him a tiny distance away, and he couldn''t cover any more distance than that.

    The Grandgale skill had a cooldown period. With his cultivation, using it several times in session like that was already his limit. Even though the interval between each use wasn¡¯t that long, the situation was extremely critical. That bit of time was already enough for him to be dragged back toward the vortex several times over.

    Unfortunately, once he ran out of Grandgale uses, he was almost instantly pulled back. He didn¡¯t hesitate to use the ¡®Steps of Rising Lotus¡¯. Lotuses appeared beneath his feet one after another. He slowly walked out, as if he were braving the most difficult of howling winds and torrential rains.

    The Steps of Rising Lotus was an extremely mysterious technique, even capable of escaping some seals. Unfortunately, the formation was something the libationer had exhausted decades to create, and it even borrowed the nearly endless power of the Violet Mountain Range. The spatial copse itself had already taken form. Even someone as powerful as Zhao Han and the libationer had been sucked in, so using these Steps of Rising Lotus was nothing more than a futile struggle.

    Zu An struggled to take many steps, but then he discovered that he couldn''t advance anymore, and had even been dragged back a bit. He immediately felt dejected. In a hurry, he could only take out the Tai¡¯e Sword and stab it into the ground. It was barely able to remain in ce, but the two of them ended up like fluttering gs blowing in the wind.

    Qiu Honglei began to weep, saying, ¡°Ah Zu, I was the one who dragged you down. You shouldn¡¯t have saved me¡­¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An held her waist tightly. He was at his wits¡¯ end now. When he heard that, he replied with a sigh, ¡°How can I just watch as you fall into danger without doing anything?¡±

    His expression turned resolute as he used all of his strength to fling her outward, yelling ¡°Catch!¡±

    With his full-powered throw, backed by his high cultivation, Qiu Honglei flew away from the vortex like an artillery shell. However, Zu An himself could no longer hold on because of the recoil. The ground the Tai¡¯e Sword had been nted intopletely copsed, while he also began to spiral toward the depths.

    Qiu Honglei screamed in rm. How could she not understand that this was a situation of absolute despair and that he had chosen to save her instead? She didn¡¯t even have time to wipe her tears. With a fling of her wrist, a pink band shot out and wrapped around his waist. At the same time, a white silk band also wrapped around her hand.

    As it turned out, Yan Xuehen hadn¡¯t let the opportunity slip past. She and Yun Jianyue had incredibly powerful cultivation, and they were already outside of the vortex¡¯s effects. Between that and the fact that the great formation was withdrawing further and further into the ground, the effects on the outside world were growing weaker and weaker, and the two had barely managed to stabilize themselves after saving Xie Daoyun. Afterward, they just happened to see Zu An save Qiu Honglei and fling her out.

    ¡°That brat doesn¡¯t even care about his life anymore when he¡¯s chasing after women!¡± Yan Xuehen remarked, but she didn¡¯t have time toin too much as she instinctively threw out her waistband to catch Qiu Honglei.

    A tremendous force passed through the silk band. Yan Xuehen lost her footing and began to stagger toward the great formation. Fortunately, Yun Jianyue moved quickly and grabbed her waist. The suction force was too terrifying. They no longer let their pride as grandmasters affect them and used everything they had.

    Xie Daoyun, who had been sent even further away, quickly formed a hand seal. A pair of translucent hands stopped the two of them, barely keeping them in ce. Despite that, the powerful suction still drew their group closer and closer to the vortex.

    When he saw that, Zu An immediately shouted, ¡°Hurry up and let go! Otherwise, you¡¯re all going to lose your lives!¡±

    Qiu Honglei bit her lip and frantically shook her head. She reached out her hand and wrapped the band around her arm a few more times.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression remained unshaken, and she naturally didn¡¯t let go either. Instead, she used everything she had to try to haul the two of them out.

    However, the sound of tearing cloth soon filled the air. The white band couldn''t tolerate the weight and terrifying absorption force, and it snapped. Between the time it took for the first fibers to tear and the band tearing apart, there was almost no time to react at all.

    Yan Xuehen was filled with regret. If she had known things would turn out like this, she wouldn¡¯t have given the Primal Skysilk to Chuyan. Still, she didn¡¯t hesitate and instinctively flew out, grabbing the other half of the torn band. As a result, she was pulled further toward the formation.

    Yun Jianyue was shocked. She didn¡¯t have time to think and quickly grabbed Yan Xuehen¡¯s ankle.

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s face was deathly pale. She didn¡¯t have time to think too much and leaped forward to grab Yun Jianyue, holding onto the ground with her other hand.

    ¡°Stone cold woman, you¡¯ve actually gone so far to save my disciple! If we survive this, I¡¯ll definitely repay this favor,¡± Yun Jianyue said. She was too embarrassed to thank her for saving Zu An, so she used Qiu Honglei as a shield.

    Yan Xuehen was also too embarrassed to admit that she couldn''t bear to see anything happen to Zu An. She bit her lip and said, ¡°We might not have that chance.¡±

    The space within the formation rapidly copsed at a speed several times greater than before, and its suction force also grew exponentially greater.

    With Xie Daoyun¡¯s cultivation, how could she still hold on? The hands made of talismans shattered, and the entire group cried out in rm as they were sucked into the vortex.

    ¡­

    Jadefall Pce had taken up temporary residence in another part of Violet Mountain. Their disciples hadn¡¯t left yet, but the emperor had been holding his Fengshan Ceremony, so they couldn''t remain at Golden Peak. As such, they had chosen a ce to stay temporarily until the secret dungeon opened again. Then, they could wee the disciples as they came out.

    From the very start, Wan Tongtian and Elder Huo Ling had been paying attention to the changes happening on Violet Mountain. They were greatly shaken, as they could feel the terrifying power being unleashed on Golden Peak even from far away. Fortunately, they were far enough away to be unaffected; otherwise, they would have been as helpless as ants.

    Suddenly, a disciple cried out, ¡°The Wordless Edict, Wordless Edict!¡±

    The two of them noticed the disturbance and quickly followed the source of the sound. They saw the Wordless Edict, which normally remained quiet and unmoving, suddenly beginning to shake intensely. At the same time, it gave off a special light.

    The two of them were shocked. After all, the Wordless Edict was rted to the daoist secret dungeon. If something happened to it, their most outstanding disciples would be stuck inside forever.

    They were about to try and calm it down when it suddenly rushed into the air. It broke through the roof, then disappeared into the starry sky. The book opened and pointed at Golden Peak. The once empty pages filled with ancient and profound symbols that also seemed to resemble a series of moving pictures.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, on Golden Peak, the massive formation had turned into a ck hole the size of a basketball. Then, the entirety of Golden Peak was sucked into it. Streaks of dark light emerged as the hole closed up, disappearingpletely.

    The officials who had been trying to st open the mountain defense formation were all stupefied. The formation they hated so bitterly had just vanished. However, they couldn''t bring themselves to feel happy; it wasn¡¯t just the formation, but rather the entire peak above Guidance Pce, that was nowpletely missing!

 Chapter 1737: Exploring

    Chapter 1737: Exploring

    As they stared at the now-missing half of the mountain peak, the officials, who were normally used to seeing all kinds of shocking things, werepletely dumbstruck.

    A whileter, some of them finally snapped out of their daze, wondering, ¡°Where is his majesty?¡±

    That question was like the first domino to fall in a line, causing a loudmotion to break out.

    Right, where is his majesty?

    King Qi¡¯s faction looked everywhere for King Qi. However, the entire peak was missing, to say nothing of any living people!

    There were many people with powerful cultivations present. Their auras spread out, but they still didn¡¯t sense anything. It was as if everyone on the mountain had vanished into thin air.

    The emperor¡¯s cultivation was just too shockingly powerful, and he was always as great as the sun itself wherever he went. Now, however, no one could sense even a bit of his aura. This waspletely unprecedented.

    ¡°His majesty¡­ Has his majesty died?¡± an official asked with a trembling voice.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Silence! His majesty¡¯s cultivation is unmatched. How could he possibly die?!¡± Meng Yi shot back, glowering at him.

    ¡°But¡­¡± the official began. He wanted to say something else, but Bi Yi interrupted him.

    ¡°There are no buts. I believe that his majesty has taken the fight to another ce and just cannote back for a short period of time,¡± Bi Qi said with a darkened expression.

    His analysis received the support of most of those present. After all, the emperor¡¯s power was deeply rooted in their minds. Even if there really were a few more earth immortals, it wouldn¡¯t reach a point where there wouldn¡¯t even be a single trace of him left. For better or for worse, there would be a few corpses, right?

    The current situation seemed to point to the possibility that they had moved somewhere else. An earth immortal could cover incredible distances quickly. It wasn¡¯t something people of their level could fathom. As such, it was more likely that their battle had ended up elsewhere. There would likely be news in a few days.

    Bi Qi quickly added, ¡°Set up a blockade a hundred miles wide around Violet Mountain. Furthermore, no one is allowed to speak of today¡¯s incident. Otherwise, they will be punished for treason!¡±

    With him serving as their pir, the rmed officials gradually calmed down and replied, ¡°Understood!¡±

    Pei Zheng and the others of King Qi¡¯s faction exchanged a few looks. They were all deeply worried.

    The other loyal officials, including Bi Ziang, began to think quickly. His eyes shone brightly. With the current situation as it stood, it would be wise to return to the capital as quickly as possible to turn the situation to their advantage.

    Only Murong Qinghe and some of the juniors were worried about Zu An¡¯s safety. They didn¡¯t know whether he had ended up going to Golden Peak or not.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An waspletely dejected as he sank into the vortex. Judging from what the libationer and Zhao Han had said, the chaotic void stream was something not even earth immortals couldst a long time in. Didn¡¯t that mean someone with his cultivation was doomed to perish quickly?

    He was filled with confusion. He would never see Chuyan, Big Manman, Yanluo, or any of those other people again¡­

    They¡¯ll definitely be sad once they hear news of my death, right?

    Besides, there¡¯s the child in Sang Qien¡¯s belly¡­ They¡¯ll lose their father before even being born. I hope she can continue to stay with Dandan and that they can rely on each other¡­

    Even though he was full of regrets, he didn¡¯t regret his choice at all. If he didn¡¯t try to save the woman he loved, even he wouldn¡¯t be able to help but look down on himself.

    All sorts of thoughts rushed through his mind, but soon after, he fainted. In thest moments before he fell unconscious, he seemed to see Yan Xuehen and the others fall in after him. It was already toote for him to stop them as he lost consciousness.

    ¡­

    After remaining unconscious for a long time, he gradually awakened. He looked around and saw that he was in a deste border area. The distant skies were dusky, and it seemed to be evening. The trees around him made the ce seem almost secluded and serene. From time to time, he heard some owl cries.

    It clearly wasn¡¯t nighttime, and yet everything was dark. Furthermore, it was cold, but not because of the temperature; rather, the air carried a chill that could even unsettle one¡¯s soul.

    Zu An was quite puzzled. What in the world is going on? This seemedpletely different from the void that had been described previously!

    Could it be that I wasn¡¯t sucked into the void, but was sent to a ce near Violet Mountain instead?

    He heard a groan next to him as a dainty woman gradually woke up.

    ¡°Honglei!¡± Zu An cried, feeling extremely happy when he saw her. He had thought that they were dead for sure, and hadn¡¯t expected to end up together with her.

    Qiu Honglei immediately blushed when she saw him. She choked back powerful emotions as she murmured, ¡°I¡­ am I dreaming?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not dreaming. We¡¯re still alive,¡± Zu An said. With his current cultivation, he was at the very least capable of knowing whether he was alive or not. That was especially true after he had experienced the illusory battle against the shamans, as he had taken some time afterward to study some methods to tell apart dreams and reality.

    When she learned that both of them were still alive, Qiu Honglei could no longer hold on. She threw herself into his arms and began to cry passionately, saying, ¡°Ah Zu, you¡¯re not allowed to take such a huge risk to save me again! Compared to both of us dying, I would rather have you live on alone!¡±

    The two of them realized that they were still holding hands tightly. When they thought back to how they had fallen into the vortex while clinging onto each other, they both felt a warm sensation. They reflexively held on even tighter, unwilling to let go for even a moment.

    A gentle smile appeared on Zu An¡¯s face. He used his other hand to gently caress Qiu Honglei as she said, ¡°I also want you to continue living.¡±

    Qiu Honglei leaned against him. When she felt the heating from his chest, she only felt as if she were the happiest person in this world. If her master saw that, she would definitely give her blessings¡­

    Huh?

    She suddenly sat up straight. Her face was a bit pale as she asked, ¡°Master¡­ Where is master? Master was pulled in together with Sect Master Yan and Miss Xie. Where did they go?¡±

    Zu An was rmed. Only then did he remember what had happened. He quickly looked around, but what he saw was only an endless expanse of weeds and sinister trees. There was no one else in sight.

    Even after looking around, Qiu Honglei didn¡¯t find anything. She had a look of rm as she asked, ¡°Ah Zu, do you think master and the others were sent into that void?¡±

    Zu An was also a bit nervous, but he still consoled her and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, that shouldn¡¯t be the case. Since we weren¡¯t sent there, they probably weren¡¯t either. It¡¯s just like a secret dungeon. Even if the same people enter, they might be sent to different ces. We can look around slowly, and we should be able to find them. They¡¯re not weak at all and should be able to take care of themselves.¡±

    He immediately spread his ki out to search the world. He sensed some naturalws that were considerably different from where they had been previously. That was something a cultivator at his level could sense. Clearly, they weren¡¯t near Violet Mountain, but rather in another world. After entering secret dungeons so many times, the situation wasn¡¯t too unfamiliar to him.

    ¡°I hope so,¡± Qiu Honglei said, calming down a bit. She looked around and couldn''t help but tremble. She wondered, ¡°Where is this ce? It¡¯s a bit gloomy and cold.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. However, the yin energy here is a bit dense,¡± Zu An said with a nod. ¡°Let''s look for a ce to spend the night nearby first. It¡¯s already getting dark. I have a strange feeling that staying in the forest after nightfall isn¡¯t a good idea.

    Qiu Honglei voiced her agreement. The two of them quickly began to search through the forest. The dense undergrowth of the forest wasn¡¯t too difficult for cultivators to navigate, and they quickly found a different area. They saw a small road that was covered by weeds.

    ¡°If there¡¯s a road, that means we¡¯re not too far from human habitation,¡± Qiu Honglei said, sighing in relief.

    Zu An¡¯s expression turned somewhat serious as he replied, ¡°Have you noticed? From the start until now, we haven¡¯t even seen a single animal.¡±

 Chapter 1738: An Old Friend Who Shouldnâ€™t Be Here

    Chapter 1738: An Old Friend Who Shouldn¡¯t Be Here

    When Zu An first entered this world, not only had he released his divine sense, he had also immediately used his jade badge in an attempt to use the surrounding smaller creatures as a radar. However, there wasn¡¯t a single reaction.

    At first, he had thought that maybe the region just happened tock smaller creatures, but there weren¡¯t any even as he went further in. He soon realized that something was strange.

    Qiu Honglei was startled and looked vigntly around the area. She asked, ¡°Could it be that these nts are poisonous?¡±

    Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°I know a bit about poisons. These are all just normal trees and don¡¯t have any poison.¡±

    ¡°Then that makes things even weirder¡­¡± Qiu Honglei muttered, her brows furrowing as she thought to herself; she appeared to be struggling with something. Suddenly, she noticed that Zu An was staring at her absentmindedly. She asked in a panic, ¡°What is it?¡±

    Zu An said with a chuckle, ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I just thought that you¡¯re really pretty even when you¡¯re frowning.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re so annoying¡­¡± Qiu Honglei protested yfully. If it were another man who had said something simr to her, she would only think he was being flirty. But when her lover said the same thing, she felt her heart beat rapidly.

    Zu An held her soft hand and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go. There seems to be light up ahead. Let¡¯s go over and take a look.¡±

    Qiu Honglei voiced her agreement. As the Saintess of the Devil Sect, she was normally quite decisive, and yet now that she was with Zu An, she didn¡¯t really want to think about things anymore. She felt really happy just being with him.

    If Wan Guiyi were to see her now, perhaps his previous impression of a woman who ruthlessly overcame her challenges wouldpletely copse.

    The two of them continued along the small path. Even though the source of light didn¡¯t seem that far, it still took them some time to get there. That was because it was an entirely unfamiliar environment. Both of them were vignt and constantly looking for abnormalities around them, so they didn¡¯t move too quickly. By the time they drew near to the light, the sky had already bepletely dark.

    Only then did they notice that the source of light came from a dpidated temple. It wasn¡¯t particrly small, but it was extremely run-down. There were weeds growing all over the ce, and all manner of vines climbed along the trees and walls; they were sinister and malicious-looking, as if they were giant snakes. There were broken bs of stone and copsed statues strewn all across the ground, covered by a thickyer of dirt and ashes. All of these things seemed to suggest that the temple had existed for a very long time.

    The two of them exchanged a look. Judging from the state of the temple and the deste wilderness around it, it had clearly been abandoned for a long time. How could there still be any chance that someone was inside?

    ¡°Could it be master and the others?¡± Qiu Honglei wondered expectantly.

    ¡°Unlikely. We need to be careful,¡± Zu An replied seriously.

    The two of them carefully approached the temple. Suddenly, they stepped on something hard. Zu An noticed that something was different and squatted down. It turned out to be a broken stone tablet that still vaguely carried traces of writing. Qiu Honglei brushed her hand across it and instantly cleared away the dirtyyer covering the surface, reading the inscription on it: Ruo Lan Temple.

    Zu An was stunned.

    ¡°Ah Zu, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Qiu Honglei asked nervously when she saw his strange expression.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I just remembered some things from the past,¡± Zu An replied as he thought to himself, Good thing it¡¯s not Lan Ruo Temple.[1]

    The two of them continued into the temple. The doors were on the verge of copse, as if the merest gust of wind would knock them over. Furthermore, strange creaks emanated from them from time to time. If a normal person tried to open them, the doors would definitely make ear-splitting noises. Fortunately, both of them were strong cultivators and didn¡¯t make any sound while moving.

    ¡­

    They continued inside. There were thick spiderwebs everywhere, and yet not a single spider could be seen. The pair¡¯s gazesnded on a room inside the main temple. The light came from that ce.

    Suddenly, they heard a strange singing voice that resembled a duck¡¯s quacking, and wasn¡¯t all that pleasant to listen to at all. The voice sang, ¡°I love simmer-fried chicken wings¡­¡±

    Qiu Honglei clearly sighed in relief. The one inside was a person, and judging from the current situation, they didn¡¯t seem to be too dangerous.

    Zu An had a strange expression. Why did the voice sound a bit familiar?

    The two of them arrived in front of the door. There was nowhere to secretly observe the interior, because there were holes everywhere in the doors and windows. There was a bonfire in the center of the room. A wretched youngster was seated next to it, and there was a simple rack set up above the fire.

    There was some food propped up on a wooden stick, being roasted. When she saw that it was a piece of bread, Qiu Honglei waspletely confused. This world calls this stuff chicken wings?

    Meanwhile, Zu An noticed the youngster¡¯s tworge front teeth. He had a strange expression. Why was he seeing this guy here? At that moment, he began to question all of his previous spections.

    The two didn¡¯t hide themselves, so the one inside immediately noticed them. He drew his de and shed toward them, creating a wind that sent sparks from the fire flying everywhere. He cried, ¡°Who¡¯s there?!¡±

    Qiu Honglei frowned. Even though this fellow¡¯s cultivation wasn¡¯t bad, it was still far toockingpared to the two of them. She was about to teach him a lesson when Zu An stopped her, leaving her a bit confused.

    The bucktoothed youngster finally saw who they were. He voiced his surprise and quickly put his de away, asking, ¡°Boss, why are you here?¡±

    Qiu Honglei asked in confusion, ¡°Boss?¡±

    Zu An quickly ran over to embrace the bucktoothed man, eximing, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to see you here either!¡±

    It turned out to be none other than his seatmate Wei Suo from back in Brightmoon City. When he first arrived in this world, Wei Suo had been his source of a lot of information. He couldn''t help but chuckle when he remembered how excitedly Wei Suo had introduced Brightmoon Academy¡¯s ten great beauties to him back then.

    Wei Suo also saw Qiu Honglei. When he saw how stunning she was, his head clearly went nk. He couldn''t help but pull Zu An aside, saying, ¡°Boss really is boss, as expected; your women are each more beautiful than the next! The ten great beauties from the academy almost all fell to you alone, and yet you still have such an incredible woman on the outside! When are you going to pass on some flirting skills to me?¡±

    Zu An was stunned, replying, ¡°Is getting women that hard? Don¡¯t you just have to ask if they want to be with you?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± Wei Suo replied with a suspicious look. Don¡¯t try to trick me just because I don¡¯t have experience¡­n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An nodded confidently and said, ¡°At least, I haven¡¯t experienced rejection after all these years.¡±

    When he saw Zu An¡¯s handsome and confident appearance, then thought about his own face, Wei Suo immediately became discouraged. He said, ¡°Forget it. Pretend I never asked. But why does this woman look a bit familiar?¡±

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°You might have seen her before. She spent some time in Brightmoon City in the past, too.¡± He vaguely introduced Qiu Honglei.

    Wei Suo¡¯s eyes lit up. He turned around to look at Qiu Honglei and remarked, ¡°So you were the courtesan queen of Brightmoon City back then! No wonder you¡¯re so beautiful.¡±

    He had seen Qiu Honglei before, but what kind of status did she have back then? She had been surrounded whenever she made an appearance, so Wei Suo had only been able to get a nce at her from far away. He was so stunned by her beauty that he couldn''t remember what she looked like back then.

    Zu An introduced him to Qiu Honglei. When she heard that he was from Brightmoon City and a former ssmate of Zu An, her expression immediately became more pleasant as she said, ¡°Hello.¡±

    ¡°Hello, hello¡­¡± Wei Suo replied. The feeling of being able to talk to a goddess he had admired in the past up close was absolutely incredible. He suddenly felt at a loss to know what to do. He didn¡¯t even know where to look anymore.

    Zu An was a bit speechless. This guy was able to talk about such beauties in such a skillful manner in private, acting so confident and full of knowledge, yet why did he bepletely speechless when he really did meet a beauty in person?

    He coughed lightly and asked, ¡°Your cultivation seems to have improved a lot, no?¡±

    That attack had shown that Wei Suo was at the seventh rank at the very least. It was unexpected, because Wei Suo was famous for being a terrible student. He had been at the very bottom of even the academy¡¯s lowest-level Huang ss. Reaching the third rank in his lifetime would already have been something his ancestors would be more than satisfied with.

    Wei Suo snapped out of his daze. His expression became a bit dim as he replied, ¡°What could I do? I was forced to in order to survive. Back then, something big happened in our n and I had no choice but to wander the wilderness. After struggling on the edge of life and death several times, I ended up obtaining some opportunities. That was how my cultivation improved a bit.¡±

    He suddenly had a big smile as he continued. He put his arm around Zu An and said, ¡°Boss, I¡¯m already quite strong now! Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll protect you in the future. No one will dare to bully you!¡±

    1. Lan Ruo Temple is a temple that contains supernatural entities and mysterious urrences, from "A Chinese Ghost Story". ?

 Chapter 1739: Zither in the Wilderness

    Chapter 1739: Zither in the Wilderness

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°Sure, then I¡¯ll be relying on you from here on out.¡±

    Qiu Honglei had a strange expression. Both of their cultivations were far above his, so that was why Wei Suo couldn''t tell. If he knew their real cultivation ranks, just what kind of expression would he have?

    Zu An was a bit apologetic. The Wei n¡¯s disaster potentially had something to do with him. Brightmoon City¡¯s Wei n and the Imperial Pce¡¯s Wei Dan were rtives. Old Mi had ended up getting rid of their biggest backer, so without that, the Wei n was doomed to fall. Still, perhaps it was a blessing in disguise. If not for that, Wei Suo wouldn¡¯t have obtained those miraculous encounters and reached his current state.

    ¡°Right, I heard that you were taken by the capital as a prisoner. Something happened to our Wei n at the time too, so I couldn''t do anything even if I wanted to help. Are you a court criminal now?¡± Wei Suo asked, sighing as he brought up past events.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An thought about how he had been punished by Zhao Han because of his status as the Fiend races¡¯ Regent. He replied with a strange expression, ¡°To a certain degree, I guess I am.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. After a bit more time, you should be pardoned and I think you¡¯ll be fine¡­¡± Wei Suo said in constion. He suddenly realized that Zu An had such a beautiful woman at his side even while fleeing for his life. Meanwhile, he only had his own right and left hands to apany him. Who was he evenforting here?

    ¡°Right, what kind of ce is this?¡± Zu An finally asked about the thing he was the most curious about. Qiu Honglei also perked up her ears.

    ¡°This is Ruo Lan Temple,¡± Wei Suo reflexively replied.

    Zu An was speechless. He said, ¡°I saw the stone tablet, so I know this is Ruo Lan Temple. I wanted to ask what was going on with this world.¡±

    ¡°Oh, so that was what you were asking about,¡± Wei Suo replied,ing to a sudden realization. He then replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    Zu An and Qiu Honglei were stunned.

    Wei Suo then exined, ¡°I just came into a small secret dungeon to look for treasure, but a ck hole suddenly appeared in the sky. That secret dungeon seemed to start breaking down. When I woke up, I had already arrived in this world.¡±

    Qiu Honglei couldn''t help but ask, ¡°Oh, when did you wake up?¡±

    When he heard such a beauty ask him a question, Wei Suo immediately sat up straight. However, he still didn¡¯t dare to look her straight in the eye because of her beauty. He replied, ¡°About three days ago, I think.¡±

    ¡°Three days ago?¡± Zu An and Qiu Honglei both eximed, exchanging a look. They had clearly just entered this world, while Wei Suo had already been here for three days. Could it be that while they passed through the spatial vortex, the flow of time was distorted?

    ¡°Then did you find out anything in these three days?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°I woke up in a nearby town three days ago. Because I initially nned to get a proper meal once I left the dungeon, I didn¡¯t bring many supplies. I was tired and hungry, but the town¡¯s people didn¡¯t have any sympathy. Not only did they not give me any food, they wouldn¡¯t even lend me a ce to stay,¡± Wei Suo grumbled, his voice full of resentment. He was clearly quite unhappy with that experience.

    ¡°Fortunately, because of my resourcefulness, I found something to eat from the people who lived in the barren wilderness,¡± Wei Suo continued proudly, sticking out his chest. ¡°Of course, in return, I have to help them get rid of ghosts.¡±

    ¡°Get rid of ghosts?¡± Zu An and Qiu Honglei asked in surprise. What was going on here?

    ¡°Those wilderness folk don''t have much knowledge and experience, so they probably bought into some lie and began spreading it, saying that Ruo Lan Temple contains ghosts or something,¡± Wei Suo said, waving his hand dismissively. ¡°How can there be ghosts in this world? My guess is that it¡¯s probably just some thieves hiding here, and in order to avoid detection, they deliberately made up some supernatural rumors to scare those people away. I¡¯ve encountered those kinds of things before.¡±

    Zu An had a pensive expression. He had thought that the forest was especially cold and gloomy. He hadn¡¯t known what was happening back then, but after he heard the exnation, he wondered if the ce could be haunted. He had seen and experienced all kinds of things since he transmigrated to this world of cultivation. Since there were even daoist immortals, it wasn¡¯t all that strange for there to be ghosts.

    However, the Fiend races outside and the ¡®fiends¡¯ he had envisioned weren¡¯t quite the same. On top of that, he had rarely encountered things resembling ghosts. They either turned out to be departed spirit skills used by evil cultivators, or certain refined souls. However, the souls of the deceased were often just an agglomeration of soul force and death energy, and didn¡¯t really have a consciousness.

    The only ghost he had encountered with consciousness seemed to be the servant of the Peacock King race¡¯s Princess Kong Nanwu, Maid Nan Xun. However, she had used the Tiger race¡¯s innate skill to capture a ghost, and then added her own special skills to allow the ghost to live in the human world like a normal being. Maid Nan Xun had even ended up bing a courtesan queen, so she was quite a bit different from the ghosts found in horror films.

    ¡°Then have you found any traces of ghosts so far?¡± Qiu Honglei asked curiously. As a high-level cultivator, she wasn¡¯t scared of people, but the idea of mysterious ghosts really made her feel a bit flustered.

    ¡°I just got here today. I looked around during the day, but I didn¡¯t find anything,¡± Wei Suo said, coughing lightly. ¡°Maybe those bad people got scared when they saw this awesome hero appear and scampered off.¡±

    Qiu Honglei looked amused as she secretly said, ¡°Ah Zu, this ssmate of yours is quite¡­ interesting.¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°That¡¯s just how he is, pretty interesting.¡±

    Just then, Wei Suo suddenly cried out. He removed the stick from the bonfire, only to see that the bread was already charred ck. He had a pained expression as he ripped off the charred surface to see if there was anything he could eat inside, but after being roasted for so long, it had already beenpletely burned ck.

    As such, he took out another small loaf from his bag and asked, ¡°Did you two eat yet? I¡¯ll treat you. Those vigers gave me these, and they taste pretty good.¡±

    Zu An asked curiously, ¡°Just now, it sounded like you were roasting chicken wings, though?¡±

    Wei Suo¡¯s face reddened. He said, ¡°Can we not talk about that¡­ Where would you find chicken wings here? I was just thinking about that¡­ Once I deal with this Ruo Lan Temple, I¡¯ll definitely seize those chickens raised in the mayor¡¯s courtyard!¡± He couldn''t help but swallow his saliva after he spoke.

    Zu An couldn''t help butugh. He then took out some precious bird and beast meats from his Brilliant ss Bead, saying, ¡°Throw these on the fire. I have quite a bit on me.¡±

    He had traveled extensively over the years, and on his travels, he always collected various meats and herbs. Either way, the Brilliant ss Bead had more than enough space. Others couldn¡¯t enjoy such a privilege, though. Storage pouches were rare to begin with, and the amount that could be stored in them was even more limited; often, they were only able to contain some life-saving essentials. Rarely would they be used to keep food.

    Wei Suo¡¯s eyes lit up. He immediately tossed the bread he had treated like treasure aside. He drooled as soon as he caught the meat, saying, ¡°You should¡¯ve told me sooner! Why would I eat bread when you have this stuff?¡±

    He began to hurriedly roast them as he spoke. He swallowed his saliva before saying, ¡°It¡¯s still boss who knows how to have a proper livelihood. Compared to you, I feel as if I¡¯ve been in prison all this time.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but chuckle. The three of them soon began to chat while having a meal.

    ¡­

    Suddenly, they heard a beautiful and distant zither sound from outside. Zu An wasn¡¯t too good at music, but he could still tell that the one ying the instrument was quite skilled. He couldn''t help but speak some praises.

    Qiu Honglei harrumphed. ¡°I guess it¡¯s not bad, but they¡¯re still far from me.¡±

    Zu An smiled. Only then did he remember that Qiu Honglei had been a queen among courtesan queens, publicly acknowledged to be unparalleled in both beauty and arts. She wasn¡¯t like the women from his previous world who only had pretty leather bags, but didn¡¯t have any skills and only knew how to jerk their bottoms around a bit, and yet got a ton of attention.

    Zu An stood up. He was about to look around when Wei Suo quickly grabbed him, saying, ¡°Boss, you just learn a bit from someone well-acquainted with the ways of the world like me. How can there possibly be a zither-ying beauty in this wilderness? It¡¯s clearly a trap.¡±

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°I¡¯m aware of that. I just wanted to see who was causing a fuss.¡±

    ¡°If they¡¯re doing this, they definitely have some motive. It will make no difference if we remain here, and we can at least avoid stepping into any traps they¡¯ve prepared,¡± Wei Suo said, sharing his knowledge gained from experience.

    Zu An figured that made sense. They had just arrived in this world and didn¡¯t know anything. It was better to be careful and observe some more first.

    Sure enough, after the zither yed for a while, it suddenly stopped after seeing that no one emerged. A whileter, someone knocked urgently on the door. A slender figure vaguely appeared, calling out, ¡°Is there someone there? Help!¡±

    The woman¡¯s voice was lovable and gentle. Even without seeing her, the three got the impression of a pitiful and lovely air.

    Wei Suo¡¯s eyes immediately lit up when he heard the voice. He quickly stood up to wee her.

 Chapter 1740: Ordeal

    <h4>Chapter 1740: Ordeal</h4>

    When he saw how much of a hurry Wei Suo was in, Zu An quickly stopped him, saying, ¡°Be careful! It might be a trap!¡±

    They were in the wilderness right now. Forget about people, he hadn¡¯t even seen a single animal. Why would there suddenly be zither music, and then a lovelydy asking for help? That didn¡¯t make any sense at all!

    Wei Suo shook off his hand and said, ¡°This is exactly why I¡¯m here.¡±

    Zu An and Qiu Honglei were bewildered.

    Wei Suo dashed forward a few steps, but then seemed to have suddenly remembered something. He quickly ran back and told Zu An, ¡°You guys, don¡¯t move. I¡¯ll be the one to open the doorter.¡±

    Zu An and Qiu Honglei exchanged a look. They weren¡¯t really sure what he was doing.

    Wei Suo quickly took out a set of schrly clothes from his bag. At the same time, he ran over to the back of the worn-out buddha statue and took out a schrly bag. Only when he put them on did he nod in satisfaction.

    Zu An had to admit that such an appearance really did make Wei Suo look refined in manner. Unfortunately, he still had buck teeth, and together with his wretched appearance, the outfit seemed a bit ipatible.

    Qiu Honglei couldn''t help but ask, ¡°Why did you do all that?¡±

    Wei Suo smiled proudly and replied, ¡°Have you never heard of this? A schr and a female ghost are a perfect match. I prepared this outfit when I heard that this ce was haunted.¡±

    Qiu Honglei had a nk expression as she asked, ¡°Who said that?¡±

    ¡°Have you never heard of ¡®A Chinese Ghost Story¡¯?¡± Wei Suo replied in confusion.

    ¡°I heard that it was something a young master brimming with talent gave to a courtesan queen. The stories are extremely popr nowadays,¡± Qiu Honglei said, shaking her head. For quite some time, she had been cultivating in preparation for the battle at Violet Mountain. She didn¡¯t know much about the details of the outside world.

    She wondered which courtesan queen had been able to experience such a blessing. That young master hadn¡¯t given that person any material goods, but rather a story, and he was even an elegant man. She had acted as a courtesan queen in the past too, and understood its details. There were local tyrants everywhere, but earnest and sincere schrs were one in a million. She sincerely wished the best for the two of them.

    Zu An now had a strange expression, because ¡®A Chinese Ghost Story¡¯ was what he had given to Kong Nanwu in the past, after adapting it to Nan Xun¡¯s situation. He hadn¡¯t expected the story to have circted around.

    Mi Li said in his mind, ¡°Tsk tsk, you actually wrote a story just for a female ghost. When are you going to write something for your master too?¡±

    Zu An felt happy when he heard her voice. He replied, ¡°It¡¯s not as if you¡¯re a female ghost.¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Mi Li harrumphed. ¡°Wasn¡¯t it because of you that I don¡¯t have a body and only have a soul? What difference is there between what I am and those female ghosts?¡±

    Zu An quickly replied apologetically, ¡°Am I not working hard to find those materials needed to fix your body? I¡¯ve already found more than half¡­¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s more like it,¡± Mi Li said, nodding in satisfaction.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Wei Suo ran over excitedly to open the door. Sure enough, there was a beautiful woman at the entrance. Her clothes were a bit damaged, clearly as a result of running away in a hurry and being scraped by the tree branches along the way.

    When he saw the woman¡¯s appearance, Wei Suo¡¯s eyes widened. Even though she was a bit below Qiu Honglei, her looks were enough to make her a courtesan queen in most brothels. For Wei Suo, she was alreadypletely unreachable. When he saw her exposed, snow-white skin, he immediately became stiff.

    Qiu Honglei secretly said to Zu An, ¡°Ah Zu, there seems to be something strange about this woman.¡±

    Zu An nodded. With their current cultivation, he also keenly realized that there was something different about the woman¡¯s aura. It seemed very vague and illusory, as well as being cold and gloomy. Strangely, however, it wasn¡¯t like that of the skeleton soldiers he encountered before. This ghost didn¡¯t carry any death energy.

    Zu An secretly asked, ¡°Master empress, can you tell what is going on with this woman?¡±

    Mi Li replied indifferently, ¡°Isn¡¯t she just a ghost?¡±

    Zu An was briefly speechless. He couldn''t help but ask, ¡°Why does she seem different from the other ghosts I¡¯ve seen?¡±

    There had been arge group of departed spirits in the dungeon where he met Mi Li, and he had encountered Zhang Han. Those were pretty much all the ghosts he knew.

    Mi Li knew what he was thinking and replied, ¡°What you met before were only low-level departed spirits. They didn¡¯t have any intelligence. These ghosts are different. Apart from being intrinsically different, their outer appearance and characteristics aren¡¯t too different from those of humans.

    ¡°As for that Zhang Han you encountered before, strictly speaking, he wasn¡¯t really a departed spirit, but rather a creature who, due to a special formation applying a curse, became neither living nor dead. He couldn''t return to the cycle of reincarnation until you released him again.¡±

    Zu An asked in surprise, ¡°There really is a cycle of reincarnation in this world?¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± Mi Li said matter-of-factly, as if she found his question rather strange.

    ¡°Since there are deities and immortals, there is naturally a cycle of reincarnation. Only then can the world¡¯s life energy and death energy maintain a state of bnce¡­¡± she continued, but trailed off midway. She said with a puzzled expression. ¡°But I noticed that the many worlds you¡¯ve experienced don¡¯t seem to have a cycle of reincarnation. Could it be that the cycle has been separated from your world, just like the immortal realm?¡±

    Suddenly, the ghost woman said in a pitiful voice, ¡°Young master, this one¡­¡±

    When the door opened, she instinctively ran toward Wei Suo¡¯s arms, but when she saw what he looked like, her body clearly stiffened. Just then, she happened to see Zu An, which immediately made her eyes widen. Zu An was handsome, and beauty was rtive to begin with. With Wei Suo as aparison, he only looked even more handsome.

    The woman twisted her waist and skillfully avoided Wei Suo. She leaped toward Zu An and cried, ¡°Young master, please help me!¡±

    Wei Suo had already spread his arms excitedly, already ready to enjoy that soft and wonderful feeling, and yet who would have thought that such a situation would happen? He waspletely stupefied, practically turning into a rock.

    Zu An took a step back vigntly as he asked, ¡°Miss, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    The woman fell directly to the ground when she missed and cried out in a lovely manner. She looked up at Zu An with a hint of a grudge, but she still called out, ¡°Young master~¡±

    When the petrified Wei Suo saw that, he immediately ran over to help her to her feet out of pity, saying, ¡°Mydy, you must be more careful!¡±

    The woman dodged Wei Suo and arrived at Zu An¡¯s feet. She grabbed his legs to crawl back up, then suddenly blinked herrge, beautiful, and enchanting eyes at him, saying, ¡°Thank you for helping me, young master.¡±

    Wei Suo pulled back his hands in embarrassment.Just how many times have I encountered this kind of thing now? I think I¡¯m already used to it¡­

    Zu An brushed her arms away without batting an eye and asked, ¡°May I ask who this miss is? Why have you appeared here?¡±

    Even though he knew that she was a female ghost, he didn¡¯t have enough information. Exchanging some words with her could bring some useful clues.

    ¡°Thisdy¡¯s name is Little Ying. My father was recently transferred to the nearby city as the county magistrate. He promised to reunite with me after everything was settled, but we were attacked by bandits along the way. My maid risked her life in order to allow me to just barely survive. I wonder if the young master could escort me to the city? My father will definitely reimburse you generously, and thisdy will also engrave this favor deeply in my memory. I will work as hard as an ox or horse for you...¡± the woman said, continuing to blink while her tongue also stuck out a bit. Anyone who saw her would get lost in wild and fanciful thoughts.

    Zu An shook his head and replied, ¡°I¡¯m not a farmer, so what would I need oxen and horses for?¡±

    Little Ying was speechless. After some hesitation, she still said with a bashful look, ¡°Young master, oxen and horses can actually be¡­ ridden.¡±

    Now it was Zu An¡¯s turn to be speechless.Why are all female ghosts in this world so tough?

    Mi Li couldn''t help butugh before remarking, ¡°Why don¡¯t you consider it? This female ghost does have some looks. Rather than fighting to the death, what¡¯s the worst that could happen? Just let her suck out a bit of masculine yang energy. Either way, you have more than enough of it.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself,Is that how a master should be acting? Just what are you saying?

    The woman named Little Ying was about to continue when she suddenly saw the amused Qiu Honglei sitting off to the side, as if she were watching a performance. In that instant, she waspletely intimidated by Qiu Honglei¡¯s looks. Even as a woman, she thought that Qiu Honglei was just too beautiful. She finally understood why her seduction had failed.

    She really wanted to cry and sounded dispirited as she said, ¡°So it turns out the young master already has such an incredible beauty at your side. No wonder you didn¡¯t favor this one¡¯s looks. I won¡¯t disturb you any longer then¡­¡±

    Afterward, she covered her face with her sleeves and ran away. She was clearly acting weak, and yet she ran so quickly, it made her look as if she were floating.

    Wei Suo couldn''t even catch up to her. He couldn''t help but beat his chest and stamp his feet, calling out, ¡°Come and seduce me then! I¡¯m really easy to seduce, you know?¡±

    Zu An and Qiu Honglei were speechless.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Yun Jianyue and Xie Daoyun both woke up in a ruined house. They discovered that the two of them were really close to each other, but they didn¡¯t find anyone else.

    Yun Jianyue frowned and asked, ¡°Why am I with you? Where are the others?¡±

    Xie Dayun remembered that this was the legendary murderous demoness and began to shudder, saying, ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know either¡­¡±

    Yun Jianyue was full of experience and quickly realized that this wasn¡¯t the chaotic void stream, but rather a different world, something resembling a secret dungeon. After looking around, she didn¡¯t find Zu An and Qiu Honglei. She felt more and more annoyed, and said, ¡°Lass, don¡¯t drag me down, or else I¡¯ll end you.¡±

    Xie Daoyun nodded like a little hatchling pecking rice. They had suddenly entered a new world and she didn¡¯t know anything. Having someone she knew with her would at least make her feel a bit more at ease, even if the other woman was a bit fierce.

    Yun Jianyue thought to herself,This woman¡¯s cultivation is a bit low, but she has some skills in formations. She might actually be of some useter.

    As such, the two tacitly allowed each other¡¯spany.

    Suddenly, Yun Jianyue¡¯s eyes narrowed. She called out, ¡°Who''s there?¡±

    Xie Daoyun looked vigntly in the direction Yun Jianyue was looking at and prepared for battle.

    ¡°Je je je¡­¡± A harsh and ear-piercingugh filled the air. The entire ce began to feel a bit strange.

    Then, a monster suddenly appeared on the house¡¯s beam. Even Yun Jianyue felt a bit rmed. The monster had the body of a lion and the face of a woman. It was as freakish as could be, with a deeply unsettling presence.

    Favorite

 Chapter 1741: My Life Isnâ€™t Over

    <h4>Chapter 1741: My Life Isn¡¯t Over</h4>

    Yun Jianyue took action. The Crescent Ring suddenly appeared behind the monster and spun around, aiming straight for its head.

    Xie Daoyun was startled.This monster is clearly not the kind sort, so why is Sect Master Yun attacking it? What if you don¡¯t kill it, but end up angering it? Things will really be troublesome then¡­

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s way of thinking was different from hers. After realizing that this wasn¡¯t a friendly being, she decisively chose to strike first and gain the upper hand. She wasn¡¯t going to wait until it attacked, forcing them into a passive position. Her eyes soon narrowed. Her Crescent Ring passed straight through the monster¡¯s head, and the creature instantly broke into many pieces.

    However, she didn¡¯t feel happy at all, because she could sense that she hadn¡¯t really killed it. Sure enough, another clump of ck mist gathered, and the monster reappeared on another beam.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s eyes narrowed. She was about to attack again when the monster said, ¡°Heh heh heh¡­ It¡¯s useless! Your attacks don¡¯t work on me.¡±

    Yun Jianyue and Xie Daoyun were both startled to hear the monster use human speech. However, as they could converse, there was no need for Yun Jianyue to continue attacking. She asked, ¡°Who are you? What kind of ce is this?¡±

    ¡°I guess it¡¯s fine. My mood is pretty good today, so I¡¯ll answer a question. My name is Sphinx. As for what kind of ce this is, you all need to explore on your own; that is, if you can pass this trial of mine,¡± the monster replied.

    ¡°Sphinx?¡± Yun Jianyue and Xie Daoyun repeated as they exchanged a look, both thinking that it was a really weird name. However, they quickly noticed the key part of what it had said, asking, ¡°Pass a trial of yours?¡±

    Both of them prepared to attack. This time, they went all-out with much more force.

    The lion-bodied, human-faced monster didn¡¯t move, allowing all manner of light to strike its body. However, there wasn¡¯t even a single scar on its body, as if it didn¡¯t exist in this ce at all.

    Yun Jianyue and Xie Daoyun¡¯s expressions changed. Both of them felt as if they were facing a great enemy. This monster was too strange!

    The monster raised its w and shook it back and forth, saying, ¡°I already told you that your attacks are useless. Can you properly listen to me speak now?¡±

    Yun Jianyue retorted with a snort, ¡°Who knows? It¡¯s just that we haven¡¯t found your weakness yet.¡±

    She had gone through all sorts of great battles and experiences, so she naturally wasn¡¯t scared by just a few words. Her thoughts moved quickly as she thought about what its weaknesses could be, and which skills of hers could be effective.

    The monster said, ¡°If we were to talk about a weakness, there might indeed be one.¡±

    Even though both women knew that it wouldn¡¯t tell them so easily, they still couldn''t help but be interested.

    ¡°If you can answer my questions, I will naturally scatter away. The two of you will have passed the trial,¡± the monster exined. However, its tone became sinister as it continued, ¡°But if you answer it wrongly, I will collect your souls! How about it? Isn¡¯t that a fair transaction?¡±

    Yun Jianyue sneered and retorted, ¡°I¡¯ve never been one to like ying by the rules of others!¡±

    As soon as she said that, a sea of blood appeared all around her. Even Xie Daoyun was affected, shuddering all over. Her eyes became bloodshot, and even breathing became a bit difficult.

    Yun Jianyue summoned the Empress Lantern as well. Yellow light scattered outward, locking the monster in ce. Then, as she charged at it, her presence seemed to embody a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood that drowned the monster entirely. As long as it was devoured by the bloody aura, it would quickly be part of the ocean of blood and fall under her control.

    A smile just barely appeared on Yun Jianyue¡¯s lips, but it suddenly froze. She discovered that the monster was still in its original spot andpletely unfazed.

    The monster snickered and said, ¡°Not a bad domain skill. If I really fought you face to face, perhaps your attack would have been a bit tricky to deal with. But there are many dimensions between us. How could your attack possibly harm me?¡±

    Yun Jianyue felt a bit dejected. Just then, she had also noticed that the monster wasn¡¯t on the same ne of existence. Perhaps not even an earth immortal could harm it. As such, she could only put away the ocean of blood to avoid harming Xie Daoyun.

    Once the domain disappeared, Xie Daoyun gasped for air and looked at Yun Jianyue with lingering fear.No wonder there was that rumor¡­ Just how many people has this woman killed to be able to create this type of domain?

    The monster said, ¡°Since you understand, let¡¯s begin the riddle. I love stubborn souls like you the most, so we¡¯ll just start with you.¡± Afterward, it didn¡¯t wait for her to retort and asked, ¡°What has four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon, and three legs in the evening?¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression changed a bit. She keenly sensed that as it spoke, there seemed to be certain naturalws tangling around her. In that instant, she sensed something. If she couldn''t answer the riddle correctly, perhaps her soul really would be seized by it. She broke out into a cold sweat. She had experienced countless battles in this life, but she had never experienced something so treacherous and detestable. She couldn''t use any of her skills.

    She quickly thought of all of the creatures she had seen before. She initially thought that it was an easy riddle, but when she thought about it, she couldn''t find a single thing that matched the description. She immediately felt nervous.

    ¡°Tsk tsk tsk, time is almost up! If you cannot answer, then I will collect your soul! Oh my, I can sense just how delicious your soul is from all the way over here,¡± the monster said, licking its lips as if it was already getting impatient.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s ear twitched. She suddenly seemed to have realized something and said, ¡°I know the answer. It¡¯s man. When they are young, they crawl on the ground when they are infants, and then walk on two legs during adulthood. Inter years, they rely on a walking stick, so then they have three legs!¡±

    The monster was surprised. It looked at her reluctantly and said, ¡°I guess you pass.¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Then, it suddenly appeared in front of Xie Daoyun and said with a pitiful look, ¡°You must feel quite proud of yourself after helping her. What a pity, what a pity, I would have asked you after she failed, and then you would have easily passed. Now, you¡¯re actually in danger.¡±

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s face paled a bit. This kind of unknown and mysterious creature really was quite scary. She said, ¡°Just¡­ Just ask already.¡±

    Yun Jianyue was a bit apologetic. After all, Xie Daoyun had helped her just now. At first, she had thought that Xie Daoyun was just a burden, but it turned out to be the other way around! She wondered how she would protect Xie Daoyun if she couldn''t answer the question.

    The monster said, ¡°The fact that you were able to answer my previous riddle means you must be pretty smart. In that case, I¡¯ll give you a tough one.¡±

    Yun Jianyue was discouraged when she heard what it said.

    That monster seemed to think bitterly to itself. Suddenly, its eyes lit up and it eximed, ¡°I got it!¡±

    With a sweep of its paw, a chessboard appeared in the air. The chessboard was extremely strange, with many checkered squares stretching from left to right. The first square to the left had a chess piece. Carved on it was the monster¡¯s visage, while the rightmost square had a pyramid-shaped structure.

    The monster giggled and said, ¡°The game¡¯s rules are really simple. We will take turns moving the chess piece. Each time, you can only move three to five steps. The one who moves this chess piece to the rightmost check will win. If you win, then you pass. If I win, then I will collect your soul. Fair, no?¡±

    Yun Jianyue quickly scanned the chessboard. She thought,If you wanted to be thest to move to the pyramid check, you would have to move your piece to the check six spaces from the pyramid. That way, regardless of where that monster went, it wouldn¡¯t be able to move to thest check. Then, Xie Daoyun would arrive there and win; and then¡­

    She calcted quickly, but she soon got a big headache. In the end, she kept running into problems. She thought in frustration,Ah¡­ I just want to fight! This kind of intellectual battle is freaking annoying!

    While Yun Jianyue was going crazy, Xie Daoyun was calcting quickly. From left to right, there were thirty-six checks¡­

    The monster said, ¡°If you don¡¯t have any objections, then I¡¯ll go first.¡±

    It was about to move when Xie Daoyun quickly said, ¡°Hold on!¡± She continued, ¡°That isn¡¯t fair. Since you made the rules, you already have the advantage. Then, I should be the one to go first to make it fair.¡±

    The monster was stunned. It nodded and said, ¡°You¡¯re surprisingly sharp. I won¡¯t take advantage of you then. You can go first. After all, I care about fairness more than anything.¡±

    Xie Daoyun took a deep breath, then walked over. She picked up the chess piece all the way to the left and moved it three spaces to the right. Even though the chess piece was also an illusion, it actually felt like a real object. However, the monster¡¯s appearance really was too frightening. She quickly pulled her hand back after moving it, as if she had been zapped.

    ¡°Hmm, interesting,¡± the monster said. Itughed and also moved its chess piece three spaces.

    Then, they each took turns one after another, moving quicker and quicker.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s eyes widened. She was smart and quickly realized the pattern. No matter how the monster moved, Xie Daoyun always moved eight spaces minus the monster¡¯s move. Just like that, she finished the game.

    Xie Daoyun ced the chess piece on the right-most pyramid and eximed, her face brimming with confidence, ¡°I¡¯ve won!¡±

    ¡°Ah, how hateful!¡± The monster cursed a few times. As if it had been affected by some kind of naturalw, its body began to distort. In the end, itpletely disappeared.

    Yun Jianyue couldn''t help but look at Xie Daoyun again. This woman looked weak and delicate on the outside, but she was actually incredibly smart! I have to warn Honglei to be careful in the future, or else she might end up being screwed over without knowing a thing!

    ¡­

    On the other side of the world, Zhao Han swiftly opened his eyes. He sized up his surroundings, while taking in a deep breath. Then, a look of rapt joy appeared on his face. This wasn¡¯t the chaotic void stream the libationer had spoken of! It seemed there had been some error somewhere.

    Hahaha! This emperor is blessed by the heavens; my life won¡¯t end here!

    Two groans filled the air nearby, as two people gradually woke up. They were none other than Li Changsheng and Xuan Bajing. The two rejoiced to find that they were still alive, but a secondter, they saw Zhao Han. Their smiles immediately froze on their faces.

 Chapter 1742: We Can Have Some Fun

    Chapter 1742: We Can Have Some Fun

    ¡°Your majesty! What a coincidence¡­¡± Xuan Bajing said with a smile that was even uglier than crying.

    Li Changsheng no longer had his usual free and confident appearance. His expression was as dark as charcoal.

    ¡°Indeed, it is quite the coincidence,¡± Zhao Han said, looking at the two of them with a big smile. ¡°I hadn¡¯t expected to encounter the two of you here. To be honest, your previous scheme wasn¡¯t half bad.¡±

    Xuan Bajing started sweating buckets. He quickly begged for mercy. ¡°Your majesty, please forgive me! I was forced to do all of that by King Qi and had no choice, so I ended up offending your majesty. I hope that your majesty can be magnanimous and forgive me!¡±

    Li Changsheng thought disdainfully, This guy¡¯s tail wagging really is nauseating.

    He sorted out his clothes before saying to Zhao Han, ¡°Your majesty, your respected self needs some manpower to deal with any trivial matters in this secret dungeon. Please give us a chance to atone for our crimes.¡±

    Xuan Bajing was stupefied. Judging from the proud look on that guy¡¯s face, I thought he was going to show some unyielding nature. And yet in the end, it was just this?

    Zhao Han frowned and said, ¡°You just used a great scheme against this emperor, and yet you are wagging your tails and begging for mercy. How can this emperor trust people such as you?¡±

    Li Changsheng said, ¡°If your majesty does not believe us, we can simply make a vow!¡±

    Even though the consequences would be severe, being alive was better than being dead.

    Xuan Bajing thought, This guy is actually going that far? However, he didn¡¯t have time to think too deeply about it and immediately nodded, saying, ¡°That¡¯s right; I am also willing to make a vow to the world and swear my loyalty to your majesty!¡±

    Zhao Han briefly fell silent. A vow to the world wasn¡¯t something to be taken lightly, and these were even members of the daoist sects. The restrictions of a vow in that scenario would be even stronger.

    However, he wasn¡¯t moved and said indifferently, ¡°You two are severely injured right now and are only slightly better than cripples. What help can you even offer this emperor?¡±

    His tone became more and more intimidating as he spoke. He was really pissed off from all the things that had happened today. In all these years, this was the first time he had ever been left in such a sorry state. It was all because of these damn ants. When he thought of that, his gaze filled with killing intent.

    Xuan Bajing felt as if he had been targeted by a primal beast. He knew that he likely only had a few more seconds of life left. His mind moved quickly and he said, ¡°Even though your majesty¡¯s power is boundless, we know nothing about this world. We can help you explore this world, and we can just serve as a meat shield for any special mechanisms.¡±

    Li Changsheng was stupefied. He thought, This guy really is shameless! A glorious grandmaster is actually going to fall to such an extent? However, with their lives at stake, he could only speak up in agreement. Meanwhile, Xuan Bajing also cursed him inwardly.

    Zhao Han was now a bit tempted. After all, what they were saying did make sense. The reason he was so powerful now was due in no small part to the secret dungeons he had encountered in the past. He knew about the special mechanisms of secret dungeons and how they needed the cooperation of many people to activate. If he encountered such things again, trying to solve them by himself would be a bit difficult.

    His expression eased a bit when he thought of that, and he said, ¡°I suppose. Out of consideration for your sincerity, this emperor will forgive you two here. Make your vows, then.¡± He naturally wouldn¡¯t just trust their words; he had to have something to keep them in check.

    Xuan Bajing and Li Changsheng exchanged a look. They saw the helplessness in each other¡¯s eyes. However, since the situation was already like this, they had no choice. As such, they both made vows. Soon after, there was a reaction in the world. Some wisps of profoundws tangled around the two of them.

    Zhao Han listened to their vows carefully. He nodded in satisfaction when he saw that they didn¡¯t try to pull any tricks.

    Xuan Bajing and Li Changsheng sighed in relief. Then, they carefully said, ¡°Your majesty, you were the first to wake up. Did you notice anything about this world?¡±

    ¡°I have not,¡± Zhao Han slowly replied. ¡°The only thing I have noticed is that this world seems to be especially sinister. It might very well be rted to deathly spirits.¡±

    He had actually made another discovery. When he first arrived in this world, he had sent out his primordial spirit to look around and understand a bit about it. However, as soon as his primordial spirit left, he sensed danger, as if there were something in this world that could threaten his primordial spirit.

    Such a thing was inconceivable for Zhao Han. Previously, he probably wouldn¡¯t have cared much, and would have explored a bit first. After all, he had remained invincible for so many years, so he hadn¡¯t believed that anything could harm him. However, after what had happened today, and the way he had almost died because of King Qi and the libationer¡¯s schemes, he couldn''t help but be a bit more prudent.

    ¡°Deathly spirits?¡± Xuan Bajing and Li Changsheng repeated, stunned. Then, they secretly felt joy, because they were daoist experts. They naturally knew things that could counter deathly spirits and the like. Deathly spirits usuallycked consciousness, so even if they were strong, they were still on the easier side to deal with.

    Xuan Bajing and Li Changsheng both took out pills and ate them. Theirplexions immediately became a bit rosier as their injuries clearly improved a bit.

    The two of them suddenly realized something, though. Their faces turned deathly pale and they cried, ¡°This subordinate deserves death; we should have immediately offered our treatment medicines to your majesty!¡±

    Both of them felt a bit strange after saying that. Why were they saying the same thing? Normally, they were always the ones who received praise from their sects, and yet now that they were bootlicking someone else, it actually came so naturally. They thought, Sigh, it''s only because the pressure Zhao Han gives off is just too much.

    Zhao Han replied, indifferently, ¡°Why would this emperor need your pills? Just eat them yourselves and recover sooner. I do not want to keep useless people at my side.¡±

    Li Changsheng and Xuan Bajing were frightened, but they also felt some admiration. Zhao Han had first fought against King Qi, and then the libationer, and yet he still appeared to be fine. They couldn''t even see a single injury. It really was incredible.

    Thus, both of them focused on recovering. Their statuses in their respective sects were formidable, so the pills they carried were naturally also extraordinary. As the medicinal strength spread out, they gradually recovered a bit of strength.

    They were about to say something when they noticed two people lying nearby. They eximed in rm, ¡°Who are they?¡±

    They seemed to be inside an abandoned ancestral hall. Because of the pressure from Zhao Han, they hadn¡¯t dared to show the slightest bit of distraction. Only now did they discover that there were actually two people lying there.

    Zhao Han replied indifferently, ¡°How would I know?¡± When he woke up, these two had already been lying there. From the looks of it, they were cultivators too.

    Li Changshen and Xuan Bajing exchanged a look. They both chose a target to examine and then moved to wake them up.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Who¡­ Who are you?¡± the two asked after graduallying to. When they saw the scene in front of them, they were startled. They were actually well-known experts too, but these three who had suddenly shown up were ridiculously powerful. The yellow-robed one in particr¡­ Wait, yellow robes?

    ¡°Your majesty?¡± the two eximed, scared out of their minds. However, Zhao Han didn¡¯t confirm or deny it.

    Li Changsheng and Xuan Bajing asked about the other two¡¯s identities and quickly learned that they were cultivators from the Great Zhou Dynasty. They had been exploring a secret dungeon and were about to seed when they ended up being sucked into this world somehow. Their cultivation ranks weren¡¯t that low, and they were both around the eighth rank. Of course, in front of these three, they could only shiver like quails.

    Zhao Han had an amused expression. Normally, with the libationer and Yan Xiangu¡¯s skill in formations, the trap they had prepared for so many years shouldn¡¯t have encountered any problems. However, something had happened. Not only had they been sent here, it also seemed to have sucked in people from other secret dungeons too.

    Just what is the reason for this?

    Suddenly, sinister cackles filled the air, and a voice said, ¡°Heh heh, everyone seems to have arrived. That means we can begin!¡±

    Zhao Han¡¯s expression changed. He stared in a certain direction. He actually hadn¡¯t been able to detect this thing¡¯s approach despite his cultivation! How was that possible?!

    A lion-bodied monster with a woman¡¯s face suddenly appeared at the entrance. It looked around and nodded, saying, ¡°Not bad. Now, we can have some fun together.¡±

    Zhao Han snorted. He didn¡¯t say anything and reached out with a great golden hand that instantly engulfed the monster.

    Poof!

    The monster scattered into a ck mist. A secondter, however, more ck fog condensed and it reappeared.

    Li Changsheng and Xuan Bajing¡¯s eyes widened. The invincible Zhao Han¡¯s attack had actually missed? Just where did this monstere from?!

    Zhao Han also frowned. He was someone who hadprehended the power of space. Just now, even if the creature dodged, it shouldn¡¯t have been able to avoid his grasp, and yet it had. That could only mean it wasn¡¯t in this world! His spatial abilities were only effective in the same world. At least for the time being, he couldn''t move between different worlds.

 Chapter 1743: Full of Expectation

    <h4>Chapter 1743: Full of Expectation</h4>

    ¡°Hm? Interesting,¡± the monster said in surprise. ¡°Your cultivation has exceeded my expectations. If I were really fighting against you face to face, it would indeed be a bit tricky.¡±

    Li Changsheng and Xuan Bajing exchanged a look. They were both horrified. This monster was just too ridiculous! Furthermore, it had only said that it would be ¡®a bit tricky¡¯. That meant that even if they did face each other, the emperor wouldn¡¯t necessarily be able to win against it. Just what kind of monster was this? How was it so powerful?

    ¡°You are not located in the same dimension?¡± Zhao Han asked, raising his brows. He couldn''t understand how the monster did such a thing even with everything he knew. The world wasrge and mysterious, as expected.

    The monster nodded and said, ¡°You¡¯re a smart fellow. I¡¯m several dimensions away. Of course you can¡¯t hurt me.¡±

    Zhao Han¡¯s expression now truly changed. All of this was beyond his imagination. However, he was also a bit excited. There are beings more powerful than myself after all! Doesn¡¯t this mean the road to immortality isn¡¯t just a fleeting rumor?

    He couldn''t help but ask, ¡°Have you achieved immortality?¡±

    The others also shivered, looking at the monster with fervent expressions. In that instant, they even found its grotesque body a bit cute.

    The monster was also stunned. Then, itughed and said, ¡°How strange! Normally, I¡¯m always asking the questions, and yet today, I¡¯m the one being asked the questions.¡± It paused for a moment before continuing, ¡°If my mood were good, it wouldn¡¯t be a big deal to answer this question of yours. But my mood just doesn¡¯t happen to be that good today.¡± It recalled the twodies from earlier and immediately felt annoyed. It had never lost so miserably in so many years.

    Zhao Han only became even more excited when he heard its tone. This creature seemed to really know the truth about immortality. He asked, ¡°How can I get you to answer my questions?¡±

    ¡°Pass my trial first, and we¡¯ll talk about the rest after,¡± the monster said, revealing a strange smile. ¡°Right, I¡¯m Sphinx. Remember this name, or else you won¡¯t even know how you perished.¡±

    The others all felt dejected. This monster was incredibly freakish. It definitely wasn¡¯t boasting idly.

    The monster continued, ¡°I¡¯ll ask you all some questions soon. If you answer correctly, you pass. If you¡¯re wrong¡­ Heh, I¡¯ll collect your souls! How about it? Isn¡¯t it fair?¡±

    Zhao Han frowned slightly. He doubted the authenticity of what it had said earlier. Was it really many dimensions away, or had it fooled him through some sort of diversion? There was no reason for his attack to havepletely missed it. He wasn¡¯t used to putting his own safety at risk, so he wanted to give it another try.

    As if it sensed what he was thinking, the monster said with a malicious expression, ¡°My patience is limited. Don¡¯t make me angry.¡±

    Zhao Han decided to speak his mind. ¡°Since I cannot hurt you, you should not be able to hurt me either. What you are doing is nothing more than a bluff.¡±

    Li Changsheng and Xuan Bajing both felt admiration.As expected of his majesty, the strongest of them all! This degree of calmness and confidence isn¡¯t something we can ever hope to have.

    As for the other two, they were already shaking so much they couldn''t even think properly anymore.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The monster replied, ¡°That¡¯s right. My offensive methods might not be able to injure you. Still, if you don¡¯t answer my question within the set time, your soul will be mine. That¡¯s thew of this world, something none of you can defy.¡± It paused for a moment before adding, ¡°You¡¯ve angered me after all. So, I¡¯ll ask a question no one has been able to answer correctly. Then, you¡¯ll all be dead for sure.¡±

    Zhao Han was rmed. At his level, he was able to glimpse thews of this world. He knew this was what the world had decided on and that he really couldn''t go against it. He didn¡¯t dare to attack again when he realized that. Otherwise, he would really anger it, and that wouldn¡¯t be a smart decision.But if I don¡¯t answer its question correctly¡­

    Just then, the monster said, ¡°Hmm, there are five people, so let¡¯s simplify matters and just ask one question.¡±

    With a wave of its paw, nine pieces of t bread appeared in midair, as well as a de. Then, it asked, ¡°The question is, how can these nine pieces of t bread be divided evenly among the people present with one cut?¡±

    Those present were stunned. They found the question incredibly strange. It looked simple at first, and yet when they thought about it carefully, it turned out to be extremely difficult.

    Li Changsheng and Xuan Bajing were sect master-level figures of the daoist sects. They were outstanding geniuses to begin with, and were good at things like arithmetic. They quickly began to think to themselves.

    It was possible to divide the nine tbreads among five people, but there was no way to do it in one cut. But if one used a sufficiently refined de skill, a single cut could do many things. Perhaps it could be done. However, the problem was whether or not the monster would acknowledge that cut. Furthermore, the bread floating in midair wouldn¡¯t necessarily be able to withstand that de skill. Perhaps it would just end up being destroyed and scatter¡­

    They all sank into their own thoughts and decided to wait until someone else tried it first. That way, perhaps they would be able to gain some enlightenment from it. Even if they couldn''t, they would still at least have more time to think.

    When it saw that they all fell silent, the monster said sinisterly, ¡°There is a time limit for the answer. If no one makes an attempt within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, all of your souls will be mine for the taking.¡±

    A stick of incense began to burn in the air, imposing a degree of invisible pressure

    The monster spoke up again and said, ¡°No matter whoes up with the solution, it will be considered as everyone passing. Right, and as a friendly reminder, the longer you spend on this task, the more you might end up losing out.¡±

    The listeners were confused by its addendum. If everyone could pass no matter who went first, why would it say that theter they tried, the worse the consequences would be?

    Zhao Han stepped forward and arrived in front of the de, saying, ¡°I will divide them!¡±

    When they saw him actpletely calm, seemingly certain of sess, Li Changsheng and Xuan Bajing were overjoyed at the unexpected good news.His majesty is his majesty after all! The feeling of having the strongest on your side really is great.

    The monster had an ambiguous smile as it said, ¡°You have to divide it properly, you know? Otherwise, no matter how strong you are, ording to thews of this world, your soul will be seized by me.¡±

    Zhao Han didn¡¯t reply. He picked up the de and made a cut. Then, he said indifferently, ¡°It¡¯s done. One person, three pieces.¡±

    The two weaker cultivators wanted to see how he had divided it, but they suddenly felt a chill by their necks. Then, everything went cold, and they enteredplete darkness.

    Li Changsheng and Xuan Bajing jumped in fright. Their faces were deathly pale. Those two had been killed with one slice! They didn¡¯t even see how Zhao Han had used the de! But who would have thought that he would aim the de at hispanions?

    The monster was clearly stunned. After a while, it sighed and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that they could be divided like this.¡±

    Afterward, its figure distorted, and it disappeared. The mysteriousws surrounding the three cultivators also disappeared with it.

    Zhao Han remainedpletely calm as he walked out, saying, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s explore this new world together.¡±

    ¡°Yes, absolutely! Of course!¡± Li Changsheng and Xuan Bajing replied, both feeling shocked. They hurriedly followed.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Wei Suo was scolding Zu An. ¡°Boss, it¡¯s not that I¡¯m criticizing you, but why are you acting like some upright gentleman? For better or for worse, we could have at least gotten a bit of intelligence. Either way, you¡¯re a man, so you don¡¯t even have anything to lose.¡±

    ¡°Ahem!¡± Qiu Honglei shot him a re.

    Wei Suo hurriedly said, ¡°If there really is a ghost, there¡¯s no way it would give up so easily. I¡¯ll deal with the next one, so don¡¯t fight with me over it! It¡¯ll be a waste anyway even if you do.¡±

    Zu An had a grin as he replied, ¡°Sure, sure, I won¡¯t fight with you.¡±

    When he saw Zu An¡¯s bright and rxed smile, Wei Suo was stunned. He quickly said, ¡°No way, no way, boss, you¡¯re too handsome! If you stand there, that female ghost will only go after you!¡±

    Zu An had a strange expression as he said, ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll go for a stroll then, to see if we can find that female ghost to chat with.¡±

    Wei Suo beamed and replied, ¡°That¡¯s great!¡±Without boss, that handsome bastard, here, I might really be able to get lucky¡­

    Zu An and Qiu Honglei walked up to the entrance. Zu An couldn''t help but turn around and ask, ¡°Will you be in danger by yourself?¡±

    Wei Suo patted his chest and said, ¡°Boss, don¡¯t look down on me now! I¡¯ve been to all sorts of ces and experienced all kinds of things. I¡¯m a respectable expert in my own right now! Aren¡¯t you worrying too much when it¡¯s just exorcising some female ghost?¡±

    ¡°Then you have to be careful,¡± Zu An said, figuring that made sense. As such, he took Qiu Honglei with him into the dark night.

    ¡­

    Just then, thick tree vines that resembled countless snakes slithered within a mountain cave. A strong and robust madam at their center looked at a weak woman across from her. She asked in a voice that was rather androgynous, ¡°Little Ying, why are you back so soon? Where is the person?¡±

    The madam¡¯s appearance was as androgynous as her voice. Her brows were so thick that it was as if someone had drawn them with a writing brush, and there was a thickyer of white powder applied to her face. Her cheeks had a fiery red blush. All in all, it gave her quite an ugly appearance.

    Little Ying was clearly afraid of her as she replied, ¡°Great Sister, it was because that young master had a woman who looks like a goddess at his side. I wasn¡¯t able to seduce him¡­¡±

    When she heard what happened, the ugly madam immediately roared withughter. ¡°Hahaha! An incredibly handsome young master, and a gorgeous goddess? Those are exactly the types I like to y with! Then, I¡¯ll go and pay them a visit!¡±

    As soon as she spoke, countless vines reached toward the distant temple.

    Favorite

 Chapter 1744: Humiliation

    <h4>Chapter 1744: Humiliation</h4>

    ¡°Grandmother might not be happy if we act on our own¡­¡± Little Ying said, feeling a hint of regret. Her impression of that gentlemanly young master was really good, and she really didn¡¯t want bad things to happen to him because of Great Sister. However, Great Sister didn¡¯t pay her any attention. Countless vines extended from the ground in Ruo Lan Temple¡¯s direction.

    Little Ying bit her lip. Great Sister and Grandmother had a closer ancestral rtionship, which was why Great Sister was always throwing her weight around. Little Ying didn¡¯t dare to offend her. Now that she had been ignored, she couldn''t say anything else. However, she was still a bit worried. If that really handsome young master ended up being ruined by Great Sister, that would be really sad.

    After hesitating for some time, in the end, she clenched her teeth and quickly followed. She wanted to see whether there was a chance to help that young master¡­

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An and Qiu Honglei left Ruo Lan Temple. There was still a faint hint of fragrance left in the air, so they followed the scent trail.

    Along the way, Qiu Honglei turned to look at Zu An from time to time. Zu An couldn''t help but rub his face and ask, ¡°Why do you keep looking at me like that?¡±

    ¡°That Little Ying from earlier was quite pretty. Why did you refuse her so firmly?¡± Qiu Honglei asked with a smile.

    ¡°She¡¯s a ghost, you know?¡± Zu An reflexively replied.

    ¡°So what if she¡¯s a ghost? She doesn¡¯t seem that different from a normal person. She clearly has all of the normal functions,¡± Qiu Honglei said with a smirk. ¡°That Wei Suo seemed pretty interested. He was about tomit to her for romance.¡±

    Zu An eximed with a righteous expression, ¡°Am I that kind of person?!¡±

    ¡°If I hadn¡¯t been next to you, would you have been tempted by her?¡± Qiu Honglei asked with a sigh. ¡°At first, I was pretty happy that I was next to you in this dungeon. However, I didn¡¯t expect to end up dragging you down¡­¡±

    Zu An grabbed her hand and looked at her deeply, then said, ¡°With beauties such as all of you, why would I still think about others?¡±

    ¡°All of you¡­¡± Qiu Honglei murmured, sighing inwardly, but she was still really moved. ¡°Ah Zu~¡±

    ¡°Eh¡­¡± Mi Li muttered in an exaggerated manner. ¡°I¡¯m about to get goosebumps from all of this.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.You don¡¯t even have a real body, and yet you¡¯re saying you have goosebumps. Who are you trying to fool?

    ¡°Hmph, talk between immature lovers doesn¡¯t suit me. I¡¯m going to sleep,¡± Mi Li grumbled, then fell silent. She had a special soul body, after all, and needed to sleep a lot to recover her energy.

    Zu An and Qiu Honglei had spent more time apart than together. Now that they had this rare chance to be together alone, they exchanged murmurs of endearment while looking for the female ghost.

    They had clearly felt that their surroundings were sinister and frightening before, but Qiu Honglei suddenly felt as if their surroundings had gained something of a tranquil aesthetic that was perfect for a date. She was even starting to hope that they wouldn¡¯t find the ghost, and that they could just continue to stroll around just like that.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Wei Suo waited expectantly in the temple, thinking,My time has finallye! This is my lucky break!

    He even began to clean up around the room, for fear that the female ghost would be unhappy because she found the room too messy. After sorting things out, he found a chair to sit down on. He thought,If the first female ghost failed, the second ghost definitely has to be even prettier!

    After all, if Little Ying had been in a brothel in any major city, just having tea with her would cost at least 98 silvers! If a 98 silver girl was already like that, what about a 298 silver girl?!

    He became more and more excited when he thought of that. However, he suddenly wondered,Wait, should I act like an upright gentlemanter, or should I just give in after a bit of resistance?

    ording to the stories, whether it was female ghosts or real women, they seemed to appreciate an upright gentleman more. But he still understood the limitations of his own face. If he really did decline the woman, perhaps he really would just end up forfeiting a chance of sweet romance.Maybe I should just give in quickly¡­

    Suddenly, his ears twitched. There seemed to be some rustling outside, followed by a knock on the door. He immediately jumped out of his seat, thinking,The beautiful female ghost is here!He rushed out eagerly to open the door.

    Meanwhile, Little Ying¡¯s Great Sister was also burning with anxiety, especially when she had heard her junior sister Little Ying talk up that young master like crazy, saying he was more handsome than any of the men they had encountered so far! She couldn''t help but swallow. She felt as if today had to be her lucky day. She was even more excited when she thought about how there was a goddess-level beauty too. It was just one happy asion after another!

    Her tastes were a bit peculiar. Not only did she like men, she also liked women. She had actually desired Little Ying for a long time. Unfortunately, Grandmother had given strict orders, and she didn¡¯t dare to go against Grandmother. And yet today, there was a woman who was even prettier than Little Ying!n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    I can y with them together! Either way, I have more than enough tentacles¡­she thought. She was a tree spirit, after all. The countless roots quickly reached Ruo Lan Temple and targeted the room with the light.

    Since there are two attractive people, I shouldn¡¯t scare them too badly. I should try some peaceful tactics before using force. Hopefully, they won¡¯t fail to appreciate my kindness.

    As such, she politely knocked on the door, but who would have thought that the door would immediately open as soon as she knocked? It was almost as if the other side had been waiting the entire time!

    Both people stared at each other face to face. In that instant, Ruo Lan Temple became dead silent.

    Ugh!

    Both of them turned away and retched at the same time.

    ¡°This is that ridiculously handsome young master Little Ying spoke of?!¡± Great Sister eximed furiously.Little Ying actually dared to mess with me!

    ¡°That¡¯s it for 298? Isn¡¯t it supposed to be someone prettier?!¡± Wei Suo eximed, equally furious. In that instant, he felt as if he had dropped from heaven straight down to hell.

    Bang!

    He mmed the door shut in his rage. Even though he had been looking forward to a meeting with a female ghost, he still had a bottom line!

    He actually knew his own looks well. Even if the woman who came this time wasn¡¯t that pretty, as long as she had decent features, he would likely have given in. But what the f*ck was this?!

    This person doesn¡¯t look like a guy or a girl! Compared to her, even I can be called a stud!

    Great Sister erupted into a rage when she heard the curses inside. She cried, ¡°Damn brat, you¡¯re courting death!¡°

    Bang!

    The door was instantly smashed to pieces. Then, countless vines stormed in, wrapping around Wei Suo in an instant.

    Wei Suo was rmed and quickly tried to retaliate. Unfortunately, they were too close to each other, so his arms and legs were instantly ensnared and he couldn''t use any of his skills. He could only rely on brute force to struggle.

    ¡°Hm? You have a bit of strength to you,¡± Great Sister said in a low and muffled voice. Her gaze swept through the room, but she didn¡¯t see anyone else.That bitch tricked me after all!

    ¡°You are a bit on the ugly side, but your blood essence is still pretty rich,¡± she said as she moved closer and took a deep breath. She revealed a happy look and said, ¡°Once I absorb you, I¡¯ll be able to advance.¡±

    ¡°Ugh! Your mouth is so disgusting!¡± Wei Suo eximed as he smelled her breath from up close. He felt his stomach churn, and he almost vomited.

    ¡°You¡¯re courting death!¡± Great Sister roared angrily. A thick vineshed at Wei Suo¡¯s face as she cried, ¡°Just watch as I suck you dry!¡±

    In a moment of crisis, Wei Suo quickly grabbed the vine. His face was entirely red as he used every drop of strength he had. However, he still couldn''t stop the vine from getting closer and closer to his mouth.

    Great Sister frowned, and a few more vines moved closer to pry Wei Suo¡¯s hands apart.

    Wei Suo was really frightened. He knew his life was in danger, but he waspletely restrained and couldn''t fight back. He suddenly thought of Zu An and immediately shouted, ¡°Boss, save¡­ Gurgle¡­¡±

    In that moment of distraction, the especially thick vine broke through his defenses and shoved itself down his throat.

    ¡°Gurgle¡­¡± Wei Suo shed tears of humiliation. He had never expected that a man like him would one day experience such a freakish situation.

    More importantly, this damn thing was full of hard lumps!

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An and Qiu Honglei were exchanging words of endearment when they suddenly saw a woman float over to them. It was none other than the female ghost from earlier.

    Zu An was about to capture her to gain some intelligence, but she suddenly revealed a look of happiness when she saw him and cried, ¡°Young master, thank goodness nothing happened to you!¡±

    Zu An was stunned. Now, he was too embarrassed to do anything to her.

    Qiu Honglei casually stood in front of Zu An and asked, ¡°Why would you say that?¡±

    ¡°My Great Sister went to Ruo Lan Temple to look for you guys. I was worried that you would be in danger,¡± Little Ying said, then urged them, ¡°My Great Sister is really strong. You two should run away. It¡¯ll be dangerous if she leaves Ruo Lan Temple and finds you!¡±

 Chapter 1745: A Unexpected Grandmother

    <h4>Chapter 1745: A Unexpected Grandmother</h4>

    Zu An¡¯s expression grew grave. He asked, ¡°How strong is your Great Sister?¡±

    Little Ying replied, ¡°Not even ten of me would be able to beat her.¡±

    Zu An and Qiu Honglei¡¯s expressions changed. They both saw the worry in each other¡¯s eyes. Wei Suo was still in Ruo Lan Temple! Even though he should have been fine with his cultivation, he waspletely smitten with romance. Furthermore, if this Great Sister was so strong, it would be over if he instantly got his blood essence sucked out of him.

    Zu An¡¯s body flickered as he ran straight for Ruo Lan Temple. Qiu Honglei kicked off lightly and quickly followed him.

    Little Ying was stupefied. She had thought that this gentlemanly young master appeared to be a weak and refined sort. She clearly couldn''t sense any cultivation from him, so how was he so strong? Also, that dainty-looking beauty¡¯s cultivation seemed a bit ridiculously high!

    After some hesitation, even though she was a bit scared, she still decided to follow along after Zu An¡¯s dashing face appeared in her mind.He¡¯s so handsome, so he¡¯s definitely a good person. He definitely won¡¯t make things hard for me.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An moved as fast as lightning. By the time he arrived at Ruo Lan Temple, he just happened to see Wei Suo being¡­ invaded in the mouth. He was shocked. He had only seen simr scenes from hentai in his previous world, and hadn¡¯t thought he would witness it in person. It really was quite a shock to the eyes.

    Wei Suo struggled frantically to use his two fists to fight against the endless¡­ hands. The thick vine reached deeper and deeper down his throat, almostpletely filling his mouth. It was difficult for him to even shout for help now.

    Suddenly, he saw Zu An and tried to cry out for help, shedding tears of humiliation. ¡°Mmm! Mmm¡­¡±

    Zu An snapped out of his daze. He reached out and unleashed a de of mes forward.

    Geaaack!

    Great Sister screamed miserably as the thick vine that was filling Wei Suo¡¯s mouth was severed. She pulled back all of her vines out of fear, while urgently beating out the mes left on the damaged vine.

    Wei Suo was also freed, and quickly pulled out the thing in his mouth. Without the support of the main body, the severed vine no longer had any power, so he was able to quickly pull it out and throw it onto the ground. It wriggled back and forth as if it were still alive.

    Off to the side, Wei Suo vomited repeatedly. At the same time, he gasped for air. He had almost suffocated to death just then!

    Zu An couldn''t help but look at the vine on the ground. His expression was quite strange as he thought,Just how did Wei Suo keep such a huge thing in his mouth¡­

    Qiu Honglei couldn''t help but frown when she arrived. She reflexively hid behind Zu An.

    Great Sister finally got rid of the mes around her and cursed, ¡°You damn brat, you dare to meddle in the business of other people¡­ Huh?¡±

    She was about to fly into a terrible rage, but when she saw what Zu An looked like, she waspletely stupefied. There was actually such a handsome man in this world? When she saw the gorgeous woman next to him, she suddenly understood. These were probably the two Little Ying had talked about.

    Her anger instantly subsided and she said, ¡°Greetings, young master. So this one was the young master¡¯s friend! It was all just a misunderstanding.¡±

    ¡°F*ck you!¡± Wei Suo cursed. He immediately charged at her with his tiger w saber.

    He had been caught off guard earlier and been instantly restrained. After enduring such shame, he was utterly furious. The surface of his saber was enveloped in an earthen yellow light, and it let out an ear-splitting sound as it tore through the air. His skill with the de was clearly quite proficient.

    Zu An nodded as he thought,It looks like Wei Suo is an earth element cultivator. Furthermore, both the strength behind his attack and the angle are remarkable. No wonder he¡¯s been able to live well these years.

    Great Sister had been about to let Wei Suo go after seeing such a handsome young master, and yet this damn clown didn¡¯t have any sense of self-preservation! She brandished her countless vines and thrashed them at him.

    A cold glint flickered, and the vines were instantly sliced apart. However, her expression didn¡¯t change at all. She didn¡¯t necessarily have a lot of other things, but she had more than enough vines.

    When he saw dozens moree after he sliced up a few, Wei Suo hacked at them with his de again. However, he discovered that it didn¡¯t do too much. The endless tentacles that were all around him made him think about what had happened just a moment before, which made him feel nervous. He was worried that the earlier tragedy would repeat itself and backed up to a safe distance.

    Since they had already started fighting, Great Sister didn¡¯t keep up the act anymore.I was going to y nice with you, but if that¡¯s how you want it, that¡¯s what you¡¯ll get!As such, countless vines swept at Zu An and Qiu Honglei. With these two beautiful individuals, why would she still bother with that clown?

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s expression turned cold. She was about to attack when Zu An moved first.

    A sharp de of energy shed through all the vines. At the same time, a burst of dazzling mes erupted. Whether in terms of power or scale, they greatly eclipsed the previous attacks.

    ¡°AHHH!¡± Great Sister screamed miserably. She brandished all of her tentacles to try and put the mes out, but no matter what she did, the mes seemed to stick to her. They quickly began to spread toward her main body.

    Wei Suo widened his eyes. He had never expected to see such a strong energy de! He thought,Boss is boss after all!n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Great Sister was absolutely frightened. She gritted her teeth and cut off all the burning tentacles herself. Meanwhile, she began to burrow underground. However, Qiu Honglei quickly took out the Empress Lantern and shone it over her body, and she immediately stopped moving.

    With a wave of Zu An¡¯s hand, a streak of sword energy delivered a lethal blow. This thing looked so ugly, and judging from how it sucked out the blood of others, it was clearly a habitual criminal. He wouldn¡¯t spare such a creature.

    Great Sister screamed bitterly, ¡°Grandmother won¡¯t let you all go¡­¡± Afterward, she took herst breath.

    Zu An felt as if his experience bar had increased a bit. However, that wasn¡¯t what he was concerned about at the moment. He looked at Little Ying, who had followed them, and asked, ¡°Grandmother?¡±

    Little Ying just happened to see Great Sister being killed as she arrived. Her entire body started shaking. Fortunately, Zu An¡¯s handsome face calmed her down a bit, and she said, ¡°Grandmother is our master. When she came here for the first time, because she saw that Great Sister was of the same race as herself, she granted her a magical transformation. Great Sister was thus able to achieve a human form.¡±

    ¡°Grandmother is a tree spirit?¡± Wei Suo asked, turning pale with fright. If even the disciple was so disgusting, what kind of grotesque thing was the master? He recalled the romance in ¡®A Chinese Ghost Story¡¯. The grandmother there seemed to have been an ugly tree spirit too. He couldn''t help but shiver.

    Suddenly, an ice-cold voice called out, ¡°Who dares to kill my disciple?!¡± Then, a terrifying aura sped in their direction.

    Little Ying¡¯s expression changed greatly. She said, ¡°Big Sister was magically transformed by Grandmother, who left an imprint inside her. Grandmother would have found out about her death immediately. Oh no, here shees! You all need to run!¡± She didn¡¯t dare to stay there and quickly ran. She was clearly afraid of being brought down by them.

    Zu An didn¡¯t stop her either. Little Ying was quite the good-natured female ghost, so there was no need to trouble her. He thought,I¡¯ll just ask that Grandmother for any information I need. She definitely knows more.As he sensed the aura getting closer and closer, he looked at Wei Suo with a smile, asking, ¡°Should it be you or me who greets her this time?¡±

    ¡°Of course it¡¯s boss!¡± Wei Suo eximed, having already hidden himself in a corner at the first sign of danger.

    Are you freaking kidding me? That tree spirit earlier was already nauseating to look at! Now, an old one ising¡­ Judging from the little one¡¯s appearance, that Grandmother is definitely vicious and nasty.

    If he experienced that again, perhaps he would just lose his interest in women altogether. This time, he didn¡¯t think about the fantasy of dating a female ghost. He just wanted to stay away from those things as much as possible.

    Zu An didn¡¯t pay him too much mind. He sat at the very center of the room and calmly waited for Grandmother¡¯s arrival. Qiu Honglei stood at his side while preparing to fight with him.

    Soon after, a wild wind swept over. All of the trees near the temple began to rustle; something seemed to be rushing through them. Judging from the sound, it seemed to be many times more formidable than that Great Sister.

    Soon after, the voice and the aura converged into a figure at the entrance. When he saw the appearance of that figure, the previously calm Zu An was stunned. Qiu Honglei was also stupefied. In the corner, Wei Suo¡¯s eyes almost popped out.

    The one who arrived was a woman dressed in an elegant gown. She had long wavy hair, snow-white skin, and red lips. Her figure was slender and graceful, and her features were delicate and beautiful. She was an incredible beauty! She had a unique air of mor and grandeur.

    The woman looked down at Great Sister¡¯s remains. Her expression was cold as she asked, ¡°Was it you who killed my disciple?¡±

    Wei Suo¡¯s jaw almost dropped to the ground. This ridiculously beautiful woman was Grandmother? He thought,If I had known it would be like this, I would have gone!

    He immediately began to question life itself.Why is it that boss always faces incredible beauties, while I ended up meeting that disgusting thing?

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, there was a sole tavern in a small town. All those inside were looking toward a white-dressed woman seated there, looking aloof and transcendent like a goddess. When had such a small ce as theirs ever seen such a beautiful woman before?

    Yan Xuehen frowned slightly when she sensed the surrounding gazes. She had thought that this tavern was a good ce for information, so she had gone over to see if anyone knew about Zu An¡¯s whereabouts. Unfortunately, with how things were now, it didn¡¯t seem as if she could get any decent information.

 Chapter 1746: Ghost King Pt. 1

    <h4>Chapter 1746: Ghost King Pt. 1</h4>

    There weren¡¯t many people in the tavern, and there were only a few tables. Yan Xuehen had been listening in on their conversations, but she hadn¡¯t obtained any useful information. All she had learned was that this world was really chaotic.

    After listening for a while, she decided to just walk up to those other tables and ask the people there if they had met Zu An and the others. She also described Yun Jianyue and the others¡¯ appearances to them. Whether it was Zu An¡¯s handsome and confident appearance or Yun Jianyue¡¯s morous yet domineering looks, they were clearly distinctive features. There was no way anyone would forget them after meeting them even just once.

    The people at those tables were all stunned. They had never expected this goddess-level woman to actually strike up a conversation with them!

    Someone was about to respond when another person¡¯s eyes moved quickly. He seized the chance to say, ¡°I¡¯ve seen them before!¡±

    The others seemed to have thought of something and quickly nodded, saying, ¡°That¡¯s right, we did see them before.¡±

    Yan Xuehen was a bit surprised. She had just been randomly trying her luck and hadn¡¯t expected there to actually be results. She asked, ¡°May I ask where you¡¯ve seen them before?¡±

    ¡°I think it was yesterday? It was over in the next town¡­¡± The gathered people began to talk all at once in a lively manner.

    Seeing her bewildered expression, one of them suggested, ¡°How about we take thedy there?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a bit¡­¡± Yan Xuehen said, seeing that they hadn¡¯t even finished their meals. She felt a bit embarrassed.

    ¡°It¡¯s not a problem at all! Everyone is a friend around these parts,¡± the others replied,ughing heartily. They seemed to have something of an outspoken air and a straightforward nature.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to trouble you gentlemen,¡± Yan Xuehen said, then called out to the boss to settle the bill for the meal.

    She was the sect leader of the White Jade Sect. She didn¡¯t necessarily have enough wealth to single-handedly dictate the prosperity of a sect, but she definitely had no problem at all supporting herself.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be right over!¡± the boss replied and went to check on the bill. He then said, ¡°I¡¯ll just take off the change and charge you two silvers.¡± He secretly gave Yan Xuehen a gesture behind the other people¡¯s backs.

    Yan Xuehen was quite surprised. She calmly handed the silvers over, and the other people quickly escorted her out. Along the way, they were extremely friendly and asked her all sorts of questions about where she was from and what she was doing in the vige. They didn¡¯t forget to constantly praise her beauty.

    Yan Xuehen was generally quite cold in nature and responded to them with very few words, but they didn¡¯t seem to feel that she was being rude, and only seemed to get even more excited. After all, such a beautiful goddess would be treated with unlimited patience by all the men in the world.

    Just like that, their group left the small town. When she saw the surroundings bing more and more remote, Yan Xuehen frowned and asked, ¡°Could it be that we went the wrong way? This doesn¡¯t seem simr to the ce you described earlier.¡±

    The group looked around and saw that there was no one else around them. Then, theyughed confidently and asked, ¡°Miss, is the one you¡¯re looking for your man?¡±

    When she sensed the frivolousness in their expressions, Yan Xuehen said coldly, ¡°That has nothing to do with you.¡±

    ¡°How does it not? You¡¯re so pretty, so why are you looking all over for someone? We brothers just happen to be avable to service your needs. We promise you¡¯ll forget about that man as long as you give us a try.¡± The group catcalled her a few times as they surrounded her. They greedily eyed her body with incredibly excited expressions. In all these years, this was the first time they had met someone so beautiful. If they could spend the night with her, they wouldn¡¯t mind even if they had to give up a decade of their lifespan for it!

    Yan Xuehen replied indifferently, ¡°Which means you all deceived me earlier and that you haven¡¯t seen them?¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± the men said with mocking sneers. ¡°Who would have thought that there would be such a gullible and innocent woman? Don¡¯t tell us you¡¯re still inexperienced?¡± When they saw her cold and aloof nature, they felt more and more convinced that that was the case. As such, they began to discuss who would go first, starting to get all worked up.

    As she listened to their filthy discussion, Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression remainedpletely cold.

    ¡°Hm? Why would it snow in this season?¡± someone wondered as he suddenly noticed something strange, and reached out to touch the falling snow. As soon as his hand made contact, however, ayer of frost covered it. Then, hepletely turned into an ice sculpture.

    The others¡¯ expressions changed greatly when they saw that. They were about to run, but they were quickly covered under ice and snow. From then on, they breathed no more.

    Yan Xuehen didn¡¯t even want to give them a second look and drifted into the distance. Shortly after, she returned to the restaurant from before, but there were no guests left. There was only the boss and the waiter, cleaning up the tables. They were stunned and surprised to see her return.

    ¡°Thank you for earlier,¡± Yan Xuehen said to the boss. It was this man who had secretly warned her to be careful previously.

    The boss said with a simple and honest smile, ¡°You¡¯re being too courteous. It¡¯s only right to do such a thing. But since we still have to do business here and are scared of revenge, we can¡¯t make it too apparent. Fortunately, thedy was smart.¡±

    Yan Xuehen nodded. She took the chance to ask where the local official manor was. Even though she hadn¡¯t spent too much time here yet, she had passed through some areas in search of Zu An. Despite that, she hadn¡¯t seen any sign of an official¡¯s manor. She figured that going through the officials would make things go much faster if she was trying to find someone.

    ¡°Official manor?¡± the boss asked with a strange expression. ¡°There are many officials in the world, but no one recognizes them outside their respective territories.¡±

    ¡°Why is that?¡± Yan Xuehen asked in surprise.

    Then, as the boss exined things, Yan Xuehen learned a bit more about this world. The whole ce was filled with chaos from end to end. There wasn¡¯t a single powerful unified country, and instead, it was ruled by countless small countries. The smaller ones among them were only about the size of one or two cities. Although many of them called themselves countries, they were more like feudal fiefdoms. In order to fight for resources and wealth, there were wars year-round. It was difficult for themon people to scrape by.

    ¡°Those officials only have authority over an acre and a half ofnd or so. No one outside of their territories recognizes them,¡± the boss said after thinking about some things. He continued, ¡°If thedy is looking for someone, you can look into the Adventurer''s Guild.¡±

    ¡°The Adventurer''s Guild?¡± Yan Xuehen asked, stunned. The name sounded really strange and quite different from the way things were named in her previous world.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. The different forces all have their own domains and don¡¯t interact much with each other, but the Adventurer''s Guild can be found in many of their territories. They have good ess to information as well,¡± the boss said. He paused for a moment before continuing, ¡°But they won¡¯t easily give out their information to outsiders, and will only provide it to their adventurers. The higher your rank, the more information you¡¯ll have ess to. If thedy is interested, you can join the guild and be an adventurer yourself.¡±

    Yan Xuehen frowned and asked, ¡°Is it that easy to join?¡±

    After all, sects typically picked their disciples really carefully.

    The boss said with a smile, ¡°I guess it isn¡¯t that hard, but it ain¡¯t that easy either. As long as you canplete the mission they give you, you can be an adventurer. The more missions youplete, the higher your rank will climb.¡± He paused for a moment, then said with a sigh, ¡°This world is quite chaotic. All sorts of monsters are roaming about and there are dangers everywhere. That¡¯s why the guild has many dangerous missions too.¡±

    ¡°Monsters?¡± Yan Xuehen repeated, her expression changing a bit. Judging from his tone, the word didn¡¯t seem like an adjective, but rather a noun.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. There are all sorts of demons and ghosts¡­¡± the boss said, giving her a rough exnation.

    As she listened, Yan Xuehen was inwardly shocked. She came from a daoist sect, so she had some exorcism methods, but those were usually only used to deal with non-sentient deathly spirits. She hadn¡¯t met any ghosts who weren¡¯t all that different from real people. She asked the boss a few more questions, which he answered patiently one after another.

    The boss looked out the window and warned her, ¡°Miss, it¡¯s already dark out. Why not just spend the night in this small store? Roaming outside at night without proper shelter is extremely dangerous.¡±

    Yan Xuehen recalled the demons and ghosts he had talked about earlier and thought to herself that it would be best if she found Zu An and the others as soon as possible. As such, there was no reason to create more unnecessary issues. She nodded and said, ¡°Then I¡¯ll be troubling you.¡±

    ¡°It isn¡¯t any trouble at all, not at all. I¡¯m trying to make a living here, and you¡¯re only helping me out,¡± the boss said as he scratched the back of his head, his expression looking simple and honest.

    ¡­

    At midnight, several figures walked quietly on tiptoes toward Yan Xuehen¡¯s door. They carefully cut through the bolt with des and pushed open the door to see the sleeping beauty within.

    One of them released a sigh of relief. Heughed and said, ¡°Boss, the Horizontal Alliance¡¯s Five Hegemons were all done in by this woman, so she¡¯s definitely quite something! I was worried that we might have been in over our heads ourselves.¡±

    The one in the lead was none other than the boss of the tavern. There was a treacherous smile on his face, and his previous honest and sincere look was nowhere to be found.

    ¡°Those Five Hegemons only know how to use brute force; how can theypare to me? After being afflicted by my Happy Bliss, she has no choice but to let me ravage her no matter how high her cultivation is,¡± the boss replied. When he looked at Yan Xuehen¡¯s stunning face and body, even his breath quickened. His luck with women was absolutely incredible today!

    One of his underlings said in confusion, ¡°This woman¡¯s cultivation is definitely incredible. After what the Five Hegemons went through, she¡¯d definitely be more careful. Boss, just how did you drug her?¡±

    ¡°I added the poison into both the tea and the candles. A single one wouldn¡¯t do anything, but it¡¯s impossible not to be poisoned when both are used together. No matter how careful she was, she wouldn¡¯t have been able to avoid the trap,¡± the boss said,ughingcently.

    ¡°So that was what happened¡­¡± a voice said with a soft sigh.

    The boss felt all of his fine hairs standing on end. When he turned around, he saw that Yan Xuehen was already standing up.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°You¡­ You weren¡¯t poisoned?¡± the boss muttered, feeling his very soul tremble.

 Chapter 1747: Ghost King Pt. 2

    Chapter 1747: Ghost King Pt. 2

    Yan Xuehen remained silent. She had spent many years in the world of warriors, and because of her beauty, she had attracted all kinds of annoying trouble. What dangerous schemes hasn¡¯t she experienced? Furthermore, the White Jade Sect had some treasures that guarded against poison as well, so she didn¡¯t fear such things. Of course, there was no need for her to exin any of that to the boss.

    The boss roared, ¡°What are you all scared of? Just attack her together!¡±

    The underlings drew their des. As people who worked in the daylight robbery industry, which one of them wasn''t a vicious and ruthless individual? They quickly rushed at Yan Xuehen while shouting.

    However, a gust of frigid wind blew. Before they could even react, they felt as if all of the blood in their bodies had been frozen. Then, all that followed was endless darkness.

    When she saw the sinister faces perfectly preserved on those frozen statues, Yan Xuehen sighed and remarked, ¡°Amid the chaos of war, the weak are prey to the strong. The people be cruel and ignorant. No wonder there are demons and ghosts running amok.¡±

    Aftering to this world, she had discovered that there wasn¡¯t even a single good person left. It truly was a saddening sight.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, after passing Sphinx¡¯s test, Zhao Han¡¯s group began to look around for clues rted to this world.

    Unfortunately, the shoddy house they had appeared in was surrounded only by a deste wastnd, uninhabited for a thousand miles. As the party sighed at the barrenness of the world, a strange creature suddenly passed by.

    The thing waspletely covered in ck mist, and its body appeared to have been pieced together from different corpses. Furthermore, each part still squirmed from time to time. There were many human faces all over its body, all bearing sinister and malevolent expressions, as if they were experiencing endless agony.

    Even Xuan Bajing and Li Changsheng, who had experienced all sorts of things, jumped in fear. Only Zhao Han remained calm. He sized up the creature while wondering where its strength originated from.

    When it saw the three of them, the monster released a nasty-soundingugh. ¡°Kek kek kek, I can smell the delicious scent of blood essence from your bodies! Come, enter my embrace¡­¡± It vanished after speaking.

    Xuan Bajing and Li Changsheng were both extremely rmed. They reflexively tried to dodge, but they were seriously injured, so they were a bit too slow. As every single cell in their body felt as if it were frantically warning them, their thoughts turned ice-cold.

    Who would have thought that we would end up dying in the belly of this kind of monster? It¡¯s even worse than being killed by the emperor, as that would have been a more heroic death¡­

    Suddenly, Zhao Han¡¯s hands mped down on both of their shoulders, and they were instantly moved back around a hundred feet. Mere momentster, the monster appeared where they had just been. When it appeared, it instantly devoured the nearby flowers and nts, and even arge boulder.

    Li Changsheng and Xuan Bajing swallowed with great difficulty. If they had entered that ¡®embrace¡¯, wouldn¡¯t they have been instantly digested?

    ¡°Hm?¡± the monster eximed, clearly a bit surprised by their speed. The head at the very top suddenly opened its mouth and roared.

    A shrill, ear-splitting noise tore through the air. Li Changsheng and Xuan Bajing were both grandmasters who had even cultivated yang spirits, but they were seriously injured, so the noise made them feel extremely miserable. It was an attack targeted at the soul!

    At the same time, the monster teleported again. The ck mist-covered corpses on its body began to separate, surrounding the group from all directions.

    Li Changsheng and Xuan Bajing both drew their longswords, sending sword ki ripples through the corpses one after another. However, corpses were naturally already dead. As they were sliced through, they fell to the ground, but they were soon wrapped in ck fog again and raised to fight once more.

    Li Changsheng and Xuan Bajing¡¯s expressions changed. These things were too strange! They advanced endlessly and couldn''t even be killed! Furthermore, the two could feel that the yin spirits they had attached to their swords were being corroded by the ck mist.

    Suddenly, a streak of golden light shed past them, and the corpses screamed miserably and copsed. Arge golden hand passed straight through the ck mist and grabbed the monster behind it. The mist seemed almost as if it had been burned by the sun, melting away as the golden light touched it.

    The monster struggled frantically as it screamed in pain. It had never expected this person to be so strong! Its vitality had been greatly damaged when he broke through its skill. Who knew how many more people it would have to devour to recover again?

    Zhao Han looked at the golden hand, which had started sizzling from the ck mist¡¯s corrosion. He frowned and asked, ¡°Just what kind of monster are you?¡±

    However, the monster didn¡¯t respond to his question and instead cursed, ¡°I¡¯m working under the Ghost King! The Ghost King won¡¯t let you all off if you kill me!¡±

    ¡°Ghost King?¡± Zhao Han asked with a frown. ¡°What kind of thing is that?¡±

    The monster was stunned, and a fearful expression appeared on its face as it replied, ¡°You¡­ dare to disgrace the Ghost King? You¡¯re dead for sure! Your soul won¡¯t even be able to reincarnate!¡±

    With a snort, Zhao Han¡¯s hand erupted with golden light. The monster screamed miserably, and all the ck fog disappeared. Its true form resembled a shriveled ck dog.

    ¡°Who is the Ghost King?¡± Zhao Han asked with a threatening gaze.

    The monster was gripped with excruciating pain and could only reply, ¡°The Ghost King is the ruler of all ghosts, one who is iparably powerful! All of us monsters need to obey his orders¡­¡±

    ¡°You said you were working under the Ghost King? What was your task?¡± Zhao Han continued asking.

    The monster clearly hesitated, but it couldn''t withstand the golden lighting from Zhao Han¡¯s body and said, ¡°Baopuzi! I was given the order to find the Baopuzi!¡±[1]

    ¡°Baopuzi?¡± Zhao Han repeated, stunned. The name sounded a bit simr to a certain book.

    ¡°It¡¯s something Immortal Ruler Baopu created with all his knowledge, rumored to contain the method of immortal ascension! The Ghost King wishes to be a ghost immortal, so he sent all of his people to find the Baopuzi for him¡­¡± the monster quickly said.

    ¡°This world really has a method for immortal ascension?¡± Zhao Han eximed, breathing hurriedly. He had used countless resources over the years, and yet he had never been able to find a method of immortality. Now, his heaven and man deterioration was drawing near, so his desire for immortality was even stronger.

    Even Li Changsheng and Xuan Bajing perked up their ears. After all, immortality was something that was desired by every cultivator. In their world, achieving immortality was nothing more than a pipe dream, but they hadn¡¯t expected this world to actually have some clues!

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. The road to immortality was severed, and for a long time, there were no immortals. However, when Immortal Ruler Baopu appeared, he left an entire generation stunned. Later, it was rumored that he ascended to immortality. That¡¯s why the Ghost King wants to find his Baopuzi to consult it,¡± the monster replied.

    ¡°Where is the Baopuzi?¡± Zhao Han shouted.

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± The monster hesitated, but when it recalled the pain it had gone through, it still quickly replied, ¡°I heard that a great tomb appeared by the Zhi River. The things that emerged from that tomb were rted to Immortal Ruler Baopu. Furthermore, the Zhi River is also where Immortal Ruler Baopu previously found his dao, which is why people suspect there might be some discoveries to be made in that tomb.¡±

    ¡°And where is this Zhi River?¡± Zhao Han asked. The monster gave him a rough description.

    Li Changsheng couldn''t help but say, ¡°It¡¯s so far away. Will you even make it in time if you go now? Everything inside might already have been looted by other strong people nearby!¡±

    The monster replied, ¡°The great tomb has a powerful seal covering it. It isn¡¯t the time for it to open yet. I should be able to make it in time.¡±

    Li Changsheng and Xuan Bajing exchanged a look. Both of them wanted to look around inside. If even the Ghost King was interested in the Baopuzi, perhaps it would really have some clues to immortality. Unfortunately, they knew they could only follow Zhao Han¡¯s orders right now.

    Zhao Han looked down at the monster in his hands and asked, ¡°How does that Ghost King¡¯s strengthpare to mine?¡±

    The monster¡¯s face distorted as it said, ¡°Even though you¡¯re strong, you¡¯re still far from the Ghost King. It would be best to let me go, or else¡­¡±

    Zhao Han snorted. Golden light shed in his hand, and the monster was crushed into dust.

    ¡°Your majesty, what should we do now?¡± the two grandmasters carefully asked.

    ¡°This monster had some strength. That Ghost King must be extraordinary to be able to make it act under those orders,¡± Zhao Han said. He fell silent for a moment before saying, ¡°Either way, we don¡¯t know much. We might as well take a look around that Zhi River.¡±

    His experience in all sorts of secret dungeons had informed him that there were often special missions that had to be done before they would sessfully pass and be allowed to leave. Now, it seemed the mission was most likely rted to the Baopuzi. There were supposed to be secrets to immortality hidden inside, so he naturally had to take a look.

    The two grandmasters were overjoyed, saying, ¡°Your majesty will naturally be sessful in every endeavor!¡±

    ¡­n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Meanwhile, in Ruo Lan Temple, Zu An stared at the stunning beauty in front of him. He was briefly left absent-minded. Forget about Wei Suo, even he had reflexively felt that this Grandmother had to be a disgusting monster because of all the ghost movies he had watched. That Great Sister or whatever seemed to have matched that impression. Thus, he had never expected Grandmother to be such a gorgeous woman. He couldn''t even sense the slightest trace of sinister energy from her. On the contrary, she seemed like the precious daughter of a great n. Furthermore, she seemed a bit familiar. She looked a bit like a certain female celebrity in his previous world¡­

    ¡°You dare to stare at me like that? Are you tired of living?¡± the woman snapped, her expression cold. She waved her sleeve, and countless specks of green light shed over.

    ¡°Huh? Why am I blooming with flowers?¡± Wei Suo cried in rm, raising his arms. Traces of green appeared on his skin, and young green sprouts burst through. Then, in just a few breaths of time, the green sprouts grew bigger, producing leaves, and then a small white flower. Even more horrifyingly, more and more sprouts began appearing and creating little flowers. They began to extend toward his entire body. He was horrified, but he couldn''t stop those sprouts no matter what he did.

    Zu An also felt many fine things starting to stir in his flesh, as if they were absorbing the power in his flesh and wanted to break out. However, his body was too sturdy and they couldn''t break out. He harrumphed and used the power of the Fire Phoenix. Pure fire elemental energy cleansed his entire body, and all of those little things were burned away.

    At the same time, he looked at Qiu Honglei worriedly. He saw that she wasn¡¯t experiencing the same thing as Wei Suo; instead, she shone with light, blocking the glowing green specks. There were some that touched the protective barrier, but they quickly grew dim and fell to the ground. She was clearly using a defensive skill of the light element.

    Zu An looked at the green specks. They looked like seeds¡­ No, they were smaller than seeds, and actually resembled spores. They were so small that they were easy to inhale into one¡¯s body. Then, they would take root and grow. Such things really were difficult to defend against.

    When he saw that she was fine, Zu An moved closer to Wei Suo. He grabbed the arm that was blooming with flowers, then used the phoenix¡¯ mes to burn all the sprouts and little white flowers away. However, Wei Suo screamed miserably, as if the fire was burning his flesh.

    The stunning woman was shocked to see that Zu An and Qiu Honglei were actually unaffected. She couldn''t help but say with a sneer, ¡°It¡¯s useless. They¡¯ve already be one with his flesh. To a certain degree, those sprouts and flowers are part of his own body. If you burn away those sprouts, it will be no different from burning his body.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression darkened. This attack really was treacherous. If he didn¡¯t do anything, wouldn¡¯t Wei Suo end up turning into a nt?

    ¡°You dared to kill my disciple, so this is the price you must pay,¡± the beautiful woman said. Her expression was ice-cold, as if she were saying somethingpletely expected.

    1. The Baopuzi is a collection of essays on alchemy, immortality, and other topics. ?

 Chapter 1748: Proverbs

    <h4>Chapter 1748: Proverbs</h4>

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed. He naturally couldn''t just watch such a thing happen. He charged at the woman, thinking,The one who starts trouble should end it.

    The beautiful woman seemed to have already prepared herself for his retaliation. The floor suddenly split apart and thick saplings sprouted one after another, growingrge in almost an instant. Then, they became like tree soldiers that blocked Zu An¡¯s path.

    ¡°Boss, be careful not to get caught!¡± Wei Suo quickly warned him.

    Many wood element cultivators were capable of summoning treants. Even though treants were a bit sluggish, they were as tough as oxen. After being caught by them, one wouldn¡¯t be able to use one¡¯s skills freely anymore. For example, when Wei Suo had been caught earlier¡­

    Zu An remained calm and used his me de. Fire was the bane of nts, after all.

    The treants immediately became extremely rmed, screaming miserably. The beautiful woman frowned slightly. She waved her hand slightly, and a ball of water condensed in her palm. Then, she tossed it at the treants, quickly creating a light drizzle.

    However, her expression quickly changed again, because the water should have been able to put out the mes, but they seemedpletely undeterred! On the contrary, it was as if oil had been poured onto them, making them burn with even greater ferocity.

    Therge, tall treants were burned to ashes almost instantly. Zu An didn¡¯t stop and charged forward. Qiu Honglei also moved, taking out her Empress Lantern. The light surrounded the woman, supporting Zu An¡¯s attack.

    The beauty¡¯s hair turned into numerous fine tree vines and quickly formed an umbre-like shape, blocking the Empress Lantern¡¯s light. She wasn¡¯t affected by it at all.

    Qiu Honglei voiced her surprise. She hadn¡¯t expected the woman to actually neutralize her skill like this!

    Just then, countless vines surged in front of the beautiful woman and shot toward Zu An. Compared to the vines Great Sister had used, they were clearly thicker, and they swirled with brilliance. They were clearly special.

    Zu An¡¯s entire body erupted into mes. He turned into a Fire Phoenix and rushed at his opponent.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t normal fire!¡± the beautiful woman muttered with a frown. She suddenly backed up, her hands forming a series ofplicated seals along the way. ¡°When faced with the enemy, one should step forward courageously and join the battle formation!¡±

    Zu An waspletely confused now. He had heard such a proverb before and knew that it was normally used for exorcism. And yet it was a tree monster speaking an exorcism incantation¡­Is there something wrong with this world?

    The beautiful woman shouted again, ¡°The formation is in the south; the vermilion bird obeys its orders!¡±

    As soon as she spoke, a loud and clear bird cry suddenly rang out behind her. A bird covered in mes rushed into the air and charged at Zu An.

    Bang!

    A blinding sh of mes erupted. Both sides took several steps back. Zu An noticed that his own mes couldn''t burn through the woman¡¯s vines anymore either.

    Is that fire bird the legendary vermilion bird? The vermilion bird and phoenix are both fire-type sacred birds. If she has the vermilion bird protecting her, trying to attack her with mes probably won¡¯t be so easy.

    But why would a glorious sacred vermilion bird protect a monster? Also, isn¡¯t she chanting daoist proverbs?

    The beautiful woman took to the air. Countless vines rose and attacked the two of them from different directions. Wherever they passed, the nearby chairs, tables, and even pirs ruptured.

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s body suddenly shone with brilliance. She formed a wall of light in front of herself and Zu An to block the vines. This was the light element¡¯s most powerful defensive skill: The Wall of Sighs!

    The beautiful woman was shocked. She hadn¡¯t expected herrge-scale attack to be blocked just like that. Her hands quickly formed seals again as she chanted, ¡°Face¡­¡±

    Unfortunately, Zu An had already begun moving. A resplendent streak of sword light shed past, forcefully cutting open a path through the endless vines. Then, under the woman¡¯s stunned gaze, he arrived in front of her. He grabbed her neck, stopping her from chanting any more proverbs.

    The woman still wanted to retaliate, but she suddenly felt a wave of power seal her major acupoints. Strangely, there also seemed to be some kind of suction forceing from Zu An¡¯s palm. It was like a ck hole, ready to suck away all of the blood essence within her at a moment¡¯s notice. Thus, she no longer dared to do anything. The vines that had previously filled the room shrank back, disappearing without a trace.

    ¡°What kind of monster are you?¡± she eximed in horror. Wasn¡¯t this guy¡¯s cultivation a bit too frightening? That wasn¡¯t all; he even seemed to be capable of sucking her dry at any time.

    ¡°I¡¯m human, of course,¡± Zu An said, giving Wei Suo a look. He barked, ¡°Get rid of the skill you used on him!¡±

    Wei Suo was practically about to cry.Boss is still the best!At the same time, he was also surprised by Zu An¡¯s cultivation. It was actually higher than he had imagined!

    And yet, the beautiful woman only said indifferently, ¡°I, Jing Teng, have never listened to threats.¡±

    Zu An frowned and reflexively tightened his grip. He thought,This woman is named Jing Teng? What a strange name.[1]</a>

    The beautiful woman groaned, a look of pain appearing between her brows. However, she remained stubborn, without any intent of bowing down.

    Zu An asked seriously, ¡°Do you really think I won¡¯t kill you?¡±

    The beautiful woman said calmly, ¡°This is a world where the strong prey on the weak, anyway. Since I lost to you, I¡¯ll ept my fate. However, you can forget about me begging for mercy!¡±

    When he sensed the resolve in her voice, Zu An was briefly troubled. If he killed her, Wei Suo would also die with her.

    Qiu Honglei smiled and asked, ¡°Ah Zu, why don¡¯t you leave her to me? Our Holy Sect is a bit better in matters of interrogation.¡±

    The beautiful woman gave her a calm look, saying, ¡°Your human race¡¯s torture methods aren¡¯t very useful against me. Even if I die, I won¡¯t even make a single frown.¡±

    Qiu Honglei walked up to her side, gently tracing a slender finger across her perfect face. She said with a smile, ¡°You¡¯re such a pretty woman. Sometimes, dying isn¡¯t the scariest thing.¡±

    The beautiful woman¡¯s expression changed. She eximed, ¡°What are you trying to say?!¡±

    Qiu Honglei smiled in a bewitching manner, saying, ¡°As a woman, you naturally know what I mean.¡± Her gaze passed over Zu An, but then moved past him and focused on Wei Suo. She asked, ¡°Brother Wei, didn¡¯t you want to experience romance with a female ghost? This woman is all yours.¡±

    Wei Suo had been brought to the brink of death because of this woman, so when he heard that, his eyes immediately lit up. He replied, ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°Of course. If thisdy doesn¡¯t undo the witchcraft on your body, that means she¡¯s really looking forward to being with you,¡± Qiu Honglei replied.

    To their surprise, however, the beautiful woman sighed in relief and said, ¡°He¡¯s currently being restrained by my vines. Even if he has the heart, he doesn¡¯t have the strength.¡±

    Wei Suo¡¯s face immediately fell. This was just too big of a blow to his self-esteem.Sigh, it¡¯s such a great opportunity¡­

    Qiu Honglei was stunned. The situation was a bit troublesome. She thus pushed Zu An forward and said, ¡°Then we might as well let you go.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.Why am I getting shot even when lying down?

    A faint smile appeared on the beautiful woman¡¯s lips as she said, ¡°He¡¯s your man. Would you be willing?¡±

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s expression remained natural as she replied, ¡°It¡¯s normal for a man to have three wives and four concubines. Furthermore, he¡¯s even doing this to save a brother, so what¡¯s the big deal with a bit of a sacrifice?¡±

    Zu An wasbewildered.

    Tears almost poured out of Wei Suo¡¯s eyes.If you had to do something like that to save a brother, I¡¯d do it every damn day!

    The beautiful woman frowned. Sure enough, her expression changed a bit, but she quickly calmed down and said, ¡°He¡¯s pretty handsome, so I¡¯m not really losing out.¡±

    Now, it was Qiu Honglei¡¯s turn to be bewildered. She became upset and snapped, ¡°A monster is a monster! What a shameless woman. We should just kill her and be done with it!¡± She took out her sinister dual des and prepared to attack the woman.

    ¡°Please have mercy!¡± someone suddenly cried out in rm. It turned out to be the female ghost Little Ying, who ran inside while holding the hem of her dress.

    She had previously run away because she was scared of Grandmother, but then she became worried about the handsome young master and secretly snuck back in. Who could have thought that the invincible Grandmother would be restrained?!

    Zu An was a bit surprised. He asked, ¡°Are you pleading for her life? Aren¡¯t you scared of her?¡± Because of ¡®A Chinese Love Story¡¯, he reflexively thought that this Grandmother was oppressing such unfortunate female ghosts.

    ¡°Grandmother is really fierce and I¡¯m scared of her, but she actually treats us really well,¡± Little Ying said timidly.

    Zu An and Qiu Honglei exchanged a look. They hadn¡¯t expected things to develop like this!

    When she saw that they didn¡¯t believe her, Little Ying quickly said, ¡°It¡¯s because of Grandmother¡¯s protection that I wasn¡¯t captured by the Ghost King¡¯s subordinates. Grandmother strictly ordered us not to harm others over the years and only allowed us to suck out yang energy from some greedy and perverted garbage men. We never threatened their lives! They were all able to recover after resting for a while.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s nonsense!¡± Qiu Honglei snapped, her expression cold. She continued, ¡°I clearly heard that many people were found dead in Ruo Lan Temple. Do you think we didn¡¯t know about that?¡±

    Wei Suo nodded. He had epted the vigers¡¯ task and came here to deal with the ghost rumors precisely because he and the female ghosts could have a lover¡¯s rendezvous¡­ ahem, precisely because he could get rid of the vige¡¯s problem!

    Little Ying quickly exined, ¡°We really didn¡¯t harm anyone! Those were all people killed by some bad people, and they were thrown near Ruo Lan Temple to frame us!¡±

    Zu An and the others were stunned. They hadn¡¯t expected things to be like this.

    ¡°Little Ying, there¡¯s no need for you to exin these things to them!¡± the beautiful woman snapped, feeling a bit irritated. She clearly felt disdain toward such pleas for mercy.

    ¡°But that Great Sister of yours seemed to have sucked out blood essence more than a few times,¡± Zu An said coldly. That thing had clearly had a malicious look on her face. She had quite a bit of blood on her hands.

    Little Ying said weakly, ¡°Sometimes, Great Sister indeed couldn¡¯t hold herself back and secretly sucked some people dry. But due to her misgivings toward Grandmother, she didn¡¯t do it that much.¡±

    The beautiful woman¡¯s eyes widened as she eximed, ¡°There was something like that? Why didn¡¯t you ever tell me before?!¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Little Ying shivered. Grandmother¡¯s umted prestige clearly had quite an effect on her. She said, ¡°Because Great Sister and Grandmother are of the same race, so I didn¡¯t dare to mention it.¡±

    ¡°The same race?¡± the woman replied, her expression cold. ¡°I merely taught her a few things out of pity back then. How could she and I be considered of the same race? If I had known she was so vicious, I would have killed her long ago!¡±

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°In that case, then, there should be no grudge between us any longer. As a favor for Little Ying, I can let you go, and you can save my friend. What do you think?¡±

    The beautiful woman hesitated for a moment, but then she nodded and said, ¡°Fine!¡±

    ¡°To show my sincerity, I¡¯ll let you go first,¡± Zu An said, opening his hand and taking a few steps back. Qiu Honglei was a bit worried, but Zu An gave her a reassuring look. It wouldn¡¯t be hard for him to restrain her again at all.

    A look of surprise appeared on the beautiful woman¡¯s face. Then, she reached her hand toward Wei Suo, and countless green lights flew out of his body. Afterward, the tree buds and flowers all vanished. Wei Suo rubbed his entire body. He was so happy that he began tough in a silly manner.

    The beautiful woman turned around and began to walk away, saying, ¡°Little Ying, we¡¯re leaving!¡±

    ¡°Please wait!¡± Zu An called after her.

    The beautiful woman suddenly turned around and said, ¡°Humans can¡¯t be trusted after all!¡±

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°Thedy has too many misgivings. We aren¡¯t thinking of troubling you. We only wish to ask you some questions. Have you met any of these women¡­¡± He then described Yan Xuehen, Yun Jianyue, and Xie Daoyun¡¯s appearances to her.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to be such a romantic,¡± the beautiful woman said with a sneer. ¡°I haven¡¯t.¡±

    Based on their previous interaction, it didn¡¯t seem as if someone with her personality would tell lies. Zu An was disappointed, but he continued, ¡°Right, what¡¯s the deal with that Ghost King you mentioned?¡±

 Chapter 1749: A Deal

    <h4>Chapter 1749: A Deal</h4>

    When she heard the words ¡®Ghost King¡¯, Little Ying clearly shivered. The cool and elegant Grandmother¡¯s expression also became grave.

    ¡°The Ghost King is the ruler of all ghosts. All those who haven¡¯t passed on to the yellow springs and yet remain in this world obey his orders. He has iparably powerful strength, and no one dares to defy him,¡± Grandmother exined. After a pause, she looked at Zu An and said, ¡°Your cultivation is very high, but you¡¯re still far from the Ghost King¡¯s match.¡±

    Qiu Honglei looked at Zu An, a hint of worry in her eyes. Wasn¡¯t this world a bit too dangerous if there was someone so powerful?

    Zu An remained calm. He had already experienced countless chaotic situations and wasn¡¯t scared of some Ghost King. He asked, ¡°Are there many ghosts in this world?¡±

    The beauty paused for a moment, then said, ¡°There are constant wars here, and the people of the world have be ignorant and cruel. That¡¯s why demons and ghosts roam freely.¡±

    Qiu Honglei couldn''t help but look at her curiously, asking, ¡°Are you also a ghost?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a fiend, not a ghost!¡± the beauty snapped impatiently. Qiu Honglei had just been too vicious with her methods earlier, so she didn¡¯t have a good impression of her at all.

    ¡°What¡¯s the difference between fiends and ghosts?¡± Wei Suo asked while reflexively rubbing his skin.

    ¡°Are you guys done yet? Are you curious babies or something?¡± the beauty asked in irritation, but she still replied, ¡°Fiends are born from the essence of the world. All things in the world can be fiends, but it isn¡¯t so easy to be a fiend. On the other hand, there are some fiends that are more sinister and can¡¯t absorb the world¡¯s essence for their cultivation, so they decide to suck out people¡¯s blood essence instead. Their cultivations often rise quickly, but they¡¯re usually filled with killing intent. They all end up as nothing more than murderous beasts.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s group couldn''t help but give her an extra look. This woman¡¯s temperament was graceful and refined, and there was a refreshing fragranceing from her. She clearly wasn¡¯t the type who absorbed blood essence.

    Zu An wondered if such fiends were the result of flowers, nts, birds, and beasts developing intelligence. They didn¡¯t seem to be the same as the Fiend races of the outside world.

    The beautiful woman continued, ¡°As for ghosts, normally, theye into existence after people perish while retaining a strong lingering will. Normally, once they perish, people first enter the yellow springs, then enter the cycle of reincarnation. However, there are some who die unnatural deaths, or perhaps have too many cherished desires when they die. Their powerful will allows them to remain in this world. Among those wills, resentment is the most powerful. That¡¯s why most ghosts are resentful souls or malicious spirits that instinctively harm others.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s group was shocked as they listened. They all looked at Little Ying, whose face reddened from their stares. She instinctively hid behind the beautiful woman.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The beauty harrumphed and exined, ¡°She¡¯s one of the rare kind-hearted ghosts. She isn¡¯t a malicious spirit.¡±

    Zu An asked curiously, ¡°Little Ying, what kind of lingering will do you have?¡±

    ording to what they were saying, one had to have a very powerful lingering will in order to be a ghost.

    Little Ying¡¯s face reddened. She replied, ¡°I wanted to go back home and see my parents onest time.¡±

    The beautiful woman added, ¡°She was always filial to her parents, but because of an unfortunate event, she died in a foreignnd¡­¡± Then, she gave a rough ount of Little Ying¡¯s history.

    Zu An¡¯s group was filled with sympathy as they listened. They hadn¡¯t expected her to be so pitiful.

    Qiu Honglei asked curiously, ¡°Then why didn¡¯t you go back home? Could it be that you¡¯re trapped here?¡±

    The beautiful woman raised a brow, sensing that Qiu Honglei was implying something, but she didn¡¯t say anything.

    Little Ying hurriedly waved her hands and said, ¡°Actually, Grandmother has been protecting me. This world is full of monsters and evil spirits who swallow up others to make themselves stronger. I¡¯m so weak that I¡¯ll definitely be eaten if I leave her protection.¡±

    ¡°Then, since you¡¯re so nice to her, why don¡¯t you see her off on this trip?¡± Qiu Honglei asked. Because of their earlier conflict, he felt an instinctive dislike for the gorgeous woman.

    ¡°That¡¯s because I can¡¯t leave this ce,¡± the beauty answered frankly.

    ¡°Why is that?¡± Zu An¡¯s group all asked in confusion. Even though they didn¡¯t know whether she was a tree fiend or a vine fiend, judging from the strength she had shown, there was no reason for her to be bound just because she was a nt.

    The beauty didn¡¯t reply; instead, she hesitated. Then, she looked at Zu An and said, ¡°Human, let¡¯s make a deal.¡±

    Qiu Honglei vigntly stood in front of Zu An and asked, ¡°Why would you make a deal with him alone and not with all of us?¡±

    The beauty said calmly, ¡°It¡¯s because I can¡¯t trust the rest of you. However, the character he disyed earlier made me feel that it might be worth the risk.¡±

    Zu An patted Qiu Honglei to reassure her, then asked, ¡°What kind of deal?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll help you find thosepanions you speak of, but you¡¯ll help me with something,¡± the beauty said, staring deeply at Zu An. For the first time, there was a hopeful look in her eyes.

    Zu An didn¡¯t agree immediately. Instead, he said skeptically, ¡°But you said you¡¯ve never seen mypanions. How will you find them?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a fiend who transformed from a green vine, so I¡¯m naturally close to all nt life. There are nts all over the world. I can ask for their help to search for yourpanions, which will definitely seed,¡± the beauty exined. She paused for a moment before adding, ¡°But I¡¯d need to pay a great price for that, so I need you to help me with something.¡±

    Zu An was moved. This world didn¡¯t seem to be that small. He wouldn¡¯t necessarily be able to find his friends that easily with his own two eyes. If something bad happened and one of them were forced to remain here forever, he would regret it for the rest of his life. Things seemed as if they would be much easier if he had the help of the vine fiend.

    As such, he asked, ¡°What kind of thing?¡±

    The beautiful woman slowly said, ¡°Because of an opportunity in the past, I was granted intelligence by another being. I was even given the name Jing Teng. I was naturally close to the human race¡­

    ¡°Then, I fell in love with a human man. Everything was perfect at first, butter, once he found out about my real identity as a fiend, he became scared of me and we became estranged. Eventually, he worked with my enemy to kill me on our wedding day.¡± When she reached that point in her exnation, her gaze turnedpletely cold.

    Zu An and the others exchanged a look. They hadn¡¯t expected her to have such a past, to have been betrayed by her lover. No wonder she didn¡¯t trust humans at all. Even Qiu Honglei felt sympathy for her. Her impression of the woman became a bit better.

    ¡°If you¡¯ve already died, what¡¯s going on right now?¡± Zu An asked curiously.

    The beauty replied, ¡°Even though I refused to believe that he had killed me, the one who granted me enlightenment in the past had told me I would experience a great tragedy. That¡¯s why I separated a seed from my body and buried it nearby just in case. Later, when my original body died, the seal on that seed was activated and I was reborn.¡±

    Zu An was quite shocked. This fiend really had some incredible methods. She could actually be reborn after dying!

    The beauty continued, ¡°Unfortunately, I lost most of my strength after I was reborn. I¡¯m now incredibly weak. Only by merging with my original body can I recover my peak strength.

    ¡°But I already told you that the people of this world are treacherous and monsters are everywhere. I can still protect myself by using some special restrictions I left behind in the past, but if I leave this ce, many monsters will want to devour me and take my power. That¡¯s why I never dared to leave this ce to search for my own body even after all these years.¡±

    She paused for a moment and continued to look at him, then said, ¡°So, I¡¯m asking you to help retrieve my original body. With your cultivation, I believe that as long as we remain careful, there¡¯s a chance of ensuring my safety.¡±

    Zu An remained silent for a bit. Then, he slowly said, ¡°You said earlier that you would use all of the nts in the world to help me find my friends. That¡¯s something you can probably only do with all of your original body¡¯s power, right?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± the beauty said with a nod. ¡°With my current strength, I¡¯m indeed incapable of that.¡±

    Qiu Honglei couldn''t help but say with a snort, ¡°What a n you have here. We want to find someone, and yet we have to help you with your goal first.¡±

    The beauty smiled and replied, ¡°Isn¡¯t this a win-win situation?¡±

    Zu An said with a serious expression, ¡°This isn¡¯t a fair deal. We still have other ways of finding our people and don¡¯t need to rely on you. However, you have to rely on us.¡±

    The beauty shook her head slightly and said, ¡°Perhaps you don¡¯t know this, but this world is far greater than you could imagine. It would be hard for you to find every single person even if you scoured the entire world. But as long as I recover my strength, I can definitely find them all.¡±

    ¡°Definitely?¡± Zu An repeated, stunned.

    ¡°Right, definitely!¡± the beauty replied. Her voice carried a mysterious confidence, and there was a profound meaning behind her expression. ¡°Furthermore, if you help me, you might very well receive unfathomable benefits.¡±

 Chapter 1750: Kill Them All

    <h4>Chapter 1750: Kill Them All</h4>

    Zu An remained silent for a long time, but then said with a nod, ¡°Okay. I can agree, but if I find my ownpanions along the way, I¡¯ll have to reconsider whether I still want to help you.¡±

    A hint of worry appeared on the beautiful woman¡¯s face, but in the end, she still nodded and said, ¡°Fine. Let¡¯s use a hand p as a vow!¡±

    She raised her fair white palm as she spoke. Zu An gently pped her hand with his. He thought,How is this vine monster¡¯s skin even softer than a human¡¯s? It really doesn¡¯t match that impression of Grandmother I had.

    The beautiful woman said, ¡°Since we¡¯re alreadypanions, then let¡¯s introduce each other once more. My name is Jing Teng. You haven¡¯t told me your names yet.¡±

    ¡°My name is Zu An, and she¡¯s Qiu Honglei,¡± Zu An said. He was about to introduce Wei Suo as well, but thetter quickly ran over while salivating.

    ¡°I¡¯m Wei Suo, and I¡¯m really happy to meet you! I didn¡¯t expect there to be such a beautiful Grandmother!¡± Wei Suo eximed, maintaining an obsequious smile while rubbing his hands together; he looked as wretched as could be.

    Jing Teng just ignored him and looked at Zu An instead, saying, ¡°Then, you should return with me. This ce is too shoddy. We can return to Little Ying¡¯s ash altar and leave when it¡¯s daytime again. This world is safer during the day.¡±

    After hearing her talk about how dangerous it was at night, Zu An wasn¡¯t all that interested in traveling through the night anymore. He said, ¡°Okay.¡±

    ¡­

    The group quickly entered a jungle. The trees were especially dense, with ayer of faint mist surrounding them. Not even divine sense could reach very far within. From time to time, they heard strange cries. The whole ce carried something of a cold and sinister air.

    The forest seemed to be a sort of maze in itself. Fortunately, with Jing Teng leading the way, many ces that seemed to be dead ends at first suddenly revealed new paths. Her figure was tall and slender, and the view of her back was elegant and wonderful. When she walked, her body swayed back and forth rhythmically, but it didn¡¯t seem flirtatious at all and only gave her an even more graceful aura.

    Wei Suo itched inwardly as he watched her. Earlier, if this woman hade to suck out his yang energy, he wouldn¡¯t even have resisted in the slightest! And yet it just had to be that damn Great Sister!

    Qiu Honglei secretly said, ¡°Be careful of any treachery.¡±

    Zu An nodded and increased his alertness. He said probingly, ¡°There seems to be a profound formation in ce here.¡± If Xie Daoyun or Yan Xuehen were present, perhaps he would have been able to recognize something. Unfortunately, even though he had dabbled in quite a few areas, he didn¡¯t know anything about formations.

    Jing Teng nodded slightly and said, ¡°That¡¯s right. It was arranged to stop those with evil thoughts.¡±

    Zu An was a bit surprised, asking, ¡°You¡¯re also good at formations?¡±

    This woman knew about the daoists¡¯ proverbs, and she was even proficient in formations. What next?

    Jing Teng turned around to give him a look. She raised a brow and asked, ¡°Who said a fiend couldn¡¯t know about these things?¡±

    ¡°I guess that¡¯s true,¡± Zu An said with a chuckle and didn¡¯t continue pressing her.

    ¡­

    Soon after, they arrived in front of a giant boulder covered inrge vines. Jing Teng didn¡¯t stop at all and walked directly toward it. The vines on the boulder shrank back to either side, revealing a spacious cave opening.

    Zu An and the others were amazed. This design really was intricate! If Jing Teng hadn¡¯t personally led the way, no outsiders would notice that there was a cave here at all.

    As the group followed her inside, the view suddenly opened up. The gloomy, cold, and treacherous atmosphere waspletely gone, reced with a feeling of exuberant life. Even the air seemed to be full of spiritual energy. One after another, they saw several refined gazebos that rested above the water. It was just like the waterwayndscape gardens of Zu An¡¯s previous world. It didn¡¯t feel as if they were inside a cave at all.

    Qiu Honglei couldn''t help but say, ¡°This doesn¡¯t seem like the cave from earlier. Where did you bring us?¡± She had left behind markings along the way, and yet as soon as she entered, she couldn''t sense the trail she had left outside at all.

    Jing Teng gave her a look and calmly said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. This is a hidden paradise I created myself. This is the ce I use to rest. There are no dangers.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He asked, ¡°You can create a space on your own?¡±

    ¡°Is there a problem?¡± Jing Teng replied with a grin, a proud look appearing on her face. She seemed quite fond of seeing his surprise.

    Zu An waspletely shocked. This woman was quite strong, but it was far from the level of establishing a world of her own, right? Even someone as powerful as Zhao Han wouldn¡¯t necessarily be able to create a world. The profound runemasters of the academy could only create some small storage sacks, and even those could only store some small dead things and couldn''t store a real person. Strictly speaking, this was already a whole pocket world, albeit rtively small in scale! Just what kind of cultivation realm had this woman reached before to allow her to forge such a ce?

    ¡°Stop believing her boasts,¡± Mi Li said in his mind. ¡°It¡¯s rumored that ancient immortals could create a paradise to aid in their cultivation, but this woman clearly doesn¡¯t have such skill. It¡¯s probably some immortal treasure she inadvertently stumbled upon, that contained this hidden paradise.¡±

    Zu An asked in surprise, ¡°There really are immortals?¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Mi Li said in annoyance, ¡°Didn¡¯t you already see them in the Fiend races¡¯ Xia secret dungeon? And yet you¡¯re still asking something like that.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but chuckle. That really was the case. When he was in the secret dungeon, it had felt a bit unreal, so he sometimes felt doubtful.

    ¡°Little Ying, bring them to the guest rooms,¡± Jing Teng said, pausing for a moment. ¡°I¡¯m going to get some rest. Don¡¯t disturb me if you don¡¯t need anything.¡± She drifted off after speaking. Every single movement she made Wei Suo¡¯s eyes almost pop out of their sockets.

    ¡°Understood!¡± Little Ying replied with a bow, then said to Zu An¡¯s group with a smile, ¡°Please follow me.¡± She first got Wei Suo settled, but then she turned to Zu An and Qiu Honglei and asked, ¡°Should I arrange for one room or two rooms?¡±

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s face reddened. She said, ¡°Two rooms are fine, but they have to be next to each other.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help butugh. This Qiu Honglei had been all flirtatious when she was a courtesan queen, and she even had the charm skills of the Devil Sect, and yet she was all embarrassed now.

    When she heard what Qiu Honglei said, Little Ying¡¯s eyes lit up. She had an even brighter smile on her face as she replied, ¡°Okay!¡±

    Qiu Honglei was quickly given a room, then Little Ying brought Zu An to the room next door. After sorting out everything for him, her face suddenly reddened. She said quietly, ¡°Young master, the night is long and you might be lonely alone. I can service the young master¡­ Don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t absorb your yang energy.¡±

    Zu An chuckled in embarrassment and said, ¡°There¡¯s no need. Thank you for your good intentions.¡±

    Little Ying bit her lip, tears welling up in her eyes. She said, ¡°The young master must think that I¡¯m a fickle woman. Actually, it¡¯s because the young master was willing to bring me to my hometown that I felt really grateful, so I wanted to repay the young master in any way possible.¡±

    Zu An quickly helped her to her feet and said, ¡°That isn¡¯t too difficult. Thedy doesn¡¯t need to go so far.¡±

    ¡°It might not be too difficult for the young master, but for me, it¡¯s a miracle that will change everything¡­¡± Little Ying said as she gave the next door a look. A bashful expression appeared on her face as she continued, ¡°Young master doesn¡¯t need to worry about your femalepanion. I can remainpletely quiet.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    ¡­

    After tossing and turning for a while longer, he finally managed to send her away after reasoning in every way possible. He sighed in relief. People all said that being a yboy was hard, but being a gentleman wasn¡¯t so easy either!

    Suddenly, the Tai¡¯e Sword appeared. With an audible vibration, a beautiful figure d in red appeared. She had beautiful eyes and red lips, glowing with high spirits. It was none other than Mi Li. She looked at Zu An with amusement and asked, ¡°Why did you turn her down? That female ghost is pretty cute. You¡¯ve yed with foxes and snakes or whatever, so your tastes are definitely out there. What¡¯s the big deal with messing with the dead too?¡±

    Zu An started sweating nervously, saying, ¡°I¡¯m not that kind of fickle person¡­¡±

    Mi Li harrumphed. ¡°When you¡¯re fickle, you aren¡¯t a person? Whatever. You¡¯re probably just too embarrassed because of your little girlfriend next door.¡±

    Zu An said impatiently, ¡°I actually feel even more embarrassed when you¡¯re always off to the side monitoring me.¡±

    Mi Li was stunned, but then she said with a smile, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve lived for so, so long already. Those romantic affairs are no different from the mating of pets. Why would it make me feel anything?¡±

    Zu An was speechless.Why are you randomly cursing people when we¡¯re just having a normal conversation?

    Mi Li stretchedzily, fully revealing every part of her wonderful figure. She said, ¡°I was getting bored from staying in the sword all day. I¡¯ll be taking the bed today. Just treat it as respect for your master.¡±

    Then, shey down straight on the bed with a pleased expression. This cave paradise was actually nourishing for her soul.

    Zu An was stunned, asking, ¡°Then where will I sleep?¡±

    ¡°You cane and sleep with me if you want¡­¡± Mi Li said, turning to one side while propping her head up with one hand. Even though she was smiling, the look in her eyes was full of danger.

    ¡°Forget it¡­¡± Zu An replied, thinking,This woman really has some weird tastes. What does she have to say these teasing things for?

    ¡°Master empress, you¡¯re wise and knowledgeable. What do you think about this world?¡± he eventually asked. He figured that since there was nothing to do anyway, he could at least consult her a bit.

    ¡°What is there to see? Isn¡¯t it just some ghosts?¡± Mi Li replied with a yawn. ¡°But that woman¡¯s proverbs seemed a bit interesting. They seem to contain countless permutations. Normally, they aren¡¯t things someone of her level should be able to grasp. That woman has many secrets about her.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what I thought too. There¡¯s also this hidden paradise,¡± Zu An said, then added bitterly, ¡°But she won¡¯t tell me even if I ask.¡±

    ¡°You aren¡¯t that close yet, so why would she tell you?¡± Mi Li replied with augh. ¡°That¡¯s why you should do your best to gain her trust as early as possible and obtain all of her secrets. You¡¯ll definitely gain a ton of benefits.¡±

    Zu An said in annoyance, ¡°She was already betrayed once before, so how could she so easily trust someone again?¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that your strong suit, though?¡± Mi Li replied curiously. ¡°She¡¯s a woman, and you¡¯ve always had skill against women. Just take her and subdue her!¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you a woman too? I haven¡¯t even subdued you yet,¡± Zu An said, rolling his eyes.

    Mi Li¡¯s expression turned cold and she retorted, ¡°Oh? You were actually having thoughts about your master? As expected, you were a disgrace to the ancestors.¡± Even though her voice was cold, she wasn¡¯t that angry. She clearly knew he was joking.

    ¡°Yes, yes, yes, I am a disgrace to the ancestors,¡± Zu An replied absent-mindedly. He recalled the excitement on her face and said, ¡°Master empress, why do I feel as if you care more about these things than even me?¡± He felt that was even starting to be a bit weird.

    ¡°But of course. I¡¯m so bored spending every day in this state. I need something for my amusement, right?¡± Mi Li replied matter-of-factly.

    Zu An was speechless.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in a dusky ce that didn¡¯t seem like either the mortal realm or the underworld, but rather somewhere in between the two¡­

    On a giant throne made of endless bones, there was a cloud of ck fog that changed endlessly. All manner of powerful ghosts kneeled down below it. A ghost said respectfully, ¡°Guide of the Yellow Springs greets the ruler of all ghosts respectfully. May I humbly ask why we have been summoned?¡±

    ¡°I sensed that woman¡¯s aura earlier. Seize her for me. Apart from her, everyone at her side is to be killed!¡± a malevolent voice replied from within the ck fog.

 Chapter 1751: Ghosts

    <h4>Chapter 1751: Ghosts</h4>

    The night passed just like that. The next morning, the group woke up and met again.

    When she saw them all staring at each other, Jing Teng felt a bit awkward. She said, ¡°We don¡¯t have any food for humans. You¡¯ll need to settle that on your own.¡±

    In such a ce, there were only fiends or ghosts, so there was indeed no food for humans. Technically, humans were their food.

    Wei Suo stared at Zu An. He only had some buns in his bag, and only boss had more food. Zu An didn¡¯t mind, however. He took out arge pile of exquisite refreshments and shared them with Qiu Honglei and Wei Suo. They had all been provided by the Righteous Sun Sect when he was on Violet Mountain.

    Zu An¡¯s status was special, so his food was on the same level as that of other sect masters. The Righteous Sun Sect really was arge sect. These refreshments had all been prepared in a delicate and delicious manner. Most importantly, the ingredients all consisted of the most precious spiritual herbs and other things that were really beneficial for cultivators.

    After Violet Mountain¡¯s great battle, Wang Wuxie was already dead. It was hard to say whether the Righteous Sun Sect even still existed.

    Zu An suddenly noticed Jing Teng¡¯s eyes darting in his direction from time to time. Her nose twitched a bit, and her mouth clenched from time to time too. He chuckled and asked, ¡°Do you want to try a bit?¡±

    Jing Teng¡¯s eyes lit up, but she still said calmly, ¡°We don¡¯t need human food. However, out of consideration for your generosity, I¡¯ll show you some courtesy.¡±

    She received the food, and immediately sensed the spiritual herbs within the pastries. She delicately ate one, and sure enough, a wonderful feeling began to spread throughout her mouth.

    ¡°Is it good?¡± Zu An asked with a smile.

    ¡°It¡¯s goo¡­¡± Jing Teng began. She had just opened her mouth when her face reddened and she said, ¡°I guess it¡¯s okay.¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Do you want some more?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not as if I need more.¡±

    ¡°Then forget it.¡±

    ¡°I guess it¡¯s alright for me to try a bit more.¡±

    ¡­

    Qiu Honglei tugged at Zu An¡¯s sleeves when there was some downtime. She asked him through a voice transmission, ¡°Ah Zu, you¡¯re interested in her, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°I just think she has a lot of secrets. Getting a bit closer might just be of use in the future.¡±

    He remembered what Mi Li had said the previous night. She had actually been wondering if a man¡¯s thing would get hurt from all the friction with a vine fiend.Tsk tsk, she really is a freakish old woman.

    When she heard what he said, Qiu Honglei had a big smile as she said, ¡°Then I¡¯ll help you with that!¡±

    Zu An was stunned.You can even help with this kind of thing?

    ¡­

    After they finished their breakfast, the group left the cave. With a wave of Jing Teng¡¯s hands, a mote of light appeared from inside the cave, and a jade pendant materialized.

    Zu An voiced his surprise. He released some energy to check the ce, but he discovered that there wasn¡¯t a trace of energy in the cave. It was actually the jade pendant that gave off a familiar feeling. Thus, he asked, ¡°This jade pendant is that hidden paradise fromst night?¡±

    Qiu Honglei and Wei Suo were both shocked. When had they ever seen such a thing?

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Jing Teng said. She had just enjoyed their food, so her mood was pretty good. She didn¡¯t mind answering some of his questions.

    Zu An asked curiously, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be really bad if this small thing ended up getting stolen?¡±

    Jing Teng gave him a look, then put it around her neck right in front of him. The pendant nestled in her chest as she said, ¡°I refuse to believe that there¡¯s anyone who can take it from me without me noticing.¡±

    The others were stunned.If you put it in that kind of ce, there really isn¡¯t a chance of anyone stealing it¡­

    Jing Teng said to Little Ying, ¡°We¡¯re heading out. The forest won¡¯t be able to cover all the sun, so you should stay inside for now.¡±

    ¡°Okay,¡± Little Ying said with a bow. ¡°I¡¯ll be troubling Grandmother.¡± Then, she bowed to Zu An and added, ¡°And the young master as well.¡±

    Afterward, she turned into a strand of smoke and disappeared into a porcin altar. It was clearly her ash altar. Jing Teng waved her sleeve, and the altar disappeared within.

    Zu An had a weird look on his face.This woman is just like a legendary immortal with every movement she makes. She doesn¡¯t seem like a fiend at all¡­

    Qiu Honglei asked just then, ¡°Miss Jing, earlier, you mentioned that the forest can¡¯t hide the sunlight. Do the ghosts of this world fear the sun too?¡±

    Jing Teng was a bit surprised. Why had this woman¡¯s tone suddenly be so nice? She hadn¡¯t wanted to pay Qiu Honglei any attention after the unpleasant interaction yesterday. But after thinking about it, she figured she could end up needing their help along the way, so she exined, ¡°That¡¯s right. The sun is the embodiment of extreme yang energy, which is the bane of many ghosts. However, there are some ghost creatures that are especially powerful and can resist the corrosion of the sun.¡±

    Zu An asked curiously, ¡°Then what¡¯s Little Ying¡¯s level among ghosts?¡±

    Jing Teng led them out of the forest while replying, ¡°Not that great. She¡¯s only a bit stronger than some wild lonely souls who haven¡¯tpletely gained intelligence yet.¡±

    Zu An secretly broke into some sweat for Little Ying. She really was pitifully weak. However, she was quite pretty. If one were to include some other skills, her strength wouldn¡¯t necessarily be that low¡­

    His face heated up and he quickly calmed himself down, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, miss. We won¡¯t be scared no matter how powerful the ghosts are. Honglei is a light element cultivator and is a natural enemy of these creatures. I also have some skills that are useful against evil spirits.¡± His Primordial Origin Sutra had purification properties. Previously, it had proven to be especially powerful against departed spirits.

    Qiu Honglei nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s right. Since ghosts fear the light, things will be much easier.¡±

    Wei Suo stuck out his chest and was about to state that he wasn¡¯t weak either, but after thinking for a long time, he couldn''te up with anything that was good against ghosts. He immediately deted like a balloon.

    Jing Teng frowned slightly and said, ¡°Please don¡¯t lower your guard. Ghosts aren¡¯t as easy to deal with as those low-level deathly spirits that can easily be kept in check. Ghosts often have some special skills that can ensnare you before you even realize it. You might not even have a chance to mount a counterattack.¡±

    Zu An asked in surprise, ¡°There¡¯s even such a thing?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Many ghosts have skills that are near-impossible to defend against,¡± Jing Teng said. Her expression became a bit grave as she continued, ¡°For example, they can pull you into an illusion that you can¡¯t free yourself from, or drive you crazy to the point that you massacre each other. They might be able to drag you into water, or even seal all your abilities¡­¡±

    Cold sweat poured out from Wei Suo¡¯s forehead.Just what the hell did I do to end up in this kind of ce¡­

    After giving them a bit of an exnation, Jing Teng continued and said, ¡°If you don¡¯t know how to deal with them, even if you manage to win, they might quickly resurrect again.¡±

    ¡°They can revive?¡± Zu An asked with a frown. ¡°Ghosts can still revive after they¡¯re killed?¡± He thought,That makes no sense! Then how do you even fight against them?

    Jing Teng exined, ¡°It can¡¯t actually be called true resurrection. Because ghosts tend to have undead characteristics, they reside in certain articles. As long as those articles aren¡¯t destroyed, they won¡¯t truly die. If you want to destroy them, you have to destroy the corresponding vessel.

    ¡°Many ghosts are attached to their bones from when they were still alive. You need to destroy their corpses topletely kill them. There are also some ghosts that reside in a certain possession of theirs from when they were still alive. In that case, you need to destroy the object. They aren¡¯t easy to find, though. That¡¯s why ghosts are really hard to defeat.

    ¡°That¡¯s especially true for some powerful ghosts who live in a series of rted objects. You have to find all of them and destroy them, or else they¡¯ll continue to revive again and again.¡±

    Wei Suo couldn''t help but ask, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me they aren¡¯t affected at all even if you kill them once? Like¡­ Do they at least be a bit weaker or something?¡±

    Jing Teng frowned slightly and said, ¡°There¡¯s almost no effect, but it will inflict pain on the ghost. They¡¯ll instinctively sense your power and might just choose not to provoke you anymore. However, the reason why many of them are ghosts is because they have powerful remaining grievances. That¡¯s why it¡¯s more likely that they won¡¯t give up until one of you ispletely dead.¡±

    ¡°Then how do you fight against them?¡± Zu An asked. Forget about Wei Suo, even his and Qiu Honglei¡¯s expressions changed. As long as they hid that article well, they werepletely unstoppable!

    Jing Teng said, ¡°Ghosts have a distinctive trait, which is that they can¡¯t go too far from their vessel, or else they might easily disappear. So, if you encounter a ghost, their vessel is definitely in the vicinity.¡±

    Zu An sighed in relief.That¡¯s more like it. How could the naturalws of the universe tolerate something so iprehensible?

    ¡°Also, there are some ghosts that are more powerful and can move with their vessels on them. They¡¯ve already be one with their vessels. As long as you¡¯re strong enough and defeat them properly, it¡¯ll actually be easier to kill them. However, ghosts who have managed to reach that level are often really difficult to win against in a frontal fight,¡± Jing Teng said.

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°Compared to those ghosts who hide their vessels who knows where, I¡¯m more interested in those powerful ghosts. I can just fight them with brute force.¡±

    Jing Teng wanted to advise him to be careful, but when she recalled her fight against him, she knew he had a reason to be confident. She decided not to say anything else.

    ¡°Is Little Ying¡¯s hometown also near the Zhi River?¡± Zu An asked, as well as asking about the direction of the river.[1]</a>

    ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s because of her hometown that I decided to save her,¡± Jing Teng replied while pointing out the direction.

    Zu An asked dejectedly, ¡°Won¡¯t this take way too long? We should just fly.¡±

    ¡°Donnn¡¯t!¡± Jing Teng cried, her expression changing. She was about to stop him, but Zu An quickly took out the Wind Fire Wheels and shot up into the sky.

    When he heard Jing Teng¡¯s shout, Zu An shivered inwardly. At the same time, he felt the previously calm air suddenly begin to stir. In that instant, it was as if endless sharp des of astral energy hacked at him.

    d2a16382b02cbcf17dac672f528e25efe4b418b274eca81c85a8b1a641a102e0fc18fc7ec631c666030d807ef94e7bcfb6a9a3605fa7118dac6ec780bbde7

 Chapter 1752: Bride

    Chapter 1752: Bride

    Zu An shivered. He quickly unleashed a streak of sword ki to scatter the astral winds. He sighed in relief, but his expression quickly changed. He noticed the air beginning to stir again, and the powerful astral winds gathered again and swept toward him. They were so fast that he didn¡¯t even have time to think too much. He immediately attacked again to smash them apart.

    However, he soon frowned because he discovered that the astral winds were now much stronger than the ones he had faced before. The air stirred again, and dark clouds began to gather above him, flickering with lightning. The air was filled with a harsh, murderous intent.

    ¡°Hurry ande down!¡± Jing Teng cried, sounding panicked.

    Filled with shock, Zu An rushed toward the ground. At first he was worried that the mysterious astral winds would follow him down, but the winds seemed to have lost their target and calmed down again. Meanwhile, the clouds that had begun to appear also gradually scattered, revealing the clear sky again.

    Zu An asked gravely, ¡°So there¡¯s a restriction on the skies?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Jing Teng said with a nod. ¡°A long, long time ago, when the road between heaven and man was severed, a restriction appeared in the sky. No one could enter the heavens anymore.¡±

    ¡°But I feel that even though the astral winds are strong, they¡¯re not impossible to deal with either¡­¡± Zu An muttered, wondering if he could have continued to climb with his strength.

    ¡°It¡¯s useless,¡± Jing Teng said, shaking her head. ¡°Didn¡¯t you feel the astral winds suddenly bing stronger?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Zu An replied. ¡°But there has to be a limit to that increase too, no?¡±

    ¡°There is no limit,¡± Jing Teng said, to the others¡¯ shock. She slowly continued, ¡°Over the years, there have been countless stunning cultivators who wanted to ascend and see what lies beyond. However, no matter how strong they were, they all failed in the end.

    ¡°Eventually, people finally realized that the astral winds scale proportionally to one¡¯s strength. The stronger you are, the more powerful they be. That means no one can ever break through the restriction.¡±

    Qiu Honglei said in surprise, ¡°It seems simr to somerge-scale formation.¡±

    ¡°Many from the older generation who are proficient in formations have researched it. There are no formations in the sky,¡± Jing Teng said, then paused for a moment before continuing, ¡°Rather, they seem to be natural dao principles.¡±

    Silence fell. If the restriction was rted to naturalw, it really wasn¡¯t something the power of man could go up against.

    Zu An said gravely, ¡°If we can¡¯t fly through the air, based on what you said, we¡¯re still far, far away from Zhi River. Just how many years will it take to get there?¡±

    Jing Teng remained silent for a moment. She said, ¡°I nned to buy some spiritual beasts in a nearby town to help us with our travels, but I just noticed that you have your¡­¡± She trailed off as her gaze moved to the zing wheels beneath Zu An¡¯s feet.

    ¡°Wind Fire Wheels,¡± Zu An finished.

    Jing Teng nodded and said, ¡°Those spiritual beasts aren¡¯t as fast as your Wind Fire Wheels. We should just use those.¡±

    Zu An asked in confusion, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say we couldn¡¯t fly?¡±

    Jing Teng pointed at the sky with her slender finger and said, ¡°You just can¡¯t pass a certain height. If you fly at a low altitude, it should be fine.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. Thinking back, that was indeed the case. However, while flying at a low altitude, the wind pressure would be a big problem, making it difficult for the Wind Fire Wheels to reach maximum speed. Of course, it would still be much faster than walking on foot.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll take you guys,¡± Zu An said. However, he was a bit troubled as he looked at the group. Qiu Honglei was one thing, as he could just hold her, but what about Jing Teng and Wei Suo? He couldn''t just carry the two of them, right?

    Jing Teng saw through his dilemma. She reached out a vine toward him, saying, ¡°You can just pull me behind you.¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Then what about me?¡± Wei Suo asked, stunned. ¡°I can¡¯t fly.¡±

    Jing Teng gave him a look. Suddenly, several vines wrapped around him and she said, ¡°As long as you¡¯re fast enough, you won¡¯t fall off.¡±

    Wei Suo was bewildered.

    In the end, Zu An carried Qiu Honglei while flying close to the ground. Meanwhile, Jing Teng followed calmly several meters behind him. Further behind was the incredibly pitiful Wei Suo, who was wrapped up like a dumpling.

    Qiu Honglei leaned into Zu An¡¯s arms with a red face. She was embarrassed, but that was outweighed by her bliss. Being so close to her lover made her suddenly feel as if this world¡¯s dangers weren¡¯t that big of a deal anymore.

    She looked down at the Wind Fire Wheels beneath her. She asked with a gaze full of surprise, ¡°The fire won¡¯t hurt us?¡±

    While embracing her slender and soft waist, Zu An said with a smile, ¡°It won¡¯t. The fire resonates with me and won¡¯t hurt you. You can just give it a try.¡±

    Qiu Honglei tried to reach out with her feet. Sure enough, she only felt warmth wrap around her feet, and the mes didn¡¯t burn her at all. Her eyes immediately lit up and she cried, ¡°You¡¯re right!¡±

    ¡­

    When she saw the two lovebirds chatting intimately, Jing Teng looked a bit absent-minded, as if she were recalling past events. However, her expression quickly became cold, as that hadn¡¯t been all that happy of an experience.

    The Wind Fire Wheels were considerably slower than usual while carrying four people. Between that and the low-altitude flight, they were far from their top speed. However, after rushing along for an entire day, they still traveled a thousand miles.

    They could have traveled even further, but they had to deal with all sorts of dangers along the way. There were some who tried to rob them, and others who lusted after Qiu Honglei and Jing Teng¡¯s beauty. There were demons that were greedy for their flesh. There were even some who were simply curious about Wei Suo, who was being dragged behind the group. However, with Zu An¡¯s profound cultivation and Qiu Honglei¡¯s assistance, there were no major problems.

    Qiu Honglei gradually became more and more excited. She really liked the feeling of fighting side by side with Zu An.

    Jing Teng was secretly shocked. They had encountered many opponents whose strength was on par with her own, and yet they were no match for a single sh from Zu An¡¯s sword. Just what kind of cultivation did this man have? He was so young, and yet he was actually so powerful!

    Most importantly, he¡¯s pretty handsome too¡­

    She quickly snapped out of her daze. She saw that it was already dark and said, ¡°We should find a ce to rest while it still hasn¡¯t bepletely dark. Let¡¯s rest nearby. It¡¯s really dangerous outside at night.¡±

    Zu An asked curiously, ¡°But we didn¡¯t really encounter anything that dangerous along the way, right?¡±

    ¡°More powerful beings roam around in the evening. They¡¯re many times stronger than the ones we encountered during the day,¡± Jing Teng replied.

    Even though Zu An wanted to finish the journey to the Zhi River as quickly as possible and find the other women, Jing Teng clearly wasn¡¯t saying that for no reason. Furthermore, Wei Suo¡¯s face was about to turnpletely ck, so Zu An decided to stop for the day, saying, ¡°Resting for the night sounds good.¡±

    ¡­

    As soon as theynded, Wei Suo ran to the corner and began to vomit. Qiu Honglei and Jing Teng both moved away in disgust.

    Zu An walked over and patted his back. He asked out of concern, ¡°Are you okay?¡±

    ¡°Motion sickness¡­ Ugh¡­¡± Wei Suo began, but before he could even finish his sentence, he vomited again.

    Zu An was speechless. Being dragged such a long distance really was difficult.

    Just then, Qiu Honglei pointed at a nearby courtyard and said, ¡°Hm? There seems to be a manor up ahead. They seem to be celebrating some happy asion.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t just a manor; it was closer to a fort. It had city walls, city defense crossbows, watchtowers, and other such things.

    This was a troubled world, so all those who had some strength all chose to create their own strongholds. Such a thing wasn¡¯t too strange a sight. On the contrary, it would have been far stranger to see an ordinary residence.

    ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± a group of men called out as they came over and surrounded Zu An¡¯s group, kicking up a spray of dust.

    Zu An saw that some of them dressed in armor, but not too many. They clearly weren¡¯t a proper army; rather, they seemed to be a peasant militia. He said, ¡°We¡¯re in a hurry to get to our destination. It¡¯s already dark, so we wanted to find a ce to stay.¡±

    The one in the lead was a tough-looking, dark-skinned man. He said, ¡°What a coincidence! We just happen to be holding a celebration. Why don¡¯t youe and grab a drink?¡±

    Someone quickly advised him, ¡°Brother Zhang, you have to be careful of a scheme!¡±

    Therge, dark-skinned man replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Judging from this little brother¡¯s mighty appearance, he doesn¡¯t seem to be a bad person. Besides, who brings two women with them to do bad things?¡± As for Wei Suo, he was just treated as an attendant and wasn¡¯t even worth mentioning.

    The man continued, ¡°The miss has always been kind, and today is her day of celebration. If she found out we had refused people and put them in danger, she would definitely me me.¡±

    When they heard his response, the others no longer said anything else.

    In response to the robust man¡¯s invitation, Zu An cupped his hands and said, ¡°Then we¡¯ll be troubling you for a bit!¡±

    Thus, the group was led into the manor by the men. They chatted with each other along the way, and Zu An learned that the man¡¯s name was Zhang Yong. He was the leader of the manor¡¯s guards. Meanwhile, today was the day of their young miss¡¯ wedding.

    Wei Suo couldn''t help but sigh. With such a huge manor, no wonder she hadn¡¯t married into another family, and they had taken in a son-inw instead. He thought, Why can¡¯t I enjoy any of these things¡­

    When he remembered how Brightmoon City¡¯s princess had taken in Zu An as a son-inw, and how he now had the goddess-like beauty, Qiu Honglei, at his side, Wei Suo felt more and more miserable.

    ¡­

    When they entered, they were suddenly stopped. An old man who seemed to be a bookkeeper gave them some cards, asking, ¡°Are you rted to the bride or the groom?¡±

    From the looks of it, they were expected to give a gift.

    Zhang Yong said in embarrassment, ¡°Uncle Wang, they¡¯re passing guests. I invited them just now.¡±

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°It¡¯s fine. We should offer a gift, at least.¡± He took out some gifts and handed them over.

    The bookkeeping elder immediately broke out into a big smile and said, ¡°Oh my, you¡¯re too kind. How can we take something like this¡­¡± Even though that was what he said, he quickly took the gifts.

    ¡°What should I call all of you?¡± he asked as he picked up a pen and began to write on the guest list. There were all sorts of other names too, as well as their gifts.

    Zhang Yong pped his head and cried, ¡°Look at my memory! I forgot to even ask for your names.¡±

    Zu An was about to reply when Jing Teng¡¯s voice suddenly said in his ear, ¡°Don¡¯t give them your real names.¡±

    Zu An was stunned, but he quickly understood and said calmly, ¡°I¡¯m Wu Yanzu.¡±

    Qiu Honglei was also sharp and quickly thought of as an alias, saying, ¡°I¡¯m Qiu Xiang.¡±

    Jing Teng said calmly, ¡°Jing Tian.¡±

    Wei Suo was stunned, but he wasn¡¯t stupid either. He quickly said, ¡°Wei Xiaobao.¡±

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, deep in the manor, a woman dressed in red bridal clothes and a veil slowly opened her eyes. She said to herself, ¡°Hm? They seem quite simr to the ones the Ghost King spoke of.¡±

 Chapter 1753: Performance

    Chapter 1753: Performance

    Zu An couldn''t help but give Jing Teng a look. He was a bit confused, but when he saw that she remainedpletely calm, he figured that it was just a coincidence.

    Jing Teng couldn''t help but ask, ¡°Why are you looking at me like that?¡±

    ¡°Why did you choose that name? Is that your original name?¡± Zu An asked. Had he ended up meeting an old friend in a foreign ce or something?

    ¡°When I had a good rtionship with that man, he called me Little Tiantian. Later, when he learned what I really was, he called me a vine monster,¡± Jing Teng said, her tone especially cold.[1]

    Qiu Honglei asked, ¡°If you¡¯re using a name with such significance, does it mean you still feel something for that person?¡±

    Jing Teng¡¯s expression was ice-cold as she replied, ¡°I just wanted to make sure I¡¯d never forget about that past betrayal.¡±

    The others were speechless.

    Zu An sighed inwardly in relief. It was just a coincidence after all. Then, he asked why they weren¡¯t supposed to give their real names.

    Jing Teng replied, ¡°There are many strange abilities that can be activated using someone¡¯s name. That¡¯s why you shouldn¡¯t give out your names in uncertain circumstances.¡±

    ¡°Thank goodness I had thedy¡¯s reminder,¡± Zu An said gratefully. If they hadn¡¯t had a ¡®native¡¯ here with them, they would really have bumped into a lot of trouble along the way.

    ¡°The young master is too polite,¡± Jing Teng said with a slight nod, her expression no longer as cold as before.

    Meanwhile, Wei Suo¡¯s eyes darted back and forth between the two of them. Then, he secretly gave Zu An a closer look. When he saw that Zu An remainedpletely calm, he couldn''t help but feel admiration again.

    Boss really is the boss. He has his girlfriend with him, and yet he can still flirt with other women. More importantly, his girlfriend seems to approve of it¡­ Why does no one like someone like me who¡¯s devoted and true? This makes no sense!

    ¡°I still need to continue patrolling and can¡¯t keep youpany. There are people in the manor who will guide you inside,¡± Zhang Yong said after cupping his hands.

    ¡°Thank you very much, Brother Zhang!¡± Zu An returned his greeting. Then, he watched as the guards disappeared into the distance. They had some cultivation, but it wasn¡¯t that high. Even Wei Suo would be able to crush them. It seemed as if this really was just a normal manor.

    Then, Uncle Wang personally brought them in. Zu An was a bit surprised, saying, ¡°There was no need to trouble your respected self.¡±

    Judging from his status, Uncle Wang seemed to be the butler of the ce. Wasn¡¯t he acting a bit too enthusiastic in personally guiding them? Could it be because of the gifts Zu An had just given?

    ¡°It¡¯s not any trouble, no trouble at all. Pretty much all the guests have already arrived, and there shouldn¡¯t be any more guests. I don¡¯t have anything better to do either,¡± the elder said with a smile as he began to walk forward.

    They couldn''t continue to reject him, so they followed behind him.

    ¡­

    The courtyard was decorated withnterns and banners hanging overhead, adorned with big ¡®double happiness¡¯ characters.

    Zu An noticed that Qiu Honglei kept staring at thenterns. He quietly asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t help but feel as if thesenterns are a bit strange,¡± Qiu Honglei pointed out. ¡°Thesenterns are so big, so this ce should be really bright. However, the light seems to have been sealed up by something. It isn¡¯ting out and can¡¯t illuminate the surroundings.¡±

    The entire group was stunned. Only now did they notice that thenterns were bright red, and yet the surroundings were still quite dark and weren¡¯t illuminated. Their cultivation was quite high, and they had already reached a point where they could see even in the dark. That was why they hadn¡¯t noticed at first. However, Qiu Honglei was a light element cultivator, so she was especially sensitive to such things.

    Wei Suo didn¡¯t seem to mind it and said, ¡°Maybe it¡¯s just because the vigers were trying to show off and set up all the lights, but they felt as if putting a huge candle inside each one would be a bit too much of a waste, so they used some smaller candles to achieve this effect.¡± He was still a bit upset at the old man asking for a bridal gift.

    Zu An said seriously, ¡°Everyone, remain vignt. Be careful.¡±

    Qiu Honglei smiled sweetly at the butler and asked, ¡°Uncle Wang, could you tell us the name of your young miss?¡±

    She was extremely beautiful to begin with, and as she used her charm skill, every frown and smile she made was full of endless allure. Even Jing Teng couldn''t help but give her an extra look.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Uncle Wang was stunned, but then he said kindly, ¡°Our young miss is surnamed Zhang. This is the Zhang n¡¯s manor. As for her distinguished name, only the master, madam, and some womenfolk in the inner courtyard know it. In truth, it is only because it is you that I am saying this. If someone else immediately asked for our young miss¡¯ name, this Old Wang would already have driven them out.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, This world is really on the more conservative side. Only the parents and future husband can know your name?

    ¡°I really am sorry. It seems I went too far,¡± Qiu Honglei said with a pitiful expression.

    Old Wang was now the one who felt awkward, and advised her to not worry too much. Qiu Honglei then took the chance to gather all sorts of information about the manor.

    They learned from the butler that Miss Zhang was a famous beauty in the area, who had attracted endless suitors. Even the city lord¡¯s young master had been infatuated with her and wanted to make her his wife.

    However, she had a childhood sweetheart, and the two ns were old friends. Tragically, something ended up happening to the man¡¯s n and he was the only one to survive. Despite that, Miss Zhang didn¡¯t mind at all and instead showed him her affection.

    The master and madam had been a bit unwilling, but when they saw how happy their daughter was, and remembered how he was the son of their old friends, they had agreed in the end. However, the condition was that he had to move in with them. The two ns were just too far apart, and they had once been beautiful childhood sweethearts, so the young man naturally didn¡¯t refuse.

    Today was the day of their marriage.

    Even Qiu Honglei was a bit affected by the festivities. She couldn''t help but grab Zu An¡¯s arm and fantasize about their wedding.

    Perhaps it was because of Qiu Honglei¡¯s charms, but even though strangers should have been seated in the most remote corner, they were brought to a table in front.

    ¡°You can just sit here. The wedding ceremony has not begun yet. Please enjoy the show to pass the time. I still have something else to take care of and will not be disturbing you,¡± Uncle Wang said, cupping his hands toward them with a big smile before leaving.

    Zu An and the others now noticed that there was a spacious stage in front of them. On it was a group of opera singers who were performing; the other tables all voiced their praise. The atmosphere was quite lively. Zu An and the others had hurried along all day, so they felt much more rxed now that they were able to sit down. Wei Suo had already begun grabbing the fruits and refreshments on the table.

    ¡°Are you that hungry?¡± Jing Teng asked, unable to help but give Wei Suo another look when she saw him gorge himself.

    ¡°We just gave a bridal gift, so of course we have to eat more to earn it back,¡± Wei Suo replied with a muffled voice. ¡°Besides, I threw up too much earlier, so I¡¯m really, really hungry.¡±

    Jing Teng and Qiu Honglei had been about to grab some refreshments, but suddenly pulled back their hands. They were clearly grossed out by him.

    ¡­

    Just then, a new opera show began, garnering attention from the preupied audience again. It was about the romance of a noble n¡¯s daughter and a sweetheart she loved. Jing Teng and Qiu Honglei had big smiles on their faces; they clearly enjoyed such love stories a lot.

    Next, the scene quickly changed. A wealthy young master favored the daughter and used all sorts of methods to pursue her. However, she waspletely devoted to her lover and didn¡¯t have any interest in the rich young master, who could only leave in disappointment.

    Then, love eventually found a way, and the woman got married to her sweetheart.

    Qiu Honglei sighed and said, ¡°I was just going to say that there had to be a happy ending. After all, this is a wedding ceremony!¡±

    Jing Teng nodded in agreement.

    However, their expressions quickly froze, because the story began moving in a strange direction. The rich young master also appeared in the celebration. After getting the groom drunk, he carried him to the inner room. Then, he took the chance to rape the bride.

    Forget about the two women, even Zu An was stupefied. Is this plot from some damned Japanese porno?

    The bride sobbed and sobbed. She tried to report what had happened to her parents and get revenge, but after the officials rushed over, they said that the groom had gotten drunk and came up with an evil n, suddenly going to his little aunt¡¯s bed.

    When he saw this scene, Zu An felt a sense of deja vu. Right after entering this world, he had also been framed for climbing into Huanzhao¡¯s bed.

    The show continued. The officials said that while the groom was carrying out the rape, the parents of the girl rushed over and berated him for his beastly behavior, but he had ended up killing them. Meanwhile, the daughter was already married to the man, so she was also taken prisoner. Thus, the two were sentenced and locked up.

    Qiu Honglei cried furiously ¡°This is nonsense! Just what kind of damned officials are these? They don¡¯t have any conscience!¡±

    Jing Teng was calmer inparison, saying, ¡°The officials of this world are all like this. You¡¯ll get used to it.¡±

    Zu An looked all around him. He saw that the others were watching with keen interest, as if they were obsessed. He was confused. Was such a show really appropriate for a wedding? The scene seemed a bit off.

    He got up to strike up a conversation with some guests at a nearby table. He wanted to obtain some information from them, but they all had strange smiles on their faces and didn¡¯t respond to him at all. They were fully focused on the stage.

    Zu An shivered. He returned to the table and quietly warned the group, ¡°Something isn¡¯t right!¡±

    Qiu Honglei and Jing Teng also nodded. They had also noticed that something was wrong.

    Wei Suo peeled peanuts and chomped on them while pointing at the stage and saying, ¡°You guys, look what¡¯s happening!¡±

    A new twist urred. An envoy of the imperial pce came to investigate this case, and restored the innocence of the two lovers. The rich young master, as well as the officials he had bribed, were all executed. Some were bisected at the waist, while others were beheaded. Some even suffered death from a thousand cuts.

    That wasn¡¯t the most important part, as it was all supposed to just be a show.

    But in Zu An and the others¡¯ eyes, the singers were being pushed into torture devices, after which des were brought down again and again, and blood sshed everywhere. Wasn¡¯t this a bit too lifelike?

    A head suddenly rolled over to them, its eyeballs bulging out. Bloody tears flowed out from its sockets. It wasn¡¯t a prop, but rather a real head!

    ¡°Stop!¡± Zu An roared. What the hell was wrong with this manor? Just who was using the performance tomit murder?

    Suddenly, Qiu Honglei cried out. Zu An quickly turned around and saw that their teacups had all be red with blood. The tes of fruits and food suddenly turned into maggots and rats.

    Wei Suo, who had been eating with great relish, immediately froze when he saw what was happening!

    1. Tian means ¡®sweet¡¯. ?

 Chapter 1754: What the Hell Is This?!

    Chapter 1754: What the Hell Is This?!

    Wei Suo stiffly looked down at the things in his hand. Peanuts? Like hell they were peanuts! They had been reced with chubby white maggots that squirmed in his hand, clearly still full of life. When he recalled how much he had eaten, he could no longer hold himself back.

    aaaaarg!

    He turned to one side and vomited. Compared to the vomit from motion sickness, it was many times worse.

    The others were all really happy that they had been grossed out earlier, and thus hadn¡¯t touched the food. They hadn¡¯t even drunk any of the water.

    Zu An couldn''t be bothered to console Wei Suo. He leaped onto the stage and grabbed the executioners. And yet, to his surprise, they exploded as soon as he grabbed them. Everything in front of him blurred. What y? They were nothing more than paper dolls with vivid and lifelike appearances. Their faces were thickly covered with drama makeup, which made them look especially terrifying.

    He shivered and quickly returned to the table, saying, ¡°Everyone, be careful!¡±

    Suddenly, he noticed that the guests who had been enjoying the y also turned into paper dolls. Furthermore, they seemed to have sensed his movement. They were no longer looking at the stage, instead turning their heads at freakish angles to look at Zu An¡¯s table. They stared at the group with empty ck eye sockets. The candles around them had also begun giving off a faint green light. Sinister winds blew past them, making the mes and shadows flicker erratically. The whole scene was really frightening.

    Qiu Honglei couldn''t help but cry out in rm. She instinctively moved closer to Zu An. Even though she was a cultivator with quite a high rank, she was still a woman. She had been watching the y with keen interest, but mere momentster, this scene unfolded. She really was frightened quite badly.

    It wasn¡¯t just her. Even Jing Teng¡¯s face turned a bit pale. However, she was a native of this world and quickly said, ¡°Be careful. We seem to have stepped into a haunted house!¡±

    Zu An was stunned. A haunted house? They had clearly been very careful on the way here and had constantly inspected their surroundings. They had sensed the aura of the living all around them! He looked outside, and saw that it was already dark. He thought to himself for a bit. It seemed as if everything looked normal during the day, but then these ghosts showed themselves once night descended.

    Everything was quiet around them, which made Wei Suo¡¯s vomiting sound even louder. The paper dolls all turned to look at Wei Suo, and a look of disdain actually appeared on their faces. It was as if absorbing his blood essence would dirty their mouths.

    Zu An roared angrily, ¡°This is nothing more than a ploy to scare us!¡±

    As he spoke, he brandished a me de. Phoenix mes surged all around him, erupting brilliantly with him at the center. mes were the bane of paper, so the dolls were almost instantly lit aze.

    Strange and ear-piercing sounds filled the air. Zu An felt everything in front of his eyes blur as the paper dolls disappeared. There was no more y and no more guests. Everything around thempletely disappeared. Even Qiu Honglei and the others vanished.

    Zu An was startled. He quickly looked around him and even spread his divine sense. He discovered that his surroundings were affected by a gray mist, so his divine sense could only reach out about a dozen meters away.

    ¡°Is it an illusion or¡­¡± Zu An muttered, before recalling what Jing Teng had shared about ghosts; then, he calmed down a bit.

    With Honglei¡¯s cultivation, she would be able to protect herself for some time. Even Wei Suo wasn¡¯t that weak, let alone the fact that the paper dolls had all looked at him with disgust. He was likely still okay. As for Jing Teng, she was a fiend to begin with, and had even had ghosts under her, so there was even less of a need to worry about her.

    As long as I can quickly break out¡­

    He looked all around him and saw that he was inside arge house. There were still brightnterns and banners all around him, but thergenterns were giving off a faint green light. The surroundings were hazy and full of an eerie sensation. From the looks of it, he was still in the Zhang n¡¯s manor.

    He thought to himself for a bit, then began to search the area. He decided to find the monster behind all of this; as long as he could deal with them, everything else would be easily resolved. He thought back to everything that had happened when he first entered the ce. Everything revolved around the wedding, so it went without saying who was behind it all. Thus, he didn¡¯t flee the manor, and instead went deeper in. The bride would naturally be in the inner courtyard.

    He had visited the human and Fiend races¡¯ imperial pces before. He had seen the residences of many high officials and nobles, so he was really familiar with such structures. Secret dungeons¡¯ architectural styles were virtually the same. Thus, he quickly chose a direction.

    As he went deeper, the surrounding fog became denser and denser, but Zu An remainedpletely calm. He waspletely immune to poison anyway, and the Primordial Origin Sutra had purification properties against evil spirits too. He naturally didn¡¯t fear the ghosts.

    Along the way, he encountered all sorts of twists and turns. The different courtyards were all quite refined and elegant. A small river wound around the different courtyards, and there were many delicate rock gardens and flowerbeds. Unfortunately, there were no flowers inside; instead, there were only some bare tree branches that looked strange and sinister. The rock gardens were covered in dust and spiderwebs, clearly having been abandoned for a long time. Judging from the stone and wooden sculptures¡¯ details on the memorial arches, it was easy to guess just how wealthy the Zhang n had been in the past.

    After walking for a while longer, Zu An stopped. He frowned slightly. He could sense that the scenery in front of him was a bit familiar. With his memory, he naturally recognized that it was where he had just passed.

    ¡°Ghost hitting a wall?¡± Zu An muttered, recalling what Jing Teng had said before.

    There were some ghosts that had some special abilities which, by borrowing a special illusion, could trap someone inside abyrinth forever. In order to break through such a skill, one had to either excel at ancient divination or have some navigation-type magic weapon¡­

    Of course, there was the crudest method, which was to wait until the sky brightened again. Once the sun came out, such things would naturally dissipate. However, once trapped in a ¡®ghost hitting a wall¡¯, the flow of time could be different. Those inside would likely lose their minds out of fear too, which would consume more and more strength; that would in turn easily lead to a copse of their very self. They wouldn¡¯t necessarily be able tost until the sun came out again.

    Zu An remembered that the sky had just darkened when they entered the manor. Now, Qiu Honglei and the others could be in danger, so he definitely didn¡¯t have time to wait until the sky brightened again. He took out the Tai¡¯e Sword and said, ¡°Master empress, I¡¯m not good at formations. Can you help me figure out how to get out of this ¡®ghost hitting a wall¡¯?¡±

    Mi Li didn¡¯t appear and just replied with a yawn, ¡°Do you really need to ask me for this sort of trivial thing? Doesn¡¯t your Primordial Origin Sutra have a way to deal with evil spirits?¡±

    Zu An said with a headache, ¡°But that ghost is still hidden. I have no target to aim at!¡±

    ¡°Why do you have to follow the path they gave you and be led by the nose? Can¡¯t you just use brute force?¡± Mi Li replied impatiently.

    Zu An was startled. He looked at the paths around the residences. He had ended up getting trapped by following those paths¡­

    ¡°Thank you, master empress,¡± he said.

    He walked up to a wall, then used his Primordial Origin ki to smash through it. Just like that, he passed straight through. Since he wasn¡¯t good at formations, he would just break through directly instead.

    ¡°Hmph, even the ignorant can be taught!¡± Mi Li muttered, then fell silent again.

    Zu An no longer followed the paths, and instead just went in the direction of the innermost courtyard with sheer strength. He created a perfectly straight line toward the residence. His Primordial Origin Sutra naturally countered sinister powers to begin with; thus, the walls that were destroyed couldn¡¯t be repaired, and he was able to sessfully reach that innermost house. He wondered whether any ghosts would attack him along the way, but for some reason, there wasn¡¯t a single ghost. There weren¡¯t even any of the paper dolls from earlier.

    The bride¡¯s room wasn¡¯t hard to find. It was naturally the one that was the most grand and beautifully decorated¡­ even though it was now surrounded by dim greennterns and seemed rather eerie. Thus, Zu An went straight over to it. When he arrived in front of the entrance, he suddenly sensed something. He noticed that there was someone inside. The door wasn¡¯tpletely closed, so he could see inside through the crack.

    Inside, there was a woman dressed in red wedding clothes who was grooming herself in front of a mirror. Judging from the sight of her back, she was clearly a very attractive woman. Furthermore, the way she wasbing her hair was also refined and elegant. It was easy to imagine that she was definitely the educated and well-bnced daughter of a distinguished household.

    Zu An suddenly remembered Paper Bride, whom he had met at Cloudcenter Commandery. He thought to himself that if she were here, she would definitely have quite a bit to talk about with this woman.

    While he sighed wistfully, the woman suddenly seemed to have reached an inconvenient area tob. As such, she just removed her head and put it on the table tob it carefully.

    Zu An was speechless. Even though it has already been many years since he transmigrated, he had lived as a normal person in his previous world for far too long. When he saw that, he couldn''t help but shiver all over.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    However, in that instant, he quickly adjusted his condition and broke in. He tried to grab the ghost, intending to detain her first so she wouldn¡¯t have any chance at retaliating.

    But who would have thought that when he arrived at the bride¡¯s side, the world would simply ripple like water before his eyes? Everything in front of him disappeared, reced with ady¡¯s chamber that carried a delicate fragrance and a cheerful atmosphere. Zu An saw that he was currently on arge bed. There were double happiness characters and red brocade everywhere, indicating that he was in someone¡¯s bridal room.

    Hearing a sob, Zu An looked down stiffly and saw that there was a tear-stained bride lying underneath him.

    Meanwhile, on a table nearby, there was a tied-up groom staring in their direction with a furious gaze, struggling as he muttered iprehensibly.

    Zu An was stunned. Just what the hell is this?!

 Chapter 1755: Back to the Start

    <h4>Chapter 1755: Back to the Start</h4>

    Mi Liughed loudly, saying, ¡°Tsk tsk tsk, who would have thought that you really would y around with the dead! Your tastes really are pretty extreme.¡±

    When Zu An thought about how he had mysteriously ended up having such intimate contact with the female ghost, he nearly exploded from anger.What the hell is going on?!

    He clearly knew he was in the ghost¡¯s illusion, but didn¡¯t it just feel way too real? He had ended up being too impatient to subdue the ghost, and rushed headlong into a mistake as a result. Meanwhile, the bride was covered in tears, looking at him with a hateful gaze.

    ¡°It seems this female ghost is actually quite pretty,¡± Mi Li said with a bit of surprise.

    Zu An thought to himself that previously, Zhang Yong had told them that their young miss was famous for her beauty for miles and miles¡­

    Uh¡­ That¡¯s not the most important part!

    He turned around and looked at the groom who was tied to the table. It almost seemed as if blood would spill out of his eyes, and that he even wanted to bite Zu An.

    Zu An silently observed his surroundings, but he didn¡¯t receive any Rage points. As expected, it was all fake. However, as soon as he thought of that, he received a string of Rage points.

    You have sessfully trolled Jing Teng for +444 +444 +444¡­

    He waspletely stunned. Why was Jing Teng upset at him?Could it be because I agreed to escort her, and yet she was separated from me and ended up in danger?

    He felt strange as he suddenly thought of something.Wait, this scene seems a bit familiar¡­

    He recalled the contents of the y they had watched. Could they have been the ghost¡¯s personal experiences?But isn¡¯t that ghost giving up a bit too much here, if she¡¯s going to personally y the part? Or could she be lusting after my body?n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    He looked at the mirror in the room and saw that he had already turned into an evil, tyrannical young master. Suddenly, a mor broke out outside. The door was quickly smashed open as people entered, and the ones in the lead were none other than the Zhang n¡¯s master and madam, as well as the guards led by Zhang Yong. They were holding weapons while glowering at him.

    ¡°You beast!¡± the master and madam cried as they rushed at him, seemingly intending to tear him apart with their own hands.

    Zu An quickly evaded. Such a situation really was frustrating. It clearly wasn¡¯t what they were thinking, and yet he couldn''t exin himself.

    Zhang Yong roared and cursed as he and the other guards surrounded Zu An. From the looks of things, they nned to kill him right here. Zu An continued to evade while thinking of how to deal with the current situation.

    Suddenly, a group of people rushed in. Their equipment was clearly superior, and their cultivation was higher than that of the guards. They quickly stopped the attack.

    One of them guarded Zu An while quickly gesturing as if to suggest silencing the opponents, saying, ¡°Young master, with how things are, we should strike first. Otherwise, if they report to the authorities, your life might be in danger too.¡±

    Zu An now understood what was going on. No wonder the tyrannical young master had decided to do what he did. So it was to silence everyone involved! If he acted ording to the script, he would be able to survive the trial and live in safety for many years.

    However, in the y, the young master had ended up being tortured to death! But if he didn¡¯t do what the young master had done before, judging from how things were about to develop, perhaps he would be tied up and executed by the authorities the next morning. Would it be better to drink the poison to quench his thirst, or to just let the drama y out? The ghost really was quite the schemer.

    Zu An said indifferently, ¡°But why do I have to choose one of these two?¡± He quickly used the Primordial Origin Sutra and began to chant, ¡°Dust to dust, dirt to dirt. What should not remain here must go¡­¡±

    Screams of misery and rm filled the air. Both the tyrant¡¯s personnel and the Zhang n¡¯s madam, master, and guards turned to dust, dissipating on the wind.

    However, Zu An was soon stunned because even though the groom had disappeared, the bride hadn¡¯t. Could it be that the ghost actually didn¡¯t care about the Primordial Origin Sutra?

    Zu An shivered. He thought about how Jing Teng had mentioned that these ghosts had all sorts of strange abilities, so he didn¡¯t dare to show any carelessness. He rushed directly at her to immediately take her down.

    However, the ghost seemed to have broken through some kind of restraint. She no longer looked weak and delicate, and she dashed backward. Then, her hair grew longer and longer, trying to surround him. If Zu An were to be wrapped in it, he would end up like prey caught in a spider¡¯s web. At that point, he would only be able to wait for her to suck out his blood essence. Thus, he immediately used the phoenix¡¯ mes to burn away the hair. Then, he took out the Tai¡¯e Sword. The ghost was too strange; he couldn''t give her any more opportunities.

    The ghost was clearly shocked. She flew into the air and quickly made a hand seal, chanting, ¡°The courageous join their men in battle¡­¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He suddenly realized something and called out, ¡°What you lookin¡¯ at?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m looking at you, shithead!¡± the ghost replied, leaving her stunned. She had just been about to finish chanting, so why had she suddenly responded to what he said? The skill she had been about to manifest was ruined.

    A sword filled with ancient power pressed against her neck. The terrifying pressure told her that if she did anything, she would immediately turn into ashes.

    However, Zu An didn¡¯t continue; instead, he called out, ¡°Jing Teng?¡±

    The ¡®ghost¡¯ was stunned. She hesitated for a moment before replying, ¡°Zu An?¡±

    As the two said each other¡¯s names, the surrounding air distorted, and each of them saw the other¡¯s true face. What female ghost? It was clearly just Jing Teng.

    ¡°It was you after all,¡± Zu An said, sighing in relief. He had already been a bit suspicious when he mysteriously received her Rage points. Later, when they fought against each other, he had felt as if her moves were really familiar.

    Jing Teng had also been confused as to why the ghost she was fighting had phoenix mes. However, she had gotten really worked up over it and didn¡¯t have time to think too deeply about it.

    Both of them now understood clearly that the ghost had used an illusion to make them fight against each other. They once again sighed in amazement at how treacherous she was.

    Zu An suddenly began, ¡°Just now¡­¡±

    Before he finished his sentence, Jing Teng interrupted him. ¡°It¡¯s just an illusion. Don¡¯t think too much about it.¡± For some reason, a blush appeared on her face. At the same time, she felt really ashamed and humiliated.

    You have sessfully trolled Jing Teng for +110 +110 +110¡­

    Zu An thought to himself,That female ghost really is something. She was actually able to make an illusion that looked so real!

    The Tai¡¯e Sword shook slightly. Mi Li¡¯s amusedughter filled Zu An¡¯s mind.

    Zu An was about to ask her something when he suddenly thought of something.Oh no! What about Honglei?He quickly looked around for Honglei, worried that she could have encountered danger.

    As soon as he took a few steps, however, he suddenly realized something and grabbed Jing Teng. Jing Teng pulled her hand back as if she had been shocked by electricity, eximing, ¡°Don¡¯t touch me!¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He exined, ¡°It¡¯s just because I¡¯m afraid that the same thing will happen again and we¡¯ll be separated by an illusion.¡± Previously, he had gotten separated from the others just by getting onto the stage. He didn¡¯t want to go through that again.

    Jing Teng frowned. She had really lost a lot this time because of that scheme. She also didn¡¯t want to go through that again. As such, a vine wrapped around Zu An¡¯s hand and she said, ¡°This should be good enough.¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t mind that either. He quickly looked around the manor with her. Fortunately, the purification skill¡¯s effects had spread, and the gray mist had be less dense. They found Qiu Honglei soon after. She was trapped in a room with thick yin energy all around her. They could sense that there seemed to be a hidden formation inside, causing the yin energy to gather densely. However, her entire body was shining, resisting the yin energy. From the looks of it, neither side could take out the other.

    Zu An immediately used the Primordial Origin Sutra to dispel the yin energy. When she saw Zu An, Qiu Honglei broke out into a huge smile and cried, ¡°Ah Zu!

    ¡°All of you suddenly disappeared. I looked everywhere for you, but I ended up being identally trapped here¡­¡± she continued, but midway through her sentence, she saw that Zu An and Jing Teng were linked by a vine. A strange expression appeared on her face as she asked, ¡°How did you two end up together?¡±

    ¡°Just now, we¡­¡± Zu An began when Jing Teng suddenly interrupted him with a light cough.

    Jing Teng said, ¡°I think we should go and look for that Wei person. His cultivation is the lowest, so he might be in danger.¡±

    Zu An nodded. He didn¡¯t have the luxury to talk anymore, so he quickly looked around the manor again. Eventually, he found Wei Suo in a small river that passed through the manor. He was shut in a narrow basket and entirely bound up in water nts. His stomach was round and bulging, and his eyes were wide open. He had an expression that seemed to convey unresolved grievances.

    Zu An¡¯s heart sank because Wei Suo wasn¡¯t breathing at all. He was dead. He had never expected his old friend to meet such an end. He fell silent.

    After a long time passed, he squatted down and gently closed Wei Suo¡¯s eyes, saying, ¡°I¡¯ll definitely get revenge for you!¡±

    Even though the ghost¡¯s story was pitiful, she was ruthless and cruel. She had to pay the price for this.

    Suddenly, the group heard intense coughing. Under their shocked expressions, Wei Suo sat back up and asked, ¡°What revenge?¡±

    ¡°Are you a human or a ghost?¡± Qiu Honglei called out, maintaining her guard.

    ¡°A human, of course,¡± Wei Suo said after vomiting up all of the water he had drunk. ¡°Thank goodness my Turtle Breath Technique fooled that ghost. Otherwise, I would have been dead for sure.¡±

    ¡°Just what is going on?¡± Zu An asked in confusion.

    Wei Suo exined what he had experienced previously. It turned out he had taken on the role of the drama¡¯s miserable groom. Then, everything had continued just as it was supposed to, and he was locked up. Fortunately, he had the Turtle Breath Technique, which saved his life.

    He couldn''t help but curse, ¡°Just what the hell did I do to deserve this? I had to watch as my wife was raped by another man! Ahhhh! I¡¯m going to end up with some serious trauma from this¡­¡±

    While he was stomping his foot in anger, Zu An and Jing Teng couldn''t help but exchange a look. Then, they both separated as if they had been zapped. Even though what they had experienced was a different setting, and Wei Suo wasn¡¯t the same groom, they still couldn''t help but feel a bit guilty.

    Zu An coughed lightly and said, ¡°Since the four of us have already reunited, let¡¯s not separate again. We¡¯ll attack the source of the problem and capture that ghost!¡±

    ¡°Good. I¡¯ve been messed with so badly that I have to see her pay a devastating price!¡± Jing Teng said through clenched teeth.

    When he saw the hatred in her expression, Wei Suo shivered.How could you have suffered more than me, though?

    ¡­

    While they were eager to take down their foe, suddenly, the light distorted all around them. When they woke up, they saw that they were sitting in front of the stage again, and a new y was about to begin.

    Everything had reset back to the start!

    d2a16382b02cbcf17dac672f528e25efe4b418b274eca81c85a8b1a641a102e0fc18fc7ec631c666030d807ef94e7bc943f32262b063eb7c61e779f78c3eb81a3ea7391dede123eaac7c06ea376ec

 Chapter 1756: Condition

    <h4>Chapter 1756: Condition</h4>

    ¡°Why are we back again?¡± Wei Suo cried, practically losing his mind out of fear. His stomach bulged. He hadn¡¯t even vomited up all of the water he had drunk before, and yet they had returned to the ce where the nightmare began. When he saw the fruits and pastries on the table and thought about how happily he had been eating them before, his stomach began to turn.

    Qiu Honglei and Jing Teng also recalled the earlier scene. They couldn''t help but stay a bit further away from the food on the table.

    Zu An felt thankful. In order to guard against unpredictable situations, he¡¯d had Jing Teng connect them all with her vines to prevent them from separating again.

    ¡°Just what is going on?¡± Qiu Honglei asked, looking worriedly at Zu An.

    Jing Teng¡¯s expression also changed a bit; she seemed to be thinking about something.

    ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, we weren¡¯t able to find the key to all this. That¡¯s why we¡¯ve returned again,¡± Zu An said.

    ¡°Then, if we can¡¯t solve this, won¡¯t that mean we¡¯ll be trapped in this loop forever?¡± Wei Suo cried out in rm.

    ¡°If we really have no solution, we can just wait until the sky brightens again. These ghosts will withdraw,¡± Qiu Honglei said, quickly realizing an important point.

    ¡°It¡¯s useless,¡± Jing Teng said, shaking her head. ¡°The ghost here is stronger than I imagined. We¡¯ve probably already fallen victim to her schemes. Time flows differently herepared to outside. Perhaps by the time the sunes out, we¡¯ll have already been defeated.¡± She paused for a moment before continuing, ¡°Besides, I suspect that even if the sunes out, it might not reach this ce.¡±

    The others followed her gaze. Only now did they notice that they couldn''t see the sky above. There were decoratednterns and colored banners everywhere, and furthermore, they were covered by some strange fog, which was why they hadn¡¯t noticed before.

    ¡°Do you think we might be underground or in some cave?¡± Zu An asked.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Jing Teng nodded and voiced her confirmation.

    ¡°Maybe we should let Little Ying out and have her converse with the ghosts,¡± Qiu Honglei suggested. Since they were all ghosts, perhaps they would have some sharednguage.

    Jing Teng shook her head and said, ¡°The world of ghosts only cares about thew of the jungle. Little Ying¡¯s cultivation is too low. If shees out, she¡¯ll be nothing more than food for those malicious spirits.¡±

    When she heard that that wouldn¡¯t work, Qiu Honglei suddenly said, ¡°In that case, we should just find that bride. All we have to do is beat her into submission.¡± She came from the Devil Sect, after all. After her initial rm, she quickly recovered her usual way of doing things.

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°That was exactly my intention.¡±

    Wei Suo pointed at the guests around them and asked, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we start with them?¡±

    Zu An shook his head and answered, ¡°They¡¯re just made from paper. Getting rid of them is meaningless.¡±

    Just then, high-pitched singing resounded from the stage. Zu An¡¯s group exchanged a look and secretly moved a bit farther away from the stage. The surrounding people were still staring at the stage, and seemed not to notice them at all. Their expressions were especially strange.

    As they moved, Zu An simply used the previous method to open up a path using his Primordial Origin Sutra. Soon, they had a clear route.

    Jing Teng was inwardly filled with admiration. Even though this method was crude, it was indeed effective. However, she suddenly remembered something and looked away from him.

    ¡­

    When he saw that they were about to reach the bride¡¯s room, Zu An said seriously, ¡°There is one issue. Right when I saw her and was about to attack her, that was when I was afflicted by her illusion¡­¡± He gave them a rough summary of what had happened before.

    Wei Suo immediately became discouraged. He eximed, ¡°Why were you able to be that evil tyrant while I could only be that poor groom? This isn¡¯t fair!¡±

    Meanwhile, Qiu Honglei perked up her ears and asked, ¡°You were with that ghost earlier?¡±

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t actually the ghost. It¡­¡± Zu An began to exin when Jing Teng interrupted him with a light cough.

    ¡°Judging from what you¡¯re saying, there¡¯s a good chance that there¡¯s a special formation inside that can drag you into an illusion. Don¡¯t rush straight in. I¡¯ll try to bring her out first,¡± Jing Teng said.

    ¡°Alright,¡± Zu An replied with a nod. They began to discuss their strategy and how they would act so that the ghost wouldn¡¯t be able to react in time. After all, the ghost¡¯s methods were too strange. If they allowed her to do what she wanted, she would be quite difficult to deal with.

    Soon after, the group arrived just outside the bride¡¯s room. The door was still half-open. A woman dressed in wedding clothes and wearing a veil had her back to the entrance. She wasbing her hair calmly in front of her table. However, when she removed her head tob it better, even though Zu An had already warned all of them, the others still couldn''t help but gasp.

    The ghost put her head back on, bending over as if to listen to something.

    Just then, Jing Teng made her move. Dozens of vines shot out and instantly wrapped around the ghost. She pulled fiercely, and the ghost screamed. Endless hair scattered in all directions, wrapping around the pirs of the room. Thus, she and Jing Teng ended up at a standstill.

    As her hair extended during the fight, her veil also fell off, revealing her real appearance! Herplexion was gray and ashen, and her eyes were almost all white with mung bean-sized ck specks for pupils. Her lips were shiny and ck. Because she was struggling, her expression was sinister and terrifying. She revealed her teeth, which were particrly sharp. Her saliva dropped onto the ground like ck ink.

    Wei Suo couldn''t help but swallow. Why was this different from the female ghost he had imagined?

    That ¡®A Chinese Ghost Story¡¯ is a scam! Just who the hell came up with such a ridiculous setting?

    As such, hepletely gave up on all thoughts of experiencing romance with a female ghost.

    ¡­

    The ghost suddenly reached out and groped around the dressing table. Her hand glowed green and resembled a dried branch; her fingernails were pitch-ck. They looked as if they could leave several bloody wounds if they scratched someone¡¯s body. She quickly found a pair of shears on the table and moved to cut the vines around her.

    Jing Teng¡¯s expression changed. Those scissors looked special; she felt a sense of danger before they even made contact.

    Suddenly, Zu An¡¯s palm released a suction force from a distance. A ck hole formed at the center of his palm, drawing the ghost in with iparable power. The ghost screamed miserably. She could no longer control her body and was sucked straight toward Zu An¡¯s hand.

    Qiu Honglei immediately used the Empress Lantern to keep her there. Wei Suo also used some special method, and two earthen hands grabbed the ghost¡¯s legs, locking her in ce.

    Zu An immediately used the Primordial Origin Sutra, chanting, ¡°Dust to dust, dirt to dirt. What shouldn¡¯t remain in this world should depart¡­¡±

    The ghost¡¯s expression was sinister as she let out a scream of pain, and she turned into dust, disappearing.

    ¡°It¡¯s finally over,¡± Wei Suo said, sighing in relief. Just now, the ghost¡¯s appearance had almost made him piss his pants.

    Qiu Honglei and Jing Teng both said at the same time, ¡°Something isn¡¯t right¡­¡±

    Suddenly, their view blurred. They saw that they were sitting in front of the stage again.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t we get rid of the bride? Why is this happening?¡± Qiu Honglei asked, her expression changing slightly.

    Jing Teng said seriously, ¡°I already told you that in order to eliminate some special ghosts, we have to either resolve their lingering will or destroy their vessel.¡±

    Zu An thought of something. In his world, the Primordial Origin Sutra¡¯s purifying ability could make evil spirits return to where they should go, but this world was a bit special. Once purified, they would simply return to their vessel and be revived.

    ¡°Just what is her vessel?¡± Wei Suo muttered.

    ¡°Those scissors!¡± Jing Teng said, remembering that the scissors had felt special to her.

    ¡°The red veil!¡± Qiu Honglei guessed. In her opinion, the most important thing to a bride would be her veil.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s thatb. She¡¯s alwaysbing her hair whenever I see her,¡± Zu An said with a chuckle. ¡°But it doesn¡¯t matter, because we¡¯ll just give them all a try.¡±

    When they saw his smile, the others suddenly felt as if the sinister atmosphere had be a bit less scary.

    ¡­

    Then, the group was about to move again when they felt a sinister wind. Many of thenterns nearby were blown out, and their surroundings went pitch-ck. On the stage, the surrounding ¡®guests¡¯ also disappeared. The once-lively ce became so quiet one could hear a pin drop. There was a sinister chill all around them, and it wasn¡¯t the same sort of cold an ice element cultivator could release. Rather, it made their scalps turn numb and their souls tremble.

    A woman dressed in red wedding clothes and a veil slowly walked closer. It was clearlypletely dark, and yet the red of her outfit was still just that striking. They didn¡¯t see her move her feet, and yet she was able to move quickly in the blink of an eye, as if she were continuously teleporting. As the ghost approached mysteriously, a sinister deathly aura spread out, filling every corner of the ce.

    Wei Suo¡¯s entire body started shaking, because he realized that he couldn''t move at all. The two women¡¯s expressions changed as well. The ghost seemed to have still been holding back quite a bit before. Previously, perhaps she had underestimated her opponent, so she was taken out in an instant before she could use all of her strength.

    Now, however, she definitely wouldn¡¯t make the same mistake. She stopped in a spot that wasn¡¯t too close to them, but not too far away either. Ghosts appeared all around them. They could vaguely make out the guards led by Zhang Yong slowly surrounding them.

    However, Zu An remainedpletely calm. Since the ghost hade on her own, that would save him quite a bit of time.

    To his surprise, however, the ghost suddenly raised her hand and pointed at Jing Teng. Her voice was as harsh as fingernails scraping a chalkboard as she said, ¡°Leave that woman here and I can let you all go.¡±

    Zu An and the others were shocked. They all turned to look at Jing Teng. They hadn¡¯t expected the ghost to make such a proposal.

    d2a16382b02cbcf17dac672f528e25efe4b418b274eca81c85a8b1a641a102e0fc18fc7ec631c666030d807ef94e7bc93c5c9a582dfe5a392a47c431d98109fd

 Chapter 1757: Solving the Riddle

    Chapter 1757: Solving the Riddle

    Jing Teng¡¯s expression grew cold. She was about to say something, but in the end, she didn¡¯t and continued to watch silently. She wanted to see what kind of reaction the others would have.

    Qiu Honglei looked at the ghost and asked, ¡°Why do you only want her?¡±

    When she heard that, Jing Teng¡¯s expression became even colder.

    ¡°That¡¯s not something you need to worry about,¡± the ghost said with an eerie tone. ¡°I¡¯ll let you all go if you leave her behind. Otherwise, all of you will be trapped here forever.¡±

    Qiu Honglei sighed and said, ¡°Even though your suggestion is quite enticing, abandoning arade isn¡¯t something we would do.¡±

    Jing Teng was stunned. At first, she had thought that their rtionship couldn¡¯t be that good because of their first meeting. She hadn¡¯t expected this woman to actually make such a choice.

    Zu An couldn''t help but nod in appreciation when he heard that.

    The ghost shrieked, ¡°You might not understand your current predicament, but you¡¯ve already been eternally bound here! Unless I agree to it, none of you will ever leave again!¡±

    ¡°Is that so? I refuse to believe you have such great power,¡± Zu An said with a sneer. He directly drew his de.

    The residence had been filled with ghostly energy, and endless gray fog had covered everything above them, so they hadn¡¯t been able to see the sky at all. It was impossible to see the stars in the sky. Now, however, it almost seemed as if the group could see a resplendent celestial stream that was dazzling and enchanting, yet full of danger.

    When met with such a sword, the ghosts that surrounded them turned into dust on the spot before they could even react.

    Jing Teng¡¯s expression changed slightly. Just how powerful was this sword? Most importantly, it seemed as if Zu An had just casually shed outward!

    And that sword seems to be¡­

    Zu An walked up to the ghost bride. He had left her alive on purpose. The ghost was restrained by his sword ki and couldn''t move an inch. He said calmly, ¡°Your experiences are really tragic, so I¡¯ll give you onest chance. If you let us leave, I will spare your life.¡±

    The ghost replied sinisterly, ¡°Do you think you can defeat me?¡± As soon as she said that, she exploded into smoke, clearly ending her own life. As long as the vessel wasn¡¯t destroyed, she would be reborn again.

    Zu An reacted quickly and took the red veil. Judging from the density of ghostly energy around her and her malicious appearance, just how many people had she harmed already? He no longer held back and used the Primordial Origin Sutra to st the veil to pieces.

    However, he looked up and saw that the surroundings hadn¡¯t changed. He said, ¡°It looks as if this wasn¡¯t her vessel.¡±

    As such, the group once again walked toward the rear residence, following the path to the bride¡¯s room. However, the ghost wasn¡¯t there; she had clearly been scared away. She knew she wasn¡¯t their match, and had decided to just hide instead. This was her home territory, after all. The house was extremelyrge, so if she really hid carefully, it would be nearly impossible to find her.

    Jing Teng extended her vines to remove theb and shears. However, she didn¡¯t look happy at all as she said, ¡°If she left these here, they¡¯re most likely not the vessel that holds her.¡±

    ¡°Could it be that she just died and needed a bit of time before resurrecting?¡± Qiu Honglei asked probingly.

    ¡°That is also a possibility,¡± Jing Teng said with a slight nod.

    The group quickly destroyed the two items. However, the surrounding ghostly energy was still incredibly dense; there weren¡¯t many changes. The ghost clearly hadn¡¯t been truly destroyed yet.

    Jing Teng looked in the bridal room¡¯s direction. She said gravely, ¡°Unfortunately, ording to what you said before, this room seems to contain a special formation. It isn¡¯t too easy to take anything from it.¡±

    This had been the bridal room of the ghost when she was alive. If she really had a vessel, it would probably be inside.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that simple enough? Since we can¡¯t go inside, we¡¯ll just destroy itpletely,¡± Zu An said, then took out the Tai¡¯e Sword. Resplendent sword radiance appeared before the others¡¯ eyes.

    A formation clearly flickered, but it was no match for the power of the sword. It waspletely destroyed after struggling for only a moment.

    When they saw the empty expanse before them, Wei Suo swallowed with difficulty. He remarked, ¡°Boss, isn¡¯t this sword of yours a bit too strong?¡±

    After the sword swept out, not even a hint of rubble had remained. Everything waspletely erased. The entire room had been wiped away, as if it had never existed before.

    However, Zu An said unhappily, ¡°But that ghost doesn¡¯t seem to have disappeared.¡± He sighed inwardly. No wonder Jing Teng had told him that the ghosts of this world were really hard to deal with.

    The group looked around and saw that they had returned to the area in front of the stage again. All of their expressions immediately became extremely unpleasant.

    Zu An said gravely, ¡°I feel as if we¡¯ve overlooked something somehow. I¡¯ve faced that ghost head-on. She shouldn¡¯t have such ridiculous powers.¡±

    They had already killed the ghost several times. Even though some of it was because his Primordial Origin Sutra had restricting effects on her, it was also because she wasn¡¯t all that strong herself. How could such a ghost have the ability to throw them into illusions like this?

    Zu An thought back to how they had been sent into the illusion as soon as he approached the ghost. That made no sense!

    ¡°Then it seems as if things might be different from how they seemed. We might have fallen for a certain technique used by that ghost,¡± Jing Teng said.

    ¡°Technique?¡± the others asked, puzzled.

    Jing Teng exined, ¡°Some special ghosts are capable of mystical techniques that far exceed the usual limits of their strength. However, these techniques¡¯ activation conditions are really strict and often need some tools or certain information about the targets to activate.¡±

    ¡°What special things did we do after entering this manor?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°Could it be because of the food I ate before¡­¡± Wei Suo began, but he suddenly remembered what those things really were. He ran to one side and began to throw up again.

    ¡°Could it be because we listened to that y?¡± Qiu Honglei suggested.

    ¡°There is a chance,¡± Jing Teng said with a nod. ¡°However, we destroyed that stage, and yet weren¡¯t able to break free of the technique.¡±

    Qiu Honglei frowned when she heard that. She continued to think about where the problem could lie.

    Zu An said, ¡°If there¡¯s anything unusual that we did, apart from watching the y, we did one other thing.¡±

    ¡°What did we do?¡± the others asked, perking up their ears.

    ¡°We gave a present!¡± Zu An replied. He didn¡¯t continue deeper into the inner rooms, and instead headed to the front gate.

    The others were startled. Right! When they hade in, the butler had told them to give a gift, then written down their names in the registry. If he were a human, such behavior would bepletely normal. But if there were only ghosts here, their actions were worth reconsidering.

    ¡°But we didn¡¯t use our real names,¡± Qiu Honglei said in confusion.

    Jing Teng said with a frown, ¡°But our fake names all had one character of our real names. That might be how they were able to seed.¡±

    Zu An was a bit embarrassed. It was all his fault foring up with a bad example, so everyone else had followed suit.

    Soon, they arrived at the entrance. The door was already tightly shut. The butler and some waiters were bringing away the gifts, clearly about to leave.

    ¡°Oh my, why did youe out? Could it be that you want to leave? It¡¯s quite dangerous outside at night, you know?¡± Uncle Wang asked, quickly inviting them over when he saw them.

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°We aren¡¯t leaving. It¡¯s just that we¡¯ve received such hospitality that we feel as if we gave too little even though so many of us are here, so we wanted to add some more.¡±

    ¡°Oh my, you¡¯re too polite! Since you¡¯re already our guests, why would you have to add more?¡± Uncle Wang quickly said.

    Zu An sneered inwardly. This guy was so greedy earlier, and yet now, he¡¯s refusing when we¡¯re giving more. There¡¯s definitely something strange here.

    As such, he didn¡¯t waste any time and reached out, instantly pulling the gift registry into his hand. He saw that their names were there as expected, but that it wasn¡¯t some normal paper; rather, it was a rather special object made of metal. It gave off an incredibly sinister aura.

    ¡°Give it to me!¡± Jing Teng said, her expression cold. She took the registry from his hand.

    Zu An looked at her in confusion. He didn¡¯t know what her intentions were.

    Jing Teng¡¯s hands quickly joined together and she chanted, ¡°The valiant join the formation for victory, begone!¡±

    A profound rune appeared in the air. Several golden dragons faintly materialized, then passed through the registry. The special material it was made of actually vanished in a puff of smoke!

    ¡°Nooo!¡± A miserable scream emerged from the darkness.

    The others looked at Jing Teng in surprise. They had even been able to sense her killing intent just then.

    ¡°That ghost made me suffer a huge loss. She¡¯s unforgivable!¡± Jing Teng hissed through clenched teeth.

    The others were confused. Only Zu An felt a chill around his neck.

    Countless translucent departed spirits dispersed from the manor. They were probably all people who had been trapped for a long time after identally giving a gift. The surroundings distorted as well. The group looked around them and saw that they were in a ruined building. What decoratednterns and festivities?

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t that ghoste out to stop us at the crucial moment?¡± Qiu Honglei asked in confusion.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°It¡¯s because he¡¯s too strong,¡± Jing Teng said, looking at Zu An. She recalled his heroic appearance when he had brandished his sword. ¡°That ghost fought against him several times and knew she wasn¡¯t his match, so she decided to feign confidence instead. She was betting that we wouldn''t notice that there was something wrong with the registry, but she lost.¡±

    ¡°So that was it,¡± Qiu Honglei said, although she still felt lingering fear. ¡°We definitely have to be careful in the future, or else we might not have such good fortune next time.¡±

    They had been able to find the vessel, but who could say for certain that they would be able to do it again next time? Such ghosts¡¯ abilities really were hard to defend against. Thus, the others nodded. Wei Suo secretly vowed that he definitely couldn''t randomly eat things again in the future!

    After all that had happened in the night, the sky was already starting to reveal the first glimmers of dawn. They decided not to rest and to just continue on.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in a certain king city to the north, a gorgeously-dressed prince hurriedly knocked on a door.

    A whileter, the door opened. A woman in blue walked out. She asked with an unhappy expression, ¡°Prince, why have youe looking for me so early in the morning?¡±

    Even though this wasn¡¯t their first meeting, a dazed expression still flickered through the prince¡¯s eyes when he saw her stunning beauty. He said, ¡°Miss Chu, we already have some clues regarding the people you have entrusted me to investigate.¡±

 Chapter 1758: Enlightenment

    Chapter 1758: Enlightenment

    ¡°I¡¯ll be troubling the Prince of zing Sun then,¡± the blue-d woman said, her cold expression finally revealing a trace of happiness. She asked, ¡°Where are they right now?¡±

    She was none other than Chu Chuyan. Previously, upon entering the daoist sects¡¯ secret dungeon, they had discovered that it waspletely different from the one recorded in their sect. They had taken far longer than expected toplete their given missions. Even so, they had gained great benefits. Eventually, they had gathered at the agreed-upon meeting ce, where they waited to leave.

    And yet, who would have thought that they actually couldn''t leave? They had tried to think of all sorts of methods, but nothing worked. Later, a streak of white light had flown across the horizon, and a terrifying ck hole appeared in the world, sucking them all in.

    When she woke up again, she found herself in this world; the others were already gone without a trace. Thus, she spent some time in search of herpanions. The others were one thing, but Pei Mianman was her good friend, and they had a certain awkward rtionship too. She naturally didn¡¯t want something to happen to Pei Mianman, or else she would have to exin things to Ah Zu. But then, she had discovered that this world was even more chaotic than she first imagined. Finding herpanions was like looking for a needle in a haystack!

    As time went on, she eventually passed through a valley and coincidentally ended up rescuing some people who were being attacked by bandits. The leader of that group was actually the Prince of zing Sun of the nearby country. Even though it was far from the Great Zhou Dynasty, it was still one of the most powerful countries in the vicinity.

    Meanwhile, the Prince of zing Sun was the one who had the highest chance of seeding the throne. The ¡®bandits¡¯ hadn¡¯t been random thugs, but rather his rival¡¯s elite deathsworn soldiers. When she came to his aid, the Prince of zing Sun had thought that Chu Chuyan was a goddess from the heavens. He wanted to repay her kindness, so he invited her back to the capital out of gratitude.

    Chu Chuyan had initially nned to reject him, but she reconsidered after realizing that she didn¡¯t know much about this world at all. If she had the help of a country, it would be much easier to find herpanions. As such, she agreed.

    However, the prince¡¯s fawning since then had irritated her beyond belief. Furthermore, he had never provided any useful information, so she had already decided she would leave today.

    ¡°I have not been able to find out the location of thedy¡¯spanions yet,¡± the Prince of zing Sun said. When he saw her expression be ice-cold, however, he quickly addedd, ¡°But something major happened recently! A great tomb appeared by the Zhi River, and it is rumored to be the ce where Immortal Ruler Baopu ascended to immortality. There are countless treasures stored there, and even his Baopuzi, which contains all of his knowledge, is highly likely to be there. It might contain an opportunity for immortal ascension!¡±

    ¡°Immortal ascension¡­¡± Chu Chuyan muttered, but refrained frommenting further. In her previous world, countless people had wanted to achieve immortal ascension, and yet in the end, all of their hopes and efforts amounted to nothing. She asked, ¡°Does this have anything to do with mypanions?¡±

    The Prince of zing Sun quickly replied, ¡°Of course it does! All sorts of powerful individuals are heading to the Zhi River to find a way into that great tomb and search for the immortal opportunity. Thedy¡¯spanions are all strong individuals too, so they will definitely be interested too. Rather than fishing a needle out of the sea, it might be better to just go to the Zhi River. I believe you will be able to reunite with them there.¡±

    Chu Chuyan nodded inwardly when she heard that and said, ¡°Thank you for the information, young master. I¡¯ll immediately set out for the Zhi River.¡±

    The Prince of zing Sun said with a smile, ¡°There is no need for thedy to worry. I have already arranged for everything. I will apany thedy to the Zhi River!¡±

    Chu Chuyan shook her head and said, ¡°Thank you for your good intentions, prince, but I¡¯ve already troubled you a great deal as ofte. I don¡¯t wish to dy your important matters any further. Also, I¡¯ve gotten used to traveling alone and am not used to being with others.¡± Even though her voice was gentle, her rejection was firm.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The Prince of zing Sun was stunned. He forced a smile and said, ¡°In that case, I will not disturb Miss Chu anymore. I wish you a sessful journey.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, young master,¡± Chu Chuyan said. She nodded slightly, then she quickly left. She had been nning to leave today anyway, and she didn¡¯t have any luggage to speak of.

    ¡­

    As the Prince of zing Sun watched her leave, the brilliant smile that had just been on his face disappeared without a trace.

    His servant off to the side said angrily, ¡°That woman is simply shameless! Prince, which woman can¡¯t your respected self obtain? And yet, even though you cared so much for her, she actually ended up putting on such a pretense!¡±

    p!

    What he got in response was a bright red handprint on his face.

    The Prince of zing Sun said coldly, ¡°Either give me some constructive criticism, or refrain from speaking such brainless nonsense.¡±

    The servant immediately became a yes-man and didn¡¯t dare to say anything else.

    On the other hand, when another servant saw that, he smiled delightedly and said, ¡°Prince, actually, it¡¯s not that hard to move a woman¡¯s heart. This Miss Chu is different from the respected prince¡¯s other women. She¡¯s quite powerful herself and doesn¡¯t need to rely on anyone else, so the prince¡¯s earlier methods weren¡¯t useful.¡±

    The Prince of zing Sun nodded in deep sympathy and said, ¡°Continue.¡±

    His second subordinate looked at the other dumbstruck servant and said, ¡°That¡¯s why we need to crush her pride and the source of her confidence first.¡±

    ¡°So you are saying¡­¡± the Prince of zing Sun began, his eyes lighting up. However, he shook his head again soon after and continued, ¡°Miss Chu¡¯s cultivation is extremely high. It will not be that easy to deal with her. We must use our city¡¯s strongest experts. However, if we are exposed, it will easily result in the situation turning on us instead.¡±

    The servant¡¯s eyes widened. He thought, Isn¡¯t it enough as long as you obtain her body? If you want her feelings, you have to move her heart!

    Of course, he didn¡¯t dare to speak those words out loud and could only say, ¡°We can choose not to use our men. The Zhi River¡¯s great tomb is about to appear, so there will definitely be all sorts of powerful individuals gathering there. That Miss Chu is both beautiful and heroic in appearance, so there will definitely be endless powerful individuals who take an interest in her. Her two fists can only do so much and she¡¯ll soon be forced into a desperate situation. If the prince came to save her at just the right time and saved the damsel in distress, wouldn¡¯t everything work out perfectly then?¡±

    The Prince of zing Sun immediately became much happier. He said, ¡°Little Zhu, not bad! How did I not notice that you were clever before? You¡¯re much better than Little Sha, at least.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s all due to the respected prince¡¯s careful cultivation,¡± the servant surnamed Zhu said, giving Little Sha a proud look. Little Sha could only sulk in silence.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An¡¯s group continued their journey to the Zhi River. They ran into all sorts of ghosts and monsters along the way, but Zu An¡¯s sword was unstoppable, and Qiu Honglei was a powerful cultivator on par with the representative disciples of the daoist sects. Even though Wei Suo¡¯s cultivation was a bit lower, the fact that he had been able to survive in the world of warriors for so many years meant he had quite a few unique skills too. On top of that, Jing Teng was a fiend, and she even had some unique and mysterious techniques. With their coordination, even though they encountered some tricky opponents, they still managed to deal with everything.

    ¡°I feel as if something isn¡¯t quite right,¡± Qiu Honglei said as they defeated another monster. ¡°Aren¡¯t we running into too many ghosts along the way? The first day, we were able to travel two thousand miles, and yet now, we can¡¯t even cover five hundred miles in a day.¡±

    Jing Teng¡¯s expression became unnatural. She said, ¡°I already said that there are monsters everywhere. It isn¡¯t too strange for there to be so many monsters.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? I even found some cultivators to talk to yesterday in that town, and they told me that even though it¡¯s dangerous to travel and they encountered some ghosts too, it¡¯s far from what we¡¯ve experienced!¡± Wei Suo said with a chuckle, a sharp glint flickering in his eyes. After traveling together, he had already managed to develop a certain degree of immunity against Jing Teng¡¯s beauty, and was able to think properly again.

    Zu An circled around Jing Teng and said, ¡°That bride ghost we met said she wanted you. At the time, you said that perhaps she wanted your body and wanted to absorb your fiend power, and then she¡¯d use your body to fool more people. I believed what you said at the time. But since then, many more ghosts havee for you, as if you had something they wanted. Shouldn¡¯t you exin this to us properly?¡±

    When she saw that all three seemed to be surrounding her, Jing Teng looked hesitant.

    Qiu Honglei said with a frown, ¡°We¡¯ve treated you as ourrade along the way, and yet you¡¯re deliberately hiding things like this from us, and our lives have almost been put in danger because of it. How can we not feel a bit disappointed?¡±

    Wei Suo nodded when he heard that. When he thought about the things he had needed to go through as ofte, he felt an urge to cry.

    Just then, Zu An said, ¡°Just tell us if there¡¯s some trouble you are going through. After what we¡¯ve been through, I believe you have some understanding of our character. You should already have an idea of whether we deserve your trust or not.¡±

    Jing Teng gave him an annoyed look. This guy already took advantage of me, yet he¡¯s still acting like the victim.

    In the end, however, she said, ¡°They¡¯re probably after Immortal Ruler Baopu.¡±

    ¡°Immortal Ruler Baopu?¡± the others repeated, stunned. The name was unfamiliar to them.

    Even though a great tomb had appeared near the Zhi River and everyone in the entire world seemed to have heard about it, in reality, the news was being restricted through various means. Only the most influential and most powerful forces of this world were aware of the truth. It was really difficult for people like them who had just entered this world to find out.

    ¡°A long time ago, the path to immortality was severed. Countless years passed since anyone was able to ascend to immortality. And yet, a few centuries ago, there was actually someone who seeded. He was Immortal Ruler Baopu¡­¡± Jing Teng exined.

    Wei Suo raised his hand and asked, ¡°What does that have to do with you?¡±

    Jing Teng looked in a certain direction. She had a wistful expression as she said, ¡°I previously told you that it was extremely difficult for nts to gain intelligence. They either have to absorb the essence of the world over an extremely long amount of time, or they have to receive the opportunity of enlightenment through an encounter with another. In my case, it was thetter.¡±

    She paused for a moment, then added, ¡°Back then, it was none other than Immortal Ruler Baopu who gave me enlightenment.¡±

 Chapter 1759: Enemies

    <h4>Chapter 1759: Enemies</h4>

    ¡°Immortal Ruler Baopu was the one who transformed you?¡± the others asked.

    They were starting to look at Jing Teng differently now. She had been enlightened by an immortal! She was probably the only one left in this world who¡¯d had contact with Immortal Ruler Baopu. No wonder so many people wanted to get their hands on her.

    ¡°Just what kind of person is Immortal Ruler Baopu?¡± Zu An couldn''t help but ask. He had heard quite a few legends rted to that person as ofte, but many of them just seemed too inconceivable, so he had just treated them as unfounded rumors. Now that he knew there was someone who hade into close contact with him, he naturally had to get the truth out of her.

    Jing Teng exined, ¡°Immortal Ruler Baopu was a daoist who lived in seclusion. There are many factions among daoists in the world, and each one seeks a different path. There are some that focus on the cultivation of both inner and outer selves, and others that are good at incantations and rituals. Still others are good at formations, pill refinement, or divination. Every single one of those topics is full of depth. Many geniuses aren¡¯t able to fully master one aspect even after pursuing it their entire lives. However, the Immortal Ruler was able to achieve great heights in every single domain.¡±

    ¡°Every single domain?¡± the others repeated; they were now truly shocked. They were quite talented in cultivation themselves, so they naturally understood that the further along one went in one¡¯s cultivation journey, the more exponentially difficult it would be. Oftentimes, advancing even a tiny bit would take an extremely long amount of time.

    For example, even someone who was full of talent like the libationer, publicly known as the most well-learned person in the world, was number two to Zhao Han. Many people had actually felt a bit of regret over his choice. If the libationer hadn¡¯t let himself be distracted and just focused on cultivation, perhaps his achievements would have been even higher than Zhao Han¡¯s. Judging from that, it was easy to see that breadth and height were often mutually exclusive. If someone had really reached the highest level in every single domain, how shocking would that be?!

    ¡°Indeed. He cultivated all of the arts, and he reached the position of number one in every single field,¡± Jing Teng said, her expression full of adoration as she spoke about the past. She clearly deeply revered Immortal Ruler Baopu.

    The others were speechless. They slowly digested the shocking information.

    After a moment of silence, Qiu Honglei couldn''t help but ask, ¡°Then did Immortal Ruler Baopu really achieve immortal ascension?¡±

    Jing Teng nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s right. He indeed achieved immortal ascension. People all saw it with their own eyes back then. Unfortunately, once he ascended, we never saw him again.¡±

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t the road to ascension already cut short?¡± Zu An asked, puzzled. Previously, when he had been inside the secret dungeon of the Fiend races¡¯ Imperial Tomb, he had personally witnessed the road to immortality being destroyed. This world had simrly had its immortal path severed in ancient times. Why had someone still been able to ascend?

    ¡°That¡¯s also what every cultivator in the entire world wishes to know,¡± Jing Teng said with a sigh. There was something of a forlorn look on her face, as if she had recalled something painful.

    ¡°That¡¯s why everyone in the entire world is looking for you?¡± Zu An asked. He finally understood why they had encountered monsters again and again over the past few days. He felt as if this woman¡¯s flesh was even more enticing than that of Xuanzang from Journey to the West¡­ No wonder she hadn¡¯t dared leave her territory, and had even asked for them to guard her.

    Jing Teng nodded and said coldly, ¡°So, now that you know the truth, you can choose to leave and ignore me. That won¡¯t be considered going against the agreement.¡±

    Zu An replied with a smile, ¡°We aren¡¯t the type to abandon ourrades.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Qiu Honglei added with a nod. ¡°Even though I¡¯m from the Devil Sect, the Devil Sect¡¯s people also value loyalty. We aren¡¯t as superficial as those who unt their identity as the righteous sects.¡±

    Wei Suo wanted to say some impassioned and elegant words, but unfortunately, hecked talent in literature. Unable to express himself otherwise, in the end, he just said, ¡°Me too!¡±

    When she saw their sincere expressions, Jing Teng¡¯s ice-cold heart felt a bit warmer.

    Zu An said, ¡°Right now, the enemy is hidden in the dark, while we¡¯re out in the open. I think it would be best if you gave us an idea of who our main enemies are. Otherwise, we might be caught off guardter on.¡±

    With how things were, Jing Teng didn¡¯t hide anything any longer, saying, ¡°The main enemy is naturally the Ghost King. He desires the immortal method of Immortal Ruler Baopu. That¡¯s why he wants to do everything he can to obtain me.¡±

    Qiu Honglei was stunned, asking, ¡°You have Immortal Ruler Baopu¡¯s method of immortality?¡±

    ¡°Of course I don¡¯t. I was nothing more than a tree vine, and yet I just happen to be the only one who¡¯s had contact with the immortal ruler. The Ghost King naturally won¡¯t give up any opportunities,¡± Jing Teng exined.

    The others figured that made sense. If they were in his ce, they would definitely suspect her too.

    Zu An suddenly thought of something and asked, ¡°Were those proverbs you chanted also skills from Immortal Ruler Baopu?¡±

    Jing Teng nodded and said, ¡°When Immortal Ruler saw my human form, he passed on some small tricks for me to protect myself with.¡±

    Qiu Honglei and Wei Suo thought to themselves,You¡¯re so pretty, so you definitely need skills for your own safety.

    Meanwhile,Zu An thought to himself,Those proverbs definitely aren¡¯t just small tricks.But if she didn¡¯t want to talk about it, he wouldn¡¯t continue pressing her either. Instead, he asked, ¡°How strong is that Ghost King?¡±

    Jing Teng replied, ¡°Extremely strong, stronger than all of usbined. Everyone in this world believes he¡¯s the one closest to bing immortal.¡±

    The mood immediately became heavy. She had seen Zu An¡¯s strength and now understood his strength better than before, and yet she had stille to that conclusion. It was easy to imagine just how strong the Ghost King was.

    ¡°Even a ghost can achieve immortality?¡± Wei Suo asked in shock.

    ¡°All things in this world have a chance of immortal ascension. Why would ghosts be any different?¡± Jing Teng replied.

    ¡­

    Then, Zu An asked her about what formidable skills the Ghost King had. Unfortunately, Jing Teng had never fought against him and didn¡¯t know anything about that either.

    ¡°The only thing I¡¯m sure of is that with the appearance of the great tomb by the Zhi River, which is also the cultivation cave Immortal Ruler Baopu used, the Ghost King definitely won¡¯t let go of something like that. However, the seal Immortal Ruler Baopu left behind is extraordinary and the Ghost King shouldn¡¯t be able to break through it for some time either,¡± Jing Teng said.

    ¡°Great tomb?¡± Qiu Honglei asked in confusion. ¡°Why would Immortal Ruler Baopu have a tomb if he ascended?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know either. There are rumors that his mortal coil lies there. There are also some who say that the great tomb was left behind by another ancient immortal, and that it was precisely because Immortal Ruler Baopu obtained their inheritance that he was able to ascend¡­¡± Jing Teng said with a sigh. ¡°I¡¯m but a tree vine, so how could I know those things about Immortal Ruler Baopu?¡±

    ¡°Then will we encounter that lover of yours this time?¡± Zu An suddenly asked.

    Jing Teng¡¯s expression immediately turned cold. She asked, ¡°Why does that concern you?¡±

    ¡°Someone whom even you would favor has to be extraordinary. Now that the tomb has appeared once more, he might make an appearance. Since he harmed you in the past, if he sees you again, he¡¯ll likely still be an enemy. We might have to fight then. That¡¯s why it would be better to know more about him, so we don¡¯t immediately start at a disadvantage,¡± Zu An said calmly.

    Jing Teng stared at him carefully to try to figure out whether he was being sincere, or if it was because of something else. After a while, she said, ¡°His name is Zang Ao. In the past, he was the prince of a wealthy n. Back then, he had a carefree and aloof nature, but after what happened to me, his personality changed greatly. I heard that he spent a long time creating the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.¡±

    ¡°The Adventurer¡¯s Guild was created by your man?¡± Wei Suo eximed, shocked.

    They had already spent some time in this world and naturally knew about the ever-present Adventurer¡¯s Guild. It was awork of the world¡¯s experts who helped the guildplete various missions. The cultivators themselves could also issue their own missions through the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, which was why its existence was greatly weed. Even the most powerful individuals in this world often had good rtionships with the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. After all, it was a useful intermediary tform.

    The boss of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild had always been mysterious. There were many legends regarding him. Some said he had wealth equivalent to that of an entire nation, while others said he had unfathomable strength. Some suspected that he was vicious and ruthless¡­

    None of Zu An¡¯s group had expected that legendary person to be Jing Teng¡¯s ex.

    ¡°What do you mean, my man? The two of us only dated with boundaries. Nothing ever really happened between us!¡± Jing Teng snapped, glowering at him.

    Wei Suo¡¯s neck shrank back. Qiu Honglei was a bit suspicious, however. She just felt that this woman was directing those words at someone.

    ¡°How strong is he?¡± Zu An asked with a light cough.

    ¡°In the past, when we met, he was too weak to even truss a chicken,¡± Jing Teng replied.

    ¡°In the past?¡± Zu An repeated, keenly noticing her wording. ¡°Then what about now?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Jing Teng answered. ¡°After what happened back then, he obtained my fiend pill. Together with the strength of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild over the years, who knows how many treasures he¡¯s amassed? It¡¯s hard to measure his strength. That¡¯s without ounting for the fact that the number of experts he can mobilize through the Adventurer¡¯s Guild is innumerable.¡±

    Zu An said with a sigh, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect your former man to be so formidable.¡±

    Jing Teng¡¯s expression darkened and she snapped, ¡°I already said he wasn¡¯t my man or anything!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Jing Teng for +222 +222 +222¡­

    Zu An was stunned.Why are you suddenly getting upset?

    Qiu Honglei said, ¡°I remember that you seemed to have another enemy. It was precisely that person who influenced your ma¡­ ahem, your rtionship with that man, correct?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Jing Teng answered, a hint of killing intent shing through her eyes. ¡°He¡¯s none other than Divine Firmament Sect¡¯s Sect Master, Sun En.¡±

    ¡°Divine Firmament Sect?¡± the others repeated in surprise. They had heard of the sect¡¯s name during their journey.

    Because there were ghosts roaming all over the world, there were still some sects thatpracticedexorcism. Among them, the Divine Firmament Sect was the one with the greatest reputation. However, it was rumored that their sect master had already gone missing for many years, so the sect was on the verge of copse.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    They had never expected that very man to be Jing Teng¡¯s enemy!

 Chapter 1760: Runes and Records

    <h4>Chapter 1760: Runes and Records</h4>

    To a certain degree, these people were already this world¡¯s most amazing men, and yet they all had enmity with Jing Teng. Zu An felt a huge headache when he thought about what was toe.

    ¡°But I heard that the Divine Firmament Sect Master has already been missing for many years, and the higher-ups of the sect have been fighting over the position of sect master viciously. However, they still haven¡¯t reached a decision,¡± Zu An said. He had done everything he could to understand more about this world to find Yun Jianyue, Yan Xuehen, and the others.

    ¡°As one of this world¡¯srgest daoist sects, the Divine Firmament Sect naturally cares about immortality. The real reason he interfered with my rtionship with Zang Ao wasn¡¯t for the sake of a so-called exorcism of a monster, but because he wanted to obtain the secrets of Immortal Ruler Baopu from me,¡± Jing Teng said icily. ¡°Eventually, he did obtain some benefits. Furthermore, he was already one of the strongest in the world at that time. When he took a step further, he even began to face tribtion.¡±

    ¡°Face tribtion?¡± Zu An and the others repeated in surprise.

    Facing heavenly tribtion was something from legends. It was often something one had to experience in order to ascend to immortality! Even with Zhao Han¡¯s cultivation, perhaps because of the world¡¯sws or other such reasons, he still hadn¡¯t been able to take thatst step. That meant he couldn''t face tribtion.

    Jing Teng said with a sneer, ¡°This world¡¯s path to immortality was cut short in ancient times; how could tribtion be so easily faced? Naturally, he was sted to death by tribtion lightning. He fell into the sea and vanished without a trace. The Heavenly Firmament Sect doesn¡¯t know of that and only believes that he went missing. They couldn''t find the three records he kept on him either, and none of them were willing to bow down to another and let someone else be the sect master. As such, that¡¯s why they haven¡¯t selected a new sect master even after all this time.¡±

    ¡°Records?¡± Qiu Honglei asked in confusion.

    Jing Teng exined, ¡°The people of the world often treat runes and records as the same thing, but they¡¯re actually two entirely different objects. Runes such as war runes are used to summon celestial forces.¡±

    Zu An asked in surprise, ¡°There really are celestial troops in this world?¡±

    Jing Teng shook her head and said, ¡°No one knows for sure if those are really the armies of the celestial pce, but that¡¯s what people decided to call them. In the past, Immortal Ruler Baopu once mentioned that those ¡®celestial troops¡¯ are closer to the embodiment of some of this world¡¯sws.¡± She continued, ¡°And records are the proof of one¡¯s identity needed to use such runes. Only those who have matching records are allowed to use the corresponding runes. Otherwise, wouldn¡¯t any randommoner without cultivation be able to wield tremendous power just by copying the drawings? Wouldn¡¯t that be absolute chaos?

    ¡°Furthermore, Sun En had the three most powerful records passed down from the Divine Firmament Sect¡¯s ancestors. To a certain degree, those records serve as proof of being the Divine Firmament Sect Master.¡±

    ¡°So that was what happened!¡± Zu An and Qiu Honglei said, exchanging a look.

    Their world¡¯s runes seemed to be a bit different from the ones in this world. They had seen Xie Daoyun and Yan Xuehen use some runes, but those were usually used in formations and not to summon ¡®celestial forces¡¯. They had never heard of needing some sort of record either.

    ¡°In short, Sun En is already dead, so there¡¯s no need to worry about that. We just need to be careful of the Ghost King and Zang Ao,¡± Jing Teng said.

    ¡°Judging from what you¡¯re saying, you n to make a trip around the great tomb?¡± Qiu Honglei asked with a frown.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Back then, my body was buried in a certain ce in the great tomb,¡± Jing Teng said, feeling a bit sad when she talked about the past. She was extremely beautiful to begin with, so now, she was even more pitiful.

    Qiu Honglei sighed inwardly in admiration. Then, she sent Zu An a voice transmission. ¡°Ah Zu, I think we should test out our luck in that great tomb. I believe that even if master can¡¯t find us, she¡¯d definitely want to look around in that kind of ce.¡±

    Zu An nodded and said, ¡°Indeed. ording to my experiences in secret dungeons, it¡¯s always necessary to deal with some special situation in order to leave. It seems as if that great tomb should be the key area. Since Jing Teng and Immortal Ruler Baopu are rted, having her with us might actually solve some problems.¡±

    Qiu Honglei couldn''t help but look at Jing Teng with a smile, saying, ¡°Oh my, she is so pretty, so what man can refuse her help? There¡¯s no reason for so many excuses.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.Come on, I¡¯m clearly just making a rational decision here!

    Thus, the group quickly reached a decision to continue escorting Jing Teng toward the Zhi River. She promised to provide them with any necessary information as well.

    ¡­

    In a beaten-down courtyard, there stood an ancient, pitch-ck well. Countless strands of long hair extended from the well opening. If an ordinary person were to see it, perhaps they would just faint out of fear.

    However, the hair seemed to have encountered something even more terrifying. It started trembling while trying to flee in rm. A momentter, though, a trace of frost appeared on the mouth of the well. Immediately after, it crept along the long hair at a visible rate. Soon, all of the hair was frozen solid.

    A streak of de radiance flickered through the air, and the frozen statuepletely shattered. The hair seemed to no longer exist in this world. Then, a slender and beautiful figure with a longsword in hand gracefully leaped out of the well. Her long hair fluttered in the air, her white clothes as fair as snow.

    p p p~

    A round of apuse filled the air. A middle-aged man dressed in an Adventurer¡¯s Guild uniform walked over from nearby and said, ¡°I heard that there was a formidable new member who had joined the guild recently and dealt with eighteen troublesome malicious spirits. Now, I can see that you are indeed different from the others.¡± He paused, and a look of surprise flickered through his eyes as he continued, ¡°And you are so beautiful, too.¡±

    The white-d woman was naturally Yan Xuehen. She gave the man an indifferent look, and her gaze shifted to the special symbol on his clothes. The staff members of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild all had such symbols to mark their status and rank. This person was of higher rank than any other staff member she had seen before.

    ¡°Do you need something?¡± she asked. The man¡¯s praise hadn¡¯t made her feel the slightest thing. She had always been aloof and indifferent, after all. Perhaps it was only in front of that person that she would seem a bit more emotional.

    The man hadn¡¯t expected her to be so cold. But when he recalled that the intelligence he received had mentioned that, he didn¡¯t mind it too much. He said, ¡°Let me introduce myself; I am the Adventurer¡¯s Guild manager in this region, Zang Jiu. I have a mission of the highest rank to provide you with this time.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not interested,¡± Yan Xuehen said, turning around to leave. The reason she hade to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild was to find out Zu An and the others¡¯ whereabouts. She didn¡¯t really n to work for these people forever.

    Zang Jiu was stunned, but he reacted quickly and said, ¡°This is a mission our guild president has assigned personally. He is summoning the most formidable adventurers from many different areas. I have heard that high-level adventurers can use the Adventurer¡¯s Guild¡¯s informationwork at will, so after this mission, you will not have to work all sorts of odd jobs so painstakingly.¡± After a pause, he added, ¡°Furthermore, ording to the promotion system of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, no matter how many missions youplete, you have to go through a long period of evaluation. It is almost impossible to reach a high rank without spending a few years at the least. The mission the guild president has just issued is an extremely rare opportunity.¡±

    ¡°Oh? What kind of mission is it?¡± Yan Xuehen asked, finally turning around.

    ¡°It is to explore the great tomb that has appeared by the Zhi River together with the president. At the same time, you need to capture a woman named Jing Teng,¡± Zang Jiu said, expecting her to ask her for more details.

    However, Yan Xuehen nodded and said, ¡°Alright, I will ept this mission. Contact me through the local Adventurer¡¯s Guild when it is time to set out.¡±

    When he saw her leave, Zang Jiu couldn''t help but sigh. He remarked, ¡°This woman really is exceptional, and she is a pure and honest human. If the one the young master met back then had been her and not that vine fiend, how could he have experienced such a disaster¡­

    ¡°Alright, this time, I should y a little matchmaker between her and the young master. Who knows, the young master might be able topletely leave his mental shadow.¡±

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Xie Daoyun and Yun Jianyue were fighting a group of evil spirits in a valley.

    ¡°What the hell is this? Why are there more and more of these damn ghosts the more we kill?¡± Yun Jianyue cursed as she scattered arge group of ghosts with a casual p.

    ¡°Big sister Yun, can you not say the word ¡®ghost¡¯ in front of me anymore¡­¡± Xie Daoyun said, practically about to cry. Even the sound of the word made her entire body feel out of sorts.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    They had spent quite some time looking for Zu An and the others, but they hadn¡¯t found anything. A few days prior, however, they had heard that there was a ce named Wang Port nearby, and that the Wang n was a famous n in this world. Their n had produced many geniuses that were now officials of different powers throughout the world. At the same time, the vige leader who stayed behind in the Wang n was an important member of the Divine Firmament Sect, and was extremely capable. This Divine Firmament Sect was the number one sect of this world too, and had ess to all sorts of information, so the two had nned to get some intelligence there.

    Since their arrival, the two of them had learned about the dangers of moving at night, but they wanted to find Zu An and the others as soon as possible. Furthermore, they weren¡¯t too far from Wang Port anyway. Besides, both of them were confident in their cultivation. That was why they had decided to move through the night.

    However, when they arrived at this valley, strange things happened. The quiet valley suddenly filled with countless ghosts that rushed at them from all sorts of different directions. Whenever they took out a batch, a new batch took their ce. It was simply endless.

    It was only thanks to one of them having extraordinary cultivation and the other being proficient in runes that they were able to hold on by coordinating together. Any other cultivators would have already been drowned in the endless tide of ghosts already. Still, the two of them were already surrounded, and it was extremely difficult for them to leave.

    Suddenly, a flying boat passed overhead.

    ¡°Which unfortunate souls ended up entering this ancient battlefield in the middle of the night?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s actually two beautiful women!¡±

    ¡°Hm? The runes that youngdy is using are ones we¡¯ve never seen before! Hurry and report this to the second young master!¡±

 Chapter 1761: Wang Port

    <h4>Chapter 1761: Wang Port</h4>

    Those people entered the cabin of the flying ship and reported what they saw. Shortly after, a silver-robed young master walked out while holding a wine cup. Following behind him were eight beautiful servants; Two of them helped him pour wine, while two others peeled fruits for him. The others either stood or leaned at his side, using their hands to intimately massage his shoulders and legs.

    He arrived near the bow of the ship. When he looked down, a look of surprise instantly appeared in his eyes. He pushed the servants at his side away and stared at the two women below. One was stunning and elegant, while the other was pure and lovely. They really were a rare pair of beauties! Could they fly up here?n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    However, the two seemed to be in the middle of a battlefield. There were monsters all around them and they had no time to be distracted at all.

    Suddenly, the flying boat slowly descended. The ghosts that continued to charge at the twodies began to hesitate. They even reflexively backed up as if they were scared of something.

    Yun Jianyue and Xie Daoyun both shivered. Their strength was actually quite shocking when they worked together, and yet these ghosts weren¡¯t scared of them at all and continued to charge at them relentlessly. However, they were actually scared of someone on the flying boat! Could it be that there was someone even more powerful inside?

    In truth, they could still just about hold off the ghosts. As long as theysted until daytime, they could make it through this disaster. However, if the flying boat contained some being even more terrifying than the ghosts, they would truly be in danger.

    While their expressions became more and more grave, a refined young master walked down from the boat and asked, ¡°May I ask why the twodies are moving through the night? Ghosts roam around at night, making it really too dangerous.¡±

    Yun Jianyue was stunned. Even though this slick-haired, powder-faced pretty boy¡¯s cultivation was decent, forget about herself, even Xie Daoyun was much stronger. Was he the one those ghosts were scared of?

    Xie Daoyun understood her personality as the Devil Sect Master and was worried that she would anger the other party. As such, she said gently, ¡°We sisters had a reason to hurry along on our journey. That was why we identally ended up trapped in this valley.¡± She was the daughter of a city lord and had the bearing of a distinguished daughter since her youth. This kind of situation wasn¡¯t difficult for her to deal with at all.

    ¡°Sisters?¡± Yun Jianyue repeated, raising a brow. In the past, with how different their statuses were, Xie Daoyun wouldn¡¯t have had the qualification to call her sister at all. After they had fought together in this sted world for several days, however, their rtionship had improved considerably. When she thought about how they didn¡¯t know anything about these neers, she realized that being known as sisters would save them from quite a bit of unnecessary trouble.

    ¡°So that was what happened!¡± the pretty boy young master eximed, sighing in admiration. This woman was good-looking, intelligent, and her personality was gentle. How could one not like her? Comparatively, the more mature woman off to the side seemed to have more of a domineering gaze. She wasn¡¯t his type.

    He walked up to them and took out a yellow talisman. He muttered some incantations, and the yellow talisman flew into the air. Radiance erupted in the skies, and a giant figure gradually appeared. It was ferocious and intimidating, looking even more menacing than all of the surrounding evil spirits.

    Yun Jianyue shivered. She quickly stood protectively in front of Xie Daoyun.

    ¡°The twodies can feel at ease. This is a ghost general that I summoned. It won¡¯t harm you two,¡± the young master said with a smile, then pointed casually with his hand.

    The ghost suddenly reached out itsrge hands and grabbed at its surroundings. The ghosts that were around the two women fled in rm when they saw that. Unfortunately, there were too many of them, and many of them were blocked by the ghosts behind them and couldn''t escape. Thus, several dozen ghosts were caught in the ghost general¡¯s hands; it fished them up and tossed them into its mouth. The air filled with the sounds of crunching bone and rending flesh.

    Yun Jianyue and Xie Daoyun both shivered when they heard that. Just what kind of being was that ghost general?

    On the flying ship, several servants exchanged a look. They quietly spoke among themselves.

    ¡°Second young master is flirting with women again¡­¡±

    ¡°But women always love the things he does. If a confident and handsome young master swoops in from the skies and saves some beauties, how can they not be touched? Didn¡¯t those maids all be the way they are because of that?¡±

    The eight beautiful maids felt a bit sad when they saw that scene. They had also experienced simr things in the past. The young master treated them really well at first, and they thought that he was their ideal husband; butter, once the young master obtained them, he gradually stopped cherishing them. More and more women appeared at his side too, upon which they themselves could only fall to be maids¡­

    The young master seemed to have sensed something and secretly nced back. Those servants who were gossiping immediately shut their mouths. The slightly resentful maids regained their previous warm and gentle smiles.

    The endless ghosts in the valley had already disappeared without a trace, clearly fearful of the giant ghost general in the sky. They all scattered who knew where.

    ¡°Beautifuldies, it isn¡¯t safe traveling in the outskirts at night. Why not join me on my flying boat and let me take you on a journey?¡± the young master said in a refined and courteous manner.

    Yun Jianyue and Xie Daoyun exchanged a look. They nodded and said, ¡°Then we¡¯ll be troubling the young master.¡±

    ¡°Please enter!¡± the young master said, turning to one side and making an inviting gesture. No ws could be discerned from his movements.

    Yun Jianyue and Xie Daoyun got onto the flying boat and took the chance to secretly look around. In terms of appearance, the entire vessel wasn¡¯t too different from a normal boat, albeit more streamlined in shape.

    Their gazes bothnded on the yellow runes on the bottom of the flying boat and the sides. It seemed that the vessel could fly because of those runes.

    ¡°We wee the two misses!¡± several lovely voices called out. It turned out that the beautiful maids were greeting them.

    ¡°We greet thedies,¡± Xie Daoyun hurriedly replied, while Yun Jianyue only nodded slightly.

    The two couldn''t help but look at the pretty-faced young master. They thought,This guy has so many pretty girls serving him all the time; just what kind of disgusting tendencies does he have?Their impression of him immediately plummeted.

    The servants sneered inwardly, thinking,Hmph, you can act all arrogant now. You¡¯ll be just like us soon. When the timees, you¡¯ll have to call us big sisters too!

    ¡°This humble one is Wang Neishi. May I ask what the twodies are called?¡± the young master asked the two with a smile.

    ¡°I am Yun Chouxue,¡± Yun Jianyue replied first.[1]</a>

    Xie Daoyun was stunned, but she was quick and said, ¡°I am Xie¡­ Yan.¡±

    Yun Jianyue looked at her with an ambiguous smile. She secretly asked through voice transmission, ¡°The same Yan as Chuyan?¡±

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s face turned red and she ignored the message.

    ¡°So it was Miss Xie and Miss Yun. Please have the seat of honor in the cabin,¡± Wang Neishi invited them.

    ¡°I¡¯m more interested in seeing how this boat is capable of flight,¡± Yun Jianyue said with a smile. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen a flying boat before.¡±

    The maids revealed a look of disdain.You haven¡¯t even seen flying boats before? Just where did these bumpkinse from?

    ¡°Haha, thedy seems to be quite frank in nature. Admirable as expected,¡± Wang Neishi said. He didn¡¯t seem to mind, and instead made a gesture. The flying boat began to move soon after. The air around it stirred, and the entire ship¡¯s body became light. Then, it gradually rose into the sky.

    Xie Daoyun couldn''t help but move to the edge of the flying boat and look at the yellow runes at the sides. She eximed, ¡°Hm? These seem to be made from all kinds of formations, but I can¡¯t see the corresponding rune patterns. Could it be that they¡¯ve all gathered inside this yellow rune?¡±

    ¡°Does Miss Xie also understand the methods of using runes?¡± Wang Neishi asked in surprise.

    ¡°I only know a bit of humble knowledge. However, I can''t understand the talisman the young master used earlier or this flying boat at all,¡± Xie Daoyun said in amazement. She thought to herself that she had believed she had some knowledge in the field of runes, and yet now, she was nothing more than a frog at the bottom of a well. She asked, ¡°By the way, young master, why can¡¯t I sense the power of ki stones? What does this flying boat use for its power source?¡±

    Wang Neishi smiled and said, ¡°There is no need to provide it with power. Our Wang n¡¯s runes can borrow the supernatural force of this world. What power source canpare to the power of the world?¡±

    He had thought that this youngdy was someone who was proficient in runes, and yet she had ended up not even knowing such basic knowledge.

    It seems she was just pretending to have some knowledge to try and impress this young master. Women¡­ They are all just scheming beings like this.

    But it¡¯s fine. This youngdy does match this young master¡¯s preferences. I¡¯ll just y along with your games for a bit.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t need a power source?¡± Xie Daoyun eximed, now feeling truly shocked. In her world, the formations all needed ki stones to provide power. The higher the level of the formation was, the higher the purity and grade of the necessary stones climbed. She hadn¡¯t expected this world to not need ki stones at all.

    Yun Jianyue had a pensive expression.Borrowing the power of the world? It seems a bit simr to our cultivation system.

    This pretty boy¡¯s cultivation isn¡¯t all that, but the monster he summoned from the yellow talisman seems to be pretty strong.

    They chatted for a while, but then Wang Neishi couldn''t help but ask curiously, ¡°Why are the twodies in such a rush to move through the night?¡±

    Xie Daoyun replied, ¡°We wanted to reach the nearby Wang Port and ask the local lord a question¡­¡±

    Wang Neishi was surprised and said with a smile, ¡°What a coincidence; I came from Wang Port, and the lord is my father. I wonder what the twodies need from my father?¡±

 Chapter 1762: Price

    <h4>Chapter 1762: Price</h4>

    ¡°Huh?¡± Yun Jianyue and Xie Daoyun eximed in shock. ¡°You¡¯re Wang Port¡¯s young master?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. This one is number two in my n,¡± Wang Neishi said as he opened a fan and fanned himself a bit. There was something of an elegant look to his appearance.

    ¡°It¡¯s an honor¡­¡± the two said with a deep sigh. They both offered up some ttery.

    Then, Wang Neishi returned to the previous topic. ¡°Why exactly did the twodies want to look for my father? Why not tell me about it? Even though I am no genius, I have still learned some skills from my father. I might very well be of some help.¡±

    Xie Daoyun replied, ¡°We¡¯re actually searching for our missingpanions.¡±

    ¡°Oh, may I ask what the names of yourpanions are, and what kinds of distinctive traits they have?¡± Wang Neishi asked with a smile. Xie Daoyun then told him about Zu An and the others¡¯ distinctive traits.

    Wang Neishi¡¯s eyes suddenly narrowed. However, he pretended not to care at all and said, ¡°Thedy and this Zu An must be really close. That must be why you¡¯re going so far to find him.¡±

    Before Xie Daoyun could reply, Yun Jianyue already interrupted, ¡°Zu An is her adopted brother, and Qiu Honglei is her sister-inw. Now that they are missing, we must naturally do everything we can to find them.¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Xie Daoyun was stunned for a moment. Her first thought was that Yun Jianyue was deliberately emphasizing Zu An¡¯s rtionship with Qiu Honglei to support her own disciple¡¯s love. However, she quickly realized something. Judging from their interactions over the past few days, she knew Yun Jianyue wasn¡¯t someone that narrow-minded. There was definitely a reason for her saying that.

    When she saw Wang Neishi¡¯s expression changing, judging from all of the beautiful women at his side, she quickly realized that he was a lustful pervert. He seemed to appreciate their looks, which was why he was offering to help so enthusiastically. If he believed they were looking for her man, why would he bother helping them at all anymore? At that point, perhaps he would even deliberately conceal any news of Zu An if he found any.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. My adopted brother and sister-inw have always treated me really well. Every day has been full of worries, since we don¡¯t know if the two of them are in danger,¡± Xie Daoyun said, sobbing.

    Yun Jianyue couldn''t help but give her a second look. This girl was normally so graceful and refined, and yet her acting skills were actually pretty good!

    Sure enough, when he heard what she said, Wang Neishi¡¯s furrowed brows rxed. Instead, he saidfortingly, ¡°Miss Xie, worry not. Your esteemed brother and sister-inw will be helped by the heavens.¡±

    Xie Daoyun looked up at him with herrge, misty eyes, asking, ¡°Can the young master help us find them?¡±

    ¡°About that¡­¡± Wang Neishi said, chuckling awkwardly. The world was sorge; how could finding a few people be that easy? If it were someone famous, that would be a bit easier, but he had never heard of those people before. Still, he said, ¡°Worry not, mydy. I will send some people to help you look for information.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? I¡¯ll have to thank the young master then¡­¡± Xie Daoyun said, looking a bit disappointed.

    When he saw such beauty with that kind of expression, Wang Neishi naturally realized that he had made a mistake. He gritted his teeth and said, ¡°How about this? Please follow me back to Wang Port. My father has a special rune talisman that can search for things. I can ask for his help.¡±

    ¡°Really?! Thank you so much, young master!¡± Xie Daoyun replied excitedly, looking at him with a starry-eyed gaze.

    Off to the side, Yun Jianyue grinned.Look at this girl putting up this green tea b*tch act!

    ¡­

    As they began to chat with each other, the mood soon became lively. Yun Jianyue and Xie Daoyun indirectly inquired about Wang Port, while Wang Neishi also asked about the two girls¡¯ past.

    Time quickly passed. A servant quickly arrived and reported, ¡°Second prince, we have already arrived home.¡±

    Wang Neishi nodded, then said to the two women, ¡°The twodies should get some rest in my humble home first. As soon as the sky brightens tomorrow, I will refer you to my father.¡± He believed himself to be distinguished and elegant, so he wouldn¡¯t immediately ask them rudely to stay with him.

    ¡°Thank you, young master,¡± Xie Daoyun and Yun Jianyue said, nodding slightly.

    Soon after, a maid came to bring the two into the guest room. Along the way, the two secretly asked around. Wang Port had been built with the mountains on one side and water on the other. Several rivers flowed through the vige, so there were boats of varying sizes parked all around. They could tell that water was the main route of transport. In contrast, Wang Neishi¡¯s flying boat was much rarer. It was clear that such a thing was extremely rare and precious even in the Wang n. Even though it was nighttime, they could still tell just how grand and majestic the Wang n¡¯s structures were. Furthermore, rather than being the gathering ce of a single n, Wang Port was more like a great city.

    When the servant saw the two women¡¯s expressions, she felt a sense of pride. She said, ¡°There aren¡¯t many ces in this entire world that canpare to our Wang n!¡±

    Yun Jianyue was a bit unhappy when she saw the disdain in the maid¡¯s eyes. However, Xie Daoyun tugged on her hand, then looked at that maid with a smile and said, ¡°Big sis, there were only ruined walls and rubble on our way here. Even if there was a town, it was in really bad shape. There were ghosts all around. Your port is so incredible; could it be that there really are no ghosts that haunt this ce?¡±

    ¡°Which ghosts would dare?!¡± the maid cried, her voice immediately rising a few octaves. ¡°Our master is the most senior elder of the Divine Firmament Sect. Do you know about the Divine Firmament Sect? They are the most skilled at driving ghosts away. Just how foolish would those ghosts have to be toe here and court destruction?

    ¡°Furthermore, the Wang n has always produced geniuses. All the most famous forces throughout the world have our Wang n¡¯s people serving as officials. The ones who stay in the port are numerous and powerful too. Whether it is ghosts or people, none of them would dare provoke us.¡±

    Xie Daoyun and Yun Jianyue exchanged a look. This Wang n was even more formidable than the rumors imed! Still, the more formidable the Wang n was, the higher the chance would be that they could actually find Zu An and the others.

    The maid was in a good mood because she had been called ¡®big sis¡¯, so she added, ¡°Also, let me warn the two of you. Our master is not as agreeable as the second young master. There is no way he will agree to help the two of you.¡±

    ¡°Why is that?¡± Yun Jianyue asked curiously. Wasn¡¯t this maid a bit too sure of herself?

    ¡°That is because our n master has to pay quite the price in order to use that talisman. There is no way he would use it without a good incentive. It was nothing more than something the young master said to¡­ Ahem, the young master just forgot about that due to his admiration for the twodies,¡± the maid said with a smile.

    When she saw the two¡¯s flustered appearance, she then added, ¡°But do not worry. Our n master is an elder of the Divine Firmament Sect. The Divine Firmament Sect has disciples everywhere, and the Wang nsmen are also all over the world. We should be able to help the two of you by borrowing that intelligencework.¡±

    Yun Jianyue and Xie Daoyun exchanged a look and both saw the worry in the other¡¯s eyes. This world was a bit too treacherous. Staying a day longer meant encountering another share of danger. Furthermore, the Wang n had nothing to do with the two of them. Even if they sent someone to investigate, they likely wouldn¡¯t put in that much effort.

    Yun Jianyue suddenly remembered what the maid had said earlier and asked, ¡°In what kind of situation would the n leader use that talisman?¡±

    ¡°I will not talk about the master using it for his own sake, but if it is for someone else, he seems to have only done so three times in thest hundred or so years. Each time, the other side had to pay a tremendous price in order to get him to agree,¡± the maid replied.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s eyes lit up. She said, ¡°Then that means a deal can be made!¡±

    ¡°Perhaps, but he is the master of the house, someone who has seen endless treasures. He will have no interest in ordinary items,¡± the maid said, looking at the two of them with suspicion. They were pretty, but how could they have anything that would move the master?

    Yun Jianyue chuckled and didn¡¯t bother exining anything. As the sect master of the Devil Sect, she naturally had some treasures.

    The two of them asked the maid a bit more about the Wang n. At first, the maid was still guarded, but when Yun Jianyue took out a pretty gemstone, a smile quickly appeared on her face. Not only did she tell them information about the Wang n, she even told them what kinds of things were offered by those three people who had seeded.

    ¡­

    The next morning, Wang Neishi excitedly ran over to invite the two women for breakfast. While they were eating, he told them that his father had already agreed to send some people to search for Zu An and the others, and that the twodies could wait for good news at ease.

    After the maid¡¯s information from the previous day, the two women naturally knew that his father had refused to use that talisman. As for sending some people to look for Zu An and the others, those were nothing more than some pretty words. In the end, he just wanted them to stay here.

    Xie Daoyun and Yun Jianyue had already discussed their n the previous night. When they heard that, they said with a smile, ¡°Thank you, young master! We came here from afar and have a gift to present to your esteemed father. We hope the young master can help us mediate a meeting.¡±

    ¡°A present?¡± Wang Neishi replied with a slight frown. But when he remembered that the two of them hade to see his father, he thought that it was likely because they had heard about the talisman. As such, he said in a somewhat troubled manner, ¡°But my father is usually cultivating in seclusion. Many years ago, countless people came to request his help, but he was pestered beyond endurance, and gave the order that anyone who disturbed him but could not satisfy him would have to pay with their souls. From then on, he was not bothered so often anymore. Let me remind you two that in all these years, only three people have seeded.¡±

    He had gotten a bit too excited when he saw how beautiful these two were and made that promise as a result. He had thought that as a doted-on son, it wouldn¡¯t be too hard to convince his father; and yet, his father had refused to help him at all, and still kept the same rules.

    Xie Daoyun shivered. She hadn¡¯t expected the Wang n master to be so dangerous.

    However, Yun Jianyue remained calm and said, ¡°Do not worry, second young master. Our gift will definitely satisfy your father.¡±

    The maid had purposely hidden that fact, likely out of ulterior motives.Is she really worried that we¡¯ll fight for this young master¡¯s favor? What a joke!

    When Wang Neishi recalled the sight of the two fighting against the endless ghosts in the valley, he knew they weren¡¯t ordinary people. Perhaps they would really have a gift that could move his father. Still, this matter was too dangerous. If they ended up offending his father¡­

    Xie Daoyun added with a lovely and pitiful expression, ¡°Also, don¡¯t we still have the second young master? If something really happens, the second young master will definitely protect us, right?¡±

    When he saw her lovely and charming appearance, and how she even seemed to have a look of adoration for him, Wang Neishi immediately felt a sense of protectiveness well up inside him. He replied, ¡°Of course!¡±

    The price father has to pay for using that talisman is a bit high, so it makes sense that he wouldn¡¯t agree to my request of helping them.

    But with how much my father dotes on me, I should be able to protect these two women. At worst, I¡¯ll just say I like them. There¡¯s no way my old man will kill his daughters-inw, right?

    He was even starting to look forward to the women¡¯s gifts disappointing his father. That way, he would have another chance to y the hero!

 Chapter 1763: Soul Artist

    Chapter 1763: Soul Artist

    Wang Neishi got up and said, ¡°Alright then. I will bring the two of you to see my father now.¡± He was quite excited and wanted their lives to end up hanging by a thread as soon as possible. Then, he would swoop in and receive all of their gratitude and devotion.

    Just the thought of how soft and lovely Miss Xie would feel in his arms made him even more worked up. He thought, That Yun woman might be a bit fiercer, but she really is pretty. Her figure is top-notch too, so I wouldn¡¯t mind¡­

    Along the way, Xie Daoyun couldn''t help but ask, ¡°Right, I heard that if your esteemed father is dissatisfied, he takes the petitioners¡¯ souls? I wonder what he does with the souls.¡±

    Wang Neishi exined, ¡°Miss Xie might feel that taking one¡¯s soul is sinister, but no one has ever criticized the Wang n for it. Do you know the reason why?¡± When he saw the two women shake their heads, he then continued, ¡°That is because my father has always exorcised ghosts and allowed countless people to live. He has established tremendous contributions. However, his various talismans need to be operated too, so he needs soul power to nurture them. Only then can he save even more people in the future. Furthermore, the ones who had their souls absorbed were merely engaging in a fair deal. No one forced them to do it.¡±

    ¡°So that¡¯s what happened,¡± Xie Daoyun said, then fell silent. You save some people, but you need to kill others. Then, which side is more worth it, really?

    Yun Jianyue began to secretly wonder just what kinds of talismans needed the power of souls. Why did she have an ominous feeling?

    When he saw that the two women had fallen silent, Wang Neishi assumed that they were scared. He said with a smile, ¡°There is no need to worry. With me here, I will definitely protect you two.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve troubled you, second young master,¡± the two women said with a slight nod.

    ¡­

    Soon after, they arrived in front of arge building. Wang Neishi went in first to issue a report, then came out soon after. He said, ¡°As ofte, father has stopped receiving guests normally, but he agreed to meet you two because of me.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, second young master,¡± the two women said, exchanging a look. Yun Jianyue secretly told Xie Daoyun to not be nervous and to leave everything to her.

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s nervousness finally eased a bit. As expected of the Devil Sect Master, who has experienced all kinds of things.

    They entered the giant building. It looked splendid and majestic from the outside, but it was quite dark inside. The corridors were quite cramped and narrow too. Suddenly, Xie Daoyun noticed some drawings on the wall. The people drawn were vivid, lifelike, and extremely detailed. She had practiced a bit of art in the past, and so she naturally noticed just how incredible the skill involved was.

    She couldn¡¯t help but ask with a sigh, ¡°Just which master drew these? The artistic skill involved is already beyond incredible.¡±

    Out of everyone she knew, Yu Yanluo was probably the only one who had such a level of skill. It was to the extent that, in a certain sense, her skill was even slightly inferior to these paintings; that was because the paintings didn¡¯t look like drawings, but more like real people. The one thing that was a bit strange about them was that they were all human figures. There was no scenery in the background, nor were there any nts. It was a bit too simple.

    Wang Neishi¡¯s expression was a bit strange. A whileter, he said, ¡°These are none other than the pitiful creatures who failed to strike a deal with my father over the decades. Their souls have been left here forever.¡±

    Xie Daoyun was stunned. However, Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression remained the same. As the Devil Sect Master, quite a few people had died under her hands. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have been able to create her domain.

    Soon, the group arrived at the top floor. Wang Neishi knocked on the door and said, ¡°Father, I have already brought them over.¡±

    ¡°Let them in. You can leave,¡± an aged voice said from inside.

    Wang Neishi was stunned. He had wanted to go in as well, but he didn¡¯t dare to retort and could only say, ¡°Father, they are my friends. I hope that father can be generouster.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± the voice within said without a hint of emotion.

    Wang Neishi was helpless. He could only secretly give the two women a look and said, ¡°Do not be scared,dies. I will be waiting for you two toe outter.¡±

    Then, he went down the stairs while continuing to nce back. He really was scared that his father would suddenly change his mind and seize their souls. It really would be way too great of a pity if the two died just like that.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡­

    After Wang Neishi left, the door opened on its own. The interior was extremely spacious. There was a tall tform right ahead of them, atop which an elder was seated. He was clearly the n master, Wang Youjun. He raised an eyelid and looked at the twodies, saying, ¡°Come in.¡±

    Yun Jianyue was the first to step inside, standing protectively in front of Xie Daoyun. At the same time, she sized up Wang Youjun.

    Perhaps because he always remained inside, the elder¡¯s skin was extremely pale. His hair was also gray and thin. However, they could still see that his facial shape was straight and proper. He had definitely had a handsome face when he was younger.

    Yun Jianyue thought to herself that the elder cultivation was a bit inferior to her own, but the strength of the people of this worldyrgely in their talismans. If they really fought, it would be hard to say who woulde out on top.

    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since Ist sawdies this beautiful. No wonder that child was so eager,¡± Wang Youjun said with a chuckle. ¡°Did you twoe to make a deal with me?¡±

    ¡°The second young master is generous and we cannot thank him enough. I wanted to find our missingpanions, so we came to look for your respected self,¡± Xie Daoyun replied gently.

    ¡°Generous?¡± Wang Youjun sneered. He naturally knew what kind of person his son was, but didn¡¯t feel like exposing him. ¡°Isn¡¯t it going a bit too far to seek me out when you¡¯re just looking for some people?¡±

    Afterward, his brows furrowed. He clearly suspected their motives.

    ¡°It¡¯s just that ourpanions are extremely important to us. We also don¡¯t know where they are in this world. We don¡¯t have a single clue and can¡¯t find them on our own,¡± Xie Daoyun exined. ¡°If we were just looking for someone normally, there would be no need to take such a huge risk to ask for your respected self¡¯s help. However, after they were sucked into this world, they were all scattered all over the ce. This world is just toorge, so it¡¯s hard to even know where to start looking for them.¡±

    ¡°So that was it,¡± Wang Youjun said, his suspicion gradually fading. ¡°Then you should know my rules. What have you prepared for the deal?¡±

    Yun Jianyue took out a de covered in ancient patterns. It was entirely ck, and the de alone flickered with a cold glint. There were faint strands of blood-colored veins vaguely visible on it. When thr item appeared, the entire room was immediately filled with a faint hint of bloodiness. With a light raise of her hand, this de slowly floated into midair, moving toward Wang Youjun so he could see its details.

    ¡°Incredible; what an excellent de!¡± Wang Youjun couldn''t help but say with a sigh of admiration. This woman looked dainty and delicate, but she actually had such incredible backing.

    Yun Jianyue said, ¡°This de¡¯s name is Separation. It¡¯s a heaven-grade weapon. I wonder if it¡¯s to your distinguished self¡¯s satisfaction.¡±

    She had already discussed the situation with Xie Daoyun yesterday. Judging from what the maid had said, many petitioners had started carefully, but they had never gotten a chance to bid higher. In contrast, the three who seeded had immediately offered something extremely precious right from the start. A heaven-grade weapon was roughly equivalent to the value of those items.

    This de had once been the personal weapon of a certain Devil Sect Master. It actually pained Yun Jianyue quite a bit to part with it. However, she had no choice. She wasn¡¯t Yu Yanluo; she didn¡¯t have wealth rivaling a nation. She only had this murderous item that was still rtively precious. It was unclear whether Zu An and the others were even alive right now. In order to find them, a heaven-grade weapon wasn¡¯t much.

    ¡°I can sense that this de has drunk the blood of countless people. Separation is indeed a fitting name,¡± Wang Youjun said with a sigh of admiration.

    ¡°Then will your distinguished self help us look for our people?¡± Yun Jianyue asked, rxing a bit.

    Wang Youjun shook his head. He pushed back the de and said, ¡°Even though this de is good, I¡¯m not someone who uses a de. It¡¯s useless to me.¡±

    Yun Jianyue felt dejected. It was difficult for her to find anythingparable to the de. She couldn''t just give him the Empress Lantern or Crescent Ring, right?

    Wang Youyun then looked at Xie Daoyun and said, ¡°I heard that thedy seems to be good with rune talismans too.¡±

    Xie Daoyun was stunned, but then she reflexively replied, ¡°I¡¯m not incredibly skilled and have only dabbled a bit. Furthermore, my runes and your talismans arergely different.¡±

    ¡°Oh? How so?¡± Wang Youjun asked, looking at her with interest.

    Xie Daoyun thought for a bit and said, ¡°Your rune talismans don¡¯t need to borrow energy from ki stones or other sources to use their effects. The runes I know are pieced together into formations. Then, as the energy source, they channel the power of the world to produce their effects¡­¡±

    ¡°I see. Then that means you¡¯re proficient in formations, no?¡± Wang Youjun asked, his eyes lighting up.

    ¡°I have a bit of knowledge,¡± Xie Daoyun said with a sweet smile.

    ¡°Then draw a defensive-type formation for me to see,¡± Wang Youjun said, leaning forward slightly.

    Xie Daoyun secretly looked at Yun Jianyue and sensed the other woman egging her on. Then, in the end, she quickly drew a defensive-type formation. When the final stroke wasplete, light blue radiance flowed along the formation¡¯s patterns. This time, she had clearly noticed something, so she made sure to draw a rather profound and intricate formation.

    When he saw the light blue formation, Wang Youjun had a pensive expression. A whileter, he said, ¡°How about this? I can look for yourpanions, but I don¡¯t want your heaven-grade weapon. I only need you to help me with something.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± both women asked, trembling slightly.

    ¡°I intend to go somewhere. Your skill with formations might be useful to me,¡± Wang Youjun said, giving Xie Daoyun a look. ¡°Go with me on this trip, and I¡¯ll help you look for those people. Who knows, you might even obtain unimaginable benefits.¡±

 Chapter 1764: Red Brilliance Yellow Talisman

    <h4>Chapter 1764: Red Brilliance Yellow Talisman</h4>

    The two women both frowned. They had thought that it would be quite hard to convince this man to help them, but things seemed to have gone even more smoothly than they imagined. However, they couldn''t bring themselves to feel happy about it at all.

    After thinking about it, Xie Daoyun said, ¡°But we want to look for ourpanions, so we might not have the time to help you¡­¡±

    This world was so strange and unpredictable that things could happen at a moment¡¯s notice. How could they have the leisure of helping someone else with something? Furthermore, if it was something even Wang Youjun found tricky, it would definitely be full of dangers. It could be better for them to not get involved.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Wang Youjunughed and said, ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about that. This issue will only take around three to seven days to settle.¡± When he saw that the two women were still unmoved, he added, ¡°Without my help, wouldn¡¯t looking for yourpanions be like finding a needle in a haystack? It wouldn¡¯t make a difference for you two even if you had that extra time. As long as you agree to help me, not only will I find where yourpanions are, I¡¯ll also provide you with the Wang n¡¯s best flying boat. I believe you should both understand fully well that flight isn¡¯t allowed in this world. But if you have our flying boat, it should be able to save you a lot of time.¡±

    The two women exchanged a look. They knew that what he said made some sense. Xie Daoyun was about to reply when Yun Jianyue first asked, ¡°Then how about helping us look into where ourpanions are first? Otherwise, if we help you and you can¡¯t help us, won¡¯t we have made that trip for nothing?¡±

    Xie Daoyun was full of admiration.It¡¯s still big sis Yun who has more experience in the world of warriors.

    Wang Youjun reached out his hand, and a special yellow talisman gradually appeared. There were some extremelyplicated runes written in cinnabar on its surface. The entire talisman gave off a faint red glow.

    The two women¡¯s expressions changed slightly. This was the second time they had seen such a talisman. The first time was when Wang Neishi had used one. This talisman seemed to have a life of its own.

    Wang Youjun turned to look at the two women and asked, ¡°Who¡¯s the one you two are looking for? What kind of distinctive traits does he have?¡± The two women were about to reply when he added, ¡°Don¡¯t talk about that adoptive brother or sister-inw. Tell me about the other one.¡±

    His gaze was clearly much sharper than his son¡¯s. He keenly sensed that their rtionship with that so-called adoptive brother was extraordinary. The one they cared about the most was likely him. He naturally didn¡¯t want to tell them where that man was right from the start. Otherwise, what if they just left after hearing the information?

    Yun Jianyue cursed him for being an old fox, but she still told him Yan Xuehen¡¯s distinctive traits. Xie Daoyun hadn¡¯t had much interaction with Yan Xuehen after all, so she didn¡¯t know her as well as she did. Yun Jianyue thought,Stone cold woman, stone cold woman¡­ I never expected you to be the first one I would look for¡­

    As Yun Jianyue spoke, Wang Youjun unrolled a white sheet of paper with one hand while moving a pen in his other hand with extraordinary skill. A sketch of Yan Xuehen quickly appeared. He was able to achieve such a thing effortlessly with just a single pen. His artistic skill was truly incredible.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression changed. She asked, ¡°What are you doing?¡± She remembered the painting from before, and felt shocked and annoyed. Even though she and the stone cold woman were sworn enemies, she still didn¡¯t want Yan Xuehen to be schemed against by another.

    Wang Youjun smiled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry; this isn¡¯t a soul painting. I¡¯m merely sketching out her appearance to make it easier for us to look for her.¡±

    Yun Jianyue still didn¡¯t feel at ease. She walked over and took a look. However, it was indeed just an ordinary paper and ink drawing. There weren¡¯t any tricks being yed. She sighed in relief.

    Wang Youjun quickly finished up the drawing. When hepleted thest stroke, he suddenly stared nkly for a moment.

    ¡°Is there something wrong?¡± Xie Daoyun asked worriedly.

    ¡°There isn¡¯t. I just never expected there to be such a person in the world. She¡¯s like a goddess from the heavens,¡± Wang Youjun said, giving them a deep look. He said with a sigh of amazement, ¡°The twodies are already incredibly beautiful, but I didn¡¯t expect yourpanions to be so dazzling too. I¡¯m even starting to wonder just what kind of superpower that Zu An has. He actually has so many incredible beauties at his side.¡±

    ¡°What are you saying? He¡¯s only my big brother (friend)!¡± Xie Daoyun and Yun Jianyue both blurted out at the same time.

    Xie Daoyun thought,Thank goodness we need something from this man. Otherwise, with big sis Yun¡¯s temper, if anyone dared to im that she and big brother Zu were an item, wouldn¡¯t she pull their tongue straight out?

    ¡°Whatever you say,¡± Wang Youjun said with a knowing expression. Then, he made a gesture in the air. ¡°Come!¡±

    A picture scroll flew in from outside. The two women had good eyes and recognized that it was none other than one of the scrolls they had seen on the way. Just then, the one on the scroll seemed to realize something and began to struggle frantically. His mouth formed a roar, but no sound came out. No matter how he struggled, there was no way for him to struggle free from the drawing.

    Wang Youjun summoned the scroll toward him, then chanted a strange incantation. The talisman in his palm suddenly erupted with red light. The profound pattern lit up, shining red light on the scroll.

    The face in the scroll warped, then seemed to be sucked out by something. It turned into a strand of smoke and flew out of the painting, instantly entering the bright red talisman. Seemingly having just obtained the nourishment of soul force, the talisman shook a bit, as if it were doing a happy dance. Meanwhile, the drawing on the scroll becamepletely empty. There was no one left in it, as if there had never been a drawing in the first ce.

    Yun Jianyue and Xie Daoyun¡¯s expressions changed. They naturally knew what had just happened. The soul had been devoured in an instant, just like that!

    Wang Youjun pointed at Yan Xuehen¡¯s drawing and said that he was looking for her whereabouts. The talisman flew into the sky and released a vibrating noise as it circled around. Then, it stopped and shone a red light toward the northwest. Afterward, the light withdrew. The talisman returned back to normal andnded in his hand.

    Wang Youjun pointed and said, ¡°Thedy named Yan is northwest, several tens of thousands of miles away. Hmm¡­ That seems to be close to where the Adventurer¡¯s Guild headquarters is. You can ask around for her information near that area.¡±

    Yun Jianyue asked seriously, ¡°Is that all it can do? The northwest is sorge; how can we find ourpanion?¡±

    Xie Daoyun was also a bit unhappy. They had gone through all that to find out such a small amount of intelligence? It really didn¡¯t seem worth it.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll give you several one-time-use copies of the talisman. If you use one every thousand miles, it will point you in a new direction. After a few times, you should be able to get close to roughly where your target is. I believe that with your skills, it won¡¯t be too difficult for you to find that person from there,¡± Wang Youjun replied.

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s expression finally eased a bit. She looked at the special talismans in his hand and couldn''t help but ask, ¡°I remember that the second young master mentioned that the talismans don¡¯t need energy sources. Why is it that your rune talisman can only operate after absorbing one¡¯s soul?¡±

    ¡°That child is always fondling the flowers and trampling the grass. How would he know about these things?¡± Wang Youjun replied with a disappointed expression. ¡°Who says talismans don¡¯t need energy? Rune talismans and offerings have always been spoken of together. Why do you think that is?

    ¡°The rulers of the world have always made all kinds of sacrifices and offerings throughout history to ask the heavens or mysterious forces for protection and blessings.

    ¡°Our Divine Firmament Sect immerses itself in offerings, and we¡¯ve traditionally used mainly fruits and vegetables as our sacrifices to the forces behind the runes. Normally, those offerings are the energy needed to activate the rune talismans. The more sincere the offerings, the more pleased those forces are. The effects of the talismans naturally be better as a result.¡±

    ¡°So that was it!¡± Xie Daoyun eximed, suddenly understanding the situation. She was more and more amazed at the profoundness of this world¡¯s rune talismans.

    ¡°My rune is a bit special. It likes the power of souls. When the rune¡¯s grade is higher, its needs are naturally a bit higher as well,¡± Wang Youjun said proudly. He clenched his hand, and the yellow talisman instantly disappeared.

    Yun Jianyue cursed silently. The talisman was probably an evil artifact. She asked, ¡°Then can I ask your respected self what help you need from us exactly? I hope you can exin the potential hidden dangers ahead of time.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s mainly to borrow Lady Xie¡¯s power to undo some rather tricky defensive formations. The other monsters will be dealt with by our Wang n. As for the dangers¡­¡± Wang Youjun paused with a chuckle, then continued, ¡°This old one and the Wang n¡¯s experts will be present. Furthermore, with Miss Yun watching over things, I don¡¯t believe that Miss Xie will be in any danger.¡±

    When she sensed the disdain in his voice, Yun Jianyue thought to herself that what he said was correct. If the two of them and the Wang n worked together, no dangers would be too big of an issue.But what I¡¯m scared of is the Wang n being the source of the danger¡­

    Still, with how things were, she didn¡¯t have the luxury to worry about that. She asked, ¡°When do we leave?¡±

    ¡°Everything else has already been prepared and we¡¯ve just been waiting for a formation expert. Now that everything is in order, we can depart in two hours whenever I give the order,¡± Wang Youjun said, taking out another talisman. With a light tap, an invisible ripple surrounded the entirety of Wang Port.

 Chapter 1765: Sect Master Records

    <h4>Chapter 1765: Sect Master Records</h4>

    Tens of thousands of miles away, Zu An¡¯s group had stopped for some rest in a beaten-down tavern after tossing its boss and his workers into the firewood room. The group had stopped to stay the night, but upon seeing Qiu Honglei and Jing Teng¡¯s beauty, the boss and his men had drugged their meals and attempted to steal their women and their wealth.

    However, Zu An was immune to poison, and furthermore, as a member of the Devil Sect, Qiu Honglei was thoroughly experienced. They had immediately sensed that something was off. When they saw the scheme fail, the boss and his men had decided to just attack, but they hadn¡¯t expected such dainty-looking women to be so strong and were all quickly ughtered.

    Zu An¡¯s group was exhausted from their journey. Wei Suo, in particr, had been hanging by a thread after vomiting day after day. They had decided to just stay for a few days to rest and recuperate.

    ¡°Sigh, every single store seems to be a rotten one. We basically haven¡¯t met a single good person on the way here. This world is just too terrifying,¡± Qiu Honglei said with a sigh, leaning against Zu An in her room.

    ¡°That¡¯s how people are here. That¡¯s why there are monsters roaming around this world,¡± Zu An said, thinking back to Jing Teng¡¯s introduction of this world. At the time, he hadn¡¯t really understood, but he really sympathized after what they had gone through day after day.

    ¡°Ah Zu, I¡¯m worried about my master. I wonder how she¡¯s doing right now,¡± Qiu Honglei said, her eyes filled with worry.

    ¡°What¡¯s there to worry about? Your master¡¯s cultivation is so powerful, and she has so much experience in the world of warriors. She¡¯s definitely fine,¡± Zu An said. He gently sorted out her scattered hair, but he was also a bit worried inside.

    Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen were both powerful even among grandmasters. Furthermore, they had always roamed the world and experienced life in the wilderness. They would definitely have no difficulty protecting themselves. Comparatively, Zu An was more worried about Xie Daoyun. Back then, when she was sucked into the ck hole, he had seen her rush in to save them.

    That littledy came from arge n and had been raised as a precious daughter. Violet Mountain was her first excursion far away from home. She was as pure and innocent as a white sheet of paper. Even though her cultivation wasn¡¯t that low, the people of this world were all treacherous. An attack out in the open was much easier to avoid than a hidden one, after all¡­

    Unfortunately, there was no way for him to know where she was, so he couldn''t help her even if he wanted to. He could only pray that just like him, she had either Yun Jianyue or Yan Xuehen with her.

    The two chatted for a while longer. Qiu Honglei gradually fell asleep as Zu Anforted her, and he gently pulled the covers over her. Even while asleep, Qiu Honglei¡¯s face was perfect without a single w. Her skin was fair and her lips were cherry red. Her brows were fine and her nose was pretty. It really made one wonder just how many blessings could be concentrated in a single person¡­

    At any other time, perhaps Zu An would even feel something stir within him. However, this world was fraught with danger. Not only did they not know what they would face up ahead, he had to worry about the others too. He really couldn''t bring himself to have any other thoughts.

    After keeping herpany for a while, he silently left. He closed the door and was about to go next door to his own room, when he suddenly noticed that Jing Teng was sitting on the other side of the roof. The moonlight that normally seemed to scatter impartially across the world almost seemed to be gathering around her, granting her a faint glow. Upon closer inspection, it seemed as if some sparkling motes of light were entering her body. Then, some dark things emerged from her.

    Zu An was a bit surprised. It was rumored that some supernatural beings could absorb the natural essence of the sun and moon. Today, he had actually personally witnessed such a thing.

    Jing Teng stared at Zu An with herrge and beautiful eyes. She asked with a grin, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you sleeping together with your girlfriend? I¡¯ve never seen a beauty as incredible as Miss Qiu. Her entire body seems to emanate a kind of charm at the highest level. To be honest, even a woman like me feels a bit tempted.¡±

    Zu An said with a frown, ¡°The two of us are in a pure rtionship and respect each other¡¯s boundaries. It¡¯s nothing like the random thoughts you¡¯re having.¡±

    Jing Teng eximed in shock, ¡°Who would have thought that a pervert like you would actually have a gentlemanly side to you?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s forehead darkened. He replied, ¡°Did I do something to you or something? How did I suddenly be a pervert?¡±

    ¡°I believe you know the truth,¡± Jing Teng said. She harrumphed and didn¡¯t pay him any more attention. She leaped down from another room, then mmed her own door shut.

    Zu An was left in a mental storm all alone.Wasn¡¯t that just an illusion? Why is she still bothered by it?

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, In Wang Port¡­

    Xie Daoyun and Yun Jianyue left the master¡¯s chambers. They bumped into the waiting Wang Neishi.

    When he saw the two of them, Wang Neishi was clearly shocked. He asked, ¡°You two seeded in your transaction with my father?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Thank you for introducing us, second young master,¡± Xie Daoyun said, showing him a gentle smile.

    ¡°Of course; that was only proper to do!¡± Wang Neishi replied, although he looked disappointed. He had thought that the time for him to be the ultimate savior was about to arrive, upon which they would naturally devote their entire lives to him¡­

    After a while, he said, ¡°Ladies, please rest in the manor for a few days. My father and I need to leave for a few days, and we can help you once we return.¡±

    Yun Jianyue was a bit surprised. The talisman Wang Youjun had used clearly hadn¡¯t made any sound, and yet every single person across all of Wang Port seemed to have been contacted. The rune talismans of this world were truly quite incredible.

    Xie Daoyun replied, ¡°There¡¯s no need. We need to travel with your esteemed father.¡±

    ¡°You two are going too?¡± Wang Neishi asked, now truly shocked. He suddenly remembered that his father had beencking a key figure for the mission and asked, ¡°Could it be that you are that individual, someone proficient in formations?¡±

    When he saw her nod, Wang Neishi immediately had a conflicted look on his face. If she has so much skill, father probably won¡¯t let me randomly y around with her¡­

    However, he quickly changed his mind.Only a woman with both talent and looks is worthy of me! Maybe I should just ask for her hand in marriage!

    As for whether or not she would ept, he didn¡¯t even think about it. There wasn¡¯t a single woman in this world who could refuse the Wang n, let alone someone as elegant and poised as himself.

    ¡­

    Soon after, the group arrived next to the Wang n¡¯s dock. There was arge ship there. Whether in terms of the scale or theplexity of the runes around the ship, both far exceeded Wang Neishi¡¯s boat from before.

    Meanwhile, several dozen people had gathered next to the dock. Xie Daoyun was quite shocked, because they all had high cultivation ranks. Her own cultivation was only around the middle of the pack here. There were even a few whose cultivation ranks were close to big sister Yun¡¯s!

    As expected of one of the most influential ns, the Wang n!

    Just what is Wang Youjun nning on doing? He actually felt that such arge group of experts still wasn¡¯t enough, so he needs the two of us?

    Wang Youjun swept his gaze over the area before saying, ¡°Everyone is here. Depart!¡±

    Therge ship set sail. Several Wang n experts took out their rune talismans, and the great ship steadily rose into the air. After ascending, it headed east.

    Soon after, Xie Daoyun and Yun Jianyue noticed that therge ship had arrived above the ocean. They could see the worry in each other¡¯s faces. If they remained on the continent, that wouldn¡¯t be too bad. Across the sea, though, there was nowhere for them to stand on. If they had a falling-out with the Wang n, evening back would be difficult. Yun Jianyue couldn¡¯t help but recall Zu An¡¯s ability to control water. If he were at her side, then there wouldn¡¯t be a need to worry about anything¡­

    Shortly after, a massive fish suddenly leaped out of the water surface. It bared its vicious mouth and tried to bite the flying ship. As this world restricted flight, the ship could only fly at a low altitude. With a single leap, the fish could already reach the ship. Its menacing mouth was the size of the whole vessel. If it did bite down, the entire ship would plummet straight into the water.

    Yun Jianyue was about to act when light erupted from the flying ship. It turned out the Wang n experts had already prepared for such an event. They all attacked with their respective skills.

    After being hit by so many skills, a burst of blood erupted from the monster. Then, its wounded body fell into the water. Then, the ocean¡¯s surface stirred. It seemed as if other beasts had smelled the blood and rushed over. The giant fish tried to bite the creatures around it. However, how could it resist with its serious injuries?N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Soon after, a giant skeleton appeared in the ocean. Xie Daoyun felt her entire body be a bit cold.If I fell into the ocean, wouldn¡¯t I die without even leaving a corpse behind?

    Wang Neishi walked over with a smile and said, ¡°There is no need for you to be scared, little sister Xie. Our Wang n has so many experts. With our protection, nothing will happen.¡±

    Xie Daoyun couldn''t help but roll her eyes. This yboy really knew how to act close.Who¡¯s your little sister?

    ¡­

    Just like that, they encountered sea monsters several times along the way, but the Wang n¡¯s people were strong. They killed the monsters almost instantly upon meeting them.

    Yun Jianyue was full of admiration when she saw that.The Wang n is powerful, as expected! The power of this ship¡¯s crew isparable to our Holy Sect¡¯s upper echelon.

    Furthermore, the Wang n¡¯s people were scattered throughout the world. The ones who had remained in the Wang n were just a small portion. Judging from that, it was easy to see just how tremendous the Wang n¡¯s power was.

    Just like that, the flying ship flew for more than a day. Suddenly, a st of mist appeared in front of them. Everything went pitch-ck as they arrived at the edge of it.

    Wang Youjun sought out Xie Daoyun and asked, ¡°Miss Xie, where do you think we should go from here? We sent many ships to investigate this ce before, but none of them returned.¡±

    ¡°This doesn¡¯t seem like a naturally-formed mist, but rather a maze formation someone set up,¡± Xie Daoyun said. After observing things for a moment, she made some calctions with her fingers. Then, she pointed in a certain direction and continued, ¡°The sky is a road to death. If we want to make it through the fog, we can only go along the ocean¡¯s surface. That¡¯s the path to life. Let¡¯s take a look around after we enter from that side.¡±

    Wang Youjun nodded. With a wave of his hand, the entire flying ship descended back down to the ocean surface. When he saw how Xie Daoyun acted, he felt much more confident, thinking,There might really be a chance of recovering Sun En¡¯s three sect master records this time!

 Chapter 1766: Record of High Firmament

    <h4>Chapter 1766: Record of High Firmament</h4>

    After the disappearance of their sect master Sun En, the Divine Firmament Sect had fallen into disunity. Wang Youjun was an elder of the sect, as well as the leader of the Wang n. He was the one who had the highest hopes of seeding the position.

    However, the Divine Firmament Sect had a few other elders who were also influential. Their factions weren¡¯t inferior to the Wang n by much. There was no way they would ept Wang Youjun. Thus, they had grouped together and opposed his session of the position. Together with the fact that the three records used by generations of sect masters had disappeared along with Sun En, without the records, even if someone did be the sect master, their title would be illegitimate.

    Wang Youjun had searched for traces of Sun En¡¯s whereabouts everywhere. Sure enough, the heavens wouldn¡¯t abandon the diligent. With the Wang n¡¯s wealth and the help of the special yellow talisman, he had finally managed to discover Sun En¡¯s whereabouts recently.

    Judging from the information he had found while investigating, Sun En had been so powerful that he was just a step away from immortality. As such, he had sought out a secluded ind to go through tribtion. In order to prevent himself from being disturbed, or perhaps to defend against the schemes of his enemies, he hadn¡¯t told anyone. He had established all kinds of formations nearby.

    Unfortunately, he had still failed the tribtion in the end, and was sted to death by the lightning on that ind. From then on, the world of warriors no longer had a Divine Firmament Sect Master. The three records kept by the sessive generations of sect masters had also followed him to that ind.

    For one thing, the ind was hard to find to begin with, as Sun En had established too many restrictions around it. That was why no one had found out a thing about it after so many years. Thus, Wang Youjun had spent several decades gathering information from all sources. He had researched Sun En¡¯s way of doing things, as well as any clues and trails from before he disappeared. Together with the testimonies of thest people Sun En had conversed with before his disappearance, he had then finally managed to piece together a general outlook.

    Previously, he had tried to gather all his capable personnel. Unfortunately, all those who were proficient in formations in the Divine Firmament Sect were rted to his sworn enemies. He had been worried that news would get out, so he had never made his move. That was, until he met Xie Daoyun.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    He couldn''t help but give his son a look. He had always scolded his son for his yboy behavior, but who would have thought that it would be his lust that ended up bringing them fortune?!

    He didn¡¯t let down all of my doting after all.

    ¡­

    Soon, therge ship entered the mist. The crew could vaguely make out some reefs that were above the water surface. Only when they got closer did they see that other ces were all covered in the hazy mist.

    ¡°So, there should be no problem if we just follow this reef!¡± Wang Neishi said excitedly.

    ¡°It¡¯s not so simple. This reef seems disordered and messy, but it¡¯s actually arranged in the pattern of a constetion. It¡¯s an extremely profound formation. The slightest carelessness could result in endless regret,¡± Xie Daoyun said.

    Wang Youjun nodded and said, ¡°I must ask Miss Xie to examine it carefully.¡±

    Xie Daoyun carefully observed theyout of the reef in the distance, then asked Wang Youjun some questions about some constetions of this world. After all, different worlds had different star positions. The formation would thus be entirely different as a result. Of course, once she had that information, her knowledge would shine. As long as she knew this world¡¯s astral arrangement, she could naturally slowly figure out a way to get past the formation.

    Sure enough, after Wang Youjun replied to some questions, Xie Daoyun was able toe up with a n. She pointed at the distant reef and said, ¡°Head that way!¡±

    ¡°That is the farthest path, and it seems to be sometimes bright and sometimes dark. I can even see some shipwreck shadows. It looks like a path of death!¡± Wang Neishi couldn''t help but say doubtfully.

    ¡°Trust me,¡± Xie Daoyun said calmly.

    Wang Youjun gave her a look. Suddenly, he said with a smile, ¡°We will proceed as Miss Xie says.¡± In truth, it wasn¡¯t that he really trusted Xie Daoyun, but rather that he trusted her skill in formations. He believed she wouldn¡¯t gamble with her own life.

    Sure enough, when therge ship approached the reef, they saw the whirlpools and sunken ships disappear. They were all clearly a smokescreen.

    ¡°Miss Xie is skilled as expected,¡± Wang Youjun said, finally starting to rx.

    Wang Neishi pointed to the right and said, ¡°There is the outline of a sunken ship over there. We should move in that direction next, right?¡±

    Xie Daoyun shook her head and replied, ¡°Those aren¡¯t illusions. If we go there, we¡¯ll die. The one who created this formation was full of tricks; it truly is quite an incredible formation.¡±

    Wang Neishi was speechless. He wanted to look cool in front of a beauty, and yet he only had his own face pped. As such, he didn¡¯t speak anymore for fear that he would only look more stupid.

    ¡­

    Soon after, under Xie Daoyun¡¯s lead, the ship sometimes moved three steps forward and five steps back. They passed through the reef at all sorts of tricky angles. As time went on, the mist became fainter and fainter.

    Eventually, all the mist was behind them. When they saw the outline of an ind suddenly appear in the distance, everyone present on the ship cheered. The way they looked at Xie Daoyun was now entirely different. Previously, they had thought of her as nothing more than another woman the second young master picked up. They hadn¡¯t expected her to actually have such skill.

    Xie Daoyun couldn''t help but ask Wang Youjun, ¡°Senior Wang, even though that formation is tricky, since you have the special talisman that can search for someone, why didn¡¯t you use it to help you locate him?¡±

    Wang Youjun replied, ¡°I tried it before, but this mist seems to have been designed specially to counteract the talisman. My yellow talisman was never able to reach past it.¡±

    ¡°Huh? Why would this formation be designed to counter talismans?¡± Xie Daoyun asked in confusion. Could it be that they had anticipated that someone would have a simr talisman?

    Wang Youjun chuckled and said, ¡°That was only to be expected. Thedy doesn¡¯t need to worry yourself over it.¡±

    Xie Daoyun noticed that he seemed to be hiding something, but she could only put away her curiosity for the time being. She exchanged a look with Yun Jianyue, both of them warning each other to be more careful.

    ¡­

    Therge ship moved toward the shore, and their group descended onto the ind. They saw that there were all sorts of strange, craggy stones on the shore, but almost no trees. Strange stone pirs had been erected everywhere. They looked messy, but they actually formed some pattern. The group had no idea whether the arrangement was artificial or not. Arcs of electricity ran across the pirs from time to time. At the very center, a streak of lightning as thick as a tree¡¯s trunk struck. It was practically an apocalyptic scene.

    Those present gulped. Was this even a ce humans could survive in?

    ¡°n master, did wee to the wrong ce?¡± someone couldn''t help but ask. This really didn¡¯t seem like a ce they had any chance of passing through¡­

    ¡°No, this is the ce! This is definitely the ce!¡± Wang Youjun replied, his eyes filled with excitement. In the past, Sect Master Sun En had died precisely due to a failed tribtion. All of the lightning was probably left over from back then.

    When they saw how certain he was, the others couldn''t really say anything either. They could only start thinking of a way to pass through the terrifying lightning.

    Wang Youjun looked at Xie Daoyun and asked, ¡°Miss Xie, could it be that this lightning is controlled by some kind of formation? Is there a way to deal with it?¡±

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s gaze shifted toward the forest. She said, ¡°My intuition is telling me that this stone forest and the lightning are deeply connected. But, as for what kind of formation this really is, I can¡¯t figure that out immediately. If these really are a formation created by someone, their skills were clearly far above mine.¡±

    ¡°A stone forest?¡± Wang Youjun said with a pensive expression. Then, he assigned one of his subordinates to st apart one of the stone pirs to see if they could destroy the formation¡¯s operation.

    That person nodded. With a roar, his entire body surged with power and he unleashed a punch. A massive bear projection appeared around his fist and flew toward the stone pir.

    His powerful fist would normally have been enough to smash the pirs to pieces, but who would have thought that the projection actually wouldn¡¯t do anything?! The others were stunned. This shouldn¡¯t have been possible!

    Suddenly, electricity flickered around the pir. Xie Daoyun quickly cried, ¡°Be careful!¡±

    Unfortunately, at almost the same time, a chain of lightning rushed forth from the pir and instantly wrapped around that person¡¯s body. A miserable scream tore through the air. That person was naturally strong, since he had been chosen by Wang Youjun toe with them. He wore precious armor as well. And yet, in an instant, all of his armor turned to ashes, and he erupted into mes before copsing.

    The others snapped out of their daze. There was only a charred ck object left on the ground, and smoke still emanated from it. The strange smell of scorched flesh wafted through the air. They were all speechless.

    Wang Youjun¡¯s eye twitched. In the end, he assigned his other subordinates to investigate around the area to see if they could avoid the lightning. After two hours, however, they returned, having failed to find any paths they could take.

    Xie Daoyun had also looked everywhere, but there were many pirs surrounded by lightning. She couldn''t figure out the stone forest¡¯syout, so there was no way to deal with the formation either.

    ¡°Since there is no solution, we can just go back and take our time thinking about what to do,¡± Wang Neishi couldn''t help but say. For some reason, he had had a bad feeling the entire day, vaguely sensing something ominous.

    ¡°We¡¯ve alreadye all this way; how can we just leave?!¡± Wang Youjun replied, looking into the depths of the lightning. He thought to himself that this was definitely one of the three records the Sect Master had, the Record of High Firmament. It was an object that could control lightning.

    Those three records were here after all!

    When he realized that, he didn¡¯t hesitate anymore. He suddenly reached out, and Wang Neishi¡¯s eight pretty and delicate servants were wrapped within an invisible power and tossed into the lightning ahead.

    ¡°Ahhh!¡± Miserable screams filled the air. Those beauties¡¯ flesh melted away one after another until only scorched skeletons remained.

    After that, the nearby lightning was no longer as fierce as before.

 Chapter 1767: Divine Firmament Sect Master

    <h4>Chapter 1767: Divine Firmament Sect Master</h4>

    The maids had always strived for the second young master¡¯s favor day after day. They looked polite and amiable on the surface, but they had actually secretly beenpeting fiercely against each other. The n master had agreed to take them on the trip, so they had been in high spirits, thinking that the n master approved of them. They had thought to themselves that they definitely had to perform well on this trip. Even if none of them could be the second young master''s first wife, bing a proper concubine was also good.

    But who would have thought that the only thing awaiting them would be such a tragic end? Wang Youjun had moved so quickly that no one could react in time.

    When he saw his maids being sacrificed mercilessly, Wang Neishi¡¯s face turned white. His first reaction was anger, but when he realized that the one responsible was his father, how could he act up?

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Xie Daoyun eximed in shock and anger, unconcerned with offending the n master.

    Wang Neishi couldn''t help but secretly feel admiration. This woman looked weak and delicate on the outside, but she was actually quite tough on the inside.

    Wang Youjun simply replied, ¡°Naturally, I¡¯m dealing with this lightning formation. Look, didn¡¯t the lightning be much weaker?¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Xie Daoyun had naturally noticed that, but how was that the most important point? She protested, ¡°But they were all living people!¡±

    Wang Youjun¡¯s expression remainedpletely normal as he said, ¡°If not for our Wang n, they would already have died a long time ago. The fact that they could live for so long in such luxury was already their blessing. What¡¯s the big deal with helping this old one a bit?¡±

    Xie Daoyun was so angry her entire body shook. Yun Jianyue secretly held her in constion. As the Devil Sect Master, she had seen more than her fair share of such things.

    Wang Youjun didn¡¯t pay Xie Daoyun any more attention and walked up to the outskirts of the stone forest. He observed the strength of the lightning a bit more, then suddenly acted again. Arge hand appeared in the air, grabbing several dozen of his subordinates with the lowest cultivation ranks.

    Those people screamed in horror and tried to resist. Unfortunately, how could they be a match for Wang Youjun? They were quickly tossed into the center of the stone forest. A burst of mes and lightning erupted, and their flesh melted instantly.

    The others became nervous. The lightning was just too terrifying. Even Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression changed a bit. Compared to the lightning element cultivators she knew, this lightning was far stronger than even Sect Master Xuan Bajing¡¯s lightning skills.

    Now, the Wang n¡¯s people finally understood. No wonder the sect master had brought so many people! It turned out that it wasn¡¯t for their skills, but rather to use them as cannon fodder! How could they still be willing to stay? They all frantically ran toward the ship.

    Wang Youjun sneered and said, ¡°I was a bit hesitant at first, but since you¡¯ve made this choice, you can¡¯t me me anymore.¡±

    He activated a talisman, then tworge hands appeared in the air again. Just like that, the fleeing people were all grabbed and tossed into the depths of the stone forest. Even though they were carefully selected experts and used all sorts of skills to protect themselves, all of them were sted to ashes by countless arcs of electricity.

    As he looked at the smoking remains, Wang Youjun nodded in satisfaction. He said, ¡°As expected, it¡¯s about enough now. Even though there¡¯s still a bit of electricity left, we can endure it even without cultivation.¡±

    Apart from his son Wang Neizhi, there were still four elders at his side. They were all n elders, people from his generation. They weren¡¯t much weaker than him. They remainedpletely calm even after witnessing the sight. It seemed as if they had known what would happen from the very start.

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s entire body felt ice-cold. She cried, ¡°You¡¯re a group of devils wearing human skin!¡±

    She thought back to how Wang Port¡¯s people had all proudly proimed that they were under the Wang n¡¯s protection, and how everything seemed to be so prosperous and happy that no ghosts dared to approach. She had been filled with admiration back then, and thought that the Wang n was incredibly kind. Now, it seemed that was all a lie!

    She tugged on Yun Jianyue¡¯s hand and said, ¡°Big sis Yun, we should leave!¡± She didn¡¯t want to stay with these demons any longer, let alone help them.

    ¡°Leave? Are you sure you can do that?¡± Wang Youjun remarked, and the Wang n¡¯s four elders quickly surrounded the two women. In the current situation, he naturally wouldn¡¯t let anyone go. Furthermore, Xie Daoyun¡¯s skill in formations would likely still prove usefulter.

    ¡°What, could it be that you want to stop me?¡± Yun Jianyue replied, raising a brow. A cruel smile appeared on the corners of her lips.

    Wang Youjun said calmly, ¡°I know your cultivation is quite high. If we were fighting one on one, this old one wouldn¡¯t necessarily be your match. However, if we work together, you two will have no chance.¡±

    ¡°That may not be the case,¡± Yun Jianyue said with a snort. Even though she knew he was right, as the Devil Sect master who had experienced seas of blood and mountains of corpses, there was no way she would just ept her fate.

    ¡°Either way, without me, none of you will be able to take that flying boat and leave this ce,¡± Wang Youjun said coldly. ¡°Furthermore, you need me to help you look for your friends, so just obediently follow us. You two are different from those expendables and have proven your ability. In the future, as long as you remain loyal to the Wang n, there will naturally be endless glory and wealth for you to enjoy.¡±

    Yun Jianyueughed loudly and said, ¡°You¡¯re right. Indeed, you have the advantage right now. However, you all have one weakness.¡±

    ¡°And that is?¡± Wang Youjun replied with a frown.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have enough time,¡± Yun Jianyue said with a cold snort. ¡°When you were talking to us, you looked in that stone forest¡¯s direction several times. It¡¯s clear that you¡¯ve managed to temporarily weaken the lightning through sacrificing the lives of those people, but after some time passes, the lightning will return.

    ¡°If you really chose to fight against me, even if we can¡¯t win, we can definitely stall for enough time for the lightning to return. Then, you won¡¯t have enough sacrifices to use again.¡±

    Wang Youjun¡¯s expression changed. He couldn''t help but give her a deep look, saying, ¡°Thedy is an extraordinary person, as expected. You have such sharp insight. Fine, you two can stay here and wait for us. When wee out again, we¡¯ll bring you back to the continent. At the same time, I¡¯ll fulfill what I promised you two as well.¡±

    ¡°First tell me what you¡¯re actually looking for here,¡± Yun Jianyue said, staring him down.

    Wang Youjun was a bit hesitant, but after giving the stone forest another nce, he quickly said, ¡°We came in search of the sect master¡¯s remains. As a disciple of the Divine Firmament Sect, we can¡¯t just leave our sect master¡¯s corpse in the wilderness.¡±

    Yun Jianyue chuckled and replied, ¡°Who are you trying to fool? Someone like you who reaps the souls of others without a moment¡¯s hesitation, someone who treats your subordinates like cannon fodder, would actually so earnestly look for your deceased sect master¡¯s corpse?¡±

    Xie Daoyun was inwardly amazed. She had beenpletely overwhelmed by anger earlier, but big sister Yun was much shrewder. She had been able to realize the truth from their limited information.

    A hint of anger shed through Wang Youjun¡¯s eyes. With his status, he clearly wasn¡¯t used to being put in a difficult situation by others. However, Yun Jianyue had fully grasped his weakness, so he could only suppress his anger and say, ¡°Sect Master Sun usually carried three records on him. They are extremely precious.¡±

    Yun Jianyue finally understood what was going on. The records were probably even more precious than Wang Youjun let on, which was why he was willing to pay such a huge price to search for them here.

    ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll go with you then,¡± Yun Jianyue said.

    ¡°Big sister Yun!¡± Xie Daoyun eximed, panicking. She really didn¡¯t want to help these people.

    Yun Jianyue secretly said, ¡°We need to use this chance to seize Sun En¡¯s talismans. If they manage to get them first, we¡¯ll be dead for certain.¡±

    They could still fight it out right now, but if Wang Youjun¡¯s group got their hands on the three talismans, their power would instantly skyrocket. At that point, the two women would definitely not be a match. They could only follow along and wait for an opportunity to act. Xie Daoyun was smart, so she quickly understood the reasoning and no longer protested.

    Wang Youjun frowned. After telling her his objective, he didn¡¯t really want them to go with him. But when he saw that the lightning was starting to gather, he didn¡¯t have any time to waste and said, ¡°Then just follow us.¡± Afterward, he ordered the elders to watch for any strange movements from the two women.

    When the group entered the stone forest, sure enough, no more of the terrifying lightning appeared. Even so, there was still some weaker electricity arcing past from time to time. Still, everyone present was a powerful expert, so they each had their own methods of dealing with it. Even so, they could still feel the power of absolute destruction invading their bodies. If the electricity umted to a certain point, even if it wasn¡¯t the same as the terrifying lightning from before, it would still be enough to take their lives.

    Thus, the group didn¡¯t dare to waste even a bit of time. They frantically ran ahead. They were just barely out of the stone forest when the terrifying lightning storm gathered once more. They could feel its terrifying power even from far away, leaving their faces deathly pale.

    Yun Jianyue couldn''t help but ask, ¡°How are we going to leaveter?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Sect Master Sun had a High Firmament Record that can control lightning,¡± Wang Youjun replied absentmindedly. He continued to stare straight ahead.

    There was an elevated tform a couple of hundred meters ahead, with steps on all sides. At the very top was a giant seat carved out of stone. On it sat a charred corpse that seemed to have ended up that way after being struck by lightning. Even though they were only skeletal remains, they were still surrounded by a terrifying aura that gave people goosebumps.

    Even more rmingly, there were three rune talismans slowly floating in the air around the remains. They were clearly the Divine Firmament Sect¡¯s three divine records!

 Chapter 1768: Reversal

    <h4>Chapter 1768: Reversal</h4>

    Wang Youjun secretly ordered hispanions to watch Yun Jianyue and Xie Daoyun. The elders all nodded.

    However, just as Wang Youjun was about to rush up the tform to seize those three talismans, the elders moved. They didn¡¯t attack Yun Jianyue and Xie Daoyun, but rather also rushed toward the three talismans on the stage!

    ¡°Old Eighth, what are you all doing?!¡± Wang Youjun eximed in shock and fury. He had never expected these people to make such a choice!

    The one he called Old Eighth chuckled and said, ¡°These divine talismans should belong to the capable. If the n master can go after them, why can¡¯t we?¡±

    Wang Youjun¡¯s expression darkened and he asked, ¡°Are you all nning to rebel?¡±

    Another replied, ¡°The n master speaks too harshly. We are also from the Wang n and all of us have done much for the n. How is there anything wrong with our actions?¡±

    Wang Youjun¡¯s face waspletely ashen as he said, ¡°As the n master, it is right and unalterable that these divine talismans go to me. If we each took one and many factions appeared, wouldn¡¯t the Wang n be left inplete chaos then?¡±

    ¡°What chaos? The reason our Wang n was able to remain one of the world¡¯s most powerful ns was none other than the mutual influence between the n master and the elders. But in the n master¡¯s generation, everything changed once you obtained that special red radiance yellow talisman. If the n master obtains the three divine talismans too, what are the rest of us supposed to do then? We might very well be thrown into the lightning just like the others earlier,¡± said another elder.

    ¡°Good, very good. It seems you¡¯ve all been colluding on this for some time,¡± Wang Youjun said, feeling so angry he burst intoughter. ¡°But do you really think you can seize any of these divine talismans from me with just your group?¡±

    ¡°If it were one on one, of course we would be no match. But if we four work together, why would we fear you?¡± one of the elders with a long beard immediately fired back. ¡°Could it be that you are going to rely on that trash son who only knows how to fool around with women?¡±

    Wang Neishi, who had been watching with a stupefied expression, immediately turnedpletely red.Just talk and argue among yourselves if you¡¯re going to argue! What are you cursing me for?

    Wang Youjun¡¯s gaze turned cold. He was about to interfere when the Eighth Elder said, ¡°n master, whether you obtain them or we obtain them, at least they will remain within the Wang n. This can still be considered keeping the good things inside the family. It would only be an irredeemable loss if those two women got them instead.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Why not work together to deal with them first before we struggle over who the three talismans belong to?¡± Wang Youjun replied with a nod.

    Xie Daoyun was shocked. She quickly took a few steps back and became extremely vignt.

    However, Yun Jianyue told her secretly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, nothing bad will happen.¡±

    Xie Daoyun was stunned. She didn¡¯t understand why Yun Jianyue was so confident. After all, they were at an absolute disadvantage.

    Suddenly, the Eighth Elder shook his head and said, ¡°n master, you¡¯ve misunderstood. I am saying that you should stop those two women while we take those three talismans.¡±

    Wang Youjun¡¯s expression darkened. He shot back, ¡°Are you trying to make a fool of me right now?¡±

    ¡°Of course not,¡± the Eighth Elder exined. ¡°The n master is the strongest. If we fight alongside you, there is no guarantee that you would not betray us. If that happened, we would have no way to resist. In contrast, even if we obtained the divine talismans, with our strength, we would only be closing the gap between us and you. You would not need to worry too much either. But if we let you obtain those divine talismans, we would just be waiting for death. So, we have no choice but to face you first.¡±

    Xie Daoyun was stupefied. She couldn''t help but feel more and more admiration for Yun Jianyue.Her understanding of human nature is far greater than anything I could possibly hope to have!

    ¡°Are you threatening me?¡± Wang Youjun asked,ughing out of sheer anger.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°This is no threat; we are just trying to use reason. In the end, the n master will still be the n master, and with several powerful helpers, the other great ns added together would never be a match for our Wang n,¡± the Eighth Elder said.

    ¡°Old Eighth, I have to admit that you are quite good ating up with nonsense. However, there is one matter you are all mistaken about,¡± Wang Youjun said with a sigh.

    The Eighth Elder shivered and asked, ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve overestimated yourselves, and you¡¯ve underestimated me!¡± Wang Youjun cried. He rushed toward the weakest elder, the long-bearded one, like a streak of lightning.

    The long-bearded elder was horrified. He frantically evaded to the side while bringing out all sorts of treasures without restraint to attack Wang Youjun. However, apletely white scroll suddenly appeared in Wang Youjun¡¯s hand. That bearded elder was horrified, but it was already toote.

    Whoosh!

    When the elder¡¯s hand touched the painting scroll, he vanished. Soon, he reappeared inside the scroll. The others could see him roaring furiously inside the scroll, trying to get out.

    A brush appeared in Wang Youjun¡¯s hand. With powerful strokes, he began drawing the character ¡®death¡¯ in midair.

    A look of despair appeared in the bearded elder¡¯s eyes when he saw that character. He struggled even more fiercely, but he knew that he would already be done for as soon as it waspleted. Even though he was the one with the weakest cultivation among the four, the four of them were at the very peak of the entire Wang n. In such a moment of crisis, the power he erupted with suddenly made the painting scroll crack. It seemed as if he would break out at any moment.

    Suddenly, the other three elders quickly rushed over to provide aid. One shed with a de, sending endless waves of de energy at Wang Youjun¡¯s hand, while yelling, ¡°Let him go!¡±

    If Wang Youjun didn¡¯t dodge and chose to finish the ¡®death¡¯ character, he would surely lose his hand. Unexpectedly, however, he didn¡¯t stop at all and chose toplete it anyway.

    The ¡®death¡¯ character really was magnificent, every stroke exuding great power. It was the finest calligraphy anyone present had ever seen. When it was finished, it surged with red light and flew toward the painting scroll, causing the scroll to fall silent. The bearded elder¡¯s face was stuck in a horrified expression, but he couldn''t move at all anymore. He had already died.

    ¡­

    In the distance, Yun Jianyue watched, thinking this skill was a bit simr to Yu Yanluo¡¯s. However, Wang Youjun¡¯s was clearly more treacherous.

    However, at the same time, the de waves reached Wang Youjun¡¯s hand. With the sharpness of the de energy, there would be no way of saving that hand. Additionally, once it struck his body, Wang Youjun would likely be seriously injured and lose fighting strength.

    And yet, what happened next made the others¡¯ eyes widen. When the de energynded on Wang Youjun¡¯s hand, it all vanished without a trace, like a drop in an ocean. The next moment, it suddenly reappeared around the de user and crashed down.

    With a miserable scream, the de user was sliced into mincemeat by his own terrifying technique.

    The Eighth Elder and the other surviving elder both backed up uncontrobly. They all looked at Wang Youjun with horror. They had thought that with the four of them working together, they could defeat him, and yet he had defeated two of them in an instant! The situation was instantly reversed.

    ¡°You can reflect the attacks of another?¡± the Eighth Elder eximed, his expression darkening. This waspletely outside of their expectations. They had never expected him to have hidden such a formidable ability!

    Wang Youjun smiled and said, ¡°Now, you understand just how terribly you¡¯ve miscalcted, right?¡±

    ¡°I refuse to believe you can reflect anything!¡± the Eighth Elder roared in anger.

    He suddenly took out a talisman, and a blue me rushed toward Wang Youjun. Simultaneously, the other elder also made a move, unleashing a storm to support him. Spurred by the power of wind, the mes quickly engulfed the entire space.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression became serious. She had nned to just watch from the side and reap the benefits, but the situation had changed way faster than she expected. Thus, she didn¡¯t hesitate anymore. She picked up Xie Daoyun and rushed at the stage, nning to seize the divine talismans first.

    Just then, the endless storm of mes covered Wang Youjun. Eighth Elder sighed in relief. Wang Youjun was skilled in the way of art, so his mes would naturally counter that. Together with the assistance of Old Tenth¡¯s wind, it would be enough to burn Wang Youjun to ashes. His reflection power wouldn¡¯t be able to reflect an intangible elemental force¡­ right?

    The firestorm swept over Wang Youjun, not leaving a single trace where he had been standing.

    ¡°Was he burned into nothing? But it doesn¡¯t make sense for Wang Youjun to not have had any strength to fight back¡­¡± the Eighth Elder muttered, shivering.

    Suddenly, the air around him became scorching hot. When he looked down, he was horrified to see blue mes surging all around him! His eyes widened, but in an instant, he was burned to a crisp, leaving behind only a skeleton. Meanwhile, the Tenth Elder wasn¡¯t much better off. He screamed miserably as he was ripped apart by a vicious tornado.

    Wang Youjun instantly appeared in front of Yun Jianyue. The moment she saw him, Yun Jianyue activated her blood sea domain, however, dyeing the entire area dark red.

    Wang Youjun shivered.What is this woman¡¯s background? How is she able to gather such terrifying killing intent?

    Yun Jianyue sneered and said, ¡°That strange reflection ability won¡¯t work against me in my domain.¡± At the same time, her other hand lightly tapped Xie Daoyun¡¯s body, gentlyunching her onto the stage so she was only a step away from the three divine talismans.

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s hands were about to touch the three talismans when a voice said with a cold snort, ¡°Exchange Shift Talisman!¡±

    A yellow talisman burned in Wang Youjun¡¯s hands. In the same instant, Xie Daoyun grabbed the air, but when she raised her head with surprise, she saw that she was no longer on the stage, but instead where Wang Neishi had been. Meanwhile, Wang Neishi had swapped positions with her and was now standing on the stage. He grabbed one of the talismans.

 Chapter 1769: Shocking Developments

    Chapter 1769: Shocking Developments

    Wang Youjun sighed in relief, thinking that the situation was resolved. He was starting to regret bringing Yun Jianyue and Xie Daoyun along. They had added unnecessary variables for no reason. Still, without them, they wouldn¡¯t have been able to move past the sea of mist either. Fortunately, the final conclusion was good.

    He didn¡¯t really believe his rtionship with his son was that good; rather, he thought Wang Neishi was nothing more than a wastrel who spent all of his time on women. Even if his son obtained the three talismans, he definitely wouldn¡¯t be a match. It would still be easy enough to deal with him.

    Yun Jianyue and Xie Daoyun both felt their hearts plummet. There was no chance to stop what was happening. They could only watch as Wang Neishi grabbed the three talismans.

    ¡°Hahaha, I never expected them to enter my hands in the end! Looks like I was the one chosen by the heavens after all!¡± Wang Neishi cried, breathing quickly. With these three talismans, forget about the brothers hepeted with, even his father¡¯s position as the n leader could potentially be his.

    However, his expression suddenly changed. He frantically tried to throw the three talismans away, but they didn¡¯t leave his hands no matter what he did. The three who were fighting couldn''t help but stop attacking, turning to look at the stage.

    Wang Neishi¡¯s hand reached toward Wang Youjun, his eyes filled with a pleading gaze as he began, ¡°Save¡­¡±

    Wang Youjun was shocked. He quickly looked at the three talismans and saw that the yellow paper¡¯s cinnabar diagrams had turned a sinister red, as if blood had been used to draw them again. At the same time, Wang Neishi¡¯s entire body shriveled at a visible rate. In just a few moments, his once sturdy figure became a shriveled, dried corpse.

    Yun Jianyue and Xie Daoyun were speechless. However, Xie Daoyun couldn''t help but feel grateful. If she hadn¡¯t been swapped out earlier, she would have been the one to end up as a shriveled corpse.

    Wang Youjun didn¡¯t have time to feel regret. Instead, he looked at the stage. The three talismans shone with a malicious red glow as they spun wildly around the corpse at the center. Blood-colored threads connected the talismans with the scorched corpse. It was as if they were transporting blood essence to it. Gradually, the scorched corpse began to grow new flesh beneath its charred ck surface.

    When she saw the shocking scene, how could Yun Jianyue still be in the mood to fight? She couldn''t help but swallow with great difficulty, saying, ¡°I recall you saying that your Sect Master Sun En failed tribtion and was sted to death by lightning.¡±

    ¡°That is what should have happened, in theory,¡± Wang Youjun said, his voice hoarse.

    An indescribable aura began to surge. Both of their expressions changed greatly. They immediately turned and ran. Yun Jianyue picked up the stupefied Xie Daoyun along the way. Soon after, though, the three had no choice but to stop, because they were stopped by the terrifying lightning stone forest. They couldn''t leave even if they wanted to.

    Crackle!

    The three turned around and saw that the charred skin of the corpse wasing off piece by piece. Eventually, a powerful figure stood up from the throne. Wide-eyed and broad-nosed, the man was surrounded by a mysterious aura of power. A daoist robe formed over his body, and the three talismans that were quickly spinning around him quickly vanished into its sleeves. He looked down at the area; his gaze was so sharp it seemed tangible, making the three feel their skin hurting.

    Xie Daoyun was one thing, but Yun Jianyue¡¯s cultivation was higher, and she clearly understood that this guy¡¯s aura was no weaker than Zhao Han¡¯s!

    Thud!

    The proud and confident Wang Youjun audibly dropped to his knees, saying, ¡°This subordinate pays his respects to the sect master! The sect master¡¯s martial and artistic virtue is a blessing to the people; your longevity willst thousands of autumns, ten thousand generations! You will unify the martial world!¡±

    Yun Jianyue and Xie Daoyun exchanged a look. They both saw the surprise in each other¡¯s eyes. Was this really the Divine Firmament Sect Master, Sun En? When it came to the two of them kneeling and kowtowing, that waspletely impossible, though. Forget about Yun Jianyue¡¯s pride, Xie Daoyun didn¡¯t even need to bow to her own teacher, let alone to a stranger.

    ¡°Oh, so it was Elder Wang,¡± Sun En said, giving him a look. ¡°What were you doing here?¡±

    When he sensed Sun En¡¯s gaze, Wang Youjun¡¯s back waspletely drenched in sweat. He said, ¡°After sect master disappeared, this subordinate searched the world for your whereabouts. Recently, I finally found some clues. I was originally going to bring sect master back for a proper burial, but I never expected sect master to still be alive! This is an incredibly joyous affair! Once your respected self returns, our Divine Firmament Sect will no longer be split up and divided.¡±

    ¡°Split up and divided?¡± Sun En asked, his eyes narrowing.

    Wang Youjun didn¡¯t even dare to wipe the sweat on his forehead. He quickly exined, ¡°It is mainly because sect master disappeared for many years, so Elder Sun, Elder Qian, Elder Li, and the others all wanted to be the new sect master. None of them were willing to give in to the others, so¡­¡±

    Sun En gave him a deep look and asked, ¡°You were one of them too, no?¡±

    Wang Youjun was now sweating even harder. He quickly said, ¡°It was only because I didn¡¯t wish for the Divine Firmament Sect to be divided! If I had known that the sect master was still in this world, I naturally wouldn¡¯t have dared to have such thoughts!¡±

    Sun En sneered and said, ¡°Fine. Seeing as I was able toe back to life because of your arrival, I won¡¯t bicker with you.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, sect master!¡± Wang Youjun replied, kowtowing while feeling his stomach turn over. He had lost so much on this trip. Over half of Wang Port¡¯s elites had been lost, and even his own son had died. And yet, even after all of that, this was the end result! Of course, he didn¡¯t dare to show any of that on the surface.

    Sun En looked at Yun Jianyue and Xie Daoyun, asking, ¡°Who are they? Why aren¡¯t they kneeling in my presence?¡±

    Yun Jianyue said proudly, ¡°No one in this world can stand in this one¡¯s way. I¡¯ve never even knelt in front of the emperor himself, so why should I kneel in front of you?¡±

    Wang Youjun quickly said, ¡°These two aren¡¯t from the Divine Firmament Sect. I invited them to deal with the mist formation outside, but they had rapacious designs and actually coveted the sect master¡¯s three records!¡±

    He was worried that what these two said would put him in danger, so he decided to speak first. He also bore a deep grudge against the two of them for ruining his n. If not for them, he might have already seeded, not giving Sun En the chance to revive.

    Sun En¡¯s expression couldn''t help but darken when he heard the exnation. He yelled, ¡°You dare to put on airs in front of me?¡±

    As soon as he spoke, a talisman suddenly appeared. He chanted a few lines and a storm surged around him. Several dozen figures condensed in the clouds, and a suit of lightning armor flickered around his body and emanated waves of powerful and divine energy. It was as if he had be a general from the heavens.

    Wang Youjun looked at the celestial troops in the clouds. Every single one was incredibly powerful. He thought enviously, The Record of Emperor''s Suppression is powerful beyondpare, as expected¡­

    Just then, the celestial army brandished an assortment of weapons. They rushed straight at Yun Jianyue. Yun Jianyue shivered. Every single one of these celestial troops was at least at the master rank. Furthermore, the divine auraing from their bodies seemed to have a restraining effect on her.

    However, she was the kind of person who responded to strength with more strength. She didn¡¯t have any fear on her face. The Crescent Ring spun and shed toward the troops as she charged in like a tiger among sheep. The Crescent Ring drew out profound arcs around her, and the celestial troops never even had a chance to encircle her before they were destroyed. In just a few breaths of time, the endless soldiers werepletely ughtered.

    Even though the celestial troops had master rank strength, they were dead creatures. They couldn''t really bring out the true power of master rank cultivators. Otherwise, it wouldn¡¯t have been so easy for her.

    When he saw the tangible killing intent in Yun Jianyue¡¯s eyes, Wang Youjun shivered. This woman¡¯s mysterious weapon really is outrageous. If I really fought against her, I could be injured before I even had the chance to use the talisman¡¯s power.

    After being killed, the celestial troops turned into wisps of mist.

    Sun En voiced his surprise, saying, ¡°It seems I underestimated your cultivation. You were able to gather such shocking killing intent at such a young age; truly an incredible genius.¡± But he quickly changed his tone and added, ¡°Even so, you are still a mortal in the end. You cannot resist true heavenly might.¡±

    Yun Jianyue sneered and retorted, ¡°I just heard that Wang guy say that you were sted to death after failing ascension. What right do you have to represent heavenly might?¡±

    Sun En glowered and snapped, ¡°Impudent!¡±

    With another wave of his hand, another group of celestial troops condensed. Unlike the previous time, there were almost a thousand of them. The whole army surrounded Yun Jianyue.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Yun Jianyue was rmed. Even though these soldiers didn¡¯t really have souls, so they couldn''t bring out their true strength, their numbers were a different problem. If they attacked together, they could smother her with sheer quantity!

    Suddenly, a sound filled the air as Xie Daoyun¡¯s hands quickly formed a seal. A blue formation flew at the celestial troops. Surprisingly, however, they weren¡¯t harmed at all.

    While Yun Jianyue was confused, Xie Daoyun said urgently through ki transmission, ¡°Hurry! I divided them into several groups, so they can¡¯t attack you together for some time! However, I can¡¯t hold on for that long.¡±

    ¡°Thanks!¡± Yun Jianyue replied, quickly understanding. She charged forth like a streak of light. The Crescent Ring was like a reaper¡¯s scythe, harvesting batch after batch of heads.

    Sun En didn¡¯t seem to mind it at all as those celestial troops were ughtered. Rather, he carefully sized up Xie Daoyun.

 Chapter 1770: Hidden Dragon Phoenix Chick

    Chapter 1770: Hidden Dragon Phoenix Chick

    ¡°Thisdy actually had such profound skills in formations?¡± Sun En remarked. He hadn¡¯t been fully convinced when Wang Youjun said that she was a formation expert, but now, there was a bit of surprise in his eyes.

    Wang Youjun suggested, ¡°Sect master, what if I capture that woman for you so she doesn¡¯t cause any trouble?¡±

    Sun Enughed indifferently and replied, ¡°Do you think a trifling girl could destroy this one¡¯s techniques?¡±

    Wang Youjun was rmed and quickly lowered his head, saying, ¡°This subordinate wouldn¡¯t dare!¡±

    ¡°This game is finished!¡± Sun En yelled as he took out another rune talisman.

    Purple lightning flickered around it as it rushed into the air, drawing all the lightning in the stone forest to it. Gradually, the talisman became more and more powerful. Dark clouds gathered densely, as if it had be a lightning tribtion in itself. Xie Daoyun could feel a powerful pressure even from far away. She quickly shouted, ¡°Big sis Yun, be careful! This should be that Record of High Firmament they were talking about!¡±

    Yun Jianyue also noticed the abnormalities happening in the air. Unfortunately, before she could react, a streak of lightningshed at her. Recalling the miserable fate of the people in the stone forest, she didn¡¯t dare to face it head-on. However, she was extremely fast, so not even the lightning that had suddenly appeared could hit her.

    The sight filled Wang Youjun with admiration. If it were him, he wouldn¡¯t be able to avoid it so easily. Even though he had the Shift Exchange Rune, that was a one-time-use consumable item. He had only managed to collect three of them in total over the years. Unless he was absolutely forced to, he wouldn¡¯t use them. However, admiration was just admiration; he knew that only death awaited her.

    Sure enough, after Yun Jianyue dodged a few times, that ¡®Record of High Firmament¡¯ suddenly fired several dozen streaks of lightning that formed a web, covering everything within several hundred meters around her. She had nowhere left to run.

    Xie Daoyun felt a wave of despair overtake her. She could only provide some support by hurriedly using runes to buff Yun Jianyue¡¯s speed and recovery, but she knew that wouldn¡¯t really do much. It wouldn¡¯t be enough for Yun Jianyue to break out of the inescapable.

    Suddenly, antern appeared. Its gentle radiance formed a protective cover, blocking the lightning from getting closer and protecting Yun Jianyue as she broke through.

    Yun Jianyue didn¡¯t stop for even a moment. She rushed straight up to the ¡®Record of High Firmament¡¯ and brought her Crescent Ring ferociously down on it. She couldn¡¯t give Sun En a third chance to use the lightning.

    Suddenly, however, a streak of powerful energy arrived by her side. Even though she quickly brought her de back to protect herself, it still struck her viciously, and she was sted over a thousand feet away.

    Xie Daoyun quickly brought her hands together to form a seal. A blue formation appeared behind Yun Jianyue, and a cushioning force caught her, preventing her from being injured a second time. Even so, the blood and ki within Yun Jianyue stirred chaotically. A trail of blood dripped out from the corner of her mouth.

    Yun Jianyue looked up and saw that Sun En was standing next to the ¡®Record of Divine Firmament¡¯. He had be almost double his original size. His hair flew wildly behind him as if he were a demonic god.

    ¡°How is that possible?¡± Yun Jianyue wondered, baffled. The aura Sun En gave off was entirely different. It was as if¡­ as if he had be apletely different person.

    Wang Youjun¡¯s jaw practically dropped. He had never expected this woman to survive so long! She had actually forced Sect Master Sun to use that skill!

    The talisman ¡®Record of Heaven Heart¡¯ could allow the user to summon the heroic spirits of history¡¯s most powerful beings to support himself, granting him all of their abilities. Thus, it solved a talisman master¡¯s weakness of being weak in closebat.

    For many years, the ¡®Record of Emperor''s Suppression¡¯ and ¡®Record of High Firmament¡¯ had always been enough for Sun En to deal with all sorts of enemies. He had never used the ¡®Record of Heaven Heart¡¯. Wang Youjun hadn¡¯t expected this woman to have actually forced him to use it! Only then did he feel that his choice to surrender immediately was correct. This woman had fought so splendidly, but all of it was still futile.

    Sun En quickly flew over to Yun Jianyue. He looked at her with a cold expression, saying, ¡°The fact that you were able to make this one use all of my strength is already something to be proud of.¡±

    He raised his hand to take her life, but Xie Daoyun spread her arms in front of Yun Jianyue and cried, ¡°You can¡¯t kill her!¡±

    When she saw the delicate Xie Daoyun standing protectively in front of her, Yun Jianyue was a bit absentminded. Apart from Zu An, she had never imagined that she would be protected by anyone else, let alone such a youngdy. She quickly said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me! Just take the Empress Lantern and run into the stone forest. I can still buy you a little bit of time!¡±

    And yet, Xie Daoyun didn¡¯t move at all, just standing in front of her resolutely.

    ¡°Oh? Why can¡¯t I kill her?¡± Sun En replied. He seemed a bit absent-minded, as if he were recalling the past. When he was young, he had also stood in front of his friend like that before. The difference is that that friend betrayed me in order to survive¡­

    Xie Daoyun was actually utterly terrified, but her mind was more clear than ever. She replied, ¡°It¡¯s because we saved you. As a sect master, as well as a great hero in this world, you shouldn¡¯t repay gratitude with grudges like this. You shouldn¡¯t force another to die simply because they don¡¯t want to kneel.¡±

    ¡°You all saved me?¡± Sun En replied with a sneer. He turned to the distant Wang Youjun.

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t it my subordinates who saved you?¡± Wang Youjun quickly said with a pious expression. ¡°It was only natural.¡±

    Xie Daoyun said, ¡°It was because we helped him undo the formation surrounding this ce. Otherwise, how could he have possiblye here?¡±

    A smile appeared on Sun En¡¯s face as he said, ¡°But that is your contribution. What does it have to do with yourpanion?¡±

    Xie Daoyun raised her chin proudly and added, ¡°If not for her, I would have already died a long time ago, which means I wouldn¡¯t have been able to solve this formation. You wouldn¡¯t have been saved either.¡±

    ¡°Interesting,¡± Sun En said before pulling his hand back. ¡°I suppose this is fine. I just sensed the aura of the Zhi River¡¯s great tomb, and happen to need useful people. If you work for me, I will spare your lives.¡±

    ¡°We still need to find our friends, so I fear we have no time to help you,¡± Yun Jianyue said through clenched teeth. ¡°Since you acknowledge that we helped you, we don¡¯t want anything in return. Just let us go, and that¡¯s enough.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. We only came here because we were looking for our friends in the first ce. That¡¯s why we agreed to help Elder Wang,¡± Xie Daoyun added. If they continued to stay at this guy¡¯s side, they wouldn¡¯t have a chance of finding big brother Zu at all. Additionally, they could end up bringing him danger.

    ¡°Quite the proud and aloof characters. The two of you are quite simr to myself when I was young,¡± Sun En said, seemingly not upset. He added, ¡°I suppose it¡¯s fine. Elder Wang, help them find their people.¡±

    Wang Youjun¡¯s expression changed several times. He hadn¡¯t expected Sun En to actually appreciate these two women this much. But he didn¡¯t dare to refuse and immediately replied, ¡°Yes, sect master.¡± Afterward, he asked Xie Daoyun about the appearance and names of the people they were looking for.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Xie Daoyun and Yun Jianyue exchanged a look and both saw the happiness in each other¡¯s eyes. They quickly described Zu An¡¯s appearance.

    Wang Youjun¡¯s pen flew around majestically, and a handsome young man appeared in the drawing.

    Sun En was a bit surprised, saying, ¡°What a handsome young man! Is this your lover?¡±

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s face turned red and she replied, ¡°No way. He¡¯s just my big brother.¡±

    Sun En chuckled and didn¡¯t expose her.

    Yun Jianyue harrumphed. Why is this Sun En¡¯s judgment so poor? Why can¡¯t he be my lover?

    Wagn Youjun took out the yellow talisman. After he muttered some verses and sacrificed some paintings¡¯ souls, the talisman fired a streak of red light into the distance.

    After observing it for a while, Sun En was a bit surprised. He said, ¡°Hm? He¡¯s not far from the Zhi River. You can also just follow me there.¡±

    Xie Daoyun and Yun Jianyue were hesitant, but Sun En then asked, ¡°How great are your friends¡¯ skillspared to your own?¡±

    Xie Daoyun replied in embarrassment, ¡°They¡¯re all much stronger than me. I¡¯m the weakest one.¡±

    Wang Youjun cast them a sidelong nce. What is wrong with these people? Why are they all so formidable?

    Sun En nodded and said, ¡°Then there is no mistake. With the opening of the Zhi River¡¯s great tomb, anyone with any skill would rush over and gather in that ce. You will definitely be able to find yourpanions at the Zhi River.¡±

    Xie Daoyun was still a bit hesitant. After all, bringing Sun En with them could bring Zu An danger.

    However, Yun Jianyue immediately agreed. She secretly told Xie Daoyun, ¡°They have a flying ship here and will be able to move much faster. If we walk there, who knows how long it would take.¡±

    ¡°But¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Your big brother Zu is far more formidable than you think. If we work together with him, as well as the stone cold woman, we won¡¯t have to fear Sun En.¡±

    When she saw how confident Yun Jianyue was, Xie Daoyun nodded and agreed with her judgment.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An¡¯s group was near the Zhi River. They looked for Little Ying¡¯s hometown ording to her description. Because she had already been separated from her hometown for so long, some of her memories were already a bit hazy. Zu An and the others didn¡¯t rush her, however; instead, they helped her ask around nearby.

    Two dark-robed figures silently watched them. One was as chubby as a ball, while the other was as skinny as a monkey.

    The skinny monkey said in confusion, ¡°They don¡¯t seem to be all that strong. Why did all of the ghosts the Ghost King sent fail?¡±

    ¡°All that proves is that those ghosts were all trash. Nothing more,¡± the fat ball said disdainfully with a snort.

    The skinny monkey shook his head and replied, ¡°Even though those guys can¡¯tpare to us, they weren¡¯t that weak either. Not even those ghosts¡¯ souls were able to escape, so there¡¯s definitely something strange.¡±

    The fat ball grunted in agreement and said, ¡°What you said makes sense. It might be that the woman''s strength has alreadypletely recovered.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. We can¡¯t take any risks. We have toe up with a surefire n,¡± the skinny monkey said.

    ¡°Since you¡¯re chattering so much, do you already have a method?¡± the fat ball asked in a low, muffled voice.

    ¡°Of course,¡± the skinny monkey replied confidently. ¡°I¡¯ve been watching them carefully this entire time. Jing Teng¡¯s strength is impossible to assess, and that pretty woman¡¯s cultivation isn¡¯t low either. Thatntern will have some restricting effects on us for sure. That wretched-looking buck-toothed guy also has some skill in the earth element. Only that little pretty boy has never done a thing this entire time.¡±

    ¡°Is it possible that he¡¯s the strongest one? The stronger they are, theter they act. For example, take our boss, the Ghost King,¡± the fat ball said suspiciously.

    ¡°Like hell he¡¯s strong! There¡¯s not even a single ripple of kiing out from his entire body!¡± The skinny monkey harrumphed.

    ¡°I can tell that both Jing Teng and that daintydy seem to care a lot about him. It¡¯s definitely because he¡¯s handsome. Girls are all just that shallow,¡± the fat ball said, nodding in deep sympathy.

    The skinny monkey said, ¡°In that case, let¡¯s just quietly tie up that pretty boy. Not only can we gain some intelligence through interrogating him, we can also make both Jing Teng and thatntern girl be flustered. They¡¯ll then fall straight into our trap.¡±

    The fat ball couldn''t help but give him a big thumbs up, saying, ¡°Phoenix Chick, you¡¯re wise, as expected! Even the Ghost King frequently praises your wisdom!¡±

    The skinny monkeyughed and said, ¡°Hidden Dragon, you¡¯re not all that bad yourself.¡±

 Chapter 1771: Hostage

    <h4>Chapter 1771: Hostage</h4>

    The fat ball suddenly said, ¡°Phoenix Chick, I have something I still don¡¯t really understand. This Jing Teng is really important to the Ghost King, so why isn¡¯t the boss personally taking care of this? Why does he keep sending trash at them?¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The skinny monkey rolled his eyes and replied, ¡°If you were the biggest big shot in the world and someone opened up a small shop in your territory, would you personally deal with them?¡±

    The fat ball scratched his head, then said with a simple and honest smile, ¡°I guess what you¡¯re saying makes sense. But I hope it¡¯s not like those human stories where the main character isn¡¯t immediately killed, and slowly grows as a result. After gaining experience from defeating several underlings, they end up defeating the big boss instead¡­¡±

    ¡°Pah pah pah!¡± the skinny monkey spat, smacking him. ¡°Stop reading all those garbage human novels and talking about them as if they¡¯re real. What, do you think you¡¯re some schr now?¡±

    ¡°Schrs don¡¯t taste good. They¡¯re too sour,¡± the fat ball said, shaking his head a little.

    The skinny monkey was clearly not in the mood to discuss whether schrs tasted good or not. He lowered his voice and said, ¡°Let¡¯s sort out the details of our n. This is what we¡¯ll do¡­¡±

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An¡¯s group finally found the whereabouts of Little Ying¡¯s parents. It turned out they had been looking for Little Ying the entire time, and yet they didn¡¯t find her even after using up their entire family¡¯s wealth.

    Little Ying¡¯s father had overworked himself, and had already passed. Now, only Little Ying¡¯s mother remained. In order to find Little Ying, she and her husband had already sold their ancestral home and anything else they could. It was rumored that she was merely spending her final days in a barren field. She had a simple and crude house there, but it was a ce so remote that not even ghosts would go there.

    The group finally arrived at the ruined little house up the mountain. They saw an olddy dressed in bright red clothes staring nkly at the horizon. The wrinkles on her face seemed to tell the story of a bitter life.

    ¡°A malicious spirit?¡± Zu An and Qiu Honglei eximed in surprise. Judging from what they had seen along the way, red clothes were often linked with malicious spirits. That was their instinctive reaction.

    Suddenly, Little Ying broke out into sobs. She ran over and shouted, ¡°Mom!¡±

    The old woman seemed to have some kind of hearing impairment. At first, she didn¡¯t hear anything. Only when Little Ying already ran up to her did she react. She stiffly turned to look at Little Ying, and a hint of of confusion flickered through her turbid eyes.

    ¡°Mom, do you not recognize me anymore?¡± Little Ying asked. She felt pained when she saw her mother¡¯s reaction. She had already been dead for so many years, and her mother had be much, much older.

    ¡°My Little Ying, are you really my Little Ying?¡± the old woman replied, her turbid eyes suddenly regaining a hint of brilliance.

    ¡°It¡¯s me, mom! Your daughter was unfilial and returned toote¡­¡± Little Ying said, weeping.

    ¡°As long as you¡¯re home, as long as you¡¯re home¡­¡± the old woman replied, tears trickling down her face. ¡°Just where did you go?! If you came back just a few years earlier, your dad would have been able to see you.¡±

    Little Ying felt more and more broken-hearted. The mother and daughter hugged each other and continued to sob.

    After they shared the emotional moment for a while, the old woman suddenly noticed the others and asked, ¡°Who are these people?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re the friends who brought me back. I was only saved because of them,¡± Little Ying said, wiping her tears. When she saw her mother¡¯s happiness, she didn¡¯t even dare to say she had already died. She was worried that her mother would suddenly notice that her appearance hadn¡¯t changed at all, so she quickly changed the topic and said, ¡°Mom, your clothes are quite pretty.¡±

    ¡°Are they?¡± the older woman replied appreciatively. ¡°These are the burial clothes your father used what was left of our assets to buy for me. I could sense that I was already about to die, and I was worried that I wouldn¡¯t have the strength to put them on after I passed. There are no neighbors around here either, and even if there were, who would help an olddy into her burial clothes? I would definitely be filthy and smelly, so I put them on ahead of time to not bother others¡­¡±

    ¡°Mom¡­¡± Little Ying said, unable to hold herself back anymore. She hugged her tightly and bawled her eyes out.

    From that, it was clear that this wasn¡¯t a matter of an older woman trying to look attractive, but rather that she was already quietly waiting for death. Jing Teng and Qiu Honglei both cried. Wei Suo also couldn''t help but wipe his eyes from time to time.

    Meanwhile, Zu An suddenly thought of his own parents in his previous world. Just how broken-hearted were they right now? When he heard the sobs around him, he felt somewhat suffocated and decided to leave. Jing Teng and Qiu Honglei were both consoling Little Ying and her mother, so they didn¡¯t notice him as he walked into a recess in the mountain. As he watched the natural movements of the clouds, he finally felt a bit better.

    Suddenly, two dark figures appeared next to him. The fat one said, ¡°This kid really is pretty damn handsome. If I had this appearance, wouldn¡¯t I be able to kill wantonly wherever I wanted in the Yin Yang Realm?¡±

    ¡°Kill wantonly, my ass! Our Yin Yang Realm cares about strength the most. The stronger you are, the more handsome you are. Looks are only secondary!¡± the skinny figure couldn''t help but curse.

    ¡°I guess you¡¯re right. But can¡¯t I be both handsome and strong?¡± the fat Hidden Dragon replied.

    ¡°How could there be someone like that? The heavens wouldn¡¯t permit such a thing,¡± the skinny Phoenix Chick said in annoyance.

    The two of them reflexively gave Zu An a look. They both shook their heads. This guy really was handsome enough, but he didn¡¯t even have a single ripple of kiing out of his body. He was nothing more than a weak pretty boy.

    ¡°Why do girls always like this type? Are they all blind?!¡±

    Zu An had thought that two great enemies had closed in, but who would have thought that they would just be two clowns? He asked, ¡°Do the two of you need anything?¡±

    Hidden Dragon and Phoenix Chick exchanged a look and said, ¡°It¡¯s not anything to do with us, but rather with you.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I recognize you two, let alone share any grudges,¡± Zu An said, giving them a sidelong nce. They had sinister ghost energy around them and didn¡¯t seem like humans. He had heard Jing Teng say that ghosts who could move however they wanted in broad daylight were often extremely strong.

    ¡°If you¡¯re going to me anything, me the fact that you appeared at that woman¡¯s side,¡± Hidden Dragon said, chuckling sinisterly.

    Phoenix Chick quickly said, ¡°Stop spouting nonsense. Jing Teng isn¡¯t that far from this ce. It¡¯ll be troublesome if she notices what¡¯s happening over here. We¡¯ll capture him first, then we¡¯ll slowly interrogate him after bringing him to a safe ce.¡±

    ¡°Okay!¡± Hidden Dragon replied with a nod. He immediately ced his hand on Zu An¡¯s shoulder.

    Zu An had nned to do something, but judging from the two¡¯s conversation, he decided to just tag along for the time being. When Hidden Dragon¡¯s hand pressed down on his shoulder, he immediately felt a wave of sinister energy enter his body. He secretly used the Primordial Origin Sutra to eliminate the energy. Of course, on the surface, he pretended to have been suppressed.

    Hidden Dragon grabbed Zu An and said disdainfully, ¡°He was a pretty-faced weakling after all.¡±

    Phoenix Chick sighed and added, ¡°Let¡¯s get out of this ce first.¡±

    Afterward, the two of them took Zu An with them and quickly left. They arrived at a cave they had already prepared in advance.

    ¡°We¡¯re safe now,¡± Hidden Dragon said, sighing.

    Phoenix Chick looked around and said, ¡°I¡¯ll go and set up the trap now, and we¡¯ll try to find a way to bring Jing Teng over. Keep an eye on him and interrogate him. Be more careful, though.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry! Don¡¯t tell me you think this pretty boy is going to overturn this situation somehow?¡± Hidden Dragon replied dismissively.

    Phoenix Chick felt as if that made sense. Dealing with Jing Teng was more important, so he quickly left to make preparations.

    ¡­

    Hidden Dragon then turned to look at Zu An, saying, ¡°Hey, pretty boy, you should answer everything I ask you. If you cooperate well, I can make you suffer a bit less.¡±

    Zu An quickly asked as if he were really scared, ¡°Who¡­ Who are you people?¡±

    ¡°Heh, we aren¡¯t humans, but rather great ghost generals of the Ghost King! My name is Hidden Dragon, and mypanion is called Phoenix¡­¡± Hidden Dragon was stunned halfway through his sentence. He shot Zu An a re and snapped, ¡°I¡¯m the one asking the questions here!¡±

    ¡°Ghost generals?¡± Zu An muttered, thinking to himself that he seemed to have heard of them before. The Ghost King had eight ghost generals, and every single one of them was a powerful individual who dominated a region. But this guy didn¡¯t seem to fit the bill¡­ He replied, ¡°What do you want to ask me?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s more like it,¡± Hidden Dragon said, feeling more and more disdain as he saw Zu An continue to cooperate.This pretty boy really is unreliable, as expected. I didn¡¯t even do anything, and yet he¡¯s already cooperating.He took out a candle and lit it before saying, ¡°Don¡¯t try to trick me. This thing can discern whether you¡¯re telling the truth or lying. If it¡¯s a lie, the fire will flicker.¡± The candle was already lit, and the fire seemed to be fixed in ce, not moving at all.

    Zu An eximed in amazement, ¡°There¡¯s actually something like that? Then why isn¡¯t the Ghost King using this to determine the degree of loyalty of his subordinates?¡±

    ¡°Who dares to be disloyal to the Ghost King? This thing naturally isn¡¯t that useful for the Ghost King!¡± Hidden Dragon reflexively replied. However, he felt that something wasn¡¯t quite right. Why was the other guy asking him a question again? He coughed lightly and quickly asked, ¡°Ahem, why did the ghosts the Ghost King send all fail?¡±

    ¡°Because they were too weak,¡± Zu An replied.

    Hidden Dragon reflexively nced at the fire. It didn¡¯t move, so that was the truth. He asked, ¡°Just how did you defeat them? Normally, you shouldn¡¯t have been able to aplish that with your strength.¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°Your intelligence is wrong. We¡¯re really strong.¡±

    Hidden Dragon thought,As expected.He asked, ¡°Did Jing Teng¡¯s strength recover?¡±

    Zu An was a bit shocked. He thought,Was Jing Teng really powerful when she was at her strongest?But he still replied, ¡°She has too many secrets, so I don¡¯t know.¡±

    Hidden Dragon gave the candle a look. The answer was the truth, leaving him shocked.The issue does lie with Jing Teng after all!

    ¡°How strong exactly is your Ghost King, really? Just how many of you ghost generals are there, approximately?¡± Zu An asked curiously.

    ¡°The Ghost King is an unrivaled being¡±. Not even all eight of us generals added together are his match¡­¡± Hidden Dragon realized what was happening halfway through his sentence. ¡°You damn kid, I¡¯m clearly the one asking the questions!¡±

    Zu An ignored him and continued, ¡°I saw yourpanion leave just now. Are they going to bring Jing Teng?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Hidden Dragon said with a hint of pride. ¡°Kid, even though you¡¯re incredibly weak, you¡¯re handsome. That woman Jing Teng seems to care a lot about your well-being. As long as we use you as a hostage, she¡¯ll definitely take the bait. We¡¯ve already set up forty-nine traps in the vicinity. No matter how strong she is, she can only wait to be captured if shees.¡±

 Chapter 1772: Extreme Joy Turns to Extreme Sorrow

    <h4>Chapter 1772: Extreme Joy Turns to Extreme Sorrow</h4>

    Zu An was confused. Why didn¡¯t he feel the same way? Were these ghosts just on a different wavelength from him or something? Perhaps the way they made decisions wasn''t quite the same as what humans used¡­

    ¡°Since you all know that Jing Teng is formidable, the trap you made is definitely really strong, right?¡± he then asked.

    ¡°But of course,¡± Hidden Dragon said, sticking out his chest. ¡°I was the one who personally designed many of them. For example, the Hundred Ghost Spirit Devouring Formation, which will prevent her from using any spiritual power.

    ¡°The Great Slowing Ice Formation will make her thirty percent slower.

    ¡°The Treacherous Bone Howling Formation will injure her soul and decrease her defenses by twenty percent.

    ¡°Also¡­¡±

    ¡­

    He continued for a long time with an extremely proud tone. That was because most of the traps were his own work.

    Zu An was quite shocked as he listened. If Jing Teng came over without any idea, perhaps she really would be done in. If these two ghost generals then started their attack, how could she possibly survive?

    ¡°Aren¡¯t I amazing?¡± Hidden Dragon concluded, looking at Zu An as if he were waiting for him to hurry and praise him.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°You really are pretty amazing. You¡¯re already so amazing, so why aren¡¯t you challenging the Ghost King to be the new Ghost King?¡± Zu An asked curiously. He had heard Jing Teng mention that ghosts all followed thew of the jungle. This Ghost King had reached his position by taking down the previous Ghost King as well.

    ¡°How could I possibly be a match for the Ghost King?!¡± Hidden Dragon eximed, a hint of fear shing across his face. ¡°The Ghost King has the Ghost King Staff, which has absolute power over ghosts. It can grant life or death, and it can give and take away. We don¡¯t have a chance at all.¡±

    Zu An was startled. No wonder all of the ghosts were under his control.

    Hidden Dragon gradually realized that something was off. He asked, ¡°Hey, kid, why are you asking me questions again? Hurry and tell me all of your group¡¯s skills. I want to know just how my ghost brothers were defeated.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t tell me, I¡¯ll carve your flesh away piece by piece and eat it right in front of you! Trust me, the humans I¡¯ve dealt with in the past believed that they were men of steel, and yet they all copsed one after the next after I ate just a few pieces of their flesh. Even they couldn''t endure it, let alone a little pretty boy like you.¡±

    When he sensed the intimidating tone in Hidden Dragon¡¯s voice, Zu An sighed with amazement. Demons were demons deep down, after all! As a ghost general, who knew how much blood Hidden Dragon had on his hands¡­

    ¡°Sorry, but it¡¯s my turn to ask you the questions now,¡± Zu An said, standing up. Because Phoenix Chick had just left, he was worried about Jing Teng and Qiu Honglei¡¯s safety. He wasn¡¯t in the mood to waste any more time.

    Hidden Dragon cried furiously, ¡°And who do you think you are?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Hidden Dragon for +444 +444 +444¡­

    He sent a punch toward Zu An. Surrounding his fist was a sphere of ck energy, full of corrosive power. He wasn¡¯t the brightest of the bunch, but the fact that he could get to his position and be a ghost general proved his skill in formations and his personal strength.

    There had been many ghosts who looked down on him, thinking that he was easy to bully because he was a bit slow. That was why, out of all the generals, he had been challenged the most. And yet in the end, those ghosts had all died miserably, bing nourishment in his belly.

    The worst part was that any fights against him were always full of tricks. He had many strange formations that could drain up to half of an opponent¡¯s strength. As a result, the ones who lost found it hard to ept that defeat even after death. Furthermore, the ck energy around his fist was also quite famous in the Yin Yang Realm. It could corrode all things, including one¡¯s body. That really was torture beyond what one could endure.

    He could sense that he had been fooled by Zu An, which made him attack even more viciously. He wanted this pretty boy to have a taste of suffering, and nned to get rid of one of his arms first.

    Just then, however, Zu An raised his fist and sent a punch right back.

    ¡°Huh? A pretty boy like you actually dares to fight against me?¡± Hidden Dragon remarked in confusion. He saw ayer of white light covering Zu An¡¯s fist, but he didn¡¯t treat it as a big deal. Either way, there was no way he would lose.

    And yet, when the two fists collided, a miserable scream filled the air¡­ and the one who was screaming wasn¡¯t that pretty boy, but rather Hidden Dragon!

    Hidden Dragon looked at his fractured arm and was stupefied. His ck energy was the one famous for its corrosion, so why was he the one being corroded instead?

    Still, after fighting in the ghost realm for so long, he still had some battle instincts. He didn¡¯t have time to think about why that had happened and immediately widened the gap between them. At the same time, he activated his talent, triggering several formations.

    The Hundred Ghost Spirit Devouring Formation restricted spiritual force, internal energy, and the like. The Great Slowing Ice Formation slowed down an opponent. The Treacherous Bone Howling Formation had an intimidating effect on the soul.

    Zu An looked down and saw that there was a trail of frost beneath his feet. It froze his feet in ce and prevented him from moving. He thought of something and phoenix mes quickly surged, instantly melting the ice. At the same time, however, sinister winds stirred. An endless swarm of white skeletons flew around him and released shrill shrieks, inflicting some kind of suppression on his soul.

    With a loud and clear noise, Hundredwarble automatically activated. A strange giant bird projection rose from Zu An¡¯s body, instantly devouring all of the white skeletons. As for the Hundred Ghost Spirit Devouring Formation, it didn¡¯t have any effect on him at all. Ever since he had awakened the ¡®Kun Peng¡¯ bird in the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra and it had merged with his Heaven Devouring Sutra, his cultivation had stopped being something that could be assessed in terms of spiritual force or internal energy.

    As the white skeletons were all devoured, Hidden Dragon screamed and howled while clutching his head.

    In that moment of distraction, Zu An¡¯s hand quicklynded on his shoulder.

    Hidden Dragon smiled maliciously.This person actually dares to touch the body of a ghost general? He won¡¯t even know how he died!

    He was about to release a ck mist to devour his opponent when his expression changed a secondter. He noticed that Zu An¡¯s hand was like a sun, instantly sting through the ck mist protecting him and grabbing his real body. Then, he felt a terrifying suction force, as if there were a ck hole in Zu An¡¯s hands. All of his essence quickly flowed into that ck hole.

    ¡°Great hero, please spare me!¡± Hidden Dragon cried, pleading for mercy. Dying in battle wasn¡¯t that scary, but having all of his cultivation sucked dry by such a skill really left him terrified.

    In the world of ghosts, the strong usually sucked the weak dry of soul force. As such, those kinds of skills were naturally intimidating to them.

    ¡°Then are you willing to answer my questions now?¡± Zu An asked with a smile. The Primordial Origin Sutra had a powerful restrictive effect on all things sinister. Otherwise, this ghost general¡¯s ck mist really would have been quite tricky to deal with. The Kun Peng and Heaven Devouring Sutra¡¯sbined absorption skill also inflicted a sense of despair.

    ¡°I am, I am!¡± Hidden Dragon quickly replied with a nod.

    ¡°The reason you¡¯re so scared of that Ghost King¡­ Is it because of that staff that rules over your lives?¡± Zu An asked. To a certain degree, his primordial ki had simr effects. Did that mean he could also be a ghost king?

    ¡°That¡¯s one of the reasons,¡± Hidden Dragon exined. ¡°But if that were all, only ghosts would fear him. Human cultivators wouldn¡¯t. The truth is, though, all the cultivators of the world shiver at the sound of his name.

    ¡°The reason for that is mainly due to another ability of his, ¡®Demonic Voice of the Ghost King¡¯. That skill can strip the souls right out of the living. If you be a disembodied soul, you¡¯ll bepletely subdued.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression darkened. That skill was indeed tricky to deal with. He wondered if a grandmaster or earth immortal¡¯s yin and yang spirits would be affected too. He continued, ¡°Apart from that, what other skills does he have?¡±

    Hidden Dragon thought to himself,s that still not enough? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re nning to really fight the Ghost King?But he still replied, ¡°As far as I know, he also has immunity against all kinds of elemental and physical damage.¡±

    ¡°How is that possible?¡± Zu An asked, stunned. Everything had a predetermined fate, and they naturally had things that counter them. But this Ghost King hadplete immunity against physical and elemental powers? Didn¡¯t that make him invincible?

    ¡°It¡¯s true! I¡¯m not lying to you!¡± Hidden Dragon cried in rm, thinking,Just look at the candle if you don¡¯t believe me!He had never expected that the candle he used for interrogation would be used on him instead.

    ¡°How do you know so much?¡± Zu An asked, looking at him suspiciously.

    ¡°Because this Yin Yang Realm is one that runs on thew of the jungle. There have been many strong ghosts who wanted to challenge him, but all of them suffered miserable defeats without exception. All those with power in this world secretly observe and gather intelligence. All this was learned through countless lessons of blood.¡±

    Zu An remained quiet for a while. If that really was the case, the Ghost King would be really hard to deal with. He didn¡¯t even know how to begin fighting against that kind of opponent. He continued, ¡°Does he have any other abilities?¡±

    Hidden Dragon shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know anything else. But even if there were, it wouldn¡¯t be able topare to these skills. They shouldn¡¯t be a problem for your distinguished self.¡±

    ¡°Those people fell for it after all! They¡¯re rushing over here in rm right now¡­¡± Phoenix Chick called out as he ran over excitedly. ¡°That Jing Teng is someone the Ghost King wants, so we can¡¯t touch her, but the other woman is ours. She¡¯s quite pretty, so I¡¯m going to do her first, then eat¡­ Huh, what are the two of you doing?¡±

    Favorite

 Chapter 1773: Order for Arrest

    <h4>Chapter 1773: Order for Arrest</h4>

    Phoenix Chick returned in high spirits. He had sessfully baited Jing Teng over, and the two ghosts had already set up all sorts of traps. Everything was going as smoothly as they had nned.

    They couldn''t touch Jing Teng, but the other woman was also really pretty. There was no discrimination when it came to beauty, after all. When one was that beautiful, even ghosts would be tempted.

    He had been feeling wonderful, but when he came back and saw the scene before him, he waspletely stupefied.Shouldn¡¯t it be Hidden Dragon interrogating the pretty boy while he weeps bitter tears? Why is it now the other way around?

    However, his absent-mindedness onlysted for a second. He quickly let out a strange scream, and four bony ws emerged from his body as he rushed at his enemy. Strange wails and howls surrounded him. As one of the eight ghost generals, his strength was naturally not to be underestimated.

    A phoenix vaguely manifested in the air. However, it didn¡¯t have the slightest bit of flesh on its body, and was made up entirely of bone. It was surrounded by a wicked aura.

    Zu An thought,This guy¡¯s original form really was a phoenix? Then was Hidden Dragon originally a dragon? Why would legendary beasts like phoenixes and dragons be malicious spirits after their death?

    He cultivated skills rted to the phoenix himself, so he quickly sensed that something wasn¡¯t right. This ghost didn¡¯t have a pure phoenix bloodline, and was just a distant rtive of the phoenix.

    Jing Teng, Qiu Honglei, and Wei Suo had also arrived just then. When they found out what was going on, they had all been shocked, feeling that the entire situation was a bit unrealistic. After all, with how high Zu An¡¯s cultivation was, why had he been captured?

    They had only nned toe over and take a look at what was going on, but as soon as Phoenix Chick attacked, the surging ghost energy made it hard for them to even breathe. Such an ambush could really put Zu An in danger!

    They instinctively moved to help him, but they quickly fell into the formations Phoenix Chick and Hidden Dragon had set up. Even though they could still easily protect themselves with their cultivation, they still couldn''t break free immediately.

    Phoenix Chickughed nastily. Now that those people were trapped and couldn''t help, he could deal with that pretty boy in the shortest amount of time first. Then, he would deal with them after.

    Honestly though, what the hell is going on with that idiot Hidden Dragon? Don¡¯t tell me there¡¯s some unknown presence hiding in the shadows? Or maybe that slow idiot ended up being tricked by that human?

    He still couldn''t sense even the slightest bit of energying from Zu An¡¯s body. That was why he waspletely baffled. Still, he intended to just deal with them all first, then ask hispanion about it after.

    Suddenly, a resplendent streak of sword radiance appeared. It was clearly not dark yet, but Phoenix Chick saw what appeared to be a river of stars. In that instant, he finally understood why Hidden Dragon had ended up the way he did. This seemingly helpless pretty boy was actually a terrifying expert!

    Still, why wasn¡¯t there the slightest ki fluctuationing out from his body? How was that fair at all?! Additionally, the aura of that sword was absolutely fatal to all ghosts!

    He was filled with regret, but it was already toote. When the sword radiance swept past, the world faded away to nothing.

    When Zu An used his sword, however, his restriction on Hidden Dragon loosened slightly. Hidden Dragon was full of resentment, so when he got the chance, he roared and bit down toward Zu An with his fangs.

    ¡°Be careful!¡± Qiu Honglei and the others cried out. The attack¡¯s power was definitely extraordinary, and Hidden Dragon was attacking from such a close distance. Even a grandmaster would find it difficult to deal with.

    Hidden Dragon suddenly saw the resplendent sword light and waspletely stunned. He had still been upset moments before, believing that Zu An had taken advantage of his carelessness. But now, he knew that this pretty boy was a tiger pretending to be a pig! He reflexively gave up on his attack and immediately ran. Unfortunately, the dazzling celestial stream seemed practically intelligent. It passed over all of his defensive formations and stabbed straight into his body.

    He could feel his very being melting away. His final thoughts were filled with endless regret. Why had he been so obsessed with this damn mission? Both he and Phoenix Chick had extraordinary status. Even among the eight great ghost generals, they were powerful beings. They also had long lifespans and could have lived an incrediblyfortable life¡­

    Zu An pulled back his Tai¡¯e Sword. He was actually a bit regretful, thinking he should have left them alive to get more intelligence about the Ghost King. Unfortunately, everything had happened too suddenly. Phoenix Chick was quite strong, and Hidden Dragon had acted at the same time. That was why he had also instinctively attacked.

    Hidden Dragon was skilled in all sorts of formations, and Phoenix Chick definitely had special skills too. If they were allowed to use them, the others could be put in danger.

    Fortunately, the Kun Peng and Heavenly Devouring Sutra activated their effects. He could feel the two ghost generals¡¯ bodies turning into a form of pure energy that flowed into his body. The experience bar that hadn¡¯t moved at all for a long time finally made a breakthrough. It went straight to Level 71, and even moved a bit further.

    Zu An had a strange impression when he saw his strength increase. These two ghost generals were quite strong. If not for the fact that his skills just happened to counter them, victory wouldn¡¯t have been so easy.

    After Hidden Dragon¡¯s death, his formations also disappeared. Qiu Honglei and the others broke free and quickly rushed over. Qiu Honglei asked, ¡°Ah Zu, are you okay?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Zu An said, patting her hand.

    ¡°You actually killed both Hidden Dragon and Phoenix Chick, two ghost generals, with a single sh of your sword?¡± Jing Teng eximed, her expression strange.

    She had seen him use his skills along the way, but it seemed he had still been holding back then. The great generals Hidden Dragon and Phoenix Chick were famous, and they were among the stronger of the eight generals. However, even those two powerful beings weren¡¯t a match for even a single sh? Her heart had begun to beat faster when she saw that brilliant sword. He was indeed a bit handsome¡­

    ¡°It¡¯s just that they were a bit too strong, so I had to treat them more seriously,¡± Zu An said, chuckling in embarrassment.

    ¡­

    All across the Yin Yang world, the other ghost generals of the various regions all shivered. They were also ghost generals, so they had a special connection to each other. Just then, they had sensed the deaths of theirpanions.

    ¡°Who could have actually killed Hidden Dragon and Phoenix Chick?!¡±

    The eight ghost generals didn¡¯t particrly get along and actually carried grudges against each other. However, theirpanions had just been killed by an outsider, leaving them shocked and scared. After all, someone who could kill Hidden Dragon and Phoenix Chick could very well harm them too.

    Roars resounded all over the Yin Yang Realm. All the ordinary ghosts shook all over and didn¡¯t dare to even breathe heavily for fear of identally angering the great ones above them.

    Suddenly, a ck fog appeared above the ghost generals¡¯ heads. The ghosts all bowed and said, ¡°We greet the Ghost King!¡±

    ¡°I am already aware of what happened to Hidden Dragon and Phoenix Chick. The one who killed them was a human,¡± the Ghost King said. His real body didn¡¯te out of the ck fog, and only his voice emerged.

    ¡°Which human could kill those two? Could it be that the sect master of the Divine Firmament Sect was revived? Or maybe the Adventurer¡¯s Guild Master personally interfered?¡± a ferocious-looking ghost general roared.

    ¡°The one who killed them is this person,¡± the Ghost King said. The ck fog changed and produced an image. It was none other than Zu An.

    Ghost generals all had special seals ced on them, causing the moment before their death to be transmitted back to the bone tiles in the Ghost King Pce. That way, the Ghost King would be able to find out who killed them. It was just that that function was used rarely. After all, ghost generals were all powerful beings. Deaths among them were most often because of internal conflict. The fact that two of them had been killed by a human really was shocking.

    ¡°Who is this person? He doesn¡¯t seem to be one of the famous experts of the human world.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right! He doesn¡¯t even look that special.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s so young, and he looks so weak!¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡­

    Several grotesquely-shaped ghost generals discussed among themselves.

    ¡°This person is none other than one of the targets from before. He is right by Jing Teng¡¯s side,¡± the Ghost King said again.

    The other ghost generals immediately erupted into amotion. They all volunteered to take Zu An¡¯s head and get revenge for Hidden Dragon and Phoenix Chick.

    The Ghost King continued, ¡°That person¡¯s skills seem to be specialized for dealing with ghosts.¡±

    When they heard that, the eager ghost generals immediately wilted. They had thought that Hidden Dragon and Phoenix Chick had been muddle-headed and gotten schemed against, but it was actually because that human¡¯s techniques were special! If he could kill Hidden Dragon and Phoenix Chick, then he could naturally kill them too. Who wanted to throw their lives away for nothing?

    ¡°Then, perhaps your respected self should act personally? No matter how strong he is, he still isn¡¯t your respected self¡¯s match, right?¡± a ghost general proposed.

    The other ghost generals all had the same thought. If the Ghost King were also defeated somehow, wouldn¡¯t they have a chance of fighting over the position of Ghost King? They knew that the chances of that happening were far, far too low though.

    The Ghost King said, ¡°I still have more pressing matters that keep me from leaving. You will also follow me, as I am in need of helpers.¡±

    As soon as he said that, the ghost generals mysteriously sensed a direction. The Ghost King was summoning them. They were shocked. They had never expected the powerful Ghost King to need help! They wondered just what sort of difficult situation they were dealing with.

    ¡°Are we really just going to let that human go after he killed Hidden Dragon and Phoenix Chick?¡± a ghost general asked in dissatisfaction. He was rather close to those two, and now that they had died, he felt quite awful.

    ¡°Do not worry. I have already issued a bounty request to the human world. With enough rewards, there will always be brave men,¡± the Ghost King said with a sneer. ¡°Normal ghosts might fear his special skills, but humans will not!¡±

 Chapter 1774: Down Memory Lane

    <h4>Chapter 1774: Down Memory Lane</h4>

    When the ghosts heard that, they immediately offered up ttery.

    ¡°The Ghost King really is wise and cunning!¡±

    ¡°None are as crafty and treacherous as the Ghost King!¡±

    ¡°No, we should say that you are as cunning as a ghost.¡±

    ¡°But we are ghosts to begin with¡­¡±

    When he saw that the ghost generals were about to fight against each other, the Ghost King¡¯s eyelids twitched. He said, ¡°In this kind of situation, you should use the words ¡®divine strategy¡¯ and ¡®wonderful nning¡¯.¡±

    ¡°But aren¡¯t we ghosts enemies of the divine? Why would we use those words to describe ourselves?¡± another ghost general asked in confusion.

    The Ghost King was speechless. He had thought that there was something wrong with Hidden Dragon and Phoenix Chick¡¯s heads, but now, it seemed none of these ghost generals were all that bright. As such, he said, ¡°Our forces are important right now, so you six should not take risks. Leave that person to the human world; that should be enough. Heed my summons ande to my side as quickly as possible.¡± Afterward, the ck mist disappeared. The generals weren¡¯t given any chance to question him.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Qiu Honglei and Wei Suo were both shocked when they heard the results of Zu An¡¯s interrogation. They both cried out in rm, ¡°Isn¡¯t the Ghost King invincible then? He¡¯spletely impossible to kill!¡±

    If he had both immunity to physical and elemental attacks, how else was anyone supposed to face him?

    ¡°It might not be entirely impossible,¡± Jing Teng said with a pensive expression.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± the others asked, quickly looking at her.

    ¡°I still haven¡¯t thought of a n yet,¡± Jing Teng said with a smile. ¡°But the heavens would never create a being without any weaknesses. There¡¯s definitely something we haven¡¯t noticed yet.¡±

    Zu An nodded. That was simr to his previous suspicions, but for some reason, he just felt that Jing Teng was hiding something from him.

    The group quickly returned to the tattered house by the mountain and fields. They could hear Little Ying bawling from far away. Jing Teng was shocked and rushed over.

    The group exchanged a look. Could it be that a ghost had passed by while they were missing? Only when they arrived did they see that Little Ying was carrying her mother and crying bitterly. The elder was dressed in bright clothes, but she had already closed her eyes forever.

    Jing Tengforted her in a soft voice. Little Ying wiped her eyes and asked, ¡°Grandmother, why don¡¯t I see her soul after she died?¡±

    Jing Teng replied in constion, ¡°The reason why ghosts appear is that the dead often still have lingering thoughts that haven¡¯t been settled. Your mother already found her daughter in her final moments before death and had her wishes fulfilled, so she wouldn¡¯t be a ghost.¡± She kneeled down by Little Ying¡¯s side and continued, ¡°Look at your mother¡¯s face. Didn¡¯t she pass away with a smile? She¡¯ll quickly enter the cycle of reincarnation. Isn¡¯t that a kind of happiness in itself¡±

    Little Ying was a ghost herself, so she knew that creatures like her couldn''t enter the cycle of reincarnation in their current form, and that they were abnormalities. Sooner orter, the world would reject them, so being able to return to the cycle was indeed a kind of happiness too.

    ¡°Mom¡¯s life was too miserable in this life. I hope she can be a bit happier in her next life. It¡¯s all because her daughter was unfilial¡­¡± Little Ying said, her tears flowing uncontrobly. The others were also left feeling broken-hearted.

    When she calmed down a bit, the others helped bury her ash altar together with her mother. There was no one left in their family, so there was naturally no need for anyplicated funeral etiquette. She only wanted her mother to beid to rest.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    As the ash altar was buried, and since her unreconciled will had already been fulfilled, Little Ying¡¯s body began to grow fainter. She thanked Jing Teng for all of her care over the years, then pulled Zu An to one side. Her head tilted a bit as she carefully looked at Zu An. She didn¡¯t say anything.

    Zu An was a bit puzzled, asking, ¡°What does Miss Little Ying wish to say?¡±

    ¡°You really are handsome¡­ It¡¯s a pity that I wasn¡¯t able to sleep with you and stayed a maiden my entire life. I never expected it to stay the same even as a ghost,¡± Little Ying said with a sigh, her voice full of regret.

    Zu An was speechless. However, Little Ying giggled and said, ¡°I¡¯m joking with the young master.¡± She put away her smile and said in a hushed voice, ¡°Young master, our matron is actually really pitiful. You definitely have to take good care of her.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but say with a chuckle, ¡°Lady Jing is a strong woman. She¡¯ll be able to live a more dazzling life than anyone else without anyone taking care of her.¡±

    Little Ying shook her head and said, ¡°Young master, you don¡¯t understand her enough. She¡¯s actually the greatest example of someone who is cold on the outside but warm on the inside. She looks tough on the outside, but she¡¯s especially soft inside, especially after what happened back then.¡±

    Zu An became silent.What is the nature of love in this world...

    ¡°Young master, our matron was already betrayed once in the past,¡± Little Ying said, giving him a deep look. ¡°Please don¡¯t make her experience it a second time.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m not that kind of person,¡± Zu An said, stunned. ¡°Miss Jing and I aren¡¯t even in that kind of rtionship. What betrayal is there to speak of?¡±

    Little Ying smiled and said, ¡°The young master will understand in the future.¡±

    After saying that, she didn¡¯t wait for his response and turned around to leave. She expressed her gratitude to both Qiu Honglei and Wei Suo, then kowtowed three times to Jing Teng. Finally, she reluctantly disappeared into the wind.

    Jing Teng sighed deeply. The people closest to her had disappeared one by one. How could she not feel sad?

    ¡°Cheer up. Little Ying fulfilled her desire before leaving,¡± Zu An said in constion.

    Jing Teng gave him a look, and herplexion eased a bit. She asked, ¡°What did she say to you earlier?¡±

    Qiu Honglei was also curious and looked in their direction. Zu An¡¯s expression became a bit unnatural as he said, ¡°It was nothing more than a normal goodbye.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? She seemed to have said more to you than me before she left. I really raised her all these years for nothing,¡± Jing Teng said. However, even though she sounded a bit annoyed, she wasn¡¯t really angry.

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°We¡¯ve already finished Little Ying¡¯s burial, so let¡¯s look for your original body now, so you can be restored sooner.¡±

    ¡°Do you want to get rid of me that badly?¡± Jing Teng asked, staring at him.

    Zu An was stunned. He asked, ¡°Don¡¯t you want to find your original body as quickly as possible?¡±

    Jing Teng didn¡¯t say anything else and turned around, not paying him any more attention.

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s eyes darted back and forth between the two of them. Why did she just feel as if something wasn¡¯t quite right between the two of them?

    ¡­

    After dealing with Little Ying¡¯s situation, the group went deeper into the Zhi River area. They could clearly feel that there were more peopleing and going around them, with quite a few of them even being powerful cultivators. But with Jing Teng leading the way, they mainly traveled across more remote areas and didn¡¯t really have any conflict with others.

    They soon arrived at a mountain. As they ascended the mountain, Wei Suo suddenly pointed at a distant peak and said, ¡°Look, what a huge tomb!¡±

    The others followed the direction he was pointing at. Sure enough, there was an extremely grand tomb in the distance. Normally, tombs were ced underground, but this one was above ground. It extended as far as the eye could see, without any end in sight. Its scale and style looked just like that of an imperial tomb, but it was evenrger.

    Some of the most powerful dynasties¡¯ imperial tombs were cut into mountains, where one mountain would hold one tomb. However, this great tomb wasn¡¯t inside a mountain, but rather built all across the surface. The main tomb in particr seemed to extend endlessly. They really wondered just how the creators had managed to aplish such a thing.

    The entire tomb seemed ancient and mysterious. They could feel the pressureing from it even from tens of thousands of kilometers away, as if it were hiding something really frightening.

    ¡°Those cultivators are probably all here for this great tomb,¡± Zu An said. He could make out the numerous people who had gathered around the great tomb¡¯s entrance. They had clearly already been there for some time. They had clearly separated into a few camps and were on guard against each other.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. They won¡¯t be able to enter for quite some time,¡± Jing Teng said calmly, despite the others¡¯ excitement. She didn¡¯t even pay the great tomb much attention.

    ¡°How do you know?¡± Qiu Honglei asked suspiciously.

    ¡°If they could enter, would they be loitering around the outside of the tomb entrance?¡± Jing Teng replied nonchntly. ¡°You can feel that terrifying pressure even from far away. It¡¯spletely impossible for them to brute force their way in.¡±

    ¡°Then is there any meaning in all those people rushing all the way to the Zhi River?¡± Zu An asked. He wondered if Yan Xuehen and the others would also head over to check out the situation, if all of the world¡¯s most outstanding people were gathering here.

    That dog Zhao Han is definitely going to be here. He¡¯d never let this kind of opportunity go. I really hope the others didn¡¯t end up bumping into him.

    ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, this great tomb¡¯s seal will open up on its own,¡± Jing Teng replied.

    ¡°Do you actually know some secrets about this ce?¡± Qiu Honglei couldn''t help but ask.

    ¡°It¡¯s just that I received Immortal Ruler Baopu¡¯s guidance and ended up learning about some things. I don¡¯t know any more than that either,¡± Jing Teng said, shaking her head.

    Qiu Honglei gave her a look.Like hell I¡¯ll believe you! Look at the way you¡¯re acting!

    Seeing as she didn¡¯t want to talk about it, Zu An didn¡¯t continue to chase her either. Instead, he asked, ¡°Why did you bring us to this mountain then?¡±

    Jing Teng stared into the distance with a rather mncholic expression before saying, ¡°That¡¯s the house I used to live in.¡±

    When they followed the direction she was looking in, they saw that there was a ce with birdsong and fragrant flowers midway up the mountain, clearly much richer in spiritual energy than the surrounding areas. Deep in the trees, they saw some scattered flying eaves and bracket sets. However, most of the courtyard was already covered beneath vines and other nts. If Jing Teng hadn¡¯t pointed it out, they probably wouldn¡¯t have noticed the residence even if they walked right past it.

    But Zu An quickly frowned. He realized that there seemed to be someone inside!

 Chapter 1775: He Is My Man!

    <h4>Chapter 1775: He Is My Man!</h4>

    ¡°You used to live here? All alone?¡± Qiu Honglei asked in surprise. While living all the way here in the deste outskirts meant having beautiful scenery nearby, it brought a lot ofplications. On top of that, it had to be extremely lonely.

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Jing Teng said, sounding a bit sentimental as she looked at the residence. ¡°This was where I spent my childhood. When I used to live here alone, I didn¡¯t feel much, but then¡­¡±

    ¡°Then what?¡± Wei Suo asked curiously. The past of such a beautiful woman was always fascinating.

    Jing Teng shook her head, clearly not in the mood to continue. She quickly arrived outside the courtyard entrance. The ce was already overgrown and covered under vines and impossible to enter. However, when she stood there, even without doing much, the vines seemed toe alive and withdrew to either side, revealing the main entrance.

    ¡°Jing Manor?¡± Zu An said in surprise as the pretty but slightly immature writing on the entrance was revealed.Don¡¯t tell me she still has other family here?

    Jing Teng looked up at the two characters. A wistful look appeared on her face as she said, ¡°In the past, I received enlightenment from Immortal Ruler Baopu and took on human form. At the time, I was extremely curious about human society and had a great yearning for it. I collected all sorts of human novels, and in them, all the ns¡¯ courtyards were written as ¡®something something manor¡¯. That was why I copied them and wrote that on my door too. Back then, I had just started to practice writing characters, so the writing is a bit ugly. I¡¯ve given you all a poor showing.¡±

    Wei Suo said with a smile, ¡°Not at all, not at all. It¡¯s already much better than my handwriting now!¡±

    Jing Teng smiled, but didn¡¯t respond.

    Qiu Honglei secretly told Zu An, ¡°She was young and didn¡¯t understand the ways of the world, and yet had a yearning for human society. No wonder she was tricked by a trashy man.¡±

    Zu An had a strange expression. As expected, it was still women who understood women best.

    Jing Teng strolled through the courtyard. The courtyard was full of weeds and shrubbery with no ce to walk, but as she strolled past, all the nts moved aside. The others were amazed by the sight.

    As the vines withdrew, the original house was revealed. The rooms were already clearly run down and full of spiderwebs. The doors and windows looked as if they were about to fall apart at any moment.

    Jing Teng walked up to a half-broken swing and gently massaged its rope. It clearly evoked some memories of the past. She said, ¡°I grew up here happily until I was sixteen years old. It was then that I encountered a wounded man who identally came to this ce. At the time, I didn¡¯t think too much and saved him after seeing that he was at death¡¯s door. Later on, he taught me some poems and songs of the human world and told me about the sights of the world, and how incredible the outside was.

    ¡°As time went on, I developed a good impression of him. I thought he was a man that was worth entrusting everything to, just like in those stories.¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Qiu Honglei couldn''t help but say with a sigh, ¡°The male leads in those stories are often just trash, though.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Unfortunately, I was young and inexperienced. I thought I would be the exception,¡± Jing Teng said,ughing in self-mockery. ¡°At the time, I thought that our encounter was like a meeting of fate, but now that I think back, there were quite a few formations set up around my courtyard. Normally, it should have been impossible to find. Why would anyone jump in while seriously injured? It was all a conspiracy from the very start.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t think about it anymore. It¡¯s all in the past,¡± Qiu Honglei said, unable to help but feel sympathetic as a woman.Thank goodness Ah Zu is still pretty good.

    Wei Suo was also a bit angry. He thought to himself,Which trash would scheme to harm her when she¡¯s so beautiful? Does that guy not have eyes?

    Only Zu An remained rather calm as he looked at a corner in the room. He said, ¡°Your distinguished selves have hidden in the corner for so long. Just how much longer do you n on eavesdropping?¡±

    The others were all shocked to hear those words. They hadn¡¯t noticed that there was someone else here.

    Two figures slowly walked out from behind arge tree. The one in the lead was a middle-aged man in blue robes. He had a tall and straight-backed figure, square eyes, and a broad nose. He looked rather grand and majestic, and there was even a hint of a schrly air to him.

    However, Zu An and Qiu Honglei¡¯s gazes immediately shifted to the white-d woman behind him. Her long hair fluttered around, her white dress dancing in the wind. She looked just like an aloof goddess. However, the expression on her face gave off an icy chill that made her seem to be looking down on all others from a thousand miles away.

    The woman was none other than Yan Xuehen, who had been separated from them all this time! Zu An hadn¡¯t expected to reunite with her here and immediately beamed with joy.

    Qiu Honglei had a conflicted expression. After all, this was Chu Chuyan¡¯s master, and the arch-enemy of her own master. With the natural enmity between the orthodox and devil factions present as well, she felt a lot of pressure.

    When she saw Zu An, Yan Xuehen¡¯s ice-cold expression revealed a trace of gentleness. She had clearly already been aware of him for a while. She had been carrying out the highest-level mission for the Adventurer¡¯s Guild precisely to find where he was, and yet she actually found him just like that! Could this really just be fate?

    Zu An was about to call out to her when Yan Xuehen shook her head slightly. Soon after, she said by his ear, ¡°Ah¡­ Zu An, Lady Qiu, let¡¯s pretend to not know each other.¡±

    Forget about Qiu Honglei, even Zu An was confused. He asked, ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°This one next to me is none other than the Adventurer¡¯s Guild¡¯s president, Zang Ao. Recently, the guild received a top-grade assassination order, which was precisely to kill¡­ Zu An. The reward was extremely generous, to the point that even I was a bit stirred. Countless experts want to eliminate you right now, so I want to first find out who put this bounty on your head.¡±

    ¡°So that was the situation!¡± Zu An muttered, finally understanding. This man was that previous boyfriend Jing Teng mentioned?This guy does know how to put on airs, at least.

    Qiu Honglei was more concerned with the news that Zu An was now on the wanted list. She couldn''t understand why, even though they hadn¡¯t spent that much time in this world, they had ended up with such a bounty. Could it be that Zhao Han¡¯s group was causing them trouble?

    It wasn¡¯t her fault for not thinking of the Ghost King. After all, the Ghost King had countless subordinates and didn¡¯t have any need to spend that much money to ask the Adventurer¡¯s Guild toplete such a mission.

    The middle-aged man gave Zu An a surprised look; it was uncertain whether it was because he thought Zu An had seen through his identity, or that he knew that he was wanted. Only then did he turn to Jing Teng and ask, ¡°Tengteng, am I really just that unbearable in your heart?¡±

    Jing Teng frowned and replied, ¡°Zang Ao, do not refer to me with such a disgusting name.¡±

    The two immediately showed mutual hostility upon first sight.

    The handsome middle-aged uncleughed bitterly and said, ¡°Alright, alright. Since you don¡¯t like it, I won¡¯t call you that anymore.¡±

    Jing Tengughed coldly and replied, ¡°That tone again. That little girl of the past might have been fooled by you, but the same behavior will only get a single reaction from me, which is disgust!¡±

    The handsome uncle remained silent for a moment before saying, ¡°I know that I have deeply hurt you in the past. I do not dare to ask for your forgiveness, but I really was too young back then, and knew nothing about the world. That was why I was at a loss when I found out about your identity and made that huge mistake.¡±

    ¡°If you aren¡¯t going to ask for forgiveness, what¡¯s the meaning of even saying these things?¡± Jing Teng replied with a sneer. ¡°All this does is make you seem even more hypocritical.¡±

    Zu An, Qiu Honglei, Yan Xuehen, and even Wei Suo silently watched the drama y out.

    Qiu Honglei secretly said to Zu An through ki transmission, ¡°It seems these two still have some unresolved feelings. If they really didn¡¯t feel anything anymore, they wouldn¡¯t be arguing in such a worked-up manner.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s hard to say. Even if there¡¯s no passion left, being deceived is still enough topletely infuriate a person,¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°I guess you¡¯re right,¡± Qiu Honglei said with a smile and continued to watch the situation.

    The middle-aged man was really embarrassed to have so many prying eyes around. He looked at the people at Jing Teng¡¯s side and asked, ¡°Are these all your friends?¡±

    Jing Teng nodded. ¡°They are all my friends, and they helped me a lot. This is Lady Qiu, and this is young Master Wei.¡±

    Qiu Honglei was one thing, but when Wei Suo heard her call him ¡®young master¡¯, he immediately stuck out his chest with confidence.

    When it was Zu An¡¯s turn, Jing Teng hesitated for a moment. Then, she wrapped her arm around his and gently leaned her head against his shoulder, saying, ¡°This is my man.¡±

    The smile on the middle-aged man¡¯s face instantly froze. He stared hatefully at Zu An as he asked, ¡°He¡¯s not your boyfriend, but your man?¡± He just couldn¡¯t get those words out of his head. All sorts of possibilities appeared.

    Zu An¡¯s expression immediately froze. He had been perfectly fine watching the situation a moment before, so how had he ended up getting dragged in?!

    Yan Xuehen and Qiu Honglei immediately shot him sharp res.

    Damn kid, just how much time have you spent in this world? And yet you¡¯ve already got yourself another pretty woman? Absolutely ridiculous!

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +666 +666 +666¡­

    I knew it! I knew it! I felt as if something wasn¡¯t right between the two of them along the way, and as it turns out, sure enough, they had an affair! Just when did they start getting close? They actually hid it from me and did it in secret all the way until now¡­ Ah Zu, you really are an annoying womanizer!

    You have sessfully trolled Qiu Honglei for +666 +666 +666¡­

    When he felt the endless Rage pointsing in, Zu An could feel the strong killing intent within. He knew that he couldn¡¯t let the situation continue and was about to exin when Jing Teng¡¯s nervous voice said in his ear, ¡°Help me!¡±

    When he saw the pleading look in her eyes, Zu An couldn''t just expose her either.

 Chapter 1776: Original Body

    <h4>Chapter 1776: Original Body</h4>

    When they saw him remain quiet, Qiu Honglei and Yan Xuehen¡¯s eyes became colder and colder.

    You have sessfully trolled Qiu Honglei for +444 +444 +444¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +444 +444 +444¡­

    Zu An grimaced inwardly and quickly said to the two women, ¡°This is a misunderstanding. I¡¯ll exin everything to you in detail after.¡±

    A sneer appeared on the two girls¡¯ faces. They clearly didn¡¯t trust what he said.

    Zu An sighed. He told Jing Teng through voice transmission, ¡°Miss Jing, you¡¯ve really put me in a bad situation here¡­¡±

    Jing Teng gave Qiu Honglei a look and saw that she was about to erupt like a volcano. She couldn''t help but grin. At the same time, she found it a bit strange.Why is that white-d woman showing me such hostility?

    She couldn''t help but ask the middle aged man, ¡°Zang Ao, is this your new lover?¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression turned cold when she heard that. She became even angrier.

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +500 +500 +500¡­

    Zang Ao quickly waved his hand and said, ¡°You¡¯ve misunderstood. Miss Yan is nothing more than a friend I invited for assistance. We don¡¯t have that kind of rtionship.¡±

    Jing Teng didn¡¯t believe him at all and turned to Yan Xuehen, saying, ¡°Thisdy seems to be quite exceptional, so I really don¡¯t wish for you to get stuck in the mud pit that is this man. He has the ambition of a wild wolf and isn¡¯t the kind sort. You absolutely can¡¯t be deceived by him.¡±

    ¡°I have nothing to do with him,¡± Yan Xuehen said coldly.

    Jing Teng was stunned, and she could sense that Yan Xuehen wasn¡¯t lying.Then why do you bear so much hostility against me?

    Zang Ao smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯ve been quite broken-hearted over the years, but I hadn¡¯t expected Tengteng to actually be jealous because I have other women at my side. I suddenly feel a bit happy. You even brought a man with you to pretend to be lovers to make me upset. As expected, you¡¯re just as mischievous as ever.¡±

    Qiu Honglei and Yan Xuehen both sighed in relief. They had really gotten too worked up out of concern. After thinking about it for a bit, they had also realized that this woman was just using Ah Zu to anger her previous boyfriend. Even if they didn¡¯t believe her, they should have trusted Ah Zu! He wasn¡¯t some male stallion protagonist; how could he possibly get another woman this beautiful so quickly?

    Jing Teng looked at Zang Ao as if he were an idiot, replying, ¡°Aren¡¯t you a bit too narcissistic? Is there a need for me to lie to you?¡± Then, she grabbed Zu An¡¯s arm and continued, ¡°Big brother Zu treats me really well, and I love him a lot. The two of us are perfect lovers, and I¡¯m already his.¡±

    Zu An was stunned,Sis, you can¡¯t say things like that! You¡¯re asking for my very life here!

    Yan Xuehen and Qiu Honglei had felt as if they had med Zu An wrongly, and yet this explosive news appeared a momentter. They werepletely stunned.

    She¡¯s already his?

    Yan Xuehen thought,Zu An really is a scoundrel! He clearly already has Qiu Honglei at his side, and yet he was still unfaithful! Also, what the heck is up with Yun Jianyue¡¯s disciple? She was supposed to be the Devil Sect¡¯s witch, but why can¡¯t she even keep a leash on her own man, letting someone else steal him so easily?

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +911 +911 +911¡­

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s eyes were also wide open as she thought,I was always with Ah Zu; when did these two end up getting together? Was it after I fell asleep?She didn¡¯t doubt what Jing Teng said, because the other woman had always been rather proud during the trip. She definitely wouldn¡¯t joke around with her own purity.

    Ahhh! This woman is so shameless!

    You have sessfully trolled Qiu Honglei for +748 +748 +748¡­

    When he saw Zu An¡¯s arm buried in Jing Teng¡¯s soft chest, Zang Ao began breathing rapidly. Jing Teng had never been this close to him before! He stared at Zu An and said, ¡°Good, very good.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Zang Ao for +444 +444 +444¡­

    Then, he did his best to sort out his feelings before looking at Jing Teng and asking, ¡°Did youe all the way back here to look for your original body?¡±

    ¡°What, are you going to stop me?¡± Jing Teng retorted, giving him an indifferent look.

    Zang Ao released a deep sigh and replied. ¡°Even though you hate me, how could I do something that would harm you like that? I was muddle-headed in the past and regretted what I did¡­ Forget it, you might not even want to hear about those things. I¡¯ll bring you there.¡±

    Afterward, he led the way, and they soon arrived at the rear courtyard of the residence. He took out a token and pushed it into the air. Then, a translucent barrier appeared around the area. The scenery nearby changed, and the ruined ce overgrown with weeds disappeared and was instead reced with a beautiful flower bed.

    Zu An was stunned. This was most likely some kind of profound diversion. If Zang Ao hadn¡¯t personally undone it, outsiders would have a hard time finding this ce.

    The flower bed was full of luxuriant flowers, and butterflies fluttered in the air. There was a small and exquisite grave at the center. Zu An reflexively gave Jing Teng a look. This was most likely her grave.

    Zang Ao brought them to the very center. There was a tombstone over the grave that read ¡®Grave of My Beloved Jing Teng¡¯. The tombstone was full of candles and ritual money. All sorts of fruits and food had been used as an offering.

    Zang Ao gently caressed that tombstone. His voice was full of sorrow as he said, ¡°I always came here to sweep your tomb year after year on the anniversary of your death, and I lived here to keep youpany for a few days. I knew you always feared loneliness the most and loved liveliness.¡±

    Zu An and the others couldn''t help but give Jing Teng a look. She had clearly lived so deep in that old forest and looked as if she didn¡¯t want anyone near her. And yet, she was actually someone who liked noise and excitement?

    Zang Ao smiled and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to meet you here. I¡¯m beyond happy to see that you are still alive.¡±

    Qiu Honglei thought to herself,This guy is quite the sentimental sort. Why isn¡¯t Jing Teng following him, and is going after my Ah Zu instead? So annoying.

    Yan Xuehen nodded inwardly. During the trip, she had seen that Zang Ao could still be considered a gentleman. So why had these two ended up in such a conflict? More importantly, Zu An was actually involved. Truly annoying.

    Jing Teng didn¡¯t pay Zang Ao¡¯s behavior any attention; instead, she stared straight at the tombstone. Suddenly, a whip appeared in her hands andshed toward it. The tombstone instantly broke apart into pieces, turning into rubble.

    ¡°What are you doing?!¡± Zang Ao cried, his expression changing greatly.

    ¡°The words were irritating,¡± Jing Teng calmly replied.

    Zang Ao was speechless.

    The whipshed out again, and the grave also split apart. Zang Ao could no longer hold himself back and stood in front of her, eximing, ¡°Are you mad? This is your tomb!¡±

    Jing Teng looked at him as if he were an idiot, replying, ¡°Am I not alive? What would I need this grave for?¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zang Ao was stunned. In that instant, he didn¡¯t even know how to reply.

    Jing Teng didn¡¯t pay him any attention, and reached out a hand instead. Vines surged from all directions and stabbed into the tomb. The dirt was ripped apart, revealing a coffin within. With a wave of Jing Teng¡¯s hand, the cover flew away.

    The others reflexively craned their necks to see what her original body looked like. Was it the same as her current self, or was it just a set of dried bones now?

    Surprisingly, however, the coffin was empty. There was nothing inside at all.

    Jing Teng turned to Zang Ao and snapped, ¡°I demand an exnation!¡±

    Zang Ao was stunned. He quickly ran over to the coffin and ran his hands around the inside, but there was nothing. He eximed, ¡°How is this possible? I personally buried you back then!¡±

    ¡°There are even special formations in ce outside. Apart from you, no one should be able to enter,¡± Jing Teng said, her expressionpletely cold.

    Zang Ao hurriedly exined, ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s happening right now either. You know I didn¡¯t cultivate in the past, so onlyter did I find someone to set up the formation. I believe someone likely used that opening to steal your body away.¡±

    ¡°This ce was a secret to begin with, and there are all sorts of formations outside. Apart from you, who else could have stolen it?¡± Jing Teng replied with a sneer. She clearly didn¡¯t believe him.

    ¡°Could it have been Sun En? He knew that you were here. Or maybe¡­¡± Zang Ao started muttering in a panic, seeming to have thought of something. He quickly said, ¡°Tengteng, I¡¯ll get to the bottom of this and give you an exnation!¡± He hurriedly left afterward, clearly to investigate something. With his current status and position, it wouldn¡¯t be too difficult to look into anything.

    Yan Xuehen walked over to Zu An¡¯s side. She looked at him with an ambiguous smile and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to be this skilled.¡±

    Zu An had a huge headache. He hurriedly exined, ¡°This is a misunderstanding. Actually¡­¡±

    However, Yan Xuehen stopped him from continuing. He quickly said through voice transmission, ¡°We¡¯ll talk about other thingster. Zang Ao is the Adventurer¡¯s Guild leader and has ears everywhere. I¡¯ll try to find out who put you on the wanted list from that side, and see if I can clear your name.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t need¡­¡± Zu An called out after her, but she was quite stubborn. Together with the anger boiling within her, how could she possibly hear him? She had already vanished into the distance.

    Jing Teng looked at the two of them in confusion. This goddess-like white-d woman actually knew Zu An? She suddenly sensed a tangible killing intent. It turned out Qiu Honglei was ring at her with unkind intentions.

    Zu An could sense that hell on earth was about to ensue and quickly changed the topic, asking, ¡°By the way, what is going on with your original body? Why does it seem as if you don¡¯t actually care about it that much?¡±

 Chapter 1777: Fate Cannot Be Changed

    <h4>Chapter 1777: Fate Cannot Be Changed</h4>

    ¡°Why do I need to care about it?¡± Jing Teng replied with a grin.

    ¡°You don¡¯t even care that your own body was stolen? Who knows what other people will do with it?¡± Qiu Honglei asked in surprise, forgetting about her anger at Zu An.

    Wei Suo nodded hurriedly as well. There was already all sorts of nonsense filling his mind, as he thought about whatever vulgar things they could do with her body.

    When she saw their expressions, Jing Teng chuckled and said, ¡°You¡¯re all overthinking things. It¡¯s nothing more than a vine.¡±

    ¡°A vine?¡± the others repeated, suddenly remembering that she was a vine fiend. They all sighed in relief.

    Only Zu An asked in puzzlement, ¡°Doesn¡¯t that original body contain your power? Won¡¯t they be able to absorb it if it ends up in the hands of another?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. They won¡¯t be able to absorb anything,¡± Jing Teng said, shaking her head. ¡°If anyone believes that the vine contains my power, they¡¯ll be sorely disappointed.¡±

    Zu An assumed that her original body was a bit special and that perhaps there was some kind of seal on it that only she could undo. He continued, ¡°But now that your original body is lost, you won¡¯t be able to recover your power. That means there won¡¯t be any way of fulfilling your promise of helping me find mypanions¡­¡±

    ¡°Are you nning to abandon me?¡± Jing Teng asked, her eyes narrowing. Her expression turned a bit cold.

    ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant, but¡­¡± Zu An began, but he was interrupted by Qiu Honglei.

    ¡°We had an agreement. We would help you find your original body, and you would help us find ourpanions. It was a fair transaction with both sides being equal. Now, we¡¯ve escorted you all the way to where your original body is, and yet it vanished without a trace. We don¡¯t even know who stole it! We still need to search for ourpanions, so where would we find the time to keep youpany doing nothing?¡± Qiu Honglei cried, clearly having already made up her mind. She definitely couldn''t let these two stay together. It was too dangerous.

    When she saw how angry Qiu Honglei was, Jing Teng smiled and said, ¡°Miss Qiu, just now, I only borrowed your man to settle a grudge with Zang Ao. I hope you won¡¯t take it to heart.¡±

    Qiu Honglei was stunned, asking, ¡°Is that true?¡± She had suspected that could be the case, but Jing Teng¡¯s act was just too realistic.

    Zu An forced augh and said, ¡°Of course it¡¯s true¡­¡±

    Qiu Honglei ignored him and stared straight at Jing Teng, who chuckled and added, ¡°Indeed. Even if you don¡¯t believe me, you should know your own man.¡±

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s face turned red before she said, ¡°It¡¯s because I know him too well; that¡¯s why I knew that your looks just happened to be his type.¡±

    Jing Teng¡¯s eyes lit up. She smiled ambiguously at Zu An, who coughed and said, ¡°What are you saying¡­¡±

    Qiu Honglei was also a bit embarrassed, but she didn¡¯tpletely trust Jing Teng. She continued, ¡°Since it was just to fool Zang Ao, why didn¡¯t you use Wei Suo instead of my Ah Zu?!¡±

    Wei Suo continuously nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s right, that¡¯s right! I can also pretend to be your boyfriend!¡±

    Jing Teng gave Wei Suo a nce. She asked with a sigh, ¡°Do you think Zang Ao would¡¯ve believed me if I did that?¡±

    Qiu Honglei gave Wei Suo¡¯s buck teeth a look and reflexively nodded, saying, ¡°I guess you¡¯re right¡­¡±

    Any woman would need to choose an even more handsome man to fool their ex, someone who was more outstanding. Only then would their ex feel pain from inferiority and regret. If she ended up with someone like Wei Suo, wouldn¡¯t she just beughed at instead?

    Wei Suo was speechless. Even though the two didn¡¯t say it explicitly, those expressions made him feel as if countless des had stabbed into his heart.

    Qiu Honglei suddenly thought of something and asserted again, ¡°Even so, you have no clues at all. We can¡¯t just continue to waste time either.¡± Her woman¡¯s intuition made her sense that something would definitely happen if she continued to let them stay together.

    That wasn¡¯t even considering the fact that Yan Xuehen had even sent her a voice transmission, reminding her to keep an eye on Zu An.

    Huh? Wait, why would she give me that kind of reminder? It¡¯s probably because of Chuyan, right?

    ¡°I¡¯m not entirely without any clues, and didn¡¯t I help you find one of yourpanions already?¡± Jing Teng replied. She recalled the white-clothed woman from earlier, wondering how Zu An had so many stunning beauties around him. She had thought that Qiu Honglei was already a rare beauty, yet now, another one had appeared.

    Qiu Honglei was stunned, asking, ¡°Even Sect Master Yan counts?¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± Jing Teng said, raising her chin proudly. ¡°If you hadn¡¯t followed me here, would you have reunited with her?¡±

    ¡°Even though that¡¯s the case¡­¡± Qiu Honglei began, just feeling as if something wasn¡¯t quite right here.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We¡¯ll be able to find my original body soon. At that time, I¡¯ll find all of yourpanions,¡± Jing Teng said, cutting her off.

    Qiu Honglei had a conflicted expression. In the end, she sighed unwillingly and said, ¡°Alright.¡±

    If it were her master they had met today, she wouldn¡¯t necessarily even look for the other two. But her master was still missing, so she couldn''t help but worry. She thought to herself,I guess I¡¯ll just keep a closer eye on this woman.

    ¡°Did you obtain some clues regarding where your original body is?¡± Zu An asked curiously. She was way too calm right now, as if everything were going as expected.

    Jing Teng didn¡¯t reply immediately, and instead set up a formation around them. Then, she took them all into the jade ne she kept close to her chest.

    Zu An¡¯s group was surprised. If she was being so careful, it was clear just how great of a secret this was.

    Sure enough, after arranging all of that, Jing Teng said, ¡°The vine buried in that coffin wasn¡¯t my real body.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s group was shocked. It wasn¡¯t her original body?

    But judging from how panicked Zang Ao looked, it didn¡¯t seem like a fake.

    If Jing Teng really could have fooled him, why would she have been deceived in the past?

    When she saw their confusion, Jing Teng sighed and said, ¡°To be honest, I have to thank Immortal Ruler Baopu for this. After he granted me enlightenment, he carried out a divination for me and informed me that there was a great disaster in my fate. He likely already saw my destiny and made corresponding arrangements. It¡¯s just that he didn¡¯t tell me the truth.¡±

    ¡°Immortal Ruler Baopu?¡± the group asked in surprise. They hadn¡¯t expected all of this to have been within his grasp.

    ¡°A divination could pry into one¡¯s fate?¡± Zu An asked. That was what he was more concerned with. He had encountered abilities with foresight, such as the libationer¡¯s disciple Qi Yaoguang being good at astrological divination. However, she could only vaguely pick up on some trails of fate. There was divination in this world too, but it could at most determine whether a certain thing carried good or bad luck. Yet now, there was someone who could see one¡¯s destiny?

    ¡°Of course. Divination, talismans, sacrifices, formations, pill refinement, weapon refinement, and ritual music make up the six skills of cultivation. Each one is broad and deep, as they follow the naturalws of the world. Most people only cultivate one,¡± Jing Teng said extremely seriously. ¡°But Immortal Ruler Baopu was extraordinary. His attainments in that field far exceed those of others, so that was why he was able to see my destiny.¡±

    ¡°There is something I don¡¯t really understand. If he already saw your misfortune, why didn¡¯t he just tell you instead of doing all theseplicated things? Isn¡¯t this doing way more than required?¡± Qiu Honglei asked in confusion.

    Zu An nodded. She was a smart person, as expected. She had immediately seized the crux of the issue.

    ¡°Even if he told me, I was still young and ignorant back then, and hadn¡¯t experienced those things. I might not have treated what he said with much importance, right?¡± Jing Teng replied. She paused for a moment before giving an example. ¡°It¡¯s just like how children hear from their parents that they have to study properly from a young age, and only then can they be outstanding. Another example is their health. Early to bed, early to rise¡­ It¡¯s clear that what they¡¯re saying is correct, but would a child really listen?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s group understood when she exined it like that.

    Jing Teng chuckled and continued, ¡°Besides, I also asked Immortal Ruler Baopu about that. The Immortal Ruler told me ¡®fate cannot be changed¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Fate cannot be changed?¡± Zu An repeated with a frown. He reflexively felt a dislike for that sentence.

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Jing Teng said with a nod. ¡°Immortal Ruler Baopu said that destined fate can¡¯t be changed. No matter how hard you work to avoid that destiny, the more you do, the more it will actually push you toward that preordained destiny.¡±

    Zu An and the others fell silent. They all vaguely sensed the suffocating, powerless feeling of facing fate.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe in fate. If I just epted it without doing anything, that would be going against my nature,¡± Zu An suddenly said. He immediately felt that pent-up feeling dissipate considerably.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I was raised in the Devil Sect ever since I was young. I¡¯ve faced all kinds of dangerous situations. If I epted fate, I would have died a long time ago,¡± Qiu Honglei added, also recovering.

    Wei Suo wanted to say something, but couldn''t find any suitable words. He could only say in agreement, ¡°Me too!¡±

    Jing Teng smiled and said, ¡°Actually, back then, Immortal Ruler Baopu wasn¡¯tpletely pessimistic. He said that even though fate can¡¯t be changed, it can be used as a stepping stone to move in a more favorable direction.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Zu An asked. He vaguely seemed to have grasped something, but it slipped away a secondter.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t understand what he meant,¡± Jing Teng said in puzzlement. ¡°That¡¯s why he made a series of arrangements and left behind my original body. Additionally, he made a recement body for me. He told me that one day, if I encountered something, I could then retrieve it. Only now did I understand everything he did back then.¡±

    Zu An was full of admiration when he heard that. This Immortal Ruler Baopu¡¯s methods truly were extraordinary.

    ¡°Where is your true body?¡± Qiu Honglei asked curiously.

    Jing Teng didn¡¯t reply. Her gazended on the distant grand tomb.

 Chapter 1778: Everyone Has Gathered

    <h4>Chapter 1778: Everyone Has Gathered</h4>

    Zu An and the others asked in surprise, ¡°Your original body is in that tomb?¡±

    Jing Teng nodded.

    The others thought,No wonder she was being so careful. If this information got out, who knew just how much bloodshed there would be.

    ¡°So the great tomb was actually built by Immortal Ruler Baopu for you,¡± Zu An said, thinking,This Immortal Ruler Baopu really treated her quite well.

    Jing Teng shook her head and said, ¡°How could I have such a blessing? This tomb existed a long, long time ago. Immortal Ruler Baopu discovered it, and even after exploring it for many years, he still wasn¡¯t able to uncover all of its secrets. He just left my original body there in passing.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He had been really shocked when he first thought that this great tomb was made by Immortal Ruler Baopu. He had never expected Immortal Ruler Baopu to merely be the one who discovered it!

    Just then, a mor came from the distant tomb. They could vaguely make out the people around it stirring. Wave after wave of people seemed to be charging in as if they had gone mad.

    Wei Suo immediately panicked and said, ¡°Miss Jing, they¡¯re already rushing into the tomb. If we let them gain the initiative, what if your original body ends up getting damaged?¡±

    Jing Teng smiled and replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. How can this great tomb be entered so easily?¡±

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zhao Han also arrived in front of the great tomb with Li Changsheng and Xuan Bajing.

    Li Changsheng and Xuan Bajing had alreadyrgely recovered from their wounds along the way, but they still felt incredibly sullen. They had previously been among the strongest of grandmasters, and back in their respective sects, they had been the most respected of individuals. Their lives in the world of warriors had been even more carefree. Normally, there had been many people who flocked around to serve them and were scared of mistreating them in any way. And yet now, they could only lower their heads and bend their backs to serve another for fear of angering him. More importantly, the person they were serving was the powerful Zhao Han. Even if they were unhappy, they didn¡¯t dare to show it.

    Only when they saw the sea of people around them and how most of them had inferior cultivation to themselves did they calm down a bit.

    They wondered whether to find a chance to find some servants themselves. Otherwise, being at Zhao Han¡¯s beck and call really wasn¡¯t an ideal life.

    Zhao Han¡¯s gazended on the nearby great tomb. He could sense the ancient and mysterious auraing from it and felt extremely pleased. Could this truly be an immortal opportunity?

    ¡°Go and ask those people why they¡¯re still hesitating,¡± he ordered.

    ¡°Yes!¡± Li Changsheng and Xuan Bajing replied, quickly running to the nearest group to ask around. They returned shortly after and said, ¡°Your majesty, there seems to be some kind of restriction over the great tomb. They¡¯re unable to enter.¡±

    Zhao Han sneered. ¡°They¡¯re all feeble and unskilled, and yet they still wish to get their hands on the immortal opportunity?¡± As such, he ignored the others and walked straight to the entrance of the tomb.

    Li Changsheng and Xuan Bajing exchanged a look and quickly followed. If they clung to this thick leg, they could very well get a share of that immortal opportunity as well.

    ¡°Who is this person?¡±

    The various parties quickly noticed them.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen them before. The strongest experts of the world are all well-known and famous.¡±

    ¡°Look at how arrogant he looks; his eyes are almost at the top of his head. Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s some bumpkin from the mountain recesses¡­¡±

    ¡°It might not be. The world isrge and experts have gathered from all over. Not all of them have made a name for themselves in the world. It might be some hidden expert.¡±

    ¡­

    There were a few others in the crowd who quickly changed their expressions. They hid their faces in their cloaks and blended into the crowd.

    ¡°Why is he here?!¡±

    ¡°And why did both Li Changsheng and Xuan Bajing be hisckeys?¡±

    Zhao Han quickly arrived in front of the tomb entrance. He immediately greeted it with a fist, yelling, ¡°Open!¡±

    A golden fist emerged, bingrge beyondpare, and smashed against the entrance. All those in the surroundings felt a wave of destructive energy, leaving rmed. How was this guy so strong? Just a random punch carried such force!

    There had been some powerful beings waiting for these three to make a fool of themselves, but they all opened their eyes. There was rm and fear in their gazes.

    Even though a huge boom filled the air, the tomb¡¯s entrance waspletely unaffected. Zhao Han was speechless.

    Li Changsheng and Xuan Bajing were both horrified. They naturally knew just how terrifying Zhao Han¡¯s fist was. Forget about a tomb entrance, even a mountain would have been blown apart! And yet, not even a speck of dust fell from the entrance?

    Roaringughter filled the air from all around, mocking them with phrases like ¡®overestimating themselves¡¯ and ¡®why don¡¯t you take a piss and look into the reflection¡¯.

    Zhao Han¡¯s expression darkened. He had never expected to be embarrassed like this here!

    A giant golden projection suddenly appeared around him. Its appearance was nearly identical to his own, just magnified countless times. The golden giant went right up to the tomb entrance, then reached out to try and pry it open. The entire great tomb began to rumble and quake.

    ¡°Is that the legendary yang spirit?¡± All those who had previously intended to just watch something interesting were all rmed. Anyone who coulde here had to be powerful. Those who were weaker had already been filtered out in the outer regions. They naturally recognized that this neer was extraordinary.

    The only ones in this entire world who could reach such a level of power were the Yin Yang Realm¡¯s Ghost King, the former Divine Firmament Sect Master Sun En, the legendary Adventurer¡¯s Guild Guardian, as well as some select few others. Just where had this persone from? If it were just an ordinary hidden expert, that would be one thing, but how could one of the most powerful beings in the world remain hidden all this time?

    While the others were feeling shocked, Zhao Han¡¯s expression was grave as well. What was going on with this great tomb? He had already used all of his strength, so why hadn¡¯t this tomb entrance opened at all?

    Suddenly, streaks of ancient and deste runes appeared around the great tomb. The entire tomb seemed to havee alive like an ancient dragon! Even Zhao Han felt a sense of danger.

    Suddenly, the powers at the forefront roared, ¡°Hurry and let go! If you activate the great tomb¡¯s defensive formations, everyone here will die!¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zhao Han¡¯s expression darkened. If it only killed the people around him, he would continue without any hesitation. And yet, he could feel that these strange runes could even threaten his own life. At that moment, he became a bit hesitant. Still, he wasn¡¯t willing to just back down here either.

    Someone cried out, ¡°This great tomb¡¯s seal will open up soon. Is there a need for your distinguished self to be in such a hurry?¡±

    There were clearly some who had guessed his thoughts, and they quickly gave him a way to back down. Otherwise, he would bring them all down with him.

    Zhao Han finally withdrew his hands when he heard that, asking, ¡°When exactly?¡±

    ¡°Roughly an hour!¡± someone quickly replied. ¡°Thises from a prophecy from many years ago, so it shouldn¡¯t be mistaken.¡±

    The reason they had kept the weaker individuals farther away was precisely out of fear that they would want to get in on the action. But someone as powerful as this neer definitely had the qualifications to participate. That was why the major forces weren¡¯t too inflexible.

    ¡°Fine, so what if I wait an hour!¡± Zhao Han snapped, his body flickering, and he instantly withdrew a hundred or so meters away. The golden projection also returned into his body.

    When he saw how Li Changsheng and Xuan Bajing wanted to look at him but didn¡¯t dare, his face heated up a bit. They had arrived in such a bold manner, and yet they ended uppletely humiliating themselves! Fortunately, there weren¡¯t that many people who recognized him in this world.

    He was getting more and more interested in this great tomb. It had a restriction he couldn''t open even with all of his strength, which meant that the things inside definitely had the right to be considered immortal opportunities.

    The various powers all rushed over to exchange conventional greetings. ¡°May I ask what this daoist friend¡¯s honorable name is? Why have we never met before?¡±

    Zhao Han¡¯s face twitched.This emperor was humiliated and doesn¡¯t wish for others to know about it, and yet these people are stilling up to me.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, ten kilometers or so north of the great tomb, Chu Chuyan walked along a road while drawing the attention of everyone around her. However, she was way too beautiful, and she even seemed to have a faint glow around her body. No one dared to look straight into those cold and chilly eyes; they only dared to secretly give her a few looks.

    Chu Chuyan didn¡¯t let it bother her, however. This was something she had encountered all the time ever since she was little. She was already more than experienced in such situations. In order to avoid trouble, she used the Snowke Sword around her. Sure enough, when they sensed her great strength, they didn¡¯t dare to rashly provoke her anymore either.

    Still, there were always exceptions in this world. A group of horsemen rushed right past her. Their equipment wasn¡¯t standardized, and was instead all mixed up. This was clearly not the orderly cavalry of a nation, but rather a group of mountain bandits.

    ¡°Hm?¡± The group of horsemen had already passed Chu Chuyan, but then they all stopped. They turned around to look at Chu Chuyan. They were all left breathless.

    ¡°Boss, this chick is so pretty!¡±

    ¡°Yeah! I¡¯ve never seen one this hot before!¡±

    ¡°If we could bring her back to be the stockade madam, it would be worth it even if we died tomorrow!¡±

    ¡­

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s expression darkened. These people¡¯s filthy speech really was annoying. However, these were definitely not ordinary bandits. There were some whose auras were clearly no weaker than hers at all.

    ¡°Worth it my ass!¡± The one in the leader position immediately smacked the head of the one next to him. ¡°Those in our trade need to value our lives the most. And yet you¡¯re uttering things like ¡®it¡¯s worth it if we die¡¯!¡±

    ¡°Boss is right¡­¡± that person said, smiling awkwardly in apology.

    ¡°But this woman is quite pretty. Why don¡¯t we capture her first and have some fun for now?¡± another person said with a wicked smile.

    The leader gave Chu Chuyan a deep look, but in the end, he shook his head reluctantly and said, ¡°Forget it. This woman isn¡¯t easily provoked. If we try to capture her, we¡¯ll definitely suffer casualties. Our mission is more important right now. The arrival of that person in our territory is a gift to us from the heavens. Since we were able to uncover his whereabouts, we can¡¯t let side issues keep growing. Otherwise, others might get to him before us.¡±

    When he saw that his subordinates were still a bit reluctant, he said with a smile, ¡°Once we kill that target and get the reward, it¡¯ll be enough for us to sleep with a different courtesan every day.¡±

    The bandits¡¯ morale immediately gained a boost. They blew whistles while saying, ¡°Boss is always right!¡± After saying that, they blew Chu Chuyan a kiss and roared withughter as they urged their horses to move faster. A trail of smoke emerged in their wake.

    Chu Chuyan frowned. Even though she was annoyed, she wasn¡¯t a hot-headed woman. There was no need to fight against a group of strong individuals over some small matters in a secret dungeon. The most important thing right now was to look for herpanions and find a way to return to her own world.

    However, her eyes suddenly narrowed. She picked up a wanted poster that the group had identally dropped. When she saw the familiar face on it, she immediately became nervous.

    Favorite

 Chapter 1779: Pursuit

    <h4>Chapter 1779: Pursuit</h4>

    The one on the wanted poster had a handsome and grand appearance, but there was always a faint smile hanging from the corners of his lips, making those who saw it feel annoyed but also inexplicably amiable. Who else could it be but Zu An?

    Chu Chuyan had never expected to find information on Zu An in the secret dungeon. At first, she thought it was just a coincidence and that there could be someone who looked just like Ah Zu, but she quickly discarded that suspicion. The picture was extremely vivid, and how could she not recognize her own man?

    It was probably because their group hadn¡¯t left the dungeon ording to the designated time. Thus, the seniors had likely suspected that something happened, so they organized a group to investigate. Ah Zu was a member of the judges, and together with the fact that she and Manman were both in this dungeon, it was very likely that he had been too worried not to enter.

    However, she didn¡¯t know how they had entered this dungeon. Besides that, why was Ah Zu wanted? She had spent some time in this secret dungeon already and recognized that this was the highest-level tier of bounty, the sort that the Adventurer¡¯s Guild hadn¡¯t issued for many years. Each time such an order was given out, whether it was for kings, dukes, generals, ministers, expert from the world of warriors, or even the rulers of entire countries, they had never failed. When she saw the bounty, even she felt a bit stirred, let alone the bloodthirsty cultivators of this world.

    She looked in the direction those horsemen had gone in, then at the great tomb in the other direction. She didn¡¯t hesitate and changed directions to chase after them. Compared to the great tomb, Ah Zu was still more important.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    However, she didn¡¯t act rashly and followed them secretly instead. Those horsemen had many cultivators whose ranks weren¡¯t lower than her own. If they really started fighting, they would have an advantage in numbers. Forget about her, even Ah Zu could end up in danger if he was caught off guard and ambushed.

    Fortunately, she had picked up from their conversation that they had already located Ah Zu¡¯s whereabouts. As long as she followed them, she would be able to reunite with him. At that time, if they worked together, they would be able to defeat these people.

    Just then, some distance away, theRising Sun Princewas shocked when he saw that. ¡°Why did she change her direction?¡±

    His servant Little Sha said, ¡°She was probably upset at the rudeness of that group and wanted to teach them a lesson.¡±

    The Rising Sun Prince looked around them and asked, ¡°Do any of you know what their background is?¡±

    The servant Little Zhu replied, ¡°Judging from their attire and appearances, they seem to be local ruffians of the Zhi River, the Gray Wolf Mercenary Group.¡±

    ¡°Gray Wolf? With how generic their name sounds, they don¡¯t seem to be that strong,¡± the Rising Sun Prince said, sighing in relief.

    Just then, another middle-aged cultivator reminded him, ¡°Prince, please do not be misled by the name. They are actually very strong and terrorize the entire Zhi River for thousands of miles. They kill and plunder as they wish, not shirking from any crime imaginable. Some people wanted to get rid of them too, with several small countries and forces joining forces to deal with them, and yet each time, those groups werepletely wiped out. Later, the mercenaries even infiltrated the various powers and killed their leaders. From then on, no one dared to rashly offend them anymore.¡±

    He was the Rising Sun Prince¡¯s protector. Previously, he had been drawn away from the prince¡¯s side because of a trap, and that was why the prince had ended up in danger. Fortunately, Chu Chuyan had saved them from that assassination.

    The Rising Sun Prince¡¯s expression changed. He asked, ¡°They¡¯re that strong?¡±

    Even though they weren¡¯t a small country, they wouldn¡¯t necessarily be stronger than that alliance of small countries. At that moment, he had a fearful expression. But when he thought about how beautiful Chu Chuyan was, he wasn¡¯t willing to leave either.

    Little Zhu was the best at reading emotions. When he saw that, he immediately understood and hurriedly said, ¡°Prince, weren¡¯t you worried all this time that Miss Chu would be too strong, that you wouldn¡¯t have the chance to save a beauty like a hero?¡±

    Along the way, Chu Chuyan¡¯s beauty had spurred quite a bit of conflict. But she was too strong herself, and she had a lot of experience in the world of warriors, so she had been able to deal with those problems without much issue at all. The Rising Sun Prince hadn¡¯t even had the chance to interfere, leaving him really annoyed.

    ¡°If this Gray Wolf Mercenary Group is that formidable, those earlier rascals cannotpare to them at all. Even though Miss Chu is formidable, she is probably no match for them either. If she falls into a dangerous situation and the prince descends like a great hero, won¡¯t youpletely capture her heart?¡±

    The Rising Sun Prince¡¯s eyes lit up.Right! I was waiting for an opportunity all this time, and one finally came. How can I just leave now?

    When he thought about how Chu Chuyan wouldn¡¯t be strong enough, and she would end up on the verge of being ravaged by those evildoers, he knew that she would definitely be in absolute despair. If he then arrived like a splendid knight to rescue her, he could even carry her in his arms and spin a few times. They¡¯d look into each other''s eyes deeply¡­ wouldn¡¯t she bepletely in love then?

    That goddess-like beauty¡¯s soft body would lean into his embrace while she said bashfully, ¡°Thank you for saving my life, prince. This humble one has no other way to repay you but to give you my entire self¡­¡±

    All sorts of scenes appeared. It was as if a volcano had erupted in the Rising Sun Prince¡¯s mind.

    The middle-aged protector said with a frown, ¡°Those Gray Wolf Mercenaries are too formidable; we might not be able to save Miss Chu and might lose our own lives too. In my opinion, we should immediately warn Miss Chu to not offend the other side. She might not know about their background.¡±

    The Rising Sun Prince hurriedly waved his hand and said, ¡°No way, no way. If we warn her now, there¡¯s no use at all.¡±

    If we warned her now, she would only politely thank me at most and wouldn¡¯t pay much attention to me at all. On the contrary, if I wait until she¡¯s in despair, and then appear when she¡¯s terrified both mentally and physically¡­ Anyone would know what sort of choice to make.

    ¡°But¡­¡±

    The middle-aged protector still wanted to persuade him, but Little Zhu interrupted him. ¡°Mister Sun, you are worrying too much. The prince came with a group of experts this time, and the prince¡¯s Rising Sun Technique has been cultivated to the eighth level as well. We have no need to fear anyone. Furthermore, Miss Chu¡¯s cultivation is very high as well and she will definitely show even greater strength in a decisive battle. Even if the Gray Wolf Mercenary Group can win against her, they will suffer serious casualties. Would they really have much strength left then?

    ¡°We have so many experts on our side, and if we wait to deliver the finishing blow until they are exhausted, these mercenaries will all cherish their lives a lot. If their losses reach a certain extent, they will naturally choose to flee.

    ¡°Even if we take a thousand steps back, even if they really are formidable, we have so many experts on our side. It should be quite easy to escort the prince in leaving safely as well.¡±

    The Rising Sun Princeughed heartily and said, ¡°What Little Zhu says is right; that¡¯s exactly what we¡¯ll do. Everyone, follow her. Make sure not to alert her at all.¡±

    When the middle-aged protector saw that the prince had already made his decision, he couldn''t say much else. He could only signal his subordinates to be on high alert and follow from a distance.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, up ahead, the Gray Wolf Mercenary Group¡¯s leader asked the man next to him, ¡°Did you really find our target?¡± There was a scar across his eye, and his words carried an air of ferocity.

    ¡°Boss, are you really doubting my skills? It would be one thing if he hasn¡¯te to the Zhi River, but if he is here, he¡¯ll never escape my eye,¡± the other man said with augh as he looked at the great mountain in the distance. He had an eye that was sorge it bulged out of its socket. ¡°This person is pretty careful, not taking any major routes and instead choosing a handful of remote roads off the beaten track. I reckon that it¡¯s precisely because he was worried about being chased.¡±

    The leader immediately felt at ease. This subordinate had a special ability, which was that his eye could see everything that was happening along the Zhi River. Of course, that was on the premise that he had the target¡¯s exact appearance and information. This assassination request had already provided him with the prerequisites, however, It was because the group had that ability that they were sessful in every operation.

    The leader roared withughter and said, ¡°Once this mission seeds, you will definitely have your share of rewards.¡±

    After all, such an assassination order hadn¡¯t appeared in the Adventurer¡¯s Guild for several decades. The abundant reward for the mission had already driven the entire world mad. As long as one couldplete the mission, they wouldn¡¯t be able to use up all of the money even if they had three lifetimes. That was why the various forces were all looking for him. However, this person was extremely crafty and had never been found by anyone.

    Fortunately, the assassination order had been issued in none other than the Zhi River. That was why their Gray Wolf Mercenary Group had found him. The pavilion closest to the water really enjoyed moonlight first! If it were any other ce, they wouldn¡¯t have the confidence to win against the other forces, but the Zhi River was their territory! Together with the Thousand Mile Eye skill, they had an advantage over the other parties. That was why they had decided to give the great tomb a try as well, afterpleting the assassination first.

    The entire mercenary group was in high spirits. They were already starting to fantasize about just how they would celebrate once the mission waspleted.

    The bulge-eyed man looked behind him and said in a hushed voice, ¡°Boss, that woman followed us.¡±

    The leader looked behind him but didn¡¯t see Chu Chuyan. However, he knew the bulge-eyed man wouldn¡¯t make a mistake. The woman had clearly followed from a distance to make sure she wasn¡¯t noticed.

    ¡°We already let her go, and yet she followed us?¡± the leader asked in confusion.

    Just then, a yellow-faced, tough-looking man said with a chuckle, ¡°Who knows, maybe that girl saw how valiant we looked and felt a little something inside.¡±

    The others roared withughter when they heard that. They all blew catcalls while saying, ¡°Since she¡¯sing to us, let¡¯s capture her first.¡±

 Chapter 1780: Surrounded

    <h4>Chapter 1780: Surrounded</h4>

    Meanwhile, Chu Chuyan followed the Gray Wolf Mercenary Group up ahead. She secretly felt happy that she was going to reunite with Ah Zu in the secret dungeon.It seems like the heavens are quite kind to me.

    However, she suddenly shivered and quickly drew her longsword and vigntly looked behind her.

    With a frivolous whistle, a voice suddenly said, ¡°Oh? This girl is actually pretty vignt.¡±

    Soon, a group of people emerged from all sides. They were none other than the mercenary group from earlier, but there were no horses in sight.

    Chu Chuyan shivered. When had these people circled around her? She hadn¡¯t noticed any changes happening ahead because she was being extremely careful and following from a distance. She coldly asked, ¡°What is the meaning of this?¡±

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we be asking that same question back at you?¡± the mercenary group leader replied as hepleted the encirclement. ¡°What are you following all sneakily behind us for?¡±

    Chu Chuyan felt a shiver run down her spine. However, she still replied, ¡°This road is sorge; it doesn¡¯t belong to you. Why would you assume that I¡¯m following you just because I¡¯m taking it?¡±

    The scar-faced leader roared withughter and replied, ¡°Your tongue is quite sharp, little girl. But we¡¯re all smart people here. Do you think we¡¯ll believe your nonsense?¡±

    ¡°What are you doing right now?¡± Chu Chuyan asked. However, she gathered all her ki while secretly sizing up her surroundings to look for opportunities to break out.

    However, the group seemed very experienced in this kind of maneuver. They appeared to be standing around her rather carefreely, but they actually cut off all angles of escape. No matter which direction she ran in, she would be caught by three people. Then, the others would quickly catch up.

    The scar-faced leaderughed maliciously and said, ¡°I already let you go earlier, and yet you just continued to throw yourself at us. Thus, you can only me¡­¡±

    Midway through the sentence, Chu Chuyan quickly attacked. She knew that there was no way for the two sides to settle things peacefully, so she didn¡¯t wait for him to finish his sentence and seized the initiative instead. With a sh, she arrived in front of the weakest-looking mercenary. Snowkes fluttered through the air, and her sword flickered through the air, thrusting through his neck before he could even react. There was no chance of him surviving the attack.

    The two other men nearby were furious. They both drew their weapons to attack her. The two were clearly seasoned fighters and different from ordinary people. Even so, a snowy mist appeared in front of them, and by the time their attacks entered the snow, the target was already missing.

    ¡°Be careful!¡± the scar-faced leader roared, having already run in the other direction.

    It turned out that after Chu Chuyan¡¯s first lethal strike drew the others¡¯ attention, she had used the mist to dart in a different direction to attack another mercenary who looked weaker. The mercenary frantically blocked with his weapon, but unfortunately, Chu Chuyan had remained in seclusion for so long that her cultivation had already reached an entirely different level. When her sword thrust forth, it quickly passed her opponent¡¯s weapon and appeared next to his throat.

    At first, it seemed as if she would be able to take another life, but a projection of armor appeared around his body. Even though it definitely couldn''t block Chu Chuyan¡¯s sword, shattering almost instantly, the mercenary managed to buy a moment of respite. He quickly fled backward.

    At the same time, countless attacks came from all directions. Chu Chuyan could only evade and couldn''t continue the assault.

    ¡­

    ¡°Miss Chu really is too beautiful. Even while dodging, her movements look as if she¡¯s dancing,¡± said the distant Rising Sun Prince, who was secretly watching.

    ¡°Prince, should we go and help her now?¡± the protector surnamed Sun asked.

    The Rising Sun Prince shook his head and replied, ¡°Not yet.¡±

    Gray Wolf Mercenary Group, you guys are so famous; you¡¯d better not let me down!

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, on the battlefield, Chu Chuyan¡¯s gazended on a tall and skinny man in the distance. He had a yellow talisman in hand and was muttering something. The scale armor projection had clearly been created by that talisman. Her brows furrowed. This mercenary group had closebat attackers, and even a talisman user hiding in the back. If she couldn''t deal with that person, his preparations would result in her inevitable defeat.

    The scar-faced leader warned the others, ¡°Be careful. This girl is even stronger than we imagined.¡±

    Even without his reminder, the mercenaries who were used to licking blood off their des had already put away their initial carelessness after seeing her attacks. There were no smiles left on their faces; now, there was only ruthless bloodlust.

    Thus, there was no need to give any instructions. They all unleashed their attacks. A giant wolf covered in mes, countless streaks of de energy, an arrow that was as fast as lightning¡­ Countless fists that carried tremendous power, a ball of light that flickered with electricity, an earthquake from below, tworge hands grabbing at her¡­

    They clearly didn¡¯t hold back at all despite her extreme beauty. They all used their most powerful skills to immediately restrain her.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s expression changed. Snow lotuses suddenly appeared beneath her one after another. Her extremely profound movements seemed as if they would let her dodge the attacks. Suddenly, however, she felt her body be heavier. In that instant, it was as if the space around her had been restricted. She shivered. When she looked at the distant talisman master, she immediately realized that he was using a skill.

    With that dy, all of the dazzling attacks arrived, and a grave look appeared on Chu Chuyan¡¯s face. A dense gathering of snowkes suddenly appeared all around her. Every single one was made of sword energy condensed from the Snowke Sword.

    When those attacks entered the surroundings, the snowkes exploded. The arrow at the forefront was deflected by her sword. The powerful fists were turned into frozen sculptures by the countless snowkes as well. The ruthless de energy continued to sh with the snowkes and melted. The giant wolf of mes began to sizzle, as if it would be extinguished at a moment¡¯s notice¡­

    However, these attacks were a bit too tough, so even with the Snowke Sword, she couldn''t block all of them. Some of them struck Chu Chuyan¡¯s body, and she coughed out a mouthful of blood. The mercenaries were all quite strong, and they were too numerous. Alone, she wasn¡¯t their match at all.

    ¡°There are actually signs of a domain forming! She¡¯s still so young. If she¡¯s allowed to grow a few more years, none of us will be her match!¡± the scar-faced leader cried in horror. His eyes were filled with killing intent. When a genius with unlimited potential was offended, the best thing to do was to kill her before she was allowed to grow. He could no longer sit still and attacked her too.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s internal energies were in chaos, but she didn¡¯t have time to adjust her condition. She quickly avoided the mercenary leader and used her incredibly ingenious movement skill to rush at the others. She no longer wanted to experience being surrounded and attacked from all sides again.

    Soon after, two people were injured by her sword. However, she sighed in regret. She didn¡¯t have time to kill them before the other attacks arrived. The mercenaries were worried that they would be dragged down with her during her final desperate struggle, so they did their best to protect themselves. Either way, they had so many people that they could just slowly wear her down.

    Chu Chuyan tried to break out several times, but she was always blocked and forced back. When the scar-faced leader saw that victory was already in his grasp, he roared withughter and said, ¡°Littledy, I didn¡¯t expect you to be so pretty and so formidable. Us Gray Wolf Mercenaries respect the strong the most. If you surrender to us and be our madam, we can just forget about today¡¯s matter. How about it?¡±

    Before Chu Chuyan even answered, the other mercenaries became rowdy and saying, ¡°Boss, you¡¯re being unfair here! We already said that this beauty belongs to all of us, so how can you enjoy her all on your own?¡±

    The scar-faced leader roared withughter and replied, ¡°I didn¡¯t say that she would be my own madam; of course she¡¯ll be our entire stockade¡¯s madam.¡±

    He felt a bit of regret inwardly. This woman really was too strong and he really wanted her all to himself. Unfortunately, there were several others in the group who were about as strong as him. If he pissed them all off, he wouldn¡¯t necessarily be able to remain the leader.

    Suddenly, Chu Chuyan¡¯s figure flickered. Shepletely turned into fluttering snow and attacked in the opposite direction.

    The people there were stunned when they saw her sword technique.Did she lose her mind? Would an attack from that far away hit?

    However, they didn¡¯t act carelessly and raised their weapons to defend themselves. As long as they defended for a while longer, theirpanions'' attacks would be enough to seriously wound her first.

    Suddenly, bright red silk shot out from her sleeves, instantly passing over them and wrapping itself around the talisman master behind them. That person was horrified. He immediately tried to use talismans to resist, but the red silk quickly pulled back with a bone-shattering crunch. He screamed miserably.

    The man had actually been strangled to death on the spot!

    Talisman masters weren¡¯t good at closebat, and their bodies were weak too. How could they endure the full force pull of the Primal Skysilk?

    The scar-faced leader''s eyes immediately turned red. Only then did he realize that this woman¡¯s efforts to break out of the encirclement were all a facade. Her real target had always been that talisman master!

    After all, the use of a talisman master for a mercenary group was extremely great. A talisman master could offer shields, healing, and all sorts of controlling skills. It could be said that their importance in a mercenary group definitely ranked among the top three. Now that the talisman master had died, even if their strength didn¡¯t decrease by half, it would at least drop by a third!

    Chu Chuyan used the force of the Primal Skysilk¡¯s pull to avoid the attacks behind her. She leapt over the mercenaries who werepletely focused on defending and jumped straight out of their encirclement!N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Just then, however, a hammer roared over from right in front of her. Chu Chuyan had no choice but to dodge to the side. In that instant, the mercenaries surrounded her again.

    ¡°Boss, I didn¡¯t expect you to almost let this littledy get away. Thank goodness I got here promptly,¡± a man with softer features said as he gradually appeared from the road ahead.

 Chapter 1781: Why Isnâ€™t it Like How I Imagined?

    Chapter 1781: Why Isn¡¯t it Like How I Imagined?

    The scar-faced leader''s eye twitched. This person was the mercenary group¡¯s vice leader. Whether in terms of cultivation or prestige, they weren¡¯t beneath his own at all. It was only because the scar-faced leader had some reservations that he had made sure to transfer him away. Who would have thought that he would return just then?

    ¡°Thank goodness our vice leader returned! This slut killed so many of our brothers. We must capture her and f*ck the shit out of her today!¡± the mercenaries who were closer to the vice leader cried noisily.

    Even though the scar-faced leader was a bit unhappy that the vice leader was hinting at his ipetence, now wasn¡¯t the time to act up either. He could only say seriously, ¡°Vice leader, you¡¯vee at a good time. This woman is full of deceit and has powerful cultivation. We need to work together and not give her any opportunities.¡±

    ¡°Fine. Let¡¯s see which one of us can capture her first,¡± the feminine-looking man said as he observed Chu Chuyan while clicking his tongue. ¡°What a lovely beauty. Even I¡¯m a bit reluctant to fight against her.¡± Even though that was what he said, he didn¡¯t hold back at all. His hand shot straight at her vitals.

    The scar-faced leader harrumphed and charged as well, not wishing to be outdone. Just now, he had already been greatly humiliated, so of course he couldn''t let the vice leader subdue her first.

    Chu Chuyan quickly ended up in great danger. The two¡¯s cultivation was even a bit higher than hers. Furthermore, the other mercenaries surrounded her without any trace of an honorable warrior¡¯s pride and fired all sorts of attacks at her. She was quickly hit several times. If not for the fact that her Snowke Sword was profound and she was able to adapt swiftly, she would likely have already be a corpse.

    Even so, she coughed out blood several times. She was like a skiff in a raging sea, about to capsize at a moment¡¯s notice. A hint of despair shed through her eyes. She hadn¡¯t expected to actually end up dying in this secret dungeon. She wouldn¡¯t have a chance of meeting Ah Zu again.

    Suddenly, someone roared furiously, ¡°Absolute nonsense! How can all these grown men bully a single weak woman? Are you all that shameless?!¡±

    A white-d young master flew over from midair, a fan in hand. He had a confident appearance.

    Chu Chuyan was stunned when she saw that, eximing, ¡°Rising Sun Prince?¡±

    ¡°Hm? So it was Miss Chu! These people dare bully you? Absolutely preposterous!¡± the showy and pretentious white-clothed man replied. He was indeed the Rising Sun Prince.

    He had long been waiting for the opportunity he imagined. Previously, when he saw that Chu Chuyan had actually almost broken out of the encirclement through her own strength, he felt as if his heart had been shoved all the way up to his throat. Fortunately, the vice leader had arrived and stopped her.

    Chu Chuyan was already at her wits¡¯ end, but the Rising Sun Prince¡¯s fantasy of her being struck flying, upon which he would just catch her, hadn¡¯t happened. However, Protector Sun was getting more and more nervous, and Miss Chu could lose all of her fighting strength if the situation continued. If they didn¡¯t interfere now, the situation would only get worse.

    Helpless to do anything else, he could only show himself and save her. In order to make the rescue seem even more amazing and mystical, he pretended to not recognize Chu Chuyan at first and acted as if he just happened to have bumped into her. After Chu Chuyan recognized him, only then would he ¡®snap out of it¡¯ and recognize her.

    The Gray Wolf Mercenary Group surrounded Chu Chuyanpletely. In that instant, they stopped the fight and instead looked toward the uninvited guest.

    ¡°Where did this pretentious, white shirt white pants brate from?¡±

    ¡°Judging from their tone, we should know them? And it¡¯s some prince?¡±

    ¡°Tsk, it¡¯s not as if we haven¡¯t tied up princes before. We¡¯ve even killed kings before.¡±

    ¡°That brat has some pretty nice clothes on him. They should be worth something.¡±

    ¡­

    The Rising Sun Prince was about to erupt in anger as he listened to it all. He roared, ¡°You bastards! Do you think you¡¯re acting like real men by ganging up on a woman? If you have the ability, why don¡¯t you send out two people to fight against me and Miss Chu one on one?!¡±

    He suddenly felt really proud of his own intellect. In a situation of despair, they would fight together, shoulder to shoulder, back to back against a powerful foe. Their feelings for each other would definitely skyrocket!

    But who would have thought that the mercenary group would roar withughter?

    ¡°Has your brain been trampled into mush? In this world, winning is the most important. Why would we not fight with an advantage and y along with you one on one?¡±

    The Rising Sun Prince¡¯s face darkened when he heard the jeers all around him. He replied, ¡°Whatever! I wanted to fight against you as if I were an ordinary person, but you¡¯ve now forced my hand. Having more people makes you amazing, right?¡± He pped his hands and said, ¡°All of you,e out!¡±

    As soon as he said that, people came from all directions. They seemed to have even surrounded the Gray Wolf Mercenary Group. When he saw their expressions change, he felt extremely satisfied, remarking, ¡°Didn¡¯t you all rely on your bigger numbers? It¡¯s our turn this time.¡±

    The vice leader sneered and replied, ¡°Your numbers aren¡¯t enough. And even if you had more, they¡¯d be nothing more than a flock of sheep.¡±

    As soon as he said that, his figure vanished like a ghost. He quickly moved through the surroundings. Just a few momentster, miserable screams continuously filled the air all around the Rising Sun Prince. More than ten people instantly copsed into pools of blood in the blink of an eye. There was a huge hole in the center of every single one of their bodies. Their hearts had been plucked directly out.

    The vice leader''s hands were like ws, thin and sharp. They were full of bloody hearts. His mouth suddenly became massive, and he devoured all of the hearts in one gulp. The terrifying sounds of chewing and swallowing filled the air, and the vice leader revealed a look of satisfaction. He said, ¡°Ah¡­ Fresh hearts are truly a delicacy.¡±

    The Rising Sun Prince¡¯s side couldn''t help but take a step back. They all thought,Is that person a monster? That¡¯s too scary!

    The Gray Wolf Mercenariesughed nastily. They were all veterans of a hundred battles and didn¡¯t need reminders at all. They tacitly grasped the moment when the opponent¡¯s morale was low and charged forward. Soon after, their weapons moved one after another, reaping lives batch by batch.

    The Rising Sun Prince¡¯s expression changed greatly. He thought,How is this possible? Why did these people suddenly be so strong? Just now, Chu Chuyan was clearly messing with them all alone. My cultivation and hers should be about the same! Furthermore, there are a few experts in our group too, so why is it so one-sided?

    The scar-faced leader crushed two guards¡¯ skulls bare-handedly. As if seeing through his thoughts, heughed cruelly and said, ¡°So it really was a pampered prince. He thought that strength was the same as cultivation! They have the same cultivation, but this woman is countless times stronger than all of you guys.

    ¡°Furthermore, we were holding back a bit because she was just too beautiful. But for a group of ugly clowns like you? We don¡¯t have any interest in men, so why would we hold ourselves back?¡±

    He wasn¡¯t giving that response entirely to show off, but rather because he wanted to seize every chance to beat down the enemy¡¯s morale. After all, some of these people¡¯s cultivations weren¡¯t that bad. With the enemy¡¯s numbers, the mercenaries would definitely suffer quite a few casualties if they fought it out.

    Sure enough, the Rising Sun Prince¡¯s side was already filled with terror. When they heard those words, their morale waspletely crushed. Their strength was reduced by half, as they were consumed by thoughts of how to save their own hides and looking for opportunities to run.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Even though there were a few, such as Protector Sun, who were fighting with all their might, as well as Chu Chuyan providing assistance, it couldn''tpensate for their side¡¯s crushed morale. The battlefield soon became a one-sided ughter. The Gray Wolf Mercenary Group¡¯s cruelughter filled the air, apanied by screams of fear that came from the Rising Sun Prince¡¯s side.

    When he saw the scenes before him, the Rising Sun Prince waspletely dumbstruck. Why was this different from what he had imagined? Shouldn¡¯t these mercenaries have immediately felt fear and run when they saw that they were at a disadvantage? Then, shouldn¡¯t they have fled in rm, letting him save the beauty like a hero and carry her back in his arms?

    He looked at the current battlefield. The only thing that he was thankful for was that Protector Sun was still incredibly valiant, already having killed several mercenaries.

    Suddenly, however, a giant gray wolf shadow appeared behind Protector Sun. It opened its ferocious mouth. When it closed again, Protector Sun¡¯s head was already gone. Protector Sun¡¯s body instinctively brandished its weapon to kill the enemies around him, but without his head, he could only crash to the ground again after a few steps.

    The gray wolf projection turned into the scar-faced leader. He looked at the headless corpse on the ground and spat out a mouthful of blood-mixed spit, saying, ¡°Pah, this dog killed so many of our brothers. He was a professional. Thank goodness we dealt with him.¡±

    The Rising Sun Prince was stunned. He had never expected that his most powerful ally would die so casually! He was now a bit regretful. He felt that he should have fought by Protector Sun¡¯s side, as he would have been able to cover his back then. Protector Sun wouldn¡¯t have been ambushed so easily.

    ¡°Prince, be careful!¡± In that moment of absentmindedness, Little Sha cried out in rm by the prince¡¯s ear. He moved in front of the Rising Sun Prince.

    Splurt!

    Then, his body was cleaved in half. Arge clump of brains and intestines spurted all over the Rising Sun Prince¡¯s body. When that happened, he finally broke down. He screamed and immediately turned to run, crying out, ¡°Miss Chu, hold on for a bit longer, I will find others to save you!¡±

    As he had fled, his subordinates werepletely defeated too. They couldn''t be bothered with the consequences and ran for their lives. The one running at the forefront was none other than Little Zhu.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s expression waspletely cold. Actually, she had gained a chance to run away when they joined the fray. But since these people hade to save her, how could she abandon them?

    But who would have thought that the Rising Sun Prince would be so useless? They clearly had a good chance, and yet his weakness had caused the situation to turn into a one-sided disaster. Now, she couldn''t get away even if she wanted to.

 Chapter 1782: Fighting Side by Side

    Chapter 1782: Fighting Side by Side

    The scar-faced leader and the feminine vice-leader led their subordinates to surround Chu Chuyan again. Theyughed sinisterly and said, ¡°Little girl, that pretty boy is so scared for his life that he abandoned you. Your choice of men doesn¡¯t seem to be all that brilliant.¡±

    Chu Chuyan harrumphed. ¡°Hmph, how could someone so cowardly be my man? If my man were here, why would he need to run?!¡± Her voice was full of regret. It would have been fine if she hadn¡¯t been discovered. Perhaps she would have even found Ah Zu, too.

    ¡°This girl really knows how to shoot her mouth off! But I promise that our men here are more formidable. Why don¡¯t you give us a try?¡± the scar-faced leader remarked, blowing a wolf whistle. The other mercenaries immediately roared withughter.

    After experiencing a bloody battle, it was now time for their harvest. This woman really was too beautiful. Even though she had killed quite a few of their brothers, they still found it hard to kill her.

    When she saw the looks in their eyes, Chu Chuyan¡¯s expression waspletely cold. She knew there was no way to mediate the situation anymore. If she ended up in their hands, she would definitelye to a bitter end. A hint of resolve appeared on her face. She gripped her sword in both hands, and a blizzard began forming all around her.

    The leader and vice leader''s expressions changed. They cried, ¡°Everyone, retreat!¡±

    They were experienced in battle and could naturally sense the destructive power contained within. They naturally understood that such power couldn''t appear out of thin air, and that it was definitely some kind of forbidden technique. The price of using such a skill was often one¡¯s very life. This woman clearly intended to take all of them down with her.

    They sighed when they looked at that beautiful face, thinking,What a pity!

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s gaze waspletely cold. In the past, when her cultivation was lower, she had already been able to use a forbidden technique to destroy the giant Kun whale. Now that her cultivation had advanced leaps and bounds, the power she could wield was also far greater than before.

    ¡°Goodbye, Ah Zu¡­¡± she murmured. She felt a hint of reluctance, but at this point, she no longer had any other way out.

    Right when she was about to activate the skill, however, an urgent cry filled her ear. ¡°Don¡¯t be rash!¡±

    Chu Chuyan was rmed. She recognized this voice. It was actually¡­!

    Suddenly, a beautiful figure rushed toward them. ck mes covered everything in sight, causing many of the Gray Wolf Mercenaries to scream. The me really was strange; those struck by it werepletely unable to put it out. It was as if even their souls were about to bepletely burned away.

    The leader and the vice-leader''s expressions darkened. They quickly killed some of their subordinates who were affected by the mes to end their suffering. Then, the mercenaries turned their attention to the perpetrator.

    They could never have expected it to be another woman, and an extremely beautiful one, no less! She wore a red and ck dress that was extremely stunning. Her captivating eyes seemed to contain an ambiguous smile that seemed to tug at one¡¯s very soul. However, what drew even more attention was her chest. As she moved, it was as if ocean waves rippled in front of her.

    The mercenaries¡¯ eyes widened. Just what kind of sted luck did they have today? They had actually met another exceptional beauty who was on the same level as the blue-d woman? However, the leader and vice-leader couldn''t bring themselves to feel happy at all. They had just fought a great battle, and after the ck-d woman¡¯s ambush, they had lost close to half their men. The remaining people also carried several wounds.

    Chu Chuyan was also a bit dumbstruck. Her gaze was filled with shock and happiness as she cried, ¡°Manman!¡±

    The one who had arrived was none other than Pei Mianman. Chu Chuyan had been looking for her the entire time, but had never expected to reunite in such a situation.

    Pei Mianman saw that there was quite a bit of blood on Chuyan¡¯s dress and could imagine just how bitter the earlier battle had been. She couldn''t help but sigh, saying, ¡°Silly girl, he would really be broken-hearted if something happened to you.¡±

    Chu Chuyan looked back at her. She suddenly sighed and said, ¡°Actually, you could have interfered a bitter. No one would have med you.¡± The two of them had known each other for a long time. She knew that Pei Mianman wasn¡¯t as sweet and innocent as she looked.

    Pei Mianman knew what she meant. She frowned and said, ¡°If it were anyone else, I might really have done that. But you¡¯re different.¡±

    ¡°How am I different?¡± Chu Chuyan asked, looking at her calmly.

    Pei Mianman said with a conflicted expression, ¡°I knew you long before I knew him. And before that, we were best friends, right?¡±

    A smile suddenly appeared on Chu Chuyan¡¯s face. Their personalities were clearlypletely different. When they first met each other, they¡¯d both had ulterior motives. But she had to admit that Pei Mianman had been one of her few friends in all these years, someone she could proudly call a best friend to others.

    Until that person appeared¡­

    ¡°That¡¯s right, best friends,¡± the two women said, exchanging a look. For some reason, everything that had happened just disappeared like smoke on the wind.

    ¡°Look at how lovely and close the two of you are acting. But neither one of you can even think of leaving today,¡± the scar-faced leader said angrily. Judging from their conversation, they seemed to actually know each other¡­ and they were fighting over the same man?

    Is there something wrong here? These two devastatingly beautiful women actually like the same man? And they¡¯re even putting on this sisterly love drama? Just which man could be this fortunate?

    He felt an uncontroble fire burn within him when he thought about that man.

    Why?!

    The other mercenaries clearly had simr thoughts. They were still a bit worried about the strength they had lost earlier, but at this point, there was no redeeming the situation.

    ¡°These guys were bullying you, right? Let¡¯s just kill them all together,¡± Pei Mianman said, looking at the people around them coldly. Her lovely gaze was nowpletely ice-cold.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Uh¡­ They¡¯re quite strong,¡± Chu Chuyan replied, unsure what else to say.

    She had seen Pei Mianman¡¯s strength for herself on Violet Mountain. Her cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds, butpared to those representative disciples, she hadn¡¯t had a huge advantage. She had only been able to take the first ce in thepetitionrgely because of luck, as well as Zu An¡¯s tricks. Even at her strongest, the two of them wouldn¡¯t necessarily be a match for this mercenary group, let alone now when they were already worn out and tired.

    Pei Mianman smiled and said, ¡°Chuyan, I might not be better than you in one-on-one fights, but this kind of chaotic brawl is my strongest suit.¡±

    Previously, in the secret dungeon, she had been the War Goddess Fu Hao! She had endless experience in battle and was used to such messy fights. As soon as she spoke, she activated Fu Hao¡¯s Owl Statue. Everything within a mile was covered in absolute darkness.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    ¡°Why did it suddenly be dark?¡±

    ¡°Someone light a fire, hurry!¡±

    ¡­

    The Gray Wolf Mercenary Group had clearly begun panicking.

    Soon after, someone lit a torch to light the surroundings, but strangely, the light seemed to be swallowed up by the darkness around it. It wasn¡¯t able to illuminate the surroundings at all. Even things like divine sense were limited to a small range. They were practically blind.

    Suddenly, those who had started fires screamed one after another. They were clearly attacked by a present in the darkness.

    The feminine vice-leader screamed, ¡°Everyone, remain calm! Don¡¯t light a fire and turn yourself into targets!¡±

    The others quickly put out the lights in their hands. They all gripped their weapons while vigntly defending their surroundings. They were all experienced, after all. Since it waspletely dark, the enemy definitely couldn''t see either. As long as they didn¡¯t make any sounds, the enemy couldn¡¯t find them either. As long as they defended their area and attacked everything that approached them, they would be invincible.

    Unfortunately, they could never have imagined that Pei Mianman was the absolute ruler of this space. She could see everything that was happening inside. She was like an owl, silently reaping the lives of the mercenaries one after another. Her cultivation was quite high to begin with. If one such person with sight fought against the blind, it could only be a one-sided massacre.

    When he heard the screams filling the air, the scar-faced leader used all sorts of powerful skills to attack. Unfortunately, how could he possibly hit his enemy by swinging blindly? He was furious. The woman¡¯s cultivation was clearly weaker than his own, and yet now, he was forced into apletely passive state. He felt extremely wronged.

    Unfortunately, their group¡¯s runemaster had already been killed by Chu Chuyan. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t be so helpless.

    One after another, those familiar voices disappeared. The leader¡¯s heart sank. This really was an absolute disaster, and the Gray Wolf Mercenary Group could bepletely wiped out. He roared, ¡°Vice-leader, are you dead yet? If not, thene here and we¡¯ll fight back to back!¡±

    ¡°Fine!¡± a feminine voice replied. The vice-leader knew they couldn¡¯t afford internal strife in such a situation. Thus, he decisively put aside their differences and rushed over. They both brandished their weapons to block the side the other party couldn''t defend.

    This left Pei Mianman in a difficult position. These two hadpletely blocked off any holes in each other¡¯s defenses. If she attacked one of them, she would suffer a brutal retaliation from the other. Additionally, their cultivation ranks were higher than her own. If such a situation happened, she could be seriously injured.

    She moved to Chu Chuyan¡¯s side and exined the situation. Chu Chuyan quickly replied, ¡°They have two, but don¡¯t we have two as well?¡±

    Pei Mianman¡¯s eyes immediately lit up. The two women held each other¡¯s hands and leaped at their target. Pei Mianman attacked first, and ck mes surged.

    However, the vice-leader blocked her attack. The scar-faced leaderughed maliciously and said, ¡°I¡¯ve finally caught you!¡±

    He took the precious chance to release a giant wolf, ordering it to bite down on the woman. He no longer entertained lustful thoughts and only wished to kill her as quickly as possible to break out of this situation.

    But who could have thought that an extremely cold sword would silently appear, stabbing perfectly into his neck? His head flew into the air, eyes wide with confusion and fear. He had never expected that someone as powerful as himself would actually die so easily.

 Chapter 1783: Glare of Eternal Slumber

    Chapter 1783: re of Eternal Slumber

    Where did that sworde from? Wasn¡¯t the vice-leader holding off that big-chested woman? How could she still have time to attack me?

    Could it be that the vice-leader was messing with me?

    Only when he felt that familiar chilliness did he suddenly realize that it was the Chu woman.

    Just how was she able to see? These two women really do work well together. No wonder they like the same man¡­

    In that instant, countless thoughts passed through the scar-faced leader''s mind. Then, he was lost to endless darkness. His headless corpse came crashing down. As cold energy entered his body, he had frozen into a statue; when he fell, he exploded into fragments.

    The feminine vice-leader felt a st of hot blood spray all over him. Then, he stopped being able to sense the leader''s energy. It was obvious that the leader was already dead! He was horrified.

    It really was ironic. Before this, he had wished for the leader¡¯s death countless times, so as to rece him. And yet now, the leader had actually be his most reliable shield. When the vice-leader saw him die, he felt as if he had fallen into a frozen cer. He hadn¡¯t even felt so bad when his parents died in the past.

    Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t have too much time to think. Attacks surrounded him from all directions again.

    So those two women were working together! But how could that Chu girl see?

    Chu Chuyan naturally couldn''t see anything. However, Pei Mianman constantly described the situation in her ear, and she just had to follow the directions.

    It sounded easy, but it was extremely difficult to achieve. After all, they needed to have absolute trust. If the other person were to give the wrong direction on purpose, she could end up handing over her own life on a silver tter instead of striking the enemy.

    When she sensed that Chu Chuyan was doing exactly what she said, Pei Mianman¡¯s expression was extremely strange. She thought, Is this silly woman really not scared that I might harm her?

    Hand in hand, their swords matched each other harmoniously as they attacked the vice-leader. Even though his cultivation was higher than both of theirs, he couldn''t see, and the range of his divine sense was also extremely small. As such, he waspletely left in a passive position. Soon after, one after another, wounds opened up on his body. As blood flowed from his body, he became weaker and weaker as well. He knew the situation couldn''t continue. Otherwise, he would definitely die within an incense stick of time.

    ¡°Is there still anyone alive? All of you,e over to where I am, or else you¡¯ll definitely die!¡± the vice-leader roared.

    Unfortunately, it waspletely silent. No one responded. There were no blood-curdling screams either. He felt his mind gopletely cold as he realized that the Gray Wolf Mercenary Group had already been eradicated. Furthermore, as the only survivor, he would also die soon.

    He was a bandit who had dominated this area for many years. Even though his appearance was a bit weak-looking, deep down, he was tougher than anyone else.

    ¡°You whores, the two of you have forced my hand!¡± he cried. He quickly chanted some cryptic words, then yelled out a summoning. ¡°With my flesh, blood, and soul, summon the king of all ghosts here! Help me destroy the two women here and make them wish they were dead!¡±

    He knew he was definitely going to die, so he decisively chose to drag down these b*tches with him.

    As soon as he finished speaking, thick ck smoke immediately surrounded him. His miserable screams resounded from within, as if he were enduring an inhuman form of torture. Then, his flesh and blood quickly shriveled up until nothing more than bones remained.

    When she saw what was happening, Pei Mianman knew that things were bing dangerous and quickly attacked the vice-leader to interrupt this ritual. Unfortunately, all of her attacks just vanished as soon as they made contact. Helpless to do anything else, she could only drag Chu Chuyan with her and back up quickly. At the same time, she exined the situation.

    At almost the same time, a terrifying aura descended. A ck mist surrounding a head made of countless skulls descended from above. It wrapped around the vice- leader''s body as a voice intoned, ¡°Who has summoned me?¡±

    ¡°Respected king of all ghosts, it was this lowly one who summoned you. I hope that your respected self can make these two women wish they were dead instead, for them to endure eternal torment.¡±

    ¡°The smell of fresh blood, as well as a curse full of hatred¡­ These are truly the most delicious things in this world,¡± the skull head remarked with an ted look. ¡°I have received your request.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Ghost King!¡± the vice leader cried, even though he was nothing more than a skeleton. His empty eyes were still full of hatred as he stared in the two women¡¯s direction.

    ¡°We need to run!¡± Pei Mianman cried, grabbing Chuyan and running.

    They had already spent some time in this world, and judging from the things they¡¯d heard, they knew that this Ghost King was an unrivaled being. Countless people feared him, and she didn¡¯t believe that her Fu Hao¡¯s Owl Statue domain could affect someone as powerful as him.

    Sure enough, the skull head cackled. ¡°You wish to run? How could it be that easy?¡±

    Countless skulls rushed out surrounded by ck mist, instantly filling up every inch of the ck domain. Pei Mianman knew that maintaining Fu Hao¡¯s domain against such an all-epassing area of effect skill was useless. It would only affect Chu Chuyan¡¯s sight and judgment. Thus, she put the owl statue away, and they both used their best movement skills from their respective sects. One turned into a ball of surging ck mes, while the other turned into a hazy ice mist. They became countless times faster than usual.

    ¡°All resistance is futile before me,¡± the skull head said with a harsh, ear-splittingugh. They moved like a flood as they chased the two women. Whether it was trees, flowers, birds, or beasts, everything they passed withered away and turned into bones.

    In the blink of an eye, the ck mist was just a few dozen meters behind the two women. When she saw that she couldn''t get away, Chu Chuyan gritted her teeth, saying, ¡°Manman, hurry and run. I¡¯ll stall it!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid! How could I leave you alone?¡± Pei Mianman replied, knowing that she still had a forbidden skill she could use. She naturally couldn¡¯t just leave.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t leave now, both of us are going to die!¡± Chu Chuyan cried, panicking. If Manman hadn¡¯t rushed over, she would already have died. Pei Mianman had already saved her life once, so doing the same in return was fair.

    Pei Mianman sighed and replied, ¡°Do you think I¡¯ll be able to find peace in this life if I abandon you in this situation? What do you think Ah Zu will think of me then? Good sisters should live together and die together!¡±

    Chu Chuyan stared at her nkly for a moment. In that instant, she didn¡¯t know how to respond. The ck mist was already a mere meter away from them.

    ¡°Look how deep your shared emotions are. There is no need for you to try to yield to each other, because neither of you will be able to get away,¡± the skull head said. The ck mist surged. A secondter, both women were wrapped up within.

    Suddenly, the earth quaked and the mountains shook, and a vast and ancient energy spread out. The world was filled with a refreshing vitality that was several times richer than normal. There were even some cheers in the distance. For it to reach so far, it was clearly not something one or two people could create, but something thousands upon tens of thousands had created.

    The ck mist paused for a moment, then shrank somewhat. The spiritual energy that suddenly flooded the world had clearly affected the Ghost King a bit too.

    ¡°The great tomb has opened!¡± the skulls cried as they turned to the great tomb, revealing looks of excitement.

    Chu Chuyan and Pei Mianman didn¡¯t hesitate. They both used their greatest skills to dash hundreds of meters away.

    However, a harrumph emerged from the ck mist. A skull turned in the direction the two women had fled in. Its empty eyes suddenly lit up, and two gray beams of light fired out, practically at the speed of light. The two women were hit at almost the same instant.

    There seemed to be a hill right ahead of Chu Chuyan and Pei Mianman. However, they staggered and fell. The ck mist decided not to chase after them anymore and went in the direction of the great tomb¡¯s entrance.

    In the ck mist, the vice-leader''s skeleton screamed, ¡°Ghost King, how can you let them go?!¡±

    ¡°Let them go?¡± the skull head replied, ¡°They were struck by the re of Eternal Slumber and will quickly fall into a never-ending sleep. With their cultivation, they cannot to use their energies to protect themselves. Shortly after, their bodies will waste away until they turn into bones.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s different from our transaction! I wanted them to suffer and wish for death. Isn¡¯t this kind of death through sleep too easy on them?¡± the vice-leader cried out. Their entire mercenary group had been wiped out today. Decades of work had turned into wasted effort. He had even offered himself up to summon the Ghost King. If all of that was just to make two women sleep, how could he ept that?

    ¡°The great tomb has already opened. This one has more important matters to tend to, so how can I bother with your task?¡± the skull head replied, already floating in the direction of the great tomb as it spoke.

    ¡°No! This is different from our deal! You¡¯ve vited the ancient summoning principles!¡± the vice-leader roared in anger. He had already offered up everything he had, so he didn¡¯t have anything else to lose.

    ¡°Summon? Even an ant like you has the qualifications to summon me?¡± the skull head replied. A ghost w suddenly reached out from the ck mist and grabbed the vice leader''s skull. ¡°This one was just bored and sent a bit of my aura here to y around. Otherwise, how could that trifling amount of flesh truly summon me?¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    A look of extreme pain immediately appeared on the vice-leader''s skull. Soon after, a soul flew out from between his eye sockets and was absorbed by the ck mist. His skull was also absorbed, bing no different from the countless other skulls in the mist.

 Chapter 1784: Wife of the Immortal Ruler

    Chapter 1784: Wife of the Immortal Ruler

    Meanwhile, Chu Chuyan and Pei Mianman both tumbled down the hill. Normally, they both had extraordinary movement skills and definitely wouldn¡¯t fall down such a hill, but they were no match for the re of Eternal Slumber. Even their souls felt a tremendous sense of fatigue, and they could no longer control their bodies normally, which was why they fell.

    Still, the forceful movement allowed them both to retain a bit of clearheadedness and not immediately fall asleep. After all, falling was the best way to wake up a drowsy person. The two of them couldn''t really control their bodies, so they just instinctively hugged each other and used their backs to deal with the rubble and tree branches. Their bodies were soon covered in wounds, but the sharp pain was enough to keep them awake.

    After tumbling for who knew how long, the two smashed into a cliffside that held a giant boulder. The two of them braced for impact. With their momentum, if they smashed straight into it, the impact would be enough to make a normal person explode into pieces on the spot. Only cultivators such as them whose bodies were extremely tough and flexible wouldn¡¯t die. However, their wounds definitely wouldn¡¯t be light.

    However, who would have thought that right as they were about to crash into it, several profound runes suddenly flickered across the cliffside? A secondter, after they crashed into it, the giant boulder rolled inside. A gentle force wrapped around the two of them, neutralizing the tremendous momentum.

    The two women looked at each other in dismay. Suddenly, their faces reddened. They discovered that they were still clinging tightly to each other. They could even clearly feel the air the other exhaled. They quickly pushed each other away, staggering to their feet.

    ¡°What kind of ce is this?¡± Chu Chuyan muttered absent-mindedly. Inwardly, she thought, No wonder Ah Zu always called her Big Manman. She really is very, very big¡­

    Pei Mianman felt a bit awkward too. She had never been so intimate with another woman before either. When she heard that, she raised her head and looked around before replying, ¡°I don¡¯t know. It seems to be a cave.¡±

    Inside the cave, they could even see simple stone tables and chairs, as if someone had lived there before. But everything was too simple, as if the inhabitant had been carrying out the ascetic practice of a monk. The cave wasn¡¯t thatrge, and they could see all the way to the very end of it. In the very depths, there was a sculpture of a woman carved out of the wall. In front of the sculpture was a tattered praying mat that the previous owner of this ce had evidently used for meditation. Unfortunately, because of the sheer amount of time that had passed, it was already somewhat rotted.

    The two women reflexively walked up to the sculpture. They were about to observe the woman¡¯s face when they both frowned. They nervously said to each other, ¡°This is bad. I can feel that drowsiness again.¡±

    They could see the severity of the situation in each other¡¯s eyes. With their cultivation, they wouldn¡¯t feel tired even if they didn¡¯t sleep for several days. Their current condition was clearly strange.

    ¡°It¡¯s probably because of those two streaks of light,¡± Chu Chuyan said, thinking back to what had happened. She looked behind her and continued, ¡°It seems to be a power that can put someone to sleep.¡±

    ¡°But we don¡¯t know how long we¡¯ll sleep. If it¡¯s just a few days, we might be able to wait it out here,¡± Pei Mianman said with a frown.

    This cave was hidden quite well, so they didn¡¯t have to be scared of anything dangerous happening while they were asleep. However, both of them knew very well that there was no way the powerful Ghost King would only make them sleep for a few days. If they slept for a few months, they could hold on with their cultivation, but if they had to sleep for a few years, the energy inside their bodies wouldn¡¯t be enough to keep them alive. Furthermore, the Ghost King¡¯s skill could make them sleep for even longer. It could even be endless.

    The two women didn¡¯t dare to fall asleep. They both agreed to take out their weapons and stab their own thighs. The intense pain temporarily drove away the endless drowsiness.

    ¡°What do we do?¡± Pei Mianman asked. She couldn''t figure out a solution even after thinking through all of the daoist sects¡¯ methods.

    Both of them could see the despair in each other¡¯s eyes. If they slept outside, with their extraordinary appearance, it was easy to imagine what would happen once they were leftpletely powerless. But if they slept here, there was no way Ah Zu would be able to find them. They could end up asleep forever in this darkness.

    ¡°It¡¯s all my fault that you¡¯re in this situation,¡± Chu Chuyan said apologetically. If not for her, Pei Mianman wouldn¡¯t have fallen into such a desperate situation.

    ¡°We¡¯re best friends. You would have saved me too,¡± Pei Mianman said with a sigh. She also knew that there was no solution. ¡°I really never expected that even though our personalities arepletely different, we would end up liking the same man.¡±

    ¡°Indeed, the ways of the world are truly unpredictable,¡± Chu Chuyan said with a sigh. The two of them had beenpeting against each other to an extent, and yet in the end, it was all for naught.

    ¡°The fact that those other vixens are having it easy annoys me so much! I would have just given that guy to you,¡± Pei Mianman said dejectedly. She knew that Zu An had a lot of beauties at his side. Now that the two of them were backing out, they were letting the others win way too easily.

    ¡°Exactly. If I knew, I would have just let you have him too,¡± Chu Chuyan said with a sigh. They exchanged a look andughed. They felt as if they had returned to the time when they were really close.

    Suddenly, Pei Mianman said, ¡°There is one matter that I wonder if you know about. Your master¡­¡±

    She suddenly stopped midway through her sentence. Previously, she had seen Yan Xuehen and Zu An share an intimate scene. But she could end up hurting Chu Chuyan if she talked about it. After all, Chuyan¡¯s master was the one who had stolen her man, which really couldn¡¯t be particrly pleasant to discover. If she finished her sentence, it would also feel as if she were talking behind their backs to drive a wedge between them. As such, she hesitated.

    ¡°What happened to my master?¡± Chu Chuyan mumbled, struggling to open her weary eyes and looking at Pei Mianman in confusion.

    Pei Mianman thought, We¡¯re both about to die anyway, so who cares anymore. At least Chu Chuyan will know the truth, that Ah Zu doesn¡¯t only have those pretty and flirtatious beauties, but also some unimaginable people.

    ¡°Your master and Ah Zu¡­¡± she began.

    Halfway through her sentence, however, a streak of light appeared from the sculpture beside them. A female figure slowly rose from the surface. The two then saw that the figure was identical to the stone sculpture. She had a dignified and peaceful expression, and her gaze seemed to carry a sense of pity for all life.

    ¡°Whose blood was it that has awakened me?¡±

    The two women looked down. They discovered that because they had stabbed their weapons into their thighs to fight against the drowsiness, blood had continued to flow along the ground. Meanwhile, there was a slight slope from the floor to the wall, so the blood had flowed toward the foot of the stone sculpture.

    The two women were stunned and reflexively asked, ¡°This senior is¡­?¡±

    ¡°The people of the world refer to me as Baogu. This is but a strand of divine will that I have left behind. The blood the two of you have seems to be quite special and has woken me up,¡± the figure replied. She almost seemed to be waiting for them to sigh in amazement.

    However, the two women werepletely puzzled. They weren¡¯t people of this world and had never heard such a name before. They had heard of ¡®xingbaogu¡¯ (king oyster mushrooms), but they were scared they would offend her by saying that out loud.

    The figure clearly froze for a moment. She could only ask, ¡°Then have you heard of Immortal Ruler Baopu?¡±

    The two women nodded and replied, ¡°We have.¡±

    ¡®Immortal Ruler Baopu¡¯ was a name known by practically everyone. After all, he was the only one who had been able to ascend to immortality in the past thousand years.

    The figure¡¯s expression evidently became a bit unhappy. She then said, ¡°He is my husband.¡±

    The two women¡¯s faces were covered in question marks. They asked, ¡°The Immortal Ruler had a wife?¡±

    The figure said impatiently, ¡°It¡¯s not as if he ascended to immortality from birth. Of course he had a wife.¡±

    ¡°So you were Immortal Ruler Baopu¡¯s wife? We greet senior,¡± the two said, bowing again. The wife of an immortal could already be considered a legendary being.

    ¡°Do you think I wanted him to be an immortal?¡± the woman remarked unhappily, especially when she thought about how they only recognized her because of her husband. She was feeling irritated and was about to storm off when she noticed their condition, saying, ¡°Hm? The two of you seem to be wounded.¡±

    The two women said with a bitter smile, ¡°Our wounds are a small matter. We were struck by a strange light from the Ghost King that made us feel extremely tired. The only reason we can even remain awake is because of ourst bit of willpower. We might fall asleep at any moment.¡±

    The two exchanged a look and saw a sliver of hope in each other¡¯s eyes. After all, even though this was merely a remnant will, when she was alive, she had been the wife of an immortal! There could be an opportunity for them to be saved.

    ¡°Ghost King?¡± the figure repeated with a frown; it was impossible to tell whether it was because she had never heard of the Ghost King or because she had thought of something. She continued, ¡°From the looks of your condition, you seem to have been afflicted by a powerful skill of the Yin Yang Realm, the re of Eternal Slumber. Those struck by the skill forever fall asleep and never awaken, all the way until they be nothing but bones.¡±

    Pei Mianman and Chu Chuyan were both crestfallen. It was the worst possible situation, as expected.

    ¡°May I ask if senior has a way of helping us?¡± Pei Mianman quickly asked. A sliver of hope appeared in Chu Chuyan¡¯s eyes as well.

    The woman shook her head and replied, ¡°If you hade to me in the past, then I would have a solution. However, I am nothing more than a strand of will and do not have much power. There is nothing I can do to help in your current situation.¡±

    The two women immediately sank into despair when they heard that.

    ¡°Pitiful,mentable,¡± the woman muttered, shaking her head and preparing to leave.

    When they saw that she was walking out of the cave, Chu Chuyan suddenly asked, ¡°Senior can leave this ce?¡±

    The woman nodded and replied, ¡°That¡¯s right. I can sense that the great tomb is opening once more. There are some unresolved ashes of fate that need to be resolved atst.¡±

    Upon hearing that the woman seemed to be heading to the great tomb, Chu Chuyan was surprised. She asked, ¡°Could we entrust senior with something?¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

 Chapter 1785: Kiss of the Goddess

    Chapter 1785: Kiss of the Goddess

    ¡°What is it?¡± Baogu replied, turning around to look at her.

    Chu Chuyan struggled to resist the drowsiness. She recalled what the mercenary group had brought up earlier and said, ¡°My husband should be near the tomb. I believe he will most likely participate in something as lively as the opening of the great tomb. I hope that senior can carry a message for me.¡±

    ¡°What message?¡± Baogu asked curiously.

    ¡°Tell him that my greatest blessing in this life was marrying him in Brightmoon City. We no longer share any destiny in this life, but if there is a next life, I hope we can be husband and wife once more,¡± Chu Chuyan said, blushing faintly as she spoke. After all, Manman was still there.

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you asking him toe and save you?¡± Baogu asked, finding it a bit strange.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°That is because this is an extreme skill of the famous and powerful Ghost King. If even your respected self cannot do anything about it, telling him would only be adding to his worries. Rather than making him feel the pain of being unable to save me for the rest of his life, I would rather not tell him,¡± Chu Chuyan replied.

    ¡°Famous and powerful?¡± Baogu remarked, raising a brow. She seemed to have thought of something, but she still held back in the end. She continued to look at Chu Chuyan, and couldn''t help but sigh deeply. Eventually, she said, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to be the romantic type. Someone who can receive the unswerving favor of a woman like you must be an outstanding man. Fine, I¡¯ll be sure to pass along your message. What is his name, and what characteristics does he have?¡±

    Chu Chuyan was a bit embarrassed, but she still said, ¡°His name is Zu An¡­¡± Then, she described his characteristics.

    ¡°Is there really a man so handsome?¡± Baogu muttered as she listened to the description. Then, she nodded and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. As long as he appears near the tomb, I¡¯ll definitely bring him your message. However, if he doesn¡¯te, there¡¯s nothing I can do either. My remnant won¡¯t hold on for much longer either.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, senior,¡± Chu Chuyan said with a bow.

    The female projection nodded, then looked at Pei Mianman and asked, ¡°What about you? Do you have anyst cherished desires?¡±

    Pei Mianman¡¯s expression became extremely strange, but she still said, ¡°I also wish for senior to bring my man a message.¡±

    ¡°Hm? This really is strange,¡± Baogu remarked, thinking to herself, These two are such romantics. Aren¡¯t they a bit too invested in such things? However, she replied, ¡°That¡¯s fine. What do you want to tell your man?¡±

    Chu Chuyan gave Pei Mianman a look. She pretended not to care, but she secretly perked up her ears. There was no way for Pei Mianman to speak privately as she said, ¡°I want senior to tell him that my happiest time was the decades we spent in the Yinxu Secret Dungeon. It would have been amazing if we had never emerged again. If there¡¯s such a thing as reincarnation, I¡¯m willing to be with him again.¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s expression grew strange. The two had already been husband and wife for several decades? No wonder their rtionship seemed even closer than her own as the proper wife. She hadn¡¯t actually misunderstood the situation!

    Baogu carefully examined Pei Mianman and said,¡°You also have stunning looks. To carry such strong feelings, the man a woman like you favors must definitely be rare. Tell me his name, and I¡¯ll definitely convey your words to him.¡±

    Pei Mianman¡¯s face reddened. She gave Chu Chuyan a really ufortable look. Chuyan also guiltily avoided her gaze as she began, ¡°His name is Zu An¡­¡±

    ¡°So his name was also Zu An. What a coincidence,¡± Baogu said with a nod. Suddenly, her expression changed and she asked, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me the two of you are talking about the same man?¡±

    Chu Chuyan and Pei Mianman were a bit embarrassed. They helplessly shook their heads and said, ¡°He is indeed the same person.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Baopu eximed, startled. ¡°The two of you are so stunning, and yet you¡¯re actually so hell-bent on liking the same man?!¡±

    The two exchanged a look, then said with a sigh, ¡°That is indeed the case.¡±

    ¡°Are you being controlled by that person through some evil method?¡± Baopu asked with a frown. Even in her own time, the two women before her would have been extraordinary and devastatingly beautiful people. Shouldn¡¯t countless people have been pursuing them? How had they ended up liking the same man instead?

    Both of them saw each other¡¯s worry and quickly exined, ¡°It¡¯s a long story, but we really do love Ah Zu. We weren¡¯t forced in any way.¡±

    ¡°I you love your man so much, shouldn¡¯t love be exclusive? Why are the two of you still able to remain as close as sisters?¡± Baopu asked in confusion.

    ¡°We were actually really good friends, and we¡¯ve gone through too many life-and-death situations together. That¡¯s why our rivalry in love only seems insignificant inparison,¡± both women said with a sigh.

    Baopu sneered and said, ¡°I guess it¡¯s fine. I¡¯m now quite interested in seeing just what kind of man could steal the hearts of both of you at the same time.¡±

    She was about to leave when Pei Mianman stopped her and said, ¡°Senior, please wait.¡±

    The woman turned around and looked at her calmly, waiting for her to continue. Pei Mianman then said after some hesitation, ¡°When senior finds him, if there are other women at his side, please don¡¯t get upset and me him.¡±

    Chu Chuyan thought to herself, It¡¯s still Manman who understands Ah Zu well. That guy had so many sweethearts at his side, so there were probably more apanying him right now. If this Senior Baogu got angry because of the two of them, she could end up berating him for being shameless. In the end, Baogu was the wife of the immortal ruler, so they didn¡¯t know how strong she was. He would be in danger if she attacked him out of anger.

    The female figure was so angry she actuallyughed when she heard that. She eximed, ¡°Is there something wrong with your heads?¡±

    Pei Mianman¡¯s face heated up. Chu Chuyan helped her by exining, ¡°Senior has misunderstood. We actually know about them too. Ah Zu is someone who understands love and emotions. The women he likes are definitely not ordinary women, and they¡¯ve definitely gone through countless trials together. If we¡¯re going to die, why not just let them enjoy their lives? We sincerely wish for them to live happily, rather than for him to grieve over us for the rest of his life and be like the living dead, something we would never want.¡±

    Pei Mianman also nodded and added, ¡°That¡¯s right. That¡¯s also what I wish for. Ah Zu has sacrificed enough for me in this life. I don¡¯t want him to live the rest of his life like that.¡±

    Baopu paced back and forth in the cave. She was clearly really annoyed. The scene before her seemed to have caused her brain to short-circuit a bit.

    After a while, she looked at the two of them and asked seriously, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you two fighting anymore? Are you really going to surrender just like that?¡±

    ¡°If the situation weren¡¯t so dire, of course we would. How could we just step aside for them?¡± Chu Chuyan harrumphed. Then, her expression darkened as she said, ¡°However, we¡¯re already doomed to die, so how can we still muster such feelings?¡±

    Baopu said with a sigh, ¡°So it was only because you were going to die that you became discouraged. I almost thought that I¡¯d lived all these years for nothing.¡±

    Chu Chuyan and Pei Mianman were a bit speechless. It was hard for them to even keep their eyelids from falling, and yet this was what the other woman was getting worked up over.

    Baopu hesitated for a moment before saying, ¡°Whatever, whatever! This will was woken up by the two of you, so I share some karma with you two. I really can¡¯t just watch such a pair of romantic women be so forlorn.¡±

    Then, she reached out her hand. Two specks of golden light tapped against their foreheads. The two women were already about to fall asleep, so they couldn¡¯t react in time at all.

    ¡°Senior, what are you doing?¡± Chu Chuyan asked in confusion, feeling her mind be a bit clearer.

    ¡°My current self indeed can¡¯t undo your re of Eternal Slumber. But when I was in a helpless state in the past, I created a skill of my own. The two of you can actually save yourselves,¡± Baopu said, her expression turning a bit strange.

    ¡°What kind of skill is it?¡± Pei Mianman asked in puzzlement.

    Baopu seemed to blush a bit as she replied, ¡°This skill is called ¡®Kiss of the Goddess¡¯.¡±

    Pei Mianman and Chu Chuyan were speechless.

    When she saw their expressions, Baogu became a bit annoyed. She snapped, ¡°Don¡¯t think random thoughts! The reason I created this ultimate skill wasn¡¯t because of Immortal Ruler Baopu. It¡¯s just¡­ just¡­

    ¡°Forget it, you¡¯ll realize it yourselvester,¡± she said, her figure fading. ¡°Sigh, I was nning to carry your message, but now, it seems that I¡¯ll actually need you two to help me with something.¡±

    When they saw her current state, Chu Chuyan and Pei Mianman already knew that she had used up all of her own power to help the two of them. She would disappear soon. They cried out, ¡°Senior!¡±

    Baopu smiled and said, ¡°Everything is ording to fate. There¡¯s no need for the two of you to be broken-hearted. If you remember to help me give Immortal Ruler Baopu¡¯s remains a p to the face in the great tomb, that should be enough. No, wait. The two of you need to each give him a p.¡±

    The two women were stunned. This couple¡¯s feelings seem to be a bit¡­

    ¡°The two of you aren¡¯tpletely saved yet, so you need to seize the moment,¡± Baopu said. Afterward, she disappeared into nothingness.

    The specks of golden light on the two women¡¯s foreheads entered their minds. The two immediatelyprehended a mysterious skill.

    Kiss of the Goddess: The most profound kissing technique of the world. It was originally created to make a certain person change their mind¡­

    Additional effects: Through the power of an unparalleled kiss, you may awaken one from sleep induced by certain seals or curses, or you can make them sleep for ten days, spending that time in a dream of endless happiness and bliss.

 Chapter 1786: Mutual Salvation

    <h4>Chapter 1786: Mutual Salvation</h4>

    Chu Chuyan and Pei Mianman were both stunned. They had initially thought that Baogu would have some miraculous method of solving their problem. And in the end, it was a kiss? In order to pass down this skill, she had ended up using the rest of her soul force. They naturally didn¡¯t me her and could only hold gratitude. But why had this seniore up with such a¡­ such an indecent skill?

    ¡°What do we do now?¡± Chu Chuyan asked, looking at Pei Mianman with an awkward expression.

    When Baogu passed the skill to them, they had gained a brief bit of clearheadedness. Now, the powerful drowsiness attacked them again. Their eyelids continued to droop. But such a thing was just too strange!

    Pei Mianman also blushed. However, she was a bit bolder and said, ¡°What else can we do? We¡¯ll just kiss then. Either way, we¡¯re not strangers.¡±

    Then, she just wrapped her arm around Chuyan¡¯s waist and drew her close. She sighed in amazement, thinking that Chuyan¡¯s waist really was slender. She didn¡¯t hesitate any longer and tilted her head. Faced with Chu Chuyan¡¯s shocked expression, she kissed her. Chu Chuyan knew that this was the only solution. Even though she was incredibly embarrassed, she didn¡¯t dodge.

    Their lips pressed together gently. Their eyes widened, and their breaths quickened.

    Her lips are so soft! No wonder Ah Zu likes it¡­

    At that moment, both of them thought the same thing.

    Then, they stared into each other¡¯s eyes. An extreme sense of awkwardness spread throughout this cave. Both of their feet seemed about to dig into the ground.

    Why isn¡¯t it working?

    Both women saw the confusion in each other¡¯s eyes.

    However, they were both smart women. The ¡®Kiss of the Goddess¡¯ skill description was extremely clear. Only a kiss would work, not merely pressing their lips together.

    A hint of resolve appeared in Chu Chuyan¡¯s eyes. Just then, she was too embarrassed and had ended up letting the other woman seize the initiative, which she regretted. How could she let Pei Mianman take charge again?

    I was clearly the first one!

    Motivated by an inexplicable desire to w in, she reached her tongue in and transferred her internal energy the way Kiss of the Goddess directed her to.

    Sensing Chuyan¡¯s movements, Pei Mianman¡¯s eyes widened.Who would have thought that even though Chu Chuyan normally looks cold and indifferent, she actually has such a naughty side to her!

    Still, there was no way she would show any weakness here! She acted quickly to return the kiss.

    Is it so amazing that you were the first wife? Ah Zu and I spent the longest time together!

    Sensing Manman¡¯s retaliation, Chu Chuyan¡¯s pale cheeks became flushed. She was rather cold in nature, and whenever she was with Zu An, she usually just responded to his initiative. She wasn¡¯t good at these things at all. Now that Pei Mianman hadunched her assault, she quickly lost power. Feeling really embarrassed and awkward, she couldn''t help but feel a bit aggrieved.

    How can she be this good at this?!

    Manman and Ah Zu had definitely kissed countless times. When Chuyan thought of that, the embarrassment withdrew. Instead, she felt a strong sense of unhappiness.

    In the domain of cultivation, not only did talent matter, one¡¯s temperament was even more important. Only those who would never give up and keep pushing forward would be able to shine in cultivation. Both Pei Mianman and Chu Chuyan had already proven that they had the will of the strong.

    Chuyan wasn¡¯t willing to admit defeat so easily. She quickly calmed down and seriouslyunched her counterattack.

    The two had never fought at Violet Mountain; now, they were ready to settle things. But the weapons they used weren¡¯t swords¡­

    At first, Chu Chuyan was definitely no match for the skilled and passionate Pei Mianman. However, they had both received the inheritance of Kiss of the Goddess. When it came to the skill, Pei Mianman¡¯s advantage in technique was very slight.

    At first, because of Chu Chuyan¡¯s personality, she was pushed back bit by bit. However, when she started taking things seriously, Pei Mianman¡¯s face gradually turned red too. She was no longer as calm as before.

    As expected of the world¡¯s most powerful kissing skill¡­

    The two women were evenly matched. Both of their eyes were soon covered in a faintyer of mist. Their bodies also became softer and softer. The sleep-inducing energy that had entangled them from before also gradually disappeared¡­

    After an unknown amount of time passed, both of them couldn''t help but lie on the ground. They didn¡¯t know whose hand moved first, or if it was at the same time, but when their skin made contact with the ice-cold air, both women trembled and gradually woke up. Then, they immediately pulled their hands away as if they were shocked. They sorted out their clothes with their backs to each other.

    ¡°We should be¡­ okay, right?¡± Chu Chuyan said, her expression a bit unnatural. She could sense that the powerful drowsiness was already gone.

    ¡°We should be okay,¡± Pei Mianman replied, also feeling really embarrassed. She didn¡¯t think she could forget the previous experience for the rest of her life. Fortunately, she was with Chuyan this time. If it were another woman, she really wouldn¡¯t know what to do.

    Chu Chuyan also felt something simr. In that instant, the cave was once again filled with an awkward silence.

    After sorting out their clothes, in order to get rid of the awkwardness, Pei Mianman deliberately tried to hook her finger around Chu Chuyan¡¯s chin and said, ¡°Girl, your kiss wasn¡¯t bad.¡±

    Chu Chuyan flicked the slender, jade-like finger, preventing it from making contact and replying, ¡°You¡¯re not all that bad yourself.¡±

    When they recalled the strange experience from earlier, both women quickly fell back into awkward silence. Then, they spoke quietly.

    ¡°Let¡¯s not let anyone else know about what happened today.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I had the same thought.¡±

    It was still better to keep such a humiliating thing a secret.

    ¡­

    Chu Chuyan cultivated the Unshakable Daoist Manual, so she gradually calmed down. She asked, ¡°By the way, what did you want to say about my master before?¡±

    Pei Mianman raised a brow. Back then, she had thought that she was going to die anyway, so she could let Chuyan know the truth before she passed on. However, they had already been saved, so the situation was different.

    A master stealing her disciple¡¯s man? Just the thought was interesting. She could even potentially turn that into a great ordeal. How could she y such a trump card so easily? They had been as close as sisters before, but now that they were both safe, wasn¡¯t Chuyan her rival again?

    ¡°Oh, I was thinking that Sect Master Yan seems to appreciate Ah Zu quite a bit,¡± Pei Mianman said with a smile.

    Chu Chuyan couldn''t help but chuckle, replying, ¡°Master dotes on me quite a bit. Back then, she was scared that I would be fooled by a man, so she helped me keep an eye on him. Later, because of a series of events that took ce over at Cloudcenter Commandery, they fought side by side. That¡¯s how she came to understand Ah Zu better. Ah Zu is a very, very good person, after all. After being around each other for a while, it would be stranger if master didn¡¯t appreciate him at all.¡±

    ¡°Oh my. Ah Zu really is a very, very good person. I am so envious!¡± Pei Mianman mimicked her and exaggerated her tone. Inwardly, however, she was thinking,What a scandal. He wouldn¡¯t just take her to bed, right?

    As a result, Chu Chuyan was really embarrassed and hit her yfully.

    ¡­

    After messing around for a bit, Pei Mianman asked curiously, ¡°I didn¡¯t have time to ask you before, but it sounds like Ah Zu also came to this world, right?¡±

    Chu Chuyan voiced her agreement. She exined Zu An¡¯s bounty, as well as her conflict with the Gray Wolf Mercenary Group, and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know why Ah Zu would be in this secret dungeon either. He probably wanted to save us, since we didn¡¯te out after all this time.¡±

    ¡°Tsk tsk, that man really doesn¡¯t treasure his own life. If I hadn¡¯t been there, wouldn¡¯t you have been done for? Ah Zu would definitely be frightened if he found out,¡± Pei Mianman said teasingly.

    Chu Chuyan rolled her eyes and replied, ¡°Isn¡¯t my man also your man? On the contrary, if you hadn¡¯t saved me¡­¡±

    She was stunned and stopped midway through her sentence. The topic was a bit sensitive, so both of them tacitly decided to change it.

    ¡°Ah Zu really is a little rascal. Just how long has he been in this secret dungeon, and yet he already has a bounty on his head!¡± Pei Mianman remarked in annoyance. She knew just how terrifying the assassination order was.

    ¡°With his personality, it would be weirder if he didn¡¯t provoke trouble,¡± Chu Chuyan remarked with a smirk. When she thought about everything she had gone through, she felt as if she had traveled back to the past again.

    ¡°It¡¯s useless to think about all of this right now. Let¡¯s reunite with him as quickly as possible and warn him to be more careful,¡± Pei Mianman said as she got up.

    Chu Chuyan nodded. The two walked up to Baogu¡¯s statue and bowed respectfully. ¡°Thank you for saving our lives, senior. We will definitely help you with the task you have entrusted us with.¡±

    The two women both felt a bit mournful. If not for the fact that she had decided to save them, Senior Baogu could have left this cave and met the immortal ruler again.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An¡¯s group had just descended from the mountain and started moving in the great tomb¡¯s direction. That was where Jing Teng¡¯s body was. Suddenly, they sensed the earth trembling and mountains rumbling. A terrifying aura erupted by the great tomb. Then, a golden giant appeared in the sky.

    Jing Teng¡¯s face paled. She remarked, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect there to be someone this powerful in this world.¡±

    Zu An and Qiu Honglei exchanged a look, both of them seeing the grave expression in each other¡¯s eyes. The aura was just too familiar! It was Zhao Han¡¯s power! It seemed they had to postpone their visit to the great tomb by a bit. Meeting Zhao Han head-on wasn¡¯t a smart choice.

    When she heard that the mysterious person was their enemy, Jing Teng eximed in shock, ¡°You actually made such a formidable person your enemy? Most importantly, you were even able to survive.¡±

    Zu An said impatiently, ¡°Your enemies aren¡¯t all that weak either, you know? That Ghost King and the Adventurer¡¯s Guild Leader from before are both the strongest experts.¡±

    Just now, even though Zang Ao had acted like an ordinary person who didn¡¯t know cultivation, the moment he heard Jing Teng say Zu An was her man, the aura that had erupted felt as if a primordial beast were staring at the group. Even though it wasn¡¯t at Zhao Han¡¯s level, it wasn¡¯t that far off. It was just that Zang Ao¡¯s aura seemed a bit unstable, as if it didn¡¯t truly belong to him.

    When Zu An mentioned the prior events, Jing Teng quietly tugged at Qiu Honglei¡¯s sleeve and asked, ¡°What is that white-d woman¡¯s rtionship with him? Why do I feel as if they have a thing?¡±

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s beautiful eyes immediately widened.

 Chapter 1787: Throwing Lives Away

    <h4>Chapter 1787: Throwing Lives Away</h4>

    ¡°You¡¯ve misunderstood,¡± Qiu Honglei said, secretly shooting Zu An a look. ¡°She¡¯s the master of Ah Zu¡¯s wife. She has nothing to do with him.¡±

    Are you kidding me? Even though that nickname master gave to Yan Xuehen, ¡®stone cold woman¡¯, is a bit offensive, it¡¯s quite fitting.

    Whether it was the righteous sects or the Devil Sect, all of them publicly acknowledged that Yan Xuehen¡¯s nature was extremely cold. There had never been any news of her being interested in a man before. There were even some who had wondered if she already lost all emotion after cultivating the Unshakable Daoist Manual. How could a woman like that possibly have feelings of romance?

    Jing Teng was stunned, asking, ¡°Huh? She is your master?¡±

    ¡°No, my master is someone else,¡± Qiu Honglei replied, not knowing why Jing Teng asked that..

    ¡°But you said she was the master of young master Zu¡¯s wife,¡± Jing Teng said in confusion.

    Qiu Honglei choked for a moment. She could only exin, ¡°I was referring to another wife of Ah Zu¡­¡± When she saw Jing Teng look at her strangely, she quickly added, ¡°They¡¯ve already divorced and have nothing to do with each other now.¡±

    A strange smile appeared on Jing Teng¡¯s face. After a pause, she said, ¡°The harem really is messy.¡±

    Qiu Honglei was speechless. To be honest, she was panicking a bit inwardly.It¡¯s all Ah Zu¡¯s fault for being so fickle in love!

    You have sessfully trolled Qiu Honglei for +99 +99 +99¡­

    Jing Teng had her own thoughts. Qiu Honglei likely couldn¡¯t sense anything because she was involved, but there was definitely something strange about that white-d woman¡¯s reactions.

    Meanwhile, Zu An had been exining to Wei Suo how he could end up having some conflict with the emperor in the future. When he saw the sudden Rage points, he couldn''t help but turn around and take a look.

    What are those two talking about for them to get this angry?

    Wei Suo remarked with a bitter expression, ¡°Boss, aren¡¯t you a bit too bold here? You actually made the emperor your enemy!¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°The main reason I¡¯m telling you about this is so that you can prepare mentally. This matter is also extremely important and you have your own n to worry about, so it¡¯ll be dangerous for you to remain with me,¡± Zu An warned him.

    Wei Suo said with an upright expression, ¡°Am I the type who would run away when my friends are in trouble? Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll definitely stand at boss¡¯ side.¡±

    Zu An said with a frown, ¡°I recall that the Wei n has always been on the emperor¡¯s side. This might bring danger to your n.¡±

    ¡°What n do I have left? Our Wei n has already been ruined. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t have been forced to roam the wilderness,¡± Wei Suo replied, a courageous expression appearing on his face. ¡°In the end, this isn¡¯t the Great Zhou Dynasty, but rather a secret dungeon. The emperor wouldn¡¯t even recognize me. Furthermore, if we really are going to get rid of the emperor, our Wei n might even be able to make aeback.¡±

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to have the heart of an adventurer. Alright, then. If that really happens, I definitely won¡¯t forget what you¡¯ve done.¡±

    Wei Suo smiled and replied, ¡°It¡¯s still boss who¡¯s the most dependable.¡±

    ¡­

    The group secretly approached the great tomb. But even though they were getting closer, they still remained rather far away.

    The area that was closest to the entrance was upied by the world¡¯s major forces. Past that area were some weaker ns and powers. Even farther out were some wandering warriors and the like. They were kept at a distance by the major powers, so they all cursed at that moment.

    Zu An¡¯s group just happened to be near the very outskirts. They weren¡¯t in as much of a hurry as the others. ording to what Jing Teng had said, entering first wouldn¡¯t necessarily be a good thing.

    Zu An was a bit confused as he looked at the mass of people. In the past, secret dungeons had been limited to a single scenario. Even though the worlds were big, the survivors weren¡¯t normally all that populous. But the things they had seen so far seemed to suggest that this was a thriving world. It wasn¡¯t much different from the Great Zhou Dynasty.

    Is this really just a secret dungeon?Zu An thought, suddenly feeling as if he were living in a dream.

    While he was confused, however, some strange runes suddenly lit up. The wind and clouds stirred. Rich spiritual energy gradually descended into the world. Those present were rmed. Such phenomena meant that something major was about to happen.

    Sure enough, the great tomb suddenly rumbled. The destructive aura that had gathered around the tomb gradually dissipated.

    No one knew who spoke up first, but someone roared, ¡°The great tomb¡¯s seal has been opened!¡±

    Zhao Han was the strongest, so he naturally pushed open the door and entered first. He thought of closing the door to prevent the others from even having a chance at the immortal opportunity. However, after thinking about it, there were many strong beings outside. If he tried to take it all for himself, he could end up incurring the wrath of all of them.

    Even though he didn¡¯t fear them, dealing with them would still be a bit troublesome. Thus, it would be better to let them in. The tomb was toorge, so he needed people to serve as cannon fodder to explore it too. As for whether or not one of them would really find the immortal opportunity, he just had to steal it from them then.

    As such, he stopped hesitating and went straight in to explore. Xuan Bajing and Li Changsheng were also excited. They quickly followed along.

    Then, the people outside the great tomb rushed toward it like fish being fed. They all pushed and shoved as they swarmed forward. If someone were to watch from above, perhaps they would even develop agoraphobia just from the sight.

    In such a situation, conflict was inevitable. All those who could make it here were tough. It was to be expected for them to shed blood over a single small argument. However, they knew that exploring the tomb was more important. It would be one thing if they were fighting for a treasure, but they hadn¡¯t even entered yet. Fighting to the death outside was a bitughable. As such, conflict was limited to a certain extent. It ultimately just amounted to some curses directed at other people¡¯s families.

    The tomb was just toorge, to the extent that it could even hold over ten thousand people entering. Zu An and his party weren¡¯t in a rush at all. Instead, they calmly watched from the outside. After all, Zhao Han was also inside, so it was best if they didn¡¯t bump into each other.

    Zu An turned around and asked Jing Teng, ¡°Miss Jing, since your body is in the tomb, you must know quite a bit about it. Do you know of any shortcuts we can take?¡±

    The current situation had even more traffic than roads and trains during Chinese New Year when everyone went home to see their family. He really didn¡¯t want to push and shove with the rest of the crowd.

    Jing Teng shook her head and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t. This great tomb is quite strange in that it only has a single path.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    Qiu Honglei said unhappily, ¡°We¡¯re all helping you out here, so can¡¯t you just tell us what you know? Do you really have to talk in riddles like this?¡±

    Jing Teng was a bit apologetic as she replied, ¡°It isn¡¯t that I don¡¯t wish to speak, but rather that after the great disaster I suffered, I only managed to survive due to a seed I nted just in case. It was already incredible for me to be reborn, but not only have I lost my former power, I¡¯ve also lost my memories.¡±

    The rest of them couldn''t really say much else when they heard that. However, Jing Teng continued, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it isn¡¯t a big deal to let them enter first.¡±

    When they saw that she waspletely certain, the group nodded and waited there. Only when even the individual travelers went in did they start moving unhurriedly.

    The tomb¡¯s entrance had already been open for quite a while, so it was nowhere near as cramped as before. Looking at it from a distance, the pitch-ck tomb gate was like the deep and dark mouth of an endless abyss that waited to swallow up everything.

    Only when he came close did Zu An discover that the tomb gate was ridiculouslyrge. It was more than thirty meters tall and several hundred meters wide. No wonder so many people were able to fit inside even while pushing and shoving.

    ¡°I wonder just what kind of being created such a grand and massive tomb. Could it really be an ancient daoist immortal?¡± Qiu Honglei couldn''t help but wonder with a sigh. She wondered whether it was some kind of imperial tomb, but which emperor could create a tomb of this scale?

    Jing Teng shook her head and said, ¡°In the past, even the immortal ruler didn¡¯t seem to have been able to find out who created this tomb. Of course, there¡¯s a chance that he found out and didn¡¯t tell me, since I was nothing more than a fiend he enlightened in passing.¡±

    When she felt the loneliness and dejection in Jing Teng¡¯s words, Qiu Honglei couldn''t help but console her a bit.

    Suddenly, there was a strange disturbance. It turned out that many of the people who had rushed into the tomb seemed to have encountered something terrifying and were running back out. Many of them were even flying, meaning that their cultivation ranks weren¡¯t low.

    Wei Suo stopped one of them and asked, ¡°What¡¯s happening up ahead?¡±

    However, that person¡¯s face was filled with horror. It waspletely pale, as if he had seen something utterly terrifying. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Then, he panicked and pushed Wei Suo away.

    Wei Suo was caught off guard and staggered, almost falling. Zu An quickly reached out to pull him back, and only then was Wei Suo saved from being trampled into mush.

    Zu An took his group to a corner. Qiu Honglei¡¯s hands moved quickly, and a wall of light surrounded them. All of the other people rushing toward them were pushed away.

    It was the Wall of Sighs! Who would have thought that it could be used like this?

    Jing Teng closed her eyes. A hint of happiness appeared on her face. For some reason, when she bathed in the light, every single cell in her body cheered. She couldn''t help but develop a much more favorable impression of Qiu Honglei. She thought briefly,Should I just tie her up next to me and have her feed me light?

    Zu An noticed that many of the people who were running back out were covered in blood, and some were even missing limbs. He wondered what they had experienced in such a short amount of time.

    Jing Teng said, ¡°In the past, Immortal Ruler Baopu subdued evil throughout the world and encountered countless powerful creatures. It was quite difficult to fully kill those monsters, so he decided to just lock them up in the great tomb.¡±

    The others were speechless. No wonder she had always been so calm. With those terrifying monsters guarding the surroundings, all those people trying to run in first had practically been throwing their lives away!

 Chapter 1788: Reaper of Death

    <h4>Chapter 1788: Reaper of Death</h4>

    Suddenly, a massive figure appeared in their field of view. Zu An and the others finally saw just what the other people were hiding from.

    It was a monster that was four or five stories tall, baring its fangs and brandishing its ws in a way that resembled a giant praying mantis. However, it wasn¡¯t as slender as a praying mantis. Its body wasrge and sturdy, and its entire body flickered with a metallic glint. If not for its size, Zu An would have thought it resembled the supercars of his previous world. It had many legs, each one covered in sharp barbs. As it moved quickly, stepping on those who had been knocked down in the crowd, its legs passed straight through those people like sharp des.

    All those who could explore the great tomb, even the ones at the outskirts, were well-known figures in the world of warriors. Their bodies were all tough, and several even wore armor to protect themselves. Even so, before those thin legs, their defenses were like paper. Blood immediately sshed everywhere.

    Just then, the sound of fluid being sucked up followed. Those with good eyes could see that the victims¡¯ blood was being sucked toward the monster¡¯s legs, then absorbed into its body. The corpses on the ground immediately shriveled up, leaving behind only ayer of skin. The monster was actually sucking away human blood essence! Once the survivors realized that and heard the slurping noises, their scalps turned numb with fear.

    Even so, there was nock of valiant individuals there. When they saw that theirpanions were being devoured, their eyes also turned red. Many people brandished their weapons at the monster. There were some with stronger cultivations who weren¡¯t willing to run away just like that and give up their chance to explore the tomb, so they also followed and attacked.

    sh! sh! sh!

    The monster¡¯s feet were especiallyrge, resembling sickle des. Clouds of bloody mist appeared in their wake, as most of those who charged over were cleaved in half.

    Zu An and the others were rmed, eximing, ¡°What fast des!¡±

    Even with their cultivation, they actually couldn''t even see how the monster attacked. It was just too fast. By the time they saw it raise its limbs, it was toote.

    Some cultivators who had attacked the monster from behind took the chance to move to its side. They all knew that if the monster turned around and waved those front limbs at all, they would likely be carved into mincemeat. At that point, it was better to take a chance!

    They brandished their weapons at the monster¡¯s body. Even if they couldn''t survive, taking it down with them wouldn¡¯t be so bad either. However, loud ngs rang out. Those people¡¯s eyes widened, because even their most powerful attacks couldn''t break through the monster¡¯s defenses! Their weapons only left some white marks on its body.

    They were horrified and wanted to run away. Unfortunately, two giant sickles suddenly appeared before them, and the world turned blood-red.

    When they saw the carnage, the survivors¡¯ fighting spiritpletely copsed. They no longer courageously retaliated; instead, they ran while howling for their lives.

    Unfortunately, the monster¡¯s limbs were just too long. With just a few steps, it caught up to many of them. What followed was a one-sided ughter.

    Wei Suo suggested, ¡°Let¡¯s use this chance to leave.¡±

    Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°Even though these aren¡¯t really good people, just watching humans be ughtered without doing a thing would leave me with a guilty conscience.¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Jing Teng looked at him with surprise. This guy was entirely different from the others in this world who only cared about themselves.

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s expression grew serious as she said, ¡°But that monster ispletely invincible. There¡¯s nothing we can do either¡­¡±

    This was just a monster from the outer areas of the tomb! Who knew how terrifying the other monsters Immortal Ruler Baopu had locked up were?

    Jing Teng quickly said, ¡°This monster¡¯s name is Death Reaper. Its shell is impervious to all attacks beneath divine-grade. Its reaping sickles appear and disappear unpredictably and move as quickly as shooting stars. It isn¡¯t something we can deal with.¡±

    Zu An was a bit surprised, thinking,Doesn¡¯t this woman know a bit too much about the great tomb?However, he said, ¡°Its impervious armor can be dealt with, but its des are too fast and are simply impossible to guard against.¡±

    When the group recalled those shes, they knew that the attacks already exceeded their understanding. Even though Zu An¡¯s body was tough, being instantly cleaved in half still wouldn¡¯t be a good experience.

    Qiu Honglei said, ¡°I can use the Wall of Sighs to help you block one attack.¡±

    That was the light element¡¯s most powerful defensive skill, after all.

    ¡°Then there¡¯s no problem,¡± Zu An said, his expression changing. He quickly discussed a n with her.

    The monster had already noticed their group. They had remained in ce without scampering off like the other ants, so it was hard to miss them. As such, it brandished its eight long legs and quickly charged over to them. Zu An faced it head-on, using the Grandgale ability and instantly arriving at the monster¡¯s head.

    The Death Reaper¡¯spound eyes moved quickly as it noticed Zu An. Its two sickle des immediatelyshed out, so fast that they were impossible to react to.

    Fortunately, Qiu Honglei had just finished her preparations, condensing a Wall of Sighs around Zu An¡¯s body. The monster¡¯s des struck its surface at almost the same time. The Wall of Sighs, long reputed to be able to block all attacks, instantly shattered.

    Still, for better or for worse, it did interrupt the two des. Before those sickles could move again, Zu An made his move, shing with the Tai¡¯e Sword. A resplendent streak of sword ki emerged before people¡¯s eyes.

    No one present could describe the sword strike with words. There was nock of experts present, but in that instant, they all felt a sense of powerlessness. It was as if as long as this sword strike appeared, there wouldn¡¯t be even the slightest chance of winning.

    The monster¡¯s tough shell didn¡¯t work this time. The endless sword ki directly crushed its head into pieces.

    Zu An sighed in relief. The Tai¡¯e Sword was a divine weapon, and together with his own sword ki that carried the conviction of the undefeated, there was no way that shell could block his attack.

    Qiu Honglei also had an expression of surprise. She had already dreamed of fighting together with Zu An many times, but she¡¯d never had the chance. Now, her wish was finally fulfilled.

    Suddenly, Zu An sensed danger.

    ¡°Be careful!¡± Qiu Honglei cried out in rm. The monster¡¯s two front limbs had briefly stopped after its head was crushed, but then they suddenly rose again, hacking at Zu An. However, Honglei had already used the Wall of Sighs, so she couldn''t use it again for a short time.

    Zu An hadn¡¯t expected the attack either, and felt a moment of regret. He had briefly forgotten that insects were different from most animals, and wouldn¡¯t die immediately even without their heads. He didn¡¯t have time to evade anymore and could only brandish the Tai¡¯e Sword to face the attack. Since he couldn''t see it, he could only use offense as defense.

    Let¡¯s see which of us dies!

    When he thought of its giant front limbs, he wondered if his body that had been tempered through the Primordial Origin Sutra could hold on or not.

    Suddenly, a voice quickly chanted, ¡°The valiant should join the ranks of war. The army is to the north; the ck tortoise awaits summons!¡±

    Zu An no longer hesitated, raining endless sword ki down onto the monster¡¯s body. Its ruined body was melted by the sword ki, but its front limbs also struck him.

    Zu An clenched his teeth and covered his entire body with ki to defend against the damage. To his surprise, however, there was no pain at all. When he looked down, he saw that a suit of tortoiseshell armor surrounded him, perfectly blocking the two des.

    As the monster died, its sickle-like limbs also lost their strength, and Zu An quickly grabbed them.

    Death Scythe!

    Some words appeared in the keyboard system, as if it recognized the items. Zu An thought to himself,These might be useful,and stored them away in the Brilliant ss Bead.

    Wei Suo couldn''t help but exim in shock, ¡°Huh? Boss, you actually had such a giant storage item on you?¡±

    The two sickles were several meters long. They weren¡¯t the sort of thing a normal storage pouch could hold.

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°I just happen to have one.¡± He looked toward Jing Teng and added, ¡°Thank you for helping me, Miss Jing. Otherwise, I might already have been cleaved in half.¡±

    Even Qiu Honglei gave Jing Teng a grateful look. She didn¡¯t feel any jealousy. In that instant, her heart had almost popped out from fear. Fortunately, Jing Teng had been there to help.

    Jing Teng said indifferently, ¡°The young master¡¯s body is as hard as metal. Even without my help, you would only have suffered some injuries. There wouldn¡¯t have been any threat to your life.¡±

    Wei Suo asked in confusion, ¡°How do you know that his body is as hard as metal?¡±

    Qiu Honglei looked at her curiously too. Could it be that Jing Teng knew that Ah Zu cultivated the Primordial Origin Sutra?

    Jing Teng¡¯s face turned red, but she reacted quickly too. She quickly exined, ¡°I saw that his skin flowed with light and divinity, and concluded that he must have cultivated a secret technique.¡±

    ¡°So that was it,¡± Wei Suo and Qiu Honglei said, not suspecting much. Only Jing Teng¡¯s face turned bright red.

    The surrounding people all gathered around them as well, thanking Zu An for saving their lives while also asking where they were from. After all, there was no way people like these could be nameless.

    Zu An didn¡¯t really wish to get too close to them, so they parted ways after just a few words. The real reason he had saved them was because he wanted to fight. It didn¡¯t have anything to do with them.

    ¡°Will we encounter even stronger monsters from here on out?¡± he then asked Jing Teng. She seemed to know a lot about this great tomb.

    ¡°That Death Reaper was already extremely strong. Its power even exceeded that of a grandmaster. I never expected it to be dealt with by you just like that,¡± Jing Teng said, looking at Zu An with a strange expression. Even though this man¡¯s cultivation wasn¡¯t high, his sword had definitely left her with a deep impression.

 Chapter 1789: Caught Red-Handed

    Chapter 1789: Caught Red-Handed

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s not something I dealt with alone. Rather, we worked together to defeat it. Without your help, I would already have been cut in half by that monster.¡±

    A grin appeared on the corners of Jing Teng¡¯s lips. Her mood suddenly improved a bit.

    Qiu Honglei bowed toward her and said, ¡°Miss Jing, thank you for saving Ah Zu. I hope you won¡¯t hold any grudges if I¡¯ve offended you previously.¡±

    For some reason, when she saw how Qiu Honglei looked at Zu An so sincerely, Jing Teng immediately felt a bit annoyed and said, ¡°My choice to save him has nothing to do with you. Why would you need to thank me for him?¡±

    Qiu Honglei raised a brow. Was this woman clearly stating some intent to go against her? She suddenly thought, Wait, why is the way she is talking so simr to Ah Zu¡¯s?n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An coughed and quickly changed the topic. ¡°What other monsters are left? Miss Jing, please give us a rough overview of this ce so we aren¡¯t suddenly caught off guardter.¡±

    Jing Teng shook her head and said in frustration, ¡°I don¡¯t know either.¡±

    Wei Suo voiced his surprise. ¡°Huh? But didn¡¯t you know about that Death Reaper? Why don¡¯t you know anything else?¡±

    Qiu Honglei also looked at her in puzzlement. This woman hadn¡¯t seemed to say that much from the start until now. They had no idea just what kinds of things she was really plotting.

    Jing Teng exined, ¡°Previously, I already told you that my memories were iplete, but I suddenly remembered some things when I saw that monster. It may be that I¡¯ll only remember some things when we encounter other creatures.¡±

    ¡°So that was the case,¡± the others remarked, nodding inwardly.

    Qiu Honglei secretly sent a voice transmission. ¡°Ah Zu, this Jing Teng is a bit strange! If she really is just a vine that Immortal Ruler Baopu enlightened, isn¡¯t this a bit too much?¡±

    ¡°It is indeed a bit strange. However, so far, she hasn¡¯t seemed to carry any malice. We just need to be a bit more careful,¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°How do you know that she doesn¡¯t carry malice? Isn¡¯t it just because she¡¯s pretty?¡± Qiu Honglei harrumphed. Truly, emotions and the like really were strange. She had felt sincerely grateful that Jing Teng helped earlier, and yet now, she felt suspicious again.

    When he saw the small amount of Rage pointsing in, Zu An couldn''t help but chuckle.

    ¡­

    The group quickly continued into the great tomb. Its walls had all sorts of exquisite murals carved into them. They seemed to depict scenes of battles, journeys, and sacrificial offerings. Strangely, however, none of the figures had heads. If it were because of the erosion of time, it wouldn¡¯t make sense for only the heads to have issues; but if someone had deliberately removed them, what was the meaning behind that?

    ¡°Miss Jing, do you know the story behind these murals?¡± Zu An asked, turning to Jing Teng, who was to him. Her cheeks looked as if they were drawn by a brush, and her skin was exquisite and wless. Her brows were like umber mountains with spring waters. She really was pretty.

    Qiu Honglei secretly perked up her ears too. Even though she was unhappy that they were chatting, she was also curious as to whether these murals had any secrets.

    Jing Teng gently clutched her forehead and said, ¡°No. I don¡¯t have the slightest impression of these murals.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Miss Jing?¡± Wei Suo couldn''t help but ask when he saw that she was feeling ufortable.

    Jing Teng shook her head and replied, ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I just have a slight headache.¡±

    Zu An and Qiu Honglei exchanged a look. Could it be that as they entered the great tomb, she had begun recovering more and more of her memories?

    Suddenly, Zu An shivered. All of his fine hairs stood on end. He looked into the distance with a grave expression.

    A yful voice suddenly called out, ¡°It truly is a small world, my great marquis.¡±

    Zhao Hao was standing nearby, his hands behind him as he looked coldly at Zu An. Li Changsheng and Xuan Bajing stood respectfully at his side. They were fully enjoying every second of the scene.

    We can¡¯t be the only ones to endure abuse! Brat, it¡¯s your turn now!

    When she saw Zhao Han¡¯s group, Qiu Honglei¡¯s expression became a bit bitter. After all, the Devil Sect opposed the court to begin with, and they had evenunched an attack on the Imperial Pce. Now that they were meeting face to face, it boded ill.

    Jing Teng didn¡¯t recognize Zhao Han, but she could feel a profound and unfathomable power emanating from him. She also noticed that Zu An and Qiu Honglei¡¯s bodies werepletely tense. She had never seen them so nervous before.

    ¡°So it was your majesty. We truly do share some destiny. This world is sorge, and yet we ended up encountering each other so easily,¡± Zu An said with a sigh. At the same time, he was curious as to why Zhao Han¡¯s group was here. Weren¡¯t they the first to enter the tomb? Why were they still here?

    Jing Teng was rmed. ¡®Your majesty?¡¯ There is no ¡®your majesty¡¯ in this world!

    There had been an emperor in this world a long, long time before, but the world had already been broken up for quite some time. There were only kings of small nations left. Concepts such asmanderies, city lords, and emperors had quickly disappeared after the passage of time.

    ¡°You must have seen this emperor a long time ago,¡± Zhao Han remarked. He seemed to see right through Zu An¡¯s thoughts and exined, ¡°I did charge ahead in the beginning, butter, I noticed that there were many formidable restrictions and monsters. There were even some that would be a bit tricky for even this emperor. If I continued to run ahead, wouldn¡¯t I just be working for those in the back? What right do those people have to make me do such a thing?¡±

    ¡°What your majesty says is true,¡± Zu An said, sighing in disappointment. ¡°If you let those people go ahead, they can just scout out the way for you. Why didn¡¯t I think of something like that?¡±

    What kind of person was Zhao Han? He was an old fox who didn¡¯t act without an incentive. How could he possibly work for another?

    When he saw Zu An¡¯s dejected expression, Zhao Han only felt incredibly pleased. He remarked, ¡°This emperor also figured that since Li Changsheng and Xuan Bajing were able to enter this world, your group would likely be here too. Furthermore, this great tomb was bound to be the most likely thing to draw the attention of the entire world, so I concluded that you must have arrived as well. As such, I decided to wait here. Lo and behold, you really did show up.¡± He then paused for a moment and looked around Zu An before asking, ¡°Hm? Is it only the two of you? Where are the others?¡±

    Zu An thought of something and quickly said, ¡°We split up. They¡¯ve already gotten further into the tomb. The libationer seemed to have discovered something.¡±

    Zhao Han¡¯s expression changed a bit, but he quickly said with a smile, ¡°Brat, your words are always mixed with lies, as expected. You want this emperor to not tangle with your group and look for them instead, right?¡±

    Xuan Bajing said in agreement, ¡°That¡¯s right! How could an insignificant talent like you possibly fool his majesty?¡±

    Li Changsheng also said, ¡°His majesty is wise!¡±

    Zu An had a strange expression as he remarked, ¡°Hey, for better or for worse, the two of you are grandmasters, and yet you¡¯ve actually ended up bingckeys. Weren¡¯t you two scheming to kill him not too long ago?¡±

    He knew that Zhao Han already wanted him dead, so any further pretense of being a loyal subject would be useless. As such, he was already thinking of ways to save his skin.

    Li Changsheng¡¯s aged face heated up. He usually considered himself elegant and graceful, viewing his own conduct and deeds as those of an immortal. However, he¡¯d had no choice but to serve Zhao Han this time, which inevitably affected his own dao heart somewhat.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to try and sow dissent between us,¡± Xuan Bajing said. In contrast, he was a bit more slick. He cupped his hands toward Zhao Han and said, ¡°It was because of his majesty¡¯s generosity that you overlooked our mistakes. The fact that we could serve your majesty is the greatest blessing.¡±

    Li Changsheng almost threw up from those words. This guy was way too shameless!

    Zhao Han wasn¡¯t in a rush to act. He looked at Zu An like a cat ying with a mouse, saying, ¡°The people of the world always said that you spent your days rxed and carefree. Today, even this emperor is left in admiration. Just how long has it been? And yet, apart from the Devil Sect¡¯s Saintess, you¡¯ve managed to pick up another extraordinary beauty.¡±

    Even though he was already old now and cared more about immortality, and women no longer moved him, he was still a man. He was the emperor himself, and yet even he didn¡¯t have as many beauties as Zu An. He couldn''t help but feel a bit unhappy.

    Jing Teng¡¯s face turned a bit red, but even after opening her mouth, she didn¡¯t say anything else.

    ¡°Your majesty has misunderstood. Miss Jing and I don¡¯t have that kind of rtionship. Rather, she has a connection with this great tomb,¡± Zu An replied.

    Jing Teng¡¯s face paled. She suddenly looked at him. Don¡¯t tell me this guy wants to sell me out in exchange for a chance of survival?!

    Sure enough, Zhao Han was suddenly interested. He replied, ¡°Oh? What kind of rtionship does she have with this great tomb?¡± His voice carried a hint of doubt. Jing Teng looked a bit too young and weak, so it really was hard for him to imagine her having a rtionship with this great tomb.

    ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, what your majesty seeks is an immortal opportunity, the chance for eternal life. This Miss Jing just happens to have met the past Immortal Ruler Baopu,¡± Zu An said with a smile.

    Jing Teng¡¯s heartpletely plummeted. She had already experienced betrayal in the past. Was she going to experience another one today? Why does it hurt a bit more this time¡­

    Qiu Honglei looked at Zu An in confusion. She refused to believe that her lover was that kind of person. Could it be that he had thought of some solution? But Zhao Han was the publicly acknowledged strongest being in the world, and their side was far toocking inparison. Even if Xuan Bajing and Li Changsheng changed sides, they still wouldn¡¯t have even a sliver of a chance! How could he have found a way out?

    ¡°Immortal Ruler Baopu!¡± Zhao Han eximed, his eyes lighting up. He looked at Jing Teng with a burning gaze. He had already spent some time in this world and naturally heard of the legends surrounding the immortal ruler. ¡°If thedy can tell me everything rted to Immortal Ruler Baopu, this emperor can consider letting those at your side go.¡±

    Jing Teng replied coldly, ¡°Whether they die or not has nothing to do with me. Why do I need to tell you anything?¡±

    Zhao Han¡¯s expression turned cold. When had he ever been refused so bluntly before? He raised his hand and prepared to restrain Jing Teng.

    However, Zu An suddenly said, ¡°Actually, it isn¡¯t just his majesty alone who wants to obtain her. Even the Yin Yang Realm¡¯s Ghost King has been looking for her the entire time. If I¡¯m not mistaken, he should be in this great tomb too. Can your majesty win against the legendary Ghost King?¡±

 Chapter 1790: Self-Sacrifice to Save Each Other

    Chapter 1790: Self-Sacrifice to Save Each Other

    Zhao Han¡¯s eyes narrowed. There were legends surrounding the Ghost King wherever he went. The Ghost King was clearly a being that was second to none, the number one ghost. Many of the rumors were a bit ridiculous, iming things not even Zhao Han himself was capable of; he figured that most of these rumors were exaggerated, but there was a small chance that they were true. As such, he still felt some misgivings toward the Ghost King.

    But he was someone who had always looked down on others, so how could he just give in here? He replied, ¡°Hmph, just a trifling Ghost King. What does this emperor need to fear? Don¡¯t vainly try to threaten me.¡±

    He naturally didn¡¯t intend to keep exchanging words with Zu An; instead, he shifted his gaze to Jing Teng and said, ¡°Since you have something to do with Immortal Ruler Baopu, juste here.¡±

    He immediately reached out toward her as he spoke. A giant golden hand formed in midair and tried to grab her. It seemed to be free from the restrictions of time and space and instantly arrived in front of Jing Teng.

    When she sensed the terrifying pressure, Qiu Honglei instinctively released the light element¡¯s absolute defense, the Wall of Sighs. Unfortunately, in front of Zhao Han, this skill that was known for its durability was like paper. The giant golden hand easily passed right through.

    ¡°The valiant shall join the formation in victory. The troops are up north; the ck tortoise awaits its summons!¡± Jing Teng shouted.

    A ck tortoise projection appeared around her. It was actually able to just barely block the giant golden hand.

    ¡°Hm?¡± Zhao Han eximed, looking at the ck tortoise in surprise. He hadn¡¯t expected Jing Teng to be able to produce something so incredible with her cultivation. Despite that, in his eyes, she was still nothing more than an ant. He exerted a bit of force and the golden fist clenched.

    Audible cracks filled the air. Soon after, the tortoise-shell projection waspletely crushed by the great golden hand. Jing Teng was also grabbed by the giant golden hand and dragged in Zhao Han¡¯s direction. Her eyes filled with despair. However, what was even more ufortable than that despair was the chill she felt in her heart. That person hadn¡¯t done a thing from the start.

    Sheughed in self-mockery.

    That person will probably use this chance to run, right?

    She had been betrayed once in the past, and now, she had been betrayed again.

    Jing Teng, Jing Teng, why do you not learn from your mistakes?

    However, for some reason, she still reflexively looked toward that person. Suddenly, she saw a trace of resplendent sword radiance. It was even more dazzling and brilliant than the sword ki she had seen on the way here. It was as if a river of stars had appeared before her very eyes.

    The sword radiance that resembled a celestial stream crashed down on the giant golden hand and actually severed it at the wrist! The hand that trapped Jing Teng thus shattered to pieces, and she fell from the air.

    Qiu Honglei moved first, catching her by the waist. When she saw Jing Teng¡¯s shocked expression, she remarked in annoyance, ¡°What are you staring like that for? Did you want him to catch you and spin a few times in the air or something?¡±

    Jing Teng¡¯s face reddened and she pushed Qiu Honglei away. She had already recovered her ability to move, so of course she didn¡¯t need to be carried. Being so close to each other only intensified the tension between them, making her feel strange.

    Qiu Honglei wasn¡¯t in the mood to argue with her either. She moved over to Zu An¡¯s side and prepared to support him.

    ¡­

    At that moment, Zu An wasn¡¯t thinking the slightest romantic thought; instead, he stared at Zhao Han with a grave expression, on guard against a sudden attack.

    Li Changsheng and Xuan Bajing¡¯s eyes widened. They werepletely stupefied by the sight.

    What the hell is this? That was the emperor¡¯s hand! The two of us wouldn¡¯t be able to do a thing, and yet it was destroyed by a single sword sh from Zu An?

    They had seen him fight on Violet Mountain. Even though it was stunning, Zu An¡¯s performance hadn¡¯t been this shocking. It seemed he had been holding back on purpose then. Both of them were sword users, so they naturally recognized just how powerful that sword strike was. It carried a sense of unparalleled might. It really was shocking. Just how old was Zu An? And yet, he was able to manifest that kind of sword intent!

    Have we lived all these years for nothing?

    Zhao Han also looked at Zu An in surprise, saying, ¡°Unexpected, truly unexpected. You¡¯ve actually already grown to this level. No wonder you were able to be the Fiend races¡¯ Regent.¡±

    He had already been a bit suspicious before. No matter how much the Fiend races had fallen, they were still an old rival that had shed against the human race for so many years. Why had they suddenly let this little brat take the position of Regent? Back then, he had been suspicious that the newly risen Second Empress merely lusted after Zu An¡¯s body. After all, this kid did have quite the skills with women. Only when he saw Zu An¡¯s sword strike did he understand that it was well deserved.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An said seriously, ¡°We¡¯re both trapped in a secret dungeon right now, and there¡¯s an unpredictable Ghost King watching from the shadows. Is there a need for us to carry out internal conflict right now and let him take all the benefits?¡± He quickly added, ¡°ording to what I know, apart from the Ghost King, there are also the Divine Firmament Sect Master Sun En and Adventurer¡¯s Guild Zang Ao. Both seem to have cultivation rivaling your majesty¡¯s. They¡¯d definitely be interested in this great tomb too and will most likely be here.¡±

    Zhao Han briefly fell silent. A whileter, he shook his head and said, ¡°In the past, I might really have been convinced by your words. However, you just grow too quickly, to the point that even I feel a bit of pressure. If you¡¯re allowed to continue growing, you might really be able to threaten me one day. It¡¯s still more suitable to deal with you before you are allowed to fully mature.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. Now that he received Zhao Han¡¯s recognition, he didn¡¯t even know whether to feel happy or upset.

    Qiu Honglei quickly said, ¡°You are the unrivaled emperor, the one countless cultivators revere. Shouldn¡¯t you feel appreciation toward an outstanding junior? Furthermore, I heard that the truly strong all feel that being without equal is a kind of loneliness and that they seek worthy opponents their entire lives. Why are you thinking of killing someone early? Isn¡¯t that just¡­ lowering your status too much?¡±

    She knew just how terrifying Zhao Han was. In the past, when her master had attained her profound cultivation, she hadn¡¯t treated any other cultivators with any importance. In the end, Yun Jianyue had gone over to the Imperial Pce to attack it; and yet, she hadn¡¯t even gotten to meet Zhao Han face to face before she was seriously injured. After that, Yun Jianyue had been in a bad mood for a long time. Qiu Honglei had no idea how her master had gotten rid of that mental shadow.

    Now, even though Ah Zu was formidable, he wasn¡¯t necessarily stronger than Yun Jianyue had been back then. He would definitely be in danger if he fought against the emperor. As such, Qiu Honglei tried to stir the emperor up with words and make him give up on fighting.

    ¡°What a clever and eloquent witch,¡± Zhao Han said with a smile. ¡°Have you read too many of those fiction novels? Those who achieve great things naturally nip danger in the bud. How great is the feeling of being above all others? Who would want to be a masochist and look for someone of the same strength?¡±

    In the past, when he and the Fiend Emperor were rivals, neither side had been able to do anything to the other. That was why he had never been able to take down the Fiend races. That was no happy thing. He had wished for the Fiend Emperor¡¯s sudden death countless times.

    Unfortunately, by the time that happened, he himself had begun approaching heaven and man deterioration. Compared to dealing with the Fiend Races, his own longevity was more important.

    Qiu Honglei was speechless. She hadn¡¯t expected the emperor to not have the eloquence of a master at all.

    Jing Teng suddenly said, ¡°Your attitude is wrong. Without the motivation ofpetition with a rival, it ispletely impossible for you to achieve immortality purely by relying on yourself. If that¡¯s your way of thinking, you won¡¯t be able to advance any further in this life.¡±

    Zhao Han¡¯s expression darkened as he snapped, ¡°Even someone with the cultivation of an ant like you is worthy of lecturing me?¡±

    Sensing that the emperor was now truly angered, Zu An stepped in front of Jing Teng for fear that he would suddenly strike.

    Jing Teng felt warm inside when she saw his movements. She held her head high without the slightest bit of fear, saying, ¡°My cultivation is indeedparable to an ant¡¯s, but those words were not spoken by me; rather, they were said by the Immortal Ruler Baopu. Even though your cultivation is high,pared to the immortal ruler back then, it is still far off.¡±

    Zhao Han¡¯s expression changed. He asked, ¡°This world really has immortals?¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± Jing Teng replied. ¡°Immortal Ruler Baopu was precisely an example.¡±

    ¡°Hahaha, it seems the heavens have finally taken pity on me and delivered an immortal opportunity,¡± Zhao Han said with a fanatical expression. The immortality he chased had always seemed to be a fleeting and illusory thing. Only now did he feel as if it really was almost within his grasp.

    Even Li Changsheng and Xuan Bajing were getting excited. After all, once a man got a government position, all his cronies would get in too. They would definitely¡­

    Pah pah pah, like hell are we cronies!

    ¡°That only gives me more reason to not let you leave. I¡¯ll get rid of that brat Zu An first,¡± Zhao Han suddenly said,ughing maliciously. He suddenly thrust his finger at Zu An. A golden finger instantly appeared by his forehead, so quickly that no one could react in time. That finger seemed to make even space itself copse. If one were struck by this finger, it was clear that there would be absolutely no chance of survival.

    ¡°If you kill him, I definitely won¡¯t tell you a single thing!¡± Jing Teng screamed.

    Zhao Han¡¯s eyes narrowed and he shifted his finger downward. He aimed at Zu An¡¯s chest instead. However, Zu An quickly used Grandgale, instantly moving a hundred meters away.

    Zhao Han calmly said, ¡°Space is already meaningless to me.¡± He didn¡¯t move at all, and yet the golden finger pursued Zu An relentlessly.

    Zu An roared. His longsword left its scabbard, sending resplendent sword light pouring out. However, he didn¡¯t hit anything, while the golden finger instantly pressed against his chest.

    Pfft!

    Blood gushed out from Zu An¡¯s mouth as he was blown back like a tattered sack.

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡±

    ¡°Young master Zu!¡±

    Qiu Honglei and Jing Teng were both horrified. They quickly ran over to check his condition.

    Zhao Han said coldly, ¡°Earlier, I simply didn¡¯t try to defend. Since I¡¯ve already seen that sword once, how can I let myself be hit again? If I gave you a few more years, with your sword intent, there would actually be a chance for you to face me. Unfortunately, you¡¯re still far off now.¡±

    Li Changsheng and Xuan Bajing exchanged a look. Both of them saw despair in each other¡¯s eyes. Fortunately, they had submitted to the emperor and didn¡¯t have to think about anything else.

    Jing Teng saw that even though Zu An¡¯s injuries were serious, there was no danger to his life. She sighed in relief. When she saw Zhao Han walk in their direction, she blocked his path and said, ¡°Let him go and I¡¯ll follow you!¡±

    Zhao Han was a bit hesitant. He could catch both of them, but if he offended this woman and she ended her own life, that would be troublesome. After all, she was the only one who knew enough about Immortal Ruler Baopu.

    Suddenly, Zu An¡¯s hand rested on Jing Teng¡¯s shoulder as she said, ¡°Thank you, Miss Jing, but I¡¯m not the type to survive because of a woman¡¯s sacrifice.¡±

    Jing Teng panicked and eximed, ¡°Do you know what kind of situation we¡¯re in? Yet you¡¯re still trying to act tough!¡±

    Qiu Honglei looked at her with a strange expression. You¡¯re already willing to give up your own life to save him, and yet you¡¯re still saying there¡¯s nothing between you? However, they were facing a great disaster right now, so she didn¡¯t have the time to be jealous either.

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I have a way of dealing with him.¡±

    Zhao Han began tough out of annoyance. He repeated, ¡°You have a way of dealing with me?¡±

 Chapter 1791: Appearance of the Ghost King

    Chapter 1791: Appearance of the Ghost King

    Despite what he said, Zhao Han was still shocked inwardly. The finger he had just struck out with should have left Zu An in a terrible state, and yet this kid hadn¡¯t broken down on the spot, only spitting out a bit of blood?

    Inwardly, Zu An was once again d that his body, which had been tempered countless times by the Primordial Origin Sutra, had be iparably tough. Together with Jing Teng¡¯s help, which reduced the power of the finger a bit, he had still been able to sessfully block it in the end.

    Frustratingly, though, the finger contained some form of spatial destructive power. It continued to corrode his blood vessels, stopping his inner ki from repairing his body. It was to the extent that it seemed as if it would just keep spreading further into his body.

    If any other cultivator had been struck by Zhao Han¡¯s finger, even a master rank cultivator¡¯s body would already have turned into a clump of blood. A grandmaster would also be gradually broken down by the power of spatial copse, ultimately bing a cripple. No wonder Zhao Han hadn¡¯t continued attacking; he already viewed Zu An as a cripple.

    But how could Zhao Han possibly know just how many miraculous skills Zu An had? He realized something and used the Heaven Devouring Sutra. With the power of the Kun Peng supporting him, he began to absorb the destructive power in his body.

    The strand of destructive power was indeed domineering. It sensed that it was being challenged and immediately attacked with even greater ferocity, to try topletely overwhelm Zu An on the spot.

    Unfortunately, whether it was the Heaven Devouring Sutra or the Kun Peng skill, both were unrivaled mysterious techniques. When the two skills mixed together, they resulted in even greater devouring power. The destructive power quickly noticed that something wasn¡¯t right and tried to break free. Unfortunately, how could it possibly stop the vortex that resembled a ck hole? Soon after, it waspletely devoured and processed into pure energy.

    Zu An sensed that his experience bar had grown a bit. It was an even greater result than when he absorbed the two ghost generals. Zhao Han was indeed formidable! With a mere sliver of his internal energy, he had already left Zu An seriously injured.

    As such, Zhao Han found Zu An¡¯s attitude extremelyughable. His own destructive power carried the properties of his profound understanding of space. Let alone Zu An, not even the two grandmasters would be able to get rid of it. He was already certain that Zu An had be a cripple, and yet the brat still dared to speak to him like that.

    He didn¡¯t feel like wasting any words on a dead person, however, and looked straight at Jing Teng. He said, ¡°I¡¯ve already shown mercy, so you should express some sincerity too, right? Otherwise¡­¡± He didn¡¯t continue, because his threat was alreadypletely clear.

    After some hesitation, Jing Teng was about to give him a bit of information to appease him while helping Zu An keep him in check.

    Zhao Han¡¯s eyes narrowed and he asked, ¡°Zu An, do you really believe that I won¡¯t kill you?¡±

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯ll just tell them one thing. Once I¡¯m done, I won¡¯t stop you from asking her anything you want to know. I¡¯m already seriously injured right now, so don¡¯t tell me you believe that we can still do anything to you.¡±

    Zhao Han frowned, but he didn¡¯t say anything and tacitly agreed to Zu An¡¯s proposal. Inwardly, he thought,?You fool! Do you really think I won¡¯t be able to hear what you¡¯re saying when you¡¯re this close?

    Even if they conversed through voice transmission, with hisprehension of spatialws, if he intentionally listened in, he would be able to hear everything clearly. This was the perfect opportunity to see if they were up to anything else, especially if Jing Teng decided to tell Zu An any of her secrets.

    Qiu Honglei and Wei Suo began moving toward Zu An, who waved his hand to gesture for the whole group to move even closer. They thought that he was trying to hide information from the emperor and moved closer out of curiosity to hear what he wanted to say.

    ¡°Once I shout to run, everyone run in that direction¡­¡± Zu An said quietly.

    In the distance, Zhao Han had a mocking expression. And here he was thinking that this guy had some incredible scheme.?That was it?

    Even Qiu Honglei was a bit puzzled. The emperor¡¯s cultivation was incredibly high, so how could they possibly get away?

    Suddenly, Zu An roared, ¡°Run!¡±

    In that instant, he grabbed Wei Suo and threw him at Zhao Han. Wei Suo was caught off guard, his entire body spinning like a thrown weapon.

    Zu An grabbed Qiu Honglei with one hand and Jing Teng with the other, then ran for his life.

    ¡°What a shameless bastard. You actually want to use your friend¡¯s life to stall for time?¡± Zhao Han said mockingly. A palm struck Wei Suo¡¯s body, strong enough to st him into mincemeat. It wouldn¡¯t even use up the slightest bit of time.

    Even Jing Teng frowned. She was grateful that Zu An hadn¡¯t betrayed her, and that he had even stood in front of her to protect her. But to do so, he had betrayed someone else. Even though Wei Suo¡¯s appearance was a bit wretched, and both his words and conduct were rather annoying, he was still Zu An¡¯s friend in the end. Still, Zu An had actually sold out his friend without any hesitation to flee for his life?

    Qiu Honglei was also confused. But after being with Zu An for a long time, she trusted his character. She knew there was definitely some other intent hidden behind his actions.

    In that instant, Zhao Han¡¯s expression changed. He quickly dodged to one side. When they saw his movement, Li Changsheng and Xuan Bajing were bewildered.

    What is the emperor trying to avoid? Even if there is some kind of gunpowder or poison hidden in that guy¡¯s body, it shouldn¡¯t be able to wound him at all!

    Just then, however, a st of extremely thick ck mist surged from Wei Suo¡¯s body. Within that mist were countless strange, screaming skulls. As the mist appeared, the entire space was immediately filled with extremely cold and sinister energy. Countless skulls flew out from the ck mist, then rushed at Zhao Han to bite and tear at him.

    Golden light surged from Zhao Han¡¯s body. He thrust his finger out continuously, crushing the iing skulls to pieces. Previously, he had attacked rather nonchntly, as he treated Wei Suo as nothing more than an ant. How could he have known that he was actually facing such a terrifying opponent?

    Now that he had lost the initiative, in the end, he wasn¡¯t able to block everything. Several skulls struck his body, infecting it with ck energy. Fortunately for him, he had reacted quickly and evaded previously, thus creating enough distance between them to escape.

    He quickly used some special techniques. His body surged with golden light, and all of the ck energy that invaded his body waspletely eliminated. Even so, he still coughed out a mouthful of blood. The attack had clearly left him with injuries.

    Xuan Bajing and Li Changsheng were horrified. Just what kind of being was this? Its attacks were actually able to wound Zhao Han! They had already used all sorts of schemes on Violet Mountain, and yet countless attacks from the most powerful cultivators in the world had been unable to leave Zhao Han in such a state.

    ¡°Ghost King?¡± Zhao Han eximed with an ugly expression. He stared at the opponent. That appearance, that power¡­ Who else could have such a thing apart from the Ghost King?

    The ck mist and the skulls gathered into a giant ghost face. It didn¡¯t respond to Zhao Han¡¯s words; instead, it looked in Zu An¡¯s direction and wondered, ¡°Just how did he find out who I was?¡±

    Qiu Honglei raised her brows in delight, thinking,?Ah Zu isn¡¯t that kind of person after all! But is this the Ghost King? He¡¯s so ugly.?When she recalled how he had followed them this entire time, she immediately shuddered in fear.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Jing Teng¡¯s eyes widened as she looked at the Ghost King. She had never expected that legendary being to be hiding right by their side! Even so, she let out a sigh of relief despite the sheer terror of the situation.

    She thought,?Zu An didn¡¯t betray his friend¡­ Sigh, Qiu Honglei trusted him unconditionally earlier, and yet I doubted him. I¡¯m still inferior to her in that regard¡­ Hm? Wait, why am Iparing myself to her??At the same time, she was curious as to just how Zu An had known about the Ghost King.

    Sensing that he had already been targeted by the Ghost King¡¯s terrifying energy, Zu An couldn''t continue to run either, for fear that he would draw the Ghost King¡¯s ire. If that happened, all of his efforts would have been for nothing. Instead, he said with a sigh, ¡°Actually, it wasn¡¯t too difficult. I understand Wei Suo¡¯s nature the best. He¡¯s just like his name,pletely vulgar all the way down to his bones. I couldn''t sense that recently, so even though you did your best to act like him, it was still different from how he really is.¡±

    Jing Teng and Qiu Honglei both nodded. Wei Suo was someone who even fantasized about doing it with a female ghost, and drooled whenever he saw beauties. His personality and behavior really were wretched. And yet, as ofte, he seemed to have be more and more normal. They had thought that it was because he had been around them for a long time, and thus developed some immunity to beauty.

    It¡¯s still Ah Zu who¡¯s the most meticulous in thought. He immediately noticed that something was off.

    ¡°It was only because of this that you knew I was impersonating him?¡± the Ghost King replied, clearly dissatisfied. ¡°You were that sure of it and used him as a shield? What if you made a mistake? Wouldn¡¯t you have killed your friend?¡±

    ¡°Of course, that wasn¡¯t all,¡± Zu An said as he looked at the ghost face made out of ck mist and skulls. He wondered just what kind of creature it was while replying, ¡°Wei Suo is someone who¡¯s incredibly greedy for life and afraid of death. I don¡¯t mean that as an insult, but that¡¯s just how he is. His first reaction when he faces danger is to run. And yet earlier, when we were outside the great tomb and encountered so many terrifying people, when I told him to leave first, he righteously said that he would stay with us and face all troubles together.¡±

    He shook his head and continued, ¡°In that situation, the real Wei Suo would have acted faster than anyone, and he would also have advised me not to take any risks. If he couldn''t convince me, he would run away first, and he would honorably im that it was to avoid dragging me down with him.¡± When he recalled his friend¡¯s nature, Zu An couldn''t help but smile.

    ¡°That is still too far-fetched,¡± the Ghost King said, shaking his head.

    ¡°The greatest proof was that when we entered the great tomb, he almost fell because of the fleeing crowd. I noticed that he was pretending to fall, but his movement skill was extremely profound. He managed to avoid some lethal wounds intentionally or otherwise.¡± Zu An paused for a moment before continuing, ¡°So when I saved him, I held his wrist. Then, I discovered that he actually didn¡¯t have a pulse!¡±

 Chapter 1792: Demonic Voice of the Ghost King

    Chapter 1792: Demonic Voice of the Ghost King

    The Ghost King¡¯s giant ghost face was made up of ck mist and skulls. As the skulls moved around, they resembled a burning fire. When he heard Zu An¡¯s exnation, he clearly stopped for a moment. Then, he said in an eerie voice, ¡°Youngster, you seem careless on the surface, but you are actually quite cunning.¡±

    Meanwhile, Zhao Han nodded in deep sympathy. Originally, he had considered Zu An no different from an ant. However, this brat really hade up with all sorts of annoyances and even put him somewhat on guard.

    Zu An continued, ¡°Also, when I encountered Zhao Han, whether it was Jing Teng or Honglei, both of them were incredibly nervous. Normally, with Wei Suo¡¯s nature, he should have been shaking all over, yet you weren¡¯t. I could sense calm hidden within the depths of your expression.¡±

    Now, the others really felt admiration for him. After all, in that life-and-death situation, he actually still had room to observe the one in the corner who didn¡¯t have much of a presence at all!n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An looked at Wei Suo, who was lying on the ground under the giant ghost face; it was uncertain whether he was dead or alive. He had no idea when the Ghost King had possessed him. After some hesitation, he decided not to ask the Ghost King about Wei Suo¡¯s condition. If the Ghost King found out that he actually cared a lot, it would only bring Wei Suo even more danger.

    ¡°You are indeed a meticulous person. No wonder Hidden Dragon and Phoenix Chick died at your hand,¡± the Ghost King said, nodding in admiration. He then turned to Zhao Han and asked, ¡°Just who are you? Why have I never heard of you before?¡±

    Someone this formidable shouldn¡¯t have been unknown in the world for so long.

    Zhao Han harrumphed. ¡°I am merely passing by. I have no intention of being your enemy.¡± He actually felt a bit of apprehension after that momentary sh. If they could avoid conflict, that would be for the best.

    The Ghost King also hesitated. Zhao Han was clearly stronger than he had imagined. Dealing with him wouldn¡¯t be that easy.

    Just then, however, Zu An said, ¡°His majesty is experiencing heaven and man deterioration right now. This matter is rted to an immortal opportunity, so he must obtain it. If I¡¯m not mistaken, Ghost King should also be interested in the immortal opportunity. Miss Jing, you¡¯re familiar with this great tomb. Are there two immortal opportunities?¡±

    Jing Teng was smart, so she deliberately raised her voice somewhat as she replied, ¡°Of course there¡¯s only one. Since it¡¯s called an immortal opportunity, only the destined can obtain it. How can there be several shares for everyone to enjoy?¡±

    The Ghost King and Zhao Han¡¯s expressions immediately changed when they heard that. They knew that Zu An was sowing dissent, but this was an unavoidable conflict. Unless one side gave up, there would eventually be a decisive battle.

    More importantly, Zu An was especially vicious, even giving away that Zhao Han was going to pass away soon and had been looking for this immortal opportunity to save his life. As such, the Ghost King also realized that there was no chance of Zhao Han giving up on the opportunity. In that case, continuing the battle while the other side was injured was the best chance topletely erase hispetitor.

    Having made up his mind, the Ghost King¡¯srge face rushed straight at Zhao Han.

    A fierce look flickered across Zhao Han¡¯s face as well. As he faced his opponent, his entire body erupted with golden light. He wanted to see just what this world¡¯s most terrifying Ghost King had for himself.

    In their eyes, the greatestpetitors in the great tomb were each other. As for Zu An¡¯s group, even if they had some tricks, they were still mere ants. As such, they could be dealt withter. Eliminating their greatest foe was the most important thing.

    Li Changsheng and Xuan Bajing quickly ran to one side. A battle at this level would leave them severely injured just by being caught up in the st waves.

    Zhao Han quickly rushed into the center of the ck mist. Endless skeletons charged at him. His entire body overflowed with golden light as he threw punches with his left hand and used skills with his right. Both sides struck ferociously, with each strike sting many skulls to pieces.

    Zu An and the others were in awe as they watched. On the surface, Zhao Han¡¯s punches seemed ordinary, but he had clearly already reached the realm of retracing the original path. He didn¡¯t need any fancy techniques, as every attack carried the brilliant power of an emperor. Compared to the Ghost King¡¯s sinister style of fighting, his style looked more domineering.

    Now that both sides had started fighting, Zu An didn¡¯t try to run anymore. He remained in ce to see if he could take advantage of the aftermath. After all, even though both the Ghost King and Zhao Han believed that they had already learned his true capabilities, in reality, they had still underestimated him. He had enough power to affect the battle¡¯s conclusion.

    Suddenly, Zhao Han frowned, because he discovered that no matter how many of those skulls he shattered, his opponent¡¯s energy wasn¡¯t affected in the slightest. On the contrary, the aura around the skulls was incredibly treacherous, so he ended up bing affected a bit. Even though it wasn¡¯t much, as time went on, he would eventually be at a disadvantage.

    Zu An nodded inwardly, thinking,?It seems like what Hidden Dragon and Phoenix Chick said was true. This Ghost King seems to be immune to physical attacks.

    Zhao Han released a cold snort and suddenlynded on the ground. A golden figure rose from above him and formed the projection of a golden-armored war god; it was his primordial spirit. He had clearly noticed that physical attacks were useless and wouldn¡¯t be enough to defeat his opponent.

    When his primordial spirit left his body, the ck mist immediately pulled back substantially. Quite a few skulls even directly melted. The golden giant¡¯s fist scattered the ck mist, and endless skulls screamed as they fled in disarray.

    However, the golden giant sneered and grabbed toward them with its massive hand. All of the surrounding space seemed to be restrained. Many skulls that looked as if they were about to escape ended up being caught. The great hand clenched, and the skulls screamed bitterly, turning to scattered ashes.

    ¡­

    Li Changsheng waspletely dazzled. Was this what a battle between earth immortals was like? When would he be able to reach such a level?

    Meanwhile, Xuan Bajing was eagerly bootlicking. ¡°Your majesty is without equal, as expected! Long live, long long live the emperor!¡±

    Jing Teng couldn''t help but give Zu An a look. This emperor was actually so powerful, but more importantly, Zu An had offended someone so formidable?

    Qiu Honglei also looked as if she had a huge headache. The stronger Zhao Han was, the greater the pressure she felt. Whether it was her identity as a part of the Devil Sect or her rtionship with Ah Zu, both made her an absolute enemy of the emperor.

    Meanwhile, Zu An observed the battle with a grave expression. He believed that the Ghost King definitely wouldn¡¯t be defeated by just that.

    ¡­

    .

    Sure enough, there was no look of happiness on Zhao Han¡¯s face. Rather, he looked in a certain direction.

    The ck mist gathered in that spot once more. Countless skulls gathered to form a giant ghost face. It said in a low, muffled voice, ¡°Interesting¡­¡±

    Zhao Han frowned, thinking,?Is this guy immune to all attacks? But that¡¯s impossible! How can this world have something so iprehensible? There has to be a way to deal with it! It¡¯s just that I haven¡¯t found it yet.

    Suddenly, the giant ghost face looked at the golden giant andughed, remarking, ¡°A soul? That¡¯s my favorite.¡± As soon as he spoke, he opened his giant mouth and unleashed waves of shrill screams. A terrifying ripple of sound passed through the air.

    After hearing all the activity, a group of people tried toe closer to see what was happening. However, when they drew near, despite being strong individuals in their own right, they couldn''t hold on. Their souls flew straight out of their bodies.

    Even though those souls struggled frantically to hold onto their bodies, the shrill screams continued, making their struggles futile. Countless struggling souls entered the giant ghost face¡¯s mouth. That ghost face had a satisfied expression as it appeared to start chewing.

    ¡°Demonic Voice of the Ghost King!¡± Zu An cried out in horror. Hidden Dragon had described the Ghost King¡¯s ultimate skill before.

    Fortunately, he¡¯d had the foresight to bring the others some distance away. Even so, he had still felt his mind tremble. The women were in even worse condition, their expressions turning somewhat nk. Zu An immediately used Hundredwarble and Lion¡¯s Roar, using sound against sound. Only then did they wake up a bit.

    ¡°We¡¯re leaving!¡± Zu An said. He didn¡¯t dare to remain any longer, because he saw that Zhao Han¡¯s primordial spirit was also affected. He was clearly at an absolute disadvantage. If they remained here, not only would they not benefit from the conflict, they would be caught up in the disaster.

    Jing Teng¡¯s mind became clear again. She knew that the situation was dangerous and hurriedly led the group to a wall. The others didn¡¯t know what she did, but the wall suddenly opened and the group went inside. Only then did that frightening pressure disappear.

    Meanwhile, Zhao Han saw their movements, but he waspletely powerless to stop them. In fact, it was a little difficult for him to even protect himself. He could sense that a terrifying power was trying to cut the connection between his primordial spirit and his flesh. He knew that even though his primordial spirit was powerful, the world was a sea of bitterness, while the flesh was the boat that protected it. If it fell into the sea from the boat, it would no longer have a root to attach to. Eventually, it wouldpletely break and copse. Then, he would no longer be able to resist the Ghost King¡¯s absorption, and he could even be its food.

    ¡­

    While he was doing what he could to resist, Li Changsheng and Xuan Bajing were also struggling bitterly. They were famous grandmasters in their own right, as well as the leaders of their sects. The secret techniques they knew also far exceeded those of normal grandmasters. They both used their respective skills to protect their souls, so they didn¡¯t have their souls immediately sucked out like the others around them.

    Still, as time went on, they were shocked to discover that they were about to fail themselves! Their souls gradually began to leave their bodies. They frantically clung to their bodies while pleading with Zhao Han, ¡°Your majesty, save me!¡±

 Chapter 1793: Laying Out All Cards

    Chapter 1793: Laying Out All Cards

    Zhao Han thought, Even I almost can¡¯t f*cking hold on anymore! Like hell I¡¯ll save you bastards!

    However, he suddenly thought of something. With a wave of his hand in their direction, the two grandmasters were swept by an invisible force and could no longer maintain their center of gravity. They both fell toward the giant ghost face in midair.

    ¡°Zhao Han, you¡¯ll definitely die a miserable death!¡± Both of them forgot their usual fear and cursed angrily.

    However, they were experienced grandmasters and weren¡¯t willing to die just like that. Perhaps because of Zhao Han¡¯s attack, their connections with their bodies had stabilized a bit. Helpless to do anything else, they could only direct their most powerful skills at the giant ghost face. They knew that was precisely Zhao Han¡¯s n, but there was nothing they could do. After all, they couldn''t just let themselves get eaten, right?

    The Immortal Sword and Xuan Bajing¡¯s eight swords bombarded the giant ghost face together. The two grandmasters¡¯ attacks were even stronger than usual, but this was an attack with their lives on the line, so they didn¡¯t hold back at all. At the same time, they also used all of their life-saving methods. The Immortal Sword formed a grand celestial pce, while the eight swords merged to be a massive, imposing sword. When two grandmasters attacked with all of their power at the same time, it resulted in an incredibly shocking sight.

    Unfortunately, the giant ghost face suddenly opened hisrge mouth. With a single chomp, the celestial pce and imposing sword were both swallowed. Both Li Chansheng and Xuan Bajing were stupefied!

    Before the two of them could do anything else, the Ghost King opened his mouth and inhaled. Their souls couldn''t hold on any longer, and their warped figures were pulled into his mouth. Just like that, two glorious daoist grandmasters met their end.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    However, their retaliation still bought Zhao Han a bit of time. He activated the Human Emperor Seal, sending it above himself. Strands of profound energy descended, covering his primordial spirit and flesh. The pressure immediately lessened and his primordial spirit returned to his body. Without a sliver of hesitation, he grabbed the Human Emperor Seal and vanished into thin air.

    The Ghost King¡¯s expression changed. He hadn¡¯t expected his opponent to actually run. He couldn''t even sense Zhao Han¡¯s aura anymore, so he knew that further pursuit was meaningless. He remarked, ¡°That human actually grasps the naturalws of space. I can¡¯t be so careless the next time I meet him.¡±

    The ghost face turned back into endless ck mist and skulls before flying into the depths of the great tomb. Living beings turned into bleached bone wherever it passed.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An¡¯s group had entered a narrow secret path. Only after they walked for a long time did things finally open up before them. There was no one else nearby, as they had clearly already entered the tomb¡¯s depths.

    As the wall closed behind them, Qiu Honglei asked worriedly, ¡°They won¡¯t chase after us through this path, will they?¡±

    Those two were just far too frightening, to the extent that it made all of them feel a sense of powerlessness.

    Jing Teng shook her head slightly and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. This tomb¡¯s mechanism is always changing. Once a path is used once, it will change. The route behind us is gone.¡±

    Zu An and Qiu Honglei clicked their tongues in wonder. They had never expected the great tomb to have such an ingenious design.

    Qiu Honglei looked at Jing Teng in puzzlement, saying, ¡°You keep saying you don¡¯t have your memories, and yet you even remember these mechanisms in the tomb.¡±

    Jing Teng clutched her head as if she were trying to remember something before saying, ¡°I didn¡¯t fool you all. My memories really are gone. It was just that I suddenly remembered a bit during that moment of crisis when I looked at the nearby wall.¡±

    Zu An and Qiu Honglei exchanged a look. Judging from the way she was acting, she didn¡¯t seem to be lying. However, wasn¡¯t it just too much of a coincidence if she only remembered something at the crucial moment each time?

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect the glorious Xuan Bajing and Li Changsheng to die just like that,¡± Qiu Honglei said, sounding a bit sorrowful.

    They had all seen the two grandmasters being sucked into the Ghost King¡¯s mouth right before they left, and Qiu Honglei was still quite shocked. Zu An was a transmigrator, so he likely wasn¡¯t as strongly affected, but she had grown up in the Devil Sect. Ever since she was little, she had been told just how despicable and powerful the big shots of the orthodox faction were. They were all the sworn enemies of the Devil Sect. Xuan Bajing and Li Changsheng were some of the strongest among those big shots, and they were individuals of equal reputation to her master. And yet, those two experts who had been at the very peak of their world had just been ughtered like chickens here. The shock of seeing something like that was unprecedented.

    ¡°I wonder if Zhao Han was eaten by the Ghost King,¡± Zu An said gravely.

    They had been in too much of a rush and hadn¡¯t seen the conclusion of the battle. They had been nning to stick around to take advantage of the conflict, but the situation had suddenly be one-sided.

    Zu An¡¯s expression grew even darker when he realized that, and he remarked, ¡°Zhao Han normally seems so insufferably arrogant, and yet he ended up being so useless. He was beaten as if the Ghost King were his damn grandfather.¡±

    Suddenly, a familiar voice called out, ¡°What did you say?¡±

    Zu An and the others were rmed. When they looked in the direction of the voice, all of their fine hairs stood on end. They saw a yellow-robed man staring at Zu An coldly from not too far away. Who else could it be but Zhao Han?

    ¡°You¡­ You¡­ How¡­¡± Qiu Honglei stuttered nervously.

    Even though Zhao Han had been bullied by the Ghost King, killing their party was still easy enough. They were all speechless. Like hell they were still going to fight! But they couldn''t run away either.

    Zu An was the first to calm down, saying, ¡°Your majesty is formidable as expected. You were actually able to escape the Ghost King unscathed.¡±

    Inwardly, he was cursing the Ghost King for being useless. Even if you couldn¡¯t keep him there, you could have at least seriously injured him. Zhao Han is in freaking perfect condition, so I don¡¯t stand a f*cking chance!

    ¡°Just now, who was it that cursed me for being beaten up like a grandson?¡± Zhao Han asked, giving Zu An a sidelong nce. His sarcastic grin was even stronger now.

    ¡°The Ghost King used his Demonic Voice of the Ghost King against a soul body, and yet he couldn''t even remove a single corner of your majesty¡¯s clothing. Of course he¡¯s the grandson,¡± Zu An said without batting an eyelid.

    Jing Teng looked at him with a strange expression. She hadn¡¯t expected Zu An to turn around so naturally.

    Qiu Honglei grinned as she recalled how when she first met Ah Zu, he had just been this¡­ shameless. However, she then thought about their fate and couldn''t smile anymore.

    ¡°So that move was called Demonic Voice of the Ghost King?¡± Zhao Han asked. He recalled the earlier battle and still felt some lingering fear. He had almost been swallowed whole by that guy. He looked at Zu An in confusion and said, ¡°You seem to know a bit about his skills. Was it this Miss Jing who told you?¡±

    Jing Teng shook her head. This was what Zu An had learned from interrogating Hidden Dragon and Phoenix Chick, the two ghost generals. Of course, there was no need for her to exin that to Zhao Han.

    ¡°Brat, you really are quite the talent,¡± Zhao Han said, sighing in admiration. After remaining quiet for a moment, he said, ¡°Why don¡¯t we put aside our differences for now and form an alliance?¡±

    Qiu Honglei was stunned. In the eyes of everyone in their previous world, Zhao Han was invincible and untouchable. Who would have expected that he would seek someone else to ally with? Even if he did decide to seek allies, it should have been someone on the level of King Qi or the libationer. What was the meaning behind selecting someone as young as Zu An? Even though she knew her lover was really strong, she still found the offer a bit inconceivable.

    Zu An was also a bit surprised, replying, ¡°The two of us bing allies? Your majesty, has your respected self let your judgment be clouded because of urgency? Do I have the right to fight side by side with you? That Ghost King is far above me. Facing him would be the same as throwing my life away.¡±

    Zhao Han said with a snort, ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to put up that front with me. You definitely have the qualifications to face the Ghost King with me.¡±

    Zu An remained on guard as he replied, ¡°Your majesty, you really are overestimating me. If you don¡¯t find it unappealing, I can shout from the sidelines as your cheerleader if you want me to. After all, even the powerful grandmasters Li Changsheng and Xuan Bajing had their souls sucked right out, so what would I be able to do?¡±

    Zhao Han snapped in annoyance, ¡°I don¡¯t have the time to y these games with you. Others might not know about your ability, but I know it best. Otherwise, how else would the soul fragment I concealed in the crown prince¡¯s body have died?¡±

    Zu An felt goosebumps all over when he heard that. He instinctively prepared to fight to the death here.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous. Since I¡¯m talking about that incident now, that means I¡¯ve already let it pass,¡± Zhao Han said indifferently. ¡°As long as you help me eliminate the Ghost King and find the immortal opportunity, we¡¯ll just write off that grudge. The Fiend races could make you a Regent, so why can¡¯t I? After all, once I ascend, the crown prince will be too ignorant and weak. He might not even be able to hold his position. You can just help him manage the empire.¡±

    Qiu Honglei was incredibly shocked as she listened. The information contained in the conversation was extremely great!

    Jing Teng was incredibly confused. Just what are they saying? Why can¡¯t I understand any of it? Are they really people from a different world?

    Zu An also put away his smile of contempt. He said seriously, ¡°So your majesty already knew everything.¡± No wonder he had always felt as if Zhao Han bore killing intent against him the whole time.

    Zhao Han harrumphed. ¡°My soul fragment was with the crown prince, and it disappeared mysteriously. Even though you and the crown princess exined everything properly, I didn¡¯t believe it at all. I watched the crown princess grow up and know she doesn¡¯t have that kind of ability. That means the culprit naturally has to have been you.¡±

    ¡°You believed that was true purely based on a suspicion?¡± Zu An asked, feeling a bit confused.

    ¡°For an emperor, suspicion is enough. I would rather mistakenly kill a thousand than let one go,¡± Zhao Han said coldly.

 Chapter 1794: Cooperation

    Chapter 1794: Cooperation

    Zu An fell silent for a while. The emperor was indeed different from other people.

    He had believed that the testimony he provided for the secret dungeon trip with the crown prince was already incredibly convincing, as he had mixed in only a few lies, but the emperor didn¡¯t trust anyone. As long as he bore suspicion against a person, he didn¡¯t need any reason or proof to conclude that that person had schemed against him. Additionally, he would rather mistakenly kill someone than mistakenly let them go.

    In the end, it was because Zu An wasn¡¯t part of the imperial family himself, nor had he been born into a great n. That was why he had misjudged the emperor¡¯s way of thinking.

    When the emperor noticed Zu An bing quiet, he said with a smile, ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to worry. Since I¡¯ve already spoken about this matter with you, that means that I won¡¯t look further into it. Instead, it can serve as proof of my sincerity in this cooperation.¡±

    He couldn''t figure out how the incredibly weak Zu An had ended up killing his soul fragment, but since Zu An had been able to do so while he was countless ranks lower, then the current Zu An, who was now far more powerful, had to have something that could threaten the Ghost King. Cooperating would not only allow him to defeat that powerful Ghost King, but also let him take the chance to draw out more of Zu An¡¯s trump cards. That way, he would have more preparations in the future.

    Zu An sneered inwardly. This guy is making it sound as if he¡¯s so honest and sincere, but I¡¯d be an idiot to believe him.

    Perhaps the emperor would work with him now while the Ghost King was there to pressure them, but once he got an opportunity, he would definitely settle things then. However, with the Ghost King still posing a threat, the two of them were at a disadvantage, so there was no need for them to fight to the death then.

    As such, Zu An replied with a smile, ¡°What is your majesty saying? I¡¯m a subject of the court to begin with. Of course I¡¯ll fight on the same front as your majesty.¡±

    ¡°The marquis is highly principled, as expected,¡± Zhao Han said with a sneer. The two of them reached an agreement just like that, with each harboring their own ulterior motives.

    ¡°Your majesty just faced the Ghost King. Was your respected self able toe up with any methods of dealing with him?¡± Zu An asked.

    Zhao Han¡¯s expression grew dark when he recalled that humiliating battle. He said, ¡°His Demonic Voice of the Ghost King greatly counteracts my primordial spirit. But if I don¡¯t release my primordial spirit, I can¡¯t bring out my greatest strength. One other thing is that I destroyed a great deal of the ck mist and skulls, but it didn¡¯t seem to have done anything to him.¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°He has immunity against physical and elemental attacks, so he¡¯s a very difficult opponent.¡±

    ¡°How can he be that iprehensible?¡± Zhao Han replied with a frown. ¡°Where did you obtain this information from?¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t hide his source and told Zhao Han about his interrogation of the ghost generals. Zhao Han remarked with a nod, ¡°Those ghost generals were his subordinates and had low cultivation, so they might have been glorifying their leader and exaggerating things.¡±

    ¡°I actually don¡¯t believe that he¡¯s truly immune to all physical and elemental attacks,¡± Zu An said gravely. ¡°But judging from your majesty¡¯s battle against him, that seems to indeed be the case, no?¡±

    Zhao Han thought back to what had happened and said, ¡°That¡¯s correct. At first, my attacks seemed to be useless against him, and he did seem immune against physical and elemental attacks. That¡¯s why I thought about sending out my primordial spirit to deal with him. How could I have anticipated that his Demonic Voice of the Ghost King¡¯s soul-sucking would be so formidable?¡± He paused for a moment before continuing, ¡°But the world has its ownws regarding all things. The naturalws prohibit the creation of an undefeatable being. He definitely has a weakness; it¡¯s just that we haven¡¯t found it yet.¡±

    Zu An nodded inwardly. As expected of the most powerful expert; Zhao Han immediately saw the crux of the issue.

    Jing Teng said weakly, ¡°I seem to have remembered something. In the past, the immortal ruler left behind a method for dealing with the Ghost King.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Zhao Han asked, his eyes lighting up. As expected, my decision was correct this time!

    Apart from Zu An, who was unfathomable even to him, the other reason he had formed the alliance was this mysterious woman. She was closely rted to the great tomb, and whether or not he would find the ultimate immortal opportunity could hinge on her.

    Qiu Honglei sighed in relief and asked, ¡°What kind of method is it? Hurry and tell us.¡±

    At the very least, they didn¡¯t need to fight against Zhao Han anymore. Ah Zu had also gotten a small reprieve too. She thought, It would be great if Zhao Han and the Ghost King killed each other¡­

    Jing Teng replied, ¡°The method is next to the immortal ruler¡¯s remains, and it¡¯s in¡­¡± She looked around the area, then pointed toward a dark corridor and continued, ¡°In that direction.¡±

    Then, she led the way, and Zu An¡¯s group quickly followed along. He asked curiously, ¡°Doesn¡¯t everyone say the immortal ruler ascended already? Why would there still be remains?¡±

    Zhao Han immediately felt his pulse quicken. It would be troublesome if that immortal ruler hadn¡¯t actually ascended and had just died, but his disciples had made up a story.

    Jing Teng shook her head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know what exactly is going on. The remains might not be his real body, or it might even just be a monument to someone buried elsewhere.¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The group couldn''t really figure anything out at the moment either, so they could only go to that ce first and examine it for now.

    ¡­

    Even though the great tomb was dark, Qiu Honglei was a light element cultivator, and she even had a copy of the Empress Lantern. It lit the way as their party moved deeper in. However,pared to the previously rxed and cheerful mood, the atmosphere was now extremely grave. After all, with someone as terrifying as Zhao Han with them, they could die at any time.

    As if to ease the awkwardness, Zhao Han said, ¡°This seems to be simr to Sect Master Yun¡¯s Empress Lantern.¡±

    Qiu Honglei voiced her agreement. ¡°It isn¡¯t the original; it¡¯s an imitation someone in the n made based on master¡¯sntern. It¡¯s much weaker.¡±

    ¡°The Devil Sect seems to be full of talents. So even the Empress Lantern could be imitated,¡± Zhao Han remarked. His usual ruthlessness was nowhere to be seen. Instead, he seemed like a kind and benevolent senior. ¡°I recall that your master also seemed to have entered the secret dungeon. Where is she?¡±

    Qiu Honglei gave Zu An a look, then carefully replied, ¡°We were separated. But if I¡¯m not mistaken, she should have arrived at this great tomb too.¡± At the same time, she was really worried. It would be really bad if her master identally ran into the Ghost King.

    Zhao Han nodded. He had considered ttering Yun Jianyue a bit; however, she had even charged into the Imperial Pce to assassinate him, and yet she was crushed by a single hand before even meeting him. Praising her would really be dishonest.

    Zu An was able to guess his thoughts. However, after his big sis Yun experienced the Xia Dynasty secret dungeon, her cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds. She was much more formidable than in the past. Meanwhile, he asked, ¡°Has your majesty met the libationer since then?¡±

    Those two had been entangled with each other before they fell into the secret dungeon. They should have been next to each other when they woke up.

    Zhao Han shook his head and said resentfully, ¡°I haven¡¯t seen him at all. Who knows where he ended up dying.¡±

    If not for the libationer¡¯s plot, why would he have been caught up in such a dangerous secret dungeon? Still, it was precisely because of the plot that he was able toe close to a immortal opportunity. He thought, The heavens are on my side after all!

    Zu An began to think to himself. Normally, with the libationer¡¯s cultivation, he shouldn¡¯t have beenpletely quiet the whole time, and should have made a name for himself¡­

    ¡°What kind of rtionship does thisdy and Immortal Ruler Baopu really have? Why does she have such an understanding of this great tomb?¡± Zhao Han asked with feigned nonchnce. The reason he had taken the initiative to start a conversation was because he was most interested in Jing Teng.

    ¡°I was but a vine in the mountains back then. The immortal ruler was passing by and enlightened me in passing,¡± Jing Teng replied. There was no need to hide that. Afterward, she looked at Zu An and said, ¡°Judging from the sound of things, you don¡¯t seem to be people from this world.¡±

    After some hesitation, Zu An said with a nod, ¡°That¡¯s right. We merely ended up getting caught in this secret dungeon by ident¡­¡±

    He gave her a rough exnation of what a secret dungeon was.

    ¡°Secret dungeon?¡± Jing Teng replied, sounding quite baffled, but she quickly shook her head. ¡°From my perspective, this world is the real one, and it might not be a secret dungeon like what you describe. Furthermore, from the perspective of people in this world, that world of yours might actually be the secret dungeon instead.¡±

    The others were stunned. Normally, secret dungeons eithercked many signs of people, or were spatial fragments of ruined ancient eras. That was why people naturally thought their world was superior to the secret dungeons, thinking that they were just treasure troves containing incredible treasures and hidden inheritances. They had never treated secret dungeons as real worlds. In contrast, the concept was easier for Zu An to ept. After all, some of the secret dungeons he had gone to were like massive worlds of their own.

    Zhao Han said seriously, ¡°This kind of thing has almost never happened in history. Previously, secret dungeons were only ever empty, or at most popted with beasts. The amount of space in them was limited as well, so a world thisrge is unprecedented to me. The appearance of this kind of secret dungeon most likely represents a great transformation that is taking ce in the world. Could it be that something is happening to our world that I¡¯m not aware of¡­¡±

    Zu An began to think to himself. Zhao Han was the world¡¯s most powerful cultivator, as well as the human race¡¯s emperor. If he said that it had never happened, then it hadn¡¯t. But he had encountered it a few times recently, so that meant the world really was changing somewhat. Could it be just like the ¡®spiritual essence revival¡¯ referred to in webnovels?

    ¡°Are you going to leave this world eventually?¡± Jing Teng asked.

    Zu An looked up and saw that she was looking right at him with herrge and beautiful eyes. He suddenly felt a bit out of sorts for some reason, but he still said with a nod, ¡°That¡¯s right. Once weplete some tasks, we¡¯ll return to our world.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± Jing Teng said. Even though she didn¡¯t say anything more, the others could see the loneliness in her expression.

    Zhao Han watched the scene unfold with the cool gaze of a bystander. Inwardly, he thought, Is this brat Zu An a human-shaped aphrodisiac or something? Why is he always picking up women wherever he goes? Letting him into the pce might have been a great mistake¡­

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s gaze wandered back and forth between Zu An and Jing Teng. She thought, Do you think I have it easy here? It¡¯spletely impossible to prevent¡­Sect Master Yan, it¡¯s not that I didn¡¯t work hard, but these women are working too hard!

    She was about to say something when Zu An suddenly noticed that something was off. He asked, ¡°Does it feel as if it¡¯s getting hotter and hotter to you all?¡±

 Chapter 1795: Earthflame Devil

    <h4>Chapter 1795: Earthme Devil</h4>

    They hadn¡¯t noticed anything when they were chatting before, but now that Zu An reminded them, they all clearly felt that something wasn¡¯t right. After all, this tomb rarely had any sunlight enter, so it should have been as cold as winter even if it was the middle of summer. Now, however, it was clearly getting hot. Furthermore, they keenly sensed that even the path ahead was bing bright red. There was no need to use Qiu Honglei¡¯sntern for light anymore.

    ¡°The fire element is especially dense up ahead. There¡¯s even some kind of berserk energy,¡± Zhao Han said as he looked ahead, but his tone was extremely calm.

    Perhaps this great tomb fraught with dangers was a ce where most died, but with his strength, it was nothing more than a leisurely tour. Of course, that was assuming they didn¡¯t run into that Ghost King freak¡­

    Jing Teng frowned. As a vine, she felt an innate dislike for fire.

    The group continued for a while longer. It grew hotter and hotter, and a wave of heat filled the air. They couldn''t sense any moisture anymore. If not for the fact that they were all powerful cultivators, the temperature would have already been enough to roast them alive.

    ¡°Miss Jing, is this the only path?¡± Qiu Honglei couldn''t help but ask. The hellish environment really wasn¡¯t the best experience. Furthermore, such ces with such a high concentration of an element often contained terrifying creatures. She was already starting to feel a bit anxious.

    Jing Teng wiped away the sweat from her temples and said, ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    Suddenly, the group rounded a turn, and the view opened up. They finally understood where the source of all of the heat was. Before them was a massive pool ofva; it was full of bubbles, as if it were boiling over. Quite a bit of theva sshed ashore. The ground around it seemed as if it couldn''t even stand the heat, erupting into mes. The terrain was already filled with holes and cracks, and theva seemed as if it would spill out further and further.

    ¡°This great tomb was actually hiding a pool ofva of such a scale?¡± Zu An eximed in surprise.

    The smell of sulfur hitting them in the face was a bit hard to withstand. If not for their cultivation making it so they didn¡¯t need to breathe very often, perhaps they would even have been poisoned to death by the strong smell.

    Jing Teng looked confused as she said, ¡°I don¡¯t know either. This seems to have been put in ce to protect the immortal ruler¡¯s remains.¡±

    Zu An looked around. Theva pool was just like a volcano. It had a range of several hundred zhang andpletely cut off the road up ahead. It waspletely impossible to go around. The great tomb already lookedrge enough from the outside, but the inside seemed evenrger; it could even contain such a giant pool ofva without a single problem.

    If they wanted to cross the pool, they had to fly over it. However, the temperature was so high, and there were bubbles that exploded from time to time, sendingva into the air. The temperature in midair would definitely be even harder to endure. It was difficult for there to not be any issues within a thousand meters.

    More importantly, what if there was something inside theva¡­

    Suddenly, Zhao Han said clearly, ¡°Since my cultivation is the highest, I¡¯ll take the lead in exploring this ce.¡± Then, he kicked off the ground and into the air.

    The scorching hot air above theva was hot enough to burn away all clothes. However, there seemed to be an invisible barrier around Zhao Han¡¯s body that repelled all of the raging heat. Meanwhile, he seemed to be practically irvoyant, always able to avoid the iingva that suddenly flew up ahead of time.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Qiu Honglei had a strange expression. She secretly asked Zu An, ¡°Ah Zu, why did the emperor suddenly be so enthusiastic? It just feels strange somehow.¡±

    ¡°Excessive ttery without reason is either deceit or theft,¡± Zu An replied. ¡°He wants to express his sincerity through these small things, but it¡¯s more for Jing Teng to see. After all, he believes that Jing Teng might know about the immortal opportunity he cares about.¡±

    ¡°Jing Teng always talks in riddles, and it¡¯s getting really annoying. Do you think she really did lose her memories?¡± Qiu Honglei asked.

    ¡°Whether she¡¯s acting or not, I believe she bears no malice towards us, so why do we need to trouble her?¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°Hmph, it¡¯s only because she¡¯s pretty.¡± Qiu Honglei harrumphed, but she didn¡¯t really get angry. if Jing Teng hadn¡¯t helped them several times before, perhaps they would have already died.

    Suddenly, something strange happened. Theva pool began to re up. It was almost as if it were upset that there was someone flying above it without even letting a drop ofva touch his body. Theva pool quickly spun, forming a giant whirlpool. Then, a long whip of messhed out, wrapping itself around Zhao Han¡¯s feet and pulling him downward fiercely.

    Zu An¡¯s group was shocked. There was a monster inside theva pool after all!

    Zhao Han released a cold snort. He raised his leg, and not only was he not pulled down, the creature in theva pool was actually dragged out.

    The monster looked like a giant goat, but it was exceedingly ugly. It was just like the Damascus goats Zu An had seen in videos from his previous world. There was a pair of coiled horns on its head, andva covered its entire body. The fiery substance formed its coat. With that, Zu An finally understood why the West loved to associate goats with the devil. Such an appearance really was reminiscent of a sinister devil.

    ¡°This goat is so ugly,¡± Qiu Honglei said with a look of disgust. She didn¡¯t even want to give it a second look.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t a goat, but an Earthme Devil,¡± Jing Teng said, clutching her head as if she had just remembered something.

    ¡°Earth?¡± Zu An repeated, stunned. ¡°It has earth element power?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Lava contains both the earth and fire element to begin with,¡± Jing Teng replied.

    Zu An thought to himself that in many of his previous world¡¯s games, the earth element often summoned meteors for its attacks. Those meteors often resembled fireballs. Just like that, the monster¡¯s power reached the extremes of both earth and fire. No wonder it was so strong.

    He could sense the terrifying auraing from the monster¡¯s body. It far exceeded the level of a grandmaster. Comparing the Death Reaper to this thing was likeparing a child and a robust man. If he encountered that monster himself, perhaps it would really a bit dangerous. But now that they had Zhao Han, clinging onto a nice and strong backer really felt great¡­

    He suddenly felt strange. In the past, he had always mooched off girls. Now, he could even mooch off of men?

    ¡­

    The Earthme Devil had wanted to drag its prey into theva, and yet it was pulled out by its prey instead. At that instant, it was briefly stunned.

    However, its surprise was quickly reced by anger. It roared furiously, making the whole ce quake and tremble. Theva erupted like a volcano, and a giant fist formed around the mes,unching toward Zhao Han in midair.

    Zhao Han¡¯s expression was ice-cold as he remarked, ¡°Are you treating a tiger as some sickly cat just because it hasn¡¯t shown its might? Even an animal like you dares to bully this emperor?¡±

    He had remained invincible for so many years, and yet he had been left in such a sorry state after encountering the Ghost King. There was already a lot of rage built up within him, and he could no longer hold it back and went all out. He didn¡¯t dodge or evade, and just sent a fist straight at the monster.

    With a huge explosion, sparks flew in all directions. The Earthme Devil¡¯s massive body paused briefly, and the mes around its body visibly dimmed.

    Zhao Han¡¯s gaze carried killing intent as he yelled, ¡°Die!¡±

    Golden light surged all around him. In that instant, a giant golden projection appeared behind him and mimicked him, sending its own fist at the Earthme Devil¡¯s head.

    Boom!

    With a muffled noise, the air itself seemed to distort. Then, the Earthme Devil staggered back a few steps. A momentter, its entire body broke down inch by inch before finally turning into endlessva and sinking back into the pool.

    Zu An and the others¡¯ eyes widened. That terrifying Earthme Devil had been destroyed just like that? Even though they knew Zhao Han was strong, they hadn¡¯t expected him to actually be powerful to such an extent! They hadn¡¯t been able to help but look down on him a bit when he lost to the Ghost King earlier. However, at that instant, they woke up and realized that this was the same invincible figure who had subdued the experts of both the human and Fiend races for many, many years.

    Zu An¡¯s expression became even more grave. Zhao Han¡¯s strength seemed to be quite a bit greater than that of the split soul in the Westhound Tomb secret dungeon. He was even a bit stronger than he had been in the battle on Violet Mountain.

    Zhao Han was a bit regretful. He had gotten so worked up in that instant that he used all his strength, possibly making that brat Zu An a bit more vignt. However, he quickly dismissed that thought, because he knew that no matter what, before absolute strength, all schemes were justughable.

    ¡°Alright, the monster has already been eliminated. You cane over now,¡± he said, waving his hand toward them.

    Jing Teng¡¯s expression suddenly changed and she eximed, ¡°No, it¡¯s still alive!¡±

    As soon as she spoke, two me whips suddenly shot out from the pool, instantly binding Zhao Han¡¯s legs. Perhaps because the monster had already learned its lesson, it used two whips this time. The strength it used was greater too.

    Zhao Han thought he had already defeated his opponent, so he was caught off guard and dragged straight into the boilingva. He tried to struggle free, but a secondter, endlessva crashed down on him like an ocean,pletely submerging him within.

    The chaoticva became still once more, regaining the appearance the group had first seen upon arrival. It was as if nothing had happened.

    When they saw that Zhao Han didn¡¯te back out, Zu An¡¯s party looked at each other in dismay. They had been shocked at Zhao Han¡¯s power a moment ago, yet now, he had croaked just like that?

    Favorite

 Chapter 1796: Soulburn Firecrystal

    <h4>Chapter 1796: Soulburn Firecrystal</h4>

    However, it was still Zu An who understood Zhao Han the best. With his cultivation, there was no way Zhao Han would die so easily here.

    Sure enough, a secondter, theva suddenly surged. It seemed that an intense battle was currently happening inside. A few breaths of timeter, theva parted. A human figure rushed into the air. Who else could it be but Zhao Han? The giant Earthme Devil was ripped in half. Then, it turned intova and disappeared again.

    Zhao Han didn¡¯t act overconfident this time and flew back instead. He wasn¡¯t in the best shape; his hair was scattered. His hair and beard were singed too. Even his clothes had severalrge holes burned away, the skin underneath clearly visible. There was even a scent of scorched flesh in the air¡­

    Humiliation!

    That was the only word on Zhao Han¡¯s mind. He had always been domineering and proud; when had he ever suffered this greatly? He really had embarrassed himself in front of the younger generation.

    However, Zu An and the others were still full of admiration. After all, not only had Zhao Han not been killed after being dragged into theva by the Earthme Devil, the only price he had paid was a few holes in his clothes. Moreover, overall, his clothes were still fine. It was clear that his ki barrier had been able to block off theva.

    ¡°Ahem!¡± Zhao Han cleared his throat. His expression was grave as he looked at theva. It surged, then reformed into the shape of a massive monster. The Earthme Devil revived again!

    Qiu Honglei eximed in horror, ¡°Is this monster immortal?¡±

    Zhao Han also frowned. Even though he was stronger than this creature, it was still strong enough to pose a threat. Most importantly, it had an immortal body and was able to recover without any injuries each time. Meanwhile, as time went on, his endurance would be chipped away at least a bit, so he would ultimately lose as time went on. With the Ghost King hiding who knew where as well, he still wanted to retain as much of his strength as possible.

    Jing Teng suddenly clutched her head, seemingly in a bit of pain.

    Zu An was stunned, asking, ¡°Did you remember something again?¡±

    Jing Teng voiced her agreement. She looked at the monster and said, ¡°As long as thisva doesn¡¯t dry up, the Earthme Devil can revive indefinitely.¡±

    The others all frowned. Theva pool was around a kilometer wide, and who knew how deep it was? How could anyone make all of theva dry up?

    Jing Teng looked toward the depths of theva and said, ¡°Thisva exists due to a special Soulburn Firecrystal. The reason this monster is always here is because it desires the Soulburn Firecrystal¡¯s energy. It can continue to evolve at the crystal¡¯s side, thus bing stronger and stronger.¡±

    Zhao Han¡¯s eyes lit up. He remarked, ¡°A fire element treasure, the Soulburn Firecrystal? Judging from the sound of it, it seems to be deity-grade.¡±

    Such an item would be incredible for fire element cultivators. If they cultivated by its side, they would achieve twice the progress with half the effort. It was easy to see how amazing it was just from the fact that a monster this formidable remained at its side. Furthermore, apart from raising one¡¯s cultivation speed, it could even be used to refine some legendary pills and other special treasures.

    Even someone as powerful as Zhao Han had only found a small piece many years before after scouring the entire world. Thisva pool was sorge, the crystal was definitely muchrger than the one he had found.

    He thought of something and said, ¡°Zu An, let¡¯s work together here. You restrain the Earthme Devil while I enter theva to look for the Soulburn Firecrystal. Only then can we fully kill this monster.¡±

    Such an item was something he wouldn¡¯t mind having more of, let alone the fact that he had already used up the other piece long ago.

    Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°This Earthme Devil is too strong. I can¡¯t hold it back at all. I might die from just a p. I have to ask your majesty to hold it back while I search for it.¡±

    Zhao Han said with a smile, ¡°I know this kind of treasure would tempt anyone, but you should understand your own limitations. Can you endure the raging fire elemental power of this denseva? You might end up disfiguring yourself and leave your sweethearts brokenhearted.¡±

    He knew this brat Zu An¡¯s strength was a bit special. Even though he likely wouldn¡¯t be able to win against this Earthme Devil, he would probably be able to hold it back for a while. Zhao Han could even potentially learn a bit more about Zu An¡¯s trump cards that way.

    Sure enough, Qiu Honglei looked at Zu An worriedly, and even Jing Teng was getting nervous. There were probably not many people who could enter such terrifyingva and survive.

    ¡°It should be fine. If I¡¯m unable to, it won¡¯t be toote for your majesty to go then,¡± Zu An said with unexpected calm.

    ¡°That¡¯s fine too,¡± Zhao Han said, not trying to persuade him further. Even he had almost been burned alive earlier, so how could this brat possibly seed? He¡¯d just wait for Zu An to make a fool of himself first and go in after.

    The Earthme Devil roared in anger, clearly unhappy with being beaten to death two times in a row. Even though it could revive, the pain it felt while being beaten up was real. It brandished the long whips of fire at those ashore again. Even though it couldn''t kill that yellow-robed bastard, for better or for worse, it could at least kill those other humans to vent out some anger.

    Zhao Han snorted and said, ¡°This emperor will not tolerate your viciousness.¡±

    He needed these people¡¯s help, so he naturally didn¡¯t want anything to happen to them. A golden giant appeared above his hand and grabbed the fire whips. Then, both sides quickly tangled around each other. Zu An took the chance to dive straight into theva.

    Qiu Honglei and Jing Teng were both extremely nervous. They didn¡¯t even dare to blink as they prepared to rescue Zu An at a moment¡¯s notice.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    When it saw that, the Earthme Devil didn¡¯t care at all. It thought,What an ignorant human. The terrifying temperature will instantly burn your flesh to nothing, and not even your bones will remain! All of it will be nourishment for theva.

    Zhao Han silently observed the situation. On one hand, he hated Zu An to the bone, but he didn¡¯t want him to die so early either. He still needed his help to defeat the Ghost King.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, after Zu An dove into the terrifyingva, it quickly surrounded him. He discovered that his ki armor couldn''t resist it at all. However, he was already prepared. The fire pendant released a sliver of gentle force, neutralizing the terrifying power of theva around him.

    It was something Big Manman had given him in the past. She had been scared that he would be injured by her special mes, so she gave him the keepsake she always had on her. Not only would it bring him immunity against the ck mes, it would also bring him powerful resistance against other mes. However, theva wasn¡¯t Pei Mianman¡¯s ck mes, so the pendant couldn''t bring himplete immunity.

    Even so, that was already enough. A special fire suddenly surged from within him and vaguely took the shape of a phoenix. Phoenix fire was the king of mes to begin with; now, the weakenedva naturally couldn''t harm him anymore.

    Zu An sighed in relief. He had another contingency, which was the White Lotus me he had obtained before. With those threeyers of defense, he naturally didn¡¯t have to fear the terrifyingva.

    When Qiu Honglei saw nothing even after a while after Zu An jumped in, she became so nervous she paced back and forth in agitation. She asked, ¡°Miss Jing, do you think Ah Zu will be okay?¡±

    ¡°Young master Zu has always been steady and reliable. He definitely wouldn¡¯t do something he doesn¡¯t have confidence in. Please feel at ease,¡± Jing Teng replied, but despite that, her palms were covered in sweat.

    A whileter, the Earthme Devil was already howling in rage from Zhao Han¡¯s beatings. Lava fell from its body like a rain of fire.

    However, the two women didn¡¯t care about the danger and stared at theva pool instead. All kinds of bubbles rose and popped. It was no different from before at all. There was no sign of anyoneing out!

    Now, even Zhao Han was having second thoughts. That brat hadn¡¯t really ended up killing himself after trying to show off, right? He thought,I still have a use for that petty life of his. He can¡¯t die here.Then, he extended arge hand and prepared to scoop Zu An out of theva.

    Suddenly, however, a figure rushed out from within with a mischievous smile. Who else could it be but Zu An?

    ¡°Ah Zu (young master)!¡± Qiu Honglei and Jing Teng both cried out in surprise. Both of them had big smiles when they saw hime out safely.

    Zhao Han was shocked. Not even a single strand of hair had been touched on Zu An¡¯s body!Even I wouldn¡¯t necessarily be able to aplish that; just how did he do it?

    Then, his gaze shifted to Zu An¡¯s hands, where he saw a fiery red oval crystal. It was sparkling and translucent, and there was even ayer of divine brilliance swirling across its surface. It was the Soulburn Firecrystal!

    When the crystal was fished out, theva pool no longer continued to burn like before and visibly cooled. The Earthme Devil saw that and released a great roar. It no longer cared about Zhao Han¡¯s attacks and instead went straight for Zu An, thinking,How is this possible? Is this guy truly just a human?

    You have sessfully trolled the Earthme Devil for +555 +555 +555¡­

    Zhao Hanughed. How could he give it such an opportunity? He hadn¡¯tnded the finishing blow earlier, knowing that it could revive if he did. But now¡­

    Several golden figures flew through the Earthme Devil¡¯s body, causing it to stiffen. When it looked down, it saw severalrge holes in itself. Just then, a streak of golden light sted through its head. Its body could no longer hold on and came crashing down. When itnded on the meltedva, it didn¡¯t revive like before, and instead scattered into endless mes that were sucked into the Soulburn Firecrystal in Zu An¡¯s hands.

    Zhao Han¡¯s figure flickered, and he instantly appeared in front of Zu An. He stared at the Soulburn Firecrystal. So it turned out that Earthme Devil had been born from it! That meant the crystal¡¯s value was immeasurable.

    Zu An put the Soulburn Firecrystal away and said, ¡°Your majesty has riches from sea to sea. You won¡¯t fight with me over a rock like this, right?¡±

 Chapter 1797: Tomb Inside the Tomb

    Chapter 1797: Tomb Inside the Tomb

    Qiu Honglei and Jing Teng reflexively stood at Zu An¡¯s side, vignt against any sudden moves from Zhao Han.

    Zhao Han¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly. However, after sizing up Zu An for a moment, he said with a smile, ¡°Why would this emperor care about the items of a junior? Besides, we already have an alliance between us.¡±

    The Soulburn Firecrystal was extremely precious, but it wasn¡¯t an essential item for him now. For Zhao Han, with the immortal opportunity up ahead, he could let anything else go for now.

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°Your majesty is magnanimous, as expected¡­¡±

    Upon hearing the praise, Zhao Han¡¯s expression improved considerably. He looked at Jing Teng and asked, ¡°Miss Jing, how far are we from that ce you spoke of now?¡±

    ¡°It isn¡¯t that far anymore,¡± Jing Teng said, her pretty brows furrowing slightly. It was difficult to tell what she was thinking.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s seize the moment. It¡¯ll be bad if the Ghost King gets there first,¡± Zhao Han said as he looked at the remains of theke.

    The once boiling-hotva had already more or less cooled into ck stone. Even though there was still some smoke emanating from it, with their group¡¯s cultivation, it wasn¡¯t much of a problem. Only Jing Teng was a bit troubled. She hadn¡¯t recovered her strength yet and couldn''t fly.

    Zu An was the first to suggest, ¡°How about I carry you over?¡±

    Jing Teng blushed, but she still nodded and said, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll be troubling you.¡±

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s brows twitched. She squeezed her way between them and said, ¡°I think I should do it. It¡¯ll be more convenient.¡±

    Zu An shook his head and didn¡¯t step aside, replying, ¡°It¡¯ll be hard for you to carry someone. We need to preserve our stamina right now, so I should do it.¡± He didn¡¯t wait for her reaction, and just wrapped his arm around Jing Teng¡¯s waist with one arm and held her hand with the other as they flew over.

    Qiu Honglei was stunned.

    Why do I feel as if I¡¯m watching a happy couple right now?!

    She instinctively felt anger, but she quickly calmed down.

    Even though Ah Zu is a bit perverted, he wouldn¡¯t normally be in such a rush. He definitely has a reason for acting that way.

    But even though she had guessed a few things, she still felt really annoyed when she saw JIng Teng lean intimately against her lover¡¯s chest.

    Does this woman have no tact at all?!

    You have sessfully trolled Qiu Honglei for +288 +288 +288¡­

    When he saw that Qiu Honglei was about to explode from anger, Zhao Han suddenly felt a bit refreshed.

    Young people will be young people. Do you think having girls on all sides is that easy?

    Even this emperor¡¯s harem fights constantly against each other. Those women look gentle and weak on the surface, but they¡¯re actually each more vicious and treacherous than the next. This brat will definitely have his fair share of suffering in the future!N?v(el)B\\jnn

    What made Qiu Honglei feel a bit better was that after they crossed the region of hardenedva, the two naturally separated.

    ¡­

    The following path became more and moreplicated. There were forks everywhere, as if they had entered abyrinth. However, Jing Teng seemed to recognize the road and slowly walked forward. She didn¡¯t hesitate whenever she encountered a fork.

    Qiu Honglei thought, Don¡¯t tell me she¡¯s already recovered her memories? Still, she knew that Jing Teng wouldn¡¯t talk about it even if she asked, so she could only swallow her suspicions back down.

    Even though she was still a bit upset at him, she moved over to Zu An¡¯s side. There was something more important to deal with. She secretly asked him, ¡°Ah Zu, how are you going to deal with the emperorter?¡±

    Even though on the surface, it was all pleasant cooperation, hostilities would resume the instant the Ghost King was defeated. Zhao Han would have an absolute advantage then, and their own side would have no way of retaliating. Zhao Han could even betray them while they were fighting against the Ghost King. After all, Zhao Han had tossed both Xuan Bajing and Li Changsheng over to feed the Ghost King in order to protect himself. She didn¡¯t want to repeat that disaster.

    Zu An gently patted her hand and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I have a n.¡±

    Qiu Honglei was confused as to what kind of n he had and how he could still remain so calm. However, Zhao Han was nearby, so she couldn''t ask any further.

    Zhao Han chuckled, perhaps because he had heard their conversation. He didn¡¯t expose them, however; instead, he asked, ¡°Miss Jing, how many more creatures are there in this great tomb that are simr to that Earthme Devil?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know exactly. I only know that there are many monsters in this tomb,¡± Jing Teng said. She paused for a moment before continuing, ¡°Whether it¡¯s the Earthme Devil or the Death Reaper, they aren¡¯t actually the strongest in this great tomb. There are many terrifying beings sealed in the tomb¡¯s depths. In the past, even the immortal ruler felt a bit of apprehension toward them.¡±

    Zhao Han was now stunned. He hadn¡¯t expected the Earthme Devil to actually not even be that strongpared to others in this tomb! After all, that thing had even been able to threaten him to some extent. Didn¡¯t that mean he wouldn¡¯t necessarily be able to win against the monsters in the tomb¡¯s depths? He thought, That¡¯s impossible!

    Zu An asked in confusion, ¡°Does this great tomb have many floors?¡±

    Jing Teng replied with a nod, ¡°That¡¯s right. This great tomb looks massive on the surface, but the space inside is actually evenrger than that. It might even be connected to some special space. In the past, the immortal ruler also only explored the uppermost floors. He even felt threatened by whaty deeper down. Then, some things happened and he didn¡¯t have any time left to continue exploring.¡±

    The others were shocked. Immortal Ruler Baopu was an immortal publicly acknowledged by the world. Even that glorious immortal was apprehensive of whaty in the tomb¡¯s depths? Just what exactly was going on with this great tomb?

    Zhao Han was actually secretly d. He really had made the right choice ining with Zu An¡¯s group this time. Otherwise, if he hadn¡¯t known anything about that and just charged straight in, he likely would have suffered as a result. However, he was getting more and more excited. If this tomb was that mysterious and powerful, that meant the immortal opportunity could actually be real.

    Then, Jing Teng brought the group to a set of stairs and climbed down. They all clearly sensed that the stairs went down for quite a bit. When they recalled how she said that this tomb was divided into many floors, they wondered just which floor they were on now.

    Along the way, perhaps because of good luck, or perhaps it was because Jing Teng was leading them, they actually didn¡¯t run into any other monsters. At first, she responded to some of their questions, but after a while, she seemed to start brooding over something. When the others asked her questions, it was almost as if she didn¡¯t hear them, no longer even paying them any attention.

    Zu An couldn''t help but tug on her hand, asking, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Are you alright?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Jing Teng said, her face a bit pale. She forced a smile and continued, ¡°We¡¯re almost there.¡±

    The group noticed a downward-sloping path ahead, surrounded by walls.

    Zhao Han stirred, remarking, ¡°A tomb passage!¡±

    He was an emperor, and furthermore an emperor who was nearing the end of his lifespan, so he had naturally ordered the creation of an imperial tomb ording to the standard procedure. He was naturally quite aware of such burial sites. He hadn¡¯t expected that even though this entire ce was a great tomb, there would be another central tomb inside.

    ¡°The immortal ruler¡¯s remains should be inside,¡± Jing Teng said, pointing down. Their party vaguely saw a bronze gate at the end of the passage.

    Zhao Han was overjoyed. He was about to rush down, but he still stopped in the end. Since the other person was an immortal, there was no way he hadn¡¯t set up anything to protect himself. It was still safer to follow Jing Teng. He wondered just what kind of rtionship she had with that immortal ruler. Didn¡¯t she know a bit too much?

    Jing Teng didn¡¯t rush either as she walked straight toward the tomb¡¯s depths.

    Zu An asked out of concern, ¡°Didn¡¯t youe here to find your original body? Should we look for that first? Where is it?¡±

    Jing Teng shook her head and said, ¡°It¡¯s fine. Let¡¯s find the method to restrict the Ghost King first.¡±

    Zu An put away his puzzlement for the time being and became vignt towards his surroundings. Normally, tombs often had deadly traps, and this was the tomb of an immortal.

    However, surprisingly, there weren¡¯t any mechanisms at all. The group quickly arrived in front of the bronze gate. Zhao Han carefully examined it; he wanted to see if he could glean some information from its appearance and designs, but it was in and simple without any engravings. It looked just like normal bronze.

    Jing Teng stood in front of them. She raised her hand and was about to push, but she stopped midway. She seemed a bit conflicted.

    Qiu Honglei warned her, ¡°Be careful of any traps on this door.¡±

    Even though this woman is flirting with my man, that¡¯s just a personal grudge. Right now, everyone¡¯s safety is more important and we can¡¯t let any idents happen.

    Jing Teng shook her head slightly and reached out her hands to push forward.

    Ka ka ka¡­

    With a strained noise, the heavy bronze gates actually slowly opened just like that.

    Zu An and the others were a bit confused. Why hadn¡¯t Immortal Ruler Baopu locked the door to his own tomb?

    Zhao Han also became guarded. The more normal things seemed, the more likely it was for there to be danger.

    Jing Teng seemed unconcerned about any dangers and just walked straight in. However, the others couldn¡¯t help but tense up as they entered.

    Inside was a spacious area. The great tomb was quite dark to begin with, but there were traces of gentle starlight scattering down from above them.

    Qiu Honglei was the most sensitive to light and pointed up, eximing, ¡°Ah Zu, look at that!¡±

    Zu An looked up, and couldn''t help but be stupefied. It wasn¡¯t a pitch-ck ceiling above them, nor were there any murals. Instead, it was a whole sky with a multitude of stars. He could vaguely make out some special constetions that seemed to resemble the azure dragon, white tiger, vermilion bird, and ck tortoise. The other stars were all surrounding it.

    Meanwhile, the four great constetions were all surrounding and protecting one position at the very center. The star there was the brightest. Right beneath that star rested a giant bronze coffin.

 Chapter 1798: Immortal Ruler Remains

    Chapter 1798: Immortal Ruler Remains

    Zu An was a bit surprised. He had studied ¡®One Drop of Heaven¡¯s Essence¡¯ before and knew that most emperors particrly valued the mountain form. And yet, the owner here had actually used constetions? This was on an entirely new level! He wondered just how that starry sky had been created. It was as if he were in the middle of a science fiction scene.

    Zhao Han¡¯s attention quickly shifted to the bronze coffin. His many years of experience told him that the owner of a tomb would often bury their own most precious items with them in their own coffin.

    Qiu Honglei looked around and said, ¡°Something¡¯s strange. There aren¡¯t any burial goods nearby at all.¡±

    Normally, tombs often contained items that the owner had used in life, as well as many other burial goods. But apart from the coffin, there wasn¡¯t a single burial object. It was cleaner than a tomb robbed repeatedly by tomb raiders¡­ At the very least, tomb raiders would leave behind things they didn¡¯t want. Qiu Honglei even began to wonder if the door wasn¡¯t locked because someone else had alreadye here first and cleaned the entire room out.

    Jing Teng replied, ¡°The immortal ruler didn¡¯t really die; this is merely where his mortal remains are. That¡¯s why it isn¡¯t too surprising for there to not be any burial objects.¡±

    Zu An was a bit confused. What are the mortal remains she¡¯s talking about? A corpse?

    But the people of the world had clearly seen Immortal Ruler Baopu ascend to immortality! Could it be that his flesh had died while his soul ascended?

    Zhao Han was also considering the same issue. Could it be that his previous thoughts were wrong?

    The flesh needs to be nourished by food of this world and definitely can¡¯t ascend. That¡¯s why you have to focus on the soul¡­

    When he then thought about the power of a primordial spirit, a trace of inspiration shed through his mind. No wonder no one had ascended to immortality in several millennia! All of them had focused on ascending with both flesh and soul, but in reality, the flesh could never ascend to begin with. He was greatly stirred. He felt as if he had touched upon some crucial doorstep.

    But the flesh was the vessel for the spirit, what protected the soul. Without the flesh, no matter how powerful the primordial spirit was, how could it continue to exist?

    He had too many questions he didn¡¯t have answers to. However, he didn¡¯t lose his wits enough to rush over and open the coffin. How could an immortal¡¯s possessions not have any protection around them?

    Jing Teng didn¡¯t have such misgivings, and walked right up to the giant coffin. She pushed the lid open in a single go.

    The others were speechless. Wasn¡¯t this woman just a bit too fearless? They felt worried for her sake, but surprisingly, nothing bad happened.

    The group quickly walked over. There was none of the foul stench that normal coffins had; rather, they smelled a faint medicinal fragrance. Inside was a ring of assorted goods. What calmly rested at the center was an even smaller copper coffin.

    It turned out that therge coffin had an outer and inneryer. What they had seen was actually just the outer coffin, and the space within was filled with all sorts of containers. These were the things that the tomb¡¯s master had used in life. But no matter how they inspected the items, they were just things used in daily life.

    There were some weapons and other things in another corner. They could tell that there were many high quality goods, but Zu An and Zhao Han both had deity-grade weapons. The weapons looked sharp, but they weren¡¯t even heaven-grade; they were just a pile of earth-grade weapons. For ordinary people, they would be precious, but for the people here, they weren¡¯t that moving.

    Zu An was even a bit doubtful. This was a glorious immortal ruler. Why were the weapons he had used so¡­ ordinary?

    Suddenly, Zhao Han¡¯s hands moved swiftly. With a wave of his hand, a small pill furnace entered his hands. The sound of spinning was audible from inside, clearly caused by some kind of pill.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°I gave you all the precious Soulburn Firecrystal earlier, so it isn¡¯t going too far for me to take this, right?¡± Zhao Han remarked, his divine sense already entering the pill furnace. There were three pills inside, and every single one gave off a rich fragrance. Even those small injuries to his soul he had suffered in his battle with Ghost King received some nourishment, so these pills were definitely extraordinary.

    Furthermore, the medicinal fragrance that filled the entire coffin came from this pill furnace. How could medicine that was buried with an immortal be nothing special? It could even be the legendary immortal elixir!

    When he thought about how he could potentially be immortal, Zhao Han¡¯s skin twitched a bit. He almost couldn''t hide the joy he was feeling. He had kept a low profile all this time, but now that the end of his lifespan was approaching and he had finally obtained a chance at eternal life, how could he not be excited?

    However, with the way things were, he couldn''t eat it immediately either. In the future, he would find a secluded ce to slowly digest it.

    Zu An said with a frown, ¡°I heard that there was more than one pill in that furnace. Can¡¯t you take just one of them? Divide the rest of them with us.¡±

    He actually didn¡¯t believe the pills were all that precious. If it continued to release that fragrance, after so many years, the medicinal properties should already have mostly disappeared. Of course, more importantly, Jing Teng had given him a look earlier, indicating that these pills weren¡¯t any legendary immortal pills.

    The reason Zhao Han was so worked up was because he was a bit emotional at the moment. He cared too much about the immortal elixir and wouldn¡¯t let even the slightest possibility go.

    ¡°You¡¯re all still young, so this pill won¡¯t have much effect. There are still plenty of opportunities awaiting you. Furthermore, strictly speaking, these pills might not even be as precious as the Soulburn Firecrystal,¡± Zhao Han said. There was naturally no way he would give them up.

    ¡°In that case, why don¡¯t we trade?¡± Zu An asked with a sneer.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to go so far as to trade.¡± Zhao Han sneered. ¡°How about I let you all have your pick of the next treasure?¡±

    Either way, even if there was anything especially great, he could just steal it then. He would just give them a bit of lip-service for the time being.

    Only then did Zu An let it pass. Either way, it was all a bluff anyway. The pills weren¡¯t all that useful, so it was good enough to exchange them for a promise from Zhao Han. Even though he knew that for something really precious, Zhao Han definitely won¡¯t step aside, if they encountered something else like the Soulburn Firecrystal that Zhao Han wasn¡¯t in too much of a hurry to get, they wouldn¡¯t immediately be hostile.

    ¡­

    The group then turned their attention to the coffin at the center. Jing Teng reached out her hand.

    Qiu Honglei couldn''t help but swallow anxiously, asking, ¡°Is it okay to disturb his rest like that?¡±

    Even Zhao Han became vignt. It was one thing if there were no traps outside, but this coffin was already the most important thing, so how could it not have any restrictions? Was Immortal Ruler Baopu really not worried that his corpse would be defiled byter generations?

    Jing Teng shook her head and said, ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡±

    After saying this, she pushed open the lid. The others vaguely saw a trace of fiery light. They were all stunned. Why was there fire inside a coffin?

    As the coffin slowly opened, however, they finally saw what the light was. There was an ember calmly floating at the head of the coffin. They could vaguely make out a small wick at the center of the me. However, there was nontern, nor was there any fuel such as wax. The coffin should have beenpletely sealed, so there couldn¡¯t have been much oxygen either. And yet, the ember seemed to be ever-burning.

    Zu An thought to himself, Newton is about to roll in his grave! Even though he knew that this world of cultivation had all sorts of bizarre things and couldn''t bepletely exined by his previous world¡¯s science, the sight before him was a bit too ridiculous.

    Qiu Honglei was startled. She was a light element cultivator and used the Empress Lantern. The mysterious ember strangely called out to her, as if it were something extremely important to her.

    Jing Teng had alreadypletely moved aside the cover. The ember released strands of gentle light, clearly illuminating the inside of the coffin.

    An eldery calmly inside, a seven-star crown on his head. He was dressed in white daoist robes. Even though his eyes were closed, there was still a mystical and aloof air about him. His skin was still rosy and smooth. He wasn¡¯t like a corpse at all; instead, he was more like a sleeping person.

    Even Zhao Han took a step back. This person had an incredible reputation, so even though he was still a bit excited, after seeing how strong the Ghost King was, and having someone even stronger than the Ghost King in front of him, there was no way he wouldn¡¯t be nervous.

    Jing Teng was in a daze as she looked at the daoist in the coffin. She even seemed to look a bit lost.

    Zhao Han quickly asked, ¡°This is Immortal Ruler Baopu?¡±

    That was what he cared about the most, because it was rted to his immortal opportunity. He found it a bit strange. Even though this daoist looked quite extraordinary, he didn¡¯t sense the terrifying pressure he had been expecting.

    ¡°It should be¡­¡± Jing Teng replied absent-mindedly.

    ¡°If it is, it is. If it isn¡¯t, it isn¡¯t. What do you mean, should?¡± Zhao Han asked, dissatisfied. Why was she being so vague with such an important question?

    Zu An frowned. Jing Teng was clearly notpletely herself right now, and yet Zhao Han was still interrogating her like this. Knowing that being so forceful probably wouldn¡¯t work, he suddenly thought of something. He noticed that there was a snow-white porcin bottle at the daoist¡¯s side and that it had to be something special, so he reached his hand out.

    Sure enough, Zhao Han¡¯s attention shifted. He stared right at the bottle. When Zu An opened it, he saw a milky liquid inside. It looked extremely viscous, as if it were liquid jade.

    ¡°Agate of Enlightenment! It¡¯s actually Agate of Enlightenment!¡± Mi Li suddenly eximed excitedly.

 Chapter 1799: Methods Left Behind

    <h4>Chapter 1799: Methods Left Behind</h4>

    ¡°What? Agate of Enlightenment?!¡± Zu An eximed in his mind. He had only picked it up to draw Zhao Han¡¯s attention. How could he have known that it was that thing?

    After all, it was one of the ingredients Mi Li said she needed to reconstruct her body. So far, he had only found enough of the Five-Colored Springflower. Even though he had found some Agate of Enlightenment in the Fiend races¡¯ treasury, it was the main material for reconstructing the body.

    There were some who liked to praise beauties by saying that their skin was as fine as jade, but if Mi Li really came back to life, that would actually be the case. A human body wasn¡¯t thatrge, but it wasn¡¯t that small either. That was why they needed more than just a bit. The amount he had obtained back in the treasury was only enough to create a loli.

    Even though that would be quite the interesting sight too, Mi Li definitely wouldn¡¯t be happy. Perhaps it wouldn¡¯t even be enough after adding this bottle. She¡¯d definitely be unhappy if they ended uprgely discounting her chest.

    He had just casually grabbed it before, but now that he knew it was the Agate of Enlightenment, he had to get it no matter what.

    However, Zhao Han had already seen his movements and taken a look. How powerful was his divine will? He instantly noticed the contents of the bottle. ¡°Hm? It seems to be jade, but I¡¯ve never seen it in this state. It seems to be releasing endless spiritual energy, so it¡¯s definitely extremely precious¡­¡±

    Zu An immediately interrupted him. ¡°Your majesty, we already agreed that you¡¯d give us the first pick. You already obtained the immortal pill, so you won¡¯t act up so quickly, right? There¡¯s no way, obviously.¡±

    Zhao Han narrowed his eyes. He hadn¡¯t expected the g he had set up himself toe into effect so quickly. After some hesitation, he didn¡¯t fight over it in the end. It wasn¡¯t time for them to grow hostile yet. Furthermore, even though the jade was precious, it wasn¡¯t all that useful for him.

    However, that was only because he didn¡¯t know much about the Agate of Enlightenment. Otherwise, he definitely wouldn¡¯t have stepped aside so easily.

    <i>But why is this brat¡¯s tone so irritating?</i>

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Zhao Han for +110 +110 +110¡­</strong>

    Zu An put the Agate of Enlightenment into the Brilliant ss Bead, then secretly said to Mi Li, ¡°Master empress, I¡¯ve found another portion of Agate of Enlightenment so quickly! I¡¯ll be able to recreate your body soon.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I didn¡¯t expect it to be so soon,¡± Mi Li said, her voice trembling a bit. This rate of progress was clearly outside of her expectations. At first, she had been worried that there wouldn¡¯t be any hope at all in this lifetime, and yet in just a few years, they had found two of the materials! The only thing was that her body could be forced to shrink a bit.

    ¡°Haven¡¯t you suddenly discovered that you didn¡¯t follow the wrong person?¡± Zu An remarked, smiling proudly.

    ¡°Hmph, who¡¯s following whom here? I¡¯m your master, you cheeky brat,¡± Mi Li said. However, When she thought about the Agate of Enlightenment, her mood was really good and she didn¡¯t get angry. ¡°That me inside the coffin is pretty special. I don¡¯t know anything about it either, but it should be quite helpful for Qiu Honglei. You have to help her obtain it.¡±

    Zu An was stunned, asking, ¡°You¡¯re actually thinking about other women?¡±

    Mi Li said proudly, ¡°But of course. I am your master, and these women will be my disciple¡¯s wives and need to treat me with utmost respect. Of course I need to treat them well.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. However, he had already thought of that even without Mi Li telling him anything. As such, he said, ¡°I¡¯ve already chosen this item, but Honglei, you haven¡¯t picked one yet. How about you just take that me?¡±

    Qiu Honglei was inwardly happy. She actually really wanted that me, so her hands formed a seal to try and take it.

    Zhao Han raised his brows. He was about to say something when Zu An said first, ¡°Your majesty already said that we¡¯d be allowed to choose first. I just chose one, so it¡¯s their turn. Your majesty¡¯s words are more precious than jade and gold, and your generosity knows no bounds. Hey, why aren¡¯t you thanking his majesty yet?¡±

    Qiu Honglei was also sharp. She smiled and said, ¡°Thank you, your majesty.¡±

    Zhao Han¡¯s face twitched. He hadn¡¯t expected the Devil Sect¡¯s Saintess to actually thank him one day. But why couldn''t he bring himself to feel happy at all?

    He looked at Jing Teng with a scowl. Only then did he say, ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. Once we find another treasure, this emperor will choose first again.¡±

    He didn¡¯t know Zu An¡¯s hidden cards and still needed his help in defeating the Ghost King. At the same time, however, Jing Teng was too mysterious. She had an extremely close rtionship with the great tomb and Immortal Ruler Baopu. They still hadn¡¯t encountered the immortal opportunity, so it was best to not offend them for now.

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°But of course.¡±

    Qiu Honglei was rmed, thinking, <i>What if the next thing is the immortal opportunity or a method of immortality? Why isn¡¯t Ah Zu worried at all?</i>

    However, when she recalled what he said earlier, she still calmed herself down and continued to collect the me. As the Devil Sect¡¯s Saintess, she didn¡¯tck inheritances or secret methods. Unfortunately, no matter what she did, she just couldn''t make the fire her own. She was starting to sweat from anxiety. Zu An wasn¡¯t as experienced as her in that field, so he couldn''t help her even if he wanted to.

    Mi Li suddenly said, ¡°Tell her to use that Empress Lantern.¡±

    They called it the Empress Lantern, but it was actually just an imitation from the Devil Sect. It was far from the one Yun Jianyue had. Still, Zu An quickly reminded Qiu Honglei, whose eyes lit up. She took out the replica Empress Lantern. When the me saw thentern, it immediately brightened a bit and jumped straight in.

    Thentern¡¯s ember immediately became much brighter, as if it were trying to chase away the invader. The two began to struggle; the others now noticed that it wasn¡¯t an ember at all, but rather a wick.

    Eventually, the new wick tangled around the original one like a snake. The intense fighting gradually calmed down, and the two wicks merged into a new one.

    Zu An had a strange expression as he thought, <i>Are there male and female wicks? Did they join together somehow?</i>

    Qiu Honglei didn¡¯t pay attention to that stuff. She could clearly sense her own Empress Lantern bing stronger. It was giving off a hint of aura that even she didn¡¯t understand. Since it had just merged together, perhaps because it still needed some time to stabilize, she wasn¡¯t too sure what kind of ability it had yet. However, after using it for so many years, she knew for certain that thentern had be stronger.

    Even Zhao Han was bing a bit moved when he saw that. If not for the fact that what he really cared about was the immortal opportunity, he likely would have already tried to steal it. The wick was clearly quite magical. If he got his hands on it and properly refined it, he could even have a chance of creating another divine weapon.

    Qiu Honglei fondled her Empress Lantern lovingly while Zu An walked over to Jing Teng¡¯s side and said, ¡°Miss Jing, you should pick one too.¡± He figured it would be a good idea to get as many items as he could while Zhao Han was still trapped by his earlier words.

    However, Jing Teng shook her head and said, ¡°There¡¯s no need.¡± n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Forget about Zu An, even Zhao Han was a bit puzzled. Why did this woman look as if she didn¡¯t care about any of the treasures here? Could it be that what she wanted was that immortal opportunity?

    Zhao Han immediately grew nervous and walked over to her side, saying, ¡°Miss Jing, Immortal Ruler Baopu¡¯s corpse is right here. Did he truly ascend to immortality?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on with these remains either,¡± Jing Teng replied.

    Zhao Han frowned and asked, ¡°In that case, does he have any inheritances or¡­ immortal opportunities that he left behind?¡±

    When she heard the words ¡®immortal opportunity¡¯, even Qiu Honglei paid closer attention.

    Mi Li said to Zu An, ¡°Look, another person driven mad by the thought of immortality. Emperors are all the same no matter which generation. As soon as they¡¯re about to die, they all be freaks over that.¡±

    Zu An said with a frown, ¡°I¡¯m actually a bit confused about something. There are many warriors who don¡¯t fear death, and all those who be emperors are outstanding warriors. Why do they always suddenly be even worse than ordinary ruffians?¡±

    ¡°Are the lives of ordinary people the same as those of emperors? Normal people live difficult lives, so they don¡¯t cherish life even if they end up giving it up for things others might not believe are worth it. But emperors grasp the greatest authority in the world. A single word can control the lives of countless people. How could they be willing to give up on that kind of life?¡± Mi Li remarked with a sneer.

    Zu An suddenly felt as if he understood a bit. In his previous world, the leaders and bosses all praised 996 as a karmic blessing. They all boasted about how long they worked and how they had toe into the office all the same. But did the bosses really experience the same things as ordinary workers?

    ¡°That¡¯s why Qin Shihuang sent out so many people in search of the immortal medicine even though he knew fully well that most of those were fake, and did it happily,¡± Mi Li said. She suddenly added, ¡°I recovered some memories not too long ago. Actually, my rtionship with Ying Zheng wasn¡¯t what you might be thinking. We weren¡¯t close¡­¡± She tried to say something but then hesitated, as if she didn¡¯t know how to describe it.

    Zu An was stunned; he had never expected her to suddenly talk about that.

    He was about to ask her about it when Jing Teng suddenly replied, ¡°Since it¡¯s called an immortal opportunity, it naturally belongs to those who are destined for it. If I knew about something like that, I would already have ascended back then. Why would I have waited all the way until now?¡±

    Zhao Han frowned. Even though he wasn¡¯t quite satisfied with the answer, he knew that what she said made some sense. He thought, <i>Hmph, since this emperor is here, the timing is definitely meant for me. Even if it isn¡¯t, I¡¯ll just steal it from the real inheritor then.</i>

    He became much more certain afterward. Then, he asked another question he had been concerned about. ¡°Right, thedy said earlier that you had a way of dealing with the Ghost King. Since we¡¯ve already arrived in front of the immortal ruler¡¯s tomb, just what was it?¡±

    Jing Teng shook her head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I just feel that there¡¯s something that can deal with the Ghost King here. But as for exactly what it is, I don¡¯t know.¡±

    Zhao Han frowned. Even though he had the Human Emperor Seal protecting him and it wasn¡¯t that difficult for him to ensure his own safety, he really didn¡¯t feel all that at ease with someone so terrifying and powerful constantly eyeing him covetously. If he couldn''t figure out the way to deal with the Ghost King, the immortal opportunity could end up being lost.

    Zu An walked over and stood protectively in front of Jing Teng, saying, ¡°I¡¯m sure the immortal ruler left behind some other methods. Let¡¯s try to find them.¡±

    Jing Teng felt warm from his concern. She gave him a faint smile, her face slightly pale.

    ¡­

    Then, thee group looked around the coffin. Even though there were still some more treasures, none of it couldpare to the Agate of Enlightenment and the strange wick. They just couldn''t figure out what exactly could defeat the Ghost King.

    In the end, their gazes allnded on the immortal ruler¡¯s remains. If there really was something, it would most likely be on his body, right?

    1. 996 refers to working from 9am to 9pm, 6 days a week.

 Chapter 1800: Unexpected Visitor

    <h4>Chapter 1800: Unexpected Visitor</h4>

    At first, they had been worried, since he was the immortal ruler. But now, even though there were still all sorts of treasures inside the coffin, they still wanted to avoid touching his body to prevent offending him. Even though they knew that he was already dead, he still had his reputation of being an immortal. They couldn''t help but feel a bit guilty. However, they had already looked everywhere else. It was just the immortal ruler¡¯s remains left.

    Zhao Han was a bit moved. After all, in his opinion, if there were any immortal opportunities or paths to eternal life in this tomb, they had the highest chance of being on the immortal ruler¡¯s remains. Yet when he recalled how Jing Teng mentioned that the opportunity belonged to the one destined for it, he then felt as if he couldn¡¯t force it.

    Inheritances left by powerful ancestors often had some tests and trials behind them. Rather than a test of aptitude, one¡¯s temperament was more important.

    In the past, he had heard that there were some who had to kowtow a thousand times in front of a statue to express their sincerity, and only then would they be able to obtain an inheritance. There were others who had needed to first give the corpse of the ancestor a proper burial, and only then would they not be poisoned to death by a fake manual or something like that.

    If he were the one leaving behind his inheritance, he would definitely set up many traps. At the very least, he wouldn¡¯t let anyone disrespectful approach his corpse. That was why he didn¡¯t dare to act immediately.

    Jing Teng reached out her hand and reached into Immortal Ruler Baopu¡¯s clothes. Zu An was shocked and hurriedly warned her to be careful of any traps. Jing Teng smiled when she sensed his concern, and gave him a smile to show that it was okay. She then said, ¡°It¡¯s fine; the immortal ruler recognizes me. He wouldn¡¯t make things difficult for me if he knew I was the one doing this.¡±

    Zu An thought, <i>But he¡¯s already dead, so he might not know that it¡¯s you¡­</i> Even so, Jing Teng was firm in her decision, so he couldn''t really say anything else.

    Zhao Han was a bit pleasantly surprised. He had been feeling frustrated that there was no way of touching the immortal ruler¡¯s remains, and yet this woman happily volunteered for the role.

    Under the others¡¯ gazes, Jing Teng examined the remains. In the end, she said with a frown, ¡°Hm¡­ There doesn¡¯t seem to be anything.¡±

    Zhao Han couldn''t hide the disappointment on his face. At the same time, he observed Jing Teng carefully to see if she was lying. Even though his divine will followed her movements and didn¡¯t notice anything either, the immortal ruler could have some methods that were able to escape his detection.

    Zu An sighed in relief and said, ¡°If there¡¯s nothing, then forget it. We¡¯ll look in other ces.¡±

    Jing Teng shook her head and said, ¡°This shouldn¡¯t be. I clearly remembered that the immortal ruler left something behind here. Why can¡¯t we find it?¡±

    Zu An thought of something and asked, ¡°Could it be that we have to satisfy some kind of condition for it to appear?¡±

    Jing Teng was stunned and replied, ¡°That could be the case.¡± Then, she thought about the immortal ruler¡¯s nature to try to guess what kind of condition he would leave behind.

    Zhao Han suggested quietly, ¡°Could it be that we have to respectfully kowtow a few times?¡± When he saw their strange looks, his face heated up and he continued, ¡°What I said is quitemon. As a glorious immortal, of course he would hope for those ofter generations to respect him. I¡¯ve even heard that there were some who had to kowtow a thousand times before the inheritance appeared.¡±

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°In that case, then how about giving it a try, your majesty?¡±

    Zhao Han was speechless, thinking, <i>What kind of joke is this? I am a glorious emperor, the most powerful being in thest hundred years, someone revered by countless people. How could I bow to another?</i>

    But in reality, if there were no one else here, perhaps he would just do it. After all, no one would know anyway. However, with these people here, how could he possibly be shameless enough to do that?

    Zu An feigned nonchnce as he said, ¡°Sigh, if we miss this chance, who knows when we¡¯ll encounter another immortal opportunity? But thankfully, we¡¯re still young and still have chances. Honglei, you don¡¯t have to take it to heart either.¡±

    Qiu Honglei knew that he was up to no good and forcibly endured her urge tough. She replied, ¡°That¡¯s right. Even if we can¡¯t find anything, we can just look elsewhere. Either way, we have time.¡±

    Zhao Han¡¯s skin twitched. Every single word was jabbing at his sore spot! The others were indeed still too young and still had a ton of time, but his heaven and man deterioration was approaching. If he wasn¡¯t mistaken, he only had a year or two left. He was already out of time.

    Zu An supported Jing Teng and sat down to the side. Jing Teng¡¯s face had been a bit pale for some time, and there was fine sweat covering her forehead. He was worried that something could be wrong with her and took her to one side to get some rest. He even took out some fresh water to give her.

    Qiu Honglei was pretty unhappy. As the Devil Sect¡¯s Saintess, when had she ever needed to constantly make a fuss over her lover like this? And if she did, wouldn¡¯t that just make Ah Zu think that she was the super jealous type?

    Actually, while feeling jealous the entire time, she was also starting to slowly remember something. In the past, she had learned charm skills in the sect, and then she had also learned many things from Brightmoon City¡¯s Immortal Abode too. And yet now, she had forgotten to use all of them! It was probably because she cared too much about Ah Zu that her mind had be such a mess.

    Even so, she had always been an extremely smart woman. She quickly gathered her thoughts and treated this as a proper battle. Not only could she not show the slightest bit of jealousy, she had to act really understanding. Only then would Ah Zu like her more, and even feel that he was letting her down.

    <i>Hmph, forget about Jing Teng, not even Chu Chuyan and the others added together are a match for me. Devil Sect Saintess isn¡¯t just an empty title!</i>

    When she realized all that, a mysterious smile couldn''t help but appear on her lips.

    ¡°Little sister Jing, I have some nourishing medicines from my sect that might be of use to you,¡± she said, taking out a pill and handing it over. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it isn¡¯t poisonous.¡±

    When she saw the sincerity in Qiu Honglei¡¯s eyes, Jing Teng was a bit surprised at the attitude shift. She felt a bit guilty as well. <i>Just what was I doing before, getting all petty over nothing?</i>

    ¡°Thank you, Miss Qiu. But pills aren¡¯t too useful for my current condition,¡± she replied. After a pause, she asked in embarrassment, ¡°If Miss Qiu really wishes to help me, can you release a bit of the light from earlier? That light makes me feel reallyfortable.¡±

    Qiu Honglei was stunned. <i>I was helping you so kindly, and yet you¡¯re really treating me as a lightbulb?!</i>

    In that instant, she almostpletely lost herposure. However, she quickly realized that this woman was really skilled too and that she had almost fallen for it. <i>Hmph, look at this girl acting all pure and innocent, and yet she¡¯s a master green tea bitch.</i>

    When she thought of that, she smiled sweetly and said, ¡°No problem. As long as it can help little sister.¡±

    After saying that, she used her skill. She was a light element cultivator with exceptional talent, so warm light quickly surrounded them.

    An intoxicated smile appeared on Jing Teng¡¯s face as she bathed in the light. She said, ¡°Thank you, Miss Qiu.¡±

    Qiu Honglei forced a smile. <i>This damn green tea bitch, she can¡¯t even call me big sister once. I even made sure to call her little sister a few times. Did she really not notice, or is she doing this on purpose?</i>

    When she saw how Jing Teng and Zu An were chatting with each other, and yet she could only hold a big ball of light to illuminate their smiles, Qiu Honglei felt that she really was being wronged.

    ¡°What senseless jealousy,¡± Zhao Han muttered as he walked over. He had already experienced so much that he immediately recognized the strange situation between the three of them. He just felt that it was all pointless.

    <i>Once they grow a bit older, they¡¯ll know just how childish they are. What love? What affection? It¡¯s all just smoke and clouds. Only unmatched power is the most important.</i>

    A resolute look appeared on his face when he thought of that. Then, he knelt down and kowtowed to the coffin.

    <i>Boom boom boom!</i>

    Zu An and the others had just been chatting at first. When they heard that, they jumped in fright and thought that there was an earthquake. However, When they turned around, they saw that Zhao Han was piously kowtowing to Immortal Ruler Baopu.

    Zu An and Qiu Honglei were speechless. Even Jing Teng was speechless.

    Qiu Honglei looked at Zu An with a smile. It was all this guy who had misled Zhao Han.

    Zu An had a strange look too. He had only said that nonchntly, but who would have thought that this guy would really do it? Unfortunately, there was no video recording in this world; otherwise, if he had taken a video and released it to the Great Zhou Dynasty, it would definitely create a huge scandal.

    Mi Li remarked mockingly, ¡°He really did go insane from his desire for immortality. The most powerful being of an era is actually willing to kowtow like this.¡±

    Zu An thought of something and took the chance to ask, ¡°Master empress, you¡¯re very experienced and knowledgeable. Do you know what¡¯s really going on with this Immortal Ruler Baopu? If he ascended, why is there a corpse here?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s so strange about that? Immortals are just people who are stronger, that¡¯s it. It¡¯s just their lives that are much longer than normal cultivators, allowing them to live for thousands to tens of thousands of years. In the eyes of normal cultivators, they might be immortal, but immortals themselves know that isn¡¯t true,¡± Mi Li replied.

    ¡°So is this really Immortal Ruler Baopu¡¯s corpse after he died?¡± Zu An asked, shocked. At first, they had all just suspected that this was only the immortal ruler¡¯s mortal body, and that his soul had ascended and didn¡¯t need it anymore. After all, none of them really knew what ascension was about and could only guess.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem like it. This corpse doesn¡¯t have the tremendous power an immortal¡¯s corpse would leave behind. If a real immortal body were here, the blood in your body would have exploded out of its vessels before you could evene this close,¡± Mi Li said skeptically. ¡°But this corpse does seem to hide a bit of power. That might very well be the hidden power Jing Teng spoke of.¡± N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°So that was what happened,¡± Zu An said with a nod. He suddenly thought of something. ¡°Wait, I remember that in the past, you mentioned that even someone as powerful as the first emperor Qin Shihuang, Ying Zheng, wasn¡¯t able to ascend to immortality. Then why do you know so much about immortals?¡±

    ¡°I¡­ I just deduced those things; am I not allowed to?¡± Mi Li said, suddenly a bit flustered. ¡°Did you forget that I was the administrator of the Great Qin Dynasty¡¯s library? I understand knowledge from all different realms, so it wasn¡¯t too difficult for me to reach that conclusion.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself that it made sense and didn¡¯t question her. He was about to ask her if she knew how to bring out the hidden power Immortal Ruler Baopu left behind.

    Suddenly, a sinisterugh filled the room, and a voice said, ¡°Hahaha, I was wondering what you all were doing, but you were just kowtowing here. You are a strong individual yourself, but aren¡¯t your knees too weak? Isn¡¯t it a bit toote to start praying to your deities and buddhas for help?¡±

    The whole group shivered. They turned around and saw a ck mist wrapped around countless skulls entering through the door. It quickly surrounded the entire room. Who else could it be but the Ghost King?

    At the same time, there were six grotesquely-shaped monsters with him, all giving off powerful auras simr to that of Hidden Dragon and Phoenix Chick. They had to be the remaining six great ghost generals.

    1. Lightbulb is ng for unwanted third guest.

 Chapter 1801: Sleeping Beauty

    Chapter 1801: Sleeping Beauty

    The whole group felt dejected. They hadn¡¯t expected the Ghost King to get here so quickly, and they still hadn¡¯t found the method to restrict him either.

    Zhao Han quickly got up off the ground. Even though he had gone through all kinds of dangerous and thrilling events, his face was still a bit hot. After all, being seen with his bottom in the air, kneeling to a dead person, by so many people and ghosts was a bit too embarrassing.

    A giant ghost face condensed in the sky once more. He stared at Immortal Ruler Baopu and couldn''t help but say with a sigh, ¡°Who would have thought that the immortal ruler of a generation could only lie here quietly after his death.¡±

    Jing Teng frowned and asked, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you dare to utter those same words when the immortal ruler was still alive?¡±

    The Ghost King sneered and said, ¡°The dead are dead. You will die too.¡± Deathly white rays of light instantly emerged from his eyes.

    Normally, in such situations, wasn¡¯t there supposed to be a bout with words first? Why had he suddenly attacked without any warning? Qiu Honglei and Jing Teng were standing side by side; the two rays of light would hit them both! It was so fast that the two of them couldn''t react at all!

    Just then, however, a figure blocked the rays. Zu An didn¡¯t have time to take the two of them with him and evade, so he could only brandish his sword at the iing light. Even though he dispersed most of the white rays, some of them stillnded on his body.

    He was about to use the Primordial Origin Sutra to heal his wounds, but he was stunned. He didn¡¯t actually feel anything off. However, he knew that the Ghost King would never unleash useless skills.

    Just then, Jing Teng cried out anxiously, ¡°Be careful! That¡¯s the Ghost King¡¯s re of Eternal Slumber!¡±

    As soon as he heard her words, Zu An felt a wave of drowsiness attack him. He couldn''t help but feel shocked. With his cultivation, even going without sleep for half a month wouldn¡¯t be a problem. Why did he suddenly feel such powerful drowsiness?

    When he heard the words ¡®re of Eternal Slumber¡¯, even though he had never heard of it before, he could more or less guess what kind of effect the skill had.

    When she saw Zu An¡¯s eyelids droop, as if he was about to fall asleep, Qiu Honglei was so nervous she almost cried. She and the other women always privatelyined that this guy always risked his life when chasing after women, and now that it had happened again, even though she had been saved, she couldn''t bring herself to feel happy at all.

    She quickly sent ki into Zu An¡¯s body to try and help him remain awake. Unfortunately, the ki she sent in seemed to instantly disappear into a vast ocean. It wasn¡¯t of any use at all.

    ¡°The valiant vanguard shall advance! The battle is to the north; the ck tortoise awaits its summons!¡± Jing Teng shouted, and a giant tortoise and snake projection surrounded the group. A secondter, another pair of deathly white rays appeared, but they were stopped by the ck tortoise.

    ¡°You¡¯re actually able to withstand my re of Eternal Slumber for that long?¡± the Ghost King remarked in surprise. But he quicklyughed and said, ¡°Even so, it¡¯s futile. In the end, you¡¯ll still fall asleep.¡±

    His subordinates Hidden Dragon and Phoenix Chick had both died under Zu An¡¯s hands, so he had a strong impression of his purification skills and felt that the youngster posed a certain degree of threat to him. That was why he had decided to get rid of Zu An first. However, he had seen how fast Zu An¡¯s instant movement ability was, and had been worried that he would be on guard if the rays didn¡¯t hit. That was why he had attacked the women to force Zu An to act.

    Either way, he had felt some reservations toward that Jing Teng woman too, and with that, he could kill two birds with one stone. In the end, the situation had ended up ying out exactly as he anticipated.

    Hmph, he¡¯s nothing more than a lewd fool. He was so easily dealt with!n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The only surprising thing was that Zu An hadn¡¯t immediately fallen asleep. This guy was a bit strange, as expected. After all, the re of Eternal Slumber the Ghost King had used this time wasn¡¯t the same as the one he had used on those pretty women before. That was nothing more than a casual attack done to appease a sacrifice. This time, he had used all of his strength, so its power was more than ten times greater!

    He was about to attack again when Zu An roared, ¡°Your majesty, are you just going to watch? If we die, you¡¯ll be finished as well!¡±

    Zhao Han snorted and replied, ¡°Why don¡¯t you take care of yourself first?!¡±

    Despite that, he still acted. He attacked the Ghost King, who was floating in the air. Previously, he had been caught off guard and almost had his soul sucked out by the Demonic Voice of the Ghost King. Now that he had the Human Emperor Seal protecting him, he didn¡¯t fear the opponent that much. It would be even easier for him to run away.

    However, he knew that this brat Zu An was full of secrets. He wanted to take the chance to expose some of his hidden cards. At the same time, that woman Jing Teng was full of secrets herself. They hadn¡¯t found the immortal opportunity yet either, so how could he be willing to leave just like that?

    Ghost King was also surprised that this man had taken the initiative to attack him. The two of them quickly shed once more, sending several terrifying st waves in all directions. However, the tomb didn¡¯t suffer any damage at all, due to some unfathomable aspect of its design. Instead, the power they released was absorbed.

    Even so, the Ghost King didn¡¯t have time to think about that in detail; he looked at Zhao Han in shock. This guy was much stronger than he had imagined! As long as the opponent didn¡¯t rashly send out his primordial spirit, he actually didn¡¯t have any way to win. After all, the Demonic Voice of the Ghost King could only absorb beings that were weaker than himself. This Zhao Han was incredibly powerful, and his soul and body¡¯s connection was extremely firm, so the Ghost King couldn''t suck his soul out at all.

    Helpless to do anything else, he could only order his six ghost generals, ¡°Kill them!¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± the six skeleton knights covered in ck smoke replied, then rushed at Zu An¡¯s group.

    At the moment, Zu An was afflicted with the re of Eternal Slumber, so he couldn''t use the terrifying purification ability he had used on Hidden Dragon and Phoenix Chick. With the ghost generals¡¯ strength, they naturally didn¡¯t fear those two dainty looking women.

    While Zu An was suffering from the re of Eternal Slumber, Mi Li quickly said, ¡°This is a sleep-type skill that seems to be extremely high-rank. Hurry and use the Primordial Origin Sutra; its purification abilities have a certain degree of resistance to such things.¡±

    When he heard the urgency in her voice, Zu An didn¡¯t hesitate and frantically operated his Primordial Origin Sutra. Only then did he not feel as if he would pass out at any moment. But even so, he could still sense that the re of Eternal Slumber was rapidly taking over his body. Even with the Primordial Origin Sutra, he wouldn¡¯t be able to hold on for a long time.

    He noticed that Zhao Han seemed to be a bit hesitant. He knew that if Zhao Han left now, his group would be in big trouble. Throwing caution to the wind, he roared loudly.

    Even though he sessfully made Zhao Han and Ghost King face each other once more, due to the moment of distraction, the re of Eternal Slumber¡¯s effects erupted again. He almost fainted on the spot.

    Jing Teng called out again, ¡°The valiant should join the ranks of war. The army is to the east; the azure dragon awaits its summons!¡±

    An azure dragon quickly appeared; it surrounded Zu An and began to spin rapidly. Zu An immediately felt an exuberant life force pour into his body. It was almost on par with Snow when she used her elf race¡¯s secret ability. Only with this supply of life force did he manage to barely prevent his own immediate copse, reaching a deadlock with the re of Eternal Slumber. There was no danger of him fainting anymore, but he couldn''t be distracted and do other things. Otherwise, if the equilibrium was destroyed, the re of Eternal Slumber would immediately gain the advantage again.

    The six ghost generals¡¯ attacks arrived just then. In hindsight, Hidden Dragon and Phoenix Chick had been quiteical, but that was because they had never anticipated Zu An to be so formidable, actually having a purification ability that was their bane. These six ghost generals seemed much more typical. Great demonic mes surrounded their bodies, and every single one of them was powerful.

    Jing Teng had a worried expression. Even though they had the ck tortoise protecting them, she still had to divert sixty percent of her attention to deliver Zu An life force. If the ghost generals attacked now, sooner orter, they would lose.

    Suddenly, Qiu Honglei drew her two des. She said calmly to Jing Teng, ¡°Protect Ah Zu. Leave everything else here to me!¡±

    She was the powerful cultivator who had defeated all of the daoist sects¡¯ representative disciples on Violet Mountain. She wouldn¡¯t necessarily be able to defeat individuals such as the Ghost King or Zhao Han, but the ghost generals were different. She cried out, and a burst of resplendent light filled her body as she rushed at them. She danced between the ghosts like a beautiful butterfly, actually holding her own.

    Jing Teng couldn''t help but sigh, remarking in praise, ¡°Miss Qiu really is pretty and strong.¡±

    If they weren¡¯t in a crisis, Zu An definitely would have teased her and said ¡®aren¡¯t you the same¡¯, but he couldn''t catch a break at all. As he watched Qiu Honglei¡¯s waist twisting around and her body disying countless exaggerated movements to avoid danger, he couldn''t help but feel really nervous.

    After all, none of the ghost generals were weaker than Qiu Honglei herself, and there were some whose cultivations were even higher. Fortunately, she used the light element, which had a restraining effect on ghosts. Furthermore, she was the Devil Sect Saintess and had all kinds of top-notch movement skills. As such, she just about managed to keep up despite fighting one versus six.

    However, the ghost generals could make as many mistakes as they wanted, but one mistake on her part would end it all. As time went on, she would definitely end up in danger.

    Zu An quickly asked Mi Li, ¡°Master empress, how should I deal with a technique like this?¡±

    ¡°This skill falls under a branch that isn¡¯t greatly researched,¡± Mi Li said, her tone bing grave. ¡°In my earlier years, I saw some books from the western region that imed certain special kisses could wake up sleeping princesses or princes. That could potentially deal with this technique.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. After all that, they had ended up at Sleeping Beauty? But this wasn¡¯t some fairy tale. How could there be someone out there who could give him that kind of kiss?

 Chapter 1802: Did We Come at a Bad Time?

    <h4>Chapter 1802: Did We Come at a Bad Time?</h4>

    Meanwhile, Zhao Han was on guard against the Ghost King¡¯s Demonic Voice of the Ghost King and re of Eternal Slumber. He just had to keep his primordial spirit within him and not look at the opponent, which actually wasn¡¯t too hard for him. With his current cultivation, he didn¡¯t need his eyes to see anything in the tomb.

    As such, he still paid some attention to Zu An¡¯s side. Sure enough, he saw that Zu An hadn¡¯t fallen asleep.

    <i>This kid does have some skills after all.</i>

    However, that still wasn¡¯t enough. If Zu An could only do that much, there was no use in keeping him around. Otherwise, Zhao Han and the Ghost King would only destroy each other for no reason.

    ¡­

    Just then, some changes took ce in the other battle. The reason Qiu Honglei was able to fight against six ghost generals whose strength was simr to her own was due to her abundantbat experience. Otherwise, she would already have been killed.

    However, with the huge disadvantage in numbers, even though she was extremely quick and intelligent, it was still beyond her ability in the end. If they were anywhere else, she could make better use of her surroundings and tactics to bait them into certain positions, then use the ?chance to take them down one by one. But she had to protect Zu An and couldn''t go too far away. The ghost generals definitely wouldn¡¯t leave with her. That meant she could only face them head-on.

    In the end, she ended up making a slight mistake and her shoulder was struck by a mourning staff. If she hadn¡¯t had light element protection around her body, she would likely have had her soul sted into pieces on the spot. Just that one mistake made the entire fight extremely difficult.

    Upon seeing the opening and realizing that Qiu Honglei couldn''t evade, a ghost general struck at her vitals. However, a loud voice suddenly called out.

    ¡°What you lookin¡¯ at?!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m looking at you, shithead!¡±

    The ghost general was stunned. Why had it replied to Zu An?

    Qiu Honglei used the moment to dodge quickly to one side, sessfully evading the attack.

    Afterward, ¡®what you lookin¡¯ at¡¯ filled the air from time to time, with ¡®I¡¯m looking at you, shithead¡¯ in response. As a result, Qiu Honglei barely avoided a disaster each time and was able to stabilize her situation.

    Jing Teng was full of admiration as she watched the beautiful Qiu Honglei somehow neutralize the dangersing at her one after another. If she were in Miss Qiu¡¯s ce, perhaps she would have long since died.

    In the distance, Zhao Han¡¯s eyes narrowed. This seemed to be an ability simr to Soulspeak, and it contained some kind of insurmountablew that disregarded any disparity in strength. Just where had that kid gotten something like that from? He temporarily gave up on all thoughts of leaving. He wanted to see what other cards Zu An had to y.

    The Ghost King noticed the situation. That brat¡¯s cultivation was clearly like that of an ant¡¯s, but why did he have so many bizarre skills? Whether it was Zu An¡¯s purification skills or the Soulspeak-like ability, not even he could see through their profundity.

    He quickly roared, ¡°You idiots, do you not know to plug your own ears?!¡±

    The ghost generals snapped out of their daze, and their forms changed. One general¡¯s ears drooped, while another¡¯s ears were blocked up; yet another general¡¯s muscles grew topletely plug up their ears. Another reached out with extra limbs to stuff up their ears¡­

    Now, Zu An¡¯s ¡®what you lookin at¡¯ no longer affected them. Qiu Honglei immediately started feeling more pressure.

    When he saw that Qiu Honglei¡¯s situation was dire, Zu An¡¯s expression became grave. He gripped the handle of the Tai¡¯e Sword. He knew it wasn¡¯t a good time to act, but he couldn''t just watch as Qiu Honglei was in danger.

    Zhao Han¡¯s eyes narrowed when he saw Zu An¡¯s movements. Just what kinds of hidden moves did this brat have left? Could it be that he could fight while dealing with the Ghost King¡¯s re of Eternal Slumber? He had seen that white ray before and knew that it contained thews of absolute destruction and treachery. Not even he would have confidence in his ability topletely stop it, so how could this kid do it?

    Suddenly, he noticed something and turned to look elsewhere.

    The Ghost King also quickly called out, ¡°Be careful!¡±

    Unfortunately, the six ghost generals had their ears plugged, so how could they hear anything?

    Two figures, one blue and one red, rushed forth. The entire space suddenly surged with endless wind and snow. Only when it arrived did the ghost generals react, but their bodies were already covered in ayer of cold frost by then. Almost simultaneously, ck mes exploded all over the area, instantly engulfing the generals. Ice and fire crashed down from the heavens. How could the ghost generals still hold on? They all screamed miserably.

    Zhao Han¡¯s eyes narrowed. The two figures were actually fighting as a team?

    The Ghost King was furious and nervous. He knew his ghost generals normally wouldn¡¯t be so useless, but it was because they were defending against Zu An¡¯s mysterious ¡®what you lookin¡¯ at¡¯ after being ordered to cut off their sense of hearing. That meant all of their attention had been on taking care of Qiu Honglei, and they couldn¡¯t sense the two neers in time. The two also fought ingeniously with fire and ice, doubling the power of their attacks. That was why the generals had suffered so severely.

    The ck mes in particr seemed a bit strange. They even seemed to be able to directly burn souls!

    The six generals struggled and wanted to flee, but how could Qiu Honglei let such an opportunity go? Her entire body erupted with brilliance as she used her light element purification ability. Even though it couldn¡¯tpare to the miraculous effects of Zu An¡¯s primordial energy, it still had some restrictive effects against ghosts. Qiu Honglei moved as fast as lightning, quickly reaping the lives of the six ghost generals.

    ¡°No!¡± the Ghost King eximed furiously. ck energy and skulls swarmed in that direction.

    However, Zhao Han blocked his path and said with a smile, ¡°Ghost King, your opponent is me.¡±

    He had previously thought about letting the Ghost King unleash a great ughter. Those women were extremely outstanding among their generation, but they were still far, far inferior to the Ghost King and wouldn¡¯t even bring out any of his real ability. On the other hand, it would make Zu An and Jing Tengpletely fall out with him. If they decided to go for broke and side with the Ghost King, that would be really troublesome.

    ¡°All of you will die, all of you!¡± the Ghost King roared furiously. This shining golden guy really was a bit too difficult to deal with. Even though he had a slight advantage in strength, Zhao Han had too many treasures and abilities and wasn¡¯t easy to restrain. He really wondered just where Zhao Han had gotten so many things!

    How could he know that Zhao Han was the monarch of another world, and that his treasury had treasures from all over the world? He didn¡¯t hesitate to use them against such a powerful enemy, so the two sides were equal in strength.

    ¡­

    On the other hand, Zu An finally caught a breather. He was happy and surprised when he saw those two familiar figures, calling out, ¡°Chuyan, Manman!¡±

    Jing Teng looked over in surprise and saw two exceptional beauties standing nearby. One was in an ice-blue dress, pure as a snow lotus herb on a mountain of ice; the other was in a red and ck dress, her seductive eyes filled with endless affection like a tender and beautiful rose.

    <i>They were the ones Zu An was looking for? Why are all the women at his side so ridiculously beautiful?</i>

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Jing Teng for +66 +66 +66¡­</strong>

    While she was observing them, they were also sizing her up. Qiu Honglei was one thing, since they had already interacted with each other before. But who was that woman nestling so closely to Zu An¡¯s side?

    Chu Chuyan gave her a look. A hint of shock shed through her eyes. This woman¡¯s features were as beautiful as a painting, and there was a natural poise and grace to her appearance, as if she were a peony that had just blossomed.

    Just how many days had it been, and yet that scoundrel Ah Zu already had another exceptional beauty at his side? Was he a walking human-shaped aphrodisiac? He was constantly seducing women!

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Chu Chuyan for +99 +99 +99¡­</strong>

    Pei Mianman wrinkled her nose. After just a few days of not being around each other, this guy already had another woman. If they didn¡¯t meet for a few years, wouldn¡¯t he have his own female legion?

    <i>Also, why is it Chuyan and Manman, not Manman and Chuyan?!</i>

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Pei MIanman for +100 +100 +100¡­</strong>

    Qiu Honglei walked over and put her arms around the two women, saying, ¡°Oh my, it was big sis Chu and big sis Pei! It was all thanks to your help, or else I would already have lost my life to the yellow springs.¡±

    She had immediately gone on red alert when she saw the arrival of the two women. One of them was Ah Zu¡¯s first wife, even though they had divorced, while the other seemed to be especially close to Ah Zu.

    <i>These two are my strongestpetitors.</i>

    However, they had just saved her life, so if she immediately indicated that she opposed them, wouldn¡¯t she look like an ungrateful wretch in Zu An¡¯s eyes?

    <i>In that case, I¡¯m going to do the very opposite! You can all show your jealousy, which will only make me look more kind and understanding. Let¡¯s see which type Ah Zu likes more.</i>

    <i>Hmph, the Devil Sect¡¯s Saintess isn¡¯t just a carelessly given title. If you want topete in acting green tea, you have no idea how immature you are!</i>

    Chu Chuyan and Pei Mianman immediately felt goosebumps all over when they felt her hook her arms around them and call them ¡®big sis¡¯. Perhaps men would like her act, but how could the two women not know what was going on?

    <i>How gross¡­</i>

    A strange silence suddenly fell.

    Only Zu An didn¡¯t seem to have noticed anything. He asked in pleasant surprise, ¡°How did you all end up here?¡±

    Chu Chuyan replied with an ambiguous smile, ¡°What, did wee at a bad time?¡±

    She suddenly felt a bit unhappy.

    <i>Master had me cultivate in seclusion for the past two years. Even though my cultivation grew higher and higher, I barely got to spend any time with him, and he only ended up having more and more women around him. </i>

    <i>Was it really worth it? I don¡¯t even know anymore¡­</i>n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

 Chapter 1803: Not Weird Enough

    Chapter 1803: Not Weird Enough

    Zu An didn¡¯t have time to respond before Qiu Honglei interrupted, ¡°No, you all came at the perfect time. Not only did you save me, Ah Zu is in a dangerous situation right now and might faint at any time.¡±

    Hmph, Ah Zu must now know who actually cares about him the most!

    Chu Chuyan and Pei Mianman were shocked, asking, ¡°What happened?¡±

    Just then, Jing Teng said, ¡°He was afflicted by the Ghost King¡¯s re of Eternal Slumber. I¡¯m using the power of the azure dragon to help him resist it, but we have no idea how much longer he can hold on for.¡±

    She had sensed the two women¡¯ enmity earlier. It was clearly a misunderstanding after seeing that she was so close to Zu An. She realized they had a special rtionship with Zu An, and she definitely didn¡¯t want to immediately be the target of their enmity.

    Chu Chuyan and Pei Mianman thus understood why she was so close to Zu An. They felt a bit better. The two women looked at each other in dismay and saw the same strange expression in each other¡¯s eyes, both eximing, ¡°re of Eternal Slumber?¡±

    Forget about them, even the Ghost King himself waspletely baffled. Weren¡¯t these twodies hit by the same skill? How had they ended uping here?

    Don¡¯t tell me they really found a solution? But how is that possible?

    Meanwhile, Zhao Han frowned as he felt the pressure on him increase.

    This damn ghost seems to be getting anxious.

    As such, he roared, ¡°All of you should stop acting like fools jealous over love, and find a way to save him so he can help me!¡±

    That kind of passionate love really left him envious and irritated. As the ruler of an empire, the most powerful being in the world, he naturally had countless beauties in his harem. But in terms of quality, they wouldn¡¯t evenpare to those at Zu An¡¯s side.

    What right does this little bastard have?!

    Even though he cared more about immortality and didn¡¯t attach much importance to lust, he was still a man. The thought alone left him furious.

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Han for +444 +444 +444¡­

    The women¡¯ faces reddened. They were all a bit embarrassed after they were ruthlessly exposed by Zhao Han.

    Qiu Honglei and Jing Teng quickly began to exin what the re of Eternal Slumber was to Chu Chuyan and Pei Mianman, but the two interrupted them as soon as they started.

    ¡°We know,¡± Pei Mianman said as they looked at Chu Chuyan. The two both recalled the memory of saving each other. A faint blush appeared on their cheeks.

    ¡°Should you do it or should I?¡± Pei Mianman asked awkwardly.

    Chu Chuyan took a deep breath and said, ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡±

    Pei Mianman¡¯s eyes widened. After all, the reason she had asked that was because with Chu Chuyan¡¯s personality, she would be too embarrassed to kiss Ah Zu in front of everyone. Then, she would have a proper pretext to kiss him.

    Hehe, kissing the lover of Chu Chuyan and these other women right in front of them¡­ Just the thought is exciting already.

    However, Chu Chuyan didn¡¯t act the way she was supposed to, and took the initiative instead!

    In the end, I¡¯m the one who has to watch my lover being kissed?

    Even so, after she asked the question first, she couldn''t even volunteer herself anymore.

    Ah, why am I so stupid?! In the end, the clown was me?

    You have sessfully trolled Pei Mianman for +666 +666 +666¡­

    When she saw how steam was practically about toe out of Pei Mianman¡¯s head, Chu Chuyan grinned.

    Hmph, do you really think I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re thinking?

    If this were any other time, perhaps she would really be too embarrassed. However, in front of these vixens, if she didn¡¯t watch her man a bit more closely, wouldn¡¯t he bepletely devoured?

    She realized that it was precisely because she hadn¡¯t been careful enough in the past that Ah Zu had ended up being surrounded by all these women. She wouldn¡¯t let that happen again in the future.

    When she realized that, she walked over to Zu An¡¯s side and said, ¡°Lower your head.¡±

    Zu An was stunned, but he still instinctively did what she said. Chu Chuyan got on her tiptoes, and before the others¡¯ shocked gazes, she kissed him. Zu An¡¯s eyes widened. This didn¡¯t match Chuyan¡¯s easily embarrassed nature! Besides, why was she even kissing him at that moment?

    Even though he was confused, her lips were soft, and he could even sense her cleverly pressing against him. He smelled an incredible scenting from her. Zu An¡¯s entire body stiffened. When had Chuyan suddenly be so good at this?

    Jing Teng blinked nkly. She couldn''t quite process everything that was happening in front of her. She could still understand if that seductive big-breasted girl had been the one to do such a thing, since it matched her first impression. But this woman was as graceful and as elegant as an ice fairy, so how could she do something so brazen¡­ So shameless?!

    At first, Qiu Honglei was grateful that they hade to save her, but she almost exploded from rage when she saw what was happening.

    What is the meaning of this? Are you trying to assert your dominance in front of me right now?

    ¡°Do you know what kind of situation we¡¯re in? And yet you¡¯re still in the mood to do something like that? Just who is the Devil Sect witch here?¡± Qiu Honglei eximed, clenching her fists so tightly her knuckles cracked. If not for the fact that they were fighting against a great enemy, she likely would have already interfered.

    Why did I never notice that Chu Chuyan was this shameless before? No wonder master loathes that stone cold woman. Her disciple is just as annoying!

    Pei Mianman sighed when she saw that Qiu Honglei¡¯s face was entirely red and that her hair was practically standing on end. She exined, ¡°You¡¯re all misunderstanding. Chuyan is saving him right now.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s saving him like that?¡± Qiu Honglei replied with a skeptical frown.

    ¡°Actually, not too long ago¡­¡± Pei Mianman began, but she stopped midway through her sentence. If she told them about that re of Eternal Slumber, wouldn¡¯t the others all find out that she and Chu Chuyan had kissed? That was just way too embarrassing, so she changed the story and said, ¡°We learned a secret method that just happens to be able to counteract the re of Eternal Slumber.¡±

    The Ghost King perked up his ears and eximed, ¡°How can that be? How could anyone be able to undo this king¡¯s re of Eternal Slumber? Where did you learn that from?¡±

    Seeing that the Ghost King was growing more and more violent, Zhao Han¡¯s mood grew worse and worse.

    Damn it, why is that brat Zu An enjoying himself while I have to fight for my life here?!

    Most importantly, everything he was doing was just to ensure that they could peacefully kiss each other. He became more and more upset the more he thought about it. Anger boiled within him.

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Han for +666 +666 +666¡­

    With Zhao Han serving as their shield, the women could just ignore the Ghost King¡¯s words. They all looked at Chu Chuyan with unkind expressions. Judging from how intoxicated she looked, there was definitely tongue involved.

    And yet you still put on that act as if you¡¯re above themon popce! Hah, I wonder just how much human saliva you¡¯ve already swallowed by now.

    When she sensed their fiery gazes, Chu Chuyan¡¯s heart pounded fiercely too. She had never done something so brazen before. She could only continuously reassure herself.

    I¡¯m only doing this to treat Ah Zu; it¡¯s just treatment¡­

    However, after a while, she suddenly became confused. She could sense that the grayish-white energy was incredibly heavy. It was many times more dense than Manman¡¯s had been back then. Fortunately, with the assistance of Jing Teng¡¯s azure dragon power and Zu An¡¯s own primordial ki, she was able to push it back somewhat. However,pletely getting rid of it was impossible.

    They knew just how powerful the re of Eternal Slumber was. If it couldn''t bepletely eliminated, it would erupt again sooner orter. It was just like having a ticking time bomb strapped to one¡¯s body, causing constant anxiety.

    She quickly backed up and separated their lips. She looked at Pei Mianman nervously before saying, ¡°Manman, hurry ande here. His condition is too serious. I can¡¯t cure it alone.¡±

    Pei Mianman was startled. She knew that with her personality, Chu Chuyan wouldn¡¯t lie. Perhaps Baogu hadn¡¯t had enough energy, and had only passed half the skill onto each of them. It had just been enough when they helped each other. But if they wanted to save someone else, half of the technique¡¯s power was a bitcking. Furthermore, Zu An had been afflicted by the Ghost King¡¯s full-force re of Eternal Slumber.

    She quickly ran over and asked, ¡°Then what do we do?¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s face became a bit red. She said, ¡°Let¡¯s do it together andbine both of our strength.¡±

    Qiu Honglei blinked. She had initially sighed in relief when she saw their lips separate, staring at Chu Chuyan¡¯s lips that were a bit swollen, thinking that this woman really had gone all out. And yet, when she heard what Chuyan said after, she waspletely stunned.

    What the heck does that mean?!

    Pei Mianman naturally knew what Chu Chuyan meant, but she was quite fiery and passionate in nature to begin with. Furthermore, it was rted to Zu An¡¯s safety, so she set aside any misgivings and said, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s do it together.¡± Afterward, she moved closer and kissed Zu An.

    Zu An sighed inwardly when he felt the pressure on his chest.

    That¡¯s the Big Manman I know and love!

    Even though he knew that the kiss was actually to treat the re of Eternal Slumber, he still couldn''t help but feel a bit of tenderness. In that instant, he was even a bit thankful that the Ghost King had used the skill on him.

    After some hesitation, Chu Chuyan still moved closer with a reddened face. She gently kissed Zu An with her red lips.

    Mmm¡­ Manman even considerately left me half the space.

    When she saw what was happening, Qiu Honglei was overwhelmed with confusion.

    Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?

    These two actually dare to vite my man in front of me, and I can¡¯t even stop them because they¡¯re saving Ah Zu¡¯s life. My lover is actually kissing other women right in front of me¡­ Is there anyone in this world who can understand my pain?!

    Damn these vixens! Could it be that they¡¯ve already formed an alliance? Right, everyone knows they were close friends even when they were back in Brightmoon City.

    This isn¡¯t good. I¡¯m too weak all alone. I have to make some allies of my own in order to properly face them. But who can I look for?n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    She reflexively nced at Jing Teng off to the side.

    Jing Teng¡¯s jaw practically fell to the ground when she saw Chu Chuyan and Pei Mianman kiss Zu An together. She couldn''t help but look at Qiu Honglei.

    This woman was always on guard against me as if I were some thief, and yet she¡¯s not going to do a thing when others are bullying her man right in front of her?

    Huh? What is that look in her eyes? Why is she staring at me instead of stopping those two women?

    She suddenly sensed unprecedented affection in Qiu Honglei¡¯s gaze, leaving herpletely stunned.

    What is going on with her? Does she have a mental disorder?

    At that moment, she suddenly felt as if the reason why she couldn''t get along with them was because she wasn¡¯t weird enough herself.

    The Ghost King and Zhao Han, who had been fighting bitterly a moment before, both tacitly agreed to stop. The scene left thempletely speechless.

 Chapter 1804: Entrusted With a Mission (Teaser)

    <h4>Chapter 1804: Entrusted With a Mission (Teaser)</h4>

    The Ghost King and Zhao Han were both feeling pretty awful.

    We¡¯re fighting with our lives on the line here, and yet that brat is ying the kissing game over there?! And with two freaking beauties at that?

    F*ck that!

    Zhao Han suddenly felt a bit weary deep down. He felt that he should have just let the Ghost King smack them to death.All of you can just disappear!

    The Ghost King stared at Chu Chuyan and Pei Mianman. He could sense that their kiss really did seem to counteract his re of Eternal Slumber. The grayish-white energy in Zu An¡¯s body was already growing fainter.

    Don¡¯t tell me that these two were able to free themselves from the re of Eternal Slumber precisely through this method? Preposterous!

    Who the hell came up with this damned method? It¡¯s clearly just to deal with me!

    ¡­

    At that moment, Zu An was already about to faint, but not because of the re of Eternal Slumber. He was about to faint from bliss. He had never expected that he would be able to experience such a thing. These two women had both taken the initiative to kiss him! On top of that, they were just too good! The wonderful feeling that seemed to caress one¡¯s very soul made his entire body stiffen, but he then melted under their soft fingers. He felt as if every single pore on his body were cheering with joy.

    Kiss of the Goddess was the world¡¯s most powerful kissing art, after all. What could be more wonderful than a goddess¡¯ kiss?

    Of course there was something better, which was to be kissed by two goddesses at the same time.

    What was one plus one? Zu An had never thought of that question in such a context, but now, he suddenly became confused. It was much more than just twofold joy; it was an exponential increase! A spiral explosion!

    Not even Baogu could have anticipated such a situation. After all, from her perspective, those who could use Kiss of the Goddess could only be incredibly rare beauties who had tons of admirers. Anyone who could obtain their favor would definitely be among the most outstanding of men. How could there be two goddesses who liked the same man at the same time, let alone ones who would use Kiss of the Goddess on that same man?

    They practiced the same skill, so when it was used at the same time, it had an even more incredible synergistic effect. It was at a level not even Baogu had reached.

    Soon after, the grayish-white energy in Zu An¡¯s bodypletely disappeared. The re of Eternal Slumber was finallypletely cured. But Zu An didn¡¯t let the two women go, nor did they leave him. They cuddled quietly together just like that, basking in the divine feeling.

    Mi Li secretly appeared. She couldn''t help but rub her own arms. This really was a bit too cringy for her to watch.

    Youngsters nowadays really know how to go crazy. But these two disciple-inws are pretty interesting.

    When she thought about how both of them would serve her respectfully in the future, she couldn''t help but smile in satisfaction.

    I¡¯ll just leave this hellish battlefield for them to fight over.

    Mi Li quickly disappeared. Due to her soul being bound to Zu An, unless she wanted to show herself, no one else would notice her. As such, no one noticed her at all.

    ¡­

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s eyelids twitched. When she saw that the two women were still clinging onto their love and kissing affectionately, she suddenly felt as if the world had a slight green tint to it. She finally couldn''t take it anymore and asked with an impatient cough, ¡°Are you still not done?¡±

    Jing Teng rolled her eyes.

    You¡¯re finally saying something now?

    Chu Chuyan was usually quite easily embarrassed. Earlier, she had only done something so brazen because she couldn''t stand all those beauties hanging around at Zu An¡¯s side. Now, after using Kiss of the Goddess, not only had she gotten rid of all of Zu An¡¯s drowsiness, she had also vented out all her frustrations. How could she continue to act the same way?

    She quickly jumped away, her face as red as a tomato saying, ¡°We¡­ We¡¯re done.¡±

    After Chuyan left, even Pei Mianman didn¡¯t have the shame to stay there. With her nature, she normally wouldn¡¯t mind staying a bit longer, but when she thought about how doing so would really anger the others, setting Chuyan and the other womenpletely against her, she decided that would be a terrible result.

    Zu An felt as if he still hadn¡¯t fully expressed himself. That experience was just too amazing! Even though it was just a kiss, it was much more enjoyable than many other things.

    When she saw him lick his lips, Qiu Honglei nearly imploded from anger.

    Was it really that great?!

    You have sessfully trolled Qiu Honglei for +399 +399 +399¡­

    However, she reacted quickly as well and collected her thoughts. She walked over and held Zu An¡¯s arm, asking, ¡°Ah Zu, do you feel a bit better? Should we have them treat you a bit more?¡±

    Zu An felt a bit warm inside when he sensed the concern in her voice. Even though he did kind of want to continue, he couldn''t bring himself to say it out loud. Instead, he replied, ¡°I¡¯m alright.¡±

    Qiu Honglei then bowed to Chu Chuyan and Pei Mianman, saying, ¡°Thank you for saving Ah Zu, big sisters, and for making such a great sacrifice¡­¡±

    Chu Chuyan and Pei Mianman both raised their brows.

    Do we need you to thank us for saving our own man? Look at this girl acting like a green tea bitch; as expected of the Devil Sect witch.

    Qiu Honglei then feigned curiosity as she asked, ¡°By the way, where did big sisters learn such an incredible kissing technique from?¡±

    Now, even Zu An looked at the two women skeptically. He had kissed them before, but they hadn¡¯t been so incredible at it. The difference in skill now was astronomical.

    Jing Teng¡¯s expression changed a bit. Even though she hadn¡¯t spent that much time in the world of humans, her feminine instincts made her realize that those words were actually incredibly dangerous.

    Does young master Zu really have this kind of hellish battlefield around him?

    Every single one of these women is terrifying!

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s face reddened. She tried to stay calm as she replied, ¡°I identally stumbled into a cave and received the guidance of a female senior. Then, I unwittingly ended up learning it.¡±

    Pei Mianman also matched her story as she exined herself. She couldn''t just say that they had practiced it together, right?

    Meanwhile, the Ghost King was practically about to cry, thinking,Just what female senior was this, actually leaving behind a kissing skill and targeting me?! Just what kind of field did that damned woman work in when she was alive?

    Pei Mianman suddenly remembered something and said, ¡°Right, we promised that senior something.¡±

    Chu Chuyan also remembered that. She looked at the coffin not too far away, asking, ¡°Is that Immortal Ruler Baopu over there?¡±

    The reason the two of them had ended up finding this ce was because the power of the inheritance Baogu left behind had led them to it. There seemed to be something present that drew them toward it.

    ¡°It is,¡± Jing Teng said, nodding reflexively.

    Chu Chuyan and Pei Mianman walked up to the sides of the coffin. However, when they saw the man in the daoist robes, they suddenly hesitated. After all, this was the legendary Immortal Ruler Baopu! The only one who had sessfully ascended to immortality in thousands of years!

    However, even though both women¡¯s natures were different, they weren¡¯t the kind who would back out of a promise. In order to save them, Baogu had used up thest of her energy and couldn¡¯t personallye here. As such, they exchanged a look, and both saw the determination in each other¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Senior, we apologize for our offense,¡± they said. Then, they each raised one hand and gave the remains a p.

    p!

    p!

    ¡°What are you two doing?!¡± Jing Teng eximed in shock and fury.

    A second ago, these two had been showing Immortal Ruler Baopu great respect, and yet a secondter, they actually pped him?! A p to the face was extremely humiliating even for an ordinary person, let alone someone like Immortal Ruler Baopu!

    The Ghost King and Zhao Han were stupefied. A second before, these women had still been hugging and kissing each other, practically about to melt into water in Zu An¡¯s arms. And yet a secondter, both suddenly became this fierce? After all, not even they would dare to rashly show Immortal Ruler Baopu disrespect. He did have his great reputation after all, and who knew what kind of traps he had left behind.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Sure enough, the tomb room suddenly began to rumble with noise, as if it could copse at any moment. Waves of energy began to gather toward the copper coffin. Immediately after, a terrifying aura rose from it.

    A dazzling golden figure slowly emerged from the coffin. Compared to Zhao Han¡¯s golden light that was full of oppressive power, the figure¡¯s aura carried a special divine nature. Those present all realized that the figure was none other than Immortal Ruler Baopu, who had been lying in the coffin.

    Zhao Han had a strange expression. They had tried all sorts of things before, and yet nothing happened at all. He had even knelt down and respectfully kowtowed a couple dozen times, and yet the immortal ruler had remained indifferent. But now, the immortal ruler woke up after two ps to the face?

    What the hell is wrong with you?!

    Of course, he would never say that out loud. The aura around that person¡¯s body seemed to carry an even higher grade of naturalw. Could he be none other than a legendary immortal?

    Zhao Han tried to study it and see if he could sense the gateway to immortality himself. However, no matter what he did, he didn¡¯t gain any inspiration. These were naturalws on apletely different level. Without someone to provide guidance and lead the way, one could never hope to approach such a level of mastery. He began breathing heavily. If he could obtain that inheritance, wouldn¡¯t he be immortal?

    Immortal Ruler Baopu¡¯s eyes slowly opened. He silently scanned his surroundings with his gaze, then asked, ¡°Who was it that dared to treat this immortal ruler with disrespect?¡±

    The Ghost King had nned to leave the ce first, but when he heard the voice, he stopped.

    Are those two women idiots? They actually went over and pped the face of an immortal ruler for no reason. There¡¯s something interesting to watch now.

    Once the immortal ruler dealt with those women, that kid Zu An would definitely help out. Meanwhile, Zhao Han was part of their group, so wouldn¡¯t he, the Ghost King, end up reaping all of the benefits?

    Chu Chuyan and Pei Mianman were closest to the coffin and felt the greatest pressure. However, they still had the mission Baogu entrusted them with, so they braced themselves and replied, ¡°It was us!¡±

    Immortal Ruler Baopu¡¯s eyes narrowed. Zu An quickly moved in front of the two women for fear that he would just end their lives out of anger.

 Chapter 1805: One Gaze Ten Thousand Years

    Chapter 1805: One Gaze Ten Thousand Years

    Chu Chuyan and Pei Mianman were both intelligent women. They quickly added, ¡°We were entrusted with this task by Baogu, so we had no choice but to offend the immortal ruler. We hope the immortal ruler can forgive us.¡±

    Are you kidding? Who would dare to argue against someone who gives off such a terrifying aura?n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    This couple could settle the grudge between themselves! The two women didn¡¯t want to take on any needless me.

    Sure enough, when he heard the name Baogu, Immortal Ruler Baopu¡¯s cold eyes flickered with a bit of emotion. He remarked, ¡°So it was her. She hates me quite a bit, so those two ps were deserved.¡±

    The Ghost King¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief.

    You¡¯re a freaking immortal ruler, and yet you¡¯re just going to let it go after they pped you in the face? Are you really that lowly?!

    He had been expecting the immortal ruler to ughter Zu An¡¯s entire group in a bloodbath, and smack Zhao Han to death in passing too. However, who could have thought that the two sides would actuallye to an agreement?

    This situation isn¡¯t good for me!

    He wanted to leave immediately, but he knew that doing so would only end up drawing attention to himself. He was worried that the immortal ruler would have a grudge against him, so he decided to just stay and observe the situation first.

    Zhao Han¡¯s brows furrowed deeply.

    Chu Chuyan and Pei Mianman actually knew the immortal ruler¡¯s wife and even obtained her inheritance? Doesn¡¯t that mean they¡¯re the fated ones?

    If the immortal opportunity ends up in their hands¡­

    Zhao Han¡¯s expression became cold. Either way, he had to obtain the immortal opportunity no matter what, even if gods or buddhas stood in his way.

    Jing Teng suddenly asked excitedly, ¡°Immortal ruler, has your respected self returned to life?¡±

    Immortal Ruler Baopu¡¯s gazended on her and smiled. He said, ¡°So it was Little Teng. This is nothing more than a soul fragment I left behind¡­¡±

    Zu An and Qiu Honglei exchanged a look. Jing Teng was close to Immortal Ruler Baopu, as expected.

    Zhao Han was really moved. A soul fragment¡­ Even though he wasn¡¯t a match against a real immortal, he could still have a chance against a soul fragment.

    The Ghost King¡¯s eyes widened. If this was just a soul fragment, his Demonic Voice of the Ghost King would perfectly counter it. However, he was worried that it could still have other undisclosed skills and didn¡¯t dare to act rashly.

    Suddenly, Immortal Ruler Baopu¡¯s expression changed. She asked, ¡°Why are you so much weaker?¡±

    Jing Teng replied, ¡°It is all my fault for not following your respected self¡¯s advice and having poor discernment with people.¡±

    Immortal Ruler Baopu didn¡¯t ask for more details. After a while, he said with a sigh, ¡°I carried out a divination in the past and foresaw a great tribtion decreed by fate in your life. However, seeing as you have already arrived here, that must mean the extreme sorrow has turned to joy. You do not need to feel regret over this any longer.¡±

    ¡°Yes¡­¡± Jing Teng replied with a nod. Then, she walked over to Zu An¡¯s side and said, ¡°It was thanks to young master Zu¡¯s help in escorting me. That was why I was able to arrive here safely.¡±

    Qiu Honglei was speechless.

    Am I just empty air to you? I even acted as a lightbulb to shine light on you not too long ago, you ungrateful wretch.

    Even though she was unhappy, she knew this was a great turn of events for Zu An, so she obviously wouldn¡¯t act up and say anything.

    Both Zhao Han and the Ghost King were rmed. Jing Teng was clearly saying those words to give Zu An more merit and have the immortal ruler think highly of him. The immortal ruler could very well just hand over the opportunity then and there.

    That¡¯s against the freaking rules! Is an immortal opportunity something that can be gained purely through knowing people?

    Zhao Han¡¯s eyelids twitched in irritation. When he first received information on Zu An in the past, one special ability of Zu An¡¯s had been especially emphasized, which was that he was especially good at mooching. At first, Zhao Han hadn¡¯t thought too much of it and thought to himself that personal strength was what was most important. What could one possibly achieve through just mooching off of women? And yet now, he realized that he was wrong, and gravely so!

    Jing Teng secretly tugged on Zu An¡¯s sleeves, gesturing for him to say something.

    Zu An could only respectfully say, ¡°I greet the immortal ruler!¡±

    Immortal Ruler Baopu gave him a look. He couldn''t help but nod, remarking, ¡°An impressive and outstanding youngster.¡±

    Qiu Honglei, Chu Chuyan, and Pei Mianman¡¯s expressions all changed. Why did it seem as if the immortal ruler was picking a son-inw now?

    Suddenly, Immortal Ruler Baopu frowned and said, ¡°It is a pity that he is too fickle in love and not a good match.¡±

    Zu An and the women were all speechless.

    Zhao Han and the Ghost King almostughed out loud. They had been a bit envious of this brat for having women on all sides. Now, it had just ended up bringing him a disaster.

    Jing Teng¡¯s face turnedpletely red as she said, ¡°Immortal ruler, I am just grateful that he brought me here. It is not what you are thinking.¡±

    Immortal Ruler Baopu stroked his beard and chuckled, saying, ¡°Everyone has their own destiny. You will know in the future.¡±

    He didn¡¯t exin further; instead, he turned to look at Chu Chuyan and Pei Mianman, asking, ¡°Could you two share the details of your meeting with Baogu with me?¡±

    ¡°Details?¡± Chu Chuyan repeated, feeling troubled. After all, admitting that she and Pei Manman had mutually saved each other would be a bit too humiliating.

    Pei Mianman¡¯s face also turned bright red. If it were just telling it to Ah Zu, that was fine, but there were so many outsiders here. She wasn¡¯t that shameless.

    Immortal Ruler Baopu realized something when he saw their expressions. He set up a barrier of light around them before saying, ¡°Don¡¯t worry; now they will not hear what you two have to say.¡±

    They sighed in relief. Then, they bashfully shared everything that had happened from the Ghost King¡¯s re of Eternal Slumber to the present.

    Zu An immediately panicked when he saw the barrier surrounding the two women. However, Jing Teng quickly said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, big brother Zu. The immortal ruler won¡¯t trouble them.¡±

    Zu An noticed that the barrier was almost transparent and could see that the two women were exining something to Immortal Ruler Baopu; it was just that they couldn''t hear what was being said. He sighed in relief.

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s ears perked up. Jing Teng had still been calling him young master Zu An a second before, and yet it was now already big brother Zu? She couldn''t help but give Jing Teng a nce. It was hard to even tell who was older! Judging from Jing Teng¡¯s experience, shouldn¡¯t their party have been calling her ¡®granny¡¯?

    She¡¯s clearly already old, and yet she still calls a young man big brother. Truly shameless. Look at this cougar acting like a maiden.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zhao Han¡¯s expression changed greatly. If those two women really ended up obtaining the immortal opportunity, he would just seize it from them if he had to. This soul fragment of Immortal Ruler Baopu wouldn¡¯t be able to exist forever. So, as long as he threatened that brat, he refused to believe the two women wouldn¡¯t speak.

    The Ghost King noticed that something wasn¡¯t right, because the two women had been hit by his re of Eternal Slumber before. They had then met Immortal Ruler Baopu¡¯s wife¡­ For some reason, he just felt that things were getting worse. He took the chance to turn into a cloud of ck smoke and flee.

    However, as soon as he arrived at the door, the bronze gate suddenly closed with a loud bang, leaving him confused and disoriented from the collision. He was locked in the room. He waspletely stunned. What was going on? After all, in his current state, he should have been able to move straight through.

    He was rmed and quickly turned toward the copper coffin. The light surrounding Chu Chuyan and Pei Mianman had already scattered, and Immortal Ruler Baopu was looking at him with an unpleasant expression.

    ¡°You actually ruined my final meeting with Baogu? You deserve death!¡± Immortal Ruler Baopu snapped.

    The Ghost King had held back all this time, and yet this was what he got? With his domineering nature, he was starting to be angry as well. He remarked, ¡°Hmph, if your original body were here, perhaps this king would carry some reservations. However, you are nothing more than a soul fragment. You can cease your empty boasts.¡±

    As soon as he finished speaking, ck smoke suddenly surged around him. Countless skulls appeared, and they all opened their mouths, releasing terrifying screams. A soul fragment was still a soul, after all, so it would no doubt be restrained by his skill.

    ¡°Demonic Voice of the Ghost King!¡± Zhao Han muttered in rm, and quickly used the Human Emperor Seal to protect his soul.

    Zu An¡¯s group was also horrified. They had already witnessed just how powerful this skill was.

    ¡°This is fine,¡± Immortal Ruler Baopu said, remaining calm as he looked in the Ghost King¡¯s direction.

    The formless sound waves rushed toward him. However, when the demonic voice shed against the barrier of light, a ripple spread across it, but was dispersed away in the end. The others were horrified. They hadn¡¯t expected that demonic voice they were so scared of to be stopped so easily!

    Zhao Han¡¯s eyes widened in surprise. At that moment, the others likely hadn¡¯t noticed because their cultivations were too low, but he had vaguely sensed the interweaving power of naturalw.

    Could it be that this is the path ahead for me?

    The Ghost King had thought that he could fight a battle against the soul fragment, but who would have thought that the opponent would be so formidable? How could he still muster any will to fight further? A pair of hands emerged from the ck mist to try to push the tomb door open and flee.

    However, Immortal Ruler Baopu took a step forward. His eyes suddenly shone like brilliant stars, and his gazepletely surrounded all of the ck mist and skulls.

    ¡°Noooo!¡± The Ghost King struggled frantically and screamed. The ck mist created all sorts of terrifying techniques that bombarded the surroundings. Unfortunately, the space around him seemed to be blocked off. No matter how he attacked, he couldn¡¯t break through the gaze surrounding him.

    Zhao Han broke out into a cold sweat. It was precisely these attacks that had left him flustered a moment before, and he had only just barely managed to deal with them by relying on the Human Emperor Seal and all sorts of magic weapons.

    No, many of these are skills the Ghost King didn¡¯t even use before!

    And yet, even though the Ghost King was going all out, he still couldn''t do a thing against the immortal ruler¡¯s soul fragment?

    Immortal Ruler Baopu closed his eyes. A secondter, all the ck mist and skullspletely disappeared. With just a single look, the world¡¯s most powerful expert, the ruler of Yin Yang Realm, had been subdued.

    As he watched, Zu An was full of emotions. He suddenly felt as if he had opened the gate into a whole new world. So even the eyes could be used as a sword!

 Chapter 1806: Pure World Icelotus

    Chapter 1806: Pure World Icelotus

    Zu An hadn¡¯t realized it yet when he first saw the Ghost King use the re of Eternal Slumber, but now that he saw Immortal Ruler Baopu¡¯s eyes instantly subdue Ghost King, he gained a great deal of inspiration.

    Before, he had never thought that even the eyes could be used to attack. The eyes were usually among the weakest parts of the human body. And yet today, a whole new world had opened up to him. His strongest skills were with the sword, so he instinctively wondered whether he couldbine his sword skills with his eyes.

    The manga and anime he had read contained all sorts of magical eye techniques. He had merely found them interesting back then, but now, in this world of cultivation, such a thing was actually possible. Even though he didn¡¯t know exactly how to manifest that yet, after witnessing such a miraculous sight, he now had a direction. Later, he¡¯d eventually be able to produce a path suitable for himself.

    Zhao Han was even more moved, his entire body shaking in excitement. Before this, he had already been the strongest individual in the other world for many, many years. No matter their numbers, others had been truly helpless before him. After the death of the Fiend Emperor, he had felt even more convinced that there was no one left in the world who was worth fighting. At times, he had practically felt like a god. With just a single thought, he could make all creatures in the world yield to his presence; he had believed that every living being had to praise him and chant his name in worship.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    That hadn¡¯t changed even when he met the Ghost King. Even though the opponent was powerful, it wasn¡¯t by too much. The main reason he had struggled a bit was because of the Ghost King¡¯s soul absorbing skill and immunity to damage, which left him a bit annoyed. If they really fought seriously, he wouldn¡¯t necessarily lose.

    However, in an instant, he had just seen the Ghost King ruthlessly subdued by Immortal Ruler Baopu, and as a mere soul fragment at that! He suddenly felt that he was still a bit too arrogant, thinking, These seniors can just call me Little Zhao in the future.

    Of course, that was just a moment of weakness and hesitation. Soon after, it was reced by an even more powerful desire for strength. He thought, This is the path I should be heading toward!

    He seemed to have vaguely grasped the direction of an immortal opportunity. At the very least, he knew how to advance through the earth immortal rank.

    ¡­

    Chu Chuyan and Pei Mianman eximed in shock, ¡°The Ghost King is dead?¡±

    They had experienced just how terrifying the Ghost King was for themselves. In that instant, they even began to doubt life itself.

    Immortal Ruler Baopu shook his head and said, ¡°The Ghost King is quite special in nature and is difficult to directly kill. I merely sealed him in the depths of the great tomb again.¡±

    Zu An thought of something. Jing Teng had mentioned that in the past, Immortal Ruler Baopu had roamed the world to banish evil. There had been many powerful beings he couldn''t destroy and could only seal inside the great tomb.

    On their way here, both the Death Reaper and Earthme Devil had been strong, but they were creatures the group could still barely defeat by working together. That had left them curious as to why Immortal Ruler Baopu couldn''t kill the monsters.

    Now, they understood that those creatures hadn¡¯t been captured by the immortal ruler at all. The Death Reaper and Earthme Devil were just monsters from the great tomb¡¯s outer levels, and the truly formidable ones were locked away deeper within, just as the Ghost King had been.

    Immortal Ruler Baopu looked at Jing Teng and said, ¡°After experiencing what happened in the past, have you gained enlightenment?¡±

    Jing Teng nodded. However, she had a hesitant expression as she continued, ¡°There are still some things that are difficult for me to let go of, though.¡±

    Immortal Ruler Baopu gave Zu An a nce and said, ¡°Everything moves ording to fate. Your time in the world of mortals has note to an end; you will definitely be able to meet again in the future.¡±

    Jing Teng was overjoyed, asking, ¡°Really?¡±

    Immortal Ruler Baopu smiled and replied, ¡°When have I ever lied to you?¡±

    Jing Teng smiled, remarking, ¡°That¡¯s true.¡±

    Zu An frowned. Why did he feel as if this immortal ruler was just like Jing Teng, in the sense that both to talk in riddles? They seemed to be talking about something extremely important, and yet he couldn''t understand what it was about.

    Immortal Ruler Baopu turned to look at Chu Chuyan and Pei Mianman, saying, ¡°Thank you for bringing me information about Baogu. I have some small gifts here for the two of you.¡±

    Chu Chuyan and Pei Mianman were still rather calm, but Zhao Han began to breathe heavily, thinking, Could it be that he¡¯s really going to give the immortal opportunity to those two women? I have to steal it from them no matter the cost!

    Immortal Ruler Baopu brought out a talisman, and with a tap of his finger, a lotus flower madepletely of ice blossomed in midair. It was sparkling and beautiful, and even though it looked incredibly cold, none of those present could sense the slightest hint of chill emanating from it.

    ¡°This is a Pure World Icelotus I obtained in the past. Unfortunately, my cultivation method was a poor fit for it, but it should be good for you as an ice element cultivator. This item should be of great use to you,¡± Immortal Ruler Baopu exined; afterward, the Ice lotus entered Chu Chuyan¡¯s forehead.

    ¡°Thank you, immortal ruler!¡± Chu Chuyan replied. She could sense that the lotus was a seed of origin, and the power of ice contained within was incredibly profound. Even if she didn¡¯t do a single thing, it could still make her cultivation advance by leaps and bounds. If she could trulyprehend the naturalws stored inside of it, she wondered just what kind of terrifying power she would obtain.

    ¡°Hm? The Pure World Icelotus?¡± Mi Li suddenly remarked in Zu An¡¯s mind.

    ¡°What is it? Is there something wrong?¡± Zu An asked, startled. He had experienced Old Mi¡¯s attempted possession, and had even seen Zhao Han¡¯s soul fragment sealed inside the Crown Prince. There were just too many possession techniques, so he was worried that something could happen to Chuyan.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s not a problem. That¡¯s an item that contains the most fundamentalws of the universe, and doesn¡¯t have its own consciousness. It doesn¡¯t harm its host at all,¡± Mi Li exined.

    Zu An sighed in relief before saying, ¡°Master empress seems to know a lot about this Pure World Icelotus. Can you tell me a bit about it?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± Mi Li replied directly.

    ¡°Then what are you acting all surprised for, if you don¡¯t know anything?¡± Zu An replied in annoyance.

    Mi Li harrumphed. ¡°It¡¯s just that I felt this was something Immortal Ruler Baopu shouldn¡¯t have been able to bring out. If it¡¯s just a bit of its intent and not the real Pure World Icelotus, though, that¡¯s more understandable.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    Didn¡¯t you just say you didn¡¯t know about the Pure World Icelotus? Also, what is with your tone? It¡¯s almost as if you¡¯re looking down on Immortal Ruler Baopu.

    Back then, you couldn''t even win against the first emperor Ying Zheng when you were at your strongest, and Ying Zheng was even driven mad over immortal ascension. If he met Immortal Ruler Baopu, wouldn¡¯t he already be on his knees and calling him papa?

    ¡­

    Immortal Ruler Baopu nodded slightly when he heard Chu Chuyan¡¯s expression of gratitude. Then, he looked at Pei Mianman and said, ¡°You cultivate the fire element, and the ck me you have is quite magical. However, it seems you are still a bit unskilled with it. I have something that just happens to share affinity with you.¡±

    Afterward, he took out a talisman, and with a light tap, a bright red spider lily appeared in the air. It was clearly extremely pretty, but there was a dense, suffocating aura of death emanating from it. However, there was a ck butterfly on the flower that was moving its wings slightly, which gave it a slight hint of life.

    Zu An stared at the butterfly. It was clearly extremely pretty, but it was entirely ck, so he couldn''t help but feel a bit apprehensive, thinking it was a bit ominous. It was only faintly discernible on the flower, as if it both existed and didn¡¯t exist. There seemed to be countless mysterious principles stored within.

    The ck me in Pei Mianman¡¯s body seemed to sense something calling out to it, and her entire body surged with mes. She reached out, and right as her jade-like finger gently touched the flower, the ck butterfly sensed something and stopped on it. The butterfly moved its wings slightly and the petals swayed gently; afterward, both turned into a streak of light that entered Pei Mianman¡¯s finger.

    Zu An just happened to be standing behind her. He noticed that as her beautiful hair danced around, the back of her neck was exposed a bit. A coin-sized design appeared in that spot. It was none other than a ck butterfly, gorgeous and deadly.

    Zu An was stunned. Hm? Why is there only a butterfly design? Where did the red spider lily pattern go?

    At Pei Mianman¡¯s cultivation realm, she could naturally ¡®see¡¯ the changes that were happening to her body. She couldn''t help but cry out in rm, ¡°Why did it leave behind a mark on my body?¡±

    More importantly, the location of that flower is too embarrassing¡­

    Chu Chuyan got an ice lotus that just entered her sea of consciousness without leaving behind any markings, so pure and wless. Why did this happen to me?

    Her face became red from embarrassment when she thought of that.

    Immortal Ruler Baopu was stunned. He didn¡¯t know why Pei Mianman would have such a huge reaction and could only say, ¡°This might be the intent behind the Paramita Butterfly. It is also something I stumbled upon by chance in the past, but had no use for. Receiving its acknowledgement is something you can feel happy about. This object will naturally merge with your body and form some traces that abide by the most fundamental dao of the world. As for the marking left behind, you do not need to worry about it too much. It will normally hide within you, and will only appear when your blood and ki are stirred.¡± Sure enough, the butterfly diagram by Pei Mianman¡¯s neck already gradually disappeared as he spoke.

    Pei Mianman sighed in relief. However, she quickly realized that in the future, if she and Zu An became passionate, wouldn¡¯t that make it appear again?

    I wonder if he¡¯ll like it or not¡­

    Immortal Ruler Baopu suddenly began to recite slowly, ¡°Born on this shore, grown on the other. Stood guard for a lifetime, yet your hand I could not hold. Flowers and leaves remain unseen, our longings deeply embedded in the River of Forgetfulness. I hope that the ck butterfly¡¯s guidance can alter this predestined tragedy.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s group waspletely mystified. What was he talking about?

    Mi Li was stirred by something. She thought, So that was it. This person has divination skills and likely pried into some twist of fate. No wonder he was able to obtain items of this level.

 Chapter 1807: Dance Offering to the Universe

    Chapter 1807: Dance Offering to the Universe

    After some hesitation, in the end, Mi Li didn¡¯t say anything to Zu An. He still wasn¡¯t strong enough, and knowing more would only do more harm than good.

    Meanwhile, Qiu Honglei saw the things Chu Chuyan and Pei Mianman had obtained. Even though she didn¡¯t understand what exactly the Pure World Ice Lotus or Paramita Butterfly were, they were clearly quite extraordinary. She couldn''t help but feel a bit jealous. They were around the same strength, and perhaps she was even a bit stronger herself, but now that they had obtained those inheritances, was she going to fall behind?

    Previously, after ending up in this secret dungeon, she had discovered that all of the others had gone missing and only she and Ah Zu were together. She¡¯d believed that she had finally be the female protagonist. And yet, soon after, they had run into the beautiful Jing Teng. Even though Jing Teng had always imed that it was nothing, the flirtatious looks she kept giving Ah Zu meant something had clearly happened without Qiu Honglei¡¯s knowledge.

    Even disregarding Jing Teng, she¡¯d had to watch as Chu Chuyan and Pei Mianman ravaged her man right in front of her¡­ Now, she could do nothing as they obtained inheritances that were clearly incredible from the mere sound of them.

    I admit, I¡¯m envious¡­

    However, she was the Devil Sect Saintess and had her own pride. She quickly collected her thoughts.

    Hmph, my Devil Sect¡¯s inheritance has existed for thousands and thousands of years; how can it be inferior to them? I refuse to believe that I¡¯m inferior to them!

    Her eyes burned fiercely when she realized that, and she was no longer as dispirited as earlier.

    ¡­

    Just then, Jing Teng said to Immortal Ruler Baopu, ¡°Immortal ruler, part of the reason why I was able to safely return was also Miss Qiu¡¯s great help.¡±

    Qiu Honglei was stunned. She had never expected Jing Teng to speak up for her! After all, the two of them had constantly been bickering back and forth on the way like a wife against a mistress. And yet now, Jing Teng was actually helping her.

    In that instant, she felt a bit embarrassed and said, ¡°Little sister Jing speaks too courteously. I didn¡¯t do too much.¡±

    Even though she¡¯s older, there¡¯s no way in hell I¡¯ll acknowledge her as the big sister! Everything else can still be discussed, but not this.

    Chu Chuyan and Pei Mianman perked up their ears. These two were already calling each other sisters?

    This is bad. We¡¯ll now have anotherpetitor in the future.

    ¡­

    In the distance, Zhao Han frowned. Something didn¡¯t seem to be right here. As an emperor, he naturally had his harem back in the pce. Those women were always at each other¡¯s throats. Even though they looked amiable on the surface, their smiles all hid des. Why were Zu An¡¯s women all getting along so well? They even took the initiative to help each other out!

    What right does he have to deserve this?!

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Han for +666 +666 +666¡­

    Zu An was really confused right now. What is going on with Zhao Han? Could it be that he¡¯s jealous that everyone else is getting something but him?

    Immortal Ruler Baopu looked at Jing Teng with a kind expression, saying, ¡°You are surprisingly kind. But it¡¯s fine; I just happen to have something that shares fate with her.¡±

    He took out a talisman, and with a tap of his finger, it turned into a female figure that danced lightly and gracefully in the air. It was very slow at first, but it soon moved faster and faster. The beautiful figure¡¯s movements were simple, and yet the dance seemed extremely profound. There wasn¡¯t the slightest sense of worldly seduction to it; instead, it had a dignified and solemn air. The figure entered Qiu Honglei¡¯s forehead.

    Immortal Ruler Baopu said, ¡°Many people cannot understand why rites and music are among the seven skills of cultivation, and the leaders of the seven skills, no less. What does thisdy think?¡±

    Qiu Honglei only felt as if she had been filled with inspiration. She quickly replied, ¡°That is because rites and music are the ceremonies used to join heaven and earth!¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Immortal Ruler Baopu nodded in appreciation and said, ¡°As expected, you were the one it was destined for. If you cultivate that dance properly, as your cultivation rises higher and your insights regarding the art of dance grow more profound, it will unravel into information of a higher rank. I hope that one day, you can learn the entire sequence of this Dance Offering to the Universe.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, immortal ruler!¡± Qiu Honglei eximed, unable to contain her joy.

    As the Devil Sect¡¯s Saintess, as well as an undercover courtesan queen, she excelled in dance to begin with. This Dance Offering to the Universe seemed as if it had been made just for her! Even though she still didn¡¯t know what it was for, she could already sense some things. She now just had to gain more insights on her own.

    Immortal Ruler Baopu smiled. Then, he gave Zu An a long look, but didn¡¯t say anything. Instead, he then looked at Jing Teng and said, ¡°Little Teng, my time is almost up.¡±

    Jing Teng eximed in shock, ¡°You¡¯re going to leave?¡±

    Immortal Ruler Baopu replied, ¡°This is nothing more than a strand of leftover will. I already used up all of my power earlier, so I must naturally scatter away.¡±

    Jing Teng¡¯s eyes turned red as she said, ¡°You¡¯re going to be leaving me all by myself¡­¡±

    Immortal Ruler Baopu shook his head and replied, ¡°No, you are now different from before. You will no longer be lonely.¡±

    Jing Teng¡¯s face became slightly red. She lowered her head, and was too embarrassed to look at anyone.

    ¡°You have lived this life alone; it is good that you now have friends. I hope¡­¡± Immortal Ruler Baopu trailed off with a sigh. Then, he gradually scattered into specks of light, which gradually converged into a book. Its title was on the surface, written inrge text: Baopu Sutra.

    Jing Teng was about to reach out to take it when arge golden hand suddenly shed past and seized the Baopu Sutra.

    ¡°Hahaha! This emperor has finally obtained the immortal opportunity!¡± Zhao Han eximed, seeming almost as if he had gone mad. He roared withughter, and with another step, he instantly disappeared from the tomb room.

    He had actually wanted to use the chance to kill Zu An and the others, but this was Immortal Ruler Baopu¡¯s tomb and Jing Teng¡¯s rtionship with the immortal ruler was good, somitting murder inside could cause unwanted variables. Besides, he could sense that there were several powerful auras rushing in this direction. Every single one was on par with him, so it was more advantageous for him to leave first after getting what he wanted. He could kill Zu An, that wretched tramp,ter.

    Everything just happened too quickly. Zu An¡¯s group wanted to stop Zhao Han, but they couldn''t react in time at all. He had already disappeared without a trace.

    ¡°Oh no! That Baopu Sutra has entered Zhao Han¡¯s hands and he won¡¯t have to worry about heaven and man deterioration anymore. Ah Zu will be in danger¡­¡± Chu Chuyan and Pei Mianman said worriedly. The happiness they had felt from what they received immediately disappeared.

    As Zu An¡¯s lovers, they naturally knew about Zu An and Zhao Han¡¯s grudge. There was no way the two could coexist. They had been hoping that Zhao Han would just die from old age, but now that he had obtained the Baopu Sutra, his life could clearly be prolonged. Perhaps he would even have a chance of immortal ascension! Zhao Han had already been without equal before. If he took another step forward, how could they possibly fight back?

    Qiu Honglei was also full of worry.

    No wonder we couldn''t find the immortal opportunity no matter what we did. So it turns out the remains were none other than the Baopu Sutra, and a soul fragment was attached to it.

    Even a portion of Zhao Han¡¯s soul was destroyed by Ah Zu, so he definitely hates Zu An bitterly.

    However, this immortal ruler really is something! Why didn¡¯t he just get rid of Zhao Han immediately? Also, the way he passed on the sutra was too negligent. Sure enough, Zhao Han stole it¡­

    Zu An was surprisingly calm as he looked at Jing Teng with a smile.

    Jing Teng¡¯s face reddened. After some hesitation, she began, ¡°Actually¡­¡± However, she suddenly sensed something and held her tongue.

    Right at that moment, several figures flew in. The one at the forefront said in surprise, ¡°A moment ago, my mighty self sensed an immortal¡¯s aura. This is the ce; there is no mistake. Why did it suddenly disappear?¡±

    The whole group followed the source of the voice. They saw a disheveled daoist floating in midair. He was dressed in an apricot yellow robe inscribed with divinatory patterns. There was something of a majestic air about the patterns, too. An imposing pressure naturally emanated from that person; everyone present was a strong cultivator with powerful senses, so they immediately sensed that this person¡¯s cultivation actually wasn¡¯t inferior to Zhao Han¡¯s in the slightest.

    ¡°Big brother Zu!¡± a shocked and happy voice cried. A gentle and quiet youngdy looked at Zu An with pleasant surprise. Her beautiful eyes were as beautiful as Jiangnan¡¯s waterways.

    Behind her was a woman dressed in gold and ck embroidered robes, her long hair draped naturally behind her. However, as she stood with her hands behind her, she gave off a mysterious sense of dignity.

    ¡°Miss Xie!¡±

    ¡°Yun¡­ Sect master!¡±

    Zu An was also pleasantly surprised. He had been worried about them the whole time, and hadn¡¯t expected to reunite here.

    At first, Xie Daoyun had a big smile on her face and only saw Zu An, but a momentter, she saw all the beauties standing around him; some she recognized, and others she didn¡¯t.

    No wonder he¡¯s not calling me little sister Ling¡¯er; his other lovers are here¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Xie Daoyun for +55 +55 +55¡­

    A dangerous glint flickered through Yun Jianyue¡¯s eyes.

    This brat used to call me big sis so sweetly, and yet now, it¡¯s Sect Master Yun? Is it just because the other women are here?

    Even though she knew she would actually be the one panicking if he did call her big sis Yun, she still couldn''t help but get angry.

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue +250 +250 +250¡­

    Why is she suddenly getting angry? Zu An thought in confusion. Just then, however, he suddenly sensed the women exchanging looks with each other. There almost seemed to be dangerous sparks flickering in the air. He shuddered.

 Chapter 1808: A Melon to Eat (Teaser)

    <h4>Chapter 1808: A Melon to Eat (Teaser)</h4>

    Almost every man in the world would say that the more women they had, the better. There was only one situation in which they wouldn¡¯t hope for such a thing, which was when their women met each other.

    Even though the women never said anything, just the looks that were being exchanged contained countless vicious battles.

    ¡°Master!¡± Qiu Honglei suddenly shouted, breaking the awkwardness. Even though she wasn¡¯t too happy that Xie Daoyun was here, seeing her own master was still a heartwarming experience.

    Even though her master was powerful in theory, so Qiu Honglei didn¡¯t have to worry too much about her safety, this secret dungeon¡¯s world was a bit too strange. All sorts of monsters had appeared one after another. This world was sorge too, so she had been worried that her master wouldn¡¯t be able to return or something.

    When she heard her disciple call out to her, a smile appeared on Yun Jianyue¡¯s face. She thought,As expected of the disciple I raised myself. She¡¯s much better than these other gaudy-looking things.

    Sun En was a bit surprised, asking, ¡°You actually knew each other? Then that makes things much easier.¡±

    Zu An and the others looked at him in confusion. Who was this person?

    Yun Jianyue was worried that they would end up creating unnecessary trouble because they didn¡¯t know the situation, so she quickly said, ¡°This is Divine Firmament Sect Master Sun. His strength is at the very peak of this world, and he isn¡¯t weaker than Zhao Han.¡±

    Zu An immediately understood. Back then, Jing Teng had mentioned that one of her enemies in this world was none other than Sun En. This was someone else who was at the top of the whole world. He hadn¡¯t expected to meet Sun En in such a situation. He looked around, and guessed that Yun Jianyue and Xie Daoyun were both in Sun En¡¯s custody at the moment.

    Another voice said just then, ¡°There was an immortal¡¯s aura here. The sect master wishes to know what happened here.¡±

    When he saw the elder next to Sun En, Zu An frowned and asked, ¡°And who are you?¡±

    The elder said proudly, ¡°I am the master of the Wang n, Wang Youjun.¡±

    The Wang n didn¡¯t need any introduction. As soon as the Wang n was mentioned in this world, everyone would know who was being talked about. Thus, after introducing himself, Wang Youjun paused to wait for the expected sighs of admiration.

    However, he didn¡¯t hear anything even after a long time passed. Instead, the group looked at each other in dismay.

    ¡°Have you heard of them?¡±

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think they¡¯re all that famous.¡±

    ¡­

    They weren¡¯t lying. They were from a different world and didn¡¯t know much about this one, and the ones they had been watching out for were people like the Ghost King, Sun En, and Zang Ao. Even though the Wang n was formidable, they still couldn''t be discussed on the same level as those three.

    But who would have thought that their reaction wouldpletely infuriate Wang Youjun?

    If the sect master weren¡¯t here, I would already have taught you all a good lesson!

    He was used to being in a high position, so the time he spent under Sun En had already left him feeling really suffocated. He had been trying to show off a bit in front of this group, but who could have expected the result?

    You have sessfully trolled Wang Youjun for +444 +444 +444¡­

    Sun En stopped him from acting rashly and looked at Yun Jianyue and Xie Daoyun, saying, ¡°Since they are your friends, I¡¯ll leave it to the two of you so that we don¡¯t sour the mood.¡±

    The two women shivered. Even though he spoke courteously, there was clearly an implied threat behind the words.

    As such, Xie Daoyun asked, ¡°Big brother Zu, can you tell Sect Master Sun what happened just now? Where did the immortal go?¡± She figured keeping that information a secret wasn¡¯t too important. However, if they angered Sun En, big brother Zu would be in danger.

    Zu An was about to reply when he heard her gentle request, but Jing Teng suddenly said, ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to tell him!¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He felt a bit troubled, as he would be in trouble whether he said it or not.

    Sigh¡­ Women really are difficult when you have too many of them.

    Hm? Wait, Miss Jing and I don¡¯t have any special rtionship. What am I feeling guilty for?

    Xie Daoyun was stunned. When she saw Jing Teng¡¯s appearance, she wondered who this woman was. She was so pretty, and could even make a request of her big brother Zu in such a confident manner! The woman¡¯s rtionship with big brother Zu was clearly special. When she thought about how even she herself didn¡¯t dare to order Zu An around, she couldn''t help but feel a bit jealous.

    Yun Jianyue also narrowed her eyes and looked at Jing Teng, thinking,When did Zu An pick up another vixen? Why don¡¯t I recognize her at all?

    The stone cold woman¡¯s disciple and the big-boobed woman are both here, so how could they allow him to fondle the flowers and trample the grass like this?

    On top of that, Honglei is here too. Are these women all good-for-nothings?

    ¡°Sect master, allow this subordinate to teach these ignorant people a lesson,¡± Wang Youjun, who was still furious about what had happened previously, said.

    However, who could have expected that Sun En would stop him? Sun En had aplicated expression when he looked at the youngdy, saying,¡°So it was Miss Jing. It has been several decades since west met, yet thedy is still just as graceful as ever.¡±

    The others were all shocked when they heard those words. Wang Youjun hadn¡¯t expected this youngdy to actually be an acquaintance of the sect master! No matter how resentful he was, he still didn¡¯t dare to protest.

    Qiu Honglei and Zu An, who knew the truth, were one thing, but Chu Chuyan and Pei Mianman looked at Jing Teng in shock. They had never expected this dainty-looking woman to have already met Sun En decades ago.

    Are Ah Zu¡¯s tastes really that strange now? He likes women who are that old?

    Yun Jianyue had originally been full of hostility toward Jing Teng, but then started viewing her in a new light when she heard that.

    Hm? She¡¯s actually the same age as me, then? Maybe I should even find a chance to ask her a bit about her beauty routine. She still looks like a youngdy despite being older.

    Even though Yun Jianyue was incredibly beautiful, she had her fair share of both experience and age. It was impossible to hide her mature, elegant grace. Whenever someone saw her, they would only think of her as a strong, mature woman, and definitely not a youngdy.

    Jing Teng replied with a snort, ¡°Isn¡¯t that all thanks to this sect master?!¡±

    Sun En smiled and didn¡¯t get angry, saying, ¡°Different people make different choices. This one merely did what I had to do in the past, and in the end, everything that happened was due to that heartless person¡¯s love crumbling in the face of the slightest trial. What, then, does that have to do with me?¡±

    Suddenly, a voice said with a sigh, ¡°Sect master Sun is really downying the truth and pushing all of the me onto this humble one. In the past, if not for your provocation, why would I have made such a great mistake?¡±

    Afterward, a middle-aged man with an impressive presence walked in. Four attendants followed behind him, each one powerful and domineering in appearance. They were clearly all strong cultivators.

    ¡°Zang Ao!¡± Qiu Honglei eximed, recognizing the person. They had met previously at Jing Teng¡¯s old home.

    Meanwhile, Zu An was paying close attention to the people behind Zang Ao, hoping to see a certain familiar white figure. However, he felt his heart sink in disappointment as he thought,Where is Yan Xuehen?

    Previously, she had said that she would look into just who had issued that highest-level bounty in the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, because it seemed really suspicious. Why didn¡¯t he see her at all? Could it be that something had happened to her?

    Sun En looked coldly at Zang Ao, saying, ¡°Mister Zang, you came at just the right time. You really screwed me over quite badly back then.¡±

    Zang Ao looked quite confused as he replied, ¡°If we¡¯re really talking about screwing over anyone, it was clearly you who harmed me. I haven¡¯t even spoken of my own grievances yet.¡±

    Sun En said with a sneer, ¡°Mister Zang, please don¡¯t try to y innocent. How could I have failed my tribtion if not for the trap you set up in the past? If I hadn¡¯t been careful and made some preparations of my own, I might already have been burnt to ash.¡±

    Yun Jianyue and Xie Daoyun exchanged a look, thinking,No wonder Sun En ¡®died¡¯ on that ind, and he was only revived after the Wang n¡¯s ship arrived.

    Zu An¡¯s group started to think about the implications behind the tribtion Sun En had spoken of. Could it be that this person was already just a step away from immortal ascension?

    Zang Ao shook his head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re saying. I believe there must be some misunderstanding here.¡±

    Sun En sneered and didn¡¯t say anything else. Inwardly, however, he was weighing whether to get revenge first, or to find out information about that immortal first.

    Just then, Jing Teng didn¡¯t hold back at all, and enthusiastically took Zu An¡¯s arm into her impressive bosom. Chu Chuyan, Pei Mianman, Yun Jianyue, and Xie Daoyun¡¯s eyes all widened.

    How can this woman be that shameless? Did she and Ah Zu really have a rtionship?

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Chuyan for +233 +233 +233¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Pei Mianman for +233 +233 +233¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +233 +233 +233¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Xie Daoyun for +233 +233 +233¡­

    Qiu Honglei almostughed out loud. Perhaps she would have imploded from anger if she hadn¡¯t seen the same thing before. However, such a ¡®joyous happening¡¯ naturally had to be shared with these wonderful sisters of hers.

    Hmph, I had to watch you all assault my man right in front of me¡­ Now, you all can properly experience what I had to go through.

    But why do I feel as if my master is also a bit angry?

    Zu An felt his scalp turn numb. He reflexively wanted to pull back his hand, but Jing Teng firmly held it in ce. She even used the chance to nestle her soft body against his like a little bird. He knew that this was the moment when she needed protection the most, so in the end, he sighed and tacitly allowed it.

    Sun En¡¯s previously stern expression turned strange. He ordered Wang Youjun, ¡°Little Wang, why don¡¯t you take out that melon we bought earlier and give each person a slice?¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Favorite

 Chapter 1809: Drive Away the Tiger to Swallow the Wolf

    <h4>Chapter 1809: Drive Away the Tiger to Swallow the Wolf</h4>

    Wang Youjun was stunned, but he still took out arge melon from his bag. He didn¡¯t need to use a de; with just a casual wave of his hand, the melon was instantly divided.

    Sun En took one piece and said with a smile, ¡°A melon to eat, a show to enjoy; what a wonderful time.¡±

    He had spent countless years on an ind far out at sea, and in order to sustain his life, he had been forced to limit his own energy consumption to the absolute lowest amount. He had already missed the joys of living as a normal human being for far too long. Now that there was a chance to do so, he naturally had to enjoy it properly.

    He gestured for Yun Jianyue and Xie Daoyun to take a slice to eat. After some hesitation, they could only ept a piece each. For some reason, however, the sweet melon tasted nd to them. They even felt that it was a bit bitter.

    Zang Ao¡¯s gazended on Zu An¡¯s arm that was buried in Jing Teng¡¯s soft chest, and he noticed that Zu An didn¡¯t move away at all. His expression immediately became terrifyingly dark.

    When he saw the women¡¯s murderous res, Zu An only felt a shiver run through his body. He had to at least say something in such a situation. As such, he took the chance to ask, ¡°Guild Leader Zang, there seemed to be a white-d woman with you, right?¡±

    Chu Chuyan immediately perked up her ears.

    White-d woman? And who is this new vixen?

    I really have be a bit estranged from Ah Zu these years¡­ I¡¯ve given these women too many opportunities.

    Zang Ao was stunned, but he still replied, ¡°Miss Yan went to carry out another mission, so she isn¡¯t here.¡±

    ¡°Miss Yan?¡± the women eximed. Between the woman¡¯s name and her white clothes, they immediately realized that Zang Ao was talking about Yan Xuehen.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s face reddened.

    So it was master¡­ If Master found out that I thought of her as a vixen to guard against, she would probably just give me a beating¡­

    Pei Mianman watched her reaction with amusement.

    Silly girl, you¡¯ve already been cheated on by your master, and yet you have no idea.

    It¡¯s still my own master who is the safest¡­

    As soon as she thought of that, she became a bit embarrassed. She just felt that it was a bit disrespectful to her master.

    Yun Jianyue raised a brow.

    There¡¯s information on that stone cold woman too? Even so, why didn¡¯t that woman juste here, insisting on carrying out some mission instead? How silly.

    Zu An had a grave expression, however. Yan Xuehen had told him that she would stay at this guild leader''s side to investigate the highest-level bounty, so why was she suddenly carrying out another mission? Had something happened to her?

    Just then, Zang Ao asked Jing Teng, ¡°Tengteng, is this the man you like? You¡¯re holding onto him right now, and yet he¡¯s thinking about another woman.¡±

    Chu Chuyan was a bit upset when she heard Zang Ao imply that kind of rtionship existed between Zu An and her master. However, before they fully understood the current situation, she didn¡¯t want to expose their rtionship as master and disciple so he wouldn¡¯t be able to use that to threaten them.

    Zang Ao¡¯s gaze then swept over Chu Chuyan, Pei Mianman, and the other girls. His eyes were full of shock as he continued, ¡°And he has so many women; he¡¯s clearly the fickle sort. You¡¯re quite the prideful person, so why are you mixing with them and ying this game of love rivalry?¡±

    Even he was getting jealous. These women were all absolutely stunning, and not a single one was inferior to Jing Teng. And yet, all of these goddesses were surrounding a single man. Just what in the world had he done for them to make them all submit to him?

    You have sessfully trolled Zang Ao for +688 +688 +688¡­n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Now, even Chu Chuyan and the other women were stunned.

    Indeed, which one of them wasn¡¯t a stunning beauty? They normally had endless pursuers, yet they had all ended up falling for the same man. Now, they were always feeling wronged and fighting each other enviously.

    Why do I have to do all of this? For what reason?

    Their gazes inadvertentlynded on Zu An. The unhappiness they felt gradually disappeared, reced by warm smiles.

    Jing Teng took a deep breath as she replied, ¡°Because I like him. It¡¯s just that simple.¡±I don¡¯t like other people, so it¡¯s meaningless no matter how great they treat me.

    The other women all looked at Jing Teng. They hadn¡¯t expected her emotions for Zu An to be that strong. Based on their brief interaction, they had already learned that she had only met Zu An in this world. In total, less than a month had passed, so how had her feelings for Zu An already be this strong? Was Zu An really just a natural ma for all women?

    Qiu Honglei gritted her teeth so hard they hurt a bit, thinking,These two were for real after all!

    More importantly, it was all happening right in front of her eyes. The glorious Devil Sect witch only ever stole the husbands of others, and yet this time, she actually had her man stolen right out from under her. Just who was the Devil Sect witch here? In that instant, she felt a powerful sense of defeat, as if she had learned all her charm skills, methods of seducing men, and ways of making other women furious with envy for nothing.

    However, when she recalled how Jing Teng had helped her receive Immortal Ruler Baopu¡¯s inheritance, she couldn''t really act up either.

    Hmph, I¡¯ll lend you Ah Zu for a few days out of respect for what you did earlier.

    We Devil Sect witches have always attached great importance to gratitude and grudges alike. We¡¯re not as superficial as those of the so-called righteous faction. We aren¡¯t that fake.

    Hm? Why is master giving me that dirty look?

    Zu An was also looking at Jing Teng in surprise. Judging from her tone, it didn¡¯t sound as if she was pretending. Because of what had happened with the ghost bride, their rtionship had always been a bit ambiguous. However, neither of them had exposed each other.

    Perhaps the first ¡®confession¡¯ on the mountain could be exined away as a mere excuse to fool Zang Ao, but after the second time, one would have to be an absolute ignorant fool to not sense the strong feelings behind them.

    Zu Anfeltwarm insideand he instinctively held Jing Teng¡¯s hand.

    When their fingers interlocked, Jing Teng¡¯s heart began beating quickly. She thought,This dull man has finally found some sense. Just how did he end up with so many beauties around him? Don¡¯t tell me it was always the women who made the first move?

    When he saw their fingers intertwining, Zang Ao¡¯s expression became grim.

    You have sessfully trolled Zang Ao for +567 +567 +567¡­

    ¡°In that case, then I wish the two of you happiness,¡± he spat.

    Zu An replied with a smile, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We¡¯ll definitely be extremely happy in the future.¡±

    There was naturally no need to treat a trashy man with too much courtesy. Zang Ao had left Jing Teng feeling this way for a very long time, so Zu An had to step forward.

    Zang Ao was stunned. He couldn''t help but feel that Zu An was taunting him on purpose, yet he was in a situation where he couldn''t really say anything, even though he couldn''t just remain silent. He could only harrumph to express his anger.

    You have sessfully trolled Zang Ao for +748 +748 +748¡­

    He took a deep breath and turned to Sun En, saying, ¡°Sect Master Sun, I¡¯ve already asked what I wanted to ask. You can do as you please.¡±

    Sun En ced the finished melon peel in Wang Youjun¡¯s hand. He had already eaten quite a few pieces.

    How sweet.

    Brat, it seems retribution is fair to everyone!

    Receive your just desserts!

    However, he still didn¡¯t forget his objective. He said, ¡°An immortal aura appeared here earlier. Just what happened?¡±

    Zu An looked at Yun Jianyue and Xie Daoyun before saying, ¡°Sect master, please let the two of them go first, and then I¡¯ll tell you.¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯splexion became a bit better.

    Looks like this kid still has a bit of a conscience.

    Xie Daoyun was now a bit embarrassed. Her mission had brought her big brother Zu so much trouble. Most importantly, the other women had seen all of it¡­ How shameful.

    At least I have Sect Master Yun with me.

    Sun En chuckled and said, ¡°Brat, since I know you care about them, then how can I just let them go? Hurry up and speak, or else I can¡¯t ensure their safety.¡±

    Zu An replied with a sigh, ¡°The sect master has already seen that someone here doesn¡¯t want me to tell you. Whether I speak or not, I¡¯ll end up offending one side. Why must sect master trouble me? If you really pressure me that far, I can only respect Teng¡¯er¡¯s thoughts.¡±

    Jing Teng immediately smiled when she heard the words ¡®Teng¡¯er¡¯.

    The other women subconsciously rubbed their arms.

    Ah¡­ How cringy¡­

    You have sessfully trolled the women for +99 +99 +99¡­

    Yun Jianyue knew he was saying that to seize some negotiating power, but she still didn¡¯t feel happy about it.

    Are you really going to abandon past friendships for a new rtionship?

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +666 +666 +666¡­

    When he saw the ridiculous amount of Rage points, Zu An began to wonder whether to let the women gather more often in the future. That way, he wouldn¡¯t even have to worry about gaining Rage points at all anymore.

    However, he quickly discarded that thought. A hellish battlefield wasn¡¯t so easily traversed. A single mistake and he would be done for!

    Which of these women wasn¡¯t extremely outstanding? If they snapped out of their daze and didn¡¯t attack each other, instead turning their spears toward him, not even tenyers of skin would be enough to y off from the torture!

    ¡°Are you threatening me?¡± Sun En retorted, narrowing his eyes. A hint of lightning flickered, lighting up the tomb.

    This guy is a lightning element user?Zu An thought, realizing something before replying, ¡°Sect master misunderstands. Your respected self¡¯s cultivation is so high, while none of us here could hope to be your opponent. Even if you temporarily let us go, if you¡¯re dissatisfied with my answer, you can still easily catch us again.¡±

    Sun En sized him up. This guy didn¡¯t have any cultivation aura and looked just like a normal person. He wondered just where the guy got the confidence to remain so calm. In contrast, the women at his side had some cultivation. It seemed that this guy was nothing more than a mooch. However, that level of confidence in mooching was something unique in itself.

    Zang Ao lost to someone like this? Interesting.

    He thought to himself that no matter how high the women¡¯s cultivation ranks were, they couldn¡¯t surpass Yun Jianyue, who was at his side. As such, that guy couldn''t really cause much trouble.

    As such, with a wave of his hand, a gentle force sent Yun Jianyue and Xie Daoyun over. He then said, ¡°Your people have been returned. If you dare to deceive me, I will show you what it means to wish you were dead.¡±

    Afterward, Wang Youjun took out a talisman that flowed with light. It could detect whether one was lying or not.

    Zu An didn¡¯t hide anything and quickly told Sun En about everything that had happened. Then, he mentioned that the Baopu Sutra had been seized by Zhao Han.

    Sun En looked at the talisman. Wang Youjun nodded slightly, showing that what Zu An said was true.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you speak earlier?!¡± Sun En eximed, shooting Zu An a hateful re. Then, with a sh, he ran in the direction Zhao Han had gone in.

    Zu An sighed in relief. He had finally managed to send one away. Still, he couldn''t help but look at Zang Ao before asking, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you chasing after it too? You should understand that I wasn¡¯t lying.¡±

    ¡°Why do I have to chase after them? I only came here for Tengteng to begin with,¡± Zang Ao said with a mocking smile, staring at Jing Teng.

    Favorite

 Chapter 1810: Youâ€™re Not Going to Act Anymore

    Chapter 1810: You¡¯re Not Going to Act Anymore

    ¡°I don¡¯t have much else to say to you,¡± Jing Teng said indifferently. When she looked at Zang Ao, her gaze only carried disgust.

    Zang Ao seemed to have alreadye to terms with his feelings too and didn¡¯t get angry. Instead, he said, ¡°I only wanted to apologize for what happened back then¡­¡±

    ¡°If you really feel sorry for me, you can end your own life to atone,¡± Jing Teng interrupted him.

    The others couldn''t help but look at her.

    This woman looks delicate and dainty, but she¡¯s definitely fierce. If Ah Zu betrays her, will she kill him too?

    Zu An didn¡¯t share such worries, because how could he ever be so heartless?

    Zang Ao frowned. He clearly hadn¡¯t expected her to request such a thing.

    His subordinates berated her. ¡°Lady, aren¡¯t you going too far? How can someone possibly ept something like that?!¡±

    ¡°If you can¡¯t tolerate something like that, help me kill that Sun En. He¡¯s also responsible for that event in the past. As the Adventurer¡¯s Guild president, I¡¯m sure you have countless people under you. You seem to be pretty strong yourself now, too, so this shouldn¡¯t be too hard, right?¡± Jing Teng asked coldly.

    Zang Ao said with a frown, ¡°Sun En is the sect master of the Divine Firmament Sect, and he also has countless people under him. His cultivation is also incredibly high. He¡¯s perhaps second only to the Ghost King in this world, so how would I kill him?¡±

    Jing Teng said with a sneer, ¡°You can¡¯t do this, can¡¯t do that. I can¡¯t even see a speck of sincerity. In that case, please stop trying to act in such a nauseating way.¡±

    ¡°Well said!¡± a voice called out with a loudugh; Sun En and Wang Youjun appeared, having returned from the direction they had just left in.

    ¡°Why did the two of youe back?¡± Zu An asked, stunned. He had wanted to drive away the tiger to swallow the wolf, hoping for Sun En to fight a round against Zhao Han.

    Yun Jianyue and Xie Daoyun quickly told the others about Sun En and Wang Youjun¡¯s abilities through ki transmissions, so they wouldn¡¯t be caught off guard.

    ¡°Even the Adventurer¡¯s Guild Leader hasn¡¯t left, so how could I leave?¡± Sun En replied, looking at Zang Ao with an ambiguous smile.

    Zang Ao said in confusion, ¡°You know about my past with Jing Teng. Is there something wrong with me wishing to apologize to her? What are you meddling for?¡±

    ¡°Guild Leader Zang, please cease that romantic act of yours. After what happened back then, who wouldn¡¯t know what¡¯s actually hiding in that belly of yours?¡± Sun En replied with a sneer. ¡°You must be here for the immortal opportunity behind Jing Teng.¡±

    Zu An raised a brow. He really wanted Wang Youjun to split some pieces of that melon with him.

    It¡¯s my turn to enjoy some drama now¡­

    Chu Chuyan and the other women looked at Zang Ao with unkind expressions. He was still decently handsome, and his bearing was also quite elegant; however, perhaps because of Jing Teng¡¯s past, or because of their feminine sixth sense, this man had the word ¡®trash¡¯ written right across his face in their eyes.

    Zang Ao¡¯s expression changed. He asked, ¡°What are you saying? The immortal opportunity has already been seized by that guy named Zhao Han. I¡¯m only here because I like Jing Teng and feel guilt over what happened in the past.¡±

    ¡°Is it really just because you like Jing Teng?¡± Sun En asked,ughing mockingly. ¡°Everyone here is smart, so there''s really no need for all of this. I¡¯ve been trapped on an ind out at sea all these years, living an unbearable life. At the time, what Icked the least was time, so I often revisited that event to pass time.¡±

    ¡°So what?¡± Zang Ao harrumphed.

    ¡°In the past, it seemed as if I was the one manipting you from the shadows and destroying your romance with Jing Teng. However, after thinking through it all, every single decision I made always seemed to have been led by some coincidence. One or two coincidences are understandable, but when so many line up together, how can it still really be a coincidence?¡± Sun En wondered with a sigh.

    Zang Ao sneered and replied, ¡°Isn¡¯t Sect Master Sun describing yourself too cleanly? Wasn¡¯t it because you became greedy after you learned about Jing Teng¡¯s rtionship with Immortal Ruler Baopu, and wanted the immortal ruler¡¯s treasures to aid in your tribtion?¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Jing Teng¡¯s expression waspletely cold. She calmly watched as the two bickered with each other. There had actually been some things about the past events that she didn¡¯t fully understand. This was a good chance for her to find out what had happened.

    Qiu Honglei took the chance to exin the entire course of events to her master. The other women didn¡¯t know the whole story either and perked up their ears to listen. They couldn''t help but feel sympathy for Jing Teng after listening to the entire story. A woman¡¯s greatest fear was to meet the wrong man, after all. Fortunately, they had met Zu An. Even though he was a bit fickle in love, he was still reliable in other aspects. He definitely wouldn¡¯t be as despicable as Zang Ao.

    However, sympathy is sympathy. Stealing our man is something else.

    When they saw Zu An and Jing Teng¡¯s fingers inteced, they would already have started trouble, if not for the fact that they had a more important situation ying out in front of them.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Even though I spoke in a high-sounding way, saying that it was just an ipatibility between man and fiend, and that I was cultivating for the heavens¡¯ sake¡­ In reality, everything was for Immortal Ruler Baopu¡¯s treasure,¡± Sun En frankly admitted. Perhaps because he had alreadye to terms with many things after being locked away on that ind for several decades, he didn¡¯t care about such superficial things at all anymore.

    Wang Youjun looked down when he heard that. If such words got out, the entire Divine Firmament Sect would risk copse. The sect leader that they had revered for so many years was actually such a despicable man! Their very faith would waver.

    Jing Teng looked at Sun En in surprise. She hadn¡¯t expected him to actually be so frank. Meanwhile, Zang Ao¡¯s expression changed several times, as if he were contemting something.

    ¡°However, even though my scheme seeded, there was something wrong with the treasure I obtained, and I almost died because of it. My downfall can be considered to be of my own making,¡± Sun En continued. ¡°I always wondered where the fundamental errory. Even though I had quite a few suspicions, there were still many things that made no sense. Only when I returned to the continent a few days ago did I learn that the Adventurer¡¯s Guild skyrocketed to power over these years, bing a faction that could even rival my own. That was when I finally understood that it had all been your scheme. What a great pity it is that, even though I dominated an entire generation, I ended up being exploited by you without knowing a thing.¡±

    Zang Ao interrupted him, saying, ¡°Hmph, I was trying to get back on the right path and finally recognized your sinister designs. The reason why I swapped out that treasure was only to get revenge for Tengteng. How could I have anticipated that your life would be such a stubborn one, though?¡±

    ¡°Hah, and you really didn¡¯t refine that golden core for yourself after all this time?¡± Sun En replied, roaring withughter.

    Zang Ao briefly fell silent. Then, he said, ¡°After what happened in the past, I knew that I was too weak, so weak that I couldn''t even protect the woman I loved. The reason I ingested that pill was only because I wanted to be stronger. Only then would I have a way of saving Tengteng.¡±

    ¡­

    Zu An thought to himself, No wonder this Zang Ao was only an ordinary wealthy young master when Jing Teng first met him, and then he suddenly obtained such terrifying cultivation in such a short amount of time. So it was all because of that golden core!

    Yun Jianyue couldn''t help but say with a cold snort, ¡°This guy really knows how to sound self-righteous. He used a woman¡¯s golden core to make himself stronger, then imed that it was for her sake. I¡¯ve never seen such a shameless bastard before!¡±

    She naturally knew that some monsters would produce a monster pill once they achieved sentience. Additionally, there were some human cultivators who, once they reached a certain cultivation realm, also formed a golden core. Even though she didn¡¯t know which category Jing Teng¡¯s golden core belonged to, it had clearly been stolen after that disaster happened to her.

    Jing Teng gave Yun Jianyue a surprised look, and immediately developed a good impression of her.

    As expected of Miss Qiu¡¯s master!

    Even though she had quarreled back and forth with Qiu Honglei along the way, she knew that deep down, Qiu Honglei was kind. As such, they had actually grown closer through the fighting. She hadn¡¯t expected Honglei¡¯s master to have the same temper, though. No wonder Yun Jianyue had ended up producing such a disciple!

    Zang Ao was furious. He was about to say something when Sun En roared withughter, eximing, ¡°Well said!¡±

    Judging from their interactions, Sun En had discovered that Xie Daoyun had quite a few achievements in talisman crafting. If he had met her earlier, perhaps he would have taken her in as his own final disciple to pass on his legacy. As for Yun Jianyue, her temperament actually matched his tastes. As such, even though he imed that they were his hostages, they actually got along quite well.

    Sun En looked at Zang Ao and said with a sneer, ¡°Even though I didn¡¯t hold much vignce against you, with my cultivation, how could it be that easy for someone to fool me? Still, now that I think about it, I still underestimated you too much. Even with the golden core¡¯s help, just how many years have passed? And yet, a spoiled young master like you who couldn''t even truss a chicken ended up reaching your current cultivation.¡± After a brief pause, his expression became especially dangerous as he continued, ¡°Just what kinds of secrets do you have?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re saying,¡± Zang Ao said with a snort. Then, he exined to Jing Teng, ¡°Tengteng, I was sincerely in love with you back then. All of this is nothing more than that Sun bastard¡¯s deception, an attempt to make himself sound innocent while casting all the me on me. You absolutely can¡¯t believe him!¡±

    Jing Teng¡¯s expression was cold as she retorted, ¡°Oh? Then why don¡¯t you exin to me how you could barge into my residence? If you really didn¡¯t have any cultivation, how did you manage to make your way through all of the intricately hidden formations there?¡±

    ¡°That was just a coincidence! It was a sign from the heavens that we were destined for each other¡­¡± Zang Ao began.

    The women all had strange expressions. This guy really doesn¡¯t have any sense of shame. They¡¯re already at this point, and yet he can still say such cringeworthy things?

    Jing Teng was even more annoyed. She clung to Zu An¡¯s arm tightly and said, ¡°In the past, the immortal ruler did a divination for me, and he said that there was a predestined affinity waiting for me. As a result, I thought you were my destiny, and I believed those sloppy words of yours. However, I always felt that something wasn¡¯t quite right and instinctively felt unable to take that step further with you. I didn¡¯t understand why in the past, but now, I finally understand that big brother Zu was my true destiny decreed by fate.¡±

    Being with Zu An was an entirely different experience. She didn¡¯t avoid physical contact with him, and everything felt natural. She didn¡¯t feel all the misgivings she¡¯d had in the past and weed him with both body and soul. In contrast, she had previously been misled by that divination and didn¡¯t really like Zang Ao. That was why she hadn¡¯t been able topletely invest herself from the very beginning.

    Zang Ao¡¯s expression darkened. He finally couldn''t take it anymore and shouted, ¡°You f*cking slut, I treated you like a goddess back then and always treated you with respect. I was scared of being even slightly rude to you, and yet you were actually a damn whore! If I had known things would end up like this, I would have already done you back then!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Zang Ao for +888 +888 +888¡­

    Jing Teng¡¯s expression grew cold. She replied, ¡°Are you not going to keep acting anymore? You were doing pretty well until now.¡±

    Zang Ao¡¯s expression changed several times. He was clearly weighing something in his mind.

    ¡°Interesting. This is the most interesting day I¡¯ve experienced in the past few decades,¡± Sun En said, pping his hands with a huge smile. ¡°I guess it¡¯s fine. Miss Jing, this one will help test out this piece of trash for you.¡±

 Chapter 1811: A Single Mishap and Utter Defeat

    Chapter 1811: A Single Mishap and Utter Defeat

    When they first heard Jing Teng¡¯s serious ¡®confession¡¯, all of the women were stunned. Initially, they had felt that perhaps Jing Teng was just trying to piss off her ex-boyfriend, and thus was saying those things to provoke him. Using Zu An as part of the act wasn¡¯t that big of a deal. But the more they listened, the more they felt that something was off. She was now talking about them being destined for each other!

    Are you two pretending as if we don¡¯t exist?

    In this world, divinations were no joke. They were a genuine school from among the seven cultivation skills. They held great and mysterious power.

    While the women were still upset, they also wondered whether they could get a divination done between them and Ah Zu. Unfortunately, Immortal Ruler Baopu had already passed away, and there was no one else whose skills were on his level. Thus, they all held some resentment, but fortunately, Sun En diverted their attention.

    As soon as Sun En finished speaking, he sent a palm smack at Zang Ao. Even though it was just a casual attack, that palm instantly becamerger, spreading out a hundred meters across. Even the light at the edges of the palm began to warp. It was clear that space itself was starting to copse.

    ¡°Great Heavenfall Hand!¡± Wang Youjun cried out, his heart pounding fiercely. His attention had previously been concentrated on the sect master¡¯s three talismans, and he had almost forgotten about Sun En¡¯s original ultimate skill.

    Zu An and the others were also watching carefully. Sun En¡¯s attack was indeed powerful, but whenpared to Zhao Han¡¯s moves, it was still a bit weaker. However, when they heard Yun Jianyue and Xie Daoyun mention that he still had three powerful divine talismans, they concluded that all of Sun En¡¯s techniques most likely put him on the same level as Zhao Han.

    However, the entire exchange passed in an instant. The Great Heavenfall Hand quickly mmed down toward Zang Ao¡¯s head. Despite that, he didn¡¯t evade and just stood leisurely with his hands behind his back.

    The four elders he brought with him quickly moved. They roared loudly, then pressed their hands on each others¡¯ backs. All four of them formed a straight line, and the chest of the one at the very front swelled up like a ball. He slowly pushed his palms out in front of him, and a mountainous force surged forward to face Sun En¡¯s Great Heavenfall Hand. With a great explosion, the giant palm dispersed, sending chaotic winds in all directions.

    Sun En voiced his surprise. He had wanted to test out Zang Ao with his attack, but hadn¡¯t expected his opponent¡¯s subordinates to block it instead. Even though they had clearly used a coordinated attack, the fact that they were able to stop his palm at all was something to be proud of.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An thought, As expected of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild Leader; he has all sorts of powerful cultivators under him.

    ¡°Four Sages of Liangshan!¡± Wang Youjun cried out. Apart from Zang Ao¡¯s group, he was probably the only one in the room who had a great deal of knowledge about the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. He quickly exined, ¡°It was rumored that the Adventurer¡¯s Guild had four mysterious guests. I never would have expected that not only did the guild leadere personally, he even brought his main force as well.¡±

    Zang Ao smiled and said, ¡°It can¡¯t be helped; the great tomb is dangerous, so I need at least some guards to protect myself.¡±

    The others in the tomb had strange expressions.

    Like hell we¡¯ll believe you! Your cultivation is clearly so high; why would you need others to protect you?

    Sun En replied with a snort, ¡°You have your subordinates, but did you really think I didn¡¯t have mine?¡±

    Wang Youjun felt his scalp turn numb when he heard that.

    You¡¯re not going to send me, are you? Even though it should be fine for me to deal with one or two, they have four! I¡¯ll lose for sure!

    Suddenly, Sun En took out a special talisman and said, ¡°Obey my orders; all generals under themand of the true lord of the north must suppress the demons. Heed my call!¡±

    It was the Record of Emperor''s Suppression!

    The talisman emanated waves of radiance. Then, celestial troops and generals appeared, rushing toward the Four Sages of Liangshan to carry out Sun En¡¯s order.

    It was the first time Zu An had seen the talisman. He clicked his tongue in wonder. He even felt as if the figures it summoned were quite simr to ones he had seen in movies. Could it be that there really was a Celestial Court whose army descended to this world when they heard a summons?

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s beautiful eyes were also wide as she studied the talisman in the air. The White Jade Sect was actually skilled in talismans as well, but they were mostly things that assisted cultivation. How could theypare to the power of this miraculous talisman?

    It wasn¡¯t the first time Xie Daoyun had seen this talisman being used, but she was still dazzled. Unlike Chu Chuyan, who only studied talismans on the side, they were her main field of expertise. However, the runes she studied were more for use in formations. She had never thought about runes being capable of such attacks. Thus, she observed every single detail closely. She gained some insights, but had even more questions.

    However, even if she couldn''tprehend the profundity of this talisman, she could share what she saw with her master. Perhaps they would even be able to break new ground.

    Meanwhile, the Four Sages of Liangshan quickly sank into a difficult position. Theirbination technique was best against a single powerful opponent. With theirbined power, they could deal with one opponent. On top of that, no matter which of the four the enemy attacked, the other three would be able to immediately retaliate.

    Of course, it wasn¡¯t that they didn¡¯t have any ways to deal with numerous enemies. After all, they all had extremely high cultivations. However, if they had many enemies, and every one of them was strong, that would be an issue.

    The celestial troops quickly surrounded the Four Sages of Liangshan. Even though at first, the four were able to hold on by coordinating with each other, there were just too many celestial soldiers. They were quickly overwhelmed¡­

    This was something their enemies often felt. They hadn¡¯t expected fortunes to rise and fall so quickly.

    One celestial general couldn''t get to the four sages, so he decided to just target Zang Ao instead. He brandished his massive golden hammer and brought it down ferociously on Zang Ao¡¯s head. The hammer was massive, and together with his great strength, forget about a human, even a prehistoric mammoth would be ttened into a meat pancake.

    Zang Ao finally moved, sending a fist strike upward. Compared to the massive golden hammer, the fist was like an ant against an elephant.

    However, as soon as the two made contact, something strange and yet somehow inevitable-seeming happened. Zang Ao didn¡¯t move an inch, but the giant hammer¡¯s surface began to crack. Those cracks extended along it, eventually reaching the golden armored general himself. Eventually, the cracks became more and more numerous until they resembled a spiderweb. With a loud noise, the massive celestial general¡¯s entire body split open and scattered into smoke and ashes.

    Zu An¡¯s group had grave expressions. No wonder Jing Teng had said that Zang Ao was one of the world¡¯s strongest individuals!! Now, that indeed seemed to be the case.

    Yun Jianyue felt really dejected. She had always been a proud and arrogant person, and yet in this world, she had experienced setback after setback. Sun En was one thing, as his cultivation was far greater than her own. He even had those three talismans, so it wasn¡¯t too surprising that she couldn''t win against him. They were all sect masters either way, so they could still get along. It wasn¡¯t too embarrassing.

    However, what was going on with this Zang Ao? The power of his fist alone already proved that he was considerably stronger than her! Despite that, he wasn¡¯t that old. Furthermore, judging from their conversation, it sounded as if it hadn¡¯t been that many years since he began his cultivation. How did that make any sense?

    She had always been extremely confident in herself, and thought she was outstanding. And yet now, she felt strangely powerless and defeated.

    ¡°You were finally unable to hold back and used your power, I see,¡± Sun En said as he calmly looked at Zang Ao.

    Zang Ao looked at the nearby Four Sages of Liangshan. Even though they were in terrible condition, they wouldn¡¯t fall for some time. He said, ¡°Sect Master Sun, we don¡¯t share any grudges that can¡¯t be settled between us. Why do you insist on fighting against me? Shouldn¡¯t you first capture that group and learn where the immortal opportunity is? Their strength isn¡¯t anything to scoff at. If we take each other out, won¡¯t they be able to take advantage of us after?¡±

    Sun En said indifferently, ¡°What you say indeed makes sense, but you already plotted against me once in the past. I will not make the same mistake again.¡±

    As soon as he spoke, another talisman rose above his head, glowing a faint purple. Lightning flickered across its surface, with each arc carrying the energy of annihtion.

    It was the Record of Divine Firmament!

    The talisman suddenly lit up. At the same time, a bolt of lightning that was as thick as an arm crashed down. It wasn¡¯t normal lightning, but something closer to tribtion lightning. Not only did it target the body, it also aimed at the soul.

    Not even Zang Ao dared to face it directly. His body flickered, actually moving faster than the lightning as he charged at Sun En. He knew that dodging the lightning would only force him into a passive position. Thus, he had to close the distance so Sun En couldn''t use the lightning anymore.

    However, who could have thought that Sun En had already expected his choice? Purple light suddenly erupted between the two of them. Countless bolts of lightning that were as thick as buckets flooded every inch of the space. The lightning seemed practically tangible, and it waspletely red.

    Yun Jianyue and Xie Daoyun¡¯s expressions changed. The power of this attack was even greater than the expanse of terrifying lightning back on that ind. It seemed that Sun En was going all out against Zang Ao.

    This was the first time Zu An and the others had seen such lightning. Their expressions all changed. The legendary immortal ascension required a baptism of tribtion lightning, but which cultivator could survive such a powerful lightning storm?

    Zang Ao, who had just rushed in, looked as if he had been caught in a web. He was instantly drowned within the expanse of terrifying lightning, causing him to scream bitterly. A faint sphere of light formed around him; a protective treasure had clearly activated. Unfortunately, inside the terrifying tribtion lightning-like domain, the treasure couldn''tst long at all. It shattered almost instantly.

    However, as expected of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild Leader, he quickly took out all sorts of magical treasures. Even so, they quickly exploded one after another. Amid the horrifying tribtion lightning, each of them could only buy him a single second of survival.

    As time went on, he used up more and more treasures, but the lightning showed no sign of stopping. Still, he didn¡¯t have endless treasures. Eventually, he could only rely on his own cultivation and defend with various skills.

    Unfortunately, they were no match at all for the tribtion lightning¡¯s power. Soon, he finally couldn''t take it anymore. His entire body was electrocuted until he resembled a lump of coal, and he fell with a loud bang.

    ¡°Guild leader!¡± the Four Sages of Liangshan eximed, their facespletely ashen. They had thought that with the guild leader''s cultivation, even if he wasn¡¯t a match for Sun En, he wouldn¡¯t be defeated that quickly. And yet now, he waspletely and utterly crushed in an instant!¡±

 Chapter 1812: How Can This Be?

    Chapter 1812: How Can This Be?

    Zu An had expected a huge sh of titans, and he had been nning to swoop in to reap all the benefits after. And yet in the end, this was it?

    Isn¡¯t this Zang Ao just too much of a scrub?

    After entering this tomb, he¡¯d discovered that things never went ording to his ns at all. He had wanted Zhao Han and Ghost King to take each other out, but that didn¡¯t happen. Later, he had wanted Sun En and Zang Ao to defeat each other, but the fight waspletely one-sided¡­

    Is this Zang Ao pretending? How can he give up that quickly?

    Sun En was still worried that the job wasn¡¯t done yet. He moved closer and examined Zang Ao¡¯s body. Then, he said with a sigh, ¡°He died, as expected. He¡¯s lucky to have died so easily.¡± With his cultivation, there was no way he would mistake a living person for the dead.

    The Four Sages of Liangshan had previously felt hopeful, but when they heard that, they all became depressed, thinking, Even Boss is dead, so what do we even have left to hope for? They could no longer maintain their formation and fled for their lives.

    However, Sun En snorted coldly and pointed in their direction, sending a bolt of electricity at them. The Four Sages of Liangshan screamed. They staggered and fell, and the celestial army quickly caught up and surrounded them.

    Previously, they had only barely managed to hold on by using their coordinated fighting style. Now that they were running for their lives, their formation was destroyed. They were stunned by the electric shock as well, so how could they still fight back? They were quickly diced up into a bloody paste.

    Wang Youjun suddenly felt a tense sensation around his own neck. In terms of status in the world of warriors, the Four Sages had been on par with him, and yet they had died so easily here.

    ¡­

    When he saw that Zang Ao¡¯s group hadpletely been dealt with, Sun En sighed in relief. Then, he looked at Jing Teng and the others, saying, ¡°Miss Jing, I helped you get your revenge. It should be time for you to give me the immortal opportunity, right?¡±

    Jing Teng¡¯s gaze shifted to Zang Ao¡¯s scorched corpse. There was no happiness or joy visible on her face. She replied, ¡°Big brother Zu already told you the truth. Zhao Han stole the immortal opportunity. If you chase after him now, you might still make it. Otherwise, it might really be gone.¡±

    Sun En shook his finger with a smile, replying, ¡°Miss Jing, in this, your conduct is poor. I helped you get revenge, and yet you still want to fool me with those words. ording to what I know, the Baopu Sutra should have both an inner manual and outer manual. The outer manual is nothing more than some words encouraging virtue and providing advice in statecraft. If I am not mistaken, what Zhao Han stole should be the outer manual¡­ and the true inner manual should still be here.¡±

    ¡°How did you know that?¡± Jing Teng eximed, her expression finally changing.

    Qiu Honglei, Chu Chuyan, and the other women were shocked. They now understood why Jing Teng hadn¡¯t seemed to be all that worried.

    Qiu Honglei tugged on Zu An¡¯s sleeve, asking, ¡°Did you already know?¡±

    Zu An voiced his confirmation. ¡°When we were crossing over the Earthme Devil¡¯s territory, didn¡¯t I offer to fly Miss Jing over the magma? That entire time, we were conversing with each other by writing on each other¡¯s palms. I warned her that we absolutely couldn¡¯t bring Zhao Han near the immortal opportunity, or else we would all be finished. She told me not to worry at the time, and since she told me that, I naturally trusted her.¡±

    Back then, Zhao Han had beenpletely focused on checking for any conversations through ki, and hadn¡¯t expected them to use such a primitive method.

    Qiu Honglei sighed inwardly in relief.

    I guess I misjudged him back then. Ah¡­ How embarrassing.

    But are you really going to believe her just like that? Who is she to you, anyway?

    You have sessfully trolled Qiu Honglei +23 +23 +23¡­

    When he sensed her resentment, Zu An replied with a chuckle, ¡°You understand now, right? Or did you really think I carried her just because of perversion?¡±

    ¡°Was that not the case too?¡± Qiu Honglei replied with a frown. She nced at Zu An and Jing Teng¡¯s intertwined fingers and noticed that they were still leaning against each other.

    You have sessfully trolled Qiu Honglei for +233 +233 +233¡­

    ¡­

    Fortunately, Sun En spoke up just then to help Zu An out of his embarrassment. ¡°I learned of it in the past while chatting with Zang Ao. He inadvertently mentioned that, and it was you who first told him.¡±

    Jing Teng¡¯s face turned pale. She said, ¡°I really didn¡¯t have any discernment with people. I just casually mentioned that the immortal ruler¡¯s manual was separated into the inner and outer manuals. I never expected he would actually take it to heart, let alone deducing that Zhao Han only took the outer manual so quickly.¡±

    In the past, Immortal Ruler Baopu had sensed that the people of the world had be corrupt, and that almost everyone was cruel and ruthless, causing the world to be filled with monsters. He knew his own martial strength alone couldn''tpletely change all that. Only once the world stabilized again, and there was peace across thend, could he then spread enlightenment to themon people. That was how the world could be gradually changed.

    That was why he had written the outer manual. In his heart, the outer manual¡¯s value wasn¡¯t any lower than the inner manual. After all, the inner manual only benefited a single person, while the outer manual could help everyone in the world.

    Immortal Ruler Baopu had sensed the aura of an emperor from Zhao Han and thought that he was the new emperor of this world. He thought he shared the fate of a ruler with Zhao Han, and hadn¡¯t acted against him. He had even tacitly approved of Zhao Han taking the outer manual.

    However, how could he have known that Zhao Han had no interest in such matters of statecraft at all? He was only interested in the inner manual that focused on individual cultivation!

    ¡­n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Meanwhile, after Zhao Han stole the Baopu Manual, he had quickly left. Now that he already had the immortal opportunity, why would he still stay in this great tomb filled with dangers? After easily eliminating a monster along the way, as well as a group of unsightly cultivators, he sessfully left the tomb. He quickly arrived at a quiet and secluded ce, and impatiently flipped through the immortal opportunity he had obtained.

    When he saw the pure immortal energy emanating from the book, Zhao Han¡¯s entire body shook. He opened the Baopu Sutra with trembling hands. He was already prepared to worship the words as he opened it.

    However, the contents weren¡¯t the imprable mysteries he had expected, but rather things he could immediatelyprehend through analogies. He became more and more excited.

    This is an immortal opportunity meant for me after all! In the eyes of others, this book might be like a heavenly book, but it was actually so easy for me!

    He couldn''t calm down his excited heart and continued to read it with adoration. He nodded as he read. There were many areas in which he even felt as if he were conversing with an intimate friend. With his current cultivation, he could already skim the contents and understand everything. But this time, he didn¡¯t want to miss out on any clues and read it word for word.

    As time went on, however, his excited expression began to give way to doubt.

    Why does this Baopu Sutra only talk about how to rule a nation?

    As an emperor, he naturally understood the contents. Furthermore, there were many solutions he had never even thought of before. There were some enlightening policies that were bold and imaginative, yet also very practical.

    But I didn¡¯te for a book on statecraft. Where the hell is my damn immortal opportunity?!

    He finally couldn''t sit still anymore and quickly flipped through it. He discovered that there was no method of immortal ascension inside, unlike what he had imagined.

    ¡°What is going on?¡± Zhao Han eximed in rm, but he quickly said to himself, ¡°Never let yourself be flustered. Who knows, this sutra might hide great mysteries. These characters might just be a pretense.¡±

    After all, he was well versed in the ways of the world. Such a thing was all toomon. He calmed down considerably when he thought of that. He began to check to see whether the book held hidden meaning.

    However, even after checking for a long time, he didn¡¯t find anything. He even tried to use water and fire, to the point that he recklessly risked the manual being destroyed. Even after testing all kinds of methods, the booklet didn¡¯t reveal any hidden messages.

    ¡°How can this be?!¡± Zhao Han eximed, drawing aplete nk. He had never panicked this much in his life before.

    He was so angry that he wanted to rip the book to shreds. However, as soon as he raised his hand, he thought of something. Whether it was the characters or the immortal auraing out of the Baopu Sutra, there was no way to fake them. That meant these were truly Immortal Ruler Baopu¡¯s personal writings. In that case¡­

    ¡°This must be a test for me. How can immortality be that easy? Of course you need to go through some trials first!¡± he said to himself.

    He gradually calmed down when he thought of that. If it wasn¡¯t some doubleyered wording, the secret had to be in the sutra itself. He likely had to use some rules and patterns to decipher it.

    He thus opened the Baopu Sutra and began to study it again. He tried reading the first word of each line, linking the characters up diagonally, and even reading alternate lines¡­ At first, he felt that it was all disorderly and messy, but also that it was extremely profound. He tried all sorts of deciphering methods and saw that there were many possibilities, as if there were countless secrets hidden within. He immediately became excited and began to think things over, biting words and chewing characters.

    Suddenly, a gust of palm wind swept toward him. As he was focusing too intently, he only sensed it when it arrived. He quickly dodged to the side. Even so, he wasn¡¯t able topletely avoid it. Half his body grew numb.

    ¡°This level of power¡­¡± Zhao Han muttered, suddenly looking up.

    The long-robed elder who met his gaze was a bit surprised, remarking, ¡°Hm? Your vignce was so low. Just what were you looking at?¡± His gaze shifted to the Baopu Sutra in Zhao Han¡¯s hands.

    Zhao Han¡¯s eyes narrowed. He quickly put the Baopu Sutra away and said, ¡°The glorious libationer actually sneak attacked someone from behind. If news of this got out, I¡¯m sure the entire world wouldugh in mockery.¡±

 Chapter 1813: One Sword For One Life

    Chapter 1813: One Sword For One Life

    The elder was, of course, the libationer. He said calmly, ¡°The two of us are already mortal enemies, anyway. Even if some dishonorable methods are used, it is still worth it.¡±

    Zhao Han replied with a cold snort, ¡°Do you think you can defeat me with just that? Could it be that you are going to rely on Sect Master Yan next to you?¡± His gazended on the white-d beauty next to the libationer. His expression turned ugly as he continued, ¡°Does Sect Master Yan know what your actions represent right now? Once this emperor leaves this secret dungeon, the entire White Jade Sect will have to pay the price for your actions.¡±

    The white-d woman was indeed Yan Xuehen. She said with a sigh, ¡°Even if I stayed out of this affair, could it be that your majesty really would have left the White Jade Sect alone?¡±

    She already knew about Li Changsheng¡¯s participation in the scheme against the emperor. The entire White Jade Sect was already hanging on the very edge, so anything she did at this point was reasonable.

    Zhao Han was already unhappy about the Baopu Sutra. He couldn''t help but glower, saying, ¡°This emperor has treated Sect Master Yan with considerable respect over the years. I never expected that we would face each other like this.¡±

    Yan Xuehen remained silent. She didn¡¯t want to fight against Zhao Han either, but with how things stood, she had more important concerns.

    Just then, the libationer said, ¡°Sect Master Yan, you should head into the great tomb to look for yourpanions.¡±

    ¡°But¡­¡± Yan Xuehen began.

    She was a bit nervous, because she knew that the libationer would be a bit weaker than Zhao Han if they fought one on one. Furthermore, the libationer had gotten injured, and for her sake, no less. Of course, there was no way she would be foolish enough to reveal that information. Otherwise, Zhao Han would have even more confidence.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± the libationer said, shaking his head. ¡°You will not be able to offer much in a battle on this scale. Furthermore, you have something more important to do right now, which is contacting yourpanions.¡±

    Yan Xuehen looked conflicted. She knew that what the libationer said was true, but leaving her benefactor at such a life-saving moment didn¡¯t agree with her principles at all.

    The libationer chuckled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. He was wounded just now, so I might not lose. Besides, when you deal with the situation there, you might even be able to bring people over to help me.¡±

    Yan Xuehen gritted her teeth and replied, ¡°Then I will be leaving for now. Sir, please take care of yourself!¡± She did have something really important to tell Zu An. She wasn¡¯t the indecisive sort, so after bowing to the libationer, she sped toward the great tomb.

    ¡°You want to leave?!¡± Zhao Han yelled, his expression changing. Arge hand appeared and tried to grab Yan Xuehen.

    Even though he was stronger than the libationer, he had beenpletely immersed in the immortal opportunity, and was wounded due to carelessness. If Yan Xuehen brought over some more helpers to face him, perhaps he would really be finished here. After all, he didn¡¯t even know what Zu An¡¯s hidden cards were yet. Zu An had even been able to kill his own split soul, so it was likely that he could pose a threat.

    Arge sleeve moved to block the hand as the libationer said, ¡°Your opponent is me.¡±

    The two of them exchanged a few blows, and both staggered backward.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zhao Han was stunned. Then, he roared withughter, eximing, ¡°So you were injured as well!¡±

    The libationer replied indifferently, ¡°Isn¡¯t your majesty also injured?¡±

    He had inadvertently ended up rescuing Yan Xuehen, but the opponent had been too strong, causing him to also suffer some injuries. That was why he hadn¡¯t hesitated to ambush Zhao Han; otherwise there wouldn¡¯t be any need to fight at all.

    Zhao Han said coldly, ¡°If you were at your strongest, perhaps you would actually have a chance after sessfully ambushing me. However, since we are both wounded, you¡¯re dead for sure!¡±

    The libationer¡¯s expression was calm. He didn¡¯t waver in the slightest from the provocation. He retorted, ¡°Aren¡¯t you a bit too confident in yourself? It is still hard to say who wille out on top in the end.¡±

    Zhao Hanughed and replied, ¡°That¡¯s right, you do have talent. You might even be the most talented man I know, so it is unsurprising to see your confidence. Unfortunately, it is because you were too talented that you were interested in too many things. Your thoughts were too divided, and you spent your energy on too many different domains. A person¡¯s concentration is limited. If you focused on a single domain, perhaps you would even have surpassed me. But since you learned too many random things, you are destined to not be my match!¡±

    The libationer was unfazed, replying, ¡°Who says that studying wide will definitely lose to studying tall? Today, your majesty will be able to experience my aplishments over the years.¡±

    As soon as he finished speaking, all sorts of runes appeared beneath his feet. A celestial map of the heavens also extended out from behind him.

    Zhao Han was shocked when he saw all of these phenomena appear. He thought, If this man is given a bit more time, he might even reach the gateway to immortality before me!

    When he saw that, he didn¡¯t underestimate the libationer anymore. He took out the Human Emperor Seal, then rushed at his opponent while surrounded in golden light.

    A huge explosion resounded. Waves of terrifying ripples spread outward, turning some nearby cultivators into dust. All others nearby quickly ran for their lives while filled with horror. Could it be that the immortal ruler had been revived? Who was the other person he was fighting against?

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in Immortal Ruler Baopu¡¯s tomb, Sun En said, ¡°Zang Ao is a man filled with deep schemes. In the past, even I was defeated by that side of him. Thus, I realized that since he did not pursue that man, there was definitely something wrong. Furthermore, when I recalled him mentioning the inner and outer manual, it was not too difficult to guess the rest.¡±

    Jing Teng nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s right, the Baopu Sutra does have inner and outer manuals, but the immortal ruler¡¯s will has already dissipated. Only the outer manual was left behind. As for where the inner manual is, I don¡¯t know either.¡±

    Sun En frowned and replied, ¡°Miss Jing, this time, your answer is quite senseless. Seeing as Zang Ao was staring at you the entire time, no matter how far he wanted to go with his acting, he would still stay around you. There is no way he would do that for no reason.

    ¡°I believe you are the one who has the deepest rtionship with Immortal Ruler Baopu in this world. He was far too good to you, to the point where it does not seem as if he only enlightened you on a whim, but rather treated you as if you were his daughter.¡±

    Zu An and Qiu Honglei both couldn''t help but look at Jing Teng when they heard those words. The other women couldn¡¯t know because they had only just arrived, but both of them had always felt a bit strange. Jing Teng knew a bit too much, right? It didn¡¯t seem to be as simple as her having been enlightened in passing.

    ¡°Daughter?¡± Jing Teng replied,ughing in distress. ¡°It would have been great to have parents, let alone someone as amazing as the immortal ruler.¡±

    The others were stunned. Judging from her tone, she didn¡¯t seem to be lying. Just what was going on?

    Suddenly, the entire tomb rumbled with noise. Muffled waves of terrifying roars emerged from the tomb¡¯s depths from time to time. Those present all shuddered from the sounds alone. Their instincts warned them that the situation was extremely dangerous.

    Even Sun En had a grave expression as he said, ¡°It was rumored that back then, the immortal ruler sealed many terrifying beings in the depths of the great tomb. It seems that was true after all.¡±

    Jing Teng replied, ¡°Of course it¡¯s true. However, what others don¡¯t know is that the immortal ruler only sealed a few monsters in the outermostyer. The monsters deeper within already existed in the great tomb. Even the immortal ruler feared them.¡±

    Sun En asked in surprise, ¡°So does that mean that in the distant past, someone even more powerful sealed those monsters? This great tomb is full of mysteries, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    Jing Teng said, ¡°I don¡¯t know where the inner manual is hidden, but it might very well be in the depths of the great tomb. If Sect Master Sun is interested, you can go and look around.¡±

    Sun En chuckled and replied, ¡°Littledy, aren¡¯t you taking me for too much of a fool? You want me to look around in a ce even the immortal ruler felt apprehensive about?¡±

    He even shivered a bit when he heard those roars. They were clearly extremely powerful creatures, so how could he dare to go in deeper?

    ¡°Then there¡¯s nothing more I can do for you,¡± Jing Teng said with a helpless expression. ¡°I already told you the only possibility I know, but you¡¯re too scared to do it.¡±

    Wang Youjun, who had remained silent all this time, suddenly spoke. ¡°No, there seems to be another method¡­¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Jing Teng eximed, stunned.

    ¡°...which is to seize your lover and force you to speak the truth,¡± Wang Youjun finished. At almost the same instant, he appeared next to Zu An and grabbed his shoulder.

    His sh Talismans were incredibly precious. He¡¯d only had two left before, so he normally wouldn¡¯t use them unless it was to save his life. However, Sun En had ordered him to use one, so he didn¡¯t dare to say no.

    Wang Youjun had been observing Zu An the whole time, but this pretty boy didn¡¯t have any ki fluctuations. He really was unbearably weak.

    This kid probably relied on his looks and flowery speech to mooch off of the women around him.

    Among the women, Yun Jianyue was the strongest, but she couldn''tpare to him in speed. By the time they reacted to his sudden ambush, Sun En wouldn¡¯t just watch without doing anything, and would restrain all of them. If they tried to do something, Sun En would definitely stop them.

    As such, all he had to do was to instantly close the gap between him and that pretty boy, and then restrain him. That task didn¡¯t seem difficult at all. The only unfortunate thing was that to do so, he would be wasting a precious sh Talisman.

    Damn Sun En, you¡¯re too ashamed to ambush your juniors, so you¡¯re making me do the dirty deed. F*ck you!

    Just then, a streak of resplendent sword radiance appeared before Wang Youjun¡¯s eyes. He was absolutely certain that he had never seen such a dazzling sword strike in his life. It was like the brilliant cosmos, and also like limpid moonlight. It resembled the rise of a zing sun.

    One¡¯s sword strike could often signal the end of another¡¯s life.

    Wang Youjun was surprised by the speed he suddenly seemed to be moving at, wondering when his movement skill had be so fast. Even his body seemed to have be lighter.

    Huh? Wait, why is that person¡¯s back in front of me so familiar?

    That person was grabbing Zu An¡¯s shoulder, but its head was missing. Quite a bit of blood was gushing out.

    I¡¯m dead?

    Wang Youjun felt as if his hair were standing on end.

 Chapter 1814: Sisters As One

    Chapter 1814: Sisters As One

    Wang Youjun was stupefied. He was someone who had basically reached the peak of this world. As the master of the Wang n, as well as one of the elders of the Divine Firmament Sect, he was one of the people with the greatest authority in the world.

    If not for his obsession with bing the Divine Firmament Sect Master,pelling him to look for the three records, perhaps he would have been lying in hisfortable chair back at the Wang n, with young maids providing him with lovely massages and feeding him all sorts of fruits while showing off their perky chests¡­

    Countless Wang n disciples and Divine Firmament Sect members would have kneeled before him to get advice from him. Just a single sentence from him could decide their very fates, as well as their lives. Even just thinking about such a thing was extremely satisfying!

    Why did I have to be so greedy and insist on those three sect master records? Not only did I end up killing my son, all of the n¡¯s elites are dead. Now, I¡¯m dead too.

    Damn this pretty boy, he was actually a tiger dressed up as a pig!

    You have sessfully trolled Wang Youjun for +555 +555 +555¡­

    However, he hated Sun En even more. If not for Sun En pressuring him, how could he possibly have tried to attack Zu An? When he thought of that, his face twisted maliciously, but endless darkness quickly overcame him.

    Zu An used ki to prevent the blood that was spraying out of Wang Youjun¡¯s neck from getting on the people around him, while pushing the corpse away. He noticed that there was a strange talisman in the corpse¡¯s hands, eximing, ¡°Hm?¡±

    Yun Jianyue said, ¡°That seems to be a sh Talisman, but it''s a one-time use item.¡±

    She had seen Wang Youjun move extremely quickly before on the ind. She had been shocked that he could move so fast with his cultivation, but now, she finally realized what had happened back then.

    ¡°So that was it,¡± Zu An said.

    He had an instantaneous movement skill himself, so this talisman wasn¡¯t all that useful to him. He thought about giving it to someone else to use. However, he then noticed that all of the women were staring at him fiercely.

    Zu An immediately felt a headacheing on. He only had one talisman, so he would offend the others no matter who he gave it to.

    This Wang Youjun really is something! Couldn¡¯t you have prepared a few more? Why are you making things so difficult for me?

    Even so, he reacted quickly and gave the talisman to Xie Daoyun, saying, ¡°Little sister Ling¡¯er, you specialize in runes, and your cultivation is the lowest. This is the perfect item for you to protect yourself.¡±

    The other women didn¡¯t have many objections to that. After all, Xie Daoyun didn¡¯t have that level of a rtionship with Zu An. They were more like a big brother and little sister. Furthermore, her cultivation was the lowest, so it was understandable to give her something to protect herself with.

    Hmph, at least he didn¡¯t give it to Chuyan.

    At least he didn¡¯t give it to that big-boobed woman.

    At least he didn¡¯t give it to that seductive vixen.

    At least he didn¡¯t give it to that woman who¡¯s shoving Ah Zu¡¯s arm into her chest.

    The women all had varying thoughts, but strangely enough, they all tacitly agreed to the same thing.

    Xie Daoyun was shocked and happy, eximing, ¡°It¡¯s for me?¡± She gave the other women a guilty look and saw them all shift their gazes away. Only then did she put the talisman away and say, ¡°Thank you, big brother Zu!¡±

    Jing Teng couldn''t help but give her a second look.

    There¡¯s someone else who addresses him the same way I do?n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Hmph, she looks all timid and gentle. Does big brother Zu like this innocent type?

    A red talisman suddenly flew out from Wang Youjun¡¯s corpse. It was about to leave when Xie Daoyun cried out. Zu An reflexively grabbed it and asked, ¡°Do you recognize this thing?¡±

    Xie Daoyun and Yun Jianyue exchanged a look. They both nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s the red radiance yellow talisman. It can find anyone you¡¯re looking for. The reason we sought out Wang Youjun before was precisely because we wanted to use this talisman to find you and the others.¡±

    ¡°So that was the case. You should hold onto this talisman too then,¡± Zu An said. He was about to give Xie Daoyun the talisman, but she seemed to avoid it like the gue. She shook her hands back and forth repeatedly, rejecting it.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want it¡­ This item needs souls as a sacrifice. I don¡¯t like these kinds of evil things,¡± Xie Daoyun said, her face pale. She hadn¡¯t even dared to kill the family¡¯s chickens before, so how could she use living creatures as sacrifices?

    As expected.

    Both Chu Chuyan and Pei Mianman had expressions of disgust.

    In that case, it can only be given to¡­

    Zu An¡¯s gaze went back and forth between Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei. He was really conflicted. This item was extremely suitable for both of them, but who could he give it to?

    As if seeing through his hesitation, Yun Jianyue said, ¡°Just give it to Honglei. Why would a master fight a disciple over something? Furthermore, how am I supposed to act if you give me this thing in front of all your women?¡±

    Even though she was actually secretly willing to y this game with Zu An, she was still the respected Devil Sect Master on the surface. If the others found out about their real rtionship, perhaps she would really break down.

    At that point, wouldn¡¯t that stone cold womanugh at me for the rest of my life?

    Absolutely not!

    When he heard her say that, Zu An gave the talisman to Qiu Honglei, saying, ¡°Honglei, this item matches your path, so I¡¯ll give it to you.¡±

    Qiu Honglei harrumphed. ¡°You¡¯re giving me something she doesn¡¯t want? Whatever, they¡¯re all righteous goddesses and don¡¯t have any blood on their hands. Only a Devil Sect witch like me would do despicable things like that.¡±

    Chu Chuyan and Pei Mianman raised their brows when they heard that. What is this witch acting up for? She really needs a good beating.

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Chuyan for +170 +170 +170¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Pei Mianman for +170 +170 +170¡­

    Yun Jianyue watched the two women¡¯s reactions with a smile.

    As expected of Honglei, my carefully fostered disciple. A witch should act like a witch, and it¡¯s even better if you anger those other vixens to death. That might be able to chase away a fewpetitors then.

    Zu An was really confused.

    What are you getting angry at me for? What does this have to do with me?

    He could only exin to Qiu Honglei, ¡°There are some people who truly do deserve to die, so sacrificing souls isn¡¯t too difficult. But the paths they cultivated since they were young don¡¯t agree with those actions. However, you¡¯re different. You have more enemies, so it¡¯s easier for you to find treacherous viins to kill. Actually, it would be more like carrying out heavenly punishment¡­ If you don¡¯t want it, should I give it to your master then?¡±

    ¡°I do! I want it! Why would I not want it?!¡± Qiu Honglei eximed, snatching that red radiance yellow talisman out of his hands and cherishing it as if it were some incredible treasure. The red radiance yellow talisman seemed to have sensed the vicious auraing from her and seemed to appreciate it. It no longer struggled and epted its new owner.

    If Wang Youjun were still in this world, perhaps he would have vomited blood on the spot and thought, This old one treated you so well over the years, and yet you immediately defected to the enemy? Do you really have not a shred of integrity?!

    Yun Jianyue started to grind her teeth.

    This rascal!

    A second before, she had been praising Qiu Honglei for being shrewd in romance, and yet a momentter, she had ended up being embarrassed by this littledy.

    So what if you give it up to your master? At the very least, you have to modestly decline, right? Do you really think your master would fight with you over these things?

    It¡¯s all that brat Zu An¡¯s fault! He ended up ruining my obedient disciple!

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +111 +111 +111¡­

    Sun En had already wanted to say something earlier, yet these people kept going on and on as if they didn¡¯t care about him, so he couldn''t even find a good chance to interrupt. After listening for so long, he finally couldn''t take it anymore and erupted. ¡°Are you all done with your jealous rivalry yet?! Are you treating this one as invisible or something?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Sun En for +666 +666 +666¡­

    Only now did the others seem to snap out of their daze. They looked at him in embarrassment, replying, ¡°What does the sect master wish to say?¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± Sun En was stunned.

    What the f*ck did I want to say?

    He gave the dead Wang Youjun a look, and only then did he collect himself. He looked at Zu An and said, ¡°Kid, you clearly don¡¯t have a single ripple of cultivationing out of you, so why were you able to disy such brilliant sword skills? There is even a hint of unrivaled might within that sword skill. It really is absurd!¡±

    Of course it was absurd in his eyes. Even though this youngster possessed some distinctive traits, Sun En had still been able to gauge his power in that instant. Zu An¡¯s true power was still considerably weaker than his own.

    However, even he himself didn¡¯t dare believe that he was without equal, so how could this kid have such a level of confidence? Most importantly, that pure intent of the undefeated couldn¡¯t be faked!

    Are you messing with me right now?

    He felt as if all the ways of understanding the world he had acquired over his life were being thrown into chaos. Even so, he still quickly calmed down and said,¡°I do not know what method you used to achieve this result, but true strength cannot be faked.¡±

    As soon as he spoke, he used the Record of Emperor¡¯s Suppression. Several dozen celestial troops appeared from the void, rushing at the opposing group. He didn¡¯t fear their numbers advantage at all, because his skill nevercked numbers. He was the only one who ever outnumbered his enemies.

    Jing Teng¡¯s expression changed when she saw the ferocious celestial army. She quickly formed a hand imprint and said, ¡°The valiant should join the ranks of war. The army is to the west; the white tiger awaits its summons!¡±

    It was the White Tiger¡¯s Expedition!

    A giant white tiger roared as it charged at the iing soldiers, and the troops were quickly wiped out.

    Sun En released a cold snort when he saw that, then used the Record of Emperor¡¯s Suppression again. This time, several hundred soldiers rushed out. No matter how fierce that white tiger was, it couldn''t hold on anymore.

    Just then, it was Yun Jianyue who took action. The Crescent Ring instantly took the head of a golden-armored divine general like a reaper¡¯s scythe, turning it into specks of light. The instant they saw her take action, the other women all attacked as well.

    When he saw them all bring out unique and outstanding skills, Sun En was a bit stunned.

    Just what kind of superpower does that pretty boy have? How was he able to obtain so many ridiculously beautiful and ridiculously strong tigresses?!

 Chapter 1815: Questioning Life

    Chapter 1815: Questioning Life

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s sword was powerful, and more importantly, every skill was beautiful. She was like a goddess on an ice mountain. She really was stunning.

    Pei Mianman had ck roses blooming all around her. The mes she brandished seemed extremely magical. Even the celestial soldiers were burned and corroded if they made contact with even a bit of the fire.

    Qiu Honglei was graceful and elegant. Her skills were clearly vicious and ruthless, but in the eyes of others, it was as if she were performing a beautiful dance that didn¡¯t seem repulsive in the slightest. Any onlookers would only want to see herplete the dance. However, at that point, perhaps her de would already have pierced their vitals. Besides that, the mysteriousntern she had made even the celestial army¡¯s movements slow down when they entered its light.

    Yun Jianyue was like a goddess of death. A mountain of corpses and a sea of blood appeared behind her. Whenever she attacked, it always left many dead. Even the celestial troops were subconsciously avoiding her.

    There was no need to even say too much about Jing Teng. The level of skill she used was high. The white tiger she summoned was incredibly fierce, to the extent that it could be considered the main force of this battle. If not for the fact that her cultivation wasn¡¯t high enough, Sun En suspected that her white tiger alone would be enough to wipe out his celestial army.

    It¡¯s actually even higher-level than my Record of Emperor¡¯s Suppression?

    As for Xie Daoyun, she didn¡¯t fight on the front lines; instead, she hid in the back and used all sorts of formations. A hazy radiance surrounded the women on the battlefield, increasing the recovery of their ki, offering defenses, eliminating negative effects¡­

    The other women all looked at her with goodwill. Who didn¡¯t want a reliable supporter in their party? Furthermore, from the looks of it, she only had a sibling level rtionship with Zu An, and things hadn¡¯t gone any further.

    When he saw his impressive looking army being pushed back bit by bit, Sun En suddenly wondered whether there was something wrong with the world.

    Most of these women were only master rank, but were they really freaking master ranks? If they were normal master rank cultivators, just a single divine soldier would¡¯ve been enough to kill one of them! They were all geniuses who could fight enemies at a higher level than themselves.

    How was that pretty boy able to gather so many outstanding women? Most importantly, they¡¯re all so devoted to him too!

    Furthermore, they¡¯re all so absurdly beautiful! Hey, if you¡¯re that outstanding, which man can¡¯t you go after? Why do you have to hang yourself on this single tree?

    They had been getting all jealous over a single man. Just the thought alone made him feel annoyed.

    In this battle against the celestial army, Zu An never did a thing. He only let his women fight.

    Sun En was a bit rmed. It was as if he were looking at a male lion on the prairie, and everything was being done by the lionesses. All the lion had to do was open his mouth to eat.

    This level of mooching¡­ is really freaking enviable.

    Sun En looked at Zu An and said, ¡°Kid, I¡¯m suddenly starting to be interested in you.¡±

    Zu An shivered and reflexively took a step back. He looked at Sun En vigntly and eximed, ¡°Sorry, but I don¡¯t like men!¡±

    Sun En was stunned.

    This one doesn¡¯t fucking like men either! Why the hell are your thoughts going in that direction?!

    You have sessfully trolled Sun En for +444 +444 +444¡­

    Zu An became even more guarded when he sensed the anger. He thought that his rejection had angered Sun En.

    Sun En forcefully suppressed his anger and said, ¡°How about we make a deal? If you tell me where the Baopu Sutra is, I can ignore the fact that you killed my subordinates earlier. Also, I will spare your lives.¡±

    He didn¡¯t even need to talk to Jing Teng directly. Judging from how intimately she was clinging to his arm, she would definitely agree with whatever Zu An said.

    Zu An couldn''t help butugh. He said, ¡°It seems you don¡¯t need to give a single thing, and yet you want to get the most precious thing. Isn¡¯t this transaction a bit too unfair?¡±

    ¡°Killing Zang Ao for Miss Jing can be considered getting revenge for her. How can you say that I didn¡¯t do anything?¡± Sun En retorted, then changed the topic. ¡°Furthermore, aren¡¯t your lives the most precious things? Could it be that you don¡¯t even cherish that?¡± He didn¡¯t mention Wang Youjun¡¯s life. It was clear that in his eyes, that wasn¡¯t much of a cost at all.

    Zu An couldn''t help but sigh, saying, ¡°You really know how to make up cards to y. How did our own lives be your condition?¡±

    Sun En said apathetically, ¡°It seems I was too nice to you all, and you developed some unrealistic delusions.¡±

    Now that the women were preupied by the Record of Emperor¡¯s Suppression, it was the perfect time to deal with this pretty boy. As soon as he realized that, he pointed at Zu An from afar.

    In that instant, a vision of a streak of lightning crashing down on his head appeared in Zu An¡¯s mind. With a sh, he evaded to one side. Sure enough, a bolt of lightning as thick as an arm struck down on where he had been. Sun En was clearly still holding back, worried that he would identally kill Zu An and make Jing Tengpletely opposed to him.

    Zu An was about to say something when a vision of him being surrounded by a sea of lightning appeared in his mind. His expression changed. He knew that these were warnings from ¡®The Book¡¯. He quickly used Grandgale to move another hundred meters away.

    The instant he left, everything within dozens of meters around where he had been turned into a sea of lightning. Berserk lightning boltsshed out like whips, sealing off every corner of that space. It was just like the sea of lightning that had killed Zang Ao before, but a bit smaller in scale.

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed. He had thought that Sun En would go easy, but he had never expected the guy to actually be this fierce! The first bolt of lightning seemed to have actually been for the purpose of chasing him away from Jing Teng and Xie Daoyun. Then, what followed was the real trap that awaited him.

    Zang Ao had fallen into a simr trap earlier. Zu An wondered just how Sun En had set up that lightning field, and how he had predicted the direction of that dodge.

    Sun En was even more shocked, eximing, ¡°You actually avoided it?¡±

    After all, he had managed the Divine Firmament Sect for so many years and had all kinds of tricks. He had actually secretly nted lightning seeds everywhere. As long as he willed it, the seeds would trigger and instantly produce a destructive lightning field. Of course, once they were activated, it would be some time before they could be activated again.

    However, the skill was practically impossible to defend properly against. Unless one was at the same rank and could tell that something was off through divine sense, a single careless moment would lead to one¡¯s end, just as with Zang Ao.

    And yet, what kind of cultivation did Zu An have? How could he possibly have divine sense on the same level as Sun En, enough to avoid this ultimate attack?

    ¡°Could it just be a coincidence?¡± Sun En wondered, sending another bolt of lightning over.

    Zu An dodged once again, as if he had foresight.

    ¡°This guy really can anticipate danger, as expected,¡± Sun En remarked with a cold snort.

    There has to be a limit to this kind of premonition. Let¡¯s see just how many times you can dodge.

    Then, several bolts of lightning continuously targeted Zu An. This time, Sun En didn¡¯t use his ultimate lightning domain so he wouldn¡¯t waste energy on a miss. First, he would use frequent lightning strikes to keep Zu An running. That way, he would eventually create an opportunity Zu An couldn¡¯t react to.

    Sure enough, Zu An began to slow down as he dashed all over the area. After all, his soul couldn''tpletely endure The Book¡¯s operation at full power. Eventually, he began to feel waves of fatigue. Furthermore, whenever he used Grandgale, there was actually a cooldown period too. It wasn¡¯t too big of a deal against others, but someone like Sun En naturally noticed the opening. As such, he increased the frequency even more so Zu An couldn''t fully avoid them.

    Fortunately, Zu An wasn¡¯t foolish enough to just let himself get hit without doing anything. From time to time, he used ¡®What you lookin¡¯ at¡¯, forcibly interrupting Sun En¡¯s skill, giving him a bit more time to catch his breath.

    ¡°I¡¯m looking at you, shithead!¡±

    After being interrupted several times in a row, Sun En was getting frustrated. Even though this youngster¡¯s cultivation was low, he had all sorts of strange abilities. They were so strange and unique that even he was starting to wish he could get his hands on them.

    ¡°These are nothing more than small tricks. I want to see just how long you canst!¡± Sun En said with a snort. He decided to not use his mouth, instead using instant-cast abilities.

    ¡®What you lookin¡¯ at¡¯ was quite effective against Soulspeak, but Sun En¡¯s skill was clearly not Soulspeak. As long as he was ready for it, even if he was interrupted by ¡®What you lookin¡¯ at¡¯, he could still use his skill.

    When they saw that Zu An was surrounded by danger, the women wanted to help, but Sun En was prepared. He used the Record of Emperor¡¯s Suppression to summon even more celestial soldiers, keeping them busy once more.

    Sun En sneered.

    You can¡¯t mooch off women forever. Let¡¯s see who¡¯lle and save you now!

    Eventually, Zu An failed to dodge in time and was hit by a bolt of lightning. Several more bolts of lightning quickly followed and hit him. After several bitter screams, he copsed to the ground, unable to resist at all anymore.

    Sun Enmanded the celestial army to keep the women preupied while saying to Jing Teng, ¡°Hurry and tell me where the inner manual is. Otherwise, I will first cut off one of his arms. It will be toote for regrets if you continue to resist.¡±

    Jing Teng¡¯s expression changed several times. She was clearly struggling a lot. She was about to say something, but then Zu An, who had been lying on the ground, suddenly moved.

    Sun En frowned. Was there any point to this kind of futile struggle? He was about to do something when he felt his entire body tremble. He couldn''t help but scream, ¡°Ikuu ikuu!¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The Ikuu Experience Card had been activated!

 Chapter 1816: Humiliation

    Chapter 1816: Humiliation

    Ikuu Experience Card skill introduction:

    If your back hurts, it might not be because of a de. If you are screaming your heart and lungs out, it might not be because of pain. What rests on your shoulders might not necessarily be responsibility. Things you are forced to learn might not be a lesson!

    Skill effect: Only effective on men. Once a target is selected, it will force them to experience a woman¡¯s perspective. They will feel as if they were being powerfully filled by a strong and robust man. One of the four scenarios above will be chosen, and they will continue to scream ¡®Ikuu ikuu~¡¯.

    Note: This skill is ineffective against those without any intimate experiences.

    Just then, a vivid scene appeared in Sun En¡¯s mind. He felt as if he had been pressed against a table, and a man he couldn''t see clearly smiled sinisterly while tearing off his pants.

    ¡°Noooo!¡±

    He was clearly one of the three most powerful cultivators in this world, and yet he discovered that he had turned into a powerless woman. Following a burst of intense pain, he waspletely stupefied.

    Was I just¡­ done by a man?

    He frantically struggled, but that man said, ¡°Keep struggling, because the more you struggle, the more excited I¡¯ll be!¡±

    Sun En was so angry he was going crazy, but before that person, he was just too weak. The man¡¯s hand was like a great mountain as it pressed down on him. He couldn''t move an inch. He was horrified. His cultivation was extremely high, and yet he couldn''t move at all. Just what kind of power was this?

    Soon after, he didn¡¯t have the energy to question it anymore, because to his shame, he was starting to feel something!

    What the f*ck? Why did I be a damn pervert?!

    He was really on the verge of going mad. Just what kind of freakish thing was happening right now? And yet, it also seemed strangely logical.

    Eventually, that person didn¡¯t seem satisfied enough and flipped him over. Then, he crudely propped Sun En¡¯s legs up on his shoulders. Sun En hadn¡¯t expected his own body to be so flexible.

    However, he was soon stunned, because that man he hated bitterly and wanted to cut into pieces suddenly revealed his face. It was actually himself!

    I¡¯m screwing myself?

    No matter how experienced Sun En was, in that instant, his brain almost short-circuited. Still, if it was himself, it seemed to be easier to ept than that person being someone else¡­

    When the clone began his love thrusts again, Sun En discovered that he could no longer hold his urges in anymore. He unwittingly began to scream.

    The noiseing out of his mouth seemed to be ¡®Ikuu!¡¯

    Can someone tell me what the hell this means?

    He wanted to understand!

    However, he quickly realized something else terrifying. His clone grabbed his head, and seeming to be discontent, pushed his head down. Even though he frantically tried to keep his mouth shut, he still couldn''t resist the clone¡¯s strength¡­

    Tears of humiliation streamed down his face. He had never thought that he would be such a freak.

    He was the glorious Divine Firmament Sect Master, someone who was practically invincible in this world. And yet today, he had a bamboo shoot shoved in, and it was even his own?

    He felt as if he would go crazy!

    ¡­

    Many things urred in Sun En¡¯s mind, but in the outside world, only an instant passed.

    The women suddenly saw him shudder and cry while shouting some inexplicable cry of ¡®ikuu ikuu¡¯.

    In an instant, Zu An made his move. The real reason he had taken those bolts of lightning with his body before was to make Sun En lower his guard. He knew that if it were any other cultivator, the ridiculouslyrge bolts of lightning would have left them half-dead, if not outright dead. They would definitely have lost their fighting ability.

    However, he was different. His body was incredibly powerful. Between that and the Primordial Origin Sutra¡¯s terrifying regenerative ability, he had been able to take a few sts of lightning. Sure enough, he had managed to sessfully fool Sun En.

    He didn¡¯t hesitate at all and immediately used Grandgale to close the distance, thrusting the Poisonous Prick toward Sun En.

    He had been worried that Sun En, the Divine Firmament Sect Master, practiced asceticism or something, which would have made the Ikuu Experience Card fail. However, the results had proven that he was overthinking things.

    The moral of the story was that sometimes, being a virgin wasn¡¯t so bad.

    Itnded!

    However, Zu An quickly frowned, because he discovered that he hadn¡¯t stabbed into flesh, but rather something that seemed to be a straw doll.

    Spurt!

    A streak of mes ignited in front of Sun En¡¯s chest. He instinctively retreated away from Zu An. With his cultivation that wasparable to Zhao Han¡¯s, he was extremely fast. It would be difficult for even Grandgale to catch up.

    Sun En seemed to have woken up. His hair was all over the ce, and his eyes were a bit red. He took out a burning straw doll and said hoarsely, ¡°If I didn¡¯t have this straw doll that could take my ce, I would already have died just now.¡±

    He had finally recovered his reason, so he realized what the earlier scene was. In the past, he had taken his disciple with him into a big city and seized a noble courtdy. He had really liked her unyielding character, so he had ended up toying with her in all sorts of different ways. He had liked seeing her proud, yet powerless appearance.

    Who would have thought that one day, he would experience her perspective too? He had to admit that it was quite the humiliating experience¡­

    Zu An cried out inwardly in disappointment. He discovered that the higher their cultivation became, the more life-saving methods these top-tier individuals had. He definitely couldn''t count on the Poisonous Prick being unbeatable anymore. Even though the people who had such life-saving methods were definitely extraordinary, there were just too many of them.

    Sun En hissed through gritted teeth, ¡°Were you the source of all of that bullshit?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Sun En for +1024 +1024 +1024¡­

    However, he still didn¡¯t understand just what kind of mysterious technique he had been struck by. As a skill that could even affect someone of his cultivation, it really was quite incredible.

    Even so, isn¡¯t this skill a bit too damn despicable?!

    He only had a single thought left in his mind, which was to dice this kid¡¯s corpse into ten thousand pieces. Only then would the humiliation he had just suffered be cleansed.

    You have sessfully trolled Sun En for +748 +748 +748¡­n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    He raised his hand, and the entire tomb flickered with lightning. He was too angry to worry about any consequences, because this brat was just too fast and he wouldn¡¯t necessarily be able to hit him.

    However, if Zu An had people he had to save, that issue would easily be dealt with. There was no way Zu An would just watch as his women were electrocuted to death, right? As long as he went to save them, Sun En could send a torrent of berserk lightning at him.

    But who would have thought that Zu An didn¡¯t have any intention of dodging? Instead, he brandished his sword and walked closer, step by step. He asked, ¡°Do you have any more of those substitution dolls?¡±

    ¡°How could there be a second copy of something that precious?¡± Sun En replied. He immediately felt heartbroken when he thought of that. ¡°However, do you think you will still have a second chance to hurt me?¡±

    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I?¡± Zu An replied with a smile. Energy seemed to begin gathering toward him.

    However, Sun En didn¡¯t treat it as too big of a deal. After all, the difference in their cultivation was so great that there was no need to fear Zu An at all. He said, ¡°Hmph, earlier, I was caught off guard by your despicable skill, but I won¡¯t fall for it even if you use it again!¡±

    He previously hadn¡¯t had any experience fighting that kind of technique, but now that he was prepared, he could still instantly retaliate and turn his surroundings into a sea of lightning. His reputation as one of the strongest three in this world was definitely not in vain. If he ended up dying to a skill like that, it would be better to just bend over and die.

    Zu An sighed and said, ¡°I wanted to save this sword for someone else, but I have no other choice now.¡±

    At that moment, his aura suddenly erupted. It was as if all of the world¡¯s spiritual essence were being drawn into his body¡­ No, it wasn¡¯t that grand. It was the aura of the entire great tomb that was bing one with him.

    One Drop of Heaven¡¯s Essence could bring forth the power of a dragon vein. Meanwhile, this great tomb was like a giant dragon itself, making it effectively a dragon vein. Of course, the tomb seemed to be sealed, so its dragon vein force normally couldn''t be borrowed.

    However, previously, when the great tomb rumbled and shook due to the roars of countless monsters, in that instant, it seemed to havee alive. Endless ki had rushed out, and Zu An had sensed it. He had since been gathering it silently with One Drop of Heaven¡¯s Essence.

    Unfortunately, he only had the ability to release a single sh. He had wanted to use it on Zhao Han, but now, he no longer had a choice.

    In that instant, Sun En sensed that the entire great tomb seemed to have begun treating him as an enemy. The entire space clearly began to loathe him.

    ¡°How could he possibly achieve this?!¡± Sun En eximed in horror, because he discovered that in that instant, Zu An¡¯s cultivation actually rose to practically match his own!

    Resplendent sword light filled the tomb. Those within couldn''t help but cover their eyes. However, what Sun En saw in that instant wasn¡¯t a river of stars, but rather a brilliant sun!

    The terrifying sword energy formed a giant ball of light, then tried to devour Sun En. He didn¡¯t dare to hold back anymore. His hands quickly moved, unleashing several techniques. They coordinated with the Record of High Firmament to form a massive sphere of lightning.

    The ball of lightning and sphere of sword energy collided, and both instantly exploded. However, there was no sound of an explosion. On the contrary, all sound seemed to have disappeared from the world. The women even briefly felt as if they had gone deaf.

    Light mixed with lightning radiance, and sword energy spilled out in all directions. The celestial soldiers were the closest to the twobatants, and their massive bodies were almost instantly vaporized by the light.

    The women¡¯s eyes narrowed. They quickly backed up, and Jing Teng stood protectively in front of them. Her hands quickly formed a seal, and a giant ck tortoise appeared to defend them.

    However, her tortoise couldn''tpletely stop the st wave and its shell began to crack. A blue formation quickly materialized to support it, due to Xie Daoyun¡¯s help. Soon after, the other women also reacted. Even though they weren¡¯t good at formations like Xie Daoyun, who could help Jing Teng directly, they used their own powerful skills to destroy the iing sts and decrease the pressure.

    Even after the situation finally stabilized a bit, however, they didn¡¯t have time to rejoice. Instead, they stared nervously at the very center to see whether Zu An was safe.

    When the light scattered, they saw Zu An supporting himself with his sword stabbed into the ground. He was gasping for air, clearly having exhausted too much of his energy. Even standing was a bit difficult. His body was greatly scorched, and a few arcs of electricity crackled across his body from time to time. Wisps of heat emanated from his skin, apanied by the scent of scorched flesh. However, his eyes were still shining brilliantly. His injuries clearly hadn¡¯t affected him too greatly.

    On the other hand, Sun En was in a much worse state. There was a terrifying wound in his chest, and the internal organs within were even faintly discernible.

    ¡°Very good. You¡¯ve actually pushed me this far. That is something you can be proud of. However, I will not be giving you another chance,¡± Sun En said. He gritted his teeth and took out the Record of Heaven Heart. He would invite a heroic spirit that was good at closebat into himself, then face Zu An in his most powerful state. He no longer treated Zu An as a young junior, but rather an enemy at the same level as himself.

    However, just then, his entire body trembled. A bloody hand suddenly appeared in front of his chest, and in its palm just happened to be his heart.

    He turned his head rigidly and muttered, ¡°It¡¯s¡­ you?¡±

 Chapter 1817: Goosebumps

    Chapter 1817: Goosebumps

    The others watched the scene before them in shock. They saw a scorched ck figure standing behind Sun En. While all of his attention was on Zu An, the figure hadunched a fatal attack.

    Shockingly, the ck figure belonged to Zang Ao, who had been sted to death by lightning earlier. How was that possible?

    It wasn¡¯t just Zu An¡¯s group; even Sun En was confused. He eximed, ¡°How can this be? I already checked your corpse. You clearly already died! No false-death skills can fool my eyes!¡±

    Zu An nodded. It was precisely because Sun En had checked the body that the others believed Zang Ao was already dead. After all, with Sun En¡¯s cultivation, he wouldn¡¯t have made any mistake in judging whether Zang Ao was dead or alive. Not even Wei Suo¡¯s Turtle Breath Technique could evade such a focused inspection.

    Zang Ao smirked. His teeth looked even whiter against his scorched face as he replied, ¡°Everyone has secrets, no?¡± He clearly had no intention of exining the real reason.

    Sun En had an expression of regret. He slowly moved his fingers, as if he were casting some spell.

    Zang Ao didn¡¯t really mind despite noticing that. He said, ¡°Sun En, oh Sun En. You dominated an entire generation, and yet you fell in the past because of me, and now, you¡¯re once more defeated because of me. You¡¯re destined to never win against me.¡±

    As soon as he said that, he clenched his palm. With a spurt, the throbbing heart was crushed.

    Sun En vomited a mouthful of blood. He struggled a bit, but in the end, his head drooped and hepletely lost his life.

    The others were all stupefied. They had never expected that a powerful hero would die so tragically.

    Yun Jianyue and Xie Daoyun couldn''t help but feel a bit sentimental. Even though they were his hostages, he hadn¡¯t troubled them too much. Rather, their conversations had gone quite smoothly. If they hadn¡¯t been on opposite sides, perhaps they would even have been able to be friends after some time passed.

    Zang Ao tossed the crushed heart into his mouth and chewed loudly. He sighed in satisfaction, saying, ¡°The hearts of the strong are a delicacy, as always.¡±

    The others¡¯ expressions changed. Zu An stared at him vigntly. At the same time, he couldn''t help but give Jing Teng a look. There was no one who was more familiar with Zang Ao than her. Just what was going on here?

    Jing Teng was also confused. She looked at Zang Ao in disgust and eximed, ¡°Just what kind of thing are you?¡±

    Zang Aoughed and said, ¡°I am Zang Ao, of course. Tengteng, have you forgotten about me so quickly?¡±

    Perhaps because he had just eaten Sun En¡¯s heart and consumed its blood essence, the charred ck skin covering his body gradually peeled off as he spoke. New flesh grew at a visible rate. Soon after, all of the burnt flesh on his bodypletely disappeared, restoring his previous appearance. No, he even seemed to look a bit younger.

    He looked at Zu An and said, ¡°I should actually be thanking you. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t have had a chance to kill him that easily.¡±

    Sun En had been powerful. If they fought in a frontal sh, it would have been hard to say who woulde out on top.

    In that instant, Zu An felt an intense burst of emotion. He had been nning to reap the benefits after they took each other out, and yet now, he had be part of the harvest?

    However, he didn¡¯t show it; instead, he said with a smile, ¡°That means we¡¯rerades who have fought side by side, right? Since the great enemy has already been dealt with, let''s all carry on with our own business and return home.¡± He moved toward the women as he spoke, thinking, This guy is way too strange.

    Zang Ao snickered and replied, ¡°No, no, no. My great enemy Sun En has indeed been eliminated, but there is still another great enemy¡­ You.¡±

    The women¡¯s expression changed, but Zu An remained calm, as if he had already expected the response. He said, ¡°You saw that Sun En was seriously injured because of me, and that was why you were able to finish him. If you really fought against me, it¡¯s hard to say who would win in the end. Why is there any need to fight to the death?¡±

    ¡°Your sword strike was brilliant. No wonder that Zhao Han and the Ghost King felt such reservations toward you,¡± Zang Ao said. He stood with his hands behind his back and wasn¡¯t in a rush to attack. It was as if everything remained within his calctions. ¡°But if my suspicions aren¡¯t mistaken, you can¡¯t use that sword strike a second time, right?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression darkened. As expected of one of this world¡¯s most powerful individuals. This was a level of insight not many could reach.

    As Zu An didn¡¯t reply, Zang Ao said mockingly, ¡°And you only know how to hide behind a pile of women, for them to protect you?¡±

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°Mooching is an ability in its own right. If you have the ability, why don¡¯t you try?¡±

    This time, Zang Ao didn¡¯t get angry; instead, he said to Jing Teng, ¡°I¡¯ll give you onest chance. Tell me where the inner manual is, and I might just spare your lives. Otherwise, things will get ugly if I have to torture someone to threaten you.¡±

    The others had strange expressions. Why did these words sound so familiar?

    Jing Teng frowned. Before she could say anything, however, Zu An asked, ¡°Is that someone me?¡±

    ¡°Who else would it be?¡± Zang Ao replied with a sneer. ¡°I was previously pretty upset that Jing Teng ended up liking another. Now, though, I think it¡¯s actually a good thing. With the presence of a loved one, many secrets be easier to extract.¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°Actually, I was interested in those secrets of hers too. But unlike you, I never forced her, let alone threatened her with such despicable methods.¡±

    ¡°Is there any meaning in saying these pretty words in front of her?¡± Zang Ao remarked with a sigh. ¡°It seems I have to make you submit first, or else your lips will continue to remain tight.¡±

    Afterward, he arrived in front of Zu An with a single step, unleashing a punch toward his face.

    Just then, however, a crescent moon hacked at his wrist. Yun Jianyue, who had the highest cultivation among the women, was the first to react. She immediately used her Crescent Ring to try to save Zu An. After what she had gone through in the Fiend races¡¯ secret dungeon, her cultivation had increased substantially. Now that she was attacking at full strength, not even Zang Ao dared to let his wrist take the attack directly.

    Zang Ao¡¯s other hand formed a fist and struck the Crescent Ring from the side. The weapon was forced to change its trajectory, flying away.

    This came from the insight of one of the world¡¯s most powerful individuals. He didn¡¯t need to face his opponent directly. He was able to use the minimum amount of power to strike his opponent¡¯s weakest point, thus neutralizing the attack.

    But of course, this was something only he could do. If it were another individual with even slightly lower cultivation, they wouldn¡¯t have been able to seize that fleeting weakness, and their hand would likely have been diced into mincemeat upon making contact with the Crescent Ring.

    However, even though Yun Jianyue¡¯s attack was neutralized, the other women reacted quickly too. They all attacked. A snow lotus and a red spider lily appeared in front of them at the same time.

    Zang Ao could vaguely sense danger behind the attacks. He quickly thrust his finger toward those two flowers in an attempt to scatter them before they fully formed.

    Suddenly, antern appeared. The yellow light that engulfed him noticeably reduced his speed. Additionally, he suddenly sensed that there was something off beneath his feet. A rune formation appeared below him, and he suddenly felt as if he were trapped in a pool of quicksand.

    Just then, the two flowers finally blossomed. Not even Zang Ao with his cultivation dared to take their attacks directly. Two sts of mist surged from his palm, wrapping around the flowers and flinging them into the distance. They just happened tond on the ghost generals¡¯ corpses, instantly destroying the bodies without a trace. Only then did the flower petals gradually wilt and disappear.

    Zang Ao secretly sighed in relief. These two women weren¡¯t able to bring out the true power of their attacks yet, or else things would have really been tricky.

    He prepared to continue attacking, but Xie Daoyun used another formation. Blue runes shed beneath the others, and then they reappeared a hundred meters away, creating a bit of distance from Zang Ao.

    Zang Ao couldn''t help but ask with a sneer, ¡°Mister Zu, do you only know how to hide behind women?¡±

    With that breather, Zu An had also gradually recovered. When he heard that, he said with a smile, ¡°The joy of havingrades in battle is something a loner like you will never understand.¡±

    Zang Ao was a bit speechless. Friends? How are you all just friends?!

    None of these women¡¯s cultivations could be looked down upon. If they really fought, it really would be a bit difficult to fight while trying not to kill them.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have time to waste on you anymore. You have onest chance. Hand over the inner manual, or else you¡¯ll quickly wish you were dead instead,¡± Zang Ao said, looking at the group with a darkened expression.

    They were a bit confused. This Zang Ao was clearly a bit weaker than Sun En. If they worked together, they should have had a good chance of beating him. Where did he get the confidence to make such a threat? However, their divine senses continuously warned them about danger. It was clear that he wasn¡¯t just boasting, but where did the dangere from, then?

    Suddenly, a beautiful white figure quickly rushed over from afar. She called out as she rushed over, ¡°Ah Zu, be careful! Zang Ao is the Ghost King!¡±

    The others had goosebumps when they heard this information.

    Zang Ao is the Ghost King? How is this possible?!

    Yun Jianyue had good eyes and instantly recognized that the woman was Yan Xuehen. She found something quite strange.

    Hm? Why did she call him Ah Zu?

    Chu Chuyan was also confused. Wasn¡¯t her master addressing Ah Zu a bit too intimately? However, she quickly assumed it was an elder addressing a junior, so it was understandable.

    Yan Xuehen hadn¡¯t expected there to be so many women here. She had thought that it would just be Qiu Honglei and Jing Teng. Between that and her nervousness, she had blurted out the nickname without thinking. She immediately became embarrassed. She froze in midair, and her face becamepletely red. She really wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear right now.

    Fortunately, the women¡¯s attention had been drawn to Zang Ao. They didn¡¯t have time to look at her at all.

    ¡°I initially nned to interact properly with you using my human identity, but who would have thought that you wouldn¡¯t appreciate it at all? In that case, this king won¡¯t keep up the act anymore either,¡± Zang Ao said, and his voice became harsh and ear-piercing. Waves of thick ck mist surged around him.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

 Chapter 1818: Truth of the Past

    Chapter 1818: Truth of the Past

    ¡°What in the world?!¡±

    The others were stupefied. They had just watched as the Ghost King was subdued by Immortal Ruler Baopu! Why was there another Ghost King?

    Yan Xuehen quickly flew over to Zu An¡¯s side and began, ¡°Do you remember when I told you I was going to look into that highest-level bounty ced on you in the Adventurer¡¯s Guild? Even though I haven¡¯t spent that much time in the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, I know that the missions are assigned extremely strictly. Furthermore, highest-level orders are rarely seen, but this one practically came out of thin air.

    ¡°I sensed that something wasn¡¯t quite right, so I investigated in secret. The more I investigated, the more shocking information I discovered. The order was actually ced by the Ghost King, but the Adventurer¡¯s Guild has no reason to listen to the Ghost King. So I took a look at the documents of the case and saw that the Ghost King had never contacted the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. Instead, the guild leader had directly issued an order.

    ¡°Along the way, I discovered by chance that there seemed to be something wrong with Zang Ao¡¯s body. He had to carry out some kind of special technique every night. Since this matter was rted to you, I had to look into it. Then, I witnessed the Ghost King emerging from his body.¡±

    Yan Xuehen quickly exined the course of events with an rmed expression. She had clearly been shaken up when she saw that event y out.

    Jing Teng couldn''t help but give her a look.

    This woman actually took such a huge risk for big brother Zu! Their rtionship is definitely special. Why did Qiu Honglei say it was impossible for there to be anything between them?

    These other women all seem pretty sharp, and yet they don¡¯t seem to have noticed it either.

    Just then, loud cracks echoed through the tomb. Zang Ao¡¯s bodypletely split apart, and a giant mouth emerged from the bones on his back. Endless ck mist and skulls rushed out from that opening to form a ghostly face. The Ghost King said, ¡°Hmph, I didn¡¯t expect you to actually be in cahoots. Letting you join the guild was a mistake.¡±

    Zu An and the others looked at the empty shell of Zang Ao on the ground. There wasn¡¯t a trace of any flesh or internal organs left. They felt their blood run cold. They finally understood why even though Sun En had examined the corpse, he had determined that Zang Ao was dead and was fooled.

    It turned out this guy was the Ghost King, and the Ghost King didn¡¯t have life energy to begin with. That was why Sun En couldn''t detect anything and had made a fatal mistake.

    ¡°Stone cold woman, how were you able to escape from his clutches?¡± Yun Jianyue asked in surprise. Yan Xuehen¡¯s cultivation was almost equal to her own. After seeing how strong the Ghost King was, however, she didn¡¯t believe she would be able to get away.

    Before Yan Xuehen replied, the giant face couldn''t help but look around, remarking, ¡°That old man from before isn¡¯t here anymore¡­¡± There seemed to be a hint of fear in his voice.

    Yan Xuehen replied, ¡°He is right outside. He will be here soon after exchanging a few words with an old friend.¡±

    The Ghost Kingughed and replied, ¡°Hahaha, weak woman, are you trying to swindle me? If that person had reallye, how could he feel reassured sending you here alone to your death?¡±

    Yan Xuehen sighed. As expected, she wasn¡¯t good at telling lies. She could only exin to Zu An and the others, ¡°When he discovered me, I fled frantically for my life. However, he was too strong. Right when I was in a moment of despair, I suddenly ran into the libationer.¡±

    ¡°The libationer?¡± Zu An and the others eximed in surprise. They had almost forgotten about that old man.

    Back then, he had fallen into this world alongside Zhao Han. Since Zhao Han was still here, he naturally had to have entered this world. Their group had encountered too many powerful beings, but those were almost all enemies. Now they finally had a big shot they could rely on.

    ¡°Unfortunately, he ran into Zhao Han outside the tomb,¡± Yan Xuehen said, exining what just happened to them worriedly. She had been talking about bringing reinforcements to help the libationer, but now, it seemed they were also going to die here.

    ¡°That bastard Zhao Han really is a shit-stirrer. Why the hell is he everywhere?¡± Zu An eximed, stunned.

    The goddesses around him had strange expressions. Even though they were on different sides, they still felt a bit of respect toward Zhao Han. That was because he was just too strong, and he had already been the most powerful man in the world for too long. However, now that they heard Zu An curse him like this, they didn¡¯t find it too offputting.

    The Ghost King chuckled and said, ¡°It seems that old man won¡¯t be able toe here for quite some time. Who else can you rely on now?¡±

    Jing Teng asked seriously, ¡°When did you take over Zang Ao¡¯s body? Or was Zang Ao you the entire time?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry too much. This king doesn¡¯t have much interest in your human romance to begin with. At first, that Zang Ao you knew was truly alive,¡± the Ghost King said. He seemed to be talking about things he was rather proud of, so he didn¡¯t mind showing off a bit more. ¡°In the past, when I escaped from the great tomb, I lost some of my memories. However, I remembered that you were extremely important, so I coerced a decent-looking pretty boy to approach you. Sure enough, girls like you immediately have a good impression when you meet a handsome man.¡±

    Zu An and Qiu Honglei knew what was going on. They thought, No wonder Zang Ao was able to appear in front of Jing Teng just like that. So it turns out there was this big shot backing him! Now, everything makes sense.

    Jing Teng¡¯s face waspletely pale. She seemed to be extremely angry, yet also dejected. Her entire body was shaking.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An gently patted her hand and said in her ce, ¡°That¡¯s because she had just been enlightened by the immortal ruler back then, and had a natural feeling of benevolence toward humans. Furthermore, she was curious about the world of humans, so that was why she fell for your ploy.¡±

    Jing Teng looked up at him. Her dim eyes immediately became as bright as a starry sky.

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s face twitched. She thought, Do you have no idea how cringeworthy that is? I¡¯m about to throw up over here! However, they had to be united right now, so she couldn''t really act up.

    Chu Chuyan and Pei Mianman were expressionless. They thought, Is Ah Zu treating us as empty air right now? Even so, Jing Teng was a victim, and they were all women. They couldn''t really say anything in the end.

    Xie Daoyun curled her lips and thought, I was clearly the first one.

    Yan Xuehen was stunned. What kind of situation was this? Zu An¡¯s rtionship with this pretty woman didn¡¯t seem to have been that goodst time, but had they ended up really getting into it in just a few days? She thought, Just what kind of trash disciple did that witch sect raise? You can¡¯t even watch your own man? She couldn''t help but re at Yun Jianyue when she thought of that.

    Yun Jianyue was also really annoyed, and when she saw Yan Xuehen¡¯s stare, she became even more upset. She thought, Do you really have the nerve to me me? What about that disciple of yours? She was even the main wife back then. At the very least, she should be the one to speak up rather than my disciple, right? And yet now, this vixen is doing whatever she wants, but she¡¯spletely silent?

    Sparks seemed to be flying in the air between the two of them. If the powerful Ghost King weren¡¯t here, they would likely have begun fighting.

    When he saw Zu An and Jing Teng exchange such intimate looks and nces, the Ghost King couldn''t help but say with a snort, ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to act like this in front of me. Your human world has a saying: Those whomit public disys of affection die quickly.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled the Ghost King for +44 +44 +44¡­

    ¡°Is that any of your business?¡± Jing Teng retorted, recovering her usual expression. ¡°So, does that mean this was all your plot from the very start?¡±

    The Ghost King said coldly, ¡°Unfortunately, that trash Zang Ao messed things up and could never fully obtain your heart. In that situation, I couldn''t wait any longer. The heavens pitied me, though. Sun En just happened to desire your immortal opportunity, so I schemed to use him too. That idiot thought he was invincible, but he didn¡¯t know he was being yed by me from start to finish. You know what happened after. I gave him a fake treasure, but that guy wasn¡¯t sted to death by tribtion lightning. I guess he had some skill.¡±

    Yun Jianyue and Xie Daoyun exchanged a look. They knew best about Sun En¡¯s situation. He had thought he¡¯d obtained a method to survive tribtion, but all of it was fake. He had been fooled in the past, and he had been fooled again just now. Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t have such luck this time. Sun En was still an outstanding individual of this generation, though; both of them sighed inwardly.

    ¡°After obtaining your golden core, I was able to properly recover from the serious injuries I sustained after escaping from the tomb. I began to n the next step, which was to find Immortal Ruler Baopu¡¯s inheritance. I knew the immortal ruler would never pass it onto an undead being, so I entered Zang Ao and reced him. In order to not be discovered, I used a secret method to seal my true self away. That was, until my awakening earlier.¡±

    Zu An thought, No wonder even the Rage system didn¡¯t notice anything. It turns out he was guarding against the immortal ruler and fully sealed himself. On the surface, he waspletely Zang Ao.

    ¡°Then what¡¯s the deal with that Ghost King the immortal ruler sealed?¡± Chu Chuyan couldn''t help but ask. They had personally witnessed that scene.

    The Ghost King¡¯s expression became a bit grave. He said, ¡°There were some memories missing when I first escaped from the great tomb, but I remember fleeing from some special being. So, in order to guard against the unexpected, I separated a portion of myself to move around under my real identity. Now, it seems that was a wise choice.¡±

    Even though he hadn¡¯t seen what had happened, he had still sensed how terrifying it was. He shivered inwardly.

    Zu An keenly picked up a vital piece of information the Ghost King had unwittingly given out. There was something even the Ghost King was running away from? Just what was it?

 Chapter 1819: Questioning Life

    Chapter 1819: Questioning Life

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve already expressed enough sincerity by answering your questions. Shouldn¡¯t you tell me where the inner manual is now?¡± the Ghost King continued, his face rippling. He added in a low muffled voice, ¡°You should already know that if I attack, I can suck out all of your souls. Things won¡¯t be pretty then.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t dare to kill them, but that he didn¡¯t know what kind of rtionship Jing Teng had with these women. On the surface, it looked like a love rivalry, so she should have been hoping that they would all die, but she had just helped Qiu Honglei obtain a great treasure from the immortal ruler. The other women seemed to be showing her good intentions too.

    Besides, if something happened to the others, Zu An would definitely fight him to the death, never mind telling him where the inner manual was. That was an oue he definitely didn¡¯t want. If there was a chance to negotiate, why would there be any need for violence?

    Jing Teng had a grave expression. She wanted to say something, but yet didn¡¯t know what to say.

    The Ghost King started to get a bit impatient. He said with a sneer, ¡°Hm, I think I understand. The reason you aren¡¯t giving it to me is because you want to use me to get rid of these love rivals, right?¡±

    Jing Teng¡¯s expression changed. Those words could very well be the end of her! Even if that wasn¡¯t her intention, now that he had said that, the other women could begin to suspect her.

    Qiu Honglei spoke up just then. ¡°You can stop trying to drive a wedge between us. Little sister Jing and I have traveled together all this time, and I know that even though she acts cold on the outside, she¡¯s actually warm inside. She definitely wouldn¡¯t do something so despicable.¡±

    She had no idea how old that vine was, but she still had to clearly state their status as sisters.

    Hmph, Chu Chuyan and Pei Mianman are too close. I¡¯m too weak by myself and need someone on my side to help me. Adding Jing Teng alone doesn¡¯t seem to be enough, though. She hasn¡¯t known Ah Zu for that long. Should I grab thatss Xie Daoyun too?

    However, she¡¯s from a distinguished n, and might look down on a Devil Sect witch like me. She¡¯d definitely feel closer to Chu Chuyan¡¯s side.

    A hint of a worried and sad look appeared on her face when she thought of that.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Yan Xuehen couldn''t help but give Yun Jianyue a look.

    Why is your disciple speaking up for another woman?

    Yun Jianyue thought to herself, What does a stone cold woman like you understand?

    No matter how fiercely our Devil Sect¡¯s women fight against other women, they¡¯ll still appear kind in front of their man. That way,pared to those jealous women, they¡¯ll be the ones the men care about the most!

    Honglei is amazing, as expected of my precious disciple!

    If they were going to fight in this harem, they had to screw those other women over, especially that stone cold woman¡¯s disciple.

    ¡­

    Chu Chuyan and the others also spoke up then, trying to ease Jing Teng¡¯s worries. They had all been outstanding women since their youth, and they each had their own pride, so how could they possibly let the enemy use their lives to threaten their friends? Besides, now that there were so many people on their side, they could still have a chance if they fought.

    The Ghost King got angry when he saw them presenting a united front. He said, ¡°Good, very good. It seems you¡¯re all the sort who won¡¯t cry until you see a coffin.¡±

    Even though he still had some misgivings, with the way things were, there was no reason for him to make any further concessions. As soon as he spoke, the face in the air suddenly became bigger. It opened its mouth, and a formless wave rippled out.

    It was the Demonic Voice of the Ghost King!

    Jing Teng seemed to have already been prepared. A ck tortoise barrier quickly formed around them. However, the Ghost King¡¯s attack was too powerful, causing the barrier to flicker as if it could copse at any time.

    Yan Xuehen also made her move. As someone from a daoist sect, she also excelled in formations. She kicked off the ground, holding two fingers in front of her. A white formation quickly appeared on the ground beneath her and stretched outward. It had both warding and reinforcement properties.

    Ice and snow flew around the white formation. Soon after, it began to rotate and rise into the air, reinforcing the ck tortoise formation. The ck tortoise¡¯s radiance shone brighter, then gradually stabilized.

    Xie Daoyun reacted as well. Her hands formedplex imprints, and a light blue formation appeared beneath the group. It was a Spirit Gathering Formation that allowed those within to rapidly replenish their internal energy. At the same time, blue runes floated in the air around them. The formations created by them could weaken the enemy¡¯s attack, strengthen friendly skills, and also had some other effects. However, her expression quickly changed, because with her current cultivation, she was unable to sustain such a tremendous amount of energy output.

    Just then, a hand pressed against her back. An abundant source of power began flowing into her. She saw that it was actually Yun Jianyue! While she was surprised, she still nodded in gratitude.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be distracted,¡± Yun Jianyue said seriously. At the same time, she reluctantly looked at Yan Xuehen. At that moment, her dress and beautiful hair fluttered in the air. She looked like a goddess of ice.

    Hmph, I guess you have your time to shine now. Should I study a bit about formations myself too¡­

    ¡­

    Qiu Honglei quickly rushed over to Jing Teng¡¯s side to supply her with ki and support the ck tortoise. Chu Chuyan and Pei Mianman followed suit and also pressed their hands against Jing Teng¡¯s body. Even though they didn¡¯t really like each other, before such a great enemy, none of them would be foolish enough to engage in internal strife now.

    The Ghost King was a bit stupefied. These women had looked as if they were about to devour each other a moment before, and yet now, they didn¡¯t even need to discuss anything before tacitly working together. wasn¡¯t there something wrong here? He was starting to feel incredibly annoyed. Countless skulls appeared from the dark mist. They opened theirrge mouths at the same time to release an even more frightening Demonic Voice of the Ghost King.

    Soon after, the formations Xie Daoyun set up began to crack apart. The icicle formation that Yan Xuehen created also began wavering. Jing Teng¡¯s ck tortoise barrier started to fracture, as if it could shatter at any moment.

    The expressions of all the women turned grave. Fine sweat appeared on their brows. They could only continue to hold on, but the difference between the sides was too great. If not for Jing Teng¡¯s miraculous formation serving as their main source of strength, they definitely wouldn¡¯t be a match for the Ghost King even when added together.

    Suddenly, a figure near them shed; Zu An rushed out of the formation.

    The women¡¯s expressions changed. How terrifying was the Demonic Voice of the Ghost King? If someone left the protection, their soul could be immediately sucked away!

    Only Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue remained rather calm. After all, they had seen Zu An fight against individuals on a simr level to the Ghost King in the past.

    Sure enough, when the Ghost King saw Zu An charge out, he sneered. Then, countless skulls aimed their roars at Zu An. Terrifying waves of shrill noises filled the air.

    Suddenly, a clear bird cry resounded from behind Zu An. At the same time, a massive bird flew up above his head. It was Hundredwarble, which excelled at dealing with soul attacks. However, the Ghost King¡¯s Demonic Voice of the Ghost King was too strong. Right now, Zu An¡¯s cultivation was still significantly inferior, so it couldn''t counterattack and could only barely defend Zu An¡¯s soul.

    Zu An had been worried that Hundredwarble alone wouldn¡¯t be enough to protect him, so he had gripped the Tai¡¯e Sword tightly, preparing to use it in a simr way as Zhao Han¡¯s Human Emperor Seal to protect himself. Now that Hundredwarble had proven to be reliable, the Tai¡¯e Sword could be used solely for offense. As soon as he willed it, the Tai¡¯e Sword released its domain. He activated the power of this divine weapon with everything he had. A resplendent sword strike that resembled a ster river immediately sliced the Ghost King¡¯s ck mist in half.

    The Ghost King hadn¡¯t expected Zu An to not be afraid of his Demonic Voice of the Ghost King at all. Furthemore, the moment the Tai¡¯e Sword¡¯s domain of power was unleashed, he was affected as well, causing him to nk out. Even though with his cultivation, he was able to recover a secondter, Zu An¡¯s sword strike had already arrived.

    The Rune Weapon Chart created a copy, and with the Tai¡¯e Sword¡¯s power, even the Ghost King took a blow. However, Zu An didn¡¯t feel happy about that at all, because he noticed that the two clumps of ck mist quickly merged again, reforming into the ghost face.

    The Ghost King¡¯s ear-splitting voice resounded, saying, ¡°I have to admit that your strength is quite exceptional, kid. However, you have no way of killing me at all. I have an indestructible body, hahaha!¡± As heughed, all of the ck mist expanded. Skulls surrounded by ck mist flew everywhere, filling every inch of the tomb almost instantly.

    Zu An¡¯s expression darkened. He recalled the intelligence he had gotten from Hidden Dragon and Phoenix Chick. The Ghost King had immunity against physical and elemental attacks. Testing it out revealed that that did indeed seem to be the case. How was he supposed to fight, then?

    Just then, several dozen skulls surrounded him. They all opened their mouths to tear at his flesh. However, sword radiance erupted from Zu An¡¯s hand, smashing the skulls apart one after another.

    Despite that, as soon as they were destroyed, even more skulls rushed over. At the same time, the ck mist seemed to begin invading his body in a strange manner. Of course, against the purification of the Primordial Origin Sutra, it was quickly eliminated.

    The Ghost King seemed just as shocked as Zu An, eximing, ¡°Hm? Why are you able to stop my attacks?¡±

    The attacks of those skulls seemed simple, but they held power that was at the peak of this world. How could ordinary cultivators possibly stop them? Even someone as strong as Wang Youjun probably couldn''t block many of them before he was ripped apart by the skulls¡¯ terrifying power.

    We aren¡¯t even within the same magnitude of strength, so how can he endure my power?

    This pretty boy looks all weak and helpless, but he was able to stop so many attacks without any major issues?

    This youngster¡¯s body is like a ck hole that can absorb my attacks. How can my attacks be so easily absorbed, though?

    He had wanted to seize the chance to send his power into Zu An¡¯s body, but he hadn¡¯t expected that power to just disappear after it invaded Zu An.

    Just what kind of madness is this? There¡¯s actually such a marvel as this kid in this world?

 Chapter 1820: How Lowly

    Chapter 1820: How Lowly

    The reason Zu An could fight against those with higher cultivation ranks than him was that he had the Heaven Devouring Sutra, as well as the Kun Peng¡¯s power, for defense. Those two techniques allowed him to absorb and neutralize attacks that far exceeded what other cultivators could endure. In terms of offense, he also had the Star Shattering Imprint Yun Jianyue had given him, which was why he could threaten beings on the Ghost King¡¯s level.

    Otherwise, no matter how many more cultivators like Zu An there were, even if the Ghost King or Zhao Han stood there and did nothing, they still wouldn¡¯t be able to do a thing. Just a single p would destroy all of their defenses and crush them into meat pancakes.

    That was why the Ghost King was starting to question life. It was as if an elephant were fighting against an ant, and the elephant thought it would be able topletely crush the ant, and yet they were actually fighting bitterly against each other. Even though the elephant still had the advantage, that was still enough to make its eyes pop out.

    Zu An didn¡¯t respond to the Ghost King; he was full of worry. The Ghost King¡¯s skill was too strange and he couldn''t do much to counter it alone. If they worked together, they could have a chance, but the women were defending against the Demonic Voice of the Ghost King and couldn''t emerge to participate in the battle at all.

    He suddenly thought of something and shouted at the Ghost King, ¡°What you lookin¡¯ at?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m looking at you, shithead!¡± the Ghost King reflexively replied, leaving him a bit stunned. Even though he had seen Zu An use the skill before, he hadn¡¯t expected to not have any resistance to it either. The principles behind the skill were extremely high, to the point that it was quite horrifying.

    However, Zu An frowned. ¡®What you lookin¡¯ at¡¯ actually hadn¡¯t stopped the Demonic Voice of the Ghost King. Even though he had responded, there were still other skulls that continued to roar and weren¡¯t affected.

    F*ck! Why does this monster have so many goddamn heads?

    ¡°I¡¯m bing more and more interested in you,¡± the Ghost King said. He carefully sized up Zu An as if he were looking at a bizarre and fantastical creature, almost as significant as the Baopu Sutra Inner manual. There were just too many secrets to uncover behind this youngster.

    Zu An said indifferently, ¡°Unfortunately, I have no interest in you.¡± He immediately used the ¡®Ikuu Experience Card¡¯, but the Ghost King didn¡¯t respond to it.

    The Ghost King was stunned. He could vaguely sense that some special technique had been used on him, but nothing else happened.

    ¡°Did Sun En end up like that earlier because of this skill?¡± he muttered while carefully examining himself to see if he could decipher the principles behind the skill. Unfortunately, he could only sense that it was incredibly profound and actually couldn''t understand it.

    Zu An voiced his surprise. ¡°Who would have thought that you were actually a virgin!¡± This really was depressing. This guy was called the lord of the Yin Yang Realm, the king of all ghosts, and yet such a person had never experienced any romance. What the hell¡­

    The Ghost King snorted. ¡°What right do you have to assume I¡¯m a man?¡±

    Zu An was stunned, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re a woman.¡±

    ¡°Are you a perverted maniac or something? You actually imagined me as a woman?¡± the Ghost King sneered. ¡°I am a being that does not distinguish by sex. How could a lower-level being like you possiblyprehend something on my level?¡±

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, the women all had strange expressions. However, the one they were looking at wasn¡¯t the Ghost King, but rather Zu An.

    Just what is this kid thinking every day? He actually imagined the Ghost King as a woman?

    When he saw the Rage points that appeared on the backend, Zu An felt as if his head would explode. He didn¡¯t know what they were getting angry for.

    The Ghost King said he wasn¡¯t a guy, so what¡¯s wrong with me guessing that they were a girl? How could I have known that they were neither male or female?

    ¡°I don¡¯t like that look in your eyes at all,¡± the Ghost King said, glowering. The ck mist started to look as if it were burning, and the skulls began to sparkle as if they were jade. The skulls then attacked Zu An again; both their power and speed had increased by several times.

    Zu An soon found himself in great danger. The Heaven Devouring Sutra and Kun Peng¡¯s absorption had limits, and there was no way his opponent would let him slowly digest the absorbed power. If he absorbed too much in a short amount of time, his body wouldn¡¯t be able to take it either.

    ¡­

    When they saw the danger Zu An was in, the women were all really anxious. However, in order to keep them under control, the Ghost King made sure to leave behind a ring of skulls to continue roaring at them. The ck tortoise and other various techniques could barely hold on, but if they left that barrier, their souls would be instantly sucked out. Not only would they not be able to help Zu An, they would only make him worry and be distracted.

    In the end, there was just too big of a gap in strength between them and the Ghost King. Not everyone was as much of a monster as Zu An, who had many skills to fight against someone on that level.

    Xie Daoyun was struggling to maintain the formation. Suddenly, however, a voice spoke in her ear. ¡°Miss Xie, are you willing to be my inheritor?¡±

    Xie Daoyun was stupefied, because that voice was too familiar. They had frequently conversed with each other as ofte. Who else could it be but Sun En?! However, he had clearly been ambushed by the Ghost King and killed!

    She quickly turned to look to one side. She saw that Sun En¡¯s corpse was still nearby. Her eyes widened, because he couldn''t be any more dead.

    Sun En spoke again. ¡°Stop looking already. I am over here.¡±

    Xie Daoyun followed the source of the sound and saw that there was a talisman calmly floating next to Sun En¡¯s corpse.

    It was the Record of High Firmament!

    ¡°You¡¯re still alive?¡± Xie Daoyun was scared of startling the Ghost King and quickly replied through a ki transmission.

    ¡°Sigh, I am already dead. This is nothing more than a lingering will attached to a talisman,¡± Sun En said. ¡°Chasing a wild goose will only end with getting your eyes pecked out in the end.¡±

    It was clear that after being schemed against twice in a row, he was extremely unhappy. However, after learning that Zang Ao was the Ghost King, he couldn''t help but feel that it made sense.

    ¡°To make a long story short, my divine will is about to scatter soon,¡± Sun En said hurriedly. ¡°I cannot let the Divine Firmament Sect¡¯s three records end in my hands and be the sect¡¯s greatest sinner. Our conversation on the way here was still rather pleasant. I know that you have some aplishments in runes and formations, so you are perfect to pass on my legacy to.¡±

    Xie Daoyun was a bit hesitant. She protested, ¡°But I already have a teacher, and I can¡¯t change to another school!¡±

    Sun En said impatiently, ¡°I do not need you to make me your master; I only hope that out of respect for our pleasant times together, you will take care of the Divine Firmament Sect a bit.¡±

    He felt really dejected. Normally, what kind of a being was he? There were countless people who wanted to be his disciple, and yet he hadn¡¯t even given them a second look. He had never expected that this littledy he asked to be his disciple would be so unwilling, and he had to even plead with her. He wouldn¡¯t even have the title of master.

    Sigh, how lowly am I¡­

    Xie Daoyun was a bit troubled. She said, ¡°Even so, I¡¯m not someone of this world, so I might not be able to take care of your respected sect.¡±

    Sun En was speechless. If he still had a flesh body, perhaps he would have already coughed out a mouthful of blood.

    Is this retribution for assaulting that noble n daughter in the past? Sigh¡­ The two of us even spent some time together afterward, but she ended up finding a chance to end her own life. Only then did I realize that I actually came to like her.

    However, time couldn¡¯t be turned back. That event had also be an inner demon to him. The reason he had been unable to sessfully pass through tribtion in the past was probably rted to it.

    For some reason, from the very moment he first saw Xie Daoyun, he hadn¡¯t been able to avoid thinking of her. Even though they didn¡¯t look even remotely simr, perhaps it was that noble bearing that had made him remember the past. That was why he hadn¡¯t troubled her or Yun Jianyue along the way, and had instead chatted quite pleasantly.

    ¡°Enough, enough. I don¡¯t need you to take care of them. All I need is for these three records to have a sessor. If you are going to die, whether it is your daughter or your disciple, it doesn¡¯t matter. That¡¯s all fine,¡± Sun En said. He had actually already guessed that these two were from a different world from their conversation on the way. More importantly, practically everyone here wasn¡¯t from this damn world!

    I can¡¯t just pass them to the Ghost King, can I? Forget it, forget it. As long as the three records can be passed down, I¡¯m sure there will be some mysterious fate in y.

    ¡°You¡¯re not trying to possess me, right?¡± Xie Daoyun asked vigntly when she sensed that he had be so agreeable.

    Sun En was stunned.

    I¡¯m already so damn sincere, yet she¡¯s actually still doubting me?

    This girl looks all gentle and weak, but why is she so vignt?

    ¡°Do you want to help your man or not?¡± Sun En hissed through gritted teeth.

    ¡°Big brother Zu isn¡¯t my man or anything¡­¡± Xie Daoyun said, blushing. She nced at Zu An, who was fighting bitterly nearby, with eyes full of worry.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t even say the name Zu An.¡± Sun En harrumphed. This youngdy¡¯s thoughts were so easy to read. None of those pretty women at that man¡¯s side were easy to deal with; the water around him was full of sharks. This petite youngdy wouldn¡¯t even have any bone dregs left over if she tried to struggle in that pond. He said, ¡°If you don¡¯t want them, then forget it.¡±

    ¡°I do! I want them!¡± Xie Daoyun eximed, panicking.

    Sun En was speechless. All of his sincere words were nothingpared to just mentioning that pretty boy.

    This really is a sted world.

    However, he knew he didn¡¯t have any more time, so he didn¡¯t dare to hesitate anymore. He quickly passed on a mnemonic chant to her and immediately warned her, ¡°Your cultivation is still too low right now, so you won¡¯t be able to use their full power. Cultivate properly so that in the future¡­¡±

    His voice became softer and softer, then finally disappeared. However, those three talismans were quietly floating in front of Xie Daoyun.

    Yun Jianyue, who was still passing ki to her, was startled. She quickly asked her what happened.

    Xie Daoyun gave her a rough summary of what had happened, but Yun Jianyue was still worried. She said, ¡°Be careful. That bastard is a bad person. He might use this chance to possess you.¡±

    Xie Daoyun shook her head and replied, ¡°The words of the dying carry benevolence. Big sister Yun, please don¡¯t worry.¡±

    Nearby, Qiu Honglei perked up her ears. You¡¯re calling her big sister? Then doesn¡¯t that mean I¡¯m an entire generation beneath you now?

    It wasn¡¯t just her, even Chu Chuyan and Pei Mianman had strange expressions. They were of the same generation as Qiu Honglei, but now, they had a little senior?

    This girl doesn¡¯t seem to be the weak little white rabbit she looks like!

    Yun Jianyue carefully examined the three talismans, then sighed in relief when she saw that there were no souls attached to them. She said, ¡°Sect Master Sun really is quite the character. It seems I¡¯ve viewed his generosity with the attitude of the petty.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because big sister was worried about me,¡± Xie Daoyun said sincerely.

    Yun Jianyue suddenly noticed the way the others were looking at her and couldn''t help but cough. She said, ¡°Ahem, don¡¯t call me big sister in the future. That was just something we did as a measure against Sun En on the way here.¡±

    Seniority wasn¡¯t something that could be messed with. She couldn''t just let her own disciple suffer because of that.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Xie Daoyun voiced her understanding. However, she suddenly thought of something and eximed, ¡°Ah, I have to go help big brother Zu!¡±

    Then, her hands came together. She extended two fingers vertically in front of her, then chanted some words. The Record of High Firmament suddenly began to glow a faint blue, unleashing a bolt of lightning at the Ghost King.

    Pika''s Thoughts

    Editor Felis: I decided to go with the neutral ''they'' to refer to the Ghost King for now, considering the whole point of the start of this chapter. Besides, the Ghost King is made up of countless skulls, so it makes sense regardless... and there''s another reason this will be relevantter.

 Chapter 1821: Hidden Path

    Chapter 1821: Hidden Path

    Meanwhile, the Ghost King was chasing Zu An, so they had never expected a st of lightning to strike them. The ck mist around them shuddered. Even though the lightning couldn''t hurt them, lightning had a natural restraining effect toward sinister things. That was why it still made them feel extremely ufortable.

    Startled, the Ghost King quickly turned around vigntly, but was stunned to see that it was actually Xie Daoyun. For a second, it was almost as if Sun En hade back to life or something!

    Being incredibly cunning, the Ghost King had been worried about the possibility of Sun En pulling the same trick in retaliation, waiting until the fight against Zu An reached a critical moment before delivering a fatal strike. However, it was possible to more or less guess what happened upon seeing the Record of High Firmament floating in front of her.

    This woman is pretty lucky. I would have taken those records for myself if I knew that this was going to happen.

    Previously, the Ghost King had just never liked that kind of evil-warding lightning very much, and had thus rejected those three records a bit. Furthermore, it would be hard for them to use the three records anyway. On top of that, Zu An had been constantly putting on the pressure, keeping them from immediately taking the three records. And yet in the end, they had ended up letting that littledy get away with the records!

    They felt annoyed just thinking about it.

    ¡­

    Zu An¡¯s spirit gained a huge boost, because while fighting against the Ghost King, he had noticed that the so-called immunity to damage wasn¡¯t perfect. After all, the purification power of his Primordial Origin Sutra was enough to wound the Ghost King, as was the power of lightning. It was only because the ck mist around them was toorge, creating the illusion that they had immunity to all physical and elemental damage. Now that he knew that the Ghost King was an enemy that could be defeated, Zu An had much more confidence. He no longer felt the same sense of powerlessness.

    When he saw the Ghost King flying toward Xie Daoyun, Zu An stopped them with his divine sword, calling out, ¡°Your opponent is me!¡±

    The power of a divine weapon was no trivial matter. Together with the different abilities Zu An had, sword energy wove through the air. The Ghost King couldn''t help but face him seriously.

    Xie Daoyun also sent lightning strikes out from time to time. Even though their power wasn¡¯t that great, the evil-warding properties of the lightning still didn¡¯t feel good for the Ghost King at all.

    The Ghost King roared with anger after discovering that it was impossible to immediately defeat Zu An. This kid was like a roach that just wouldn¡¯t die! He was clearly unbearably weak, and yet the Ghost King¡¯s own tremendous power always seemed to be inexplicably absorbed by a mysterious power. Furthermore, this youngster¡¯s power also actually seemed to approach their own level, so they had no choice but to face him seriously. Otherwise, it was entirely possible for them to lose!

    How could there be such a strange being in this world?

    Just how can he be that weak and that strong at the same time?

    Does this world still make any sense?

    You have sessfully trolled the Ghost King for +666 +666 +666¡­

    Now that the fight they¡¯d expected to bepletely one-sided had ended up like this, the Ghost King felt more and more dejected, eximing, ¡°You¡¯ve forced me to do this!¡±

    Suddenly breaking free from the battle, the giant face opened its mouth and began to inhale. Endless ck energy gathered toward the Ghost King from the walls and ground. The ck mist around them became denser and denser, eventually bing even more glossy than ck ink.

    Zu An didn¡¯t dare to waste any time. He used his sword to attack the Ghost King, but before that darkness, the resplendent sword light becamepletely insignificant. Even though he was able to cut through a bit of ck mist, the Ghost King was able to replenish much more.

    ¡°Haha, it¡¯s useless! Once I¡¯ve absorbed enough power, all of you can just die then!¡± the Ghost King said arrogantly, their voice echoing through the entire tomb room.

    Pfft!

    Blood flowed out from the mouths of the women within the barrier. The Ghost King¡¯s increasing power caused the Demonic Voice of the Ghost King to grow in strength as well, so the formation around them was gradually falling apart as well.

    Even Xie Daoyun couldn''t spare any time to use the Record of High Firmament anymore, and quickly used the Record of Emperor¡¯s Suppression to summon divine troops in order to aid the ck tortoise in blocking the demonic voice. However, her cultivation was too low, so the number of divine troops was too low. Even the light their bodies gave off was far weaker than when Sun En used the talisman. The celestial soldiers¡¯ bodies quickly cracked, then shattered one after another.

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s forehead was covered in fine sweat. She felt as if her brain were being stabbed by needles, as if the veins there could explode at any time. She knew it was a sign of heavily overdrafting her mental strength. Sun En¡¯s three records were extraordinary, as expected¡­ Not only did using them require her cultivation to be powerful, it also took a heavy toll on her mind. If this continued, she would quickly be emptied out. No wonder Sun En had warned that she would only be able to bring out the power of the three divine talismans after she gradually increased her strength.

    However, she didn¡¯t dare to stop yet. She quickly took out a pill from the academy that could replenish her mental strength. Then, she continuously summoned more celestial soldiers. Despite that, it was only thanks to Yun Jianyue continuously providing her with ki that she hadn¡¯t already turned into a shriveled corpse.

    Yun Jianyue cursed inwardly. Apart from those on Zhao Han¡¯s level, she had long been considered among the world¡¯s strongest individuals. The ocean of ki within her was incredibly vast. And yet, she had never expected Xie Daoyun to expend ki that quickly, almost like an endless ck hole! She could only bitterly hold on as well, though.

    If even she was in that state, how could the other women be any better off? With their group¡¯s cultivation, they wouldn¡¯t have ended up in such a bitter state even if they were fighting against Zhao Han; however, the Ghost King¡¯s Demonic Voice of the Ghost King was a freaking cheat. It was an area of effect attack that turned everything weaker than itself into a helpless ant. They couldn''t even retaliate.

    Only someone like Zu An with his special abilities was exempt from that, leaving the Ghost King incredibly frustrated.

    Jing Teng looked around her and saw that all the women were injured. She knew that if this continued, perhaps they would all just die. She clenched her teeth, and her body flickered. She jumped toward the nearby Immortal Ruler Baopu¡¯s coffin and called out, ¡°Ghost King, if you want to obtain the real Baopu Sutra, then follow me!¡±

    The coffin clearly wasn¡¯t that tall, at least not as tall as Jing Teng when she stood up; and yet, due to some unknown mechanism, once she jumped in, she actually disappeared.

    The Ghost King was shocked. Could it be that they hadn¡¯t been able to find anything because the real secrets were hidden at the bottom of the coffin?

    Immortal Ruler Baopu had been lying inside before. With his reputation, no one dared to touch his corpse and treat him with disrespect. The fear and reverence they had felt prevented them from trying that.

    The Ghost King no longer bothered with the others anymore, chasing after Jing Teng with a shrill cry.

    Meanwhile, Zu An had been hesitating over which skill to bring out, but his opponent had left him quite conflicted. He didn¡¯t know what kind of skill would actually be enough to restrain the Ghost King.

    However, Jing Teng and the Ghost King both disappeared in a sh, leaving Zu An horrified. Worried that something had happened to Jing Teng, he used his instant movement skill to enter the coffin. There seemed to be a formation at the bottom that transported him away as soon as he entered.

    The other women were a few steps toote. By the time they arrived, the formation was already closed. They couldn''t open it up again no matter what they tried.

    ¡°What do we do now?¡± the women all asked nervously. The Ghost King was too powerful, and no matter how many people they had on their side, they still couldn''t win. Now, Zu An was chasing after him alone, so didn¡¯t that mean things weren¡¯t looking good?

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for rm. That kid Zu An is stronger than any of you can fathom. He¡¯ll be fine. Besides, because the Demonic Voice of the Ghost King targets the soul, we won¡¯t be any help even if we go, and might only distract him,¡± Yun Jianyue said. She had experienced all kinds of storms in her life, after all. She had even seen Zu An kill the Fiend Emperor, so she wasparatively calmer than the others.

    However, despite what she said, she was still incredibly nervous. When they defeated the Fiend Emperor, the spiritual essence in the air had been incredibly dense and all sorts of other factors had lined up, but even so, Zu An had almost lost his life. How could he truly be perfectly fine in this situation?

    ¡°There¡¯s also Jing Teng. That woman is extremely mysterious and has a close rtionship with Immortal Ruler Baopu. She knows much more about this great tomb than we do. She¡¯ll help Ah Zu,¡± Qiu Honglei said, although she was clenching her fists so tightly her nails dug into her palms out of nervousness.

    If Jing Teng can bring Zu An out safely, I¡¯llpletely acknowledge her as my little sister.

    No, it¡¯s fine even if she wants to be the big sister!

    ¡°Honglei, you¡¯ve spent the longest amount of time with Miss Jing. Can you tell us more details about her?¡± Chu Chuyan asked. She set aside her jealousy and quickly grabbed Qiu Honglei to ask for more details.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The other women also moved closer. Qiu Hongle hadn¡¯t expected to be surrounded that way, but she began to slowly talk about her interactions with Jing Teng.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An was sent away by the formation. The world spun around him, and he fell into a dark space.

 Chapter 1822: Underground Monk

    Chapter 1822: Underground Monk

    Could it be that the formation transported people randomly? He hadn¡¯t entered another secret dungeon, had he?

    Zu An was nervous. The secret dungeons had always transported people to random ces in the past too.

    He took out a luminescent pearl to illuminate his surroundings and saw tunnels extending in all directions. The familiar style of architecture made him sigh in relief. He was still in the tomb, but he couldn''t sense the presence of any other people or living creatures. He was definitely no longer in the upper floors of the tomb.

    However, his eyes quickly narrowed. He noticed that there were some white bones scattered across the ground in ces. Judging from the size of the bones, they clearly didn¡¯t belong to humans, and instead belonged to monsters that had died here.

    Suddenly, strange winds blew through the tomb. Waves of muffled roars filled the air from time to time. They sounded even closer than what Zu An had heard while in Immortal Ruler Baopu¡¯s burial room. He could clearly sense the power behind them now. Thus, he was most likely in the depths of this great tomb.

    Zu An recalled Immortal Ruler Baopu and Jing Teng mentioning that the truly terrifying creatures had been sealed in the depths of the great tomb. Furthermore, neither the Death Reaper or the Earthme Devil were actually qualified to be on the lower levels. When he thought of that, his expression turned grave. It would be best if he found Jing Teng quickly and left this ce as soon as possible.

    However, this tomb was full of different paths, just like a maze. Just where was he supposed to go?

    He tried to search with his divine sense, but the great tomb had a powerful suppressive effect on divine sense. Now that he was in the depths of the great tomb, his divine sense only reached about three feet around him, making its range even more limited than his sight. Next, he raised the jade badge into the air. A fluorescent glow appeared on its surface, but it quickly disappeared. Sure enough, there were no smaller creatures he could control.

    Just when he was at a loss for where to go, he suddenly smelled a faint scent of sulfur. Since he didn¡¯t have any other leads to follow, he decided to follow the smell first. It remained faint for some time, but it became stronger and stronger, mixed with some hot and stuffy air. He felt as if he had entered a sauna.

    Zu An frowned. Could it be that this was an underwater hot spring? He used his ki to surround his entire body, quickly cooling himself down.

    As he continued to explore, he discovered that his surroundings could no longer really be called tomb paths. Many of them were more like naturally formed caves.

    Could it be that since this great tomb had been built along a mountain, it actually used some natural terrain? However, just what kind of being could create a great tomb like this?

    There were many forked paths, and taking one only led to many more. Most importantly, they were all winding andplicated. Caverns appeared at fixed intervals, and they all looked the same. It really was headache-inducing, just like a maze.

    At first, Zu An kept track of which path he took, but eventually, he just gave up. He couldn''t remember it all. However, he could feel that he wasn¡¯t walking on a level surface. These naturally formed rock caverns seemed to vaguely be moving down, deeper and deeper. As the gradient wasn¡¯t too steep, it was easy to not notice.

    Little by little, a hint of red light began to appear in front of him. He followed the source of the light and saw that it actually came from walls that had turned red from sheer heat. The surrounding air became more and more scorching as waves of heat rushed at him. It was several times hotter than even the Earthme Devil¡¯s area from before. If not for Zu An¡¯s profound cultivation and Pei Mianman¡¯s me-resistant pendant, he would likely have already caught on fire and started to burn.

    ¡°Is itva again?¡± he muttered with a frown. However, after thinking about it, it made sense. The reason there had beenva near the Earthme Devil was most likely because of the leakage of fire elemental energy from the tomb¡¯s depths.

    His shoes soon became sticky. Even though there was a great deal of power protecting them, they still looked as if they were being roasted. When he saw that, he was about to turn around to leave and find another path. Even though he could still hold on right now, who knew if he would end up being roasted alive if he went deeper in.

    Suddenly, however, he heard a faint and indistinct voice. ¡°Help¡­ Help¡­ me¡­¡±

    Zu An was startled. He looked up ahead, but the voice didn¡¯t repeat itself. However, he knew he definitely hadn¡¯t heard incorrectly. After a moment of hesitation, he decided to give it a look. He had beenpletely stumped as to where to go in thebyrinth, with no idea where he would go to find Jing Teng. He had finally met another living being, so it was a good idea to ask them for some information.

    He carefully protected himself with ki, then began to walk across the red-hot ground. After a while, though, he suddenly thought of something. He took out the Soulburn Firecrystal from before. It began to shine, seemingly absorbing the fire element energy around it. With the help of the Soulburn Firecrystal, he felt the pressure around him decrease substantially. He was able to move much faster as well.

    He was quite curious as to just what kind of material the rock walls were made of. It was being burned to such an extent, and yet there was still no sign of them melting at all.

    ¡­

    After he continued for a while, a whiteke appeared before his eyes. However, upon closer inspection, it wasn¡¯tkewater at all, but clearly allva! It had already turned a brightly glowing white, so it was apparent just how high the temperature had reached.

    Strictly speaking, it wasn¡¯t necessarily evenva anymore, but rather the purest embodiment of the fire element. Forget about ordinary people, even higher-level cultivators could very well just turn into ash upon contact with it, right?

    Thiske was countless timesrger than the Earthme Devil¡¯s region, to the extent that Zu An couldn''t even see the other end of it. It almost seemed more like an ocean than ake. Shockingly, however, in the center was a small ind that was less than a square meter wide.

    An old monk was sitting there, his hands together as he muttered some kind of sutra. His entire body flickered slightly, barely blocking the surging magma around him. However, his clothes had already beenpletely destroyed, leaving only his aged, stooped body. There were all sorts of scars and scorched traces on his body, without a single patch of intact skin to be seen. They had clearly been inflicted by theva sshing all around him.

    As if sensing Zu An¡¯s arrival, the old monk slowly opened his eyes. There was a hint of joy on his face as he said, ¡°I¡¯ve finally managed to hold out until a fated one arrived. Hurry ande here; I¡¯ll pass on everything I¡¯ve learned in this life to you. That way, my legacy won¡¯t end here.¡±

    However, Zu An didn¡¯t move. Instead, he cupped his hands and asked, ¡°Why is senior here?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a long story,¡± the old monk said with a sigh.

    ¡°That¡¯s fine. I have plenty of time,¡± Zu An said with a smile. Even though he was worried about Jing Teng¡¯s safety, he still looked rather leisurely on the surface.

    The old monk was briefly struck speechless. He could only say, ¡°In the past, this old one practiced evil exorcism and delved into this great tomb. Unfortunately, after a great battle, I was seriously injured and was identally trapped here. After so many years, my life is already nearing its end. At first, I thought I could only silently wait for my death, but a destined person actually came. In that case, I can pass on all of my knowledge to you, and thus my legacy can continue to exist in the world. I can then have no regrets left in this world.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, senior. Senior can tell me about it now; junior will listen respectfully,¡± Zu An said with a respectful expression.

    The old monk was struck speechless again. He could only endure his frustrations and say, ¡°There isn¡¯t much of my life left, so I might not be able tost long enough to exin all of it. If youe over, I can pass it all onto you in the form of divine will. Since you¡¯ve been able toe all the way here safely, your cultivation isn¡¯t bad. It shouldn¡¯t be too much of an issue for you to fly all the way here.¡±

    Zu An said seriously, ¡°Unfortunately, I have more pressing matters, so I¡¯lle for senior¡¯s teachings once I¡¯vepleted my task.¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you just say you had more than enough time?!¡± the old monk eximed. He was stunned, but he quickly said, ¡°My life is already nearing its end, and I only have a single breath left. By the time you return, I¡¯ll definitely already be dead. It would be best if you seize the moment; the process will be very quick.¡±

    Zu An scratched his head in embarrassment, saying ¡°What senior says makes sense. Since there isn¡¯t much time, I¡¯ll receive senior¡¯s inheritance first.¡±

    A look of joy appeared in that old monk¡¯s eyes when he heard that. Not a single person hade here in so many years. As long as the stranger approached, the monk would have a chance to possess his body and leave this ce that sealed him.

    As such, he said in an even more amiable manner, ¡°Hurry ande over.¡±

    Zu An ran over to the edge of theke. As soon as he flew a few meters, however, mes appeared on his clothes. He jumped back in fright and eximed, ¡°No way! I can¡¯t do it! I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on with thisva. It¡¯s too strong and I can¡¯te over.¡±

    He had put away both the fire pendant and the Soulburn Firecrystal, and he hadn¡¯t used his ki at full power to protect himself. That was why he had ended up in such a sorry state.

    The old monk said gravely, ¡°Thisva has already turned white, which is the embodiment of an extreme fire spirit. It¡¯s indeed a bit difficult for ordinary people to face it. It¡¯s fine; this old one has something that just happens to be able to help you cross over.¡±

    As soon as he said that, he took out an alms bowl from who knew where. He gently caressed the surface with a reluctant look, as if he were stroking his own lover. With a gentle push, that alms bowl flew straight up to Zu An. Then, he quickly said, ¡°Just jump in here and it can turn into a ship to bring you over. You must move quickly, because it will also sustain damage if it stays in theva for too long.¡±

    Zu An received the alms bowl. It was violet-gold in color, and there were some Buddhist engravings on its surface. There was a vast sense of benevolenceing out from it. He was stunned. Could it be that he had made some kind of mistake?

    He couldn''t help but say, ¡°This item looks quite mysterious. May I ask how to use it?¡±

    The old monk replied, ¡°This item is named the Violet-Gold Alms. It can help you defend against all kinds of supernatural, demonic, and other influences that attack the soul. This item has already selected me as its owner, so once you obtain my inheritance, you¡¯ll naturally be its new owner.¡±

    He was worried that the youngster would be greedy, so he made sure to state that the item already had an owner. Without his permission, it would bepletely useless even if they obtained it. On the contrary, as long as the youngster obtained his inheritance, he would obtain it as well. It clearly wasn¡¯t a difficult choice to make.

    Zu An was overjoyed. Even though his Primordial Origin Sutra was able to purify evil beings, it wasn¡¯t very effective against spiritual attacks. Furthermore, Hundredwarble was an offensive skill, and it didn¡¯t specialize in soul protection. He had suffered bitterly before in the fight against the Ghost King. If he¡¯d had such an item, their group wouldn¡¯t have ended up in such a terrible state.

    Furthermore, it could even guard against supernatural and demonic beings! It was rumored that once one¡¯s cultivation reached a certain level, they would manifest heart devils, and perhaps other devils would even attack. If one couldn¡¯t guard one¡¯s heart well, that devil would devour heir entire soul. All of their cultivation would thus be wasted effort.

    He cupped his hands toward the old monk and said, ¡°Thank you for this treasure, senior. I¡¯m still in a rush to save my friends. Once I save my friends, though, I¡¯ll definitely hurry back to inherit senior¡¯s inheritance.¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    After saying that, he put the Violet-Gold Alms away, then turned around to run.

    The old monk had been waiting for him toe over with a big smile. When he heard the response, he was immediately stupefied.

    ¡°???¡±

 Chapter 1823: To Steal a Chicken Only to Lose the Rice

    Chapter 1823: To Steal a Chicken Only to Lose the Rice

    Zu An tried to store the Violet-Gold Alms in his Brilliant ss Bead, but it didn¡¯t work even after trying several times, which meant it was probably an item that had an owner. It clearly had that old monk¡¯s imprint, so he couldn''t store it away. As such, he tossed it into his inner pocket and ran.

    The old monk waspletely stunned now. He hadn¡¯t expected Zu An to run away, because he had already said he would pass his entire inheritance on. In that case, that alms bowl would be Zu An¡¯s anyway, so why would he run?

    After watching for a while, however, he saw that Zu An had no sign of stopping. Only then did he quickly shout, ¡°What are you doing?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Golden Mountain Motuo for +888 +888 +888¡­

    ¡°Do you think you can get away with my treasure?¡± the monk called out with a sneer. He started to chant an incantation.

    Zu An¡¯s chest suddenly shone brilliantly. The Violet-Gold Alms flew out of his clothes and started vibrating all over, as if it would soon fly away. However, Zu An quickly reached out and grabbed it. In that instant, he found himself in a deadlocked state with the alms bowl. It couldn''t go back, but he couldn''t continue running either.

    The Violet-Gold Alms shook intensely all over, seemingly struggling. The power that emanated from it grew greater and greater. Zu An even started to feel almost as if he couldn''t hold onto it anymore.

    This old monk¡¯s cultivation is so terrifying! The pressure he¡¯s giving off doesn¡¯t seem to be weaker than the Ghost King¡¯s.

    The old monk cackled sinisterly and said, ¡°That item has already acknowledged me as its owner, so you won¡¯t be able to take it away. I¡¯ll give you onest chance. Come and receive this old one¡¯s inheritance, and this old one can ignore what just happened.¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t say anything; instead, he tried to erase the divine will attached to the item.

    The old monk was furious. He cried, ¡°You¡¯re courting death! Since you¡¯re not willing to let go, you can juste over together with it!¡± As soon as he spoke, a powerful force emanated from the Violet-Gold Alms, making Zu An stagger. He was swept up, and flew in the old monk¡¯s direction.

    Zu An knew that if he didn¡¯t let go, he would fall into theva. At that point, he would die for certain. However, he really didn¡¯t want to just let go and give up on it.

    He suddenly thought of something and quickly took out a certain someone. She was dressed in a cropped leather top and a miniskirt, with corset straps around her belly. She had tanned skin and sturdy thighs. There was a sense of explosive powering from her, as if she were a beautiful leopardess. Who else could it be but Mo Xi?

    ¡°Hurry and help me cut through this contract!¡± Zu An didn¡¯t even have time to speak and conversed through divine will.

    Mo Xi had been nning to wait until she received Ki Fruits first, but she quickly noticed the dire situation and didn¡¯t dare to act carelessly. A pair of golden shears appeared in her hands, cutting the space between the Violet-Gold Alms and the old monk.

    The Farewell Nanchao skill activated!

    it could sever all kinds of contracts and oaths, bringing forth endless rebellion and hatred!

    A weight suddenly dropped in Zu An¡¯s stomach, because he remembered that the skill had a prerequisite. If it was voluntary, it would only work if Mo Xi¡¯s cultivation and the other party¡¯s were within one great cultivation rank of each other. If it wasn¡¯t voluntary, Mo Xi¡¯s cultivation had to be greater. Each increase in Farewell Nanchao¡¯s rank would allow that requirement to have some leeway of 20% of a cultivation rank.

    However, Mo Xi¡¯s cultivation rank wasn¡¯t that high, and even if he gave her all of his resources, her rank would still be far from that old monk¡¯s.

    The monk¡¯s fury made Zu An a bit frightened. His true strength could even exceed the Ghost King¡¯s. How could someone so terrifying possibly allow Farewell Nanchao to sever the connection with his magical treasure?

    Zu An was about to make the decision to let go when he felt his hands loosen up. The Violet-Gold Alms actually stopped struggling and instead floated gently in his hands, almost as if it had be really intimate with him. Zu An was stunned.

    The old monk was utterly bbergasted. He eximed, ¡°How is this possible? How could an ant like you possibly sever the connection between me and my treasure?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Golden Mountain Motuo for +999 +999 +999¡­

    Zu An also looked at Mo Xi in confusion. She had a proud expression as she reached her hand out to him, clearly demanding Ki Fruits to eat.

    Zu An quickly took out arge pile of Ki Fruits for her, and quickly asked her what was going on as he watched her eat, seemingly enraptured. Mo Xi casually pointed at the Violet-Gold Alms. Even though she couldn''t speak, because of the soul contract, he could more or less understand her intentions. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    This Violet-Gold Alms had originally been a Buddhist sacred item, but it had ended up falling into the hands of a monster. The creature¡¯s power was too great, so it had ended up being refined helplessly and could only serve the monster. However, as a sacred object of the Buddhist sects, it naturally loathed evil beings. Previously, it had been controlled by force and didn¡¯t have a choice, but Farewell Nanchao gave it an opportunity. By working together with Mo Xi, it had broken the imprint forced on it by Golden Mountain Motuo

    Farewell Nanchao¡¯s condition became more lenient if either party was willing. The old monk was too strong to affect, but the Violet-Gold Alms had agreed, making things easy.

    When he noticed that his precious treasure really had been stolen, the old monk could no longer hold it in. He had tried to steal the chicken. only to end up losing the rice used to lure it! He roared furiously, causing the entire cave to continuously tremble. The terrifying roars made even Zu An shudder.

    When Zu An turned around, he saw that thevake seemed to be boiling. A massive figure rushed out from within. He could vaguely make out that it resembled a giant crab. Meanwhile, the old monk wasn¡¯t a monk at all; rather, it had been transformed from one of the monster¡¯s bulging eyes.

    It turned out that the monster had been restrained within theva the entire time, to the point that only its eyes just barely stuck out. Now that it was furious, it actually struggled and brandished its many arms at Zu An.

    Zu An could sense that he had been targeted by its divine sense. He knew that an attack wasing soon.

    However, suddenly, a strange rune flickered within theva. Then, the monster screamed miserably, ¡°Noooo!¡±

    Then, its massive body was dragged down by something and pulled into theva once more. Even the eye that had reached above theva at first was almostpletely submerged. Most of the monk¡¯s body was now immersed inva, his skin sizzling. There was an expression of pain on his face. He quickly joined his hands and sat down in meditation, murmuring verses. Streaks of light appeared around him, and only then did he prevent his entire body from being submerged.

    However, that meant he could no longer stop Zu An. He could only look in Zu An¡¯s direction with resentment.

    You have sessfully trolled Golden Mountain Motuo for +1024 +1024 +1024..

    Zu An sighed in relief. He wondered just what kind of seal there was in theva. It was actually so terrifying!

    He thanked Mo Xi, but shepletely ignored him and just frantically gorged on the Ki Fruits. After eating her fill, she yawned and returned to her space in satisfaction, seemingly falling asleep.

    ¡°Sleeping after you eat, eating after you wake up, and yet you don¡¯t get fat at all,¡± Zu An couldn''t help but say in amazement.

    Mi Li suddenly appeared. After stretching a bit, she gave him an annoyed look and remarked, ¡°Have you cursed me that way before too?¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare! You¡¯re my master, right?¡± Zu An replied, looking at the red-d woman in front of him. Even though he had already seen her many times, there was still a look of amazement in his eyes.

    Mi Li rolled her eyes. She clearly didn¡¯t care about that; instead, she asked curiously, ¡°How did you know that the inheritance he wanted to give you was fake?¡±

    Whether in terms of his costume or tone, the old monk hadn¡¯t made any mistakes. She had only realized that something wasn¡¯t right when she sensed the terrifying aura in theva. However, she hadn¡¯t spoken out to warn Zu An so that could mature and grow. She had always followed that principle over the past two years as well. If he relied on her power too much, it would be difficult for him to be a truly strong person. However, she had never expected him to sessfully pass the trial so easily, and he had even scammed the old monk so beautifully, obtaining a precious treasure from the monster.

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°There¡¯s no such thing as a free lunch. After almost having my body stolen by Old Mi in the past, I¡¯ve be really guarded against simr things. It was strange enough to see someone like an old monk all the way down here, and he even wanted to give me his inheritance from the first meeting. His performance and getup were actually really good, but there was only one thing he did wrong, which was that he acted a bit too enthusiastic. He didn¡¯t even give me a test or something else, and he looked a bit too eager to pass on his legacy.¡±

    Mi Li couldn''t help but say, ¡°It might have been because he really didn¡¯t have much time left. Being anxious in that situation would be understandable.¡±

    ¡°That was a possibility, so I tested him a bit on purpose. Sure enough, he exposed himself,¡± Zu An said. Inwardly, however, he thought to himself, How could a real monke up with that many Rage points?

    ¡°I¡¯ll give you credit for being sharp,¡± Mi Li said with a chuckle. She was about to say something when her expression suddenly changed. She said before disappearing, ¡°There¡¯s someoneing.¡±

    A sweet scent blew by, and a woman ran over from a corner. She was shocked and happy when she saw Zu An, eximing, ¡°Big brother Zu?¡±

    However, she quickly said, ¡°Hurry and follow me! The Ghost King is chasing after me!¡±

 Chapter 1824: Repaying the Fare

    Chapter 1824: Repaying the Fare

    Zu An hadn¡¯t expected to reunite with Jing Teng here. He was about to ask her something when he sensed a cold aura quickly approaching. He didn¡¯t dare to dy and immediately grabbed Jing Teng before running.

    However, the other party was too fast, and they were caught shortly after.

    Zu An took out the Tai¡¯e Sword and was about to fight when a gentle hand grabbed him, saying, ¡°This way.¡±

    He didn¡¯t know how Jing Teng did it, but she pressed against the wall and a door opened, revealing a hidden path. She pulled Zu An in.

    As soon as the door closed, the Ghost King called out from outside, ¡°Stop running! You should also understand that I won¡¯t do anything to you. All you need to do is hand over the Baopu Sutra!¡±

    Because they were too close, Jing Teng and Zu An didn¡¯t even dare to move in the tunnel for fear of alerting the Ghost King.

    The tunnel was extremely narrow. It was only enough for one person to move through, so the two could only lean tightly against each other to squeeze into it. At that distance, Zu An could clearly smell Jing Teng¡¯s fragrance, as well as feel the warmth and shocking sticity of her tender skin.

    Jing Teng¡¯s entire body was tense; she was clearly a bit nervous in the current situation. However, when she sensed Zu An¡¯s warm embrace, her trembling body gradually calmed down as well. She leaned against him just like that. The two hadn¡¯t spent much time together, but apart from that one time, they had never been so intimate with each other.

    Jing Teng¡¯s face gradually turned red in the darkness. Her heart was also pounding. Fortunately, because the outside world was shaking and rumbling, and Golden Mountain Motuo¡¯s furious roars had created a chain reaction, making other mysterious beings roar as well, they had escaped the Ghost King¡¯s detection.

    ¡°Hm? Why did they suddenly disappear?¡± the Ghost King muttered, searching the nearby area.

    Zu An had a grave expression. If they were discovered here, they would be in a really bad position. The secret passage was so narrow that he wouldn¡¯t be able to do much.

    He felt a ticklish sensation by his ear. It turned out Jing Teng had moved close to his ear, saying through ki transmission, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. This passage is extremely well-hidden. He won¡¯t be able to find us.¡±

    At the Ghost King and Zhao Han¡¯s level, if they were paying attention, not even the fine vibrations in the air created by ki transmissions would escape their notice. However, if Jing Teng got this close to him, it would be easy enough to control and ensure no sound would leak out. Even earth immortals wouldn¡¯t be able to hear what they were talking about.

    Jing Teng¡¯s lips were really close to Zu An¡¯s ear, so he could even feel the air she exhaled. Zu An felt a bit ticklish and reflexively turned to look at her. However, Jing Teng pulled her head back as soon as she finished speaking, so their lips actually touched.

    Both of their bodies trembled and their heart rates elerated.

    Zu An was about to pull back and apologize, but when he recalled her ¡®confession¡¯, as well as how they were gently embracing each other, his face heated up. Not only did he not back off, he even continued to kiss her.

    Jing Teng¡¯s eyes widened. In that instant, her mind wentpletely nk. At first, she clung tightly to Zu An¡¯s arm, butter on, her body softened up. Her grip also gradually changed to an embrace. Arcs of electricity passed through her body. She thought to herself, So this is what kissing feels like?

    The Ghost King was looking around outside, and they were only separated by a single wall, bringing him closer than ever to them. With such a powerful enemy so near, the two of them became even more nervous. Even so, due to the stimtion of the nervousness, they felt that their kisses became even more sweet and memorable.

    The Ghost King spoke again. ¡°Jing Teng, I know you probably haven¡¯t run away that far and can definitely hear me. If you continue to y this game of hide and seek, I might not be able to find you, but I can return to the throne room and kill the other women. Don¡¯t force my hand.¡±

    Zu An was rmed, but the Ghost King continued, ¡°No, those are all your rivals in love, so you might even be hoping for me to do that for you. Instead, I¡¯ll kill your lover. After that happens, it will be toote for regret. Even though the Baopu Sutra is precious, it¡¯s only an inanimate object. How could itpare to a living lover?¡±

    Jing Teng felt a bit dizzy. She thought to herself, What are you saying? My lover is right at my side¡­ When she thought of that, she couldn''t help but return the kisses even more intensely.

    The Ghost King didn¡¯t get a reaction even after waiting for a while. They said coldly, ¡°Fine. Since you don¡¯t care, I¡¯ll kill those women first, and I¡¯ll say that it was because of you. That pretty boy will hate you for the rest of his life.¡±

    For a moment, Zu An was worried, but his thoughts were interrupted by several furious roars. They were Golden Mountain Motuo¡¯s screams of hatred. ¡°Damn brat, I¡¯ll definitely chop your corpse into ten thousand pieces!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Golden Mountain Motuo for +999 +999 +999¡­

    Zu An thought to himself, I really did offend this guy badly. I could pick up his Rage points even from so far away.

    ¡°What is this bastard always screaming for?¡± the Ghost King muttered in annoyance. Suddenly, they eximed in surprise, ¡°Damn brat?¡±

    The Ghost King quickly rushed in Golden Mountain Motuo¡¯s direction.

    ¡­

    When he sensed that the Ghost King had left, Zu An said to Jing Teng, ¡°He left. We should take the chance to leave this ce.¡±

    Jing Teng voiced her agreement. She held his hand tightly like a young maiden.

    ¡°Where do we go now?¡± Zu An asked.

    This great tomb¡¯s lower levels really were a bit too dangerous. Even some random monster was that strong¡­ It really would be best if they didn¡¯t move too recklessly. However, as Jing Teng had taken the initiative, that meant she definitely had more confidence down here.

    ¡°This way¡­¡± Jing Teng said, leading the way ahead. As soon as she took a step, her legs buckled and she almost fell. She gave Zu An an usatory look before continuing.

    Zu An couldn''t help but smile, saying, ¡°Everything seems like a dream. I feel as if our rtionship is really moving a bit fast.¡±

    Jing Teng turned around and looked at him vigntly, asking, ¡°What, are you going to leave me now that you¡¯ve gotten what you wanted?¡±

    When he saw her nervous appearance, Zu An gently caressed her face, replying, ¡°You¡¯re so beautiful; how stupid would I be if I did that?¡±

    Jing Teng asked unhappily, ¡°Does that mean you would do that if I weren¡¯t pretty?¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He could only reply, ¡°I¡¯d like you no matter what you look like.¡±

    Jing Teng harrumphed. ¡°Slick-tongued, I knew you weren¡¯t a good person. No wonder you already bullied me not long after we met.¡±

    Zu An was startled. He asked, ¡°Wait, that time with Ghost Bride¡­ was real?¡±

    Jing Teng¡¯s face reddened. She replied, ¡°My body wasn¡¯t, but¡­ my mind was. It was all because I was too careless and ended up falling for that monster¡¯s schemes.¡±

    Zu An quickly understood her intentions. When they fell for Ghost Bride¡¯s illusion, many of those events hadn¡¯t taken ce with their physical bodies, but rather their souls. So even though they hadn¡¯t experienced it with their flesh, they had through their minds. In a way, an intimate experience in the mind was even deeper than one in the flesh. No wonder Jing Teng¡¯s attitude toward him had changed a bit after that event.

    His expression suddenly became a bit strange. Does that count as repaying the fare after already getting on the bus¡­

    ¡°Big brother Zu, I¡¯ve actually been watching you closely this entire time. In every aspect, you¡¯re the best of the best. There¡¯s just one part that¡¯s not good, which is that you¡¯re a bit too unfaithful,¡± Jing Teng said with a sigh.

    She had previously thought that she only had topete against Qiu Honglei, and judging from their interaction, she could sense that she wasn¡¯t a bad person either, so they could be friends. However, who would have expected that so many women would appearter on? She didn¡¯t know what to do at all anymore.

    Zu An was a bit speechless. He really didn¡¯t know how to exin the situation.

    Jing Teng quickly smiled and added, ¡°But it¡¯s okay. I don¡¯t mind. Either way, I also¡­¡± She stopped midway through her sentence and changed the topic. ¡°Why are you here, though?¡±

    ¡°When I saw you draw the Ghost King away on your own, I was worried about your safety, of course,¡± Zu An said casually.

    Even though Jing Teng usually had a cold expression, her eyes were now curved like crescent moons as she smiled. She said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. He can¡¯t catch me down here.¡±

    ¡°Did you have a n by drawing him down here?¡± Zu An asked curiously.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t really have much of a n, but I couldn''t continue to remain up there. Otherwise, all of you would die,¡± Jing Teng replied. She grinned and continued, ¡°I thought I would be separated from you forever because of it, but I¡¯m so happy that I can see you again.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s heart skipped a beat. He just felt that there was something ominous behind her tone.

    He was about to ask something when her cold finger pressed lightly against his lips and she said, ¡°Big brother Zu, all I want is to spend this peaceful time with you and not talk about anything else. Is that okay?¡±

    Zu An remained quiet for a moment. Then, he held her hand and replied, ¡°Okay.¡±

    Jing Teng was immediately in high spirits. She said, ¡°Then I¡¯ll bring you around.¡±

    Zu An was startled, thinking, I was about to say that you were pretty familiar with this ce!N?v(el)B\\jnn

    However, after recalling what she had just said, he didn¡¯t say anything. He silently cooperated with her, chatting about more leisurely topics. He didn¡¯t mention the great tomb or the Ghost King at all.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, the Ghost King flew up to the edge of the whiteva, looking at the old monk who seemed almost to have gone insane.

    ¡°It¡¯s you?¡± the old monk eximed in recognition. His expression changed slightly.

    ¡°What the hell are you going crazy here for?¡± the Ghost King said coldly.

    ¡°Earlier, I was¡­¡± the old monk began, although he suddenly felt that it was too shameful and changed his tone. ¡°Let me out. I¡¯ll definitely repay you properly for it.¡±

    The Ghost King said coldly, ¡°You¡¯re sealed by the Endless Fire Prison. I can¡¯t help you.¡±

    ¡°You were even able to leave this ce, so you definitely have a way to help me!¡± the old monk eximed urgently.

    The Ghost King sneered and replied before turning around to leave, ¡°Laughable. Even if I could, why would I help you?¡±

    The old monk suddenly asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t you looking for someone?¡±

    The Ghost King stopped moving.

 Chapter 1825: Lascivious Activities Can Lead to Bitter Consequences

    Chapter 1825: Lascivious Activities Can Lead to Bitter Consequences

    The Ghost King suddenly turned around and asked, ¡°How do you know that?¡±

    The old monk said with a smile, ¡°You finally managed to leave this sted ce, so why in the world would you evere back for no reason? Also, I just happened to bump into someone just now. This is a ce where living people never appear, so who else could you be chasing?¡±

    ¡°Where is she?¡± the Ghost King quickly asked, thinking he was talking about Jing Teng.[1]

    The old monk didn¡¯t answer; instead, he replied, ¡°How about I tell you as soon as you help and free me?¡±

    The Ghost King sneered and replied, ¡°Do you think that¡¯s a fair trade?¡±

    The old monk replied, ¡°The trade doesn¡¯t seem fair if you just see it as an ordinary transaction, but it actually depends on how much you care about that person.¡±

    The Ghost King didn¡¯t back down despite the monk¡¯s coercion, saying, ¡°I heard you roaring earlier. It seems you suffered quite a bit because of that person.¡±

    The old monk¡¯s face warped as soon as he heard those words. He had been about to use that kid¡¯s flesh to leave the seal using the trap he had set, and yet in the end, that brat had stolen his most precious magic treasure! More importantly, he couldn¡¯t understand how even though that brat looked weak, he had been able to sever the connection between him and the Violet-Gold Alms.

    Upon seeing the monk¡¯s expression, the Ghost King immediately understood, saying, ¡°Tell me where that person is and I¡¯ll help you get revenge in passing.¡±

    The old monk¡¯s expression changed several times, but he knew that it wasn¡¯t realistic for the Ghost King to save him. As such, he agreed and said, ¡°Fine. However, you have to bring him to me. I want to properly torment him and make him wish he were dead to appease my anger.¡± He had dominated the world for a long time, and he had never suffered as much as today. His hatred for that little bastard couldn''t be any stronger.

    ¡°No problem,¡± the Ghost King replied. Even though they didn¡¯t know why the monk hated Jing Teng that much, why would they care about this damn crab anymore after they caught her?

    Only then did the monk point in the direction Zu An had left in, saying, ¡°He just went that way.¡±

    The Ghost King¡¯s expression changed. That was where they had juste from, but there was nowhere to go at all there. However, this damn crab clearly wasn¡¯t lying. That meant¡­

    In a sh, the Ghost King went back the way they hade from.

    The old monk¡¯s eyes narrowed as he watched the Ghost King leave. In the end, he hadn¡¯t told the Ghost King that the brat had stolen his Violet-Gold Alms. It would be best if the two took each other out.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, the Ghost King returned to where they had just been. The ck mist swelled, attacking all the nearby walls. All across those walls, runes flickered, and some mysterious power seemed to block the attacks. That was partly why the Ghost King hadn¡¯t tried attacking before. However, now that they knew that Zu An was hiding nearby, they decided to go through with it.

    Sure enough, they quickly realized that something was strange. They arrived at a specific section of the wall, and the ck mist condensed into a hand to press against it. Then, a door opened, revealing a dark passage.

    The Ghost King sniffed, remarking, ¡°It is her smell after all. Hm? There¡¯s that pretty boy¡¯s smell too. Hmph, good timing.¡±

    Endless skulls surrounded by ck mist rushed straight into the hidden tunnel.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An and Jing Teng kept acting like infatuated lovers. They seemed to have endless things to talk about, almost as if they weren¡¯t in the terrifying great tomb¡¯s depths, and were instead before flowers and beneath the moon.

    However, the path had toe to an end eventually. They quickly arrived at the exit, revealing a spacious room before them. It was cold, damp, and gloomy, entirely unlike theva pools from before.

    Zu An noticed that the room didn¡¯t seem to contain much at all. Apart from a pair of doors, there was also a small window; he couldn¡¯t tell whether it was for venttion or something else. He asked curiously, ¡°What¡¯s behind this door?¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you that many terrifying monsters were sealed in the great tomb¡¯s depths? There¡¯s a monster locked behind this door,¡± Jing Teng replied. There was no expression on her face; she seemed to be saying somethingpletely natural.

    Zu An was shocked. So it turned out those monsters were locked in ces like this! He couldn''t help but move closer for a look. He wanted to see just what kind of thing not even Immortal Ruler Baopu could kill and could only seal here.

    When he arrived in front of the gate, he noticed that the door was made of an unknown material. There were all kinds of mysterious runes engraved on the surface that clearly had something to do with the seal. He examined it from up close, and saw that the small window was actually tightly shut. It looked like ss, but he knew it had to be another material.

    Fortunately, the small window was transparent. However, when he looked inside, he only saw an expanse of pitch ck. He could only vaguely make out two rows of crystal ball-like objects and nothing else.

    Zu An frowned. With his cultivation, darkness wasn¡¯t like broad daylight, but it wasn¡¯t too far off; and yet he actually couldn''t see the interior clearly. He couldn''t help but size up the rows of crystal balls. They were around the size of basketballs, and there were roughly sixteen of them in total. They really were strange. Could it be that they were sealing something?

    As he continued to stare at them, he suddenly felt that the crystals were a bit weird. There seemed to be brown energy slowly moving within them. Immediately after, one of the spheres seemed to move a bit, turning a far darker shade of brown. Then, the crystals also began to swirl around.

    Zu An felt a trembling sensation, as if tremendous danger was imminent. At the same time, the Violet-Gold Alms he had obtained before also began to vibrate.

    A soft hand pulled him back a few steps, and only then did Zu An snap out of his daze. He discovered that his back was already soaked in cold sweat.

    ¡°What are those crystals in there?¡± Zu An asked, still shuddering from lingering apprehension.

    ¡°Those aren¡¯t crystals, but rather the eyes of the monster inside,¡± Jing Teng replied.

    ¡°Eyes?¡± Zu An eximed in shock. The eyes were thatrge? And there were two densely packed rows! Just thinking about it was horrifying.

    Jing Teng exined, ¡°You¡¯re actually quite lucky that the monster is sealed right now. In order to preserve its energy, it¡¯s asleep. Otherwise, it¡¯s at its strongest after waking up, so just that exchange earlier would have been enough for it to destroy your divine consciousness.¡±

    Zu An was dumbstruck. He couldn''t help but say, ¡°It seems even stronger than the Ghost King.¡±

    Jing Teng nodded and replied, ¡°It is.¡±

    Zu An was dumbstruck again.

    Just what in the world is going on with this tomb? Why are there so many stupidly scary things? And who was it that was able to lock all of them away?

    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Jing Teng said, grabbing his hand and walking over to one side.

    ¡°Where?¡± Zu An asked, stunned.

    ¡°Even lower,¡± Jing Teng said. A staircase suddenly appeared in front of them.

    Zu An frowned. The stairway clearly hadn¡¯t existed before. He asked probingly, ¡°Then if we follow normal logic, the further down we go, the more terrifying the monsters that are locked away are, right?¡±

    ¡°That is true,¡± Jing Teng said, then suddenlyughed and continued, ¡°Big brother Zu, don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t harm you.¡±

    ¡°I believe you, of course, but is there any meaning in going down further?¡± Zu An asked in confusion. The Ghost King was chasing after them right now, and he still didn¡¯t know how the women upstairs were doing.

    ¡°It¡¯s to deal with the Ghost King,¡± Jing Teng said with a resolute gaze.

    Zu An felt strange. In truth, whether it was the old monk in the magma or the many-eyed monster here, they were all stronger than the Ghost King. Why did they have to go down deeper? In other words, was he even qualified for this?

    He suddenly felt a bit confused. They had clearly been beaten like dogs by the Ghost King earlier, and yet now, there was a huge group of powerful beings, and none of them treated the Ghost King as a big deal. It was just like how some people in his previous world who never really went out had bragged about how Maseratis weren¡¯t all that, and that they needed a Ferrari or Lamborghini¡­

    Jing Teng quickly led him to the stairs, and the two descended step by step.

    Zu An began to feel a familiar sensation, simr to that of passing into a secret dungeon. He asked,

    ¡°Why do these stairs feel like a spatial gate?¡±

    Jing Teng smiled and said, ¡°You could think of it as something like that. After all, there are so many formidable monsters sealed here, so there¡¯s no way they could be allowed to run amok on normal floors. That¡¯s why every floor needed to be separated by this kind of passage. Even if there was an issue with the seal of a certain floor, the monsters wouldn¡¯t be able to escape to another floor.¡±

    ¡°These floors are also a kind of seal in themselves?¡± Zu An asked, startled.

    Jing Teng replied, ¡°That¡¯s right. This kind of floor only allows humans to pass through. Everything else sealed here is a monster, so they can¡¯t pass through these barriers.¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An sensed that there was something wrong and said, ¡°Even so, the Ghost King still got out of here, and you¡­¡± He trailed off. Strictly speaking, Jing Teng was a monster herself, so why could she pass through?

    ¡°The Ghost King is special,¡± Jing Teng said, pausing for a moment before continuing, ¡°I¡¯m also simr.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but sigh, asking, ¡°It¡¯s about time for you to tell me what¡¯s really going on, right?¡±

    She was way too familiar with this ce. What enlightened vine? He felt that the story was too simple.

    After some hesitation, Jing Teng said, ¡°Big brother Zu, wait a bit. You¡¯ll understand if you wait a bit longer.¡±

    Zu An had endless thoughts in his mind, but in the end, he only said one word. ¡°Okay.¡±

    Mi Li said in his head. ¡°Brat, you¡¯re usually full of doubts and suspicion. Even that old monk¡¯s incredible performance couldn''t fool you, and yet you¡¯re trusting everything this woman is saying even though she¡¯s suspicious in so many ways.¡±

    ¡°I can sense that she won¡¯t harm me,¡± Zu An replied.

    Mi Li said with a sneer, ¡°What a model example of double standards. I think you¡¯ve just been bewitched by her beauty. Heed my advice;scivious activities can lead to bitter consequences.¡±

    1. In Chinese, the characters for ¡®she¡¯ and ¡®he¡¯ are different, but the pronunciation is the same ?

 Chapter 1826: Great Tomb Depths

    Chapter 1826: Great Tomb Depths

    Zu An followed Jing Teng down to the next floor. It was entirely different from the floor above. Everything was a faint red, and there was a strong bloody scent in the air.

    ¡°Be careful!¡± Jing Teng suddenly called out, reaching out to stop him. Her expression was extremely grave.

    Zu An followed her gaze and saw some blood slowly flowing around. The dense mist that filled the air likely came from that blood. He looked around the ce and quickly found the source of the blood. It was seeping out of a gate that wasn¡¯t much different from the one on the floor above, except for the fact that half of it was dyed red. Even though the blood hadn¡¯tpletely covered the ground yet, from the looks of things, it seemed as if it would cover everything sooner orter.

    ¡°You absolutely can¡¯t touch this blood. Otherwise, all of your blood essence will be sucked dry by the Blood Devil,¡± Jing Teng warned him, worried that he would move carelessly.

    ¡°Blood Devil?¡± Zu An asked as he looked at the red gate, thinking, Is the monster locked up inside the Blood Devil? This entire ce is about to be corroded by the blood. He continued, ¡°Why do I feel as if it¡¯s about to break out of its seal soon?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s something wrong with the seal of the great tomb, which allowed it to obtain an opportunity. I think it¡¯s not far from being able to escape,¡± Jing Teng said. Her brows furrowed, and she sighed worriedly before continuing, ¡°Let¡¯s go. We¡¯ll ignore this ce for now.¡±

    ¡­

    Then, she led him deeper down. Zu An followed her, and along the way, he saw all kinds of strange monsters. However, there was one trait that they all shared: They were all absurdly ugly, to the point that it was horrifying and nauseating.

    When he heard the monsters¡¯ growls rising and falling, Zu An couldn''t help but ask, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that these monsters were sealed, and that they had to sleep to preserve their strength? Why does it seem as if they¡¯re all going wild?¡± Even though there were thick prison gates separating them, the auras that leaked out from time to time really left him feeling rmed.

    ¡°That¡¯s because they can sense that there¡¯s something wrong with the great tomb¡¯s seal and have seen some hope of escaping. That¡¯s why they¡¯re gradually waking up,¡± Jing Teng replied calmly.

    Zu An was rmed. These were all creatures that weren¡¯t weaker than the Ghost King, and many were even stronger. If they rushed out, wouldn¡¯t this world be finished? He asked, ¡°Is no one attending to the tomb¡¯s seal anymore? What about the one who built this tomb in the first ce?¡±

    Jing Teng was stunned. She shook her head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe they¡¯ve already disappeared.¡±

    ¡­

    The pressure Zu An felt from all directions gradually grew stronger and stronger. All of his fine hairs began standing on end. It felt like being tossed into a lion or tiger cage while beingpletely helpless.

    Fortunately, Jing Teng didn¡¯t stop on each floor for that long. They almost immediately went down to the next floor each time.

    After moving for who knew how long, when they reached the final staircase, Jing Teng stopped and said, ¡°Big brother Zu, I know you were curious about what the monsters in the previous floors looked like, but you absolutely can¡¯t look at the monster on the next floor.¡±

    ¡°Why is that?¡± Zu An asked. Even without her reminder, he could already feel a sense of danger in every cell of his body.

    ¡°Because you¡¯ll die if you even nce at it,¡± Jing Teng said gravely.

    Zu An asked ind confusion, ¡°Did you make a mistake here? Shouldn¡¯t it be that I''ll die if it looks at me?¡± He recalled that Immortal Ruler Baopu had only used a single look to kill one of the Ghost King¡¯s split souls. Even though it was just part of the Ghost King, it had been as strong as the main body.

    ¡°No,¡± Jing Teng said, shaking her head. ¡°You¡¯ll die if you give it a single look.¡±

    Zu An was bewildered.

    Jing Teng exined, ¡°It¡¯s a being that can¡¯t be looked at. All those that see it will die. I can¡¯t even tell you its name, because I¡¯ll die as soon as I say it. If you hear its name, you¡¯ll also die.¡±

    Zu An was now truly shocked. You would die just from looking at it, or if you heard its name? Something that powerful was already beyond the limits of hisprehension. He couldn''t help but ask Mi Li what was going on.

    Mi Li said gravely, ¡°There are some beings whose bodies carryws and profound mysteries that are simply too high-level, so much so that lower-level creatures can¡¯t handle them. If you be powerful enough one day, you won¡¯t be crushed by those variousws.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but sigh, saying, ¡°I used to think that Zhao Han was the strongest in the world. Now it seems we really were just frogs at the bottom of a well.¡±

    For thousands of years, Zhao Han had been recorded as the strongest being in human history. In the past, people had even suspected that immortal ascension was just a legend, and that Zhao Han had already reached the pinnacle of cultivation.

    Mi Li replied, ¡°The origin power of Zhao Han¡¯s world isn¡¯t strong enough, which imposes a limit on the upper limit of his cultivation. It isn¡¯t an issue with that world¡¯s human race or Zhao Han.¡±

    ¡°Origin power?¡± Zu An asked, startled.

    ¡°You can think of it like this. The greater the origin power of a world is, the more abundant the natural ki within is, and the faster cultivation bes. The upper limit of cultivation also rises. For example, that secret dungeon you experienced in the Fiend races¡¯ Imperial Tomb was a world that contained tremendous origin power. There were even immortals and beings of the celestial court.

    ¡°The origin power of this secret dungeon is clearly at a higher level than your world¡¯s. However, I can feel that this world isn¡¯tplete. There¡¯s probably something wrong with it,¡± Mi Li exined.

    Zu An asked in surprise, ¡°How do you know so much?¡±

    ¡°If I didn¡¯t even know this much, how could I be your master?¡± Mi Li replied, rolling her eyes. ¡°I¡¯m going to make up for my sleep. Don¡¯t bother me if you don¡¯t need anything.¡± She didn¡¯t say anything else afterward.

    Zu An cursed endlessly to himself. This woman keeps sleeping all day; just how does she even get that much drowsiness?

    However, he actually knew why she was doing that. She didn¡¯t want him to rely on her too much, because then he would never be able to truly grow up.

    ¡­

    Soon after, they arrived at the next floor. It was muchrger than the previous ¡®prisons¡¯. The ¡®gate¡¯ that locked up the prisoner within was more like a row of pirs that supported the heavens. It was impossible to tell just how far those pirs extended, because the ends werepletely invisible to the naked eye. It was enough to make anyone feel insignificant.

    Zu An felt goosebumps cover his entire body. He felt some kind of strange enticement trying to get him to look over.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Jing Teng suddenly eximed quietly, ¡°We¡¯re leaving!¡± She grabbed him and jumped into the staircase on the other side.

    Only then did Zu An catch his breath. He thought to himself, So that¡¯s the feeling of facing higher-levelws and profound mysteries. He couldn''t help but look at Jing Teng, asking, ¡°Why do you know so much? Where are we going to end up by traveling all the way down?¡±

    Jing Teng sighed. This time, she didn¡¯t speak in riddles any longer and said, ¡°It¡¯s because I used to live here too. Didn¡¯t you promise to apany me until we reached my original body? My original body is just below.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He was about to go crazy from everything he was hearing. After all, in the depths of the great tomb, every time one went down a floor, the imprisoned monster there would be stronger. And yet Jing Teng was telling him that her original body was even deeper below? Didn¡¯t that mean her true body was even stronger than that being they couldn''t even speak the name of?

    Just then, Jing Teng¡¯s head tilted slightly to the side, and she smiled eerily at him. She asked, ¡°Are you feeling regret now? Scared that I¡¯ll eat you?¡±

    Zu An sighed and replied, ¡°I¡¯m already all the way down here, so what else can I do? Compared to being eaten by you, I¡¯d prefer it if you swallowed me.¡±

    ¡°Is there a difference?¡± Jing Teng asked, stunned. However, her face suddenly turned red and she shot him a look of yful protest, eximing, ¡°Scoundrel!¡±

    Zu An chuckled and gave her hand a kiss. He said, ¡°Everyone in this world says I¡¯m a moocher and thinks that¡¯s some incredible insult, but I think it¡¯s just an embodiment of my charm. If you really are that powerful, I¡¯ll just keep mooching off of you. If we encounter any enemies, who cares if it¡¯s Zhao Han or the Ghost King? You can just smack them straight to hell.¡±

    Jing Teng was thrownpletely off guard by his jokes. She said, ¡°You really are shameless, you know? I really don¡¯t know why Miss Qiu and the others like you.¡±

    ¡°Then how did you end up liking me?¡± Zu An retorted, moving closer to her with a smirk.

    Jing Teng¡¯s face turned red. She pushed him away, but she couldn''t help but grin.

    ¡­

    The two of them had already arrived at thest flight of stairs while they were chatting. Zu An expected an even more eerie and terrifying world to lie in wait, but instead, he was met with light. It had always been dark before, but this ce was quite bright. The ground was like an azure sea, and yet while walking across its surface, there was no sign of water.

    Zu An looked down, and was able to vaguely make out things that resembled small yellow stars. Every single star was joined by a yellow thread of light, formingplicated constetions.

    Suddenly, something shed past. He was greatly rmed. He was about to retaliate when he saw that it was just a small shooting star. He wanted to see what it was, so he reached out to touch it, although he remained extremely vignt, preparing to immediately move away if anything strange happened.

    And yet, who would have thought that his hand would pass right through? It was as if the star didn¡¯t exist at all.

    Only then did he notice that several shooting stars flew past him from time to time, and the sky was full of constetions. Under the starlight¡¯s embrace, everything appeared splendid and magnificent. There wasn¡¯t a trace of the sinister and eerie sensation he had been expecting.

 Chapter 1827: Seal

    Chapter 1827: SealN?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°This ce is¡­¡± Zu An said in surprise. He hadn¡¯t expected to encounter such a splendid and magnificent scene.

    ¡°This is the lowest floor of the great tomb,¡± Jing Teng exined.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t I see any prisons or monsters?¡± Zu An asked as he looked around. He just felt as if he were among the heavens.

    He noticed that all of the shooting stars seemed to be spinning around a singlerger star. However, that star was clearly a bit dim.

    When he stared at it, he realized that it was no star at all, but rather a talisman. It wasn¡¯t like Wang Youjun¡¯s Red Radiance Yellow Talisman, which released a sinister energy, nor was it like Sun En¡¯s Record of High Firmament, that gave off a domineering air. This talisman had a neutral and peaceful aura. Looking at it felt like being brushed by a gentle breeze while being bathed in warm morning sunlight.

    However, there seemed to be ayer of cracks on its surface, as if the talisman would split in half at any moment. No wonder it looked dull and lusterless, on the brink of destruction.

    ¡°Do you really want me to be a monster?¡± Jing Teng asked with a smile. She was gorgeous to begin with, and now that she was bathed in ster light, it was as if a faint veil had been cast over her surroundings. She was even more beautiful than the stars around her.

    Zu An couldn''t help but sigh, replying, ¡°If even a monster could be as beautiful as you, why would people be scared of monsters?¡±

    When she heard him praise her beauty, Jing Teng was really happy. However, on the surface, she couldn''t help but say, ¡°Says who? There are some monsters who are really beautiful, you know? For example, the ancient Heavenly Devils were all remarkably beautiful, but cultivators of the world all tremble at the sound of their name.¡±

    Zu An had heard of the legend of the Heavenly Devils. It was rumored that once one reached a certain cultivation rank, a Heavenly Devil would appear to corrode their mind. If a cultivator gave in to the temptation, that Heavenly Devil would devour their soul.

    He looked calmly at Jing Teng and said, ¡°Heavenly Devils are definitely not as beautiful as you.¡±

    Mi Li, who had actually been perking up her ears the entire time even though she was supposed to be asleep, couldn''t help but scoff. ¡°yboy!¡± She turned over in the special bed she had made and fell asleep again.

    A shy look flickered across Jing Teng¡¯s face as she pulled Zu An forward with her.

    Suddenly, Zu An¡¯s expression changed. His entire body started shaking intensely. He hadn¡¯t felt anything when he was descending the staircase, but after he took a few steps, he felt boundless might crashing down on him. While the previous terrifying floors made his fine hairs stand on end, it was hard for him to even breathe on this floor.

    In that instant, all of the stars in the sky seemed to havee alive. They released endless brilliance, forming a great constetion map formation. It seemed to have targeted him.

    Zu An had previously only appreciated the beauty of the stars, but at that moment, he sensed terrifying powering from him. Endless pressure rushed at him from all directions. His body caved in, and if it hadn¡¯t been endlessly tempered by the Primordial Origin Sutra, he would already have been crushed into powder by the pressure. He finally understood. What beautiful constetion? This was the core of the great tomb¡¯s seal, the very thing that was subduing the terrifying monsters in the tomb.

    ¡°I¡¯m done for¡­¡± he muttered. Endless ideas passed through his mind in that instant, but there wasn¡¯t a single one that could help him out of this predicament. Unless¡­

    He was about to move when a pair of soft lips pressed against his, bringing with it a light, fragrant breeze. It was Jing Teng¡¯s aura. A cool strand of energy entered him from her lips. For some reason, when she embraced him, the terrifying pressure around him immediately decreased by a great deal.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes widened. He was full of curiosity, because Jing Teng¡¯s cultivation was beneath even his. Why was it that she seemedpletely fine before the terrifying great formation¡¯s pressure?

    Still, regardless of the reason, she had helped him pass through this trial.

    ¡°Come on, don¡¯t look at me like that¡­ I¡¯ll get embarrassed¡­¡± Jing Teng said when their lips parted, bashfully looking away.

    ¡°Why¡­¡± Zu An began to ask when that terrifying pressure rushed at him again.

    Jing Teng raised her head nervously and said, ¡°Kiss me!¡± She didn¡¯t wait for Zu An to react and got on her tiptoes to kiss him again.

    Perhaps it was just because those red lips were soft and sweet, but Zu An felt that the terrifying pressure had decreased substantially again. Now that they were so close to each other, he could clearly see her eyshes trembling slightly. She was really nervous and embarrassed, and not as fiery and bold as she looked on the surface.

    When he sensed her underripe movements, Zu An instinctively took the lead. He gently guided her and taught her¡­ When had Jing Teng ever experienced such a thing before? She moaned, and her entire body melted in his arms like water.

    Their lips only separated again after a long time. Zu An was about to say something when he groaned. The endless pressure attacked again, and this time, a strand of blood couldn''t help but trickle out from his mouth. He was stupefied. What was going on? It was fine when they were kissing, but things turned bad again as soon as they parted. Could it be that he had to continue to kiss Jing Teng in order to endure the current situation?

    If not for the fact that he already understood Jing Teng¡¯s nature from traveling together all this time, he would even have wondered if Jing Teng had done something to him on purpose.

    Jing Teng was rmed and quickly kissed him. Then, she said through ki transmission, ¡°Big brother Zu, I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t expect this ce to harm you so much. I thought that since you were human, this formation wouldn¡¯t work on you. I¡¯ve never brought anyone here before and didn¡¯t know that this kind of situation would happen. Sorry¡­¡±

    When he heard her incoherent exnation, Zu An couldn''t help but smile. He replied, ¡°Why would I me you? Besides, I can kiss the iparably beautiful Miss Teng. I should actually be thanking this great formation.¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°Ugh¡­¡± Mi Li groaned, having woken up because of the great formation¡¯s terrifying pressure. She held her chest and looked as if she was about to throw up. However, when she saw that Zu An was fine for the time being, after some hesitation, she gave Jing Teng a look before going back to sleep again. This formation was too terrifying. If she left the Tai¡¯e Sword, perhaps she would also be sealed here.

    What is that damn Zu An brat up to? He always ends up in the most dangerous ces. Just how many times has it been already? He¡¯s really going to drag me down with him sooner orter¡­

    ¡­

    When she heard Zu An¡¯s romantic words, Jing Teng¡¯s fair and white face becamepletely red. She couldn''t help but give Zu An a look of yful protest and said, ¡°I think I now know why you have so many women around you¡­¡±

    Zu An was speechless. This was a situation where a single wrong reply could have unpredictable results, so he decisively changed the topic. ¡°What do we do now? Could it be that we¡¯re just going to have to continue kissing each other like this?¡±

    Jing Teng¡¯s face became even redder as she said, ¡°Actually, just kissing isn¡¯t enough.¡±

    ¡°Then what do we do?¡± Zu An asked.

    In truth, he could sense that as well. For a while, even though the kissing could lessen the pressure, it hadn¡¯t been able topletely eliminate it. He could still sense endless pressure surging from all directions; it was simply a bit weaker than before. It was only because his body was powerful that he could endure the remaining pressure. If it were anyone else, they would already have been ttened.

    Jing Teng looked at him with starry eyes, asking, ¡°Big brother Zu, do you like me or not?¡±

    ¡°Of course I like you. It¡¯s just¡­¡± Zu An began.

    Along the way, perhaps because that seed of ambiguity had been nted during the Ghost Bride incident, their rtionship had been moving much more quickly than usual despite the uncertainties that remained. Furthermore, Jing Teng was stunning, tender, and beautiful as a peony. Perhaps no man could resist her charm. Even so, Zu An had to admit that the time they had spent together was too short. It was hard to really say that they were madly in love.

    He almost pped his own mouth just then. If he said such things in this situation, he¡¯d have to be an idiot! Still, he didn¡¯t want to fool her.

    ¡°It¡¯s enough that you like me. I¡¯m already really happy,¡± Jing Teng said, merely smiling sweetly and pressing her lips against his. Then, she continued, ¡°In order for you to not be harmed by this great formation, the only way will be to ensure our auras arepletely intertwined.¡±

    Zu An was stunned, asking, ¡°How do we do that?¡±

    Jing Teng clearly began breathing quickly, but she quickly strengthened her resolve. She moved over to the corner of Zu An¡¯s lips and licked the bit of blood away, then said in a soft voice, ¡°I¡¯ll teach you¡­¡±

    Then, she held his hand and ced it in her cor. Her dress gradually slid off and formed a blossoming flower as itnded onto the ground.

    Zu An¡¯s breath quickened. In that instant, the brightest thing in this room was no longer the stars, but rather this woman who looked like a sculpture made from fine white jade. His gaze quicklynded on hercy white stockings. They really wrapped perfectly around her straight and well-proportioned legs, looking pure yet seductive.

    ¡°Do you like it?¡± Jing Teng asked shyly. The pink tint on her face made her look extremely alluring.

    ¡°I do,¡± Zu An said, feeling his voice grow hoarse.

    Jing Teng smiled, then kissed him again. Her breath was like the fragrance of orchids, her lips sweeter than honey. However, everything about her was too underripe. After her initial brazenness, she didn¡¯t seem to really know what to do now.

    Zu An gently took her slender waist into his arms. He kissed her small and delicate ears and said, ¡°I think I should teach you instead.¡±

    ¡­

    Pah pah pah!

    Above, in Immortal Ruler Baopu¡¯s burial room, Chu Chuyan was pounding a medicinal pestle. There was a bit of fine sweat on her temples, and her teeth were gritted as she used all her strength to mix the item in the pot.

    Yan Xuehen nodded slightly and said, ¡°Chuyan, use a bit more force. Only if youpletely crush it through 981 continuous movements can you fully bring out the medicinal force of this pill.¡±

    As she spoke, she added some bright and glistening petals in. They were spiritual flowers from White Jade Sect¡¯s medicinal garden. Their nectar could aid in the healing of internal and external injuries, and bring out the medicinal force of a spiritual herb. It turned out that the group was injured from the earlier battle, so Yan Xuehen had taken out some of the White Jade Sect¡¯s medicine to distribute to them.

    Chu Chuyan voiced her understanding and used even more strength.

    Pff pff pff!

    The tender and beautiful flower petals and medicine that was full of spiritual essence were quickly mixed into a medicinal paste.

    Chu Chuyan divided the medicinal paste among the group, then asked Yan Xuehen worriedly ¡°Master, do you think Ah Zu is in danger?¡±

 Chapter 1828: Jing Tengâ€™s Original Body

    Chapter 1828: Jing Teng¡¯s Original Body

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, that brat is even more clever and quick-witted than a ghost. He¡¯ll be fine,¡± Yan Xuehen said. Despite that, she was also a bit nervous.

    ¡°But that Ghost King is just too strong! Besides, there seem to be many monsters hiding in this great tomb, making it incredibly dangerous¡­¡± Chu Chuyan said worriedly.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s not as if he hasn¡¯t encountered even stronger beings before,¡± Yun Jianyue said. It wasn¡¯t only to console Chu Chuyan, but also her own disciple.

    Yan Xuehen couldn''t help but sigh in relief when she heard Yun Jianyue speak up too, thinking, Looks like my judgment wasn¡¯t wrong.

    ¡°Exactly, and with the help of Miss Jing who is so familiar with this great tomb, it should be okay,¡± Pei Mianman added.

    The women all became quieter when Jing Teng was mentioned. Then, they flocked around Qiu Honglei again and asked her questions.

    ¡°Is that Miss Jing really a vine fiend?¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t she just a bit too close to Immortal Ruler Baopu? It doesn¡¯t seem as if she was enlightened in passing by him!¡±

    ¡°Also, doesn¡¯t she know a bit too much about this tomb? She¡¯s not like some random vine fiend at all.¡±

    ¡­

    The more they discussed things with each other, the more they felt that there was something wrong, and yet they couldn''t reallye to a conclusion. In the end, they could only try to find out about how she and Zu An had met in the first ce. They all stared at Qiu Honglei, because she was the one who had spent the most time with Jing Teng in this world.

    When she saw all the other women look at her as if she were a little good-for-nothing, Qiu Honglei felt quite sullen too.

    I don¡¯t know either¡­

    Jing Teng and Zu An clearly hadn¡¯t exchanged many words along the way, and the two of them had behaved quite normally; even calling them friends would have been a stretch. Why had they suddenly be lovers?

    ¡°Either way, there¡¯s nothing to do now but to wait, so tell us a bit about everything you¡¯ve experienced along the way. Let¡¯s join hands and try to see if there were any parts that you might have overlooked,¡± Pei Mianman said with a smile.

    ¡°How senseless,¡± Yan Xuehen said, stepping away to one side as if she didn¡¯t want to join in such gossip.

    The other women were full of admiration.

    As expected of Sect Master Yan! She¡¯s like a goddess of ice, standing aloof from the rest of the world.

    But how could they know that Yan Xuehen¡¯s ears were perked up and she was secretly listening to everything they did?

    Meanwhile, Qiu Honglei was feeling helpless and irritated.

    This big-boobed girl really is treating me as trash!

    However, she was also curious about how those two had ended up together, so she could only recount everything they had gone through after she and Zu An arrived in this world.

    ¡­

    The women were all perplexed after listening to her ount. The two really had actedpletely normally! Why had their rtionship suddenly reached the level of sweethearts?

    A weak voice asked just then, ¡°Could it be that something happened in that ghost manor? Big sister Qiu and big brother Zu were together the entire time, so there¡¯s no way he would do anything in front of you. That was the only period where the two of you were separated, and Miss Jing wasn¡¯t near you at the time either.¡±

    The other women¡¯s eyes immediately brightened and they concurred, ¡°That is the most likely case.¡± They all looked at Xie Daoyun and added, ¡°We didn¡¯t expect Miss Xie to be so bright. No wonder you were able toprehend the most profound runes after joining the academy¡¯s rear mountain.¡±

    Xie Daoyun blushed and replied, ¡°Big sisters are also really smart; it¡¯s just that it¡¯s harder to see these things while being caught up in the situation.¡±

    The women¡¯s moods finally improved a bit. Otherwise, they were all proud of their aptitudes and highly intelligent, so losing to a younger woman here would look a bit bad.

    Wait, it¡¯s one thing if we can¡¯t see the situation since we¡¯re all part of this mess, but what is going on with Sect Master Yun?

    Yan Xuehen hadn¡¯t joined in from the start, so no one had thought about her too much, but Yun Jianyue had been enthusiastically helping them discuss the situation.

    When she saw their suspicious looks, Yun Jianyue was a bit rmed. However, she had experienced all sorts of crazy situations and immediately asked, ¡°Do you think that Jing Teng is seducing that brat Zu An?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± Chu Chuyan said with a frown. Even though they hadn¡¯t spent that much time together, that Miss Jing seemed quite icy and arrogant.

    ¡°Why not? That Jing woman¡¯s body is full of strangeness, and that brat Zu An is so perverted. The two of them might just be doing something that¡¯s letting all of you down,¡± Yun Jianyue said with a smile, as if she wished for the whole world to be cast into chaos.

    ¡­

    Achoo!

    Zu An, who was on the lowest floor, sneezed. Jing Teng was curled up in his arms like a rabbit, her entire body gentle and delicate. She asked, ¡°Big brother Zu, is it cold for you?¡±

    Zu An gently caressed her skin that was heating up like a boiled egg, replying, ¡°Your body is so warm; how could I be cold?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re so annoying. Big brother Zu is so bad¡­¡± Jing Teng protested yfully.

    She normally sounded more like a strong and powerful older sister, but now, her voice was as sweet as a young maiden¡¯s. For Zu An, it was as if he were a soldier on the battlefield roused once more by the sound of war drums. He immediatelyunched another assault.

    ¡°Mmm¡­¡± Jing Teng groaned with a frown. Her body shook intensely, and tears flickered at the corners of her eyes.

    ¡°I¡¯ve caused you pain. I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± Zu An quickly apologized. In that instant, he was caught off guard.

    Jing Teng giggled when she saw his nervousness, replying, ¡°It did hurt in the beginning, butter on¡­¡± She trailed off, her face a bit red. She wrapped her arms around his neck and gently said, ¡°I never imagined that bing a person would bring so much bliss.¡±

    Zu An was startled. How could he possibly still hold himself back?

    ¡­

    After an unknown amount of time had passed, the two of them werepletely wrapped around each other. Zu An was startled to sense a trace of spiritual lighting out of Jing Teng¡¯s body.

    Just then, a notification sound from the Keyboard System yed in Zu An¡¯s mind.

    Baopu Sutra detected. Would you like to integrate this skill?

    A keyboard image appeared before Zu An¡¯s eyes. The F6 key flickered, and the trace of light floated above it. He could see that it was in the shape of a book.

    Zu An didn¡¯t immediately integrate the skill; instead, he looked at Jing Teng and asked, ¡°What just happened?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the true Baopu Sutra, of course,¡± Jing Teng said, her facepletely red. She was as meek as a kitten.

    ¡°Why was it with you, and why are you giving it to me?¡± Zu An asked. Even though he already knew what kind of thing it was, he was still incredibly shocked.

    ¡°I was really close to Immortal Ruler Baopu, and he couldn''t find a sessor in time and was about to leave. That was why he asked me to entrust this item to someone,¡± Jing Teng began. ¡°As for why I gave it to you¡­¡± she continued with a sigh. Her eyes were full of emotions as she continued, ¡°I¡¯ve even given myself to you, so what can¡¯t I give you?¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but pull her close, asking, ¡°Aren¡¯t you worried that I might have approached you with ulterior motives?¡±

    ¡°I was really upset that Zang Ao tricked me in the past, but if I¡¯ve been fooled by you¡­¡± Jing Teng began as she sat up, letting her ck hair fall down. She looked calmly at him, then said with a sweet smile, ¡°I would still ept it willingly.¡±

    Zu An felt something stir powerfully within him. He hugged her and kissed her again.

    Jing Teng cried out in rm and hurriedly begged him, ¡°Big brother Zu, I really can¡¯t take any more¡­¡±

    Zu An let her go with a smile, saying, ¡°I¡¯m not someone who doesn¡¯t know what¡¯s important.¡±

    Jing Teng¡¯s face was red from ear to ear. She thought, This guy looks like a refined and gentle schr on the outside, but he¡¯s actually like a freaking camel!

    Zu An cried out in surprise, ¡°I can¡¯t sense the pressure anymore!¡±

    He had felt as if he were about to be crushed, but now, even a long time after they kissed, he couldn''t feel that terrifying pressure anymore.

    ¡°Silly big brother, didn¡¯t I already tell you that as long as your aura harmonized with mine, you wouldn¡¯t be in danger?¡± Jing Teng replied, her finger gently brushing past his cheek. Her expression was a mix of joy and unwillingness to part.

    Zu An held her wonderful body close to him while helping her move her beautiful hair, which was damp with sweat, behind her ears. He asked, ¡°Can you tell me what is going on now?¡±

    Jing Teng sighed and replied, ¡°Does big brother Zu still remember why you brought me here to the great tomb?¡±

    ¡°To search for your original body, right?¡± Zu An answered, looking around. He wanted to see what her original body was.

    Either way, he¡¯d already had experience with fiends, foxes, snakes, and all sorts of other creatures. As long as Jing Teng¡¯s original body wasn¡¯t too ridiculous, he wouldn¡¯t be that frightened at all.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    However, he suddenly recalled the monsters he had encountered along the way. They really were all ugly and disgusting things. His expression stiffened.

    No, Jing Teng is so pretty. She¡¯s definitely not a disgusting monster like that.

    Jing Teng suddenly smiled and said, ¡°Big brother Zu must be worried that my original body is an ugly and disgusting monster, right?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face heated up. He lowered his head and kissed her, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Since we¡¯re already together, I can ept it no matter what your original form is like.¡±

    ¡°Really? What if its entire body is covered in eyes like that floor, or there¡¯s slime covering its entire body¡­¡± Jing Teng began, causing Zu An¡¯s face to pale a bit as he listened to her. She watched his expression closely. When she saw that, her body rocked back and forth withughter. She then said, ¡°Alright, alright, I won¡¯t mess with you anymore. That is my original body.¡±

    Then, she pointed at a certain ce. Zu An followed her finger and looked in that direction. He was stunned to see that apart from a sky full of stars, there was nothing else.

    When she saw his confused look, Jing Teng moved closer into his embrace and said, ¡°Over there. Follow that direction.¡±

    Zu An finally saw what she was pointing at under her lead. There was a talisman at the very center of the constetions, and it had a deep crack in it. His expression changed as he asked, ¡°That talisman is your original body?¡±

 Chapter 1829: Sisters

    Chapter 1829: Sisters

    It was reasonable for Zu An to be shocked. After all, he had imagined all sorts of possibilities, but they were all living things. He had never expected her original body to be a talisman. Then wasn¡¯t she an inanimate object?

    Seemingly seeing through his confusion, Jing Teng sorted out her clothes while exining, ¡°I can¡¯t remember how long this great tomb has existed, but in the past, this entire great tomb sealed all of the monsters here through this great formation. Meanwhile, this talisman is the core of the formation. It can be considered the eye of the formation.

    ¡°As something that subdued so many terrifying creatures, it was extremely mysterious in its own right. Just like that, after ages passed, it gradually developed sentience of its own. Then, I was born.¡±

    Zu An suddenly realized what had happened. No wonder she understood this great tomb so well, and yet didn¡¯t know who had built the great tomb or anything more ancient than that. He asked, ¡°So that story about being enlightened from some tree vine was fake?¡±

    Jing Teng was a bit apologetic as she said, ¡°I wasn¡¯t deliberately trying to fool you. At first, I really believed that I was just a vine that Immortal Ruler Baopu enlightened, butter, when I came to this great tomb, I gradually regained some memories.

    ¡°In the past, even though I developed sentience, I was still trapped in this great tomb. When that old man Immortal Ruler Baopu barged into the great tomb and identally entered the dangerous parts, though, I saved him, and we became friends despite our age difference.¡±

    Zu An had a strange expression.

    It¡¯s hard to even say who''s older between you and Immortal Ruler Baopu.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    His girls really did have a wide age range. There were some who were youngdies in their teens, some women around twenty to thirty, and also¡­

    Hm, I wonder how old big sisters Yun and Yan are.

    He had thought that Mi Li was the oldest one, but now, it seemed Jing Teng could be up to par. People said that women are most beautiful at the age of eighteen, but did these madams ripen at eighty-eight thousand? Why did he not feel that eighty-eight thousand was that strange, and yet eighteen felt weirder?

    Jing Teng continued, ¡°I learned about a lot of things regarding the human world from Immortal Ruler Baopu, and I had a yearning for it too. So I sometimes snuck out to y. In order to avoid trouble, I just said that I was a vine that the immortal ruler enlightened. Everything was fine at first, until something happened¡­¡±

    Just then, a sneer came from behind them. ¡°I was wondering what you two were doing. So it turns out this adulterous couple was doing despicable things!¡±

    Zu An was startled. He quickly moved Jing Teng behind him and watched the entrance nervously. ck mist slowly seeped through, with skulls vaguely visible within it. Who else could it be but the Ghost King?

    Zu An¡¯s expression was a bit unpleasant. The two of them had been so busy that they actually forgot this great enemy who had been chasing after them.

    I will definitely protect Jing Teng!

    ¡°Huh?¡± he eximed as he suddenly thought of something.

    Why was the Ghost King not affected by the great formation at all? Normally, the formation should have sealed all of the monsters in the great tomb, so the Ghost King should have been suppressed, right?

    After all, when Zu An first entered, he had felt as if he were about to be crushed. Even though the Ghost King was stronger than him, it wasn¡¯t to an absurd degree. The Ghost King also had a demonic attribute, which meant it should have been even less likely that they could resist that power. Why did they seempletely fine then?

    ¡°Where is the Baopu Sutra?¡± the Ghost King asked, staring at Jing Teng.

    Jing Teng didn¡¯t hide it and admitted frankly, ¡°I gave it to big brother Zu.¡±

    The Ghost King eximed furiously, ¡°You actually gave something that precious to him?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled the Ghost King for +444 +444 +444¡­

    ¡°He is my man, so who else would I give it to but him?¡± Jing Teng retorted, having already sorted out her clothes. She clung to Zu An¡¯s arm and looked at the Ghost King with a taunting expression.

    The ck mist around the Ghost King¡¯s body red about chaotically. They had clearly been provoked. They said, ¡°It¡¯s fine. Since I now know where the Baopu Sutra is, then I just need to force it out of him.¡±

    Suddenly, the entire ce warped. Roars came from the distance, as if the monsters were about to escape and could arrive at any time. It really was frightening.

    Even the Ghost King felt some restraining fear and quickly said, ¡°You damn brat, hand it over and this king can let you off. I can even let the women upstairs go.¡±

    Zu An sneered and retorted, ¡°I¡¯m not someone who¡¯s used to cing my fate in the hands of another.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, your knowledge is limited, so this king won¡¯t lower myself to your level,¡± the Ghost King sneered. ¡°I believe you must have seen those terrifying beings on your way here. The seal on this great tomb is about to copse, so if you stall for time and they break free, you two will undoubtedly die even if this king doesn¡¯t do a thing to you.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed, because he knew that the Ghost King was telling the truth. If even a single one of these monsters got out, forget about them, even the Ghost King could die. However, there was no way he would just hand over the Baopu Sutra.

    While he was feeling conflicted, Jing Teng suddenly sighed and looked at the Ghost King, asking, ¡°Just why do you want the Baopu Sutra so badly in the first ce?¡±

    ¡°The path of immortal ascension, of course. Only after you achieve immortality can you truly transcend,¡± the Ghost King said proudly. Then, they snapped impatiently, ¡°Stop wasting time. I can let you keep a copy for yourself, but that¡¯s as far as I¡¯m willing topromise.¡±

    Roars came from the distance from time to time. All sorts of terrifying auras were starting to awaken. Zu An could sense all that too, and knew he couldn''t waste any more time.

    ¡°Do you think you can transcend just from achieving immortality?¡± Jing Teng retorted,ughing in ridicule. ¡°Do you know why I drew you all the way here?¡±

    The ck mist around the Ghost King trembled. They replied, ¡°Are you trying to use this great demon-suppressing formation against me? Unfortunately, you¡¯ll be disappointed. For some reason, this king doesn¡¯t seem to need to fear this thing.¡±

    Jing Teng looked at the Ghost King with a strange expression and replied, ¡°Could it be that you haven¡¯t realized why yet?¡±

    ¡°This king did lose some of my memories when I fled this great tomb. However, you can forget about trying to shake my will with something like that,¡± the Ghost King said with a sneer.

    Jing Teng was a bit speechless. She pointed at the distant talisman and said. ¡°Look over there.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re using such childish tactics¡­¡± the Ghost King began, but still couldn''t help but nce in that direction. Their voice came to a screeching halt, and the figure in the ck mist also began to tremble intensely.

    When he saw that the Ghost King was preupied, Zu An saw a rare chance. He was about to attack when Jing Teng stopped him. He looked at her in confusion.

    ¡°No, no, how could this be¡­¡± the Ghost King murmured while trembling. Even though they didn¡¯t have a body, the ck mist seemed to have condensed into arms clutching their head.

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget your mission,¡± Jing Teng said with a sigh. She pointed her finger toward the distant formation core talisman. The talisman shone with yellow radiance, as if it hade alive. A streak of light shone on the Ghost King, who immediately began to howl in pain.

    Zu An was overjoyed. If this great formation could deal with the Ghost King, that would be the best result! He wouldn¡¯t need to fight to the death anymore. However, Jing Teng¡¯s reaction was a bit strange.

    Under the radiance of that light, the Ghost King¡¯s ck mist rapidly shrank. The ck skulls fragmented and disappeared. Eventually, the endless ck mist grew smaller and smaller, thinner and thinner. Then, it ultimately became about the size of a person.

    Zu An was startled. Was this the Ghost King¡¯s original body? He wondered just what kind of monster they were.

    The mist grew fainter, then all dispersed, turning into a set of ck clothes. The Ghost King¡¯s true appearance was revealed.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes practically popped out of their sockets. If the Ghost King had been one of those disgusting monsters he had seen on the floors above or something else, he wouldn''t have found it strange at all. However, the Ghost King was actually a woman, and an extremely beautiful woman. No less!

    That alone was still understandable, as there were many pretty women in the world. Zu An had seen his fair share himself. The real reason he was shocked was because she looked identical to Jing Teng!

    No, upon closer inspection, there was still a difference. Jing Teng was dressed in white, while this one was dressed in ck. Furthermore, their expressions were a bit different. Jing Teng was cool and elegant, while this ck-d woman was fierce and treacherous. Even if he didn¡¯t know the two of them, he would still subconsciously feel closer to the white Jing Teng¡¯s side.

    ¡°Just what is going on?¡± Zu An asked, full of questions.

    Jing Teng sighed, then exined, ¡°Didn¡¯t I say that this talisman was quite mysterious? As a long time passed, it gradually developed a will of its own, which was me. When I was born, I was full of curiosity toward everything, so I often snuck out to y in the outside world. Of course, I knew the risks of that and left half of my power to continue the operation of this great formation, so nothing bad would happen to this great tomb.¡±

    ¡°However, what I didn¡¯t expect was that once I left, some terrifying beings in the tomb obtained an opportunity. They tried to corrupt this talisman with their evil powers. Even though they failed, their sinister energy spurred the existence of another me, which is her, my little sister.¡±

    Jing Teng looked directly at the Ghost King as she spoke.

    ¡°Who is your little sister?!¡± the Ghost King eximed, her expression unpleasant. Even though many of her memories had just returned, she still found it a bit hard to ept.

    It wasn¡¯t just her, even Zu An was being tossed and turned in this storm! The Ghost King was actually Jing Teng¡¯s twin sister?!

 Chapter 1830: Saving the World

    Chapter 1830: Saving the World

    Zu An couldn''t help but ask in confusion, ¡°Didn¡¯t she pretend to be Zang Ao to approach you and try to start a rtionship with you?¡±

    And yet in the end, after all that, it was just your sister? What kind of weird fetish is this now?

    Jing Teng replied, ¡°In the past, when her will was born, she also grew more and more curious about the outside world. However, unlike the past me who only had curiosity and came back after ying around for a bit, she was corroded by the great tomb¡¯s sinister energy and always wanted to bepletely free from this great tomb.

    ¡°Eventually, she finally obtained the opportunity. When I left, shepletely broke free from our original body and fled this great tomb, abandoning her responsibility as the seal of this ce. As shepletely severed her connection, she was seriously injured and she lost a portion of her memories. Even her body started to change in strange ways.

    ¡°When I found out about it, I tried to find her, and had no choice but to leave the tomb too. My memories were also severely damaged at the time. Even though I knew that I clearly had something I really had to do, it was only recently that I gradually recovered my memories.¡±

    Zu An suddenly realized what was happening. No wonder she had instinctively gotten closer to Zang Ao. Apart from Immortal Ruler Baopu¡¯s damned prophecy, it was likely due to the two of them being sisters too.

    As for the Ghost King, even though she had lost her memories, she had also been unknowingly looking for Jing Teng the entire time, because she could sense that Jing Teng had something she needed.

    All that could be said was that everything had actually been secretly arranged by fate.

    The Ghost King said with a cold snort, ¡°Please don¡¯t act like such a noble and lofty person. What right do you have to im that your leaving was just out of curiosity, while mine was evil?¡±

    Jing Teng replied, ¡°That¡¯s because my trips were always very short, and I still firmly remembered my responsibility. Every time I came back, I continued to maintain the seal, but you wanted to fully break free from it all¡­¡±

    ¡°F*ck the responsibility!¡± the Ghost King interrupted her. ¡°Just how many years have we guarded this damn tomb for already? It¡¯s been so long that I can¡¯t even remember anymore. Prisoners usually have a limited sentence, but what about us? We can only remain in the depths of this gloomy great tomb and spend time senselessly without any end in sight. I¡¯ve had enough of this kind of life!¡± She paused for a moment, then said to Jing Teng with a sneer, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you haven¡¯t had enough of it yourself. Otherwise, you wouldn¡¯t have secretly snuck out to y.¡±

    Jing Teng became quiet. A whileter, she said, ¡°You¡¯re right. I didn¡¯t like that kind of life that much. Still, I¡¯ve always remembered my responsibility. If this ce is abandoned and the seal on these monsters breaks, and they flee, the people will suffer a terrible tragedy. This entire world might be destroyed.¡±

    ¡°What does that have to do with me? Either way, I don¡¯t know any of those ant-like humans. As long as I can live a good life, who cares what happens to everything else?¡± the Ghost King said with a sneer, feeling that Jing Teng was being too pedantic.

    Zu An now more or less understood the situation. Even though these two had both developed sentience and emerged from the talisman, their worldviews were entirely different. Jing Teng was more upright and cared for the fate of mankind, while the Ghost King cared more about self-preservation.

    Strictly speaking, it was hard to say who was right and who was wrong. It all depended on perspective. However, with Zu An¡¯s upbringing and lifestyle growing up, he naturally leaned closer to Jing Teng¡¯s side.

    ¡°Even so, you can¡¯t be so selfish! If we leave, this talisman will quickly break down and the formation that¡¯s suppressing these devils won¡¯t be able to operate anymore. All of these terrifying beings in the great tomb will wake up soon!¡± Jing Teng eximed urgently. The great tomb¡¯s seal was clearly at risk of breaking down at any moment.

    ¡°If I¡¯m selfish, what do we call those guys who forced us to spend such a meaningless eternity here?¡± the Ghost King sneered. ¡°Besides, they¡¯re nowhere to be seen and don¡¯t even care about us anymore. Why do we still have to bother with the formation? After hundreds of thousands of years, have we still not given up enough?¡±

    Zu An was startled. He gave the delicate Jing Teng a look and thought to himself, So her age was already in the hundreds of thousands¡­ Then, who are these other people the Ghost King is talking about?

    ¡°They must have their own worries, or maybe they encountered something they couldn¡¯t solve,¡± Jing Teng said with a dejected expression.

    ¡°Enough! You¡¯re always fixated on thinking about others. When have you ever thought about yourself?¡± the Ghost King retorted with a mocking expression. ¡°You can be kind and all on your own, but don¡¯t drag me into it. I don¡¯t want any part in that.¡±

    Jing Teng was dazed. Could it be that she really had been carried away by wishful thinking?

    Just then, the Ghost King gave Zu An a look of disdain and remarked, ¡°Did you sleep with that damn kid just now?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled the Ghost King for +666 +666 +666¡­

    Jing Teng¡¯s face became red again. She asked, ¡°What does that have to do with you?¡±

    ¡°Not much, really. It¡¯s just that the thought of you looking like me and touching him all over disgusts me,¡± the Ghost King replied, making a retching motion.

    ¡°What do you mean, looking like you?¡± Jing Teng retorted in embarrassment. ¡°I don¡¯t look like you! This is my body! What does it have to do with you?¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°It¡¯s your fault for looking exactly the same as me. Who knows whether he was thinking about me when he was harassing you? Maybe he decided to get revenge that way because he can¡¯t win against me¡­ Ugh, it¡¯s gross just thinking about it,¡± the Ghost King grumbled, holding her elbows with a look of disgust.

    Zu An and Jing Teng were speechless.

    Jing Teng couldn''t help but give Zu An a nce. A trace of redness shed across her face as she asked, ¡°Big brother Zu, would you do something like that?¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He gave the Ghost King an annoyed re and snapped, ¡°I had no idea that you two looked the same, so how could I have done something like that?¡±

    The Ghost King sneered, retorting, ¡°You might not have known before, but now you do. Who knows what might happen in the future?¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He replied, ¡°You¡¯re overthinking things. A woman like you who''s covered in skulls and hides in ck mist, and even devours the bloody hearts of others, isn¡¯t my type at all. How are you like Teng¡¯er at all?¡±

    The Ghost King eximed furiously, ¡°What did you say?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled the Ghost King for +444 +444 +444¡­

    Her second-most hated thing in the world was beingpared to her big sister, and the first was others saying she was worse.

    Zu An gave her an annoyed look and remarked, ¡°After living for so long and growing old, I guess your hearing isn¡¯t so good now.¡±

    The Ghost King roared in rage, ¡°This king will kill you!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled the Ghost King for +601 +601 +601¡­

    As soon as she spoke, a burst of visible sound waves appeared behind her as she rushed at Zu An. She already knew that Zu An had ways of dealing with soul attacks; this time, though, she wasn¡¯t using the Demonic Voice of the Ghost King as an area of effect attack, but rather focusing on him alone. Its power thus became many times greater than before.

    As for Jing Teng, she wasn¡¯t all that worried. It was difficult for anyone to hurt her with the demon-subduing great formation in ce.

    When he sensed that terrifying demonic voice, Zu An¡¯s expression changed. He was just about to summon Hundredwarble when he felt a warm feeling emanating from his chest. The Violet-Gold Alms from before flew above him and cast down a field of gentle golden light. Some buddha projections manifested around it, chanting profound sutras in a low voice. When that terrifying demonic voice reached him, it was instantly deflected by the buddha radiance.

    The Ghost King choked. She cursed, ¡°That damn monk fooled me! He even gave you his precious treasure!¡± She realized that the Demonic Voice of the Ghost King wouldn¡¯t do anything anymore. Her figure flickered and she attacked Zu An directly.

    However, Zu An had already prepared for her attack ahead of time. When he saw that, he drew the Tai¡¯e Sword, and both sides exchanged more than ten blows in an instant.

    Now that the Ghost King had taken human form, she was much easier to deal with. After all, that half-physical, half-intangible body really was hard to attack.

    Just then, Jing Teng seized the chance to get in between the two of them, saying, ¡°Little sister, let¡¯s not fight anymore.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t call me little sister. It sounds disgusting,¡± the Ghost King said, although she stopped. She thought, This Zu An brat really is slippery. It won¡¯t be easy to take him down quickly.

    ¡°But you are my little sister,¡± JIng Teng said with an apologetic expression. ¡°If not for the fact that I just wanted to have fun and gave those monsters an opportunity, you wouldn¡¯t have been tainted by their evil energy.¡±

    ¡°What evil energy? With this demon-suppressing great formation here, what demon could possibly taint me?¡± the Ghost King replied proudly. ¡°It¡¯s just that their interests happened to align with mine.¡±

    As if responding to what she said, the entire ce trembled violently. Endless sinisterughter, furious roars, and low growls emerged from the distance.

    Jing Teng¡¯s expression changed. She looked at the divine talisman.

    Zu An noticed that the constetions in the sky were beginning to fall, and those that remained above flickered, as if they could go out at any time.

    Jing Teng quickly said to the Ghost King, ¡°Little sister, let¡¯s go back. Otherwise, without us, the demon-suppressing talisman won¡¯t have enough power to maintain this seal anymore. If this ce fully copses, everything will be over!¡±

    The Ghost King retorted with a sneer, ¡°Just what made you feel as if I would agree to go back to that talisman with you? How great is my life right now, living carefree every day? Why would I go back and suffer?¡± Sensing that Jing Teng was about to keep trying to persuade her, she continued, ¡°If you pity mankind so much, why don¡¯t you sacrifice yourself to save them? Why do you want me to go with you? What else can this be but hypocrisy?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed. He grabbed Jing Teng¡¯s arm and asked, ¡°Will you die if you return to the talisman?¡±

    Jing Teng didn¡¯t answer; instead, she said gently, ¡°I¡¯ve already been away from the talisman for so many years after being born. That¡¯s actually already a great blessing for me. Besides, I even met you. This lifetime was already incredible, so I have no regrets left.¡±

    When he heard her say that, Zu An¡¯s heart gradually sank.

 Chapter 1831: Collapse

    Chapter 1831: Copse

    ¡°Weren¡¯t you able to go out and y, then return? Why do you have to die if you return now?¡± Zu An asked in shock.

    ¡°It¡¯s different now,¡± Jing Teng said, shaking her head. ¡°My little sister and I left one after another, so the talisman has already suffered irreversible damage and could break at any time. I can only use my core to repair the damage to the divine talisman.¡± When she saw Zu An¡¯s anxious look, she gently held his cheek and said, ¡°Don¡¯t try to persuade me otherwise. This is my fated mission, as well as my responsibility. Besides, the fact that I could be with you is already a great blessing.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but point at the Ghost King off to the side, asking, ¡°You two are from the same source, so why doesn¡¯t she care about this? Are good people supposed to suffer and get bullied then?¡±

    The Ghost King retorted with a frown, ¡°What, you can¡¯t ept it?¡±

    Zu An suddenly became furious, but Jing Teng grabbed his arm and said, ¡°There¡¯s no need to get angry. This is my own choice and it doesn¡¯t have anything to do with other people. The only thing I regret is not being able to stay together with you.¡±

    Zu An suddenly asked, ¡°If we make her do it too, do you guys not need to die?¡±

    The Ghost King¡¯s expression changed. She snapped, ¡°Damn kid, what are you nning?¡± Even though she was stronger than him, this brat had all sorts of weird abilities and even left her a bit apprehensive. If he went all out and took her out with him, that would be a huge loss.

    Zu An didn¡¯t pay her any attention and looked nervously at Jing Teng, waiting for her reply.

    Jing Teng shook her head slightly and said, ¡°The demon-suppressing talisman has suffered too much damage. Even if we join up together, our souls will still disappear. It¡¯s just that if she is with me, the Demon-Suppressing Divine Talisman should be able topletely recover. If I¡¯m alone, the talisman might be fine for a short time, but as time goes on, I¡¯m sure there will be issues again.¡±

    The Ghost King shouted, ¡°Really? If you can fix it by yourself, why are you dragging me into it?¡±

    Jing Teng looked at the Ghost King calmly before saying, ¡°I can choose to protect it on my own, but I hope that one day, once you¡¯re tired of ying around, you¡¯lle back to guard this formation with me.¡±

    The Ghost King clicked her tongue and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll definitely be having the time of my life out there. The human world is so interesting, so how could I ever get tired of ying?¡±

    ¡°Then can you promise me that you won¡¯t harm big brother Zu and those women up there?¡± Jing Teng asked, looking into her eyes.

    The Ghost King was about to refuse out of pride, but after thinking about it, she realized that Jing Teng was already about to die for her sake. So if she couldn''t even promise that and forced her sister into a corner, it could actually be even more dangerous for her. She said, ¡°Fine, then. In order to give you face, I won¡¯t continue quarreling with them.¡±

    Jing Teng sighed in relief. A smile appeared on her face as she thought, It seems this little sister of mine isn¡¯tpletely irredeemable.

    Then, she wasn¡¯t in the mood to pay the Ghost King any more attention; instead, she started to exchange somest endearing words with Zu An. She wanted to cherish every remaining second.

    The Ghost King got a bit annoyed from listening to them and couldn''t help but say, ¡°No wonder your reserved self was so eager to offer yourself up and didn¡¯t even hesitate to go wild here. So you already knew you were going to meet your end here.¡±

    Jing Teng¡¯s pretty face turned red, and she ignored the Ghost King.

    When the Ghost King saw that her remarks weren¡¯t getting any responses from Jing Teng, she changed her target to Zu An, remarking, ¡°Damn brat, judging from our interactions, you don¡¯t seem to be someone from this world. On one hand, there¡¯s the woman you love, but on the other, it¡¯s just some people you don¡¯t know. What choice will you make?¡±

    Zu An fell silent; it was unclear what he was thinking.

    ¡°If you choose the woman you love, you¡¯re not all that different from me and only care about the people close to you. Who cares about everything else?¡± the Ghost King remarked proudly. She continued, ¡°On the other hand, if you choose the people you don¡¯t know and sacrifice the woman you love, you might seem grand in the eyes of many people, but you¡¯ll simply be a hypocrite. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll regret it yourself for the rest of your life. Besides, that would mean my silly big sister really was a fool, always choosing trash men.¡±

    Jing Teng¡¯s voice remained calm as she said, ¡°I don¡¯t think so. Not only would I not me him for his choice, I¡¯d only respect him more if he agreed with me. This is my mission, as well as my fated end.¡±

    ¡°Our fated end is to be destroyed and be an emotionless Demon-Suppressing Talisman again, only to spend an eternity like that?¡± the Ghost King retorted coldly. ¡°My fate is my own! It¡¯s no big deal for me to reject such a fate!¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°Well spoken!¡±

    ¡°Thedy is bold and mighty!¡±

    ¡°Even among us, you can be considered a great hero.¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you just break that seal and we¡¯ll subdue the various worlds together? Wouldn¡¯t such excitement be much more interesting than what you¡¯re experiencing right now?¡±

    Chilly winds swept through the air, containing countless murmurings.

    ¡­

    Jing Teng¡¯s expression changed. She could tell that these were the voices of the monsters locked up in the great tomb. She hadn¡¯t expected some of them to have already woken up and their divine wills to be able to reach all the way here. It was clear that the seal of the great tomb was already approaching copse. There was nothing else that could stop those beings.

    The Ghost King¡¯s expression changed several times. She seemed to be a bit tempted. However, Jing Teng no longer hesitated and walked up to the Ghost King, saying, ¡°Little sister, remember what you promised me just now.¡±

    The Ghost King harrumphed, retorting, ¡°What are you acting like that for? Even though I¡¯m not usually the type to always stick to my word, since I agreed to you this time, I naturally won¡¯t go back on my word.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good¡­¡± Jing Teng said, her mood heavy.

    Now, the Ghost King became a bit ufortable. After all, they were sisters born from the same ce. When she saw that Zu An was still standing silently in ce, she asked, ¡°Are you a man or not? Your woman is about to sacrifice herself to save the world, and yet you¡¯re just shaking like a quail.¡±

    Zu An was about to say something when Jing Teng interrupted, saying, ¡°I have no more regrets after experiencing my love with big brother Zu, so there¡¯s no need to talk about anything else. As long as we can live on in each other¡¯s thoughts, it can¡¯t truly be considered death.¡±

    Cracks began to fill the whole ce, apanied by the sound of shattering. The stars above could no longer continue their rotation, and the cracks on the Demon-Suppressing Talisman also grew bigger and bigger. It seemed there was only a small part that was still holding it together, as if it could break apart at any moment.

    Jing Teng gave Zu An a reluctant look, then flew toward that talisman without looking back again. She was worried that she would no longer be able to continue if she gave him even one extra look.

    Just then, however, streaks of red, green, and ck energy rushed in through the shattered space up ahead. Every single one carried a terrifying aura as they swept toward Jing Teng. It was clear that they knew this was the crucial moment, and that they had to stop Jing Teng from returning to the Demon-Suppressing Talisman.

    Jing Teng¡¯s expression was cold. Her hands formed a seal, and an azure dragon, white tiger, vermilion bird, and ck tortoise rushed out to fend off those terrifying energies, fighting them on equal ground. This was her home court, so now that she was here, she was much stronger.

    Zu An quickly rushed forward to help her. Primordial ki seemed to have a restrictive effect on those beings. Their auras quickly fell into a disadvantaged state.

    ¡°Damn kid, could it be that you really just want your woman to die?¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you just speeding up her death?¡±

    ¡­

    All kinds of demonic murmurs filled the air around Zu An. They weren¡¯t soul attacks; instead, they were just words used to sway his heart. His expression turned ashen, quickly changing several times.

    Just then, several voices also spoke in the Ghost King¡¯s ear.

    ¡°Hurry and stop her! We¡¯ll help you absorb her soul, and then you can fix your damaged soul. Your strength will soar to even greater heights then!¡±

    ¡°Weren¡¯t you looking for the Baopu Sutra? Why not use this chance to take it back?¡±

    ¡°If you suck out that woman¡¯s soul, your strength will already be great enough to transcend. You won¡¯t even need to fear someone like Immortal Ruler Baopu anymore!¡±

    ¡­

    The Ghost King¡¯s expression was cold. In the end, she said with a snort, ¡°All of you had better shut up. Even though I dislike her cowardly saintlike facade, in the end, we are sisters. How can I help you all and harm her instead?¡±

    ¡°Do you think she¡¯ll let you go once she fully stabilizes the Demon-Suppressing Formation?¡±

    ¡°Do you really think she won¡¯t try to suck you dry if you don¡¯t do it first?¡±

    ¡°She was only saying those things to trick you. If the formation is fixed again, she¡¯ll have enough power topletely devour you. Only then can it fully repair the Demon-Suppressing Talisman!¡±

    The Ghost King¡¯s expression changed. Fully repairing the Demon-Suppressing Talisman was indeed Jing Teng¡¯s desire.

    Suddenly, a strand of ck energy wrapped around her body when there was an opening in her thoughts. A sinister voice cackled, saying, ¡°The reason you were able to separate yourself from the talisman in the past was because of this one¡¯s help. It¡¯s now time for you to repay your debt.¡± At the same time, ck energy swirled around her entire body. Skulls were vaguely visible within the ck energy.

    ¡°All of you, get lost!¡± the Ghost King eximed.

    She struggled frantically, clearly trying to resist the invasion of divine will. However, when she borrowed their help in the past, they had already done certain things to her. Despite her struggles, bit by bit, she was eventually defeated. Her eyes started to be as ck as ink, and not even the whites of her eyes could be seen anymore.

    ¡°Little sister!¡± Jing Teng eximed in a lock. She quickly sent a streak of golden light at the ck mist.

    When the ck mist was struck by the golden light, the Ghost King finally got a breather and seized control of her own body again.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    However, because Jing Teng was distracted, she was quickly struck by a streak of green radiance. Blood spurted out of her mouth and she fell from the air.

    The other lights all attacked Jing Teng, intending to destroy her on the spot.

 Chapter 1832: Everything

    Chapter 1832: Everything

    Just as Jing Teng seemed about to be hit by the streaks of radiance, Zu An instantly appeared at her side. Sword radiance erupted from his hands and blocked the lights head on.

    A strong wind blew toward them just then. Zu An had to stand protectively in front of Jing Teng and couldn''t dodge in time, so he could only do his best to prevent his vitals from being hit.

    Boom!

    A fist mmed into him, and a strand of blood trickled out of the corner of his lips. He did everything he could to frantically suck away its power with the Heaven Devouring Sutra and Kun Peng force, while retreating several dozen zhang backward with Jing Teng.

    He saw that the one who had attacked was none other than the Ghost King. He couldn''t help but sigh inwardly. That attack seemed to be far from the Ghost King¡¯s normal power.

    ¡°You damn kid, you¡¯d better be careful. You might not be so lucky next time,¡± the Ghost King warned him.

    Zu An now noticed that the Ghost King was sometimes conscious, and sometimes muddle-headed. She was clearly doing everything she could to fight the ck mist for control over her own body. However, judging from the looks of things, it didn¡¯t seem as if it would be long before shepletely lost control.

    Just then, those strands of aura roared, ¡°Lend us all of your power, or else none of us will be able to get out!¡±

    As if some other things had heard what they were saying, the entire great tomb began to tremble intensely. Countless auras rushed toward the area. Soon after, the lights became thicker and seemed to condense together.

    The red light formed a middle-aged man that was dressed entirely in blood-red clothes. His robes¡¯ spacious sleeves, his scarlet cloak, and everything else was red.

    Meanwhile, the green radiance condensed into a green-robed elder. His eyes flickered brightly, but he looked like a shriveled corpse.

    On the other hand, the ck energy around the Ghost King had already turned into ck mist and skulls again.

    Jing Teng quickly said, ¡°They¡¯re all the most powerful beings in this prison. Among them, the Blood Devil is the weakest, but his ability is special and he excels in escape. The green-robed one is from the bug race, so be careful of his bugs. The other one is the Lord of ck Mist. Many of the abilities my little sister used came from none other than him.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed. He asked, ¡°All of them escaped?¡±

    If all of these beings had broken out of prison, like hell was there still a fight to be had! He wondered whether he could take the chance to just escape with Jing Teng. At that point, there would be no reason for her to sacrifice herself anymore.

    However, to his surprise, Jing Teng shook her head and said, ¡°They actually haven¡¯t. It¡¯s just that there are issues with the divine talisman, so the seal has loosened up a bit. These powerful beings managed to send out a bit of their aura through that opening. Even if they¡¯ve absorbed the power the other monsters have supplied, they¡¯re definitely not as strong as they would be at their peak. Otherwise, now would be a good time to end our own lives.¡±

    Just then, the Ghost King could no longer hold on. Her legs stomped the ground, and she frantically rushed forth, calling out, ¡°Fine, I agree to help you!¡±

    A cruelugh emerged from within the ck mist. The Lord of ck Mist replied, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it have been great if you said so earlier?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed. He quickly rushed over to stop the Ghost King. There were three terrifying beings with them. Even though they hadn¡¯tpletely recovered to their strongest state yet, they still had their experience and insight. This was already a situation that was difficult for them to escape from, and yet the Ghost King was going to join in too?

    ¡°You want to stop her? How could it be that easy?¡± the green-robed elder called out,ughing sinisterly. Suddenly, his entire body copsed and turned into endless green beetles that swarmed at Zu An.

    ¡°Be careful! Those Sacred Heart Beetles¡¯ mouths are incredibly sharp. There¡¯s nothing they can¡¯t eat!¡± Jing Teng cried out in rm. She quickly charged at the divine talisman, trying to seize the opportunity to enter it.

    However, how could the Blood Devil give her that chance? It turned into a sea of blood and blocked her path. Helpless to do anything else, she could only form an imprint to fight against the sea of blood.

    When he saw the sea of endless bugs rush at him, Zu An shuddered. Even though he had never seen the opponent fight before, he hadn¡¯t watched countless shows in his previous world for nothing. He thought to himself that if he let those bugs surround him, he would definitely be instantly chewed to the bone.

    Thus, he decided to immediately use Lion¡¯s Roar against these endless bugs. A powerful sound wave rippled out. Those bugs that were at the forefront were immediately sted into pieces. Lion¡¯s Roar wasn¡¯t too effective against a singr powerful enemy, but when used against such weaker bodies, it had miraculous effects.

    ¡°Insignificant talent!¡± the other bugs cried out as they quickly spread their wings in fury, releasing a concentrated, ear-splitting buzz. Not only did it disperse the Lion¡¯s Roar effects, the sound wave even continued spreading outward to attack Zu An.

    You have sessfully trolled the Green-Robed Bug King for +888 +888 +888¡­

    The Violet-Gold Alms appeared above Zu An again and scattered its golden light, resisting all of the sound waves.

    ¡°It¡¯s actually Golden Mountain Motuo¡¯s alms bowl! That guy really isn¡¯t good at anything but screwing up!¡± the swarm of bugs roared furiously. It no longer tried any sound-based attacks; instead, it tried topletely devour Zu An.

    Boom!

    A white lotus blossomed. Pale mes immediately enveloped Zu An¡¯s surroundings.

    It was the White Lotus me!

    Zu An was still worried that the true me wouldn¡¯t be enough to deal with these terrifying things, so he also used phoenix fire alongside it. A phoenix spread its wings above the white lotus.

    The sea of bugs immediately began to sizzle loudly. A scorched smell quickly filled the air. The remaining bugs released ear-splitting screams and quickly gathered to be the green-robed elder again. However, hisplexion was now much paler. His green robe was also no longer as glossy as before.

    He was full of regret. Earlier, this pretty boy¡¯s cultivation had seemedpletely ordinary and unbearably weak. He had been nning to just let his bugs do the work and turn the boy into a set of bones, thinking that would also deal a heavy blow to Jing Teng¡¯s mentality. How could he have expected this brat to have so many mysterious area of effect attacks?

    If he had attacked the opponent in his normal state, those skills wouldn¡¯t do much to him. Why had he decided to turn into those bugs?! That way, the individual bugs had much weaker defenses, which meant that Zu An¡¯s skills had ended up wounding him considerably.

    However, even though he was seriously injured, he had at least stopped that brat. The Ghost King, Lord of ck Mist, and Blood Devil had Jing Teng surrounded, so she was done for!

    The Ghost King¡¯s entire body was covered in ck mist as she rushed up to Jing Teng. Jing Teng¡¯s attention was fully concentrated on dealing with the Blood Devil, so how could she still have the energy to guard against them?

    The Lord of ck Mist snickered. He could almost picture Jing Teng perishing, and then the Demon-Suppressing Talisman would shatter as a result. All of the creatures sealed by it would then be able to escape.

    Suddenly, however, the Ghost King¡¯s body surged with brilliance, drawing the Demon-Suppressing Talisman¡¯s radiance into herself.

    The Lord of ck Mist screamed bitterly. The Demon-Suppressing Divine talisman had powerful restrictive effects on him. His soul seemed to be burning altogether, so he had no choice but to withdraw from the Ghost King¡¯s side. He roared furiously, ¡°What are you doing?!¡±

    The Ghost King sneered and replied, ¡°I would rather return to the divine talisman with my big sister than help you all!¡±

    She had always been proud. Previously, she had thought that as long as her big sister returned to the divine talisman, she would bepletely free, but now that she knew that her body had already been tampered with by those devils and she would only be restrained, how could she ept such a fate?

    ¡°Then die with her!¡± the Lord of ck Mist eximed in shock and anger.

    In the past, he and the other monsters had aided in her escape, resulting in her body being tainted by their energy. Now that the Demon-Suppressing Divine Talisman shone on her, she naturally couldn''t hold on for much longer.

    ¡°So what?!¡± the Ghost King retorted, her expression indifferent. Then, she gave Jing Teng a look and said, ¡°Since I¡¯m already fated to meet a tragic end, rather than helping outsiders, I might as well help out my big sister.¡±

    Afterward, her entire body suddenly shattered like ss. Then, she turned into a figure of light that embraced Jing Teng. The two of them looked exactly the same. When they made contact, they quickly merged together. The Blood Devil couldn''t stop them in time, and Jing Teng immediately erupted with golden light.

    The Blood Devil screamed miserably. Sizzling noises filled the air as soon as the golden light shone on the blood all over its body. He immediately moved away to avoid the light.

    However, Jing Teng seized the opportunity to fly toward the Demon-Suppressing Divine Talisman. The Green-Robed Bug King and the Lord of ck Mist couldn''t stop her. They could only watch as her soul reunited with the talisman.

    ¡°We¡¯re done for!¡±

    The monsters shivered in fear. They knew that now, they would be locked away for countless years again. They would have to continue living in this dreadful ce.

    Just as Jing Teng was about to merge with the talisman, she couldn''t help but turn around and give Zu An a look. Her gaze was full of reluctance. This was going to be an eternal separation with her love.

    Zu An used his instant movement skill to arrive in front of her and tried to stop her. Suddenly, however, a streak of white light moved even faster than him and struck her body.

    Jing Teng looked as if she had been struck by lightning. She coughed out a mouthful of blood and fell from midair. However, Zu An arrived just in time to catch her.

    ¡°Which great one is it?!¡±

    The Green Robed Bug King and the others were incredibly moved. They all looked in a certain direction while trembling all over.

    It was that unrivaled being that couldn''t be looked at or have its name uttered!

    When they felt its terrifying aura approach, they were utterly terrified. Even beings as powerful as them would instantly perish if they even looked at that individual. However, they didn¡¯t dare to ask it to return. A feeling of pressure that seemingly came from their very bloodlines forced them to stand in ce.

    ¡°Hurry, hurry and send me back into the talisman. Otherwise, it¡¯ll be toote!¡± Jing Teng eximed in both her voice and the Ghost King¡¯s. It was clear that they had also noticed that being¡¯s aura approaching. A hint of despair shed through their eyes.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An suddenly said with a sigh, ¡°Ghost King, you asked me earlier whether I would choose the people I don¡¯t know or my beloved woman, right? You believed that regardless of which one I chose, I would live in suffering after.

    ¡°However, I¡¯m not like other people. I¡¯m rather greedy. I choose to have everything!¡±

 Chapter 1833: Words Spoken, Order Implemented

    Chapter 1833: Words Spoken, Order Implemented

    Jing Teng¡¯splexion was extremely pale, and her entire being seemed to be flickering, as if she could fade away at a moment¡¯s notice. It was only due to this ce being their home territory, coupled with the great formation¡¯s protection, that she and her sister hadn¡¯t immediately died on the spot.

    After all, the one who had attacked earlier was the prisoner from the lowest floor. Even the Green-Robed Bug King, Blood Devil, and the others would have been obliterated immediately by that streak of white light.

    Jing Teng panicked when she heard Zu An, replying, ¡°There¡¯s no time! Hurry and bring us back to the Demon-Suppressing Talisman!¡±

    In truth, with their current condition, not even returning to the Demon-Suppressing Talisman would necessarily be enough to deal with that being.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m here,¡± Zu An said in constion.

    The Ghost Kingughed, eximing, ¡°So the man you liked was actually just a shameless boaster! Do you know just how terrifying the one who just arrived is?¡±

    They could sense the aura of that being slowly approaching. That thing was too powerful. Even if it wasn¡¯t its original form that had arrived, it was still powerful to the point that it left her in despair.

    If the sisters hadn¡¯t left the talisman and remained in their strongest condition, perhaps they would be just barely able to keep it restrained. But now¡­

    And this brat is actually boasting that he¡¯s going to defeat this devil, and that he isn¡¯t going to abandon Jing Teng. Seriously¡­

    Just how in the world does he have such nerve? Does he think he¡¯s the son of heaven himself or something?!

    That terrifying pressure was bing stronger and stronger. Cracking and shattering noises filled the air all around them, which was a sign of the space around them being unable to handle the being¡¯s energy and rapidly copsing as a result.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The Lord of ck Mist, Green-Robed Bug King, and Blood Devil were trembling all over and lying on the ground with their bottoms high and their heads dug into the ground. They didn¡¯t dare to raise their heads in the slightest. They knew that if they weren¡¯t careful and gave that thing a single look, they would be done for.

    A white streak of light appeared in midair. The sky looked like a membrane that was being stretched to the extreme, and the remaining stars flickered crazily. It was clear that what remained of the formation was doing everything it could to resist the terrifying power. However, it was easy to tell that the sky could shatterpletely at any moment. That powerful being outside could break through in mere moments.

    Jing Teng sighed. She leaned into Zu An¡¯s embrace. Being able to die with her lover was a blissful thing, at least. However, if those terrifying beings left the great tomb, the people would definitely suffer. In the end, she wouldn¡¯t be able toplete her mission.

    The Ghost King¡¯s expression was full of disgust. She tried to leave Zu An¡¯s arms, but Jing Teng was dead set on embracing Zu An and she could only let it be. They were about to die anyway, so bickering at this point was meaningless.

    Zu An held Jing Teng with one hand, but suddenly pointed at the streak of white light in the air with the other and yelled, ¡°Begone!¡±

    Jing Teng had a confused expression. She didn¡¯t understand the meaning of his move.

    The Ghost King cast him a sidelong look, thinking, Did he finally lose it? He actually did something so cringy¡­ What, do you think that thing will really just die because you said so?

    The Lord of ck Mist and the other monsters also cursed him inwardly, but they were more worried for their own safety and didn¡¯t have the luxury of thinking about other things.

    Suddenly, the air that had seemed about to rupture calmed down. Then, the white light just vanished and their surroundings stopped shaking. The terrifying aura also disappeared without a trace.

    Jing Teng, the Ghost King, and the three devils were dumbstruck.

    Who am I? Where am I? What is happening?

    That was a being that couldn''t even be looked at!

    Did something happen to make it just leave first?

    There was no way it really had just died to a mere shout from this kid, right? No matter how great their imaginations were, they couldn''t picture something like that.

    Suddenly, a furious roar that made them all shiver filled the air, and a voice roared, ¡°Who was it that destroyed my second body?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled *** for +1024 +1024 +1024¡­

    A series of words appeared in the Keyboard System¡¯s backend: ¡°In order to protect the master, the name has been censored.¡±

    The roar didn¡¯t cause any regr trembling; rather, it felt as if it came from the depths of one¡¯s soul. Those present couldn''t help but vomit arge mouthful of blood. They felt a great stinging pain in their heads, as if their brains were about to be crushed into a paste.

    However, they didn¡¯t pay any attention to those injuries at all and only stared dumbfounded at Zu An. The depths of their shock matched their prior ridicule.

    Only Jing Teng was overjoyed, saying, ¡°Ah Zu, you¡­ What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    She suddenly saw that Zu An¡¯s entire body had be as dry as a desert, covered in countless fine cracks. As she spoke, perhaps because he exhaled a bit too hard, Zu An¡¯s body began to shatter. Small pieces floated into the air piece by piece and quickly dissipated into nothingness.

    Jing Teng¡¯s face was deathly pale, her eyes full of horror. Her mind wentpletely nk, and she couldn''t evene up with a single thought.

    The reason Zu An had been able to do something so incredible was naturally because he had gone for broke with Keyboard Come. However, this enemy was too powerful, far more powerful than any enemy he had ever encountered. As such, the bacsh meant he was about to disappear.

    Suddenly, however, the Freeloader skill activated!

    They can be found everywhere in reality, games, and novels. Their best skill, freeloading, allows them to purchase or exchange for items even without money or other valuable goods. For the sake of freeloading, freeloaders do not fear any trouble. This kind of bravery is something worth learning from for all of us. However, their poor traits of being cheap and stingy has harmed the interests of the creators of value, thus drawing the disdain and contempt of others.

    A certain well-known freeloader was once quoted: If I don¡¯t pay once I¡¯m done, it¡¯s not prostitution, right?

    Another freeloader often asserted: Freeloading brings happiness. If you freeload once, you feel great once. If you always freeload, you always feel great.

    Zu An¡¯s body that had been about to break down into nothing was restored at a visible rate.

    Whenever Freeloader was used, the negative costs to use any skill could be ignored!

    Zu An had thought about justpletely destroying that unspeakable being. However, he thought that, as it was a creature that not even those mysterious beings who built this tomb couldpletely kill, and even they¡¯d had to seal it away, not even his Keyboard Come would necessarily be able to seed. On the other hand, killing a clone was much easier. He figured that perhaps he wouldn¡¯t even die, so he could save a use of Freeloader.

    However, reality proved that he had set his hopes too high. If not for Freeloader, he would already have turned to ashes. There wasn¡¯t even a chance for him to be healed through any other means.

    ¡°Big brother Zu!¡± Jing Teng eximed, feeling shocked and overjoyed. She wanted to run into Zu An¡¯s arms, but she was scared of breaking him from a single touch.

    When he saw her worried expression, Zu An took her into his arms with a smile and said, ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±

    Jing Teng shed tears of joy. She hugged him tightly, as if she were scared that he would leave her if she used even a bit more strength.

    The Ghost King eximed in shock, ¡°Even a being like that¡­ You were able to¡­¡±

    Zu An replied with a nod, ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    The Lord of ck Mist, Green-Robed Bug King, and Blood Devil were utterly speechless.

    The Ghost King¡¯s mouth hung open. She looked at Zu An as if she didn¡¯t know him, saying, ¡°You couldn''t even beat me before though!¡±

    ¡°I have to pay a serious price to use that skill,¡± Zu An exined.

    When the Ghost King recalled how he had been about to turn to dust earlier, she immediately understood. There were many divine skills in this world with tremendous power, but the price one had to pay was also great. She was actually secretly really d that he hadn¡¯t used it on her. Threatening him earlier had just been ying with fire. If that move earlier could even kill a clone of that being, he could naturally have killed her with it.

    She couldn''t help but look at him with a conflicted expression, saying, ¡°Then I guess I have to thank you for not killing me.¡±

    Jing Teng asked at the same time, ¡°A price? What kind of price did you pay? Is there any danger to your life?¡± She grabbed him and checked his body all over as she spoke, scared that he could have lost something.

    Zu An was a bit flustered. These sisters were sharing a body and using it however they wanted to. It really was quite strange.

    Another rumble suddenly filled the ce. That terrifying aura attacked again, and it was clear that its power was increasing.

    Jing Teng¡¯s expression changed. She said, ¡°This is bad. That being seems to have been fully angered and is now gradually awakening. The great formation won¡¯t be able to trap it any longer.¡±

    The Lord of ck Mist and the other devils couldn''t help butugh, saying, ¡°You¡¯re all done for! Once that beinges here, all of you will die for certain.¡±

    Even though that pretty boy¡¯s unknown divine skill was powerful, it had just been used on a clone of that being. It had less than a tenth of his real strength. Furthermore, they had all seen how Zu An had been about to disintegrate after using the skill. They knew he had to pay a huge price to use that skill and that he wouldn¡¯t necessarily be able to use it again. Even if he used it, it wouldn¡¯t necessarily be able to defeat that being either. On top of that, as long as they didn¡¯t look at that being, it probably wouldn¡¯t kill them, anyway. After all, they had been greatly helpful in its escape.

    Jing Teng said, ¡°Big brother Zu, you should hurry and run. Your¡­ friends are still upstairs. You don¡¯t need to worry about us.¡±

    The Ghost King wrinkled her nose. Why was this big sister of hers always so stupid? What kind of situation were they already in? And yet, she was still speaking up for her lover.

    Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°Just leave the rest to me.¡±

    Jing Teng¡¯s condition was extremely poor, so he didn¡¯t dare to let her go. Instead he carried her into the air and arrived in front of the Demon-Suppressing Talisman.

    ¡°What a cold and ruthless person. Unfortunately, it¡¯s already toote even if you put them back. They¡¯re already about to die, and this talisman is already fated to be destroyed. It simply can¡¯t stop that being,¡± the Lord of ck Mist¡¯s sinister voice said.

 Chapter 1834: Big Sister Likes White, I Like Black

    Chapter 1834: Big Sister Likes White, I Like ck

    ¡°Let us go back! Even if we have to die, we need to subdue this guy!¡± the Ghost King cried fiercely. She was furious that she had been schemed against by the Lord of ck Mist. Even though she was in terrible condition, and could die at any time, she still couldn''t let that demon roam free.

    Lord of ck Mist¡¯s expression changed. He subconsciously backed up, because he really was worried that she would try to take him down with her. This Demon-Suppressing Talisman had already been destroyed, but even though it could no longer subdue all of the monsters in the great tomb, dealing with him alone wasn¡¯t too big of an issue at all. He didn¡¯t want all of his hard work to end up only benefiting others.

    Suddenly, a burst of cracks audibly filled the air. Thest bit that was holding the Demon-Suppressing Talisman together could no longer hold on and fracturedpletely. The surrounding constetions also darkened.

    The Lord of ck Mist finally felt at ease. He said with augh, ¡°Haha, this talisman is now finished! After another ten breaths of time, this entire great formation will also be destroyed. All of us will be free once more.¡± Without the Demon-Suppressing Talisman, why would he still worry about those two, who were already seriously injured by that being and could die at any time?

    The Green-Robed Bug King and Blood Devil had smirks on their faces too. They had been locked up for so many years, and now, they finally saw hope of leaving.

    Hmph, we¡¯ve suffered for so many years. Once we leave, the first thing we¡¯ll do is suck out the blood essence of endless creatures and eat to our heart¡¯s content!

    ¡°Hurry and leave, big brother Zu!¡± Jing Teng eximed. As she sensed that unspeakable being closing in, she started to panic. Now that the Demon-Suppressing Talisman was already destroyed, the situation was already set in stone. Her only thought was for Zu An to be safe.

    Zu An didn¡¯t respond to her; instead, he pointed at the Demon-Suppressing Talisman. He immediately used Keyboard Come, saying, ¡°Return to your strongest state!¡± For fear that Jing Teng might get sucked back in, he didn¡¯t even dare to try to restore it himself.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Everything instantly fell silent, as if the entire world had stopped for a moment. A burst of divine light surged behind Zu An. All those present were stupefied, as if they had seen a legendary deity.

    The Demon-Suppressing Talisman that had been torn to pieces came together again. The cracked portion shone with rainbow light, and the cracks closed rapidly at a visible rate. However, Zu An¡¯s body suddenly began to break down again, even more quickly than earlier.

    When she saw that, Jing Teng¡¯s face turned deathly pale. She opened her mouth and wanted to scream, but she was worried that it would blow him to pieces.

    Meanwhile, the Lord of ck Mist and the other devils were overjoyed. At first, when they saw that the Demon-Suppressing Talisman was restored, they felt as if they had been thrown into a frozen cer. They thought that everything was over. But now, they sighed in relief. That skill had a cost that was hard to endure, as expected. There was no way that pretty boy could continue to use it forever.

    Just then, a voice spoke in Zu An¡¯s ear. ¡°Freeloader skill activated!¡±

    Soon after, Zu An¡¯s crumbling body was restored again.

    The Lord of ck Mist and the other devils were stunned.

    This brat is cheating! Just how did he recover? Why? It¡¯s such a powerful skill, so how can it not have any consequence at all?

    ¡°Big brother Zu!¡± Jing Teng eximed in surprise and happiness, hugging Zu An. Even the Ghost King could feel her joy, a grin appearing on her lips too.

    However, just then, cracks began to appear on Zu An¡¯s body again. It turned out that the power that the Demon-Suppressing Talisman needed was much greater than even the power previously used for destroying that being¡¯s clone. Zu An¡¯s body couldn''t handle his bodypletely breaking down from repairing the divine talisman, followed by the recovery process after using the Freeloader skill.

    When Jing Teng saw that, her entire body started shaking. There weren¡¯t many things in this world that were more tragic than losing what one had just obtained. The drastic change from extreme joy to extreme sorrow made her feel as if her soul were about to leave her body. If not for the worry she had for Zu An, her serious wounds could well have just caused her to die on the spot.

    The other devils roared withughter when they saw that.

    ¡°I was just about to say, how could there be such a ridiculous skill in this world?¡±

    ¡°Whenever we devils entice humans, the principle we follow is always ¡®if you wish to obtain something, you must give up even more¡¯. This kid actually didn¡¯t even understand something like that!¡±

    ¡°Hmph, he actually had the delusional idea of repairing the damaged Demon-Suppressing Talisman with his ant-like strength? Does he really think he¡¯s the son of heaven or something?¡±

    ¡°He has no idea what kind of thing the Demon-Suppressing Talisman is. If there¡¯s nothing more he can do, I¡¯m going to pluck that damn head of his off and give it to you guys to use as a ser ball!¡±

    ¡­

    Zu An clenched his teeth tightly and frantically used the Primordial Origin Sutra to recover. He also used the Heaven Devouring Sutra and Kun Peng power to suck away the destructive force.

    However, Keyboard Come¡¯s rebound was in the domain of naturalw. It was damage that took ce on the most fundamental level. Everything he did merely slowed down the process a little bit. His body still broke down at a visible rate.

    ¡°Freeloader skill activated!¡±

    A trace of light suddenly swept over him, and Zu An¡¯s disintegrating body quickly recovered.

    The Lord of ck Mist, Green-Robed Bug King, and Blood Devil were utterly stunned.

    At almost the same instant, the demon-suppressing great formation was finally sessfully repaired. It released dazzling golden light, sending a vast amount of holy power in all directions.

    The constetions in the sky that had already grown dim lit up one after another. At first, they were a bit slow, but eventually, they lit up faster and faster. Many of the stars that had already fallen gradually rose again, bing vaguely connected by some radiance and formingplicated constetions.

    This was the true Heavenly Demon-Suppressing Great Formation!

    The devils screamed in rm. They didn¡¯t dare to stay for a moment longer and frantically fled. However, the stars in the sky suddenly shed. Several streaks of divine light surrounded the Lord of ck Mist¡¯s body. Miserable screams filled the air. The three incredibly powerful devils began burning under the divine light. They started looking like light chunks of wood that were lit on fire, eventually only leaving behind ashes and sparks. A cold breeze blew past, and even those traces disappeared.

    Three bitter screams emerged from the floors above. Now that a portion of their souls were destroyed, they had suffered tremendous damage to their vitality. It would probably take them an extremely long time before they wouldpletely recover.

    The great tomb had previously been trembling and shaking, filled with the roars of all sorts of great devils, but now, it all became shockingly quiet. Those devils were clearly scared and didn¡¯t dare to attack their gates anymore. They all remained silent, pretending to be asleep.

    The Devil-Suppressing Talisman released another powerful streak of divine light. It received the support of all of the constetions above, firing that light in a certain direction. It was aiming at where that unspeakable being was!

    Waves of terrifying ripples spread outward. It was clear that the being was trying to resist. However, as time went on, the power it had gradually umted instead slowly waned. That being clearly couldn''t withstand the Heavenly Demon-Suppressing Great Formation at its strongest either. It roared in unwillingness, but in the end, that terrifying aura disappeared. When they sensed that even that kind of being had been defeated, the other devils could only ept the situation and give up on any attempts to escape.

    Just then, even more streaks of light emerged, traveling upward. They surrounded every floor¡¯s prison, and the runes that had been about to disappear lit up again.

    Countless devils roared furiously in shock and fear. They had been imprisoned here for countless years, but finally saw a chance to nt a seed of evil in the will of the talisman. They had been about to break out already, and yet they still ended up falling short at thest second. Now, the Heavenly Demon-Suppressing Great Formation had returned to its strongest state. It didn¡¯t seem as if they would have another chance in the foreseeable future.

    How unbearable¡­

    Zu An was left breathing heavily, and his entire body was already covered in cold sweat. He was extremely thankful that he¡¯d still had two uses of Freeloader left. Otherwise, he would have met his end right here. He had wanted to leave one use behind as a trump card against Zhao Han, but he hadn¡¯t expected one use of Freeloader to actually be insufficient to repair the divine talisman.

    He looked at that divine talisman with lingering fear. Earlier, he could sense that it was like a terrifying ck hole. It had tried to suck him dry countless times, and had ended up using up two uses of Freeloader. It was lucky that he had already be one with Jing Teng in spirit and in flesh earlier, which meant he had some of the talisman¡¯s aura on him. Otherwise, it could well have been useless even if he had several more uses of Freeloader.[1]

    Jing Teng and the Ghost King stared at the Demon-Suppressing Talisman that was shining like a sun above them with looks of disbelief, eximing, ¡°It was actually just repaired to full strength?¡±

    They were wills born from the talisman, so they naturally understood it best. The talisman really had recovered to its strongest state, and it didn¡¯t even need them inside it. It didn¡¯t need them to sacrifice their consciousness to repair its foundation. Didn¡¯t that mean they really were free now?

    The Ghost King couldn''t help but say with a sigh, ¡°Big sis, the man you chose really isn¡¯t bad. The first one you chose was me, and the second one was him.¡±

    Jing Teng rolled her eyes, thinking, You really know how to praise yourself. How can youpare to him?

    As if sensing what she was thinking, the Ghost King¡¯s face also heated up.

    ¡°Big brother Zu!¡± Jing Teng cried, looking at Zu An while overwhelmed with emotion.

    Having barely escaped a disaster, Zu An lowered his head to kiss her.

    ¡°Hey, hey, hey, I¡¯m still inside her body! Don¡¯t¡­ Don¡¯t reach that tongue in¡­¡± the Ghost King protested, feeling flustered.

    Jing Teng felt embarrassed and panicked. Her chest rose and fell rapidly. Then, her eyes rolled backward and she fainted.

    ¡°Tengteng, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Zu An eximed, looking around in rm.

    Jing Teng opened her eyes again, but her expression was nowpletely different from before. She pushed him away and said, ¡°Don¡¯t hug me for no reason.¡±

    Zu An was shocked, asking, ¡°Ghost King?¡±

    ¡°What Ghost King? That sounds so gross. Of course you should call me Jing Teng too,¡± the Ghost King replied. When she saw his strange expression, she was a bit annoyed. She eventually said, ¡°Forget it. Big sister likes to wear white stockings, but I like ck stockings a bit more. In the future, you can just call me Dark Jing Teng.¡±

    She suddenly asked, ¡°By the way, do you like white stockings or ck stockings more?¡±

    ¡°I like¡­¡± Zu An began before choking. He had almost blurted out the wrong thing. He eximed, ¡°Is this the time to be talking about that?!¡±

    ¡°Why not? I feel that big sister is already too old for that innocent white-stockinged look, and yet she still likes it. I really can¡¯t take it,¡± Dark Jing Teng muttered.

    ¡°What is going on with your big sister?¡± Zu An asked. He wasn¡¯t in the mood to argue with her about these things at all. He looked at her unhappily and continued, ¡°Did you possess her body?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean, possess? This was my body to begin with.¡± Dark Jing Teng harrumphed, then said in an emotional tone, ¡°Big sis is about to die, and so am I.¡±

    1. When he got the skill, Zu An had three uses. He used one to defeat the being¡¯s clone, and then the remaining two were used to repair the divine talisman. ?

 Chapter 1835: Isnâ€™t It Just Mating?

    Chapter 1835: Isn¡¯t It Just Mating?

    ¡°Just what is really going on?¡± Zu An eximed, panicking.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Dark Jing Teng sighed and said, ¡°The two of us were hit by that being¡¯s attack earlier. It was only due to the protection of the great formation that our souls didn¡¯t disperse on the spot. Still, how powerful was that attack? The fact that we were able tost until now is a miracle in itself.¡±

    When he saw that Jing Teng¡¯s body was flickering unsteadily, Zu An became sullen. He had already used up all of his Freeloader skill uses. If he used Keyboard Come to try and save them, he himself could¡­

    He suddenly looked at the Heavenly Demon-Suppressing Great Formation above and asked, ¡°Then can you enter the talisman to recover? You twoe from the same source, and now that the talisman has been restored to its strongest state, it doesn¡¯t need you two to destroy yourselves to repair it.¡±

    Dark Jing Teng shook her head and said, ¡°It won¡¯t work. I already gave it a try earlier. Even though it¡¯s still the Demon-Suppressing Talisman, the talisman can already be considered a whole new thing. It doesn¡¯t recognize our spirits.

    ¡°Of course, we doe from the same source, so if we spent more time to be closer to it, we would be able to enter it again. In our current state, though, we probably wouldn¡¯tst that long,¡± Dark Jing Teng said with a hint of frustration.

    Zu An¡¯s expression darkened and he said, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that keeping you here would only harm you.¡±

    Dark Jing Teng waved her hand dismissively and said, ¡°If you didn¡¯t keep us here, we would already have died. At least we have a bit of life in us to have a conversation.¡±

    Zu An knew that what she said was true, but he couldn''t bring himself to feel happy at all.

    He quickly took out some treatment medicine and offered it to her, but Dark Jing Teng shook her head after giving them a nce, saying, ¡°That being¡¯s attack is on too high a level. These medicines won¡¯t help at all.¡±

    There was a great deal of destructive power that continued to break down their body. If they hadn¡¯t been born of the divine talisman, thus making them quite extraordinary, they would have lost their lives on the spot.

    Zu An was flustered. Could it be that he just had to watch as Jing Teng died?

    Just then, a red figure floated over to his side and asked, ¡°Are you really that stupid or are you just pretending?¡±

    When she saw the figure, Dark Jing Teng was startled, eximing, ¡°What kind of devil are you?¡±

    Apart from them, anyone else in the room could only be a devil. However, where would anyone find such a stunning devil? She began to think bitterly to herself about the devils on each floor, wondering which one looked closest to the figure.

    Mi Li said impatiently, ¡°I am his master.¡± Her soul was bound to Zu An, which was why she could also resist the demon-suppressing formation.

    ¡°Master?¡± Dark Jing Teng eximed in surprise. When she saw Zu An nod, she couldn''t help but feel deep veneration. She said, ¡°So it was a senior. The fact that you were able to produce a disciple like this truly is admirable. I wonder what your level of cultivation is?¡±

    Mi Li rolled her eyes and ignored her.

    Meanwhile, Zu An asked her what she was talking about. ¡°Master empress, what did you mean by what you said?¡±

    Mi Li looked at him with an ambiguous smile, saying, ¡°Could it be that you¡¯ve already forgotten that the Primordial Origin Sutra can also save others?¡±

    Zu An seemed to have realized something. His face heated up, but then he still shook his head in the end. He said, ¡°It might not be enough. That being is on too high a level. How could an injury it created be healed like that?¡±

    ¡°Is it really that high a level?¡± Mi Li replied with a snort. ¡°That skill you have isn¡¯t that low-level either. In the end, it¡¯s just because you are too weak. If you were strong enough, there would definitely be no problem saving her with that skill.¡±

    Zu An became quiet. He had thought that he was already pretty good. He had only cultivated for two to three years, and yet he had already grown to his current level. However, only after facing these terrifying creatures did he realize that he was just a frog in a well.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Even though you can¡¯tpletely restore them with that method, it¡¯ll stabilize their injuries and their lives won¡¯t be at risk anymore. You can slowly look for ways to heal them in the future,¡± Mi Li said.

    Dark Jing Teng couldn''t help but ask, ¡°Just what kind of mystery are you two discussing? If there is a way, hurry and save us!¡±

    Zu An was a bit embarrassed. He said, ¡°That method is a bit¡­ a bit¡­ I think you should call out your big sister.¡±

    ¡°Why do I have to bring out my big sister in order to be saved?¡± Dark Jing Teng replied, looking at him in dissatisfaction. ¡°Is this woman¡¯s life not a life?¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He eventually said, ¡°That method really isn¡¯t suitable for you.¡±

    ¡°How would you know whether it¡¯s suitable or not if you don¡¯t tell me about it?¡± Dark Jing Teng snapped impatiently. ¡°Why is the man big sister chose so wishy-washy?¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He said, ¡°Call out your big sister first, and I¡¯ll tell both of you.¡±

    Dark Jing Teng shook her head and said, ¡°I can¡¯t wake her. Big sister suffered more of the attacks. She was protecting me, but even so, that being¡¯s attack was just too strong. I was still seriously injured as a result, and will only live a bit longer than big sister. She¡¯s already entered a deep slumber and only has a single breath left in her. She might not be able to wake up.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed. He didn¡¯t dare to waste any more time. He quickly tried to tactfully exin the Primordial Origin Sutra¡¯s way of aiding people.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it just mating? You¡¯re speaking in such a fancy way for just that? Just do it,¡± Dark Jing Teng said impatiently.

    Zu An was stunned. When he saw how open she was about it and how she even seemed eager to give it a try, he couldn''t help but ask, ¡°Could it be¡­ that you don¡¯t fully understand what I just said?¡±

    Dark Jing Teng harrumphed. ¡°This king has dominated this world for so many years. What haven¡¯t I seen before? Do you take me for a fool?¡± When she saw his strange expression, she said in a carefree tone, ¡°I naturally need to try the things my big sister has tried. She looked as if she had experienced so much bliss that she was about to faint. I have to try it to see if it really is all that. Besides, it can also save my life. Only an idiot would refuse.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. This woman was being so straightforward that he didn¡¯t even know what to do anymore.

    ¡°What are you hesitating for? You¡¯re not acting like a man at all.¡± Dark Jing Teng harrumphed. She hooked her arm around his neck and just kissed him.

    Zu An was dumbstruck. If he still refused her at this point, he really would be a joke. The woman was already being so open-minded, but he was the one who was overthinking things instead? Saving Jing Teng was more important, right?

    Thus, his arm wrapped around her waist. His other hand reached straight into her cor, thus immediately seizing the initiative.

    Dark Jing Teng¡¯s eyes widened, and her breath quickened. When she finally found a chance to catch her breath, she quickly said, ¡°This king wants to be on top!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to!¡± Zu An quickly replied.

    ¡°Sniff¡­ You scoundrel, I¡¯m going to tell on you to big sister.¡±

    Mi Li shook her head when she saw that. Her figure shed, and she returned to her special space.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in Immortal Ruler Baopu¡¯s burial room, the women had just applied the medicine Chu Chuyan shared with them, and their injuries had improved considerably.

    At that moment, they were gathered in front of the gate. Previously, the entire tomb had been rocking back and forth intensely. Streaks of light shed past, and the door to the burial room closed again. They were worried that they would be locked in the tomb forever, so they all tried to open the door, but they couldn''t find a single point to focus their strength on.

    In the end, Yun Jianyue eventually moved over a giant stone pir from the burial room to ram into the entrance. That way, they could allbine their strength. They carried the thick pir together and continuously smashed it against the door.

    No one could tell what the door was made of, but it was incredibly tough. It didn¡¯t budge at all no matter how they struck it. The women exerted their strength for a long time, but for some reason, this door that had been really easy to open on the way in just wouldn¡¯t open up again. They all used their skills on the stone pir to continuously bash the tomb opening, trying to find a weakness. They all ended up so tired that sweat dripped down their faces.

    After an unknown amount of time, however, the strange light covering the door disappeared. With another strong strike, they sessfully smashed through the door, driving the siege weapon-like pir deeply into it.

    Only then did the women discover that the tunnel outside had already caved in because of the previous activity. The falling stones and copsing earth had made the path extremely narrow and tight.

    These women all loved cleanliness. They didn¡¯t want to use their hands to pry apart the stones. And yet, if they used their skills, they feared they could stir things too roughly and cause another copse. As such, they could only use the pir to slowly test things out and carve open a path. In that way, they worked together and continued to explore ahead.

    ¡°Ah, why is there so much liquiding out? It¡¯s so sticky, too¡­¡± Qiu Honglei cried out in rm as she dodged to the side.

    The women all looked up and saw that some liquid continuously dripped down from the walls around them.

    Yun Jianyue said grimly, ¡°We were on ground level when we entered the tomb, but now that we¡¯vee all the way here, we¡¯ve already arrived underground. All that terrifying shaking might have ruptured an underwater riverbed and caused water to flow in this direction.¡±

    ¡°Then what do we do? If all that water gets in here, won¡¯t we all drown here?¡± Xie Daoyun asked, her face deathly white.

    Yun Jianyue gave Yan Xuehen a look, saying, ¡°Stone cold woman, it¡¯s your turn to shine.¡±

    Yan Xuehen harrumphed. With a wave of her hand, cold air spread out. Soon after, all of the water was frozen. She said gravely, ¡°We need to hurry. This won¡¯tst for long.¡±

    No one dared to treat the situation carelessly. They carried the stone pir and continued to thrust it forward. After doing that for a long time, the space ahead finally cleared up.

    At first, the path was narrow and only had enough room for one person. After a few dozen steps, however, a wide space suddenly appeared before their eyes!

 Chapter 1836: Not Owning Up

    Chapter 1836: Not Owning Up

    As it turned out, it was just the passage that was blocked. Once it was cleared, it revealed a spacious area ahead.

    The women¡¯s faces were all red, and there was ayer of fine sweat around their temples. They had all been worried that they wouldpletely destroy this ce if they used too much force, so they had needed to maintain all their focus; that left them extremely tense. It was to the extent that even simple things left them much more exhausted than normal.

    ¡°Chuyan, what do you think Ah Zu is doing right now?¡± Pei Mianman asked, fanning herself with her hand while asking the blue-d woman next to her.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. He might be fighting a bitter battle right now,¡± Chu Chuyan said with a frown; she was clearly extremely worried.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. That guy is always full of weird tricks. He should be fine,¡± Yan Xuehen said in constion, but she didn¡¯t have much confidence either.

    After all, there had been such a huge disturbance in the tomb, which meant something major had taken ce below. All sorts of terrifying energies had emerged, making the entire great tomb more and more dangerous.

    However, no one was willing to leave, because Zu An was still down there. They didn¡¯t know if he was alive or not, but they couldn''t just abandon him.

    ¡°Not only is he fine, he might even be having the time of his life indulging in pleasure.¡± Yun Jianyue harrumphed. That brat was a walking aphrodisiac. Just a few days apart and he¡¯d bring back another woman. Jing Teng was also with him down there, after all.

    Yan Xuehen gave her an annoyed look and said, ¡°There is no way that could be the case. The Ghost King is still chasing them right now.¡±

    ¡°I guess you¡¯re right,¡± Yun Jianyue said; instead of getting annoyed, she also started worrying.

    ¡°It would be great if that Ghost King were a woman. I¡¯ve never had to worry about Ah Zu suffering from a female enemy,¡± Pei Mianman suddenly said.

    A lot of them suddenly had strange expressions. Most of them had at one point been Zu An¡¯s enemy, but not only had Zu An not suffered at all, they had been the ones on the losing end instead.

    ¡°There¡¯s no way Ah Zu will bring that Ghost King to bed, right?¡± Qiu Honglei couldn''t help but wonder with a harrumph.

    The others couldn''t help butugh too. That kind of thing was clearly too absurd.

    It¡¯s impossible for humans¡­

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in the depths of the great tomb, the very Ghost King they spoke of was struggling. She sobbed, ¡°It hurts! I don¡¯t want to do it anymore!¡±

    Zu An was stunned, asking, ¡°What is going on?¡±

    He seemed to have broken through something earlier, but he and Jing Teng had been intimate not too long beforehand! Could that kind of wound really be healed just like that?

    ¡°You still have the nerve to ask that?!¡± Dark Jing Teng eximed, biting down on his shoulder fiercely. ¡°I can¡¯t be the only one hurting here!¡±

    Then, through her stuttering exnation, Zu An realized what happened. It turned out that in order to free herself from the Lord of ck Mist¡¯s control, she had chosen topletely merge with her big sister. The two were sisters from the same source, so they merged together easily. It involved abination of both sisters¡¯ best traits, so some of the body¡¯s wounds were naturally repaired¡­

    Zu An was also really embarrassed. He had thought that he was just making love with his girlfriend, and they had already done it before, so it would be much easier. How could he have known that this girl had be a virgin again?

    No, this wasn¡¯t a virgin¡¯s body, but rather their shared new body¡­

    Sigh, what in the world is going on¡­

    How could Zu An have predicted that there would be something so inconceivable in this world?

    ¡°I¡¯m really sorry,¡± Zu An said, reflexively trying to pull out. He had thought that it was Jing Teng¡¯s body anyway, and yet now, how could he continue?

    However, Dark Jing Teng¡¯s legs mped down on him and she retorted, ¡°If you leave now, then wouldn¡¯t I have been hurt for nothing?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression darkened and he said, ¡°We have to swiftly cut our losses.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m even about to lose my life, so what losses are we cutting? Just continue, and save me and my big sister. Do you think this king is scared of you?!¡± Dark Jing Teng hissed through clenched teeth.

    Zu An figured that made sense too. He quickly set aside his wayward thoughts and channeled primordial ki between the two of them to repair Jing Teng¡¯s body, keeping it from breaking down.

    Dark Jing Teng couldn''t help but groan. She looked at him unhappily, tears glimmering in her eyes as she asked,

    ¡°Are you really not some donkey fiend?¡±

    Zu An frowned and replied, ¡°Of course I¡¯m human!¡±

    Dark Jing Teng harrumphed. ¡°I really have no idea how big sister was able to handle you before. Did she cry back then?¡±

    ¡°Um¡­ No,¡± Zu An replied.

    Dark Jing Teng¡¯s expression was full of doubt and shock. She secretly wiped away her tears and said through clenched teeth, ¡°If even she could take it, there¡¯s no reason I can¡¯t. Continue!¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°Were you gentler with my big sister and rougher with me?¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°You definitely were! You¡¯re definitely holding a grudge because I beat you like a dog before, so you must be using this as a chance to get revenge!¡±

    ¡°Do you want to try what it would feel like if I really tried to get revenge?¡±

    ¡°Do you think this king is scared of your revenge?¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°Stop, I¡¯m sorry! I was wrong! This humble one couldn''t recognize the generosity of a gentleman! Please¡­¡±

    ¡­

    After a long time passed, Dark Jing Teng¡¯s entire face was red as sheypletely limp against Zu An¡¯s body. She said, ¡°No wonder big sister likes you so much. So this kind of thing was actually so wonderful.¡±

    Zu An said impatiently, ¡°It¡¯s not as if she likes me because of this kind of thing.¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Is there a difference?¡± Dark Jing Teng replied impatiently. ¡°Did she not like this earlier?¡±

    When he recalled White Jing Teng¡¯s gentle and charming expression, Zu An couldn''t refute that.

    Suddenly, White Jing Teng eximed in rm, ¡°What are the two of you doing?¡±

    ¡°Enjoying your man, of course,¡± Dark Jing Teng said, raising a brow. As if she were wishing for chaos to take the world, she said, ¡°This guy really is a sex demon. He knows I¡¯m your little sister, and yet, not only did he not stop, he even went harder.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. Now that he knew that White Jing Teng was awake, he quickly stopped Dark Jing Teng from starting more drama and said, ¡°Just now, I was actually trying to save the two of you.¡±

    White Jing Teng temporarily seized control of her body again and asked, ¡°You were going to save us like that?¡±

    When he saw her strange expression, Zu An could only give her a rough ount of what happened.

    White Jing Teng¡¯s face turned entirely red when she heard that. Dark Jing Teng took over and asked, ¡°Hmph, you know what I¡¯m really curious about? What if we were men? Would you still save us all the same? Through the same method?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression darkened and he said, ¡°I would have buried you properly.¡±

    ¡°Tsk~¡± Dark Jing Teng harrumphed. ¡°In the end, isn¡¯t it all because you¡¯re perverted? You actually learned such a biased way of saving others. I¡¯m definitely judging you right now.¡±

    Zu An was getting a headache from all of this. This woman waspletely different from her big sister; her chattering just never stopped! Even while they were doing ¡®those¡¯ things, she had been saying all sorts of things, only bing a bit more obedientter on. And yet, now that she caught her breath again, she was right back to being a brat.

    ¡°Enough. Big brother Zu did that to save us,¡± White Jing Teng said.

    ¡°What do you mean, us? He was clearly trying to save you,¡± Dark Jing Teng said in annoyance.

    ¡°Weren¡¯t you saved too? And who was it that was having a good time just now? You were even moaning so shamelessly.¡± White Jing Teng harrumphed. She had actually already recovered her consciousness because of the nourishment of primordial ki, but her injuries were more severe than her sister¡¯s, so she had only been able to give up control over her body for the time being.

    ¡°What moaning? I was clearly doing your man! I was toying with him!¡± Dark Jing Teng quickly replied.

    Zu An didn¡¯t feel like disputing this sensitive topic with them and quickly asked, ¡°How are your injuries now? How much have you recovered?¡±

    Both women fell silent. A whileter, White Jing Teng replied, ¡°That being¡¯s attack was just too strong. It¡¯s thanks to your¡­ help that our injuries have stabilized for now, though. As of right now, it doesn¡¯t seem as if our injuries will worsen.

    ¡°Still, if we want to make a full recovery, only someone close to that being¡¯s power couldpletely erase the power of destruction still inside us. That¡¯s why we haven¡¯t really recovered much.¡±

    Zu An understood what they meant. Judging from the sound of things, there was no danger to their lives, but they hadn¡¯t made any progress in their recovery at all.

    ¡°Even so, where would we find someone on par with that being?¡± Zu An asked with a grave expression. Even though he was getting stronger quickly, his power was still many orders of magnitude away from matching that being.

    White Jing Teng suddenly replied, ¡°There is actually a method, which is for us to return to the Demon-Suppressing Talisman. Now that our injuries have recovered, as long as we familiarize ourselves with the talisman again, we should be able to return inside and use the talisman¡¯s power to slowly recover.¡±

    Zu An was overjoyed, but he quickly noticed her expression. He was startled and asked, ¡°How long would that take?¡±

    White Jing Teng didn¡¯t say anything. Dark Jing Teng said, ¡°I¡¯d say tens of thousands of years at the very least.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    Tens of thousands of years? My own grave will already be overgrown with weeds who knows how many times over!

    White Jing Teng said, ¡°Compared to tens of thousands of years of loneliness, I would rather be with you. Little sister, you can go back by yourself.¡±

    Dark Jing Teng immediately cried out, ¡°Are you kidding me? I can only handle that power of destruction by being with you! If we separate, I¡¯ll immediately be wiped out by that power!¡±

    White Jing Teng¡¯s expression changed. She was momentarily troubled.

    Dark Jing Teng said, ¡°Actually, you don¡¯t need to feel that conflicted. After getting used to the outside world¡¯s pleasures, I don¡¯t really want to stay here all alone for tens of thousands of years either. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t have tried to run away.¡±

    ¡°What are you trying to say?¡± White Jing Teng asked, stunned.

    ¡°I¡¯m going with big sister and brother-inw, of course. Furthermore, brother-inw assaulted me just now, so he has to take responsibility, right?¡±

    ¡°That was my body.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it also my body? Brother-inw, say something, won¡¯t you? You aren¡¯t going to pull up your pants and not own up, are you?¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

 Chapter 1837: Right By His Side

    Chapter 1837: Right By His Side

    ¡°Why do your words sound weird somehow?¡± Zu An asked with a gloomy expression.

    ¡°Either way, you have to take responsibility,¡± Dark Jing Teng replied with a fearless expression.

    ¡°Of course I have to bring you¡­ two with me,¡± Zu An said. When he saw Dark Jing Teng¡¯s threatening look, he could only include her too. ¡°However, your injuries are too serious. Both of you might really die if there¡¯s any outside disturbance¡­¡±

    Even though Dark Jing Teng was quite fierce, her body was too weak. They could very well be unable to walk normally. If he ended up bringing them with him out of selfish desire, but ended up harming themter on, he would regret it for the rest of his life.

    ¡°Are you really going to abandon us because of a little danger?¡± White Jing Teng asked, staring at him.

    Zu An was speechless.

    Mi Li appeared and said, ¡°It¡¯s actually not that hard to bring them with you. Didn¡¯t you obtain a jade coffin from Lord Sui¡¯s Tomb? That jade coffin is quite special and will allow them to sleep inside of it without any danger of their flesh rotting. You can just open it once you find a way to save them.¡±

    White Jing Teng was startled. When she learned that Mi Li was Zu An¡¯s master, however, her attitude immediately became respectful. She even bowed and said, ¡°I greet the master.¡±

    ¡°Mm, good girl,¡± Mi Li said. She took out a pair of earrings and gave them to White Jing Teng. ¡°I don¡¯t have much to give you, but these earrings are still rather pretty. They¡¯re yours.¡±

    She grinned, feeling quite good about the whole situation.

    That brat Zu An has so many women, but it¡¯s not often that one immediately greets me respectfully upon our first meeting.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    It seems I should prepare some more gifts, or else it¡¯ll be a bit embarrassing if I don¡¯t have anything to give them once those other daughters-inwe to pay their respects.

    ¡°Thank you, master,¡± White Jing Teng said, feeling surprised and happy. She caressed the earrings admiringly. They really were pretty, but what she was even happier about was that she had gotten the acknowledgement of big brother Zu¡¯s master.

    When she heard the word ¡®master¡¯, Mi Li¡¯s eyes twitched. She thought, Strictly speaking, this woman might even be older than me¡­

    Zu An took out the jade coffin. It was icy cold to the touch. When he obtained it back then, he had just been nning to sell it somewhere. He hadn¡¯t expected it to be so useful.

    ¡°Do we have to justy in a coffin forever? At that point, what¡¯s the difference from being a corpse?¡± Dark Jing Teng asked, clearly unhappy. What was the difference between that and staying by the divine talisman? She wanted to wander this world of pleasures freely and didn¡¯t want to live like that.

    White Jing Teng frowned slightly; she actually felt the same way.

    Mi Li exined, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You¡¯re not going to be locked away inside forever; that jade coffin is merely to store your flesh. Every so often, Zu An has to meet you and release his blood essence inside you in order to stabilize your injuries. Once he bes strong enough or finds some incredible treasure, he can save you guys. Isn¡¯t that better than staying in that talisman for tens of thousands of years?¡±

    Both White Jing Teng and Dark Jing Teng blushed. Even though Mi Li had said so much, the only thing that stuck in their mind was ¡®release blood essence inside¡¯. After what they had just experienced, they naturally knew what kind of process that was.

    ¡°If I can stay at big brother Zu¡¯s side if we do this, it should indeed be better than staying here,¡± White Jing Teng said quietly. She thought inwardly, This is so embarrassing, but I also¡­ really look forward to it.

    However, Zu An realized there was a problem and said, ¡°Even so, the Brilliant ss Bead can¡¯t store living people¡­¡±

    He had been able to just toss the jade coffin into the Brilliant ss Bead before, but if Jing Teng was inside, wouldn¡¯t she suffocate to death?

    Jing Teng removed a pendant from her neck and said, ¡°That¡¯s not a problem. I¡¯ll give you this pendant. Inside is a paradise cavern that can store the jade coffin. You can just wear this pendant with you. When you¡¯re out in the wilderness, you can also stay inside to take shelter.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes lit up. They had stayed inside that paradise cavern when they first met. It really was quite stunning.

    ¡°Where did you get this thing from?¡± he asked curiously. He thought too himself that if it was possible, he''d make more of them and give them to his sweethearts. That would solve the issue of them having to put up with the hardships of living outside.

    ¡°It was something that Immortal Ruler Baopu helped me refine in the past. His artifact refining skills were extremely formidable. He gave me this after asking me to help him find an inheritor, Jing Teng said rather proudly.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes lit up. So this was something Immortal Ruler Baopu had made! He wondered if the Baopu Sutra contained its refining method.

    ¡°Big brother Zu, let me help you put it on,¡± Jing Teng said. She smiled sweetly and put it around his neck. Suddenly, however, her eyes narrowed. She saw that he already had a beautiful fire-shaped pendant around his neck. She couldn''t help but ask, ¡°Was this something Miss Qiu gave you?¡±

    ¡°No, it was Manman,¡± Zu An replied absentmindedly, but he immediately cried out in regret. How could he tell her that kind of thing?

    ¡°Manman?¡± White Jing Teng repeated; she was a bit confused and didn¡¯t realize who it was.

    Dark Jing Teng said with a sneer, ¡°It¡¯s the one whose chest always sways around when she walks.¡±

    ¡°So it was her! Well, if big brother Zu is already wearing a ne, you don¡¯t need to wear anything else,¡± White Jing Teng said, pulling her hand back. She looked down so her face couldn''t be seen anymore, but her tone was clearly sad.

    Mi Li almostughed out loud. She thought, I just love watching this kind of drama! It¡¯s this kid¡¯s fault for being so fickle.

    Zu An reacted quickly and immediately sped Jing Teng¡¯s hands. He took the pendant and put it around his neck, saying, ¡°Who says you can only wear a single ne?¡± It still had Jing Teng¡¯s fragrance and warmth on it.

    White Jing Teng quietly said, ¡°It¡¯ll break if it keeps bumping into something else.¡±

    Zu An was stunned, but he replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Your pendants aren¡¯t ordinary items, so they won¡¯t break.¡±

    When she saw how nervous he looked, a smile finally returned to White Jing Teng¡¯s face. His reaction showed that he actually cared about her a lot.

    When she saw that, Mi Li curled her lips, thinking that if every woman gave Zu An a ne in the future, perhaps his neck would be so heavy he won¡¯t even be able to raise his head anymore.

    Hm? Why am I kind of looking forward to that day?

    ¡°Ahem, you two should lie inside and give it a try for now. I¡¯ll arrange a formation so the jade coffin can take in the natural ki around it to nurture your body, and then I¡¯ll put up another formation to keep you two pure and clean¡­ Also, link your souls with Zu An¡¯s. That way, when you wake up and feel bored, you can call him to meet you,¡± Mi Li said.

    The two of them were spirits born from the Demon-Suppressing Talisman. If they didn¡¯t eat or drink in the jade coffin and just absorbed the natural ki of the world to sustain themselves, there was naturally no need to worry about sanitary issues.

    ¡°Thank you, master!¡± White Jing Teng eximed happily when she heard that Mi Li had already thought things out so thoroughly. Even ck Jing Teng was starting to develop a good impression of Mi Li.

    ¡­

    Soon after, Jing Teng started lying down in the jade coffin as Mi Li arranged all kinds of formations from the side.

    White Jing Teng gave Zu An a reluctant look and said, ¡°Big brother Zu, I really want to stay by your side forever.¡±

    Zu An lowered his head and kissed her ice-cold forehead, replying, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Tengteng. I¡¯ll definitely do everything I can to find a way to treat you two.¡± Raising his strength to match that being in a short time didn¡¯t seem too likely, so he had to try approaching the situation from a different angle.

    White Jing Teng nodded and said, ¡°I¡¯ll wait for you.¡±

    ck Jing Teng added just then, ¡°Don¡¯t forget toe in and mate with us.¡±

    White Jing Teng¡¯s face immediately turned red. She eximed, ¡°Stupid girl, what are you saying?!¡±

    Dark Jing Teng grumbled, ¡°Isn¡¯t that what you¡¯re thinking too? You¡¯re just too embarrassed to say it. Don¡¯t forget that we¡¯re sharing a body now. It¡¯s not as if I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re thinking.¡±

    White Jing Teng cried out in rm. Her face waspletely red as she retorted, ¡°Stop speaking nonsense, why would I use that word?¡±

    ¡°Oh, I think the words you would use would be ¡®visit Mount Wu together¡¯. What are you acting all posh for? My wording is much simpler and easier to understand.¡± Dark Jing Teng harrumphed.

    White Jing Teng was stupefied. She couldn''t help but cover her face. She had really embarrassed herself today¡­

    ¡°Big brother Zu, I¡¯m feeling weak, so I¡¯m going to sleep to recover first,¡± she said. She didn¡¯t dare to give Zu An another look and quicklyy down in the jade coffin, closing her eyes.

    Zu An could vaguely hear the two sisters arguing inside, leaving him speechless.

    ¡°These sisters are pretty interesting,¡± Mi Li said after a while of being busy, stretching her body a bit. ¡°The formations are done. Remember to put in some more ki stones every so often to keep them running.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, master,¡± Zu An said sincerely. Without her, he really wouldn¡¯t have known how to save these two.

    ¡°Look at you. Your master even has to clean up after you when you chase after women.¡± Mi Li harrumphed. Still, she found it a bit strange. Why was she so excited while helping him with these things? Just who was the one chasing after women here?

    ¡°Ahem, your master used up quite a bit of energy to do these things and is going to sleep first. Right, remember to show filial piety to your master and offer up some high-level ki stones. It¡¯ll aid in my recovery,¡± she quickly added.

    ¡°Master can refine ki stones directly?¡± Zu An asked happily. Previously, Mi Li could only slowly recover through absorbing some of the world¡¯s mystical power by sleeping. He had never heard that she could use ki stones until now.

    ¡°I guess I¡¯m making some progress step by step too. My soul body has already more or less stabilized and isn¡¯t like before, when I would easily dissipate into nothing,¡± Mi Li said with a nod. ¡°Of course, normal ki stones won¡¯t do. The higher the grade, the better.¡±

    When Zu An heard that, he immediately pushed a pile of ki stones at her, saying, ¡°Take these for now. I¡¯ll try and see if I can find some immortal or even deity-grade ki stonester on.¡±

    ¡°If I recall correctly, these seem to be what Yu Yanluo gave you, right? Look at you, using the belongings of one woman to gain the favor of another; what trash,¡± Mi Li remarked with a smirk.

    Zu An said, ¡°You are my master; you¡¯re different from other women.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s more like it,¡± Mi Li said, her mood suddenly improving considerably. However, she suddenly felt that something wasn¡¯t right and quickly added, ¡°It¡¯s normal for Yu Yanluo to show me filial piety, anyway.¡±

    Afterward, she picked thergest ki stone and said, ¡°I¡¯ll take this for now. If I take too much, I won¡¯t be able to handle it either.¡± She quickly returned to her special space. Zu An had no idea how she was able to take the ki stone into the special space with her.

    Zu An took out some heaven-grade ki stones and ced them around the formation for it to replenish its energy source. Then, he moved everything into the cavern pendant. He made sure to ce the coffin in the chamber Jing Teng had used before. A familiar environment would lessen the difort.

    He stayed with her and talked to her for a long time before finally reluctantly leaving the paradise cavern.

    ¡­

    After he emerged, he gave the divine talisman and Heavenly Demon-Suppressing Great Formation made of constetions one more look. With a deep sigh, he left this mysterious ce.

 Chapter 1838: New Gains

    Chapter 1838: New Gains

    When he arrived in front of the stairway, Zu An clearly sensed ayer of separation above him, as if there was a world membrane separating each floor. It was far stronger than before. Such seals had most likely be stronger and sturdier after the great demon-suppressing formation recovered.

    At first, he was a bit worried that he had been sealed up inside. Fortunately, even though it was a bit difficult to enter, he still managed to break through with a bit more force. It was most likely because he had already be one with Jing Teng and had the talisman¡¯s attribute and energy attuned to him. As such, the seal treated him as one of its own and didn¡¯t trouble him too much.

    He quickly ascended the flight of stairs and arrived at the floor where that unspeakable being was. He stopped for a bit there. Earlier, he had fought against that very creature. Even though there was a world membrane separating them, he could still sense the being¡¯s terrifying power. It was on a level that was difficult toprehend. Jing Teng had been wounded by the creature, leaving behind injuries Zu An couldn''t cure right now. Even the Primordial Origin Sutra was only able to prevent those wounds from getting worse. It wasn¡¯t able topletely eliminate that destructive power.

    At first, he thought that when it sensed his aura, that being would get really agitated and try to attack the prison door, so he had remained vignt the entire time, prepared to leave at a moment¡¯s notice. However, everything remained calm, and even the terrifying aura he had experienced on the way down was much weaker.

    He looked up and saw that there were illuminated runes on the prison door and walls around them. The demon-suppressing formation was at its strongest right now, so even that powerful being could only calm down for the time being. He gave the prison door a deep look and wondered whether he could see what it looked like one day.

    ¡­

    Then, he continued onto the next flight of stairs up. The first time he passed by, he had heard countless roars, as if there were a huge party happening in this great tomb. Now, though, it waspletely quiet. All of the monsters were so obedient that they didn¡¯t even dare to breathe too heavily.

    He couldn''t help but sigh once again. That Demon-Suppressing Divine Talisman was just too powerful. And then when he thought about how the spirits that came from it had been pounded beneath him¡­

    He couldn''t help but enter a brief daze. This world really was fickle! There was a popr saying that shut-in otakus wasted paper, but the world still used paper nheless.

    However, this paper was far, far more wonderful than those other papers.

    He suddenly thought of something and took out the Keyboard System. He saw that the F6 key was shing continuously; from the first time it detected the Baopu Sutra, it had been reminding him to integrate the skill.

    ¡°Integrate!¡±

    Ding!

    Soon after, that trace of light merged into the F6 key. A furnace with immortal energy lingering around it appeared above it, as if it were concocting pills of immortality. Immediately after, a sea of knowledge flooded into Zu An¡¯s mind.

    Cultivators have six main skills: Music, divination, rituals, talismans, formations, pill-making, and weapon refinement. Every single aspect is wide-ranging and profound, mysterious and limitless. Even the most stunning individual might not necessarily be able to im proficiency in a single domain even if they spend their whole lives on just one domain.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    And yet, Immortal Ruler Baopu surpassed all before him, bing skilled in every single field. Among them, the one he earned the greatest achievements in was none other than pill-making. It was precisely that pill-making skill that granted him immortal ascension.

    Zu An suddenly felt a sh in his mind. Countless pill recipes and refining methods entered his head. At the same time, music, divination diagrams, rituals, talismans, formations, and weapon refinement theories rushed in.

    Rites and music seemed to be the way to join heaven and earth. The ¡®Dance Offering to the Universe¡¯ Immortal Ruler Baopu had previously passed onto Qiu Honglei was one such thing. However, Zu An just felt that dancing as a grown man was a bit embarrassing.

    Fortunately, apart from dance, there were many musical scores. They weren¡¯t the decadent or obscene music of the secr world, but rather the sounds of the great dao. Every song was extremely simple and often just a few notes long, and yet they could draw forth the power of heaven and earth. They could assist in clearing the mind for meditation cultivation, increase cultivation speed, discard distracting thoughts when one attempted a breakthrough, and other things.

    Yeah, this suits me more.

    Who didn¡¯t secretly want to appear cultured and artistic in front of others who were talented in these fields, after all?

    Once he learned these things, he could pass them onto Shang Liuyu. She loved music and, uh¡­ blowing the xiao. There was a song for the Chinese bamboo flute that was perfect as a gift for her.

    Divination was more about mysterious forces. It was able to foresee luck or disasters and allow one to prepare for them. That way, one could be able to seize a chance at life in a situation of inevitable death.

    Zu An¡¯s ¡®The Book¡¯ had a simr ability, but it could only provide him with scenes a few seconds beforehand at most. Things that happenedter could only be seen through divination. Of course, ¡®The Book¡¯ had its pros too, which was that it was rather detailed in its description of danger. Divination was more ambiguous, and what one saw could be exined in all sorts of ways.

    Zu An didn¡¯t like such abilities that much. Knowing your fate ahead of time wasn¡¯t necessarily a good thing. After all, there was a saying that understanding heaven¡¯s will is easy, but defying the heavens is difficult.

    Sometimes, finding out one¡¯s fate could just create a feeling of helplessness, as if one¡¯s hands were tied; in that case, one could end up focusing too much on personal gains and losses.

    As for rituals, they referred to the ceremonies that were performed when making offerings to all sorts of deities or mysterious beings. For example, in the secr world, if one wanted someone¡¯s help, one would at least prepare some gifts. Asking a mysterious being for help required simr offerings to show sincerity.

    Such rituals consisted of two parts. The first was purity, which referred to bathing and changing clothes a few days in advance and refraining from meat, wine, or sleeping in inner chambers, to demonstrate sincerity during the ceremony. The second was sacrifice, which referred to offering sacrifices. The blood of animals, as well as fruits and vegetables, could be used for that process. Different mysterious beings liked different kinds of offerings, so it was important not to make any mistakes in that regard.

    The Baopu Sutra summarized the different ssifications, while teaching how to conduct the different ceremonies.

    As he watched the exnation, Zu An¡¯s worldviewpletely opened up. If he had seen this in his previous world, he would have just thought of it as a superstitious belief from feudal times. However, in these worlds of cultivation, things were definitely not so simple.

    Immortal Ruler Baopu had recorded all of these mysterious things seriously. Could it be that there really were some mysterious beings silently watching everything that was happening in this world and responding to the requests of those conducting sacrifices? Zu An couldn''t help but shiver when he thought of that.

    Talismans were easier to understand. Both Yan Xuehen and Xie Daoyun were experts in that field. He had seen Sun En demonstrate the power of divine talismans too.

    Meanwhile, he himself had just¡­ done a talisman.

    The Baopu Sutra recorded all kinds of talismans¡¯ fundamental principles, as well as the ways to make them. He was sure that big sister Yan and little sister Ling¡¯er would definitely enjoy learning about these things.

    Formations were some special diagrams that could borrow the energy from ki stones to bring about certain special effects through transferring the power of the world.

    Simple formations assisted in the recovery of ki, increased speed, attack, defense, or other such things. Complicated ones could be like the Heavenly Demon-Suppressing Great Formation he had just seen.

    Formidable formations could oftenpletely change the tides of battle. In situations such as wartime in particr, the side with formations could often carry out a one-sided massacre on the side that didn¡¯t have them.

    The Baopu Sutra had umted many miraculous formations, but in truth, there were just too many formations in the world. Thus, many of them weren¡¯t recorded in it either.

    Zu An gave everything a rough scan. He wanted to find the Heavenly Demon-Suppressing Great Formation that was at the lowest floor of this tomb, but unsurprisingly, he didn''t find it. It seemed that Immortal Ruler Baopu hadn¡¯t been able to enter that lowest floor, and he wasn¡¯t the one who had created the great tomb. The one who had designed the Heavenly Demon-Suppressing Great Formation was likely another, even higher-level being.

    The weapon refinement portion talked about the creation of weapons, magical artifacts, and other items¡¯ theories and techniques. Zu An was overjoyed, because the Rune Weapon Chart he obtained had activated the weapon forging system, but he hadn¡¯t had any weapon blueprints and couldn''t do much with it. The Baopu Sutra solved that problem, and it even contained all sorts of artifact blueprints. For example, the pendant that stored Jing Teng¡¯s paradise cavern was there.

    Alright, I don¡¯t have to worry about what type of gift to give the women anymore.

    Hm? Why is that what I¡¯m thinking about right now?

    He quickly focused his attention and continued to look through the contents. There were some amazing treasures that were even more useful than cultivation or skills.

    Zu An thought about the terrifying encounters in ¡®Investiture of the Gods¡¯, and how one treasure would often decide victory and defeat. One was the boss when one had the treasure, but if one identally lost it, one could even be beaten like a dog by the very same disciple who picked it up. He searched through the treasures, but disappointingly, he didn¡¯t find the refining methods of such legendary artifacts.

    Immortal Ruler Baopu was straightforward as well. The more he studied in this field, the more he had realized that he was still ignorant and narrow-minded. He had known that there were still many formidable treasures, but he hadn¡¯t gotten the opportunity to learn their creation methods. He had only hoped that the one who came after him would have the opportunity to gradually fill things in.

    Even so, Zu An was still extremely satisfied. After all, the manual had already exined all kinds of principles and methods very clearly. With that foundation, as long as he obtained the blueprint of a special treasure, learning how to make it wouldn¡¯t be too difficult at all.

    Compared to the other six skills, the skill Immortal Ruler Baopu was proudest of was pill refinement. There was more content in that domain than the other six.

    Zu An skimmed the contents. The impression he got was that the pill manual was both broad and deep. There were many extremely useful pills; it even contained all kinds of extraordinary pills that had miraculous effects even he coveted in his current condition. Furthermore, there were even several pills that seemed as if they would be able to treat Jing Teng¡¯s current problem. He definitely had to gather the ingredients once he left the secret dungeon and make those pills to see if they¡¯d work.

    Zu An was extremely satisfied with the Baopu Sutra. What hecked wasn¡¯t a cultivation method. Whether it was the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, Primordial Origin Sutra, or Heaven Devouring Sutra, they were all the very best among cultivation methods. In contrast, Baopu Sutra had skills that were more important for him at the moment.

    Suddenly, there was an alert from the Keyboard System. ¡°Five secret manuals have been detected. Condition fulfilled; activating the Gourmet System.¡±

    ¡°Gourmet?¡± Zu An eximed, feeling unhappy. What was gourmet food good for?

 Chapter 1839: Awkward

    Chapter 1839: Awkward

    As if seeing through his dissatisfaction, the Keyboard System reminded him through the holographic screen, ¡°Do not look down on gourmet food. No matter how strong you are, there will always be those who are stronger. However, a good meal might allow you to win over those with greater status or strength than you, something that is difficult for other skills to achieve.¡±

    Zu An had a look of disdain as he muttered, ¡°Who says food can let you win over stronger beings?¡± No matter how he thought about it, that didn¡¯t make any sense.

    ¡°This is the conclusion reached after analyzing arge amount of data. In many stories, the royal princess or daughter of a noble n ends up liking a young man because of a normal roast chicken they made. That is none other than the power of delicious food,¡± the Keyboard System exined.

    Zu An was stunned. He asked, ¡°What kind of data did you examine? Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s the fiction you¡¯ve read, right?¡±

    The Keyboard System didn¡¯t respond.

    Helpless to do anything else, Zu An could only look through the so-called Gourmet System. It was actually quite simple. As long as one had the recipe or personally tried a certain dish before, one could reproduce it in its most delicious state. The system also provided many basic recipes.

    The Keyboard System even considerately offered a bit ofmentary, saying, ¡°Good luck. Use your culinary skills to dominate those distinguished daughters, and win over all kinds of powerful men. This is something no other skill can achieve.¡±

    Zu An figured that made some sense. Even a special skill such as ¡®Kiss of the Goddess¡¯ could often only win over the other sex. There was no way he would use it on other men if he learned that skill, right? However, food was different. Men and women all loved food.

    Zu An¡¯s mood thus improved a bit. Strictly speaking, this was actually a pretty good new benefit.

    ¡­

    As he sorted out through his thoughts, he unwittingly walked up to the Blood Devil¡¯s floor. Compared to before, when the entire floor was covered in a bloody mist, the entire ce was extremely clean. There wasn¡¯t even a single drop of blood. Even the bloody smell waspletely gone. The blood that emerged previously had clearly already been wiped clean by the Heavenly Demon-Suppressing Great Formation.

    ¡°You deserved it!¡± Zu An remarked.

    When he recalled that battle with the Blood Devil on the lowest floor, his expression turned cold. He really wondered just how strong the Blood Devil was, since not even that formation couldpletely destroy him and could only seal him here.

    He continued up the stairs and finally arrived in front of a shining gate, the ce he had entered from. He jumped up. A mysterious and familiar energy enveloped him within, seemingly examining whether he was a devil trying to escape. A terrifying force began umting. Zu An was a bit nervous and didn¡¯t dare to move randomly. However, when the energy sensed a simr aura to its own from him, the pressure instantly loosened up.

    The world spun around him. When he regained his bearings, he discovered that he was inside Immortal Ruler Baopu¡¯s coffin. He looked down and saw that the opening he had previously entered through had already closed. He didn¡¯t know how he would get back down there if he had to in the future.

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡±

    ¡°Big brother Zu!¡±

    ¡°You damn brat!¡±

    ¡­

    Several shocked and happy voices filled the air, apanied by a sweet fragrance. When Zu An looked up, he saw that a group of incredible beauties were nervously surrounding him.

    It turned out that Chu Chuyan and the others had been guarding the entrance to the tomb passage. They had been scared that the tunnel would copse again, but since Zu An was still there, they didn¡¯t dare to leave this ce either. However, he had nevere back out, making them more and more nervous. Even Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen, who understood his strength best, found it a bit hard to sit still.

    Then, they heard a disturbance and saw him emerging from inside the coffin. All of them were surprised and overjoyed. They really wanted to leap into his arms, but after taking a few steps forward, they ended up bumping each other¡¯s shoulders. When they saw that the other women also wanted to hug him, all of them were frozen in ce, bing really embarrassed.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Immediately after, they stared at the culprit behind all the conflict with displeased expressions.

    It¡¯s all because this guy is too much of a scoundrel!

    Zu An noticed the strange atmosphere as well, and quickly forced out a mouthful of blood. The women were stunned and set aside their conflicts, rushing over to check his injuries. Chu Chuyan immediately gave Zu An some of the medicine she had prepared earlier.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. It¡¯s just a small injury. I¡¯ll be okay after a bit of rest,¡± Zu An said, chuckling with a ¡®pale¡¯plexion.

    Within a certain hidden ce, Mi Li opened her eyes and eximed, ¡°Trash!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re already coughing out blood, and yet you¡¯re still saying that it¡¯s a small injury!¡± the women remarked as they busily gave him medicine, provided him with ki, and fed him water.

    Zu An felt a bit apologetic. He said, ¡°Thank you, but I¡¯m really okay.¡±

    Apart from Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue, the other women noticed only then that all of them were at Zu An¡¯s side and really close to each other. The mood immediately became a bit awkward.

    ¡°Why are you the only one who came back out? Where is that Jing woman?¡± Yun Jianyue asked.

    This brat is always flirting with different women, but now, he must have learned his lesson, right? This big sis even has to clean up after him.

    ¡°She¡¯s seriously injured and close to death. She¡¯s currently sleeping,¡± Zu An said. After some hesitation, he still removed the pendant and told them that Jing Teng was lying there inside the jade coffin.

    The expressions of the women changed. At first, they had been feeling a bit of jealousy toward Jing Teng, but with her current condition, they actually felt sad for her.

    ¡°What exactly happened?¡± Yan Xuehen couldn''t help but ask.

    Zu An thus gave them a rough ount of what had happened in the lower floors of the great tomb. Of course, he spared them the details of his intimacy with the Jing Teng sisters.

    The women were all shaken up. They hadn¡¯t expected the lower floors of the great tomb to contain so many terrifying beings! That unspeakable individual in particr left all of them speechless.

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue had the greatest cultivations, so they were even more shaken. They had previously thought that the only one they were inferior to was Zhao Han, and that they were already among the strongest in the world. Only now did they realize how narrow-minded they had been.

    They were all curious as to just how Zu An had dealt with terrifying beings like that. Zu An didn¡¯t hide it and told them about his Keyboard Come ability. These were all the people who were closest to him, so there was no need to hide it from them.

    The entire process was full of suspense. The women knew that he had already returned safely, but they were still really nervous as they listened to his thrilling experiences. When they learned of this mysterious ability, their beautiful eyes all shone brilliantly. The stronger their lover was, the happier they became.

    Only Yan Xuehen frowned. She said, ¡°There is no way that kind of skill would have no price. Did Miss Jing be like that because she was saving you?¡± She had seen the consequences of Keyboard Come before. She had even¡­ helped him recover.

    Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°No. I just happened to have another skill that can offset the price of that skill. Unfortunately, I already used it all up to repair the Heavenly Demon-Suppressing Great Formation.¡±

    Pei Mianman said in constion, ¡°Ah Zu, you did the right thing. Otherwise, if those terrifying creatures emerged, a great tragedy would befall the people. Even though we¡¯re not from this world, we couldn¡¯t possibly just let that happen without doing anything.¡±

    Even Yun Jianyue nodded. Even though she was from the Devil Sect, she had her own beliefs and convictions. She didn¡¯t agree with thosepletely inhuman devils at all and was naturally happier to see such a result.

    ¡°Who would have thought that Miss Jing was actually a Demon-Suppressing Talisman who had existed for countless years?¡± Qiu Honglei remarked absent-mindedly. She thought about how she had bickered with Jing Teng on the way here, and yet Jing Teng had silently given up so much for the sake of the entire world. She felt a bit guilty and said, ¡°Ah Zu, you have to save her.¡±

    Zu An voiced his agreement. ¡°I¡¯ll do my best. For now, I can only keep her injuries in check. I can only look for other ways to see if I can treat her injuries.¡±

    Chu Chuyan suddenly asked, ¡°Ah Zu, could it be that you didn¡¯t¡­ use that method to save her? Miss Jing feels that way about you, so I don¡¯t think she¡¯d refuse.¡±

    Her face turned red when she said that. In the past, all of her meridians had ruptured after she used a forbidden technique. While she had felt discouraged and begun waiting for death, it was because he had used that method to warm her again and again that she was pulled back from the brink of death. Her cultivation had even reached a higher level because of it.

    ¡°What method?¡± the others asked in confusion. They looked at her curiously.

    Zu An coughed awkwardly and could only say, ¡°I already used it, but that was only enough to keep her injuries from worsening and couldn''t cure her. The level of that being¡¯s attack was too high. I¡¯m still too weak right now.¡±

    In the end, I couldn''t hide it¡­ This is so embarrassing.

    Chu Chuyan raised a brow when she heard him say that, thinking, Looks like I still underestimated this guy.

    The other women were really confused as they listened to these two speak cryptically. Xie Daoyun couldn''t help but tug on Chu Chuyan¡¯s sleeve as she asked, ¡°Big sister Chu, just what kind of incredible method is that?¡±

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue didn¡¯t join in on the conversation, but they both perked up their ears. They were also really curious.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s expression was really awkward. She said, ¡°It¡¯s not too convenient for me to tell you about that method.¡±

    ¡°You can tell me, right?¡± Pei Mianman asked, pulling her to one side. After some hesitation, Chu Chuyan whispered it into her ear.

    Qiu Honglei knew that they were bosom friends, so normally, her pride wouldn¡¯t have allowed her to butt in. However, this was rted to Zu An, so in the end, she couldn''t hold back her curiosity. She secretly shifted closer to the two of them.

    Chu Chuyan hesitated, but she thought that she couldn''t favor one and discriminate against the other. It¡¯d be bad to offend Qiu Honglei, so she decided to pull her over too and tell them both the truth.

    Soon after, the three women turned around. They stared at Zu An with reddened faces.

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Chuyan for +110 +110 +110¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Pei Mianman for +110 +110 +110¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Qiu Honglei for +110 +110 +110¡­

    I was clearly first!

    It was clearly me and Ah Zu who experienced that period of bliss in that secret dungeon. How can you steal him?

    I¡¯m so angry!

    Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen¡¯s cultivations were profound, so they could still hear it clearly even though Chu Chuyan¡¯s voice was quiet. They couldn''t help but look at Zu An with strange expressions.

    This brat was simply a human-shaped seed sower! Just how long had it been before he ended up bagging another beautiful woman?

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +110 +110 +110¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +110 +110 +110¡­

    Xie Daoyun felt a bit wronged. She thought, Why can all of them know, but you¡¯re not telling me?

    She could only ask Zu An, ¡°By the way, big brother Zu, what about that Ghost King? You didn¡¯t mention him at all.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

 Chapter 1840: Escape

    Chapter 1840: Escape

    ¡°The Ghost King? Um¡­¡± Zu An began to mutter. He didn¡¯t know how to exin it.

    ¡°Could it be that the Ghost King is still down there and is about toe out?¡± Xie Daoyun asked, startled. She quickly looked at the coffin, fearing that dark and creepy thing would rush out from within.

    I already have a bit of trauma from that scary Ghost King¡­

    ¡°No, you don¡¯t have to be scared. She won¡¯t being out from there,¡± Zu An said in constion.[1]

    ¡°Did he already die down there?¡± Qiu Honglei asked in confusion.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Not exactly¡­¡± Zu An began.

    While Zu An was trying to figure out how to word things, Yun Jianyue got impatient. She asked impatiently, ¡°Just what happened exactly? He¡¯s not alive, but he¡¯s not dead¡­ You¡¯re not going to tell me that you slept with him now, right?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes widened and he eximed, ¡°How did you know?!¡±

    The women were dumbstruck.

    Yun Jianyue was stunned. She had only been saying that randomly because there should have been no way it could have happened. And yet, this guy really ¡®did¡¯ something so inhuman?

    You even went after something like the Ghost King? Humans shouldn¡¯t be able to¡­

    The women silently moved some distance away from him. They all looked at him with weird expressions.

    ¡°No, that¡¯s not it! You¡¯re misunderstanding!¡± Zu An eximed when he saw their reactions. He quickly exined, ¡°She¡¯s currently inside Jing Teng¡¯s body.¡±

    ¡°He possessed Jing Teng?¡± Yan Xuehen asked, her thoughts running wild. That Ghost King seemed to have a skill that could suck out souls. If he had invaded Jing Teng¡¯s body, then Zu An must have thought that he was Jing Teng, and then things happened after¡­ If all of that happened because he didn¡¯t know, it was still understandable.

    When he saw that their misunderstanding was only getting worse, Zu An quickly began to exin the truth. ¡°The Ghost King¡¯s previous form was merely a reflection of the Lord of ck Mist. She¡¯s actually Jing Teng¡¯s little sister.¡±

    At first, he had felt that it was too embarrassing to tell them that he had ended up getting together with Dark Jing Teng so quickly too, but he hadn¡¯t expected their exaggerations to get that ridiculous. In that case, he figured he could just tell them the truth.

    When they heard his exnation, the women''s eyes were wide and they had their mouths open, and yet they didn¡¯t know what to say.

    In the end, Chu Chuyan muttered, ¡°You really are something.¡±

    Looks like I have to stay with him more in the future. Otherwise, at this rate, he¡¯s going to get a whole army of women.

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Chuyan for +111 +111 +111¡­

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression was cold. They had all been so scared and on edge for this guy, and yet he had actually been enjoying both sisters below and having a st.

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +111 +111 +111¡­

    Yun Jianyue patted his shoulder with a smile, remarking, ¡°Kid, you really know how to have fun, don¡¯t you?¡± Even though she was smiling, the Rage points that continued to appear in the backend gave away her real thoughts.

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +111 +111 +111¡­

    The other women also had strange expressions. They also continued to add more and more Rage points.

    Zu An also felt rather wronged. He said, ¡°I had no choice, you know?¡±

    He had actually already started to watch himself and definitely wouldn¡¯t randomly tease others. However, he couldn''t do anything if that was the path of his fate!

    Pei Mianman said while smiling sweetly, ¡°We know you had no choice, so that¡¯s why we aren¡¯t ming you.¡±

    Zu An gave her beautifully smiling eyes a look and thought, If I hadn¡¯t seen all those Rage points, I might have just believed you.

    Qiu Honglei said considerately, ¡°Indeed, this can¡¯t be med on Ah Zu. Jing Teng and the Ghost King were trying to save the world. If I were Ah Zu, I would also choose to save them.¡± Inwardly, she thought, Hmph, all of you are ming him, but I¡¯ll do the exact opposite. He¡¯ll know who¡¯s the best to him!

    Sure enough, Zu An was incredibly moved, thinking, It¡¯s still Qiu Honglei who is the most considerate.

    Yan Xuehen and the other women gave her a sidelong nce.

    Look at this green tea b*tch. Just who was it that taught you to be like this?

    Yun Jianyue raised a brow and shot a provocative look right back.

    What, you guys haveints? My good disciple, this is more like how a witch should act!

    ¡­

    While the women were fighting and scheming against each other, a terrifying rumble filled the great tomb. Rocks fell everywhere.

    The women¡¯s expressions changed. They asked, ¡°Could it be that something is wrong with the great tomb again?¡±

    Zu An was a bit confused. He said, ¡°This great tomb¡¯s seal should be incredibly sturdy. There shouldn¡¯t be any problems with it.¡±

    He suddenly realized something after sensing Jing Teng¡¯s divine will telling him a certain thing, and he quickly said, ¡°We need to hurry and leave. This great tomb is about to close.¡±

    The great tomb had always been sealed for thousands upon thousands of years. It had only opened up for a short time because of special circumstances. Now that the Heavenly Demon-Suppressing Great Formation had been repaired and was in full operation again, there was naturally no need for it to be opened again.

    When they heard what he said, the others didn¡¯t dare to show any carelessness. They all ran toward the exit. ording to what the people of this world had said, this great tomb would take a hundred years before it would open up again at the earliest, or even a thousand years on the longer side. They definitely didn¡¯t want to be locked up inside for all that time.

    The group quickly left. Whenever they encountered other people, Zu An immediately warned them to leave as quickly as possible. There were some who did realize that something was wrong and also ran out. However, others thought that he was lying to them and trying to get them to leave so there were fewerpetitors for the treasure. They only cursed him endlessly. They felt that the rumbling of the great tomb signified the appearance of a great treasure, so they rushed in with even greater excitement.

    As the saying went, If you don¡¯t want good advice, you deserve the consequences. Zu An¡¯s group naturally wouldn¡¯t try to save them like saints. They continued to flee the tomb.

    Zu An hurried toward the direction they had entered from because he wanted to bring away the unconscious Wei Suo. He had asked Dark Jing Teng about him before, and she had told him that back then, she hadn¡¯t taken Wei Suo¡¯s life. It wasn¡¯t because she had deliberately spared him, but rather that she had felt that leaving him alive could be of some other use.

    However, who would have thought that he had actually disappeared? Zu An didn¡¯t know if he had woken up and left himself, or if he had been taken away by this great tomb¡¯s monsters. After searching for a while, he didn¡¯t find anything.

    More and more areas around them were caving in. He could see that the lighting from the tomb entrance in the distance was getting smaller and smaller. It turned out that the door was already closing! Zu An didn¡¯t dare to waste any time. He could only silently pray for Wei Suo. He took the women with him and rushed toward the entrance like a streak of lightning.

    The people nearby finally began to react to what was happening. They also ran while screaming for their lives.

    However, that door was closing faster and faster, and they couldn''t catch up in time. As such, they began to attack the people around them. If they couldn''t escape, none of these others could think of getting out either!

    Zu An¡¯s group encountered quite a few attacks along the way as well. Helpless to do anything else, they could only retaliate. They didn¡¯t hold back while doing so. Still, even though their cultivation was enough to crush these people, their speed was still more or less affected a bit. Coupled with the fact that there were too many people who were trying to leave at once, crowding the path, they discovered that they couldn''t keep up with the rate at which the door was closing either.

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed and he set aside his reservations. He spread out his arms, took all of the women into his arms, and shouted, ¡°Make sure to grab onto each other!¡±

    Then, he continued to use Grandgale again and again, using its instant movement repeatedly. After using it seven or eight times, they finally rushed out a second before the gate closed.

    When they turned around again, their expressions changed. Once the gate closed, the entire great tomb began to sink, forming a terrifying whirlpool. The surrounding trees and animals were all sucked in.

    Zu An didn¡¯t dare to linger. He continued to run. Suddenly, he sensed that his body was lighter, and his spiritual energy was recovering quickly too. Wave after wave of natural ki continued to enter his body. He knew that the others were using their own methods to help him.

    Just like that, they continued to flee for dozens of kilometers before that terrifying energy started to disappear. They all sat down weakly on the ground. Even though Zu An was already much stronger than he had been in the past, carrying so many people and continuously using an instant movement skill still left him extremely drained.

    Chu Chuyan took out a handkerchief and wiped at his sweat. At the same time, she took out a bottle of spiritual water and brought it up to his lips, saying, ¡°Ah Zu, this is the White Jade Sect¡¯s Rose Cleardew. It¡¯s really helpful for recovering spiritual energy.¡±

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Zu An said. As he drank from the bottle, he felt a sweet and refreshing feeling enter his mouth. His spiritual energy immediately improved.

    Chu Chuyan then asked quietly, ¡°Can you let go of my master now?¡±

    Zu An was surprised. He quickly looked toward either side and saw that he had Yun Jianyue in his left arm and Yan Xuehen in his right. They were tightly holding onto the others. After all, no matter how long Zu An¡¯s arms were, there was no way he could hold six women on his own. They looked at him with strange expressions.

    Yun Jianyue asked with an ambiguous smile, ¡°How does it feel to hold Sect Master Yan? Who knows how many men there are in this world who have dreamt of this experience but won¡¯t ever be able to enjoy it, and yet you¡¯ve already hugged her for so long. If those people knew, they could very well just kill you out of jealousy.¡±

    Chu Chuyan gave her master a confused look. Her master had never let another man touch her body! Why was she not getting upset even after such a long time?

    A trace of redness shed across Yan Xuehen¡¯s face. She stood up and said, ¡°There are plenty of people who want to hug Sect Master Yun. Likewise, not a single one has seeded.¡±

    Yun Jianyue cried out pitifully, ¡°Even so, who was it that made those stinky men favor your immortal fairy act? In contrast, this humble one is constantly being cursed at.¡±

    When he sensed that the two were about to argue, Zu An quickly exined, ¡°Earlier, that was only because the situation was urgent. I just grabbed the ones who were closest and didn¡¯t expect to have offended the two seniors. I hope you can forgive me.¡±

    ¡°Seniors?¡± Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen¡¯s eyes both narrowed. They had exchanged sweet words in private, and yet in public, he was calling them seniors?

    However, they knew that with their status in the world, as well as their status as Honglei and Chuyan¡¯s masters, he had to call them senior. They felt even more depressed when they realized that.

    Zu An was getting a headache too. He could sense a strange atmosphere in the air. He definitely couldn''t bring all these women with him when he went out in the future.

    With three monks, there¡¯s no water left to drink¡­

    Qiu Honglei moved closer to Zu An, as if she weren¡¯t scared of the entire world falling into chaos. She asked quietly, ¡°So? Between my master and Sect Master Yan, which one felt better to hug?¡±

    Even though she kept her voice soft, Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue¡¯s cultivations were incredibly powerful. They both perked up their ears and waited for his answer.

    Zu An felt all of his fine hairs stand on end. While he was at a loss for what to say, however, a terrifying energy spread over from the distance. Then, someone fell rapidly in their direction.

    ¡°Libationer?¡± When they saw that person¡¯s appearance, the whole group¡¯s expressions changed slightly.

    1. Reminder, he and she in Chinese sound the same phically. ?

 Chapter 1841: New Master

    Chapter 1841: New Master

    The figure appeared to have been sent flying after being hit by a massive de, and it came crashing down like a missile, smashing open a huge crater in the ground. It was so fast that no one could react in time.

    ¡°Libationer!¡± Xie Daoyun eximed as she quickly lifted her dress and ran over. She was an academy disciple, so the libationer was an extraordinary person to her.

    Zu An and the others hurried over as well. They saw that the clothes on the libationer¡¯s chest were covered in blood and his hair was disheveled. His beard also had blood on it. His eyes were a bit turbid. Right now, he looked like an elder with one foot in the grave, and no longer had his usual carefree and transcendent bearing.

    ¡°Libationer, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Zu An quickly asked.

    The libationer opened his eyes. There was a hint of shock in his eyes when he saw them. He quickly said, ¡°You should hurry and leave. The emperor ising.¡±

    Zu An felt a weight fall in his mind. He asked, ¡°Was it Zhao Han who hurt you like this?¡±

    Yan Xuehen already took her fingers away from his wrist. She shook her head slightly toward the others, confirming that the libationer¡¯s life force was already severed. He was only hanging on by a single breath.

    Xie Daoyun was filled with grief. She couldn''t help but sob.

    When he saw that, the libationer consoled her. ¡°Little Daoyun, there is no need for you to cry. All people die, and my time is near as well. It isn¡¯t anything to grieve over.¡±

    Xie Daoyun didn¡¯t want to trouble him further and tried her best to stop crying. However, a stream of tears continued to fall down her cheeks.

    The libationer sighed. He looked at Zu An and said, ¡°That¡¯s right. I thought I would be able to drag Zhao Han down with me, but I didn¡¯t expect his cultivation to have made even more progress. Sigh, it¡¯s all my fault for having too many interests and getting too distracted. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t have ended up in my current state. It seems that everything was already decided by fate.¡±

    The others were shocked. Zhao Han had made another breakthrough? How was that possible?!

    Suddenly, however, they realized something. Previously, Zhao Han had been trapped at the earth immortal rank and remained unsure about the road ahead. However, not too long before, he had witnessed Immortal Ruler Baopu¡¯s strength and seen a new direction. For a cultivation genius like him, that could well be more useful than any miraculous elixir.

    Furthermore, the origin power of this world seemed to be a bit stronger than their previous one, and the natural ki was more abundant. Perhaps there really had been a chance for Zhao Han to make a breakthrough here.

    Zu An was actually thinking about something else. He had visited the academy¡¯s rear mountain. The libationer¡¯s disciples all studied different fields, yet they all carried utmost respect for the libationer. Those fields were probably where the libationer¡¯s attention had been spread.

    Meanwhile, Zu An had just obtained the Baopu Sutra, which had music, divination, rituals, talismans, formations, pill-making, and artifact forging; every single field was wide-ranging and profound. Could it be that Immortal Ruler Baopu had also spent too much time in different fields and experienced a simr end as the libationer?

    The libationer was already quite formidable, but he couldn''t defeat Zhao Han, who had focused only on cultivation. Now that he had experienced today¡¯s situation, it was already toote for regrets.

    Suddenly, a golden figure quickly approached from afar, saying, ¡°Hahaha, libationer, I have to thank you for being a formidable opponent, thus granting me the insight needed for a breakthrough. Once I have a chance to digest these insights, I might be able to face tribtion and advance again.¡±

    That familiar aura was unmistakably Zhao Han.

    The libationer¡¯s expression changed. He quickly said to Zu An, ¡°There is one matter that I wish to entrust to you.¡±

    ¡°Please speak, libationer!¡± Zu An said gravely. It was all thanks to the libationer¡¯s testimony that he had been cleared of suspicion in the scandal with Bi Linglong. Later, when he paid the Royal Academy a visit, the libationer had treated him quite well too. He naturally had to repay this kindness.

    Zhao Han was already in the sky above them. When he saw Zu An¡¯s group, he was first stunned, then overjoyed. ¡°Haha! Truly, you can wear out iron shoes in a fruitless search, only toter find what you¡¯re looking for without any effort at all. Now that all of you are together, it saves me the time of searching for you.¡±

    ¡°I will buy you all a bit of time,¡± Yan Xuehen said gravely. After saying that, she drew her Snowke Sword and faced Zhao Han.

    The libationer had just saved her life a few days prior. Now, she was forced to watch as he died. Not even she who cultivated the Unshakable Daoist Manual could restrain the anger boiling within her.

    ¡°Yan Xuehen, are you really going to court death like this? Do you not care about the White Jade Sect anymore?¡± Zhao Han asked, glowering. He had admired this woman in the past. Seeing her point her de at him really didn¡¯t make him feel that happy.

    Yan Xuehen said indifferently, ¡°If we have to fight, then so be it. What¡¯s the point of wasting so much time with words?¡±

    Zhao Han sneered. ¡°I have always had tender and protective feelings for women, but do you really think you are that strong?¡± He sent a fist flying toward her right after.

    Snowkes flew all around Yan Xuehen. She charged toward Zhao Han while wrapped within a storm of ice and snow. She wasn¡¯t actingpletely recklessly, though. Rather, she had seen that the libationer was already in an extremely poor state, so Zhao Han¡¯s injuries wouldn¡¯t be too light either. She was at her strongest right now, so she thought she could have a chance.

    Sure enough, even though she was knocked flying as soon as they shed, she became more confident. Even though she was at a disadvantage, the difference wasn¡¯t to the extent that she would feel despair.

    Her hands formed a seal, and all kinds of skills flew out. A miraculous sword technique manifested, and her white figure suddenly seemed to be everywhere.

    ¡°Just some trifling skills!¡± Zhao Han harrumphed, sending a fist at one of the figures. Yan Xuehen¡¯s body trembled, and she was struck flying again.

    A hint of viciousness shed across Zhao Han¡¯s face. If he couldn''t obtain this woman, he couldn''t let anyone else obtain her either.

    He had just fought a great battle against the libationer. Even though he had gained some insights towards a breakthrough, his injuries weren¡¯t light either. These people still posed a threat against him. As such, he nned to get rid of the ones with the highest cultivation first, and then he could slowly deal with the others.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s sword had been struck by that fist. The tremendous force that was transmitted back to her made it so that she couldn''t even catch her breath. She could only watch as Zhao Han¡¯s fist grew closer and closer.

    Just then, a trace of moonlight flickered. Zhao Han had to retract his fist to protect himself. Then, he looked at the long-haired beauty facing him with a vicious expression.

    Yun Jianyue controlled the Crescent Ring with her fingertips as she remarked with a grin, ¡°Stone cold woman, how are you going to thank me for saving your life?¡±

    Yan Xuehen harrumphed. ¡°I never asked for your help.¡±

    Either way, that guy wouldn¡¯t have just stood there without doing anything if you didn¡¯t help.

    ¡°As expected of an ice-cold woman who forgets favors and vites justice,¡± Yun Jianyue taunted her, although her attention was stillpletely on Zhao Han.

    Previously, when they fought against the Ghost King, his soul-sucking demonic voice had prevented powerful cultivators like them from interfering. They could only defend passively. However, things were different against Zhao Han. They at least had a fighting chance.

    Zhao Han frowned. Weren¡¯t these two¡¯s cultivations increasing a bit too quickly? Back then, when Yun Jianyue invaded the Imperial Pce, he hadn¡¯t even needed to face her personally. Just a single p had been enough to send her away. And yet, just how much time had passed for her to already be at the doorstep of the earth immortal rank?

    There was also Yan Xuehen. As she often traveled the world while representing the White Jade Sect, the Embroidery House had a clear analysis of her strength. Why had she advanced at such a ridiculous pace too? Could it be that they had both made use of some immortal elixir?

    ¡°Everyone in the world knows that you are sworn enemies, and yet you¡¯re fighting together side by side. This is actually quite an honor for this emperor,¡± Zhao Han said with augh. Now that he already had hope of advancing further, his mood was quite good.

    Yun Jianyue chuckled and replied, ¡°Your majesty, the man who made us work together wasn¡¯t you, though.¡±

    Yan Xuehen shot her a guilty re. What kind of nonsense was this woman saying in front of their disciples?!

    Even though she secretly snuck Zu An a look, that small movement didn¡¯t escape Zhao Han¡¯s detection. When he saw her reveal an unprecedented hint of shyness, Zhao Han was stunned at first, and then his expression darkened. The untainted and aloof goddess actually had secr thoughts! Furthermore, it was toward a shameless bastard he looked down on.

    If she really didn¡¯t discriminate between anyone and she was fully dedicated to cultivation, not liking any man, he wouldn¡¯t really mind it either. However, now that he had seen another man win, it felt worse than if he were to suffer a loss inbat.

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Han for +444 +444 +444¡­

    ¡°In that case, then, I¡¯ll teach you who the strongest man in this world is,¡± Zhao Han said, brandishing his fists in fury. They immediately turned into two streaks of light that attacked the two women.

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue didn¡¯t dare to hesitate. They both faced their opponent with their full concentration.

    ¡­

    Zu An watched the battle situation while asking the libationer nervously, ¡°What does your respected self want to tell me?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve probably heard the reason why I went against Zhao Han on Violet Mountain before, right?¡± the libationer asked. When he saw the two women¡¯s performance and Zu An¡¯s nervous expression, he suddenly thought of something and smiled.

    ¡°It was because of the Meng Dynasty, and the previous dynasty¡¯s¡­ empress?¡± Zu An replied in an unsure manner.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to mince words with me,¡± the libationer said with a chuckle. ¡°That Meng Dynasty is already nothing more than smoke of the past. The only one I care about is her.¡±

    Zu An thought, The libationer really is the ultimate simp¡­ He liked his brother¡¯s wife, and he even earnestly schemed for his sister-inw and love rival¡¯s descendant.

    The libationer said, ¡°in the past, her descendants were harmed terribly by the Zhao n, but I then heard that there was a lesser eunuch who had a premonition and secretly switched out one of the imperial grandsons, bringing the real one outside the pce. That imperial grandson was left to wander destitute. His age would actually be about the same as yours now, so I hope you can find him and tell him everything, then have him shoulder the responsibility he ought to have.¡±

    Zu An frowned and said, ¡°The world is so big, I might not be able to find him.¡± Of course, he could have just agreed to it, but he was grateful for the kindness this man showed him and didn¡¯t want to willfully deceive him.

    The libationer removed his thumb ring and said, ¡°Take this and enter my residence in the academy¡¯s rear mountain. Find that old servant of mine; he will tell you the rted clues. The only thing I am worried about is that the imperial grandson might not choose to bear that responsibility once you find him.¡±

    Zu An patted his chest and said, ¡°Libationer, don¡¯t worry. There are so many people who gave up their entire life for him, so what right does he have to refuse? If he refuses, I¡¯ll just beat him until he agrees.¡±

    The libationer nodded in appreciation, saying, ¡°I feel more relieved now that I¡¯ve heard that.¡±

    Zu An suddenly frowned. And asked, ¡°That imperial grandson you¡¯re talking about isn¡¯t me¡­ right?¡± No matter how he looked at it, this old fox appeared to be setting him up.

    The libationer chuckled and replied, ¡°Your imagination is a bit too abundant, no? If it were you, I would have just told you directly. Why would I need to go through such a loophole?¡±

    Zu An figured that made sense as well.

    The libationer continued and said, ¡°Daoyun, please serve as a witness. From today forth, he is the academy¡¯s new libationer.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Forget about Xie Daoyun, even Zu An was stunned.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

 Chapter 1842: United Against the Enemy

    Chapter 1842: United Against the Enemy

    ¡°That is absolutely inappropriate! How could I be the libationer?¡± Zu An eximed, quickly waving his hands in refusal. He just felt that the request was a bit too absurd.

    ¡°Why not?¡± the libationer replied. ¡°All of those disciples of mine admired you a lot when you went to the academy¡¯s rear mountain.¡±

    Zu An felt a headacheing on as he said, ¡°That was nothing more than a few bold and unconstrained ideas. My real skills in those domains are far from those masters. Besides, I¡¯m still so young, so how could they possibly ept someone like me?¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Whether in cultivation or studies, it¡¯s always the skilled whoe first. When have we ever cared about age? If that were the case, I might as well have found some old geezers to take this role,¡± the libationer said impatiently.

    ¡°No way, no way. I have too many things to do and might not be qualified for this task. I must ask the libationer to please find someone better than me,¡± Zu An said. He didn¡¯t want to receive this hot potato.

    However, who would have thought that the libationer¡¯s eyes wouldnd on his finger? He told Zu An, ¡°You already received the ring that represents the status of the libationer, so you can¡¯t back out anymore.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. This old fox is really screwing me over here!

    He quickly tried to take off the ring, but the libationer sighed and asked, ¡°Do you think I have the time to look for another sessor at this point? I can¡¯t just give it to Little Daoyun, right?¡±

    Zu An knew he was speaking the truth. Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue both had their own respective factions, and Pei Mianman had no rtionship with the academy.

    Xie Daoyun was Sir Yan¡¯s disciple. If she became the libationer, what would her rtionship with her master be like? Besides, she wasn¡¯t strong enough. Putting her in that position would only be harming her.

    The libationer then said, ¡°If you have no wish to be the libationer, just help me find a more suitable inheritor and pass it on. Could it be that you cannot even agree to myst dying request?¡±

    Xie Daoyun also said, ¡°Exactly, big brother Zu. Just agree to the libationer¡¯s request so he won¡¯t leave this world with regrets.¡± Inwardly, however, she thought, If big brother Zu became the libationer, wouldn¡¯t we be able to meet each other even more often?

    When he saw the libationer¡¯s eager expression, Zu An¡¯s heart softened and he said, ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll help senior take care of this ring for now. However, I¡¯ll definitely find a more suitable sessor once I leave.¡±

    When he saw that Zu An had agreed to take on this responsibility, a big smile appeared on the libationer¡¯s face and his expression grew more turbid. He muttered a few words, some iprehensible.

    ¡°...graceful and poised, like the light clouds veiling the moon, drifting and free, like the gentle breeze ying with snow¡­¡±

    Zu An only heard a single line clearly. He knew that the libationer was likely reminiscing about the sweetheart of his dreams as hisst memory. He couldn''t help but feel a bit sad.

    ¡°Libationer!¡± Xie Daoyun sobbed, because the libationer had already passed.

    ¡­

    While the libationer was speaking to Zu An, however, the battle on the other side hadn¡¯t stopped.

    A streak of red light flew backward, crashing into the mountainside and causing the whole mountain to quake. Showers of rubble fell as a huge crater appeared in the mountainside.

    ¡°I let you get awayst time, but I won¡¯t give you the chance this time,¡± a voice called out as a streak of light chased after that figure. It was about tond the killing blow when a flurry of snowkes flew over like arrows.

    Zhao Han released a cold snort. His entire body surged with golden light, and the sharp snowkes immediately melted.

    Suddenly, a white figure rushed over and blocked his path. Sword radiance erupted and shed with that golden light, causing Zhao Han to retreat by more than a hundred meters. Qiu Honglei quickly used that chance to rescue Yun Jianyue.

    Yan Xuehen was gasping for air, but she looked at Yun Jianyue and said, ¡°Witch, I¡¯ve saved you once too, so we¡¯re now even.¡±

    Yun Jianyue harrumphed. ¡°It was clearly my precious disciple who saved me.¡± Despite what she said, she still secretly acknowledged the favor.

    ¡°Your skills are quite ingenious, but all this is meaningless before absolute strength,¡± Zhao Han said with a look of displeasure. These women were even starting to act like sisters in front of him now!

    ¡°There is a difference, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s quite at the point of being insurmountable,¡± Yun Jianyue said as she rubbed her arm, which was shaking a bit.

    After they shed, her body had been sent flying extremely quickly, butpared to their previous fight where she was struck flying from their first meeting, this current situation actually filled her with confidence.

    She said to Yan Xuehen, ¡°Stone cold woman, don¡¯t die on me now.¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression was cold as she replied, ¡°I won¡¯t die even if you die.¡±

    As they spoke, both of their auras grew stronger and stronger. Everything within a hundred meters around Yan Xuehen became a world of ice and snow, while a sea of blood erupted around Yun Jianyue, protecting her within.

    Zhao Han frowned slightly. He normally could have easily defeated the two of them, and yet today, the libationer¡¯s retaliation had left him seriously injured. He was actually going back and forth with them right now; how humiliating!

    However, an earth immortal¡¯s regenerative ability was incredible, so he didn¡¯t really mind ying around with the two of them for a bit.

    ¡°You dare to show off such low-level domain power here? I¡¯ll give the two of you onest chance. Surrender to this emperor and I can forget what happened so far. Otherwise, only death awaits the two of you,¡± Zhao Han said, looking at the twodies with a vicious gaze.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression remained cold. Yun Jianyue remarked with a sneer, ¡°When did your majesty suddenly be so agreeable? Could it be that your injuries are so serious that you have to work hard with your mouth?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re courting death!¡± Zhao Han snapped furiously. The golden light around his body turned into several golden dragons that bombarded the two women.

    The sea of blood around Yun Jianyue immediately surged and devoured one of the golden dragons. Even so, that dragon roared continuously and struggled frantically. The sea of blood moved around, clearly having a hard time keeping it under control.

    Suddenly, a trace of moonlight shone. A crescent moon-like de shed past, beheading the dragon. The entire golden dragon trembled, then scattered.

    However, Yun Jianyue didn¡¯t have any time to feel happy about that, because two more golden dragons rushed at her.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression changed, and her long hair began to dance in the air. The Empress Lantern rose straight into the air, shining its light on the two dragons. The golden dragons¡¯ movements clearly slowed down.

    Meanwhile, Yan Xuehen¡¯s situation was about the same. She had just used the Snowke Sword to st a golden dragon to pieces, but two more attacked her. A jade pendant around her neck shone, and several runes flew out. A formation materialized around her, barely managing to stop those two golden dragons.

    Even though all of it seemed like a lot, those events actually took ce in the time it takes for sparks to fly off a flint.

    Just then, a ck butterfly appeared around Zhao Han¡¯s side, and a toothpick-like object fired out from its location. That toothpick grewrger andrger, eventually bing an incredibly sharp streak of sword energy. Then, it split into thousands of figures and instantly devoured his body.

    Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen seized the chance to kill the golden dragons while they were weakened, then looked up at the incredibly sharp sword energy.

    Could it be that Ah Zu joined the fight?

    However, they immediately dismissed that suspicion. The streak of sword energy was entirely different from Zu An¡¯s, but its power was extraordinary. If they were hit by it while caught off guard, even they would be seriously injured.

    ¡°It seems to be the missing Xiao Yao¡¯s[1] sword intent,¡± Yan Xuehen said with a pensive expression.

    When the sword shadow disappeared, Zhao Han reappeared. There wasn¡¯t any trace of injury on his body.

    Ding!

    A sharp and clear sound rang out as a jade pendant at his waist shattered. It was clear that the pendant had helped him block that attack.

    He frowned and looked at the red-and-ck-d woman in the distance, asking, ¡°Where did you get that butterfly from?¡± The sword intent was one thing, but that butterfly had been full of deathly energy. Even now, he still felt a bit of apprehension.

    Pei Mianman cried out in disappointment. Xiao Yao had gifted her with a small toothpick sword to protect herself, containing a single full-powered strike from him. Normally, she absolutely wouldn¡¯t have hoped for it to be able to defeat Zhao Han, but he was seriously injured right now. He had also been fully focused on Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen, so she had decided to give it a try. At the same time, she had used the power of the Paramita Butterfly Immortal Ruler Baopu had given her. She hadn¡¯t expected to not even be able to break through his body-protecting treasures with all that!

    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to reply, then you can just die!¡± Zhao Han snapped. His figure flickered, and he instantly reappeared at Pei Mianman¡¯s side. His massive fist instantly closed in on her face. He was extremely fast, and with the difference in strength between them, Pei Mianman couldn''t evade at all.

    ¡°I¡¯m done for!¡± Pei Mianman cried, her whole body turning ice-cold. This wasn¡¯t a battle she could interfere in at all.

    Suddenly, she vanished from her original position. Standing in her ce was a sparkling pure-white lotus.

    Boom!

    Zhao Han¡¯s fist smashed into that lotus, which then exploded. Ayer of frost covered his body.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Zhao Han looked at the blue-d woman across from him with shock. Why was the cold intent behind her attack even stronger than her master¡¯s?

    ¡°Thank you, Chuyan,¡± Pei Mianman said, still feeling some lingering fear.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s expression was grave. Earlier, she had used the Pure World Icelotus to swap its position with Pei Mianman. The slightest mistake would have resulted in failure.

    Zhao Han turned into a streak of golden light and attacked the twodies. However, a wall of light appeared in front of the two of them, which was Qiu Honglei¡¯s Wall of Sighs. Unfortunately, it copsed upon contact with Zhao Han¡¯s fist; but just then, antern ignited.

    Zhao Han sneered. He knew that the original Empress Lantern was with Yun Jianyue, so how could this counterfeit possibly affect him?

    However, a secondter, his expression froze. He discovered that under the effects of that light, he really was slower!

    That moment of absentmindedness was enough for Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen to arrive in front of the three of them. They said, ¡°Hurry and withdraw. This isn¡¯t a battle you can participate in!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s toote!¡± Zhao Han retorted with a snort. Even though he didn¡¯t move, Chu Chuyan and the other two youngdies suddenly sensed arge hand reaching for them.

    1. The libationer¡¯s third disciple, Drunken Sword Immortal ?

 Chapter 1843: Death to End All Troubles

    Chapter 1843: Death to End All Troubles

    Chu Chuyan and the others¡¯ expressions changed. They wanted to run away, but therge golden hands seemed to envelop them like an invisible force field, making it hard for them to even breathe, let alone move. They finally understood that before a difference of absolute strength, fancy techniques were meaningless. They really wondered just how Ah Zu was able to fight against beings like this for so long.

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue also wanted to save them, but it was already toote. They could only watch as the pair of hands crashed down on the others. They only felt despair.

    Suddenly, however, a trace of frigid light flew over like a fieryet, smashing into the great golden hands. The hands that had seemed like heaven¡¯s judgment actually exploded on the spot! Only then did Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen quickly use the chance to bring the other women away.

    Zhao Han didn¡¯t chase after them; instead, he looked in the opposite direction in shock. Zu An was standing there with a huge bow in his hands. The bow had all kinds of mysterious and profound runes on it, and it seemed to carry an ancient and bleak aura. He could feel the devastating power contained within that bow even from far away.

    ¡°Fiend Emperor¡¯s Sun ying Bow!¡± Zhao Han eximed, his eyes narrowing and his expression turning grave.

    This guy had actually ended up getting his hands on the Fiend Emperor¡¯s Sun ying Bow?! The Sun ying Bow was the symbol of the sessive Fiend Emperors. The fact that he was able to be the Regent of the Fiend Races had already left people taken aback, and yet now, he even had the Sun ying Bow! What else remained of the Fiend Emperor¡¯s possessions that Zu An hadn¡¯t received?

    ¡°Your majesty has sharp insight, as expected. Why don¡¯t we talk things over and stop all this?¡± Zu An asked. While listening to the libationer¡¯sst words, he had also been watching the battle on this side. That was why he had been able to act promptly when Chu Chuyan and the others were in danger.

    Zhao Han gave the libationer behind Zu An a look and could tell that he was alreadypletely dead. He couldn''t help but sigh and say, ¡°I suppose. Hand over the Baopu Sutra and this emperor can spare your lives.¡±

    Zu An asked, acting stunned, ¡°Didn¡¯t your majesty already take the Baopu Sutra?¡±

    A hint of embarrassment shed across Zhao Han¡¯s face as he replied, ¡°That book was fake. This emperor was fooled!¡±

    He thought about how carefully he had read it, as if it hid the secrets of the universe, and he had even tried all kinds of methods to decode it. However, once he cooled his head, he gradually realized that it wasn¡¯t the true Baopu Sutra. It was nothing more than a book on ruling a nation. No wonder that woman Jing Teng had been so calm when he took it.

    ¡°It isn¡¯t that I don¡¯t want to give it, but rather that the Baopu Sutra is with Miss Jing. She¡¯s already in the great tomb, so your majesty can head to the great tomb for it yourself,¡± Zu An replied.

    The other women had strange expressions. This guy¡¯s lips really are meant for lying.

    Zhao Han sneered and retorted, ¡°You want to lie to this emperor? That great tomb has clearly already disappeared.¡± He had been fighting intensely against the libationer, but the disappearance of the great tomb had just created too great of a disturbance. There was no way he wouldn¡¯t notice it.

    Zu An sighed and asked, ¡°Since your majesty knows that the great tomb has already disappeared, where would I go to find a Baopu Sutra?¡±

    Zhao Han stared at him and said, ¡°You and that woman were so close, she definitely has to have given you the Baopu Sutra.¡±

    ¡°She only did that to fool the Ghost King; the Baopu Sutra is precious. Why would she possibly give it to me?¡± Zu An replied with a sincere expression.

    ¡°Heh.¡± Zhao Han¡¯s gaze swept over Chu Chuyan¡¯s group as he said, ¡°I might have believed that if it were someone else, but your skill in getting women is too brilliant. That Jing Teng is probably already devoted to you. Who else would she give the Baopu Sutra to, if not you?¡±

    When his eyes swept over her, even Yan Xuehen couldn''t help but blush. Even though they were enemies, the women couldn''t help but feel a kind of mutual sympathy. This damn emperor really understands Zu An too well.

    Zu An¡¯s face heated up. He had already tried his best to hide it, but he hadn¡¯t expected to be unable to in the end.

    When he saw Zu An remain silent, Zhao Han shouted, ¡°What, could it be that you would sacrifice the lives of so many women for the sake of a trifling book?¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    If it were him, all of these women added together wouldn¡¯t even be as important as that book. However, this kid Zu An was different from other cultivators. He didn¡¯t think of cultivation as the most important thing, and instead clung to senseless romance. There was no way he would abandon these women.

    However, Zu An had a strange expression as he retorted, ¡°Just where did your majesty get so much confidence? Do you believe you can still use their lives to threaten me in this kind of situation?¡±

    ¡°Oh? Do you truly believe that just because this emperor is injured, all of you added together have the qualifications to properly face me?¡± Zhao Han replied, raising a brow. He spread out his arms, and a jade ruler¡¯s seal appeared in his palm. He tossed it toward the air above the women, calling out, ¡°Go!¡±

    The jade seal grewrger andrger. Eventually, it crashed down on the girls like a meteor.

    Divine Weapon: Human Emperor Seal!

    Even before the attack arrived, the powerful and boundless intent of the emperor had already spread out in all directions.

    If the emperor¡¯snd was beneath the heavens, they were all the ruler¡¯s subjects.

    The entire ce seemed to have been sealed and impossible to escape. The women could only watch as the Human Emperor Seal crashed down, awaiting the emperor¡¯s ruling. Yan Xuehen¡¯s Snowke Sword, Yun Jianyue¡¯s Crescent Ring¡­ Their weapons were all shaking and trembling. It was clear that they couldn''t hold on against the might of a divine weapon.

    Suddenly, a streak of sword radiance shed past. A dignified ki field suddenly descended from midair, weakening the emperor¡¯s intent. When the women looked up, they saw that it was Zu An¡¯s Tai¡¯e Sword.

    The Tai¡¯e Sword quickly shed with the Human Emperor Seal. The two weapons struck each other back and forth in midair. It was hard to tell which one woulde out on top.

    Zhao Han eximed in surprise, ¡°Hm? You haven''t even reached the grandmaster rank, so why are you able to control a sword with your soul?¡±

    Zu An thought, Why would I tell you that there¡¯s a living person inside of my sword?

    Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen exchanged a look. They ordered their disciples to stay a bit farther away while starting to attack Zhao Han again. They said, ¡°Ah Zu, we¡¯ll stall him. Use the Sun ying Bow and strike when there¡¯s an opportunity!¡±

    At the moment, Zhao Han was held up by a divine weapon. The two of them had experienced the Xia Dynasty¡¯s secret dungeon and gained a lot of insights from that experience. They were already at the very peak of grandmaster rank and only a single step from the earth immortal rank. If they worked together, holding up a seriously wounded Zhao Han wasn¡¯t too difficult.

    Zu An could thus prepare the bow and wait for an opportunity to deliver a lethal blow to Zhao Han. Even if he never fired it, just the fact that the threat was there would keep Zhao Han in check.

    When he saw two powerful lights flicker near him, as if they weren¡¯t going to hold anything back anymore, Zhao Han remarked with a mocking expression, ¡°You¡¯re going to hold me down?¡± As soon as he said that, he vanished. A secondter, he appeared behind Zu An. His fingers formed a w and struck at the middle of Zu An¡¯s back.

    The Sun ying Bow was indeed a divine weapon, but it was still a bow, so it was stronger the farther away its user was. It didn¡¯t excel at closebat. Zhao Han knew that Zu An¡¯s true expertisey in the sword, and that he had a divine sword; that was why he had deliberately used the Human Emperor Seal to draw away that weapon.

    Sure enough, in order to save those women, Zu An had used the Tai¡¯e Sword to stop the Human Emperor Seal. Meanwhile, now he only had a bow that wasn¡¯t good at closebat. He was but a swordsman without his sword.

    When he saw Zu An fall into his plot step by step, Zhao Han grinned. He hadn¡¯t been the strongest in the world from the start and had to grow to this level. His fighting experience and strategy were also first-rate.

    However, a secondter, his smile froze, because Zu An vanished from before his eyes and appeared a hundred meters away.

    ¡°A spatial-type instant movement skill? Unfortunately, it¡¯s meaningless before me,¡± Zhao Han said with a snort. He took a step, and appeared in front of Zu An again.

    Zu An used Grandgale again, and Zhao Han also crossed over space. The two chased after each other, both turning out to be surprisingly evenly matched.

    Chu Chuyan and the other women had worried expressions. They knew that Zu An had the Grandgale skill, but they also knew that there was a cooldown with each use, and that it couldn''t be used continuously forever. If this continued, he would eventually be on the losing end.

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue were more decisive. They rushed over to help Zu An. Zhao Han was injured, after all. Crossing through space wouldn¡¯t be as easy for him as it was normally. The two women soon found a chance to stop him for an instant. As soon as they were struck flying, Zu An already made a bowstring-drawing motion and condensed a formless arrow. As soon as he released the bow, the arrow instantly appeared in front of Zhao Han a momentter. It even locked down the space around him, preventing him from escaping.

    This was the power of the divine weapon, the Sun ying Bow!

    Helpless to do anything else, Zhao Han could only face it directly. A fist smashed down on that arrow. A burst of light shed, and the arrow condensed from nothingness vanished; however, Zhao Han¡¯s figure also staggered, hisplexion pale.

    He sneered and remarked, ¡°You have a Sun ying Bow but no Sun ying Arrows. How could you hope to injure this emperor?¡±

    Despite what he said, he knew that even though he wouldn¡¯t fear such an attack at his peak, in his current state, this Sun ying Bow still posed a certain degree of threat. If he allowed Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue to hold him back from the front while this little bastard Zu An continued to fire vicious arrows from behind, things would be really troublesome for him in the long run.

    When he realized that, he thought of something. He took a step and moved over to Chu Chuyan¡¯s group. A pair ofrge hands grabbed at them.

    Brat, you might have your instant movement skill to dodge, but I refuse to believe that these women have one too!

    As long as he could use them as hostages, he would have Zu An, Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehenpletely in check.

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue¡¯s expressions instantly changed. Zhao Han couldpletely disregard space, so they couldn''t save their disciples at all. They knew that Zu An couldn''t make it in time either!

    Zhao Han was about to seed when someone suddenly shouted.

    ¡°Your wife is so f*cking great!¡±

 Chapter 1844: Dao Heart Shattered

    Chapter 1844: Dao Heart Shattered

    When facing Zhao Han¡¯s attacks, Chu Chuyan, Pei Mianman, and Qiu Honglei¡¯s reactions couldn''t be considered slow.

    A lotus of ice quietly opened, and a snowstorm raged around Chu Chuyan. Pei Mianman¡¯s entire body surged with ck mes. A red spider lily could vaguely be seen within the mes. Thentern in front of Qiu Honglei released its light, surrounding her in holy radiance. This was a defensive skill that was even stronger than the Wall of Sighs, that could protect a single individual in holy light. Even Xie Daoyun hurriedly used the Record of High Firmament to send heavenly lightning at Zhao Han.

    Unfortunately, their speed couldn''tpare to an earth immortal¡¯s. With a clench of Zhao Han¡¯s hand, space itself caved in around them, and their skills couldn¡¯t fully take form before they were interrupted. The four women were hit with the recoil of failing their skills and vomited blood. They could only sense what was happening as the space around them caved in. There was no way to even escape. A wave of despair filled them.

    Suddenly, a furious voice roared, ¡°Your wife is so f*cking great!¡±

    Zhao Han froze. He turned around and stared at Zu An, asking slowly, ¡°What did you say?¡±

    Zu An replied with a grin, ¡°Your majesty, with your cultivation, how could you have heard incorrectly?¡±

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue had heard him too, but they thought they were mistaken. However, judging from how things now looked, it didn¡¯t seem as if there was any mistake. Both of their expressions were filled with shock. Chu Chuyan and the others had expressions of bewilderment.

    What in the world is going on? Zu An has a rtionship with the emperor¡¯s woman? This ispletely inconceivable!

    ¡°This emperor will kill you!¡± Zhao Han bellowed in rage. He no longer paid attention to Chu Chuyan¡¯s group, and instead charged at Zu An like a ferocious tiger.

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Han for +444 +444 +444¡­

    Zu An immediately turned tail and ran. The two of them chased after each other, one in front and one behind. They quickly disappeared into the distance.

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue¡¯s expressions changed. They quickly shouted at the women around them, ¡°What are you all doing just standing around?!¡± After saying that, they immediately chased after Zu An and Zhao Han.

    ¡­

    Chu Chuyan and the others were anxious, but they knew that the difference between themselves and Zhao Han was too great. Getting involved further would just be throwing their lives away and dragging down Zu An. For now, they could only collect the libationer¡¯s corpse, so they could bring him to his homnd once they left the secret dungeon.

    Along the way, Qiu Honglei couldn''t help but ask curiously, ¡°What did Ah Zu mean by what he said? Doesn¡¯t that mean he has a thing with the empress or the other concubines? Miss Xie, you spent a lot of time in the capital. Have you heard of any such thing before?¡±

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s face reddened. There was a look of bewilderment on her face as well. She replied, ¡°I haven¡¯t heard of any rumors about him and the empress, but there was a scandal with the crown princess before. However, that was quickly cleared up.¡±

    Chu Chuyan couldn''t help but say, ¡°Ah Zu must have said that on purpose to save us.¡±

    Pei Mianman had a strange expression. She said, ¡°Even so, judging from the emperor¡¯s rage, it doesn¡¯t seem to have been a lie. Besides, you two know how frivolous Ah Zu is.¡±

    The three women exchanged a look, then all sighed.

    Xie Daoyun weakly raised her hand and asked, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we be worried about big brother Zu¡¯s safety right now?¡±

    The three other women became quiet. After a while, Chu Chuyan said, ¡°It¡¯s actually useless even if we worry about him. We can only trust that Ah Zu and master can survive this situation. If something really happens to them¡­¡± She fell silent for a moment, then said with a firm expression, ¡°In the worst case, we¡¯ll just apany him.¡±

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s eyes widened. When she saw how calm these other beauties were, she didn¡¯t feel that it was all that shocking. It seemed they all had simr thoughts. She couldn''t help but feel admiration. They joked around so casually on the surface, but their feelings actually ran so deep.

    Sigh, it¡¯s going to be really hard in the future¡­ This is so annoying!

    Qiu Honglei then looked at her and said, ¡°It¡¯s useless to worry about other things for now. Why don¡¯t you tell us a bit about what kind of person the empress is? Is she pretty?¡±

    When she saw how these three suddenly seemed to be longing for gossip, Xie Daoyun¡¯s breath caught in their throat. She really couldn''t associate their current selves with their previous decisive expressions. She reflexively replied, ¡°Someone who could be the empress of an empire is naturally stunning. However, the empress rarely makes public appearances. I have heard that his majesty has focused on cultivation and rarely visited the harem chambers¡­¡±

    The other women¡¯s expressions changed slightly. They replied, ¡°Be more detailed! Especially about the situation in the harem.¡±

    Xie Daoyun was speechless.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An was running as fast as he possibly could. Sometimes he used Grandgale to dash instantly, and at other times he stepped on the Wind Fire Wheels. Just like that, he actually crossed a thousand miles.

    When he saw that Zhao Han was about to target his women, in a moment of desperation, he had used ¡®Fragrant Barf¡¯, a skill that immediately drew the target¡¯s aggression. It would create a reasonable and fair pretext for the target to chase him down. Since the situation was dire, he had been worried that the skill wouldn¡¯t be enough, so he used the Goldensnake King¡¯s Eye too.

    Rumor has it that the moment the Goldensnake King even nces at you, you¡¯ve already been greened.

    The moment this skill is used, the scene of your wife sleeping with the user will appear in your mind.

    Even so, Zu An was still worried that it wasn¡¯t enough, so he had made sure tounch such an explosive provocation.

    Under that threefold taunt, Zhao Han naturally erupted with rage. Many scenes of the empress and his concubines being ravaged appeared in his mind. At first, he felt as if something wasn¡¯t quite right, because there seemed to be something wrong with his mental state. However, when he thought about this little bastard¡¯s ways with women, he immediately believed it. That was why he chased after Zu An in a fiery rage.

    ¡°You little mongrel, this emperor will definitely dice up your corpse into ten thousand pieces until you are mincemeat!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Han +999 +999 +999¡­

    Zu An suddenly stopped and put away his Sun ying Bow. With a wave of his hand, the Tai¡¯e Sword flew into his hand from the horizon.

    Zhao Han also spread out his hand, and the Human Emperor Seal returned, floating above his palm. His hatred for Zu An had already reached the limit, and he naturally didn¡¯t care about the other women anymore. He had to recall his divine weapon to get rid of this bastard first.

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you running anymore?¡± Zhao Han asked through gritted teeth.

    Zu An looked around below him. The two were high in the sky, while below was a vast mountain range. He said, ¡°I feel like this is a good ce to settle our grudge, so of course there¡¯s no need to run anymore.¡±

    Zhao Han was so angry heughed, saying, ¡°I admit that you have many trump cards. However, do you think that you alone can win against me? Just where do you get your confidence from?¡±

    Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen had gotten in his way before, and with this guy hiding in the back and firing arrows, it had been a bit troublesome. But now, Zu An had run all the way here alone and already left those two behind. How could he possibly be the emperor¡¯s match one-on-one?

    ¡°Do you feel as if there¡¯s still anything in this world that I can¡¯t achieve?¡± Zu An replied. His expression was calm, and there was a hint of a smirk on the corners of his lips.

    Zhao Han recalled what Zu An had said earlier, and the scene of the empress being toyed with by Zu An couldn''t help but appear in his mind again. No matter how firm his will was, his face still couldn''t help but twitch a bit. He asked, ¡°Just when did you and the empress have that affair?¡±

    He knew that Zu An was saying that to shake his will and thus affect his fighting ability. However, he had to admit that it really was effective. As such, he first wanted to find some holes in the story so he could dismiss it. That way, he would naturally be able to restore his normal state of mind.

    This guy looked too calm on the surface. Meanwhile, his own mental state wasn¡¯t good, so fighting against Zu An like this wasn¡¯t wise. Even though he believed that he could destroy Zu An, he didn¡¯t want to provide any opportunities.

    ¡°Oh, could it be that your majesty enjoys listening to the details of how passionate your woman was with me? I really didn¡¯t expect this fetish,¡± Zu An said mockingly.

    Zhao Han¡¯s face twitched and retorted, ¡°You¡¯re only good at these kinds of verbal attacks with your mouth. The empress¡¯ background is noble and she is the mother of an empire. How could she possibly be with a scoundrel like you?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Han for +444 +444 +444¡­

    ¡°The empress does like my mouth¡¯s attacks, though,¡± Zu An said with a chuckle.

    Zhao Han had always towered above him like a great mountain, and had always been his greatest opponent. As such, he didn¡¯t hesitate to use any methods possible to weaken Zhao Han, even if it was a bit despicable.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zhao Han was stunned. Some shameful scenes appeared in his mind.

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Han for +666 +666 +666¡­

    Zu An then continued, ¡°Your majesty has always pursued immortality wholeheartedly and only knows how to cultivate in seclusion. You¡¯ve left the empress all alone for so many years. The empress is a mature woman and had to remain in an empty chamber for all these years. I was even able to heal her injuries, so she started looking for me day after day, and I couldn''t even get rid of her¡­¡±

    When he heard Zu An bring up the empress¡¯ condition, Zhao Han realized that he wasn¡¯t just randomly making things up. He had wanted to expose Zu An¡¯s lie and recover hisposure, but this had only ended up confirming the story. His mental state was nowpletely destroyed.

    As he stared at Zu An, his eyes were entirely red. He hissed, ¡°Little bastard, I will make you regreting to this world. Aren¡¯t they all your women? I am going to viciously humiliate them and make you understand just what kind of mistake you have made.¡± After saying that, he acted as if he would turn around and go after Chu Chuyan and the others.

    Suddenly, however, more words reached his ears. ¡°Right, I forgot to tell you that actually, apart from the empress, there¡¯s also the crown princess. Even though she¡¯s your daughter-inw in name, you already started treating her as your future wife after your reincarnation, right? And on top of that, there¡¯s Concubine Bai¡­¡±

    He had to use everything he could to keep Zhao Han here. This was rted to the other women¡¯s safety, so he couldn¡¯t worry about how despicable he was being.

    Sure enough, an explosion went off in Zhao Han¡¯s mind. He finally understood how his split soul had died. When he thought of Zu An¡¯s rtionship with Bi Linglong, his vision became blood red. He yelled, ¡°You son of a bitch! This one is going to chop up your corpse into ten thousand pieces!¡±

    His dao heart hadpletely shattered!

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Han for +1024 +1024 +1024¡­

    His entire body turned into a golden primordial spirit andunched a ferocious assault on Zu An!

 Chapter 1845: Immortal Beheading

    Chapter 1845: Immortal Beheading

    Since the libationer¡¯s final retaliation had left him with quite severe injuries, Zhao Han had always held himself back from using his primordial spirit. He needed a bit of time to recover. Furthermore, his heaven and man deterioration was approaching, so every second was precious. However, right now, he was too angry to think about that and only wanted Zu An dead, even if he had to spend a lot of time to rest and recover after.

    The instant Zhao Han¡¯s primordial spirit appeared, Zu An immediately felt the air around him be a bit sticky. Even moving around became a bit troublesome. Every cell in his body was on alert. At nearly the same instant, however, he used the ¡®Ikuu Experience Card¡¯ skill.

    If your back hurts, it might not be because of a de. If you are screaming your heart and lungs out, it might not be because of pain¡­

    Sun En had suffered badly from the same skill earlier, and his cultivation didn¡¯t seem to be weaker than Zhao Han¡¯s at all.

    When he was hit by the skill, Zhao Han¡¯s entire body trembled. Even his primordial spirit trembled, and it almost scattered away on the spot!

    ¡°Ikuu ikuu!¡± Zhao Han screamed shamefully. He waspletely stupefied.

    In that moment of absentmindedness, Zu An quickly got ready. He arrived by Zhao Han¡¯s side, and activated the Star Shattering Imprint. His power multiplied tenfold!

    A pitch-ck dagger sliced toward Zhao Han¡¯s throat. Still, even though his entire body was shaking from humiliation, he still instinctively moved to the side, preventing his neck from being hit. Even so, Zu An already knew there was no way that attack wouldnd. Instead, he went for Zhao Han¡¯s finger.

    The Poisonous Prick was special in that as long as it created any injury, the person hit would die on the spot, even if it only cut a bit of their skin. The dagger was incredibly sharp, and together with the Star Shattering Imprint¡¯s tenfold power, not even Zhao Han¡¯s body-protecting ki could stop it.

    The dagger had already reached Zhao Han¡¯s finger and was about to cut open a wound when a ripple of power suddenly pushed it away. Zu An was rmed. Now that his attack had failed, he immediately escaped a thousand feet away.

    Zhao Han¡¯s expression darkened. He took out a heart-protecting lens from his inner pocket, which had a crack on it. Then, it audibly shattered on the spot. A look of shock shed across his face as he said, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect your attack to have almost threatened my life. The fact that you managed to push me this far is something you can already be extremely proud of!¡±

    Zu An frowned. As expected of the emperor who ruled from sea to sea, he actually had so many protective treasures on him! Zu An had already prepared for everything, and yet all his methods were dealt with so easily. Helpless to do anything else, he used the ¡®Ikuu Experience Card¡¯ again. Then, his figure flickered as he attacked Zhao Han from all directions.

    All kinds of humiliating scenes appeared in Zhao Han¡¯s mind, but he had already experienced the skill before. He did his best to control his body¡¯s reactions, saying, ¡°Hmph, do you think I¡¯ll fall for the same skill twice?¡±

    Zu An tried it again several more times, but not only did it not affect Zhao Han, he was almost caught. Out of helplessness, he could only widen the distance between them again.

    Zhao Han stared at him and spat furiously, ¡°Just what kind of skill is this? Can you stop using it?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Han for +777 +777 +777¡­

    Even though he knew these experiences were just an illusion, he still instinctively felt as if his ¡®chrysanthemum¡¯ was bing a bit tight. He really didn¡¯t want to continue experiencing that kind of thing.

    Zu An asked with a smile, ¡°How exactly does it feel, your majesty?¡±

    Zhao Han could no longer keep his calm. His primordial spirit condensed again and a golden giant reached out toward Zu An.

    Zu An barely managed to avoid it; the mountaintop he was standing on immediately came crashing down.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see just how long you can dodge for!¡± Zhao Han hissed, his expression dark. He was full of regret. He thought to himself that he should have immediately crushed this little bastard to death during their first meeting so he wouldn¡¯t have to suffer that kind of humiliation.

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Han for +886 +886 +886¡­

    The golden primordial spirit continued to chase after Zu An. Even the air around them became viscous, making it hard for Zu An to even move or dodge. He could only rely on Grandgale to barely deal with Zhao Han. However, the distance he struggled to cover was crossed almost instantly by the golden giant. If not for the fact that he kept using ¡®What you lookin¡¯ at¡¯, the ¡®Ikuu Experience Card¡¯, the ¡®Goldensnake King¡¯s Eye¡¯, and other skills to continuously break Zhao Han¡¯s concentration, he probably would have long since lost his life.

    However, that only made Zhao Han more and more angry, making his attacks more and more ferocious.

    Zu An cried out bitterly inside. No wonder it was said that all creatures beneath the earth immortal rank were ants! Once their primordial spirits appeared, it became absolutely overwhelming!

    Previously, it was thanks to the libationer seriously wounding Zhao Han that he didn¡¯t dare to immediately bring out his primordial spirit. Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen had thus been able to barely hold him back.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An took a deep breath, and his entire aura suddenly surged. He actually managed to break through the restrictions of the enemy¡¯s primordial spirit and move several hundred feet. He flew through the air on the Wind Fire Wheels.

    As they fought, Zhao Han also grew more and more rmed. He had suspected that Zu An was hiding undisclosed strength, but he never expected it to be this much! More importantly, with his current cultivation, many skills were already ineffective against him, and yet this guy¡¯s skills seemed to disregard disparities in cultivation. Thews behind them were incredibly profound, to the point that he was even bing a bit scared.

    Fortunately, those skills weren¡¯t too damaging, or else he would really be in trouble. Even so, in the end, he still couldn''t stand the humiliation. He discovered that his thoughts were really all over the ce.

    Just what is going on now? Why is Zu An¡¯s aura suddenly bing so much stronger?

    Zhao Han had witnessed and experienced all kinds of things. He quickly realized something and looked at the boundless mountains beneath him. He felt a strange, formless, and intangible energy gathering toward Zu An¡¯s body and remarked, ¡°No wonder you chose this ce to be your battlefield. So it was to use this mountain range¡¯s power.¡±

    ¡°Your majesty is brilliant, as expected,¡± Zu An said. He had used One Drop of Heaven¡¯s Essence to gather the power of this dragon range. With that, he had confidence in a frontal sh.

    ¡°Even so, in the end, you aren¡¯t a true earth immortal, so just how much longer will you be able to hold on even if you borrow this power?¡± Zhao Han retorted, not feeling any fear at all. The difference in cultivation ranks was still there. Whether in terms of the use of power orbat techniques, the two of them weren¡¯t on the same level.

    His primordial spirit temporarily withdrew into his head. He nned to stall for some time first, not giving Zu An the chance to fight a decisive battle. Once the power Zu An umted weakened, he would then use that chance to attack.

    Zu An naturally saw through Zhao Han¡¯s ns and didn¡¯t give him the chance to escape. Ripples of power suddenly appeared in the air behind him. He had already refined practically all of his weapons into his Blue Luan Sword Formation. Together with the Rune Weapon Chart, even more sword energy materialized.

    He really wanted to create some Dongfeng Missiles the way he had done back in the Xia Dynasty secret dungeon and purge the world with nuclear might, but even though this world¡¯s foundation was a bit stronger than the Great Zhou Dynasty¡¯s, there was a limit. The density of natural ki in it wouldn¡¯t necessarily be able to support such terrifying consumption.

    As for the power of the gatling, it likely wouldn¡¯t even be as strong as the sword formation he had now fully refined.

    ¡°This skill of yours¡­¡± Zhao Han muttered, his expression changing. This attack left even him a bit shaken. He couldn''t understand just how even though this guy was clearly incredibly weak, he managed to have so many ridiculous skills!

    His reason told him that he had to first leave this ce and return once this power disappeared. However, because of the continuous provocations, there was a voice in his head telling him ¡®kill, kill that little bastard!¡¯

    He was worried that Zu An would run if he left now, so in the end, he chose to remain.

    ¡­

    The weapons in the sky had alreadypletely formed. Streak after streak of light carrying iparably sharp sword ki fired outward.

    Zhao Han harrumphed. ¡°Insignificant skill!¡±

    The Human Emperor Seal appeared, blocking the most powerful of them, the Tai¡¯e Sword.

    Then, the primordial spirit above him suddenly becamerger. It brandished its giant fist at the remaining weapons. They were nothing more than some heaven-grade weapons. Even when added up together, just how strong could they be?

    Soon after, arge group of weapons shattered under the fist of the golden giant. Even though some of them slipped past, they weren¡¯t able to do much when theynded on the primordial spirit¡¯s body.

    Zhao Han said with a sneer, ¡°You haven¡¯t reached the level of having a primordial spirit, so you do not understand how strong it is. How could your weapons possibly injure¡­¡±

    Midway through his sentence, he screamed in shock, ¡°What¡­ What is this?¡±

    Several ordinary-looking throwing knives passed straight through his primordial spirit. They didn¡¯t disappear like the other weapons before it; instead, they flew out from behind it. Then, the knives sliced back and forth a few times. Streak after streak, wounds appeared in that golden primordial spirit. Wherever they passed, they carried a piece of that golden giant¡¯s ¡®flesh¡¯ with them.

    Zhao Han screamed miserably. The golden giant swiftly returned into his body. He stared at the unremarkable throwing knives with horror.

    The knives spun a few more times in the air, but when they saw that there was no target, they vibrated audibly, as if they were a bit unhappy that their target had disappeared.

    Zu An was stunned. These were the Immortal Beheading Knives that he had inadvertently picked up in the past. He had collected five of them in total, but he had never found much use for them. Since he needed all sorts of weapons to add to his Blue Luan Formation, and since sword formations benefited from quantity, he had decided to just refine them all. He had never expected these ordinary-seeming knives to actually be able to wound the primordial spirit!

    He was only briefly stunned. How could he let such an opportunity go? The Rune Weapon Chart condensed even more weapons, and before Zhao Han even had a chance to catch his breath, endless weapons poured down like a storm, instantly swallowing him up within.

 Chapter 1846: Facing Tribulation

    Chapter 1846: Facing Tribtion

    Zhao Han¡¯s primordial spirit was wounded. He felt waves of stabbing pain in his head and he couldn''t dodge in time.

    Endless sword ki poured down, and he did his best to defend himself with a golden barrier. Even so, he had been seriously injured, and then his primordial spirit had been injured by the Immortal Beheading Knives, leaving him in his weakest state yet. Thus, that golden barrier was far from as strong as it usually was. Soon, it could no longer withstand the attacks of the endless sword ki and exploded.

    Following that explosion, light flickered around Zhao Han¡¯s entire body. It came from his protective treasures activating to stop all the sword ki. However, there was just way too much sword ki. The body-protecting treasures around him broke one after another.

    In the end, Zhao Han¡¯s body was hit by the sword ki. After the first hit came a second, and then a third¡­

    When all of the sword ki disappeared, Zhao Han¡¯s body was dripping with blood. It was hard to tell whether he was even still alive. However, Zu An didn¡¯t dare to show any carelessness. How could Zhao Han be defeated that easily? The fact that he was still floating in the air was a sign of that.

    Even so, he couldn''t help but ridicule Zhao Han. The emperor was the world¡¯s strongest, and yet he still had so many protective treasures on him. He really was scared of death. The only fortunate thing was that after that concentrated barrage of sword ki, all of his body-protecting treasures had already been used up.

    Suddenly, there was a low and muffledugh. Then, it became louder and louder. Zhao Han slowly raised his head. His hair was scattered messily across his face from the sword ki, and there were traces of blood on his face as well. He no longer looked high and mighty the way he normally did; instead, he looked like a mad demon.

    ¡°Just how many years has it been? Ever since I made tremendous breakthroughs in my cultivation, there has never been anyone who could injure me to this extent,¡± Zhao Han seemed muttered to himself. ¡°Even on Violet Mountain and in the decisive battle earlier against the libationer, I was never left in such a sorry state. You really can be proud of yourself.¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t reply; instead, he frowned. Zhao Han¡¯s aura already reached its weakest point, and yet it was actually rising again; it was getting faster and faster, too. Just what was going on?

    Zhao Han¡¯s entire body suddenly rose slowly. There was no more anger in his eyes when he looked at Zu An. Instead, his expression gradually returned to normal as he said, ¡°I do not know what kinds of methods you used earlier, but there were manyws and skills that were able to affect me. I also sensed a threat to my life several times. But now, all of that is over.¡±

    The sky was previously clear and boundless, yet now, dark clouds appeared everywhere, shing with lightning. They all appeared above Zhao Han. Zu An had a confused expression. Why had the world suddenly changed like this? On top of that, it seemed to be closely rted to Zhao Han.

    Suddenly, two figures rushed over from the distance, one white and one red. They were none other than Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue. Even though Zu An and Zhao Han were too fast, the two had quickly chased after them. Furthermore, the terrifying st wavesing from this direction had served as the best guide. The twodies followed the source of the chaos and just happened to see the scene unfold.

    Both women cried out to warn Zu An, ¡°Be careful! He¡¯s preparing to undergo tribtion!¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression darkened. Even though he had seen tribtions from the media he was exposed to, he had never heard of anyone needing to go through tribtion in his current world, even though it was a realm of cultivation. That was why he hadn¡¯t immediately reacted to what was happening.

    Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen were sect masters, so they naturally had a deeper understanding of cultivation theory. Countless seniors had tried to find the path ahead, so they had studied the ancient legends of tribtion in depth. That was why they were able to immediately recognize what was happening.

    Zhao Han roared withughter, saying, ¡°As expected of Sect Masters Yan and Yun. You are right; I will experience tribtion and break through soon.

    ¡°To be honest, I should be thanking the libationer for bringing me to this world. The world¡¯s natural ki is much more abundant than our previous one. Besides, after experiencing Immortal Ruler Baopu¡¯s power earlier, as well as all of these hardships, my cultivation rank, which previously remained stagnant for a long time, is showing signs of advancement.

    ¡°I nned to properly recover before attempting the breakthrough, but I didn¡¯t expect to be forced to this extent by all of you.¡±

    Zhao Han¡¯s voice carried pride, and he sounded as if he were looking at a group of clowns. It was as if he thought, I was just ying along with you guys; time to get serious.

    Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen flew over to Zu An¡¯s side, their eyes full of worry. They said, ¡°This is bad. If he seeds in his breakthrough, no matter how weak he is right now, he won¡¯t be someone we can deal with afterward.¡±

    They had seen how Immortal Ruler Baopu had dealt with the Ghost King using a single look earlier. That kind of power was already beyond their imagination. They wouldn¡¯t have even a trace of hope in defeating him.

    As he looked at the lightning flickering in the distance above them, Zu An said gravely, ¡°I¡¯ve heard that tribtion is extremely dangerous. In his current state, is it possible that he might just fail and die?¡±

    The two women both shook their heads and said, ¡°That only applies for cultivators with unstable foundations. However, he has been stuck at the earth immortal rank for many years and should already have broken through a long time ago. It was just that our previous world¡¯s origin power was insufficient, so he was held back. Now that he has arrived in this world, one full of natural ki, and he even received stimtion from various sources, his breakthrough should happen smoothly.¡±

    The two had followed Zu An through the Xia Dynasty secret dungeon, and now they had experienced this secret dungeon. They also understood now why their world hadn¡¯t produced any immortals even after so many years.

    Zu An quickly understood. Zhao Han was well prepared for this, so he had a really high chance of seeding in his tribtion. After some thought, he said, ¡°Tribtion should be an extremely ferocious process. Would we be able to increase his chances of failure by attacking him at the crucial moment during this tribtion?¡±

    ¡°You absolutely cannot!¡± Yan Xuehen quickly warned him . ¡°Once the tribtion begins, itunches an indiscriminate assault on everything around the one facing it. Furthermore, the more people there are, the stronger the power of lightning tribtion bes. Zhao Han has an earth immortal rank body, so whether it is his flesh or his primordial spirit, they are both extremely powerful and can barely fend off the lightning. However, if we enter the radius of the lightning, we will immediately be sted to dust by the lightning tribtion.¡±

    Zu An became a bit dejected. He wondered, ¡°Then, do we have to just watch as he breaks through and wait for him toe kill us?¡±

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue both frowned. However, no matter how they thought to themselves, they couldn''t find a solution.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Meanwhile, something was happening. A streak of lightning came crashing down directly on Zhao Han. However, he raised his palm and directly scattered that streak of lightning. Electricity flickered, and the thick bolt of lightning actually disappeared just like that.

    ¡°The tribtion has begun!¡± Yun Jianyue eximed.

    In truth, she still felt a bit of admiration for Zhao Han. That strike, both in terms of his eyesight or technique, could make one gasp in amazement. After all, tribtion lightning was countless times stronger than ordinary lightning, and yet he had dealt with it so casually.

    Seven or eight more streaks of lightning gathered again in the sky, then rained down on Zhao Han. Every streak of lightning was thicker than thest. Their power was clearly also on an entirely different level.

    However, Zhao Han¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change. He unfolded his hand, then grabbed one of those streaks of lightning. The electricity wriggled frantically in his hands like a white snake. Then, he flung that streak of lightning to the side into the other bolts, causing those other ones to break in half. They quickly dispersed in a shower of electricity.

    In the end, a streak of lightning flew at his head. His hands were already preupied, so he couldn''t react in time at all. However, he looked up and suddenly opened his mouth. He actually swallowed that tribtion lightning in a single gulp!

    Zu An and the women were stunned.

    What the hell? He just ate the tribtion lightning? It didn¡¯t do a thing to him either?

    Zhao Han roared withughter and eximed, ¡°I have already seen the path! As expected, nothing was wrong with me. I should already have broken through a long time ago!¡±

    His voice was full of happiness. He had previously been trapped by heaven and man deterioration, so even though he was already without equal in his world, he had still spent his days in fear and trepidation. He had searched everywhere for an elixir of immortality, or a method of immortal ascension. When he came to this world, he had always sought after the Baopu Sutra too.

    Now, however, it seemed as if he didn¡¯t need those things at all. What he had studied on his own was already enough for a breakthrough. It had been nothing more than that weak world that was restricting him. As long as he sessfully broke through and became a true immortal, all others would be little more than ants.

    As she sensed his aura be stronger and stronger, Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression was grave. She said, ¡°Let¡¯s hurry and run, or else it¡¯ll be tooteter.¡±

    Yan Xuehen sighed and replied, ¡°Sure, we can run, but where would we go? Even if we can escape this time, we won¡¯t be able to next time.¡±

    ¡°We can¡¯t just remain here and wait for our deaths, right? At worst, you can just follow me back to the Holy Sect. We still have some strong people there. He might not be able to win against all of us,¡± Yun Jianyue said, sounding a bit ashamed. ¡°Or we can go to the Fiend races¡¯ side. This brat is the Regent and the Fiend races have quite a bit of power. He might not be able to do whatever he wishes there.¡±

    As she listened to those words that sounded bold, but were actually full of resignation, Yan Xuehen felt a bit dejected.

    Zu An suddenly said, ¡°I have to confirm this with the two of you one more time. Does the power of the tribtion lightning really be greater the more people there are in the vicinity?¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± Yun Jianyue said, stunned. She then asked, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you want to go in? You absolutely can¡¯t! Even though your body is tough, you¡¯re still too far from the peak of the earth immortal rank. You can¡¯t endure lightning tribtion of that rank at all!¡±

    Zu An gave Zhao Han, who was currently undergoing tribtion, a look. His expression became firm as he said, ¡°I have a n!¡±

 Chapter 1847: You Have Immortal Cultivation, I Have Science

    Chapter 1847: You Have Immortal Cultivation, I Have Science

    Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen were a bit confused. What could he possibly do in this kind of situation?

    Zu An took out a huge pile of weapons. The two women gave them a look and saw that they were just made of normal metal, not even earth-grade. Could these really be his solution against Zhao Han?

    Zu An took out a sword, then put his finger on the sword hilt, forcefully separating the de from the handle. Just like that, he took several swords apart.

    Previously, for the sake of making the Blue Luan Sword Formation, he had obtained many weapons, but he had discovered that ordinary weapons weren¡¯t that useful and used up a lot of energy for no reason; thus, he had given up on them. The materials were all left in the Brilliant ss Bead.

    ¡°Do you have any swords or other weapons on you?¡± he asked. Just that amount didn¡¯t seem to be enough.

    Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen reflexively handed over their Crescent Ring and Snowke Sword.

    Zu An was speechless. He said, ¡°These two won¡¯t do; they¡¯re too precious. It¡¯s enough if it¡¯s just somemon stuff.¡±

    Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen¡¯s faces heated up.

    Why are we even handing over our most beloved weapons?

    At the same time, they were both curious as to why the other woman had done so without any hesitation.

    The two both took out several weapons from their storage. They didn¡¯t need weapons for refinement like Zu An, so they didn¡¯t have too many on them. They had just prepared some spares, or items they could give to their subordinates as rewards. But of course, these items were naturally higher quality, with nock of earth-grade weapons among them.

    Zu An took them, and without even giving them a second nce, he broke them apart. The two women¡¯s eyes twitched as they watched, but they also became more and more curious as to what he really wanted to do.

    They saw Zu An remove all of the non-metal pieces and pile up the remaining metal. Then, a fire ignited in his hand, gradually melting the metal. He was worried that he would just burn away these weapons into nothing, so he carefully controlled the heat.

    ¡°Just what are you doing?¡± Yun Jianyue asked in confusion. Zhao Han was currently undergoing lightning tribtion and could break through and be a true immortal at any time, and yet he was doing something so puzzling. If not for the fact that they knew how reliable he was, they would likely have already begun to curse him.

    ¡°I¡¯ll exinter,¡± Zu An said with fine sweat beading on his temples. He didn¡¯t have the leisure to exin right now.

    The metal quickly melted into liquid. He even asked the two women how he could increase the melting point of these metals so they could withstand greater strength. The two were grandmasters and the sect masters of their respective sects, so their knowledge was vast. They quickly suggested some methods.

    Zu An nodded. He took out some special ki stones and crushed them into powder before adding them to the molten metal. Immediately after, it began to stir. He then started calling out from time to time, ¡°Big sis Yan, some ice please.¡±

    Yan Xuehen waspletely confused, but she still gave him strands of cold energy whenever he asked for it to decrease the temperature.

    ¡°Big sis Yan, engrave some runes on it that will raise its durability and resistance to high temperature.¡±

    Even though Yan Xuehen didn¡¯t know what he was doing, she still carved the runes.

    As she watched from the side, Yun Jianyue found it quiteughable. The glorious White Jade Sect Master, the goddess admired by countless people, was actually obeying a stinky brat¡¯s every order like a cksmith disciple.

    Soon after, Zu Anpleted his project. When they saw the spherical shaped steel cage before them, the two women were stunned. They asked, ¡°What are you going to use something like this for?¡±

    ¡°Electromaism makes Ancestral Master Faraday¡¯s treasure the perfect item for tribtion!¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°Ancestral Master Faraday? Electromaism?¡± Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen repeated in confusion. They couldn''t help but exchange a look. What was electromaism? Why had they never heard of it before?

    Zu An held the cage up. He gave the distant Zhao Han who was fighting bravely against the lightning tribtion a nce and said seriously, ¡°Let¡¯s go. We¡¯ll head over together. The more, the better, since we can make the lightning tribtion stronger that way.¡±

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue were dumbstruck. They were about to advise Zu An not to move closer, because he definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to handle the tribtion lightning. However, he was so confident, and they were going to die if they didn¡¯t do anything, so they could only let him give it a try.

    Even so, why are we going over now too?

    ¡°Uh¡­ I¡¯ve always been a bit scared of thunder since I was little. I think it¡¯s best if I sit this one out,¡± Yun Jianyue said with a cough. She shivered as soon as she gave that concentrated lightning field a look. Her body wasn¡¯t even as tough as Zu An¡¯s, so she could very well die just from getting closer.

    Yan Xuehen gave the lightning field a look. The tribtion clouds were getting more and more concentrated. They were no longer pitch-ck like before; instead, they had be a bit red. Meanwhile, Zhao Han was right inside the lightning field. There were thick tree-like streaks of lightning wandering around him.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s eye couldn''t help but twitch, and she said, ¡°I feel as if it would be best if we used this chance to leave this ce as quickly as possible.¡±

    When he saw these two who normally feared nothing in this world act so anxious and frightened, Zu An couldn''t help but smile, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m sure Ancestral Master Faraday will protect us.¡±

    ¡°Just what is electromaism?¡± Yan Xuehen asked with a slight frown. She thought that her knowledge and experience was vast, and she frequently read ancient books. However, she couldn''t figure out what that thing was at all.

    ¡°Who is that ancestral master, andpared to that Immortal Ruler Baopu, who is stronger?¡± Yun Jianyue asked. She cared more about strength.

    Zu An¡¯s face twitched. He suddenly found it a bit hard to exin things clearly to these two. He could only ask seriously, ¡°Do you two trust me or not?¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Of course we do,¡± the two women reflexively replied.

    ¡°Then that¡¯s enough. Just follow me,¡± Zu An said as he pulled the two women closer to the lightning field.

    When he pulled on their hands, the two women both raised their brows. However, the situation was dangerous right now, so they couldn''t really act up.

    As if sensing that others were approaching, some of the lightning at the edge of the lightning field seemed to move in their direction, as if it could strike them at any time. The two women couldn''t help but tremble. This had nothing to do with courage, but rather a natural reverence towards the world¡¯s power.

    However, Zu An held the two women¡¯s hands tightly. When they felt his strong and warm hand, the two¡¯s nervous minds gradually calmed down.

    At worst, we¡¯ll just apany him in death. Either way, once Zhao Han breaks through, we¡¯ll all die. Dying together as lovers isn¡¯t that bad of an end.

    When this thought emerged, their trembling bodies calmed down. What remained was just curiosity.

    It makes sense for me to trust Ah Zu because of our rtionship, but what is going on with that stone cold woman (witch)?

    ¡­

    While the two women were lost in their own thoughts, Zu An quickly brought them into the steel sphere he made. He said, ¡°Get a bit closer; you absolutely can¡¯t touch the steel wiring on the side.¡±

    Because the amount of materials they had was limited, there wasn¡¯t too much space inside. Having three people inside made it a bit cramped. Zu An was worried that they would end up touching the walls of the sphere identally out of embarrassment, so he decided to just grab them each in one arm and press them against himself.

    ¡°You damn brat, aren¡¯t you acting bold? You even dare to go after me?!¡± Yun Jianyue snapped, shooting him a hateful look. It wasn¡¯t a big deal if they hugged each other in private, but in front of Yan Xuehen, this was too embarrassing!

    ¡°Let go of me!¡± Yan Xuehen eximed, also struggling with a reddened face. She thought, I really don¡¯t know how I¡¯ll be able to go on living if this witch finds out about our rtionship!

    ¡°Don¡¯t move. We¡¯ll all die from the lightning if either one of you touches the metal wall,¡± Zu An quickly warned them.

    Sure enough, those words were more useful than anything else. They were a bit scared of this lightning to begin with. If they ended up identally killing Zu An because of something they did, it would be far toote for regrets. Both of them stopped struggling.

    ¡°Hug me closely!¡± Zu An continued.

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue were stunned.

    This kid is going a bit too far!

    They were about to act up, but Zu An had already brought them inside the range of the tribtion lightning. Soon after, countless streaks of lightning sted down. The entire metal cage flickered with electricity. They could even see the sma inside the lightning!

    The two women now realized that their thoughts had gone in the wrong direction. In the end, it was just because this cage was too small. If they didn¡¯t hold onto each other like this, they could end up touching the wall, and they would then be struck by the lightning. There was terrifying tribtion lightning everywhere. The two women didn¡¯t have the luxury to think of anything else, and reflexively held tightly onto Zu An for fear of touching the metal cage in the slightest.

    Zu An brought the two women¡¯s legs a few feet off the ground. Fortunately, they could all fly, or else it would really be a bit troublesome.

    Zhao Han had been watching their strange behaviors the entire time. He couldn''t figure out what they were doing. However, they had entered the tribtion lightning, making his expression darken. Their n was probably to try to increase the difficulty of his tribtion.

    It¡¯s a pity that you¡¯re all too naive. Sure, the lightning will be stronger if there are more people, but how could you all endure such terrifying tribtion lightning?

    Since you¡¯ll all be sted to ashes on the spot, I only need to hold on for a little while. It won¡¯t make that much of a difference for me.

    Sure enough, a deeper rumble filled the air from above them. It seemed that the tribtion lightning had been provoked with the entrance of Zu An¡¯s group. As such, the entire lightning field became more and more berserk.

    When Yun Jianyue was searching for Sun En, she had seen the terrifying lightning field created by the Record of High Firmament. However, whenpared to today¡¯s heavenly might, that lightning field was countless times weaker.

    When they saw the endless lightning crash down on them, both her and Yan Xuehen¡¯s entire bodies became tense. Their minds went nk as they cried, ¡°We¡¯re finished! We¡¯re done for! Now we¡¯re definitely dead!¡±

    However, what was surprising was that when the lightning hit the cage, even though the entire thing flickered with lightning radiance, bing like an electrified prison, they didn¡¯t feel any of it inside the cage!

    Zu An had still been a bit nervous at first, but now he sighed in relief. The Faraday Cage was effective after all! If you learned science, you had nothing left to fear in the world. He hadn¡¯t expected that knowledge to actuallye in handy in this different world.

 Chapter 1848: Babes on Both Sides

    Chapter 1848: Babes on Both Sides

    A Faraday Cage used metals or other conductors to form a cage that could protect anyone inside. Thus, they wouldn¡¯t be affected by the electricity field outside.

    In Zu An¡¯s previous world, the Faraday Cages could resist millions of volts, and his cage was even made of special materials. All kinds of rare ki stones had been added, and Yan Xuehen had even applied various protective runes that boosted the voltage it could endure even further. All of the tribtion lightning was guided into the ground by the steel sphere, so the three people floating inside were naturally unaffected.

    ¡°What¡­ Just what is going on?¡± Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen both murmured in a stupor as they watched all of this happen.

    After all, the records all stated how terrifying tribtion lightning was. Even the one who was powerful enough to trigger the tribtion could easily perish during the process, let alone people like them who were still far from that level.

    ¡°Earlier, I already said that Ancestral Master Faraday would protect us,¡± Zu An said, his mood having improved quite a bit. He couldn''t help but joke around a bit now too.

    ¡°Who is Faraday? Can you tell us a bit about him, please?¡± Yun Jianyue asked. Her tone also became a bit yful; however, as she said those words, her face immediately heated up.

    Ugh, this kind of girlish tone really is too embarrassing. That stone cold woman is definitely going to make fun of me for itter.

    She anxiously gave Yan Xuehen a nce, but she saw that the other woman was looking at Zu An with a different kind of expression, seemingly not having noticed what she said at all.

    Thank goodness. She must be really interested right now too.

    ¡°That¡¯s a long story. He¡¯s a¡­¡± Zu An began. He was waiting for this tribtion lightning that was now several times stronger to weaken Zhao Han, so he had nothing better to do anyway. He decided to just tell the two women the story of Faraday. Of course, he did it in a way they could understand.

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue¡¯s eyes were wide open in dazzlement. They really had treated this boy as a junior in the past, and even though they had made breakthroughs in their rtionship in the past, that feeling still remained. When they looked at him now, however, their expressions were full of a kind of admiration and adoration.

    The sea of lightning was just several feet away from them; even now, those waves of frightening fluctuations made their hearts tremble. However, as long as they clung tightly to Ah Zu and felt his warm and strong chest, it made them feel safer than anything else. Those intimate scenes from the past couldn''t help but appear in both of their minds. Their bodies became softer and softer.

    As he smelled the two fragrances around him that were entirely different, and felt their soft bodies in his arms, Zu An also felt his feelings stir a bit. That was especially true because he knew that these two weredies infamous for shing like fire and ice. He couldn''t help but want to lower his head to kiss them. However, when he thought about how there wouldn¡¯t be any way to exin things after the matter, he could only suppress that thought.

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue¡¯s eyes suddenly met. Their bodies both instantly stiffened.

    Oh no; she saw how close I was with Ah Zu. What if she begins to suspect something¡­

    However, since they were still in a dangerous situation, they quickly calmed down again. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    We¡¯re clearly doing this out of helplessness because of this disaster, and the other woman is simrly holding onto him tightly. She¡¯ll be too embarrassed to worry about me.

    ¡°Hmph, this stone cold woman normally acts all holy and aloof, but look at that shy look on her face as she hugs my Ah Zu. I should really show this to her pursuers.¡±

    ¡°That witch has cultivated some charm skills. I definitely have to warn Ah Zu not to be tricked by her in the future. She is extremely skilled in toying with men!¡±

    ¡­

    The two had their own thoughts, but in Zhao Han¡¯s eyes, they both looked shy and bashful.

    Yan Xuehen was like an ice goddess. There were countless men who had yearned for her over the years, and even he had been one of them back then. However, Yan Xuehen had never given any man a second look. Forget about letting them carry her; even holding hands, or even speaking a few more words than needed to men, had never happened.

    Just how many men¡¯s dao hearts would shatter upon witnessing this sight?!

    And that witch Yun Jianyue! Even though she was a Devil Sect witch, her devastating beauty was on par with Yan Xuehen¡¯s. People all publicly acknowledged that Yu Yanluo was the greatest beauty of the secr world, but in the world of cultivation, this pair from the orthodox and demonic sect were definitely on top.

    These two were like water and fire. They had fought countless times over the years. If one were to say that these two women were being held on either side of a single man to others, they would likely just treat it as a sign of madness. Even if the end of the world came the next day, such a scene definitely wouldn¡¯t happen.

    Zhao Han felt as if he was about to go crazy himself.

    This old one is being freaking sted by lightning, and yet this brat is ying with two women, one on each side?

    More importantly, with the addition of these three, the tribtion lightning immediately became four times stronger!

    The reason why he had ended up umting cultivation for so long was because his previous world¡¯s origin power was too weak, so he couldn''t break through. Now that he had entered this world, the breakthrough had be a smooth and natural process. That was why the earlier tribtion lightning hadn''t been too great of a threat at all.

    He had thus been leisurely dealing with the tribtion while thinking that once he became a true immortal, he would no longer have to worry about the frustration of his limited lifespan. He had also nned to properly enjoy watching that brat Zu An¡¯s expression of fear, thinking about how he would have to properly torture that kid after. Was there anything more pleasurable than that?

    And yet now, such a beautiful painting had suddenly changed! He was the one who was dancing on the brink of death, while Zu An was enjoying his time with two incredible beauties?

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Han for +444 +444 +444¡­

    Boom!

    A huge noise filled the air, and Zhao Han¡¯s entire body was sted violently, leaving a trail of ck smoke and a charred scent. He shivered and didn¡¯t dare to get distracted thinking about those things any further. Four times the tribtion lightning power wasn¡¯t so easily dealt with.

    The lightning in the sky began to merge together. It changed from its initial white color to a dark red, until it ultimately turned into giant spheres of electricity that all flew at him. Zhao Han didn¡¯t dare to take them on with his bare hands anymore. Instead, he took out all the weapons he had collected over the years to help him.

    However, just how powerful was this tribtion lightning? Even though the treasures he had were all extraordinary, after being sted by a few balls of lightning, they were all shattered.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An said with a sigh, ¡°That old fart really has a lot of treasures. I already exhausted all of his defensive treasures, and yet he still had so many offensive ones.¡±

    Yan Xuehen collected her thoughts a bit and said, ¡°He is the ruler of a country, after all, with resources from sea to sea. It would be more strange for him to not have treasures.¡±

    Yun Jianyue said with a sigh, ¡°Those spheres of electricity are actually so powerful that not even Zhao Han¡¯s treasures can stop them, and yet they can¡¯t do anything to your cage. It really is a marvel.¡±

    Those spheres of electricity that hit Zhao Han hadn¡¯t spared them either. Perhaps because there were more people there, there were even a bit more on their side than on Zhao Han¡¯s side. However, whenever theynded on the special Faraday Cage, they were guided to the earth, leaving only some arcs of electricity behind.

    As he looked at those spheres of lightning, Zu An was a bit speechless. It was precisely because of these damn things that he had ended up transmigrating. However, upon closer inspection, the power of these balls of lightning couldn''tpare to that one at all. He wondered just how he hadn¡¯t immediately died from that ball of lightning.

    Yun Jianyue suddenly asked excitedly, ¡°With this magic artifact of yours, wouldn¡¯t we bepletely safe when we face tribtion in the future?¡±

    Yan Xuehen shook her head and said, ¡°That¡¯s not true. In the end, tribtion is guiding down lightning power to temper the entire body, to seize the natural force of the universe to defy and change your fate. Even though the process of tribtion is dangerous, it is actually an opportunity for cultivators. Only after experiencing the baptism of lightning tribtion can you guide the origin power of the world into your body and undergo aplete transformation. Even though you could use this kind of magic artifact to protect yourself, you would also lose that transformative opportunity. In the end, it would be the same as not undergoing tribtion.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, you¡¯re sound all fancy as if you¡¯ve gone through it yourself or something.¡± Yun Jianyue harrumphed.

    ¡°Even though I haven¡¯t faced tribtion, the White Jade Sect has some ancient texts that talk about it. Don¡¯t tell me your Devil Sect doesn¡¯t have any?¡± Yan Xuehen replied, pretending to be shocked. She couldn''t help but grin as she looked at Yun Jianyue.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression changed. She said, ¡°Of course we do! I was just saying that to mess with little Zu An here, to warn him that he shouldn¡¯t rely on tricks in the path of cultivation. Otherwise, he might have to pay the price for it.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    You two can argue by yourselves; why are you involving me too?

    However, he could tell that Yun Jianyue was hiding her embarrassment, so he couldn''t really say anything.

    ¡­

    Zhao Han could hear their happyughter and conversation. When he saw how easy of a time they were having, and thought about how hard of a time he was having himself, he gritted his teeth hatefully.

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Han for +666 +666 +666¡­

    Even so, he quickly thought of something.

    Those three¡¯s cultivations are far inferior to mine, and yet they¡¯re having such an easy time. It must be because of that strange cage. Could it be that lightning doesn¡¯t touch people inside a cage like that?

    You guys can do it, so why can¡¯t I?

    As such, he released a roar. His hands drew lines through the air, and a golden barrier of light took form. He was cocooned inside just like a chicken egg. This defensive shield made using all of his knowledge was far stronger than their tattered cage. He nned to recover some stamina and treat his injuries first before facing the tribtion again. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t necessarily be able to handle it.

    He watched as those spheres of electricity came crashing down with great confidence, but a secondter, they tore right through his defensive shield and smashed into his body with a loud explosion. No matter how strong his earth immortal body was, he was almost blown to smithereens right there and then. His clothes were in tatters, and he looked worse than a beggar. There were pieces of flesh dangling from his entire body.

    Zu An rolled his eyes.

    What a dumbass. There¡¯s no metal and it¡¯s not connected to the ground. Like hell that¡¯ll do anything.

 Chapter 1849: Power of the Arrow

    Chapter 1849: Power of the Arrow

    Zhao Han was also stupefied.

    Why?! My protective barrier is actually inferior to that clump of tattered steel?

    In that instant, he even thought about crossing space to squeeze into that cage. However, the cage was too small and didn¡¯t seem to have enough space to hold him too. His ability to disregard space was based on set preconditions. The destination had to have enough space, or else he couldn¡¯t cross over. Furthermore, he could sense that the cage had some spatial separation formations.

    This brat really is treacherous; he actually even guarded against that.

    Just then, when those spheres of lightning sensed that they couldn''t eliminate the people below, they no longer blindly crashed down. Instead, they merged together to form two massive dragons. Then, one rushed at Zu An¡¯s group while the other charged at Zhao Han.

    The giant dragons were a brilliant red. Zu An¡¯s group could feel trembling from their very souls even though they were still far away. Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue¡¯s expressions both changed.

    ¡°This is bad. This lightning tribtion seems to be able to directly target the soul. If you are hit, you will immediately perish!¡±

    Zu An said gravely, ¡°Then let¡¯s hold onto each other a bit tighter.¡±

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue were stunned.

    When he saw their strange looks, Zu An didn¡¯t bat an eye as he said, ¡°The power of this tribtion lightning is so great, so we need to minimize our size as much as possible and stay further away from the cage. Otherwise, we might be hit and draw the lightning into our own bodies.¡±

    Even though they could sense that he was abusing the situation a bit, the two women didn¡¯t dare to take the gamble right now. Furthermore, they had already shared the most intimate kind of rtionship with him, so they didn¡¯t feel that much of an emotional burden from hugging him.

    It¡¯s just a bit embarrassing in front of that stone cold woman (witch).

    When he sensed the twodies moving closer into his arms, Zu An truly felt the unique features of each beauty. He was bursting with joy inwardly, but on the surface, there wasn¡¯t a single change in his expression.

    In truth, he didn¡¯t have that much confidence against that iing dragon of lightning.

    Ancestral Master Faraday, please be reliable¡­

    Soon after, the massive dragon smashed into the metal cage. After circling a few times, it still couldn''t enter and was unwillingly guided into the earth, eventually disappearing.

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue were shocked and overjoyed, eximing, ¡°It really did work!¡±

    The two grandmasters were as excited as young girls. They gave Zu An¡¯s ¡®profound and mysterious¡¯ side profile a look and couldn''t help but feel a bit shaken up inside.

    If there were no one else here, Yan Xuehen probably would just leapt over out of excitement and gave him a kiss. When she thought of that, she couldn''t help but give the third wheel a re.

    However, her eyes widened as she looked at the other woman, feeling shocked and heartbroken. It was because she saw Yun Jianyue get on her tiptoes and actually kiss Zu An right in front of her face!

    ¡°You¡­ You¡­¡± Yan Xuehen murmured; her mind was aplete mess.

    What is this witch doing? That is her disciple¡¯s man!

    ¡°What do you mean ¡®you¡¯? Little Ah Zu is so incredible, so what¡¯s wrong with giving him a bit of a reward?¡± Yun Jianyue retorted, rolling her eyes.

    Yan Xuehen said angrily, ¡°He is your disciple¡¯s man; how can you do something like this?¡±

    ¡°Good work should be rewarded. This one was happy and felt like giving him a reward, what¡¯s wrong with that? It¡¯s not as if we share romantic feelings. What kind of nonsense are you thinking?¡± Yun Jianyue said while secretly writing words on Zu An¡¯s palm, secretly sharing messages of love.

    Ah¡­ This feels amazing. Being a Devil Sect witch is the best. I don¡¯t have to worry about the other consequences.

    When she thought of that, she gave Yan Xuehen a provocative look and asked, ¡°If you can¡¯t ept this, then why don¡¯t you kiss him? Oh wait, I almost forgot. You¡¯re a stone cold woman. You don¡¯t feel a thing toward men. You¡¯re nothing like us¡­ witches?¡± Toward the end, she raised her voice.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s beautiful eyes widened, her expression filled with disbelief. She murmured, ¡°You¡­ You¡­¡±

    Zu An understood Yan Xuehen¡¯s thin-skinned nature the best. He was about to warn her that Yun Jianyue was provoking her on purpose, but he was worried that big sis Yun would overthink things if he said anything.

    While he was hesitating, there was suddenly a cool sensation on his face. A clear and pure fragrance wafted through the air. That soft and cold feeling was just too incredible.

    As it turned out, Yan Xuehen had actually also gotten on her tiptoes, giving him a kiss. When she saw his expression, her cold face also produced a hint of a blush.

    Yun Jianyue had never expected the tides to turn so quickly. Even someone like her was now overwhelmed with disbelief. She eximed, ¡°You¡­ You actually kissed him?!¡±

    ¡°What ¡®you¡¯? Have you never seen someone kiss before?! A Devil Sect¡¯s witch can reward him, so why can¡¯t a righteous sect member like me give out a reward?¡± Yan Xuehen retorted. Her heart was pounding, and she felt as if it were louder than the thunder all around them. Her cheeks were pink as she quickly added, ¡°I¡¯m kissing him on behalf of my Chuyan to prevent a witch like you from deceiving him!¡± She was starting to regret her impulse. She really didn¡¯t know what she had been thinking, to actually do something that bold.

    ¡°You actually kissed a man, and it¡¯s your disciple¡¯s man¡­¡± Yun Jianyue said, still in shock. This was nothing like the stone cold woman she knew! Was Yan Xuehen possessed? She naturally knew that was impossible, so she looked at the other woman with a strange expression and asked, ¡°Stone cold woman, don¡¯t tell me you actually like this brat?¡±

    Yan Xuehen also gradually recovered her cool, saying, ¡°Is kissing him the same as liking him? Then did you fall in love with him?¡±

    ¡°Of course not; I am a Devil Sect witch, so I kiss when I want¡­¡±

    ¡°Is a Devil Sect witch all that? If you can do it, then why can¡¯t I?¡±

    ¡­

    As he listened to these women fight once again, Zu An had a weird expression.

    As expected, the morepetition there is, the more benefits there are for the consumer¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Han for +999 +999 +999¡­

    Zhao Han really was about to implode from anger. When he faced that terrifying dragon of lightning earlier, he¡¯d had no choice but to use the Human Emperor Seal and barely managed to disperse it. He was covered in injuries.

    On his end, he had been fighting bitterly against that terrifying lightning dragon, and yet that strange cage actually easily dealt with it. That wasn¡¯t the worst of it, though! The three damn adulterers had actually ended up ying a kissing game!

    That witch Yun Jianyue never acted ording to conventional reasoning. Even though it was a bit strange for her to kiss Zu An, it was still understandable.

    However, who was Yan Xuehen? She was famous for being cold, someone who kept a near-absolute distance from men. Countless people could only sigh in frustration, while at the same time admiring her dedication to purity. Her detachment from the secr world, to a certain degree, actually served as a spiritual pir for Zhao Han¡¯s generation of men.

    Zu An holding her in his arms was already explosive, and yet now, she had actually kissed that brat on her own initiative!

    Is this damn kid really that much of ady-killer?

    Even a goddess fell down to the secr world!

    If not even Yan Xuehen could resist his charms, it wasn¡¯t all that surprising for the empress and crown princess to follow suit. Those unbearable scenes appeared in his mind again. His eyes became entirely red once again.

    He could sense that his current state of mind wasn¡¯t beneficial for facing this tribtion. However, he couldn''t be bothered to care about all that anymore. His only wish was to finish the tribtion as quickly as possible, so he could properly discipline this bastard.

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Han for +999 +999 +999¡­

    As if sensing his changing mood, the tribtion clouds above transformed again. The flying lightning dragons suddenly joined their heads and tails to form a giant chained whip. Every single link in the chain was made of one of the dragons. The whip soon rose into the air, making the whole world seem to have been divided in half. One could well imagine its power.

    Zhao Han¡¯s expression changed. He quickly used the Human Emperor Seal to protect himself. He didn¡¯t have the confidence to stop this round.

    Zu An also looked at the Faraday Cage around his group. Even though the cage was able to stop the powerful lightning, it only isted the extremely high voltage and not the electric current. Earlier, it had endured the terrifying tribtion and led it into to the ground, but the lines of the cage couldn''t endure the powerful electric current. There were traces of melted metal all across it.

    Zu An once again sighed in amazement at the power of tribtion lightning. He had already added many special materials, and Yan Xuehen even added formations to it, and yet it was still about to break down. If there were a few more rounds, perhaps this Faraday Cage would just copse. Without its protection, their party of three would quickly die. Thus, they had to get rid of Zhao Han before then.

    With the three of them joining the tribtion, the lightning¡¯s power had been greatly increased. Previously, Zhao Han had still been able to easily deal with the situation, but he was already at his limit. His entire body was covered in wounds.

    However, it still wasn¡¯t enough!

    Zu An said seriously, ¡°Hold onto me tightly!¡±

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue shot him a look.

    Isn¡¯t this brat going too far? You still want to take advantage of us even in this kind of situation?

    However, when he took out the Sun ying Bow, they realized that it was because he could no longer carry them. They had to hold onto him tightly. In order to avoid their souls being sted into nothingness, the two women could only suppress their shyness and awkwardness. They clung tightly to his body like sloths.

    ¡­

    In the distance, Zhao Han sensed a wave of killing intent lock onto him. He sneered.

    This brat is too naive. Do you think this is enough to distract me?

    If Zu An had a real Sun ying Arrow, perhaps he would feel a bit of apprehension, but the brat could only condense some random arrows. In this terrifying lightning tribtion, those formless arrows would be sted to pieces before they could even draw near. As such, he just ignored Zu An and focused on the lightning whip above them.

    In the time it took for sparks to fly off a flint, the terrifying whip arrived in front of him. He didn¡¯t dare to underestimate it. He controlled the Human Emperor Seal and smashed it against the whip.

    Sure enough, he was able to block it. After blocking it a few times, the lightning radiance lingered around his body. He could sense all of his injuries being healed by the origin power of the world. He couldn''t help but feel overjoyed.

    It seemed that this was the final round of tribtion lightning. As long as he could block this lightning whip, he would undergo aplete transformation and be a true immortal. Forget about this brat, even the Ghost King and Sun En from before would be nothing but ants to him!

    Just then, all of the lightning whips converged. An aura of annihtion crashed down.

    ¡°Win or lose, it all ends here!¡± he muttered.

    After enduring it for so long, he had already grasped some of the tribtion lightning¡¯s principles. Even though its power was great, he had great confidence in surviving it.

    Suddenly, aet flew across the horizon. He could vaguely make out white feathers at its tail.

    Wait, feathers?

    All of Zhao Han¡¯s fine hairs stood on end. He wanted to dodge, but for some reason, his entire body suddenly stiffened. Then, there was a huge explosion. He looked down in disbelief.

    A white feathered arrow had shed past, leaving arge hole in its wake. All of his internal organs were gone!n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

 Chapter 1850: Sucked Dry

    Chapter 1850: Sucked Dry

    Zu An had actually already wanted to see if he could kill Zhao Han with the Sun ying Bow while he was outside the range of the tribtion lightning.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    However, back then, he had still been too far away, and Zhao Han had dealt with the tribtion lightning too easily. A lot of his attention had remained to guard against Zu An¡¯s group. If Zu An had forced the attack in that situation, Zhao Han would likely have a way of dealing with it.

    Fortunately, Zhao Han thought he didn¡¯t have real Sun ying Arrows, so he was able to catch him off guard.

    Zu An only had a single real Sun ying Arrow left, so it had to hit its target. He couldn''t give Zhao Han a second chance. Otherwise, once he was prepared, the real Sun ying Arrow would only be able to wound him and not kill him. That was why he had needed to enter the range of the tribtion lightning. The first reason was to decrease the distance between them, and the second was to increase the power of the tribtion lightning and wear down Zhao Han. That way, he wouldn¡¯t have the energy to guard against the arrow.

    When he saw the terrifying lightning whip in the skysh out at Zhao Han, he knew his chance hade. As such, he took out the Sun ying Bow, but he hadn¡¯t immediately added the real Sun ying Arrow. Instead, he had condensed a few ki arrows and shot them.

    Even though most of Zhao Han¡¯s attention was on using the Human Emperor¡¯s Seal to deal with the terrifying tribtion lightning, he hadn¡¯tpletely lowered his guard. He had still paid some attention to Zu An¡¯s side.

    When the first arrow arrived, Zhao Han had also shuddered. However, when he saw that the condensed arrow was sted to pieces by the terrifying lightning whip when it reached a few dozen feet from him, he sighed in relief. Before the might of this terrifying tribtion lightning, those arrows werepletely useless.

    After that, when he saw that Zu An was still going to fire another arrow, he had only felt pity for Zu An.

    He must be feeling despair now, right? He can only watch as I seed in tribtion, and then he can only await his own death. He can only hope that these futile methods can distract me.

    Thus, he had borrowed the power of the divine weapon Human Emperor Seal to continuously strike that giant lightning whip. This was something that could cleave through the void itself, so had to use all of his strength.

    When he sensed that the electricitying out of the lightning whip could also nurture his flesh with the origin of the world, Zhao Han realized that he was about to break through. As long as he could survive the thrashing of the lightning whip, he would undergo aplete transformation. He would be a true immortal.

    At that time, that brat Zu An¡­ Wait, what the hell is this?

    As it turned out, those condensed arrows had only been used to make Zhao Han drop his guard. When Zu An realized that it was time, he took out the real Sun ying Arrow, then shouted to the women beside him, ¡°Support me with all of your energy!¡±

    Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen had experienced the Xia Dynasty secret dungeon with him. They had seen him use the Sun ying Bow back then. There wasn¡¯t even a moment of hesitation as they gave him all of their energy.

    In that instant, they felt as if his body became an endless ck hole. It sucked out their energy at a terrifying rate. It affected more than their hands, too. As long as their bodies were touching him, their ki poured endlessly toward him.

    It felt as if a demonic technique were sucking out all of their cultivation, but the two women didn¡¯t stop it at all. Theypletely released control, allowing him to wantonly suck it all out. Their bodies quickly grew weak.

    I feel so limp and numb after being sucked dry¡­

    They didn¡¯t even have the strength to continue hugging Zu An and float in midair. Fortunately, the terrifying suction forceing from Zu An¡¯s body kept them on him, thus preventing them from falling down.

    Zu An didn¡¯t have the time to be distracted. He transferred the power of the mountain range, and together with the two women¡¯s cultivation, he poured it all into the arrow. Then, he fired it with all of his strength.

    The Sun ying Arrow was like aet, arriving behind Zhao Han almost as soon as it appeared.

    Zhao Han was someone who stood at the peak of his world, so he immediately sensed the threat to his lifeing from its horrifying sharp energy. How could he not realize that this was a real Sun ying Arrow?

    This little bastard fooled me!

    He didn¡¯t have time to think about anything else and quickly tried to use some life-preserving skills to dodge. As long as he could avoid the lethal parts, with his body¡¯s powerful regenerative power, even if he lost an arm or a leg, he could quickly recover. He would slowly settle the debt with that brat then!

    However, his body suddenly froze. A look of disbelief appeared on his face. In that instant, he discovered that he actually couldn''t control his body!

    He was already at the peak of the earth immortal rank. He was just a step away from the level of true immortal. His control over his own body was already at a point where every hair on his body moved at his will. Losing control over his own body was something that had never happened before!

    John Doe¡¯s Nemesis: Anyone named John Doe will be restrained for one second. Effect cannot be removed by any other skill.

    Nickname Card: One time use; you can change someone¡¯s name to any name you want.

    When he first got them, Zu An had thought that these two skills were total garbage, butter on, he realized that wasn¡¯t necessarily true. They were a trump card he could use against Zhao Han! And sure enough, he finally used that trump card now.

    Even though the amount of time the target was restricted for was extremely short, in a battle between true experts, a blink of an eye was enough time to change many things.

    For example, when that Sun ying Arrow struck Zhao Han in the middle of his back, not even an earth immortal¡¯s body could withstand it. Most of his body instantly disappeared, leaving behind only arge hole. He could even see Zu An holding his bow through that hole.

    ¡°Am I going to die?¡± Zhao Han murmured, a hint of fear shing across his face. Even though the regenerative ability of high level cultivators was high, able to regenerate a limb or even some crushed internal organs, losing all of his internal viscera like this was still too much. It waspletely impossible to recover from!

    He had clearly already been on the verge of bing a true immortal. He had just been one step away! And yet, he had actually died to this little bastard!

    Damn yoooou!

    Even his own empress and crown princess had been toyed with by Zu An, and now, he was also going to die because of this brat. There was nothing more miserable than this.

    I regret it so much¡­ I had many chances to crush him like an ant, and yet I nurtured that tiger. In the end, it came back to bite me.

    AHHHHHHHHHHH!

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Han for +1024 +1024 +1024¡­

    Suddenly, that lightning whip in the sky also struck his body.

    Boom!

    Zhao Han was instantly sted into scattered ashes and dispersed smoke!

    As if sensing that the one who faced tribtion had perished, the terrifying tribtion lightning also gradually disappeared. The clear and boundless sky was gradually restored.

    Zu An¡¯s group of three could no longer hold on. They all fell weakly to the ground. The Faraday Cage had also beenpletely melted by the lightning. If a few more seconds had passed, their group could also have been erased from this world by the tribtion lightning.

    Zu An felt a tremendous wave of power rush into his body. He could clearly sense his strength advancing by leaps and bounds. He quickly examined his own condition. He had originally been at level 71. The experience bar was rapidly increasing, breaking through 72, 73¡­

    It actually reached level 74 directly!

    The further he went, the more slowly the experience bar grew. Eventually, the amount needed to fill every single bar would be equivalent to the sum of all of the levels before it. And yet now, he had continuously broken through three levels. Judging from that, it was clear just how powerful Zhao Han was.

    Furthermore, Zu An had a feeling that he hadn¡¯tpletely absorbed Zhao Han¡¯s soul force. That tribtion lightning had hacked Zhao Han into nothing, so his soul had also scattered, which meant there was no more power to absorb.

    ¡°F*ck, that tribtion lightning actually got to him first,¡± he muttered, feeling a bit upset. However, overall, he had still gained a lot. Not only had he gotten rid of Zhao Han, his greatest enemy, his own strength had also grown considerably.

    He had actually been trying topare the conventional cultivation system with his own level for a while. For example, Zhao Han was likely equivalent to someone at the peak of level 75. Even though that wasn¡¯t very precise, it still had some reference value. As such, he was already quite satisfied with his current level of 74.

    ¡°Please hurry and get up¡­¡± Yan Xuehen said from the side, sounding hard-pressed.

    Zu An noticed that he was lying on an expanse of softness. It turned out it was big sis Yan¡¯s¡­ At the same time, because they had fallen, his hands and feet were naturally on Yun Jianyue¡¯s body.

    Yun Jianyue had an ambiguous smile as she remarked, ¡°Brat, how much longer are you going to grope around for?¡±

    Zu An said weakly, ¡°I already used up all of my strength. I can¡¯t even get up, so let me rest for a bit first. If I¡¯ve offended the two of you somehow, I ask for big sisters¡¯ forgiveness.¡±

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue were both speechless.

    Does this kid really have no strength or is he lying?

    However, they really didn¡¯t have any strength left. They had almost been sucked dry earlier, so they couldn''t even lift a finger, so they naturally couldn''t push him away. They could only stay like this.

    Yan Xuehen gave Yun Jianyue a look. In order to alleviate her embarrassment, she quickly changed the topic, saying, ¡°I never expected we would be able to actually kill Zhao Han.¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± Yun Jianyue said, sighing deeply.

    After all, Zhao Han had oppressed their entire generation. He had been the number one for who knew how many years. He was a mountain in the eyes of many generations of cultivators, the longest of rivers, and yet in the end, Zu An had dealt with him. They still felt a sense of momentary disbelief.

    However, after thinking about it, they remembered that in that other secret dungeon, they had also seen him kill the Fiend Emperor. Even though Zhao Han was more powerful, he was someone on the same level as the Fiend Emperor. Zu An really was a mysterious man. He always managed to create impossible miracles.

    Suddenly, a voice eximed, ¡°It¡¯s right over there! There seemed to be someone facing tribtion. Hurry ande over to take a look!¡±

 Chapter 1851: Reunion

    Chapter 1851: Reunion

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue¡¯s thoughts were both running wild. They felt more and more admiration for Zu An and no longer looked at him like a junior. Instead, he was a real, mighty man whom even they admired. They looked at his side profile and thought, He really is handsome.

    As they continued to stare at him, each of them suddenly noticed that the other woman was looking at him the same way.

    Why is the stone cold woman (witch) looking at him like that? Don¡¯t tell me she likes him? How is that possible?!

    The two women quickly rejected that suspicion. They had been enemies for so many years and understood each other¡¯s personalities best. They really couldn''t imagine how someone like that would like this guy.

    Fortunately, the voices in the distance got rid of their embarrassment. Judging from their tone, it seemed they hadn¡¯t dared to approach earlier when they saw the tribtion lightning, but now that the lightning had dispersed, they had decided toe and see what was going on.

    Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen both panicked. They knew that there would definitely be a mix of good and bad people in this kind of situation. Many of them no doubt had some intention of picking up the spoils. For example, if the tribtion was a failure, they would try to see if they could pick up some of the cultivator¡¯s magic artifacts, weapons, and other things.

    Furthermore, the women both understood what kinds of appearances they had. There had never been ack of rash individuals when they wandered the world. They had previously not needed to fear any others due to their cultivation. However, both of them had practically beenpletely sucked dry by Zu An and couldn''t recover in time at all. Forget about fighting, they couldn''t even move. If some bad people saw them, it wasn¡¯t too hard to imagine what would happen.

    They were busy panicking when they saw Zu An suddenly sit up. He wrapped his hands around their waists, picked them up, then flew into the distant forest.

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue were stunned, eximing, ¡°You were pretending before?!¡±

    The two women had displeased expressions. Zu An was clearly vigorous and healthy, and yet he had taken advantage of the two of them by lying in ce.

    Zu An said awkwardly, ¡°It¡¯s a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding. I was worried that the two of you would be in danger, so I barely managed to recover a bit of strength in a moment of desperation!¡±

    ¡°Hah!¡±

    ¡°Hmph!¡±

    Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue stood on the same front for the first time ever.

    Fortunately, both of them didn¡¯t really care too much about that. Yan Xuehen quickly said, ¡°Hurry and find Zhao Han¡¯s Human Emperor Seal. It would be bad if those people picked it up.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s your spoil of war that you earned with such difficulty, so how can you let others get their hands on it?!¡± Yun Jianyue added, her eyes widening.

    Zhao Han had been sted into ashes by that lightning whip, and many of his treasures were also destroyed. However, that Human Emperor Seal was a deity-grade weapon, so there was no way it would be destroyed by tribtion lightning.

    Zu An felt warm inside. These two really did think for his sake. He didn¡¯t waste any more time and silently sensed the surrounding auras.

    ¡°I found it!¡±

    He reached out in a certain direction, and a strand of clear light flew back. It was the Sun ying Arrow, which wasn¡¯t a single-use item. The battlefield was under his control, so he could naturally take it back. Then, he reached out in another direction, and a golden light flew toward him. It was quiterge, but when it reached his hand, it gradually shrank, bing a rather exquisite jade seal. As it floated in his palm, the ruler¡¯s seal flowed with brilliant color. It was very clearly an extraordinary item.

    Yan Xuehen said with a frown, ¡°This Human Emperor Seal is a hot potato. If you take it out, everyone will know you killed Zhao Han. Cleaning up after this will be pretty troublesome.¡±

    Zhao Han was the Great Zhou Dynasty¡¯s emperor, after all. He was already like a guardian deity in their eyes. If they found out that Zu An had killed him, the court definitely wouldn¡¯t leave the matter be. The people would likely also holler for his head. At that point, there would be nowhere left for him to remain in the world.

    ¡°Why are you stressing out over things like that? At worst, he¡¯ll just join our Holy Sect. If our people found out you killed the emperor, not only would they not hate you, they¡¯d even see you as a great hero. I could even step aside and give you the position of sect leader if you want, and I¡¯m sure all of them would be fine with that,¡± Yun Jianyue said with a big smile. Now that Zhao Han was dead, her mood had be much better.

    Yan Xuehen was rmed. She quickly said to Zu An, ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to go to the Devil Sect!¡±

    If that happened, they really would be sworn enemies.

    Before Zu An even got a chance to reply, Yun Jianyue retorted, ¡°Stone cold woman, does he need your thoughtless remarks when making his decision? Who even are you to him?¡±

    ¡°I am his¡­¡± Yan Xuehen almost blurted out something, but when she looked into Yun Jianyue¡¯s eyes, she felt a bit of guilt. She quickly changed what she was going to say. ¡°I am his wife¡¯s master. Don¡¯t tell me that I cannot lecture him at all?¡±

    ¡°Tsk, you were acting so self-confident and righteous that I almost thought you were his wife.¡± Yun Jianyue harrumphed. ¡°Besides, what wife? They already divorced. My disciple has affinity with him, so I think she would be the best candidate for the main wife.¡±

    ¡°Shameless!¡± Yan Xuehen snapped, curling her lips.

    ¡°Who are you calling shameless?¡± Yun Jianyue retorted in annoyance.

    ¡­

    As he watched the two fight, Zu An felt as if his head would explode. He quickly shushed them. ¡°Be quiet, someone ising.¡± He put the Human Emperor¡¯s Seal away to prevent its aura from leaking out. Even though it was a hot potato, it was formidable. He naturally couldn''t let anyone else have it.

    Figures rushed over one after another. There were elders and youngsters, and they all had different outfits. They were clearly not of the same faction.

    ¡°A terrifying lightning tribtion took ce here after all,¡± an elder remarked as he looked at the mountains that had been scorched ck; he clearly looked like someone who upied a high position. His voice trembled a bit.

    Tribtion was something that had only existed in legends. They had never expected toe into contact with something like that so closely.

    ¡°I never could have expected that someone could really face tribtion. I wonder which senior it was,¡± another middle-aged man in blue added. Judging from his bearing, he was clearly a sect master.

    ¡°Recently, we first experienced the opening of a great tomb, and then someone faced tribtion. More and more abnormalities are taking ce. This world might not be peaceful anymore,¡± another middle-aged man with a jade-like countenance said with a sigh. ording to his tone, it seemed as if they all knew each other.

    Just then, another, more sinister voice added, ¡°Judging from the looks of things, he must have failed the tribtion. Apart from Immortal Ruler Baopu in the past, when have we ever seen someone seed in the past few millennia?¡± He was a shriveled and ugly elder. There was a sinister energy emanating from his entire body. It was clear that he didn¡¯t cultivate any orthodox method from a single nce.

    ¡°Sir Blood Spirit, please watch your words. Every single being who can bring down tribtion is a pioneer among our seniors. They have proven that there is still a path ahead. Even if they have failed, they have shown the way, so they are worthy of our respect,¡± the blue-d middle-aged man said seriously.

    ¡°Tsk, you speak in such a high-sounding way, but don¡¯t you still covet the treasures they left behind? You all can sigh andment all you want, but I¡¯m going to search for them first. The spoils belong to those destined for them!¡± The shriveled ugly elder harrumphed, and his figure flickered. He began to search the area. This lightning tribtion covered a range of dozens of li, so finding a magic artifact in the area wasn¡¯t that easy.

    The blue-d middle-aged man¡¯s expression changed a bit. He cupped his hands toward the others and began searching in a different direction.

    With these two taking the lead, for fear of others finding the treasure before them, the others moved out as well.

    ¡­

    Zu An¡¯s group of three actually saw some familiar faces among the group. One was a tall and handsome young man, and another was a sweet looking youngdy. When the two stood together, they drew the attention of everyone around them. The pair was none other than Heavenly Sorrow Sect¡¯s representative disciple Zhi Yin and his junior sister Zhao Xiaodie.

    There was another man next to them. He could be considered handsome by normal standards, but he had the spotlight stolen from him when he stood next to them. He was Mount Luofu¡¯s representative disciple, Luo Dongjiang.

    As luck would have it, their group headed in the direction of Zu An¡¯s group. They chatted with each other as they looked for magic artifacts.

    ¡°I wonder where the other martial brothers and sisters are. We were mysteriously trapped in this secret dungeon and have no idea when we¡¯ll be able to leave,¡± Zhao Xiaodie grumbled. It was clear that she still hadn¡¯t heard news of her father King Qi. Even though she was worried, there was no grief visible on her face.

    ¡°Exactly. We were looking for the others, but we only managed to find each other. I wonder where the rest of them went,¡± Zhi Yin said, looking vexed.

    Luo Dongjiang remarked with a mocking tone, ¡°Brother Zhi Yin probably wishes to find Goddess Chu the most, right?¡±

    Zhi Yin¡¯s face turned red. He said, ¡°Brother Luo, please do not joke around. I was only wondering whether the entrance of the secret dungeon would only appear after we gathered everyone. I am not searching for anyone in particr.¡±

    He reflexively gave Zhao Xiaodie a look. He knew she liked him and was worried that she would get upset because of this. However, to his surprise, her expression waspletely calm.

    ¡°But senior sister Peng was trapped in that great tomb. Doesn¡¯t that mean we¡¯ll never be able to leave?¡± Zhao Xiaodie asked worriedly.

    Zhi Yin was stunned, but he quickly replied, ¡°That was just my suspicion. It might not be true.¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°That great tomb was so scary. Not even Miss Peng with her cultivation was able to escape,¡± Luo Dongjiang said, still feeling lingering fear.

    Their party once again sighed, remembering how dangerous that great tomb had been.

    Zu An¡¯s group exchanged a look. Emptiness Isle¡¯s Peng Wuyan actually hadn¡¯t managed to get out? That woman really was unlucky. Previously, she had been reced by Qiu Honglei in thepetition;ter, she had finally managed to enter this secret dungeon, and yet ended up losing her life for it.

    The group members were chatting with each other when they heard someone muttering, ¡°Hm? That¡¯s strange. There was clearly a streak of golden light that flew in this direction. Why can¡¯t I find it?¡±

    The shriveled, ugly Elder Blood Spirit flew over. He gave their party a displeased look and asked, ¡°Did you get to it before me?¡±

 Chapter 1852: No Way!

    Chapter 1852: No Way!n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zhi Yin¡¯s group replied with an unhappy tone, ¡°What do you mean, got to it first? We haven¡¯t even found a thing yet.¡±

    These individuals were all among the best of the disciples from the different sects. Normally, they were constantly surrounded by attention. If not for the fact that they were in a different world, they would already have flipped out if someone interrogated them like this.

    ¡°Hmph, do you think I¡¯ll believe you just because you said you don¡¯t have anything? This old one won¡¯t trouble you. Let me search your storage pouches, and then I¡¯ll let you go.¡± Elder Blood Spirit harrumphed.

    When they heard his domineering tone, the three¡¯s expressions changed. They replied, ¡°Why should we let you search us?¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Elder Blood Spirit repeated, his expression turning cold. ¡°Little infants, could it be that your elders never told you that once you leave home, strength is above all?¡±

    Luo Dongjiang was so angry he actuallyughed, saying, ¡°This sir is acting so egotistical. Do you really think we¡¯re that easy to bully?¡±

    With the strength of their group of representative disciples, if they worked together, they could even fight against their sects¡¯ veteran elders. An ordinary master wasn¡¯t even worthy of them fighting together.

    Their party hadn¡¯t wanted to cause trouble in an unfamiliar environment and had always backed down, and yet now, the other side was going way too far. How could their arrogant and haughty selves endure that? They all began to berate him.

    Elder Blood Spiritughed sinisterly and said, ¡°You¡¯re already so arrogant while still so young. If I don¡¯t properly discipline you, what kind of a senior would I be?¡±

    He raised his hand, and a white bone palm fanned open, flying at Luo Dongjiang.

    Luo Dongjiang had actually already been prepared for an attack, but he had never expected the opponent to be that fast. With a loud and clear smack, his face was struck. Even though the palm¡¯s power wasn¡¯t that great, it made his face red and swollen because it was extremely fast. The humiliation factor was definitely high.

    He was the glorious representative disciple of Mount Luofu. When had he ever experienced such a thing before? He roared with anger, drawing his weapon and charging forward.

    On the other hand, Zhi Yin and Zhao Xiaodie weren¡¯t just enjoying the drama. They knew that they had to fight together, so they tacitly agreed to assist Luo Dongjiang. The unified strength of the three daoist sects¡¯ next generation heroes was definitely remarkable.

    ¡°Hm? No wonder you were so full of youthful vigor. You do have some skills,¡± Elder Blood Spirit said, raising his brows. Unfortunately, his eyebrows had already fallen off, so it was quite the strange sight.

    He moved strangely as he jumped straight into the fray, leaping from side to side. The three youngsters weren¡¯t able to coordinate their attacks at all, and all of them felt as if they were fighting against him one on one. They were all rmed.

    ¡­

    On a distant treetop, Yun Jianyue yawned as she watched the scene. She said, ¡°How senseless. Let¡¯s hurry and go find Honglei¡¯s group. They must be worried to death right now.¡±

    She was the Devil Sect Master, so she wasn¡¯t too fond of these daoist sect disciples to begin with. She wouldn¡¯t even mind at all if they ended up dying here, as that would be beneficial for the Devil Sect.

    Yan Xuehen frowned and said, ¡°No, as a fellow daoist, I cannot just watch without doing anything.¡±

    Yun Jianyue sneered, retorting, ¡°What else can you do but watch? Do you even have an ounce of strength left? If you go up there, you¡¯ll only be donating yourself. You¡¯re so pretty I reckon that Elder Blood Spirit wouldn¡¯t mind having some fun with you.¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression changed a bit. She knew that what Yun Jianyue said was true. Zu An¡¯s suction had just been too strong before, leaving herpletely numb and limp. She couldn''t muster even an ounce of strength. There was no way for her to do anything, so she could only look pitifully at Zu An. She was usually cold in nature, so she wasn¡¯t too good at asking for help. She couldn''t find the right words and could only gesture with her eyes.

    Zu An was about to say something when Yun Jianyue said first, ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to save them. That Zhi Yin fought against your Manman, while Zhao Xiaodie is King Qi¡¯s daughter, someone who bears hostility against you. Also, that Luo Dongjiang also provoked Honglei before. If you save them, won¡¯t you just be striking our faces?¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He felt a huge headache. Having two beauties who were on opposite camps made it so that regardless of which choice he made, he would offend one side.

    Suddenly, there was a change in the battle. Zhao Xiaodie was the first to be sted flying with a groan. Then, Luo Dongjiang followed, and after that, it was Zhi Yin. They were all covered in injuries. Judging from the sequence, it was easy to tell the order of their strength.

    Zhao Xiaodie gritted her teeth. Her entire body turned into an expanse of butterflies and swept toward Elder Blood Spirit.

    ¡°Hm? There¡¯s actually poison. Unfortunately for you, this old one fears poison least of all,¡± Elder Blood Spirit remarked. Green light shed across his body, as if he had sucked away that poison. Then, he released a shriveled hand, grabbing at the endless butterflies. With a cry of rm, the butterflies scattered and Zhao Xiaodie appeared, her neck sped in his hand.

    ¡°Little miss, you¡¯re actually quite pretty,¡± Elder Blood Spirit remarked. His long and thin tongue reached out and gave her tender white cheek a lick.

    Suddenly, a terrifying wind swept over. Elder Blood Spirit shuddered. He quickly raised his head and moved out of the way.

    Zhao Xiaodie seized the chance to break free from his control and escaped a hundred meters away. Her small, beautiful face was full of fear. She had almost been caught just now. Judging from how perverted the opponent looked, it wasn¡¯t hard to imagine her fate if that happened.

    Elder Blood Spirit voiced his surprise. Then, a hint of rapt joy appeared on his face. He eximed, ¡°It was actually an immortal-grade weapon! Haha, even if I couldn''t find the one who faced tribtion, this is enoughpensation.¡±

    Zhi Yin held the Shadowless Ball in his hand. He had a really frustrated expression. He couldn''t win against the opponent if he didn¡¯t bring out this weapon, but now that he had, the opponent clearly desired it. They really were unlucky today.

    Elder Blood Spirit didn¡¯t give them any time for regrets. He moved as fast as lightning. He changed his initial ns from dealing with Zhao Xiaodie first; instead, he focused all of his strength on Zhi Yin to steal his Shadowless Ball.

    Zhi Yin was quickly put in a desperate situation. Zhao Xiaodie quickly rushed forward to help him. After some hesitation, Luo Dongjiang also used his forbidden skill and charged forward.

    On the tree, Yan Xuehen frowned, remarking, ¡°Even though their cultivations aren¡¯t bad, that Elder Blood Spirit has already stepped into the grandmaster rank. He isn¡¯t someone they can defeat at all.¡±

    Sure enough, in the blink of an eye, many more shocking injuries appeared on their bodies.

    Bang!

    There was a loud snap. Luo Dongjiang had been smashed flying by a palm, knocking him straight into a tree. The tree was so thick it would take three people¡¯s arms to wrap around it, and yet the impact had snapped it instantly.

    Luo Dongjiang coughed out a mouthful of blood, his face deathly pale. It was clear that he was seriously injured. He instinctively wanted to charge again, but his body quickly stopped. As he watched the opponent¡¯s ghost-like figure dart around, he knew that even if they fought to the death, they still wouldn¡¯t be his match.

    Since his attention ispletely on those two right now¡­

    Some hesitation appeared on his face, but in the end, he clenched his teeth. He turned around and ran.

    With him out of the fight, the pressure on Zhao Xiaodie increased considerably. When she saw him run away, she was shocked and rmed, eximing, ¡°Senior brother Luo, where are you going?!¡±

    Luo Dongjiang quickly called out, ¡°Junior sister Zhao, I¡¯m going to look for help. Hang in there!¡± His figure disappeared into the distance as he spoke.

    Elder Blood Spirit¡¯s attention waspletely on the Shadowless Ball, so he didn¡¯t even feel like chasing after Luo Dongjiang.

    Zhao Xiaodie felt her heart sink. Who else did they know in this world? Who could Luo Dongjiang ask for help? He was clearly using this chance to run away, and he even wanted the two of them to hold the enemy back.

    Elder Blood Spirit also roared withughter, saying, ¡°Even a married couple would abandon each other in the face of disaster, while you three were just travelingpanions. Why would he risk his life for you?¡±

    Zhi Yin was shocked and furious as well. He released a great roar. While the opponent was avoiding the Shadowless Ball, he rammed into him with Push of the Iron Mountain to try to seriously injure him.

    ¡°This move of yours is a bit interesting. It actually contains the power of a mountain collision,¡± Elder Blood Spirit said. Despite that, he easily dodged to the side. Then, his leg extended outward, borrowing Zhi Yin¡¯s momentum to throw him.

    Zhi Yin mmed into the ground. Now, he was the one who had to suffer the recoil of Push of the Iron Mountain. Loud cracks came from his body as his bones shattered. He no longer had the strength to keep fighting.

    Zhao Xiaodie rushed over frantically to try to save him, but the opponent¡¯s shriveled arm passed through herplicated attacks and grabbed her neck.

    When they saw that, a hint of despair shed across Zhi Yin and Zhao Xiaodie¡¯s faces.

    Killing for another¡¯s treasure, dying a humiliating death¡­

    All kinds of verses appeared in their minds.

    ¡°Haha, my luck really is pretty good today. Not only did I obtain an immortal-grade weapon, there¡¯s even a dainty beauty for me to enjoy,¡± Elder Blood Spirit said. He sealed Zhao Xiaodie¡¯s acupoints before tossing her to the side.

    Suddenly, he looked in a certain direction and called out, ¡°You people over there, you¡¯ve already watched this drama for so long. I reckon that you¡¯ve watched enough by now, right?¡±

    Zu An was speechless. Even though Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen¡¯s voices were quiet, he hadn¡¯t expected Elder Blood Spirit to pick up on them. This person¡¯s cultivation really couldn''t be underestimated.

    He could only carry Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen with him as he jumped off the tree, calling out, ¡°If I said that we were just passing by, would you let us go?¡±

    He didn¡¯t want any more trouble, so he took out a mask to cover his face.

    Meanwhile, Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue acted as if they had found the most precious treasure. They frantically grabbed at the masks to hide their faces. They even buried their heads into his shoulder without any shame, for fear of any of these juniors recognizing them.

 Chapter 1853: An Incredible Secret

    Chapter 1853: An Incredible Secret

    When he saw the three of them, Elder Blood Spirit¡¯s eyes widened. Even though Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue¡¯s appearances were ordinary, just their bodies and bearing made them top-notch goods.

    He gave their faces another look. They were still ordinary. No matter how he looked at it, those things didn¡¯t match at all! He was full of experience in the world of warriors and immediately suspected that they were wearing masks to hide their astonishing beauty. That made it even harder for him to hold in that itch inside. He really wanted to undo their masks to see their beautiful faces.

    His luck with thedies really was incredible today! There had been a gorgeous little beauty just now, and two more incredible beauties had just appeared. He was no doubt going to really wear himself out tonight.

    Zhi Yin and Zhao Xiaodie looked at the three who appeared. The light in their eyes gradually dimmed. They were trying to flee a disaster and saw someone passing by. Even if it wasn¡¯t someone who was a match for Elder Blood Spirit, adding a few more variables would still be good.

    And yet, who could have thought that it would be three people like this? The man in the middle lookedpletely ordinary, and there wasn¡¯t even a single ki fluctuationing out of him. He was clearly just an ordinary person. The two women did have extraordinary bearing and figures, but they were lying on the body of the man in the middle as if they didn¡¯t have a single bone in their bodies.

    Who else could it be but some young master who hade out to y with his concubines, but was identally discovered here? Unfortunately, they had ended up running into the vicious Elder Blood Spirit. Everything most likely boded ill for them. It really was a pity for those two outstandingdies. They likely wouldn¡¯t be able to escape humiliation.

    ¡°Passing by? Why would you hide in a tree if you were passing by?¡± Elder Blood Spirit asked with a sneer.

    ¡°We were hiding in a tree to avoid wild beasts. How could we have known that we would just happen to pass by you?¡± Zu An replied. He was starting to get a headache. He really didn¡¯t want to get involved in this matter. The main reason was that Zhao Han had died nearby, so he didn¡¯t want others to know that he had appeared nearby to avoid othersing up with unnecessary ideas. He had previously met Zhi Yin and Zhao Xiaodie, so he couldn''t just kill them to silence them, right?

    He had never expected that even though his group had clearly been far away from the conflict, they would still end up being caught up.

    When he heard that, Elder Blood Spirit¡¯s eyes immediately lit up. He asked, ¡°You were here the entire time? Then doesn¡¯t that mean you know who was facing tribtion here?¡±

    That was also what most of the experts of this world were curious about. They had wanted toe and take a look to see which one of their old friends had such qualifications.

    Zu An acted stunned, replying, ¡°That was tribtion? I thought it was just some lightning. I was wondering why the lightning sounded so scary.¡±

    Elder Blood Spirit frowned, asking, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you didn¡¯t see anything here?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t. The thunder was too loud. I was sleeping here with my two wives,¡± Zu An said. As soon as he spoke, there was a burst of intense pain from his waist. The two women were both upset and secretly pinched him.

    Yan Xuehen wore a mask, so she didn¡¯t have to worry about the redness on her face being seen by others.

    This kid is going more and more overboard! If they really found out my identity, how would I face others in the future?

    Yun Jianyue was simrly depressed.

    Does an honorable Devil Sect Master not need any face? If those of my sect found out that I had a man, wouldn¡¯t they die fromughing? I probably wouldn¡¯t even be able to hold my position as sect master anymore¡­

    At the same time, she was a bit surprised that this brat actually even dared to tease that stone cold woman. He really was getting bolder and bolder.

    The other three were looking at him with even weirder expressions. Why did this ordinary looking fellow have two such extraordinary beauties? They had even been keeping himpany on that tree¡­ Just the thought alone was a bit stimting.

    Just then, Elder Blood Spirit said, ¡°It¡¯s fine. Take out your storage pouches and let me examine them. If you¡¯re not hiding my item, I¡¯ll let you two go.¡±

    ¡°But we don¡¯t have a storage pouch¡­¡± Zu An replied. He was thinking about how to deal with Zhi Yin and Zhao Xiaodie.

    ¡°Then take off your clothes and let me examine your body,¡± Elder Blood Spirit said. His eyes couldn''t help but dart toward the two women.

    They really were getting him more and more excited. Both of them had their own unique beauty and characteristics. Even if their faces really looked like that, judging from their figures and temperament alone, they were already rare goods.

    I am still willing to fight bravely through a difficult night!

    When they sensed the wretched look in his eyes, both Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue¡¯s expressions darkened. What kind of status did they have? When had they ever been provoked like this before?

    Zu An asked seriously, ¡°Is it enough if I leave behind all of my belongings here?¡±

    ¡°Of course not. I want your life. What right does a brat like you to have to enjoy these two great beauties?¡± Elder Blood Spirit snapped. He got more and more angry the more he thought about it. These two extraordinary beauties really were wasted on this damn rich young master!

    You have sessfully trolled Elder Blood Spirit for +444 +444 +444¡­

    He quickly leaped toward Zu An. His shriveled hand grabbed at Zu An¡¯s head like a falcon¡¯s w. Even a giant bear¡¯s skull would be crushed like a squash under his grip. As the other person had already seen what happened just now, he naturally wanted to silence him. As for the two extraordinary beauties, he would leave them behind to slowly enjoy them.

    Suddenly, a blinding burst of sword radiance appeared before his eyes. He was sure that it was the most dazzling sword he had ever seen in his life. It was as if a zing sun had risen in front of his eyes. He was horrified and quickly changed his w to a defensive stance. All kinds of techniques appeared from his body.

    He was one of the strongest in this world. Apart from the Ghost King, Divine Firmament Sect¡¯s Sun En, the Adventurer¡¯s Guild president Zang Ao, and a few others, he didn¡¯t have to fear anyone with his sinister skills. That was partly why, even though he was clearly alone, he dared to speak rudely to others. At his level, ordinary cultivators didn¡¯t pose any threat to them anymore. The sword energy looked a bit terrifying and exaggerated, but there was no way it was stronger than Sun En¡¯s techniques, right? He had even survived a few moves from Sun En.

    However, his expression quickly changed. Those techniques he was normally immensely proud of, as well as his countless body-protecting treasures, all burned away like the first snow before a zing sun. They all melted away instantly.

    What followed them was his hand, his body, his head¡­

    Is there really someone this strong in the world? Who is this dog spawn who¡¯s so damn strong already, and yet is pretending to be some pig?!

    That was the final thought he had in his life.

    You have sessfully trolled Elder Blood Spirit for +888 +888 +888¡­

    Meanwhile, Zhi Yin and Zhao Xiaodie were stupefied. Their jaws practically fell to the ground. That iparably powerful demonic god-level existence in front of them had actually been wiped out in an instant by a single sword strike?

    They looked down at the ground, moving stiffly. Before them was a deep crack along the ground that extended all the way into the distance. The two looked in that direction, and both of their bodies trembled all over. There had originally been a mountain there, but now, it had actually been directly cleaved in half down the middle, leaving a giant canyon.

    The power of a single sword was actually so terrifying?!

    Forget about them, even Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen stared nkly into the distance. The power of Zu An¡¯s sword even exceeded their imagination. It didn¡¯t even seem to be that far off from Zhao Han at his strongest.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    When he saw the two women¡¯s confused looks, Zu An said, ¡°My strength increased just earlier. I can¡¯t really control it yet.¡±

    Elder Blood Spirit was around the grandmaster rank, and yet the soul power he offered had only made Zu An¡¯s experience bar increase a tiny bit. It was easy to see just how difficult it was to get stronger at his current level.

    He hadn¡¯t expected the sword strike to create themotion it did, though. He could vaguely make out quite a few powerful cultivators rushing in the group¡¯s direction. Fortunately, because they felt some restraining fear, they didn¡¯t dare to rush over at full speed. Otherwise, they could end up provoking unwanted trouble.

    Zu An didn¡¯t want trouble either, so he took the two women and turned around to leave. However, as soon as he moved a few hundred meters, he suddenly stopped and asked, ¡°What are you following us for?¡±

    As it turned out, Zhao Xiaodie tried to follow them while staggering along.

    ¡°Big brother Zu, is that you?¡± Zhao Xiaodie called out with misty eyes, her expression full of expectation.

    Zu An was stunned.

    I¡¯m even wearing a mask, yet you still recognize me?

    Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen narrowed their eyes.

    Don¡¯t tell us this guy even has an affair with King Qi Manor¡¯s princess?

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re saying,¡± Zu An said coldly.

    ¡°If you aren¡¯t big brother Zu, we have nothing to do with each other. Why did you save me?¡± Zhao Xiaodie asked excitedly.

    Zu An immediately felt an intense pain at his waist and he almost grimaced. He finally controlled his voice and said, ¡°I was just dealing with some passing flies. I didn¡¯t intend to save you.¡±

    After saying that, he didn¡¯t continue talking, and instead quickly took the two women into the distance. With just a few steps, he disappeared without a trace. The flesh around his waist could well be pinched apart if he stayed behind and spoke any more, after all.

    When she saw them disappear, Zhao Xiaodie knew that she couldn''t catch up to them. However, there was an excited smile on her face. She muttered to herself, ¡°Big brother Zu, I know it¡¯s you. Back then, you did¡­ that to me. I remember your body¡¯s smell.¡±

    She had always had a sharp sense of smell. As long as she got close enough to someone, she could remember their smell.

    The smell of the two women at his side was also a bit familiar. Could it be those two? However, how could those two unapproachable beings permit the same man to hold them at the waist? Furthermore, how could they allow themselves to fall into his armspletely limp?

    Wait, big brother Zu said he was sleeping with the two of them on a tree?

    Zhao Xiaodie¡¯s eyes immediately widened. She felt as if she had discovered an incredible secret.

    No wonder he isn¡¯t willing to admit his identity! No wonder they had to wear masks!

 Chapter 1854: Return

    Chapter 1854: Return

    Now, Yun Jianyue also doubted Zu An. She asked, ¡°Little An, what kind of rtionship do you and that princess really have? Back then, on Golden Peak, King Qi also said he wanted to give her to you.¡±

    Yan Xuehen, who had been jerking from side to side from the difort of being carried, also quieted down. She perked up her ears to listen to his reply.

    ¡°We don¡¯t have much of a rtionship. We just met once before in King Yan Manor. Big sis Yan was there at that time too,¡± Zu An said, feeling a headacheing on. ¡°At the time, King Qi was desperate for any help he could get, so it was just an empty promise he made to rope me in.¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Yun Jianyue gave Yan Xuehen a curious look. Yan Xuehen said calmly, ¡°She clearly didn¡¯t like you very much thest time we met. Why does it seem as if her attitude toward you is now entirely different? She even recognized you with your mask on.¡±

    Yun Jianyue raised her brows, saying, ¡°Stone cold woman, I¡¯ve never seen you speak so much at once. I didn¡¯t expect you to be so interested in these love affairs of his.¡±

    Yun Jianyue harrumphed. ¡°Can¡¯t I just ask a bit for Chu Chuyan¡¯s sake?¡±

    ¡°Right, I¡¯m also asking for Honglei¡¯s sake,¡± Yun Jianyue said as she pinched Zu An again. ¡°Hurry up and tell us honestly. Just what kind of rtionship do the two of you really have?¡±

    When she saw Yun Jianyue¡¯s movement, Yan Xuehen couldn''t help but also reach out her hand.

    I didn¡¯t expect pinching to be such a good source of stress relief. My mood seems to be better already.

    Zu An was speechless. He could only reply, ¡°I really don¡¯t know how she recognized me¡­ I¡¯m just as confused as the two of you!¡±

    ¡°She was still able to recognize you even after youpletely changed your face! Unless something really intimate happened between the two of you and she was really familiar with your body, how could she immediately recognize you from a single nce at your build?!¡± Yun Jianyue eximed, analyzing the situation as she spoke. Her expression also changed a bit.

    Even Yan Xuehen looked at him with a cold expression. Wasn¡¯t this guy a bit too ridiculous?

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +233 +233 +233¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +233 +233 +233¡­

    When he saw that these two really were getting angry, Zu An also became really depressed. He replied, ¡°I vow that I really have nothing to do with her! If the kind of rtionship you two are talking about happened before between us, then let me be struck by heavenly lightning!¡±

    When she saw how serious he was, Yun Jianyue finally started to be convinced.

    Just then, Yan Xuehen said with a harrumph, ¡°You have that Faraday Cage anyway. It¡¯s not as if you¡¯re scared of any heavenly lightning.¡±

    Yun Jianyue was stunned.

    That¡¯s right, this brat is actually ying word games with us!

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +300 +300 +300¡­

    Zu An was speechless. He gave Yan Xuehen a look and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t think you were someone like this, big sis Yan.¡±

    Yan Xuehen looked away. Her face heated up a bit.

    ¡­

    In the end, after Zu An¡¯s exnations, the two still trusted him. Yan Xuehen couldn''t help but say with a sigh, ¡°She probably still doesn¡¯t know about what happened to King Qi.¡±

    Zu An became a bit quiet. Zhao Xiaodie had been a woman blessed by the heavens, the daughter of King Qi; and yet, once she left this secret dungeon, her status would likely no longer be so glorious. It could instead be a burden.

    Yun Jianyue waved her hand, remarking, ¡°What are you worrying about all of that for? It has nothing to do with us either way. Right, we can¡¯t go back yet.¡±

    Zu An was stunned, asking, ¡°Why?¡±

    He had wanted to reunite with Chu Chuyan¡¯s group sooner so that they wouldn¡¯t get worried. After all, in the eyes of the others, being chased by Zhao Han only signified inevitable death.

    ¡°How can we go back in our current state? Do you want them to see you carry us in your arms?¡± Yun Jianyue replied, shooting him a re.

    Yan Xuehen nodded in agreement. Even though the witch was shameless, she definitely didn¡¯t want to be looked at strangely by those people.

    ¡°So that was it,¡± Zu An said, feeling a bit happy. Yun Jianyue wanted to hide their rtionship from other people, and so did Yan Xuehen.

    Watching them put on this performance really is interesting. I definitely can¡¯t let them find out the truth.

    As such, he agreed. Then, the twodies both took out pills from their sects before sitting down to adjust their breathing. Meanwhile, Zu An provided them with ki to help them digest the medicinal strength.

    ¡°Don¡¯t use that¡­ shameless skill of yours,¡± the two women said, shooting him a look. As soon as they recovered a bit of cultivation, they immediately gave him that warning through ki transmission. It was clear that they both knew what kinds of strange effects being affected by his ki brought.

    Zu An naturally wouldn¡¯t use that technique in such a situation. He helped them recover properly.

    ¡­

    Soon after, the two women recovered the ability to move. They didn¡¯t dare to stay for much longer; they were in a different world, after all. Who knew whether the others would encounter danger, or if they would do some foolish things because they hadn¡¯t received any news from Zu An yet? The three sped along and finally returned to where they had been before.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s group was pacing back and forth anxiously. There had been several times when they almost couldn''t hold themselves back from running off to check on the situation, and yet they had been worried that they would only be a burden on Zu An if they did. They had felt extremely conflicted.

    When they suddenly heard the sound of air moving, they turned around and saw Zu An descending on the Wind Fire Wheels. They were all shocked and happy, immediately rushing over to him.

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡±

    This time, none of them backed off for each other. Chu Chuyan, Pei Mianman, and Qiu Honglei all ran straight into his arms. They were all crying tears of joy and couldn''t be bothered with jealousy at all.

    At first, Xie Daoyun wanted to run over too, but when she thought about how she was different from the others, she could only stand off to the side while looking at the others with a pitiful expression.

    In the distance, Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue¡¯s eyelids both twitched when they saw the scene.

    ¡°Absolute trash!¡±

    That guy might just have hugged them all if his arms were long enough, right?

    How did Chuyan find such a fickle man? If this were before, I definitely wouldn¡¯t have agreed to the two of them being together. Unfortunately, I don¡¯t have the right to say anything anymore¡­

    Honglei will really have to face a lot of pressure in the future¡­ The stone cold woman¡¯s disciple used to be his proper wife, and that big-boobed woman¡¯s rtionship with Zu An seems to be special too. Sigh, I¡¯m getting more and more worried for Honglei. However, I can¡¯t do anything to help her out myself!

    On the other hand, Zu An continued to console the sobbing women.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine, aren¡¯t I?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not missing an arm or a leg, nor am I missing any other parts.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m really not lying to you! If you don¡¯t believe me, you can ask big sis Yun and Yan.¡±

    ¡­

    The young women all looked at Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue. The two¡¯s faces heated up.

    Why are you asking us about something like that? How could I know?!

    ¡°Master, is the emperor truly dead?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± the two replied, finally realizing that their thoughts had gone in the wrong direction.

    It turned out that Zu An had told the others the emperor had been defeated, and just found it unbelievable that the three were all fine. When they received the two women¡¯s confirmation, they all sighed in relief. The pressure Zhao Han had given them was just too great. They had never expected him to be dealt with just like that!

    Their group continued to ask what exactly happened. Zu An wanted to exin it to them, but they didn¡¯t listen to him at all, and instead surrounded Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue. Zu An was normally too frivolous, so they still found Sect Master Yan and Yun a bit more reliable. Furthermore, their cultivations were higher, so the three assumed they had contributed more.

    Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen both couldn''t help but feel a bit embarrassed when they saw the admiration in the young women¡¯s eyes. They could only talk about what had happened in a roundabout way.

    At first, they were a bit embarrassed since they hadn¡¯t really done much, but they got more and more excited as they continued to tell the story. After all, even now, they were still amazed by what had happened. They nced at Zu An from time to time, their expressions full of admiration.

    Of course, they tacitly decided to omit the fact that all three of them had been crammed into a tiny cage, and that he had been hugging them with both arms.

    The others were amazed as they listened. Even though Ah Zu was already extremely capable in their eyes, killing Zhao Han all by himself was still beyond their wildest imaginations.

    ¡°Ah Zu is so amazing!¡± the young women eximed. They couldn''t help but go round and round around Zu An. Even the usually cold Chu Chuyan was really lively. As they looked at Zu An, their eyes all sparkled.

    Everyone admired the strong. Zhao Han had already been acknowledged to be the strongest, and yet he had been defeated by their lover. If not for the other women here, they would already have thrown themselves into his arms.

    Xie Daoyun silently touched her storage pouch, saying, ¡°Libationer, big brother Zu has helped you get revenge.¡±

    Even though strictly speaking, the Xie n belonged to the emperor¡¯s faction, after she became an academy disciple, she had naturally grown closer to the libationer. That was especially true after witnessing Zhao Han¡¯s heartlessness and brutality, and more importantly, her big brother Zu bing an enemy of his majesty.

    She suddenly asked worriedly, ¡°Big brother Zu, what do we do if others ask us about this once we leave this ce? There are still many forces in the imperial court who are loyal to his majesty!¡±

    If others found out that he hadmitted regicide, the entire empire coulde after him. The other women immediately realized that problem too. All of them became worried.

    ¡°What are you scared of? If pushes to shove, you can just¡­e to our Holy Sect?¡± Yun Jianyue began speaking quite proudly, but she quickly sensed the killing intenting from the other women. She suddenly felt a bit guilty too.

    It¡¯s one thing if the others look at me like that, but Honglei, what is with that look of yours? Don¡¯t tell me our Holy Sect is really that unsightly?

    Do you really think your lover will be wronged by going there?

    Zu An said with a carefree expression, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Zhao Han died in that great tomb. It wasn¡¯t me who killed him, so what do I have to fear?¡±

    The others¡¯ eyes lit up. The great tomb was mysterious and terrifying, and there were probably others who entered this secret dungeon who could serve as witnesses. The emperor had gone missing inside; that was a perfectly reasonable exnation.

    As they looked at Zu An, they all had strange expressions.

    This guy really is good at lying. Not only is he good at lying to women, he¡¯s good at lying to men too.

    Suddenly, a bright gate of light appeared not too far from them. They were all overjoyed, because that familiar aura was clearly the exit out of the secret dungeon.

    ¡°Why did the gate suddenly appear in front of us?¡± Yan Xuehen wondered. After all, in the past, the exits of the secret dungeons had almost always been located where they entered. ¡°I wonder if those of the other sects will be able to rush here in time.¡±

    They were all from the daoist sects, so she was naturally a bit worried for them. There were quite a few who had entered the secret dungeon this time.

    ¡°I think the gate appeared in front of everyone who¡¯s still in this secret dungeon. This ce is rather special. It was strange when we entered, so it shouldn¡¯t be too hard for it to make something like that happen on the way out,¡± Yun Jianyue said pensively. While traveling with Zu An, she had previously experienced leaving through a secret dungeon exit that appeared right before them.

    Yan Xuehen nodded. This world was sorge that there was no way she could find all of the others. If they stalled for too long, the gate could just disappear, which would be really bad. Then, they would all be trapped here forever.

    Hm? But being trapped in this world doesn¡¯t seem to be that bad either. That way, apart from a few people, no one else in this world would know who Zu An and I are¡­

    However, she was quickly rmed and shook away this thought. Even though others wouldn¡¯t know, the witch and Chuyan knew! She didn¡¯t have the shamelessness to face them if they found out the truth.

    They were about to enter through the gate when Xie Daoyun suddenly called out to Qiu Honglei, asking, ¡°Big sis Qiu, it won¡¯t be too good to just leave like this, right?¡±

 Chapter 1855: A Grounded Phoenix

    Chapter 1855: A Grounded Phoenix

    Qiu Honglei and Yun Jianyue were stunned at first, but then they quickly realized that they would probably still be on Violet Mountain once they left. Now that this kind of thing had happened to the emperor, the entire court would probably be in an uproar. There were likely going to be troops all around the vicinity of the mountain, so if Devil Sect people showed up there, they would immediately be targeted on all sides.

    ¡°It is still little sister Xie who thinks things out the most thoroughly. Thank you!¡± Qiu Honglei replied, holding her hand enthusiastically in gratitude.

    Chu Chuyan and Pei Mianman were on the same side, and everyone was close to that Chu woman anyway. That Jing Teng whom she had painstakingly recruited was also nowhere to be seen, so she could only try to find some way to rope in some people who were worth getting on her side.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Xie Daoyun now became a bit shy. She had just wanted to get closer to everyone so that they wouldn¡¯t hate her in the future. Qiu Honglei¡¯s enthusiasm was beyond her expectations.

    Qiu Honglei and Yun Jianyue quickly changed their appearances. They were both from the Devil Sect and normally wandered the world of warriors freely, so they were quite skilled in disguise. For example, hadn¡¯t the two of them impersonated Peng Wuyan¡¯s sect representatives without anyone knowing a thing?

    Then, their group held hands and walked through the gate of light together.

    ¡­

    Soon after, a familiar sense of spatial distortion spread through the area. They all felt as if the air around them had be extremely viscous. However, after walking forward a certain distance, their bodies finally felt lighter, and arge expanse of light appeared before their eyes.

    They were all happy to see those familiar mountains swirling with dense purple mist. Atst, they had returned. Even though the secret dungeon¡¯s ki was rich, in the end, it still wasn¡¯t their home.

    They were on Violet Mountain¡¯s Golden Peak, but after the great battle, the glorious structures on Golden Peak had alreadypletely disappeared.

    Yan Xuehen sensed her surroundings a bit. She couldn''t help but say, ¡°That world¡¯s natural ki was a bit richer, as expected. Any random ce there was actually a bit better than even right here on Golden Peak.¡±

    The Righteous Sun Sect¡¯s Golden Peak already had denser ki than other ces. Only someone like Sect Master Wang Wuxie and a few other geniuses had the qualifications to cultivate there. And yet, in that other world, the same level of ki was everywhere.

    She couldn''t help but sigh when she recalled Wang Wuxie. Even though she hadn¡¯t felt anything toward him, they had known each other for so many years. Seeing him end up in that kind of situation was still a bit pitiable.

    ¡°If I had known it would be like this, I would have spent a bit more time cultivating on that side. I might have even been able to make a breakthrough,¡± Yun Jianyue said regretfully.

    Yan Xuehen rolled her eyes, replying, ¡°Are you not scared of being trapped there forever?¡±

    ¡°Wouldn''t you be the happiest of all if I didn¡¯t make it back?¡±

    ¡­

    While the two were squabbling, amotion came from around them. They all followed the source of the sound. They saw many other gates opening and people walking out from them.

    When those people saw that this was Violet Mountain, most of them couldn''t help but cheer. That other world was clearly way too dangerous, and all of them still felt lingering fear.

    The first toe out were the Righteous Sun Sect¡¯ Wu Xiaofan and Zhang Xi. They were cheerful and lively as they celebrated sessfully leaving the secret dungeon. However, when they saw how barren the surroundings were, they lookedpletely stunned.

    Was this Golden Peak? Where had the Fengshan Ceremonial Altar gone? And where was their symbol, the Pure Yang Pce?

    They frantically searched the area. It was clear that they had entered the secret dungeon before the great battle of Violet Mountain, so they didn¡¯t know what had happened.

    Then, Jadefall Pce¡¯s Wan Guiyi appeared. He had his hands in his pockets and a sulky look on his face. However, when he saw the surroundings, he waspletely petrified.

    Next was the White Jade Sect¡¯s Lou Wucheng. He was also stunned when he saw the surroundings. Even so, he quickly noticed Zu An¡¯s group and hurried over, asking, ¡°Sect Leader Yan, junior sister Chu, what exactly happened here? Why did Golden Peak be like this? Where is my master?¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, Your master had his soul sucked out by Dark Jing Teng. He wondered if Lou Wucheng would copse on the spot if he heard that.

    Yan Xuehen sighed and said, ¡°It¡¯s a long story¡­¡±

    Lou Wucheng waited for her to continue, but she didn¡¯t say anything else. He waspletely stunned. He could only look at Chu Chuyan and asked, ¡°Junior sister Chu?¡±

    No matter what situation they were in, his junior sister Chu was always as beautiful as a goddess. She was just that stunning. But unfortunately, she had actually already gotten married! Her rtionship with Zu An was still unclear.

    That bastard¡¯s ancestral altar must be spouting smoke right now! Just how did he get this kind of luck?!

    His eyes shifted to the other women. They really were all dazzling and gorgeous. They weren¡¯t even inferior to junior sister Chu at all. Furthermore, they all had clear affection for Zu An when they looked at him.

    No, I was wrong. How is this still smoke? It¡¯s already on fire!

    Chu Chuyan frowned slightly and said, ¡°That matter isplicated. You should wait. We¡¯ll exin things once we all return.¡±

    ¡­.

    Just then, Kunlun Void¡¯s Liang Ling, Mount Luofu¡¯s Luo Dongfeng, Great Emptiness¡¯ Shi Dingtian, and Tranquility Temple¡¯s Qiu Chanzi emerged one after another from the gates. They were about to exchange some conventional greetings, but when they saw the surrounding scenery, they were instantly shocked.

    Just what had happened to Golden Peak? How had it ended up like this?

    Zu An carefully observed them. Apart from these people, there was actually no one else who emerged from the secret dungeon. The second strongest representatives of the group stage had thought that they were getting a huge opportunity, but they had all lost their lives in the secret dungeon.

    However, that made sense in the end. That world was far too strange, and its cultivators were strong as well. Even Li Changsheng and Xuan Bajing had ended up losing their lives there, let alone these juniors.

    Even so, where were Zhao Xiaodie and Zhi Yin? Could it be that they had ended up facing other dangers after Zu An¡¯s group left, due to being seriously injured?

    Suddenly, a streak of light shed past. A young woman shouted, ¡°Luo Dongjiang, you despicable and vile bastard who runs away during battle!¡±

    A whipshed out directly at Luo Dongjiang afterward. As it turned out, Zhao Xiaodie and Zhi Yin both emerged from the secret dungeon at the same time.

    When he saw the two of them, Luo Dongjiang¡¯s expression changed. He dodged the attacks while shouting, ¡°Princess, there is a misunderstanding here!¡±

    ¡°What misunderstanding? You became a coward after seeing how strong Elder Blood Spirit was, so you abandoned me and my senior brother for your own survival!¡± Zhao Xiaodie cried, her voice full of hatred. Her whipshed down relentlessly on Luo Dongjiang.

    The other representative disciples wanted to mediate the quarrel at first, but when they heard what she said, they immediately stopped. They all looked at Luo Dongjiang with strange expressions. Anyone who could be the representative disciple of one of these great ns was top-notch in both cultivation and temperament. They were all talented people with their own pride. They naturally looked down on those who abandoned their ownrades.

    Luo Dongjiang immediately shouted, ¡°Miss Zhao, what kind of nonsense are you saying? I was clearly looking for reinforcements, but this transport gate appeared shortly after. I identally went through because of that. If you two were really in danger, how could you have possiblye out?¡±

    The disciples of the different sects nodded inwardly. What he said made some sense.

    Zhao Xiaodie panicked and said, ¡°It was because someone saved us, of course.¡±

    ¡°Who would just happen to save you?¡± Luo Dongjiang retorted with a sneer.

    ¡°It was¡­¡± Zhao Xiaodie reflexively nced in Zu An¡¯s direction, but she didn¡¯t sell him out in the end. She said, ¡°I don¡¯t know. It was a mysterious person. We didn¡¯t know many people inside that secret dungeon.¡±

    Luo Dongjiang retorted with augh, ¡°A passerby who you didn¡¯t know saved you? We¡¯re from the daoist sects; would we abandon you if we were together? I really was looking for reinforcements, and I even had thoughts of trying to lead that Elder Blood Spirit away and sacrificing myself!¡±

    Zhao Xiaodie was absolutely furious. Just then, however, a white light flickered and Guan Chouhai appeared on Golden Peak.

    Zu An thought to himself, This guy really is an unkible cockroach! Guan Chouhai hadn¡¯t been killed by Zhao Han on Golden Peak, and then he had managed to survive even after being pulled into the secret dungeon. Li Changsheng and Xuan Bajing, who had gone in with him, were already dead.

    When she saw her master, Zhao Xiaodie finally found her backing. She had been full of anxiety during her time in the secret dungeon, and she had almost been humiliated by that Elder Blood Spirit, with her life soon to follow. How could she stand that grievance? She cried out, ¡°Master, you have to uphold justice for your disciple! Luo¡­¡±

    Before she could say anything, Guan Chouhai raised his hand to stop her. He swept his gaze around him in rm and said gravely, ¡°We¡¯re leaving immediately!¡±

    A sinister voice called out just then, ¡°No one is allowed to leave!¡±

    A huge group of soldiers rushed over from the steps halfway up the mountain and quickly surrounded the group. All of them wore shining armor, emanating a vicious aura.

    The one in the lead was none other than the Guerri Warfare General, King Guangling, Zhao Yuan. His Guerri Warfare Army was one of the Imperial Pce¡¯s most elite troops. He had only ever followed themands of the emperor.

    He led his subordinates up to Guan Chouhai and said, ¡°Sect Master Guan, you are not permitted to leave!¡±

    Guan Chouhai glowered and said, ¡°The world is sorge; I cane and go as I please. What right do you have to stop me?¡±

    Zhao Han wasn¡¯t here right now, so he believed that his cultivation was enough for him to do as he pleased.

    ¡°Sect Master Guan, could it be that you are trying to start a rebellion?¡± a cold voice called out. An elder dressed in official robes slowly walked over.

    ¡°King Yan!¡± Guan Chouhai eximed, his expression changing. King Yan was also a veteran grandmaster. With that guy here, on top of the Gueri Warfare Army, he really couldn''t escape anymore.

    ¡°Ninth Grandpa, your respected self came at the perfect time! Help me capture that despicable Luo Dongjiang!¡± Zhao Xiaodie eximed, rushing over happily and pointing at Luo Dongjiang.

    King Yan was the ninth uncle of his majesty and King Qi, so he was naturally a grandpa to her.

    Luo Dongjiang¡¯s expression changed. In terms of cultivation and sect background, he had no reason to fear her. However, she had another identity. Her father was the renowned King Qi! He was among the top three in the empire!

    King Yan harrumphed, and with a wave of his hand said, ¡°Arrest her.¡±

    At first, Zhao Xiaodie had a big smile on her face. She had already started imagining how that brat was going to die. He dared to betray this princess¡­

    Her expression suddenly froze, because those soldiers didn¡¯t go after Luo Dongjiang, and instead locked her up. She eximed in shock and rm, ¡°Ninth Grandpa, what is going on here? Is there a mistake here?¡±

    ¡°There is no mistake. The one we are arresting is you. Your father has conspired to assassinate his majesty, so we need to bring you back to aid in our investigation,¡± King Yan said coldly.

    ¡°What?!¡± Zhao Xiaodie eximed, her mind going nk. She didn¡¯t even fully process what those words meant for some time.

    All of Golden Peak erupted into amotion when those words were spoken. They had all been wondering why it looked as if a great battle had taken ce on Golden Peak. If it had involved King Qi and his majesty, everything made sense.

 Chapter 1856: Fortunes Rise and Fall

    <h4>Chapter 1856: Fortunes Rise and Fall</h4>

    When she sensed the bone-piercing chill of the Soul Reaping Chains and all of her cultivation being sealed, Zhao Xiaodie finally reacted. She struggled frantically and said, ¡°No, there has to be some kind of misunderstanding here! How could father possibly do something like that? Ninth Grandpa, there must be a mistake somewhere!¡±

    After all, her father was practically number two in the entire empire, as well as the one who had the highest chance of seeding the imperial throne. The emperor was already close to heaven and man deterioration, so why would he take such a risk and do something like that?

    ].

    Furthermore, even if he really would do such a thing, he would definitely only carry out such a n when it was absolutely safe. How could this kind of situation possibly appear?

    King Yan scowled and said, ¡°This is how things are. Xiaodie, you just need to cooperate with the investigation.¡±

    ¡°No, I want to see my father!¡± Zhao Xiaodie eximed in shock.

    King Yan didn¡¯t reply. He waved his hand, gesturing for his subordinates to bring her away. He didn¡¯t give her a chance to say anything else.

    Zhao Xiaodie was left inplete despair. Something had definitely happened to her father, or else there was no way this would happen. She couldn''t help but give the distant Zu An a look.

    I actually let him see such a sorry side of myself.

    Her status as a princess was probably the only thing she could be proud of in front of that man, but now, she didn¡¯t even have that anymore. Her usually spirited eyes immediately lost their luster.

    ¡°Master!¡± Zhi Yin eximed in rm when he saw that.

    Even though he liked his goddess Chu, who wouldn¡¯t like a cute and pretty junior sister like Zhao Xiaodie? Besides, they had fought together through life and death in the secret dungeon, so his impression of her had be better and better. He naturally didn¡¯t want to see her be taken away. Unfortunately, he was seriously injured, so he could only ask for his master¡¯s help. However, Guan Chouhai¡¯s expression was grim, as if he didn¡¯t notice at all.

    King Yan said to Guan Chouhai, ¡°Brother Guan, I must ask you toply with the investigation as well.¡±

    Guan Chouhai¡¯s eyes moved slightly. He gave King Yan a look, then nced at Gueri Warfare General Zhao Yuan with his intimidating elite troops. In the end, he sighed and didn¡¯t go against it. After all, perhaps there would still be a way to turn things around if heplied. If he acted up here, his identity as a traitor would be set in stone. At that point, forget about him, all of the Heavenly Sorrow Sect would be involved.

    The soldiers quickly rushed forward to lock up Guan Chouhai and Zhi Yin. The others¡¯ eyes all widened when they saw that. They never could have expected even someone of Guan Chouhai¡¯s status to be locked up. He was a glorious grandmaster, someone these disciples all normally looked up to!

    Wu Xiaofan walked over and said, ¡°I pay my respects to the king. May I ask what happened here and why Golden Peak became like this? Do you perhaps know where my master is?¡± He was the representative disciple of the Righteous Sun Sect, and pretty much another master of this ce. He naturally had the right to speak up.

    ¡°Your master?¡± King Yan sneered and immediately waved his hands,manding, ¡°Arrest him!¡±

    The surrounding soldiers immediately rushed over.

    Wu Xiaofan¡¯s expression changed. He reflexively wanted to resist, but he didn¡¯t dare. He could only urgently ask, ¡°May I ask what crimes I havemitted for the king to arrest me?¡±

    King Yan didn¡¯t respond, as if there was no need to because Wu Xiaofan¡¯s status was too low. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zhao Yuan replied, ¡°What crimes? Wang Wuxie is suspected of colluding with outsiders to turn Violet Mountain into an assassination location for his majesty! Forget about you second generation disciples, even the peak masters have already been locked up and are currently being investigated.¡±

    Wu Xiaofan and Zhang Xi immediately felt a chill run down their spines. They knew what kinds of consequences there would be if they were really convicted of such a crime. Forget about them, even the Righteous Sun Sect could be reduced to ash.

    Wu Xiaofan protested, ¡°There is no way that could be true! Master has always been loyal to his majesty. How could he possibly do something like this?!¡±

    Zhao Yuan remained expressionless and said, ¡°That is why we need to investigate all of you. What, are you going to resist and start a rebellion? ording to thew, we can kill you on the spot!¡±

    Wu Xiaofan and Zhang Xi¡¯s expressions changed. They thought about drawing their weapons several times, but in the end, they didn¡¯t do so. Afterward, Soul Reaping Chains quickly wrapped around their bodies. Their cultivations were immediately sealed.

    The remaining daoist disciples all gathered and looked at them vigntly. Even though the daoist sects were normally unhappy with how close the Righteous Sun Sect was to the court, and they even mocked Wang Wuxie for being the court¡¯s dog in private, they still felt sympathy when they saw Guan Chouhai being taken away, followed by Wu Xiaofan and the others. They didn¡¯t know what was happening at all, and just assumed the court was using the situation as a pretext to get rid of the daoist sects. As such, they banded together against amon enemy.

    When he saw them reflexively shift their hands to their weapons, Zhao Yuan remarked with a scowl, ¡°What, are you all going to rebel too?¡±

    A fight was on the verge of breaking out when two figures suddenly flew over and said, ¡°General, please be lenient!¡±

    When those present turned to look at the source of the voices, they saw that the ones in the lead were none other than Jadefall Pce¡¯s Wan Tongtian and Elder Huo Ling.

    The two both bowed toward King Yan and Zhao Yuan before saying, ¡°King, general, our Jadefall Pce has already been investigated, and both Wan Guiyi and Pei Mianman entered the secret dungeon before the events happened. They do not know anything about what happened, so we hope that the two sirs can be generous.¡±

    The daoist disciples were shocked. Even Jadefall Pce had been investigated? Just what had happened?

    King Yan and Zhao Yuan were both suspicious, but Wan Tongtian bowed and said, ¡°We will take them back and examine them carefully. If there is anything else you need, we can bring them over for questioning at any time.¡±

    When he saw these glorious grandmasters, individuals with extraordinary status in the daoist sects, bowing down and speaking so courteously to him, King Yan felt amazing. He quickly supported Wan Tongtian up and said, ¡°Sect Master Wan speaks too seriously. I trust your character, so you can bring your people away. However, do not leave the range of Violet Mountain for now.¡±

    Wan Tongtian¡¯s strength couldn''t be overlooked. He didn¡¯t want to give up on this opportunity to earn some favor.

    ¡°Thank you, respected king!¡± Wan Tongtian replied, overjoyed. He quickly waved to Wan Guiyi and Pei Mianman, saying, ¡°Guiyi, Manman, hurry ande over!¡±

    Wan Guiyi naturally didn¡¯t hesitate and immediately ran over. On the other hand, Pei Mianman was a bit hesitant. She didn¡¯t want to leave Zu An¡¯s side. She reflexively nced at him.

    Zu An secretly sent a voice transmission, saying, ¡°Since you have a chance to get out of this, follow them for now.¡±

    ¡°What about you guys?¡± Pei Mianman asked, feeling extremely worried.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I have a way to get out of this too,¡± Zu An replied. He soundedpletely calm, as if this absolute cmity for the daoist sects didn¡¯t exist for him at all.

    Pei Mianman figured that was true as well. He was a man who could even win against Zhao Han, so how could he be troubled by such a small matter? She said before reluctantly approaching Elder Huo Ling, ¡°Alright, then I¡¯ll look for youter.¡±

    Elder Huo Ling¡¯s eye twitched. She thought, The heart of this disciple of mine has long since flown away. Thisss really doesn¡¯t know what¡¯s good for her. What¡¯s so good about men? Isn¡¯t cultivation more interesting?

    Several other sect representatives also greeted King Yan respectfully and said, ¡°Respected king, we have also been investigated, and our disciples do not know anything. Can we bring them away?¡± They were Supreme Mystery Cave Master Mu, Purity Temple¡¯s Vice Lord He Yuan, and Mount Luofu¡¯s elder.

    King Yan felt incredible right now. These guys normally had their noses upturned arrogantly at the sky, and yet now, they had to bow their heads to him. Of course, he didn¡¯t let his true feelings show, and instead took the chance to obtain favors from them. He allowed them to bring Shi Dingtian, Qiu Chanzi, and Luo Dongjiang away.

    Emptiness Isle¡¯s Elder Peng looked around. She wanted to take her disciple with her, but she didn¡¯t see Peng Wuyan at all. She immediately panicked and asked the other sects¡¯ disciples, ¡°Where is my Wuyan? Did you see her along the way?¡±

    ¡°Peng Wuyan unfortunately passed away in the secret dungeon,¡± Qiu Chanzi said with a sigh. ¡°The secret dungeon was extremely dangerous, and I almost perished myself.¡±

    Those present had already realized that it wasn¡¯t just these individuals who had gone in; there were quite a few second ce group stage winners as well. And yet, apart from Zhao Xiaodie and Zhang Xi, not a single other person hade out. Furthermore, they all had injuries, so it was easy to see just how dangerous the secret dungeon was.

    ¡°My Wuyan!¡± Elder Peng immediately howled in grief.

    The other sect leaders offered some condolences, but none of them wanted to stay in this unlucky ce for fear of being involved. They left one after another.

    Liang Ling and Lou Wucheng¡¯s expressions changed, because the others were brought away by their elders, but their sect leader was nowhere to be seen.

    Liang Ling couldn''t help but ask, ¡°May I ask the respected king and general if you know where my master is?¡±

    ¡°I was about to ask you that,¡± King Yan replied. He wasn¡¯t so polite to these young juniors. He waved his hand andmanded, ¡°Bring them away!¡±

    ¡°Respected king and general, what exactly happened?¡± Liang Ling asked. He was shocked and angry, but he didn¡¯t dare to resist in such a situation. Unfortunately, no one replied to him.

    Zu An silently watched the situation. He had witnessed Liang Ling¡¯s performance on the stage. He was actually a youngster with quite excellent temperament. He wondered how that Xuan Bajing had ended up producing a decent disciple. However, there would be no danger to Liang Ling¡¯s life in the short term, so Zu An merely nned to break him outter.

    Now, Lou Wucheng was the only representative disciple left. He looked at Yan Xuehen and cried, ¡°Sect master, save me!¡±

    King Yan also walked over. He had an ambiguous smile on his face as he looked at Zu An. He thought, Fortunes really do rise and fall quickly! This brat ended up in my hands so quickly!

 Chapter 1857: Swords Drawn, Bows Bent

    <h4>Chapter 1857: Swords Drawn, Bows Bent</h4>

    King Yan didn¡¯t act against Zu An immediately. Instead, he turned to Yan Xuehen and said, ¡°Fairy Yan, your honored sect¡¯s Li Changsheng was not with the rest of your people when the chaos took ce on Violet Mountain. I have not yet seen him. I wonder if the fairy has an exnation?¡±

    Yan Xuehen said calmly, ¡°My senior brother has always liked to act alone. I do not know where he is.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? Then where has the fairy goddess been all this time? Why did youe out of the secret dungeon?¡± King Yan asked with a smile. It wasn¡¯t often that he got to talk to Yan ?Xuehen. Now that he had a proper reason to do so and she couldn''t refuse, the ?feeling really was great.

    Yan Xuehen frowned slightly and replied, ¡°I merely came to check on Violet Mountain¡¯s situation when I sensed something was off. Then, a powerful suction force suddenly appeared in the air and I was taken in. I naturally ended up in the secret dungeon too, that¡¯s all.¡±

    Zhao Yuan, who was standing off to the side, then said, ¡°Golden Peak was sealed by the Righteous Sun Sect¡¯s mountain protecting formation at the time. None of us officials were able to enter, so how were you able to?¡±

    ¡°How would I know? Either way, it must have just been a coincidence,¡± Yan Xuehen said calmly.

    ¡°Fairy Yan, if you continue to refuse to cooperate with us, do not me us for adopting more forceful methods,¡± King Yan said seriously.

    Yan Xuehen was too beautiful, and she had enjoyed great prestige for many years. He naturally had to treat her with a different attitude than how he treated Guan Chouhai. However, since this matter was rted to an ambush on the emperor, he didn¡¯t dare to act too carelessly.

    ¡°Who among the daoist sects doesn¡¯t know that the Righteous Sun Sect¡¯s Wang Wuxie was one of her bootlickers? It wouldn¡¯t be all too surprising for him to have told her some secrets,¡± a voice suddenly said, seemingly wanting to cause chaos.

    Yan Xuehen shot that person a re, and yet couldn''t really do anything to her.

    King Yan and Zhao Yuan followed the source of the sound. They saw that an ordinary-looking woman was the one who had spoken. They asked, ¡°Who are you?¡±

    However, that woman looked away, clearly not wanting to respond.

    Yun Jianyue didn¡¯t care about offending the other side. She had Ah Zu at her side, and King Yan was secretly colluding with the Devil Sect to begin with, anyway. She didn¡¯t even have to change her outfit in front of him.

    King Yan scowled. He was about to act when Zu An suddenly said, ¡°King Yan, General Zhao, long time no see.¡±

    King Yan and Zhao Yuan both narrowed their eyes. They sized him up with ambiguous smiles. The reason they had been ignoring him all this time was because they knew this brat was the trickiest of all to deal with. Who would have thought that he would take the initiative instead?

    ¡°So it was Sir Zu! Oh, right, should I now call you the Fiend races¡¯ Regent?¡± King Yan replied with a sneer.

    ¡°While I¡¯m on this side, of course the human racees first,¡± Zu An said. He remained calm as if he didn¡¯t notice the ridicule in King ?Yan¡¯s voice at all.

    ¡°The human racees first?¡± Zhao Yuan remarked with a cold snort. ¡°I recall that your distinguished self suddenly escaped our monitoring and went missing on the day of the ceremony. Eventually, you seemed to have run all the way to Golden Peak. I am actually quite suspicious as to whether you joined in on the ambush; perhaps you were even one of the main conspirators.¡±

    The women frowned slightly, thinking, This guy seems to have ?some hostility against Ah Zu¡­ things will be more difficult now.

    Zu An replied nonchntly, ¡°An ambush? Don¡¯t tell me General Zhao believes that anyone in this world is capable of killing his majesty?¡±

    Zhao Yuan choked before replying, ¡°Of course not. His majesty¡¯s might is unparalleled. Who could possibly be his match in this world?¡±

    ¡°Then what are you all so worried about, that you¡¯re investigating this so severely?¡± Zu An asked with a shrug.

    ¡°There are always some people who are not scared of death and dare to oppose his majesty¡¯s glory,¡± Zhao Yuan said with a sneer. ¡°King Qi took the lead in colluding with the daoists and Buddhists to conduct an ambush against his majesty. From the looks of things, it seems that ?even the Fiend races joined in on the plot.¡±

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s heart was beating nervously. That ?was clearly alluding to her big brother Zu¡¯s identity as a Regent of the Fiend races. If he was involved too, things boded ill.

    ¡°Big brother Zu has nothing to do with the ambush! I can attest to that!¡± Xie Daoyun eximed, her little face turning red.

    Her education had taught her to always behave as a wise and virtuousdy, so she rarely spoke lies. And yet after she met big brother Zu, she seemed to have started lying all the time, and it was always for his sake¡­ When she thought about how big brother Zu always bet it all with his lies, she wondered whether she was being influenced too.

    ¡°The academy¡¯s Miss Xie?¡± Zhao Yuan responded, stunned. ¡°ording to what we know, you were in charge of examining the safety of the formations around Violet Mountain, and yet such huge negligence urred. Even your own name h as not been cleared, and yet you are still in the mood to testify for others?¡±

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s face paled when she heard that. She was more worried about bringing disaster upon everyone in her n.

    Zu An stood in front of her and said, ¡°General Zhao, there¡¯s no need to scare the youngdy. How could a formation on that scale be something she could have foreseen beforehand?¡±

    Zhao Yuan knew that he was speaking the truth, but there had to be someone to take responsibility for what happened.

    ¡°That is why I am inviting everyone back for an investigation. I hope you will not make things too hard on me,¡± Zhao Yuan said. He harrumphed, and the Gueri Warfare Army all ced their hands on the handles of their weapons as if they were ready to attack at any time. The others in the area immediately became nervous.

    Zu An didn¡¯t even give those people a look; instead, he stared at King Yan and Zhao Yuan, saying, ¡°It¡¯s already been some time since you two havee up here, and yet all I¡¯ve seen is that you two care a lot about finding some scapegoats to get yourselves out of trouble. I haven¡¯t seen a single sign of concern for his majesty¡¯s safety.¡±

    King Yan was rmed. He cupped his hands to the heavens and said, ¡°We are naturally worried about his majesty¡¯s safety, and we even pray for his wives and children to live in blessing day and night. However, we need to investigate right now¡­¡±

    However, halfway through his sentence, he realized how calm Zu An had been all this time. He asked, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you know where his majesty is?¡±

    ¡°Of course I do,¡± Zu An replied.

    Now, King Yan, Zhao Yuan, and some others¡¯ expressions changed. They asked, ¡°Where exactly is his majesty?¡±

    Zu An pointed behind him and said, ¡°That secret dungeon we just came out from.¡±

    ¡°Where is he? Why hasn¡¯t he appeared yet?¡± King Yan and Zhao Yuan hurriedly asked.

    ¡°Of course he die¡­ ahem, he passed away inside,¡± Zu An said, almost messing up his wording.

    ¡°What?!¡± the others eximed.

    The expressions of those on Golden Peak turned pale when they heard that. In all these years, Zhao Han had been a deity-like being in their eyes. Even though there had been an ambush on Golden Peak and he was missing, no one had doubted that he would soon return. Now that they learned of Zhao Han¡¯s death, many of them even felt as if the heavens were copsing.

    Zhao Han stared at Zu An and asked with a trembling voice, ¡°Was it you who harmed his majesty?¡±

    Chu Chuyan and the other women had strange expressions. They thought, This guy really guessed spot on. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Are you mad? How would I possibly have that ability?¡± Zu An retorted impatiently.

    Zhao Yuanughed in embarrassment. He felt that what he said was a bit ridiculous too. No one would believe him if he said it anywhere else.

    Zu An continued, ¡°Right, his majesty entrusted me with the task of assisting the government and taking charge of assisting the crown prince in bing the new emperor.¡±

    Chu Chuyan and the others¡¯ eyes widened. This guy really doesn¡¯t hold back with his lies! He was clearly the one¡­ If the emperor¡¯s spirit were in the heavens right now, and he was watching this, he might juste back to life out of anger!

    King Yan and Zhao Yuan had strange expressions. Giving the throne to the crown prince was expected. But for Zu An to assist in ruling¡­

    ¡°Does Sir Zu have any proof of what he says?¡± King Yan asked gravely. However, his tone still became more polite.

    ¡°The situation was dire and there was no time to create a written pledge.¡± Zu An harrumphed. ¡°Is the king implying that I am falsifying an imperial decree?¡±

    Yun Jianyue rolled her eyes, thinking, Are you not?

    Zu An thought to himself that he could take out the Human Emperor¡¯s Seal, as that would be more convincing than anything else. However, that item was a treasure. If it was exposed, it would most likely have to be handed over. As such, it was better to keep it on him for now and see how the situation developed.

    King Yan¡¯s expression changed. Even though that was what he was thinking, he didn¡¯t dare to admit it on the surface. He said, ¡°Sir Zu has misunderstood. This matter is so unimaginable that it would be better to investigate the entire process first before we could dare toe to any conclusions.¡±

    Zu An replied with a scowl, ?¡°What, are you going to lock me up and interrogate me too?¡±

    ¡°Um¡­¡± King Yan and Zhao Yuan exchanged a look. They could both see the misgivings in each other¡¯s eyes.

    No one could say for certain whether Zu An was telling the truth. Even though there was no way his majesty would let someone with a Fiend race background aid in the rule of the empire, what if he really had been the only one left at his majesty¡¯s side back then? There would have been no one else Zhao Han could find to entrust anything to.

    Furthermore, this brat had the identity of Regent of the Fiend races, so they couldn''t really kill him here. His majesty was now gone too, so wouldn¡¯t the Fiend races have a perfect reason to start a war?

    Just then, several tightly grouped footsteps resounded. A group of soldiers ran over, and the two generals at the front shouted, ¡°So it was Sir Zu!¡±

    They were none other than the Armed Escort Army¡¯s Deputy Generals, Zhang Zijiang and Wang Bolin.

    ¡°Brother Zhang, Brother Wang!¡± Zu An replied with a smile.

    He hadn¡¯t expected these two to still dare to greet him in such a situation. After all, he was caught up in a huge whirlpool of public opinion right now. Whether it was his status as the Fiend races¡¯ Regent or the suspicion that he had a role in the ambush, they weren¡¯t burdens an ordinary person would dare to get caught up in.

    Zhao Yuan asked with a serious expression, ¡°What are youing up here for? We are still handing out rewards and punishments right now!¡±

    Zhang Zijiang said with a smile, ¡°We heard that our Sir Zu came back and wanted to have a look. Do not worry, General Zhao; we will quickly return to our patrol.¡± Even though that was what he said, he and his subordinates didn¡¯t budge an inch.

    The two of them had encountered a lot of bad luck too. Now that something had happened to his majesty, the Armed Escort Division who was in charge of his safety immediately fell into an unfortunate situation. If not because their strength was still needed to subdue the daoist sects, their group would likely have already been locked up.

    Even if they had earned some achievements, they would be investigated and handled like criminals. All of their hard work throughout their lives had put them in their positions, so who would be willing to give up just like that? In that case, they had to seize the moment and find some chance to turn the situation around.

    They had all despaired at first, but when they heard that Zu An hade back, they immediately sought out their pir. After all, their Armed Escort Army troops were grasshoppers on the same line as Zu An.

    When he saw that these Armed Escort Guards seemed to be standing against the Gueri Warfare Army to an extent, Zhao Yuan¡¯s expression darkened. If they really fought, the situation could be hard to clean up.

    Even though this brat Zu An looked as if he didn¡¯t have much cultivation, who knew what kinds of abilities he was hiding? Furthermore, Yan Xuehen was clearly standing on his side. A grandmaster¡¯s strength couldn¡¯t be underestimated. On top of that, there were still Chu Chuyan, Lou Wucheng, and the other daoist experts. Xie Daoyun also represented the academy¡¯s strength. There were also those two ordinary-looking women who had clearly changed their appearance. The aurasing from their bodies weren¡¯t weak.

    If they really fought¡­

    Suddenly, another group arrived on Golden Peak. Zhao Yuan and King Yan were startled. Regardless of who it was, it would be enough to tip the scales.

 Chapter 1858: All Lies

    Chapter 1858: All Lies

    A burst ofughter filled the air, and a voice said, ¡°Fairy Yan, Sir Zu came back at the perfect time. We are still confused right now about what is happening, so why not tell us a bit about what really happened?¡±

    Zu An nced toward the voice and saw a familiar face. This was the crown princess¡¯ father, the Imperial Secretariat¡¯s Right Confidential Assistant, Bi Qi. He was actually quite handsome in appearance, but the glint flickering in his eyes always made him seem like a wily old fox.

    ¡°Sir Bi!¡± Zu An called out, cupping his hands. He figured he couldn''t be too rude out of respect for Bi Linglong.

    Yan Xuehen only nodded slightly in greeting, just as cold as ever.

    Bi Qi walked over happily and remarked, ¡°Hm? King Yan and General Zhao are both here as well? It seems we¡¯re having quite the lively and happy conversation here.¡±

    King Yan and the others couldn''t help but roll their eyes.<em>Which eye of yours saw a happy conversation? We were clearly about to attack each other already.</em>

    ¡°The wind here on this mountaintop is a bit too strong. How about we head on to the garden below to talk things out slowly? We can also use the chance to let everyone wash up a bit,¡± Bi Qi said to those present enthusiastically, as if he were weing a group of esteemed guests.

    Zu An frowned slightly and asked, ¡°You¡¯re not going to lock me up in the prisons below, are you?¡±

    Bi Qi gave him a look, replying, ¡°What are you saying? You are an important minister of the court, someone who has his majesty and the crown prince¡¯s trust. Furthermore, you are also the Fiend Races¡¯ Regent. From both a personal and logical perspective, who would dare to lock you up?¡±

    King Yan and Zhao Yuan¡¯s eyelids twitched when they heard that. However, Zu An really was a bit tricky to deal with, given his current status. Bi Qi was also too partial to him, so if they continued to insist on locking him up, they would be embarrassing themselves.

    Bi Qi tugged on Zu An¡¯s hand and was about to leave, but Zu An didn¡¯t move. Instead, he looked at King Yan and Zhao Yuan and asked, ¡°The two of you aren¡¯t opposed to this, right?¡±

    King Yan was a bit unhappy about the result, but he reacted quickly and immediately showed a smile, saying, ¡°Sir Zu speaks too seriously. We were merely acting ording to the rules earlier and inadvertently troubled you.¡±

    Zhao Yuan forced a smile and didn¡¯t say anything else.

    Zu An gave them a look and said, ¡°These are all my friends. Are you going to lock them up?¡±

    ¡°Since they are Sir Zu¡¯s friends, there is naturally no need,¡± Zhao Yuan said, his expression stiff.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s status was extraordinary, while Chu Chuyan had been Zu An¡¯s wife. The other two women seemed to have close rtionships with him too. The academy¡¯s Miss Xie had been sneaking nces earlier too¡­

    ¡­

    The whole group of people started heading down the mountain shortly after. Only Lou Wucheng was left standing there alone awkwardly. It would be a bit weird for him to follow them, and yet he couldn''t just stay here either.

    <em>If I follow them, the problem is that I can¡¯t really be considered Zu An¡¯s friend. Not only are we not friends, we¡¯re even kind of rivals in love¡­ I was never satisfied that my goddess used to be his wife.</em>0

    <em>However, if I don¡¯t follow them, I might just be immediately locked up by these vicious-looking guards. At that point, even if I don¡¯t die, I¡¯ll probably at least have ayer of skin shaved off.</em>

    While he was at a loss for what to do, Zu An suddenly turned around and called out, ¡°Brother Lou, what are you still standing there for? Let¡¯s go together.¡±

    ¡°Huh? Oh, alright!¡± Lou Wucheng replied. In that instant, he felt almost overwhelmed by favor.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Before today, he had actually looked down on Zu An a bit. Even if Zu An had disyed the power of his sword on that judge''s seat before, Lou Wucheng had still believed that he was no weaker. However, in that instant, he finally discovered in frustration that they hadn¡¯t even been running on the same race course to begin with. Zu An was someone who talked and joked together with King Yan, Sir Bi, and even his own master¡¯s generation.0

    Previously, he had thought of himself as someone important, as he had the honorable title of the White Jade Sect¡¯s representative disciple. People had always treated him with respect and courtesy wherever he went. However, whether it was King Yan or Sir Bi, or even General Zhao, they hadn¡¯t even given him a single look.Up/dat/ed fR[o]m N/0ve/lbi/n

    He finally understood the difference between himself and Zu An. At the same time, he also began to admire Zu An¡¯s temperament a bit. In that instant, he felt as if he were facing a great mountain.

    Next, he suddenly saw the look of admiration and gentleness in Chu Chuyan¡¯s eyes when she looked at Zu An, and he waspletely stunned. When had this junior sister who was as cold as ice ever shown anyone else such an expression?

    He released a long sigh and reflexively clenched the sword in his hands.

    <em>Lou Wucheng, Lou Wucheng¡­. Your sword was originally meant for cultivating immortality, and yet you¡¯ve been so obsessed with romance for all these years. Do you know no shame?</em>0

    In that instant, he seemed to have gained some enlightenment. He felt as if his spirit and temperament had be a bit different.

    Just then, Yan Xuehen seemed to have sensed something. She gave him a look, then said to Zu An through ki transmission, ¡°Thank you!¡±

    Zu An replied with a smile, ¡°What is there to thank me for? I¡¯m not so petty as to leave him behind.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not all. It¡¯s also because your generosity seems to have granted him some insight. That child actually has talent, but unfortunately, because of his infatuation with Chuyan, it seemed as if he was going the wrong way in life. Now that senior brother is no longer in this world, you¡¯ve just saved the White Jade Sect¡¯s future,¡± Yan Xuehen said gratefully.0

    Zu An couldn''t help but reply, ¡°The White Jade Sect has you for its previous generation and Chuyan for the next, right? She isn¡¯t any weaker than him.¡±

    Yan Xuehen harrumphed. ¡°Chuyan will follow you sooner orter, so how could the White Jade Sect¡¯s future depend on her? At that time, the entire sect would just end up as your dowry.¡±

    When he sensed the annoyance in her tone, Zu An chuckled in embarrassment. He sensibly chose not to argue with her.

    Chuyan suddenly said from his other side, ¡°Ah Zu, thank you.¡±

    ¡°Because of Lou Wucheng as well?¡± Zu An asked, stunned.

    ¡°As well?¡± Chu Chuyan repeated, keenly noticing the wording.

    Zu An was rmed, but he didn¡¯t hide it and said, ¡°Your master also thanked me just now.¡±

    Chu Chuyan was relieved and said, ¡°Martial uncle died in the great tomb, and he participated in the ambush, so the White Jade Sect¡¯s future is in imminent danger. Senior brother Lou is martial uncle¡¯s inheritor, so if something happened to him, it wouldn¡¯t just be the White Jade Sect¡¯s future; even martial uncle¡¯s inheritance would be cut short.¡±

    ¡°You guys are surprisingly worried about your sect. How will you thank me? You aren¡¯t just going to offer me some lip service, are you?¡± Zu An replied, dealing with the conventional greetings of the people around him while giving her a teasing look.

    A faint blush shed across Chu Chuyan¡¯s face. She suddenly asked, ¡°How did you make master thank you?¡±

    Zu An was startled. He felt a shiver run throughout his entire body. He replied, ¡°How could I dare offend her? You can¡¯t joke around like that with me!¡±

    Chu Chuyan smiled when she heard that, saying with a proud expression, ¡°You probably wouldn¡¯t dare either.¡±

    ¡­

    Their group arrived at Guidance Temple, which was located midway up the mountain. It had been an important ce for the Righteous Sun Sect, but now, it waspletely controlled by soldiers.

    Zu An¡¯s group was quickly brought into the main hall. After some tea was served, Bi Qi led the conversation, saying, ¡°Oh, Ah Zu, none of us are outsiders here, so why don¡¯t you tell us about what exactly happened?¡± Because of his daughter, he naturally acted a bit closer to Zu An.

    Zu An had also been looking for a chance to talk about it, so he took the chance to say, ¡°Back then, I sensed that there was something strange happening on the mountaintop, so I went up to take a look out of curiosity.¡±

    King Yan and Zhao Yuan¡¯s eyes twitched. Back then, he had actually been kept in custody because of the risk posed by him being the Regent of the Fiend races. Even so, they wouldn¡¯t be so foolish as to mention that at present.

    Bi Qi didn¡¯t have such misgivings and asked, ¡°None of the officials could go up, so why were you able to enter Golden Peak?¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°It was all thanks to Sect Master Yan. Her knowledge of formations is extremely profound, so back then, we all found a way to pass through the Righteous Sun Sect¡¯s Mountain Protecting Formation together.¡± However, he didn¡¯t mention Xie Daoyun to protect her.

    ¡°Sect Master Yan¡¯s skills are truly incredible!¡± the others eximed, praising Yan Xuehen together, but they weren¡¯t so convinced deep down. After all, there had been too many formation experts from the court present back then. There was no way all of their brains added together couldn''tpare to a single person. They all assumed that Wang Wuxie had probably given her some special privileges in the past to curry favor with her.

    ¡°And then? What happened on Golden Peak? Just who participated in the ambush on his majesty?¡± Zhao Yuan quickly asked.

    However, Zu An sipped on some tea and didn¡¯t reply.

    King Yan was rmed when he saw that. He had all of the people idling around the area leave. The only ones left on his side were himself, Bi Qi, and Zhao Yuan. Even Lou Wucheng was politely asked to leave. Of course, he was promised that he would be taken care of well. However, on Zu An¡¯s side, he didn¡¯t ask any of those women to leave.

    When they saw that, the others had their own thoughts. Zu An seemed to really care about these women! The others were one thing, but wasn¡¯t Sect Master Yan acting a bit too close to him? She was a glorious grandmaster, someone who couldn''t be looked down on no matter where she went. Could it be that she was acting for her disciple¡¯s sake? It was rumored that her disciple had been married to Zu An before.

    King Yan set up a sound-blocking barrier before saying, ¡°Sir Zu can speak now.¡±

    Zu An then replied, ¡°By the time I went up, I saw that King Qi had already died.¡±

    ¡°King Qi died? Was he killed by his majesty?¡± the others immediately asked.

    King Qi¡¯s prestige had been incredible in recent years, to the point that the other factions couldn''t even breathe. Even though people had all suspected that it was King Qi who had acted this time, they had no proof. There had been almost nothing left behind on Golden Peak. Furthermore, King Qi had chosen to self-detonate himself, so there was naturally no way they could find any clues about him that way.0

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. He was already dead when I arrived,¡± Zu An said calmly.

    ¡°What?¡± King Yan eximed. His people all stood up as he asked, ¡°Then who else could have viewed his majesty unfavorably?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. When we went up there, we just happened to see a huge vortex appear in the skies above. All of us were sucked in,¡± Zu An said with a frightened expression.

    King Yan¡¯s group was speechless.

 Chapter 1859: Clans In Danger

    <h4>Chapter 1859: ns In Danger</h4>

    This was the exnation Zu An and the women had agreed on before they left, to avoid trouble. After all, that ambush not only involved King Qi, but also the daoists, Buddhists, and even the libationer. If all of them were used, the aftermath would be really difficult to clean up.

    King Yan and the others were clearly dissatisfied with this reply. King Yan asked, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that you didn¡¯t see a thing on Golden Peak?¡±

    ¡°Right, I saw something else,¡± Zu An suddenly said.

    ¡°What did you see?¡± King Yan, Bi Qi, and Zhao Yuan replied, all rising from their seats.

    ¡°I believe i saw the Heavenly Sorrow Sect¡¯s Guan Chouhai, the White Jade Sect¡¯s Li Changsheng, and Kunlun Void¡¯s Xuan Bajing. They all seemed to have rushed over when they heard the news. Then, all of them were sucked into that mysterious ck hole,¡± Zu An replied.

    Li Changsheng and Xuan Bajing should have been resting in their respective courtyards, but they had died in the secret dungeon and could no longere back out. There was naturally no way of hiding that. As for Guan Chouhai, he had received a voice transmission from that guy telling him about what to say. After all, Guan Chouhai was a sect master and a grandmaster. The court didn¡¯t have any conclusive proof and couldn¡¯t really do too much to him.

    ¡°They were all there, as expected,¡± Zhao Yuan said with a sneer, as if it wasn¡¯t that surprising at all. After all, as something so major had happened, they had already investigated many things.

    ¡°They might have just arrived just like us, or perhaps they were there for other purposes. I didn¡¯t see anything, so it¡¯s hard to say,¡± Zu An replied ambiguously. Guaranteeing that they had nothing to do with the ambush would just be inviting trouble upon himself.

    ¡°Did Sir Zu see whether Tranquility Temple¡¯s Master Jian Huang was there?¡± Zhao Yuan then asked.

    It was actually quite easy to check whether something had happened to specific people. They just needed to check to see who was still present after the chaos that had taken ce on Golden Peak.

    Zu An shook his head and replied, ¡°Everything happened too quickly back then. I didn¡¯t see Master Jian Huang.¡±

    He thought to himself, No matter how they rack their brains, none of these people could predict that the one who actually got involved was that little monk Jie Se, right?

    Zhao Yuan and King Yan clearly didn¡¯tpletely believe him, so they gave Yan Xuehen a look for confirmation. Yan Xuehen nodded slightly and said, ¡°The same thing happened to me. I was sucked away after seeing these things.¡±

    Zhao Yuan and King Yan were both speechless. They knew that there was definitely something wrong with the story. They figured they would be able to find out some information as long as they interrogated the other two women separately. However, Zu An¡¯s status was different now, and together with the support of the Armed Escort Army and Bi Qi standing off to the side, no one could use torture on these people.

    Bi Qi quickly helped change the topic, asking, ¡°Ah Zu, tell us, what happened in that secret dungeon?¡±

    Zu An replied,, ¡°After we entered that secret dungeon, we discovered that it was a strange world. On top of that, it merged with the secret dungeon the daoists entered¡­¡±

    Afterward, he told them what had happened in great detail, only sparing them the details of his conflict with Zhao Han.

    The others were dazzled as they listened. They muttered to themselves.

    ¡°There was actually another world of such great size!¡±

    ¡°There were actually several people with cultivations no weaker than his majesty¡¯s. That Ghost King was even stronger than his majesty.¡±

    ¡°That great tomb is even more mysterious. I wonder just what kind of being built it¡­¡±

    ¡­

    As the others sighed in amazement, Bi Qi said with aplicated expression, ¡°Ah Zu, tell us about his majesty¡¯s demise in more detail. Even if we don¡¯t ask about that, when we return, the others in the court definitely will.¡±

    Zu An knew Bi Qi had good intentions, so he slowly exined, ¡°Back then, his majesty was fighting over the Baopu Sutra with the Adventurer¡¯s Guild Leader Zang Ao and the Divine Firmament Sect¡¯s Sun En¡­ In the end, the great tomb copsed and closed itself. His majesty wanted to escape, but he was held up by the others. They kept each other in check, and none of them were able to escape in the end. His majesty realized that he couldn''t escape, so he could only order me to assist in the crown prince¡¯s session to the throne.¡±

    When they heard that Zhao Han had gone to the great tomb to fight over the immortal opportunity, the others were now eighty percent convinced. They all knew that the emperor¡¯s desire for immortal ascension had already reached the level of madness. There had always been a saying that birds die for food, but they had never expected his majesty to suffer the same fate! As for the other details, they were even more full and detailed. There was no way one coulde up with these things without seeing them in person.

    ¡°Then does that mean his majesty might still be alive?¡± King Yan asked with a strange expression. After all, judging from what Zu An said, Zhao Han had only been locked in the great tomb. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An gave him a look, saying, ¡°I don¡¯t believe that anyone would be able to survive that kind of situation.¡±

    The others felt a weight drop in their minds when they heard him say that with such confidence. They all kneeled down and cried ¡®your majesty¡¯ in grief, as if it were their own fathers who had died.

    Zu An calmly watched their expressions. Sure enough, after these people expressed their grief as loyal ministers, they became more concerned with more practical issues.

    ¡°Your majesty sent you alone to assist the crown prince? What about the others?¡± they asked, their eyes shining brightly.

    Zu An replied, ¡°The situation was dire, so his majesty didn¡¯t say anything. However, judging from his expression, he should have already made preparations in advance.¡±

    He didn¡¯t really think he could upy the position of the crown prince¡¯s aide all by himself. As for who else would be involved, the great ns could then discuss it among themselves once all of them return to the capital.

    The three nodded their heads with ¡®as expected¡¯ looks on their faces. They then asked him a bit more about what had happened in the secret dungeon.

    Zu An, Yan Xuehen, and even Chuyan and the others answered some of the questions. However, all of their stories interlocked and mutually corroborated each other.

    When they saw that they couldn''t really get much else out of Zu An¡¯s group, the others decided to get up and leave. They clearly nned to pass on the newest information to their own forces first. Only Bi Qi quickly returned to meet with Zu An one on one.

    Zu An didn¡¯t want to let down Bi Qi for his previous help, so he had Yan Xuehen and the women return to the nearby residence for some rest and to stay close to him. Otherwise, it would be a tricky situation if they were captured by the soldiers in such a situation.

    ¡°Ah Zu, what do you think about Linglong?¡± Bi Qi asked, startling Zu An.

    Zu An¡¯s first reaction was, Could it be that Bi Linglong told her father about our rtionship? Why did it sound just like King Qi when he was looking for a son-inw?

    ¡°The crown princess is very good. She¡¯s pretty¡­ ahem, and she has respect for the wise. She has always treated me with kindness and protection,¡± Zu An said. Midway through his sentence, he realized that with her personality, there was no way Bi Linglong would talk about such a shocking thing, even if it was her father.

    Bi Qi was very satisfied with his reply. He patted Zu An¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°Very good. You are from the Eastern Pce, and Linglong has always trusted you. In the end, we are all our own people, so I¡¯ll get to the point and move on to more important matters.¡±

    Zu An shuddered and said, ¡°Sir Bi, please speak.¡±

    ¡°Do you know why there were so many important ministers before, and yet now, I am the only one standing here?¡± Bi Qi asked, his expression grim. He was clearly unhappy.

    ¡°Why?¡± Zu An asked.

    He had already noticed that even though there were many civil and military officials who had followed Zhao Han to the Fengshan Ceremony, many of those familiar faces were gone. The ones in the lead had only consisted of Bi Qi, King Yan, and Zhao Yuan. Zhao Yuan was a military general, while King Yan was the king who presided over the nearby region. Strictly speaking, they weren¡¯t the core forces of the court. Only Bi Qi was left from among them. The other officials seemed to have all left.

    ¡°Hmph, when something happened to his majesty, the Liu n¡¯s brothers used that as a pretext to start a purge of the court¡¯s officials, removing them one after another.

    ¡°Because I followed his majesty to Violet Mountain, I also received part of the me for the crime of failing to protect his majesty. That is why I am staying here to make up for my mistakes through contributions,¡± Bi Qi said, feeling frustrated and angry.

    Zu An recalled that because there were signs of the rebel army gathering around the nearby Zhou Commandery, the court had sent troops ahead to suppress them. Liu Guang and Liu Yao, rtives of the empress, had wanted to rack up some military achievements and thus avoided Violet Mountain. That was how they had managed to hide from all the chaos.

    The emperor had been ambushed and his whereabouts were unknown. How great of a matter was that? Many people were going to lose their heads and their official ranks. Bi Qi¡¯s group had high statuses, but they were also involved. Liu Guang and Liu Yao had the empress backing them, so they naturally had the authority to speak. They had continued to press the issue, so that was why Bi Qi had been left here.

    ¡°Hmph, Meng Yi is most likely coborating with the Liu n and has already returned to the capital,¡± Bi Qi said, feeling more and more depressed the more he spoke. He couldn''t help but drain the teacup next to him before rolling up his sleeves to pour himself another cup.

    He was part of the Imperial Secretariat, while Meng Yi was the leader of the Central Secretariat. The two were usually on equal footing, and yet Meng Yi was able to return to the core of his authority, while he was left here. He was naturally furious at the result.

    Zu An couldn''t help but ask, ¡°Why haven¡¯t I seen the Qin brothers?¡±

    Chu Chuyan had been quite worried about that, so she had asked him to help her find out the answer.

    Bi Qi knew that he had a connection to the Qin n and replied, ¡°The Qin n and King Qi are too deeply involved. The two brothers were immediately locked up after the chaos. Furthermore, the court has demanded that the armies of the Qin n¡¯s old dukes be seized. They are currently standing trial. The Qin n is doomed to be finished.¡± He paused for a moment before adding, ¡°Ah Zu, you have such great prospects. I can promise to find a prestigious and noble woman for you in the capital. Is there a need for you to tie yourself down by Miss Chu?¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, Giving me your daughter would be more like it,?but he knew that waspletely impossible.

    At the same time, he was full of worry for the Qin n. He replied, ¡°The Qin n¡¯s state dukes have always had military power. Could it be that there was no resistance at all when they were being imprisoned?¡±

    ¡°Qin Zheng, that old codger, thinks of himself as high and pure. He believes that, as he worked for the sake of the people and had no selfish motives, he has no reason to fear an investigation. Who could be easier to deal with than those kinds of people?¡± Bi Qi replied. A mocking ?expression appeared on the corners of his lips, as if to deride Qin Zheng¡¯s naivety in politics. ¡°However, their prestige has always been high, so the court doesn¡¯t know how to deal with them either. I reckon they might be quietly killed after the chaos blows over.¡±

 Chapter 1860: Grind the Ink

    <h4>Chapter 1860: Grind the Ink</h4>

    ¡°Kill them?¡± Zu An eximed, his expression changing. He was left in a bit of disbelief as he said, ¡°The State Duke of Triumph and State Duke of Prestige have always been individuals of good moral standing and reputation. Why would they need to be killed?¡±

    After some hesitation, Bi Qi exined, ¡°Ah Zu, because of your rtionship with Linglong, you are not an outsider. This is a good chance for me to teach you a few things.

    ¡°They chose to do what they did precisely because of their reputation. Previously, there was still his majesty pressuring them. Now that the crown prince is about to seed to the throne, whether it is his strength or his prestige, the masses will never really be convinced. Who would be able to stop these two if they acted up?¡±

    Zu An exined, ¡°Even though these two coordinated closely with King Qi, they aren¡¯t the type who would go against the court for King Qi¡¯s sake. They still ce the court and the empire above all else. Once the crown prince takes the throne, I believe the two state dukes will still remain loyal to him.¡±

    Bi Qi continuously shook his head as he listened, saying, ¡°That is precisely why the Qin n is naive. They should have either wholeheartedly devoted themselves to King Qi¡¯s camp and aggressively helped him take the throne, or severed their rtionship with King Qi and taken the lead in siding with his majesty. By not standing on either side, supporting King Qi while being unable to abandon their doctrine as faithful patriots, they are simply beggars trying to be choosers.¡±

    Zu An nodded as he listened. Things really were as Bi Qi said. In the end, Qin Zheng was still too much of a square. He supported King Qi, and yet had been unwilling to put his troops on the line. Now, both sides were ruined, so what could he do now?

    ¡°Besides, you said that the Qin n would continue to remain loyal to the empire,¡± Bi Qi continued with a sneer, ¡°However, who could say for sure now that this kind of thing has happened? Who would dare to believe it?¡±

    ¡°The State Duke of Triumph¡¯s integrity over the years is still something anyone can see, right?¡± Zu An said. Even though he understood that, he still couldn''t help but try to defend Qin Zheng.

    Bi Qi shook his head and said, ¡°In the court, no one would trust integrity and other such imaginary promises. The Qin n are people from King Qi¡¯s faction, which is doomed to be purged. Furthermore, their prestige is too high and would be a threat to the new ruler. This is the perfect chance to seize their military authority, which is what else everyone in the court is thinking.¡±

    Zu An remained silent. He began to think, trying to find a way to save the Qin n¡¯s people. He wondered how Chu Youzhao, who was residing in the Qin n, was doing.

    Bi Qi said with a hint of mockery, ¡°If the Qin n really has thoughts of rebelling, then they might just end up like King Qi¡¯s heir. People still have some reservations about killing him, but he¡¯s nothing more than livestock awaiting ughter.¡±

    Zu An could only sigh inwardly. Qin Zheng was upright in character, and yet his dedication to the empire only made him a fool in the eyes of the political circles¡¯ old foxes. It really was ironic.

    He asked, ¡°What happened to King Qi¡¯s heir?¡±

    King Qi replied, ¡°I reckon King Qi made some arrangements beforemitting the act. He had his trusted aides take his heir back to their fiefdom. When they received news of defeat, King Qi¡¯s heir gathered his troops to defend himself. For fear of starting a huge rebellion, the court cannot capture him for now either.¡±

    The emperor¡¯s survival was uncertain and a new emperor hadn¡¯t risen to the throne yet. None of them dared to jump the gun and attack him. The only saving grace was that the Qin n was still considered cooperative and hadn¡¯t stood with King Qi¡¯s heir.

    ¡°Right, apart from the Qin n, the Murong n is also finished,¡± Bi Qi said, sounding quite happy.

    Zu An was shocked. He quickly asked why that was. Murong Tong¡¯s dark face and his expression that always looked as if people owed him money, as well as Murong Qinghe¡¯s lively and slender figure, both appeared in his mind.

    ¡°Why else? The Murong n has been very close to King Qi in recent years, and Murong Tong is the Supervisor of Attendants in charge of his majesty¡¯s safety. Now that something so big has happened to his majesty, he naturally cannot escape me,¡± Bi Qi said with augh. In the past, Murong Tong¡¯s temper had been hard and smelly like the stones in thetrine pits. That guy had angered him many times, and now, he was receiving what was due. Bi Qi continued, ¡°Murong Tong was thrown into the Imperial Prison, and I reckon he¡¯s not having that great of a time.¡±

    Zu An could tell that even though Bi Qi spoke casually, he was talking about the destruction of several top-level ns. He couldn''t help but be rmed. Compared to those old foxes who didn¡¯t have a shred of humanity left in them, he felt that he was still a bit too sentimental.

    ¡°What about the Waterfront Duke?¡± Zu An quickly asked.

    That was Pei Mianman¡¯s grandfather, Waterfront Duke Pei Zheng. He was the Chief Attendant, a lifetime position, as well as one of the core forces of King Qi¡¯s faction. It didn¡¯t seem as if this event would be too kind to him.

    ¡°Of course Pei Zheng has to be removed too. It¡¯s just that they haven¡¯t decided on how to deal with him yet,¡± Bi Qi said with a sneer. They were all old opponents. After fighting for so many years, they had alreadye to hate each other¡¯s guts for a long time.

    Zu An was speechless. In that instant, he had a ridiculous thought. Why was it that all of those being removed were the nsmen of his female friends? Just how had he even ended up bing enemies with King Qi?

    ¡°What about the Yu n and Jiang n?¡± Zu An then asked.

    ¡°The Yu n was already dealt with by his majesty, so even though Yu Xuanchong was forced out of his position, the Yu n avoided this tragedy,¡± Bi Qi replied. ¡°As for the Jiang n, they are rted to the Pei n in marriage, so they will probably be dragged in as well. But that old fox Jiang Boyang is rted to all of the big ns in marriage. In the end, someone will probably protect them, so they aren¡¯t in too much trouble.¡±

    Zu An sighed in relief. He finally received some good news.

    Bi Qi patted Zu An¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°Ah Zu, the reason why I told you so much is because I want the two of us to join forces. The Liu n and Meng n are allied, and are fighting over the court¡¯s authority. They are nting their own people into the spots King Qi¡¯s people have now left vacant. Even though I sent Ziang back to the capital to help his little sister, they are quite isted and without help. I reckon that it will still be the Liu n who has the final say in the capital.¡±

    The empress¡¯ seductive appearance appeared in Zu An¡¯s mind. He felt a huge headache. They really were equally important! He thought to himself, Look at how fickle you always are; you¡¯ve finally tasted pain, haven¡¯t you?

    Even so, on the surface, he still agreed and said, ¡°Sir Bi, don¡¯t worry. The crown princess has treated me so well and given all of the most precious things in the Eastern Pce to me. I have naturally engraved all of those things deeply in my memory.¡±

    Bi Qi felt that his words were a bit strange, but he just assumed that Bi Linglong saw Zu An as important and raised him into bing the most favored man in the Eastern Pce. As such, heughed heartily and said, ¡°Ah Zu, I¡¯m d you think that way. As long as you support Linglongter and this old one supports you from the court, even if the Liu n¡¯s hands try to cover the sky, we won¡¯t need to fear them!¡±

    Zu An was a bit hesitant as he said, ¡°ording to what I¡¯ve heard, Liu Guang and Liu Yao are a bit¡­ mediocre. Could people like them really take hold of this entire situation?¡±

    ¡°Liu Guang and Liu Yao are not much of a concern, but the Liu n is the n of the empress. Their forces cannot be underestimated,¡± Bi Qi said, his expression turning grave. ¡°The Liu n¡¯s most formidable individual is actually the empress. She was quite stunning and exceptional when she was younger, with some even saying that her talent was no worse than his majesty¡¯s. Unfortunately, she was unexpectedly injured while she was at her peak in the past, causing her to be like an ordinary person.

    ¡°However, recently, for some reason, her cultivation suddenly recovered. Not long ago, she directly broke through to the grandmaster rank. Furthermore, the Liu n has an old ancestor who also has grandmaster rank cultivation. They also have an alliance with the Meng n, which includes Meng Yi¡¯s father, who is one of the court¡¯s eight dukes and also a grandmaster; that way, they already have an incredible force. On top of that, they have a pretext to seize power; with the Liu n¡¯s army, as well as the Meng n¡¯s resources, it would be enough for them to seize control of the court.¡± n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    As he spoke, he was even starting to get frustrated himself. He continued, ¡°I always thought that the empress was a cripple, so I never really guarded against the Liu n. I really wonder just how she recovered¡­ I heard that she ate some miraculous medicine. I really wonder just what kind of medicine is that useful; I¡¯ll have to get Linglong to have some too, to see if it can make her stronger.¡±

    Zu An had a strange expression as he thought, The Empress ate quite a bit of it back then with her mouth, and the crown princess has also eaten it¡­

    He quickly dispelled that thought, as he was quite shocked to hear about the empress¡¯ previous cultivation. She had been a grandmaster?! He hadn¡¯t been able to tell at all.

    Bi Qi got up and sorted out his clothes, saying, ¡°Alright, I told you those things so you would have an idea of the current situation, and so it would be easier for us to work together in the future. As for King Yan and Zhao Yuan¡¯s side, you have no need to worry too much. With me here, they wouldn¡¯t dare to touch you.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Sir Bi,¡± Zu An said, seeing him off with a friendly countenance. Then, he sat back down by his desk and started to think to himself.

    He actually didn¡¯t have that much interest in the political seizure of power. They were already in a freaking world of cultivation, and yet they were still ying these games¡­ They really were getting too distracted. However, he definitely had to go back and pay the capital a visit. There were too many people he needed to save. He unfolded a white sheet of paper and wrote down a few crucial names.

    As he was deep in thought, the curtains suddenly shook. A beautiful figure dressed in a red top and ck dress leaped in through the window. His eyes shook alongside the curtains as he watched her.

    ¡°Manman!¡±

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡±

    A sweet scent swept over, and a fiery and alluring body fell straight into his arms.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Zu An asked, a bit shocked when he saw Pei Mianman hug him with so much strength.

    ¡°I have to go soon,¡± Pei Mianman said, feeling somewhat bad. ¡°The sect leader and master want to bring me back. The things that happened on Violet Mountain are too great and our Jadefall Pce doesn¡¯t wish to be involved. We intend to return to the sect and close the mountain gate for a while. I heard that the reason we were able to go back was only out of respect for you. That¡¯s the reason why they don¡¯t dare to trouble us.¡±

    Zu An was speechless, thinking, Does this count as crushing my own foot while trying to climb a rock? He eventually asked, ¡°Is it possible for you to stay?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t. The sect leader and master¡¯s attitudes are really firm on this. Besides, after experiencing what happened here, they n to return and pass the sect¡¯s more profound skills onto me. I also need to spend some time to properly digest andprehend the Paramita Butterfly I obtained from the secret dungeon,¡± Pei Mianman replied.

    Her gaze was full of reluctance, but she quickly warned herself that there were now more and more beauties at Zu An¡¯s side. If she didn¡¯t make progress in her cultivation, she would only be bullied and have no way of fighting back.Furthermore, Ah Zu could now win against even the emperor! The difference in their strength was just too great.

    Ah Zu might not feel anything, but as he gets stronger and stronger, the distance between us grows further and further¡­

    When he sensed her resolve, Zu An realized that he couldn''t hold up her cultivation either. He asked, ¡°Then when are you leaving?¡±

    ¡°Tonight!¡±

    ¡°That soon?¡±

    ¡°Master and the sect leader feel that this ce is inauspicious and don¡¯t wish to stay here even a moment longer than they have to.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    ¡°That¡¯s why I came all the way here to say goodbye, and also to give you a gift,¡± Pei Mianman continued.

    Zu An was stunned when he heard that. ¡°What kind of gift?¡±

    Pei Mianman suddenly smiled widely. She moved closer to his ear and whispered, ¡°Are you writing something? I¡¯ll help you grind the ink.¡±

    Then, she slowly lowered her body. Her cheeks were bright red as she helped him in the most gentle and careful way.

    Hmph, I¡¯m going to leave soon anyway, so I can¡¯t let those other vixens get any advantages over me.

    Zu An raised his brows and replied, ¡°Oh?¡±

 Chapter 1861: Ingenious Use

    Chapter 1861: Ingenious Use

    Meanwhile, in another courtyard, Chu Chuyan looked at Yan Xuehen with a worried expression. She asked, ¡°Master, do you think Ah Zu will be able to fool those old foxes?¡±

    ¡°That guy is even more cunning than an old fox. How could he possibly fail?¡± Yan Xuehen replied, rolling her eyes.

    My disciple is normally pretty smart, so why is it that she suddenly bes the biggest worrywart when ites to Zu An? Is she really blinded by love?

    ¡°Still, so many of us came out from the secret dungeon, and both King Yan and that Gueri Warfare General only refrained from interrogating us immediately out of respect for Ah Zu. If they get a chance, they might still be tempted to do so. After all, that day, Ah Zu¡¯s choice of words wasn¡¯t the most tactful,¡± Chu Chuyan said worriedly.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Often, people do not always need the truth. As long as there is an exnation and everyone is okay with it, that should be enough. After all, Zhao Han has already died,¡± Yan Xuehen said in constion.

    Chu Chuyan looked at her in shock, replying, ¡°Master, since when did you understand the court¡¯s matters that well?¡± She just couldn''t help but feel as if her master had changed a bit. However, as for how Yan Xuehen had changed, she couldn''t really say.

    ¡°For better or for worse, over the years, I have frequently visited the capital as the guest of many influential ns. After seeing their way of thinking enough, do I really have to see the pig run to eat the pork?¡± Yan Xuehen replied in annoyance. ¡°What, was your master really such an idiot in that aspect?¡±

    ¡°Of course not,¡± Chu Chuyan said, holding her hand with a big smile. She leaned against Yan Xuehen¡¯s shoulder like a spoiled child and asked in a slightly gossipy mood, ¡°This disciple almost forgot that master was a goddess whom every man in the world admired. There are still rumors of master¡¯s charm circling the world even now. However, after all these years, could it be that master really doesn¡¯t have a single one you favor? Could it be that Yan¡¯er is doomed to never have a martial father in this life?¡±

    She was the one who had managed the entire n back in the Chu n. She¡¯d had to deal with many business and familial matters alone. As such, she¡¯d had no choice but to put on a tough appearance, using an ice-cold and emotionless exterior to make others fear and respect her. She was even like that in front of her own mother Qin Wanru. In order to not worry her parents, she had almost never shown them her little girl side, and had always presented her tough exterior. Only in the White Jade Sect, in front of her master, could she let go of some responsibilities and acting and remember that she was but a young woman who hadn¡¯t even reached twenty years of age yet.

    Yan Xuehen was rmed and quickly pushed her away. She replied with a harrumph, ¡°Just what kind of nonsense is in that head of yours? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve already forgotten what your cultivation is for?¡±

    Chu Chuyan grumbled, ¡°I am cultivating, and I don¡¯t think gossiping about love could really get in the way¡­¡±

    ¡°Is that the same thing? That guy you like is¡­¡± Yan Xuehen trailed off. Her cheeks even heated up a bit.

    ¡°Is what?¡± Chu Chuyan repeated, feeling a bit confused.

    ¡°Nothing,¡± Yan Xuehen said in annoyance.

    Am I supposed to tell you that I¡¯ve had a taste of your man¡¯s transcendent aptitude blood essence? That not only does it not hinder our cultivation, it can even nourish our bodies?

    She always felt guilty when she discussed Zu An with her. She quickly said with a stiff expression, ¡°Hmph, look at you cking off and always talking about love. You¡¯re not focusing on cultivation at all anymore.¡±

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s expression turned serious. She said, ¡°Master¡¯s discipline is correct. I just happen to have some questions rted to cultivation to ask master.¡±

    She had been a bit upset when she saw so many beauties appear at Zu An¡¯s side in the great tomb, and she even regretted the fact that she¡¯d only had cultivation on her mind for years and neglected her rtionship with Zu An. That was why so many vixens had ended up getting mixed in!

    However, when they faced Zhao Han, she had discovered that she couldn''t offer any help at all and had only be Zu An¡¯s burden. He had even been held back because he had to protect her. After Ah Zu drew Zhao Han away, she had been so worried that he could die, and yet she couldn''t chase after him for fear of being a burden.

    Those feelings of despair, rm, and helplessness weren¡¯t something she wanted to experience again. As such, her desire to be stronger had grown once again.

    ¡°Speak!¡± Yan Xuehen replied. When she saw that Chu Chuyan was talking about cultivation, her expression became serious again too. She regained the image of a teacher.

    ¡°How can I be as strong as master in the shortest amount of time?¡± Chu Chuyan asked, looking at Yan Xuehen expectantly. She recalled her master and Sect Master Yun¡¯s figures as they rushed away. She figured that she had to at least reach their level in order to fight at Ah Zu¡¯s side.

    Yan Xuehen was speechless. She said, ¡°If you were able to catch up to me in a short amount of time, I would have cultivated this entire lifetime for nothing.¡±

    These youngsters really are biting off more than they can chew. Just how many years did I spend to reach the grandmaster rank? Just how much effort and dedication did I put in?

    Chu Chuyan said sulkily, ¡°But Ah Zu clearly caught up to you¡­¡±

    Even though she couldn¡¯t sense Zu An¡¯s exact cultivation, anyone who could defeat Zhao Han, even if it was a seriously injured and tribtion lightning-sted Zhao Han, definitely wouldn¡¯t be weaker than her own master.

    Yan Xuehen choked.

    Does this girl know how to have a proper conversation?

    What do you mean, just catch up? That little demon already surpassed me! At this point, all I can do is act like a cute and helpless cheerleader¡­

    A blush shed across her face, but she quickly put those random thoughts away and said with a cough, ¡°That brat is a monster, and his path cannot be replicated. However, you have a way to quickly be stronger.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Chu Chuyan asked, her eyes lighting up.

    ¡°The Pure World Icelotus that you received from Immortal Ruler Baopu in the great tomb,¡± Yan Xuehen said. Her expression became serious again as she continued, ¡°Even though I have never seen it before, your joint attack with Pei Mianman on Zhao Han actually sessfully destroyed one of his protective treasures. That is already enough to prove its strength. So, what you need to do right now is to properly understand the Pure World Icelotus intent. You cultivate the ice element, after all. If you can integrate those two things, your cultivation will definitely advance rapidly.¡±

    ¡°How can I do that? Even though I can vaguely sense the existence of that intent, I¡¯ve found that I can only use it asionally and inadvertently,¡± Chu Chuyan said in confusion.

    ¡°Calm your mind, and cross your arms in front of your chest,¡± Yan Xuehen guided her.

    Chu Chuyan copied her. Her talent had always been first-rate, so she quickly became as still as ice and snow.

    When she looked at her disciple¡¯s stunning features, Yan Xuehen suddenly felt a bit upset.

    Just what kind of superpower does that brat Zu An have?

    She took a deep breath and calmed herself. Her fingers inteced with Chu Chuyan¡¯s. She poured her own inner ki into Chu Chuyan¡¯s body to protect her meridians while slowly saying, ¡°Chuyan, imagine that you have two mountains of ice inside of you right now. Then, guide that Pure World Icelotus to the two peaks.¡±

    Chu Chuyan asked in confusion, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t the lotus be at the summit of the mountain?¡±

    Yan Xuehen harrumphed. ¡°You are still unfamiliar with the Pure World Icelotus right now. Immediately cing it at the peak would be aiming far too high. Have it sit between the two mountains right now, and surround it with your own ice mountain intent. Slowly polish it and refine it, then fully integrate it with the two peaks.¡±

    Chu Chuyan, whose eyes were tightly shut, suddenly frowned. She said, ¡°Master, this Pure World Icelotus intent doesn¡¯t seem all that obedient and wants to struggle free.¡±

    ¡°Do not be rmed. You cannot use brute force and must instead reform it gently, guide it, and make it feel the warmth of returning home,¡± Yan Xuehen said. As a sect master, she had quickly gotten a rough idea of how to help her disciple cultivate from a few nces in the past.

    ¡°Master, it¡¯s working!¡± Chu Chuyan said happily. ¡°It seems to have be much more obedient than before.¡±

    Yan Xuehen nodded in appreciation and said, ¡°That¡¯s right. Continue to polish it just like that. Make itpletely familiar with your aura.¡±

    ¡°Okay,¡± Chu Chuyan replied. She began to focus on doing what Yan Xuehen said.

    A whileter, her expression suddenly changed and she eximed, ¡°Oh no, master! It seems to have be impatient and wants to break free from the peaks¡¯ restriction. It wants to fly away andpletely break free from my control!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you have a mouth? Swallow that ice lotus and absorb it, then consolidate it at the base of the mountains again. Continue this process, and you should be able to fully subdue it in the end,¡± Yan Xuehen exined as she saw her disciple¡¯s brows furrow tightly; Chu Chuyan seemed to have reached a critical juncture. She quickly said, ¡°That Pure World Icelotus doesn¡¯t truly exist. I specte that it was an innately spiritual treasure from ancient times, but for various reasons, it is now but a strand of lingering will. Since that strand has already acknowledged you as its owner, you do not need to cling to conventional ways. Whether it is the ice mountains your master spoke of or that lotus, they do not actually exist. They all exist within your mind.

    ¡°Use your own cold intent to nurture this strand of will. I believe that one day, you can once again recreate a true Pure World Icelotus. Only then can you truly gain control over it and release even greater power.¡±

    Chu Chuyan trembled and replied, ¡°Master, I think I understand!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s my disciple!¡± Yan Xuehen remarked, nodding in appreciation. She taught her disciple while protecting her meridians through ki. She was also exhausted and breathing heavily now, her cheeks flushed with color.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An¡¯s body also stopped briefly. Pei Mianman coughed a few times, seemingly choking.

    A momentter, after sheposed herself a bit, she showed him an ambiguous smile. She didn¡¯t say anything, but her expression seemed to be saying ¡®it has been a while since we met, but that¡¯s all you have¡¯?

    Zu An¡¯s face turned red. He asked, ¡°Did you use Kiss of the Goddess just now?¡±

    Pei Mianman nodded. There was a mischievous look in her beautiful eyes.

    Zu An looked amazed, thinking,That skill can even be used like that? No wonder I couldn''t even hold on.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Pei Mianman blinked charmingly, her eyes silently asking ¡®do you want more¡¯?

    Zu An nodded. He breathed in deeply.

    I am a real man with bones of iron, someone who has suffered endless difficulties on the path of cultivation, someone who has faced difficulties head on! The more obstacles there are, the more courageous I be; how can I just give in so easily?

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Yan Xuehen instructed Chu Chuyan, ¡°It is normal to fail when you are not proficient at first. Do it again using the previous method. Imagine that there are two ice mountains, and the Pure World Ice Lotus¡¯ intent is trapped within. You cannot use force, so you have to cleverly guide it and polish it¡­

    ¡°In the past, your master obtained a heart sutra from those old monks of Tranquility Temple. It just happens to be beneficial for your current situation. Listen carefully.

    ¡°Without the clear guidance of broad daylight, the impoverished have no way of finding the path home. Those who wish to achieve greatness must first let go of what they see and hear. When all these have been exhausted, obscurity and confusion will cease to arise. Great wisdom is unveiled, while all else dissipates. A state of ultimate oneness, boundaries and distinctions blurred and nonexistent¡­¡±

 Chapter 1862: Fear and Trepidation Before Disaster

    Chapter 1862: Fear and Trepidation Before Disaster

    Meanwhile, Xie Daoyun was rolling back and forth in bed, unable to sleep. After she saw Bi Qi leave Zu An¡¯s room, she hesitated for a bit, but decided to go to Zu An¡¯s room eventually.

    ¡°I am doing this for the sake of the academy and not because I wanted to see big brother Zu in particr! Even if I run into those other big sisters, it doesn¡¯t matter.¡± She consoled herself while walking. While her face was turning as red as a ripe apple, she finally arrived outside Zu An¡¯s door.

    <em>Knock knock knock!</em>

    She knocked while asking in a low voice, ¡°Big brother Zu, can Ie in?¡± As soon as she spoke, however, she heard a strange noise and a suppressed groan of pain.

    <em>Could it be that I distracted big brother Zu while he was cultivating and he fell over?</em>

    ¡°Big brother Zu, did something happen to you? I¡¯ming in, alright?¡± she called out, full of worry. She gave the door a heavy push as she spoke, opening it wide.

    However, what she saw was not an injured Zu An as she had imagined; rather, he was sitting upright in front of his table. He was gripping both sides of the desk firmly as if he was doing his best to resist something.

    ¡°Big brother Zu, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Xie Daoyun asked. She was about to run over when Zu An stopped her.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Did you need something?¡± Zu An replied, doing his best to keep his expression calm. He was really d that there was a board blocking the front of his desk, so she didn¡¯t see anything she wasn¡¯t supposed to see.

    A pair of beautiful eyes looked up at him from below with an ambiguous smile, as if she found the current situation extremely amusing.

    ¡°Oh, it wasn¡¯t anything much. It¡¯s mainly rted to the libationer¡¯s affairs,¡± Xie Daoyun said, letting out a sigh of relief. She sat down on a small stool.

    Zu An¡¯s face twitched, but he couldn''t really just chase her away.

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s beautiful brows continued to furrow as she hesitated. She eventually said, ¡°It¡¯s just that now that the libationer has passed on, I still have to bring him back to have a proper burial. His status is extraordinary, so they will definitely ask about how he passed away. The academy¡¯s side is fine, but the court¡¯s side¡­ The libationer also appeared in the secret dungeon, so they might suspect his majesty¡¯s death has something to do with him.¡±

    Zu An released a long sigh of apparent satisfaction, or something else¡­ He said, ¡°Little sister Ling¡¯er is still¡­ Sss¡­¡±

    When she saw Zu An shiver, Xie Daoyun was startled, asking, ¡°Big brother Zu, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, I was bitten by a little kitty just now,¡± Zu An exined in embarrassment. He hadn¡¯t expected Manman to get jealous when he called her little sister Ling¡¯er.

    ¡°Little kitty?¡± Xie Daoyun repeated, stunned. However, even after looking around, she didn¡¯t see any cats¡­

    She reflexively leaned over to look over the table. Zu An was so frightened he quickly reached out and pressed his hand against her shoulder, saying, ¡°Where were we just now? Oh, right. I think you¡¯re overthinking things. Actually, there¡¯s no need to be too earnest.

    ¡°There might be suspicious people at the court, but the libationer¡¯s status is special. Countless people respect him, and there are many students in the academy and military, let alone the fact that the entire empire still needs the pills, formations, and weapons from the academy.

    ¡°The emperor is already gone and the crown prince is quite weak. No one will really look into this matter. Everyone will tacitly trust anything you say.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Xie Daoyun asked skeptically.

    ¡°Of course,¡± Zu An said with a chuckle. Suddenly, he grimaced. However, he continued, ¡°Did you forget that I¡¯m still here? Don¡¯t worry, no one will make things difficult for you.¡±

    ¡°Big brother Zu, you¡¯re hurting me,¡± Xie Daoyun suddenly said timidly.

    Zu An was speechless. Pei Mianman was stunned.

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s gaze shifted to her shoulder, which Zu An was gripping tightly. She couldn''t help but be a bit worried when she saw his veins popping. She asked, ¡°Big brother Zu, are you really okay? Ah, your body is burning up!¡±

    She reflexively reached out to touch his forehead. She was immediately frightened by the scalding temperature. Her beautiful and refined face filled with rm and worry as she asked, ¡°Big brother Zu, are you sick?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ okay,¡± Zu An said, although his voice seemed to be trembling a bit.

    ¡°What do you mean, you¡¯re okay? You¡¯re already this hot,¡± Xie Daoyun said. ¡°How about I take your pulse?¡±

    She didn¡¯t give him a chance to say anything and put her hand on his wrist. She eximed, ¡°Hm? Big brother Zu, why is your heart rate so quick? Could it be that there¡¯s an injury leftover from your great battle against his majesty that¡¯s acting up now?¡±

    ¡°The injuries I received before have already healed. There¡¯s no need to worry,¡± Zu An replied. Inwardly, he was crying ¡®save me!¡¯. If this continued, he wouldn¡¯t be able to hold on anymore.

    ¡°Your injuries have already healed?¡± Xie Daoyun asked, stunned. If he wasn¡¯t injured, why was his heartbeat so quick?

    <em>Could it be¡­ because of me?</em>

    She hadn¡¯t noticed earlier because she was worried about him, but now, she realized that they were really close. She was supporting her upper body on the table, while he had his hands pressed against her shoulders. Their faces were almost within reach. She could clearly see herself reflected in his eyes.

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s heart began to pound fiercely as they looked into each other¡¯s eyes. A strange romantic mood suddenly seemed to fill the air.

    As she looked at Zu An¡¯s handsome face, Xie Daoyun felt an inexplicable surge of confidence. She suddenly got on her toes and moved closer, then gave Zu An a light kiss on his lips.0

    Zu An¡¯s eyes widened, and his grip tightened even further. He had never expected things to develop like this!

    Xie Daoyun was startled. She thought to herself,<em>How could I act so unreserved?</em>She reflexively wanted to run away, but her shoulders were being held tightly in ce. She couldn''t budge an inch.

    She thought,<em>Since we¡¯re already like this, I¡¯ll just be a bit bolder so I won¡¯t have any more regrets.</em>She recalled a forbidden book she had secretly read about ady¡¯s chambers and became a bit restless.

    Zu An instinctively responded to her. Suddenly, however, he was stunned. He thought,<em>This is not the time for this!</em>

    However, how could Xie Daoyun resist his teasing? She immediately felt as light as a feather, as if her soul were about to leave her body. She thought to herself,<em>Is this the sensation of kissing that the book described?</em>

    Just then, however, Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei¡¯s voices came from outside the door. ¡°Hm? The door seems to be open. It doesn¡¯t seem like he¡¯s fallen asleep yet.¡±

    The people inside the room were scared quite badly. Zu An in particr couldn''t hold it in anymore. His hands almost crushed Xie Daoyun from the force he was using.

    When she felt him gasping for air and his entire body shaking uncontrobly, Xie Daoyun became more and more shy. She thought,<em>Isn¡¯t big brother Zu¡¯s reaction a bit too much? Could it be that he likes me that much?</em>

    Even so, her thoughts quickly turned to other things. She summoned the courage to push Zu An away, and then she quickly ran away. She definitely didn¡¯t want to bump into Qiu Honglei and Yun Jianyue, letting them catch her in the act of kissing big brother Zu. That would be way too embarrassing. More importantly, Qiu Honglei was big brother Zu¡¯s lover, so her actions were a bit too despicable, right?

    ¡°Hm? Miss Xie? Why are you here?¡± Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei both eximed in surprise. After being caught by Sun En, Yun Jianyue and Xie Daoyun¡¯s rtionship had be quite good.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything!¡± Xie Daoyun suddenly cried, waving her hands guiltily. She quickly added, ¡°I wanted to ask big brother Zu about some things rted to the academy and the libationer!¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Qiu Honglei and Yun Jianyue replied, looking at her with a bit of doubt. Her face was just too red, and it looked like tears were about toe out of her eyes. Her delicate lips in particr looked even more glossy than usual.

    The two others in the room were really rmed. Pei Mianman sorted out her clothes, and dashed out of the window while covering her mouth. She red at Zu An in embarrassment and annoyance. Xie Daoyun was one thing, but Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei¡¯s cultivations were higher. She would definitely be discovered if she continued to hide in the room.

    Either way, she had already said goodbye to Zu An this time. She turned around and smiled sweetly at him one more time before disappearing into the night sky. With Fu Hao¡¯s Owl Statue, she was already a queen of the night, so she didn¡¯t have to worry about being discovered by the guards outside.

    Right as she left, Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei entered the room. They saw that Zu An was continuously waving his hands, as if he were fanning something.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Yun Jianyue asked in puzzlement.

    ¡°There seem to be quite a few mosquitoes today, haha. Violet Mountain is a great ce, but this problem is a bit annoying,¡± Zu An said with a yawn.

    ¡°Mosquitoes?¡± the women repeated; they both found that strange. With their cultivation, mosquitoes would die instantly upon reaching their protective ki armor. Why would there be a need to chase mosquitoes away?

    They said, ¡°Ah Zu, we¡¯re here to say goodbye.¡±

    Zu An was stunned, asking, ¡°You guys are also leaving?¡± He thought,<em>What is going on? They¡¯re all leaving one after another!</em>

    ¡°Also?¡± Yun Jianyue repeated, her expression turning a bit dangerous.

    Zu An ignored her and hurriedly held Qiu Honglei¡¯s hands, asking, ¡°Why do you have to leave so soon?¡±

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s lips curled. She shot an aggrieved look in her master¡¯s direction, clearly reluctant to leave.

    Yun Jianyue said impatiently to her, ¡°Our identities are sensitive. If we¡¯re exposed, it¡¯ll bring him a load of problems. We should take this chance to lie low and let the fuss die down. You can just find a chance to meet up with himter; it¡¯s not as if he¡¯ll run away.¡±

    Qiu Honglei thought to herself,<em>He won¡¯t run away, but those vixens around him will only grow greater in number! The pressure I¡¯ll face then will be even greater!</em>

    Yun Jianyue said seriously, ¡°I previously heard that Lu Sanyuan was drawing near with his great rebel army. I didn¡¯t have enough time to react to that information before being pulled into the secret dungeon with you guys. Now that we¡¯re finally back, I naturally need to take a look to see if there are any issues on that side.¡±

    Zu An shuddered. He knew why she was treating that matter so seriously; it was because Lu Sanyuan¡¯s troops were, strictly speaking, a volunteer army under the Devil Sect. And yet, even though they wereunching such arge-scale operation, Yun Jianyue, the sect leader, knew nothing of it. That was a dangerous sign. Either Lu Sanyuan had thoughts of defecting, or there were individuals inside the Devil Sect who wished to erode Yun Jianyue¡¯s authority.

    Qiu Honglei understood the severity of the situation as well, saying, ¡°Master, I¡¯ll go with you to help.¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Yun Jianyue nodded in appreciation.

    <em>I didn¡¯t raise this disciple for nothing. She¡¯s not the type to forget her family for men.</em>

    Zu An couldn''t help but ask, ¡°Do you need my help?¡±

    ¡°Not for now. I can still take care of this much, at least,¡± Yun Jianyue said, proudly refusing.

    ¡­

    The group chatted for a while longer before Qiu Honglei reluctantly said her goodbyes.

    Zu An saw them out of the courtyard. Yun Jianyue suddenly turned around and gave him a cold look before leaving, saying, ¡°Your waist strap isn¡¯t tied properly.¡±

 Chapter 1863: I Already Drank Too Much Earlier

    Chapter 1863: I Already Drank Too Much Earlier

    You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +666 +666 +666¡­

    Zu An immediately began to sweat like crazy. Previously, he had been so nervous and rmed that he just tied it carelessly. He hadn¡¯t expected it to be wrong! More importantly, Yun Jianyue had noticed! This really was social suicide¡­

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, when Qiu Honglei and Yun Jianyue were already far away from the courtyard, Qiu Honglei couldn''t help but ask, ¡°Master, what did you mean just now? You sounded really angry.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I was just warning him, that''s all,¡± Yun Jianyue said with a sneer.

    No wonder they had bumped into a flustered and guilty Xie Daoyun on the way out! On top of that, her lips had seemed a bit more moist than usual.

    So they were doing that kind of thing!

    How ridiculous! The two of them clearly only had a brother and sister rtionship. What kind of sister does that with their brother?

    More importantly, when did these two suddenly get that far? Xie Daoyun was clearly just a reserved and virtuous youngdy thest time they interacted! And yet she actually agreed to create trouble with him!

    ¡°Master, did you smell anything strange in that room earlier? It was almost like¡­¡± Qiu Honglei trailed off, her face reddening. She was too embarrassed to continue.

    Yun Jianyue immediately became vignt. She eximed, ¡°You did that kind of stuff for him before too?!¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Qiu Honglei replied, feeling a bit at a loss. naturally didn¡¯t want to discuss that kind of thing with her master, so her first inclination was to think of something else.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I didn¡¯t smell anything earlier.¡± Yun Jianyue harrumphed. She also felt that talking about that kind of thing with her disciple was a bit ridiculous, so she decided to just say that she hadn¡¯t smelled anything.

    Qiu Honglei sighed in relief and said, ¡°I suppose I was overthinking things just now.¡±

    Yun Jianyue was about to say something when she saw her disciple¡¯s happy appearance and decided not to. Inwardly, she thought,You actually weren¡¯t wrong¡­

    Sigh, this disciple of mine is usually pretty sharp. She has who knows how many men in the Holy Sect in the palm of her hand. Why did she suddenly be dumb? Should I give her some reminders?

    However, a master teaching her disciple how to flirt with a man really is a bit embarrassing¡­

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Pei Mianman hurriedly returned to Jadefall Pce¡¯s residence. Elder Huo Ling, Wan Tongtian, Wan Guiyi, and the others were eating in front of a desk.

    ¡°Did you say your goodbyes to him?¡± Elder Huo Ling asked, her expression unhappy. The disciple she had carefully raised actually only had another man in her head all day long! If news of that got out, it really would be shameful for her as the master.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Pei Mianman said, reflexively wiping the corners of her lips. She felt relief when she noticed that there was nothing left behind.

    ¡°Hm? Why did you change into a different set of clothes?¡± Elder Huo Ling asked, looking at her with suspicion.

    Pei Mianman replied in rm, ¡°We¡¯re about to head out on a long journey, so I felt that my other clothes weren¡¯t suitable.¡± The front of her other clothes was dirty, and there was a strong smell on them. How could she dare to wear them here?

    ¡°That brat didn¡¯t do something to you, did he?¡± Elder Huo Ling asked with a frown. She felt as if the lovely, graceful, and obedient daughter she had raised was constantly running off to troublesome ces.

    ¡°No¡­ Nothing,¡± Pei Mianman said, her face heating up. Strictly speaking, it was she who had done something to him¡­.

    Wan Tongtian smiled and tried to smooth things over, saying, ¡°When a woman is pretty, it isn¡¯t too strange for her to change clothes often.¡±

    Elder Huo Ling¡¯s eyes narrowed. She said, ¡°I usually wear just this set of clothes, and even if I change, it looks simr. Judging from what the sect leader is saying, it seems to imply I do not care much about my appearance?¡±

    Wan Tongtian was just about to continue when he froze up. He really was getting kicked while he was down here! Fortunately, he reacted quickly and glossed over it with a chuckle. Then, he beckoned to Pei Mianman and said, ¡°Manman,e and eat. The journey will be morefortable after a good meal. We won¡¯t be stopping once we set off, so try to replenish as much strength as possible.¡±

    ¡°Understood, martial uncle sect leader,¡± Pei Mianman replied.

    Elder Huo Ling got a bowl of soy milk ready for her as soon as she sat down. She said in an endearing manner, ¡°This is made with the finest spirit soybean extract from the Righteous Sun Sect¡¯s medicinal fields. Every single soybean is full of natural ki. If not for what happened to the Righteous Sun Sect, we would likely not have the blessing to drink this. Have some more of it.¡±

    Pei Mianman¡¯s eyes widened when she saw the white and creamy soy milk. In the end, she couldn''t help but run off to the side and retch. ¡°Ugh¡­¡±

    When she saw her disciple vomit, Elder Huo Ling¡¯s face was full of question marks.

    What¡¯s with the huge reaction? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re pregnant or something?

    The Wan father and son also looked at her in confusion. Why was she having such a strong reaction?

    Do you not like soy milk?

    However, they had never seen her avoid soy milk before. Additionally, the soy milk from Violet Mountain was fragrant and sweet.

    They were just about to ask her when Pei Mianman hurriedly waved her hand and said, ¡°I¡¯m good. It¡¯s just that I already drank enough earlier. I¡¯m going back for some rest first.¡± She broke off into a small run after saying that, still feeling lingering fear.

    The others looked at each other in dismay. They didn¡¯t understand what was happening. When had she drunk soy milk?

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An was cleaning up the mess back in his room; he was in a sorry state. He definitely didn¡¯t want anyone else to bump into this disaster. He really felt as if he had been on an emotional rollercoaster all night. After cleaning everything up, he sat in front of his desk in a daze.

    What was I thinking about earlier again?

    Oh, I didn¡¯t expect Kiss of the Goddess to have that incredible use. It really is something¡­ Should I get Chuyan to try it sometime too? Still, she¡¯s usually colder in nature. She won¡¯t just beat me to death out of humiliation, will she?

    I can also never let big sis Yan find out, or else I¡¯ll be skinned eight times over!

    He was letting his imagination run wild when a guard suddenly called out to him respectfully from the entrance, saying, ¡°Sir Zu, this subordinate has something to report.¡±

    ¡°Come in,¡± Zu An replied absentmindedly.

    A guard dressed in an Armed Escort Army uniform walked in. He kneeled down on the ground respectfully.

    ¡°Is there something you need?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°It is rted to King Yan. He seems to¡­¡± the guard began.

    When he saw how the subordinate was hesitating, Zu An became a bit curious. He walked over to support the guard to his feet while saying, ¡°Don¡¯t be scared. You can just tell me.¡±

    The guard suddenly raised his head and blew a puff of ck smoke in his face. At the same time, a dagger appeared in his hand, moving toward Zu An¡¯s body. However, as soon as he raised his hand, he felt a stinging pain. Zu An had gripped his wrist and aimed it at his own neck instead!

    The move should have dislocated his joint at the very least, but the guard¡¯s hand suddenly became as limp as a loach, breaking free from his restriction at a strange angle. Then, he dashed to one side.

    He was about to say something when Zu An suddenly appeared in front of him like a relentless shadow, a hand mping down on his shoulder. He immediately felt a wave of pressure that prevented him from mustering even the slightest bit of strength again.

    ¡°It hurts, it hurts! It¡¯s me! I was just ying a joke on you!¡± a melodious voice cried out, clearly that of a woman.

    Zu An reached out to touch her face, then tore off the mask covering it, revealing a lovable and annoyed face. She was clearly an extremely mysterious person, someone with many sides, and yet she had a dignified and elegant face. However, she was tearing up a bit, clearly from pain.

    ¡°Tang Tian¡¯er?¡± Zu An eximed. He frowned when he saw her face, but he still didn¡¯t let her go.

    ¡°Young master, it¡¯s been a long time, so I just wanted to y a prank. Is there a need for you to be this mean?¡± Tang Tian¡¯er replied yfully.

    ¡°Hah,¡± Zu An sneered. ¡°Is an assassination attempt a joke?¡±

    When she saw that he was still displeased, Tang Tian¡¯er started to panic. She cried out, ¡°That smoke didn¡¯t have any poison, and that dagger was actually made of paper. You can go and check if you don¡¯t believe me!¡±

    Zu An flung her away and sat back down. He said indifferently, ¡°If that hadn¡¯t been the case, you would already be dead.¡±

    He had already felt that something was off from the very beginning, which was why he held back. Otherwise, even though he wouldn¡¯t have killed the ¡®assassin¡¯ on the spot, he would definitely have broken their arms and legs before slowly carrying out an interrogation.

    ¡°It¡¯s just because I haven¡¯t seen you in too long! I wanted to raise your vignce a bit¡­¡± Tang Tian¡¯er said as she ran over in a familiar manner to help him massage his arms and legs.

    ¡°It¡¯s easy for you to take your games too far that way,¡± Zu An said seriously, ¡°Not everyone can immediately tell the difference like me, and other people might not show mercy.¡±

    ¡°Come on, I would only do that kind of thing with you, okay? There¡¯s no way I¡¯d do that with other people.¡± Tang Tian¡¯er harrumphed.

    ¡°How did you get in?¡± Zu An asked curiously. The security in the area was extremely tight, after all.

    After such a major event had happened on Violet Mountain, and especially after factoring in the presence of King Yan and the Gueri Warfare and Armed Escort Armies, there wereyers uponyers of guards in the area.

    ¡°For someone like me who¡¯s good at disguising myself, the more people there are, the more openings I have to exploit!¡± Tang Tian¡¯er said, feeling quite pleased with herself. ¡°I took such a huge risk to find you precisely because I heard that you¡¯d returned. I couldn''t hold back my yearning, you know?¡±

    Zu An calmly said, ¡°Tell me what you really want from me.¡±

    ¡°I really did miss you¡­¡± Tang Tian¡¯er said with a wronged expression.

    ¡°I¡¯m leaving if you don¡¯t speak,¡± Zu An said, unmoved. He got up and prepared to leave as he spoke.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Wait, wait, wait!¡± Tang Tian¡¯er quickly protested, then asked, ¡°Is that sted emperor dead?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a court secret. Noment,¡± Zu An replied. He knew that the Hub of Freedom had an inextricable rtionship with the people of the previous dynasty. Tang Tian¡¯er had likelye to find him precisely because of that.

    Tang Tian¡¯er grumbled, ¡°I helped you so much and even risked my purity to save you, but you¡¯re abandoning me amid the chaos¡­ You¡¯re not even willing to tell me such a small thing¡­¡±

    Zu An thought back to how she had hidden him in her bathtub to avoid soldiers before. He reflexively looked at her underbelly. He seemed to recall in that location a certain¡­

    Tang Tian¡¯er¡¯s face turned red when she saw his gaze and protested, ¡°Scoundrel.¡±

    Zu An immediately felt a headacheing on. He said, ¡°Alright, the emperor is already dead. He died in the secret dungeon and even his corpse is gone.¡±

    Either way, the news would be widespread sooner orter. It would be better to get a favor from her with it.

    ¡°Young master is the best! I knew you wouldn¡¯t be so heartless!¡± Tang Tian¡¯er eximed. She enthusiastically hugged him and gave him a kiss. Her eyes were beaming.

    ¡°How does the young master want me to thank you?¡± she asked while lightly pecking his earlobe. She even mischievously blew some hot air. Her voice was as sweet as honey. Together with that smile that was even sweeter than her voice, it really was enough to make any man rock-hard.

    However, Zu An remained extremely calm as he said, ¡°Miss Tang, there¡¯s no need for you to do that. Friends should help each other out, so there¡¯s no need for you to use your usual tricks.¡±

    Big Manman¡¯s Kiss of the Goddess had just been way too formidable, making him humiliate himself countless times. There was no way he could have any untoward thoughts right now.

    Tang Tian¡¯er was stunned. A hint of admiration appeared in her eyes. She got up and bowed respectfully, saying, ¡°The young master really is a gentleman and leaves Tang¡¯er full of admiration. Actually, the young master has misunderstood. I only do this to the young master; no one else can even touch a single finger of mine. But since the young master doesn¡¯t seem to like it, I¡¯ll be more mindful in the future.¡±

 Chapter 1864: Tremendous Secret

    <h4>Chapter 1864: Tremendous Secret</h4>

    Zu An knew she wasn¡¯t lying. He had witnessed her skills back at the Hub of Freedom. Even though the Hub looked like a ce of entertainment, full of singing and dancing, the poison mist in her mouth could make her target fall into an illusion and think they had seeded. In reality, they would only be ying with themselves in the illusion while she watched them in amusement.

    ¡°Thedy speaks too seriously. There are so many guards outside; do you need me to help you leave?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°Why does the young master want to chase me away so quickly?¡± Tang Tian¡¯er replied, her voice carrying a hint of a grudge.

    Zu An was speechless. <i>Didn¡¯t I just tell you not to speak to me in that tone just a second ago? Why is it back already?</i>

    ¡°I still have something to ask the young master¡­¡± Tang Tian¡¯er said, lying on the table and looking at him with a smile. That sweet and pitiable smile made it difficult for anyone to feel any ill will toward her.

    ¡°Alright, tell me. What is it?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°Is the libationer still alive?¡± Tang Tian¡¯er asked in response.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes narrowed when he heard what she said. He asked, ¡°What kind of rtionship does your Hub of Freedom have with the libationer? Could it be that it was set up through his influence?¡±

    Tang Tian¡¯er replied with a sweet smile, ¡°How could a petty nobody like me know what the higher-ups are doing? I won¡¯t hide it from young master. The Hub of Freedom does have some connection to the previous dynasty, but I don¡¯t know exactly how deep it runs. Even if I did know, I couldn¡¯t talk about it. Anyway, the libationer was part of the previous dynasty¡¯s royal family, so it¡¯s normal for us to care about his safety, right?¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, <i>Like hell I¡¯ll believe that you¡¯re a petty nobody in the Hub of Freedom!</i>

    However, since she didn¡¯t want to talk about it, he didn¡¯t want to pry too much either. He said, ¡°The libationer has already passed on.¡± He watched her reaction as he spoke.

    Tang Tian¡¯er was stunned. She asked, ¡°Was it also in that secret dungeon?¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Zu An replied.

    Tang Tian¡¯er remained silent for a while. The sweet smile on her face was now gone. She asked, ¡°Did he take that other guy down with him?¡±

    Zu An smiled and didn¡¯t say anything. He just continued to stare at her calmly, just like that.

    Tang Tian¡¯er knew that the subject was a matter of utter secrecy, so she was too embarrassed to keep asking. She said, ¡°Thank you, young master. You¡¯ve helped me settle many of my doubts today.¡±

    ¡°What is the Hub of Freedom nning to do now?¡± Zu An asked curiously.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know the exact details of what they¡¯re going to do, but they¡¯ll probably continue to gather money. There¡¯s nothing more important than that in the world,¡± Tang Tian¡¯er said, as if that was proper and to be expected.

    Zu An was speechless. <i>You make so much sense right now that I can¡¯t even argue.</i>

    Tang Tian¡¯er chatted with him for a little while longer. They didn¡¯t talk about anything important and just made casual conversation. The mood was quite good, but Zu An was in a ¡®transcendent¡¯ state and didn¡¯t have any other thoughts. Tang Tian¡¯er teased him again and again, but when she saw that he didn¡¯t have the slightest reaction, she couldn''t help but start to question life.

    <i>Could it be that he really doesn¡¯t have the slightest feeling for me?</i>

    <i>Was I really just acting like a little clown with all this?</i>

    <i>No way, he definitely has a favorable impression of me. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have told me such important things!</i>

    <i>Could it be that he¡¯s just too much of a gentleman¡­</i>

    She became more excited when she thought of that. Then, she got up to say goodbye to him.

    <i>Men can¡¯t be pushed too much. It¡¯s like fishing; you have to tug at the right time to seed.</i>

    Zu An brought up seeing her out again, but she refused him.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Since I managed to get in, of course I can get out,¡± Tang Tian¡¯er said. She left behind her trademark smile before quickly disappearing into the night.

    After being repeatedly tormented by so many women, Zu An was getting a bit tired. He expected that Yan Xuehen and Chu Chuyan woulde in. but he didn¡¯t hear anything from them. As he waited and waited, he unwittingly fell asleep.

    ¡­

    The next morning, Zu An went to look for Yan Xuehen and Chu Chuyan, but he saw that they weren¡¯t actually in their rooms. ording to what the maids said, they seemed to have gone to a certain ce in the mountains to cultivate.

    He went to look for Pei Mianman, Yun Jianyue, and Qiu Honglei, but he discovered that all of them had already left. He couldn''t help but release a deep sigh. They all had their own matters to take care of, and their own pursuits and goals. That was why they spent more time apart than together.

    As he let out a sigh full of deep emotion, King Yan, Bi Qi, and Zhao Yuan¡¯s people invited him over to discuss official matters. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡­

    When he arrived at Guidance Temple, they began discussing what to do in the future.

    Bi Qi had already been excluded from the most important decision-making back at the capital for too long, so he was naturally in a rush to return. He didn¡¯t even want to stay a single day longer. Of course, the excuse he used was justifiable and proper. As so many people hade out from the secret dungeon, he needed to bring them back to the capital for interrogation.

    As for King Yan, he was normally situated in a different territory anyway, so he naturally couldn''t follow them to the capital. He stayed behind to continue watching over Yi Commandery and check for any more activity by Violet Mountain.

    The different parties¡¯ attitudes were surprisingly simr, so they quickly reached a consensus. Orders went out one after another, and the Gueri Warfare Army and Armed Escort Army all began to prepare for departure.

    Zu An recalled what Yun Jianyue had been worried about and asked King Yan and Zhao Yuan about news rted to Lu Sanyuan. Previously, Zhao Han had assigned some troops to subdue rebel troops, and those rebels were none other than the volunteer army Lu Sanyuan was leading from several different areas.

    However, they eventually learned that Lu Sanyuan hadn¡¯t engaged in a frontal sh with the army. They had always somehow slipped past the official army, stalling for several months.

    As the news of what happened to Zhao Han on Violet Mountain had already spread, the armies that set out to suppress the rebel army didn¡¯t dare to continue their pursuit and both sides tacitly gave up on the matter.

    <i>It looks like their objective was just to lure the tiger away from the mountain,</i> Zu An thought to himself. He wondered just who had the ability to amass so many resources and create such a deathtrap for Zhao Han.

    As everyone on the mountain was starting to move, Yan Xuehen and Chu Chuyan also returned and found Zu An.

    When he heard that they were also going to leave, Zu An became a bit depressed. He asked, ¡°Can you stay for a few more days before leaving?¡±

    Chu Chuyan was a bit hesitant, but Yan Xuehen said, ¡°As something this major happened on Violet Mountain, I reckon that news has already traveled back to the White Jade Sect. Because of martial uncle¡¯s actions, the entire sect must be rmed and desperate. I need to return to control the situation.

    ¡°Furthermore, Chu Chuyan obtained some benefits from studying the Pure World Icelotus. This is a good chance for her to go into secluded cultivation to consolidate what sheprehended. I can also stay at her side and guide her. If she follows you, she will be dyed by all sorts of court matters. After all, we also entered the secret dungeon. If we go to the capital, there will be many uncontroble factors.¡±

    Chu Chuyan blinked. Her master was always very brief with others and incredibly cold, and yet she actually said so much to Ah Zu!

    <i>It looks as if master really does dote on me and is more patient because of me.</i>

    Zu An knew that what she said was the truth. He nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s also good. Once I settle everything in the capital, I¡¯lle to pick you two up.¡±

    Yan Xuehen was rmed.

    <i>Are you crazy? Why did you say ''you two¡¯?</i>

    She secretly gave Chu Chuyan a look. When she saw that she didn¡¯t seem to have noticed, she sighed in relief.

    <i>No, I have to stay further away from this guy. If I stay at his side, the Unshakable Daoist Manual I cultivated so bitterly will be ruined by him sooner orter!</i>

    She felt more and more ufortable, so she decided to just leave to give these two lovebirds some space alone.

    Chu Chuyan was actually a bit unhappy that Zu An would always end up having more women who had ambiguous rtionships with him whenever she left for a bit. She wanted him to live clean and honest from now on. However, with her personality, she couldn''t bring herself to say those words.

    In the end, all of those unspoken words changed into something else. She said, ¡°Ah Zu, the Qin n will likely be involved in these events on Violet Mountain. I¡¯ll have to entrust it all to you. Youzhao in particr¡­ Who knows what kind of suffering she¡¯s gone through because of this. You have to help me take care of her.¡±

    Zu An said with a chuckle, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Youzhao is your little sister, so she¡¯s my little sister too. I¡¯ll definitely take good care of her. I¡¯ll also help the Qin n.¡±

    She probably didn¡¯t know how severe the situation with the Qin n was, but there was no need to tell her. What she needed right now was to focus on her newly acquired opportunity. All of those things would only distract her.

    Chu Chuyan nodded. Just as she was about to leave, she gave him a look. Suddenly, she turned around and jumped into his arms to hug him tightly.

    ¡°Chuyan, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Zu An asked. He hadn¡¯t expected Chuyan to take the initiative like this with her normally ice-cold personality.

    After responding to her hug, he reflexively nced at Yan Xuehen off to the side. Her face waspletely cold. He couldn''t sense any changes in emotion at all.

    He felt a shiver. Double the joy also meant double the worries.

    Chu Chuyan didn¡¯t reply to his question, and bit down fiercely on his shoulder instead. Then, she broke out into a small jog under his shocked gaze.

    Yan Xuehen walked over casually, so Zu An took the chance to ask, ¡°Big sis Yan, what is going on with her?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re always fondling the flowers and trampling the grass out there, so of course she felt wronged. It¡¯s good that she¡¯s venting a bit,¡± Yan Xuehen said coldly.

    Forget about Chuyan, even she wanted to give that brat a vicious bite.

    All of the women he had at his side were goddess-like beings. Anyone who could obtain even a single one of them would be extremely careful not to hurt them in any way. Which one of them would dare to go after other women too? And yet, this guy kept doing exactly that!

    If he had been despicable and shameless, using any means fair or foul, and was purely infatuated by their beauty, that wouldn¡¯t be so hard to deal with. She would have just cut that thing off, or perhaps even killed him to settle things.

    However, ording to her understanding of Zu An, many things had happened between him and every one of those women. After all of the difficulties they experienced, he had even been willing to give up his life for them. Their rtionships had then happened naturally, so she couldn''t even find any reason to me him.

    <i>He and Chuyan probably share simr circumstances¡­</i>

    <i>Pah pah pah! What am I thinking about right now?!</i>

    ¡°Until we meet again,¡± Yan Xuehen said, feeling her cheeks heat up. She would end up making a fool of herself if she stayed here any longer. She left behind those words coldly before quickly flying off into the distance.

    Zu An was about to chase after her when Zhang Zijiang ran over, saying, ¡°Sir Zu, the princess is shouting that she wants to meet you.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t,¡± Zu An refused in annoyance.

    After some hesitation, Zhang Zijiang continued, ¡°She says she has a huge secret to tell you. If you don¡¯t go, you will definitely regret it.¡±

    Zu An frowned. Just what kind of huge secret was it that made Zhao Xiaodie so confident? Could it be that there were still other secrets on King Qi¡¯s side?

    When he saw that Yan Xuehen had already left, out of helplessness, he could only move over to the courtyard that was holding Zhao Xiaodie.

    The usually high-spirited princess was now like a butterfly with her wings clipped; she was dejected, and the expression in her eyes was vacant. She was lying on the table and staring out of the window in a daze.

    ¡°Princess, what did you need to see me for?¡± Zu An asked, coughing lightly. He didn¡¯t enter, however, and remained standing outside the entrance.

 Chapter 1865: You Donâ€™t Want Others to Know, Right?

    Chapter 1865: You Don¡¯t Want Others to Know, Right?

    Zhao Xiaodie suddenly got up and looked in the direction of the entrance. When she saw Zu An, a beautiful luster ignited in her previously dim eyes. Seemingly recovering a bit of vitality, she eximed, ¡°Big brother Zu!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe that the princess and I are that close to each other,¡± Zu An said, his face twitching.

    Zhao Xiaodie was about to say something when she suddenly closed her mouth and gave the servants and guards outside a look. Zu An frowned and had them withdraw.

    Those people looked at each other in dismay, asking, ¡°Sir Zu, isn¡¯t this a bit unsuitable?¡±

    Zu An replied coldly, ¡°Are you worried that I would do something to the princess in broad daylight? Or are you worried that we might fabricate a story together?¡±

    ¡°We wouldn¡¯t dare!¡± they replied. They didn¡¯t dare to say too much due to the pressure his voice gave them, all got up to leave.

    ¡°Princess, can you speak now?¡± Zu An asked as he looked at Zhao Xiaodie. Even though her face was a bit wan and sallow, she was still beautiful. Without her usual bossy and domineering nature, she now had a pitiful air instead.

    ¡°Big brother Zu treated me like that back then, and yet you¡¯re still saying we¡¯re not close¡­¡± Zhao Xiaodie said, her pale face turning a bit red. It was unclear what she was thinking. Her expression was rather strange.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An knew that she was talking about her assassination attempt on him, which had gotten her a spanking in return. He remembered that she seemed to be an M. When he saw that, he turned to leave, saying, ¡°If you won¡¯t speak, then I¡¯m leaving.¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Zhao Xiaodie eximed as she quickly grabbed him. A wave of fragrance spread toward Zu An from her body. When she saw him frown, she quickly said, ¡°This fragrance doesn¡¯t have poison.¡±

    Zu An moved her hand away in a tactful manner. He found a chair to sit down on and waited for her following words.

    When she saw that he didn¡¯t have any intention of leaving anymore, Zhao Xiaodie sighed in relief. Her voice trembled a bit as she asked, ¡°Big brother Zu, did something happen to my dad?¡±

    ¡°This matter is¡­¡± Zu An began. Midway through his sentence, he saw her pleading look and felt his heart soften. He said, ¡°King Qi has indeed already passed.¡±

    ¡°Ahhh!¡± Zhao Xiaodie cried. Even though she¡¯d already had her suspicions, when she received confirmation, her face turnedpletely pale, and she staggered. If not because there was a table supporting her, she would likely have already copsed to the ground.

    ¡°How did he die?¡± Zhao Xiaodie asked, suddenly looking up at Zu An. There was a faint me burning in her eyes.

    ¡°It has nothing to do with me. I believe you can guess what happened too,¡± Zu An said coldly.

    When she heard that it had nothing to do with him, Zhao Xiaodie¡¯s nervous heart suddenly calmed down. She said with a sigh, ¡°I actually already expected this day woulde eventually. It¡¯s just that I didn¡¯t expect it to be so soon. His majesty is unrivaled and his schemes run deep. No matter how formidable my father is, how could he possibly win against him?¡±

    Zu An only replied with silence.

    Zhao Xiaodie suddenly asked, ¡°Big brother Zu, can you help save our King Qi Manor? After what happened at Violet Mountain, our King Qi Manor will definitely be finished. My mother, my older brother, and countless ns rted to us will all meet tragic ends.¡±

    When she thought about the executions that would follow, she couldn''t help but shiver all over. Even if they didn¡¯t die by a thousand cuts, they would be thrown into ces such as the government brothel. When she thought about how revered queens and princesses would fall to such a state, being humiliated and defiled by lowly men, she felt her entire body be a bit cold.

    ¡°Could it be that the princess has made some kind of mistake here? Everyone knows that your esteemed father and I were sworn enemies. He was itching to get rid of me, and yet you want me to save his people now?¡± Zu An replied coldly.

    ¡°My father had some misunderstandings with you in the past, but strictly speaking, you haven¡¯t lost anything, and the one who lost more was my father. I know this request might be a bit excessive, but can I ask you to help me as a personal favor?¡± Zhao Xiaodie asked, kneeling down in front of him. She grabbed his clothes and looked at him with a pleading expression, saying, ¡°I will devote my entire self to you in this life.¡±

    Zu An quickly supported her to her feet and said, ¡°There¡¯s no need for the princess to go that far. This matter is an extremely grave affair and it isn¡¯t something I can make a decision on. I apologize.¡±

    He was about to leave when Zhao Xiaodie suddenly cried out, ¡°Stop! You don¡¯t want others to know about your involvement with Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue, right?¡±

    Zu An paused for a moment. He snapped with a frown, ¡°I don¡¯t know what you are talking about!¡±

    How does this woman know?!

    Zhao Xiaodieughed and said, ¡°Big brother Zu, actually, I really didn¡¯t expect you to have such ability. Perhaps no man in this world could have imagined that you had this amount of skill, that you were actually able to carry those sworn enemies on either side. If news of this got out, who knows how many of their pursuers would want you dead?!¡±

    Zu An turned around to look at her. He retorted, ¡°Isn¡¯t your imagination a bit too rich? I¡¯m sure that Sect Master Yun and Yan would immediately take your life if they heard your nder.¡±

    ¡°Big brother Zu, stop pretending,¡± Zhao Xiaodie said. She walked up to him and gave him a sniff before continuing, ¡°I forgot to tell you, but because of my familiarity with poison, I¡¯m extremely familiar with all kinds of medicinal ingredients. That means my nose is especially sharp. I can remember the smell of every single person Ie into contact with.

    ¡°You saved me in the secret dungeon. Even though you were wearing masks at the time, I could still smell your scent¡­ cough!¡±

    Zu An scowled and grabbed her by the neck, saying, ¡°I should have just let Elder Blood Spirit kill you back then.¡±

    When she felt the pressure on her neck bing stronger and stronger, realizing that she would lose her life if he just used a bit more force, Zhao Xiaodie didn¡¯t feel any fear. Instead, an unnatural blush appeared on her face as she said, ¡°My life was saved by big brother Zu, so if you want to kill me, just do so. Either way, my father is already dead, so even if I continue living, it¡¯ll be a life better off dead.¡±

    Zu An frowned. He tossed her to the ground and said with a sneer, ¡°If you want to talk about it, do what you want. Let¡¯s see if they believe you or not.¡±

    Whether it was Yan Xuehen or Yun Jianyue¡¯s fans, he doubted many of them would believe her. After all, she had no proof backing her words.

    Suddenly, Zhao Xiaodieughed and said, ¡°Big brother Zu, I was wrong. I shouldn¡¯t have used them to threaten you. However, have you thought about the possibility of having both of them properly and righteously?¡±

    Zu An already had half a door out of the doorstep, but he stopped when he heard that.

    Zhao Xiaodie¡¯s smile became even more dazzling. It seemed she had gambled correctly. Then, she said, ¡°ording to my understanding of you, Sect Master Yan seems to be the master of your previous wife, Chu Chuyan, right? Sect Master Yun¡¯s disciple Qiu Honglei seems to have a special rtionship with you too. Big brother Zu, you really are something. You even got both of their disciples.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eye twitched. He said, ¡°I¡¯m leaving if you continue to speak rubbish.¡±

    Zhao Xiaodie quickly dragged him back to the room. She personally poured a cup of tea for him and said, ¡°Big brother Zu, don¡¯t get angry. If my suspicions aren¡¯t mistaken, whether it¡¯s Yun Jianyue or Yan Xuehen, neither one of them wants to publicly announce their real rtionship with you. Yan Xuehen in particr is known for being a leader of righteousness. She¡¯s known to be an ice goddess who never feels anything for any man. If your rtionship is exposed, she might not have the face to meet anyone again. That¡¯s why she would never agree to revealing your rtionship to the public. There¡¯s even a chance that she might deliberately keep some distance from you. In the end, she might even just sever her feelings and never contact you again.¡±

    Zu An became silent. Yun Jianyue was a bit more enthusiastic in nature, and she came from the Devil Sect too, so she didn¡¯t have as much of a mental barrier. However, big sis Yan was a difficult matter. Her skin was a bit too thin and sensitive, and she had the entire White Jade Sect behind her. She did have too much to worry about.

    ¡°I can help you chase after both of them and let you have what you want,¡± Zhao Xiaodie said excitedly. Previously, her entire n had been on the brink of destruction, and she had felt like she was already at the end of her rope, but she had suddenly found this information. Who wouldn¡¯t like something so challenging and interesting?

    ¡°What kind of solution do you have?¡± Zu An reflexively asked.

    Zhao Xiaodie shook her head and said, ¡°Big brother Zu has to help us first.¡±

    Zu An said seriously, ¡°Fine!¡±

    He had never nned topletely eradicate King Qi¡¯s faction to begin with. After all, too many people he knew were on King Qi¡¯s side. If King Qi¡¯s rebellion were confirmed, the ns of those friends would be dragged in as well and things would be troublesome. That was why he had spoken the way he did to Bi Qi, King Yan and the others. It was just that he hadn¡¯t told Zhao Xiaodie just now.

    ¡°Thank you, big brother Zu!¡± Zhao Xiaodie eximed, her eyes lighting up. She hugged him tightly.

    Zu An pushed her away impatiently, saying, ¡°Men and women should keep their distance.¡±

    ¡°Even I don¡¯t mind, so what is big brother Zu making a big fuss for?¡± Zhao Xiaodie said; she seemed unfazed as she continued, ¡°Either way, big brother Zu is helping me, so I¡¯ll work like a horse or ox for you in this life.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not a farmer; what would I need a horse or an ox for?¡± Zu An replied with a stiff expression.

    ¡°You can ride on them too, and all you need to do is feed them some grass,¡± Zhao Xiaodie said, licking her lips. There was actually a bit of an alluring look in her eyes.

    Zu An was stunned.

    This woman doesn¡¯t seem like someone from the righteous faction at all! This ispletely the Devil Sect witch¡¯s style¡­

    He chatted a bit more with Zhao Xiaodie and taught her how to deal with the following interrogations. Time passed quickly, and soon after, someone came to escort Zhao Xiaodie away.

    Zu An frowned. He used the pretext of preserving the dignity of the royal family to have her ride in a carriage alone. Then, he assigned a maid to take care of her.

    ¡­

    Just like that, their group left Violet Mountain in a majestic manner.

    Not long after they left, however, a sh of light suddenly appeared on Golden Peak. Another rift opened, spitting a person out.

 Chapter 1866: Real Mastermind

    Chapter 1866: Real Mastermind

    ¡°Show yourself!¡±

    Even though Bi Qi, Zhao Yuan, and the others had left, King Yan¡¯s men were still present. As Golden Peak was a ce of utmost importance, soldiers soon rushed over.

    That figure¡¯s expression changed when he saw the soldiers. He immediately turned tail and ran. When the soldiers saw that, they all drew their weapons and surrounded him. Both sides shed, and soon, quite a few soldiers were injured.

    That person''s cultivation was high, and his movement technique was extremely slippery. After several shes, he finally found a chance to break out of the encirclement. He showed a nasty grin, revealing his especially striking buck teeth as he eximed, ¡°Heh, this young master can go wherever he wishes!

    Suddenly, there was a cold snort, and a palm appeared in front of him. That person wanted to evade, but he discovered that he couldn''t move no matter what he did. He eximed in horror, ¡°Grandmaster!¡±

    The palm struck him with a loud noise, knocking him onto his back and causing blood to spurt out of his mouth. He was so shaken up that he couldn''t muster up any strength at all. Countless des immediately aimed at his neck shortly after.

    An elder dressed in official robes slowly walked over and asked, ¡°Who are you?¡±

    ¡°King?¡± the person on the ground eximed in shock as he recognized the elder''s attire. He didn¡¯t know which king could be so formidable. He replied, ¡°Respected king, please spare my life! This humble one is Wei Suo. May I know what wrongs I havemitted?¡±

    ¡°Why did youe out from this secret dungeon? Which sect are you from?¡± King Yan asked in puzzlement as he looked at the spatial gate that was slowly closing in midair. Was there such a person among the daoist sects?

    ¡°This humble one is without a sect, and I don''t know what haooebed either. I was fine and dandy exploring a different secret dungeon when I was suddenly sucked into this secret dungeon," Wei Suo replied.

    After waking up in the tomb, Wei Suo had seen that there was no one else around him, only some corpses. He still vaguely remembered that the Ghost King had possessed him and he was scared that he was going to die, so he had immediately scampered out of the great tomb on all fours. Soon after, an aura of devastation had emerged from the tomb. The entire ce had sucked in all the living things around it, then disappeared into the void itself.

    He had secretly rejoiced, while at the same time observing a moment of silence for Zu An and the others.

    You guys didn¡¯t listen to my advice back then and just had to go into the great tomb!

    Sigh, living a cowardly life is the best way to survive in this world.

    Afterward, he had wandered around for a while, then identally bumped into arge group of people. They''d said that someone seemed to have failed tribtion, so they were looking for treasure. He had wanted to try his luck too, but he ended up being captured by someone from a sect and was turned into a medicine ve. At first, he had resigned himself to death, but then a spatial gate appeared. He had quickly made his way through and managed to escape.

    However, he was once again captured the moment he returned! What was this sted luck?

    King Yan¡¯s eyes narrowed. He said, ¡°So he went to that secret dungeon too! Bring him down and interrogate him with torture!¡±

    Wei Suo immediately pissed his pants when he heard that. as the surrounding soldiers were dragging him away, he struggled frantically while screaming, ¡°You guys can¡¯t treat me like this! My brother is an important figure in the imperial court! It¡¯s Sir Zu An! Have you all heard his name before?!¡±

    King Yan had just been about to leave. When he heard that, his eyes lit up. He turned around and stared at Wei Suo, replying, ¡°Oh? Zu An is your brother?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right! We are brothers in life and death!¡± Wei Suo eximed, immediately sticking out his chest when he felt that there was some hope.

    King Yan chuckled and said, ¡°In that case, this king will personally interrogate you!¡±

    Wei Suo was stunned.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An¡¯s group had already left Violet Mountain. They advanced to the capital in a dignified manner.

    Apart from Zhao Xiaodie, Guan Chouhai was also in a carriage of his own. After all, he was not only the sect master of Heavenly Sorrow Sect, but also a grandmaster. Even though he was a prisoner at the moment, he still had to be treated with the proper courtesy.

    As for Zhi Yin, Wu Xiaofan and the others, they didn¡¯t have such fortune. They were all locked up in the prisoner carriage, covered in shackles. Their arms and legs were bound to the carriage itself. There wasn¡¯t any trace left of the dignity a representative disciple normally enjoyed.

    When he saw that, Zu An had his subordinates give them some water and food. He also found some conical bamboo hats with ck veils to put over their heads. They were immediately moved to tears. After all, they all had their own pride. Being paraded through the streets like criminals felt worse than killing them. Now that they had the hats, even though they could be seen, at least their faces would be covered. Zu An even said that outstanding heroes like them should not have had to experience such humiliation.

    Hear, hear! This is more like what a human should say!

    Compared to King Yan and Zhao Yuan¡¯s ruthless subordinates, Zu An was like a saint. Regardless of what their impressions of Zu An had been like before, now, they all felt extremely grateful.

    Zu An made sure to give Zhi Yin a few treatment pills. After facing Elder Blood Spirit, his injuries were the worst, and then he had been immediately locked up without even being given a chance to recover.

    Zhi Yin swallowed the pills with difficulty and looked at Zu An in confusion, asking, ¡°Why are you treating me so well?¡±

    ¡°Your junior sister is worried about your injuries,¡± Zu An replied.

    Zhi Yin was stunned. His expression suddenly changed and she eximed, ¡°What did you do to her?!¡±

    After the previous interrogation, he already roughly knew what had happened on Violet Mountain. His junior sister¡¯s life would probably be over soon, so how could she possibly be able to convince Zu An? When he recalled how his junior sister always had a good opinion of him, and thought about how she could have even sacrificed her own purity to save him this time¡­

    ¡°Just what kind of nonsense are you thinking right now? I didn¡¯t do a thing. Just focus on recovering for now," Zu An replied, stunned. He then turned around to leave.

    When he saw that Zu An¡¯s tone and expression werepletely normal, Zhi Yin knew that he was overthinking things. He said in shame and embarrassment, ¡°Thank you!¡± He''d had a degree of natural hostility against this guy because of his goddess Chu, but who would have thought that Zu An would let that enmity go and save him, only to be met with suspicion?

    Zu An merely waved his hand and didn¡¯t say anything.

    In the distance, Zhao Yuan and Bi Qi both saw his actions.

    This guy really knows how to bribe the hearts of others.

    However, they didn¡¯t care. Bi Qi was an ally of Zu An to begin with, and as for Zhao Yuan, he didn¡¯t care enough about the opinions of these juniors.

    Then, Zu An ran over to Guan Chouhai¡¯s carriage. Zhao Yuan was about to take a look when Bi Qi, inadvertently or otherwise, held him up, not giving him the chance to move over. Zhao Yuan was speechless.

    Why does this brat always have so many people helping him?

    When he sensed Zu An¡¯s arrival, Guan Chouhai, who had been resting, opened his eyes. He asked, ¡°Why are you helping me?¡± He knew what had happened on Golden Peak the best out of anyone here. He had been part of the main force against Zhao Han, and Zu An had probably seen it too, and yet here Zu An was helping him hide it.

    ¡°Since I saved you, I''ll naturally save the entire Heavenly Sorrow Sect. Shouldn¡¯t you scratch my back too and help me understand some things?¡± Zu An asked with a smile.

    Guan Chouhai frowned. He had looked down on this brat with seemingly no cultivation before, but after Violet Mountain¡¯s events, he already treated Zu An as someone at the same level. He asked, ¡°What do you want to know?¡±

    Zu An sensed his surroundings and didn¡¯t detect anyone approaching. He then asked, ¡°Passerby, salted fish, servant, tomato, stone, olddy-killer, malva nut, chick,ndowner... Who exactly do these names refer to?¡± He carefully observed Guan Chouhai''s reactions as he recited the names. It was precisely because Golden Token Seven had found that list of names that he was killed.

    Sure enough, Guan Chouhai¡¯s expression changed greatly. He asked, ¡°Where did you get that list of names from?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about that. I naturally have my ways,¡± Zu An calmly replied.

    Guan Chouhai looked at him vigntly, asking, ¡°Are you pretending to save me, only to scooup us all up in one go once you obtain information from these people?¡±

    Zu An replied with a sneer, ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, if your group members didn¡¯t die on Golden Peak, they perished in the secret dungeon. Is there a need to catch them all in one go? I only intended to confirm some things.¡±

    Guan Chouhai fell silent. He knew that what Zu An said was the truth. A whileter, he said, ¡°How can I know for sure that you won¡¯t abandon me after I speak?¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I have an agreement with Xiaodie. I''ll help her save her people,¡± Zu An said calmly.

    ¡°Xiaodie?¡± Guan Chouhai repeated, raising his brows. He recalled how Zu An had helped Zhi Yin and the others a bit and couldn''t help butugh. He said, ¡°It seems my luck isn¡¯t that bad and I took in a cute disciple. The others weren¡¯t so lucky.¡±

    Zu An continued to watch him calmly. Guan Chouhai thought he lusted after Zhao Xiaodie¡¯s beauty, but he didn¡¯t really want to exin it either.

    Guan Chouhai then said, ¡°Olddy-killer is none other than me.¡± However, when he saw Zu An¡¯s strange expression, his face heated up. ¡°These nicknames are all more or less a bit rted to our real identities. Do you think that nickname doesn¡¯t suit me?¡±

    When he saw Guan Chouhai¡¯s humiliated expression, Zu An endured the urge tough. He replied, ¡°It does.¡±

    Guan Chouhai then continued, ¡°Since the assassination of the emperor was a serious matter, all of us would be done for if news got out. We were scared of someone discovering our identities, so we used code names.¡±

    ¡°Just who was it that organized all of you?¡± Zu An asked curiously.

    ¡°Landowner,¡± Guan Chouhai replied.

    ¡°Was Landowner King Qi or the libationer?¡± Zu An asked curiously. After all, only those two had enough prestige and resources to organize such a huge event.

    ¡°Neither,¡± Guan Chouhai said, shaking his head.

    Zu An asked in shock, ¡°Then he is¡­?¡±

    Guan Chouhai slowly exhaled and said, ¡°I don''t know either."

 Chapter 1867: Aunt And Sister-In-Law

    Chapter 1867: Aunt And Sister-In-Law

    ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± Zu An asked with wide eyes.

    When Guan Chouhai saw his doubtful expression, he said, ¡°This was actually something I inadvertently learned. It was Landowner¡¯s plot at first, but then King Qi took over... Right, King Qi¡¯s code name was Salted Fish.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He hadn¡¯t expect King Qi to actually have that kind of code name! Could it be implying that he had be a piece of salted fish because he had been unable to be the emperor all this time?n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°What was the libationer¡¯s code name?¡± Zu An then asked.

    Guan Chouhai had fainted on Golden Peak. He had been wondering if Zu An was messing with him at first, but when he heard the other exin everything in detail, he finally set his resolve and said, ¡°The libationer¡¯s code name was Passerby.¡±

    ¡°Passerby?¡± Zu An repeated as he thought to himself, The libationer always watched everything with the cool eye of a bystander, so he did match that description.

    Sigh, if not for the fact that the libationer had already seriously injured Zhao Han, I might not have been able to kill him so easily.

    He had witnessed some of Zhao Han¡¯s incredible skills before on Golden Peak. However, when they fought, the emperor hadn¡¯t used many of them.

    ¡°Then who do the nicknames Servant, Tomato, Stone, Malva Nut, and Chick correspond to?¡± he asked.

    Guan Chouhai slowly said, ¡°Servant is Wu Wuyan, Tomato is Master Jian Huang, Stone is Li Changsheng, Malva Nut is Xuan Bajing, and Chick might be Lu Sanyuan.¡±

    Zu An nodded. Wu Wuyan was the great elder of the shamans and believed in their shaman deities. The codename made sense, as she was a servant of the shaman deities.

    Master Jian Huang was codenamed Tomato? Is it because he likes tomatoes or because his ¡®yellow¡¯ and the tomato¡¯s ''red'' match each other?[1]

    Li Changsheng, that old man, looked elegant and graceful on the outside, but his nature was actually as cold and hard as a stone.

    Xuan Bajing wasn¡¯t that fat. Did he frequently do it with ¡®malva nuts¡¯?[2]

    As for Lu Sanyuan, what the heck is with his code name?

    ¡°Why did you say ''might be'' with Lu Sanyuan?¡± Zu An couldn''t help but ask.

    Guan Chouhai replied, ¡°That''s because I met the others before on Violet Mountain, so I''m more certain about the previous few. I''ve never met Lu Sanyuan myself and only heard that he was going to bring the great army to surround Violet Mountain and draw away Zhao Han¡¯s army. That was why I suspected that he was with our group.¡±

    Zu An nodded and asked, ¡°Did that Landowner never make an appearance then?¡±

    ¡°No. The only one in this world who might have known his identity was King Qi,¡± Guan Chouhai said nonchntly. He didn¡¯t really care too much about that. What he cared about much more was the safety of his own sect.

    In contrast, that was what Zu An was more interested in. Even though it didn¡¯t seem to affect him too much currently, having someone like that always hiding in the dark gave him an uneasy feeling.

    ¡°Has Zhao Han truly perished?¡± Guan Chouhai couldn''t help but ask.

    Zu An nodded. There was no need to hide that from him.

    Guan Chouhaiughed loudly and eximed, ¡°Good, good!¡±

    Without the mountain that was Zhao Han pressing down on them like a huge weight, all of the sects could finally let out a breath of relief. Furthermore, Wang Wuxie, Xuan Bajing, and Li Changsheng had all already died.

    Doesn¡¯t this make me practically the king among the daoists? Yan Xuehen is a woman, after all, and my rtionship with her isn¡¯t bad at all. She''ll likely even support meter on. The only one I have to be mindful of is Jadefall Pce¡¯s Wan Tongtian. That guy is a formidable opponent¡­

    When Zu An saw Guan Chouhai''s infatuated appearance, he didn¡¯t disturb him and left his carriage. Then, he arrived at Zhao Xiaodie¡¯s side.

    When she saw him, Zhao Xiaodie seemed especially happy and chased the two maids out. Then, she grabbed onto his arm and said, ¡°Big brother Zu really is so good to me.¡±

    ¡°Why do I not feel that way?" Zu An remarked, stunned. He pulled his arm back rather awkwardly after feeling an astonishing sense of sticity on his arm.

    ¡°Of course you¡¯re good to me. You even made sure to take care of my senior brother and chatted with my master for a while. Who else would you have done this for but me?¡± Zhao Xiaodie replied confidently.

    Zu An was speechless. He thought, I guess it¡¯s good as long as you¡¯re happy.

    He quickly asked, ¡°Do you know a person referred to as ¡®Landowner¡¯?¡±

    ¡°Landowner?¡± Zhao Xiaodie repeated, staring nkly for a moment. ¡°Are you talking about those people in the world with a lot ofnd?"

    Only then did Zu An give her a rough exnation of the entire course of events.

    Zhao Xiaodie shook her head and said, ¡°I never heard my father mention it before.¡±

    Zu An thought, As expected. The trail ends here.

    When Zhao Xiaodie saw that, she immediately said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, big brother Zu. My father might not have told me as many things because I spent most of my time cultivating in the Heavenly Sorrow Sect, but my big brother always stayed at his side and acted as his right hand man. He might know, so I¡¯ll help you ask himter.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s best if you don¡¯t tell him that you¡¯re asking for me," Zu An said, coughing lightly. He had quite the grudge with Zhao Zhi.

    After all, I was the one who broke his legs back then, so he probably loathes me.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not stupid,¡± Zhao Xiaodie continued. ¡°And I''ll do my best to repair your rtionship. After all, you are my¡­¡±

    ¡°Your what?¡± Zu An replied with a frown. He already had enough women around him. He didn¡¯t even want to mess around with anyone else.

    Huh? Manman¡¯s Kiss of the Goddess actuallysted that long?

    Zhao Xiaodie changed the topic and said with a smile, ¡°My benefactor, of course.¡±

    Now, Zu An couldn''t really say much either. However, he suddenly sensed something and took out a recording mirror. The screen moved slightly.

    Zhao Xiaodie stretched out her neck and looked over his shoulder. When she saw the name on the mirror, she cried out in rm, ¡°Crown princess?¡±

    Zu An wanted to find a quieter ce to connect the call, but if he left now, he could end up drawing Zhao Xiaodie¡¯s suspicion instead. As such, he just connected the call. A ripple appeared on the mirror''s surface, and then a cool and elegant face appeared. The red beauty mark between her brows made her face look even more stunning.

    Zhao Xiaodie had already pulled her head back, but her ears were perked up to hear what the two of them were going to talk about.

    ¡°Sir Zu, where are you right now?¡± Bi Linglong asked, her voice carrying its usual dignity.

    When he heard her official tone, Zu An immediately knew that there were other people at her side. He replied, "I am with the personnel from Violet Mountain together with Sir Bi and General Zhao; we are currently on our way back. We are still in Yi Commandery¡¯s vicinity.¡±

    Bi Linglong gave him a look. A hint of joy flickered in the depths of her eyes, but she quickly hid it. She said, ¡°I heard that you ended up being trapped in that secret dungeon. Why didn¡¯t you immediately report to me as soon as you came out?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve had a few things to take care of these days¡­¡± Zu An replied. He naturally heard the unhappiness in her voice and couldn''t help but feel a bit apologetic. He had spent all his time with Chuyan, Manman, and Honglei and forgot to contact her.

    ¡°Oh, was it because you were with that Miss Chu? Do a quick spin with your mirror and let me see your surroundings,¡± Bi Linglong suddenly said.

    Zu An could only turn the mirror around helplessly and let her see Zhao Xiaodie. Otherwise, Bi Linglong could suspect him of being secretive.

    When she saw Zhao Xiaodie, Bi Linglong was stunned. She eximed, ¡°It¡¯s you?¡±

    ¡°Greetings, crown princess,¡± Zhao Xiaodie said, cupping her hands. The crown princess¡¯ Eastern Pce and King Qi had fought rather intensely over the years, so their rtionship wasn¡¯t good at all.

    Bi Linglong¡¯s smile was also a bit cold as she replied, ¡°Xiaodie, why don¡¯t youe and meet this little aunt once you arrive at the capital so we can bond a bit?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s sister-inw!¡± Zhao Xiaodie harrumphed.

    Her mother, Queen Qi, was Bi Linglong¡¯s step-sibling¡¯s older sister. From that perspective, Bi Linglong was Xiaodie¡¯s aunt. However, her father and the emperor were brothers, and the crown prince was her cousin. As such, she was also a sister-inw. The two weren¡¯t too different in age, so they naturally didn¡¯t want an entire generation between them.

    Just then, Zu An said, ¡°I was asking the princess about some things regarding the secret dungeon.¡± He wanted to make things clear ahead of time so Bi Linglong wouldn¡¯t misunderstand anything.

    ¡°Did you learn of anything?¡± Bi Linglong asked, although her expression was no longer as gentle as before. Instead, it was faintly cold.

    ¡°I did find out some things,¡± Zu An replied.

    Bi Linglong said, ¡°It¡¯s difficult to properly talk through a recording mirror. Report to me personally as soon as possible once you arrive at the capital. Oh, and you don¡¯t need to move with the main procession. It¡¯s too slow.¡±

    Zu An was briely stunned, but he nodded and said, ¡°Alright.¡±

    He had already gathered about as much information as he could on this side. On the capital¡¯s side, the Liu n and Meng n had allied and were scheming all sorts of things. Bi Linglong was no doubt rmed and frightened, as she was all alone and really needed someone to rely on.

    When she saw him agree without any hesitation, Bi Linglong¡¯s expression finally eased up a bit. She said, ¡°I will be waiting for Sir Zu¡¯s early return.¡±

    The call quickly ended, and the recording mirror became quiet again.

    Zhao Xiaodie shifted her head closer and asked, ¡°Big brother Zu, why do I feel like the crown princess seems to treat you a bit differently? The two of you don¡¯t have a thing going on, do you?¡±

    Zu An looked at her coldly and replied, ¡°Princess, your imagination is a bit too wild, isn¡¯t it? Let me give you a friendly warning. You should guard your tongue on matters like this, or else you might be the source of your family¡¯s destruction.¡±

    Zhao Xiaodie wrinkled her nose and said, ¡°No one would even believe it if I said this out loud. However, ever since I learned about your rtionship with both Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue, I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any woman you couldn¡¯t win over. Forget about the crown princess; even with the empress or my own mom, I wouldn¡¯t be that surprised if you had an affair with them.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    1. Huang is yellow in Chinese ?

    2. Malva nuts tranted literally character by character is ¡®fat big ocean¡¯ ?

 Chapter 1868: Strange Midnight Sounds

    <h4>Chapter 1868: Strange Midnight Sounds</h4>

    "Alright, alright, don¡¯t get so angry. I was just joking around. I actually don¡¯t believe you could even win over someone like the crown princess anyway,¡± Zhao Xiaodie said, apologizing with a big smile. ¡°Big brother Zu, you¡¯re not really going to leave, are you? Our group will definitely be bullied a lot without your protection¡­¡± As she spoke, she looked as if she were about to cry.0

    Zu An said impatiently, ¡°You''re the glorious daughter of King Qi Manor, so who would dare bully you?¡±1

    ¡°That was before,¡± Zhao Xiaodie said, suddenly looking dejected. ¡°As they say, a fallen phoenix might be less than a chicken¡­¡±0

    Zu An was used to seeing her masochistic tendencies and her teasing shenanigans. Now that he saw this side of her, he did feel a bit of pity.0

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. King Qi hasn¡¯t been convicted of any crimes yet, and he is still a part of the royal family. No one wants the crime ofmitting sphemy against the royal family on their name. Additionally, I''ll assign someone to protect you,¡± Zu An said seriously. ¡°I need to return to the capital to arrange some things first, though. Otherwise, by the time I trudge along with this group and arrive at the capital, the dust will have already settled and it won¡¯t be easy to change many things anymore.¡±0

    Zhao Xiaodie was smart as well and understood what he was saying. Her n¡¯s situation was only going to get worse back in the capital. If they couldn''t join in the official discussions early on, it would be toote. She said, ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to trouble big brother Zu to set out first. I''ll look for you after I arrive at the capital.¡±0

    Zu An nodded, then left to call over Zhang Zijiang and Wang Bolin. He said, ¡°Make sure to protect the princess for the rest of the trip. Don¡¯t allow anyone to trouble her.¡±0

    ¡°Understood!¡± Zhang Zijiang and Wang Bolin responded. They asked, ¡°Sir is leaving?¡±0

    Zu An said with a nod, ¡°The crown princess has summoned me urgently back to the capital.¡±0

    Zhang Zijiang and Wang Bolin sighed in relief and remarked, ¡°The crown princess truly regards sir highly.¡±0

    They still had usations of negligence against them. What they were scared of the most was their unknown prospects.Now, however, the ascent of the crown prince was the most likely result. At that point, the crown princess would be the empress. The crown prince was slow-witted, so most things would be taken care of by the princess. As her trusted aide, Zu An would naturally achieve meteoric sess in his career. That way, perhaps they wouldn''t even be med as much for what happened and could even ride that wave of sess.0

    After clearing up some details with the two of them, Zu An looked for Bi Qi and saw that he was standing right in front of Zhao Yuan, not letting him leave that spot at all. He couldn''t help but chuckle inwardly. Then, he said to the two of them, ¡°Gentlemen, the crown princess has summoned me to return to the capital and told me that she has something urgent to discuss. I fear I must depart ahead of everyone.¡±0

    Zhao Yuan frowned, while Bi Qi¡¯s eyes lit up and he said, ¡°That¡¯s good too. Hurry along then; let¡¯s not dilly-dally.¡±0

    The Liu n brothers and Meng Yi had deliberately kept Bi Qi back at Violet Mountain through a court order, so he''d been forced to stay behind and investigate, unable to abandon this duty. However, Zu An hadn''t been factored into those people¡¯s ns. Now, he was the perfect variable to stir up the capital.0

    Zhao Yuan could only harrumph when he heard Bi Qi''s agreement. ¡°Since the crown princess has something she wants to talk to you about, I wouldn¡¯t dare to stop that.¡±0

    Zu An chuckled. He bid them farewell, then looked for Xie Daoyun. At first, she was really happy to see him, but when she heard that he was going to leave, she immediately became sad.0

    Zu An actually found that quite cute. He asked, ¡°What are you still staring nkly for? Pack up your stuff ande with me.¡±0

    ¡°Together?¡± Xie Daoyun asked, feeling shocked and happy.0

    ¡°You don¡¯t want to? Then you can just follow this main procession,¡± Zu An said, although he definitely wouldn¡¯t feel at ease leaving her here.0

    Zhao Xiaodie¡¯s identity was special. Before King Qi was convicted, no one would dare to touch her. However, Xie Daoyun was different. She didn¡¯t have the protection of the royal family, and she had also been a participant in the secret dungeon this time. If Zhao Yuan or anyone else had seized her for interrogation, that would be really bad.0

    ¡°I do, I definitely do!¡± Xie Daoyun quickly said. Her usually quiet and gentle face had turned red, and her words almost sounded like a response to a marriage proposal.1

    When she saw his surprised expression, she quickly calmed down and said, ¡°I don¡¯t have any luggage to pack, so let¡¯s go already.¡±0

    Zu An nodded. Then, the two of them quickly left together on horseback.0

    As he watched them leave, Bi Qi remarked with a pensive expression ¡°This brat seems to be a bit perverted. There always seem to be different women at his side. Then again, that kind of person is the easiest to control. I can just tell Linglong to find some more beautiful women to win him over so hepletely bes a part of our Bi n.¡±10

    ¡­0

    Meanwhile, after Zu An and Xie Daoyun sprinted a certain distance, he tugged on the reins and said, ¡°Little sister Ling¡¯er, traveling by horse is too slow. Let¡¯s fly back instead.¡±0

    ¡°I don¡¯t know how to fly,¡± Xie Daoyun said, although she looked expectantly at him, her face red.0

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°No problem, I¡¯ll carry you.¡±0

    After saying that, he took out the Wind Fire Wheels. Even though with his current cultivation, he could fly on his own, it would still exhaust a lot of energy and wouldn''t be as efficient. As he stepped on the Wind Fire Wheels, he naturally reached out his hand to Xie Daoyun.0

    A flicker of hidden bitterness shed across Xie Daoyun¡¯s face.0

    <em>Is big brother Zu pretending or does he really not know? How can a properdy let a man touch her so willfully, let alone be carried like this?</em>0

    However, that thought only remained in her head for an instant before disappearing. She quickly jumped toward him in high spirits. When his hand smoothly wrapped around her waist and she felt the heat from his hand, her heart began to pound.0

    She was quickly taken up into the clouds, where cold winds roared past them. Even so, for two cultivators, that bit of cold was nothing. Furthermore, endless warmth entered her body from big brother Zu, so she felt nice and warm. It was as if there were electricity running through her. As she looked at the tranquil sea of clouds around her and the endless golden sunlight cast over her body, in that instant, Xie Daoyun felt more blessed than ever before. She reflexively put her arms around his waist and gently leaned her head against his shoulder. She wished the moment wouldst forever.2

    <em>Sigh, if I had known it would be like this, I would have been a bit more proactive back at Bightmoon City. Now, there are so many women at big brother Zu¡¯s side, so how am I going to insert myself now?</em>1

    <em>Still, he was previously the Chu n¡¯s drafted son-inw, while I couldn''t do things like this with my status back then either¡­</em>0

    ¡°Right, little sister Ling¡¯er, I¡¯m really sorry about that night,¡± Zu An suddenly said. Actually, a kiss wasn¡¯t that big of a deal, but Big Manman had been hiding under the table and helping him¡­ If she found out, she would definitely be upset, so it was best to say that now.0

    ¡°I¡¯m the one who should be apologizing¡­¡± Xie Daoyun began as she lowered her head, her face even redder than an evening sunset. ¡°What happened that night? I already forgot.¡±0

    She really didn¡¯t know what she had been thinking back then. She had actually taken the initiative to kiss him, as if she were possessed!0

    <em>Ah¡­ There are already so many women at his side, and yet I still did something so embarrassing. I wonder how big brother Zu sees me now¡­</em>1

    The two both tried to avoid talking more about that topic, so the matter was soon dropped. Zu An then tried to change the topic to cultivation and other interests. With that, the tedious trip became a bit more exciting.0

    ¡­0

    After a few more days, the two of them finally arrived at a small town on the capital''s outskirts. The sky was already getting dark, and the city gates were already closed.0

    Zu An decided to stay the night outside and enter the next morning. The first reason was that they were travel-worn, as the two of them had only found a few caves and treetops to get a bit of rest in. They hadn''t even gotten a singleplete night of sleep. Zu An was fine, but it was a bit hard for Xie Daoyun¡¯s body to handle. The second reason was that the city gate was closed. Perhaps because of the major events that had taken ce recently, Zu An could sense that there were many more defensive formations activated than usual. Triggering one of those formations while trying to fly in at night would bring a lot of unnecessary trouble.0

    When she saw the distant capital city outskirts, Xie Daoyun said with a sigh, ¡°We¡¯re finally home.¡±0

    After staying in the academy for a long time and being doted on by her master and the other teachers, she already viewed the academy as a home. There had been danger around every turn in the secret dungeon, followed by the danger of interrogation when they returned to Violet Mountain. Neither of those ces made her feel as safe andfortable as the capital.0

    Zu An smiled. The proverbs really had hit the nail on the head. ''Neither a gold house nor a silver house are better than my own doghouse.'' But where was his own home? Perhaps because he was a transmigrator and he had quite a few lovers, it was hard for him to pick one area as his home. Not even his marquis manor in the capital brought him any such feeling. If he really did have to pick one, only the Sang manor felt a bit warmer.0

    He wondered how Zheng Dan was doing. There was also Sang Qien. A few months had already passed. Considering the time, the child in her belly¡­ It would already be about time, right?1

    They arrived at the best tavern in town. As soon as they entered through the door, Xie Daoyun¡¯s eyes immediately lit up. She eximed, ¡°What pretty flowers!¡±0

    Zu An followed her voice when he heard that and saw arge amount of brilliant flowers blooming along the courtyard wall. They looked like Japanese roses, but also like firecrackers. They gave off a lively and festive feeling. The air also had a faint flower fragrance that was neither too gaudy or morous; rather, it was quite refreshing.0n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    He remained on guard for a while, but after secretly using some ki, he didn¡¯t discover any signs of poison. He sighed in relief, thinking,<em>I really am overthinking things.</em>1

    No one had known he would arrive today, so how could they have prepared anything in advance?0

    They quickly found a small, secluded courtyard. After having a meal, the two of them returned to their respective rooms to take a bath. The bathing area was a bit more unique than those of ordinary taverns, as expected of a town close to the capital.0

    Zu An was lying in the bath and enjoying the hot water when he suddenly opened his eyes. He could hear sweet and tempting breaths from next door that sounded as if they were suppressing some kind of emotion. He was startled and called out, ¡°Little sister Ling¡¯er, did something happen?¡±1

    <em>Strange¡­ My divine sense has always been watching the surroundings. She''s clearly alone in that room¡­</em>

 Chapter 1869: Ninth Lady Lust

    <h4>Chapter 1869: Ninth Lady Lust</h4>

    Zu An called out a few times, but there was no response from next door. He couldn''t help but be worried. He immediately put on his clothes and headed to the entrance next door. He knocked and asked, ¡°Little sister Ling¡¯er, did something happen to you?¡±0

    He had made sure to order the best room in the tavern. It was a secluded courtyard that guided in a hot spring. There were all sorts of bamboo, flowers, and trees within, creating a peaceful environment. He had wanted the room precisely because it was somewhere no outsiders would wander into aimlessly. He had even made sure to keep his divine sense around the entire courtyard to make sure no one came in. With his current cultivation, only someone on Zhao Han¡¯s level could escape his notice. How could such a person be present?0

    Even so, he asked several times by the entrance, but there was still no response at all from Xie Daoyun inside. There were only sounds of breathing.0

    ¡°Little sister Ling¡¯er, I¡¯ming in,¡± Zu An said, feeling worried for her safety. After reminding himself it was just that, he broke through the door¡¯s lock and went inside. This was the best room in this town¡¯s best tavern, so it was a lock that was supported by some formations. However, in front of Zu An, they fell apart like paper.0

    When he opened the door, he saw that the bath area was full of hot smoke. A beautiful figure was soaking inside with her hair tied up above her head, exposing her fine neck. Who else could it be but Xie Daoyun?0

    Zu An walked over and called out, ¡°Little sister Ling¡¯er?¡± He saw that she was in a half-unconscious state. Her usually fair and exquisite skin was now an unnatural pink, looking like a cooked prawn.0

    ¡°Big brother Zu?¡± Xie Daoyun replied, opening her eyes in a daze. She almost looked as if she would cry. She reflexively reached out her arms toward him after saying that.0

    <em>The hot springs water smooth as oil, skin cleansed to a tender glow. With the help of her attendants, the beauty rises, feeble and helpless¡­</em>[1]</a>0

    Xie Daoyun had been soaking in the hot spring, so of course there wasn¡¯t a shred of clothing on her body. Even though most of her body was in the water, when she leaped into Zu An¡¯s arms, he could feel every inch of her skin. On top of that, the water in a hot spring was clear and transparent to begin with. Even though there were some flower petals, how could it hide the wonderful sight?0

    Zu An shivered. In that instant, he realized why Xie Daoyun had fallen into such a state. The only thing he was confused about was how he had been poisoned too. With his current cultivation, there was no way someone could poison him without his awareness.0

    Was it their meal?No,that was impossible too. He had already been extremely careful. If there had been poison, he would have immediately sensed it.0

    Then was it this hot spring water? No, that wasn¡¯t possible either. The hot spring water came from a moving source. If someone wanted to poison it, just how much would they have to use?0

    As for the articles in the room, that was even less likely. He had already made sure to look through everything in the room. After he cultivated the Primordial Origin Sutra, he had be especially sensitive to poison.0

    Suddenly, he realized something. It was the flowers on the tavern courtyard wall! He had stayed in this tavern before, but those flowers hadn''t been there before. He''d just thought that they were newly nted by the boss, as it had been almost a year since hest stayed here. Now, though, he found their presence suspicious. He had examined them earlier, though, and he hadn¡¯t detected any poison¡­0

    <em>Hold on, if it isn¡¯t poison by itself, is it abination poison?</em>0

    <em>I seem to have experienced something simr in the past¡­.</em>0

    He looked up at the candles around them and vaguely detected their scent. Just that smell alone wasn¡¯t poisonous, but when it was mixed together with the fragrance of the flowers outside¡­0

    His thoughts moved quickly, as did his hands. He found the new set of clothes Xie Daoyun had prepared behind the screen and tried to help her change. However, she continued to twist and turn, not cooperating at all. Not only was Zu An not able to put her clothes on, he even identally touched some ces he wasn''t supposed to. Helpless to do anything else, he could only wrap her up carelessly in her clothes. Then, with a wave of his hand, he brought over the nkets on the bed and wrapped them around her.0

    Only then did he quickly exit toward the vacant courtyard outside so she could breathe some fresh air. He also took out a Heart Calming Pill and fed it to her. However, who would have thought that she would continue to suck on his finger without letting go? When he saw her acting like that, Zu An immediately felt a huge headache. This woman was normally so refined and elegant, and yet she was actually so bad at charming others.0

    ¡°Are you even a man? She already wants it so badly, and yet you still aren¡¯t giving it to her,¡± a woman called out as she appeared atop the nearby wall, looking all dolled up.0n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An glowered as he asked, ¡°Was all of this your doing?¡±0

    That alluring woman rocked back and forth fromughter, clearly quite proud of her own work.0

    Zu An thought to himself,<em>The poisons in this world of cultivation really are quite strange. They really are difficult to defend effectively against!</em>0

    Even so, this really was strange. After he cultivated the Primordial Origin Sutra, his body was already practically immune to poison. On the other hand, things like aphrodisiacs weren¡¯t really poisons, and merely magnified the natural desires of the body.0

    ¡°If I''m not mistaken, we don''t know each other and share no grudge,¡± Zu An said gravely.0

    ¡°How can those in our trade kill based on hatred or desire for revenge? We¡¯d even point our des at our own fathers'' throats as long as there was enough money. Otherwise, we wouldn¡¯t even touch our own personal enemies,¡± the seductive woman said with a big smile.0

    Zu An thought to himself,<em>As expected, someone was sent after me.</em>Judging from the looks of things, she wasn¡¯t a deathsworn soldier but rather a professional assassin. He asked, "Are you from the Shadow Group?¡±1

    The seductive woman didn¡¯t answer that question. Instead, she said, ¡°Stop wasting your time. I know you¡¯re deliberately stalling for time, but what makes you think I¡¯m not doing the same? Unfortunately, this poison of mine can''t be removed. The longer you''re affected by it, the stronger it gets into your system. Eventually, you¡¯ll be so overwhelmed by desire that you¡¯ll be entirely powerless. Your body¡¯s ki will be frozen stiff. You''re quite the pretty boy, so this cougar wouldn¡¯t mind ying around for a bit. As for that dainty little beauty in your arms, you didn¡¯t want to touch her before, so I guess I¡¯ll have to let these brothers of mine take advantage of that.¡±0

    Just then, several ck-d individuals appeared all along the walls. There was a glint in their eyes; they were clearly all experts as well.0

    ¡°Ninth Lady Lust, don''t hold up the mission needlessly,¡± one of them shouted.1

    Ninth Lady Lust fiddled with the flower in her hands and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I know what I''m doing. We¡¯ll strike that woman¡¯s ki core first, and you can have some fun while the body¡¯s still warm. However, this pretty boy can¡¯t be killed immediately. After all, a man isn¡¯t like a woman; he¡¯ll be useless once he¡¯s dead. How about this? We¡¯ll chop off his arms and legs first. It should be enough as long as we leave his fifth limb intact.¡±0

    Zu An¡¯s expression was cold. Judging from this woman¡¯s tone, it seemed she had taken countless lives over the years. He remarked, ¡°Your cultivations don¡¯t seem to be that high. Is that all your organization sent for me?¡±0

    When they heard what he said, the assassins roared withughter. They replied, ¡°Our cultivations aren¡¯t high? We have at least seven or eight ranks of cultivation, while you¡¯re too weak to even truss a chicken! And yet you still dare to spew such nonsense?¡±1

    Ninth Lady Lust said with a chuckle, ¡°Young master might have misunderstood somehow. Assassination isn''t a proper fight on an official stage. You don''t necessarily need high cultivation toplete most missions. As long as your designs are intricate enough, even grandmaster-rank figures can be killed.¡±0

    ¡°Ninth Lady Lust, could it be that you actually like this pretty boy? Is that why you¡¯re exining so much?¡± one of the ck-d assassins asked.0

    Zu An did have some misgivings. Even though what this Ninth Lady Lust said did make some sense, it was still a bit absurd to him.0

    Suddenly, one of the assassins tugged on his cor and said, ¡°That chick really is hot. Since you guys don¡¯t want to, I¡¯ll enjoy myself and use her first.¡±0

    Then, he threw himself at the two of them. However, he didn¡¯t let lust take over his mind; he aimed at Zu An¡¯s four limbs and Xie Daoyun¡¯s ki core. An assassin never lowered their guard, after all. When he saw that Zu An was still carrying that woman, he sneered inwardly.0

    <em>As expected of a pretty boy, he¡¯s still trying to act cool even now.</em>0

    Suddenly, a streak of sword ki appeared in front of him. He could swear that he had never seen such dazzling sword ki in his life!0

    The assassin was quite well-known for the quickness of his sword. He could slice off the heads of dozens of mosquitoes with a single sh. He loved to use his speed to seize the advantage. Even when he encountered enemies stronger than himself, once they fell into his tempo, they could only repeatedly get hit. Their injuries only grew worse and worse until they waited for their own death in despair. Furthermore, he never underestimated his opponents and always went all out right from the start. He wouldn¡¯t lower his guard just because his opponent looked weak.0

    He had absolute confidence in the five shes he unleashed. They should have been enough to slice off that man¡¯s arms and legs, and destroy that woman¡¯s ki core.0

    In the end, arms and legs were indeed sliced off, and a ki core was destroyed. Only, it was his arms and legs, as well as his ki core.

 Chapter 1870: Method of Detoxification

    <h4>Chapter 1870: Method of Detoxification</h4>

    That sword strike was just way too dazzling and beautiful. But of course, if the assassin were given some ¡®regret medicine¡¯ and could go back in time, he wouldn¡¯t have been infatuated with the beauty of the sword, and would instead have turned tail to run.

    <i>No, I wouldn¡¯t even have taken this mission and would have rather stayed far away from this monster!</i>

    He lied on the ground while squirming continuously. Miserable screams tore through this entire courtyard.

    Unfortunately, they had already set up a formation in the vicinity, so no sounds would extend beyond its range.

    He could only give hispanions a pleading look. Of course, he wouldn¡¯t be so naive as to think that the others would save him. All he was hoping for now was that they could kill this pretty boy andplete their mission. Then, he could offer up all of the wealth he had umted over the years and use it to ask for their help, to find some divine physician to stitch up his arms and legs again. With his current cultivation, he already had powerful regenerative ability. Once his arms and legs were healed, even though his cultivation would still be greatly affected, it would still be enough for him to somehow make a living.

    However, what left him in despair was that thosepanions didn¡¯t fly over as he had anticipated. Instead, they turned to run without even giving him a second look, including that Ninth Lady Lust who had looked the most rxed earlier.

    <i>Are you joking?</i>

    After witnessing that dazzling sword, they all instantly recognized the chasm between them and their target. Even if they all went after Zu An, they would just be throwing their lives away. Even though they didn¡¯t fear death and were willing to gamble with their lives toplete missions, not even the most cold-blooded killer would die for nothing in a situation of inevitable death.

    They were very experienced and all ran in different directions. Even if Zu An decided to chase after them, he could only catch a few. At least some would be able to get away. Now, it would all depend on who had the best luck.

    Ninth Lady Lust was full of regret. Why had she acted so arrogant earlier and said so much? That pretty boy definitely had the strongest impression of her and would probably go after her.

    Sure enough, she felt a powerful suction force from behind her. She couldn''t even control her body and lost control, flying backward. She was in utter despair, but she still instinctively tossed a clump of poison powder behind her.

    However, when she turned around, she was stupefied. Her opponent hadn¡¯t pulled her back from right behind her, but rather from a hundred feet away! She was a formidable individual herself, and yet she was being pulled back from so far away. Just what kind of terrifying power was this?!

    What left her even more speechless was that all of the other assassins who had tried to run were also pulled back by an invisible force! Was he pulling back all of these people at the same time? Not even the guardians and elders of the organization would be able to aplish that, right?

    The other assassins also came to the same realization with horror. That pretty boy was casually standing at the center of the courtyard. and his palm was like a ck hole that pulled all of them toward it.

    They exchanged a look. They were all seasoned assassins and immediately gave up on thoughts of leaving. Since they couldn''t escape anyway, they decided to just stake it all instead. If he was going to pull them back, they would just use their most powerful attacks and unleash them the instant they were pulled close to him. They would teach him that victory and defeat only mattered in apetition, but in a battle with assassins, there was only life or death.

    However, right at that moment, they were suddenly horrified to discover that they couldn''t activate the ki within their bodies at all. Instead, it was all being endlessly sucked out toward the pretty boy.

    ¡°Mosquito¡­ Mosquito Daoist?!¡±

    ¡°No, Mosquito Daoist is human. Could this be the even more formidable Sir Bat?¡±

    They were overwhelmed with horror. Only legendary evil monsters could have such a technique that could steal the cultivation of another! Among them, Mosquito Daoist and Sir Bat were the most famous, but it was rumored that both of them had already died. Now, they really wanted to smack the faces of those who had been spreading those rumors. By the time they reached that pretty boy, they didn¡¯t even have a shred of strength in their entire bodies left. They couldn''t even stand up anymore, let alone attack him.

    Zu An was a bit surprised too. After his strength increased, the Heaven Devouring Sutra seemed to have be even more ridiculous. He quickly sorted out his thoughts and looked at them coldly, asking, ¡°Who sent you all here?¡±

    The assassins'' expressions remained unchanged. None of them opened their mouths.

    Zu An didn¡¯t stop, and stared at them just like that.

    The assassins'' expressions changed slightly. One individual¡¯s mouth moved.

    Zu An still didn¡¯t stop them, and just watched.

    However, that person¡¯s expression changed greatly. He discovered that he didn¡¯t even have the strength to bite through the poison capsule hidden in his teeth!

    Zu An sneered. He had already encountered many assassins and knew that all of them underwent strict training. If they knew they would be tortured, they would decisively end their own lives. That was why he had made sure to suck away their cultivation, to the point that they wouldn¡¯t even have the strength to end their own lives. Next, he casually sent out several waves of strength to knock them all out. He only left Ninth Lady Lust conscious.

    When she saw that, Ninth Lady Lust¡¯s eyes couldn''t help but light up. Even though she didn¡¯t have any strength left, she still did her best to put on an alluring pose. She said, ¡°This young master has managed to cultivate such remarkable skills at such a young age, and you¡¯re striking to boot. This humble one has never seen a man like this and has alreadypletely fallen for you. I will definitely work like a horse or an ox to serve you in the future.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eye twitched. <i>Just what is wrong with the women of this world? Why are they ready to be horses or oxen so quickly?</i>

    He said with a snort, ¡°You can stop those cheap tricks of yours. Do you think I''d even want someone like you?¡± He had already seen just how vicious she was normally, so he naturally wouldn¡¯t show her any respect.

    Ninth Lady Lust¡¯s expression changed. She gave Xie Daoyun in Zu An''s arms a look, and a hint of jealousy appeared in her eyes. She said, ¡°My figure naturally can''tpare to thedy in the young master¡¯s arms, but she''s already been affected by my poison. Without the antidote, she''ll forever be overwhelmed by lust even after she wakes up. She¡¯ll need arge amount of ¡®care¡¯ to bring any relief. She won¡¯t have any restraint left, and at that point, she won¡¯t even be as good as me.¡±

    Xie Daoyun still had a bit of mental rity. When she heard that, her expression immediately turned pale. She actually wouldn¡¯t mind that much if it was big brother Zu... However, if she became the kind of woman Ninth Lady Lust was describing, that would be a fate worse than death!

    Zu An retorted with a sneer, ¡°Do you take me for a fool? You¡¯re still trying to fool me with these kinds of words. How can there be any drugs that incredible in this world? She¡¯ll recover with just a cold bath.¡±

    He could actually be considered quite the expert in this field now. He had already encountered simr things many times and was full of experience. If the poison wasn¡¯t immediately neutralized, what she said could happen. Even so, curing this kind of condition didn¡¯t really need any special antidotes.

    He took Xie Daoyun back inside. With a wave of his hand, the candles in the room were immediately extinguished. Then, with another wave of his sleeves, he tossed all of the candles out. He said to Xie Daoyun, ¡°Little sister Ling¡¯er, it might hurt a bitter, so hold on.¡±

    Xie Daoyun sensed the pitch darkness in the room. When she heard him say that, her heart couldn''t help but start to beat quickly. She said, ¡°Okay¡­ big brother Zu, you can do it. I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m willing.¡±

    Zu An nodded. Then, he summoned the power of the ice phoenix over the hot spring. Ayer of ice instantly formed over the steaming water, emanating wisps of cold air. Just like that, he threw Xie Daoyun inside.

    ¡°Ahhh!¡± Xie Daoyun screamed. She shivered all over.

    Ninth Lady Lust heard the cry of rm and thought, <i>And here I was wondering what kind of cure he had. He was just using this chance to do her?</i>

    <i>Hmph, look at how rmed that woman sounds. I didn¡¯t expect that pretty boy to be such an unromantic brute.</i>

    ¡­

    While Ninth Lady Lust was mocking him, Zu An observed Xie Daoyun¡¯s condition. When he saw her gradually calm down, he nodded in satisfaction. Even the most lustful thoughts would be mostly dispersed by such ice-cold water.

    When she felt the stinging pain from the icy water, Xie Daoyun¡¯s face couldn''t help but redden.

    <i>So big brother Zu was talking about this kind of pain¡­ What was I thinking before!</i>

    When she recalled what she had said to big brother Zu, she immediately became so embarrassed she wanted to crawl into a hole and hide forever. Her eyes rolled back and she fainted on the spot.

    Zu An was rmed and immediately checked her pulse. He only sighed in relief when he saw that she was fine. He put her hand on a pillow by the edge of the pool so the water wouldn¡¯t reach her mouth and nose. He had to let her soak for a bit longer to get rid of the heat inside oher body, so he decided to interrogate Ninth Lady Lust first.

    When she saw hime out, Ninth Lady Lust blurted out, ¡°That quick?¡±

    <i>This pretty boy¡¯s cultivation is so high, but isn¡¯t he a bit disappointing in this aspect?</i> n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An didn¡¯t want to waste words with her. He said, ¡°Speak. Who sent you here? There''s no point in lying, because I''ll just interrogate all of you one by one for verification.¡±

    Ninth Lady Lust¡¯s eyes flickered. The organization did have contingency ns for these kinds of things. When the time came¡­

    Zu An continued, ¡°I have my ways of finding out some things. I''ll only spare the one who tells me the truth and kill everyone else. Then, I''ll release the news that the others betrayed the organization and gave out intelligence, and I killed them because that¡¯s what they wanted. Which one of them do you think will tell me the truth first?¡±

    When she saw his smile, Ninth Lady Lust felt a shiver.

    <i>This man is too treacherous¡­</i>

    Actually, as assassins, they had already been mentally prepared to die at any time. However, they all believed that they werepleting their missions for honor and glory. If this person messed with them that way, not only would they die, they would even bear the title of traitors. It was clear that the true traitor would be living a free and leisurely life, enjoying the splendors of the world. That contrast was just a bit too despairing, right?

    With Ninth Lady Lust''s understanding of herpanions, even if not every single one of them would make that choice, at least half of them would. In that case, it was still better to be the first. As such, she quickly gave Zu An an obsequious look and said, ¡°Young master is too formidable, so this Ninth Lady Lust will admit defeat this time. I am willing to tell the young master everything I know. Can the young master agree to let me go?¡±

    ¡°I can. I can even return a portion of your cultivation, so you can''t harm others but can protect yourself. I''ll also give you some riches for you to enjoy into yourter years,¡± Zu An calmly said. As he was trying to buy them out, he had to be willing to give enough of a reward.

    Ninth Lady Lust was overjoyed. She eximed, ¡°The young master is righteous and great! I''ll tell you everything I know. The one who sent us was¡­¡±

 Chapter 1871: Can You Sleep With Me?

    <h4>Chapter 1871: Can You Sleep With Me?</h4>

    ¡°The one who sent us was¡­ was¡­¡± Ninth Lady Lust opened her mouth, but she couldn''t say anything. She suddenly seemed to have realized something. She grabbed her head and shook it back and forth frantically, her expression full of rm.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Zu An asked, feeling a bit dejected.

    Right at that moment, Ninth Lady Lust¡¯s head exploded like a watermelon.

    Zu An was speechless. Even though he had already spent enough time in this world and had witnessed his fair share of ughter, he still felt a bit out of sorts when he saw that. However, he endured the feeling to examine Ninth Lady Lust¡¯s remains. It wasn¡¯t poison, nor was it some kind of bug. Could it be a kind of imprint on her soul or something?

    These top-tier assassins had actually been given such a soul imprint without any knowledge of it. If they gave out any extreme secrets, it would trigger and they would die. The one who had used this skill really was ruthless! To be able to aplish something like that¡­ Could it be the Shadow Group again?

    With a wave of Zu An''s hand, a me enveloped Ninth Lady Lust¡¯s remains, quickly burning her away into nothing before waking up another assassin. He didn¡¯t want them to see Ninth Lady Lust¡¯s gruesome fate and decide to hide information. Then, he used the same words he had used on Ninth Lady Lust again.

    Sure enough, the assassin''s will quickly broke down and he was willing to confess. But when he was about to say something, Zu An stopped him and said, ¡°I''ll ask the questions; you only need to answer.¡±

    The assassin was stunned, but he still nodded in the end.

    ¡°I won¡¯t ask about your association, and will only ask about the employer this time. Do you know who that is?¡± Zu An asked, staring carefully at him. He wanted to see if he could avoid triggering that soul imprint.

    ¡°I do. They are¡­¡± the assassin began, sighing in relief. As long as he didn¡¯t have to sell out the association, he wouldn¡¯t have that much of a mental burden.

    And yet, once again, his head still exploded like a watermelon!

    Zu An was stunned.

    <i>You can¡¯t even talk about this?</i>

    He burned up the corpse and woke up the next one.

    ¡°Don¡¯t take the initiative to speak. You can only answer my questions.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    ¡°Is the employer male or female?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re¡­¡±

    <i>Boom!</i>

    Zu An was speechless. He continued on to the next one with a numb expression.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to speak. You only need to nod or shake your head."

    ¡°Is the employer male?¡±

    The assassin''s head twitched.

    <i>Boom!</i>

    Zu An was dumbfounded.

    <i>What the hell is this? You can¡¯t even answer such basic information?</i> n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    He woke up the next person.

    ¡°The employer should be female, right? Did shee from¡­¡±

    The assassin''s head twitched.

    <i>Boom!</i>

    Zu An was speechless once again.

    <i>Why did his head move before I even finished my sentence? And it even exploded, at that¡­</i>

    From the start until now, he hadn¡¯t even gotten to ask anything, and yet most of the assassins had already died. He thought over the questions he had asked, and suddenly thought of something.

    Then, he woke up thest assassin.

    ¡°Is the employer¡­ a eunuch?¡±

    The assassin was stunned. He reflexively nodded... and then, his head exploded!

    Zu An burned away the remains until there wasn¡¯t even a drop of blood left. Then, he returned to the room.

    Xie Daoyun had already calmed down considerably. Zu An wanted to support her, but Xie Daoyun said in embarrassment as soon as he touched her ice-cold skin, ¡°Big brother Zu, I¡¯m already awake. I think I should get up on my own.¡±

    ¡°Okay," Zu An said as he walked outside. With a wave of his hand, he moved the screen between the two of them to cover her. He began to think over the intelligence he had received. <i>Don¡¯t tell me that¡­</i>

    Xie Daoyun gave the figure outside a look with a strange expression.

    <i>Why is big brother Zu staying in the room when I¡¯m changing?</i>

    But when she recalled how he had already seen everything he wasn''t supposed to see, and they had even touched, she felt that it was meaningless anyway. She could only swiftly wipe down her body with a towel before hastily putting on her clothes.

    <i>Achoo!</i>

    When he heard the sneeze, Zu An asked, ¡°Little sister Ling¡¯er, it was a bit cold just now, wasn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°It was a bit cold,¡± Xie Daoyun said, feeling a bit embarrassed. She''d pretended to faint, and could thus only soak inside the whole time. She was actually feeling unbearably cold.

    ¡°You¡¯ve gone between both extreme heat and cold today, so you might be a bit weak and sick for the next few days. Make sure to take care of your health,¡± Zu An said. He took out several nourishing pills after thinking things over. With his current status, he obtained some designated pills every month from both his official post and noble title. Even though they weren¡¯t especially precious, they were still good medicine.

    ¡°Okay. Thank you, big brother Zu,¡± Xie Daoyun said, moving over to his side. Her lowered head was still flushed red. What had happened earlier was way too embarrassing¡­ Just the thought alone made her want to faint again. She quickly changed the topic and said, ¡°By the way, I seem to have heard you interrogating those assassins outside earlier. Did you learn anything?¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you faint earlier?¡± Zu An said with an ambiguous smile.

    Xie Daoyun was speechless.

    <i>Just let me die, ahhhh!</i>

    She could only brace herself as she said, ¡°I woke up and heard a bit toward the end.¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t expose her and gave her an exnation of what happened.

    ¡°It was actually a eunuch?¡± Xie Daoyun eximed in shock. That alone already exined many things. When she saw Zu An¡¯s grave expression, she asked, ¡°What does big brother Zu think?¡±

    When he saw that she was still a bit wet, making her clothes a bit transparent, Zu An felt something stir a bit inside. He didn¡¯t reply and soaked himself directly in the ice-cold pool. He sighed in relief.

    ¡°Big brother Zu, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Xie Daoyun jumped in fright. At the same time, her heart began to pound.

    <i>I already soaked in that pool earlier, and big brother Zu is actually soaking in there now¡­</i>

    All sorts of wayward thoughts appeared in her head, making her flush red from ear to ear. She even wondered if that poison was ring up again.

    ¡°I was also affected by that poison,¡± Zu An said with a sigh. It was only because of his higher cultivation that his resistance was a bit stronger.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Xie Daoyun covered her face and didn¡¯t know what to say. She just felt that her face was scalding hot. Some scenes began to appear in her mind.

    <i>Big brother Zu should have just helped me detoxify right there, then both of us would have been fine¡­</i>

    Still, she quickly gathered her thoughts.

    <i>Why am I thinking such things! Big brother Zu is a true gentleman!</i>

    She took a deep breath and continued the earlier topic. ¡°Could it be someone the crown princess sent? After all, she''s the only one who knows about your return.¡±

    Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°It¡¯s not her.¡±

    ¡°Why is big brother Zu so certain?¡± Xie Daoyun asked, sounding a bit surprised.

    Zu An couldn''t tell her that he and Bi Linglong had that kind of intimate rtionship, right? He could only exin, ¡°The crown princess doesn¡¯t have a motive. Everyone knows that I''m someone from the Eastern Pce, her most capable subordinate. She''s currently at a disadvantage in the capital and needs people to use, so why would she possibly act against me?¡±

    ¡°If it isn¡¯t the crown princess, it has to be the empress¡¯ faction. From what big brother Zu is saying, the empress¡¯ faction is at odds with the crown princess¡¯ faction. The emperor has already died, and the crown prince is weak intellectually. The one who seizes the advantage here will be able to seize the greatest authority. Meanwhile, the empress and crown princess all have proper reasons to aim for that authority, so of course they''re bound to fight," Xie Daoyunsaid. ¡°Since you''re a capable subordinate of the crown princess, as long as the empress eliminated you, the crown princess¡¯ side would be greatly weakened. She wouldn¡¯t have much strength to fight back.¡±

    Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°It can''t be the empress either.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Xie Daoyun replied, now feeling really confused. Zu An was so certain when he said that it wasn¡¯t the crown princess, and he was just as certain in his rejection of the empress being the culprit.

    <i>Just where does big brother get his confidence from?</i>

    Zu An was starting to get a headache. He couldn''t just say he had an affair with the empress, right? He replied, "The empress and I actually share a personal friendship. Our rtionship isn¡¯t bad, so I believe that she wouldn¡¯t harm me.¡±

    Xie Daoyun was quite surprised to hear that. The empress usually stayed inside and rarely left, so her presence was already so low that not even the court¡¯s officials had seen her. Xie Daoyun hadn¡¯t expected her to actually have a good rtionship with Zu An! It seemed that the empress had already been plotting for a long time. Still, she didn¡¯t suspect Zu An¡¯s rtionship with the empress. After all, with the empress¡¯ status, that was too inconceivable. An ordinary person wouldn¡¯t think of something like that.

    <i>Even though Zu An said those words to the emperor in the secret dungeon, that was likely just to provoke him in order to save us.</i>

    ¡°Big brother Zu, even though I don''t understand politics too well, I still grew up in an official¡¯s family and know that personal rtionships are never reliable. You absolutely can''t act on impulse,¡± Xie Daoyun couldn''t help but warn him.

    Zu An now began to think to himself.

    <i>Don¡¯t tell me it really is the empress?</i>

    He really couldn''t imagine that fiery and passionate woman would set her hand against him. Still. his thoughts moved quickly. Their rtionship was still just an exchange of interests in the end. She''d needed his transcendent aptitude blood to treat her injuries, and now that she had recovered, she naturally didn¡¯t need him anymore.

    <i>She also lied to me back then. She said she needed many sessions to recover, and yet she''s already recovered ahead of time, bing a grandmaster at that. Who could have expected that, really¡­</i>

    <i>If the empress is willing to make that kind of choice, why wouldn¡¯t the crown princess be willing either?</i>

    The royal family was entirely different from others. The imperial n was the most ruthless of all.

    <i>Ling¡¯er is right. The one who understands my itinerary best is the crown princess.</i>

    Still, he didn¡¯t let that problem bother him for too long. He didn¡¯t care what kinds of schemes they had; he¡¯d just end it all with a single sword sh.

    ¡°There are still a few hours before daybreak. You should get some rest first,¡± Zu An said to Xie Daoyun.

    Xie Daoyun bit her lip. After some hesitation, she asked, ¡°Big brother Zu, can you sleep with me?¡±

 Chapter 1872: Expelled from the Eastern Palace

    <h4>Chapter 1872: Expelled from the Eastern Pce</h4>

    ¡°Huh?¡± Zu An asked. He had never expected the noble and conservative Xie Daoyun to propose such a thing.

    Xie Daoyun flinched when she saw his reaction. Her face immediately turned red. She said, ¡°No, um¡­ What I meant was whether you could stay at my side tonight.¡±

    ¡°You mean sleeping together in the same room?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°Ah! No, that¡¯s not what I meant. Please don¡¯t misunderstand¡­¡± Xie Daoyun trailed off.

    When he saw how she was on the verge of tears, Zu An couldn''t help but chuckle. He asked, ¡°You¡¯re scared to be all alone?¡±

    ¡°Yes, exactly!¡± Xie Daoyun hurriedly replied, nodding quickly. She was incredibly moved.

    <i>There was almost a misunderstanding, as if I wanted to do that with him! Thank goodness big brother Zu understands me. He really is a kind and warm person who''s good at understanding others.</i>

    Xie Daoyun secretly gave Zu An a look, then quickly shifted her gaze.

    Zu An nodded and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know if other assassins will be sent after us, so let¡¯s stay in the same room. That way, we can watch out for each other.¡± If something simr happened again, he would end up really regretting it if Xie Daoyun ended up in danger.

    Xie Daoyun quietly voiced her agreement.

    <i>It¡¯s clearly him who¡¯s taking care of me, and yet he''s making it sound as if we''re taking care of each other. Big brother Zu is so considerate.</i>

    ¡°Hurry and get some sleep. It would be best if you could force out the cold energy inside you sooner so you don¡¯t catch a cold,¡± Zu An said. At first, he''d wanted to help her, but they''d already had too much physical contact with each other, so he really didn¡¯t want to cross the line.

    ¡°Okay. Thank you, big brother Zu,¡± Xie Daoyun said with a nod. Then, she sat on the bed and began to circte her energy. Her cultivation wasn¡¯t low. If not for the fact that she had been poisoned, those assassins likely wouldn''t have been able to win against her. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An watched her finish that process, then pulled the screen over to separate them somewhat. He then sat down on a chair to meditate.

    Xie Daoyun tossed and turned in bed, finding it hard to sleep. When she thought about everything that had happened, her face immediately turned red. When she flipped over again and saw the handsome and carefree figure on the other side, she suddenly felt a bit guilty.

    <i>What kind of status does big brother Zu have now? And yet, he doesn¡¯t even have a ce to sleep. He has to work so hard to keep watch for me.</i>

    She felt pity and blurted out, ¡°Big brother Zu, you cane into this bed to sleep too.¡±

    After saying that, her heartbeat immediately elerated countless times. She had never expected to speak such shameless words!

    <i>Just what will big brother Zu think of me? Will he think I¡¯m an easy woman?</i>

    <i>It¡¯s fine if he agrees, but if he refuses, what will I do in the future¡­</i>

    After all, she seemed to have already ¡®offered to sleep together¡¯ several times. If her offers were all refused in the end¡­

    When she thought of that, her face immediately became deathly white, and she wanted to fan herself in the face a few times. Just what was she thinking today?

    She had all kinds of thoughts, but they actually all took ce in an instant. She quickly added, ¡°We¡¯ll each sleep on one side. This bed is pretty big.¡±

    <i>Ahhh! This is still so embarrassing! What wise and virtuousdy invites a man into her bed?</i>

    Zu An was also quite conflicted. He knew that Xie Daoyun didn¡¯t actually have any dirty thoughts as she invited him, but rather, she was just too embarrassed to watch him sit there in meditation alone. He was about to refuse, but when he saw her nervous and scared expression, he suddenly became speechless. He seemed to have already refused her several times. If he continued to refuse her, what dignity would she have left?

    He said, ¡°That¡¯s fine too. Then I¡¯ll be disturbing little sister Ling¡¯er."

    ¡°You¡¯re not disturbing me, not at all!¡± Xie Daoyun almost cried out loud when she heard him agree. She knew just how many stunning beauties her big brother Zu had. The reason he agreed couldn''t possibly be because she was alluring in any way; it had to be because he was worried about making her lose face.

    <i>Big brother Zu is so great¡­</i>

    When she saw him walk over, Xie Daoyun gave him half the bed. Then, she wrapped herself tightly in her covers. The room was so quiet that she could even hear her own heartbeat.

    Zu An couldn''t help but chuckle. Hey down and said, ¡°Good night, little sister Ling¡¯er.¡±

    Xei Daoyun felt as if her entire body were burning up. She continued to wonder, <i>What if big brother Zu hugs me? What will I do then?</i>

    <i>Should I pretend to be asleep and tacitly allow it, or should I take the initiative to respond to him?!</i>

    <i>If it¡¯s the former, what if big brother Zu thinks I don¡¯t want to? But if it¡¯s thetter, big brother Zu will misunderstand and take me for that kind of woman¡­</i>

    <i>Aiya! Xie Daoyun, Xie Daoyun, what are you thinking? Big brother Zu is a real man with an indomitable spirit, an iparable gentleman! Why would he do such a thing?</i>

    <i>Even so, while tossing and turning at night, there''s a chance that he might identally put his arms and legs on my body. I¡­ I¡¯ll just pretend not to notice.</i>

    She secretly moved aside the covers to look at him several times, but she saw that Zu An was lying there properly at the very edge of the bed. His eyes were closed and his breathing was even; he seemed to already be sleeping.

    <i>Big brother Zu really is handsome. Those women from Brightmoon City all say my little brother is handsome, but I don¡¯t feel that at all. Compare to big brother Zu, he¡¯s just too far¡­</i>

    After going through so much all night, she was actually already exhausted. As all kinds of nonsensical thoughts passed through her head, she unknowingly fell asleep.

    ¡­

    The next morning, a trace of golden sunlight broke through the clouds and cast itself upon the two of them. The sky in the distance gradually brightened, and the sound of roosters crowing filled the air from time to time.

    Xie Daoyun slowly opened her eyes. Nothing seemed to have happened the previous night.

    However, she''d dreamed that she identally entered a world of ice and snow. She had wondered if it was Great Snowy Mountain. However, when she felt unbearably cold, she encountered a big brown bear. That big brown bear was really warm. She had been able to make it through that frigid cold night by huddling in its arms. Then, she seemed to have be a female bear... That big bear was really great, but there was something next to his abdomen that was really big.

    When she recalled that ridiculous dream, Xie Daoyun couldn''t help but smile. Just then, though, her eyes opened. When she saw the scene in front of her, her smile instantly froze on her face.

    .

    What big brown bear? That was clearly big brother Zu!

    She had been worried that he would do naughty things at night, but he was still sleeping at the side of the bed properly. There was no change from his posture the previous night at all. Instead, she was wrapped all around him like an octopus! Her arms being hooked around his neck was one thing, but even her legs were mped around his waist!

    <i>Ahhhhhhhh!</i>

    <i>So embarrassing!</i>

    She quietly raised her legs for fear that she would startle Zu An. She slowly moved them while secretly looking up at him.

    <i>Please don¡¯t be awake, please don¡¯t be awake, please¡­</i>

    Shepletely froze up, because when she raised her head, she just happened to meet a pair of bright eyes.

    Zu An smiled and remarked, ¡°You¡¯re awake?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not!¡± Xie Daoyun cried, shooting back into her covers off to the side like a streak of electricity. She really wanted to smack herself repeatedly with a huge club and knock herself unconscious.

    Zu An got up and sorted out his clothes. He said with a warm voice, ¡°Little sister Ling¡¯er, you don¡¯t need to be so bothered. You were coldst night, so you would naturally move toward any heat source; it¡¯s natural. I¡¯m sure that little sister¡¯s usual sleeping posture is still very graceful.¡±

    Xie Daoyun was extremely moved.

    <i>Big brother Zu was so considerate that he found me such a good excuse!</i>

    How could she continue to hide in her covers? She stuck her head out and gently said, ¡°Thank you, big brother Zu, for easing my anxiety.¡±

    Then, her gaze froze.

    Zu An also felt a bit awkward. He got up and walked out, saying, ¡°I¡¯m going to sort out my luggage first. Little sister can wash up first.¡± Then, he bent over and ran.

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s face was bright red.

    <i>What luggage?!</i>

    She also finally knew what that thing between her and that big brown bear had been.

    <i>Just how does Miss Chu¡¯s petite body take that kind of thing¡­</i>

    ¡­

    Soon after, the two of them arrived at the entrance to the capital. The city gates had already opened, bustling with activity from themoners. There were all sorts of shoppers, traders, and transporters. As he looked at the majestic city, Zu An thought to himself, <i>I guess I¡¯m back again.</i>

    He first saw Xie Daoyun off to the academy. That was the only ce where she would be safe from the threats of various forces. Then, he headed straight into the pce.

    At first, he was worried that Bi Linglong would be holding the morning court session. After all, the emperor had left the capital and left her behind to assist the crown prince in ruling the empire. She was the one who had to deal with the official matters of the imperial court. And yet, as soon as he entered the pce, he bumped into the imperial guards Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun. The two of them seemed to have been waiting there the entire time.

    ¡°Sir Zu!¡± Both of them greeted him excitedly when they saw him.

    Zu An couldn''t help but smirk as well when he saw the pair of oddballs.

    They exchanged some conventional greetings. Jiao Sigun said, ¡°The crown princess knew that Sir Zu would return within a few days, so she sent us brothers here to wait here every day. She even specially withdrew from the court sessions to wait for you at the Eastern Pce.¡±

    Piao Duandiao also said with a sigh, ¡°I¡¯ve already been stationed at the pce for so many years, but I¡¯ve never seen the crown princess attach so much importance to a single individual.¡±

    Zu An was stunned for a moment, but then he felt warm inside. Even a sessful career woman like the crown princess. who devoted herself to her work, had gone so far for him! He could sense how much she cared about him.

    As they chatted, the group quickly arrived at the Eastern Pce. They could hear the crown prince shouting loudly and knew that he was ying games with the eunuchs and maids. Zu An paid the crown prince a visit. Even though the prince was stupid, there were so many eyes watching right now. Zu An had to show proper etiquette where it was due.

    Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s eyes also lit up when he saw Zu An. He waved his chubby hands and said, ¡°You¡¯ve been out for so long. Did you bring this crown prince any fun gifts?¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He said, ¡°I apologize, crown prince. I was in a rush and had my duties to carry out. and forgot to prepare a gift for the crown prince. I''ll definitely make it up the next time I enter the pce.¡±

    He had almost died during this trip; like hell he''d have time to think about something like that!

    ¡°What could be more important than my gift? Why did you evene back if you didn¡¯t bring a gift? Men, make sure to give him thirty vicious strikes so he can have some brains next time. Then, expel him from the Eastern Pce!¡± The crown prince pointed at Zu An while causing a fuss.

 Chapter 1873: If You Donâ€™t Want Face, Iâ€™ll Help You Out With That

    <h4>Chapter 1873: If You Don¡¯t Want Face, I¡¯ll Help You Out With That</h4>

    All the people in the surroundings jumped in fright. They looked at Zu An and the crown prince nervously. Many of them wanted to say something, but hesitated. No one dared to try to advise the crown prince otherwise.

    After all, even though the crown prince was slow, he was extremely good at being rude and unreasonable. The lesser eunuchs and maids in the Eastern Pce frequently ended up offending him during their games and were given public strikes. How could those lesser eunuchs and maids¡¯ bodies be able to withstand those strikes? If they weren¡¯t beaten into cripples, they were killed.

    Sometimes, the crown princess stopped him when she saw it, but the crown prince was still the crown prince in the end. The crown princess had to care about his dignity and pride and wouldn¡¯t stop him every time. Thus, over the years, he had already made several dozen eunuchs and maids suffer.

    However, none of them had expected the crown prince to actually get upset at Zu An this time. With his status, he wasn¡¯t like those ordinary pce staff.

    ¡°What are you all standing around for? Beat him up already!¡± Zhao Ruizhi eximed with an excited gaze. He really wanted to see the scene of someone being beaten until they were badly mangled.

    When Maid Rong Mo emerged to receive Zu An and saw what was happening, she quickly turned around to look for the crown princess. She had always found Zu An unsightly, feeling as if he had taken her spot as the crown princess¡¯ closest aide. However, as the crown princess¡¯ personal maid, she still knew what was most important. How could she let the crown prince hit Zu An?

    The maids and eunuchs had awkward expressions. Because of the crown prince, they had no choice but to move closer to Zu An while asking quietly, ¡°Sir Zu, should we just put on an act so the crown prince feels better?¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t pay the maids and eunuchs any attention; instead, he took a step forward up to the crown prince''s face, saying, ¡°Crown prince, the court is currently experiencing great changes. You should be focusing on your studies. Do you only know how to y day after day?!¡±

    He didn¡¯t even fear this brat¡¯s father, so why would he be scared of the son? He had been nning to y along to give everyone some face, but since the other side didn¡¯t want it, he''d help the prince y the part.

    He had already lingered at the border of life and death several times, and the opponents he''d fought were all at the very peak of this world. He naturally carried an intimidating aura wherever he went. How could it be something this fool Zhao Ruizhi could withstand?

    The crown prince was scared so badly from Zu An''s re that he took a few steps back. He stuttered, ¡°I¡­ I¡­¡±

    He didn¡¯t have his previous arrogant expression anymore. At that moment, even his soul was trembling. Even though he was stupid, he still had his instincts. He naturally felt fear when facing a powerful enemy.

    When the maids and eunuchs saw that the crown prince was so frightened that he didn¡¯t even dare to raise his head, they were all incredibly shocked. They hadn¡¯t expected there to be someone apart from the crown princess who could also keep the crown prince in check now.

    Suddenly, a lesser eunuch jumped out from the crown prince¡¯s side and cried, ¡°How audacious! Zu An, you are nothing more than a subject, and yet you dare to treat the crown prince with such disrespect? Are you still not going to kneel and kowtow? Guards, are you blind? Arrest him already!¡±

    He gave the surrounding people a few looks of disdain.

    <i>You guys aren¡¯t even seizing such a good chance? All of you really are too stupid.</i>

    <i>I¡¯m helping the crown prince when he needs help the most, so he¡¯ll definitely have a good impression of me. It¡¯ll definitely be smooth sailing for me in the future. I¡¯ll be the superstar at the crown prince¡¯s side, and then apart from Eunuch Wen and Eunuch Lu, the others will all have to look at me with respect! Once the crown prince takes the throne, what Eunuch Wen or Lu? They won''t even be worth mentioning!</i>

    Zu An gave him a look. It was a new face he hadn¡¯t seen before. It was probably someone who had been recently transferred over to the crown prince¡¯s side, and thus wanted to show off in front of him. He naturally wouldn¡¯t let the eunuch get away with such a thing, and said, ¡°This official is the chambein of the crown prince, personally appointed by his majesty. I manage everything in the Eastern Pce, and I also hold the responsibility of instructing the crown prince. I naturally have the duty of correcting him when he takes a wrong path.

    ¡°You are someone who serves the crown prince, and yet, not only did you not know to advise him properly when you yed with him, you are instead encouraging poor behavior and spoiling him. This is nothing more than corrupting and misguiding the crown prince. Men, drag this obsequious fool out and have him beaten to death by the rod!¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± Piao Duandian and Jiao Sigun replied. They had already been furious. When they heard that, they immediately dragged the lesser eunuch out.

    The lesser eunuch immediately panicked. He struggled frantically and cried, ¡°Crown prince, save me, crown prince! Please say something, crown prince!¡± His voice soon became softer and softer. It was clear that he was being brought farther and farther away.

    The other maids and eunuchs of the Eastern Pce swallowed with difficulty. They had previously felt that Sir Zu was quite amiable, but this time, why had he be so imposing? As for that lesser eunuch, none of them sympathized with him. In this pce, none of those who stepped out of line with ttery met good ends.

    Zhao Ruizhi was now shaking all over. The only thought in his head was that those eyes were too scary, as if he were looking at a man-eating beast. He asked while shaking in fear. ¡°Would it be okay if I didn¡¯t want the gift anymore?¡±

    Zu An walked up to the desk on the side and removed the ¡®Ruler of Discipline¡¯ from the shelves. He said, ¡°The crown prince should be thinking about how to handle governmental affairs, and yet you only know how to frolic and cause trouble. In order to help the crown prince avoid being too naughty and mischievous in the future, as the chambein, I naturally have to discipline you in his majesty¡¯s ce.¡± He walked toward the crown prince as he spoke.

    ¡°Noooo!¡± Zhao Ruizhi cried out. He was so scared that he felt as if his soul were leaving his body. He wanted to run, but for some reason, it was as if his body were being controlled and he couldn''t muster any strength. He could only barely turn around and try to run, crying out, ¡°Linglong, save me¡­ Ah!¡±

    Zu An brought the ruler straight down on his bottom. A loud and clear <i>pah </i>noise filled the air. Everyone present could imagine the crown prince¡¯s fat bottom being smacked viciously just from the sound.

    The eunuchs and maids looked at each other in dismay. Sir Zu actually dared to strike the crown prince?! Not even King Qi could do such a thing before! Even so, none of them dared to say anything. That lesser eunuch from before had served as a lesson for them. None of them wanted to step forward and be that unfortunate soul.

    Meanwhile, Zu An, strictly speaking, was the crown prince¡¯s teacher and had a proper reason to discipline him. There were even some people who secretly thought he deserved it. These maids and eunuchs were always being bullied by the tyrannical crown prince. All of them had been furious, but they hadn¡¯t dared to say a thing.

    However, that was it. They were still rmed. They didn¡¯t dare to save him, but if they didn¡¯t, they could end up implicated in the me after. They could only give the crown princess¡¯ direction a pleading look. She was probably the only one who could settle the situation.

    Someone was about to send a report, but then saw that the crown princess was already slowly walking out. She wore a golden phoenix hair clip in her hair. As she walked slowly, it released sharp and melodious sounds. The red beauty mark between her brows made her fair skin seem even more snow-white. When she saw the scene ying out before her eyes, her stunning features couldn''t help but twitch.

    Rong Mo had reported that the crown prince was troubling Zu An, so she hade quickly to save the situation. And yet, how had it be Zu An one-sidedly beating up the crown prince?

    ¡°Linglong, hurry and save me already¡­?¡± Zhao Ruizhi pleaded. His bottom was already starting to becerated from being struck dozens of times, making him scream ''mommy'' and ''daddy''. When he saw Bi Linglong, he immediately saw his savior.

    The others'' gazes shifted to the crown princess, wondering what kind of reaction she would have. She would probably be angry, right? The crown prince was her husband, and he was being lectured by another man. Even though the crown prince was being hit, what was actually being struck was her own dignity, right?

    Of course, Sir Zu was the most important official of the Eastern Pce. The crown princess probably wouldn¡¯t rebuke him too harshly. With the crown princess¡¯ wisdom, she would naturally find a way that satisfied both sides.

    Just then, the crown princess spoke up. Her voice was crisp and clear, and yet carried a natural coldness and estrangement. She replied, ¡°Why is the crown prince calling for me? Sir Zu is the crown prince¡¯s teacher, so of course he needs to correct you where you are wrong. In the end, this is actually due to my own negligence. You refuse to listen when I advise you, and you should have changed your ways a long time ago. Now, Sir Zu is doing what I wanted to do all this time.¡±

    When he heard what she said, Zhao Ruizhi immediately lost his final hope. He immediately pleaded to Zu An, ¡°Sir Zu, I was wrong! Stop hitting me, please¡­¡±

    Zu An naturally had to give her some face now that the crown princess was here. He returned the ruler and said, ¡°Good medicine tastes bitter; loyal advice jars the ears. I hope that the crown prince has learned from this lesson and that you will return to the right path after this.¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes, yes!¡± Zhao Ruizhi replied, hurriedly nodding.

    Everyone in the Eastern Pce was dumbstruck. They had suspected that the crown princess probably wouldn¡¯t really punish Sir Zu that much, but they hadn¡¯t expected her to not even speak a single word of criticism! On the contrary, they had berated the crown prince together! None of them had expected such a thing at all. This scene¡­ How could they put it? It was almost like a husband and wife lecturing a son. It was strange, and yet it sort of made sense when they thought about it.

    They even felt a bit of admiration for the crown princess. As expected of someone who upholded justice and didn¡¯t let her personal feelings get in the way! The revered and honored officials of history were probably no better than this, right?

    <i>Sigh, being married to the crown prince¡­ It¡¯s like having a bunch of flowers poked into a pile of manure¡­</i>

    ¡°Sir Zu, follow me back inside the pce. I have things to ask you regarding what happened on Violet Mountain,¡± Bi Linglong said, turning around to walk toward her room after speaking. She didn¡¯t give Zu An a chance to reply.

    Zu An quickly followed along. As he watched her graceful and slender figure and listened to the clinking of the jade and tassels she wore, his heart also gradually calmed down.

    As if sensing his fiery gaze, Bi Linglong¡¯s face that normally maintained the dignity of the crown princess suddenly acquired a trace of redness.

    ¡­

    They quickly arrived at her personal pce. Bi Linglong dismissed all of the surrounding maids and said, ¡°I have some confidential matters to discuss with Sir Zu. Rong Mo, guard the entrance and do not allow anyone near!¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± Rong Mo replied. She was the crown princess'' personal maid and naturally knew that this matter was of utmost importance, so she didn¡¯t overthink things either. She took the other maids and withdrew outside.

    It was rumored that the emperor had already passed on. There was no one left who would bother with whether something was proper or not.

    ¡­

    The door closed. Zu An was about to open his mouth when a beautiful fragrance wafted over. Bi Linglong quickly threw herself into Zu An¡¯s arms with a groan. A pair of replete and moist lips pressed up against him, and he couldn''t help but hold her slender waist tightly.

    Two lovers had finally met again after a long period of separation. There was no need for extra words; they expressed their love with passion. It was as if they really wanted to fully merge with each other. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Don¡¯t kiss my neck; it might leave a mark¡­¡±

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zhao Ruizhi was getting more and more upset after that beating. However, when he recalled Zu An¡¯s terrifying gaze, he naturally wouldn¡¯t dare to find him.

    <i>I should just ask Linglong to help me. She previously helped me most of the time.</i>

    And yet, when he arrived at her pce, he was stopped by Rong Mo.

    Zhao Ruizhi immediately became annoyed. He eximed, ¡°I want to meet Linglong!¡±

    Rong Mo said with a troubled voice, ¡°The crown princess is currently discussing important matters inside. She won¡¯t be meeting anyone else.¡±

 Chapter 1874: Disgraceful Crime

    <h4>Chapter 1874: Disgraceful Crime</h4>

    When he heard the name Zu An, Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s body couldn''t help but tremble. When he recalled how Zu An had beaten him down viciously, he cowered. Still, he was used to throwing his weight around. Leaving just like that was a bit too humiliating. He craned his neck and asked, ¡°Can I not even return to my own wife¡¯s pce?¡±

    Rong Mo was stunned. The current situation did seem to be a bit strange¡­

    <i>The crown princess and another man are staying in a room alone, while the husband is being stopped outside¡­</i>

    Still, she immediately gathered her thoughts and said, ¡°Forgive me, crown prince. The crown princess really is discussing extremely important matters with Sir Zu. Once they are finished, this servant will definitely notify the crown prince immediately.¡±

    The crown princess really did have vital information to receive from Zu An. That was rted to the crown prince¡¯s ascension to the throne, so nothing could be more important. But how could she possibly know that they weren¡¯t discussing those things at all, but rather exchanging their passion?

    Zhao Ruizhi was only saying those words out of pride, anyway. There was no way he would dare to really go inside to confront Bi Linglong about being upset with Zu An. Just then, however, a maid passed by with a cage. When he saw it, he was immediately distracted. He quickly ran over and said, ¡°These two little rabbits are so cute. Hurry and take them out so this crown prince can y with them!¡±

    The lesser maid immediately looked troubled. She said, ¡°Crown prince, these are the crown princess¡¯ most beloved bunnies. No one else is allowed to touch them!¡±

    Zhao Ruizhi replied unhappily ¡°Not even this crown prince can y with them? I clearly saw Sir Zu touching them before, but you guys never said anything back then!¡± N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Sir Zu is more gentle¡­¡± the lesser maid said resentfully. ¡°The crown princess said before that no little creature would live for longer than a day in the crown prince¡¯s hands, so the crown prince could not be allowed to touch them.¡±

    ¡°Nonsense! That katydid only died after two days!¡± Zhao Ruizhi immediately retorted.

    He reached out his hand to try and take it, but the lesser maid protected the cage tightly. She knew that she could end up in danger herself if she allowed the crown princess¡¯ precious pets to be harmed. She said, ¡°Crown prince, please don¡¯t trouble this humble servant anymore. How about you ask the crown princess first and see if she lets you touch them?¡±

    When he recalled Bi Linglong¡¯s dignified appearance, Zhao Ruizhi shivered. He knew she hated him holding up her time for trivial matters the most and naturally didn¡¯t dare.

    ¡°Forget it, forget it, I won¡¯t touch them anymore, okay?¡± Zhao Ruizhi replied reluctantly. ¡°I can just watch you y with them and not touch them, right?¡± Even if he couldn''t touch them, just watching was still pretty good.

    ¡°Huh?¡± the lesser maid eximed, stunned. She had never expected him toe up with that kind of proposal. Just how did his brain work?

    Just then, Rong Mo said helplessly, ¡°Just take them out for him to take a look. Let him be happy for a bit.¡±

    The crown prince had just gotten the cold shoulder a moment before. If he was refused again, he would likely just throw a huge tantrum.

    <i>A tantrum from this devil incarnate really would be a huge headache.</i>

    When the maid heard that, she carefully undid the lock on the cage and brought out the two snow-white rabbits. She gently carried the rabbits while asking, ¡°Crown prince, how do you want this servant to y with them?¡±

    ¡°The bunnies are so cute!¡± Zhao Ruizhi eximed. He had already coveted these pets of Bi Linglong for a very long time. She was chatting with Zu An right now, so how could he not have some proper fun? He suggested, ¡°How about you rub and knead them for me?¡±

    The maid was confused, but she still did it. She asked, ¡°Like this?¡±

    Zhao Ruizhi was a bit dissatisfied. He replied, ¡°Did you not eat today? Use some strength; knead them with a bit more strength.¡±

    The maid was a bit troubled. She said, ¡°They¡¯ll be injured if I use any more strength.¡±

    Zhao Ruizhi harrumphed. ¡°How could they be hurt that easily? If you don¡¯t dare, let me do it.¡±

    The maid eximed in horror ¡°This servant will do it!¡±

    The people in the Eastern Pce all knew that the crown prince loved toying with such little creatures the most. If he didn¡¯t use knives to cut off their legs one by one, he used candles to roast them. The little creatures ended up in more pain and suffering the more they struggled, while he only got more and more excited. He had even found a new way to y not too long ago, which was to crush frogs. He would crush the slimy frogs in his hands until they exploded. He liked the feeling of guts everywhere, so he told his subordinates to catch frogs for him from the garden. As a result, there were almost no frog croaks left in the Imperial Pce.

    The staff had all been rmed, but there was no way they could report such a trivial matter to the crown princess. After all, the crown prince was the future emperor, while they were husband and wife. If they reported such small matters, not only would they not receive any benefits, they would easily incur the crown prince¡¯s resentment. Anyone who survived more than three months in the pce had already learned how to put their own safety before matters of principle.

    <i>Don¡¯t tell me the crown prince wants to y with these rabbits the way he crushes those frogs?</i>

    How could the maid possibly dare to let him touch them? If he identally crushed them out of excitement, her own head would follow. She could only do as he said while doing her best to control her strength.

    ¡°You¡¯re being too boring. Don¡¯t just knead and rub them, use your strength to knead them,¡± Zhao Ruizhi said. He was getting more and more worked up from watching, itching to do it himself.

    The maid wouldn¡¯t dare to give him the chance. She blocked him with her body while doing as he said, asking, ¡°Crown prince, like this?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s more like it! Use more strength,¡± Zhao Ruizhi said. When he saw these bunnies that Bi Linglong normally treasured kneaded into all kinds of shapes in the hands of another, he felt a sort of forbidden joy.

    <i>You guys are normally so treasured by her that I can¡¯t even touch you. Now¡¯s a good time to properly torment you guys a bit.</i>

    After watching for a while, however, he was a bit dissatisfied. He said, ¡°Just this alone isn¡¯t enough. Lick them as hard as you can.¡±

    The lesser maid was stunned.

    <i>What kind of weird request is this?</i>

    When he saw the maid and Rong Mo¡¯s strange expressions, Zhao Ruizhi said proudly, ¡°The books I read said that rabbits bite when they''re scared. This crown prince wants to test to see if that¡¯s true or not! After kneading them like this, you¡¯ll lick them until their bodies are covered in saliva. Try to provoke them as much as possible and see if they¡¯ll bite you.¡±

    The lesser maid was about to cry. She said, ¡°Crown prince, if I cover the crown princess¡¯ pet all over in saliva, the crown princess will have me flogged to death!¡±

    Just what kind of freakish request was this? She finally knew why the lesser maids and eunuchs in the Eastern Pce were always being changed. The crown prince always came up with increasingly unreasonable demands. How could they endure his craziness?

    Zhao Ruizhi scowled and said, ¡°You¡¯re scared of the crown princess, but are you not scared that I¡¯ll have you beaten to death instead right now?¡±

    ¡°This servant wouldn¡¯t dare! This servant will do just as you instructed,¡± the maid sobbed, teary-eyed. She could only helplessly lower her head.

    Zhao Ruizhi released a long sigh of satisfaction as he watched the lesser maid kiss the two bunnies all over.

    After a long time passed, the pce maid cried out in rm. Zhao Ruizhi roared withughter and eximed, ¡°Hahaha, the rabbits really do bite when they¡¯re panicking!¡±

    ¡­

    The sounds outside reached the interior of the pce from time to time. Bi Linglong got up with a reddened face, saying, ¡°That rascal is getting more and more out of hand. I¡¯m going to teach him a lesson!¡±

    She had felt a weight drop in her stomach when she first heard the crown prince arrive. She couldn''t help but feel a bit guilty. Even though the two of them had never really acted like spouses, in the eyes of everyone else, he was her husband. And yet, Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s series of behaviors really frustrated her to no end, so all of her guilt was quickly swept away. In contrast, when she thought about how she was actually married to such a fool, she couldn''t help but cry tears of bitterness.

    Zu An pulled her back and said, ¡°He was just given a beating, so he probably doesn¡¯t feel great. Just let him vent a bit. He¡¯ll y his way, and we¡¯ll y our way.¡±

    Bi Linglong leaned into his chest. She looked at him in annoyance with her watery eyes. She replied, ¡°You still have the nerve to say that? You actually dared to beat him publicly; just how are you so brave? He''s the crown prince, and there are so many people here. If news of this reaches the court, many people will file usations of misconduct against you.¡±

    ¡°I was speaking properly to him, but he went way too far. In that case, he can¡¯t me me for reasoning with him through other means,¡± Zu An said with a smile. "Besides, not only do I dare to pound the crown prince, I dare to pound the crown princess too!¡±

    Bi Linglong felt something huge stirring next to her. She almost melted on the spot. However, her reason still won out and she pressed down on her dress, saying, ¡°My outfit is tooplicated right now; there won''t be any way to fix it if it¡¯s undone. Then, the maids will notice that something is off.¡±

    The crown princess¡¯ official dress was detailed andplicated, often needing the aid of several pce maids to wear. It would take an hour just to put on. She also felt a bit of regret as she spoke. If she had known this was going to happen, she would have dressed a bit more casually. However, she had also wanted to greet her lover with her most beautiful side. How could she have expected him to be so brazen, to do this when they were still in the Eastern Pce¡­?

    Zu An was also a bit dejected. He didn¡¯t know just which idiot hade up with such impractical clothing.

    When she thought about how this guy normally at least some misgivings before her, but was now so bold, Bi Linglong finally couldn''t take it and asked, ¡°Did his majesty really die?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. He died in the secret dungeon,¡± Zu An replied.

    Bi Linglong sighed in relief. Then, she looked at him with aplicated expression, asking, ¡°Did you kill him?¡±

    Zu An gently hooked her chin with his finger and admired her stunning face. He replied, ¡°Hm? Could it be that the crown princess wishes to use me of the most disgraceful crime?¡±

 Chapter 1875: Different Paths

    <h4>Chapter 1875: Different Paths</h4>

    Bi Linglong¡¯s eyshes gently flickered. She replied, ¡°Have you not been disgraceful enough?¡±

    The things this guy had done to her body alone were enough to have his n executed many times over!

    When he saw her pout yfully, Zu An couldn''t help but lower his head to kiss her again. Their lips only separated after a long time.

    ¡°Ah, my lip gloss was all messed up! I have to fix it first, or else others might see it!¡± Bi Linglong eximed. She took out a red rouge sheet and put it in her mouth. She faced the mirror and gently pursed her lips.

    Zu An stood behind her and helped her sort out her messy hair. Then, he began to tell her what had happened at Violet Mountain and in the secret dungeon. The two faced had Zhao Han¡¯s split soul together back in the crown prince¡¯s trial, so there was no need to hide such things from her.

    ¡°Uncle King Qi really did invest heavily into this,¡± Bi Linglong said. She released a deep sigh when she learned that King Qi had set up such a huge trap. The crown prince and King Qi¡¯s faction had fought viciously for many years already, but even though they were enemies, they respected each other.

    ¡°It was still Zhao Han who was the most treacherous. Who would have thought that he had already taken care of everything a long time ago, so all of King Qi¡¯s cultivation was only to benefit him?¡± Zu An remarked with a sigh. If not because everything had lined up perfectly, he likely wouldn''t have been able to win against Zhao Han¡¯s scheming.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. ording to what I know, that concubine of King Qi¡¯s seemed to be Zhao Han¡¯s spy,¡± Bi Linglong said with lingering fear. Zhao Han¡¯s schemes ran so deep that just thinking about it made her shiver in fear. Fortunately, that terrifying individual was already dead.

    Zu An¡¯s expression was a bit strange. Wasn¡¯t King Qi¡¯s concubine none other than Lady Nan Xun? Not only was she Zhao Han¡¯s spy, she was also the Fiend races¡¯ spy. She had even ended up running over to the brothels to y around as a courtesan. That woman¡¯s rtionship with him was even quite good to boot.

    ¡­

    Bi Linglong didn¡¯t know what he was thinking and said happily, ¡°If not for the fact that the libationer nned far ahead to seal and banish Zhao Han, everything would have been over.¡± From what Zu An said, the emperor had already suspected the death of his split soul. If he had defeated all of his other enemies, she and Zu An would definitely have suffered the consequences. She continued, ¡°There were also the daoists, buddhists, and shamans. They actually bore so much resentment toward the court. Fortunately, they suffered severe casualties this time.¡±

    Zu An sighed inwardly when he heard her joy. She had always been in charge of the Eastern Pce¡¯s political affairs, and she was also the future empress, so of course she looked at things from the court¡¯s perspective. The daoists¡¯ actions were nothing more than disgraceful and rebellious to the court, making them a party that needed to be forcefully suppressed. Who would he help if she and Yan Xuehen got into a conflict one day?

    Bi Linglong suddenly said with a sigh, ¡°The emperor, libationer, and King Qi have all already died. Things are a bit dangerous now for the human race.¡±

    The three of them had always been the human race¡¯s most powerful beings. Now that they had been wiped out in one go, if another enemy appeared, there was no way that side would let go of such a good opportunity.

    ¡°The Royal Academy¡¯s people might have their own ns. Without their research and support, the civil officials and the military will have problems," Bi Linglong continued.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You still have me,¡± Zu An said as he reached out his hand and stroked her soft hair. ¡°The libationer appointed me as his sessor before he passed on.¡±

    ¡°You''re the new libationer?¡± Bi Linglong asked, now truly stunned. In the eyes of most people, the libationer was supposed to be a bearded grandpa with prestige and virtue. Why did it seem so weird for a handsome youngster like him to be the next libationer?

    ¡°Can I not be the next libationer?¡± Zu An replied, waving the ring that represented the status of libationer in front of her eyes.

    Bi Linglong now believed him. She couldn''t help but say with a sigh, ¡°I guess it makes sense. You can even be the Fiend Races¡¯ regent, so what''s the big deal with bing a libationer?¡±

    After so much time had passed, news of him being the Regent had already spread throughout the capital. That really had thrown the entire capital into an uproar.

    p>

    Zu An gently held her cheek and said, ¡°I wasn¡¯t trying to hide this from you; it was just that the matter was too important. I didn¡¯t know how to exin it either.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you being the Regent of the Fiend races will only be beneficial for me. There''s nothing bad about it,¡± Bi Linglong said. She held his hand and pressed her face against it. ¡°But I am really curious... What kind of rtionship do you have with the Fiend races¡¯ Second Empress?¡± N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°What kind of a rtionship could it be? We''re just coborators who had mutual interests,¡± Zu An said. He naturally wouldn¡¯t be so stupid as to tell a woman about his intimate rtions with another woman.

    ¡°Is that really all? I almost thought that you''d obtained the title of Regent by sleeping with that Second Empress,¡± Bi Linglong said, looking up with a teasing smile on her face.

    Zu An¡¯s expression darkened and he replied, ¡°Am I that kind of person?¡±

    <i>Save me! How are these women''s sixth senses so urate?</i>

    ¡°Of course! On this side, didn¡¯t you do that to me¡­¡± Bi Linglong trailed off, her face turning red midway through her sentence. She was too embarrassed to continue.

    ¡°Do what to you?¡± Zu An asked, leaning his head on her shoulder. The two¡¯s cheeks pressed up against each other just like that. He really felt refreshed andfortable as he breathed in her sweet fragrance.

    ¡°Nothing.¡± Bi Linglong harrumphed and changed the topic. ¡°Since you''re the Fiend races¡¯ Regent and also the libationer, those two statuses are like timely rain for the Eastern Pce¡¯s desert.¡±

    ¡°Is the situation already that bad?¡± Zu An asked gravely.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. The Liu n and Meng n were rted by marriage to begin with. They used this chance to work together, and pushed my father and others aside. Over the past few months, they''ve already gotten the capital under control. My government decrees can''t even leave the Eastern Pce anymore," Bi Linglong said. A hint of puzzlement shed through her eyes as she said, ¡°I just can''t figure out how the empress was able to silently recover despite being so wounded that she lived as a cripple for so many years. Her cultivation even made further progress¡­¡±

    Zu An was a bit guilty. He couldn''t tell her that it was all the fruit of his efforts, right?

    <i>Sigh, this really is a huge headache. Bi Linglong¡¯s conflict with Yan Xuehen and the others hasn¡¯t even started, and yet her conflict with Liu Ning is already happening.</i>

    He changed the topic and asked, ¡°Is it possible that my status as the Fiend races¡¯ Regent might be used as leverage for the Liu n to target the Eastern Pce?¡±

    Bi Linglong shook her head. She said, ¡°There''s no need to worry about that. If this were before his majesty had died, that status would be a huge issue. But now that he''s passed on, all the different powers are starting to stir. Who would dare to offend a powerful enemy like the Fiend races? Besides, you now have the status of the libationer, so you have the academy backing you. There¡¯s practically no one who would dare to touch you now.¡±

    Zu An sighed in relief. Even though he wasn¡¯t scared, the fewer issues he had, the better.

    ¡°Once we''ve officially confirmed the news of Zhao Han¡¯s death, the crown prince will ascend to the throne. At that time, you''ll be the new empress and have natural ruling rights. No matter how powerful the Liu n is, they can only do so much,¡± Zu An said. He really didn¡¯t want the two sides to bepletely hostile.

    ¡°Things aren''t that simple,¡± Bi Linglong said, her expression grave. ¡°The crown prince¡¯s slowness is something everyone knows. Recently, there have been suggestions of switching the crown prince. Even though they were quickly suppressed, that seed has already been nted. Someone is clearly inciting this behind the scenes.¡±

    ¡°Do you think it was the Liu n that incited them?¡± Zu An asked in shock. Liu Ning¡¯s side really was vicious! They werepletely intent on driving the Bi n to despair!

    ¡°Of course,¡± Bi Linglong said with a sneer. ¡°Apart from the empress¡¯ instigation, the other princes also have their own thoughts. After all, who doesn¡¯t want to be the emperor?

    ¡°The crown prince is clearly slow-witted, so why didn¡¯t the emperor ever change the crown prince? Apart from the fact that he concealed part of his soul inside the crown prince, he also needed the status of his direct descendant to convince those who supported King Qi. After all, Zhao Han relied on the status of eldest son to wrest the imperial throne from King Qi to begin with. That was why, even though the other princes have always been smarter than Zhao Ruizhi, they''ve never even been considered. But now that King Qi, the greatest threat, is gone, the biggest reason not to change the crown prince is also gone. Those princes have naturally started to covet the throne.¡±

    ¡°For the empress, whether it''s the crown prince or the other princesses, neither of them are her own children. That''s why it won''t have much effect on her regardless of who rises. Except, if Zhao Ruizhi takes the throne, with the prestige the Eastern Pce has umted over the years and my Bi n¡¯s assistance, it will be very hard for the Liu n to dominate the capital. But if they could sessfully change the crown prince, the Liu n would have tremendous contributions to the new regime. The new crown prince would be full of gratitude toward her, so they''d happily be her puppet.¡±

    Zu An hadn¡¯t expected the threat of switching the crown prince. He asked, ¡°Then who are they supporting exactly?¡±

    Bi Linglong reached out her slender fingers and counted, ¡°Zhao Han actually fathered many princes. But if we look at their background and influence, there are only five who have a chance of bing the crown prince. King Wu, Zhao Yan; King Ying, Zhao Ming; King Shu, Zhao Hui; King Dai, Zhao Ping; and King Chang, Zhao Feng.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s heart rate sped up a bit when he heard ''King Wu''. He recalled the charming Madam Wu, Yun Yuqing. He had to admit that she really was a woman among women¡­ He coughed lightly and collected his thoughts. He said, ¡°From what I know, Madam Dai seems to be Central Secretariat Supervisor Meng Yi¡¯s daughter. Since the Meng n and Yang n are in an alliance, doesn¡¯t that mean King Dai is the most likely candidate?¡± He''d had some contact with those princes earlier. He had to admit that in terms of both their appearance and intelligence, they easily beat Zhao Ruizhi.

    Bi Linglong shook her head and said, ¡°That might not be the case. That''s precisely why the Liu n might not want to side with him. After all, if he became the emperor, King Dai would definitely support the Meng n more, while the Liu n would have done all that heavy lifting for someone else.¡±

    Zu An frowned. Then that meant the other four were more likely. But it was hard toe to a conclusion without more information. He was too annoyed right now to think about such things, so he said, ¡°Linglong, I feel like not bing the crown princess might not be anything bad. You can just leave Zhao Ruizhi and we can stay together happily.¡±

    ¡°Stay together happily?¡± Bi Linglong replied gloomily. ¡°Am I really the only one at your side?¡±

    Zu An was immediately struck speechless.

    Bi Linglong said coldly, ¡°Besides, I¡¯ve already fought for so many years. I¡¯ve even sacrificed a lifetime of happiness to reach this stage. If you want me to just give up now, I''m not willing to do so! Furthermore, I''m not alone. I still have my entire n, so there''s no way I can let my entire n fall to the brink of copse because of my selfish interests.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. How could he be so heartless as to make her give up her lifetime¡¯s ambition? Whether it was Chuyan, Manman, or Honglei, they all had their own paths and pursuits. He had never stopped them before. So how could he stop Bi Linglong? Still, he didn¡¯t really want to wade in these muddy waters. Whoever wanted to be the emperor could be the emperor. As long as it didn¡¯t affect his own cultivation and freedom, that was enough.

    As if sensing the awkwardness in the mood, Bi Linglong changed the topic. She asked, ¡°Who were you with before you entered the pce? There''s still the smell of other women on you.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. It really was awkward¡­ He had actually forgotten about that.

    <i>What a piece of trash I am¡­</i>

    He could only tell her about his return with Xie Daoyun. At the same time, he mentioned the assassins he had encountered.

    Bi Linglong¡¯s expression suddenly darkened. She asked, ¡°Are you suspecting me to be the one who sent those assassins?¡±

 Chapter 1876: Awkward for Both Sides

    <h4>Chapter 1876: Awkward for Both Sides</h4>

    Zu An was stunned. He replied, ¡°I didn¡¯t say that!¡±

    Bi Linglong gave him a deep look and sighed, saying, ¡°Big brother Zu, the fact that you talked about those things but never discussed the mastermind behind the matter already implied that. After all, you came back on my orders to the capital, so I knew your itinerary best. Only that way could those assassins be nted so precisely. It¡¯s only natural for you to suspect as such. If you told me your suspicions directly, I might have felt a bit better, because I would have a chance to exin it to you then and it would prove that you still trusted me deep down. But this time, you didn¡¯t say a thing and kept it to yourself.¡± She felt more and more wronged as she spoke. Sparkling teardrops fell to the ground.

    Zu An sighed and reached out his hand to gently help her wipe her tears. He said, ¡°Linglong, you¡¯ve misunderstood. The reason I didn¡¯t say anything wasn¡¯t because I don¡¯t trust you; it was because I know you have no motive. You''re in a weak position in the capital and need help, so how could you possibly make things worse for yourself? More importantly, because of our rtionship, there''s even less of a reason for you to act against me.¡±

    Bi Linglong felt a bit better when she heard what he said. However, she still pursed her lips and said, ¡°The imperial family is the most ruthless of all. Even if the two of us have¡­ that kind of rtionship, we wouldn¡¯t show weakness if we had to be ruthless. Even though that¡¯s what you say, you''re definitely still suspicious.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but chuckle when he saw her throw a little tantrum. He said, ¡°Alright, alright. Actually, there is one thing I didn''t tell you, which is that the one who sent these assassins was a eunuch.¡±

    ¡°A eunuch?¡± Bi Linglong was shocked. She finally understood why Zu An was about to say something but stopped earlier. She quickly said, ¡°It¡¯s definitely the empress. She knows I have you as a capable subordinate. As long as she killed you, I''d lose my most important minister. She would have nothing to worry about then.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s probably not her,¡± Zu An said, reflexively shaking her head.

    ¡°Why isn¡¯t it her? Are you really that close to her?¡± Bi Linglong asked, looking at him skeptically.

    ¡°I saved her before during the assassination on the Imperial Pce. For better or for worse, I saved her life,¡± Zu An said. He naturally culdn¡¯t say the real reason and could only exin it like that.

    ¡°That¡¯s the only reason you believe that she wouldn¡¯t do anything bad to you?¡± Bi Linglong replied with a frown. She found it a bit ridiculous.

    Zu An chuckled awkwardly a few times. There really was no way for him to exin it properly¡­

    Bi Linlong continued, ¡°In the imperial family, whenever it involves authority, forget about life-saving gratitude, even husband and wife, father and son, will abandon each other. You absolutely can''t act on emotions.¡±

    Previously, Zhao Han had even possessed his own son¡¯s body with a split soul for the sake of immortality!

    Zu An nodded and said, ¡°Linglong is right. I understand what you¡¯re saying.¡±

    If they wereparing the two sides, he was closer to Bi Linglong¡¯s. After all, the two of them had depended on each other for mutual survival before in the secret dungeon. Their rtionship had gone through a test of blood and mes. In contrast, it was hard to really pinpoint what kind of rtionship he had with Liu Ning. At first, Liu Ning had only treated him as treatment medicine, and their rtionship had been built more on desire. But as time went on, they had more or less developed some feelings. That was why he didn¡¯t want to believe that it was Liu Ning who had sent the assassin either. Still, she was a mature woman. She was capable of logically deducing what she cared about. She wouldn¡¯t let emotions affect her decisions too much. As such, it was hard to say what she would do.

    ¡°Right, how is the Qin n right now?¡± Zu An asked. He didn¡¯t want to continue with that headache-inducing topic.

    ¡°If I recall correctly, the Qin n has always been unkind to you. Isn¡¯t it better for you if misery befalls them?¡± Bi Linglong asked, suddenly feeling a bit unhappy. ¡°Is it because of Miss Chu that you¡¯re concerned with the Qin n?¡±

    Zu An sighed and said, ¡°The Qin n¡¯s state dukes are pirs of the empire. Linglong, from the court¡¯s perspective, you should be hoping for them to make it safely through this crisis, right?¡±

    ¡°If they aren''t useful to me, even the sturdiest pirs are unnecessary,¡± Bi Linglong said, her expression cold. ¡°What this worldcks the least are geniuses. Without them, there will soon be others who will take their ce. Even if I were in the Liu n¡¯s position, I would have made a simr decision. All that matters is that they ended up on opposite sides, so they have no one to me for this result but themselves.¡±

    Zu An fell silent. He actually didn¡¯t approve of that way of thinking. Whether it was the Chu n or this Qin n they were talking about, it was precisely because they were devoted to the country and hadn¡¯t wanted to be des for internal strife between the two factions. And yet, it was that very same naive way of thinking thatnded them in their present tragedy.

    Because the two dukes had previously been under King Qi¡¯s faction, the Liu n and Bi n naturally wanted to seize the chance to purge the Qin n¡¯s influence and swap in their own personal aides. Those ns that remained from King Qi¡¯s camp were now powerless to defend themselves. Even if they still had some strength, they likely wouldn¡¯t try to help the Qin n. There were also many who still held bottled-up resentment that the dukes hadn''t helped King Qi with everything they had, thinking that was why King Qi had lost. As such, perhaps their resentment even ran a bit deeper.

    Bi Linglong softened her voice as she said, ¡°The court situation is already under the Liu n¡¯s control. I can''t decide whether the Qin n lives or dies. I can''t save them even if I wanted to.¡±

    Zu An expressed his understanding. She was in a weaker position right now and really was powerless to do such things. However, he said, ¡°I''ll likely be at the royal academy for a while. I probably can''t participate in the court¡¯s struggle for some time.¡±

    He didn¡¯t want to get involved in these matters at all. After witnessing a world that was broader in perspective, how could his eyes be set on a trifling political conflict of the imperial court? To use a quote from his past world, his goal was a great sea of stars. That wasn''t even factoring in that both sides that were fighting were of equal importance to him. Helping either side would be bad for him. Of course, he was still a bit closer to Bi Linglong¡¯s side, so he couldn''t just watch as something happened to her.

    Bi Linglong didn¡¯t fully understand his intentions and said with a nod, ¡°That¡¯s right. What you should be doing first right now is taking control of the academy. That way, only then can your identity as the libationer be a real bargaining chip.¡±

    She understood best that the academy¡¯s teachers were all the old libationer¡¯s disciples. They only followed the libationer. They were all prideful and had never attached any importance to the academy¡¯s experts, let alone a youngster like Zu An.

    ¡°Then, our Eastern Pce¡¯s response will have to change because of your appearance. You''re now the libationer and the Regent. Together with your court status, you''ll be of tremendous use. I''ll properly think about how to maximize your use!¡± Bi Linglong got more and more excited as she spoke.

    Zu An was about to say something,? but he stopped. He really didn¡¯t want to dump cold water on her excitement.

    <i>I guess it¡¯s fine. If I can help, I¡¯ll lend a hand.</i>

    Bi Linglong finished her makeup and got up. She said, ¡°We should go out. After all, gossip is a fearsome thing. If we stay in this room for too long, the empress¡¯ side will easily find a reason to attack.¡±

    With the fairness of her skin and the natural blush on her face, there was no need for makeup at all.

    Zu An understood well that the Eastern Pce had too many prying eyes. Furthermore, there were other things that he was worried about, so he didn¡¯t force her. Bi Linglong gave him a reluctant kiss before seeing him out.

    ¡­

    When the door opened, Zhao Ruizhi was squatting by the courtyard, watching as the lesser maid toyed with the two rabbits. It seemed that he felt the maid wasn''t rough enough, so he was shouting noisily to let him do it.

    Bi Linglong¡¯s brows shot up when she saw the scene. She eximed, ¡°Crown prince!¡±

    Zhao Ruizhi turned around. Not only was Bi Linglong there; that demon Zu An was there too. He eximed in horror, ¡°It wasn¡¯t me, it has nothing to do with me! I don¡¯t know anything!¡± He iled all his limbs in a fluster, hurriedly making his getaway.

    Bi Linglong was so angry that her chest rose and fell continuously. Her mood had just improved quite a bit, letting her avoid feeling as bothered by the crown prince¡¯s actions. Now, she really felt that her fate was lonely and depressing.

    Zu An gave her some words of constion, then left the Eastern Pce.

    ¡­

    Not long after he left, a figure appeared from around the corner of a rock garden, saying, ¡°Sir Zu, it has been a long time.¡±

    ¡°We haven¡¯t seen each other for several months. Eunuch Lu¡¯splexion seems to have improved considerably,¡± Zu An said, recognizing the other person. Eunuch Lu had decent looks, but there was just too much of a gloomy air around him that made him look like a viin.

    ¡°I cannotpare to Sir Zu at all, of course. Whenever I see Sir Zu, you are always so impressive and outstanding. Your handsomeness dazzles the eyes,¡± Eunuch Lu teased.

    ¡°Eunuch Lu¡¯s mood seems to be quite good,¡± Zu An said with a smile.

    ¡°Her highness¡¯ mood has been quite good recently, so as her servant, of course my mood is good too,¡± Eunuch Lu said with a bow. ¡°Sir Zu, her highness sent me to invite you over for a chat after she learned of your respected self¡¯s return.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll have to trouble sir eunuch to lead the way then,¡± Zu An said with a smile. He just happened to have things to ask Liu Ning.

    The two of them quickly arrived at the Pce of Peace. The entire ce was more lively than usual, likely due to the authority the Liu n had recently amassed. The empress had recovered her cultivation as well, so many parties had be interested in this side. Two lesser eunuchs, one chubby and one skinny, were receiving those people. Their expressions were prideful and cold, but the eunuchs and maids of the other pces were still trying to curry favor with them. Zu An recognized the two. The skinny one was Little Gui, while the chubby one was Little Zhuo. He hadn¡¯t expected them to actually be living so pompously now.

    The two of them saw Zu An just then. Their eyes immediately lit up and they left those people to greet him. ¡°We greet Sir Zu!¡±

    Their ttery was like night and day from how they had acted before, as if they werepletely different people. They knew many secrets, and knew he was a popr individual that the empress favored. Furthermore, he had saved their lives before, so of course they treated him differently.

    The surrounding people whispered among themselves and wondered who the new arrival was. After all, Zu An had been away from the pce for a long time, so there were many who had never met him.

    ¡°Who is he? Even Eunuch Gui and Zhuo are treating him with such respect.¡±

    ¡°Tsk, look at this idiot with no knowledge. That¡¯s a marquis, the crown prince¡¯s Chambein Sir Zu. Did you not notice that it was Great Eunuch Lu who was leading the way?¡±

    ¡°So it was him! I heard that he was also the Fiend races¡¯ Regent. No wonder he is so young and handsome.¡±

    ¡°The Fiend races¡¯ Regent? Give me the details!¡±

    ¡­

    After exchanging conventional greetings with Little Gui and Little Zhuo, Zu An arrived in front of the empress¡¯ personal chambers under Eunuch Lu¡¯s lead.

    Eunuch Lu stopped and said, ¡°Sir Zu, her highness is waiting for you inside. I won¡¯t be following you.¡± n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it a bit inappropriate for me to be there alone? After all, so many people saw mee here,¡± Zu An said in surprise. Previously, this ce had always been nearly empty when he came here. This was a bit too bold, right?

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, they cannot see what is happening on this side. Furthermore, no one would dare to say anything now,¡± Eunuch Lu said, his voice carrying a hint of pride.

    Zu An thought to himself, <i>It seems as if the ambitious individuals of different factions are all dropping the act now that Zhao Han has died.</i>

    ¡°Is Sir Zu here? Hurry ande in already,¡± the empress called out from inside the pce. Her voice really was alluring.

 Chapter 1877: Multiple Choice Question

    <h4>Chapter 1877: Multiple Choice Question</h4>

    Eunuch Lu¡¯s eyes appeared to be shining as he said, ¡°Please hurry on in, Sir Zu. Her highness is urgently waiting.¡±

    When he saw how anxious Eunuch Lu was, Zu An was speechless.

    <i>This guy really is something else. He¡¯s always more hurried than me! I wonder what his problem is¡­</i>

    He nodded and pushed open the door to go in.

    The smell of incense wafted through the room, carrying a fragrance that refreshed the mind. There were no maids or eunuchs in sight. An alluring and wonderful figure was lying down on a seat behind pearl curtains. Unlike Bi Linglong¡¯svish pce wear, she was dressed in silk homewear that wrapped closely around her skin, making her curves even more seductive. She looked just like a ripe peach ready for picking, as if water woulde out if one squeezed just the slightest bit.

    ¡°I greet your highness,¡± Zu An said with a bow.

    ¡°Oh my, is there a need for such formalities when we''re meeting in private? Hurry ande over here already,¡± Liu Ning said as she waved her hand toward him from the seat. There was a strange radiance in her eyes.

    Zu An couldn''t help but feel a bit of a headache when he heard her coquettish tone; he hade for official matters today, after all. He made his way through the pearl curtains and stopped in front of her seat. He could sense the maturity of her body even more clearly. Every frown, every smile, and even the slightest movement of her fingers was alluring. That was something underripe youngdies could never imitate.

    Liu Ning was also sizing him up. She shook her head back and forth and said, ¡°Your temperament seems to have be even steadier since thest time we met. You¡¯ve be even more handsome.¡±

    Zu An could almost see the mes in her eyes. He quickly said, ¡°I just came from the crown princess¡¯ side.¡±

    Since Eunuch Lu hade looking for him there, that was something the empress would understand well too.

    Sure enough, that caught Liu Ning¡¯s attention. She replied, ¡°Hmph, I knew you would definitely have gone to her the moment you came back. Sigh, but I guess it makes sense. She''s still young, and nothing like this old and faded woman.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but say with a smile, ¡°If your highness can be considered old and faded, who knows how many women in the world would be willing to be old and faded in the same way?¡±

    ¡°But you still went to see her first¡­ What''s so good about thatss anyway, to have made you so infatuated with her?¡± Liu Ning replied, clearly not fooled by his words.

    Zu An was worried that she would suspect something and quickly exined, ¡°I am the crown prince¡¯s chambein, after all. Visiting the Eastern Pce first is my duty.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, what''s so good about being the crown prince¡¯s chambein anyway? I should just transfer you over to the Pce of Peace and make you my Great Attendant,¡± Liu Ning said as she waved her hand, gesturing for him to sit down.

    Zu An was speechless. He eventually replied, ¡°I wouldn''t dare to steal Eunuch Lu¡¯s livelihood.¡±

    ¡°I guess it¡¯s fine. If you had to be like Eunuch Lu, I wouldn¡¯t like you anymore either,¡± Liu Ning said as she got up and leaned into his shoulder. Half of her body weighed down on his back. She didn¡¯t seem to mind at all that her chest was being pressed into apletely different shape.

    As he sensed the suffocating pressure behind him, Zu An said with a sigh, ¡°I hadn¡¯t expected your highness to have already reached grandmaster rank cultivation.¡±

    ¡°That was, of course, all due to Sir Zu¡¯s painstaking efforts,¡± Liu Ning said with a charming smile. Her finger brushed gently across his body. ¡°On the other hand, I can''t see through you at all even now.¡±

    ¡°Not as deep as your highness," Zu An replied.

    ¡°You¡¯re so annoying~¡± Liu Ning replied.

    Zu An said with a sigh, ¡°If your highness has already recovered your cultivation so quickly, why did you fool me and say you needed it many, many times?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s your fault for always hiding from me, so I had to ask for more to make you unwittinglyplete the task, right?¡± Liu Ning replied. She couldn''t help but gently breathe by his ear. ¡°But all of those times I asked for can still be made up right now at any time, you know?¡±

    ¡°Your highness seems to have be much more open-minded than before," Zu An said in surprise.

    ¡°But of course. The giant boulder that was always weighing on my mind has been moved away¡­¡± Liu Ning said, her expression turning serious. Her flirtatious nature was gone as she asked, ¡°Is he really dead?¡±

    .

    Zu An said with a nod, ¡°I saw it with my own eyes. It''s the absolute truth.¡±

    Liu Ning suddenly had a bit of a strange expression. It seemed to contain happiness, but also a bit of sorrow. She seemed to have mixed emotions as she recalled the past. In the end, she released a long sigh and said, ¡°Being dead is fine too; death ends all of one¡¯s troubles.¡±

    ¡°Your highness seems to be a bit sad,¡± Zu An remarked. He thought, <i>This woman won¡¯t get revenge on me if she finds out I killed him, will she?</i>

    ¡°Is this little man here jealous?¡± Liu Ning chuckled and shook her head, saying, ¡°It¡¯s not at that level, but there are more or less some sentimental feelings. After all, we used to be husband and wife.

    ¡°This really is strange. I wished for him to die sooner day after day when he was alive, and yet now that he''s really died, I only feel a bit empty.¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°It seems your highness is someone who has strong emotions.¡±

    ¡°What strong emotions? It¡¯s just that after living through his era, the imprint he had on people''s minds was too strong.¡± Liu Ning suddenly said in self-mockery, ¡°I really am an awful woman. My husband died, and yet I actually feel more happiness than anything else.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself,<i> I''m happy about that too.</i> N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Was it King Qi and the libationer together who killed him?¡± Liu Ning suddenly asked.

    ¡°Why is your highness asking me that?¡± Zu An replied in surprise.

    ¡°The emperor was already unmatched. Who could face him one on one? In the end, only King Qi and the libationer had the power to do so. There''s no need to say more about King Qi, as he and the emperor already became like water and fire, unable to coexist. Meanwhile, the libationer was a king from the previous dynasty. Even though he always acted as if he didn¡¯t care over the years, I could sense that there was always something suppressed within him. Once it exploded, there would definitely be hell to pay,¡± Liu Ning said. Her tone suddenly became a bit softer as she continued, ¡°But the emperor was never so easy to defeat. Even if the two of them joined up, they could only drag him down with him at most.¡±

    When he saw the ¡®I¡¯m really smart, aren¡¯t I¡¯ look on her face, as if she were waiting for him to praise her, Zu An replied expressionlessly, ¡°The reality is entirely different from your highness¡¯ suspicions.¡±

    Liu Ning¡¯s expression froze. She couldn''t help but feel a bit awkward, asking, ¡°What happened then?¡±

    Zu An then gave her a rough ount of what had happened on Golden Peak.

    When she heard that Zhao Han had already plotted against King Qi decades prior with a secret technique, and that no matter how King Qi cultivated, his cultivation would only ultimately help another, Liu Ning instantly felt her entire body be ice cold. She said, ¡°The emperor truly is too formidable, formidable to a horrifying degree.¡±

    Zu An thought, <i>At least this is something you and Bi Linglong agree on.</i>

    ¡°Hurry and tell me then, how did he die?¡± Liu Ning asked, reflexively tightening her clothes. She was no longer as rxed as before, for fear that Zhao Han was still alive.

    Zu An told her about the sequence of events in the secret dungeon. This time, however, he didn¡¯t say that he was the one who killed Zhao Han, but rather said that the libationer had used his own life as the price to send him into the great tomb. The great tomb had also disappeared without a trace.

    Meanwhile, he and Bi Linglong had killed Zhao Han¡¯s split soul back in Westhound Tomb''s secret dungeon, so it was fine if she knew, but it was still best if the truth were kept a secret from everyone else. After all, too many things would be affected otherwise.

    ¡°Then does that mean he might still be alive?¡± Liu Ning asked; her voice began to tremble. She no longer had her earlier frivolousness.

    Zu An felt sorry for her when he saw her frightened expression and said in constion, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. The great tomb contains many extremely powerful monsters, and Zhao Han doesn''t even rank highly among them. Even those creatures were all firmly trapped in ce, so there''s no way he could get out. Besides, he was seriously injured by the libationer. He''s likely already been devoured by a stronger creature.¡±

    ¡°I hope that''s really the case,¡± Liu Ning said, having just broken out into a cold sweat. If Zhao Han was still alive, the entire capital would have to be purged once more. After she experienced such a rollercoaster of emotions, the previously ambiguous atmosphere had already beenrgely scattered.

    ¡°I heard that the Qin n¡¯s two state dukes have been locked up. How does your highness n to deal with the Qin n?¡± Zu An asked, finally speaking about his real reason for the visit.

    ¡°The Qin n? You¡¯re asking this for Miss Chu¡¯s sake, aren¡¯t you?¡± Liu Ning replied with a sneer.

    ¡°My rtionships with the Qin and Chu n are rather close, after all, so it''s hard for me to just stand aside and do nothing,¡± Zu An admitted.

    ¡°The Qin n did this to themselves. However, I''m not the one dealing with them; rather, the Meng n and the others are,¡± Liu Ning replied.

    ¡°Meng n? Why is that?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°Qin Zheng has always been upright and outspoken, and we''re all from different factions as well. There was quite a bit of conflict between them. Qin Se, on the other hand, has been frivolous and reckless. In the past, he was in a love rivalry with Meng Yi and people from the other ns. After decades of fighting, there''s no such thing as right and wrong. There''s only a blood feud left,¡± Liu Ning exined.

    Zu An¡¯s heart sank. That kind of rtionship was always the most troublesome. It was just like the grudge between the Five Sacred Mountain Sword Sect and Devil Sect in ¡®The Smiling, Proud Wanderer¡¯. It wasn¡¯t something anyone could settle normally. Still, that was only if he yed by the rules. He could just flip the tables and ignore reason. Thus, he said, ¡°I only need your highness to promise to not get involved. You can leave this matter to me.¡±

    ¡°I can''t harm my allies because of you,¡± Liu Ning said, shaking her head. ¡°But if you agree to one thing from this empress, then I can help you.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Zu An asked worriedly.

    ¡°To leave the crown princess¡¯ side ande under this empress, of course,¡± Liu Ning said, stroking his face with the long golden covering on her little finger.

    Zu An said seriously, ¡°The crown princess has shown me tremendous favor. Switching allegiance is something that would only make people hold me in contempt.¡±

    ¡°Thatss ispletely enthralled in politics; you''re nothing but a subject for her to use. How can shepare to this empress who doesn¡¯t hold anything back from you?¡± Liu Ning replied with a frown. Suddenly, a look of shock appeared on her face as if she had thought of something. She asked, ¡°You¡¯re not lusting after thatss¡¯ body, are you?¡±

 Chapter 1878: Injuring Oneself to Gain the Enemyâ€™s Confidence

    <h4>Chapter 1878: Injuring Oneself to Gain the Enemy¡¯s Confidence</h4>

    Zu An scowled. He had discovered that the women at his side all seemed to be good at making associative connections. More importantly, their guesses were often not too far from the truth. He replied, ¡°Your highness speaks too severely. She is the crown princess, so how can that be?¡±

    "And I am the empress. I never saw you shrink back during the deed," Liu Ning said, clicking her tongue. Perhaps because she thought of their past experiences, a faint red blush appeared on her fair cheeks. She continued, ¡°There isn¡¯t anything impossible about that. If youe to my side, I¡¯ll help you get thatss.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Zu An asked; he was nowpletely stunned. He had never expected her to say that.

    ¡°Is it that shocking?¡± Liu Ning replied with a smile. ¡°Eventually, the entire Imperial Pce, inside and out, will be in my grasp. I can juste up with some random pretext to call her over; will she be able to refuse if I tell her to do it then? Either way, the crown prince is an idiot and won¡¯t know what happened, let alone stand up for her. Of course, if another prince rose to the throne, it would be even easier. She''d be a ruined crown princess; no one would even care if she were dead or alive. Who knows, she could even need you to pamper her, as she would at least have someone protecting her then.¡± The empress began tough, perhaps because she was imagining that interesting scenario.

    Zu An thought to himself, <i>Why do these two women hate each other so much?</i> He thus asked, ¡°Why does your highness dislike the crown princess so much?¡±

    Liu Ning rolled her eyes and replied, ¡°How many mothers-inw get along with their daughters-inw? Even though I¡¯m not her mother-inw, my big sister was.

    ¡°Bi Linglong looks delicate and weak on the outside, but she''s extremely tough on the inside. She''s been quite arrogant and despotic while relying on the emperor¡¯s support in the past few years, and I had to suffer quite a bit too as the empress. In the Imperial Pce, everyone knows she''s the crown princess, and yet they''ve forgotten me, the empress. In the past, my injuries hadn¡¯t healed yet, so I was discouraged and didn¡¯t have the heart topete with her. Now that fortunes are rising and falling, I have to find some way to avenge the wrongs I suffered in the past, right?

    ¡°Of course, those are just personal grievances. As for public affairs, even though the Liu and Bi n are supposedly in the same camp, privately, there are quite a few conflicts and grudges. If the Bi n rises up, our Liu n will definitely meet a tragic end. Furthermore, Bi Linglong leans on the Bi n, and is the proper future empress. The crown prince is slow and stupid, so she''ll definitely be the one who makes the decisions. If we don¡¯t keep her in check, all the imperial authority might fall into the Bi n¡¯s hands.¡±

    Zu An frowned. He replied, ¡°Isn¡¯t this speaking a bit too severely? The Bi n likely won¡¯t be that daring.¡±

    ¡°The Bi n naturally can''t be so daring right now because they aren¡¯t strong enough. If she monopolized the power and the Bi n¡¯s people were present in all levels of society, do you think they still wouldn¡¯t dare?¡± Liu Ning replied with a sneer. ¡°Bi Qi is an old fox himself. Bi Linglong¡¯s older brother Bi Ziang is also an ambitious individual. Our Liu n naturally needs to protect the Great Zhou Dynasty.¡±

    Zu An had a strange expression as he thought, <i>Then could it be that after all is said and done, the Liu n are the faithful officials?</i>

    . N?v(el)B\\jnn

    However, he knew that the Liu n didn¡¯t have any outstanding posterity. They were merely desiring authority and riches; they definitely didn¡¯t have any thoughts of rebellion. As for the Bi n, their next generation was much more outstanding, so their ambitions would also grow much greater¡­

    <i>Sigh, the same matter from different sides really brings entirely different opinions. It really is headache-inducing.</i>

    ¡°So you n to change the crown prince?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°I''m not the one who wants to do that; rather, it''s an opinion everyone agrees on,¡± Liu Ning replied. ¡°The stupid crown prince wouldn¡¯t be able to convince the masses to begin with. The emperor¡¯s support made it so that no one dared to say anything, but now that the emperor has perished, no one would be willing to serve a fool. Otherwise, the entire country would be in disorder.¡±

    Zu An thought for a bit, then reminded her, ¡°I''ve met the other princes as well, and all of them are shrewd and bold individuals. They might not be so easily controlled if they rise to the throne.¡±

    Liu Ning harrumphed, ¡°A stupid crown prince is easy to control, but the one who controls him is Bi Linglong. What benefits would there be for me then? We might as well switch him out. For better or for worse, they''d at least owe me a favor.¡±

    ¡°Which prince does your highness have your heart set on?¡± Zu An asked.

    He actually understood her motives, so that made things difficult. Whether it was Bi Linglong or Liu Ning, neither one of them was wrong. They were merely going in the direction that had the greatest benefits for them. However, it just so happened that their interestsy in opposite directions. Being stuck in between them really was difficult. Most importantly, he couldn''t let each of them know about his rtionship with the other. That gave him even less room to convince them. Just how could he arrive at a win-win situation?

    ¡°We haven¡¯t decided yet. We all have our own considerations, so there are quite a few thoughts brewing behind the scenes," Liu Ning said. She suddenly realized something and added, ¡°I¡¯ve already talked so much with you, but you haven¡¯t even agreed toe over to my side yet. I already told you so many secrets, so what if you turn tail and tell all of this to Bi Linglong??¡±

    Zu An said seriously, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, your highness. Am I the sort who would easily sell you out?¡±

    Anyway, even though these were secrets, with Bi Linglong¡¯s intelligence, she had likely already guessed seventy to eighty percent of them.

    ¡°That¡¯s more like it,¡± Liu Ning said. She suddenly moved into his arms and hooked her arms around his neck before continuing, ¡°However, you¡¯ve been avoiding that question all this time. This empress even gave herself to you, so what else are you still worried about?¡±

    Zu An was about to say something when two fingers pressed against his lips. Liu Ning said, ¡°Bi Linglong¡¯s side definitely can''t give you more than I can. The Fiend races¡¯ Second Empress made you a Regent, so can I not make you a Regent as the human empress all the same? Now that Zhao Han is dead, I''m the one who has the final say in the pce. The two of us can stay in the pce together and live life like immortals; wouldn¡¯t that be great?¡±

    Zu An felt as if she were like a big ball of cotton. He thought, <i>No wonder she was the only one favored among the harem, rising straight up to bing the new empress. There really ware feminine charmsing from every single part of her body. </i>However, he said in a troubled manner, ¡°Your highness, I''m but a marquis right now, and I don''t have many contributions. How could I have the qualifications to be a king?¡±

    ¡°If I say you have the right, you have the right. Besides, what do you mean, you have no qualifications?¡± Liu Ning replied as her finger drew circles around his chest. ¡°You supported everyone on Violet Mountain, and then you brought back news of the emperor, King Qi, and the libationer from the dangerous secret dungeon. Otherwise, people would have been at a loss for what to do. That''s a tremendous contribution in itself.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s still not enough to be a king. The other great ns in the capital won¡¯t agree,¡± Zu An said. His meteoric rise over the past few years had already incurred the envy of many people. If he were promoted straight from marquis to king, the entire capital could explode into amotion.

    If Zhao Han found out that Zu An had been rewarded as a loyal minister for his protection, and that his own empress was lying in his arms while scheming with him, perhaps he woulde back to life out of anger...

    Liu Ning smiled and said, ¡°In a normal situation, these contributions would indeed be not enough, but don¡¯t forget that you have another identity, which is to say, the Fiend races¡¯ Regent. If we gave you a lower position, wouldn¡¯t that be a disgrace to you? We would be pushing you over to the Fiend races¡¯ side. Besides, this empress¡¯ word is what matters in the capital now. If I say that you can, you can. That way, you would be able toe in and out of the pce to keep mepany everyday.¡±

    Zu An felt a huge headache. If he were entangled by her day after day, Linglong would naturally find out about their rtionship. That was a hellish battlefield that was horrible to even think about... let alone the fact that he wouldn¡¯t have any time to cultivate! He had obtained a lot from the trip to the secret dungeon. He needed time in istion to fully digest it all. Meanwhile, he didn''t care about these kinds of noble titles at all.

    As such, he could only say, ¡°Thank you for your kindness, your highness, but I have a family, so I can''t stay in the pce long term¡­¡±

    ¡°What family? Aren¡¯t you and that Chu person already divorced?¡± Liu Ning replied unhappily. In the end, she still sighed and said, ¡°Fine. My identity in the future will be empress dowager, so there won''t be any way for me to be with you?properly. You can just have other women keep youpany outside, but in the pce, you''ll be mine. You can take on wives outside as you wish. Not only will I not stop you, I¡¯ll even give you all huge congrattory gifts.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He had thought that he would have to engage in a battle of words and try to sound her out, but there was none of that at all. Liu Ning had given him such a good offer that he now didn¡¯t really know what to do. He thought for a bit before suddenly saying, ¡°I encountered assassins on the way back to the capital.¡±

    ¡°Assassins?¡± Liu Ning repeated. She immediately sat up and asked, ¡°Who would do that to you?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Zu An said. After some hesitation, he even told her that it was a eunuch who had sent them.

    ¡°Then it must be that Bi Linglong woman,¡± Liu Ning said coldly. Her eyes flickered; she was clearly upset that someone dared to touch her man.

    Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°The crown princess doesn¡¯t have the motive.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean she has no motives?¡± Liu Ning sneered. ¡°She''s already pressured to the point where she can¡¯t even breathe. She¡¯s been looking for a way to strike back against me all this time. If something happened to you, a capable minister of the Eastern Pce, no one would suspect her, while she would have a reason to frame me. After all, battles in the court happen with a tacit understanding. Everyone acts ording to certain rules; they absolutely avoid things such as assassinations. That''s because, if they were exposed, it would be difficult to cover up and both sides would lose. People would be rmed. So, if the officials were to believe that I had sent the assassins, many of them would question my integrity and turn to her side.¡±? As she spoke, her expression grew more and more grave. She said, ¡°What an incredible ploy. This woman truly is formidable!¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>What the hell is this? Why does it now seem as if everyone is suspicious?!</i>

 Chapter 1879: Seizing Oneâ€™s Own Destiny

    <h4>Chapter 1879: Seizing One¡¯s Own Destiny</h4>

    Zu An had to admit that what she said made some sense. That meant Bi Linglong could have a motive. Even though the two of them had an extremely close rtionship, in the royal family, such rtionships weren''t even worth mentioning.

    If his assassination came to light, not only would people be on guard against the empress and abandon her, it would also incur the anger of the Fiend races. After all, if their Regent ended up dying mysteriously on this side, they would definitely act to find the killer. Then, with both insiders and outsiders working together, they would be able to undermine the empress¡¯ influence.

    Of course, she probably couldn''t have known that he was the new libationer at the time. Now that she had enough power to affect the court¡¯s situation, she would definitely change her ns and no longer choose the same tactic to exploit him by sacrificing her own forces¡­ N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Those thoughts passed through Zu An¡¯s mind in an instant, but he quickly silenced them. He was still willing to trust Bi Linglong, feeling that she definitely wouldn''t do such a thing to him. Of course, he still had to take basic precautions. He looked toward Liu Ning. If Bi Linglong was suspicious, wasn''t she still more suspicious?

    As if sensing his thoughts, Liu Ning coldly asked, ¡°What, do you think I sent those assassins?¡±

    Zu An gently held her hands and replied, ¡°I was a bit worried at first, but aftering here, those misgivings disappeared.¡±

    ¡°You actually still dared to suspect this empress!¡± Liu Ning eximed. She clenched her teeth so hard they ached a bit, and bit down on his chest. ¡°Even Zhao Han never made me so willing to serve him, and yet a guy like you actually dares to suspect me!¡±

    ¡°I was wrong, okay? Also, I¡¯m not suspecting you anymore, right?¡± Zu An replied, hugging her to appease her anger.

    ¡°How are you going to make it up to me?¡± Liu Ning asked with a grin, acent smile appearing on her face.

    ¡°How does your highness want me topensate you?¡± Zu An asked in rm.

    Liu Ning moved over to his ear and asked quietly, ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you that I needed us to do it ten times before?¡±

    ¡°But your highness has already recovered your cultivation!¡± Zu An replied. He hadn''t expectedthat this extremely seductive woman would be a grandmaster. She had just been too unbearably weak back then.

    ¡°The rest I owe you, so now I¡¯ll slowly return them to you," Liu Ning said as she smiled flirtatiously. She pushed him straight onto her seat, theny down and said, ¡°Sir Zu, I was always the one who ended up being pressed beneath you and bullied. This time, this empress wants to be the one dominating you.¡±

    Zu An was a bit troubled. He said, ¡°Your highness, there are still others in the Pce of Peace, and I need to leave the pce for some things¡­¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. This empress just needs to be a bit faster this time,¡± Liu Ning said. Her voice sounded as if it were thered in honey, seemingly containing a sweetness that came from her very bones. She said, ¡°Sir Zu doesn¡¯t need to move. Leave everything to this empress.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but sigh. This kind of mature woman really was entirely different from a youngdy. Bi Linglong was so much more bashful, scared that someone in the Eastern Pce would find out. She was like a guilty little rabbit. In contrast, the empress didn¡¯t care at all and was already dressed in her skintight sleepwear. She immediately got to the point.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Eunuch Lu had always been standing guard outside, scanning the surroundings vigntly and not allowing anyone near the empress¡¯ chambers. Suddenly, his ears moved slightly, and his fists clenched tightly in his sleeves. Then, his entire body began to shake slightly, as if he were experiencing something painful.

    However, immediately after, an unnatural blush appeared on his face. His expression showed difort, and yet also, an unusual sense of satisfaction.

    <i>Sigh, Sir Zu truly is as fierce as a dragon. It truly is envious. Ning¡¯er must be extremely happy right now¡­</i>

    <i>But that¡¯s how it should be. Ever since she met Sir Zu, Ning¡¯er has smiled far more than she''s ever smiled in this lifetime. Herplexion isn¡¯t deathly pale, but now an enchanting peach color. She''s as stunning as she was back in her youth.</i>

    <i>I wonder just how much Sir Zu poured into her for her to have such astonishing changes¡­</i>

    He suddenly recalled that recently, the western regions seemed to have offered a new kind of pastry as a tribute. It seemed to be something called a cream puff, and it was quite nice to look at. He thought of having some lesser eunuchs bring some over from the imperial kitchen for everyone to try.

    ¡­

    After a long time had passed, Liu Ning was left lying powerlessly on her couch. She didn¡¯t even have the strength to speak anymore, her body shaking from time to time. There was a bit of shock and bashfulness in her gaze as she looked at Zu An.

    She had been seriously injured in the past, leaving her body as delicate as an ordinary woman''s. That was why she had been a bit unhappy that she had to be so submissive under his bullying. Now that she had recovered her grandmaster rank strength, she''d figured that she had already be much tougher and could finally earn back some dignity, to teach this man the power of the empress.

    However, she hadn¡¯t expected it to be no different from before at all! Of course, she hadsted a bit longer, but despite her strength as a grandmaster, she was still the first one to plead for mercy. Just what was going on with this kid?

    Zu An helped her put on her covers and said, ¡°Your highness should get some proper rest. I¡¯ll be leaving first.¡± He was worried about the Qin n¡¯s situation and wanted to take a look there first.

    Liu Ningy there for a moment, then finally caught her breath. When she heard that, she asked, ¡°Are you really just leaving after you¡¯re done? Are you really that heartless?¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll keep your highnesspany for a bit longer,¡± Zu An said, figuring that she was right. It really would be a bit trashy if he just left now. As such, he sat down by her side again and gently helped her sort out her soaked hair.

    ¡°I know that you attach a lot of importance to feelings and righteousness, and you can''t do something like switching your allegiance just like that. I won¡¯t force you either,¡± Liu Ning said. She suddenly turned over and began to search for something in the small cab next to her. The light fabric fell from her shoulders, exposing her beautiful back and the traces of their previous battle on it. She quickly took out a special token and gave it to Zu An, saying, ¡°I know that you still have misgivings about the assassination, and you won¡¯t believe me no matter what you say. In that case, you should just investigate it yourself. This is the token of the Embroidered Envoy¡¯s Chief Commander. Zhuxie Chixin is already dead, so from today on, you''re the chiefmander of the Embroidered Envoy. You can mobilize all of the Embroidered Envoy as you please.¡±

    Zu An was shocked. He had never expected her to give such a thing to him. He replied, ¡°Your highness, this item is too precious! I can''t ept it.¡±

    Liu Ning didn¡¯t allow his rejection and put it straight into his inner pockets. She said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t force you to join my faction. However, the Embroidered Envoy has only ever listened to his majesty¡¯s orders, but there still has to be a new ruler. If one of the other princes took the throne and put in a trusted aid, that would be troublesome. After thinking about it, the one I can trust the most is you, and you share some karma with the Embroidered Envoy. There''s no candidate more suitable than you.¡±

    Zu An said seriously, ¡°Even so, I still have my duty as the Eastern Pce¡¯s¡­¡±

    Liu Ning harrumphed. ¡°I trust that you won¡¯t use what I give you to help that lowly person. Just take it.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself for a bit and figured that this item was very useful for him at the moment, so he didn¡¯t refuse again.

    Liu Ning nodded in satisfaction and said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯m already exhausted from all of that. You should go and do what you need to do.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Zu An got up and said his goodbyes.

    When he reached the door, Liu Ning suddenly called out to him and asked, ¡°Right, what cultivation rank are you now?¡±

    Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°I don''t really know either. My cultivation is difficult to evaluate by the world¡¯s standards.¡± He couldn''t just tell her that he was level 74, right?

    Liu Ning nodded and said with a smile, ¡°Either way, you¡¯re not weak. There''s no way a man whom this empress can''t win over despite doing my utmost could be weak.¡±

    Zu An was a bit apologetic. He said, ¡°That''s because your highness¡¯ vital part was restrained, so you couldn''t use your true grandmaster strength.¡±

    When she recalled the scorching heat of being prated, Liu Ning¡¯s body immediately weakened. She said, ¡°Hmph, the toughness of your body is definitely no weaker than a grandmaster''s. Also, I can''t even see your true nature¡­ If you don¡¯t want to talk about it, then forget it. There is still something I need to warn you about, though.¡±

    ¡°Please speak, your highness,¡± Zu An said in confusion. What matter could it be for her to be so serious?

    ¡°The capital isn¡¯t as simple as you think. The eight dukes are all beings at the peak of grandmaster rank. Every single one of them has endless methods and resources. In the past, they were only a step away from the earth immortal rank. Now that so many years have passed, there might already be some who took that step, but just didn''t want to be Zhao Han¡¯s target, and so were all just hiding from the eyes of the people," Liu Ning began. ¡°Apart from that, there are a few ns who also have ancestor-level figures, but Zhao Han was suppressing them before. He had a justifiable reason to do so with his status as the emperor, so all of those ns remained hidden and tacitly allowed that situation to continue.

    ¡°However, if it were anyone else, even if they had cultivation simr to Zhao Han¡¯s, the eight dukes¡¯ hidden old monsters would never submit to them if they didn¡¯t have the publicly acknowledged status of emperor. Furthermore, quite a bit of the army is in the hands of those ns. The power an army can achieve through formations isn¡¯t something a single person can face. So, even though it looks as if our Liu n has grasped the capital¡¯s court, until now, we''ve merely been doing things by the rules. We didn''t do a single thing that overstepped our boundaries.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but chuckle. He asked, ¡°Could it be that your highness fears that I''ll willfully cause trouble?¡±

    Liu Ning gave him a deep look and said, ¡°You''re still young, so you''ll definitely have moments of hot-headedness. The capital has too many people you care about. Some ns might use some political methods that aremonly seen among great ns, but others might find it intolerable. I hope you won''t act impulsively if you identally end up encountering such a situation. If anything happens, please talk to me first. I''ll help you.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, your highness. I''ll only use my hot-bloodedness on your highness¡¯ body. As for other people, I''ve always been someone who speaks reason," Zu An said with a smile. Then, he turned around to leave while waving his hand in goodbye.

 Chapter 1880: Embroidery House Developments

    <h4>Chapter 1880: Embroidery House Developments</h4>

    Liu Ning¡¯s face turned red after she heard those words. Multiple times, she wanted to ask him to stop, but she was also a bit reluctant. In the end, her entire body became incredibly numb. She looked at his departing figure with misty eyes.0

    <em>This guy is just too amazing. My life was already dim and gloomy, and yet he came in like a dazzling rainbow.</em>0

    <em>Hmph, I definitely have to steal him from that lowly bitch.</em>0

    ¡­0

    Meanwhile, after Zu An left the room, he just happened to bump into a smiling Eunuch Lu, who said, ¡°Sir Zu has worked hard.¡±0

    ¡°Not at all,¡± Zu An replied reflexively, but he felt strange somehow.0

    ¡°Is Sir Zu leaving so soon? Are you not going to stay for a while longer?¡± Eunuch Lu asked, sounding a bit regretful.0

    ¡°I still have some things I need to take care of outside the pce,¡± Zu An said. He thought to himself,<em>What the heck is wrong with this guy¡¯s expression? It almost looks as if he¡¯s not satisfied or something.</em>0

    ¡°Oh, then I won¡¯t keep Sir Zu. You can visit the Pce of Peace frequently in the future. Her highness likes you a lot,¡± Eunuch Lu said as he bowed and made an inviting gesture.0

    Zu An nodded, but he felt a bit strange inside.<em>Why does it feel as if you want me here more than the empress does?</em>0

    Soon after, Eunuch Lu took him to the Pce of Peace¡¯s front pce. The eunuchs, maids, and neglected concubines couldn''t help but whisper among themselves when they saw that.0

    ¡°Sir Zu really is doted on by her highness. He was actually able to stay in the pce for so long.¡±0

    ¡°Are you blind? Look at Sir Zu¡¯s status now. The Fiend races¡¯ Regent needs to be treated with respect!¡±0

    ¡°Right, I recall that he seems to be the most reliable minister of the Eastern Pce¡¯s crown princess. Now that he¡¯s here on the empress¡¯ side, does he represent the crown princess or himself?¡±0

    ¡°Shush! Are these things you should be asking about?¡±0

    ¡­0

    Even though these people had already lowered their voices a lot, how could it escape Zu An¡¯s eyes and ears? He couldn''t help but frown. This matter would most likely reach the ears of Bi Linglong. What would she think of him?0

    More importantly, he didn¡¯t know what choice to make either. Previously, he had actually leaned more toward Bi Linglong¡¯s side. However, after what just happened, he had discovered that Liu Ning was just too good to him. He really couldn''t find it within himself to help Bi Linglong deal with her.0

    <em>This really is a dilemma¡­</em>0

    There were also those hidden forces that Liu Ning talked about in the capital. It seemed that these capital ¡®waters¡¯ were deeper than he had ever imagined. In the end, he had just spent too little time in the imperial court. That time was so short that he didn¡¯t fully understand the power of the major ns. It was no wonder that even though the daoists, Buddhists, and shamans had so many grandmasters, they had still been suppressed by the court so badly.0

    Even though Liu Ning still underestimated his own strength greatly, and he didn¡¯t actually have to fear the eight dukes'' hidden experts... If he offended them too badly and became themon enemy of those old monsters, having all of them team up against him would still be extremely annoying.0n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    After thinking for a bit, he decided to investigate the hidden powers in the capital first. That way, he wouldn¡¯t get targeted for no reason. Even though he had gotten much stronger, it was still better to be safe to seed in the long run. The path of cultivation was fraught with dangers. Just the slightest bit of carelessness could result in losing one''s life.0

    Even someone as strong as Zhao Han hadn''t been truly invincible. There had still been many beings stronger than him. On top of that, in the end, he had been done in by people far weaker than him. If Zu An ever got too arrogant, perhaps he would really just end up following that disastrous pattern.0

    If Zu An wanted to investigate the hidden powers of the capital, what better channel was there than through the Embroidered Envoy?0

    He looked up at the sky. He saw that half the day was already over. How could a grandmaster be that easily satisfied, after all? Liu Ning''s endurance was far greater than that of an ordinary woman. Fortunately, he was pretty tough himself, and he had copied Zhao Zilong¡¯s sloped nk technique to seize victory.[1]</a>0

    After some hesitation, he still decided to go in the Embroidery House¡¯s direction in the end. He nned to assign Xiao Jianren the responsibility of investigating any rted information, and then he would head for the Qin n. He changed into his Golden Token Eleven outfit, then entered the Embroidery House¡¯s vicinity.0

    ¡­0

    As soon as he went in, some Embroidered Envoys immediately surrounded him. When they saw his outfit, however, they were stunned. They eximed, ¡°Sir Eleven?¡±0

    Zu An asked in surprise, ¡°Why is the security so much stricter than usual?¡±0

    ¡°Such a huge affair took ce over by Violet Mountain, and Chief Commander went missing as well. The entire Embroidery House is on category A alert,¡± one of them replied.0

    Zu An figured that wasn¡¯t all that surprising. They were a group of dragons without their leader, so the Embroidery House was probably a mess. He asked, ¡°Who''s in charge right now?¡±0

    ¡°Silver Token Envoy Bu Liangcai,¡± the Envoy replied.0

    Zu An nodded. The Embroidery House¡¯s other Golden Token Envoys were all in charge of major regions, and the capital¡¯s affairs were governed directly by Zhuxie Chixin. There had been no Golden Token Envoy assigned here until Zu An suddenly appeared. Even so, normally, he rarely managed the Embroidered Envoy¡¯s affairs. It was almost always Zhuxie Chixin who took care of things.0

    Of course, Zhuxie Chixin had always been busy and couldn''t possibly take care of all the different things that needed to be done. He had almost always relied on his four trusted Silver Token Envoys to handle things. This Bu Liangcai was none other than one of them. He was publicly known to be Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s right-hand man.0

    ¡°Where is Sir Xiao Jianren?¡± Zu An then asked. He wanted to start by meeting someone he was familiar with.0

    The Envoys exchanged a few looks. Then, they stuttered, ¡°Responding to Sir Eleven, Sir Xiao was locked up.¡±0

    ¡°What is going on?¡± Zu An asked with a frown.0

    Those people opened their mouths, but they didn¡¯t say anything.0

    Zu An harrumphed. He didn¡¯t want to waste any time and headed straight for the Embroidery House.0

    The guards at the entrance we realso shocked when he saw him. One quickly stopped him and said, ¡°Sir Eleven, your respected self cannot enter here.¡±0

    ¡°I am a respected Golden Token Envoy; can I not even enter the Embroidery House¡¯s prison?¡± Zu An replied with a scowl. An indescribable aura spread from his body.0

    All the guards nearby felt as if they were suffocating. They didn¡¯t dare to stop him anymore. Zu An pushed their arms aside and walked straight into the prison.0

    The guards had bitter expressions. Those who were more quick-witted ran away, seemingly going to inform someone. Zu An noticed that, but didn¡¯t stop them. Instead, he continued inside with an ashen expression. Xiao Jianren was his subordinate, and yet he had been locked up. That was no different from someone striking Zu An in the face.0

    ¡°Where is Sir Xiao?¡± Zu An pulled over the prison guard and asked.0

    ¡°Over¡­ Over here,¡± the guard eximed in horror. People had always said that Sir Eleven got his position through connections and didn¡¯t have much cultivation, and yet the guard couldn''t even avoid a random grab from him.0

    They quickly walked through a long hallway and reached the prison at the very end.0

    Zu An saw a shocking sight behind the bars. Inside was a gray-d prisoner who was tied to a wooden cross-like frame. There were bloody scars all over his body, and his tattered clothes revealed several badly mangled wounds. Quite a few of the injuries were rotten, and there were even maggots squirming inside some ces. Even though his head was lowered and his body disheveled, Zu An still immediately recognized that he was Xiao Jianren. Furious and rmed, he took a step forward. The prison door fence immediately caved in.0

    Xiao Jianren slowly raised his head, but he was short-sighted and his cultivation was sealed. His vision was a blur.0

    Zu An immediately rushed forward. No one saw what he did, but the shackles were instantly shattered. He supported Xiao Jianren to his feet and said, ¡°I¡¯ve returned toote.¡±0

    ¡°Sir Eleven, Sir Eleven?¡± the somewhat perplexed Xiao Jianren murmured, having finally heard his voice. His turbid eyes immediately began to brim with tears of excitement.0

    Zu An took out a treatment pill and fed it to him. At the same time, he continued to pour ki into Xiao Jianren and said, ¡°Don¡¯t speak; just focus on adjusting your energies.¡±0

    Xiao Jianren felt rich and abundant ki flow into him. Wherever it went, all kinds of restrictions felt like leftover snow before a blistering sun, melting away instantly. Xiao Jianren¡¯s heart that had still been in suspense finally rxed. However, his injuries were too severe and he was iparably weak. He couldn''t even transfer his inner ki himself and needed to rely on Zu An¡¯s help.0

    When Zu An sensed Xiao Jianren''s condition, he turned to the prison guard with an ice-cold expression and asked, ¡°Since when has the Embroidered Envoy used our torture methods on our own people?¡±0

    The guard immediately kneeled down and said, ¡°Please forgive me, Sir Eleven! We were only acting on orders and cannot take responsibility!¡±0

    ¡°Whose orders were you acting under?¡± Zu An asked in a frigid tone.0

    Those people all began to speak, but trailed off again, seemingly unable to speak the person''s name.0

    ¡°They were acting under my orders!¡± a haughty voice called out just then.0

    A burst of orderly footsteps resounded throughout the prison. Two troops of fully armed Embroidered Envoys rushed down the stairs and surrounded the area.0

    ¡°Enforcement Troop!¡± the prison guards eximed; their expressions changed.0

    This was the most elite force in the Embroidered Envoy. They were normally under the Chief Commander¡¯s control. Every single one had close to a silver token envoy¡¯s strength. Oftentimes, after umting enough seniority and contributions, they were where silver token envoys came from. It was easy to see how strong the Enforcement Troop was from that.0

    Then, a middle-aged man dressed in special silver embroidery slowly walked toward Zu An.0

    ¡°Bu Liangcai, exactly what crimes did Xiao Jianrenmit?¡± Zu An asked, recognizing the man. This person had the greatest seniority in the Embroidery House; between that and the fact that he was Zhuxie Chixin''s right-hand man, that was why he didn¡¯t give Zu An any face.0

    ¡°What kind of crimes?¡± Bu Liangcai repeated; he only noticed the ruined prison walls then and couldn''t help but frown. However, when he thought about his own cultivation and the Enforcement Troop at his side, he quickly calmed down and said, ¡°Such major events took ce on Violet Mountain. Who else would take responsibility if not for him, as he was in charge of removing the dangers over there?0

    "If we were to put it lightly, that would be considered negligence. If we were to put it more severely, who can say if he colluded with those traitors against his majesty?¡± Bu Liangcai continued. He paused for a moment, then looked coldly at Zu An and said, ¡°Forget about him, Sir Eleven also needs to be investigated. Men, arrest this suspect!¡±

 Chapter 1881: Submission

    <h4>Chapter 1881: Submission</h4>

    The remaining Embroidered Envoys looked at each other in dismay. They''d never expected to have to face a Golden Token Envoy! Such a thing had never happened before.0

    Zu An didn¡¯t seem to notice them at all. He lowered his head and looked at Xiao Jianren, saying, ¡°You¡¯ve really had to suffer this whole time because of me.¡±0

    Xiao Jianren chuckled and replied, ¡°Don¡¯t be like that, Sir Eleven. This isn¡¯t just because of you. He wanted this old one to admit to conspiring against his majesty, a crime punishable by nine generations of n execution. How could I admit to something like that? Moreover, I have remained faithful and true to the court as an Embroidered Envoy all these years and have no guilt. Even if I die, I will not take on such an usation.<em>Cough cough¡­</em>¡±0

    When he saw Xiao Jianren cough out bloody foam, Zu An consoled him. ¡°Don¡¯t talk for now, and just get some rest. Leave the rest to me.¡± Then, he looked at Bu Liangcai and asked, ¡°Mister Bu, are you trying to obtain confessions under torture?¡±0

    Bu Liangcai said with a sneer, ¡°His majesty was attacked by assassins during the Violet Mountain campaign. After something so major has happened, all rted personnel have to be investigated. Even the kings and state dukes are no exception. Everything I¡¯ve done is merely handling matters ording to the rules.¡±0

    ¡°Is this how an investigation is normally conducted? In that case, why don¡¯t you need to be investigated?¡± Zu An replied with a sneer.0

    Bu Liangcai¡¯s expression remained calm as he retorted, ¡°I didn¡¯t even go to Violet Mountain; why would I need to be investigated?¡±0

    ¡°The other trusted aides of the chiefmander have all died, leaving only you alive. You used that as a pretext to take control over the entire Embroidery House. ording to the principle of ''whoever has the greatest to gain is the true mastermind'', aren¡¯t you suspicious as well?¡± Zu An shouted.0

    Bu Liangcai¡¯s expression finally changed. He said, ¡°What endless pestering. I don¡¯t feel like wasting time arguing with you. You headed out ahead of time to eliminate Violet Mountain¡¯s dangers, and you clearly already learned that there were mysterious forces trying to act against his majestyfrom Golden Token Seven. Just that alone is enough to convict you of your crimes. Capture him!¡±0

    ¡°Who dares?!¡± Zu An eximed, taking a step forward. ¡°I am a Golden Token Envoy, while you are just a trifling Silver Token. ording to the emergency protocol of the Embroidered Envoy, all of you are supposed to listen to mymands right now. Are you all trying to start a rebellion?¡±0

    The Embroidered Envoys who hade over were a bit dumbfounded. Normally, they were supposed to listen to the Golden Token Envoy, but this was the trusted aide of the chiefmander. Normally, they were all under his management, so they were momentarily at a loss for what to do.0

    The Enforcement Troop also looked at each other in dismay. This situation really was a bit tricky. After all, ever since the founding of the Embroidery House, there had never been any incidents of anyone going against a Golden Token Envoy.0

    ¡°The chiefmander already expected this kind of situation. That was why he put me in charge of everything ahead of time,¡± Bu Liangcai said, taking out an intricate token and exining,¡°This is the chiefmander¡¯s personal official seal. He gave me authority over the entire Embroidery House. Even if you are a Golden Token Envoy, you still have to listen to my orders!¡± He said coldly, ¡°Cease your resistance and we might still show leniency. Otherwise, we will kill you on the spot!¡±0

    The Enforcement Troop finally acted, quickly surrounding Zu An and Xiao Jianren. They all took out their weapons, the trademark Soul Reaping Chains. Anyone caught up in them would have most of the ki in their body greatly restrained. The formation master quickly began to operate the formation wheel, surrounding them in flickering blue light.0n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The Embroidered Envoys were never known for their individual strength, but rather for how well they coordinated with each other. All kinds of infamous roaming warriors and influential n guardians had often fallen prey to these tactics.0

    ¡°Sir Eleven, you should hurry and leave. Do not worry about me,¡± Xiao Jianren said, panicking.0

    He knew Bu Liangcai had always disliked Sir Eleven. After all, with his seniority and cultivation, he should have been the newest Golden Token Envoy, and furthermore, he was even Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s trusted aide. That was already practically guaranteed. However, who could have expected that the emperor would create a Golden Token Eleven out of thin air? As such, his chances of being promoted were blocked right there and then.0

    Bu Liangcai wouldn¡¯t dare to resent the emperor, so of course he directed all of his hatred onto Golden Token Eleven. He felt as if this person had stolen what should have been his, and frequently looked for ways to vent his resentment, it was just that he hadn¡¯t said those things to Sir Eleven before. Now that he had the Violet Mountain incident, which was such a good excuse... If Sir Eleven fell into his hands, he could find some problems even if there were none. There was no need to guess the conclusion.0

    Even so, Zu An didn¡¯t budge an inch. Instead, he consoled Xiao Jianren and said, ¡°There''s no need to worry.¡± Then, he immediately raised a golden token and continued, ¡°The chiefmander token is right here. All Embroidered Envoys, heed my orders!¡±0

    When they saw the token in his hands, the others were shocked. They instinctively kneeled down respectfully. Unlike Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s personal seal that Bu Liangcai held, the token in Zu An¡¯s hands represented the identity and authority of the chiefmander. There was no way it could be given to anyone else.0

    Meanwhile, Bu Liangcai and his trusted aides stood in ce. As they looked at the token, their faces were filled with shock and anger. Bu Liangcai eximed, ¡°You scoundrel, where did you steal that token from?!¡±0

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Bu Liangcai for +399 +399 +399¡­</strong>0

    ¡°Steal?¡± Zu An replied. ¡°Seeing the token is the same as seeing the person. From today on, I am the new chiefmander of the Embroidered Envoy.¡±0

    Now, even Bu Liangcai¡¯s trusted aides found it a bit difficult to continue standing. They looked at each other in dismay, and their knees grew weak.0

    ¡°The chiefmander is still present, so where would we get a new chiefmander from so suddenly? You probably stole that token from the chiefmander when he was wounded on Violet Mountain! This is absolute proof that you have offended your superiors and colluded with outside enemies. Men, arrest this scoundrel. If he dares to resist, execute him on the spot!¡± Bu Liangcai eximed.0

    ¡°Understood!¡± Bu Liangcai¡¯s trusted aides replied, finally snapping out of their daze. They had already followed Sir Bu for so many things. If he was overthrown, they would also be stripped from their positions. They could only follow this path to the end.0

    The others were also a bit moved. After all, what Bu Liangcai said made some sense. They thought,<em>Could it be that Sir Eleven really did steal this token from Golden Peak?</em>0

    Although he saw their flustered and exasperated appearance, Zu An seemed to have already expected such a thing. He said ¡°Steal? This was a token that her highness just personally bestowed on me. Right now, I am the Embroidered Envoy''s Chief Commander!¡±0

    The expressions of the Embroidered Envoys who were still in the neutral camp changed. They gave Bu Liangcai a sympathetic look.0

    Bu Liangcai was even more horrified. He really couldn''t understand why the empress would give the token to Zu An. However, as someone who had worked in the Embroidery House this entire time, he immediately understood his current situation. He would be consigned to eternal damnation if he took even half a step back. As such, he roared, ¡°You dare to falsify her highness¡¯ imperial decree? Arrest him, and hand him over to her highness to deal with!¡±0

    That way, at the very least, the other neutral Embroidered Envoys wouldn¡¯t help Golden Token Eleven. As long as he first took down Golden Token Eleven and secretly killed him along the way, he would already be dead, so there wouldn¡¯t be much to say even if the empress found out after.0

    <em>I''m the real leader of the Embroidery House, so who else could this chiefmander position go to but me?</em>0

    <em>Even if the empress won¡¯t allow it, I can still side with other forces.</em>0

    In the time it took for sparks to fly off a flint, he had already finished assessing his priorities. He drew the de at his waist and charged forth. He had cultivation at the peak of the ninth rank and was only a step away from master rank, having the highest cultivation among the Embroidery House¡¯s Silver Token Envoys. He was even on the same level as other Golden Token Envoys. His full-strength attacks were naturally not to be underestimated. At the same time, he wanted to end Golden Token Eleven in a single strike, ordering his trusted aides to act together. He didn¡¯t want to give Golden Token Eleven any chance to turn things around.0

    He saw Zu An simply standing in ce, and a hint of mockery appeared in his eyes. He wasn¡¯t upset, and actually felt happy. He remarked, ¡°You¡¯re not even moving?¡±0

    <em>Even if this guy has some skill, he¡¯s overestimated himself way too much and will pay the price for it!</em>0

    His de had already reached its most powerful state. He could sense that he had never released such a liberating sword sh in his life. Perhaps because the situation was rted to his future prospects, his de disyed 130% of his usual strength. Together with the support formation of his surrounding aides, not even Chief Commander Zhuxie Chixin would be able to immediately deal with his attack.0

    <em>Huh? Where did he go?</em>0

    Suddenly, everything before Bu Liangcai¡¯s eyes blurred. Golden Token Eleven wasn''t there anymore, giving him a great shock. He quickly tried to redirect his attack, but he noticed that arge pair of hands were already mped around his neck. His eyes widened; he was horrified to discover that all of his ki seemed to be pouring uncontrobly into Golden Token Eleven¡¯s hands. In just a few moments, his cultivation was sucked practically dry.0

    <em>What kind of demonic art is this?!</em>0

    He was horrified, but at that point, he couldn''t say a single word more. With a crisp crack, his neck snapped.0

    Zu An tossed the corpse in his hands away. At the same time, he let out a strand of mes topletely burn the corpse into nothing. He was worried that some people would try to get information out of his corpse, so he naturally had to erase the traces. Standing with his hands behind him, he coldly swept his gaze across the remaining Envoys and announced, ¡°Bu Liangcai has rebelled against the emperor and has already been executed on the spot."0

    Bu Liangcai¡¯s subordinates felt as if they were dreaming. They had attacked Golden Token Eleven with a formation, so how was Bu Liangcai, the center of their formation, instantly defeated? All of them shivered all over. They didn¡¯t have any intent to rebel and kneeled down to beg for mercy.0

    The other Embroidered Envoys seemed to have woken up from a daze. They all kneeled down and called out, ¡°We greet the Chief Commander!¡±0

    Zu An had been a Golden Token Envoy to begin with, after all. The strength he had just disyed was no less than Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s at all. In this division, they still believed in the strong.0

    Zu An nodded. He had some people bring Xiao Jianren away to get some proper rest. At the same time, he assigned some people to lock up Bu Liangcai¡¯s trusted aides. No one dared to resist after seeing Bu Liangcai, a cultivator at the peak of the ninth rank, instantly killed.0

    After dealing with all of those things, Zu An then arrived at Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s previous office. He summoned all of the Silver Token Envoys in the Embroidery House and said, ¡°I want the most detailed information on all of the hidden elders and ancestors of the capital¡¯s great ns and the eight dukes.¡±0

    Favorite

 Chapter 1882: Troubled Young Lady

    <h4>Chapter 1882: Troubled Young Lady</h4>

    The Silver Token Envoys looked at each other in dismay. In the end, one of them stepped forward and said, ¡°Replying to the chiefmander, those are the Embroidery House¡¯s most confidential secrets that only Sir Zhuxie has ess to normally. He reports directly to the emperor. However, Sir Zhuxie has gone missing, so we do not know where he hid that intelligence. That is why we need to find him first.¡±0

    Zu An frowned, thinking,<em>Zhuxie Chixin really didn¡¯t trust anyone. He ended up taking so many secrets with him to the grave.</em>0

    ¡°Sir Zhuxie is already dead. There is no need to look for him," he said.0

    The other Envoys eximed in shock, ¡°Sir Zhuxie is dead?¡±0

    Even though countless rumors had circted, no one had any conclusive proof. Zhuxie Chixin had already managed the Embroidery House for several decades, leaving his mark all across the ce. It was quite difficult for the Envoys to immediately ept that information.0

    ¡°It is the truth. He fought to the death on Golden Peak. You will receive official information soon,¡± Zu An continued.0

    Because there had been a formation standing in the way, only a select few of the higher-ups knew about what had really happened on Golden Peak at present, and everything they knew was also limited to what Zu An had told them.0

    ¡°Use this time to search for where Sir Zhuxie hid that information. I¡¯m sure that some clues were left behind. Furthermore, the Embroidered Envoys who helped him investigate all of that information should still be alive, so investigate all of them. Have them gather the intelligence again and summarize it for me," Zu An instructed.0

    ¡°Understood!¡± The silver token envoys all saluted.0

    They had still been a bit reluctant at first, but when they heard that Zhuxie Chixin had already died, they knew that the Embroidery House had alreadypletely changed. They didn¡¯t dare to try any clever tricks in front of their new boss and wanted to leave behind as good of an impression as possible. That way, their time here would be a bit easier.0

    Zu An then told them to bring him a list of names of the higher-ups and summon the representatives of each department for individual meetings. After he encouraged and appeased them a bit, the Embroidery House was temporarily stabilized.0

    Then, he visited Xiao Jianren¡¯s room to see how he was doing. Xiao Jianren was so moved that he wanted to get up when he heard about Zu An''s arrival, but he couldn''t help but start to cough intensely after his movements caused his injuries to re up.0

    Zu An quickly supported him back into bed, saying, ¡°You''re seriously injured right now, so there''s no need for excessive formalities.¡±0

    ¡°Thank you, Sir Eleven. No, I should call you chiefmander now,¡± Xiao Jianren said with a grin. Even though his body was aching all over, today had been truly refreshing. He really had been bullied by Bu Liangcai to the point of utter resentment. Now, Sir Eleven had be the chiefmander, so his own backer was bing more and more reliable.0

    Zu An took out the medicinal ointment he had just retrieved from the medicine building and personally applied it, saying, ¡°You¡¯ve suffered quite a lot. That Bu guy definitely wanted to take a bite out of me through you, and so he tormented you like this.¡±0

    Xiao Jianren harrumphed. ¡°Even though my personality is pretty moderate normally, how could I be someone who betrays my superiors? I was scared that I wouldn''t be able to hold on, and only hoped for Sir Eleven to help me get revenge and maybe take care of my family, in which case I¡¯d already be satisfied enough. I never expected such a great thing to happen!¡±0

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°Good things happen to good people. Rest up well. Once you¡¯ve recovered, I¡¯ll look for a chance to promote you to Golden Token Envoy.¡± As this man had never turned his back on him, he couldn''t let him down either. Hecked trusted aides in the Embroidery House to begin with, so Xiao Jianren was the perfect candidate for promotion.0

    Xiao Jianren eximed in shock, ¡°You absolutely can''t! My strength is too low for me to be a Golden Token Envoy!¡±0

    Zu An knew that what he said was the truth. Even though Xiao Jianren''s cultivation was still passable, that was all. It wasn¡¯t that outstanding among the Silver Token Envoys, let alone a Golden Token Envoy. After thinking about it, he put a finger against Xiao Jianren''s body. Then, the cultivation he had just sucked out of Bu Liangcai poured into Xiao Jianren. After all, Bu Liangcai¡¯s cultivation was pretty much useless to Zu An, but for Xiao Jianren, it was like a charcoal delivery in snowy weather.0

    Sure enough, Xiao Jianren was shocked and overjoyed when he sensed the abundant power that entered his body. He said, ¡°Chiefmander, this is¡­¡±0

    ¡°Don¡¯t say too much. I¡¯ll seal this power within you for now, so use this time to properly digest it. Your cultivation should be able to make major breakthroughs. Then, even though there will still be some distance from the Golden Token Envoy standard, it should more or less be enough," Zu An replied seriously.0

    Such rough infusions of cultivation were convenient and fast, but they also carried a lot of potential risks. For example, the cultivator¡¯s foundation could be unsteady, and their upper limit could also be restricted. Furthermore, others didn¡¯t have the ability to absorb and pass on cultivation to someone else. As such, these situations were actually quite rare.0

    Of course, Xiao Jianren¡¯s aptitude had always been quite ordinary to begin with. Even if he cultivated properly, perhaps he would never even reach Bu Liangcai¡¯s cultivation naturally. As such, there was no real upper limit to speak of.0

    ¡°Thank you, chiefmander!¡± Xiao Jianren eximed; he was so excited that hot tears filled his eyes. The fact that he had been able to be a Silver Token Envoy was mainly due to seniority and relying on his head. He had always been quite poor in terms ofbat strength among the Silver Token Envoys. He had never expected his cultivation to make such shocking progress!0

    ¡°Don¡¯t think too much about it and cultivate properly. I¡¯ll still need your help in the future,¡± Zu An said with a chuckle. At the same time, he mentioned his intent to investigate the eight dukes and the hidden elders and ancestors of the various great ns.0

    Xiao Jianren replied, ¡°Even though I was frequently assigned to the Embroidery House¡¯s archive library, I still rarely came into contact with this type of information. But the archives themselves and the people who passed through are clues that can be traced. I have an idea. Once I finish thinking it through, I''ll make a report to chiefmander.¡±0

    Zu An was overjoyed. The other Silver Token Envoys had all had troubled expressions when he first gave the order. After all, that information had been in the hands of Zhuxie Chixin alone. The others had practically never touched those files. But sure enough, librarians and administrators had always been formidable individuals since ancient times. Xiao Jianren had almost always been managing the archives, so he was the most suitable one to take care of this affair.8

    ¡°Alright. There''s no need to rush. Take care of your wounds first," he said.0

    ¡­0

    After leaving Xiao Jianren¡¯s room, Zu An sought out the Bronze Token Envoys Dai Seventh and Chen Eighth. They were also his direct subordinates, and had been locked up for some time. But because their statuses weren¡¯t high enough, they hadn¡¯t suffered as much as Xiao Jianren did. After bringing them some medicine and giving them some encouragement, he also promised to promote them to Silver Token Envoys. The two brothers were moved to tears.1

    ¡­0

    By the time Zu An left the Imperial Pce, it was alreadyte. He removed his Embroidered Envoy outfit, feeling a bit anxious. He had wanted to leave after getting the intelligence he needed from the Embroidery House, but he hadn¡¯t expected to be held up for so long. He wondered what the situation was like at the Qin manor. Thatss Youzhao in particr was a crossdresser, for one thing. If she got locked up, there would be a high chance of her identity being exposed. She was a woman all by herself, so she would definitely be in danger.0

    Thus, Zu An rushed straight to the Qin manor. The usually lively entrance now only had sparrows gathering at the gates. A cold wind brushed past, picking up the scattered leaves by the entrance. The whole ce carried an indescribable sense of bleakness. Zu An frowned slightly. After all, this kind of great n cared about their social status more than anything. Usually, the front entrance had to be brushedpletely clean. Now, there were many fallen leaves, and yet no one cared much for them, and there wasn¡¯t a single gatekeeper. Fortunately, the state duke manor¡¯s signboard hadn''t been removed, and the entrance wasn¡¯t sealed off either. It seemed as if, at the very least, the worst case scenario of the manor being searched and people''s possessions being confiscated hadn¡¯t happened.0

    Zu An was about to knock on the door when he saw that it wasn¡¯tpletely closed. He couldn''t help but be suspicious. The state dukes and the two princes had been captured, and there had been no verdict on the crimes they were charged with yet. This Qin manor had at least a hundred people inside, so how could they be so careless as to not even close the gates?0

    He entered and walked around for a while, but he didn¡¯t see servants walking about as usual. He didn¡¯t even see a single person. He figured that they had likely fled after hearing that the Qin n was experiencing a great disaster. There was trash everywhere, as well as crooked and copsed ornaments. He had never felt much whenever he saw a wealthy familye to ruin before, but at that moment, he seemed to feel something. He had personally witnessed the Qin manor¡¯s splendor in the past, and yet now, it was so bleak and lifeless. A top-tier n being doomed to fall was quite moving.0

    Suddenly, Zu An thought of something. His divine sense picked up on some activity in Chu Youzhao¡¯s courtyard. He set aside his other thoughts and flew straight there.0

    Perhaps because all of the people in charge of the Qin n had been captured, the formations that defended the Qin n weren¡¯t operating as usual. They were probably only enough to stop some small bandits in their current state. Any cultivators with decent cultivation could easily make their way through.0

    ¡­0

    When Zu An arrived at Youzhao¡¯s courtyard, he saw a group of soldiers surrounding the area. Sounds of intense arguments came from inside. Zu An¡¯s expression darkened. Why were there soldiers here? Could it be that they really were confiscating everything?0

    ¡°What are you all trying to do? The Qin n¡¯s crimes haven¡¯t been confirmed yet, and I''m not from the Qin n. What do you all want to examine my room for?!¡± a voice eximed angrily. Even then, it was still melodious and pleasant. Who else could it be but Chu Youzhao?0N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Young master Chu, we did note to look for you, but rather the fugitive Murong Qinghe. I hope that the young master will not trouble us too much,¡± the leader of the soldiers said.0

    Zu An raised his brows.<em>Murong Qinghe? Didn¡¯t she follow the main procession to Violet Mountain? How did she be a fugitive?</em>0

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    NEXT CHAPTER

 Chapter 1883: Betrayal

    <h4>Chapter 1883: Betrayal</h4>

    Zu An silently walked into the courtyard and saw that it was surrounded by several dozen purple-armored soldiers. His brows furrowed deeply. He had initially thought that they were the capital magistrate¡¯s people, or perhaps even military officers. But these purple-armored guards made things a bit more interesting. After all, only a prince¡¯s imperial bodyguards could use such purple armor. He wondered which prince¡¯s subordinates these were. After all, when had capturing fugitives be the responsibility of a prince?0

    Meanwhile, Chu Youzhao was blocking the entrance with her arms spread. She cried, ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to search inside! You don¡¯t have the Commandant of Justice¡¯s orders, so what right do you have to search the premises? Let alone the house of a state duke!¡±0

    At the head of the troops was a middle-aged general, clearly the leader of the group. He couldn''t help but sneer, retorting, ¡°State duke¡¯s home? Are the two state dukes still in good health?¡±0

    Chu Youzhao immediately became more anxious. She said, ¡°The Qin n¡¯s state dukes are imprisoned at the moment, but the court will definitely state that the Qin n is innocent one day! This is no ce for people like you to mess around!¡±0N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Heh, a state duke manor? What frighteningly great prestige. Unfortunately, even though that could be enough to scare off others, we came on the orders of King Jin. We are here to catch the court¡¯s criminals. No matter how great your Qin n¡¯s state dukes are, are they greater than our King Jin?¡± the middle-aged man replied, cupping his hands toward King Jin Manor with a proud expression.1

    Zu An was stunned. King Jin? He had spent a substantial amount of time in the capital and naturally knew who this King Jin was.0

    Zhao Han had many children, but thete empress had only birthed two children. One was the stupid Crown Prince Zhao Ruizhi, and the other was King Jin, Zhao Ruiyong.0

    Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s name meant ''wise and farsighted'', but he was actually an idiot. Meanwhile, Zhao Ruiyong''s name meant ''astute and brave'', but he was sickly and weak. Quite a few famous doctors had already said that he didn¡¯t have much hope for a long life. It was only thanks to Zhao Han¡¯s influence reaching from sea to sea that he had umted enough precious medicine to preserve his life, preventing an untimely death. Still, even with all of those medicines and Zhao Han himself using his incredible cultivation to nurture him from time to time, the pce doctors had still privately reached the conclusion that King Jin was unlikely to live past the age of thirty-five. After all, this was a world of cultivation. Any given cultivator''s lifespan was already far greater than that of anyone from Zu An¡¯s previous world. As such, thirty-five years was just way too short.4

    Zhao Han had also felt pity for his son¡¯s impending death, and thus gave him the best treatment out of all of the princes. It was even more preferential than that of the crown prince. Still, everyone knew he wouldn¡¯t be alive for long, so no one had felt much jealousy. It was to the extent that even the former empress and crown princess had never mentioned him when they were talking about the princes that would fight over the throne.0

    Zu An wondered if there was something wrong with the head of the one who had named these two brothers, as they had gotten itpletely wrong. At the same time, he was curious as to why a prince who stood aloof from worldly affairs would suddenlye to catch a court criminal.0

    Chu Youzhao looked a bit nervous as she asked, ¡°Not even King Jin can go against thew, right?¡±0

    ¡°Thew? The emperor has been attacked and we do not even know if he is alive or dead. King Jin is absolutely ovee with grief and wants to get revenge for his majesty. Is there anything wrong with that?¡± the middle-aged leader said with a sneer. ¡°Meanwhile, young master Chu is sheltering a criminal, and yet you have the nerve to invoke thew?¡±0

    ¡­0

    At the very edge of the courtyard, Zu An thought to himself,<em>As expected.</em>0

    King Jin had always been doted on by Zhao Han, so he naturally respected and loved his father a lot. Unlike that stupid big brother of a crown prince, he understood that everything boded ill for his father. As such, he evidently wanted his people to vent his frustrations.0

    ¡°What connection does Murong Qinghe have to the ambush?!¡± Chu Youzhao eximed angrily. She was childhood friends with Murog Qinghe and they were really close, so of course she wanted to help her out of danger.0

    ¡°Her father is the Supervisor of Attendants and should have been in charge of his majesty¡¯s safety. Now that his majesty has been attacked, her father needs to shoulder responsibility. Furthermore, she was even a part of the army that escorted his majesty back then, and also bears the crime of negligence. Now, she actually dares to run, which only further proves her guilty conscience!¡± the middle-aged man replied, gradually growing louder and louder.0

    The other imperial guards of the king manor gradually pressed forward, all full of killing intent. Their unified steps carried the pressure of an execution order, leaving Chu Youzhao and the others rmed and terrified. Because the Qin n¡¯s two n masters and young masters had been captured, the entire n had already dispersed. There weren''t many guards left in the Qin manor. There were only four trembling guards left at Chu Youzhao¡¯s side. All of them swallowed with difficulty, their legs shaking as they watched the scene y out.0

    Among them, one said softly, ¡°Young master Chu, it is difficult for even our Qin n to take care of ourselves. We really cannot shelter Miss Murong¡­¡±0

    ¡°Exactly, and they are only here to investigate Miss Murong. They might not really do anything to her. How about we¡­¡±0

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Chu Youzhao red angrily at them and immediately cut them off.0

    The middle-aged general from King Jin Manor roared withughter, saying, ¡°It looks like Murong Qinghe is here after all. Men, arrest her!¡±0

    ¡°Who dares?!¡± Chu Youzhao retorted, drawing her sword as well. Even though she was a woman, she didn¡¯t cower at all.0

    ¡°Please do not overestimate yourself, young master Chu. With your cultivation, any random one of my subordinates can win against you. Even if you fight until you are drenched in blood, you might not be able to stop us from arresting Murong Qinghe. Instead, you will only guarantee your own crime of sheltering a criminal, so we will not just be arresting her alone at that point,¡± the middle-aged general said, his tone harsh and threatening.0

    The Qin n guards immediately threw their weapons away when they heard that, saying, ¡°This matter has nothing to do with us!¡±0

    ¡°You guys!¡± Chu Youzhao cried. Her eyes darted around quickly, but she knew that she couldn''t really me them. The fact that they had stayed this long with the Qin n was already a sign of their loyalty. In the end, only a private friendship with Murong Qinghe had led to all of this. There was no reason to involve them. A trace of decisiveness shed through her eyes when she realized that; she held her sword in front of her, saying, ¡°If you want to take little sister Qinghe, you¡¯ll have to do so over my dead¡­¡±0

    ¡°I¡¯ll follow you!¡± a lovable voice cried out from inside the room.0

    Then, a tall and slender figure slowly walked out, her long and strong legs immediately drawing the attention of all the men there. Her tan skin in particr gave her an unruly aesthetic. Her appearance was clearly that of a young and inexperienced woman, and yet those two entirely different aesthetics actuallybined perfectly to form a unique kind of beauty. However, there was only weariness in her expression; there was no more of her usual high-spirited nature. Her clothes were damaged, and her face had dried bloodstains on it; it was unclear whether they belonged to her or her enemies. As she stood there alone, she looked especially haggard and bleak.0

    ¡°Qinghe!¡± Chu Yuozhao eximed, panicking.0

    Murong Qinghe gave her a look filled with gentleness. Her big brother Chu was normally so weak and elegant, and yet insisted on sheltering her like this. He was more brave and heroic than many soldiers in the army. She thought,<em>No wonder I liked him for so many years.</em>0

    But she didn¡¯t reply; instead, she looked at the people from King Jin Manor and said, ¡°I came here secretly on my own and didn¡¯t alert anyone. The Qin n¡¯s people didn''t know that I was here, so it has nothing to do with them. I hope that General Liu won''t trouble anyone else.¡±0

    The middle-aged general nodded and said, ¡°But of course.¡±0

    Murong Qinghe nodded in response. She threw the spear in her hands to the ground, and soldiers quickly walked up to shackle her.0

    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± she said coldly. She was already worn out after running for so long. She was ready to ept her own fate.0

    Then, General Liu said with a smile, ¡°Hold on. Chu Youzhao has harbored a criminal, so arrest him as well for interrogation."3

    Murong Qinghe was stunned when she heard that. Then, she erupted into rage, eximing, ¡°Bastard, you lied to me!¡±0

    It was precisely because the other side hadn''t continued to question Chu Youzhao¡¯s responsibility that she agreed to be captured. Otherwise, with her spear skills, if she really resisted, she wouldn''t necessarily have been able to escape, but she could definitely have made these people pay a grave price. However, she was alreadypletely restrained. She was already like a fish on a chopping board, without any strength to resist.0

    Chu Youzhao was shocked and furious. She eximed, ¡°You¡¯re shameless and despicable! Qinghe, you shouldn¡¯t have trusted them!¡±0

    General Liu said coldly, ¡°How can thew of a country be carried out based on personal transactions? The reason this general has acted like this is to lessen the casualties of my subordinates. What wrongs have Imitted?¡±0

    As King Jin¡¯s trusted aide, he naturally knew just how furious King Jin was after hearing about what happened to his majesty. He waspletely devoted to getting revenge for his father, and the King Qi faction¡¯s Murong n and Qin n were both thorns in his side. The Murong n was one thing, but as for the Qin n, that dead camel was stillrger than a horse. There were a lot of their people in the army, so the two state dukes hadn¡¯t been convicted even after all this time. If they couldpletely bring down the Qin n through the usation of harboring a criminal, King Jin would definitely be happy.0

    <em>Then I''ll be able to obtain the appreciation of the various big shots in the capital¡­</em>1

    The two women were so angry they were shaking as they listened to him speak so forcefully and self-righteously. Still, there really was nothing else that they could do right now.0

    With a wave of the general''s hand, several purple-armored guards surrounded Chu Youzhao. As the guards of King Jin Manor, their cultivation was naturally much stronger than that of ordinary soldiers.0

    Meanwhile, Chu Youzhao didn¡¯t excel at cultivation. Even if they faced them one-on-one, she wouldn''t necessarily be their match. When she thought about how her crossdressing would definitely be exposed if she was captured, her face paled. She immediately sank into despair.0

    Suddenly, a cold voice said, ¡°I was wondering what kind of skills King Jin Manor¡¯s people had, but it turns out all you''re good at is tricking some young juniors. These two are mine, so none of you can bring them away!¡±

 Chapter 1884: Also a Criminal

    <h4>Chapter 1884: Also a Criminal</h4>

    ¡°Who dares?!¡± General Liu eximed, quickly turning around. He had actually never noticed the other person approaching them this entire time!0

    ¡°Brother-inw!¡± Chu Youzhao eximed, feeling shocked and happy to hear the familiar voice.0

    ¡°Big brother Zu~¡± Murong Qinghe cried. Her eyes that had been full of despair now regained a bit of color.0

    Zu An slowly walked forward. For some reason, wherever he went, the purple-armored soldiers moved aside on their own.0N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Youzhao, don¡¯t be scared. Your brother-inw has returned,¡± Zu An said with a voice full of pity. So many things had happened to the Qin n as ofte. Together with what happened to the Murong n, this youngdy had constantly lived in fear day after day.0

    ¡°Brother-inw¡­ Sniff¡­¡± Chu Youzhao sniffled, her eyes red. She immediately jumped into his arms.0

    Murong Qinghe had a strange expression. Her big brother Chu was good in every way, but sometimes he was a bit too¡­ soft. He always acted like a little girl in front of her brother-inw. But when she recalled how big brother Chu had protected her earlier, how he was more of a man than anyone, she revealed a bashful smile.0

    <em>The fact that he did that for me already makes this life worth it¡­</em>0

    When he sensed the slight shaking in Chu Youzhao¡¯s delicate body, Zu An gently stroked her hair to console her.0

    King Jin¡¯s people finally reacted too. General Liu harrumphed. ¡°And I was wondering who it was. So it was Sir Zu.¡±0

    Zu An looked up at him and replied, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but who are you?¡±0

    The general¡¯s face froze. He recognized the other person, and yet the reverse wasn''t true. It really made his face heat up. However, he also knew that he wasn¡¯t as famous as Zu An in the capital, so he could only introduce himself. ¡°I am King Jin Manor¡¯s guard captain, Liu Jinxin.¡±0

    ¡°Never heard of you before,¡± Zu An said nonchntly, then continued to console Chu Youzhao.0

    ¡°You¡­!¡± Liu Jinxin eximed with a scowl. ¡°I hope that Sir Zu will not stop us from arresting a court criminal.¡±0

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Liu Jinxin for +288 +288 +288¡­</strong>0

    Zu An raised his head slightly and replied, ¡°Arresting a criminal? Are there any here? Why do I not know about it?¡±0

    Liu Jinxin¡¯s eyes were burning with rage. He said, ¡°His majesty encountered an attack on Violet Mountain. Murong Tong is the Supervisor of Attendants and is in charge of his majesty¡¯s safety, but his negligence led to an ident happening to his majesty. This is, of course, a tremendous crime. The Murong n had no choice but to cooperate with the investigation, but they secretly let Murong Qinghe escape. What else could this be but an act of guilt? The court has already issued an order of arrest, and as someone who has sheltered a criminal, Chu Youzhao is also guilty!¡±0

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Liu Jinxin for +300 +300 +300¡­</strong>0

    Zu An replied, ¡°Oh, I understand. You can leave now.¡±0

    Liu Jinxin choked. He asked, ¡°Did you not hear me clearly? They are criminals, and I am here to arrest them!¡±0

    Zu An moved Chu Youzhao behind him, then said slowly, ¡°If I recall correctly, you''re merely King Jin¡¯s personal guards and have no right to arrest anyone. This is Magistrate Yin, the Commandant of Justice, or the Security Officer¡¯s responsibility. May I ask which one of these roles your King Jin has recently assumed?¡±0

    Liu Jinxin scowled and said, ¡°Arresting court criminals is the responsibility of everyone in the court. Furthermore, King Jin is his majesty¡¯s precious family member, as well as one of the princes his majesty treasured the most. The king wishes to get revenge for his father, an action thates from a ce of filial piety. My Great Zhou Dynasty is built on filial piety. Even ording to the court¡¯s judgment, this is worthy of praise.¡±0

    Zu An retorted coldly, ¡°Can someone who has been doted on by his majesty disregard thew and selfishly carry out punishments against the people on their own?¡±0

    Liu Jinxin finally couldn''t suppress his rage anymore. He said, ¡°Sir Zu, I respect you as an important minister of the crown prince¡¯s Eastern Pce. You are someone who belongs to the same camp as our King Jin, so that is why I have spoken properly to you all this time. Are your actions right now your own, or are you representing the crown¡­ princess?¡±0

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Liu Jinxin for +310 +310 +310¡­</strong>0

    Zu An said calmly, ¡°There is no need to disturb the crown princess for such a small matter ase this.¡±0

    ¡°Then it seems to be Sir Zu who obstinately clings to a stubborn insistence on defending criminals yourself, no?¡± Liu Jinxin replied as he sighed in relief. As long as it wasn¡¯t the crown princess¡¯ intention, that was fine. He represented King Jin right now, so like hell he had to be scared of anything.0

    ¡°It''s hard to say whether they''re even criminals. How could you just willfully throwbels and usations at them like that?¡± Zu An replied. He didn¡¯t feel like wasting more words on him. ¡°If you want to bring these people away, have the Commandant of Justice personally find me.¡±0

    Liu Jinxin roared withughter and replied, ¡°Sir Zu, who do you think you are? Are King Jin¡¯s orders beneath those of the Commandant of Justice? Could you stop so many guards all by yourself?¡±0

    In the past, Zu An¡¯s cultivation had seemed pretty good. But rumor had it that after he returned from the Fiend races'' territory, he seemed to have been seriously injured, leaving his cultivation crippled.Liu Jinxinhad even checked for himself and hadn¡¯t sensed the slightest bit of ki from Zu An¡¯s body. He was like apletely normal person.0

    <em>Hmph, I wonder just where he gets the courage to stop us from capturing these people. Does he really think he can do whatever he wants just because he has received the crown princess¡¯ favor? Even the crown princess has to show our King Jin respect!</em>1

    Zu An walked over to Murong Qinghe and passed his hands gently over her body. The chains fell apart just like that, and she finally regained her freedom.0

    ¡°Qinghe, we¡¯re okay now!¡± Chu Youzhao eximed, excitedly grabbing her hand.0

    <em>As long as brother-inw is here, there¡¯s nothing he can¡¯t do!</em>0

    Murog Qinghe blushed when her hand was taken, but she quickly snapped out of her daze and picked up the spear she had tossed aside. She intended to fight together with Zu An.0

    Liu Jinxin didn¡¯t get angry; instead, heughed and remarked, ¡°Good, good. Zu An is letting a criminal run free out of selfish interests; reprehensible! Men, arrest him! If he resists, then just kill him!¡±0

    He had deliberately watched Zu An let Murong Qinghe go. That way, even if the matter reached the court, he would still be in the right. As for Murong Qinghe¡¯s strength, even though her cultivation wasn¡¯t bad, she was still young. He was an expert at the peak of the eighth rank and didn¡¯t need to fear her at all.1

    Shouts resounded around him. The guards rushed forward.0

    Murong Qinghe was about to move, but Zu An reached out his hand and stood in front of her. Then, he looked at the charging purple-armored guards and yelled, ¡°F*ck off!¡±0

    An invisible wave spread out, and the vicious guards screamed miserably. All of them clutched their heads in pain as they rolled on the ground, their weapons falling.0

    It was the Fiend races¡¯ Lion¡¯s Roar, a skill that was most suited for facing numerous enemies!0

    Chu Youzhao¡¯s eyes lit up. She smiled so widely that her eyes were almost closed, eximing, ¡°Brother-inw is so awesome!¡±0

    Murong Qinghe¡¯s eyes were also dazzling. She had faced such king manor guards many times, and their cultivations weren¡¯t low at all. They were also good at coordinated attacks. She hadn¡¯t expected them to already be on their knees without big brother Zu even lifting a finger!0

    Liu Jinxin also took the situation in with a stupefied expression. Then, he glowered at Zu An, saying, ¡°So Sir Zu actually hid your strength so well. No wonder you had such confidence.¡±0

    Zu An likely had some kind of skill that could conceal his aura. However, even though that sound wave was a bit ufortable for Liu Jinxin, it didn¡¯t really injure him. As such, he determined that even though that bastard Zu¡¯s cultivation wasn¡¯t bad, there was still a limit to it. As soon as he spoke, he drew his de and walked toward Zu An one step after another. Killing intent filled his eyes.0

    There were all kinds of schemes brewing in the capital right now, and all of the princes had their own thoughts. King Jin had been destined to not have any future in all of that because of his body¡¯s condition. However, that person had hinted before that if they could¡­1

    <em>Hmph, we¡¯ll first use this proper pretext to get rid of that bastard Zu so the crown prince loses an important general. This matter won¡¯t be traced back to me anyway.</em>0

    As he made up his mind, his aura locked onto Zu An. As he walked forward step by step, his killing intent reached its most powerful state. He knew his de was powerful enough to erase any enemy before him.0

    But who would have thought that Zu An wouldn''t even give him a second look? Instead, he looked at the bit of blood at the corners of Chu Youzhao¡¯s lips and asked, ¡°Did he hit you earlier?¡±1

    Chu Youzhao reflexively nodded, but then repeatedly shook her head and said, ¡°It¡¯s not that big of a deal, actually. He just struck me in an earlier conflict. I¡¯m okay.¡±0

    She had actually blocked them outside the main gate with the servants at first, and it was only because she suffered from that confrontation that she had backed up all the way here. However, she noticed that there was something not quite right about Zu An¡¯s tone. She quickly shook her head for fear that he would end up getting hurt because of his rashness. Even though that Liu guy was hateful, he was King Jin Manor¡¯s imperial guard captain. If something happened to him, they wouldpletely offend King Jin. She was worried that she would bring her brother-inw a problem that couldn''t be solved.0

    Right at that moment, Liu Jinxin roared and said, ¡°Just go to hell!¡±0

    He was really angry that he was being underestimated. Did this Zu bastard think he was an earth immortal or something?4

    A massive streak of de radiance flew toward the other side. Forget about Zu An, even Chu Youzhao and Murong Qinghe would be shed into a bloody mist by his de.0

    Murong Qinghe was horrified when she sensed the terrifying de energy. She reflexively raised her spear, but this was an attack at the peak of the eighth rank, so how could it be something she could fend off?0

    Suddenly, Zu An slowly raised two fingers. The terrifying de energy suddenly disappeared without a trace. As it turned out, the de was already mped tightly within his two fair fingers.0

    Liu Jinxin¡¯s face was entirely red. No matter how much strength he exerted, he couldn''t make his de budge in the slightest. In that moment, he finally understood just how terrifying the other side was. He quickly said, ¡°Sir Zu, this is a misunderstanding¡­¡±1

    Before he even finished speaking, he watched as his own de suddenly turned around. It was also de energy, and it felt incredibly familiar; and yet, it made his entire body shake in fear.0

    The next second, a head rushed into the air. Then, a headless corpse staggered a few steps forward before crashing down. The purple-armored guards could only watch in absolute horror.0

    Zu An¡¯s body was protected by his natural ki armor, so the blood that sprayed out didn¡¯t stay on his body.0

    However, Chu Youzhao and Murong Qinghe¡¯s faces were deathly pale.0

    <em>Oh no, King Jin Manor¡¯s guard captain was killed! Big brother Zu is also going to be a criminal¡­</em>

 Chapter 1885: Keep the Goodies Within the Family

    <h4>Chapter 1885: Keep the Goodies Within the Family</h4>

    The king manor guards opened their mouths as if they wanted to say something. But when they saw Liu Jinxin¡¯s miserable end, no one dared to say a thing. In the end, no one wanted to be like that unfortunate soul. All of them pushed and shoved each other as they tried to run away.0

    Zu An wasn¡¯t a fan of ughter, so he didn¡¯t make things difficult for the lesser troops. When he looked at the mess and blood everywhere, he said with a frown, ¡°Sorry, I¡¯ve made a mess of your courtyard.¡±0

    After saying that, with a flick of his finger, a wisp of White Lotus me flew over to the corpse, quickly burning it until there was nothing left.0

    Murong Qinghe¡¯s eye twitched when she saw that. She knew Zu An had to have burned away corpses many times before, considering how proficient he was at it.0

    Chu Youzhao couldn''t help but say worriedly, ¡°Brother-inw, now that you¡¯ve killed King Jin¡¯s guard captain, things will be really troublesome now.¡±0

    Murong Qinghe added, ¡°One should be responsible for one''s actions. Just say I did it; we can''t involve big brother Zu. I¡¯ll be leaving the city soon. At that time, they won¡¯t be able to catch me either."0

    Chu Youzhao couldn''t help but hold her hands, saying, ¡°You¡¯re all alone now, and it¡¯s really dangerous outside!¡±0

    ¡°I actually shouldn¡¯t havee back, but I just couldn''t bear to¡­ bear to leave big brother Chu. I wanted to see you, but I only caused trouble for everyone,¡± Murong Qinghe said; her expression was both annoyed and apologetic.0

    ¡°Is there a need to talk about all of this between us?¡± Chu Youzhao replied as she held her hands tightly and wouldn¡¯t let go. She couldn''t help but cry too when she thought about how they¡¯d have to live apart from each other from now on.0

    Zu An found this emotional moment of holding hands and shedding tears a bit amusing. He asked, ¡°What kind of tragic story are you making up in your heads? He¡¯s nothing more than a king manor guard. If he¡¯s been killed, then so be it. What¡¯s the big deal with that?¡±0

    ¡°But he isn¡¯t an ordinary king manor¡¯s captain; he''s the guard captain of King Jin Manor! Isn¡¯t this the same as publicly striking King Jin in the face?¡± Chu Youzhao eximed in a panic. ¡°King Jin definitely won¡¯t let you go, and the court won¡¯t just let this matter end either.¡±0

    Zu An thought to himself,<em>Is King Jin¡¯s face even worth as much as the crown prince¡¯s bottom?</em>He had even given the crown prince a vicious beating, so why would he fear some King Jin? He replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, just leave the aftermath to me. If I say it¡¯s okay, then it¡¯s okay.¡±0

    The two young women felt a bit more relieved when they heard him say that. However, there was still worry in their expressions.0

    Zu An looked around and said, ¡°Still, staying here isn¡¯t too appropriate. Why don''t the two of you follow me back to my ce?¡±0

    The Qin manor was already in tatters. The safety of this ce was hard to guarantee.0

    Chu Youzhao¡¯s eyes lit up. Didn¡¯t that mean she could live together with her brother-inw now? She replied, ¡°Okay!¡±0

    Murong Qinghe was also a bit moved. That way, she could live under the same roof as big brother Chu. Just the thought of a blissful life together filled her eyes with expectation. However, she said, ¡°But I''m currently a criminal. Wouldn¡¯t I be involving big brother Zu this way?"0

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. It shouldn¡¯t be too big of an issue for me to shelter the two of you now," Zu An replied.0

    When she looked at hisrge and tall figure, Murong Qinghe¡¯s face turned a bit red.0

    <em>Big brother Zu really gives off a mysterious sense of safety. He¡¯s so handsome too¡­ If it weren¡¯t because I grew up with big brother Chu, I might even like¡­</em>1

    <em>Pah pah pah! Murong Qinghe, Murong Qinghe, when did you be someone so fickle? Big brother Chu is clearly the best in this entire world!</em>4

    When they saw that Zu An was about to bring the two women away, the Qin n¡¯s guards asked with sullen expressions, ¡°What will we do if you leave, Sir Zu? What if King Jin Manores looking for us again¡­¡±0

    ¡°Just tell them the truth of what happened. If they want to look for me, they cane straight for me,¡± Zu An said. Afterward, he thought to himself for a bit and said, ¡°Take good care of the Qin n¡¯s people. I''ll send some people over after a while to help you protect the Qin n.¡±0

    The current state of the Qin n was definitely no good. If some bandits came to loot the Qin n and harmed the women, that would be bad.0

    The Qin n guards immediately became overjoyed. They eximed, ¡°Sir Zu is righteous and great! Thank you, Sir Zu!¡¯0

    The Qin n¡¯s masters had been captured, and their young masters were as well. The entire n¡¯s people had been rmed, and many had already run. As for the massive Qin manor, they didn¡¯t have enough manpower and couldn''t protect this ce. Now that they had Sir Zu¡¯s help, they could at least stabilize the Qin manor again.0

    Zu An nodded. He took the two women and headed toward his own marquis manor.0

    ¡­0

    ¡°Brother-inw, thank you so much, really,¡± Chu Youzhao said, rubbing her eyes. The Qin n had suddenly experienced an unexpected cmity. She had racked her brains for anything and everything she could do day after day, but the Qin n was still full of weaknesses. Now that big brother Zu had returned, everything would be easily solved.0

    ¡°I''m only doing what I should,¡± Zu An said with a chuckle.0

    Chu Youzhao thought to herself,<em>What do you mean, doing what you should?</em>0

    <em>Big sis already divorced him, and the Qin n has nothing to do with him. Also, the Qin n has never been that nice to him. Could it be that brother-inw did all of this for me?</em>5

    Her cheeks immediately began burning red when she thought of that.4

    Zu An looked at Murong Qinghe and asked, ¡°Little sister Qinghe, weren¡¯t you with the army back then? Why did you suddenly be a criminal?¡±0

    Murong Qinghe¡¯s eyes immediately turned red when she heard that. She said while choking with emotion, ¡°After what happened to his majesty on Golden Peak, eventually, the civil and military officials finally broke through the mountain protecting formation. However, all they saw was an expanse of ruins. A great battle had clearly taken ce, and there was blood everywhere. His majesty was also nowhere to be seen. Later, the officials searched around Golden Peak for a whole month and saw that even Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s jade identity token had fallen there. It was covered in blood, suggesting that the situation boded ill for him. Along the way, they found the broken weapons of the other guards. His majesty never appeared either. Even the ministers who had the most faith in his majesty¡¯s unparalleled cultivation began to waver. After reviewing the situation, they suspected that it was a n set up by King Qi, and that he had invited the other experts to kill his majesty there together. As for who those people were, they didn¡¯t know, but they suspected that the daoists had joined in. Afterward, they began to investigate this. My father is the Supervisor of Attendants and bears responsibility for his majesty¡¯s safety, so he was the first one to be med and thrown into prison.¡±0

    Even though she had spent a lot of her time in the army and thus had a bit of unruliness in her nature, she was still just a youngdy in the end. After experiencing everything that had happened to the n, how could she still hold on? She was already sobbing as she exined what happened.0

    Zu An¡¯s brows furrowed slightly. He said, ¡°It really is ridiculous. Everyone knows that the position of Supervisor of Attendants is just an empty title, and only one of the nine ministers in name. What does it have to do with General Murong?!¡±0

    The Supervisor of Attendants had been in charge of the Imperial Pce¡¯s guards in the past, and had been responsible for the emperor¡¯s safety. It was an important position that themon people had admired and revered. But as the years went on, the position gradually became an empty one. Its authority was gradually dispersed among the left and right guard generals, as well as others. Transferring Murong Tong from the position of Security Officer to Supervisor of Attendants was a transfer to an equivalent position, or perhaps even a promotion, on paper; but in reality, he had been given a useless role.1

    Murong Qinghe rubbed her eyes and said, ¡°Everyone knows that, but what can we do about the fact that grandfather was a part of King Qi¡¯s faction? This time, it was King Qi who arranged this assassination of his majesty. King Qi can''t be found, so someone has to take responsibility. My grandfather just happened to be the Supervisor of Attendants, and because of his upright and outspoken nature, he offended a lot of people in the past. That was why he ended up bing a scapegoat.¡±0

    ¡°Then why did you run and be a wanted criminal?¡± Zu An asked curiously.0

    Murong Qinghe pursed her lips and said, ¡°When the soldiers came to arrest him, my grandfather already knew that the Murong n was finished. He didn¡¯t want me to experience a tragic end, so he found a chance to send me away.¡±0

    Zu An nodded. Murong Tong was a bit irritable, but he was smart. He knew that he had be a scapegoat and wouldn¡¯t have a good end. If Murong Qinghe were also imprisoned, she would likely also have to endure all sorts of inhuman tortures and interrogations. A pretty girl like that could even experience other dangers. In the end, she would probably have her cultivation crippled and be thrown into the government brothel, thus spending the rest of her life in suffering. Murong Tong had doted on his granddaughter a lot in the past, so how could he let her experience such a thing? As such, he had thought of a way to help her break out.0

    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have returned to the capital and failed to live up to your grandfather¡¯s hard work,¡± Zu An said with a sigh.0

    Murong Qinghe wiped the tears from her face. She replied, ¡°The entire Murong n is suffering, so how can I drift and live without purpose, without a clear conscience? The reason I came back to the capital was to see if there was a way to save the Murong n¡¯s people.¡±0

    When he looked at Murong Qinghe¡¯s tattered clothes, as well as her haggard, dust and blood-covered face, Zu An knew that she had experienced a lot of hardship as ofte. He sighed and said, ¡°With your cultivation, you likely wouldn¡¯t be able to save them, and would only be throwing away your own life pointlessly.¡±0

    ¡°If I couldn''t save them, then at worst I¡¯d just die with them. The Murong n¡¯s people, whether they''re men or women, have never feared death,¡± Murong Qinghe said. Even though she was young, there was a resolute expression on her face.0

    Zu An couldn''t help but feel a bit of admiration. This youngdy had a unique heroic spirit to her.0

    Chu Youzhao tugged his sleeves and asked, ¡°Brother-inw, can you help out Little Qinghe? She''s just too pitiful.¡±0

    Murong Qinghe¡¯s face blushed when she heard the nickname. She said, ¡°Big brother Chu, the Murong n¡¯s crisis is too great. I can''t trouble big brother Zu.¡±0

    She knew that after his majesty¡¯s assassination, there had to be some kind of exnation for it all. Meanwhile, their Murong n was disliked by too many people, so they had clearly be the best choice. Whether it was the emperor¡¯s faction or King Qi¡¯s faction, both of them intended to use the Murong n to appease the world. How could that be something a single person could change?0

    Zu An thought for a bit, then said seriously, ¡°There''s no need for little sister Qinghe to be too worried. The situation might not be as bad as you think. You can stay at my ce in peace for now. I¡¯ll try to see if I can save the Murong n.¡±0

    ¡°Is there really a way?¡± Murong Qinghe asked. She had already beenpletely discouraged, but when she heard that, her eyes immediately shone brilliantly. She kneeled down in front of him and said, ¡°If Sir Zu can save the Murong n, the Murong n will definitely remember this favor. Murong Qinghe will also work like an ox or horse for you in this life to repay big brother¡¯s grace.¡±7

    Zu An couldn''t help but reply mockingly, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you say that you¡¯ll devote your life in this kind of situation? Is it because you can¡¯t bear to leave our family¡¯s Youzhao?¡±0

    Murong Qinghe¡¯s face paled. She did have strong feelings for Chu Youzhao and had reflexively spoken that way to avoid mentioning that. Butpared to the safety of her n, what did her own happiness matter? As such, she immediately said, ¡°If big brother Zu doesn¡¯t mind this poor figure of mine, for you I will¡­¡± She suddenly felt sour inside, and teardrops filled her eyes in the middle of her sentence.0

    Zu An was startled and quickly stopped her, saying, ¡°I was joking with you. Why are you treating it as if I was being serious? It¡¯s my rotten mouth that¡¯s to me; you don¡¯t have to take it to heart at all.¡±0

    Chu Youzhao said with a big smile, ¡°Little Qinghe, don¡¯t mind it too much. Brother-inw and I are one family, and I don¡¯t even mind. We can all just happily live together!¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

 Chapter 1886: They Donâ€™t Have That Kind of Relationship, Right?

    <h4>Chapter 1886: They Don¡¯t Have That Kind of Rtionship, Right?</h4>

    Murong Qinghe was stunned.0

    <em>What is big brother Chu trying to say here?</em>0

    <em>Other things might be fine, but even that kind of thing can be shared in the family?!</em>0

    <em>I can¡¯t just invite big brother Zu into the bridal room after I marry big brother Chu, right?</em>0

    When she thought about how big brother Chu acted especially intimate with big brother Zu, she wondered,<em>Could it be that he likes men?</em>0

    Homosexuality wasn¡¯t that umon among the aristocrats. She had grown up in the capital¡¯s circles and was naturally influenced quite a bit by that. Even in the Murong n, there were some of her cousins who liked that kind of thing.0

    <em>Could it be that big brother Chu is hinting something at me, that I¡¯ll be married to both of them in the future?</em>0

    <em>I definitely wouldn¡¯t do it if it were anyone else, but big brother Zu is pretty handsome¡­</em>0

    <em>Aiya! What am I thinking? Big brother Chu is handsome and refined, while big brother Zu is like an immortal. How could it possibly be something like that?</em>0

    ¡°Don¡¯t scare little sister Qinghe too badly now,¡± Zu An rubbed Chu Youzhao¡¯s head and said impatiently. Chu Youzhao stuck out her tongue and stopped joking around too.0

    The two of them had no idea just what kind of thing was going on in Murong Qinghe¡¯s head.0

    ¡­0

    They chatted while hurrying back to Zu An¡¯s ce. Soon, they arrived in front of the marquis manor without realizing it. The maids and servants inside were bored to death, so when they saw the group, they cheered, ¡°Sir Zu has returned, Sir Zu has returned!¡±0

    ¡°Hm? Isn¡¯t that the third young master?¡±0

    The entire manor quickly came back to life. Many of these people came from Brightmoon City¡¯s Chu n, so of course they recognized Chu Youzhao.2

    ¡°Brother-inw, it seems all of them have been bored to death, since you¡¯re rarely home,¡± Chu Youzhao teased.0

    Zu An had a bitter smile. He really didn¡¯t stay here for most of the year. It had been a viscount manor at first, but the signboard could end up being changed again soon too. Still, Zu An found it hard to see this ce as home. Was it because there was no madam waiting warmly for his return?0

    Chu Youzhao didn¡¯t act like a stranger at all and helped him by lecturing the servants. She felt that all of them were gettingzy because their master wasn¡¯t there. Many of them came from the Chu n, so it wasn¡¯t inappropriate for her to lecture them.0

    Murong Qinghe began to look around the ce. She had followed her big brother Chu to the manor before, but it was a rare opportunity for her to observe it up close.0

    <em>Big brother Zu¡¯s ce does have quite the imposing manner and style, but itcks a bit of liveliness. It needs some flowers, nts, and the like.</em>0

    <em>Ah! What am I thinking? That¡¯s not something I should be worried about. I¡¯m an unmarried young woman living in the house of another man. If news of this gets out, my reputation will probably be done for¡­ Who would even dare to propose marriage anymore?</em>0

    <em>But our Murong n is still in such dire straits, so is that even important now?</em>0

    <em>Thank goodness I have big brother Chu with me. If I can live with him, I don¡¯t care what kind of rumors start flying around.</em>0

    Her eyes quickly fell onto the worked-up Chu Youzhao.0

    <em>I¡¯m looking forward to living together so much!</em>0

    <em>Wait, will the Chu n look down on me? The Murong n has already fallen, and I''m a fugitive. Meanwhile, young master Chu is the heir of a duke¡­</em>0

    <em>No, big brother Chu isn¡¯t that kind of person. But¡­</em>0

    She was normally a carefree person, but whenever it involved big brother Chu, she suddenly became flustered.0

    ¡°Servants, prepare some hot water and bring Miss Murong to have a bath and a change of clothes," Zu An said, then took out a bottle of medicinal ointment and pills. These were some extras he had gotten from the Embroidery House after treating Xiao Jianren. He said, ¡°Little sister Qinghe, use this medicine for your woundster.¡±0

    He couldn''t apply those things for her, right? Chu Youzhao wasn¡¯t suitable either, because she was still a man in the eyes of everyone else.0

    ¡°Okay. Thank you, big brother Zu,¡± Murong Qinghe said with a blush. She had constantly been pursued for some time and hadn''t gotten any time to bathe or change clothes, so she felt really dirty. She was quickly led to a side room by a maid to take a bath.0

    Chu Youzhao took the chance to bother Zu An and ask about what he had been doing all this time.0

    Zu An told her some general things, mainly about what had happened on Violet Mountain. There were many parts he couldn''t tell her, because with her current strength, knowing more would only put her in danger. However, he still mentioned his reunion with Chu Chuyan, and that she had entrusted him with the role of taking care of Youzhao and the Qin n.0

    Even so, Chu Youzhao¡¯s eyes sparkled as she listened to it all. She eximed, ¡°Brother-inw, your life is so exciting! I really want to follow you and raise my sword throughout the world of warriors, to beat all those bandits and bad guys to death!¡±0

    Zu An replied with an annoyedugh, ¡°Who''s the one who''s always cking off? With your current cultivation, it¡¯s more likely that those bad guys would be the ones beating you to death.¡±0

    Chu Youzhao was a bit embarrassed. She replied, ¡°I¡¯m going with my brother-inw, right? You can just beat them up however you please. I¡¯ll just be in charge of cheering you on!¡±0

    Zu An was speechless.0

    <em>This littledy is quite full of vigor¡­</em>0

    ¡°Right, brother-inw, did you sleep with big sister after you reunited with her?¡± Chu Youzhao moved closer to him and asked with a wink, clearly looking for some good gossip.0

    ¡°Go on, get out of here. What is a youngdy asking about these kinds of things for? Do you have no sense of shame?¡± Zu An replied as he pushed her away in annoyance, clearly too embarrassed to talk about his marriage life with thisss.0

    ¡°Tsk, just who was it that was doing that kind of thing in someone else¡¯s room? My immature heart was given such a huge shock back then! I never expected my usually ice-cold big sis would actually have that side to her,¡± Chu Youzhao said, wrinkling her nose.0

    Zu An¡¯s face heated up. He knew she was talking about what had happened between him and Chuyan in the Qin manor. Just remembering it was embarrassing.0

    ¡°Hmph, I already know even if you don¡¯t tell me. Brother-inw is so perverted, you definitely bullied big sis again when you reunited in Violet Mountain.¡± Chu Youzhao harrumphed. ¡°Just what is the situation between you and big sis? You aren¡¯t married anymore, and yet you¡¯re living like husband and wife.¡±0

    ¡°Get out of here already. Little brats shouldn¡¯t ask about adult things. We all had so many things to take care of that we wouldn¡¯t even be able to finish all of it; when would we have the time to think about things like that?¡± Zu An replied, unable to take the embarrassment anymore. He got up, not wanting to talk about such intimate things with her anymore.0

    ¡°I know why!¡± Chu Youzhao eximed, her eyes lighting up.0

    ¡°Why?¡± Zu An asked, stunned. He didn''t even know why they had that kind of rtionship himself. He was constantly dancing on the brink of death, and Chuyan was extremely focused on her cultivation. They had always been caught up in their own pursuits and didn''t have the time to think about such a thing.0

    ¡°That way, you can still be single in name, so it¡¯s easier for you to fondle the flowers and trample the grass, of course!¡± Chu Youzhao said with an angry harrumph. ¡°My big sis is normally pretty smart, so why is she so stupid in this situation?¡±0

    Zu An was speechless.0

    Suddenly, Murong Qinghe helped him out of his embarrassment by asking, ¡°Hm? What are the two of you talking about so excitedly?¡±0

    She had just finished her shower and changed out of her army clothes. Now, she was wearing a soft white dress that was quite well-fitted to her body. There was still some steaming from her skin, and she was drying her damp hair with a towel. Her n had experienced a disaster, and she was quite frail mentally at the moment, feeling dejected whenever she couldn''t see her big brother Chu anymore. That was why she had immediately looked for Chu Youzhao as soon as she finished washing up0

    Chu Youzhao¡¯s eyes lit up when she saw that, saying, ¡°Little sister Qinghe, you really are pretty.¡±0

    Zu An couldn''t help but nod as well. Murong Qinghe was normally like a rose of the army; now, she even disyed a hint of a youngdy¡¯s gentle beauty.0

    Murong Qinghe was stunned. Receiving praise from her sweetheart was naturally something to be happy about, but on the surface, she said humbly, ¡°Big brother Chu must be joking. In terms of beauty, I can¡¯tpare to your big sister at all.¡±1

    ¡°It¡¯s different, okay? You¡¯re also beautiful,¡± Chu Youzhao said as she moved over and had her sit down on a chair. ¡°I¡¯ll help you dry your hair.¡±0

    ¡°Huh? Okay¡­¡± Murong Qinghe trailed off. Her heartbeat quickened when her sweetheart offered to help her dry her hair.0

    <em>Why doesn¡¯t big brother Chu have any defenses against the opposite sex? Is a woman supposed to let a man do this kind of thing? But why don¡¯t I want to refuse him?</em>0

    Chu Youzhao helped her wipe her hair while showing Zu An her face, asking, ¡°Brother-inw, do you think little sister Qinghe is pretty? How does shepare to big sis?¡±0

    Zu An was stunned, but he nodded and said, ¡°Little sister Qinghe is pretty. You''re right; everyone has their own unique beauty.¡±0

    Chu Youzhao clicked her tongue, replying, ¡°Brother-inw really is a smooth talker. You¡¯re not offending big sis or Qinghe.¡±0

    However, Murong Qinghe only turned bright red. She only wanted to show her intimate side to big brother Chu alone, but why was he now so impatient to enjoy it with big brother Zu?0

    <em>Don¡¯t tell me they really do have that kind of rtionship?</em>0N?v(el)B\\jnn

    She was suddenly flustered due to those wayward thoughts. She didn¡¯t want to be the focus of their attention and quickly changed the topic, asking, ¡°Big brother Chu, what were the two of you chatting about before?¡±0

    ¡°Oh, I was talking about this fickle yboy brother-inw. He doesn¡¯t look that special either, but he somehow managed to get all those beautiful women to like him. I¡¯m even starting to sweat for my big sis¡¯ sake,¡± Chu Youzhao said, sounding a bit gloomy.0

    Murong Qinghe thought that Zu An¡¯s handsome face looked as if it were sculpted out of marble and thought,<em>How can you call that ordinary?</em>She replied, ¡°Big brother Zu is really handsome and his cultivation is great. He''s also a good person, so it¡¯s normal for those women to like him.¡±0

    ¡°Huh?¡± Chu Youzhao eximed, giving her a suspicious look. ¡°Do you think he¡¯s that great? Don¡¯t tell me that you like him too?¡±0

    Murong Qinghe¡¯s face paled. The rednesspletely faded from her face. She got up, pushed her away, and ran out. She cried, ¡°Big brother Chu, I hate you!¡±0

    She had already suspected they had a rtionship, but now that she heard her sweetheart say that, all of her feelings of being wronged bubbled up. Tears couldn''t help but fill her eyes.0

    Chu Youzhao immediately panicked. She quickly followed Qinghe into the courtyard, saying, ¡°Little sister Qinghe, I was joking. Please don¡¯t mind it too much¡­¡± She tried to hold Murong Qinghe''s hands several times, but Qinghe always shook her away angrily.0

    Zu An was getting a huge headache from watching the scene. But he had way too many things to worry about and couldn''t be bothered to deal with a small dispute between young lovers. Thus, he also left and coughed lightly. He took out a dozen small banners, saying, ¡°Ahem, the two of you should stay here for now. I¡¯m not scared of anyoneing here to look for me. Of course, just in case, I¡¯ll set up a formation so that, if someone tries to forcefully break in, it should be able to hold them off for a short while. I¡¯ll be able to sense it and immediately return.¡±0

    Then, he flew into the air, and the small golden gs inserted themselves all around the marquis manor. Afterward, ripples of runes appeared around the manor. Then, a transparent, golden barrier surrounded the entire manor like a chicken egg.0

    The hurt Murong Qinghe stared at the handsome and extraordinary figure floating in the air. She even forgot to continue crying.0

    <em>Big brother Zu really is handsome and amazing¡­</em>

 Chapter 1887: Our Child

    <h4>Chapter 1887: Our Child</h4>

    Chu Youzhao also looked at the sky. She couldn''t help but remark with a sigh, ¡°Little sister Qinghe, isn¡¯t my brother-inw handsome?¡± She suddenly realized that the subject was precisely the reason why they''d had their earlier fight, so she quickly exined in a panic, ¡°Please don¡¯t misunderstand, that¡¯s not what I meant¡­¡±0

    However, she heard Murong Qinghe mutter to herself, ¡°Big brother Zu is indeed handsome.¡±0

    Chu Youzhao was stunned.0n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    <em>If you¡¯re going to be this way, why did you even get mad at me for what I said earlier¡­</em>1

    Zu An suddenly descended again and handed a greenpass-shaped object to the two of them, saying, ¡°This is the formation disc for controlling the formation. You can use it to control the activation of the formation. This is a bag of ki stones, so remember to replenish the formation''s energy. If you open these areas of the formation wheel, you can put in the ki stones¡­¡±1

    Chu Youzhao¡¯s eyes were shining as she eximed, ¡°Big brother Zu, you even understand formations? This thing is so interesting! Can you teach me?¡±0

    Murong Qinghe was still teary-eyed, but at that moment, there was more curiosity than sadness in her expression. Formations were usually the specialty of old researchers in academies, and every single one of them was an entric who devoted everything to their field. Where could you find someone like big brother Zu?0

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°If you''re interested, of course I can teach you. But I fear there won¡¯t be much time for that anytime soon.¡±0

    This formation was something he had found in the Baopu Sutra, so he decided to just try it out. Even though it wasn¡¯tplete, there probably wouldn''t be any issue protecting a home. If he had more time and some more precious materials, he could make a more formidable formation after some research.1

    The Baopu Sutra¡¯s vast and seemingly endless knowledge in the seven arts drew a great deal of his interest. In the past, cultivation had always just been fighting and killing to him, but now, he realized that there were actually many other interesting things about cultivation.6

    ¡°Okay! Awesome!¡± Chu Youzhao replied; she was in high spirits when she heard him agree.0

    Zu An nodded toward Murong Qinghe and said, ¡°If little sister Qinghe is interested too, I can teach the two of you together.¡±0

    ¡°Me too?¡± Murong Qinghe asked, stunned. After all, formations were often considered the most secret kind of knowledge. The academy¡¯s people always guarded such knowledge fiercely, and the court¡¯s formation skills were also national secrets that were prohibited from being leaked for fear that the Fiend races¡¯ side could steal them. After all, a formidablerge-scale formation could often decide a battle¡¯s oue.0

    ¡°Of course you can. You¡¯re not an outsider,¡± Zu An said with a chuckle, then patted Chu Youzhao¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Youzhao, you have to take good care of little sister Qinghe.¡±0

    Chu Youzhao was stunned. She could tell that he was going to leave. She asked, ¡°Brother-inw, you won¡¯t be staying here?¡±0

    <em>Oh no, the dream of living together with my brother-inw I imagined is getting ruined!</em>0

    Zu An said with a nod, ¡°Little sister Qinghe is living here too, so it wouldn¡¯t be too appropriate for me to stay here. My reputation in that respect has never been too good. If someone found out, there would be a lot of rumors.¡±0

    Murong Qinghe quickly said, ¡°Big brother Zu, it¡¯s not a problem. I¡¯ve already fallen into this condition, after all. You already took on such a huge risk by taking me in, so how can I have you move out?¡± No matter how ignorant she was, she would still feel that upying this ce and kicking out the original host was way too far.0

    ¡°It¡¯s alright. I have things to deal with that require me to travel to different ces. For example, I need to mediate rtionships to save the Qin n, the Murong n, and others,¡± Zu An said with a smile. ¡°It¡¯ll actually be more convenient for me if I stay elsewhere."2

    The two young women couldn''t really persuade him otherwise when they heard his exnation. In the end, Chu Youzhao said reluctantly, ¡°Then big brother Zu has toe back to visit us from time to time. This is your home, so you cane whenever you want. Little sister Qinghe and I will always wee you, right, Qinghe?¡±0

    Murong Qinghe voiced her agreement. ¡°Big brother Zu cane whenever he wants.¡±3

    Zu An waved goodbye in a confident and easy way. He quickly disappeared into the dark of the night.0

    Murong Qinghe muttered to herself as she watched him, ¡°Big brother Zu really is an upright gentleman.¡±0

    ¡°An upright gentleman? Maybe not¡­¡± Chu Youzhao said, her face heating up. The memory of her incredibly cold older sister being pressed against a table and ravaged couldn''t help but appear in her mind. However, she eventually thought,<em>A husband and wife should y however they want to y, so why should I think my brother-inw isn¡¯t a gentleman?</em>0

    ¡­0

    Meanwhile, after Zu An left his own marquis manor, he moved quickly and arrived at the Sang manor. When he looked at the lights in the courtyard, he suddenly felt a sense of awkwardness, as if he were returning to his own hometown. After being apart for so long, he wondered whether Zheng Dan was still alright. And Sang Qien¡­ Was she well?0

    He found a hidden corner to jump in from. He didn¡¯t go through the main entrance because there were many eyes from the court watching, and he didn¡¯t want to expose his rtionship with the Sang n. That was especially important for his rtionship with Sang Qien and Zheng Dan. He didn¡¯t really care about his own reputation, as that was already ruined. But if they were exposed, the Sang n would be humiliated. He had to make considerations for their sake. Fortunately, Sang Qien and Zheng Dan had secretly given him the Sang manor¡¯s token. That way, he wouldn¡¯t trigger the protective formations when he snuck in.0

    In the past, he had felt that these n manors'' defensive formations were pretty intricate, but now that he had more knowledge in the field, he could tell that they were all merely mass-produced, standardized goods. Formations were supposed to be made with considerations for the setting. Every household¡¯s topography andyout was different, so some n manors didn¡¯t really match the standardized formations. In the eyes of true formation experts, they were full of vulnerabilities. Still, he also knew that these weremon formations released by the academy. The costs of having a formation tailor-made likely wouldn''t be low. Certainly, the Sang n wouldn¡¯t have such wealth.0

    ¡°I¡¯ll modify the formation for you guys a bit when I get a chance," Zu An muttered to himself.2

    While he was thinking about those things, he arrived at the main lobby. He had finally made his way back, so he had to greet Sang Hong first. Otherwise, it would be a bit embarrassing for everyone involved if he was caught with Zheng Dan first.0

    He could see people¡¯s shadows flickering around inside. It seemed as if everyone was having dinner together, but there was no one at the head of the table. The group was huddled together and nervously discussing something.0

    ¡°Could it be that the Sang n also encountered something bad?¡± Zu An murmured to himself in worry, and he quickly rushed over. He didn¡¯t try to hide his footsteps.0

    Sang Hong quickly sensed something and turned around, calling out, ¡°Who are you?¡±0

    The others were also rmed and all turned around.1

    ¡°Greetings, respected uncle!¡± Zu An called out with a smile. His eyes darted toward the two women off to the side from time to time.0

    Zheng Dan was a widow in name, so her clothes were simple yet elegant. However, she still liked to look attractive, so she had a small flower adorning her clothes that added a bit of liveliness to her appearance. She really matched the saying ¡®neatly dressed in mourning clothes¡¯. Her cheeks didn¡¯t have the bleak pallor of a widow at all, however, and she looked charming and moving. Any man who passed by wouldn¡¯t be able to help but turn around again.7

    Sang Qien had a different kind of distinguished beauty. Compared to her sister-inw¡¯s allure, she looked a bit more delicate and pretty. However, she seemed to have be a bit more voluptuous since she and Zu Anst met. She had now lost a bit of her underripe look and had a bit more of a mature air.0

    ¡°Big brother Zu!¡±1

    ¡°Big brother Zu!¡±3

    Both girls cried out at the same time, then looked at each other with reddened faces.0

    Sang Hong seemed to be used to their response. He asked with pleasant surprise, ¡°Ah Zu, when did you return?¡±0

    ¡°I¡­¡± Zu An began, but the wailing of an infant suddenly filled the air behind the women, leaving him stunned.0

    Sang Qien and Zheng Dan turned around in rm, and took out a delicate and pretty baby from a cradle.0

    Sang Hong was also really nervous. He couldn''t really head over, so he could only pace back and forth nervously. He asked, ¡°Qien¡¯er, is she hungry?¡±1

    Sang Qien rolled her eyes and replied, ¡°I just fed her, so why would she get hungry so quickly?¡±0

    ¡°Then why is she crying so much?¡± Sang Hong asked nervously.0

    ¡°I don¡¯t know either. Aunt Mu, what do you think is going on with her?¡± Sang Qien asked, giving Aunt Mu a pleading look.0

    Aunt Mu¡¯s face reddened. She said, ¡°I don¡¯t know either; I¡¯ve never given birth before.¡±0

    All of them were panicking so much that they actually ended up ignoring Zu An.0

    Zheng Dan continued to try to amuse the baby by making weird faces. Unfortunately, that only made her cry even harder, leaving Zheng Danpletely helpless. She asked, ¡°Qienqien, should you feed her a bit more?¡± A youngdy like her didn¡¯t know how to appease a child. She reflexively assumed that feeding the baby would solve most of the problems.0

    ¡°This is¡­¡± Zu An trailed off. He finally couldn''t hold himself back and looked at the child, his voice turning a bit hoarse.0

    Zheng Dan¡¯s eyes lit up. She said, ¡°Right, let her daddy hug her. Maybe she misses her daddy.¡± She took the baby from Sang Qien¡¯s hands and gave her to Zu An happily.0

    Zu An was immediately at a loss for what to do. He didn¡¯t even know what to do with his hands when he felt that little life. He was scared of hurting her by using too much strength, but he couldn''t hold her properly if he didn¡¯t use any.0

    When she saw how clumsy he was, Sang Qien also broke out in a cold sweat and quickly rushed over to help him. She exined, ¡°You have to hold her like this. Support her bottom and hold her body in the crook of your arm. Her neck needs to be supported too¡­¡±2

    Zu An finally learned how to do it after sweating all over. It really was strange, though, as the crying child suddenly quieted down and looked at him withrge eyes and an expression full of curiosity.0

    ¡°She¡­ She''s my child?¡± Zu An asked.1

    Sang Qien¡¯s face reddened. She replied, ¡°Yeah, she¡¯s our child. She¡¯s a girl.¡±1

    She sounded a bit sad. After all, ording to their n, they had wanted to produce a son to continue the Sang n¡¯s legacy. Still,there was more joy than sorrow. After all, this was a new life born of her own flesh.0

    Zu An gently caressed the little life in his arms, making her giggle. The child''s small hands reflexively waved in front of her face, and she couldn''t help but reach out a finger. As her hand was too small, she could barely hold onto half of Zu An''s finger with her whole hand.0

    Zu An suddenly felt a deep sense of intimacy. He couldn''t help but smile awkwardly, saying, ¡°She¡¯s so cute. I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll grow up to be an incredible beauty in the future.¡±2

    Sang Qien sighed inwardly when she saw how happy he was. A sweet smile also appeared on her face.0

    On the other hand, Zheng Dan was smiling too, but she suddenly felt a bit frustrated.0

    ¡°When was she born?¡± Zu An asked curiously.0

    ¡°About three months ago. You went missing at around that time, and I couldn''t contact you either,¡± Sang Hong said, clearing his throat. He had aplicated expression as well. His final scheme had turned out to be futile; in the end, he had only given away both his daughter and daughter-inw. He really was about to lose his head here.3

    ¡°Did you give her a name yet?¡± Zu An asked,pletely immersed in his joy.0

    ¡°We haven¡¯t yet. We were waiting for you toe back to name her,¡± Sang Qien said shyly.0

    ¡°Huh?¡± Zu An eximed, suddenly feeling a huge headache. ¡°I¡¯m the worst at naming things. You can tell just from the title of this shoddy light novel.¡±21

    Zheng Dan suddenlyughed and said, ¡°Qienqien actually already thought of a name before... Si An.¡±[1]</a>0

    ¡°Ah! Do you want me to die from embarrassment?¡± Sang Qien eximed. She felt really embarrassed and wanted to rip off her mouth.0

    ¡°Si An?¡± Zu An repeated, stunned.0

    <em>Was she thinking about me?</em>0

    He couldn''t help but feel warm inside. He immediately felt thefort of home.0

    ¡°Let¡¯s just call her Sisi," he eventually said.

 Chapter 1888: The Young Really Know How to Play

    <h4>Chapter 1888: The Young Really Know How to y</h4>

    Zu An still had to leave the Sang n with a bit of face. The name Si An could be traced back to him too easily. If the truth were exposed, the Sang n¡¯s reputation would bepletely destroyed.2

    Sang Hong clearly sighed in relief when he heard him say that. His daughter had always been really smart, and yet she had made such a huge error in this case. If they gave this newborn child that name, wouldn¡¯t it just be advertising their rtionship with Zu An to the entire world?0

    Zu An then said, ¡°We should make her surname Sang. Everyone knows that the Sang n¡¯s daughter-inw gave birth to a posthumous child. If she has a different surname, there will be all sorts of rumors.¡± He didn¡¯t want to put Zheng Dan in a bad position either, after all.0

    Sang Hong gave Zu An a grateful look and said, ¡°Ah Zu, thank you. Let¡¯s make her surname Sang for now. After a few years, we¡¯ll loook for a chance to change her surname back.¡±1

    He had nned for his daughter to birth a son at first. That son would have the Sang n¡¯s blood inside him and they could borrow Sang Qian¡¯s name. But now, the child turned out to be a daughter, which meant that all of his ns were for naught. After all, there was no way for Sang Qien to give birth to another child. This child could still be considered a posthumous one, but if they had another child and used the same exnation, there would definitely be rumors going around, saying that the Sang n¡¯s daughter-inw had an affair. He couldn''t help but feel a bit downcast now that his grand gamble had ended up falling through.2

    Sang Qien was also a bit dejected. However, when she saw her cute daughter, her mood immediately improved considerably.0

    Zheng Dan said with a smile, ¡°That¡¯s actually easy enough to resolve. Just have Qienqien and AhZu make a few more. When the timees, we¡¯ll just find an adopted child for our Sang n; wouldn¡¯t that do?¡±10

    Sang Qien¡¯s face immediately reddened. She eximed, ¡°Dandan!¡± After all, her rtionship with Zu An was still unclear. Originally, the n had been for them to draw a clear boundary after the child was born. Now, it seemed as if they were trapped in an impossible situation.0

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°If Miss Sang is willing, I won¡¯t mind.¡± It was all the same to him whether the child had the father¡¯s or mother¡¯s surname. That wasn''t even factoring in that the Sang n had already helped him out so much.2

    Sang Hong¡¯s eyes lit up. That wasn¡¯t a bad idea. They had previously been at a dead end, and he''d wanted Sang Qian to have a son. But even without him, it would be the same if there was an heir from Sang Qien¡¯s side.0

    When she saw the others'' gazes on her, Sang Qien¡¯s heart began to pound. She lowered her head and said quietly, ¡°I¡¯ll follow what father says.¡± She couldn''t help but sneak a look at Zu An while saying that. He was her first man, and he was very outstanding in every way. After chatting with Zheng Dan all the time, the more she learned about him, the more she had grown to like him.0

    ¡°Hahaha, good, good!¡± Sang Hong eximed in relief. His poor mood immediately improved considerably.0

    Zu An yed with Sisi for a while longer. His adorable daughter made his heart melt. However, she was still young and quickly grew tired. Her eyes began to close, and she soon fell asleep. Zu An carefully returned her to the cradle, then found a chance to discuss the current situation with Sang Hong.0

    And yet, to his surprise, Sang Hong waved his hand and said, ¡°It¡¯s all the same if you ask Qien¡¯er about these things. She¡¯s already excellent in this aspect, and there are times when even I have to consult her opinion.¡± In truth, he wanted to give his daughter more opportunities. After all, she and Zu An had ended up sleeping together carelessly before and didn¡¯t have a proper rtionship. He had to spur on his daughter¡¯s rtionship with Zu An.0

    Zu An was a bit surprised. He bowed to Sang Qien and said, ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to trouble little sister Qien¡¯er.¡±0

    ¡°Big brother Zu speaks too seriously,¡± Sang Qien said, quickly returning the greeting.0

    Zheng Dan giggled, asking, ¡°Are the two of you doing your wedding bows to each other right now?¡±1

    Sang Qien was so embarrassed she wanted to pinch her, but Sang Hong coughed lightly and said, ¡°Ahem, I won¡¯t disturb you youngsters then. I¡¯ve been a bit tired due to government affairs recently, so I¡¯ll be turning in for the night first.¡± He gestured toward Aunt Mu with his eyes, and the two of them left.0

    Sang Qien¡¯s cheeks heated up. She said, ¡°I¡¯m going to put Sisi back in her room.¡±0

    Zheng Dan grabbed her with one hand and Zu An with the other, saying, ¡°Let¡¯s go together. None of us are outsiders anyway.¡±0

    Sang Qien pursed her lips, but she didn¡¯t refuse. There was indeed no need to exclude big brother Zu from her chambers.0

    ¡­0

    The group quickly returned to Sang Qien¡¯s room. There was a delicate fragrance in the air, as well as a faint smell of milk. Zu An reflexively looked at Sang Qien¡¯s chest. That area was now much fuller than before.1N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Sang Qien put her daughter into the cradle. Sisi twisted around a bit, as if she sensed that she was leaving her mother''s arms. Her body moved around as if she could wake up at any time. Sang Qien immediately bent over to gently pat her, thus gradually appeasing her.0

    Just then, Zheng Dan grabbed Zu An¡¯s arm and asked, ¡°Ah Zu, just what happened during those months? Hurry and tell me.¡±0

    Zu An didn¡¯t hide anything from her, telling her about Violet Mountain¡¯s greatpetition and the secret dungeon. Of course, he excluded the details of the other women, and he didn¡¯t tell her that he had killed Zhao Han either. After all, that affair was just too serious. It would cause a tremendousmotion if he spoke of it.0

    Zheng Dan said with a sigh, ¡°Ah Zu, there¡¯s always so many interesting things that happen around you. I really want to stay with you and experience it all together.¡± However, she also knew that wasn¡¯t very realistic. She had even pretended to be pregnant in the capital before.0

    Sang Qien was a bit apologetic. She said, ¡°Dandan, it¡¯s all because of us that you can''t do what you want.¡±0

    Zheng Dan was surprisingly open-minded, responding, ¡°Isn¡¯t saying something like that treating me as too much of an outsider? Either way, the child has already been born, so I¡¯m free now. Now, you''re the one who has to prepare for pregnancy.¡±0

    ¡°You¡¯re so annoying!¡± Sang Qien eximed, pouting yfully in response.0

    The two of them y-fought for a bit before the conversation returned to important matters. Sang Qien said with an upright expression, ¡°Big brother Zu, you don¡¯t know whether you should be helping the crown princess or the empress right now, right?¡±0

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Zu An said with a nod. ¡°They''ve both treated me really well, and I¡¯ll end up offending whichever side I help.¡±0

    Zheng Dan had a weird expression as she asked, ¡°Why would they treat you so well? They don¡¯t both have a thing with you, do they?¡± However, even she found it inconceivable when she said that, and couldn''t help butugh.0

    Zu An sensibly chose not to reply.3

    Sang Qien said gravely, ¡°If both sides have treated you well, don¡¯ty out your chips yet. Big brother Zu, you can use your status as the academy¡¯s libationer to hide over there first and not get involved in those two¡¯s affairs. That way, you can''t possibly offend them.¡±4

    Zheng Dan couldn''t help but say, ¡°Actually, with big brother Zu¡¯s current strength, there''s no need to hold back so patiently. He could even subdue the entire King Court on the Fiend races¡¯ side, so he should be able to do the same here, right?¡±2

    Sang Qien shook her head and said, ¡°It¡¯s different. The Fiend races¡¯ rtionships between the major ns are morex, so that''s why they were so easily defeated. But in the capital, all of the ns are hiding a lot of strength. The Fiend races¡¯ resources can¡¯tpare to our side. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t have been exiled to such a barren location.¡±1

    Zu An was a bit surprised. He said, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect little sister Qien¡¯er to understand these things so well.¡±0

    Sang Qien¡¯s face was a bit red as she said, ¡°There isn¡¯t much I can do normally to help big brother Zu, so I tried to understand the capital¡¯s situation a bit better.0

    ¡°Big brother Zu, a tall tree that stands out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind. If you stand out now, you¡¯ll either be a public enemy of the major ns or be used as their de without even knowing about it. We still don¡¯t have much intelligence, so I advise you toy low for now and watch the situation y out first. There''s nock of ambitious folk among the great ns, and I¡¯m sure that they can¡¯t hold themselves back much longer. Big brother Zu, what you need to do is be more patient than those people.¡±0

    Zu An chuckled, saying, ¡°I definitely don¡¯t want to be their de. I still had some hesitation before, but now that I¡¯ve heard little sister Qien¡¯er¡¯s analysis, my thoughts have be clearer. You really are a Zhuge Liang among women.¡±5

    ¡°Big brother Zu overpraises me,¡± Sang Qien said, feeling a bit embarrassed.0

    Zheng Dan rolled her eyes and said, ¡°The two of you even have a child now, so what are you acting so polite with each other for? It only makes you two seem way too unfamiliar...0

    ¡°I¡¯ve decided! In order to bring us all closer together, we¡¯ll sleep together tonight. Ah Zu can tell us about the things he experienced. I could tell that he didn¡¯t give us all the details surrounding many things,¡± she continued. Then, she grabbed their hands without waiting for the two of them to argue, and sat straight down on the bed.5

    Sang Qien cried out in rm. Her little face turned as red as a persimmon.0

    Zu An also found it a bit awkward. He asked, ¡°That¡¯s¡­ a bit inappropriate, right?¡±0

    This was the Sang manor, after all.0

    ¡°What''s inappropriate about that? I¡¯m getting a headache from just watching you two act all proper and careful around each other,¡± Zheng Dan said with a smile. ¡°Sang Qien, aren¡¯t there times when you have too much milk? Just have Ah Zu help you with that today. We can¡¯t have the father doing nothing!¡±4

    ¡°Dandan!¡± Sang Qien eximed, feeling embarrassed and anxious. How could she let him help with that kind of thing? She really was going to die from embarrassment.0

    Zu An was stunned.0

    <em>As expected of the daredevil Dandan¡­</em>4

    ¡­0

    Meanwhile, in Sang Hong¡¯s room, he could see the three figures¡¯ shadows flickering in his daughter¡¯s room.0

    Aunt Mu couldn''t help but remark, ¡°Aren¡¯t they going a bit too crazy? How can they all stay in the same room¡­¡±0

    Sang Hong waved his hand and said, ¡°This might not necessarily be a bad thing. Qien¡¯er and Zu An can properly get close now.¡±0

    ¡°But aren¡¯t we letting that brat off with too much like this?¡± Aunt Mu asked, feeling a bit upset. She had watched Sang Qien grow up and had always seen her as her own daughter. She suddenly felt as if her finely grown cabbages were being fed to pigs.1

    ¡°Zu An has helped us a lot, and he''s someone who cares a lot about emotions and loyalty. Qien¡¯er won¡¯t be losing out by following him.¡± Sang Hong said in a surprisingly open-minded way. Suddenly, he couldn''t help but pick up Aunt Mu and carry her over to the bed.2

    Aunt Mu was a bit rmed, asking, ¡°Master, what are you doing?¡±0

    ¡°The young really know how to y, so much so that even I¡¯m getting a bit excited. Maybe I can father a son myself and won¡¯t even need Ah Zu¡¯s help anymore,¡± Sang Hong said with a smile.9

    ¡°You¡¯re so annoying~¡± Aunt Mu said as her eyes closed. In that instant, she was also a bit overwhelmed by emotions.7

    Favorite

 Chapter 1889: Who Is the Imperial Grandson?

    Chapter 1889: Who Is the Imperial Grandson?

    Meanwhile, in Sang Qien¡¯s room, Zheng Dan became a bit impatient when she saw Sang Qien acting so bashful. She said, ¡°Qienqien, you''re probably the first one to give birth to his child. What are you acting so shy over there for? Besides, your breasts are normally so engorged that I have to help you relieve them. My hands are all sore from doing it. Now, we have such a readily avable helper. Ah Zu¡¯s very good with his hands, so you can just rx.¡±

    Sang Qien was normally clever and eloquent, but in these matters, she still wasn¡¯t as open-minded as Zheng Dan. She protested, ¡°How can we let him do this kind of thing¡­¡±

    ¡°Why not?¡± Zheng Dan replied before she could even finish her sentence. She then decided to just rip the clothes off Sang Qien''s chest. Because Sang Qien had to breastfeed, the front part of her clothes were easy to remove.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Sang Qien eximed, startled. She quickly covered her chest with her arms in rm. She was so embarrassed she was about to cry.

    Zheng Dan rolled her eyes. She bumped Zu An with her shoulder, saying, ¡°Say something! You can¡¯t just make me do everything, right?¡±

    Zu An knew that she was trying to make him and Sang Qien grow closer. Their rtionship was a bit strange; he had immediately gotten on the boat right off the bat, but he hadn''t even paid the fare yet. There would only be misunderstandings and estrangement if that continued. As such, he walked over and warmly hugged Sang Qien, saying, ¡°Little sister Qien¡¯er, don¡¯t be scared. I¡¯ll help you. I happen to have a skill called Shining Finger that''s suitable for this kind of situation.¡±

    When she sensed the warmth in his voice, Sang Qien¡¯s face turned red. She voiced her consent really quietly.

    Zheng Dan rolled her eyes. This girl had said she didn¡¯t want it, and yet she was actually really looking forward to it.

    Then, Zu An moved Sang Qien''s hands away. Sang Qien lowered her red face. She had often slept together with Zheng Dan as ofte, so she was already familiar with bodily contact. She always felt a bit engorged with milk, though. Even though she wasrger now after giving birth, she was still a size smaller than Zheng Dan, so she couldn''t help but feel a bit inferior.

    Big brother Zu will probably think less of me because of that, right¡­

    However, Zu An had apletely serious look on his face. His Shining Finger quickly tapped against her body, helping her ease up the congested vessels.

    Sang Qien immediately felt warm all over. Furthermore, whenever he touched her, she felt as if a burst of electricity ran through her. It felt much better than when Zheng Dan helped her.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zheng Dan moved over and asked teasingly, ¡°Big brother Zu, is Qienqien¡­ nice to look at?¡±

    Sang Qien shot her an embarrassed look, eximing, ¡°Are you making fun of me? I¡¯m clearly still smaller than you.¡±

    ¡°There aren''t even any benefits to being so big. It¡¯s actually your delicate and exquisite air, like a young bamboo shoot, that¡¯s more enviable,¡± Zheng Dan said with a big smile.

    Sang Qien had already started getting a bit worked up as Zu An helped her with his Shining Finger. She panicked when she heard that. Suddenly, she felt her chest loosen up, as if something had suddenly erupted.

    It got all over Zheng Dan¡¯s face as a result. She remarked resentfully, ¡°Qienqien, are you trying to get revenge on me on purpose?¡±

    Sang Qien immediately panicked, eximing, ¡°I didn¡¯t do it on purpose! I don¡¯t know what''s going on either!¡±

    Suddenly, Zu An pressed down, and another burst shot out. Fortunately, Zheng Dan was prepared this time and evaded ot. She wiped her face with a towel while saying with a sigh, ¡°I was right, wasn¡¯t I? Big brother Zu¡¯s Shining Finger is really formidable.¡±

    Sang Qien nodded. The heavy and swollen feeling had disappeared, and she felt more rxed than ever before.

    Zu An retracted his finger and said, ¡°This should be enough for today. I¡¯ll help you more frequently in the future. If you let this build up inside you, you¡¯ll easily get sick with fever.¡±

    ¡°Okay,¡± Sang Qien said. Her face waspletely red, but she was actually secretly looking forward to it.

    Zheng Dan looked at him with a bit of suspicion, asking, ¡°Why do you know so much about women? Have you already fathered a child before?¡±

    ¡°Medical knowledge is interconnected to begin with¡­¡± Zu An muttered as he thought to himself, My previous world¡¯s medicine was so advanced that I can figure some things out myself even without having to experience it directly.

    Zheng Dan had just been making a casual remark. After being around each other for so long, she naturally knew that he didn¡¯t have other children.

    ¡°Now that we''ve dealt with the main problem, let¡¯s continue our chat,¡± Zheng Dan said, taking Zu An''s hand and lying down on the bed. ¡°It¡¯s been so long that you almost feel a bit unfamiliar.¡±

    Sang Qien was immediately a bit embarrassed. She whispered, ¡°Dandan, this is my room.¡±

    ¡°So what? Don¡¯t you have many things you want to say to him? We can just ask together,¡± Zheng Dan said; she didn¡¯t seem to mind and dragged her over too.

    Zu An was getting a bit of a headache. He said, ¡°This won¡¯t be too good for the Sang n¡¯s pride.¡± The daughter and daughter-inw had both been so quickly won over. For better or for worse, he had to at least put on a bit of an act on the surface.

    ¡°Why isn¡¯t it too good? Sir Sang is hoping for the two of you to get closer and have another child as soon as possible,¡± Zheng Dan grumbled.

    ¡°Dandan~¡± Sang Qien protested. She was a youngdy was suddenly forced to be a mother. She hadn¡¯t had any time to mentally prepare herself, so her skin was a bit thinner than Zheng Dan¡¯s.

    Zu An figured that made sense as well. His rtionship with Sang Qien was a bit awkward right now, so they needed to get a bit closer to each other.

    Thus, they ally down on the bed. Sang Qien huddled in the corner, her heart pounding. Meanwhile, Zheng Dan didn¡¯t have many misgivings and naturally leaned against Zu An. These passionate lovers who had been separated for a long time naturally had endless things to say. At first, Sang Qien was still a bit ill at ease, but she quickly felt thefortable atmosphere and gradually rxed.

    The three of them talked endlessly about anything and everything. They found happy and leisurely things to talk about, and gradually fell asleep just like that.

    ¡­

    The next morning, Sang Qien was the first to wake up. She saw that she was curled up like a kitten in Zu An¡¯s arms and was immediately really embarrassed, but she also felt reallyfortable. She''d thought that something else would happen the previous night, but big brother Zu was a real gentleman.

    It¡¯s probably because he knows that I''m easily embarrassed that he was so respectful to me.

    She couldn''t help but be a bit stupefied as she looked at the man next to her.

    This is the father of my daughter. He¡¯s so handsome¡­

    As she watched him, she couldn''t help but lower her head to kiss him.

    Suddenly, Zu An seemed to have sensed something and opened his eyes. Two pairs of eyes stared into each other.

    Sang Qien couldn''t continue to lower her head, but she couldn''t raise her head either. In that instant, her cheeks began to burn. She quickly got up and said, ¡°I¡¯m going out to take a look at Sisi first.¡±

    However, Zu An held her waist and took her closer. Then, he kissed her.

    Sang Qien moaned, and her entire body weakened. Back then, because it was awkward and embarrassing, they had done itpletely in the dark. This was the first time they had kissed in broad daylight. When she felt his broad and strong shoulders, she felt a sense of bliss that she''d never felt before flood her chest.

    However, she suddenly sensed something. She pushed Zu An away in rm and turned around to sort out her clothes.

    Zheng Dan was watching the two of them with widened eyes and an ambiguous smile. She remarked, ¡°Who was it that was shouting she didn¡¯t want it? And yet she ended up secretly indulging while I was asleep!¡±

    ¡°Dandan~¡± Sang Qien protested, feeling her teeth ache a bit from how hard she clenched them. She pounced over and fought with her sister-inw.

    When he saw the beautiful scene ying out before his eyes, Zu An found it really hard to hold it in. He got up and excused himself first, or else he really wouldn''t be able to hold back. He still had proper matters to take care of today. However, he yed with his adorable daughter a bit first. When he saw her adorable smile, he immediately felt reallyfortable and warm.

    When he left the rear courtyard, he just happened to bump into Sang Hong, who was beating his own hip. He couldn''t help but ask curiously, ¡°Did respected uncle injure your waist? Should I help you?¡±

    ¡°No need,¡± Sang Hong said, his face heating up. ¡°It¡¯s just that I¡¯ve gotten older, so my waist isn¡¯t as reliable.¡± When he saw Zu An''s refreshed and energetic appearance, he couldn''t help but say enviously, ¡°Youth is still best.¡±

    Sang Hong''s strange reaction left Zu An puzzled. They exchanged a few more words, and then he headed for Mount Yuquan.

    Sang Qien had mentioned the previous night that it would be good to lie low in the academy for the time being, so now was the best time to look for that person the libationer had mentioned in hisst words. Once he found the imperial grandson from the previous generation and brought him the message, he wouldplete the libationer¡¯s task.

    ¡­

    After arriving at the academy, he discovered that it was the same as always. It was bustling with activity and incredibly lively. Students constantly discussed academic matters, their faces flushed from their debates.

    Zu An was full of admiration. The libationer had probably deliberately lessened his own influence, rarely showing himself. The academy¡¯s affairs both big and small were carried out through special rules and regtions, so there wouldn¡¯t be any problems just because a single person went missing. Comparatively, the disappearance of Zhao Han had already thrown the entire capital into a mess. Even though Zhao Han was stronger, it was clearly the libationer¡¯s selfless mindset that was more admirable.

    He didn¡¯t stop along the way and set out directly for the mountaintop. He didn¡¯t want to run into the libationer¡¯s disciples, as that would cause a lot of dys. With the libationer¡¯s ornamental thumb ring, the defensive formations along the way directly let him pass. He quickly reached the mountaintop. As he looked at it, he felt that it seemed a bit more dreary than before. It seemed that with the departure of the libationer, these flowers he had raised so meticulously also sensed something.

    He continued forward and pushed open the doors into the bamboo hut. He stared at the empty spot on the wall. There had been a painting of a woman hanging there in the past, who was most likely the sister-inw the libationer cared so much about. That painting had been destroyed by Zhao Han on Golden Peak, though.

    He felt a bit dejected, but he suddenly sensed something. He turned around and saw an old servant standing at the doorway with a broom.

    When the servant saw the ring on Zu An''s thumb, he couldn''t help but say with a sigh, ¡°The libationer still failed in the end, it seems.¡±

    Zu An said gravely, ¡°I promised the libationer that I would help him find the imperial grandson of the previous dynasty. He said that you would know.¡±

    That old servant gave him a deep look, asking, ¡°Do you know who that imperial grandson is?¡±

 Chapter 1890: Ill-Fated Relationship

    Chapter 1890: Ill-Fated Rtionship

    ¡°I hope to receive senior¡¯s guidance,¡± Zu An said, although he cursed silently to himself.

    Would I still ask you if I knew?

    ¡°Right, may I ask what senior¡¯s respected surname is?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°What respected surname? I¡¯ve already long forgotten my name. Now, I¡¯m nothing more than a nameless old fart,¡± the old servant said, waving his hand.

    Zu An was stunned.

    Nameless? Could he be some hidden great elder?

    ¡°Young master, please have a seat,¡± the old servant said as he set the broom aside. Then, he found a kettle and prepared some tea. He said slowly, ¡°Even though the Great Zhou Dynasty is powerful, its foundations were mostly established during the Meng Dynasty.

    ¡°The reason why the Meng Dynasty¡¯s world was stolen by the Zhao n mostly lies in the fact that the lives of the second and third generation were too short. Their children weren¡¯t too healthy and could only assume the throne in childhood, drawing a lot of doubts and skepticism from their subjects. Gradually, the Zhao n¡¯s people took over and seized the world from them.

    ¡°Even though the libationer was from the imperial n of the Meng Dynasty, he ended up falling for the empress of the second generation emperor, who was his sister-inw. That was why he was always suppressed and guarded against by the Meng Dynasty¡¯s imperial n. Soured by the loss of his hopes, he could only let those feelings go.¡±

    Zu An sighed deeply as he listened to the story. Loving someone one wasn''t supposed to love often ended in tragedy. When things touched upon the fundamental principles of ethics and morality, it wasn¡¯t something the power of man could change, nor could people act like the leads of fictional novels who could follow their heart. Besides, even if they were the main character, they still had to face potential bacsh from the web.

    The old servant poured a cup of hot tea for Zu An, saying, ¡°This is Sparrowtongue Silverhair, something that even the libationer was reluctant to drink. The young master is blessed with this fine drink today.¡±

    Zu An epted it and gave it a taste. The tea did have a simple and elegant fragrance. There was even a bit of natural ki within the drink. No wonder the libationer had treasured it so much. However, he really couldn''t figure out what was that incredible about it. Even the best tea was just peony chewed in the mouth of a cow, after all.

    Hm, it¡¯s still not better than my previous world¡¯s milk tea or fat shut-in happy water.[1]

    The old servant continued, ¡°The libationer wandered the world at the time. When he found out that the empire had been seized, even though he was unhappy, he knew that the imperial Chen n being usurped was merely a matter of time. He thought it was the will of heaven, so he did in some way ept his fate. Together with the Zhao n¡¯s beneficial treatment of the libationer surpassing that of the Meng Dynasty, he just tacitly allowed it to happen.

    ¡°However, as the years passed, the libationer unexpectedly discovered that there was actually a secret plot behind the early deaths of three sessive generations of emperors. It would have been one thing if that had happened to others, but the emperor who was schemed against was the son of the woman he loved. The libationer couldn''t just ignore it and secretly investigated the matter since then. Eventually, he discovered that those princes had all been secretly harmed by the Zhao n, and that was why they died prematurely.

    ¡°Even so, there are no walls without any leaks in this world. Perhaps it was out of pity or worry that they would have revenge taken against them, but the two lesser eunuchs who took care of this matter secretly reced one of the princes and sent him out of the pce. That way, they would have some security and wouldn¡¯t be silenced.

    ¡°All the sides lived together in harmony for many years, but because of the libationer¡¯s investigation, this matter also came to be known by the Zhao n. Both sides began investigating what had happened. As it turned out, that prince took a wife among themoners and gave birth to children. However, perhaps due to the fear of what he had suffered in his earlier years, he didn¡¯t live long either. After leaving behind a child, he died an untimely death.¡±

    Zu An asked, ¡°So were your people able to save that imperial grandson in the end or not?¡± Even though the old man downyed it, he could imagine just how intense the ughter and battle of wits had been.

    The old servant gave him a deep look, theb said, ¡°The libationer was a step toote. The Zhao n¡¯sckeys had already found that orphan and widow. They killed that pitiful mother, but when they were about to kill the prince, in a moment of imminent peril, the libationer managed to save that imperial grandson in time. Unfortunately, the imperial grandson was already inflicted with an insidious restriction. Even if he was saved, he could no longer have any posterity, thus posing no further threat to the Zhao n¡¯s dynasty.¡± The old servant sighed.

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed. He asked, ¡°What kind of restriction is it?¡±

    ¡°The Great Yin-Yang Pulse-Severing Palm,¡± the old servant slowly said.

    Zu An was stupefied when he heard that. His expression even paled a bit.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The old servant continued, ¡°Since the imperial grandson was still young and his body was too weak, the libationer couldn''t undo this restriction. In order to deceive the Zhao n¡¯sckeys, he could only falsify evidence and make it look as if the imperial grandson had already died.

    ¡°Then, he brought the imperial grandson to Brightmoon City to a household surnamed Zu to ce him in their care. At first, he decided that he wouldn¡¯t force the child to be involved in the struggles of the imperial family anymore and he would spend his life happily, but he never expected that in the end, the child would still end uping to the capital. Not only had he undone his restriction, he even flipped the capital upside down.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He felt as if a stampede was trampling over his heart right now. He had only intended to watch this drama y out with popcorn in hand, but he''d ended up bing the popcorn¡­ He had even repeatedly asked the libationer in the secret dungeon, and the libationer had said that he wasn¡¯t the imperial grandson!

    That old fox actually schemed against me like this!

    The old servant continued, ¡°The libationer felt that all of this was fate. He felt that the Chen n¡¯s fate still hadn''t ended. He set his resolve regarding many things he had been hesitating over before.¡±

    Zu An remained silent. So it turned out that the attack on Violet Mountain was all because of him. That was why the libationer had made up his mind. He wondered if he was the cause of the libationer¡¯s death.

    The old servant bowed respectfully to Zu An when he reached that point, saying, ¡°The young master should know your identity now, right? This old one pays his respects to the imperial grandson.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s mind was in absolute disarray. He said, ¡°Words alone don¡¯t mean much. The libationer clearly said that I wasn¡¯t the imperial grandson. Do you have any proof?¡±

    ¡°I reckon that the libationer was worried that you wouldn¡¯t be able to handle all of this in that moment, so that was why he set up this scenario,¡± the old servant slowly replied. ¡°As for proof, unless he was there, there was no way he would have known that you had the Great Yin-Yang Pulse-Severing Palm used against you before.¡±

    ¡°Who knows how you guys found out about that? Is there any other proof?¡± Zu An asked, although he was actually fully convinced. He finally knew why even though he and the libationer had never met before, the other side had taken the initiative to help him with the crown princess scandal. Later, the libationer had been mysteriously kind to him as well.

    ¡°As for other proof,¡± the old servant continued slowly, stunned. He hadn¡¯t expected to encounter someone who would refuse the identity of the imperial n. ¡°That¡­ For the sake of preventing news from getting out and for your own safety, the libationer made sure to erase anything that could prove your identity.¡±

    Zu An harrumphed. ¡°Then that¡¯s the same as there being no proof.¡± He was a proper transmigrator who wanted to live a carefree life. He didn¡¯t want to get involved in such aplicated matter from the previous generation.

    The old servant frowned. After thinking for a while, his eyes suddenly lit up. He said, ¡°Right, the ones who schemed against the previous prince included Imperial Physician Ma An, as well as Lesser Eunuchs Little Wei and Little Mi. They should have some clues with them, but those people seem to have all gone missing.¡±

    Zu An was shocked. Little Wei and Little Mi likely referred to Wei Dan and Old Mi, right? When hepared their ages, it did seem to match up. He hadn¡¯t expected the two of them to have such a deep connection with him. They had left behind storage pouches back then, but he had never been able to undo their restrictions. He wondered if there were some clues inside.

    That Ma An tried to harm me back then as well, and ended up getting killed instead. This really feels like something decreed by fate¡­

    ¡°If those people aren¡¯t missing, they¡¯ve died. The dead can¡¯t testify, right?¡± Zu An replied, remaining unfazed as he implied that he didn¡¯t want to ept this share of karma.

    What does the matter of the Chen n''s imperial grandson have to do with me, Zu An?

    The old servant said seriously, ¡°Those people can''t be found, but there is one more person alive who schemed against the imperial grandson. You can obtain intelligence from him.¡±

    ¡°Who?¡± Zu An reflexively replied.

    ¡°The Imperial Secretariat¡¯s Right Confidential Assistant, the current crown princess¡¯ father, Bi Qi,¡± the old servant slowly said.

    Zu An was speechless. It really was the case that what one was most afraid of always happened in the end! He had been pitying the libationer just a moment before, feeling that he liked someone he shouldn¡¯t have liked, thus ending up shackled by morals he couldn''t surpass.

    Why did the same thing suddenly happen to me?

    Bi Linglong¡¯s father is actually an enemy who ughtered my family!

    Damn it all!

    Zu An suddenly got up and said, ¡°Alright, there¡¯s no need for you to tell me more about these things. I don¡¯t care if what you said about the imperial grandson is true or not. I have my own life, and I''m living a happy life. I don¡¯t want to shoulder the fate of another. If you want someone to be the imperial grandson, you can be him yourself.¡±

    It was quite funny now that he thought about it. A ruined dynasty¡¯s prince was worse off than a normal person. Not only would he be unable to enjoy the benefits held by any other prince, he would have to receive an indescribable duty and danger. Only an idiot would want to be one.

    The old servant panicked when he saw that Zu An was about to leave. He asked, ¡°Imperial grandson, do you know just how many ministers paid with their lives to ensure the safety of the Meng n¡¯s bloodline? Furthermore, who knows how many people have used up their entire lives to defend this secret?¡±

    Zu An remainedpletely calm as he retorted, ¡°What does that have to do with me?¡±

    The old servant choked briefly. Then, he continued, ¡°Even if you don''t care about those people, you ca''ot disregard the grudges of your own parents, can you? It''s because of the treachery he encountered in his youth that your father died an early death. Your mother was also killed by assassins for your sake. She still frantically protected you even in herst moments.¡±

    Zu An frowned when he heard that. In the end, he still didn¡¯t say anything and prepared to head down the mountain.

    1. Fat shut-in happy water is soda ?

 Chapter 1891: Here to Slaughter

    Chapter 1891: Here to ughter

    That old servant looked at Zu An and said loudly, ¡°Since the imperial grandson is unwilling to admit to his identity for now, this old one will not force you. I will just leave this ce so my presence does not interfere with the imperial grandson¡¯s takeover of the academy. When the dayes that the imperial grandson has sorted out his thoughts, I will return to your side once more.¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t stop him at all, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, that day won¡¯te.¡±

    The old servant chuckled and didn¡¯t get too annoyed. He said, ¡°It is hard to predict the world¡¯s affairs. No one can talk about what the future holds for certain.¡±

    Zu An was really annoyed. He stormed off with a snort.

    No one else knew what the old servant was thinking as he watched Zu An slowly disappear into the distance. He released a deep sigh.

    ¡­

    As he descended the mountain, Zu An didn¡¯t stop at all. The elegant scenery along the way couldn''t dispel his frustrations. He wasn¡¯t even in the mood to meet with Xie Daoyun and the others anymore. He only wanted peace and quiet right now.

    At first, he had been confused about who to help between the empress and the crown princess, since helping either side would bring him trouble. Now, however, it seemed simple enough. Bi Linglong¡¯s father had killed his parents¡­

    Dammit, what even is all of this?!

    Even though he had seen simr plotlines in the dramas of his previous world, he had always felt that grudges from the previous generation were just things of the past, and that they shouldn¡¯t affect those of the next generation. However, now that he was in the very same situation himself, he realized just how much of an armchair expert he had been.

    Even though he continued to tell himself that he was just a transmigrator and had nothing to do with the imperial grandson, the old servant mentioned how his mother had protected him with her body¡­ Even though it didn''t amount to feeling a real parental bond, he still couldn''t help but feel a bit sad.

    If he hadn''t known, that would be the end of that. However, now that he did know the truth, he couldn''t just pretend nothing had happened. Was he supposed to just continue talking cheerfully with his enemy, and have a happy romance with the daughter of his enemy?

    He couldn''t help but mutter to himself, ¡°Master empress, what do you think I should do now¡­¡±

    A red figure appeared at the edge of his vision. Mi Li floated at his side, her bare feet untainted by even a speck of dust. It was as if she were drawn perfectly with a brush. Her figure looked as if it naturally harmonized with the naturalws of the world. Even Zu An couldn''t help but give her a look.

    Mi Li stretched out her body a bit, revealing her graceful and impressive curves that couldpel anyone to take a second nce. She replied, ¡°What''s so hard about that? Just go and kill that old servant. Now that the libationer is already dead, if you silence the only one who knows, you can just keep living as Zu An. You won¡¯t have anything to do with the previous generation¡¯s imperial grandson, and you can also continue to have a romance with the crown princess if you want to. If you want to sleep with her, just do it. Anyway, when you were pounding the crown princess¡¯ body viciously back then, you actually already took revenge for those people. They killed your loved ones, so you screwed their daughter. Isn¡¯t it quite fair?¡±

    Zu An replied with a grimace. ¡°Master empress, when did you be so vicious?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m saying these things for your sake. I¡¯m just saying it as it is,¡± Mi Li said, seemingly concerned.

    ¡°Are there any other ways?¡± Zu An asked impatiently. This woman was bing more and more unreliable.

    ¡°This is the simplest and most favorable method for you,¡± Mi Li said as she gave him a look, then shook her head. ¡°You know what? Sometimes, life bes a bit easier if you live a bit like a bad person. Someone like you who always adds shackles of virtue to yourself will only experience more suffering.¡±

    Zu An was quiet. Even though he didn¡¯t want to be some imperial grandson, he still admired those who were willing to give up their own lives in a desperate situation in order to defend the bloodline of the previous dynasty¡¯s imperial family. How could he silence that old servant because of his own selfish desires?

    Seeing that he didn¡¯t say anything, Mi Li harrumphed and said, ¡°If you¡¯re not willing to kill the old servant, you might as well just be that imperial grandson and kill that Bi Qi guy. Then, with your identity as the previous dynasty¡¯s emperor, you can gather those who are still loyal to the Meng Dynasty and kill that stupid crown prince to be the emperor yourself.¡±

    Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°Bi Qi is still Bi Linglong¡¯s father, and Linglong treats me well. If I did that, how could I face her in the future? Besides, I don¡¯t have any interest in bing an emperor.¡±

    Wasn¡¯t being Regent a better life? He had tremendous authority, and yet he didn''t have to deal with any governmental affairs. He could spend more time on cultivation and exploring the mysteries of life.

    ¡°You don¡¯t even want to be the emperor?¡± Mi Li eximed in shock. ¡°You have so many sweethearts, and if you be the emperor, you can take them all into your harem with a righteous pretext. No one will be able to say a thing then. Otherwise, everyone will criticize you for having too many women no matter what kind of identity you have.¡±

    Zu An shook his head, saying, ¡°I trust that my lovers wouldn¡¯t cherish some imperial concubine position.¡±

    He had seen so many powerful beings in the secret dungeon, and felt that the universe was truly vast with endless mysteries to explore. How could he still have the heart to be an emperor?

    ¡°You don¡¯t want this, you don¡¯t want that? Then there¡¯s nothing else you can do,¡± Mi Li said, giving him an annoyed look. ¡°You''re the perfect example of a beggar who wants to be a chooser. Since you¡¯re so stubborn, I¡¯m not going to bother anymore.¡±

    She turned into a wisp of smoke and disappeared, leaving Zu An speechless.

    Suddenly, he noticed something and looked in the direction of the marquis manor. The formation there seemed to be under attack. He set aside his annoyances and flew in that direction.

    Meanwhile, outside the marquis manor, the servants and guards brandished weapons in front of the entrance, calling out, ¡°This is the marquis manor; who dares to cause trouble here?¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Cough cough, it is just a trifling marquis manor, and yet you seem to have put on quite the big disy here! You dare to put on airs in front of this king, cough cough¡­¡± a young man dressed in embroidered clothes scolded them. His face was incredibly pale, and he had to gasp several times in the middle of each sentence. He seemed to be a victim of some chronic illness.

    ¡°King Jin has personally arrived, and yet your marquis still isn¡¯ting out to kneel and wee him?!¡± an imperial bodyguard shouted.

    ¡°We greet his highness King Jin!¡± the staff of the marquis manor greeted him respectfully in shock. Then, one of them replied, ¡°Responding to your highness, our lord is not in the manor.¡±

    ¡°What, does he know that he hasmitted wrongs, leaving him scared of this king knocking on his door? Is that why he went into hiding?¡± King Jin sneered. ¡°He seems to have at least some wit. Whatever, we¡¯ll get revenge on himter. Hand over Miss Murong first!¡±

    ¡°That¡­¡± The people at the gate looked at each other in dismay before replying, ¡°Your highness, how could Miss Murong be in our marquis manor¡­ Aaaaah!¡±

    A miserable scream filled the air before King Jin retracted the whip in his hands.

    ¡°How audacious! You dare lie to this king? Do you think my intelligence gatherers are good-for-nothing? I advise you to hand over Murong Qinghe immediately, or else none of you will be able to handle the crime of harboring a criminal. If you continue to dally, this king will raze this entire marquis manor to the ground, cough cough¡­¡± King Jin said, looking agitated; he then began to cough fiercely. An unnatural flush covered his face.

    An elder quickly supported him and ced his hand on his back to continuously infuse him with ki, saying, ¡°Your highness, do not be too anxious. Be careful not to harm your own body.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Elder Chen," King Jin said. His coughing then eased up a bit and he respectfully bowed to the elder.

    This elder was a powerful guard assigned to him by his father, someone who almost never left his side. Over the years, there had been countless attacks from assassins, but Elder Chen had always been the prince¡¯s most reliable wall of defense. As such, the prince respected him a lot.

    The face of the guard who had spoken up was already covered in bloody scars. However, he was facing a prince, so even though he was angry, he didn¡¯t dare to say anything.

    Inside the manor, Murong Qinghe was already incredibly nervous. She got up several times and said, ¡°Maybe I should go out. I can¡¯t be a burden on big brother Zu.¡±

    Chu Youzhao pulled her back and replied, ¡°Would you still have a chance of surviving if you went out there? Don¡¯t worry. Since big brother Zu dared to bring you into his ce, that means he''s confident he can protect you!¡±

    Despite what she said, however, she didn¡¯t have much confidence either. She took out the formation wheel. It was a good thing that she had immediately activated the formation. She shoved the formation wheel into Murong Qinghe¡¯s hands and said, ¡°Make sure you stay here. I¡¯m going to take a look!¡±

    Her brother-inw rarely stayed at his home in the capital, and there weren¡¯t too many guards or servants in the manor. Most of them were familiar faces from back in Brightmoon City. How could those ordinary guards stand a chance against the pressure of King Jin?

    Outside the gate, King Jin was getting a bit annoyed. They eximed, ¡°Men, search this ce!¡±

    ¡°Halt!¡± a voice cried out.

    The staff finally sighed in relief when they saw Chu Youzhao appear, eximing, ¡°Third young master!¡±

    Chu Youzhao nodded, then said to King Jin, ¡°Even though your highness¡¯ status is respected, youck the authority to willfully search the residence of an important minister, right?¡±

    King Jin gave her a surprised look.

    I¡¯m always sick, so my skincks color, but how is this pretty boy even whiter than me? Most importantly, it¡¯s a healthy-looking white¡­ it makes me annoyed just looking at it!

    ¡°You were hiding a criminal yesterday, and this king sent people to capture her, but they were actually killed by Zu An. How absurd! However, what this king never expected was that he would actually leave you two in his own residence in such a grandiose way. Well, that¡¯s fine too, since that saves this king a lot of trouble. Men, arrest this Chu guy and that Murong n girl. Anyone who resists is to be killed without exception!¡± King Jin ordered.

    ¡°Understood!¡± his subordinates replied. They had already been standing around restlessly for a long time. All of them drew their des and charged at Chu Youzhao when they heard that.

    King Jin sneered. As long as he could capture Murong Qinghe, he could confirm Zu An¡¯s crime of harboring a criminal. That way, even if he just killed him on the spot, none of the other ministers in the court could say anything.

 Chapter 1893: Why Does He Dare?

    Chapter 1893: Why Does He Dare?

    ¡°Don¡¯t provoke me. I¡¯m not in a good mood today,¡± Zu An said as he swept his gaze over those present, before finally focusing on King Jin.

    The soldiers who had been charging instantly shivered. They couldn''t help but stop in their tracks.

    When he saw that gaze, King Jin shuddered. He instinctively felt fear. However, he quickly snapped out of his daze. He was the glorious King Jin, and he had been doted on by his father, the emperor. The current crown prince shared the same mother as him, so who did he have to fear? He even felt anger at his momentary cowardice. He eximed, ¡°What a joke! Who do you think you are?! Not only is this king going to provoke you, I am going to arrest you and all these people at your side. What the hell can you even do about it?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Ruiyong for +351 +351 +351¡­

    ¡°What are you all standing around stupidly for? Charge at him!¡± King Jin ordered.

    ¡°Yes!¡± the guards replied as they all snapped out of their daze.

    With their king as a backer, what did they have to fear? As for Elder Chen¡¯s injuries, that was most likely because of a moment of carelessness.

    Even if this Zu An really does have some skill, would he be able to win against so many people?

    Besides, they represented King Jin, his majesty¡¯s most beloved prince. Meanwhile, Zu An was just a trifling marquis who probably couldn''t even protect himself. Could it be that he really dared to hit them, to hit King Jin?

    ¡°Just give up already and ept your punishment!¡± they yelled as they charged.

    ¡°Get lost!¡± Zu An snapped, sending an invisible force rippling outward with a wave of his sleeve.

    The soldiers screamed bitterly as they were blown back by that invisible force. Those who were weaker fainted on the spot, while the others all suffered injuries of varying degrees and couldn''t get back to their feet no matter how they struggled. They had already lost their ability to fight.

    Chu Youzhao pped excitedly and eximed, ¡°Brother-inw is so awesome!¡±

    Murong Qinghe¡¯s beautiful eyes sparkled. She had been about to die while fighting against all of these soldiers, but they were nothing against a single wave of big brother Zu¡¯s sleeve.

    Just how high is his cultivation?

    Zu An didn¡¯t even give the soldiers lying on the ground a look and walked directly toward King Jin. King Jin suddenly felt ack of confidence and instinctively took a few steps back.

    Elder Chen stood in front of Zu An and said, ¡°Sir Zu, I must ask you to please stop.¡± The bleeding on his hand had already stopped. When he saw Zu An closing in on King Jin, he could only move to block the way.

    ¡°Out of the way!¡± Zu An barked gravely.

    When he saw Zu An''s expression, Elder Chen trembled from an indescribable sensation. The feeling left him really puzzled. He was already a powerful master rank cultivator, so why did he feel this way in front of a junior? He clearly couldn''t sense an ounce of ki from Zu An¡¯s body. The other side seemed more like an ordinary person. However, the spear that had hit him and the power that had blown back all of the other soldiers clearly showed that Zu An''s cultivation wasn''t trivial. It seemed as if Zu An was using some kind of secret method to hide his aura.

    Even though he didn¡¯t know Zu An¡¯s exact cultivation, Elder Chen thought to himself that there was no way Zu An''s cultivation could be higher than his own. There had to be a limit. ording to the intelligence they had, this brat was only around twenty years old. Even if he cultivated from the moment he came out of his mother¡¯s womb, just how much could he have cultivated?

    Besides, he had heard that Zu An only started cultivating recently. It was likely that he encountered some miraculous encounter that made his cultivation achieve new breakthroughs, but that would often leave one''s foundation unstable. If they really fought against each other, he didn¡¯t believe that there was any way this youngster couldpare to himself, a master who had properly cultivated one step after another until now!

    ¡°Young man, do not be too hot-blooded. You need to know that there are always people better than you, and there are heavens above heavens,¡± Elder Chen said while producing a flying sword in midair above his head.

    Zu An was a bit surprised. The elder was just a master, and yet he could actually control a flying sword? Usually, only grandmaster rank cultivators could attach a soul to an object, allowing them to behead an enemy thousands of miles away. On the master rank level, one would only be able to roughly approximate that result. However, judging from the appearance of Elder Chen¡¯s sword, that didn¡¯t seem to be the case.

    ¡°There''s always someone better than you?¡± Zu An repeated with a mocking expression. He said, ¡°There''s some truth to what you said. And yet,ing out of your mouth, it''s a bitughable.¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°This junior dares?!¡± Elder Chen eximed. He had enjoyed respect from everyone around him for so long, and even King Jin treated him with respect. When had he ever been looked down on like this before?

    You have sessfully trolled Chen Xingchao for +404 +404 +404¡­

    In his fury, the flying sword flew straight at Zu An. It was incredibly fast. Everyone around him could clearly see its trajectory; even Chu Youzhao and Murong Qinghe, who had tremendous confidence in Zu An, couldn''t help but break out in cold sweat when they saw that.

    Zu An leaned slightly to the side to avoid the flying sword. He muttered to himself, ¡°So that was what it was. It¡¯s a flying sword talisman.¡± He had studied the Baopu Sutra, so he was already very proficient in the seven domains of cultivation. He immediately recognized the source of the flying sword.

    Chen Xingchao¡¯s expression changed. This flying sword talisman¡¯s secrets had already been lost to history. It was something he''d happened to stumble upon through a miraculous opportunity in his earlier years. No one was supposed to recognize it, as it was a trump card he had hidden all this time. He had never expected the other side to immediately recognize its origins with a single nce!

    His finger moved through the air. The flying sword turned into a trace of yellow light and stabbed toward the middle of Zu An¡¯s back. As long as the attacknded, even if that youngster didn¡¯t die, he would be crippled.

    Suddenly, however, that yellow light congealed. The flying sword disappeared and was reced with a yellow talisman. Furthermore, that talisman was gently trapped between Zu An¡¯s fingers. Chen Xingchao was horrified. He quickly tried to remove the talisman from Zu An''s control, making it shake intensely.

    However, Zu An harrumphed, and with a light brush of his hand, the divine sense attached to the talisman was directly erased. With his knowledge of talismans, he naturally knew how to control such talismans that weren¡¯t all that mysterious.

    ¡°Since you want it so much, you can have it back,¡± Zu An said. As soon as he spoke, the yellow talisman turned into a flying sword again. It instantly flew behind Chen Xingchao and pierced through the middle of his back.

    ¡°You¡­ You¡­¡± Chen Xingchao gasped as he clutched the huge hole in his chest. His voice gurgled, and he couldn''t even finish his sentence before passing away.

    In that instant, he was full of regret. He regretted how highly he had thought of himself, and how he had considered himself unequaled by relying on King Jin¡¯s authority. Only now did he understand that in the end, this was a world that only cared about strength. And yet, how could he have known that this ordinary-looking pretty boy would have cultivation of such a terrifying level?

    All of the intelligence the capital has on him is wrong¡­ Who knows just how many people are going to suffer at his hands?

    Even so, why did I have to be the one who was struck by lightning first?

    I regret it all¡­

    He copsed heavily onto the ground. His eyes were wide open; he had clearly died with remaining grievances.

    Those present were stupefied. They had all been praising Elder Chen¡¯s powerful-looking flying sword, wondering how it would destroy that pretty boy. However, the situation had been reversed in the blink of an eye! Just what happened? Why had Elder Chen been killed instead?

    With a wave of Zu An¡¯s hand, the yellow talisman returned to him. There was a special rune drawn on the surface, with a small sword at the center. A trace of light flowed through it. He thought to himself, This thing is quite interesting. I can make a few more of them and gift them to my sweethearts to protect themselves.

    His mood was awful today. Even though he''d said that he didn¡¯t want to be an imperial grandson, when he thought about how many of his family members had died because of the Zhao n, and then about how arrogantly Zhao Ruiyong was acting in front of him, he had be angrier and angrier. That damned Chen bastard had even hurt Chu Youzhao and so many of the guards of the manor. The sword he''d attacked with was also too vicious. Thus, Elder Chen reaped what he''d sown.

    When King Jin saw that Elder Chen, whom he relied on the most, had died so easily, he couldn''t help but exim in shock and anger, ¡°You actually dared to kill this king¡¯s Elder Chen? Where did you get the nerve to do that?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Ruiyong for +444 +444 +444¡­

    Zu An said coldly, ¡°We¡¯ve already reached this situation, and yet you still dare to bark at me like a dog? I''m also curious. Just where did you get the nerve to do that?¡±

    King Jin was stunned at first, but then he erupted with fury. ¡°Dog barking? A dog ve like you actually dares to treat this king with disrespect! You are nothing more than a dog my brother raised! Even if you have be a marquis, you are nothing more than a dog of slightly higher status!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Ruiyong for +499 +499 +499¡­

    As King Jin cursed, his voice suddenly stopped. He felt an invisible hand mping around his throat. Then, his body rose into the air. He finally panicked, eximing, ¡°What are you doing? Stop immediately! I am the glorious King Jin! You dare touch me?!¡±

    As he looked at the sickly pale youngster in front of him, Zu An¡¯s expression was exceptionally calm. Zhao Han himself had already died, so why would he fear this child?

    No wonder Zhao Han disliked me from the very first nce, and I subconsciously loathed him too. So it turns out out there was a grudge from the previous dynasty. He was my fated enemy from the very start.

    When he saw that Zu An didn¡¯t say anything, King Jin sneered, remarking, ¡°Now you know fear, don¡¯t you? Hurry and lower this king. There are so many people watching, and there are people from other ns out there. Don''t tell me that you would dare kill me? If you tie up your hands and kowtow three times respectfully to this king, this king can consider not arguing over today¡¯s events.¡±

    The other ns were already secretly discussing things among themselves.

    ¡°This Zu An is now trapped in an impossible situation. Do you think he¡¯ll kneel and admit his wrongs?¡±

    ¡°No way! He''s a popr person from the Eastern Pce and an honorable marquis. It''s rumored that he''s connected to the Fiend races too. How could he possibly kowtow here?¡±

    ¡°That makes sense. I think he¡¯ll probably let King Jin go, or at most kill his remaining guards to vent his anger. That way, both sides will still have some face.¡±

    ¡°However, that way, won¡¯t both sides be unable to coexist any longer? With King Jin¡¯s nature, there''s no way that he would leave the matter be. He''d gather forces from even more ns, and then Zu An would be in trouble.¡±

    ¡°Zu An was harboring a criminal to begin with, and he even killed King Jin¡¯s subordinate Elder Chen. He was already in big trouble from the very start.¡±

    ¡­

    Just then, Zu An turned slightly to look at King Jin. He said quietly to himself, ¡°I thought that guy Zhao Ruizhi was already dumb enough. I didn¡¯t expect you to be even dumber than him. At least he knows to fear me.¡±

    ¡°Brazen! You actually dare to spout such disgraceful words?!¡± King Jin eximed, glowering at him.

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Ruiyong for +288 +288 +288¡­

    For some reason, he felt a bit of unease inside.

    ¡°Disgraceful?¡± Zu An replied. When he saw that King Jin was still acting arrogant and despotic even in such a situation, he recalled his family from the previous dynasty who had died tragically. He walked up to King Jin, then said quietly nin his ear, ¡°Didn¡¯t you want to get revenge for your father all this time? I¡¯ll at least tell you the truth so you can die with some understanding. I was the one who killed Zhao Han.¡±

    Zhao Ruiyong¡¯s eyes instantly contracted when he heard that. He was about to shout when a powerful force entered his neck.

    Crack!

    His neck snapped, and his eyes almost popped out of his sockets. Even in death, he couldn''t understand why the other side dared to kill him.

 Chapter 1894: I Treated You As a Little Brother, But You Want Me to Call You Dad?

    <h4>Chapter 1894: I Treated You As a Little Brother, But You Want Me to Call You Dad?</h4>

    The messy environment immediately fell silent. Those present were stupefied by the scene before them. The grand and important King Jin had actually been killed by Zu An before their very eyes!

    The other soldiers from King Jin Manor were horrified. They were in charge of King Jin¡¯s safety. Now that King Jin had been killed, they wouldn¡¯t be able to escape punishment. However, they didn¡¯t dare to get revenge for King Jin either. After all, King Jin and Elder Chen had just died right before their eyes, and both of them had been ughtered easily like chickens. What would lesser troops like them be able to do?

    No one knew who took the lead, but the soldiers began to flee in rm. They were scared that they would be silenced if they stayed behind. Zu An didn¡¯t stop them. After all, he wouldn¡¯t go so far as to trouble mere ordinary soldiers.

    The reason his mood was really bad today was all because he had suddenly be the previous dynasty¡¯s imperial grandson. When he thought about how many of his loved ones had died at the Zhao n¡¯s hands, and then saw how this King Jin brat was trying to walk over him, he couldn''t hold himself back. Now, his head was much clearer.

    As they watched King Jin Manor¡¯s soldiers flee for their lives, all those who were watching from a distance seemed to have woken up with a start. They immediately turned tail to run for fear of being killed too. Everything within a mile or so became exceptionally quiet. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Chu Youzhao and Murong Qinghe walked up to Zu An¡¯s side. They gave King Jin another look of disbelief. His corpse was right there, and he couldn''t be any more dead. Both of their faces were pale. They clearly realized the severity of what had happened.

    Murong Qinghe couldn''t help but say, ¡°Big brother Zu, it was all because you saved me that you made such a huge mistake. In my opinion, we should flee the capital before the court reacts to this. In the future, we¡¯ll just roam the world together. The world is sorge that the court might not be able to capture us.¡±

    Chu Youzhao¡¯s eyes lit up as she added, ¡°Sure, yeah! We¡¯ll just go together and adventure chivalrously. We¡¯ll live such a carefree life!¡± Even though she was the Chu n¡¯s young master and carried the responsibility of the n,pared to her brother-inw¡¯s safety, it didn¡¯t seem that important anymore.

    Zu An was speechless. He eventually said in constion, ¡°I don¡¯t think this is a severe mistake. You two don¡¯t need to be so nervous. It isn¡¯t as grave as you think."

    Murong Qinghe and Chu Youzhao widened their eyes.

    <i>You even killed King Jin in full view of so many people, and yet you still don¡¯t think that it¡¯s serious?</i>

    ¡°Still, you¡¯re right in the sense that we can''t stay here any longer,¡± Zu An said. After thinking about it, he told the two, ¡°I¡¯ll bring the two of you elsewhere.¡±

    Then, he ordered all of the manor¡¯s people to just tell the court''s people the truth if anyone came to investigate. There was no need for them to hide things for his sake. After arranging all that, he took the two young women with him back to Mount Yuquan. Things were definitely going to be chaotic soon, and the academy was the only ce no one dared to cause trouble in.

    Not long after entering the academy, he just happened to run into Xie Daoyun while she was leaving. She was really happy to see him, saying, ¡°Big brother Zu, I heard that you left right aftering to the academy. I was wondering why you didn¡¯te to visit me, but you actually came back again!¡±

    When she saw this person, who was usually a ssy and elegant eldest daughter, jumping around in high spirits, Chu Youzhao immediately felt guarded.

    <i>This woman used to be well acquainted with big sister. Everyone says that a rabbit doesn¡¯t eat the grass by its own burrow, but she¡­</i>

    Midway through that thought, Chu Youzhao suddenly sighed.

    <i>Is this the time to be thinking about something like that? Right now, the most important thing is brother-inw¡¯s safety!</i>

    ¡°Little sister Ling¡¯er,¡± Zu An replied, his mood improving when he saw her. ¡°Can you help me contact the other teachers and tell them to gather around the libationer¡¯s house?¡±

    Xie Daoyun eximed happily, ¡°Okay!¡± She thought that once her big brother Zu became the libationer, she would be able to spend more and more time with him.

    Chu Youzhao and Murong Qinghe followed Zu An up to the mountaintop. As they looked at the scenery, both of them were really excited. After all, normally, such a ce would be incredibly mysterious for them. Only the libationer and a few others could enter under ordinary circumstances.

    When Zu An returned to the small house, he didn¡¯t see that old servant. He couldn''t help but sigh in relief. He cleared out two rooms in this courtyard and said to the two young women, ¡°The two of you will stay here for now.¡±

    The libationer¡¯s residence looked small, but inside, it felt like apletely different world. There was enough space for several people to live.

    ¡°We''re going to live here? But this is the libationer¡¯s residence¡­¡± the two said in shock.

    ¡°From today on, I am the new libationer,¡± Zu An said with a smile.

    The two young women didn¡¯t realize that he was telling the truth. They both harrumphed. ¡°Still as bold as always.¡±

    They looked up and saw a shy and showy youngdy sitting on the windowsill, her white legs swaying back and forth.

    ¡°Qi Yaoguang,¡± Zu An said with a chuckle. This girl did have quite the unique personality.

    ¡°Even though our rtionship isn¡¯t bad and we can be considered friends, I won¡¯t acknowledge you as the new libationer,¡± Qi Yaoguang said as she fiddled with a divination dial in her hands that looked like an expanse of stars. ¡°Do you understand this fortune-telling method? Do you understand astrological patterns and divination? You don¡¯t know a thing, so how can you be a libationer who gives me advice?¡±

    ¡°Fortune-telling, divination¡­¡± Zu An muttered, raising his brows. He really didn¡¯t know a thing about those fields.

    Before he could even say anything else, someone remarked with a chuckle, ¡°That may not be, you know?¡±

    A short and stout figure strutted in arrogantly. Despite his portly frame, he was dressed in schrly clothes and a hat, and had a long mustache shaped like a °Ë. He was full of a lighthearted and cheerful mood. He was the libationer¡¯s eleventh disciple, Yin Shi, someone who was good at debates and arguing.

    ¡°I actually do feel that sir Zu has the qualifications to be the new libationer," Yin Shi said. It was clear that Zu An¡¯s first visit to the academy had left him with a deep impression.

    ¡°Tsk~¡± Qi Yaoguang crossed her arms in front of her. She understood his personality and immediately looked the other way. She didn¡¯t want to debate anything with him.

    Yin Shi was a bit dissatisfied, asking, ¡°Junior sister, do you want to hear my reasoning?¡±

    ¡°Nope,¡± Qi Yaoguang replied, not falling for it.

    ¡°Then that means you acknowledge my decision. Sir Zu has the qualifications to be the new libationer!¡± Yin Shi said with a big smile.

    ¡°You¡­!¡± Qi Yaoguang panicked, as expected.

    High-heeled shoes tapped against the limestone, letting out sharp and clear sounds. Just that sound alone could make one¡¯s imagination go crazy. The whole group reflexively nced toward the source of the sound, and what first met their eyes was a pair of smooth and well-shaped, ck silk-covered legs. There almost seemed to be a faint glow that was absolutely captivating surrounding those leggings.

    Chu Youzhao was filled with envy. Other people could wear such pretty feminine clothes and ck leggings, but she could only secretly y around with such clothes in private.

    Murong Qinghe had a tall and slender build, and many people had praised her legs for being beautiful ever since she was little. However, right now, she had to admit that she stillcked a bit of maturitypared to the other woman. This woman was full of a refined, businesslike charm, and right now, there was nothing she could do topare.

    ¡°I actually feel that great disciple is more suitable to be the new libationer,¡± said the woman, who was none other than Jiang Luofu. Her hair was arranged above her head by a simple wood hairpin, which made her neck seem even longer and more slender. There was a noble and elegant air around her. She actually seemed even more alluring than when Zu An had first met her in Brightmoon City.

    ¡°Eighth martial sister¡¯s legs seem to have be longer again!¡± Yin Shi eximed, his eyes widening. ¡°Let this junior brother measure them for you¡­¡±

    ¡°Hah, eleventh martial brother doesn¡¯t seem to have been beaten up enough yet over the years,¡± said a distinguished schr with an impressive bearing, who walked in while stroking his beard. He was dressed in a ck and white checkered robe. His sleeves were wide and his robe dragged a bit on the ground. He was thete libationer¡¯s fifth disciple, Hei Baizi!

    ¡°That may not be; fifth martial brother is mistaken. How can being stepped on by eighth martial sister¡¯s wonderful feet be considered a beating? That¡¯s clearly a reward!¡± Yin Shi corrected him with a chuckle.

    ¡°Silence!¡± Jiang Luofu snapped as she took out a little bell and shook it. An invisible ripple spread out, and even though Yin Shi opened his mouth, he discovered that he couldn''t utter a sound anymore.

    Zu An was a bit surprised. This thing in the gorgeous principal''s hands seemed to be a magic treasure!

    A sweet fragrance brushed past, and Jiang Luofu instantly appeared in front of him. She looked at him with an ambiguous expression, saying, ¡°I treated you as a little brother, but you want me to call you dad?¡±

    Zu An was sweating buckets as he replied, ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    The others had strange expressions. Even Qi Yaoguang turned around. Jiang Luofu seemed to be teasing this pretty boy!

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in the Meng n¡¯s main residence, when Meng Yi learned of what had happened by the marquis manor, he couldn''t help but get up and roar withughter. ¡°Who would have thought, who would have thought! Everything is going even smoother than we nned. I thought that Zu guy would have a bit of skill, but I didn¡¯t expect him to be a rash and reckless fool!

    ¡°Prepare some people to follow me into the pce!¡±

 Chapter 1895: Blood Disaster The Day After Tomorrow

    <h4>Chapter 1895: Blood Disaster The Day After Tomorrow</h4>

    At the top of Mount Yuquan, a group of people looked at the woman in ck leggings. Jiang Luofu remainedpletely calm as she said, ¡°The libationer is my master. In my heart, the word libationer is synonymous with master and father. If someone else wanted to be the libationer, wouldn¡¯t it be the same as trying to be my father?¡±

    Zu An was really sweating now. He replied, ¡°It¡¯s not that serious, right?¡±

    The previously tense atmosphere became a bit lighter as a result.

    Jiang Luofu said with a smile, ¡°Ah Zu, even though we''re familiar with each other, I''m someone who judges matters as they stand. I also feel that it''s still senior brother who is more suited to everyone¡¯s expectations. You won¡¯t me me for that, right?¡±

    Zu An sighed and said, ¡°That''s why I don''t understand why thete libationer gave me the ring. I''m still young, and I don''t have much skill¡­¡± N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Sir Zu, please do not undervalue yourself,¡± said an old farmer dressed in a vest as he walked over. His entire body was tanned from being in the sun, and there was a hoe hanging from his waist. However, no one would truly treat him as just another old farmer.

    ¡°Seventh brother!¡± The others greeted him respectfully. This person was the libationer¡¯s seventh disciple, Wang Shuyang.

    Wang Shuyang nodded slightly. Then, his gazended on Zu An as he said, ¡°Sir is young, but your knowledge is vast. In the field of agriculture in particr, your knowledge leaves this old Wang in amazement. The hybridized paddy concept has truly enlightened me. After two years of testing, there are already signs of progress. Judging from what we can see so far, it will definitely enable farm crops'' yield to increase tremendously. When that happens, who knows how many more lives we will be able to provide for. Just that fact alone is already enough for sir to be the new libationer.¡±

    Hei Baizi said with a chuckle, ¡°Sir Zu¡¯s achievements in chess aren''t bad either.¡±

    Zu An''s invention of five-in-a-row had already left him stunned. The barrier to entry for the game of Go was very high, so it had never be popr among themon people. Hei Baizi didn¡¯t want his beloved craft to be simplified down to a meremoner''s game, but he hadn''t really found a solution to that. However, the five-in-a-row game Zu An hade up with quickly became the most precious treasure for him. Even though he discovered that the game was very simple after he thoroughly analyzed it, and that it couldn''tpare to the game of Go at all, what it was good at was its simplicity. By spreading it among themon people, he could attract more people to learn about Go. As such, even though he''d realized that Zu An wasn''t a chess saint the way he imagined, he was still very grateful.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect Sir Zu to be such an erudite man. His skills in alchemy and puppetry have also filled me with admiration,¡± said a voice, apanied by several cracking noises.

    A massive puppet slowly appeared from the distant stairs. On the shoulder of the puppet sat a small and stooped person. He was thete libationer¡¯s fourth disciple, alchemy master Shen Xuzi. The mechanical puppet extended its hand and removed a wheelchair from behind it. Then, it gently lowered him into it.

    Shen Xuzi rolled the wheelchair up to Zu An and held his hand tightly, saying, ¡°Right, Sir Zu, the steam engine and that ''Gundam'' you spoke of before, I still don¡¯t fully understand them. Can you give me a bit more pointers to alleviate my puzzlement?¡±

    Zu An had a strange expression. He had just casually mentioned those things in the past without really knowing many of the details, so he would definitely be exposed if the other side continued to ask him about it. However, now that he had learned the Baopu Sutra, there were details regarding artifact refinement, so he could now actually discuss some of the details.

    Qi Yaoguang blinked. Her senior brothers were normally all entrics with strange tempers, so why were they all so close to Zu An now? It was almost as if he were their father.

    ¡°Big brother Zu!¡± Xie Daoyun eximed cheerfully just then. She pointed at a thin elder next to her, saying, ¡°This is my teacher. Teacher, this is my big brother Zu, the one I mentioned many times.¡±

    ¡°I greet Great Disciple Yan,¡± Zu An said, not daring to show him any disrespect. The great formation on Violet Mountain was the work of this man, and even Zhao Han had been banished to another space because of it.

    ¡°The young master speaks with too much courtesy. Furthermore, you are the new libationer, so it should be me who greets you with respect,¡± Yan Xiangu said with a chuckle. At the same time, he was examining Zu An. He was quite shocked, because he didn¡¯t feel as if he could see through this youngster¡¯s depths.

    Qi Yaoguang grumbled, ¡°Great brother, I actually feel that everyone would be more convinced if you became the new libationer. This kid is so much younger than you, so how can he assist me in my cultivation from here on out?¡±

    Jiang Luofu didn¡¯t speak up in agreement; instead, she observed quietly. At first, she had been worried that Zu An would be in a difficult situation, since these senior brothers were all incredibly proud. That was why she had taken on the responsibility of going against Zu An. After all, they were close to each other and she could control the level of embarrassment better. However, she''d never expected that apart from Qi Yaoguang, her senior brothers would all support Zu An!

    Yan Xiangu said with a chuckle ¡°Even if I became the libationer, I still couldn''t give you pointers on your cultivation. I definitely don¡¯t know as much about celestial divination and fortune-telling as you.¡±

    Qi Yaoguang grumbled, ¡°But even so, you could help me in other ways, right?¡±

    Shen Xuzi spoke up just then and said, ¡°Great brother is very formidable, but only in the way of talismans. He won¡¯t be of much help to our respective domains, but Sir Zu is different. He really can help us in our respective fields.¡±

    Wang Shuyang and the others all nodded.

    ¡°Maybe that¡¯s just a coincidence, right? Just how old is he? How could he possibly know that much?¡± Qi Yaoguang asked, feeling extremely confused. ¡°If you have the skill, convince me using fortune-telling and divination!¡±

    Before Zu An had a chance to reply, Xie Daoyun said, ¡°Big brother Zu is actually really good at fortune-telling. Why don¡¯t you do it once for her?¡± Judging from her proud tone, it sounded almost as if she were promoting her own boyfriend.

    Everyone else was shocked as well.

    Qi Yaoguang asked suspiciously, ¡°You know about that too?¡±

    When he saw Xie Daoyun¡¯s expectant expression, Zu An was put on the spot. He replied, ¡°I understand a bit.¡±

    ¡°A bit? You¡¯re quite arrogant, aren¡¯t you?¡± Qi Yaoguang replied as she put her hands on her hips. ¡°Why don¡¯t you try it out on me then? Tell me, what major things will happen to me soon?¡±

    After some hesitation, Zu An said, ¡°Do you have a tortoiseshell or some copper coins?¡±

    Qi Yaoguang''s lips curled as she replied, ¡°Are you even going to borrow divination items from someone else?¡± Despite that, she still fished out a tortoiseshell and said, ¡°This is a tortoiseshell I got a while back. I¡¯ve never had much of a chance to use it, so I¡¯ll just lend it to you. As for copper coins, I don¡¯t have any.¡±

    What she was proficient in was celestial divination, which was different from what Zu An knew.

    ¡°I have some, I have some!¡± Xie Daoyun cried as she took out a few copper coins for Zu An. Her beautiful eyes were glistening.

    Qi Yaoguang almost facepalmed. She was doing her best to help her great brother get the position of libationer, while great brother¡¯s very own disciple was on the side of the outsider!

    In contrast, Yan Xiangu had a benevolent smile on his face, as if he didn¡¯t mind at all. Rather, he was curious as to how Zu An was going to carry out his divination.

    Zu An showed Xie Daoyun a smile. Then, he picked up the tortoiseshell and waved it toward her palm, collecting the coppers within it. Then, with a wave of his hand, the tortoiseshell began to rapidly spin in the air.

    Qi Yaoguang harrumphed.

    <i>You¡¯re not even throwing dice, so what are you putting on such a huge disy for?</i>

    However, her expression quickly became serious, because with just a light tap of Zu An¡¯s finger, streak after streak of ancient and profound lines appeared on the tortoiseshell. She could sense that they seemed to vaguely align with the naturalws of the world. After all, knowledge was interconnected, and this was her field of expertise to begin with. She quickly sensed the profundity of what he was doing. A bit of surprise appeared on her face.

    <i>Could it be that he really does understand this?</i>

    The tortoiseshell quickly trembled, and the copper coins flew out one after another. They floated in the air and seemed to connect in a certain strange pattern.

    ¡°Hm?¡± Zu An eximed, clearly a bit stunned.

    Qi Yaoguang couldn''t help butugh, remarking, ¡°You couldn''t do the divination after all, right?¡± To think she was almost fooled by this guy!

    Zu An seemed to be a bit puzzled. He trailed off as he said, ¡°I did manage to do it, but it seems a bit contradictory¡­¡±

    Xie Daoyun couldn''t help but worry when she heard what he said. The other disciples of the libationer were even more curious now.

    Jiang Luofu said with a smile, ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell us about it?¡±

    Zu An was a bit embarrassed, but he still replied, ¡°I divined that Miss Yaoguang would experience a disaster of blood the day after tomorrow, which should be a sign of a great tragedy. And yet, when I examined it more closely, there wasn''t the slightest sign of danger. It almost seems as if she can safely pass through this experience without even doing anything. I wonder just what is wrong here¡­¡±

    This was, after all, the first time he had carried out a divination after learning the Baopu Sutra, so he was still a bit unfamiliar with divination. It wouldn''t be too surprising if he had made a mistake somewhere.

    Suddenly, Qi Yaoguang¡¯s face became entirely red. She cried out, ¡°You scoundrel!¡± This guy had actually divined her first blood so urately! She had never spoken about that with anyone before.

    Everyone present was sharp and quickly realized what was going on. They all had knowing smiles.

    Zu An was really embarrassed.

    <i>I didn¡¯t do this on purpose! Who knew this kind of thing would be the result?</i>

    Shen Xuziughed the hardest of all, saying, ¡°Junior sister, you don¡¯t have any objections now, right?¡±

    ¡°Even if I don¡¯t, so what? You¡¯re only four in total, and if you add me, that¡¯s five. There are twelve disciples in total, so we haven¡¯t even met half of the votes yet. How can we easily appoint him as the new libationer with that?¡± Qi Yaoguang muttered.

    Surprisingly, Jiang Luofu was the one who spoke up. ¡°That may not necessarily be the case. Second brother¡¯s rtionship with him is quite close, and third brother met him previously in Cloudcenter Commandery and respects him greatly. Sixth sister and him are even more so one family, while ninth sister has a very good rtionship with him too. Apart from tenth brother,[1] whom he hasn''t met, almost all of the martial siblings have very good rtionships with him.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He wondered who the second brother[2] and ninth sister[3] she was talking about were.

    <i>Why don¡¯t I have any impression of them? And they have such good rtionships with me?</i>

    Yan Xiangu said, ¡°See? Teacher¡¯s arrangements weren¡¯t made blindly. He is the most suitable candidate to be the new libationer. Yan Xiangu greets the libationer!¡± He took the lead to bow.

    Xie Daoyun immediately had a huge smile. She also bowed respectfully, saying, ¡°Xie Daoyun greets the libationer.¡±

    The others had strange expressions when they saw that.

    <i>Why do you look as if you¡¯re bowing to your husband?</i>

    Shen Xuzi, Hei Baizi, Wang Weiyang, and Yin Shi had supported Zu An to begin with. They also followed up with their greeting.

    Jiang Luofu sized up this young man in front of her. She suddenly felt a bit moved by everything that had happened. After all, this man had to respectfully call her principal in the past, and yet now, she was the one who had to greet him respectfully. However, she''d already intended to help him from the very start, so she also followed suit, saying, ¡°Jiang Luofu greets the new libationer.¡±

    /p>

    Qi Yaoguang was thest one left. When she recalled that ¡®brilliant¡¯ divination method Zu An had shown, in the end, she still bowed down and said, ¡°Qi Yaoguang greets the new libationer!¡±

    1. Tenth brother specializes in military strategy, and resides on the border. ??

    2. Second brother is a doctor whose whereabouts are unknown. ??

    3. Ninth sister is a singer. ??

 Chapter 1896: Dilemma

    Chapter 1896: Dilemma

    When they saw the scene in front of them, both Chu Youzhao and Murong Qinghe¡¯s jaws dropped. After all, Yan Xiangu and the other academy teachers were all very famous in the capital. Countless ns wanted to meet with them, and yet they rarely got the chance to do so. But now, they were actually all greeting big brother Zu so respectfully, and furthermore acknowledging him as the libationer.

    Brother-inw is so awesome!

    The two young women had felt a bit down because of what was happening as ofte, but now, they finally felt a bit better. They even started to think that perhaps they would be able to make it through these difficult times.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An quickly supported them back up, saying, ¡°There''s no need for excessive formality. We can just keep each identity separate. The libationer is the libationer, but when we interact in private, let¡¯s still talk as equals.¡±

    Yu Yanluo was thete libationer¡¯s sixth disciple. As such, they were indeed equal. Even if it wasn''t too long ago that many of the libationer¡¯s disciples had found out for the first time that Yu Yanluo was the sixth disciple, leaving them incredibly shocked, they also envied how blessed Zu An was. Yu Yanluo had been the capital¡¯s number one beauty, someone whose name all men had heard of.

    When they heard Zu An''s response, they felt more at ease.

    Yan Xiangu suddenly asked, ¡°Has teacher already passed?¡±

    They all had hopeful expressions as they looked into Zu An¡¯s eyes, seemingly trying to hold out for good news.

    ¡°That is indeed the case," Zu An said with a sigh.

    With the death of the libationer confirmed, the mood in the ce turned grim.

    Qi Yaoguang rubbed the tears at the corners of her eyes, saying, ¡°Teacher was so wise, studying everything from the heavens to man. Just how did he die?¡±

    Zu An was a bit hesitant. However, Yan Xiangu said, ¡°There is no harm in saying what you think. All of us know about teacher¡¯s grudge against his majesty and wouldn¡¯t speak recklessly outside of this ce.¡±

    When he heard that, Zu An said, ¡°In a way, the libationer took down his majesty with him.¡±

    That wasn¡¯t aplete lie. If not because the libationer had paid with his life to seriously wound Zhao Han, there would be no way Zu An could have finished the job.

    The libationer''s disciples all had looks of grief when they heard that. In the end, they sighed and said, ¡°We already knew that this day woulde eventually, just not this quickly.¡±

    These direct disciples naturally knew who the libationer really was, and they also knew about the grudge shared between the former dynasty and the Zhao n. They''d thought that the libationer had already acknowledged his fate, but they hadn¡¯t expected him to still go that far in the end.

    Chu Youzhao and Murong Qinghe werepletely stupefied as they listened. They had never expected to hear such shocking news! His majesty and the libationer both¡­ At the same time, they were wondering why big brother Zu trusted them so much, realizing that they definitely had to guard this secret for him.

    Zu An took the chance to introduce the two of them and asked for the libationer''s disciples to help watch over them.

    Shen Xuzi replied, ¡°Libationer, don¡¯t worry! They will definitely be safe if they stay here. Even after all these years, no one has dared to cause trouble in the academy.¡±

    They had naturally already heard about the Murong n¡¯s situation and more or less guessed Zu An¡¯s intentions. It was just a very small matter for them, though. The academy was powerful enough to shelter anyone.

    Zu An was filled with gratitude. After settling that matter, he took the chance to ask Jiang Luofu, ¡°Big sis principal, was your Jiang n affected by the battle of Violet Mountain?¡±

    A hint of gentleness appeared on Jiang Luofu''s face when she heard the familiar way of address. She said, ¡°Thank you for your care, libationer. The Jiang n is currently still fine. Even though there has been a bit of disturbance, the Jiang n and King Qi were not tied too closely. Furthermore, we are all joined by marriage, and with my academy¡¯s level of rtionship, no one dares to trouble us.¡±

    Zu An nodded inwardly. Jiang Boyang¡¯s eldest son had taken Pei Jienu, who was also Pei Mianman¡¯s paternal aunt, as his wife. His second son had married Zhao Han¡¯s daughter, Princess Changrong. The third prince had married the Yu n¡¯s woman¡­ The Jiang n had always had handsome men and beautiful women, so they were rted to all sorts of different ns by marriage. Furthermore, Jiang Luofu had the support of these martial brothers from the academy, so no one would dare to touch the Jiang n.

    It seems that having more sons and daughters in this kind of society is pretty useful, huh.

    ¡°It¡¯s good that the Jiang n doesn¡¯t have any problems,¡± Zu An said. He then asked,, ¡°Who are the second brother and ninth sister you mentioned earlier?¡±

    The third brother was Sword Saint Xiao Yao, someone he had met in Cloudcenter Commandery. The tenth brother was a military strategist who usually stayed at the border, so he had never met him. He knew about those two. But second brother, the doctor, and ninth sister, the singer... This was the first time he had heard them being mentioned.

    Jiang Luofu shook her head slightly and said, ¡°Their identities must be hidden. It¡¯s best if they tell you on their own in the future, because it isn¡¯t appropriate for me to tell you. Still, there''s no need to worry. You share quite a deep rtionship with them and will naturally know who they are eventually.¡±

    Zu An was a bit annoyed that she was deliberately mystifying things. He really wanted to pull those ck leggings of hers all the way down, rip off the rubber bands on them, and flick her with them like a slingshot.

    A disciple suddenly ran all the way up while gasping for breath, saying, ¡°Teachers, there are people who want to meet Sir Zu and im to be his friends.¡±

    ¡°What Sir Zu? From today on, he is our new libationer,¡± Yan Xiangu corrected him.

    The disciple was shocked. He reflexively nced at the other teachers, and when he saw that they didn¡¯t argue back, he knew that Yan Xiangu wasn¡¯t joking. He quickly said respectfully, ¡°I greet the libationer!¡± At the same time, he thought to himself that he definitely had to spread this huge piece of news to the other students, so he wouldn''t be the only one to experience such shock.

    ¡°Please rise. Who was it that was calling me, and have you asked what their names are?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°They said thhey were Eastern Pce guards. One seems to be surnamed Piao, the other Jiao something.¡±

    Zu An stirred, saying, ¡°Have theme up.¡±

    Soon after, Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun sprinted up the mountain with anxious looks. When they saw Zu An, they sighed in relief and said, ¡°Sir Zu, the crown princess wishes for you to return to the pce.¡±

    Zu An was a bit surprised. He nodded and replied, ¡°I understand.¡± Then, he said to Chu Youzhao and Murong Qinghe, ¡°The two of you will live here for a while. With the teachers protecting you, no one will dare to make things difficult for you.¡±

    ¡°Brother-inw (big brother Zu), don¡¯t return to the pce! It¡¯s too dangerous!¡± Chu Youzhao and Murong Qinghe both grabbed his sleeves and said out of concern.

    ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± Zu An said with a smile. ¡°I know what I¡¯m doing, so nothing bad will happen. Don¡¯t run all over the ce; staying here properly is the best way to help me. If you need anything, ask your big sister Xie.¡± Then, he said to Jiang Luofu, ¡°I¡¯ll have to trouble you to look after the two of them a bit.¡±

    Jiang Luofu nodded. Then, she looked at the two Eastern Pce guards. She asked quietly, ¡°Do you need help?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll be able to handle it,¡± Zu An said as he cupped his hands toward the teachers; he then followed Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun down Mount Yuquan.

    ¡°Sir Zu, you shouldn''t go to the Imperial Pce, and you should just use this chance to run. We¡¯ll just go back on our own and say that it was because we were too weak. They won¡¯t trouble us too much for that,¡± Piao Duandiao couldn''t help but say along the way.

    ¡°What do you mean, we¡¯re too weak? We should just say that we didn¡¯t even find Sir Zu,¡± Jiao Sigun corrected him.

    Zu An felt warm inside when he heard the worry in their voices. He patted their shoulders and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I have a n.¡±

    ¡­

    Just like that, they went to the Imperial pce. Eunuch Lu was already waiting at the pce gate. When he saw Zu An, he immediately said, ¡°Sir Zu, you should go to the Pce of Peace. Everyone is already there.¡±

    Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun couldn''t help but say, ¡°We received the crown princess¡¯ orders to bring Sir Zu to the Eastern Pce.¡±

    Eunuch Lu¡¯s expression turned cold. He replied, ¡°Are you using the crown princess¡¯ name to push down the empress? Even the crown princess is at the Pce of Peace right now.¡±

    Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun were intimidated by Eunuch Lu, so they could only give Zu An a look that seemed to say ''good luck''. Then, they quickly rushed to the Eastern Pce to issue a report.

    Zu An followed Eunuch Lu to the Pce of Peace. Along the way, Eunuch Lu asked with a sigh, ¡°Sir Zu, how could you be so impulsive?¡±

    Zu An knew that the news regarding the murder of King Jin had already spread. He said calmly, ¡°I merely sought rity and understanding.¡±

    Eunuch Lu gave him a look of surprise. As he watched Zu An enter, a momentter, he said enviously, ¡°Being young truly is great. You can be hot-blooded and capable.¡±

    When Zu An walked into the Pce of Peace, he discovered that it was full of people and that it was as noisy as a food market. The two sides were clearly arguing over something. When they saw Zu An, however, the entire room suddenly fell silent. They all turned around to look at him with strange expressions.

    Zu An saw that Bi Linglong was also present, and that the Eastern Pce¡¯s members were gathered around her. She almost seemed to rival the empress, who was in the seat of honor. The empress was dressed in a long ck gown with golden phoenixes embroidered upon it; she had a solemn and dignified aura. In contrast, Bi Linglong was dressed in a white pce outfit, and her perfect facial features formed an extremely grave expression. One was a mature and elegant madam, while the other was a youngdy brimming with beauty and youthfulness. Even though their statuses were special, the other ministers present couldn''t help but sneak looks at the two of them. They really did each have their own beauty.

    Meng Yi was the first to snap out of his daze. He pointed at Zu An and hollered, ¡°Zu An, you actually dared toe here? Men, arrest this brute immediately!¡±

    Zu An looked at Bi Linglong to see how she would act. He had a bit of hope deep within him, because if shepletely abandoned him, there was no need for him to feel bothered any longer.

    Soldiers stormed in when they received the order. Just then, however, Bi Linglong spoke up with her beautiful brows furrowed. ¡°Sir Meng, this is the Pce of Peace. Her highness hasn¡¯t even spoken yet, so aren¡¯t you overstepping your authority a bit?¡±

    Meng Yi¡¯s expression changed slightly. He thus bowed respectfully to the empress. and said, ¡°Your highness, please forgive me. This subject was too stirred up and acted out of line. However, this Zu An actually dared to murder a prince, a true crime that cannot be forgiven. I hope that your highness can uphold justice for King Jin!¡±

    Many ministers kneeled down; several of them were other children from the royal family. They added, ¡°Please uphold justice for all of us, your highness!¡±

    When she saw the scene, Liu Ning felt a huge headacheing on and gave Zu An a resentful look.

    Didn¡¯t I just warn this damn brat not to act recklessly? I told him to talk to me if he needed anything and that I¡¯d help him. And yet he immediately killed King Jin?!

    She was angry inside, but she didn¡¯t show anything on the surface. She said, ¡°Linglong, King Jin was the crown prince¡¯s own brother. How do you think should this matter be handled?¡±

    Bi Linglong secretly praised her cunning. The empress now put all the me onto her. If she helped Zu An, it would disappoint everyone from the royal family and the ministers, because King Jin was the crown prince¡¯s younger brother. She would be cut off from everyone else. However, if she didn¡¯t help Zu An, the Eastern Pce¡¯s unity would be disturbed. If not even an important figure like Zu An could be protected, who would dare support her in the future?

    Bi Linglong shot Zu An a fierce look. If it were something else, she would definitely protect him, but he had ended up causing such a hugemotion.

    Just what do I do now?

 Chapter 1897: I Have to Investigate Myself?

    Chapter 1897: I Have to Investigate Myself?

    When the empress saw that Bi Linglong didn¡¯t say anything even after some time passed, she spoke up again. ¡°What does the crown princess think we should do about this matter?¡±

    Bi Linglong cleared her throat and said, ¡°I believe that there is most likely some kind of misunderstanding at y here. I believe that Sir Zu is not the type who would be so impetuous. How about we listen to what Sir Zu has to say first?¡±

    When she first heard that Zu An had killed King Jin, her entire head began ringing. She really couldn''t understand why he would do such a thing. She could only let him talk about the situation first to see if there was any way to salvage things.

    The empress nodded and said, ¡°What the crown princess says makes sense. Does Sir Zu have anything to say about this matter?¡±

    Bi Linglong was a bit surprised. She had never expected the empress to approve of her opinion.

    All those present were now looking at Zu An. However, he calmly replied, ¡°What matter are you all talking about?¡±

    ¡°It is about your murder of King Jin, of course! What are you acting all dumb for?¡± a youngster dressed in official robes shouted.

    Zu An gave him a look. This person¡¯s face was a bit round, and coupled with his soft bangs, he looked a bit like a doll.

    This person was King Dai, Zhao Ping. He was the son of Zhao Han¡¯s concubine Madam Li, and his wife was Meng Ji¡¯s daughter. She was beautiful, as well as wise and capable, often giving him advice. Together with the two families'' strong alliance, the two of them were often thought of as a perfect couple. It was rumored that the one the Meng n was supporting to take the imperial throne was none other than him.

    ¡°When did I kill King Jin? It¡¯s just that King Jin took his men all the way to my manor and his subordinates offended me. I merely disciplined his subordinates,¡± Zu An said with a calm expression.

    At the seat of honor, the empress nodded inwardly.

    The brat isn¡¯t stupid. I was scared that he would ignore everything here and just directly admit to it boldly. Then, there really wouldn¡¯t be any way to clean up the situation.

    Bi Linglong frowned. How could the murder of King Jin be something so easily covered up?n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Sure enough, as soon as Zu An said that, the entire ce erupted into amotion. King Dai rebuked him, saying, ¡°A bunch of nonsense! So many people saw you kill my brother King Jin, and yet you still dare to quibble here?¡±

    ¡°Oh? Do tell me who saw it,¡± Zu An said, remaining calm.

    ¡°Did you really think that all your problems would be solved just because you killed my brother¡¯s protector, Elder Chen?¡± King Dai replied with a sneer. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. Men, bring the witnesses into the pce! That way, you''ll finally be forced to confess your crimes.¡±

    Many people exchanged looks. It seemed that King Dai hade prepared topletely eliminate Zu An, thus stripping the Eastern Pce of its right arm. That way, his own prestige would rise with the momentum.

    Even though Bi Linglong knew that was what he was thinking, there was nothing she could do. After all, the fact that Zu An had killed King Jin was just too big of a deal. It put her in a state of absolute passivity. However, she still had to defend him no matter what. She couldn''t help but look at Zu An; however, she saw him calmly finding a seat to sit down in. Then, he called out to the servants to bring him something to drink as if he owned the ce. As he casually sipped on some tea, it was almost as if he wasn¡¯t a criminal about to be convicted, and was instead the judge of the trial.

    Bi Linglong was surprised. She had already experienced many life and death moments together with Zu An and knew that he was definitely not the sort to act blindly without thinking. Since he was doing such a thing, that meant that he most likely had something he was relying on. After she thought about it, her anxious heart gradually calmed down.

    Several soldiers were brought in. Those with good eyes immediately recognized that they were from King Jin Manor.

    King Dai had a proud smile as he said, ¡°Now, tell me everything that you saw and heard that day without missing any details.¡±

    The soldiers couldn''t help but give Zu An a look. They broke out into a cold shiver. This deity of ughter had left them with great trauma.

    When he saw them cowering, King Dai was a bit dissatisfied. He barked, ¡°What are you all standing around doing nothing for? Hurry up and talk!¡±

    Meng Yi said seriously, ¡°Her highness the empress, the crown princess, and many important ministers are here. Everyone here will assume responsibility for you. There is no need to be scared.¡±

    He had his status to rely on, and his tone had a mysterious soothing effect. Thus, the guards calmed down a bit. After looking around, they felt that no matter how strong Zu An was, there were so many big shots here. What could he even do? As such, they then all spoke up at once. ¡°Our king brought us to the marquis manor to arrest a criminal¡­

    ¡°Later, though, we didn¡¯t expect there to be a conflict¡­ He killed Elder Chen¡­¡±

    Even though many people here already knew what happened, there were still quite a few who were shocked by those words. King Jin¡¯s protector, Elder Chen, was a famous master rank expert in the capital. Even they had to treat him with respect when they met him, and yet he had been killed so easily by Zu An. Just how strong was Zu An?

    The guards continued to speak about what happenedter. ¡°...But we never expected the king and marquis to suddenly get into a conflict. Then, the king was gripped by the neck, and he was instantly strangled to death.¡±

    The entire ce rose up into amotion when those present heard what was said. Meng Yi cried loudly, ¡°He is cruel and ruthless!¡±

    King Dai also cursed, ¡°He actually dared to kill the prince in such a sadistic manner! If we do not punish this vile man, we cannot bring justice to this empire. Our royal family¡¯s dignity will bepletely destroyed. How will we face our ancestors in the future?!¡±

    Bi Linglong frowned when she heard that. This King Dai had always been a bit soft in nature, and yet he was actually acting so tough. These were clearly things that either Meng Yi or the sharp Madam Dai had told him. She didn¡¯t like that Madam Dai. Even though she was pretty, her personality was too strong. She had always kept King Dai under her wing like a mother hen with her chicks, giving off a threatening air. Sure enough, this time, Madam Dai no longer held back her ambition and had developed a desire for the throne.

    With King Dai and Meng Yi taking the lead, the entire court was now worked up. The Eastern Pce¡¯s side couldn''t even find any words to help Zu An, and they were quickly left in an absolutely passive position.

    Bi Linglong coughed lightly and turned to look at Zu An with a cold expression, saying, ¡°How audacious! Do you have anything else to say for yourself?!¡± She thought to herself that he definitely had a reason for doing all of this, so she yed along to give him a chance to speak.

    Sure enough, once the others turned to look at Zu An, he then replied nonchntly, ¡°Who says I sadistically killed the prince? Did you all see me do it with your own eyes? When did my hand ever touch his body?¡±

    Beneath Zu An''s stare, the guards looked at each other in dismay. They said, ¡°Even though you weren¡¯t next to King Jin, you raised him up from afar, then used a skill to crush the bones in his throat.¡±

    King Dai spoke up. ¡°Could it be that you are still going to try to deny it? So many people saw that scene. If you still refuse to admit to it, I can bring even more witnesses.¡±

    Zu An smiled as he replied, ¡°There''s no need to go that far. I did raise King Jin into the air, but I didn¡¯t kill him. Rather, his body was too weak, and he was too cowardly. He got too worked up and scared himself to death.¡±

    ¡°Scared himself to death?¡±

    Those present were all stunned. They had never expected him to deflect the usation in such an efficient manner.

    King Jin had always been sickly, and everyone knew he hadn''t had many years left to live. Indeed, he could have died at any time. However, so many people had seen that it was Zu An who killed him!

    Even Bi Linglong couldn''t help but give Zu An another look.

    This guy really is shameless. He''s lying through his teeth, and yet his face isn¡¯t even the slightest bit red.

    Even so, with that pretext, she had an angle to assist him again.

    Thus, King Dai and Meng Yi¡¯s side loudly criticized Zu An for being shameless, while the Eastern Pce¡¯s side spoke up for him under Bi Linglong¡¯s incitement. The two sides got awfully worked up from arguing.

    Along the way, Bi Linglong pretended to have suddenly realized something, saying, ¡°Right, Sir Zu, when my subordinates were looking for you, I heard that the academy¡¯s people seem to have called you the libationer.¡±

    The noisy room instantly fell silent. The officials looked at Zu An with incredible shock. They naturally knew thete libationer, but why had this brat be the academy¡¯s libationer?

    Zu An raised the ring in his hand and said, ¡°The libationer insisted on giving this position to me, and I just couldn''t break away from the responsibility. I couldn''t just let the libationer die with remaining grievances, so I could only reluctantly agree.¡±

    When they heard what he said, the officials all cursed him inwardly.

    This guy really is taking a mile after being given an inch! What kind of a position did the libationer have? Countless people want to have that position, and yet can''t; but this guy is acting all troubled!

    When he saw the endless Rage points that came in the backend, Zu An felt quite helpless. He was clearly speaking the truth, so why didn¡¯t people believe him?

    After the interruption, the sounds of arguing in the room clearly became less fierce. After all, Zu An was the Fiend Races¡¯ regent, and he was also the libationer. His status was too special.

    King Dai saw that the situation was gradually bing unfavorable for him and couldn''t help but bow to the empress. He said, ¡°Your highness, please share your opinion with us. You must uphold justice for King Jin! We cannot allow this murderer to run free just because his identity is special.¡±

    Liu Ning nodded when she heard that. She said, ¡°Indeed, we cannot let murderers run free, but we cannot unjustly me court minisers. How about this? We can leave the Embroidered Envoy to investigate this case, and have Golden Token Eleven look into the cause of King Jin¡¯s death. That way, everyone will have a satisfactory exnation.¡±

    King Dai was overjoyed, eximing, ¡°Your highness is wise and brilliant!¡±

    The Embroidered Envoy were known for their viciousness. They never needed to show anyone respect during their investigations. Zu An would be dead for sure.

    Bi Linglong had a weird expression. Others didn¡¯t know about Golden Token Eleven¡¯s identity, but how could she not know?

    He has to investigate himself?

    The empress seems to be helping Zu An! Their rtionship seems to be even closer than I imagined¡­

 Chapter 1898: A Choice

    Chapter 1898: A Choice

    When King Dai heard that the empress wanted the Embroidered Envoy to investigate Zu An, he was delighted. He thought, Isn¡¯t this Zu bastard dead for sure now?

    The Embroidered Envoy was a group of murderous brutes. Whenever they appeared, it signified misfortune for the target, no matter who it was. In the past, countless officials had been left destitute and homeless because of the Embroidered Envoy. Their womenfolk had all been sent to the government brothel.

    King Dai had heard that Chu First Miss was Zu An''s wife, and a stunning beauty at that. When the time came, he''d be the first to use her services!

    My little brother King Jin, I treat you quite well, don¡¯t I?

    Hm¡­ Madam Jin must be quite lonely now all by herself. I¡¯ll have to pay a visit to console her too.

    When he thought about how much King Jin had normally looked down on him, the older brother, by relying on the fact that he was the child of thete empress, he felt incredibly wronged. On the other hand, he had met Madam Jin a few times. She was sweet-tempered and enchanting, and had left him with a deep impression.

    As Zhao Han had doted on King Jin a lot and pitied his weak constitution, he''d feared that King Jin wouldn¡¯t be able to keep a strong-willed woman under control. Furthermore, King Jin likely wouldn''t even have a long life, so the great ns hadn''t been willing to marry their daughters to him. In the end, Zhao Han had found a gentle, virtuous, and capable wife for him. That way, she could stay at his side to take good care of him.

    In terms of appearance and figure, King Dai''s own Madam Dai wasn¡¯t inferior to Madam Jin at all, but his own madam was too direct and too intense in personality. It was hard for him to act with much of the dignity of a man in front of her. In contrast, Madam Jin was truly a woman who was soft and gentle like water. Whenever he saw the tenderness with which she treated King Jin, as well as her sweet appearance, he had felt incredible envy. He''d always thought that was what a woman was supposed to be like!

    Of course, because Madam Dai was the Meng n¡¯s miss and had the massive Meng n behind her, he didn¡¯t dare to rashly offend her. He didn¡¯t even dare to mess around with others or visit ces such as red light districts, either.

    However, when he thought about how Madam Jin was now a widow, as the pir of her family was now dead, he imagined that she would be full of despair and anxiety in the future. He couldn''t help but feel a me burn within him.

    Just then, the empress called out to the crowd. ¡°Does anyone have any objections to what this empress has said?¡±

    ¡°Your highness is brilliant!¡± those present replied with a bow. Having the Embroidered Envoy investigate the situation was the most suitable option, after all. The Embroidered Envoy had always been strict and fair, punishing vicious offenders severely.

    King Dai gave the empress¡¯ exaggerated curves a nce. He quickly pulled back his gaze, however.

    Just what did the empress eat to grow like that? Her waist is clearly so thin, and yet her butt is so big. It looks as if it would be really easy for her to bear children, and yet she didn¡¯t have a single child. It seems father emperor didn''t work very hard in hister years.

    His beautiful stepmother really was a source of fantasies. He had even dreamed about her before. That dream had been really amazing, but when he woke up from it, he was drenched in cold sweat. Whether it was his father''s imperial power or the empress¡¯ prestige, they both prevented him from showing even the slightest bit of disrespect.

    ¡°Does Linglong have any objections to this?¡± the empress asked as her gaze fell onto the crown princess.

    Bi Linglong nodded slightly and said, ¡°We will do everything as your highness suggests.¡±

    Many subjects present had strange expressions. The empress and crown princess were the two people with the most authority in the capital at present. Normally, they always fought against each other and tried to undermine each other, so many things just couldn''t be resolved. And yet today, they surprisingly agreed. If the two of them were so cooperative all the time, there would be far fewer internal disputes in the court.

    The empress nodded and said, ¡°Since the marquis is now a suspect, you cannot move around as you please either, so you will stay behind in the pce to be watched closely. Once the Embroidered Envoy has investigated the truth, we can then continue the discussions.¡±

    This is the perfect time to keep this brat here, to keep mepany.

    When she thought about the time they would spend together, she couldn''t help but look forward to it. Even though she was the empress, she was definitely not as pure and bright as others thought. She was full of vexation and feelings of grievance. Only after he came had she realized that being a woman was actually such a blessing.

    Bi Linglong¡¯s eyes lit up as well. If Zu An had to stay in the pce, they would have more opportunities to meet.

    Even though the other subjects felt that it was a bit inappropriate for a subject to remain in the Imperial Pce through the night, they were also worried that he would run if he left. If he stayed here in the pce, the Embroidered Envoy would keep an eye on him, so there wouldn¡¯t be any problems. Thus, they didn¡¯t oppose the suggestion.

    Zu An knew that the empress was doing this to shelter him, so he didn¡¯t refuse her good intentions.

    Soon after, the empress had Eunuch Lu find a ce for Zu An to settle down. At the same time, she sent out the order to the Embroidery House to investigate the case of King Jin¡¯s murder.

    Eunuch Lu brought Zu An out of the Pce of Peace. They arrived at a secluded ce, and he said with a smile, ¡°Sir Zu can do as he pleases.¡±

    ¡°Are you not going to lock me up?¡± Zu An replied with a smile.

    ¡°Sir Zu must be joking. The empress was merely saying that to appease the others; how could she lock you up? However, I must ask Sir Zu to not leave the Imperial Pce to not trouble the empress too much,¡± Eunuch Lu reminded him.

    ¡°Alright,¡± Zu An casually agreed. Meanwhile, in his mind, he was wondering how he would sneak out.

    ¡°Right, once those ministers leave, Sir Zu can go and look for the empress. Her highness is always thinking about Sir Zu,¡± Eunuch Lu said. His expression was calm at first, but the more he spoke, the more excited he became. A hint of redness even appeared in his eyes.

    Zu An was speechless. In truth, he had already figured out what was happening after being around them for so long, realizing that Eunuch Lu was one of the empress¡¯ pursuers. He had even been willing to be ¡®purified¡¯ in order to enter the capital with her. And yet now, he was the one egging him on to be with the empress, looking even more impatient than the main characters themselves. Just what kind of ¡®great selflessness¡¯ was that?

    Hm¡­ But I guess with these kinds of selfless friends, the more there are, the better.

    ¡­

    After bidding Eunuch Lu goodbye, Zu An arrived at his own side courtyard and changed into his Golden Token Eleven outfit. He went to the Embroidery House and looked for the front balding Dai Seventh and Mediterranean sea balding Chen Eighth, in order to have them investigate the case of King Jin¡¯s death. Xiao Jianren¡¯s injuries were too severe, so Zu An didn''t want to trouble him over such a small matter.

    However, Dai Seventh and Chen Eighth didn¡¯t think of it the same way. Both of them replied while shaking in fear, ¡°Boss, this touches upon the death of a king, and the other is a rising star under the Crown Princess! How can we investigate a case like this?¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An said calmly, ¡°All you need to do is judge that King Jin died from excessive fear.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Dai Seventh and Chen Eighth eximed, stunned. In the past, even if they had instructions while investigating cases, it had always been rather tactful. Now, they were actually being told exactly how to conclude the case. Wasn¡¯t this a bit too direct?

    ¡°Is there a problem?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°None at all, none at all. We will of course follow our boss; just say the word!¡± Dai Seventh and Chen Eighth replied with a chuckle.

    Sir Eleventh was now the Chief Commander, so he had the final say in the Embroidery House. Of course they were going to listen to him. As for how King Jin had really died, that wasn¡¯t important.

    Zu An patted their shoulders and said, ¡°Do well, and with this achievement, it¡¯ll be enough to promote you to Silver Token Envoys.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Sir Eleven! No, thank you, Chief Commander!¡± the two eximed happily. After braving the threat of death for so many years, bigger and harder tasks had always found them, but promotions never had. And yet, when they clung to Sir Eleven¡¯s thick thighs, they were met with sess after sess!

    ¡°Apart from that, there''s another matter I need the two of you to investigate closely, which is the reason why King Jin targeted the Murong n and the marquis. I want to find out if anyone instigated them from behind the scenes," Zu An added. He''d always had a feeling that this situation wasn¡¯t that simple. King Jin had mysteriously targeted him fiercely, and seemed to have had no intention of ever backing down. As soon as Zu An dealt with him, he was immediately used of misconduct, as if someone had been hiding in the shadows and waiting for him to fall into their trap.

    ¡°Understood. We''ve heard that Madam Jin is currently keeping watch by King Jin¡¯s coffin. While investigating King Jin¡¯s cause of death, we''ll also investigate her and the people in the manor,¡± Dai Seventh and Chen Eighth replied.

    After arranging these things, Zu An then paid Xiao Jianren a visit and told him to rest well.

    ¡­

    With that, he finally left the Embroidery House. He changed his outfit and decided to make a trip out of the pce.

    Then, however, he saw Bi Linglong walking directly toward him, escorted by maids and eunuchs. Amid her attendants, she looked like a crane among a flock of chickens, elegant and noble. The red beauty mark between her brows made her perfect and exquisite face seem even more stunning. The golden ornament in her hair was like an invisible finger that constantly tugged at the heartstrings of any onlookers.

    ¡°Sir Zu, this crown princess has some things to ask you about,¡± Bi Linglong said in her clear and beautiful voice, a look of delight shing through her eyes when she saw him.

    The two of them quickly arrived at ake gazebo. The servants were all ordered to guard them from afar. It was normal for there to be some private things to talk about after such a huge thing happened to Zu An; besides, the gazebo was quite open and the two could be seen from afar, so it wasn¡¯t inappropriate.

    ¡°Why did the empress help you?¡± Bi Linglong immediately asked the most pressing question as soon as they sat down. The other subjects hadn''t sensed anything back then, but she knew the empress had acted to help Zu An.

    ¡°It might be because she''s lusting after me,¡± Zu An replied in a bashful manner. A madam who had been neglected for a long time really had astonishing fighting strength! If not because his body was special, he probably wouldn''t have been able to subdue that fierce steed.

    ¡°Be serious,¡± Bi Linglong said in annoyance.

    ¡°I am being serious¡­¡± Zu An said helplessly. Why did no one believe him when he was telling the truth, and yet they believed all of his lies?

    He was worried that she would actually get to the heart of the matter, so he quickly changed the topic, saying, ¡°By the way, I have something to ask the crown princess too. If there came a day when Sir Bi and I were both drowning, and you could only save one, who would you save?¡±

 Chapter 1899: Cross-Dressing Influencer and Shifting Shadows

    Chapter 1899: Cross-Dressing Influencer and Shifting Shadows

    When she heard the question, Bi Linglong¡¯s expression changed greatly. She asked, ¡°Are you alright?¡± If it weren¡¯t because of where they were,and the fact that the maids and eunuchs could see all of their movements, she would have wanted to reach out to check his forehead for a fever.

    ¡°I want to know what you would choose,¡± Zu An said with a serious expression.

    In that instant, Bi Linglong wondered whether there was something not quite right with how they had started the conversation today. She replied, ¡°You and my father are both cultivators, so why would you need people to save you if you fell into water?¡±

    ¡°Imagine that we didn¡¯t have our cultivations, and we couldn''t swim. If no one saved us, we could only drown,¡± Zu An added.

    ¡°You¡¯re being serious?¡± Bi Linglong replied as she stared into his eyes.

    Zu An nodded, saying, ¡°I¡¯m serious.¡±

    Bi Linglong fell silent. After a while, she said, ¡°Even though I don¡¯t know why you would ask such a stupid question, I''ll still answer it. In that situation, I would save my father, because if I saved you, you would still have all those sweethearts to go through before you got to me.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    This woman really is formidable. Now I¡¯m the one who feels guilty.

    He could only change his question, asking, ¡°If there came a day when I asked you to travel the world with me, would you be willing to elope with me?¡±

    Bi Linglong was stunned. She replied, ¡°Why do we need to elope? His majesty is already gone and no one else would care about us in the capital. Once I be the empress, the entire empire will be in our grasp. Who will be able to get in the way of us anymore? We can just stay together, and who can say a single word about that? Isn¡¯t it great to enjoy the best authority in the capital? Why do we need to roam the world?¡±

    Zu An became silent when he heard her reply. It was as he expected.

    Bi Linglong had been raised on the principles of making her n stronger and wishing to achieve the pinnacle of authority. She was a capable career woman through and through and had a kind of indescribable infatuation toward authority. Now that she was only a single step away from achieving her dreams, how could she possibly give up?n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Just what is wrong with you today? Why are you asking all these nonsensical questions?¡± Bi Linglong asked, looking at him worriedly.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, I was just asking them in passing,¡± Zu An said with a smile. He had already received his answers to some questions, so there was no need to continue asking.

    ¡°Right, we¡¯ve already made it through King Jin¡¯s storm, but you can''t be so reckless in the future as to kill a prince in public again. I really wonder just where you got that courage from,¡± Bi Linglong said, shooting him an angry look. She had almost been scared to death by him this time.

    Zu An gave her a look and said with a smile, ¡°I have always been quite bold.¡±

    For some reason, Bi Linglong¡¯s face turned red as she remarked, ¡°Hmph, scoundrel.¡± She quickly collected her thoughts, however, and said, ¡°Right, there was probably someone who incited King Jin behind the scenes. King Jin was used as someone else¡¯s de without even realizing it. Now, Madam Jin is left all by herself. She really is pitiful, so don¡¯t trouble her anymore.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He replied, ¡°Am I that ruthless?¡±

    ¡°Of course I know you¡¯re not, but don¡¯t trouble her when the Embroidered Envoy investigates King Jin.¡±

    ¡°Fine,¡± Zu An said, although he was a bit curious. Just what was so special about Madam Jin that she could actually receive the help of Bi Linglong?

    ¡­

    The two of them couldn''t stay together for too long because of their identities. After they spoke for a bit, Bi Linglong could only get up to leave.

    As he watched her beautiful figure recede, Zu An sighed. He took out two storage pouches, which were the belongings of Old Mi and Wei Dan that he obtained in the past. Judging from what the libationer¡¯s old servant said, these two had participated in the schemes against the royal family bloodline. However, he didn¡¯t trust what the servant saidpletely. Even though the exnation was perfectly reasonable, the topic was just too important. He still had to verify things.

    These personal storage pouches likely stored the two''s most important items. He wondered if there were any records of what had happened back then. If the information suggested that the events of the past had nothing to do with Bi Qi, that would be a win-win situation for everyone. If there really was a connection, it wouldn¡¯t be toote to think about what to do at that time. Unfortunately, there were restrictions ced on the storage pouches. There was no way to open them through brute force.

    Thankfully, he had Mo Xi¡¯s ¡®Farewell Nanchao¡¯ skill. However, the skill would only be effective once certain conditions were met. It seemed as if he had to raise Mo Xi¡¯s grade first.

    He turned around and returned to Golden Token Eleven¡¯s residence. When he was certain that there was no one around, he took out the Keyboard System. After tallying up the Rage points he received, he found that they had actually reached 564,000!

    He was about to start his pulls when he thought of something. He took out some copper coins and carried out a divination for himself. The results showed extreme luck. Zu An was overjoyed to see that. After learning about divination, he could even avoid bad luck when he did the lottery from now on!

    He started the lottery system, and the lights rapidly moved around the keyboard. He had gotten used to seeing ¡®thank you for ying¡¯ from the start, but the indicator immediately stopped on the letter ¡®L¡¯.

    Zu An was startled. He was getting lucky right from the start!

    He stared at the screen to see what he had ended up pulling this time. He saw a row of text on the holographic screen in front of him.

    Congrattions on pulling the skill ''Cross-Dressing Influencer''!

    Zu An was stunned. The name gave him a bad feeling.

    Skill introduction: In the past, there was a handsome man who had a strange hobby, which was that he liked to wear dresses and appear like a woman. At first, his outfits were crude and he soon became the target of people¡¯s scorn and hatred. However, the heavens do not let down the diligent. One day, his cross-dressing skill reached great heights. When he turned into a woman, no one could see through his disguise anymore. Furthermore, he became the world¡¯s most beautiful woman, someone who received the fondness of countless men.

    He had all of the men of the world within his grasp. Thissted until one day, he fell in love with a man. That was when the tragedy began¡­

    Later, his identity was exposed. The men who found out the truth were furious. They tied him to a stake and burned him alive.

    Warning: Cross-dressing has risks. Cross-dressing brings momentary pleasure, but also more and more pleasure continuously!

    Zu An waspletely speechless. Just what kind of a warning is this? Why did he feel as if not many of these skills were decent? As he continued to read the description, he prayed for it to please not make him cross-dress, please¡­

    Skill Description: This skill can only be used on a man. After the skill is used, that man can be a woman. His beauty will be raised by a hundred times, and his charm a hundred times, but he will lose all of his other skills until this skill is removed.

    Beauty is your weapon. As long as you aren¡¯t too ugly yourself, you can be the world¡¯s number one beauty. There will be no need for fighting, because countless men will be willing to throw themselves into the fire and mes for you.

    Friendly reminder 1: Do not rashly look into a mirror after using the skill, because you will easily fall in love with yourself.

    Friendly reminder 2: Do not be infatuated with bing a woman. The more you use this skill, the more your own mind will be affected. You will be imperceptibly influenced and be used to being a woman, and no longer want to be a man.

    Zu An felt his entire body go numb when he read all that. He almost threw the bronze coins in his hands away. This was the damn extreme luck that the divination had spoken of?

    This damn skill actually made you a woman! More importantly, you¡¯d lose all of your abilities. With such a huge detriment, who would be insane enough to use such a thing? Besides, what normal man wanted to cross-dress?

    No, this isn¡¯t even cross-dressing, this is justpletely transforming into a woman!

    Even if your beauty and charm is raised a hundredfold, what the hell is the point of that?!

    What kind of perverted skill is this?!

    Zu An continued his pulls with a sulky expression. As he saw the ¡®Congrattions on pulling a Ki Fruit¡¯ and ¡®Thank you for ying¡¯ messages, he remained in shock. Only when the light indicator stopped on the keyboard¡¯s C key did his mood take a turn for the better.

    Congrattions on pulling the skill ''Shifting Shadows''!

    Skill Introduction: Within the range of your divine sense, you can swap positions with any living creatures or objects.

    Zu An reflexively continued reading, but there was nothing else.

    Huh?

    He was used to all sorts of scam skills and was already used to their harsh activation conditions and weird side effects. He was caught off guard now that he had obtained a normal skill. More importantly, the skill didn¡¯t even have any negative effects! It was simple to use, and its effects were even more powerful. It was simply a divine skill!

    Even though he had his instant movement skill, there was a cooldown period, but this Shifting Shadows didn¡¯t. Furthermore, in certain situations, it would be even more useful. When he thought of that, he couldn''t help but smile.

    It seems the Baopu Sutra¡¯s divination is urate after all. My pulls really were extremely lucky.

    After totaling it up, he had a sum of 610 Ki Fruits. It was also quite a bit higher than usual.

    He summoned Mo Xi. Soon after, the fiery, tan-skinned Xia Dynasty beauty appeared in her miniskirt and strapless top. When she saw him, Mo Xi immediately reached out her little hand for Ki Fruits. She was clearly already addicted to the taste.

    Zu An took out everything he had saved up and threw it all into her mouth at once. There was so much that Mo Xi even choked along the way. Zu An gently patted her back so that she could catch her breath and continue eating. Perhaps because of the fact that he fed her often, she now had a much better impression of him and wasn¡¯t opposed to that degree of bodily contact.

    He''d had a total of 424 leftover fromst time. Together with the 610, they took her from the peak of fifth rank all the way to seventh. However, the seventh rank needed 1200 Ki Fruits, and the eighth rank needed 1800. The higher they went, the more difficult it became. ording to the speed at which the requirements built up, it didn¡¯t seem as if he would be able to undo the restrictions on the two storage pouches anytime soon.

    He suddenly thought of something. The Baopu Sutra had pill refinement methods. He could try to refine some Ki Condensation Pills to raise Mo Xi¡¯s cultivation in ce of the Ki Fruits.

 Chapter 1900: Terrible News

    Chapter 1900: Terrible News

    With Zu An¡¯s current status, the amount of resources at his disposal far exceeded that of an ordinary person. Rather than painstakingly trying to gather Ki Fruits through the Rage system, it was easier to collect medicinal ingredients to refine pills. The effects of pills and Ki Fruits were actually extremely simr, after all.

    Apart from that, just like Daji, after the sixth rank, not only Ki Fruits were needed to raise Mo Xi''s cultivation; some special breakthrough materials were necessary as well. Mo Xi needed Rainbow Cloudstones, Thunderjade Roon Cores, Chinese Bellflowers, and Gemme Stamens. Fortunately, there weren¡¯t any ridiculously rare items. Previously, he had gathered some of them through the help of Hub of Freedom and the Fiendraces, but he had already used them up for Mo Xi¡¯s promotion to seventh rank. He had to purchase the others separately.

    He changed into his Golden Token Eleven outfit again and went to the Embroidery House. The Embroidery House was in charge of intelligence, so it was naturally much easier to gather things through them than to try to find items through his own strength.

    Soon after, a chubby Silver Token Envoy reported to him. His name was Tang Hui, and he was in charge of managing the warehouse. Zu An couldn''t help but give him a few looks. It seemed that in every world, the one in charge of the logistics warehouse always seemed to be robust and stout.

    Tang Hui respectfully greeted Zu An.

    ¡°Reporting to Chief Commander. Chinese Bellflower and Gemme Stamens are precious ingredients, but the Imperial Pce¡¯s warehouse has an abundant amount of them. There is nock of these ingredients.

    ¡°As for Rainbow Cloudstones and Thunderjade Roon Cores, we do not have any in the Imperial Pce. There should be a way to obtain Rainbow Cloudstones. The Yu n enjoys market dominance over a third of the world¡¯s gem and ki stone business. If they cannot find these kinds of special gems, it is even less likely for others to be able to do so.¡±

    However, the Yu n and the court had had a falling out, so it was difficult to ask them for assistance now.

    ¡°As for the Thunderjade Roon Cores, the original sourcees from the Fiend races¡¯ side. We would need to search for them through the Fiend races¡¯ marketce.¡±

    Zu An had a strange expression. After all this trouble, it was all stuff within the family! Whether it was the Yu n or the Fiend races, they both had deep ties with him. He said, ¡°Help me collect the Chinese Bellflowers and Gemme Stamens. I have my own ways of dealing with the Rainbow Cloudstones and Thunderjade Roon Cores, and will find my own way of getting them.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± Tang Hui replied, his expression full of admiration.

    Chief Commander is so formidable! He has his own channels for getting these things.

    ¡°By the way, bring me some Sky Crane Root, Red Star Jade, and Purple Firmament Flower too,¡± Zu An added. These were the materials needed for the Ki Condensation Pill.

    Tang Hui thought to himself that even though these items were precious, he would be able to find a way of getting them. He asked, ¡°How much does Chief Commander want?¡±

    ¡°As much as you can get your hands on!¡± Zu An said seriously. He had to refine arge amount of Ki Condensation Pills, so he needed a ton of medicinal ingredients.

    Tang Hui wiped away cold sweat and said, ¡°Alright, this subordinate will make sure toplete this task well!¡±

    A new boss came with new policies. Whether or not he would be able to keep the position of warehouse logistics manager would depend on whether he did his task well

    No, I need to do it well no matter how hard it is!

    There was naturally no need to worry about the matter of money. A lot of it could just be debt on the public purse. Which department dared toe up with excuses to withhold the things the Chief Commander wanted? He would teach them exactly how the characters ¡®Embroidered Envoy¡¯ were written!

    ¡­

    When he left the Embroidery House, Zu An thought to himself that the feeling of being a leader really was great. All he needed to do was give an order, and then his subordinates would get it done properly. It was nothing like before, when he''d had to painstakingly look for everything himself.

    Even so, he still had to look for the Rainbow Cloudstones and Thunderjade Roon Cores himself. Yu Yanluo was on the Fiend races'' side, so it was the perfect time to contact the people there as well. His contact with the Fiend races over by the capital side had been Kong Nanwu, but after the major developments that took ce, she had already gone back. Her maid Nan Xun had been left behind here as a mediator.

    Nan Xun was referred to as a maid, but her status wasn¡¯t so simple at all. She had previously been King Qi¡¯s concubine on the surface, but she had also secretly collecting information as a courtesan queen in Scarlet Invitation. Furthermore, she seemed to have been Zhao Han¡¯s spy. She really was living a life of espionage.

    Zu An quickly left the Imperial Pce in his Embroidered Envoy uniform, and no one tried to stop him. He went straight for King Qi Manor. After what happened at Violet Mountain, King Qi Manor¡¯s people had experienced a strict lockdown. Of course, people like Madam Qi had special identities, and King Qi¡¯s crimes hadn''t been set in stone yet, so the court couldn''t just throw them into prison. They were temporarily being kept under house arrest within the manor.

    Zu An had thought Nan Xun would be mixed in among them, but he found out that she had actually gone missing. She seemed to have realized that the situation was unfavorable and fled ahead of time. He thought a bit to himself, and after changing clothes, he then went to Scarlet Invitation.

    ¡­

    Lovableughter came from beauties all around Zu An. No wonder so many men came here to throw away money extravagantly! Scarlet Invitation¡¯s women were really pretty, and the courtesans were even more beautiful. Who knew how many people were waiting for a chance to meet them?

    However, that didn¡¯t stop Zu An. He took out the keepsake he had been given was quickly led to a secluded courtyard by a maid.

    As soon as he entered, a sweet fragrance rushed toward him and a voice eximed, ¡°Young master finally came~¡±

    Zu An leaned to the side to avoid that figure, and looked at her calmly. He had to admit that Nan Xun was indeed very beautiful. No wonder even King Qi had decided to make her one of his concubines after he saw her. She had even be the most mysterious and most charming courtesan queen in Scarlet Invitation.

    ¡°I thought that you were locked in King Qi Manor, but I didn¡¯t find you there, so I came here,¡± Zu An said, sitting down casually.

    Nan Xun broke out into a small run to pour tea for him at his side. She eximed with a cute and childish voice, ¡°The young master cares so much about me! I¡¯m so, so happy!¡±

    ¡°Enough. There''s no need to use such tactics against me. I came because I have some business to discuss with you today,¡± Zu An said, then told her about the Rainbow Cloudstones and Thunderjade Roon Cores.

    When she heard that they were talking about proper business, Nan Xun¡¯s expression grew serious as well. She said, ¡°Don;t worry, Regent. I''ll definitely contact the Fiend races to help you collect these materials.¡±

    ¡°Much appreciated,¡± Zu An said, nodding slightly.

    Nan Xun said with a pursed smile, ¡°Oh my, you¡¯re the Regent! Is there a reason to thank me? I¡¯ve actually been longing for you to ask me to help you more.¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°In the end, you are a madam as well, so is there a need for such courtesy?¡± Zu An couldn''t help but reply with a smile.

    ¡°It¡¯s a pity that I¡¯m not the Regent¡¯s madam,¡± Nan Xun said softly. After giving Zu An a look, she quickly changed the topic. ¡°Besides, I¡¯m just one of King Qi¡¯s concubines, one of the lesser ones too. There¡¯s no status there to speak of anyway.¡± After some hesitation, she asked, ¡°Can the young master help out King Qi Manor¡¯s people if you can? After staying in the manor for so long, I¡¯ve developed a bit of affection for many people there.¡±

    Zu An was a bit surprised, but he still nodded, saying, ¡°Alright.¡± He had to help people like Zhao Xiaodie, anyway.

    ¡°By the way, I¡¯ve received news from the King Court, stating that the Second Prince¡¯s war in the front lines doesn¡¯t seem to be going well. He needs the King Court¡¯s assistance,¡± Nan Xun said, suddenly remembering something.

    Zu An was stunned. He asked, ¡°Could it be that the Second Prince is stirring up trouble?¡±

    After all, the Second Prince¡¯s attempt at a coup after the Fiend Emperor died had failed because of him. The King Court had punished him by sending him to the northern border to fight against the sinister beings there.

    The Second Prince was one of the Fiend races¡¯ four great generals, someone who excelled at fighting wars. Furthermore, he had also brought his own elite troops with him. The seal had only been slightly damaged and hadn¡¯t fully copsed yet. The evil monsters that escaped shouldn¡¯t have been something the Second Prince couldn¡¯t handle. With his strength, it should have been enough to keep those monsters in check.

    ¡°I don''t think that''s the case. The information I received suggests that the Second Empress immediately sent a general to lead the King Court¡¯s elites in delivering assistance,¡± Nan Xun replied. ¡°Young master can feel at ease. With the King Court¡¯s assistance, there should be no problems with the seal.¡±

    Zu An voiced his confirmation, but he still felt a strange premonition inside.

    After thinking about it, he took out the recording mirror the Second Empress had given him and put in some immortal-grade ki stones. He felt a bit heartbroken. This world was good in many other ways, but there was no social media messaging or phones. Contact across greater distances was incredibly inconvenient. Even though this recording mirror could achieve effects simr to a video call, its resource consumption was too excessive. Not even the wealthiest people could use them frequently. He wondered if he had toe up with a conversation tool himself; there were several simr items in the Baopu Sutra¡¯s artifact refining section.

    A ripple appeared on the mirror, and a wonderful figure appeared. She was a beautiful woman lying in bed, dressed in a silk nightgown that gently rested on her satiny skin. It made her waist look even finer and her chest more graceful.

    ¡°My Regent, I¡¯ve tried to contact you several times before, but failed to reach you. I was getting a bit worried," she said. There was a natural sweetness to her voice that could drive people mad. Her perfect oval face was pure white like snow under thentern¡¯s illumination. Her eyes were charming and alluring, her moist lips carrying an enticing luster. Her experssion was full of joy from seeing her lover again, which made her look even more moving.

    Nan Xun lowered her head and withdrew. She didn¡¯t dare to continue listening to their conversation, or else she could be silenced. At the same time, she thought to herself, The Second Empress really is a woman among women! Even I feel a bit of an urge to take her into my arms to y with her, let alone a man.

    She was already an outstanding beauty herself on the human side, but she was stillckingpared to the Second Empress. More importantly, it was the Second Empress'' respected status and special bearing that were hard for her to match.

    Zu An¡¯s mood also couldn''t help but improve when he saw that beautiful face. He said, ¡°I was swept up into a secret dungeon before. That might be why the recording mirror couldn''t connect.¡± There was naturally no way for the recording mirror to work when he was in a different world entirely, after all.

    Then, he quickly asked about the Second Prince¡¯s situation and voiced his suspicion that it could be a setup to empty out the King Court¡¯s defenses.

    Second Empress shook her head slightly. Her expression became serious as she replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I''m not stupid. I have my own sources, and there was indeed an issue with the sealednd. The Second Prince has suffered casualties of more than half his troops. I sent the Peacock King and other elite troops to offer assistance, and we''ll also gather strong men from the different races to offer assistance.¡±

    Zu An was shocked. He asked, ¡°The situation has already gotten that bad?¡±

    The Second Empress voiced her confirmation. ¡°The hole in the seal suddenly became muchrger, allowing more and more monsters through. Fortunately, the seal still hasn¡¯tpletely ruptured, so as long as we can defeat the monsters that areing out, we can reinforce the seal again.¡±

    ¡°Just what are those monsters? How strong are they?¡± Zu An asked, getting more and more worried.

 Chapter 1901: Twisted Revenge

    <h4>Chapter 1901: Twisted Revenge</h4>

    The Second Empress replied, ¡°I personally inspected the corpses that came back from the front lines. Those monsters were all strange and grotesque, but they shared one trait, which was that they were all massive. Even though our Fiend races are called fiends, we aren¡¯t all that different from the human race. However, those monsters are different, and almost none of them can take human form. They''re even as different as can be from the wild beasts we know of. All of them have monstrous appearances and are often disgusting to look at.¡±

    Zu An nodded. He had spent some time on the Fiend races'' side before. The Fiend races and human civilization were quite simr, and it was just their bloodline that was a bit different. They could still converse normally, and there weren¡¯t even any issues reproducing. However, these monsters were different. They were an entirely different species and naturally had destructive tendencies. It was nearly impossible for both sides tomunicate with each other, and usually, a confrontation meant one side or the other would die.

    ¡°Do they have any intelligence?¡± Zu An suddenly asked. If they didn''t and were merely stronger beasts, that would be quite easy to deal with.

    ¡°They do,¡± Second Empress said with a nod. ¡°After we looked into it, not only do they have intelligence, they even have their ownnguage. Unfortunately, we don¡¯t understand what they''re saying. However, I''ve already sent a schr to look into it. We should be able to obtain some results soon.¡±

    Zu An began thinking to himself. If there was anguage, it seemed that the monster society was pretty high-level. That made fighting trickier.

    ¡°Do you need me toe back and help?¡± he asked, looking at her worriedly. She was a widow with a child and had only just managed to get the imperial throne under control, and yet this kind of thing had happened.

    ¡°What, are you worried about me?¡± the Second Empress replied. She showed him a lovely smile and said, ¡°Of course I want you toe back and keep mepany, but I know you have many things you need to take care of on the human side. I can¡¯t be that selfish. Don¡¯t worry, though. The situation on this side is under control for now, and with dangeres opportunity. It''s the perfect chance for me to get rid of a lot of people who haven''t submitted to me and switch in my own people instead.¡±

    ¡°It seems I was worried for no reason,¡± Zu An said with a sigh. The Second Empress wasn¡¯t just a pretty piece of porcin. To a certain extent, she was simr to Liu Ning and Bi Linglong, a natural politician.

    ¡°Right, I heard that the human race¡¯s Zhao Han died?¡± the Second Empress asked with a hopeful expression.

    Zu An nodded, saying, ¡°That¡¯s right, he has indeed died.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s amazing!¡± the Second Empress eximed, jumping up excitedly from her bed. After all, the pressure Zhao Han had given the Fiend races was just too great. She asked, ¡°Just how did he die? ording to the analysis of our intelligence department, it seems that was eliminated by King Qi¡¯s allied forces.¡±

    After some hesitation, Zu An said, ¡°That¡¯s more or less it. However, the court on this side most likely won''t acknowledge it, and they likely won¡¯t convict King Qi for his crimes.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s to be expected. This kind of imperial n conflict would end up affecting the image of the country, so how can themon people be informed of it?¡± the Second Empress remarked; her mood was extremely good. ¡°Even so, our Fiend races will definitely spread this information to rouse the hearts of our soldiers. In the past year and a half, the Fiend races¡¯ morale has been too low. The empire has even experienced a bit of turmoil.¡± When she saw Zu An frown slightly, she said in constion, ¡°There''s no need to worry. All of this will only be done domestically. The ordinary people of the human race don¡¯t have ess to information from our side, and they won¡¯t believe it even if they hear of it. It''s the same for our Fiend races. Either way, it¡¯s all treated as propaganda to nder the other side.¡±

    Zu An figured that what she said was true. It wouldn¡¯t affect the people who already knew the truth, while themon people wouldn¡¯t believe the rumors of an enemy country. No one would get hurt in this situation and everything would be fine. Then, the two chatted a bit more about recent developments and shared plenty of endearment. In the end, they reluctantly shut off the recording mirror.

    Those things really burned up money. Not even the Second Empress with her status could endure the costs. People normally only used them for the most urgent military intelligence. Using one for a casual video call was too extravagant.

    Zu An was now more and more certain that he had to refine somemunication jades and other items. Even if they didn¡¯t have video call functions, being able to talk was still great.

    ¡­

    After his talk with the Second Empress, Zu An called over Nan Xun. He asked, ¡°By the way, are you fine being all alone after Kong Nanwu returned to the King Court by herself?¡±

    ording to what Kong Nanwu had said before, Nan Xun was something like a ¡®tiger-devoured ghost¡¯. She was only able to stay at Kong Nanwu¡¯s side through the Tiger race¡¯s secret skill.

    ¡°Is the young master worried about me? I¡¯m so moved!¡± Nan Xun replied with a giggle. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the princess left me with her life feather. As long as this feather isn¡¯t destroyed, it''s no different from being at her side. Nothing bad will happen.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good then," Zu An said, although he thought to himself that Kong Nanwu had also given him a feather back then.

    <i>Will she go bald if she gives out her feathers so easily?</i>

    ¡°The young master should stay here for the night. This humble one will serve you properly,¡± Nan Xun said, her eyes sparkling. Zu An had created ¡®A Chinese Ghost Story¡¯ for her, and she was always overwhelmed with emotions whenever she thought of it.

    <i>He''s probably the one who understands me the most in this entire world.</i>

    ¡°I still have other matters to tend to. I¡¯ll seek out thedy another day," Zu AN replied.

    When she saw him leave in a fluster as if he were running away, Nan Xun couldn''t help but giggle. She said to herself, ¡°The honorable Regent is actually so pure and innocent. I wonder if it¡¯s because he has a woman back home keeping a close leash on him. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Sigh, when will hee to find me again? He didn¡¯t even give me a date, so will he evene back¡­¡±

    ¡­

    Zu An wiped away cold sweat when he left Scarlet Invitation.

    <i>As expected of the most beautiful courtesan queen of Scarlet Invitation. I almost couldn''t hold it in anymore as she continued to throw herself at me.</i>

    It was mainly because of the fact that she was now a ghost, so he felt weird about it. Furthermore, their affection for each other still hadn¡¯t reached that level. If they jumped straight into it, then¡­

    His face heated up a bit when he thought of that. Such a thing seemed to have happened before¡­

    As he continued walking, he suddenly heard a burst of noise up ahead. He looked in that direction and saw an imposing manor, but it was covered in white cloth. There werenterns of the dead hanging around it too.

    ¡°King Jin Manor?¡± Zu An said, realizing what was going on. He hadn¡¯t expected to have arrived there without realizing it.

    He released his divine sense and scanned the surroundings. He suddenly frowned. One side of the dispute seemed to be the Embroidered Envoy, while the other was King Dai. Thus, he changed into his Golden Token Eleven outfit and put on his mask. Then, he walked toward King Jin Manor. When they saw his outfit, King Jin Manor¡¯s guards didn¡¯t dare to stop him, and allowed him to go straight through.

    Soon after, he arrived near the mourning hall. Two groups of people were arguing, but the focal point was a single beautiful silhouette. A delicate madam was kneeling next to the mourning hall, silently shedding tears. Her skin was white and exquisite, her brows curved and her mouth small. She looked weak and lovable, and because she was teary-eyed, she really looked pitiful. There were maids consoling her, but she didn¡¯t seem to hear any of it. She seemed a bit absent-minded.

    <i>That¡¯s Madam Jin?</i>

    Zu An was a bit surprised when he heard how the maids referred to her. He had heard Bi Linglong mention that Madam Jin was pretty, but he hadn¡¯t treated it as a big deal. Now, sure enough, she was a great beauty. Most importantly, her entire body gave off a sense of gentleness like water. She was dressed in white mourning clothes, which really made her look like a pitiful widow.

    Zu An thought to himself, <i>That brat King Jin really was quite blessed. It¡¯s a pity that he was unwise and didn¡¯t want to enjoy his life as a prince, and insisted on courting death instead.</i>

    He shifted his attention to King Dai.

    <i>This kid shot her over twenty-eight looks in just the brief amount of time I¡¯ve been standing here. Isn¡¯t he a henpecked husband? And yet he dares to have thoughts about Madam Jin?</i>

    ¡°Sister-inw, I¡¯m here for you. Don¡¯t be scared; no one will be able to bully you,¡± King Dai said while patting his chest.

    The leaders of the Embroidered Envoy group, Dai Seventh and Chen Eighth, said, ¡°We are merely here on imperial orders to investigate a case. We had no intention to cause offense.¡±

    King Dai harrumphed. ¡°My little brother King Jin is already lying peacefully in the coffin, and yet you still wish to open the coffin to inspect the corpse. What else could this be but offense?!¡±

    ¡°We need to confirm King Jin¡¯s cause of death,¡± Dai Seventh and Chen Eighth exined. At the same time, they were getting a headache. The Embroidered Envoy normally didn¡¯t need to fear anyone, but this was an imperial prince. They couldn''t really offend him.

    ¡°My little brother King Jin was killed by that bastard Zu An and so many people saw it; what else is there to investigate? You are all just bored and looking for problems to cause. Hurry up and get out of here! Stop bothering Madam Jin already,¡± King Dai said; inwardly, he was a bit nervous. He had specially reserved this time to visit King Jin Manor with the excuse of offering his condolences precisely because of the widowed Madam Jin. He hadn¡¯t dared to be so brazen in the past, but he had a great chance at the imperial throne this time. Furthermore, King Jin was a prideful person who had frequently ridiculed him in the past, so he still had pent-up resentment.

    Madam Jin was famous for being mild-mannered. She was incredibly gentle, and she was in her weakest and most helpless state. If he didn¡¯t strike while the iron was hot, there wouldn¡¯t be such a good chance again. He knew that there was some risk here, though. If he became the emperor, it would be incredibly easy to cover up any schemes, but he really didn¡¯t want to hold back rationally anymore. He wanted to be brave for once. He''d never dared to go out and mess around with Madam Dai watching him at home, after all. He hadn¡¯t even dared to touch an agreeable maid. He already had enough of being on a leash all the time and wanted to do what he wanted for once.

    He''d even specially brought some Worries Be Gone Rosemary, a treasure he had once stumbled upon. Its fragrance was colorless and odorless, but it could greatly magnify the hidden desires of men and women. Most importantly, they would even forget about what they had done after, as if everything were just a dream. It was simply the most ingenious invention for ying around. The drug had one w, which was that its activation was extremely slow. That wouldn¡¯t have been a problem before, since he had made sure to mix it into the incense he had volunteered to exchange. Then, he had thought that he could use the time it took for the drug¡¯s effects to kick in to slowly share his affection with Madam JIn. That way, everything that followed would go much smoother.

    When he thought about how he was going to do King Jin''s wife right in front of his coffin, he could feel all of the blood in his body boil.

    <i>Zhao Ruiyong, Zhao Ruiyong, in the past, you relied on the fact that you were the empress¡¯ son to look down on me, the son of a concubine. You even cursed me as a bastard! You might have forgotten after saying it willfully, but you have no idea just how much humiliation that brought me.</i>

    <i>You never expected this day woulde, did you? Today, I''ll return my past humiliation back to you a hundredfold!</i>

    <i>I¡¯m going to have you watch in your coffin, and see how much pleasure your gentle and lovely wife will have in this mourning hall!</i>

    <i>More importantly, she won¡¯t even remember it after!</i>

    <i>Don¡¯t worry, I''ll take good care of this sister-inw every day!</i>

    <i>She''s just lost her husband, so I''ll make sure to take over the husband¡¯s duties, hahaha!</i>

 Chapter 1902: Removed and Replaced

    <h4>Chapter 1902: Removed and Reced</h4>

    Everything had been going ording to n at first, and he had already thought of a way to chase away all of the servants from King Jin Manor. Apart from Madam Jin, only her maids were left. So, after they talked for a while longer and Madam Jin started to feel the effects of the drug, he could have his fun in front of her dead husband and properly vent out his frustrations from being bullied over the years.

    But who would have thought that these Embroidered Envoys would suddenlye to investigate some case?!

    He was now feeling extremely nervous. After calcting the time, he realized the drug inside Madam Jin¡¯s body would act up soon. If all of these Embroidered Envoys remained here, how could he possibly get what he wanted? As such, he was absolutely furious and wanted to chase these people out.

    Of course, in the eyes of Madam Jin, he was arguing for justice and helping her chase out the vicious Embroidered Envoys. She had to be feeling extremely grateful, thinking King Dai was such a great person.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Dai Seventh and Chen Eighth were both extremely nervous. Who in the court would ever believe them if they said King Jin had died from excessive shock if they didn¡¯t even check the corpse? As such, the two said gravely, ¡°King Dai, please forgive our rudeness. We willplete our inspection quickly.¡±

    ¡°Get lost!¡± King Dai snapped irritably.

    <i>These bastards are like damn flies! They¡¯re trying to ruin my happiness!</i>

    A hint of anger appeared on Dai Seventh and Chen Eighth¡¯s faces. When had the Embroidered Envoy ever had to endure such an attitude in the past? Their hands shifted to their weapons, showing that they were about to attack.

    An elder suddenly took a step forward from King Dai¡¯s side. A powerful aura spread throughout the room.

    The group of Embroidered Envoys immediately felt a mountainous pressure weigh down on them. They felt as if their bones were even starting to creak from the pressure, and that they could be pushed down to the ground at any moment. Dai Seventh and Chen Eighth were shocked. They quickly ordered their subordinates to create a formation. Only then did they manage to barely hold on.

    ¡°After Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s death, it seems that the Embroidered Envoy is getting worse with each generation,¡± the elder remarked with a look of disdain. He didn¡¯t treat the Embroidered Envoy with any importance.

    Dai Seventh and Chen Eighth¡¯s group were filled with humiliation, but what the other side said was the truth. Now that his majesty had died and Zhuxie Chixin had also passed, the Embroidered Envoy¡¯s prestige had dropped severely. Furthermore, King Dai was a prince. This elder was at least at the ninth rank, if not the master rank. If the two sides really fought against each other, even though they could have a chance if they worked together, the casualties would be disastrous.

    Then, if the matter reached the court, the other side was a prince and would at most be given a few words of criticism. Meanwhile, petty soldiers like them would just be killed off. There was no way they could ask King Dai to pay with his life for them, right?

    Helpless to respond, the two of them could only say, ¡°Since King Dai has some affairs to take care of here today, we wille backter to investigate another day.¡± They thought to themselves, <i>There¡¯s no way King Dai will stand guard over the mourning hall every day, right? Once he leaves, it should be the same if we go then to investigate.</i>

    A hint of smugness appeared on King Dai¡¯s face when he heard that they were going to leave. Being able to show off his mighty and heroic side in front of a beauty really felt incredible! Sure enough, Madam Jin¡¯s eyes were full of admiration and appreciation as she looked at him.

    Dai Seventh and Chen Eighth¡¯s group of Embroidered Envoys felt extremely wronged. They could only leave while hanging their heads.

    Suddenly, a cold and indifferent voice called out, ¡°When has the Embroidered Envoy ever needed to concede to others when handling their cases?¡±

    Dai Seventh and Chen Eighth¡¯s group of Embroidered Envoys raised their heads in pleasant surprise. When they saw that familiar golden color, they all cried out, ¡°Sir Eleven! No, Chief Commander!¡±

    When they heard those words, King Dai, the elder at his side, and Madam Jin looked in the voice''s direction. Had a big shot from the Embroidered Envoye?

    The elder was startled at first, but when he saw that it wasn¡¯t Zhuxie Chixin, he sighed in relief. The only one out of the Embroidered Envoy he couldn''t defeat was Zhuxie Chixin. No one else, not even the other golden token envoys, had cultivation at his level. The only reason no one had dared to resist the Embroidered Envoy in the past was because of the emperor¡¯s might, and perhaps because they were already used to the Envoys being overbearing. But in the current situation, why would those with skill treat them with any respect? Furthermore, he still had King Dai supporting him.

    King Dai was about to burst from irritation. He had been about to chase these idlers away; it was already time for him and Madam Jin to enjoy their own private world! And yet, another had suddenly arrived!

    <i>Why did these people call him Sir Eleven, and then Chief Commander after?</i>

    King Dai had heard of Golden Token Eleven before. Golden Token Eleven had the weakest foundation, and he was the weakest Golden Token Envoy. King Dai really didn¡¯t know how this person had managed to shoot all the way up to such a high position. It was rumored that he had gotten there by kissing up to the emperor. King Dai calmed down when he realized that.

    <i>Father emperor is already dead, so what can a bootlicker like him do now?</i>

    Dai Seventh and Chen Eighth moved over to Zu An¡¯s side. They bowed in shame, saying, ¡°Chief Commander, this is all because we are useless!"

    They had messed up the very first task Chief Commander had given them. It wasn¡¯t that big of a deal to investigate on a different day, but they hadn¡¯t expected Chief Commander to see it happen.

    <i>Sigh, there¡¯s no hope of us being promoted to Silver Token Envoys anymore¡­.</i>

    Zu An didn¡¯t me them; instead, heforted them. He said, ¡°You''re facing a king, and he has a master rank guardian at his side. It''s to be expected that you couldn''t change their mind. There''s no need to me yourselves. However, there is something I want all of you to understand. When the Embroidered Envoy investigates a case, even the celestial emperor himself has to step aside. There is no reason that is sufficient for us to yield.¡±

    When they heard what he said, the Embroidered Envoys present all stuck out their chests. All of their previous gloominess was instantly swept away. They had been worried that the new Chief Commander wouldn¡¯t be able to control the organization after they learned of Zhuxie Chixin¡¯s death. That was why they had always found it hard to carry the same pride they had before. Now, it seemed that the new Chief Commandery¡¯s temper was even greater than the previous one!

    ¡°What bold words. Who do you think you are?¡± the elder asked with a sneer.

    <i>The young really are getting crazier and crazier. Do you have no awareness of yourself?</i>

    ¡°Was it you who released that pressure to intimidate the Embroidered Envoy?¡± Zu An asked gravely.

    ¡°So what if it was? You actually dared to barge in on King Dai and Madam Jin! You all should be grateful that this old one didn¡¯t take your lives on the spot,¡± the elder said with a sneer.

    ¡°Very well,¡± Zu An said. As soon as he spoke, he suddenly reached toward the elder.

    The elder immediately felt a terrifying suction force and was immediately horrified. He immediately did everything he could to stabilize his body. However, that absorption force was too terrifying, as if he were facing a ck hole up close! He could clearly feel his cultivation rapidly leaving his body.

    <i>He can absorb someone''s cultivation from a distance?</i>

    The elder was horrified, screaming, ¡°Noooo!¡±

    He could no longer keep his body still, and he was pulled toward Zu An like a deted balloon. He could no longer stand and dropped to his knees just like that; Zu An gripped his head tightly. His face was full of horror and despair.

    Zu An retracted his hand and tossed the elder''s dead dog-like body over to Dai Seventh and Chen Eighth, saying, ¡°This old sir seems to carry some misunderstandings toward the Embroidered Envoy. Bring him back to the Embroidery House and make sure to get real close to each other.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± Dai Seventh, Chen Eighth, and the rest of the Embroiderd Envoy replied in delight. They quickly locked up the elder with Soul Reaping Chains.

    They had already been about to explode from this elder¡¯s ridicule. Once they returned to the Embroidery House, they would let him properly understand just how wrong he was, and just who was the real daddy of the capital! At the same time, they looked at Zu An with admiration.

    <i>Chief Commander is just too formidable! He rarely reveals his skills, but when he does, he can immediately get rid of a master rank expert! He seems to even be stronger than Chief Commander Zhuxie!</i>

    All of them were extremely excited when they thought of that. After all, the stronger their leader was, the more they could bask in reflected glory.

    Everything just happened too quickly. King Dai didn¡¯t dare to believe what he was seeing. The guardian he had relied on all this time was instantly eliminated? He was shocked and scared, eximing, ¡°Hurry and let Elder Chen go! Do you all know who he is? He was someone father emperor¡­¡±

    ¡°Why should I care who he is? If he dares to use force against the Embroidered Envoy, he has to suffer the consequences,¡± Zu An said with a sneer.

    He swept a sharp gaze across King Dai, causing the other person to shiver all over. In that instant, King Dai felt as if he were being stared at by an ancient beast. He even felt that if he dared offend Golden Token Eleven further, he would follow in Elder Chen¡¯s footsteps.

    ¡°When the Embroidered Envoy carries out their investigations, all idlers should swiftly exit the premises,¡± Zu An said indifferently.

    ¡°I¡­¡± King Dai wanted to say something, but when he saw the other side''s murderous gaze, he couldn''t say anything.

    <i>Today¡¯s situation isn¡¯t favorable. I have to return and discuss this with my madam, and then get revenge with my father-inw¡¯s group!</i>

    Under Zu An¡¯s pressure, he didn¡¯t even dare to speak any criticism. He could only storm off angrily in a huff.

    <i>Sigh¡­ It¡¯s a pity to think about today¡¯s great opportunity.</i>

    He turned around and gave Madam Jin a reluctant look. Perhaps it was his imagination, but her cheeks which had been a bit pale from grief over her husband¡¯s death were now a bit rosy. Under the contrast of her mourning clothes, it looked like plum blossoms in winter, tender and beautiful.

    <i>I didn¡¯t do all that just for the Embroidered Envoy to enjoy themselves, right?</i>

    He was rmed, but he quickly dropped that suspicion. Even though the Embroidered Envoy had a bad reputation, they had never had any scandals with women. Furthermore, there were so many people here, and this was the respected Madam Jin. He didn¡¯t think they would even dare anyway.

    Besides, Worries Be Gone Rosemary merely magnified one¡¯s desires; it didn¡¯t create anything from nothing.

    <i>Madam Jin might have some desires toward me, but how could she possibly think in that direction toward the ferocious Embroidered Envoy?</i>

    With that, he gradually let things go. He stopped and said to Madam Jin, ¡°Sister-inw, do not be scared. If these people dare to bully you, as your brother-inw, I will find someone to uphold justice for you.¡± N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Madam Jin looked at his departing figure in a pitiful manner. She was like a delicate little white flower that shook in the winter wind. In that instant, it was as if the entire world had abandoned her. She was just that weak and helpless.

 Chapter 1903: The Widow

    <h4>Chapter 1903: The Widow</h4>

    When King Dai left, Zu An waved his hand and ordered, ¡°Open the coffin and examine the corpse!¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± Dai Seventh and Chen Eighth replied with a bow, then led their men to the center of the mourning hall where the coffin was. They knew that they were just going through the motions, but it had to be done.

    When she saw them crudely push aside the coffin, Madam Jin almost fainted. She eximed, ¡°Please be gentle, don¡¯t disturb King Jin!¡±

    Zu An said with a serious tone, ¡°The madam has no need to worry; they know to not go too far. I suggest that the madam leave for a bit.¡±

    It was a bit too cruel for her to watch such a scene, after all.

    ¡°No, I want to be here,¡± Madam Jin said, holding her head high stubbornly. She looked at her husband¡¯s coffin with grief, tears trickling down her face uncontrobly.

    Zu An thought to himself, <i>Is this woman made of water or something? She was crying the whole time earlier, and she¡¯s crying again. </i>When he saw that she insisted on staying, however, he couldn''t say much and gestured for his subordinates to begin.

    Soon after, the Embroidered Envoy examined the corpse with the help of a specialist. Because it hadn¡¯t been long since King Jin¡¯s death, and the coffin¡¯s jade was ice-cold, the corpse had been maintained quite well. It hadn¡¯t rotted or deteriorated. Apart from his face being a bit gray, he didn¡¯t look that different from when he was alive. After all, King Jin had been sickly; hisplexion had never been that rosy.

    The coroner¡¯s movements were skilled. He opened a toolkit, then used all sorts of instruments to examine every inch of King Jin¡¯s body. A whileter, he returned the tools to his pouch, then washed his hands in a copper pan. He nodded toward Zu An and said, ¡°Chief Commander, the investigation is alreadyplete.¡±

    Zu An voiced his confirmation and gestured that they could leave. They had already decided on King Jin¡¯s cause of death beforehand. All of this was nothing more than going through the motions.

    But who would have thought that Madam Jin would suddenly call out to them?

    ¡°Wait, what are the results?¡±

    That coroner hesitated. He reflexively looked at Zu An.

    When Madam Jin saw that, she summoned up her courage to walk up to Zu An. She raised her head and said, ¡°As a victim of the household, I should be allowed to know my husband¡¯s cause of death, right?¡±

    Perhaps because she was usually timid and gentle, her small face was a bit red from getting so worked up, her chest also rising and falling rapidly. She was clearly a bit scared, since she was facing the vicious Embroidered Envoy¡¯s Chief Commander.

    When he saw how she was acting, Zu An couldn''t help but think of his previous world¡¯s Three Kingdoms. Zhou Yu had died an untimely death, and Little Qiao had been dressed in mourning clothes, staying in the mourning hall full of grief and broken-heartedness. He sighed. He told the coroner to give her the answer.

    The coroner nodded and said, ¡°Reporting to Madam Jin, King Jin¡¯s body has always been sickly, and because he was too worked up, he ended up dying from shock.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Madam Jin eximed, turning pale with fright. He asked, ¡°Wasn¡¯t my prince murdered ruthlessly by that Zu An?¡±

    The coroner¡¯s expression was serious. He said, ¡°I must ask the madam to trust my knowledge in this field.¡±

    He had looked as if was examining the corpse on the surface, but he had actually been dealing with the cover-up. After what he''d done, even if another coroner came to examine the corpse, they woulde to the same conclusion. The Embroidered Envoy were professionals regardless of what they were doing.

    ¡°But so many people saw¡­¡± Madam Jin muttered to herself.

    ¡°What one sees isn¡¯t always the truth,¡± Zu An replied.

    Madam Jin bit her lip. Her entire body was shaking slightly, perhaps because of the emotions she was feeling or something else. A whileter, she said calmly, ¡°Chief Commander, I have some things to speak with you about alone.¡± She gave the other Embroidered Envoys a look afterward.

    After some hesitation, Zu An waved his hand to dismiss his subordinates.

    The Embroidered Envoys naturally had no objections. Madam Jin was a weak woman, after all; there was no way she would be able to harm the mysterious and iprehensible Chief Commander, right?

    When the Embroidered Envoys left, Madam Jin said to her maid, ¡°You can withdraw as well.¡±

    The maid was a bit hesitant, saying, ¡°But that¡¯s a bit¡­¡± She couldn''t just say directly that it was inappropriate for a man and woman to be alone in the same room together, right?

    Madam Jin harrumphed. ¡°We are in the master¡¯s mourning hall. Could it be that Chief Commander would bully a weak woman like me?¡±

    The maid figured that made sense as well. The Embroidered Envoy''s Chief Commander was just too terrifying for her, and she really didn¡¯t want to stay here any longer than she had to.

    ¡­

    When the others left, Zu An sent a ki transmission. ¡°Dai Seventh and Chen Eighth, use this chance to get some intelligence from the people of the manor.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± Dai Seventh and Chen Eighth bowed in Zu An¡¯s direction. They took a portion of the group with them, then ordered the remaining subordinates to stand guard over the room. No one was permitted to enter and disturb the Chief Commander without his orders.

    The Embroidered Envoys didn¡¯t think too much of it. Madam Jin seemed to have some secrets she wished to discuss with the Chief Commander, so they naturally couldn''t let anyone disturb the two.

    When the surroundings calmed down, Zu An looked at the woman in mourning clothes across from him.

    <i>This woman really does look good in those clothes¡­</i>

    He frowned.

    <i>Why am I having such wandering thoughts today? Could it be because of that Nan Xunss?</i>

    He collected his thoughts and asked with a light cough, ¡°What does the madam wish to say to me?¡±

    Madam JIn suddenly walked up to him, then kneeled down before him and said while choking emotionally, ¡°Chief Commander, please uphold justice for this humble woman!¡±

    ¡°Madam, please rise!¡± Zu An eximed, startled. Even though the Embroidered Envoy carried exceptional status, this was the honorable wife of a prince! If anyone else were to see such a thing, many of them would use him of misconduct.

    He reflexively lifted her up. He only sensed that it was inappropriate when he touched her hand¡¯s smooth skin, but retracting his hand would seem too deliberate. He could only silently support her to her feet. He could smell a faint fragrance from her during the brief moment of close-quarters contact. It smelled really good. After all, even though Madam Jin had to keep watch beside King Jin¡¯s coffin and dressed in an extremely simple manner, not using excessive cosmetics, women still had their unique scents.

    When she sensed the scorching temperature from his palm, Madam Jin¡¯s heart also started pounding. She had never had physical contact with anyone apart from her husband. That powerful heat waspletely different from King Jin.

    ¡°Madam Jin?¡± Zu An couldn''t help but call out to her when he saw that she was in a daze.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Madam Jin snapped out of her nk look and quickly pulled back her hand.

    <i>What is happening to me?</i>

    She said with a hint of rm, ¡°That Zu An relied on the fact that he is favored by the crown princess to cruelly kill my husband. This humble one cannot find anyone else to rely on, so I can only ask Chief Commander to help me uphold justice.¡±

    Zu An raised his brows. He asked, ¡°Did the madam not hear what the coroner just said? King Jin¡¯s death was an unexpected incident. His body was too weak and he was doomed to not live a long life. Madam should have already been prepared for this beforehand. I can only offer my condolences.¡±

    Madam Jin gritted her teeth. Her eyes were gleaming with tears. A whileter, she said, ¡°King Jin¡¯s condition was poor, but not to this extent¡­ Even though he wasn¡¯t killed by Zu An, it was because of Zu An''s threats that he was frightened to death. So, strictly speaking, that Mister Zu is still the killer.¡±

    Zu An sighed and said coldly, ¡°If one wants to jump off a cliff, can others me the cliff after the fact?¡±

    Madam Jin was stunned. She knew that what he said made sense, but how could she remain that logical over this matter and not me Zu An at all? She took a deep breath and said, ¡°I understand Chie Commander¡¯s meaning, but that Zu scoundrel even sent people to attack this humble one¡¯s n. It¡¯s absolutely preposterous!¡±

    Zu An was stunned.

    <i>Why do I not know about this?</i> N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°You said that Zu scoundrel attacked your n?¡± he asked.

    Madam Jin nodded, saying, ¡°Even though our He n is a small n, we still have some respect in our localnd. Furthermore, I am King Jin¡¯s wife and everyone in the officialdom treats our n with respect. But everything has changed over the past few days. I received letters from my n that the higher-ups have started nitpicking and starting all kinds of quarrels with the local officials. Apart from receiving that Zu scoundrel¡¯s provocation, who else would do such a thing?!¡±

    She was still a madam, after all. Even though King Jin had died, there was no reason for anyone in government to target her homnd. After thinking about it, she''d concluded that only Zu An had the motive. He had first killed her husband, and then had gone after her n to cut the weeds and eliminate the roots! It really is He really was worse than a beast!

    As he listened to her sob, Zu An frowned. He said, ¡°That Zu An was immediately used and forced to stay in the pce. The Embroidered Envoy has been monitoring him, so he had no chance of troubling your n.¡±

    ¡°But who else could it be but him?¡± Madam Jin eximed furiously. ¡°He is too close to the Eastern Pce''s people, so he definitely has a way of sending out information.¡±

    Zu An said grimly, ¡°The crown prince is King Jin¡¯s brother. Even if the people of the Eastern Pce are close to him, how could they possibly help him do such a thing?¡±

    ¡°But¡­¡±

    Madam Jin wanted to continue, but Zu An interrupted her, ¡°I have already said that what you see may not always be the truth. Has anyone spoken to King Jin recently, perhaps to convince him to act so recklessly and start a conflict with that Zu An?¡±

    Madam Jin was stunned. She replied, ¡°Is Chief Commander saying that someone incited my husband to go after that Zu An?¡±

    After some hesitation, Zu An said, ¡°I should not be telling you these things, but seeing how brokenhearted the madam is¡­ Sigh, I will just tell you.

    ¡°The capital looks calm on the surface, but there are actually many undercurrents brewing. His majesty has passed, and the princes desire the imperial throne. That is why we suspect that someone deliberately provoked King Jin to go after Zu An, which would thus eliminate one of the Eastern Pce¡¯s capable men and cause the crown prince¡¯s side to suffer a huge blow. Then, they would reap all the benefits.¡±

    ¡°Ahhh!¡± Madam Jin eximed in shock, but because her small mouth was too delicate, even in that situation, not even a chicken egg would fit through her mouth.

    ¡°Has the madam thought of anyone?¡± Zu An asked, staring into her eyes.

    Madam Jin¡¯s expression changed several times. In the end, she slowly exhaled, saying, ¡°Madam Dai came to see me a while back and seemed to have talked to my husband in a private discussion. I¡¯ve never asked my husband about official matters, so I don¡¯t know what they really talked about.¡±

    She was overwhelmed with horror. No wonder King Dai had been so diligent over the past few days; so it turned out those two had both harbored unfathomable motives!

    Zu An thought, <i>As expected.</i>

    <i>It seems that after King Dai and the Meng n formed an alliance, they provoked King Jin to target me. All of it was to lower the Eastern Pce¡¯s prestige. But they probably never thought I would fight back so directly and just kill King Jin.</i>

    <i>And yet, doing so only moved their ns forward. That must be why they continued to scheme against me again and again.</i>

    <i>If it were anyone else, they would have been a cold corpse by now. The only thing they never expected was that both the empress and crown princess would be on my side.</i>

    <i>I wonder if all of this was the scheme of Meng Yi or that Madam Dai¡­</i>

    Madam Jin suddenly sped his hand and looked at him. She said quietly, ¡°Chief Commander, if you can help this humble woman get revenge, I will definitely properly repay you.¡±

    Her eyes were watery, and her voice was even a bit sweeter than usual.

 Chapter 1904: Transaction

    Chapter 1904: Transaction

    Zu An was a bit shaken up. He likely wouldn''t have such a huge reaction if it were another charming and beautiful woman who threw herself at him. However, when a little pure white flower suddenly acted so lovable, it really was a bit hard for him to handle.

    He managed to collect his thoughts with difficulty, asking, ¡°Is the so-called revenge referring to that Zu An?¡±

    Madam Jin nodded, saying, ¡°That¡¯s right. Even though I know he might also be a victim in this entire affair, my husband did die because of him. There wouldn¡¯t have been so many issues if he had adhered to a minister¡¯s etiquette, and I wouldn¡¯t be all alone now.¡±

    She knew that Zu An was a popr person in the crown princess¡¯ faction. She understood her sister-inw too well. That woman always made the most rational decision and always looked at things from the perspective of benefits and interests. How could a dead sibling of the crown prince be worth as much as a mighty general of hers? Judging from the Embroidered Envoy¡¯s tone, she already sensed the pce¡¯s attitude. She knew that if she let the natural course of events y out, not much would probably happen to that Zu scoundrel, and he would likely just get a p on the wrist at most. If no one in the imperial pce made a big deal out of it, what could a pitiful widow like her who had just lost her husband do to get revenge? She didn¡¯te from a famous family, and it was hard to say if she could even protect herself now, let alone being able to get any help.

    Zu An felt rather vexed as he listened. Just what kind of thing is this? How was he going to get revenge on himself?

    Madam Jin really isn¡¯t easy to deal with¡­

    That haughty little tyrant King Jin was already dead, so that was that, but this woman was also potential trouble. It was fine that she was asking for his help, but if she ended up asking for someone else¡¯s help, that would create a lot of enemies for no reason.

    It might be better in the long run if I just get rid of her¡­

    He was shocked when he thought of that.

    What is going on with me? Why did I suddenly have such a vicious thought?

    In the end, Madam Jin was an innocent woman, so none of this could be med on her.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Madam Jin had no idea that she had just brushed past the gateway of hell. She continued, ¡°Apart from that Zu guy, I also want revenge against the mastermind who harmed my husband behind the scenes, namely, Madam Dai.¡± She was even clenching her teeth as she spoke. There was an expression of hatred on her delicate face.

    ¡°Madam Dai?¡± Zu An asked, stunned. He had never expected the one she hated the most to be that person. Shouldn¡¯t it have been King Dai or the Meng n?

    When she saw the puzzlement in his expression, Madam Jin said, ¡°That Madam Dai is the most despicable. On the surface, she always said we were good sisters, but she turned around and immediately aimed a knife at us. This was probably all her scheme. That woman is crafty and cunning. I thought we didn¡¯t have much of a sh of interests and didn¡¯t mind being her friend, but how could I have expected her to do this to me?!¡±

    Zu An understood the hatred she felt a bit. That kind of hypocritical and vicious person was quite detestable. However, he didn¡¯t agree. This was a grudge between them, so why did he have to get involved? He merely replied casually, ¡°The repayment madam mentioned earlier, what exactly does it entail?¡±

    He figured that the amount of gambling chips Madam Jin could bring to the table was limited, and he could just find some random pretext to refuse herter.

    When she sensed that hecked interest, a hint of a conflicted expression appeared on Madam Jin¡¯s face. Of course she understood that she didn¡¯t have much to offer. Even though she was a madam in name, her husband¡¯s condition had never been good, dooming him to pass on early. It was only because the daughters of the capital¡¯s top-level ns hadn''t been willing to marry him that they chose her. When her husband was still alive, she had been able to bask in his glory a bit. After all, King Jin was the son who was most doted on among the princes. But now, it seemed that his majesty had already passed away, and King Jin was also dead. What else did she still have left to rely on?

    As someone from a small n, she was fully aware that even though the capital was prosperous, it was still a vicious and greedy ce. Now that she was a madam without her husband, not even the servants in the manor would treat her like a big deal. Furthermore, she was more worried about her n back home. Without her own backing, her family could get involved too. She clearly didn¡¯t want much at all, and all she wanted was to spend the rest of her life in peace, but fate loved to mess with people like that. She and her family had ended up mysteriously being caught up in the struggle for the throne. More importantly, the real mastermind had only targeted the He n to smear that Zu An¡¯s reputation. They hadn¡¯t even considered that the He n could be destroyed as a result.

    When she thought about how she not only hadn''t been able to bring her family glory, and had even brought them a huge disaster, Madam Jin was wracked with grief. She thought about her parents who loved her dearly, and about her adorable younger siblings; her expression grew firm. Her life was practically over, so she had to do something for them.

    When he saw that she remained silent, Zu An cupped his hands and said, ¡°I¡¯ve already told you what needed to be said. I offer my condolences to the madam.¡±

    Afterward, he turned around to leave. For some reason, he just felt as if something wasn¡¯t right today. The scenes he had seen on his previous world¡¯sputer screens kept showing up in his mind.

    I need to leave this sted ce as quickly as possible and properly cool off.

    Suddenly, Madam Jin said with a trembling voice, ¡°Wait. Take a good look at me.¡±

    Zu An frowned.

    Did this woman cultivate some mental attack skill that''s activated through the eyes?

    Heh, you actually vainly want to use that type of skill on me? You really are courting death.

    He coldly turned around, expecting her attack. Then, he would properly teach her what a real mental attack was.

    However, what he didn''t expect was that what met his gaze wasn¡¯t a spiritual attack, but rather a pair of exceptionally gentle and misty eyes.

    While Zu An was confused as to what she meant, Madam Jin undid her cor, and her clothes slid off of her body just like that. In that instant, the entire room became a bit brighter.

    Zu An began breathing hurriedly. He directly turned around, asking, ¡°What is the meaning of this, madam?¡±

    Madam Jin¡¯s face blushed. She was also a bit flustered. She had always followed the rules and was an obedient woman in people''s eyes. Why had she done something so daring today? Even so, she quickly recalled what had happened and her expression became firm. She walked over to Zu An¡¯s side and tightly held him from behind, saying, ¡°This is the repayment I spoke of earlier.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s entire body instantly grew hard. His voice was a bit hoarse as he asked, ¡°Does the madam understand what you''re doing?¡±

    ¡°I do,¡± Madam Jin said; a clear trickle of tears couldn''t help but fall down her face. ¡°This humble one is all alone with no one to depend on from now on. All I wish for is someone to lean on for shelter.¡±

    Zu An became silent. He was actually shaken up with emotions. In that instant, he engaged in countless mental battles.

    Madam Jin took a deep breath and said again, ¡°Chief Commander, don¡¯t worry. Only the two of us will know about this, and no one else will find out. I won¡¯t bother Chief Commander about anything else, and only ask the Chief Commander to help me get revenge. From today on, Chief Commander¡­ cane any time he wishes.¡±

    ¡°This is just a transaction?¡± Zu An asked, raising his brows. This was the first time he had found the Embroidered Envoy clothes so unnecessarily thick. He was feeling really stuffy and hot all of a sudden.

    ¡°Yes!¡± Madam Jin felt as if her heart were being cut out as she replied. She was a madam for better or for worse, so why did she need to degrade herself like this?

    For some reason, however, she didn¡¯t feel all that terrible. Instead, her heart was beating really quickly, and she even felt mysteriously expectant. That man''s tall and straight figure, and the entirely different sense of masculinity he gave off, both made her feel a mysterious urge. She only acted bright and neat on the surface, but in reality, she had always felt like an elder with one foot already in the grave. And yet, in the moment, she felt as if she hade alive again and be a lively youngdy who was full of youthfulness. She was full of beautiful imagination toward the future.

    She was worried that the other man would storm off in a huff. Then, she would really be too embarrassed to go on living. So, she didn¡¯t wait for his reply and ran into his arms. She got up on her tiptoes and kissed him.

    An explosion went off in Zu An¡¯s mind. With his current level of self-control, if it had been a pretty and flirtatious woman who tried to seduce him, he wouldn¡¯t even give her a second nce. However, it was actually this kind of good-natured madam who was awkwardly throwing herself at him. The destructive power of that was many times greater. Furthermore, perhaps because of the unusual setting they were in, he felt many times more sensitive than usual. What man could endure such temptation?

    Soon, these two young and vigorous bodies were wrapped tightly around each other.

    ¡­

    In King Jin¡¯s private garden, several lesser maids were sweeping a small path between the flowers with their brooms.

    ¡°It¡¯s been so long since anyone visited this ce. I have no idea why the head maid told us to clean up this ce¡­¡±

    ¡°Exactly! Even the master didn¡¯t reallye here even when he was still around. Thest time he came to admire the flowers was when the madam had just married into our n. Now that the master is dead, there¡¯s even less of a chance of anyoneing here.¡±

    ¡°Lower your voice! If the head maid hears you, she¡¯s going to punish you again. She has good intentions for telling us to do this too. The Embroidered Envoy is ferociously interrogating the servants of the manor right now, so she probably moved us here to protect us.¡±

    ¡°Tsk, why isn¡¯t she here herself then? It¡¯s been so long since this ce has been cleaned that it¡¯spletely overgrown. This path has even be much narrower, and you have to cram your way through with every step. Even my hand was scraped just now.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right! The ground is slippery and wet. I almost fell many times already.¡±

    ¡°There was a light shower earlier, so that''s why there are dewdrops everywhere. Everyone, be careful. Once the Embroidered Envoys leave, we should be allowed to go back.¡±

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in the front courtyard, Dai Seventh and Chen Eighth were questioning who hade and visited King Jin recently, and what they could have told him. At first, none of the servants were willing to say anything to avoid unnecessary trouble. They were scared that they would say some things they weren''t supposed to and end up in a disaster. However, the two finally couldn''t take it anymore. They took one of the glib-tongued servants and pressed him down against the table.

    Smack! Smack! Smack!

    Dai Seventh grabbed his subordinate¡¯s rod and brought it down fiercely on the servant''s bottom. The servant screamed bitterly and struggled in pain.

    ¡°Lie down properly!¡± Dai Seventh shouted, and another round of beating ensued.

    The servant¡¯s entire body trembled and he grabbed the edges of the table nervously. He didn¡¯t dare to move around randomly anymore. His face was full of tears as he begged for mercy. ¡°Please be more gentle, please! It hurts!¡±

    ¡°It should hurt. Look at this good-for-nothing, you just had to have force used on you first. Have you remembered now?¡± Chen Eighth sneered from off to the side.

    ¡°I do remember, I do!¡± the servant eximed tearfully.

    Why did I have to talk back with an attitude? The Embroidered Envoy has always been a terrifying group!

    ¡°Tell us about every single person who hase and gone through King Jin Manor as ofte. I''m sure all of you have heard a bit of what they said while bringing tea and refreshments. Those who speak will be rewarded, and those who can''t tell us anything will follow us back to the Embroidery House so we can properly help you jog your memories,¡± Dai Seventh said with a sinister tone.

    The servants were all horrified. What kind of ce was the Embroidery House? They''d heard that even the high officials of the court weren¡¯t able to leave that ce alive.

    ¡°I¡¯ll talk, I¡¯ll talk!¡± The servants were all striving to be the first to speak, as if they were scared that one of their colleagues would say what they knew first, so they would have nothing else to say.

    Dai Seventh said seriously, ¡°Have them interrogated separately and do it one at a time. You''d better not make things up, because if we find out that you are, we''ll teach you what it means to wish you were dead instead.¡±

    ¡°We wouldn¡¯t dare, we wouldn¡¯t dare¡­¡± the servants immediately said with apologetic smiles. Only then did they speak about everything they¡¯d heard and seen.

 Chapter 1905: Iâ€™ll Help You Get Revenge

    Chapter 1905: I¡¯ll Help You Get Revenge

    Madam Jin was lying on her stomach on the coffin, face to face with King Jin. She reflexively clutched her mouth to not make any sound.

    "My husband, if your spirit is watching from heaven, you''ll definitely understand me, right? I¡¯m all alone without anyone to depend on. I need someone to rely on. The Chief Commander was able to defeat King Dai¡¯s guardian so easily. He definitely has the ability to help you get revenge."

    In truth, she already knew who her real enemy was. She didn¡¯t feel that much hatred toward Zu An anymore. In the end, he was also just a victim caught up in the conspiracy. Even if it weren¡¯t him in that position, they would have done something simr. In contrast, King Dai and Madam Dai were the true masterminds. The Meng n likely had a hand in it as well. Every single one of the forces involved was an enormous power that a humble woman like her couldn''t hope topare to.

    She was a widowed madam who couldn''t even protect her own family. At the very least, the Chief Commander could help her protect the He n. And for all of that, she naturally had to pay the price¡­

    My husband, please forgive me!

    Suddenly, King Jin, who was lying in the coffin, opened his eyes and stared at her furiously. He roared, ¡°No, I don¡¯t understand! I won¡¯t forgive you!¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Madam Jin¡¯s entire body trembled, and she felt as if her soul had almost left her body. She roused herself awake and discovered that she was sitting on her bed, her entire body drenched in sweat. When she looked around her, she discovered that she was sleeping in her own room.

    ¡°Was all of that just a dream?¡± Madam Jin murmured to herself. She reflexively touched her scorching hot cheeks, thinking, ¡°But why would I dream about something like that?¡±

    Her personal maid Dong¡¯er quickly entered when she heard the activity, asking, ¡°Madam, is something wrong?¡±

    Madam Jin was surprised. She asked with a reddened face, ¡°Dong¡¯er, how did I get here?¡± She remembered that she had been in King Jin¡¯s mourning hall! She seemed to have dreamt an enchanting dream, but she couldn''t recall many of the exact details.

    Dong¡¯er began to chatter away while gesturing, ¡°Madam, you fainted from crying in the mourning hall! It¡¯s not that this servant is trying to shoot my mouth off, but the master has already passed, so madam needs to take care of your body. You can¡¯t ruin your body through crying¡­¡±

    She continued to nag on endlessly, but Madam Jin reflexively ignored it all and only heard that she had ¡®fainted¡¯.

    Did I really just faint from broken-heartedness in the mourning hall?

    But why don¡¯t I remember anything?

    She could vaguely sense that something wasn¡¯t right, and yet she couldn''t exactly pinpoint what it was. She suddenly thought of something and quickly asked, ¡°How did I return to this ce after I fainted?¡±

    Dong¡¯er replied, ¡°The Embroidered Envoy''s Chief Commander carried you back.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Madam Jin eximed, nowpletely stunned. Her cheeks turned red, and she red at the servant in humiliation, eximing, ¡°Dong¡¯er! He is a man; how could you let him carry me?!¡±

    Dong¡¯er stuck out her tongue, saying ¡°This servant is so weak, so I¡¯m not strong enough to carry the madam, you know? Besides, Chief Commander didn¡¯t tell me to carry you either. He¡¯s really scary, so this servant didn¡¯t dare to say anything.¡±

    Madam Jin¡¯s entire body became a bit weak when she heard that another man had carried her back to her room. She gave the maid an usatory look, replying, ¡°Then what if he took advantage of me? Would you have let him do whatever he wanted to?¡±

    Dong¡¯er was stunned. She eximed, ¡°Madam, what are you thinking? Even though the Embroidered Envoy are fierce, we all know that they are loyal and devoted to the royal family! Furthermore, the Chief Commander looks dignified and upright; how could he do something like that?¡±

    Madam Jin was stunned.

    That¡¯s right! Why would I have such thoughts? This really is weird.

    The Chief Commander¡¯s tall and straight figure appeared in her mind. Her face couldn''t help but be red. She wondered what he looked like without his mask on.

    I remember that I wanted to remove his mask and take a look several times, but he didn¡¯t let me¡­

    She was stunned when she thought of that.

    When did that happen? Why can¡¯t I remember anything?

    Was that also in my dreams¡­

    When she saw her enter a daze, Dong¡¯er just assumed that she was ufortable from finding out that she had been carried by another man. She quickly consoled her, saying, ¡°Madam, don¡¯t worry too much. The Embroidered Envoy are all monsters in the eyes of everyone else in the capital. No one would treat them like actual men.¡±

    ¡°Monsters, huh¡­¡± Madam Jin murmured, her legs inadvertently twitching.

    He really did seem like a monster, he wasn¡¯t like a human at all¡­

    She immediately clutched her face.

    What is wrong with me? Why do I have all these random thoughts?

    Don¡¯t tell me that it really was all because of that dream I had earlier?

    He Yuan, He Yuan, how can you have a dream like that? Do you still have any sense of shame left?

    She suddenly thought of something and quickly ordered, ¡°Dong¡¯er, you¡¯re not allowed to speak of this matter to anyone. If anyone else finds out, I¡¯ll be too ashamed to meet anyone ever again!¡±

    ¡°This servant already knows, and that Chief Commander warned me too. He was really scary,¡± Dong¡¯er said. She couldn''t help but shiver when she recalled how the other side had threatened her.

    But he only carried her here after she fainted and it''s not as if he slept with madam, so what was he so nervous for?

    Madam Jin sighed in relief when she heard what the maid said. At the same time, she couldn''t help but have a good impression of the Chief Commander.

    That man is surprisingly considerate and did this for the sake of my reputation.

    ¡°By the way, where is that Chief Commander? Is he still here?¡± she asked.

    Dong¡¯er shook her head and said, ¡°He left after carrying you here. But he left behind some Embroidered Envoys to guard the manor, saying that it was to protect us.¡±

    ¡°He left¡­¡± Madam Jin muttered, and her little mouth opened slightly. For some reason, she felt a sort of empty feeling.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it great that he left? The Embroidered Envoy is so scary; so many of our servants had their bottoms beaten viciously. They¡¯re still crying for mommy and daddy right now,¡± Dong¡¯er grumbled. However, she couldn''t help but size up the madam. Her brows were curved and her mouth was small¡­ The madam really was pretty, and herplexion seemed to be much rosier than before, making her look even more stunning.

    However... Perhaps she was just seeing things, but she felt as if the madam¡¯s mouth seemed to be a bit bigger than before. Was it because she''d cried too much, or was it because she''d had something in there for a long time?

    I don¡¯t think I prepared any foods like that for her recently, though?

    ¡°Dong¡¯er, help me make some preparations. I want to take a bath and change my clothes,¡± Madam Jin said, shifting awkwardly. For some reason, she felt a really ufortable sticky sensation.

    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am," Dong''er replied.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, after Zu An returned Madam Jin to her chambers, he had returned to the mourning hall. He was even a bit rmed when he recalled how absurd what had just happened was. The two of them seemed to have been bewitched, not having any rationality left.

    He had suddenly releasing something. After he released all of his desires, his mind was full of rity.

    This isn¡¯t normal!

    He looked around. Suddenly, he sniffed, and his gazended on the ashes that remained in the incense burner. He walked over and pinched it. Then, he moved it closer to smell it better. Suddenly, he eximed, ¡°Worries Be Gone Rosemary?¡±

    The Baopu Sutra had a record of this item, but he''d never expected that such a thing that had long been lost to history would make another appearance. Those who were affected by its smell would forget everything that happened. Even if there were some leftover memories, they would only think that it was all from a dream. It was one of the best drugs for sexual assault. Countless people who had impure thoughts dreamed of such a thing.

    However, the drug was extremely hard to create, and the form had already been lost. The ingredients needed were also rare and hard to find. The original creator of the drug was a genius in medicine refining, but he hadn¡¯t used his brilliance for the betterment of the world. He had really strange tastes; he didn¡¯t like youngdies, and instead only wanted married women. By relying on this drug, he had been able to sleep with countless famous beautiful madams. After the affair, they didn¡¯t even know what happened! He could even be sworn brothers with their husbands during the day, while at night, as the couple was drugged, he would take the man''s ce.

    Just like that, he had lived for several years like an immortal. However, paper could never cover fire forever.

    There had been a famous couple; because of an ident, though the husband could still do it, he hadn''t been able to impregnate anyone. They hadn''t said anything to anyone else, though. The medicine master hadn¡¯t known that, and ended up getting the madam pregnant. The husband had erupted into a violent rage. However, the madam was also dumbfounded, and after looking into it, they had ended up pointing their suspicion at the medicine master.

    The whole affair was finally exposed, and countless victims had hunted him down. In the end, the medicine master died an incredibly miserable death, and his Worries Be Gone Rosemary was lost.

    ¡°Why would this thing appear here?¡± Zu An muttered, his brows furrowing tightly.

    He suddenly recalled King Dai¡¯s unnatural actions and immediately realized something. So it was him!N?v(el)B\\jnn

    He walked over to the coffin and looked down at King Jin, whoseplexion was an ashen gray. Perhaps it was because of the reflections of the surrounding cold jade, but his body shone a faint green color, making him look a bit sinister.

    Zu An sighed, saying, ¡°You really are pitiful. You ended up being used and gave your life away. Then, as soon as you died, your older brother immediately set his eyes on your wife.

    ¡°Don¡¯t me me. Even if I hadn''t been here, someone else would have taken advantage of Madam Jin. In a sense, I actually saved her.

    ¡°This is Worries Be Gone Rosemary, something your big brother King Dai used. This drug has a benefit, which is that your madam won¡¯t remember a single thing about what happened. To her, she''s still a wife who''s fully devoted to you.

    ¡°I''ll help you protect her, and I''ll find the real mastermind. That can be considered getting revenge for you.¡±

    Perhaps the corpse in the coffin heard what he said, as King Jin¡¯s sinister expression now seemed much more gentle.

    Zu An turned around to leave. When he left, he ordered Dai Seventh and Chen Eighth, ¡°You should continue to stand guard around King Jin Manor and protect Madam Jin. Make sure to pay special attention to King Dai. Do not let hime into contact with Madam Jin alone.¡±

    Dai Seventh and Chen Eighth were stunned, but they didn¡¯t dare to voice their doubts. ¡°Understood!¡±

    Zu An paused for a moment, then said, Furthermore, send some people to look into who is targeting Madam Jin¡¯s He n and protect them. Look into who is causing trouble.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡±

    Zu An turned around and gave Madam Jin¡¯s room a look. He thought to himself that this entire affair was a misunderstanding, so perhaps it wouldn''t be too bad for her to just think of it all as a dream and forget about it. With his mind made up, he disappeared into the darkness, leaving King JIn Manor.

    ¡­

    When he left, Dai Seventh and Chen Eighth couldn''t help but hide in a corner and whisper to each other.

    ¡°Say, why do you think Chief Commander is so intent on taking care of Madam Jin? He didn¡¯t end up falling for her, did he?¡±

    ¡°Heh, Madam Jin is charming and pitiful, and that small mouth is just like the beauties described in books. I¡¯ve never seen such a delicate mouth and eyebrows. There''s also a pitiful air about her that would make any man feel a desire to protect her.¡±

    ¡°But she is a madam, for better or for worse. Do you think¡­¡±

    ¡°Is that something we should be thinking about? We just need to follow orders.¡±

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in King Jin Manor¡¯s rear residence, the entire ce was full of steam. Madam Jin was lying in the bathtub, her fair skin now carrying a red blush. With a perplexed expression, she murmured, ¡°Was all that¡­ really just a dream?¡±

 Chapter 1906: Retaliation

    Chapter 1906: Retaliation

    When Zu An entered the pce, he immediately went to visit the crown princess to tell her about the results of his investigation. Even though he was supposed to be under ¡®house arrest¡¯ in the capital, what did that have to do with the Embroidered Envoy''s Chief Commander? In that line of work, no one would stop him from entering and leaving the pce. The Embroidered Envoy had a vicious reputation. Regardless of who it was, no one wanted to get too involved with them. It was to the extent that he could meet with Bi Linglong in private and no one else in the Eastern Pce could object to it. After all, the Embroidered Envoy was a secret intelligence organization, so their interactions with others would definitely be ssified. None of the Eastern Pce¡¯s eunuchs and maids would dare to eavesdrop on that kind of conversation.

    Bi Linglong was a bit absent-minded when she looked at the dark golden-clothed individual behind a sinister mask. A whileter, she said, ¡°I''m still more used to your Golden Token Eleven clothes.¡±

    In the past, in the secret dungeon, the two had worked together to face Zhao Han¡¯s split soul. After fighting together through life and death, there were practically no secrets left between them. When they came out of the secret dungeon, in order tobine what they both knew, they had told each other what resources and powers they had at their disposal.

    When she found out that Zu An was Golden Token Eleven, Bi Linglong had felt so blessed that she almost fainted on the spot. After all, she had almost lost her life during the Devil Sect¡¯s assault. It was only thanks to Golden Token Eleven that she was saved. Later, the two of them hade into contact with each other several times and she couldn''t help but develop a good impression of that mysterious golden token envoy.

    But in the secret dungeon, because of various reasons, she had ended up giving her body to Zu An. The two had fought together while drenched in blood, so she had ended up liking him before she realized it. Her feelings for that golden token envoy naturally couldn''tpare to what she felt Zu An at that point. For some reason, though, she had still felt a bit of regret in the dead of night sometimes. That Golden Token Eleven had been like a trace of moonlight in her times of youth, filling her with regret; it had felt like an experience that was hard to forget about for the rest of her life.

    After she met Zu An, she had already buried that darkness deep inside her heart. She''d just treated it as a secret that she would never speak of again. She often hadn''t been able to help but feel guilt over that. She''d felt as if she really wasn¡¯t a good woman for liking two men at the same time. As for that fat idiot Zhao Ruizhi, she had never treated him as a man.

    But who would have thought that both of the men she liked were actually the same person? The tremendous feeling of bliss she had felt was still a strong memory. No wonder she had felt a mysterious sense of familiarity from the two of them; he was the same person! That night, she had been exceptionally moved. She had no longer felt as embarrassed and proactively embraced him that night.

    Zu An chuckled, saying, ¡°I¡¯ll wear the Golden Token Eleven outfit when I see you in the future.¡±

    ¡°Okay,¡± Bi Linglong said. Her face reddened, and her heart rate sped up.

    ¡­

    The two chatted for a while longer, and Bi Linglong¡¯s thoughts returned to proper matters. She knew that this was a good chance to deal King Dai a blow, so she immediately gave out orders. She gathered all of her ministers who were loyal to the Eastern Pce to discuss their ns going forward. The whole group spoke for a few more hours. When Bi Linglong saw everyone else, however, she discovered that Zu An was already gone.

    ¡°Momo, where did he go?¡± Bi Linglong asked.

    ¡°Which ''he'' are you referring to?¡± Rong Mo asked, stunned.

    ¡°Of course it¡¯s¡­ Ahem, I¡¯m talking about the Embroidered Envoy''s Chief Commander,¡± Bi Linglong said. She thought to herself, Why is this maid getting dumber and dumber?

    ¡°Oh, him? He already left a while ago," Rong Mo replied.

    ¡°When did he leave?¡± Bi Linglong asked.

    ¡°Around when your highness gathered the other subjects," Rong Mo answered.

    Bi Linglong felt a bit disappointed and frustrated when she heard the reply.

    He actually left so early.

    She couldn''t help but feel a bit resentful. Perhaps she was imagining things, but they seemed to have be a lot more estranged. When she recalled those strange questions he had asked her, her pretty brows furrowed.

    Did he find out something I don¡¯t know about?

    ¡­

    The next morning, many subjects had begun discussing things spiritedly with each other. What was happening today? There was actually a morning court session, and all of the subjects had to go! Not even his majesty had held morning court sessions every day. After the battle of Violet Mountain, it had been even longer since theyst had a court session. As ofte, if someone had an important thing to bring up, they went to the Eastern Pce, or to the empress at the Pce of Peace. Why would anyone need to hold a morning court session?

    As the officials all arranged themselves in the throne room, the crown prince finally came inte. From his fuming face, it seemed as if he clearly didn¡¯t really want to do it. In his opinion, a morning court session wasn¡¯t even as interesting as ying with crickets. But everyone else still needed him, the crown prince even if just in name, to sit there. Between that and his fear of the crown princess, he had no choice but to show up.

    Immediately after, the crown princess and Liu Ning initiated the proceedings from behind the curtain in the emperor¡¯s ce, one on the left and one on the right. They were women, after all, so they needed to be separated from the subjects with pearl curtains.

    First of all, once the morning court session was initiated ording to procedure, the Meng n and King Dai led a group of subjects to voice theirints. The murder of King Jin was brought up again, and they wanted the court to punish the murderer Zu An severely.

    The other subjects'' attention shifted to Zu An, but they saw that he just stood there indifferently, as if it didn¡¯t have anything to do with him. Many people frowned, sensing that something wasn¡¯t quite right.

    Sure enough, the Eastern Pce¡¯s officials voiced their objections. ¡°Her highness the empress has already assigned the Embroidered Envoy to investigate this matter, and there should already be a result.¡±

    The empress gave Zu An a nce.

    That kid really is pretty handsome. Just looking at him standing there is enough to make my entire body heat up.

    She said with a smile, ¡°Have the Embroidered Envoy send in someone to report on the situation!¡±

    She naturally knew that the Embroidered Envoy Chief Commander was actually standing right there, so she said that to help him out.

    Soon after, a Silver Token Envoy rushed over. Zu An saw that it was actually Xiao Jianren. His condition seemed to have improved quite a bit. Xiao Jianren voiced the conclusion that King Jin had died from excessive anger triggering his body¡¯s poor condition, and that there were no external wounds.

    The entire court immediately erupted into amotion!

    King Dai couldn''t hold himself back and was the first to curse, ¡°There is a hidden plot behind this, there definitely is!¡±

    Meng Yi frowned slightly when he saw that. Wasn¡¯t this son-inw losing his cool a bit too easily?

    Do you need to say that yourself in this kind of situation? Look at the empress and crown princess; they never have to say their intentions themselves and it''s always their subordinates who do it. That allows them to always be in a position where they can advance or retreat.

    My daughter has controlled him too strictly. He doesn¡¯t even understand something like this. It¡¯s such a pity that Chan¡¯er was born a woman and that she could only marry this idiot.

    But with how things were, he could only give his subordinates a look. Many subjects spoke up to support King Dai.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, so many people saw King Jin murdered by Zu An; how could there not be any external injuries?!¡±

    ¡°This humble official requests for the Ministry of Justice and Commandant of Justice¡¯s people to investigate this matter again together!¡±

    ¡­

    When he saw the other subjects get all worked up, an official under the Eastern Pce retorted with a sneer, ¡°Are you questioning the fairness of the Embroidered Envoy right now?¡±

    When those words were spoken, the entire pce instantly became quiet. They reflexively looked at Xiao Jianren, whose expression was ice-cold. Even though he was a trifling Silver Token Envoy, he represented the entire Embroidery House right now. The Embroidered Envoys had always been the ruthless sort. They had left countless important ministers destitute and ruined. Who dared to offend them?

    When he saw that the others became quiet, Meng Yi could only speak up as well. ¡°They are naturally not questioning the Embroidered Envoy, but this matter is rted to the death of a prince. It does need to be treated with a bit more seriousness.¡±

    With him taking the lead, many people spoke up in agreement.

    ¡°That¡¯s right! We should have those from the Ministry of Justice look into it.¡±

    ¡°I suggest that Commandant of Justice Jiang personally looks into it. Sir Jiang has always been impartial, the spokesperson of thew. That is something everyone has seen!¡±

    ¡­

    Bi Linglong frowned slightly. King Dai and the Meng n¡¯s influence seemed to be greater than she had imagined. Her side hadn''t felt that to be the case when they worked together to face King Qi, and only now did they realize that the other side had actually already roped in so many people.

    Xiao Jianren spoke up and said, ¡°Our Embroidery House does not mind letting others investigate this case, but if the results are the same as our conclusion, may I request for all the sirs who caused amotion here today to apany us back to the Embroidery House aspensation?¡±

    When they heard that, those officials that were still arguing noisily gave in. Who wanted to put their own ns on the line for this?

    King Dai didn¡¯t share their fears. When he saw the situation, he said with a cold snort, ¡°I am willing to make that bet with you! The Ministry of Justice and the Commandant of Justice¡¯s people should go, and it¡¯s best if we throw in Magistrate Yin and the Security Officer¡¯s people into it! That way, there should be no opportunities for falsification.¡±

    If there was anyone who could scheme with all of those departments, their influence would be no weaker than that of the emperor himself. Like hell they would still be arguing here if that was the case! As for the threat of the Embroidered Envoy, he didn¡¯t attach any importance to it. He was a glorious king. Would they really dare to arrest him in the Embroidery House? When he thought about how his ns with Madam Jin had been interrupted, and his own guardian had been captured by their Chief Commander, he found the Embroidered Envoy extremely unsightly.

    Xiao Jianren harrumphed. ¡°King Dai, please do not be so impatient. This matter has a huge connection to you.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± King Dai eximed in rm.

    ¡°ording to our investigations, the reason why King Jin targeted the Murong n, Qin n, and then Sir Zu in such an aggressive manner was actually because there was someone in the background who harbored unfathomable motives. They secretly incited disharmony. In the end, the one who instigated all of this is the one who truly harmed his highness King Jin,¡± Xiao Jianren replied coldly.

    There was a huge uproar when those words were spoken. The Eastern Pce¡¯s people all looked at King Dai. The others reflexively followed their gaze too. Everyone who could stand in this throne room was intelligent. They immediately knew that the one who had the greatest to gain out of all of this was King Dai. In other words, he had the greatest motive. He had always been jumping up and down over the matter, meaning that he clearly cared a lot about it.

    Bi Linglong asked with a smile, ¡°May I dare ask who this mastermind behind the scene is?¡±

    Xiao Jianren said coldly, ¡°It is none other than his highness King Dai right here!¡±

    King Dai''s entire body became ice-cold. However, Meng Yi erupted into fury, yelling, ¡°Simply preposterous! Do you know that nting false evidence against a king is a crime that is enough to eradicate your entire n?!¡±

    The empress nced at Zu An from her high seat. Then, she shifted her gaze to Xiao Jianren and asked, ¡°Do you have proof for what you have said?¡±

    Xiao Jianren bowed and said, ¡°Reporting to your highness, I have people here who can attest to it.¡±

    Then, he presented a memo containing the oral confessions of the servants from King Jin Manor and other eyewitnesses.

    The empress gave it a look, then handed it to her subjects to read out loud. On it, it was written that on a certain year, month, and date, Madam Dai and King Dai visited King Jin in session, and a rough ount of what had been said. King Jin had then be furious and rushed out of the manor.

    ¡°Those are nothing more than theints of servants; how can they serve as proof? As for how my wife and I have both acted, Madam Jin understands best. She can serve as a witness for us!¡± King Dai urgently said.

    The empress wanted to say something, but Bi Linglong was the first to say, ¡°In that case, bring in Madam Jin!¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

 Chapter 1907: Madam Daiâ€™s Skills

    Chapter 1907: Madam Dai¡¯s Skills

    Soon after, a woman dressed in white mourning clothes entered the court session. The previously noisy court suddenly fell silent, as those present began sizing her up. They sighed in amazement.

    What a delicate and pretty woman!

    Because of her temperament, she had still remained inside more even after bing the madam of a king. This was the first time many people in the court had met her. They couldn''t help but find her breathtaking. Her pretty brows were furrowed slightly as if she was grieving over something. It made others unable to help but want to take her into their arms tofort her. Her teary eyes made her look as if she had been weeping, making those present feel pity.

    A woman like this needs to be cherished and protected forever!

    Normally, her entirely white outfit would be a bit too nd. However, her tender and replete cherry mouth made her entire being seem toe alive. Madam Jin had been beautiful to begin with, and now that she had this kind of pitiful bearing, it gave her even more of a unique charm.

    Most of the people in this court session were male, and in their position, who didn¡¯t have three or four concubines? They were all veterans used to women. But when they saw that delicate and pretty figure, they all couldn''t help but feel a protective desire.

    Madam Jin was a bit rmed when she saw that everyone present was looking at her. She instinctively lowered her head. She continued her small, quick steps and arrived at the head seat of the throne room. She paid her respects to the empress, crown prince, and crown princess.

    ¡°Sister-inw, please hurry and rise,¡± the crown prince said. Even though he was stupid, he could still discern between beautiful and ugly. He felt that this sister-inw was really pretty. He stared at her clothes and wondered whether to have Linglong dress the same way, because she¡¯d definitely look pretty too.

    ¡°Thank you, crown prince,¡± Madam Jin said, then walked to the side with her head lowered. She just happened to see the Embroidered Envoy standing there. She reflexively felt joy, but when she saw that it was Xiao Jianren and not the Chief Commander, she felt a bit disappointed. She secretly looked around, but she didn¡¯t see that familiar figure. She immediately became nervous.

    ¡°Provide Madam Jin with a seat,¡± Bi Linglong said; she couldn''t help but feel sympathetic when she saw the other woman''s reaction.

    ¡°Thank you, crown princess,¡± Madam Jin said with a bow.

    When she sat down, Meng Yi was the first to speak. He pointed at Zu An and asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t Madam Jin overwhelmed with grief? This person is the one who truly harmed King Jin and caused his death.¡±

    Madam Jin followed the source of the sound and just happened to see Zu An standing there. She couldn''t help but be stunned. This was that incredibly vicious murderer they had spoken of?

    He does have a bit of a grand and outstanding bearing¡­

    After the previous night¡¯s enlightenment, she already knew that he wasn¡¯t the main culprit. Now, when she saw that he was handsome and confident, thest bit of resentment she felt also disappeared. For some reason, when she saw his expression, she also felt a vague sense of familiarity.

    In the end, no matter which world it was, appearances were still important.

    She lowered her head and replied, ¡°Yesterday, when the Embroidered Envoy inspected my husband¡¯s remains, they found out that he didn¡¯t die because of Sir Zu. Instead, his body couldn''t handle the stress.¡±

    When the court heard that even the victim¡¯s wife was repeating the same story, many people released a breath of relief.

    Meng Yi¡¯s side had furrowed brows, but it was toote for regrets.

    I¡¯ve been too careless. I didn¡¯t immediately send some people to examine King Jin¡¯s corpse to have the evidence frozen in ce.

    But who could have expected this result? So many people personally saw Zu An snap King Jin¡¯s neck, and yet he really was able to invert ck and white!

    What is going on with the Embroidered Envoy? Aren¡¯t they usually impartial?

    Could it be that they''ve already secretly sided with the crown princess?

    No, that¡¯s impossible. The pce is still under the empress¡¯ control. Otherwise, it doesn¡¯t make sense for her to not have realized anything.

    Bi Linglong spoke up and said, ¡°The Embroidered Envoy came to the conclusion that King Jin seemed to have been instigated by King Dai and Madam Dai, and as such, he acted impulsively. What is the real truth of this matter?¡±

    When they heard what she said, the others'' gazes shifted to Madam Jin.

    As the main character of the whole affair, however, King Dai had a calm look.

    My rtionship with Madam Jin is great, and she was even grateful for my care. How could she possibly say anything unfavorable to me?

    The only thing I need to think about is when I can pay King Jin Manor another visit. My happy time ended up being interrupted by that Chief Commander, so I have to find a safer time to go. After all, I only had a small amount of Worries Be Gone Rosemary and can only use it one more time. If I waste it again, it¡¯ll really be toote for regrets¡­

    Madam Jin trembled. She immediately knew that this was the Embroidered Envoy''s Chief Commander fulfilling his promise.

    Why is everything so simr to that dream I had?

    She instinctively didn¡¯t want to start trouble, as a wise man looked after his own hide. But when she thought about how the Chief Commander hadn¡¯t even hesitated to offend a king for her sake, and how her husband had died without even knowing the true cause, she gritted her teeth and summoned her courage. She said, ¡°That¡¯s right. A few days ago, it was precisely because Madam Dai and King Dai came to say some things to my husband that my husband suddenly became very angry. He began to constantly shout about heading out to get revenge for his father emperor.

    ¡°I hope that her highness and the crown prince can uphold justice for this humble woman!¡±

    The entire ce erupted with noise again. All those present had already formed a good impression of this woman when they saw her pitiful and moving appearance. When they heard those words, they all red furiously at King Jin. Some subjects with more irritable tempers even began to curse loudly. Apart from the Eastern Pce, King Dai, and the Meng n¡¯s faction, there were many in the neutral camp. They didn¡¯t want to help either side and only acted based on how they felt.

    King Dai''s mouth widened. He had never expected that the little white rabbit in his mind would actually turn around and bite him! Even though he wanted her to bite him even in his dreams, he didn''t mean it that way!

    Meng Yi secretly gave him a nudge that finally snapped him out of his daze.

    King Dai was furious and panicked, eximing, ¡°Madam Jin, I was so good to you; why would you harm me?¡±

    When they heard those words, the expressions of all the subjects became strange.

    Your little brother died and you immediately went to pamper his wife? What is the meaning of this?

    Any man could guess the truth.

    Madam Jin wasn¡¯t stupid either. She hadn¡¯t realized it before, but when she heard what he said, she immediately knew that he didn¡¯t have good intentions. Not only had he harmed her husband, he even had impure motives toward her.

    She was so angry that she started shaking a bit. She cried, ¡°It was you who harmed my husband and caused his death! You incited him to go after Zu An as a pretext to clip the Eastern Pce¡¯s wings, so you could use that chance to seed the throne!¡±

    King Dai was stunned when he heard those words. Why did the Madam Jin who hadn¡¯t understood a thing suddenly be so smart? She had guessed everything at once.

    The pce suddenly became even noisier. At first, it had just been a case of a prince¡¯s murder. They had never expected it to actually touch upon the struggle for the imperial throne! Many elders who were well-informed nodded inwardly. They had long suspected that Meng Yi was supporting King Dai''s bid for the throne. Now, the whole situation made sense.

    Meng Yi could no longer just sit still without saying anything. He snapped, ¡°Madam Jin, cease your nonsense! There is no way you could havee up with this on your own. Just who taught you to say these things? Tell me the truth this instant!¡±

    Madam Jin was a weak-willed person to begin with. She was immediately frightened by the fierce tone, and her entire body began to shake. She couldn''t say a word.

    Zu An released a cold snort. He took a step forward, saying, ¡°Sir Meng, you really know how to show off your authority. Are you trying to intimidate a witness right now?¡±

    When she felt the pressure immediately lessen as he stepped forward, the way Madam Jin looked at him immediately becameplicated. Even though there was a mastermind behind her husband¡¯s death, this man still had some connection to it. But for some reason, when she saw him herself, she couldn''t bring herself to feel any disgust. Instead, she actually felt a bit grateful.

    Meng Yi also released a cold snort, saying, ¡°This Madam Jin has clearly been instigated by someone. There is no way she coulde up with such words herself.¡±

    Just then, Bi Linglong asked, ¡°Madam Jin, is there someone who told you to say these things? There is no need for you to feel scared. Please tell us what you think. Your sister-inw will take responsibility for you, so don¡¯t be scared!¡± She immediately yed the family card, making those present realize that King Jin and the crown prince shared the same mother. As sisters-inw, their rtionship was supposed to be closer as well.

    The tall and sturdy, masked figure appeared in Madam Jin¡¯s mind, and her heart rate mysteriously elerated. A bit of rosiness returned to her face as well. She said, ¡°No one taught this to me; I was just speaking the truth. In the past, it was none other than Madam Dai who came to say some things to my husband, and then King Dai also frequently visited the manor. After the fact, my husband became full of rage.¡±

    Just then, Zhao Ruizhi suddenly cried out and jumped out of his seat. He grabbed a pumpkin from nearby and brought it down on King Dai''s head, yelling, ¡°You bastard! This crown prince is going to beat you to death!¡±

    Bang!

    King Dai became a bit dizzy from the strike.

    This damn fatty¡¯s cultivation isn¡¯t high, but he is pretty strong¡­

    If it weren¡¯t because King Dai¡¯s cultivation was far higher, his head likely would have exploded right there and then. He was furious, but he didn¡¯t dare retaliate in front of everyone else. He could only cover his head and run away. The two chased after each other just like that, bashing left and right. The court now seemed almost like a theatrical troupe.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The empress coughed lightly and snapped, ¡°Enough! Fighting and running around, whatever could be next? Men, separate them.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± Lesser eunuchs who ran over to hold the crown prince back, and only then did the pce gradually calm down.

    The imperial uncle Liu Guang spoke up and asked, ¡°Madam Jin, did you personally hear Madam Dai incite King Jin to go after Zu An?¡±

    Madam Jin was stunned. She replied, ¡°I haven¡¯t heard it personally, but¡­¡±

    Liu Guang immediately interrupted her, saying, ¡°Then that makes more sense. It is natural for brothers to pay each other visits frequently. The madam might have misunderstood somewhere.¡±

    Bi Linglong¡¯s expression changed. The Liu n had now clearly expressed their partiality, so didn¡¯t that mean they represented the empress¡¯ intentions as well? Sure enough, those who were sharper in the court immediately picked up on that fact. In the end, this was just a fight between the empress and the crown princess! Many people who had been arguing noisily now gave in as well.

    Even though Madam Jin is pitiful, she¡¯s not my woman. Why am I even fighting so much for her?

    With the shift in mood, the Meng n, King Dai, and even the Liu n¡¯s subjects began to speak up for King Dai. The Eastern Pce¡¯s side was gradually pushed down.

    In the end, the empress said, ¡°This matter is full of suspicion. While there is insufficient proof against King Dai and Madam Dai, we need to investigate this more and not rashlye to a conclusion."

    King Dai, Meng Yi, and the others immediately bowed, saying, ¡°Your highness is wise.¡±

    The empress gave Zu An a look. There was a trace of an apologetic expression on her face. However, she continued, ¡°But the proof is already sufficient to show that Sir Zu is unrted to the matter. From today forth, his freedom is no longer restricted.

    ¡°Furthermore, I have something to tell everyone. Because Zhuxie Chixin sacrificed himself on Violet Mountain, the Embroidery House cannot be without a leader. Golden Token Eleven is henceforth appointed as the Chief Commander of the Embroidered Envoy, and the other Golden Token Envoys are now under his administration. All matters big and small of the Embroidery House are also to fall under his jurisdiction.¡±

    The court rose up inmotion. The new Chief Commander''s authority was now even a bit greater than what Zhuxie Chixin had! After all, in the past, his majesty had assigned ten Golden Token Envoys to keep Zhuxie Chixin in check. They were to listen to Zhuxie Chixin in name, but they were actually all in charge of arge region of their own. They had their own means of secretly contacting the emperor too. Furthermore, the major affairs of the Embroidery House had actually only been decided through the emperor¡¯s personal agreement. And yet now, the empress seemed to be handing all of this authority to Golden Token Eleven directly? That meant the Embroidery House had be a state within a state of its own! This new Chief Commander was now someone even more terrifying than Zhuxie Chixin!

    Zu An frowned. He knew that she was doing so topensate him. As expected, her conflict with Bi Linglong had already reached its climax. King Jin had been birthed by her older sister, after all. However, for the sake of the struggle between the Liu n and Bi n, she had actually decided to stand on King Dai¡¯s side.

    King Dai argued noisily, ¡°Your highness, please reconsider! This isn¡¯t in ordance with the rules! The Chief Commanders have always been personally appointed by his majesty! That Golden Token Eleven has a shallow foundation and doesn¡¯t have many achievements either. How can he be the Chief Commander?!¡±

    He had felt more and more resentment after having suffered so badly under Golden Token Eleven¡¯s hands the previous day, so he had investigated the man. After all, when had the Embroidered Envoy gotten a new Chief Commander?

    His guardian Elder Chen had been ruined, which was a huge deal that couldn''t be kept hidden. Once he returned to the manor, Madam Dai had quickly received news of it. When she found out that he had gone all the way to visit Madam Jin in King Jin Manor, she immediately chewed him out viciously. But they were husband and wife in the end, so they were stuck in the same boat. After the matter, they still patiently discussed what to do from then on.

    It did go as Chan¡¯er expected. The empress appointed and nominated someone to this position in front of everyone, so I''ll use this chance to seize back some dignity.

    Golden Token Eleven, you¡¯re good at fighting, aren¡¯t you?

    This king might not be your match, but those who work smart rule others, while those who work hard are destined to be ruled by others!

    Heh, we¡¯re ying politics here! How can a muscle-for-brains brute like you be a match for my Chan¡¯er?

 Chapter 1908: Mother-in-law and Sister-in-law

    Chapter 1908: Mother-inw and Sister-inw

    The empress calmly replied, ¡°Who says that Golden Token Eleven has no contributions? Ever since he was appointed, he has solved cases brilliantly time and time again. He even received his majesty¡¯s deep appreciation. This is something I believe everyone understands very well.

    ¡°Previously, he even uncovered the case of Golden Token Seven¡¯s death, bringing justice to Golden Token Seven¡¯s grievance. His investigation even revealed that there were people plotting against his majesty.

    ¡°It was just that back then, this intelligence was not given too much attention, and Zhuxie Chixin was not at the capital, which was what led to the tragedy that followed.¡±

    ¡­

    When she listened to how familiar the empress was with Golden Token Eleven¡¯s achievements, Bi Linglong was a bit shocked. She could sense the empress¡¯ trust in Golden Token Eleven.

    When did they get so close to each other?

    It wasn¡¯t just her alone. Some well-informed people in the court were a bit confused too. In the past, Golden Token Eleven had saved the crown princess, so they had thought he was closer to the crown princess. And yet now, it seemed that even the empress really appreciated him!

    Just how is that Golden Token Eleven so good at currying favor? He ended up getting on the good side of both of the pce¡¯s big shots!

    After all, the empress and crown princess looked amiable on the surface, but they were actually like water and fire. They had never been able to stand on the same side. He was the first example of such a thing!

    King Dai¡¯s face twitched. He recalled what his Chan¡¯er had told him.

    ¡°Even if Golden Token Eleven has a lot of contributions, the sessive Chief Commanders needed to be appointed by his majesty personally. This is a rule that has long been established.¡±

    The reason that was the case was out of fear of imperial authority weakening. The rule ensured that the Embroidered Envoy only ever remained loyal to the emperor alone. With him taking the lead, many people voiced their agreement, with nock of King Dai¡¯s people among them, as well as some who had originally been neutral. They didn¡¯t really support anyone in particr beyond their own beliefs.

    King Dai grinned when he saw that.

    What Chan¡¯er predicted was spot on. I can even make a lot of neutral subjects support me!

    When she saw the subjects get more and more worked up, a hint of anger shed across the empress¡¯ expression.

    I¡¯m promoting my lover to nobility; what are all of you causing such amotion for?

    She took a deep breath. A calm smile remained on her face the entire time as she asked, ¡°Crown princess, what do you say about this matter?¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Bi Linglong¡¯s breath caught in her throat. If it had involved anyone else, she would definitely have seized the chance to criticize the empress over it. Not only would it have stopped the empress from nting her own trusted aide, it could even have dealt a blow to her prestige. However, the one who was being promoted was Golden Token Eleven, so she really couldn''t resist the temptation.

    As such, she smiled and said, ¡°I actually feel that your highness¡¯ words are quite reasonable. Now that something has happened to his majesty and there is no new emperor who has risen to the throne yet, the intelligence the Embroidered Envoy is responsible for is still tied to the safety of the nation, so they cannot be without a leader. Sir Eleven has countless contributions and he is loyal to the country, so he is indeed a good candidate.¡±

    When they heard her say that, the entire court was instantly stunned. They were used to these two constantly tearing at each other, to the point of arguing endlessly over the smallest matters. Today, in this matter, was the first time they had ever seen the two agree so easily. They really weren¡¯t used to it at all!

    King Dai was also stupefied.

    Why are the results going differently from how Chan¡¯er nned?

    He had no idea that even though Madam Dai was full of stratagems, her intelligence wasn¡¯t urate. She didn¡¯t know that the empress and crown princess both had close rtionships to Golden Token Eleven, so it was only natural that she hade to a wrong conclusion.

    King Dai still tried to oppose it, but the empress became a bit impatient. She remarked, ¡°King Dai, could it be that you feel that this empress doesn¡¯t have the right to appoint him?!¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare!¡± King Dai replied, wiping away the cold sweat on his forehead. Even though that was what his side was thinking, who would dare to actually voice it?

    The empress then said, ¡°Now that an ident has happened to his majesty, the crown prince might just be the new emperor. Since this empress and the Eastern Pce¡¯s side share simr opinions, then this matter is decided.¡±

    The subjects all began to think to themselves, The crown prince is the son born of the empress¡¯ very own sister, after all. The only reason the empress had never clearly stated her position before was only out of consideration for whether she or Bi Linglong would have more authority in the future. She could actually support the crown prince at any time.

    ¡°Understood!¡± King Dai replied, although he was sweating buckets. The other party was knocking him down a peg here! She could support him as the new crown prince, but she could also support the original crown prince. How could he dare to offend her in the slightest?

    In the end, Golden Token Eleven being promoted to Chief Commander was settled. Now, they had to discuss the matter of the new emperor¡¯s ascent. However, the emperor¡¯s death still hadn''t been announced publicly. They had to wait for the procession to return from Violet Mountain first. For better or for worse, they had to arrange a cenotaph for Zhao Han. Otherwise, wouldn¡¯t there be a hugemotion throughout the empire if the people learned that they didn¡¯t even have Zhao Han¡¯s remains to bury?

    As such, before Bi Qi and Zhao Yuan escorted Zhao Xiaodie and the others back, the various forces were doing everything they could to mutually wrestle andpromise on benefits. In the end, they would select one candidate to support. The crown prince had the highest chance of sess, but there were still variables. For example, King Dai was also a popr candidate.

    ¡­

    When the court session was disbanded, Madam Jin left with an absent-minded expression. She was a bit scared of everything that had happened. Even though she had found out that the Chief Commander was Golden Token Eleven, she had now fully offended King Dai and the Meng n. She was a weak, widowed woman. She wondered whether they would take their revenge on her.

    Then, precisely what she was most scared of happened. King Dai just happened to be waiting in the middle of the path she had to take. Madam Jin lowered her head and pretended to walk past hurriedly as if she didn¡¯t see him. However, who would have thought that King Dai would take a step forward and stand right in her way?

    ¡°Why isn¡¯t sister-inw at least offering me a greeting even though you saw me?¡± King Dai asked with a big smile.

    Madam Jin was rmed. She quickly said, ¡°A widow shouldn¡¯t be too close to outsiders. I hope that brother king can forgive me.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± King Dai sneered. ¡°You seemed to be quite good at talking when you used me of misconduct during the court session, no?¡±

    Madam Jin trembled, saying, ¡°I merely answered what the crown princess asked me. I didn¡¯t intend to go against brother king.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t try to shut me up with the crown princess'' name,¡± King Dai said, feeling a bit angry. He had thought that his sister-inw would have a good impression of him, and he''d even thought that the two of them could enjoy themselves together the previous day. After all, his sister-inw was now a widow. There was no way he could let her just wither away, right?

    However, who would have thought that the Embroidered Envoy would get in the way! He had thought that there would be ample time for itter, and that they would have a chance again. And yet today, Madam Jin¡¯s performance made his heart gopletely cold. Only now did he realize that this sister-inw didn¡¯t have any favorable feelings for him at all! She clearly hated him bitterly! What chance did he have left to have an intimate exchange with her anymore?

    When he thought of those things, he asked with a sneer, ¡°Is sister-inw not worried that things might just happen to the He n?¡±

    Madam Jin¡¯s expression immediately changed. She asked, ¡°What are you going to do to them? They''re innocent! If you are going to do anything, do it to me!¡±

    King Dai looked at her rosy cherry mouth and thought to himself, Being kissed by them must feel amazing. He replied, ¡°At this point, what innocence or guilt is there to speak of? Since you chose to do things that way, you should understand what kind of price you need to pay.¡±

    I do want to do you, but now isn¡¯t yet the time.

    Once your entire He n is ruined, you''lle to me on your own, begging me to do you!

    When she heard what he said, Madam Jin¡¯s face immediately went deathly pale.

    King Dai wanted to continue, but a voice suddenly called out, ¡°Do you feel no sense of shame bullying a weak, widowed woman?¡±

    Madam Jin turned around and was instantly stunned. The tall and handsome man in front of her was none other than Zu An. For some reason, when she stood at his side and sensed that tall and sturdy figure, she felt a mysterious sense of safety.

    King Dai replied with a sneer, ¡°And why did she be a widow? Wasn¡¯t it because you killed her husband?¡±

    Zu An remained calm and said, ¡°With regard to who really harmed King Jin, I believe you also understand that clearly.¡±

    King Dai¡¯s expression changed. He said, "Hmph, I don¡¯t have time to waste on you.¡± He then stormed off in a huff.

    This guy is a crude boor, someone who dares to even kill King Jin. Who knows if he¡¯ll just kill me if I argue with him?! It¡¯s too big of a risk.

    A gentleman won¡¯t argue with the petty. Someone like me who has such honorable status won¡¯t bicker with a brute.

    When King Dai left, Zu An looked at the bashful woman next to him and asked, ¡°Are you alright?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m alr¡­¡± Madam Jin began, then suddenly shook her head and disappeared. Even though she didn¡¯t hate Zu An, she didn¡¯t want any sort of connection with him. Otherwise, she would just feel a bit strange somehow. What she was most concerned about right now was her family¡¯s situation. King Dai and the Meng n would definitely get revenge on them.

    It¡¯s all my fault! I shouldn¡¯t havee out here to bear witness today¡­

    She thought about asking the crown princess for help, but she had no proof.

    The crown princess probably can¡¯t do much either, right? Otherwise, why would she have been pressured so badly by King Dai all this time?

    The Chief Commander¡¯s figure suddenly appeared in her mind, and her charming face gradually reddened.

    How do I contact him? He¡¯ll definitely have a solution.

    As Zu An looked at that weak and delicate figure, he sighed. It was fine if she didn¡¯t want to get involved with him; he wouldn''t disturb her peaceful life either. At most, he¡¯d just use his identity as the Chief Commander to watch over her family members a bit. He shook his head, then also left the pce.

    ¡­

    When he left the pce, he began wondering where to go. Would it be better to return to Mount Yuquan to start researching the ¡®Baopu Sutra¡¯, or to visit his daughter at Sang Manor first?

    Suddenly, a charming voice called out, ¡°Brother-inw, brother-inw!¡±

    Zu An looked up and saw that a carriage had stopped nearby. The carriage¡¯s curtains were raised slightly, and he could see a beautiful madam looking at him with a smile. There was another youngdy seated at the front of the carriage. Her figure was slim and petite, and her facial features were bright and pretty. The youngdy jumped off the carriage and charged at him happily.

    As she was running, her extremely short dress fluttered with a special rhythm and lightly pped against her charming little bottom. Together with the small whip at her waist, she was full of a youthful and energetic air. In that instant, Zu An felt as if he had returned to the time when he first transmigrated to this world.

    While he was dazed, that lively and youthful young woman quickly ran into his arms, eximing, ¡°Stinky brother-inw!¡±

    ¡°Xiaozhao!¡± Zu An eximed, feeling surprised and happy. He reflexively hugged the youngdy in his arms tightly.

    Who else could it be but Chu Huanzhao? The two of them had only be friends after a lot of fights. Later, she had actually be the one who treated him the best in all of Chu Manor.

    The ministers who were passing by looked at him curiously.

    Who is this youngdy? What kind of a rtionship does she have with Zu An?

    When Madam Jin, who had just gotten into a carriage in the distance, saw the scene, she immediately lowered the curtains.

    This Zu An is as the rumors described after all, full of lust. He isn¡¯t even letting such a youngdy go! I absolutely cannot let him get close to me.

    If I let him take advantage of me, my husband might juste back to life out of anger.

 Chapter 1909: Setting Up a Trap

    Chapter 1909: Setting Up a Trap

    King Dai was also observing the situation from the other side of the area. When he heard what was happening, he asked his subordinates, and one of them replied, "The family crest on that carriage belongs to Brightmoon Duke. That is probably Madam Chu and Chu Second Miss.¡±

    ¡°A sister-inw?¡± King Dai remarked, feeling a bit unhappy.

    What right does this brat have to have such a pretty sister-inw? More importantly, she''s that close to him?

    He thought about how his own wife didn¡¯t have any younger sisters, but she did have some cousins. However, they were all ordinary-looking. The Meng n¡¯s looks seemed to have all gone to Chan¡¯er, resulting in all of her cousins having ordinary looks. It could even be said that they were a bit ugly. But then he had heard that Zu An¡¯s wife, Chu First Miss, was a famous beauty who had left countless young masters infatuated. There were people who even imed that it wasparable to when Yu Yanluo had entered the pce before. And yet her little sister was also so beautiful!

    How can the heavens be this unfair?

    ¡°What are you looking at?¡± Meng Yi asked, suddenly arriving at his side. It was clear that today¡¯s events in the morning court session had sounded a lot of rms for him that he had to discuss properly with his son-inw.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing,¡± King Dai said, retracting his gaze. He couldn''t just say that he was looking down on their Meng n¡¯s women for being ugly, right? He said, ¡°Sir father-inw, that Zu An really is a lustful demon. His rtionship with his sister-inw is so ambiguous! Why don''t we use this chance to use him of misconduct?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re acting willfully and making a scene again!¡± Meng Yi snapped in annoyance. ¡°Among our civil and military officials, unless they married a princess, who would criticize another due to mere matters involving women? Furthermore, there isn¡¯t even any reliable evidence of anything between him and his sister-inw.¡±

    Which member of this court didn¡¯t have any problems with women? Who would want to find faults with another on that basis? Wouldn¡¯t that be the same as inviting a disaster onto themselves?

    ¡°But there were clearly some officials who were investigated and removed from duty because of women¡­¡± King Dai said, feeling a bit upset. He immediately brought up several instances of important ministers in the past few years being castigated.

    Meng Yi shot him an intimidating look, saying, ¡°Those crimes are just named for themon people to hear; do you even believe that crap? Take some time to properly think about what really got those people into trouble in the first ce!¡±

    King Dai chuckled in embarrassment. He finally realized that trying to bring down Zu An from that angle was really too naive. Still, he grumbled, ¡°But I don¡¯t feel good at all right now. I wasn¡¯t able to get rid of Zu An even with such a perfect n, and he was allowed to act all high and mighty in front of me instead! I can¡¯t swallow down this resentment.¡±

    King Dai had been infuriated by what had happened with Madam Dai, bottling up his resentment. He recalled the earlier court session, and how Zu An actually dared to treat him with disrespect, before even shielding Madam Jin. He was furious without anywhere to vent it. He was already almost the freaking emperor! Why did he have to put up with this guy?

    Furthermore, as long as Zu An was eliminated, the entire Eastern Pce would have been dealt a massive blow to their prestige. Now, all of their ns had failed and even dealt a blow to his own dignity. He had to find a way to quickly reim it.

    Meng Yi nodded, saying, ¡°We do indeed need a proper counterattack. Otherwise, those opportunistic neutral people might choose to side with the Eastern Pce.¡±

    King Dai suddenly thought of something, saying, ¡°This Chu n madam likely came to the capital to visit her parents. How about we use this chance to properly discipline the Qin n and let others realize our might?"

    ¡°Hm? They do say that even the wise might make an error after a thousand considerations, while a thousand considerations from the fool might instead¡­¡± Meng Yi muttered, but he immediately changed his tone and said, ¡°That¡¯s not a bad idea, and from how that brat acted against King Jin, he definitely wouldn¡¯t let it pass and would retaliate like a madman. What we need to do is push him over the edge. Then, not even the empress or the crown princess could shield him, even if they acted together!¡±

    When he recalled Zu An¡¯s fierceness, King Dai felt a chill run down his back. He asked, ¡°You won¡¯t make that kid try to kill me, right?¡±

    Meng Yi was speechless. Just why had his daughter married such an idiot? He replied, ¡°You are my only son-inw; who would I support if you died?

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. That foolish youngster King Jin was too rash. He only brought with him a single guardian and a couple of guards, and thought that no one would ever dare touch him. Now that we''re already prepared, all we need to do is to teach Zu An that there are some actions that have irreconcble consequences. We can just kill him on the spot then. Not only will the crown princess be unable to criticize us, she''ll even have to apologize to us!¡± After saying that, he added with a sneer, ¡°What a great n like ourscks the least is strong subordinates.¡±

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An and Chu Huanzhao were tightly tangled around each other.

    ¡°Stinky brother-inw, bad brother-inw, why haven¡¯t you even written a single letter to me in so long? You really are a bad, bad person who caused trouble and then abandoned me!¡± Chu Huanzhao said with a pout. She hit his chest with her little fists.

    Zu An¡¯s forehead darkened when he heard that. He said, ¡°Huanzhao, don¡¯t use idioms if you don¡¯t know how to properly. Won¡¯t people who don¡¯t know anything think I did something inappropriate to you?¡±

    ¡°Hmph, did I say something wrong? You didn¡¯t tell us a thing after you came to the capital. Meanwhile, I¡¯ve been the one worrying about you day after day, thinking that something happened to you. And yet you were living better than anyone else here!¡± Chu Huanzhaoined angrily.

    Zu An felt a bit apologetic when he felt the energetic youngdy in his arms. He had been busy with too many things over the years, but not writing a single letter to her was a bit too much. Thisss really had treated him well in the past.

    ¡°Ahem!¡± Someone loudly cleared their throat from the nearby carriage.

    Only then did Chu Youzhao realize that she was wrapped around her brother-inw like an octopus! The ministers nearby were all casting surprised and curious looks, making her blush. She quickly let him go, then took the chance to grab his hand and pull him toward the carriage. She said, ¡°Brother-inw, my mom came this time too.¡±

    Zu An was pulled over to the carriage. When he saw the mature madam inside, he immediately greeted her respectfully. ¡°I pay my respects to honorable mother-inw.¡±

    This woman had abused him quite severely in the past, and it was always little Huanzhao who hade to make him feel better. But after what they had gone through together, their rtionship had gradually improved.

    Then, he chuckled and said to the robust man at the front of the carriage with a smile, ¡°Long time no see. Commander Yue is still as impressive-looking as ever.¡±

    This man was the captain of the Chu n¡¯s guards, Yue Shan. He had probablye with some of their personal troops to escort the mother and daughter to the capital.

    ¡°The young master has be more and more handsome as well,¡± Yue Shan said, smiling in a simple and honest manner. Everything was as it had always been.

    Qin Wanru felt a bit conflicted at first because this youngster had already divorced Chuyan in name. He technically didn¡¯t have anything to do with the Chu n anymore. And when she heard that he was actually doing quite well for himself, even bing a popr person in the Eastern Pce with his authority now exceeding the Chu n, she was a bit worried that he would have a falling-out with them. After all, he had suffered quite a bit of mistreatment back in the Chu n. Even though they hadpensated him a bit for it, for some reason, she just felt a bit guilty somehow.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    She had even started to look down on herself for a bit. In the past, she had looked down on this son-inw for being useless, and yet this man had now achieved meteoric sess while bing more and more capable, making her feel worried about her past choices. But when he greeted her respectfully just as he had in the past, and even called her mother-inw, she really ended up bursting with joy. The way he conversed with Yue Shan and the others was also exactly the same as before, making her fully feel at ease. She no longer felt conflicted over whether or not she really was his mother-inw.

    ¡°Ah Zu, hurry ande in. It¡¯s morefortable inside," Qin Wanru said with a big smile and invited him enthusiastically.

    Zu An was a bit hesitant. He replied, ¡°That might not be too appropriate, right?¡±

    This was his mother-inw and sister-inw¡¯s carriage. It was a bit improper for him to go in himself.

    Qin Wanru harrumphed. ¡°What could be inappropriate about that? A martial n like ours doesn¡¯t have so many convoluted rules. Hurry ande in already!¡±

    Chu Huanzhao was also pushing his butt inside, saying, ¡°Right, right! Brother-inw, hurry and go in. Mom misses you a lot, you know?¡±

    Qin Wanru¡¯s face reddened. She shot her daughter an annoyed look, saying, ¡°What kind of nonsense is this? It¡¯s clearly you who¡­¡±

    Halfway through her sentence, she was too embarrassed to continue. Was she going to say that her daughter was always thinking about her brother-inw, and that she had been talking about him the entire time on the way here? Wouldn¡¯t this kid¡¯s tail point straight at the sky if he found out?

    Ah!! It¡¯s so infuriating! He was clearly just a drafted son-inw back in Brightmoon City, and Chuyan was Brightmoon City¡¯s number one beauty, the goddess of countless men. The fact that he ended up marrying her was already enough for his ancestors to be smiling in their graves!

    And yet this kid wasn¡¯t satisfied and wanted his sister-inw in the same pot? No, he practically didn¡¯t even let the pot go!

    Perhaps because of anger, Qin Wanru¡¯s cheeks became a bit red.

    Even though this brat has now risen up and be formidable, there¡¯s no way in hell I¡¯ll allow him to take both of my precious daughters without having a n of his own!

    She was suddenly stunned. She looked at Zu An in a stupor, asking, ¡°Ah Zu, why is your cultivation¡­?¡±

    She was too embarrassed to continue because she couldn''t sense the slightest bit of aura from Zu An¡¯s body. He seemed no different from an ordinary person.

    Don¡¯t tell me that something happened to him and he became a cripple?

    She couldn''t help but feel a bit of pity when she thought of that.

    This youngster¡¯s life really is full of bitterness¡­ He didn¡¯t have any parents since he was young, and he was known as being a good-for-nothing in Brightmoon City. He finally managed to defy his fate and be a strong cultivator and managed to make a good living for himself in the capital, and yet he identally became a cripple again¡­

    Even though he has received the crown princess¡¯ favor, this is a world of cultivation, after all. Without strength, even if you obtain any authority, it can only be nothing more than smoke and clouds.

    And women are fickle! The crown princess might just stop favoring him. At that point, he might just copse and turn to dust.

    Sigh, it seems as if I should be a bit better to him so he can feel a bit of a family¡¯s warmth.

    I should just turn a blind eye to it even if Huanzhao acts a bit closer to him¡­

    Hm? Why do I feel that something isn¡¯t quite right? I didn¡¯t even let him have both sisters when he was rising to the heavens in his career, and yet I''m giving them to him after he''s be a cripple?

    How can I let that happen?

    Chuyan and Huanzhao are so pretty, so there will definitely be countless jealous people chasing them. How could he protect them as a cripple? He¡¯d only bring them trouble!

    Sigh, what a pity. He doesn¡¯t have any cultivation left though. Letting Huanzhao follow him is still letting them be happy.

    She didn¡¯t understand why she changed her mind so quickly too. She had clearly been absolutely unwilling to do such a thing before, and yet now, she felt regretful.

    Lord of the heavens, if you can recover Ah Zu¡¯s cultivation, then even if I have to give both sisters to him, I¡¯ll still be willing¡­

    Zu An would never be able to imagine that Qin Wanru had already thought of so many things in just that brief span of time. When he saw Huanzhao¡¯s worried expression, he said with a smile, ¡°Mother-inw, don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m okay. I''m cultivating a special method, so no one else can sense my ki aura.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re really okay?¡± Qin Wanru replied, feeling a bit confused. Why had she never heard about a technique like that before?

    ¡°I¡¯m really alright. If you don¡¯t believe me, you can ask around. I even got into a fight a few days ago,¡± Zu An said with a smile.

    Qin Wanru sighed in relief when she heard his confident reply.

    Her expression suddenly changed, though. She suddenly murmured to herself, ¡°Lord of the heavens, I was speaking blindly earlier. Please don¡¯t treat it as anything serious, your majesty.¡±

 Chapter 1910: Donâ€™t Be Scared, Wanru

    Chapter 1910: Don¡¯t Be Scared, Wanru

    Zu An was puzzled. He asked, ¡°Honored mother-inw, what did you just say?¡±

    ¡°Nothing,¡± Qin Wanru replied, her face heating up.

    If I really told you, wouldn¡¯t you really do it?

    Dream on!

    ¡­

    When Zu An entered the carriage, he sensed a unique aroma. It was a mix of a youngdy¡¯s youthful scent with a mature woman¡¯s sweetness.

    Zu An sat down in a position close to the exit, making sure to stay some distance from the two of them. Even so, Chu Huanzhao was like a ko and moved closer to him on his own. She clung to his arm tightly. He could even feel her youthful and flexible body. Zu An couldn''t push her away, but couldn''t really let it continue either¡­

    When Qin Wanru saw that, she gave her daughter a re. She said, ¡°Huanzhao,e and sit over here. You¡¯re not little anymore. Are you trying to start a scandal by letting everyone see you act so familiar with your brother-inw?¡±

    However, Chu Huanzhao didn¡¯t move at all and retorted angrily, ¡°My rtionship with my brother-inw is good, though! I haven¡¯t seen him in so long and have so many things I want to say to him! Also, there¡¯s no one else here anyway.¡±

    Qin Wanru was stunned.

    Am I not a person in your eyes?

    She was really about to blow her top. She had gone through so much effort to stop the two sisters from being served in the same pot to this man, and yet her own daughter was so earnestly hooking her own elbow around him, frantically giving herself out!

    Zu An coughed lightly and tried to ease the awkwardness. He asked, ¡°Ahem, why don¡¯t I see respected father-inw?¡±

    ¡°He didn¡¯te along to guard against everything being served,¡± Qin Wanru reflexively replied.

    ¡°Everything being served?¡± Zu An repeated, confused. Why did that phrase sound so weird?

    Qin Wanru¡¯s face heated up. Her head was sopletely filled with that stuff that she ended up blurting it out! She quickly exined, ¡°If he remains in Brightmoon City, he canmand the Red Cloak Army, so both of us will still be rather safe in the capital. If hees to the capital too and gets ambushed, the Chu n will be without a leader, and end up being destined for doom.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s called not putting all of your eggs in one basket!¡± Chu Huanzhao corrected her mother with a big smile.

    ¡°Alright, alright, you¡¯re the smart one,¡± Qin Wanru said, rolling her eyes.

    You''re the egg who''s almost in the same basket as your big sister!

    ¡°Did mother-inwe to the capital to visit the Qin n¡¯s state dukes?¡± Zu An asked.

    Qin Wanru voiced her agreement. The smile on her face also gradually became serious as she said, ¡°I heard that something happened to the Qin manor, so I was full of anxiety and rushed to the capital. Huanzhao insisted oning, so I could only take her with me.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, I begged you so many times, but you wouldn¡¯t let mee to the capital. And yet this time, you agreed immediately because something happened to the Qin manor¡­¡± Chu Huanzhao grumbled softly.

    Qin Wanru was stunned.

    This girl hasn¡¯t even been married away yet, so why is she acting like water that''s already been flung out?

    This is only your brother-inw, while if something happens to the Qin n, that¡¯s your own grandfathers who will be in danger!

    ¡°Right, I wanted to take the chance to visit Youzhao along the way, but I heard the Qin manor¡¯s people tell me that you brought her away. I then went to your marquis manor, but Youzhao wasn¡¯t there. After asking around, I heard that you would be at the morning court session today, so I waited by the gates. The heavens seemed to pity me and I finally found you," Qin Wanru said as she patted her chest. She asked, ¡°Just where did you hide Youzhao?¡±

    She suddenly thought to herself, Youzhao¡¯s crossdressing wasn¡¯t already exposed by him, right?

    With this kid¡¯s nature, will all three be served in the same pot?

    At that point, wouldn¡¯t Zhongtian and I die from anger¡­

    I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the case! There¡¯s no way! She has a special magic artifact on her, so unless she talks about it herself, no one else should know about it. Wasn¡¯t she doing fine all these years in the capital? I even heard that she''s grown quite close to the Murong n¡¯s youngdy.

    ¡°I moved her to the academy¡¯s rear mountain. She''s quite safe now,¡± Zu An replied.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°The academy¡¯s rear mountain?¡± Qin Wanru repeated as she tapped on the carriage¡¯s wall to instruct Yue Shan to head to the academy. She wanted to reunite with her daughter first.

    ¡°The academy¡¯s rear mountain? That''s a sacred ce that countless students yearn for! Brother-inw, you actually have the skill to hide Youzhao there?¡± Chu Huanzhao eximed, blinking. Even though she was a big dummy in academic terms, in the end, she was still a student of Brightmoon Academy. She had already heard about how amazing the Royal Academy was, so much that her ears had felt as if they were about to rot.

    Only some of Brightmoon City¡¯s most outstanding disciples would have a chance to enter the Royal Academy! As for the rear mountain, only if one was appreciated by those legendary teachers would they have the qualifications to go there. Every single individual who was able to enter the Royal Academy was a genius of their own homnd. Furthermore, to enter the rear mountain, they needed to stand out among countless other disciples. They were geniuses among geniuses! Her brother-inw could enter the rear mountain whenever he wanted, and even keep someone there?

    He¡¯s just too awesome!

    Qin Wanru was also shocked. After thinking about it, she asked, ¡°Which teacher took you in as their disciple? Could it be that Principal Jiang?¡±

    She had learned a bit about Jiang Luofu when she sent her daughter to Brightmoon Academy in the past. For some reason, she felt that an honorable academy principal wearing ck silk stockings on those long legs was a bit uneptable.

    She¡¯s clearly a virgin, and yet she gives off more mature appeal than this married madam!

    Pah pah pah, why would I care about that kind of appeal?

    Onlyter had her impression changed, when she heard from her daughter that even though the principal always wore those ck silk stockings, she was an elegant and upright person who never spoke any unnecessary words to men. Later, however, when Zu An entered Brightmoon Academy, she learned that Jiang Luofu seemed to treat Zu An quite well. When those things happened to Zu An, she had also helped him quite a bit. Now, it seemed that Zu An had likely studied under her to enter the academy¡¯s rear mountain.

    ¡°Big sis Jiang? I am pretty close to her,¡± Zu An said with a chuckle.

    Qin Wanru immediately became vignt when she heard him refer to Jiang Luofu so casually.

    Is my daughter not enough for this kid? He¡¯s still causing trouble elsewhere?

    You¡¯re eating out of your te while looking at what else is in the pot? Absolutely preposterous!

    Chu Huanzhao was more concerned about something else. She said, ¡°Right, brother-inw, I heard the Qin manor''s people say that you seemed to have offended King Jin Manor¡¯s people.¡±

    Hearing that, Qin Wanru couldn''t be bothered with the pots and tes. When she recalled the Qin manor¡¯s ruined appearance, she couldn''t help but feel a bit broken-hearted. After all, the Qin n had been a first-rate influential n! And yet now, the manor was overgrown with weeds, and even its people had scattered and left. The entire ce had looked bleak and miserable.

    Zu An replied, ¡°That is indeed the case. The Murong n¡¯s Miss Qinghe was fleeing as a refugee, so Youzhao tried to shelter her. Then, news of that leaked and King Jin Manor¡¯s people went after them.¡±

    ¡°Youzhao has done well!¡± Qin Wanru smacked the chair and said with a proud expression. ¡°As expected of my dau¡­ ahem, as expected of my child, someone from our n of warriors! Whether it is the Chu n or Qin n, we separate our gratitudes and grudges clearly. We should offer assistance when our friends are in trouble, let alone that this is the one he likes!¡±

    She couldn''t help but feel a bit worried when she said that. After that, Murong Qinghe and Youzhao¡¯s feelings had probably advanced a step further. However, Youzhao was a crossdresser, so how were they going to deal with that in the future¡­ They couldn''t just have Murong Qinghe marry into the n, right? That way, there would be no way to hide Youzhao¡¯s identity anymore¡­

    Sigh, none of these daughters of mine seem to spare me from worry. This mother¡¯s heart is about to shatter from worry!

    Chu Huanzhao harrumphed and remarked, ¡°You sound all honorable right now, but didn¡¯t you still abandon brother-inw when he was in trouble back then?¡±

    Qin Wanru¡¯s expression froze.

    Did I really give birth to this kid myself?

    Zu An felt warm inside. He gently rubbed the head of the youngdy next to him, saying, ¡°Huanzhao, I was the one who suggested we do that. In that kind of situation, if I hadn¡¯t immediately cut off my rtionship with the Chu n, it would only have caused the downfall of the entire Chu n. Isn¡¯t the current situation pretty good? The Chu n is safe, and I¡¯m fine and well too. If we let our emotions affect our decisions, I might have been fine, but the Chu n would have been finished.¡±

    ¡°Even so, I just feel that our Chu n has let you down somehow by doing that¡­¡± Chu Huanzhao muttered. ¡°Even though I''ve never been good at cultivation ever since I was little, and I¡¯m not that smart either, mom and dad taught me to know our friends and enemies clearly. We shouldn¡¯t have abandoned you back then.¡±

    Qin Wanru immediately felt her teeth ache.

    I really shouldn¡¯t have brought this silly girl with me. Do you feel that there isn¡¯t enough trouble yet or something?

    She was a bit worried about this matter being a thorn in Zu An¡¯s heart, and yet her daughter kept talking about that sore spot!

    Zu An actually replied with a smile, ¡°Who says you aren¡¯t smart? These eyes of yours are full of a purity that hasn''t been contaminated by the pollution of knowledge yet.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Chu Huanzhao replied, her eyes lighting up. She immediately felt happier.

    Qin Wanru was speechless.

    This girl is beyond saving. He¡¯s calling you stupid, and yet you couldn''t even tell.

    No wonder you''ve always been a pig teammate¡­

    Zu An actually thought to himself that this girl Huanzhao¡¯s cultivation was a bit on the low side, so he had to help her out a bit. Otherwise, with that empty head of hers, she probably wouldn''t be able to get anywhere in life.

    Right, the shop feature seems to have some Marrow Cleansing Pills for purchase. I¡¯ve never had a chance to use it. Even though thisss Huanzhao''s aptitude isn¡¯t too good, her luck is really good. This shop system seems to have been made for her.

    ¡°Huanzhao, don¡¯t let that bother you. That matter in the past was my own choice, so how could I me the Chu n?¡± Zu An added tofort her. ¡°Furthermore, the Chu n has you and Chuyan. Both of you are¡­¡±

    ¡°Ahem.¡± Qin Wanru coughed.

    Zu An then quickly added, ¡°They also have respected mother and father-inw, who have treated me quite well. It¡¯s like my own family. How could I be unhappy and dissatisfied with that?¡±

    Qin Wanru sighed in relief. She felt much better.

    ¡°Brother-inw, you really are a great person! Don¡¯t worry, I willpensate you properly!¡± Chu Huanzhaotched onto his arm and said with a big smile.

    Qin Wanru was perplexed.

    Just how are you prepared topensate him?

    She felt that they couldn''t continue this topic, or else thisss really would end up giving herself away. She quickly changed the topic, saying, ¡°Right, you offended King Jin Manor¡¯s people. How did you deal with it after?¡±

    ¡°Oh, King Jin Manor then sent people to my own manor,¡± Zu An said casually.

    ¡°Then what did you do then? He is a glorious king! I heard that he was even a prince adored by his majesty,¡± Qin Wanru said worriedly. She didn¡¯t only feel worried for her daughters, she even worried for Zu An. She didn¡¯t know what kind of pressure he had experienced while sheltering Youzhao.

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t that big of a deal. I just killed him,¡± Zu An said with a chuckle.

    Qin Wanru and Chu Huanzhao were both bewildered.

    ¡°You killed King Jin Manor¡¯s subordinates?¡± Qin Wanru asked in disbelief.

    ¡°I killed his subordinates, and then King Jin as well to save trouble,¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°What?!¡± Qin Wanru eximed, her entire body shaking.

    Chu Huanzhao¡¯s eyes actually lit up and she eximed, ¡°Brother-inw is so awesome! You could actually kill a king!¡±

    Qin Wanru shot her daughter an annoyed look.

    This girl is just too simple-minded, right? Do you understand just how severe the consequences are?

    She suddenly felt a bit guilty. In the past, Brightmoon City¡¯s Sang n and Shi n had both almost been done in by this youngster. The local ns had been left ruined and destitute to an even greater extent because of him. Now, he had actually just killed a king?

    She suddenly remembered that she had previously bossed him around and criticized him constantly. Later, they had even severed their rtionship with him to protect the Chu n.

    Even though he says he doesn¡¯t care on the surface¡­

    She couldn''t help but feel rmed.

    Could it be that he actually carries a deep grudge, and in order to get revenge against me, he wants all three girls in one pot? Then, is he going to find a chance to drag me into the forest and¡­ kill me too?

    With his skills, these girls definitely won¡¯t know a single thing. They¡¯ll even willingly cling to him after!

    Ah¡­ Why is this fate of mine so bitter¡­

    No! I¡¯m not scared of him! I am his mother-inw, after all, so how could he possibly take the risk of killing me and being exposed for it?

    Huanzhao is a foolish little girl, so she¡¯d probably even help him count the money after being scammed! There really is no hope for her¡­

    As for Youzhao, it''s hard to say. I wonder if she¡¯s made any progress over the years.

    However, Chuyan is smart. There''s no way she would be so easily fooled by him!

    Yeah, Wanru, don¡¯t be scared!

 Chapter 1911: Guilt on Her Conscience

    Chapter 1911: Guilt on Her Conscience

    Qin Wanru quickly snapped out of her daze. Now wasn¡¯t the time to be thinking about these things! She quickly tugged on Zu An¡¯s sleeves and said, ¡°We should hurry and run away! It wouldn¡¯t be toote to run since the city gates haven¡¯t closed yet.¡± She ordered Yue Shan to change directions after saying that, but she was also worried about Youzhao. She thought about it for a while and decided to take her along.

    Zu An stopped her, saying, ¡°Mother-inw, don''t worry. The matter has already been resolved.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s been resolved? How was it resolved?¡± Qin Wanru asked, stunned. The matter was clearly outside her range of understanding. A glorious prince had been killed, so how could anyone just deal with it?

    Zu An exined, ¡°The Embroidered Envoy looked into it and decided that I didn''t kill King Jin, but rather that his body¡¯s condition was poor, and he died from overexerting himself out of anger. Besides that, they found that there was someone who instigated King Jin to target me as a ploy to weaken the Eastern Pce¡¯s influence. So, the focus has now been shifted to investigating the mastermind behind this plot.¡± When he saw how badly she was scared, he decided not to tell her the truth.

    Qin Wanru patted her chest and eximed, ¡°You almost scared me to death! I almost thought that you personally killed that prince from how you were speaking.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao was still a bit dissatisfied, saying, ¡°That prince was scared to death because of brother-inw!¡±

    Qin Wanru retorted in annoyance, ¡°Is that something worth bragging about? Anyone would be scared of being used of being involved in something like that, and yet you¡¯re adding more fuel to the fire.¡±

    ¡°Aiya, we¡¯re just talking in private anyway, right? I feel that brother-inw is super awesome for being able to even deal with a prince!¡± Chu Huanzhao replied, sticking out her tongue and making a face.

    Qin Wanru harrumphed. She then looked at Zu An and asked, ¡°Ah Zu, are you really alright? It¡¯s not toote for you to run now.¡±

    Zu An chuckled, replying, ¡°There''s no need to run. It¡¯s really fine. The court session today was precisely to deal with this. If there had been a problem, would they have let me go?¡±

    Qin Wanru figured that made sense. When she thought about how badly she had been frightened, she began to lecture him seriously. ¡°Ah Zu, I¡¯ve always seen you as a mature and careful person, but why did you end up taking such a huge risk aftering to the capital¡­¡±

    Chu Huanzhao rolled her eyes.

    When has brother-inw ever been anything resembling mature and careful? His lowly and scheming attitude has already pissed off who knows how many people! I get the impression from meeting brother-inw this time that he¡¯s only be better at that now!

    Qin Wanru gave her daughter a look, warning her not to be a hindrance before continuing, ¡°The capital is a ce full of influential officials. There are many great ns with powerful backgrounds that can''t be looked down on. Having too many high-profile enemies is never a good thing.¡±

    Zu An smiled. He didn¡¯t exin himself and said, ¡°Actually, I don¡¯t need to have many misgivings about anyone anymore, so mother-inw can feel at ease.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao¡¯s eyes lit up.

    Brother-inw looks so badass! I really like this.

    Qin Wanru was a bit speechless. She had never liked how this youngster often boasted even back in Brightmoon City. She hadn¡¯t expected him to still have the same problem after all these years. She reflexively wanted to lecture him a bit more, but after thinking about it, he was young and aplished, so it was normal for him to go a bit wild.

    And he even dares to fight against a prince. What if he gets annoyed at me and fights against me?

    She twitched ufortably when she thought of that and changed the topic. ¡°I guess it¡¯s fine as long as you know what you¡¯re doing.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao shook Zu An¡¯s arm and said, ¡°Brother-inw, along the way, if the nearbymon people weren¡¯t talking about Violet Mountain, they were talking about you. Some people were even saying that you¡¯ve even be a big official among the Fiend races! Just who is sshing dirty water on you and trying to nder you?¡± Colluding with the Fiend races was a huge crime in the Great Zhou Dynasty. As such, she was wondering who was trying to harm her brother-inw.

    Zu An had a strange expression as he replied, ¡°That¡¯s actually not nder. I am the Fiend races¡¯ Regent. It''s also because of that status that the human side doesn¡¯t dare to rashly touch me.¡±

    ¡°Re¡­ Regent?¡± Qin Wanru eximed, startled. She was so shocked that one could fit a chicken egg through her mouth! She had thought that obtaining the crown princess¡¯ favor and establishing all those contributions, being granted the title of marquis at his young age, was already unprecedented. How could she have predicted that he would have an even more explosive identity?

    The Fiend races¡¯ Regent? Wasn¡¯t that someone who was under one person, but above all others?n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Brother-inw is too formidable! You¡¯re actually a Regent!¡± Chu Huanzhao eximed, so shocked that she began to jump in her seat. Her gaze was full of adoration as she looked at Zu An.

    ¡°Do you even know what a Regent does?¡± Qin Wanru asked, rolling her eyes.

    Who was the one that was saying that those rumors of Zu An being a Fiend races¡¯ official were nder and gritting her teeth whenever the Fiend races were mentioned? Can you not change sides as if none of that ever happened?

    ¡°No idea. But if brother-inw is the Regent, then it must be an amazing official position!¡± Chu Huanzhao replied as her thin red lips drew an adorable arc.

    ¡°Look at you, not studying properly in the academy at all and only knowing to y!¡± Qin Wanru remarked, her heart starting to feel weary. Then, she exined a bit just what a Regent was. Then, she looked at Zu An, her voice bing a bit more gentle as she asked, "Ah Zu, am I right?¡±

    What in the world? Why don''t I even dare to raise my voice in front of him now?

    No, I can¡¯t let him notice myck of confidence! Otherwise, he¡¯ll bully me with even fewer reservations!

    I must maintain my prestige as a mother-inw!

    ¡°That¡¯s about it. But the Fiend races'' situation is a bit special and they only have the Second Empress and the young emperor, so they need to rely on me to protect their position. My position of Regentes with a bit more freedom than Regents of the past,¡± Zu An exined.

    ¡°The Second Empress? I heard about her a few years ago. I heard that she was extremely beautiful, which was why she was made the new empress by thete Fiend Emperor. Is she really that beautiful?¡± Qin Wanru couldn''t help but ask when she recalled the rumors she''d heard in the past.

    Chu Huanzhao also longed for gossip and asked, ¡°Is she as pretty as my mom?¡±

    Qin Wanru¡¯s face turned red. She replied, ¡°You brat, how would your mother dare topare with the empress of an empire?¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°Both are first-rate beauties. Plum blossoms, orchids, bamboo, and chrysanthemum all have their unique strengths. The Second Empress is more charming and alluring, while mother-inw is more dignified and mature.¡±

    Second Empress, please don¡¯t me me too much. What else can I say in this kind of situation?

    ¡°Aiya, how am I as amazing as you¡¯re putting it? There¡¯s no way I canpare to that Second Empress,¡± Qin Wanru held her cheeks and said modestly.

    Chu Huanzhao immediately exposed her, saying, ¡°Mom, you¡¯re smiling so much the corners of your lips are about to reach your ears.¡±

    Qin Wanru couldn''t handle the embarrassment and moved over to pinch her, replying, ¡°You naughty girl, is your butt itching for a spanking?¡±

    ¡°Ah, I was wrong! Brother-inw, save me!¡± Chu Huanzhao cried. Her petite body ran rings around Zu An to avoid her mother¡¯s assault.

    Zu An felt a soft and warm sensation when he saw the two fight against each other.

    Now this is the feeling of home; it¡¯s wonderful.

    ¡­

    After the two of them fought for a while longer, Qin Wanru finally realized it was uneptable behavior. She sat down and sorted out her messy clothes while asking, ¡°Ah Zu, will your identity as a Regent bring you any trouble on this side? What will you do if they take you as a hostage and demand a ransom from the Fiend races?¡±

    As the daughter of an influential n, the first thing she considered in any situation was whether it would benefit her own people. The imperial court was secondary. Even though the humans and fiends shared a deep grudge, they had no grudge with the Chu n. On the contrary, the court had tried to beat down the Chu n several times and almost left them ruined, and the Qin n was in dire straits. That was why she naturally considered things from Zu An¡¯s side.

    ¡°If the emperor were still here, it would have been a bit tricky. But now, it''s fine,¡± Zu An consoled her with a smile.

    Qin Wanru was stunned, asking, ¡°His majesty really is dead?¡± Even though she had heard many rumors before, there was still no public announcement, so people weren''tpletely sure of the truth.

    Zu An nodded and said, "He couldn''t be any more dead.¡±

    Qin Wanru was feeling a bit overwhelmed, but Chu Huanzhao didn¡¯t find the subject interesting at all. She asked, ¡°Brother-inw, that Second Empress is so pretty and she has to depend on you. Did she try to seduce you?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s forehead darkened. He replied, ¡°Is that something a child should be talking about?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not a kid anymore!¡± Chu Huanzhao cried as she stuck out her chest, clearly unhappy with what he said.

    Fortunately, Qin Wanru stopped her daughter from continuing her line of questioning. She replied, ¡°What is going on in that empty head of yours? Even if your brother-inw had such thoughts, what kind of person is this Second Empress? How could she possibly risk starting rumors with a human? Do you think this dynasty¡¯s empress and crown princess would do those kinds of things with your brother-inw?¡±

    ¡°I guess you¡¯re right,¡± Chu Huanzhao said, letting out a sigh.

    Zu An gave Qin Wanru a look.

    Are you praising me or mocking me here¡­.

    A youngdy¡¯s thoughts moved quickly. Chu Huanzhao¡¯s interests quickly shifted elsewhere. She asked, ¡°Brother-inw, what is it like over on the Fiend races'' side? I heard that they eat people!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nowhere near that exaggerated! The Fiend races are actually simr to humans, and it''s just that their bloodlines are a bit different¡­¡± Zu An said before roughly exining what the Fiend races'' side was like.

    ¡­

    Chu Huanzhao listened with keen interest. Time quickly passed just like that, and the group arrived at the Royal Academy¡¯s entrance.

    Suddenly, an ice-cold voice called out, ¡°The academy is a ce of importance. Carriages are not permitted to enter.¡±

    Yue Shan replied, ¡°Please excuse us; we are people from Brightmoon Duke Manor. Our young master just happens to be living in your rear mountain, and it isn¡¯t too convenient for our womenfolk. I wonder if you can be a bit more flexible here¡­¡±

    ¡°We cannot make any exceptions even for dukes. Even if a king came here, he would have to leave his carriage and proceed on foot,¡± the cold voice said again.

    Qin Wanru didn¡¯t have the same prideful demeanor she held in Brightmoon City and quickly stopped Yue Shan, saying, ¡°We¡¯ll just get off the carriage.¡±

    The Royal Academy was a sacred ce to many, and the libationer was practically a deity-like existence. How could she dare to cause trouble here?

    Zu An gestured for her to sit down, saying, ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll go and talk to them.¡±

    Qin Wanru was startled, replying, ¡°Ah Zu, don¡¯t be rash! We can just walk; it¡¯s not a problem at all. Don¡¯t do anything reckless! You have to know that this academy¡¯s libationer is a legendary earth immortal, and his personal disciples are all powerful experts themselves. They aren¡¯t people we can offend!¡±

    Zu An had a strange expression as he said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, there won¡¯t be any conflict.¡±

    Then, he moved aside the curtains and leaped off the carriage. Qin Wanru was still worried and secretly moved the curtains a bit to watch him.

    She wasn¡¯t able to hear what Zu An and the disciple discussed, but even though the disciple was still icily arrogant at first, he suddenly bowed to Zu An with an extremely enthusiastic expression. After all that, he took the initiative to guide the carriage inside. It was like seeing twopletely different people!

    Chu Huanzhao reached out her little head. When she saw that, she said with a sigh, ¡°Brother-inw seems to be doing quite well for himself in the academy!¡±

    Qin Wanru lowered the curtains and muttered, ¡°Doing too well for himself isn¡¯t any good news for us. He might not even care about our Chu n anymore. He already gave me a re earlier.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao was stunned, saying, ¡°Oh, he was only ncing at you. Maybe he couldn''t help but give you a second look because you¡¯re too pretty, mom.¡±

    ¡°Hmph,¡± Qin Wanru said with a blush. ¡°He was clearly ring at me, scaring me witless. I don¡¯t even dare to speak too loudly in front of him anymore.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao replied with a giggle, ¡°Who was the one acting all mean in front of him before? This is called guilt, guilt!¡±

    ¡°How could it have been as bad as you¡¯re describing it?¡± Qin Wanru replied, feeling a bit embarrassed. She reached over and pinched Chu Huanzhao''s mouth. The mother and daughter quickly started fighting again.

    The curtains were moved aside, and Zu An returned. He asked, ¡°What are you two doing?¡±

    ¡°Nothing,¡± Qin Wanru said hurriedly, sorting out her messy hair. ¡°Did those people let us through because of your rtionship with Principal Jiang?¡±

    Zu An replied with a strange expression, ¡°Something like that, I guess¡­¡±

    ¡°Ah Zu, you have to properly thank Principal Jiang. She was really good to you back then, and she''s even taking care of you now in the academy. Even though you''re the Fiend races'' Regent, you still have our side to worry about. You can''t forget your roots," Qin Wanru advised him.

    ¡°Mother-inw¡¯s wisdom is correct. I''ll take good care of her," Zu An replied.

    ¡°Take care?¡± Qin Wanru repeated with a frown. She just found these words a bit strange somehow.

    Isn¡¯t she the one taking care of you?

 Chapter 1912: The Libationer Is My Son-in-law?

    Chapter 1912: The Libationer Is My Son-inw?

    Just like that, the carriage entered the academy. After entering, Zu An was worried that Yue Shan wouldn¡¯t know the way, so he sat in front as well to tell him the way.

    Qin Wanru and Chu Huanzhao admired the scenery along the way through the curtains. After all, the royal academy was a holynd for the world¡¯s cultivation schrs. This was the first time they had visited it.

    Qin Wanru couldn''t help but give her daughter a look.

    If thisss could study here, maybe she would wake herself up fromughing in her dreams.

    However, even enrolling her into Brightmoon Academy had resulted in her being at the bottom rung. She immediately gave up on that unrealistic thought.

    ¡°Huh? Why are they all looking at us?¡± Qin Wanru wondered as she quickly noticed something strange, which was that all of the students along the way were looking at them with admiration, and their attitude seemed to be one of deep respect.

    ¡°It¡¯s probably because carriages are rarely allowed inside!¡± Chu Huanzhao said as she took in her surroundings excitedly.

    I¡¯ll definitely brag about this to my friends once I get back. Who said I''d never be able to go to the royal academy? Didn¡¯t I still end uping here in the end?

    She had been able to reunite with her brother-inw and had even entered the Royal Academy, so her mood was really great right now. She added, ¡°Of course, it might be because they saw mom was so pretty that they couldn''t help but give you a few more looks.¡±

    ¡°Aiya, this child only knows how to say random things. Wouldn¡¯t theyugh at us if they heard what you said?¡± Qin Wanru replied, sounding bashful. However, the grin on her lips gave away her real thoughts.

    ¡­

    Just like that, the carriage went straight to the rear mountain. There were fewer and fewer disciples in the surroundings, and the scenery also became more and more quiet and beautiful. The sound of the carriage¡¯s wheels turning echoed through the valley.

    No matter how ignorant Qin Wanru was, she still realized that something wasn¡¯t quite right. She quickly raised the curtains and said to Zu An, ¡°Ah Zu, we should still get off the carriage and walk. I heard that Mount Yuquan was the libationer¡¯s ce of cultivation, and it''s also the ce where his personal disciples cultivate in seclusion. It won¡¯t be good if we end up offending them.¡±

    After all, there is still Youzhao here to consider. Even though Principal Jiang is looking after her, she''s still just a disciple, so we can¡¯t make things too hard on her, right? Our Chu n isn¡¯t the type that doesn¡¯t know any rules.

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the libationer doesn¡¯t mind.¡±

    ¡°But¡­¡± Qin Wanru began. She really found theose words a bit hard to believe. She felt as if they were being a bit too hasty. Even so, Zu An was firm in his attitude. After their eyes met, she discovered that she actually couldn''t argue with him. She could only give in and return to the carriage.

    A whileter, she snapped out of her daze.

    I didn¡¯t get to properly express myself at all! What I said was clearly reasonable, so what am I scared of him for?!

    Sigh, he¡¯s definitely going to take advantage of me from now on and climb all over me.

    She wanted to go out again and argue with him a bit, but when she remembered that he was the Fiend races¡¯ Regent and even dared to fight King Jin, she became momentarily apprehensive.

    ¡­

    Just like that, she became really nervous and was no longer as excited as she had been at first.

    In contrast, Chu Huanzhao chattered endlessly along the way, making a big fuss over everything she saw. She asked Zu An where they were from time to time. Zu An was like a devoted tour guide, exining details regarding the scenery and the corresponding defensive formations to her.

    At first, Qin Wanru was a bit gloomy, but she was quickly drawn to his voice. She perked up her ears and listened.

    As expected of the libationer¡¯s ce of cultivation! The scenery is so tranquil, and yet there are actually so many dangerous formations! I can''t wander randomly here in the future. I¡¯ll be done for if I end up setting off some formation!

    Suddenly, there was an angry shout from the distance. ¡°Who allowed you to drive a carriage up the mountain?!¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Qin Wanru¡¯s face paled.

    We¡¯re finished! We¡¯re done for! It really is what you¡¯re most scared of thates right for you!

    We offended this distinguished individual from the rear mountain after all¡­.

    I even warned Ah Zu, but he didn¡¯t treat it as a big deal at all.

    She quickly pulled down the curtains, intending to apologize. She wondered just which sir it was on the other side.

    His clothes were a checkered ck and white, just like a chess board. He was likely the rumored fifth disciple of the libationer, Hei Baizi, right? The Xie n¡¯s young master seemed to be his disciple. When they had a gathering, Madam Xie had often bragged about that in front of the otherdies.

    Hmph, she¡¯s clearly incredibly proud, and yet she puts on that fretful look, saying that Hei Baizi¡¯s temper isn¡¯t good and she''s worried that Xie Xiu will offend him.

    Pah, who doesn¡¯t know what you¡¯re really thinking?

    Even so, their n alone had one child studying under this fifth disciple, and the other followed the great disciple, so they did have the right to show off.

    Sigh, it¡¯s nothing like my situation. I only have Chuyan who''s still quite outstanding. Huanzhao is no good at studying at all, while the Qin n tried to bring Youzhao into the Royal Academy, but she could only be an ordinary disciple. She had no chance of being a disciple of the teachers in the rear mountains at all.

    ¡°Sir fifth, we didn¡¯t do this on purpose¡­¡± she began, trying to find a way to apologize to Hei Baizi, but her eyes suddenly widened.

    It was because the furious Hei Baizi suddenly smiled widely. He broke out into a little run and came up to the carriage¡¯s side, then greeted Zu An respectfully. ¡°I pay my respects to Sir Libationer.¡±

    Zu An chuckled and helped him back up, replying, ¡°Didn¡¯t I say things would just be the same as before? There¡¯s no need for you to be this way.¡±

    Hei Baizi said with a serious expression, ¡°That won¡¯t do. The proper etiquette has to be maintained. The academy¡¯s libationer has a special status and can''t be looked down on.¡± He then gave the carriage a look. When he saw the stunned beautiful madam, he asked curiously, ¡°Is this the libationer¡¯s new me?¡±

    She is quite pretty, but her age is a bit higher than I would have expected.

    Could it be that the libationer likes the mature sort?

    Qin Wanru¡¯s face wentpletely red. However, because of Madam Xie¡¯s portrayal of Hei Baizi over the past few years, she was worried about angering Hei Baizi and didn¡¯t dare to retort.

    Zu An frowned, saying, ¡°That¡¯s my mother-inw, the Chu n¡¯s madam and wife of Brightmoon Duke; the Chu n''s third miss is still here. They came to the capital to visit their family, so I just brought them here in passing to pick up Youzhao.¡±

    Thete libationer¡¯s disciples were geniuses, but they all seemed to becking a bit in restraint. They didn¡¯t really conform to secr customs and dared to say whatever they wanted.

    Hei Baizi was now a bit embarrassed. He eximed, ¡°So it was Madam Chu! I didn¡¯t expect you to look so young that I thought you were the libationer¡¯s big sister, haha.¡±

    Qin Wanru was immediately over the moon, her previous unhappiness disappearing without a trace.

    So I was still that young and beautiful Wanru¡­

    Hei Baizi¡¯s gaze then moved to Chu Huanzhao, who had stuck out her head. When he saw that she was cute and lively, he couldn''t help but say, ¡°And this must be Miss Chu! Do you have any interest in learning chess from me?¡±

    Qin Wanru was immediately overjoyed. If Huanzhao could take on Hei Baizi as her master, she could walk with her chin held high in Brightmoon City¡¯s madam circles in the future!

    Hmph, you all always mock our Huanzhao for being a dummy, but now you''ll all see, right?

    However, who would have thought that Chu Huanzhao would shake her head? She replied, ¡°No way! Chess is so boring, I can¡¯t even understand it at all. If I want to learn, I¡¯ll just learn it from brother-inw.¡±

    Qin Wanru immediately felt a pain in her side.

    Does this foolish daughter of mine know just what kind of opportunity she just refused?

    Ahhhh! I¡¯m so angry! I¡¯m going to make sure to properly discipline this damn kid once we return.

    She said with an apologetic smile, ¡°Sir fifth, please don¡¯t take it to heart. After all, children aren¡¯t as sensible and their words carry no harm. If she could follow your respected self and learn chess, that would naturally be the best¡­¡±

    However, who would have thought that Hei Baizi would shake his head, saying, ¡°Forget it. She¡¯ll have better prospects learning from her brother-inw. I won¡¯t try to steal someone else¡¯s disciple.¡± He gave Zu An a look and added, ¡°Since it seems that the libationer likely doesn¡¯t have time to y a game with me, we¡¯ll have to do it another day.¡± Then, with a wave of his hand, he gradually disappeared into the fields.

    Qin Wanru couldn''t help but pinch her daughter¡¯s ear when she saw him leave. She said, ¡°You damn brat, do you know what you just refused? You wouldn¡¯t be able to get into the Royal Academy on your own even if you tried for this entire lifetime! And yet just now, that sir fifth was willing to take you in as a disciple for who knows what reason, but you actually refused!¡±

    ¡°Ah! It hurts! Brother-inw, help me!¡± Chu Huanzhao cried as she quickly clung to Zu An. ¡°Brother-inw, why did that Hei Baizi call you the libationer?¡±

    Qin Wanru was also stunned. She had been distracted by the misunderstanding and Huanzhao¡¯s opportunity, but she now realized what had just happened. Hei Baizi had indeed called Zu An that.

    Zu An chuckled, saying, ¡°Because I am the academy¡¯s libationer.¡±

    Qin Wanru quickly covered his mouth, saying, ¡°Ah Zu, you can¡¯t speak recklessly! I heard that the libationer was an earth immortal and had incredible prowess! If you spoke recklessly in his territory, no one would be able to save you!¡±

    Zu An sighed, saying, ¡°I¡¯m really not lying. I really am the libationer. There¡¯s no way I colluded with Hei Baizi just to trick you, right?¡±

    Qin Wanru became a bit absentminded. She asked, ¡°But¡­ But how can that be?¡± Everything that had just happened was really a bit outside her realm of understanding.

    The legendary deity-like libationer is actually my son-inw?

    The holynd of countless cultivation students¡¯ dreams is under my son-inw¡¯s management?

    ¡­

    Apart from the sound of wheels rolling on the small mountain path, another rhythmic noise soon followed. Just the sound alone was enough for one to picture a pair of long legs in high heels, the slender heels making pa ta pa ta noises against the bluestone tiles.

    A pleasantly surprised voice said, ¡°Ah Zu, you¡¯re back.¡±

    Qin Wanru stared in that direction, and the first thing that entered her view was a pair of ck stocking-covered legs that left her in endless envy. Only a woman like her knew just how difficult it was to have a pair of well-proportioned legs like that; a bit bigger would seem too chubby, and yet a bit smaller would seem too skinny.

    ¡°Principal Jiang!¡± Qin Wanru called out. When she finally saw a familiar face, she forgot about this virgin being more alluring than Brightmoon City¡¯s madams. She couldn''t help but say with a smile, ¡°Ah Zu, you were joking with me after all. Principal Jiang didn¡¯t call you the libationer! Tell me honestly, was that Hei Baizi just someone you found to y a trick on us?¡±

    Jiang Luofu was stunned. She reflexively replied, ¡°He is the libationer, though? It¡¯s just that the two of us are so close and he''s always been the one to greet me, so I find it a bit strange for me to greet him respectfully.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Qin Wanru was stunned. Her head was ringing with noise.

    Ah Zu really is the libationer?

    Chu Huanzhao now jumped high up in the air and dangled from Zu An¡¯s arm, saying, ¡°Brother-inw, you¡¯re so amazing! What other identities do you have that I don¡¯t know about? Hurry and tell me! I¡¯m much better at taking things and I¡¯m nowhere near as disappointing as mom.¡±

    When she heard this, Qin Wanru shot her daughter a look.

    This damnss is making fun of me?

    Jiang Luofu¡¯s eyes shifted to the arm Chu Huanzhao was dangling off, noticing how her chest continued to move back and forth across it.

    Isn¡¯t their rtionship a bit too good?

    Qin Wanru quickly asked what she was most confused about. ¡°However, wasn¡¯t the libationer that daoist immortal-like elder¡­¡±

    Jiang Luofu sighed, saying, ¡°Something happened to teacher, and he has already passed away. He passed on the position of libationer to Ah Zu¡­¡±

    Qin Wanru only heard those words clearly. She didn¡¯t hear the words after that at all.

    Ha ha ha! Ah Zu is the Royal Academy¡¯s libationer!

    My eyesight was good after all! I stood my ground against everyone¡¯s opinions and gave Chuyan to him!

    Brightmoon Academy¡¯s people evenughed at me in my face back then, saying that marrying my daughter off to utter trash was a choice made after losing my mind.

    Now, you all know who lost their minds, right?

    Isn¡¯t this madam¡¯s eyesight better than all of youmon folk?!

    Hmph, it¡¯s good that I was strict with him after he joined our n back then. If not for my dedication, how could he have be so determined to seed and grow to this extent?

    He became the Fiend races¡¯ Regent, earned the title of marquis through his own efforts, and became the Eastern Pce¡¯s most favored minister... And now, he''s even the Royal Academy¡¯s libationer!

    How I wish I could go back to Brightmoon City and start a few rounds of mahjong with those other madams right now! Madam Xie¡¯s tail was already pointing at the skies just because her two babies entered the academy¡¯s rear mountain.

    But my son-inw is the libationer! Do you all understand what kind of person the libationer is?!

    I can pretend to not care that much in the future and seem to not do it on purpose either, but still be forced to speak about this as much as I want.

    Who knew what kinds of interesting things she was thinking about; there was a silly smile stered all over her face.

 Chapter 1913: Arresting a Scoundrel

    Chapter 1913: Arresting a Scoundrel

    ¡°Did you bring them to see Youzhao?¡± Jiang Luofu asked with a smile.

    Zu An nodded, saying, ¡°Yup. They came to the capital to ask about the Qin n¡¯s people, and they came to bring Youzhao with them.¡±

    Jiang Luofu nodded. She said, ¡°I don¡¯t have much going on these days, so I¡¯ll keep you guyspany.¡±

    ¡°Sure!¡± Zu An replied. He thought to himself that Jiang Luofu''s father was the Commandant of Attendants, and thus basically the top dog of the Great Zhou Dynasty¡¯s judicial system. Together with Principal Jiang herself specializing inw at the academy¡¯s rear mountain, there were too many benefits to be had by having her with them.

    A hint of a smile appeared on Jiang Luofu¡¯s face. With a tap of her toes, she sat down right next to Zu An at the front of the carriage. Her ck silk stocking covered legs swayed rhythmically in the air, making the hearts of the Chu n¡¯s guards sway along with them. Such pretty legs, paired with those ck stockings¡­ If one had no reaction to that, one simply wasn¡¯t a man!

    As Jiang Luofu sat there, Yue Shan tactfully leaped off the other side and led the horse from the front. At the same time, he sighed inwardly.

    The young master really has be more and more formidable! People all said that smoke had to being out of the graves of the young master¡¯s ancestors for him to be so fortunate in entering the Chu n.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    And yet now, it seems as if it''s the Chu n¡¯s ancestors that are creating smoke¡­

    Ah, pah pah pah, how can I be having such disgraceful thoughts?

    Even so, Principal Jiang¡¯s legs really are beautiful! Her rtionship with the young master seems to be pretty good too¡­ I wonder if she¡¯ll be the first miss¡¯ love rival in the future.

    Chu Huanzhao clearly had simr thoughts. She crammed her way between the two of them and said, ¡°I want to sit in the front too! It¡¯s easier to see the scenery here.¡±

    When she saw Huanzhao trying to separate her from Zu An as much as possible, Jiang Luofu smiled. She naturally guessed the youngdy''s thoughts, but she didn¡¯t mind it either.

    However, Qin Wanru was a bit embarrassed. She said, ¡°Silly little girl, there¡¯s only so much room over there. What are you trying to cram yourself in there for? Hurry ande inside!¡±

    Even if Ah Zu is the libationer, he''s still too young. He might not be able to fully convince those prideful and aloof teachers. It¡¯s great that his rtionship with Principal Jiang is good. With her support, it¡¯ll make things much easier in the future.

    Huanzhao really isn¡¯t a thoughtful child!

    Jiang Luofu said with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s fine. Have a seat.¡± Then, she consoled Qin Wanru. ¡°Right, there''s no need for you to worry, Madam Chu. My father has sent some of his people to watch over the Qin n¡¯s state dukes in prison, so they should be alright. We''re just waiting for those at Violet Mountain toe back so that Violet Mountain¡¯s affairs can be properly discussed and concluded.¡±

    Qin Wanru immediately sighed in relief. She took Jiang Luofu''s hand and said gratefully, ¡°I really must thank you and your esteemed father. Without your care, who knows how much suffering my father and the others would have had to endure.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the right thing to do. The state dukes have always been loyal to the empire, and they even fended off the Fiend races¡¯ armies. They don''t deserve this kind of treatment,¡± Jiang Luofu said seriously.

    Qin Wanru¡¯s favorability toward her immediately increased tremendously. She began to discuss matters of daily life, and eventually brought up the subject of matchmaking. ¡°Principal Jiang, you are so pretty, so how can you have been single all these years? Big sis will definitely help you find a good man. Don¡¯t worry, my eyesight in choosing husbands is first-rate! Just look at Chuyan¡¯s husband. It was me who stood my ground against people¡¯s opinions and chose¡­¡±

    Chu Huanzhao wrinkled her nose.

    Mom, are you really doing this to me right now? You just had to call yourself big sister so she¡¯s now an entire generation above me¡­

    Hm? Wait, is mom ying a big game of chess right now? This means Jiang Luofu is also brother-inw¡¯s senior! Doesn¡¯t that mean she can¡¯t do any of that sort of stuff with him anymore?

    She couldn''t help but give her mother a look. When she saw Qin Wanru''s happy expression, she couldn''t help but shake her head.

    Mom¡¯s intelligence is the same as mine. She¡¯s definitely not that smart. It''s probably just something she said without thinking.

    Just then, Jiang Luofu gave Zu An a look and said with a smile, ¡°Thank you for your good intentions, Madam Chu, but I would still like to choose the man I like myself.¡±

    ¡°I guess that¡¯s reasonable,¡± Qin Wanru said with a nod. ¡°Ah Zu, you should keep Principal Jiang in mind. Your circle isrge now, so there should be many outstanding people around you.¡±

    Zu An chuckled, saying, ¡°Even so, no one around me is as outstanding as me, so introducing big sis Jiang just feels a bit embarrassing somehow.¡±

    Qin Wanru shot him an annoyed look, retorting,¡°Look at how smug you¡¯re acting. One can''t be too arrogant in one''s conduct, you know?¡±

    Just then, Jiang Luofu nodded and said, ¡°Even so, what Ah Zu says is right. Among his peers, there is no one as outstanding as him. Even if you include the generation before him, there aren¡¯t many who canpare to him.¡±

    When she heard what Jiang Luofu said, Qin Wanru finally became vignt.

    Why is this woman praising Ah Zu so much? She didn¡¯t end up liking him, did she?

    I can¡¯t let this continue! I have to be more on guard in the future!

    Everyone knows that men with money and influence will change for the worse. Even though I¡¯m happy that Ah Zu has achieved such tremendous sess, he¡¯ll definitely have more thoughts of infidelity. He¡¯ll definitely start having thoughts once he sees a prettydy.

    Chuyan is rarely at his side, so I have to help her keep a leash on him!

    This Jiang Luofu is always wearing those ck silk stockings so seductively, but she still has that unapproachable and aloof air to her, which is absolutely lethal for men. In the future, she might have that kind of rtionship with Zu An! It¡¯s too dangerous¡­

    ¡­

    While she was thinking nonsense, the carriage arrived at Mount Yuquan. When she saw the pool of bright and colorful lotuses and the red carp freely swimming around, Qin Wanru immediately felt refreshed. She felt her youthful side overflow. She grabbed her daughter and left the carriage to admire them.

    Soon after, Chu Youzhao heard the news and rushed out. She called out in happiness and surprise, ¡°Mom, second sis!¡±

    Qin Wanru turned around and saw her elegant and handsome young master-like daughter. She was also really happy, eximing, ¡°Oh my, it¡¯s my little darling!¡±

    The two of them quickly hugged each other.

    Chu Huanzhao curled her lips.

    So if you don¡¯t meet for a long time, it¡¯s ''little darling''. And yet when you curse me, it¡¯s ''dumb little girl''¡­

    She couldn''t help but size up her surroundings; she just happened to see the rather ill at ease Murong Qinghe. Her eyes couldn''t help but light up.

    This girl is so handsome!

    Her face is a bit childish, and her body is tall and slender. Her tanned skin is really unique, giving her a kind of lively and energetic beauty. She¡¯spletely different from those delicate misses who are raised in theirdy¡¯s chambers all day!

    ¡°Are you the Murong n¡¯s miss?¡± Chu Huanzhao asked curiously. She gave the two-piece spear at Murong Qinghe''s waist a look and wondered when she could spar with her.

    Which is stronger, her spear or my whip?

    ¡°Greetings, second sister!¡± Murong Qinghe reflexively shouted. She quickly blushed and changed her tone, saying, ¡°Hello, Chu Second Miss; I am Murong Qinghe.¡±

    She really wanted to run away and hide in embarrassment.

    Big brother Chu and I haven''t even entered a rtionship yet, so why am I already calling her second sister?

    She had never expected Madam Chu toe, so she was caughtpletely unprepared and felt the fear associated with meeting the parents-inw so suddenly.

    Qin Wanru noticed Murong Qinghe and walked over, remarking, ¡°So this is little Qinghe, right? Youzhao often mentions you in his letters. You¡¯re quite the cool beauty, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    She was very satisfied from the very first meeting.

    Youzhao has quite good taste.

    The only thing that she was worried about was that Youzhao wasn¡¯t actually a man, so what would she do if they ended up getting married?

    ¡°I greet Madam Chu,¡± Murong Qinghe said. She was normally quite tough in the barracks, but when she met her future mother-inw, she still couldn''t help but feel a bit bashful, scared of leaving her with a bad impression.

    ¡°It¡¯s our first meeting, but I didn¡¯t prepare any gifts. How about I give you this bracelet? It''s already apanied me for many years, and it¡¯s something I have to pass down from generation to generation,¡± Qin Wanru said while removing a green jade bracelet to give her.

    ¡°This is too precious! I wouldn¡¯t dare to ept it!¡± Murong Qinghe eximed, waving her hands with a reddened face. The price was one thing, but the main reason was the implied meaning behind it.

    This seems like something only the womenfolk of the Chu n can wear, which means she''s already giving it to her daughter-inw! Big brother Chu and I may be each other¡¯s sunshine, but¡­

    ¡°Just take it. What do you mean, precious? In the end, this jade bracelet is just a dead object, so how can it be as precious as a living person?¡± Qin Wanru replied; she didn¡¯t give Murong Qinghe time to refuse and put it around her hand.

    Murong Qinghe could no longer refuse it and said, ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to thank the madam.¡±

    Her little face became red.

    Does this mean the Chu n has already approved of our rtionship?

    Big brother Chu always said his mother didn¡¯t have a very good temper, but doesn¡¯t it seem pretty good right now?

    When she thought about how the Murong n was now ruined and she was even a fugitive, and yet the other side didn¡¯t seem to mind it at all, even passing down the bracelet representing her daughter-inw, she was almost moved to tears. Her big brother Chu had taken a such a huge risk to shelter her, and Madam Chu didn¡¯t look down on her status at all. There was also big brother Zu, who had even killed King Jin for her sake! In that instant, she made up her mind. No matter what happened in the future, she had to marry into the Chu n! She would never leave her big brother Chu.

    ¡°Everyone¡¯s here already, so let¡¯s visit the imperial prison together,¡± Jiang Luofu said.

    Murong Qinghe pursed her lips when she heard where they were going and said, ¡°I¡­ I want to see my dad and grandpa too.¡±

    The Murong n was also locked up in the imperial prison. She wondered how they were doing, and if they had suffered any hardships.

    Jiang Luofu was a bit troubled, saying, ¡°Your current status is still that of a court criminal. If we take you to the imperial prison¡­¡±

    Murong Qinghe¡¯s expression grew dim. She knew she probably wouldn¡¯t be able to go down there. Not only would she end up in danger, she would even end up involving all of them.

    Zu An said just then, ¡°No problem. We''ll just dress her up and disguise ourselves a bit.¡± He took out a paper-thin mask and handed it to her, exining, ¡°Put this on and change your clothes. Pretend to be our servant, and no one will recognize you.¡±

    Murong Qinghe was shocked and overjoyed, eximing, ¡°Thank you, big brother Zu!¡±

    Big brother Chu¡¯s brother-inw really is awesome! If it weren¡¯t because I met big brother Chu first, I might have ended up liking¡­

    Pah pah pah, Murong Qinghe, do you know no sense of shame? That¡¯s big brother Chu¡¯s brother-inw, so how can you have those kinds of thoughts?

    She returned to her room and changed her outfit, then quickly came back out. Sure enough, that valiant, lively, and pretty youngdy now looked just like an ordinary passer-by.

    Jiang Luofu couldn''t help but sigh in amazement, saying, ¡°Ah Zu, this mask of yours really is quite incredible. If you used it while phndering, I reckon no one would even know it was you.¡±

    Qin Wanru and the two sisters immediately perked up their ears.

    Could it be that he really used this mask to do those bad things?

    Zu An said with a scowl, ¡°This is something that I inadvertently found and decided was useful for traveling through the world of warriors. How can it be something as despicable as you described?¡±

    Jiang Luofu said with a smile, ¡°Apologies; it must be a habit of my trade. I just happened to be investigating a case regarding a certain scoundrel and it ended uping out here. Please don¡¯t mind it too much.¡±

    ¡°Do you need help? Those scoundrels use all kinds of drugs, so you have to be careful,¡± Zu An immediately warned her. He had juste into contact with that Worries Be Gone Rosemary a few days before, which still made him feel some lingering fear even now.

    Jiang Luofu twirled the pencil in her hands and said with a proud expression, ¡°Don¡¯t worry; for better or for worse, I am teacher¡¯s personal disciple, the eighth student of the academy¡¯s rear mountain. If even a trifling scoundrel could take me down, I might as well quitpletely.¡±

 Chapter 1914: Unintentional Meeting

    Chapter 1914: Unintentional Meeting

    When he saw how firm she was in her decision, Zu An couldn''t say much else. Jiang Luofu was a strong cultivator and even an academy teacher. She was full ofbat experience, so there was indeed no need for him to feel worried about her.

    The group quickly went in the direction of the Imperial Prison. The carriage moved quickly, but perhaps because the people inside were thinking about how their family members were suffering in the Imperial Prison, the mood was no longer as lighthearted and cheerful. All of them had grave expressions.

    Soon after, they arrived outside the Imperial Prison. The group decided to visit the Murong n¡¯s people first. After all, Murong Qinghe was all alone, so they had to care for her a bit more.

    Some patrolling guards quickly came to ask where the carriage was from, and Jiang Luofu left the carriage to negotiate with them. She was the daughter of the Commandant of Attendants, and she was also an influential teacher from the academy¡¯s rear mountain, so there weren¡¯t too many issues with bringing the group into the Imperial Prison.

    The people in the carriage sized up the scenery outside the window. Chu Huanzhao couldn''t help but mutter, ¡°Men are all so perverted. Those jailers¡¯ eyes are all fixed on Principal Jiang¡¯s legs.¡±

    ¡°Forget about men, even women would give them more looks. Principal Jiang¡¯s legs are too beautiful, and they¡¯re even covered in ck stockings,¡± Qin Wanru said. Even she was a bit tempted.

    Should I find a set for myself to try out sometime?

    However, she quickly rejected that thought. She was already a mother who had three daughters, and she was even a duchess! Her reputation would be done for if others saw her dressing so provocatively and talked about it behind her back.

    Chu Huanzhao nodded, saying, ¡°Principal Jiang¡¯s legs are really pretty. I¡¯ve never seen anyone with prettier legs.¡±

    Chu Youzhao couldn''t help but reply, ¡°How many pairs of legs have you even seen anyway? Our Qinghe over here isn¡¯t any inferior to her.¡±

    ¡°Big brother Chu¡­¡± Murong Qinghe said, immediately blushing. She knew her own limitations. Even though her legs were long and slender, perhaps it was because she was still too young, but theycked the sense of softness and fullness Jiang Luofu''s legs had. She felt that she was stillcking a bit of maturity. However, she still couldn''t help but feel happy when she heard her sweetheart praise her.

    Chu Huanzhao was stunned. She eximed, ¡°Have you two already reached that level? Let me have a look too, then!¡±

    After saying that, she reached out to examine Murong Qinghe¡¯s legs. Unfortunately, Murong Qinghe was wearing pants as part of her disguise, so it was hard for her topare them.

    Chu Youzhao smacked her hands away and moved protectively in front of Murong Qinghe, saying, ¡°Keep your hands to yourself.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao didn¡¯t seem to mind that much, retorting, ¡°I¡¯m a girl, so what¡¯s the big deal? It¡¯s not as if brother-inw is touching them.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    How did I get dragged into this?

    Murong Qinghe¡¯s little face heated up a bit, but she was a bit envious of their family¡¯s warm atmosphere. Comparatively speaking, the Murong n¡¯s education was stricter. She had always grown up in a rough and tough environment, so it was hard for her to imagine her parents and siblings ying around with her like this.

    The clear sound of high heels filled the air. Then, the carriage curtains were moved aside, and Jiang Luofu showed those inside a smile, saying, ¡°Alright, you all can follow me inside now.¡±

    Qin Wanru and the youngdies were happy to hear that. They quickly got off the carriage and went inside the prison. However, Yue Shan and the other guards were stopped outside and weren¡¯t allowed to enter. After all, they were clearly armed and quite strong. Qin Wanru understood the reasoning and ordered for them to wait for them outside. Then, she raised the edges of her dress before entering the prison.

    It was rare for those on the Imperial Prison¡¯s side to see so many beauties together. There was a mature, beautiful madam, youthful and lively youngdies, and a gorgeous big sis with stunning legs in ck stockings. The jailers¡¯ eyes all widened; they stared until their eyes burned.

    Qin Wanru couldn''t help but tighten up her cor. A bit of worry shed across her face as she quietly asked, ¡°They won¡¯t do anything bad to us, right?¡±

    ces like the Imperial Prison were where vicious and ferocious people gathered. If the doors were closed behind them, and the jailers wanted to act against them, it wouldn¡¯t do a thing even if the women screamed!

    ¡°There''s no need to worry. These people have been stationed here for a long time and can only interact with criminals, so it¡¯s normal for their expressions to be like this when they finally see women. That''s before considering the fact that all of you are beautiful, so it would be stranger if they didn¡¯t stare,¡± Jiang Luofu exined with a calm expression.

    The others raised their brows when they heard thiat.

    How are you able to speak about this so casually? If we really think about it, there are more eyes aimed at those ck stocking-covered legs of yours.

    As if sensing their confusion, Jiang Luofu said with a calm smile, ¡°My field of specialty is thew, and the Imperial Prison is naturally a crucial part of that. In the past, I even wrote several papers on the mental health of Imperial Prison workers. If you''re interested, you can feel free to read them at the academy.¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Qin Wanru was speechless.

    I¡¯ve really disturbed her needlessly¡­ This woman is too tough; she¡¯s not the same as us.

    When she saw the other women''s apprehensive expressions, Jiang Luofu added, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. This isn''t the ending phase of a dynasty, so the court still has good control over these departments. The situation you''re all worried about won¡¯te up. Besides, I''m here, so ensuring your safety isn¡¯t too difficult. On top of that, Ah Zu is here too, and he¡¯s been to all kinds of dragon nests and tiger dens.¡±

    Qin Wanru gave Zu An a look of surprise.

    Why is Jiang Luofu¡¯s evaluation of him so high? Is he really that formidable?

    Even though Zu An had already brought her enough shocking news, when she thought about that youngster who had once been unbearably weak, it really was difficult for her to think of them as the same person.

    Chu Huanzhao grabbed Zu An¡¯s arm, saying, ¡°Then I¡¯ll stay a bit closer to my brother-inw so he can protect me.¡±

    Chu Youzhao raised her eyebrows when she saw that, saying, ¡°Second sis, men and women should keep their distance, you know? That¡¯s inappropriate.¡±

    Murong Qinghe couldn''t help but give her a look.

    Weren¡¯t you always grabbing onto him like that in the past too?

    Chu Huanzhao didn¡¯t care at all, retorting, ¡°What men and women keeping distance? Brother-inw and I are one family and our rtionship is great! Why would I have to worry about that stuff? I¡¯m more worried about you; what are you even thinking about all day in that head of yours? If you¡¯re jealous, then you cane over here too.¡±

    Qin Wanru was getting a huge headache. Her second and third daughter were both really obedient to their biggest sister, but they always argued with each other.

    One doesn¡¯t cherish and take care of her little sister, while the other doesn¡¯t respect her older sister. They¡¯re always like enemies whenever they meet.

    Also, why is Huanzhao telling Youzhao to hug her brother-inw too? Just what are you saying? You¡¯ve already sold yourself out, but you¡¯re giving out your big sister too?

    Am I really going to serve all three sisters to Zu An in the same pot?!

    Fortunately, in front of her mother and big sister, Chu Youzhao didn''t dare to be as affectionate with her brother-inw as she usually was. After all, they knew she was actually a woman, and weren¡¯t like Murong Qinghe who was too easily fooled. When she saw her second sister cling to her brother-inw, she could only grit her teeth. After Huanzhao caught her looking, she hugged him even closer as if to provoke her.

    Ahhh! I¡¯m so angry! I¡¯ll definitely tell on her the next time I see eldest sis!

    ¡­

    Under the lead of a jailer, the group had unwittingly already entered a prison cell. There were several people locked up in each room, and they all had dispirited expressions as they leaned against the corner. There were signs of torture on their bodies too.

    When she saw that, Murong Qinghe¡¯s eyes immediately became red. However, she still understood the severity of the situation and did her best to not show it.

    Jiang Luofu patted her hand to console her. Then, she fished out a tael of gold and tossed it to the jailer.

    The jailer tucked the gold away into his sleeves with a big smile, saying, ¡°You guys can slowly chat with each other, I¡¯ll stand guard outside.¡± Then, he tactfully left to give them some space.

    Murong Qinghe could no longer hold herself back. She jumped straight into one of the rooms, calling out, ¡°Dad¡­¡±

    The half-unconscious people in the cell all gradually woke up. Among them, an impressive-looking middle-aged man¡¯s voice shook as he asked, ¡°Is it you, Qinghe?¡±

    He was Murong Qinghe¡¯s father, Murong Zhan. He had been a minister under the Imperial Secretariat.

    Murong Qinghe removed the mask covering her face. She couldn''t hold back her tears, saying, ¡°Dad, it¡¯s me.¡±

    Murong Zhan was shocked and happy, crying out, ¡°Qinghe!¡± He noticed Qin Wanru who was standing off to the side, continuing, ¡°Wanru, is that you? This must be Huanzhao! You¡¯ve grown so big now. Youzhao is still as handsome and heroic as before.¡±

    The Murong n and Qin n were rted by marriage to begin with, so they were both close. He had naturally met Qin Wanru in the past, but after so many years, she had be much more mature, so things seemed to have be a bit different in that time.

    ¡°It is me,¡± Qin Wanru said, rubbing away tears. ¡°You''ve all really suffered.¡±

    They could see that the prisoners had been tortured even through the prison bars, leaving them in poor condition.

    Chu Huanzhao and Chu Youzhao also greeted Murong Zhan respectfully. Their eyes were a bit red.

    ¡°What do you mean, suffering? Compared to the battlefield¡¯s vile situations, it¡¯s far from that¡­¡± Murong Zhan said, but even he started to sound a bit dispirited. Even though he had suffered more severe wounds on the battlefield and stayed in worse conditions, he''d still had faith and hope back then. But now, the Murong n had be criminals. What hope was there left for them?

    When he realized that, his expression suddenly changed. He quickly warned his daughter, ¡°Why did youe here? It¡¯s too dangerous here! If your identity is exposed, they¡¯ll catch you too! Hurry and get out of here!¡±

    Just then, Zu An spoke up. ¡°Don''t worry. Little sister Qinghe is fine now. I can ensure her safety. Also, you guys just need to hold on here for a few more days. The different sides are scheming against each other in the court right now, but I''ll also try to find a way to clear the Murong n''s name.¡±

    Strictly speaking, the Murong n was without fault to begin with. Rather, they were the perfect example of citizens loyal to the state. He couldn''t allow such a devoted n to suffer such an unjust fate.

    Murong Zhan recognized him. When he heard that, he kneeled at Zu An''s and greeted him with respect. ¡°So it was Sir Zu! The Murong n will remember Sir Zu¡¯s grace for as long as we exist!¡±

    The others in the Murong n were also incredibly moved. They had already gotten used to the thought of others abandoning them, and yet there was actually someone who hade to offer a helping hand!

    Murong Qinghe was even more moved. She had already felt extremely grateful when Zu An protected her before, but she had never expected him to actually even earnestly save the Murong n! She also couldn''t help but kneel too.

    ¡°Sir Murong, there''s no need for that. The Murong n was unjustly med to begin with. You shouldn¡¯t have had to go through all of this,¡± Zu An said, quickly trying to help them back up. A gentle force supported all of them, preventing them from kneeling down.

    With that, everyone from the Murong n ended up brimming with tears.

    Jiang Luofu¡¯s expression changed. She also supported all of them up.

    This kid¡¯s cultivation is even higher than I thought.

    He clearly doesn¡¯t have any ki fluctuationsing from his body, but he¡¯s full of mysteries.

    There was something else everyone from the Murong n just couldn''t understand as well. They had always been faithful patriots of the empire, so how had they ended up being med and cursed wherever they went?

    Just then, the elder furthest inside opened his eyes. He released a deep sigh, saying, ¡°Sir Zu, we used to be political enemies. Why would you help us?¡±

    Murong Tong had been pretending to be sleeping from the start precisely because he didn¡¯t want to meet Zu An in such a situation.

    Zu An said with an earnest expression, ¡°All I seek is nothing more than a clear conscience. No decent person would be able to watch with folded arms in this kind of situation.¡±

    ¡°Very admirable!¡± Murong Tong eximed; his eyes shone brilliantly. ¡°It seems I misunderstood you before.¡±

    ¡°We merely had different perspectives and can''t really be considered political enemies," Zu An said with a chuckle. Then, he gave their wounds a look, asking, ¡°Why have you suffered such vicious interrogations?¡±

    Jiang Luofu also frowned, saying, ¡°That¡¯s right. I clearly assigned some people to watch over you.¡±

    ¡°We must thank Lady Jiang. At first, there were many people who were secretly watching over us,¡± Murong Tong said with a deep sigh. ¡°but a few days ago, King Jin paid a visit and ced the me of his majesty¡¯s death on us. He gave the order to have all of us tortured, so the others didn¡¯t dare to refuse his order.¡±

    ¡°That King Jin really isughable. What does his majesty¡¯s ident have to do with the Murong n?¡± Jiang Luofu remarked, feeling upset.

    Chu Huanzhao wanted to tell them that her brother-inw had already killed King Jin when the door was suddenly pushed open. The jailer from earlier rushed in and said in a panic, ¡°You all need to leave as quickly as possible; someone is here to interrogate the criminals! Ah, no, there¡¯s no time. All of you need to hurry and hide!¡±

 Chapter 1915: Should Good People Accept Their Fate of Being Bullied?

    Chapter 1915: Should Good People ept Their Fate of Being Bullied?

    The jailer pushed open a small door to the side, saying, ¡°You should hurry and hide in here. You can''t make any sound no matter what happens, or else all of us are done for!¡±

    The Imperial Prison¡¯s criminals normally weren¡¯t allowed visitors. If one really wanted to visit the people inside, they would have to go through manyplicated formalities in the court, which were practically impossible to seed in. Even so, the great ns had all sorts of resources and connections, so they could always find a workaround somehow. If they bribed the people in the Imperial Prison, the jailers became extremely happy with the extra ie, and they didn¡¯t want to offend these capital¡¯s bigwigs either. That was why they sometimes brought people inside in private. It was to the extent that, as long as one gave them enough and one''s background was sufficient, every meal inside could be restaurant-quality, and they could even send in some women to provide service day and night.

    Of course, that was assuming everyone was done in secret, something everyone tacitly agreed to not make a big deal out of. They just couldn''t brag about it on the surface. If higher authority figures came for an investigation and found out what was happening, things could quickly be blown out of proportion, and there would be a lot of trouble. The jailers would definitely be punished severely, and the ones who entered the Imperial Prison wouldn¡¯t have a good time either.

    Qin Wanru understood that quite well too. She grabbed her daughters¡¯ hands in rm and said, ¡°Hurry, quick! We have to hide over there.¡±

    Brightmoon City¡¯s Chu n had always been disliked by the imperial court. If one of their enemies took thechance to capture them, the consequences would really be horrible.

    Not only wouldn¡¯t we be able to save the Qin n, I would only be throwing my own daughters away. What would Zhongtian back in Brightmoon City do then?

    There¡¯s no way he could just start a rebellion, right?

    After seeing how vicious many of the convicts were on her way inside, Qin Wanru still felt some lingering fear even now. If she and these two daughters were locked up in this kind of ce, it really would be a life worse than death. Most importantly, they were all women, and very pretty women at that. If these ferocious jailers or some bigwigs wanted to do something inappropriate to them, they wouldn¡¯t be able to resist at all!

    A resolute expression suddenly appeared on her face.

    If those people want to bully Huanzhao and the others, then I¡¯ll just block the way and take all of them on myself.

    I¡¯m a madam who has already had children anyway, so I should be able to handle them all. I can¡¯t let Huanzhao and the others¡¯ delicate bodies be disgraced.

    I should be able to deal with one person, but what if many of theme at us?

    Sniff¡­ Just the thought alone is scary¡­

    In that instant, she already imagined countless miserable scenes. Her expression became extremely pale.

    Just then, a hand gently rested on her shoulder, and a voice said, ¡°There''s no need for us to hide. There''s no one in this capital that I need to hide from.¡±

    For some reason, when she felt the steadiness of that hand, Qin Wanru¡¯s rmed heart gradually calmed down.

    Right, my son-inw is now the Fiend races'' Regent, the human race¡¯s libationer, and even the chambein of the Eastern Pce, a favored minister of the crown princess, a rising marquis¡­ Why am I scared?

    When she thought of that, she immediately straightened her back.

    Chu Huanzhao and Chu Youzhao¡¯s eyes immediately began to shine.

    Brother-inw is so amazing! I just feel a mysterious sense of safety when I¡¯m together with him.

    The two youngdies¡¯ eyes quickly met. When they saw the way they were looking at Zu An, they both harrumphed and looked away.

    Second sis is definitely lusting after brother-inw¡¯s body. You can guard against thousands or even tens of thousands of thieves, but a thief inside the family is the hardest to guard against!

    There¡¯s definitely something wrong with third sis¡¯ expression. Don¡¯t tell me she likes my brother-inw too? Huh? Why did I use the word ''too''?

    Murong Qinghe quickly wore her mask again. She didn¡¯t want to bring Zu An any trouble. At the same time, she was a bit worried. Her n was right there.

    Is it really going to all be okay?

    What if this causes the Murong n¡¯s people to be treated even more poorly? That would be really bad.

    Jiang Luofu patted her trembling body, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. With him and¡­ here, it¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    She wanted to say that both she and Zu An were here, and that it was going to be fine; after all, she was from the Commandant of Justice, and strictly speaking, her father was the immediate superior of everyone in the court¡¯s judicial system. However, whenpared to Zu An, she found it a bit embarrassing to put herself on the same level as him. When she recalled that somewhat shy and bashful young man who had first joined Brightmoon Academy, she couldn''t help but smile.

    Just how much time has passed? And yet our rtionship has already beenpletely flipped upside down. It really is something quite amazing.

    Murong Qinghe looked at Zu An with aplicated expression.

    No wonder big brother Chu is always clinging to her brother-inw; big brother Zu is really charming. Big brother Chu must look up to him a lot.

    They all had different thoughts; meanwhile the jailer was really panicking, saying, ¡°Come on, why aren¡¯t you all moving! Aiyou, there¡¯s really no time¡­¡±

    He suddenly had no time to worry about that; in moments, he was standing respectfully with his hands behind him. A group of a dozen or so people entered jus tthen, all dressed in official robes that had fierce and malevolent beasts embroidered on them.

    Jiang Luofu said to Zu An, ¡°They are people from the Ministry of Justice.¡±

    Zu An nodded.

    In the Great Zhou Dynasty, there were five ministries that managed various day to day government affairs. For example, Sang Hong was from the Ministry of Finance and managed the dispatch of money and grain. At some point, in order to divide the authority of the Commandant of Justice, the Three Dukes had been appointed to manage the judgment of legal cases. Even though they were called the Three Dukes, however, people were used to calling them the Ministry of Justice in private.

    When they saw that there was such arge group of people gathered, the group from the Ministry of Justice was stunned. When had the Imperial Prison started having so many idlers around, and so many beauties at that? There was a mature madam, youthful youngdies, and even a pair of beautiful ck stocking-covered legs! As people working under the Ministry of Justice, they naturally knew about some of the disgraceful things that were happening on the Imperial Prison¡¯s side.

    Could it be that a certain big shot was in the mood and his subordinates were sending him women?

    However, there are so many, and they¡¯re all of different styles. Was he trying to have an orgy in the Imperial Prison?

    The one in the lead reluctantly pulled back his gaze from Jiang Luofu¡¯s soul-melting ck silk stockings and turned to growl at the jailer, ¡°Who are they? Why are they inside the Imperial Prison?!¡±

    The jailer was secretly furious.

    It¡¯s all these people¡¯s fault for not hiding when I told them to! Now, they''re ming me as expected!

    As such, he said with an apologetic smile, ¡°Responding to Sir Ye, they probably bribed a certain idiot here and came here to visit their friends.¡±

    ¡°Visit?¡± The official sighed in relief.

    It seems these aren¡¯t subordinates of any big shots. That makes things much easier to handle.

    He turned to the group and said, ¡°The Imperial Prison is an important ce. How can it be a ce you can willfully enter and leave? Furthermore, all of you are suspected of bribing a court official, which adds anotheryer of crime. Men, arrest all of them. I¡¯ll make sure to slowly interrogate themter.¡±

    His eyes lingered on Qin Wanru¡¯s impressive chest and Jiang Luofu¡¯s outstanding legs.

    A mature madam and a sexy big sister, now that¡¯s what I¡¯m talking about! Comparatively, those youngdies are a bit too young.

    As long as they entered this Imperial Prison, even if a deity came here, they would still have to listen to him. After he properly yed with them for a few days, he would release them once their ns gathered arge sum of money to ransom them.

    Not only won¡¯t they me me, they¡¯ll even be extremely grateful.

    As for these womenfolk that were taken advantage of, they won¡¯t say a thing for the sake of their own reputation and integrity. It¡¯s not even the first time I¡¯ve done something like this; it¡¯s already a done deal.

    When she heard that, Qin Wanru¡¯s face paled.

    The worst really did happen after all! We should have hidden ourselves earlier after all.

    She could feel the malicious gaze on her. As a woman, she could innately sense the desires of a man.

    I¡¯m done for, I¡¯m done for! I¡¯m really going to end up like amb in a tiger¡¯s den now¡­

    Jiang Luofu¡¯s elegant brows furrowed. She replied in an ice-cold voice, ¡°Which one of the Great Zhou Dynasty¡¯sws are you acting in ordance with? The people involved have not even been investigated by the rted department, and yet you are already going to throw them into the Imperial Prison?¡±

    Suddenly, someone among the officials seemed to have realized something. He quickly whispered a few things to the leader surnamed Ye.

    The leader was startled. He gave Jiang Luofu a careful look, and looked at her trademark ck stockings, asking, ¡°You are Commandant of Justice Jiang¡¯s young miss?¡±

    ¡°That is correct, but this has nothing to do with my identity. Even if I were an ordinary person, you are not permitted to know thew and break it,¡± Jiang Luofu said, her expression cold. She had studied thew her entire life, so she naturally abhorred such behavior. She continued, ¡°Judging from your official uniform and your surname of Ye, you must be the Ministry of Justice¡¯s Vice Minister, Ye Ping.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but give this guy a look of disdain.

    Your surname is Ye?

    There had been many main leads from his previous world who had the surname Ye.

    Wasn¡¯t there that one quote really popr among the forums? Those surnamed Ye, Xiao, or Chu¡­ often must not be provoked.

    Even so, this person waspletely ordinary-looking, without much of an impressive aura.

    He probably isn¡¯t some kind of main character.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect Miss Jiang to know me so well. However, even though Miss Jiang finds it easy to criticize me, you¡¯ve brought people into the Imperial Prison, so how is that not consciously going against thew?¡± Ye Ping replied with a sneer. ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m trying to criticize you, but those of you who study in the academy are only good at being armchair strategists. How can you understand the suffering of those in our line of work?n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Your words sounded good earlier, but have the Murong n¡¯s people behind you gone through any department¡¯s trials? Weren¡¯t they immediately thrown into the Imperial Prison?¡±

    The Ministry of Justice was a department meant to keep the Commandant of Justice in check, so their rtionship wasn¡¯t good to begin with. That was why he didn¡¯t show her any respect despite finding out Jiang Luofu¡¯s identity.

    When they heard that, the Murong n¡¯s people cursed him endlessly. They were clearly full of resentment over that matter.

    When he heard their curses, Ye Ping¡¯s expression became cold and his eyes narrowed.

    Jiang Luofu remained silent for a moment, then said, ¡°That¡¯s right, there are indeed many in the Great Zhou Dynasty who have not done as well as they should. Those working in the field ofws and degrees in my generation should be doing our best to change that, not using it as a means to frame people with criminal charges and lock then up willfully.¡±

    ¡°Naive!¡± Ye Ping retorted,ughing mockingly. ¡°Since Miss Jiang wishes to discuss thew, I will take the time to properly discuss thew with you.

    ¡°Your group does not have a court approval and selfishly came to visit criminals. Is that in ordance with thew?

    ¡°You bribed the jailers here with money. Have you notmitted the crime of bribery?

    ¡°Furthermore, there are so many of you here, so your identities are too suspicious. I have reason to suspect that there are criminals among your group as well, and that you came here to exchange information. You might even have attempted something like a jailbreak.

    ¡°As such, my choice to lock all of you up for interrogation is to eliminate potential sources of suspicion. Everything is reasonable and fair, and it is in ordance with the usual process. Even if you report this all the way to the throne room, I have nothing to fear.¡±

    Jiang Luofu raised her brows. Her expression became a bit colder as she said, ¡°The reason why the court formted thesews and rules was to deal with treacherous viins. However, the reality of the situation is that it is often good people who are locked up and bound by thews, while bad people can exploit these rules to take advantage of good people.

    ¡°Should good people just give in and ept their fate? Shouldn¡¯tws like that be changed?!¡±

    She slowly bent down and tore at the hem of her skirt. The miniskirt that had previously wrapped tightly around her bottom now draped down like a cheongsam dress.

    Meanwhile, Ye Ping was stunned.

    Is this woman nning to seduce me? Amusing.

    Jiang Luofu suddenly stomped on the ground. Under the others'' shocked gazes, she charged straight at the group of officials.

 Chapter 1916: Provocation

    Chapter 1916: Provocation

    ¡°Jiang Luofu, you¡­¡± Ye Ping eximed, feeling shocked and furious. He had never expected her to choose violence in this kind of situation!

    However, there was no time left for him to speak. She was too quick and had already closed the gap.

    As expected of one of the libationer¡¯s disciples!

    He didn¡¯t even have time to draw his de. He could only throw out a fist. The fact that he was able to reach his current position meant that he wasn¡¯t a pushover, though. As long as he could stop the sudden assault, those at his side would react in time. If they came to his aid, they would definitely be able to arrest her. Then, he¡¯d have some proper fun with her and teach her who was the real damn king of this ce.

    If the libationer were still alive, he naturally wouldn¡¯t dare to have such thoughts. However, he had already learned that the libationer had died through a trusted source. So, what else was there left to fear? Without the libationer, he didn¡¯t actually need to fear the academy teachers. As for her father Jiang Boyang, his influence had already been drastically reduced. He was now nothing more than a tiger without its fangs.

    Suddenly, his sinister smile froze on his face as he noticed that his fist had actually lost its target. He was rmed and quickly turned to one side, raising his left arm defensively. A beautiful leg covered in ck silk stockings met his gaze as a kick from a high-heeled shoe flew toward him. Only when he saw one up close did he realize just how beautiful those legs were. If he could hug them and y with them slowly, he could at least enjoy himself for a year.

    As soon as that thought appeared, he was a bit rmed; once that appreciation for beauty passed, what followed was a horrifying sense of danger. The power behind that kick¡­

    Before he even finished his train of thought, the kick had already reached his arm.

    Crack!

    Just like that, his forearm snapped! Then, that very same arm smashed into his face, visibly distorting it. The tremendous force instantly knocked him out.

    At that time, Ye Ping''s subordinates reacted and drew their personal swords. They shouted as they shed at her.

    Jiang Luofu twisted at the waist and didn¡¯tnd on the ground. Instead, her legs created countless afterimages. In that instant, her heels¡¯ sharp tips were even more terrifying than the ends of spears. Miserable cries filled the air as Ye Ping''s subordinates were trampled. Finally, with a somersault, she kicked thest subordinate standing in the chin. That person¡¯s head snapped back, and several teeth flew out. Then, he crashed heavily into the ground before fainting on the spot.

    Jiang Luofunded steadily. After sorting out her dress, she gave the groaning Ministry of Justice people a look and coldly said, ¡°As expected, I still like beating people down with my fists.¡±

    Those p resent were speechless.

    What do you mean beating them down with your fists? It was clearly using your legs¡­

    When they looked at those tall and slender legs again, they felt a chill run down their backs. They had previously thought that those legs were really beautiful, but being stepped on by them wouldn¡¯t feel good at all. The people from the Ministry of Justice had learned that lesson the hard way.

    When she saw Zu An¡¯s surprised look, Jiang Luofu chuckled and remarked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? You don¡¯t recognize me anymore?¡±

    Zu An said with a sigh, ¡°I thought that you were someone who cared the most about rules andws. I didn¡¯t expect¡­¡±

    Jiang Luofu harrumphed. ¡°I¡¯ll naturally use reason with those who listen to reason. However, as for these people who abuse thew to take advantage of others, brute force is most effective.¡±

    She had studied thew for so many years, so how could she not understand what was going on here? She had always wanted to try and change things somehow, but she had always felt a sense of powerlessness against such darkness. And yet today, this Ye Ping was doing such despicable things right in front of her face! How could she possibly still hold back her rage?

    You¡¯re so good at toying with thew, aren¡¯t you? Then I¡¯ll just break the rules!

    Zu An gave her a big thumbs up, eximing, ¡°A hero among women!¡±

    In that instant, it was as if he were getting to know Jiang Luofu all over again. Even so, he still reflexively nced at her miniskirt.

    This woman¡¯s outfits are way too seductive, but who would have thought that she would be such a conservative person deep down?

    Jiang Luofu reflexively clutched her dress and asked, "Did you see anything just now?¡±

    Zu An immediately shifted his gaze and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t see a thing.¡±

    She actually wore safety shorts underneath that miniskirt, so who is she even guarding against¡­

    Jiang Luofu blushed slightly. However, when she saw the others return, she couldn''t really continue on that subject.

    ¡°Miss Jiang, how could you beat them all up? We¡¯re done for, we¡¯re done for¡­ This matter is out of hand already!¡± the jailer eximed. When he saw the scene before him, he feltpletely numb. If he were given another chance, he definitely wouldn¡¯t have taken that gold tael. That was really a hot potato he shouldn¡¯t have held onto¡­

    Jiang Luofu said coldly, ¡°That¡¯s not for you to worry about. If you keep making noise, I¡¯m going to kick you too.¡±

    She hadn''t seen this guy when Ye Ping was about to act up, and yet he was now making thoughtless remarks.

    Do you think this big sis is a pushover?

    The jailer recalled the miserable fates of those from the Ministry of Justice and couldn''t help but shiver. He quickly hid in a corner and didn¡¯t dare to utter another word.

    ¡°Miss Jiang, how should we clean up this situation then?¡± Qin Wanru asked, feeling a bit worried.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. They offended the libationer, so they needed to be disciplined anyway. I have nothing to fear even if this reaches all the way to the throne room.¡± Jiang Luofu harrumphed. If they were going to y at politics, two could y at that game.

    However, ying the game of rules andws with these viins isn¡¯t all that interesting at all. It¡¯s still using my fists to beat them up that feels more refreshing. Now that I think about it, I seem to have picked this up from that brat Zu An...

    The others were stupefied when they heard what she said. At the same time, they admired her intelligence. So she had already thought through everything before she used force!

    Zu An walked over to those from the Ministry of Justice. He grabbed one of the officials who was groaning but hadn¡¯t fainted yet. He asked, ¡°What did youe here to do?¡±

    Jiang Luofu was startled.

    That¡¯s right! Even though the Murong n was tossed into prison, the case hadn¡¯t even been settled yet. Before both sides arrived at a verdict, no one should have been allowed toe here tomit them for trial. After all, even if an examination were held, nothing woulde of it.

    Anyone who would look for them would be someone like King Jin who only cared about revenge. As such, this visit was extremely suspicious.

    Jiang Luofu felt admiration again.

    No wonder this brat was able to grow so quickly. This meticulous way of thinking was definitely a huge contributing factor.

    ¡°No¡­ Nothing. We only came for a normal patrol and came to check out this part!¡± the official stuttered.

    ¡°Speak the truth!¡± Zu An barked, and immediately released the Tai¡¯e Sword¡¯s domain of power on a smaller scale. The officials were immediately scared witless, their wills instantly copsing.

    ¡°I¡¯ll speak, I¡¯ll speak! We came to bring the Murong n¡¯s people for an interrogation!¡±

    ¡°After we tormented them properly, we were going to handicap a few of the key figures, and we would also cripple their cultivation.¡±

    ¡­

    The Murong n¡¯s expressions immediately changed when they heard that. They had never expected the other side to be so malicious! They all began to curse endlessly.

    ¡°Who told you to do this?¡± Zu An asked with a scowl.

    The officials all shook uncontrobly in fear, saying, ¡°We don¡¯t know either! We just listen to Sir Ye¡¯s orders! It seemed that someone was offended, so they decided to set an example here. That applies to the Murong n, as well as the Qin n before this.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Qin Wanru cried; she almost fainted on the spot when she heard what they said.

    Zu An¡¯s heart sank too. Judging from what the official was saying, they seemed to have juste from the Qin n¡¯s cell. He asked, ¡°What did you do to the Qin n?¡±

    The official swallowed with difficulty. He felt extreme fear when he looked into Zu An¡¯s eyes. He carefully replied, ¡°We didn¡¯t do that much, just broke some legs and crippled a few people¡­¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Qin Wanru cried. She felt her body tremble, and she fainted on the spot. Chu Huanzhao and Chu Youzhao both pinched her fingers, and only then did she gradually wake up again. When she became clear-headed again, she immediately said, ¡°Ah Zu, I am going to visit my father and the others!¡±

    Zu An nodded. He shouted, ¡°Lead the way!¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The others'' moods became extremely grave. They just hoped that only a few servants were crippled. However, they knew that the officials could hardly have chosen some insignificant people aftermitting to that kind of task.

    Under Zu An¡¯s urging, those who were conscious from the Ministry of Justice carried the ones who had fainted as they followed. Many of their legs were already quivering. They clearly realized that this group¡¯s connection with the Qin n wasn¡¯t minor. Even so, under Zu An¡¯s intimidation, they didn¡¯t have any way of refusing.

    Just then. the Imperial Prison¡¯s guards finally reacted. A group of them rushed in when they heard the news. When they saw that the Ministry of Justice¡¯s people had been seized, all of them were horrified. They drew their des and surrounded Zu An¡¯s group.

    When she saw this situation, Qin Wanru paled. Only now did she truly feel the Imperial Prison¡¯s terrifying power. However, when she thought about the suffering her father had gone through inside, she couldn''t help but be furious, so she didn¡¯t feel so scared anymore.

    ¡°Let go of those sirs at once!¡± the guards barked.

    ¡°Get lost!¡± Zu An shouted, and immediately used the Lion¡¯s Roar skill. An invisible sound wave rippled outward.

    ¡°Ahhh!¡± A burst of miserable cries followed. The guards clutched their heads and kneeled down in pain.

    Jiang Luofu was shocked. Just a shout alone had been enough to rob so many guards of their fighting strength!

    Just how many secrets does this brat have that I don¡¯t know about?

    She took a step with her long legs and stood in front of the guards. She said in a clear voice, ¡°This is the Royal Academy¡¯s libationer, and I am Jiang Luofu. We suspect that there are people in the Imperial Prison who have carried out torture out of their selfish interests and are currently investigating this case. All of you should carry out your duty, and those unrted should not get involved!¡±

    The guards were really intimidated by Zu An and felt horrified inside. Now that they had a reason to back down, of course none of them were stupid enough to throw their lives away.

    The group continued to the ce where the Qin n was locked up. All of the guards they encountered along the way couldn''t help but move aside.

    When she saw that, Murong Qinghe was a bit absent-minded. There had always been legends of valiant generals who were without equal among ten thousand men, and how they acted resolutely on the battlefield. However, those were mostly just stories, because on the real battlefield, there were all kinds of formations. If one was too rash and charged forward, it would be easy to be caught in their formation and killed instead. There was no way it would be like those stories. And yet, in this instant, Murong Qinghe realized that there really was someone like that!

    No wonder Chu second miss still clings to her brother-inw so closely despite knowing what other people might think.

    Sigh, I wonder how the Qin n are doing now¡­

    In that short time, the group quickly arrived at the prison area containing the Qin n¡¯s people. It wasn¡¯t hard to find them, as they were letting out clear groans of pain. Qin Wanru and the others immediately approached their cell.

    ¡°Guangyuan, Yongde!¡± Qin Wanru cried. Her eyes immediately turned red when she saw them clutching their legs in bitter suffering. She could tell that their legs had been broken!

 Chapter 1917: Malicious

    Chapter 1917: Malicious

    Qin Guangyuan and Qin Yongde were roused from their suffering by the familiar voice, looking up in disbelief and calling out, "Aunt?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s me. You two have really suffered,¡± Qin Wanru replied; she couldn''t help but wipe her eyes.

    ¡°Eldest cousin, second cousin¡­¡± Chu Huanzhao and Chu Youzhao murmured; they couldn''t help but clutch the railing too. Their eyes becamepletely red.

    ¡°So it was Huanzhao and Youzhao¡­ Who would have thought that you would see us in such a sorry state,¡± Qin Guangyuan said with a bitter smile, his expression forlorn.

    ¡°Cousins¡­¡± the young women sobbed.

    Zu An ordered the jailer, ¡°Open the cell!¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°That is against the rules¡­¡± the jailer said weakly.

    Zu An didn¡¯t say anything else and just calmly stared at him.

    The jailer shivered and didn¡¯t dare to say anything else. He took out a silver key and opened the door.

    Qin Wanru¡¯s group immediately rushed in to check their conditions. When they saw the two''s broken legs, they didn¡¯t know what to do in that moment. They panicked and couldn''t help but sob.

    Zu An squatted down by the two of them and said, ¡°I failed to guard against this kind of thing. I ended up letting these two brothers suffer.¡±

    Qin Yongde endured the pain and forced a smile, saying, ¡°It doesn¡¯t even have anything to do with you, so don¡¯t worry about it too much. Our Qin n has suffered even worse injuries on the battlefield. What''s the big deal with just this? With our cultivation, we should be able to recover after some time¡­ Ah, it hurts, it hurts, don¡¯t press on them!¡±

    Zu An retracted his hand and said, ¡°The bones have just been broken. With the regenerative ability of a cultivator, you should have been able to recover with some good medicine. However, your condition is strange. Someone has imbued a sinister intent that continuously tears at your injuries. A normal recovery would be practically impossible.¡±

    ¡°Ahhh!¡± the Qin brothers cried out, and their faces became deathly pale.

    Qin Wanru¡¯s expression paled. She quickly said, ¡°Our Brightmoon City has a divine physician. How about I invite him over? He will definitely be able to cure your injuries.¡± Even though that Ji Dengtu¡¯s perversion was extremely annoying, for the sake of her nephews¡¯ wounds, she still had to seek him out.

    Jiang Luofu frowned slightly. She naturally guessed who she was talking about. After all, Ji Dengtu was her brother-inw. She sighed when she thought about her big sister¡¯s fate.

    Zu An said, ¡°There''s no need to go to such trouble. I can cure it myself.¡±

    Then, he pressed down on their knees and used the Heaven Devouring Sutra. The strange aura in their legs slowly began to be drawn out. His mastery over the Heaven Devouring Sutra had already reached apletely different level, to the point that it didn''t injure their original energies at all. Soon after, strands of visible ck energy left their knees, and all of it entered Zu An¡¯s palm.

    The others clicked their tongues in wonder. Chu Huanzhao was worried and asked, ¡°Brother-inw, will this ck energy harm you?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m fine,¡± Zu An said with a chuckle.

    Huanzhao really is a considerate little cotton ball. She immediately worried about me in this kind of situation.

    Now that the Heaven Devouring Sutra had merged with the Kun Peng skill, however, he could fully refine even the most vile things if he absorbed them.

    The ck energy soon became fainter and fainter. Eventually, itpletely disappeared. Zu An thus retracted his hand and took out a bottle of ointment, applying it to the Qin brothers'' knees. Then, Qin Wanru and the others quickly helped them bind up their wounds.

    Qin Yongde and Qin Guangyuan were amazed. They remarked, ¡°Huh? Even the pain has been greatly reduced! There¡¯s no more of that bone-prating pain.¡±

    Zu An chuckled, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, that sinister energy has already been removed. Now, if you just recover normally, your legs should be just fine.¡±

    ¡°Ah Zu, thank you so much!¡± the two of them said seriously. They were about to bow to him, but he stopped them.

    ¡°We¡¯re all one family, so what need is there for such formalities?¡± Zu An replied with a chuckle.

    The Qin brothers¡¯ expressions also eased a bit. They replied, ¡°That¡¯s right, we¡¯re all one family.¡±

    Little sister Chu really found a good husband.

    The Qin n had been a bit enraged when they heard of the matter and felt that she was a gorgeous flower stuck in a pile of cow dung. Now, they knew just how deeply mistaken they had been.

    Jiang Luofu pressured the jailers who watched over this ce into a corner, saying, ¡°I clearly ordered all of you to watch over them. Why do I see them like this now?¡±

    The jailers had looks of rm as they protested, ¡°Miss Jiang, there are many things petty soldiers like us cannot stop!¡± While speaking, their gazes couldn''t help but dart over to the Ministry of Justice officials.

    When Zu An saw that, he walked right up to Ye Ping and immediately struck his face a few times to wake him up. The other Ministry of Justice officials didn¡¯t know the entire course of events, so it was still this vice minister who knew the story most clearly.

    Ye Ping gradually woke up. He felt that his head was ringing for some reason, and only slowly came to his senses. He instantly erupted into rage, yelling, ¡°Do you know what you are doing? You actually hit a court official! This is treason, a crime punishable by nine generations of execution!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Ye Ping for +666 +666 +666¡­

    Smack!

    What he got in return was a loud and clear strike to the face.

    ¡°You still dare to hit me¡­¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Ye Ping for +444 +444 +444¡­

    Smack!

    Another p.

    ¡°You dare¡­¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Ye Ping for +222 +222 +222¡­

    Smack!

    Another strike.

    This time, Ye Ping finally closed his mouth.

    Zu An was a bit dissatisfied.

    What a contemptible individual. Why is he giving me fewer and fewer Rage points with each strike?

    He had just used up all of his Rage points and had been hoping for a chance to get some more to buy some Marrow Cleansing Pills. When he thought of that, he raised his hand again.

    Ye Ping¡¯s entire body trembled. He said faintly through his swollen face, ¡°Don¡¯t hit me anymore¡­ Just ask me anything you want to know¡­¡±

    ¡°Why did you do that to the Qin n and Murong n?¡± Zu An asked seriously.

    Ye Ping hesitated. When he saw Zu An raise his palm again, he quickly replied, ¡°This was someone else¡¯s idea! I was merely carrying out an order.¡±

    ¡°Whose order was it?¡± Zu An shouted.

    ¡°King Dai, and also the Meng n¡­¡± Ye Ping said quietly.

    Zu An¡¯s expression turned cold.

    Could it be that those two felt wronged in the court session today and directed their rage toward the Qin and Murong ns?

    ¡°Did you also snap their legs? You really are vicious, even leaving behind that vicious scheme so they''d never recover,¡± Zu An said coldly.

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t me, it wasn¡¯t me¡­¡± Ye Ping protested as he hurriedly waved his hands.

    Qin Guangyuan said, ¡°He was the one who ordered someone to break our legs, but the one who did it was someone else. He was entirely wrapped in a ck cloak so we couldn''t see his face, and seemed to be an elder.¡±

    The others looked at Ye Ping furiously, eximing, ¡°Where is that ck-cloaked man now?¡±

    Ye Ping quickly waved his hands and said, ¡°I was only taking care of this for someone else too! That ck-cloaked man wasn¡¯t one of my people, but rather King Dai¡¯s subordinate. He left afterpleting the task, so I don¡¯t know where he is now, either.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes narrowed.

    This King Dai really is extremely vicious.

    Jiang Luofu gave him a worried look. In the past, he had killed King Jin because the other side had offended him. Was he nning to target King Dai now, too? If he killed two kings in session, not even his identity as the libationer would be enough to hold off the pressure from both sides, right?

    ¡°You viin! You actually dare to give the order to break my cousin¡¯s legs?!¡± Chu Huanzhao cried, unable to hold herself back. She took out the Wailing Whip and sent it down on Ye Ping.

    ¡°Ahhh!¡± Ye Ping immediately screamed like a stuck pig. He rolled on the ground in pain.

    Hispanions all turned to look in his direction.

    Isn¡¯t Sir Ye going a bit far with his acting?

    It¡¯s just a young girl¡¯s whip, how much could it hurt? Being whipped by such a pretty young girl like this is clearly a reward, no?

    Suddenly, Chu Huanzhao gave the other Ministry of Justice officials a look. She didn¡¯t feel satisfied and sent her whipshing out again.

    ¡°Ahhhhh!¡±

    Several miserable screams filled the air at the same time, and the officials all rolled across the ground. Now, they finally knew why Sir Ye had screamed like a pig just now.

    Because it f*cking hurts, damn it!

    Zu An smiled inwardly. The Wailing Whip was good at magnifying the pain one received. It wasn¡¯t so easily endured.

    Chu Huanzhao was still angry. She continued tosh out with her whip.

    Qin Wanru felt that beating a Ministry of Justice official in public like this wasn¡¯t too good, but when she saw how much the Qin brothers had suffered, she couldn''t swallow down that resentment either.

    At worst, we¡¯ll just return to Brightmoon City and bring our three thousand Red Cloak Army troops here!

    After he was whipped several times in a row, Ye Ping finally couldn''t take it anymore. He quickly said, ¡°Please don¡¯t hit me anymore¡­ I want to atone for my mistakes¡­¡±

    ¡°How?¡± Zu An asked as he stopped Chu Huanzhao.

    ¡°The ck-cloaked man also went to the two state dukes. The two of you need to hurry and save them. You might just be able to salvage something,¡± Ye Ping said weakly.

    ¡°What?!¡±

    The others were all shocked.

    Right, since they even did this to the Qin n¡¯s third generation brothers, why would they let the Qin n¡¯s lords go?

    They had been so preupied by Qin Guangyuan and Qin Yongde¡¯s miserable conditions that they forgot about that. They all quickly ran back in the direction they hade from.

    Qin Guangyuan and Qin Yongde tried to struggle to their feet, but they were stopped by Jiang Luofu, who said, ¡°You two are injured, so don''t move recklessly. Otherwise, you''ll really be cripples. At that point, there really won¡¯t be any hope for you to get your revenge.¡±

    When they heard what she said, the two brothers finally sat down again. However, they still clenched their fists tightly, blood evening out of their lips from biting too hard.

    ¡­

    Soon after, the others hurried to the rooms where the Qin n dukes were held. Their statuses were special, so they both had their own rooms.

    Qin Wanru could see that her father¡¯s limbs were still intact and he only had some old wounds from torture. She couldn''t help but sigh in relief. It seemed that the two state dukes¡¯ statuses were special, so the tortures didn¡¯t dared to act recklessly. However, for some reason, her father seemed to have aged much morepared to before, and he seemed to have be skinnier too...

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed. He rushed straight in and grabbed Qin Zheng¡¯s hand. He could only feel a weak pulse, as if it could disappear at any time. More importantly, he couldn''t sense the slightest fluctuation of ki. Qin Zheng¡¯s awe-imposing aura from when they had first met was nowhere to be seen anymore! His hair was grizzled, and his body had also be a bit shriveled, as if he were just another ordinary elder of the secr world who could pass at any time.

    When he saw Qin Wanru¡¯s confused expression, Zu An said gravely, ¡°The state duke¡¯s cultivation has been sucked dry. He has already be a cripple!¡±

 Chapter 1918: Not All Wrongs Are Righted in the Name of Justice

    Chapter 1918: Not All Wrongs Are Righted in the Name of Justice

    ¡°What?!¡± Qin Wanru and the young women eximed, feeling all shocked and furious.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Who could have done something so malicious? After all, this was a world where strength was everything. If you didn¡¯t have your cultivation, then you could only let yourself be trampled on! Even if Qin Zheng was a state duke, if danger came knocking on his doorstep, that noble title alone wouldn¡¯t do a thing. Apart from that, when a cultivator became crippled, that sudden change in their body wasn''t something many people could tolerate. The most obvious part of all that was a change in their lifespan. For example, Qin Zheng had been hale and hearty, as lively as a tiger; and yet now, he was like an elder with one foot already in the grave, as if he could pass away at any moment.

    The sobbing woke Qin Zheng up. He opened his hazy eyes and called out, ¡°Is that Little Ru? I seem to have heard Little Ru¡¯s voice.¡±

    ¡°Dad, it¡¯s me,¡± Qin Wanru said as she sat down at his side and held his hand tightly. She couldn''t help but start to sob.

    ¡°Grandpa!¡± Chu Huanzhao and Chu Youzhao eximed, also kneeling down in front of him. They cried endlessly next to him.

    ¡°Good, good¡­¡± Qin Zheng said, tears covering his aged face. ¡°I thought I wouldn''t be able to see your faces again in this life." He even found the situation hard to believe, to the point that he asked, ¡°Am I dreaming?¡±

    ¡°No, it was Ah Zu and Principal Jiang who brought us to see you. We came toote¡­¡± Qin Wanru said, full of remorse. She figured that if she hadn¡¯t stopped to pick up Youzhao first and hade straight here, perhaps they would have been able to save him.

    ¡°Ah Zu,¡± Qin Zheng said, looking at Zu An with aplicated expression. He thought about how he had looked down on this young man when he first came to the capital, and how he had been angry to think that his goddess of a granddaughter was given to a guy like that. He never would have expected that the very same youngster would be more and more formidable, to the point of being the one to save him now. He said, ¡°Thank you.¡±

    ¡°I''m only doing the right thing,¡± Zu An said seriously, then added, ¡°I¡¯m going to give Qin second master a look.¡±

    Qin Zheng sighed, saying, ¡°His situation is likely not much different from my own.¡±

    Zu An quickly ran next door. Sure enough, Qin Se had also had his cultivation crippled. Where was his usual style befitting a handsome older man? He looked like nothing more than a decrepit elder too. Thus, Zu An returned to inform the others about the situation. Qin Wanru felt even more broken-hearted.

    ¡°State Duke of Triumph, who exactly was it that made you like this?¡± Jiang Luofu asked with an icy expression. She had even said proudly in front of the others that she had entrusted people here to look after the State Dukes, and yet, how could she have anticipated this result? Her father was actually a chief minister in the court! This proved there was someone who didn¡¯t give her family any respect.

    However, what made her even angrier was that the Qin n and Murong n¡¯s crimes hadn¡¯t even been confirmed, and yet someone had already carried out such vicious punishment. They weren¡¯t treating the nation¡¯sws with any importance at all!

    Qin Se¡¯s gazended on Ye Ping, and he said, ¡°He was the one who brought those people over, and he had a ck-robed individual as his subordinate. I did not recognize that man.¡±

    The gazes of all those presentnded on Ye Ping, leaving him trembling with fear. He quickly said, ¡°It has nothing to do with me! I merely followed orders!¡± There was no trace left of his arrogant and despotic attitude.

    Before he could even finish what he wanted to say, Zu An grabbed him by the neck and raised him into the air, saying gravely, ¡°State Duke of Triumph, I''ll first kill this person to appease your anger. I''ll look for the true mastermind after!¡±

    Ye Ping was so scared that his soul almost left his body. King Jin also seemed to have been killed the same way. How could his statuspare to King Jin?! He immediately pissed his pants in terror.

    Qin Wanru cried out in rm and quickly stopped Zu An, crying out, ¡°Ah Zu, don¡¯t do it! He''s still a vice minister of the Ministry of Justice! Killing a court official is a major offense!¡± She didn¡¯t want her own family¡¯s affairs to be a burden on this son-inw. If he had no choice but to go on the run as a criminal too, that would really be letting down both him and Chuyan.

    Jiang Luofu also tried to advise him, saying, ¡°That¡¯s right, Ah Zu. The killing of King Jin has already caused a hugemotion. If you kill a vice minister now, it might draw too much ire. Not even the status of libationer might be able to protect you!¡±

    Zu An replied gravely, ¡°I¡¯ve never relied on my status to do these things. I am myself.¡± In the end, his individual strength was the greatest source of his confidence. Even if he were neither the libationer nor the Eastern Pce¡¯s Chambein, he wouldn¡¯t feel the slightest bit of fear right now either.

    ¡°Ah Zu, don¡¯t be rash,¡± Qin Zheng added. ¡°If you kill him here, even if we are in the right, we will be found to be in the wrong. Judging from what I¡¯ve seen, this is the perfect chance to use your status to report this incident to the court. Before heaven¡¯sw, I refuse to believe that the court cannot bring us justice!¡±

    Zu An said with a frown, ¡°State duke, not all wrongs are righted in the name of justice. Besides, the reason you''re behind bars in the first ce is because you trusted the court too much.¡±

    With the Qin n state dukes¡¯ influence in the army, if they really had been like the other ambitious ns and formed a power of their own, the court wouldn¡¯t have dared to touch them. However, because they were too loyal to the empire, it had be all too easy for the court to deal with them.

    Qin Zheng became quiet. A whileter, he said, ¡°This one has remained loyal to the empire my whole life. I do not wish to discard my beliefs right before my death.¡±

    Zu An sighed. Even though he didn¡¯t approve of Qin Zheng''s way of thinking, he still admired this kind of person. It was precisely because of such foolish persistence that there were still so many heroic tales of righteousness.

    ¡°Since even the state duke has spoken up for you, I¡¯ll leave you with your petty life. However, your crimes can''t be forgiven. I''ll let you have a taste of the Qin n¡¯s suffering,¡± Zu An said, giving Ye Ping a cold look.

    With a wave of Zu An''s hand, Ye Ping immediately screamed miserably and fell from the air. He hugged his legs as he rolled all over the ground. Judging from the blood dripping down, it was clear that his legs had been broken.

    ¡°Thank you for your mercy, Sir Zu¡­¡± Ye Ping said, doing his best to hold back his desire to scream. He had thought he was dead for sure, but he''d actually managed to keep his life! Didn¡¯t it actually seem as if he had actually profited? Either way, he was a cultivator, someone with astonishing regenerative ability. He¡¯d be back to normal in just half a year. Zu An hadn''t left him with any hidden ailments or sucked away his cultivation.

    Zu An didn¡¯t pay him any attention and took out a pill to feed Qin Zheng. Then, he began to treat the duke''s injuries with his own ki, saying, ¡°State duke, you had your cultivation sucked out of you. I''ll protect your dantian to prevent it from atrophying andpletely disappearing, and I''ll infuse some ki to nourish your body. I''ll also try to find a way to cure you in the future.¡±

    Qin Zheng was shocked and overjoyed, eximing, ¡°There is still hope of recovering? Ah Zu, thank you so much!¡±

    He had already feltpletely helpless after he lost all his cultivation. All he wished for now was justice and innocence. He had never expected there to be even a possibility of recovery!

    Which cultivator would want to be an ordinary person again?

    ¡°There is indeed hope. However, we need some special pills and other method,¡± Zu An said; his eyes flickered.

    ¡°That¡¯s amazing!¡± Qin Wanru cried as she jumped up excitedly. ¡°Ah Zu, you¡¯re incredible!¡± This was the best news she had heard all day!

    ¡°Huanzhao, Youzhao, why aren¡¯t you thanking your brother-inw for saving your grandfather yet? Kowtow to him!¡± Qin Wanru urged them. She had nearly done so herself, but thankfully, she had promptly remembered that she was his senior and that it was a bit unsuitable. Thus, the duty of kowtowing fell upon her two daughters.

    Chu Huanzhao and Chu Youzhao liked their brother-inw anyway. Forget about kowtowing, even if they had to kneel down and¡­ do that, they would still be willing. Let alone this time, after he had saved their grandfather, cousins, and so many other people.

    Zu An quickly supported the two youngdies up and said, ¡°It was just the right thing to do. We¡¯re all family, so there¡¯s no need for such formalities.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao got up and gave him a peck on the cheek, saying, ¡°Thank you, brother-inw!¡±

    Chu Youzhao¡¯s teeth ached as she watched. She had actually wanted to kiss him too, but her current identity was that of a man, and Murong Qinghe was also present. It was a bit inappropriate for her to kiss him now. However, who would have thought that this crafty second sis of hers would move first to gain the upper hand?

    Qin Zheng watched the scene in shock.

    Is this really the rtionship of just a brother-inw with his sister-inw?

    He already took one of my grandchildren; is he going to take the whole pot?

    Qin Wanru also had a huge headache. If this were any other time, she would definitely have disciplined her daughter, but today, Zu An had helped the Qin n so much. It almost seemed as if a kiss from her was to be expected, no? She even had the feeling that a kiss alone wasn¡¯t enough to repay such a great favor.

    Zu An rubbed his cheeks. The soft and fragrant kiss from a youngdy really was moving. He noticed that Jiang Luofu was looking at him with a smile. His face couldn''t help but heat up and he said, ¡°Ahem, I¡¯m going to treat Qin second master first.¡±

    After saying that, he quickly ran next door. Qin Wanru and the others quickly followed to express their sympathies to the other elder.

    Soon after, Zu An finished treating Qin Se. The duke felt warm inside, as if he had recovered quite a bit. Heughed heartily and said, ¡°Ah Zu, you really aren¡¯t bad at all, kid. It¡¯s a pity that I don¡¯t have any pretty daughters or granddaughters, or else I would have insisted on marrying them to you.¡±

    Qin Wanru was speechless.

    Second uncle, what are you saying right now? If you married your daughter off to him, what would my rtionship with him be like? Wouldn¡¯t the ranks of seniority be flippedpletely upside down?

    ¡°Second grandfather!¡± Chu Huanzhao and Chu Youzhao eximed, both pouting yfully.

    Qin Se was stunned at first, then roared withughter. ¡°It seems I didn¡¯t have to do a thing. Big brother seems to be quite blessed. Thosemon people all want sons, but how could they know that daughters are actually much more of a blessing?¡±

    Unlike the inflexible QIn Zheng, he had often frequented ces of romance. In his youth, he had been a known yboy. His understanding of women far exceeded that of his older brother. He could tell what Chu Huanzhao and Chu Youzhao were thinking from a single nce.

    All three sisters might be snatched away in one pot by this youngster.

    Sisters, huh? Just how many men have dreamed of such a thing? In the past, I also had such dreams, but I was never able to make them a reality.

    I never expected that dream to actually be realized by another, with the Qin n¡¯s women, no less.

    When he sensed the duke''s amused smile, Zu An couldn''t handle the embarrassment and said, ¡°Ahem, I¡¯ll be entering the pce first to demand justice for the Qin n.¡±

    ¡°Alright. I''ll have my father send men to the prison. Furthermore, I''ll personally guard this ce to ensure the safety of the Qin and Murong ns,¡± Jiang Luofu said.

    Qin Wanru was incredibly grateful. She tightly sped Jiang Luofu''s hands and said, ¡°Sister Jiang, I really don¡¯t know how to thank you enough. I''ll definitely introduce an ideal husband to you in the future!¡±

    Jiang Luofu wasn¡¯t too used to her enthusiasm. She quickly pulled her hands back and said, ¡°Madam Chu speaks too politely. It was my fault to begin with, for not taking care of them enough. I can''t let the people of the world be disappointed with our Great Zhou Dynasty¡¯sws.¡±

    Zu An came over to her side and said, ¡°Big sis Jiang, this matter is unrted to you. No one could have anticipated that King Dai and Meng Yi would do something like this. You need to be careful here. It''s hard to say if they will send more people.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not a weak woman. I won''t have any problem protecting them,¡± Jiang Luofu said, a trace of a smile appearing on her cold face.

    When he recalled her fierce appearance with her high heels, Zu An figured that made sense. Perhaps it would even be more dangerous for anyone who came here to cause trouble.

    ¡­

    Then, Qin Wanru and the other young women decided to stay behind as well to take care of the Qin n prisoners. Zu An took Ye Ping and the others straight into the pce.

    Soon after, the bell that summoned the ministers resounded. The entire capital¡¯s great ns were rmed.

    Didn¡¯t we just hold a court session this morning? Why are the subjects being gathered again?

    After all, the bell was only used when something most urgent came up. It wasn¡¯t something that could be rung as one pleased!

 Chapter 1919: Seamless

    Chapter 1919: Seamless

    Meanwhile, in the Eastern Pce...

    Bi Linglong told Zu An, ¡°Ah Zu, you did the right thing this time and didn¡¯t act too rashly. I''ll help you and uphold justice for the Qin n.¡±

    She still felt some lingering fear. What happened to the Qin n was such a huge thing that even she felt angry, let alone Zu An, who was closely connected to the Qin n. If Zu Anshed out on the spot and killed King Dai, she really wouldn¡¯t know how to take care of the aftermath. If King Jin and King Dai were killed by the same person one after the other, even if he was the libationer, it probably wouldn''t be the sort of thing that could be overlooked. She only felt extremely grateful when she saw that he had chosen toe to the imperial pce to contact her, using ordinary methods to solve the problem. At the same time, she resolved to take care of the situation for Zu An¡¯s sake. She couldn''t let him feel bitterly disappointed. Besides, how could she let go of such a good chance to deal with King Dai and Meng Yi?

    Immediately after, she led Zu An to the Pce of Peace. She initially expected the empress toe up with all kinds of excuses, preparing to fly into a terrible rage in front of her.

    However, when the empress heard what happened, she immediately became furious. She actually took the initiative to gather the court to discuss the situation.

    When Bi Linglong saw how enthusiastic she was in consoling Zu An, she waspletely stunned.

    Is Ah Zu my subordinate or yours?

    Why do I feel as if you care about him more than me?

    With the two most powerful women in the capital being in agreement, the bell that had remained silent for several decades finally rang to summon all of the officials throughout the capital.

    Soon after, officials hurried to the throne room. They wondered just what kind of huge event had happened in private, for that bell to have actually been rung!

    When she saw that pretty much everyone was present, the empress cleared her throat and said, ¡°Marquis, you may speak. What exactly happened today in the Imperial Prison?¡±

    ¡°The Imperial Prison?¡± King Dai and Meng Yi murmured, raising their brows. They instinctively exchanged a look.

    King Dai¡¯s expression became a bit unnatural, but Meng Yi told him in secret, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, everything is within our grasp.¡±

    Seemingly affected by his calm demeanor, King Dai also gradually rxed a bit.

    Right, I¡¯m thete emperor¡¯s son, a glorious king! I even have the Meng n backing me, so what do I need to fear?

    The gazes of those present converged on Zu An.

    What did this murderous idiot do now?

    Zu An stared at King Dai and Meng Yi as he recited an ount of everything that had happened in the Imperial Prison in a stern voice. ¡°The Qin n has always remained loyal to the empire, and yet the Meng n has also spared no effort in persecuting them. Currently, the court still has yet to condemn the Qin n of any crimes, and yet someone used such despicable torture against them. This is an utterly atrocious act, one that I hope the court punishes severely!¡±

    The throne room immediately erupted into amotion. Qin Guangyuan and Qin Yongde were one thing, but the two state dukes had tremendous prestige! Their disciples were everywhere in the military. If news of this got out, it would easily trigger a huge rebellion! Furthermore, many of these important subjects had still been in their swaddling clothes when the Qin n¡¯s state dukes were already great ministers themselves. The prestige the two dukes had umted over many years really wasn¡¯t something an ordinary person couldpare to.

    When he heard the criticism, Meng Yi said, ¡°Please do not nder me, Sir Zu. Seeing as an incident happened in the Imperial Prison, why didn¡¯t you look for Commandant of Justice Sir Jiang, or the Ministry of Justice, instead ofing for us? What does this have to do with King Dai and this old one?¡±

    Jiang Boyang couldn''t take it anymore and retorted, ¡°Who doesn¡¯t know how far your fingers have been stretching recently, Meng Yi? Which ce doesn¡¯t have your people in it?!¡±

    Behind the pearl curtains, Bi Linglong¡¯s eyes narrowed. After the battle of Violet Mountain, the Meng n had acted immediately. Their political enemies had either been locked up or chased out of the capital. They really had developed rapidly. Many areas of authority that had belonged to the Bi n were seized by the Meng n. Of course, in order to achieve such a result, apart from Meng Yi¡¯s own methods, it was also thanks to that formidable daughter of his, as well as his father, the Minister of Works Meng Jing, one of the eight dukes. Meng Jing had already been at the peak of grandmaster rank for many years, and it was rumored that he could take the final step into the earth immortal rank at any time. That was why the other powers dared to get angry, but didn¡¯t dare to voice that anger. Compared to the Meng n, the Bi n¡¯s influence was stillcking a bit.

    Meng Yi chuckled, saying, ¡°Commandant of Justice Jiang cannot speak those words carelessly. Someone in your position should know that evidence is the most important thing in any situation. How can you make empty usations and nder one¡¯s innocence?¡±

    Jiang Boyang frowned. This old fox always did things in a watertight way. Finding a weakness to exploit really was troublesome.

    Zu An said gravely, ¡°I already knew you would say that, so I made sure to bring witnesses with me.¡±

    With a wave of his hand, someone quickly brought over the Ministry of Justice¡¯s people from the prison. Ye Ping was brought forth.

    Even though King Dai was only an intermediary, he wasn¡¯t an idiot like the crown prince. When he saw that, he immediately seized the chance to counterattack, asking, ¡°Oh my, what is wrong, Sir Ye? Who beat you up like this?¡±

    Ye Ping snuck Zu An a look and didn''t dare to reply. When he saw that, King Dai felt even more worked up. He continued, ¡°Sir Ye, don¡¯t be scared! All of the court¡¯s civil and martial officials are here, and even her highness and the crown princess are here, so no one will dare to start trouble. Just tell us the truth and we will help you get revenge.¡±

    Ye Ping opened his mouth. He was a bit hesitant, because he had a good chance right now. If they managed to get the court to decide that it was Zu An who was responsible, no matter how high his cultivation was, would it surpass everyone in the court? Furthermore, there were so many experts in the Imperial Pce, and so many guards, that the numbers alone would be enough to smother him.

    Zu An calmly asked, ¡°Sir Ye, how were your legs broken? Speak after you¡¯ve thought things out thoroughly.¡±

    Ye Ping broke out into a cold shiver. He immediately recalled that Zu An was someone who had even dared to kill King Jin. What was the big deal with killing a trifling vice minister? Besides, would these officials really raise their arms for the sake of a dead Ministry of Justice vice minister? He immediately seemed to calm down and quickly said with an apologetic smile, ¡°I identally fell down the stairs during my inspection today and broke them.¡±

    The civil and martial officials were speechless.

    Who are you trying to fool? Anyone could tell that your legs were broken by someone!

    It was probably that Zu An. That kid really is something, actually rendering even a vice minister unable to speak the truth.

    King Dai had never expected such a reply. He couldn''t help but exim angrily, ¡°Sir Ye, do you know what kind of crimes deceiving the ruler bears?!¡±

    Ye Ping¡¯s face paled. He opened his mouth to say something, yet didn¡¯t dare to say anything.

    Zu An retorted with a sneer, ¡°What ruler is there left in this court? Could it be that King Dai¡¯s daydreams are being voiced, and that you wish to promote yourself to that position ahead of time?¡±

    The empress and crown princess both couldn''t help but give King Dai a look when they heard that. The Eastern Pce¡¯s officials all looked at King Dai with unpleasant expressions.

    The crown prince is still here. Do you think you have a turn?n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    If we really let you climb up there, wouldn¡¯t all of us be left cold and hungry?

    Even though that was what they were thinking, they couldn''t say it out loud, right?

    When he heard that, King Dai immediately answered in a panic, ¡°Mister Zu, cease your venomous nder!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Ping for +311 +311 +311¡­

    ¡°What are you having such a huge reaction for? Could it be that I hit the nail right on the head?¡± Zu An retorted with a sneer.

    King Dai started panicking. He was about to retort when Meng Yi stopped him, saying, ¡°Sir Zu really has quite the impressive methods. You are able to break his legs and even prevent him from daring to speak the truth. Sir Zu said that we used selfish torture, but are your actions not considered the same?¡±

    Zu An said indifferently, ¡°Mister Meng, you need evidence for what you say, or else I''ll report you for libel. Who used selfish torture? Just now, even Sir Ye himself said that he fell down. If you couldn''t even hear him so clearly despite being so close, that only proves your senses are failing you and you¡¯re growing old. Please retire from public life as soon as possible and stop holding up the court¡¯s governmental affairs.¡±

    Meng Yi was speechless. With his status, who didn¡¯t greet him as Sir Meng whenever they met him? And yet now, a brat was pointing at his nose and cursing him! No matter how shrewd and sophisticated he was, he found it a bit hard to conceal his rage.

    You have sessfully trolled Meng Yi for +400 +400 +400¡­

    Zu An didn¡¯t pay him any more attention and said loudly, ¡°These sirs from the Ministry of Justice are the evidence I spoke of. They can attest to what happened today in the Imperial Prison.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Sir Ye, please speak. What exactly happened in the Imperial Prison?¡± the empress asked.

    The gazes of those present converged on Ye Ping and the others.

    When they sensed King Dai, Meng Yi, and the others¡¯ threatening looks, and saw Zu An¡¯s deep and immeasurable expression, Ye Ping¡¯s group wanted to cry, and yet no tears came out. They couldn''t offend either side, so what exactly could they do?

    Bi Linglong frowned, saying, ¡°Speak if you have something to say. What misgivings could you have in this court?¡±

    When he thought about the crown princess¡¯ shrewdness andpetence, Ye Ping gritted his teeth and said, ¡°It was King Dai and Sir Meng who sent us to the Imperial Prison to torture the Qin and Murong ns¡¯ people. They said we had to teach a certain person a lesson.¡±

    Amotion erupted once again. It seemed as if the throne room had be noisier than ever before. All sorts of explosive news had appeared again and again!

    King Dai¡¯s face paled. He felt as if he had fallen into a frozen pit, body and soul.

    It¡¯s all over, everything¡¯s over¡­

    However, Meng Yi remained just as calm as before. He sent a ki transmission to console him, then took a step forward. He looked at Ye Ping and asked, ¡°Sir Ye, you said that it was King Dai and I who sent you to the Imperial Prison to do that, and that it was the two of us who ordered you to do it, no?"

    ¡°That isn¡¯t necessarily so. However, that person was an assistant butler of King Dai Manor, Gou Huo. He sent the message with King Dai Manor¡¯s token, and he mentioned that it was the intent of King Dai and Sir Meng,¡± Ye Ping quickly replied.

    The subjects nodded. The assistant butler of a king manor, and even King Dai¡¯s token? That was already enough to represent both King Dai and Meng Yi.

    King Dai¡¯s face became even paler. However, Meng Yi replied in a slow and unhurried manner, ¡°Hm? That¡¯s strange, because ording to what I know, there was a burry case yesterday in King Dai Manor, and the investigation showed that it was none other than Gou Huo who was the thief. That is why Madam Dai, or I should say my own n¡¯s Chan¡¯er, already expelled him from King Dai Manor. Could it be that he exploited his job to steal King Dai¡¯s token and wasn¡¯t discovered, then went there to carry out a deception?¡± Afterward, he bowed respectfully to the empress and said, ¡°Your highness, this humble servant requests for an official document demanding the capture of that scoundrel right this instant!¡±

    King Dai blinked.

    You can even do something like that?

    Right, why didn¡¯t I know that Gou Huo was expelled from the n?

    Meng Yi gave him a look and harrumphed.

    If I waited until you found out, it would have been way toote already.

    Even so, he still felt admiration for his daughter. When she found out that he and King Dai had sent someone to deal with the Qin and Murong n, she had immediately sent Gou Huo out of the capital to stay out of trouble. At the same time, she had dered that he was banished from the n because he made a mistake. As such, even if an investigation was conducted, their alibi would remain seamless. At the time, he felt that she had been too careful, but now, he had to admit that his daughter was wise. She had already anticipated the current situation.

    The entire court immediately fell silent; everyone present had strange expressions. They naturally knew the whole situation had been set up by Meng Yi and King Dai, but this old fox¡¯s preparations were just too thorough. They couldn''t use him of a crime at all!

 Chapter 1920: Convince Through Virtue

    Chapter 1920: Convince Through Virtue

    Just then, the Liu n¡¯s Liu Guang and Liu Yao, as well as the other people who were close to the Meng n, spoke up for Meng Yi and King Dai. After all, this matter had been dealt with too cleverly, so they naturally had to help them voice their support.

    Now, it was the Eastern Pce¡¯s people who were full of indignation at the injustice. However, they couldn''t do anything against these old foxes¡¯ cunning. They didn¡¯t know what to say at all.

    Ye Ping and the others¡¯ faces paled.

    We¡¯re finished, we¡¯re done for! This time, King Dai and Meng Yi turned defeat into victory. They¡¯ll definitely get revenge on us after the fact!

    When he saw the situation had been reversed, King Dai immediately became extremely happy. He said, ¡°Sir Zu, this is why all things require proof! You cannot just nder one¡¯s innocence with a mouth empty of white teeth!

    ¡°Furthermore, even taking ten thousand steps back, even if I had been the one to send someone to do all of that, so what? My father was murdered on Violet Mountain precisely because of Murong Tong¡¯s ipetence. The Qin n¡¯s brothers also secretly supported that traitor, so it¡¯s perfectly reasonable for us to get revenge for him!

    "Even King Jin knew to get revenge for his father. As brothers who share the same father emperor, how could I just let them be?

    ¡°My Great Zhou Dynasty is ruled by filial piety! Filial piety is the most important national policy! If we had done such a thing, not only would it be undeserving of punishment, it would be worthy of a great reward from the court, followed by being recorded as a ssic of filial piety to be spread throughout the world for themon people to read and learn from us as an example!

    ¡°Of course, everything I just said was just an ¡®if¡¯. Naturally, that never happened.¡±

    Meng Yi nodded inwardly when he heard that. This son-inw of his wasn¡¯tpletely stupid. What had been the purpose of doing this in the first ce? Wasn¡¯t it to anger Zu An, to motivate him to make a mistake? Then they could use the chance to eliminate him and cripple the Eastern Pce. It would be even better if they were able to use the momentum to influence the crown prince¡¯s people too. Now that King Dai was pouring oil on the mes, what could be more perfect? With Zu An¡¯s fiery nature, and how he h ad just killed King Jin, he most likely wouldn¡¯t be able to hold himself back. They could then gather the forces of the entire court, and then with the assistance of the Imperial Pce¡¯s guards, they could kill this brute on the spot. Not even the crown princess would likely be able to shelter him at that point.

    However, he was surprised to see that Zu An, whom he had expected to explode from rage, didn¡¯t seem to be emotionally affected at all.

    Of course, that was because everything that happened was within Zu An''s expectations. He just hadn''t wanted to let down Qin Zheng¡¯s loyal heart and Jiang Luofu¡¯s idealism, so he had decided to try the proper channels for their sake. How could he possibly be a match for these old foxes who were deeply entrenched in these political circles for decades, though?

    The crown princess¡¯ people tried to retaliate, but they hadn¡¯t expected the Meng n to have already dealt with the person in the know. As such, their attempts were futile.

    After a round of bickering, the final conclusion ended up being set in stone.

    The empress in the main seat gave Zu An a worried look. In the end, she still said, ¡°This matter is full of suspicious details. The Qin n and Murong n are important ministers of the court, so they cannot simply tortured like this by someone for unclear reasons. This matter will be handed to the Embroidered Envoy to investigate.

    ¡°Furthermore, I will send the imperial physician to take care of the wounded in the Imperial Prison, as well as a group of the Armed Escort Army to watch over the Imperial Prison. In the future, regardless of identity, no one will be permitted to willfully enter the Imperial Prison.¡±

    She knew that Zu An was extremely angry right now. However, as the empress, she couldn''t go against the masses¡¯ decision. She could only do her best to appease him.

    ¡°Your highness is wise and brilliant!¡± the subjects replied; they understood what was happening as well. The Meng n and King Dai had already erased all traces. The Embroidered Envoy weren¡¯t gods, so what could they even find out by themselves?

    Just then, Meng Yi looked toward Ye Ping and the others, saying, ¡°These individuals are members of the Ministry of Justice, and yet they consciously went against the rules and interrogated important ministers of the empire through torture. This is a first-rate crime! They ought to be punished, so I hope that your highness can deal with them.¡±

    The empress nodded, saying, ¡°Men, take this criminal Ye Ping outside the gates and have him executed. The others are to be stripped of their positions and investigated!¡±

    This Ye Ping''s group really is outrageous! They''re the ones who tortured the Qin n, so dealing with them should give the Qin n and Ah Zu some kind ofpensation.

    Ye Ping was stunned, crying out, ¡°Your highness, I¡¯m being treated unjustly!¡±

    When he saw that the empress remained ice-cold and unmoved, he really started panicking. Guards quickly emerged to drag him and his group out.

    ¡°Your highness, I am being wronged!¡±

    ¡°Sir Meng, I was wrong! Your respected self is of great moral status; please forgive us petty people!¡±

    ¡°Crown princess, save us!¡±

    ¡°Sir Zu, Sir Zu, save me!¡±

    ¡­

    He was so panicked that he began to indiscriminately call for help, calling out to anyone he could think of. Unfortunately, not a single person paid any attention to him.

    Zu An remained calm. This Ye Ping¡¯s conduct in the Imperial Prison, especially how he had looked at Qin Wanru and Jiang Luofu with a malicious gaze, showed that he had clearly done many vile things in the past. He deserved to die. Either way, this man wouldn¡¯t be of any use to him from now on, anyway.

    Meng Yi stroked his beard. Both his and King Dai¡¯s expressions contained extreme satisfaction. This Ye Ping had brazenly testified for Zu An, and yet not even that bastard Zu was able to protect him.

    Let¡¯s see just who else will dare to help him go against us in the future.

    The two of them looked at the entire ce. Most of the subjects had lowered their heads in shame and guilt, not daring to meet anyone''s gaze.

    ¡­

    In the end, the dust settled on the case, and the gathering soon dispersed just like that.

    When Zu An left the throne room, King Dai was waiting by the entrance for him. He said, ¡°Sir Zu, I really do have to apologize today. I¡¯ve ended up making you so angry¡­¡±

    Zu An gave him a calm look, retorting, ¡°If you have a fart, hurry up and let it out already. If you don¡¯t, you won¡¯t have a chance to in the future.¡±

    King Dai¡¯s expression changed. He recalled King Jin¡¯s fate and quickly took a step back. However, when he realized that this was the throne room, with civil and military officials all around him, and that his father-inw was also nearby, he immediately became full of confidence. He continued, ¡°Sir Zu must be really flustered and exasperated right now, right? Actually, I only came here to tell you one thing.

    ¡°In this world, many ordinary people think that justice will be served sooner orter, and that there will never be an absence of righteousness. That is why those who have been wronged try to uphold their values. Unfortunately, in reality, this is often not the case.

    ¡°Sir Zu dide from a small ce, after all, and you earnestly climbed your way up from among ordinary folk. You never had n elders like us from the very best families to teach you by words and example, so it is only natural that you do not understand these things. That is why this king stayed behind to tell you a few things. Otherwise, you would remain just as naive as you are now and end up suffering even more in the future.¡±

    At the moment, he was provoking Zu An due to Meng Yi''s urging. It would be best if he provoked Zu An enough to draw an immediate response. Then, they would have the perfect opportunity to get rid of Zu An.

    Unfortunately, what he got in return wasn¡¯t Zu An''s helpless rage, but rather a strike to the face. His head rang with noise.

    I was hit?

    I was pped in the face in front of everyone?

    King Dai was briefly left dazed. He had actually already prepared himself for retaliation, but Zu An''s hand was so fast that he actually hadn¡¯t even seen it!

    Meng Yi was shocked and angry, eximing, ¡°You scoundrel, you dare to act violently in the Imperial Pce?!¡±

    He had also been vignt against Zu An¡¯s attack, but he couldn''t stop it in time.

    The activity drew the attention of all the officials present.

    That Zu guy really is a rough and tough fe. He actually dared to strike King Dai in the face?

    Zu An shrugged, replying, ¡°Did I? Why don¡¯t I know anything about it? You can''t baselessly nder people, you know?¡±

    ¡°This old one personally saw it! The hand imprint is still on King Dai¡¯s face, and yet you¡¯re still denying it!¡± Meng Yi protested, his expression turning fierce.

    You have sessfully trolled Meng Yi for +400 +400 +400¡­

    King Dai finally snapped out of his daze, cursing, ¡°Bastard Zu, you actually dare to strike a prince in public? This is a serious crime! Men, arrest this scoundrel who has no respect for his ruler or father!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Ping for +555 +555 +555¡­

    ¡°Is it true just because you said it was? I said earlier that it was you who schemed against the Qin n¡¯s state dukes. Will you acknowledge that then?¡± Zu An replied with a smile.

    ¡°It¡¯s useless trying to create misunderstandings through gossip here,¡± Meng Yi said with a sneer. ¡°There are so many officials with eyes here. They all saw that you struck King Dai in the face!¡±

    King Dai¡¯s face was still burning, perhaps from the pain, or perhaps from humiliation.

    Father-inw, can you not speak so loudly? Being pped in the face isn¡¯t anything honorable to begin with! It¡¯s all that bastard Zu¡¯s fault!

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Ping for +444 +444 +444¡­

    ¡°Is that so? Did you all see it?¡± Zu An asked, sweeping his gaze across the area.

    Many subjects averted their eyes.

    This is now touching upon whether we support the Meng n and King Dai or the Bi n and crown prince; who would be willing to get involved in something like that?

    Meng Yi narrowed his eyes.

    This kid also wants to y around with our tactics? However, he''s still a bit too naive.

    Sure enough, there were several important subjects who imed to have seen it.

    ¡°I saw it!¡±

    ¡°I also saw it!¡±

    ¡°It was you who hit King Dai!¡±

    ¡­

    They were all from the Meng n and King Dai¡¯s faction, so it was natural that they would speak up.

    Zu An seemed to have anticipated that, saying, ¡°All of you are King Dai and Meng Yi¡¯sckeys, so of course you¡¯ll speak up for him. ording to the Great Zhou Dynasty¡¯sws, you''re all people with aligned interests, so your testimonies can''t be epted. Sir Jiang, am I correct in what I¡¯ve said?¡±

    Jiang Boyang, who was passing by, couldn''t help but smile. He said sternly, ¡°That is indeed the case.¡±

    This bastard Meng has crossed the line again and again. Did he really think I couldn''t lose my temper?

    Zu An thought to himself, As expected of Principal Jiang¡¯s father, he''s no stranger to thew.

    ¡°Jiang Boyang, you¡­¡± Meng Yi began furiously.

    Just then, a eunuch said in an eerie voice, ¡°Sir Zu, her highness has invited you to the Pce of Peace. She has something she wishes to inquire about.¡±

    The eunuch seemed to carry an ominous air about him, and the subjects in the vicinity couldn''t help but stay some distance away from him. It was the empress¡¯ attendant, Eunuch Lu. Ever since Eunuch Wen died on Violet Mountain, he had already practically be the general manager of internal affairs.

    ¡°Eunuch Lu, this Zu person just hit King Dai,¡± Meng Yi urgently said.

    Eunuch Lu said emotionlessly, ¡°Commandant of Justice Jiang is right next to you. If there is any matter worthy ofint, please file a case with him. Her highness wishes to meet with Sir Zu right now, and I do not dare to tarry when ites to her request.¡± Shortly after, he bowed to Zu An, saying, ¡°Sir Zu, this way, please.¡±

    Zu An frowned, but in the end, he didn¡¯t want to embarrass the empress and decided to follow the eunuch for now.

    When he saw the two leave, King Dai¡¯s expression distorted. He muttered, ¡°What is the empress trying to do here?¡±

    Meng Yi¡¯s brows also furrowed tightly.

    Her highness¡¯ treatment of this bastard Zu seems to be quite special.

    ¡­

    Zu An quickly met up with the empress in the Pce of Peace.

    Liu Ning gave him a look. Then, she asked with a sigh, ¡°You me me for the choice I made just now, don¡¯t you?¡±

    Zu An shook his head, saying, "I don''t. I already anticipated all of this before I entered the pce.¡±

    Liu Ning felt a bit anxious, saying, ¡°You can''t act rashly; I already handed this case to the Embroidered Envoy. You can investigate however you want and no one will be able to say anything.

    ¡°Besides, strictly speaking, this matter isn¡¯t necessarily a bad thing. The Qin n and Murong n have suffered such wrongs, and the officials now sympathize with them. Together with the Meng n and King Dai being in the wrong this time, they likely can''t demand for the Qin and Murong n to remain imprisoned. So, the crimes of the Qin and Murong n will be minimized, and they''ll be allowed to leave.¡±

    Zu An nodded, saying, ¡°Your highness has already considered the entire situation fully.¡±

    Liu Ning felt a bit skeptical because Zu An seemed a bit too calm. She said, ¡°You absolutely can''t do anything foolish. Just leave the rest to me, and I promise that I''ll bring the Qin and Murong ns out of the prison as quickly as possible.¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An asked, ¡°Will they be restored to their former posts with their full innocence?¡±

    Liu Ning was a bit troubled. She said, ¡°That might not be too likely. The events that took ce on Violet Mountain were a bit too big, so there need to be some people who take responsibility. However, I can promise that there will definitely be no danger to their lives, and that they''ll at most have their noble titles lowered by one level and have their official posts demoted. They''ll likely also have to put up some insignificant family members and so on.¡±

    Zu An nodded.

    When she saw that he didn¡¯t say anything, Liu Ning just felt a bit rmed somehow. She continued, ¡°That''s the most I can concede. Otherwise, ording to the rules, the Murong n would likely be executed down to the third generation, and the entire Qin n would likely be banished.¡±

    ¡°I understand how much you¡¯ve already done," Zu An said with a chuckle.

    ¡°You really won¡¯t do anything foolish?¡± Liu Ning couldn''t help but ask.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won''t do anything stupid. Otherwise, I might be the public enemy of the entire capital,¡± Zu An said in constion, then got up to leave.

    ¡­

    Just as he was about to leave the pce, Bi Linglong also changed into more casual wear and sought him out.

    ¡°Ah Zu, I''m really sorry about what happened in the court earlier. That old fox Meng Yi is just too crafty! However, you absolutely can''t do anything foolish. If my suspicions aren¡¯t mistaken, he''s been doing all of this precisely to anger you into acting, so they''d have a proper reason to get rid of you.¡±

    If they could weaken the Eastern Pce¡¯s influence that way, they would then target me and the crown prince.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t let them do as they wish,¡± Zu An said calmly.

    Bi Linglong rolled her eyes and replied, ¡°You directly killed King Jin, so how can I feel at ease with you?¡±

    ¡°I''ll act more rationally this time,¡± Zu An said with a chuckle. He patted her hand and continued, ¡°People all have their moments of growth, right? I''ll now convince the masses through virtue.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°Really.¡±

    Bi Linglong couldn''t spend too much time alone with him, as the eunuchs and maids in the distance were approaching. Even though she still had many misgivings, in the end, she could only hurriedly leave.

    ¡­

    At first, Zu An began heading to King Dai Manor, but he suddenly thought of something. He took out a waist token from his inner pockets and sensed the ki moving through it.

    Someone''s looking for me?

    As such, he changed into his Chief Commander clothes and went to the Embroidery House. He discovered that a delicate figure dressed in normal clothes was pacing around inside nervously. Her eyebrows were curved and her lips were small. Her figure looked exceptionally delicate and pitiful.

    ¡°Why has Madam Jine here today?¡± Zu An asked curiously.

    ¡°Ah! Chief Commander!¡± Madam Jin eximed. When she heard that strong and reliable voice, her charming face couldn''t help but redden, because fragments of ''that'' event had continued to y out in her dreams. Whenever she saw the real person, she always felt a bit rmed.

    ¡°Is something the matter?¡± Zu An asked.

    Madam Jin suddenly remembered her reason foring here. She quickly grabbed his hands and eximed, ¡°Chief Commander, please save my father and the others!¡±

    ¡°What happened to them?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°I helped you testify against King Dai and Meng Yi, but then they decided to get revenge on the He n. They said that my fathermitted acts of corruption and abused thew, that he took over good agriculturalnd selfishly and oppressed the people. He was thrown in prison, and many people from the He n were also captured. I heard that many of the womenfolk were also sold into the government brothel! King Dai found someone to send me a message telling me that this was just a small lesson, and that the future would all depend on my choices. He told me to go to his manor to apologize and make amends!

    ¡°Chief Commander, please help me¡­ I really don¡¯t know what else to do¡­¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes narrowed.

    This King Dai really is a lustful freak and still hasn¡¯t given up on that thought. He really is walking further and further down the path of courting death.

    He supported Madam Jin up to her feet and said, ¡°Madam, don''t worry; I''ll send people to save your father. Furthermore, soon, King Dai won¡¯t be able to threaten you any longer.¡±

    Madam Jin was stunned. She didn¡¯t understand what the Chief Commander was saying at all. This was, after all, a king with tremendous authority, unlike her sickly husband. Even though everyone had shown King Jin respect on the surface, in reality, they hadn¡¯t respected him much at all.

    How would someone like King Dai not be able to threaten me anymore?

    Zu An didn¡¯t say anything else to her. He sought out a few envoys to escort her back to her manor. Meanwhile, he removed the Embroidered Envoy clothes, and after leaving the pce, he immediately set out for King Dai Manor.

    ¡­

    When he saw therge vermilion red gates in front of him, he walked straight up to the doors and kicked them open, yelling, ¡°Zhao Ping, crawl the f*ck out here right now!¡±

    Soon after, a rippling sound wave swept through the entirety of King Dai Manor.

    Since doing things ording to the rules like Qin Zheng and Jiang Luofu didn¡¯t work, I''ll use my own method to convince the masses with virtue.

 Chapter 1921: More Than Enough

    Chapter 1921: More Than Enough

    Meanwhile, King Dai was lying leisurely in the rear courtyard on a rocking chair while enjoying grapes. A married man¡¯s happiest time was naturally when his wife returned to her parents¡¯ home!

    After returning from the court, he had discovered that his wife had been called back to the Meng n residence. It seemed his father-inw had something to discuss with her. He hadn¡¯t inquired about that in detail, though. The Meng n had a lot of things to worry about, and many of the things they discussed weren''t things his little brain could understand.

    Why does someone like me need to bring trouble on myself for no reason?

    Isn¡¯t it great to just enjoy my life as much as possible?

    However, he felt that eating grapes all by himself was a bit too boring. After all, others from distinguished ns all had their concubines peel the grapes and feed them straight into their mouths. That sweet juice and those soft hands¡­ Just the thought of it made him excited. And yet, Meng Chan kept too tight a leash on him, so he didn¡¯t have any concubines, nor did he have any pretty maids.

    Sigh¡­ I want to cry just thinking about it.

    Once I¡¯m the emperor, I¡¯m going to properly get a huge harem for myself!

    Hmph, would Meng Chan dare to manage me then? The court alone would criticize her until she didn¡¯t dare say a thing! An emperor pampering his women isn¡¯t because of lust, but in order to spread his branches and leaves. That''s part of an emperor¡¯s duty!

    If the imperial n didn¡¯t have enough heirs because of her jealousy, that would be a huge crime in itself!

    Despite his wishes, he could only think about those things. After all, he wasn¡¯t the emperor yet.

    However, another opportunity had arrived today. He had sent someone to King Jin Manor, so now it would all depend on whether or not that woman knew what was good for her.

    She¡¯ll definitely understand, since it¡¯s for the sake of the He n.

    Once Madam Jines over, she''ll definitely act soft in nature. She''s nothing like our family¡¯s tigress.

    Huh? Doesn¡¯t that mean I''ll be able to do whatever I want then?

    Even the Worries Be Gone Rosemary could be saved.

    As long as Madam Jin can please me, I''ll let her father and those nsmen go.

    Sigh, I really outdid myself this time! With this leverage in hand, their entire n¡¯s fate is in my hands; that¡¯s more useful than any drug.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Today is a rare day when Chan¡¯er isn¡¯t home. She didn¡¯t let me have any cute little maids, but things should be even easier now that I¡¯m alone!

    He was still a bit worried and ordered the gate servant, ¡°Pass down this order. If Madam Jines looking for me, immediately let her in. Also, contact me immediately!¡±

    ¡°Yes, king!¡± The servant expressed his dedication and ran out to pass along the orders.

    ¡°Ah¡­ I feel so damn good today,¡± King Dai said as he leaned into his chair and gently rocked back and forth.

    That crown princess¡¯ expression was so overcast and gloomy!

    And that Zu bastard even vainly tried to bring me down! That guy is nothing more than a peasant through and through! He doesn¡¯t know how to y politics at all. How could he be an opponent for a prince like me?

    That idiot King Jin actually died to a brute like that. I actually have to thank him, now that I think about it¡­ Without him, how could I have the chance to enjoy the blessing that is Madam Jin today?

    When he thought about theoe things, he felt much better after the p to the face he had suffered in the Imperial Pce.

    Forget it, forget it. I¡¯ll slowly settle the debt with him in the future.

    After all, what the Qin dukes had lost this time was their legs, as well as their entire lifetimes of cultivation. Compared to that, what was a p to the face?

    Either way, Chan¡¯er and father-inw will figure out a way to retaliate. They¡¯ll help us get revenge then.

    While he was immersed in his happiness, however, a terrifying roar tore through the entire residence.

    ¡°Zhao Ping, crawl the f*ck out here right now!¡±

    King Dai was caught off guard and shivered all over. He was so scared that he tumbled off of his recliner. Only after a while did he snap out of his daze.

    What the hell is going on?!

    ¡­

    A bit earlier, Zu An had walked up to the impressive King Dai Manor, with itsrge vermilion red gates covered in imposing rows of yellow copper rings. Several guards stood outside the king manor, as well as a gatekeeper who attended to those who came and went.

    When he saw Zu An walk straight up to the main gate, the gatekeeper came over to him and asked, ¡°What brings this distinguished sir here? Do you have an appointment or invitation?¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t bother paying him any attention and walked straight up to the main entrance.

    The gatekeeper¡¯s expression changed, and he quickly gave the guards nearby a look. A vicious grin appeared on the guards¡¯ faces.

    There¡¯s actually someone who dares to cause trouble in this king manor?

    They had been bored since there was nothing to do, but then this pretty boy hade over to start something interesting! There wasn¡¯t a hint of kiing out of this person¡¯s body, as if he were an ordinary person. Just a single punch of theirs would probably be enough to make him cry for a long time! As for his identity, what did it matter? Here in the capital city, who had higher status than a king?

    When he saw the guards surrounding him, Zu An swept his gaze coldly over them.

    The guards immediately felt as if they had been thrown into a frozen cer, and they shuddered. It was as if a giant primordial beast were staring at them! They didn¡¯t dare to budge in the slightest.

    Zu An didn¡¯t pay them any attention and walked straight up to the massive and imposing gate. His foot directly mmed into the two massive doors, and just like that, they came crashing down!

    The gatekeeper had been about to ask why the guards hadn¡¯t stopped him, but when he saw that, he immediately stopped cold.

    This gate''s materials had been carefully selected when it was built in order to make it look majestic and imposing, but they were also very practical. The whole gate weighed 500 kilograms! On top of that, the gatekeeper had heard that the king manor had even added some defensive formations on top of it.

    And yet this youngster¡¯s nonchnt kick was already enough to bring it down?

    Is this power a mere human can have?

    What followed immediately after was that line:

    ¡°Zhao Ping, crawl the f*ck out here right now!¡±

    The gatekeeper¡¯s eyes immediately rolled back, and he fainted on the spot.

    What else could he do but faint? If King Dai and Madam Dai came to criticize him, he could say that he was just too weak, and that he had really fainted and didn¡¯t know anything. If they found out that he had just stood there while watching that youngster without trying to stop him, the consequences would be terrible.

    Zu An walked toward the king manor. The guards inside also reacted one after another, however.

    A group of fully armed individuals rushed forth, and the one in the lead drew his personal de, calling out, ¡°Who dares to cause trouble in this king manor?!¡±

    ¡°F*ck off!¡± Zu An yelled, using the Lion¡¯s Roar skill.

    Even though those guards had excellent equipment, they copsed on the spot when they were hit by the invisible sound wave. They clutched their heads while rolling on the ground in pain.

    Zu An remained expressionless. He crossed right over the guards and walked through the next door.

    More guards arrived a bitter, unaffected by the sound wave. However, when they saw him slowly close in, they couldn''t help but back up. It was as if there were something truly frightening in front of them.

    Just then, the sound of rustling filled the air. Immediately after, a troop of crossbow infantry appeared on the roof surrounding the area. They all raised the crossbows at Zu An. Every single one of their bolts flickered with blue light in the shape of rune patterns. They clearly all had excellent equipment from the military. King manors were naturally different from other ces; their guards all had elite equipment.

    The crossbow troops didn¡¯t hesitate in the slightest and quickly pulled their triggers. This intruder had trespassed into the king manor, and judging from theirrades who were screaming miserably and lying copsed all over the ground, he clearly hadn¡¯te with good intentions. There was no need for excessive words at all.

    Dozens of crossbolts turned into streaks of dark light as they converged. Even some of the most powerful cultivators from the world of warriors would quickly turn into porcupines if they were caught off guard. On top of that, even if this person could block the first wave, the bolts were extremely fast. Another shower of them would quickly ensue, so their enemy would only be slowly worn down and exhausted. In the end, they still wouldn¡¯t be able to escape their demise.

    However, what followed left them all with their eyes wide in shock. The intruder remainedpletely still, not moving an inch! And yet, at the same time, he hadn¡¯t turned into a porcupine. After the bolts entered a certain radius around him, they had all stopped in midair. These were bolts that had been reinforced through formations, capable of tearing through even boulders, or even ten ordinary sets of armor! And yet, even though they had all been fired at the same time, they weren¡¯t able to do a thing!

    Just then, Zu An took a step forward. Thebolts suspended in midair were all instantly crushed into powder. Not even their sturdy heads remained.

    The guards couldn''t help but swallow with difficulty before finally snapping out of their daze. They began to reload their crossbows in a panic.

    However, Zu An didn¡¯t give them the chance to do so. With a wave of his hand, an invisible st of air rippled out. The guards only felt a tremendous force hit them, and just like that, they could no longer stand still anymore. They fell from the roof and crashed into the ground. Their entire bodies were sore, and they temporarily lost all ability to fight.

    Zu An entered the next courtyard.

    At the same time, King Dai walked over with a group of guards. When he saw the imperial guards strewn across the ground, he was a bit absent-minded for a moment. Immediately after, however, he roared in anger. ¡°Bastard Zu, have you gone mad?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Ping for +666 +666 +666¡­

    Zu An calmly looked at him, replying, ¡°Isn¡¯t this what you all wanted? All I''m doing is helping you aplish your goals.¡±

    When King Dai saw Zu An¡¯s calm expression, for some reason, he felt a bit scared. He said threateningly, ¡°You''d better not act recklessly! Do you know what kind of consequences your actions today will bring you?!¡±

    Chan¡¯er isn¡¯t here, and father-inw isn¡¯t here either¡­

    He was getting a bit scared, being in this king manor all alone. Now, he no longer felt the joy of his wife being gone in the slightest. He only felt irritated toward her for staying away for so long and leaving him all by himself without any pirs to rely on.

    ¡°You¡¯re trying to invoke rules with me again?¡± Zu An replied with a sigh. ¡°I tried to go by rules with you in court, but unfortunately, you didn¡¯t cherish that opportunity.¡±

    King Dai swallowed with difficulty before saying, ¡°Bastard Zu, do you really think you can deal with me too, just because you managed to kill King Jin through a fluke? King Jin was too rash and didn¡¯t have enough men with him. This is my territory you''re in right now!¡±

    As soon as he said that, many figures walked out from different rooms. Ki surged powerfully from all of their bodies, with the weakest even being at the seventh rank; many of them were at the eighth and ninth rank. There were forty-five of them in total! It was already quite the impressive force by the standards of the Great Zhou Dynasty. After all, cultivation was quite costly, and such forces usually consisted of rogue cultivators without sects backing them. What theycked the most was money and cultivation resources. That was why they could only rely on great ns and be hired thugs.

    Their upper limits were often capped, which was why they were willing to ept such a fate. Even though the court had guidelines saying that they would earn the qualification to be officials once they reached a certain cultivation rank, that was only the qualification. Who knew how many people were lining up for those positions? Furthermore, those positions were almost always reserved and split up between the great ns¡¯ disciples. There were very, very few trifling positions left for ordinary people. Opportunities normally only arose for those who were true stunning geniuses. Rogue cultivators like them, who only had mediocre aptitude, were doomed to never have a chance at bing officials. That meant they naturally wouldn¡¯t have enough resources to improve their cultivation further. In the end, they could only bow their heads to reality and be followers of kings and noble ns. They would help the nobles fight, while they would receive cultivation resources in return. They both received what they needed from each other.

    Because of King Jin¡¯s poor constitution, he hadn''t had long to live anyway, so he had never had much interest in gathering such cultivators. That was why, following his and Elder Chen¡¯s deaths, all of King Jin Manor had been left on the verge of copse. Even Madam Jin had been taken advantage of.

    However, King Dai Manor was different. Both husband and wife were still ambitious and thriving, so they had naturally recruited plenty of these forces. Furthermore, apart from King Dai Manor¡¯s experts, the Meng n had also supported them by sending a group of men to guard against idents. After all, Zu An had been able to kill King Jin. That meant his fighting strength was definitely quite high.

    With so many experts and the manor¡¯s guards, even two or three master rank cultivators would have no choice but to meet their end here if they arrived. Chen Xingchao hadn¡¯t been too outstanding among master rank cultivators. He had merely relied on the flying sword talisman he got from somewhere. Without that talisman, his strength would have been reduced by at least half.

    This brat Zu An was able to beat King Jin¡¯s guardian Chen Xingchao, but he shouldn¡¯t be that much stronger. This should be more than enough to take care of him!

 Chapter 1922: Has He Always Been This Brave?

    Chapter 1922: Has He Always Been This Brave?

    Zu An raised his brows. He gave the forty-five rogue cultivators around him a look before remarking, ¡°This is all you''re relying on to defeat me?¡±

    It seems King Dai and the Meng n really don¡¯t know much about me. No wonder they keep trying to step all over me.

    When he saw so many cultivatorse to his aid, King Dai immediately felt his confidence soar. He retorted, ¡°Heh, there¡¯s enough of them to drown you with their spit alone! If you want to kowtow to me and admit your mistakes and change sides to follow this king I might be able to forgive your ignorance.¡±

    ¡°Brat, you¡¯re quite arrogant, aren¡¯t you? In my opinion, there¡¯s no need at all to trouble so many people. I alone am enough!¡± arge, rotund baldy said with a sinisterugh.

    The other rogue cultivators were a bit upset when they heard what he said, but they didn¡¯t dare to show it. The fat baldy was quite well known in the world of warriors for being vicious. His cultivation at the peak of the ninth rank was the highest among the group of rogue cultivators. It was rumored that in the past, he had even managed to survive fighting against a master rank. From then on, his reputation had only grown, and he''d stopped treating cultivators on the same level with any respect. After he arrived in King Dai Manor, his fiery temper had often started conflicts with the other followers. There were even instances in which he had stolen the cultivation resources of other people. However, his cultivation was high, so King Dai Manor had turned a blind eye to it all. The other rogue cultivators hadn¡¯t dared to voice their resentment either.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The reason he had stepped out today was precisely because of that. He had sensed that he was about to break into master rank himself. The amount of resources needed to go from the peak of ninth rank to master rank wasn''t a cost he could take on by himself. That was why he needed to prove himself in front of King Dai. If he could seize this achievement for himself, in their happiness, King Dai and Madam Dai could very well just give him enough benefits to make the breakthrough. If he became a master rank, his treatment and prospects would bepletely different from those of a ninth rank cultivator.

    ¡°You alone?¡± Zu An repeated in surprise. With a casual grabbing motion, a ck vortex appeared in his hand.

    The fat baldy felt himself being pulled by an irresistible force that instantly dragged him right in front of Zu An. He wanted to resist, but all of his ki surged out of his body uncontrobly. Even the simplest action of raising his de was now seemingly as hard as scaling the heavens. His entire body was sore as well. He couldn''t help but kneel on the ground.

    Zu An pressed his hand against the baldy''s forehead and used the Heaven Devouring Sutra. All of the man¡¯s cultivation was sucked out in almost the blink of an eye. Zu An checked his own experience bar and saw that it had only grown a tiny bit, though; without looking at it carefully, it almost seemed unchanged. He retracted his hand in disdain. He wiped his hands and looked at the baldy who was lying at his feet like a dead dog, then looked at the other cultivators. He asked with a bit of surprise, ¡°Has he always been this brave?¡±

    He''d thought that this guy had some ridiculously high cultivation. However, it was just a trifling ninth rank! He really wondered where this guy had gotten so much confidence from.

    Wherever his gaze passed, all the rogue cultivators couldn''t help but take a step back. There was fear in all of their expressions. The sight before them had simply brought them too much of a shock. The most formidable among them, that fat baldy, had been killed in an instant! More importantly, they couldn''t even figure out how Zu An had done it. What kind of skill could drag over someone at the peak of the ninth rank?

    A hint of rm appeared on King Dai¡¯s face as well. He took a step back and hid behind his guards, crying out, ¡°Everyone, go at him together! No matter how strong he is, he''s just a single person!¡±

    He suddenly remembered that previously in King Jin Manor, even his protector Elder Chen seemed to have been pulled over by the Embroidered Envoy Chief Commander in the same way. The two skills seemed a bit simr. However, he didn¡¯t have time to think about that in detail at all. He was scared that Zu An would pull him over too, so he took a few more steps back. Only when there wereyers andyers of guards around him did he feel a bit more at ease.

    When he saw that the rogue cultivators didn¡¯t move, King Dai panicked. He said loudly, ¡°If you can kill this brute, all of you will be awarded ten thousand ki stones! Also, the king manor will take care of an entire year of cultivation resources! Whomever works the hardest, the king manor will take care of with ten, no, twenty years of cultivation resources!¡±

    When they heard what he said, the rogue cultivators¡¯ eyes all turned red. After all, the reason why glorious cultivators like them hade all the way to the king manor to be followers and be pushed around was because they had no authority and power themselves. They had no n background and could only obtain cultivation resources this way. If they could obtain cultivation resources for the next twenty years, they would bepletely free! With a sea of resources, they could reach a higher cultivation realm, and they would no longer need to serve as dogs for someone else. Even if they only got a year of cultivation resources and those ten thousand ki stones, that was a tremendous amount of wealth! It was enough for many of them to rise in cultivation rank.

    The world nevercked for bold individuals. With the motivation of such exaggerated rewards, there were bound to be some people who couldn''t resist the temptation.

    ¡°Like hell we¡¯d be scared of him! He''d just one person. If we all attack together, even a master rank would have to die here!¡±

    In this world, a numbers advantage was still quite significant. If an army moved in a formation, they could face even top-tier cultivators. Meanwhile, the cultivation of these rogue cultivators far exceeded that of regr soldiers. The king manor had even taught them some coordinated formations; even though they weren¡¯t as formidable as the great formations in the armies, they were still quite impressive. With so many people working together, their attacks were already enough to st this person to ashes.

    ¡°Don¡¯t give him the chance to attack!¡±

    It was clear that Zu An¡¯s earlier instant kill on the fat baldy had left many of them with a great deal of trauma. As such, all of them tacitly chose to attack with their strongest skills. Even if a few of them remained hesitant, when they saw that, they still gritted their teeth and joined the fray. In that instant, countless rays of light mmed into the man at the very center.

    When he saw that, a smile finally appeared on King Dai¡¯s face.

    There probably wouldn¡¯t even be ashes left over if you were hit by that many powerful attacks, right?

    This Zu An actually came knocking on my door, and so many people saw it. So even if I kill him right here, not even the crown princess should be able to say a thing!

    Then, after experiencing such a thing, the Eastern Pce will definitely suffer a huge blow to their prestige.

    Together with that Zhao Ruizhi being an idiot, my session to the throne will practically be guaranteed.

    Once I be the emperor, the first thing I¡¯m going to do is take Madam Jin into the harem.

    Hm, the crown princess actually isn''t bad either. She¡¯s prettier, and considering how she always looks down on me with her haughtiness, subduing her will definitely be really interesting.

    Even so, there''s an issue of status and identity here¡­

    I¡¯ll force her out of her n first, and once she''s forced to take shelter in the wilderness, I¡¯ll have a chance to obtain her then¡­

    In that instant, all sorts of beautiful scenes appeared in his mind. The corners of his grin practically reached his ears.

    Just then, however, several voices cried out in surprise, leaving King Dai stunned. When he looked up, he waspletely stupefied, and his smile froze on his face.

    Zu An was standing in ce,pletely unharmed. He hadn¡¯t even raised a hand, and just let those skills do what they wished. Despite that, the multicolored lights containing all sorts of different elements had all stopped a few feet away from his body. It was as if there were an invisible ck hole that sucked away everything, causing the light to vanish without a trace.

    Those present were all stupefied. All of this really was outside of their realm of understanding. The smarter ones among them couldn''t help but start to back up.

    Zu An sighed and said, ¡°Cultivation, in its essence, is to defy the heavens. All means of obtaining cultivation resources are understandable. However, some people do their best to carry out a fair exchange, but you all chose to be dogs for another. You¡¯ve already lost your ambition and aspirations, so what dao is there left to cultivate?!¡±

    He had met rogue cultivators before, such as Cash Warrior Ding Run. Even though he was an assassin, he had never be the subordinate of a noble like these people. Rather, he had epted missions and negotiated on equal terms. His character and ambition had thus remained intact. Many of these people in front of Zu An actually had cultivation ranks that were a bit higher than Ding Run¡¯s; however, they definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to reach as far as he could in the future.

    When they heard what he said, many of them had contemtive looks on their faces. However, they quickly realized something and turned to run.

    What kind of joke is this? Even if King Dai¡¯s reward is abundant, it¡¯s not worth as much as our lives!

    Zu An didn¡¯t actually trouble them. Strictly speaking, he was also a rogue cultivator himself. What need was there to trouble these pitiful people struggling to make a living in this mundane world?

    When he saw Zu An approach step by step, King Dai really started to panic, crying out, ¡°Sir Xu, Sir Xu, save me!¡±

    Zu An sensed something. He looked to the left and saw a ck-robed person slowly walk out from a room. The light around his body seemed to warp under his aura, bing hazy and unclear. His cultivation seemed to be at the peak of the master rank. He was an expert at the air mortal soul stage.

    ¡°Do not be rmed, king. Even though this brat seems frightening, I have already seen through him. He is not all that formidable,¡± the ck robed man consoled King Dai.

    ¡°Then hurry and kill him already!¡± King Dai eximed; he was practically about to cry. His subordinates had all boasted about how strong they were, and yet when a real fight happened, either they were instantly wiped out, or they ran for their lives! The whole time, he hadn''t even seen how Zu An fought. Meanwhile, his own followers had practically all scattered.

    This Sir Xu better not follow in their footsteps!

    However, when he thought about Sir Xu''s background, King Dai gradually calmed down. Strictly speaking, Sir Xu was the manor¡¯s most powerful rogue cultivator. That fat baldy was only the strongest on the surface. After all, Sir Xu had a special identity. In the past, he hadmitted a tremendous crime in the world of warriors. The court had sent many experts after him before finally bringing him to justice. He had been on the verge of being executed in the imperial prison when King Dai thought of a way to save him. In order to repay his debt of gratitude, have a ce to seek asylum, and even obtain the king manor¡¯s cultivation resources, Sir Xu had decided to help them deal with some tricky targets.

    When Sir Xu first came to the manor, even King Dai''s own guardian Elder Chen had been eager to spar with him. Even so, thepetition had ended in a draw. After the fact, Elder Chen had told King Dai and Chan¡¯er that he was far from being Sir Xu¡¯s match. Sir Xu had merely had misgivings toward the fact that he was a guardian the emperor had assigned King Dai and had a special identity, and thus, he had held back. Elder Chen suspected that Sir Xu had only used about fifty percent of his real strength.

    King Dai and Madam Dai had been really curious, and secretly asked Sir Xu about that after. Then, he had actually said proudly that he''d only used thirty percent of his strength in thepetition. In a real battle of life and death, he could definitely kill Elder Chen within three moves. In an ambush, a single strike would be enough.

    At the time, King Dai and Madam Dai had been shocked and overjoyed. They hadn¡¯t expected to have roped in such a powerful expert.

    ¡°Please do not fret, my king,¡± Sir Xu said as he looked at Zu An. ¡°Kid, that move of yours might scare others, but it will do nothing against me. I have been observing all this time and can tell that it is nothing more than an absorption-type technique. That was why you were able to dispatch that fat baldy so quickly, then swallow up those rogue cultivators¡¯ attacks. Even so, unfortunately for you, I also know the same kind of secret method. I believe that your skill is simr to mine and that our skills are of a simr origin.¡± Sir Xu grinned and continued, ¡°That is where your sorrow will lie. For this kind of skill, the strong devous the weak. Against a stronger skill, the weaker one will not be able to resist in the slightest. That is why before this old one, there is no difference between you and a child. It is to the extent that the threat you pose against me is even less than that of those rogue cultivators.¡±

 Chapter 1923: Eye for an Eye

    Chapter 1923: Eye for an Eye

    When he heard what the other person said and thought abotu the man''s outfit, Zu An¡¯s expression darkened. He replied, ¡°So you were the one who did those things in the Imperial Prison?¡±

    The ck-robed individual was stunned, but then he said with a smile, ¡°So it was because of that. That¡¯s right, I did make a trip to the Imperial Prison before.

    ¡°I have to admit that having a backer really is refreshing. How could I have had the opportunity to absorb the cultivations of two state dukes otherwise? That really was an incredible experience! I was originally stuck on the air mortal stage for many years without any chance to progress, but now that I''ve received the help of two state dukes, I can already feel the doorstep of the wisdom mortal soul stage. I¡¯ll be able to be a grandmaster soon! Haha, I really have to thank the two of them.¡±

    Immediately after, he looked at Zu An greedily, saying, ¡°I never expected the heavens to actually be so generous, to bring someone like you straight to me! Not only will I be able to solidify my wisdom mortal soul stage cultivation, I might even be able to go a step higher and give the ascension mortal soul a shot¡­¡±

    Suddenly, his eyes narrowed, because he discovered that he had already lost sight of Zu An. It was quite the shock to him! He quickly evaded to one side and extended his demonic technique in all directions. That way, no matter how fast the opponent was, as long as Zu An made contact with his body, all of his cultivation would be sucked dry.

    Hmph, that pretty boy seemed to practice a simr skill, but how could it possiblypare to the secret manual I have? My cultivation that''s already on the verge of reaching grandmaster rank is more than enough to crush him! If the two of us really face each other, of course I¡¯ll have the advantage!

    ¡°Well, isn¡¯t someone good at spouting bullshit!¡± a voice suddenly said as a hand mped down on his neck.

    How is he so fast?

    The ck-robed man was surprised, but he didn¡¯t panic.

    Hmph, you have no chance left now that you¡¯ve touched my body!

    He directed his demonic technique through his neck to try and steal Zu An¡¯s cultivation.

    Huh? Why isn¡¯t it working?

    The ck-robed man suddenly blinked in confusion, finally feeling rmed. Immediately after, he felt all of his cultivation suddenly seeming to boil up within him. All of his ki seemed to rush excitedly up to his throat before being sucked into the opponent''s hand.

    ¡°How is this possible?!¡± he eximed, his eyes almost popping out in shock. His own divine ability actually couldn''tpare to the opponent¡¯s!

    Just how old is this brat? He shouldn¡¯t have cultivation higher than mine, even if he started cultivating the moment he left his mother¡¯s womb!

    My demonic art was something I just barely obtained by the skin of my teeth from an ancient ruined shrine.

    That shrine had been what remained of an ancient and powerful sect that had been swallowed up by the endless river of time. The demonic art was the skill their sect had been founded on; through it, they had left all the cultivators of the world terror-stricken at their appearance. ording to the records on the tablet inscription the ck-robed man had found, the demonic art had been created by analyzing a piece of an even more ancient unspeakable technique. Its grade was extremely high, and even if one encountered other simr absorption skills, it would be able to swallow them up instead.

    Why am I the one being sucked dry instead?

    This pretty boy can¡¯t possibly have cultivated that even more ancient technique, can he?

    Even so, he couldn''t even think about those things for much longer, because his cultivation waspletely sucked out in an instant. He didn¡¯t have an ounce of strength left in him. Now, he fully understood that Zu An''s skill really was more powerful. His face pale, the ck-robed man murmured, ¡°You sucked it out so fast, much faster than me¡­¡±

    Zu An tossed him away casually, then looked down at the ck-robed man who was now lying on the ground like a dead dog. He said seriously, ¡°This is a good chance for you to have a taste of the pain you''ve inflicted upon others.¡±

    The ck-robed man¡¯s expression was filled with suffering. What could be more painful than having all of one''s hard-earned cultivation stolen away? Not too long ago, he had sucked away someone else¡¯s cultivation and daydreamed about a beautiful life, only to fall from the clouds straight into the dirt.

    However, he quickly realized that that wasn¡¯t the most painful thing. The pretty boy suddenly stomped down on his knees.

    Crack!

    In that instant, his legs were both crushed to pieces. Every single bone was smashed into fragments. He wanted to roll all over the ground in pain, but he didn¡¯t have the strength to! He could only curl up like a cooked shrimp. Forget about the fact that he was now a cultivation cripple, with that level of injury, even if he still had his cultivation, he still wouldn''t necessarily have been able to recover. He screamed endlessly in misery. In the end, his body was too weak and he could no longer hold on due to his terrible injuries; he passed away in agony.

    A vicious demon of a generation met his end here, just like that.

    All of that happened in the time it took for sparks to fly off a flint. A moment before, King Dai had heard Sir Xu speaking bold and visionary words and felt reassured. And yet, a momentter, he had been beaten like a dead dog. That stark contrast in expectations and reality almost made King Dai''s jaw drop straight to the floor.

    ¡°What the hell is going on? Why are all of these people such trash? If you couldn''t do anything, that''s fine, but you should have just told me so I could run away earlier! What the hell were you bragging for?!¡± King Dai moaned, already about to cry. He quickly ordered his bodyguards and captain of the guards, ¡°Hurry and stop him!¡±

    He turned tail and ran into another room. He no longer had any hope left that his useless, idiotic subordinates would be able to kill that bastard Zu. He could only stall for time.

    Zu An walked forward. The guards gulped and reflexively backed up. After all, they had watched everything that happened so far with their own two eyes¡­

    Even if King Dai hadn''t known how strong the rogue cultivators and Sir Xu were, his personal guards had interacted with them quite often. They knew that those people were far stronger than them. Even if these guards had formations to support them when they fought together, if they fought against Sir Xu and those other rogue cultivators, not only would it be a tough fight, they wouldn¡¯t even be at an advantage. Wouldn¡¯t they just be throwing their lives away in front of Zu An?

    However, a military order had to be obeyed. If guards like them dared to go against King Dai¡¯s orders, once the court looked into things, not only would they die for sure, their families would also be faced with bleak fates.

    They all looked toward the guard captain. Once he gave the word, they would fight with everything they had. That way, they would at least be leaving their families with a bit of relief payment.

    The guard captain¡¯s expression changed several times. When he saw Zu An approach closer and closer, he roared loudly, ¡°Your respected self¡¯s cultivation is god-like, and you actually even know eye techniques! Just a look was enough to seriously injure me! Ah, I¡¯m fainting, I¡¯m fainting¡­¡± Then, he fell to the ground very ''naturally'' and fainted.

    Zu An was stunned. After meeting Immortal Ruler Baopu and those other terrifying beings, he had wanted to learn that kind of ¡®sword within the eye¡¯ skill. After all, wouldn''t that mean he could cut down an opponent without even really using a sword? However, why had this person already fallen before he even learned such a thing?

    The other guards¡¯ eyes widened. They muttered among themselves, ¡°Even something like this works?¡±

    Their eyes suddenly rolled backward, and one after another, they screamed that they were ¡®fainting¡¯. They fell to the ground, and even when they were down, they still continued to say, ¡°What a powerful eye technique, I was hit¡­¡±

    ¡°I was hit too!¡±

    When he saw the previously vigorous and fierce-looking troop lying all over the ce across the ground, Zu An felt quite speechless.

    As expected, the subordinates were just like the ruler!

    He took a step forward and instantly appeared in the room King Dai had run into. However, he saw that King Dai was in the middle of a transport formation, and his body was wrapped within a ball of blue light. It was clear that the transport formation had already been sessfully activated

    When King Dai saw Zu Ane in, he cockily made a ¡®bye-bye¡¯ gesture. He had finally managed to get away from this monster!

    Zu An reached out, but he couldn¡¯t grab anything. He could feel that a spatial force was repelling him.

    Right at that moment, the blue light flickered, and King Dai disappeared.

    Zu An frowned. Even though he had some understanding of formations, his understanding of the naturalws of space was stillcking, as expected. He closed his eyes and silently sensed his surroundings. Then, his eyes opened and he stared in a certain direction.

    King Dai most likely went in that direction. This kind of transport formation¡¯s creation method has already been lost, and it''s extremely precious. The amount of ki stones needed is also pretty excessive. I wonder which secret dungeon King Dai fished this out of, for him to have this kind of life-saving measure.

    Of course, such a small-scale transport formation definitely couldn¡¯t send anyone too far.

    However, there was an easier way¡­

    He walked straight up to the guard captain. The others who had secretly opened their eyes to check out the situation immediately closed their eyes tightly. However, their trembling eyshes showed that they were already utterly terrified.

    ¡°Stop pretending to be dead. Where did this transport formation send King Dai?¡± Zu An asked, giving the guard captain a kick.

    The guard captain didn¡¯t dare to continue pretending to be asleep. He immediately opened his eyes. At first, he was a bit hesitant, but then he heard Zu An say indifferently, ¡°The amount of manpower and goods needed to make this formation isn¡¯t small. As the leader of his personal guards, there''s no way you wouldn''t know about it. You only have one chance to reply. Don¡¯t test my patience.¡±

    The guard captain quickly said, ¡°The Meng manor! This formation was set up by Madam Dai, so she made the destination the nearby Meng manor. As for exactly where, I really don¡¯t know¡­¡±

    Zu An nodded. He didn¡¯t say anything else. His legs buckled, and he rocketed into the air and quickly disappeared into the horizon.

    The guard captain¡¯s mouth hung wide open. He murmured, ¡°Holy smokes, just what is that guy¡¯s cultivation rank¡­¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The other guards also woke up one after the other. One replied, ¡°He can fly, so he should at least be at the master rank, right?¡±

    ¡°Master rank? He just took out so many experts in this manor. Sir Xu was at the peak of the master rank himself. I think he¡¯s definitely at least at the grandmaster rank.¡±

    ¡°Grandmaster? The king really provoked badpany this time¡­¡± the guard captain muttered to himself.

    Another guard couldn''t help but say, ¡°Captain, doesn''t it seem as if you sold out the king just now?¡±

    ¡°Did I?¡± the guard captain replied with a different expression. ¡°Did any of you help the king buy any time? What I did wasn¡¯t selling out the king! Hmph, we''re all on the same boat here. No one said anything just now, understood?¡±

    ¡°Understood! We were all beaten unconscious by that bastard. We have no idea what happened at all!¡± the remaining guards quickly replied, bing of one mind. At the same time, they looked to the sky, fearing that calling him ¡®bastard¡¯ would provoke him into returning.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, while Zu An was flying in the air, a formation vaguely began to appear there. Several presences seemed to wake all around him, with quite a few divine senses scanning in his direction. He thought to himself, So the capital did establish a formation restricting flight after all.

    Fortunately, the Meng n wasn¡¯t too far from King Dai Manor. He quickly descended into the Meng n¡¯s courtyard. Only then did the formation in the sky gradually disappear.

    Could this formation be Yan Xiangu¡¯s work? It''s quite ingenious indeed.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in the Meng n¡¯s study, Meng Yi was sampling some tea while carefully listening to what the beautiful woman across from him was saying. That woman was quite young, and yet there was a dignified and strong expression between her brows. Even Sir Meng who had gone through all kinds of ups and downs in the court, was nodding continuously as he listened. Furthermore, the woman¡¯s cheeks were beautiful like peach blossoms, her skin looking as if it were glowing. Her hand that was holding a teacup seemed to have been sculpted out of white jade. Her voice was sweet and melodious, but there was a hint of decisive firmness behind it.

    ¡°Father, the reason why our previous n failed is mainly because I overlooked one thing!¡±

 Chapter 1924: I Wonâ€™t Pretend Anymore, All My Cards Are on the Table

    Chapter 1924: I Won¡¯t Pretend Anymore, All My Cards Are on the Table

    ¡°What did you overlook?¡± Meng Yi asked, reflexively sitting up straighter. This daughter of his was indeed good at scheming. Many of their arrangements over the years had actually been made by her. He even had to acknowledge her skills as her father.

    ¡°We overlooked Zu An¡¯s rtionship with the empress. They definitely have a connection we didn''t know about,¡± Meng Chan said with a sigh. ¡°Even so, how could anyone have imagined that the empress would have such a good rtionship with one of the crown princess¡¯petent subordinates?¡±

    If it weren¡¯t for both the empress and the crown princess¡¯ joint efforts to protect Zu An, anyone else would have already had their entire n wiped out after killing King Jin. And yet now, it was as if nothing had happened at all.

    Meng Yi frowned slightly, saying, ¡°The previous intelligence we had did fail to recognize their rtionship. Chan¡¯er, why do you think the empress would protect him like this?¡±

    Indeed, that didn¡¯t make sense. After all, the empress and the crown princess were like water and fire. As Zu An was an important minister of the crown princess, in theory, he should have been a thorn in the empress¡¯ side. When they were making their ns, they had predicted that the empress would seize the opportunity to clip the Eastern Pce¡¯s wings. Even if the empress didn¡¯t join in and did absolutely nothing, the matter would already have been wrapped up.

    And yet, things had ended up ying outpletely differently. The empress had not only interfered, but actually even helped Zu An! Even though she''d done it quite discreetly, they were all old foxes here. Her intentions were already apparent enough.

    Meng Chan shook her head slightly and said, ¡°I suspect that the empress wishes to dig a corner out of the Eastern Pce¡¯s defenses. As Zu An is the crown princess¡¯ most capable minister, if she could sessfully rope him in, the blow to the crown princess¡¯ prestige would be unprecedented. In the future, the crown princess would no longer be able topete with the empress.

    ¡°Even though he is an enemy, I have to admit that this Zu An is very skilled. He was clearly just amoner, and yet he managed to climb the ranks this rapidly in the past few years, even bing an influential figure in the court. What''s even more ridiculous is that he actually became the libationer, making it so that even I''m a bit curious and want to meet this man myself.¡±

    Meng Yi harrumphed. ¡°That brat is just a bit more handsome than average, but he''s reckless, shameless, and even a perverted bastard to boot. It''s rumored that he has quite a few beauties at his side, so you should stay far away from him.¡±

    ¡°Father, now that you¡¯ve said that, I''m even more curious. Just what kind of man is this?¡± Meng Chan asked, her eyes sparkling.

    Meng Yi was speechless.

    When she saw how dark her father¡¯s expression became, Meng Chan covered her mouth and replied with a giggle, ¡°Father, what are you thinking? I am a glorious princess; could it be that I¡¯d actually be tempted by someone like him? It''s just pure curiosity.¡±

    ¡°Don''t be so certain.¡± Meng Yi harrumphed. ¡°Even though I do not understand what kind of charm that youngster has, he seems to be very good at obtaining the favor of women. Forget about the crown princess¡¯ favor and trust, even the empress is acting like this. Sometimes, I even wonder if the empress was left alone in the pce for so long that she ended up catching some feelings when she saw how attractive and valiant that brat Zu An was.¡±

    ¡°Hm? There really seems to be a possibility of that,¡± Meng Chan said, sinking into her own thoughts. In the past, she had never considered things from that angle, but now that it was brought up, it was as if the door to an entirely new world had opened.

    ¡°Possibility? Like hell there could be any,¡± Meng Yi said with a scowl. ¡°I was just saying that in passing. What kind of status does the empress have? How could she possibly have that kind of rtionship with him?¡±

    ¡°Why not? Father, you don''t understand women at all,¡± Meng Chan said, wondering whether to find a chance to test that suspicion somehow.

    Meng Yi wanted to say something else, but he felt discussing something like that with his daughter was a bit too awkward.

    Suddenly, his expression changed and he said, ¡°Something¡¯s wrong. The transport formation has been activated!¡±

    Meng Chan¡¯s expression changed as well. Such legendary formations used a tremendous amount of ki stones, so they were only reserved for emergencies. They would only be used in the direst situations.

    The two of them rushed toward the rear courtyard. With perfect timing, they ran into King Dai, who had been staggering hurriedly in their direction. When he saw them, King Dai was so moved that he almost cried. ¡°Chan¡¯er, father-inw, save me!¡±

    Meng Chan¡¯s beautiful brows furrowed. She replied, ¡°You are a glorious king! What kind of dignity will you have left if you behave like this?!¡±

    This guy even wants to be the emperor in the future. How can he act so indecent?

    When she thought about how she had ended up marrying someone like that, she felt a bit annoyed.

    ¡°What happened?¡± Meng Yi asked calmly. He knew that something major had to have happened to leave King Dai in this state.

    ¡°That Zu An¡­ That Zu An almost killed me,¡± King Dai said. He recalled how those hands were just a hair away from touching him before he was transported away. In that instant, he really had felt as if he had an encounter with the reaper himself¡­

    ¡°How is that possible? You had so many guards, as well as other powerful cultivators. Didn¡¯t I send you that group of followers?¡± Meng Yi asked skeptically. ¡°Could it be that he brought the teachers from the Royal Academy? However, that isn¡¯t possible¡­ The Royal Academy has never interfered with matters of the court.¡±

    King Dai¡¯s head shook like a rattle. His eyes were full of horror as he replied, ¡°No, he was all by himself! Those followers werepletely wiped out; even when they joined hands, they weren¡¯t a match for him.¡±

    ¡°Alone?¡± Meng Yi repeated. Now, he was a bit surprised; even he wouldn''t be able to do something like that, right?

    Madam Dai was stunned.

    That Zu An really was that formidable?

    She suddenly thought of something and urgently asked, ¡°What about Sir Xu? Could it be that he didn¡¯t interfere?¡±

    ¡°He did! And yet he was dealt with in the first exchange! Hmph, why did that guy even brag so much, anyway? We even spent so many resources to pamper him,¡± King Dai said, feeling scared and angry.

    ¡°The first exchange?¡± Madam Dai eximed, her red lips hanging wide open and her eyes full of disbelief.

    King Dai scowled miserably and said, ¡°Strictly speaking, even before he could use a single move, he was already¡­¡±

    Suddenly, several people rushed over, and a servant cried out in rm, ¡°Master, master, bad news! Someone has invaded our manor!¡±

    Meng Yi was about to blow up with anger, but when he heard the second part, he calmed down and asked, ¡°Who is it? Could it be that Zu An?¡±

    The servant was stunned, replying, ¡°How did master know? Master, hurry ande back! That person has already unleashed a mad ughter!¡±

    King Dai¡¯s entire body started trembling. He said, ¡°Chan¡¯er, father-inw, let¡¯s hurry and run. We still have time¡­¡±

    Meng Chan gave him a cold look and retorted, ¡°You only know to run in this kind of situation? He¡¯s just one person, and yet you¡¯re already scared that badly?¡±

    Meng Yi also said sternly, ¡°The Meng n is not the same as other ces. Ping¡¯er, do not worry ande with me. I promise you that he will not be able to return aftering here.¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    After saying that, he hurriedly rushed out. Meng Chan also followed him.

    King Dai stood there alone with a conflicted expression. A lot of internal battles yed out in his mind, but in the end, he clenched his teeth and followed along. He could only feel safe at Chan¡¯er¡¯s side.

    ¡­

    Not long after they left, the group quickly heard several miserable screams. Meng Chan looked into the distance and saw arge group of guards surrounding a tall, handsome blue-d man...

    No, it actually seemed more as if that man was the one single-handedly surrounding hundreds of guards.

    As he walked forward step by step, the man¡¯s expression remained calm. He didn¡¯t even move his hands, but a golden flying sword darted around. Wherever it went, it spilled the blood of several guards, causing them to lose all fighting strength. Whether they used shields or helmets, nothing could stop his attacks.

    A look of surprise flickered through Meng Chan¡¯s eyes.

    Is this that Zu An? No wonder father said that he had such luck with romance and gained the favor of many women.

    King Dai said with a trembling voice, ¡°That guy is the devil! I already said that we should run, right?¡±

    Meng Yi remained aloof. He said with a snort, ¡°There is no need to frighten yourself. He is merely relying on the flying sword talisman he stole from King Jin Manor¡¯s Elder Chen.¡±

    However, he also found that a bit strange.

    The power of this brat¡¯s flying sword seems to be much stronger than Chen Xingchao¡¯s¡­

    He cleared his throat and asked, ¡°Sir Zu, what are you doing right now?¡±

    Zu An calmly said, ¡°I want to kill people. Can you not tell?¡±

    The corners of Meng Yi¡¯s lips tilted upward. He coldly replied, ¡°Sir Zu, we are currently at the foot of the rightful son of heaven, inside the capital city. You first publicly attacked King Jin Manor, and you have now unleashed a ughter on this old one¡¯s manor. Do you know that you have alreadymitted tremendous crimes? Even if you manage to escape from this ce through some fluke, you will still be a fugitive of the court. Not even your identity as the libationer will be enough to pardon you for these crimes.¡±

    Chan¡¯er, do you see? Our n has finally seeded.

    All of our provocations and attempts to upset him were to make this guy lose all reason. Now, we¡¯ve won.

    As long as we kill him, the Eastern Pce will be much easier to take down.

    Meng Chan, however, had a worried expression. Even though everything had turned out ording to her very own ns, she was a bit puzzled.

    Why do I feel a vague sense of unease, then?

    ¡°Oh? You want to talk about rules with me again?¡± Zu An retorted, a hint of mockery appearing on his lips ¡°The reason why I yed along with you guys earlier was only because I didn¡¯t want to let down those two¡¯s principles. That, and I didn''t want to involve myself in the corruption and filth of the court. And yet, how could I have known that you guys would take a mile when given an inch?

    ¡°In that case, I won¡¯t pretend anymore. All my cards are on the table. Starting today, I''m the one who will have the final say in this capital city!¡±

    Even though Zu An spoke calmly, a mysterious pressure spread outward in all directions. Many people trembled deep down inside.

    Even Meng Yi could vaguely feel all of his fine hairs standing on end. However, since the situation was still to his advantage, there was no way he would back down even half a step. He replied, ¡°Hahaha, did this old one hear incorrectly? Even a brat still wet behind your ears dares to say something like that? Who do you think you are? Do you even know just how many in this capital¡­¡±

    Before he could finish his sentence, Zu An vanished with a flicker. In an instant, he reappeared with his hand around Meng Yi''s neck... and then that hand twisted gently.

    Crack!

    Meng Yi¡¯s entire head leaned to one side, his eyes wide open. He had never expected Zu An to actually be this fast, to the point that he didn¡¯t even have the time to react.

    Zu An casually flung the corpse onto the ground. Then, he took out a handkerchief to wipe his hands, saying, ¡°He really knew how to spout bullshit.¡±

    A deathly silence fell over the whole area. The jaws of all those present practically reached the ground. A glorious Central Secretariat Supervisor, the n leader of one of the world¡¯s most influential ns, someone who shone like a sun in the sky in the imperial court¡­ The Meng Yi who could turn the clouds and bring down rain with a turn of his hand had died just like that?

    Was there something wrong with the world when it started this day?

    There was only one person who reacted quickly. The instant Zu An vanished, Meng Chan grabbed her husband and escaped some distance away, thinking that even if her father couldn''t win against Zu An, he should have been able to hold him up for a bit. Then, once they activated all of the preparations they had in the manor, they would definitely make this guy pay. Of course, that sounded great, but killing him just like that did seem like a bit of a pity.

    However, who would have thought that a secondter, her father would have his neck snapped? Her entire mind went nk.

    Her father, who had demonstrated rigorous schemes and deep foresight ever since she was young, someone who had endless countermeasures for everything, had died just like that? A man who had master rank cultivation?!

 Chapter 1925: Come At Me Together

    Chapter 1925: Come At Me Together

    Only then did all the followers of the Meng n with strong cultivation converge; there were actually over a hundred. Whether in terms of their numbers or their cultivation, they were quite a bit more formidable than King Dai Manor. The home of a Central Secretariat Supervisor was actually more formidable than a glorious king manor! Judging from that, it was easy to see just how deep the influence of the Meng n ran.

    When she saw them arrive, Meng Chan¡¯s trembling heart eased a bit. She ordered them in an ice-cold voice, ¡°Kill him!¡±

    This guy actually dared to kill my father!

    No matter how handsome he is, he cannot be forgiven anymore.

    ¡°Understood!¡± the Meng n followers replied; they were clearly easier to order around than the ones in King Dai Manor. When they heard her, they all rushed out to attack Zu An at the center. They figured that, with so many of them, they could just smother him to death with numbers. The Meng n would definitely reward the first person to cut this Zu An down handsomely.

    When he saw the scene, King Dai just felt a sense of deja vu. His face turned incredibly pale. He reflexively tugged on his wife¡¯s sleeve and said, ¡°Chan¡¯er, these people are useless! We should use this chance to hurry and run!¡±

    Meng Chan flung her sleeve outward and shook him away. She coldly said, ¡°The Meng n¡¯s followers are nothing like King Dai Manor¡¯s trash¡­¡±

    Her expression stiffened midway through her sentence. The reason for that was because she saw the hundred followers who had rushed ferociously at Zu An suddenly kneel down one after another with horrified expressions. Those with weaker cultivations even defecated or urinated on the spot, murky liquid pouring out from their trouser legs.

    A wave of terrifying pressure spread in all directions. Even though Meng Chan had created some distance between them earlier, she also felt greatly rmed. Her pretty face became iparably pale. She only felt that the one at the center had a domineering valor no one could match. However, he clearly hadn¡¯t even raised a single hand!

    Zu An walked forward step by step. When he saw all the cultivatorse at him, he didn¡¯t feel like bothering with them. He just activated the Tai¡¯e Sword¡¯s Domain of Power to deal with the situation.

    Meng Chan suddenly took out a small-scale formation disk. Then, she crushed a piece at the top. The gs ced around the Meng n¡¯s courtyard like decorations suddenly lit up. Immediately after, a blue barrier of light lit up in the air. It was as if an enormous bowl had wrapped around the entire manor.

    Zu An didn¡¯t do anything. He looked at the blue barrier of light and remarked, ¡°A formation? It seems to be of the wind element.¡±

    Meng Chan sighed in relief. She was thankful that she always prepared one or two countermeasures. Even though the number of followers had given her a sense of relief, she had also made sure to keep this formation disc on her. It was the decisive weapon Meng Yi had prepared in the manor for Zu An: The ck Deathwind Formation!

    The reason they had repeatedly provoked Zu An was precisely to pressure him into losing his rationality and ughtering his way to their manor. Then, they could just shut their doors and beat him down. They¡¯d have a proper and honorable pretext for taking out the Eastern Pce¡¯s most capable subject then. Everything had urred ording to their ns, except they had never expected him to be so strong. In a moment of carelessness, her father had actually been instantly killed.

    I guess the lesson is that even if the situation is within your grasp, you still can¡¯t ever be careless. Father was so pleased that he lost his sense of measure.

    That was why she didn¡¯t hesitate in the slightest, immediately using the formation to attack.

    Light surrounded every corner of the ce. Suddenly, cyclones appeared, growingrger andrger at a visible rate. In the blink of an eye, they became giant, chaotic tornadoes of ki that ravaged the space within. They were clearly full of destructive power. Dozens of tornadoes began to wreak havoc, sucking everything in their wake in.

    As those followers had surrounded Zu An, they weren¡¯t too far from him. They were also caught up in the great formation. Wherever the tornadoes passed, those with lower cultivations were directly swept up. Then, with miserable screams filling the air, they were instantly diced up into mincemeat.

    The other followers were horrified. Every gust within the tornadoes was a devastating de. Just how many of those des were there in such giant tornadoes? If someone were to be swallowed up, it would be like having ten thousand des hacking at them in the same instant. How the hell were they supposed to withstand something like that? They all did their best to move out of the way while hollering at Meng Chan outside, ¡°Madam Dai, please hurry and stop! We are still inside!¡±

    King Dai couldn''t help but say, ¡°Right! There are still people inside.¡±

    Meng Chan¡¯s expression remained calm. She coldly said, ¡°In this world, it isn¡¯t easy to find three-legged men, but two-legged cultivators are plentiful. If you won¡¯t do it, there are more than enough people who will.¡±

    The Meng n had raised these people for so many years, and yet in the end, not even a hundred people added together were able to make Zu An lift a finger. What use was there in keeping trash like that around? They¡¯d just gather another batch in the future. With the Meng n¡¯s prestige and wealth, that wouldn''t be too difficult at all. When the time came, she would personally inspect the recruits. She would rather have nothing than something of such shoddy quality. They had raised so many cultivators, yet they were all useless. In that case, it would be better to have a smaller force of elites.

    King Dai said weakly, ¡°I wanted to say that your father was also inside¡­¡±

    Even though Meng Yi had already died, his corpse was still there. If it ended up in the tornadoes¡­

    When she heard that, Meng Chan¡¯ expression changed. She quickly looked at the center of the stage just in time to see Meng Yi¡¯s corpse being sucked into the tornado, subsequently bing an endless Meng Yi.

    King Dai was speechless.

    What a unfilial woman¡­

    Even Meng Chan herself was speechless. She took a deep breath.

    Father, don¡¯t me me. Either way, you''ve already died. As long as I can help you get revenge, I believe that you would still¡­ agree to this kind of price.

    By then, the followers had practically already been wiped out, and yet Zu An stood in ce without budging. On several asions, the tornadoes seemed to be on the verge of engulfing him; and yet, they inexplicably moved out of the way, as if influenced by an invisible force.

    A trace of cold sweat dripped down the corners of Meng Chan¡¯s temples. She quickly operated the formation disc.

    The scattered tornadoes began tobine, ultimately forming a single enormous maelstrom that hid the sky and covered the earth. Apart from Zu An, there were no other living people left inside the barrier. The giant maelstrom turned into a dragon of wind, roaring as it rushed at the blue-robed man in the middle. Just one of its eyes was alreadyrger than a human.

    When she saw that, Meng Chan finally sighed in relief. This was a killing formation that had been passed down for hundreds of years in the Meng n, one of the n¡¯s greatest trump cards. They had never used it in countless years. If it sent this bastard Zu to hell, he could be proud to have passed on in that fashion.

    Zu An had been observing the formation for a while. With his knowledge of formations acquired from the ¡®Baopu Sutra¡¯, he had almost instantlye up with thirty-six ways of dealing with it. However, if he did it ording to those methods, it would be a bit time-consuming. As such, he waved his hand and sent a giant streak of sword ki straight at the wind dragon.

    The wind dragon opened its mouth and bit down, but the sword ki seemed almost formless as it passed straight through the dragon''s head; and yet, it proceeded to cut through the dragon''s body like a hot knife through butter. The terrifying wind dragon was cleaved in half just like that, and all of the rampaging ki that made up its body gradually disappeared. Still, the streak of ki didn¡¯t stop,ontinuing toward the blue barrier of light.

    Booooooom!

    The giant barrier instantly shattered to pieces, turning into specks of starlight that scattered across the area.

    The formation disc in Meng Chan¡¯s hands also cracked loudly, then split apart. Her charming face was pale. She had followed the n from start to finish, but the one thing she had miscalcted was that this man¡¯s strength far exceeded their predictions.

    This fellow is so young, and so handsome. How could he be this strong?

    ording to the intelligence we gathered, he was clearly just a cripple from Brightmoon City who couldn''t even cultivate just three years ago!

    King Dai had a sullen expression as he moaned, ¡°We¡¯re finished, we¡¯re finished! I already told you that we should run, but you just didn¡¯t listen¡­ Now it¡¯s toote even if we want to run¡­¡±

    He wanted to turn and run right now and let his wife stop that terrifying man, even if it was just for a few moments. However, his legs were already so weak that he couldn''t even take a single step.

    Meng Chan took a deep breath and said, ¡°We have not reached that stage yet. The Meng n¡¯s power is greater than you imagine.¡±

    Almost at the same moment, several figures rushed out from different parts of the Meng manor; each of them was around the same age as Meng Yi. King Dai realized that some were Meng Yi¡¯s brothers, and the rest were other members of the Meng n. They all flew through the air, so they were clearly master rank cultivators. There were actually five of them!

    These should be the uncles that Chan¡¯er mentioned before, right?

    King Dai was both shocked and happy. He was shocked that the Meng n had so many master rank cultivators. After all, a single master was powerful enough to be a king of a region! And yet the Meng manor alone had been hiding so many of them! Their ambitions were clearly great. However, he was happy because the stronger the Meng n was, the better it would be for him. His little life could now be saved.

    After observing the situation, the oldest of the masters, whose face was purple, couldn''t help but furrow his brows. He asked, ¡°Chan¡¯er, where is your father? He is actually not here at such a crucial time? Where is he?¡±

    ¡°Uncle, my father¡­¡± Meng Chan began to speak, but she didn¡¯t know how to exin the situation.

    King Dai helped her by saying, ¡°He¡¯s everywhere!¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°What do you mean, everywhere?¡± the master frowned. His purple face became even darker, as he was clearly very dissatisfied with the answer.

    King Dai¡¯s entire body shuddered under the pressure. He shifted his body closer to his wife and said weakly, ¡°For example, that piece under your feet might just be him¡­¡±

    The purple-faced master looked down and saw a piece of flesh under his feet. He was so startled he quickly jumped aside. There were bloodstains everywhere. Because of the ck Deathwind Formation, it was hard to even find a piece of intact flesh. He finally understood what King Dai meant. He looked at Zu An with shock and fury, eximing, ¡°Your methods were actually this cruel?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Meng Jin for +499 +499 +499¡­

    Zu An gave Meng Chan a look and didn¡¯t bother exining himself, saying, ¡°The punishment fits the crime.¡±

    For some reason, when Meng Chan met his gaze, her heart suddenly began to pound intensely. She felt an unprecedented sensation, leaving her confused as to what was going on. This guy had clearly just killed her father. Even though she hated him, for some reason, she felt admiration and a breathtaking sensation. She couldn''t help butpare him to King Dai, who was hiding behind her and trembling. She sighed, then looked at the unyielding blue-d figure again.

    That¡¯s what you call a man!

    With that, the other master rank cultivators also began to berate Zu An, saying things like ''When has the Meng n ever had to suffer like this before''.

    There wasn¡¯t even a ripple of change in Zu An¡¯s expression. He replied, ¡°Do the Meng n¡¯s people only know how to use their tongues? Please cease the nonsense. All of you cane at me together.¡±

 Chapter 1926: What Are You Going To Do About It?

    Chapter 1926: What Are You Going To Do About It?

    The master rank cultivators were all furious when they heard what Zu An said. They eximed, ¡°Youngster, you are too arrogant!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Meng Jin for +799 +799 +799¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Meng Zhui for +808 +808 +808¡­

    You have sessfully trolled¡­

    Who does this guy think he is? Zhao Han?

    Just then, Meng Chan quickly warned them, ¡°Uncles, please be careful. That man is extremely fast! Earlier, father ended up dying as soon as they met because of that.¡±

    As soon as she said that, the ground surged up and down like ocean waves. Several cracks opened up right next to Zu An. Immediately after, two giant arms burst out of the ground, grabbing at Zu An¡¯s legs.

    A white-haired master from the Meng n said with a sinisterugh, ¡°Chan¡¯er worries too much. We didn¡¯t reach our current strength purely through age.¡±

    When they first saw the bitter, blood-filled scene, the five of them had immediately raised their vignce to the greatest extent. They had already discussed what to do among themselves in private. What they had done earlier was nothing more than bait to trick Zu An. However, this brat really was arrogant, so their anger now was real.

    ¡°Just go to hell!¡± another master with hooked brows yelled, having finished gathering his strength.

    He took the chance to send his fist at the restrained Zu An. He immediately went all out at the start, not giving Zu An any chance to react and directly using his ultimate skill. A wild burst of wind suddenly swept all around him. All of the flowers, trees, and other nts nearby trembled, and all of their petals and leaves were sucked away, as if they were being drawn into an invisible vortex. A thousand streaks of cool wind gathered, forming a giant green fist out of the leaves and petals.

    With the wind element¡¯s power, every single delicate leaf and flower petal became the sharpest of des. However, that was still a secondary effect. The greatest force was still contained within the massive fist. In an instant, it seemed to suck all of the oxygen around Zu An dry. For those with lower cultivations, even if they didn¡¯t die from suffocation, they would explode to death on the spot due to the sudden change in air pressure.

    The fist resembled the divine punishment of an ancient being, full of devastating power. It was so vast that it was nearly impossible to avoid. Meng Chan¡¯s face paled as she saw it. If the attacknded, even though the Meng manor had the support of formations, more than half of it would probably still copse.

    And yet, Zu An didn¡¯t avoid the massive fist descending upon him. Instead, he reached out a finger and tapped forward.

    The eyes of those present widened.

    Is this youngster courting death?

    Compared to that giant fist, even his entire body seemed small and insignificant. His finger seemed like a toothpick that was trying to prick a great dragon!

    Even so, no one present was stupid. Since he dared to do such a thing, that meant he definitely had confidence in his strength.

    ¡°Old Eighth, be careful!¡± Meng Jin immediately warned the other master.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    However, it was still toote. When the insignificant finger made contact with the terrifying, gigantic fist, what followed wasn''t the expected sight of the finger snapping. Rather, the giant fist began to leak energy, rapidly dissipating like a deted balloon and losing its powerful pressure.

    At the same time, a golden beam of energy fired straight out of the single finger. Perhaps because the scattered wind energy blocked his vision, or because the streak of golden light was just too fast, Old Eighth couldn''t react in time at all. The golden light pierced right through his brain. He fell to the ground like a broken sack, no longer floating in midair in an awe-inspiring manner.

    ¡°Old Eighth!¡± the others cried out, feeling shocked and furious. They had never expected that this perfectly prepared situation would so quickly result in the death of one of theirpanions.

    Fortunately, the elder named Meng Zhui had already finished gathering his power. He was a water element cultivator. In that time, he had gathered all of the water from the Meng manor¡¯s pool, creating over ten thousand streaks of condensed sword ki around him. He unleashed them with a shout. ¡°Go!¡±

    Fueled by hatred, the power he released was hundred and twenty percent of what he could usually disy. The endless swords of water poured down like a torrential rain, leaving the enemy no room for evasion. There was so much sword ki that it was enough to shave off all of Zu An''s flesh. Not even his bones would remain!

    King Dai had an excited expression.

    Those water swords look so badass! Hmph, this kind of array looks much more formidable than my n¡¯s useless wine sacks and food bags. That bastard is dead for sure!

    Meanwhile, Meng Chan stared at the figure in the center, as if she was doing her best to remember his appearance. After all, he would soon be purged by the endless water swords until not even a human figure remained. However, her beautiful eyes suddenly widened, because she saw an inconceivable sight. When those ferocious water swords approached Zu An, it was as if an invisible barrier of light appeared around him. Whenever the water swords made contact with the barrier of light, they melted away on the spot.

    ¡°How?!¡± Meng Zhui eximed, his eyes wide. The sight really was beyond hisprehension.

    Zu An¡¯s expression remained calm as he slowly raised his hands. The water swords seemed to have received another order, as they turned around to aim at Meng Zhui.

    ¡°This¡­¡± Meng Zhui murmured in horror. In that instant, he could sense that Zu An¡¯s affinity with the water element far exceeded his own, which was why his own connection with the water swords was severed and his control over them was overtaken.

    Immediately after, with a gentle wave of Zu An¡¯s hand, all of the flying swords were released. Meng Zhui wasn¡¯t given any chance to react before his body was prated in an instant. He exploded into a bloody mist in midair, not even leaving a corpse.

    ¡°Old Sixth,pletely restrain him!¡± Meng Jin barked in shock and outrage. It seemed that restraining Zu An''s legs was far from enough!

    ¡°Yes!¡± a chubby elder replied, then hurriedly formed a hand seal. Several more pairs of arms grabbed at Zu An¡¯s arms. However, he was feeling really nervous, because he wasn¡¯t sure whether his skill could really restrain this person.

    His eyes quickly narrowed as he saw Zu An suddenly raise a leg.

    How can this be?!

    After all, the power of those earth element arms could hold back over a hundred thousand kilograms in weight, and they had already mped down on his legs. In theory, it shouldn''t have been possible for Zu An to move anymore!

    And yet Zu An moved.

    Then, with a stomp of his foot, a wave of invisible force spread out. The giant hands disintegrated back into dirt!

    The chubby elder hurriedly tried to gather earth element power, but he had already lost track of his target. Someone suddenly appeared at his side, making all his fine hairs stand on end. An earth-colored tortoiseshell appeared around his entire body. The earth element excelled in defense, so as long as he could hold off the enemy for an instant, hispanions¡¯ powerful attacks would arrive and he would be saved!

    However, he was soon filled with despair. Before Zu An¡¯s fist, the defenses he had been extremely proud of were like wet paper, bursting apart in an instant. A fist smashed into the middle of his back. When he looked down, he saw that there was already a giant hole in his chest. Bloody bubbles gurgled out of his lips. He wanted to say something else, but he couldn''t say a single thing. In the end, he fell straight to the ground.

    ¡°Despicable bastard!¡± a grim-faced elder roared. His hands joined together, and an invisible wave of cold spread in all directions with tremendous speed. Even the air in the sky was frozen! The entire courtyard became a silver world, as if they were on the Great Snowy Mountain.

    Meng Chan and King Dai both shivered; it was unclear whether that was because of the temperature, or because their hearts felt cold. They couldn''t help but move farther away.

    The grim-faced elder was also quite happy with the current situation. His power of cold didn¡¯t have tremendous offensive power, but after hispanion had released a powerful water element skill, the air was full of water vapor. Thus, the power of his ice technique was multiplied severalfold.

    The white frost almost instantly converged around Zu An. However, he raised his brows and remarked, ¡°You''re going to y with ice in front of me?¡±

    No one saw how he did it, but a snow phoenix seemed to appear in the grim-faced elder¡¯s view. Immediately after, his entire body began to freeze over. In the blink of an eye, itpletely surrounded his body, and even his consciousness was frozen. His still figure plummeted straight down from the air. When it made contact with the ground, it shattered into countless pieces. The chunks of ice still bore traces of red, serving as the only reminder that there had ever been a person there.

    As he watched the events unfold, Meng Jin felt as if his eye sockets were going to split apart. In just a few breaths of time, thesepanions of his had already died one after another. These people were the core and foundation of the Meng n! Now that they had all been wiped out, the Meng n was also destined to fall.

    When he realized that, he felt even more hatred. He yelled, ¡°Just die!¡±

    He unleashed his forbidden art: Soaring mes Meteor!

    Forbidden arts were things that were rarely seen in the world. In the world of cultivation, it was quite surprising for there to be even a single person out of tens of thousands who knew how to use them. It was only because Meng Jin''s status in the Meng n was extraordinary that he''d gained the opportunity to obtain a forbidden art. It required the user to pay a severe cost. Upon invoking it, even if the user didn¡¯t die, they would be severely injured. Even so, its strong pointy in its tremendous strength. It contained enough power to at least destroy an entire city.

    He hadn''t actually nned to use the technique before. However, after seeing hispanions killed one after another, he immediately changed his mind. He knew his other powerful skills weren¡¯t enough to pose a threat to this person, so he could only bring out his greatest trump card. Even if he went down with the enemy, he would at least have eliminated the greatest enemy of the Meng n.

    This was why he hadn''t done anything while hispanions were killed. Even so, those individuals¡¯ sacrifices were still worth it, as he had finallypleted the preparations for his skill.

    The entire sky dimmed. Dark clouds surged, pierced by surges of fiery light, as if something was struggling toe out. The energy contained within quickly locked onto Zu An. When the Soaring mes Meteor descended, even if this Zu bastard was a grandmaster, he would be sted into ashes.

    In that instant, a voice sighed and said in his ear, ¡°You don¡¯t really think you''ll still have a chance to attack, do you?¡±

    Immediately after, a finger pressed against Meng Jin¡¯s forehead. Meng Jin''s horrified eyes instantly grew dim, and his body fell to the ground. The terrifying dark clouds lost the support of the skill''s user, so they could only scatter. Meanwhile, Meng Jin¡¯s corpse suffered the bacsh of the forbidden art. A burst of me erupted, and his corpse was burned into ashes before it even hit the ground.

    Zu An looked at the dissipating dark clouds.

    This forbidden art is a bit interesting.

    He recalled how in the very first secret dungeon he and Chuyan had gone into, she had also used a forbidden art against Shi Kun¡­ However, after already experiencing so many things, he didn¡¯t think that the forbidden art this Meng Jin had been summoning could even hurt him. Even though he could just face it head-on, though, there was no need to.

    When they saw what happened, Meng Chan and King Dai werepletely numb. They turned around and ran for the rear courtyard. Meng Chan screamed as she ran, ¡°Great ancestor, please save my husband!¡±

    Just then, both of them felt some pressure against their bodies. Zu An was already standing between them, one hand on each person¡¯s shoulder. He said, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter whoes; no one will be able to save him today.¡±

    Hm? Why did I suddenly go along with her tempo? Don¡¯t I need to deal with her too?

    ¡°How audacious!¡± A furious roar that seemed to shake the skies suddenly erupted from the depths of the Meng Manor. ¡°This old one will make sure you meet a tragic end if you dare to touch even a single strand of hair on King Dai¡¯s head!¡±

    A terrifying aura spread outward. Soon after, the entire capital began to rock back and forth a bit. One after another, many elders who had secluded themselves in the deepest caverns of their ns opened their eyes.

    Why did the Meng n¡¯s old fellow wake up?

    ¡°Oh?¡± Zu An replied,ughing in disdain. He tore off half of King Dai¡¯s hair in an instant before remarking, ¡°This is probably more than a single hair, I reckon. So? What are you going to do about it?¡±

 Chapter 1927: What Will You Use to Fight Me Now?

    Chapter 1927: What Will You Use to Fight Me Now?

    King Dai immediately screamed his lungs out. He had never experienced such pain before! He felt as if even his scalp had been torn off with his hair. On any other day, if one of his servants actually pulled a strand of hair and hurt him, he would immediately have kicked them in anger. But now, he didn¡¯t dare! He didn¡¯t even dare to get angry and could only make himself look as pitiful as possible, hoping that Zu An would hold back and go a bit easier.

    ¡°You bastard!¡± Another furious roar echoed through the air. A terrifying aura surrounded the entire Meng manor. Immediately after, a streak of green light rushed into the sky, and the clouds above began to converge. At that instant, it seemed as if all of the ki in the world had begun gathering toward the Meng manor.

    Many ns became nervous. The eight dukes were going to make an appearance again?! The capital likely wouldn''t be at peace again for quite some time.

    Just then, a figure slowly descended while riding on a magic cloud, floating in midair. He was the Minister of Works, one of the Great Zhou Dynasty¡¯s legendary eight dukes. Peak of the grandmaster rank, Meng Jing!

    Zu An sized him up. Meng Jing was an elder with white hair but a healthyplexion. He was clearly much older than Meng Yi, but his skin was still very smooth with almost no wrinkles. Apart from his hair being grizzled like an elder''s, he didn''t look particrly old at all.

    Zu An''s gazended on the magic cloud beneath Meng Jing¡¯s feet.

    This old guy isn''t bad,ing up with this unique way to make an appearance.

    The elder¡¯s gaze swept over everything before him with electrifying power. The people of the Meng manor felt a shiver down to their very bones, as if their souls had been seen through.

    ¡°Great ancestor!¡± Meng Chan eximed, overjoyed.

    After all, the Meng n¡¯s great ancestor had always been secluded within the Meng n¡¯s most secret ce, never showing himself. There were outsiders who had even suspected that he had already died. Only the Meng n¡¯s people knew that he had been alive all this time, and it was just that he had been more concerned with making further improvements in his cultivation and bing an earth immortal. He had no interest in anything else. In dozens of years, the Meng n had asked Meng Jing to help them eliminate some powerful enemies several times, and yet he had never responded to any of those requests. As time went on, they had be used to settling ordinary matters on their own, no longer holding out any hope for his assistance.

    Previously, Meng Chan had merely called out while at the end of her rope. She hadn¡¯t had much hope, but to her surprise, he had really responded!

    When he saw the tears on her face and saw how she was trying to say something through her sobs, Meng Jing raised his hand and said, ¡°There is no need to say any more. I already know.¡±

    Meng Chan thought to herself, Great ancestor is great ancestor after all¡­ Nothing that happens in this manor escapes him.

    Even so, if he already knew, why didn¡¯t he do anything earlier?

    Could it be that it''s as the rumors say, that these individuals usually remain as dormant as possible? That every time they make an appearance, it''s at the cost of their limited lifespans?

    Meng Jing looked at Zu An and said, ¡°That power you disyed, that left the manor¡¯s followers too frightened to attack you, should be a certain sort of domain. From the looks of it, you are probably also a grandmaster. No wonder Meng Yi, that disappointing fellow, was defeated so bitterly. Are you at the wisdom, ascension, or fate mortal soul stage?¡±

    These were the three great cultivation stages of the grandmaster rank. Those at the wisdom mortal soul cultivated the point between their brows. They could produce a domain to help them inbat, which was also the fundamental difference between masters and grandmasters. Meanwhile, the ascension mortal soul was when the yin spirit could be cultivated and sent outside the body. The fate mortal soul was when one could cultivate a fate soul, thus allowing the yin spirit to no longer fear the zing sun. It would be able to move about freely even during daylight. Those at the fate soul stage would only be a step away from the earth immortal rank.

    Meng Jing himself was at the pinnacle of the fate mortal soul stage. He had never expected the Meng n to suffer so greatly; in fact, no one had. ording to the intelligence they''d collected, this youngster should have only cultivated for three years! Who could have anticipated that in just three short years, this brat could go from someone without a shred of cultivation all the way up to grandmaster rank?

    Forget about the past hundreds of thousands of years, even in all of human history, there had never been someone like that before! So that mistake in judgment couldn''t be med on Meng Yi and the others.

    Zu An replied calmly, ¡°What, you¡¯ll only be brave enough to try me after testing me out first?¡±

    Meng Jing roared withughter when he heard that, the sound echoing through the entire capital and making every single house shake. He said, ¡°You damn brat, you do have some skill. You managed to reach the grandmaster rank at such a young age, so a bit of bragging is understandable. Unfortunately, your foundation is still too shallow. You cannot fathom the depths of a great n like ours. At the same time, you do not understand the terror of experienced veteran grandmasters such as us.¡±

    After saying that, his eyes suddenly shone with a hint of strange radiance.

    At the same time, King Dai''s eyes also shone with a simr light. His face no longer held the same cowardly and timid expression; instead, it looked a bit more like Meng Jing''s. He suddenly formed a w with one hand and attacked Zu An¡¯s dantian. His other hand attacked Zu An¡¯s neck vital. In that instant, the power his body erupted with was actually extremely vast and terrifying!

    Meng Chan''s eyes widened. Why had her husband suddenly be so unfamiliar?

    Why did I not know that he had such ability?

    When someone suddenly ambushed him at such a close distance with the power of a grandmaster, Zu An had no choice but to loosen his grip on Meng Chan¡¯s shoulder. She felt as if she had just received a great reprieve and quickly ran forward for her life. She immediately moved behind her great ancestor. Then, she gave the other side a nce, her eyes wide.

    The battle already ended?

    King Dai screamed miserably. It turned out that his arms had already been snapped, and his entire body had been restrained by Zu An again. Meanwhile, his expression had returned to normal.

    Zu An gave Meng Jing a surprised look and asked, ¡°Was that the yin spirit of the fate mortal soul that was attached to him? Interesting.¡±

    The yin spirit of a grandmaster at the fate mortal soul could move freely without fearing the power of the sun. That was why it could attach to any vessel and achieve results such as allowing a flying sword to behead an enemy thousands of miles away. Apart from that, however, a yin spirit could only be temporarily attached to another person. Just now, Meng Jing had suddenly attached himself to King Dai¡¯s body to try and ambush Zu An.

    Zu An couldn''t help but be a bit jealous. After his own cultivation waspletely changed by thebination of the Kun Peng and Heaven Devouring Sutra through the Keyboard System, the way his strength increased was greatly differentpared to other cultivators. He was clearly not weak, but he couldn''t do such tricks.

    Meng Chan was the wife of a prince and also came from an influential n, so she had heard a bit about such a thing. She suddenly felt a chill.

    Did the great ancestor secretly attach his yin spirit to my husband? Oh no, just the thought alone is terrifying¡­

    However, she quickly calmed herself down. There was quite a significant difference in personalities when the yin spirit attached itself to the original person. Perhaps other ignorant spouses wouldn¡¯t be able to tell, but she believed herself to be quite sharp. How could she be duped like that?

    Meng Jing also looked at Zu An in surprise. He said, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect your reaction to be so quick, or your close quarters prowess to be so strong.¡±

    Even though the power of his target would be far beneath his own, it would at least have thirty percent of his power. If a grandmaster without ample experience were ambushed under those circumstances, they would likely be seriously injured.

    He didn¡¯t wait for Zu An to respond and shouted coldly, ¡°Fine. Seeing as you have a bit of skill, I¡¯ll give you a chance to live. Let King Dai go, and cut off your own arms. Kowtow for forgiveness from the Meng n, with a number of kowtows equivalent to the number of people you killed. From then on, you will be a ve of the Meng n. This old one can then spare you from death.¡±

    ¡°What if I don¡¯t let him go?¡± Zu An replied with a chuckle. He reached out and raised King Dai by the head.

    Meng Jing¡¯s expression changed. Not even he had confidence in saving King Dai in this kind of situation. He said, ¡°Make no mistake, if you kill him, there will be no way out for you.¡±

    ¡°Stop!¡± Meng Chan cried out in rm and quickly said to Zu An, ¡°He harmed the Qin n and Murong n¡¯s people so badly, and he even schemed against you like that! If you kill him just like that, wouldn¡¯t you be letting him go too easily?¡±

    Even though she had never seen Zu An, from the moment they first met, she had immediately realized that the intelligence surrounding this man was wrong to an absurd degree. He was practically the most daring person in this world! What wouldn¡¯t he dare to do in this world? If great ancestor scared him like this, not only would it not be of any use in persuading him, it could very well immediately push him into unleashing another massacre!n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    When he heard what she said, Zu An stopped partway through preparing to squeeze with his hand. He nodded, saying, ¡°What you said is somewhat reasonable. Letting him die just like this would be letting him off too easily.¡±

    After saying that, he raised a leg and kicked out. With a crack, King Dai¡¯s legs werepletely shattered, to the point that they couldn''t even be recovered. Then, he reached out a hand and tore straight through King Dai¡¯s dantian. Now, King Dai had be a cripple without any cultivation.

    ¡°I¡¯ll let you have a taste of the Qin n¡¯s suffering then," Zu An said.

    ¡°Ah¡­ Ah¡­¡± King Dai squealed like a ughtered pig again and again. Eventually, his face contorted into a vile expression, and he cried out, ¡°Meng Chan, you vile woman! You¡¯re borrowing the hand of another to torture me? Were you hoping for me to die as soon as possible because you already found another man a long time ago?! You¡­¡±

    A barrage of terrible verbal abuse followed. If it were written here, it would be censored by the Chinese inte.

    King Dai was filled with hatred. He didn¡¯t dare to curse Zu An, so he vented all of his resentment onto Meng Chan.

    Meng Chan¡¯s pretty face turned pale. She opened her mouth, but she didn¡¯t know what to say. She had various reasons, but how could she say them in front of this ughtering demon Zu An?

    ¡°Quit the bullshitting,¡± Zu An said, smacking King Dai in the face. ¡°She only said that to try and save your life. She had good intentions.¡±

    Even so, it had just happened to fall in line with his goals. Killing King Dai did seem to be going too easy on this brat.

    King Dai was stunned. The instant he looked at his wife, he was both vexed and embarrassed.

    However, Meng Chan didn¡¯t even give him a single look. In that instant, she had actually felt a strange sense of understanding from that murderous demon.

    Just how long have we even known each other?

    ¡°You¡¯re courting death!¡± Meng Jing yelled; he was now now truly angered. This brat had actuallypletely ignored his presence from the start!

    You have sessfully trolled Meng Jing for +888 +888 +888¡­

    A special domain spread outward in all directions. The air around Meng Jing seemed to be a bit more viscous. He said, ¡°You damn brat, I admit that you have some skill and you are fast. However, these advantages of yours are nothing in front of this old one!¡±

    Meng Chan¡¯s expression changed. She felt as if a mountain had begun pressing down on her body. She could no longer hold on and fell straight on her bottom. Even so, her entire body was soaked in sweat. She could only grit her teeth and hold on like that.

    King Dai was in an even worse state. He was already lying t on the ground. His bones began to crack, and his miserable screams became even louder.

    However, Zu An stood in ce,pletely calm.

    ¡°You¡¯re just pretending to be calm,¡± Meng Jing said with a sneer. ¡°This is this old one¡¯s special domain. Every single action you make in this space will be ten times harder. Your speed, your ki cirction, and the power of your attacks will be reduced to only a tenth of their usual limits. What can you still bring out to fight against me?¡±

    Victory and defeat between true experts was often decided by a minute difference. Those at the very top already had absolute control over all of their own abilities and attacks. However, under such a huge change in gravity, the effects on those same powerful individuals would be equally great, as fighting would bepletely different from what they were used to. That little bit of difference between two cultivators of simr ranks was already enough for one to die hundreds of times over.

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Zu An replied, raising a hand. A golden streak of sword ki shot out. It was so fast that there was no time to react at all. It pierced straight through Meng Jing''s throat.

    ¡°What?!¡± Meng Chan eximed, her beautiful eyes widening. Just a moment before, the shock of seeing her father instantly ughtered had already been great enough. However, not even the sight of seeing her uncles being killed one after another by Zu An was enough to match the shock she felt right now.

    One of the Great Zhou Dynasty¡¯s eight dukes and one of the world¡¯s most powerful experts, the Meng n¡¯s guardian, had died just like that?

 Chapter 1928: King of Kings

    Chapter 1928: King of Kings

    However, soon after, a voice eximed in surprise, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you affected by my domain?¡±

    Meng Chan looked over in shock and happiness. She saw that the Meng n¡¯s great ancestor was standing nearby, safe and sound. Meanwhile, the body that had been struck became a paper doll that burned up into nothing.

    I¡¯m so d that the great ancestor is fine!

    Meng Chan immediately felt as if the sky had be a bit more colorful. Even so, she was a bit worried. The great ancestor¡¯s voice seemed to be a bit less confident than before.

    Weren¡¯t you referring to yourself as ¡®this old one¡¯ just now? Why is it just ¡®my¡¯ now?

    It was a substitution treasure!

    Zu An was a bit surprised, but he then felt relieved. Zhao Han had had quite a few of these things when they fought, and that had given him quite a few headaches at the time.

    This Meng Jing is one of the eight dukes and even the Meng n¡¯s great ancestor. It¡¯s not too surprising for him to have simr life-saving treasures.

    However, even someone like Zhao Han could only have so many. Other people would only have a single one at most.

    ¡°It¡¯s just a shoddy domain. Why didn¡¯t I see you using it to challenge the emperor back then?¡± Zu An asked nonchntly.

    He could feel that the surrounding air had be a bit more viscous due to the restriction of certain naturalws. However, with his current cultivation, he seemed to be able to easily break free of thosews. To a certain extent, he could sense that thesews were just too trivial. After all, he had witnessed higher and more terrifying ones.

    Meng Jing choked. But he reacted quickly as well, retorting, ¡°What an egotistical child! You dare to make aparison to his majesty?!¡±

    He didn¡¯t dare to show any carelessness now. He reached out his hand, and a streak of dim light tore through the roof of the Meng n¡¯s ancestral hall. It flew straight into his hand, revealing the form of a de.

    When she saw that, Meng Chan was a bit moved. She eximed, ¡°It¡¯s the n¡¯s legendary de!¡±

    It was the immortal-grade weapon, the Bonewater Cleaver! It was the weapon of the Meng n¡¯s founder! When the founder perished, he had left his de with the Meng n, and it was subsequently enshrined in the ancestral hall for generation after generation. Over hundreds of years, the de had only been used three times. In every instance, the Meng n had used it to bring down a powerful foe. This would only be the fourth instance.

    Meng Chan looked at Zu An with a conflicted expression.

    If the great ancestor even took out this de, could this man really be so powerful that not even the great ancestor has the confidence to take him down alone?

    Meng Jing received the de respectfully with both hands. His fingers gently brushed against its surface as he said, ¡°Youngster, the fact that you will die by the Bonewater Cleaver is something to be extremely proud of.¡±

    Zu An clicked his tongue and replied, ¡°You made such a big deal out of it that I almost thought you were bringing out a divine weapon, but is that all? Besides, the name sounds so stupid, as if it''s some pig-butchering knife.¡±

    When he saw how excited Meng Chan and the other Meng n people were getting, he had even started to get a bit worried. And yet now, it was nothing more than an immortal-grade weapon. Was it really worth such a huge deal being made over it?

    ¡°Brat, you¡¯re courting death!¡± Meng Jing snapped furiously. In the hearts of the Meng n¡¯s people, this de¡¯s status was extraordinary. Forget about him, even the disciples in the distance were filled with righteous indignation.

    You have sessfully trolled Meng Jing for +999 +999 +999¡­

    You have sessfully trolled Meng¡­

    ¡­

    When he saw the Rage points that were pouring in from the Meng n disciples, Zu An only thought, I finally have a bit of ie for Huanzhao¡¯s Marrow Cleansing Pills.

    The Bonewater Cleaver in Meng Jing¡¯s hands suddenly shot out and hacked at Zu An¡¯s head. Waves of de ki swept toward Zu An like a great river. No wonder it was called a ¡®water cleaver¡¯!

    The river-like stream of de ki was about to make contact with Zu An¡¯s neck when Zu An suddenly reached out and gave it a light flick. With a brittle cracking sound, the overflowing river disappeared without a trace, and the de was instantly flicked to the side.

    Meng Jing wasn¡¯t rmed at all. A faintly visible clone emerged from his body, looking nearly identical to his true body. It was his yin spirit.

    The yin spirit leaped forward and attached itself to the Bonewater Cleaver. Immediately after, that de seemed to havee alive. It released an almost ¡®joyous¡¯ cry. It didn¡¯t stop moving at all, and rushed at Zu an again. It flew in circles, then disappeared into the void.

    Meng Chan had some experience, and suspected that the de hadn''t actually disappeared; rather, it was too fast. It was just that those with lower cultivations like her couldn''t see it anymore. She wondered if that guy would be able to react in time.

    I hope great ancestor can cut him down here. Otherwise¡­

    However, she soon received her answer. Zu An suddenly raised his hand and flicked at the air.

    ng!

    Meng Chan finally saw the de again. It was flung back, vibrating loudly.

    At the same time, however, a white streak of light that seemed to connect heaven and earth cut at Zu An from another direction.

    ¡°Hm? This is a bit more interesting,¡± Zu An remarked to himself, thinking, Could this be a special ability of the de? He could sense some naturalws of destruction in the streak of white light. shing with it head-on was clearly not a good idea.

    No wonder the Meng n attached so much importance to this weapon¡­ It is a bit special.

    Still, if it wants to do anything with that speed, that¡¯s nothing more than wishful thinking.

    He took a step to the side and easily avoided the white light. However, the Bonewater Cleaver disappeared once again and attacked him from all directions.

    Zu An looked at a certain point in the air. The de that seemed imperceptibly fast flew out again. At the same time, the white light returned; this time, it formed two intersecting lines in the shape of a cross. Zu An had a pensive expression.

    Could it be that¡­ he thought to himself while taking a step to the right. He easily avoided the cross-shaped white light.

    When she saw that, Meng Chan was a bit disappointed. The Meng n¡¯s legendary de seemed to be a bit faster than usual, but it didn¡¯t seem to have any other special abilities. Great ancestor even seeed to have attacked together with it. It only served to make that man appear even more handsome with his leisurely dodges.

    Ah, I hate all of this¡­ Why did he have to be an enemy who killed my father?

    ¡­

    Meng Jing controlled the de to attack Zu An again. When the de was knocked flying once more, a grin appeared on the corners of his lips.

    The cross-shaped white light returned to hack at Zu An again. However, Zu An took a step to the side and easily avoided the intersecting lights once again.

    King Dai, who had raised his head to watch the battle, almost cursed out loud.

    What use is there in this shitty de? It¡¯s so slow that even I can avoid it!

    Right at that moment, something strange happened.

    The slow-moving cross of light suddenly expanded massively. Both the horizontal and vertical lines produced countless other streaks of light parallel to themselves. Previously, there had been a lot of space to move around in, making it easy to avoid the cross-shaped light. And yet now, the whole space was surrounded by a dense web of light. Their speed also suddenly elerated, so there was no way for the trapped target to escape at all.

    ¡°So that¡¯s why it was called a bone cleaver!¡± Meng Chan eximed, finally understanding.

    If those deadly beams swept past, someone''s entire body would be diced up into chunks of flesh, right? It was just like how chefs chopped up beef and pork.

    Wait, why am I worrying for that guy?

    My dad died such a tragic death, so he deserves to die like this!

    ¡°Do you think I¡¯ve never seen Resident Evil before?¡± Zu An remarked with a sigh, then raised his hand. The center of his palm immediately became pitch-ck, making the surrounding light rays also begin to distort. The web of white light was naturally no exception. It seemed to be sucked in by some force, vanishingpletely into the ck vortex.

    Meng Jing¡¯s eyeballs were about to pop out of their sockets.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    What the hell? The Bonewater Cleaver¡¯s ultimate move was destroyed just like that?

    After all, the reason why the Bonewater Cleaver was referred to as an immortal-grade weapon was precisely because of that ability! For centuries, the Meng n had relied on it to take down several beings who were more powerful than the n master at the time. Who would have thought that it would end up being defeated at the hands of a junior? More importantly, it was as if he had already anticipated that such a thing would happen!

    And what is going on with that ck hole in his palm? Why were those rays of destruction all sucked in?

    In that instant, countless questions filled his mind. However, he didn¡¯t have time to think about anything in detail. He quickly controlled the Bonewater Cleaver and sent it to attack Zu An again.

    ¡°It¡¯s time to end things,¡± Zu An said, taking out a small dagger and holding it up at cheek height.

    Meng Chan¡¯s eyes widened. This was the first time Zu An had brought out a weapon, but wasn¡¯t it a bit too ordinary? It looked like the most simple and in throwing knife, the kind one could find for a few silvers at any street cksmith.

    ng!

    Immediately after, the Bonewater Cleaver flew directly toward the knife, and the two weapons collided. However, the ordinary-looking knife waspletely unharmed. It was actually the immortal-grade Bonewater Cleaver that was knocked away.

    The Meng n¡¯s people had already seen too many things and had already grown numb, so they weren''t surprised by that. What they were shocked about was that their great ancestor suddenly clutched his head and began to scream. He fell out of the air and rolled along the ground.

    When he heard that scream of iparable pain, King Dai thought, My legs were fucking smashed to pieces and I even had my dantian destroyed, but even I wasn¡¯t as dramatic as you!

    However, Zu An knew the real reason for that. He put away the throwing knife.

    The Immortal Beheading Knives specialized in severing the soul. Even Zhao Han¡¯s primordial spirit couldn''t withstand an attack from them, so how could this trifling yin spiritst? Meng Jing had attached half of his yin spirit¡¯s power to this de, but it was instantly destroyed by the Immortal Beheading Knife. It was equivalent to having a person¡¯s soul sliced straight in half. That kind of pain was naturally horribly unbearable.

    With a casual wave of Zu An''s hand, the Bonewater Cleaver in the air, that had lost its connection with its original owner, seemed to be possessed. It appeared next to Meng Jing¡¯s neck, then sliced at it.

    ng!

    A streak of golden light erupted. The Bonewater Cleaver was actually stopped!

    Zu An narrowed his eyes. Life-saving treasures were extremely precious, so it should have been nearly impossible for Meng Jing to have a second one¡­

    He looked at the golden scale that gradually vanished from Meng Jing¡¯s neck and said, ¡°Dragon scale?¡±

    ¡°This youngster seems to have some knowledge,¡± a grand voice said just then.

    The entire Meng manor seemed to undte up and down. The buildings that were supported by countless formations also copsed one after the other. Countless Meng n disciples screamed in horror as they fled for their lives. Then, a streak of golden light tore through the ground. A kilometer-long figure quickly rushed through the air, circling above the area.

    ¡°A great dragon!¡±

    All of the people present were stupefied, and even Meng Chan¡¯s expression changed. Not even she had known that such a giant dragon was hiding behind the Meng manor!

    The capital¡¯s flight restriction formation became faintly visible. It clearly sensed that something was viting its restriction. Countless streaks of light immediately sted that giant dragon, but its attacks that wereparable to siege crossbow bolts didn¡¯t seem to do a thing. The dragon just casually twisted its body.

    Many people who were paying attention to what was happening in the area frowned. The bodies of the dragon race were extremely tough to begin with, and this was an earth element gold dragon, on top of that.

    ¡°This damn formation is a bit annoying. The attacks will only get stronger and stronger, and I can¡¯t waste my energy on such senseless things,¡± the gold dragon murmured to itself, then descended from the sky tond on the only remaining tower in the Meng n. Its massive head turned toward Zu An.

    Meng Jing endured the intense pain in his head and quickly shouted, ¡°Dragon King Hong Hua, help us kill this little scoundrel!¡± As the Meng n¡¯s great ancestor, he naturally knew who the dragon was.

    In reality, every single one of the eight dukes had a hidden backer like that. The Meng n¡¯s was this giant gold dragon, while the Shi n with the weakest foundation had an ancient devouring kun fish. However, the Shi n had only obtained a strand of remnant will, which made it extremely weak inparison. Still, even though it was the weakest, they had been able to rely on it to achieve extraordinary status. That was also the reason why the eight duke ns were all so powerful.

    The gold dragon snorted and said in dissatisfaction, ¡°The Meng n¡¯s ancestor showed this ruler kindness, but I only agreed to save your n from destruction three times. I am not yourckey.¡± After saying that, he stared at Zu An and said, ¡°The Meng n¡¯s offerings to this one over the years were quite satisfactory, I suppose. Human, this ruler intends to protect this old man, so you can get lost now.¡±

    Zu An gave him a cold look and replied, ¡°Just a trifling earth dragon, and yet you dare to offend me? If you kowtow and apologize to me right now, I can spare you your life out of respect for a certain friend from the Ocean races.¡±

    ¡°You bastard!¡± the giant gold dragon yelled furiously. White mist emerged from its nostrils as it said, ¡°Who do you think you are, to dare to speak like this to this ruler?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Dragon King Hong Hua for +444 +444 +444¡­

    Just then, a lovable female voice said, ¡°Silly dragon, who do you think he is? This is the Fiend races'' Regent, someone all kings of the Fiend races must show respect to. Even your dragon king has to greet him respectfully, and yet you dare to treat him with such discourtesy?¡±

 Chapter 1929: Put Down

    Chapter 1929: Put Down

    Many great ns who had secretly been observing the battle were inwardly shocked. Even though Zu An being the Fiend races¡¯ Regent was no secret, the Fiend races'' territory was just too far away from the human side, so they had never treated it as too big of a deal. After all, no matter how great his status was on that side, it didn¡¯t matter at all on the human side. But now that they heard this woman¡¯s description, they suddenly realized just what kind of being the Fiend races¡¯ Regent was.

    Previously, because of the war between the humans and the Fiend races, the flow of information between the two sides had mostly been blocked. The great ns'' hidden channels of information had only been able to bring back the news that Zu An had be the Regent, but they weren¡¯t too sure exactly how he had gotten that position or what exactly happened on that side. Many ns even wondered if there was some important piece of intelligence they were missing.

    Meng Chan was also a bit absent-minded. As she looked at that man, she murmured to herself, ¡°A king of kings among the Fiend races¡­¡±

    She was already filled with regret. If she had known he was this formidable, how could she possibly approve of her father and husband¡¯s n to face this man, let alone help them strategize? Zu An had lost his reason out of anger, but the Meng n didn¡¯t have the ability to take him down ording to their ns! Whether or not they could even keep the Meng n alive was already in question.

    ¡°What Regent? Do the Fiend races have someone like that? You¡¯re trying to fool this ruler?¡± the great gold dragon snorted and said with a sneer. ¡°Even a trifling tiger-devoured ghost dares to utter lies here?!¡± As soon as he said that, he released a st of dragon breath at a certain building in the distance.

    ¡°Is that Scarlet Invitation¡¯s territory?¡± many people eximed. They had already recognized that ce, and they all felt a sense of pity. It seemed as if Scarlet Invitation would be history soon.

    This wasn¡¯t some ordinary dragon that wandered the fields, but rather a great gold dragon, one of the dragon race¡¯s most powerful beings. The power of its roar even surpassed that of a grandmaster¡¯s presence. It wasmon knowledge that the strength of beasts at the same cultivation rank exceeded that of humans.

    Just then, however, a resplendent streak of sword brilliance moved even faster. It rushed outter, and yet arrived earlier. It scattered the dragon breath, turning it into a st of dazzling fireworks.

    The beautiful figure in Scarlet Invitation patted her trembling chest, saying, ¡°Oh my, I was so scared¡­ Thank goodness the young master came to save me. Otherwise, my soul really would have just scattered right here.¡±

    She was Scarlet Invitation¡¯s best courtesan queen, Nan Xun, and she also had her other status as King Qi¡¯s concubine. The dragon¡¯s voice was like thunder! As someone from the Fiend races, she couldn''t help but speak up for Zu An, but how could she have anticipated that she would almost end up dead because of it?

    ¡°Hm?¡± Dragon King Hong Hua eximed as he turned around to look at Zu An. Even though he had fired that dragon breath on a whim and wasn¡¯tpletely serious, it wasn¡¯t something anyone could easily neutralize. He asked, ¡°Are you really the Fiend races'' Regent?¡±

    Zu An replied calmly, ¡°Correct.¡±

    Dragon King Hong Hua suddenly said with a sneer, ¡°Hmph, you are still trying to deceive this king! Firstly, this king did inquire about news of the Fiend races'' side when I woke up a few years ago, but I had never heard of any regent. Secondly, even if there were a newly risen regent, why would it ever be a human? Thirdly, not even the Fiend Emperor himself would have the right to make the dragon king greet him with respect, so what is so important about a regent? These are the holes in your bluff, and this is why you were exposed.

    ¡°So why, then, did you and that ghost collude to weave this lie? Just what is it all for?¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    This insignificant bug actually dares to try to deceive this king? It¡¯s a good thing that I¡¯m not as stupid as those other dragons. My superior intellect helped me see through his ruse!

    You have sessfully trolled Dragon King Hong Hua for +444 +444 +444¡­

    Zu An frowned. He didn¡¯t exin anything, and instead took note of the bit of information he had just received.

    Not even the Fiend Emperor has the ability to make the Dragon King greet him with respect? It seems the dragon king¡¯s power is mysterious after all.

    On the Fiend races¡¯ side, people had usually avoided talking about the Ocean Races. Still, Zu An had gotten the impression that the Ocean races only acknowledged the Fiend Emperor as their ruler in name, but the influence of the Fiend King Court couldn''t interfere with the Ocean races¡¯ side at all. In other words, though the Ocean races said that they were loyal, whether they would really obey an order from the court was hard to say. The silver lining was that the Ocean races usually acted with excellent etiquette, and the Fiend Emperor¡¯s side also treated them with a lot of respect. Both sides maintained a sort of tacit understanding.

    Suddenly, there was a loud shout. Meng Jing endured the intense pain in his head and screamed, ¡°Dragon ruler, please help our Meng n kill this monster! In the past, you agreed to save the Meng n from destruction three times. This is now the second time! If you can help us kill him, our Meng n will consider you to have fulfilled the agreement!¡±

    ¡°Is that offer serious?¡± Dragon King Hong Hua replied, his eyes wide. There was clear excitement in his expression.

    In the past, when he was still weak, he had been saved by the Meng n¡¯s founding ancestor. At the time, out of a moment of impulse, he had signed a contract to protect the Meng n three times. After all, those of the dragon race lived far longer than those of the human race. However, as the years went on, his strength had grown greater and greater as well. Even though he had always enjoyed the Meng n¡¯s offerings, he''d always felt a bit unhappy about hisck of freedom.

    Furthermore, a powerful n like the Meng n only bullied others and never let others bully them. Life and death situations for the n really didn¡¯t happen too often. After so many years, this was only the second time. No one could predict when the third time would happen again in the future. If he could cancel out two instances of help right now, wouldn¡¯t he be free again?

    Meng Jing gritted his teeth and said, ¡°I am the one with the most say in the Meng n right now. Furthermore, if the dragon king does not believe me, you can ask for the opinions of all the disciples here.¡±

    When the Meng n¡¯s disciples in the distance saw the dragon''s head turn toward them, they all shouted out,

    ¡°I¡¯m willing!¡±

    ¡°Dragon king, please help us!¡±

    ¡°Dragon king help us!¡±

    ¡­

    When had the Meng n ever had to suffer like this before? There were many of them who didn¡¯t even know the entire sequence of events or what was going on right now. They felt as if they had been mysteriously attacked out of nowhere. They had watched as the Meng n¡¯s guards were absolutely crushed. Those elders who were normally incredibly powerful also fell one after another. As a result, the disciples had been filled with horror and despair. Now that there was a chance to mount aeback, they naturally supported it.

    Dragon King Hong Hua nodded in satisfaction. Then, he looked at Zu An with a sinister smile and said, ¡°Youngster, this ruler is not usually a fan of bullying my juniors, but the Meng n is just offering me too much here. All that can be said is that you were unlucky to have met this ruler today.¡±

    He had sensed the battle previously, but only ever considered it more than a tantrum between ant-like humans. It was far toockingpared to the prestigious dragon race.

    The dragon race not only had powerful bodies, but also outstanding elemental resistance. Even if he just stood there without doing a thing and let simr-ranked human cultivators attack him, it would feel like nothing more than a tickle. Furthermore, he had the most powerful and most revered bloodline in the dragon race. His father was the previous generation''s dragon king¡­ even though he was an illegitimate child his father wouldn¡¯t acknowledge.

    That old man had really loved sowing his seed everywhere, and it didn¡¯t matter what race they were; as long as they were pretty, he would pamper them. Hong Hua was a result of one of such rtionship. However, what met him when he returned hadn''t been cheers of joy andughter, but rather sneers of disdain and scorn. He had been bullied by others of his race quite a bit. In the end, he had been banished, unable to stay in the dragon race''s territory.

    He had thus wandered the world as a rogue cultivator, so his strength naturally grew very slowly. Eventually, he had actually been seriously injured and almost lost his life. Fortunately, the Meng n¡¯s master had passed by and saved his life. Out of gratitude, he had decided to sign an agreement to help the Meng n''s descendants three times.

    As time went by, the Meng n master also passed on, and Hong Hua had lost track of who and how many n leaders came after. But the Meng n had also grown more and more powerful. The offerings and resources they had supplied him with also grew greater and greater. Perhaps because of the stimtion of the treasures he received, one day, he had awakened the purest great gold dragon bloodline. His strength had grown further by leaps and bounds.

    Over the past few years, he had already grown restless. Finally, though, he couldplete his agreement and return to the dragon race. He could find the ones who bullied him and pay them back for everything he had gone through.

    Then, I will prove my own worth with my own strength, and subdue the entire race! Everyone will kneel and worship me; they will praise me as their dragon king!

    The most beautiful dragon race women, and that mermaid princess¡­ they¡¯ll all be mine.

    He couldn''t help but grin when he thought about all that.

    Zu An looked at the dragon with a bit of confusion.

    Is this guy okay? Why is he suddenly smiling like an idiot?

    He thought about his rtionship with Shang Liuyu. He didn¡¯t want to go too far with this dragon, so he suggested, ¡°How about this? I tried to kill them two times and you already interfered twice to save them, which should satisfy the agreement as well. What do you think?¡±

    Meng Jing widened his eyes.

    Can it really work like that?

    But he became really worried. That was one way around the issue¡­ What if the dragon really was convinced? He said, ¡°Dragon ruler, you must not listen to that brat¡¯s dishonest rhetoric! The only reason he is speaking this way is because he is scared¡­¡±

    Dragon King Hong Hua said with a snort, ¡°Do you think I don¡¯t know that?!¡± Then, he stared at Zu An and continued, ¡°Who do you think this king is? I received great favor from the Meng n¡¯s ancestor, and received offerings for over a thousand years. If I pulled a fast one like what you described, wouldn¡¯t I be ruining my own cultivation convictions?¡±

    Meng Jing was so moved that he almost broke out into tears. In the past, he had scoffed at naive ideas like repaying kindness and seeking revenge. He hadn¡¯t expected to be saved by such noble thoughts one day.

    Dragon King Hong Hua stared at Zu An and said with an evil grin, ¡°You killed so many of the Meng n¡¯s people, and you even impersonated the Fiend races¡¯ Regent to fool me. Today, not even an immortal can save you if theye here! Mark my words!¡±

    ¡°And which of the top ranks have you reached?¡± Zu An asked, looking at him with confusion.

    Did this guy get his head kicked by a camel or something? Even though he is pretty strong, he''s just a bit above the grandmaster rank. He might have had a chance if he were some earth immortal who had just advanced, but he would still most likely lose in that situation. For instance, Zhao Han, the Fiend Emperor, and the libationer are all beings he absolutely couldn''t win against, and yet he¡¯s saying that not even an immortal could do anything if they came now¡­

    Dragon King Hong Hua had wanted to show off a bit, but he hadn¡¯t expected Zu An to take it seriously! He couldn''t take the embarrassment and immediately erupted into a rage. He yelled, ¡°You little bastard, you¡¯re courting death!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Dragon King Hong Hua for +999 +999 +999¡­

    A terrifying wave of draconic might spread outward in all directions. Those from the Meng ny on the ground, shaking in fear. The domesticated spiritual beasts they had raised were also lying on the ground, urine and feces flowing everywhere. After all, Dragon King Hong Hua had awakened the dragon race¡¯s purest imperial bloodline. It was something that had a natural suppressive effect on most living creatures.

    Many strong cultivators who had rushed over from the different ns all stopped one after another. They could feel the burst of power all the way from where they were. That Zu An had to face it head-on, so he wouldn''t even be able to remain standing, right?

    Just then, the giant dragon''s furious roar echoed through the air. ¡°Why are you¡­ This is impossible!¡±

    Zu An stood there as if nothing had happened. Whether it was the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra he cultivated or the other divine techniques, they were all of such high grade that they weren¡¯t inferior to the gold dragon bloodline at all. Furthermore, with his current cultivation, unless Zhao Han or the Fiend Emperor came back to life, or those beings from the great tomb suddenly rushed out, he really wouldn¡¯t have to fear anyone anymore. This dragon pressure naturally wouldn¡¯t affect him.

    ¡°Is that all? Then it¡¯s my turn now,¡± Zu An said. As soon as he spoke, an even more terrifying pressure spread out in all directions.

    The kilometer-long dragon¡¯s entire body trembled. He could no longer remain on the tower. With an incredibly loud noise, his body mmed into the ground, sending smoke and dust high up into the air.

 Chapter 1930: I Already Gave You a Chance

    Chapter 1930: I Already Gave You a Chance

    Dragon King Hong Hua had previously been cultivating in a special ce of istion the Meng n had prepared for him, so he''d sensed the earlier battle. At the time, Zu An seemed to have used a domain simr to his own dragon¡¯s might. Its power wasn¡¯t bad, but it wasn¡¯t anything too remarkable either. He''d even wanted to mock Zu An and show him what a proper disy of might was like. But how could he have expected that this human hadn¡¯t used all of his strength then?!

    At that moment, the terrifying power rushed at his head, and there seemed to be some kind of strange, invisible bird apanying as well. His entire body trembled, and he actually couldn''t control his own body and fell down.

    Meng Jing was instantly stupefied. At first, he''d thought that since the Meng n¡¯s legendary guardian Dragon King Hong Hua was fighting on their side, all he had to do was sit back and enjoy the show. No matter how strong that damned brat was, how could he be stronger than a great gold dragon who had lived for thousands of years? At worst, he had even mentally prepared himself for the two sides going back and forth, and then the dragon king seizing victory with difficulty in the end. And yet, the dragon king was already lying on the ground as soon as they faced each other? He had really never expected that.

    Meng Chan was also a bit absent-minded. Her head wentpletely nk. There were no schemes left, and no Meng n either. She knew that the Meng n was already finished. And it was all because they had gotten the most crucial piece of information horribly wrong!

    If I had just personally visited him even once before¡­

    She rejected that thought as soon as it appeared. Even if she had personally met him, she wouldn¡¯t have been able to tell that this outstanding young man was actually hiding such frightening strength. It wasn¡¯t just her, either; testing him out was probably something anyone in the entire capital could have thought of. Unfortunately, it was the Meng n that had ended up testing out the lightning strike for everyone¡¯s else''s sake, and that test resulted in death.

    In the distance, the experts of the different ns all looked in the direction of the Meng manor with endless shock. Just what was going on? Why had suddenly such a powerful pressure appeared? Why had the giant dragon fallen down? Could it be because of that Zu An?

    All of the signs seemed to indicate that, but it was really something they didn¡¯t dare to believe. The great ns all had some level of intelligence on Zu An, and they all knew what kind of fellow he had been back in Brightmoon City. He had just cultivated for three years in total, so how could he possibly be this strong?

    Unfortunately, it was precisely because their intelligence was toocking that they had ended up making that misjudgment. The Fiend races hadn¡¯t known the details of his past, so they didn¡¯t carry such prejudice. That was why they had been able to adjust their attitudes toward him so quickly.

    Dragon King Hong Hua roared again and again. It was clear that his sudden fall had made him utterly furious.

    You have sessfully trolled Dragon King Hong Hua for +888 +888 +888¡­

    He opened his mouth and fired another round of dragon breath. A st full of berserk earth element energy surged in Zu An¡¯s direction.

    Just as the dragon breath arrived in front of Zu An, he took a small step, and almost seemed to leap through space. By the time his foot fell, the dragon breath was already behind him. It sted straight through the houses past him. Under the devastating power of the breath, at least half of the Meng manor vanished into thin air. There weren¡¯t even any traces of copsed walls or debris left.

    Meng Jing was utterly heartbroken by this sight.

    Sir dragon king, didn¡¯t you say you would protect the Meng n? And yet now, half of the Meng n¡¯s disciples have been killed by you¡­

    However, his attention quickly shifted to something else..

    Sir dragon king doesn¡¯t seem to be able to beat that little bastard?

    Dragon King Hong Hua¡¯s giant eyes almost popped out. He said with a trembling voice, ¡°Spatial¡­ Spatial element power? Could it be that you have already reached the level of the human emperor Zhao Han?¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t reply. Instead, he took a step forward and stepped on the dragon''s head.

    Dragon King Hong Hua still had his pride as part of the dragon race, however. When his head was stepped on, he struggled frantically and swept his tail left and right. A good amount of what remained of the Meng manor vanished too, leaving behind only frightened cries.

    ¡°You can still move?¡± Zu An remarked as he stomped down, sending an invisible st of power rippling out.

    The massive gold dragon¡¯s entire body trembled. His body and tail could no longer move. His entire body felt as if it had been crushed by an invisible mountain. All of his bones creaked and groaned, and all of his scales burst. Strands of blood drenched his body.

    Many people had seen fish being scaled, but they had never seen a dragon being scaled¡­ After the scales covering the dragon''s thousand-meter-long body exploded outward, it really was a ghastly sight.

    Dragon King Hong Hua finally understood that he had offended someone he shouldn¡¯t have offended. He immediately gave in and said, ¡°I believe you, I believe you now! I believe that you are the Fiend races'' Regent!¡±

    What kind of joke is this? With your strength, forget about a human, even a pig would have the right to be the Regent of the Fiend races!

    ¡°It¡¯s already toote,¡± Zu An said. With a wave of his hand, the Meng n¡¯s Bonewater Cleaver instantly appeared in front of him.

    The giant gold dragon really started to panic when he sensed Zu An¡¯s killing intent. He cried, ¡°You cannot kill me; my father is the previous generation dragon king! Also, I have already awakened the dragon race¡¯s gold dragon bloodline, and the n can sense the death of every member of the gold n! If you kill me, you will have offended the entire dragon race! The dragon race will chase you to the ends of hell¡­¡±

    ¡°That is a bit tricky¡­¡± Zu An began.

    The dragon sighed in relief when he heard what Zu An said. He couldn''t help but say, ¡°Right? You humans have a saying, that a wise man submits to circumstances¡­¡±

    Before he could even finish his sentence, however, a de quickly pierced straight through his head. His powerful physical defense was like paper in front of Zu An, and the de sank in all the way down to the handle.

    Meng Jing felt a wave of dizziness. His entire body fell weakly to the ground. The Meng n¡¯s de was an immortal-grade weapon, but this was a great gold dragon! Even if the dragon just stood there and let him hack at it with the de, he wouldn''t even be able to injure it at all. And yet in Zu An¡¯s hands, the same de had killed the giant dragon so easily?

    We¡¯re done. We¡¯re finished.

    The giant gold dragon widened its eyes, its expression also full of disbelief.

    This human actually dared to kill me? Is he really not scared of the wrath of the dragon race?

    ¡°I already gave you a chance before, but it''s a pity that you didn¡¯t cherish it,¡± Zu An said as he twisted the de. The overflowing river of de ki instantly sted the dragon¡¯s brains into paste; he couldn''t be any more dead. For Zu An, killing a dragon was a bit troublesome, but that was all; it wasn''t as if he hadn¡¯t killed them before.

    He pulled out the de and looked at Meng Jing, saying, ¡°Your turn.¡±

    When he looked at the de that was still dripping with the blood and brains of the dragon, Meng Jing only felt a warm sensation by his crotch. He discovered with shame that he had actually defecated himself. He was one of the glorious eight dukes of the court, the Minister of Works, the Meng n¡¯s great ancestor. How could someone like him be scared this badly? Still, all that had happened was just too shocking. His brain had alreadypletely crashed.

    At that instant, a hazy halo of light suddenly gathered inside the dragon¡¯s corpse. Then, it seemed to begin summoning something. Water-like ripples appeared in the sky.

    ¡°Hm? Is this the power of his bloodline? It is a bit interesting,¡± Zu An said, recalling what the dragon had said earlier. He couldn''t help but be a bit surprised.

    An unsurpassed pressure spread out in all directions just then, one that was countless times greater than what the gold dragon had released earlier. The entire capital was rmed, and many cultivators shuddered in fear. It was the power of an earth immortal!

    Did his majesty return, or did the Fiend races invade?

    From how unfamiliar the energy felt, it was clearly more like thetter. All of the capital¡¯s defense mechanisms began to activate.

    Suddenly, the wave-like ripples became a mirror, and a middle-aged man appeared. He was dressed in yellow robes, and there were two thin horns on his head. He roared furiously, ¡°Who dares to kill one of the dragon race¡¯s gold bloodline?!¡±

    Many experts from the different ns immediately turned around and ran away, fearing that they would get caught up in the disaster too if they stayed too close.

    Someone from the dragon race had appeared!

    Many were extremely shocked. The dragon race had always been powerful and mysterious. This was the first time many of them had seen a dragon. Furthermore, from the looks of things, it seemed to be the legendary dragon king himself! However, this dragon king seemed to be even more formidable than the legends. He had the power of an earth immortal! No wonder the gold dragon had said that not even the Fiend Emperor would dare to treat the dragon king with disrespect. With that level of power, the dragon king indeed couldn''t be looked down on.

    Those from the top-level ns thought to themselves that this Zu An youngster was still too rash. Now, he had offended the dragon king, and to the point that they could no longer coexist in this world with each other. It really wasn¡¯t a wise choice.

    Meng Jing, King Dai, and the others were overjoyed. They had never expected to have the dragon king as their backer!

    Zu An, oh Zu An, you really have no idea when you''ve gone too far just because you have a bit of strength! This is how a person dies early!

    The gazes of all those present shifted to Zu An to see how he would deal with the situation. From the power he had disyed just now, he could even have a fighting chance. But the other side was an earth immortal, and he had the dragon race behind him and the experts of the Ocean races.

    What will you bring out to face him?

    Unexpectedly, however, Zu An didn¡¯t seem rmed or puzzled. He calmly replied, ¡°I killed him.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re courting¡­¡± the dragon king began angrily. He was about to say something when his expression stiffened. He asked with a hint of puzzlement, ¡°Regent?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s me,¡± Zu An said calmly.

    Even though they had never met before, the news of the king court having a new regent was such a huge affair that all of the rted intelligence had already been delivered to the dragon king¡¯s hands. The dragon king¡¯s expression changed, and he seemed to be hesitating.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Just then, a female voice seemed to tell him something from nearby. He suddenly smiled and said, ¡°Many years ago, our dragon race had a gold dragon who fell into depravity and deserted us. We did not know where he went all this time, so we thank the regent for helping our dragon race sort out our n¡¯s issues. When you have the chance, please visit the dragon race''s territory. This king will treat you to some good wine as repayment¡­¡±

    ¡­

    After that, the water-like ripples disappeared. The power of the gold dragon bloodline¡¯s main purpose was just to help the dragon race find out who the killer was. It couldn''tst long enough to sustain a long-term video call.

    The people of the capital were stunned. They could never have expected such a result at all.

    The dragon king hade to criticize the murderer ferociously, and yet in the end, he immediately backed off when he recognized Zu An¡¯s identity?

    Hello? You¡¯re an earth immortal! Where the hell is your sense of pride and self-respect?

    However, what was even more shocking was that previously, they hadn¡¯t really internalized the fact that Zu An was the Fiend races'' Regent. The appearance of the gold dragon had further fueled their suspicions. But the Dragon King¡¯s attitude made them all gradually wake up. That regent title didn¡¯t seem to be a mere formality! Even the glorious earth immortal Dragon King had such restraining fears¡­ Zu An really was a king of kings among the Fiend races!

    Zu An was also a bit confused. The Dragon King had always been the sort who did what he wanted, and even the Fiend Emperor had to treat him with extra respect. Even if the other side did carry some reservations toward his identity as the Fiend races¡¯ Regent, and thus chose to overlook the matter, it didn¡¯t make sense for him to be so reasonable.

    He suddenly recalled the female voice on the other side, but it was too hard to make out exactly who it was.

    Could it be that female voice that made his attitude shift?

    Is it¡­ her?

 Chapter 1931: Would I Still Be a Young Man If I Werenâ€™t Hot-Headed?

    Chapter 1931: Would I Still Be a Young Man If I Weren¡¯t Hot-Headed?

    Zu An turned around and looked at Meng Jing. He asked, ¡°Doesn¡¯t your Meng n always unt your deep backing? What other things are you hiding? You can bring them all out now.¡±

    Meng Jing and the others were alreadypletely overwhelmed. The series of events so far had already left them so shocked their minds went nk.

    What other trump cards could the Meng n have? Those trump cards were already enough to wipe out countless powerful individuals, and yet not a single one of them was effective against you!

    Noticing the other side''s silence, Zu An waved his hand, pulling Meng Jing into the air. He clenched his hand, raising Meng Jing into the air by the neck. He said indifferently, ¡°Since you don¡¯t have anything else, the two of us can now properly settle our debts.¡±

    As he spoke, the Bonewater Cleaver moved around a bit in the sky, as if it were deciding which angle it wanted to take to remove Meng Jing''s head.

    Meng Jing¡¯s face turned ashen.

    Do you have to torment me like this¡­

    What was more frightening than death itself? The waiting for impending death.

    Suddenly, several voices shouted from afar, ¡°Lower the de and spare that man!¡±

    Five elders flew over from different directions; they all had white hair, but theirplexions were healthy. They wore gorgeous clothing that symbolized extraordinary statuses. What left the different powers shocked was that every single one of them was at the peak of the grandmaster rank. They seemed to only be a step away from bing earth immortals.

    ¡­

    ¡°Since when did the capital have so many powerful experts?¡± a certain rogue cultivator in a distant tavern wondered absentmindedly.

    ¡°Are you stupid? Those are the legendary eight dukes! They normally cultivate in seclusion inside their respective ns'' homes, but now that such a huge thing has happened in the capital, it¡¯d only be weirder if they just ignored it!¡± one of the more ¡®knowledgeable¡¯ people nearby exined.

    ¡°Then if they¡¯re all members of the eight dukes, does that mean they''re going to help the Meng n?¡± another asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s hard to say. That Zu guy¡¯s strength seems to be a bit ridiculous. The eight dukes aren¡¯t so rigid and inflexible, so they might not help.¡±

    ¡­

    Simr discussions were taking ce all over the capital. The different powers all spected about what would happen.

    Zu An looked at the five elders, asking, ¡°And you are?¡± Even though he could more or less guess based on their strength, he had never seen these people before.

    ¡°This old one is Zhuang He,¡± the elder to the east said proudly while stroking his beard. When he saw that Zu An didn¡¯t react in the slightest to his name, his expression stiffened. He had no choice but to add, ¡°The court¡¯s Grand Tutor, Zhuang He.¡±

    If it were any other time, he would have had subordinates to introduce him. Why would he ever have to do something like that himself? This time, however, a great battle had just taken ce, and terrifying power still lingered nearby. Those with lower cultivations couldn''t evene near. Worried that there could be some misunderstandings leading to a conflict, he''d decided that it would be better to state his identity first. After all, the strength this youngster had disyed was a bit¡­ excessive.

    Zu An voiced an ¡®oh¡¯. He looked at the others and asked, ¡°And you guys?¡±

    The other elders raised their brows. However, they still controlled their emotions and introduced themselves one after another.

    ¡°Yu Rui, Taibao Minister,¡± the elder who was clearly the most handsome said.

    Zu An couldn''t help but give him a look.

    Your surname is also Yu?

    Thinking back, he had once looked up avable intelligence on the Yu n. Going back a few generations, Yu Rui and Yu Yanluo were from the same family. Strictly speaking, he was of the same generation as Yu Yanluo¡¯s great-grandfather. However, there were already many generations between them, so they technically belonged to different ns. That was why, when Zhao Han had dealt with the Yu n, this man hadn''t said much.

    Regardless, Zhao Han had to show him some respect, and had thus chosen not topletely eradicate the Yu n. Arge portion of the ki stone mines and businesses remained under the Yu n¡¯s control as a result.

    ¡°This old one is the Grand Officer, Zhao Song!¡± a white-faced, beardless elder said.

    Zu An thought back to some of the information he had received before. This person was of the same generation as Zhao Han¡¯s grandfather. He was one of the oldest members of the Zhou Dynasty¡¯s imperial family. However, his bloodline had always beencking in number. Some of his children had died even before him, without even leaving many sons. His lineage could very well end soon.

    ¡°This old one is the Minister of Education, Du Jian,¡± an elder with an especially round face said.

    Zu An nodded. Du Jian''s son had previously served as the Eastern Pce Chambein as well, so they had some connection to each other.

    ¡°I am the Grand General of the present court, Cheng Yuan!¡± thest elder said; his voice was full of confidence and echoed like a great bell.

    They hadn''t noticed the battles at first. After all, at their level, cultivators were interested in matters of the secr world. What they sought out was heavenly dao, to make further progress in cultivation. However, Meng Jing had made an appearance and his familiar aura woke them up. That had made them wonder whether something major was happening, important enough for that old thing to have suddenly emerged.

    Even so, they hadn¡¯t intended to make an appearance. After all, at their age, every bit of energy used would exhaust quite a bit of their limited lifespans. Cultivation breakthroughs were still more important. Additionally, with Meng Jing¡¯s strength and the Meng n''s backing, most problems weren¡¯t problems at all.

    But how could they have anticipated things would take a different turn? Meng Jing¡¯s aura had actually weakened, almost as if he''d died. Then, the giant gold dragon had appeared, and after that, even the presence of the Dragon King had manifested. After that, they could no longer sit still and emerged from seclusion one after another. By the time they arrived, they had seen that Zu An was about to kill Meng Jing and reflexively cried out for him to stop.

    For the capital¡¯s ordinary cultivators, they only felt that the reappearance of the eight dukes was an incredible asion that left them incredibly moved. Ever since they started cultivating, they had already heard much about the legends and prestige of the eight dukes. Even so, they knew the dukes normally pursued heavenly dao and usually remained in seclusion. They had never expected to be able to see the dukes in person today!

    However, the current situation seemed a bit awkward somehow¡­

    Meng Jing¡¯s eyes shone brightly when he saw them. Unfortunately, his throat was being gripped by an invisible hand and he couldn''t say anything. He could only look at these old friends of his with a pleading expression. After all, they had already been famous for many years, and they had shared many drinks together, so they were at least friends. They wouldn¡¯t just watch as he died, right?

    Compared to Meng Jing, who was full of hope, Meng Chan was filled with despair as she sat next to a tree stump.

    Great ancestor doesn¡¯t seem to even understand the situation as well as I do. Forget about whether or not these people will help us, even if they were willing, would that bloodthirsty demon really just let things end like that?

    Even though this was their first meeting, the impression he had left on her was already impossible to erase. From her experience as a member of the Meng n and King Dai Manor over the years, Zu An seemed to be the type who was amenable to coaxing but not coercion. The more one threatened him, the more one would be courting death. But did the Meng n still even have a chance to coax him¡­

    The elder named Zhuang He said, ¡°Young friend, you have already destroyed most of the Meng n, and the Meng n¡¯s experts have almost all died. Surely you must have vented out enough of your anger already¡­¡±

    Before he even finished, he was interrupted by Zu An, who said, ¡°My anger has not been appeased yet.¡±

    Zhuang He choked. With his status, when had he ever been rudely cut off by another before? He was about tosh out, but when he saw Meng Jing dangling like a dead dog, he held himself back.

    You have sessfully trolled Zhuang He for +222 +222 +222¡­

    He was also a bit bewildered. He understood Meng Jing¡¯s cultivation better than most, so how could the other man have lost so bitterly? Could this brat be an earth immortal?

    But how is that possible?

    Zhuang He had already asked his nsmen about the situation before departing, and found out that this kid had only risen to prominence in the past few years. At most, Zu An could only have been cultivating for three years. If he could be an earth immortal, what the hell were old things like them still trying to cultivate for?

    Still, the strength this youngster disyed was a bit absurd. The dukes hadn¡¯t understood too well when they were still far away, but after arriving right in front of Zu An, Zhuang He had secretly released some energy to test him out. However, he hadn''t sensed the slightest bit of ki from Zu An, as if he were just an ordinary person. That was something that left him puzzled. After seeing the Meng n¡¯s bitter situation, if he still treated this youngster as an ordinary person, he would have lived all the way to his age for nothing.

    ¡°Little friend, regardless of what the Meng n did, surely they have learned their lesson by now. It is time for you to let go,¡± Grand Officer Zhao Song said with a light cough, intending to mediate.

    ¡°Do you intend to ignore the facts and not even talk about them, then?¡± Zu An retorted, looking at him coldly.

    Zhao Song was speechless.

    I¡¯m an honorable imperial n elder, and even Zhao Han has to greet me respectfully and call me grandfather. Why isn¡¯t this youngster giving me any face?

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Song for +222 +222 +222¡­

    The other dukes had different expressions too. They nearly red up with anger, but when they gave Meng Jing a look, they also felt apprehensive.

    Just then, another voice slowly said, ¡°Youngster, release Meng Jing, and this old one can take responsibility for you. The court can let bygones be bygones.¡±

    The voice seemed toe from the distant horizon, and yet a momentter, a figure took a step forward and appeared in front of the others. He was dressed in ck robes that had a four-wed golden dragon embroidered on them. He was clearly someone from the royal family.

    The other five were all shocked when they saw him. They eximed, ¡°Brother Zhao, you¡¯ve already taken that step?¡±

    The man was the leader of the eight dukes, Imperial Tutor Zhao Chen. He was also someone from Zhao Han¡¯s grandfather¡¯s generation. Unlike Zhao Song, whose lineage was close to ending, he had many descendants. His sons, Zhao Quan and Zhao Zhang, were generals of the north and east standard armies. They were in charge of the defenses of the empire¡¯s north and east, and had a lot of authority in the military. Meanwhile, his grandson Zhao Zai, King Hexi, had territory adjacent to King Yan¡¯s. He had interacted with Zu An before in Yi Commandery.

    Zhao Chen said proudly, ¡°That¡¯s right. This old one fully grasped the mysteries recently and became an earth immortal.¡± Even though his voice wasn¡¯t loud, it reached every corner of the entire capital.

    Those words ignited an uproar, as the explosive piece of news began to be discussed. The human race actually had another earth immortal now!

    Many people had been full of misgivings after Zhao Han, King Qi, and the libationer died one after another. They had been wondering what would happen if the Fiend races took the chance to invade. Now that they had another earth immortal, they felt more at ease.

    Inside a wooden building at Scarlet Invitation, Nan Xun said to herself with a worried expression, ¡°Oh no, an earth immortal has appeared. Together with the other five of the eight dukes, young master might be in danger.¡±

    She wasn¡¯t the only one with such thoughts. Many people looked toward Zu An with sympathy.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    This youngster''s strength may be rather heaven-defying, but after all this time, he''s finally ended up kicking a steel te.

    No matter how strong he is, how could he be a match for an earth immortal?

    In the eyes of most people, the earth immortal rank was the ceiling of this world¡¯s power. After all, to an earth immortal, everyone else was an ant.

    Forget about ordinary cultivators, even the other five dukes were full of envy when they looked at Zhao Chen. They had previously been equal, but now, he alone had managed to make the crucial step. As the saying went, they didn¡¯t want their friends to not do well, but they didn¡¯t want those friends to do too well either.

    Zu An calmly replied, ¡°What if I don¡¯t want to let him go?¡±

    Zhao Chen¡¯s eyes narrowed. His expression became a bit dangerous as he said, ¡°Young man, do not be too hot-headed.¡±

    ¡°Would I still be a young man if I weren''t hot-headed?¡± Zu An replied; at the same time, the Bonewater Cleaver seemed to have received amand. It sliced off Meng Jing¡¯s head right before Zhao Chen¡¯s eyes.

 Chapter 1932: A Single Move Is Enough

    Chapter 1932: A Single Move Is Enough

    What the hell?

    That was the first reaction of all those present. Had this kid eaten the galldder of a leopard or something? He wasn''t even giving an earth immortal any face!

    Zhao Chen was also a bit stunned. Zu An had just done all this to denounce the Meng n and King Dai for plotting against the Qin and Murong ns and harming them badly, acting out of anger, right? But then, shouldn''t Zhao Chen have been able to state that the Meng n had made a mistake and that they had already received their due punishment, handing down an order for twentyshes of corporal punishment to console this young man and bring the situation to a close? After all, his status in the royal family was revered, and now that he had the power of an earth immortal, who would dare to ignore his opinion?

    And yet, he could never have expected that this kid wouldn''t listen at all! He had just unted his own earth immortal rank cultivation a moment before, but this youngster didn¡¯t give him any face. If he didn¡¯t do anything here, what dignity would he have left?

    ¡°Very good¡­ Could it be that just because you are a bit young and have had some fortunate encounters, you think that you are unequaled in this world?¡± Zhao Chen remarked with a scowl.

    The fact that this youngster was able to grow to such a ridiculous degree must mean that he''s definitely had many miraculous encounters.

    But he''s looking down on the heroes of this world too much, isn¡¯t he? Does he really think he has the final say in the capital just because he won against Meng Jing?

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Chen for +666 +666 +666¡­

    Zu An calmly said, ¡°The human and fiend emperors are no longer with us, so I am, indeed, already unequaled in this world.¡±

    The eight dukes were speechless, as were the experts of the great ns who had been watching.

    They had all thought that Zu An would be courteous in this situation and that the eight dukes would give him a chance to stand down, after which the whole situation would pass. How could they have expected that he would be so resolute and not back down an inch? Many people felt their blood boil when they heard his response.

    This is how a manly man should act! When will I be able to be like this?

    However, the elders of the different ns shook their heads.

    He¡¯s too impetuous. If he''s going to embarrass Zhao Chen like this, how can Zhao Chen let him go?

    Sure enough, Zhao Chen raised his head andughed out loud. He said, ¡°Fine. It has already been many years since this old onest met such an arrogant young man. I must properly discipline you, so do not me this old one for bullying the young. You can take the first move. I will give you the first three strikes."

    Zu An was a bit surprised. He said, ¡°If I make my move, you might not have a chance to do anything anymore.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Zhao Chen eximed; he was stunned at first and thought that he had misheard things. Then, he was so angry he actuallyughed, asking, ¡°Youngster, are you joking right now?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Zhao Chen for +444 +444 +444¡­

    After some hesitation, Zu An replied, ¡°What if I identally end up killing you? What should we do about that then?¡±

    ¡°If you are able to wound me from three strikes, that will only mean that our Great Zhou Dynasty has produced a genius who has surpassed all others of his kind before and since. That would be a blessing for our country, so how could I me you for that?¡± Zhao Chen said with a cold sneer.

    How does this guy¡¯s mind work? Don¡¯t tell me that he really thinks he can challenge someone so far above his cultivation rank and fight against an earth immortal?

    Still, he couldn''t me Zu An. After all, he''d once had simr delusions. He''d long felt as if his fate mortal soul was merely half a step left from the earth immortal rank, and as a stunning genius with countless skills, he would stand a chance against an earth immortal too.

    However, only when he truly reached the earth immortal rank had he realized just how ridiculous his previous way of thinking was. Everyone else was an ant to an earth immortal. That wasn¡¯t a mere saying; it was the truth. No matter how powerful a grandmaster was, even if they were unstoppable within that rank, they would be pitifully weak in the eyes of an earth immortal.

    Everything had clearly gone too smoothly for this brat; he''d never had to be taught a lesson, which was clearly why he was so arrogant.

    Zu An asked with a frown, ¡°What if I identally kill you?¡±

    The onlookers erupted into an uproar. This brat was going way too far!

    Zhao Chen¡¯s expression also grew cold. He said, ¡°If you can kill this old one, it will only mean that this old one¡¯s skills arecking. Everyone, listen well; no one is allowed to get revenge for me, whether it is the court, the royal family, or my own children. All of you will serve as witnesses.¡±

    All of the other dukes sighed. It sounded as if Zhao Chen had already decided to end Zu An¡¯s life here.

    Taobao Official Yu Rui tried to dissuade him, saying, ¡°Imperial Tutor, there is no need to take things this far.¡±

    Zhao Chen didn¡¯t pay him any attention; instead, he looked at Zu An and asked, ¡°Then what if you end up dying because of me?¡±

    ¡°Of course I would say the same,¡± Zu An said calmly.

    ¡°Actually, it doesn¡¯t matter. Even if there were people who wish to take revenge for you, they could juste at me. This old one is an earth immortal, so what do I have to fear?¡± Zhao Chen replied with a sneer. ¡°You can start. Since this old one has already said so, you can take your three moves.¡±

    He had already made up his mind that after these three strikes, he would take Zu An''s life. He had to show everyone in the capital the consequences of offending an earth immortal. After all, this was his first battle after bing an earth immortal. Defeating a junior wasn¡¯t all that glorious of an undertaking, but fortunately, the brat just wanted to keep provoking him. This way, even if he killed Zu An, no one else could say too much about it.

    Just then, the empress flew over from the distance and said, ¡°Imperial Tutor, please show mercy!¡±

    She had immediately hurried over when she learned of the situation. However, she hadn¡¯t expected things to develop so quickly. One after another, the giant gold dragon, the Dragon King, and even Zhao Chen had appeared. With the appearance of so many mysterious powers, she had been unable to approach for some time. Now that she heard that Zhao Chen and Zu An were making such a bet, though, she couldn''t hold herself back anymore and spoke up to plead for mercy. After all, no matter how strong Zu An was, how could he possibly defeat the earth immortal Zhao Chen?

    Zhao Chen didn¡¯t even give her a second look. Even Zhao Han had to treat him with respect upon meeting him. What was so important about a woman from the emperor''s harem?

    An aura overflowing with power spread outward. The empress had just reached the grandmaster rank, so she couldn''t get closer at all. She could only nervously watch the familiar figure at the center of it all.

    Ah Zu, how could you be this rash? You could have just talked to me if you needed anything, and I would have helped you find a way to solve things!

    But how can we smooth things up now? You¡¯ve even offended the Imperial Tutor, and he has already reached the earth immortal rank!

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°I actually don¡¯t need three moves. A single move is enough.¡±

    ¡®What you lookin¡¯ at¡¯ was activated!

    The Ikuu Experience Card was activated!

    The Star Shattering Imprint was activated!

    The Grandgale instant movement skill was activated!

    ¡­

    A resplendent sword strike that flowed like a celestial stream lit up the capital¡¯s skies.

    Zhao Chen¡¯s eyes narrowed. He wanted to react, but it was already toote; his head flew high into the sky. His decapitated body shone with golden light as if it had been about to defend itself, and it still carried the power of an earth immortal. But without his head, not even an earth immortal could recover. His body fell heavily to the ground with a muffled thud.

    Zu An was stunned. He wondered out loud, ¡°Why were you so weak?¡±

    He had thought that since the opponent was an earth immortal, he couldn¡¯t hold back at all. As such, instead of being as willful and nonchnt as before, he had used many skills in quick session. And yet, Zhao Chen had instantly been killed without even being able to react at all.

    This guy is just toockingpared to the Fiend Emperor and Zhao Han! He isn¡¯t even as strong as King Qi was back then.

    It seems to have only been a few days since he entered the earth immortal rank, so his fighting instincts and experience were both still at the grandmaster rank. He must not havepletely stabilized his current cultivation yet.

    Those who had been watching were petrified. Their mouths hung wide open as they stared nkly at the sight before them. At that moment, everything was so quiet that one could even hear a pin drop.

    Even though practically everyone in the Meng manor had been massacred and the Meng n¡¯s great ancestor had been ughtered like a dog, and even the giant gold dragon had been killed, all of that added together couldn¡¯t even add up to the shock they were experiencing right now.

    What had they just seen? A glorious earth immortal had been killed by a single sh!

    This is a freaking earth immortal we are talking about, the embodiment of the world¡¯s greatest power!n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    In the past, his majesty, the Fiend Emperor, the libationer, King Qi¡­ which one of those names hadn''t shaken the entire world before?

    What countless cultivators yearned for was even the slightest chance to be an earth immortal one day. However, most of them knew that was nothing more than an extravagant wish, as earth immortals were exceptionally rare.

    And yet now, one such legendary earth immortal had beenpletely crushed... and by a young man, no less!

    Was that earth immortal a damn fake?!

    ¡°You actually dare to kill this court¡¯s Imperial Tutor, the n leader of the royal family? Demon-Eradicating Great Formation, kill him!¡± Zhuang He roared furiously. His body erupted with light as he shot straight into the air.

    The other dukes were rmed. They quickly activated their own skills, and streak after streak of light rose. Their movements seemed to be activating some kind of mechanism.

    The entire capital rumbled with noise. Immediately after, ripples began to appear in the sky, as if something shocking was about to awaken.

    The power of destruction that began to gather was enough to make all of the cultivators in the capital tremble. In that instant, they all had a feeling that even an earth immortal trapped in this formation could very well only have death awaiting him.

    After all, this was the embodiment of the national power of the glorious Great Zhou Dynasty, the ultimate formation created to defend the capital. It was the final measure to guard the nation against something on the level of an invasion from the Fiend Races¡¯ endless army. As a weapon designed be used on the level of a grand battle, how could it possibly be something a single person could deal with?

    The empress was shocked and furious when she heard them. She cried out, ¡°Who permitted you to use the Demon-Eradicating Great Formation?!¡±

    However, the dukes didn¡¯t listen to her at all. They all urged on the formation¡¯s awakening, as if only by doing that would they have any sense of safety.

    Zu An sized up the great formation. A hint of surprise appeared in his eyes. Even though he was proficient in formations because of the Baopu Sutra, he had to admit that the level of this formation was very high. It had practically be one with heaven and earth. To a certain degree, the attacks of the great formation could manifest the power of the world.

    Suddenly, a streak of green light flew into the sky. Then, a small figure floated into the air with a formation disc in hand. His hand moved around a bit, and the Demon-Eradicating Great Formation gradually faded.

    ¡°Yan Xiangu, what are you doing?¡± Zhuang He eximed, feeling shocked and furious. He stared at Yan Xiangu, and yet was helpless to do a thing about it.

    After all, Yan Xiangu had participated in the creation of this formation in the past. In terms of control over it, his mastery even exceeded that of Zhuang He.

    Those from the capital¡¯s great ns all began to whisper among themselves.

    ¡°Sir Yan has appeared.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not all. The other academy teachers are also following behind him.¡±

    ¡°It seems they''re taking a stand on Zu An¡¯s side.¡±

    ¡°Of course! Zu An is the Royal Academy¡¯s libationer, you know?¡±

    ¡°Hasn''t it been said that the academy teachers are all proud and haughty, that they''re normally all incredibly arrogant? Does that brat Zu An really have the skill to tame those prideful people?¡±

    ¡­

    Yan Xiangu led his group of fellow disciples. He calmly looked at Zhuang He, saying, ¡°Actually, I wanted to ask what the Grand Tutor¡¯s intention was. The Demon-Eradicating Great Formation is to be used against foreign enemies, so why was it used against our academy¡¯s libationer?¡±

    Zhuang He quickly said, ¡°He just killed the Imperial Tutor, the imperial family¡¯s n leader!¡±

    Jiang Luofu spoke up and replied, ¡°If I am not mistaken, the Imperial Tutor stated earlier that this was to be an equal fight, and that even if he lost, he would consider it to be a sign of his own skills beingcking, and asked others not to get revenge for him. Even though I personally do not approve of that kind of of decision to put lives at stake, I have to admit that with so many people serving as witnesses, it is something that needs to be enforced.¡±

    Zhuang He¡¯s expression changed. He had never expected what Zhao Chen said to actually end up serving as the ultimate bail for this brat.

    Taibao Official Yu Rui said, ¡°That¡¯s right. Since it was a fair battle, this matter indeed cannot be med on him.¡±

    The other dukes all reacted and spoke up in agreement. At the same time, they wiped away their sweat. Even though Zu An had killed Meng Jing and Zhao Chen, what did that have to do with them? And yet, if they had identally ended up being dragged into a battle by that old bastard Zhuang He... With the terrifying power Zu An had disyed, even if the formation ended up killing him, some more of the dukes would definitely die as well. That would really be a huge loss then!

    The empress finally found a chance to fly over to them. She dered loudly, ¡°The Meng n instigated King Dai to scheme against the crown prince, and he greatly harmed the court¡¯s veteran generals. Sir Zu came here on this empress¡¯ orders to investigate the case, but these scoundrels actuallymitted treason when driven to desperate actions. He has defended the solidarity of our nation and stabilized the capital, establishing great contributions! Thus, he is to be given the title of king!

    ¡°Furthermore, he came back with news from his majesty, who entrusted him to assist in ruling the government. He is henceforth granted the title of Regent!¡±

    King Dai immediately cried out, ¡°We¡¯re being wronged here! This bastard Zu murdered a member of the royal family, so why did he freaking end up getting the title of king?! And how did Imit treason? Didn¡¯t you all tacitly agree to my¡­¡±

    Before he could even finish, with a brush of Eunuch Lu¡¯s sleeves, an invisible force twisted his jaw, preventing him from saying anything else.

    Meng Chan¡¯s face also became deathly pale. Now, the Meng n really was beyond saving. The crime of treason was normally met with nine generations of executions. Previously, even if the Meng n¡¯s powerful cultivators perished, with the Meng n¡¯s resources, they would still have been able to rebuild their n again after some time. But now, the entire Meng n was about to be pulled up by the roots.

    What do we do? I have to save the Meng n, but what exactly should I do?

 Chapter 1933: Good Things Should Be Kept Within the Family

    Chapter 1933: Good Things Should Be Kept Within the Family

    On any other day, if the empress had dered Zu An to be the regent, the court¡¯s important ministers would have been harshly opposed to it. The only ones who would have agreed were those with good enough rtionships with Zu An that they couldn''t really say anything against it. Still, even those who had a good rtionship with him wouldn''t have thought that Zu An could be a king. After all, he had gone from amoner to a marquis in a mere two to three years, something that had never happened before. For someone like that to be a regent, it was enough to make people wonder if there was perhaps something wrong with the world.

    But now, no one voiced any opposition; instead, they praised the empress for her decisiveness. With Zu An¡¯s current strength, it was already enough to convince the opposition. Besides, the Fiend races had even made him their regent. If his rank here was lower, wouldn''t that practically be pushing him toward the other side?

    Now, the emperor was already dead and the human racecked fighting strength. Meanwhile, Zu An had taken down an influential n in a single night on his own and defeated the eight dukes backing them. If they pushed such a person toward the Fiend races, and a war broke out, they would really have no way to deal with such an onught.

    As expected of the empress. Her shrewdness in politics really is matchless.

    While most people were praising the empress, there was one person who felt incredibly vexed. That person was none other than crown princess Bi Linglong. When she received the news in the Eastern Pce, she had left at the same time as Liu Ning, but unfortunately, her cultivation was weaker and she was thus a step slower. That minor difference in time meant that the empress had ended up grasping this opportunity. The title of Regent had been granted by the empress, which meant that she would end up receiving the praise for the decision.

    With my rtionship with Ah Zu and his current prestige, do you think I wouldn¡¯t do the same?

    She continued to stomp her feet in annoyance.

    Even though Ah Zu isn¡¯t the type to covet authority, he''ll definitely remember this great gift that the empress gave him. He''ll definitely keep this favor in mind, and he might even be more partial to her in the future!

    Still, feeling irritated didn¡¯t help. The empress¡¯ cultivation was higher, so she could move faster. What else could Bi Linglong do?

    She suddenly thought of something. She stopped and no longer rushed toward the Meng manor. Instead, she ordered her subordinates to head in the other direction.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, above the Meng manor, Taobao Official Yu Rui bowed to Zu An and said, ¡°Congrattions, Regent.¡±

    With him taking the lead, the others also offered their congrattions to Zu An. Even Zhuang He forced a smile to y along. After all, they didn¡¯t actually share much of a grudge with Zu An. There was no need to bepletely hostile to him just because of the Meng n, which had just been eradicated, and Meng Jing, whom they had only shared a few drinks with in the past.

    Only Grand Officer Zhao Song was furious. After all, the now-deceased Zhao Chen was a n brother of his. They were both people from the royal family. However, if one were to ask him to get revenge for Zhao Chen right now, that wasn''t something he would do. Without the help of the other dukes and the capital¡¯s Demon-Eradicating Great Formation, he would have absolutely no chance against this heaven-defying brat. Going up alone would just be throwing his life away.

    He really had no idea how someone so young could have such horrifying cultivation. He had always had extraordinary talent ever since he was young too, and yet he only managed to reach his current level after all this time. He had even felt really proud of himself, and yetpared to this brat, it was almost as if he had lived his entire life for nothing.

    He wasn''t the only one whose dao heart almost copsed, either. Countless rogue cultivators and n cultivators had witnessed the battle, leaving them horrified.

    Could this be the result of the legendary Phoenix Nirvana Sutra?

    They suddenly recalled that such a thing hade up when the emperor ordered Zu An¡¯s arrest in Brightmoon City and brought him to the capital. At the time, Zhao Han had refuted the rumor, and so they''d thought little of it. But now, it seemed as if it could be real! When they thought about how that legendary technique actually really existed, and had even allowed Zu An to create such a miracle within just three years, their hearts began pounding.

    Of course, they definitely wouldn¡¯t dare to have thoughts of coveting Zu An¡¯s Phoenix Nirvana Sutra. This guy had even been able to easily kill an earth immortal, so who would be mad enough to steal his secret manual?

    However, if the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra was real, what about the other secret manuals?

    The entire world would soon fill with gossip surrounding the other unknown regions, something Zu An couldn''t have expected.

    ¡­

    In the air above the Meng manor, when he saw how courteous the others were being, Zu An couldn''t really bring himself to strike their smiling faces. He gave a few courteous replies in turn.

    The dukes knew that since things had already turned out this way, staying where they were was senseless. As such, they all cupped their hands and bid each other farewell. At their current age, after all, they normally spent their time in seclusion. Even a moment spent outside would end up exhausting their limited remaining lifespans.

    ¡°I respectfully send off the eight dukes!¡± the empress said rather politely, showing great respect to these individuals.

    The dukes finally felt as if they had received a bit more dignity. They thought, This woman isn¡¯t bad; we have to take better care of her in the future.

    ¡­n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    When they left, the empress finally went over to Zu An¡¯s side. She looked at him with aplicated expression, saying, ¡°Ah Zu, you¡¯ve once again left me full of surprises.¡± With Zu An¡¯s power, she didn¡¯t have to worry about anyone else listening in on their conversation at all.

    Zu An remained silent for a moment. In the end, he said, ¡°They went too far.¡±

    The empress nodded and said, ¡°It was my fault in the end, as I cared too much about the court¡¯s checks and bnces. I only made you feel wronged.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face, which had remained cold the whole time, finally revealed a hint of a smile. He said, ¡°It¡¯s fine. I decided to seize back everything they took from me with my own two hands.¡±

    The empress gave the ruins of the Meng manor a look, as well as Madam Dai, who was beside herself, and King Dai, who resembled a dead dog.

    Your ¡®seizing¡¯ really is quite intense.

    She pursed her lips and said, ¡°No, I was the one who didn¡¯t do well enough, and I need to apologize. I invite the regent to visit the Pce of Peace, and this humble woman will definitely properly repay you and help you vent out all of your frustrations.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    Isn¡¯t this vixen just lusting after my body?

    Just who''s helping whom vent frustrations here?

    ¡­

    However, the empress still had to clean up the terrible mess that remained in the Meng manor. She quickly ordered around several ministers who rushed over.

    Zu Annded on the ground. He cupped his hands toward Yan Xiangu and the others, saying, ¡°Thank you for hurrying here and helping me, everyone.¡±

    Yan Xiangu replied with a smile, ¡°I merely didn¡¯t wish for this Demon-Eradicating Great Formation that the human race built so painstakingly to be a tool for internal struggle. Furthermore, even if we hadn''t arrived, I believe that the libationer would have had a way of dealing with the situation.¡±

    The dainty Qi Yaoguang harrumphed. ¡°Senior brother, there''s something you said that''s definitely wrong.¡± She had rushed over in a hurry and didn¡¯t have her usual witch hat. Her beautiful hair fluttered softly in the cold wind, and she had a pair of cute pigtails. Without her stuffy academy outfit, she actually looked a bit cuter than usual.

    Yan Xiangu was stunned. He asked, ¡°What did I say that was wrong?¡±

    ¡°You missed out on an important reason. He''s our academy¡¯s libationer! If we didn¡¯t help him, who would we help?¡± Qi Yaoguang wrinkled her nose and replied in dissatisfaction.

    Yan Xiangu chuckled and said, ¡°I¡¯ve learned from little junior sister¡¯s advice. I was the one in the wrong.¡±

    Walking over to them with her stocking-d legs on full disy, Jiang Luofu said somewhat coldly. ¡°You were the one who was most opposed to him bing the libationer before, and yet you¡¯re also the one who protects him the most. If it weren¡¯t because you foretold that he would experience a bloody disaster, we would have all been buried in our research and wouldn¡¯t havee here so promptly.¡±

    The logician Yin Shi couldn''t help but say in a mocking tone, ¡°Little junior sister, what have you been using divination on the libationer every day for?¡±

    When she saw her senior brothers and sisters¡¯ looks, Qi Yaoguang¡¯s face reddened. She said, ¡°It¡¯s all his fault for divinating my bloody disaster, so I wasn¡¯t convinced and started divining his future every day. But I never expected that I would make a mistake¡­ I thought that he would be put in danger, but now, I''ve realized that it was all the blood of other people.¡± Then, she grabbed Zu An¡¯s arm and said, ¡°Libationer, I really respect you so much! You almost bathed the entire capital in blood by yourself and made so many legendary experts eat dust. You really were just too handsome back then! I dere that from today forth, you''ll be my idol!¡±

    Hei Baizi said with a smile, ¡°Who says our little junior sister is obsessed with research and doesn¡¯t like men? Doesn¡¯t she like our libationer quite a bit?¡±

    ¡°Hmph, we have apletely pure rtionship. It¡¯s nothing so disgusting as what you¡¯re thinking,¡± Qi Yaoguang said angrily, shooting her senior brother a re.

    ¡°Who knows? When is a rtionship between a man and a woman everpletely pure?¡± Yin Shi retorted with a big smile.

    Qi Yaoguang was speechless.

    Shen Xuzi said with a frown, ¡°But the libationer is our little junior sister¡¯s senior, so it might be a bit inappropriate.¡±

    ¡°Not necessarily. The libationer said that we were to maintain our previous personal rtionships. Inside the academy, he is the libationer, our teacher, but in private, we can just interact on the same level, right?¡± Yin Shi corrected him.

    ¡°You guys are all so annoying! If any of your fates end up going dark and awry, I¡¯m not going to help you guys anymore!¡± Qi Yaoguang cried, letting go of Zu An¡¯s arm in embarrassment. How could she still be shameless enough to keep clinging to him?

    Jiang Luofu rubbed her head with a smile, saying, ¡°Junior sister, everyone is joking around with you. Don¡¯t treat it as a big deal.¡±

    The other senior brothers also agreed with a smile. Only then did Qi Yaoguang smile again.

    Zu An felt warm inside when he saw that.

    These brothers and sisters really have a good rtionship with each other.

    While he was having those thoughts, the academy¡¯s teachers also felt moved. Previously, when Zu An took over the position of libationer, they had all respected thete libationer¡¯s wishes and Zu An¡¯s advice in their respective fields, so they''d approved of him bing the new libationer. But because he was still too young, they''d all still felt a bit strange. After all, they had been worried that his strength wouldn¡¯t be enough to bring the academy more benefits. What they had worried about the most was that he wouldn¡¯t be able to convince the masses of his position. After all, the ns of the capital were all ruthless and vicious old foxes.

    However, they had never expected him to be so full of vigor, single-handedly ughtering his way into the Meng manor and leaving the eight dukespletely ashen. He''d said he would kill that giant gold dragon, and he had; even the honorable Dragon King had to give him face. In the end, even the earth immortal Zhao Chen had been dealt with by a single move. After tonight, perhaps Zu An could already be considered number one in this entire world. Not even thete libationer had enjoyed such glory!

    The academy teachers weren¡¯t the type to be used to being out in the open with so many people around them. After that exchange, they all went back to the academy¡¯s rear mountain. Even though Qi Yaoguang wanted to talk more with Zu An, when she recalled her fellow disciples¡¯ teasing, she still found it too embarrassing and left with a reddened face.

    Only Jiang Luofu stayed behind. She seemed to have noticed his worries and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I still have people watching over the Imperial Prison. Nothing will happen.¡±

    Zu An sighed in relief.

    Big sis Jiang always knows how to make others feel at ease.

    ¡°Let¡¯s head on over to bring them out," he said. He had already flipped the table, so how could they still let the Qin and Murong n¡¯s people suffer in prison?

    ¡°Alright,¡± Jiang Luofu said, following behind him. She actually felt a bit pleasantly surprised and honored.

    Many people saw what happened and began to discuss it in private.

    ¡°Who is that ck silk beauty?¡±

    ¡°The Commandant of Justice¡¯s precious daughter, Jiang Luofu. You don¡¯t even know her? She''s also a teacher of the academy¡¯s rear mountain, thete libationer¡¯s personal disciple!¡±

    ¡°Those legs really are beautiful¡­ In my opinion, Zu An might not really be without an equal. If he were to be sandwiched between those legs, he would likely lower his helmet and throw away his armor.¡±

    ¡°That gives me an idea. It¡¯s not too easy for us to gain Sir Zu¡¯s favor, so we should stay our hands from this Miss Jiang and set them up.¡±

    ¡°Ah, could they really have that kind of rtionship?¡±

    ¡°Are you stupid? If it were you, would you refuse those beautiful ck silk stocking-covered legs? Besides, one is the libationer and the other a rear mountain teacher. There¡¯s not a thing she could do, and beautiful women like outstanding men. Good things should be kept within the family¡­¡±

    ¡­

    Along the way, Jiang Luofu snuck nces at the man in front of her several times.

    However, Zu An¡¯s senses were keen and he couldn''t help but ask with a chuckle, ¡°Why do you keep looking at me?¡±

 Chapter 1934: A Restless Evening

    Chapter 1934: A Restless Evening

    Jiang Luofu¡¯s face turned red as she said, ¡°I just never expected you to be so ferocious.¡± That little boy from the past had actually grown up to this extent¡­ For some reason, she actually felt a bit awkward in front of him.

    ¡°The Meng n have no one to me but themselves. I already gave them a chance,¡± Zu An said with a chuckle. ¡°I¡¯m usually a pretty good-tempered person. I believe big sis Jiang understands that quite well.¡±

    In that instant, Jiang Luofu felt as if that naughty young man from Brightmoon City had appeared again. She couldn''t help but feel a sense of familiarity. She harrumphed and said, ¡°Hmph, you¡¯re a brat who''s always up to no good. None of those people who offended you in the past met good ends.¡±

    That wasn¡¯t all. The first time he met her, their statuses had clearly beenpletely different, and yet this brat had actually dared to stare at her ck stockings without any sense of shame. At the time, she hadn''t minded that much, because that only confirmed her beauty. Besides, this kid was pretty handsome, and he hadn''t been able to win against her in a fight. If he really had any bad thoughts, she could have beaten him into submission just by stepping on him.

    But now¡­n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    When she thought about Zu An''s current strength, she realized that she couldn''t really do much to stop it if he wanted to do something to her¡­

    ¡­

    Although the two of them were walking slowly under the moonlight in a leisurely mood, the rest of the capital had already fallen intoplete chaos.

    In a tower inside King Ying Manor, a young man dressed in extravagant clothes closed the windows. He sat down slowly in his seat, remaining silent for a long time.

    His trusted aide asked worriedly, ¡°King?¡±

    That person was none other than another prince, King Ying. He and King Wu, Zhao Yan, shared a mother - Zhao Han¡¯s concubine, Xu Meiren.

    King Ying took a deep breath, gradually calming his mood. He said, ¡°That fool King Dai did help us take on a bolt of lightning, at least. Give out the orders to suspend all of our ns. From now on, we are to conceal our strength and bide our time.¡±

    ¡°But we already made so many preparations¡­¡± another trusted aide said with an unwilling expression.

    ¡°You idiot! That Zu guy is already strong to such an extent, and he is even an important person to the crown princess. If we do not act against the crown prince, do you want us to go against someone else? Even the empress changed her stance in favor of roping him in. If we still try to fight over the seat of crown prince, wouldn''t we just be courting death?¡± King Ying couldn''t help but curse.

    When they recalled how vicious Zu An was, to the point that not even an earth immortal could stand a chance, King Ying''s subordinates shivered. Opposing that man definitely wasn''t a good decision.

    ¡°Right, send someone to warn King Wu and tell him to lie low as well. If the things he did in the past are exposed, no one will be able to save him,¡± King Ying instructed them, suddenly remembering something.

    ¡°Understood,¡± the subordinate to his left said, then bowed and quickly left.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me we can¡¯t do a single thing now?¡± another subordinate asked weakly.

    ¡°It is not that we cannot do anything. The Imperial Tutor Zhao Chen has died, but his heirs are still alive and well, and are all in authoritative positions. They will definitely be unable to swallow this resentment. We can try to form an alliance in secret,¡± King Ying said coldly. The more he spoke, the clearer his thoughts became.

    ¡°But even the glorious earth immortal Zhao Chen wasn¡¯t that Zu bastard¡¯s match, so what could his heirs do?¡± another person asked doubtfully.

    ¡°What do you understand? Even though that Zu bastard is strong, he is all alone. The world is too big, and you need to rely on others to rule. People might be too scared of his strength at first to dare to do anything, but as time goes on, more of them will agree on the surface but start to oppose him in secret. I promise you that none of the orders he gives out will be carried out, and then he will not even be able to pick out a single w in the process. He might even begin to question the validity of his own orders, thus destabilizing his prestige," King Ying said. ¡°What we need to do is to wait, wait until something happens. Then, we will have our chance. What we need to do right now is to umte enough strength and rope in enough friends.¡±

    ¡°The king is wise!¡± the others replied. Still, although they were speaking words of ttery, they all felt regret inside.

    It''s such a pity that the king isn¡¯t thete empress¡¯ son. Otherwise, if he seeded the throne, the empire would definitely be more prosperous by the day. He''s countless times better than that idiot of a crown prince!

    King Ying stood up again. He pushed aside the window and looked in the direction of the Meng n, his face full of pity as he remarked, ¡°Still, it is truly a pity for Meng Chan.¡±

    Even though he had always looked down on King Dai, thinking of him as no one special and perhaps even on the lower end of intelligence, he had to admit that King Dai had an excellent wife.

    Meng Chan¡¯s beauty and resourcefulness had always been on par with the crown princess, Bi Linglong. When the crown princess was being selected, apart from the esteemed daughter of the Jiang n, Bi Linglong and Meng Chan had been the most popr candidates.

    But at some point, father emperor decided that Meng Chan showed off herpetence too much and wasn¡¯t a good fit for being a mother of the empire. In contrast, Bi Linglong was a bit more reserved, so that was why she was chosen as the crown princess.

    Of course, whether that was the real reason or if it was because father emperor was worried about the Meng n''s great ancestor having too much influence, that is likely something only he alone knew.

    Eventually, with father emperor¡¯s tacit approval, Bi Linglong then gradually began to disy her astonishing quick wit and talent¡­

    When Meng Chan received that blow to her confidence, she had bepletely discouraged. But the Meng n¡¯s doorsteps had practically been trampled rotten from the amount of marriage proposals they received. After all, Meng Chan was a beautiful and intelligent woman, and she even had the Meng n backing her. Even putting everything else aside, Meng Chan¡¯s beauty and charm were both first-rate among the noble circles, and she had endless pursuers.

    King Ying had even been one of them himself; he had adored her. Eventually, however, his majesty had bestowed her onto King Dai in marriage. King Ying had been forced to bury his feelings deep down in his heart.

    Meanwhile, Meng Chan had also be a canary in a cage, and King Ying had thought that she would just fade away like that. However, Meng Chan had actually never given up. After the battle of Violet Mountain, King Dai and the Meng n¡¯s series of maneuvers had been truly stunning. They had aimed lethal des at the Eastern Pce again and again.

    King Ying had watched with the cool eyes of a bystander and felt extreme admiration, knowing that those strategies were definitely the work of Meng Chan.

    As expected of the woman who used to be on par with Bi Linglong!

    As expected of the object of my adoration!

    She had just been a tiny bit off; just that tiny bit, and Meng Chan would have seeded. But who could possibly have expected that Zu An, at his young age, could easily kill even an earth immortal?

    All that had happened really seemed to be an inevitable twist of fate.

    But now, King Dai and the Meng n werepletely finished. Meng Chan, as Madam Dai, was naturally also done for. If an unmatched hero appeared now to give her hope, if she were to be saved, her young feminine heart would be full of affection, right?

    The image of himself dressed in golden armor as he descended upon the Meng manor to save Meng Chan appeared in King Ying''s mind. Overwhelmed by emotion, he couldn''t help but take a step forward. He even reflexively wanted to fly toward the Meng manor right then and there.

    But a gust of cold night wind brushed past, and he immediately recovered his reason. It was fine to dream about these things, but when it came to really doing it... Well, he still understood his own limits.

    That Zu bastard¡¯s hand alone¡­ No, even a single finger could crush me to death.

    What a pity¡­

    When he thought about the bitter future of that beautiful woman, he was filled wiht pity. However, there was nothing he could do.

    He dismissed his subordinates and took out a bottle of wine from his cab. He had always been full of self-control for many years, rarely touching a drop of alcohol because he was worried that it could affect his judgment. But today, all he wanted was to drink the night away.

    ¡­

    Simr things were happening in many different ces. Others didn''t necessarily carry deep affection for Meng Chan the way King Ying did, but their decisions weren''t too different. They all decided to stop all their schemes and plots. After all, Zu An¡¯s performance today was just too explosive. They definitely didn¡¯t want to provoke that disaster in their own households.

    However, unlike the dispirited mood within the king manors, in a certain remote courtyard in the capital, there was an elder who felt incredibly moved. He almost pped his thighs rotten from excitement.

    ¡°I never expected the imperial grandson to be so formidable!¡±

    ¡°The heavens really still remember our Great Meng Dynasty!¡±

    A woman said with a sigh next to him, ¡°Unfortunately, he doesn¡¯t seem to want to ept the identity of the imperial grandson.¡±

    Her face was veiled, so it was difficult to make out her appearance. Her figure was graceful, and her waist and back were straight. There was an outstanding air about her.

    ¡°This is his duty decreed by fate. It isn¡¯t something he can choose to acknowledge or refuse,¡± the elder said as he paced back and forth, clearly feeling quite irritated as well. After some time, his eyes lit up. ¡°I know what to do! Send orders to all of our people in the streets and alleys, especially areas like bridges where a lot of people gather to find writers. After some time passes, as his prestige grows higher and higher, we¡¯ll spread the news that he''s the imperial grandson.¡±

    The woman was startled, saying skeptically, ¡°Won¡¯t youpletely provoke him then?¡±

    ¡°Why would he be provoked? We''re all on the same side. Even if he carries some resentment, it won¡¯t be that big of a deal,¡± the elder said with a smile. ¡°This guy is just toozy. Since he doesn¡¯t want to attend to these matters, I''ll force him to pay attention.¡±

    The woman looked out the window, a trace of worry between her brows.

    She had to admit that the elder¡¯s suggestion was ingenious, at least. If the rumors of the imperial grandson spread, the Great Zhou Dynasty¡¯s court would definitely be on high alert. Then, even Zu An¡¯s identity as the Regent wouldn¡¯t protect him. Rather, it would be precisely that identity that would make certain people from the Great Zhou Dynasty even more guarded against him. Then, the two sides would inevitably start another conflict. Zu An had only dealt with the Meng n and the earth immortal Zhao Chen this evening. The Great Zhou Dynasty¡¯s national weapons hadn''t fully been used.

    But if the situation were rted to the imperial grandson of the previous dynasty, the various forces definitely wouldn¡¯t just watch without doing a thing like they had tonight. Then, Zu An would be an enemy of the entire world. He would have no choice but to rely on them to obtain aid.

    It is a good plot, but¡­

    When she thought about the strength Zu An had shown and his personality, she wondered whether there really wouldn''t be negative consequences to doing such a thing.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, the people in the Sang manor were filled with extreme shock.

    When he looked at Zheng Dan, who was leaping and jumping around in silly happiness, Sang Hong sighed. Then, he said to his daughter, ¡°Qien¡¯er, I think it would still be better if you had Sisi take on his surname.¡±

    With the power Zu An had disyed, who would dare to make his bloodline follow behind another? Besides, if Sisi took on Zu An¡¯s surname, that would only bring the Sang n more benefits. They could even allow Sang Qien to live in the Regent Manor with a justifiable pretext.

    Sang Qien shook her head and said, ¡°I think it would be better not to. If we did that, it would make the Sang n seem too snobbish. I think we should do things as we discussed before and let nature run its course.¡± She knew her big brother Zu had a wife. Her own rtionship with him would always seem tock something.

    Sang Hong was stunned. Then, he nodded and said, ¡°You¡¯re right, you¡¯re the one who''s thinking with a clear head. I got a bit too agitated.¡± However, he added, ¡°But you should put in a bit more effort and try to give birth to nine or ten of Ah Zu¡¯s children.¡±

    Sang Qien stomped her feet and said in annoyance, ¡°Dad, I¡¯m not a pig! How many can I even give birth to in a year?¡±

    ¡°You can add in¡­¡± Sang Hong began, although his face heated up. In the end, he was too embarrassed and excused himself hurriedly after a few more words.

    Aunt Mu knew that he couldn''t bring himself to continue. She could only share in his troubles and say quietly in Sang Qien¡¯s ear, ¡°Qien¡¯er, actually, you can add in your sister-inw¡­¡±

    Sang Qien was speechless. Her face turnedpletely red from embarrassment!

    <strong></strong>

 Chapter 1935: Gift of Gratitude

    Chapter 1935: Gift of Gratitude

    Meanwhile, Zu An and Jiang Luofu were chatting andughing. They arrived at the Imperial Prison to release the Qin and Murong ns and their associates. After what happened today, who would dare to stop them?

    To their surprise, however, when they entered the Imperial Prison, they discovered that the Qin and Murong ns were both gone. Even Qin Wanru, Chu Huanzhao, Murong Qinghe, and the others were nowhere to be seen.

    Zu An¡¯s expression darkened.

    Are there really people who don¡¯t fear death and dare to mess with them?

    Perhaps because he had killed many people tonight, a vicious aura bubbled up within him until it was on the verge of exploding.

    Jiang Luofu was really rmed. At first, she had said that she''d entrusted people to take care of the Qin and Murong n, and yet they''d ended up in such miserable condition. This time, she''d said that she had sent more people to watch over them, and yet all of them had gone missing! If something bad had really happened to them, she would really be too ashamed to meet anyone ever again.

    She quickly found the people she left at the prison to ask them what happened, but then found out that the crown princess had personallye to bring the prisoners away.

    They allined, ¡°There is no way we could stop the crown princess herself. She did also say that she was releasing the people from these two ns because they were innocent, and took them back to their homes. That gave us even less reason to stop her.¡±

    Jiang Luofu sighed in relief when she heard that. Zu An¡¯s expression also eased up as he said, ¡°Then they should be alright. I¡¯ll return to the Qin manor to take a look first.¡±

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go with you,¡± Jiang Luofu said. She had to ensure those people were actually safe to feel truly at ease.

    Zu An didn¡¯t mind at all. After all, having a beauty with such beautiful legs at his side really was a delightful thing.

    ¡­

    The two of them quickly arrived at the Qin manor. Unlike its tattered and ruined appearance from before, the manor was adorned with decoratednterns and banners. The air was full of cheers andughter.

    When the Qin n¡¯s people learned of Zu An''s arrival, they rushed out to wee him. The Qin dukes were still weak, but they still insisted on having their wheelchairs pushed out to personally thank Zu An and Jiang Luofu.

    After an exchange of conventional greetings and making sure that they were fine, Jiang Luofu found a chance to excuse herself and leave. She couldn''t help but feel a bit like an outsider in the Qin manor. She just felt as if she didn¡¯t really fit in.

    Zu An was about to send her off when she stopped him, saying, ¡°You still have many things to say to them, so there¡¯s no need for all that trouble.¡±

    Jiang Luofu chuckled and waved her hand casually, then quickly disappeared into the dark of the night.

    As he watched her leave, Qin Zheng said in appreciation, ¡°Miss Jiang refused a request to marry the crown prince, and because of her special status, no one else dared to propose marriage to her again. With her stunning appearance, she would definitely have already properly settled down otherwise.¡±

    Qin Wanru couldn''t help but reply, ¡°Dad, why would she have to marry? Isn¡¯t Principal Jiang¡¯s life pretty good? I¡¯m actually a bit envious of her. She¡¯s been living so freely and confidently.¡±

    Qin Zheng rolled his eyes and replied, ¡°Do you think she¡¯s anything like you?¡±

    Qin Wanru harrumphed angrily.

    Zu An chuckled, then said to the two brothers Qin Zheng and Qin Se, ¡°The two sirs are currently weak and need to rest. Please don''t stay out for too long and risk bing ill.¡±

    The two elders were grateful. Before leaving, Qin Zheng said, ¡°Wanru, you have to take good care of Ah Zu. Don¡¯t end up neglecting him now.¡±

    ¡°Yes¡­¡± Qin Wanru said sullenly. She had said simr words earlier, but the two hadn''t paid much attention at all. Now that Ah Zu said the same thing, however, the two of them were suddenly so eager to listen!

    She ordered Huanzhao to bring her grandfathers back inside, then walked over to Zu An¡¯s side and said, ¡°Ah Zu, I really have to thank you this time.¡±

    Her expression was extremelyplicated. The great battle in the Meng manor had caused such a huge disturbance that she could even sense it all the way from the Imperial Prison. When they all emerged with the crown princess to see what was going on, they''d learned that Zu An had stormed straight into the Meng manor to get revenge for the Qin n. She had almost decided to lead her own subordinates over to help him, but the crown princess had stopped her. After that, they''d seen Zu An destroy those powerful cultivators one after another in midair.

    The shock she had felt then couldn''t be any more intense. After all, she had already been shocked enough when she found out that he was the Royal Academy¡¯s libationer, a favored minister in the Eastern Pce, and a marquis in the court. And yet, only then did she realize that Zu An was a thousand times beyond what she had imagined! How could that fellow she had berated like a dog back in Brightmoon City have already grown this much?

    ¡°Mother-inw, we''re one family. There''s no need to be so polite at all,¡± Zu An said with a smile.

    Qin Wanru pursed her lips. In the end, she still braced herself and asked, ¡°Do you still hate me for how much I berated you in the past?¡±

    Ah¡­ it¡¯s over, it¡¯s all over! If he really still harbored bad feelings, forget about me, even the entire Chu n would be done for!

    Just how should Ipensate him?

    While she was feeling extremely conflicted, Zu An smiled and said, ¡°Mother-inw is worrying too much. Those things have already long since be bygones.¡±

    He had been quite upset back then, butter, he had found out that his marriage with Chuyan had actually been almost purely due to her support alone. The reason she''d acted the way she did was because she felt as if she had let her daughter down, thinking he was worthless and a disappointment. Now, though, none of that mattered to him.

    Qin Wanru¡¯s heart actually began to pound.

    It¡¯s over, it¡¯s over! He didn¡¯t say he didn¡¯t mind, but that it¡¯s a thing of the past. Doesn¡¯t that mean the same thing, though?

    Just then, Chu Huanzhao ran back outside, having finished bringing her grandparents back in. She had been so worried about her brother-inw that the wheelchairs she pushed almost produced sparks from the wheels, making the two elders feel as if they would fall right off and frightening them until almost half their souls disappeared. They had already experienced countless battles of life and death on the battlefield, and yet they had never been as worried as they were today. After all, they were now just ordinary old men who had lost all of their cultivation.

    ¡°Brother-inw, you¡¯re so awesome!¡± Chu Huanzhao cried as she grabbed Zu An¡¯s arm, her eyes full of adoration.

    Qin Wanru raised her brows, but she wasn¡¯t in the mood to scold her daughter right now.

    When he saw the lively Huanzhao, Zu An felt warm inside. She had always given others an endless sense of inspiration and motivation back in Brightmoon City too.

    ¡°How did you be so strong, taking down powerful enemies with one punch? Every single one of those guys could beat up my dad as if he were their nephew¡­¡± Chu Huanzhao chattered endlessly as she talked about what had happened.

    Qin Wanru¡¯s expression darkened as she listened.

    Is that how you should be talking about your dad?

    However, Chu Youzhao couldn''t take it anymore and retorted, ¡°Second sis, wouldn¡¯t dad die from anger if he heard what you said?¡±

    Chu Huanzhao rolled her eyes and replied, ¡°Even if he disagreed, how many of the people big brother Zu just beat could he win against?¡±

    Chu Youzhao and Qin Wanru both choked.

    What you said makes too much sense.

    In the end, Chu Youzhao couldn''t swallow her bitterness and argued back, ¡°Dad could at least beat those followers from the king manor and the guards, right?¡±

    Qin Wanru held her forehead.

    Are you praising your dad or tarnishing his reputation right now?

    Your dad really fathered two amazing daughters¡­

    ¡°No way! I heard that there was a master rank among those followers. Wouldn¡¯t it be easy enough to beat up that old man?¡± Chu Huanzhao said with a harrumph.

    ¡°But that¡¯s only because dad was injured back then. If he weren¡¯t injured, how would he lose?!¡± Chu Youzhao eximed, panicking.

    ¡°I¡¯m talking about right now, not about before. Also, even if it were before, dad couldn''t beat someone at the peak of the master rank, right?¡± Chu Huanzhao replied cleverly and eloquently. Her little sister was leftpletely defenseless under her assault.

    The two sisters¡¯ fight was about to reach its climax. Murong Qinghe used the chance to move over to Zu An¡¯s side, saying, ¡°Big brother Zu, the Murong n managed to narrowly avoid disaster. I don¡¯t even know how to thank you anymore.¡±

    The Murong n had already been about to have their possessions searched and confiscated, and yet now, everything had turned around. The crown princess had even promised to restore them to their former post, and at most, they would receive some token punishment. Murong Qinghe naturally knew that it was all out of respect for Zu An.

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°Little sister Qinghe speaks too seriously. Forget about your rtionship with Youzhao, even if it were just for your sake, we are kindred spirits. Besides, I respect Elder Murong¡¯s unyielding character, so it''s only right for him to have been saved.¡±

    Murong Qinghe¡¯s heart immediately began to pound. All of the other words passed right over her head and she only heard one thing, which was that big brother Zu had said that they were kindred spirits.

    What does he mean by that? Is he implying something?

    But I can¡¯t betray big brother Chu¡­

    Chu Huanzhao and the others finally noticed the two of them. They moved over and said, ¡°Right, it was that crown princess who saved us. She really is an amazing person! Not only is she kind, but she¡¯s also ridiculously beautiful. Brother-inw, do you ever get tempted, since you get to work for someone that beautiful every day?¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    Qin Wanru was startled and quickly covered her daughter''s mouth, eximing, ¡°Are you trying to get yourself killed? You dare to even say something like that? It would cause a huge disaster if someone heard you!¡±

    Chu Huanzhao struggled free and retorted, ¡°What are you so scared of? With brother-inw here, who would dare to bully us? Also, that crown princess is such a great person, so why would she get upset at something small like that?¡±

    Chu Youzhao said coldly, ¡°I think you¡¯re wrong. Brother-inw is handsome and has such high cultivation, so the crown princess definitely likes him. Why would brother-inw have to make the first move?¡±

    Murong Qinghe spoke up in agreement. ¡°That¡¯s right, I think there''s a bigger chance of the crown princess liking big brother Zu.¡±

    When she saw the three youngdies discussing these things so seriously, Qin Wanru felt as if her soul were leaving her body. She said, ¡°Girls, watch what you say.¡±

    ¡°Brother-inw, how about I be your disciple?¡± Chu Huanzhao said, although she immediately regretted those words as soon as she said them. ¡°Pah pah pah, I don¡¯t want you to be my master. You''re my brother-inw, so what¡¯s the big deal in teaching me some cultivation stuff?¡±

    ¡°No problem!¡± Zu An replied. After all, he had nned to teach her properly anyway. This girl was just too much of a dummy, so her current cultivation really was a bit pitiful.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Brother-inw, I want to learn too!¡± Chu Youzhao added, not wanting to be outdone at all.

    ¡°Sure," Zu An said with a nod. He figured Youzhao wasn¡¯t bad either. The two of them had be really close after he came to the capital, so he naturally couldn''t favor one and discriminate against the other.

    ¡°Big brother Zu, can you take me in too?¡± Murong Qinghe asked, her eyes shining with an enchanted brilliance. She liked cultivation to begin with, so wouldn¡¯t she grow even faster if she learned from someone this strong?

    ¡°Sure¡­¡± Zu An said, although he began to feel some pressure now. But they were all so close, so he really couldn''t refuse them¡­

    Qin Wanru opened her mouth. Actually, even she was a bit tempted now, but in the end, she couldn''t bring herself to bow down to her son-inw as a disciple. She could only sulk and feel envy toward her own daughters.

    ¡­

    After a while, Zu An finally managed to free himself from the Qin manor. He went straight to the pce to visit the Eastern Pce.

    The crown princess issued an order, saying, ¡°Sir Zu and I have some ssified information to discuss, so everyone else is to withdraw. Momo, stand guard outside and don¡¯t let anyone in.¡±

    ¡°Then what if the crown prince or the empress¡­¡± Rong Mo began, although she was cut off before she could even finish.

    ¡°I said no one!¡± Bi Linglong snapped, staring at her coldly.

    ¡°Understood!¡± Rong Mo replied in rm. She quickly chased away the others while shestood guard outside alone.

    At any other time, Bi Linglong naturally wouldn¡¯t go this far. It was alreadyte into the night, so a man and a woman being together in the same room would definitely draw criticism. But today, no one felt that it was inappropriate. After all, Zu An had just raised too big of a storm in the Meng manor. People all knew that the crown princess would definitely seize the chance to rope in Sir Zu. That process would naturally involve discussing all sorts of confidential matters.

    Zu An¡¯s murderous actions had left all of the eunuchs and maids a bit scared whenever they looked into his eyes. No one''s thoughts drifted in a potentially scandalous direction.

    ¡­

    Inside the crown princess¡¯ room, Zu An looked at the beautiful youngdy in front of him. Her fair face didn¡¯t have a single w, and the curves of her body made her silk gown look even more captivating.

    As soon as their eyes met, the two young bodies pressed tightly against each other.

    <strong></strong>

 Chapter 1936: Why Is His Timing Always So On Point

    Chapter 1936: Why Is His Timing Always So On Point

    After some time had passed, Bi Linglong hit Zu An¡¯s back yfully, mumbling, ¡°I can¡¯t breathe.¡±

    Zu An finally released her. When he looked into her face, which had reddened from near-suffocation, he felt that she looked even more beautiful under the candlelight¡¯s glow. He said, ¡°Thank you, Linglong.¡±

    ¡°What are you thanking me for?¡± Bi Linglong raised her head and asked childishly. She almost seemed like an entirely different person from the usual crown princess.

    ¡°Thank you for saving the Qin and Murong ns,¡± Zu An said, hugging her petite body. His expression became even more gentle.

    ¡°Do we even need to thank each other with our level of rtionship?¡± Bi Linglong replied, drawing circles gently on his chest with her finger. ¡°Besides, with your present cultivation, even if I didn¡¯t do anything, it wouldn¡¯t have been too difficult for you to bring them out yourself.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s different,¡± Zu An said, shaking his head. ¡°If I wanted to bring them out, I would have had to use brute force. But you were able to do it in ordance with the court¡¯s rules. That saved me a lot of worries.¡±

    ¡°With your current strength, would you still have to worry about the court¡¯sws? You¡¯re only saying that to make me feel better,¡± Bi Linglong said with a light sigh, but her eyes were full of gratitude.

    Zu An chuckled, saying ¡°That¡¯s not all, actually. Because I was only an ordinary person in my homnd, I actually really dislike privileges that are above thew. I feel that things of that sort that aren''t kept in check can easily produce seeds of trouble. I don''t wish to be someone like that, so I always did my best to do things ording to thew.

    ¡°But who could have predicted that the Meng n and King Dai would push me that far? I''m not the sort to be too rigid and inflexible. Since they didn¡¯t want any face, I decided to help them lose it.¡±

    Bi Linglong was a bit confused. She said, ¡°Ah Zu, your ideals seem to be a bit ahead of your time. For themon people, that is indeed good news, but for rulers like us, that only serves as a disadvantage.¡±

    Zu An sighed, saying, ¡°You¡¯re exactly right.¡±

    Bi Linglong smiled, saying, ¡°Ah Zu, don¡¯t worry. I don¡¯t want you to be the kind of person you said either. I''ll do my best to uphold thew, keeping the influential officials in check and protecting themon people, too."

    Zu An felt warm inside. He said, ¡°That integrity of yours is rare, and really special.¡±

    This world¡¯s feudal society was more exaggerated than that of ancient China. After all, the people in the court were all cultivators, so they were countless times stronger than the officials of the feudal dynasties of his world. Ordinary people wouldn¡¯t have any way of resisting them.

    ¡°Ah Zu, people like you are even more rare and special. You''re clearly so strong, and yet you still think for the sake of ordinary people,¡± Bi Linglong said, looking at the man in front of her with her beautiful eyes. ¡°Ah Zu, I never could have imagined that your cultivation was actually this high.¡±

    She already had the most detailed report on what had happened in the Meng manor on her desk. When she read about how the strongest of experts had all been ughtered like chickens by Zu An, she had been so shocked she entered aplete daze. The terrifying pressure he''d released at that time felt almost as if Zhao Han had reappeared in this world. She felt as if she and Ah Zu had be really estranged after all. She didn¡¯t even know just how strong he was now.

    ¡°Do you me me for hiding those things from you?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t even me me for not saving the Qin and Murong ns, so how could I me you?¡± Bi Linglong replied with a chuckle. ¡°Besides, you don¡¯t even wish to break thew with your strength and authority, so there''s even less of a reason for you to want to expose yourself.¡±

    ¡°The main reason for all of this is because I went through many battles in the secret dungeon I enteredst, and through some miraculous opportunities, I was able to be much stronger. I wanted to spend some time in seclusion to consolidate my cultivation, but these people never gave me the chance to,¡± Zu An said, feeling a bit annoyed.

    Bi Linglong consoled him with a smile, saying, ¡°Actually, King Dai and the Meng n courting death actually ended up resolving a huge headache of mine.¡±

    The princes had all been getting restless, as they all desired the position of crown prince. She had been under heavy pressure dealing with it all. And yet now, after what happened today, all of those problems were resolved. After seeing how King Dai and the Meng n had met their end, who would still dare to cause any more trouble?

    When he looked at the flickering candle mes, and how Bi Linglong¡¯s smile was even more captivating than those candles, Zu An was suddenly a bit stirred. He replied, ¡°Then how exactly did you n to thank me?¡±

    Bi Linglong¡¯s heart pounded. She pursed her lips and said quietly, ¡°I¡¯m only wearing informal clothes today.¡±

    Zu An felt something stir powerfully. Usually, Bi Linglong wore her splendid crown princess clothing to look pretty, but it always got in the way of certain things. After all, such pce outfits were extremelyplicated and could only be properly worn with the help of a few maids working together, so they weren¡¯t so easy to remove and just as hard to put on again. As such, the implications behind her choice to wear informal clothes went without saying.

    There was no need to exin things, however. Zu An took her into his arms, and at the same time, he lowered his head to kiss her tender and beautiful red lips. Bi Linglong groaned. Her delicate arms wrapped around his neck.

    Just then, however, arge fatty ran into the courtyard energetically. His expression was full of excitement as he said, ¡°I heard that Sir Zu entered the pce! Hurry and let me see him.¡± There was a group of eunuchs and maids behind him. Naturally, he was the crown prince, Zhao Ruizhi.

    The two people inside felt their entire bodies stiffen when they heard the voice.

    Why is his timing always so on point?

    ¡°Please halt, crown prince. The crown princess is currently discussing important matters of state inside with Sir Zu right now,¡± Rong Mo said, quickly stopping the crown prince.

    Bi Linglong clearly sighed in relief when she heard Rong Mo''s voice. Her body also gradually softened.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The crown prince was a bit unhappy to hear that, protesting, ¡°Why are you stopping me again? Sir Zu can go to Linglong¡¯s ce, so why can¡¯t I?¡±

    Rong Mo said with a frown, ¡°Crown prince, please do not let your emotions affect your decisions. They are really discussing important matters right now. If the crown prince has something important to say, please tell this humble servant. This servant will inform themter.¡±

    The crown prince¡¯s eyes gradually lit up. He replied, ¡°Okay! Go and tell Sir Zu that I want him to be my master.¡±

    Inside, Bi Linglong blushed. She looked at the man who was almost within reach in front of her, and her sparkling eyes seemed to be silently saying ¡®Can you believe he actually wants you to be his master?!¡¯.

    Zu An moved closer to her ear and whispered, ¡°I can teach him spear skills that emphasize pration.¡±

    Bi Linglong yfully struck his chest in embarrassment. She couldn''t help but move closer and bite him fiercely.

    Outside, Rong Mo said, ¡°Crown prince, Sir Zu is the crown prince¡¯s chambein, so he is already considered your teacher.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s different. I want to learn how Sir Zu flies into the sky and can fire beams of light whenever he wants! I was even able to see what he did. It was so cool!¡± the crown prince eximed; his desire to have fun had clearly started up again.

    Rong Mo was getting a headache. She could only say in agreement, ¡°Alright, crown prince. I will inform Sir Zu of this matterter.¡±

    The crown prince shook his head, saying, ¡°I read from a book that you have to express your own sincerity when you want someone else to be your master. Only then will the master teach you his real skills. If you were the one who told him, how could my sincerity be expressed? I will wait right here for him toe out, then personally ask him to be my master!¡± Then, he gestured for the eunuchs and maids to bring out several gifts they had brought along. He showed them off proudly, saying, ¡°Look, these are all the gifts I brought to make him my master.¡±

    Rong Mo nced toward the room and said, ¡°Crown prince, Sir Zu is going to take a long time inside. It is alreadyte in the evening, so the crown prince should get some rest.¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m still full of energy! All of you had better stay awake too! If you dare break any of the gifts, this crown prince is going to skin you all alive!¡± the crown prince threatened his servants.

    ¡°Understood!¡± the servants replied, although they were crying out miserably inside as they held the gifts. They knew that the crown prince wasn¡¯t just speaking empty words. He had never held back when he dished out physical punishment, and the servants around him often became maimed or crippled. None of them wanted to serve him, but they had no choice.

    Rong Mo saw that Zhao Ruizhi wasn¡¯t going to leave, but there was nothing she could do. He was the crown prince, after all, and she couldn''t force him to leave. Still, as long as he didn¡¯t go in, her task could be consideredplete. But she wondered if the people inside would find it a bit strange¡­

    ¡­

    Shortly after, the crown prince sat down in the courtyard and yawned. He asked impatiently, ¡°Why is Sir Zu taking so long?¡±

    All of the servants behind him were troubled. Their arms were already really sore from carrying the gifts. They felt as if the gifts in their hands were getting heavier and heavier. Those with weaker physiques already felt their arms start to droop, and they could only secretly raise their legs to support the gifts they were carrying. That way, at least, they could get a moment of rest before they picked up and carried the gifts again.

    Eventually, however, they couldn''t hold on anymore, so they could only lower their arms again and use their legs to help carry the weight. At first, they tried to do it secretly for fear that the crown prince would find out. But eventually, their arms reached their limit and they couldn''t be bothered trying to hide it. Just like that, they continuously raised and lowered the gifts again. Many of the maids were already so tired that fine sweat appeared between their brows. They could only grit their teeth and hold on; only then could they stop themselves from making any sound.

    Still, they didn¡¯t even know how much longer they could hold on for. Even though the winds outside were bitter and cold, their entire bodies had long since been soaked in sweat. They all wished badly that a pair of strong arms would hold them. That way, they wouldn¡¯t have to exert any more strength.

    Rong Mo said just then, ¡°Sir Zu has always taken a long time during these meetings, so I fear that he will note back out for some time. Crown prince, your respected self should return and get some rest first.¡±

    ¡°No, I will stand here to express my sincerity!¡± the crown prince replied. However, his tone was no longer as firm as before. For him, every decision he made was out of short-lived passion. The fact that he could hold on for so long this time was only because Zu An¡¯s performance was too cool, filling him with yearning.

    Rong Mo quickly said, ¡°Respected crown prince has already stood here for a long time and expressed your sincerity, and your respected self should know that Sir Zu has always been kind to the ordinary servants. If he came out and saw that they were tormented like this, perhaps he could really be upset.¡±

    The crown prince recalled how Zu An had acted when disciplining him and shivered. His desire to make Zu An his master even weakened a bit.

    He quickly ordered his subordinates, ¡°This crown prince is the best at empathizing with my subordinates. All of you, leave the gifts here and follow me back.¡±

    When they heard what he said, the servants could no longer hold on and lowered the heavy gifts to the ground. They sighed in relief, and heavy, hurried gasps soon filled the air.

    When the servants followed the crown prince out, Rong Mo sighed in relief. Her thoughts were inscrutable, but there was a trace of worry between her brows.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, the empress had just dealt with the Meng n''s affairs and returned to the Pce of Peace. The first thing she did was prepare for a bath and a change of clothes. At the same time, she asked, ¡°Little Lu, did Zu An enter the pce? No, how could I have him enter the pce and wait for me? You should hurry and invite him, while I¡¯ll wait for him here.¡±

    Eunuch Lu had a strange expression as he said, ¡°Your highness, Sir Zu has already entered the pce, but he went to the crown princess¡¯ side first.¡±

    The empress¡¯ expression changed. She asked, ¡°How long has he been at the Eastern Pce?¡±

    ¡°It has already been many hours. I wonder what kinds of important matters they are discussing; the crown prince is still standing guard outside,¡± Eunuch Lu replied.

    The empress harrumphed. ¡°Those two really don¡¯t know how easily scandals arise. Are they not worried about gossip spreading?¡±

    Eunuch Lu remarked with a deep sigh, ¡°After what happened tonight, who would dare to speak any gossip?¡±

    The empress figured that what he said made sense. After Zu An¡¯s performance in the Meng manor, who would still dare to offend him?

    Furthermore, that young woman Bi Linglong had always been upright and honorable in her conduct, and she carried the prestige of someone in a high position, which imperceptibly pushed everyone else away. Everyone inside and outside of the pce was convinced of her integrity. And with the crown prince standing outside, there was even less of a chance of the two of them doing anything.

    Still, she just felt a bit vexed inside. She said, ¡°Little Lu, go and make a trip to the Eastern Pce. You must invite Sir Zu over.¡±

    <strong></strong>

 Chapter 1937: You Donâ€™t Want the Crown Prince to Know About This Either, Right?

    Chapter 1937: You Don¡¯t Want the Crown Prince to Know About This Either, Right?

    ¡°Your highness, that is the crown princess¡¯ territory, and not even the crown prince can enter. This servant cannot just barge inside and invite Sir Zu, can I?¡± Eunuch Lu said with a troubled expression. After witnessing Zu An¡¯s power today, he knew that if he truly offended the other side, he risked dying without even realizing how it happened. But when he thought of that strength, he actually felt a mysterious sense of excitement.

    Only a man that powerful would be worthy of subduing a woman like her highness! Only a man like that could win Eunuch Lu''s approval wholeheartedly. The stronger and more courageous Zu An was, the more he couldpletely win over the empress in both body and heart, and the more Eunuch Lu would be satisfied. If Zu An had been as weak as a chicken, Eunuch Lu would only be filled with disdain, to the point of even considering getting rid of him, because that kind of person wasn¡¯t fit to approach the woman he had loved his entire life.

    Liu Ning said in annoyance, ¡°I didn¡¯t say to force the issue. Do you not know how to just wait outside the Eastern Pce? What, do you think Bi Linglong will make him stay the night?¡±

    ¡°It is still your highness who has the most rity. This servant will head over right now," Eunuch Lu said, his eyes lighting up. After saying that, he hurried over to the Eastern Pce with light and quick steps.

    When she saw the grin on his face and the flushed excitement on his cheeks, Liu Ning couldn''t help but release a cold snort. The two of them had been master and servant for so many years that she naturally knew his strange fetishes well. Out of respect for how loyal he had been all these years, and how he had remained infatuated with her all this time, she hadn''t really paid it any mind. Sometimes, she even yed along to satisfy his special cravings.

    Of course, that was all because she truly felt that Zu An was outstanding. Whenever she thought about the scorching hot sensation that apanied him going inside, her cheeks would gradually turn red. Ever since she had begun to spend time with him, her withered and dismal heart seemed to have received a fresh shower of spring rain. She had starteding back to life and producing tender buds again.

    When she thought of those things, she immediately ordered the maids to add some more milk and fresh flowers to the bath. She wanted to greet Zu An in her most wonderful condition.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in the Eastern Pce, Bi Linglong was clinging to Zu An like a ko. Her satin-like skin glowed enchantingly under the candlelight. Her body shook slightly as she powerlessly brought her fists down on Zu An¡¯s chest. She said, ¡°You bad guy¡­ Even though we already blocked all sound from escaping, you still didn¡¯t say anything on purpose.¡±

    Zu An moved his finger gently down her back and said, ¡°When I saw how you were pursing your lips, I wanted to see just how long you could endure.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a bad guy~¡± Bi Linglong replied, looking at him with apletely red face. In the end, she had still given in and embarrassed herself so much. She leaned against Zu An¡¯s embrace and acted like a spoiled child for a bit longer. Eventually, however, she said with a sigh, ¡°Ah Zu, do you think I¡¯m a bad woman?¡±

    Even though she didn¡¯t share any feelings with the crown prince and they were only married in name, they were still married, after all¡­ Earlier, she had actually been doing those things while her real husband was outside¡­ Even though she''d keenly sensed that Zu An only got even more excited, and that she had also gotten more into it, once her head cooled she couldn''t help but feel a bit strange.

    Zu An couldn''t help butugh. ¡°Why would I? I like you so much that I don¡¯t even know how I can properly express it, so why would I think you were bad?¡±

    Besides, in his previous world, there had been countless keyboard warriors praising ''bad women'' as being unstoppable, and many fictional works portrayed ''bad women'' in dazzling ways.

    ¡°Really?¡± Bi Linglong replied. She felt happy for a moment, but she suddenly felt strange. She looked down and said with a blush, ¡°Ah Zu, whatever you want¡­ You can do it.¡±

    ¡°Will you be alright?¡± Zu An asked doubtfully. Her body was already as soft as cotton, and her eyes had almost rolled back and she''d almost fainted.

    ¡°I¡¯ve rested enough,¡± Bi Linglong said. She suddenly moved closer to his ear and asked in embarrassment, ¡°Can you put on¡­ Golden Token Eleven¡¯s clothes?¡±

    Zu An''s eyes widened. He had never expected her to like uniforms.

    Bi Linglong was a bit rmed when she saw his expression. She said, ¡°It¡¯s okay if you don¡¯t put it on too, but since you¡¯re the same person, I actually kind of like¡­¡±

    ¡°No problem!¡± Zu An quickly replied as he set her down. Then, he took out Golden Token Eleven''s clothes and put them on before asking, ¡°Do you want me to wear the mask?¡±

    Bi Linglong pursed her lips, then voiced her agreement extremely softly. Then, she buried her face in her nkets and didn¡¯t dare to look at him again.

    Zu An chuckled and put on the mask. He was about to say something when he heard a knock outside.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Zu An called out in annoyance. These people really were something; they just never stoppeding!

    ¡°Crown princess and Sir Zu, the Pce of Peace¡¯s Eunuch Lu hase to request a meeting,¡± Rong Mo said.

    Eunuch Lu hade to express the empress¡¯ intentions, so she didn¡¯t dare to overlook him the way she had the crown prince. She could only go over to report the information.

    ¡°Have him wait,¡± Zu An said impatiently.

    ¡°Understood!¡± Rong Mo replied in surprise.

    From start to finish, she had never heard the crown princess say anything, as if she''d tacitly allowed Zu An to take charge of the conversation. Still, she didn''t suspect that anything was wrong. The Eastern Pce was already used to Sir Zu¡¯s presence and his special role. Additionally, now that he had revealed his strength, people respected him even more.

    She ran over to Eunuch Lu and said apologetically, ¡°Eunuch Lu, Sir Zu and the crown princess still have more matters to discuss. We¡¯ll have to trouble Eunuch Lu to wait a bit.¡±

    ¡°There is no issue. I can just wait outside,¡± Eunuch Lu said with a big smile.

    He was a bit curious as he looked at the brightly lit room inside. What were those two talking about for so long? If it were anyone else, he would have already probed around with his divine sense to investigate. But since Zu An was the one inside, he didn¡¯t dare to offend him, and withdrew outside the courtyard to wait instead.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Sir Zu really is something. The wonderful empress is waiting for him, so just how could he hold himself back?

    If I had his abilities, I would stay in the empress¡¯ pce every day and nevere out.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, inside, Bi Linglong¡¯s eyes finally recovered their usual rity. She said, ¡°The empress is looking for you. Are you not going to head over?¡±

    Zu An walked over and said, ¡°Not even the celestial emperor himself could stop me from keeping the crown princesspany if he came here right now.¡±

    Suddenly, a trace of bashfulness and flirtatiousness appeared in Bi Linglong''s eyes. She asked, ¡°Sir Eleven, just what is the reason behind you barging into this crown princess¡¯ pce today?¡±

    Zu An was shocked and happy. He had never expected the usually proper and inflexible Bi Linglong to be so forward. She was already getting into roley? He naturally wouldn¡¯t spoil the fun andpletely threw himself into the act, replying, ¡°I greet the crown princess. I heard that there was an assassin that infiltrated the Eastern Pce, so this humble one came to offer my assistance.¡±

    Bi Linglong pursed her red lips and replied, ¡°There was indeed a despicable assassin who came into the pce not long ago. From start to finish, he prated this one several hundred times¡­¡±

    Zu An was speechless. In that instant, he almost broke character. This woman could even have been a first-ss actress in his previous world, right?

    He replied, ¡°May I ask where that assassin prated the crown princess? This humble one is proficient in traditional medicine and can help the crown princess with an examination.¡±

    ¡°There is no way this one can just let Sir Eleven look at the ces that assassin attacked, but this princess can roughly describe my symptoms. My entire body feels weak and powerless, and my body feels a bit hot. There are a few other symptoms that are too embarrassing to admit. Since Sir Eleven is proficient in traditional medicine, can you help me check my pulse?¡± Bi Linglong replied.

    She felt a bit embarrassed, but she also felt a novel and stimting sensation. She had felt estranged from Zu An for some time, but now, she decided that couldn''t continue. They had to properly interact with each other to dissolve any misunderstandings. And what could be better than to create this kind of situation between lovers to boost their feelings for each other? That was why she had beenpletely invested from the very start. Perhaps because of the impression Golden Token Eleven had left on her in the past, she had actually started this game of her own volition.

    ¡°Men and women must not touch hands when they give or receive things. The crown princess¡¯ status is special, and this lowly one doesn¡¯t dare to offend you," Zu An said.

    Bi Linglong felt a bit annoyed as she looked at him.

    You¡¯re actually saying you don¡¯t want to offend me? Did you already forget what you just did to me moments ago?

    She took a deep breath and said, ¡°It is fine. The crown prince is not here, and the servants who are usually at my side are not around, so I can only ask Sir Eleven for your help.¡±

    ¡°This humble one has a special way to rx and invigorate the body. I can help the crown princess in that way first,¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to trouble Sir Eleven. You shoulde over here first,¡± Bi Linglong said as she waved her hand toward him. In that instant, she returned to being the beautiful and dignified crown princess.

    ¡°The crown princess must lie down first. This method will first activate the acupoints on your back and shoulders," Zu An said.

    Bi Linglong bit down gently on her red lip. She looked at the masked Golden Token Eleven in front of her and felt her heartbeat bing faster, asking, ¡°Will it hurt?¡±

    ¡°It might hurt a bit at first, but it will soon be better.¡±

    ¡°Alright then. Sir Eleven is not permitted to treat this princess with disrespect.¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare.¡±

    ¡­

    A whileter, a voice cried out in rm, ¡°Stop! Sir Eleven¡­ Where are your hands moving?!¡±

    ¡°Crown princess, please do not worry. This is merely part of that special treatment process.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°Really. I have never lied before.¡±

    ¡°Then please continue, Sir Eleven.¡±

    ¡­

    A whileter, a voice asked in embarrassment, ¡°Sir Eleven, does the treatment really require me to be in such a strange position?¡±

    ¡°Crown princess, you currently have some nefarious heat attacking your body. You need fever-reducing acupuncture to cure your ailment.¡±

    ¡°Why have I never heard of such a thing from the imperial physicians before?¡±

    ¡°How could those imperial physicianspare to me? Crown princess, please lower your waist a bit; right, just like that. Crown princess, your flexibility seems to be quite excellent.¡±

    ¡°Sir Eleven speaks too highly."

    Immediately after, a cry of rm filled the air, apanied by a slightly exaggerated struggle. A voice eximed, ¡°What are you doing? Take it out! I don¡¯t want to be treated anymore! Can I choose not to be treated anymore?¡±

    ¡°This decision is no longer up to the crown princess. You don¡¯t want the crown prince to know about this either, right?¡±

    ¡°Mmm¡­ I understand¡­¡±

    ¡­

    After an unknown amount of time passed, their game finally ended. Zu An changed back into his usual attire, and Bi Linglong huddled in his arms, too embarrassed to raise her head. Finally, she couldn''t hold herself back and shouted, ¡°Pervert!¡±

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°Your performance earlier seemed to be even more professional than mine.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to talk about it anymore!¡± Bi Linglong cried, covering his mouth. She was really embarrassed as she said, ¡°Hurry and leave; you¡¯ve already spent too much time in my room. It¡¯ll be bad if those by the Pce of Peace start suspecting us.¡±

    Zu An knew that she was easily embarrassed. Now that she was clear-headed again, Bi Linglong was too embarrassed to face what they had just done. He didn¡¯t tease her further and gave her a peck on the lips, saying, ¡°Get some rest.¡±

    Then, he left whileughing.

    Bi Linglong buried her entire body under her covers, moaning, ¡°Ahhh¡­ That was way too embarrassing!¡±

    She suddenly became rmed. She stuck out her head and stared coldly at Rong Mo, asking, ¡°Why did youe in?¡±

    Rong Mo had a conflicted expression as she said with a sigh, ¡°Young miss, being with Sir Zu like this is just way too dangerous."

    <strong></strong>

 Chapter 1938: Questioned

    Chapter 1938: Questioned

    A cold glint appeared in Bi Linglong''s eyes as she snapped, ¡°What are you saying?! Get out!¡±

    Rong Mo sighed and said, ¡°Young miss, we grew up together, so there are many things you can''t hide from me.

    ¡°At first, I never even thought of something like this, but eventually, I discovered that whenever you met with Sir Zu in private, young miss¡¯ underwear would always disappear for various reasons. That was when I started to pay more attention.

    ¡°In the beginning, I even suspected that maybe some maids identally ruined your clothes from washing them and were scared of being criticized, so they just secretly hid them instead to cover the matter up. But over time, I discovered that wasn¡¯t the case, and the young miss didn¡¯t give them the clothes you changed out of. Instead, you pretended to have given them to another maid. But I conversed with all of the maids, and I discovered that not a single one of them had received the young miss¡¯ clothes. In the end, it was clear that the young miss exploited the fact that the maids didn¡¯t really share all their information with each other to y such a trick.¡±

    ¡°But why did young miss have to hide your personal clothing? A terrifying suspicion appeared in my mind, but I didn¡¯t dare to believe that it was the truth. After all, I understand young miss¡¯ personality the best. After thinking about it carefully, though, it seemed as if the young miss¡¯ attitude toward Sir Zu had be different ever since you returned from the crown prince¡¯s secret dungeon trial.

    ¡°Even though I was shocked, I still carried some belief that it might have just been my own imagination. But after what happened today, I have no choice but to believe it.¡±

    This wasn¡¯t the first time Zu An and Bi Linglong had met in private. When Rong Mo associated that with Bi Linglong¡¯s ¡®disappearing¡¯ clothing, it was easy to figure out the truth of the matter.

    Rong Mo¡¯s expression was full of worry as she spoke. After all, she had never gotten along with Zu An. She just couldn''t understand why the noble crown princess would have such a rtionship with that brat. But when she thought about what had happened today in the Meng manor, she also felt relieved. The young miss was the young miss, after all; her insight in judging people really was extraordinary. Perhaps others would have to reassess Zu An¡¯s value after what happened tonight and do their best to express goodwill to him, but how could thatpare to the young miss, who had already devoted her body to him before his ¡®miracle¡¯?

    Bi Linglong silently touched a treasure from beneath her covers and asked with a calm expression, ¡°Who else have you told about this?¡±

    ¡°I haven¡¯t told anyone else,¡± Rong Mo said, giving her aplicated look before continuing, ¡°Young miss, I know you''re already thinking of silencing me. However, I wandered the streets when I was a child. If not for the young miss having saved me, I would have frozen and starved to death on the streets, or I would have been thrown into a brothel and lived a life worse than death. My life belongs to the young miss, so if the young miss wishes to take it back, then please do so.¡± She closed her eyes and waited for her death after speaking.

    Bi Linglong remained silent for a long time. In the end, she lowered the magic weapon in her hand and sighed deeply, saying, ¡°Momo, we grew up together. Even though we are master and servant, we are actually more like sisters. How could I bring myself to kill you?¡±

    Rong Mo hadn¡¯t called her ''crown princess'' this time, but rather called her ''young miss''. In the end, the heart was still made of flesh¡­

    ¡°Young miss¡­¡± Rong Mo opened her eyes, which were sparkling with tears.

    Bi Linglong put on a thin jacket and walked over from the bed, saying, ¡°Momo, this matter is just too important. You can''t even tell my father or my older brother.¡±

    ¡°This servant understands,¡± Rong Mo said as she gave Bi Linglong''s enchanting, intoxicatingly pink skin a nce and looked at her wonderful figure. Even as a woman, she had to admit that Bi Linglong was beautiful.

    Hmph, that brat Zu An has no idea just how lucky he is to be able to obtain the young miss¡¯ love!

    But after recalling the terrifying strength Zu An had disyed in the Meng manor, she felt that it was still the Bi n that was more fortunate.

    After some hesitation, she still summoned the courage to say, ¡°Young miss, that fellow has humiliated you too much! It¡¯s always when the crown princees here that he¡­ bullies you. The risks are too great! Even though the crown prince is slow, what if he notices something¡­¡±

    Bi Linglong¡¯s face turned red. She quickly defended Zu An, saying, ¡°You¡¯ve misunderstood; that wasn¡¯t his request.¡±

    Rong Mo''s eyes widened as she said, ¡°Then could it be that it¡¯s the young miss¡¯ fetish¡­¡±

    Bi Linglong was embarrassed. She gave Rong Mo an annoyed look and replied, ¡°What are you thinking about? Those were just coincidences! How could we know when the crown prince woulde over here?¡±

    Rog Mo also had a strange expression. Those situations were indeed quite the coincidence. She wondered if there was some twist of fate at work here.

    She thought for a bit and said, ¡°Young miss, I will work together with you in the future, and will definitely stop everyone else. I won¡¯t let them disturb you and Sir Zu¡¯s adult¡­¡±

    Bi Linglong shot her a look, which made her quickly change her wording, saying, ¡°I won¡¯t let anyone else disturb you two.¡±

    Bi Linglong harrumphed. ¡°Aren¡¯t I still doing just fine even without your help?¡±

    ¡°Then how could I have guessed the truth? There''s nock of intelligent people in the pce, and there are many eyes watching the Eastern Pce. There are surely some people who could find out some things by tracking the clues,¡± Rong Mo said with a smile. Their conversation had returned to being as carefree as before.

    Bi Linglong had to admit that if her personal maid worked with her in various ways, it would be much more convenient. She thought for a bit, then said, ¡°I guess it¡¯s fine. If I ever feel ufortable, you can take my ce and apany him.¡±

    Even though the two of them were like sisters, one was apetent and mature politician. She knew that feelings alone were a bit too dangerous, so she could only keep Rong Mo with her on this sinking ship. Only then would she feel at ease.

    Rong Mo was stunned, saying, ¡°Young miss, I only said that I would help you¡­ I didn¡¯t say I''d help you with even that!¡±

    Bi Linglong shot her a look, replying, ¡°You''re my personal maid; don¡¯t you have to apany whoever I marry? You grew up in the Bi n, and yet you don¡¯t even have this level of awareness?¡±

    Rong Mo couldn''t help but grumble, ¡°But he isn¡¯t even the crown prince¡­¡±

    Bi Linglong sneered and said, ¡°In that case, then, you can apany the crown prince.¡±

    ¡°No way!¡± Rong Mo cried, immediately shaking her head like a rattle. As someone who had spent so many years in the Eastern Pce, how could she not understand what kind of morality and conduct the crown prince had?

    Rather than spending time with that guy, apanying that Zu guy doesn¡¯t seempletely unbearable¡­

    Bi Linglong said unhappily, ¡°Do you know just how many noble daughters in the capital, how many rich and powerfuldies, wish to get closer to Ah Zu? And yet Ah Zu wouldn¡¯t even give them a single nce. I¡¯m giving you this chance now, and yet you aren¡¯t going to cherish it?¡±

    Rong Mo lowered her head in resignation, saying, ¡°I understand.¡±

    She actually knew that objectively speaking, Zu An was quite the outstanding man. His cultivation was high, and he was handsome. His status was now incredibly distinguished, too. Perhaps it was just because of their conflict when they first met, but she just felt as if doing that with him was a bit strange.

    Sigh, if I knew that it would end up like this, I shouldn¡¯t have said so much tonight. Sniff¡­n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An had just left the Eastern Pce and bumped into Eunuch Lu.

    Eunuch Lu looked at him with a big smile, saying, ¡°Sir Zu, you seem to be full of smiles, and have a confident and happy appearance. I believe that your interaction with the crown princess must have been a joyous one.¡±

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t just joyous,¡± Zu An replied. The wonderful experiences he''d just had left a rich aftertaste in his mind.

    ¡°Sir Zu, her highness is waiting for you at the Pce of Peace. I ask sir to spare some time for a chat,¡± Eunuch Lu said. His thoughts were inscrutable, but his breathing became a bit heavier than usual.

    Zu An gave him a strange look.

    This guy¡¯s cultivation isn¡¯t low, and even if he just fought an intense battle, he wouldn¡¯t be so out of breath, right? Could it be that he ended up like this because he cultivates some strange method and has some kind of unmentionable ailment?

    ¡°It¡¯s already a bitte, so I won¡¯t be going over¡­¡± Zu An said. After the roleying he had just done with Bi Linglong, his mind was full of rity.

    Still, he quickly remembered that Liu Ning had helped him a lot today, so he had to thank her, whether it was out of personal feelings or rationality. Besides, he had gone to the crown princess already. If he didn¡¯t visit her, it could be misconstrued as his having made a certain choice. That would only lead to a series of troubles. Thus, he said, ¡°I guess it¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll head over and pay her highness a visit.¡±

    Eunuch Lu was initially full of disappointment when he heard the first half of what Zu An said. But when he heard thetter half, he beamed widely and said, ¡°Sir Zu, this way, please!¡±

    The two of them arrived at the Pce of Peace. Zu An reflexively walked toward the empress¡¯ pce when Eunuch Lu stopped him, saying, ¡°Sir Zu, this way.¡±

    Zu An was a bit puzzled. Could it be that the empress was still meeting with other important ministers? Normally, that was extremely unlikely. However, what had taken ce today at the Meng manor was too important, so it was understandable for her to still be holding a meeting.

    He sighed inwardly.

    This is for the best. Otherwise, I just left Linglong¡¯s ce, so the empress might smell her scent on me.

    To his surprise, however, Eunuch Lu didn¡¯t bring him to the discussion hall, but rather continued into a building. Inside, there was a bit of steam in the air. Wisps of faint water vapor lingered amid flowers.

    ¡°Her highness is waiting for sir in Aroma Pond. Please go on ahead, sir,¡± Eunuch Lu said with a big smile.

    Her highness really is full of tricks. Sir Zu¡¯s good fortune is truly enviable.

    ¡°Aroma Pond?¡± Zu An repeated in surprise.

    After spending so much time in the pce, he naturally knew that this was the outdoor bath that the Imperial Pce had prepared for the wives and princesses. It was heated by geothermal energy, and due to a special formation from the academy, the location was warm in winter and cool in summer. Furthermore, only the most noble and favored few in the pce had the qualifications to enjoy it. The other wives and princesses could only send someone to draw water from the ce to bring back and bathe inside a tub back home. That was why people were rarely found here. The empress¡¯ intentions were clear.

    After Zu An left Eunuch Lu, he continued inside. He didn¡¯t need anyone to lead the way, because he just had to follow the sound of water and steam.

    Soon after, a lovable voice called out, ¡°Are you here~¡± Liu Ning deliberately dragged out her voice in a childish manner.

    Zu An was rmed. That voice sounded just like a certain female celebrity from ¡®Treasure Ind¡¯. He made his way around a screen, and what met him was steaming heat. Rose flowers floated on the surface of the pond, and the pond water was a sparkling milky color. Who knew just how much milk had been added to create this precious fragrance?

    Still, now that Liu Ning was at the very top of the empire, she indeed had the qualifications to enjoy such a thing.

    Zu An raised his head and took a look around. There was blue light swirling faintly outside the pond, created by a partitioning formation that prevented people in the distance from seeing inside. The design of the public bath was very exquisite, and was practically hidden among the clusters of flowers. It was as if one had returned to the fields and mountains.

    The whole ce was like a beautiful painting. But of course, the most stunning piece of the painting was Liu Ning inside the pond. She waspletely immersed in the water, and only her shoulders were exposed. There was only a trace of snow-white skin visible, but the more she teased in such a way, the more enchanting it was. Under the reflection of the water''s surface, her skin seemed to be covered in a bewitching glow.

    Liu Ning looked at Zu An. There was a conflicted expression on her face as she asked, ¡°Were you the one who killed his majesty?¡±

    <strong></strong>

 Chapter 1939: Aroma Pond

    Chapter 1939: Aroma Pond

    Zu An was stunned. He couldn''t help but reply with a smile, ¡°Did your highness call me over in the middle of the night just to ask me about that?¡±

    Liu Ning paid close attention to his expression the entire time as she asked that question, but she didn¡¯t notice any openings even after staring at him for a long time. She released a faint smile and said, ¡°Actually, I''m not the only one who has such suspicions. After what happened at the Meng manor, all of the great ns in the capital have been wondering simr things. That crown princess of yours must also be having second thoughts.¡±

    Previously, there had been no way anyone would have such thoughts. After all, everyone had publicly acknowledged Zhao Han to be without equal. Meanwhile, they had thought that Zu An¡¯s cultivation wasparatively like an ant''s. But after what happened this time in the Meng manor, they suddenly realized that if Zu An was so absurdly strong, even if his cultivation wasn¡¯t greater than Zhao Han¡¯s, he would have at least had a fighting chance.

    How much of a coincidence could there be? No one else had witnessed how Zhao Han died; the only one was Zu An alone. Didn¡¯t that mean he could say whatever he wanted? When they thought about how King Qi and the libationer had both died in this affair, everything started to make more sense.

    ¡°But they aren¡¯t as close to you as I am, so even if they suspect it, they wouldn¡¯t dare to ask you directly," Liu Ning said.

    Zu An¡¯s expression grew strange.

    Bi Linglong is close to me, but we were so busy with our roleying game that we didn¡¯t have any time to talk about these things.

    ¡°Your highness must be joking. His majesty¡¯s cultivation is unparalleled, and he dominated all cultivators for many generations. How could he have possibly died at the hands of another?¡± Zu An replied.

    Liu Ning¡¯s smile became bigger as she said, ¡°That¡¯s a good reply. In the future, no matter what anyone asks, this is how you should reply. I''ll send some people to spread this as public opinion. This way, even if there is someone who still suspects something, it won¡¯t do much anymore.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    So this woman didn¡¯t believe what I said in the slightest.

    The waters stirred, and then a beautiful arm reached out toward him. Liu Ning asked, ¡°What is the regent standing around for? Hurry ande in for a bath already.¡±

    Zu An raised his brows and said, ¡°Your highness is still inside, so I fear that it isn¡¯t too appropriate for this lowly official toe in as well.¡±

    Liu Ning rolled her eyes at him.

    This guy now knows how far a subject should go? When did he treat me like an empress when he was dominating me before?n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°It¡¯s fine; this bath isrge enough. The regent and this empress will each have our respective side and won¡¯t interfere with each other,¡± Liu Ning said with a smile. ¡°The regent has shown the world your might all day, but your body can¡¯t help but still carry a trace of bloodiness. It¡¯s best if you wash up first.¡±

    ¡°I fear that I¡¯ll end up dirtying your highness¡¯ bathing water,¡± Zu An said. Despite that, he still gradually removed his clothing. He had been a bit worried about still having Bi Linglong''s smell all over him. The empress could even guess the truth in that case. But the current situation was perfect. Once he took a bath in the hot spring, all smells would go away.

    ¡°The regent must be joking. You have always been able to freely go wherever this empress has gone, so what dirtying is there to speak of?¡± Liu Ning said as she started to swim over like a mermaid.

    Meanwhile, Zu An had already entered the pool. When he saw that, he couldn''t help but remark with a smile, ¡°Didn¡¯t the empress say a moment ago that we should stay on separate sides, so as to avoid crossing any boundaries?¡±

    Liu Ning swam up behind him, and her ten slender and soft fingers began to massage his shoulders. She said, ¡°The regent is an important statesman of this empire, and your body is extremely important. The court naturally has the duty of helping you relieve your fatigue. The two of us have important matters rted to the state to discuss, so we cannot have any maids or servants with us, and I can only do the job myself. I hope that the regent won¡¯t be too disappointed by this empress¡¯ clumsy hands, as I¡¯ve never served anyone before.¡±

    Zu An replied with a chuckle, ¡°Who knows how many people in this world dream of having her highness personally serve them, but would never dare to even think of it? Just that special feeling alone is far greater than having a maid who is good at massages do it.¡±

    Liu Ning¡¯s face turned a bit red. Her fingers jumped across his skin. As she felt the vigorous life force and masculinity surging within his muscles, her heart rate sped up. She asked, ¡°Do you me me for not helping you before, causing you to be bullied by the Meng n and King Dai?¡±

    ¡°Of course not. If we were in each other''s shoes, I would probably only have been able to do as much as you did. You are the empress, so you need to consider bnce for each side,¡± Zu An said with a chuckle. She was the same as Bi Linglong; both of them immediately apologized to him.

    ¡°Ah Zu, you really are good at understanding others,¡± Liu Ning said, feeling really moved. ¡°But you really hid your strength too well! If I had known you were that strong from the start, why would I still y those games with everyone else?¡±

    ¡°Actually, if the Meng n and King Dai didn¡¯t pressure me that much, I wouldn¡¯t have wanted to do that either,¡± Zu An said in annoyance.

    One of the reasons he had attacked them alone was because he didn¡¯t want to take sides. The crown princess and empress would both choose to support him, but they werepletely at odds with each other. Even though he and Bi Linglong were closer, both in terms of the things they had gone through and their feelings, the empress treated him really well too. He couldn''t really bring himself to help Bi Linglong fight against the empress. After what happened today, if either of them requested such a thing, he really wouldn¡¯t know what to do.

    ¡°Ah Zu, you were right to have been so careful. From today on, you will probably be the biggest target of all of the major ns¡¯ investigations. Countless people will rack their brains to try and figure out your skills and think about ways to kill you. In the future, your life might not be as carefree anymore,¡± Liu Ning said worriedly.

    Zu An held her hand, saying, ¡°In this world, only the mediocre escape censure and me. Let them study me as much as they want. What do I have to fear?¡±

    ¡°I suppose that¡¯s fine too. In the past, Zhao Han also dominated the world in this way,¡± Liu Ning said with a smile.

    Zu An pulled her closer to him and said, ¡°Your highness sought me out and even chose a ce with such beautiful scenery. Could it be that it was just to chat about such boring affairs?¡±

    Liu Ning¡¯s face became even more red from the steam. She said, ¡°Then this humble woman will help the king wash his back.¡±

    Those words immediately made Zu An a bit fired up. This was the glorious empress, and yet she was acting like a little girl! It really was an extravagant luxury. However, he was a bit confused. He was holding her hands right now, so what was she going to use to wash his back?

    Soon, though, he understood. When he felt that shockingly soft sensation, hepletely rxed his body.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in the Pce of Peace, several maids were slowly grinding some spices. They held jade bowls and gently crushed spices of varying colors on the table. Their temples were covered in fine sweat. They couldn''t help but start to chatter with each other while working.

    ¡°Everyone, be more gentle! These spices are really precious. Her highness acquired them with great difficulty.¡±

    ¡°We know~¡±

    ¡°Her highness seems to be much more fond of beauty as ofte than before. She didn''t spend so much time on her appearance before.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, her highness was beautiful to begin with. Even if she didn¡¯t put on makeup, she would still be. But of course, with makeup, she is even more so.¡±

    ¡°Maybe she ended up experiencing something happy recently. Her highness is looking radiant, and herplexion has improved a lot. Her skin is blushing pink and in much better condition than ours.¡±

    A lesser maid asked timidly, ¡°But what could she be happy about? I heard that his majesty even passed away¡­¡±

    At that moment, the entire room suddenly fell into a strange silence.

    ¡°Shut your mouth!¡±

    After that, no one dared to say anything else.

    ¡­

    A whileter, Liu Ning slowly opened her eyes. She discovered that she was actually lying down on her phoenix couch. When she recalled everything that had just happened, her entire body became red. She murmured, ¡°Ah¡­ That really was embarrassing. I actually fainted.¡±

    She made up her mind to not do it in the bath next time. Perhaps because she had soaked for too long, she was feeling a bit dizzy. Her endurance was much weaker than normal. She could only remember that she had been taken straight up into the clouds several times by Zu An. Her head had gonepletely nk, and she had lost all consciousness. She held her warm cheeks and bit her lip gently.

    Everyone in the capital only found out about how formidable you were today, but I already experienced personally just how incredible you are.

    After she became the mother of the empire, both she and Zhao Han had yed the chess game of politics. She had only treated him as a tool to exploit.

    But with Zu An, she had never expected to bepletely defeated for the very first time. All of her schemes and techniques, before absolute power, were as weak as paper. No matter how many defenses she set up, how much she nned, he had always entered through pure strength, thrusting straight to her heart.

    She still remembered Eunuch Lumenting on how he had never seen her experience such bliss before.

    You don¡¯t say! Of course he never saw me like that, because that is the appearance of a woman beingpletely subdued.

    Even though she was a bit unwilling sometimes, there didn¡¯t seem to be anything all that bad about it. Her old wounds that had burdened her for so many years were finally recovering, and her strength was also slowly returning. Now, she had absolute control over the harem again, and the Liu n had already suppressed the Bi n, bing second only to the imperial n¡­

    More importantly, she had experienced unprecedented joy. When she recalled everything that had happened the previous day, a ''stupid'' look inadvertently appeared on her face.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, by the time Zu An left the Imperial Pce, the sky was already starting to brighten.

    He went straight to the Sang n to see his daughter, and also spent some time with Sang Hong. After all, now that he was the regent, he needed people to help him take care of various matters. It wouldn¡¯t be too good topletely rely on Liu Ning or Bi Linglong, because those two women didn¡¯t get along at all. Sang Hong had already worked for the court for so many years and knew who was capable. He knew who could be roped in, and who came from other influential ns¡­

    The two of them talked for many hours until the sky was alreadypletely bright. Afterward, Zu An decided to make a trip to the academy¡¯s rear mountain. He nned to spend some time properly in secluded cultivation to digest everything he had experienced as ofte. That way, he would gain an even deeper understanding of the Baopu Sutra¡¯s seven domains.

    Zheng Dan immediately sought him out, saying, ¡°Ah Zu, I want to go with you to the academy too! I''m Master Yan¡¯s disciple in name too, but I¡¯ve never studied under him for even a single day yet.¡±

    In the past, Zu An had helped her be a disciple of Yan Xiangu. But because of the Sang n¡¯s n to have a posthumous child, she''d had no choice but to stay at home while ¡®inbor¡¯. That was why she''d never had a chance to learn there.

    Still, after seeing how powerful Zu An was, even though Zheng Dan was incredibly excited and happy, she also felt a faint sense of loss. After all, back then, her cultivation had been even higher than Zu An¡¯s. In Brightmoon City, they had even been able to fight side by side. They had gone through life and death together in the red dragon¡¯s nest¡­ But now, the difference between them was growing greater and greater. She couldn''t even think of catching up anymore. If things continued this way, they would no longer be walking the same path. Their former feelings would eventually fade no matter how great they used to be. It wasn¡¯t about one of them being in the wrong, but rather that it was just how the world worked. That was why she decided to properly cultivate in the future.

    Zu An knew that Zheng Dan''s talent had been first-rate in Brightmoon City. But for various reasons, she had been forced to stop for two years. As such, he naturally agreed.

    The two were chatting with each other when Sang Qian suddenly ran into the room, saying, ¡°Big brother Zu, I also want to go to the academy to cultivate properly!¡±

    Not only was she very intelligent in politics and strategy, her cultivation aptitude was excellent as well. She was about as strong as Zheng Dan. However, she had also begun to feel a sense of danger. She hadn''t acknowledged Aunt Mu¡¯s absurd proposal, because there was a limit to maintaining a rtionship through lust. Furthermore, her big brother Zu had too many women at his side, so she''d always felt a powerful sense of threat. She wanted to follow big brother Zu¡¯s footsteps, and only then would she have the right to be able to help him.

    Zu An was a bit stunned. After all, Sang Qien had just given birth. However, after some hesitation, he still quickly agreed. The only thing he was conflicted about was who to assign her to study under, and what domain she would study.

    <strong></strong>

 Chapter 1940: Brilliant Genius

    Chapter 1940: Brilliant Genius

    ¡°Then what do we do about Sisi?¡± Zheng Dan asked worriedly. Even though Sisi wasn¡¯t her own daughter, to the outside world, she was Sisi¡¯s mother. She and Sang Qien didn¡¯t have much experience and had always struggled to figure out how to take care of the child. Even though it was hard work, she had also gradually be fond of the cute little girl.

    ¡°We can only have Aunt Mu take care of her until we find some more nannies as well. I''ll thene back to see her every day,¡± Sang Qien said with a frown. She also didn¡¯t want to leave Sisi behind.

    Zheng Dan held her hands, saying, ¡°But that would be really hard on you¡­¡±

    After all, which of those students of the Royal Academy weren¡¯t the most brilliant of geniuses? Let alone those who were able to enter the rear mountain. It was a bit tiring for even those geniuses to keep up with the Royal Academy¡¯s studies, let alone for Sang Qien to return every day to look after the child. Moreover, she would have much less time for cultivation than others.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine; the hard work will be worth it,¡± Sang Qien said, a resolute look appearing in her eyes. She had to take the time to increase her cultivation.

    ¡°A wet nurse?¡± Zu An asked with a frown. ¡°How can we do that? It¡¯s still the mother¡¯s milk that''s more nutritious and healthy. It¡¯s better for the child¡¯s body.¡±

    He naturally knew that the influential ns of this world rarely had the mothers personally feed their infants, and that such matters were almost always taken care of by wet nurses. However, as a transmigrator, he knew just how important a mother¡¯s breastmilk was. It was rich with nutrition and various antibodies, and far from the milk a wet nurse who had already fed many babies could deliver.

    ¡°Then forget it; I¡¯ll just stay at home and take care of Sisi,¡± Sang Qien said, her expression bing a bit forlorn. She would just serve as a good wife for Zu An. To a certain extent, that kind of life was also a carefree one¡­

    Zheng Dan looked at her worriedly. She looked at Zu An and started to say something, but then hesitated.

    Zu An seemed to be thinking about something. Suddenly, he made up his mind and suggested, ¡°How about this? Bring the child to the academy, and have Aunt Mu also head over there to care for the child. That way, you won¡¯t need to run around all the time, and you can also focus on cultivation.¡±

    ¡°Is that okay?¡± Sang Qien asked, a brilliant radiance immediately returning to her eyes.

    ¡°Of course it¡¯s okay! For better or for worse, I am the academy¡¯s libationer. I have at least this amount of authority,¡± Zu An said, stroking her head with a smile.

    Sang Qien¡¯s face turned a bit red. Earlier, when she looked out the window, she had felt as if even the sunshine had be a bit dimmer. And yet now, she felt that the world was full of life.

    Zheng Dan was truly happy for her, but she was still a bit worried, saying, ¡°But that means that Little Qien and Sisi¡¯s rtionship might be exposed!¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°It¡¯s fine," Zu An said nonchntly. ¡°They¡¯ll live in the academy¡¯s rear mountain. Very few people can visit that ce; normally, only the teachers visit. They¡¯re all obsessed with their own research and don¡¯t care much about other things at all.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s perfect,¡± Zheng Dan said, sighing in relief. She suddenly thought back to how back in Brightmoon City, Zu An had been a teacher while she was a student. Back then, she had snuck over to his residence to set a honey trap and ruin him, but who would have thought that she would fail in the trap and throw herself in as coteral instead? When she recalled the events of the past, she couldn''t help but smile sweetly.

    Then, they told Sang Hong about their ns; Sang Hong naturally fully supported them. He even had Aunt Mu take two maids with her to help take care of everything.

    ¡­

    Along the way, Zu An asked Sang Qien which teacher she nned to study under. After all, he had many things to take care of and didn¡¯t have time to teach everything. Furthermore, someone like him who had only recently undergone a ¡®career shift¡¯ that he wasn¡¯t really trained for likely wouldn''t be as good as the specialized teachers in the rear mountain.

    Sang Qien carefully inquired about the domains of the teachers¡¯ research. After thinking about it, she said, ¡°I want to follow Senior Shen Xuzi in studying alchemy and puppet arts.¡±

    Zu An was shocked. At first, he had been nning to have her study under Jiang Luofu since they were all acquainted with each other. Furthermore, a resourceful person like Sang Qien was also familiar with thew, thus making her a good match. He had never expected her to choose Shen Xuzi!

    When she saw his curious expression, Sang Qien was a bit bashful. She said, ¡°Ever since I was small, I was always really interested in mechanisms and calctions, but it was always just self-study, and I can''t possiblypare to Senior Shen Xuzi¡¯s great reputation. I really yearn to understand machinery and puppets, and hope that I can control countless puppets and mechanisms like him one day. I wonder if he would be willing to take me on as his disciple¡­¡±

    She knew that no matter how she cultivated, she likely wouldn''t be able to catch up to big brother Zu. In that case, she could just try to help him in another field. Since Zheng Dan was learning formations, she would just learn puppetry skills. She just happened to be really interested in those things too, after all. However, as she talked, she became a bit worried. After all, Shen Xuzi was too famous. Who knew how many people had tried to be his disciple, but were ruthlessly refused over the years?

    Zu An chuckled and replied, ¡°Aren¡¯t you looking down on your big brother Zu a bit too much? With our friendship, even if I told him to take in an ordinary person, he would still ept them as a disciple, let alone such a talented and smart girl like you!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not as great as big brother Zu says¡­¡± Sang Qien said, feeling a bit embarrassed when she heard his praise, but she still felt a sweet sensation inside.

    ¡­

    Soon after, the group arrived at Mount Yuquan¡¯s rear. First, Zu An found a secluded residence for Sang Qien and Zheng Dan to live in midway up the mountain. It wasn¡¯t because he didn¡¯t want to put them close to the peak, but rather because thete libationer¡¯s status was too venerable and revered, so no one had chosen to build anything near the mountaintop.

    After getting Sisi, Aunt Mu, and the others settled in, Zu An brought the two young women to Shen Xuzi¡¯s ce first.

    There was a puppet at the entrance that weed them and led them in. Along the way, they could see all kinds of animals and other things made ofplex mechanisms, even including birds that flew through the air.

    When she saw that, Sang Qien was excited, but also worried.

    Shen Xuzi is so formidable! He is definitely a stunning genius in this field. And I hear the capital always describing him as arrogant and entric, so he might not ept me as a disciple¡­ Big brother Zu might be troubled then¡­

    Even so, the sound of rolling wheels followed, and a voice said with a happyugh, ¡°What wind had brought the libationer here today? I have some insights regarding the trains we talked aboutst time, but the difficulty lies in theying down of tracks. The expenditure to carry that out might be astronomical ¡­¡±

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°Railroad tracks are indeed a bit troublesome. Not only does cutting into a mountain and fixing up roadse at a huge expense, specialized outposts have to be installed along the way for maintenance and repair, and also to prevent other people or beasts from destroying them. There''s no need to do it across the entire country at first, though; we can just carry out some pilot tests on a road near the capital¡­¡±

    Sang Qien and Zheng Dan looked at each other in dismay as they listened to the two talk.

    What are they talking about? We can¡¯t understand it at all, but it sounds really amazing.

    After they spoke for a while, Shen Xuzi couldn''t help but say with admiration, ¡°The libationer is so young, but you have such incredible ideas and imagination, and all of it seems usible too! Sometimes, I even wonder if you are truly someone from this world.¡±

    Zu An was rmed. His identity as a transmigrator was his greatest secret.

    Zheng Dan remarked with a chuckle, ¡°If he isn¡¯t from this world, which world could he havee from?¡±

    ¡°Maybe he is an exiled immortal from the heavens,¡± Shen Xuzi said, roaring withughter. He clearly didn¡¯t really suspect Zu An¡¯s origins. When he looked at Zheng Dan and Sang Qien, his eyes couldn''t help but light up.

    As expected of the libationer being a man in the prime of youth, even the women he has around him are different. All of them are devastatingly beautiful.

    ¡°May I ask who these two are?¡± he asked.

    ¡°This is Zheng Dan; she previously took Master Yan as her master. This is Sang Qien, the daughter of Minister of Finance Sang Hong,¡± Zu An said.

    ¡°Ah, I remember!¡± Shen Xuzi said with a bit of a strange expression as he looked at Zheng Dan. ¡°The others who study under senior brother are scared of even missing a single day, and yet you¡¯ve never attended a single lesson all this time.¡±

    Zheng Dan was a bit embarrassed, but she was also quite worried. If even Shen Xuzi felt this way, would Master Yan also be unhappy?

    ¡°There were some family matters to take care of before¡­¡± Sang Qien quickly tried to exin. She felt a bit apologetic, because Dandan had done that to help her.

    ¡°I got it, I got it, she was giving birth, right?¡± Shen Xuzi replied as he looked at her; he then looked back and forth between her and Zu An, asking, ¡°Is the libationer nning to have me look after her?¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but chuckle, saying, ¡°As expected, nothing gets past you.¡±

    Sang Qien also respectfully said in greeting, ¡°I humbly ask for teacher to take me on as your disciple!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t call me your teacher yet.¡± Shen Xuzi harrumphed. With a wave of his hand, a dog puppet ran over with a scroll in its mouth. He said, ¡°Complete this enrollment test first so I can see how good your talent is. I¡¯ll decide whether I¡¯ll take you in or not after youplete it.¡±

    Are you kidding me? Do I, the glorious Shen Xuzi, not want any face? Who knows how many influential ns have wanted their disciples to study under me, and yet, all of them were chased away by this enrollment exam.

    However, if it¡¯s someone the libationer personally brought in, I have to show him some favor. Even if she does a bit poorly, I still have to take her in. I¡¯ll tell the world that she passed the test and no one can say a thing. That way, this old one¡¯s dignity and pride will also be protected. What an excellent n, if I do say so myself!

    Hmph, but I hate these kinds of favors, so I¡¯ll just teach her a bitter. Either way, if it¡¯s too hard, she won¡¯t even understand anyway.

    Sang Qien gave Zu An a worried look. Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry and just try it out.¡± At the same time, he secretly told her that it was most likely just a formality, and that they had to leave Shen Xuzi with at least a bit of face.

    Sang Qien didn¡¯t think so, but since she was going to take him as her master, of course she had to receive this master¡¯s approval. If he only agreed because big brother Zu pressured him to, he probably wouldn¡¯t be able to hold himself back from criticizing Sir Zu. Furthermore, he likely wouldn''t really teach her his real knowledge.

    She took a deep breath, then picked up the scroll to start working on it. At first, she was full of confidence, but eventually, her expression grew paler and paler. Fine sweat even appeared on her forehead.

    When Zheng Dan saw that, she got on her tiptoes to sneak a look. She felt as if she were reading some imperial edict, finding itpletely iprehensible. Even though she recognized the individual characters, why didn¡¯t she understand a thing when all of it wasbined together? There were all kinds of diagrams too, and just looking at it gave her a huge headache. Comparatively, Master Yan¡¯s formations still seemed more reasonable.

    ¡°Alright, time¡¯s up. Did you finish?¡± Shen Xuzi asked with a grin.

    Hmph, I¡¯m not someone who you can take advantage of just because of connections.

    ¡°I¡­ I only finished half,¡± Sang Qien said; she was almost about to cry. She had wanted to leave Shen Xuzi with a good impression and also save big brother Zu some face. How could she have known that she wouldn¡¯t even be able toplete half of the enrollment test? She really had ended up embarrassing herself this time¡­

    Even though big brother Zu wouldn¡¯t say anything, he must be disappointed in me, right?

    Sang Qien, Sang Qien¡­ You normally act all proud of being full of stratagems, but you really overestimated yourself¡­

    ¡°Finishing half is already pretty good. You should know that most people can¡¯t even finish one¡­¡± Shen Xuzi trailed off, and his eyes widened midway through his sentence. He eximed, ¡°How many did you say you finished?!¡±

    ¡°Ha¡­ half,¡± Sang Qien said guiltily. This wasn¡¯t even a passing grade¡­

    Forget it, forget it all. I¡¯ll try and see if I can study somewhere else.

    Shen Xuzi picked up her scroll and quickly read through the answers she provided. His face lit up, and eventually, he began to roar withughter.

    ¡°So? How are the results?¡± Zu An helped Sang Qien ask the question when he saw how nervous she was.

    Shen Xuzi grabbed his hands, saying, ¡°Libationer, oh libationer, why didn¡¯t you send me such a brilliant genius earlier? My legacy now has an inheritor!¡±

    ¡°A brilliant genius?¡±

    The group looked at each other in surprise. Even finishing half was enough to be considered a genius?

    When he saw their confused expressions, Shen Xuzi exined, ¡°This scroll is actually something I made to chase away the capital¡¯s influential ns. Otherwise, there would be people trying to send their disciples my way day after day when most of them couldn''t evenplete a single question. Previously, even the best only finished three, and for that person, I even wrote a personal rmendation for him to pursue his studies in the academy.

    ¡°But thisdy could actuallyplete half! What else could she be but a brilliant genius?¡±

    Shen Xuzi looked at Sang Qien excitedly and asked, ¡°Little Qien, have you ever been married?¡±

    <strong></strong>

 Chapter 1941: Fully Convinced

    Chapter 1941: Fully Convinced

    Zu An raised his brows.

    What is the meaning of this?

    Sang Qien¡¯s face reddened. She snuck Zu An a look and said quietly, ¡°I have already gotten married.¡±

    Shen Xuzi¡¯s smile became even more brilliant. He said, ¡°That¡¯s good, that¡¯s very good! That way, you won¡¯t just chatter endlessly about love like a little girl all day, and can focus wholeheartedly on your research!¡±

    Zu An was speechless. So were Sang Qien and Zheng Dan.

    Shen Xuzi was also a bit confused. From what he knew, this Zheng Dan had also gotten married before, and she was even a widow. Now, Sang Qien was also married, and Zu An was so close to both of them. Could it be that he liked other people¡¯s wives? Did he have to suggest that his junior sister get married before trying to get closer to Zu An?

    ¡­

    Then, Shen Xuzi gave Sang Qien a tour of his residence. Of course, it was mainly to show off the machinery and puppets that he was most proud of. Disciples usually wanted to show off as much as possible in front of their masters, but didn¡¯t teachers frequently do the same?

    Sure enough, Sang Qien was extremely interested. Her eyes were filled with excitement for these new things. She only regretted noting here to study earlier.

    When he saw that they were beginning to discuss academic matters, Zu An didn¡¯t disturb the two any longer and bade them goodbye. Then, he took Zheng Dan to Yan Xiangu¡¯s immortal dwelling.

    ¡°Big brother Zu!¡± Xie Daoyun called out.

    When she heard that Zu An had arrived, her excitement couldn''t be hidden at all. She was even more excited because she had heard about the amazing strength he disyed the previous day. Even though she already had a good idea of his strength from the secret dungeon, she had never expected him to be so strong. To a certain degree, he was now already on par with Zhao Han. Unfortunately, she had been focused on researching the talismans she obtained from the secret dungeon for some time and couldn''t meet with big brother Zu often. She hadn¡¯t expectedhim to actuallye to her today!

    Is this fate¡­

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s face immediately turned red when she thought of that.

    Yan Xiangu, who was sitting behind her, rolled his eyes. He finally understood the heartbreak of fathers who had daughters.

    Scared of her breaking if one held her in one''s hands, scared of her melting if one held her in one''s mouth, and yet in the end, they were all taken away by immature brats...

    Even though he and Xie Daoyun were only master and disciple, not father and daughter, and neither was Zu An a brat, it really felt simr¡­

    ¡°I came here with your junior sister this time. She was previously held up because of certain events, but she''ll study properly now. As the senior sister, please take good care of her,¡± Zu An said, pulling Zheng Dan over.

    ¡°Sure,¡± Xie Daoyun said, although she noticed that the way Zu An pulled Zheng Dan over was really natural, and Zheng Dan didn¡¯t have any strange reactions to it either. She immediately felt a bit jealous.

    It seems these two are much closer than I imagined.

    ¡°I¡¯ll have to trouble senior sister in the future,¡± Zheng Dan said.

    Both women were secretly sizing each other up at the same time. Both of them had been part of Brightmoon City¡¯s high society and naturally knew each other, but it was hard to say that they were that close; they had merely been ordinary friends. Who would have thought that they would be connected to each other again because of Zu An?

    The two of them had met previously when Zu An brought Zheng Dan herest time. Xie Daoyun had already formed some suspicions about their rtionship, but when she saw the way Zheng Dan¡¯s eyes shone whenever she looked at Zu An, how could she still not know the truth?

    Sigh¡­ I''m so envious of her. She can just show that she likes Ah Zu in front of everyone, unlike me; because of my identity, I can only bury my love deep in my heart.

    Xie Daoyun felt a bit happier when she heard the other party call her senior sister. She always had to call the other women like Chu Chuyan and Pei Mianman ''big sister'', but now, she was finally the one being called that, even if it was only ''senior sister''¡­

    Just then, Yan Xiangu said, ¡°That is good. Daoyun, you can teach the things you learned when you first studied under me to your junior sister. Once she has mastered those subjects, I can then teach her other things.¡±

    ¡°Yes, master, Xie Daoyun said.

    She was actually really busy, so if she were asked to teach any other disciple, she most likely wouldn¡¯t agree. However, Zheng Dan was different. Not only was she also from Brightmoon City just like her, she was also big brother Zu¡¯s friend. Thus, she took Zheng Dan around to get used to the surroundings while also introducing what she needed to learn from now on.

    Yan Xiangu then began to talk to Zu An, saying, ¡°Libationer, you really do leave me quite surprised. You''re so young, so normally, it shouldn¡¯t have been possible for your cultivation to have reached your current level even if you cultivated from the moment you left your mother¡¯s womb.¡±

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°The road of cultivation cares more about insights. Otherwise, wouldn¡¯t it mean that the older you were, the higher your achievements would be?¡±

    ¡°That is true. I was being too trite,¡± Yan Xiangu said with a chuckle. He then suddenly added, ¡°After seeing your strength yesterday, I believe that you and my teacher joined together to defeat that one, right?¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, It really is as Liu Ning said. There were many people in the capital who were alreadying to simr suspicions.

    He replied, ¡°The two of them have already passed. Whether or not that''s the case, is it so important anymore?¡±

    Yan Xiangu didn¡¯t seem to mind his ambiguous answer too much, replying, ¡°The libationer¡¯s words are correct; I simply ced too much importance on it. Since teacher passed on the position of libationer to you, that means you are a fellow he trusted. Nothing else could be more important.¡±

    Zu An had to admit that these disciples of thete libationer really didn¡¯t seem to care much for political power. If it were anyone else, they would have definitely called Zu An disgraceful and unfilial, but Zu An could tell that this man really didn¡¯t care.

    ¡°By the way, if we hadn¡¯t arrived yesterday, could the Demon-Eradicating Great Formation really have been unable to stop the libationer?¡± Yan Xiangu asked, his eyes sparkling.

    There was a bit ofpetitiveness in his eyes, because in the past, he''d yed arge role in the creation of that great formation himself. Of course, if he hadn''t had the resources of an entire empire to create it, the formation wouldn¡¯t have been able to disy enough power.

    Zu An thought for a bit, then said, ¡°That great formation did give me a strong sense of danger. If I faced it head on, I might have ended up in trouble.¡±

    Yan Xiangu picked up on what Zu An was implying. He replied, ¡°The libationer is suggesting that you would kill those eight dukes so they would be unable to fully activate the formation, correct? That is indeed a usible n, but the eight dukes have extraordinary statuses in the empire. It¡¯s one thing to kill one or two, but if you killed too many of them, you would be a public enemy of the empire. At that point, there would be no misgivings left in activating the entire formation.¡±

    He had naturally considered that possibility when he designed the formation in the past. An enemy could immediately eliminate the ones activating the formations, wasting a huge amount of resources without achieving anything. It would really be a joke then. That was why, during the designing process, he had left behind another countermeasure. If the state was in absolute danger, as long as anyone had the privileges, the entire great formation would activate on its own. And yet, if the great formation he created had ended up killing the new libationer his teacher had chosen, he would truly have be a sinner of the academy.

    Zu An replied, ¡°There would be no need to kill all eight dukes. Even though the power of the formation is great, there would still have been some paths of survival. As long as one could grasp those opportunities, it would be possible to avoid facing its ferocity directly.¡±

    Even though the Demon-Eradicating Great Formation was formidable,pared to the great formation he had seen in the great tomb, it was still far, far less advanced. After seeing that formation that locked down all of the tomb¡¯s prisoners, then studying the knowledge pertaining to formations in the Baopu Sutra, in his eyes, the capital''s formation was naturally full of ws.

    ¡°Paths of survival?¡± Yan Xiangu asked stunned. ¡°Where are those paths of survival?¡±

    This great formation was the final countermeasure for the human race if they were pushed to the very brink of extinction. How could he possibly leave the enemy any chance to survive?

    After some hesitation, Zu An pointed out a few ways to deal with it. Yan Xiangu¡¯s achievement in formations was very high, and together with the knowledge he had learned from all of the world¡¯s most brilliant formation matters, even though it was difficult to deal with this formation head-on, its power could be avoided through some other techniques.

    Yan Xiangu didn¡¯t really believe that Zu An had some other solutions, but the more he listened, the more his expression changed. In the end, he was fully convinced. He said, ¡°My junior brothers and sisters always praised you to the heavens as if you were some wandering immortal. To be honest, I was still a bit unconvinced after listening to them. And yet now, you havepletely won me over. There really are those who are born knowing¡­¡±

    The reasons he had supported Zu An in bing the new libationer were firstly because he didn¡¯t wish for the academy to be divided, and secondly to respect his teacher¡¯s final wishes. Furthermore, he didn¡¯t wish to deal with secr matters after bing the libationer, so even if some people had supported him in bing the new libationer, he had refused them. Even so, in his heart, he had still felt as if the position was one he had ''given up¡¯.

    Even after finding out how high Zu An¡¯s cultivation was, that was merely cultivation. In the domain of formations, he had always considered himself the king. Not even his teacher¡¯s skills were as high as his in the field. After all, thete libationer had been too preupied by the various domains he studied and hadn¡¯t delveed into a single field the way he did.

    It was only now, while conversing with Zu An, that he realized that Zu An''s achievements in the field were just as high! Some of Zu An¡¯s views were things that he had never even heard of, giving him brand new enlightenment. Even his skills in formation-making that had stagnated for many years seemed to be showing signs of new breakthroughs.

    He was so excited that he got up and bowed to Zu An. His eyes were full of zealous joy as he said, ¡°I will treat the libationer as my teacher in the future!¡±

    Zu An was startled, replying, ¡°What is Master Yan doing? Hurry and rise at once! How could I possibly be your master?¡±

    ¡°Why not? Cultivation cares more about skill than age,¡± Yan Xiangu said with a serious expression.

    ¡°Absolutely not; I still have many things I need to consult you about in regards to formations. We can just converse coboratively in the future and improve together. There''s no need for us to be master and disciple!¡± Zu An replied.

    He had to go to quite the lengths to finally dissuade Yan Xiangu from having a master and disciple rtionship with him. After all, even though he had the Baopu Sutra¡¯s formation knowledge, Yan Xiangu had researched formations his entire life! Yan Xiangu''s foundation was far better than what he could hope to attain. Whether it was the Demon-Eradicating Great Formation or the formation that had banished even Zhao Han, both of them were exceptional. There could even be things in the Baopu Sutra that he had to consult this man on, so how could he dare to be his teacher?

    When he saw how firm Zu An¡¯s attitude was, Yan Xiangu could only give up on that thought. He said with a sigh of amazement, ¡°This almost makes me recall the days I spent in the past with thete libationer¡­¡±

    Even though he and the libationer had shared a master-disciple rtionship in name, in reality, they were old friends who had known each other for many years. Thete libationer hadn''t wanted to be his master either, but Yan Xiangu had been more stubborn back then. Since he''d learned from thete libationer, he''d insisted on taking the man on as a master. The libationer had been forced to reluctantly agree. Recalling those old memories really made him feel a sense of nostalgia.

    ¡°Senior brother, what are you and the libationer doing? Why are you bowing to each other like husband and wife?¡± a voice suddenly called out. High heels tapped against the ground. Jiang Luofu walked in from outside, along with Qi Yaoguang in her witch-like attire. The two looked at this situation inside with strange expressions.

    Yan Xiangu thus told them about what had just happened. Jiang Luofu and Qi Yaoguang exchanged a look, both seeing the shock in each other''s eyes. After all, they understood this senior brother of theirs best. Normally, even though he looked like someone who never tried to offend anyone, he was actually extremely proud deep down. In the past, their teacher had even said before that their great senior¡¯s overall strength wouldn''t necessarily be weaker than his own. Someone like that had actually wanted to make Zu An his master?

    ¡°No way, no way. If you made him your master, wouldn¡¯t I be another generation lower too? Absolutely no way!¡± Qi Yaoguang immediately cried out.

    Yan Xiangu¡¯s expression was strange. He said, ¡°That''s because you have not witnessed his skills in formations¡­ Hm? Didn¡¯t you also say that you wanted him to be your master before?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s different! I¡¯m a little girl. Forget about calling him master, I can even call him daddy, but can you? Your respected self is already a white-bearded old man, so please stop embarrassing yourself!¡± Qi Yaoguang said forcefully and with conviction.

    Yan Xiangu was speechless.

    I really can¡¯t stoop that low; I still care about my dignity!

    When she saw Zu An¡¯s stunned expression, Jiang Luofu couldn''t help but smile. She came over to Zu An¡¯s side and said, ¡°Don¡¯t take it to heart; junior sister is always cheeky like this. Teacher used to love this unique side of her when he was alive.¡±

    ¡°Ahem, did the two of youe here for something?¡± Zu An asked. Jiang Luofu was clearly cold and unapproachable, and yet she wore those fiery and seductive ck stockings that even revealed a bit of her inner thighs. Zu An wondered just what thete libationer had been thinking for him to take in this pair of prodigies.

    Jiang Luofu said, ¡°Someone came to the academy looking for you.¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    <strong></strong>

 Chapter 1942: A Tough Question

    Chapter 1942: A Tough Question

    Zu An was stunned, asking, ¡°Who''s looking for me?¡±

    It wasn¡¯t too surprising for the major ns to want to visit him after what had happened the previous day. Even though he''d never returned to his own manor, he had still received quite a few messages about it. However, he''d figured that he¡¯d just let Qin Wanru deal with it.

    Qin Wanru was still a duchess, for better or for worse. Entertaining guests and other such things weren¡¯t too difficult for her. Even though she had looked troubled on the surface and asked Zu An to return and deal with it himself as early as possible, Zu An had sensed that she couldn''t hold back her joy. As a member of the noble circles, who wouldn¡¯t want a chance to show off a bit? The amazing regent was her son-inw! Thee higher-level ns in the capital normally didn¡¯t give the Chu n a second nce, but now, they had to approach her with as much goodwill as possible. Even though she knew that they likely weren''tpletely genuine and sincere, the feeling of showing off a bit in front of the capital¡¯s most noble upper-ss women still truly felt incredible. She had even already begun to imagine how she would return to Brightmoon City in glory, and how her old friends would be so shocked that their jaws dropped.

    The representatives of those ns would likely go to the marquis manor to look for Zu An, but it wasn¡¯t too likely for them toe all the way to the academy. This was a ce dedicated to learning, and ever since its founding, it had always refused the visits of influential officials.

    ¡°It¡¯s a young woman who seems to be someone¡¯s maid,¡± Jiang Luofu said. ¡°She wasn¡¯t willing to speak when we asked her which n she was from. But seeing the bad condition she was in, we invited her in first. It¡¯ll depend on the libationer if you wish to meet her.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s take a look at the situation,¡± Zu An said, feeling a bit confused. He said a few things to Zheng Dan and Yan Xiangu, then went to a small room on the mountaintop.

    Soon after, Jiang Luofu and Qi Yaoguang brought the maid up. The lesser servant was quite cute, but her hair and clothes were a bit messy. However, she didn¡¯t seem to be concerned with that.

    ¡°What is your name? What did you want to see me for?¡± Zu An asked in an amicable manner. He always remembered that he had once been an ordinary person just like her, so he didn¡¯t put on any airs in front of her.

    The maid gave Jiang Luofu and Qi Yaoguang a troubled look. The two women didn¡¯t seem to understand what she was suggesting, though. The maid had unknown origins. Even though the libationer¡¯s cultivation was extraordinary, they still didn¡¯t feel at ease leaving the two of them alone; that wasn''t even considering the fact that they were really curious about where she hade from.

    Zu An said, ¡°They''re all my people, so please say what you think.¡±

    Jiang Luofu and Qi Yaoguang both rolled their eyes at him.

    When did we be your people?

    But after thinking about it, they were all a part of the academy, so it did seem to make some sense.

    The maid could only say helplessly, ¡°Madam Dai told me to pass on a message, that she wished to meet with the regent.¡±

    After what happened the previous night, the people from King Dai Manor and the Meng n had already been detained. Meng Chan naturally couldn''t personally visit. But she was still from arge n, so it wasn¡¯t too hard for her to find a maid to send a message.

    Zu An frowned and said, ¡°I will not meet her!¡±

    Most of the things that had happened back then were because of that woman. What was there for him to talk to her about?

    The maid immediately panicked, saying, ¡°Respected regent, Madam Dai said that she had something you would definitely be very interested in.¡±

    She had never encountered such a thing in all of her years. Whether it was her master¡¯s appearance or status, they were the very best among the capital¡¯s noble circles. Whenever she wanted to meet with someone, they had always rushed over enthusiastically. There were some who had gone to seek some sort of rtionship with her, and there were others who harbored impure motives toward her beauty¡­ But never had there ever been anyone who waspletely uninterested like this. Fortunately, the madam had already warned her of such a possibility and specially entrusted her with a few messages.

    ¡°Not interested,¡± Zu An said. He didn¡¯t believe that Meng Chan could have anything that would be of interest to him. It was probably just a deceitful trick to convince him to meet her.

    The maid wanted to say something else, but Zu An waved his hand and a gentle force sent her down the mountain, saying, ¡°See the guest out!¡±

    The disciples standing guard at the foot of the mountain quickly escorted the maid out.

    Jiang Luofu revealed a look of surprise. The level of control Zu An had just disyed was inconceivable. To throw someone straight down a mountain, and yet not injure them in the slightest from start to finish¡­ even if her teacher, thete libationer, were still around, he probably wouldn''t have been able to surpass such a feat.

    How could she have known that after the great battle with the Meng n and killed countless experts, even including an earth immortal, Zu An¡¯s experience bar had already advanced a good chunk? Even though he hadn¡¯t crossed the level 75 mark, it was already infinitely close. It wasn¡¯t just thete libationer; even if he faced Zhao Han at his strongest, he would still have a fighting chance.

    Qi Yaoguang was more interested in something else. She said, ¡°That Madam Dai is known for her beauty in the capital. If I recall correctly, in the past, she even fought the crown princess for her position. Who knows just how many young masters admire and long for her normally? You¡¯re not interested at all when such an incredible beauty wants to meet with you?¡±

    Zu An said in annoyance, ¡°Am I someone so shallow that I only care about appearances¡­¡±

    He immediately noticed that both Qi Yaoguang and Jiang Luofu were looking at him with strange expressions before he even finished his sentence. After all, the women at his side were all incredibly beautiful, so his words really weren¡¯t all that convincing.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°He harmed the Qin n, and the Murong n, and I even killed her father. Her husband¡¯s n was reduced to ashes as well. Do you still think anything good woulde from meeting with her?¡± Zu An eventually replied.

    ¡°If you''re worried about something like that, then there might not be a need to,¡± Jiang Luofu exined. ¡°Those of the highest-level ns very rarely consider selfish, personal emotions. In the end, they make decisions based on interests. The grudge from her father¡¯s death isn¡¯t that big of a deal. Historically, there have been many instances where, despite the monarch killing some important ministers, those dead ministers¡¯ posterity still devoted their lives to the ruler, remaining faithful and true. Even if different ns shared a blood grudge with each other, as long as there was a chance for them to be united in the future, they could be inseparable.¡±

    Zu An was stunned, replying, ¡°There was actually something like that?¡±

    In the past, even though he had served as a monarch in the Yinxu secret dungeon, that was more like being the leader of a primitive tribe. The concept of a nation hadn''t been very mature yet, so he wasn¡¯t as familiar with such matters as people who had lived in the great ns ever since they were little.

    ¡°What¡¯s the big deal with that?¡± Qi Yaoguang replied with a smile. ¡°If you agreed to help her retain the Meng n¡¯s authority, she wouldn¡¯t even mind being your secret lover, and she''d even be the deeply grateful sort. The entire Meng n would even really want her to do that. How could they let those who are already dead affect the ones still living?¡±

    Zu An was speechless. Noticing that she said such things as if they were just another topic to gossip about, he couldn''t help but sigh deeply. He''d thought that he had already prepared himself for this world, but who would have thought that it could still exceed his wildest imaginings?

    Jiang Luofu finally couldn''t take it anymore and interrupted, ¡°Junior sister, what kind of nonsense are you saying? Stop trying to lead him astray.¡±

    Qi Yaoguang almostughed out loud, replying, ¡°Senior sister, are you treating him as an academy disciple? It¡¯s fine if he doesn¡¯t teach us anything, but how could we teach him?¡±

    Jiang Luofu was in a bit of a daze too. When she recalled how Zu An unleashed a great ughter in the Meng manor, she figured that he indeed didn¡¯t need anyone teaching him anything. But for some reason, in her mind, this young man was still that naughty brat who shamelessly called her ''gorgeous principal'' and ''big sis principal'' in Brightmoon City.

    ¡°Brother-inw!¡± came a voice, apanied by sounds of cheering that could be heard halfway up the mountain.

    The group followed the source of the sound, and they saw several youngdies. In the lead was none other than Chu Huanzhao, who waved excitedly in their direction, her small leather skirt constantly reminding everyone just how great of a mood she was in right now. Next to her, a pretty young man rolled her eyes, as if he were looking down on some eyesore in front of him. There was also a tan-skinned youngdy who looked at that young man with a big smile.

    ¡°Sigh, I actually had some astrology questions to consult you on, but it seems they''ll have to wait until next time,¡± Qi Yaoguang grumbled.

    The young women were all Zu An''s family, so she naturally wouldn¡¯t tactlessly stick around like a sore thumb. Jiang Luofu wasn¡¯t a fan of such bustling and enthusiastic settings, so she followed Qi Yaoguang and said goodbye.

    Soon after, Chu Huanzhao and the others arrived at the small courtyard atop the mountain.

    When he heard their chattering, Zu An took out a few booklets, feeling a bit of a headache. He said, ¡°These are the basic cultivation methods of the academy¡¯s rear mountain disciples. Don¡¯t judge them too quickly based on the names; it¡¯s all good stuff. Make sure to establish a good foundation, so your future cultivation will yield twice the results with half the effort.¡± He was now the academy¡¯s libationer, so it naturally wasn''t too hard for him to get his hands on these kinds of things at all.

    Murong Qinghe and Chu Youzhao¡¯s eyes lit up, and they received them enthusiastically. As people who usually lived in the capital, they naturally knew just how precious such things were. The foundational cultivation technique of the Royal Academy was easy enough to get with their family backgrounds, but it wasn''t much better than the cultivation skills of their own ns. However, this was something only the disciples from the rear mountains could cultivate. Every single disciple in the rear mountain was the best of the best across thend. The skills they cultivated were naturally also the cream of the crop. This manual was something that thete libationer had personally created to evaluate those top-tier disciples. It was rumored that the teachers of the academy¡¯s rear mountain had also used it when they first studied under thete libationer.

    Only Chu Huanzhao couldn''t help but say, ¡°Brother-inw, you know how much I hate reading. I get a headache just from looking at the words in this book. It makes me want to doze off already¡­¡± Then, she stuck to Zu An and asked, ¡°Brother-inw, can you personally teach me? And a crash course if possible, the type that can make me the strongest in the world if I just cultivate it a few days.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    Chu Youzhao said with a sneer, ¡°You really are an idiot. Where would you find a cultivation skill like that, where you can reap without sowing? You want to be strong, and yet you don¡¯t want to work hard. That¡¯s something only a delusional woman in the boonies might think.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao harrumphed. ¡°Who says there isn¡¯t any such thing? Brother-inw was just like me back then, on the bottom rung of Brightmoon City¡¯s yellow ss. I¡¯ve never seen him cultivate all that hard; if he wasn¡¯t eating and sleeping, then he was sleeping and eating. Oh, right, he also went around teasing pretty girls all day. But didn¡¯t he still end up getting this strong?¡±

    Chu Youzhao opened her mouth, and yet nothing came out.

    You make so much sense that I really don¡¯t even know what to say in response.

    ¡°Alright, alright. I have a way for you guys to increase your cultivation quickly, but I need to work on it a bit more,¡± Zu An said.

    He thought to himself that Little Huanzhao, who had a bit of an M-type personality, was pretty suited to the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra. As long as she was fine with getting beaten up, she could be stronger. But cultivating that kind of secret skill was too dangerous, and she didn¡¯t have his cheat skills. It would be hard to make it out alive if she cultivated that way, and she would get in trouble because she had something too valuable for her to protect. If she were exposed, it would easily bring her trouble.

    I should continue with the original n¡­

    Chu Huanzhao immediately became happy. She clung to his arm and harrumphed at Chu Youzhao. ¡°Didn¡¯t I say that brother-inw had a solution?¡±

    Chu Youzhao became so angry that she gritted her teeth. However, Murong Qinghe quietly muttered to her, ¡°Big brother Chu, I feel as if before your second sister came along, you would also have clung to your big brother Zu and called him brother-inw like that.¡±

    Chu Youzhao immediately became even angrier when she heard that.

    Zu An was getting a headache from their fighting, so he had them y in his courtyard first. Meanwhile, he went inside. He looked at the Marrow Cleansing Pill in his hands with a worried expression. Ever since he gained transcendent level aptitude, he had stopped being able to pull Marrow Cleansing Pills. He could only buy them from the store, and they had initially cost 10,000 points. However, each time one was purchased, the price increased tenfold. He had fed Snow one in the past, and now, one pill cost him 100,000 Rage points. The next one would cost a million points. The exponential increase in price made it so that it wasn¡¯t realistic at all to purchase many of them.

    More importantly, Little Huanzhao¡¯s aptitude really was toocking. Not even a single pill would be enough for her! Furthermore, there were so many other sweethearts of his to worry about, so he felt really reluctant to feed it to anyone¡­

    <strong></strong>

 Chapter 1943: Old Acquaintance

    Chapter 1943: Old Acquaintance

    He had collected a total of 257,200 points this time. One pill cost 100,000 points alone, so there was no way for him to purchase a second one.

    In terms of his feelings, he had nned to give the Marrow Cleansing Pill to Huanzhao. After all, her aptitude was the lowest, and she was also the first one to show him warmth in this world. But his reason told him that if he gave this Marrow Cleansing Pill to Huanzhao, it would only raise her from being a cultivation idiot to an ordinary person. Doing so would still be quite upsetting to everyone else. In contrast, if he gave it to someone with very good aptitude, it could raise their aptitude to an even higher level, so the effects would be great.

    He was starting to feel a headache when he suddenly thought of something. He remembered that in the secret dungeon, the Baopu Sutra had unlocked the Gourmet System. As long as he knew a recipe and tasted it before, he could recreate the original dish. Still, he wondered if this Marrow Cleansing Pill was considered food.

    Zu An was a bit hesitant. After all, this thing would already be useless to him even if he ate it. If the Gourmet System didn¡¯t activate, that would only waste a Marrow Cleansing Pill.

    He thought about all of his sweethearts and how all of them needed it. Even if he left this pill behind, it wouldn¡¯t be enough to divide between them. Thus, he gritted his teeth and scraped off a bit to put into his mouth.

    Suddenly, he felt a strange sensation spread from the tip of his tongue. It was as if the data stream from ¡®The Matrix¡¯ flew through his mind. The Gourmet System¡¯s voice calle dout:

    ¡°Sample insufficient; unable to carry out further analysis. Please add in more of the sample.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes lit up. There was a chance! As such, he decided to just throw the entire pill into his mouth. He didn¡¯t even dare to make any swallowing motions, and instead let it slowly dissolve in his mouth, doing his best to taste the pill so the Gourmet System could fully analyze itsponents.

    A whileter, a line of text floated before his eyes.

    Marrow Cleansing Pill, a rare pill medicine used in the cultivation world to increase one¡¯s aptitude. Itsponents are a Greenfire Brain, Hollow Cicada Leaf, and Devilight Sand, as well as an auspicious beast¡¯s parts as the primary ingredient; for instance, a Bai Ze¡¯s horn, a Sphinx¡¯s core¡­

    Zu An was overjoyed. This Gourmet System not only provided theposition, but also gave him a detailed recipe. That meant as long as he had the necessary ingredients, he could make as many of them as he wanted, and he didn¡¯t have to worry about the limitations of the Rage system at all. He recalled how unhappy he had been when he first heard about the new system, thinking that it was mocking him for not knowing how to cook or something.

    I was wrong! The system is the GOAT.

    At the same time, he was a bit curious. Just what kind of thing had given him this system? He had still been weak in the past, so he''d only had endless joy after obtaining the system. He had seen too many fictional novels, and the main character having such a system was just toomon. He had been toozy to think about the deeper implications of it.

    But as he grew more and more powerful, and now that he was practically the strongest being in this world, he had an entirely different view of the system. He had two worlds worth of experiences in one body, and he had even visited many of the mysterious secret dungeons of this world and encountered too many powerful beings that exceeded the limits of his imagination. And yet, even though his experience and knowledge were vast, he still couldn''t understand the system at all.

    He didn¡¯t understand the fundamental principles at work, he didn¡¯t know whether it was a tangible thing, and he had no idea how he was able to use so many miraculous abilities. Just what kind of thing had created this keyboard system?

    Whoever it was, he must have been really handsome, right¡­

    He thought to himself for a long time, but he didn¡¯t manage to get anywhere. He could only temporarily bury those thoughts at the bottom of his heart. Thus, he turned his attention to the Marrow Cleansing Pill¡¯s materials - the Greenfire Brain, Hollow Cicada Leaf, and Devilight Sand. These were all things he was only hearing about for the first time, and the main medicine consisting of parts of auspicious beasts also seemed a bit difficult to procure.

    He had heard of the Bai Ze before, as it was something that had appeared before in his previous world¡¯s mythology. It was something that couldmunicate with all things and recognized the appearance of all living things. It knew all kinds of strange names and ways of subduing them, and its entire body was a treasure. It could even miraculously bring back one from the brink of death. That was why it was always known as a symbol of auspiciousness. It was rumored that its head and four ws were like those of a lion, and its forehead had a single horn. Around its neck was a ring of white hair like that of a lion¡¯s mane. Its tail was shaped like that of a fox, and was shaggy and extremely fluffy. Most of the Bai Ze¡¯s body was white in color, but its back, four limbs, and the tip of his tail were a dark gray¡­

    Zu An was getting a bit of a headache. Where would he find a legendary creature like that?

    Meanwhile, the Sphinx was an old acquaintance. It was an ancient Egyptian creature. There was even a famous statue of a Sphinx. He had heard Zhao Han¡¯s group talk about encountering a creature that was supposed to be a Sphinx in the secret dungeon he''d entered, and it was something that had only cast its projection from a different dimension far away.

    Hm? Wait a minute¡­ Why do I feel as if China''s Bai Ze and Egypt¡¯s Sphinx look a bit simr? They look a lot like lions. They''re not the same creature, are they? Could it be that they just have different names in different ces?

    Still, regardless of whether it was the same type of creature, they were both extremely rare. He didn¡¯t know where he would be able to find them at all.

    Sigh, I was nning to refine more of these Marrow Cleansing Pills, but now, who knows whether purchasing them through Rage points or creating them will be easier.

    ¡­

    He was so frustrated that he left the room and went straight to Shen Xuzi¡¯s ce midway up the mountain. After all, in terms of knowledge regarding pill refinement, there was probably no one who knew more than him. Perhaps he would know about many of the ingredients involved.

    When he arrived, Shen Xuzi was excitedly showing off some unnecessarilyplicated machines and puppets.

    Sang Qien saw Zu An and her eyes immediately lit up. Even though she was really interested in what her teacher was teaching her, she always felt a bit nervous when she was separated from big brother Zu.

    ¡°Does the libationer have something important, to havee in such a hurry?¡± Shen Xuzi asked, keenly sensing Zu An''s arrival.

    Zu An consoled Sang Qien through a ki transmission first, then said, ¡°So it¡¯s like this. I was wondering if you had heard of some medicinal ingredients before¡­¡±

    When he heard everything, Shen Xuzi said, ¡°Devilight Sand is important for many high-quality pills and is quite rare. It¡¯s something countless alchemists wish to get their hands on. You might not even find a trace of it if you search your entire lifetime.¡±

    Zu An frowned and asked, ¡°Then doesn¡¯t that mean I¡¯m out of luck?¡±

    To think that one ingredient was this rare; he still had so many others to worry about!

    Shen Xuzi had a proud expression as he said, ¡°Worry not, libationer! I have some here.¡±

    No one even saw him do any gestures, but then a puppet walked over, creaking audibly. In its hands was a container. Shen Xuzi reached out his hand and carefully poured out a bit of sand from the jar. From how carefully he treated it, it was as if he were handling the root of life. Zu An noticed that the sand was different from ordinary sand. It gave off a faint purple hue, and didn¡¯t look precisely like sand, but more like a bowl of water.

    ¡°Is the libationer preparing to refine some pills?¡± Shen Xuzi asked with a smile. ¡°Since the libationer has just taken your position, this Devilight Sand will just be my congrattory gift then.¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°How could I ept something like this?¡± Zu An replied. Despite that, he didn¡¯t hold back, his eyes shining as he took the container right out of Shen Xuzi''s hands. He was going to refine Marrow Cleansing Pills, and the amount he needed was considerable.

    Shen Xuzi was stunned.

    I meant that I was going to give you the bit in my palm, so why did you take the entire container away?

    He said resentfully, ¡°This thing is really precious, you know? I can¡¯t just give you that much unless you pay more!¡±

    ¡°But of course,¡± Zu An said with a smile. ¡°It¡¯s just that I urgently need this stuff, or else I wouldn¡¯t have asked for so much.¡±

    He knew that Shen Xuzi was well-known for being poor. After all, whether it was alchemy or puppet refining, they both burned up money.

    As such, he took out roughly a cubic meter of heaven-grade ki stones from his Brilliant ss Bead and asked, ¡°Is this enough?¡±

    These ki stones had been given to him by Yu Yanluo from Cloudcenter Commandery.

    Having a sugar mommy really does feel good.

    ¡°It¡¯s enough, it¡¯s enough!¡± Shen Xuzi replied, his eyes shining brilliantly. He had naturally seen this amount of ki stones before, but not heaven-grade ones! He eventually remarked, ¡°By the way, can the libationer let me take a look at your storage pouch one day? I want to see just how it''s able to store so much¡­¡±

    After all, the amount storage pouches could contain was extremely limited. They could only carry some essential goods. How could they produce a cubic meter of ki stones in an instant?

    ¡°It¡¯s not a storage pouch, but rather a treasure I obtained in the past,¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Shen Xuzi replied, feeling a bit disappointed. If it was a treasure, he couldn''t really ask for it. And if it wasn¡¯t even a storage pouch, he had no way of duplicating it.

    ¡°Right, do you know about the other ingredients?¡± Zu An then asked.

    Shen Xuzi replied, ¡°The Greenfire Brain is called a brain, but it''s actually a flower. When the flower blooms, it resembles a burning me, but also like a human brain. That''s how it obtained its name. This item is also extremely precious, and I don''t have any on me. If I''m not mistaken, the Imperial Hospital shouldn¡¯t have any either. The libationer can ask around in the Hub of Freedom. I¡¯ve heard that it''s appeared before in their auctions.¡±

    ¡°Hub of Freedom?¡± Zu An repeated with a frown. From the intelligence he had received before, the Hub of Freedom seemed to have ties with the Meng n¡¯s royal family. With his status as the imperial grandson, he really didn¡¯t want to be too involved with them. Thete libationer seemed to have had deep ties with the Hub of Freedom, though. His disciple¡­

    ¡°Right, I visit them pretty often. The Hub of Freedom offers a medium of exchange for all of the world¡¯s cultivators. After all, many of the world¡¯s precious things can often only be bartered for,¡± Shen Xuzi replied.

    When he saw that Shen Xuzi and Hub of Freedom didn¡¯t have the kind of rtionship he was thinking of, Zu An sighed in relief. He didn¡¯t want to get any further involved with Hub of Freedom, so he could only have the Embroidery House look into it. At least with his current status as the Embroidered Envoy''s Chief Commander, Academy''s libationer, and the human and fiend Regent, looking for the Greenfire Brain was much easier than if he had to search on his own. He had to admit that status and position changed everything. It made everything much easier than if he had been an ordinary person. It was no wonder that, whether it was the previous world or this one, everyone wanted to climb up the socialdder.

    ¡°As for the Hollow Cicada Leaf, I''ve never heard of it. If I''m not mistaken, you won¡¯t be able to find it in the Hub of Freedom,¡± Shen Xuzi said with a hint of pride. If it was something he didn¡¯t even know about, the Hub of Freedom naturally wouldn¡¯t either.

    Zu An was a bit discouraged.

    Could it be that this item doesn¡¯t exist in this world?

    Sang Qien suddenly said, ¡°From what I know, the second sir in the rear mountains is a doctor who knows about all of the herbs of the world. Do you think he might know about this Hollow Cicada Leaf?¡±

    Shen Xuzi¡¯s eyes lit up. He said, ¡°I would have almost forgotten if you hadn¡¯t talked about it. Second brother might actually have a chance of knowing about this thing.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but ask, ¡°Just who is this second brother of yours?¡±

    Shen Xuzi said with a smile, ¡°The libationer also came from Brightmoon City, now that I think about it, so you might know second brother. His name is Ji Dengtu. With his skills in medicine, even if he has declined, there''s no reason for him to bepletely without fame. Has the libationer heard of him before?¡±

    <strong></strong>

 Chapter 1944: It Hurts, Brother-in-law!

    Chapter 1944: It Hurts, Brother-inw!

    ¡°Ji Dengtu?¡± Zu An repeated, his eyes widening. Even though he''d had his suspicions, he was still shocked to hear it confirmed.

    After all, the people in the capital had always thought of thete libationer¡¯s second disciple, the doctor, as a benevolent individual - a handsome, holy, immortal-like being. He really found it hard to associate such a description with that perverted guy from Brightmoon City, that wretched old fart who hid in a dark room while reading pornographic novels.

    ¡°It seems the libationer does know about him,¡± Shen Xuzi said with a chuckle.

    ¡°I do know him, and we even know each other quite well,¡± Zu An said.

    Ji Dengtu¡¯s appearance only remained in his mind for three seconds, however. The remaining time waspletely upied by his lovely and gentle daughter, Ji Xiaoxi. He reflexively touched his lips. It was as if that soft feeling from back then still remained. In the past, when he was escorted away by the Embroidered Envoy, Ji Xiaoxi had pretended to be his lover in front of everyone in order to help him. She had kissed him, then secretly fed him a Fake Death Pill. That really was a kindhearted youngdy¡­ He couldn''t help but smile warmly whenever he thought of Ji Xiaoxi.

    ¡°By the way, why didn¡¯t she want to tell me about this when I asked Jiang Luofu before? We were all in Brightmoon City back then,¡± Zu An suddenly asked curiously. He just felt as if Jiang Luofu was hiding something.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Shen Xuzi eximed. He now felt a bit regretful. ¡°If I had known seventh sister was going to act like that, I would have waited for her to tell you.¡±

    ¡°Just what don¡¯t I know about?¡± Zu An continued.

    Sang Qien''s eyes widened too. She had some impression of Ji Dengtu too. It really was hard for her to imagine him having anything to do with that cool and aloof Jiang Luofu.

    Shen Xuzi sighed, saying, ¡°It really was a heartbreaking story. In the past, second brother¡¯s skills in medicine were truly incredible, and he had even boasted proudly that even if the king of hell himself wanted someone to die at sixty, he could make them live to a hundred. He believed that there was no illness in this world he couldn''t cure.

    "Even so, in the end, he couldn''t save his own wife, who was seventh sister¡¯s own older sister.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He recalled that he''d heard about theat rtionship back in Brightmoon City. He''d also been curious as to why even though Ji Dengtu loved to collect underwear, he had never given the stunning Jiang Luofu a second look. So it was because of that¡­

    Shen Xuzi then said, ¡°Because of that, even though seventh sister knew it wasn¡¯t second brother¡¯s fault, she just couldn''t help but hold a bit of a grudge. She believed that it was because he was too arrogant and was punished by the heavens. Second brother also let himself waste away ever since then, not taking any patients or treating illnesses. We brothers and sisters tried to advise him to change his mind for a long time, but it didn¡¯t work at all.

    ¡°Later, one day, he suddenly disappeared. We were in a panic trying to look for him, but teacher stopped us. He said that second brother needed a ce to cool down for a while, and that time would slowly heal everything.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°However, just like that, more than a decade passed. Everyone had already forgotten that there was a doctor among teacher¡¯s disciples, and we only learned that he was in Brightmoon City from junior sister not too long ago.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but sigh. He asked, ¡°Right, do you know what kind of illness his wife had in the past? How could it be that not even someone with his skills in medicine could heal her?¡±

    If she had been able to give birth to a daughter as adorable as Xiaoxi, she definitely also had to have been a warm and good person, right?

    Shen Xuzi shook his head and said, ¡°I don''t know the exact details. Second brother has always kept the answer a secret. You should ask seventh sister about it when you get a chance.¡±

    Nearby, Sang Qien said, ¡°Big brother Zu, I don¡¯t think you should ask about it. Judging from her attitude toward Ji Dengtu, her rtionship with her big sister must have been extremely close. If you ask her with your current status, it would put her in an awkward situation. I think it would be best to wait until she tells you about it herself one day.¡±

    Shen Xuzi chuckled and said, ¡°As expected, it''s still women who are more careful with these things. It''s as Little Qien says; I was a bit too rash.¡±

    Zu An recalled Jiang Luofu¡¯s usual icy exterior. He decided to not sprinkle salt on her old wounds for now.

    The three of them all felt a mix of emotions. Eventually, they changed the topic and talked about the remaining ingredients. Shen Xuzi had a worried and troubled expression as he said, ¡°I have seen the auspicious beast Bai Ze before in some ancient texts, but I''ve never heard of anyone encountering it in reality. It might only exist in some ancient secret dungeons.

    ¡°As for the Sphinx, that¡¯s even more foreign to me. If the libationer ever finds one, please let me know so that I can widen my petty experiences.¡±

    When he heard the reply, Zu An thought, As expected. The hardest thing to get was the main ingredient. After they spoke for a while longer, he no longer disturbed the two¡¯s studies. He bade them goodbye and left.

    ¡­

    Zu An returned to the small courtyard at the top of the mountain. The young women there were y-fighting happily, making him sigh. Regardless of how much proper etiquette and noble upbringing they had experienced, and how many harsh situations they¡¯d been forced to endure, they were still teenage girls in the end. They still carried some of their innocence. He had to admit that ying with pretty youngdies, no matter how one looked at it, was a delightful thing.

    ¡°Youzhao, you and little sister Qinghe should study the cultivation method diligently outside. Huanzhao, follow me inside,¡± Zu An said, doing his best to put on a stern expression. These youngdies were really a bit too much. They hadn¡¯t even started reading such a precious skill manual yet!

    Murong Qinghe felt a bit guilty. She quickly pretended to read the manual in her hands. Chu Youzhao was a bit unhappy and asked, ¡°Brother-inw, why does she get to follow you inside, but we have to cultivate outside?¡±

    ¡°Heh, you still don¡¯t get it? That¡¯s because brother-inw likes me more!¡± Chu Huanzhao replied, hooking her arm around Zu An''s and giving her sister a taunting look.

    Chu Youzhao gritted her teeth in anger.

    Thisss is so shameless!

    Even so, she was pretending to be a man right now, so how could she run over and strive for Zu An¡¯s favor? She could only sulk.

    ¡°Stop causing trouble. The two of us have proper matters to discuss inside,¡± Zu An said, his expression darkening as he dragged Chu Huanzhao into the room.

    When she saw Chu Youzhao sulk, Murong Qinghe found it quite amusing. She said, ¡°Big brother Chu, there''s no need for you to feel too bad. This might not be a bad thing.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a good thing?¡± Chu Youzhao replied. She thought, Even little sister Qinghe is taunting me now.

    ¡°Of course it¡¯s a good thing! Big brother Zu is so formidable, and he''s the court¡¯s regent. Who knows how many of the capital¡¯s well-bred youngdies wish to marry him? Their n¡¯s seniors want that even more than they do. Your older sister married him in the past, but they''re divorced now. If your second sister can be his lover, that will be a great blessing for the Chu n,¡± Murong Qinghe exined.

    Chu Youzhao was speechless. She naturally knew about such a thing.

    Even so, why can¡¯t I be the one to do it? Why does it have to be second sister?

    Of course, these were only things she could think about. She knew she presented as the Chu n¡¯s young master and that there was no way she could return to living as a woman. However, that only made her even angrier. She replied, ¡°Little sister Qinghe said that so many noble daughters want to marry him. Does that include you too?¡±

    Murong Qinghe didn¡¯t get upset and instead looked at her with a big smile, saying, ¡°If I hadn¡¯t met big brother Chu first, I wouldn¡¯t have minded bing one of them.¡±

    When she saw that deep smile, Chu Youzhao couldn''t bring herself to get angry. Instead, she replied in annoyance, ¡°Who could say for sure? Your wish might juste true in the future.¡±

    Murong Qinghe was stunned, asking, ¡°What did you say, big brother Chu?¡±

    ¡°Nothing,¡± Chu Youzhao said, although she was too embarrassed to exin herself.

    As long as little sister Qinghe also likes big brother Zu, that will make everything much easier¡­

    Chu Huanzhao suddenly shouted from inside the room, ¡°Brother-inw, please be gentler, it hurts!¡±

    Chu Youzhao and Murong Qinghe immediately widened their eyes. What were the two of them doing?

    Big brother Zu looks refined and gentle, but I didn¡¯t expect him to be so rough¡­

    Murong Qinghe¡¯s face waspletely red as she thought of that.

    ¡°Why did brother-inw only do that to her? It clearly should have been me!¡± Chu Youzhao thought, but she identally said it out loud. In the end, out of annoyance, she grabbed Murong Qinghe and tried to leave, saying, ¡°Let¡¯s go; I don¡¯t want to listen to these disgusting sounds.¡±

    ¡°Huh? Big brother Chu, why are you so angry?¡±

    ¡°Hmph, she¡¯s not your big sister.¡±

    ¡°If she really were my big sister, how great would that be? My father could just die from happiness.¡±

    Chu Youzhao was speechless.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, inside, Zu An¡¯s expression darkened. He stared at the youngdy in front of him and asked, ¡°Can you please not scream like that?¡±

    Chu Huanzhao looked at him with tearful eyes, saying, ¡°Brother-inw, but it hurts a lot¡­ I can¡¯t take it.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    Since he wouldn''t be able to gather the ingredients for the Marrow Cleansing Pills in the immediate future, he could only help this brat raise her aptitude a bit through other means for the time being. Cultivation aptitude did involve one''s powers ofprehension, but it also depended on the quality of one''s body. Some people¡¯s meridians were thin like hairs, while others were like water pipes. The aptitude of thetter naturally far surpassed the former. The Marrow Cleansing Pill could improve both, but, Zu An could only temporarily improve the body¡¯s conditions first. Thus, he had decided to use his own ki to help open up her meridians. After the meridians were widened, Huanzhao¡¯s cultivation would immediately be much faster.

    It sounded easy, but in reality, the process was quite difficult. After all, meridians were the body¡¯s weakest part. It was even more difficult for those meridians that were as thin as hairs to endure external force. Firstly, the process needed someone whose cultivation was extremely high and didn''t mind exhausting a lot of their own ki to help another widen their meridians. Even then, as long as that person was even slightly careless, they could explode the patient¡¯s meridians and kill them.

    That was why in the real world, very few did such a thing. The risk versus reward was just too unequal. Usually, only n elders would improve the bodies of their ns¡¯ most outstanding disciples, thus bringing them up another level. However, as for disciples with more ordinary aptitudes, no one had ever tried to use such a process on them. It was way too easy for the user of the technique to damage their own cultivation, frequently losing a decade of painstakingly gained cultivation from an ident. In addition, it was easy for other problems to ur, such as the meridians being too fragile and breaking. The difficulty of such a thing was way too high, so rather than wasting all of that effort, it made more sense to nurture those with better aptitudes.

    Even so, Zu An didn¡¯t have such problems. He didn¡¯t have any duty to a n; he always did things as he pleased. He felt that it was worth it to help Huanzhao, so he naturally didn¡¯t mind using a bit of ki to give her a helping hand. Furthermore, the Heaven Devouring Sutra he cultivated was quite unique. He had absorbed quite a bit of ki from the great battle to begin with, so it was the perfect opportunity to use some to help nurture Huanzhao. On top of all that, his current cultivation granted him very precise control over ki, so the degree of danger was decreased substantially.

    ¡°Sit properly and don¡¯t move around. I¡¯m trying to widen your meridians right now. Big problems can easily ur if there are any idents at all,¡± Zu An warned.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. If brother-inw ends up crippling me, I can just rely on you for the rest of my life,¡± Chu Huanzhao said with a giggle.

    Zu An was speechless. He really didn¡¯t know whether to praise this girl as being open-minded or ignorant.

    His fingers continuously tapped her body. He had to admit that this youngdy¡¯s body was quite dainty and flexible, apletely different sensation from the fullness of Liu Ning. He was scared of breaking her from using too much strength.

    Zu An suddenly found it a bitughable. His Shining Finger skill that was originally designed for ughter had now been developed to this extent¡­ The original creator of the skill would just die from anger, right?

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, two people were walking side by side up the mountain. One of them was dressed in ck silk stockings and had a cold expression; she was, of course, Jiang Luofu. There was a middle-aged man next to her with a long, thin mustache. His entire appearance looked a bit wretched.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you toe back,¡± Jiang Luofu said coldly.

    The middle-aged man next to her said with a sigh, ¡°Teacher has passed, so how can I note back and take a look?¡±

    ¡°Teacher died in the secret dungeon. We cannot even pay our respects to his remains,¡± Jiang Luofu said, looking aggrieved.

    The middle-aged man remained silent for a moment, saying, ¡°I¡¯ll try and talk to the new libationer. He witnessed teacher¡¯s death. Right, who is that person? Why haven¡¯t you told me all this time?¡±

    ¡°He''s actually an old acquaintance of yours. Second brother, or should I call you brother-inw?¡± Jiang Luofu replied with a conflicted expression, as if she was thinking about her big sister.

    The middle-aged man was naturally Ji Dengtu, who was the academy¡¯s second disciple.

    ¡°An old acquaintance?¡± Ji Dengtu asked, briefly puzzled. Even so, Jiang Luofu didn¡¯t tell him, so he could only wait patiently in annoyance.

    As they chatted, they inadvertently arrived at the mountaintop. Jiang Luofu looked at the small hut in front of her, saying, ¡°We¡¯ve arrived. The new libationer is inside.¡±

    Ji Dengtu was about to say something when a shy voice suddenly cried out, ¡°Brother-inw, be more gentle. It hurts!¡±

    Jiang Luofu and Ji Dengtu were speechless.

    <strong></strong>

 Chapter 1945: Reunited with Xiaoxi

    Chapter 1945: Reunited with Xiaoxi

    Meanwhile, Zu An was helping Huanzhao expand her meridians. It was fine at first, but eventually, he also began to sweat. It wasn¡¯t that he was tired, but rather that the process was something that seriously tested his willpower.

    He finally understood why things like acupuncture were secrets that fathers passed onto sons and mothers passed onto daughters. Even between master and disciple, such skills could only be passed between the same sex, as physical contact was unavoidable. It was easy to develop untoward feelings in that context.

    However, Chu Huanzhao was the kind of youngdy who didn¡¯t have so many misgivings. She continued to gasp for breath while moaning. The charming sounds she made could really drive anyone mad. All of her clothes were also drenched in sweat, bing almost transparent. Her body started feeling like soft mud; it was so heavy that she couldn''t help but lean against him. It wasn¡¯t because she had any bad thoughts, but rather that expanding the meridians really did hurt quite a bit. After tossing and turning continuously, she waspletely exhausted, both physically and mentally. Between that and her good impression of her brother-inw, she wasn''t on guard at all.

    Still, that just made things hard for Zu An. Huanzhao didn¡¯t understand the ways of the world and didn¡¯t guard against men, but Zu An was a total carnivore! There were just too many bad thoughts filling his mind. Even so, he was much different from before. His will was incredibly firm and he quickly snapped out of his daze. He took out a set of clothes and draped them over her body.

    ¡°You should return to the side room and get some rest. Don¡¯t catch a cold. Also, once you recover a bit, use the method I just taught you to circte ki through your meridians. That way, your meridians won¡¯t shrink up again,¡± Zu An reminded her. He made sure to leave a bit of ki inside her body to give her a lending hand. With his current cultivation, doing that much wasn¡¯t too difficult.

    No matter how stupid Chu Huanzhao was, she still understood how great of an opportunity she''d received today. If it were anyone else, who would have helped her expand her meridians so patiently? Still, she couldn''t help but pout yfully, saying, ¡°Brother-inw, I want to rest right here. I don¡¯t want to move¡­¡±

    Zu An said impatiently, ¡°I still have to help the others expand their meridians.¡±

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯m going then,¡± Chu Huanzhao said, sticking out her tongue. After going through it herself, she knew how dangerous the process was. She didn¡¯t want to stay here and distract him. However, when she arrived at the door, she suddenly turned around and smiled charmingly at Zu An, asking, ¡°Brother-inw, why do you hide your sword in your pants? It was really getting in the way before. You should change positions, or else it might end up poking them too, hehe~¡±

    Then, she left while giggling. Her short skirt fluttered in the wind, exposing her slender and straight legs. She was full of youthfulness, giving off an entirely different kind of beautypared to Jiang Luofu¡¯s mature, big sister-like sexiness.

    Zu An was stunned.

    Was I being teased by that brat? They all say she doesn¡¯t know anything, but I think she actually knows quite a bit!

    Chu Huanzhao had a pained expression when she left. She no longer skipped around; instead, she instead walked while supporting herself against a wall, as if she had just endured tremendous pain.

    Chu Youzhao and Murong Qinghe both widened their eyes when they saw that. They had looks of disbelief.

    ¡°Are you¡­ alright?¡± Chu Youzhao couldn''t help but ask. They were sisters, after all. Even though they always fought normally, she still felt a bit of righteous indignation when she saw her sister having been ravaged like this.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. Brother-inw told me to send you inside. He has something to tell you,¡± Chu Huanzhao said with a grin.

    Heh, little fe, let¡¯s see how you end up!

    ¡°Huh? He¡¯s calling me over too?¡± Chu Youzhao eximed; her face immediately becamepletely red.

    Don¡¯t tell me that second sister wasn¡¯t enough for brother-inw, and he even wants me to¡­

    Even though I don¡¯t really mind, this just feels a bit strange¡­

    ¡°Big brother Chu, you should hurry and go inside. Big brother Zu might have something important to tell you,¡± Murong Qinghe said, not panicking. In her eyes, big brother Chu was still a man in the end, even if he was a bit more handsome.

    Chu Youzhao gritted her teeth. In the end, she steeled her resolve and entered the room with a courageous expression.

    Murong Qinghe was about to ask Chu Huanzhao what had happened, but Huanzhao was so exhausted that she returned to her room to rest after waving her hand. Murong Qinghe was left all alone outside.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Chu Youzhao had just entered the room. She stood by the door and didn¡¯t dare to go closer. She asked hesitantly, ¡°What does brother-inw need me for?¡±

    ¡°Close the door first," Zu An replied.

    ¡°Huh? Oh¡­¡± Chu Youzhao said as she closed the door. She could hear her heart pounding.

    Zu An seemed to have sensed her nervousness, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Even though it might hurt a bit at first, you¡¯ll slowly get used to it.¡±

    Chu Youzhao was stunned.

    Brother-inw wants me after all! Second sister is so useless, she wasn¡¯t even able to satisfy him¡­

    ¡°Brother-inw, this¡­ isn¡¯t too appropriate, is it?¡± Chu Youzhao stuttered.

    Little sister Qinghe is still outside, and he and second sister just¡­

    ¡°What''s inappropriate about this? Hurry and take off your clothes,¡± Zu An said in annoyance. Murong Qinghe was still waiting outside, but he still had to finish dealing with Youzhao first.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Chu Youzhao eximed, her face turningpletely red. However, her hands reflexively began to undo her buttons. By the time she snapped out of her daze, she was even starting to look down on herself.

    Just what in the world am I doing right now?!

    However, after thinking about it, she still continued removing her clothes.

    Meanwhile, Zu An was wondering if he had to modify the cultivation manuals he had given them a bit. However, when he raised his head, he was startled. He said, ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to take off that much, just remove your outer garments! It¡¯s mainly for dissipating heat when transferring kiter.¡±

    Otherwise, Chu Youzhao''s clothes could end up transparent from sweat just like her sister''s.

    ¡°Transfering ki?¡± Chu Youzhao repeated, stunned. She suddenly wondered if she had misunderstood something.

    ¡°Did Huanzhao not tell you anything?¡± Zu An replied in surprise. ¡°I¡¯m going to help you guys expand your meridians. It might hurt a bit and you might feel a bit hot¡­¡±

    When she heard his exnation, Chu Youzhao now knew that she had definitely misunderstood. Her cheeks turned bright red.

    Ahh!!! I¡¯m so mad! Huanzhao tricked me to see me make a fool of myself!

    Then, Zu An started the same process he had done previously, helping her expand her meridians.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Murong Qinghe read the cultivation manual Zu An gave her. Only when she was with big brother Chu did she seem like a hopeless romantic. Normally, she was a studious person, or else she wouldn¡¯t have made a name for herself in the army at such a young age.

    Suddenly, she heard big brother Chu¡¯s voice from inside, saying, ¡°Brother-inw, go softer. It hurts!¡±

    Her eyes widened.

    What the hell is going on?

    She had still been able to understand what was going on when Chu Huanzhao was shouting simr things earlier, but why was her big brother Chu also shouting like that?

    Does big brother Zu like men? Big brother Chu is quite handsome, so it¡¯s no wonder that he likes him¡­

    Wait, that¡¯s not the most important part! The most important thing is that big brother Chu is being bullied right now!

    She reflexively took out her spear to save him. She was worried about her sweetheart, but also worried that big brother Zu¡¯s cultivation was too high, and that she wouldn''t be his match.

    Jiang Luofu and Ji Dengtu had just arrived. They were also flustered when they heard the noise.

    Ji Dengtu raised his head and looked around.

    There''s no mistake; this is the libationer¡¯s room, the unparalleled academy¡¯s most sacred ce.

    Why does it now seem like a brothel?

    ¡°Did wee at a bad time? This new libationer seems to be quite good at ying around," Ji Dengtu remarked.

    When she saw that strange smile on his face, Jiang Luofu shot him a re and retorted, ¡°Do you think that everyone is as hopeless as you? There''s definitely a misunderstanding here.¡± As such, she cleared her throat and called out, ¡°Libationer, second brother has returned.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± a voice replied, sounding shocked and happy. The door quickly opened.

    Zu An had just heard from Shen Xuzi that the second brother could very well be the only one who knew about Hollow Cicada Leaves and other such things. However, their second brother was in Brightmoon City, after all. He had never expected that person to havee all the way here!

    ¡°It¡¯s you?¡± Ji Dengtu eximed in surprised.

    He had been trying to find out who the new libationer was from Jiang Luofu, but she had never told him, only saying that it was someone he knew. That had only made him more annoyed, though. He''d begun to wonder just who he knew, but then he figured that the most likely option was likely great senior brother. How could he have expected to see that brat from Brightmoon City? When he thought about how this brat had taken advantage of his daughter, he even felt a bit angry.

    The two stared at each other, but Murong Qinghe wasn''t concerned with that. She quickly looked into the room and asked, ¡°What about big brother Chu?¡±

    She just happened to see Chu Youzhao hurriedly putting on her clothes, with her head lowered and a reddened face. Now, the three people outside all had extremely strange looks.

    ¡°You¡­¡± Even Jiang Luofu looked at Zu An with disbelief.

    ¡°Kid, how did you end up liking men?¡± Ji Dengtu asked, although he wasn¡¯t convinced at all. After all, the two of them had shared pornographic novels before, so he knew this fellow¡¯s tastes best.

    ¡°It¡¯s not what you guys are thinking!¡± Zu An replied. He knew that they had misunderstood when he saw their expressions. He quickly exined to them what he was doing.

    The others sighed in relief when they heard the truth. Jiang Luofu thought, I didn¡¯t misjudge this guy after all.

    Murong Qinghe was happy that big brother Chu hadn''t been vited. However, she was even more ashamed for misunderstanding big brother Zu.

    Ji Dengtu eximed in shock, ¡°Expanding others'' meridians through external means? Your cultivation actually became that high?!¡± He was the academy¡¯s doctor, so he naturally knew just how hard that was. Not even he, with his medicinal skill, could aplish that.

    When she saw the shock on his face, Jiang Luofu felt strangely happy. She remarked, ¡°Do you still not know? He unleashed a great ughter in the capital two days ago, killing countless masters and grandmasters. He even killed an earth immortal instantly.¡±

    Ji Dengtu was stunned. He had always been a bit muddle-headed for thest few years, not acting too concerned with matters of the outside world at all. Apart from learning of his teacher¡¯s death and deciding toe back for a trip, he had just spent the entire trip drinking, and hadn''t bothered trying to pick up any current events at all. However, he knew that with his sister-inw¡¯s personality, she wasn¡¯t the sort to joke around. She wouldn¡¯t even speak a lie.

    The shock of hearing ¡®killed an earth immortal instantly¡¯ was just too great. He couldn''t help but walk a few circles around Zu An, asking, ¡°Kid, you weren¡¯t possessed by someone, were you?¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An replied in annoyance, ¡°Who do you think could even do that if they possessed me?¡±

    ¡°It might have been that dog emperor; who knows?¡± Ji Dengtu harrumphed. ¡°It¡¯s easy enough to find out. What''s the sequel to Teacher Bai¡¯s story?¡±

    Jiang Luofu was stunned, repeating, ¡°Teacher Bai?¡±

    Was there a teacher surnamed Bai in the academy?

    Zu An retorted in annoyance, ¡°You¡¯re only saying that because you want the sequel, right?¡±

    Now that they were talking about the things they used to chat about, both of them immediately felt much closer.

    ¡°Heheh, I am a bit impatient for it,¡± Ji Dengtu said, then voiced his surprise. ¡°Hm? Wait a moment. You''re now the headmaster, so the one who fits the description of Teacher Bai in this academy should be¡­¡±

    Jiang Luofu frowned, asking, ¡°What are you looking at me for?¡± Even though she didn¡¯t know what he was saying, she knew from his expression that it wasn¡¯t anything good.

    Zu An almost choked. He said, ¡°Stop being delusional; that¡¯s just fiction. It has nothing to do with real life.¡± He was worried about embarrassing Jiang Luofu if she found out, so he quickly changed the topic, asking, ¡°Right, why don¡¯t I see Xiaoxi?¡±

    He had just been reminiscing about that youngdy. He hadn¡¯t expected to see her father so soon. After all, Ji Dengtu really adored his precious daughter. There was no way he would leave her behind in Brightmoon City by herself.

    ¡°She went to collect some medicine,¡± Ji Dengtu said. He suddenly grew vignt, as if he were looking at a pig who was going to swallow his pearl. He said, ¡°You damn brat, keep some distance from my Xiaoxi! You''d better not set your eyes on her!¡±

    <strong></strong>

 Chapter 1946: Fugitive

    Chapter 1946: Fugitive

    Zu An was speechless. He asked, ¡°Am I really that despicable in your eyes?¡±

    ¡°You are!¡± Ji Dengtu replied, nodding without any hesitation. Other people wouldn''t necessarily know, but how could he not understand this brat?

    The shit this kid writes makes even a war-hardened veteran like me turn red in the face and be stirred inside. How could I let my pure daughter ever get close to someone like him?

    It was to the extent that he even felt his daughter wouldn¡¯t be as clean anymore if this brat looked at her one more time.

    Jiang Luofu and Murong Qinghe couldn''t help butugh. Only someone as indifferent to the rest of the world as Ji Dengtu could say something like that to Zu An now.

    Zu An was also a bit dejected. He said, ¡°Xiaoxi and I were good friends to begin with, and she even helped me when I was in the direst of straits in Brightmoon City. I never even had a chance to repay her.¡±

    ¡°Stop, stop, stop!¡± Ji Dengtu yelled angrily as he remembered that incident. When he thought about how this brat had actually kissed Xiaoxi, steam practically started pouring out of his head. He continued, ¡°I''ve always been someone who settles my debts, but this is an exception. I¡¯ll just take the loss, you don¡¯t need to repay anything!¡±

    Are you kidding me? If a man and a woman save each other, and then thank each other, won¡¯t they end up in the same bed eventually? This has always been the pattern for thousands of years! I¡¯m not going to let him approach Xiaoxi!

    When he saw Ji Dengtu look at him as if he were a thief, Zu An felt a bit helpless as well. However, he didn¡¯t continue to taunt Ji Dengtu about that. Instead, he asked, ¡°Right, I heard from Shen Xuzi that no one knows about this world¡¯s medicinal ingredients better than you. There were some ingredients he didn¡¯t know about, so I can only ask you.¡±

    Ji Dengtu immediately felt better when he heard Zu An say that. He put his hands on his waist and leaned back so far that his nose was pointing at the sky, replying, ¡°But of course! It¡¯s not that I¡¯m trying to unt myself, but as long as it''s about the medicines of the world, no one knows more than me!¡±

    When she saw him briefly recover his former confidence and behavior, Jiang Luofu also sighed inwardly in relief.

    This is more like the stunning genius second brother used to be like. What happened with big sister really ended up affecting him too much.

    ¡°Have you heard of Hollow Cicada Leaves?¡± Zu An asked to test the waters. If not even Ji Dengtu knew about that ingredient, he really wouldn¡¯t know where to look. He would probably have to go to the Hub of Freedom to try his luck then.

    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I know of them? The leaves are as thin as cicada wings, and if you look at them from a distance, they resemble cicadas resting on a tree branch,¡± Ji Dengtu said proudly. ¡°They might only exist in a certain valley on the Great Snowy Mountain, which is likely why others don''t know of it.¡±

    ¡°Great Snowy Mountain?¡± Zu An repeated, stunned. He thought to himself, No wonder not even Shen Xuzi knew about it.

    After all, Great Snowy Mountain was a forbidden region. In the past, he and Yan Xuehen had almost lost their lives there. When he recalled the experience of being chased by the terrifying Snow Lady, Zu An still felt some lingering fear even now.

    At least with his current cultivation, he didn¡¯t have to fear the Snow Lady anymore; even so, he didn¡¯t know whether there were still other terrifying beings within the region. In the past, even someone as strong as Zhao Han had felt apprehension toward the Great Snowy Mountain and didn¡¯t dare to venture too deeply inside. Still, even if it was dangerous, perhaps he would have to make a trip for the Marrow Cleansing Pill.

    However, the capital¡¯s current situation was unstable. It had only calmed down for the time being because of his decisive and violent actions. if he left, it was hard to say whether the capital would remain calm or descend into chaos again.

    When he saw Zu An¡¯s troubled expression, Ji Dengtu roared withughter. He asked, ¡°You¡¯re scared now after hearing about the Great Snowy Mountain, right? But it doesn''t matter. I just happen to have some Hollow Cicada Leaves on me. I happened to get my hands on some when I entered the Great Snowy Mountain for some ingredients in the past. Even though that ce is a forbidden region for others, for me, it''s no different from returning home.¡±

    He spoke proudly while waiting for Zu An¡¯s expression of shock and admiration. And yet, Zu An waspletely unfazed, as if he had just heard somethingpletely ordinary.

    Jiang Luofu sneered. ¡°Oh? Are you talking about the time when you ended up half-dead and had to wait for teacher to save you? Then, you started crying about how you would never go back to the Great Snowy Mountain again?¡±

    Ji Dengtu¡¯s face heated up. He really couldn''t handle the humiliation. He said, ¡°Eventually, I¡­ I went one more time.¡± Even so, his tone wasn¡¯t so certain anymore.

    Zu An chuckled and helped him out of the situation by saying, ¡°Then you really are quite formidable. Could you pass those Hollow Cicada Leaves to me? I''ll pay you back.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not that I can¡¯t give them to you; it''s just that the Hollow Cicada Leaves are extremely precious. It¡¯ll depend on what you have to exchange for them.¡± Ji Dengtu harrumphed.

    Hmph, this brat isn¡¯t sincere at all when he¡¯s praising me. How hateful.

    ¡°What are you looking for?¡± Zu An asked, feeling a sense of unease.

    ¡°You know,¡± Ji Dengtu said with a wink. His eager expression paired with his beard made him look a bit like a boorish idiot.

    Zu An was speechless.

    Back in Brightmoon City, this guy had really ripped people off when he treated them. Zu An had thought that he would demand a crazy amount, but he actually wanted something like that! Even though it was a bit shameful for him to write those things with his current status, it was still much, much easier than other forms of payment.

    ¡°Ahem, I¡¯ll give it to youter,¡± Zu An said ambiguously.

    ¡°I want it now,¡± Ji Dengtu said, panicking. This kid had really screwed him over in the past by leaving him at a cliffhanger. He had really wanted to hack Zu An up with a knife!

    Helpless to do anything else, Zu An could only say, ¡°Then wait for a bit first.¡± After saying that, he returned into the room and closed all of the doors and windows.

    Jiang Luofu looked at Ji Dengtu with confusion, asking, ¡°What exactly are the things you two are talking about?¡±

    Even Murong Qinghe and Chu Youzhao looked at him with wide eyes. They thought, Just what kind of treasure could be exchanged for such precious Hollow Cicada Leaves?

    Perhaps he would be able to abandon all restraint in front of others, but Ji Dengtu didn¡¯t dare to act impudent in front of his sister-inw. He said ambiguously, ¡°It¡¯s nothing; just something between men. Women shouldn¡¯t ask about it.¡±

    A whileter, the door opened again. Zu An came out from inside and handed Ji Dengtu a booklet.

    Ji Dengtu was stunned, asking, ¡°You finished writing that quickly?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face heated up. He replied, ¡°What do you mean, I wrote it? I already told you that it was something I ended up stumbling upon from a storyteller in the past. I just went in to find the copy.¡±

    He had actually finished writing the rest while back in Brightmoon City. Back then, things were much harder, so he''d wanted to maximize every opportunity for a transaction. The booklet was prepared for just such an asion, but he hadn¡¯t expected to end up not using it for so long.

    Ji Dengtu turned to one side to block Jiang Luofu¡¯s view. He quickly flipped through the booklet. When he saw that the contents were real, he immediately became really happy, saying, ¡°Not bad, not bad. Kid, you have some prospects!¡±

    Then, he tossed over a small satchel. Zu An opened it up and saw several well-stored Hollow Cicada Leaves inside. There were about a dozen of them, and each one was translucent like a cicada wing. No wonder they had that name!

    ¡°Do you have any more?¡± he asked, thinking to himself that he could end up needing more than just one or two sets of the Marrow Cleansing Pills, and thus have to get more of them.

    ¡°Do you think I grow this stuff in my backyard? Go and look for them yourself on the Great Snowy Mountain if you want more,¡± Ji Dengtu said impatiently. He had only just managed to collect that amount back then, and he had almost lost his life for them.

    Zu An figured that made sense too. Having a dozen or so was already an unexpected blessing.

    Suddenly, Ji Dengtu moved closer. He raised his brows and said, ¡°I have quite a few precious ingredients on me. Do you have any other, simr texts?¡±

    ¡°What ingredients do you have?¡±

    ¡°What ingredients do you need?¡±

    ¡°Do you have Greenfire Brains?¡±

    ¡°Hm? I didn¡¯t expect you to know about those things. They''re extremely rare and precious, but they can be used in medicine. I do happen to have some on me too.¡±

    ¡°Then what about a Baize horn, or a Sphinx''s inner core?¡±

    ¡°Kid, are you kidding me right now? How could I have something from such a legendary beast? As for that Sphinx or whatever, I¡¯ve never even heard of it.¡±

    Then, Zu An asked about a few more things, including the ingredients he needed for Mi Li to reconstruct her body.

    Ji Dengtu finally couldn''t take it anymore and said, ¡°Alright, alright, I don¡¯t have any of the other stuff. I only have the Greenfire Brains. Do you want them or not?¡±

    He wondered just where this brat had heard about such treasures. Many of them he had only heard about in passing from some nearly-lost ancient records.

    ¡°Alright, I guess it¡¯s fine.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean, it¡¯s fine? You haven¡¯t given me any other books.¡±

    ¡°I have one rted to a brothel. I don¡¯t know whether you''d be interested or not.¡±

    ¡°Tell me in more detail!¡±

    When they saw the two men enter the small room with their arms around each other, the others looked at each other in dismay. Jiang Luofu, in particr, was stunned.

    When did they be so close? It¡¯s almost as if they¡¯re great age gap friends.

    Soon after, Ji Dengtu came out looking satisfied. At the same time, he put a small booklet into his inner pocket. He suddenly found this brat more pleasing to the eye. Zu An was handsome and good at talking, and he had such interesting stories...

    Hmph, as long as he doesn¡¯te into contact with our Xiaoxi, we can be really good friends.

    Then, Jiang Luofu took Ji Dengtu to meet the other disciples. After all, it had been too long since they met, so it was a rare experience that was worth having a reunion.

    Ji Dengtu only wanted to return to his little dark room and slowly enjoy the masterpieces he had received, but he didn¡¯t dare to disobey his sister-inw. He could only hold back his impatient mood. He even began to wonder whether to remind her to keep her distance from Zu An. A person who could write books that even made someone like him unable to hold back, with all sorts of different themes and writing styles... How could a woman possibly resist them?

    However, he quickly changed his mind. Jiang Luofu had always been cool and indifferent, almost as if she weren¡¯t interested in men. How could she be fooled by a brat like this? Besides, even if Zu An managed to trick her, wasn¡¯t that a good thing? Then, there would be someone to keep that guy in check so he wouldn''t be able to mess with Xiaoxi anymore.

    Hmm¡­ Should I actually try to set them up then?

    ¡°What are you thinking about, for you to have that wretched smile on your face?¡± Jiang Luofu asked with a smile. She thought to herself, This brother-inw of mine will probably never be able to get his past temperament back. Just how did my big sister end up falling for him?n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. By the way, what do you think about that brat Zu An?¡± Ji Dengtu asked.

    ¡°He''s pretty good. He has good looks and his personality is good too. He treats his friends with loyalty, and his cultivation is ridiculously high. Also, stop calling him that; you have to call him the libationer now," Jiang Luofu replied.

    Ji Dengtu was speechless. He had a strange expression when he saw how she grinned as she spoke about him.

    Uh¡­ I guess I don¡¯t have to worry too much about that.

    Why do I feel a bit ufortable right now, then? Could it be because kid¡¯s books are written so colorfully, but a reader like me can only use my hand as a wife?

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, after that interruption, Zu An couldn''t really continue helping the youngdies expand their meridians. Huanzhao and Youzhao were one thing, since they were all one family, but Murong Qinghe was different. If he continuously prodded her body, that would be a bit inappropriate. He hadn''t thought about that before, but after the misunderstanding with Huanzhao and Youzhao, he also realized that it wasn¡¯t okay. At least he had started with Youzhao, so she¡¯d be able to exin things to Murong Qinghe, who coulde back after she made up her mind.

    ¡­

    Over the next few days, the silver token envoy, Pang Tang, collected a batch of Sky Crane Root, Red Star Jade, and Purple Firmament Flower. After all, that was his first mission from the new boss, so he had worked overtime to handle things and leave a good impression.

    Zu An took the ingredients back with him to the academy¡¯s rear mountain and began to make some Ki Condensation Pills to help Daji and Mo Xi raise their cultivations. In that time, the capital remained rtively calm. Naturally, after what he''d done, no one really wanted to be the unfortunate soul that provoked him.

    However, one thing did happen that wasn¡¯t small, but it wasn''t too big either. Madam Dai, Meng Chan, actually disappeared from the manor she was being kept under house arrest in. ording to the Embroidered Envoy¡¯s investigations, it seemed she had taken the initiative to run; they were looking into it to figure out who exactly had been bribed.

    Zu An didn¡¯t mind it because the difference between the two of them was too great. He didn¡¯t care about the thought of her taking revenge at all.

    ¡­

    That evening, he was refining pills when he suddenly opened his eyes. He noticed that someone had barged in at the foot of the mountain, wounding several disciples. Furthermore, three patrols were trying to track that person down. When his divine sense swept out, he was stunned. He muttered, ¡°Why is it her?¡±

    <strong></strong>

 Chapter 1947: Bargaining Chip

    Chapter 1947: Bargaining Chip

    The assassin who had just broken through the rear mountain¡¯s gates had a fair and graceful body. She was clearly a woman. On top of that, her cultivation wasn¡¯t bad, and she always made use of her speed or wits to shake off her pursuers. However, there were formations everywhere across the rear mountain, so she was still captured in the end.

    The reason for Zu An¡¯s shock was that the woman was actually Madam Dai, Meng Chan! He had just received news that she broke out of prison a few days prior. Why hadn¡¯t she used that chance to get away from the capital, instead running all the way here? Wasn¡¯t she just walking directly toward her demise?n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, at the foot of the mountain, Meng Chan was in terrible condition. Her aptitude had always been excellent, the best among her peers. That was why she had been able to break into the rear mountain. Unfortunately, the defenses inside were too strict, with formations everywhere that she had identally set off. Even though she was able to rely on her n treasures to avoid being trapped by those formations, themotion created was like a beacon that guided the guards to her.

    On several asions, she had managed to break out of their encirclement with great difficulty, only to be surrounded yet again. When she saw the guards surrounding her from all directions, Meng Chan finally sank into despair. She had already done everything she could, and had nothing left. When she thought of that, she threw her own weapon to the ground, saying, ¡°I came to meet your libationer. Bring me to see him!¡±

    However, no one responded to her. After all, anyone who would barge into Royal Academy¡¯s rear mountain, a heavily restricted area, had to be an enemy. Of course, the guards were also a bit surprised. They hadn¡¯t expected the one who trespassed to be such a beautiful woman. Her outfit emphasized stealth, but also perfectly outlined her figure.

    When she saw the guards point their spears at her, Meng Chan was certain that as long as one of them acted on impulse, the others would immediately stab her. She didn¡¯t even dare to state her identity as King Dai¡¯s wife. She was already a fugitive now, after all. If others found out and arrested her, they would immediately send her back, resulting in even less chances of her seeing that person.

    ¡°Libationer, regent, I want to meet with you!¡± she helplessly shouted at the mountaintop. She knew that there was no way her voice would be able to reach across such a huge distance, but there was nothing else she could do.

    Can it be that I, Meng Chan, who has always unted myself as a beautiful and intelligent woman, am only destined to fall here?

    She fell into deep despair. However, after a while, she suddenly sensed that something was strange. She noticed that the guards had all disappeared, and standing in their ce was a tall and handsome man. She was a bit stunned; it was precisely this man who had descended upon her n manor like a demonic deity. Countless Meng n experts had perished at his hands. The Meng n had quickly gone from extreme joy at seeing his attack to absolute ruin.

    ¡°You wanted to meet with me?¡± Zu An asked in confusion. He really couldn''t understand what this woman wanted.

    Meng Chan took a deep breath to calm all theplicated emotions that were stirring within her, then said, ¡°That¡¯s right. I previously sent a maid to contact you, but you refused. I had no choice but to seek you out myself.¡± Under the moonlight, her body waspletely wrapped within her ck outfit, and only her blushing white face was exposed. It only made her look more beautiful, though.

    Zu An couldn''t help but feel that the whole situation was a bit absurd. In the end, this woman had only broken out of her imprisonment to meet him?

    ¡°I just felt that there wasn¡¯t much for the two of us to talk about,¡± Zu An said indifferently. ¡°Besides, now that you¡¯vee to me, it means you won¡¯t be able to escape any longer.¡±

    ¡°I never nned to escape again aftering here in the first ce,¡± Meng Chan said. Her chest, which had been rising and falling intensely, slowly calmed.

    ¡°Are you thinking of getting revenge? Your cultivation is at the peak among your peers, but it''s still too far from mine. I won¡¯t give you the chance to leave and n for future revenge either,¡± Zu An said, not wanting to release a tiger that coulde back to bite him. Previously, he hadn¡¯t bothered wasting any more effort on her. However, now that she had evene all the way here, he¡¯d have to have lost his mind if he let her go again. He had seen too many movies in the past where, because the viin felt as if the main character was too weak, they had let that person go. Later, however, the main character had grown up and killed them instead¡­.

    Pah pah pah! I¡¯m not the viin!

    Meng Chan shook her head and said, ¡°I didn¡¯te to get revenge, nor do I dare to have any thoughts of revenge. I only came to propose a deal with you.¡±

    Sigh, what do you mean, at the peak among my peers? Aren¡¯t you also the same age as me?

    ¡°A deal?¡± Zu An replied, his tone carrying a hint of mockery. ¡°I killed your father.¡± He refused to believe that Meng Chan would really sincerely carry out a deal when there was such a blood grudge between them. Besides, he didn¡¯t think she had anything he needed.

    ¡°The living will always be more important than the deceased,¡± Meng Chan said, her expression remaining extremely calm. She carefully observed Zu An¡¯s expression while talking. When she saw that he didn¡¯t believe her, she could only say, ¡°Regent, perhaps it might be because you grew up in Brightmoon City, but you do not understand the conduct and behavior of people here in the capital. People like us, as long as we are the rational sort, only care about future interests and not personal grudges. No grudge is worth mentioningpared to the future prospects of one''s n.¡±

    ¡°Even if that person was the one who killed your father?¡± Zu An asked coldly.

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Meng Chan replied confidently. ¡°Murder of one''s father, theft of one''s wife... For ordinary people, those might be absolutely irreconcble grudges, but for us, those things are not so important. Of course, that depends on the premise that there is enough to gain.¡±

    Zu An was a bit stunned. In the past, both Sang Qien and Zheng Dan had always put their n¡¯s interests above all. They had even gone as far as sacrificing their own happiness. That was the case for the women of the other great ns too. He snapped out of his daze long enoguh to reply, ¡°Enough to gain? I can guess your intentions foring here, and I can indeed provide you with enough benefits. But unfortunately, there''s no way you could have anything of interest to me.¡±

    This woman¡¯s objective was clearly based on the fact that, even though the Meng n and King Dai¡¯s families were greatly damaged, their roots still remained. As long as the court pardoned them, they would still have a chance of recovering after another hundred years. They would still have their ce in the capital too. However, if things continued ording to the empress¡¯ previous decree, their ns would truly be done for. The men would be conscripted, and the women would be servants. Some of the most influential ns would trulypletely vanish from the world.

    ¡°No, I definitely have something you would be interested in!¡± Meng Chan replied. Her eyes shone brilliantly; she was clearly extremely confident.

    Zu An frowned and said, ¡°Let¡¯s hear it.¡± He was also a bit curious now. This woman was intelligent, so she definitely understood the consequences of trying to swindle him. Just what was it that allowed her to still be so full of self-confidence even now?

    Meng Chan¡¯s red lips opened slightly. After some hesitation, she asked, ¡°This matter is of utmost importance, so could we talk about it in detail in the libationer¡¯s house?¡± When she saw him frown slightly, she couldn''t help but say with a helpless chuckle, ¡°The libationer¡¯s cultivation is too powerful, so you wouldn¡¯t think that a weak woman like me could actually injure you, right?¡±

    ¡°There''s no need to taunt me.¡± Zu An harrumphed. ¡°If I find out that you''re deceiving me, I believe you understand the price you''ll have to pay.¡±

    He turned around and walked up the mountain. Meng Chan was overjoyed and quickly followed behind. Even so, Zu An only took a slow step, and yet his body instantly appeared midway up the mountain. She was shocked and rmed; shocked at his unfathomable cultivation, but rmed because there was no way she could keep up. There were countless formations on the mountain, many of which she''d had a taste of herself earlier.

    While she was at a loss for what to do, a gentle force swept over her, and she felt as if she were being swept up toward the clouds. When she snapped out of her daze, she discovered that she was already outside the courtyard at the mountaintop. She sighed inwardly. She didn¡¯t even see how Zu An had done such a thing.

    He''s clearly so young and about the same age as myself, so just how did he cultivate to his current level?

    Zu An pushed open the door, and Meng Chan quickly followed. Zu An stood in front of the window with his back to her as he looked at the moon, remarking, ¡°The moon really is beautiful today¡­¡±

    He then added, ¡°You can speak now."

    When she saw how Zu An exposed his back to her without any reservations, Meng Chan didn¡¯t dare to have even the slightest thought of carrying out an assassination. She took a deep breath, then slowly said, ¡°In the past, Bi Qi was the one in charge of the former dynasty¡¯s imperial grandson.¡±

    Zu An frowned. He coldly asked, ¡°What does that have to do with me?¡±

    Meng Chan replied, ¡°While I was running and hiding over the past few days, I heard some rumors by the bridge. The regent seems to be the imperial grandson of the former dynasty.¡±

    Zu An was surprised. He had been busy with pill concoction and cultivation, not hearing about the spread of that information. Just who could be responsible for those rumors? He harrumphed. ¡°That¡¯s nothing more thanplete nonsense being spread in the markets. The Embroidered Envoy will find out the source. You aren¡¯t going to try to use such groundless information as a bargaining chip, are you?¡±

    Meng Chan paid close attention to his reaction the entire time. However, Zu An remained calm the entire time she was speaking, so she couldn''t see anything either. She said, ¡°Of course not. Please turn around and look at me, regent.¡±

    Zu An used his divine sense and noticed that she had reached into her inner pockets, as if she was preparing to take something out. He turned around curiously.

    However, Meng Chan actually undid her waistband. All of her clothes slid down her shoulders, exposing her spotlessly white, beautiful, and youthful body. Perhaps because of the night wind, or maybe because of her nervousness, her body trembled uncontrobly. Her breathing clearly quickened, and her fair white skin gradually turned faintly red.

    Zu An looked at her calmly and said, ¡°To be honest, I have heard quite a few rumors about you, and how you were an extremely intelligent woman. However, your actions have left me a bit disappointed today.¡±

    Meng Chan bit her lip nervously. It even started turning a bit pale from the pressure. She was indeed good in many schemes, and those even included honey traps. Even so, that was only when she was the one making the strategies. The ones who carried them out were usually women who had been specially trained in the n since they were little. This was the first time she had done such a thing herself, and sure enough, she''d messed up.

    I guess this makes sense. I was the respected Madam Dai, the Meng n¡¯s precious daughter. I always lived at the peak of authority, so what kind of man would ever need me to use a honey trap on them myself? Besides, how could I possibly know how to seduce a man?

    ¡°If this was your bargaining chip, you can get lost now,¡± Zu An said in annoyance. What was this woman treating him as? Could it be that she thought of him as the type who would immediately give up everything else when they saw a beautiful woman? Meng Chan was quite pretty, but he already had so many beauties at his side, and all of them were devastatingly beautiful. Why would he be swayed by her?

    ¡°No, this isn¡¯t my bargaining chip, but rather a gift. A gift as an offer of apology,¡± Meng Chan said. After her initial rm, she also gradually calmed down. She continued, ¡°Previously, King Dai and the Meng n offended you too much, so your respected self must be full of anger. Meanwhile, as King Dai¡¯s wife, as well as the daughter of the Meng n, I can take your anger in their ce.¡±

    ¡°That won''t be necessary,¡± Zu An said, looking at her with a grave and stern expression. ¡°if you still refuse to talk about your bargaining chip, you won¡¯t have a chance to any longer.¡±

    <strong></strong>

 Chapter 1948: Final Hidden Card

    Chapter 1948: Final Hidden Card

    When she saw the cold gaze in Zu An''s eyes, Meng Chan was a bit rmed. She didn¡¯t dare to beat around the bush any longer and said, ¡°I heard that you were looking for a Bai Ze horn.¡±

    Zu An was shocked. He immediately asked, ¡°Where did you hear that from?¡±

    Meng Chan replied, ¡°The regent doesn¡¯t need to concern yourself with where I heard about this information. What¡¯s important is that I can get you a Bai Ze horn.¡±

    Zu An said with a snort, ¡°Even so, right now, I feel that it''s more important for me to know how you came to know that I was looking for a Bai Ze horn.¡±

    At first, he had only mentioned it to the academy¡¯s people. Later, he''d asked the Embroidered Envoy, Nan Xun, and some of the Eastern Pce¡¯s officials to aid in the search. Regardless of which side he had requested the information from, the thought of a leak wasn''t a trifling matter.

    ¡°The regent is now being watched by prying eyes everywhere. Regardless of what you do, there will be countless people watching you. You ordered several people to help you look for those items. There are no walls that do not leak wind,¡± Meng Chan said with a self-pityingugh. ¡°King Dai Manor and the Meng n might have fallen, but we are still a n that has existed for a thousand years. There are some old friends who still remember the kindness we have shown them. They might not do other things for us, but this kind of small task is still possible.¡±

    Zu An sighed in relief. He had been worried that she''d deduced that he was Golden Token Eleven or the Chief Commander of the Embroidered Envoy, but it seemed he had been too worried for nothing. Either way, with his current identity as regent, he could even im that he was the one who had asked the Embroidered Envoy to look for a Bai Ze horn.

    ¡°Can you really get your hands on a Bai Ze horn? After all, most people haven¡¯t even heard of that kind of auspicious beast before," Zu An said skeptically. It wasn¡¯t his fault for being suspicious, though. After all, not even Shen Xuzi or Ji Dengtu knew where to find such a thing, so how could the daughter of a noble n get her hands on it?

    Meng Chan gave him a look and asked, ¡°Can I put on my clothes first? Being like this really is a bit embarrassing.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    So you understand the concept of embarrassment after all? Then what did you even strip for earlier?

    However, with the way things were, he couldn''t just continue the interrogation. He turned around and waved his hand.

    Meng Chan put on her clothes again with a reddened face. She tied her waistband again while saying with a sigh, ¡°There have been rumors flying all around that the regent was a lecherous pervert. And yet today, I have discovered that you are much more of a gentleman than I imagined.¡±

    ¡°There''s no need for you to tter me. I only need the Bai Ze horn right now. If you''re lying to me, the Meng n and King Dai will be even more miserable than they are right now,¡± Zu An said coldly.

    ¡°The regent really is unromantic,¡± Meng Chan said. She gave him a resentful look and continued, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve put on my clothes again.¡±

    With Zu An¡¯s divine sense, he naturally also knew that she had already gotten dressed again. He asked, ¡°Can you speak in more detail now?¡±

    Meng Chan voiced her agreement. ¡°The Meng n has existed for a long time. This is not meant as a boast, but rather a statement of fact.¡±

    Zu An nodded. He gestured for her to continue.

    Meng Chan continued, ¡°Many years ago, there was a genius in the Meng n who loved to explore all kinds of secret dungeons. One time, he returned with the corpse of a strange creature. At the time, no one in the Meng n knew what it was, but that genius said that it was called a Bai Ze, and that the n should store it well. He told people that it could be of great use in the future.

    ¡°Unfortunately, soon after, that genius died while exploring a certain secret dungeon, and no one knew what the Bai Ze could be used for. However, the Meng n still properly preserved its body.

    ¡°And yet, as time went on, its corpse still slowly decayed. In the end, only that horn remained.¡±

    Zu An interrupted her, saying, ¡°That doesn''t sound right. The Bai Ze is extremely mysterious. Not even its corpse should have decayed in a mere thousand years.¡±

    This world wasn¡¯t like his previous one. There were powerful creatures that, even if they died, carried traces of energy that would be enough to kill any intruders. At the very least, it meant their flesh was imperishable. Perhaps after thousands or tens of thousands of years, they could decay into bones, but judging from what she was saying, only a thousand years had passed at most. How could there only be a horn left?

    Meng Chan said with a sigh, ¡°Regent, for better or for worse, I am a direct descendant of the Meng n, and also Madam Dai. How could I not know that these kinds of auspicious beasts can remain intact for a long time, and make up such a poor lie as a result? This is what really happened. The Bai Ze¡¯s head corroded far faster than we expected, and it was already starting to rapidly decay not long after that genius ancestor brought it back. At the time, we wondered if it was due to the secret dungeon¡¯s influence.¡±

    Zu An frowned. What she said made some sense. The story, which had sounded like a ring lie, now seemed more likely to be the truth. When it came to the strange speed of that corrosion, perhaps it was because the Bai Ze left the secret dungeon. With the difference in environment, perhaps thews of this world couldn¡¯t tolerate it anymore.

    He thought for a bit, then said, ¡°Even so, ording to what I know, the Meng n¡¯s treasury has already been seized by the court. Are you trying to use something that doesn¡¯t belong to you any longer to make a deal with me?¡±

    Meng Chan shook her head and replied, ¡°A n like the Meng n that has existed for a thousand years knows not to keep all our eggs in the same basket. Many of our treasures are hidden in other ces.¡±

    Zu An said with a cold snort, ¡°Then ording to what you''re saying, the Meng n¡¯s wealth should be astronomical. If there are so many treasures, how could you just happen to know about this Bai Ze horn?¡± He just felt that it was all just too big of a coincidence. Furthermore, this woman was full of tricks and schemes, so he was worried that she could be up to something.

    ¡°We do not have as many treasures as others believe,¡± Meng Chan said with a sigh. ¡°Great ns like us do umte a lot of wealth, but our expenditure is also great. This is especially true due to the typical patterns great ns face, such as having more and more hedonistic children. These are old practices that do not tend to go away. Even though our Meng n did quite well in recent years and managed to reach a bnce in financial matters through our authority in the court, many other ancient ns have already hollowed their own wealth out.

    ¡°As for the Bai Ze horn, I also felt that it was a real coincidence. It might be a twist of fate,¡± Meng Chan said,ughing in self-mockery. ¡°When I was young, I loved to go to the treasury to y. At the time, I ended up liking that sparkling and pretty horn at first sight. That was why I asked grandfather to give it to me. So, even if the entire Meng n''s treasuries were searched, there is no way anyone else would obtain the Bai Ze horn.¡± A bit of self-confidence returned to her eyes as she said that.

    Zu An harrumphed. ¡°There''s no need for you to guard against me like this. If you really have it, I''m not the type who would bully you out of it.¡±

    Meng Chan bit her lip and took the chance to say, ¡°I am willing to offer this item to the regent. All I hope for is a path of survival for the Meng n and King Dai.¡±

    Zu An thought for a bit. After a moment, he said, ¡°I can prevent the court from eradicating them, but there''s no way I can allow them to recover their former power. At most, I can grant them some ancestralnd for the old and sick to make a living.¡±

    He had actually already discussed some of these things with the empress in private before. The Meng n was just too big, and they had more or less intermarried with all the other great ns of the capital. If those people were all executed, it would easily incur the hostility of many people and draw endless criticisms. Besides, he wasn¡¯t the type to enjoy ughter for its own sake, and he had already dealt with all of the main culprits. Furthermore, the Meng n¡¯s core forces had already beenpletely destroyed. It was already impossible for the remaining members to restore the n to its former glory.

    Meng Chan had a happy expression as she said, ¡°That is already enough! Thank you for your generosity, regent!¡±

    She was actually quite shocked when she heard that. ording to the usual ways of handling such things in this world, the punishment would absolutely have been n eradication, to pull the entire n up by the roots. At most, she''d thought that it would be quite good if she could preserve just a few of the Meng n¡¯s disciples. She had never expected things to turn out so well!

    This man was even kinder than she had imagined. She couldn''t help but feel a bit grateful. At the same time, she became a bit absent-minded. It was really hard for her to associate him with that murderous demon from that day.

    Sigh, if only I''d met him earlier¡­ We might not have had to be enemies.

    A single mistake, and everything had been lost.

    ¡°Where is the Bai Ze horn?¡± Zu An asked, looking at her calmly.

    Meng Chan said somewhat awkwardly, ¡°I don¡¯t have it with me.¡±

    ¡°Are you messing with me?¡± Zu An asked with a scowl.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°No, of course not!¡± Meng Chan replied, exining, ¡°It is just that I did not have much confidence on my way here. If I had carried it with me and gotten captured, I would lose even myst bargaining chip. That is why I hid it in a certain ce. I can bring you there to retrieve it now.¡±

    Zu An remained silent for a moment before saying, ¡°Lead the way.¡±

    Whether or not she wanted to carry out a transaction with him, or wanted to get revenge, he would find out once he took a look. However, judging from their interactions, he felt that Meng Chan was an intelligent woman who wouldn¡¯t do something so stupid.

    Meng Chan said, ¡°In the northern district of the city¡­¡±

    She was about to lead the way when she suddenly felt her body lighten. The next moment, she had already soared into the sky. That man was holding her shoulder with one hand; the two were next to each other, not too close to each other, but not that far either. They flew toward the northern district just like that.

    Meng Chan was really surprised. She was sure that this capital had a formation that restricted flight. Could it be that his power was already at such a level that he could disregard it?

    And yet, how could she know that Master Yan had already given Zu An a special token that allowed the formation to sense his aura? That way, it wouldn¡¯t activate at all even if he flew around. After all, the formation was to guard against the other cultivators of this world. As for those at the true peak of authority, they all had simr things to exempt them from its restrictions. Otherwise, wouldn¡¯t the great formation constantly have targeted Zhao Han whenever he took to the skies?

    ¡°That way¡­¡± Meng Chan said as she pointed out the way. She was at a bit of a loss. Even though she had flown before, and her n¡¯s seniors had brought her up into the air when she was little, she''d had to undergo the upbringing of a noble and virtuousdy as she grew up. That had be even more true once her goal was to be the crown princess. Such ¡®barbaric¡¯ things were naturally not permitted. There had been no chance of her letting another man touch her body, not even a n senior. If she wanted to be the crown princess, she had to maintain absolute purity; thus, if she ever wanted to fly like this again, she had to wait until she became a master rank cultivator herself. Normally, with her talent, if things had gone as nned, it would have only taken her a few more decades to smoothly reach that level.

    At the time, though, she had frequently felt regret, thinking that she would already be old by then. By the time she could fly, would she still have the mentality of a youngdy? Besides that, she had fantasized that a young and handsome hero would bring her into the skies to see the world¡¯s mountains and rivers. However, she had always strangled the thought as soon as it arose.

    She''d never expected that the dream she had buried so deeply in the bottom of her heart would actuallye true because of this ¡®enemy¡¯ of hers.

    ¡­

    Meng Chan was overwhelmed by emotions the entire time.

    However, they quickly arrived at a remote and shabby courtyard. Zu An looked around. The area was already within the slums. It was quite a good ce to hide something.

    His divine sense swept out; there were no cultivators, no ambush, and no formations. He nodded, thinking, Indeed, this woman isn''t stupid.

    Soon after, Meng Chan took out a key and entered a room. She lit some candles, then started searching a certain corner of the wall. Soon after, a hiddenpartment opened up, and inside it was a case. She carefully opened it and brought it up to Zu An.

    ¡°This is the Bai Ze horn. You¡­ You won¡¯t go back on your word, right?¡± Meng Chan said with a hint of a regretful expression. She clearly realized that she had been too muddle-headed. She had actually only taken a verbal promise and handed the goods over. If he decided to kill her and steal the treasure, she really didn¡¯t have anything else she could do. The Meng n and King Dai would bepletely finished then.

    Zu An looked at her calmly without replying. He took the Bai Ze horn. It was warm to the touch, sparkling and translucent. Even though he had never seen the item before, he knew that it truly was a Bai Ze horn, as the Keyboard System instantly helped him identify it.

    When she saw that he didn¡¯t reply, Meng Chan became more and more nervous. Even so, when her eyesnded on the burning candle, she finally felt a bit of confidence. And yet, as soon as she thought about that, her cheeks couldn''t help but be red.

    <strong></strong>

 Chapter 1949: Life-Saving Straw

    Chapter 1949: Life-Saving Straw

    Zu An wasn¡¯t in a rush to leave. Instead, he found a stool to sit down on by the wall. He carefully caressed the sparkling Bai Ze horn. To be honest, he hadn¡¯t held out much hope for the item. He''d just thought that Meng Chan was nning some revenge or something else. He had never expected her to really have a legendary Bai Ze horn. He had never seen such a thing before either, so he couldn''t help but fiddle with it a bit.

    As expected of a legendary beast, this horn really is beautiful. No wonder Meng Chan was so fascinated by it ever since she was little and took it for herself.

    Zu An thought that now that he had already gathered the other ingredients, he could refine a Marrow Cleansing Pill with the item. This one horn was already enough to refine many Marrow Cleansing Pills. After all, one pill definitely wouldn''t need an entire horn.

    Just then, Meng Chan sat down by his side. Zu An didn¡¯t mind; he wasn¡¯t used to someone trembling in fear in front of him.

    ¡°Regent, what you promised me¡­¡± Meng Chan said nervously.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Since you didn¡¯t lie to me, I naturally wouldn¡¯t¡­¡± Zu An trailed off as he turned around. His eyesnded on the trace of whiteness by Meng Chan''s cor. It was clear that because of her rm while getting dressed, she hadn¡¯t put on her clothes properly. Now that he looked at her in his position, he could see straight inside.

    ¡°Ahem, I''ll send someone to investigate the matter. The members of the Meng n who flouted thew are done for, but the ones who are truly innocent and meless will survive. As for King Dai,¡± Zu An paused for a moment before continuing, ¡°I can spare his life as a favor to you. Still, there''s no need for him to cultivate for the rest of his life.¡±

    He wasn¡¯t stupid either. He wouldn¡¯t release a tiger who woulde back to bite him in the future. King Dai was already crippled. Whether it was his arms, legs, meridians, or dantian and ki ocean, there was no way for him to cultivate any more.

    Meng Chan pursed her lips and said, ¡°Letting him live is already enough. Thank you, regent.¡±

    Zu An nodded in response.

    That scene from the academy¡¯s mountaintop room couldn''t help but appear in his mind. He hadn''t felt much back then, but now that he thought back, Meng Chan was an incredibly beautiful woman, and her figure was incredible as well. No wonder she was someone who hadpeted with Bi Linglong for the position of crown princess in the past.

    What is going on? Why do I suddenly feel a bit hot?

    He tugged at his cor and got up, saying, ¡°Alright, I¡¯m leaving first.¡±

    As soon as he said that, he instantly appeared outside. He was about to take to the skies and return when he suddenly heard a noise. Meng Chan had copsed on the table, as if she had fallenpletely unconscious.

    ¡°Hm?¡± Zu An was a bit confused. Meng Chan had given him the Bai Ze horn as promised, so he didn¡¯t really want anything to happen to her. With a flicker, he instantly returned inside. He reached out to nudge her shoulder, asking, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    This woman¡¯s body really is like cotton. How can it be that soft?

    Meng Chan groaned. Her misty eyes seemed as if tears could emerge at any time. Under the flickering candle me, her red lips were even more moist and tempting. She said, ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know. I suddenly feel that my body is a bit hot, and I feel a bit dizzy and powerless.¡±

    Zu An frowned. He also felt a bit hot. Normally, that wouldn''t be possible. With his cultivation, the cold wouldn¡¯t affect him at all.

    Is there a third party hidden here in ambush?

    That suspicion appeared in his mind. Even though he had already searched the surroundings with his divine sense, he still didn¡¯t feel at ease. He scanned everything again.

    However, there were no issues. The nearby residents were all well-behaved folk who showed no sign of cultivation. Most of them had already fallen asleep. After all, this world didn¡¯t have as rich of a night life as his previous world. Mostmoners couldn''t afford to waste money on oil for a light source and went to sleep early. The next morning, they would need to get up to work before the sun was even up, so they needed to rest and recover too.

    As expected, in any world, it''s themon people who have it the hardest.

    However, there was one family among them that was an exception. The husband and wife were¡­ engaging in baby-making exercises. He could clearly hear the woman¡¯s moans through his divine sense. The sounds filled him with rm.

    There''s no ambush, nor are there any enemies, so what''s going on? Could it be that she was poisoned by a political enemy in prison, and the poison is now acting up?

    He checked Meng Chan¡¯s pulse, sensing that the energies within her body were incredibly restless. Her pulse was steady, but there was a thriving life force within. There was no sign of poison.

    Huh? Why does this situation seem a bit familiar?

    Just when things were starting to make sense, Meng Chan groaned. She tugged at his hand and leaned her entire body against his, saying, ¡°I¡­ I feel awful... It¡¯s so hot¡­¡±

    She tugged at her cor as she spoke. Her clothes had been hastily put on before to begin with, and now that she tugged at them a few times, it was enough to expose arge area. Her exquisite corbone was in full view, as well as a pair of beautiful snowy peaks.

    Zu An voiced his surprise. ¡°Your condition seems¡­ It seems¡­¡±

    It seemed she had been drugged by one of those indecent drugs! However, just who had drugged her? He naturally couldn''t just push her away. She was clearly in a half-conscious state. If he left and someone else came, it went without saying what would happen. She was still an honorable princess, and it wouldn''t be right to leave her to that fate.

    Meng Chan suddenly sensed something. She said with a charming smile, ¡°It turns out the regent¡­ still has some reaction to me. I really was so embarrassed back at the academy.¡±

    She had beenpletely discouraged back then. Ever since she was little, she had been constantly showered in attention, with countless admirers and pursuers. Later, even after bing Madam Dai, countless men had visited King Dai Manor on ¡®official matters¡¯ just to be able to speak a bit more with her. And yet before this man, all of that pride had beenpletely shattered. Only now was she able to feel that she wasn''tcking in charm.

    Zu An frowned. The sensation he was experiencing felt a bit familiar. It was as if he had experienced it not too long ago. His eyesnded on the candles that were burning in the room. After Meng Chan entered the room, apart from looking for the Bai Ze horn, the only thing she had done was light them.

    ¡°You put Worries Be Gone Rosemary into the candles?¡± he asked with a scowl. He finally understood that it wasn¡¯t someone else who had used the drug, but rather that she had used it on herself. And of course, he was affected as well. If not for the fact that he had already encountered the strange drug before in King Jin Manor, he likely wouldn''t have had any idea what was even happening.

    Meng Chan was stunned, saying, ¡°The regent really is unfathomable. You even know about such a rare drug.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to King Dai trying to drug Madam Jin with this substance before,¡± Zu An said before he stopped talking. If he said any more, perhaps she would realize something.

    Meng Chan was shocked and furious, eximing, ¡°That scoundrel! He actually did such a thing!¡± Her fair skin was already turning red, and her entire body gave off an astonishing feminine smell.

    Zu An gave her a look.

    Are you any better? Weren¡¯t you trying to do the exact same thing here?

    ¡°Why?¡± Zu An asked seriously. ¡°I already agreed to let you go, so why would you still do this? Could it be that you want the Meng n and King Dai to recover their former authority?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not it,¡± Meng Chan said, quickly shaking her head. She said in a pitiful tone, ¡°It''s only because I was raised in one of this empire¡¯s most influential ns. Ever since I was little, I was used to seeing people try to outwit each other, so I never trusted in things like promises. It''smon to see the old foxes in the capital agree one moment, but immediately sell each other out as soon as they turn around. I only wanted to add a bit more security for myself.¡±

    Indeed, this was her real trump card. No matter what she did, she always had a backup n. She always considered what to do if she failed. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have been able to serve as Bi Linglong¡¯s opponent for so many years.

    At first, she had tried to use a honey trap on him in the Royal Academy. If she''d seeded, everything would have worked out. However, she''d ended up failing. Still, even though she''d seemed rmed, everything was still within her expectations. She had then brought out the Bai Ze horn, something that Zu An urgently needed. Between that and what had happened previously, Zu An gradually lowered his guard against the honey trap, not realizing that she actually still had another card to y. Then, after she took him into this room and lit the candle carrying the Worries Be Gone Rosemary, everything would have gone smoothly then. The only regretful thing was that Zu An actually knew about that mysterious medicine.

    In truth, when Zu An left, she could have just ended it there and not yed her third card. He had already agreed, and as someone who had interacted with others for so many years, she naturaly knew he was telling the truth. Even so, for some reason, she had still chosen to do it. She didn¡¯t know what she was thinking, but ever since that day, whenever she closed her eyes, she had seen his powerful figure from back then.

    She was like a moth a me. Even though she knew that it was wrong and that he was the enemy, she still couldn''t control herself. She could only continuously console herself by telling herself it was all to make his promise even more secure, and that he would be less likely to go back on his word.

    Zu An was speechless. He eventually asked, ¡°Have you heard of the idiom ¡®drawing legs on a snake¡¯?¡±

    Meng Chan gently bit her red lip and said, ¡°I know that this might have offended you, but please don''t have too many misgivings, regent. Those who are affected by this drug will forget about everything that happened. Your cultivation is higher than mine, so you''ll definitely wake up first. At that time, you''ll be able to remember everything once you see what happened. You can just leave after everything is done. I won¡¯t remember a thing once I wake up. I don''t need you to take responsibility, and you don¡¯t need to feel burdened by anything either. After tonight, we''ll still be strangers. All I ask for is a bit of stability and peace of mind.¡±

    Zu An took a deep breath and asked, ¡°But what if I leave and go back on my word? There¡¯d be nothing you could do. Also, you wouldn¡¯t even know just how much you gave up.¡±

    Meng Chan smiled and replied, ¡°I¡¯m already in this situation, so what more do I have to lose?¡± She walked over to Zu An¡¯s side and put her arms gently on his shoulders, saying, ¡°Regent, I hope you can use me to quell your anger. This is my personal way of apologizing¡­¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡­

    ¡°Ah!¡±

    Meanwhile, in the Imperial Prison, a bitter scream filled the air. King Dai was lying in bed. As he looked at the subordinate in front of him, he said with teary eyes, ¡°Be gentler! It hurts so much¡­¡±

    That subordinate immediately broke out into a sweat. He said, ¡°My king, please endure it. I am applying medicine for you. If you rest well, there might still be a chance for you to recover. Even though you will be a bit inferior to an ordinary person, you should still be able to walk again.¡±

    King Dai was a prince, after all, and had a respected status. He was seriously injured too, so even though he was locked up in the Imperial Prison, the court had still sent some of his old servants to care for him. After all, if he died in the prison before he was fully convicted, that would look bad for everyone involved.

    ¡°Sigh, do I still have a future?¡± King Dai muttered with a scowl. After experiencing that night, he had already lost everything. Even if he wasn¡¯t convicted in court, the best he could hope for was to live out the rest of his days in prison.

    Of course, the more likely result was that an Embroidered Envoy woulde and secretly kill him one day. His entire body couldn''t help but tremble when he thought of that. He didn¡¯t want to die. Even if he couldn''t be the emperor, even if he became a cripple who lost all of his cultivation, as long as he could live, there were still too many things to enjoy in this world.

    After some hesitation, the subordinate said, ¡°My king, there is actually another way.¡±

    ¡°What way?¡± King Dai asked, grabbing his hands excitedly like a drowning person clutching to a life-saving straw.

    ¡°This subordinate doesn¡¯t dare to say it.¡±

    ¡°What is there left to not dare say? Hurry up and speak.¡±

    ¡°...Madam is really beautiful¡­¡±

    ¡°I know Chan¡¯er is really beautiful. Wait, what are you trying to say?¡±

    ¡°I heard that Zu An was quite the pervert.¡±

    King Dai was speechless.

    ¡°You scoundrel, what are you thinking right now?!¡± he cried, his face turningpletely red. And yet, midway through his rage, he suddenly realized his current situation. He calmed down, a trace of life returning to his eyes.

    <strong></strong>

 Chapter 1950: A Couple Are Birds in the Same Forest

    Chapter 1950: A Couple Are Birds in the Same Forest

    In the first ce, the subordinate had been chosen to serve King Dai because he was a close aide. He said through gritted teeth, "Pardon me, my king, but the regent is too formidable. No one dares to risk offending him by lending us a helping hand. We have to think of a way out, or else we''ll be doomed."

    King Dai was enraged. He replied, "What regent? That Zu something is merely an upstart with slightly higher cultivation..." However, his voice slowly softened, and he even carefully nced outside for fear that someone would overhear him and report to Zu An. However, his burst of anger tugged on his injuries, causing him to groan in pain, "Aiyo... Aiyo... Do it softer..."

    rmed, the subordinate hurriedly massaged him softly.

    "Why the hell are you massaging me? My kneecap ispletely shattered! The more you massage it, the more pain I''m in. Apply some medicine instead, and make sure to squeeze out more juice!" King Dai berated the servant while issuing orders. The medicine stung when it was first applied, but the subsequent cooling sensation would soothe the pain.

    "Yes, yes, yes!" the subordinate replied as he hurriedly picked up the pestle and pounded the herbs inside the mortar. As the herbs had to be properly crushed in order to bring out their medicinal properties, the Imperial Prison had provided a copper pestle much thicker than a normal medical pestle. The subordinate stuffed more herbs into the mortar and continued pounding it, but it didn''t take long before he started sweating.

    His subordinate''s flustered appearance frustrated King Dai, and he grumbled, "Why did you bring such a small mortar? You can hardly stuff the copper pestle into it."

    The subordinate was frustrated too. He said, "It can''t be helped, my king. It''s already tough to find a mortar in the Imperial Prison at all."

    Watching his subordinate slowly pound the mortar further fanned King Dai''s annoyance. He snapped, "Hurry up!"

    "Yes, my king," the subordinate said as he sped up his pounding. Shortly after, he eximed in delight, "My king, the juice is out!"

    "Pound it fifty more times. That should fully draw out its medicinal properties," King Dai said, craning his neck over to observe the pounding as if to ensure that his subordinate wasn''t cking off.

    "Yes, my king!" the subordinate replied, although his mind was filled with retorts.

    You''re still putting on airs even though you''ve been reduced to this pathetic state?

    That being said, he dared not offend King Dai, since they had to rely on Madam Dai to survive this ordeal.

    Momentster, the herbs had been reduced to a puddle of medicinal paste. The subordinate carefully picked it up and applied it to King Dai''s injured knee.

    "Sssss!" King Dai sharply inhaled from the rush of pain and delight he felt from the cooling sensation.

    "My king, what do you think of my earlier proposal?" the subordinate anxiously asked out of desperation to turn the tables around.

    "You!" King Dai wanted tosh out, but he eventually decided to tone it down, saying, "It doesn''t matter whether I agree or not. Chan''er has her own will, and that Zu guy killed her father..."

    "Our madam is a smart person. She''d know well enough to prioritize the living. This humble subordinate will also find an opportunity to talk to her about this," the subordinate said. Inwardly, he felt a surge of disdain for King Dai for thetter''s willingness to sacrifice his own wife to save his life.

    He always shouts at me, but I guess he isn''t any better. It feels good to sacrifice someone else''s wife to save my own life.

    Just thinking about the dignified and beautiful Madam Dai was enough to quicken the subordinate''s breathing.

    That Zu guy got lucky!

    The vexed King Dai said, "It won''t matter even if she''s willing to do it. We''re all imprisoned right now. We can''t meet that fellow even if we want to."

    "Don''t worry, my king. Leave it to me. I''ll find a way to send a message to our madam," the subordinate replied with a smile, relieved that he had finally found a way to survive.

    King Dai was unable to put down his pride, so he responded with a vague "Mm". Then, he quickly added, "Continue crushing the herbs and apply more medicine on my knee."

    "Of course, of course!"

    ...

    The following day, King Dai was fast asleep when the warden suddenly knocked, saying, "Wake up. Someone''s here to meet you."

    King Dai opened his eyes in confusion, thinking, Who''d visit me at this time?

    A person cloaked from head to toe was standing outside. They passed a silver ingot to the warden, who happily stuffed it inside his pocket and said, "Don''t take too long." The warden then walked away, granting the two of them some privacy.

    "You are..." King Dai said, looking at the cloaked figure in confusion. Were they sent by someone to silence me? That thought filled him with fear.

    Just then, the cloaked person took off their hood, revealing a beautiful face.

    "It''s you, Chan''er!" King Dai cried, overjoyed. He hadn''t expected to meet her here.

    "Shh!" Meng Chan ced her finger on her lips as she looked at the man before her with aplicated expression. While he was a wastrel, he was still her husband.

    "How did you get in here?" King Dai asked.

    "The Meng n has umted some influence over its thousand years of lineage," Meng Chan said, choosing not to borate too much on the matter.

    "Save me!" King Dai eximed. For some reason, he felt that Chan''er looked more seductive than usual.

    Meng Chan looked a little distracted as she replied, "Not now. You''ll still bebeled a criminal even if you''re released now. You should wait for the court to go through the procedures first."

    "I''ll be dead meat if they go through the procedures!" King Dai eximed anxiously.

    "I rushed here today to reassure you that you''d be fine," Meng Chan said hesitantly.

    How should I ry it to him?N?v(el)B\\jnn

    "How can I possibly be reassured?" King Dai replied, feeling vexed. All of a sudden, he thought of something and asked, "Have you met Qiu San?"

    "Qiu San? Your subordinate? I haven''t met him yet," Meng Chan said, shaking her head. She had long known that Qiu San was a dishonest person, but he was good at winning King Dai''s favor, often bringing in all kinds of interesting things to entertain the king. Due to that, King Dai viewed Qiu San as his aide. It wouldn''t do for her to interfere too much in King Dai''s personal affairs, so she had decided to leave Qiu San alone.

    King Dai figured as much, thinking, Qiu San was so busy yesterday that he only left at daybreak. There''s no way he could have reached her so quickly. Worried that Qiu San couldn''t get to her after she left the imperial prison, he hesitantly gritted his teeth and said, "Chan''er, you have to save me."

    "I''m saving you now," Meng Chan replied with a tragic smile.

    King Dai didn''t think that she had caught his drift yet, so he put aside his sense of shame and carried on, "Qiu San proposed an idea, saying that it would safely tide us through this ordeal."

    "Oh? What kind of idea was it?" Meng Chan asked in surprise. Did I miss out on a possibility? Did I give out too muchst night...

    King Dai was in a dilemma, but his desire to live eventually triumphed over his sense of shame. He said, "Chan''er, our intelligence indicates that Zu guy has a lot of beautifuldies beside him. Clearly, he''s a lustful man. You''re a beautiful woman yourself, so... Why don''t you beg him? He''ll definitely spare us if it''s you."

    Meng Chan''s expression turned livid. She had still been feeling guilty over yesterday''s affairs, but who could have thought her husband would raise such a proposal of his own ord? She asked icily, "How should I beg him?"

    "You should..." King Dai couldn''t bring himself to say those words out loud. Instead, he said, "Chan''er, you''re a smart woman. Why do you insist on having me voice it aloud?"

    "Are you even a man?!" Meng Chan cried out, trembling in anger. What kind of man is he, to make me do that kind of thing just so he can survive? I really regret pleading on his behalf yesterday!

    King Dai had always been afraid of Meng Chan. Upon noticing her anger, he quickly added, "Don''t be angry, Chan''er. It was all Qiu San''s idea. it has nothing to do with me!"

    Meng Chan shed a tragic smile at King Dai, saying, "You''re still trying to push the responsibility onto someone else at this point. I might have at least respected you for your honesty if you admitted to it, but it looks like you''re a coward through and through!"

    Her reprimand infuriated King Dai. He protested, "What else can I do? This is our only option! I was perfectly fine as a king, but you and your father told me there was a chance I could be the emperor. You always seemed to have it all under control, so I followed your words. But what happened?!"

    "I''d already given up at that point, but someone grumbled to me about his idiotic older brother bing the crown prince, and that he''d fare ten thousand times better in his ce! If not for that, I wouldn''t have dragged the Meng n in to support you!" Meng Chan retorted, her face flushing red. She added, "Besides, you im that you always listen to me. Did I tell you to take advantage of Madam Jin then?" It infuriated her just thinking about how the honest-looking King Dai had dared to do that.

    "H-How do you know about that?" King Dai asked, his tone weakening. He felt stifled. It would have been one thing if he had managed to take advantage of Madam Jin, but he''d failed to do so and only gotten himself into trouble.

    "If you hadn''t gotten ahead of yourself and gone to mess with the Qin n and Murong n after iming the upper hand, we wouldn''t have be mortal enemies with Zu An!" Meng Chan added. The more she thought about it, the more infuriated she became.

    King Dai felt indignant. He said, "You were the one who suggested provoking the Zu guy, and your father was the one orchestrating the matter."

    Meng Chan remained silent.

    Seeing Meng Chan''s huge emotional fluctuations, King Dai was worried that she would cast him away in a fit of anger, so he quickly said, "It''s all in the past. There''s no point arguing about it now. Let''s focus on saving the others for now. Tell that man I won''tpete to be the emperor anymore. I just want to be a free king. No, I don''t even have to be a king at all. I''m certain you''ll be able to get to him with your looks and your means."

    King Dai''s expectant gaze only disgusted Meng Chan more. She thought, He has already done whatever you dreamt of doing to Madam Jin many times with me, and I was the one who approached him for that. However, she decided against saying that in the end. She turned around and walked away, leaving behind a few icy words. "Don''t worry. You''ll live."

    While those afflicted by the Worries Be Gone Rosemary would lose their memories of that night, they could still easily recall what happened if they saw where it had taken ce after regaining consciousness. It was usually used by vile people who wanted to take advantage of a woman without her knowing; however, it was a different matter if one was prepared.

    Meng Chan had first written her n into a small booklet, and the first thing she''d done after waking up was to read it. She had swiftly linked the information to her condition, and that had evoked her memories about everything that happened the previous night.

    "How are you so confident?" King Dai wanted to ask, only to notice how unnatural her gait looked as she walked up the stairs. Not only did she have to ce both feet on the same step before climbing the next, but she also had to grab onto the railings for support. It was as if she could barely close her legs.

    Even though King Dai had been under strict control over the years, he was still a king. Qiu San had previously found a fewdies to give him a taste of physical pleasure. He immediately connected the dots and roared in anger, "You slut! I was still wondering how virtuous you could be to reprimand me, but it turns out you already sold yourself out. It''s no wonder you''ve regained your freedom!"

    He couldn''t help but think about what had to have happened for her to be reduced to such a state. The thought that the beloved beauty whom he doted on so much, to the point where he hesitated to even touch her, had been thoroughly ravaged by a knave infuriated him.

    Meng Chan turned around and red at him coldly, retorting, "Do you want to live or not?"

    <strong></strong>

 Chapter 1951: Life and Death

    Chapter 1951: Life and Death

    King Dai had been intimidated by Meng Chan for so long that he dared not utter a single word under her re.

    Meng Chan red at him frostily, saying, ¡°Keep whatever happened today to yourself if you wish to live. You should know what will happen if others learn about it.¡±

    King Dai shuddered, especially when he remembered how Zu An had floated above the Meng manor like a demonic god releasing a ughter. If anyone tried to sully Zu An¡¯s reputation, there were countless people who would be more than willing to step in and end them. In any event, if he had been in the same position as Zu An, he wouldn¡¯t have let the other side go either. Having thought things through, his anger dissipated without a trace, and he murmured, ¡°I understand.¡±

    Meng Chan sighed, but she chose not to say a word. She slowly staggered out of the prison while holding onto the railings for support. She hadn''t intended to let her husband know about what happened, but who could have thought that dumb fellow would be so sensitive about such a thing? Had she known, she would have rested a few more days before heading over. In the end, she''d onlye over today because she was worried he would do something silly out of despair.

    She bit her lips as she recalled the events that had transpired the previous night. Despite that fellow¡¯s refined appearance, as soon as he took off his clothes, he was no different from an ox. Even now, she shuddered whenever she remembered the feeling of being rammed all the way down to her soul.

    That night was more fun than anything I''ve enjoyed over thest decade¡­ Argh! Meng Chan, what in the world are you thinking? Where¡¯s your sense of shame?

    ¡­

    As he watched her totter out of the prison, King Dai was conflicted. Now that he thought about it, when he saw her earlier, her face had been particrly red. She looked more seductive than usual.

    She couldn¡¯t even close her legs. Is that Zu guy that formidable? Not only is he ridiculously strong as a cultivator, he even induces despair even in that aspect.

    King Dai sighed in resignation. He should have felt angered and humiliated, but Zu An was so strong that he couldn¡¯t muster the courage to exact vengeance. On the contrary, he felt liberated, as he had still been conflicted as to how he could convince Chan¡¯er to offer herself. Now that Meng Chan had done so on her own ord, he could put his worries aside. At the very least, he would be able to survive this ordeal.

    There are plenty of trees in the forest anyway; I¡¯ll just find another wife. In the future, I must make sure not to find such an ambitious wife. It¡¯ll be best to have a gentle and virtuous one¡­

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, at a courtyard at the top of Mount Yuquan, Zu An held onto a half-burned candle with a bizarre expression on his face. After falling for the Worries Be Gone, the first thing he had done after waking up in the morning was to take the candle away. He hadn¡¯t been disadvantaged in any way the previous night, but he wouldn¡¯t have gone along with it under normal circumstances. It was just that his little brother went amok as soon as it came under the influence of Worries Be Gone.

    He had dealt with simr medicine in the past, but none had ever been as potent as Worries Be Gone. His fighting prowess was on par with that of an earth immortal even though he had yet to reach that rank, so ordinary poison shouldn¡¯t have affected him, not to mention the fact that his Primordial Origin Sutra granted him poison immunity. That made him curious about the Worries Be Gone Rosemary, which continued to affect him even now.

    It was a pity King Dai Manor didn¡¯t have any Worries Be Gone left. He had asked Meng Chan about it the previous night. She had replied that she was worried a normal dosage wouldn¡¯t work due to his high cultivation level, so she''d put everything they had left in King Dai Manor into this candle.

    ¡°I wonder if the Gourmet System can analyze theponents of the medicine¡­¡± Zu An muttered, although he wasn¡¯t nning to use the medicine to take advantage of women; there was no need to, anyway, since women were more than happy to throw themselves at him given his current standing. He was just curious about the principles behind the medicine, thinking it could be useful to his future pill refinement.

    Zu An stared at the candle hesitantly, and in the end, he took a bite of it. Fortunately, the Gourmet System recognized Worries Be Gone as food, and it quickly broke down the ingredients for him. ¡°Northern Sea Fiend¡¯s kraken fluid, Whitemoon Worries Be Gone Grass, Flying Snow Rosemary¡­¡±

    ¡°Northern Sea Fiend?¡± Zu An murmured, astonished.

    It really is fate. The main ingredients might be rare to others, but they''re well within my reach.

    During his time in the Fiend races'' Imperial Tomb with Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue, he had encountered a massive octopus monster in the deep sea and collected quite a bit of its tentacles and fluid.

    It¡¯s no wonder this medicine went out of cirction. The Northern Sea Fiends are too powerful for ordinary people to deal with, not to mention that they''re practically extinct. Just this is enough to pose trouble.

    Zu An vaguely recalled reading about the Whitemoon Worries Be Gone Grass and Flying Snow Rosemary from the Baopu Sutra. Those herbs could indeed dispel one¡¯s woes and knock one out, but they shouldn¡¯t have been so potent as to make one forget about activities that had transpired the previous night. Those herbs had to have some kind of chemical reaction with the Northern Sea Fiend¡¯s tentacle fluid.

    ¡°Brother-inw, why are you eating a candle?¡± a voice suddenly called out while Zu An was in a daze. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An looked up and saw Chu Youzhao and Murong Qinghe standing by the doorway, staring at him in surprise. His face turned red as he replied, ¡°I¡¯m testing out a medicine.¡±

    ¡°Medicine?¡± The two young women stared at him in bewilderment. They couldn¡¯t imagine how a candle could possibly be a medicine.

    Zu An stowed away the candle and asked, ¡°What are you doing here?¡±

    ¡°Little sister Qinghe was embarrassed, but I told her there was no need to hold back since you aren¡¯t an outsider, so I brought her here to expand her meridians,¡± Chu Youzhao said.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be counting on you, big brother Zu,¡± Murong Qinghe said. She was embarrassed, but she knew the benefits of expanding her meridians for her cultivation, not to mention that big brother Chu had been persuading her into it.

    Zu An had initially wanted to say that he could already refine Marrow Cleansing Pills, so there was no need to do such a thing anymore. However, he was worried Murong Qinghe would misunderstand and assume he was reluctant to help her. Thinking that it was just a small favor, he epted her request.

    ¡°You get busy first. I¡¯ll go argue with Second¡­ Cough cough, I mean, I¡¯ll have a chat with her,¡± Chu Youzhao said; she waved her hand before running out excitedly.

    Murong Qinghe was startled. She had wanted Chu Youzhao to stay with her, but she was worried that big brother Zu would be offended if she made such a request, so she kept her mouth shut.

    Noticing her nervousness, Zu An said with a smile, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t touch your body.¡±

    That made Murong Qinghe feel bad. She said, ¡°Big brother Zu, you don¡¯t have to worry about me.¡± She knew expanding one¡¯s meridians was extremely dangerous. It would be even riskier if Zu An had to refrain from touching her body.

    Zu An first had her sit cross-legged on the bed before settling behind her. He raised his finger and sent whiffs of invisible ki into her body. Now that he could refine Marrow Cleansing Pills, he figured he could just help her expand her meridians a little. As Murong Qinghe was blessed with much wider meridians than Chu Youzhao, there was no need for him to proceed as carefully as he had done before.

    Murong Qinghe let out a harrumph. A numbing sensation filled her body, followed by a sharp aching pain from the expansion. She finally understood why Youzhao and big brother Chu had squealed so loudly back then. She thought that it would be embarrassing to squeal in front of big brother Zu, so she clenched her jaws and held on.

    ¡°Don¡¯t hold it in. That causes your meridians to further contract, and that may lead to problems,¡± Zu An said.

    Murong Qinghe was rmed. Not daring to hold it in anymore, she started out with soft groans, but as the pain worsened, she began squealing uncontrobly. Her face soon turned bright red.

    It¡¯s so embarrassing! It feels as if I¡¯m screaming because of something else instead. The sweat is also making my clothes a little translucent¡­

    She had grown up in the military, and she usually hung out with soldiers who had no filter in their speech. Naturally, she had heard about the sorts of depraved acts that happened in alleys and brothels. She nced at Zu An and was impressed to see that his expression was unchanging like an unwavering mountain. She thought, Big brother Zu is a true gentleman. I was still worried about it earlier, but it seems I was being too judgmental.

    She couldn¡¯t have known that after having expelled his lust the previous night, Zu An was currently in his ¡®sage mode¡¯.

    Two hourster, Zu An called Youzhao over to support Murong Qinghe on the way back. Chu Youzhao was startled when she saw how drenched Murong Qinghe was, as if she had just been fished out of the water. She asked, ¡°What happened?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s fine. She has outstanding talent, and she¡¯s good at withstanding pain too. Thus, I expanded her meridians more than usual. Bring her to one of the rooms off to the side to rest,¡± Zu An said.

    ¡°All right,¡± Chu Youzhao said as she carefully supported Murong Qinghe out of the room.

    Murong Qinghe slumped onto Chu Youzhao as if she had no bones. She kept exhaling warm air, which made Youzhao''s heart skip a beat as she wondered if Zu An had done something odd to Qinghe.

    After sending the two of them off, Zu An began refining pills. It was a pity that the Nine Cauldron he had previously obtained had been confiscated in a secret dungeon, but fortunately, there was nock of pill refinement spots in the mountain behind the academy. In the earlier years of the academy, the libationer had drawn forth earth mes from within the mountain to construct a pill refinement spot. Anyone looking to refine pills could use the facility, but they had to have made prior contributions to the academy.

    Zu An was now the libationer, so he was entitled to use the facility. He spent the subsequent time refining pills while chatting with the disciples of the old libationer. There were manymonalities between what they had learned and the Baopu Sutra¡¯s seven skills of cultivation. Over the next half a month, he gradually became more well-versed in the Baopu Sutra.

    At the same time, he also refined a batch of Marrow Cleansing Pills and Ki Condensation Pills, only to swiftly encounter a major problem: He had run out of money! He finally understood why Shen Xuzi was so poor.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in the Bi Manor, the n leader Bi Qi was livid. He stared at his son and snapped, ¡°I told you to bring your little sister back. Where is she?¡±

    Bi Ziang replied, ¡°She appears to be out of the pce. She probably went to the mountain behind the academy. It doesn¡¯t seem as if she¡¯s bothered about it at all.¡±

    Bi Qi was stunned. He said, ¡°Wait for her outside the academy and drag her back the moment shees out. This matter concerns the survival of our Bi n.¡±

    <strong></strong>

 Chapter 1952: Mooching Is the Best

    Chapter 1952: Mooching Is the Best

    Bi Ziang was still smiling without a care in the world when he suddenly heard those words, making him jump. He replied, ¡°Father, surely things aren¡¯t that serious? No other prince dares to covet the crown anymore. That Zu fellow might be formidable, but he¡¯s my little sister¡¯s aide. This is good news!¡±

    ¡°You don''t know shit!¡± Bi Qi eximed, flustered. He had been escorting prisoners from Violet Mountain to the capital when he learned about everything that had transpired in his absence. He was initially astounded, as he hadn¡¯t expected Zu An to be that powerful. Nevertheless, he''d believed that was good news¡­ or at least that was what he thought, until he caught wind of another piece of news.

    ¡°Go there and wait. Bring Linglong back as soon as you can,¡± Bi Qi said with utmost annoyance.

    ¡°Linglong is the crown princess now. It¡¯d be wrong for us, as her subjects, to demand her toe here and meet us. We should be the ones entering the pce to pay respects to her,¡± Bi Ziang carefully reminded his father.

    ¡°We can¡¯t enter the pce. There are too many ears. It¡¯s safer at home. Cut the crap and do what I tell you to do,¡± Bi Qi snapped. He was so infuriated that he kicked Bi Ziang¡¯s bottom, prompting his son to run out in a fluster.

    Bi Qi walked to the window and looked in the direction of the Royal Academy. His hands clearly trembled as he tightly gripped the sides of the window, showing how perturbed he was.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An was counting his money in his little mountaintop courtyard.

    In the past, he had rued 470,000 silver taels in Brightmoon City. Later, he had received all kinds of promotions and rewards in the capital. When he became the regent of the Fiend races, and then the regent of the human race, he had received many gifts from countless people. All in all, his fortune after that easily totaled tens of millions of silver taels, and that was excluding the ki stones and other precious treasures he had.

    At first, he''d thought that he had finally achieved financial freedom, and there was no need for him to worry about money anymore. Who could have thought he would squander his ten million silver taels within merely half a month?

    Most ingredients for the Marrow Cleansing Pills could be obtained through trade, but the Ki Condensation Pills required Sky Crane Roots, Red Star Jade, and Purple Firmament Flowers. These ingredients weren¡¯t as rare as the Southern Sea Fiend¡¯s tentacle fluids, but they were still extremely rare and expensive herbs. Besides that, Daji and Mo Xi were on the verge of a breakthrough, so they needed a lot of Ki Condensation Pills. Due to that, Zu An had to purchase a huge amount of those three ingredients.

    Tang Hui, who was in charge of the logistics warehouse, was extremelypetent; it hadn¡¯t taken him long to secure a batch of goods. Initially, he hadn¡¯t asked for payment as he wanted to fawn on Zu An, but Zu An had still paid him in ordance with the market price and ordered him to pay the sum to the supplier. He knew that Tang Hui couldn¡¯t possibly pay for it on his behalf and would find other ways to make up for the deficit. Ultimately, the ones who would suffer were ordinary merchants and the popce. He didn¡¯t want to cause undue suffering for his own needs.

    Other than the ingredients for pill refinement, the materials Daji and Mo Xi needed for their breakthroughs were exorbitant too. Daji needed Wuyang Jade, Gray Wolf King Fangs, Blue Earthflowers, and Nine-headed Pheasant Feathers, whereas Mo Xi needed Rainbow Cloudstones, Thunderjade Roon Cores, Chinese Bellflowers, and Gemme Stamens. Among those, Chinese Bellflowers weren¡¯t themon herb Zu An was familiar with from his previous life, but rather a special herb in this world. Ordinary cultivators would struggle to obtain even a single one of these materials, as they were not only expensive but rare as well. Only someone with a high standing among the humans and the fiends like Zu An could have a chance of obtaining such invaluable materials. Still, he had to pay for those ingredients, the prices of which were exorbitant even if he was given a preferential rate.

    On top of that, Daji and Mo Xi needed valuable materials to raise their skills too, with each level easily costing hundreds of thousands of silver taels. Pill refinement also consumed a lot of silver taels, as silver was a much better medium for channeling ki and elemental kipared to other materials.

    ¡­

    Due to that, Zu An had ended up spending more than ten million silver taels in half a month. He had consumed a lot of ki stones too. Pill refinement and cultivation required a huge amount of ki, and high-tier ki stones were the best way to provide it.

    ¡°Ah Zu, is there still anything in the world that can trouble you?¡± a voice called out with a chuckle. Bi Linglong was standing by the doorway in a in-colored dress, looking at him with a smile. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An revealed a gentle smile as he asked, ¡°What brings you here? Aren¡¯t you worried about gossip?¡±

    Bi Linglong hopped into the room and leaped into his arms, saying, ¡°Things are different now. I¡¯d have been worried about that in the past, but the officials have been advising me to spend more time with you lest the empress poach you away. Of course, I have to pretend to be in a dilemma, as how can I, the crown princess, fawn over a subject? Those officials think I¡¯m too proud and are doing everything they can to persuade me. Little do they know that I¡¯ve beenughing my head off. You don¡¯t know how happy they were when I finally reluctantly caved in!¡±

    Bi Linglong looked at Zu An with a mischievous grin as she continued, ¡°Rather than gossiping about us, they¡¯re more worried that I might keep my distance from you.¡±

    She had entered the courtyard alone; her followers were waiting for her at the mountain¡¯s midpoint. Such had been the case when she paid respects to the old libationer too, and Zu An¡¯s current influence and authority were no less than that of the previous libationer. She usually put on a dignified front that distanced herself from others; it was rare for her to show her coy self.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t resist pinching her cheeks as he said, ¡°I would have revealed my true strength much earlier if I had known.¡±

    Bi Linglong shook her head and said, ¡°I still prefer how things were before; there was no stress hanging out with you. It feels weird being with you now. You¡¯re so strong that you feel foreign to me.¡±

    Zu An wrapped his hand around her waist and kissed her, replying, ¡°What are you afraid of? I won¡¯t use it to bully you.¡±

    Bi Linglong¡¯s face reddened. She said, ¡°Lies. That day, you showed no mercy when you bullied me.¡±

    Her shyness drew Zu An in for another kiss.

    ¡°Don¡¯t smear my rouge¡­ Wuuu¡­¡±

    ¡­

    Some timeter, Bi Linglongy on the bed with a dazed expression. Her mouth was slightly open, and her chest heaved. Zu An gently traced her body with his finger as if scouting his own territory.

    ¡°It¡¯s itchy~¡± Bi Linglong grumbled coyly while cozying herself in his arms. ¡°You said you wouldn¡¯t bully me.¡±

    Her tone quickly stoked Zu An¡¯s lust. rmed, Bi Linglong quickly pushed him away and said, ¡°My people are still waiting at the midpoint of the mountain. I can¡¯t stay here for too long.¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t want to make things difficult for her, so he relished in the sight of her cascading long hair and slender waist as she got up instead. As Bi Linglong put on her robes, she said, ¡°Princess Xiaodie of King Qi Manor and those from the dao sects have been escorted to the capital. I was going to discuss how to deal with the Violet Mountain incident with you, but you distracted me.¡±

    ¡°But you enjoyed it too,¡± Zu An said as he grabbed the little hands hitting his chest, before deciding not to tease her anymore. ¡°It¡¯s not that hard. We can¡¯t possibly say that King Qi staged a rebellion and joined hands with the libationer to get rid of Zhao Han. Let¡¯s just im a secret dungeon suddenly appeared atop Violet Mountain, and Zhao Han, King Qi, and the others lost their lives in there.¡±

    ¡°It feels as if King Qi and the others are getting off lightly,¡± Bi Linglong said in displeasure. They had been enemies for many years, but she would be deprived of a clean victory. That being said, she knew that the country would descend into chaos if she revealed the truth.

    King Qi had carried great influence, with many powerful officials under his faction. If Bi Linglong''s faction cornered those people too much, they could well take extreme measures. The situation was exceptionally vtile as King Qi¡¯s son had returned to hisnds to prepare for war. The moment an opportunity arose, he would raise his g and stage a rebellion.

    It didn¡¯t help that the crown prince was ipetent and dumb, so many people refused to ept him as their liege. If a coup d¡¯etat really happened, it was uncertain whether Bi Linglong and the crown prince would be able to hold onto their position or not.

    ¡°We can¡¯t let them off that easily. Why don¡¯t we pretend that the court is going to punish them? You can swoop in at thest moment and pretend to be a good person in front of them so as to earn their gratitude,¡± Bi Linglong suggested.

    Zu An was taken aback. He said, ¡°It would be better for you to do that. You need support more than I do.¡± He wasn¡¯t too bothered about the power bnce in the imperial court, so it didn¡¯t matter whether he had the gratitude of King Qi¡¯s faction or not.

    ¡°I¡¯d love to do it, but the Eastern Pce has been rivals with King Qi Manor for so long that many of them hate me down to my bones. They wouldn¡¯t trust me that easily. On the contrary, they would suspect that I¡¯m up to something. You¡¯re more suited to do that than mem¡± Bi Linglong said as she finally finished putting on her robe; she settled in front of the mirror tob her hair.

    Zu An walked up to her and took over the job ofbing her hair, saying, ¡°Linglong, you¡¯re doing me a favor here by leaving all the good stuff to me.¡±

    The stark naked man reflected in the mirror reminded Bi Linglong of the steamy action they''d just shared, and her face reddened. She said, ¡°You might be the regent, but you don¡¯t have any supporters in the imperial court other than the Sang n. King Qi¡¯s death has left a power vacuum; his faction is currently without a head. His subordinates will be a good base of support for you. I¡¯d rather theye under you than have them swear fealty to King Qi¡¯s son or some other ambitious fool.¡±

    Zu An relented after hearing those words. It would be best to let things settle down, after all.

    I should find some time to look for Zhao Xiaodie.

    Bi Linglong took out a rouge paper from her storage pouch and pressed her lips against it.

    Zu An looked at the cosmetics on the table and chuckled, saying, ¡°It looks like you¡¯re prepared.¡±

    He had noticed earlier that she was wearing a in dress instead of her usual extravagant clothes as the crown princess. That had practically be a hidden signal between the two of them.

    ¡°It¡¯s all your fault!¡± Bi Linglong cried. To assuage her embarrassment and awkwardness, she quickly changed the topic and said, ¡°I heard you sighing earlier when I arrived. Are you facing any difficulties?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing much. I¡¯ve just been burning too much money from pill refinement recently¡­¡± Zu An roughly exined the situation to her.

    Bi Linglong reached into her storage pouch, pulled out a stack of banknotes, and passed it to him with a smile, saying, ¡°Here¡¯s two million silver taels. It¡¯s my secret stash. You can use it.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. There was no way he would ept her money!

    However, Bi Linglong looked at him with a mncholic expression and said, ¡°It¡¯s rare that I can offer you any help, but you refuse to ept my aid. I heard that you epted a batch of top-grade ki stones from Yu Yanluo back then¡­¡±

    Goosebumps rose all over Zu An¡¯s body as he thought, Why is she getting jealous over this? He quickly epted the banknotes and said, ¡°All right, I¡¯ll ept this for now. I¡¯ll return it to you when I have money.¡±

    ¡°Say any more than that, and I¡¯ll really get angry. What''s mine is yours too,¡± Bi Linglong said, putting on a stern face. ¡°You should know that I''ve investigated you. Back in Brightmoon City, you famously dered that it was a skill to arrogantly mooch off others. Why are you so wishy-washy now?¡±

    ¡°Hahaha, you¡¯re right. It¡¯s great to mooch off others,¡± Zu An said as he grabbed Bi Linglong¡¯s head and gave her one big smooch.

    ¡°You¡¯re terrible! You messed up my rouge. I¡¯ll have to put it on again."

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we do something else, since it¡¯s already smeared?¡±

    ¡°No¡­ Let me go¡­ You¡¯re so bad~¡±

    Meanwhile, outside the academy, Bi Ziang was getting impatient.

    My subordinates told me she''s been in there for some time now, so why isn¡¯t she out yet? Is there so much between them to talk about? Surely not¡­ He¡¯s now the libationer and the regent, whereas Linglong is the crown princess. They need to take heed of their respective positions.

    Linglong has always been sharp-witted, so I doubt she¡¯d be taken advantage of.

    Just then, Bi Ziang noticed a huge procession making its way over, and he jolted in shock. He wondered, ¡°What¡¯s the empress doing here?¡±

    <strong></strong>

 Chapter 1953: Rivalry

    Chapter 1953: Rivalry

    Bi Ziang¡¯s first thought was to send his subordinates over to inform his little sister, lest she bump into the empress. However, he quickly abandoned that thought. After all, Zu An was Linglong¡¯s aide. Even though he''d made it big now, there was still a bond between the two of them. The empress had been wanting to poach Zu An, so perhaps it would be good for her to see which side Zu An would take. The empress had indeed done Zu An a huge favor by conferring him the title of regent, but how could that amount to the favor Linglong had shown Zu An while he was still weak and poor?

    Not long ago, Bi Ziang had been filled with envy; Zu An had merely been an ordinary civilian, and yet was conferred the title of marquis at a young age, even surpassing an up and rising scion of the capital like him. And yet, after seeing how fast Zu An¡¯s cultivation rose, and especially how cool he had looked that night at the Meng n, Bi Ziang had eventually given up onpeting with him and dropped his envy.

    This was how humans were. They were inclined topete and grow envious of those around them, but when the gap grew too big, they would give up onpeting altogether.

    Now, Bi Ziang was just d Linglong had shown great favor to Zu An back then. He finally understood why his father oftenmented that Linglong was a woman, otherwise she would have achieved much more. Her foresight was incredible. While most people were only starting to fawn on Zu An now, Linglong had already sown her seeds two years prior. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The empress¡¯ procession finally arrived at the foot of the rear mountain. The empress stepped out of her carriage, surveyed the surroundings, and remarked, ¡°Mount Yuquan certainly is serene. My Eunuch Lu, pick a few men ande with me. The rest should stay here lest you disturb these sirs'' study.¡±

    The imperial family had been close to the old libationer. As a symbol of respect, most people maintained the silence of the mountain. Even members of the imperial family traveled light when scaling the mountain. Most people had wondered whether that tradition would persist now that someone else was the libationer, though.

    The nearby students heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing the empress¡¯ words, as it showed that the new libationer was more well respected than they had expected. The higher the standing of the new libationer, the more respected the academy was.

    ¡°What¡¯s happening today? First the crown princess, and now the empress,¡± someone whispered.

    ¡°Our new libationer is a person with great means. Many respected personnel have visited him in recent days.¡±

    ¡­

    Liu Ning¡¯s eyebrows shot up. She had regained her cultivation as a grandmaster, which allowed her to pick up on the students¡¯ conversations despite their attempts to be discreet. She asked, ¡°You said that the crown princess is here too?¡±

    The approach of the lofty empress prompted the two students to quickly bow down and reply, ¡°Yes, your majesty.¡±

    ¡°When did she arrive and leave?¡± Liu Ning asked.

    ¡°She arrived around two hours ago. She hasn¡¯t left yet,¡± one of the students replied.

    ¡°Two hours? I think it should be closer to four hours now,¡± the other student said.

    ¡°Four hours?¡± Liu Ning¡¯s pitch rose as she thought, What could the two of them be discussing for four hours? She immediately put away her dignified image and raised her dress to rush up the mountain. Somehow, she had an ominous feeling about the situation.

    Bi Linglong usually maintains a dignified and stern front, so I doubt she¡¯d be like me¡­ Wait, why am I even running? I''ve already regained my cultivation!

    It btedly struck her that she could fly, so she flew straight to the mountaintop. Her flight rmed the guards patrolling the rear mountain, and some of them immediately rose into the sky to stop her, only to jolt in shock upon realizing it was the empress.

    ¡°I have urgent matters for the regent. Scram!¡± Liu Ning coldly ordered.

    The guards nced at one another. In the end, none of them dared to block the path of the empress. She was simply much too esteemedpared to them. They thought,The libationer is a powerful cultivator anyway. It¡¯s unlikely any danger will befall him.

    Liu Ning¡¯s anger was alleviated upon being granted passage. On her way up, however, she encountered Bi Linglong¡¯s followers.

    She¡¯s really still here! Hmph!

    At the top of the mountain, Rong Mo teased the fishes in the lotus pond out of boredom while asionally ncing at the courtyard not too far away.

    They still aren¡¯t done yet? Zu An has far too much stamina. Can the young miss¡¯ small body really take it?

    Just thinking about that made her face redden.

    She and Bi Linglong had gotten closer after the two of them talked things out. Bi Linglong had even brought her here to keep a lookout on her behalf, showing how much trust the crown princess ced in her. She was d that this was where the libationer went into seclusion, so others rarely approached the ce.

    Still, the Crown Princess is being too fearless. At this rate, the others will get suspicious.

    While Rong Mo was worrying about Bi Linglong, she noticed the empress flying over from afar, and her soul nearly escaped from her body. She quickly rushed up to the empress and shouted, ¡°This humble servant pays respect to your majesty.¡±

    After regaining her cultivation, the empress'' aura was much more dignified and imposing. Rong Mo knew there was no way she could stop the empress, so she could only pray that the young miss would hear her tip-off and prepare herself.

    Liu Nings said with a frown, ¡°You wench. Why are you shouting so loudly? Is your master doing something unseemly inside the courtyard?¡±

    Rong Mo felt a pang of guilt as she replied, ¡°Your Majesty, please don¡¯t speak nonsense!¡±

    Liu Ning couldn¡¯t be bothered to waste her time on Rong Mo. She flitted toward the courtyard and barged in without announcing herself. What she saw startled her, however. Nothing unseemly was happening inside, contrary to what she had imagined. The house was filled with the calming smell of incense. Bi Linglong and Zu An were seated opposite each other, engaged in a conversation. Her abrupt entry drew both their gazes, however.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, your majesty?¡± Zu An asked with a smile.

    ¡°Nothing much. I was just anxious to discuss some business with the regent,¡± Liu Ning said as she scrunched up her nose in an attempt to find a familiar scent in the air. However, the incense used in the room had a special scent that made it hard to smell anything else. She turned her attention to Bi Linglong and saw that the crown princess'' cheeks were exceptionally red today.

    Could it really be¡­

    ¡°Your majesty, this is a rare faux pas from you,¡± Bi Linglong said. She knew that Liu Ning was suspicious, so she decided to go on the offense.

    Zu An was impressed by how Bi Linglong could maintain an impassive appearance despite the empress'' verbal assault. He thought, Women sure are born actors. I wouldn¡¯t have suspected anything at all had I not been involved in it myself.

    Bi Linglong was relieved that Zu An¡¯s senses were sharp enough to spot the empress the moment she arrived at the academy. Zu An had wanted to continue fooling around, but she knew the empress too well to continue. Thus, she had hurriedly dressed herself up. It was a huge relief that she had alreadybed her hair by now. Even so, she nearly hadn¡¯t made it in time. She was still tidying up imto; the moment right before the Empress barged in!

    But speaking of which, what¡¯s that incense? It has a deep andsting fragrance that conceals all other scents¡­ Hmph, it looks as if Ah Zu is very experienced in such matters!

    ¡°I heard Linglong has been here for a few hours now, so I was worried the regent might have taken advantage of you,¡± Liu Ning said in a half-joking tone.

    Bi Linglong¡¯s heart skipped a beat, though she maintained herposure and replied, ¡°Are you insulting me or the libationer? He¡¯s a highly-respected figure now¡­¡±

    ¡°Calm down, Linglong. I¡¯m just cracking a joke,¡± Liu Ning said. She turned to Zu An and added, ¡°I¡¯m on close terms with the regent, so I doubt he¡¯d mind a joke. Isn¡¯t that so, regent?¡±

    ¡°It isn¡¯t a funny joke.¡± Bi Linglong harrumphed. She nced at Zu An and asked, ¡°Your majesty, how are you on close terms with the libationer?¡±

    ¡°Cough cough!¡± Seeing thathe was about to be dragged into the conflict, Zu An quickly interjected, ¡°We got dyed as the crown princess was consulting me about her cultivation. Your majesty, please don¡¯t joke about such matters. It¡¯d be terrible if such rumors went around.¡±

    ¡°I see,¡± Liu Ning said as she directed a smile at Bi Linglong. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to be so devoted to your cultivation. It just so happens that I recently regained my cultivation. Linglong, please don¡¯t hesitate to visit me at the Pce of Peace, where I¡¯ll answer any question you have; after all, something like this could rumors.¡±

    ¡°I doubt anyone aside from your majesty would suspect anything between us,¡± Bi Linglong coldly uttered. ¡°When ites to cultivation, I believe in consulting the strongest.¡± She thought, Know your ce! Don¡¯t you know the gap between you and Zu An? Why in the world would I consult you?

    Liu Ning red at Bi Linglong and harrumphed. ¡°Linglong, you are still some distance away from reaching grandmaster level. I am more than enough to offer pointers to you. The regent is far stronger than you. I suggest that you not get ahead of yourself.¡±

    Their res were so intense that it felt as if sparks would fly. Zu An quickly interjected, ¡°Crown princess, it wouldn¡¯t do for you to get too greedy. You should first digest what I imparted to you earlier.¡±

    Bi Linglong¡¯s face reddened. She naturally understood what he was getting at, so she directed a sharp re at him before taking her leave.

    Liu Ning wasn''t on close terms with Bi Linglong, and naturally wouldn¡¯t stop her from leaving. As she saw Bi Linglong off, she couldn¡¯t help mumbling under her breath, ¡°Linglong¡¯s gait looks much more feminine than before.¡±

    Fearing Liu Ning would really notice something, Zu An quickly interjected, ¡°Your majesty, you came in such a hurry. May I ask what business you have with me?¡±

    Liu Ning smiled coyly before sitting on hisp and asking, ¡°Can¡¯t I look for you out of boredom?¡±

    ¡°You said you had business with me,¡± Zu An said. He was initially stifled, but the soft sensation in his arms swiftly dispelled whatever dissatisfaction he felt. He couldn¡¯t help but notice how different Bi Linglong and Liu Ning felt in his arms. Bi Linglong had a slender physique, whereas Liu Ning was curvaceous¡­ Cough cough, what in the world am I thinking?

    ¡°It was mostly just a front to deceive Linglong, though I do have business with you,¡± Liu Ning said as she retrieved a delicate box from her robe and passed it over. ¡°Here¡¯s two million silver taels in banknotes. You should take it first.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    ¡°I heard from my subordinates that you''ve recently spent a huge sum on purchasing herbs, and you insisted on paying them market price. You must have been refining pills, and I figured you must be short on money after spending so much. This is my secret fund I''ve saved up over the years. You should take it for now.¡±

    Zu An sat in stunned silence.

    <strong></strong>

 Chapter 1954: Falling From the Clouds

    Chapter 1954: Falling From the Clouds

    Zu An was at a loss for words. He had never expected the two women to arrive one after another and offer him their secret stashes. He thought, Have I aplished my dream of having a pride of lionesses providing for me? He felt ufortable even though this was something he had been looking forward to, so he reflexively turned down the money.

    ¡°You need not be embarrassed. There¡¯s no need for such courtesy between us. It¡¯s a pity I''ve been uninterested in the outside world for many years due to my injury, or else I would have more than this,¡± Liu Ning said as she stuffed the banknotes into his clothes before looking at him with a gentle smile.

    She felt as if her life had be much more colorful after meeting Zu An, like weing a second spring. Seeing that Zu An still wanted to turn her down, she put on a stern expression and said, ¡°Based on my understanding of the crown princess, she must have sensed you werecking money and offered you some. Are you rejecting me because I¡¯m old?¡±

    ¡°Of course not!¡± Zu An replied. How could he reject her after she had said such words? Somehow, he could hear a tiny voice in his head murmuring ¡°Auntie, I don¡¯t want to work anymore.¡± and ¡°I was born with a weak constitution. The doctor said I was cursed to a life of mooching.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s more like it,¡± Liu Ning said. Her frown slowly smoothed upon seeing him ept her money. ¡°Speaking of which, Ah Zu, you really don¡¯t have to pay those people.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think it would be good to ept things from them for nothing. Besides, I reckon they¡¯d just pass the burden down to those beneath them,¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°Who says you¡¯re epting things from them for nothing? Your association with them already grants them power and authority; it''s just that you yourself are unaware of it,¡± Liu Ning said in a low voice. ¡°It might be hard for you to see things from our perspective, as you grew up in a very different environment. Do you think they¡¯d be grateful to you for paying them? Not at all. On the contrary, they would be horrified. They¡¯d wonder if they had done something to displease you. They¡¯d be on tenterhooks, worried that you¡¯d find an excuse to rece them. Such fear could prompt them to take actions that harm you. Only if you epted their favor would they think you were on their side and work hard for you.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡± Zu An sighed, saying, ¡°Howplicated. I should just focus on my cultivation.¡±

    Liu Ning chuckled and replied, ¡°You can leave such things for me to worry about. Speaking of which, there¡¯s a matter I¡¯d like to discuss with you. Those who went to Violet Mountain are back. For the time being, w''ve incarcerated Princess Xiaodie and the others, but we aren¡¯t sure how we should deal with the situation.¡±

    ¡°What are your thoughts?¡± Zu An asked. What a coincidence. Didn¡¯t Bi Linglonge here for the same thing oo?

    Liu Ning got straight to the point. ¡°If we had captured King Qi¡¯s son instead, we could have dealt with them for good, but we only have Zhao Xiaodie, who''s inconsequential in the bigger picture. Zhao Zhi is busy preparing for war in his territory, ready to strike as soon as an opportunity arises. Things have only just settled down in the imperial court, so it¡¯d be best not to incite him. Besides, Guan Chouhai and a few other sect leaders are implicated in this situation. If we pursue the matter, it might lead to severe bacsh from the dao sects.¡±

    ¡°Should we just let things drop? I¡¯m fine with that,¡± Zu An replied. Liu Ning and Bi Linglong might be arch-enemies, but they''re extremely simr in their thinking.

    ¡°I can spare them from death, but that doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯ll let them off the hook. If we don¡¯t punish them, they¡¯ll think that the imperial court is weak and can be trampled on. I¡¯ll have to slowly work out the details though.¡± Liu Ning harrumphed. She looked at Zu An and asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t you tight on money? We can use this opportunity to squeeze them dry. They should be overjoyed that we¡¯re allowing them to buy their way out of this at all. I''m such a genius! I¡¯m the only one in the world who would think of this.¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t want to burst her bubble by saying that Bi Linglong had had a simr idea.

    ¡°I¡¯ll need to liaise with the crown princess about this,¡± Liu Ning said. ¡°She fought King Qi¡¯s faction for many years and there¡¯s a deep grudge between them. I don¡¯t think she¡¯ll let them off the hook that easily. You know my rtionship with her, though. It¡¯ll only backfire if I talk to her.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡± Once again, Zu An was rendered speechless. Eventually, he said, ¡°I¡¯ll try. I think she should listen to me.¡± It was just a moment ago that Bi Linglong advised me to talk to the empress. Will they kill me if they learn the truth?

    ¡°She treats you so well that I¡¯m a little jealous of you,¡± Liu Ning sharply remarked. ¡°Linglong is young and beautiful, whereas I¡¯m already old and ugly.¡±

    Zu An burst intoughter and replied, ¡°If you were considered old and ugly, there would be no beauties in this world.¡±

    Liu Ning suddenly leaned in, licked her lips, and said, ¡°I delivered such a huge gift into your hands. How do you intend to repay me?¡± Her eyes were almost overflowing with desire.

    This is the difference between mature women and young women, Zu An thought. Bi Linglong is much shyer. I have to make the move every time. She only sends out vague signals through her clothes and makeup. I would struggle if not for my meticulousness. In contrast, Liu Ning has no problem expressing her desires.

    Liu Ning nuzzled against him like a little feral cat. Zu An thought that it would be a bad idea to turn her down, lest she suspect something between him and Bi Linglong. He also hadn¡¯t fully vented his lust earlier, so it was hard for him to resist Liu Ning¡¯s seduction.

    Liu Ning sent him a seductive smile as she slowly slid down his body and opened her mouth. That horrified Zu An, and he quickly pulled her up. It¡¯ll be terrible if she senses Linglong¡¯s aura.

    ¡°Are you already so desperate?¡± Liu Ning asked, bursting intoughter as shey on the table and lowered her waist, while silently inviting him in with her seductive gaze.

    There was no way Zu An could hold himself back. He immediately pounced on her¡­

    Meanwhile, Bi Linglong had left the courtyard together with Rong Mo, but momentster, she suddenly frowned and settled down on a nearby stone to rest.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, young miss?¡± Rong Mo asked as she anxiously examined Bi Linglong from head to toe.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. I just need some rest. My legs are numb from sitting down too long earlier,¡± Bi Linglong exined with a furious blush.

    ¡°Did you do it for that long?¡± Rong Mo asked, her eyes widening in shock. ¡°Is Sir Zu really that strong?¡±

    Bi Linglong was embarrassed. She grabbed Rong Mo by the ear and eximed, ¡°What nonsense are you spouting? We were just sitting around! What goes through that little head of yours all day?¡±

    ¡°You''re the one doing it. Can¡¯t I at least think about it?¡± Rong Mo blurted out, but she quickly begged for mercy upon seeing Bi Linglong¡¯s frown. It took a long time before she finally cated her master, saying, ¡°Young miss, you don¡¯t know how worried I was. I thought the empress would bump into the two of you¡­¡±

    Bi Linglong¡¯s face heated up. She replied, ¡°What¡¯s there to be worried about? Sir Zu and I are open and¡­¡±

    ¡°Of course, of course,¡± Rong Mo cidly replied, thinking. I¡¯d be a fool to believe you. ¡°Young miss, your legs were fine when you walked out of the courtyard earlier. Why did they suddenly go numb?¡±

    ¡°The empress was looking earlier. I had to hold it in no matter how numb they were¡­¡± Bi Linglong trailed off, but btedly realized that Rong Mo was messing with her. She pulled Rong Mo¡¯s cheeks and harrumphed. ¡°Really! Momo, when did you be so bad?¡±

    ¡°Young miss, I¡¯m concerned about you!¡± Rong Mo replied as she begged for mercy with a mischievous grin, though she also felt heartened. The two of them had been as close as sisters back when they were younger, but ever since Bi Linglong became the princess consort and had been forced to maintain a dignified front so as to earn the respect of others, the two of them had ended up drifting apart. She felt that the two of them had regained that closeness through their shared secret, though.

    After messing around a bit, Bi Linglong intentionally put on a stern face and said, ¡°Let¡¯s continue heading down.¡±

    ¡°Young miss, are you sure you''ve rested enough? You don¡¯t need to sit a little longer to recover?¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°Young miss, you were in there for two whole hours. Sir Zu sure is impressive! I thought men tended to be quite fast.¡±

    ¡°Who did you hear that from¡­ Pui! No one will take you for a mute if you stay quiet.¡±

    ¡°Young miss, are you sure your weak body can¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll sever your tongue if you continue harping on like that!¡±

    ¡­

    Bi Ziang had waited for a long time before he finally spotted his little sister. He immediately rushed up to her and eximed, ¡°Linglong!¡±

    ¡°Big brother? Why are you here?¡± Bi Linglong asked.

    ¡°Our father wishes to meet you. He demanded I fetch you,¡± Bi Ziang said as he closely examined her. He remarked in surprise, ¡°Linglong, yourplexion has looked a lot better recently. Somehow, you look more beautiful too."

    She was pumped with love for two whole hours. How could herplexion not be good? Rong Mo thought to herself.

    Bi Linglong must have guessed Rong Mo¡¯s thoughts, as she directed a warning re at her maid to not give her away. She turned to Bi Ziang and replied, ¡°Father could have just sent someone else to call me¡­¡±

    Halfway through her words, it btedly struck her that her father should have visited her in the Eastern Pce instead. It was unseemly of a crown princess to pay respects to her subject. She thought, Father has been involved in politics for many years. It¡¯s impossible for him to have made such a slip-up. Is there something he can¡¯t tell me in the Eastern Pce?

    Thus, she turned to Bi Ziang and said, ¡°Let¡¯s return to the Bi Manor first.¡± After getting onto the carriage, she asked with a grim expression, ¡°What happened?¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure either. Our father said it concerns our n¡¯s life and death, though I think he might be exaggerating,¡± Bi Ziang replied nonchntly. The Meng n was done for, whereas their Bi n had a rosy future ahead. He couldn¡¯t imagine how things could unravel for them.

    However, Bi Linglong¡¯s expression remained grim, as she knew her father wasn''t the kind to crack a joke.

    It didn¡¯t take them long to return to the Bi manor. Bi Qi dragged the two of them into a secret chamber, where not even personal maids like Rong Mo were allowed to approach.

    Bi Ziang was flustered by the borate measures his father had taken. He asked, ¡°Father, what happened?¡±

    Bi Linglong also looked at her father grimly.

    Bi Qi sighed and said, ¡°We might be the next Meng n tomorrow. No, it might even be worse for us.¡±

    ¡°Father, what happened? Stop beating around the bush,¡± Bi Linglong anxiously said.

    ¡°Have you heard the rumors on the street that Zu An might be the imperial grandson of the previous dynasty?¡± Bi Qi asked.

    Bi Linglong nodded and said, ¡°I have heard them, and dispatched men to deal with it. I reckon it¡¯s just a couple of troublemakers running their mouths.¡±

    ¡°What if it¡¯s true?¡± Bi Qi asked with an intense gaze.

    ¡°So what if it¡¯s true? The previous dynasty has been gone for many years. No one cares about it anymore, especially now that his majesty has passed away,¡± Bi Linglong said, unfazed. It didn¡¯t matter to her whether Zu An was a civilian or the imperial grandson of the previous dynasty; she liked him no matter who he was. She also believed that he wouldn¡¯t care about something like that given their rtionship.

    ¡°You don¡¯t understand,¡± Bi Qi said. He hesitated for a long while before finally revealing the truth. ¡°I was the one the Zhao n tasked to assassinate the previous dynasty¡¯s imperial offspring.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Bi Ziang eximed in horror. Zu An was their greatest base of support. The worst thing that could happen at this juncture was for a rift to appear between them. Just thinking about the Meng n¡¯s plight was enough to send shudders down his spine. It was no wonder his father said that the Bi n could fare worse.

    Bi Linglong had still been floating in the clouds a moment before after enjoying such great bliss, but the revtion dragged her down to the ground. She stood in a daze, as countless memories arose in her mind.

    <strong></strong>

 Chapter 1955: Worry

    Chapter 1955: Worry

    No wonder Ah Zu has been asking me weird things recently¡ª¡°Who would you save if your father and I fell into danger at the same time?¡±, ¡°Will you put down everything to elope with me?¡±, and other such things, Bi Linglong thought. I thought he was being childish, and I had my hands full over my conflict with the Meng n and the empress, so I didn¡¯t take it to heart. Now that I think about it, this must have been what he meant.

    ¡°It¡¯s over. The Meng n has so many experts, including earth immortals, but he eradicated them so easily. We¡¯ll be doomed if he wants vengeance on us!¡± Bi Ziang eximed, feeling more panicked the more he thought about it. ¡°Father, why did you do that? Why did you mess with such a strong enemy for no reason?¡±

    Bi Qi was already feeling frustrated about the situation, and Bi Ziang¡¯s words only further annoyed him. ¡°Idiot, do you think I could have predicted this? How was I to know there would be such a monstrous talent among those imperial heirs?¡±

    Bi Ziang dared not to harp on the matter. He knew his father was right. It would have been a blessing if any of the imperial heirs survived at all, and they would have changed their names and lived humbly, so as to not get hunted down.

    Who could have thought a monster like Zu An would sprout up? He didn¡¯t have the protection of a powerful n. He hadn''t been nurtured by apetent teacher from a young age. He didn¡¯t have an abundance of resources to fall back on. And yet, he had still grown to be a powerful cultivator at such a young age. Was the legendary Phoenix Nirvana Sutra really that formidable?

    Bi Linglong took a deep breath topose herself before asking, ¡°Father, what exactly did you do back then? If you only followed orders, it might still be possible to resolve this grudge.¡±

    Bi Qi¡¯s cheeks twitched. He shook his head and replied, ¡°None of the imperial heirs of the previous dynasty lived to adulthood. I also secretly eliminated quite a few of the concubines and consorts. Do you think it¡¯s possible toe to a peaceful resolution?¡±

    Bi Linglong felt as if her heart had been plunged into cold water. This was a huge blood debt. There was no way they could talk things out.

    Bi Qi sighed and said, ¡°We can only pray the rumors are false, and Zu An isn''t an imperial heir of the previous dynasty. Linglong, it¡¯s more convenient for you to contact the Embroidered Envoy in the pce. Have them investigate the matter and report it to you. You have to deny it even if the report shows that Zu An is an imperial heir of the previous dynasty. This is also aligned with the interest of the current imperial family.¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The sudden emergence of such an imperial heir was a huge threat to the Zhao n too, after all.

    Bi Linglong smiled bitterly upon hearing those words. Her father¡¯s solution would have worked had it been anyone else, but how could she hide her investigation from Zu An when he was the currentmander of the Embroidered Envoy? She hesitantly pped her mouth wordlessly, but she eventually decided to conceal his identity.

    Bi Ziang¡¯s eyes lit up. He said, ¡°You¡¯re right! The imperial court has the final say on whether he¡¯s an imperial heir or not. We can just say whatever we want!¡± His tense body finally rxed, and he burst intoughter.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Rong Mo was bored out of her mind outside the residence. Just then, she saw Bi Linglong walking out and quickly rushed up with a smile, calling out, ¡°Young¡­ miss?¡±

    Bi Linglong¡¯s face was ghastly pale, and her eyes looked as if they had lost all spirit. It was a stark contrast to how she had been just before she entered; she was filled with despair. Her father and older brother had been praying that Zu An was oblivious to the secrets of the past, but based on Zu An¡¯s previous behavior, there was a good chance he already knew the truth. She''d withheld that information from her father and older brother, as it was already meaningless at this point. There was nothing they could do other than to live out the rest of their lives in fear.

    I¡¯ll just shoulder the burden instead.

    ¡°Young miss! Young miss, don¡¯t scare me! What happened?¡± Rong Mo asked, flustered.

    ¡°Let''s head to Mount Yuquan,¡± Bi Linglong said. She thought that it would be a good idea to talk things out with Zu An.

    ¡°Ah? Are we heading there again? Young miss, you were there for nearly four hours, and it nearly caused a scandal. To head there now would be¡­¡± Rong Mo trailed off. She wondered what was so good about Zu An that eroded Bi Linglong¡¯s self-control, but halfway through her sentence, Bi Linglong¡¯s frosty re chilled her heart. She dared not run her mouth anymore and replied, ¡°Yes, young miss!¡±

    Soon, the carriage was on its way to Mount Yuquan once more. Halfway through the journey, however, Bi Linglong suddenly shouted, ¡°Let''s not head there anymore. Let''s return to the pce instead.¡±

    Rong Mo was perplexed, but she could tell that Bi Linglong had a lot on her mind. Not wanting to disturb her at this sensitive juncture, she quietly instructed the carriage to turn around.

    Meanwhile, in the Bi manor, Bi Qi¡¯splexion remained dark even after Bi Linglong¡¯s departure. Bi Ziang, on the other hand, wanted to head out to find some friends to unwind after the huge scare he had just suffered.

    ¡°Stop! You¡¯re leaving just like that?¡± Bi Qi snapped as he furiously red at his son.

    He had previously been satisfied with his son, who was outstanding among his peers in terms of intellect and cultivation level. But ever since Zu An¡¯s appearance, he couldn¡¯t help but find his soncking in all aspects. Zu An was younger than Bi Ziang, but he had already reached a height that Bi Ziang could never reach in his entire lifetime. Compared to Zu An, Bi Qi thought his son was nothing at all.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t the problem resolved?¡± Bi Ziang asked, unable to understand why his father was so angry.

    ¡°It¡¯s not that simple,¡± Bi Qi said with a sneer. ¡°Didn¡¯t you see your little sister¡¯s expression?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Bi Ziang asked, taken aback. He had been so preupied with his emotions earlier that he hadn¡¯t had any attention to spare on Bi Linglong.

    Bi Qi felt a surge of anger upon seeing Bi Ziang¡¯s reaction. He had to muster all his self-control to suppress his rage as he said, ¡°Linglong¡¯s reaction was a little strange. At some points, she even held herself back from speaking. She¡¯s clearly hiding something from us.¡±

    Bi Ziang was perplexed, saying, ¡°That doesn¡¯t make sense. Linglong is in the same boat as us; we¡¯ll either float or sink together, and she understands that. There¡¯s no reason for her to hide things from us.¡±

    Besides, Bi Linglong was on close terms with them. It wasn''t as if they had mistreated her, so there was no reason for her to hold a grudge against them.

    ¡°I spent some time working with Zu An back on Violet Mountain. He¡¯s good with women,¡± Bi Qi said with a gleam in his eyes. ¡°Chu Chuyan is one thing, since they were a couple, but there¡¯s also Xie Daoyun and the dao sects¡¯ Pei Mianman. They''re on close terms with him too. Even the White Jade Sect¡¯s Yan Xuehen, who showed no deference even to Zhao Han, seemed to harbor special feelings for him.¡±

    Bi Ziang was speechless. He could understand the regret and envy behind his father''s words. Chu Chuyan had mesmerized many young nobles and young masters when she came to the capital in the past, and he was no exception. Many had thought she would reenact Yu Yanluo¡¯s miracle too. It was just a pity she hadn¡¯t wanted to be embroiled in a family conflict, and had ended up marrying a hoodlum. Many people had felt great pity upon hearing that.

    Meanwhile, Yan Xuehen was practically the Chu Chuyan of Bi Qi¡¯s generation.

    ¡°That gigolo is good at winning women¡¯s favor. I wonder how he does it. It¡¯s not as if he¡¯s particrly handsome or anything,¡± Bi Ziang grumbled.

    ¡°Handsome? Is that what you¡¯re focused on?¡± Bi Qi retorted, kicking his son. ¡°What¡¯s important about a man is his capability. Looks are nothing! If you could easily y an earth immortal too, you¡¯d have countless beautiful women by your side.¡±

    ¡°I have many beautiful women by my side too¡­¡± Bi Ziang mumbled.

    ¡°Are any of them a match for the women he has by his side?¡± Bi Qi shot back, ring at his son.

    Bi Ziang was rendered speechless. He had many beauties by his side, but they were merely toys to him. None of them had the background and capability of the women Zu An had. It was then that he finally grasped what his father was getting at. He began, ¡°Father, do you think that Linglong¡­¡±

    ¡°Looks like there¡¯s still hope for you!¡± Bi Qi remarked, feeling a little heartened. ¡°You know the situation with the crown prince. Linglong is a proud woman, so they''re likely just a couple in name, and it¡¯ll stay that way for the rest of their life. Zu An is an extraordinary man. He is young, suave, and powerful, and he has the means to win women¡¯s favor. The two of them have spent plenty of time together in the Eastern Pce. If I were a woman, I might have fallen for his charms.¡±

    The thought of his father cosying as a woman left Bi Ziang utterly disgusted. He quickly shook off that thought and asked, ¡°Father, do you think Linglong will side with Zu An over us? But given Linglong¡¯s personality, I don¡¯t think she¡¯d do anything to harm our Bi n¡­¡±

    ¡°I hope not too, but we can¡¯t pin all our hopes on her,¡± Bi Qi said as his eyes glimmered in contemtion.

    ¡°What other choice do we have? Zu An can y even an earth immortal; we don¡¯t stand a chance against him,¡± Bi Ziang said, dismayed. ¡°In my opinion, we should just get Linglong and Zu An together and pray that he¡¯ll let us off on her ount.¡±

    ¡°You fool! He wouldn¡¯t give up on such a huge blood debt over a woman,¡± Bi Qi lectured him. ¡°Have you forgotten my teachings? Only a weakling would entrust their hope to someone else¡¯s pity. Zu An might be powerful, but who says we have to go head-on against him?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be reckless, father. The Meng n¡¯s downfall is a warning,¡± Bi Ziang worriedly advised.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Meng Yi made missteps one after another because he didn¡¯t understand the extent of Zu An¡¯s strength. I have enough intelligence in my hand to make my move. I won¡¯t walk down the same path as the Meng n,¡± Bi Qi said; he slowly calmed down as his lips curled up.

    Bi Ziang¡¯s heart skipped a beat. He could tell his father had made up his mind. I can only pray he knows what he¡¯s doing, so he doesn¡¯t ruin our Bi n.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, an unkempt middle-aged man was drinking in a brothel. A woman approached him, only for him to impatiently chase her away.

    ¡°Tsk! Who in the worldes here only for the alcohol and not for the women?¡± the woman snapped as she walked away.

    Ji Dengtu couldn¡¯t be bothered to argue with her, thinking A real woman will never be as interesting as those in Zu An¡¯s book. He reflectively reached for the booklet in his clothes, but he didn¡¯t take it out in the end. Instead, he nced in the direction of the city gate and murmured, ¡°It''s been a few days since our agreed-on date. Why isn¡¯t Xiaoxi here yet? Did something happen?¡±

    <strong></strong>

 Chapter 1956: A Walkthrough

    Chapter 1956: A Walkthrough

    ¡°I gave Xiaoxi a lot of life-preserving medicine, and she¡¯s a smart child too. She should be fine,¡± Ji Dengtu murmured under his breath, but the alcohol he was drinking suddenly didn¡¯t taste as fragrant anymore. In the end, he caved in and rushed out of the city.

    A short whileter, a mboyant madam walked over, shook her slightly plump waist, and said, ¡°Big brother, I heard you don¡¯t like young women, so I personally came down¡­¡± Her words trailed off into silence as she realized no one was at the table. She screeched in anger, ¡°That bastard! How dare he take advantage of us?¡±

    A servant meekly pointed out, ¡°He didn''t pick ady yet, so technically¡­ he hasn¡¯t taken advantage of us yet, right?¡±

    ¡°Do you think I don¡¯t know that? How dare he drink and dash at our Red Sleeve Brothel?¡± the madam cried.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An had just sent the empress off from the academy¡¯s rear mountain. He thought about how he had envied protagonists with a harem in the past, but it was dawning on him that it wasn¡¯t easy for them either.

    When women visit one after another in session, it really takes a toll on my waist¡­ Luckily, I''ve cultivated the Primordial Origin Sutra, so my body is tough enough. I wonder how ordinary people do it.

    Zu An shook those misceneous thoughts out of his mind as he decided to take a trip to the imperial prison. Bi Linglong and Liu Ning had raised the same subject with him, so he figured it¡¯d be best to settle it quickly, especially since Zhao Xiaodie knew about his rtionship with Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen. It didn¡¯t take him long to arrive in the vicinity of the imperial prison.

    Zhao Xiaodie was the princess of King Qi Manor, so it would look bad if she were thrown into the imperial prison without any charges. For now, she was incarcerated in a residence near the imperial prison instead. This residence was specially reserved for women of esteemed standing. After all, the imperial prison was a messy ce. If the warden tried something, it wouldn¡¯t reflect well on anyone.

    Sensing Zu An¡¯s approach, a guard quickly stepped forward to block his path, saying, ¡°Unauthorized personnel are not¡­¡± Halfway through those words, he caught sight of Zu An¡¯s appearance and jolted in shock. He stuttered, ¡°P-P-Paying respects to the regent. I was blind¡­¡±

    Zu An was taken aback, asking, ¡°You know me?¡± He had rushed here, so he didn¡¯t have his followers or official garment with him. He had still been worried about bumping into trouble due to that.

    ¡°My king, you¡¯re pulling my leg. There¡¯s no one in the imperial court who doesn¡¯t recognize you,¡± the guard replied with a fawning smile. ¡°Your portrait is the hottest painting on the streets right now.¡±

    In the past, most officials in the capital hadn¡¯t recognized Zu An despite his identity as a marquis and an individual favored by the Eastern Pce. There were lots of people with powerful backgrounds in the capital; there had been no reason for them to pay particr attention to a mere upstart. However, the battle with the Meng n had shot him to fame.

    ¡°My portrait?¡± Zu An replied. He had asked that question in passing, but the guard¡¯s response prompted him to stop in ce.

    The guard squeezed on a smile that was as obsequious as possible, exining ¡°Common folk buy it to ward evil, lest nobles and officials bully them. As for nobles and officials, they buy it to¡­¡±

    ¡°To?¡± Zu An asked curiously.

    ¡°To educate their offspring and rtives about our regent¡¯s appearance, so they know not to cross you no matter how arrogant they usually are,¡± the guard finished.

    Zu An was speechless.

    How can they sell my portrait without paying me money as the model? If everyone recognizes me, I won¡¯t be able to pretend to be a pig to devour a tiger.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but think that something was amiss about this, so he made a mental note to have the Embroidered Envoy investigate the sale of his portraitster on. With a dark expression, he entered Zhao Xiaodie¡¯s room.

    Zhao Xiaodie had been sitting dazedly by the windows, but Zu An''s entrance startled her. Only upon seeing who it was did she pat her chest in relief and say, ¡°Ah, it¡¯s big brother Zu. That scared me.¡± She squeezed out a smile, but she couldn¡¯t conceal her frailty and exhaustion.

    Zu An gestured for her to sit down, saying, ¡°I¡¯m here to see you. Did anyone bully you along the way?¡±

    ¡°Who would dare bully me? I''m the daughter of King Qi, not to mention that big brother Zu is protecting me,¡± Zhao Xiaodie replied with a smile. ¡°Big brother Zu, has the court decided on how it intends to deal with King Qi Manor?¡±

    Zu An nodded and replied, ¡°Yes. What you¡¯re worried about won¡¯te to pass. The court has decided to deal with this matter privately. There¡¯s a good chance your father¡¯s honor will be restored, under the pretext that the two of them met with danger inside the secret dungeon.¡± He had decided against iming credit for the oue despite Bi Linglong and Liu Ning¡¯s advice, as he thought it would be too despicable to do so.

    Zhao Xiaodie had been feeling nervous about precisely that, and the verdict made her cry tears of joy. She asked, ¡°Big brother Zu, am I dreaming?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not dreaming,¡± Zu An replied with a smile. ¡°That being said, your King Qi Manor won¡¯t be as influential as it used to be.¡±

    Zhao Xiaodie celebrated this good news with a dance of joy before she turned to Zu An and formally bowed to him, saying, ¡°Big brother Zu, I¡¯m grateful to you. It must be to your credit that our King Qi Manor is fine despite my father¡¯s grievous sin. I don¡¯t have the means to repay this debt, but if you don¡¯t mind, I¡¯m willing to offer myself¡­¡±

    Cough cough. ¡°You don¡¯t need to do that,¡± Zu An said, quickly stopping her.

    ¡°Big brother Zu, I mean it,¡± Zhao Xiaodie said with a pout.

    She was truly thankful to Zu An, as she''d thought that everyone in King Qi Manor would either be executed or imprisoned for life after the events at Violet Mountain. It was awfully lenient of the court to merely take away their fortune and influence. She knew there were plenty of people at the court who would exploit this opportunity to put down King Qi Manor.

    The crown princess has fought with our King Qi Manor for many years now, so there¡¯s no doubt she¡¯d have taken this chance to attack us. I heard the empress, who used to be a formidable figure in her earlier years, wasn¡¯t on good terms with father either. I wonder what kind of price big brother Zu had to pay to help me.

    Zhao Xiaodie¡¯s eyes glittered with tears.

    ¡°You can repay me by not threatening me over untrue matters,¡± Zu An replied with a smile.

    Zhao Xiaodie knew he was referring to her threatening him over Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue, and her cheeks reddened. She said, ¡°Big brother Zu, I was in a desperate situation and had no choice but to do something foolish. I won¡¯t do that again. I''ve thought things through in recent days. Had I been unlucky enough to encounter someone vicious, they would have long since silenced me. It¡¯s only because of big brother Zu¡¯s kindness that I¡¯m still alive. You¡¯re truly good to me. I have no way of repaying you, so I can only¡­¡±

    ¡°Stop, stop, stop!¡± Zu An cried, sweating buckets.

    What¡¯s wrong with this woman? Why does she keep offering herself to me? She¡¯s a princess, for god¡¯s sake!

    ¡°I have other matters to attend to. You¡¯ll still have to stay here for a couple more days, but you should regain your freedom soon," he said as he frantically fled the scene.

    The besotted Zhao Xiaodie caressed her cheeks and murmured, ¡°He looks charming even when he¡¯s escaping. Ahh, how I wish to be whipped by him once more¡­¡± She squirmed in excitement as she recalled his whipping.

    ¡­

    In the imperial prison, Guan Chouhai saw Zu An and let out a sigh. He asked, ¡°Sir Zu, are you here to im my life?¡±

    Zu An sat down before him and replied, ¡°Sect leader Guan, there¡¯s no need to be so down.¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°I was haughty on Violet Mountain, but far too many things have happened since,¡± Guan Chouhaimented.

    Back then, they had gathered many experts to encircle Zhao Han, but the emperor had easily crushed all of them. They hadter entered that secret dungeon and encountered even more formidable beings. Sect leaders on par with him, such as Xuan Bajing, had been killed as easily as chickens or dogs. And now, he was stuck in the imperial prison, with his eventual fate unknown. It was inevitable that he would feel down.

    ¡°Sir Zu, I did what I did as an individual; my sect has nothing to do with it. I hope you can look after my sect in view of our past ties," he continued.

    ¡°You speak as if you¡¯re writing your will," Zu An said with a chuckle. ¡°You may rest assured. It¡¯s over now. You¡¯ll be fine. That being said, you¡¯ll still have to be punished for your deeds. The imperial court will be handing out punishments in due time, though it¡¯ll be something you can take.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Guan Chouhai eximed; he was dumbstruck, as assassinating the emperor was a grievous crime regardless of the dynasty. He couldn¡¯t believe they weren¡¯t about to be executed for it. Even if they were still going to be punished for it, that was practically nothing at all.

    ¡°Of course,¡± Zu An replied.

    Guan Chouhai kneeled to Zu An and dered, ¡°I, Guan Chouhai, and everyone at the Heavenly Sorrow Sect will never forget Sir Zu¡¯s magnanimity!¡±

    Zu An supported him to his feet as he replied, ¡°Sect leader Guan, there¡¯s no need for that. What¡¯s more important to the imperial court right now is maintaining stability. It''s lost too many top-notch experts in recent days, to the point that it needs some time to recover.¡±

    ¡°Sir Zu is truly noble. You don¡¯t ask for anything in return despite having done us such a huge favor. I am truly impressed by your magnanimity,¡± Guan Chouhai said.

    Zu An was baffled, thinking, I feel as if all of them have vivid imaginations.

    ¡°I heard the wardens¡¯ gossip. They thought I couldn¡¯t hear them, but I am still a grandmaster, after all. Even with restrictions ced on me, my hearing surpasses that of any mortal. They said the crown princess was angered by our audacity for assassinating the emperor, and she intended to kill me as a warning to the others. At the same time, she''d reorganize the daoist sects. I reckoned our Heavenly Sorrow Sect would be wiped from the face of the world by the time she was done.

    ¡°Later, a bunch of people came and talked about how much the emperor and empress loved each other. They said she was infuriated when she learned about the death of her husband, and that she made a deration in the imperial court that she¡¯d hunt down everyst one of us.¡±

    Guan Chouhai looked at Zu An with a fearful expression and said, ¡°Currently, the empress and the crown princess are the most powerful individuals in the capital. Only Sir Zu could persuade them otherwise. How can I not be grateful to you for your help?¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    Clearly, Bi Linglong and Liu Ning had sent their people down to ry false information to Guan Chouhai and the others, so as to create the impression that Zu An was the one who had saved them. Those two women are doing me a huge favor, though the way they nder each other is truly¡­

    Guan Chouhai took off the ring on his finger and said, ¡°In this storage ring are the treasures I have stockpiled over many years. Sir Zu, please ept my token of goodwill, or else my heart will never feel at ease. There¡¯ll be more once I return to the Heavenly Sorrow Sect.¡±

    With all that had happened, if he still refused to ept Guan Chouhai¡¯s gift, Zu An would be letting down both Bi Linglong and Liu Ning.

    ¡­

    After leaving the imperial prison, Zu An returned to the academy and made his way to Jiang Luofu¡¯s residence. He''d put aside some of the Marrow Cleansing Pills he refined for her and Ji Xiaoxi.

    Since I happen to be free, I¡¯ll pass the pills to them today.

    Speaking of which, Ji Dengtu mentioned Xiaoxi went out to pick some herbs. Is she not back yet? I should ask Jiang Luofu about itter.

 Chapter 1957: Shadowmoon Lake

    Chapter 1957: Shadowmoon Lake

    Zu An reached into his robe, where he had stowed the gifts he had received from the sects.

    After meeting Guan Chouhai, he had visited the chief disciples of the other sects. Following the battle at Violet Mountain, most of the sects had some people arrested and imprisoned, except for the White Jade Sect and Jadefall Pce, which Zu An was close to.

    Zu An had thus calmed them down and exined that the matter had been resolved. Those people looked up at him, their eyes filled with gratitude.

    As the prodigies of their respective sects, they had acted incredibly haughtily on Violet Mountain. They had even looked down on Zu An, who was the same age as them, thinking he had only climbed to his position through bootlicking. However, the events that transpired afterward had made them realize that they weren¡¯t on the same level. Recently, there had even begun to be rumors that their respective sect leaders weren¡¯t a match for Zu An.

    Despite their having treated him with disdain, Zu An was still willing to put aside their differences and save them while they were being beaten down! They felt both grateful and apologetic toward him, especially when some had even thought about fighting with him over Fairy Chu.

    It helped that the empress and the crown princess had each been spreading word about how the other intended to cruelly deal with the sects, which made the prisoners even more thankful to Zu An. They were more than happy to use their own savings to thank him.

    Zu An thought about how he had squandered most of his wealth on pill refinement as ofte, so he didn¡¯t hesitate to ept their gifts.

    ¡°I should be able to refine a few more pills with this much money,¡± he muttered to himself,menting Youzhao¡¯scking aptitude. She had to consume quite a few Marrow Cleansing Pills to raise her talent.

    It¡¯s fortunate that the others are quite talented, so a single pill is enough for them. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t be able to provide for them even if I bankrupt myself.

    Before Zu An knew it, he had already arrived outside Jiang Luofu¡¯s residence. He was just about to knock on the door when it opened from the inside. His eyes lit up. Jiang Luofu had a disposition reminiscent of a career woman climbing the corporatedder, or the teachers in a certain genre of movies, which made him feel as if he had transmigrated back to his previous world. Her well-proportioned legs look perfect in ck stockings, like ham and cup noodles, cumin andmb, or Angelina Jolie and me.

    ¡°Big sister Jiang, are you heading out?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°Mm,¡± Jiang Luofu said with a nod. There was a hint of worry on her face as she asked, ¡°Were you looking for me?¡±

    Zu An took out a small box and handed it to her, saying, ¡°I have a Marrow Cleansing Pill in here. It can raise a person¡¯s cultivation talent.¡±

    Jiang Luofu was startled. She asked, ¡°Is this what you''ve been doing in the pill refinement room? Is this pill that amazing?¡±

    ¡°Haven¡¯t you been curious as to why I''m so talented? You can credit the pills,¡± Zu An exined with a chuckle.

    Jiang Luofu was both moved and embarrassed, as she hadn¡¯t expected him to reveal such an important secret. She said, ¡°This is too valuable. I don¡¯t know how you refined it, but I¡¯m guessing the ingredients include rare treasures. You should keep it for Chuyan and the others.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll refine more for them. This is for you,¡± Zu An said as she stuffed the container into her hand.

    Jiang Luofu blushed and replied, ¡°I can¡¯t ept such an invaluable gift when I haven¡¯t done anything. I¡¯m not your¡­ It doesn¡¯t feel right to ept this from you.¡±

    ¡°Who says you haven¡¯t done anything? I¡¯d have never achieved what I did if not for big sister Jiang taking care of me in Brightmoon City,¡± Zu An said.

    Jiang Luofu bit her lips and said, ¡°I¡¯ll ept it then, but I ought to remind you that this pill is incredibly valuable. Others will covet it if they learn about it.¡±

    Cultivation was tough, and most people had to cultivate from a young age to temper their bodies. If it became known that a pill could rewrite their fate, especially with Zu An as a sess story to prove its effectiveness, the world of cultivation would go into a frenzy over that pill. After all, anyone in possession of it could nurture an army of top-notch experts. No matter how powerful Zu An was, it wouldn¡¯t be a wise decision for him to be the enemy of all cultivators in the world. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I know what I¡¯m doing. It¡¯s not an easy feat to refine the pill, and its ingredients are incredibly rare too. It¡¯s impossible to produce it inrge quantities,¡± Zu An replied with a chuckle.

    Jiang Luofu was touched. He actually prepared such a valuable pill for me¡­

    ¡°Hurry up and eat it. It could lose its potency if left for too long,¡± Zu An reminded her. He had only begun refining these pills recently, so he wasn¡¯t sure about the finer details regarding their expiry and so on; thus, it was best to consume them right away.

    Jiang Luofu nodded. She opened the box, revealing a glistening pill inside. Even at a nce, the pill looked anything but ordinary. As soon as she popped it into her mouth, it dissolved into a stream of energy that flowed down her throat. At that instant, she felt an intricate connection with the world, as the ki from the world washed through her limbs and organs.

    Seeing how she unhesitatingly consumed it, Zu An said teasingly, ¡°You didn¡¯t even test it. Aren¡¯t you afraid of me spiking it?¡±

    Jiang Luofu¡¯s cold face turned slightly red as she red at him, saying, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t just eat any pill from anyone. You¡¯re different.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s heart skipped a beat. He wanted to ask her how he was different, but it would seem as if he were flirting with her.

    Just then, Jiang Luofu¡¯s eyebrows shot up. She began squirming in difort, as she felt something sticky clinging onto her. Did this fellow really spike the pill?

    It was then that Zu An remembered the pill¡¯s side effects. He said, ¡°I forgot to tell you. The pill cleanses your meridians and marrow and expels the impurities within, so you¡¯ll get dirty.¡±

    He recalled the situation when he had first eaten the pill. His talent had been severelycking, and he''d had many impurities in his body, so he had ended up expelling a lot of filth. Jiang Luofu¡¯s cultivation and talent were much higher than his own had been back then, so the amount of impurities she expelled would be much lower.

    ¡°You should have said so earlier!¡± Jiang Luofu eximed, feeling embarrassed. As she rushed into her room, her usual coldness vanished. Given her standing, it was no surprise she had a pool in her residence.

    Zu An coughed awkwardly and said, ¡°Big sister Jiang, you can take your time to wash up. I¡¯ll take my leave first.¡± It wouldn¡¯t be good for him to linger around when she was going to wash up.

    ¡°Don¡¯t go. Come in,¡± Jiang Luofu said.

    ¡°???¡± Zu An was perplexed. He instinctively imagined the sight of Jiang Luofu taking off her ck stockings by the pool, which sent a shudder through his body. He quicklyposed himself and asked, ¡°Is that a good idea?¡±

    ¡°What are you thinking? I need your help!¡± Jiang Luofu replied, although her voice carried a hint of coyness.

    As he stepped into her residence, Zu An heaved a sigh of relief.

    ¡°Come closer. Over here,¡± Jiang Luofu said over the sound of sshing water.

    Zu An made his way to the back of her residence, where he could vaguely see a steaming pool in the middle of a lush forest. Jiang Luofu was bathing in it with her fair shoulders exposed. Ayer of white fog drifted above the pool, concealing the wonders hidden beneath the water. Even so, it was still possible to see the outline of her silhouette, which arguably looked even more tempting.

    Zu An was taken aback. She sure strips quickly!

    ¡°Don¡¯t look into the water. I know that given your current cultivation level, you can see right through the pool¡¯s concealment formation,¡± Jiang Luofu crossed her arms in front of her breasts as she said those embarrassing words with an incredibly natural expression.

    ¡°You were the one who told me to enter,¡± Zu An replied in annoyance as he turned around.

    This would be considered a badger game[1] in my previous life, right?

    Jiang Luofu pursed her lips and said, ¡°I was about to head out to deal with urgent business, but after taking your pill, I now have to bathe. On top of that, I¡¯m feeling a bit weak and fatigued, so I doubt I¡¯ll be able to cross blows with others. I have no choice but to ask for your help, but I think you¡¯ll be happy to help me with this.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Zu An asked, perplexed.

    Jiang Luofu¡¯s expression turned severe as she said, ¡°Xiaoxi might have met with trouble.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Zu An eximed in rm

    ¡°My senior brother recently brought Xiaoxi to Copper Gong Mountain, as she needed some ingredients there for her pill refinement. As Copper Gong Mountain is located near the capital, the army regrly cleanses the area, so there aren¡¯t any dangerous beasts there. My senior brother thought it wouldn¡¯t be too risky, so he gave her permission to head there herself while he visited the academy first,¡± Jiang Luofu said, her eyes brimming with worry as she continued, ¡°It''s already been three days since their agreed meeting date, and Xiaoxi still isn¡¯t here yet.¡±

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t anyone tell me earlier?!¡± Zu An eximed anxiously.

    ¡°My senior brother might be a loafer, but he cares deeply about Xiaoxi. He¡¯s always on the lookout for young men eyeing Xiaoxi. You have a reputation out there, so it isn¡¯t surprising he¡¯s guarded against you,¡± Jiang Luofu said. ¡°He often says that the ones he needs to be careful of are ¡®Teacher Bai¡¯, ¡®Principal Gao¡¯[2], and you. Is that some kind of code between the two of you?¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    Damned Ji Dengtu. I was kind enough to show you the wisdom of our predecessors, but you turned it against me!

    Jiang Luofu continued, ¡°It¡¯s normal to get dyed for a day or two while gathering herbs, so my senior brother didn¡¯t think much of it at the start. That being said, he''s been camping at the city entrance for the past few days. In the end, he sumbed to his anxiety and headed to Copper Gong Mountain to look for Xiaoxi. He asked me to wait at the city entrance in his stead lest Xiaoxi returned and he missed her.

    ¡°I''ve been waiting for a few days now, and yet not only has Xiaoxi not appeared, I''ve even lost contact with my senior brother. I gave of the academy¡¯s messenger pigeons to keep in touch. These messenger pigeons have been through strict training, and my great senior brother went a step further to ce a formation on them to guard against predators and arrows. It shouldh have been unlikely for anything to happen to these messenger pigeons, but I haven¡¯t heard from him for days now. I¡¯m worried something might have gone awry, so I decided to take a look.¡±

    Zu An spent a moment in contemtion before replying, ¡°You''ll experience a period of weakness after consuming the Marrow Cleansing Pill, so you should focus on integrating its medicinal energy instead. Leave this matter to me. Do you know the rough area they''re in?¡±

    Copper Gong Mountain was not small. Blindly searching for someone there was no different from finding a needle in a haystack.

    ¡°I only know that Xiaoxi was looking for Shadowmoon Grass. I asked my fourth senior brother, and he said it grows near Shadowmoon Lake,¡± Jiang Luofu exined, drawing a simple map in midair with her finger.

    ¡°Leave it to me,¡± Zu An replied with a nod. He rushed into the sky and soon vanished over the horizon.

    Jiang Luofu stared at his swiftly disappearing silhouette.

    There should be no problem since he¡¯s making a move, right?

    However, she couldn¡¯t shake off the ominous feeling looming in her heart, so she decided to look for her little senior sister to make a divination about the matter.

    1. Badger game is an extortion scheme where you put the victim inpromising positions so that you can ckmail them. ?

    2. Teacher Bai and Principal Gao is a meme in China, referring to likable teachers that students tend to have crushes on. ?

 Chapter 1958: Unknown Danger

    Chapter 1958: Unknown Danger

    Worried that something could have happened to Ji Xiaoxi, Zu An flew straight toward Copper Gong Mountain. His movements caught the attention of many in the capital.

    ¡°As expected of the regent. He disappears in the blink of an eye.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t there a formation forbidding flight in the capital? Why does it not work on him?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you know that officials are exempted from thews? Such restrictions only apply to peasants like us.¡±

    ¡­

    Those from the major ns in the capital stared at the sky in confusion.

    ¡°He appears to be in a hurry. Did something happen in the imperial court?¡±

    ¡°I hope that star of misfortune never returns.¡±

    ¡­

    In the Pce of Peace, Eunuch Lu greeted the empress behind a curtain and reported, ¡°Your Majesty, the regent has just left the capital in a hurry.¡±

    ¡°Got it,¡± the empress said, waving her handzily.

    Given Zu An¡¯s cultivation level, there¡¯s no need to worry about him.

    Eunuch Lu backed out of the room in surprise.

    Her majesty usually keeps a close eye on the happenings in the capital, but she doesn¡¯t seem bothered by Zu An¡¯s movements. Indeed, women are more tolerant of powerful men.

    Thinking about how rxed andzy the empress had looked earlier filled Eunuch Lu with jealousy and agitation.

    Her majesty must have had a good time at the academy¡¯s rear mountain.

    In the Eastern Pce, Rong Mo had been chatting by the windowsill when she suddenly rushed to the crown princess and reported, ¡°Young miss! I heard the regent has just left the capital in a hurry!¡±

    ¡°Got it,¡± Bi Linglong replied weakly. Her mind was too upied with the grudge between Zu An and the Bi n to bother with any other matters.

    Rong Mo was stunned. The young miss has always prioritized news about Sir Zu above all things else, but she looks so disinterested now. What in the world happened today?

    Meanwhile, Zu An finally arrived at Copper Gong Mountain.

    It was said that the mountain got its name from the copper gong sounds caused by the raging Pillchasing River ramming against the mountain at its winding curves, though the imperial court¡¯s official documents attributed it to the mountain''s rich copper mines. However, the copper mines had already been emptied out after a thousand years of mining, so the imperial court had abandoned them. Over time, many of the old mines had umted rainwater, forming smallkes. Due to the rich minerals in the mountain, thosekes were extremely clear, looking like sapphire gemstones from afar. Among thekes, Shadowmoon Lake was thergest and most beautiful one of all, but it was rarely visited as it was located in the depths of the Copper Gong Mountain.

    There was a small town at the foot of Copper Gong Mountain, but there was hardly anyone walking on the streets even though it wasn¡¯t nighttime yet. Zu An didn¡¯t think much of it, as the poption density in this world was much lower than that of the modern world. He was about to pass through the town when he noticed a few Embroidered Envoys heading toward the mountain.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Zu An muttered, then flitted forward andnded before the Embroidered Envoys.

    ¡°Who is it?¡± The Embroidered Envoys had been chatting merrily when Zu An¡¯s arrival rmed them, and they quickly drew their weapons.

    ¡°Not bad. You¡¯re vignt,¡± Zu An said, nodding in satisfaction. These people wore embroidered clothes and metal masks, signifying their identities. He didn¡¯t bother changing into his Chief Commander¡¯s robes since he could mobilize them in his official capacity too.

    ¡°R-Regent?¡± One of the Embroidered Envoys recognized him and hurriedly bowed. The others jolted in shock before anxiously bowing as well. There was no way they wouldn¡¯t know the most famous person in the capital at the moment.

    Zu An was about to reach for his waist token to reveal his identity, but he was startled by their response. He asked, ¡°You know me?¡±

    ¡°We have seen your portrait,¡± the Embroidered Envoys replied with fawning smiles.

    Zu An was speechless. Those damn merchants have been spreading my portraits around the capital. I¡¯ll conduct a thorough investigation to see who¡¯s behind it.

    He had initially thought those selling his portraits were after profits, but he quickly realized that couldn¡¯t be the case.

    Hardly any merchants in the capital have seen me before, and even if they saw me by coincidence, it would be hard for them to capture my appearance urately through their memories. The portraits must have been highly urate for these Embroidered Envoys to recognize me right away¡­ It must have been the doing of someone who¡¯s familiar with my appearance.

    Could it be someone from the imperial court?

    However, Zu An was too worried about Xiaoxi to dwell on it. He asked, ¡°What are you doing here? Did something happen in the vicinity?¡±

    Any incident involving the mobilization of the Embroidered Envoy was anything but trifling. Could their appearance in Copper Gong Mountain be rted to Xiaoxi?

    The Embroidered Envoys quickly put on a serious expression and replied, ¡°Regent, something bizarre is indeed going on at Copper Gong Mountain. The locals here make a living from chopping wood in the mountains and selling it in the capital in the morning. However, all the woodcutters who recently entered the mountain have vanished.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°The woodcutters are veterans who often navigate the mountain. They know which ces are dangerous, and they usually limit themselves to the outer perimeter of the mountain. Far too many people have disappeared to shrug it off as an ident, and the terrified locals im that there are monsters living on the mountain.¡±

    ¡°Which household was the first one to talk abut the monsters?¡± Zu An asked.

    The Embroidered Envoys were startled. They hadn¡¯t expected the regent to be so professional; that was also the angle they were approaching from.

    ¡°The rumors originate from an old woodcutter who goes by the surname of Zhang, living on the west side of town. He ims to have encountered monsters in the mountain, and that he only survived by hiding inside a tree hole,¡± the leader of the Embroidered Envoys replied. ¡°The local magistrate did dispatch a team of constables to look into the matter. They paid a visit to Woodcutter Zhang and had him lead them to the monsters. As elite soldiers from the capital purge Copper Gong Mountain of powerful monsters now and then, the constables should have been enough to deal with this matter. And yet, the constables disappeared after entering the mountain too.¡±

    The Embroidered Envoy usually dealt with the most severe cases, but they still felt chills running down their backs as they recounted the story.

    Zu An nodded in realization. He had been perplexed by the presence of the Embroidered Envoys, as the disappearances of woodcutters shouldn¡¯t have warranted their mobilization. However, it made sense if an entire team of constables had disappeared too.

    ¡°Do you know where the monsters are usually located?¡± he asked, deducing that this matter was rted to Xiaoxi¡¯s disappearance too.

    ¡°It frequents this area,¡± one of the Embroidered Envoys replied as he took out a map and drew a circle on it. ¡°Woodcutter Zhang is one of the bolder ones, and he inherited a map from his father too. Every now and then, he ventured deep into the mountain to harvest fresh mushrooms or rare herbs to sell. He encountered one of the monsters while he was harvesting mushrooms.¡±

    Zu An nced at the map and noticed that the demarcated area wasn¡¯t too far away from Shadowmoon Lake. He asked, ¡°Did he describe the monster¡¯s appearance?¡±

    Could some of the fiends be dwelling on this mountain?

    The Embroidered Envoys shook their heads and said, ¡°We don¡¯t have any information about that. Woodcutter Zhang should have told the constables, but the constables have all gone missing.¡±

    Zu An nodded, advising them, ¡°Proceed carefully and prioritize your safety above anything else. Should you meet with danger, don¡¯t hesitate to request help from the capital¡¯s Embroidery House.¡±

    He had no ns to work with the Embroidered Envoys. He urgently needed to look for Xiaoxi, and these Embroidered Envoys wouldn¡¯t be able to catch up with him.

    ¡°Thank you, my liege!¡± the Embroidered Envoys replied. The Envoys were known for their strict discipline. Even in the face of danger, they were expected to charge in and acquire useful intelligence. Zu An¡¯s edict gave them the option to retreat without being punished by the Embroidery House, and that greatly increased their chances of survival. Naturally, they were grateful to him for that.

    Zu An nodded. He soared into the air and headed deeper into Copper Gong Mountain. He noticed the forest beneath him growing so lush that the top canopypletely covered the ground. It was no doubt hard for humans to venture into such grounds. A white fog soon appeared, and it grew thicker the deeper Zu An ventured into the forest.

    ¡°Hm?¡± Zu An couldn¡¯t help but notice that the white fog had gotten unnaturally thick. He had never seen a mountain forest with such thick fog before. Furthermore, the fog obscured his divine sense, forcing him to lower his altitude to better perceive the situation below.

    Hended on the canopy of a tree and scanned the area. Then, he took out the jade badge tomunicate with nearby animals. Now that his divine sense had gotten much sharper, he was less reliant on the jade badge, but there were still specific situations in which it proved to be more useful.

    It didn¡¯t take him long to form a connection with the small animals dwelling in the forest, be they canaries, boars, or rabbits. Their thoughts flowed into his mind, and he sieved through them for useful information. He sensed that the animals were fearful of something, though they were somehow unable to process what the source of that fear was. He could only sense that it was something purple.

    His eyes suddenly narrowed as he picked up on something useful. He immediately flitted into the distance, and the tree he had been standing on swayed in his wake. He soon arrived within the vicinity of ake. It wasn¡¯t Shadowmoon Lake, but one of the other nameless minekes. There was an abandoned campsite next to it, suggesting that someone had been here not too long ago.

    He squatted down and inspected the faint yellow powder scattered around the campsite. It was the feces of a dragon. Back in Brightmoon City, Ji Xiaoxi had used it to deter ferocious beasts from approaching her.

    She was here!

    Zu An carefully examined the campsite, and his heart sank. There were many footprints around it, indicating she wasn¡¯t the only one here.That girl is too kind and trusts others too easily. Humans are sometimes scarier than beasts.

    He inspected the scene. He was a veteran in this field due to his experience as an Embroidered Envoy, and it didn¡¯t take him long toe up with a conjecture.

    There are no signs of battle here, so it¡¯s unlikely Xiaoxi was harmed by the other humans residing in this campsite. They didn¡¯t manage to keep the tent, and the pot beside the campfire was overturned. They must have left in a hurry. Were they escaping from something terrifying?

 Chapter 1959: Unkillable Monster

    Chapter 1959: Unkible Monster

    Zu An found some traces of darkened blood on a nearby severed tree branch. Someone had gotten injured. There were no corpses at the scene, so there were no confirmed casualties for the time being.

    Even human-eating ferocious beasts would at least leave behind bones, but there are no such traces to be found in the vicinity. What could they be hiding from? Is it the same purple thing the little animals are frightened of?

    Zu An tried to control the little animals again, but there weren¡¯t many in the vicinity, and all of them were agitated, making them hard to control. He looked at the thick white fog around him and harrumphed. He flew into the air, took out a formation disc, and swiftly fiddled with it. Then, he took out dozens of formation gs and scattered them in the surroundings amid shes of golden light. Soon, he finished constructing a Wind Convergence Formation.

    The air in the forest began to flow, thinning the white fog. Zu An unleashed his divine sense once more. It was still hindered by the fog, but he was able to spread it across a wider area now.

    His recent bankruptcy wasn''t just due to him squandering money on pill refinement, but formation discs and formation gs too.

    The seven cultivation skills in the Baopu Sutra are extremely money-consuming. I wonder how Immortal Ruler Baopu amassed so much money.

    Hebed his surroundings with his divine sense as if he were using a powerful radar. It was a dumb method, but it worked due to his powerful cultivation. Any other grandmaster would have been blinded by the white fog.

    Suddenly, he sensed a slight ki rippleing from the northeast. Someone was fighting there. He quickly flew over and soon arrived at the scene.

    To his delight, he spotted a delicatedy standing under a tree. She wore a green dress that could calm anyone down, and the exquisite medicine pouch on her waist only added to her cuteness.

    It was Ji Xiaoxi!

    She was the same as Zu An remembered her. She had an adorable appearance, and her chubby cheeks evoked a desire to pinch them. She was surrounded by a group of injured young men and women, who appeared to be protecting her. All of them were looking at the enemy with frightened eyes.

    It was a ghostly apparition cloaked in purple mes, thatughed chillingly while drifting around them. From time to time, it attempted to breach their defense line. The group tried to fight back, but their attacks didn¡¯t work on the ghostly apparition. Its purple mes simply flickered, showing no signs of injury at all.

    ¡°Our attacks don¡¯t work on him!¡± they screamed in despair.

    The only thing stopping the purple me ghost was the golden light barrier maintained by the middle-aged man standing at the forefront. However, the barrier was dimming so swiftly that it wouldn¡¯tst for more than a few seconds.

    Zu An narrowed his eyes, thinking, The ki ripple I felt earlier was from the middle-aged man unleashing that barrier. It¡¯s probably his trump card. However, the purple me ghost is too powerful. At this rate, they won¡¯tst long.

    Could this purple me ghost be the entity the little animals were afraid of?

    ¡°I can¡¯t hold on anymore! You have to run, Miss Ji! I¡¯ll stall this monster. Run in different directions, so the monster can¡¯t capture us all in a single swoop!¡± the middle-aged man bellowed.

    ¡°I still have some recovery medicine here! Take it!¡± Ji Xiaoxi cried, refusing to run. Instead, she took out a couple of pills and handed them over. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°I won¡¯t make it in time¡­¡± the middle-aged man murmured as the golden light finally shattered, despair shing through his eyes. He spewed blood before copsing to the ground.

    He mustered hisst shreds of strength and lunged forward to stop the purple me ghost, but it was too fast and instantly sidestepped him to attack the others. They were filled with despair. Their attacks were ineffective against the purple me ghost, and there was no time for them to escape. The only fate awaiting them was to be ughtered.

    Just then, a white surge of light descended from the sky. The purple me ghost¡¯s fire was quickly extinguished, and it froze into an ice sculpture.

    The group rubbed their eyes. The powerful monster who plunged us into despair is gone, just like that? What happened?

    ¡°Xiaoxi, are you alright?¡± a voice called out. It was only then that the crowd noticed another person standing among them. Startled, they quickly pointed their weapons at him. They only heaved a sigh of relief when they saw that it was a suave young man.

    JI Xiaoxi¡¯s eyes widened in surprise and delight at the sight of the man. She cried, ¡°Big brother Zu?!¡±

    Zu An patted her head and said, ¡°I''mte. You must have been frightened.¡±

    The others were taken aback. They knew Ji Xiaoxi was covered in poison from head to toe. There had been a rascal who wanted to take advantage of her, but as soon as his hand nicked her body, he screamed bloody murder. And yet, this man dared to directly touch her with his bare hand¡­

    To their surprise, nothing happened. Ji Xiaoxi made no attempt to stop him either; if anything, she seemedfortable with it. A few of the men present felt their hearts shattering. It was hard not to fall in love with Ji Xiaoxi when she was so adorable, kind, and gentle.

    Ji Xiaoxi suddenly remembered the middle-aged man. She quickly lifted her skirt to rush over to his side. She took out a couple of pills and anxiously urged him, ¡°Big brother Sun, eat this!¡±

    The middle-aged man was bleeding from his eyes and nose, and his breathing had turned faint. However, he shook his head and said, ¡°Miss Ji, don¡¯t waste your medicine on me. I¡¯m already on myst breath after using my ultimate move.¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi quickly inspected his condition. Momentster, she said through tears, ¡°Big brother Sun, you wouldn¡¯t have ended up in such a state if not to save me¡­¡±

    The middle-aged man chuckled and said, ¡°I, Sun Hai, would have been long dead if you hadn¡¯t saved me back then. I¡¯d say it has been worthwhile. I was able to live so many more years and even repay my debt to you.¡±

    His hearty attitude further saddened Ji Xiaoxi. The other young men and women felt downcast too. They had fought together for so long that a bond had been forged among them.

    Just then, Zu An said, ¡°Calm down. You aren¡¯t going to die.¡± He walked up to the middle-aged man to feel his pulse.

    ¡°Big brother Zu¡­¡± Ji Xiaoxi murmured, perplexed. With her skills, she could tell that Sun Hai was too severely injured to be saved.

    Zu An didn¡¯t reply. He ced his hand on Sun Hai¡¯s back and infused a surge of pure ki into the man. Sun Hai¡¯s previously paleplexion swiftly regained a healthy glow. His eyes widened in shock, as he could sense vitality returning to his body.

    Momentster, Zu An retracted his palm. He turned to Ji Xiaoxi and said, ¡°I''ve stabilized his condition. The rest is up to you.¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi checked Sun Hai¡¯s pulse, and her face lit up in delight. She cried out, ¡°Big brother Sun, there¡¯s hope for you!¡±

    She took out a couple of pills and fed them to Sun Hai. Following that, she took out a silver needle to direct the medicinal energy via acupuncture. Soon, Sun Hai¡¯s face turned red, and he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.

    The others eximed in shock, ¡°Big brother Sun?!¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi wiped away her perspiration and exined with a sweet smile, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he¡¯s just spitting out the clotted blood in his body. He should be able to recover with some rest.¡±

    Sun Hai sped his fist and said, ¡°Miss Ji, I never thought you¡¯d save my life once more.¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi pursed her lips, replying, ¡°I wasn¡¯t the one who saved you this time. It was big brother Zu.¡±

    Sun Hai pped his forehead annd said, ¡°Look at how forgetful I am. Young master, thank you for saving my life. I¡¯m impressed by your ability.¡± He was shocked by Zu An¡¯s immense ki that felt as vast as the sea. Inparison, his was nothing more than a droplet of water. He couldn¡¯t imagine how someone as young as Zu An could have reached such a high cultivation level.

    Just then, one of the young women asked, ¡°Could you be¡­ Sir Libationer?¡±

    Zu An was stunned. Most people in the capital would address me as ''regent''. The only ones who would address me as the libationer are¡­

    He looked at their clothes and asked, ¡°You¡¯re students of the academy?¡±

    ¡°It really is Sir Libationer!¡± the students eximed, feeling as excited as fans meeting their idol. They quickly exined the situation, saying, ¡°We received a mission from the academy to eradicate monsters here.¡±

    While the imperial court dispatched soldiers to eliminate powerful beasts residing on the mountain every year, they were bound to miss some. Thus, the academy asionally dispatched students to clear the beasts on the mountain too. The beasts remaining on the mountain tended not to be too strong, which made them good for training the students. Who could have thought they would bump into this kind of monster?

    Ji Xiaoxi blinked in surprise. She knew these young men and women were proud people, so it was unlikely for them to lie about such a thing. Big brother Zu is incredible. He actually became the libationer! Right! Wasn¡¯t my father going to pay respects to the new libationer? I wonder how he¡¯ll react upon meeting big brother Zu.

    ¡°Ah, so it¡¯s Sir Libationer!¡± Sun Hai remarked, nodding in realization.

    There was no inte in this world, so news didn¡¯t spread fast. Other than the major powers, who had eyes around to keep abreast of thetest happenings, most civilians were unaware of the events that had transpired in recent days.

    Zu An nodded in acknowledgment before turning his attention to the ice sculpture. The others did the same too.

    ¡°What¡¯s this monster? I don¡¯t think it¡¯s recorded in the academy¡¯s ¡®Encyclopedia of Monsters¡¯. Have you seen it before?¡±

    ¡°I haven¡¯t seen it before. None of our attacks worked on it. Could it be a fiend?¡±

    Zu An shook his head and answered, ¡°That''s because it''s impervious to physical attacks. It isn¡¯t a fiend.¡±

    He had been the regent of the Fiends for a while, but he had never met such a being before. In particr, its purple me felt disconcerting, as if it were an anomaly of the world.

    Just then, the ice sculpture cracked. A purple light whizzed out and charged toward Zu An. It was the purple me ghost! The others didn¡¯t have time to react at all. They could only scream out of sheer instinct.

    However, the purple light quickly dimmed. A hand firmly held the purple me ghost by its neck, not loosening despite its thrashing.

    Still, Zu An was startled, remarking, ¡°Hm? Is it capable of reviving?¡±

    He was certain that the purple me ghost had already died, but it suddenly came back to life. What in the world is this monster?

 Chapter 1960: The Missing Corpses

    Chapter 1960: The Missing Corpses

    ¡°Speak! What¡¯s your background?¡± Zu An bellowed.

    Entities this powerful usually had sentience. However, the ghost didn¡¯t answer. Instead, it let out a piercing screech that made the others frown in difort.

    You have sessfully trolled the Purple me Ghost for +404 +404 +404¡­

    Zu An was stunned by the notifications from the Rage System. So, this monster is known as the Purple me Ghost. The Rage System is truly amazing at times. I¡¯ve never heard of it before though. I don¡¯t think there are any records of it. I should have the Embroidery House look into it when I return.

    Just then, the Purple me Ghost released a burst of purple light toward Zu An¡¯s forehead. The others were startled. The light was so fast that they couldn¡¯t even see what it was. Even a powerful cultivator could sumb to an assault from so close up.

    Zu An raised his hand. His movement looked incredibly slow to others, reminiscent of an ordinary mortal. It shouldn¡¯t have been fast enough to stop the purple light in time...

    And yet, it did.

    Zu An took a closer look at the item he had caught. It was a crystalline object shaped like a rhombus. It was as thin as a cicada¡¯s wing, but it was extremely hard. It harnessed a force greater than an arrow despite being shot from such a short distance. The crystal emanated a dense purple aura, and Zu An immediately realized that it was the core of the Purple me Ghost.

    The Purple me Ghost flickered intensely at that sight. Its empty eye sockets reflected fear, as its purple me visibly weakened.

    ¡°So, this is the reason behind your revival.¡± Zu An harrumphed. He unleashed a forceparable to the weight of a mountain, and the Purple me Ghost disintegrated with a screech. Only the faintly glowing purple me crystal remained.

    Zu An frowned. It looks like it isn¡¯t a living being. It isn¡¯t a real ghost either; I''ve seen my fair share of ghosts in secret dungeons. It¡¯s an entity beyond myprehension. I can¡¯t even tell if it¡¯s a living thing or not.

    ¡°All hail the libationer!¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°That monster was terrifying! It¡¯s fortunate the libationer arrived on time, or else we¡¯d have died.¡±

    ¡­

    The academy¡¯s students chatted among themselves.

    Zu An stowed away the purple me crystal. He intended to ask the people in the academy whether they knew about the item.

    He then chatted with the students and learned that the two men were Lu Bei and Chang Tian, whereas the two women were Yao Fang and Mei Rou. They were talented students who had hopes of entering the rear mountain. This trial was one of their exams. They hadn¡¯t expected to meet with trouble; the other students who came along with them had died to the purple me monster.

    ¡°We¡¯re lucky to have bumped into Miss Xiaoxi. We would have neversted this long without her pills,¡± Yao Fang said gratefully. ¡°Her pills are much better than those given by the academy.¡±

    How was she to know Xiaoxi¡¯s father was the rear mountain¡¯s second disciple?

    Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s face reddened. She said, ¡°I would have died if not for your protection. For some reason, the monster wasn¡¯t afraid of my poison at all.¡±

    Her heart thumped in fear when she thought about that. Her cultivation was so-so, but she could still often head deep into the mountains to gather herbs thanks to her poison. Be it humans, fiends, or beasts, no one had been impervious to her poison before.

    ¡°That monster is a special one,¡± Zu An said; he had an ominous feeling about this. He turned to the students and asked, ¡°Where are yourrades¡¯ bodies? We¡¯ll bring them home.¡±

    As the libationer, he could be said to be like the students¡¯ parent. He had to take care of them.

    ¡°Thank you, libationer!¡± the students eximed, overjoyed. The two male students quickly made a simple stretcher to carry Sun Hai, and the group traveled through the forest. Even though they were shaken up by the purple me monster, they felt absolutely safe now that the libationer was here.

    The recent incident involving the Meng n had be the hottest topic in the academy. Everyone had been specting as to how powerful the libationer was. Some guessed he had surpassed the previous emperor, though that conjecture was met with frowns. Even so, most agreed he was at least an earth immortal. What was there to fear when they had an earth immortal with them?

    Along the way, Zu An remembered something and said, ¡°I passed by a campsite on my way here. Did the students meet with trouble there?¡± He proceeded to describe the rough location of the campsite.

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s the ce!¡± the students eximed.

    Zu An¡¯s heart sank. He said, ¡°I didn¡¯t see any bodies when I passed by there earlier.¡±

    The students were taken aback. They replied, ¡°That can¡¯t be. The monster killed ourrades there. If not for the urgent warnings they sent us before their death, we would neve haver been able to make our escape here.¡± Their eyes reddened as they recalled the situation then.

    Zu An¡¯s expression darkened as he said, ¡°Let¡¯s take another look.¡±

    The group soon arrived at the campsite. Mei Rou pointed at the fallen tent and eximed, ¡°Wang Zhao was lying there earlier! Where did she go?¡±

    ¡°He Lu was lying here too!¡± Chang Tian added as he pointed at a spot with a confused expression.

    Yao Fang¡¯s face reddened. She wondered, ¡°Could the monster have eaten them?¡±

    The students shuddered at that brutal thought.

    Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°That¡¯s unlikely. There would be hints of their bodies or bits of their clothes lying around if the monster ate them, but I don¡¯t see anything like that in the vicinity.¡±

    ¡°Where could they be then?¡± Ji Xiaoxi asked, blinking as she leaned closer to Zu An. The situation was creeping her out, and only Zu An¡¯s warmth could reassure her.

    ¡°I¡¯ll take you out of this ce first. The imperial court will dispatch some soldiers to investigate the situation,¡± Zu An said. His priority was to first ensure their safety before thoroughly looking into the matter. He could tell that the situation here was severe.

    The students were excited to hear they could leave. They didn¡¯t want to stay in this damned ce for even a second longer.

    Only Lu Bei hesitated a little, asking, ¡°Should we search a bit more in the vicinity? Sister Wang and Brother He came here with us, and their warning saved us. I''d feel bad leaving their bodies lying around in the wilderness.¡±

    Yao Fang and the others felt embarrassed upon hearing those words.

    ¡°Don¡¯t bother. I''ve already searched the vicinity with my divine sense. If I can¡¯t find them, I doubt you¡¯d be able to do it. The most important thing right now is to send you back safely and inform the others about the situation here. You should leave the rest to the others,¡± Zu An said.

    I should discuss this matter with Yan Xiangu and the others. I should also check if there are any elders in the imperial court who know about the background of this purple me monster.

    Lu Bei couldn¡¯t say anything when Zu An had already said as much.

    While the group was making their way down the mountain, the fog in the forest began thickening. This time around, it carried a purple tinge.

    ¡°Big brother Zu, it¡¯s getting dark,¡± Ji Xiaoxi said fearfully.

    Zu An nodded. He asked, ¡°Speaking of which, did you meet your father?¡±

    ¡°My father is here?¡± Ji Xiaoxi asked, taken aback.

    ¡°Of course. Your father was bound to be worried, seeing as you hadn''t returned for so many days. Your little aunt told me he came to Copper Gong Mountain to look for you,¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t seen him. This isn¡¯t good. It¡¯s dangerous on this mountain. My father¡­¡± Ji Xiaoxi trailed off, her eyes glistening with tears. ¡°It¡¯s all my fault. This wouldn¡¯t have happened if I hadn¡¯t stubbornly insisted oning here to pick herbs.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Your father is stronger than you think. He can protect himself,¡± Zu An said. However, Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s words piqued his curiosity and he said, ¡°You aren¡¯t the type to insist strongly on anything. What herb did youe here for?¡±

    While there were good herbs growing on Copper Gong Mountain, it was close to the capital, and people often visited it. It was unlikely for there to be anything too precious here. Zu An couldn¡¯t imagine there were any herbs here that could catch Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s eye.

    Ji Xiaoxi whispered with a reddened face, ¡°I¡¯m here to harvest Chief Yang Grass.¡±

    ¡°Chief Yang Grass?¡± Zu An repeated, startled. ¡°That¡¯s a herb to reinforce a man¡¯s foundation. Why are you interested in it?¡±

    ¡°Oh? Big brother Zu, you have heard about it?¡± Ji Xiaoxi asked, excited to see how knowledgeable Zu An was about herbs.

    This wasn''t a good ce for Zu An to tell her about the Baopu Sutra, though he immediately connected the dots and eximed, ¡°That old rascal Ji Dengtu is too much! Did he make you refine medicine for him because he went overboard?¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi quickly waved her hand to deny it, saying, ¡°It has nothing to do with father! It¡¯s for you, big brother Zu¡­¡±

    Zu An was speechless. What does this have to do with me?

    Ji Xiaoxi lowered her head and murmured, ¡°My father said that you were lustful and had many women with the temptress physiology by your side. He told me those people tend to deplete a man¡¯s essence, so your body had to be drained by now. My father is an excellent physician, so he must have his reason for saying so. Thus¡­¡±

    The other students looked at Zu An with strange expressions as they attempted to hold back theirughter. Who could have thought there was such a side to the libationer?

    Zu An eximed indignantly ¡°Your father is sullying my reputation! My body is doing fine. I don¡¯t need such things at all!¡± That old rascal was defaming me in front of Xiaoxi for fear that I would ¡®dupe¡¯ her! That bastard! To think I wrote so much interesting content for him!

    Ji Xiaoxi thoughtfully reassured him and said, ¡°I know it might be embarrassing, big brother Zu. Most patients with simr symptoms are reluctant to admit to it too. However, you don¡¯t have to worry. You¡¯re still young. If I help you condition your body, it shouldn¡¯t take long for you to make a full recovery.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. It was obvious Ji Xiaoxi had gotten immersed into her role as a physician. Ji Dengtu, you bastard! How am I to exin this to Xiaoxi?

    Just then, he turned his gaze toward the northwest.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, libationer?¡± the others asked. After what they had been through, the group was vignt of their surroundings. Upon noticing his movement, they tightened their grips on their weapons.

    ¡°I sense a disturbance in the ki over there. Someone is fighting there,¡± Zu An said.

    ¡°Could it be my father?¡± Ji Xiaoxi asked as she tightened her hand around Zu An¡¯s arm.

    Zu An thought it was possible. Ji Dengtu might have sullied my reputation, but I can¡¯t turn a blind eye to him on ount of Xiaoxi. It¡¯s just that the battle is a bit far away, so we won¡¯t make it in time if we head over as a group.

    Thus, he took out a formation disc and nted a few formation gs in the eight directions. Soon, a translucent barrier shrouded the group. He passed the formationpass to Ji Xiaoxi and said, ¡°Wait here. You should be safe as long as you don¡¯t step out of the formation. I¡¯ll take a look first.¡±

    The Eight Gates Golden Sealing Formation was pretty resilient. It would buy enough time for him to rush back even if a stronger monster than before attacked it. Even so, Zu An passed a yellow talisman to Ji Xiaoxi and whispered into her ears. He instructed the other students to cooperate with Ji Xiaoxi before rushing toward the northwest.

 Chapter 1961: Assault

    Chapter 1961: Assault

    Zu An spent a while heading northwest until he suddenly sensed something. He looked at the ground and saw two figures dressed in the outfit of the academy¡¯s students. Thus, hended in front of them and asked, ¡°Who are you?¡±

    The two figures had ordinary appearances that wouldn¡¯t stand out on a bustling street. Their clothes were tattered, and there were traces of blood on them. It looked as if they had just been through a battle. Their faces were pale, and their breathing was erratic. That suggested they had sustained considerable injuries.

    ¡°We''re students from the academy. Who are you?¡± the two asked, staring at him vigntly while clutching their weapons tightly.

    Zu An¡¯s eyebrows shot up. He replied, ¡°I''m the libationer. I''m here to investigate the bizarre happenings on Copper Gong Mountain.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re sir libationer?¡± the two of them asked, heaving a sigh of relief. They quickly greeted him with a bow before eximing, "Sir libationer, please save us!¡±

    ¡°How did you get injured?¡± Zu An asked. The situation here was so bizarre that every piece of information was vital.

    The two of them exchanged gazes and replied, ¡°We encountered a purple monster. The monster was formidable, and we weren¡¯t a match for it. We only got away thanks to our defensive artifacts.¡±

    ¡°What did the monster look like?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s purple from head to toe, resembling a ghost from the picture books.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s cloaked in a purple me. We couldn¡¯t hurt it no matter how we attacked it.¡±

    ¡­

    The two of them took turns describing the monster they had encountered.

    Zu An concluded they had bumped into a Purple me Ghost too. It looks like there¡¯s more than one Purple me Ghost on this mountain. It must have been difficult for them to escape from the monster. As expected of students from the academy, though.

    He initially wanted them to seek refuge with Ji Xiaoxi and the others, but he had already flown a considerable distance away, so it could be hard for them to find Ji Xiaoxi and the others in this fog. His conscience would be pricked if they bumped into another Purple me Ghost along the way and lost their lives. Thus, he said, ¡°I¡¯m going to investigate the situation. Come with me. I¡¯ll escort you out of the mountain once I¡¯m done."

    The two students exchanged gazes before bowing to Zu An and eximing, ¡°Thank you, sir libationer!¡±

    Zu An nodded, thinking, I should inform the academy to stop sending students here. He asked, ¡°What are your names?¡±

    ¡°I''m Wang Zhao.¡±

    ¡°I''m He Lu.¡±

    The two replied with a bow.

    ¡°What?¡± Zu An eximed, feeling goosebumps. Those were the names of the students¡¯rades! Weren¡¯t they supposed to be dead?

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, sir libationer?¡± the two students asked, sounding perplexed by Zu An¡¯s reaction.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing,¡± Zu An replied.

    Is it possible that the situation was so precarious that Yao Fang and the others didn¡¯t have time to check on them, and the two had some artifact that allowed them to fake their death? They might have waited for the Purple me Ghost to leave before sneaking away.

    Otherwise, it would mean Yao Fang and the others were lying.

    Zu An was filled with doubt, but he didn¡¯t express that aloud. He made his way northwest with the two students. Neither of them was strong enough to fly, so he brought them along by grabbing their shoulders.

    Soon, he heard noises ahead. Taking a closer look, he spotted human silhouettes wandering the area just ahead, as if searching for something. Zu An headed straight toward them.

    ¡°Who is it?¡± the people ahead called out, noticing them and drawing their weapons.

    He Lu and Wang Zhao heaved a sigh of relief and eximed, ¡°It isn¡¯t the monsters!¡±

    Zu An assessed the group before him. Most of them were dressed in constable uniforms, and they stood in a formation around an old woodcutter. Their bodies were trembling, and their faces looked exceptionally pale. Zu An recalled his conversation with the Embroidered Envoys in the nearby town. They must be Woodcutter Zhang and the constables investigating the case.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± the head constable asked, warily eyeing Zu An and the two students.

    ¡°We''re students from the academy. This is our libationer. He¡¯s formidable!¡± Wang Zhao said.

    ¡°Paying respects to sir libationer!¡± the head constable greeted Zu An along with his subordinates.

    Zu An eyed their tattered uniforms and asked, ¡°Were you in a battle earlier?¡±

    The head constable nodded, replying, ¡°We were. Powerful monsters have appeared here recently, and my brothers and I thought we were dead meat. Thank god you¡¯re here, sir libationer. It looks like we¡¯re saved.¡±

    Zu An was perplexed. He said, ¡°I bumped into one of the monsters too, and it was powerful. You got away with just mild injuries?¡±

    While the academy¡¯s students were respectful to him, they were top prodigiesing from all over the country. They wouldn¡¯t pale much inparison to the past Chu Chuyan and Pei Mianman.

    Six students from the academy encountered the monster together, and they suffered huge losses in the fight. These constables are much weaker than them, but they got away with mild injuries?

    The head constable was stunned. He replied, ¡°It could be because the monster was injured. It also helped that Woodcutter Zhang is familiar with the area, so we were lucky to survive the ordeal.¡±

    ¡°What were you looking for?¡± Zu An asked as he scanned the surroundings, but he couldn¡¯t find anything noteworthy.

    ¡°We noticed there was a severely injured monster that was isted from the rest. We intended to bring it back in hopes of being rewarded for it, but we couldn¡¯t find it despite spending half a day searching for it. We figured the monster had escaped, so we decided to head back first," the head constable replied.

    Zu An nodded, saying, ¡°It¡¯s dangerous here. You shouldn¡¯t linger around.¡± How was the monster injured? Did it bump into Ji Dengtu? That old rascal sure is a sneaky one. I didn¡¯t expect him to be able to severely injure that monster.

    ¡°What else did you find on the mountain?¡± he asked. He noticed that the fog was getting thicker, and it carried a tinge of purple. It felt awfully oppressive. We should be in the depths of Copper Gong Mountain now. I wonder how far away from Shadowmoon Lake we are.

    ¡°We didn¡¯t find anything else. Just one monster was enough to nearly wipe us out,¡± one of the constables replied fearfully.

    Zu An nodded and asked, ¡°Where did that monster escape to?¡±

    ¡°That side,¡± the constable said as he pointed in a direction. ¡°Sir libationer, are you going to capture that monster?¡±

    Zu An nodded. Since I¡¯m already here, I should get to the bottom of the matter, or else my heart won¡¯t be able to rest at ease. This is simply too bizarre.

    ¡°We¡¯ll show you the way,¡± the head constable said. ¡°We''ve been here for several days now, so we¡¯re familiar with the area. It¡¯ll also be safer for us to stick with you.¡±

    ¡°All right,¡± Zu An replied. They probably won¡¯t be able to leave the mountain alive like that. It¡¯ll be safer to keep them with me. We can head down the mountain with Xiaoxi and the others afterward.

    Zu An took the lead, and Wang Zhao and He Lu stood beside him. The constables spread themselves thin, with Woodcutter Zhang at the center. The fog got increasingly thicker, to the point it became impossible to see more than a few meters away. Even Zu An could only extend his divine sense to around a hundred meters away. He couldn¡¯t help butment about how his unique cultivation methodcked the capabilities of true earth immortals like Zhao Han and the others.

    If he were here, Zhao Han would have been able to extend his senses farther away.

    That being said, he had received many unique abilities from his keyboard too. Even if he wanted to nitpick, he had to admit that he had received the better deal.

    All of a sudden, he heard a rustling noise. He immediately shed a hundred meters ahead. There was no monster there, however, only a single page hanging on a tree branch. It appeared to have been torn from a book, and there was blood on it. Zu An picked up the page to take a look. It detailed a steamy scene from an erotic story.

    ¡°Sir libationer, did you find anything?¡± the others rushed over and anxiously asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. It was just the wind rustling,¡± Zu An said as he quietly stowed the page into his clothes with his back turned to the others.

    ¡°Sir libationer, why don¡¯t we leave this mountain first? We''re getting creeped out,¡± He Lu and Wang Zhao said, gulping down their saliva.

    ¡°All right.¡± Zu An nodded.

    Just then, a scream of agony echoed from behind.

    ¡°Woodcutter Zhang!¡± the head constable eximed in horror. They had been too anxious to catch up with Zu An, so they''d left Woodcutter Zhang behind.

    Zu An went back to where they were, faster than the others. There, he found Woodcutter Zhang lying in a puddle of blood. He scanned the surroundings, but there was no one else in the vicinity. The culprit had already gotten away. He then walked up to Woodcutter Zhang and flipped his body over, hoping to check on his injuries and see whether it was possible to save him. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    A sinister smile suddenly appeared on the face of Woodcutter Zhang. He opened his mouth, and a shadow shot toward Zu An¡¯s face. It was even faster than the des of the Shadow Group¡¯s assassins. However, a golden sh of light sliced the shadow in two. Only then did Zu An see that it was something simr to a face-hugging insect. Its tentacles squirmed continuously on the ground.

    ¡°What are you doing, Woodcutter Zhang?!¡± the head constable roared in anger as he rushed over and swung his de down on Woodcutter Zhang.

    However, the de suddenly changed its trajectory toward Zu An¡¯s neck, and rapidly elerated until it was many times faster.

    Bam!

    The head constable was sent flying like a sandbag. He crashed onto the ground so heavily that his bones fractured. The other constables quickly drew their des and charged at Zu An too.

    However, Zu An rolled up his sleeves and unleashed his ki. The des of the constables immediately twisted like fried dough sticks, but the attack didn¡¯t just stop there. The arms they held their des with began twisting as if they were toys, and the sheer momentum sent their bodies spinning many times in midair before they copsed on the ground. That single attack had incapacitated all of the constables.

    ¡°There¡¯s something wrong with those constables!¡± He Lu and Wang Zhao eximed as they rushed over to Zu An¡¯s side with looks of horror.

    Zu An nced at the ¡®face-hugging insect¡¯ on the ground, muttering, ¡°I wonder what this is¡­¡±

    Just then, Wang Zhao and He Lu each drew out a dagger and plunged them into Zu An¡¯s back. A vicious glint shed through their eyes.

    Zu An sighed, remarking, ¡°You finally couldn¡¯t hold it in anymore?¡±

    The two of them were taken aback. Why is he fine despite having been stabbed?

    They quickly pulled out their des, only for their eyes to nearly pop out of their sockets. To their horror, they realized their des had shattered into fragments. Only the handles remained intact.

    ¡°How is his body so tough?¡±

    The two of them were suddenly sent flying by an immense force thatpletely shook their bodies up, rendering them incapable of mustering any strength.

    ¡°W-When did you notice it?¡± the two of them asked as they stared at Zu An in disbelief.

 Chapter 1962: Heart-Devouring Demon Spider

    Chapter 1962: Heart-Devouring Demon Spider

    ¡°Do you know Yao Fang, Mei Rou, and the others?¡± Zu An asked.

    That¡¯s weird. Why can¡¯t I remember the names of the other two male students?

    He Lu and Wang Zhao were stunned. They asked, ¡°You bumped into them?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. They told me you were dead. How could two dead people suddenly appear out of nowhere?¡± Zu An replied with a nod while assessing their reactions.

    ¡°What if those two women were the ones lying to you?¡± He Lu and Wang Zhao growled.

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t sure at the start too, which was why I brought you with me. I took the chance to inspect your bodies,¡± Zu An exined. ¡°You hid it well, but I noticed a peculiar aura near your hearts.¡±

    Any other cultivator would have struggled to see through their anomaly, but with his current cultivation level and proficiency in the Baopu Sutra, it would be hard to deceive Zu An.

    ¡°Why were you guarded against us then?¡± the head constable asked, shaking his body as he struggled to his feet.

    Zu An was taken aback. Any cultivator who had received such severe injuries shouldn¡¯t have been able to move. However, he replied, ¡°Do you remember what happened when we first met? Before I could even utter a word, these two rushed to inform you of my identity and emphasized that I was strong. Since there was something wrong with them, it wasn¡¯t hard to figure out that you were in cahoots.¡±

    There were other reasons too. For instance, his portrait had already spread far and wide, such that it was impossible for any constables residing near the capital to not know about him.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you expose us then?¡± The other constables also stood up, though their injured bodies made their postures incredibly awkward, looking as if they were wooden dolls.

    ¡°I wanted to see what you were up to,¡± Zu An replied.

    Those fellows are able to disguise themselves as our academy¡¯s students and constables. Either they''re skilled in transfiguration, or they are using some sort of special means to control their bodies. It should be thetter, since these people do exist and are already dead.

    Even so, what kind of means could allow one to control the dead and make them behave as if they were alive?

    ¡°Too bad. You won¡¯t live to spread the word,¡± the head constable sneered.

    His body exploded, and a purple monster crawled out from within. This monster was initially very small, but it feasted on the head constable¡¯s blood essence with its four limbs. The brawny head constable swiftly withered, while the monster bulked up. Then, it morphed into a purple humanoid monster with many red dots reminiscent of eyes on its face. It looked extremely sinister.

    The others exploded as well, and simr monsters climbed out of their bodies. They feasted on their hosts¡¯ blood essence and quickly bulked up. However, they maintained their monster forms instead of morphing into humanoids. These monsters had eight horns, simr to the facehugger in the ¡®Aliens¡¯ movie Zu An had seen in his previous life. On top of that, they had two rows of red eyes that resembled those of a spider.

    ¡°You bastards!¡± Zu An cried. Even though these constables and students were long dead, he was still enraged to see these monsters feasting on their blood and flesh.

    He was just about to charge at them when he sensed danger and hurriedly leaped to one side. Despite his fast reaction, he still felt pain in his arm. He quickly checked his arm and saw many sharp cuts on his robe and skin. His body was iparably tough, such that ordinary des would struggle to cut him. And yet, he was nearly sliced apart jus tthen. He narrowed his eyes and finally noticed threads reminiscent of a spider''s web all around him.

    ¡°Heart-Devouring Demon Spider!¡± Zu An eximed, his expression turning cold. He recognized the monster before him.

    The Fiend races had dispatched the Second Prince together with their main army to suppress the Netherworld Seal, but the front lines hadter reported that they''d encountered a fearsome enemy with the ability to devour a person¡¯s heart and take over their body. The Heart-Devouring Demon Spiders could ess the memories of the deceased, making their disguises nearly impable. They were a major reason behind the huge casualties suffered by the Second Prince¡¯s army.

    Zu An hadn¡¯t connected the dots earlier, as the Heart-Devouring Demon Spiders were among the monsters invading through the Netherworld Seal. And yet, even while the Fiend races were having a tough time there, they had still managed to ughter all of the monsters there. Given how far away the Netherworld Seal was from the capital, most people wouldn¡¯t have drawn a connection between them. Now that he was witnessing the Heart-Devouring Demon Spiders and their abilities to control the deceased in person, he finally remembered the monster he had seen in the Fiend races¡¯ scroll.

    ¡°You know us? All the more reason not to spare you. I¡¯m satisfied with your body¡¯s resilience, and you appear to be an important figure among the humans too. It¡¯d be much more convenient if we could take over your body,¡± thergest Heart-Devouring Demon Spider said. ¡°Little ones, get him!¡±

    The smaller Heart-Devouring Demon Spiders let out screeches reminiscent of cicada cries, as they spewed white threads toward Zu An. Each of the threads gleamed with a cold light, and they easily sliced through the trees in their path.

    Zu An harrumphed. He simultaneously unleashed his phoenix fire and White Lotus me, instantaneously setting the iparably sharp threads aze. The Heart-Devouring Demon Spiders shrieked in horror as they frantically backed away. However, the phoenix fire and the White Lotus me were not to be underestimated. They zed through the threads so quickly that the Heart-Devouring Demon Spiders didn¡¯t have time to react before they were consumed by the mes. It only took an instant for them to be burned to ashes.

    Thergest Heart-Devouring Demon Spider was horrified. It immediately leaped onto the trees and warily eyed Zu An, asking, ¡°How are you this powerful?¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t reply. He looked back at the Heart-Devouring Demon Spider and asked, ¡°How did you get here? Did you escape from the Fiends¡¯ Netherworld Seal?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m surprised. You know about the Netherworld Seal?¡± the Heart-Devouring Demon Spider asked, then chuckled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll know once our bodies are fused.¡±

    It raised its hand, which had nearly indiscernible threads wrapped around it, and gently tugged on them. Four silhouettes emerged from the mountain forest and surrounded Zu An.

    Zu An could sense that these people were long dead. Judging from their clothes, they were likely unaffiliated cultivators residing on Copper Gong Mountain. It wasmon for criminals and unaffiliated cultivators to seek refuge and cultivate here. The mountain wasrge enough for them to conceal themselves, and they could conveniently stock up on herbs, hunt beasts, and obtain resources here. These cultivators weren¡¯t weak, but it was a pity they had been killed by this monster and turned into its puppets.

    Zu An heaved a sigh of relief. Thank god Ji Dengtu isn¡¯t among them, or Ji Xiaoxi would die of sorrow.

    ¡°Die!¡± the Heart-Devouring Demon Spider sneered.

    With a tug of its finger, the puppets brandished their weapons at Zu An. The strength and speed of these puppets exceeded what they were capable of when they were alive, and their bodies could move at awkward angles that defied human physiology. That made it difficult to guard against them.

    Most cultivators would likely have found themselves cornered by the puppets, but it was unfortunate that their opponent was Zu An. He didn¡¯t bother dodging the puppets¡¯ attacks, instead choosing to deal with them through brute force. He swept the field with a sword of fire spanning over a hundred meters. It was the me de he had acquired in his earlier years. It wasn¡¯t a particrly strong fighting skill, but now that he was executing it with his current cultivation level, its prowess was vastly different. Raging mes burned down all of the nearby webs.

    Zu An knew that the Heart-Devouring Demon Spider was a sly one. While stalling him with its puppets, it had secretly woven webs around the forest that were sharp and venomous. Even Zu An would have a tough time if he got caught in them. However, its effort was doomed to be futile.

    Without the webs to manipte them, the puppets fellpletely still. mes engulfed them, and they were reduced to ashes.

    ¡°Rest in peace,¡± Zu An said with a sigh. This was the best end for them, rather than having their flesh devoured by monsters or returning to their family members with the Heart-Devouring Demon Spiders¡¯ parasites in them.

    The Heart-Devouring Demon Spider was dumbstruck. Without any hesitation, it turned tail and scrambled off. It fled so quickly that anyone else would have been stumped. However, the one it was dealing with here was Zu An. It couldn''t shake him off no matter how it maneuvered in the forest. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An frowned as well. This Heart-Devouring Demon Spider is too fast. It spews webs ahead and tugs on them to propel itself forward, achieving an effect simr to teleportation. It¡¯s not easy to catch up with.

    Just then, a person leaped from a tree ahead and smashed their fist down on the Heart-Devouring Demon Spider. The Heart-Devouring Demon Spider was too focused on escaping from Zu An, so it was caught off guard by the ambush. It staggered due to the punch, and Zu An took the opportunity to fly over, grab it, and activate the Heaven Devouring Sutra.

    As if struck by lightning, the Heart-Devouring Demon Spider immediately lost its strength, rendering it unable to escape. Stunned, it eximed, ¡°You are Taotie¡­¡±

    Zu An was startled. It sounded as if the Heart-Devouring Demon Spider knew of Taotie. Could this skill be from the legendary Taotie?

    However, this monster was a cunning one, so he dared not let down his guard. He channeled the skill to its fullest, making sure to suck the spider''s cultivation dry. It didn¡¯t take long before the monster was reduced to a withered spider lying unmoving on the ground.

    ¡°You sh*tty spider! You never thought this would happen to you when you chased me as if there was no tomorrow, right? This is karma, b*tch!¡± the person who ambushed the Heart-Devouring Spider earlier cursed as he spat and gave it a few good kicks.

    ¡°It¡¯s you!¡± Zu An eximed, overjoyed.

    The person was none other than Ji Dengtu. Zu An had thought he had met with trouble.

    ¡°We need to return to Xiaoxi¡¯s side right now. I''ve heard that a Heart-Devouring Demon Spider has slipped into their group,¡± Ji Dengtu anxiously said.

    Zu An¡¯s expression darkened.

 Chapter 1963: Blood Sacrifice

    Chapter 1963: Blood Sacrifice

    The thought of the Heart-Devouring Demon Spiders being involved in this incident hadn¡¯t even crossed Zu An¡¯s mind back then, so he hadn¡¯t suspected the survivors he had met then. The formation he had left behind was a powerful means against outside enemies, but it wouldn¡¯t protect them from an internal threat.

    Zu An immediately grabbed Ji Dengtu and rushed back to where Ji Xiaoxi and the others were. He asked, ¡°Who¡¯s the one possessed by a Heart-Devouring Demon Spider? Or are all of them possessed?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know who either. I only overheard their conversation while they were chasing after me,¡± Ji Dengtu replied grimly.

    ¡°They were chasing you?¡± Zu An asked. He suddenly recalled how the constables appeared to bebing the area when he first met them.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I was worried about Xiaoxi when she didn¡¯t show up on our agreed date, so I came to Copper Gong Mountain to look for her. However, I bumped into these monsters instead. I was nning to save those constables, but I was no match for those monsters,¡± Ji Dengtu said. His heart swelled with fear when he recalled his encounter with the monsters.

    ¡°It¡¯s incredible you survived an encounter with those monsters,¡± Zu An remarked.

    Those Heart-Devouring Demon Spiders were by no means weak. Their strength was at least on par with a human grandmaster, and their unorthodox means made them particrly difficult to deal with. Even a grandmaster could easily get killed by them in a moment of carelessness.

    Ji Dengtu raised his head proudly and said, ¡°I was the second senior of the academy, after all.¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have known from your usual lustful demeanor.¡± Zu An scoffed.

    Ji Dengtu scowled and said, ¡°Return my Teacher Bai page. My heart was bleeding when I tore away the page, but I did it anyway to warn you.¡±

    Zu An returned the page to him with a snort. ¡°I knew you were nearby when I saw that piece of paper, but you could have done so in a more direct manner. What if I didn¡¯t catch your signal?¡±

    ¡°Those monsters have enigmatic means, and you were hanging out with them. How was I to know whether you''d be one of theirckeys? You should be d I was smart enough to bring out something only the two of us know about to discern your true identity!¡± Ji Dengtu retorted. He gently blew on the page before carefully taking out a book and putting it back in its ce.

    ¡°The Heart-Devouring Demon Spiders are indeed tricky to deal with. They can control corpses and make it look as if they were alive,¡± Zu An replied grimly.

    ¡°That should be impossible from a medical standpoint. Even with the help of their abilities, it should be impossible for them to ess their host¡¯s full memories. At most, they should only be able to tap into the more recent or vivid memories, such as their name and identity,¡± Ji Dengtu said.

    Zu An nodded. As a divine physician, Ji Dengtu¡¯s words were credible. That was good news, or else the Heart-Devouring Demon Spiders could hide in a person¡¯s body forever without anyone noticing. That would have made them terrifying enemies, as no one would know who to trust.

    It was then that the two of them arrived at where Zu An had left Ji Xiaoxi and the others. Zu An¡¯s eyes narrowed, as he noticed his formation had been destroyed. Judging from the snapped branches in the vicinity, the rising smoke, and the copsed pile of firewood, it was evident that there had been a fight here not too long ago.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Xiaoxi?¡± Ji Dengtu anxiously asked.

    Instead of answering that question, Zu An rushed elsewhere, where a person was lying amid a puddle of blood. His expression darkened when he saw that person¡¯s appearance.

    ¡°Hm? Why does this person look so familiar?¡± Ji Dengtu asked with a frown.

    ¡°His name is Sun Hai. I reached Xiaoxi in time thanks to him risking his life to protect her,¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°I remember him now. He¡¯s a wandering cultivator. He was fatally wounded when he visited me many years ago, but I was going through a tough time and couldn¡¯t be bothered to treat him. Xiaoxi secretly snuck him some medicine to treat his injuries, and that saved his life,¡± Ji Dengtu said with a deep sigh. He felt bad that someone who had saved his daughter hadnded in such a plight.

    Zu An squatted down and inspected Sun Hai¡¯s body, saying, ¡°Someone pierced his heart from behind. It¡¯s as you said. There¡¯s a Heart-Devouring Demon Spider host in the group.¡± He also took the chance to infuse his ki into Sun Hai¡¯s body to confirm that he wasn¡¯t possessed by a Heart-Devouring Demon Spider.

    Ji Dengtu panicked. He wondered, ¡°Even he''s dead, so where in the world is Xiaoxi?¡±

    Zu An closed his eyes and spread his divine sense around. He soon noticed something and traveled three hundred meters southward. Without any hesitation, he reached out and grabbed something from the trees. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Just then, two swords lunged out. A frightened female voice cried, ¡°Monster, I¡¯ll bring you down with me!¡±

    Zu An sent the two swords flying with a flick of his finger.

    Only then did the other person get a proper look at him and cry in relief, ¡°Sir libationer!¡±

    Zu An had refrained from harming them because he knew they were the academy¡¯s students, Chang Tian and Mei Rou. He asked, ¡°Why are there only the two of you here? Where are the others?¡±

    Ji Dengtu btedly arrived at the scene, crying out, ¡°Xiaoxi! Where¡¯s Xiaoxi?¡±

    The eyes of the two students reddened. They said, ¡°A spider monster was impersonating Lu Bei all along. Big brother Sun is dead, Yao Fang is severely injured, and the monster took Miss Ji with it.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Ji Dengtu nearly fainted. He couldn¡¯t believe his precious daughter had been kidnapped by the monster.

    ¡°Lu Bei?¡± Zu An repeated. He suddenly remembered how that man had tried to dissuade him when he proposed bringing them out of the mountain. However, he wasn¡¯t going to blindly trust the two students¡¯ words on the matter. He said, ¡°Let me check your injuries. Meanwhile, I want you to fill me in on the situation.¡± He casually ced his hands on their shoulders and channeled his ki into them to check their bodies. He didn¡¯t find any traces of the Heart-Devouring Demon Spider in them.

    ¡°We felt safe in sir libationer¡¯s formation, and we hardly got the chance to rest for thest few days out of fear of the monsters, so fatigue swiftly struck,¡± Chang Tian exined. ¡°We didn¡¯t dare to go to sleep at once, as we knew that danger was lurking in the vicinity, so we let thedies sleep first while the rest of us guarded an area each.¡±

    Zu An nodded. It¡¯s good to hear they aren¡¯t flowers in a greenhouse. They know how to keep their guard up.

    ¡°Lu Bei suggested being ced in the same team as Sun Hai so he could take care of him. We figured that was the best arrangement too, as Lu Bei was the strongest one among us. Meanwhile, I took the rear,¡± Chang Tian said, roughly describing their positions.

    Mei Rou added, ¡°I was together with Yao Fang and Miss Ji. Despite her young age, Miss Ji is a strong woman. I noticed her keeping her eyes open even though we agreed to sleep together. In the end, I sumbed to my drowsiness and fell asleep.

    ¡°Not too long after, I awoke to a scream. By then, big brother Sun had already copsed in a puddle of blood, and Chang Tian was severely injured. Miss Ji was protecting him from Lu Bei.¡± Mei Rou trembled as she recalled the situation, continuing, ¡°We had no idea what was going on. Yao Fang was the closest to Lu Bei, so she stepped forward to question him. However, he incapacitated her with a single blow.¡±

    Chang Tian nodded and said, ¡°While I was on sentry duty, I heard a weird noise, so I headed over to check on it. By the time I arrived, Sun Hai had already been backstabbed by Lu Bei. I was trying to figure out what was going on when Lu Bei ambushed me too.¡±

    Zu An nodded. That Lu Bei is a sly one. He was smart to have first subdued the veteran Sun Hai. The students might be outstanding cultivators, but they''recking real-world experience. Chang Tian noticed that something was up, but he neglected to keep his guard up. That allowed Lu Bei to subdue so many people in a single move.

    ¡°How did you survive then?¡± Ji Dengtu coldly questioned them. Everyone was a suspect when his daughter¡¯s survival was at stake. There was no way the two of them could have been a match for the monster.

    ¡°It was thanks to Miss Ji. She suddenly emanated a golden glow, which shed with Lu Bei as if it were a flying sword. It was also then that she exined to us that Lu Bei was being controlled by a monster,¡± Mei Rou replied.

    ¡°A flying sword?¡± Ji Dengtu asked. He didn¡¯t remember his daughter carrying anything of that sort.

    ¡°I gave it to her,¡± Zu An replied. It¡¯s lucky I gave her the Flying Sword Talisman out of worry.

    Ji Dengtu was conflicted. He had always wanted to keep his daughter away from Zu An, thinking that he harbored bad intentions, but right now, he found himself fervently praying that Zu An had given her more defensive tools.

    ¡°However, Lu¡­ I mean, the monster was simply too powerful. Miss Ji¡¯s flying sword couldn¡¯t fend him off.¡± Fear shed through Chang Tian¡¯s eyes as he said, ¡°Fortunately, the monster suddenly stiffened up, as if it was listening to some distant sound. Then, it spewed a huge pile of spiderwebs and took Yao Fang and Miss Ji away with it.¡±

    The Heart-Devouring Demon Spider must have sensed the death of itsrades. That exins how the two of them survived, Zu An thought.

    ¡°Where did it escape to?¡± Ji Dengtu anxiously asked.

    The two students shook their heads and said, ¡°Its movements were too unpredictable. We only saw it leaping among a couple of trees before suddenly disappearing in the white fog.¡±

    ¡°You couldn¡¯t even catch the direction of its escape? You must have been busy escaping then!¡± Ji Dengtu roared.

    The eyes of the two students reddened in indignation, but they didn¡¯t retort.

    Zu An stepped in and said, ¡°Earlier, you also saw how fast the Heart-Devouring Demon Spider moved. It¡¯s to be expected for the students to be unable to track its movements. Don¡¯t worry, I have a grasp of where Xiaoxi is.¡±

    ¡°How do you know?¡± Ji Dengtu asked; he was both rmed and overjoyed to hear that.

    ¡°I ced a tracking talisman on Xiaoxi," Zu An said.

    He had learned from his earlier struggle in finding Ji Xiaoxi in this huge mountain, so he''d left a tracking talisman on her. There was a section about them in the Baopu Sutra, and he had made a couple of them over thest few days. While questioning Chang Hai and Mei Rou, he had also been trying to sense the tracking talisman. He left the two students with a formation each and told them to wait in ce before making his way to Shadowmoon Lake with Ji Dengtu. Shadowmoon Lake had been his initial destination, and he hadn¡¯t expected that he would still have to head there in the end.

    ¡°Those monsters are cruel. I fear that Xiaoxi¡­¡± Ji Dengtu trailed off as his eyes turned red. The lustful old man, despite his usual nonchnce, was so afraid that his voice was quivering.

    Zu An consoled him, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I gave Xiaoxi a few protection talismans. She should be safe for the time being.¡±

    Ji Dengtu was relieved to hear that. He remarked, ¡°You actually had such foresight. If we do save Xiaoxi this time around, I¡¯ll allow you to¡­¡± His voice suddenly trailed off.

    ¡°You¡¯ll allow me to what?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°I¡¯ll allow you to be friends, but you mustn¡¯t go any further than that!¡± Ji Dengtu warned.

    Zu An was speechless.

    Meanwhile, there was a huge crack reminiscent of an eye in the sky above Shadowmoon Lake. A purple fog flowed out from the crack.

    Lu Bei prostated humbly on the ground and said, ¡°This lowly one has prepared the tributes for the blood sacrifice. Milord, I beseech you to descend and deal with the terrifying human!¡±

 Chapter 1964: Descent

    Chapter 1964: Descent

    Meanwhile, Ji Xiaoxi looked at theke with her tear-stained face.

    Theke had turned purple, and its water rose up to form the shape of an altar. Yao Fangy on the altar with bulging eyes and a gaping wound on her neck. She was dead.

    Her blood filled the altar, and it dripped into theke. With each drip, theke grew even more purple. Shadowmoon Lake felt like a gigantic purple eye; its color was so pratingly deep that it evoked fear. In contrast, the eye in the sky was just a reflection of theke.

    Upon hearing Lu Bei¡¯s prayer, theke began to bubble. A terrifying will was attempting to descend upon thend.

    Even a whiff of its aura made Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s body turn cold, making her feel frightened and enraged. She wanted to avenge Yao Fang, but her poison didn¡¯t work on these monsters. She was tightly wrapped in a spiderweb cocoon, unable to invoke the flying sword Zu An had given her. Thanks to Zu An¡¯s defensive talismans, the cocoon couldn¡¯t harm her, but those wouldn¡¯tst.

    Lu Bei was extremely excited when he sensed the aura from theke. He prostrated on the ground once more and eximed, ¡°Lord War Priest, please descend upon this world. There¡¯s a brand new world here for you to feast on!¡±

    ¡°Not enough blood¡­¡± said a hoarse voice that sounded like fingernails scratching ss. It was jarring and fear-inducing.

    Lu Bei hesitantly looked at the cocooned Ji Xiaoxi and said, ¡°Milord, that young miss is on close terms with the human powerhouse. Keeping her alive might be beneficial to our future ns¡­¡±

    The hoarse voice interjected before he could finish his sentence, ¡°Fresh blood. I want more fresh blood¡­¡±

    Lu Bei clenched his jaws. A Heart-Devouring Demon Spider burst out from his chest and dragged Lu Bei¡¯s corpse up onto the altar. Soon, fresh blood seeped from his wounded chest. The ritual should be almostpleted. We have already offered the War Priest plenty of fresh blood from different living beings. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Upon receiving another offering of fresh blood, theke began to bubble.

    Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s face turned pale. In the giant eye projected in the sky, she saw a colossal being attempting to cross through space to descend upon thee world.

    The Heart-Devouring Demon Spider was overjoyed, saying, ¡°This lowly one respectfully wees the descent of Lord War Priest!¡±

    Some time passed, but there was no response from above. The Heart-Devouring Demon Spider looked up and saw that the War Priest was unable to breach the space between them.

    ¡°Are there still not enough sacrifices?¡± the Heart-Devouring Demon Spider wondered as it turned its gaze to Ji Xiaoxi. It figured that the descent of the War Priest had to take precedence above all things else. As long as the War Priest sessfully descended, this new world would be theirs.

    Lord War Priest will reward me for being the meritorious subject who aided him in his descent. Now that our chief is dead, with Lord War Priest¡¯s help, I might be able to grow into the new chief.

    Hardening its determination with that thought, it maneuvered its threads with its limbs to toss Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s cocoon into theke. It wasn''t strong enough to breach Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s defensive talismans, but once she was inside theke, those wouldn¡¯t be enough to stop their War Priest.

    As Ji Xiaoxi came closer to the purpleke, she could feel an overwhelming demonic aura seeping out from within. It gripped her with absolute fear, freezing every thought in her mind. ¡°Big brother Zu¡­¡± she murmured as tears streamed down her eyes.

    ¡°I¡¯m here, Xiaoxi. Don¡¯t be afraid,¡± a gentle voice echoed.

    Shortly after, Ji Xiaoxi felt herself falling into a warm embrace. She opened her eyes and saw a familiar face. For a moment, she fell into a daze, murmuring, ¡°Is my life shing across my eyes right now?¡±

    As a physician, she had witnessed patients who saw their lives sh across their eyes before taking theirst breath. They would see those whom they had wanted to see and achieve what they had wanted to do. It was as if they were in a sweet dream.

    Is this my final wish while my real body is melting down in that purpleke?

    ¡°I arrivedte, Xiaoxi. You must have been scared,¡± Zu An apologized.

    Another familiar voice harrumphed in dissatisfaction. ¡°Preposterous! How can thest thing on your mind in the face of danger not be me, your father, but that stinky brat?¡±

    Ji Dengtu¡¯s eyes were wide with anger. It¡¯s no wonder they say daughters are betrothal gifts to others. My daughter hasn¡¯t even fully grown yet, and she¡¯s already siding with another man!

    ¡°Ah!¡± Ji Xiaoxi snapped out of it as soon as she saw her seething father, and her face turned bright red. I¡¯m really in big brother Zu¡¯s arms, and he and father heard me calling out his name! How embarrassing! Wuuu¡­

    She would have dug a hole and dove right in if she hadn¡¯t been cocooned.

    Zu An nced at the cocoon. A flicker of me sparked on his finger, and in a sh, it reduced the cocoon to ashes.

    Ji Dengtu was initially worried that the me would hurt Xiaoxi, having personally witnessed what it was capable of earlier. If he burns Xiaoxi¡¯s skin, I won¡¯t let that brat off!

    However, he was impressed when he saw Ji Xiaoxi emerging unscathed. That brat¡¯s ability to control the elements has reached an amazing level. Probably only my master was capable of doing something simr.

    Ji Xiaoxi had been trapped in the cocoon for so long that her legs had be numb. Unable to maintain her bnce, she fell into Zu An¡¯s arms.

    Seeing Zu An embrace his precious daughter and stroke her back with his pig trotters, Ji Dengtu felt incredibly displeased. He had a feeling that the precious cabbage he had nurtured with great hardship for many years had just been gobbled up by a pig.

    You have sessfully trolled Ji Dengtu for +555 +555 +555¡­

    ¡°How did you find this ce?!¡± the Heart-Devouring Demon Spider cried with a quivering voice. It wasn''t too long since it sensed their powerful spider chief dying at the hands of this man.

    Zu An looked at the bubbling purpleke, paying it no heed, and asked, ¡°Where did you monsterse from?¡±

    The Heart-Devouring Demon Spider took onest nce at the purpleke. Upon confirming that the War Priest wouldn¡¯t be able to descend, it turned tail and fled, knowing it was no match for Zu An.

    The humans we previously encountered were nothing but fodder for us. Why is this fellow so ridiculously powerful? If there are many humans on the same level as him, our mission will be no different frommitting suicide.

    As soon as the Heart-Devouring Demon Spider began to move, a flying sword suddenly swooped in and sliced its neck. The monster¡¯s body stiffened up before its head and body dropped into theke.

    The flying sword returned to Zu An¡¯s side and reverted into a yellow talisman. Zu An passed the yellow talisman to Xiaoxi and said, ¡°Keep it well, Xiaoxi. Use it to protect yourself in times of danger.¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi was dumbstruck. I used this talisman earlier, but I was still defeated by that monster. And yet, big brother Zu easily killed that monster with it.

    Ji Dengtu coldly muttered from the side, ¡°Xiaoxi, don¡¯t forget what I¡¯ve taught you. You mustn¡¯t think that a man is good just because he gives you gifts. In truth, he¡¯s coveting something even more precious from you.¡±

    ¡°Father~¡± Ji Xiaoxi coyly red at her father. ¡°You¡¯re misunderstanding big brother Zu. He isn¡¯t such a person.¡±

    Ji Dengtu was speechless. He felt like he had suffered a critical blow.

    Just then, a vortex started forming at the center of Shadowmoon Lake. It was initially small, but it swiftly expanded untill it epassed the entireke. The silhouette in the sky grew clearer, as if something was about to cross over to this world.

    Ji Dengtu''s eyes widened in horror as he said, ¡°This isn¡¯t good. That demon spider falling into theke must havepleted the blood sacrifice. The powerful being from the other world is going to cross over!¡±

    Zu An was surprisingly calm as he replied, ¡°It¡¯s fine. I was waiting for it toe over so that I could have a good chat with it.¡±

    Ji Dengtu was speechless. Damn it. I became a foil for that brat to brag before my precious daughter. It¡¯s an unknown otherworldly entity we¡¯re up against here. Isn¡¯t he afraid of screwing it up?

    You have sessfully trolled Ji Dengtu for +66 +66 +66¡­

    All of the water inside Shadowmoon Lake converged into a hurricane that rose into the sky, as the colossal silhouette inside the water became clearer and clearer.

    ¡°That monster appears to have three heads,¡± Ji Xiaoxi murmured. Frightened, she cowered into Zu An¡¯s arms.

    Ji Dengtu was too focused on the iing enemy to be jealous of Zu An. While Ji Xiaoxi wasn''t be strong enough to perceive it, he could sense a powerful pressure that didn¡¯t pale inparison to his master and Zhao Han¡­ and that wasn¡¯t the full extent of the other side¡¯s strength yet. He couldn¡¯t help but look at Zu An. Acting tough, huh? Look at the trouble you¡¯ve caused!

    The hurricane slowly dispersed, and a massive monster appeared. Its dark purple body was over ten meters tall, and it had three demon heads and three thick arms that brandished some kind of tools.

    ¡°Ah, I¡¯ve finally arrived in a new world. What a delicious scent!¡± the middle head said.

    ¡°Those fools insisted on fighting over the northern seal when it¡¯s easier to open a new route.¡± The right head cackled.

    ¡°How is it easier to open a new route? We were lucky to have found a crack in an ancient realm, or else we would never have been able to open a new route.¡± The left head harrumphed.

    ¡°It¡¯s a pity the ki here is too thin to bear more of our power. Still, it sure is wonderful to have descended upon a world devoid of other fiends,¡± the middle head remarked with an intoxicated expression as it closed its eyes.

    Zu An wasn¡¯t in a rush to disturb them, as he knew he could pick up useful information from their conversation. If anything, he hoped they would speak more.

    Unfortunately, the monster didn¡¯t act as he wished. It said, ¡°Those three measly ants there, this great one has just arrived in this world and requires some intelligence from the indigenous poption. I¡¯ll grant you the honor of serving me.¡±

 Chapter 1965: Naihe Oblivion River

    Chapter 1965: Naihe Oblivion Rivern/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Ji Xiaoxi nearly fainted from the immense pressure of being eyed by those three heads, but she was able to slowly calm down thanks to Zu An holding her hand and sending a surge of warm ki over.

    Ji Dengtu turned pale too. He struggled to stand his ground with his cultivation, but it was lucky Zu An was attracting the bulk of the monster¡¯s attention.

    Meanwhile, Zu An calmly assessed the monster and asked, ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±

    ¡°I am the War Priest. My name echoes in the Myriad Worlds,¡± the monster said as it proudly lifted its three heads up.

    Zu An scanned it from head to toe before telling Ji Dengtu, ¡°It¡¯s smaller than I thought.¡±

    Ji Dengtu rolled his eyes. Small?

    The three-headed monster was outraged. It cried, ¡°How dare you, a measly ant, insult me?!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled War Priest for +444 +444 +444¡­

    Zu An shrugged, replying, ¡°You caused such a hugemotion that I thought you would be some kind of apocalyptic being. I would have expected someone at least the size of a mountain. And yet, you¡¯re barely more than ten meters tall. You tiny little thing.¡±

    Ji Dengtu was speechless. Is this brat out of his mind? Why is he provoking that terrifying monster?

    Ji Xiaoxi stared at Zu An withrge blinking eyes. Big brother Zu sure is brave! He¡¯s able to stayposed even when faced with such a powerful being. I feel cowardly and useless.

    ¡°Ant, what do you know? We only appear small because your world is too weak to withstand our full power¡­¡± the War Priest¡¯s left head sneered.

    ¡°Shut up! That ant is taunting us, but you¡¯re still exining things to him. Are you dumb?¡± the right head snapped.

    The left head was taken aback, but it quickly retorted, ¡°You think I wouldn¡¯t know that? I just felt like answering!¡±

    ¡°Idiot!¡± The right head sneered.

    The middle head couldn¡¯t take it anymore and roared, ¡°Stop arguing!¡±

    The left and right heads harrumphed before turning away from each other. The middle head red at Zu An and said, ¡°Ant, you''ve seeded in provoking me. I¡¯ll retract my decision to allow you to serve me.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled the War Priest for +500 +500 +500¡­

    The right head harrumphed. ¡°How dare you make fun of me? I¡¯ll siphon your soul and make you suffer a fate worse than death!¡±

    The left head took out what appeared to be a Soul Summoning Banner and waved it at Zu An. ck apparitions appeared around Zu An, and merryughter echoed in the surroundings.

    ¡°Come, let¡¯s have some fun together.¡± Not a person spoke a word, but the voice reverberated inside one¡¯s head as if it were directed at the very soul.

    Ji Dengtu felt dazed for a brief moment. His body suddenly felt much lighter, as if something was about to escape from his body. This isn¡¯t good! As the old libationer¡¯s disciple, he quickly deduced this was a soul attack, and it would be terrible if he sumbed to it.

    Unfortunately, it was one thing to know about it and another thing to guard against. Before he could warn Zu An about it, he could already feel himself rising into the air. In a matter of moments, those ck silhouettes had already beckoned half of his soul out of his body.

    Damn it. Why did that brat have to insist on showing off? Now we¡¯re all going to die.

    Ji Xiaoxi had also already half-fainted. If not for Zu An protecting her, her soul would have flown out as soon as those ck apparitions appeared.

    Just then, there was a crisp wooden tapping sound, followed by dharmic chanting. Silhouettes of chanting Buddhas appeared above Zu An amid rays of golden light.

    The ck apparitions screeched in agony as they fled back into the banner faster than they had appeared. The Soul Summoning Banner that had been swaying imposingly a moment prior fell limp.

    ¡°My treasure! You dare hurt my treasure!¡± the left head eximed.

    ¡°Your treasure was hurt by my treasure. That shows yours can¡¯t handle it,¡± Zu An said as he stowed away the Violet-Gold Alms he had duped from the monk in the tomb. He hadn¡¯t expected it to be so formidable as to overwhelm the War Priest¡¯s treasure so quickly.

    Ji Dengtu and Ji Xiaoxi regained their rity.

    Ji Dengtu looked at the alms bowl in Zu An¡¯s hands. How did that brat get so many treasures? Well, it¡¯s not as if any of those treasures canpete with Teacher Bai¡¯s book, though.

    Ji Xiaoxi, on the other hand, was worried. Why does big brother Zu have a monk¡¯s alms bowl? Does he intend to renounce his secrism and be a monk?

    The three heads of the War Priest stared at Zu An¡¯s Violet-Gold Alms with a mixture of greed and resentment, as they spoke in unison, ¡°You actually have such a treasure in your possession.¡±

    ¡°Your Soul Summoning Banner isn¡¯t too bad either,¡± Zu An replied with a grim expression as he eyed the War Priest''s Soul Summoning Banner. He had seen the effect it had on Ji Dengtu and Ji Xiaoxi. The two of them would have lost their souls if not for the Violet-Gold Alms.

    It can disregard a person¡¯s defenses and remotely im their souls; it¡¯s not a treasure to be underestimated.

    The right head turned to the left head and cackled. It said, ¡°You were so proud of your Soul Summoning Banner, but that¡¯s all it¡¯s capable of. Let me show you what a true treasure is.¡±

    It carefully took out a jade bottle and prepared to pour out its contents.

    Zu An¡¯s heart skipped a beat. He sensed extreme danger from the jade bottle, thinking, These fellows aren¡¯t as powerful as those beings inside the tomb, but the treasures they have are formidable. It¡¯s unlikely this jade bottle will be any weaker than the Soul Summoning Banner.

    Thus, Zu An pushed Ji Dengtu and Ji Xiaoxi over a kilometer away, saying, ¡°Old man, protect Xiaoxi.¡± As much as he didn¡¯t fear the monster, it would be terrible if Ji Xiaoxi was caught in their sh. For their safety, it would be best not to keep them by his side.

    ¡°You skank! Of course I¡¯ll protect my daughter. You don¡¯t even have to say that!¡± Ji Dengtu harrumphed as he retreated farther away with his daughter.

    Ji Xiaoxi was worried. She said, ¡°Father, go and help big brother Zu. I am fine alone.¡±

    Ji Dengtu was speechless Xiaoxi, you have a high opinion of me. The likes of me can¡¯t hope to get involved with a battle of that caliber. Even a mere shockwave from their sh could jolt me to death.

    Of course, he wouldn¡¯t say those words aloud before his daughter. He feigned a cough and said, ¡°We¡¯ll let that brat umte somebat experience. I can always step in when he¡¯s in danger¡­¡± Inwardly, he thought, I¡¯ll flee with my daughter right away as soon as it looks like things are going awry.

    Ji Xiaoxi looked at her father in admiration, saying, ¡°Father, you¡¯re amazing!¡±

    It had been several years since she parted ways with Zu An, and she still thought of him as the same youth from Brightmoon City. Even though she had been awed by his means several times now, she still instinctively worried about him.

    ¡°Cough cough¡­¡± Even with Ji Dengtu¡¯s thick skin, his face still turned red.

    The War Priest finally uncorked the jade bottle, and a droplet of turbid yellow liquid dripped out. One could see vague traces of blood in the liquid.

    Zu An narrowed his eyes. A chilling wind blew, carrying the howls of countless vengeful spirits. It was as if these vengeful spirits were trapped inside that droplet. However, unlike the Soul Summoning Banner, this droplet didn¡¯t feel eerie. If anything, it felt holy, which was bizarre to Zu An. He couldn¡¯t understand how that droplet could impably embody two vastly different traits.

    The War Priest carefully retreated, fearful that it woulde into contact with that droplet.

    ¡°Go!¡± It raised its finger, and the droplet of turbid yellow liquid slowly floated toward Zu An.

    In the distance, Ji Dengtu felt that perhaps he had overestimated the War Priest. Even I can dodge the droplet with how slow it is, let alone that brat¡­

    However, he was soon forced to abandon that thought. Before his eyes, he saw the droplet slowly expanding into a small stream, followed by a raging river that charged straight at Zu An.

    Zu An thought that given his high water affinity through the Blue Luan¡¯s ability, he wouldn¡¯t face a threat from the river water, but he started sweating profusely as the river approached him. His instincts told him it wasn''t a good idea toe into contact with it. Thus, he activated Grandgale and fled in another direction.

    The bloody yellow river missed him, but it swiftly changed its direction and charged at him once more. Zu An unleashed the power of the snow phoenix and executed the Snowke Sword, causing countless ice crystals to form in the surroundings. A white light glowed on the raging river, and its surface began to crystallize. Ice is the go-to element to curb water, after all.

    The War Priest¡¯s left head was startled. It wondered, ¡°How does he have such powerful ice ki?¡±

    The right head wasn¡¯t worried in the least, saying, ¡°No matter how powerful his ice ki is, it¡¯s futile before that droplet.¡±

    Right after it said those words, cracks appeared on the surface of the frozen river, and all of the ice abruptly vanished into thin air. It didn¡¯t even go through the usual melting process!

    Zu An was rmed. In the instant his ice vanished, he felt his connection with his ice ki abruptly severing, as if it had just simply disappeared.

    The right headughed gleefully and said, ¡°It took me a lot of trouble to obtain this droplet of Naihe Oblivion Water. There¡¯s no way it would be frozen by mere ice ki.¡±

    ¡°Naihe Oblivion?¡± Ji Dengtu repeated, his expression darkening. He anxiously shouted, ¡°Brat, you mustn¡¯t let that water touch you. The River of Oblivion under the Naihe Bridge is a famous legend. It¡¯s said that any being whoes into contact with this water will lose all their memories and abilities.¡±

    It was said that the deceased would first pass through the Gate of Hell and walk down the Yellow Springs Road, before eventually arriving before the River of Oblivion. On the other side of the River of Oblivion was the Underworld. The River of Oblivion was also known as Naihe, and in its bloody yellow water floated wandering spirits who had been locked out of reincarnation, insects, and snakes. It was a gruesome ce. Above the River of Oblivion was the Naihe Bridge, and Granny Meng sat on the bridge. Those who sought to cross the River of Oblivion had to drink Granny Meng¡¯s Soup to let go of their past memories, or else they wouldn¡¯t be able to cross the Naihe Bridge and be reincarnated¡­

    Zu An was taken aback. He had seen the River of Oblivion before, but it hadn¡¯t harnessed the same power as the droplet before him.

 Chapter 1966: The Greatest Power

    Chapter 1966: The Greatest Power

    This droplet of Oblivion River Water was much stronger than the river Zu An had previously seen, almost like the difference between a pirated copy and an official copy. Could this be the real river leading to the Netherworld?

    Upon hearing Ji Dengtu¡¯s words, the War Priest¡¯s right head burst intoughter, eximing, ¡°Indeed! I didn¡¯t expect the ants here to be so knowledgeable. Yes, this is the Oblivion River Water I obtained by a stroke of coincidence. It¡¯s invulnerable to all attacks, and if you get the slightest bit of it on you, you¡¯ll immediately have your memories and abilities washed away just like the wandering ghosts in it. I¡¯ll consider sparing your life if you kowtow a hundred times to me right now.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression turned grim. There was no way he would kneel down and beg for mercy. He shed through the air to avoid the Oblivion River Water while trying different means to suppress it. His many years of life-and-death battles had taught him not to easily believe his opponent¡¯s words.

    And yet, no matter what he tried, the skills he unleashed on the Oblivion River Water vanished as soon they came into contact with it. He immediately lost his connection to the surges of ki he used. He even brought out the heaven-grade weapon he had acquired from Chi Wen to see if it could suppress the Oblivion River Water; the moment he tossed out the golden brick, it expanded to the size of a mountain.

    However, as soon as the brick came into contact with the Oblivion River Water, the golden light shrouding it immediately darkened, and it swiftly contracted in size until it was merely a dead brick. No matter how Zu An tried to call it, he was unable to summon it back to his side. The golden brick was no longer a heaven-grade weapon, but an ordinary brick.

    Zu An had already been prepared for this oue when he tossed the golden brick out, so he wasn¡¯t too surprised. When the raging river charged at him again, he performed another instantaneous movement to dodge it.

    Watching the events unfold, Ji Xiaoxi got nervous. She anxiously tugged Ji Dengtu¡¯s arm and pleaded, ¡°Father, we need to help big brother Zu! Do you have any ideas in mind?¡±

    Ji Dengtu gulped down his saliva. Should I escape with Xiaoxi now? It might be toote if we continue dawdling. But how should I exin it to Xiaoxi?

    Meanwhile, the War Priest¡¯s heads began discussing among themselves.

    ¡°The ant moves rather fast.¡±

    ¡°It seems to be an instantaneous movementw. I didn¡¯t think someone from this puny world could grasp such aw.¡±

    ¡°Hmph! An ant is still an ant no matter how quickly it moves.¡±

    The right head waved its hand, and the raging river suddenly morphed into a towering tsunami that enveloped a radius of three kilometers around them. There was no way for Zu An to dodge the Oblivion River Water no matter where he teleported to. Even if he did find a way to evade the tsunami, it was only a matter of time before he came into contact with the Oblivion River Water, since the surroundings would be soaked in it. Furthermore, Zu An¡¯spanions were in the attack radius too. Even if he could escape, hispanions were unlikely to be able to do the same.

    Zu An saw through the War Priest¡¯s malicious intentions, and he felt a sharp squeeze in his heart. If a heaven-grade weapon doesn¡¯t work, maybe it¡¯s time for me to bring out the Human Emperor Seal. The Sun ying Bow wasn''t suitable for the current situation, and he didn¡¯t dare to risk the Tai¡¯e Sword since Mi Li¡¯s soul was resting there. His only choice was the Human Emperor Seal.

    Just then, he heard Mi Li¡¯s voice say, ¡°Use your Brilliant ss Bead.¡±

    Zu An jolted in shock. He had already treated Mi Li¡¯s soul with all kinds of treasures, but she still spent most of her time sleeping. He had asked her why that was the case, but she''d refused to give a proper reply. As a result, he was always startled by her random appearances.

    ¡°The Brilliant ss Bead? I don¡¯t think it can deal with the Oblivion River Water,¡± he said, hesitant to follow through with Mi Li¡¯s instruction. He had never found anything special about the Brilliant ss Bead other than its massive storage space, though that was enough. So far, he hadn¡¯t found anything else with such a huge storage space, and it had made things very convenient for him over the years. The Brilliant ss Bead was much more important to him than the golden brick. He would be heartbroken if the Oblivion River Water erased its ability.

    ¡°Trust me,¡± Mi Li urged. The tsunami was about to crash down on Zu An.

    Ji Dengtu watched in despair as the Oblivion River Water fell upon them. He had tried escaping with his daughter, but no matter where he fled, he couldn¡¯t escape the tsunami¡¯s encirclement. He muttered, ¡°It¡¯s over. I knew I should have fled with Xiaoxi right away.¡±

    Zu An was nervous too, but he decided to trust Mi Li and bring out the Brilliant ss Bead. The artifact immediately emanated a primordial light, as if it had sensed something. Zu An was taken aback, as such a situation had never happened in the past.

    Before he could figure out what was going on, the Brilliant ss Bead flew into the air on its own ord. With a loud whir, it began revolving as its light intensified. The surrounding Oblivion River Water began flowing toward it. In the blink of an eye, the Brilliant ss Beadpletely sucked up the towering tsunami spanning over three kilometers.

    Zu An, Ji Dengtu, and the War Priest were speechless.

    Only Ji Xiaoxi yelped in delight and pped her hands, crying out, ¡°Big brother Zu is amazing!¡±

    Ji Dengtu stared at Zu An with a conflicted look.

    How did that brat obtain so many formidable artifacts? Not to mention that his cultivation level is ridiculously high despite his young age; his suaveness is almost catching up with me too. Now that I think about it, Xiaoxi has nothing to lose being with him. The only problem is that he has too many women by his side, and someone capable of writing a book like Teacher Bai has to be depraved down to his core. How can I allow my innocent Xiaoxi to be defiled by him?

    The War Priest¡¯s right head bellowed in anger, ¡°Return my Oblivion River Water to me!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled the War Priest for +877 +877 +877¡­

    ¡°You mocked my Soul Summoning Banner, but look at what happened. My Soul Summoning Banner might be injured, but at least it wasn¡¯t taken away by the enemy. What about you? You donated your artifact to the enemy! I¡¯m going tough my head off!¡± the left head gloated.

    ¡°Shut up!¡± the right head roared in anger. It looked as if it wanted to bite off the left head.

    You have sessfully trolled the War Priest for +888 +888 +888¡­

    Zu An chuckled, retorting, ¡°Do you think I¡¯d return it to you?¡±

    He took back the Brilliant ss Bead before inspecting it with his divine sense. He noticed that a unique space had been carved out inside it, and the Oblivion River Water quietly rested there. Its content was still a bloody yellow, but it emanated a hint of holiness¡­ He was no less shocked than the War Priest, as he hadn¡¯t expected the Brilliant ss Bead to have such a function. He quickly asked Mi Li what was going on, but she didn¡¯t answer.

    Just then, the War Priest¡¯s middle head stared intently at the Brilliant ss Bead and murmured uncertainly, ¡°Sea Pacifying Divine Pearl?¡±

    Zu An turned to Mi Li once more to ask about the Sea Pacifying Divine Pearl. He had heard about a simr artifact from a novel in his previous life, Investiture of the Gods. There, Zhao Gongming had defeated the twelve Golden Immortals of the Kunlun Sect with twelve Sea Pacifying Pearls. However, the Burning Lamp Daoist had stolen the Sea Pacifying Pearls and used them to ascend as the Burning Lamp Ancient Buddha of the Western Sect. However, that was the setting of a fictional novel. He dared not take it seriously.

    Mi Li couldn¡¯t stand his pestering anymore and replied, ¡°It¡¯s just a different name. It might have other names in other worlds too. I just sensed something from the pearl earlier, as if something was summoning it, so I advised you to give it a try. I don¡¯t know the details either.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. Like hell I¡¯d believe that. He was certain that Mi Li was hiding many secrets from him, but she refused to answer no matter how he probed.

    ¡°Who could have thought there was such a formidable artifact in a lower world? It was worth the effort descending upon this world,¡± the War Priest¡¯s middle head said.

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°You talk big, but you''ve been relying on artifacts all this time. If you¡¯re truly as strong as you im, why don¡¯t we have a proper battle?¡±

    His mindset had changed after meeting those terrifying beings in the tomb. As intimidating as the War Priest was, perhaps due to the restrictions of this world¡¯sws, the aura it emanated was at most on par with Zhao Han¡¯s. He wasn''t the same man as he used to be, so he didn¡¯t fear it. However, there was no denying the War Priest¡¯s artifacts were a threat to him. He could be disadvantaged if one of them happened to curb him. He didn¡¯t think he would be so lucky as to find something to curb their artifact every single time. In particr, the middle head appeared to be the strongest of the three, so its artifact was likely to be mosre formidable than the two before it.

    ¡°You want to have a proper fight with me?¡± the middle head eximed,ughing deafeningly. ¡°Do you know why I¡¯m known as the War Priest?¡±

    ¡°Because you¡¯re a con artist?¡± Zu An asked. That was his impression of priests.

    The War Priest spluttered, ¡°¡­War! The focus here is war!¡±

    You have sessfully trolled the War Priest for +999 +999 +999¡­

    The world turned dark.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Tok tok tok!

    War drums echoed as an air of destion seeped into the surroundings. The scenery changed. The purple fog, Copper Gong Mountain, and Shadowmoon Lake vanished into thin air, reced by an ancient battlefield. The earth began trembling as a ck wave appeared in the distance.

    Ji Dengtu had to rub his eyes before he could make out what the ck wave was. It was a massive army of soldiers standing in a neat formation. Those at the forefront carried tower shields, and directly behind them were spear bearers. At the back of the formation were archers riding on war chariots, and heavy weapons such as cannons. Charging cavalrymen were positioned at the nks, giving off an air of unstoppable momentum.

    They were far off in the distance when Zu An and the others first saw them, but in the blink of an eye, they were already standing beneath the War Priest. Their presence felt suffocating despite not making a single sound.

    The War Priest looked proudly at the army beneath it and said, ¡°This is my greatest power. No matter how powerful an expert is, they¡¯re bound to be helpless before the might of an entire army!¡±

 Chapter 1967: The Era Has Changed

    Chapter 1967: The Era Has Changed

    ¡°We¡¯re doomed!¡± Ji Dengtu yelped, turning ghastly pale.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Big brother Zu still held the upper hand earlier, right?¡± Ji Xiaoxi asked, confused.

    Ji Dengtu replied with a bitter smile, ¡°It¡¯s hard for an individual to go against an army. Their offensive and defensive capabilities are reinforced to terrifying levels through formations, which is why it¡¯s often said that cultivators can¡¯t triumph over an army. Those as powerful as Zhao Han can subdue armies through sheer power, but the War Priest¡¯s forces can¡¯t be ordinary.¡±

    Even from a distance away, he could feel the suffocating pressureing from the army. Every soldier was emanating an auraparable to an eighth rank cultivator, and some of the generals were even grandmasters. How could there be such a powerful force in the world? In contrast, most soldiers in this world weren¡¯t cultivators at all. Even the most elite army only had their foot soldiers at the fourth rank. After all, those who had reached the fifth rank could be minor officials. No one in their right mind would continue being a foot soldier. And yet, every single soldier before them was at least at the eighth rank. How could they fight against such troops?

    ¡°Ah! Doesn¡¯t that mean big brother Zu is in trouble?¡± Ji Xiaoxi asked worriedly. ¡°Father, why don¡¯t we help him with our poison?¡±

    Poison didn¡¯t work well on top-tier experts, but it was a potent weapon when used on a crowd.

    Ji Dengtu shook his head and said, ¡°It¡¯ll be hard for us to poison the army under such circumstances. Besides, the army before us doesn¡¯t seem to be alive. Poison might not work on them.¡±

    ¡°What should we do?¡± Ji Xiaoxi asked anxiously.

    Ji Dengtu stared at Zu An¡¯s back and said, ¡°We can only pray that brat has the means to deal with this.¡± That brat has been a bag of surprise thus far. I wonder if he still has other means in store here.

    Zu An eyed the huge ck army, asking, ¡°Is this your domain?¡±

    He was trying to determine the nature of the army. Unfortunately, they weren¡¯t undead, or else it would have been much more convenient for him to deal with them. How did it develop such a powerful domain? Any enemy of the same strength would have been decimated by such a huge army!

    ¡°Is that what your world calls it? That¡¯s not important. I am the War Priest. Countless worlds embroiled in war pray to me, and I bless them with victory. In return, I take a portion of their souls aspensation. Over countless years, this has given rise to my invincible army.¡±

    The War Priest was in no rush to attack. He took his time to unt his powerful army, as this was the creation he was proudest of in his lifetime. It was umon for him to have a chance to brag about it to others.

    ¡°Ah, so you''re an evil god,¡± Zu An murmured. In his previous life, the eastern world of the past had prayed to heaven before engaging in battle, whereas the western world of that time had worshiped war gods. I''ve never heard of a War Priest. It¡¯s probably the faith of some unknown world. Does that make it a god?

    ¡°How dare you insult me. You shall experience the agony of being trampled by countless soldiers and cavalrymen!¡± With a harrumph, the War Priest picked a g with its middle hand and waved it toward Zu An.

    The silent army roared into action. The knights on the nks began their charge, and trailing right behind them were the foot soldiers in the center. Their advance shook the ground so much that any enemy before them would have been driven into despair.

    As he stood protectively in front of his daughter, Ji Dengtu¡¯s face paled. He said, ¡°Xiaoxi, I¡¯ll find a way to bring you out of this ce. You have to make sure to run as fast as you can. Don¡¯t turn back. Look for your little aunt. She¡¯ll take care of you.¡± As the academy¡¯s second brother, he naturally had trump cards, but he had to sacrifice his life to use them.

    Ji Xiaoxi sensed his intention and anxiously said, ¡°Father, let¡¯s leave together!¡±

    Ji Dengtu felt heartened looking at his daughter¡¯s worried expression. At least you still care about your father as well. He said, ¡°Be good, Xiaoxi. It would be a blessing if any of us could escape from here. You mustn¡¯t waste the opportunity the two of us are creating for you. Deliver this intelligence back to our people, so they can prepare themselves.¡± Worried his daughter would hesitate to escapeter, Ji Dengtu went to the extent of framing it as doing it for humankind.

    Ji Xiaoxi felt the burden on her shoulders and wiped her tears. She clenched her jaw and nodded, saying, ¡°I¡¯ll definitely send this piece of intelligence out!¡±

    The War Priest in the sky burst intoughter. ¡°You¡¯re thinking of leaving? No one escapes from my invincible army!¡± This space was his domain. Nothing here could escape his notice.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see then,¡± Ji Dengtu said. He took a deep breath as a determined glint shed through his eyes. He began emanating a stronger aura.

    Just then, Zu An interjected, ¡°Let me go first.¡±

    He sensed something wrong with Ji Dengtu¡¯s condition. It was simr to Chu Chuyan back then, when she had unleashed a forbidden move to bring her enemy down with her.

    Why is it that the cultivators in this world all have some kind of mutually assured destruction move? It¡¯s as if they don¡¯t cherish their lives at all! I could still save Chu Chuyan with that method, but how can I do the same for Ji Dengtu?

    Ji Dengtu was stunned, but he could sense the self-assurance behind Zu An¡¯s words. Thus, he nodded and said, ¡°All right, you go first.¡±

    The massive army had already covered half the distance to them, and it wouldn¡¯t be long before it overran them.

    Zu An stared at the iing army and shook his head, saying, ¡°It¡¯s arrogant of you to call yourself the War Priest when you¡¯re still resorting to such a primitive form of warfare. The era has changed, sir!¡±

    Golden ripples manifested in the area behind Zu An, and weapons of peculiar design emerged from them.

    Ji Dengtu and Ji Xiaoxi were confused. What weapons are those? Why do they look so weird? Why do those chariot-like vehicles have so many cylinders reminiscent of firework tubes behind them?

    The Rune Weapon Chart and the Forging Diagram allowed Zu An to recreate weapons he had seen before, and it just so happened he had previously lived in the Digital Age and had seen plenty of modern-day weapons. Rows of Katyusha rocketunchers fired in unison, and countless rockets whizzed into the sky, lighting up the dim surroundings.

    The War Priest was startled. He waved his g, and the army immediately began erecting a formation. Soon, a light blue barrier formed above the army. Countless rockets crashed into the barrier, producing brilliant fireworks; it shook a little, but it remained as sturdy as a mountain.

    The War Priest burst intoughter. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect this world to possess the means of a technological civilization, but such primitive technology can¡¯t possibly defeat the invincible army under mymand!¡±

    Zu An was stunned. It would appear the War Priest had seen other technological civilizations before. All along, he had thought that he''d transmigrated to this world, but could it be that Earth was just one of the countless worlds in this gxy, and he was just transported over to this world for some reason?

    Does that mean I can return to Earth?

    ¡­ n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An was filled with excitement. He didn¡¯t panic in the face of the War Priest¡¯s taunting.

    ¡°Father, what are those weird birds in the clouds?¡± Ji Xiaoxi asked.

    Ji Dengtu looked at the sky and saw silhouettes of massive pitch-ck birds appear in the clouds. The birds had peculiar shapes, and they looked as if they were made of metal. He muttered, ¡°Are those the subordinates of the War Priest? No, they¡¯re currently headed toward its army!¡±

    The ''birds'', a fleet of Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirits, released a barrage of bunker busters. Bunker busters were intended to deal with enemy targets hidden in underground fortresses bolstered by many meters of reinforced steel. They were the best option to deal with such massive barriers.

    The War Priest sensed danger from the bunker busters, so he waved his g andmanded his army to attack them before they could pierce through the barrier. Countless ki skills surged into the sky to destroy the bunker busters above. Some of them even struck the Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirits, knocking them out of the sky.

    However, there were simply far too many of the aircraft and too ma, so it was impossible to stop all of them. A bunker buster finally slipped through the army¡¯s defense and struck the barrier. It spun rapidly, making the barrier tremble.

    The barrier was truly formidable, though. Even when the bunker buster finally ran out of energy and eventually exploded, the barrier merely shook, showing no hint of damage at all. The War Priest was just about to mock Zu An for his futile attempt when his eyes widened in shock. Many more bunker busters were being dropped from the sky as if they were free!

    The bunker busters crashed into the barrier, making it shake violently. When they exploded, cracks appeared on the barrier. It didn¡¯t take long before the barrier shattered into countless fragments.

    Zu An heaved a sigh of relief. It was a pity he wasn¡¯t a military buff in his previous life, so he wasn¡¯t familiar with modern-day weapons. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have brought out antiques like the Katyusha rocketunchers.

    To be fair, those should have been enough against an average army, but the War Priest¡¯s army was simply too strong. Even its defensive measures were on par with modern-day armies. It took mere moments for the other party to destroy a huge number of his Katyusha rocketunchers and Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirits.

    It was lucky that the Rune Weapon Chart allowed Zu An to produce countless weapons at an extremely low cost. On top of that, he could control the weapons at will, so he didn¡¯t have to worry about casualties either. As soon as the barrier shattered, he rained aerosol bombs and munition bombs on the army before the formation experts could erect a new barrier. The scene of the meme explosion gif was thus reenacted.

    Blinding light and searing heat erupted outward. It was as if hell had broken loose on the army''s formation. Despite being protected at the heart of the army, many formation experts immediately disintegrated into bits.

    The army hadn¡¯t expected Zu An to unleash an aerial bombardment targeting thee formation experts; without their protection, the army faced a one-sided ughter. Countless rockets bombarded the army formation, and military helicopters were dispatched to gun down the soldiers.

    May the Gatling guns bring mercy upon this world! Let the Maxim guns save lives![1]

    Just like that, the iparably powerful army was reduced to cinders.

    The War Priest was speechless.

    1. This is a Chinese meme mocking Gatling, the creator of the Gatling gun, who ims that he created the gun to reduce the size of armies and reduce the number of deaths bybat and disease. ?

 Chapter 1968: The End of the World

    Chapter 1968: The End of the World

    Ji Xiaoxi was still worrying about Zu An when she saw the situation and pped in excitement, eximing, ¡°Big brother Zu is incredible!¡±

    Ji Dengtu¡¯s lower jaw nearly fell to the ground. He was so overwhelmed by what he had witnessed that he didn¡¯t have the spare attention to care about his daughter idolizing Zu An. Just what is that ability? Why have I never seen those weapons before?

    The War Priest trembled in disbelief too. The invincible army it had built up over a long time was destroyed just like that. This was a huge blow to it not just psychologically, but physically too, as it had to expend a huge amount of energy to summon the army. Its forces'' swift destruction resulted in its body bing iparably weak.

    Zu An naturally wouldn¡¯t miss such a good opportunity. There was no way he would hold back against such a strong enemy. He charged toward the War Priest, drew the Tai¡¯e Sword, and unleashed a brilliant burst of sword ki.

    The War Priest hurriedly retreated while casting all kinds of protective measures, but due to its weakened condition, its reaction was dyed. All of its defenses were swiftly breached by the sword ki like the spring snow before the majestic sun. Two ugly heads were lopped off, and the War Priest screeched in pain. Only its middle head was left. However, it could only endure the pain, not daring to move in the slightest, as the Tai¡¯e Sword was pressed against its only remaining head.

    The sword looked ordinary and antiquated, seemingly devoid of the slightest sharpness, but for some reason, it filled the War Priest with fear. Its body was exceptionally tough, such that normal weapons couldn¡¯t hope to leave a mark on it. And yet, the sword had severed its other two heads as easily as chopping tofu.

    ¡°Where are you from?¡± Zu An asked. He had intentionally spared the War Priest to get answers to his questions.

    ¡°I¡¯m from another world, of course. There are many powerful beings like us in the gxy. We would look for new worlds, invade them, and turn them into our own. This is the norm,¡± the War Priest answered. At that point, it gritted its teeth. ¡°If not for your world restricting me from descending with my full prowess, the one to die today would have been you.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled the War Priest for +990 +990 +990¡­

    Zu An¡¯s eyebrows shot up. He asked, ¡°Your powers are limited by the world you descend into?¡±

    The War Priest harrumphed as it turned its head away.

    Zu An didn¡¯t hesitate to lop off one of its ears, saying, ¡°You better obediently answer my question, or else the next thing to be cut off won¡¯t just be an ear.¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The War Priest yelped in pain. It red at Zu An in resentment, saying, ¡°Kill me if you want to. I have dominated countless worlds. I don¡¯t fear death.¡±

    Zu An said with a scowl, ¡°You should know that living is sometimes more frightening than dying.¡±

    The War Priest sneered, ¡°I have seen more worlds than you; I know that better than you. Even so, I¡¯ll never lower my head to someone from a lower world.¡±

    Zu An was put in a tough spot. It¡¯ll be troublesome if this fellow refuses to talk. He turned to Ji Dengtu and asked, ¡°Old man, do you have medicine to make someone talk?¡±

    Ji Dengtu was put on the spot. He replied, ¡°There are such medicines in the world, but they usually only work on humans. On such a monster¡­¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi also weighed in on the topic, saying, ¡°Big brother Zu, I tried it earlier, and our poisons don¡¯t work well on these monsters. Even if our poisons did work, we¡¯d need a massive amount for it to work on a body of that size. It¡¯ll be hard to gather that many herbs within a short time.¡±

    Zu An thought that made sense, so he gave up on that thought.

    Just then, Ji Dengtu asked, ¡°Why don¡¯t you capture it first? We can find some cultivators skilled in mind control to ess its mind and see if we can gather more intelligence from it.¡±

    That spurred a thought in Zu An¡¯s mind. He thought, Mind control?

    The War Priest burst intoughter. ¡°Mind control? You measly ants dream of controlling me?¡±

    ¡°That sounds usible,¡± Zu An said as he summoned Daji.

    A beautiful woman dressed in a white robe appeared. She showed no emotions on her face, but she exuded a natural seductive charm that drew one¡¯s eyes.

    Ji Dengtu widened his eyes. He didn¡¯t think that it was possible for a person to seem so innocent, yet devilish at the same time. Even the number one beauty of the capital, Yu Yanluo, is nothing more than this, right?

    Ji Xiaoxi looked at the ravishing big sister before her and felt a little insecure. Compared to this big sister, I¡¯m no different from an unripe fruit.

    ¡°What a beautiful woman, but you¡¯re dreaming if you think I¡¯d sumb to lust,¡± the War Priest said. It maintained a calm expression, but it was panicking on the inside.

    Why does this woman¡¯s aura resemble that of the legendary Heavenly Devil race? Heavenly Devils are known for feasting on human souls. It is said that even the Buddha nearly sumbed to one back then.

    No, that should be impossible. How could there be a Heavenly Devil in such a weak world? Even if she is a Heavenly Devil, she¡¯ll be too weak to control me.

    That put his mind at ease.

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Zu An replied with a chuckle. He ced his hand on the War Priest¡¯s body.

    The War Priest was initially confused, but its face soon warped in shock. It sensed that Zu An¡¯s hand was like a ck hole, siphoning away all of its energy.

    ¡°Taotie¡­ You possess Taotie¡¯s bloodline!¡± the War Priest cried with a quivering voice.

    ¡°What Taotie?¡± Zu An asked. This was the second time he''d heard that name from the monsters.

    ¡°The Taotie is one of the most terrifying entities in the gxy. It devours everything, from powerfuls to even entireary systems, but nothing can satiate it¡­¡± the War Priest replied with a shaky voice. Just the mention of Taotie filled its eyes with fear.

    Zu An was perplexed. He had obtained this skill from the Yinshang secret dungeon. It was a cultivation skill passed down by the imperial family of the Shang Dynasty, so it should have had no ties with the real Taotie.

    Zu An quickly absorbed everyst bit of the War Priest¡¯s cultivation, and he felt refreshed afterward. To his surprise, he reached Level 75 in a single shot. In his current state, he felt as if he could defeat Zhao Han fair and square even if thetter was at his peak.

    Having been sucked dry, the War Priest couldn¡¯t remain afloat in the air and plummeted to the ground. Its body swiftly contracted till it was only around the size of a cow. It crashed heavily onto the ground with a moan, and its breathing became faint.

    Zu An had crippled it. On top of that, he crushed its mental defenses via the Hundredwarble¡¯s mental attack and the Tai¡¯e Sword¡¯s Domain of Power. After making thorough preparations, he finally ordered Daji to cast her Voice of the Devil.

    He had raised Daji¡¯s cultivation significantly via pills as ofte, but there was still a huge gap between her and the War Priest. There was no guarantee this would work in spite of the preparations he had done. He was simply trying whatever means he had at his disposal.

    Perhaps due to the War Priest being shaken up by the power of Taotie, it really fell to Daji¡¯s Voice of the Devil. Sensing its dazed consciousness, Zu An took the chance to say, ¡°You mentioned earlier that you couldn¡¯t descend upon this world with your full strength. Exin it.¡±

    The War Priest frowned as it resisted the mind control, but Daji¡¯s eyes lit up as she stroked her pipa and yed an enchanting melody. The War Priest¡¯s eyes quickly turned turbid once more. It said, ¡°Every world has its own will, and they resist foreign intervention. Weaker beings are less susceptible to being resisted, as they are unlikely to shake the world¡¯s bnce, but stronger beings are unable to descend into such a world with their real body. They can only find a representative in their world or project an avatar in¡­¡±

    Zu An nodded upon hearing its exnation. Most secret dungeons had restrictions on the strength of the cultivators entering their premises too. That was why sects and academies usually sent their juniors to secret dungeons. Stronger cultivators were rejected by secret dungeons and were refused entry. Its mention of projections made Zu An recall some legends regarding such things, and he wondered if it was simr to that.

    ¡°Why did you descend with your real body then?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°That''s because there¡¯s a problem with this world,¡± the War Priest replied.

    Zu An, Ji Dengtu, and Ji Xiaoxi were stunned. They asked, ¡°A problem? What is it?¡±

    ¡°Many years ago, a powerful being discovered this new world and even sessfully breached its barrier, but for some reason, it sustained severe injuries and was sealed away. However, it managed to send out the coordinates of this world. Not too long ago, we obtained the coordinates too, and thought abouting over to try our luck," the War Priest said.

    Zu An thought about the Fiend races¡¯ Netherworld Seal. I wonder which ancestor of this world sealed it away.

    ¡°Are you in cahoots with those attempting to breach the Netherworld Seal?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°We are from the same world, but we are from different powers and have different goals. Some tried to enter the world via the spatial crack left behind by that powerful being, only to be met with fierce resistance from the indigenous people. Due to the world¡¯s barrier, we are unable to exert our true strength. Furthermore, the indigenous people have the upper hand in terms of numbers, so we are struggling to make progress.¡±

    Zu An figured that it was talking about the Netherworld Seal.

    ¡°Some of us have resorted to finding alternative ways to invade this world. We discovered that this world has spatial pockets known as secret dungeons that are capable of creating small spatial cracks. We suspect they were left behind from the battle with that powerful being," the War Priest said. ¡°As more of us invade this world, your world barrier will be pushed to its limit and eventually shatter for good. By then, we will be able to freely descend upon this world. It¡¯s a pity I met you as soon as I descended here¡­¡±

    Zu An¡¯s heart became heavy. He asked, ¡°Are there other spatial cracks? How many of you have slipped in here?¡± There are so many secret dungeons in this world! It¡¯ll be hard to guard against them like that. If we allow such monsters to invade us, it¡¯ll spell the end of the world.

 Chapter 1969: Myriad Worlds

    Chapter 1969: Myriad Worlds

    The War Priest shook its head and said, ¡°The other spatial cracks aren¡¯t as big as the one at the Fiend races¡¯ Netherworld Seal, so it¡¯ll be hard to descend via those cracks. It took a great deal of time and preparation before I could just barely descend via this spatial crack.¡±

    ¡°Which secret dungeons can be used to create spatial cracks?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°Each of us has our own unique ability. I don¡¯t know the method the others use, so I can¡¯t be certain about it, but those who descend will have to face the wrath of this world¡¯s will, so there will be certain phenomena in the vicinity,¡± the War Priest replied.

    Zu An fell into deep thought. Now that I think about it, there have been unnatural phenomena shrouding Copper Gong Mountain in recent days, such as the thick white fog and the purple fog nearing the center region. It might be impossible to take preemptive measures, but we can still achieve timely intervention.

    ¡°What¡¯s the world you¡¯re from called?¡± Zu An asked. It¡¯s best to gather as much information about the enemies as possible.

    ¡°Branda N151 Barren Star¡­¡± the War Priest replied.

    Zu An was surprised. These monsters have quite a technological name for their!

    ¡°Are there other worlds?¡± Zu An asked as he took note of the name.

    ¡°Countless more. A singleyer of the gxy can have over a hundred million civilizations, and we don¡¯t know how manyyers of gxies there are in the universe,¡± the War Priest replied.

    Zu An was speechless.

    Ji Dengtu and Ji Xiaoxi''s jaws nearly dropped open. They had never heard anything like this before. There are over a hundred million civilizations in a gxy, but there are otheryers of gxies on top of that? Why does this sound like a myth to me?

    ¡°How strong is your world in the gxy?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°The farther away a world is from the center of the gxy, the scarcer its resources are, and the weaker the indigenous poption. My world is around the middle, whereas your world is at the outermost region,¡± the War Priest replied.

    Ji Dengtu and Ji Xiaoxi exchanged gazes. They understood those words. So our world is the weakest one in the gxy.

    Zu An frowned and asked, ¡°Why did youe to our outermost world if your world is far richer in terms of resources?¡±

    The War Priest suddenly revealed a look of terror, saying, ¡°It¡¯s because our world is dying¡­¡±

    Zu An¡¯s heart sank. He could tell that the War Priest was indeed not in its strongest condition, and there were probably more beings of its level in this world. That showed just how strong its world was. Just what kind of thing could drive them to the brink of destruction?n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Upon hearing Zu An asked that question, the War Priest opened its mouth and began, ¡°I-It¡¯s Spec¡­¡±

    Its body suddenly shook halfway through those words, and its eyes regained their rity. It was no longer under the control of Daji¡¯s Voice of the Devil. However, its eyes filled with absolute horror as it eximed, ¡°No, I haven¡¯t said it yet. I haven¡¯t said it yet¡­¡±

    Bam!

    Its entire head exploded, and purple fluid sttered everywhere. It was fortunate Zu An had protected the others in time, so they didn¡¯t get defiled by it.

    ¡°W-What happened to it?¡± Ji Xiaoxi asked, her face turning pale. She was startled by the abrupt explosion.

    ¡°That could have been its punishment for uttering a forbidden name. There are incredibly powerful beings in this world who can bring about death just by having someone else utter their name,¡± Zu An replied.

    Ji Dengtu¡¯s face paled. He asked, ¡°There are really such beings in the world?¡± He was so frightened that even Teacher Bai in his robes couldn¡¯t console him.

    ¡°There are. You must be careful if you ever meet them. Some, you mustn¡¯t look at directly. Some, you mustn¡¯t utter the name of. Others, you can¡¯t even think about,¡± Zu An said with a bitter smile. He wouldn¡¯t have known these things if not for the beings he had met in the tomb.

    ¡°What do we do now?¡± Ji Xiaoxi asked as she gulped down her saliva. Everything that had happened today was a shock to her.

    ¡°Fortunately, it gave us useful information we can work with,¡± Zu An replied with a vexed sigh. There were many more questions he had wanted to ask, and yet such a situation urred. ¡°Keep what you saw and heard today a secret. Don¡¯t divulge a single word about it, or else it would plunge the world into chaos.¡±

    A pandemonium would break out if the popce learned that such terrifying beings were trying to invade their world. Stronger cultivators could even take the opportunity to undermine the current order. That could weaken humankind, making it easier for those monsters to invade.

    ¡°We know. This matter is of grave importance.¡± Even Ji Dengtu stowed away his usualckadaisical attitude.

    Just then, a few figures flew over andnded near them. They were the academy¡¯s Yan Xiangu, followed by Empress Liu Ning and Eunuch Lu, Chief Attendant Pei Zheng, Director of the Imperial Secretariat Pei Ming, Imperial Secretariat¡¯s Right Confidential Assistant Bi Qi, and King Guangling Zhao Yuan. They were stunned to witness the War Priest¡¯s massive body, as well as the devastation around Shadowmoon Lake.

    The empress was worried. She wanted to rush to Zu An¡¯s side, but she had to hold herself back as the others were present. She asked, ¡°Regent, were you the one fighting? Did you sustain any injuries?¡±

    The earlier battle had caused such a hugemotion that it caught the attention of the experts in the capital, so they had rushed over to check the situation. With Liu Ning¡¯s standing, there was no need for her to personally head over, but she figured that no one else in the world other than Zu An could have been involved in such a devastating battle. Out of worry, she had rushed over as well.

    ¡°Your Majesty, I¡¯m fine,¡± Zu An said. He knew she was worried, so he assured her with a gentle smile.

    Liu Ning blushed, but her heart was put at ease.

    Yan Xiangu anxiously asked, ¡°Libationer, what happened here?¡±

    ¡°There was a spatial crack earlier. A monster from another world tried to descend¡­¡± Zu An roughly exined the situation to them. Those present here were the top leaders of the empire, and he would require their cooperation for his future ns. Thus, there was no need to hide the truth from them.

    ¡°What?¡± Yan Xiangu and Liu Ning fell silent, but the others broke out into amotion. They doubted the credibility of Zu An¡¯s words, as it was inconceivable to them how their peaceful world would suddenly be invaded by monsters.

    Ji Dengtu interjected, ¡°Zu An¡¯s words are true. My daughter and I witnessed it as well¡­¡±

    They shared how they were chased by monsters on the mountain over thest few days, as well as what they had just witnessed a moment ago.

    Yan Xiangu walked up to the War Priest¡¯s carcass and inspected it, saying, ¡°This monster isn¡¯t from our world. There are no records about it.¡±

    The crowd was forced to ept Zu An¡¯s words as the truth.

    ¡°We should first deal with that spatial crack,¡± Zu An said as he flew above Shadowmoon Lake. Theke had calmed down, but a pitch-ck crack with a hint of purple aura could be found in its depths, reminiscent of an open eye.

    Without waiting for the others to respond, he drew the Tai¡¯e Sword and unleashed a brilliant streak of sword ki into theke. Theke parted into two, revealing the spatial crack. The sword ki gushed into the spatial crack, making it distort.

    Those present here were top-notch experts. They sensed the spatial crack bing increasingly unstable before eventually copsing on itself and disappearing into thin air. Even Zu An¡¯s political rivals cheered at the sight.

    Only Bi Qi stared at him with fearful eyes. This brat is stronger than I expected. I really mustn¡¯t underestimate him.

    Zu An heaved a sigh of relief. He still couldn¡¯t shatter the fabric of stable space with his current strength, but the spatial crack had only just formed and was still in an unstable state, so it wasn¡¯t as difficult for him to deal with it. He couldn¡¯t have done the same for the Netherworld Seal, which had existed for many years.

    ¡°You mentioned that the War Priest had fighting prowessparable to you, and that it wasn¡¯t in its strongest state yet. How strong do you think it is among the monsters?¡± Liu Ning asked with a worried frown.

    ¡°It should at least be at the level of a warlord, though it¡¯s definitely not the strongest in its world,¡± Zu An replied. While the War Priest hadn''t shared its background, it wasn''t difficult to deduce the details from its tone and way of doing things.

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t the strongest one?¡± Pei Zheng asked worriedly. That devastating aura I sensed earlier was already on par with the strongest earth immortals in our world. This will be tricky to deal with.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so worried. They still can¡¯t breach our world¡¯s barrier yet. For the time being, we should be fine as long as we find the spatial cracks in time and destroy them,¡± Zu An said as she shared his earlier analysis with the others.

    The crowd¡¯s grim expressions finally alleviated. Pei Ming chuckled, saying, ¡°It¡¯s lucky that the regent uncovered the monsters¡¯ ploy in advance, so we can make preparations for the future. Otherwise, the consequences could have been dire.¡±

    ¡°I was lucky. The world must have been looking after us,¡± Zu An said. He wondered if the world¡¯s will was really secretly helping them.

    The crowd chuckled. They were living in an era of superstition, after all, so they believed that heaven¡¯s will was behind everything.

    Liu Ning cleared her throat and said, ¡°Keep this matter confidential. Chaos will ensue if it¡¯s leaked, and we could end up copsing to internal strife before the monsters invade. General Zhao, mobilize your soldiers to seal off Copper Gong Mountain. No one is allowed to approach this area until we clean it up.¡±

    ¡°Lord Bi, you¡¯ll stop the people from major ns who have rushed here after receiving the news.¡±

    ¡°Lords Pei, you¡¯ll investigate potential appearances of simr spatial cracks elsewhere.¡±

    ¡°Master Yan, we¡¯ll need your help with rune formations and the mobilization of the academy¡¯s students all over the world.¡±

    The crowd was impressed listening to the empress¡¯ orderly arrangements.

    Finally, Liu Ning turned to Zu An and said, ¡°Regent, based on what I''ve heard, the Fiend races are also resisting the monsters in a sealednd. You have close ties with them, so is it possible for you to be a bridge between us to negotiate an alliance to deal with themon enemy here?¡±

 Chapter 1970: The Fiend Racesâ€™ Plan

    Chapter 1970: The Fiend Races¡¯ n

    The crowd was startled. They looked at Zu An as they btedly remembered that he was the regent for the Fiend races too. Previously, they had thought that he was simply a figurehead, figuring, Who knows what kind of madness that little Fiend Empress was up to? Or maybe she was just feeling lustful?

    But after witnessing Zu An¡¯s strength as ofte, they''d started to think that it was right for Zu An to be humankind¡¯s regent. Consequently, when they thought about his position in the Fiend races, it didn¡¯t seem as if he was just a figurehead either.

    Zu An nodded, saying, ¡°With a stronger enemy before us, it¡¯d be wise for humans and fiends to put aside our differences and deal with the otherworldly monsters. I¡¯ll find a chance to liaise with the fiends. From an objective standpoint, they suffered many casualties and shed much blood suppressing the monsters emerging from the Netherworld Seal, and their sacrifices are a huge reason why we¡¯re still able to spend our days peacefully.¡±

    Had anyone else said those words in the past, they would have been suspected of colluding with the fiends. However, with Zu An¡¯s current standing and the current circumstances, there was no need for him to worry about such trivialities.

    The others smiled awkwardly. They had fought with the fiends for so many years that it was hard for them to agree to such a thing.

    However, Liu Ning nodded, saying, ¡°The regent is right. I have looked up to the little Fiend Empress for some time now, and we are in a simr plight too. We should find an opportunity to meet up and discuss the possibility of a partnership between our races.¡±

    Bi Qi¡¯s eyebrows shot up. Liu Ning is taking on the airs of the empire¡¯s ruler, but Linglong is the true empress here! However, the little Fiend Empress had also recently lost her husband, which meant that she was indeed in a simr position as Liu Ning, so he decided not to say anything.

    Zu An felt goosebumps. What are those two women going to talk about? I can¡¯t imagine the hell that will be unleashed if they learn about their rtionships with me. Even so, Liu Ning¡¯s request was reasonable, so he had no choice but to agree, saying, ¡°I¡¯ll ry your stance to the other side.¡±

    ¡°I nearly forgot. The Heart-Devouring Demon Spiders can control corpses as their puppets. I don¡¯t know how many of them have slipped into our ranks, so we¡¯ll have to tighten our checks,¡± Zu An added as he eyed those present. ¡°I suggest we start from the empire¡¯s upper echelons, since they can cause more destruction if they fall under the monsters¡¯ control.¡±

    Pei Zheng, Bi Qi, and the others were startled. ¡°There¡¯s no way we could have been taken over by those parasites!¡±

    Ji Dengtu chuckled from the side, remarking, ¡°Why not? The Heart-Devouring Demon Spiders have unconventional means. You might be powerful cultivators, but you were previously unaware of their existence, so it wouldn¡¯t be surprising if you fell to their ambush.¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Liu Ning nodded in agreement. She asked, ¡°Your words made sense, but how can you tell whether a person has been parasitized?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll have to ask him. He¡¯s the only one who has discovered whether a person has been parasitized by a Heart-Devouring Demon Spider or not,¡± Ji Dengtu said as he pointed to Zu An.

    ¡°It¡¯s easy. You just have to infuse your ki into an individual¡¯s body, and you¡¯ll be able to tell if they''re alive, or if their heart has been taken over by a demon spider,¡± Zu An replied.

    Pei Zheng frowned, saying, ¡°That won¡¯t be easy to pull off. The person epting their ki will have their cultivation and hidden aces exposed. On top of that, they''ll be vulnerable in the process, and they won¡¯t be able to protect themselves if the other side attempts to harm them.¡±

    Zu An frowned. This was a problem. While he could discreetly check a person¡¯s body, it would be ridiculous if he had to manually do so for everyone. There had to be a proper procedure for it. It would be hard to conduct checks if others had such reservations.

    Just then, Yan Xiangu spoke up, saying, ¡°It¡¯s not that hard to resolve this issue. We can have the academy¡¯s physicians perform the check. If we just check the heart and minimize the ki infused to the lowest degree, we can minimize the harm to the individual.¡±

    Liu Ning turned to Ji Dengtu and asked, ¡°Physician Ji, what¡¯s your take?¡±

    The others turned their attention to Ji Dengtu too. Clearly, these powerful nobles of the capital knew about Ji Dengtu¡¯s rtionship with the old libationer.

    ¡°He¡¯s right, but I don¡¯t have that much time¡­¡± Ji Dengtu replied with a troubled voice.

    Liu Ning interjected, ¡°That¡¯s good enough. The academy has a good reputation, so the cultivators of the world will be more inclined to trust you. I¡¯ll leave this matter to Master Yan and Physician Ji then. Come up with a n as soon as possible.¡± The academy was technically under Zu An¡¯s jurisdiction, but given their rtionship, she didn¡¯t think he would be displeased by her overstepping her boundaries here.

    ¡°All right,¡± Yan Xiangu said with a nod.

    Ji Dengtu panicked. ¡°But I¡­¡±

    Yan Xiangu looked at Ji Dengtu, saying, ¡°Second brother, our master has passed away, and the world is now facing a threat from the monsters. It¡¯s time for you to shoulder your responsibilities.¡±

    The only person in this world who could curb Ji Dengtu was his first brother. He hung his head in resignation and sighed, saying, ¡°Alright.¡±

    Liu Ning smiled in satisfaction, then said, ¡°Physician Ji, I¡¯ll be troubling you to check those present here.¡±

    Ji Dengtu rubbed his hands together as a smile suddenly emerged on his lips. He said, ¡°Let¡¯s begin with Your Majesty then.¡±

    Eunuch Lu immediately stepped forward and red at him with hostile eyes. There¡¯s no way I¡¯d allow another man¡¯s dirty hands to sully my goddess!

    Ji Dengtu was startled.

    Liu Ning smiled and said, ¡°I believe the regent won¡¯t hurt me, so I¡¯ll have the regent check me instead.¡± She generously raised her hand toward Zu An.

    Meanwhile, Pei Zheng¡¯s mind began whirring into action. The empress is leading by example so we¡¯ll allow Zu An to check us too, but Zu An is too strong. He¡¯ll see through our cultivation and our secrets. That won¡¯t do.

    Pei Ming had a simr thought in mind. It¡¯s still better to let Ji Dengtu check us. We know that old man isn¡¯t interested in power.

    Bi Qi pondered the matter as well. The empress is trying to win Zu An¡¯s favor. Haa, it¡¯s a pity Linglong¡¯s cultivation is too weak, so she¡¯s unable to rush here right away. Otherwise, we could have stopped her.

    Zhao Yuan thought, I can¡¯t allow Zu An to check my body, though Ji Dengtu is fine. But why does the empress trust Zu An so much? Is she not worried about exposing the secrets of her cultivation?

    These wily old foxes were trying to read too deeply into the situation, so they couldn¡¯t have imagined that the empress had no such intentions in mind¡ªshe simply wanted Zu An to touch her body. The others didn¡¯t think the empress and Zu An could have a romantic rtionship, since they were from different generations.

    The only one who hit the nail on the head was Zu An himself. She¡¯s wild. Trying to flirt with me in front of so many people? Interesting.

    Zu An walked over and pretended to check her condition. The truth was that he had even explored her most confidential secrets, so there was no reason for him to probe the secrets behind her cultivation. Unlike before, Eunuch Lu didn¡¯t step forward to stop Zu An, instead choosing to step aside.

    Ji Dengtu was startled. Why? Is it because he¡¯s better-looking? He had no choice but to check on the other old men. In the end, it was proven that they were all clean.

    Liu Ning heaved a sigh of relief, saying, ¡°It¡¯d appear the monsters haven¡¯t breached deep into our ranks yet. It¡¯s not toote to guard against them. All of us will undergo regr checks from now on.¡±

    The crowd nodded. Ji Dengtu had held himself back from inspecting their cultivation earlier, so the group of them thought that this course of action was still eptable. They understood that their current standing was built on the foundation of human supremacy; their wealth and power would mean nothing if the monsters took over their world. After a rough talk, they rushed back to the capital. There were many finer details that required discussion with those from the other departments of the imperial court beforeing up with a proper n. It was likely they would be busy from this day onward.

    It was then that Ji Xiaoxi shyly spoke up, saying, ¡°Big brother Zu, I need to stay here a little longer.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Zu An asked, startled. He''d thought Ji Xiaoxi would be eager to leave this ce after the horrors she had just witnessed.

    Ji Xiaoxi pursed her lips as she nced at Yao Fang and the others¡¯ bodies. She said, ¡°I want to bring them back and give them a proper burial. They saved me.¡±

    If not for the academy¡¯s students protecting her, she would have already died to the Purple me Ghost. She hadn''t thought they would end up meeting their eternal rest here.

    Zu An sighed, saying, ¡°It¡¯s my responsibility. I am the academy¡¯s libationer. I should have been the one to bring them back.¡±

    The problem was that he couldn¡¯t bury them here. It would be tragic if other Heart-Devouring Demon Spiders roaming in the area took over their corpses and exploited their bodies.

    Zu An turned to Yan Xiangu and said, ¡°I intend to erect a monument in the academy. Students will no doubt lose their lives fighting against the monsters. We¡¯ll inscribe their names on the monument to ensure that they''re remembered, as well as to encourage the living. Yao Fang and the others were the first to discover the monsters, so their names ought to be inscribed on the monument too.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, big brother Zu!¡± Ji Xiaoxi cried.

    Yan Xiangu narrowed his eyes. Ji Xiaoxi was young and didn¡¯t know better, but as a veteran in the capital, he knew that erecting a monument was no small matter. It was unlikely that the imperial family and the imperial court would agree to it, as this had always been one of the imperial family¡¯s special privileges. Zu An was the only one with the standing and influence to push such a thing through.

    Thus, Yan Xiangu bowed to Zu An and said, ¡°I¡¯d like to thank the libationer on behalf of tens of thousands of students.¡±

    Even Ji Dengtu dropped his usual hostile attitude and respectfully bowed toward him.

    Zu An was taken aback. He hadn¡¯t expected them to have such a huge reaction. He quickly supported them and said, ¡°I¡¯m only doing what I should.¡±

    Ji Dengtu and Yan Xiangu exchanged gazes. They had previously thought it was ridiculous to allow a youth to be the academy¡¯s libationer, but from the looks of it now, Zu An was a good libationer.

    Zu An and the others found the two surviving students and brought them back to the academy, together with the corpses of those who had died in the tragedy.

    Shortly after they left, a few faint silhouettes appeared in the sky, as if unfathomable beings were peeking into this world.

    ¡°Who could have thought the arrogant War Priest would die in this world?¡±

    ¡°No one could have known there would be such a powerful being in this world. It¡¯s unlikely we would have fared better than the War Priest with our powers restricted by the world. Damn it. It¡¯s unlikely that this world¡¯s barrier will unravel anytime soon.¡±

    ¡°We have to change our ns. A direct invasion will be tough. We should find a way to weaken this world¡¯s barrier first.¡±

    ¡°Indeed. The best way to weaken a world¡¯s barrier is to induce a war, stoke a pandemonium, or cause cmities. We can send some of the weaker but smarter ones in to incite chaos.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯ll still take decades at least.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s no more than the snap of a finger to us.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s decided then.¡±

    ¡­

    Those silhouettes then vanished as if they had never appeared.

 Chapter 1971: Resolute

    Chapter 1971: Resolute

    On the way back, Zu An checked the contents of the Brilliant ss Bead. That drop of turbid yellow Naihe Oblivion Water was still floating calmly in that space. Unfortunately, no matter how he sounded it out, he still couldn''t control it like the War Priest had. Now that he was proficient in the Baopu Sutra, though, he could more or less guess what was going on. Even though that War Priest had already died, the imprint he''d left on the drop of Naihe Oblivion Water still existed. Only by erasing the imprint and fully refining this drop for himself would he be able to use this treasure.

    Apart from that, Zu An had also taken the Soul Summoning Banner, but after suffering the retaliation of the Violet-Gold Alms, it seemed to be damaged. He had to carefully nurture it to restore it and use it again. Even though it was a bit treacherous, weapons were never inherently evil. In the end, it depended on the user.

    That War Priest¡¯s War Formation Disk had beenpletely destroyed, however. Zu An¡¯s Rune Weapon Chart had been unleashed at full power, so it was unavoidable.

    As for the War Priest¡¯s corpse, that was Zu An¡¯s spoils of war to begin with, so no one dared to say anything about it. Besides, right now, the entire world was in a crisis, so he naturally wouldn¡¯t have any ridiculous attachment to it; he instead handed it straight over to the academy. That way, if the court and the academy¡¯s elites studied it together, they could figure out more secrets of the monsters'' world.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    At first, he was worried whether or not the Brilliant ss Bead¡¯s space could store the War Priest¡¯s corpse, but Yan Xiangu took out several Wind Maniption Talismans and ced them around the War Priest. Then, the entire corpse seemed as if it had been swept up by a gust of wind, ready to be delivered to the academy just like that.

    Zu An sighed in amazement at the power of talismans once again. They were part of a wide-ranging and profound field, as expected.

    Even though they had obtained quite the spoils from this battle against the War Priest, when Zu An looked at all of the academy disciples who had been sacrificed, he couldn''t bring himself to feel happy at all. It felt as if just a moment ago, those people had been full of life, all greeting him respectfully as the libationer.

    He had only seen simr situations in books before and always found it a bit hard to rte to. Only now did he fully understand what kind of feeling it was. He was sure that soon after, even more academy disciples would perish. Then, who knew if close friends of his own would follow¡­

    When he thought about such things, he felt a deep sense of powerlessness. These damned monsters¡­ He had been enjoying a wonderful time with his women and the world¡¯s authority at his fingertips, and yet they just had toe and ruin everything!

    Meanwhile, Xiaoxi also felt extremely broken-hearted along the way. No matter how her father tried to make her feel better, her head remained lowered in a quiet sob.

    Helpless to do anything else, Ji Dengtu could only seek out Zu An, saying, ¡°Go and say something to her. She¡¯s been filled with constant rm and anxiety these past few days and hasn¡¯t gotten much rest. If she continues to remain in this kind of mood, she¡¯ll definitely end up really sick.¡± When it was rted to his precious daughter¡¯s health, he couldn''t be bothered to remain on guard against Zu An anymore.

    Zu An trusted Ji Dengtu''s judgment as a divine physician, so he went over to Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s side and gently patted her shoulder, saying, ¡°Xiaoxi, don¡¯t feel too bad. The dead have already departed. If their spirits are watching from heaven, I believe they wouldn''t wish for the little angel they protected to be so broken-hearted either.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m no angel,¡± Ji Xiaoxi mumbled. However, her tears seemed to have stopped.

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°You¡¯re beautiful and you¡¯re kind. Usually, you focus on helping the dying and healing the injured, so in the eyes of the sick, you are an angel. Otherwise, why would they still risk their lives to protect you in that kind of situation?¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s head turned. How could she still remember to cry? She was filled with shyness and embarrassment now.

    Ji Dengtu rolled his eyes as he listened in. This kid really is a smooth talker. Xiaoxi is as pure as a clean white sheet of paper. How could she possibly stand a chance against that? This is not good! I really have to keep Xiaoxi away from him.

    ¡°Big brother Zu, do you think there really are spirits in heaven?¡± Ji Xiaoxi suddenly asked.

    Zu An was briefly stunned. He then immediately replied, ¡°If this were before, I really wouldn¡¯t be sure. But now, I think there likely are. The Naihe Oblivion Water that War Priest used was from none other than the legendary Yellow Springs¡­¡±

    ¡°Yellow springs?¡± Ji Xiaoxi asked, blinking in confusion. Her expression was really adorable.

    ¡°Legend has it that once one dies, they go to theherworld. The king of hell then judges whether they lived a virtuous and merciful life. Those who do are reincarnated into good families, while evildoers are thrown into hells of different levels depending on their crimes. Only after suffering boundless torments and punishments are they given the right to be reincarnated once more. Meanwhile, prior to reincarnation, they need to drink a bowl of Granny Meng''s Soup, which can make one forget all memories of one''s former life. It''s said that Granny Meng''s Soup has Naihe Oblivion Water as a base, mixed with tears and all kinds of medicinal ingredients¡­¡± Zu An realled the various legends of his past world and exined them to her.

    Ji Xiaoxi waspletely immersed in his story, her small mouth opened slightly as she listened with all of her attention.

    The other two academy disciples listened with even more devotion. They took it as a rare chance to receive a lesson from the libationer himself!

    Even Yan Xiangu and Ji Dengtu couldn''t help but perk up their ears. Even though they had seen some records rted to the Naihe Oblivion Water, they were some isted phrases at best and weren¡¯t as detailed as what Zu An was saying. They wondered just where he had learned these things from.

    When he saw how serious everyone else was, Zu An was a bit embarrassed. He couldn''t just tell them that these were actually some legendary stories and that they couldn''t take them too seriously, right?

    However, after thinking about it, since even the Naihe Oblivion Water had appeared, maybe those legends were real after all...

    ¡­

    The party continued to walk together for some time when suddenly, rushed hoofbeats filled the air. Then, they were soon followed by several pleasant sounds. When Zu An''s group looked up to see what was happening, they saw that two youngdies were urging their horses in this direction.

    Even though the youngdy in the back was pretty too, their attention was drawn to the one in front. Her skin was wless and smooth, and her facial features were picturesque. There was a red beauty spot between her brows, and her hair wasbed in a refined and graceful manner, decorated with all kinds of grand and intricate ornaments. Just a single nce at the quality and style of her clothes would make it clear that she was from the pce. Every single expression she disyed was noble and moving. Besides that, she had all kinds of exquisite ornaments at her waist;he pleasant sounds came precisely from those ornaments colliding as she rode astride the horse.

    The academy disciple Chang Tian felt as if his chest had been struck by a hammer from a single nce. His heart started pounding. Ji Xiaoxi was also extremely beautiful, but she was more of the adorable little sister next door type. She was really gentle, so her beauty wasn¡¯t all that lethal. Someone like him who was also from a poor and humble family had a certain degree of resistance against such types. However, the distinguished and noble temperament of the woman across from him, and her kind of gorgeous beauty, was much deadlier against him and even harder to resist.

    Mei Rou actually felt a bit ashamed of her inferiority. This woman was like a swan in the clouds, while she was like the most ordinary ugly duckling on the ground. She was normally quite popr among her circles, with quite a few people praising her for being pretty. Even though she had admired Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s beauty before, Xiaoxi was still too young, so she reflexively treated her as a little sister. It was hard for her to feel anypetition. Only now that shepared herself with this woman in front of her did she understand what true beauty was.

    ¡°I greet the crown princess,¡± Yan Xiangu said as he bowed slightly.

    ¡°Greetings, Master Yan.¡± Bi Linglong quickly got off the horse and returned the greeting. With Yan Xiangu¡¯s status, she didn¡¯t need to do that, but there was no way she wouldn¡¯t recognize his good intentions.

    Her maid Rong Mo, who had been gasping for breath as she tried to follow along, also quickly got off her horse. When her gaze shifted to the massive War Priest corpse off to the side, her expression couldn''t help but change.

    ¡°Is she the crown princess? No wonder she''s so beautiful and distinguished¡­¡± The younger generation members were all a bit absent-minded.

    Ji Dengtu wasn¡¯t all that affected because he liked those who were a bit more mature. Furthermore, recently, he had be fonder of the fictional characters of his books. Maybe it was because that Zu brat was too good with his descriptions, but he often dreamed of Teacher Bai.

    ¡°Crown princess, you seemed to be in quite the rush. Is there some pressing matter?¡± Yan Xiangu asked with a worried expression. ¡°Copper Gong Mountain up ahead might still be a bit dangerous, so I think it would be best for you to not continue ahead.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Master Yan, but the reason I was in a rush was because I sensed some terrifying battle was taking ce. That¡¯s why I came to see what was happening,¡± Bi Linglong said as she snuck Zu An a look. Only when she saw that he didn¡¯t seem to be injured did she sigh in relief.

    Yan Xiangu pointed at the War Priest corpse next to him and said, ¡°This monster invaded earlier. The libationer fought a great battle against it, so I believe it¡¯s best if the libationer exins the details to the crown princess himself. Libationer, we''ll go on ahead and wait for you.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± Zu An said. He naturally couldn''t be more pleased.

    Bi Linglong couldn''t help but grin. Why had she only realized now how good at understanding others this Master Yan was?

    Soon after, Yan Xiangu brought the others away. As she left, Ji Xiaoxi gave Zu An a reluctant look. They had finally reunited after being apart for so long, so she didn¡¯t actually want to separate from big brother Zu so quickly. However, zu An had official matters to talk about, so she couldn''t really say much.

    At the same time, she sighed deeply.

    The crown princess really is beautiful¡­

    ¡­

    When the others were far away, Bi Linglong groaned and jumped straight into Zu An¡¯s arms, hugging him tightly.

    Rong Mo couldn''t help but hold her forehead when she saw this. The miss isn''t even trying to hold herself back anymore!

    And yet, even if she didn¡¯t have any misgivings herself, she wouldn¡¯t dare to forget about her responsibilities. She quickly urged her horse away to vigntly watch the surroundings, so as to prevent others from getting closer and seeing this scene.

    As he held the slender and soft body in his arms, Zu An couldn''t help but chuckle. He said, ¡°I¡¯m fine. With my current cultivation, it would be difficult for me to be injured even if I wanted to.¡±

    ¡°I just want to hold you like this,¡± Bi Linglong mumbled as she buried her face in his chest.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Zu An asked. Even as he sensed the pair of wonderful arms wrapped around him, it felt as if she was scared that he would suddenly run away.

    ¡°Nothing. Just let me hold you for a bit,¡± Bi Linglong said. Her voice shook a bit, and she didn¡¯t say anything else.

    Zu An was a bit stunned, but he just held her firmly too.

    ¡­

    After some time passed, Bi Linglong then loosened her grip a bit. She looked a bit embarrassed, as if she was hiding something. She tried to change the topic and asked, ¡°Where did that monstere from? Why was it so strong? Everyone in the capital was saying that it was a battle between earth immortals.¡±

    ¡°Sigh, they¡¯re creatures from a different world¡­¡± Zu An replied. He gave her a rough ount of what had happened. With her status, there would soon be people who informed her of what happened here too.

    ¡°What?!¡± Bi Linglong¡¯s beautiful expression changed slightly. She never could have imagined that something like this would happen! Their long period of peace could be about to change.

    ¡°There''s no need to be too scared. As long as we prepare well on our side, those monsters won¡¯t be able to cross over so easily,¡± Zu An said in constion.

    ¡°I¡¯m really useless¡­ I can nevere immediately whenever something does happen. It¡¯s always the empress who appears at your side first,¡± Bi Linglong said dejectedly, biting her lip. She had actually been known for being talented ever since she was young; among her peers, her cultivation was rather outstanding. And yet, now that a freak like Zu An had appeared, as well as those powerful cultivators from the previous generation, she really felt as if she paled inparison.

    Zu An chuckled. He had never expected her to care more about something like that. He took out an embroidered case and ced it into her hands, saying, ¡°For you.¡±

    ¡°What is this?¡± Bi Linglong asked, stunned.

    ¡°This is a Marrow Cleansing Pill. It can improve your innate cultivation aptitude by a grade. That way, your cultivation will improve faster,¡± Zu An exined. When they met in the academy¡¯s mountaintop lodge, the two of them had been preupied with burning passion, and then they were interrupted by the empress midway, so he''d had no time to give the pill to her at all.

    Bi Linglong said hesitantly, ¡°Ah Zu, you might know about this, but ording to the academy¡¯s tests, my aptitude was already the very best. I was raised on all kinds of miraculous medicine ever since I was little, so this Marrow Cleansing Pill might not be too useful for me.¡±

    Zu An shook his head and replied, ¡°No, this Marrow Cleansing Pill will work. Even if your aptitude is top-tier, the pill can still raise it to the next level.¡±

    ¡°Huh? There''s something that incredible in this world?¡± Bi Linglong was a bit shocked.

    ¡°But of course. Otherwise, why do you think I was able to cultivate so quickly at such a young age?¡± Zu An replied with a smile.

    In that instant, Bi Linglong finally understood just what kind of secret Zu An had just shared with her. Her eyes became a bit teary. She was so moved that she rushed into his arms again. She got on her toes and gave him a kiss.

    Zu An was stunned. However, he quickly held her soft waist and reciprocated passionately.

    Some distance away, Rong Mo could only turn around when she saw that. She harrumphed and said, ¡°Hmph, stupid romance.¡±

    Bi Linglong finally separated reluctantly from Zu An after the two of them kissed for a long time. Her eyes were full of affection, and she seemed to havee to some kind of decision. She said, ¡°Ah Zu, in the future, no matter what happens, I will always stand at your side!¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but smile. He pinched her perfect cheeks and replied, ¡°Silly girl, you were already standing at my side before.¡±

    Bi Linglong pursed her lips and shook her head, but she didn¡¯t exin any further.

    Silly big brother, you don¡¯t know what I¡¯m saying at all¡­

 Chapter 1972: Questioning

    Chapter 1972: Questioning

    Even though Bi Linglong had endless things she wanted to say to him right now, she didn''t say anything in the end. After all, this affair didn¡¯t only involve her; it also involved her father, as well as the entire Bi n. It was just too important, so she didn¡¯t dare to spill everything right now. She was worried that it could result in terrible, unpredictable consequences. Instead, she was focused on doing her best to apologize for her father¡¯s mistake in the past, to do everything she could to make up for the harm the Bi n caused Ah Zu. She would do everything she could to ease the tensions and repair the two sides¡¯ rtionship.

    ¡­

    When Zu An sensed that her body was shaking slightly, he thought that it was because she was feeling scared of thoe monsters¡¯ invasion. He patted her back gently and said, ¡°Linglong, don¡¯t be scared. I¡¯m here.¡±

    Bi Linglong voiced her confirmation softly. She was about to say something when Rong Mo rushed over in a hurry and said, ¡°Miss, there are many soldiers heading this way. We should hurry and leave!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s King Guangling¡¯s people,ing to seal off Shadowmoon Lake,¡± Zu An exined. Zhao Yuan was from the same generation as Zhao Han, and he was in charge of the Gueri Warfare Army. That was why many of the defenses around the capital were under hismand.

    Bi Linglong nodded. She didn¡¯t want the soldiers to see them together either, so she said while giving him a reluctant look, ¡°Then I¡¯ll be leaving first.¡±

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°Let¡¯s leave together.¡±

    ¡°But there might be rumors and gossip flying around if we''re seen together¡­¡± Bi Linglong murmured with a frown. Even though she didn¡¯t really have to fear these things with Zu An¡¯s current cultivation and status, those kinds of rumors were never a good thing.

    ¡°Then we won¡¯t let them see us together,¡± Zu An said with a chuckle.

    Bi Linglong squealed in rm, as he picked her right up and rushed into the clouds. Once they were that high up in the air, the soldiers on the ground naturally weren''t able to see them anymore.

    As the two rushed into the skies in a passionate embrace, Rong Mo watched them leave with her neck extended. She was dumbfounded, murmuring, ¡°What about me? I didn¡¯t get on the train yet...¡± At that moment, she was a bit vexed. If she had known things would be like this, she wouldn¡¯t havee with the young miss this time! Now, she had to take the walk of shame back all alone.

    Suddenly, a force descended from above, and she flew into the air. Only when she snapped out of her daze did she notice that there was a rope tied around her. It turned out that Zu An had fished her off the ground and brought her with him. Bi Linglong gave her an apologetic look, then returned to flirting with Zu An.

    Rong Mo was speechless. She had dreamed of being whisked away by a handsome and outstanding hero countless times, thinking about how they would fly through the skies in each other''s arms. Whenever she thought of that, she had tossed and turned while wrapped in her nkets, unable to fall asleep from the excitement. She had never expected that the first time she would fly into the sky would be like this.

    I should be inside the carriage, not under it¡­

    ¡­

    While Rong Mo wasining inwardly, Bi Linglong was looking around vigntly. After all, there was nothing to cover their figures in the air. She asked, ¡°What if we''re seen by some passing expert? Our rtionship would be¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, with my divine sense, I would already have detected them by the time they came close,¡± Zu An said tofort her.

    When she heard what he said, Bi Linglong felt a bit more at ease. Only then was she in the mood to appreciate how beautiful it was up in the skies.

    ¡°Does it feel good toe all the way up[1] to the skies?¡± Zu An suddenly asked.

    ¡°Yeah, it does¡­¡± Bi Linglong replied absent-mindedly, but as soon as she did, she noticed a mischievous grin on Zu An¡¯s face. She finally understood what he meant, and she immediately hit him coyly, saying, ¡°You¡¯re so annoying¡­¡±

    When he saw her act yfully, Zu An felt something stir within him. He couldn''t help but lower his head for a kiss. Bi Linglong groaned. She couldn''t hold herself back and wrapped her arms around his neck to reciprocate.

    In the back, Rong Mo covered her eyes with her hands. She sighed, muttering, ¡°Here we go again.¡±

    Even so, the two lovers who were immersed in their own world paid no attention to what anyone around them thought. They werepletely preupied with their love and affection.

    A whileter, Bi Linglong suddenly felt a chill in front of her chest. She could even feel Zu An''s hand moving a bit closer. The two were tightly wrapped around each other, so she could fully feel the changes that were happening to his body. She jumped in rm and pleaded, ¡°Not here¡­¡±

    When he heard her weak pleas, Zu An remembered that she was usually quite reserved and shy. Doing it all the way up here was still a bit too much for her, so he didn¡¯t want to force her. He replied, ¡°Okay.¡±

    He spoke some gentle words to reassure her, but then thought about Tushan Yu of the Fiend races. He had to admit that the Fox race was more adept in this field.

    ¡°Ah Zu, you''re so great,¡± Bi Linglong said, biting her lip. She had actually felt the urge to agree to him several times, but this ce was too close to the capital. If someone really saw them, that would be awful. Besides, Rong Mo was still here too, so she really couldn''t bring herself to do it.

    However, when she recalled how she had set her resolve to be good to him, and yet already refused him so quickly¡­

    After some hesitation, she moved closer to Zu An with a reddened face. She nibbled on his ear and said quietly, ¡°In the future, when Momo isn¡¯t here¡­¡±

    Zu An was surprised. He hadn¡¯t expected her to actually agree to such a ridiculous request. It almost seemed as if it didn''t fit her personality. Even so, he naturally wouldn¡¯t reject her good intentions and said, ¡°Okay, let¡¯s do it tonight then.¡±

    As she voiced her agreement, Bi Linglong¡¯s voice was extremely soft. The redness of her face reached all the way to her neck as she murmured, ¡°But we really can¡¯t be seen by others, or else I won¡¯t be able to keep living¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I''ll take care of that," Zu An replied.

    Now that they had confirmed their ns, Zu An became much faster. He found a ce outside of the city gates tond with the two women, then watched them return to the pces. It was still broad daylight outside, and so many people wereing and going around the capital. Flying straight inside while carrying the two of them would be inappropriate.

    ¡­

    When they entered the city, Rong Mo couldn''t help butin, ¡°Young miss, I feel as if you''re bing bad from ying around with him.¡±

    Bi Linglong was really embarrassed. She immediately chased her all around the room, crying out, ¡°Momo, I¡¯m going to cut out your tongue, do you believe me or not?!¡±

    ¡°Aiya, I was wrong, miss¡­¡±

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An returned to reunite with Yan Xiangu and the others. Ji Xiaoxi couldn''t help but ask, ¡°Big brother Zu, the crown princess seems to be really close to you, doesn''t she?¡±

    Zu An nodded and replied, ¡°That¡¯s right. I used to serve as a minister of the Eastern Pce, so she''s my direct superior. There¡¯s no avoiding her in that kind of ce, so of course we¡¯re familiar with each other.¡±

    When she heard him call Bi Linglong his superior, Ji Xiaoxi released a clear sigh of relief. She said in admiration, ¡°The crown princess really is pretty.¡±

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°She might be pretty, but our Xiaoxi here isn¡¯t bad either. You¡¯re pretty and adorable.¡±

    Ji Dengtu immediately shot him a sidelong nce. What a slick talker! Good thing I already taught Xiaoxi how to guard against trash guys like this. After all that practice over the years, she''s now full of experience against them.

    Ji Xiaoxi always treated the injuries of others all year long, so of course there wouldn¡¯t be good people around her. From time to time, there had been some troublemakers who tried to fool her with flowery speech. However, she had dealt with all of them easily.

    This Zu bastard isn¡¯t even as good at this as the other trash men; Xiaoxi will definitely see through it.

    ¡­

    Ji Xiaoxi lowered her head, looking a bit bashful and embarrassed as she replied, ¡°Not at all; big brother Zu is just saying that to make me happy.¡±

    Ji Dengtu, who had been ready to see his daughterpletely reject the advances of trash men, was filled with confusion!

    Zu An cried out, ¡°What do you mean, I''m just saying that? If you don¡¯t believe me, you can ask any of them. Chang Tian, Mei Rou, do you two think Xiaoxi is pretty?¡±

    The two of them had strange expressions.

    Why is the libationer asking us something like this?

    Even so, they were still overwhelmed by his favor and said, ¡°Lady Ji is indeed very pretty. Even in a ce like our academy, she would still be at the top.¡±

    Their reply wasn¡¯t just out of ttery for the libationer; it was what they really thought. Besides, Ji Xiaoxi was an adorable and kind little doctor, so they naturally had a very favorable impression of her.

    Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s cheeks became even redder. She fiddled with the corners of her clothes and didn¡¯t know what to say.

    The others all had knowing smiles. This kind of gentle and shy appearance really did make all of them feel as if she were their little sister. They all wanted to cherish her.

    ¡­

    Thee group returned to the capital just like that. The War Priest¡¯s corpse was covered up with cloth to prevent rming themon people. Then, it was delivered back to the academy¡¯s rear mountain.

    When Jiang Luofu received news of their return, she came out to wee them. When she saw that Ji Xiaoxi was safe and sound, she couldn''t help but release a sigh of relief. She quickly took her into her arms and eximed, ¡°Do you know how worried your auntie here was? In the future, you can¡¯t go out all by yourself to pick medicines, do you understand?¡±

    ¡°Auntie, I can¡¯t breathe¡­¡± Ji XIaoxi protested, her facepletely red. She quickly struggled free and gave her chest a fearful look.

    When can I be as¡­ developed as my auntie?

    Ji Dengtu asked in dissatisfaction, ¡°If you really were worried about her, why didn¡¯t I see you look for her yourself?¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    This sister-inw was the one he had actually been scared of the most in the past. And yet this time, his daughter had almost lost her life, and because it was that brat Zu An who had arrived, his daughter was now constantly clinging to him. If it had been Jiang Luofu who arrived, Xiaoxi wouldn¡¯t be like this, so that was why he felt a bit upset.

    Jiang Luofu gave Zu An a guilt-riddled look and said, ¡°When I left, something happened to my ki cirction, so I troubled the libationer to save all of you.¡±

    Zu An and Jiang Luofu exchanged a look. He chuckled and said, ¡°I¡¯m d that I didn''t let everyone down.¡±

    Jiang Luofu¡¯s expression was a bit unnatural as she avoided his gaze.

    Yan Xiangu was a bit worried. He asked, ¡°Junior sister, did something bad happen to your cultivation?¡±

    After all, they were all orthodox cultivators who had sturdy cultivation foundations, so such problems wouldn¡¯t happen too often. If they appeared, they became a huge issue. Sure enough, even Ji Dengtu was worried now.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s just a small problem. The libationer already helped me take a look at it,¡± Jiang Luofu said, unable to exin further.

    Zu An rubbed his neck and said, ¡°Yeah, I did take a look.¡±

    Her skin is quite white.

    Everyone else sighed in relief.

    ¡­

    A whileter, Shen Xuzi, Qi Yaoguang and the other teachers also heard the news and emerged. They all looked curiously at the covered figure that resembled a small mountain.

    Zu An removed the cloth covering the War Priest, triggering cries of surprise. He said seriously, ¡°Since everyone is here, I''ll now exin the situation. This world has already begun to transform¡­¡±

    Then, he exined the events of Shadowmoon Lake to the others. Even Qi Yaoguang, who had been sitting on a tree branch and happily rocking her feet, became serious. She stopped giggling and ying around the way she usually did.

    ¡°From here on out, the grave responsibility of saving the world will now fall on everyone here. As for exactly what we''ll do, Master Yan will make careful arrangements with everyone when the timees,¡± Zu An concluded.

    ¡°We will not shirk from the duty of saving the world!¡±

    ¡°Haha, this makes things much more interesting! How boring would it be if we just continued reading books in the rear mountains forever?¡±

    ¡°I really want to fight a proper battle with those monsters!¡±

    ¡­

    When he saw how these people weren¡¯t scared and instead became stirred with fighting spirit, Zu An sighed in relief.

    Thete libationer raised a group of excellent disciples.

    The group then began to discuss concrete countermeasures. Ji Dengtu took Xiaoxi, Mei Rou, and the others away for treatment and rest.

    Zu An returned to his room. When he closed the doors and windows, he summoned Mi Li and asked, ¡°Are you not going to tell me anything?¡±

    1. The raw uses a pun on ''climax''... ?

 Chapter 1973: An Absolute Mess

    Chapter 1973:An Absolute Mess

    Mi Li had been nning to y dead and not say a thing, but in the end, she couldn''t handle Zu An¡¯s threat of stabbing the Tai¡¯e Sword into a pile of sh*t and came out.

    ¡°This is your sword too, for better or for worse, you know? Are there any swordsmen who would do that to their own swords?¡± a voice protested as a strand of smoke came out. Mi Li appeared and gave Zu An an angry look. Then, she moved over to the bed on her own to lie down, as if she could never get enough sleep.

    You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for +11 +11 +11¡­

    She was dressed in ck pce wear. One hand rested under her chin, while the other hand rested naturally on her thigh. She was alluring, yet elegant. Her lips were a captivating red, striking and beautiful. Her eyes gave off a slightly dangerous glint.

    Even though this wasn¡¯t the first time he had seen her, Zu An still couldn''t help but sigh at her wless beauty.

    Mi Li''s exquisite nose bridge drew a perfect arc, and she had a delicate and smooth jaw. Her neck was long and snow-white, adding an irresistible temptation to her already stunning features. Even though she was upset, her anger didn¡¯t tarnish her beauty at all and instead added a special sort of feeling to her appearance, a kind of dangerous allure.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An realized that Mi Li was dressed in the same thing she was wearing when he''d first met her in the first emperor¡¯s underground pce. The ck pce wear contrasted her skin that was fairer than milk. He wasn¡¯t sure, but perhaps the time she had recently spent nurturing her body allowed her soul to be further condensed, making her skin seem to give off a white jade-like luster.

    ¡°Master empress, you¡¯re bing prettier and prettier,¡± Zu An couldn''t help but say with a sigh of praise.

    Mi Li harrumphed. ¡°Hmph, do you think I¡¯m as easy to fool as the littledies you keep around you?!¡±

    Even though that was what she said, she still couldn''t hold back the signs of happiness between her brows. She was truly a woman whose mouth said one thing, but her heart thought another.

    ¡°I believe master empress knows about what I want to ask,¡± Zu An said with a sigh.

    Mi Li put away her smile and said with a grave expression, ¡°It''s still not the time to tell you about many things."

    ¡°There are already monsters from another world invading, and this world is about to meet its end. What is there left that you still can''t tell me about?¡± Zu An asked, feeling quite wronged.

    ¡°What significance does this bit of danger carry among the millions and millions of worlds in the universe? I believe that with your current abilities, you can handle it,¡± Mi Li said calmly. She clearly didn¡¯t treat this monster invasion as a big deal.

    Zu An frowned. ¡°Is there really nothing that you can tell me? I feel as if you¡¯re hiding a lot from me. You clearly weren''t like this before.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve awakened a portion of my memories¡­¡± Mi Li closed her mouth midway through her sentence. When she realized that she had misspoken, she quickly changed the topic. ¡°After going through what you went through in that terrifying great tomb, you should know that there are many beings that can''t be mentioned. Even if I tried to describe them using some ambiguous methods, it would still draw the attention of some beings you could never hope to face right now. You would be finished as soon as they knew about your existence.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. Listening to how serious she was only made him even more curious. Still, he said, ¡°Alright, I also trust that you wouldn¡¯t harm me.¡±

    Mi Li was really happy to hear him say that. She replied, ¡°That¡¯s more like it; good boy.¡±

    ¡°Can you answer onest question from me?¡± Zu An said with a darkened expression.

    Mi Li harrumphed. ¡°I just knew you wouldn¡¯t be satisfied just like that. Just ask away then. If I can¡¯t answer you, I won''t no matter how much you ask me.¡±

    ¡°Was my transmigration not just some coincidence, but rather arranged by something or someone?¡± Zu An asked as he stared into Mi Li¡¯s eyes.

    In the past, he had never been too bothered by things like that, because transmigrations were amon urrence in the novels he''d read and he just didn¡¯t think too much of it. However, as his cultivation grew higher and higher, and he came to know of all sorts of terrifying beings, he had begun to doubt more and more whether his transmigration really was just a coincidence.

    A hint of surprise flickered through Mi Li¡¯s eyes. She replied, ¡°That is something I can talk to you about. Indeed, it wasn¡¯t a coincidence, but rather due to the arrangements of forces unseen.¡±

    ¡°Who arranged for it?¡± Zu An immediately asked.

    Mi Li looked at him. She shook her head slightly.

    ¡°You can¡¯t talk about it?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, I can¡¯t.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    ¡­

    After that, no matter what Zu An asked, Mi Li simply didn¡¯t answer. He knew he wouldn¡¯t be able to get anything else and could only abandon the thought.

    ¡°I clearly already helped you treat the injuries to your soul, so why are you still always sleeping? Are you trying to umte power against certain dangers?¡± Zu An suddenly asked.

    Mi Li thought for a bit to herself, then replied, ¡°You can think of it that way.¡±

    Zu An took a deep breath and said, ¡°I¡¯ll do my best to gather the other materials to help you reconstruct your body.¡±

    ¡°Okay," Mi Li said with a smile. ¡°You should do your best too. You absolutely cannot restrict your view to this world alone. Don''t be overconfident just because you''re close to approaching an unrivaled position in this world. There are too many things that you still need to face in the future.¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t go so far as to be a frog in a well like that,¡± Zu An said impatiently. ¡°But what can I do right now?¡±

    Whether it was the monsters¡¯ invasion or future dangers, he could only passively guard against them all. Such a situation really didn¡¯t feel good.

    ¡°Focus on getting stronger. That''s the only foundational principle that holds consistent across the millions and millions of worlds,¡± Mi Li said, giving him a deep look.

    ¡°Fine!¡± Zu An¡¯s expression became serious. If someone else had said that to him, he would only get irritated. He had finally managed to reach his current level, so shouldn¡¯t he have been able to take some time to enjoy it? Otherwise, what meaning would there be left in bing stronger?

    However, now that there were all kinds of unknown dangers near, he couldn''t help but feel a shadow over his heart. Whether it was for himself or to protect the people he cared about, he had to be stronger.

    Mi Li yawned and said, ¡°Then I¡¯ll be returning to my beauty sleep. Please don¡¯t call me out for no good reason in the future.¡± Herzy figure quickly disappeared.

    ¡­

    Just then, there was suddenly a knock on Zu An''s door. A voice called, ¡°Big brother Zu, are you inside?¡±

    Zu An could tell that itwas Xie Daoyun¡¯s voice. With a wave of his hand, the door opened on its own as he said, ¡°Come in, little sister Ling¡¯er.¡±

    A gentle and refined figure quickly walked in, saying, ¡°Big brother Zu, I heard that you were fighting on Copper Gong Mountain. Were you hurt?¡±

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t. Aren¡¯t I still fine and dandy here?¡± Zu An replied as he spread his arms with a smile to show that he was fine.

    Xie Daoyun sighed in relief, saying, ¡°That makes sense. With big brother Zu¡¯s cultivation, how could you possibly be easily hurt?¡± And yet, her beautiful brows quickly furrowed. She continued, ¡°Still, judging from how serious teacher looked when he returned, and how all the martial uncles and aunts are busying about, could it be that something major happened?¡±

    Zu An had initially wanted her to not worry, but after thinking about it, those Heart-Devouring Demon Spiders were really hard to defend against. If she didn¡¯t know the truth at all, it would be really bad if she ended up encountering them. He was about to say something when he was startled. He looked in the direction of the entrance.

    Xie Daoyun also followed his gaze and saw a beautiful youngdy with a perfect oval face, who was looking at her with an ambiguous smile. She eximed in rm, ¡°Junior sister!¡±

    The one who had appeared was none other than Zheng Dan. She was also studying under Yan Xiangu, so they were martial sisters.

    ¡°I was wondering what important event it was that made senior sister leave so secretly. So it turns out it was to meet the libationer,¡± Zheng Dan said with a big smile.

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s face heated up. She said, ¡°I saw that you were focused onpleting the homework teacher assigned you, so I was too embarrassed to disturb you.¡±

    Even though the two hadn¡¯t publicly announced their rtionship, since they both came from Brightmoon City and they met day after day, she naturally knew that Zheng Dan and her big brother Zu had a special rtionship. In that instant, she felt as if she had been caught in an affair.

    ¡°Senior sister really is considerate. I just happened to finish my work, so I brought my sister-inw out with me to get some fresh air,¡± Zheng Dan said as she turned around and tugged a figure behind her. ¡°Qienqien, don¡¯t be scared. The libationer is actually really kind.¡±

    Sang Qien staggered inward, appearing by the entrance somewhat awkwardly. She and Zheng Dan had been nning to meet Zu An here together, but now that there was an outsider inside, she could only pretend to not be close to Zu An.

    Zu An was speechless.

    ¡°So it was junior sister Little Qien,¡± Xie Daoyun said. She looked at these pretty youngdies who stood side by side like twin lotus flowers and sighed at their beauty. For some reason, they were clearly two youngdies, and yet they both gave off a mature charm.

    They¡¯re nothing like my underripe self. Maybe I should consult them about this in the future¡­

    Suddenly, there was a burst of noisy chatter. It turned out out Huanzhao and Youzhao were bickering with each other again, but their noisy argument quickly stopped; it was because they saw Zheng Dan and Sang Qien by the entrance.

    ¡°Hm? Brother-inw¡¯s ce is so lively,¡± Chu Huanzhao said with a mischievous grin.

    Even back in Brightmoon City, she knew about the vixen Zheng Dan who hade to seduce her brother-inw. She hadn¡¯t expected that Zheng Dan wouldn''te by herself, even bringing her own sister-inw with her. When she saw Sang Qien¡¯s small, beautiful face, as well as her long and charming eyes, she immediately thought that the woman looked just like a fox spirit of legend. She was even more convinced when she looked at Sang Qien¡¯s waist that was bound incredibly tightly, which further offset her graceful waist and bottom.

    If this woman imed not to have done this for brother-inw to see, I¡¯d never believe it!

    Chu Youzhao and Chu Huanzhao were blood sisters, after all, so the former immediately understood what thetter was thinking. She immediately felt a powerful sense of danger too. At that moment, she had never found her second sister to be so agreeable!

    When she sensed their hostility, Sang Qien felt extremely embarrassed. Her rtionship with Zu An wasn¡¯t public, and the other two were Chu First Miss¡¯ siblings. She felt as if the main wife had caught her in an affair. She really felt a bit sullen¡­

    Zheng Dan stood protectively in front of Sang Qien and shot Chu Huanzhao a look, remarking, ¡°Oh? Isn¡¯t it little Huanzhao? You''re just as small and adorable as before.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao was speechless.

    Lethal attack!

    This woman is terrible! She''s clearly praising me on the surface, but she¡¯s actually calling me t.

    Do you really think you¡¯re that great just because you¡¯re big?!

    Fine, being big is amazing¡­ Ah, I want to cry out of envy¡­

    When she saw how dispirited her second sister became, Chu Youzhao immediately felt anger against amon enemy. She harrumphed and said, ¡°I heard that the Zheng n in Brightmoon City has long been wealthy in business. Rumor has it that you developed your family fortune from raising dairy cows...¡±

    ¡°When did our n raise dairy cows?¡± Zheng Dan replied, stunned, but she noticed how the other woman was looking at her and immediately understood. She immediately became embarrassed and angry.

    Sang Qien also snapped out of her daze. She had been mysteriously attacked out of nowhere, and now, Zheng Dan¡¯s reputation was also being tarnished, so she was getting a bit upset too. She remarked, ¡°I heard that the Chu n has a literary reputation, so they should attach importance to etiquette. A few years ago, the Chu n feared being implicated with big brother Zu and seemed to have divorced him from the n. Why are the two of you still enthusiastically calling him brother-inw and running over to his room all the time? If news of that got out, wouldn¡¯t it be quite the scandal?¡±

    ¡°You¡­!¡± Chu Huanzhao and Chu Youzhao¡¯s faces both became red. ¡°You¡­ Aren¡¯t you the same?¡±

    Xie Daoyun and Murong Qinghe watched this with stupefied expressions. Why had the gunpowder suddenly be so vicious?

    Zu An was also getting a huge headache. He immediately coughed and said, ¡°Ahem, stop fighting, everyone, ande in. I have something important to tell all of you!¡±

 Chapter 1974: Appointment

    Chapter 1974: Appointment

    When they saw how serious Zu An was and how he even seemed a bit angry, the Chu sisters stuck out their tongues, but didn¡¯t dare to cause more trouble. Sang Qien and Zheng Dan didn¡¯t want to look like shrews in front of Zu An either, so they naturally gave in as well.

    It was Xie Daoyun who was left in a bit of a daze. She had been so focused on big brother Zu that she forgot that he had so many sweethearts around him. Last time in the dungeon, she had been with Chu Chuyan, Pei Mianman, and Qiu Honglei, and now there were more! She was really feeling the pressure.

    ¡­

    Zu An closed the door, then slowly exined everything that had happened in Shadowmoon Lake to all of them.

    ¡°Huh?¡± As they listened, the youngdies were all greatly rmed. How could they still focus on their jealousy?

    ¡°The Heart-Devouring Demon Spider can parasitize a host body, so all of you must absolutely be careful and not be infected carelessly,¡± Zu An said gravely. ¡°Besides that, we can''t go off on our own like before, because we simply don''t know if we¡¯ll be unlucky and end up encountering one of those monsters¡¯ spatial rifts.¡±

    The others were still brooding, but Chu Huanzhao was still the most simple-minded of them all. She eximed, ¡°Huh?! That means we can¡¯t go anywhere, so life will be so boring¡­¡±

    Sang Qien said impatiently, ¡°Right now, we''re facing a crisis that might result in the destruction of the entire world, and yet you¡¯re still thinking about ying?¡±

    ¡°You¡­!¡± Chu Huanzhao was furious, but she didn¡¯t know how to argue against that.

    Chu Youzhao couldn''t watch this continue and spoke up for her, saying, ¡°What she''s saying is the truth! There are many people whose cultivations aren¡¯t even as high as second sister¡¯s, so there¡¯s no way they''d think in such a long-term way.¡±

    Zheng Dan frowned. She felt that she had to say something too.

    When he saw that the two sides were about to start arguing again, Zu An started getting another headache. He suddenly said, ¡°Enough! The reactions of ordinary people are a problem, but we have more important things to deal with right now. We can only find those spatial rifts first and eliminate the monsters that have crossed over. As for everything else, we¡¯ll deal with those issues as they arise.

    ¡°Right, keep what you¡¯ve learned today to yourselves. We have to keep it a secret and can''t willfully speak about it. Otherwise, it will cause mass panic.¡±

    Zu An knew that warning wasn¡¯t all that useful. After all, even he himself hade back to tell the people close to him, so they would definitely warn their own families as well. Those who had been at Shadowmoon Lake would also warn their n members, so it was impossible to keep this matter a secret.

    Even so, it was rather harmless to have it circted on a smaller scale. After all, it was all within the capital¡¯s upper levels. Some time would probably have passed by the time those outside the capital heard of it. That would be a great buffer period in which they could slowly ¡®immunize¡¯ the masses. It would be much better than to immediately drop apocalyptic news on them, which would be too shocking to handle.

    The youngdies agreed. Then, Zu An told them to work hard to cultivate. Only by increasing their strength would they have a greater chance of surviving during future unpredictable situations.

    Now, even the most unreliable Chu Huanzhao nodded her head seriously. Of course, in the past, she would have lost interest as soon as she heard about cultivation. After being known as a cultivation idiot for so many years, she really didn¡¯t want to keep suffering. But this time, her brother-inw had worked so hard to expand her meridians. Together with the Marrow Cleansing Pills, she''d immediately felt that she could do it again.

    That was especially the case when she discovered that as she cultivated, many things she hadn''t understood before now actually made sense without a teacher. Furthermore, she had experienced a great boost in her cultivation speed, with just a single hour making a significant difference in her ki growth. Previously, there wouldn''t necessarily have been any changes in her ki even after cultivating for an entire month! With her frivolous nature, how could she have the patience to cultivate then? And yet now, everything was different, and it was all due to the help of her brother-inw.

    Brother-inw helped me improve my ki flow; he''s so awesome!

    ¡­

    Then, the youngdies reluctantly left. Zheng Dan and Sang Qien had previously only wanted to exchange some intimate words, but there was no way they could swallow the embarrassment and do that in front of everyone else. They could only leave for now to keep Sisipany.

    The others stared at each other as if they were guarding against thieves too. Only Murong Qinghe¡¯s mindset was a bit more pure. Only when they were sure that all of the others had left did they release a sigh of relief one after another. Even though they couldn''t stay behind, the other vixens couldn''t either. That was a conclusion they could ept.

    In the end, Zu An was left all by himself.

    Sigh¡­ This really is another instance of three monks having no water to drink¡­ Things really might be troublesome if this continues. My greatest mistake might be having them live together. I really have to learn from this lesson in the future.

    He left the residence and walked over to the lotuske, nning to spend some time cultivating there. After absorbing the War Priest¡¯s cultivation, he just felt a bit uneasy. He needed some time to properly digest it and integrate it into his own power.

    He had to admit that thete libationer really had chosen a ce rich with ki. Cultivating here garnered twice the result with half the effort. Unfortunately, this once-peaceful ce was now full of young women, which was a serious threat. Going forward, he definitely had to work on purifying his desires a bit.

    In any event, today was a great chance for him to sit down on the boulder next to the lotuske. The rest of the disciples on the mountain could admire the dignified appearance of their new libationer.

    I¡¯m even cultivating seriously in the middle of the night, so would any of you dare to ck off?

    As soon as he sat down, he suddenly looked at the brightly lit Imperial Pce in the distance. He was rmed, because he remembered his prior agreement with Bi Linglong.

    Hmm¡­ It¡¯s not toote to motivate the disciples tomorrow.

    With that thought, he instantly vanished.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in the Eastern Pce, Bi Linglong was doing her makeup in front of the mirror.

    Rong Mo helped herb her hair while asking curiously, ¡°Miss, you¡¯ve already finished your bath, so shouldn¡¯t you be returning to your bed to rest? Why are you suddenly dolling yourself up? Are you still going out again even though it¡¯s sote already?¡±

    She had to admit that her master was absolutely gorgeous. After her bath, Bi Linglong''s tender skin was giving off a bit of steam, which created an enchanting glow around her. Rong Mo really envied the beauty of her skin.

    ¡°I¡¯m just getting carried away by a sudden impulse and want to be prettier. Is there anything wrong with that?¡± Bi Linglong wrinkled her brows and harrumphed.

    ¡°Okay, sure, of course,¡± Rong Mo said with a smile. ¡°But I figure you¡¯re probably going to meet the regent, right?¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Wow, Momo, you¡¯re getting braver and braver, aren¡¯t you? You dare to even tease me now,¡± Bi Linglong remarked, cing her hands on her waist as if to express that she was a bit angry.

    ¡°Hehe, I guessed right, didn¡¯t I?¡± Rong Mo replied. She had grown up with Linglong and knew that she wasn''t really mad.

    ¡°Do you want to die? Watch me rip that mouth right off your face!¡±

    ¡°Ah, spare me, miss!¡±

    The two began to chase each other around the room again.

    ¡­

    The maids outside all had envious expressions when they heard the cheers andughter inside.

    Sister Momo and the crown princess really have a great rtionship. We wouldn¡¯t dare to do something like that¡­

    A breeze blew past just then. One of the maids rubbed her eyes.

    The maid next to her looked at her in confusion. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°I thought I saw someone, but it also felt as if I didn¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re definitely seeing things. The security here in the Imperial Pce is so tight, with formations everywhere. The Eastern Pce is even more heavily guarded, and there are so many guards watching outside. How could there be anyone here? Also, you can¡¯t speak recklessly like that! What if someone else in the pce hears you? It might reallye back to bite you!¡±

    ¡°I guess big sister is right. Thanks for the warning.¡±

    ¡­

    They had no idea that there really was another person inside the crown princess¡¯ personal chambers now.

    Bi Linglong had initially been nning to chase after Rong Mo when she suddenly rushed into a warm embrace. She was startled at first, but when she sensed that familiar aura, she immediately felt at ease. She asked, ¡°You¡­ Why are you here?¡±

    Rong Mo rolled her eyes. Just who was it that had washed herself spotless and done her makeup? And yet now, she was acting as if she had no idea he wasing!

    Hmph, women!

    ¡°Because I miss you, of course,¡± Zu An replied. He naturally wouldn¡¯t ruin the mood and say that they had already agreed on doing this when they were at Copper Gong Mountain.

    Rong Mo felt goosebumps all over. She hugged her shoulders and continued to rub herself back and forth from the cringe. She muttered to herself, ¡°Tsk tsk tsk, we should just fire all of those imperial guards. Their defenses is paper-thin! But then again, who could have imagined that the unrivaled regent would sneak in at this time of night to satisfy his desires?¡±

    Perhaps it was because the two of them had always argued with each other when Zu An first entered the Eastern Pce, but even though he was now the glorious regent, she still wasn¡¯t all that scared.

    Bi Linglong was really embarrassed, but Zu An instead said with a smile, ¡°Momo, I''ve been refining pills and inadvertently made some Youth Beauty Pills. Do you want to give them a try?¡±

    ¡°Huh? You¡¯re being so nice to me?¡± Rong Mo replied, giving him a skeptical look, but she was clearly a bit tempted.

    ¡°But this medicine does have a minor side effect.¡±

    ¡°What''s the side effect?¡±

    ¡°Once you eat it, you''ll never be able to speak for the rest of your life.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°I knew it!¡± Rong Mo grumbled. ¡°Fine, I¡¯m just an eyesore here anyway. I¡¯ll leave, okay?¡±

    Bi Linglong also realized that Zu An was just saying that to scare her and couldn''t help but smile. She tapped his chest lightly.

    Zu An said to Rong Mo with a smile, ¡°There''s no need to go that far. You can just stand guard here.¡±

    Then, he carried Bi Linglong and rushed out of the window into the clouds.

    Rong Mo watched the two figures disappear with her mouth wide open. She muttered, ¡°These two really know how to y!¡± In the end, she turned around and looked at the empty chambers, then sighed. She muttered to herself quietly, ¡°Do you really want to make me mute that badly? I just wanted to chat with you a bit longer¡­¡±

    Meanwhile, Bi Linglong¡¯s entire body trembled from nervousness. She hugged her lover tightly and asked, ¡°Why¡­ Why are we flying up here?¡±

    She had only nned to properly entertain him in the pce. Now that she had Rong Mo to help her, the pce had became the safest ce for this kind of thing. However, the wind in the sky was quite cold, and most importantly, there was nothing hiding them at all. Far beneath them was the Imperial Pce. She didn¡¯t have any sense of security right now.

    Zu An gave her ear a kiss and said something quietly by her ear.

    Bi Linglong¡¯s neck immediately became red as she said, ¡°I¡­ I was joking back then.¡±

    ¡°But I was serious,¡± Zu An replied as he held her in his arms, his finger gently caressing her swan-like neck.

    ¡°We¡¯ll be seen though¡­¡± Bi Linglong said; she was really panicking now. The Imperial Pce was full of powerful cultivators, and there were people specially ced in charge of aerial defense. If they ended up seeing the two in the act, she would be too humiliated to keep living.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, they can¡¯t see a thing,¡± Zu An said. With a wave of his hand, several banners revolved around them. Soon after, a faint formation radiance wrapped around the two of them. ¡°This formation can cut off the view of the outside world. Only you can see the Imperial Pce right now, while the people over there can¡¯t see what''s happening here at all.¡±

    Bi Linglong¡¯s face became even redder. She remembered how she had just resolved to make things up to him, so her tone was no longer as firm as before as she said, ¡°But how can we... in the air¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, I¡¯ll teach you,¡± Zu An said, then had her turn her back to him. He held her slender and soft arm and had her stoop down toward the brightly lit Imperial Pce. ¡°You can use this chance to properly admire the Imperial Pce from this angle.¡±

    ¡°You viin~¡±

 Chapter 1975: Broken Piece

    Chapter 1975: Broken Piece

    In the Eastern Pce, after who knew how much time had passed, Rong Mo yawned. She suddenly sensed something, and a breeze brushed past. When she turned around, she saw that Zu An had already returned into the room with the crown princess in his arms.

    When Rong Mo saw that, she was dumbstruck. She asked, ¡°She fainted again?¡±

    Zu An was also a bit embarrassed. He gently ced Bi Linglong on the bed and covered her up before saying, ¡°Help me take care of her.¡±

    ¡°Rather than having me take care of her after the matter, can¡¯t you just go a bit easier on her?¡± Rong Mo retorted, giving him a resentful look. She moved over to the bed and helped her master wipe the fine sweat off her forehead and the kiss marks around her neck. ¡°The miss¡¯ body is delicate and noble. Everyone else is scared to hurt her even in the slightest; only someone like you wouldn¡¯t hold back at all.¡±

    Zu An was a bit apologetic, but it was precisely because of her special status and the scene of them looking down on the Imperial Pce that he had gotten so worked up in the first ce. He awkwardly responded with a few words.

    When the maid outside heard the activity, she knocked on the door and asked, ¡°Big sister Momo, is there anything the crown princess needs our help with?¡±

    Zu An couldn''t stay here any longer. He looked at Rong Mo with an apologetic expression, then hurriedly disappeared into the night sky.

    ¡°Just help us prepare some hot water,¡± Rong Mo said as she sent off the maid that was asking outside.

    Eventually, Bi Linglong gradually woke up. When she saw that she was lying in her own chambers, her pretty face couldn''t help but turn red.

    ¡°Young miss, it¡¯s not that I really want to say malicious things, but that guy really doesn¡¯t know how to cherish women! I really wonder just how he tormented you earlier," Rong Mo muttered to herself as she gently helped Bi Linglong wipe her body with a handkerchief.

    ¡°It has nothing to do with him. It¡¯s something I wanted to do,¡± Bi Linglong replied. As she recalled what they had been doing not too long ago, her heart started pounding.

    Ever since she was little, she had already begun to learn the customs and practices of the royal family. She''d known she had to be the future crown princess ever since she was little, so that was why her natural disposition was to be cautious. Normally, she didn¡¯t dare to make a single mistake. And yet, after she met Zu An, the things she had done became riskier and riskier. She was already no longer that distinguished daughter who behaved with inflexible etiquette.

    And yet, she felt as if an entirely new world had opened up before her. Even though she was a bit scared sometimes and got anxious, she felt a deep sense of allure toward those strange forms of stimtion.

    ¡°Miss, you really are¡­¡± Rong Mo was a bit stunned. ¡°If he really cared about you, how could he possibly humiliate you like this?¡±

    ¡°Huh? I wasn¡¯t humiliated. I feel pretty happy,¡± Bi Linglong reflexively replied.

    Rong Mo was speechless.The first miss is beyond saving.

    Bi Linglong looked at the red marks on her body and felt a bit embarrassed. She reflexively pulled up her covers, saying, ¡°Ah Zu is actually quite gentle normally. Maybe it¡¯s because he fought a huge battle against a great monster, but his movements today were¡­ a bit rougher.¡±

    Rong Mo was a bit curious, asking, ¡°Then how does he treat you normally?¡±

    ¡°Normally¡­¡± Bi Linglong was about to reflexively reply when she suddenly reacted and mmed the pillow next to her at Rong Mo. ¡°What are you thinking, you silly girl! If you want to know that badly, you can experience it for yourself next time!¡±

    ¡°No way!¡± Rong Mo cried as she got up in rm. Her face was also bing red.

    ¡­

    Zu An returned to Mount Yuquan. After he''d worked hard all night, the sky was already starting to show the first glimmer of light. When he passed by the lotuske and saw his reflection, he cried out in rm, ¡°I¡¯ve been ruined by wine and women! I¡¯ve actually be so wan and sallow!¡±

    Apart from refining pills as ofte, because he had be the Regent, he''d had to attend some feasts as well. Large drinking gatherings had happened continuously, so he had naturally drunk his fair share. On top of that, after fighting those ¡®evening battles¡¯ for days on end, he''d almost had no time to rest, which was how he had ended up in his current haggard state.

    ¡°From today on, I¡¯m giving up drinking!¡±

    Zu An decided to just sit down by the boulder next to the fish pond to circte his ki. This time, when the sun and moon exchanged ces, was when the world¡¯s ki was the richest, so cultivating now was extremely efficient.

    The elite disciples at the foot of the mountain were waking up as well. They were about to start their morning exercises. When they lifted their heads, they saw the libationer meditating on the boulder with hazy mist surrounding him. As the morning sun cast its first rays of sunlight on his body, it made him look just like an immortal from the heavens.

    The disciples werepletely won over. They had thought that they were already hard workers by waking up so early, yet now,pared to the libationer, they realized that they were really far off. The libationer¡¯s cultivation was already so ridiculously high, and yet he was still so diligent, so what reason did they have to ck off?

    The female disciples¡¯ eyes were all sparkling.

    ¡°Ahhh! The libationer is so handsome!¡±

    ¡°I heard that he was still single. I wonder if I have a chance¡­¡±

    ¡°Wake up already; he''s already gotten married. His wife is Brightmoon City¡¯s number one beauty, Chu First Miss.¡±

    ¡°But I heard that they already divorced each other¡­ And isn¡¯t she just pretty in her own city?¡±

    ¡­

    On the mountaintop, Zu An didn¡¯t pay attention to the disciples¡¯ discussions. Roughly two hourster, he opened his eyes. He felt incredibly refreshed, with his mind fully recovered. The world of cultivation really was incredible. Compared to Earth¡¯s ordinary people, the bodies of cultivators were on an entirely different level.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    However, he quickly sensed something off. The energy within his body wasn¡¯t all that calm, likely because he had absorbed the War Priest¡¯s cultivation. Its cultivation was so great that there was no way for him topletely dissolve it in a short amount of time.

    When he returned to his room, Zu An took out the golden brick he had used in the battle against the War Priest. During the fight, he had thrown it at the Naihe Oblivion Water, resulting in all of its magical properties being erased. It was now dull and lightless, inferior to even ordinary gold. Even so, it was still a heaven-grade weapon in the end. Losing it just like that would be a bit of a waste.

    He quickly summoned the Forging System. In the past, he had awakened this new system along with the ¡®Rune Weapon Chart¡¯; not only could it forge all kinds of weapons, it could also repair damaged weapons. A tform simr to a cksmith¡¯s forge appeared in the room. Whenever he saw the Keyboard System¡¯s abilities, Zu An always felt amazed. He really wondered just where something so huge normally hid.

    He ced the dull brick at the very center of the table that was embedded with all manner of runes. Soon after, the system produced a reaction.

    Damaged Golden Brick detected. The required materials for repair include Soaring mes ss, heaven-grade crystal ore¡­

    When he saw the materials that were listed, Zu An was stunned. He just happened to have Soaring mes ss. He had won it from his gamble in the Fiend races¡¯ territory in the past. What a coincidence!

    However, after thinking about it, with his current authority on both the human side and Fiend races¡¯ territory, it wasn¡¯t all that strange for him to have rare materials. Not even Zhao Han himself probably had as many channels to acquire resources as he had now. After all, there had been no way for Zhao Han to get things from the Fiend races¡¯ side. If it were anyone else, any material they needed of this sort could take decades to find.

    ¡°Repair!¡±

    As soon as Zu An said that, the strangely-shaped furnace erupted into mes. He then summoned and moved the White Lotus me in. The entire furnace became spotlessly white, and white lotuses continuously appeared inside. They gradually withered before being born once more, repeating the cycle.

    The Forging System¡¯s mes alone were already enough to smelt all kind of weapons, but if he added in special mes, it would lend a helping hand and elerate the repair or forging process. Sometimes, it could even grant the weapons some additional properties.

    Zu An ced the Golden Brick, Soaring mes ss, and heaven-grade crystal ore into the furnace. At the same time, he used his ki to spur on the bellows to the side. Soon after, the Forging System began to move. The Golden Brick in the mes gradually recovered its usual color.

    For the final step, he picked up the hammer to the side. He began to transfer the power of his soul to repeatedly strike the Golden Brick, thus establishing a soul link between himself and the magic weapon, allowing him to use it like an extension of his body.

    After many hours of work, the Golden Brick suddenly erupted with golden brilliance. Then, it flew out from the furnace and continuously rocked back and forth, as if it were cheering toward Zu An.

    When he sensed the strange connection, Zu An reached out and summoned it to his hand. He gently stroked it. Even though it hadn¡¯t produced a weapon spirit, because he had reforged it himself, he felt a strange sense of intimacy with it.

    Suddenly, he was startled. He discovered that the Golden Brick now seemed to have be a bit more spiritual than before. Previously, he had only been able to erge it into the size of a small mountain to crush his enemies, but now, there was a slight fire attribute to it. When he brought it down on an enemy, it would no longer be an ordinary mountain, but rather a mountain covered in mes!

    He put the Golden Brick away and took out the Soul Summoning Banner. After examining it carefully, he discovered that because it was damaged by the Violet-Gold Alms, even the imprint left by the War Priest on it had be considerably weaker. With his current strength, he was able to directly refine away the leftover spiritual imprint. Thus, he ced it on the Forging System. Previously, he hadn''t been too confident that he could repair the Golden Brick, but this Soul Summoning Banner was something he was more certain of repairing.

    Sure enough, the Forging System told him that it needed ¡®True Corpse Bamboo¡¯. That was also something he had obtained from the Fiend races¡¯ territory in the past, and he had heard that it was the main ingredient for making things like Soul Summoning Banners. Naturally, it could be used here.

    He quickly tossed the various materials into the furnace. This time, he didn¡¯t dare to add the White Lotus me, because it just happened to be the exact opposite of something treacherous like the Soul Summoning Banner. It would be bad if he identally destroyed it.

    He continued to carefully repair it just like before. He was much slower than before, but after many hours, he finally repaired the Soul Summoning Banner. He removed it from the forging table. This entire room immediately became filled with an eerie and sinister feeling. It was as if transparent skulls were scurrying around the room.

    Just then, the formations around the room began to faintly shine. Zu An quickly put the item away. Thete libationer had previously resided here, so this ce was full of righteous energy. Furthermore, if the various defensive formations activated, it would be bad regardless of which side was damaged.

    He now knew that this thing wasn¡¯t actually called the Soul Summoning Banner, but rather the Fallen Soul Banner. As long as it was swayed in front of the enemy, if they didn¡¯t have any soul-protecting skills, their soul would immediately leave their body. If it was shaken a few more times, their soul could evenpletely scatter.

    Even if one had a certain degree of soul defense, they still had to face off against the power of the Fallen Soul Banner and see if they were strong enough. Even if they were sessful in keeping their souls, they would still be affected. Their bodies would temporarily be a bit sluggish, and even that difference could often be fatal.

    Zu An couldn''t help but gasp at these abilities. Fortunately, he''d had the Violet-Gold Alms to protect him; otherwise, if this thing had been effective against him, he wasn¡¯t sure whether he would even have had a chance to use his Hundredwarble ability.

    The Fallen Soul Banner was currently an immortal-grade weapon, but he felt that it could perhaps be stronger than that. It even seemed to be a broken piece of a certain other weapon. If just a broken piece was already so powerful, what more of the original weapon?

 Chapter 1976: Lake of Hatred

    Chapter 1976: Lake of Hatred

    Unfortunately, Zu An didn¡¯t have enough information to investigate the weapon further. He could only put the Fallen Soul Banner away for now.

    In the end, he took out the Naihe Oblivion Water. A single drop of turbid yellow liquid floated in midair. The other two weapons were easier to deal with, but this substance was a bit tricky.

    The War Priest seemed to understand how precious the Naihe Oblivion Water was, so it had ced its spirit origin imprint on it. Furthermore, the imprint hadn''t been weakened by the Violet-Gold Alms like the Fallen Soul Banner. Zu An''s current strength was still insufficient to erase the War Priest¡¯s imprint.

    Ultimately, it was because he didn¡¯t excel in the domain of the soul and spirit. It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t try using Hundredwarble or other simr attacks against the imprint; it was just that none of it worked.

    Gradually, he realized that what was left on the Naihe Oblivion Water wasn¡¯t just a spiritual imprint, but rather a mysterious contract he couldn''t fullyprehend yet at the moment. This Naihe Oblivion Water¡¯s power was too great, so he didn¡¯t really want to just stow it away and forget about it. The monsters were invading now, so he couldn''t ignore any bit of possibility of increasing his current strength.

    He suddenly thought of something and summoned Mo Xi.

    Mo Xi¡¯s ¡®Farewell Nanchao¡¯ skill had the ability to sever contracts, but for it to work, several conditions had to be met. If the removal of the contract was voluntary, her own cultivation had to at least be equal to that of the weaker party. If it wasn''t, then her cultivation rank had to be higher.

    Now that Zu An thought about it, he really wondered how she had been able to sever the connection between the Violet-Gold Alms and that monk. It seemed that the Violet-Gold Alms had coordinated with her.

    The Violet-Gold Alms really was a bit mysterious; it was even able to wound the Fallen Soul Banner of the War Priest. While repairing the weapon, Zu An had begun to fully understand just how incredible the Fallen Soul Banner was.

    Zu An put aside his random thoughts and continued to think about the Farewell Nanchao ability. Unfortunately, the Naihe Oblivion Water clearly didn¡¯t have any intelligence of its own, so it couldn''t coordinate with Mo Xi like the Violet-Gold Alms.

    He really wondered just how the origin spirit imprint on the Naihe Oblivion Water could be categorized. Was it a voluntary contract or was it forced? He assumed that it was most likely involuntary, but the War Priest was now dead and couldn''t express anything now. The spiritual imprint would definitely be affected by that too. However, even if it was voluntary, the difference in cultivation between Mo Xi and the War Priest was far more than a single cultivation rank.

    Wait, if I increased the grade of the skill, it could also affect the process. With each increase in its grade, Mo Xi can overlook two entire cultivation ranks. If I upgraded it, the two cultivation ranks would be extremely helpful.

    Furthermore, even though he had practically used up all of his money and resources recently, it wasn¡¯t for nothing. He was able to upgrade both Daji and Mo Xi to the peak of the ninth rank. If he could give Mo Xi three more cultivation ranks, Farewell Nanchao could really work on the drop of Naihe Oblivion Water.

    He closed his eyes and examined the Keyboard System. He quickly learned about the materials needed for Mo Xi¡¯s skill upgrade. Just as with Daji, the foundation of Ki Condensation Pills and silvers as an intermediary were needed. Additionally, Translucent Raindew and Bronze Jiujue Fragments were the two special ingredients needed.[1]

    Zu An was actually pretty happy when he saw the names. What raindew and jiujue? Weren¡¯t these just ordinary things?

    However, when he saw the ingredient descriptions, he knew he had been mistaken. Translucent Raindew was an extremely rare treasure even in the Xia Dynasty, so where would he look for it now? Additionally, the Bronze Jiujue Fragments came from the special wine vessel that Xia Jie and Mo Xi had used to entertain their ministers during important asions. Only that item could properly store the special fine wine of their time.

    Zu An couldn''t help but curse to himself. These two materials were both rted to wine. This woman really is an alcoholic! He soon felt a headacheing on. Even if he returned to the Xia Dynasty secret dungeon, he still wouldn''t necessarily be able to find these two items.

    He suddenly thought of something, however. He opened a subsystem of the Keyboard System that had been collecting dust all this time: The Shop System. He''d always thought that the items inside were too expensive and that it was way cheaper for him to find them through other means. On top of that, there were a lot of strange items he didn''t know the use of, so he basically hadn¡¯t used the feature.

    He flipped through the different goods, and then sure enough, he found the images of Translucent Raindew and Bronze Jiujue Fragments. The Bronze Jiujue Fragments wereparatively cheaper, only requiring 1,000 Rage points per item. Of course, the amount needed for the actual skill upgrade wasrger too. Meanwhile, the Translucent Raindew was expensive, needing 50,000 Rage points for a single drop. Fortunately, the amount needed wasparatively lower.

    Zu An took inventory of his current Rage points. He had 201,360 in total, so he bought 62 Bronze Jiujue Fragments. After all, Translucent Raindew was only necessary after Mo Xi reached the sixth rank.

    Zu An was a bit absent-minded when he felt the special texture of the Bronze Jiujue Fragments. Just who had made this Keyboard System? It could actually carry such objects within it! When he then thought about how secretive Mi Li was, he realized that it likely wasn''t a coincidence for the Keyboard System to have awakened inside of him.

    I wonder just who it was that wanted to manipte my fate¡­ but the only thing I can do for now is to be stronger!

    Soon after, he invested the resources into Mo Xi to upgrade her Farewell Nanchao skill. Fortunately, he had the money he''d gotten from Bi Linglong and Liu Ning. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t even have enough silvers to upgrade her ability.

    Soon after, Mo Xi¡¯s Farewell Nanchao skill reached the sixth rank. He used up 48 Ki Condensation Pills, 62 Bronze Jiujue Fragments, and 107,500 silvers in total. The reason why he stopped there was that he''d discovered that the only way to increase the skill further was for Mo Xi¡¯s own cultivation to reach the master rank.

    He had Mo Xi try to erase the imprint on the Naihe Oblivion Water out of wishful thinking, but as expected, it didn''t work. It seemed he had to first raise Mo Xi to the master rank.

    The reason they were stuck at that stage, apart from just not having enough resources, was that he was missing another special ingredient: The Shining ckmetal Silkworm!

    Ordinary cultivators of varying elements needed entirely different materials to break through into the master rank. For example, fire element cultivators needed Soaring mes ss, metal element cultivators needed Cateye Pearls¡­

    Daji was of the fire element, while Mo Xi was of the metal element. However, the breakthrough materials they needed for the master rank was entirely different. For Mo Xi, apart from the previous Rainbow Cloudstone, Thunderjade Roon Core, and other items, the other special material she needed was the Shining ckmetal Silkworm.

    The silk such silkworms produced was like metal threads. When it was woven together, it shone with a gorgeous dark radiance. On top of that, when it was broken apart, the material made metallic sounds. What Mo Xi had liked doing the most when Zu An first encountered her was ripping apart silk fabric, so the sound of tearing that kind of silk was even more pleasurable.

    She really is a good-for-nothing!n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An did receive some information after entrusting the Embroidered Envoy to look into the subject, at least.

    It was rumored that decades prior, someone had found a golden silkworm near the Lake of Hatred. Its description was quite simr to the Shining ckmetal Silkworm. As for any more details, there were none. That was because the Lake of Hatred was a ce that couldn''t be explored with the court¡¯s power. It was where the Devil Sect¡¯s main headquarters was located!

    1. A jiujue is an ancient bronze wine holder. ?

 Chapter 1977: The Moth Flies Into the Flame

    Chapter 1977: The Moth Flies Into the me

    Zu An had actually already obtained that intelligence a long time ago, but things had constantly been happening in the capital recently. He''d been forced to run around because of the Meng n and King Dai, and because he had been strong enough already at the time, he hadn''t been in too much of a rush to look for it.

    But now, things were different. There were monsters invading from a different world, so he felt as if there were a sword of Damocles constantly suspended over his head. He had to grasp every chance he had to be stronger; otherwise, if he really encountered an enemy that he couldn''t face, the consequences would be too horrible to imagine.

    Previously, Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei had left in a hurry. He hadn¡¯t received any news from them even now, which was a bit strange. This was a good opportunity for him to head over and check up on them.

    Of course, he had to make many arrangements before he left. He put away the Forging System and left his small residence. He looked at the distant setting sun and sighed. Time really passed quickly; just repairing these two weapons had taken up an entire day.

    His divine sense covered all of Mount Yuquan, allowing him to ¡®see¡¯ how the youngdies were all cultivating earnestly. They were all under a lot of pressure at the moment, it seemed. Even Huanzhao was surprisingly serious. Of course, perhaps it was because Chu Youzhao and Murong Qinghe were with her, so she had rivals that gave her more motivation to cultivate. In contrast, Sang Qien, Zheng Dan, and Xie Daoyun were already quite mature, and worked hard even without anyone keeping any eye on them.

    Zu An nodded in appreciation. Then, his divine senses moved across other ces.

    Jiang Luofu was also pretty¡­ Umm, pretty fair¡­

    Why is this woman taking another bath?

    Jiang Luofu seemed to have sensed something. She crossed her arms in front of her and turned toward the summit with an indignant expression. Zu An was clearly the only one in the entire academy who had the ability to send his divine sense through her various defensive formations.

    Zu An quickly pulled back his divine sense. He couldn''t help but feel a bit embarrassed. He had just been looking around, so how could he know that she was taking a bath in the middle of the day?

    Soon after, he saw Jiang Luofu rush up the mountain angrily while hastily dressed in a spacious gown. Zu An felt a bit guilty and quickly flew up toward the capital from another direction.

    ¡­

    Zu Annded in one of Scarlet Invitation¡¯s courtyards and didn¡¯t hide himself.

    ¡°Who dares?!¡± Nan Xun cried as she quickly rushed out with a sword. She seemed to have just woken up from her dreams and was still in her nightwear. Her clothes hadn''t beenpletely buttoned up, so her beautiful shoulders and corbone were in full view.

    When she saw that it was Zu An, she sighed in relief and asked, ¡°Can¡¯t the young master enter properly from the front? You¡¯re always giving thisdy a fright.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure you want me toe in from the front entrance?¡± Zu An replied calmly. ¡°Who knows how many pairs of eyes are watching my every move right now. If they knew I''de here looking for you, your identity would quickly be exposed. At that point, many self-righteous warriors coulde here to execute fiends.¡±

    ¡°Forget it, forget it¡­¡± Nan Xun said as she waved her hands awkwardly. She was nothing but a ghost now. If her identity were exposed, she would be killed immediately!

    When he saw that her clothes weren¡¯t tidy, Zu An frowned slightly. He asked, ¡°Why are you still sleeping at this kind of hour?¡±

    ¡°Unfortunately, this one still needs to receive guests in the evening,¡± Nan Xun said. She paused for a moment before exining, ¡°Young master, don¡¯t worry, I only sell art, and don''t sell my body.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but asked, ¡°Do you really enjoy being a courtesan? For better or for worse, you used to be King Qi¡¯s concubine. Do you really have an interest in these kinds of things?¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Nan Xun pouted and replied, ¡°Do you think I want to either? I¡¯m merely a ghost and can only sustain myself through the yang energy of men. Young master isn¡¯t willing to give it to me, so I can only get it from other people.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    Nan Xun moved closer and ced her chin on his shoulder, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, young master, I only sell art and not my body. I only exchange poetry and songs with others and use those chances to absorb a bit of their yang energy. I wouldn¡¯t let those stinky men take advantage of me.¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t doubt her either. With her ability, it naturally wasn¡¯t too hard for her to aplish something like that. No wonder she always yed the role of a courtesan and entertained guests. So that was the reason! He couldn''t help but feel a sense of pity, asking, ¡°Aren¡¯t you working too hard then? I¡¯ll help you make some pills that can replenish yang energy somehow another day. You won¡¯t need to work so hard then.¡±

    Nan Xun¡¯s eyes immediately lit up when she heard that. She replied, ¡°Thank you, young master!¡± She got on her tiptoes and gave his cheeks a peck before saying, ¡°The young master actually doesn¡¯t need to go that far. Just let this humble one serve you for an evening. With how powerful the young master is, I won¡¯t need to bother with yang energy for a long time. This one actually secretly learned a lot of things from Scarlet Invitation, and I feel I can satisfy the young master.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. Men really need to take good care of themselves when they leave their house. There are vixens who lust after our bodies everywhere.

    ¡°There¡¯s proper business I need your help with,¡± Zu An said as he made her sit down off to the side. ¡°I need you to send a message to the Fiend races¡¯ side.¡±

    Then, he told her about Shadowmoon Lake¡¯s events in detail. When she heard about what had happened, Nan Xun was horrified and no longer continued her yacting. She said, ¡°I never expected the sealednd¡¯s monsters to have already appeared in the human side as well! The ones that appeared were even more powerful, no less.¡±

    Zu An said seriously, ¡°The sealednd still has the past seal, so that''s why those especially powerful creatures cannot cross over. On the other hand, it''s more suitable for ordinary monsters to cross over. That''s why even though the main army was situated there, the Second Prince still suffered heavy casualties.¡±

    ¡°This is indeed extremely important information that I''ll quickly send back. We¡¯ll be more mindful of any hidden spatial rifts that have appeared as well,¡± Nan Xun replied in a serious tone.

    ¡°There is another matter. The human empress wishes to meet with the Second Empress to discuss the matter of forming an alliance,¡± Zu An added.

    ¡°Alright,¡± Nan Xun voiced her understanding. ¡°But even though the Second Empress can make decisions for that side, the human empress doesn¡¯t have such status, right? From what I know, the crown princess¡¯ influence isn¡¯t beneath that of the empress.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about those things. You only need to focus on sending the message,¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°Okay," Nan Xun said. Now that they had finished talking about important matters, she moved over and asked, ¡°Young master, do you really not need me to service you?¡±

    ¡­

    After finally managing to struggle free from Scarlet Invitation, Zu An wiped off the lipstick on his face. He couldn''t help butugh to himself.

    Why did I never put my hands on Nan Xun? Is it really because she''s a ghost?

    But in that secret dungeon, the Ghost King and I even¡­ Ahem, it didn¡¯t seem to be all that bad either.

    Am I just overthinking it? I¡¯ve sucked away the War Priest¡¯s cultivation and feel quite restless to begin with, and I do need some proper adjusting anyway. I didn¡¯t want to torment Bi Linglong too much, but if it''s Nan Xun¡­

    He shook his head and tossed those thoughts out of his mind.

    He couldn''t really just publicly fly into the air after leaving Scarlet Invitation, so he went for a stroll on the main street. He sighed deeply as he admired the lively night atmosphere of the capital. He wondered just how much longer these peaceful days could continue for. Once the monsters invaded, these ordinary civilians likely wouldn''t be able to experience such joyful livelihoods anymore.

    He unknowingly ended up walking by King Dai Manor. After some hesitation, he decided not to make the stop. Since the other side had used Worries Be Gone Rosemary back then, it was best to let bygones be bygones.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Meng Chan was in a daze inside the attic. Even though she had already been released from prison, King Dai Manor was alreadypletely different from before. Only a few servants were left, and the manor that had once been brightly lit and full of activity was now cold and cheerless. She couldn''t help but sigh deeply, feeling as if life was drab and that living itselfcked meaning.

    She was about to turn around and return to her room when her eyes narrowed. She saw a familiar figure on the street. She suddenly trembled, and her dispirited heart began to pound fiercely. She only felt a moment of hesitation before raising her dress and running out.

    She just happened to bump into the drunken King Dai in the courtyard. When he saw her run out, he couldn''t help but ask, ¡°Where are you going sote at night?¡±

    After learning that he could keep his life and having that falling-out in the prison, he naturally guessed what was happening. Both of them had tacitly agreed to not mention the matter again, but afterward, she no longer showed him much respect. The two lived in their respective sides of the king manor and rarely met each other. They were like the most familiar strangers.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to have a chat with a good friend,¡± Meng Chan said distractedly. She ran over to the entrance and suddenly stopped, adding, ¡°I¡¯m going to stay over at my friend¡¯s ce and won¡¯t being back tonight.¡± Then, she opened the door and left.

    King Dai drained his alcohol in one gulp. A hint of self-mockery hung on the corners of his lips. ¡°Close friend? Who would even want to be your close friend after both King Dai Manor and the Meng n have fallen so far?¡±

    Even though he wasn¡¯t smart, he wasn¡¯t stupid either. Especially after what happened, he seemed to have suddenly understood many things. Normally, with her personality, why would Chan¡¯er bother exining so much to him? The fact that she was acting like this proved her guilt. The veins on his hand that held the wine cup popped a bit, but in the end, he could only release a sigh of ruin. He knew that the fact that he could even keep his life was all because of Chan¡¯er, so what right did he have to say anything?

    ¡°Be gentle with her, Chan¡¯er is scared of being hurt more than anything¡­¡± he muttered to himself. He''d already had a lot to drink to begin with, and now, he quickly fainted. The wine cup in his hand slid down to the ground, and all that remained in his courtyard were the sounds of snoring.

 Chapter 1978: Ascension of the New Emperor

    Chapter 1978: Ascension of the New Emperor

    Meanwhile, Zu An walked into a secluded alley before he suddenly turned around, calling out, ¡°You shoulde out. You¡¯ve already followed me for a long time.¡±

    Soon after, Meng Chan appeared from around the corner. Her beautiful face was full of awkwardness and nervousness.

    ¡°Why is the madam following me?¡± Zu An asked seriously. Even though the two of them had experienced a wild night, Meng Chan had taken the initiative to use Worries Be Gone on him back then, and should¡¯ve forgotten about what happened.

    Will he think I''m a scheming woman and feel disgusted if I tell him the truth? Meng Chan thought.

    When he saw that she didn¡¯t say anything, Zu An turned around. Their rtionship was quite¡­ unique, so it was better if they interacted as little as possible.

    Suddenly, someone threw out a catcall. ¡°What do we have here? Which family¡¯s hot chick is this? Why did you run all the way here in the middle of the night?¡±

    It turned out out there were a few drunk unaffiliated cultivators who were passing by. When they saw Meng Chan around the corner, their eyes immediately lit up. When had they ever seen someone so beautiful before? Moreover, there was a kind of inherent beauty to her appearance that was entirely different from the girls of this district. For people like them who hung around those of lower status, that posed an irresistible temptation.

    Zu An, who had been about to leave, frowned. He had made sure to take unnecessary turns to try and shake her off, but that had only ended up bringing her to the city¡¯s north side. Thew and order here was far from that of the king manors¡¯ streets, a ce where people could drink together and im to be brothers one moment, only to m their beer bottles on the heads of those same ¡®brothers¡¯ a momentter. The darker alleys were even more so ces for murder and business that didn¡¯t want any unwanted attention.

    Even so, Zu An still didn¡¯t want to get involved. Meng Chan was a princess and a well-known talented cultivator. Dealing with these ruffians wasn¡¯t difficult at all.

    For some reason, though, Meng Chan only shrunk further into the corner and didn¡¯t do anything. She didn¡¯t even say a word and only had a look of fear on her face. And yet the more she acted like that, the more it brought out the beast inside those people.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    To them, it looked as if the madam of some great n had identally gotten lost and ended up in the wrong ce. She seemed to be a youngdy who rarely left home and didn¡¯t have anymon knowledge or ability to protect herself. The prostitutes they met normally couldn''tpare to even a single finger of this woman. Normally, this was a woman who, forget about their current lifetime, even if they were given another lifetime, they still couldn''t touch. And yet the heavens had dropped this delicious pancake right out of the sky for them!

    The woman''s clothes were exquisite and made of good material, so she was clearly from a wealthy n, and yet they weren¡¯t worried at all. This kind of woman cared the most about their reputation. For the sake of protecting their own name, they wouldn¡¯t dare to talk about what happened.

    Who knew, the men could even have a chance of forcing her to speak her identity. That way, they could use what happened today to continue to ckmail her. Then, they would have both this beautiful woman and endless resources. None of them would have to live their damned bloody lifestyle anymore.

    They were getting more and more excited. One of them couldn''t hold himself back and reached out to stroke Meng Chan¡¯s face, saying, ¡°Babe, don¡¯t be scared. Big brother here will make you feel amazing!¡±

    Meng Chan turned her face and did her best to shrink backward and avoid his hand. Unfortunately, there was a wall behind her and she couldn''t avoid it any longer.

    When they saw her act so weak and delicate, the others also couldn''t take it anymore. They grabbed straight at her chest to tear away her clothes.

    Meng Chan closed her eyes in ¡®fear¡¯, but no one touched her body. Instead, several groans quickly filled the air. She was overjoyed. When she opened her eyes, sure enough, Zu An was standing in front of her, and the ruffians were already lying motionless on the ground.

    Zu An asked, ¡°Was your cultivation harmed?¡±

    Meng Chan bit her lip and shook her head, but her face was radiant with happiness. The dusky alley suddenly seemed as if it were blossoming with flowers and full of light.

    ¡°Then why didn¡¯t you fight back?¡± Zu An asked impatiently.

    ¡°I wanted to see if you would save me,¡± Meng Chan finally said. Her eyes were full of smiles.

    Zu An was speechless. Is there something wrong with this woman?

    ¡°We''re enemies, so why would I save you?¡± Zu An replied with a stiff expression.

    Meng Chan didn¡¯t say anything and just continued to look at him with a beaming smile.

    ¡°Then what if I didn¡¯te back? Would you have let them do all that to you?¡± Zu An couldn''t help but ask.

    ¡°No, I would have killed them,¡± Meng Chan said matter-of-factly. ¡°But if I had to do that, I would really have been broken-hearted.¡±

    Zu An was speechless again. He turned around to leave.

    Meng Chan suddenly hugged him from behind, crying out, ¡°Don¡¯t go!¡±

    Zu An was stunned. Then, he reacted and asked, ¡°You remember what happened that night?¡±

    Meng Chan had a bashful expression as she replied, ¡°How could I possibly forget such an unforgettable experience?¡±

    Zu An felt a bit wronged. He said, ¡°It seemed the Worries Be Gone doesn¡¯t live up to its reputation.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not true. I actually forgot about what happened that night, but I wrote a letter for myself ahead of time. Once I read the letter, I gradually recovered my memories,¡± Meng Chan said. She hadn''t dared to speak about it before, but she''d already sensed his tender feelings toward her from what had just happened, so she decided to talk about it now.

    Zu An now understood what had happened. It seemed that Worries Be Gone Rosemary didn¡¯t make onepletely lose a memory, but rather buried it. If there were other triggers, one would still be able to remember what happened.

    ¡°Even so, we''re still enemies,¡± Zu An said seriously.

    ¡°No, you are our benefactor. It''s because you were generous that more people were able to survive from the Meng n and King Dai Manor,¡± Meng Chan said, holding his hands even tighter.

    In that instant, Zu An didn¡¯t even know if she was telling the truth or not anymore. When he smelled her body¡¯s scent and felt the graceful yet delicate sensation on his back, he felt as if the ki he had finally suppressed with great difficulty was starting to stir again.

    ¡°Do you know what your actions are implying right now?¡± Zu An turned around and asked in a a somewhat hoarse voice.

    ¡°I do,¡± Meng Chan said, her voice starting to shake a bit when she saw his intense gaze.

    Zu An didn¡¯t say anything else and turned her around before pressing her against the wall.

    Meng Chan¡¯s heart was now beating fiercely. Even though she had already made her mental preparations when she sought him out, she really was a bit unprepared if they were really going to do it right here!

    However, this novel experience brought her a bit of expectation despite the fear. Her body was shockingly flexible, as her upper body was pressed up against the wall, but her waist was almost parallel with the floor.

    ¡­

    The next day, Zu An returned to Dong¡¯e Peak. He feltpletely refreshed, with all of the malicious feelings from the bloody battle with the monsterspletely vented out. The cultivation he had obtained from the War Priest was also fully digested.

    He had felt that Bi Linglong was just too precious before, causing him to be unable to achieve such a result.

    Meanwhile, in King Dai Manor, Meng Chan had just dragged her exhausted body back to the manor. King Dai was already waiting for her in his wheelchair.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you were going to talk to your close friend? Why did youe back sote?¡± King Dai asked as he gave the distant setting sun a look. His tone seemed a bit cold.

    ¡°I chatted tootest night and was a bit tired. I slept in a bit today too,¡± Meng Chan said, her expression a bit unnatural.

    King Dai¡¯s hands gripped the wheels tighter, but then he let go in resignation. He replied, ¡°Just which close friend was it that they would still be willing to interact with you in this kind of time? A friend in need truly is a friend indeed.¡±

    ¡°It was the Wang n¡¯s madam; we were friends since we were young. Sigh, you wouldn¡¯t even know if I told you,¡± Meng Chan said as she hurriedly moved to leave.

    King Dai suddenly called out after her, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with your neck? Why is it covered by your shirt cor? Were you hurt?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s cold out there and this helps me keep warm.¡± Meng Chan left thoese words behind before hurriedly leaving so he couldn''t ask anything else.

    ¡°You have to take care of your body no matter what!¡± King Dai shouted after her.

    Meng Chan staggered and almost fell, perhaps because her legs were weak, or because she was scared badly by his words.

    ¡­

    In the next few days, crown prince Zhao Ruizhi officially became the new emperor. The name of this era was Peace Eternal, implying peace and prosperity for the entire world. Crown princess Bi Linglong thus became the new empress, and the former empress Liu Ning became empress dowager.

    Normally, Bi Linglong should have moved into the empress¡¯ Pce of Peace, and Liu Ning would be bestowed the Pce of Compassion after bing empress dowager. But Liu Ning was used to living in the Pce of Peace and didn¡¯t want to move. Bi Linglong didn¡¯t want to stay in the pce Liu Ning had stayed for so long in either, and she had too many beautiful memories in the Eastern Pce. This ce also symbolized the love she shared with her sweetheart, making her want to move away even less.

    The situation made all of the officials in the pce lose their minds. In the end, however, Zu An thought of a win-win solution.

    The two of them would reside in their pces, but then the Pce of Compassion card would be given to Liu Ning, and the Pce of Peace card would be given to the Eastern Pce. The Eastern Pce would thus be remodeled into the new Pce of Peace. Either way, Zhao Ruizhi didn¡¯t have a crown prince and didn¡¯t need to use the ce. The two women thus reluctantly epted this solution.

    Then, with Zu An taking the lead, the subjects carried out a grand ascension ceremony. At the same time, they granted the world a great amnesty. They hoped it would help quell the unease of themon people brought about by Zhao Han¡¯s death, while also bringing the entire court together. That way, they could face the following dangers better.

    However, an issue appeared in the ceremony. All officials were supposed to kneel to the new emperor, and yet Zu An alone remained standing and didn¡¯t kneel. The gazes of those present shifted to him, and a strange silence fell.

 Chapter 1979: Adoptive Father and Cellphone

    Chapter 1979: Adoptive Father and Cellphone

    All officials, civil and martial, were already half-kneeling in respect. Only Zu An was still standing all by himself, which drew the attention of everyone present.

    Many people understood why he was doing so. He was currently the strongest person in the entire court, and he could well be the strongest being of the human race. There was naturally no reason for him to kneel to an idiot. However, that idiot was the emperor! The emperor had previously always been the most powerful individual, and yet now, the ruler was weak and the subject strong. Didn¡¯t that mean there was a chance for an entirely new dynasty to arise?

    Many subjects were feeling nervous and couldn''t quite understand what Zu An¡¯s intentions were. If news of this matter got out, hisck of loyalty would be abundantly clear. It¡¯d be hard for him to avoid criticism from the masses. Even so, it wasn¡¯t realistic to make someone as powerful as him kneel¡­

    Many people were already secretly picking sides, wondering whether to remain loyal to the imperial n or start to express their loyalty to the regent. Meanwhile, there were some other righteous subjects who were full of worry. After this matter, the court that had finally been stabilized with such great difficulty could be restless again.

    Bi Linglong was about to speak when Empress Liu Ning said first, ¡°There is something this empress dowager wishes to dere. Zhi¡¯er, the reason you were able to be the emperor was because of the regent¡¯s support all this time. He has earned tremendous contributions for himself, and he is also the academy¡¯s libationer now. He is a person or virtue and prestige, so from today forth, you should just treat him as an adoptive father.¡±

    This so-called ''adoptive father'' was like a little brother to one¡¯s own father. To a certain degree, Zu An could carry out the responsibilities of a father in his ce too. As he was now the new emperor¡¯s adoptive father, there was naturally no need for him to kneel. On the contrary, the emperor had to bow to him.

    ¡°We must not let something like that happen!¡± Some subjects who were more old-fashioned immediately voiced their disapproval. ¡°The title of adoptive father is no trifling matter! How can we let her majesty randomly allow someone to be his adoptive father?¡±

    Bi Linglong also had a strange expression. She didn¡¯t actually approve of this either. If Zhao Ruizhi really did ept him as his adoptive father, that would put an entire generation between her and Zu An! Wouldn''t her lover be her father?

    The empress¡¯ faction immediately voiced their disagreement. ¡°Why not? His majesty is still young and needs someone strong to assist him. The regent used to be the crown prince¡¯s teacher, so he was his senior to begin with. Now, his cultivation is so extraordinary, so why isn¡¯t he suitable to be the emperor''s adoptive father?¡±

    When they recalled that shocking battle at the Meng n, the retorting subjects couldn''t help but feel a bit guilty. They asked, ¡°But the regent is a bit too¡­ young, right?¡±

    Strictly speaking, it was hard to even say who between Zu An and the new emperor was older or younger. Asking the new emperor to ept him as his adoptive father was a bit absurd no matter how one looked at it, right?N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The Liu n¡¯s subjects didn¡¯t agree. ¡°When has age been a determining factor for heroes? Those with achievements in cultivation have alwayse first. You cannot view the regent as a young man; you should rather see him as the greatest mountain in the path of cultivation. He is sure to be the longest river as well.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face heated up. All of this ttery was making even him a bit embarrassed.

    ¡°That¡¯s true, but¡­¡± The subjects from before were feeling a bit frustrated. In the past, it had indeed always been cultivation that came first, but those people had also been older, so this wasn¡¯t a problem.

    Liu Ning spoke up again. ¡°ording to what I know, the Fiend races¡¯ child emperor has also paid respects to the regent as his adoptive father.¡±

    Those words were like a hammer that struck down on their hearts. The subjects who were still arguing for what they believed in immediately shut their mouths. Whether they liked or hated Zu An, they had to admit that the human race needed someone strong like him to protect it. However, Zu An had a simrly respected status on the Fiend races¡¯ side. If they weren¡¯t careful and he ended up being partial to the Fiend races, that would really be a huge disaster.

    Zu An was now already so powerful that the ¡®restraints¡¯ of race didn¡¯t have much meaning for him. Regardless of which side he stood with, they would wee him with open arms. Of course, he was a human himself and came from this side, so he¡¯d naturally carry more feelings for this side. And yet, if his treatment was worse here than among the Fiend races, things would be troublesome if they pushed him away.

    Besides, there was already a new Fiend Emperor who was calling him adoptive father. In that case, it wasn¡¯t all that hard for them to ept Zhao Ruizhi calling him his adoptive father as well.

    Seeing that there were no more objections, Liu Ning considered the matter decided. ¡°Ruizhi, Linglong, hurry and pay your respects to your adoptive father.¡±

    Zhao Ruizhi didn¡¯t really have his own opinion on the matter. He had already been panicking during the whole situation, and he had always feared Zu An a bit to begin with. When he heard his strict ¡®mother empress¡¯ say that, he replied with an ¡®oh¡¯ and instinctively agreed.

    However, Bi Linglong didn¡¯t get up. How could she call Zu An that in front of everyone?

    When he saw that she didn¡¯t get up, Zhao Ruizhi stood there alone in a daze. He didn¡¯t know whether to continue to pay his respects to Zu An or to sit back down.

    The others'' attention gathered on Bi Linglong. Her face flickered between conflicted expressions. In the end, she gritted her teeth and stood back up, saying, ¡°Linglong pays her respects to adoptive father!¡± Even though she wasn¡¯t willing, with the mood as it was, if she didn¡¯t do so, that meant she was insisting on Zu An bowing to Zhao Ruizhi. With his personality, there was no way he would be willing to do that. How could she ce him in such a dilemma?

    With her taking the lead, Zhao Ruizhi had no misgivings left. He copied her and bowed slightly to Zu An, saying, ¡°I pay my respects to adoptive father.¡±

    Zu An also felt a bit strange to see Bi Linglong call him that, but he couldn''t really say much in front of so many people. He quickly returned the greeting.

    The originally nervous atmosphere soon camed down. All of the subjects present sighed in relief.

    Then came all kinds ofplicated ceremonies. After being busy for an entire day, everyone involved felt quite exhausted.

    Zu An found a chance to talk to Bi Linglong. When he saw the frown on her face, he couldn''t help but asked with a chuckle, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Are you upset?¡±

    ¡°How could I dare to be upset at adoptive father?¡± Bi Linglong replied. Even t hough that was what she said, her pouted lips gave away her real feelings.

    ¡°What did you just call me?¡±

    ¡°Adoptive father.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t hear you.¡±

    ¡°Adoptive¡­¡±

    Bi Linglong finally reacted. She shot him a re, then turned around while fuming.

    You have sessfully trolled Bi Linglong for +55 +55 +55¡­

    It seems as if she really is upset, Zu An thought. He took out a jade strip from his inner pocket and handed it to her, saying, ¡°Take this first.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Bi Linglong asked. Even though she didn¡¯t want to talk to him right now, when she saw the glimmering light around that jade strip and all sorts of runes carved on it, she couldn''t help but be a bit curious.

    ¡°A simplified cellphone,¡± Zu An casually replied.

    ¡°Cell¡­ What?¡± Bi Linglong asked, a bit confused.

    Zu An coughed lightly. ¡°Ahem¡­ Actually, it¡¯s a simplifiedmunication talisman. Previously, the primary tool formunication in this world was a recording mirror, but recording mirrors have a heavy price in ki stones, so they''re mainly used for crucial military intelligence. That''s why I researched this new tool. The costs aren¡¯t as great, and it can be used for normalmunication.¡±

    The Baopu Sutra¡¯s artifact refining methods included the sound transmission talismans of the cultivation world, but he stillcked many essential materials for that. After discussing the matter with Shen Xuzi and researching it, they had used some of this world¡¯s materials as a substitute to finally create an experimental prototype.

    ¡°Really?¡± Bi Linglong asked, feeling shocked and happy. She naturally understood just how great of a transformation something like this would bring!

    Zu An didn¡¯t say anything and entered a line of characters into his own jade strip.

    Bi Linglong sensed the jade strip in her hands gradually light up. She immediately picked it up. She gave it a look. She saw the spotlessly white jade tile suddenly produce Zu An¡¯s appearance. Then, a line of text appeared: ¡°Call me daddy.¡±

    ¡°Go to hell!¡± Bi Linglong cried; her face immediately became red with embarrassment.

    Zu An taught her with a smile, ¡°You can write characters straight onto the jade tile and they''ll be quickly transmitted to where I am.¡±

    Bi Linglong gave it a try. She was surprised again, eximing, ¡°They really did!¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t daddy amazing?¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­ Wait, you¡¯re taking advantage of me again!¡±

    ¡°Then call me your husband.¡±

    ¡°No way.¡±

    ¡°It seems I once again need to teach you what your husband is capable of.¡±

    ¡°My good husband¡­¡±

    ¡­

    The two of them were clearly right in front of each other, and yet Bi Linglong didn¡¯t say anything. She just fiddled with the jade tile with never-ending delight. This item clearly brought her a feeling of novelty.

    ¡°How many resources does thismunication talisman consume?¡± Bi Linglong asked the more important question.

    ¡°Roughly one heaven-grade ki stone per day," Zu An replied.

    ¡°It¡¯s still a bit expensive, but it¡¯s much better than the recording mirror. It¡¯s something that the great ns in the capital can afford," Bi Linglong remarked.

    ¡°If only it were that simple! The costs to make even one of thesemunication talismans are ridiculously high. There¡¯s no way they can be distributed on arge scale! It¡¯s just for you to use for now," Zu An said.

    ¡°That¡¯s more like it,¡± Bi Linglong said. She then suddenly wrote on the jade slip, ¡°Did you give one to your other women too?¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    ¡°Forget it, you¡¯ll definitely give that Miss Chu one. You have so many women, so asking this kind of question is just being tactless.¡± Bi Linglong tapped lightly with her fingers. Zu An really wondered just how she could write so quickly.

    When he read her envious words, Zu An could only reply, ¡°You''re the first one I gave one to.¡±

    Bi Linglong finally felt happier. ¡°Then you have to chat with me every night before you go to sleep. You have to tell me good night.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He suddenly felt as ifing up with this kind of invention was crushing his own foot¡­

    He quickly added, ¡°We only managed toe up with this tool recently, so it still has many ws. The greatest problem is the distance of transmission. We canmunicate normally within a hundred miles, but outside of that, it will frequently not receive messages, or the message received will be scrambled.¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t do that on purpose, did you?¡± Bi Linglong asked, giving him a suspicious look.

 Chapter 1980: Impersonation

    Chapter 1980: Impersonation

    Zu An immediately began to sweat buckets. He replied, ¡°No way! It¡¯s only because we can¡¯t find the appropriate materials, and I don¡¯t have much experience since we just started, so that¡¯s why there are so many ws. It¡¯ll get better and better in the future.¡±

    Bi Linglong thus nodded in satisfaction, saying, ¡°I guess it¡¯s fine. You have to give it to me first whenever you have a new model.¡±

    ¡°Alright, sure, no problem,¡± Zu An replied. He wiped at his sweat and quickly reminded her, ¡°By the way, using this kind of thing tomunicate must be kept a secret. You absolutely can''t let anyone else see you using it.¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    He was even starting to feel a bit of regret. In his previous world, the reason why the trash men of his past world were frequently found out by their women was because they had their phones checked. He had to make sure to prepare against that and emphasize the privacy of their use to discourage these women from having simr thoughts.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I understand that much at least. How could I possibly let someone else see the contents?¡± Bi Linglong replied. She was an exceptionally intelligent woman; midway through her sentence, she realized something and gave him a doubtful look. ¡°Are you scared of me looking at yourmunication talisman?¡±

    Zu An immediately handed her his jade slip and replied, ¡°What is there to be scared of? It¡¯s just that I don¡¯t want others to know about our rtionship, so I¡¯m just giving you a warning.¡±

    BI Linglong didn¡¯t take it from him, and instead secretly nced at it from the corners of her eyes. She saw that only their conversation was recorded on it and was a bit embarrassed. She said, ¡°Sorry, my good big brother. I was wrong.¡±

    ¡°What good big brother? Call me daddy.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Soon after, Rong Mo came inside with a message that the empress dowager had arrived, so the two of them naturally couldn''t continue their conversation. Bi Linglong sorted out her clothes before turning around to leave. She recovered her usual high and mighty temperament, even her gait resembling a proud swan.

    Zu An thought to himself that with Rong Mo covering them, things indeed became much easier. This woman is surprisingly quick-witted.

    ¡­

    Liu Ning quickly arrived at his side, with Eunuch Lu standing some distance away to block anyone who tried to get closer.

    ¡°What were you chatting with Linglong about that made you so enthralled?¡± Liu Ning asked, giving him an ambiguous smile.

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°She didn¡¯t seem too used to calling me adoptive father and was throwing a bit of a tantrum.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s understandable.¡± A mischievous smile appeared on Liu Ning¡¯s beautiful face as she continued, ¡°So? The mother of an empire is now your daughter. That must feel amazing, no?¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He asked, ¡°Are you doing this on purpose?¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± Liu Ning replied, raising her chin. ¡°The way she struts around all proud like a rooster has always been an eyesore; what right does she have to have you treat her with respect all the time? The other way around seems more reasonable.¡±

    Of course, her other intention was that this way, she now had a proper reason to treat Zu An as someone from the same generation as herself. One was the emperor¡¯s empress dowager, and the other the adoptive father. Weren¡¯t they a perfect match?

    Zu An¡¯s expression became strange. Even though the battles between women were done in secret, they were still incredibly fierce.

    He used the chance to hand her a jade strip, saying. ¡°Your highness, this is for you¡­¡± She had also supported him just like Bi Linglong, so he couldn''t skip out on her share.

    When she heard what he said, Liu Ning was happy and surprised. She remarked, ¡°There¡¯s actually amunication tool this simple and convenient? So the reason why you spent so much money before was to research this thing.¡± Her fine and slender fingers had already begun to tap on its surface to test out its different functions.

    ¡°The good part of this device is that its consumption is much lower than a recording mirror, but if the distance is too far, you won¡¯t be able to immediately receive the message, and it might even just vanish. That''s why this item can''t be used for major military intelligence yet,¡± Zu An exined.

    ¡°It¡¯s already quite amazing in itself. At the very least, whenever I¡¯m feeling lonely all on my own, I can use it to chat with you,¡± Liu Ning said, holding it close to her as if she couldn''t bear to part with it. Even though with her status, she could use a recording mirror whenever she wanted, the exaggerated consumption of ki stones made even her grimace a bit. How could she dare to use something like that just to chat with her sweetheart?

    Liu Ning suddenly thought of something and asked, ¡°You seemed to have given Linglong something simr. Was it this thing?¡±

    Zu An was starting to get a headache, but he knew that he couldn''t hide something like that and could only nod. He said, ¡°I started in the Eastern Pce after all, and I recently became closer to you. Together with the adoptive father matter, I had to ease my rtionship with her a bit somehow.¡±

    ¡°What is there to ease? Isn¡¯t it easy enough if she wants to be as close to you as me? She just needs to sleep with you, but can she do it?¡± Liu Ning remarked disapprovingly, and this affair clearly made her feel a bit unhappy.

    Zu An chuckled awkwardly and didn¡¯t know how to reply. If she knew that he and Linglong had already been together for a long time, that every part of her had already be his, he wondered just what kind of expression she would have now.

    ¡°Should I ask around for you? That woman does seem to have a favorable impression of you. I refuse to believe she would really be satisfied with keeping that idiot kidpany for the rest of his life,¡± Liu Ning asked, as if she were wishing for the whole world to be in chaos.

    Zu An almost choked. ¡°Don¡¯t do that!¡±

    If those two really ended up discussing this affair together, he could very well end up dying several times over¡­

    ¡°Hmph!¡± Liu Ning didn¡¯t really mean what she said either. She couldn''t be more familiar with Bi Linglong¡¯s proud and aloof nature, so how could she possibly do something like that?

    She suddenly thought of something. Her voice became a bit sweeter too as she asked, ¡°Regent, how about you enter the pce tonight? This one has some new tricks, you know?¡±

    Zu An was stunned, replying, ¡°What new tricks could there be?¡±

    Liu Ning was quite passionate in nature, so she was also more open-minded in ying around with him. She wasn¡¯t excessively reserved like Linglong sometimes was, so the two of them had already tried basically everything once.

    ¡°You''re used to ying with the empress, but you haven¡¯t tried the empress dowager yet,¡± Liu Ning said with a giggle.

    Zu An was speechless. He felt a wave of heat erupt from his lower body.

    This woman really is a seductress down to her very bones.

    Not too far away, Eunuch Lu secretly nced in their direction. When he saw that Liu Ning was full of smiles, her face full of excitement, he thought back to how she had been like the white moon in the sky, aloof and remote. Now, sure enough, she had already been fully subdued by this man.

    He felt both jealous, and yet also gratified. After all, he had seen how pitiful she''d been back then. She had been full of bitterness and hatred, and yet he couldn''t help her in the slightest. Only now that she had received the nourishment of love could she disy the beauty she possessed.

    ¡­

    On the way back from the throne ascension ceremony, Zu An found the Qin n¡¯s carriage. He exchanged a few words with the Qin n¡¯s dukes, then went to the carriage in the back to find Huanzhao and Youzhao.

    There were cheers andughtering from the carriage. The Chu n¡¯s three women were happily chatting about something that seemed to be rted to Zu An.

    Zu An went straight inside. The young women cried out in rm, but they all rxed when they saw that it was him. As it turned out, Murong Qinghe was also there. The carriage smelled really good to begin with, and now that the three youngdies''distinct smells were inside too, Zu An felt as if he had entered a garden of flowers.

    Qin Wanru had been lying casually in the carriage and rocking back and forth fromughter, but when she saw him, she immediately sat up to preserve her appearance as the mother-inw.

    Chu Huanzhao was the most naive and without restraint. She was the first one to speak up. ¡°Brother-inw, you''re so awesome! You actually became the emperor¡¯s adoptive father! Even the new emperor has to bow to you!¡±

    ¡°It was merely to make it easier to meet with the emperor in the future,¡± Zu An said with a chuckle, then quickly took out a jade strip. He expressed the reason for his visit this time.

    When she learned that she couldmunicate with Zu An at any time through the talisman, Chu Huanzhao immediately loved it too much to part with. She turned around so that Chu Youzhao couldn''t touch it.

    Chu Youzhao tried several times but couldn''t grab it. She felt angry and panicked; tears began to swirl in her eyes.

    When he saw the sisters fight each other over it, Zu An couldn''t help but smile. He took out another piece and gave it to Chu Youzhao, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, there¡¯s one for all of you.¡± A big smile finally returned to Chu Youzhao¡¯s face. She continuously touched the jade strip she got as if it were the greatest treasure in the world.

    Zu An was about to bid them goodbye when he saw Murong Qinghe¡¯s sad appearance. He suddenly felt a headache, because he hadn¡¯t expected her to be here too. If he didn¡¯t give her one, perhaps she would feel really terrible.

    As such, he took out one and said, ¡°Little sister Qinghe, you should take one too.¡±

    Murong Qinghe was shocked and happy, saying, ¡°Ah, I¡­ I can have one too?¡± She was going to refuse, but she actually really wanted one. Her tanned skin turned a bit pink.

    Zu An chuckled, saying, ¡°You, Youzhao, and other friends can chat with each other more easily now.¡±

    The noble circles of the capital practically already considered her the daughter-inw of the Chu n, so they were pretty much one family. Thankfully, he had a few extra for these kinds of situations.

    ¡°There can even be other friends?¡± Chu Huanzhao eximed. Her eyes lit up as if she had discovered a whole new world.

    Zu An immediately felt a hup inside. Oh no, if they all be good friends and chat with each other, wouldn¡¯t that mean a lot of things will be exposed?

    As such, he absolutely couldn''t let her know that those other people also had jade slips. He quickly said, ¡°It¡¯s just you three who can be good friends in private. This thing is extremely precious, so you absolutely can''t let other people know about it. Otherwise, they might try to steal it.¡± At the same time, he introduced the concept of privacy to them, telling them that they couldn¡¯t let other people read the conversations on the jade strips.

    ¡°We understand!¡± the youngdies replied, all staring nkly after his warning. They nodded like little chicks.

    ¡°Big brother Zu, can I add you as a friend too?¡± Murong Qinghe asked with a reddened face, leaving Zu An stunned. However, she quickly added, ¡°I have a lot of cultivation questions that I want to ask big brother Zu.¡±

    ¡°No problem,¡± Zu An said, then took out his jade strip and touched it to hers. He then taught them how to add friends.

    The young women were immediately awfully happy from ying with their new toy. Zu An thus said his goodbyes and left.

    ¡°Cough cough!¡± Qin Wanru suddenly straightened her back, as if to remind him that he forgot something.

    ¡°Did mother-inw catch a cold?¡± Zu An asked, looking at her strangely. From the very start, she seemed to have already coughed several times. But judging from her rosyplexion, it didn¡¯t look as if she was sick...

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. You can leave then,¡± Qin Wanru said, immediately bingpletely cold. Her back wasn¡¯t even as straight anymore.

    You have sessfully trolled Qin Wanru for +55 +55 +55¡­

    Zu An found it really strange when he sensed her Rage points, but he had too many things to deal with and couldn''t be bothered to figure out why she was upset. He quickly left.

    Soon after, the Murong n called Murong Qinghe back for something too.

    Qin Wanru finally exploded. ¡°He has no conscience at all! How could he not give me one too?!¡±

    Chu Youzhao didn¡¯t agree with her reaction, saying, ¡°Mom, you¡¯re his mother-inw, so it¡¯s not appropriate for him to give you one of these.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao said with a simple-minded smile, ¡°Exactly! What kind of secret messages do you even have to exchange with him? Don¡¯t tell me you want to make dad wear a green hat?¡±

    She got along with Zu An and understood his personality. She had seen him gift Sang Qian with a green hat for his wedding and guessed its meaning. The term had already begun to circte among their small circle, but of course, others had no idea what it meant.

    Qin Wanru¡¯s face immediately became red with embarrassment. She cried, ¡°Do you want to get beaten, youss? I¡¯m going to rip off your mouth right now!¡±

    The carriage soon became noisy with activity. Only after quite some time did it calm down again.

    Qin Wanru sorted out her messy hair and eventually answered, ¡°Can¡¯t I chat with him about normal family matters? Even the Murong n¡¯s miss got one; don¡¯t tell me they could be talking about romantic stuff?¡±

    Chu Youzhao grumbled, ¡°If they really talk about romantic stuff, I''ll actually feel relieved.¡±

    Qin Wanru¡¯s brows shot up. She eximed, ¡°Are you stupid? Qinghe is your future wife!¡±

    Chu Youzhao sighed, saying, ¡°Mom, you know my current situation too¡­¡±

    Qin Wanru was speechless. Did I owe that idiot Zu in my past life or something? Not only are my daughters being served in one pot, even my daughter-inw is going to be thrown in?

    When she felt the heavy mood in the carriage, Chu Huanzhao immediately said, ¡°Mom, don¡¯t be mad. I¡¯ll just lend you my jade strip from time to time in the future, okay?¡±

    ¡°Hmph, why would I want something like that?¡± Qin Wanru retorted as she turned around.

    ¡°Your loss,¡± Chu Huanzhao said, but she immediately regretted saying these words.

    ¡°Hmph, if you don¡¯t want it, then I want it!¡± Qin Wanru immediately panicked and reached out her hand.

    Chu Huanzhao immediately panicked and said, ¡°You can use it, but you aren¡¯t allowed to read the messages between me and brother-inw!¡±

    Zu An had exined a certain hidden function. At the time, she was confused as to why he had even included it, but now, she realized that brother-inw had acute foresight as expected.

    ¡°Fine.¡±

    ¡°Also, you have to say who you are every time. You can¡¯t pretend to be me.¡±

    ¡°But of course. Why would I pretend to be you?¡±

    Even though that was what Qin Wanru said, she was suddenly tempted.

    That¡¯s not a bad idea¡­

    If that kid knew it was me, what would there be to even talk about between us? It would be more interesting to pretend to be Huanzhao and chat with him that way. Let¡¯s see just what kind of flowery speech that brat will use to trick my daughters, hmph!

 Chapter 1981: Young Men Donâ€™t Understand the Benefits of a Wealthy Woman

    Chapter 1981: Young Men Don¡¯t Understand the Benefits of a Wealthy Woman

    Meanwhile, Zu An returned to Mount Yuquan. He first found Zheng Dan and saw that she was describing something at a table with Xie Daoyun. Zu An wasn¡¯t in a rush to disturb them; instead, he leaned against the door and watched on quietly.

    He had to admit that watching these two beautiful youngdies focused on research and learning was a delightful sight. Xie Daoyun had a schrly air about her to begin with, while Zheng Dan normally had more of a warrior¡¯s aura. But after studying here for some time, thetter also became more like a gentle and refineddy.

    The two women finally noticed that something was off. When they saw that he was there, they asked reproachfully, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say anything if you were here?¡±

    ¡°I was too embarrassed to disturb the two of you when I saw that you were so focused,¡± Zu An said, feeling a bit moved. Just then, when he had seen the two discuss things with each other like top students, he felt as if he had returned to the libraries of his previous world. Only, these two were far, far more beautiful than the bookworms from that world.

    ¡°I was asking big sister about something I didn¡¯t understand regarding runes,¡± Zheng Dan said with a smile. ¡°Senior sister really is beautiful and kind. After she exined it to me, a lot of things that I was confused about before were easily solved.¡±

    ¡°Junior sister is smart and talented. She''d learning about runes even more quickly than I did in the past,¡± Xie Daoyun said bashfully.

    ¡°Senior sister had to figure it out all by herself, but I can consult you for help. I¡¯m merely standing on the shoulders of a giant,¡± Zheng Dan held her hand and said with sincere gratitude.

    ¡°The problems junior sister mentioned are things I¡¯ve never thought about before either. Discussing them with you has also brought me a lot of benefits,¡± Xie Daoyun replied.

    Zu An couldn''t help butugh when he saw these two thank each other back and forth. He said, ¡°Alright, the two of you can stop ttering each other now. You¡¯re both geniuses at runes, and you can help each other. You¡¯re model students of the academy. We¡¯ll publish your achievements in the academy¡¯s journal in the future so that everyone can learn from you two.¡±

    ¡°No way!¡± the women blurted out at the same time. If that happened, they¡¯d really die of embarrassment.

    Zu An roared withughter. He had been messing with these two to begin with. He took out the twomunication jade strips and said, ¡°These are for you two¡­¡±

    When they heard his exnation and how to use it, the two women immediately fell in love with the item. They both wanted to say something to him, but they were worried about what the other would think.

    ¡°So it turns out big brother Zu was busy making this with martial uncle,¡± Xie Daoyun suddenly realized. She had tried to find him several times before, but she had never been able to meet him, making her a bit upset. Now that she found out that he was doing something so important, she immediately realized that she was the one who had behaved poorly.

    Zheng Dan had actually focused on cultivation and couldn''t be distracted by anything else. When she saw the jade strip however, she was suddenly really moved. She asked, ¡°I can use this jade strip to chat with senior sister?¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He replied, ¡°You two cultivate here all day. Why do you need to use this to chat with each other?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯ll be times when we aren¡¯t together, right? I can¡¯t bother senior sister every time I have a question either. With this jade strip, I can send her a question and she can help me whenever she has time. That way, it won¡¯t disturb her cultivation as much,¡± Zheng Dan said. ¡°Also, girls have a lot to talk about, you know?¡±

    Xie Daoyun said with a smile, ¡°That¡¯s right. It seems we can chat back and forth using these jade strips, right?¡±

    Zu An was really helpless now and could only teach them how to add friends. At the same time, he warned them to not randomly add friends.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we definitely won¡¯t add guys. We¡¯ll just add some sisters to chat between us at most,¡± Zheng Dan said with a big smile. ¡°Besides, other people don¡¯t even have jade strips to add us, so what are you so worried about?¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, That¡¯s exactly what I¡¯m worried about! If you all add each other as friends and talk about all sorts of things, I¡¯ll be done for!

    Unfortunately, he couldn''t say such things to them and could only warn them, ¡°This jade strip is extremely precious and there aren¡¯t too many of them. You two absolutely can''t show off with them. Otherwise, I¡¯ll be in a tough spot if they find out¡­¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re that precious? Then I don¡¯t want it anymore. You can give it to someone who needs it more,¡± Xie Daoyun said, startled; she quickly returned the jade strip.

    Zu An was speechless.

    Zheng Dan giggled and said, ¡°My silly senior sister, you''re one of the people who need it. Of course he needs to give you one.¡±

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s face heated up, her heart beating quickly. She thought to herself, What is the meaning of this? Could it be that¡­n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An shoved the jade strip into her hand and said, ¡°Little sister Ling¡¯er, you should put it away. I might have to leave for a while. I¡¯ll see if I can improve these jade strips to make them capable of long-distancemunication in the future.¡±

    Judging from the current situation, it seemed there would definitely be no way of chatting once he got too far away. However, as long as the messages weren¡¯t lost, it would still be good to read the messages when he could.

    ¡°Where are you going?¡± Zheng Dan asked. Now, even she was bing nervous.

    ¡°There''s an important material that I need to personally collect, but I''m not sure of the exact process yet. I''ll tell you guys when the timees,¡± Zu An replied.

    When they saw that he was talking about a serious matter, the women naturally couldn''t say much else. Even though they wanted to go together with him, how could they say such thoughts out loud?

    ¡­

    After chatting for a while longer, Zu An bade them goodbye and left. Soon after, there was some activity from his jade strip. When he took it out and gave it a look, he saw that it was from Zheng Dan.

    ¡°Should I help you get together with senior sister? From what I can tell, she seems to have quite the good impression toward you, you know?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t mess with red strings of fate randomly and focus on your studies,¡± Zu An replied.

    He wondered what kind of reaction she would have if she found out about their rtionship. Butpared to all of the major events that were happening one after another, he wasn¡¯t in the mood to murmur endearments at all, and hadn¡¯t struck while the iron was hot. Xie Daoyun even seemed to have a bit of a hidden grudge when she looked at him.

    ¡°You really don¡¯t want her?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Hm? You¡¯re actually not interested in such a pretty girl? When did you change your personality so much? No wait, did you already get her in the bag a long time ago?¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    ¡°Stop saying random things, or else it might affect your rtionship as fellow disciples under the same master. It¡¯ll affect your cultivation.¡±

    When Zheng Dan saw thest message, she swallowed the words she had been about to send to tease Zu An about Xie Daoyun. She quickly changed the topic.

    ¡­

    Then, Zu An paid Sang Qien¡¯s courtyard a visit. He kissed the baby in his arms until her face was covered in saliva and she cried out loudly. He himself couldn''t help butugh heartily at all of this.

    Sagn Qien shot him a reproachful look as she picked up Sisi and tried to calm her down again.

    Zu An walked over and hugged both mother and daughter; before leaving, he gave her one of the jade strips. Not long after he left, Sang Qien¡¯s messages quickly appeared on the jade strip. They were basically all about their daughter Sisi.

    When he saw how careful she was being, Zu An felt a bit heartbroken. He hurriedly replied, ¡°Little Qien, don¡¯t just talk about Sisi. You can talk about some other things you want to talk about too.¡±

    ¡°What do I have to talk about?¡±

    ¡°You have a lot to talk about. For example, how are you studies in puppetry skills going? Also, are your breasts swollen again¡­¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re so annoying!¡±

    Back in that room, Sang Qien was looking at the jade strip with apletely reddened face. She carried her adorable daughter in her hands while saying softly, ¡°Sisi, your father is a really gentle and considerate person¡­¡±

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An was going to keep giving out the jade strips when he suddenly noticed activity from his recording mirror. He quickly returned to his own room. He took out a dozen or so heaven grade ki stones and ced them around the recording mirror, then connected the call.

    Soon after, a charming and beautiful young madam appeared in the mirror. She was none other than the Second Empress, whom he had been separated from for a long time. She seemed to be in her own chambers. Even though she held the mirror so close to her face, her skin that was as beautiful as snow was still perfect without the slightest w. Rather, she only looked even more moving and stunning. She clearly dressed in a dignified and prestigious style, but her eyes still looked incredibly gentle and charming, her pink lips flickering with a captivating luster that made it difficult for others to fear her.

    Zu An couldn''t help but say with a sigh of amazement, ¡°You really are beautiful!¡±

    The Second Empress clearly grinned, but she said, ¡°Tsk, you only know how to be a smooth talker. You never took the initiative to contact me all this time, and it was only after I received Nan Xun¡¯s message that I contacted you.¡±

    ¡°It really isn¡¯t that I don¡¯t miss you, but rather that recently, too many things have happened one after another. Besides that, I used up too much time refining pills and artifacts, so I didn¡¯t have any time to use the recording mirror¡­¡± Zu An exined with a sullen expression.

    The Second Empress immediately sat up straight when she heard that. ¡°I''ve heard that you''re now a regent of the human race too. The human race actually put you in such dire straits? How ridiculous. Stop helping them ande over to the Fiend races already. I¡¯ll help you take care of all of the artifact refining!¡±

 Chapter 1982: Marriage

    Chapter 1982: Marriage

    ¡°You misunderstand. It¡¯s not that they¡¯ve treated me poorly, but rather that I don¡¯t wish to affect the livelihoods of themon people through the abuse of my authority,¡± Zu An exined.

    The Second Empress didn¡¯t seem to understand. She said, ¡°I¡¯ve never met someone who thought the way you did. If everyone thought the same way, it''s likely that no one would want to be an official. You¡¯re a regent now, and yet you¡¯re still living such a narrow-minded and cramped life.¡±

    ¡°There normally aren''t any issues at all, though. It¡¯s just that I ended up needing a lot of resources for my recent weapon refinement,¡± Zu An said, then told her about the things he''d done recently.

    The Second Empress immediately became interested and asked him many questions. In the end, she said with a sigh, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, because you are our Fiend races¡¯ regent too. The things you research can''t be used by the human race alone.¡±

    When he saw that she was feeling a bit nervous, Zu An said with a chuckle, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the Fiend races¡¯ side is also my home. Furthermore, don¡¯t I still have you?¡± He told himself that he also had Yu Yanluo, but of course, he couldn''t say that to the Second Empress.

    The Second Empress was actually bing quite anxious, but she immediately beamed when she heard that. ¡°Your little mouth really is sweet. I almost want a taste of it now.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    Women from the Fiend races really are bolder, as expected¡­

    Zu An coughed lightly and said, ¡°By the way, the human side¡¯s empress dowager wishes to meet with you to discuss how we can work together to face monsters from other worlds.¡±

    The Second Empress didn¡¯t reply to what he said, and instead asked a question in return. ¡°I heard that empress dowager wass a beauty who has infatuated countless men, and I believe she wouldn¡¯t have been chosen by Zhao Han as the empress otherwise. Now, she seems to have be even more beautiful, with herplexion improving by the day. She doesn¡¯t seem like a woman who has just lost her husband at all, no?¡±

    Zu An was rmed and could only say, ¡°The two of them appeared to be together, but they were divided at heart. Without the mountainous pressure of Zhao Han¡¯s existence looming over her, it makes sense that her mood has improved.¡±

    ¡°It looks like you understand her pretty well,¡± the Second Empress said as she smiled ambiguously. ¡°Do the two of you have a thing going on?¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    Why can¡¯t any of these women talk normally?

    ¡°We¡¯re talking about proper affairs here, so please be a bit more serious,¡± Zu An said impatiently.

    ¡°Sure, sure.¡± The Second Empress didn¡¯t pry further. ¡°The monsters are invading, so our countries should ally together. However, there is a bigger problem, which is to say, just who will preside over all of this?¡±

    Zu An frowned and replied, ¡°The human race is a bit stronger right now, so it won¡¯t be all that easy for them to coordinate with the Fiend races. Of course, I¡¯ll do my best to ensure equal power dynamics in this coboration.¡±

    ¡°How can it be as easy as you make it out to be? Just my meeting with your empress dowager poses a problem. Who should be the one to meet whom?¡± the Second Empress said.¡°If either one of us goes to the other side¡¯s region, it will be seen as a submissive action. If I make the empress dowagere and meet me, she''ll likely refuse. I absolutely won¡¯t go all the way to meet with her either.¡±

    Zu An was stunned, asking, ¡°Something this small was actually that important?¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡± the Second Empress replied, raising her voice. ¡°When we stopped our war with the human race not too long ago, many extremists in the Fiend races felt that the King Court was acting too weak against outsiders. I finally managed to get that under control back then, but now that Zhao Han is already dead, there are quite a few people on this side who are starting to stir up trouble. Most importantly, the invasion of the monsters from other worlds hasn¡¯t be public information yet. That''s why, if we coborate with the human race and show weakness again, I might just end up with a huge mess on my side.¡± As she spoke, her brows were deeply furrowed; she was clearly feeling extremely vexed.

    Zu An thought back to how the Fiend races were. That side had a loose tribal structure, and the various races only submitted to the King Court as their main leader in name. The King Court doesn¡¯t actually have that much control over the respective races. Furthermore, many people from the different tribes were the valiant and dauntless sort who had one-track minds. Trying to reason with them and tell them to endure for the sake of the future was like ying the lute to a cow.

    ¡°Then what do we do?¡± Zu An asked. He couldn''t help but feel a bit frustrated. If he didn¡¯t deal with this matter properly and ended up worsening the rtions between the two sides, coboration between them could be impossible.

    ¡°I have an idea. Why doesn''t that emperor take one of our Fiend races¡¯ king race women as a wife? That way, it would look better for both sides. We can then use that pretext to meet more easily,¡± the Second Empress suddenly said with a smile.

    ¡°That¡¯s not a bad idea. Which king race woman? Do you have any suggestions?¡± Zu An asked with a nod.

    ¡°Of course. The Peacock King race¡¯s Princess Nanwu is beautiful and capable. I believe she can make great contributions to the peaceful rtions between our countries,¡± the Second Empress said casually.

    ¡°Kong Nanwu?¡± Zu An repeated, stunned. He never expected it to be her. That beautiful woman appeared in his mind. She had actually treated him quite well in the past. Did she really have to marry that idiot emperor?

    ¡°What, you can¡¯t bear to see that happen?¡± The Second Empressughed when she saw his reaction.

    ¡°What is there to be reluctant about?¡± Zu An replied with a light cough. ¡°I just feel that Princess Nanwu is proud and might not be willing to serve another. The new emperor is also a proud person and might not tolerate her. If the two end up fighting, that might actually affect rtions.¡±

    The Second Empress smiled ambiguously and replied, ¡°Though in the end, isn¡¯t it just because you''re worried about Princess Nanwu?¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    ¡°Enough, enough, I was just joking around. Forget about the fact that Princess Nanwu¡¯s status is prestigious, I can''t ignore her opinions and just decide this marriage for her. Even if she agrees, there¡¯s no way I can let a Fiend race woman marry into the human side. No matter how you look at it, that would be a kindof humiliation,¡± the Second Empress said with a teasing smile.

    ¡°If it¡¯s impossible, why did you bring it up?¡± Zu An asked, feeling a bit baffled.

    ¡°There''s no way for the Fiend race''s women to marry into the human side, but we can have a human princess marry into our side, or something simr.¡± The Second Empress finally expressed her true intent.

    Zu An said impatiently, ¡°The Fiend races will also feel that marrying a human woman into that side is a form of humiliation. Wouldn¡¯t it be the same the other way around? The humans have the advantage right now, so there''s even less of a chance of them agreeing.¡±

    ¡°Under normal circumstances, they indeed wouldn''t agree, but there is a human who would agree,¡± the Second Empress said n a deliberately mysterious manner.

    ¡°Who would that be?¡± Zu An asked curiously. ¡°The Fiend Emperor is still young, so I don¡¯t think it''s time to discuss marriage yet, right?¡±

    ¡°Who said anything about him? It¡¯s clearly you that I¡¯m talking about,¡± the Second Empress said with a big smile.

    ¡°Me?¡± Zu An¡¯s head started rattling. ¡°No way, no way.¡±

    Are you freaking kidding me right now? The sweethearts around me are already aplete mess from fighting each other, so how could I get myself involved in something like that?

    ¡°Who says there¡¯s no way? Your status is special, and with your strength and status, I believe there are countless women who wish to marry you. Furthermore, you''re the regent of the Fiend races as well, so it would also represent a member of the Fiend races marrying a human woman, so it¡¯s honorable enough for our side too. Isn¡¯t this a win-win situation?¡± the Second Empress said with a smile. ¡°As for why you wouldn''t be marrying a Fiend woman, you are a human after all, so if a Fiend woman married you, they would feel as if they were lowering their status.¡± When she saw that he still wasn¡¯t convinced, she could only say, ¡°If the coboration between the humans and Fiends fails because of your refusal, the responsibility of the monsters¡¯ invasion will fall onto you.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t try to pressure me with something like that. I refuse to use marriage as a bargaining chip,¡± Zu An said coldly.

    ¡°Fine, but I don¡¯t have any other solutions. That empress dowager can rack her brains over this matter, and I won¡¯t worry about it anymore,¡± the Second Empress said with a fatigued expression.

    Zu An knew that she was saying these things out of good intentions, and he felt his tone had been too harsh earlier. That was why he tried to exin himself and said, ¡°Your suggestion isn¡¯t really possible in the first ce. Zhao Han has a few daughters, but they''ve already gotten married. The new emperor doesn¡¯t have any daughters, and the imperial n doesn¡¯t have any outstanding princesses.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine even if there aren¡¯t any princesses. For example, King Qi¡¯s princess is probably an eyesore on the human side anyway, right? Won¡¯t it be fine to just marry her into the Fiend side?¡± The Second Empress said with a smile, ¡°I¡¯ll keep an eye on her when the timees, so there¡¯s no way she can intervene with your womanizing.¡±

    When he saw that her suggestions were getting more and more out of hand, Zu An immediately changed the topic. He asked the Second Empress about how the war around the sealednd had been going.

    The Second Empress became more serious when it came to that topic. She shared all kinds of intelligence with him in a grave tone.

    ¡­

    Just like that, the two chatted for an hour, and by then, even the Second Empress was starting to feel a bit of a burden from the recording mirror''s costs. She could only hurriedly end the call.

    Even so, after chatting with the Second Empress, Zu An also realized that the situation was grim. He decided to contact the people around him first so they wouldn¡¯t be caught off guard and end up falling prey to the monsters¡¯ schemes.

    He headed over to the court¡¯s official-use recording mirror. It was something that was normally only used for major events in the military. He thus stated that he wanted to inform all the major forces of the world, and no one really stopped him.

    The first one he dialed was Yun Jianyue¡¯s recording mirror. He hadn¡¯t received any information from her, so he had always been feeling a bit uneasy. The recording mirror continued to ring, sending special waves into the distance, but the other side never picked up. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An couldn''t help but feel a bit grim.

 Chapter 1983: Information

    Chapter 1983: Information

    Zu An called her several times, but the other side never picked up.

    A recording mirror was often connected to one¡¯s soul. Even if it was ced in a storage pouch, they would still immediately sense it. There were several possible exnations for the situation. It could be that Yun Jianyue didn¡¯t have enough ki stones to operate the recording mirror, or it could be that she wasn¡¯t in a situation where she could pick up the call. It could even be that she was seriously injured and unconscious, so she couldn''t sense the call.

    Yun Jianyue was a sect master,, so how could she not have enough ki stones to connect the call? That meant it had to be one of thetter two.

    Zu An immediately felt nervous when he realized that. He sent some people to call over the Embroidered Envoy to check if they had any intelligence regarding the Devil Sect.

    While waiting, he thought a bit to himself, then contacted Yan Xuehen¡¯s recording mirror. He first had to contact the White Jade Sect and let them know about the monsters¡¯ invasion.

    This time, the call connected quickly. The mirror rippled, and a cold-looking woman appeared in the mirror. She was also stunned when she saw him, saying, ¡°I thought that the court needed me for something.¡±

    This was the court¡¯s public ount, and Yan Xuehen was the sect master of the White Jade Sect, so she naturally had some connections with the officials.

    ¡°Would you not have answered if you knew it was me?¡± Zu An replied with a sigh.

    Yan Xuehen didn¡¯t reply. Instead, her eyes sparkled and she seemed to be looking behind him.

    Zu An continued, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I''m the only one in the room right now. No one else can listen in on our conversation.¡±

    With his current identity, no one would dare to stay behind if he said he was going to discuss some secret matters.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s face turned a bit red, saying, ¡°The two of us arepletely innocent. What would we talk about that others could not listen in on?¡±

    Zu An was speechless. This woman clearly cared a lot, and yet she just refused to admit it. If it were any other time, he would at least use the chance to tease her a bit, but he wasn¡¯t in the mood today. He decided to just tell her about the spatial rift and the monsters¡¯ invasion.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression changed. She asked, ¡°Does this mean that the end of the world ising?¡±

    ¡°The situation isn¡¯t that bad¡­¡± Zu An said, then gave her a rough summary of what had happened on the court''s side. ¡°We¡¯ve discovered a few more spatial rifts, but the court¡¯s experts swiftly put an end to them. The only strange part is that none of those rifts produced anything as strong as the War Priest again.¡±

    Yan Xuehen asked gravely, ¡°Could it be that they''re trying to lower our guard, but then if everyone rxes a bit, those powerful beings will invade again?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not entirely impossible,¡± Zu An said; he was quite troubled as well. ¡°But it¡¯s also unlikely. It¡¯s not too realistic to try and make everyone nervous.¡±

    Yan Xuehen thought for a bit, then said, ¡°Exorcising evil is a duty of the daoists, so the daoists will contribute our part. We''ll assign our disciples to patrol the secret dungeons of the world.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He previously hadn''t thought of that. After all, over the past few decades, the court¡¯s policies regarding the daoists had always been more restrictive for fear that they would be giants again the way they had in the past. After decades of that, the daoists were now much weaker than when they were at their strongest.

    Even so, a weakened camel was still bigger than a horse. The daoists still had many experts and talents.

    Zhao Han had been on guard against the daoist sects, but Zu An didn¡¯t share those motives. Putting aside his own personal friendships with them, for the sake of fighting against the monster invasion, there was no reason to restrict the daoists at all.

    After thinking through all of those things, Zu An nodded and said, ¡°Good. With the daoists moving out as well, I''ll send some of the academy¡¯s people to get in touch with you all. We¡¯ll say that this is all in the name of coboration with the Royal Academy.¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The court had been on guard against the daoists for too long, after all. If they were too extreme here, it would easily incur the retaliation of some stubborn factions in the court.

    Yan Xuehen was stunned. She asked, ¡°You don¡¯t need to discuss this matter with the empress dowager and empress first?¡± She naturally knew just howrge of a matter this was. At that moment, she was feeling a bit of disbelief.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need,¡± Zu An said, waving his hand. That kind of decision was still something he could take care of.

    ¡°I almost forgot that you were now the court¡¯s regent,¡± Yan Xuehen said with a smile. She was quite pure in thought and didn¡¯t suspect him of having anything with the empress dowager.

    Immediately after, she got up and showed Zu An a serious bow, saying, ¡°Ah Zu, I will thank you in the ce of all of the daoist disciples. If not for your support, the daoists might have been doomed to vanish in the great river of history.¡±

    Zu An was startled and quickly tried to get her to stand back up, but he then realized that there was a recording mirror between them. He replied, ¡°There''s no need for that. I was only doing what I should.¡±

    ¡°I need to thank you properly. What you did has brought about the rebirth of the daoists,¡± Yan Xuehen said seriously.

    Zu An couldn''t help but chuckle and reply, ¡°If you really are that thankful, isn¡¯t it a bit too sloppy if you only talk about it?¡±

    ¡°Then how do you want me to thank you?¡± Yan Xuehen asked with a blush; it was unclear what she was thinking.

    ¡°You know," Zu An said. He couldn''t help but sigh. Even through the recording mirror, he could still sense just how stunning the woman on the other side was. There was also that unique aloof and magical feeling about her.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll have Chuyan thank you properly," Yan Xuehen said; she didn¡¯t dare to continue off of what he was implying.

    A shocked voice emerged from the recording mirror. ¡°Master, what did you say? That I was going to thank someone?¡± Immediately after, a door opened, and a young woman in a blue dress entered.

    ¡°Chuyan!¡± Zu An eximed happily. It had already been a long time since hest saw her.

    ¡°Ah Zu?¡± Chu Chuyan eximed, feeling shocked and happy. ¡°So you were chatting with Ah Zu, master!¡±

    ¡°He had important matters to tell the daoists. It''s rted to the invasion of monsters,¡± Yan Xuehen said in rm. She was scared that Chu Chuyan''s thoughts would go in the wrong direction and quickly exined thing. At the same time, she red at Zu An, warning him not to say anything stupid.

    ¡°What?!¡± When she heard what happened, Chu Chuyan was incredibly shocked, but she also felt as if it was to be expected. After all, they had seen too many mysterious and bizarre beings in the secret dungeon with Zu An. Then, after listening to the exnations from both sides, she also understood that the situation hadn¡¯t reached its worst point yet.

    Yan Xuehen used the chance to say, ¡°Since Ah Zu helped the daoists lower the restrictions that were ced on us, as a member of the daoists, shouldn¡¯t you thank him properly?¡±

    Chu Chuyan smiled and replied, ¡°Master, you are the leader of the daoists, right? I think that it is more important that you thank him, right?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve already even given you, my good disciple, to him. How else would I thank him?¡± Yan Xuehen said as she tried to put on a frown, but her heart was pounding inside. Pretending to be ordinary friends in this kind of situation really put quite the strain on her. After all, before she met Zu An, she had never told a lie. And yet now, she had to lie again and again.

    ¡°How is that equivalent to gratitude from the master? Master, you definitely have your way of thanking him too,¡± Chu Chuyan said, although she had no idea just how badly her words were scaring Yan Xuehen.

    Yan Xuehen was really rmed and didn¡¯t dare to continue on the subject. She quickly said to Zu An, ¡°Ah Zu, judging from our earlier conversation, I sensed that you have been a bit preupied. Just what happened?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s rted to Sect Master Yun and Honglei. Back then, Lu Sanyuan¡¯s army appeared near Violet Mountain, but even as the sect master, she had no idea about that. After the matter, she returned to their main headquarters to check on the situation, but I¡¯ve never received any information about her since. I tried to contact her through the recording mirror, but the call never connected,¡± Zu An said with a frown.

    Yan Xuehen and Chu Chuyan were shocked. At any other time, perhaps they would even have said some words of mockery. After all, Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei were their greatest adversaries. And yet, now that it was rted to their safety, how could they still have such thoughts?

    ¡°Ah Zu, don¡¯t worry too much. I''ve fought against that witch for most of my life and understand her abilities best. She''s always been the one to harm others; when has she ever been harmed by others? Even if she is in some danger, she likely has a way of dealing with it. Besides, Honglei isn¡¯t weak either. If the two work together, they should be able to protect themselves.¡±

    As long as she wasn¡¯t talking about Zu An, Yan Xuehen was still a famous grandmaster in the end. Even though she wasn¡¯t as full of trickery as Yun Jianyue, the fact that they could face each other on rtively even footing meant that she was incredibly smart. She quickly offered her analysis to console him.

    Zu An felt that what she said was reasonable and sighed a bit in relief. It seemed he had let worry get to him after all.

    Chu Chuyan suggested, ¡°How about I make a trip to the Devil Sect?¡±

    Yan Xuehen was startled and quickly said, ¡°If it''s a situation that not even Yun Jianyue can deal with, there¡¯s no need for you to cause more trouble and make Ah Zu worried. I think I should make this trip.¡±

    Zu An shook his head and replied, "You still need to contact the other sects and organize the defenses against the monsters. I''ll personally make a trip to the Lake of Hatred.¡± Even though he wanted to meet the two of them, how could he let his selfish interests get in the way of what was more important?

    Yan Xuehen understood her own responsibility too and didn¡¯t persist with it. She asked, ¡°Do you have any intelligence on the Devil Set? Or do you know where the Lake of Hatred is?¡±

    ¡°I have a rough idea of which mountains it''s located in, but I don''t know the exact location,¡± Zu An said, shaking his head. In the end, the Devil Sect had opposed the court for so many years. If their home base was exposed, they would already have been dealt a ferocious blow. However, because they had always been very careful, the court had never found out their real location.

    ¡°I actually know a bit¡­¡± Yan Xuehen slowly said, exining everything she knew to him.

 Chapter 1984: Origins of the Devil Sect

    Chapter 1984: Origins of the Devil Sect

    ¡°Do you know just what the main philosophy of the Devil Sect is?¡± Yan Xuehen suddenly asked.

    Zu An was a bit stunned and couldn''t really understand why she would suddenly ask this question, but he still replied, ¡°I think they seek for everyone to live like dragons, with equality for all under the heavens?¡± He had heard them talk about their beliefs when he was together with Qiu Honglei and Yun Jianyue. At the time, he''d been quite amazed.

    ¡°That was what that witch told you?¡± Yan Xuehen asked coldly.

    Zu An was confused and speechless. After fighting against each other for so many years, sure enough, they still had some grievances against each other¡­.

    When she saw his expression, Yan Xuehen knew she had guessed correctly. She continued, ¡°Think about it yourself for a moment. If that were really their belief, why would they be called the Devil Sect?¡±

    Zu An was stunned. Actually, that was something he had been confused about at the time. They clearly had just and honorable convictions that seemed to benefit the country and the people, so why were they referred to as the Devil Sect? At the time, the two women had given him a reasonable exnation.

    Yan Xuehen continued, ¡°This ideology was merely something the Devil Sect uses to romanticize their own faction, and eventually, some people in the sect really ended up believing it.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. If Yun Jianyue were here, wouldn¡¯t she start another battle immediately?

    ¡°Do you think I am only speaking this way because we are enemies?¡± Yan Xuehen asked coldly.

    Zu An chuckled. That wasn¡¯t a question he could really answer.

    Chu Chuyan couldn''t help but say, ¡°Ah Zu, master has always clearly separated private and public interests. Even though she is the sworn enemy of Sect Master Yun, she wouldn¡¯t nder her for no reason.¡±

    Zu An understood Yan Xuehen¡¯s nature as well, and knew she wasn¡¯t the type to talk badly about another behind their back. He quickly said with a straight face, ¡°I hope that big sis Yan can clear up my doubts.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, who is your big sis Yan? Even if you don¡¯t call me master like Chuyan in the future, you have to call me Sect Master Yan,¡± Yan Xuehen said as she shot him a re. She was almost scared half to death by the ¡®big sis Yan¡¯ title!

    Fortunately, Chu Chuyan only smiled and just thought of it as her sweetheart being a rascal as usual.

    ¡°Sure, sure, master,¡± Zu An replied as he looked at her with a big smile.

    When she heard him call her master, Yan Xuehen¡¯s face turned red. She now felt even weirder; that feeling only intensified when she recalled how this man had ravaged her in the past. Was that how a disciple treated his master? Even so, Chuyan was still here, so she quickly collected her thoughts and exined, ¡°The Devil Sect¡¯s people do not seek for everyone to be dragons, but rather for themselves to be dragons, to be equals among themselves.

    ¡°The people of the world only know the ¡®Devil Sect¡¯, but do not know that the Devil Sect is the collective term for the three schools and six paths. The so-called three schools and six paths aren¡¯t the lowest professions per se, but they have always been looked down on by orthodox society and are those with the lowest statuses. That is why they carry resentment and bias, and the way they do things has be more and more extreme. However, that only leads orthodox society to look down on them more and more, leading to a vicious cycle.¡±

    ¡°What exactly are these three schools and six paths?¡± Zu An asked, stunned. The Embroidered Envoy¡¯s information on the Devil Sect didn¡¯t seem to be as detailed as what he was hearing right now, but it made sense too. The Embroidered Envoy was established by this dynasty and had only existed for around a hundred years. Even though it was widespread and powerful, it still didn¡¯t have enough history backing it.

    The Devil Sect was a massive organization that had existed for thousands of years. Only the daoists that had existed for a simrly long time would understand them better. In the end, the Devil Sect and the daoists really were fated enemies. Even the way they arranged different schools and paths were so simr.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Yan Xuehen replied, ¡°The so-called three schools are the Heavenly Devil School, Skysplitting School, and World School. The six paths are the Treasure Hunter Path, Yin Yang Path, Unfeeling Path, Secret Path, Freedom Path, and Pear Path.¡±

    ¡°The leader of the Heavenly Devil School is none other than that witch Yun Jianyue. If I am not mistaken, then Qiu Honglei is the next sect leader to serve. The Heavenly Devil School has always been led by women. It was rumored that their founding master was a devastatingly beautiful woman, and the whole country rose up in rebellion because of her. Her people enjoyed charming men, and their objective is to painstakingly subdue the world through that craft, to conquer all of the world¡¯s men. This is a belief that is very popr among the brothels, which is why arge portion of their disciples throughout history havee from brothels.¡±

    Zu An had a strange expression. When he first met her, Qiu Honglei was Brightmoon City¡¯s most popr courtesan, so it seemed that could all be traced back to the same source.

    Chu Chuyan quietly added, ¡°Ah Zu, don¡¯t worry. Even though most of the Heavenly Devil School¡¯s disciples are from brothels, they are actually divided into two groups. One uses their bodies to seduce others, but the other only uses arts to charm the world. When ites to subduing men, both Sect Master Yun and Miss Qiu both belong to thetter category. Their beliefs are clearly more brilliant.¡±

    Zu An could tell from how careful she was being that she was worried that they could be ndering the master and disciple behind their backs in front of Zu An. He chuckled and said, ¡°Chuyan, you¡¯re overthinking. Of course I know that.¡±

    Chu Chuyan was stunned at first, wondering how he knew about that. Don¡¯t tell me you and Miss Qiu have already slept together?

    You have sessfully trolled Chu Chuyan for +99 +99 +99¡­

    When she saw these two looking at each other and exchanging signals, Yan Xuehen suddenly felt a bit unhappy for some reason.

    You have sessfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +99 +99 +99¡­

    Zu An was stupefied. Why are these two suddenly angry? He sensed that something was off and quickly changed the topic. ¡°By the way, what was the name of that Heavenly Devil School¡¯s founding master?¡±

    A devastatingly charming beauty? Why did she sound a bit like Daji?

    Yan Xuehen shook her head and said, ¡°It has already been far too long. Forget about me, it doesn¡¯t seem as if even the Heavenly Devil School¡¯s people know. Even the techniques that were passed down since ancient times seem to be damaged.¡±

    Zu An entered his own thoughts for a moment. Daji¡¯s skill and the technique used by Yun Jianyue¡¯s group seemed a bit simr. He wondered if it really was just a coincidence¡­

    Yan Xuehen continued, ¡°The Skysplitting School seeks to bring a major disaster upon the world, and the greatest disaster that could befall this world is the assassination of a enmperor.¡±

    Zu An was stunned, replying, ¡°They''re assassins?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Yan Xuehen nodded slightly. ¡°The Skysplitting School''s founding belief is ''the anger of the ignorant sends blood flying three feet, the anger of the emperor results in millions of corpses''. The purpose of their existence is to keep the rulers and bigwigs in check, to prevent them from running amok, as there will always be people in the Skysplitting School who can take their heads. There was once a certain figure in history who focused solely on assassination and passed down his skills. Those famous assassinsrgely alle from the Skysplitting School.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression grew serious as he said, ¡°That means the Skysplitting School is one worthy of respect.¡±

    ¡°Even though the founding creed is admirable, human nature will forever exist. I reckon that only a small number of those utterly fearless assassins throughout history followed that principle," Yan Xuehen said with a sigh. ¡°The people of the world seek glory, splendor, wealth, and rank, or live among wine, sex, avarice, and temper. Even though those assassins have left behind their names in history, most of them died with all of their rtives executed as well. Many of them even abandoned their beliefs and chose to kill for money. Henceforth, the Skysplitting School gradually fell, ultimately bing an assassin organization that seeks nothing but profit. They have long forgotten their former faith.¡±

    Zu An sighed deeply. However, he knew there was no way everyone would be a saint. This was probably an inevitable result. He suddenly thought of something and said, ¡°The most famous assassin organization in the present world seems to be the Shadow Group. Their range of influence seems to be simr, so wouldn¡¯t they be in conflict?¡±

    ¡°Of course there¡¯s no conflict,¡± Yan Xuehen said with a strange expression. ¡°Because the Shadow Group is the Skysplitting School.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    In the end, the Shadow Group was also part of the Devil Sect?

    Yan Xuehen exined, ¡°Strictly speaking, the Shadow Group is a branch of Skysplitting School. Around a hundred years ago, chaos broke out in the Devil Sect, with the major factions suddenly fighting against each other for some reason. Some were unwilling to participate in such a thing and broke away, and among them was an ordinary youngster who was pushed aside in the Skysplitting School. In the end, he amazed the world with his talent and established the Shadow Group.¡±

    ¡°Do you have any information about that youngster?¡± Zu An quickly asked.

    Yan Xuehen shook her head slightly and said, ¡°The Skysplitting School, due to the nature of its profession, cares about secrecy above all else. Even brothers in the same sect would often only know each other''s nicknames, knowing nothing about the other party¡¯s identity in society. That youngster endured for many years, but then he ended up establishing Shadow Group, so he is definitely someone capable of hiding his schemes. Thus, it was even less likely for him to have exposed his identity.¡±

    ¡°The Skysplitting School just agreed to the establishment of the Shadow Group?¡± Zu An asked curiously.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s red lips gently opened and she said, ¡°It is not that simple, of course. After the Shadow Group was founded, many elders from the Skysplitting School and even some of that youngster¡¯s own brothers tried to dominate him and steal his work, but in the end, they were all killed. As time went on, many outstanding disciples of the Skysplitting School were drawn to the Shadow Group instead. Now, the Skysplitting School is already weak and has declined, and it is instead the Shadow Group that has been tacitly acknowledged as the true master of the Skysplitting School of this generation.¡±

    Zu An frowned. This Shadow Group seemed to have some connections to the Imperial Pce. It felt like a guillotine that constantly loomed over his head, giving him an uneasy feeling.

    ¡°Among the three schools, there is still the World School. Can you guess what they care about in this world the most?¡± Yan Xuehen asked.

    ¡°Money?¡± Zu An answered, feeling a bit shaken.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. The World School¡¯s founding master was a great merchant who was exceedingly wealthy. Their group reveres trade andmerce, but their status and wealth have never quite endured in history, so many of them were a bit dissatisfied with the court and tried to change everything. When the court tried to suppress them, they ended up bing part of the Devil Sect too," Yan Xuehen said. She then suddenly recalled the affairs in Cloudcenter Commandery and added, ¡°Right, you actually have some connections to the World School.¡±

    ¡°When did that happen?¡± Zu An asked, stunned. Why do I have no recollection of something like this?

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you close to the Hub of Freedom? Just as the Shadow Group is Skysplitting School¡¯s greatest force, Hub of Freedom is the most powerful organization of the World School,¡± Yan Xuehen replied.

 Chapter 1985: Warning

    Chapter 1985: Warning

    ¡°Hub of Freedom?¡± Zu An repeated. He had really never expected the Hub of Freedom to be a branch of the Devil Sect. He couldn''t help but be a bit confused. ¡°Huh? But in Cloudcenter Commandery, the Pegasus and Zhenyuan Merchant Groups seemed to be fighting quite intensely.¡±

    One had the Hub of Freedom backing them, while the other had the Devil Sect behind them. At the time, the two had been tearing at each other''s throats and wanted the other to disappear from this world, but after all of that, they were actually both from the same ce?

    Yan Xuehen didn¡¯t seem too bothered. She replied, ¡°I told you that the Devil Sect was no longer the Devil Sect of the past. After the divide more than a hundred years ago, the three schools and six paths have practically already all split apart. Furthermore, because of the Devil Sect¡¯s savage nature, their rtionships with each other might even be worse off than those between ordinary sects.¡±

    Zu An nodded to himself. Even one''s own family would be practically strangers once they were two or three generations away, let alone these ns that had been apart for more than a hundred years.

    ¡°The current Devil Sect mainly sees the Heavenly Devil School as their leader. Beyond that, ces like the Shadow Group and Hub of Freedom have already be formidable forces of their own and will not listen to the ideas of any Devil Sect Master,¡± Yan Xuehen said.

    She didn¡¯t feel happy about the situation at all. It was something even she sympathized with Yun Jianyue about. The Devil Sect was divided, but weren¡¯t the daoists the same? However, the daoists did walk the orthodox path, so they were still reasonable to some extent, unlike the Devil Sects¡¯ factions that were just too inflexible against each other.

    ¡°What''s the situation with the other factions?¡± Zu An asked.

    Chu Chuyan brought over a cup of tea and said, ¡°Master, have some tea to moisten your throat.¡± At the same time, she told Zu An with a smile, ¡°I''ve never seen master speak so much to a man before.¡±

    Yan Xuehen immediately felt guilty. She tried to cover the truth up while drinking tea and replied, ¡°In the end, am I not helping your man?¡±

    ¡°Yes, of course; this disciple will thank master in Ah Zu¡¯s ce,¡± Chu Chuyan said, helping Yan Xuehen massage her shoulders with a big smile and an obedient attitude.

    When she saw Zu An look at the two of them with an ambiguous smile, Yan Xuehen just felt a bit strange. After all, she knew about their rtionship. She pushed her disciple away and said, ¡°Enough already; stop getting in the way of proper business. The recording mirror costs a lot to use.¡±

    Then, she recovered her usual cold demeanor and continued to exin, ¡°The Treasure Hunter Path, as the name implies, had a founder who was a master of Feng Shui. Of course, that is their romanticized way of exining things. In reality, they are tomb raiders. Almost all of their members engage in tomb raiding, and they are especially passionate about robbing the tombs of the ancient past, or the present world''s nobles. They look for all kinds of treasures and secret technique inheritances.¡±

    When Zu An heard that, he couldn''t but sigh. No wonder the Devil Sect¡¯s reputation was so bad. There was no way the people in such of work wouldn¡¯t be hated!

    ¡°The Treasure Hunter Path seems to be divided into several factions, and even I do not know them too well. However, because they have offended too many powerful individuals and their descendents, they were targeted severely and have declined the most out of all of the Devil Sect¡¯s factions. It is now hard to find even a few of their inheritors," Yan Xuehen said. She then added, ¡°By the way, I heard that they have a branch on the Fiend side. I wonder how that side is doing now.¡±

    Zu An had a weird expression. That fatty Wu Liang he had met in the Fiend races'' territory seemed to be from a tomb raiding n. Could they be a branch of the Treasure Hunter Path? Their n¡¯s treatment wasn''t much different from that of the Treasure Hunter Path on the human side. As expected, tomb raiders really didn¡¯t have much poprity no matter where one went¡­

    ¡°There is also the Yin Yang Path,¡± Yan Xuehen said. Her face suddenly turned a bit red, and her expression was full of disdain as she continued, ¡°Their path talks about yin and yang harmony between men and women. That is fine and all as an objective, but eventually, they went the wrong way and most of them began to research¡­ techniques of the bedroom.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, So what if they study those techniques? Isn¡¯t passionate love an important part of the world? If he were alone with Chu Chuyan, or even with Yan Xuehen, he would argue a bit for them on the spot. However, when both of them were together, he sensibly chose to give up on that thought.

    When she saw Yan Xuehen be silent, Chu Chuyan just thought of it as her master being too embarrassed to continue, so she exined for her, ¡°The Yin Yang Path¡¯s people say that it is for the sake of yin and yang harmony, but many of them have long since lost themselves in indulgence of superficial carnal desires. Many of them have started¡­ cultivating together with Heavenly Devil School members.

    ¡°Even so, those female disciples from the Heavenly Devil School are all extremely formidable and their ¡®standards¡¯ high ; they aren¡¯t women that those from the Yin Yang Sect can mess around with however they want to. That''s why they often kidnap women from respectable families to use as their personal tools. Arge portion of the Devil Sect¡¯s bad reputationes from them.¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An said with a scowl, ¡°Those people truly deserve to die ten thousand times over.¡±

    If both sides were willing in the first ce, that was understandable. But that kind of behavior really was intolerable. He thought, To be honest, why is Yun Jianyue even letting scum like this stay in the sect?

    As if guessing his thoughts, Yan Xuehen said, ¡°This is not actually something that can be med on Yun Jianyue. Even though she is a woman, first and foremost, she is a sect master. After the divide of the Devil Sect, there are still some from the Yin Yang Path who support the Heavenly Devil School faction. If they brought the hammer down on the entire sect, not only would the Heavenly Devil School lose their leadership position, the entire Devil Sect would be even more divided.¡±

    Chu Chuyan gave her master a look of surprise. She hadn¡¯t expected her to speak up so much for her enemy¡¯s sake.

    ¡°What are you looking at me for?¡± Yan Xuehen snapped impatiently, ¡°I am merely speaking of things as they are. Even though Yun Jianyue and I are enemies, I still acknowledge her in certain areas.¡±

    Chu Chuyan smiled and replied, ¡°No one asked you anything, so what are you feeling so guilty for, master?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re getting cheekier and cheekier, aren¡¯t you?¡± Yan Xuehen retorted, feeling a bit helpless. She wanted to act with the dignity of a master, but whenever she thought about the two''s special rtionship, she felt so guilty that she wasn''t able to really get that angry.

    ¡°What about the other few paths?¡± Zu An asked as he coughed lightly and helped Yan Xuehen out of her difficult position.

    ¡°The Unfeeling Path, as the name implies, cares about being emotionless¡­¡± Yan Xuehen began.

    Before Yan Xuehen finished her sentence, Zu An voiced his surprise. ¡°Why does it sound a bit simr to your White Jade Sect¡¯s technique?¡±

    ¡°Of course it¡¯s different,¡± Yan Xuehen snapped in annoyance. ¡°We care about being unshakable, while they seek heartlessness without righteousness. Even family, friends, master, and disciples can be abandoned at a moment¡¯s whim. Furthermore, people from their sect are often entrics whose behavior is grotesque and extreme. They cannot be viewed as normal people.¡±

    Zu An recalled the origins of the other factions and couldn''t help but ask, ¡°What kind of livelihoods do those people typically engage in?¡±

    ¡°That I am not sure of, but they all seem to have some¡­ hobbies that are not as epted by normal conventions. Niche, neglected branches seem to receive the most respect among them. They seem to take pride in and enjoy the fact that they do not engage in mainstream activities,¡± Yan Xuehen replied.

    ¡°Not mainstream?¡± Zu An repeated, a bit startled when he heard that somewhat familiar wording. He was curious as to whether the founding master of the Unfeeling Path was another transmigrator from his past world.

    Yan Xuehen didn¡¯t notice that the wording ended up bringing him such surprise and continued, ¡°The Secret Path practices secrecy through code words. They originated from the study of ancient divination. There were some who created some bizarre prophetic words, all of which were urate; that was viewed by the people of the world as a miracle. Of course, more of those words of prophecy ended up vanishing in history.¡±

    Zu An wondered if those prophetic words had anything to do with his Baopu Sutra¡¯s divination and Qi Yaoguang¡¯s astrological divinations.

    ¡°This faction is viewed by normal society as a group of religious idiots. Their first generation leader was a religious idiot, but this generation¡¯s Secret Path leader is quite capable. Apart from the prophetic speech from the group, he is also good at formations. The reason why the Devil Sect has been able to exist all this time, apart from the Lake of Hatred being hidden well within the mountain depths, is also because he created an enormous formation near the Lake of Hatred that hides the Devil Sect¡¯s main headquarters. There are even rumors that his achievements in formations are on par with those of Yan Xiangu,¡± Yan Xuehen said, her voice full of admiration.

    ¡°So it was like that!¡± Zu An remarked as he finally realized what was going on. He had always been confused before. No matter how well hidden the Devil Sect was, how could it have been hidden from the court all this time? So it turned out they actually had such an outstanding formation master.

    ¡°Maybe it is because their requirements for their members are quite high, so the Secret Path does not have many members. Even though their status in the Devil Sect is high, they are not particrly influential,¡± Yan Xuehen continued. ¡°There is also the Freedom and the Pear Path. Those of the Freedom Path are either artists or musicians. They care the most about elegance and beauty. Comparatively speaking, they are the members of the Devil Sect that have the best reputation.¡±

    ¡°Artists?¡± Zu An repeated. He thought that these people probably would have had quite a fewmon topics to talk about with Yu Yanluo and thete libationer.

    ¡°As for the Pear Path, their founding master was a world-renowned opera singer, so that is why they tend to have more performing artists among their group. Their status in society is rather low, so many of them were dissatisfied and wanted to change that,¡± Yan Xuehen suddenly said with a serious expression. ¡°They do not stand as aloof from worldly affairs as the Freedom Path. Their faction seems to be bing stranger and stranger now. Regardless of whether it is their way of thinking or their cultivation, they are strange and difficult to defend against. You need to be careful. You cannot let yourself be caught off guard.¡±

    When he saw how serious she was being, Zu An didn¡¯t dare to act carelessly. He asked, ¡°Where does the strangeness of their methods lie?¡±

    ¡°I do not know exactly, as I have not faced them directly. However, there are some from the sect who have fought them. I heard that they did not even know how the enemy attacked before they perished. That is why all those who met them all stated that they did not wish to meet those people ever again for the rest of their lives,¡± Yan Xuehen said. Her tone even made the room itself seem to be a bit colder.

 Chapter 1986: Unease

    Chapter 1986: Unease

    Zu An thought back to how he had been trapped in a strange ¡®theater world¡¯ in the secret dungeon. The other side clearly hadn''t been that strong, and yet it had made his entire party feelpletely powerless. They had almost beenpletely wiped out. On the other hand, that had ended up inadvertently pulling his rtionship with Jing Teng closer.

    If those from the Devil Sect¡¯s Pear Path had simr skills, they would indeed be a bit tricky to deal with.

    Just then, Yan Xuehen said, ¡°Of course, with your current cultivation, as long as you are on guard, no matter how dangerous the Devil Sect general headquarters are, it should pose no threat to you.¡±

    ¡°Master, he¡¯ll get too arrogant if you talk like that!¡± Chu Chuyan protested while clinging to Yan Xuehen¡¯s arm. She was normally also just as cold in terms of personality; only when she was around her master did she act a bit spoiled.

    Yan Xuehen looked at Zu An with aplicated expression and said, ¡°This guy is a monster of his own, and his cultivation speed ispletely unprecedented in history. I am just telling the truth too. As long as he is careful of schemes, he can go wherever he wishes in this world.¡±

    Zu An looked at her and said, ¡°That may not be true. For one, I wouldn¡¯t dare to go to the White Jade Sect to propose marriage.¡±

    ¡°Ah Zu~¡± Chu Chuyan said reproachfully, thinking, Why is he talking about that in front of master? Even though the two had been married before, they didn¡¯t have anything like that binding them together now. She wondered whether to properly establish their rtionship again.

    Meanwhile, Yan Xuehen¡¯s heart began to beat furiously.

    This kid is way too daring! He actually dares to say something like that in front of Chuyan? Just thinking about him running all the way to the White Jade Sect to propose marriage to me is utterly embarrassing! How would the people of the world view me then? How would Chuyan see me?

    She quickly shot Zu An a look and said, ¡°Alright, I already told you everything you need to know, so I¡¯m turning off the recording mirror. Our White Jade Sect isn¡¯t as extravagant as your side to the point that we can randomly squander ki stones.¡±

    ¡°Wait, no!¡± Zu An quickly shouted, ¡°You still haven¡¯t told me where the Lake of Hatred is!¡±

    Yan Xuehen could only stop her hand and say, ¡°I can only tell you an approximate location. Those from the Secret Path have set up a special formation there, so no one can find the real location. However, I believe that with your abilities, you will definitely have a way of finding it.¡±

    Then, she let her disciple say some things to Zu An while she drew up a map off to the side.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s face reddened. With her master next to her, there were many things that she was too embarrassed to say.

    When he looked at her beautiful face, Zu An couldn''t help but say with a sigh, ¡°Chuyan, you¡¯ve lost weight.¡±

    ¡°Did I?¡± Chu Chuyan replied as she reflexively touched her cheeks. ¡°I thought I gained weight.¡±

    Zu An sighed, saying, ¡°I thought that you would say it was because you missed me so much you lost your appetite, and thus lost weight.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re so annoying~¡± Chu Chuyan replied with a blush. She was frightened and snuck a look at her master. When she saw that she seemed to be focused on her drawing and didn¡¯t hear anything, she sighed in relief.

    However, who would have thought that Yan Xuehen, who had her ears perked up the entire time, was actually cursing Zu An for being shameless?

    This must be how this kid always fools those youngdies. Those women really are fools too; they just like this style of his.

    Yet when she thought about it deeper, she was suddenly stunned. Even a grown woman like her seemed to have fallen for these tricks of his¡­

    The two sweethearts continued to go back and forth. Yan Xuehen felt stranger and stranger as she continued to draw on the side. Soon after, the map was finished and she brought it up to the mirror, saying, ¡°Take a quick look. I really can¡¯t handle the ki stone consumption on my side otherwise.¡±

    Zu An put away his teasing mood and looked carefully at the map. From time to time, he asked about the meanings of the markings, and Yan Xuehen actually exined them all to him in detail. Zu An made sure to remember everything.

    When it was time to say goodbye, he saw the bit of reluctance on Chu Chuyan¡¯s face and saw that she still wanted to continue talking. He said gently, ¡°I¡¯ve recently been researching a kind ofmunication jade strip that consumes far fewer ki stones than the recording mirror. We can chat for much longer that way.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Chu Chuyan eximed in surprise and happiness.

    ¡°There is actually something that incredible?¡± Yan Xuehen remarked, more concerned with the huge changes this would bring to the world of cultivation.

    This guy should give me one of them too, right? Hmph, if he only gives Chuyan one, I won¡¯t ever pay him any more attention again.

    Even so, how should I exin things to Chuyan if he really gives me one? After all, in the eyes of other people, there¡¯s not much for me and him to talk about.

    Ahhh! This is so annoying!

    ¡°Of course it¡¯s real. The Baopu Sutra described a simr device, but some of the materials are now missing, which is why the device we¡¯ve made still carries all sorts of ws. Once I¡¯ve dealt with the issue of distance, I¡¯ll give them to you guys,¡± Zu An said.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s heart beat frantically.

    Are you kidding me? You''re saying that you¡¯ll give it to us out loud?

    Fortunately, Chu Chuyan didn¡¯t notice anything strange. Instead, her eyes were glistening brightly as she said, ¡°I¡¯m really looking forward to that day!¡±

    ¡­

    In the end, they had to end the call. Zu An was using the court¡¯s resources, but the White Jade Sect couldn''t tolerate this level of expenditure.

    When the call finished, after thinking to himself for a bit, Zu An dialed Jadefall Pce¡¯s recording mirror. After all, Pei Mianman was cultivating at Jadefall Pce and didn''t have her own recording mirror. He could only reach her that way.

    The surface of the recording mirror rippled. Soon after, Wan Tongtian and Elder Huo Ling appeared with serious expressions.

    Zu An was stunned. When these two were sitting upright together, they did look like a couple. Wan Tongtian¡¯s wife really has green all above her head¡­

    When they saw that it was him, Elder Huo Ling¡¯s expression changed. She eximed, ¡°It¡¯s you? What do you need from us?¡± She just felt that this guy had ulterior motives with her precious disciple, which was why she was really guarded against Zu An.

    ¡°Help me call for Manman. I have something to tell her,¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°Hmph, what are you treating this pce as? The recording mirror cannot be used except for absolutely urgent matters, and yet you''re using it to privately contact a youngdy you¡¯re chasing?¡± Elder Huo Ling eximed furiously.

    Zu An frowned and said coldly, ¡°Of course I have something of utmost importance to talk about, and it is rted to the very survival of your Jadefall Pce. I wanted to tell all of you together, but seeing as you have this attitude, I¡¯ve decided to just tell Manman alone. You can ask her after."

    ¡°Kid, are you messing with us?¡± Elder Huo Ling erupted like a firecracker, springing up from her chair.

    Zu An retorted with a scowl, ¡°Could it be that you do not understand just who you are talking to right now?¡±

    Elder Huo Ling was about to say something else when Wan Tongtian immediately grabbed her. He cupped his hands toward Zu An and said, ¡°Regent, please forgive our error. My junior sister has always had this temper; she didn¡¯t intentionally try to offend you.¡±

    Elder Huo Ling¡¯s expression changed a bit. It was only now that she remembered the information she had recently obtained. In the end, the fact that Zu An had be a regent at such a young age and even killed an earth immortal in the capital really was absolutely ridiculous, so she subconsciously still treated him as part of the younger generation. She was worried that he would treat Manman badly, which was why her reaction was a bit intense.

    ¡°Out of favor for Manman, of course I won¡¯t make a big deal out of this,¡± Zu An said calmly. ¡°Can you call her over now?¡±

    ¡°Okay, we will contact her now,¡± Wan Tongtian said as he quickly brought Elder Huo Ling away.

    When they left the room, Elder Huo Ling remarked unhappily, ¡°Senior brother, aren¡¯t you lowering yourself a bit too much?¡±

    ¡°That guy can even kill an earth immortal, so shouldn¡¯t we treat him with at least a bit of respect?¡± Wan Tongtian replied, worried that she would start something else; he immediately tried to calm her down.

    ¡°The whole thing just feels a bit ridiculous somehow. It might just be that because Zhao Han died, in order to appease the masses, the court wanted to create the image of a strong figure again.¡± Elder Huo Ling harrumphed. ¡°It¡¯s not as if you didn¡¯t see him fight on Violet Mountain.¡±

    Wan Tongtian thought to himself for a bit. At the time, the strength Zu An had disyed was great, but he was still too far off from being able to instantly kill an earth immortal. Still, he said, ¡°Well, either way, the fact that he is the regent cannot be faked. His use of the court¡¯s recording mirror is proof itself. Let¡¯s not offend him for now and see what he¡¯ll say to Manman first.¡±

    ¡°What else could he say to her? Isn¡¯t it just a young man trying to show off in front of a pretty youngdy after suddenly rising in status?¡± Elder Huo Ling grumbled. ¡°It really is ridiculous; he¡¯s actually using the court¡¯s public device to chase after women, and yet our Jadefall Pce can only y along.¡±

    Wan Tongtian couldn''t help but say with a sigh, ¡°Which man wouldn¡¯t want to be able to do something like that? Unfortunately, many of those who have the ability to do that are already too old. They no longer have the hot-bloodedness of youth.¡±

    ¡°You better not copy him. I don¡¯t like this kind of stuff.¡± As she spoke, Elder Huo Ling thought back to their youth. Her expression eased up a bit.

    Soon after, Pei Mianman rushed over after hearing the news, saying, ¡°I pay my respects to the pce lord and master!¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Elder Huo Ling nodded. ¡°That Zu kid is calling you from the recording mirror, so go and talk to him. Then, tell me everything he tells you word for word. You cannot let that brat¡¯s flowery speech fool you!¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± When she heard that it was Zu An calling her, Pei Mianman became incredibly happy, but when she thought about how they were going to use the sect¡¯s recording mirror to chat, she couldn''t help but blush. Also, how could she tell them about her private conversation with Zu An?

    When he saw her expression, Wan Tongtian knew that she was overthinking things. He quickly exined, ¡°Zu An said that there are some important matters that are rted to the very existence of our sect but didn¡¯t permit us to listen. It¡¯s enough as long as you share what you heard about on this matter with us.¡±

    He couldn''t help but re at Elder Huo Ling as he spoke. Judging from Manman¡¯s expression, it seems her rtionship with Zu An is quite special, and yet junior sister just keeps ying the viin.

    ¡°Understood!¡± Pei Mianman replied; she was also shocked. She quickly entered the room.

    When he saw the door close, Wan Tongtian said, ¡°I really would prefer it if he were lying to us.¡±

    Elder Huo Ling was about to retort, but she suddenly realized that if this matter was rted to the existence of Jadefall Pce, it wouldn''t be a good thing at all.

    The two of them looked at the closed entrance. A bit of unease immediately filled the room.

 Chapter 1987: You Will Go

    <h4>Chapter 1987: You Will Go</h4>

    Pei Mianman ran into the room with a reddened face. When she saw the face she yearned for day and night in the floating recording mirror, the corners of her lips moved and she pouted coquettishly, saying, ¡°Ah Zu, this is Jadefall Pce¡¯s recording mirror! It¡¯ll alert the entire sect whenever you use it, so how can you use something like this just to talk to me?¡± Even though she was always more enthusiastic and took the initiative, when it came to talking to her sweetheart in front of her elders and letting everyone in the sect know, she wanted to crawl into a hole and hide out of embarrassment.

    When he saw this rare instance of bashfulness from Pei Mianman, Zu An found it quite adorable. His mood improved considerably as he replied, ¡°I missed you. How can I worry about anything else?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re so annoying~¡± Pei Mianman eximed. Even though she was a bit embarrassed, she still found her sweetheart¡¯s words sweet. A bit of charm returned to her eyes.

    ¡°Hm? Your cultivation seems to have increased quite a bit,¡± Zu An said with a bit of shock. He could sense a tangible intent from the other party¡¯s body. This seemed to be a unique threshold that was only possible after reaching a certain point in one¡¯s cultivation.

    Sure enough, Pei Mianman raised her chin proudly and replied, ¡°That¡¯s right! I¡¯ve already broken into the master rank, you know? And I¡¯ve even reached the essence mortal soul stage!¡±

    ¡°That quickly?¡± Zu An eximed. Even he was a bit surprised. Previously, when he had seen her at Violet Mountain, she was only around the middle of the ninth rank. Now, she had immediately risen by two major cultivation ranks!

    ¡°But of course. I was able to absorb so much natural ki in the Yinxu secret dungeon back then, which helped my cultivation a lot. Then, I obtained the Paramita Flower in the daoists¡¯ secret dungeon, which also helped very much. Once I came back and focused on my cultivation, I felt myself progressing much faster," Pei Mianman said as she looked deeply at the man in the mirror.

    <i>You¡¯re so amazing already. If I don¡¯t work hard too, won¡¯t we just end up growing further and further apart from each other?</i>

    Zu An thought for a bit, then warned her, ¡°The essence mortal soul stage stresses refining the essence and transforming the ki, so as to prevent a cultivator from being consumed by various desires. However, during the process, all sorts of heart demons might form, so it is extremely dangerous. You absolutely must be careful.¡±

    Pei Mianman replied with a smile, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, are you scared that I might go looking for other men?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression darkened. This woman really was a bit too forward. These weren¡¯t words other youngdies would dare to say.

    Pei Mianman burst out intoughter and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I have my master watching over me. Do you know how strict she''s been all this time? That¡¯s why she reacted so strongly when you came looking for me.¡± N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°It looks like I¡¯ve misunderstood your master,¡± Zu An said, stunned. He had thought that the other woman was trying to break them up, and that was why she was being so aggressive.

    ¡°Hmph, besides, even if master weren¡¯t watching over me, what would even happen to me? After having a man like you, I don¡¯t think there¡¯s another who would ever catch my eye,¡± Pei Mianman said with a charming smile.

    Zu An nodded and said, ¡°You can send more praises like that my way.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, shameless~¡± Pei Mianman protested yfully. ¡°Right, between me and Chuyan, whose cultivation is higher now?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s around the same level too,¡± Zu An replied. When he chatted with her through the recording mirror earlier, he had also found out Chu Chuyan¡¯s cultivation rank. The techniques she cultivated, whether they were the Unshakable Daoist Manual or the Snowke Sword, were both extremely cold techniques that were good at restricting the negative aspects of this cultivation rank. That was why he didn¡¯t feel a need to worry about her too much.

    ¡°You called Chuyan first after all before you came looking for me.¡± Pei Mianman harrumphed. She didn¡¯t look happy.

    Zu An was speechless. How could he have predicted that she was setting up a trap for him to jump into?! It turned out this youngdy didn¡¯t care about Chu Chuyan¡¯s cultivation rank at all, and just wanted to know if he had already contacted her.

    Zu An was sweating buckets. He could only chuckle awkwardly and change the topic. ¡°Ahem, I''m actually contacting you through the court¡¯s recording mirror this time. Apart from checking on how you''re doing, I need to tell you about some important matters that concern the safety of the entire world...¡±

    Then, he gave her a rough summary of the monsters'' invasion. He also warned her about how to deal with several kinds of monsters.

    As she listened, Pei Mianman¡¯s expression changed greatly. She couldn''t be bothered with jealousy at all anymore.

    ¡°I also already talked to Guan Chouhai. I''m sure he''lle to Jadefall Pce to discuss this with you soon. However, before then, you need to be careful. You absolutely can''t let those monsters take advantage of you,¡± Zu An warned.

    ¡°Fine.¡± Pei Mianman gradually calmed down. After all, she had already experienced several secret dungeons with Zu An and seen all kinds of things, so it was easier for her to ept different things. She said, ¡°Ah Zu, you have to be careful too. You''re definitely the most important target those monsters are eyeing right now.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I''m actually hoping for them toe for revenge as early as possible. That way, I can start getting rid of them one by one,¡± Zu An replied.

    Despite what he said, though, he was a bit worried. If they came right now, with this very world¡¯s natural barrier weakening their strength, he likely wouldn''t be scared. However, if they went into hiding and waited until the world¡¯s barrierpletely dissolved, then arrived in their strongest state, would he really be able to defeat them? More importantly, the intelligence the patrols had brought back showed that there were no other powerful monsters invading. It seemed that the second possibility was most likely.

    ¡°Ah Zu is so amazing!¡± Pei Mianman eximed. She showed a big smile, then said, ¡°I''ll cultivate well too. That way, I¡¯ll be able to fight side by side with you!¡±

    Her first impulse was to run over to his side. They didn¡¯t even know how much time they all had left. Spending that time with her lover was better than anything else. However, she quickly abandoned that thought. Only by bing stronger herself would she be helpful to Ah Zu.

    The two of them exchanged some more words of love before reluctantly turning off the recording mirror.

    ...

    When they saw Pei Mianmane back out, Wan Tongtian immediately asked, ¡°Just what kind of existential affair did he talk about?¡±

    Elder Huo Ling said with a sneer, ¡°Isn¡¯t it all just to fool a youngdy? What kind of huge affair could there be?¡±

    Pei Mianman sighed and said, ¡°Master, there really was something...¡±

    As the two listened to her talk about the things she had heard from Zu An one by one, both of them almost jumped in rm.

    ...

    Meanwhile, Zu An dialed Yu Yanluo¡¯s recording mirror. Soon, a devastatingly beautiful face appeared in the mirror.

    ¡°It¡¯s been so long. Did you finally remember to talk to me?¡± Yu Yanluo remarked. She had been sitting upright and still, thinking that the court was contacting her, but when she saw her lover, a big smile filled her face.

    Zu An could only tell her about how impoverished he had be from his pill refinement.

    ¡°Impoverished?¡± Yu Yanluo repeated, raising a brow. ¡°It seems my suspicions weren¡¯t off after all. Judging from the time, it should almost be there.¡±

    ¡°What''s almost here?¡± Zu An asked, stunned.

    ¡°I suspected that your expenses on that side could be strained, so I had someone deliver a few ki stones to the capital. I reckon they''ll arrive in a few days,¡± Yu Yanluo said with a warm smile.

    Zu An was speechless. Yu Yanluo was from one of the wealthiest ns in the world. Even if she said it was just a little bit, how could it really be a little bit? He looked at her with aplicated expression and said, ¡°It looks like I¡¯m really a moocher through and through.¡± Just how many times now had women taken the initiative to give him stuff?

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s beautiful brows rose slightly. She asked, ¡°What did your other women give you?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not like that! Who in this world canpare to a sugar momma like you?¡± Zu An replied. He didn¡¯t dare to speak the truth and changed the topic out of guilt. ¡°By the way, are you able to mobilize your resources on the human side now?¡±

    Yu Yanluo replied, with a smile, ¡°Did you forget? After your status climbed higher and higher in the court, you sent people over a few times. The Yu n''s frozen industries were gradually restored. Even though we haven¡¯t reached our peak, we¡¯ve more or less recovered.¡±

    Zu An sighed in relief and said, ¡°I was worried that those people would covet the Yu n¡¯s mines and that they wouldn¡¯t be willing to let go.¡±

    ¡°Who would dare to offend you right now, my regent?¡± Yu Yanluo replied, a hint of astonishment appearing on her face. ¡°I really didn¡¯t expect you to concurrently be the regent of both the Fiend and human sides. Furthermore, you were able to even kill an earth immortal in the capital. Everything is going well for you right now; who would dare to be such a fool in this situation?¡±

    Zu An was stunned, asking, ¡°You¡¯ve even received news of it on your side already?¡±

    Yu Yanluo shook her head slightly, saying, ¡°Others might not have received news so quickly, but I¡¯ve always collected information about you, you know?¡±

    Zu An felt warm inside, saying, ¡°Yanluo...¡±

    Yu Yanluo opened her mouth, but in the end, she only quietly said, ¡°I miss you...¡±

    Zu An felt something stir within him. He really wanted to rush over to her side. However, he quickly calmed down and said, ¡°If it were any other time, I would definitely go over to look for you, but something major happened. I called you to let you know...¡± He then told her about the monsters¡¯ invasion.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression changed. She asked, ¡°Is this world going to be destroyed?¡±

    Zu An replied with a smile, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I''ll take care of it!¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s eyes were filled with worry. She said, ¡°Then you have to be careful! I''ll find a ce to settle all of my nsmen here, and then I¡¯lle back to look for you.¡±

    ¡°It isn¡¯t too easy for those monsters to injure me, so I''m actually more worried about you. Also, please warn those around you,¡± Zu An said.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. For better or for worse, I am the Medusa Queen and thete libationer¡¯s personal disciple. How could I be so easily dealt with?¡± Yu Yanluo replied; she gradually calmed down. ¡°By the way, Qing¡¯er and Bai¡¯er seem to miss you quite a bit and are always asking about you. Did you do something to the two of them?¡±

    ¡°What could I have done to them?¡± Zu An replied, feeling a bit stirred. He recalled the unique warmth of the Snake race.

    ...

    Meanwhile, at the same time, inside an Embroidered Envoy secret courtyard, a ck-d figure was sizing up the tall and slender woman in front of him. He clicked his tongue and said, ¡°What long legs. Even I¡¯m starting to feel envious.¡±

    Zhang Zitong didn¡¯t reply. She looked at the guards copsed around her, then stared at the ck-d figure in front of her vigntly again.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, they¡¯re only unconscious. I didn¡¯t take their lives. I didn¡¯t expect you to have actually considered them your colleagues," the figure said.

    Zhang Zitong finally released a slight sigh of relief. After Yi Commandery¡¯s events were exposed, Sir Eleven had locked her up here alone. He hadn''t killed her, but he hadn¡¯t let her go either. She had been in this courtyard ever since. She had never tried to escape either. That was, until this fellow barged in.

    She asked with a cold snort, ¡°Why are you here?¡±

    ¡°I need your help with something,¡± the ck-d figure said quietly.

    ¡°Why should I help you? Everything between us has already been settled.¡± Zhang Zitong harrumphed.

    ¡°No, you will go, because that person will also go...¡± the ck-d figure said, then slowly exined the situation. Sure enough, Zhang Zitong¡¯s expression changed.

 Chapter 1988: Concealed Town

    <h4>Chapter 1988: Concealed Town</h4>

    In the end, Zhang Zitong nodded and said, ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll be even once I finish this task.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s talk after you finish it. It isn''t that easy to handle,¡± the ck-d figure said with a chuckle. With a wave of his hand, he disappeared outside the wall.

    Zhang Zitong inspected the guards around her. When she was certain that they were only unconscious, she hurriedly followed.

    ...

    Meanwhile, Zu An finished talking to Yu Yanluo. He then dialed Shang Liuyu¡¯s recording mirror without stopping to rest.

    When the surface of the recording mirror rippled, he muttered to himself, ¡°Doing this does seem a bit trashy...¡±

    ¡°What is trashy?¡± Shang Liuyu asked with augh. Her voice was as beautiful as that of a yellow oriole. At the same time, there was a special rxing quality to it.

    Zu An¡¯s face heated up as he said, ¡°It¡¯s nothing. It¡¯s been a long time, big sis Shang. You¡¯ve be more and more beautiful.¡±

    Shang Liuyu was hugging her knees and sitting on a giant pearl shell. He really wondered if that was a bed or a seat. Her feet, which were always bare, were always the focal point that drew everyone¡¯s attention.

    Shang Liuyu said with a gentle smile, ¡°You immediately start with smooth-talking ady; now I think I have a good idea of what you meant by trashy.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face heated up, but he quicklyined, ¡°I¡¯m being wronged here! Those were my sincere thoughts...¡±

    ¡°It''s because they are sincere and you blurted them out that it¡¯s trashy,¡± Shang Liuyu said, looking at him calmly. Her eyes that sparkled like starlight were covered in ayer of ocean blue. It seemed she had returned to her usual self now that she was no longer on the human side.

    Zu An couldn''t handle her pure gaze that seemed to be able to see right through him. He quickly asked, ¡°Big sis Shang, are you still on the Ocean races'' side?¡±

    ¡°Yup. Now that I think about it, you actually gave me quite the headache recently.¡± Shang Liuyu suddenly clutched her forehead and spoke in a slightly vexed manner.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Zu An asked, stunned. He thought to himself, <i>Is there something else that involves the Ocean races?</i>

    ¡°What else could it be but the golden dragon you killedst time?¡± Shang Liuyu replied in annoyance. ¡°That matter caused quite the disturbance in the Dragon race, and many people were moring to get revenge on you. After all, how could we just ignore it when a member of the Dragon race''s noble bloodline was killed?¡±

    Zu An was startled. He said, ¡°Back then, the Dragon King appeared over the capital by casting his projection, but he didn¡¯t attack. Looking back, it was probably because of big sis Shang that he did that, right?¡±

    ¡°And you still have the nerve to talk about it,¡± Shang Liuyu said in annoyance. ¡°The Dragon King asked me if you were my good friend, so of course I had to say yes.¡±

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°We are good friends though.¡±

    ¡°If only it was as simple as you¡¯re making it out to be! If we were just friends, the Dragon Race¡¯s stubborn old freaks wouldn¡¯t just let it go...¡± Shang Liuyu trailed off as her face reddened. ¡°Forget it, this matter is all because of that damn Chi Wen shooting his mouth off randomly.¡±

    ¡°What did he say?¡± Zu An asked. He thought to himself that Shang Liuyu had helped him give that brat a proper beating. Many of his heaven-grade weapons were actually from Chi Wen.

    <i>Right, I wonder if he really soaked that ¡®blue ice¡¯ he got from me in water to drink yet. Should I tell him that it¡¯s used by aircraft to process shit...</i>

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I''ll take care of it,¡± Shang Liuyu said; her expression became a bit unnatural.

    Zu An felt a bit strange, but he didn¡¯t think too much of it. Then, he told her about the invasion of the monsters from the other world. He also warned her, ¡°You have to be careful. You cannot be careless and let those monsters scheme against you.¡±

    ¡°No wonder a huge spatial rift appeared here on our side side. Fortunately, we¡¯ve already sealed it up. It seems I still have to warn them and make some proper arrangements, or else some monsters might still manage to sneak their way in,¡± Shang Liuyu said, startled. She stood up, no longer as calm as she initially looked.

    ¡°I¡¯ll have to trouble big sis Shang,¡± Zu An said, although he didn¡¯t take up more of her time.

    The reason he had told her, apart from the fact that she was an old acquaintance, was because he hoped she could contact the Ocean races for him. Otherwise, no matter how well he defended thend, it would all be over if the monsters sessfully infiltrated through the sea.

    ...

    After calling everyone important to him, Zu An came out from the room. When he saw the pained and somewhat warped expression of the official guarding the room, he couldn''t help but say with a chuckle, ¡°I''ll replenish the resources after. I won¡¯t trouble you too much.¡±

    The official hurriedly bowed in respect, saying, ¡°Thank you, regent!¡±

    After how long Zu An had spent using the recording mirror, the ki stones in storage were about to bepletely used up. If he just walked away like this, that would create a huge amount of trouble.

    When he saw the situation, Zu An¡¯s resolve to research a recording mirror recement became even stronger. If even the country itself couldn''t bear this expenditure, it was clear just how inconvenient it was.

    Then, he said his goodbyes to the women around him. Not being able to contact Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei was making him really worried.

    The empress dowager Liu Ning and the current empress Bi Linglong were both reluctant to see him go, but Zu An had already told them that he had to leave the capital, so they were already prepared for his decision. They knew he had something important to take care of. They even asked him if he needed any help.

    Zu An refused their good intentions. It could be bad if too many people got involved in this affair.

    ...

    He arrived at the Embroidery House to look into some information regarding the Devil Sect, but it wasn¡¯t as detailed as the information Yan Xuehen had given him. He realized that it was because Yan Xuehen was a sect master who had inherited the knowledge of the entire ancient White Jade Sect, which was why she knew so much.

    Even though their rtionship with the court wasn¡¯t bad, both sides were still somewhat on guard against each other. The sect hadn¡¯t offered up that intelligence to the court. Only someone like him could make her do so. He couldn''t help but feel warm inside when he thought of that.

    ...

    After leaving the pce, Zu An returned to Mount Yuquan. He tasked Yan Xiangu to help him lead the academy while he was away, along with all the other teachers.

    Only then did he reluctantly say goodbye to all of the youngdies, who were also really reluctant. They actually wanted to be with him, but they all had some misgivings as they looked at each other.

    It was Ji Xiaoxi whose thoughts were the purest. She asked, ¡°Big brother Zu, can I go with you? The Lake of Hatred has many rare medicines that I''ve never picked before.¡±

    When he saw herrge and adorable eyes, Zu An was moved, but before he could even say anything, Ji Dengtu jumped out and said, ¡°No way! There might be monsters everywhere right now. Did you already forget about what happened all because you went out to pick medicine earlier? Did you already forget that lesson?¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi grumbled softly, ¡°But I''d have big brother Zu this time...¡±

    Ji Dengtu immediately retorted, ¡°It''s precisely because he¡¯s there that it would be even more dangerous!¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi was stunned. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An was speechless. He cleared his throat and said, ¡°Uh... Xiaoxi, the matter I need to take care of this time is a bit dangerous, so I might not be able to take care of you. I¡¯ll bring you out to pick medicine when there¡¯s a chance in the future.¡±

    ¡°Oh, okay then,¡± Ji Xiaoxi said, and the light in her eyes dimmed.

    Zu An trembled when he saw her disappointed expression, thinking, <i>Just how is this girl so adorable?</i>

    He quickly took out amunication jade strip and gave it to her, saying, ¡°This thing is like a simplified recording mirror. You can use it to chat with me.¡±

    When he visited Shen Xuzi, he had discovered that the previous model was already modified a bit, and it now ensured that messages could be received regardless of the distance. The only issue was that the farther away one was, the slower it would take for the message to arrive, possibly taking a week to even half a month, making it unsuitable for transmitting important information. When used for normal conversation, it was barely passable.

    ¡°Really?!¡± Ji Xiaoxi cried; her eyes immediately lit up again. She instantly fell in love with it.

    Ji Dengtu, standing off to the side, was experiencing all sorts of emotions.

    <i>I can¡¯t let Xiaoxi have this thing, or else wouldn''t this brat be able to seduce my precious daughter any time he wants?</i>

    <i>...</i>

    After teaching her how to use it, Zu An rushed straight into the air, heading in the Lake of Hatred¡¯s direction.

    Many people from various ns sighed in relief when they saw him leave. Ever since the Meng n affair, Zu An alone had be like a boulder that weighed on their minds. Now that he had left the capital, they would at least be able to return to their usual life. At the same time, they all sent people to look into why Zu An had left and when he would return.

    Meanwhile, immediately after he rose into the air, Zu An took out the Wind Fire Wheels. Even though he didn¡¯t know where exactly the Lake of Hatred was located, he knew that it was hidden within the Mountain of Hatred¡¯s mountain range.

    He was worried about Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei¡¯s safety, so he didn¡¯t even dare to stop for a bit of rest. Fortunately, with his current cultivation, it wasn¡¯t too big of a deal. Furthermore, the Wind Fire Wheels were extremely efficient at long journeys.

    After several days of hurrying along, he finally arrived at a vast and lush mountain range. He saw towering mountains with clouds that lingered around their peaks. There were trees that reached into the skies everywhere, as well as a vast swath of thorny undergrowth. Vines practically covered the earth, and from time to time, some terrifying beasts hidden within them made their move. Forget about ordinary people, even cultivators couldn''t do much here.

    Zu An sighed in amazement. Trying to find the Devil Sect¡¯s headquarters in this huge mountain range really was like finding a needle in a haystack. Fortunately, he had Yan Xuehen¡¯s intelligence. Even though she didn¡¯t know the exact location, she had drawn out several possible locations. That already greatly reduced his workload.

    Zu An moved through the mountain on the Wind Fire Wheels. He quickly found several hidden regions on the map and eliminated the possibilities one by one. When he arrived at thest ce, he suddenly stopped, eximing, ¡°Something isn¡¯t right with these mountains!¡±

    As he scanned his surroundings, his eyes shone brightly. Not even Zhao Han would likely have been been able to tell that something was off, but he was proficient in ¡®One Drop of Heaven¡¯s Essence¡¯, a manual that exined the study of geomancy. Together with his formation knowledge from the Baopu Sutra, he keenly sensed that this mountain¡¯s appearance was a bit unnatural. Even though someone had deliberately tried to conceal it, he hade prepared, so he naturally wouldn¡¯t let these suspicions go.

    He quietlynded in the distance. Then, he took out a formation disc and fiddled with it. Several small gs flew around in all directions, and after that, the formation disc in his hands surged with light.

    Then, he took out a talisman and brought it over his eyes. Two streaks of golden light erupted, and the forest before him instantly vanished. In its ce was a bustling and lively market!

 Chapter 1989: Luck With Women

    <h4>Chapter 1989: Luck With Women</h4>

    The ce was even livelier than the proper towns Zu An had flew past on the way here. The streets were lined with bluestone, and there were all kinds of shops on either side, including a cksmith and an alchemy shop, as well as tea and wine stores. There were even more stores that were tightly shut with people doing who knew what inside.

    In the distance were some dazzling and splendid buildings. Compared to the simple and crude buildings nearby, they were clearly of an entirely different style. Zu An was startled. Could that be the Devil Sect¡¯s general headquarters? But if that was the case, why was this ce called the Lake of Hatred?

    He examined his surroundings. There were people dressed in bizarre outfits everywhere in the small town, and each individual had a trace of toughness in their eyes. These were clearly people who normally lived bloody lives. There were also many people who wore cloaks or face covers, which was definitely to hide their identities.

    Apart from that, rather than calling the ce a small town, it was more like a market. There were stalls set up all overe, and many passersby often squatteddown to haggle with the sellers.

    <i>A ck market?</i> That term suddenly appeared in Zu An¡¯s mind. He was a bit confused. This ce didn¡¯t seem like the glorious Devil Sect''s general headquarters. If he had known things would be like this, he would have asked for a bit more info from Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei.

    After thinking about it, he took out a mask and put it on. His appearance quickly became that of an ordinary person on the street. When he thought of the paintings circting throughout the capital, he was worried that he would be recognized instantly. Even though quite a few people in this town were masked and cloaked, there could be certain ces where they¡¯d be asked to remove those coverings. This way was still safer.

    At any other time, with his current cultivation, there would be no need for him to hide himself. However, even someone like Yun Jianyue could be in danger, so if he strutted right in, it could make things worse. After all, he hade here to save people and not to show off.

    After he changed his outfit, he quickly entered the marketce. When he passed through the entrance, he clearly sensed that he had gone through a thin barrier. It was as if something had scanned his body. However, the formation disc in his pockets moved slightly topletely neutralize the scanning waves.

    There were several individuals who seemed to be guards at the entrance. They gave him a nce, then returned to chewing on their roasted seeds and their conversations. Zu An sighed in relief. It seemed that everyone who coulde here had a token-like object to pass the formation, so these guards weren¡¯t so vignt. After some hesitation, he decided against capturing them for interrogation. This was a town entrance, after all, so doing something here would immediately draw unwanted attention. He decided to scout out the situation a bit first.

    He continued along the bluestone path and noticed that people maintained a set distance from each other. There was no chance of them brushing shoulders or anything like that. It seemed the Devil Sect was still the Devil Sect in the end. They were quite guarded against each other.

    Along the way, he noticed that many booths were selling rare ores or other medicinal herbs. Many of them were things that were normally quite hard to find. At a nce, he noticed several impressive medicinal ingredients. If it weren¡¯t because he was more concerned with Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei, he would likely spend some more time here fishing for treasure.

    As he continued inside, Zu An noticed that many of the stalls even sold magic weapons. There were assorted treasures used for attack, defense, and support. His sharp eyes even noticed quite a few weapons had some ck marks on them.

    They were dried blood! It seemed the origins of these items weren¡¯t that glorious.

    He looked at therge and tall buildings, thinking, <i>Those are the only ces that look like they could be the Devil Sect¡¯s general headquarters.</i>

    However, he didn¡¯t seem to have noticed many guards. Was the Devil Sect really just that careless? Combined with this ce that was as noisy as a marketce, it really didn¡¯t seem to resemble the Devil Sect general headquarters he imagined.

    <i>Should I find someone to ask about things?</i>

    He looked around. Everyone present maintained a safe distance from each other. Even so, with his cultivation, it wasn¡¯t a problem.

    He was about to find some unlucky guy when he suddenly noticed something. He saw two people quickly approach him from either side.

    ¡°This is quite surprising. Everyone else seems to be avoiding each other, and yet the two of you seem to be enthusiasticallying to me,¡± Zu An remarked. His first reaction was to think he had been exposed, but he quickly realized that these two were likely just thieves. It seemed that one of them had been about to pretend to bump into him, while the other would rob him of his possessions.

    In any event, he had just been looking for someone to question, so he¡¯d start with these two.

    Suddenly, a woman called out, ¡°Be more careful! You almost bumped into someone!¡±

    Zu An frowned. <i>Why is she here? </i>Even though he didn¡¯t turn around, with his divine sense, he obviously immediately recognized her.

    The two thieves who had already reached out their hands were frightened and quickly retracted their hands. They were furious and were just about to turn around to see who it was to teach them a lesson, but when they saw who it was, they both blew out a catcall.

    ¡°Who do we have here? You¡¯re quite pretty, littledy.¡±

    Not only was she pretty, her fair and long legs were incredibly alluring. The two wondered just how amazing it would feel if they could get between them.

    Zu An turned around, pretending to be surprised as he looked at them. The two thieves had quite the forgettable faces, so he naturally overlooked them.

    As the woman stood between them, she really resembled a crane among a flock of chickens. It was Zhang Zitong! n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    She was a silver token envoy who had previously been detained under house arrest. Why was she here? Could it be that the one backing her was none other than the Devil Sect? However, that couldn''t be! If that were the case, how could Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei not have told him about it?

    <i>Bang!</i>

    Just like that, the two thieves were instantly kicked flying. Zhang Zitong¡¯s mood was definitely not good, and she had no patience for the two¡¯s wretched expressions.

    The noisy street immediately became quiet, but a momentter, it returned to its usual liveliness. This kind of thing seemed to happen quite often in these parts, and it was something they were used to seeing. Many eyes did dart toward Zhang Zitong¡¯s legs, however.

    <i>Just where did this long-legged beautye from?</i>

    <i>They really are freaking hot!</i>

    Even so, judging from how she fought, her cultivation seemed quite high. In the end, none of them dared to act rashly.

    ¡°You... Do you know who you¡¯ve offended?¡± the two thieves called out as they climbed to their feet with reddened faces. They were shocked and furious as they pointed at Zhang Zitong.

    ¡°Was that not enough of a beating for you?¡± Zhang Zitong retorted. She was in a really bad mood. She had been under house arrest to begin with, waiting for Sir Eleven to eventually let her out, and yet she wasbroken out by that person and forced to make a trip here.

    She just happened to have seen these two trying tomit robbery, and her upational disease made her unable to help but instinctively act out. To be honest, she was feeling a bit of regret now. She was a neer to this ce and shouldn¡¯t have offended people just like that. Even so, with how things were, as well as her personality, she naturally couldn''t just loosen up. After all, she had once been quite famous as a yer of evildoers.

    After experiencing her cultivation firsthand, the two thieves knew that they weren¡¯t a match. They cried out before turning tail and running, ¡°Just you wait!¡±

    Zhang Zitong frowned. She was about to give chase when she suddenly noticed Zu An staring at her. She harrumphed and remarked, ¡°Is that head on your shoulders good for nothing? Those things were about to steal from you, and yet you had no idea?¡±

    ¡°They didn¡¯t steal anything in the end, right?¡± Zu An replied. He was actually a bit upset that she had ruined his ns.

    Zhang Zitong was now getting even more upset. She was about to erupt when she suddenly remembered the current situation she was in and said, ¡°Forget it, you¡¯re in too much danger on your own. Are you interested in traveling with me as yourpanion?¡±

    She needed a local to guide her, but the others here all gave off a feeling that made her ufortable. As someone who went after these kinds of criminals for a living, she was especially sensitive to their auras. Only this dumb-looking guy seemed a bit different, so staying with him wasparatively safer.

    The surrounding people perked up their ears.

    <i>This stupid brat has quite the luck with women, doesn¡¯t he? A long-legged beauty actually took the initiative to form a group with him.</i>

    <i>However, that beauty probably doesn¡¯t have pure motives either. Who knows what she¡¯s after...</i>

    They lived in this kind of environment, so they subconsciously thought along their usual lines to guess her motives.

    Zu An raised his brows and replied, ¡°I¡¯m not interested.¡± After saying that, he turned around to leave.

    Zhang Zitong was stunned.

 Chapter 1990: Recruiting Disciples

    <h4>Chapter 1990: Recruiting Disciples</h4>

    ¡°Hey! This ce is really dangerous, you know? If not for meing at the perfect time, you would¡¯ve had everything stolen by those two. Teaming up with me has only benefits and no consequences for you!¡± Zhang Zitong protested as she quickly chased after him. She even wanted to grab his sleeve to ask him again if he was sure, but she missed. She couldn''t help but stare nkly in ce.

    Zu An thought to himself that she did have good intentions after all, so he stopped and warned her, ¡°You¡¯re really proud of those legs of yours, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    Zhang Zitong¡¯s face heated up and she reflexively drew her legs closer together. One of her legs bent slightly, her toes gently tapping on the ground behind her. She said, ¡°I thought that you were different from other people, but you were actually that kind of person.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He replied, ¡°Do you really have no idea what kind of ce this is? Everyone here is ruthless and vicious, and yet you¡¯re strutting around in short-shorts all because you want to show off your legs? Your looks are passable too. Are you really not scared of drawing their attention?¡± She had been his subordinate, after all, and she had ¡®saved¡¯ him, so he felt he had to give her that warning.

    Zhang Zitong also felt that it wasn¡¯t too appropriate, but she wasn¡¯t willing to admit it either. Her knuckles cracked from how tightly she was clenching her fist. She retorted, ¡°Even so, who would bother me based on what I wear normally? If they did, I¡¯d teach them why roses are so red.¡±

    ¡°Heh.¡± Zu An sneered, then turned around to leave. He had to act with a low profile this time. If he had a prettydy who was so good at drawing enmity, he''d probably be forced to give up on trying anything.

    He had wanted to ask around about why she was here, but when he saw that she actually wanted to form a team with him, he immediately realized that she knew nothing about this ce and that she was looking for a local guide. In that case, he naturally wouldn¡¯t team up with her. They would only hold each other back.

    Zhang Zitong was stunned. She had never expected him to refuse so directly! She immediately chased after him and asked, ¡°Are you really not going to even consider it? My cultivation is really high, you know?!¡±

    ¡°In my opinion, it¡¯s nothing special, probably not even enough to protect yourself. I have no intention of protecting you.¡±

    ¡°Hey, why can¡¯t you just act like a normal person?¡±

    ...

    However, in the end, the other person didn¡¯t pay her any attention. He didn¡¯t even turn around, and left as if he were trying to avoid a demonic pestilence.

    ¡°Hey, what¡¯s wrong with you?!¡± Zhang Zitong protested, but in the end, her pride didn¡¯t allow her to chase after him. She could only stomp her feet in anger as she watched him leave, feeling a bit angry.

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Zhang Zitong for +37 +37 +37...</strong>

    Because of her beauty and her pretty legs, she had been treated really well even inside the Embroidered Envoy. When had she ever been overlooked like this?

    <i>Hm? Something¡¯s not right. Sir Eleven seemed to have acted this way too.</i>

    <i>Hmph, how can this guypare to Sir Eleven?!</i>

    When she thought of that person, Zhang Zitong released a deep sigh. A disappointed and frustrated look appeared on her face.

    ...

    After Zu An left, he went straight toward the splendid and dazzling buildings. When he saw them from a distance, he had thought that they were a buildingplex, but only now did he see that it was just a single building. It was extremely strange in design and a bit simr to the gymnasiums of his past world. He could hear some soundsing from inside, so there actually seemed to be quite a few people there. However, the building seemed to have a formation set up around it that made the sounds unclear. He couldn''t tell what was happening at all.

    He suddenly stopped, because he noticed that there were some guards at the building entrance who were checking for a small metal token.

    ¡°Are those invitations?¡± Zu An muttered with a frown. He had entered this ce by decoding the defensive formation, so of course he didn¡¯t have any invitation. He looked all around him and saw that the building seemed to bepletely sealed from the outside. It wasn¡¯t too difficult for him to break through the formation, but it wasn¡¯t too realistic for him to sneak inside under so many people''s prying eyes.

    ¡°Don¡¯t block the way!¡± someone called out,ing from behind and pushing him heavily to one side.

    Zu An naturally could have dodged, but there were too many people watching and he was worried that they would find out his real cultivation. That was why he let himself be pushed. He pretended to turn around to take a look.

    In front of him was an impatient-looking young master with a cold and gloomy expression. Next to him was a girl who was simr in age. Judging from their outfits, it seemed like they were clearly together. The girl did have a bit of looks, but her expression was too cold. She had clearly seen this kind of situation before. When they oung master saw Zu An move out of the way, he sneered in contempt as if looking down on him for not even having the bravery to fight back, and didn¡¯t even feel like giving him another nce. He headed straight inside with his femalepanion.

    ¡°Big brother, do you think we¡¯ll be able to pass the Holy Sect¡¯s test this time?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, with your cousin here, we¡¯ll definitely be able to pass. Also, we¡¯ll definitely be able to be the personal disciples of some incredible figure.¡±

    ¡°Big brother, as your little sister, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll ever be able to be as confident as you are. If we really seed, the Wu n and Zhu n will definitely rise to a new level!¡±

    ...

    Even though their voices were quiet, how could their conversation escape Zu An¡¯s ears? He was surprised. So it turned out this building was used by the Devil Sect to ept new disciples! No wonder its vicinity was so strict. However, where was their general headquarters then?

    The boy and girl arrived at the main entrance. They were quickly stopped by a guard who called out, ¡°Show your token!¡±

    The youngdy quickly took out a token and gave it to him. After the guard examined it, he nodded and gestured for her to enter. Then, he looked at the young man and asked, ¡°What about you?¡±

    The young master was icily arrogant as he reached into his robes. Suddenly, his expression froze and he was no longer as calm as before. His other hand began to flip all around his body.

    ¡°Big brother, what¡¯s wrong?¡± the youngdy asked when she saw that.

    ¡°For some reason, I can¡¯t seem to find my token,¡± the young man said, starting to get nervous. His previous confidence was nowhere to be seen.

    ¡°Could it be that you forgot to bring it?¡± the youngdy asked urgently. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°There¡¯s no way! I remember touching it not long ago!¡± the young man replied, starting to sweat. His family had used up all of their resources; if all of their preparations resulted in failure at this juncture, how was he going to face them once he returned?

    ¡°Don¡¯t block the way!¡± an ice-cold voice called out behind him, and he was roughly pushed aside. His brows immediately shot up. When he turned around, he saw that it was actually that passer-by from earlier.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t have a token, move aside and get lost. Don¡¯t get in the way of others,¡± Zu An said as he handed the token in his hand to the guard. His words immediately received the sympathy of the others in line. They all began to curse and berate the young master.

    ¡°You...¡± The young master¡¯s face swelled and became a bit purple in color. He was about to say something when his eyesnded on the token. He quickly said, ¡°That token you¡¯re using is mine!¡±

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Wu Bi for +499 +499 +499...</strong>

    Zu An smiled and replied, ¡°Is it yours just because you say it is? Why don¡¯t you call out to it and see if it responds?¡± Then, he walked straight in.

    ¡°You damn kid, stop right there!¡± Wu Bi eximed, feeling shocked and furious. He reflexively tried to grab the other person, but was stopped by the guard.

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Wu Bi for +666 +666 +666...</strong>

    ¡°Those without tokens are not allowed to enter!¡±

    Wu Bi was speechless.

    ...

    Zu An naturally wouldn¡¯t pay any more attention to someone like that. When he entered, he saw that the ce was divided into many disy counters, with each one seemingly belonging to a branch of the Devil Sect¡¯s three schools and six paths. It seemed that each branch was carrying out their own separate recruiting of new disciples.

    Zu An¡¯s gaze shifted to the Heavenly Devil School¡¯s disy counter. That was the most lively area, because the ones who were in charge of the exams were all beautiful women, so they of course drew the most attention.

    Zu An sighed in relief. They were still recruiting disciples as usual. It didn¡¯t seem as if anything was wrong there.

 Chapter 1991: Is Being a Foot Soldier Really This Hard?

    <h4>Chapter 1991: Is Being a Foot Soldier Really This Hard?</h4>

    There were all kinds of gs inserted into the counter, bearing the images of especially bold women posing in the clouds. Many people blushed just from looking at those pictures. At the very center hung a pitch-ck g with ¡®Heavenly Devil School¡¯ written on it. Only that g had less of an erotic air, feeling more representative of the Devil Sect. Zu An couldn''t help but sigh deeply. It seemed that the degree of open-mindedness in this world was still quite frightening.

    He noticed that the female disciples in charge of the exams were all dressed in translucent silk, and their figures were all extremely voluptuous. No wonder this area was the most popr! The one at the very front was a garish and beautiful woman, and he could tell that she was the one in charge. The piece she wore in front of her chest made him remember a certain movie called Curse of the Golden Flower.

    Since he was close to Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei, he immediately noticed that there were traces of her cultivating the Devil Sect¡¯s charm technique. It was just that it was clearly different from what Qiu Honglei cultivated. Strictly speaking, they were both charm techniques, but Qiu Honglei¡¯s was more restrained and silent, the sort that made one''s soul unknowingly feel more intimate with her. But this woman gave off the feeling that she just wanted to go to bed with someone. In the end, it was still lower-grade.

    Judging from the noisy mor, Zu An could more or less tell that many people were praising her. It seemed she was the personal disciple of one of the Heavenly Devil School¡¯s elders, so all of them called her senior sister Pan.

    Even though he felt that Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei was most likely fine, the current situation was still unclear, so Zu An didn¡¯t take the risk to greet his ¡®inws¡¯. After thinking about it, he decided to infiltrate the sect through the recruiting process first, then find a chance to obtain more information from the two of them.

    He finally squeezed his way in and said to those Heavenly Devil School disciples, ¡°I wish to join the Heavenly Devil School.¡±

    Everyone around him roared withughter, saying, ¡°Everyone here wants to join the Heavenly Devil School!¡±

    The activity drew the attention of senior sister Pan. She gave him a look and said with a lovable smile, ¡°We won¡¯t ept you.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He replied, ¡°We haven¡¯t even done an exam, so why am I already being refused?¡± He had initially thought that with his skills, passing this type of test should be easy enough.

    ¡°Can¡¯t you see that our Heavenly Devil School disciples are all women?¡± senior sister Pan replied as she pointed around her. Even though she was smiling, Zu An could clearly sense that her smile was just a lethal upational weapon.

    ¡°Even so, I recall that the Heavenly Devil School also has men,¡± Zu An said with a frown. He pointed to the side and asked, ¡°They¡¯re all men, so why can they join the Heavenly Devil School?¡±

    Senior sister Pan made a few circles around him. The bamboo flute in her hands gently moved across his cheeks as she said, ¡°Our Heavenly Devil School does need men, but the men need to be handsome and confident, or heroic and strong. We don¡¯t ept fes like you who are nothing special.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He couldn''t help but feel a bit depressed. He had changed his appearance to resemble a forgettable passer-by to not draw attention, and yet that had be the very reason why he couldn''t join the Devil Sect. When he heard the roaringughter around him, he didn¡¯t get upset, and instead withdrew to think about what to do now.

    He could naturally just secretly kidnap a few core disciples who were epted and find out about Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei¡¯s whereabouts that way, but he was worried that it could end up alerting the entire sect. When it came to those twodies¡¯ safety, he didn¡¯t dare to act carelessly. He decided to be a Devil Sect disciple first, as it would be easier to enter the general headquarters then.

    He looked around and saw the ¡®Freedom Path¡¯ sighboard nearby. Several handsome men were ying the zither and painting art. There were others who were reciting poetry as well. Some Heavenly Devil School disciples even took the initiative to talk to them, but those handsome men didn¡¯t even seem to have seen them and only focused on what they were doing.

    Zu An thought to himself that the Freedom Path was probably the more easygoing path of the Devil Sect. He figured he would be able to save himself quite a bit of trouble if he joined them. He wasn¡¯t worried about whether or not he could pass at all, because in order for him to learn his appearance-changing technique, his skills in drawing had even received Yu Yanluo¡¯s direct teaching. He had also received a lot of pointers in music from Shang Liuyu, so he figured passing some small tasks was easy enough.

    He arrived at the table and saw the test in front, and filled out a form that roughly tested the four arts. After passing it, he handed it to the examiner to review. He didn¡¯t even dare to show all of his drawing skills to avoid attracting suspicion. Even so, the others eximed in admiration. They hadn¡¯t expected such a talented neer to join them! They all felt that his eptance was already clinched.

    Zu An handed the scroll over. Even so, the examiner said without even thinking further, ¡°Fail. Next!¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but be a bit upset now. He asked, ¡°You didn¡¯t even look at it, so why did you fail me?¡± His skills in drawing surpassed even those of the young examiners. There should have been no reason for him to fail.

    ¡°If I say you failed, then you failed,¡± the examiner said. His expression was cold as he spoke with his nose pointing at the sky.

    Zu An thought of something and remarked, ¡°Could it be that you¡¯re jealous of my skills, that I¡¯ll surpass you after I join?¡± In order to get into the Devil Sect, he readily used psychological attacks.

    ¡°I¡¯m scared of you beating me?¡± Hah!¡± The examiner sneered. He clearly wasn¡¯t even in the mood to argue back.

    Their argument drew the attention of several Freedom Path disciples. They decided to stop ying the zither and reciting poetry and came over to see what was going on.

    One of them saw Zu An¡¯s painting and his eyes couldn''t help but light up. He eximed, ¡°These strokes, thisposition, this artistic mood... Incredible, what talent!¡±

    Zu An sighed in relief. There was finally someone here who knew what¡¯s what.

    And yet, who would have thought that the disciple would change his tune? He continued, ¡°What a pity, truly, that you have no hope of joining our Freedom Path.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He asked, ¡°Since there''s nothing wrong with my art, why can¡¯t I join?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong with your art, but there¡¯s something wrong with you,¡± the cold, handsome guy finally said. ¡°Those who join our Freedom Path need to be handsome and free. At the very least, they need to have decent features, or else they¡¯ll end up embarrassing the entire Freedom Path if they go out! Especially someone like you whose art is so good. if you join our sect, you¡¯ll definitely rise up quickly. That means you might just end up representing our sect forpetitions. But if others took a look and saw that the Freedom Path¡¯s outstanding disciple is so ugly, wouldn¡¯t our Freedom Path¡¯s beautiful reputation be ruined at your hands alone?"

    Zu An was speechless. He felt as if a stampede were trampling over his heart.

    <i>Did I forget to look at the calendar after waking up today? Why am I getting refused again and again for this kind of reason?</i>

    However, this appearance was something he had chosen, so he couldn''t even get mad about it.

    There were many others who became upset now too, because not everyone here was handsome and beautiful. Many of them argued noisily, ¡°If that¡¯s something you require, why didn¡¯t you say so earlier?!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re wasting our goddamn time!¡±

    ¡°Give me a refund!¡±

    ...

    As they dealt with the crowd''s anger, the Freedom Path¡¯s people were burned badly. Zu An withdrew with a gloomy face.

    A giggle came from off to the side, and a voice remarked, ¡°I asked you to join me, but you didn¡¯t want to. Look at you suffering now.¡±

    A beauty with long legs and a tall ponytail was standing nearby. Who else could it be but Zhang Zitong?

    With Zu An¡¯s divine sense, he had actually already noticed her a while ago. She seemed to have gone to the World School to receive their task. Judging from the items in her hands, it seemed that whomever coulde up with the way to make the most money within two hours through the items given would pass.

    ¡°Best of luck,¡± Zu An said indifferently before continuing to other ces. He refused to believe that bing a footsoldier of the Devil Sect was that hard!

    When she saw him turn his back on her yet again, Zhang Zitong gritted her teeth.

    <i>What is that guy acting so high and mighty for? Didn¡¯t he keep running into walls earlier?</i>

    Suddenly, she was a bit confused. Why was she paying this stranger so much attention?

    <i>He seems to have a temperament I¡¯m close to...</i> N?v(el)B\\jnn

    She immediately stopped herself as soon as that thought appeared. ¡°Pah pah pah! What am I thinking right now?!¡± She shook her head and left the hall.

    Over at the Yin Yang Path¡¯s counter, a handsome young man with long and narrow eyes was fanning himself. A look of greed appeared in his eyes as he watched her, remarking, ¡°That¡¯s her?¡±

    ¡°Yes, it is her. This damn woman ruined our ns; she clearly doesn¡¯t respect the young boss at all.¡± The two wretched looking individuals next to him nodded and bowed with fawning smiles. If Zhang Zitong were here, she would recognize these two as the two pickpockets she had kicked flying.

    The two were secretly delighted. After all, the young boss was the third disciple of Sir Yin Yang. With him backing them, their grudge now became much more interesting.

    ¡°What right do you two have to represent me?¡± the young boss retorted; when he heard what they said, his expression darkened. He immediately sent a smack at the two of them that left them disoriented.

    The two¡¯s legs buckled and they immediately kneeled down, pleading, ¡°Spare us, young boss! Spare us!¡±

    The young master with long and narrow eyes stood up, saying, ¡°Using my name to swindle others is a crime, but since the girl you¡¯ve discovered ended up being quite excellent, this young master will forgive you for now. Go and talk to her.¡±

 Chapter 1992: Those Destined

    <h4>Chapter 1992: Those Destined</h4>

    Zu An arrived in front of the Yin Yang Path counter to take a nce at the questions of their recruiting exam.

    Judging from the expressions of respect the surrounding people showed the young master and their private conversations, Zu An quickly figured out who he was.This was a direct disciple of Master Yin Yang, ranked number three, and his name was Fang Biao. His status among the younger generation was definitely special.

    The two pickpockets saw him as well. They immediately said to their boss, ¡°Young master, that¡¯s the fat sheep from earlier!¡±

    However, who would have thought that after just giving Zu An a single look, Fang Biao immediately shifted his gaze away and said, ¡°I have no interest in men.¡± Immediately after, he looked at the direction had Zhang Zitong left in with a fiery gaze.

    When he saw them leave, Zu An frowned. ording to Yan Xuehen¡¯s description, this Yin Yang Path was a strong ally of the Heavenly Devil School, but looking from the way they behaved, it really did seem a bit despicable. Even though he understood that as the Heavenly Devil School, Yun Jianyue had no choice but to ally with the Yin Yang Path to fend off the other forces, he didn¡¯t approve of it.

    Even so, in the end, he didn¡¯t decide to help. For better or for worse, Zhang Zitong was a silver token envoy. If she couldn''t even deal with this bit of trouble, she would really be sullying the name of the Embroidered Envoy.

    He finally read through the contents of the Yin Yang Path exam. It was actually talking about sensual pills that worked on both men and women. The better the effects were, the more points they gave. Zu An was speechless. They put it nicely, but in the end, weren¡¯t these just aphrodisiacs?

    He was actually quite the expert in this field. He had things like ¡®Bull Cream¡¯ and ¡®Eighteen Spring Winds¡¯, and most recently, there was even the ¡®Worries Be Gone Rosemary¡¯. Which one of them wasn''t the best drug of their respective domains? He didn¡¯t understand why he had encountered so many situations like this either, but he always kept a share of the drug. After studying the Baopu Sutra, he could even make every single one of them. It wasn¡¯t that he was particrly fond of these drugs; he just felt that he would have better defenses against them once he figured out how they worked.

    With his current understanding in the field, even the leader of the Yin Yang Path was probably just a little brother in terms of knowledge. He could just make any random drug to pass the test. And yet, in the end, he couldn''t do it because of his pride. He didn¡¯t want to stay in this kind of filthy ce any longer than he had to.

    After thinking to himself for a bit, he went to another side. This counter was much quieterpared to the others, without many people. There was only a small fatty sitting in the examiner seat, rocking back and forth while sipping on some tea. Zu An looked up and saw the banner: Treasure Hunter Path. A curious expression appeared on his face. Why were there always fatties like this among tomb raiders? Wu Liang from the Fiend races was like that too. Wouldn¡¯t someone get stuck in a tunnel with that kind of build?

    When he saw Zu An stop at his stall, the fatty was immediately in high spirits. He called out, ¡°Hi there! Are you interested in our Treasure Hunter Path? Even if you don¡¯t end up joining, how about you stick around for a chat?¡± He enthusiastically led Zu An to a seat while speaking.

    Zu An thought to himself that he was proficient in One Drop of Heaven¡¯s Essence, and he had already visited so many ancient tombs. He had a lot of experience in this field, so he would likely be able to pass the test. And so, he sat down.

    Those at the other counters sneered and said, ¡°Another idiot is being fooled by that fatty Hu.¡±

    ¡°Who''s even joined the Treasure Hunter Path in these past few years? There¡¯s barely anyone left, and they don¡¯t even have any powerful cultivators covering for them either. Forget about a path master, they don¡¯t even have an elder.¡±

    ¡°Exactly. Do they even know what kind of world we live in now? Without anyone watching out for your back, you¡¯ll have to be extra careful when doing everything! You won¡¯t even have the most basic cultivation resources, so how can youpare to the other ces?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not all. Their path is chased down wherever they go, and no matter what they do, they can¡¯t even wash away the smell of dirt from their bodies. As long as anyone finds out you¡¯re from the Treasure Hunter Path, they¡¯ll chase you to the ends of the seven hells, and your life will practically be forfeit too.¡±

    ...

    Even though their voices were soft, how could their conversation escape Zu An¡¯s ears? No wonder this ce was so quiet. Still, he didn¡¯t mind. Either way, he didn¡¯t really n to join the Treasure Hunter Path.

    ¡°How do I address this brother over here?¡± the little fatty asked, pouring him a cup of tea with a big smile.

    Zu An was actually a bit overwhelmed by the sudden favor. After all, he had already experienced sheer disdain and contempt from the other counters. He replied, ¡°I¡¯m Lu Ren; may I ask how I should call your respected self?¡±[ref]Lu = shore,nd, continent. Sounds like the word road. Ren = humane, kernel. Sounds like the word for person.[ref]

    ¡°Lu Ren?¡± The little fatty sized him up and said, ¡°A good surname, and the given name is also good.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>What''s good about a name like that? This guy really is blindly offering praises.</i>

    ¡°My surname is Hu, and my given name is Fatty, so you can just call me Fatty Hu,¡± the little fatty said, acting really friendly from the get-go.

    Zu An thought to himself, <i>Your parents really werezy with the naming. They actually gave you the given name Fatty?</i>

    ¡°Looking at how this brother was wandering about, you are clearly interested in our Holy Sect. How about giving our Treasure Hunter Path a chance?¡± Fatty Hu asked with a huge smile, ¡°Do you like ancient secrets and inheritances of ancient deities? Do you like houses of wealth and all kinds of divine weapons... These are things only our Treasure Hunter Path can experience!¡±

    When he saw the fatty''s spittle fly everywhere, Zu An could only reply, ¡°And what have you experienced yourself?¡±

    Fatty Hu choked. He gave him a look and replied, ¡°You won¡¯t have any friends if you talk like that, you know?¡± Even so, he quickly gathered his thoughts and said, ¡°The greatest treasures go to those they are destined for, after all. In my opinion, brother Lu is blessed by the heavens and has an outstanding presence, so you definitely have a great destiny awaiting you. Who knows, you might even obtain an ancient inheritance before me! So how about you join our Treasure Hunter Path?¡±

    Zu An knew the fatty was trying to coax him into joining, but he just happened to want to join the Devil Sect, so he nodded and said, ¡°It sounds pretty interesting. Is there a test for joining?¡± n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Seeing as we seem to share some karma, I actually wanted to just ept you, but I can''t go against the will of my ancestors and can only test your treasure hunting knowledge. I hope brother Lu doesn¡¯t mind,¡± Fatty Hu said. He then muttered to himself, "The Treasure Hunter Path is already in such a difficult situation, and yet there are still so many rules. There¡¯s already barely any members left..."

    Zu An pretended to have not heard him and said, ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to ask brother Hu to continue with the process.¡±

    Fatty Hu thought about it and said, ¡°The two of us share some affinity, so I¡¯ll make it a bit simpler. Tell me a bit about your understanding of treasure hunting. Do you know how many styles there are in the world?¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He actually didn¡¯t know that. He thought for a bit, then began to cook something up with his knowledge from his previous world¡¯s dramas. ¡°Tomb raiders specialize in different things to deal with different situations. Since ancient times, there have been Raised Tomb, Treasure Hunt, Shifting Mountain, and Excavated Mound. Raised Tomb is simr to Treasure Hunt and both excel in seeking heaven¡¯s guidance through divination, seeking dragons through feng shui, locating burial spots through gold dividing...¡±

    The fatty had just been asking randomly at first, but how could he have expected that Zu An would talk about so many things that he had never heard of before? He immediately moved closer and askedd, ¡°Can you be a bit more detailed?¡±

    Zu An could only pull randomly from Ghost Blows Out the Light, Grave Robbers'' Chronicles, and other sources. He was also proficient in feng shui techniques to begin with and had experiences in several tombs. When hebined it all together, Fatty Hu waspletely left stupefied.

    Fatty Hu was so excited his entire body was shaking. He grabbed his hands and said, ¡°Brother Lu, you were sent by the heavens to save our Treasure Hunter Path!¡±

    ¡°So I passed?¡± Zu An replied, sighing in relief.

    ¡°How can that be all? From today forth, I¡¯ll give my position as senior disciple of the Treasure Hunter Path to you!¡± Fatty Hu said while patting his chest.

    ¡°Then what about your master?¡± Zu An took the chance to ask.

    ¡°My master already passed away a long time ago. I am now the one in charge of the Holy Sect¡¯s Treasure Hunter Path,¡± Fatty Hu said with a big smile.

    ¡°Then how many brothers do we have?¡±

    ¡°In the past, the Treasure Hunter Path had quite a few in our glory days...¡±

    ¡°I''m talking about now.¡±

    ¡°If I include you, there¡¯s two.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>Then what meaning is there in your damn senior disciple title? No wonder you let me in so easily!</i>

    When he saw Zu An¡¯s expression, Fatty Hu seemed to be embarrassed too. He was worried that Zu An would leave and quickly said, ¡°Our Treasure Hunter Path indeed doesn¡¯t have many people right now, but if there are fewer people, that means there are more opportunities! Look, if you join through the other sects, you¡¯ll have to work your way up through odd jobs and go through a year or two of tests before you can even be an outer disciple. Outer disciples then have to go through a cruel process ofpetition to have a chance of bing inner disciples. The very few most outstanding inner disciples will then be taken as direct disciples of their group¡¯s path master or elder.

    ¡°The entire process is like raising poisonous gu bugs. Who knows how many people might die in the process? They might not even be able to be an inner disciple. In contrast, it¡¯s different on our side. You immediately became an inner... No, with the fate we share, I''ll let you be a direct disciple and ept you in my master¡¯s ce!¡±

    ...

    Zu An was actually surprised. Even though this Treasure Hunter Path had fallen, it seemed to suit his current situation. He took the chance to ask, ¡°By the way, what is the deal with the path master or elder you mentioned? Why do some people be disciples of path masters and some of elders? Is there a difference?¡±

    ¡°Of course there is!¡± Fatty Hu was scared that he would leave, so when he saw Zu An¡¯s interest, he immediately exined, ¡°Apart from the sect master and vice sect master, in the Holy Sect, the most respected people are the path masters, and then elders are slightly beneath them. After that are the hall masters and incense masters in charge of various regions.

    ¡°The Holy Sect¡¯s three schools and six paths¡¯ factions should in theory all have overlords simr in status, but because the situations in the different factions are different, many factions no longer have the strength to take on that position of overlord. That''s why there are now only four great overlords left.¡± Fatty Lu sighed as he spoke, as if he were talking about something extremely tragic.

 Chapter 1993: Marriage

    <h4>Chapter 1993: Marriage</h4>

    ¡°The four overlords are currently the Secret Path Master Chi Fuzi, Yin Yang Path Master Fang Zhonghe, Freedom Path Master Hua Feihua, and World School Master Chen Taogong. Comparatively, these forces are a bit stronger in the Holy Sect,¡± Fatty Hu exined.

    Zu An asked in puzzlement, ¡°Wasn¡¯t the World Sect severely hurt? And there¡¯s also the Secret and Freedom Paths, but don¡¯t they avoid involvement in worldly matters? Why are they still so strong?¡± He didn¡¯t believe that what Yan Xuehen told him was wrong.

    Fatty Hu was stunned. He couldn''t help but give Zu An a look, saying, ¡°You actually know quite a bit about our Holy Sect.¡±

    ¡°Of course. I had to ask around if I wanted to join the Holy Sect. But what I know was pieced together, so I reckon that quite a bit of it is wrong,¡± Zu An hurriedly said.

    Fatty Hu was relieved to hear that. He said, ¡°It¡¯s not that you¡¯re wrong. The great disaster we had a hundred years ago did indeed greatly damage the World School. They''re far from as strong as they were at their peak, but they''re still one of the three schools and have always been strong in the Holy Sect. A starving camel is still bigger than a horse.

    ¡°As for the Secret Path and Freedom Path, they''ve indeed never been that strong, but they weren''t involved in the great disaster and managed to preserve some of their strength. The reason why the Holy Sect has been able to escape the court¡¯s tracking all this time is because of the great concealment formation the Secret Path¡¯s Chi Fuzi created.¡±

    ¡°Furthermore, you''re already one of us, so I¡¯ll let you in on a secret,¡± Fatty Hu said, then moved closer to him and whispered, ¡°This small town is a small world created by the Freedom Path¡¯s Hua Feihua. There''s ayer of disconnection from the world that prevents them from finding out where our Holy Sect¡¯s general headquarters are.¡±

    ¡°Incredible!¡± Zu An replied with a nod. He had actually already noticed the peculiarities with this world earlier, and that was part of the reason why he had decided to be extra careful.

    Hua Feihua¡¯s skill seemed a bit simr to Yu Yanluo¡¯s World Painting. The entire town was like a drawing. However, his cultivation was much higher than Yu Yanluo¡¯s had been. This small town was clearly being used as a firewall, too. If something strange happened, there would be enough time to deal with it. At worst, they¡¯d just destroy this entire world and it wouldn¡¯t be too hard to draw an entirely new small town.

    Fatty Hu gave Zu An a nce. He had been waiting for this neer to cry out in astonishment, but he hadn¡¯t expected this. Even though Zu An had expressed his amazement, why did it feel a bit half-hearted? He could only continue, ¡°The Secret Path and Freedom Path aren¡¯t especially strong, but with these two great masters overseeing them, they naturally have a spot among the leaders.¡±

    Zu An took the chance to ask, ¡°Then what about the Heavenly Devil School? Why don¡¯t they have a position among the overlords?¡±

    ¡°The Heavenly Devil School already has Sect Master Yun, so of course she doesn¡¯t have to fight over these overlord positions. Furthermore, even though Sect Master Yun has several martial peers who have decent cultivations, they''re still weaker than the other overlords,¡± Fatty Hu replied.

    When he heard him call Yun Jianyue the sect master, Zu An sighed in relief. He said, ¡°I heard that Sect Master Yun has a disciple named Qiu Honglei, and that she was the sect¡¯s saintess...¡±

    Fatty Hu patted his shoulder and said, ¡°I was just wondering why a kid like you was so interested in our Holy Sect! So it turns out you came for the saintess.¡±

    Zu An pretended to be embarrassed and said, ¡°I caught a nce of the saintess in the past, and it was hard for me to forget her ever since.¡±

    ¡°You and everyone else,¡± Fatty Hu said with a chuckle. ¡°Just how many men in our Holy Sect don¡¯t like the saintess?

    ¡°I advise you to give up. You have too many strongpetitors in the sect whom you can¡¯t win against. Rather, it might just bring you big trouble.¡± He secretly pointed at another counter and said, ¡°Look, after their first meeting, Freedom Path¡¯s Li Feiqing over there vowed he wouldn¡¯t marry anyone but the saintess.¡±

    Zu An had a weird expression. The man Fatty Hu was pointing at was precisely the one who had just rejected him at the Freedom Path¡¯s counter.

    ¡°Don¡¯t look down on Li Feiqing just because he lookszy; he''s a direct disciple of the Freedom Path Master. He''s one of the best among the Holy Sect¡¯s younger generation," Fatty Hu exined. ¡°After he met the saintess, he yearned for her day and night. He even drew the saintess¡¯ appearance on his own clothes so he could be with her day and night.¡±

    ¡°Damn pervert!¡± Zu An eximed. His mood was now a bit ruined. Even though it was a drawing, he just felt a bit strange thinking of that guy wearing it.

    ¡°Yeah, I feel that he''s a bit of a weirdo too. He really was driven mad back then and chased the saintess crazily, but the saintess didn¡¯t seem to care about him at all. She does greet him with a smile, but in reality, there¡¯s something like a thousand mile chasm between them. That idiot yboy has no idea though,¡± Fatty Hu said, actually sounding quite happy about the situation.

    Zu An thought back to when he first met Honglei and couldn''t help but sneer inwardly. <i>She''s already so skilled with the Heavenly Devil Technique, and her ability to raise boys as pets is top-notch too. That Li kid probably has no idea that he''s already be a simp at her beck and call.</i>

    ¡°Butter, he then encountered White Jade Sect¡¯s Fairy Chu. When he returned, hepletely changed, frequently sitting alone at the mountaintop while muttering to himself ¡®I want fish, but bear paw tastes great too; just which one should I choose¡¯ and things like that,¡± Fatty Hu said while snickering.

    ¡°He¡¯s dreaming of peaches!¡±

    ¡°Peaches?¡± N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°He¡¯s damned delusional!¡±

    ¡°Haha, that¡¯s true,¡± Fatty Hu said, patting his shoulder. ¡°Brother Lu, we really are bing more and more agreeable the more we chat. I didn¡¯t like that Li guy much to begin with; he always looks down on others just because he¡¯s a little handsome. Does he really think that both Saintess Qiu and Fairy Chu would like him?

    ¡°There was a time when he drew both the saintess, as well as Fairy Chu on his clothes; one in front, and one in back. Now that was quite the sight in the Holy Sect! Many people went to the Freedom Path to see it for themselves, but the Freedom Path Master couldn''t take it anymore and forced him to change clothes. That matter concluded just like that.

    ¡°But after that, the guy never seemed to have fully recovered. He always seemed to be in low spirits.¡±

    ¡°Silly people get their panties in a bunch,¡± Zu Anmented with a sneer.

    ¡°You¡¯re not wrong.¡± Fatty Hu felt quite a bit of sympathy and said, ¡°By the way, apart from Li Feiqing, the Yin Yang Path¡¯s Fang Long has also longed for the saintess for a long time. There have even been rumors that the Yin Yang Path and Sect Master Yun have arranged a marriage between the two of them.¡±

    ¡°Marriage?¡± Zu An¡¯s brows shot up. He asked, ¡°And where is this Fang Long from?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s the senior disciple of the Yin Yang Path Master himself, the senior brother of that Fang Biao from earlier. Hm? Fang Biao was there just a moment ago, so where did he go?¡± Fatty Hu stuck out his neck to look at the Yin Yang Path¡¯s counter.

    Zu An naturally knew that Fang Biao had gone after Zhang Zitong. He asked, ¡°Why is it that the other factions¡¯ disciples don¡¯t share a surname with their master, but the Yin Yang Path does just that?¡±

    Fatty Hu replied with augh, ¡°Did you forget what the Yin Yang Path does all day? Don¡¯t they research bedroom arts? The Yin Yang Path Master has countless women, so he naturally has many heirs. His three direct disciples Fang Long, Fang Hu, and Fang Biao are all sons he''s recognized. Who knows how many illegitimate children there are in the Yin Yang Path who haven¡¯t received his recognition!¡±[1]

    Zu An was speechless. He had thought that he was a bit of a yboy, butpared to many people in this world, he was as pure as a little white flower!

    ¡°But of course, what I said earlier might just be a guess that many people made after seeing how close the Yin Yang Path and Heavenly Devil School are. It¡¯s really hard to imagine someone like the saintess liking Fang Long. To be honest, the saintess would more likely favor that brat Li Feiqing over a bastard like Fang Long who toys with women with drugs,¡± Fatty Hu said in indignation.

    ¡°There¡¯s no way she¡¯d like either one of them,¡± Zu An said indifferently.

    Fatty Hu nodded and remarked, ¡°There¡¯s a rumor that when the saintess wandered around the world, she seemed to have fallen in love with a man outside the sect, but I have no idea if it¡¯s true. I really wonder just what kind of man it was for the saintess to admire him wholeheartedly...¡±

    Zu An straightened up when he heard that, saying, ¡°I feel like the saintess might just like someone like me.¡±

    Fatty Hu rolled his eyes and almostughed out loud. He replied, ¡°Bro, you¡¯re pretty good at telling jokes, aren¡¯t you?¡± But he didn¡¯t really treat it as a big deal.

    Zu An took the chance to ask, ¡°I wonder, is there a way to meet the saintess?¡±

    ¡°That might be a bit hard. Ever since the saintess returned, she seems to have been cultivating in seclusion the entire time. It¡¯s even been a long time since Ist saw her,¡± Fatty Hu said, shaking his head.

    ¡°Seclusion?¡± Zu An asked with a frown. ¡°Then what about Sect Master Yun? When was thest time you saw her?¡±

    Fatty Hu was stunned. He said, ¡°Now that you mention it, it¡¯s been a long time since Ist saw her too.¡±

    1. Long = dragon, Hu = tiger, Biao = tiger stripes, tiger cub ?

 Chapter 1994: Like a Sudden Spring Wind

    <h4>Chapter 1994: Like a Sudden Spring Wind</h4>

    Zu An immediately felt a weight drop in his stomach. It looked as if something had happened to the two of them after all. However, judging from the information he currently had, this matter seemed to be small-scale. Not too many people in the sect knew about it. That meant it could be more of a disturbance among the upper levels of the sect.

    Zu An wanted to ask him for some more information, but Fatty Hu didn¡¯t know that much. Zu An was also worried about drawing suspicion, so he couldn''t just continue to chase the matter.

    Fatty Hu gave him a jade token and said, ¡°Brother Lu, you should hold onto this. Wait by the town dock at nightfall.¡±

    ¡°What is this?¡± Zu An asked as he looked at the jade token in his hands. He could sense some runes swirling around on the surface, but they were the simpler type.

    ¡°This is a jade token that symbolizes that you¡¯ve sessfully joined the Holy Sect. Only by having this can you get on the boat. We haven¡¯t finished the recruitment process yet, so you can look around for now. I¡¯ll see if I can swindle... Ahem, recruit a few more disciples.¡± Fatty Hu immediately changed his wording.

    Zu An was speechless. He wanted to ask around in other ces too, so he cupped his hands and bade Fatty Hu goodbye.

    ...

    Zu An wandered around the hall and took mental note of the various factions¡¯ disciples. He thus saw that the Unfeeling Path and Yin Yang Path had the most disciples, and their cultivations were also a bit higher. The other factions, both in terms of cultivation or numbers, were fewer.

    Apart from the most miserable Treasure Hunter Path, there was also the Skysplitting School, which also only had a single disciple in charge of recruitment, and his cultivation was much worse than even Fatty Hu¡¯s. There was almost no one who went to his counter. It seemed that after Shadow Group left, the Skysplitting School really had been greatly weakened.

    When Zu An saw a ck-d youth walk toward the Skysplitting School¡¯s banner, his eyes narrowed. The youth seemed to be interested in joining the Skysplitting School. His skin was abnormally pale, as if it had never seen the sun, and their entire figure felt like an unsheathed sword, incredibly sharp.

    Even though that person had some treasure that concealed his cultivation and aura, how could these things deceive Zu An? This ck-d youth was strong! He was even stronger than the other direct disciples in this hall, like the Yin Yang Path¡¯s Fang Biao, Heavenly Devil School¡¯s big sister Pan, and Treasure Hunter Path¡¯s Fatty Hu. Only Freedom Path¡¯s Li Feiqing could have a chance in a fight. Someone with that level of cultivation was willing to apply to be a Devil Sect disciple?

    Even though he was a bit puzzled, Zu An didn¡¯t give it too much attention. Even though this young man was strong, that was just among others in his age group. Compared to the other powerful individuals across various ages, he was stillcking a bit of maturity.

    ...

    Zu An left the hall and went to the dock next to this small town. Normally, these kinds of mountains had small streams and rivers, and the water in them flowed rather quickly. And yet, what was in front of him was arge river, and it looked quite extensive to boot.

    Zu An carefully examined it for a while. This wasn¡¯t something drawn by the Freedom Path Master, and it actually existed. Could it be that the legendary Lake of Hatred was located by a riverbank? Or could it be within this great river?

    He was thinking it over deeply when he suddenly heard sounds of fighting from nearby. He turned around.

    It turned out the Yin Yang Path¡¯s Fang Biao and his subordinates were surrounding Zhang Zitong!

    When he saw Zhang Zitong¡¯s red-faced, sorry figure, Zu An frowned. Just how had this woman ended up muddling her way into the silver token envoy ranks?

    The thugs rushed forward in the blink of an eye. Even though this ce was remote, there were some people there, who all looked in the direction of the fight out of curiosity.

    A disciple from Yin Yang Path glowered at the surrounding people, saying, ¡°the Yin Yang Path¡¯s third young master is involved in this matter. If you don¡¯t want to die, then get lost!¡±

    Those people who just wanted to join the liveliness were rmed. They all knew of the Yin Yang Path¡¯s bad reputation, especially when it came to the third young master. He was known for his arrogant and tyrannical behavior. He never had many misgivings when doing things. They didn¡¯t dare to loiter anymore and quickly vanished.

    Zu An was suddenly left here all alone, feeling rather out of ce.

    Fang Biao was already calmly walking in that direction. He sized up Zhang Zitong with a malicious expression, saying, ¡°As expected of such long legs, you were actually able to run so fast. If you weren¡¯t stopped by this river, we wouldn¡¯t have been able to catch you so quickly.¡±

    ¡°I am from the World School! Aren¡¯t you afraid of offending the World School? If you all leave right now, I can pretend that today¡¯s events never happened,¡± Zhang Zitong eximed. Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she continued to gasp for air. Her forehead was covered in ayer of fine sweat, as if she was feeling really hot.

    Fang Biao roared withughter and said, ¡°You didn¡¯t even seem to havepleted the World School¡¯s exam, so you¡¯re not a real World School disciple. Furthermore, even if you were a World School disciple, this young master would still obtain you today. Could it be that the World School would want to be on bad terms with my father over a trifling female disciple like you?¡±

    Zhang Zitong immediately became crestfallen. It seemed there was no way to resolve this matter peacefully anymore.

    The two subordinates saw Zu An and said, ¡°Boss Biao, it¡¯s that brat again. Those two might actually have a thing going on between them.¡±

    Fang Biao now had a bit of killing intent in his eyes as he looked at Zu An. He said, ¡°You bastard, I already let you go in the main hall, and yet you just insist on being an eyesore around her.¡±

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Fang Biao for +44 +44 +44...</strong>

    Just then, Zhang Zitong also noticed Zu An. She couldn''t help but be a bit apologetic, saying, ¡°You should get away as quickly as possible. I¡¯ll help you stop them!¡±

    Zu An sighed and replied, ¡°I already told you I wouldn''t join your group because it''d definitely cause trouble, and look where we are now.¡±

    Zhang Zitong¡¯s face heated up, but she quickly said, ¡°It¡¯s pointless to talk about those things now. We¡¯ll each take care of our own business and I won¡¯t implicate you. Hurry and leave!¡±

    ¡°It seems they really have something between them,¡± Fang Biao said with a sneer. ¡°Then that means we definitely can¡¯t let this kid go.¡±

    With a wave of his hand, and because Zu An didn¡¯t move, more than a dozen subordinates quickly surrounded the two of them.

    When she saw that, Zhang Zitong shot Zu An a re.

    <i>Why is this guy so dumb? He can¡¯t even run anymore now.</i>

    Fang Biao suggested, ¡°Prettydy, how about you drop your resistance and properly service this young master? Then, I¡¯ll let him go. What do you say?¡±

    Zhang Zitong harrumphed. ¡°Keep dreaming! What does this guy not choosing to run away have to do with me? If you want to kill him, then kill him. You can forget about using him to threaten me.¡±

    Zu An nodded inwardly. This woman wasn¡¯t as rigid as some holy mother. Her previous choice to stand up bravely and ¡®save¡¯ him was already extremely unwise. Otherwise, there wouldn¡¯t have been so much trouble here.

    ¡°Is that so? Well, neither of you will be able to run away anyway.¡± A sinister smile flickered across Fang Biao¡¯s face as he said, "I''ll do you right in front of him. Then I¡¯ll know whether the two of you have a special rtionship from your reaction.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>This kid really is the definition of despicable...</i>

    Zhang Zitong¡¯s expression grew cold as well. She replied, ¡°You probably think that the reason I¡¯ve been running all this time is because I can¡¯t win against you, right?¡±

    ¡°If it isn¡¯t that, then what is it?¡± Fang Biao asked. He suddenly felt that the situation wasn¡¯t right.

    Zhang Zitong suddenly flicked her wrist, and a long silver whip appeared from her sleeve. She said, ¡°It was actually because I was worried that I would be seen by others from the Devil Sect, so I didn¡¯t want to expose my cultivation. What you absolutely shouldn¡¯t have done was chase all the people around us away.¡±

    As soon as she said that, the long whipshed out like a venomous snake and instantly appeared in front of Fang Biao¡¯s throat.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly. He had previously already noticed that this woman¡¯s cultivation was much higher than that of an ordinary silver token envoy, but he hadn¡¯t expected her to have still been holding back all this time. However, after thinking about it, she was a spy from who knew where, who had infiltrated the Embroidered Envoy. It would be stranger if she wasn¡¯t hiding her cultivation.

    Fang Biao was horrified. However, in the end, he was still the Yin Yang Path¡¯s direct disciple, and managed to grab one of the pickpockets next to him to block the attack. The whip instantly thrust through his subordinate¡¯s throat, sending blood sshing everywhere. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Fang Biao used the chance to bring his fan down along the whip. He naturally knew that against a long range weapon like the whip, if the opponent managed to widen the gap, there was nothing you could do but get beaten.

    Unfortunately, Zhang Zitong¡¯s wrist was extremely flexible. The long whipshed out like a silver dragon and flickered all over the ce. In the end, Fang Biao couldn''t close the distance and got hit twice instead. He screamed miserably as two deep, bloody gashes appeared on his body.

    The other subordinates also reacted and drew their weapons to attack Zhang Zitong. Fang Biao was a child the Yin Yang Path Master doted on a lot. If something happened to him, all of them could forget about living. With that, Fang Biao finally got a moment to breathe. However, their group of a dozen or so people was still beaten viciously by Zhang Zitong.

    Zu An grinned slightly.

    <i>This woman is quite good at acting; even I was almost fooled by her, and I even felt that she was stupid.</i>

    He was about to turn around and leave when a burst of pink mist suddenly flew at them.

    Zhang Zitong¡¯s expression changed. She quickly covered her mouth and nose, but the enemy seized a really good opportunity and tossed it right when she was in the middle of taking a breath. As such, she still breathed in a bit. She immediately felt the ki within her stir a bit and her body heat up. She was horrified and quickly pulled back the whip to protect herself.

    Fang Biao roared withughter and eximed, ¡°Prettydy, do you think that this glorious Yin Yang Path¡¯s third young master is really that useless? Martial arts might not be my strongest suit, but these drugs are what I¡¯m best at!

    ¡°It¡¯s useless even if you cover your mouth and nose. This ¡®Eighteen Spring Winds¡¯ has already been specially modified by this young master. It¡¯ll enter your body as long as it touches your skin!¡± An uncontroble grin appeared on the corners of Fang Biao¡¯s lips.

    Zu An had a strange expression.

    <i>Eighteen Spring Winds?</i>

 Chapter 1995: Evidence Burned

    <h4>Chapter 1995: Evidence Burned</h4>

    Zu An couldn''t help but reminisce when he heard that familiar name. That really was a sweet memory... The only w was that he felt his kidneys hurt a bit even now when he thought of it.

    Back then, Zheng Dan had been an educated and well-rounded unmarried daughter, and yet she was actually the boss of Brightmoon Cityrgest criminal syndicate. Even so, because of collusion of insiders with a powerful outside enemy, there was a revolt and she had been afflicted with this drug by someone who intended to vite her.

    And yet, as a result, Zu An had ended up getting all of the benefits. That day really had been... exhausting. However, those charming and gentle memories really were things he would never forget.

    Meanwhjle, Fang Biao was bragging about his Eighteen Spring Winds, feeling awfully proud of himself. ¡°...My prettydy, once you¡¯re drugged, you must have a man to send you to the heavens eighteen times to return to normal, and not even a single time can be missing! Otherwise, you''ll be controlled by this drug for the rest of your life and be a ve to your desires! It¡¯s best if you obediently follow me, or else you¡¯ll end up bing a tool for everyone!¡±

    ¡°You...!¡± Zhang Zitong cried, feeling ashamed and angry. She quickly took out a pill and swallowed it. As a silver token envoy, she always carried detoxifying medicines. A refreshing feeling dissolved in her throat. However, whenpared to the raging inferno inside of her, that bit of coolness was like a cup of water on a burning cart.

    ¡°It¡¯s useless. Eighteen Spring Winds is one of the world¡¯s most potent drugs, so how could it have an antidote? The only antidote is a strong man,¡± Fang Biao said. He wasn¡¯t worried at all, and instead maintained a safe distance from her to guard himself against a final desperateact of retaliation. This woman¡¯s cultivation was a bit tricky, so it was best if he waited until the drug¡¯s effects fully kicked in first. Then, he could do whatever he wanted.

    The subordinate next to him blew a whistle and said, ¡°Boss Biao, your waist can¡¯t handle eighteen times either. How about you let us help you out a bit with that?¡± N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°You idiots, this young master is known as the golden spear! Isn¡¯t it just eighteen times?¡± Fang Biao retorted with a re, but then he immediately changed his mind. ¡°Even so, out of consideration for how you all bravely came to this young master¡¯s aid, I will reward you all with a few times. Once I¡¯ve had my fun, I¡¯ll leave the rest to you.¡±

    ¡°Thank you so much for this generous gift, young master!¡± The other subordinates immediately became extremely excited. All of them actually knew very well that their boss Biao had already messed up his body from ying around with women for so many years. He¡¯d probably throw in the towel after just three breaths. Still, he would probably use some drugs to spice things up, but that wouldn¡¯t help himst that long either. At that point, this beauty with those beautiful long legs would be practically new. Wouldn¡¯t she just be waiting for them to enjoy themselves?

    When she heard their filthy speech, Zhang Zitong was angry and panicked. She wanted to use the chance to take their lives, but those people were extremely cunning and constantly ran around, not giving her any chance to kill them. She set her resolve, thinking that if she couldn''t run away today, she would just jump into this river to end it all. She would rather do that than let such disgusting people humiliate her.

    Just then, the other pickpocket who was still alive asked in confusion, ¡°Wait, what happens if men get affected by this drug?¡±

    ¡°It''ll be a bit worse than for women. They¡¯ll mate with any women they see until they run out of steam and die,¡± Fang Biao reflexicely replied.

    ¡°But... Why is that man perfectly fine?¡± The pickpocket¡¯s tone became a bit strange.

    When he said that, the ce immediately fell silent. Both Zhang Zitong and Fang Biao¡¯s group turned to look at Zu An. That guy was standing there quietly as if everything that had happened had nothing to do with him at all.

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you producing even a bit of a reaction?¡± Fang Biao asked in disbelief.

    Zu An said indifferently, ¡°I wasn¡¯t poisoned.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible! I clearly saw the mist reach you!¡± Fang Biao cried out in rm. ¡°And even if you stopped breathing, it would still affect you as long as it touched your skin!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re overestimating the abilities of your drug too much,¡± Zu An said with a sigh. After his body was tempered under the Primordial Origin Sutra, he had already be immune to poison, but it didn¡¯t stop aphrodisiacs. That had put him in an ugly spot time and time again. As such, he had already decided to prepare against these kinds of situations a while back. The instant the mist sprayed out, he had already put up an invisible ki barrier that separated all of it from him. With his current cultivation, Fang Biao¡¯s attack was like slow motion to him.

    ¡°Kill him!¡± Fang Biao yelled; he instinctively felt that something wasn¡¯t right. He quickly gave the orders for his subordinates to test Zu An out. He clearly sensed that Zu An¡¯s ki aura was really faint, so why did this bastard give him such pressure right now?

    As they charged at Zu An, those subordinates all screamed with reddened eyes. This beautiful woman was already almost theirs, and yet this brat just had to ruin their happy time! In that case, they would make him meet his maker first!

    When he saw the malicious looks in their eyes, Zu An sighed. He hadn¡¯t really wanted to join in on this kind of situation, but he really didn¡¯t want his beautiful memory of ¡®Eighteen Spring Winds¡¯ to be ruined by people like this. He randomly kicked a de that had fallen to the ground from the chaotic fight earlier. It immediately turned into a streak of light and instantly killed those dozen or so ferocious and despicable subordinates.

    The fact that they could be Fang Biao¡¯s subordinates meant that they were already quite strong in the Yin Yang Path. And yet, before that de, they didn¡¯t have any way to defend themselves. They had clearly been standing all over the ce out of order, and yet it was as if they had delivered their necks up to the de all at the same time.

    As someone who engaged in evil practices, regardless of everything else, Fang Biao¡¯s ability to judge situations was top-notch. When he saw that his subordinates were killed instantly, he turned to run without a moment of hesitation. He knew he definitely wasn''t a match for this person. Only by running to a ce with more people could he call for help from others from the Holy Sect. Then, perhaps he would be able to live through their joint efforts. He really was filled with regret. Why had he insisted on chasing all of those people away? Otherwise, with witnesses around, that bastard would definitely be too scared to do anything to him out of fear of his father¡¯s reputation!

    Just then, however, the streak of light didn¡¯t seem to have weakened at all and instantly arrived behind him. He felt as if he had been trampled underfoot, and he staggered and fell to the ground. As a cultivator, he immediately understood that his leg¡¯s tendons had already been cut.

    While he was screaming miserably in pain, a woman in a white dress appeared in front of him. In that instant, he even forgot all of his pain. He felt as if he had never seen such a beautiful woman before. All of his concubines seemed tacky and vulgar inparison. In all these years, perhaps only the saintess had the right to bepared to her, but the saintess was still too young and wasn¡¯t full of stories like this woman. Her eyes seemed to be as deep as the starry sky...

    Zu An quickly walked up to Fang Biao, who was being mind-controlled by Daji, and asked, ¡°Do you know what happened recently to Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei?¡±

    Fang Biao opened his mouth and replied, ¡°Sect... Sect Master Yun is like a divine dragon who goes where she pleases. How could I know where her respected self is? As for the saintess... The saintess is about to be my sister-inw.¡±

    Zu An was stunned when he heard that. He immediately asked about what was going on.

    ¡°A few days ago, big brother told me excitedly that he was going to wed the saintess. At first, I thought he was dreaming, since we all know that the saintess doesn¡¯t like him. However, father confirmed that information. To be honest, I really am envious that he''s actually able to marry her. I was drawn to her from the first moment we met. Unfortunately, I knew my limits and understood that the difference between us was too great... However, she''s about to be my sister-inw, so we''re keeping the good things within the family. None more tasty than dumplings, none more interesting than sisters...¡± Fang Biao replied.

    Zu An smacked him in the face before he even finished. He cursed, ¡°Your mouth is only full ofmon doggerel! Are you at an entrance exam for a graduate program right now?¡± Then, he asked where Qiu Honglei was right now.

    ¡°The saintess should be at the Heavenly Devil School,¡± Fang Biao replied, sounding a bit confused at his question.

    Zu An thought to himself for a bit and asked, ¡°Has anything major happened in your sect recently? Or is there something that''s a bit different from usual? Either is fine; I want to hear about it.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think there''s anything major. No, wait. A few days ago, there were some human-shaped ghostly monsters that came looking for my dad. They chatted for a long time just between the two of them. I was curious about their origins, but I was beaten by my dad when I asked about it. Right, and not long after, my father seemed to have suffered a serious injury. Even though he did his best to hide it, as his son, there was no way I wouldn¡¯t be able to tell.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s brows furrowed. This Fang Biao didn¡¯t seem to know any concrete details about Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei, but these clues were starting to paint a certain possibility. Then, he interrogated Fang Biao about a few more things.

    Suddenly, people seemed to be approaching from the distance. It seemed they were hurrying in this direction. Thus, Zu An couldn''t tarry for any longer. With a wave of his hand, the White Lotus me cleaned the entire scene, including Fang Biao, instantly burning everything away without even any ashes left behind. Then, a second before they arrived, he grabbed the stunned Zhang Zitong and disappeared into the distance.

    ...

    When they arrived in a quiet ce, Zhang Zitong finally reacted and struggled, protesting, ¡°Let me go!¡±

    Zu An blocked her attacks with a casual raise of his hand. He couldn''t help but chuckle. He replied, ¡°Weren¡¯t you begging me to join your group a moment ago? Why are you now unwilling?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t... Don¡¯t touch me...¡± Zhang Zitong¡¯s cheeks were bright red. She was really rmed.

 Chapter 1996: Recognition

    <h4>Chapter 1996: Recognition</h4>

    Even when Zhang Zitong was a silver token envoy, she had already been quite experienced. But right now, she was still incredibly rmed. She felt as if there were a tide surging within her. It was one thing while she still had a bit of rationality left, but once the drugpletely spread, any man would be able to do what they wanted with her. How could she dare to stay by the side of any man?

    Even so, she was shocked to discover that the other person''s cultivation really was unfathomable. He had actually instantly killed Fang Biao¡¯s whole party! She actually hadn''t even been able to damage his clothes from her struggle.

    <i>This guy really hid his strength well... And yet, the most frustrating thing is that a dummy like me actually tried to save him before!</i>

    Unfortunately, there was no medicine to cure regret in this world.

    When he saw that her cheeks were red and her body was burning up like a cooked shrimp, Zu An asked, ¡°Do you not need me to save you now that you¡¯re drugged?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t!¡± Zhang Zitong eximed, sounding like a frightened rabbit. She covered her chest with her arms. How else would a man save her in this kind of situation? If that really happened, she¡¯d rather die!

    For some reason, another figure appeared in her head, and that person seemed to be one with the man in front of her. She quickly shook her head to dispel this thought.

    <i>It¡¯s definitely the drug, definitely!</i>

    ¡°But if I don¡¯t save you, you¡¯ll die,¡± Zu An said gravely.

    ¡°If you really want to save me, then just kill me!¡± Zhang Zitong yelled, biting her lip so hard that blood almost came out. She felt as if she almost couldn''t take it anymore, and had to make the decision while she was still clear-headed. Immediately after, she took out a dagger to thrust it into her chest.

    However, a steady hand grabbed her wrist and disarmed her. When she felt the heating from that hand, Zhang Zitong groaned. She felt a kind of desire and jumped into the man¡¯s arms, although she said, ¡°Don¡¯t... Don¡¯t get too close to me.¡±

    Zu An sighed, saying, ¡°You don¡¯t want me to save you, but I''ll still save you.¡± Immediately after, his palm pressed against her body.

    ¡°You¡¯re despicable!¡± Zhang Zitong cursed. This tiger dressed up as a pig really was too hateful! If not for the fact that she wanted to save him, would she have even gotten into all of this trouble? Now, this guy was taking advantage of this situation, which made him even more hateful than Fang Biao...

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Zhang Zitong for +444 +444 +444...</strong>

    <i>Sorry, Sir Eleven!</i>

    She felt a deep sense of grief. Two streaks of tears trickled down the corners of her eyes. Then, she fainted.

    ...

    A whileter, she slowly opened her eyes. Her first reaction was to instinctively lower her head to check her clothes. She was shocked to discover that she was actually still fully dressed, apart from sweat that made her clothes a bit transparent.

    <i>He already did what he wanted, then put my clothes on again...</i>

    Suddenly, a cold voice said from behind her, ¡°Don¡¯t move.¡±

    She was rmed and turned around. Only now did she notice that the man she detested bitterly was sitting right behind her with his palms on her back. Waves of heat were entering her body from the center of her back. Only now did she realize that he hadn¡¯t used the method she imagined to treat her, but rather infused ki to help her force out the drug¡¯s effects.

    ¡°Sorry, I misunderstood you,¡± Zhang Zitong said, blushing with shame.

    <i>I even cursed him out like that earlier, how embarrassing...</i>

    Zu An said indifferently, ¡°Right now, not moving randomly is the best form of gratitude.¡±

    Zhang Zitong grunted in understanding. She lowered her head and didn¡¯t say anything else. She could feel the man''s ki stir within her meridians, making her entire body feel numb. It was as if electricity were running through her body. She almost couldn''t hold herself back and cried out several times, but she could only bite her lip and endure with difficulty. In order to hide her embarrassment, she could only ask with a trembling voice, ¡°Why... Why did you save me?¡±

    ¡°No reason, I just felt like it,¡± Zu An said. His recent research on aphrodisiacs hadn''t been without results. He now understood their properties well enough to figure out some detoxifying methods.

    As for Zhang Zitong, apart from his rtionship with her in the Embroidered Envoy, he saw a resemnce to two celebrities from the world he transmigrated from in her. That mysterious feeling of intimacy made him want to take care of her a bit. Furthermore, she had ¡®saved¡¯ him twice today, so he naturally couldn''t just watch her suffer.

    Zhang Zitong replied with an ¡®oh¡¯. A whileter, she once again asked with a trembling voice, ¡°What did your respected self reallye here to do?¡±

    Zu An was stunned. Why had her tone suddenly be respectful? Even so, he just treated it as her being grateful and didn¡¯t think much of it. He replied, ¡°You didn¡¯t tell me about your purpose either, so why should I tell you mine?¡±

    However, who would have thought that Zhang Zitong would immediately reply, ¡°I''m here on behalf of another to monitor the Devil Sect¡¯s recent course of events. The Devil Sect suddenly carried out a Devil Sect General Assembly, which they haven¡¯t had in many decades, summoning all of their disciples back to their general headquarters. I came to see what was going on and investigate if the Shadow Group is involved in any way.¡±

    Zu An was a bit stunned.

    <i>Why is this woman suddenly being a yes-man and answering everything?</i>

    Many women in this world would be totally submissive to the first man who obtained their bodies, but he clearly hadn¡¯t done anything to her! Even so, he still asked, ¡°Who sent you?¡±

    Zhang Zitong replied, ¡°A benefactor of mine.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, <i>Is it the organization she''s affiliated with?</i>

    Then, he asked a bit more about that person¡¯s identity, but Zhang Zitong shook her head and said, ¡°I can tell you about anything else, but I can''t tell you about this.¡±

    When he heard her say that, Zu An didn¡¯t force the issue and continued to treat her.

    Soon after, Zhang Zitong finally couldn''t take it anymore and began to groan.

    ...

    After some more time passed, Zu An stood up and said, ¡°Alright, the drug is mostly out of your system. The rest you should be able to handle on your own. It should be gone if you rest for a day or two.¡±

    ¡°Thank you!¡± Zhang Zitong replied as she got up and sorted out her clothes. She was a bit embarrassed because the way she had verbally abused him really was humiliating.

    ¡°This ce is too dangerous and it doesn¡¯t suit you. You should leave now while no one has seen you yet,¡± Zu An said, then turned around to leave. Meanwhile, he began to ponder just how he could find Yun Jianyue and her disciple.

    ording to what Fang Biao said, his older brother was going to marry Qiu Honglei? It seemed that going through the Yin Yang Path would give him a higher chance of getting in touch with the Heavenly Devil School. However, after Fang Biao¡¯s disappearance, the entire ce would likely be on higher alert... He could pretend to be Fang Biao and infiltrate the ce that way, but if all of his subordinates went missing and he came back alone, that would definitely be suspicious.

    He suddenly stopped and looked backward at Zhang Zitong, asking, ¡°Why are you still following me?¡±

    ¡°Is there anything I can do to help your respected self?¡± Zhang Zitong asked. After some hesitation, she summoned her courage and looked at him directly, continuing, ¡°Sir Eleven?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes narrowed as he looked at her coldly.

    Zhang Zitong¡¯s expression was a bitplicated as she continued, ¡°From the moment I first saw you when I entered this city, I felt a sense of familiarity from you. What happened earlier made me even more certain. In the past, Sir Eleven also helped me get rid of poison, and the feeling earlier was exactly the same. I believe that Sir Eleven deals with many people and other matters, so you overlooked that detail.¡±

    Zu An remained quiet for a moment. There were really too many things that had happened recently, so he had forgotten that. He hadn¡¯t expected her to still remember it so clearly. He had always felt a bit troubled, not knowing how to deal with this woman. He still wasn¡¯t sure what camp she belonged to, so it definitely wouldn¡¯t be too suitable to just let her go. Even so, silencing her here didn¡¯t match his way of doing things.

    Zhang Zitong spoke up again. ¡°There is no need for you to feel troubled, Sir Eleven. You have shown me such tremendous grace that I would never do anything that would be unfavorable for you.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression was cold as he replied, ¡°You''re the kind of person whose brain doesn¡¯t always seem useful, and yet you think you''re clever. There are some things you shouldn¡¯t say out loud even if you have a good guess. What if I really wanted to silence you right here and now?¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, because I know Sir Eleven isn¡¯t that kind of person,¡± Zhang Zitong said as she looked at him with a slightly bashful expression. ¡°Also, if sir really wanted to take my life, I would be more than willing.¡±

    ¡°There has to be something wrong with your head, right?¡± Zu An replied, feeling a bit speechless. Then, he turned around and started walking again.

    Zhang Zitong had a smile as she caught up with a small sprint, asking, ¡°Sir, is this your real appearance? As expected, it really is extremely heroic and extraordinary...¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not,¡± Zu An said as she turned around and gave her a cold look. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zhang Zitong only had an even bigger smile on her face as she continued, ¡°I was going to say, sir¡¯s real appearance is definitely like trees of jade towering in the wind; it wouldn¡¯t be so ordinary.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    ¡°Does sir n to infiltrate the Devil Sect¡¯s general headquarters?¡± Zhang Zitong then asked.

    ¡°Do you have any suggestions?¡± Zu An replied while examining his surroundings to avoid others discovering them.

    ¡°Since this isn¡¯t sir¡¯s real appearance and no one here can tell the difference, sir no doubt excels at disguise skills. How about just taking on the appearance of Fang Biao? That way, it¡¯d be easy to get closer to the Devil Sect¡¯s higher level figures,¡± Zhang Zitong suggested.

    Zu An couldn''t help but give her a look.

    <i>As expected of someone who could be a silver token envoy, she is pretty sharp. </i>

    ¡°Unfortunately, all of Fang Biao¡¯s subordinates were killed. I¡¯ll be easily discovered if I go back on my own," he said.

    The people of this world weren¡¯t stupid. If one suddenly pretended to be someone others were familiar with, it would be too easy to be exposed.

    ¡°That¡¯s easy enough. Just use me as your female ve,¡± Zhang Zitong said, sounding a bit eager to give it a try.

    Zu An was speechless.

 Chapter 1997: New Identity

    <h4>Chapter 1997: New Identity</h4>

    When she saw the strange look in Zu An¡¯s eyes, Zhang Zitong¡¯s face reddened. She said, ¡°It¡¯s not what you''re imagining! It¡¯s just that many people saw Fang Biao chase after me when we left town, so capturing me and making me his female ve matches his way of doing things. Also, sir can just tell everyone else that I killed all of your subordinates, which will make them direct all of the me onto me. That way, the chances of sir¡¯s identity being exposed will be greatly decreased.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but view her in a new light. He said, ¡°It seems you¡¯re not just a pretty decoration.¡±

    Zhang Zitong pouted yfully, replying, ¡°So that was what sir thought of me all this time.¡±

    Zu An was getting a headache. Why was it that no matter where he went, he always got involved with women? However, it did seem as if he needed her help in order to sessfully infiltrate the Devil Sect¡¯s general headquarters.

    Zhang Zitong knew that Sir Eleven was likely still hesitant, so she had to prove her worth. She said, ¡°The only issue is whether sir is able to change your appearance to look like Fang Biao. If you cannot, this n will bepletely useless.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not an issue,¡± Zu An said. When he saw her stare straight at him, he could only addy impatiently, ¡°Turn around.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± Zhang Zitong turned around, but she was full of curiosity.

    <i>I wonder what Sir Eleven really looks like...</i>

    Either way, judging from their interactions, she keenly sensed that he wasn''t that old. At the very least, he had to be younger than the other golden token envoys. She wondered if he was the manly type or the pretty boy type.

    <i>Ah! I really want to turn around and sneak a look.</i>

    Even so, in the end, she decided to give up on that idea. If he let others find out his real identity, wouldn¡¯t they be silenced immediately? Even though he didn¡¯t seem like the ruthless type, she couldn''t continue to test him again and again.

    ...

    A whileter, Zu An told Zhang Zitong that it was okay. She immediately turned around, and what she saw left herpletely stunned.

    Zu An did a ¡®ta-da¡¯ pose and asked, ¡°So?¡±

    Zhang Zitong¡¯s expression changed. She quickly took two steps back and asked, ¡°You... Who are you?¡±

    Zu An replied with a sneer, ¡°Who do you think I am?¡± n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Fang Biao, what did you do to Sir Eleven?¡± Zhang Zitong asked while looking all around her. In that instant, she even suspected that Fang Biao hadn¡¯t died, and used this chance while she couldn''t see and Sir Eleven was distracted to ambush him.

    Looking at how she was shaking all over, Zu An said in annoyance, ¡°I¡¯m right here. Didn¡¯t you tell me to turn into Fang Biao?¡±

    When she heard his voice, Zhang Zitong was stunned. She asked uncertainly, ¡°Are you really Sir Eleven?¡±

    Zu An looked at her coldly, ¡°I don¡¯t wish to have such a meaningless conversation.¡±

    Zhang Zitong finally sighed in relief and said, ¡°Right, that¡¯s Sir Eleven¡¯s personality.¡± She moved closer curiously and couldn''t help but reach out her hand to touch his face, remarking, ¡°Isn¡¯t this a bit too simr? It¡¯s almost as if an exact copy was made.¡±

    Zu An pped her hand away and didn¡¯t let her touch him. If she found out that he wasn¡¯t wearing a mask, wouldn¡¯t she die from rm? If she just assumed that he had changed his appearance throughmon disguise techniques, his Face of a Thousand Identities skill wouldn¡¯t be exposed.

    ¡°It¡¯s only your voice that doesn¡¯t quite sound right,¡± Zhang Zitong said as she snapped out of her daze. She had been scared so badly by his appearance just now, but now that she thought about it, his voice really didn¡¯t match.

    When he heard that, Zu An also felt a headache. If he wanted his voice to match too, he had to use the ¡®Kawaii Waifu Voice Changer¡¯, but that was something he absolutely couldn''t let her know about. He said, ¡°Wait for me here for a bit.¡±

    Then, he vanished without a trace.

    When she saw him disappear just like that, Zhang Zitong was once again amazed by Sir Eleven¡¯s unfathomable cultivation. It seemed to be even more amazing than that of the former Chief Commander Zhuxie Chixin.

    <i>Hold on, I seem to have heard that Sir Eleven became the new chiefmander.</i>

    <i>But I still like calling him Sir Eleven more.</i>

    While she was in a daze, a gust of wind blew past. By the time she turned around, Sir Eleven was already back.

    ¡°What about now?¡± Zu An asked with Fang Biao¡¯s voice. He had found an unfortunate soul to fool with the Kawaii Waifu Voice Changer, and now had an identical voice to Fang Biao. He had also changed into a set of Yin Yang Path clothes.

    Zhang Zitong narrowed her eyes, asking, ¡°Sir Eleven, what kind of injury did I have when you saved mest time?¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>This woman is actually seriously worried that I''m Fang Biao and won¡¯t drop her guard even now...</i>

    He could only reply, ¡°The poison you took yourself, on an impulse to end your own life.¡±

    Zhang Zitong sighed in relief, saying, ¡°Sir Eleven, you are just too amazing. Just how did you do it?¡±

    ¡°A secret,¡± Zu An said coldly.

    Zhang Zitong said with a smile, ¡°Even though your outer appearance and voice are the exact same, there is still one w.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He asked, ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°The wretched and lewd aura he has,¡± Zhang Zitong said with a reddened face.

    Zu An frowned. This was quite a tricky issue. He now had his status and cultivation to worry about. It did seem a bit uneptable to pretend to have that kind of personality.

    Zhang Zitong suddenly walked up to his side and put his arm around her waist. She could feel how tense he was and immediately said, ¡°Sir, I am now Fang Biao¡¯s female ve. If you aren¡¯t even willing to touch me, everyone else will immediately find out that there¡¯s something wrong.¡±

    <i>Oh my, why is Sir Eleven so tense? He isn¡¯t a virgin, is he?</i>

    Zu An took a deep breath, saying, ¡°Fine.¡±

    ¡°Sir...¡± Zhang Zitong was about to say something when she was interrupted.

    Zu An replied, ¡°What sir? From now on, you have to call me master.¡±

    ¡°Yes, master, Zhang Zitong said. She initially pursed her lips, but she discovered that it wasn¡¯t hard for her to say that at all.

    Zu An frowned, saying, ¡°Your attitude is too agreeable. Since you were forcefully dominated by me, then you should hate me.¡±

    Zhang Zitong shook her head. ¡°Sir... Ahem, master, you don¡¯t understand women. Even a woman who defends her chastity to the extreme, after being subdued eighteen times by a man, wouldn''t be able to fully hate that man. Furthermore, Fang Biao is from the Yin Yang Path, so he definitely has his ways of subduing his women.¡±

    Zu An felt that what she said carried some sense. As such, his hand tightened and he pulled her into his arms to get into the act.

    When she felt his warm embrace, Zhang Zitong¡¯s heart started pounding. Unfortunately, this man still had that hateful face. She really wondered what he really looked like.

    ...

    Then, they began to discuss various things, including matching up their story to avoid being exposed.

    The sky was already starting to darken when the two finally headed toward the docks. There was arge ship there. The various branches¡¯ people had already gotten on, along with quite a few new faces, most likely the neers who had just been recruited.

    Only the Yin Yang Path¡¯s disciples were a bit restless, cursing the people around them. ¡°You still haven¡¯t found Boss Biao?¡±

    ¡°No, we looked everywhere,¡± the others said as they hung their heads dispiritedly.

    The other factions noticed what was going on there too. Freedom Path¡¯s Li Feiqing sneered and didn¡¯t worry about it at all.

    The Heavenly Devil School¡¯s senior sister Pan strutted over and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? That brat Fang Biao¡¯s gone?¡±

    The Yin Yang Path¡¯s disciples hurriedly greeted her, saying, ¡°Replying to senior sister Pan. Boss Biao brought some people with him to capture someone but hasn¡¯t returned until now, so we''re worried that something might¡¯ve happened to him. We¡¯ll have to trouble senior sister Pan to send some people to help us with our search.¡±

    The Heavenly Devil School and Yin Yang Path had always been on good terms, so he didn¡¯t feel as if there was anything wrong with this kind of request.

    Senior sister Pan replied with a smile, ¡°Capture someone? It¡¯s probably a woman, right? That Fang Biao is probably enjoying himself somewhere, so I definitely don¡¯t want to ruin his happiness.¡±

    The Yin Yang Path¡¯s people were getting a bit worried. He said, ¡°Even so, it¡¯s already been so long that it''s a bit worrisome. Boss Biao should know that it''s almost time to leave...¡±

    Li Feiqing was getting a bit annoyed now. He retorted, ¡°Are we all going to wait for him alone? It¡¯s not as if it¡¯s the first time he¡¯s done something like this, so what''s there to worry about?¡±

    The entire ship became a bit noisy. There were some who supported the ship leaving, while others advised them to wait a bit longer. The two sides were actually equal in number.

    In the end, their gazesnded on a certain fatty and they asked, ¡°Fatty Hu, what do you think?¡±

    ¡°I say we wait a bit,¡± Fatty Hu said. He was smiling, but he was actually full of curses inside.

    <i>What the hell is up with Brother Lu? Why isn¡¯t he here yet?</i>

 Chapter 1998: Suspicion

    <h4>Chapter 1998: Suspicion</h4>

    While Zhang Zitong followed Zu An to the docks, she suddenly asked, ¡°Did sire here this time as a scout for the regent?¡±

    ¡°Call me master!¡± Zu An replied. He remained calm and collected as he said, ¡°Who said the regent wasing?¡±

    Zhang Zitong smiled and replied, ¡°I just guessed.¡±

    Zu An harrumphed. ¡°It was probably your backer who told you.¡±

    Zhang Zitong didn¡¯t reply.

    ...

    By then, the two of them had arrived at the docks.

    The Yin Yang Path disciples who were looking for them were overjoyed. They cried, ¡°Boss Biao, you¡¯re finally back!¡±

    ¡°What are you hollering for? Am I not right here?¡± Zu An snapped, recalling the way Fang Biao spoke from earlier.

    ¡°Yes, yes.¡± The disciples¡¯ eyes widened when they shifted to Zhang Zitong. They murmured, ¡°This is...¡±

    ¡°A new servant this young master just took in,¡± Zu An said as he took Zhang Zitong into his arms.

    <i>This woman¡¯s waist is surprisingly supple.</i>

    Zhang Zitong blushed, but she didn¡¯t say anything.

    <i>Sir Eleven really is warm.</i>

    The disciples looked at her face, and then at her long legs; they were immediately overwhelmed with envy.

    <i>Boss Biao¡¯s luck with women is insane! He was even able to get his hands on these kinds of goods.</i>

    ¡°Boss Biao, everyone has been waiting for you, so please hurry and get on the ship,¡± the disciples hurriedly said.

    ¡°What are you all getting all rmed for? This young master knows what¡¯s what,¡± Zu An said as he walked toward the ship in an unhurried manner with Zhang Zitong in his arms.

    Zhang Zitong was full of admiration.

    <i>A moment ago, sir still looked unripe in this field, but he''s now ying Fang Biao perfectly.</i>

    Soon after, the group arrived at the side of the ship. When he saw Fang Biao''s nonchnt behavior, the Freedom Path¡¯s Li Feiqing immediately became a bit unhappy. He remarked, ¡°Can you move faster please? The whole ship is waiting for you.¡±

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Li Feiqing for +223 +223 +223...</strong>

    ¡°You¡¯ve already waited for so long, so what¡¯s waiting a bit longer?¡± Zu An shot back.

    ¡°You...!¡± Li Feiqing¡¯s eyes narrowed He spat, ¡°Not even your big brother would dare to speak to me like this!¡±

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Li Feiqing for +499 +499 +499...</strong>

    It wasn¡¯t just him; many people from the other factions were also cursing him.

    <i>Isn¡¯t that kid a bit too arrogant?</i>

    When he saw the endless Rage pointsing in, Zu An was pleasantly surprised.

    ¡°Stop pretending here. If you have the skills, go and bring it up to my big brother,¡± he said with a sneer, as if he didn¡¯t care at all.

    Now, even Zhang Zitong was bing a bit worried. It wasn¡¯t that she was worried that Sir Eleven couldn''t win against these people, but that would mean that their ns would all be for nothing.

    Li Feiqing stood straight up. Rage flickered in his eyes, and his hand shifted to his weapon too.

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Li Feiqing for +444 +444 +444...</strong>

    Fatty Hu and the others had been thinking that Li Feiqing¡¯s fondness of the saintess was no secret, and yet she''d ended up being betrothed to Fang Long! That was why Li Feiqing had already been full of resentment. And yet, Fang Biao was actually provoking him like this here.

    Li Feiqing was about to attack when the Heavenly Devil School''s Pan Qiaoqiao stood in front of him. She said with a charming smile, ¡°My dear Feiqing, you know what he¡¯s like, so why stoop to his level? We have so many new people here with us, are you really going to let them watch us make a fool of ourselves?¡±

    Li Feiqing knew that the Heavenly Devil School and Yin Yang Path had always had good rtions. Even though his own cultivation was higher than both of theirs, the Freedom Path¡¯s influence couldn''tpare to the other two branches. He could only sit back down with a harrumph. ¡°Arguing with you would indeed lower my own character.¡±

    ...

    With the potential conflict gone, quite a few people sighed in relief. Of course, there were some who were a bit disappointed too.

    Those from the Unfeeling Path suddenly asked with a smile, ¡°Fang Biao, where did your attendants go? Why is it just you left?¡±

    The others from the Yin Yang Path also couldn''t help but ask, ¡°Right, Boss Biao, what about Ah Ping and the others?¡±

    The people''s gazesnded on Zu An. Many of them carried suspicion in their eyes.

    Zu An¡¯s expression remained normal as he replied, ¡°They¡¯re all dead.¡±

    ¡°All dead?¡± the others eximed in shock.

    The Heavenly Devil School¡¯s Pan Qiaoqiao said with a scowl, ¡°Just who was so daring as to kill people from your Yin Yang Path? Could it be that there was an enemy attack?¡±

    Those words set off a hugemotion among the people on the ship, and they all whispered among each other. They even began to start inspecting the new recruits, wondering if they''d colluded with some enemy who managed to sneak their way in.

    ¡°It¡¯s her,¡± Zu An said as he pointed at Zhang Zitong in his arms with an indifferent expression.

    Zhang Zitong jerked her head away, her pride and humiliation a perfect performance.

    ¡°A dainty beauty like that was actually that strong?¡± Pan Qiaoqiao remarked as she walked over and sized up Zhang Zitong, her waist swaying back and forth.

    It wasn¡¯t just her; not even the others in the sect believed the story. After all, Zhang Zitong was too pretty. Those legs in particr were hard to take their eyes off of. A delicate chick like this was actually able to wipe out all of his subordinates?

    After all, the Yin Yang Path Master really doted on this third son. He knew that Fang Biao had the lowest cultivation but loved to stir up trouble, so he had assigned many experts at his side.

    Just then, the direct disciple who was in charge of the World School couldn''t hold himself back and shouted, ¡°That¡¯s nonsense! This woman previously wanted to join our World School, but her aptitude waspletely ordinary. She could have passed, but she disappearedter on. I heard that she was being chased by your people bitterly not too long ago, so do you think we¡¯ll believe you if you try to cast all the me on her?¡±

    As they looked at Zu An, the people''s gazes were full of disapproval. After all, the Yin Yang Path¡¯s way of doing things wasn¡¯t that good to begin with, and this Fang Biao was the worst of them all. He oppressed others, and he was shameless and vulgar. He was trash among trash.

    When he heard their criticisms, Zu An said with a sneer, ¡°This woman was an Embroidered Envoy of the court, and even a silver token envoy. Were you about to bring this kind of person into your World School?¡±

    They gasped when they heard what he said. Embroidered Envoy? The Holy Sect had definitely suffered their share of damage at the hands of the Embroidered Envoy over the years. That was the court¡¯s most secretive and notorious organization. Anyone targeted by the Embroidered Envoy would have nothing but death awaiting them.

    Wang Cong¡¯s expression changed, but in the end, he was a direct disciple. He reacted quickly and retorted, ¡°What, do we just take your word for something like that? Just how did youe to know about something like that?¡±

    ¡°She told me, of course,¡± Zu An said as she gripped Zhang Zitong¡¯s neck from behind.

    Zhang Zitong groaned, clearly in a bit of pain. When they saw that, many people even felt pity for her, thinking that this guy really was crude.

    Wang Congughed and said, ¡°Hah! Who doesn¡¯t know that Embroidered Envoys are unreasonably tough? Even if they weren''t a match, they¡¯d break the poison between their teeth and end their own lives. How could a silver token envoy really end up in your hands, let alone tell you her identity?¡±

    ¡°This is what you don¡¯t understand. When a woman has been sent into the clouds, everything naturallyes together,¡± Zu An said with a smile.

    Zhang Zitong¡¯s cheeks flushed. The others thought that she was ashamed and indignant, but in reality, she wasn¡¯t that angry; she was just a bit embarrassed.

    <i>Why is Sir Eleven so good at this? I was worried that he was inexperienced at this kind of stuff.</i>

    <i>Sir Eleven really is too formidable. He can perfectly mimic anyone.</i>

    When they heard Zu An¡¯s reply, the crowd fell silent. They clearly didn¡¯t doubt his ability to aplish that.

    Many people even blew whistles andughed while cursing, ¡°Fang Biao, who here doesn¡¯t know that your stamina isn¡¯t up to par these days? You were able to subdue a silver token envoy?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right! You¡¯re actuallying up with such a bad lie after bullying a woman.¡±

    ...

    When he heard all the suspicions thrown at him, Zu An merely tossed out a token.

    The snickering instantly stopped. The people''s gazesnded on the token. The distinct divine beast runes on it gave off an intimidating aura. Just looking at it gave them a sense of pressure - the very same kind the Embroidered Envoy had brought the Holy Sect disciples over the years.

    ¡°She really was a silver token envoy?¡±

    Their expressions changed when they looked at Zhang Zitong. However, it was no longer a look of pity, but rather vignce. If she really was a silver token envoy, she did indeed have the ability to kill all of Fang Biao¡¯s subordinates. After all, silver token envoys were the best among Embroidered Envoys. Not only were their cultivation ranks high, they had excellent equipment on them too. That equipment consisted of all sorts of amazing magic weapons from the court that made them unrivaled in the same rank. They could even challenge those above their cultivation ranks.

    Li Feiqing stood up again and said, ¡°I apologize for speaking forthrightly, but since she could kill your subordinates, she could kill you instantly too. Why did she fall into your clutches? Was it you who captured her, or is she holding you hostage?¡±

    Even Pan Qiaoqiao was starting to be suspicious now. The people began to surround Zu An.

    Zu An frowned. This was indeed a troublesome issue.

    Zhang Zitong secretly spoke to him through a voice transmission, saying, ¡°Touch me...¡±

    Zu An was stunned. Zhang Zitong had already silently guided his hand to her chest.

    Zu An reacted quickly and crudely gave her a knead, remarking, ¡°Hah, what''s so hard about that? Even though this woman¡¯s cultivation is high, she''s still just a woman. How could she be a match for this young master¡¯s modified Eighteen Spring Winds?¡±

    Zhang Zitong moaned. She felt an arc of electricity run through her entire body, and she almost went limp. They were clearly acting, but now that Sir Eleven had done that to her, her heart was still pounding.

    ¡°So that was it,¡± Pan Qiaoqiao said with a nod. She knew Fang Biao had that drug on him. She said, ¡°This little sister seems to have already beenpletely subdued. Look at how she¡¯s behaving just from a grope.¡±

    The others all gave up on their suspicions. If this woman really had threatened Fang Biao, how could she allow him to grope her like that?

    Zu An reached over to Pan Qiaoqiao and said with a proud smile, ¡°But of course. Does big sister Pan want to have a taste too?¡±

    ¡°I fear that your kidneys wouldn¡¯t be able to handle it,¡± Pan Qiaoqiao said as she jerked her body away and dodged his w with a charming smile. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zhang Zitong bit her lip.

    <i>Sir Eleven is actually getting more and more into the role!</i>

    When they saw that, the others gradually scattered. They really thought that this Fang Biao brat was lucky. He had obtained such an incredible beauty, and a silver token envoy at that. Just the thought of something like that got them excited. Many people even had dirtier thoughts; since Fang Biao was known for having no stamina now, would he really have been able to send this silver token envoy to the clouds eighteen times? He''d probably had his subordinates take his ce. Then, he''d silenced them to preserve his own reputation.

    Those from the Devil Sect were already used to that kind of thing.

    Many disciples from the Yin Yang Path were even getting a bit excited. If those people died, that meant there were now some vacancies around young master Biao. They had chances of being promoted!

    ¡°Set sail!¡±

    As soon as Pan Qiaoqiao gave the order, Fatty Hu shouted, ¡°Wait!¡± He came up to Zu An and asked, ¡°Boss Biao, have you seen anyone named Lu Ren who tried to help thisdy at your side?¡±

 Chapter 1999: Lake of Hatred Revealed

    <h4>Chapter 1999: Lake of Hatred Revealed</h4>

    Zu An was rmed. He had never expected that Fatty Hu woulde and ask him about something like that. Fatty Hu was actually concerned about his safety, but now, it actually put him in a difficult situation. He really didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t seen him," he said eventually.

    When he heard the reply, Fatty Hu said with a frown, ¡°That shouldn¡¯t be... When I heard that you were bringing people to chase after a youngdy, I just happened to see Lu Ren there too. Furthermore, Lu Ren¡¯s rtionship with this woman didn¡¯t seem that bad, and he was even indebted to this woman for saving him. In that kind of situation, he would most likely save her.¡±

    ¡°Oh, you were talking about that guy. He turned tail and ran as soon as he saw what happened,¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°He ran?¡± Fatty Hu asked skeptically. ¡°Like hell Brother Lu ran away. Rather than that, you probably killed him, am I wrong?¡± As he said that, his expression turned incredibly fierce.

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Fatty Hu for +555 +555 +555...</strong>

    The others tried to advise him, asking, ¡°Fatty Hu, what kind of a rtionship do you have with that Lu guy? Why do you care about him that much?¡±

    Fatty Hu coldly replied, ¡°That Lu Ren was the only person the Treasure Hunter Path recruited this year, as well as a disciple I epted in my master¡¯s ce!¡±

    Everyone had expressions of sympathy. The Treasure Hunter Path¡¯s people had all already passed on, and the new member Fatty Hu had finally swindled was killed by Fang Biao, so it was no wonder he was so angry.

    Zu An couldn''t help but be a bit moved by this Fatty Hu¡¯s loyalty. They had only met once, and yet the other person was actually already speaking up for him. However, he could only try to escape me by saying, ¡°That person really did run away. If you don¡¯t believe me, you can ask her.¡±

    When he saw Zu An point at her, Fatty Hu stared at Zhang Zitong.

    Zhang Zitong thought to herself, <i>Sir Eleven really doesn¡¯t care about his reputation... </i>Even so, she also nodded cooperatively and said, ¡°That¡¯s right. When I saw that the situation wasn¡¯t favorable, I told him to run away so he wouldn''t lose his life for nothing.¡±

    Even though that was what she said, Fatty Hu still didn¡¯t fully believe her. He said, ¡°Even though brother Lu and I have just met, I don''t feel that he''s that kind of person. Could it be that she''s just saying whatever you want her to say because she''s already be your ve?!¡± He stared at Zu An with incredible hatred, as if he were about to attack at a moment¡¯s notice.

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Fatty Hu for +444 +444 +444...</strong>

    Zu An sighed and replied, ¡°Fatty Hu, are you stupid? I didn¡¯t even know that Lu Ren was from your Treasure Hunter Path. If I really did kill him, why would I bother hiding it from you?¡±

    Fatty Hu was briefly stunned.

    <i>I guess what he says makes sense.</i>

    The other factions also spoke up, and tensions finally eased up a bit.

    Zu An chuckled. He went straight to the Yin Yang Path¡¯s area with Zhang Zitong in his arms. There was a banner hanging there, so there was no need for him to have known about it beforehand.

    When he saw how arrogant he was being, Fatty Hu gritted his teeth. He had finally tricked someone into joining, and yet that person was chased away!

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Fatty Hu for +388 +388 +388...</strong>

    The only good thing he was grateful for was that the woman had let him run away and they hadn¡¯t really abandoned each other.

    <i>She might have even entrusted him with the task of contacting the Embroidered Envoy...</i>

    Of course, he didn¡¯t n to voice that guess. Either way, even if the sky fell, there would be a tall person to hold it up. The Treasure Hunter Path had practically nothing right now, so what was he getting worried about stuff like that for?

    Pan Qiaoqiao said with a smile, ¡°Since everyone is already here, let¡¯s get ready to leave.¡±

    Zu An was a bit moved. <i>I¡¯ll finally be able to go to the Devil Sect¡¯s headquarters. Just where is the legendary Lake of Hatred?</i>

    Some Devil Sect disciples quickly took out ck cloths people¡¯s eyes.

    Zu An watched with a detached expression. He soon discovered that the ones being veiled were all new disciples. The disciples with higher statuses didn¡¯t need to be blindfolded. He thought to himself, <i>No wonder the court has never been able to find out where the Devil Sect¡¯s headquarters is. They really do go the extra step in ensuring secrecy.</i>

    Soon after, a disciple arrived in front of him. He stared at Zhang Zitong, but didn¡¯t dare to actually speak up.

    ¡°I¡¯ll do it myself,¡± Zu An said as he took the ck cloth from his hands and covered Zhang Zitong¡¯s eyes.

    As he left, the disciple was full of resentment. He couldn''t help but give Zhang Zitong a few more nces.

    <i>This woman really is beautiful! That bastard Fang Biao really is lucky with women.</i> N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Sir, I¡¯ll have to leave remembering the path to the Lake of Hatred to you,¡± Zhang Zitong said through ki transmission. If he didn¡¯t remember it, perhaps the two of them wouldn''t even be able to get out.

    Zu An voiced his understanding. He silently examined his surroundings. The ship was moving along with the current. Could it be that the Lake of Hatred was somewhere around the lower reaches of the river? However, ording to the Embroidered Envoy¡¯s information, there weren¡¯t any ces there that seemed as if they could hide the Lake of Hatred!

    While he was lost in his thoughts, Zhang Zitong was really having a hard time. Her face was entirely red. Even though she knew he was ying the role of a ¡®scoundrel¡¯, being kneaded back and forth made her heart go up and down along with those hands. Her eyes were blindfolded too, so her sense of touch was also greatly magnified.

    Zu An didn¡¯t have the time to think about those things. His eyes suddenly narrowed, because he discovered that as the ship traveled along, the river''s current became faster and faster. With his spiritual awareness, he immediately sensed that there was a massive waterfall drop a mile or so up ahead. If this ship continued, it would fall right down the waterfall. With his cultivation, he¡¯d naturally be fine, but more than half of the passengers on this ship would likely take theirst breath.

    He secretly examined his surroundings. The neers¡¯ eyes being veiled was one thing, but those direct disciples were perfectly calm. There were even some who began idle conversation. He was puzzled, but he was quite good at remaining calm now. He also pretended everything was fine.

    Soon after, their ship arrived near the waterfall. The blindfolded neers finally reacted.

    ¡°Why does the water sound so loud?¡±

    ¡°Do you all feel as if the ship¡¯s speed is a bit abnormal?¡±

    ...

    ¡°All of you, shut your mouths!¡± the veteran disciples barked; they allughed when they heard the panicked discussions. Back then, they had all experienced the very same thing.

    A Secret Path disciple walked to the bow of the ship and took out a formation board. With a bit of fiddling, the entire ship shone with light. Runes became faintly visible on its surface. Just then, it was as if the area up ahead sensed something, and rings of ripples gradually appeared.

    Zu An was stunned, thinking, <i>It¡¯s a secret dungeon? </i>With his current level of insight, even though only a bit had been revealed, he was already able toe to that conclusion.

    This was a secret dungeon suspended right above the waterfall, parallel to the river surface. Furthermore, there were special formations arranged all around it. A special procedure had to be carried out before the secret dungeon would show itself. Therge ship didn¡¯t fall down as expected; instead, it entered straight through the flickering light up ahead.

    Zu An sized up the surroundings and discovered that this secret dungeon was different from others. While passing through, there was a clear feeling that the surrounding space was extremely stable. It was likely a crystallization of a thousand years of the Devil Sect¡¯s wisdom! They had actually built their general headquarters in a secret dungeon. Who could have imagined that?

    His eyes quickly lit up. The entire ship had already reappeared on a river. The surrounding environment wasn''t that different from earlier either. The only difference was that there was no more waterfall, and it was reced with a towering mountain... No, it was more like a tall altar. Normal mountains were often wider on the bottom and narrower on the top, but the bottom and top of this mountain were about the same in width, making it look more like a trapezoid. The river the boat moved along was in front of the mountain, and it split into two paths left and right like a ÈË character. It carved out two deep grooves in the valley, while the mountain towered over the middle.

    Zu An looked up and saw all kinds of buildings above that ¡®altar¡¯ of a mountain. When he looked closely, he saw assorted towers, walls, and other defensive structures, too. From time to time, people in Devil Sect attire roamed around. This was clearly the legendary Devil Sect General Headquarters: The Lake of Hatred!

    Sure enough, therge ship stopped at a dock in front of the mountain. The guards vigntly pointed various weapons at it.

    In response, the disciples onboard ran over to talk to them. They handed over a token, and the other side clearly rxed. Even so, they still rigidly sent people to investigate the ship. When they saw that nothing was wrong, they then permitted everyone toe ashore.

    Zu An thought to himself that with the level of security they had here, it was indeed quite difficult for outsiders to infiltrate the Devil Sect.

    Once they got off the boat, the disciples of the different sects led the neers to a spacious tform, then finally permitted them to remove their blindfolds. When they saw the world around them, all of the new recruits were amazed. At the same time, the excitement of reaching the general headquarters was clear on their faces.

    Zu An followed the others along the road. He saw that the path wasid with bluestone, wide enough for three people to walk side by side. Both sides had steep inclines, with thistles and shrubbery growing everywhere. He keenly sensed that there were many dangers hidden in the trees. If one identally fell, it would surely bode ill.

    There was a tall ballista tower every few hundred meters. The guards inside vigntly monitored every single person who crossed. If even the slightest thing was off, they could immediatelyunch an attack. At the same time, they could ignite the beacon next to them or ring the gong to immediately activate all of this ce¡¯s defenses.

    They made their way up the winding path and crossed several city gate checkpoints. All the structures were built on the mountain¡¯s precipice through an ingenious use of topography. The headquarters really was an incredible undertaking to build!

    Zhang Zitong couldn''t help but say through ki, ¡°With this level of defense, not even a court army of a hundred thousand would be able to take this city down!¡±

    Zu An nodded. What she said was true. They had even gone through some small openings that only permitted a single person through at a time, and only by bending down a bit at that. There were ny-degree cliffs all around them, too. If the main army came here, they wouldn¡¯t be able to disy their power at all. On the other hand, they would be very susceptible to all kinds of defensive strategies.

    ...

    Just like that, they continued for a mile or so before the terrain finally became more level. Most of the buildings were here.

    The direct disciples took their new recruits to their own territories. Even though Zu An didn¡¯t know where to go, he didn¡¯t panic. With a small trick, he had the Yin Yang Path¡¯s disciples take the lead and managed to find ''his'' ce.

    Once the door was closed, Zhang Zitong immediately jumped away from him and looked out the window. She was amazed and excited, eximing, ¡°Sir, we actually seeded!¡±

    The court had long investigated the whereabouts of the Lake of Hatred, but they¡¯d never managed to seed.

    Zu An¡¯s expression remained calm. He examined his surroundings to get used to Fang Biao¡¯s living arrangements. Then, he began to think about how to look for Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei. He had been looking around on the way up, and more or less deduced the Heavenly Devil School¡¯s location.

    Suddenly, he thought of something. He took Zhang Zitong into his arms again. Zhang Zitong was stunned, but she didn¡¯t suspect that he was taking advantage of her. She immediately realized that someone wasing.

    Sure enough, there was a teasingugh from outside, and a voice remarked, ¡°I heard that my trash little brother caught and brought back a silver token envoy?"

 Chapter 2000: Your Reply?

    <h4>Chapter 2000: Your Reply?</h4>

    ¡°Boss Hu, Boss Biao has juste back for some rest. He ordered that no one was allowed to disturb him...¡± said the guard outside in a troubled manner, but his voice grew softer and softer.

    ¡°Get lost!¡± An arrogant voice shouted, ¡°Do brothers like us need you guys to get in our way if we want to talk to each other?¡±

    Zhang Zitong immediately came to Zu An¡¯s side and said, ¡°Sir, the one outside is probably Fang Biao¡¯s second brother Fang Hu. It seems the rtionship between the brothers isn¡¯t actually that good.¡±

    Zu An nodded. He put his arm around her waist, and moved her slightly behind him.

    Soon after, several noisy footsteps drew closer, and in the blink of an eye, the door was forced open. Arge and tall young man appeared at the entrance. He was much bigger than Fang Biao, and the most noticeable trait was his big nose, as well as his expression that seemed as if he were looking at trash.

    Zu An frowned and called out, ¡°Has no one taught you to knock before entering?¡±

    Fang Hu raised his brows and remarked, ¡°Oh? It seems you¡¯ve be a bit braver after going out on a field trip! You actually dare to speak to me now.¡±

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Fang Hu for +66 +66 +66...</strong>

    Zu An was startled. It seemed that Fang Biao had been bullied quite a bit by his second brother.

    Fang Hu pulled over a chair and sat down with a swagger, saying, ¡°I heard that you even chased those concubines of yours away. Many of them ran over to me crying. Just what is going on?¡±

    Zu An was speechless. A huge group of women had rushed at him right after he returned. They were all women whom Fang Biao had taken in over the past few years. Upon seeing those women pander to him, Zu An had no patience at all for them and had decided to just chase them all away. After all, he was always surrounded by the best. Why would he feel anything for these caked-up women?

    However, these women had actually gone over to tell on him to Fang Biao¡¯s second brother?

    <i>Tsk tsk, just from this guy¡¯s tone... How many green hats was Fang Biao wearing?</i>

    ¡°Nothing. Of course fresh women are more interesting,¡± Zu An said as he yed with Zhang Zitong in his arms.

    Zhang Zitong was so embarrassed her face becamepletely red, and she yfully hit his chest.

    <i>Sir Eleven is getting more and more into it...</i>

    Fang Hu¡¯s eyes had remained on Zhang Zitong ever since he came in. As soon as he saw what she looked like, he was immediately stunned.

    <i>Those legs in particr... I feel like I could y with them for three years at least.</i>

    The moment he thought of that, he couldn¡¯t hide the desire in his eyes. He said, ¡°Lend me this woman for a few days.¡± As for when he would return her, or whether he would return her, that woulde after.

    Zhang Zitong was rmed when she heard that. She was only acting as a female ve right now. If it was Sir Eleven, she didn¡¯t care much if he took some liberties with her, but she¡¯d rather die than really end up in the hands of those Yin Yang Path people.

    Zu An gently patted her to console her. He decisively refused, saying, ¡°No.¡±

    Fang Hu didn¡¯t get upset; he said with augh, ¡°Look at how stingy you¡¯re being. Which one of your other women have I not yed with? I even gave you some of my concubines too, remember?¡± Of course, overall, he was the one who took advantage of Fang Biao more. The ones he gave Fang Biao were pretty much only those he got tired of and didn¡¯t want anymore.

    Zhang Zitong harrumphed with a reddened face. These two brothers really were the worst scum in existence.

    ¡°This is different. If I say I won¡¯t lend her to you, then I won¡¯t,¡± Zu An said coldly.

    Fang Hu narrowed his eyes. He remarked, ¡°Kid, it seems you¡¯ve grown a bit bold recently, haven¡¯t you?¡± Then, he looked at Zhang Zitong and said, ¡°Beauty, you¡¯ll have a better life if you follow me. With legs like yours, my third brother¡¯s poor health won¡¯t be able to satisfy you at all. Only someone like me can truly help you enjoy what mingling in the Yin Yang Path really tastes like.¡±

    Zhang Zitong jerked her head away. She clung tightly to Zu An.

    Fang Hu was a bit shocked, eximing, ¡°Hm? It seems like you¡¯ve really won over this woman''s body and heart. Could it be that you really did use the Eighteen Spring Winds they spoke of?¡±

    ¡°What do you think?¡± Zu An retorted. He was starting to feel admiration for Zhang Zitong¡¯s acting. Fang Hu couldn''t see through her appearance at all.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s possible. Other people might not know about the condition of your body, but how could I not? We¡¯re actually kindred spirits, you know?¡± Fang Hu sneered. If Fang Biao really had been that tough, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to dominate his brother''s women so easily.

    Zu An was getting a bit annoyed. This guy really was annoying! He was even wondering whether to just silence him. Either way, he had already managed to sneak into the general headquarters, anyway.

    However, this was rted to Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei¡¯s safety, so he put aside his difort and tried to change the topic, asking, ¡°Where is our big brother?¡± Said brother wanted to marry Qiu Honglei, so he had to ask around for rted information.

    ¡°Big brother is busy trying to marry the saintess. He doesn¡¯t have the time to bother with this kind of stuff," Fang Hu said, walking over to him. ¡°My dear little brother, if you give her to me on your own now, I¡¯ll still interpret it as a wonderful brotherhood. But if you make me use force, things will get ugly. Do you still remember how I beat you up back then?¡±

    There was a smirk at the corners of his lips. The threat behind his words was clear. At the same time, he was a bit confused. Normally, this brat Fang Biao would already have pissed his pants out of fear and obediently handed over his women. Why was he so stubborn today? It almost didn¡¯t seem like him.

    Even so, when he saw Zhang Zitong in his brother''s arms, he immediately felt relieved. This woman was prettier than any of the women from before. Those beautiful legs in particr were top-quality. Together with the fact that she was a silver token envoy, the feeling of dominating her had to be much, much better than with an ordinary woman. No wonder his brother wasn¡¯t willing to give her up.

    Unfortunately, it didn¡¯t make a difference whether he was willing or not. The fist was reason in this ce, and it was no different for blood brothers.

    When he saw the malicious expression in Fang Hu''s eyes, Zu An¡¯s gaze turned a bit cold.

    Zhang Zitong sneered inwardly.<i>This guy really isughable. He has no idea just what kind of person he offended.</i>

    Zu An was about to subdue him and use Daji to restrain him when he suddenly thought of something. He looked outside the door and gave up on any thoughts of attacking for now.

    ¡°Oh? So young master Hu was here!¡± a voice remarked with a lovableugh.

    Fang Hu turned around. An alluring woman was looking around at the entrance. There was a bit of surprise in his expression, but it soon turned to a smile as he said, ¡°So it was big sister Pan! Did youe here for my big brother? Unfortunately, he''s busy preparing for the wedding and isn¡¯t here.¡±

    Even though Pan Qiaoqiao was pretty, he knew she was a poisoned rose. Who knew how many men had fallen victim to her over the years? Furthermore, she had always had a good impression toward his older brother Fang Long. People all believed that if the saintess had been out of the picture, in the entire sect, she had the highest chance of ending up together with his big brother. He could mess with this brat Fang Biao¡¯s women as much as he wanted to, but he wasn¡¯t so brave as to do the same with his big brother¡¯s women.

    ¡°Sigh, what else could it be? Brother Wang is still angry and wanted an exnation from young master Biao, so Feiqing and I came with him to take a look so nothing bad would happen,¡± Pan Qiaoqiao said with a sigh.

    Two more people appeared at the entrance. The first one was the World School¡¯s direct disciple Wang Cong, who was absolutely furious. The second one was the Freedom Path¡¯s Li Feiqing, who leaned casually against the door with a gloomy and pessimistic expression ever-present on his face. Together with his physique, he did give off a kind of unique charm.

    Fang Hu thought to himself, <i>This pretty boy is pretty handsome. What a pity that he couldn''t win against my big brother for the saintess. </i>He''d also heard that Zhang Zitong was originally a new disciple the World School was going to take in, and yet she''d ended up being captured by his third brother.

    Fang Hu couldn''t help but roar withughter, remarking, ¡°However, if we really think about it, didn¡¯t our third brother help your World School eliminate a potential spy? You should be thanking him, so why did youe to criticize him?¡±

    Wang Cong said coldly, ¡°That¡¯s not what I''m talking about. Even though this woman is a silver token envoy, Fang Biao didn¡¯t know about that. On the other hand, he knew she was a World School disciple. Don¡¯t his actions show that he has no respect for our World School at all?¡±

    Zu An and Zhang Zitong were both a bit speechless.

    <i>Do the members of the Devil Sect frequently start disputes over personal feelings?</i>

    ¡°What Brother Wang says makes some sense, Fang Hu said as he walked up to Zu An¡¯s side. ¡°Third brother, this is where you were wrong.¡±

    At the same time, he sent a voice transmission and said, ¡°Third brother, lend me this woman for a few days and I can help you send them away. Otherwise, it''s not my problem.¡±

    Zu An responded coldly, ¡°No!¡±

    If it weren¡¯t for these people¡¯s sudden arrival, he would have already had this guy kneeling and begging for mercy.

    ¡°Do as you please then!¡± Fang Hu said with a sneer and got up to leave. ¡°Third brother was wrong in this matter, so you can deal with it on your own. I won¡¯t be getting involved.¡±

    He was already thinking that he would let these guys give Fang Biao a beating, and he¡¯d be able to easily snatch that woman away after.

    <i>But when did this little bastard Fang Biao get so bold? He¡¯s actually going against me? Even if the woman is pretty, there¡¯s no reason for him to be this brave, right?</i>

    <i>Could it be...</i>

    ...

    When Wang Cong saw Fang Hu leave, he said with a sneer, ¡°We can properly settle our affairs now, right?¡± With a wave of his hand, the door closed behind him to cut off any potential paths of escape.

    Li Feiqing leaned against the window in a sullen mood, while Pan Qiaoqiao walked over with a big smile, as if all of this was particrly amusing to her.

    Zu An frowned, replying, ¡°How do you want to settle it?¡±

    <i>Weren¡¯t the Heavenly Devil School and Yin Yang Path allies? Why are Pan Qiaoqiao and these two teaming up against me together?</i>

    Even so, forget about the three of them, he wouldn¡¯t feel scared even if their teachers came at him. The problemy in the fact that, if he caused a disturbance and his cover was blown, that would be a huge problem.

    ¡°This is something between the two of us. Have the Embroidered Envoy leave,¡± Wang Cong said as he looked at Zhang Zitong in Zu An''s arms.

    Zu An coldly said, ¡°She is my ve now. If you have something to say, just spit it out.¡± Fang Hu wanted Zhang Zitong, so how could he let her leave his line of sight?

    ¡°Look at how much you like her. You don¡¯t even want to leave her side for a second,¡± Pan Qiaoqiao said as she walked over, then tapped Zhang Zitong''s acupoint. Zhang Zitong immediately fainted.

    Zu An naturally could have stopped her, but he could sense that she didn¡¯t intend to kill, so he wanted to see just what they were plotting. As for Zhang Zitong, for the sake of putting on a better performance, she had sealed up her own cultivation and only retained the ability to transmit ki. She naturally couldn''t react in that situation. She had absolute trust in Sir Eleven and believed that he would definitely protect her. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    When Zhang Zitong fainted, the other three sighed in relief.

    Li Feiqing suddenly asked, ¡°Have you thought about the thing we talked to you aboutst time? We came to hear your reply. I hope you won¡¯t disappoint us.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. <i>Didn¡¯t youe here to criticize me? Just what the hell are you talking about now?</i>

 Chapter 2001: Audacious Plan

    <h4>Chapter 2001: Audacious n</h4>

    Zu An looked at Wang Cong, who was nowpletely calm; his previous fury was nowhere to be seen. Meanwhile, Pan Qiaoqiao had an ambiguous smile, but she was looking straight at him. Li Feiqing fiddled with the jade xiao instrument in his hands as he leaned against the window. He looked as if he didn¡¯t care about anything, but he was actually watching for any eavesdroppers outside while also keeping an eye on Zu An. The three of them were now practically surrounding Zu An in the middle.

    Zu An reacted quickly and realized that whether it was Wang Cong or Li Feiqing, all of the animosity they had shown outside in front of the others to make their rtionship seem awful was actually just a kind of cover. These individuals actually had a secret n they were discussing on the down low! The three of them had used the pretext of the World School being offended, but they were actually here for Fang Biao¡¯s reply. He could well imagine that if Fang Biao¡¯s answer wasn¡¯t to their liking, they would immediately strike to ensure that the secret wasn¡¯t exposed.

    <i>But just what did Fang Biao discuss with these people?!</i>

    Zu An thought to himself that his luck was really bad. Even some random person he had ended up impersonating was involved in this kind of thing. He seemedpletely calm on the surface, but his brain was moving rapidly.

    These people were all a part of different factions and weren¡¯t all that close to each other. Just why did they need Fang Biao¡¯s help? Whether it was Fang Biao¡¯s strength or reputation, they were much weaker than the others. What could they need his cooperation for?

    Li Feiqing in particr, ording to Fatty Hu¡¯s description, was interested in the arts and was usually proud and arrogant. He unted himself as elegant and distinguished, looking down on people like Fang Biao who used drugs to take advantage of women the most.

    When he saw that Zu An was still quiet, Wang Cong got a bit impatient and snapped, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you saying anything?¡±

    Zu An thought of something and quickly made up his mind. He replied, ¡°Sorry for being blunt, but I still know my limitations. Whether it''s cultivation or other factors, I can¡¯tpare to you guys at all. What if you guys stab me in the back? There¡¯s nothing I can do at all.¡±

    It seemed as if he was saying a lot, but he actually wasn¡¯t saying anything meaningful. He wanted to use such ambiguous words to fish out more information from these people, which would help him guess what they were talking about.

    When they heard what he said, the other three couldn''t help but smile, remarking, ¡°Everyone always says Fang Biao is the most arrogant and conceited out of the bunch, but it seems that¡¯s not entirely the case.¡±

    Zu An harrumphed, pretending to be annoyed.

    Wang Cong said, ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about that. We''re all in the same boat here, and you are still the Yin Yang Path Master¡¯s son. Why would we take the risk of doing something to you? If we were exposed, we¡¯d be finished.¡±

    Zu An frowned slightly. He still couldn''t really tell what their n was. He said, ¡°Hmph, that¡¯s hard to say.¡±

    Li Feiqing was getting a bit annoyed. He had never been fond of Fang Biao in the first ce. He said, ¡°You keep stalling back and forth. Are you going to refuse?¡±

    Zu An could tell that Li Feiqing was already itching to attack. Zu An naturally wasn¡¯t scared of him, but he was quite interested in what ns this group had, and just why all of this had ended up bing so mysterious.

    ¡°What are you in such a rush for? If you want me to agree, you have to throw in some more benefits first,¡± Zu An said. Judging from the earlier conversation, he''d learned that at the very least, these three were allies. They seemed to want Fang Biao to join them too.

    ¡°We already told you what benefits youd receive. Is young master Biao still unsatisfied?¡± Pan Qiaoqiao asked with a smile as she moved a bit closer. It seemed as if she was about to lean her head on his shoulder.

    Zu An only tapped his feet and made his chair slide slightly backward. He brought Zhang Zitong with him to avoid making contact with her, saying, ¡°It¡¯s not enough.¡±

    Pan Qiaoqiao hadn¡¯t expected her charm techniques to not be enough. A hint of surprise appeared in her eyes as she remarked, ¡°It seems we¡¯ve underestimated young master Biao.¡±

    Zu An picked up his teacup in an unhurried manner and took a sip as if he were an elegant and wise man.

    Li Feiqing harrumphed. ¡°You¡¯ve already been bullied by your two brothers enough, right? And the concubines at your side are frequently taken by them. What benefits are there for you in the Yin Yang Path anyway? You only get the leftovers after the two of them have their pick. If we were to put it nicely, you¡¯re the Yin Yang Path¡¯s third young master, but if we were to be more blunt, your position is no different from that of a servant.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡± Zu An snapped. Even though didn¡¯t actually care, he still had to express the anger Fang Biao would have shown.

    ¡°Feiqing, you¡¯re going a bit too far,¡± Pan Qiaoqiao said as she gave Li Feiqing a reproachful look and immediately tried to smooth things over.

    Wang Cong also said, ¡°Even though brother Li¡¯s words are a bit direct, they aren''t entirely without reason. If things continue like this, when will brother Fang ever make a name for yourself? If I''m not mistaken, your second brother was here to demand that silver token envoy of yours, right?¡±

    Zu An remained silent, but his unhappy expression said enough.

    Wang Cong continued, ¡°If you help us conclude this affair, you¡¯ll have us as your friends to support you. If we were to boast a bit, we still have some say within our respective schools and paths. Also, with a sister-inw like Qiaoqiao to assist you in the background, you¡¯d definitely be living a much better life.¡±

    Pan Qiaoqiao said with an annoyedugh, ¡°You¡¯re so annoying! Nothing¡¯s even started yet; what sister-inw...¡±

    Zu An was startled. <i>Sister-inw? </i>He already had a suspicion.

    ¡°These are all some empty promises. I need something more tangible,¡± Zu An said with a gloomy expression.

    ¡°What tangible things do you want?¡± Wang Cong asked with a frown.

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯m from the Yin Yang Path, so of course I need a good pill cauldron. Your World School and Freedom Path can send your prettiest junior sisters over here and I¡¯ll be more than grateful too. And big sis Pan, if you can personally exchange some pointers with me on Yin Yang Path dao, what more could I ask for?¡±

    ¡°You scoundrel!¡± Li Feiqing eximed furiously. ¡°Our Freedom Path doesn¡¯t have many people to begin with, and the most beautiful female disciples are constantly surrounded by attention. How could we possibly give them to you?!¡±

    Wang Cong also sneered. ¡°Brother Fang, aren''t you asking for too much?¡± N?v(el)B\\jnn

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Li Feiqing for +388 +388 +388...</strong>

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Wang Cong for +388 +388 +388...</strong>

    Pan Qiaoqiao moved closer to Zu An¡¯s side. Even though she was smiling, her expression waspletely cold. She replied, ¡°Young master Biao wishes to engage in pair cultivation with me? You¡¯re quite brave, aren¡¯t you? You clearly know that there¡¯s a chance of me bing your sister-inw, and yet you¡¯re not scared of your big brother ying you alive?¡±

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s not as if I¡¯m asking you to be with me on your wedding night; you cane to meter. How will he even know?¡±

    ¡°Enough. Why don¡¯t you take a look in the mirror first? Do you think there¡¯s a chance?¡± Li Feiqing snapped impatiently. ¡°Come up with something more realistic.¡±

    ¡°Then just give me a few dozen chests of immortal-grade ki stones. And give me some of your branch¡¯s cultivation methods to sift through,¡± Zu An said nonchntly.

    Pan Qiaoqiao chuckled and remarked, ¡°This was probably your real objective, right? It seems everyone underestimated you.¡±

    Li Feiqing and Wang Cong also narrowed their eyes. They also realized that they had let their emotions get carried away by this guy.

    ¡°You can praise me all you want, but I¡¯m not lowering my price,¡± Zu An said with a snort.

    Pan Qiaoqiao didn¡¯t get annoyed and said, ¡°Immortal-grade ki stones aren¡¯t too realistic. How about this? Everyone will give you ten chests of heaven-grade ki stones each, and we¡¯ll each teach you one of our branch¡¯s special techniques. How about that?¡± When she saw that Zu An was about to say something else, she added ahead of time, ¡°Young master Biao, you should know when to stop. This is already the most we canpromise with.¡±

    When he saw the dangerous glint in their eyes, Zu An knew this was pretty much the limit. He said, ¡°I guess it¡¯s fine. But I want it now.¡±

    Wang Cong chuckled and replied, ¡°What if you take the stuff and go back on the deal? That¡¯s why we can only give you the ki stones now. As for the skills, we¡¯ll teach them to you once the affair isplete.¡±

    Zu An pretended to be unhappy, but he still agreed in the end. ¡°Fine.¡±

    He was currentlycking these resources for pill and artifact refinement, so he hadn¡¯t expected to have this kind of unexpected gain. As for the skills these people were talking about, he didn¡¯t care much about them at all.

    The three exchanged a look, then each took out ten chests of heaven-grade ki stones and left them in the room.

    Zu An was a bit surprised. It seemed these people had already prepared beforehand! Otherwise, why would they carry so many ki stones with them?

    ¡°Is it really fine to just leave them here? What if your two older brothers just steal them? We won¡¯t be giving you more if that happens,¡± Li Feiqing said with a sneer.

    Zu An said nonchntly, ¡°That¡¯s not something you need to worry yourself about.¡±

    Wang Cong stepped forward to ease the tensions, saying, ¡°Young master Biao has already agreed, which is a happy thing for all of us. Let¡¯s discuss the concrete details now.¡±

    Zu An nodded and replied, ¡°Alright, tell me about your ns.¡±

    He was even starting to admire himself a bit. All this time, he hadn¡¯t even had any idea what these people wanted to do, and yet he''d ended up getting on good terms with them. He''d even seized the advantage in the discussion.

    Sure enough, no one suspected him and Li Feiqing said, ¡°Fang Long is getting married the day after tomorrow. The new bride will be delivered from the Heavenly Devil School to the Yin Yang Path. Fang Long will be greeting the guests at the feast, so the bride will be all alone. That¡¯s when we¡¯ll strike.¡±

    Zu An was startled. It was just as he''d suspected! However, he hadn''t expected the marriage date to be the day after tomorrow. Thank goodness he''d decided to move quickly! He definitely hadn''t thought Qiu Honglei would agree to this marriage, but people had all been saying that Fang Long was marrying the saintess, so something had clearly happened that made Honglei have no choice to agree; or perhaps she had been forced to agree.

    <i>But now I¡¯m here, so of course I can protect Honglei.</i>

    Just then, Wang Cong said, ¡°When the timees, we can find some way to befuddle Fang Long and get him so drunk that he has no idea what is going on. Young master Biao, you should find a way to remove the Yin Yang Path¡¯s guards, after which brother Li will use that chance to bring the saintess away. You can then take big sister Pan into the bridal room to take the saintess¡¯ ce. Then, there should be no problems at all.¡±

    ¡°No problem,¡± the others all answered with looks of excitement.

    Zu An¡¯s thoughts moved quickly. Li Feiqing was infatuated with Qiu Honglei, so it made sense why he was willing to go through such dangers to chase his goddess. Meanwhile, Pan Qiaoqiao liked Fang Long and was envious of Qiu Honglei. Not only did she want to marry her crush, she also wanted to take Qiu Honglei¡¯s ce in the Heavenly Devil School. Her willingness to take this risk was also understandable.

    But why was Wang Cong getting involved? The whole affair would be exposed the next day. Once people began to point fingers and deliver punishments, there was no way he¡¯d be able to get away with it!

 Chapter 2002: Conspiracy

    <h4>Chapter 2002: Conspiracy</h4>

    Zu An was shocked and asked, ¡°Why are we switching the bride here at the Yin Yang Path? Why aren¡¯t you switching the bride at the Heavenly Devil School?¡±

    Pan Qiaoqiao shook her head and replied, ¡°You think I don¡¯t want aplete wedding? It¡¯s just too hard; Qiu Honglei has too many guards around her.¡±

    Zu An voiced his surprise. ¡°Could it be that the saintess is being detained?¡± He knew he was taking too big of a risk by saying that. If his words ended up exposing him, that would be a huge problem.

    But fortunately, the others didn¡¯t suspect him. Li Feiqing harrumphed and answered, ¡°Of course she¡¯s being forced. I refuse to believe that the saintess would actually like a scoundrel like Fang Long.¡± He paused for a moment, then added, ¡°I didn¡¯t say that to badmouth you.¡±

    Li Feiqing probably felt that speaking in such a way about someone from the Yin Yang Path in front of an ally from the same ce was a bit unreasonable.

    Zu An didn¡¯t really mind. He heard Pan Qiaoqiao add, ¡°But she did personally say that she¡¯d agree to this marriage. I was there too. Many people from the Heavenly Devil School heard her.¡±

    Zu An frowned slightly. It seemed that Qiu Honglei had really ended up encountering a problem she couldn''t solve.

    Wang Cong said, ¡°Don¡¯t think about such trivial things and just move ording to n. The only time the guards will be morex is once everyone has had their fill of food and drink.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± After discussing all the details, the others left in their respective directions.

    ...

    When they left, Zu An put all of the ki stones into the Brilliant ss Bead. Then, he unsealed Zhang Zitong¡¯s acupoints and woke her up.

    When she woke up, Zhang Zitong¡¯s first reaction was to check her clothes.

    Zu An was a bit stunned. He asked, ¡°Are you really that worried about me doing something to you?¡±

    Zhang Zitong¡¯s face reddened. She answered, ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m scared that sir will do something to me, but rather that other people might have. This is a den of evildoers, after all.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He could only change the topic and give her a summary of what had happened.

    Zhang Zitong clicked her tongue in amazement, saying, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect the affairs of the Devil Sect to be soplicated. It seems the various branches also have quite a bit of infighting between them. I feel that this is a good opportunity, though. We can use this chance topletely throw the Devil Sect into chaos. It should be even better if we can make the branches fight against each other.

    ¡°By the way, should I leave and scout out the situation with the guards first? That way, it¡¯ll be easier to coordinate with those people when ites to switching out the bride.¡±

    Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°No, I have other ns.¡±

    ¡°Huh? You¡¯re not going to take advantage of such a good opportunity? What kind of wonderful n does sir have?¡± Zhang Zitong asked, sounding really interested.

    Zu An didn¡¯t reply and said, ¡°I need to go out on a trip. Stay here and be careful.¡± After thinking about it for a bit, he took out a talisman and added, ¡°If you encounter any dangers you can''t handle, activate this talisman. I''ll immediatelye to save you.¡± This was the Yin Yang Path, after all; the ce was extremely unfavorable for women. He was worried that something could happen to her.

    Zhang Zitong carefully stowed the talisman away. She grinned and said, ¡°Sir really does care about me.¡±

    ¡°I just don¡¯t want you to die mysteriously here for no reason.¡± Zu An harrumphed.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I am a silver token envoy, so I¡¯ll have no problems taking care of myself, at least. Even that Fang Hu who came here earlier is someone I can handle,¡± Zhang Zitong said while sticking out her chest.

    ¡°Who was it that was almost done in by Fang Biao not too long ago? This Fang Hu is much more formidable,¡± Zu An reminded her.

    Zhang Zitong¡¯s face reddened. She said, ¡°That¡¯s because I didn¡¯t expect their drugs to be so strong. Sir, please don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve already learned from my experience. Their despicable drugs won¡¯t work on me anymore.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good," Zu An said with a nod, and then he vanished into the distance.

    When she saw him leave, Zhang Zitong took out the talisman and caressed it with her fingers. Her cheeks turned pink. It was impossible to tell what she was thinking, but she suddenly released a long sigh.

    ...

    Meanwhile, after Zu An left the room, he headed straight up the mountain. Along the way, the security was¡¯t as strict as when the new disciples had first gone up the mountain. There were Devil Sect disciples everywhere, and these disciples all had decent cultivation ranks. If any outsiders entered, they would likely be quickly noticed and surrounded. Even so, with Zu An¡¯s current cultivation, he was able to notice them while they were still far away and easily avoid them ahead of time. Together with how quickly he moved, he didn¡¯t alert anyone along the way.

    The architecture of the buildings on the mountain was actually extremelyplex. In many areas, it was simply like a maze. The reason why that wasn¡¯t an issue for Zu An was that he had secretly left a spiritual imprint on Pan Qiaoqiao¡¯s body. Even though people like her were all well-known figures from the Devil Sect¡¯s younger generation, the difference in cultivation ranks between them and Zu An was just far, far too great. There was no way they would notice his movements.

    He continued to search for that weak imprint. Even though he had never been to the Lake of Hatred before, he was still able to urately locate the Heavenly Devil School. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    In truth, Zhang Zitong was right. ording to those people¡¯s ns, beating them at their own game would save the most time, but how could he really let Qiu Honglei and Fang Long go through with their marriage? Even if he knew it was fake, he couldn''t let it go through!

    He quickly found Pan Qiaoqiao. Since he was already in the Heavenly Devil School, he prepared to look for Qiu Honglei. However, he suddenly noticed Pan Qiaoqiao look all around her, seemingly on guard against people following her. Only when she was sure that nobody was following her did she sneak into a courtyard.

    Zu An was surprised, and decided to go and see what kinds of schemes this woman was up to. He secretly entered the courtyard. For some reason, there weren¡¯t many Devil Sect disciples inside.

    Suddenly, he heard some strange sounds, followed by a man and a woman¡¯s conversation.

    ¡°You¡¯ve really be sexier and sexier...¡±

    ¡°Master, you¡¯re so amazing! My soul is about to ascend because of you~¡±

    ...

    Zu An was stunned. How could he still not know what was going on when he heard Pan Qiaoqiao¡¯s assertive words?

    His divine sense quickly scanned the area. An elder dressed in embroidered robes was holding the enchanting Pan Qiaoqiao. The two were wrapped around each other like snakes and engaging in intense ''interactions''.

    Zu An immediately felt as if he were in the middle of a storm. Just before, in that room, this woman had been talking about how much she liked Fang Long, and was willing to take such a huge risk to be his new bride. And yet she''d immediately run off to do this with another man?

    <i>How can she face Fang Long? How can she face all of those people who believed her? On top of that, judging from their conversation, it sounds like these two are master and disciple. What a viiness!</i>

    He didn¡¯t have any interest in eavesdropping on their business. Either way, it was that Fang guy¡¯s green hat. He was about to leave when the elder in the room suddenly asked, ¡°How is the n going?¡±

    Zu An was surprised. He could only stop and continue to listen for the time being.

    ¡°Pft... Mmm, that stupid brat Fang Biao already agreed, but we had no choice but to pay twenty chests of heaven-grade ki stones to make him agree. Master, you have topensate... Ah!¡±

    ¡°Sure, sure, sure. Your master willpensate you right now. All you¡¯ve done for your master is worth far more than these heaven-grade ki stones.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re so annoying~¡±

    Zu An waspletely speechless. This woman really was incredible. She''d immediately doubled what she used up.

    The intermittent conversations continued from time to time.

    ¡°Who has joined in thus far?¡±

    ¡°The Freedom Path¡¯s Li Feiqing and the World Path¡¯s Wang Cong. However, the Treasure Hunter Path¡¯s Fatty Hu doesn¡¯t seem to be too interested.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, the Treasure Hunter Path has already declined. That Fatty Hu is only interested in tombs and female corpses. The saintess¡¯ beauty has nothing to do with him.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re so annoying! How can you think about that Qiu girl when you¡¯re with me right now?¡±

    ¡°Who says I want her? I was just mentioning her.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, you can¡¯t hide it from me. Your body clearly became a bit more excited when you were talking about her.¡±

    ¡°Ahem, that was something else... Regardless, we don¡¯t need to worry about Fatty Hu. The Treasure Hunter Path isn¡¯t that relevant now anyway.¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll go and ask around the Secret Path and Pear Path to see if anyone else will join. As for the Unfeeling Path¡¯s Ding Xia, I wouldn¡¯t dare to ask him. That person is so cold, and the way he looks at me isn¡¯t as if he''s looking at a pretty woman, but rather at a corpse.¡±

    ¡°Ding Xia is Lu Sanyuan¡¯s precious disciple, and his cultivation is around Qiu Honglei¡¯s. The only thing he''s interested in is his master, and he has no interest in any other ns. You don¡¯t need to look for him.¡±

    ¡°Oh, what does master really want to do? I¡¯m a bit confused even now.¡±

    ¡°Heh, I just want to use this chance to gather some of these risk-takers and root them out in one go. Otherwise, they might not fall for anything so easily in the future.¡±

    ¡°Master is full of clever schemes after all. However, once that slut Qiu Honglei is swapped out, does master n on kindly epting her?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not something you need to worry about. There¡¯ll be people to deal with it when the timees.¡±

    ...

    Zu An could more or less guess the elder¡¯s identity from their conversation. He was most likely Yun Jianyue¡¯s junior brother, the Devil Sect¡¯s Elder Xi. It seemed that he was scheming something big, but Wang Cong and Li Feiqing werepletely in the dark about it. He likely wanted to use the chance to beat down the other factions¡¯ strength so he could stand out alone. However, would a trifling elder really have such great ambitions?

    As he continued to listen, he discovered that the two of them didn¡¯t talk about anything else meaningful, and were only immersed in their passion. He thus quietly left.

    ...

    Zu An decided to find Qiu Honglei next. After circling the Heavenly Devil School, he grabbed a few Devil Sect disciples for questioning. There was nothing they wouldn¡¯t say in front of Daji.

    Soon after, he arrived at a secluded courtyard he''d found out about from the information he gathered. Suddenly, he heard beautiful music being yed on a flute; however, it seemed to carry a hint of frustration and sadness. Zu An was really happy, because he could tell that it was Qiu Honglei¡¯s flute music.

    However, he wasn¡¯t in a rush to go in, because he discovered that there were countless guards present. The security was even tighter than when he had been heading up the mountain before. On top of that, many of the hidden guards even had warning tools. If they detected an enemy, they would immediately be alerted, so there was no way for even those with high cultivation ranks to secretly infiltrate this ce.

    Even so, that was no issue for Zu An. He summoned Daji; now that she had nine ranks of cultivation, though she couldn''t restrain the highest-level cultivators, these guards were easy enough to deal with.

    The guards quickly noticed a woman in fluttering white clothes slowly approach. They held their weapons with nervous expressions, and the hidden sentries prepared to sound their rms. And yet, when they saw her appearance, all of them were stupefied. How could there be such a beautiful woman in this world? More importantly, there was a kind of unique charm to her appearance that made others unable to help but cherish her, want to protect her, and do anything for her. The white-d woman gently stroked the lute in her arms. Invisible sound waves spread out, and the guards'' expressions became nk.

    ¡°Who¡¯s there?!¡± several voices suddenly cried in rm. A few female disciples ran out from inside.

    Unfortunately, Daji¡¯s skills were useless against women! When those disciples saw the situation in the courtyard, their expressions changed. They immediately fired warning arrows into the air.

 Chapter 2003: Rebellion

    <h4>Chapter 2003: Rebellion</h4>

    When they saw the warning arrows fire into the sky, the female disciples all sighed in relief. This kind of arrow would immediately release a shrill noise, and others from the sect would rush over to provide reinforcements. At that point, any intruder would then choose to retreat, and they would thus be safe.

    However, their smiles quickly froze. Why didn¡¯t they hear the rms? They reflexively raised their heads and saw that the air seemed to be a bit warped. They didn¡¯t see the fiery streaks they expected after firing their arrows; rather, the projectiles had stopped after moving just a few feet from where they were. Still, even that distance was supposed to be enough to create a loud and shrill noise!

    They could see that there were some ripples around the fire at the very tip of the arrow, which likely came from the sounds they were expecting. However, those sound waves seemed to be gripped by an invisible hand and restrained in ce. They couldn''t move at all.

    Just what kind of incredible skill was this?!

    All of the disciples present were carefully selected. They immediately realized that they were facing an enemy that they absolutely couldn''t win against. They reflexively wanted to run, but soon after, they saw a man¡¯s face. He lookedpletely ordinary, like someone they wouldn¡¯t even give a second look to if they bumped into him; and yet, right now, they were incredibly scared of him.

    After that... There was nothing after that. The female disciples¡¯ bodies went limp and they copsed to the ground.

    Zu An closed his fist, and the sounds those arrows were releasing were sucked into a single ck point before disappearing into nothing. Fortunately, he had been prepared for such a situation, or else things would¡¯ve gotten troublesome.

    He suddenly thought of something and looked up. He saw a beautiful figure seated by the window on the second floor, looking at him vigntly. He was really happy. With a kick of his feet, he flew up to the second floor, calling, ¡°Honglei.¡±

    However, Qiu Honglei immediately rushed backward a few meters and a short de appeared out of her sleeves. She said, ¡°You¡¯re not Fang Biao. Who are you?!¡±

    She naturally knew the Yin Yang Path¡¯s Fang Biao, but there was no way he had this level of cultivation.

    Zu An realized that he hadn¡¯t changed his appearance and quickly restored his original appearance. His voice changed back as well as he said, ¡°Honglei, it¡¯s me.¡±

    ¡°It really is you?¡± Qiu Honglei asked, still a bit apprehensive. After all, there were many people in the sect who knew some treacherous methods that would allow them to transform into Ah Zu. Of course, the man in front of her had almost no ws to pick out.

    Zu An was a bit speechless. He vanished and reappeared at her side to hug her, asking, ¡°Are you sure now?¡±

    When she sensed his special aura and heard certain secrets that only the two of them knew, Qiu Honglei¡¯s tense body finally rxed. She was shocked and happy, asking, ¡°Ah Zu, I¡¯m not dreaming, am I?¡± She clung to him so tightly that she almost seemed scared he would just suddenly run away.

    Zu An stroked her hair while feeling a bit of pity, saying, ¡°Honglei, I''mte. You ended up being so scared...¡±

    Qiu Honglei was so moved that before he even finished, she got on her tiptoes and kissed him. All of her longing from being separated for so long was poured into that one kiss.

    ...

    When their lips finally parted, Qiu Honglei¡¯s face was a bit red. She bit her lip and pouted yfully, saying, ¡°Your kissing skill has improved again. I wonder which woman you¡¯ve been practicing on?¡±

    Zu An was speechless. Since both Chuyan and Manman had learned Kiss of the Goddess, it had also made his skill improve as a result. Of course, there was no way he would ever say that out loud.

    Fortunately, Qiu Honglei didn¡¯t really get upset and quickly changed the subject, asking, ¡°How did you get here?¡±

    ¡°I couldn''t contact you guys, so I was worried that something could have happened, and I made a trip here,¡± Zu An exined.

    The two of them sat by the bed. Qiu Honglei huddled up against him like a kitten. When she heard that, she smiled sweetly and replied, ¡°It seems our hearts really are linked as one... The situation is a bit tricky. By the way, how were you able to take on Fang Biao¡¯s appearance? That guy is the most annoying of them all.¡±

    As someone who was also a part of the Devil Sect, she clearly understood the personalities of the people from the Yin Yang Path very well.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know where the Lake of Hatred was, so I wanted to find some way of making my way in...¡± Zu An said, then gave her a rough summary of everything that had happened.

    Qiu Honglei was a bit apologetic, saying, ¡°It¡¯s all my fault. I should have told you how toe here before; that way, you wouldn¡¯t have had to go through so much trouble.¡±

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°That¡¯s not your fault either. After being here for a few days, I¡¯ve learned that your disciples need to carry out a blood oath and can''t tell outsiders where the general headquarters are, or else they''ll immediately perish.¡±

    That was part of the reason why the Lake of Hatred had somehow never been exposed even after hundreds, or perhaps even over a thousand, years.

    Qiu Honglei smiled and said, ¡°We can¡¯t tell outsiders, but you¡¯re not an outsider. At first, I wanted to wait until we... ahem, and then I would tell you.¡±

    When he saw her face redden and Qiu Honglei acting adorably shy, Zu An couldn''t help but hug her and kiss her again.

    ...

    Fortunately, a whileter, they remembered what was important at the moment. Their lips parted reluctantly and Zu An asked, ¡°Honglei, just what happened to you two? Those guards outside seem to be keeping you under house arrest.¡±

    When she heard what he said, Qiu Honglei recovered a bit of clear-headedness and said, ¡°Actually, I was in the dark the whole time too. Half a month ago or so, when I came out of my secluded cultivation, I discovered that something wasn¡¯t quite right. I couldn''t meet with master at all.

    ¡°I thought she had also decided to focus on her cultivation and gone into seclusion, so I didn¡¯t treat it as a big deal, butter, I discovered that many people were secretly monitoring me. I wanted to contact some of my master¡¯s trusted aides, but all of the elders, hall masters, and others who were loyal to master had all been transferred far away from the general headquarters. That was when I realized something major had happened. I didn¡¯t care about what those guards said and barged straight into master¡¯s ce of seclusion, only to find that she wasn¡¯t there.¡±

    Zu An was rmed and hurriedly asked, ¡°Where did she go?¡±

    Qiu Honglei shook her head and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t know at the time either. Later, the Yin Yang Path Master heard what had happened and wanted to restrain me, but he hadn¡¯t expected me to have learned ''Dance Offering to the Universe''. He realized that it was dangerous to continue trying, and hurriedly told me to stop and try to negotiate with him.¡±

    Zu An was a bit surprised. ''Dance Offering to the Universe'' was the foremost of Immortal Ruler Baopu¡¯s seven skills, a skill with the ability to join the heavens and the earth. Thank goodness Honglei had received the skill to protect her when she was in the secret dungeon, or else the consequences would have been too horrible to even imagine. After all, this was one of the Devil Sect¡¯s four overlords, someone on par with Yun Jianyue, who also had grandmaster rank cultivation.

    ¡°At first, I didn¡¯t want to talk to him, but he took out one of my master¡¯s keepsakes and said that they had my master captive. I was worried that something would happen to master, so I decided to negotiate for the time being," Qiu Honglei continued.

    ¡°Big si... Ahem, did your master fall into their clutches?¡± Zu An asked; his expression changed a bit.

    Qiu Honglei shook her head slightly and said, ¡°That isn¡¯t too likely. With master¡¯s abilities, the Yin Yang Path Master shouldn''t be capable of that. ording to my investigations and deductions, master was most likely trapped somewhere by them. They couldn''t capture master, but master probably can''t break free either.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but say with a sigh of amazement, ¡°You actually managed to find out so much!¡± n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Qiu Honglei spread her hands, and a yellow talisman glowing with red light calmly floated into the air. She replied, ¡°Did you forget about this talisman you gave mest time? I wanted to find out where master was, but that ce seemed to be blocked by something, so that''s why I wasn¡¯t able to find out the exact location. But what I''m certain of is that it''s still within the scope of our general headquarters.¡±

    ¡°So that''s why you agreed to marry Fang Long, so you could try to find out about your master¡¯s whereabouts that way?¡± Zu An asked with a frown.

    Qiu Honglei looked at him with a big smile, saying, ¡°Oh my, your jealous expression is so cute.¡±

    Zu An harrumphed in dissatisfaction.

    Qiu Honglei exined, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. How could I really marry someone like that? I just wanted to appease them for now and gather more intelligence. For example, the things I told you about earlier were things I''ve found out since then.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression finally eased up a bit. He said, ¡°With your master¡¯s cultivation, that Yin Yang Path Master is definitely not her match. Just who else could have joined in on this?¡±

    He understood Yun Jianyue¡¯s cultivation better than anyone. With her strength, she could protect herself even against an earth immortal. Bing an earth immortal herself was also just around the corner. The Yin Yang Path Master was just a grandmaster. How could he possibly do anything to her?

    ¡°That¡¯s right, there are definitely more people who participated,¡± Qiu Honglei said, her gaze turning cold. ¡°If I''m not mistaken, there''s also the Vice Sect Master Lu Sanyuan.¡±

    ¡°Lu Sanyuan?¡± Zu An eximed in shock. The two most famous individuals in the Devil Sect were the Devil Sect Master Yun Jianyue, and the leader of the ¡®volunteer army¡¯ Lu Sanyuan.

    To a certain degree, the court was a bit more scared of Lu Sanyuan. After all, he led a hundred-thousand-man rebel army and roamed from ce to ce, defeating countless armies of the court.

    Qiu Honglei voiced her agreement. ¡°Lu Sanyuan is the vice sect master, as well as the leader of the Unfeeling Path. His status in the sect is extraordinary. At first, master didn¡¯t really mind having a peaceful coexistence with him, and she even provided him with all kinds of resources to aid in building that volunteer army.

    ¡°However, after Violet Mountain¡¯s events, master suddenly discovered that Lu Sanyuan had led the volunteer army nearby to coordinate with the various factions in a fight against Zhao Han, and yet even as the sect master, she didn¡¯t know a thing about it. She nned to investigate the situation properly when she came back this time, but that Lu bastard actually struck first.

    ¡°Even so, we just never expected the Yin Yang Path Master to actually have been roped in by him too. After all, the Yin Yang Path has always been on good terms with our Heavenly Devil School.¡±

    Zu An had a strange expression as he said, ¡°I fear that it might not just be the Yin Yang Path. I think even quite a few members of the Heavenly Devil School have been roped in, such as that Elder Xi.¡± Then, he told her about what he had discovered between Pan Qiaoqiao and Elder Xi.

    Qiu Honglei was shocked. She said, ¡°Pan Qiaoqiao has always been jealous of me and has always felt that she isn¡¯t inferior to me in any way. Still, I never expected her to actually dare to betray the Heavenly Devil School!¡± Her thoughts moved quickly, and she came to a conclusion, saying, ¡°It must be because master has long been trying to restrict the actions of the Yin Yang Path, not permitting them to steal the womenfolk of honest people, and she also added all sorts of rules to the Heavenly Devil School that caused their dissatisfaction. That has to be why they were so easily swayed by Lu Sanyuan.¡±

    Zu An got up and said, ¡°Since we know the ringleader, I¡¯ll head over and settle our debt now.¡±

    Qiu Honglei immediately grabbed him and said, ¡°You can''t! We don¡¯t know the situation with master yet. What if they''re driven into a corner and do something out of desperation? That would be really bad!¡±

 Chapter 2004: Eliminated

    <h4>Chapter 2004: Eliminated</h4>

    Zu An knew that what she said did make some sense. As ofte, she had tried all kinds of methods, but still hadn''t been able to find where exactly Yun Jianyue was. With Yun Jianyue¡¯s cultivation, it shouldn¡¯t have been too difficult to get away even if she waspletely surrounded. And yet, in that case, she would have contacted him a long time ago. However, he had no information at all.

    It was probably as Qiu Honglei spected - that she was trapped somewhere and both parties had entered a stalemate. The attackers couldn''t continue, but Yun Jianyue couldn''t escape either. But if he really pressured these rebels too far and they decided to just bring the whole ce down as a final struggle, Yun Jianyue would never be able to escape. He couldn''t afford to take that risk.

    ¡°Besides, I couldn''t find any trace of Lu Sanyuan and the others either, nor do I know just which people are colluding with him. That''s why I needed something like a marriage, where almost all of the major members of the sect would attend. Then, it¡¯d be easier to catch them all in one go,¡± Qiu Honglei said.

    ¡°But even if it''s just an act, there''s no way I can really let you marry that Fang Long.,¡± Zu An said gravely.

    Qiu Honglei smiled sweetly before replying, ¡°Isn¡¯t that easy enough? Can¡¯t we just have someone take my ce?¡±

    Zu An thought of something and asked, ¡°You¡¯re talking about that person?¡±

    Qiu Honglei nodded. The two of themughed in mutual understanding. However, she said, ¡°Even so, there''s another problem. Those female disciples saw you when you came in here. Even if we kill them, Lu Sanyuan and the others will have noticed that something is wrong.¡±

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. That¡¯s not a big problem at all.¡± After saying that, he took out some Worries Be Gone Rosemary and gave the female disciples a sniff.

    Qiu Honglei asked curiously, ¡°What kind of drug is this?¡±

    Zu An told her about the Worries Be Gone Rosemary. Qiu Honglei immediately protested yfully, ¡°You always have so many kinds of drugs on you. It¡¯s really a shame that you didn¡¯t join the Yin Yang Path.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face heated up and he said, ¡°It¡¯s just to research the medicinal properties. Isn¡¯t this the perfect time to use such a drug?¡±

    As long as he controlled the dosage, it wouldn¡¯t make their desires go out of control. At the same time, it could make them forget about what had just happened.

    Qiu Honglei harrumphed. ¡°Either way, you¡¯re not allowed to use this on other women.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but chuckle, replying, ¡°Then does that mean that I can use it on you?¡±

    A flirtatious look flickered across Qiu Honglei¡¯s face and she said, ¡°You don¡¯t even need to use it on me.¡±

    Suddenly, her eyes flickered and she noticed Daji standing quietly next to her. She was incredibly moved, saying, ¡°Even though this isn¡¯t the first time I¡¯ve met her, she really is beautiful... Also, for some reason, I feel a sense of familiarity from her.¡± She immediately added, ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to do anything weird to her.¡±

    Zu An impatiently retorted, ¡°Am I that kind of person?¡±

    ¡°Look at how pretty this woman is. I refuse to believe that you¡¯ve never been tempted before.¡± Qiu Honglei harrumphed.

    Zu An sensibly chose not to continue talking about the subject with her. The two of them discussed their next ns again, and then he quickly left.

    Without Daji controlling them, the dazed guards all returned to normal. They all looked a bit confused, but when they saw that the saintess was still inside, they sighed in relief and didn¡¯t think about anything else.

    ...

    Meanwhile, after Zu An left, he still felt a bit unsatisfied. He secretly looked around the Lake of hatred. Firstly, he wanted a good idea of the Devil Sect General Headquarters¡¯yout, and secondly, he wanted to find traces of Yun Jianyue. He expanded his vast divine sense and also used the jade badge¡¯s little creatures to aid in his search.

    Unfortunately, even after searching the entire ce three times, he still couldn''t find Yun Jianyue. If it not for Qiu Honglei¡¯s glowing red yellow talisman that showed that Yun Jianyue was indeed still at the Lake of Hatred, even he would have suspected that she had already left.

    Helpless to do anything else, he could only return to the Yin Yang Path for the time being. Of course, he changed back into Fang Biao¡¯s appearance, and he shamefully found another unlucky soul to use the Kawaii Waifu Voice Changer on.

    ¡°Motherf*cker... This appearance-changing skill really isn¡¯t something meant for a human to do,¡± Zu An muttered, still cursing as he returned to Fang Biao¡¯s courtyard.

    When she saw him return, Zhang Zitong weed him happily. ¡°Si... Master!¡±

    Zu An said in annoyance, ¡°There are no outsiders here, so just call me sir.¡±

    ¡°No way! What if I get used to that and make a mistake in front of other people?¡± Zhang Zitong said with a firm expression.

    Zu An frowned, but he let her do what she wanted. He had to admit that being called ''master'' by a beauty with such wonderful legs was a pretty good feeling.

    ¡°What gains has master reaped from this trip?¡± Zhang Zitong asked.

    Zu An naturally couldn¡¯t tell her everything; he only told her about what he needed her to do on the day of the wedding.

    Zhang Zitong listened extremely patiently and said, ¡°Master, don¡¯t worry. I''ll definitelyplete my mission.¡±

    ¡°You have to be careful. The Devil Sect is full of powerful cultivators,¡± Zu An warned.

    Zhang Zitong felt warm when she heard his words of concern. When she looked at him, her expression also became gentler.

    Now that they had finished talking about important matters, the room immediately became quiet. Both of them felt a slightly awkward atmosphere settle in.

    ¡°It¡¯s alreadyte, so you should go next door for some rest,¡± Zu An said.

    However, who could have thought that Zhang Zitong didn¡¯t leave at all? She replied in a low voice, ¡°Did master forget that with Fang Biao¡¯s personality, there¡¯s no way he would let an incredible beauty like me leave?¡±

    Zu An was a bit speechless. He said, ¡°Everyone knows he''s just finished using the Eighteen Spring Winds. How could he possibly still have those thoughts?¡±

    Zhang Zitong¡¯s face turned a bit red. She replied, ¡°Even if... Even if he was tired, he''d still want to have women in his arms when he¡¯s sleeping. That¡¯s a way of showing off in and of itself.¡±

    ¡°You seem to understand these kinds of bastards quite well.¡± Zu An said, a bit surprised.

    ¡°I used to chase down scoundrels all across the world of warriors and interacted quite a bit with these kinds of people, so that¡¯s why I understand their personalities,¡± Zhang Zitong said with a sigh. Because of her beauty, she had frequently been sent out to lure snakes out of their holes. Since she had always been fully prepared and had her colleagues to coordinate with her, it had always led to ess after sess. And yet, who could have thought that she would end up being done in by Fang Biao? It was all because of that weird drug being too strong.

    Zu An said, ¡°Then you can just stay here. You can sleep on the bed.¡±

    Zhang Zitong¡¯s heart was pounding.

    <i>What does Sir Eleven mean? Does he want me to sleep with him?</i>

    <i>Should I refuse, or...</i>

    Before she even thought it through, she already reflexively replied, ¡°Okay.¡±

    Suddenly, the door to the courtyard was shoved open and Fang Hu called out mockingly from far away, ¡°Third brother, your second brother is here to see you!¡±

    He instantly appeared by the door, burning with anxiety. A strong smell of alcohol wafted over even from far away. Even though he said that he was here to see his third brother, his eyes never evennded on Zu An, and instead greedily sized up Zhang Zitong.

    <i>Those legs really are incredible... I¡¯m sure they could crush a person to death.</i>

    ¡°Old third, why don¡¯t you go out for a stroll? I drank too much and need to stay at your ce to catch my breath,¡± Fang Hu said as he released a gassy burp, waving his hand at Zu An as if he were ordering a servant.

    A hint of anger flickered across Zhang Zitong¡¯s eyes. She naturally knew what he was really thinking. This man even publicly stole his younger brother¡¯s women! He really was scum among scum.

    Zu An indifferently said, ¡°I believe that the one who should leave is you.¡±

    ¡°Oh my, our brat must be itching for a beating!¡± Fang Hu¡¯s expression immediately changed as he said, ¡°If you don¡¯t want to be obedient, don¡¯t me this big brother for not giving you any face.¡±

    He pushed toward Zu An while saying that. An intimidating aura began to spread from his body. He knew that his third brother was a sheep in wolf¡¯s clothing. If they really fought, it wouldn¡¯t make a difference even if he only used one hand.

    <i>Since this kid doesn¡¯t want to respect his seniors, I¡¯m going to screw his woman right in front of his face!</i>

    He was getting excited just from the thought of it.

    <i>Hm? He should already be starting to get scared around now. Why is he still so calm?</i>

    <i>Wait, when did this white-d woman suddenly appear? And she¡¯s so beautiful, almost like a goddess from the heavens...</i>

    As he looked at her, his eyes became unfocused, and he stood still in a daze.

    Zhang Zitong was also amazed.

    <i>Sir Eleven¡¯s female subordinate is too amazing! She easily restrained this insufferably arrogant Fang Hu!</i>

    <i>More importantly, she''s so beautiful, beautiful to the point of causing despair. I can¡¯t even bring myself to feel an ounce of jealousy toward her.</i>

    <i>But even so, my legs should be longer than hers. It¡¯s a pity that she¡¯s wearing a dress and we can¡¯tpare with each other.</i>

    Zu An didn¡¯t know she was making suchparisons. He asked Fang Hu, ¡°Do you know where Sect Master Yun is?¡±

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t Sect Master Yun be in the Demonic Voice Pavilion?¡± Fang Hu replied with a slightly bewildered tone.

    Zu An frowned slightly. It seemed Fang Hu didn¡¯t know about the schemes that were going on. They were likely a plot conducted by Lu Sanyuan and a few higher-level figures. As such, he asked about some other questions to gain a deeper understanding of the Devil Sect.

    He suddenly thought of something and said, ¡°By the way, there were some mysterious people who came to talk in secret with your father for a while. Do you know who they were?¡±

    Fang Hu nodded and said, ¡°They seemed to be from the Shadow Group.¡±

    Zu An was startled. He hadn¡¯t expected even the Shadow Group to be involved too. He asked, ¡°What did they talk about?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know about the exact details, but they seem to want father to help find someone. But I don¡¯t know who exactly that person is," Fang Hu answered.

    When he heard that, Zu An frowned slightly. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    <i>Could it be that the Shadow Group is also looking for Yun Jianyue? Did the Yin Yang Path Master just not tell them the truth, or does he not know where Yun Jianyue is either?</i>

    <i>But then, how am I supposed to continue my search now?</i>

    At first, he''d deduced that the Yin Yang Path Master and Lu Sanyuan were conspiring against each other, but now, he wasn¡¯t so sure anymore.

    He asked a few more questions, but didn¡¯t receive any further meaningful replies. As such, he just casually tapped the space between Fang Hu''s brows, causing the other man''s body to tremble. Fang Hu''s expression ckened, and he fell to the ground.

    Zhang Zitong eximed in shock, ¡°You¡¯re going to just kill him?¡±

    ¡°Leaving scum like this alive would only bring further harm to the world," Zu An said coldly. With a wave of his hand, the White Lotus me swept out and burned Fang Hu¡¯s corpse away.

    ¡°Won¡¯t there be issues? He is still the Yin Yang Path¡¯s second young master!¡± Zhang Zitong said worriedly. She had learned a bit about the Devil Sect on the way here. The direct disciples of the Yin Yang Path were all the Yin Yang Path Master¡¯s own sons, so they had extraordinary statuses.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± Zu An said calmly.

    Zhang Zitong wanted to say something, but after thinking about it, forget about a trifling second young master of the Yin Yang Path, even if it was the Yin Yang Path Master himself, Sir Eleven now led the entire Embroidered Envoy. Why would he need to feel scared?

    ...

    Meanwhile, in another courtyard, a young man was cultivating in his room. His aquiline nose was especially striking.

    Soon after, a subordinate entered to make a report. When the young man heard what his subordinate said, he slowly opened his eyes and remarked, ¡°Second bro went to bully third bro again? Hmph, I want to see just how beautiful this silver token envoy is for myself, for second bro to be so impatient!¡±

 Chapter 2005: Substitution

    <h4>Chapter 2005: Substitution</h4>

    Meanwhile, Zu An was talking to Zhang Zitong. He suddenly sensed something and made a shushing motion toward her.

    Soon after, someone spoke up outside. ¡°Second bro, did youe to bully third bro again?¡±

    The moment those words were spoken, a young man appeared by the door. His looks were decent, and everything he did exuded a feeling of confidence. Compared to Fang Hu and Fang Biao, he did seem more impressive. However, his aquiline nose paired with his malicious expression clearly told a different story, betraying his unkind nature.

    At first, he seemed to havee to watch something fun, but when he saw what was going on inside, he was stunned. He asked, ¡°Where is second brother?¡±

    Zhang Zitong¡¯s heart began beating madly. Judging from his tone, it seemed this was the Yin Yang Path¡¯s oldest son, Fang Long.

    Zu An had just burned away Fang Hu¡¯s corpse. Why had this guy suddenlye knocking on his door?

    <i>Do these brothers have some kind of device that lets each other know if something happened to one of them?</i>

    Zhang Zitong was really rmed, but Zu An seemedpletely unfazed as he replied, ¡°He suddenly remembered something just now and hurriedly left. He seemed to be in a bit of a rush too.¡± n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    <i>This is the toad who wants to marry Qiu Honglei?</i>

    He secretly nced at the people outside. It wouldn''t be too difficult for him to deal with all of them. Even so, he still gave up on the thought in the end. He had to use the wedding to draw out all the rebels in one go.

    <i>This guy¡¯s life is better off being spared for now.</i>

    ¡°He left?¡± Fang Long asked; he couldn''t help but frown.

    <i>What kind of important business could that kid Fang Hu have? </i>

    He had no idea that he had almost lost his life right then and there.

    Even so, he didn¡¯t pay the answer much heed, because everyone had some small secrets. He knew about Fang Hu¡¯s smuggling of Yin Yang Path drugs to outsiders, and figured his brother had most likely gone to sell drugs to his pack of scoundrels.

    His gaze thennded on Zhang Zitong. A hint of surprise appeared in his eyes.

    <i>That Embroidered Envoy was this pretty? More importantly, her legs are so long and straight! Just what kind of sted luck did third bro experience?</i>

    <i>Is there something wrong with second bro¡¯s head? He didn¡¯t want such a hot chick and decided to upy himself with that stupid business?</i>

    When she saw the desire in his eyes, Zhang Zitong¡¯s expression changed. For the first time, she was getting a bit annoyed at her own beauty and her long legs, which she had previously been immensely proud of. Why were they bringing her so much trouble?

    A hint of coldness flickered across Zu An¡¯s eyes. As expected, the Yin Yang Path really was hiding endless corruption. Even brothers willfully stole women from each other, and all that mattered was who was stronger.

    Fang Long took a deep breath and slightly eased his raging emotions before saying, ¡°Third bro, this woman is a silver token envoy who definitely has many secrets. You should take good care of her and not let anything happen to even a single hair on her head. Once I¡¯ve finished dealing with things in the next few days, I¡¯lle to interrogate her personally.¡±

    His reason still won out in the end. He was going to marry the saintess soon, and was the target of countless disciples¡¯ jealousy. If he caused trouble now and ended up being denounced in public, that could just add more variables to the marriage. It was still best to wait until after he married the saintess. Then, he would y with this silver token envoy. Either way, there was no way this trash third bro would ever disobey him.

    When he thought about Qiu Honglei¡¯s usual aloof and proud appearance, he started to get a bit worked up again. In order to leave the saintess with a good impression on the night of their marriage, he had already given up on his lust for half a month. He''d been drinking oyster and bull penis soup day after day, so it was as if there were a lump of fire building up in his abdomen, and yet he couldn''t let it out ahead of time.

    When he thought of that, he didn¡¯t dare to stay here for a moment longer, because he was worried that he wouldn''t be able to hold it in if he continued to stare at those long legs.

    When she saw him leave in a hurry, Zhang Zitong moved over to Zu An¡¯s side, saying, ¡°This Yin Yang Path really is full of despicable scum!¡±

    Zu An said indifferently, ¡°Don¡¯t worry; they don¡¯t have many good days left to live.¡±

    Zhang Zitong was surprised. She said, ¡°Master¡¯s rtionship with that Devil Sect saintess seems to be quite special.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t ask about things you shouldn¡¯t ask about,¡± Zu An said, then turned around and left impatiently.

    Zhang Zitong excitedly followed behind him and pleaded, ¡°Come on, master, tell me about it! I promise I won¡¯t tell anyone.¡±

    ¡°Remember your identity; obeying orders is your duty. The more secrets you know, the more dangerous it will be for you," Zu An replied.

    ¡°I¡¯m just your female ve now though; I¡¯m not even an Embroidered Envoy anymore," Zhang Zitong said.

    Zu An was speechless.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay if master doesn¡¯t tell me, but can you let me see what you look like?¡±

    ¡°Do you want to die?¡±

    ¡°If I could see what you really look like, I¡¯d be willing even if I have to die right now.¡±

    ¡°Did you get drugged by an aphrodisiac again?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re so annoying! I''m really curious here...¡±

    ...

    In the end, Zu An ended up being pestered to the point that he just struck her acupoint to make her sleep. Only then did it quiet down a bit. He sat down on the bed and began to meditate. At the same time, he continued to control the living creatures around the Lake of Hatred to find out Yun Jianyue¡¯s whereabouts. Unfortunately, this was the Devil Sect General Headquarters, and it simply had too many defensive formations and restrictions. There were many areas that the smaller creatures couldn''t enter, so he could only note those ces down for now.

    ...

    A night passed without any more talking. The next morning, Zhang Zitong woke up. When she looked at her intact clothing, she was in a bit of a daze.

    ¡°It¡¯s good that you¡¯re awake now. I¡¯m going out for a bit, so be careful on your own,¡± Zu An said before leaving the room.

    Zhang Zitong touched her cheeks. It was impossible to tell what she was thinking, but there was a grin on her face as she muttered, ¡°Who would have thought that the honorable Embroidered Envoy''s Chief Commander would be a true gentleman who wouldn¡¯t be swayed at all?¡±

    ..

    Meanwhile, when Zu An left the room and arrived at the Heavenly Devil School, he prepared to meet with Pan Qiaoqiao.

    The Yin Yang Path and Heavenly Devil School were usually on good terms, and since Fang Biao was, for better or for worse, the Yin Yang Path¡¯s third young master, a female disciple of the Heavenly Devil School soon brought him in.

    Pan Qiaoqiao waved for the others to leave first. Then, she looked at Zu An and asked with a frown, ¡°Why did youe looking for me at a time like this? Be careful not to expose our n.¡± She had already recovered her usual charming yet prideful appearance; it was nothing like the lowly appearance she''d disyed in front of her master the previous day.

    Zu An said, ¡°I have a way to let you rece the saintess as the new bride ahead of time, letting you experience the feeling of Fang Long escorting the bride to the wedding ceremony.¡±

    ¡°You''re bing braver and braver, aren¡¯t you? You don¡¯t even call him big brother anymore. Aren¡¯t you scared that I¡¯ll tell on you?¡± Pan Qiaoqiao asked with a lovelyugh.

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°We¡¯re all among our own people here. In the future, I¡¯ll need sister-inw to take good care of me, so why would you expose me?¡±

    ¡°That little mouth of yours has honey thered all over it,¡± Pan Qiaoqiao said, rocking back and forth inughter. ¡°But I don¡¯t believe you have the ability to switch me with the saintess. ording to what I know, she''s currently...¡± She stopped midway through her sentence and changed the topic. ¡°Either way, it''s impossible. We should just patiently wait to perform the switch in the bridal room.¡±

    ¡°The two servants who are watching over her have some connection with me,¡± Zu An said quietly. ¡°So that''s why I have a way of switching the two of you ahead of time.¡±

    Pan Qiaoqiao was stunned and couldn''t help but give him a second look, saying, ¡°Everyone says the Yin Yang Path¡¯s men are yboys. I didn¡¯t expect you to be more formidable than I thought.¡±

    ¡°Do you want to give the feeling of being a proper bride a shot?¡± Zu An asked, continuing to tempt her.

    ¡°Still, even if you have a connection to those two servants, it still doesn¡¯t seem possible, right?¡± Pan Qiaoqiao asked skeptically. After all, this was an extremely important affair. Why would two maids be willing to do tha?

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I have a way, but I can¡¯t tell you the exact details. It touches upon some of my own secrets,¡± Zu An said with a hushed voice.

    Pan Qiaoqiao was a bit moved.

    <i>Could there really be some other people I don¡¯t know about that have gotten involved too?</i>

    <i>Alright, this is a good chance to look into it. If I can get any useful information, master will definitely reward me properly.</i>

    It was impossible to tell what she was thinking, but a flush of redness appeared on Pan Qiaoqiao¡¯s cheeks. She said, ¡°We can give it a try. Should we have Li Feiqinge with us?¡±

    ¡°Of course not,¡± Zu An said. When he saw her raise her brows, he continued, ¡°Big sister Pan must be wondering why I''m taking such a risk to do this kind of thing, right?¡±

    Pan Qiaoqiao couldn''t help butugh, saying, I am indeed a bit curious.¡± Indeed, the subject had drawn her curiosity for a while. Such a thing didn¡¯t seem to match Fang Biao¡¯s personality.

    ¡°It¡¯s because I want the saintess!¡± Zu An eximed, sounding excited.

    Pan Qiaoqiao burst intoughter and immediately exined, ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m deliberately making fun of you, it¡¯s just that this really is a bit... funny.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>This Fang Biao really is pretty unfortunate... He might be the respected third young master of the Yin Yang Path in the eyes of ordinary disciples, but in the eyes of others, just what do they see him as?</i>

    Pan Qiaoqiao endured herughter with a lot of difficulty, then continued, ¡°Are you trying to steal Fang Long''s beloved woman because of how he normally bullies you?¡± She had heard a bit about the Yin Yang Path¡¯s affairs.

    Zu An figured that exnation would actually save him a bit of trouble and said, ¡°That¡¯s right. He ran all the way over to my ce to demand my silver token envoy. He went too far!¡±

    A strange look flickered across Pan Qiaoqiao¡¯s eyes.

    <i>That woman is indeed pretty; no wonder she became the final straw that broke the camel¡¯s back.</i>

    ¡°Even so, if this matter is exposed, your big bro will kill you," she said.

    ¡°That''s why I¡¯ll need sister-inw to help me put in a good word. Of course, I hope he''ll never find out that the saintess is with me,¡± Zu An said with an apologetic smile.

    ¡°I guess it¡¯s fine; I¡¯ll help you outter,¡± Pan Qiaoqiao said. Despite that, she actually sneered inwardly.

    <i>Does this idiot really think I¡¯ll help him?</i>

    ...

    Then, Zu An took Pan Qiaoqiao to the courtyard Qiu Honglei was being held in. When she saw theyers of guards all around, Pan Qiaoqiao smiled ambiguously and asked, ¡°Just what kind of method do you have to swap the two of us in this situation?¡±

    Zu An chuckled and immediately summoned Daji.

    Pan Qiaoqiao narrowed her eyes. How could there be a woman this beautiful? She''d thought that Qiu Honglei was already her greatest rival, but why had another one appeared?

    She saw the white-d woman walk into the courtyard; then, Zu An said, ¡°Alright, follow me in.¡±

    Pan Qiaoqiao reflexively followed. When she entered, she noticed that the guards seemed to have not even seen her, and didn¡¯t even react. She couldn''t help but ask, ¡°Who is that woman? Why do you know such an exceptional person?¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°I¡¯ll tell youter.¡±

    Pan Qiaoqiao was in a bit of a daze and unwittingly followed him inside. The first thing she saw was a sweet and graceful figure. She had viewed Qiu Honglei as herpetitor for so many years, so she was able to recognize her immediately. Qiu Honglei was dressed in red bridal clothes, their color serving as a great contrast to her beautiful skin. She really was beautiful.

    In that instant, Pan Qiaoqiao couldn''t help but feel ashamed of her own inferiority. She''d wanted topete against this woman all her life, and yet now, she felt that the very idea was aplete joke.

    Qiu Honglei turned around and smiled at Zu An, saying, ¡°You came! How do I look today?¡±

    Zu An was briefly dazed, replying, ¡°You¡¯re as beautiful as a heavenly immortal!¡±

    Pan Qiaoqiao finally realized that something wasn¡¯t right and reflexively rushed out, crying, ¡°Guards!¡±

 Chapter 2006: Bride

    <h4>Chapter 2006: Bride</h4>

    When she was talking to Fang Biao, Qiu Honglei¡¯s tone was like that of a lover flirting with her sweetheart. But how could that be possible?

    Pan Qiaoqiao knew better than anyone what kind of crappy personality Fang Biao had. This was trash that even she looked down on, and Qiu Honglei wasn¡¯t blind. Why would she possibly like him? Her first reaction was that Qiu Honglei¡¯s mind had been affected by this brat¡¯s drugs, but she quickly gave up on that thought. Forget about the fact that such a crazy drug didn¡¯t exist, even if it did, with her cultivation, would Qiu Honglei even let Fang Biao approach her?

    Countless thoughts had flooded her mind, but in reality, only an instant passed. Pan Qiaoqiao felt that the situation inside the room was extremely strange and instinctively felt a chill run through her entire body. That was why she ran out without an ounce of hesitation.

    However, she soon discovered that her voice seemed to bounce right back off an invisible wall, and couldn''t reach the outside at all. She was horrified. She was able to clearly sense that an extraordinary expert had set up a powerful barrier around this room. They definitely weren''t someone she could hope to win against.

    When she realized all of that, Pan Qiaoqiao activated a blood-igniting secret skill that unleashed her potential. Her usual cultivation immediately became twice as strong, and hidden weapons fired out like flower petals that filled the air. She didn¡¯t even know where her enemy was, and only hoped to be able to buy herself a bit more time.

    However, her eyes quickly narrowed. She saw that Fang Biao casually waved his hand, and his sleeves seemed almost as if they contained a world of their own. All of the hidden weapons were sucked in.

    <i>What?</i>

    She had never expected that extraordinary expert to be Fang Biao!

    <i>How is it possible for him to be this strong?</i>

    <i>No, something¡¯s wrong! There'' no way this person is Fang Biao!</i>

    That thought appeared in her mind instantly. Then, everything in front of her eyes darkened. She didn¡¯t even see what had happened to make her faint.

    When she saw Pan Qiaoqiao fall heavily to the floor, Qiu Honglei rolled her eyes at her lover, remarking, ¡°Can¡¯t you be a bit more delicate with women?¡± Even though that was what she said, the grin on her face gave away how happy she was to see this woman meet such an end.

    ¡°This woman didn¡¯t have good intentions anyway, so she deserved it," Zu An said with a chuckle. He shoved Pan Qiaoqiao under the bed so that he didn¡¯t have to look at her annoying face anymore.

    Qiu Honglei wasn¡¯t interested in Pan Qiaoqiao either; instead, she raised her dress to do a spin in ce. Her red dress looked like a fresh blossoming flower as she asked, ¡°Ah Zu, do I look pretty?¡±

    ¡°A smile at a nce, a hundred charms unfold; the powdered maids of the six pces palepared to thee,¡± Zu An said with sincere admiration.

    ¡°You¡¯re always so good at making me happy. There¡¯s clearly a few pretty women in the Imperial Pce too, like the empress. Even the crown princess is an exceptional beauty,¡± Qiu Honglei said. She''d been a part of the attack on the Imperial Pce, and had a deep impression of them. Even so, that was all it was. When she heard the praise of her lover, she still felt incredibly sweet.

    Zu An held her hand and helped her sort out her wedding clothes, asking, ¡°Why are you wearing this today?¡±

    ¡°Did you not know that the bride has to try on the clothes ahead of time?¡± Qiu Honglei replied as she sat down in front of the mirror again tob her hair. ¡°Early this morning, the Yin Yang Path¡¯s people brought over the clothes for me to try. Even though their actions are despicable, I have to admit that they have an appreciation for beauty, and their clothes are quite beautiful. There were even some maids who came to help me with my appearance, but I chased all of them away.¡±

    ¡°I just feel a bit strange to see you wear someone else¡¯s wedding clothes,¡± Zu An said as he took theb from her hands and helped her gentlyb her hair.

    ¡°What do you mean, someone else? This is clearly mine.¡± Qiu Honglei harrumphed. She added, ¡°I actually wore this for you to see.¡±

    ¡°It is really beautiful,¡± Zu Anmented. As he watched the woman in the mirror apply her red lip rouge, adding an enchanting gloss to her lips, he couldn''t help but be a bit absent-minded.

    People always said that a woman¡¯s most beautiful moment was when she became a bride. Qiu Honglei had always been extremely beautiful to begin with; now, paired with the decoratednterns and colored banners, as well as her rosy lips, she looked even more beautiful.

    Zu An couldn''t help but lower his head to kiss her. Qiu Honglei looked away and said, ¡°Not with that ugly appearance.¡±

    Zu An only realized he''d forgotten something then, and returned to his usual appearance. The two of them kissed, and Qiu Honglei moaned. Her body even became a bit weaker.

    It was different from before. Now, there was no one here to disturb them, so they didn¡¯t need to worry about anything anymore. This kiss unraveled their pent-up feelings for each other. After being apart for so long, all of their emotions were poured into the kiss.

    They only separated after a long time. However, Qiu Honglei¡¯s eyes were teary as she said, ¡°Ah Zu, sometimes, I feel really inferior.¡±

    ¡°Inferior? Why would you think anything like that?¡± Zu An asked, confused. That was especially true after he arrived at the Lake of Hatred and found out just how highly the other disciples in the Devil Sect thought of her.

    She was simply a goddess in the eyes of every man. She was the target of every direct disciple¡¯s admiration. To think there could be someone this beautiful who also paid equal attention to cultivation, and yet said that they felt inferior... If someone like Pan Qiaoqiao were to hear such a thing, perhaps she would have woken up out of anger on the spot.

    ¡°Because you and Chuyan are husband and wife, and even Manman is so close to you. I''m the only one who is like an outsider with you,¡± Qiu Honglei replied; a tear couldn''t help but slide down her face as she spoke.

    When he saw her tear-stained face, Zu An felt a great sense of pity. He didn¡¯t say anything and just kissed her,forting her with his gentleness.

    Qiu Honglei waspletely moved. She looked at him with her teary eyes and said, ¡°Ah Zu, I¡¯ve already pretty much fully cultivated the method my master taught me.¡±

    Zu An felt stirred, saying, ¡°That means...¡±

    Because of Yun Jianyue¡¯s warning, the two of them had never dared to take that final step. They couldn''t ruin her body ahead of time, or else Qiu Honglei wouldn¡¯t be able to reach the highest level of Charming Voice.

    Affection filled Qiu Honglei¡¯s eyes as she said, ¡°Ah Zu, today, I am your bride...¡±

    Zu An¡¯s breath quickened. How could he still hold himself back? He immediately picked her up and carried her to the dressing table. The gorgeous and precious wedding clothes slid down her shoulders, fully exposing her pure, jade-like body. Even the fresh flowers next to her seemed to pale inparison.

    Everything continued naturally...

    Suddenly, Qiu Honglei bit down on Zu An¡¯s shoulder. Her entire body trembled continuously.

    Zu An felt a bit sorry and asked, ¡°It hurts, doesn¡¯t it?¡±

    Qiu Honglei nodded, but then quickly shook her head. A hint of pained worry appeared on her beautiful face. If the other disciples of the sect saw her current expression, who knows just how many hearts would shatter on the spot?!

    She took a deep breath and calmed down a bit. However, her charming little face was still pale as she said, ¡°Your... I have no idea just how Chuyan was able to handle you.¡± She''d felt as if her entire body was going to split open as soon as they joined.

    When he saw how ufortable she was, how could Zu An still keep going at it?

    And yet, to his surprise, Qiu Honglei wrapped herself around him like an octopus and said, ¡°Don¡¯t stop.¡±

    ¡°But...¡± Zu An began.

    Qiu Honglei gently pressed her finger against his lips, asking, ¡°Did you forget that I¡¯m a Devil Sect witch? I''m the first one to have cultivated our charm skills to the highest level, you know? Even though master is formidable, she''s never experienced love, so she probably can¡¯tpare to me.¡±

    Zu An had a strange expression. If she found out about his rtionship with Yun Jianyue, he would definitely die a miserable death.

    Qiu Honglei continued, ¡°The charm skill of my sect not only makes men ythings in the palm of one''s hand, but also teaches how to please the man one truly loves.¡±

    She began to circte her cultivation. Even though Zu An couldn''t see what she was doing, he could tell she was now clearly different from before. Every smile and frown now seemed to tug at his soul. What was even clearer was that her body became even softer than cotton.

    Qiu Honglei moved closer to Zu An and whispered quietly by his ear, ¡°I might not be able to win against Chuyan in a fight, but there''s no way she canpare to me in this respect.¡±

    <i>This damn petty desire to win!</i>

    How could Zu An still control himself? With a roar, heunched his powerful counterattack.

    ...

    With a loud bang, in a ce a hundred miles away, dozens of Devil Sect soldiers finally smashed through the tightly-shut entrance of a mountain stronghold, using a crude siege hammer made from a thousand-year-old tree trunk. Then, the attack troops behind them roared as they charged inside. Unfortunately, the stronghold¡¯s defenses were extremely tough, and the forces inside quickly fought back, pushing the Devil Sect¡¯s soldiers back out.

    A young man with a cold and detached expression watched with an indifferent expression. Soon after, Devil Sect soldiers came up to him and reported, ¡°Brother Ding, the New Moon Pce¡¯s retaliation is extremely fierce and our brothers have suffered heavy casualties. Should we stop the battle for now?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear about the number of casualties; I only want the New Moon Pce! I want everyone to know that all those who follow master will sing in triumph, while all those who go against master will perish!¡± the young man replied.

    He was none other than Lu Sanyuan¡¯s direct disciple, Ding Xia, as well as the Unfeeling Path¡¯s publicly acknowledged most outstanding inheritor. People all believed that he would be the one to lead the Unfeeling Path to a new age of glory.

    The soldier gritted his teeth when he heard that. He turned around and passed down the orders. Now that they knew that there was no way out, the Devil Sect soldiers up ahead continued to charge with reddened eyes. They sent the siege hammer smashing forward again.

    Even so, the New Moon Pce¡¯s people also knew that they would undoubtedly die once the enemy broke through, so they gritted their teeth and persevered.

    Just like that, the siege hammer smashed inward before being forced out. The stronghold¡¯s gate flowed with a river of blood. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    However, after a couple dozen more exchanges like that, the New Moon Pce finally caved. As the siege hammer rushed straight in, it signaled a one-sided ughter.

    The soldiers under Ding Xia¡¯smand became more and more excited. They all rushed in and stormed every single entrance. However, they weren¡¯t able to feel happy for long before miserable screams filled the air.

    As it turned out, the New Moon Pce used liquid tactics. Endless viscous poison swarmed in from all directions, causing the enemy to suffer tremendous casualties. Then, the remaining forces of the New Moon Pce attacked from hidden areas, forcing the intruders into alley fights. Because of the poison, the entire ce became muddy. Pressing forward became extremely difficult.

    When he saw the power the New Moon Pce disyed, Ding Xia¡¯s face twitched. He decided to personally lead his guards onto the battlefield.

    After several hours of bitter fighting, the New Moon Pce¡¯s defenses finally couldn''t hold on any longer. They lost position after position until eventually, even the final core area that represented the New Moon Pce was also broken through.

    Ding Xia finally smiled when he saw that. Within a radius of a thousand miles, thest faction loyal to Yun Jianyue had finally been taken down. He could now peacefully return to attend the wedding. He wanted to see if that Yun woman nned to continue hiding; was she going to just watch her precious disciple marryomg Fang Long, or would she be unable to hold herself back and throw her life away?

 Chapter 2007: Assassination

    <h4>Chapter 2007: Assassination</h4>

    Meanwhile, over at the Devil Sect General Headquarters, Fang Long was in Fang Hu¡¯s residence. He frowned slightly after scanning the surroundings, muttering, ¡°Second bro still isn¡¯t back?¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t know where second young master went. Does big brother want toe in for a drink? He mighte back if we wait just a while longer,¡± a group of women said as they surrounded Fang Long enthusiastically.

    That was how interactions in the Yin Yang Path went. Everyone within it just wanted to follow the strongest person.

    Whether it was Fang Long¡¯s cultivation or appearance, they were both far above Fang Hu¡¯s. Thus, the women all wanted to climb thedder.

    As for their chastity... The Yin Yang Path didn¡¯t care about anything like that. If both sides were to each other''s liking, all they cared about was making passionate love.

    At any other time, Fang Long probably would been tempted. There were quite a few women in second brother¡¯s courtyard that he was fond of. However, he was getting married to the saintess the next day. Furthermore, the silver token envoy he had just seen was far above these powdered women in the courtyard. He really didn¡¯t know just how he''d been able to stand sleeping with them before.

    ¡°I still have some affairs to take care of. Once second bro gets back, contact me immediately,¡± he said, then turned around to leave.

    He thought about giving thebeauty with those wonderful legs at his third bro¡¯s ce another look, but after thinking about it, he decided to go in another direction. It was better for him to visit the new bride and try to get closer to each other. He thought about how cold and indifferent Qiu Honglei normally was toward him.

    <i>Look at you now! Don¡¯t you have no choice but to obediently marry me?</i>

    <i>I''ll teach you who''s more formidable on our wedding night.</i>

    All kinds of lovely scenes appeared in his mind. He was burning with desire, to the point that it even made his footsteps a bit faster.

    Soon after, he arrived at the courtyard Qiu Honglei was locked up in. The guards recognized him and didn¡¯t stop him.

    He walked toward the pretty loft. Suddenly, he sniffed the air and muttered, ¡°Hm? Why is there a faint fragrance?¡±

    As the Yin Yang Path¡¯s young master, he was very familiar with the smell of cosmetics. He quickly discerned that it wasn¡¯t a fragrance, but rather the smell of a woman¡¯s body. That kind of scent really prated deeply. Just a bit of leftover scent was enough for him to know that it was definitely an extremely beautiful woman. He had never smelled such a scent before in the Devil Sect. He became a bit puzzled.

    <i>Could it be that there are still beauties in the Devil Sect that I don¡¯t know of?</i>

    However, after thinking about it, he realized that since it was in this courtyard, it was most likely the saintess¡¯ smell. Perhaps she had changed fragrances recently. Qiu Honglei made sure to keep her distance from him and wouldn¡¯t let him within three feet of her, which was why he wasn¡¯t that familiar with her smell.

    <i>Even so, I¡¯ll be able to smell every inch of her skin tomorrow.</i>

    When he thought of those scenes, he felt his blood boiling all throughout his body.

    ...

    When he arrived in front of the loft, Fang Long stopped. He sorted out his clothes.

    <i>What an elegant and handsome man I am! I refuse to believe that the saintess never had any feelings for me!</i>

    They were already getting married tomorrow, so he didn¡¯t want to be too hasty. He decided to leave Qiu Honglei with a good impression. As such, he cleared his throat and said with the most gentle and charming voice he could muster, ¡°Saintess, Fang Long wishes to see you.¡±

    A cry of rm came from above, followed by the sounds of chairs and tables touching. Fang Long was stunned and quickly asked, ¡°Saintess, is something wrong?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯te in!¡± Qiu Honglei immediately cried out from upstairs. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Fang Long didn¡¯t get angry; instead, he felt happy and said, ¡°Okay, no problem. I won¡¯te in.¡±

    The saintess normally didn¡¯t show a sliver of emotion toward him. However, she almost seemed to be pouting yfully, and her tone was much gentler than usual.

    <i>It must be that since she''s marrying me tomorrow, she''s already started to change her opinion of me.</i>

    ...

    Qiu Honglei didn¡¯t know what kind of thoughts were going through Fang Long''s head. When she heard his voice, her soul almost left her body! Then, she couldn''t help but tremble.

    Zu An took a deep breath. He almost couldn''t hold it in.

    Qiu Honglei looked bashfully at Zu An.

    <i>Why is he acting as if nothing happened? I was almost scared to death!</i>

    Even though with their cultivation ranks, they didn¡¯t need to fear Fang Long, if he found out what was happening inside, she would really need to find a hole to hide inside forever.

    Fortunately, she was a Devil Sect woman to begin with. After the initial rm, she calmed down slightly. She pursed her lips and called out, ¡°Why are you here?¡±

    Fang Long bowed slightly and said, ¡°My humble self came to ask if the saintess was satisfied with the wedding clothes. This was something I had sewn by master craftsmen after searching for hundreds of miles. I wonder if it suits your tastes.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s pretty... pretty goodm¡± Qiu Honglei said. She was actuallypletely red in the face, silently hitting her lover in the chest.

    <i>This guy really is daring! He actually hasn¡¯t even let me go in this kind of situation!</i>

    ¡°That¡¯s good, that¡¯s good,¡± Fang Long said. When he sensed the charming tone in Qiu Honglei¡¯s voice, he was a bit surprised as well. The saintess was usually strict in her conduct, and her status was revered; thus, his thoughts never even approached the truth. He just assumed her attitude was getting gentler because she was about to be a bride.

    His insides heated up as he said, ¡°Saintess, my humble self ising up to take a look. If there are any parts that need to be adjusted, I can immediately inform the dressmaker.¡± He pushed open the door to enter immediately after.

    Qiu Honglei was horrified. She quickly opened a window and did her best to stick her head out, crying, ¡°Do you not know the rules?! The bride and groom aren¡¯t allowed to meet before marriage!¡±

    Fortunately, Ah Zu had insisted on her keeping her clothes on. As a Devil Sect witch, she naturally knew what kinds of things men thought about. Even so, she was passionately in love and had felt a bit moved. She''d only wanted to give all of herself to her lover, so of course she hadn¡¯t refused. She hadn¡¯t expected that it would actually be helpful to the current situation, because she was still ¡®dressed¡¯ and could meet another person.

    Fang Long looked at her, and his jaw dropped.

    <i>Just too beautiful!</i>

    Qiu Honglei was already extremely beautiful normally, but right now, her cheeks were red and her eyes misty. There was an alluring gloss on her lips.

    Fang Long couldn''t help but sigh inwardly. The women he had met all his life were all just cake and powder. As long as the saintess became his wife, even if he had to get rid of all of his concubines and had to stay with her alone for the rest of his days, he would still feel that it was worth it.

    ¡°Saintess, you really are beautiful!¡± he eximed. He was a master of flirting to begin with, but at that instant, he felt like an ignorant young man who had seen a beauty for the first time. None of his womanizing words came out.

    ¡°You¡¯ve already seen me, so go back already!¡± Qiu Honglei cried, and prepared to close the window.

    ¡°Wait!¡± Fang Long called out as he stared at her with a hint of confusion. ¡°Did those maids notb the saintess¡¯ hair? I need to properly discipline them.¡±

    The hair of the beauty above was a bit messy. Even though it gave her a kind of enchanting allure, it still shed a bit with the grand ceremonial clothes she wore.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I felt that they didn¡¯t do my hair that well and wanted to do it myself, but then you suddenly arrived,¡± Qiu Honglei said; her fingers mped down on the windowsill while her other hand gave her lover a fierce pinch.

    <i>This guy is going to be the end of me!</i>

    Fortunately, her window was only partly open, so the parts of her body that were exposed could hide the lower half.

    Fang Long felt relieved and said, ¡°Right, how could those maids¡¯ perception of beautypare to the saintess¡¯ judgment?¡± When he saw that Qiu Honglei cared that much about her appearance, he couldn''t help but be pleased.

    <i>It seemes she ns to show me her most beautiful side when she marries me tomorrow.</i>

    However, he didn¡¯t know that Qiu Honglei was filled with coldness. If it weren¡¯t because she had to catch Lu Sanyuan and all the others in one go tomorrow at the wedding, why would she ever even talk to this man in such a way and go through with such a situation?

    ¡°Then I won¡¯t be disturbing the saintess anymore. See you tomorrow,¡± Fang Long said; he wanted to leave her with the impression of a gentleman. He bowed elegantly before leaving.

    He couldn''t help but turn around repeatedly as he left. He saw that the saintess was still leaning against the window, her expression sweet and charming. Her body seemed to be swaying a bit, which he took as her being in a pretty good mood. When he thought about how such a beautiful woman was going to be his bride tomorrow, Fang Long only felt his heart being swayed too.

    When Fang Long finally left, Qiu Honglei finally couldn''t take it anymore. Her entire body became weak. She bit down on her sweetheart out of embarrassment.

    ...

    The next day, the Lake of Hatred was decorated withnterns and colored banners. The bride¡¯s escort quickly arrived at the side courtyard. Soon after, they escorted the marriage carriage to the Yin Yang Path¡¯s location.

    Along the way, gongs and drums rang out jubntly. Several disciples came out to watch along the way. Many Devil Sect men wept bitter tears, because the goddess of their hearts was now going to be a married woman. In contrast, many female disciples actually felt a bit happy at her misfortune. The pressure they had felt from Qiu Honglei really was suffocating, but now that she was to be married, there was one less major rival.

    Suddenly, a figure rushed out from among the crowd like a bolt of lightning. A long and thin sword appeared, only leaving behind a cold glint as it stabbed straight into the marriage carriage. A woman¡¯s bitter cry filled the air.

    Those present were shocked. They had never expected the saintess to experience an assassination!

 Chapter 2008: Vengeance

    <h4>Chapter 2008: Vengeance</h4>

    Weing the bride was naturally of utmost importance during the wedding. Fang Long had made sure to send Yin Yang Path experts as escorts along the way, and there were also Heavenly Devil School and Unfeeling Path bodyguards. All of their preparations had been made out of fear that the disciples would do something extreme. After all, Qiu Honglei¡¯s prestige in the sect was too high, and she was now getting married. It would definitely be difficult for some disciples to ept that reality.

    But no matter how worked up those disciples were, no one had imagined that someone would actually try to directly assassinate the saintess! When the assassin suddenly rushed out from the crowd, they''d all thought that it was a crazy admirer of the saintess. They''d nned to teach that person a lesson, then let them go.

    However, that person had just moved too quickly. Before the guards could intercept them, they had already rushed through a gap.

    One Yin Yang Path guard had eventually reacted to what was happening, drawing his weapon to face the assassin. Unfortunately, the assassin¡¯s sword was too fast, so fast that the guard was only midway through drawing his weapon before a sword thrust through his forehead and ended his life. Another guard swiftly met the same fate.

    The assassin¡¯s sword hadn¡¯t stopped at all, continuing straight into the marriage carriage; after that, a woman¡¯s scream tore through the air. However, the assassin didn¡¯t stop there. With a tap of their toes, they turned into a streak of flowing light before vanishing into the distance.

    The entire process happened in a mere few blinks of an eye, or perhaps a few breaths. A second prior, all of the disciples had still been heartbroken over the saintess now bing a married woman, but how could they have expected that the saintess would be assassinated inside her marriage carriage?!

    <i>The Shadow Group!</i>

    The same words appeared in all their minds.

    Only the Shadow Group¡¯s top assassins could achieve such a result and immediately flee the scene.

    Normally, with the saintess¡¯ cultivation, there was no way she would die even if a top Shadow Group assassin came after her. However, today was her day of celebration, and there were guards all around. She no doubt had to be much more rxed than usual. On top of that, the marriage carriage itself blocked her line of sight, so she likely had no way to react in time. That was the conclusion reached by many people who had been watching the whole procession with the cool gaze of a bystandar.

    However, even more people began bawling their hearts out. The saintess was not only the goddess of countless male disciples¡¯ admiration; she was a symbol of the sect, and yet she''d actually died here!

    Many people rushed over in a panic to see what was going on, but the guards still had their duties to shoulder, so how could they let the crowd approach? They instinctively stopped those people, which quickly incurred public anger. Many people cursed, and some even began to fight back.

    Just as the situation looked as if it could develop into an all-out brawl, a gentle voice suddenly said, ¡°Stop!¡±

    The people''s bodies trembled, because they were all too familiar with that voice. They all turned around. An incredibly charming woman slowly walked over from a distance. Who else could it be but the saintess?

    Many people were stunned. If the saintess was here, who was the woman who had died in the marriage carriage?

    Qiu Honglei said with a sentimental tone, ¡°Junior sister Pan expected that someone would cause trouble during this marriage, so she offered to draw their attention by entering the marriage carriage in my ce. At first, I didn¡¯t agree to it, but things really did turn out the way she thought. Unfortunately, for the sake of saving me, her decision only ended up taking her life.¡±

    She had been secretly following from behind the whole time. She hadn¡¯t expected such a variable to appear at all. She''d wanted Pan Qiaoqiao to attend the wedding so that Lu Sanyuan and the others would all gather in one ce, but Pan Qiaoqiao had actually ended up dying here! Helpless to do anything else, she could only choose to show herself and once again take her ce as the bride. Saving her master was the most important thing, after all. As for everything else, she believed that Ah Zu would understand. Either way, it wasn¡¯t a real marriage.

    The guards opened up the carriage curtains. Sure enough, the Heavenly Devil School¡¯s Pan Qiaoqiao was sitting inside.

    The Devil Sect¡¯s people were all stunned.

    <i>Didn¡¯t Pan Qiaoqiao and the saintess not get along? Why were they acting like sisters, with the former even giving up her life for thetter? Could it be that they were only doing all of that in the past to deceive everyone else?</i>

    <i>Even so, that performance is just too good, right?</i>

    But even though the matter was strange, no one thought any more of it. They were still happier with this result, because the saintess was safe and sound. As for Pan Qiaoqiao, even though she had some pursuers, it was night and daypared to Qiu Honglei.

    Only the guards who were in charge of the escort were a bit stunned, because they had always thought that they were guarding Qiu Honglei. They didn¡¯t even know when Qiu Honglei had left the carriage! They figured that it had to have been that wench Pan Qiaoqiao who colluded with others to aplish such a thing.

    Even so, if the saintess had really been killed, they''d all have been out of luck, so this result actually seemed quite good.

    They quickly brought out Pan Qiaoqiao¡¯s corpse and found another marriage carriage for Qiu Honglei to get into. After all, the top priority was safely delivering the saintess to the wedding. As for everything else, they would make a careful report to their superiors after.

    ...

    Meanwhile, the assassin¡¯s figure moved like lightning, darting between the buildings. Along the way, he randomly tossed his hat, mask, outfit, and other such things into secluded corners. Soon after, he became no different from an ordinary Devil Sect disciple. A grin appeared on his lips; he was clearly satisfied with his work this time.

    Suddenly, he trembled. He looked up and saw a man standing not far away.

    Zu An sized him up, remarking, ¡°This brother¡¯s sword was really quite fast.¡±

    The assassin seemed to have decent looks. His face was abnormally pale, as if he never saw the sun, but he wasn¡¯t a dark elf, and was actually purely human.

    After what just happened, Zu An had rushed over after hearing the news. No matter how fast the assassin was, how could he be faster than Zu An?

    At first, he''d nned to secretly follow him and see if he could find some clues regarding the Shadow Group. After all, the group was too mysterious. Even the Embroidered Envoy only knew a trifling bit about them. However, who would have thought that after so long, the assassin hadn''t gone to any secret Shadow Group rendezvous point, and changed his outfit to be an ordinary Devil Sect disciple instead? Zu An didn¡¯t have that much time to waste on him, so he''d decided to just show himself.

    ¡°How long have you been following me?¡± the assassin asked, although the question was a feint to confuse his opponent.

    As soon as he said that, he suddenly shot out like lightning and instantly appeared in front of Zu An. A long and thin sword appeared, aimed at at the space between Zu An¡¯s brows. The Yin Yang Path¡¯s two veteran experts had been instantly killed by this move. They hadn¡¯t even had time to draw their weapons.

    However, the assassin¡¯s eyes soon widened, because his sword that had always been sessful in every endeavor actually stopped. It was mped between two very ordinary fingers as if it were nothing. At any other time, who would dare to try to overestimate his sword and try to stop it this way? The sword ki his weapon possessed would surely have cut through those two fingers, then prated the opponent''s skull. But regardless of how much strength he exerted, his sword didn''t budge even an inch.

    He was horrified. He decisively abandoned his sword and rushed back in retreat. As an assassin, he had never had thoughts such as ''my sword and I are inseparable¡¯, and had always turned his nose up disdainfully at the idea of dying with the sword. As an assassin, the most important thing was preserving his own life. Only then would he have a chance ofpleting the mission. Even though the sword was important,pared to one¡¯s life, what did it matter?

    Perhaps because of the terrifying pressure he felt from the opponent, he felt that he was moving faster than ever before, even more so than when he''d assassinated the saintess. Even so, he still didn¡¯t rx in the slightest. At the same time, he scattered a handful of poisonous powder behind him, and he activated all kinds of magic weapons he had umted over the years. As long as he was given a moment to catch his breath, he would be able to disappear into the alley up ahead. Then, he would just change his appearance and blend into the crowd. The opponent wouldn¡¯t be able to catch him again.

    However, his body suddenly froze. Fear appeared in his eyes for the first time; his acupoints had just been struck.

    <i>Just what kind of monster is this? Why is his cultivation so ridiculously high?</i>

    Zu An retracted his finger and arrived in front of the assassin, saying, ¡°I just have some questions to ask; there¡¯s no need for you to run so quickly.¡±

    The strength this assassin disyed wasn¡¯t inferior to that of the representative disciples in Violet Mountain¡¯s great daoistpetition. Judging from his age, he seemed even younger than many of those representative disciples, and yet he was on par with them. The Shadow Group really was full of mysteries.

    When he saw the horror in the young man¡¯s eyes, Zu An chuckled and casually sat down on a rock to the side, asking, ¡°What is your name?¡±

    The young man kept his mouth shut. He clearly didn¡¯t wish to speak.

    ¡°If you can¡¯t even answer something like that, maybe I should just send you to the Yin Yang Path. Those fes over there don¡¯t only like women; they¡¯re also quite interested in pretty boys like you,¡± Zu An said with a sneer.

    ¡°You...!¡± The young man¡¯s expression changed. He didn¡¯t fear torture, but that kind of thing made him shiver just thinking about it. ¡°Your respected self¡¯s cultivation is so high, so why would you do such a thing that would shame your status?¡±

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Jing Li for +110 +110 +110...</strong>

    ¡°So it was Jing Li,¡± Zu An remarked with a chuckle, as his n had been to anger the assassin in the first ce. ¡°Who says you have to act a certain way just because your cultivation is high?¡±

    The young man was shocked, eximing, ¡°How do you know my name?¡± N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°I have my ways,¡± Zu An said calmly. ¡°Can you tell me what your role is in the Shadow Group? With your cultivation, I¡¯m sure you¡¯re not just some petty foot soldier.¡±

    The young man¡¯s expression changed several times, but in the end, he still kept his mouth tightly shut.

    Zu An frowned slightly, saying, ¡°There is a limit to my patience. I have other ways of finding out everything about you, but that would require me to cripple your cultivation. I believe you don''t wish for that to happen.¡± Then, he activated his Heaven Devouring Sutra and aimed it at Jing Li.

    When Jing Li sensed the terrifying pressure, his expression changed. He clearly knew that Zu An wasn¡¯t lying. He took a deep breath and said, ¡°I am not from the Shadow Group.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re still trying to lie in this kind of situation?¡± Zu An harrumphed. ¡°Anyone could tell that you¡¯re from the Shadow Group.¡±

    ¡°That''s exactly what I wanted them to think,¡± Jing Li replied.

    Zu An was shocked. He now had some suspicions himself, saying, ¡°Continue.¡±

    Jing Li looked at him with aplicated expression, asking, ¡°If I speak, will you let me go?¡±

    ¡°An assassin like you shouldn¡¯t be asking such a childish question,¡± Zu An said with a chuckle.

    Jing Li sighed, saying, ¡°I definitely wouldn¡¯t ask something like this if it were anyone else, but your respected self¡¯s cultivation is the highest out of anyone I have seen. I believe you''re definitely not someone who would go back on your word.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t try to give me such a high-soundingbel. Let¡¯s hear what you have to say first," Zu An replied.

    Jing Li sighed in relief when he saw that Zu An didn¡¯t promise him anything, saying, ¡°That''s because I have a deep grudge against the Shadow Group. I want revenge against them!¡±

 Chapter 2009: Shadow Group Master

    <h4>Chapter 2009: Shadow Group Master</h4>

    ¡°Oh?¡± Zu An eximed; now it was his turn to be surprised. He gave up on any thoughts of crippling Jing Li and asked, ¡°What kind of grudge do you have with the Shadow Group?¡±

    Jing Li took a deep breath. Hatred flickered in his eyes as he said, ¡°My father used to be the sect master of the Skysplitting School, and the Shadow Group Master was a junior brother of my father. In the past, he was frequently bullied by members of the sect, and my father always helped him. But in the end, he used my father and stole many secret manuals from our sect. Then, he formed his own organization, establishing the Shadow Group.

    ¡°My father was forced to reflect on his actions for ten years as punishment. When thete school master perished and passed on the position of school master to my father, he instructed my father to clean up the mess in our Skysplitting School. Only then did my father find out that the Skysplitting School had failed in its many attempts to eliminate the Shadow Group, and the losses were severe. The hearts of the school''s disciples wavered, and many people were actually roped in by the Shadow Group. As time went on, the Skysplitting School became weaker and weaker, while the Shadow Group grew stronger and stronger.

    ¡°In order to prevent the two factions from suffering, my father decided to hold a duel to decide the future prospects of both sides. However, after that duel, he never returned, and the Skysplitting School thus fully crumbled.¡±

    He was actually making a gamble here too. Since this person was investigating the Shadow Group, he clearly wasn¡¯t someone from there. An enemy of an enemy could be a friend. Of course, if it were anyone else, there was no way he wouldy everything out on the table like this, but the cultivation of the person in front of him was just too high, to the point that he couldn''t even have any thoughts of fighting back.

    Zu An was a bit surprised when he heard the exnation; he''d never expected such a story. He asked, ¡°He lost a fair battle, so you can¡¯t me the Shadow Group Master for that, right?¡±

    ¡°But that battle wasn¡¯t fair!¡± Jing Li eximed, clearly enraged. ¡°My father was known to be number one in the Skysplitting School, while the Shadow Group Master was a known loser. All of his skills were even personally taught to him by my father. How could someone like that possibly win against my father? On top of that, with my father¡¯s current cultivation, even if he lost, what were the odds that he couldn¡¯t even preserve his life? The other side definitely used some despicable and underhanded means during that fight!

    ¡°At the time, the Shadow Group¡¯s rise might have been sudden, but the Skysplitting School had a richer history. It was hard to say who woulde out on top. And yet, because of my father¡¯s unexpected death, the Skysplitting School experienced such a crushing copse.¡±

    Zu An asked seriously, ¡°Did you witness that fight?¡±

    Jing Li shook his head in despair, saying, ¡°For the sake of fairness, both sides decided not to bring any subordinates. Now, it seems that my father honored the promise, but the other side might not have.¡±

    Zu An wasn¡¯t too worried about their internal dispute; instead, he asked, ¡°What''s the name of the Shadow Group Master?¡± He had never been able to find that out even through all of the court¡¯s investigations. Since this person was the junior brother of Jing Li¡¯s father, he definitely knew.

    ¡°Si Chao!¡± Jing Li replied, his eyes full of a deeply entrenched hatred.

    ¡°Si Chao?¡± Zu An repeated with a frown.

    He didn¡¯t have any impression of the name. There were so many famous cultivators in the world, but he didn¡¯t seem to have heard it before. However, after thinking about it, if this was the king of assassins, there was no way the Shadow Group Master would use his real name when interacting with others. It made sense for the name to be unrecognizable. He''d finally obtained some clues, but had the trail already run cold?

    He suddenly thought about the puzzles from the detective shows he''d watched and thought of something. He asked, ¡°What does the Shadow Group master look like? Tell me in more detail.¡± While speaking, he took out a sheet of paper and a brush. For the sake of learning the appearance-changing skill, he had received the personal guidance of Yu Yanluo. His artistic skills were already at an extremely high level.

    Jing Li was stunned. Even though he was a bit suspicious, he still described the Shadow Group Master¡¯s appearance to Zu An.

    Zu An¡¯s brush moved grandly ording to Jing Li''s descriptions. Soon after, a face appeared vividly on the paper. The face was really ordinary, of the sort no one would give a second look to. He was someone naturally suited to assassination.

    Jing Li was a bit hesitant, saying, ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s correct or not. I was still young back then, and Si Chao was usually antisocial and rarely showed himself. After so many years have passed, I fear that I might have remembered incorrectly.¡±

    However, Zu An stared straight at the drawing, because he found the person a bit familiar. He was almost certain that he had seen the person before, but as for exactly where, he just couldn''t think of it. Still, with his current cultivation, there should have been no reason for him to have forgotten if he had seen them before. Why couldn''t he recognize the person, whom he didn''t know, but somehow found a bit familiar?

    ¡°Is senior from the Freedom Path?¡± Jing Li asked probingly. Only those from the Freedom Path were most adept at drawing in the Devil Sect.

    However, he quickly discarded that thought. When had the Freedom Path ever had such a powerful individual? If he really was from the Freedom Path, the Devil Sect would have long since been under their rule. Judging from the strength the other person showed, he was even stronger than his father had been in the past. No, there wasn¡¯t anyone in all of the Devil Sect¡¯s three schools and six paths who couldpare to this man.

    Zu An didn¡¯t reply and put the picture away, asking seriously, ¡°So is that why you deliberately pretended to be a Shadow Group assassin, so you could trigger conflict between the Devil Sect and the Shadow Group?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Jing Li said with a sad smile. ¡°Even though I worked hard over the years and gained many opportunities, I know there''s still a huge difference in strength between the Shadow Group Master and myself. Let alone the fact that he has so many powerful cultivators under him, and any of them would easily defeat me. That''s why I could only carry out this kind of n.¡±

    ¡°The n wasn¡¯t too bad,¡± Zu An said with a hint of praise. He then continued, ¡°Since you¡¯ve been around the Devil Sect General Headquarters, do you know where Sect Master Yun Jianyue is?¡±

    ¡°Sect Master Yun?¡± Jing Li repeated in confusion. Then, he shook his head and said, ¡°Her respected self rarely shows herself, so of course I wouldn¡¯t be able to meet her. On top of that, because I tried to go against the Shadow Group several times, they have people investigating me too. I normally stay hidden in my room and rarely leave.¡±

    Zu An thought of something. He''d heard Fang Biao and Fang Hu mention that some mysterious ck-d individuals had sought out the Yin Yang Path Master for a discussion, and they seemed to be from the Shadow Group. At first, he''d thought that they hade for Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei, but now, it seemed they''de to target this brat.

    As such, he warned Jing Li, ¡°Be careful of theYin Yang Path¡¯s people.¡± He disappeared right afterward.

    Leaving a quick-witted youngster who was trying to cause trouble for the Shadow Group alive could just prove useful in the future.

    Jing Li was stunned. He noticed that his acupoints had already been released. He''d never expected to be let go so easily. On top of that, even though it happened right before his eyes, he couldn''t even tell how the other person had left.

    ¡°What a mysterious and powerful person!¡± he muttered to himself.

    When he thought of that, he couldn''t help but feel shaken. He suddenly became more confident than ever before. With such a mysterious and unfathomable enemy against them, he wasn¡¯t fighting against the Shadow Group alone anymore.

    There seemed to be someone approaching from the distance, so he pulled down his hat and quickly vanished into the shadows. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ...

    Meanwhile, in the Yin Yang Path¡¯s main hall, decoratednterns and colored banners were everywhere. The Devil Sect¡¯s three schools and six paths¡¯ important figures were all present. Additionally, as the hosts, the Yin Yang Path Master and the groom Fang Long were standing at the entrance to wee all the guests.

    However, Zhang Zitong was hiding in the shadows and observing the Yin Yang Path Master. He was tall and slender, with heavy bags and ring dark circles under his eyes. This was clearly a sign of overexertion in his rtionships.

    As for Fang Long, he was dressed in a festive robe and had an uncontroble smile. He seemed especially energetic today.

    ¡°Look at him putting on airs!¡± Zhang Zitong cursed. At the same time, she was a bit worried as to why she still didn¡¯t see any sign of Sir Eleven anywhere. The task Sir Eleven had assigned her seemed a bit ridiculous. Were things really going to develop as he predicted?

    One after another, more important figures arrived. Zhang Zitong matched their faces up to the information the Embroidered Envoy had one by one.

    The one dressed in the yellow clothes embroidered with coins, who was as round as a ball, was likely the World School Master Chen Taogong. As expected of a business tycoon, he looked the most like a rich bastard out of anyone present. Meanwhile, the handsome middle-aged man dressed in a gown adorned with simple and elegant bamboo leaves was likely the Freedom Path Master Hua Feihua. The green jade flute hanging from his waist was undoubtedly his famous weapon, the ¡®Butterfly Loving Flower¡¯.

    <i>Hmph, a grown man like him could¡¯ve used any weapon, and yet he insists on using a flute.</i>

    The one in a daoist robe with a horsetail whisk was likely the Secret Path¡¯s Chi Fuzi. There were also a few elders present, who were also people Zhang Zitong recognized from the court¡¯s name lists.

    Zhang Zitong started to feel really overwhelmed the longer she watched. It was a pity that she wasn¡¯t strong enough, or else she could have caught all of these people in one go and earned tremendous contributions for herself. However, she quickly realized that she was no longer an Embroidered Envoy. She couldn''t help but feel a bit dejected.

    More and more people from all over the Devil Sect came. Even though they normally argued with each other, today, they all greeted the Yin Yang Path Master with smiles and congrattions.

    As for the young disciples, they all looked at Fang Long with enmity.

    ¡°That guy really has some damned good luck.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s about to marry the saintess, so of course he¡¯s in good spirits.¡±

    ¡°The saintess has always kept her distance from him, so why did she actually agree to a marriage with him?¡±

    ¡°I heard the Yin Yang Path agreed to support the Heavenly Devil School on one condition, which was to wed their direct disciples. That should be why.¡±

    ¡°Just how long ago were those agreements made? Who would even honor such words now...¡±

    ¡°Even so, this is how things are. The saintess will still marry him, right?¡±

    ...

    As he sensed the jealous expressions of everyone around him, Fang Long felt incredibly pleased with himself.

    <i>Keep feeling jealous; your goddess is going to be my woman! I''ll definitely dote on her in ce of all of you, hahaha!</i>

    Suddenly, news of the assassination attempt on the saintess came back. The Yin Yang Path Master¡¯s expression changed, but when he heard that Qiu Honglei was fine, he decided not to make a big deal of it. For now, they would marry Qiu Honglei off first. At least then things couldn''t be changed either way. He quickly transferred some elder experts to receive the guests.

    ¡°The Vice Sect Master has arrived!¡± a voice called out.

    Suddenly, the noisy hall immediately became quiet. All those present got up and greeted the new arrival with solemn expressions.

    Zhang Zitong, who had blended into the crowd, quickly turned around. She saw a middle-aged man slowly walk in from outside. His face was handsome, and his bearing was outstanding. His hair wasn¡¯tbed and naturally fell behind him. Rather than looking like a great demon, he looked more like a hermit who stood aloof from worldly affairs.

    As if sensing her gaze, Lu Sanyuan looked in her direction.

 Chapter 2010: Cross-Dressing Only Feels Good for a Moment

    <h4>Chapter 2010: Cross-Dressing Only Feels Good for a Moment</h4>

    Zhang Zitong was startled and quickly retracted her gaze.

    <i>That demon¡¯s cultivation is really scary... I only gave him a few more nces, and yet he already sensed it.</i>

    She understood her limits well. If she was discovered by this great demon, with her cultivation, there was no chance of her winning.

    Fortunately, the Yin Yang Path Master approached Lu Sanyuan with a big smile to talk to him, which made him retract his gaze. He began to converse cheerfully with the Yin Yang Path Master.

    Soon after, the bride¡¯s escort returned. The bridal carriage stopped by the entrance. A bride with a red veil over her head slowly walked in, supported by her maids.

    When they saw her fair and graceful figure, many people sighed in astonishment. They shot Fang Long envious looks.

    <i>Just what kind of damned luck does that guy have?</i>

    Even Zhang Zitong couldn''t help but sigh in amazement. The saintess really was as beautiful as a goddess. Even though her face was covered under the red veil, just the natural grace she walked with tugged at the heartstrings of the people watching. That wasn¡¯t something she couldpare to at all. Previously, she had seen that the Heavenly Devil Path¡¯s Pan Qiaoqiao was also full of charm, but she was still inferior to the saintess.

    ...

    Shortly after, the bride entered the main hall. The Yin Yang Path Master gave her a look.

    However, someone suddenly asked, ¡°Why isn¡¯t the groom leading the bride in yet? We''re about to celebrate the wedding soon!¡±

    Fang Long seemed to awaken from a daydream. He quickly ran over.

    The Yin Yang Path Master bowed and invited Lu Sanyuan to sit in the seat of honor. Lu Sanyuan replied with a smile, ¡°You are the host here today, and the newly married will bow to you in honor. What would I do in that seat? I¡¯ll be fine sitting below.¡±

    The Yin Yang Path Master Fang Zhonghe bowed and said, ¡°The Path-Sect Master[1] is the wedding witness, as well as the heaven and earth of our Holy Sect. If your respected self won¡¯t sit in the seat of honor, how could we dare?¡±

    The elders all cursed inwardly.

    <i>This guy¡¯s obseqious attitude is truly nauseating.</i>

    However, none of them dared to express anything.

    Meanwhile, the middle-ranking members of the sect who were a bit farther away were stunned.

    <i>How did the Vice Sect Master be the Holy Sect¡¯s heaven and earth? What about Sect Master Yun?</i>

    Lu Sanyuan was clearly very satisfied with the Yin Yang Path Master¡¯s attitude. He thus nodded and said, ¡°Since brother Fang has invited me to do so with such hospitality, it would be impolite to refuse.¡± n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Meanwhile, Li Feiqing watched as Fang Long approached the saintess. The wedding was already about to start, so he was feeling incredibly nervous. Previously, he''d already coordinated with that bastard Fang Biao, and yet he couldn''t find the other person at all. He wondered if something had happened. And what was Pan Qiaoqiao doing? Why did he still not see any sign of her? There was no way those two could have eloped, right?

    The World School¡¯s Wang Cong moved over to his side and quietly said, ¡°Brother Li, Pan Qiaoqiao has died.¡±

    ¡°Died?¡± Li Feiqing repeated. His entire body trembled. He quickly asked about what had happened.

    Wang Cong then gave him a summary of the assassination on the way. The Freedom Path¡¯s members were all immersed in the arts, so their informationwork was naturally not as good as the World School¡¯s.

    Li Feiqing¡¯s expression darkened. He hissed, ¡°Just what the hell was Pan Qiaoqiao doing? Didn¡¯t we already decide to switch her out in the bridal room? Why did she do it ahead of time, even hiding it from us?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s already meaningless to ask about those things. She''s already dead,¡± Wang Cong said with a sigh, ¡°Things are way too strange. I''m backing out, but I wish brother Li the best.¡± He shook his head and left afterward.

    Li Feiqing was left standing there with a nk expression. His fists were clenched so tightly that his fingernails dug into his flesh. He knew everything was over. Fang Biao was missing, Pan Qiaoqiao had been assassinated, and Wang Cong had backed out. Their meticulously-made n was now all wasted effort. There was no way he could seed all alone. Could it be that he really just had to watch as the woman he loved married another?

    When he saw Fang Long reach out toward the embroidered sphere the saintess was carrying with a big smile, his eyes turnedpletely red. At that moment, he couldn''t hear any of the noisy surroundings. All of his attention was on the bride and groom.

    In the end, he took a deep breath and roared, ¡°Stop!¡±

    Fang Long jumped in fright and reflexively pulled back his hand.

    The entire hall also fell silent, and the people all looked at Li Feiqing. Those who were standing closest to him moved aside, as if they were worried that they would be associated with him.

    The Yin Yang Path Master gave the Freedom Path Master an unhappy look and asked, ¡°Brother Hua, what is going on here?¡±

    The Freedom Path Master smiled apologetically, replying, ¡°Brother Fang, please do not worry. I will properly discipline that idiot disciple.¡± Afterward, he immediately shouted with an angry expression, ¡°Idiot disciple, this is the Yin Yang Path¡¯s day of celebration! What kind of nonsense are you creating here? Back down this instant!¡±

    At this point, Li Feiqing was going for broke, however. He hollered, ¡°I feel as if something isn¡¯t right with this wedding! There''s no way the saintess would marry Fang Long!¡±

    A group of people immediately became rowdy. It was obvious that there were many people who admired Qiu Honglei, and none of them wanted her to marry Fang Long.

    When he heard that, Fang Long frowned and replied, ¡°Mister Li, I invited you out of good intentions, and yet you insist on causing trouble here. In that case, you cannot me me for doing what a host must.¡±

    He made a gesture with his eyes, and his trusted aides rushed out to chase Li Feiqing away.

    However, Wang Cong stepped forward between them and said, ¡°Brother Li, what you said has no proof or basis. Aren¡¯t your words going a bit too far?¡±

    A grateful look appeared in Li Feiqing¡¯s eyes. Even though Wang Cong appeared to be criticizing him, his body blocked the aides'' path and gave him a chance to continue speaking. As such, he continued, ¡°In all these years, the saintess has never shown any interest in Fang Long. That''s something everyone can see with their own eyes! They know she doesn¡¯t like Fang Long, so how could she possibly suddenly agree to marry him?¡±

    Many people nodded. That was also what they were confused about. Everything was too abnormal. A lot of them even felt that their own rtionship with the saintess was better than that of Fang Long. She had always lived cleanly and honestly, hating the scoundrels from the Yin Yang Path the most.

    Fang Long¡¯s expression darkened. He replied, ¡°With things like emotions, who can say for certain? The saintess does normally treat me indifferently, but that is nothing more than a reflection of how much she cares about me. The more you care about someone, the more you avoid them and try not to show it.¡±

    ¡°Tsk~¡± Sounds of disapproval filled the air from all around. It was clear that the onlookers didn¡¯t like his answer.

    Fang Long¡¯s face twitched. He secretly looked toward the higher seats and saw that Lu Sanyuan and the others were drinking tea with indifferent expressions. They clearly intended to test his ability to handle this crisis. He gritted his teeth and said, ¡°Mister Li, I know that you have always liked the saintess and cannot ept the reality that she is marrying me. So, I can just let bygones be bygones over your actions today. However, I advise you to take this offer and not do anything foolish because of your feelings.¡±

    Those who were on good terms with him voiced their agreement. They reprimanded Li Feiqing for causing trouble all because he was jealous and liked the saintess. Meanwhile, when they heard those words, the ones who had spoken up for Li Feiqing also became a bit hesitant. Li Feiqing was a fanatical pursuer of the saintess; that was something everyone knew. Perhaps he really was just causing trouble.

    When he saw that the people around him were starting to give in, Li Feiqing immediately panicked. He continued, ¡°The saintess is Sect Master Yun¡¯s beloved disciple, but why isn¡¯t the sect master here on such an important day? Saintess, were you fooled?¡±

    When he heard that, Lu Sanyuan¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly. The people around him immediately felt a chill.

    The Freedom Path Master Hua Feihua hurriedly eximed, ¡°Idiot disciple, what are you saying? Sect Master Yun is cultivating in seclusion and cannot leave. She has already sent some people to express her blessings.¡±

    ¡°That is right,¡± Elder Xi from the Heavenly Devil School said as he stood up. ¡°I am here on behalf of Sect Master Yun to participate in niece Qiu¡¯s wedding, to offer her blessings on the sect master¡¯s behalf.¡±

    Many people present nodded. Elder Xi¡¯s status in the Heavenly Devil School was extremely high, making him practically number two among them. Since he had spoken up, he had to be expressing Sect Master Yun¡¯s intent.

    When he saw the current situation, Li Feiqing couldn''t help but feel despair. He naturally didn¡¯t know what was happening among the higher-ups and just assumed Sect Master Yun really had agreed to the wedding.

    The Yin Yang Path Master got up and said with a smile, ¡°I know that everyone here might still have some misgivings, but this is the conclusion Sect Master Yun and I discussed. Furthermore, Sect Master Lu can also serve as a witness. If everyone still doesn¡¯t believe me, you can ask the Saintess and see if she agrees to all of this or not.¡± He knew that the overall trend was already on his side. But of course, after the fact, people would start gossiping, so it was best to dispel those doubts as early as possible so they wouldn''t specte wantonly.

    Lu Sanyuan nodded. It was still Fang Zhonghe who acted with the most experience here. Indeed, they couldn''t let these people nt seeds of doubt at this juncture. As for Qiu Honglei, he wasn¡¯t too worried that she would say stupid things. After all, she was still worried about her master¡¯s safety.

    When he heard what Fang Zhonghe said, Li Feiqing looked at the bride in despair, then asked, ¡°Saintess, are you truly willing to marry Fang Long?¡±

    Everyone else also turned to look at her, but they all knew that since the saintess had worn the wedding clothes here, what else could that mean but her agreement?

    Fang Long grinned. He felt a sense of satisfaction from seeing the powerlessness and madness of his rivals in love. That was precisely the reason why dominating exceptional beauties, especially beauties with extraordinary statuses, felt so incredible.

    Just then, Qiu Honglei removed the red veil from her head and tossed it aside. She said in a powerful and resonant voice, ¡°No, I don''t wish to!¡±

    The Yin Yang Path¡¯s father and son¡¯s smiles immediately froze on their faces. Even Lu Sanyuan¡¯s hand froze as he was raising his teacup.

    The Freedom Path and World Path masters exchanged a look. They could both see the delight in each other¡¯s eyes.

    Meanwhile, the Secret Path Master was confused. He couldn''t help but give Lu Sanyuan next to him a look.

    The ce first fell silent, then erupted into amotion. This news was too explosive!

    The saintess was actually unwilling! Then why had shee here? Could it be that she had been forced to? If so, what about the part about Sect Master Yun giving her approval? Even so, Sect Master Yun didn¡¯t seem to have made an appearance...

    All sorts of suspicions spread among the crowd. Many people¡¯s expressions immediately grew grave.

    Li Feiqing¡¯s entire body was shaking from excitement. Not even he had expected things to end up like this.

    <i>Right... How could the woman I like have such poor taste and favor someone like Fang Long?</i>

    Elder Xi stood up and said with an insincere smile, ¡°Honglei, don¡¯t be a child. Could it be that you are going to go against your master¡¯s orders?¡± He made sure to mention Yun Jianyue to warn her against speaking up. At the same time, he also moved closer, ready to subdue her at a moment¡¯s notice.

    ¡°My master never gave me such orders. This is nothing more than a fake decree you made up!¡± Qiu Honglei retorted with a sneer. At the same time, she looked at Lu Sanyuan and the others, remembering every single person there.

    ¡°Nonsense! There were some other elders present when your master gave those orders. You can ask them if you do not believe me,¡± Elder Xi said with a smile. ¡°What, could it be that this old one would deceive everyone despite my reputation and prestige?¡±

    Many people nodded inwardly. Elder Xi¡¯s status in the Heavenly Devil School was high, and he was someone of good moral standing and reputation. There was indeed no reason for him to lie.

    Suddenly, an ice-cold voice called out, ¡°You are indeed fooling everyone. When have I ever agreed to this wedding?!¡±

    Immediately after, a woman flew into the courtyard. When he saw who it was, Lu Sanyuan immediately stood up.

    <i>How could it be her?!</i>

    Many people present became incredibly shocked. All of them shouted out excitedly, ¡°Sect Master Yun, Sect Master Yun!¡±

    The woman¡¯s expression was cold, and her entire body was surging with killing intent. Who else couldit be but Yun Jianyue?

    Only Qiu Honglei had a strange expression, because she knew it wasn¡¯t actually her master. She thought back to how ridiculous it had sounded when Ah Zu first told her about his n.

    She''d never expected his appearance-changing skill to be this incredible!

    1. Lu Sanyuan is the Path Master of the Unfeeling Path and the Vice Sect Master of the Devil Sect. ?

 Chapter 2011: Imposter

    <h4>Chapter 2011: Imposter</h4>

    Zu An¡¯s inner world was actuallypletely shattered. He''d never expected to one day have to be a woman.

    <i>Big sis Yun, big sis Yun, look at how much I¡¯ve sacrificed for you... How will you make it up to me in the future?</i>

    He secretly gave the two big melons in front of his chest a little prop. His entire body felt ufortable.

    Of course, he hadn''t gone so far as to change his body into a woman¡¯spletely. The appearance-changing skill wasn¡¯t that miraculous either. Even though he did have a skill to be a woman, he definitely wouldn¡¯t use that! He had only changed his face, hairstyle, and outfit to match Yun Jianyue. Fortunately, Yun Jianyue had a tall figure, so he didn¡¯t have to shrink his frame too much.

    Many sect members who didn¡¯t know the truth bowed to her. After all, Yun Jianyue¡¯s prestige over the years had been quite high.

    The Yin Yang Path Master and the others looked at Lu Sanyuan with expressions of rm.

    After his initial shock, Lu Sanyuan reacted quickly. He gave the Yin Yang Path Master a look and said through ki transmission, ¡°Go and expose her. There is no way she could be Yun Jianyue.¡±

    The Yin Yang Path Master swallowed with difficulty and replied, ¡°But... But what if it really is her?¡±

    ¡°There is no ''what if''.¡± Lu Sanyuan said calmly. Even if the person before them was real, they still had to prove that she was a fake.

    When he saw the killing intent in Lu Sanyuan¡¯s eyes, Yin Yang Path Master took a deep breath. He didn¡¯t have any way out in this situation, so he could only brace himself and walk forward.

    Suddenly, Lu Sanyuan gave his nearby direct disciple Ding Xia a look. Ding Xia nodded and left silently. Lu Sanyuan sighed in relief.

    <i>This kid Ding Xia is extremely reliable. It was him who secretly wiped out the forces loyal to Yun Jianyue, and he only came back not too long ago, granting us a useful helping hand.</i>

    Zhang Zitong, who had always been hiding in the crowd, silently followed Ding Xia. She was full of admiration.

    <i>Sir really is amazingly brilliant! He actually knew that Lu Sanyuan would secretly order someone to leave.</i>

    <i>But where is sir? Why isn¡¯t he back yet? Nothing happened to him, right?</i>

    How could she possibly know that the Sir Eleven she always thinking about was actually standing right in front of her as a woman? There was no way Zu An would tell her about something so awkward.

    ...

    Meanwhile, the Yin Yang Path Master walked over. He summoned his courage and looked at Zu An, saying, ¡°You... You aren¡¯t Sect Master Yun. Just who are you to dare impersonate Sect Master Yun?!¡±

    Everyone in the hall was stunned. What kind of situation was this? Where did the Yin Yang Path Master get the courage to go against Sect Master Yun? Only certain people who had received bits and pieces of special information began to think to themselves.

    Zu Anughed, replying, ¡°Why do you think I¡¯m not Sect Master Yun?¡±

    ¡°Of course I know...¡± Midway through his sentence, the Yin Yang Path Master¡¯s expression stiffened. He naturally knew what kind of condition Yun Jianyue was really in, but how could he say it in front of so many people? Fortunately, he suddenly thought of something and said, ¡°Sect Master Yun is currently at a critical juncture in her cultivation. She told us that she wouldn¡¯te out for quite some time, so how could she possibly be here?¡±

    Immediately after, he looked at Elder Xi and said, ¡°Elder Xi, as someone who is also from the Heavenly Devil School, I believe you are the most familiar with Yun Jianyue. Do you think this one is real or fake?¡±

    Elder Xi grimaced inwardly. He had never expected such a situation to appear. With how things stood, however, he could only brace himself. He put on an act and sized up Zu An. He thought that it was really Yun Jianyue who had made an appearance, but after giving Zu An a few looks, he stared nkly for a moment. Then, he roared withughter, saying, ¡°This person is fake; she is definitely not Yun Jian... ahem, definitely not Sect Master Yun!¡±

    This person was really simr, but there were some slight details that he could still recognize as being off. Of course, if he hadn¡¯t known that Yun Jianyue had no chance of being here and that he was working backward after knowing the answer, he likely wouldn''t have noticed those slight differences.

    Li Feiqing immediately became nervous. He eximed, ¡°That¡¯s clearly Sect Master Yun! We''re all here, and we¡¯re not blind.¡±

    On the elevated tform, Lu Sanyuan gave the Freedom Path Master a pensive look. He thought to himself, <i>Is this kid really doing this brazenly out of his admiration for Qiu Honglei, or did the path master incite him to do this? </i>Even so, he didn¡¯t see anything strange from the Freedom Path Master¡¯s expression.

    Elder Xi¡¯s expression turned cold. He said, ¡°Sect Master Yun is honored and glorious. A young disciple can only bow to her from afar! Is your understanding of her greater than mine as a Heavenly Devil Path elder?¡±

    Li Feiqing was at a loss for words. That was indeed the case, as disciples like them were too far in status from Yun Jianyue, so there was no way they could know her that well.

    Suddenly, there was a lovableugh. Qiu Honglei walked up to Zu An¡¯s side and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t think Elder Xi understands my master as well as I do, right? This is clearly my master, and yet you¡¯re saying she isn¡¯t. Just what kinds of schemes are you nning?¡±

    When they heard those words, the sect members who were starting to be a bit swayed snapped out of their daze.

    <i>Right, she clearly looks exactly the same as Sect Master Yun, and even the saintess is testifying for her, so how could she still be fake? And yet this Elder Xi instead insists she¡¯s fake, as well as that Yin Yang Path Master. What kind of plot are these two colluding on?</i>

    Whe they thought about how the saintess was being mysteriously married off to the Yin Yang Path¡¯s Fang Long, many people began to pick up on something.

    <i>A plot! There is definitely some conspiracy at y!</i>

    Qiu Honglei was even leaning against Zu An. When the crowd saw their intimate behavior, no one had any more suspicions. Everyone in the sect knew that Sect Master Yun and the saintess were like mother and daughter. This level of closeness wasn¡¯t something that could be acted out.

    They didn¡¯t know that Qiu Honglei was actually secretly kneading Zu An¡¯s chest, asking through ki, "Just what kind of disguise did you use to look so simr to her?"

    Zu An was annoyed. He quickly replied through voice transmission, ¡°Stop kneading them already. You¡¯ll make them explode. I used pears.¡±

    Qiu Honglei really had to hold herself back. If it weren¡¯t because they were in the wrong ce for it, she would have already been rocking back and forth withughter. She replied, ¡°Stop talking, please... Your getup really looks pretty good. Huh? Wait, why do you know my master¡¯s measurements so well? There¡¯s no difference at all.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. Goosebumps covered his entire body. Fortunately, he reacted quickly and said, ¡°For people at my cultivation rank, our eyesight is obviously first-rate. It¡¯s not hard for us to estimate these kinds of things.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, you¡¯ve actually been sneaking secret looks at master! I¡¯m definitely going to tell on youter," Qiu Honglei replied.

    Zu An had a strange expression.

    <i>That¡¯s not all, I even personally... Ahem.</i>

    ...

    Elder Xi quickly spoke about the ways in which Zu An was different from Yun Jianyue. If he had started with that, perhaps the others would really have started doubting; however, at this point, nothing he said mattered anymore. They all thought the was just making things up.

    Elder Xi was really panicking now. He snapped, ¡°Then this old one will prove it!¡±

    He rushed forth and grabbed at Zu An with a raven-like w. He knew fully well that this person could impersonate Yun Jianyue¡¯s face, but there was no way they could impersonate her cultivation. He was basically the number two figure of the Heavenly Devil School, so his cultivation was naturally profound. As he moved, his hands were filled with ck energy, and the air around him even warped a bit. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Many people narrowed their eyes.

    <i>As expected of Elder Xi, he''s already half a step to the grandmaster rank!</i>

    <i>It seems he¡¯ll be a true grandmaster not too long from now.</i>

    Qiu Honglei said with a cold snort, ¡°Hmph, you¡¯re not qualified to be my master¡¯s match!¡±

    Then, her figure moved quickly. Her body bent like a drawn bow.

    Everyone present sighed in amazement. The saintess¡¯ waist really was slender and flexible!

    In just a few moments, Qiu Honglei''s hand erupted with a streak of blinding light. Soon after, the light condensed into a sharp arrow and flew forth.

    Arrow of Judgment!

    Everyone present recognized the attack. It was the saintess¡¯ ultimate move.

    Many people cried out, warning Elder Xi to go easy so he wouldn¡¯t hurt her.

    Elder Xi sneered.

    <i>This girl really overestimates her own abilities. She dares to make me her enemy? It seemsYun Jianyue has spoiled her too much, to the point where she really thinks she''s without equal in this world!</i>

    He used fifty percent of his cultivation and sent a ck hand imprint at the arrow of light. He felt that bit of power was already more than enough to defeat a young junior. Meanwhile, more of his attention was on Zu An. This mysterious person was actually able to impersonate Yun Jianyue! He felt that he couldn''t really see through them.

    However, his expression quickly changed. The arrow of light was incredibly sharp and hard to stop. It pierced straight through his hand imprint. Elder Xi tried to change his attack, but it was already toote. The arrow tore through everything with irresistible force and prated his palm. He screamed bitterly and dropped from the air. As he looked at his bleeding palm, he was a bit shocked.

    Gasps filled the air from all round the hall. They hadn¡¯t expected the awe-inspiring Elder Xi to be so useless! He couldn''t even block the attack of a junior, and yet he was trying to challenge the master?

    Lu Sanyuan and the others¡¯ expressions turned a bit cold. Elder Xi had actually underestimated his opponent? He really wasn¡¯t someone suited to shoulder heavy responsibility. They were already thinking of gradually removing him from their ns, as there was no need to share benefits with such trash.

    <i>Even so, thatss Qiu Honglei is a bit surprising. Even if Elder Xi underestimated her, he shouldn¡¯t be someone she could defeat at her age. Ding Xia¡¯s aptitude is already high enough, and I personally taught him with great care, but his current cultivation doesn¡¯t seem to be up to par with hers.</i>

    <i>She was clearly not this strong a few months ago. Just what did she go through since then?</i>

    Qiu Honglei smiled at Zu An rather proudly, as if to say, ¡°Look at how amazing I am! Praise me!¡±

    Sure enough, Zu An smiled and nodded, saying, ¡°Honglei¡¯s efforts in seclusion weren¡¯t for nothing. It seems you¡¯ve already mastered what you received earlier. However, that was also thanks to your master.¡±

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s face reddened, as she now realized what he was implying. She had still actually been a bit off from perfection before. But that day, when the two of them finally connected, after the waves after waves of battering, and especially the flooding rich with life force and spiritual ki, she''d been shocked to discover that the shackles restraining her fully unraveled. Her cultivation realm had even be a bit higher.

    At the time, she''d been really happy, but also a bit gloomy.

    <i>Could it be that the reason why Chuyan was able to cultivate so quickly, and yet I felt as if I couldn''t catch up no matter what, was because of this difference?!</i>

    ¡°The saintess is amazing!¡± The Treasure Hunter Path¡¯s Fatty Hu was the first to shout in praise. He was just here to watch something interesting and didn¡¯t mind things getting even more out of hand.

    What followed was a tremendous rush of cheers in support. Many young disciples¡¯ faces even turned red. After all, Qiu Honglei was the target of their admiration to begin with. Not only was she beautiful, her cultivation had also reached such a high level. Wasn¡¯t this a goddess among goddesses?

    When he sensed the atmosphere, the Yin Yang Path Master¡¯s expression became a bit unhappy. He could also sense Lu Sanyuan looking at him, and knew he couldn''t continue to stall. As such, he took a step forward and looked coldly at Zu An, saying, ¡°This old one wishes to ask your respected self for a bit of guidance. You wouldn¡¯t make a young junior go against me, would you?¡±

    He now felt a bit more at ease. Qiu Honglei had been in a rush to act, likely to shield this imposter. It seemed their cultivation wasn¡¯t any good after all, and they¡¯d be exposed as soon as they try to fight.

 Chapter 2012: You Reap What Youâ€™ve Sown

    <h4>Chapter 2012: You Reap What You¡¯ve Sown</h4>

    As for Qiu Honglei, the Yin Yang Path Master wasn¡¯t worried about her at all. He wasn¡¯t as stupid as Elder Xi. Using the previous example as a lesson, he wouldn¡¯t underestimate his opponent again. Furthermore, his cultivation was much higher than Elder Xi¡¯s. Elder Xi was only half a step into the grandmaster rank, while he had already been at the grandmaster rank for many years. As such, if Qiu Honglei still wanted to protect this imposter, he wouldn¡¯t mind just crippling her here.

    <i>Hmph, she refuses to live as a happy daughter-inw. Then in that case, I¡¯ll turn her into my own ve!</i>

    <i>This woman is quite pretty. I was going to look for a chance after letting her marry my son first, but it seems I don¡¯t have to share her with my son anymore.</i>

    As if she could read the evil thoughts in his eyes, Qiu Honglei was furious. With a swing of her hand, she brought out the Moon Demon de and said, ¡°This junior will request some pointers from senior then!¡±

    After staying around Zu An for so long, she had seen him win from positions of weakness again and again, facing countless opponents at a higher rank than him. That gave her a bit more courage too, making her want to learn from Ah Zu. Of course, she didn¡¯t do so rashly without thinking. Rather, she really had gained a lot of benefits from the secret dungeon this time. Whether in terms of her cultivation or the growth in her mentality and worldview, she now had a fighting chance.

    ¡°You¡¯re going to fight against me?¡± the Yin Yang Path Master replied. He smiled and asked Zu An, ¡°Is the imposter too scared to fight, so you can only make her throw her life away?¡±

    Many people became nervous and cried out, ¡°Sect Master Yun, the saintess is still young. Please help her!¡±

    In their eyes, even though Qiu Honglei¡¯s talent was exceptional, she hadn''t even been cultivating for twenty years. Compared to a monster like the Yin Yang Path Master, she was still far off. Earlier, even though she had won against Elder Xi, that was because he had underestimated his enemy. This time, the Yin Yang Path Master definitely wouldn¡¯t make the same mistake.

    ¡°Throw her life away?¡± Zu An replied calmly. ¡°It¡¯s hard to say who will die and who will live just yet.¡±

    He also recognized Qiu Honglei¡¯s current condition. Because she had just won against Elder Xi, she was now brimming with fighting spirit. If she won here, she would make rapid progress in her cultivation, and her future achievements would be unlimited. How could he not give her such a chance?

    ¡°Hahaha! Good, very good!¡± The Yin Yang Path Master roared withughter, his voice echoing through the entire hall.

    Many people¡¯s expressions changed. They felt their internal energies stir chaotically from theughter, and even their minds became dizzy.

    <i>As expected of one of the four overlords, Fang Zhonghe¡¯s cultivation is truly shocking.</i>

    <i>He¡¯s using thisughter on purpose to break down the saintess¡¯ wits and fighting spirit. Using this kind of method against a junior really is shameless.</i>

    Li Feiqing endured the strong feeling of disgust and urgently shouted, ¡°Saintess, you can¡¯t win against him! Just let Sect Master Yun fight!¡±

    When she sensed his urgency and concern, Qiu Honglei nodded slightly toward him and said, ¡°Thank you, brother Li, but I know what I''m doing.¡±

    At this point, who knew how many people had already betrayed her master? Li Feiqing was a rare individual who stood by their side, so she naturally couldn''t treat him rudely.

    As he listened to their conversation, Fang Long was furious. He couldn''t help but remark, ¡°Mister Li, don¡¯t you know that bootlickers never meet good ends? Look at how much you¡¯re licking! Honglei will at most show you a smile; do you think she¡¯ll actually like you? And yet look at you, you have no regard left for your own prospects and life! Howughable!¡±

    Li Feiqing¡¯s expression stiffened as he said, ¡°Fang Long, you don¡¯t understand what love is at all. When you like someone, it isn¡¯t about obtaining her, but rather wishing her a lifetime of happiness. As for your reputation, everyone inside and outside the sect knows what kind of person you are. They all know what kind of scummy life you live. Why would I ever want the saintess to marry you and live a life of suffering?¡±

    ¡°You deceive others and yourself. These are nothing more than words of the defeated. You can just watch what kind of happiness the saintess and I will share!¡± Fang Long retorted mockingly.

    ¡°Shut your mouth!¡± the Yin Yang Path Master snapped, his expression turning rather unpleasant.

    Just what kind of situation were they in now? And yet this brat was still fighting over his love rival! He had no awareness of the situation at all! More importantly, his earlierughter that had been meant as a show of strength now seemed like aplete joke. How could he continueughing?

    He could only say to Qiu Honglei, ¡°Martial niece, you may go first. I¡¯ll give you three moves, or else others might me me for bullying the weak.¡±

    Qiu Honglei replied with a smile, ¡°Didn¡¯t you already make the first move on your own just now?¡±

    Many people gasped at what she said. Strictly speaking, Fang Zhonghe''sughter was an attack, and yet he was now saying these kinds of words. He really was two-faced!

    No matter how thick the Yin Yang Path Master¡¯s skin was, he was still so embarrassed that his toes almost bore through the floor.

    In that instant, Qiu Honglei suddenly moved. Light erupted in her hand, and a string of light spheres fired at the Yin Yang Path Master. There were some that moved slowly and others that moved quickly, so if one tried to dodge, they¡¯d easily make a mistake. They¡¯d lose the initiative, and what awaited them then would be a vicious storm of attacks. In the past, during Violet Mountain¡¯s greatpetition, this attack of hers had left many opponents in a tough situation.

    The Yin Yang Path Master said with a sneer, ¡°Hmph, just some small tricks!¡±

    As someone who was also in the Devil Sect, he naturally knew how this attack worked. As such, he didn¡¯t try to avoid it and instead swept out his sleeves. The spheres of light were all swept away, and vanished. Seeing as he would risk revealing an opening if he tried to avoid them, he''d decided to just defeat the move with sheer force.

    Li Feiqing and the others sighed in pity. The difference was just too great; this wasn¡¯t a battle that could even be won in the first ce...

    Suddenly, a burst of strong light flickered. Many young disciples reflexively closed their eyes. Even elder-level figures couldn''t help but narrow their eyes. They suddenly realized that all of this was part of the saintess¡¯ strategy. She knew that the bullets of light couldn''t win against the Yin Yang Path Master, so she''d prepared a follow-up attack.

    ¡°This is your second move,¡± the Yin Yang Path Master said as he closed his eyes and sent his palm mming toward one side, forcing Qiu Honglei¡¯s body back. He continued, ¡°You know nothing about the grandmaster rank. At our level, even if our eyes are closed, we can still sense even a de¡¯s movements on the breeze.¡±

    ¡°Be careful!¡± Lu Sanyuan immediately warned him.

    The Yin Yang Path Master was stunned. Suddenly, the space behind him split open, revealing a flickering sea of stars. It was as if a corner of the cosmos had been exposed. Immediately after, a massive de shot out from that rift. A few with more profound cultivations immediately realized that it was a magnified version of the Moon Demon de.

    The Yin Yang Path Master immediately became vignt. He quickly turned around to protect himself. His sleeves swelled up like balls to block the attack.

    <i>Boom!</i>

    A terrifying ripple rushed in all directions. The tables and chairs in the hall were overturned, and the young disciples were all blown backward, ending up in a sorry state. The entire hall began to rock back and forth intensely. The runes protecting the ce flickered intensely, barely keeping it together and preventing it from copsing.

    Qiu Honglei kicked off the ground with her feet, gracefully leaping out of the fighting ring, then cupped her hands toward her opponent and said, ¡°Path Master Fang, you let me win!¡±

    The smoke and dust settled. The onlookers now saw that Fang Zhonghe¡¯s sleeves had already been ripped. Even though there were no wounds on his arms, a young junior had managed to ruin his sleeves. To a certain extent, that was already a loss.

    Qiu Honglei sighed in relief. She actually knew that there was quite arge difference between her own strength and the Yin Yang Path Master¡¯s. If it were a fair fight, there was no chance for her to win at all. That was why she had deliberately angered him, then used some pretty, but useless tactics against this true expert. When her opponent lowered her guard, that was when she could deal her killing blow.

    However, that so-called killing blow was also just a ruse. She''d already known that there was no chance of her killing the opponent. As such, she had only pretended to unleash all of her killing intent to make him think that she wanted to kill him. That way, he wouldn¡¯t bother with keeping his sleeves intact and would reflexively focus on protecting his body. That was where her opportunityy. She had then used the Moon Demon des¡¯ sharpness and Neb Rend¡¯s power to destroy his sleeves.

    Then, she ad immediately used those words to put him in an awkward position. Too many people were watching, and she could be considered to have won. The opponent was a glorious path master, after all, so there was no way he would insist on continuing thispetition.

    The Freedom Path Master Hua Feihua couldn''t help butugh loudly, remarking, ¡°As expected, the younger generations will surpass us in time!¡±

    The World School Master Chen Taogong also stroked his round face and said while nodding, ¡°The saintess¡¯ strength is indeed impressive and admirable.¡±

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s admirers were cheering even louder. Many people shouted ¡®Saintess, I love you¡¯.

    Fang Zhonghe began breathing quickly. He knew fully well that he had already fallen for the saintess¡¯ ploy. His face flickered between green and red.

    However, he suddenly roared in anger, ¡°This match isn¡¯t over! When did we decide victory and defeat?¡± As soon as he spoke, he instantly threw himself at Qiu Honglei.

    Everyone in the surroundings cursed loudly.

    ¡°Fang Zhonghe, do you have no sense of shame?!¡±

    ¡°Dogshit overlord, can you not take a loss?¡±

    ¡°Hurry and save the saintess!¡±

    ...

    Unfortunately, they were too far away to help her, and the ones who could help her had too many misgivings. They could only watch as Fang Zhonghe got closer and closer to Qiu Honglei. His palm flickered with a mysterious pink color. This was the ultimate skill he was proudest of: The Ninefold Palm!

    This was a palm that had been soaked in countless drugs over many decades. His palm had absorbed their medicinal strength, then refined them nine times; in the end, theybined to form this attack! His palm represented the pinnacle of aphrodisiac drugs in this world. If one were to be hit by it, it would immediately activate one¡¯s desire and turn them into a beast. It was especially effective against women. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    He was now just fighting out of pure anger. He had already made up his mind to make her suffer aplete defeat, to make her fall from grace.

    <i>Hmph, what saintess? I¡¯m going to turn you into a bitch in front of everyone¡¯s eyes. Let¡¯s see if there¡¯ll still be so many people who want to follow you!</i>

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s expression changed. She hadn¡¯t expected Fang Zhonghe to be so shameless. He was actually going to do something like this in front of everyone!

    Even though she didn¡¯t know the name of the attack, she could guess a thing or two from the pink light. She reflexively backed up, because she knew she absolutely couldn''t let that palm touch her. Unfortunately, he was too fast and she couldn''t avoid it at all.

    Suddenly, Zu An said from behind her, ¡°Don¡¯t be scared. Give him a palm right back.¡±

    Qiu Honglei was stunned. She instinctively wanted to avoid her opponent¡¯s palm, but in the end, she chose to trust her lover.

    When he saw that Qiu Honglei actually reached out her small, tender white hand toward him, Fang Zhonghe sneered.

    <i>This stupidss really doesn¡¯t want to live any longer!</i>

    An incredibly powerful palm force suddenly rushed forth. At first, he had felt that Qiu Honglei¡¯s palm strength was just like a brook, while his was a great river that could easily swallow her up. Butpared to that palm, he now felt as if he were facing an ocean, one that was vast and limitless! He could feel the pink energy around his palm being forced right back, instantly surrounding his entire body. He screamed miserably and flew backward, mming into the ground.

    Nearby, Fang Long immediately rushed over to support him, asking, ¡°Father, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    However, who would have thought that Fang Zhonghe¡¯s eyes would be filled with a berserk pink aura? He grabbed Fang Long and pressed him down onto the ground, crying out, ¡°Hurry and give it to me, I want it!¡±

    Everyone present was filled with confusion.

 Chapter 2013: The Pressure of Numbers

    <h4>Chapter 2013: The Pressure of Numbers</h4>

    The events had simply happened too quickly. Just a second before, people had been was cursing Fang Zhonghe for being shameless. He had clearly already lost, and yet he couldn''t take the loss and continued to assault a junior. Furthermore, he had used such a despicable attack against the saintess!

    Even though many people didn¡¯t know the exact details behind his Ninefold Palm, judging from how it looked and the Yin Yang Path¡¯s way of doing things, it wasn¡¯t hard to guess what he wanted to do. And yet, in the blink of an eye, Fang Zhonghe had been forced back by the saintess¡¯ attack!

    They rubbed their eyes. Was there something wrong with the world today or something? The saintess had first defeated Elder Xi, and then the Yin Yang Path Master was defeated as well?

    However, they didn¡¯t have the time to worry about that, because they suddenly heard the sound of cloth tearing. Fang Zhonghe tore off Fang Long¡¯s clothes, then pressed thetter under him. Judging from the looks of things, he was going to do his own son right there.

    ¡°Dad, it¡¯s me!¡± Fang Long protested as he struggled frantically, but how could hepare to his father in strength?

    He frequently bullied women just like this and really enjoyed their struggles, because that gave him a stronger feeling of domination after. He had just never expected that one day, he would also be the victim of this kind of situation...

    Suddenly, he felt his lower half be a bit cold. His pants had been pulled straight off.

    <i>I¡¯m done for, I¡¯m finished!</i>

    Fang Long was about to cry. He was actually being treated this way by another man, and it was even his own father, no less. Worst of all, it was in front of all of these people! Even if he survived this ordeal, he''d be aughingstock for the entire world. He wouldn¡¯t be able to continue living in this world at all.

    Even Li Feiqing, who loathed him, couldn''t help but breathe in deeply. This scene was just too harsh on the eyes to watch.

    Many onlookers subconsciously clutched their bottoms, as if they were scared of something.

    The Heavenly Devil School''s female disciples all clutched their faces in shock, but the gaps between their fingers were quite wide. Judging from their expressions, they even seemed a bit excited.

    ¡°Hmph!¡±

    A cold snort filled the air. Fang Zhonghe screamed miserably as he was sted flying. He smashed into arge tree, and blood gushed out of his mouth.

    Lu Sanyuan was standing nearby with a furious expression. He already believed himself to be the master of the sect, so how could he permit something like this to happen?

    The Freedom Path Master and World School Master exchanged a look. They both saw the horror in each other¡¯s eyes.

    Even though Fang Zhonghe hadn¡¯t managed to use all of his poison skills, he still had grandmaster rank cultivation. Someone this strong had been sent flying so far without even needing to make direct contact, and ended up seriously injured... Lu Sanyuan¡¯s cultivation seemed to be much higher than what they had previously anticipated!

    A huge uproar erupted. Fang Zhonghe¡¯s drugs had activated fully and he hadpletely lost his mind. He hugged the tree next to him and began frantically humping it. His pants were soon a bloody mess. The sight made the onlookers'' scalps go numb.

    Fang Long swallowed with difficulty. If that had happened to him, the one taking all of that would be him... He immediately clung to Lu Sanyuans¡¯s feet with tears of gratitude, crying out, ¡°Thank you, Sect Master Lu! Thank you, Sect Master Lu!¡± His anus hadn¡¯t ended up bing a sunflower. He was so grateful that he was willing to treat Lu Sanyuan as his father.

    Lu Sanyuan kicked him away in disgust. Then, he looked at Zu An with a grave expression while remarking, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect junior sister¡¯s cultivation to have made progress again.¡±

    Even though others hadn''t noticed anything, how could something like this escape his eyes? When Qiu Honglei and the Yin Yang Path Master¡¯s palms met, the ''Yun Jianyue'' behind Qiu Honglei had secretly infused their own ki into her. That was how Qiu Honglei had been able to send Fang Zhonghe¡¯s poison right back at him.

    At first, he had thought that there was no way this could be Yun Jianyue. But apart from her, who else in all of the Lake of Hatred could aplish such a thing? Even though he didn¡¯t understand why she wasn¡¯t trapped right now, thinking about that was already meaningless. The first priority was dealing with the master and disciple.

    Zu An smiled and replied, ¡°I''m actually more impressed with Honglei¡¯s progress as ofte. She can evenpare with those of the older generation now.¡±

    Qiu Honglei gave him a look with a reddened face.

    <i>This guy is talking as if he''s full of experience. It¡¯s actually pretty simr to master. I wonder just how he became so familiar with master¡¯s way of talking.</i>

    However, she was filled with more happiness than anything right now. He had praised her in front of everyone and gave her all the credit for winning against the Yin Yang Path Master. As a cultivator, she knew just how much help the confidence of winning brought, especially in a battle like this where the difference was so tremendous.

    ¡°The saintess is indeed formidable,¡± Lu Sanyuan said; he had to acknowledge Qiu Honglei¡¯s talent. Even if Yun Jianyue had helped her, the one who had stepped forward was her. Whether it was her tactics or her mentality, they were both formidable. ¡°I admit that I am inferior to you in raising disciples.¡±

    ¡°There''s no need for you to try to praise me,¡± Zu An said coldly. ¡°You¡¯ve started this mess of a rebellion, so it¡¯s time that we settle things.¡±

    Anothermotion erupted. Just a moment prior, they had been watching Fang Zhonghepete to see who was tougher, like spectators from the peanut gallery. How could they have expected to suddenly hear such explosive news?

    <i>What is Sect Master Yun implying? It seems as if she''s saying that the vice sect master is plotting a rebellion!</i>

    That meant what their Vice Sect Master had previously said about Sect Master Yun needing to remain in seclusion could signify much more...

    The Freedom Path and World School Masters exchanged a look. They both saw the smile on the corners of each other¡¯s mouths. The two of them had already noticed that something was off earlier, but they had no proof. That was why one had allowed their disciple to do what they wanted, while the other had let their disciple try to ruin the wedding.

    At first, they''d just wanted to prevent the Heavenly Devil School and Yin Yang Path frompletely allying together. If that happened, the rest of them would have be heavily pressured. They had never expected their ns to turn out even better than expected! Now, not only was the wedding ruined, Yun Jianyue¡¯s appearance made it so that she could very well fight against Lu Sanyuan.

    Lu Sanyuan chuckled, replying, ¡°You¡¯re going to settle things with me? I fear that martial sister doesn¡¯t fully understand the current situation yet.¡±

    With a wave of his hand, endless soldiers stormed in from outside, surrounding everyone present. Countless archers appeared around the courtyard walls, aiming their sharp arrows at those within. These were all armor piercing arrows used on the battlefield. They flickered with blue runes that specialized in breaking through the protective barriers of cultivators.

    Many people present changed their expressions. An elder couldn''t help but ask, ¡°Sect Master Lu, what is the meaning of this?¡±

    ¡°What is the meaning of this?¡± Lu Sanyuan repeated. He said proudly, ¡°Obviously, it means this: Submit to me and prosper, or oppose me and perish!¡±

    As he spoke, his long hair moved around behind him despite there being no wind. His clothes began to flutter too.

    As for the Devil Sect¡¯s people, they were shocked. The terrifying pressure he released made all of them tremble in fear. They couldn''t produce the slightest intent of rebellion, and felt that just a single finger of his could crush them to death.

    ¡°Is this... Is this the power of an earth immortal?¡± the World School Master said, bbergasted.

    ¡°No, something doesn¡¯t seem right. It doesn¡¯t seem to be a true earth immortal''s power. Rather, he''s borrowing external force to achieve this kind of pressure,¡± the Freedom Path Master muttered to himself.

    ¡°Is there a difference?¡± the World School Master asked, rolling his eyes.

    The Freedom Path Master thought to himself with a bitter smile.

    <i>What you say is indeed the case... Whether he''s a true earth immortal or half a step into that level, he still isn''t someone we can go against.</i>

    ...

    Qiu Honglei was facing the pressure head-on, so even breathing was bing a bit difficult. Just then, however, a warm hand supported her, and she immediately felt the pressure on her entire body lessen.

    <i>Ah Zu is really bing more and more amazing. But this only makes me feel more pressure...</i>

    As she looked at Zu An, her eyes were full of love.

    Zu An looked at the surrounding soldiers. His gazended on Lu Sanyuan as he asked, ¡°So is this where your confidence lies?¡±

    Lu Sanyuan gave him a confused look and replied, ¡°To be honest, the fact that you can still remain calm is quite surprising to me. Do you still think you are the sect master who receives a hundred answers to a single call? Within a hundred miles, all of the forces that were loyal to you have already been eliminated by me. You are all alone, so what do you have left to rely on?¡± n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An smiled. He held Qiu Honglei¡¯s hand and retorted, ¡°Who said I was all alone? I still have her, don¡¯t I?¡±

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s heart began to beat more quickly.

    <i>Ah Zu, really... Even in front of so many people, he didn¡¯t forget to show me affection. I¡¯m so embarrassed.</i>

    <i>Most importantly, he looks like master right now. It feels so weird.</i>

    Lu Sanyuan frowned as well. These two women imed to be master and disciple, but why did they seem more like lovers? No wonder Qiu Honglei had never been interested in the men of the sect. So that was the reason!

    However, he quickly snapped out of his daze and said, ¡°Hmph. I¡¯ll give all of you one chance. Those who are willing to follow me,e and sit on this side. Those who wish to follow Yun Jianyue, move to the other side.¡±

    He swept his gaze across the crowd as he spoke. Wherever he looked, no one dared to make eye contact.

    They sized both sides up and whispered among themselves. It was hard for them to make a decision. After all, Yun Jianyue¡¯s prestige had always been quite high. They had already called her sect master for so many years. Betraying her at this juncture felt rather unnatural.

    Lu Sanyuan said coldly, ¡°I will give you ten seconds to make your decision. Ten... nine... eight...¡±

    The countdown seemed as if it were measuring their very lifespans. Immediately, many people quickly moved over to his side.

    The current situation was already quite clear. Lu Sanyuan¡¯s prestige was already on the same level as Yun Jianyue¡¯s, and the former hade prepared. His people were all around them, and ording to what he said, every faction within a hundred miles was now loyal to him. That meant victory was already assured.

    With some taking the lead, others quickly moved behind Lu Sanyuan. At first, there was a huge crowd of people in the middle, but now, only a small portion of people were standing in ce and hesitating.

    Lu Sanyuan looked at the World School and Freedom Path Masters, asking, ¡°Brothers Chen and Hua, what are you two nning to do?¡±

    The World School Master said with a big smile, ¡°I just want us to get along so we can all be rich, that¡¯s all.¡± He moved over to Lu Sanyuan''s side while speaking.

    The Freedom Path Master¡¯s expression changed.

    <i>Damn this Chen Taogong, he has no backbone! He actually sided with him so quickly! If we''d acted together, we might have even had a chance.</i>

    He knew that the current situation was now already pretty much unchangeable. Even if he stood at Yun Jianyue¡¯s side, it wouldn¡¯t do much, and it would risk bringing the Freedom Path to ruin. Thus, he followed suit.

    When he saw the two stand at his side, Lu Sanyuan smiled in satisfaction. Three of the four overlords were already at his side... Of course, the trash Fang Zhonghe was still plowing that tree.

    ¡°Master!¡± Li Feiqing cried out. He hadn¡¯t expected his master to also side with Lu Sanyuan.

    The Freedom Path Master¡¯s expression remained calm as he said, ¡°Feiqing, hurry ande over here.¡±

    Li Feiqing¡¯s breathing quickened. In the end, he still said gravely, ¡°Master, your respected self taught me to grow out of the mud unsullied, that the Freedom Path¡¯s character is noble and clean. This disciple really does not wish to make your choice.¡± After saying that, he stood on the other side.

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s expression became a bitplicated. She said, ¡°Brother Li, you actually don¡¯t need to do this...¡±

    Li Feiqing shook his head and replied, ¡°Saintess, this humble one isn¡¯t doing this for you, but for Sect Master Yun. I am not someone who goes against my master!¡±

    ¡°Idiot disciple!¡± The Freedom Path Master snapped as he looked at Lu Sanyuan with an awkward expression. ¡°Lu Sanyuan, you know how children are; how about your respected self...¡±

    ¡°Young people will always do impractical things. They¡¯ll hit a wall and understand,¡± Lu Sanyuan said, his expression indifferent.

    The Freedom Path Master sighed in relief. Compared to his previous elegant self, he now looked as if he had aged another ten years.

    Suddenly, the Secret Path Master Chi Fuzi walked to Yun Jianyue and said with a calm expression, ¡°What Feiqing says is correct. This old one only knows Sect Master Yun as the leader of the Holy Sect. I will not do something as shameful as switching allegiances!¡±

    Qiu Honglei was really moved, eximing, ¡°Martial uncle!¡± She hadn¡¯t expected that Chi Fuzi, the overlord who was normally the least interested in worldly affairs, would actually choose to remain at her master¡¯s side.

    Fatty Hu alsoughed and said, ¡°I¡¯m not someone who asks for a lot anyway, and the Treasure Hunter Path is just me alone. Even if I rely on Sect Master Lu, there¡¯s no hope of prosperity, so I might as well follow Sect Master Yun and repay the favor she showed me in the past.¡± He walked up to Zu An and cupped his hands, asking, ¡°Sect Master Yun, your respected self won¡¯t look down on this Fatty Hu¡¯s cultivation being low and dragging you down, right?¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He hadn¡¯t expected this carefree guy to actually have such a backbone, replying, ¡°Of course not.¡±

    However, as soon as Fatty Hu stood behind Zu An, his expression immediately changed. He continued to mumble to himself, "I¡¯m finished, I¡¯m finished.... The Treasure Hunter Path¡¯s only child is also going to disappear... Sigh, why did you just have to act on impulse like that?"

    Even so, with those people taking the lead, there were others who also stepped forward after some hesitation. There was nock of hot-blooded men in the Devil Sect. They knew their choice would probably spell their end, but they all had their own beliefs.

    However, the difference in strength between the two sides was still extremelyrge. Roughly twenty percent of the sect had gone over to Yun Jianyue¡¯s side, while Lu Sanyuan had eighty percent!

 Chapter 2014: Crescent Ring

    <h4>Chapter 2014: Crescent Ring</h4>

    Lu Sanyuan was quite unhappy with the result. He had never expected there to still be twenty percent who were still willing to follow Yun Jianyue even in this kind of situation! He coldly said, ¡°You¡¯re all following the path to your own doom!¡±

    Zu An looked around him and said, ¡°All of you are Holy Sect disciples. If conflict erupted due to personal interests, resulting in mutual destruction, that would only bring anguish to our own and satisfaction to our enemies. Lu Sanyuan, since you wish to be the new sect master, don''t implicate others. How about we fight it out between just the two of us? The victor will take the crown.¡±

    Everyone loyal to the Devil Sect nodded, and even many people from Lu Sanyuan¡¯s eighty percent felt embarrassed.

    <i>Sect Master Yun was still thinking about us in this kind of situation! This really makes us blush in shame...</i>

    In reality, apart from a few stubborn people, most of them had only chosen to side with Lu Sanyuan because the situation called for it. They naturally didn¡¯t want to throw their lives away for nothing.

    When he saw the others look at him expectantly, Lu Sanyuan wasn¡¯t shaken at all. ¡°Martial sister Yun, at first, I thought that you were quite the impressive person, but now, it seems you aren¡¯t open and honest at all. You only have twenty percent on your side, while we have eighty percent, let alone the fact that my elite troops are still waiting outside. And yet, you''re still asking for a fair fight with me in this kind of situation?¡±

    He didn¡¯t feel like speaking any more to the other side for fear that she would say more things to sway his side¡¯s morale. As such, he waved his hand. The archers on the walls received his order and released their bowstrings. Arrows immediately showered down, instantly arriving in front of everyone on Yun Jianyue¡¯s side.

    When they heard the terrifying sound of air being shattered, their expressions turned pale. These arrows were all supported by runes, making their power and armor-piercing abilities incredibly great. Even though they were all strong cultivators in the sect, and couldst a wave or two against the terrifying arrow storm, they would still be doomed to die in the end.

    While they were panicking, however, a faint yellow barrier appeared out of thin air and blocked all of the arrows. They were overjoyed at the unexpected good news! They all turned to Chi Fuzi, who was in the center of the group, and eximed, ¡°The Secret Path Master is so amazing!¡±

    A small formation disc appeared in Chi Fuzi¡¯s hands. He wiped at the cold sweat on his forehead while cursing, ¡°Amazing my ass! I didn¡¯t bring enough of my treasures because I came to attend a wedding. This defense formation will hold up for another ten seconds at most. If you can''t think of a solution in that time, we can only die together right here!¡±

    As soon as he spoke, the air was filled with cracking sounds. The sect members were rmed to discover that these armor-piercing arrows really lived up to their name. They didn¡¯t fall after hitting the barrier; instead, their runes continued to flicker, the arrows continuously spinning in ce to make their way through.

    If it had been just a few arrows, the Secret Path Master¡¯s defense formation would be enough to block them. But there were just too many! The huge rain of armor-piercing arrows were doing their best to pierce through, making the barrier flicker. Many parts were already covered with fine cracks; it was clearly about to break at any time.

    The loyal sect members now realized what was happening as well. They all brought out their long-range attack methods. Streak after streak of light fired toward the archers on the courtyard walls.

    Letting out muffled groans, many archers were knocked down. In response, the soldiers in the courtyard took out shields to block the long-range attacks. Some of Lu Sanyuan¡¯s trusted aides rushed over to help neutralize the attacks as well.

    With them taking the lead, the others couldn''t remain still anymore. They were worried that Lu Sanyuan would remember if they didn¡¯t do anything in this kind of situation. Lu Sanyuan¡¯s camp held the majority to begin with, and these people were all powerful members of the sect, so they easily dealt with the long-range attacks.

    The archers'' position stabilized, and they continued their coordinated attack on Yun Jianyue¡¯s group.

    The formation disc in Chi Fuzi¡¯s hand audibly cracked, then fully ruptured, the defensive barrier also disappearing into specks of light. The people inside brandished their weapons at the iing arrows, but there was already a hint of despair in their eyes. They knew fully well that just the eighty percent on Lu Sanyuan¡¯s side would be enough to wipe them out, let alone so many archers and Lu Sanyuan¡¯s elite armored troops.

    Suddenly, the sound of a pipa filled the air. It was mournful at first, but then it became mellow and sweet. The murderous soldiers¡¯ expressions rxed. They couldn''t help but lower the bows in their hands. The other eighty percent of Devil Sect members stopped their attacks too. In an instant, the fighting came to a standstill.

    Only some female members were confused. They quickly asked theirpanions, ¡°What''s going on?¡± However, they didn¡¯t receive any response, so they naturally didn¡¯t dare to leave their own ranks and continue attacking.

    They followed the men¡¯s line of sight and saw a woman in a white dress. In her hand was a pipa that she yed gently. She stood on a swaying branch and swayed with the wind, as if she were standing on a cloud. Her beautiful appearance and unique countenance were incredibly hard to describe in words.

    In that instant, even the women had the same thought:

    <i>Is this a goddess who descended from the heavens above?</i>

    Qiu Honglei couldn''t help but say through voice transmission, ¡°Ah Zu, this Lady Daji really is too beautiful!¡± Even though this wasn¡¯t the first time she had seen Daji, it always left her with a deep sense of shock.

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°You''re also really beautiful, you know? I¡¯ve discovered that almost every one of these young disciples at the Lake of Hatred is an admirer of yours.¡±

    In truth, he could have just used the Lion¡¯s Roar against these numbers, but he was currently dressed up as Yun Jianyue. The Lion¡¯s Roar really wasn¡¯t too elegant.

    <i>If news got out that Yun Jianyue had forced back her enemies with the Lion¡¯s Roar, wouldn¡¯t big sis Yun chew me out to death after?</i>

    ¡°Hmph, I wouldn¡¯t dare to im that I couldpare to Lady Daji. At the very least, I can¡¯t disarm so many men,¡± Qiu Honglei said, her face red. If not for the fact that Zu An had already told her before, she really would find it hard to believe that a woman like this was just a summoned creature. She didn¡¯t feel any envy, however. Instead, she was full of pity for Daji, because such a devastatingly beautiful woman had actually lost her soul.

    Lu Sanyuan finally reacted and roared, ¡°War drums, where are the war drums?!¡±

    He naturally recognized that Daji was using an extremely profound mind-control method. Dealing with it was easy, however. Either one had to have cultivation as profound as hers, or one had to remove the pipa from her hand. Apart from that, battlefields were often filled with murderous shouts and the sound of military war drums being struck. With such things in ce, music from a pipa often wouldn¡¯t have as much of an effect, as it would just be overpowered.

    However, even after he hollered for a long time, he realized that this wasn¡¯t a battlefield, so he hadn¡¯t prepared war drums or anything of that sort.

    The Freedom Path and World School Masters exchanged a look. They saw the shock in each other''s eyes. The skill seemed a bit simr to the Heavenly Devil School¡¯s charm skills, but there seemed to be some kind of fundamental difference.

    Lu Sanyuan couldn''t wait any longer. He darted forward like an eagle hunting a rabbit. He instantly arrived in front of the white-d woman. As long as he killed her, his subordinates would be clear-headed once more.

    Daji¡¯s Fox Charm skill was something that would make even enemies with higher cultivation be lenient toward her out of pity for her beauty. However, her opponent just happened to be the Unfeeling Path Master Lu Sanyuan, who focused on eliminating all feelings. There was no way he would have tender, protective feelings for the fairer sex.

    Even so, he was a bit confused as well. Why wasn¡¯t there even the slightest bit of fear in this woman¡¯s eyes, with his vicious attack about to take her life? Not only was there no fear, he couldn''t feel any emotions from her. It was almost as if she... as if she was just a puppet.

    Suddenly, the white-d woman vanished. In her ce was Yun Jianyue.

    Lu Sanyuan was shocked. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    <i>How did she do that? Why did I not sense her movements at all?</i>

    When he thought of that, he felt a bit of apprehension and quickly held back thirty percent of his power. Two palms collided, and his entire body trembled. Fortunately, he had prepared himself and used the chance to fly backward. After retreating a hundred meters, he stabilized in the air. He looked at the person on the tree in horror.

    <i>Why is Yun Jianyue¡¯s cultivation even stronger than before?</i>

    Meanwhile, Zu An was feeling a bit of a headache. He was currently using Yun Jianyue¡¯s identity and couldn''t use many skills. If he used a move that was too fierce and killed this Lu guy, that would easily causeplications.

    First, others would doubt his identity. After all, in the eyes of most people, Yun Jianyue and Lu Sanyuan were on the same level. Second, he was worried that Zhang Zitong wouldn¡¯t be able to find Yun Jianyue, and he had to get the information by interrogating Lu Sanyuan. That was why he didn¡¯t want to just kill him off.

    ...

    In the eyes of everyone who was still clear-headed, they were all incredibly shocked.

    They saw that ¡®Yun Jianyue¡¯ had used an unknown method to take the ce of the white-d woman. When she faced Lu Sanyuan¡¯s powerful attack, she merely casually raised a palm to send him flying.

    <i>Could it be that there is already a qualitative difference between their cultivation?</i>

    Zu An chuckled, remarking, ¡°In the end, isn¡¯t it still just a fight between the two of us? Why did we have to go through all of that trouble before?¡±

    Lu Sanyuan¡¯s expression was grave, but there was no fear. Instead, he surged with fighting intent. Judging from their earlier interaction, he predicted that her cultivation was only a bit higher than his own.

    <i>She might have used some secret method to temporarily activate her potential and raise her cultivation. What is there to be scared of if it¡¯s something like that?</i>

    ¡°If it¡¯s to be a fight, then so be it! Let¡¯s see which one of us has the right to be the sect master!¡± he yelled. His long hair flew wildly, and ck energy surrounded him. All of his muscles suddenly swelled, and he immediately became twice as big!

    The strong feeling of pressure made even those who were befuddled by Daji gradually wake up. They wondered just what had happened, but their attention was immediately drawn to Lu Sanyun.

    ¡°What kind of situation is this? Why did Sect Master Lu use his Ruthless Tyrant Body?!¡±

    Even the World School and Freedom Path Masters clicked their tongues, saying, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect him to immediately use his most powerful skill! Sect Master Yun is now in a difficult spot.¡±

    Qiu Honglei quickly reminded Zu An, ¡°Ah Zu, be careful! That¡¯s the Unfeeling Path¡¯s most powerful skill. It''s rumored that Lu Sanyuan has already reached the unbreakable realm. Not only does every movement he makes carry the weight of a mountain behind it, his defenses are unmatched, making him impervious to swords and sabers.¡±

    ¡°Where is your Crescent Ring? If you still don¡¯t bring it out, you might not have a chance to anymore. Or perhaps you can''t use it to begin with?¡± Lu Sanyuan remarked; after entering this state, his mind had be especially clear. He felt that it was more and more unlikely for Yun Jianyue to be here.

    Qiu Honglei looked at Zu An worriedly.

    <i>There''s definitely no issue with Ah Zu¡¯s cultivation, but even though he can have master¡¯s face, he can¡¯t imitate master¡¯s techniques or weapons!</i>

    Zu An looked calm, however, and said, ¡°I thought that I didn¡¯t need to use the Crescent Ring to defeat you, but since you brought it up, I guess I can give you what you want.¡±

    Qiu Honglei''s eyes immediately widened, because she saw a curved moon appear at Zu An¡¯s side. It was identical to master¡¯s Crescent Ring!

    <i>When did master give her weapon to him?</i>

    However, she quickly realized something. She vaguely remembered that Ah Zu had a ''Rune Weapon Chart'' skill that could imitate all kinds of weapons he had seen.

    Lu Sanyuan didn¡¯t know about thhat. When he saw the weapon, he was a bit stunned.

    <i>Could it actually be her?</i>

    Suddenly, a crescent moon rose in front of him. The moonlight was beautiful and enchanting, yet iparably dangerous.

 Chapter 2015: You Never Expected This, Right?

    <h4>Chapter 2015: You Never Expected This, Right?</h4>

    Lu Sanyuan felt a chill inside. He still carried quite a few reservations against Yun Jianyue¡¯s Crescent Ring. With a roar, his aura erupted powerfully. As he sent a fist crashing down on the Crescent Ring, he looked like a giant.

    He, Lu Sanyuan, had already dominated the world of warriors with his strength for many years and never relied on any divine weapons to do so. What he had the most confidence in were none other than his own fists. In his opinion, all weapons were external things. They would never be as convenient to use as one''s own body.

    Even though he was an infamous rebel leader, so strictly speaking, he and Zhao Han were arch-enemies, that had been one way in which he actually admired Zhao Han; after all, Zhao Han hadn¡¯t used weapons either. He had only used his palms to make the entire world his.

    In the time it took sparks to fly off a flint, his fist struck the side of the Crescent Ring. Whether in terms of power or angle, he expected it would be enough to send the weapon flying, thus making Yun Jianyue lose control of it. In his mind, he would use the instant when Yun Jianyue lost control of her weapon to rush forward and seize the initiative. Then, she wouldn¡¯t be able to reverse the situation anymore.

    In just that moment, he had already thought of sixty different ways of winning. In the end, he chose the one with the greatest chance of victory. Even so, his expression immediately changed, because the Crescent Ring was actually smashed to pieces by his palm.

    <i>How?!</i>

    He knew just how powerful the Crescent Ring was, and hadn¡¯t expected to destroy it! That was why all of his ns had merely been to knock it away. But now, all of his strength ended up hitting empty air. In that instant, his arm almost dislocated, and the energies inside of him stirred chaotically. He almost spat out a mouthful of blood. He could no longer even think of his surefire n of attack, so he quickly protected himself.

    Lu Sanyuan was fully aware that he had fallen for his opponent''s ploy, but he didn¡¯t know how she did it. Why had the Crescent Ring just suddenly disappeared?

    How could he know that this Crescent Ring was something created by Zu An¡¯s Rune Weapon Chart? He could cancel its summoning at will.

    At the same time, the Crescent Ring reappeared behind Lu Sanyuan¡¯s head. Endless moonlight crashed down on him, and it was impossible to avoid. His expression became ashen, but even though he was surprised, he wasn''t ovee with rm. His Ruthless Tyrant Body was the most powerful defense among the Holy Sect¡¯s three schools and six paths. This wasn¡¯t the first time he had faced Yun Jianyue¡¯s Crescent Ring, either. These attacks would at most injure him, but they wouldn¡¯t remove his ability to fight. Moreover, his Ruthless Tyrant Body allowed him to be stronger the more he was injured. As such, it wasn''t even necessarily a bad thing.

    He suddenly felt a chill run through his body.

    <i>Why is the power of this Crescent Ring so much weaker than before?</i>

    However, he didn¡¯t have time to think about it in detail. After all, the Crescent Ring had always moved strangely. Only when the attack really reached his body and he blocked it would he be able to seize back the initiative. That way, Yun Jianyue¡¯s fighting strength would be reduced by at least half.

    He raised his hand and was about to grab toward the streak of moonlight when he was suddenly stunned.

    <i>Where is my hand?</i>

    <i>My right hand is gone? My left is... also gone?</i>

    Only two bare arms remained in front of him.

    At the same time, he felt as if his heel had just been lightly stepped on by someone. Then, he couldn''t stand steadily anymore and fell straight to the ground. The sensation of pain rushed into his mind, and he reflexively screamed. Even with all of the unfeeling techniques he cultivated, he still couldn''t help but roll on the ground in pain.

    His arm tendons had been cut, as were his leg tendons. Even though he did get stronger the more injuries he had, his arms and legs were now crippled, so no matter how strong he was now, there was no way to use that strength. He couldn''t just kill his opponent with words, right?

    Lu Sanyuan was in endless pain, but in his mind, there were a million question marks.

    <i>Why? Why was my Ruthless Tyrant Body so useless before her attacks?</i> n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    It wasn¡¯t just him. The eyes of everyone present were wide open. A second before, Lu Sanyuan had been releasing all of his power, and yet a second after, he had his arms and legs crippled? They had expected an extraordinary battle between dragons. With their cultivation, it wouldn''t be as exaggerated as three days and three nights, but at the very least, it wasn''t supposed to be decided in such a short instant, right? Many people had eventfelt a bit excited. A battle between people on this level was something that not everyone could witness, let alone this close up. It would be extremely beneficial for their future cultivation.

    Even so, when they saw that the fight was over, they were all stunned.

    <i>That¡¯s it?</i>

    <i>We didn¡¯t see a damn thing before it ended!</i>

    All of the higher-ups gave Yun Jianyue a confused look. They understood Lu Sanyuan¡¯s cultivation well. The power he disyed was far from what they could match, and yet he''d lost after a single exchange?

    As for Lu Sanyuan¡¯s trusted aides, they all looked as if they were mourning their fathers¡¯ deaths.

    <i>We¡¯re done for, it¡¯s all over...</i>

    Those who had sided with Lu Sanyuan all had bitter looks on their faces.

    <i>Would it be toote if we returned to Sect Master Yun¡¯s side now?</i>

    ¡°You¡¯re definitely not Yun Jianyue! Ahhh!¡± Lu Sanyuan screamed. Out of those present, only he knew fully well that if Yun Jianyue had such terrifying cultivation, he would have long since died. How could he even manage to force her into such a desperate situation? However, in the current situation, he only sounded as if he couldn''t take a loss.

    <i>We¡¯re already in this kind of situation, and yet he¡¯s still using such a lousy excuse to deny this loss. What, do you want all of us from the Holy Sect to help you fight against her just because you said so?</i>

    <i>Even if we take a thousand steps back and she really isn¡¯t Sect Master Yun, do you think we''re tired of living? Why would we go against someone like that who crippled you so easily?</i>

    That was let alone the fact that this person looked just like Sect Master Yun! Furthermore, her Crescent Ring was also exactly the same, so how could it possibly be fake?

    Zu An looked at Lu Sanyuan calmly. He also knew the importance of the current situation and didn¡¯t even bother to say anything.

    When he saw the cold looks around him, Lu Sanyuan was full of despair. He clenched his teeth and hissed, ¡°What are you still standing around for?¡±

    Chi Fuzi, who was at Yun Jianyue¡¯s side, suddenly moved. He reached out his hand and grabbed Qiu Honglei¡¯s shoulder, saying, ¡°I have the saintess on my side, so you...¡±

    His expression changed midway through his sentence. A streak of purple light suddenly shot out from Qiu Honglei¡¯s body and sted his hand away. In that instant, his hand became charred ck, and the scent of burning flesh filled the air.

    ¡°Lightning Talisman!¡± Chi Fuzi eximed. He was a talisman master himself and immediately reacted to what was happening. At the same time, he was incredibly shocked. The quality of this talisman seemed to be even stronger than his own!

    Meanwhile, Qiu Honglei had already appeared at Zu An¡¯s side. She eximed, ¡°Ah... Master, you really are supremely clever! There really was something wrong with him!¡±

    Everyone around Chi Fuzi moved away and looked at him in horror. They really couldn''t figure out why he would suddenly attack Qiu Honglei. Earlier, when there was a huge disparity between Sect Master Yun''s side and Lu Sanyuan¡¯s side, this man had actually been willing to support Sect Master Yun. Why was it that now that the situation had been reversed, he''d attempted a betrayal?

    Chi Fuzi didn¡¯t pay attention to anyone else; instead, he stared at Zu An and asked, ¡°You noticed that there was something wrong with me from the very start?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. In the earlier situation, even the World School and Freedom Path Masters surrendered, and yet you stood at my side, seemingly duty-bound. It really didn¡¯t make sense,¡± Zu An calmly replied.

    The World School and Freedom Path Masters felt their faces heat up. It seemed their behavior hadn¡¯t escaped the sect master¡¯s notice.

    ¡°Weren¡¯t there still so many others who chose to stand by you?¡± Chi Fuzi asked, finding a bit hard to understand.

    ¡°Those people are different from you; they''re still young and have a bit of hot-bloodedness in them. However, you''re a path master, someone whose every move controls the prosperity and decline of one of the paths. Even if you truly chose to follow me, there''s no way you would risk the safety of your entire faction,¡± Zu An replied as he patted Qiu Honglei¡¯s shoulder and helped her sort out her wrinkled clothes.

    ¡°That¡¯s the only reason?¡± Chi Fuzi eximed, looking at ''Yun Jianyue'' as if she were some kind of freak

    <i>She was actually someone so distrustful!</i>

    ¡°Of course not,¡± Zu An replied with a chuckle. ¡°Did you forget what you said when the armor-piercing arrows came? You said that you were here for a wedding, and that was why you didn¡¯t bring many treasures and materials, so you couldn''t maintain the barrier for long. But as a cultivator, who wouldn¡¯t bring their treasures with them everywhere they went, especially in a ce like the Holy Sect where the strong prey on the weak?¡±

    Li Feiqing, Fatty Hu, and the other disciples of the sect all nodded. They were full of admiration.

    <i>The sect master is the sect master after all; she immediately saw through that old fart¡¯s mistake. We were even almost moved to tears by his actions.</i>

    ¡°That¡¯s right. It seems you actually understand me quite well. However, did you predict that I had already made my preparations from the very start?¡± Chi Fuzi eximed.

    As soon as he spoke, a formation disc appeared in his hands and activated. Then, the entirety of the Yin Yang Path¡¯s territory was enveloped within a golden barrier. The ceiling of the golden barrier had a sun, moon, and stars, but the stars didn¡¯t look small and beautiful, and were instead incrediblyrge and ominous. Everyone inside felt as if they were facing terrifying beasts.

    Chi Fuzi carried Lu Sanyuan out of the formation and roared withughter. ¡°This old one already set up this Falling Star Formation here. No matter how high your cultivation is, you will still be smashed to dust by the meteors!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve actually sessfully built the legendary Falling Star Formation?!¡± the Freedom Path and World School Masters eximed in horror.

    Even though the younger disciples weren''t aware, how could those with their statuses not know about the Secret Path¡¯s forbidden formations? It was rumored that in ancient times, there was someone who had used this formation to trap an army of deities and devils. Then, those countless powerful beings were sted to ashes inside the formation.

    The two of them could no longer remain calm. They rushed forth and used all of their ultimate skills. Unfortunately, no matter what they used, the barrier of light around them didn¡¯t move at all. The only thing it did was make Chi Fuzi smirk.

    Qiu Honglei couldn''t help but ask, ¡°Martial Uncle Chi Fuzi, why did you betray master for Lu Sanyuan? Master has treated you extremely well, and the Secret Path received the resources and status you asked for. Is that Lu bastard going to give you more?¡±

    ¡°I made this choice for many reasons. It is not something that I can express sinctly,¡± Chi Fuzi said; he clearly didn¡¯t wish to respond to the question. He looked at Zu An and remarked, ¡°You never expected this, right? You could predict a momentary choice of mine, but can you predict something from half a month ago?¡±

    ¡°Indeed, I couldn''t predict things that far back, but there''s no need for that anyway," Zu An said. While he spoke, a formation disc appeared in his hand as well. He took out some small gs, then ced them in various ces. The pressureing from the stars above gradually faded, and the entire golden barrier vanished.

    ¡°How?!¡± Chi Fuzi eximed as his eyes widened. His greatest work had been ruined just like that?

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°When I entered, I noticed that there seemed to be a formation here, so I tampered with it a bit.¡±

    Even someone as powerful as Zhao Han had ended up falling into the trap of a formation¡¯s ambush, so he was especially careful regarding these things. Furthermore, after he had studied the Baopu Sutra, as long as he was on guard, it was practically impossible for others to scheme against him using these methods.

    Chi Fuzi stared at him and eximed, ¡°You are a formation master? There is no way Sect Master Yun would know about these things. Just who are you? Could it be that you are the Royal Academy¡¯s Yan Xiangu?!¡±

 Chapter 2016: There Is No Way You Are Stronger Than the One From the Capital

    <h4>Chapter 2016: There Is No Way You Are Stronger Than the One From the Capital</h4>

    Qiu Honglei held onto Zu An¡¯s arm with a sweet smile as she retorted, ¡°Martial uncle Chi Fuzi, did you lose your head after your defeat? My master is such an incredible beauty, so how could she be that old fart, Yan Xiangu?¡±

    When he heard her praise his beauty, Zu An felt a chill, but he couldn''t argue against it and could only remain silent.

    The others around him all roared withughter. They all ridiculed Chi Fuzi and Lu Sanyuan for being sore losers. This person in front of them was Sect Master Yun! Why would those two think that she was Yan Xiangu? Were they blind?

    There were a few higher-level members who were confused, however. There was no way Lu Sanyuan and Chi Fuzi would say such a thing as a joke. Furthermore, this Sect Master Yun was a bit strange in certain ways. At the very least, the Sect Master Yun they knew couldn''t win against Lu Sanyuan so easily. However, whether it was this person¡¯s appearance or weapons, they were identical to Sect Master Yun, so those people really couldn''t imagine how someone else could impersonate her so well. They could only attribute it to a recent breakthrough Sect Master Yun had made in secluded cultivation.

    Chi Fuzi said seriously, ¡°I did indeed underestimate you. But do you really think you have already won?¡±

    At that moment, a formation disc appeared in his hand. Light flickered nearby, and he and Lu Sanyuan vanished.

    ¡°That¡¯s the Secret Path¡¯s Astrological Vanishing Technique!¡± There was someone who recognized what had happened. This kind of skill often had a predetermined safe location. If it was activated, the user could immediately move to that location, making it an exceptional protective measure. How could the user''s opponent possibly find them in a short amount of time?

    Many people sighed. The Secret Path really had endless methods, and they were all really hard to defend against. Forget about Sect Master Yun and the saintess, not even they could keep up if they were schemed against by a dangerous enemy like this.

    However, a water-like ripple appeared in the sky. Immediately after, two figures dropped from above. They were none other than Chi Fuzi and Lu Sanyuan!

    Chi Fuzi wasughing heartily as he said, ¡°I was justughing at Yun Jianyue¡¯s slow wits. She clearly had the advantage, and yet she still wasted so much time speaking and gave me the chance to activate this formation. If she had attacked us immediately, how could we...¡±

    Midway through his sentence, he saw Lu Sanyuan¡¯s horrified expression, and he also realized that something wasn¡¯t right. He looked around him, and his face paled. He murmured, ¡°How? How are we still here...¡±

    Even the World School and Freedom Path Masters were stunned.

    <i>What in the world is Chi Fuzi doing? I don¡¯t recall him being someone who made these kinds of jokes!</i>

    Zu An smiled and remarked, ¡°You never expected this, did you? I took the liberty of locking down this space when I took down your formation earlier.¡±

    He was trying to save Yun Jianyue, so he had to make sure to do everything thoroughly. But of course, this was still a lesson he had learned from Violet Mountain. That was the best example of how a group of the world¡¯s most powerful beings had used formations to scheme against the strongest being of this world.

    Chi Fuzi¡¯s face was swollen like an eggnt. He had never expected that his words would be thrown right back at him so quickly. It really was harsh to the ears.

    He took out his formation disc and was about to bring out another one of the formations he was proud of when he suddenly heard a sigh next to his ear, and a voice saying, ¡°Do you really think I''d give you another chance?¡±

    He was horrified to discover that Yun Jianyue was already next to him, thrusting a finger at him. Even though he could clearly see that finger move toward him slowly, why couldn''t he avoid it?

    After being hit by the finger, all of his ki was sealed. He didn¡¯t have any ability to retaliate anymore.

    However, Zu An didn¡¯t smile, and backed up with a grave expression. A momentter, a streak of bloody light appeared where he had just been. In that instant, space itself split apart, and an endless void appeared. If one were hit by this kind of power, one would be seriously injured, if not dead.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Qiu Honglei asked as she quickly arrived at Zu An''s side. She examined his body with a worried look.

    Zu An shook his head and turned to look at the opposing side with a grave expression.

    Gasps filled the air from all around. Before the onlookers'' eyes, an extremely strange scene appeared in front of them. Lu Sanyuan, who had lost the ability to move, stood back up again. Lumps of flesh surged wildly from where his hands had been were cut off, and they regrew rapidly at a visible rate.

    Everyone watching felt their scalps turn numb. All high-level cultivators had the ability to regenerate, but the rate at which they did so was based on the severity of their wounds. Such injuries would frequently take several months to years to fully heal from. Regeneration at this kind of speed was unheard of. It looked disgusting and terrifying.

    ¡°What kind of situation is this? What are you? Get off me, ahhh!¡± Lu Sanyuan screamed bitterly.

    He was the master of the Unfeeling Path, which cared about severing one¡¯s emotions. He rarely showed any strong emotions. Even so, right now, everyone present could see just how scared he was. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Kek kek kek... Don¡¯t refuse me. I can help you experience what it¡¯s like to be a higher level lifeform!¡± a sinister voice that carried an ear-piercing vibration said, emerging from his mouth. It didn¡¯t seem like the voice of a human, and sounded more like a group of strange bugs.

    ¡°No, you cannot treat me like this! We are allies; you cannot go against our previous agreement!¡± Lu Sanyuan cried as his face distorted in pain.

    ¡°It was you who failed toplete our agreement first. Trash like you already no longer has the qualification to be my ally,¡± the buzzing voice said from his mouth again.

    All of the Devil Sect members shivered when they heard these two entirely different voicese from a single person¡¯s mouth. They all withdrew into the distance and watched Lu Sanyuan vigntly.

    Qiu Honglei was also a bit scared. She wasn¡¯t scared of a fight, but she was scared of this kind of strange and unknown thing.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes narrowed.

    <i>Could it be...</i>

    Lu Sanyuan seemed to have understood his own fate. He asked in despair, ¡°How did you enter my body?I clearly didn¡¯t eat the pill you gave me!¡± A proud warrior like him would never trust another easily. Even now, he didn¡¯t know how he had fallen for the other side¡¯s tricks.

    The buzzing voice snickered. ¡°Did you think we messed with the pills we gave you? Stupid human, how could your pitiful intelligence understand our ns? We put our special measures in the treasures we gave you. You lusted after the strength they brought you, so of course you wouldn¡¯t leave them unused. As long as you kept them on you, we would have a chance to take over your body. Of course, if you hadn¡¯t suffered such a crushing defeat to the point that even your hands were chopped off, it might not have been so easy for me to enter your body.¡±

    All of Lu Sanyuan''s muscles began to squirm, as if something was transforming and modifying his body. His face swelled up, andyers of ck and white patterns appeared. As time went on, he stopped looking like a human.

    He turned to Zu An and said, ¡°Senior sister, in the past, when my master was attacked by your master, the position of sect master was also stolen. All this time, I vowed to get revenge. I never expected that everything I did would only be to help this thing. Hurry and kill me, it... hurts! Aaaahhhh!¡±

    What followed was a heart-rending scream. Pitch-ck, bony spikes grew out of his arms and legs. His back split open, producing a set of carapace-like armor. The flesh under the armor continued to squirm, and several nodes of flesh began to sprout. They grew at a rapid pace, creating wings that were as thin as a cicada''s. His original face was nowhere to be seen, now reced by the head of a monster. A pair of giant mandibles emerged from his jaw. A cold glint flickered from them, as if they were a pair of reaper¡¯s scythes.

    ¡°What kind of monster is this?!¡± people eximed.

    Even though the Devil Sect engaged in their fair share of killing and ughter, even hunting countless beasts, they had never seen something like this before. That was especially true when their usually awe-inspiring Vice Sect Master had be a giant bug-like creature. It really was horrifying to watch.

    ¡°It was those monsters after all!¡± Zu An eximed, his expression turning ice-cold. He''d already had his suspicions. Apart from those monsters, who else had the ability to do something like this?

    Unfortunately, the court could guard against a thousand things, but not an attack from the Devil Sect''s side.

    Chi Fuzi, who was the closest to Lu Sanyuan, finally reacted. He reflexively tried to run, but the space around him was restricted. His speed wasn¡¯t his strong suit either. As soon as he took a step, the giant demonic bug caught up to him. Its sickle-like mandibles mped together, and Chi Fuzi screamed miserably. His body was bisected at the waist.

    When they saw that, the World School and Freedom Path Masters immediately backed up. Even though Chi Fuzi¡¯s strengthy in his formations and his body was weaker, he was still one of the overlords and wasn''t that weak. However, the opponent instantly shed him in half...

    At that moment, Chi Fuzi¡¯s upper half was still conscious. He instinctively crawled into the distance, his face full of fear. He pleased, ¡°Save me... Save...¡±

    A secondter, the giant bug¡¯s chest suddenly ruptured open. The ribs that had once been inside had turned into rows of sharp teeth. Chi Fuzi¡¯s body was swallowed up in a single gulp.

    The onlookers were speechless.

    <i>Aren¡¯t its jaws part of its head? Why is its chest also a mouth?</i>

    However, how could they still focus on with something like that? They all ran for their lives to get as far away from the monster as possible.

    The demonic bug fluttered its wings, creating waves of earsplitting noises. Many of the troops who were farthest away clutched their heads in pain. Then, bony outgrowths appeared from their shoulders and limbs as well. They began to transform into bugs rapidly. Their resistance wasn¡¯t as strong as Lu Sanyuan''s, so they instantly became demonic bugs. They looked almost identical to the first one, with the only difference being that they were much smaller.

    The sect members who had started running away just happened to run into them. The bugs opened their mouths, firing sts of acidic fluid.

    ¡°Ahhh!¡±

    Miserable screams filled the air one after another. The ones running at the forefront were caught off guard and hit. Then, they melted on the spot, bing viscous blue puddles. Immediately after, the bugsunched a ruthless assault. Many sect members quickly lost their lives.

    The ones present were almost all Devil Sect elites. If had they faced the enemy in a proper frontal assault, they wouldn¡¯t have suffered such severe casualties. But when they saw Lu Sanyuan turn into a demonic bug, and saw the Secret Path Master being killed instantly, they had all lost their courage. How could they still mount a decent resistance?

    Even though there were still people like Li Feiqing and Fatty Hu, who had tougher mentalities and called for theirpanions to fight back, their side was already inplete disarray. They couldn''t face these demonic bugs who were unified in will at all.

    Suddenly, there was a trace of silver moonlight that surrounded the whole ce. The survivors saw a beautiful crescent moon.

    A secondter, the demonic bugs all stopped moving. Immediately after, their upper halves slid cleanly off their lower halves, bisected from a single thin slice.

    In that instant, apart from the biggest demonic bug, all of the little demonic bugs were killed instantly!

    ¡°Long live Sect Master Yun!¡± The survivors were stunned at first, and then they cheered excitedly. Even those who had been on Lu Sanyuan¡¯s side were hollering sincerely.

    Zu An coldly scanned the surroundings and said, ¡°Hua Feihua, Chen Taogong, lead the others and keep your disciples in order. Don¡¯t let the previous chaos happen again.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± The two reflexively bowed in respect, but then they were stunned. Why did it feel so natural to listen to her? Still, since the other side didn¡¯t seem to want to look into what had just happened, then that was their greatest blessing.

    The giant bug stared at Zu An and said, ¡°Human, you are quite strong, but no matter how strong you are, there is no way you are stronger than the one from the capital. You are doomed to be nutrients that nourish me.¡±

 Chapter 2017: You Are That Person!

    <h4>Chapter 2017: You Are That Person!</h4>

    Zu An¡¯s expression was a bit strange as he murmured, ¡°The one in the capital...¡±

    <i>This bug isn¡¯t talking about me, is it?</i>

    <i>But I¡¯ve never seen it before!</i>

    The demonic bug buzzed, ¡°Hmph, that War Priest just couldn''t hold himself back and showed himself near the capital, but he ended up being killed by a powerful native. Then, the human country started to be wary, and is now on guard against us invaders. Now, we can only operate in secret.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t actually want to show myself that quickly for fear of drawing that murderous demon over, but who would have thought that Lu Sanyuan and Chi Fuzi would be such trash, unable to even handle such an easy matter? I had no choice but to make an appearance.¡±

    Qiu Honglei gave Zu An a look. She smiled and asked the demonic bug, ¡°Are you not scared of that murderous demon?¡±

    ¡°Hmph, that person is far away at the capital, so how could he know about what is happening here? As for news leaking out...¡± The demonic bug smiled sinisterly as it said, ¡°It¡¯s also simple enough. I just need to kill everyone here and evolve them into demonic bugs. There won¡¯t be any chance of anyone leaking our secrets anymore hen.¡±

    When they heard it speak so casually, as if killing everyone was an extremely simple matter, the survivors felt their scalps go numb.

    The members of the Devil Sect were actually quite the bold and tough sort. After all, those who could survive in the Devil Sect and even make it to their general headquarters were definitely not good and noble. Even so, this demonic bug in front of them really surpassed their imaginations. It was as if they were facing their natural predator, leaving them so scared that they couldn''t even produce thoughts of fighting back.

    ¡°From the looks of it, it seems you have many others simr to you who have infiltrated this world, right?¡± Zu An asked, wanting to use the chance to get more intelligence.

    However, the demonic bug grew vignt and retorted, ¡°Are you stalling for time? You¡¯ll naturally find out once I evolve all of you into demonic bugs.¡±

    Zu An thought of something. This was already the second time the bug had mentioned ''evolution''. What did that really mean?

    Just then, buzzing filled the air, and two flesh spheres suddenly appeared from the giant bug''s abdomen. They floated behind it and quickly swelled up. Immediately after, they turned into two bugs identical to itself! Of course, they were a bit smaller. And yet, whenpared to the ones transformed from the earlier soldiers, they were muchrger.

    The demonic bug to the right moved its head a bit. It spoke in a strange voice, wondering, ¡°Is this what it''s like to be a higher-level lifeform? As expected, the feeling is much better, hahaha...¡±

    Those present were horrified when they heard the voice, because even though it was a bit distorted, they could still vaguely recognize that it was Chi Fuzi¡¯s. If this was Chi Fuzi, then the other one had to be...

    The demonic bug to the left moved its limbs a bit. After a long sigh, it said, ¡°So it turns out I was just a frog at the bottom of a well before. The feeling of demonic transformation really is wonderful. Everyone, do not refuse it any longer and wee a new form of life along with the rest of us.¡±

    He called out to his soldiers and subordinates, but those people all stayed far away.

    <i>Are you kidding? Why would we stop living as wonderful humans and be this kind of damned thing?!</i>

    Zu An frowned slightly. So it turned out this was what the monster meant by evolution. The people it ate would then transform into more of its own species. If so... As long as it was given enough time, wouldn¡¯t it be able to turn the entire world into demonic bugs? In battle, this kind of creature wasn''t necessarily as strong as the War Priest was, but the threat it posed to the world was something that not even ten War Priests couldpare to.

    By then, the demonic bugs who had once been Chi Fuzi and Lu Sanyuan trembled strangely. Then, they both spat out an egg. After that, two more demonic bugs appeared in the air, a bit smaller than themselves.

    Zu An thought to himself that if they became smaller and smaller, that would make things easier. However, as soon as that thought appeared in his mind, the two new demonic bugs trembled. They both spat out two demonic bugs that were exactly the same.

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>Why aren¡¯t these things following thew of conservation of energy?! Doesn¡¯t this mean they''ll just divide endlessly?</i>

    The smaller demonic bugs moved. They immediately sprayed mouthfuls of green mist at the survivors.

    Zu An waved his hand to dispel the mist sprayed at him. At the same time, he warned the people present loudly, ¡°Everyone, be careful not to take in any of this mist. They might be using spores to infect you with parasites.¡±

    Everyone at the Devil Sect General Headquarters was an elite. Many people had already activated their respective defensive abilities. Even so, who would have thought that the demonic bug corpses that had been killed would suddenly explode? sts of green mist filled the air.

    They had all fled in rm, but they hadn¡¯t expected that even these bug corpses would do such a thing! There were many unfortunate souls who were a bit slower than the others and took in a bit of the green mist. Then, their faces turned green, and they frantically grabbed at their faces and throats. In just a few seconds, bony outgrowths emerged from their backs and limbs. They were just like Lu Sanyuan¡¯s soldiers, undergoing demonic bug transformation.

    Zu An observed the process carefully. These bugs were even smaller than the other ones. It seemed they were the lowest level demonic bugs. Evidently, only the higher-level demonic bugs had the ability to divide.

    He suddenly heard Mi Li¡¯s anxious voice in his head, saying, ¡°These are Demonic Motherbugs. They can devour all living creatures and transform them into demonic bugs. If they''re not restrained, their reproductive abilities can easily upy an entire world.¡±

    ¡°Are there any limits to their reproduction?¡± Zu An asked, pleasantly surprised at her sudden awakening. Ever since she had recovered some of her memories, her soul had clearly already healed, and yet she was still always sleeping. She seemed to be preparing and umting something.

    ¡°There is no limit!¡± Mi Li replied, her voice full of apprehension. ¡°Additionally, you must eliminate their posterity as quickly as possible. You can''t let them umte enough energy. The Demonic Motherbugs can continue to evolve crazily, bing many, many times stronger than how they are right now.¡±

    ¡°How much stronger is ''many, many times''?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°Using the ssification system of this world, they can instantly kill an earth immortal," Mi Li replied.

    Zu An was speechless.

    ¡°Why are you still not doing anything?¡± Mi Li asked in confusion when she saw that he still remained calm.

    ¡°I want to test it and see just how strong it is after it goes berserk. Only then will I have enough information if I encounter a Demonic Motherbug in a different world,¡± Zu An said. He knew that the Demonic Motherbug was actually being restrained by the natural protection of this world and didn¡¯t have its original strength. However, who knew how much longer that natural protection wouldst for? Besides that, he had a premonition that in the future, he would probably have to face its perfect form. He had to use this chance to understand it more.

    ¡°You''re ying with fire!¡± Mi Li replied. She knew what he was thinking, but she still couldn''t help but feel worried.

    ¡°You also know that this is the most rational choice,¡± Zu An said with a chuckle. The Tai¡¯e Sword appeared out of thin air. Despite what he''d just said, he still didn¡¯t dare to be careless in the slightest.

    ¡°If you die, everything will be over,¡± Mi Li said quietly.

    ¡°I won¡¯t die,¡± Zu An replied calmly.

    Of course, he wouldn¡¯t just sit still as the demonic bugs infected all living people. The Crescent Ring quickly moved, drawing out a perfect arc. All of the smallest demonic bugs were killed one by one. Whenever he killed them, a me passed over the bugs and burned them away until not a trace remained, to prevent their corpses from releasing more spores.

    Many people in the sect carried some apprehension. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    <i>When did the sect master learn fire element skills? Also, it doesn¡¯t seem like ordinary fire...</i>

    However, they were even more grateful. With that help, they finally stabilized their mental states. They attacked to wipe out all of the lowest-level demonic bugs that still remained.

    The original Demonic Motherbug stared at Zu An, saying, ¡°You are even stronger than I imagined. What a pity, however, that it is all useless.¡±

    After that, its wings released a wave of ear-splitting buzzing. The other demonic bugs also shook their wings in response, filling the air with a strange noise.

    Everyone present clutched their heads in pain, but this sound seemed to directly target the soul. No matter how they covered their ears, the noise still entered their heads.

    Just then, a giant golden bell appeared in the sky.

    <i>Riiiiiiing!</i>

    A heavy bell toll echoed through the air. Countless sound waves spread out and scattered the sharp and ear-splitting bug vibrations.

    ¡°This seems to be Tranquility Temple¡¯s Tranquility Bell...¡± the Freedom Path Master said, feeling a bit absent-minded.

    The World School Master looked around, wondering, ¡°Could it be that Tranquility Temple''s balding donkeys came here? But how is that possible?!¡±

    Unfortunately, they didn¡¯t see a trace of a Tranquility Temple disciple anywhere.

    This was naturally not the real Tranquility Bell, but rather something Zu An had created through his Rune Weapon Chart. He had witnessed the power of the bell before at Violet Mountain and knew that it was a perfect counter to these demonic bugs¡¯ sound attack.

    ¡°Hm? You seem to have quite a few tricks up your sleeve,¡± the Demonic Motherbug said, clearly recognizing that this was his work. It finally felt that something was wrong, saying, ¡°Hmph, I won¡¯t be giving you any more chances.¡±

    It raised its head, and all of its wings spread out. Its body doubled in size. Then, the remaining big demonic bugs, including Chi Fuzi and Lu Sanyuan, turned into streaks of green light that were instantly absorbed into its body. In this instant, it was as if the entire world were covered in ayer of green. The next second, it vanished.

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed. He picked up Qiu Honglei and instantly moved a hundred meters backward. At almost the same instant, a pair of sharp teeth appeared from the space he had just been standing in; they belonged to the giant mouth in the Demonic Motherbug¡¯s chest! Everything within a range of thirty or so meters from it was corroded by a mysterious power. Only a huge crater remained in the era. It went without saying what would have happened had they not dodged in time.

    The Demonic Motherbug was a bit surprised. It clearly hadn¡¯t expected him to be able to avoid such a surefire attack. Even so, it didn¡¯t hesitate. With a shake of its wings, it instantly turned into a streak of lightning and attacked Zu An again.

    Due to its speed, it was as if countless demonic bugs had appeared in the air, all attacking the target at the very center. Under those attacks, even the beautiful crescent ring turned dim. The next moment, it actually shattered under the powerful onught.

    When they saw that scene, the Devil Sect¡¯s disciples all felt their hearts shatter along with it.

    <i>Even Sect Master Yun¡¯s weapon was destroyed... It seems that it¡¯s all over now.</i>

    The next instant, a bell tolled quickly. A translucent outline of a giant golden bell seemed to surrounded Zu An¡¯s body. However, as the endless demonic bugs crashed into it, cracks appeared one after another across its surface; it clearly couldn''t stop this murderous barrage of attacks.

    Suddenly, Zu An sighed and said, ¡°I already know the limits of this berserk form of yours.¡±

    After saying that, he drew the Tai¡¯e Sword. A dazzling streak of sword radiance illuminated the world, and the green space was sliced apart from within.

    The Demonic Motherbug screamed in horror, eximing, ¡°You... You are that person!¡±

    It tried to flee, but how could it move more quickly than the sword radiance? Soon after, its body was prated by a beam of light. Then, its body was obliterated by the destruction of endless sword ki,pletely vanishing from this world.

 Chapter 2018: Unexpected Gains

    <h4>Chapter 2018: Unexpected Gains</h4>

    This entire ce waspletely quiet, as if the people within didn¡¯t dare to believe that the terrifying bug had died just like that. Only when the gloomy green sky split open and sunlight scattered across the world again, bathing them in its warmth, did they all erupt into roaring cheers.

    ¡°Sect Master Yun¡¯s cultivation is incredible! Unmatched under the heavens!¡±

    ¡°Long live Sect Master Yun; she will unify the world!¡±

    ¡°Sect Master Yun is a master of arts and war! Her virtue is a blessing for all people!¡±

    ...

    They were all speaking praise of the utmost sincerity, even though they had been hostile against each other not too long ago. Against the terrifying demonic bugs from a different world, humans would reflexively unite under one camp. What meaning did their usual hatred and enmity still have?

    When he heard the endless praise, Zu An couldn''t help but chuckle.

    <i>These Devil Sect people are quite the talents indeed. They speak so well; I love it here.</i>

    After taking the risk of letting the Demonic Motherbug enter its berserk mode, not only had he learned about some of its special skills, he had also obtained some more concrete data.

    Strictly speaking, the Demonic Motherbug wasn¡¯t as strong in a fight as the War Priest, but as it carried out its reproductive process, its power seemed to grow rapidly as well. For example, its final attack was something not even the Tranquility Bell could stop. Just then, its strength had increased five-fold. If it had continued to reproduce a few more generations, Zu An wouldn''t necessarily have been able to stop it. Even so, he wondered if its reproduction had an upper limit, or if there was some cooldown restriction between each cycle.

    He felt waves of warmth rush into his meridians. He could feel that he had be even stronger. He knew that was the result of the Heaven Devouring Sutra and the Kun Peng¡¯s absorption powers. He had just in the Demonic Motherbug and many generations of its progeny, including such strong individuals as Lu Sanyuan and Chi Fuzi. He had killed them all at once, so he''d absorbed practically all of their cultivation.

    He checked the system¡¯s experience bar and saw that he had just about reached the end of the 75th level. He couldn''t help but feel a bit confused. ording to the previous growth speed, he should already have been at the 76th level. Why was he only at the peak of the 75th level?

    He suddenly realized something. Even if he killed more enemies and absorbed their cultivation, he likely wouldn''t be able to reach level 76. That was probably a limitation of this world. After all, ording to the information he had received from the secret dungeons, the strength of a world¡¯s originsrgely affected what level a cultivator could reach. It seemed thatpared to the daoists¡¯ secret dungeon and the Fiend races¡¯ Xia Dynasty secret dungeon, this world¡¯s origin was a bit weaker.

    <i>No wonder Zhao Han wasn¡¯t able to break through the earth immortal rank even after so many years.</i>

    <i>It seems I can only make my breakthrough in a more powerful world.</i>

    He suddenly remembered something. He moved over to the ce where the Demonic Motherbug had been killed and picked up a sphere the size of a ping-pong ball; its surface was uneven and bumpy like a tumor. He had seen the item drop from the Demonic Motherbug¡¯s body. Previously, he had been worried that the Demonic Motherbug¡¯s infectious properties were too strong and that leaving it behind could make more ordinary humans undergo demonification. That was why he hadn¡¯t dared keep it alive just to question it, and had instantly ended its life with a single attack. And yet, beven though the Demonic Motherbug¡¯s body was already blown to ashes by that destructive power, this thing was still safe and sound. It was definitely a special item.

    Mi Li cried excitedly, ¡°That¡¯s a Motherbug Core!¡±

    ¡°Is it that precious?¡± Zu An asked, stunned when he heard the excitement in her voice.

    ¡°Of course it¡¯s precious! A thousand Demonic Motherbugs wouldn''t necessarily condense a single core. You can think of it as something like the essence of a deity, or a bloodline aptitude. Seeing as that Demonic Motherbug was able to produce this item, if it had been allowed to grow, it would have been able to evolve into a Motherbug Empress and be the ruler of the bug race. Only, who would have thought that it would die to you?¡±

    ¡°This thing is only useful for the bug race?¡± Zu An asked, feeling a bit of a headache. There was no way he would be a bug, let alone be some bug emperor. Furthermore, those demonic bugs didn¡¯t seem like the type one could raise as a pet. So, in his hands, wasn''t such a precious item trash.

    ¡°It¡¯s not useless.¡± Mi Li thought for a moment before saying, ¡°I¡¯ve heard that, just as the demonic bugs use their posterity to increase their own strength, they can be stronger through killing enemies. But if you use it for that effect, the Motherbug Core will shatter and disappear like a consumable. It won¡¯t be as useful as it is for the demonic bugs.¡± n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°That¡¯s not useless at all!¡± Zu An clicked his tongue. ¡°You can increase your strength just by killing your enemies? Then I can just keep charging up until I be thousands to tens of thousands of times stronger. Wouldn¡¯t I be undefeatable then? Even if I encounter someone far stronger, I can just kill them instantly, right?¡±

    ¡°Keep dreaming.¡± Mi Li rolled her eyes and said, ¡°Your strength won¡¯t increase just because you kill any random enemy. You must kill enemies stronger than yourself to sessfully stack your strength.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He replied, ¡°Isn¡¯t that a bit too strict of a condition? It¡¯s already quite amazing to be able to keep your life if you face someone stronger than yourself, let alone killing them.¡±

    ¡°Of course it¡¯s difficult for an ordinary person, but for the truly strong, they don¡¯t fear arge disparity in strength. They''re always able to find a way to ovee the challenge,¡± Mi Li exined. ¡°For example, the War Priest you killed, and even that Demonic Motherbug? Both of them were actually stronger than you. However, because of the world¡¯s natural protection, they couldn''t fight against you in theirplete forms. That''s why you were able to kill these powerful beings.¡± She added with a chuckle, ¡°Besides, which one of your opponents in the past few years wasn¡¯t stronger than you?¡±

    Zu An was stunned.

    <i>I think you¡¯re right... I¡¯ve constantly been fighting against all kinds of strong beings. It¡¯s just like those characters on the inte. What kind of protagonist would you be if you couldn''t beat opponents stronger than you?</i>

    Even so, the only problem was that he was now too strong. Finding enemies stronger than himself in this world wouldn''t be as easy as before. He stored the Motherbug Core away, and couldn''t help but say with a sigh, ¡°The reproduction of these bug species doesn¡¯t seem to be in line with thew of conservation of energy at all...¡±

    Normally, reproduction needed energy from the mother, which was why the more one reproduced, the weaker the mother¡¯s body would be. However, these demonic bugs actually did the exact opposite! The more they reproduced, the stronger they became.

    ¡°Conservaton of energy?¡± Mi Li repeated, then thought to herself for a bit. ¡°The name sounds like a theory from a world of science. However, the universe is vast. There are too many things that can''t be exined by a scientific civilization.¡±

    Zu An nodded. There were indeed many things in the world of cultivation he was in right now that couldn''t be exined through science. Of course, it could just be because of principles that science hadn''t fully understood yet. If those were to be understood, perhaps thenguage of science would then be able to exin such phenomena.

    ...

    Meanwhile, the World School and Freedom Path Masters both came to greet him respectfully. Mi Li yawned and said, ¡°How boring. I¡¯m going back to sleep.¡± That was thest thing she said.

    Zu An was full of regrets. He and Mi Li had only spent a small amount of time together. She seemed almost as if she was trying to avoid detection by certain beings, as well as storing power. Unfortunately, she couldn''t tell him any details at the moment.

    ¡°Master~¡± Qiu Honglei said, although she quietly tugged on his sleeves to remind him that the members of the sect were still bowing.

    Zu An snapped out of his daze. Seeing so many people trembling while kneeling on the ground, he knew that they were scared that he would now settle the matter of betrayal. Because of the previous battle, the prestige of ¡®Yun Jianyue¡¯ was at an all time high. Not a single person here had any thoughts of resistance.

    ¡°Honglei, I¡¯ll leave this matter to you,¡± Zu An said. He wasn¡¯t familiar with the internal affairs of the Devil Sect and didn¡¯t know many of them. It would be easy for him to be exposed. He had finally won back prestige for big sis Yu, so wasting it now would be a huge waste. Furthermore, he still had more important affairs to take care of - specifically, rescuing the real Yun Jianyue.

    ¡°Yes, master!¡± Qiu Honglei replied. She wanted to go with him, but she knew that someone had to stay behind to clean up the aftermath.

    Soon after, orders for rewards and penalties were issued. The ones who had remained loyal to her and her master had to be greatly promoted. The betrayers were punished, but the punishments were all within eptable levels, so they all epted the decision wholeheartedly. On top of that, after such a huge disaster, higher-level figures such as Lu Sanyuan and Chi Fuzi had died. Even Fang Long, who initially escaped the disaster, had ended up being killed by the demonic bugs just like his father. There were too many positions left open, leaving many people enthusiasticallypeting for them.

    All of them were full of admiration toward Qiu Honglei¡¯s fair judgment, thinking that the saintess really was like a goddess!

    <i>She will definitely be the next sect master. How could someone like that be someone a toad like Fang Long could contaminate?</i>

    ...

    After Zu An left the Yin Yang Path''s territory, he quickly returned to his original appearance. He removed the tworge pears and tossed them away; he instantly felt much more refreshed.

    His divine sense covered the entire Lake of Hatred and he quickly located Zhang Zitong. After thinking about it, he took out his Embroidered Envoy mask, then quickly arrived near her. She was staying in a remote and secluded residence that looked worn-out and old. It seemed to have already been abandoned for a long time.

    When she saw his arrival, Zhang Zitong jumped down from a nearby tree, her expressionfull of pleasant surprise. However, when she saw his getup, she was a bit confused. She eximed, ¡°Sir, you¡¯re finally here! Hm? Do you not need to pretend to be that person anymore?¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°There''s no need anymore.¡±

    Zhang Zitong was about to say something, but stopped.

    <i>He''s moving around as he pleases in his Embroidered Envoy getup in the Devil Sect General Headquarters! Sir really is too overconfident... If the Devil Sect finds out, the two of us might not be able to run away anymore.</i>

    ¡°Something seemed to have happened in the Yin Yang Path''s territory earlier. There seemed to be a huge battle, and I was worried that sir had been trapped over there. However, I didn¡¯t dare to go against sir¡¯s orders to leave this ce," Zhang Zitong said.

    ¡°You¡¯ve done very well,¡± Zu An said with a nod, then asked, ¡°Are they hiding here?¡±

    Zhang Zitong replied, ¡°I followed your respected self¡¯s orders and saw that Lu Sanyuan indeed sent his disciple Ding Xia to investigate this ce. I followed him here, then saw him pace back and forth repeatedly in front of this spirit screen for a long time, before finally sighing in relief and leaving.¡±

    Zu An walked up to the screen she was talking about. It was the same kind of spirit screen one would often find in fully-enclosed courtyards; the only difference was that the wall was especially smooth and sleek, as if it were carved from jade. He could even see his own reflection. If it were polished, it could even be used as a mirror.

    He looked around, and a smile gradually appeared on the corners of his lips. He remarked, ¡°So that was what happened!¡±

 Chapter 2019: Reunion

    <h4>Chapter 2019: Reunion</h4>

    Zhang Zitong waspletely confused. When she saw his smile, she couldn''t help but ask, ¡°What''s going on?¡±

    ¡°There''s a space hidden behind this mirror. Someone tried to cover it up through some special techniques, and I reckon it''s probably the work of that Chi Fuzi,¡± Zu An said. Meanwhile, he tapped the mirror with his finger, moving around some engraved beast statues in the corners.

    Afterward, the entire mirror began glowing with a faint green light. Soon after, that light changed based on the surroundingyout, and began to gradually fade away. The spirit screen no longer looked like a wall; instead, ripples spread across its surface as if it were made of water.

    Zhang Zitong reached out her finger and lightly touched the surface, causing it to ripple once again. She couldn''t help but exim in pleasant surprise, ¡°So there was a space behind it after all, sir!¡±

    Zu An found her childish reaction rather amusing.

    <i>Just how did this woman manage to be a silver token envoy?</i> n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zhang Zitong suddenly cried out in rm. She seemed to be pulled into the space, falling straight in.

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed. He immediately grabbed her other hand, and felt a powerful suction force from the screen. He realized that it seemed to be the power of the space and not someone scheming against them.

    The two of them were sucked into the spirit screen in the blink of an eye. They felt a sense of weightlessness, then suddenly fell to the ground. Zhang Zitong staggered and couldn''t stand steadily. Fortunately, Zu An was holding her hand and helped her regain her bnce.

    ¡°Thank you, sir," Zhang Zitong said. When she felt the heat from his hand, her heart beat quickly.

    <i>Sir might normally act cold, but he still cares about me deep down. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have immediately entered to grab my hand and save me.</i>

    ¡°Are you scared?¡± Zu An asked. When he sensed her abnormal heartbeat, he was a bit puzzled.

    Zhang Zitong wanted to say that she wasn¡¯t scared, but after thinking about it, she nodded in embarrassment, saying, ¡°I''ve never encountered something like this before, so I am a bit scared.¡± That gave her a proper reason to continue holding onto Sir Eleven¡¯s hand!

    Unfortunately, Zu An didn¡¯t give her the chance and naturally let her go, saying, ¡°There¡¯s not much to be scared of. Just follow behind me.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± Zhang Zitong said. She was a bit disappointed, but when she saw how he was protecting her, she immediately felt much better. That put her in the mood to look around. She felt a sense of familiarity from the nearby structures and couldn''t help but be a bit stunned, eximing, ¡°Huh? We''re still in our original location?¡±

    ¡°Of course not. This is the world behind the spirit screen,¡± Zu An said as he walked forward.

    Zhang Zitong quickly followed him, remarking, ¡°Huh? It does seem a bit different. Many ces here seem to be inverted. Also, the sky is a bit hazy and gloomy-looking.¡±

    Zu An used the jade badge to look around, but he didn¡¯t detect any living creatures around him. His divine sense couldn''t be expanded too far, clearly because the surrounding fog had the ability to block off divine sense. He was already used to having his divine sense always active, so being in this kind of ce made him feel as if he had gone blind. It really wasn¡¯t a great feeling.

    The two followed a bluestone path; up ahead was another fully enclosed courtyard. One side¡¯s entrance was open, and the bluestone path continued inside.

    ¡°These entrances all look exactly the same,¡± Zhang Zitong said. She turned around and immediately eximed in horror, ¡°It lookspletely identical to the one we entered from!¡± Her voice echoed through the courtyard, which added an even stronger sense of eeriness.

    However, Zu An was surprisingly calm. He continued to walk forward past the long bluestone path, and the two soon saw that they had once again returned to their original starting point. The screen wall across the gate of the house towered in front of them, but there were no more ripples; instead, it was now hard stone.

    ¡°We can¡¯t go back!¡± Zhang Zitong cried out, trembling a bit. She had no idea what was happening to her either. In the past, whenever she was in these kinds of dangerous situations, she had always been quite tough and quickly thought of solutions. And yet, when she was at Sir Eleven¡¯s side, she became a weak youngdy who actually felt scared.

    ¡°This thing became a wall after we entered. Did you not notice it back then?¡± Zu An replied casually while observing the surrounding terrain.

    Zhang Zitong blushed with shame. She really had been a bit too careless. She said, ¡°We were clearly walking forward the entire time, so why did we return here?¡±

    ¡°Many formations have simr effects. The space here has been distorted to some extent, throwing off one¡¯s sense of direction,¡± Zu An exined while walking forward.

    ¡°Could this be a so-called ¡®ghostly wall¡¯?¡± Zhang Zitong asked doubtfully when she saw him continue to walk forward. ¡°Didn¡¯t we walk this way before? Should we try a different path?¡±

    ¡°It does seem simr to a ghostly wall, but this ce seems a bit more profound,¡± Zu An replied. ¡°Normally, after experiencing what just happened, someone would reflexively choose a different route, unaware that they would simply fall into exactly the mindset the enemy wanted them to have. Continue forward. I need to investigate what exactly is going on with the spatial discement here.¡± After a pause, he added, ¡°How about you walk in front this time?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Zhang Zitong asked, feeling shaken up.

    <i>Could it be that sir wants me to scout the way and trigger the traps? I heard that there were some ruthless types in the Embroidered Envoy, people who would use their subordinates as cannon fodder. But Sir Eleven shouldn¡¯t be that kind of person, right?</i>

    She took a deep breath and said, ¡°Fine!¡± Then, she stepped forward. However, she wasn''t confident and bold like usual, and instead took very small steps like a young miss raised in a distinguished n.

    When he saw her trembling, Zu An couldn''t help but smile. He said, ¡°Don¡¯t be scared; I''ll make sure to protect you.¡±

    Zhang Zitong sighed in relief. She gathered the courage to ask, ¡°Why does sir need me to walk in front?¡±

    ¡°Two reasons. The first is that I need to be outside the box,¡± Zu An said directly.

    ¡°Outside the box?¡± Zhang Zitong asked, feeling a bit confused.

    Zu An exined, ¡°The one trapped within the puzzle might be baffled, but an onlooker cam see clearly. I need to borrow the long legs you¡¯ve been blessed with as a reference point to study the behavior of this ce.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Zhang Zitong eximed in surprise, never having expected that to be the reason. Even though she had always been quite satisfied with her legs, this was the first time she had heard of such a use for them. When she saw that Zu An was being serious, she didn¡¯t let herself think wayward thoughts for fear of disrupting his line of thinking. She asked, ¡°Then what about the other reason?¡±

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s just that in this kind of tense situation, being able to admire such beautiful legs will improve my mood a bit. Who knows, it might even help mee up with the solution,¡± Zu An said with a smile.

    ¡°Sir~¡± Zhang Zitong pouted yfully.

    <i>Is he flirting with me right now?</i>

    ¡°You don¡¯t feel as nervous as you were earlier anymore, right?¡± Zu An asked suddenly, looking at her.

    ¡°I do feel much more at ease," Zhang Zitong said. She thought to herself, <i>So sir did this to help me with my nervousness. I was going to say, how could someone as serious as sir flirt with me?</i>

    However, she felt a mysterious sense of sadness when she thought of that.

    As they continued along the long bluestone path, the two chatted happily. They eventually arrived at a courtyard with entrances on all four sides. They chose the door right in front of them again, only to arrive at the next bluestone path. Sure enough, they returned back to the same spot they had entered from.

    This was a really sinister ce, but when Zhang Zitong thought about how Sir Eleven was looking at her legs from behind, she didn¡¯t feel as cold anymore. Instead, she felt as if there were a wave of heat crawling up her legs.

    ¡°So that was what was going on,¡± Zu An suddenly said.

    Zhang Zitong was startled, asking, ¡°What is sir thinking about?¡±

    ¡°It seems as if we¡¯ve returned to the same point, but in reality, it¡¯s not. The one who created this formation deliberately made this ce seem more mysterious by making all of the buildings identical to confuse the ones trapped. It''s to subconsciously make you feel as if you''ve returned to the starting point no matter what you do. That way, you''d feel more and more rmed and make all kinds of incorrect judgments.¡±

    While speaking, Zu An took out a formation disc. His fingers moved quickly, and small gs flew out in all directions in the air. Then, he grabbed a clump of formation papers and tossed them out. They quickly scattered and turned into small paper cranes. They pped their wings and flew in the direction of those formation gs.

    Zhang Zitong¡¯s eyes widened, because she saw several small specks of light move across Sir Eleven¡¯s formation disc. They clearly represented the paper cranes that had just left. As the specks of light spread out, the formation disc gradually produced a three-dimensional map.

    She asked, ¡°What is this?¡±

    ¡°Complete Hologram Formation,¡± Zu An said. This was a formation he had created by borrowing some concepts from the Baopu Sutra and his knowledge of science from his previous world, together with Yan Xiangu¡¯s help. It specialized in exploring unknown ces. The only w was that in order to activate it, the user had to have a rough idea of the terrain they were exploring.

    ¡°When did sir be so skilled at formations?¡± Zhang Zitong asked, feeling quite perplexed.

    ¡°I learned it recently," Zu An replied casually.

    Zhang Zitong was speechless.

    <i>Formation and runes contain such wide-ranging and profound knowledge; who in the world could reach your level if they just started recently?</i>

    ...

    While they were chatting, aplete map took form on the formation disc. Zu An gave it a look and said with a smile, ¡°So it was there.¡± Then, he quickly led Zhang Zitong and ran forward. Sure enough, things were different with a map.

    ¡°Slow down, I can¡¯t keep up!¡± Zhang Zitong cried out, gasping for air. At first, she was trying to remember the way, but then Zu An took her left and right through the courtyard. Sometimes, he even went back a segment. Then, the scenery before them immediately became different from before. After they circled a few times, she was almost about to faint from dizziness. She decided to just close her eyes and just let Zu An do whatever he wanted.

    After an unknown amount of time passed, the sound of wind by her ears finally stopped. Then, she finally opened her eyes again, still feeling lingering fear. A different courtyard appeared in front of her. Sitting at the very center was a woman with hair reaching all the way to her bottom, her eyes closed in meditation. Next to the woman, the Empress Lantern cast down a gentle radiance, enveloping everything within ten meters around her.

    ¡°Yun Jianyue!¡± Zhang Zitong eximed softly in shock, but also fear. She hadn¡¯t expected them to actually enter the ce where the Devil Sect Master was cultivating in seclusion! This was a wanted criminal of the court! If they captured her, forget about being forgiven for her crimes, perhaps she would even be able to be an Embroidered Envoy again.

    She was just about to draw her weapon when Zu An moved first. However, the Empress Lantern seemed to have sensed intruders and immediately erupted with light, surrounding his entire body.

    ¡°Sir, be careful!¡± Zhang Zitong eximed. She naturally knew just how formidable Yun Jianyue¡¯s Empress Lantern was. If one were to be surrounded by its light, one wouldn¡¯t be able to move at all, bing a vulnerable target. However, she was soon stunned. ck vortexes appeared around Sir Eleven¡¯s entire body; the light couldn''t touch him at all, as it was all sucked into the vortexes.

    <i>Sir is so much stronger than I imagined...</i>

    Zu An walked forward a bit. He was about to reach Yun Jianyue when a poignant crescent moon hacked toward him at a vicious angle.

    Zhang Zitong was really nervous now. That was Yun Jianyue¡¯s famous weapon, the Crescent Ring! Countless experts had died under its de. However, the following scene made her rub her eyes in confusion. The Crescent Ring didn¡¯t attack Sir Eleven; instead, it danced around him, as if it was really excited.

    ¡°Just what is going on?¡± Zhang Zitong wondered, feelingpletely bewildered. Even so, she didn''t dwell on that, since this was a good thing. Sir Eleven wasn''t in front of that witch, who seemed to be asleep in secluded cultivation. Now was the perfect time to dominate... her?

 Chapter 2020: Did I Come at a Bad Time?

    <h4>Chapter 2020: Did I Come at a Bad Time?</h4>

    Zhang Zitong waspletely dumbstruck by the sight in front of her.

    <i>Who am I? Where am I? What was I doing?</i>

    <i>Sir Eleven probably restrained that witch somehow. Yeah, that has to be what happened.</i>

    That was the only exnation she could think of. Even so, she was still a bit confused.

    <i>Do you really need to hug each other to ce a restriction on her?</i>

    <i>Furthermore, sir¡¯s hands are on that witch¡¯s abdomen and chest, and yet that witch isn''t showing the slightest bit of resistance!</i>

    ...

    Meanwhile, Zu An was actually extremely nervous. Earlier, when he had entered her defensive range, the Empress Lantern and Crescent Moon had attacked on their own, but Yun Jianyue didn¡¯t react at all.

    When he arrived at her side, sure enough, he saw that her aura was extremely weak. Her lifeforce was like a waning candle that could go out at any time. He couldn''t be bothered with thoughts of wasting precious resources. He immediately took out the Feather Mountain Spring Water he had obtained from the Xia Dynasty secret dungeon and fed it to her. Then, he took her into his arms, one hand pressed against her dantian and the other on her chest acupoint to pour a vast amount of ki into her and help her treat her injuries.

    Zhang Zitong''s eyes widened.

    <i>One is the Embroidered Envoy Chief Commander, while the other is a Devil Sect witch. Shouldn¡¯t these two be enemies, like a cat and mouse? Why do they look like lovers embracing each other instead?</i>

    She wanted to head over and take a look, but the Empress Lantern and Crescent Ring that guarded Yun Jianyue¡¯s surroundings on their own didn¡¯t allow her the chance. Helpless to do anything else, she could only ask from a distance, ¡°Sir, what is your respected self doing?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m saving her. She suffered a serious injury,¡± Zu An replied without thinking twice. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zhang Zitong sighed in relief.

    <i>So that''s what¡¯s happening... A living Devil Sect Master is definitely much more valuable than a dead one. Sir Eleven has acute foresight as expected. And here I was thinking that he...</i>

    <i>I was wrong!</i>

    Just like that, Zu An continued to pour in ki endlessly. Yun Jianyue¡¯splexion eventually became a bit rosier. She groaned, then gradually woke up. When she realized that she was actually in the arms of a man, she was about to flip out when a familiar voice suddenly said in her ear, ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± He set up a sound blocking field around them so no one could hear their conversation.

    ¡°Ah Zu?¡± Yun Jianyue eximed. She was surprised, but incredibly happy as she continued, ¡°Am I dreaming?¡±

    Outside, Zhang Zitong was stunned.

    <i>That witch seems to be calling out Sir Eleven¡¯s name? But for some reason, I can¡¯t hear what they''re saying clearly.</i>

    <i>Yun Jianyue is reacting as if the two of them are very close...</i>

    Now, things became much moreplicated. Two individuals who should have been sworn enemies were actually so familiar with each other!

    <i>Is Yun Jianyue sir¡¯s spy, or is sir a spy Yun Jianyue nted?</i>

    ¡°What exactly happened to you? How did you end up with such serious injuries?¡± Zu An asked, looking at Yun Jianyue with concern.

    If not for the fact that Yun Jianyue''s cultivation was extremely high, such injuries would already have been enough to end her life several times over. Even so, her current condition wasn¡¯t too good. If Zu An had been even two hourste, she would already be a corpse. Even after the nourishment of his rich ki, he only managed to keep her alive for the time being. Her condition could worsen at any time.

    ¡°Remember when Lu Sanyuan led the volunteer army to Violet Mountain to scheme against Zhao Han, and yet I didn¡¯t receive any information about it? I came back to the sect to investigate that, Yun Jianyue said weakly. ¡°But how could I have known how viciously Lu Sanyuan schemed? He had already prepared an entire rebellion.

    ¡°I was prepared for that possibility and had some backup ns, but I didn¡¯t expect both the Yin Yang Path¡¯s Fang Zhonghe and the Heavenly Devil School¡¯s Elder Xi would betray me, or for even Chi Fuzi to side with Lu Sanyuan. I was caught off guard and immediately put at a disadvantage.

    ¡°If not for all the benefits I received from the daoist sects'' secret dungeon, I might not have been able to escape disaster. Later, I sessfully broke out of their encirclement, but because of my injuries, I couldn''t shake them off. That was why I chose to flee here. This is a ce sessive generations of sect masters have used to flee from danger, but it''s almost never been used. That''s why only the sect masters knew about it.¡±

    Zu An was stunned, saying, ¡°I thought this ce was used by Chi Fuzi¡¯s group to trap you.¡±

    Yun Jianyue shook her head and said, ¡°This is a Mirror Soul Formation, something we use to stop enemies. Whenever the sect masters of the past experienced threats to their life, they would use this ce as theirst resort. Back then, Lu Sanyuan¡¯s group also followed me into the formation, but they were trapped by the formation, unable to find where I really was. That Chi Fuzi is indeed formidable, though. He was unable to find me, but in spite of that, he was able to leave with the others he entered with.¡±

    Zu An nodded, saying, ¡°He set up a formation outside the spirit screen so you couldn''t leave.¡±

    ¡°He overestimated me,¡± Yun Jianyue said, forcing a smile. Her face was a bit pale as she continued, ¡°After I fell into their scheme, I nned to first recover from my injuries before finding a way to leave, but Fang Zhonghe¡¯s palm force was too sinister. In order to neutralize the toxicity, I couldn''t treat my injuries immediately. In the end, my injuries became even more severe than I had anticipated. If you hadn¡¯t arrived promptly, I might already have been put to sleep forever.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression was strange as he asked, ¡°The Ninefold Palm?¡±

    ¡°How do you know about that?¡± Yun Jianyue asked, blushing faintly. ¡°That old thing is too despicable. If I hadn''t been hit by that palm at the start, I wouldn¡¯t have been left in such a passive state.¡±

    Zu An was starting to feel a bit of admiration. He had personally seen what kind of reaction Fang Zhonghe had after he was hit by the effects of his own palm.

    He carefully examined the condition of Yun Jianyue''s body and saw that all of her meridians were a mess. Many ces had severe damage, as if they wouldpletely shatter if even a bit more force was used. He asked, ¡°Did you use the Star Shattering Imprint too many times?¡±

    That was a skill she had previously taught him, one that allowed its user to disy ten times their power, but there were strict restrictions on the number of uses one could employ. If that was exceeded, it could lead one''s meridians to rupture, followed closely by death.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression became a bit unnatural as she said, ¡°I only used it a few times. I was ambushed, then surrounded. In that situation, if I hadn¡¯t fought with everything I had, perhaps I would have already been killed by those people on the spot.¡±

    Zu An knew that what she was saying was true. If it had been him, he would likely have made the same choice.

    Yun Jianyue''s voice was incredibly weak; her usual Devil Sect Master style was nowhere to be seen. Zu An felt a sense of pity well up inside of him. He took her into his arms and said, ¡°I should havee earlier.¡±

    Yun Jianyue initially wanted to reciprocate, but she discovered that she didn¡¯t even have the strength to speak anymore, and could only smile weakly. Her beautiful face no longer showed her usual tough and mighty demeanor; her expression actually looked a bit delicate.

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed greatly. He could feel that her aura had suddenly be weaker, her injuries worsening. There was a real threat to her life. As such, he said, ¡°Don¡¯t speak anymore for now. I¡¯ll bring you out first.¡±

    This formation, for the sake of strengthening its secretive nature, had been isted from the world outside. The amount of natural ki Yun Jianyue could receive here was naturally lower than in the outside world.

    While holding Yun Jianyue carefully, Zu An poured ki into her body to protect her heart meridians. He kicked off the ground and headed for the exit.

    When she saw him leave, Zhang Zitong hurriedly tried to keep up, calling out, ¡°Sir!¡±

    ¡°Follow behind me," Zu An replied.

    ¡°Okay!¡± Zhang Zitong said. When she saw his grave expression, she had many questions bubble up within her, but she couldn''t bring herself to ask about it.

    Soon after, Zu An took the two women back to the first spirit screen. Perhaps because the formation had been solved, a ripple appeared on the wall again. He leaped through and quickly emerged from the wall.

    ¡°Sir, we escaped!¡± Zhang Zitong eximed excitedly. Compared to the gloomy fog in the formation, the outside world was much brighter.

    ¡°Go back on your own for now. I have things to take care of,¡± Zu An said, then vanished with Yun Jianyue in his arms. She had already fainted, so he didn¡¯t dare to waste any time.

    When she saw him disappear, Zhang Zitong¡¯s smile froze on her face. She released a long sigh, murmuring, ¡°Go back on my own? Where would I go? Should I go back to the Yin Yang Path or just leave the Lake of Hatred? It¡¯s almost as if I¡¯m ruining his happy moment or something.¡±

    She grumbled to herself, but in the end, she chose not to leave the Lake of Hatred and decided to go back to the Yin Yang Path first.

    ...

    Meanwhile, Zu An swiftly took Yun Jianyue through the mountains and fields. In order to find her, he had already be extremely familiar with the Lake of Hatred¡¯s topography. Thus, he quickly took Yun Jianyue back to the sect master¡¯s private residence. It was the ce Lu Sanyuan¡¯s trusted aides had been guarding, but after what happened in the Yin Yang Path was revealed, they had naturally dispersed in confusion.

    He went straight to the rear court, because there was an outdoor spiritual spring there that was incredibly rich in ki. It was something only the sect master had the privilege of enjoying. Cultivating there could result in twice the results with half the effort.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s current injuries were too serious, so the natural ki of the world was already far from enough, and Zu An needed to use the help of such natural blessings Thus, he took out a formation disc and instantly arranged several ki condensation formations. They were able to gather the ki of the world and the spiritual spring within the formation.

    Streak after streak of spiritual light appeared in the air. Then, Zu An took Yun Jianyue into the hot spring. After doing so, he used the Primordial Origin Sutra to start treating her injuries. If it were anyone else, he would naturally be hesitant, but the two of them already had the closest of rtionships, so he wouldn¡¯t have such misgivings.

    With the nurturing of the spiritual spring, and as her clothes were undone, Yun Jianyue gradually woke up. When she saw the outdoor environment, she couldn''t help but be embarrassed, saying, ¡°Not... Not here.¡± This was the Lake of Hatred! If members of the Devil Sect caught them in the act, she would be way too embarrassed!

    Zu An was a bit speechless. He replied, ¡°Do you think I want to do this either? You might die at any time, so this is the only method I can use to save you!¡±

    ¡°I really don¡¯t know where you learned such a dirty treatment method...¡± Yun Jianyue muttered. Even though her body was weak, her eyes were full of emotion. She immediately became full of seduction and allure as she said, ¡°Even so, that¡¯s perfect, because I¡¯ve been holding myself back to keep Fang Zhonghe¡¯s poison in check. Now that I¡¯m with you... I don¡¯t need to hold myself back anymore.¡±

    Then, getting a surge of strength from some unknown ce, she kissed him. Her usual domineering side was just based on the misunderstandings of outsiders; only now did she show the power of the Devil Sect¡¯s history¡¯s most powerful charm skill.

    Almost no man could refuse such a temptation, but Zu An remained clear-headed. Yun Jianyue was like a porcin doll that was covered in cracks. Just the slightest bit of force would make her shatter. In order to help her repair her meridians, he could only use the most gentle strength. It was hard for him to even say whether the process was enjoyment or torture.

    ...

    After a long time had passed, a beautiful figure flew over, muttering, ¡°Huh? Why can I sense that someone is using Heavenly Devil Temptation...¡±

    After Qiu Honglei dealt with the Yin Yang Path¡¯s affairs, she hadn''t been able to find Zu An. She hadn¡¯t known where her master was either, so she was feeling incredibly nervous.

    As she searched, however, she''d suddenly sensed a familiar aura, making her incredibly happy. Only her master could reach such a level in the entire Holy Sect.

    She rushed over excitedly, but when she saw the scene in the spring, she waspletely stunned.

 Chapter 2021: No, You Came at the Perfect Time

    <h4>Chapter 2021: No, You Came at the Perfect Time</h4>

    Qiu Honglei had imagined countless possibilities, such as her master fighting bitterly with an enemy, or her being seriously injured and needing help. She had even considered the possibility that Ah Zu already saved her master.

    However, she had never imagined that her master would indeed be fighting an intense battle... but with Ah Zu, and a battle of the flesh at that.

    <i>Master really is beautiful... Even as another woman, I feel extremely moved. Her perfect body looks as if it''s covered in ayer of sunset glow. She really is a masterpiece of heaven. Her long hair that''s sticking to her skin because of the water adds a bit more extravagance to her appearance too.</i>

    The master she respected and loved had her fingers inteced with the one she loved the most, and she simply looked too happy. Everything seemed to be happening so naturally.

    In that instant, Qiu Honglei felt as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped on her. Her entire body wentpletely ice-cold. She didn¡¯t feel any disappointment or anger. Instead, she feltpletely numb. She said calmly, ¡°Sorry, I came at a bad time.¡± She turned around and left afterward.

    Zu An really wanted to act confident and at ease like suave brother Jiao, with the response "No, you came at the perfect time", but he discovered that he just couldn''t bring himself to say it.

    Both he and Yun Jianyue were stunned. They had imagined countless scenarios in which they would be seen, but they had never expected it to be like this, that they would be caught in such a sorry state.

    Zu An was a bit vexed. Yun Jianyue¡¯s injuries were too severe, so he had beenpletely focused on repairing her meridians. The slightest bit of carelessness could have resulted in failure. Furthermore, the defensive formations had been designed to not activate against people he was close to, so as not to identally harm them. That was why he had only noticed Qiu Honglei when she was already right in front of them, but it was already toote by then.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s mind wentpletely nk. In that instant, she even had thoughts of ending her own life. The abrupt incident brought an extreme feeling of shock. Her entire body started shaking all over.

    Zu An sucked in air through his teeth. In that instant, he couldn''t hold it in anymore.

    Now, Yun Jianyue became even more embarrassed. She quickly hollered, ¡°Honglei, don¡¯t misunderstand! This is just to get rid of Fang Zhonghe¡¯s palm poison! Ah Zu is only doing this to save me!¡±

    Qiu Honglei briefly paused, but she still continued walking without turning back.

    Yun Jianyue was embarrassed and nervous. She quickly pushed Zu An aside, eximing, ¡°Are you not going to chase after her?!¡± What kind of a situation were they already in?! And yet this kid was still moving on her body...

    After some hesitation, Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°Your injuries are at a critical point. I can''t let my efforts be ruined because of this.¡±

    ¡°But...¡± Yun Jianyue wanted to say something else, but Zu An shushed her.

    ¡°I¡¯ll treat you first, then look for Qiu Honglei,¡± Zu An said; his reason still won out in the end. He knew that if he left now, Yun Jianyue¡¯s wounds could worsen, and she could even pass away. If that happened, then it would really be toote for regrets. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    <i>But Honglei...</i>

    <i>Sigh, it really is hard to satisfy both sides in this world. Even if I''m already the strongest in this world, so what? I''m still so powerless in many affairs.</i>

    ...

    After what just happened, the spiritual spring had be much colder and cheerless. There was no more room for joy.

    ¡°I really am a bad master,¡± Yun Jianyue said. Normally, she was really tough. No matter how bad the injury, no matter how much she was wronged, her will had always been as hard as steel. And yet, right now, tears couldn''t help but flow down from the corners of her eyes.

    ¡°It¡¯s not your fault. It¡¯s because I''m trash," Zu An said with a sigh.

    ¡°You were only doing this to save me...¡± Yun Jianyue said, bing more and more dispirited as she spoke. It was clear that no one had done anything wrong, so why had they all been hurt so deeply?

    The two became increasingly silent. There was no more of the usual passion.

    After another two hours, Zu An finally finished treating Yun Jianyue. Yun Jianyue couldn''t be bothered to get dressed again. She quickly pushed Zu An away and said, ¡°Hurry up and go after Honglei!¡±

    Zu An voiced his agreement. He hastily put on his clothes again and ran in the direction Qiu Honglei had disappeared in. He traveled for several hundred li. Along the way, he spread his divine sense and used the jade badge to aid in his search, but he couldn''t find her anywhere. He realized that she had deliberately hidden herself, so he had no choice but to return to the Lake of Hatred first.

    ...

    Inside the Devil Sect General Headquarters¡¯ temple, Yun Jianyue was absent-mindedly handling all kinds of administrative affairs.

    While he was treating her, Zu An had already given her a rough exnation of everything that happened. When she heard that an outstanding hero like Lu Sanyuan had ended up dying like that, she sighed, but she also felt really refreshed when she heard about what had happened while Zu An impersonated her. It was to the point that she even asked him to change into a woman again to show her what it was like. Of course, that ¡®rude¡¯ request was strongly refused by Zu An. But after what had just happened, it all just felt dull.

    She had to admit that Honglei was quite capable, taking care of everything in a clear and orderly manner. Even the following audit and the matter of guarding against th/e foreign monster parasites had been considered carefully. All she needed to do was just a bit more work here and there.

    She suddenly thought of something. She tasked the other elders with continuing to make future ns before leaving. After seeing how ¡®she¡¯ had dominated the entire situation, who else in the Devil Sect dared to say anything against her? They even felt that it was inappropriate to trouble her with such trivial matters to begin with. They all worked enthusiastically, the discussion quickly entering full swing.

    Yun Jianyue left the temple and quickly saw Zu An next to a pir, all alone. Her expression immediately became a bit bitter as she asked, ¡°Where is Honglei?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t find her," Zu An said gloomily. He gave her a rough ount of where he had looked.

    Yun Jianyue sighed and said, ¡°I also called on some people to look for her, but I didn¡¯t find her either. Honglei is very familiar with the Lake of Hatred. If she wanted to hide here, no one would be able to find her. Also, if I''m not mistaken, she has likely already left the Lake of Hatred and returned to the real world.¡±

    That was the conclusion Zu An hade to as well. The outside world was just toorge. If she really wanted to go into hiding, it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

    ¡°Once I finish dealing with the sect¡¯s affairs, I¡¯ll go out with you to look for her,¡± Yun Jianyue said, but shook her head as soon as she said that. ¡°No, I can¡¯t go with you. We¡¯ll just do our own thing.¡±

    Zu An was stunned, asking, ¡°Why not?¡±

    Yun Jianyue gave him an annoyed look and replied, ¡°What do you think? If Honglei sees the two of us moving together, do you think she¡¯ll show up and meet us?¡±

    When he heard that, Zu An became quiet. However, after seeing how thin and pallid she was, he couldn''t help but say, ¡°Your serious injuries have only begun to heal, so you can''t use any ki for a month. Otherwise, I might not be able to save you again.¡±

    ¡°I know what I¡¯m doing,¡± Yun Jianyue replied.

    Zu An knew that she was the famous and respected Devil Sect Master, so he couldn''t really say much more.

    Yun Jianyue seemed to have realized that her tone was a bit harsh. She said, ¡°I helped move that little female friend of yours to the courtyard next door. It¡¯s already quitete, so you should get some rest.¡±

    Zu An was confused, asking, ¡°What little female friend?¡±

    ¡°The one with the long legs. The foul Yin Yang Path isn''t a good ce for women,¡± Yun Jianyue said in annoyance. If it weren''t for Fang Zhonghe, she wouldn¡¯t have ended up in such a terrible situation all this time. She wondered how Honglei was doing now.

    ¡°That¡¯s just an Embroidered Envoy subordinate,¡± Zu An said, a bit speechless.

    ¡°Fine, fine, fine. A subordinate it is,¡± Yun Jianyue said. She wasn¡¯t in the mood to argue about that either. She left while brooding over her thoughts.

    Zu An wanted to call after her, but he slowly lowered his raised hand. After what just happened, he could sense that not only had Honglei left, he even felt that Yun Jianyue was distancing herself from him.

    ...

    Zu An put on his mask and returned to the courtyard.

    Zhang Zitong had been waiting anxiously by the door of the room. She asked, ¡°Sir, what kind of rtionship do you have with that witch... ahem, Sect Master Yun?¡±

    Zu An said coldly, ¡°Back in the Embroidered Envoy, did no one tell you that the more secrets you knew, the more easily you¡¯d be killed?¡±

    Zhang Zitong stuck out her tongue and said, ¡°That Sect Master Yun really is amazing. I only heard that she easily defeated a rebellion from the sect¡¯s most powerful experts, and she even defeated a terrifying monster from another world. She really is a valiant heroine! I''m even starting to admire her. Only a woman like this has lived a true life without regrets!¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He couldn''t just tell her that the woman she spoke of was actually him, right?

    ¡°Sir¡¯s mood doesn¡¯t seem to be that great,¡± Zhang Zitong said; she finally realized that something was off with him.

    Zu An had all kinds of thoughts running through his mind. He sighed and replied, ¡°I seem to have lost an extremely, extremely important person today. Also, I might lose another one soon.¡±

    Zhang Zitong blinked, asking, ¡°With your incredible abilities, can¡¯t sir just find that person?¡±

    ¡°What if I can¡¯t?¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°Who can¡¯t the Embroidered Envoy find in this world?¡± Zhang Zitong asked.

    ¡°You couldn''t even find the Lake of Hatred, right?¡± Zu An retorted.

    ¡°That''s only because it¡¯s the Devil Sect. Now that even the Devil Sect Master is your friend, she can just help you look," Zhang Zitong said.

    Zu An was speechless.

    ¡°What is it? Did I say something wrong?¡± Zhang ZItong asked.

    ¡°Go away. I want some time alone," Zu An replied.

    ¡°Those two important people must be women. I didn¡¯t expect sir to be someone with love troubles even with your status. I really don¡¯t know just what kind of woman could actually receive sir¡¯s favor. Alright, I''ll write a novel called ¡®The Adulterous Rtionship of the Embroidered Envoy Chief Commander and the Devil Sect Master¡¯. What does sir think?¡± Zhang Zitong continued.

    Zu An suddenly turned around, a cold expression appearing in his eyes.

 Chapter 2022: Secrets Covered in Dust

    <h4>Chapter 2022: Secrets Covered in Dust</h4>

    Zhang Zitong was startled by Zu An''s reaction. She quickly waved her hands and said, ¡°I was just speaking randomly! Sir, please don¡¯t treat it as anything serious.¡±

    At the same time, her heart was beating crazily. She had only nned to tease sir a bit, since no matter how she thought about it, that seemed like the most impossible situation. However, judging from sir¡¯s reaction, her guess didn¡¯t seem to be that far from the truth!

    <i>I¡¯m finished, I¡¯m finished! Why did I just have to be such a gossiper? Now sir is going to silence me! I¡¯m dead for sure, sniff...</i>

    When he saw her huddle up nervously like a kitten, Zu An said with a sneer, ¡°Don¡¯t speak randomly in the future, or else you¡¯ll die without even knowing why.¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes, yes,¡± Zhang Zitong said, nodding like a little chick, but she was extremely grateful.

    <i>Sir really treats me differently. He actually couldn''t bear to silence me.</i>

    Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

    ¡°Who is it?¡± Zhang Zitong hurriedly asked.

    ¡°Me,¡± Yun Jianyue replied from outside.

    Zhang Zitong immediately had the look of a gossiper again. However, when she recalled how she had almost lost her life just now, she could only struggle to hold back the grin on her face.

    Zu An opened the door and asked, ¡°Why are you here?¡±

    Yun Jianyue ignored him and looked at Zhang Zitong instead. When she saw that their clothes were still in order, she nodded in satisfaction and said, ¡°I just received some news and came to tell you.¡±

    Zu An turned around to give Zhang Zitong a look. Then, he closed the door and entered the courtyard, asking, ¡°What did you find out?¡±

    Yun Jianyue reached out her hand, and a shining gold cicada appeared in it. She said, ¡°This was found in Lu Sanyuan¡¯s treasury. It seems to be something called a cklight Golden Cicada. I heard that you¡¯ve been refining artifacts recently, and figured you might have some use for it.¡±

    Zu An was immediately overjoyed. He held the golden cicada admiringly. He replied, ¡°It¡¯s not just some use; you¡¯re really helping me in my hour of need!¡±

    This was precisely the material Mo Xi needed to break through into the master rank! Apart froming to the Lake of Hatred to save Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei, that was his only other main objective. He hadn¡¯t expected things to go so smoothly!

    A happy look also appeared on Yun Jianyue¡¯s face. Then, she gave him a ring and said, ¡°This is Lu Sanyuan¡¯s storage pouch. You can take it as well.¡±

    Zu An was stunned, replying, ¡°Isn¡¯t it fine for you to keep this?¡±

    Yun Jianyue shook her head, saying, ¡°You were the one who defeated Lu Sanyuan, and I should be thanking you for that. This should be yours to begin with. If you refuse me here, I''ll only think that you want even more.¡±

    When he heard what she said, Zu An really couldn''t bring himself to refuse. He said, ¡°Then, thank you.¡±

    At the same time, he felt extremely strange inside. Could it be that he really was born to be a moocher? Bi Linglong provided for him, Liu Ning provided for him, and now, even Yun Jianyue was taking care of him!

    When she saw him take it, a faint smile appeared on Yun Jianyue¡¯s face as well. She said, ¡°Get some rest. I¡¯ll be leaving first.¡±

    As he watched her beautiful figure begin to leave, Zu An thought of something and asked, ¡°How are your injuries now?¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s body trembled. She quietly replied, ¡°How could they possibly heal that fast?¡±

    Zu An suggested, ¡°Should I help you a bit?¡±

    What he received in reply was a mysterious silence. However, just when he was even starting to regret what he said, Yun Jianyue said, ¡°Okay.¡±

    Then, she quickly left as if she was embarrassed, leaving only a faint fragrance in the air. Zu An was a bit stunned, but then he followed excitedly.

    When she saw them leave one after the other, Zhang Zitong, who was secretly watching them, scoffed. ¡°Hmph, look at those adulterers!¡±

    ...

    Meanwhile, when Yun Jianyue returned to her own courtyard and saw the man following her, she asked stiffly, ¡°What did you follow me for?¡±

    ¡°To help you out a bit, of course,¡± Zu An said with a deadly earnest expression.

    Yun Jianyue bit her lip and said, ¡°You clearly already healed me before.¡±

    ¡°That was all just done in a rush. There are still some things I haven¡¯t taken care of yet,¡± Zu An said quickly.

    Yun Jianyue was about to say something, but then stopped. In the end, she didn¡¯t reply and turned around to enter her room. She didn¡¯t close the door behind her, hhowever.

    Zu An, of course, tactfully entered. Soon after, a sob emerged from inside.

    ¡°I feel that this isn¡¯t fair for Honglei.¡±

    ¡°Me too.¡±

    ¡°???¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m only doing this to heal you. That way, you can heal faster, and then you can look for her.¡±

    ¡°That mouth of yours is way too sweet. No wonder so many women have fallen for your tricks.¡±

    ¡°Sigh, I¡¯m clearly speaking the truth here though.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, if you had to choose between me and Honglei, who would you choose?¡±

    ¡°...Those aren¡¯t words that should being out of the mouth of the glorious Devil Sect Master.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care. You have to pick one.¡± n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Fine, I want everything!¡±

    ¡°Go... to hell!¡±

    ¡°...You were the one who made me answer.¡±

    ¡°You silly man. Remember, no matter who asks you this question in the future, you have to choose them. You must remember that. In the future, if Honglei asks you this question, you have to say you would choose her.¡±

    ¡°But I can¡¯t bear to part with you either...¡±

    ¡°The fact that I can be together with you now is already the greatest happiness of my life. You belong to Honglei, and I¡¯ve already stolen from her tree something that should be returned to its rightful owner.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    ¡°Hey, annoying mister, are you listening to me?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡±

    ¡°Then why do I feel as if your attention is all down there?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for this to be either-or, I think.¡±

    ¡°Huh? I¡¯m going to bite you!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be so tense, or else I won¡¯t be able to treat you properly.¡±

    ¡°Forget about the injuries!¡±

    ...

    The next morning, when Zu An returned to his courtyard while rubbing his lower back, he saw Zhang Zitong stare at him with a strange expression. He immediately lowered his hand and asked with a cough, ¡°Were you standing here all night?¡±

    Zhang Zitong muttered, ¡°Do you take me for a husband-longing rock...¡± As if realizing that what she''d said was a bit inappropriate, she immediately added, ¡°I was worried that sir would be befuddled by that witch, so I waited here for further instructions.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He retorted, ¡°Go to sleep already!¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡±

    Zhang Zitong had indeed stood outside all night. Now that she loosened up again, she quickly fell asleep.

    Zu An took the chance to summon Mo Xi. Mo Xi was incredibly beautiful to begin with, but her fur clothing and miniskirt made her look even more charming and seductive. She clearly didn¡¯t have Daji¡¯s charm skills, but her entire body gave off a sense of vigor. Whenever one saw her, their first reaction would likely be to take her to bed and subdue her.

    Unfortunately, Zu An was currently experiencing absolute ¡®rity¡¯. He calmly took out the cklight Golden Cicada to help her with her breakthrough.

    Mo Xi could clearly sense the allure of the golden cicada in his hands. Her slightly vacant eyes erupted with strange light, and she moved over with an eager expression.

    In response, Zu An couldn''t help but smile. He didn¡¯t let her eat the cklight Golden Cicada, and instead ced the item by her navel like the system instructed; he then used it together with the other breakthrough materials. Perhaps because she could feel that she was making a breakthrough because of his help, or perhaps because she couldn''t sense the slightest bit of desire from him, Mo Xi didn¡¯t refuse the physical contact. Instead, she closed her eyes in enjoyment.

    Streaks of golden light erupted from Mo Xi¡¯s body. Ki surged from her entire body and released a kind of special aura. She quickly broke through into the master rank.

    Even though Mo Xi couldn''t speak, Zu An could clearly sense that she seemed to be thanking him, noticing the joy she felt.

    Zu An then thought of something. He took out the storage pouches of Old Mi and Eunuch Wei, cing them in front of her. Mo Xi was already at the master rank, so the ¡®Farewell Nanchao¡¯ skill would now be able to easily sever the imprints left on them.

    Sure enough, with a cut from her, the storage pouches that had been filled with defenses were easily opened. Zu An reached inside one and found a notebook. After some hesitation, he opened it up. When he finished reading the contents, his expression turned dark.

    After an unknown amount of time passed, an ember appeared at the center of his palm. The notebook quickly burned to ashes. Under the light of the mes, Zu An¡¯s face flickered between light and dark.

 Chapter 2023: Good Guy Card

    <h4>Chapter 2023: Good Guy Card</h4>

    Suddenly, Zu An sensed something and took out a jade strip. A soft light shone intermittently from it. It was themunication jade strip he had made, and the light meant he received a message.

    He opened it up and saw a pretty portrait shing. It was Bi Linglong¡¯s profile picture. She wasn¡¯t dressed in her crown princess or empress ceremonial outfits, but rather a soft silk dress. There wasn¡¯t as much of her usual dignified appearance, instead, there was more of a rxed, personable feeling to it.

    Zu An couldn''t help but smile. He was still fiddling with the selfie function himself, but she had already figured it out.

    ¡°Ah Zu, is my new profile picture pretty?¡±

    ¡°It is~¡± Zu An wrote on the jade strip. The characters turned into specks of light that entered the strip.

    He and Shen Xuzi had modified the jade strip earlier, but they just couldn''t figure out how to make it send messages in real time. Sometimes, it worked normally, but more often than not, one just couldn''t receive any messages. They just couldn''t figure out what was going on there.

    ¡°Ah! I actually got in touch with you! I thought that you wouldn¡¯t receive my message," Bi Linglong replied. Zu An could sense how happy she was even through just the text. She continued, ¡°Then do you think I¡¯m prettier like this, or am I prettier in my empress dress? Or maybe my crown princess clothes?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re pretty no matter what you wear.¡±

    ¡°Tsk, you don¡¯t have a shred of sincerity. You have to pick one! Which one is the prettiest?¡±

    ¡°Actually, you¡¯re prettiest when you aren¡¯t wearing anything.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re so annoying~¡±

    A whileter, Bi Linglong sent another message. ¡°Ah Zu, why don¡¯t you have a profile picture yet?¡±

    ¡°I haven¡¯t had time yet, and I felt that there was no real need for one.¡±

    ¡°Of course you have to! I miss you, you know?¡±

    Zu An immediately felt warm inside when he saw that message. His earlier gloominess waspletely swept away. The past was already long gone; he had to cherish the people right in front of him.

    ¡°Take one for me right now, can you? Right, take a picture of your surroundings too.¡±

    Zu An looked at the sleeping Zhang Zitong and immediately began to sweat.

    <i>Feelings have to be constantly checked on...</i>

    Back then, he had only installed the picture function in order to have a better chatting experience.

    <i>Yeah, I definitely can''t create a video call feature. Otherwise, I¡¯ll constantly be checked in on. That would be the same as crushing my own foot...</i>

    ¡°The surroundings seem pretty nice. Why do I feel as if your arrangement is the work of a woman?¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>The sixth sense of women really is too terrifying... I never expected she would even notice something like this.</i>

    ¡°I¡¯m in the Devil Sect,¡± Zu An said, then gave her a rough summary of what had happened.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect the monsters to have entered the Devil Sect... Who knows how many people have already sided with them in the world? But let¡¯s talk about these proper affairs in personter. I don¡¯t want to let this precious time be disturbed by these kinds of things.¡±

    Zu An felt a bit helpless in this situation. He eximed, "Is this not important enough?!¡±

    ¡°Of course not. Chatting with you is more important. For example, what do you think about my new name?¡±

    Bi Linglong changed her name to ¡®Azuki Bean Linglong¡¯.[1]

    Zu An was dumbfounded. She had actually taught herself how to make an online username? He knew it was from the poem that he gifted her in the past, and the next line was ¡®a yearning from deep within the bones, do you know it?¡¯. She was clearly using it as a way to express her longing.

    ¡°I miss you too,¡± Zu An replied. As he wrote those words, he immediately felt really warm andfortable.

    ¡°Then you have to change your name to match.¡±

    Zu An was stunned.

    <i>Are you kidding me? If I change my name to that, how will I exin myself when the other women see it?</i>

    He had just survived a terrible battle between women; he really didn¡¯t want to create another huge disaster.

    ¡°Hm? Why can¡¯t I see your messages anymore? Did you go offline again? It seems themunication jade strip still isn''t perfect.¡±

    Meanwhile, Bi Linglong was lying on the bed with her hand on her chin and a sweet smile on her face. When she saw that message, however, her smile immediately froze.

    ¡°Hm? Offline? I can clearly still see your messages though.¡±

    ¡°Ah Zu?¡±

    ¡°Ugh, this shoddy jade strip. Why did you go offline at a time like this?¡±

    ...

    When he saw the flood of messages, Zu An wiped the cold sweat off his face. In that instant, he felt that the unreliability of the jade strip wasn''t necessarily such a bad thing anymore. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Suddenly, a profile pic of a youngdy dressed in a really short leather miniskirt flickered onto the strip, with the profile name ¡®Wei Wu''s Whip¡¯.

    Zu An was stunned.

    ¡°Brother-inw, brother-inw! I had another fight with Youzhao recently and beat her until she begged for forgiveness!¡± Chu Huanzhao said excitedly.

    ¡°You¡¯re probably the one who got beaten up badly by her, right?¡± Zu An remarked skeptically. After all, Huanzhao was known for being a cultivation idiot. There was no way that her cultivation couldpare to Youzhao¡¯s.

    ¡°Tsk, no way. After you helped me increase my cultivation aptitude, I feel as if I¡¯m crossing a thousand miles each day. Isn¡¯t beating up that kid Youzhao easy enough?¡±

    Even though he couldn''t see what she looked like right now, Zu An could clearly picture the proud look on her face.

    ¡°You¡¯re that amazing?!¡± Zu An repplied happily. That was a good thing too, after all. With somepetition, they¡¯d help each other grow stronger.

    After a pause, he added, ¡°By the way, why do you have that stupid name?¡±

    ¡°Is it stupid? In the past, you told me that there was an emperor named Wei Wu you admired, who used a whip. I use a whip too, so I used his name. I feel as if it will make me look more impressive and make my cultivation better.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. How could this silly girl know that those two whips werepletely different concepts? However, he couldn''t really exin it to her either, and could only say with a darkened expression, ¡°Just change it. A woman having this name doesn¡¯t sound great.¡±

    ¡°If brother-inw doesn¡¯t like it, I¡¯ll change it.¡±

    Then, ''Wei Wu¡¯s Whip'' was changed to ''Please Whip Me, Brother-inw''.

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>Am I the weird one here, or is this youngdy the weird one?</i>

    ¡°Brother-inw, you whipped me really badly back then. I¡¯ll never forget that beating for the rest of my life.¡±

    ¡°Change it, or else it¡¯ll be hard for you to exin yourself if your mother and sisters see this name.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, no one will see it. Mom said she wanted to look at my jade strip, but I didn¡¯t give it to her. We all know how badly she wants it!¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    ¡°Right, brother-inw, in the future, whether it''s me or Youzhao, if anyone¡¯s tone is a bit different, it might be mom secretly impersonating us. You can''t tell her any of our secrets!¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no such thing to begin with anyway,¡± Zu An said with a scowl.

    ¡°For example, prodding me with that hard thing of yours back then, and how you touched every part of my body.¡±

    ¡°Stop, stop! The first one was because you deserved a beating back then, and the second one was when I helped you expand your meridians and aid in your cultivation. Why does it all sound so weird when you''re the one saying it?¡±

    ¡°But I¡¯m also telling the truth.¡±

    ...

    Just then, another profile popped up, named ¡®King of Thrusting Kings¡¯.

    When he saw the tall and slender, tan-skinned youngdy in the picture, Zu An was really taken aback. Why were these women¡¯s names getting worse and worse?

    Now that he thought about it, back when he had first used the inte, he had made up a lot of names that he thought were cool and amazing, but now that he thought back to them, they were all incredibly cringy.

    ¡°Big brother Zu, are you there?¡± Murong Qinghe asked.

    ¡°What is it, little sister Qinghe?¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°Oh, you''re here! That¡¯s great," Murong Qinghe sent before continuing.

    "There was something bothering me and I didn¡¯t have anyone else to talk to about it. In the end, I felt like I could only ask big brother Zu.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He really couldn¡¯t figure out just what kind of trouble this young woman who acted like a little girl next to Youzhao, but was a tough and sturdy female warrior at all other times, had encountered. Besides that, she did have other womenfolk in the Murong n. Why had she run all the way to him to talk to a grown man?

    ¡°What kind of trouble has little sister Qinghe encountered?¡± he asked curiously. Only after a long while did he receive a reply.

    ¡°I actually don¡¯t know how to put it into words either, but when I thought about big brother Zu¡¯s rich experience in romance, I wanted to consult you for advice.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>Are you praising me here, or cursing me?</i>

    ¡°Big brother Zu should know about the situation between big brother Chu and me. Everyone already pretty much views us as a couple, and I like big brother Chu a lot too," Murong Qinghe exined, then continued.

    ¡°Still, even though big brother Chu is really good to me, I can still sense that he seems as if he''s rejecting me me sometimes. It¡¯s just hard for us to make any progress in our rtionship. I''ve been wondering if maybe he doesn¡¯t actually like me that much, and that''s why things are like this.¡±

    Zu An almost burst outughing. So that was the situation. The answer was actually really simple, but he couldn''t tell her.

    Murong Qinghe sent another message. ¡°Also, big brother Chu is working even harder than before. I thought our rtionship would improve, but he only wants topete with me and learn ways of beating his enemies. I really don¡¯t know just what kind of person he sees me as now! Does he see me as a lover, or just a childhood sweetheart and little sister?¡±

    ¡°It might be that he has his own secret troubles,¡± Zu An replied. After some hesitation, he still decided to advise her, ¡°Little sister Qinghe, there''s actually no need for you to hang yourself to death on a single tree. Look around you. Who knows, you might find someone who is more suitable for you.¡±

    In order for the Chu n to pass down their noble title, they had to make Chu Youzhao the heir. That meant Youzhao had to publicly take in a wife to settle down. Making a woman who knew nothing about the truth go through that was a bit too cruel. After getting closer to Murong Qinghe, he really didn¡¯t want her tender feelings to be turned in the wrong direction and ruin her lifetime of happiness.

    However, who would have thought that after saying that, he wouldn¡¯t receive a reply? Zu An almost thought that she had disconnected, but just then, he received a new message.

    ¡°Big brother Zu, I know that you¡¯re really outstanding and that you¡¯re much stronger than big brother Chu. But my heart already belongs to big brother Chu, and I really don¡¯t have anything else to share with another person," Murong Qinghe sent, then continued.

    ¡°It¡¯s a pity that the first one I met wasn¡¯t you.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He had never expected that his advice would end up with him throwing himself under the bus!

    <i>She mysteriously received a good guy card, so she seems to have misunderstood and thought that I was hinting at something.</i>

    ...

    Meanwhile, inside the Murong manor, Murong Qinghe¡¯s face was buried under her covers. She cried in embarrassment ¡°Ahhh! Why did I have to send that message?!¡±

    1. This is actually a line from a poem with the literal trantion of ''exquisite dice, setting red beans at rest''. ''Linglong'' means ''exquisite, detailed and fine''. The ''An'' from ''Zu An'' is also here through the word ''rest'' ?

 Chapter 2024: Accident

    Chapter 2024: ident

    Murong Qinghe¡¯s legs were kicking in the air, and her heart was beating really quickly.

    <em>Judging from what big brother Zu said, was he implying that he likes me?</em>

    <em>Big brother Zu is handsome and confident. His cultivation is so high too, so he¡¯s always been someone I admired...</em>

    <em>Sigh, I can¡¯t think about this anymore. I can¡¯t do anything that¡¯ll let down big brother Chu.</em>

    <em>But why did I just have to send thatst message? Is there any undo function...</em>

    <em>How will big brother Zu see me in the future? Won¡¯t big brother Chu be disappointed if he finds out?</em>

    ...

    While she was rolling back and forth on her bed in disappointment, Zu An was betweenughter and tears as he looked at the jade strip in his hands.

    <em>Just what kind of misunderstanding is thatss entertaining?</em>

    Even so, he couldn''t really exin any further. After all, a youngdy still had her pride to worry about. As such, the two of them just tacitly agreed to end the awkward conversation.

    Just then, another portrait flickered, and a message appeared, reading, ¡°Big brother Zu, are you there?¡±

    The picture was of Sang Qien carrying her daughter Sisi. The baby was adorable, and the woman was dignified and beautiful. Her face conveyed the warm and enchanting air of a young married woman. Her name was also very simple: Little Qien.

    ¡°Little Qien, why haven¡¯t you slept yet?¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°I just fed Sisi. I¡¯m already in bed.¡±

    A scene suddenly appeared in Zu An¡¯s mind. There had been one night when he y-fought over his daughter¡¯s food... That was really a wonderful memory.

    ¡°It¡¯s really hard on you, raising the child all alone.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not hard. Many people are helping me, especially Dandan.¡±

    When he sensed that she was clearly being a bit reserved, Zu An took the initiative to reply, ¡°Have you been missing me since then?¡±

    Within the small courtyard in the academy¡¯s rear mountain, Sang Qien¡¯s face immediately turned red when she saw the message. She wrote a lot, but she deleted everything in the end. In the end, she only wrote ¡®yeah¡¯.

    ¡°Then how about you let me hear you call me ''husband'' once?¡± came the reply.

    Sang Qien¡¯s cheeks became bright red. She secretly looked behind her, then quickly wrote, ¡®yes my husband!¡¯.

    After writing that, she pressed the jade strip against her chest for fear that someone would see.

    ¡°That¡¯s my sweet and wonderful wife," came another message.

    Sang Qien¡¯s heart practically shot up into her throat.

    <em>Big brother Zu really is daring! He can even write something so embarrassing just like that!</em>

    And yet, when she thought about how he usually acted, she didn¡¯t think it was too much, since he had always been pretty daring to begin with. She had always been the one to end up embarrassed because of him.

    ...

    Meanwhile, another profile picture lit up on Zu An¡¯s jade strip. It was the charming Zheng Dan this time. She seemed to have taken the picture from above, so Zu An could vaguely make out her bewitching cleavage.

    When he saw the name ¡®Little Dirty Girl¡¯, Zu An immediately cursed inwardly.

    <em>There doesn¡¯t seem to be many normal women among them at all...</em>

    ¡°Big brother Zu, what are you doing?¡±

    When he saw her confident smile, Zu An couldn''t help but feel warm inside. He replied, ¡°I miss you.¡±

    ¡°Tsk, you¡¯re probably flirting with other women.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean? I¡¯m chatting with you right now.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m currently in the same bed as Little Qien, you know?¡±

    Zu An was speechless. Even someone as thick-skinned as him was a bit embarrassed.

    ¡°Qienqien thinks I don''t know, and she has her back to me, but she keeps sneaking guilty looks at me. Hmph, and she has no idea that the blinking light of the jade strippletely sold her out.¡±

    Zu An sighed when he saw that message. Thank goodness these two hadn¡¯t sent a message at the same time, or else he would really havemitted social suicide without even knowing what happened. He asked, ¡°Why are the two of you sleeping together?¡±

    ¡°Whose fault is it that you¡¯re not here? She¡¯s all cold and lonely, so only her sister-inw cane to console her.¡±

    The image of two youngdies huddled up together under the covers immediately appeared in Zu An¡¯s mind. Imagining those two young and wonderful bodies hugging each other immediately made his heart rate speed up a bit.

    ¡°Are you thinking about something dirty now?¡± Zheng Dan sent.

    ¡°Of course not. I¡¯m an upstanding and upright person, so how could I possibly be thinking about such things?¡±

    ¡°Oh. I was thinking of finding a chance to convince sister-inw to do it together. Since you¡¯re so upstanding and upright, then forget it.¡±

    ¡°Ahem, I admit that I spoke a bit too hastily just now.¡±

    Just then, ¡®Little Dirty Girl¡¯ was changed to ¡®North¡¯. Zu An waspletely confused.

    ¡°Big brother Zu, you should change your name to ''Thousand''.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Zu An replied. He was really sweating now. Why did these women all want to have matching names? That was a one way ticket to death! He absolutely couldn''t mess with such things.

    ¡°Big brother Zu, I''ll be ''North'' and you''ll be ''Thousand''. That way, when the two of us are together, we''ll be ''Obedient''.¡±[1]

    Blood almost shot out of Zu An¡¯s nose.

    <em>This woman really is good at seducing others!</em>

    Suddenly, a profile with the name ¡®Ling¡¯er¡¯ flickered. The picture was of her sitting upright in front of a desk drawing runes. Her back was perfectly straight, giving her a schrly air.

    ¡°Big brother Zu, are you there?¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but smile. These women were still a bit too underripe in their messaging skills. They were just like those young men who didn¡¯t text often, and would always ask women they liked if they were there. That way, it became really hard for them to start a proper conversation.

    ¡°Little sister Ling¡¯er, your picture is quite pretty. Who helped you take it?¡±

    Xie Daoyun, who was reading a book in front of a table, immediately felt her cheeks heat up when she heard his praise. She answered, ¡°I had Xie Xiu help me. He wasn¡¯t willing at first, but when he saw this jade strip, he said he absolutely wanted one. I told him that it was really expensive and that it was hard to make another one, so he finally gave up on the thought.¡±

    If Xie Xiu were there, he would definitely start cursing on the spot. In order to take a satisfactory picture, his older sister had made him take a total of 1,827 pictures. Most of them were already quite perfect, but his big sister just hadn''t been satisfied. There were even some pictures that clearly weren''t very different at all, but his sister had just said that there was something wrong. He had really been about to break down that day.

    ¡°We¡¯re a bit short on the material right now, but I¡¯ll give him one once we do have enough,¡± Zu An said. He had to admit that this picture of Xie Daoyun was really pretty. It was as if those sweet-tempered courtdies from books had really appeared in real life.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll thank big brother Zu in his ce. By the way, did everything go smoothly this time?¡±

    ¡°It went alright overal,¡± Zu An said, although he felt a bit sad. If not for what happened with Honglei, everything would have been even better.

    Xie Daoyun keenly sensed his dejected mood and asked considerately, ¡°Big brother Zu, what happened? Is there anything that I can help with?¡±

    At first, Zu An didn¡¯t want to talk about it, but when he sensed her gentle and considerate tone, he unwittingly began to say, ¡°I did something that made Honglei upset. She decided to leave home, and I couldn''t find her no matter what I did.¡±

    ¡°Big brother Zu, Miss Qiu loves you so much. She''lle back after her anger subsides for sure."

    ¡°It¡¯s different this time. She might never be able to let this go for the rest of her life.¡±

    Xie Daoyun was stunned. She thought about asking him just what it was that was so serious, but in the end, she felt it would be considerate to ask and instead replied, ¡°Time will heal everything.¡± She added,

    ¡°Miss Qiu¡¯s cultivation is so high, too. Even if she''s alone, nothing bad will happen to her.¡±

    ...

    When Zu An saw the messagese in slowly, he felt warm inside. His mood improved a bit too. He replied, ¡°Thank you!¡±

    Meanwhile, Xie Daoyun was a bit absentminded. She gently stroked the ssmp on the table. This was a gift that big brother Zu had given her, something she liked a lot.

    She suddenly sighed deeply. She had really wanted to ask about the kiss that happenedst time in the secret dungeon, so why had she ended up helping him chase after another woman?

    ...

    Just then, another profile flickered on Zu An¡¯s jade strip: ''Please Call Me Queen''. Zu An was speechless.

    The profile picture seemed to be a selfie Liu Ning had taken in the hot spring. The spring water made her skin look incredibly smooth. Only a single shoulder of hers was exposed, and yet it was still so tempting.

    Zu An nned to tease her a bit, but when he saw the message, his expression changed.

    ¡°Ah Zu, are you there? Something happened in the Fiend races'' territory.¡±

    ¡°What happened?¡± Zu An replied, shivering.

    ¡°It¡¯s great that you¡¯re there.¡± Liu Ning¡¯s messages quickly appeared again. ¡°Remember how I proposed for our countries¡¯ Empress Dowagers to meet and discuss the details of a coboration? Some officials followed up on that, but then they received news that the Second Empress left the King Court in a hurry, and she seemed to have brought the King Court¡¯s most elite Golden Crow Guards with her.¡±

    ¡°ording to the intelligence we received, the sealednd seems to have experienced an ident, and she rushed over there with reinforcements.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Zu An¡¯s eyes immediately narrowed.

    1. This is a reference to how the character ¹Ô (obedient) is abination of ±± (north) and Ç§ (thousand). It''s likely a dirty y on words, since the ''thousand'' is between the ''north''. ?

 Chapter 2025: Bewitched

    <h4>Chapter 2025: Bewitched</h4>

    Liu Ning quickly said, ¡°The main army of the Second Prince vanished into thin air, but no monsters emerged from the sealednd. Of course, the Second Empress¡¯ side wasn¡¯t willing to risk anything, so she immediately headed over with her main army.¡±

    ¡°Is there any more information?¡± Zu An asked, finding the situation a bit strange. How could the Second Prince¡¯s massive army disappear just like that? Besides, the monsters inside would normally have rushed out after they disappeared. The current situation seemed a bit off somehow.

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing else. What should we do now?¡± Liu Ning asked. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°We need to gather reinforcements from our side as quickly as possible and be ready to head out to help at any time,¡± Zu An said, his expression grave. If no one was watching over the sealednd anymore, that would be a huge disaster.

    ¡°Alright,¡± Liu Ning said. She also understood the severity of the matter. If those monsters really crossed over and upied the Fiend races'' territory, it could pose a threat to the human race¡¯s very existence. She added, ¡°By the way, did you deal with the affairs on that side yet?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s almost done...¡± Zu An said, then gave her a summary of what happened at the Devil Sect.

    Liu Ning clicked her tongue in wonder as she read the contents, replying, ¡°Those monsters are no longer invading on arge scale, and areing in secretly instead. It really is hard to guard against...¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right," Zu An said. He was really worried too, but he couldn''t think of any good methods. ¡°I won¡¯t return to the capital, and will head straight to the north instead where the Fiend races¡¯ sealednd is, to see if I can minimize casualties.¡±

    ¡°You have to be careful!¡± Liu Ning replied worriedly. Even though Zu An¡¯s cultivation was extremely powerful, that was only rtive to the humans of this world. These were a foreign world¡¯s monsters they were dealing with here; they were all extremely powerful, with strange abilities that were almost impossible to prepare against.

    When he sensed her concern, Zu An felt warm inside. He said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will.¡±

    ¡°Sigh... I¡¯ve been looking forward to your return and enjoying our time together, but this damned thing happened. It seems I won¡¯t be getting what I want for quite some time," Liu Ning remarked. At present, she was soaking in a bath. Her beautiful arms moved gently across the water, her fingertips running across her skin. When she thought back to the joy Zu An had brought her in the past, she unknowingly released a moan.

    ¡°I''ll definitely return to the capital as quickly as I can,¡± Zu An promised.

    When he thought about Liu Ning¡¯s incredible beauty, and how with her new unique Empress Dowager identity, they could add even more tricks to their fun, he couldn''t help but feel a me burn within him too. Even so, he quickly calmed himself down. There were still more important affairs to take care of. He couldn''t let himself be distracted by these feelings.

    Meanwhile, there was someone else nearby who was infatuated with Liu Ning. Even though she was doing her best to suppress her moans, how could it escape the ears of Eunuch Lu outside? When he heard that voice, his entire body felt a bit limp. A hint of regret shed through his eyes. It was a pity that the regent wasn¡¯t here, or else he would be able to feel refreshed again.

    Suddenly, a lesser eunuch ran over. Eunuch Lu frowned and stopped him before taking him aside, hissing, ¡°Do you not know the rules? No eunuchs are allowed to approach when the Empress Dowager is bathing.¡±

    The lesser eunuch smiled apologetically and said, ¡°I naturally understand. Eunuch Lu is the only one in the entire pce who has this special honor. I actually came because I had something to report to Eunuch Lu.¡±

    Eunuch Lu frowned. He had some impression of this lesser eunuch. Thetter had always been cowardly in the past, so why was he suddenly so calm andposed in front of him? When he thought of that, he didn¡¯t hesitate. He grabbed the lesser eunuch¡¯s neck with a hand like a falcon¡¯s w.

    Perhaps because the woman he adored since he was young had received the regent¡¯s nourishment, he was also greatly satisfied. As ofte, his cultivation had made great progress, and he was even close to recovering the strength he had before he was crippled. Such a sudden assault on a lesser eunuch should have been extremely easy.

    However, the lesser eunuch was able to mysteriously evade. A strange smile appeared on his face as he said, ¡°Eunuch Lu is extremely careful as expected. You actually immediately noticed that there was something wrong with me.¡±

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Eunuch Lu asked as he attacked again. This time, the lesser eunuch didn¡¯t dodge and allowed himself to be grabbed. Then, a st of power erupted from Eunuch Lu''s palm, sending destructive power into the lesser eunuch''s body. Regardless of who it was, he would cripple them first, then interrogate them after.

    The lesser eunuch¡¯s body cracked and rattled before going limp. Immediately after, a bowl-sized spider suddenly shot out from his lower back.

    ¡°The Heart-Devouring Demon Spider?¡± Eunuch Lu eximed, his expression changing. After the intelligence from the War Priest''s invasion circted, he had naturally learned about the monsters. Even so, its strength seemed to be a bitcking.

    ¡°Wait, I came here today with sincerity!¡± The Heart-Devouring Demon Spider quickly showed its limbs in surrender while speaking with its mouth.

    ¡°What sincerity?¡± Eunuch Lu asked in surprise. He really couldn''t figure out just what these monsters would want from him. It wasn¡¯t a bad idea to get some more intelligence from them first.

    ¡°During the time I spent inside this lesser eunuch, I was observing Eunuch Lu. I¡¯ve developed a degree of understanding as to what Eunuch Lu likes,¡± the Heart-Devouring Demon Spider said with a grin.

    Eunuch Lu¡¯s expression changed. He prepared to attack.

    The Heart-Devouring Demon Spider dodged backward while quickly saying, ¡°Eunuch Lu, please don¡¯t misunderstand! I didn¡¯te here to make fun of you, but rather to help you!¡±

    ¡°Help?¡± Eunuch Lu harrumphed. ¡°How will you help me?¡±

    ¡°The reason why the eunuch has your fetish is because you have no choice. After all, a eunuch¡¯s body is deficient. Unable to take action yourself, you can only entrust your feelings to another,¡± the Heart-Devouring Demon Spider exined, then offered, ¡°But what if I could help you redevelop that part?¡±

    At first, Eunuch Lu was furious. He was about to attack, but when he heard thest part, he was stunned. He asked, ¡°What do you mean by ''redevelop''?¡±

    The Heart-Devouring Demon Spider gave his lower body a look and said, ¡°To turn you into a real man again, of course. The bodies of you humans are especially weak. Even if you cultivate to a high level and obtain stronger regeneration abilities, those are still too farckingpared to what we monsters have.¡±

    Eunuch Lu became quiet. In the past, his cultivation had been extremely high, so even if ''that'' was removed, he could still recover. However, the eunuch selection of the pce was extremely strict, let alone the fact that someone as domineering as Zhao Han had always watched everything carefully. The pce had castrated him with a special method and drugs that forever crippled him.

    The Heart-Devouring Demon Spider¡¯s voice now carried a mysterious hint of allure as it said, ¡°This might be impossible for your world, but for the monsters of our world, it poses no difficulty at all. Our tens of thousands of species of monsters all have powerful reproductive abilities. Helping you recover your fifth limb wouldn¡¯t be hard at all. You would then be a true man, and you could do whatever your heart wished to the woman you love. That would bring you true joy! Wouldn¡¯t that be much better than to entrust the deed and the joy to another man?¡±

    Eunuch Lu was a bit moved. He asked, ¡°Do you really have a way to help me recover my manhood?¡±

    When it saw his reaction, the Heart-Devouring Demon Spider immediately revealed a pleased smile. After hiding in this world for some time, it had been able to grasp all kinds of weaknesses of human nature. This Eunuch Lu was indeed very loyal, and so any other method would never work. However, he would never refuse such a condition. It said, ¡°Of course. For example, the Demonic Motherbug could just take a bit of your flesh and help youpletely regrow that part. Then, it could use a special method to transnt it back to you. Wouldn¡¯t you be back to normal then? Don¡¯t worry, it would be made from your flesh, so it wouldn¡¯t be any different from your original part. Except, of course, for the fact that you''d be even stronger. You¡¯d be a man among men.¡±

    When he heard its description, Eunuch Lu began breathing quickly. He asked, ¡°Then why are you helping me?¡± He knew that there were no free lunches in this world.

    Sure enough, the Heart-Devouring Demon Spider said, ¡°I''ve been trying to find a way to get more of mypanions into the bodies of the lesser eunuchs and maids. Since the selection process is quite strict, I need your help to get through the inspections and give them enough time to develop.¡±

    Eunuch Lu¡¯s expression changed. That would mean that one day, the entire Imperial Pce would fall under the control of these monsters.

    As if seeing through his misgivings, that Heart-Devouring Demon Spider said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we need a human representative too, and we won¡¯t touch the woman you like. You can remain perfect partners.¡±

    Eunuch Lu sighed in relief, saying, ¡°Alright. How will yourpanionse over? How should I work with you?¡±

    When it saw him agree, the Heart-Devouring Demon Spider cackled. Sure enough, everything was going as nned.

    Most of what it said was the truth. The only lie was that the ''thing'' created by the Demonic Motherbug would also have the traits of the Demonic Motherbug. As long as Eunuch Lu entered the empress dowager¡¯s body, it would pour the Demonic Motherbug¡¯s seeds into her body. In that case, no matter how high the empress dowager¡¯s cultivation was, she would be doomed to demonification. Furthermore, the empress dowager was one of the most influential people in this world. By controlling her, all of their ns would be much easier.

    The Heart-Devouring Demon Spider moved closer to Eunuch Lu and whispered quietly, ¡°That¡¯s simple. You just need to...¡±

    Eunuch Lu nodded continuously as he listened. Suddenly, his hand shot out as fast as lightning and grabbed its body.

    Right before its death, the Heart-Devouring Demon Spider murmured with a look of disbelief, ¡°Why...¡±

    A hint of redness shed through Eunuch Lu¡¯s eyes as he said, ¡°You fool. Compared to obtaining Ning¡¯er, I enjoy the feeling of the most powerful man ravaging the woman I like much more. How could you possibly understand the beauty of that?¡±

    The Heart-Devouring Demon Spider¡¯s eyes widened as it exploded.

    <i>It¡¯s not that I was ipetent, but that I never expected there to be such a strange and perverted human!</i>

 Chapter 2026: Return

    <h4>Chapter 2026: Return</h4>

    A figure darted in from the courtyard. Liu Ning had sensed the activity and rushed over. Perhaps because of how hurried she was, she only had a single robe around her. Her still-wet skin made the robe damp, and it clung to her skin. Even though she didn¡¯t really show anything, her amazing curves were still incredible.

    Eunuch Lu gave her a look and lowered his head immediately after. His heart was pounding as he said, ¡°A Heart-Devouring Demon Spider invaded just now and was killed by this servant.¡±

    ¡°Heart-Devouring Demon Spider?¡± Liu Ning repeated as her expression changed. She saw the tattered lesser eunuch corpse in the corner and the spider corpse on the other side, remarking, ¡°I never expected these spiders to have even infiltrated the pce.¡±

    ¡°There shouldn¡¯t be too many. This servant already obtained some clues and will quickly eliminate the rest,¡± Eunuch Lu said respectfully.

    Liu Ning was a bit surprised. She asked, ¡°Oh? How did you get new information? Also, these Heart-Devouring Demon Spiders are always well hidden. How did you find this one?¡±

    Eunuch Lu knew that she was full of doubts. If he didn¡¯t exin things clearly, she could start suspecting him. That was why he told her roughly what had just happened.

    Liu Ning¡¯s brows moved slightly. She looked at him with a strange expression and asked, ¡°You didn¡¯t even agree to such conditions?¡± To be honest, if she were in his ce, even she didn¡¯t know if she would be able to refuse.

    Eunuch Lu sighed and said, ¡°If I had been given these conditions twenty years ago, I might have just agreed. But now... As long as you¡¯re happy, I''m already more than satisfied and can¡¯t ask for anything more. Besides, these monsters are incredibly cunning and definitely have traps hidden in their conditions. How could I afford to let you experience even the slightest bit of risk?¡±

    When she heard that, Liu Ning couldn''t help but feel a bit moved too. She stared at him for a while before asking, ¡°Why would you go that far?¡±

    Eunuch Lu revealed a sad smile and said, ¡°I¡¯ve already regretted letting you down back then all my life. How can I disappoint you a second time? Besides that, this matter is rted to the safety of the entire human race. Could I do something that would bring down the entire human race because of my own selfish desires?¡±

    Liu Ning thought for a bit, then bowed toward him. She said with a serious expression, ¡°Compared to other men, you are one with a true indomitable spirit!¡±

    When he heard what she said, Eunuch Lu¡¯s eyes shone brightly. He said, ¡°Being able to hear these words from you has already made this humble one¡¯s life worth living.¡± His mood was really great right now. He left behind a string ofughter as he said, ¡°I must eliminate these monsters that might be hiding in the pce as quickly as possible, or else they¡¯ll alert each other of theirpanions¡¯ deaths and escape.¡±

    As she watched him leave, Liu Ning¡¯s expression became extremelyplicated. After all these years, Eunuch Lu had finally recovered his high-spirited self from their youth.

    <i>Even so, fate loves to toy with people...</i>

    ...

    Meanwhile, over by the Lake of Hatred, Zu An immediately sought out Yun Jianyue.

    After Yun Jianyue opened the door, her expression was a bit strange. She asked, ¡°Why did youe here again? If you want that, go and ask that subordinate with the long legs. I¡¯m not gonna keep youpany.¡± She was seriously injured and weak right now. After his treatment, even though she looked fine on the surface, her body was terribly sore and had almost broken down from it all. How could she still stand another round of tossing and turning?

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>So in her eyes, I was that kind of person?</i>

    ¡°I have important matters...¡± he began. Then, he told her about the information he had just received.

    At first, Yun Jianyue was a bit embarrassed, but as she listened, her expression became increasingly grave. She said, ¡°If something happens to the sealednd, things could turn ugly fast. I didn¡¯t expect the monsters to have alreadye up with new tricks.¡±

    The Holy Sect had just experienced this disaster, but what was happening on the Fiend races¡¯ side was even more severe. If the sealednd were opened up, countless monsters would be able to cross over without any restrictions. The entire world could even face the threat of extinction.

    ¡°Do you have to go to the sealednd immediately?¡± Yun Jianyue asked.

    Zu An nodded, saying, ¡°That¡¯s right. I can''t stay here for too long. I might have to entrust dealing with Honglei to you.¡±

    When she heard the regret in his voice, Yun Jianyue nodded and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I''ll find her. If she learns of the whole story, she won¡¯t me you either.¡±

    Zu An sighed. With this separation, who knew how long it would be before he could see Honglei again? n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    He then asked, ¡°Right, has Lu Sanyuan¡¯s faction been cleaned out yet? How about I help you out a bit before I leave?¡±

    Yun Jianyue shook her head and said, ¡°There¡¯s no need. Only Lu Sanyuan¡¯s disciple Ding Xia is missing. Everyone else is already under control.¡±

    When she said that, she couldn''t help but say with a sigh, ¡°It¡¯s really a pity. Lu Sanyuan was indeed a genius. The two of us were a team, one taking care of matters regarding the world of warriors, and the other dealing with the volunteer army. And yet, he just had to let matters of the past get to him for so long. If I had known about this, I would have told him the truth back then.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He recalled what Lu Sanyuan had said before he passed away. He asked, ¡°Are there still other secrets I don''t know about from back then?¡±

    Yun Jianyue exined, ¡°In the past, his master and mine were known as a golden couple in the sect. The two also shared feelings for each other, but they never expected that the Unfeeling Path¡¯s skills would be too cruel. If they wanted to reach the highest level, they had to first love someone, then personally kill the one they loved. Only then would they reach the apex.

    "But during their battle, a few Heavenly Devil School experts helped my master. In the end, his master wasn¡¯t able to win and was defeated by mine. For the sake of his reputation, we didn¡¯t dere the real reason to the outside world. Who could have known that his disciple Lu Sanyuan would harbor hard feelings and think that his master died because of our Heavenly Devil School¡¯s people?¡±

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°The past is in the past. To be honest, as a regent of the court, if you guys were toe up with another rebel army to face the court, I would have a bit of a headache. I care about both sides equally.¡±

    ¡°Who wants you to care about them?¡± Yun Jianyue replied in annoyance. ¡°However, now that the monsters of the other world have invaded, the human race is in a crisis. Our Holy Sect¡¯s disciples wouldn¡¯t act without any regard for the bigger situation. From today forth, we naturally have to work together against the foreign monsters and can¡¯t waste time fighting among ourselves.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the best way,¡± Zu An said, then held her tightly in his arms.

    When she felt the strength of his arms, Yun Jianyue, after some hesitation, still hugged him again. All her hopes had turned to dust when Honglei saw her. She had already thought about how she wouldpletely leave Zu An. That was why she had agreed to everything, because she thought that it was going to be thest time anyway. And yet, when she sensed his warm hug and his strong affection, she was a bit at a loss. Could she really leave him?

    ...

    Zu An then returned to his room. He called out to Zhang Zitong, ¡°I have something to take care of and have to go. The two of us will part ways here. Go where you need to go.¡±

    Zhang Zitong rubbed her drowsy eyes. The sudden news made her feel as if her heartstrings were being tugged. She immediately became clear-headed and asked, ¡°Can I return to the Embroidery House?¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He hadn¡¯t expected her to say that. He asked, ¡°Don¡¯t you know the Embroidered Envoy¡¯s rules? Someone like you who has already betrayed the organization once will only have death awaiting you once you go back.¡±

    Zhang Zitong replied, ¡°If Chief Commander Zhuxie Chixin were still there, I would never dare to return. But sir is now the boss, so I''m still willing to return.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    Zhang Zitong continued, ¡°I¡¯ve already paid back the favor I owe the organization behind me, so now I can be wholly devoted to sir¡¯s work. I definitely won¡¯t betray you again.¡±

    Zu An said with a frown, ¡°Words are useless for these kinds of things. You should know that in our line of work, we never use anyone with even the slightest stain again.¡±

    Zhang Zitong clenched her teeth, saying, ¡°If sir is still not convinced, you can feed me a poison and just treat me once a year.¡±

    Zu An asked in confusion, ¡°Why are you so determined toe back?¡±

    ¡°Does sir want to hear the truth or a lie?¡± Zhang Zitong replied as she looked at him.

    Zu An said with a sneer, ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to y these games with me.¡±

    Zhang Zitong then said, ¡°The lie is that I¡¯ve be used to life in the Embroidered Envoy and don¡¯t know what else to do. The truth is...¡± She paused for a moment, then looked at Zu An with herrge eyes, continuing, ¡°I like being at sir¡¯s side.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He had never expected it to be this answer! He immediately refused, saying, ¡°I have no interest in women right now.¡±

    Zhang Zitong eximed in shock, ¡°Could it be that sir likes men?¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He did his best to suppress his rage and said, ¡°The monsters are invading and a great disaster is about to descend. How could I still have the time to worry about things like feelings?¡±

    ¡°Sir is different from the past Chief Commander Zhuxie after all; you care much more about the fate of mankind. As expected of the one I admire,¡± Zhang Zitong said as she stuck out her chest. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, sir, I definitely won¡¯t hold you back. I''ll fight side by side with sir against the monsters!¡±

    Zu An thought to himself for a bit, then said, ¡°Fine. In that case, you should just return to the Embroidery House. However, you won¡¯t have your status as silver token envoy anymore. Just work your way up from bronze again.¡±

    He wascking manpower to begin with, and he wanted to find out what exactly was going on with the organization behind her. Even though she could be a spy, as long as he used her well, she could very well be his double agent.

    ¡°Am I going to be a bronze token envoy at sir¡¯s side?¡± Zhang Zitong asked weakly.

    Zu An voiced his agreement. It was safer to keep someone dangerous like this right under his watch.

    Zhang Zitong jumped up excitedly and eximed, ¡°Thank you, sir!¡± She looked so excited that, if not for of her misgivings toward his usual prestige, perhaps she would have just given him a few kisses.

    Zu An took out a scroll of paper and quickly wrote on it. Then, he put his seal on it before saying, ¡°Once you return, look for Xiao Jianren. He''ll assign you appropriately.¡±

    Zhang Zitong¡¯s face immediately fell. She replied, ¡°Ah? I can¡¯t go with sir?¡±

    ¡°Of course not!¡± Zu An said with a frown. He was going to the Fiend races'' territory and could end up having to expose his real identity. How could he let her tag along?

    When she saw his firm attitude, Zhang Zitong replied with an ¡®oh¡¯ and admitted her fate. Even so, the fact that she had been epted by him was still something to be happy about.

    Then, Zu An took Zhang Zitong out of the Lake of Hatred. Otherwise, it would be a bit dangerous to leave her there all alone. He warned her before they separated, ¡°Right, once you go back, don¡¯t tell anyone else anything about the Lake of Hatred."

    ¡°Got it,¡± Zhang Zitong said, although she had a gossipy look in her eyes.

    <i>It seems like sir and the Devil Sect¡¯s witch have quite the special rtionship!</i>

    Zu An didn¡¯t feel like exining and flew into the sky by himself.

    ¡°He even flies so handsomely,¡± Zhang Zitong said, her face red. Her long legs inadvertently swung back and forth. Her mood was clearly really good right now.

    ...

    After Zu An left the Lake of Hatred, he got on the Wind Fire Wheels and sped off to the north. After an unknown amount of time passed, he looked down at the snowy mountains beneath him. He was briefly absentminded. Why did it feel as if the Great Snowy Mountain was a bit colder than when he had been there in the past?

 Chapter 2027: Rumors

    <h4>Chapter 2027: Rumors</h4>

    Zu An thought back to the things that had happened on the Great Snowy Mountain. Back then, they had even been chased by a mysterious and powerful snowdy.

    If one wanted to live, the whole Great Snowy Mountain region seemed like a forbidden ce. It was full of all kinds of mysteries and legends. Now, however, there was naturally no need for him to fear that snowdy who pursued himst time.

    Zu An had even considered taking a look around the Great Snowy Mountain and exploring this mysterious ce. However, he always had something new he had to do. He hadn''t expected that the next time he would be crossing over the Great Snowy Mountain would be in this kind of situation. Now, even though he was in the air, he could still sense the unique chill of the region. Even the Wind Fire Wheels mes became much weaker.

    It is indeed quite a bit colder than before, he muttered.

    There was a blistering sun in the sky; normally, he would have expected the area to be warmer thanst time. The cold left him a bit confused. Nobody in the past thousand years had ever heard of Great Snowy Mountains temperature changing, right? Could it be that something had happened there? Even so, the situation with the sealednd was too urgent, so he really didnt want to waste any time. Despite his puzzlement, in the end, he still didnt stop and continued to fly north instead.

    After flying for a while longer, Zu An suddenly sensed something. He took out his recording mirror. The surface was flickering in a certain pattern. He knew that no one would use such a device unless it was extremely urgent, so he ignored the ki stone expenditure and quickly threw in a dozen or so heaven-grade ki stones. Soon after, the surface rippled. Dressed in her empress dowager formal wear, Liu Ning appeared.

    Regent, I couldn''t contact you with the jade strip, so I used the recording mirror, Liu Ning said while sitting upright and still.

    Zu An took out the jade strip and gave it a look. Sure enough, there was no other information. As expected, it wasnt a reliable way for instantmunication.

    What does the empress dowager need? Zu An also replied respectfully. The fact that she had addressed him in such a proper manner meant there were others around her. That meant there were some things that naturally couldn''t be said.

    This morning, I received a formal request for assistance from the Fiend King Court. Something has happened to the sealednd, and they hope we can respect our prior agreement and send reinforcements to aid in the eradication of the foreign monsters," Bi Linglong''s voice added. She naturally walked over to Liu Nings side and appeared in the image as well. She looked deeply at Zu An.

    The situation has already worsened to this degree, huh, Zu An said with a frown. Even though he had discussed gathering reinforcements with Liu Ning, that was just preparation for when they would need it in the future. After all, whether it was the Fiend races or the human race, they each had their pride. If they could deal with it themselves, there was no way they would ever ask the other side for help. And yet, the Fiend races were now asking the human race for help through official channels. They were clearly pressured to the point that they had no other choice. .

    Alright, lets organize the reinforcement army as quickly as possible. I''m rushing to the Fiend races territory myself. Ill help with the coordination on that side, Zu An quickly replied. However, he was a bit confused. Why hadnt the Second Empress contacted him at all from her side? He thought of something and asked, Empress Dowager, empress, did the FIend races request for reinforcementse from the Second Empress herself?

    Liu Ning shook her head and replied, That did not happen. It was something the Elf King told us through the recording mirror. He said that something bad had happened to the sealednd and that the Second Empress set out in the night, leading the Golden Crow Guards to provide reinforcements. That matches the secret intelligence we received on our side.

    That handsome older man appeared in Zu Ans mind. He couldn''t help but sigh. The Elf King was still someone trustworthy - his father-inw, Snows father.

    <i>It seems the Second Empress was in such a rush that she didnt have time to contact me.</i>

    Have you already selected people to go on this mission? Zu An asked.

    Normally, the Qin ns two dukes would have been the best candidates, but they still have their prior injuries and cannot recover in time. Eventually, afterpromises from each side, we decided that King Liang Zhao Yi would be themander-in-chief and lead the reinforcements north, Bi Linglong replied.

    King Liang? Zu An repeated with a frown. That guy was thete emperors uncle, but in reality, he was a useless nobody. He had shown off his military strength in Brightmoon City, but in the eyes of a true expert, his bit of cultivation wasnt anything at all.

    Even so, he could guess a few things from Bi Linglongs words. It seemed that the empress faction definitely wouldnt allow the Liu ns trusted aides to take on such a crucial authoritative role. Furthermore, the Empress Dowagers faction didnt want anyone from the Bi n to be themander-in-chief either. That was why both sides hadpromised and chosen King Liang, a member of the Imperial n. Even though his cultivation and intelligence were quite ordinary, he had the qualifications and a certain degree of prestige.

    Liu Ning seemed to have seen through his worries and said, There is no need for regent to be worried. The court has already discussed things. Once the army is brought to the Fiend races'' territory, the authority ofmand will be yours. He will at most be a military supervisor. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An nodded slightly. That wasnt a bad idea, or else the entire army would copse because of a worthlessmander. As for King Liang bing a military supervisor, that was clearly also insurance set up by the court. After all, this main army was advancing into the Fiend races territory, and he was also the regent of the Fiend races. There were definitely some worries that he would collude with the Fiend races to entrap the army.

    Just then, Bi Linglong spoke up, saying, The Qin ns younger generation eagerly enlisted, seemingly with the goal of regaining their ns glory. Also, many disciples from the academy also signed up, especially when they heard that you were on that side. They are all eager to fight side by side with you. Should we agree or reject them?

    Zu An reflexively wanted to talk about the dangers of the sealednd, but after thinking about it, if those from other ns wanted to go, but the ones he was close to didnt, what would outsiders think? The armys very morale could even be shaken. Besides, unpolished gems could never truly disy their beauty. Only after true battles could they grow faster.

    As such, he eventually said gravely, Tell them of the danger clearly. If there are still people who insist on going, agree to their enlistment.

    Bi Linglong nodded slightly and said, I understand.

    Off to the side, Liu Ning gave her a surprised look.

    <i>Thisss always acts overbearing and arrogant when she talks to me, but in front of Ah Zu, she''s acting like a young married woman! Tsk tsk tsk, Ah Zu really knows how to deal with women.</i>

    Zu An discussed some more details regarding the court with the twodies, then hung up the call reluctantly.

    Then, he tried to contact the Second Empress recording mirror, but there was no reply. An ufortable feeling crept up within him. If she had been in too much of a rush to gather her troops and support the sealednd, giving her no opportunity to contact him, that was one thing. But now, he was the one calling her, and yet she still didnt have time to even pick up the call. That meant the situation had already reached a certain degree of severity. Or... Something had already happened to her.

    Previously, he hadn''t been able contact Yun Jianyue through the recording mirror, and sure enough, something big had happened to her. If not for him arriving promptly on time, she could have already passed on.

    <i>The Second Empress side... I hope I can make it!</i>

    He urged the Wind Fire Wheels on at full strength, not caring about his own ki reserves anymore. They immediately became four times faster. Just like that, he traveled day and night without rest at all.

    He soon passed over the Snake races territory. After thinking about it, he went in to ask about the situation. It wasnt surprising to find out that Yu Yanluo wasnt there, though. The Snake race''s elders said that the Second Empress had gathered all of the experts of the different races to go to the sealednd. Their n leader had been one of the first to respond, taking the strong individuals of the n, including Little White and Little Blue, with her.

    Even Yu Yanluo had gone...

    Zu An tried to contact Yu Yanluo through the recording mirror, but he couldn''t contact her. He became more and more anxious. He couldn''t be bothered with the Snake races enthusiastic requests for him to stop for the night. He didnt even take a sip of tea before continuing on his way.

    ...

    After flying for a while longer, Zu An a the familiar pce below and entered a brief trance. It turned out he had already arrived at Bluefield Country, thend full of foxes. In the past, these skies were precisely where he hadshared a beautiful memory with the Bluefield Country Master, Tushan Yu.

    Suddenly, a huge bird flew out from the pce below, with a beautiful woman on it. Her face was delicate and pretty, and her hair fluttered in the wind behind her. Her faint blue dress made her look youthful and pure, but her foxy eyes seemed to tug right at the soul. Together with the shaggy hair moving in the wind behind her, she woman managed to perfectlybine the contrasting feelings of purity and seduction.

    May I ask which senior has arrived... Regent! Tushan Yu eximed. She had initially been a bit scared, but when she saw who it was, she was pleasantly surprised.

    Zu An reached out his hand, and a gentle force took her into his arms. He eximed, Its been too long!

    Tushan Yu got on her toes and immediately kissed him. She reluctantly let him go, her face a bit red as she asked, Did youe because of the sealednd?

    You know about it as well? Zu An asked, then tried to gain more information.

    The king court issued an order from the Second Empress, for the n leaders to lead their elites to the sealednd as reinforcements. She said that the Fiend races have already reached the point of imminent destruction. Our Bluefield Country isnt good at fighting, and our skills are useless against those monsters too, so we didnt need to go to the front lines. We stayed behind to take care of some logistical matters," Tushan Yu replied.

    Zu An was shocked. The Second Empress had actually described it as imminent destruction! He asked, Do you know what happened at the sealednd?

    Tushan Yu frowned and replied, There are a lot of rumors. Some say that the Second Prince was bewitched by the monsters and betrayed the Fiend races. Others say that the Second Prince wasnt happy with fighting endlessly in the sealednd, and his men coerced him to flee. There are some who say the Second Prince has already died in battle... There are all kinds of rumors, and it''s hard to discern truth from lies. There''s only one thing we know for certain, which is that something did happen around the sealednd.

    Zu An frowned and asked, Did the court leave behind a monitoring army?

    They were all smart people. In the past, the Second Prince had been ordered to head to the sealednd precisely for him to exhaust his elite troops. The Fiend King Court had definitely been on guard against him as well, so they would have left behind some forces to watch that army''s rear lines. If something strange happened then, they would be able to react immediately.

    There was no news from that army at all, as if all of them had vanished into thin air, Tushan Yu replied.

    Zu An frowned. It seemed the situation was even more grave than he had imagined. bender

    He asked for some more details, then took out the Fiend races regent seal. He wrote some documents and handed them to Tushan Yu, saying, The humans reinforcements are about to head north. Take this order from me and have the guards at the checkpoint let them pass. At the same time, prepare military provisions.

    Tushan Yus expression became serious as she said, I will definitely carry out your orders!

    At the same time, the way she looked at him became even sweeter. At first, she had been worried that he only treated her as a toy, but he was actually willing to have her speak on his behalf, which meant that wasnt the case at all.

    ...

    Meanwhile, in the human race''s capital, Xie Daoyun was getting worked up from arguing with Xie Xiu. She protested, Absolutely not! You are the only son of the Xie n; I wont let you go to the sealednd!

    Arent you the only daughter of our n? If even you can go, why cant I? Xie Xiu replied with a big smile.

    I am a woman, so of course its different! Xie Daoyun looked at her younger brother while huffing angrily. It would beone thing if a brat like you who only knows how to y around all day went, but this is a matter of principle. Absolutely not!

    Xie Xiu sighed and said, Foreign monsters are invading, and the world is on the verge of extinction. I, Xie Xiu, might be called a pretty boy sissy by other men who are jealous of me, but I am also a proper man! How can I hide in fear at a time like this?

    Xie Daoyun said with a stiff expression, Father and mother arent here right now, and I cant let you cause trouble. I am enough to represent the Xie n. f(r)eeweb

    Xie Xiu said with a smile, Then lets talk about it in a way you can understand. So many academy disciples have applied to fight the enemy with their libationer. There are many female disciples among them. If I acted too fearful of death and stay behind, my reputation would be soured. How would I continue to chase after women in the future?

    Xie Daoyun was speechless.

    ...

    Simr scenes were ying out amid the capitals various ns.

    Inside the Regent manor, Qin Wanru mmed the table and stood up. She cried, No, absolutely not! Youzhao, you are not allowed to go!

    Meanwhile, Chu Youzhao immediately panicked, eximing, Why? Even little sister Qinghe can go!

    Qin Wanru was really nervous. She said, "Our Chu n has ced all its hopes in you. If something happens to you, what are your parents supposed to do then? What will everyone from the Chu n do?

    In the past, in order for the Brightmoon Dukes noble title to be smoothly passed down, they had used underhanded means and gone through so much effort to raise Chu Youzhao. How could they let all of that be ruined because of this event?!

    <strong></strong>

 Chapter 2028: Sisters Who Share a Father, but Different Mothers

    <h4>Chapter 2028: Sisters Who Share a Father, but Different Mothers</h4>

    ¡°I can¡¯t just hide under your wing forever, right?¡± Chu Youzhao retorted, her facepletely red. ¡°Besides, brother-inw is over there! He can protect me.¡±

    ¡°There are so many people who need protecting on the battlefield. How could he tend to you? What if there¡¯s an oversight and...¡± Qin Wanru trailed off, rmed just from the thought alone. She frowned and said, ¡°We can discuss anything else, just not this.¡±

    Chu Youzhao wanted to say something else, but Murong Qinghe said from off to the side, ¡°Big brother Chu, what the madam says is reasonable. The north is bitterly cold and far, and it''s too dangerous. You''ve never experienced life in the army, so it¡¯ll be even more dangerous for you than other people.¡±

    Chu Youzhao said resentfully, ¡°So you were also looking down on me, little sister Qinghe.¡±

    Off to the side, Chu Huanzhao couldn''t help but roll her eyes. ¡°Do you really have no awareness of your own cultivation rank? You¡¯ll only be putting more trouble on brother-inw¡¯s te by going.¡±

    Chu Youzhao was furious, retorting, ¡°My cultivation is at least higher than yours!¡±

    Chu Huanzhao said disdainfully, ¡°That¡¯s only because in the past, I didn¡¯t spend that much time on cultivation. You''ve seen my cultivation speed recently. Have I not been beating you up until you started hollering for mom and dad?¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Chu Youzhao eximed, gritting her teeth in anger. ¡°Do you have no sense of shame? It was clearly brother-inw who helped you increase your cultivation aptitude!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not as if he didn¡¯t help you raise your aptitude too, but my cultivation speed is clearly faster than yours,¡± Chu Huanzhao said worriedly.

    Murong Qinghe watched the two of them fight with a smile.

    <i>Siblings like them are so great. It¡¯s not like the Murong n where the brothers and sisters are more courteous and distant from each other.</i>

    In the end, after all of their persuasion, Chu Youzhao could only give up on thoughts of signing up. She still warned Murong Qinghe, ¡°Little sister Qinghe, you have to be careful. Once you get to the front lines, you have to get in touch with my brother-inw. He''ll definitely take care of you!¡±

    ¡°O... Okay.¡± Murong Qinghe said, avoiding eye contact a bit.

    <i>How could I still look for him after the embarrassing message I sent himst time?</i>

    <i>Big brother Zu seems to have a thing for me... but I can¡¯t let down big brother Chu.</i>

    ...

    Compared to the capital¡¯s liveliness, the Devil Sect¡¯s Lake of Hatred was much less enthusiastic. After going through Lu Sanyuan¡¯s battle against the monsters, the Holy Sect was already greatly weakened. Furthermore, after the subsequent departures of Qiu Honglei and Zu An, Yun Jianyue wasn¡¯t in a great mood. The other sect masters could tell as well, so the overall mood was a bit gloomy.

    Yun Jianyue muttered to herself, ¡°Brightmoon City is the ce Honglei stayed in the longest, and that was where she met him too. Could it be that she ran all the way back there?¡± She shook her head and said, ¡°No way, she''s probably really hurt this time. Why would she go to that kind of ce to feel even more annoyed?¡±

    She thought of many possible locations, but they were rejected one after another. In the end, she got more and more annoyed and was also at a loss. She had no idea where to find Qiu Honglei.

    Suddenly, a subordinate reported, ¡°Sect master, there is someone who wishes to meet with your respected self.¡±

    ¡°Who?¡± Yun Jianyue asked with a frown.

    ¡°He said he was from the Yun n of the north,¡± the subordinate replied.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression changed as she said, ¡°Let him in.¡±

    Soon after, a middle-aged man was brought to the entrance. He had decent features, clearly having been a handsome man in his youth. Yun Jianyue waved her hand, gesturing for her subordinates to withdraw.

    ¡°The north¡¯s Yun Shou greets the sect master!¡± the middle-aged man said with a bow.

    ¡°How were you able to find this ce?¡± Yun Jianyue asked, looking at him coldly. The Lake of Hatred was a ce of utmost secrecy. In all these years, not even the Embroidered Envoy had been able to find it.

    The middle-aged man said with a smile, ¡°We were able to bring the sect master here in the past, so sending one person here is of no difficulty.¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression changed and she said, ¡°I already have no connection to that ce.¡±

    That middle-aged man named Yun Shou shook his head and replied, ¡°How can a bloodline rtionship be so easily broken?¡±

    Yun Jianyue said with a sneer, ¡°In the past, I was nothing more than a bastard child of a lowly woman. How could I possibly have the right to mingle with the noble aristocrats of the Yun n?¡±

    Yun Shou¡¯s expression remained gentle as he said, ¡°The sect master speaks too harshly. The Yun n valued you greatly in the past, and they tried to find a way to bring you to thete Devil Sect master. Do you really think you would have been able to be her disciple so easily without us working behind the scenes?¡±

    ¡°Hah,¡± Yun Jianyue said with a cold expression. ¡°You¡¯re bringing up things from decades ago that may or may not have happened, and you want me to feel grateful to you? Aren¡¯t you underestimating me too much here? Do you think I¡¯m that easy to fool?¡±

    Yun Shou sighed and said, ¡°Whether or not it really did happen, that is something Sect Master Yun understands fully well. In the past, the Devil Sect¡¯s trials were all exceedingly dangerous. You were still young back then and didn¡¯t have high enough cultivation. On several asions, you almost died. If not for the secret help you received, how could you have been able to safely grow up and eventually sit in your position of sect master?¡±

    Yun Jianyue became quiet. Several memories of her youth surfaced. She had always been curious as to how she was able to pass, andter, she had only thought of it as her luck being good. Now, it seemed to have been because of the help of the Yun n. These were things that no one else in the Devil Sect knew about, and she had never talked about it either. There was no way one would know without being involved.

    ¡°So what if it happened or not? Don¡¯t tell me you would naively think that this was enough to threaten me to repay you?¡± Yun Jianyue eventually retorted with a sneer. As the leader of the Devil Sect for all these years, she was already used to dancing on the brink of life and death. She wasn¡¯t a naive little girl who could be easily manipted.

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare,¡± Yun Shou said with a bow. ¡°This humble one only wished toe to discuss some old things. We wouldn¡¯t dare to threaten you." He then continued, ¡°Does the sect master know of our northern Yun n¡¯s background?¡±

    Yun Jianyue frowned, saying, ¡°Not interested.¡±

    Yun Shou ignored what she said and continued, ¡°The rest of the world only knows us as a n that thrived in the north for centuries, but few people know that we are actually a branch of the Demon race.¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression finally changed. If the Yun n was part of the Demon race, didn¡¯t that mean she too had been part of them from the very start?

    Yun Shou was very satisfied with her reaction. He said, ¡°Among the Fiend races, forget about the Golden Crow Imperial n; let alone the Ocean races that reside in the vast sea, whose contact with the Fiend races is actually very sparse. The remaining Demon, Golden Peng, Peacock, and Elf races were deemed the four great king races. Their statuses in the Fiend races are extraordinary.

    ¡°On top of that, the Demon race is also divided into four great ns: The Yun, Suolun, Rong, and Wu n, with our Yun n taking the lead. For more than two-thirds of the existence of the Demon race, it has been led by the Yun n. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°In the past, the Fiend races fought a huge battle with the humans. The Fiend races were unfortunately defeated, but we still yearned for the day when we could return to our homnd and seize back the world from the humans. That was why we sent some of our people into the human territory to start inhabiting it and multiplying. Meanwhile, the northern Yun n is precisely what the Demon race prepared on this side.¡±

    As he spoke of the n¡¯s history, his face was full of pride.

    Yun Jianyue smiled ambiguously and replied, "So? Do you want me to wee the Demon race back to their former homnd?¡±

    She was starting to recover from her initial shock now. Even if she had Demon race blood, so what? Just how many years had already passed? It was no doubt quite faint now. If these naive bastards really wanted to vainly use that to threaten her, they''d die without even knowing how.

    Yun Shou shook his head slightly and said, ¡°It is still not time. There is no need for the sect master to take such a huge risk.¡±

    Yun Jianyue frowned, asking, ¡°Then why did youe to see me?¡±

    Yun Shou sized her up, seemingly considering what to say. He then replied, ¡°We hope that the sect master can go and help out your little sister.¡±

    ¡°Little sister?¡± Yun Jianyue repeated, raising her brows as if she had heard an incredible joke. ¡°I was an only daughter, so when did I ever have a little sister?¡±

    Yun Shou sighed, saying, ¡°Sect Master Yun¡¯s resentment is an understandable part of human nature. In the past, your father ended up loving a human and siring you. The n felt that your bloodline wasn¡¯t pure enough, so they didn¡¯t treat you well from the start. That was why you were sent to such a dangerous Devil Sect. However, they never expected you to have been able to grow to this extent. Recently, you were actually even able to influence the selection of the new Fiend Emperor in the Fiend King Court.¡±

    Yun Jianyue knew that he was talking about the time she and Yan Xuehen had helped Zu An single-handedly raise up the weaker Second Empress, allowing her son to be the new Fiend Emperor. Now that they were on the topic, she had fought alongside the Demon race¡¯s people in the past too. She seemed to recall a pretty youngdy named Princess Suolun, who probably didn¡¯t know about her rtionship with the Demon race either.

    ¡°As for your little sister¡¯s mother, she was a distinguished member of the Demon race. After all, a child born between the two of them would more readily awaken the bloodline power of the Yun n. As such, the n treated her better at first, and then through certain means, helped her achieve the title of Madam Wu,¡± Yun Shou said.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t Madam Wu doing fine? She¡¯s definitely living a far better life than someone like me, a rebel in the court¡¯s eyes,¡± Yun Jianyue said with a calm expression.

    Yun Shou was a bit surprised, remarking, ¡°You don¡¯t seem to be surprised that she is your little sister.¡±

    Yun Jianyue said with a sneer, ¡°It¡¯s not as if I never investigated this myself. Of course that heartless and fickle father of mine married another woman and had another daughter. It¡¯s just that I never expected to have such a degree of connection to the Demon race.¡±

    Yun Shou sighed, saying, ¡°Then you should now understand the rtionship between us and the Demon race. You should understand your father¡¯s troubles in the past, right?¡±

    Yun Jianyue swept out her sleeves and said, ¡°I don¡¯t care about any of his troubles; I only know that he is heartless and fickle. He left my mother and allowed her to pass away. Thank goodness he died early too, or else I would even consider going out to get revenge for my mother.¡±

    Yun Shou said, ¡°In the past, your father passed away so early precisely because he was always brooding over your mother''s situation.¡±

    When she heard that, there was no emotional reaction on Yun Jianyue¡¯s face at all.

    Yun Shou then said, ¡°Even though you and Yun Yuqing are not from the same mother, you share a father. If the two of you could watch over each other, that would be wonderful.¡±

    ¡°Just what happened to her?¡± Yun Jianyue asked. She wasn¡¯t that interested, but after thinking about it, using this as a pretext to get some information was fine as well.

    Yun Shou was delighted to hear her response, saying, ¡°She isn¡¯t actually in any danger. Rather, the empress and empress dowager are fighting fiercely and trying to rope in powers...¡±

    Yun Jianyue sneered and said, ¡°Those two can fight all they want, but in the end, isn¡¯t it all Ah... the regent who has thest say?¡±

    ¡°Be that as it may, the regent Zu Anes from a humble background and doesn¡¯t actually have many people at his side. The implementation of many government decrees still has to go through either the empress or empress dowager¡¯s people to implement. As such, for the sake of their respective interests, of course they have to fight,¡± Yun Shou exined. ¡°Also, ording to the intelligence we received, the regent seems to only have interest in women and cultivation. He doesn¡¯t care much for authority in the court at all.¡±

    Yun Jianyue was speechless.

    <i>That bastard Ah Zu''s perversion has already be a globally known fact.</i>

    Yun Shou continued, ¡°Under such a premise, neither of the twodies wishes to lose to the other. They both want to be the woman with the greatest authority in the court. Not only is that their own desire, it also represents the ns behind them, as well as the collective vision of the ministers who have followed them all this time.

    ¡°As ofte, both sides have been trying to rope in the kings that rule over various fiefdoms. King Wu is one of these important individuals. He has been invited to the capital. He always had wild ambitions to begin with. As Zhao Han¡¯s son, he naturally wishes to seize it all. He has realized that this is a great opportunity and ns to see if he can take advantage of the crisis for personal gain.¡±

    Yun Jianyue thought about what had happened during the past few days. There seemed to be many princes fighting over the throne, and Ah Zu had even killed one. It seemed that brat King Wu really didn''t want to live anymore.

    Yun Shou said, ¡°Even though King Wu¡¯s forces aren¡¯t bad, they still aren''t enough to subdue the masses. However, if he can receive the help of you and the Devil Sect, his chances of sess will be a bit higher.

    ¡°Furthermore, because your rtionship with the regent seems to be especially good, we hope that you can speak favorably about King Wu. Otherwise, if King Wu identally makes a mistake and angers him, there won''t be a chance to carry out the n in time.¡±

 Chapter 2029: Sealed Land

    <h4>Chapter 2029: Sealed Land</h4>

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s heart was beating crazily. Could it be that he already knew about her rtionship with Ah Zu?

    <i>If he uses that to threaten me, things will be a bit tricky...</i>

    As if seeing through her confusion, Yun Shou said with a smile, ¡°These humans might not know the truth, but how can we not know? Previously, in the Fiend King Court, you and the regent fought side by side, so your rtionship is extremely good. As such, it shouldn¡¯t be too big of a deal for him to keep an eye out for your brother-inw, right?¡±

    Yun Jianyue was speechless.

    Yun Shou continued, ¡°Didn¡¯t Lu Sanyuan just start a rebellion? His troops are without a leader right now, so we can have them seek shelter under King Wu. That way, they will no longer have to act as rebels. Furthermore, King Wu will also have enough forces to keep his various rivals in check.

    ¡°Of course, you won¡¯t be doing this for nothing. You can put in your own trusted aides and control the troops that way. Once King Wu ascends to the throne, you can smoothly be granted the position of State Teacher. The Devil Sect will be a true Holy Sect. This is the ideal countless members of your sect pursue. With such a good opportunity in front of you, if the past sect masters¡¯ spirits were here, they would definitely support your choice.¡±

    Yun Jianyue had to admit this fellow did have some skills in stirring up sentiment. She said, ¡°In the past, your method might not have been bad. And yet, right now, there are monsters invading from different worlds. All the various forces are currently joining hands to face this powerful enemy, and yet you and King Wu are doing these kinds of things in the background. Aren¡¯t you just putting the entire world in danger?¡±

    ¡°Who would have thought that the witch who killed people like a scythe through wheat would actually worry about the fate of mankind?¡± Yun Shou remarked with a look of surprise. ¡°What you say does make sense, but even if the heavens copse, there is a higher heaven. That is, let alone the fact that those foreign monsters still cannot invade this world.¡± He paused for a moment and said with a smile, ¡°Besides, it¡¯s actually thanks to those monsters causing trouble that the regent and main army¡¯s elites were transferred away. That was how King Wu was able to get such a great opportunity.¡±

    Yun Jianyue''s demeanor immediately became extremely cold. Ah Zu was fighting against these monsters with his very life on the line, trying to save this world, and yet there were still so many ambitious bastards who only cared about their own personal benefits.

    ¡°Does the sect master carry misgivings toward the regent?¡± Yun Shou asked. ¡°Forget about the fact that the two of you are friends, the incredible power the sect master showed a few days ago is something I still remember vividly. Your current cultivation isn¡¯t any weaker than the regent¡¯s, right?¡± n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Yun Jianyue had a strange expression. She naturally knew that was when Zu An had impersonated her.

    <i>Ah Zu really did give me a lot of face. If that stone cold woman heard about what happened, would she be scared to death by ¡®my¡¯ battle? From then on, she wouldn¡¯t even dare to raise her voice in front of me again.</i>

    ¡°Interesting,¡± Yun Jianyue said as she deliberately put on an interested look. She wanted to get deeper into the other party¡¯s ranks to get more information. Then, she would be able to help Ah Zu at the most crucial moment. As for the twodies in the capital, she didn¡¯t care who won or lost at all. However, she suddenly thought of something and added, ¡°Even so, my disciple went missing recently, so I need to spend some time looking for her.¡±

    Yun Shou was stunned, asking, ¡°The saintess is missing? Wasn¡¯t she still at the Lake of Hatred a few days ago? She actually contributed greatly in dealing with the aftermath.¡±

    ¡°She and I had a fight,¡± Yun Jianyue said ambiguously.

    Yun Shou said with a sigh, ¡°What can you do about young people; it¡¯s normal for them to have a bit of a temper. We will use our intelligencework to help you look for the saintess. We will swiftly contact the sect master as soon as we find something.¡±

    Yun Jianyue nodded in satisfaction, saying, ¡°Then I¡¯ll be troubling you.¡±

    Yun Shou had an even bigger smile on his face as he replied, ¡°The sect master¡¯s willingness to cooperate is our greatest honor.¡±

    ...

    Meanwhile, in Bluefield Country, Zu An reluctantly bid Tushan Yu goodbye. Unfortunately, the front lines¡¯ situation was urgent, or else he could have had some fun with this true fox spirit. After handing her instructions for dealing with the human side¡¯s reinforcements, though, he felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He quickly rushed toward the sealednd again.

    As he traveled further and further north, he could feel that the surrounding air was bing colder and colder. If not for the ki protecting his body, his clothes would have already been covered in ayer of ice.

    A few dayster, he got close to the sealednd. There was endless snow wherever he looked, with thousands of miles of ice in any direction. In that instant, he thought that he had returned to the Great Snowy Mountain.

    ¡°What''s going on?¡± Zu An muttered with a frown. Even though he had nevere to the sealednd before, he had read up on information rted to it. Even though the ce was bitterly cold, it should have been a grassy in with a bit of life. How had it be like this?

    Along the way, he saw some fragmented homes that local hunters likely resided in. However, when he went in to look around, he didn¡¯t see a single person. Furthermore, several articles used for daily life were all still there. The chairs and tables were a bit messy, as if they had suddenly encountered danger and fled in rm.

    He llooked up toward the distant horizon. There was a giant yellow-brown glow in that direction. A streak of light emerging from above reached straight into the heavens, while a streak below reached countless miles underground. It looked just like a giant eye towering over the world, as if the limit of the heavens itself had been ripped apart. The spatial rift he had previously seen in Violet Mountain couldn''tpare to this one at all. He could feel a mysterious and terrifying pressure even from far away.

    This was the sealednd that the Fiend races had guarded for over ten thousand years!

    Zu An took a deep breath. Ever since he won against Zhao Han, he hadn''t been able to help but be a bit overconfident. But now, it seemed that the universe was huge and full of extraordinary things. Before the might of the cosmos, just a trifling earth immortal wasn¡¯t much at all.

    After being absent-minded for a while, he snapped out of his daze and collected his thoughts. He carefully examined the area in the distance. He could vaguely make out a city by the outskirts of the yellow-brown halo. That was the northernmost city of the Fiend races territory, Primeval Iron City. In the Fiend races¡¯ own words, it was a city built on the frozen fields, an imprable defense. It was mainly for defending against the sealednd, as well as for sheltering those who were in charge of logistics and quality of life.

    Just then, Zu An vaguely sensed some auras of life there. He shot forth like lightning and quickly arrived in the skies over Primeval Iron City. Guards soon discovered him and shouted in rm, and many crossbows and rune cannons were aimed at him.

    A beautiful female voice suddenly called out, ¡°All of you, halt. That is the regent!¡±

    A youngdy with an impressive bearing stopped the soldiers on the city gates. She was wearing a rainbow-colored dress that was especially alluring and dazzling in this world of ice. She had a light blue hair decoration in her hair that resembled a feather, adding a bit of youthful vigor to her mature appearance.

    ¡°We greet the regent!¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re saved!¡±

    ...

    The soldiers all bowed in respect. All of them couldn''t help but cheer.

    After all, in the past, Zu An had personally put the new emperor onto the throne. Legends surrounding him were still circting through the army.

    ¡°Everyone, please rise!¡± Zu An said as hended on the city walls. He raised his hand, and they all felt as if they were being supported by a pair of invisible hands. All of them were really moved.

    ¡°Princess, it has been a long time,¡± Zu An said, nodding toward Kong Nanwu off to the side.

    Kong Nanwu bowed respectfully. She said with a smile, ¡°Big brother Zu is still as suave as before.¡±

    Before the two of them had time to chat, a brilliant rainbow aura flew over. When the oneing saw Zu An, they were first stunned, then roared withughter, eximing, ¡°I thought that the monsters were invading, but it was actually you!¡±

    When he saw the handsome middle-aged man in front of him, Zu An couldn''t help but say with a sigh, ¡°The Wise King is still so elegant in style; it truly is enviable.¡± He was discovering that the fathers of these pretty women he encountered were all ridiculously handsome.

    ¡°I¡¯m already old; how can Ipare to you, someone in your prime?¡± Kong Qiaoming replied, now with an even bigger smile on his face.

    <i>This kid really knows how to speak well; I love it!</i>

    Meanwhile, another elder bowed to Zu An, saying, ¡°I greet the regent.¡±

    Zu An quickly supported him back up, replying, ¡°Sir is too polite.¡±

    This person was Kong Qing, someone he had met before in Cloudcenter Commandery. Kong Qing had acted on his own initiative and showed him great sincerity in the Peacock race¡¯s ce. Strictly speaking, Zu An still owed this man a favor.

    Kong Qing felt warm inside. Now, their statuses were alreadypletely different, and yet the other side still acted the same way. This was a rare sight.

    The Peacock Wise King also nodded slightly, thinking that this youngster¡¯s temperament wasn¡¯t bad, and furthermore, he wasn''t insufferably arrogant like others in the Fiend races.

    <i>Hm, Wu''er normally has such high standards, but only when she talks about him is she full of endless praises. I heard Kong Qing mention that the two seemed to have already met each other on the human side. Wu¡¯er even gave him that precious peacock feather... It seems I have to y matchmaker a bit between them.</i>

    <i>Hmph, my daughter was previously the crown princess, the next generation Fiend Empress, and yet she ended up bing a widow before she even had a proper marriage. He has to take responsibility!</i>

    <i>The only thing is that he seems to have an ambiguous rtionship with the Second Empress. But that¡¯s fine too; either way, there is no way the Second Empress can marry him properly. What¡¯s tricky is that the Qiao n¡¯s daughter seems to have a marriage arrangement with him! This really is troublesome!</i>

    Zu An gave the Peacock Wise King a strange look. Ever since they met each other, thetter had asionally smiled and asionally frowned while looking at him. Those expressions really were a bit strange.

    He coughed and asked, ¡°By the way, what is the situation with the sealednd right now? Didn¡¯t the Second Empress say that she wasing with the Golden Crow Guards? Why is she still not here even after all this time?¡±

    Normally, with how small this city was, she would have alreadye out once she received news of his arrival, right?

    When she heard the urgency in his tone, Kong Nanwu had an ambiguous smile. There were rumors that he had something going on with the Second Empress, but back then, she had just thought of it as nder spoken by the defeated. Now, it seemed that could really be the case.

    The Peacock Wise King¡¯s expression became serious. He took Zu An to a quieter ce atop the city walls before saying, ¡°The Second Empress entered the sealednd!¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Zu An eximed, feeling really shocked this time.

    Kong Nanwu exined, ¡°When the king court suddenly received news that something happened in the sealednd, many people suspected that there could have been a problem with the Second Prince. That was why the Second Empress personally gathered the elites of the different races to investigate what was going on here.

    ¡°ording to our previous investigations, though, the Second Prince didn¡¯t betray us. Rather, the crack in the sealednd grewrger andrger, and the monsters that crossed over increased in number. The Second Prince knew that if this continued, that would only exhaust the Fiend races until there wasn¡¯t even a single drop of blood left. Those monsters¡¯ reproduction abilities really are shocking, and we simply can''t win a war of attrition. As such, he took his army into the sealednd to repair the ancient seal.¡±

 Chapter 2030: Guaranteed Death

    <h4>Chapter 2030: Guaranteed Death</h4>

    Zu An was stunned, expressing his confusion and shock. When had someone as ambitious as the Second Prince ever reached such enlightenment?

    The Peacock Wise King said with a bitter smile, ¡°At first, our reaction was the same as yours, butter, our investigations showed that this was indeed the case. Ever since the Second Princeunched a suicidal attack and rushed into the sealednd, practically no monsters came back out. That clearly meant the Second Prince¡¯s proactive assault was effective.¡± He sighed and added, "The Second Prince was wrong in the past, but he is still a good man with a strong will. He has earned the admiration of the rest of us.¡±

    Zu An was a bit confused, wondering, ¡°Can humans enter the sealednd too?¡± He had thought that the monsters were sealed inside, and that it wasn¡¯t suitable for human life. Now, it seemed highly likely that that wasn¡¯t the case.

    ¡°The sealednd is actually very spacious. At first, the sealednd wasn¡¯t thatrge. This is the result of thousands of years of gradual expansion,¡± the Peacock Wise King exined.

    Kong Nanwu looked at the terrifying crack in the horizon, and couldn''t help but shiver.

    The Peacock Wise King continued, ¡°Many ces inside are actually strongholds and arrangements left behind by ancient seniors. But after tens of thousands of years of fighting, we could no longer hold onto those ces and were forced back bit by bit. Eventually, we withdrew to this Primeval Iron City.¡± He paused for a bit, then said with aplicated expression, ¡°And inside the sealednd, there are actually many ces simr to Primeval Iron City.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression turned a bit strange. He was able to picture the vast sea of blood and mes that had filled the area from just hearing those few sentences. He sorted out his thoughts and asked gravely, ¡°Then why did the Second Empress enter?¡±

    The Peacock Wise King replied, ¡°When we came here and heard about the Second Prince and his soldiers¡¯ brave actions, people got worked up and demanded that we assist the Second Prince. We couldn''t let a heroic figure like the Second Prince vainly sacrifice himself.¡±

    ¡°Even though the Second Empress is a woman and shares a grudge with the Second Prince, she abandoned her former hatred and suggested leading her troops in to offer assistance. The Golden Crow Guards were full of fighting spirit too,¡± Kong Nanwu said, her voice full of admiration. It was clear that, as she was a woman as well, the Second Empress gave her a lot of inspiration.

    Zu An was someone who had experienced all kinds of disasters and grave situations, so the way he looked at things was nowpletely different. Soon after, he deduced the Second Empress¡¯ attitude at the time. She definitely didn¡¯t want to save the Second Prince, but the Second Prince¡¯s willingness to die for the cause was too inspiring. If she tried to stop them from entering, her prestige could have taken an unrecoverable hit. After all, the Fiend races and the human empire were different. The king court didn¡¯t have as much control over the various races, which were all extremely independent. The new Fiend Emperor was still young, and he and the Second Empress were a child and his mother without a man to protect them, so it would be easy for them to be overthrown.

    Of course, the Second Empress wouldn¡¯t randomly agree tomand troops to save the Second Prince. If she really did save the Second Prince, his prestige would skyrocket. Furthermore, after going to hell and back together, the elite Golden Crow Guards and the troops of the different races could be more partial to the Second Prince. Everything would really be toote then. That was why she had taken the initiative to head inside to save them, which would immediately eliminate those threats.

    Whether she saved the Second Prince or not, she had already created a heroic, fearless, and selfless image for herself. Everyone in the Fiend races would admire and worship her. No matter how outstanding the Second Prince was, he could only serve as a subject under her. There were no issues with her actions, because her choice was indeed extremely dangerous.

    When Zu An thought of that, he couldn''t help but be a bit worried. He asked, ¡°Then did those people followthe Second Prince into the sealednd?¡±

    ¡°Her highness took the Golden Crow race¡¯s experts and the king court¡¯s elite Golden Crow Guards,¡± the Peacock Wise King replied. ¡°Apart from that, the Little Golden Peng King took the Tiger and Lion race¡¯s most powerful individuals with them. They are all among the Fiend races¡¯ most outstanding warriors.¡± Seemingly aware that Zu An''s rtionship with Yu Yanluo was special, he added, ¡°Right, the Medusa Queen also led the Snake race¡¯s experts and is following at the Second Empress¡¯ side.¡±

    <i>This kid really is unfaithful... but among the Fiend races, this isn¡¯t a w, and is instead an extraordinary merit.</i>

    <i>Which fiend king doesn¡¯t have a group of wives? Only the strongest individual can have more mates and thus more descendants, leading to a more prosperous tribe.</i>

    When he thought of those things, he became more and more satisfied with Zu An.

    Upon hearing that Yu Yanluo had also followed them into the sealednd, Zu An became even more worried. He asked, ¡°What about the other main forces, such as the Demon race, the Scorpion King, and the Flying Leopard King¡¯s armies?¡± The Great Elf King staying behind with the young Fiend Emperor to oversee the king court was something he knew about, but he hadn¡¯t heard anything about the other critical factions.

    ¡°Princess Suolun arrived with some of her subordinates. ording to what she said, the Demon race¡¯s Yun, Suolun, Rong, and Wu ns¡¯ reinforcements will arrive soon,¡± Kong Nanwu said, although she frowned slightly and added, ¡°But until now, we still haven¡¯t seen a single soldier from those ns.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. Could it be that the Demon race didn¡¯t wish to participate in this situation at all, and Princess Suolun was being treated as a scapegoat? Or had something happened among the Demon race? n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Kong Nanwu then said, ¡°The Scorpion King and the Flying Leopard King should have arrived as well, but we haven¡¯t seen any trace of them yet either.¡±

    Zu An coldly wondered, ¡°Are they trying to hold onto their forces and disobey central orders?¡±

    The Peacock Wise King became quiet. It now seemed that such a thing was indeed a possibility. Whether it was humans or fiends, they had never beenpletely united. Every faction had their own goals and interests. It was really difficult to get them all to work together for onemon purpose.

    Zu An suddenly thought of something and quickly said, ¡°Wise King, the humans¡¯ reinforcements will soon arrive in the north. Send some people to coordinate and receive them, to prevent anything bad from happening.¡±

    The Scorpion King and the Flying Leopard King had always fought against the humans, so their territory was close to the ce where the humans¡¯ reinforcements wereing from. It was one thing if they didn¡¯t help out, but if they decided to fight the human army, that was definitely not something Tushan Yu could stop on her own.

    The Peacock Wise King clearly sensed the danger and quickly ordered, ¡°Kong Qing, go on the trip yourself. At the same time, take my personal token to ask for the Elf King¡¯s help.¡± He had to stand guard here to receive the Second Empress and couldn''t leave. Meanwhile, Kong Qing was his right-hand man and was the most suitable for taking care of such a thing.

    ¡°Understood!¡± Kong Qing replied, knowing that this was an important matter. He cupped his hands and quickly left.

    Zu An looked at the rift in the distant sky and said, ¡°I''m going on a trip to the sealednd to see if I can find out any information regarding the Second Empress¡¯ group.¡±

    ¡°You absolutely cannot!¡± Kong Nanwu quickly warned him, ¡°We already sent several groups of people in, but not a single one of them returned. The best strategy is to stay here in preparation until the other reinforcements arrive, and then we can discuss what to do together!¡±

    Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°We can''t be certain when those reinforcements will even arrive. I can''t wait that long, and the people inside definitely can''t either. You remain here to receive them, while I''ll go first to take a look.¡±

    When she saw that he had already made his decision, Kong Nanwu quickly said, ¡°Then I¡¯ll go with you.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re just causing trouble!¡± The Peacock Wise King immediately panicked. ¡°Your cultivation will do nothing but slow down the regent. Just stay here obediently! Primeval Iron City is where you can disy your abilities more easily.¡± Even though he did have thoughts of ying matchmaker between the two, the sealednd was too dangerous. Not a single one of those experts hade back out after entering, so how could he have his daughter take the risk?

    Zu An smiled and said to Kong Nanwu, ¡°What the Wise King says is indeed the case. It''s more suitable for the princess to remain here and n for our strategy ahead. We don''t know what it''s like inside, so it will be a bit more convenient for me to go in alone.¡±

    Kong Nanwu couldn''t continue to insist when both of them were speaking like this. She could only say sadly, ¡°You have to be careful!¡±

    Zu An nodded. Then, he asked the Peacock Wise King about any intelligence rted to the sealednd. After all, at the moment, he knew practically nothing.

    The Peacock Wise King said with a serious tone, ¡°The sealednd is surrounded by extremely terrifying chaotic spatial streams that can crush any beings that enter and leave. Not even thete Fiend Emperor was able to enter by relying on his own flesh. But whenever the sun and moon exchange ces in the evening, the spatial flow bes weaker. At that time, you can then enter safely by borrowing the power of formations. For the past few thousand years, whenever morning and evening, sun and moon have intertwined, the area around the sealednd has overflowed with blood. The monsters inside also use that time to leave, so all those stationed here have always been tasked with driving those monsters back.¡± As he spoke, he took out a jade tile engraved with aplicated rune formation, adding, ¡°If you take this, then to a certain degree, you can avoid the chaotic spatial streams¡¯ corrosion.¡±

    After standing guard here for over ten thousand years, the Fiend races had already researched a lot of knowledge rted to the sealednd. This jade tile was none other than one of their developments.

    Zu An took the jade tile from him. On its surface was the rune formation used to traverse that chaotic space. Even with his current knowledge in runes, he actually couldn''t immediately see through the secrets it contained. He had to admit that in the past, the Fiend races really had produced talented people.

    Then, the Peacock Wise King shared some more intelligence rted to the sealednd, but it was mostly rted to the outer areas. The Fiend races didn¡¯t know much about the deeper areas.

    ¡°Thank you, Wise King,¡± Zu An said, bidding them goodbye and quickly flying toward the sealednd. It just happened to be the time when the sun and moon exchanged ces, so he could enter immediately.

    He soon arrived in front of the giant crack. Even with Zu An¡¯s powerful cultivation, he was still briefly absentminded. It seemed that the fear of big things really was something innate.... The spatial rift really was just way too huge. Forget about him, before this spatial rift, even a great serpent would be nothing more than an ant.

    As he sensed the energy of destruction and deathing from inside, Zu An felt goosebumps. He thought of something and took out an Eight Trigrams te to carry out a divination. This was one of the Baopu Sutra¡¯s seven domains of cultivation! Not even he had much confidence in the sealednd, so he decided to use the divination skill to scout out the situation first.

    Soon after, the surface of the te began to shake and spin. Then, finally, sparkling celestial diagrams appeared on its surface. A star in the northeastern direction was the most dazzling, flickering continuously.

    Zu An¡¯s expression immediately changed greatly when he saw that, because it was the most dangerous Life Extinction Star! When that sign appeared, it signified death nine out of ten times.

    Then, the celestial diagram grew dim, with ck fog covering everything. The stars became dark red, as if they had be bloody skulls.

    Zu An was speechless. This was a sign that meant death ten out of ten times.

 Chapter 2031: Asking for Help

    <h4>Chapter 2031: Asking for Help</h4>

    Zu An¡¯s entire body grew numb. He rarely used these kinds of divination techniques, but now that he finally had, this was the result he got: The never-before-seen guaranteed death.

    He remained silent for a long time. In the end, heughed and put the divination te away. The Second Empress was inside, and so was Yu Yanluo. Even they weren¡¯t scared, so how could he cower and hide outside? Besides, which one of his battles over the years hadn¡¯t been on the brink of death? He was already used to all kinds of dangers.

    As for the divination¡¯s results, if it really was that urate, no one would have to work hard anymore. With his current cultivation realm, he could vaguely sense that fate was arranged by those up above, but it still depended on one''s own efforts. When the two werebined, that would ultimately form the trajectory of one''s fate.

    He didn¡¯t know that as he had that thought, the divination te he put away into his Brilliant ss Bead underwent a new change. The murky darkness became a bit fainter, and a trace of white light appeared in its depths. The bloody skulls also gradually scattered, a sign of extreme sorrow turning to joy. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An took out a formation wheel, and his hands quickly moved across its surface. Soon after, streaks of clear light scattered all throughout. Even though he decided to take the risk and enter, he wasn¡¯t going to go in fully blindly. Instead, he set up all kinds of defensive formations in preparation just in case.

    When he entered the giant halo of light, even Zu An with his cultivation became a bit absent-minded. It was as if time and space inside were disced. The light within was distorted, and his five senses grew strange. The higher one¡¯s cultivation was, the clearer that unnatural feeling of distortion became.

    As the space sensed that a living being had entered, winds swept wildly through it. This wasn¡¯t a normal wind; it exuded a terrifying aura that could be felt even from far away, as if it could instantly shave off all of one¡¯s flesh, then grind one¡¯s bones to dust.

    A piece of jade in Zu An¡¯s possession began to shine. It was the jade tile the Peacock Wise King had given him, something used precisely to deal with the chaotic spatial streams. Sure enough, as if sensing the jade tile in his possession, the chaotic streams parted to either side.

    Just like that, time passed. Zu An felt weightless, and he felt as if the world was spinning around him. Before he knew it, hended once again on hard ground. The next thing he saw wasn''t the distorted light, however. He stabilized his body and looked around him, stunned.

    At first, he had thought that the sealednd would be a ce full of blood and mes, of ruined structures and many corpses, but there wasn¡¯t the slightest bit of carnage. Instead, it was a vast expanse of white. There was ice, snow, and cold winds stretching as far as the eye could see. He couldn''t see any trace of life, not even a single nt. Snow stretched endlessly into the distance. Even with Zu An''s current cultivation, he could feel the chill in his bones. It was easy to imagine just how low the temperature of the ce was.

    Clear light suddenly began to flicker around him. Zu An was startled, because it was the reaction of a formation that defended against poisonous miasma. Even though he was immune to poison, there was no need for him to test for poison himself; as such, he had prepared a formation ahead of time. It now seemed that the surrounding air carried a degree of toxicity. Even though it wasn¡¯t the kind that would kill someone immediately, as time went on, it would start to corrode one''s limbs and bones.

    When he recalled that it had already been quite some time since the Second Empress and the others went in, Zu An became more and more worried. Those with lower ranks of cultivation could very well have already been afflicted by the poison and lost most of their fighting strength.

    Suddenly, a formation surged with yellow light, then shattered into specks of starlight, making Zu An tremble. That defensive formation wasn¡¯t particrly strong, but it had a special use, which was that it could detect the approach of any tangible creature. He had set up many evil-warding formations, as well; if any incorporeal spirits approached, he would also be alerted.

    With his current cultivation, he didn¡¯t need strong defenses. After all, no matter how strong a formation was, it wouldn¡¯t be stronger than his own body. Even so, now that he was in a ce he had never been to before that was full of dangers, coupled with the terrifying results of his earlier divination, he had no choice but to exercise absolute vignce. As such, these alert formations were perfect for him. That way, he wouldn¡¯t be ambushed by an unknown being and be done in without knowing what happened at all.

    Zu An looked all around, but was a bit puzzled, because he clearly didn¡¯t sense any enemies approaching. Why had the formations alerted him? He set up several formations, and then those formations were shattered one after another. Some unknown being was clearly attacking them.

    Suddenly, he sneered and eximed, ¡°I found you!¡± He reached out his hand and pressed down. The ground immediately split open, and a terrifying suction force dragged a figure out. Zu An was stunned, because the thing in his grip was actually a snowman. It was exactly like the snowmen people made in his previous world. Its chubby body had no neck, and its arms and legs were all really short.

    When it was caught, a malicious expression appeared on the snowman''s face. It brandished its ws and fangs at Zu An. However, Zu An sneered. With a squeeze of his hand, the snowman exploded, turning into endless wind and snow.

    No wonder he hadn''t been able to sense its presence; the sensation of its body and the surrounding snow were exactly the same. This worldcked everything but snow, after all. Furthermore, it had been hidden underground, so of course he couldn''t see it.

    The surrounding snowynd gradually broke apart. One after another, snowmen crawled out and screamed viciously, yet made no noise.

    However, with a wave of Zu An¡¯s hand, an invisible streak of sword energy engulfed the surroundings. Soon after, the snowmen were all crushed to pieces. He was about to leave when he suddenly sensed something. He looked at the ground where the snowmen had been. There, the crushed snow rejoined at a visible rate. Soon after, the snowmen once again stood up and rushed at Zu An again.

    Zu An was stunned. He quickly defeated the snowmen, but they immediately gathered and regenerated once more. He was speechless. The snowmen weren¡¯t that strong, but what was tricky was that they had undying bodies. Regardless of how many times he defeated them, they always regenerated quickly. After all, the world around him was an endless expanse of ice and snow. If this continued, it would be hard to say if he could hold on longer.

    ¡°Elemental creatures, huh...¡± Zu An muttered; he gave up on physical attacks and used the White Lotus me.

    A giant lotus flower blossomed amid the snow, and countless mes poured out. The snowmen were all melted and couldn''t regenerate any more. All that remained in their ce was an enormous crater where the ice and snow had melted, revealing the dirt buried deep down. The terrifying temperature of the White Lotus me even created some flowingva on the surface of the dirt.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes suddenly narrowed. He flew to the center of the magma and fished out a corpse... No, half a corpse. The body had already been chewed up by the snowmen, its internal organs emptied out. Only the head was still in good shape.

    Zu An¡¯s expression darkened, because he recognized this person. He was one of the guards at Princess Suolun¡¯s side. Even though he didn¡¯t remember the guard''s name, Zu An had seen him several times at the princess'' side, and knew that he was one of Princess Suolun¡¯s most trusted guards. If even he had ended up in such a state, that meant everything likely boded ill for Princess Suolun. He searched around, but only found one corpse. He wondered if it was really just the one, or if the others had already beenpletely devoured by those snowmen.

    Zu An reached out his hand, and amand token appeared in it. He saw that it was Princess Suolun¡¯s emblem, likely her personal waist token. It seemed she had likely sent this guard back to ask for reinforcements, but he died when he was only a step away from the exit.

    ¡°Rest in peace. If I end up meeting Suolun Shi, I''ll help her,¡± he said. With a casual wave of his hand, mes burned the corpse away to prevent it from being defiled by the monsters further.

    He looked around him and saw that everything was the same no matter where he looked. In here, direction already becamepletely meaningless. Since the Second Empress hade in with many people, he had wanted to see if there were any traces. Unfortunately, the wind and snow here were too strong. Even if there were any traces, they would already havepletely disappeared. It was a pity that Honglei wasn¡¯t here, or else her glowing red yellow talisman would be perfect for searching for people.

    After thinking about it, he took out the divination te again. But after using it, he saw that the kan position indicated ''water'', while the gen position indicated ''mountain'', meaning that the mountains were high and waters deep. The path ahead would be be full of difficulties. Still, the divination did provide a result, which was to head southwest.

    ¡°Since I don¡¯t have any other clues, I might as well go southwest first,¡± Zu An muttered to himself, then instantly disappeared into the distance.

    After traveling for several hundred miles, he suddenly picked up weak shouts of fighting within the wind and snow.

 Chapter 2032: Total Defeat

    <h4>Chapter 2032: Total Defeat</h4>

    Zu An was startled. Any fighting here could signify hispatrions from the Fiend races. He darted forth and quickly rushed to the scene of battle.

    There, several men and one woman were surrounded by a group of monsters. The men were surrounding the woman at the center, clearly protecting her. However, the woman wasn¡¯t just idling there either. Instead, she quickly used all kinds of skills to attack the monsters around her.

    But no matter how hard they tried, people on their side fell. At almost the same instant, the fallen were dragged away by the surrounding monsters before being devoured in the blink of an eye. The others tried to save them, but as soon as one left the ranks, they were swallowed up by the pouncing monsters. With a bitter scream, they quickly turned into torn flesh.

    When they saw that, the remainingrades¡¯ eyes turned red. Unfortunately, there was nothing they could do. They could only watch as their ring of defense grew smaller and smaller. It was clear that their group was going to be swallowed up by the sea of monsters at any moment. They would then follow in the footsteps of their deadpanions.

    However, just when they were about to be overwhelmed with despair, a streak of sword brilliance cut through the air. Immediately after, the monsters screamed bitterly and copsed.

    When they turned around, they saw that Zu An was flying in their direction. They all couldn''t help but cheer, ¡°It¡¯s the regent!¡±

    ¡°Princess, we¡¯re saved!¡±

    This group was none other than the Demon race¡¯s Princess Suolun and her personal guards.

    Just then, however, a seriously injured young guard saw that it would still be some time before Zu An would arrive. A calm smile appeared on his face, and he formed someplicated seals and mumbled a series of profound words.

    Princess Suolun finally noticed what he was doing. She quickly shouted, ¡°Ah Kuan, don¡¯t!¡±

    However, the guard had already finished his incantation. His surroundings surged with purple light. Streak after streak of light fired out, sting the approaching monsters full of holes. Then, he himself copsed to the ground. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Just then, Zu An arrived and forced back the remaining monsters. The survivors sat down in ruin, unable to muster even a bit more strength.

    Princess Suolun ran over to the young guard¡¯s side, crying, ¡°Ah Kuan, why are you so foolish?¡±

    The young guard chuckled, his face pale as he said, ¡°Princess, my injuries are too serious and I can¡¯t live anymore. I¡¯d rather ignite myst bit of life to protect you for a little longer.¡±

    Princess Suolun sobbed, asking, ¡°Ah Kuan, do you still have any unfulfilled wishes? I will definitely help you make them happen.¡±

    The entire time they had been in danger, Ah Kuan was always the one who had fought with the most boldness. His injuries had all been sustained from protecting her.

    The young guard shook his head slightly and said, ¡°I''m an orphan, and since I¡¯m all alone in this world, there¡¯s not much to worry about. If you''re really asking me if I have any unfulfilled desires...¡± He paused for a bit. He looked at Princess Suolun¡¯s beautiful face. Even while incredibly weak, the others could still sense his awkwardness as he asked, ¡°Can I hug... the princess?¡±

    Before he even finished his sentence, Princess Suolun took him into her arms. She continued to sob.

    When they saw that, the surrounding guards didn¡¯t feel any jealousy. Instead, there was only sorrow in their eyes. Ah Kuan was someone who had grown up with the princess. To a certain extent, they were childhood sweethearts. Even though he had done his best to hide it, how could the rest of them not recognize his admiration toward Princess Suolun? After all, who wouldn''t like the beautiful and noble princess?

    Unfortunately, there was a difference in status between them. A guard like Ah Kuan understood his responsibility and fate, so he could only bury the love deep at the bottom of his heart. Only at the final moment of his life did he finally abandon his misgivings and open up his heart.

    When he sensed the lovely princess hug him and even cry for him, a smile finally appeared on the face of the young man named Ah Kuan. He raised his hand to wipe at the tears on the princess¡¯ face, but halfway through, he had already used up all of his energy. Then, it fell limply to the ground, and he breathed hisst.

    ¡°Ah Kuan!¡±

    The survivors couldn''t help but wipe at their tears.

    Zu An sighed when he saw this scene. Who knew how many simr situations would appear in the battle against the foreign monsters?

    The monsters that had kept their distance, wary of Zu An¡¯s sword ki, now became a bit restless. Their instinctive hunger made them approach again.

    When Zu An looked at the monsters'' jaws dripping with saliva and exuding a foul stench, he sighed inwardly. This world had the Fiend races and Demon race, but they were still humanoid in appearance. If they hid some of their unique traits, they would have no trouble at all blending into human society. Meanwhile, These foreign monsters lookedpletely different. They came in all sorts of different, strange shapes and sizes, and even the vicious beasts of this world looked charmingpared to them.

    Of course, these monsters were no doubt only at the lowest level. The Demonic Motherbug and War Priest Zu An had encountered before all had higher intelligence, while these were more like monsters that moved based on their own instincts. For example, they had been frightened by Zu An¡¯s sword ki, but a whileter, they couldn''t resist their hunger and approached again.

    Everyone present could not only see the monsters¡¯ terrifying teeth clearly; they could even smell the foul stenching from the creatures'' mouths. The Demon race guards were all rmed. They had witnessed the monsters¡¯ power themselves. The creatures weren¡¯t that strong individually, but there were just too many of them. If they killed one, ten more would immediately appear. There was no end to the onught; there was no way the guards could ever kill them all! Instead, they had been picked off one by one. After watching that happen again and again, the shock they felt was already overwhelming.

    ¡°Big brother Zu, hurry and break out! Otherwise, you¡¯ll never be able to get away if these monsters surround you,¡± Princess Suolun said while trying hard to suppress her grief. She couldn''t let these guards of hers die for nothing.

    ¡°Break out?¡± Zu An repeated, shaking his head. ¡°There''s no need.¡± After all, he hade to save them and not to run away.

    Zu An stood at the center of the battlefield with his hands behind him. Suddenly, rings of golden ripples appeared in the air, and golden weapons slowly manifested within them. What followed was a golden shower that instantly nailed countless monsters to death. Endless golden sword ki rushed out in all directions at speeds surpassing what the eye could clearly see, only leaving behind faint golden afterimages.

    The survivors watched silently with dumbstruck expressions. Suolun Shi¡¯s small mouth opened slightly, and her expression was a bit absentminded as she murmured, ¡°How beautiful...¡±

    In just a few moments, the surrounding vicious monsters werepletely ughtered. Only a few that were furthest out survived; even they finally saw that the situation wasn''t good and ran for their lives.

    Suolun Shi and her subordinates¡¯ mouths were agape. They all looked at Zu An with worshipful expressions, eximing, ¡°The regent is truly like a divine being!¡±

    Zu An saw that many of them had injuries that reached their very bones. He took out some medicine and gave it to them, asking, ¡°Why are you all here? Where is the Second Empress¡¯ group?¡±

    The survivors expressed their gratitude while Suolun Shi replied, ¡°We previously entered the sealednd together with the Second Empress, but because this ce was just too big and everything was a white expanse, in order to find the Second Prince and his troops, we took our people and split up to search in different directions. Then, when we passed through a snowy valley, we suffered an ambush and werepletely wiped out. It¡¯s all my fault...¡±

    She sobbed in grief as she spoke. The guards around her all spoke up to console her, saying that it wasn¡¯t the princess¡¯ fault and that she couldn¡¯t have expected to run into the monsters¡¯ main force.

    ¡°Main force?¡± Zu An repeated, shaking his head. ¡°I fear that this isn''t the monsters¡¯ main force.¡±

    ¡°There are so many formidable monsters, and yet they''re still not the main force?¡± the guards eximed in shock.

    Zu An said gravely, ¡°The monsters have terrifying reproductive abilities. This amount is nothing but a drop in the ocean. There''s no way it could be their main force.¡± He had already faced the monsters many times and knew about their abilities. Even though there were a lot of them, they didn¡¯t give him much pressure. This was definitely not the main force.

    When they heard that, all of the Demon race''s group felt despair. They had felt as if they''d encountered the main force, so a total defeat in that situation would be understandable. However, they had never expected to have only encountered some stray forces. That meant everything probably boded ill for any others in the sealednd.

    ¡°Who suggested that all of you split up?¡± Zu An asked seriously. Splitting up forces in an unknownnd wasn¡¯t a wise decision at all.

    ¡°It was that Little Golden Peng King,¡± replied Suolun Shi. ¡°He felt that this ce was toorge and that it would be faster if we searched in different directions. Furthermore, the army that entered was from many different factions, so there was more or less some conflict between us. Thus, if we insisted on moving together, it could have created issues. The Second Empress and the rest of us felt that his proposal was reasonable.¡±

    Zu An said with a snort, ¡°If you wanted to speed up your search, it would be enough to send more scouts; I¡¯ve never heard of dividing the troops. There''s no way he, as one of the four great generals, wouldn''t understand that.¡±

    Suolun Shi asked with a trembling voice, ¡°Are you saying there is something wrong with the Little Golden Peng King? But why would he do that?¡±

    Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°We don¡¯t have enough information, so it¡¯s hard for me to say either. I hope I''m just overthinking things.¡± He pointed behind him and said, ¡°Head this way for another several hundred meters and you¡¯ll be at the entrance of the sealednd. Once the sun and moon switch ces, you can leave safely. I still need to continue looking for other people.¡±

    Suolun Shi had a resolute expression as she said, ¡°I will go with you.¡±

    The rest of the Demon race guards all got up.

    ¡°I am willing to follow!¡±

    ¡°The Demon race has no deserters!¡±

    ¡°For the glory of the Suolun n!¡±

 Chapter 2033: City of the Dead

    <h4>Chapter 2033: City of the Dead</h4>

    Zu An frowned, saying, ¡°All of you are seriously injured right now, and need to return and recover as quickly as possible. You can leave the rest to me.¡±

    Suolun Shi shook her head slightly and said, ¡°I only have some superficial wounds. After using your medicine, I¡¯ve already pretty much recovered. So many of our Demon race¡¯s brave warriors have perished here, and I cannot let them die such obscure deaths; I must find out what is going on here. This is my responsibility as a member of the Suolun n.¡±

    Just then, the guards next to her also spoke up in agreement. After seeing their formerrades die miserably in battle, they were all full of anger and a desire for vengeance. After picking up that there could be a conspiracy involved here from Zu An''s words, that feeling grew even stronger.

    Just then, Suolun Shi told them, ¡°All of you, go back first. Your injuries are too severe.¡±

    When they heard her say that, the guards all panicked. They were about to say something when they heard the princess continue, ¡°Furthermore, you all still bear an important mission, which is to bring the information from inside here back to the outside. Also, you all need to coordinate with the Yun, Rong, Wu, and our own Suolun n¡¯s reinforcements, or else they¡¯ll repeat the same disaster we went through.¡±

    When they heard that, the guards all understood the importance of their mission and didn¡¯t insist on staying anymore.

    Zu An also said, ¡°Princess, you should go back as well. So many people gave up their lives to protect you, so how can you continue to risk your life?¡±

    Suolun Shi replied seriously, ¡°Whether they are men or women, the people of our Suolun n are all brave warriors, so how can we be scared of death? If the deceased were watching over me right now and knew that they were protecting a coward, perhaps they would be unable to pass on in peace.¡±

    The other guards also bowed and said, ¡°We ask the regent to take the princess with you.¡±

    Zu An was a bit troubled. To be honest, he really didn¡¯t want to take the extra baggage that was Suolun Shi with him.

    Suolun Shi seemed to have guessed his thoughts and quickly added, ¡°The regent has just arrived and doesn¡¯t know much about the sealednd. As such, I can be your guide.¡±

    Zu An nodded inwardly. She was a smart woman after all. With how things were, he couldn''t continue to refuse her and said, ¡°Then I¡¯ll be troubling you.¡±

    Suolun Shi finally sighed in relief. Then, she bade her subordinates, as well as Ah Kuan¡¯s remains, goodbye. She tasked her subordinates with bringing him back to the Suolun n and burying him in the n burial grounds. After watching her subordinates disappear into the wind and snow, she wiped away her tears and said apologetically, ¡°Sorry, I made big brother Zu wait for a long time.¡±

    ¡°The princess¡¯ sincerity is truly admirable,¡± Zu An said with a sigh.

    Suolun Shi had a distressed smile as she remarked, ¡°Compared to what they¡¯ve done for me, what I have done is really little.¡± n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An became quiet. She had just watched so many of her people die, so no form of constion would do much right now.

    Suolun Shi sorted out her thoughts and said, ¡°Big brother Zu, before the armies split up, the Second Empress¡¯ main army went directly north.¡±

    Zu An nodded and headed north. Suolun Shi quickly followed along. She was the Demon race¡¯s princess, so she naturally had many magic weapons that assisted in flight. Of course, she was still much slower than Zu An.

    A whileter, Zu An frowned and flew back, suggesting, ¡°How about I take you with me?¡±

    Suolun Shi knew that she was too slow and couldn''t help but be embarrassed. She replied, ¡°I¡¯ll be troubling you.¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t say too much either. He picked her up and flew into the air.

    Suolun Shi hadn¡¯t expected him to be so direct. She lost her sense of bnce and instinctively grabbed onto his arm. Eventually, however, she got used to the speed of this kind of flight. When she saw how quickly the world beneath was changing, she was filled with admiration.

    <i>Big brother Zu¡¯s cultivation really is unfathomable; no wonder he was able to convince the various forces of the king court.</i>

    The frigid winds gave her slight goosebumps. As a result, the warmthing from the arm around her waist was especially striking.

    She had been pretty ever since she was little, and she also had a distinguished status, so she nevercked pursuers; as such, she had always paid special attention to these things. She had never let any man have any physical contact with her. And yet, for some reason, in front of Zu An, she didn¡¯t feel on guard at all. He carried her rather casually, and she didn¡¯t resist it at all, as if all this was just that natural.

    Still, the heat around her waist did have a numbing sensation. She couldn''t help but sneak a look at the man beside her. When she saw his handsome features that seemed to be sculpted out of marble, she couldn''t help but blush a bit.

    Suolun Shi''sdylike movements didn¡¯t escape Zu An¡¯s notice. He had to admit that the princess was beautiful. Even though she had been fighting all this time and was a bit haggard, it still didn¡¯t cover up her beauty. The bit of redness on her face made her look even more charming.

    Even so, Zu An was alreadypletely different from before. He was more worried about the Second Empress and Yu Yanluo, and about the safety of the Fiend races¡¯ main force. He was worried about whether the monsters from different worlds were going tounch a full force invasion, and if this world would meet its end... Compared to those things, lust didn¡¯t cause the slightest ripple in his mind.

    However, in order to help ease her awkwardness, he asked, ¡°Princess, can you please tell me what happened over the past few days in detail? Also, what exactly are you looking for?¡±

    Suolun Shi¡¯s expression became serious. As the Demon race¡¯s distinguished daughter, she had received a meticulous upbringing ever since she was young. She naturally wouldn¡¯t be the type to lose her head over her emotions. She answered, ¡°After we split up, apart from looking for the Second Prince and his troops, we were also looking for the real sealednd.¡±

    ¡°The real sealednd?¡± Zu An repeated, stunned. This was the first time he had heard of such a thing.

    ¡°This was something I only heard about after entering as well,¡± Suolun Shi replied. ¡°This is a secret that only the sessive generations of Fiend Emperors knew about. The Second Empress needed to assist the Fiend Emperor, so she had the right to learn about it. Since the situation was dire, she decided not to keep restricting the information. She summoned the various leaders to discuss this confidential matter.

    ¡°There is a true sealednd inside this ce. That is the ce where the ancient powerful beings sealed the other worlds¡¯ monsters, which they referred to as the ghost race at the time. But as time went on, the seal loosened a bit. Many monsters snuck out from within, and they slowly encroached on the surrounding territory. By the time the Fiend races noticed, it was already toote.

    ¡°After thousands of years, one after another, the Fiend races lost their outposts on the front line. The monsters¡¯ range of influence spread continuously. Fortunately, the situation was still manageable, but that conflict formed what those of the present world now know as the sealednd.¡±

    Zu An now understood. He said, ¡°So, that means there''s a true seal in the depths of this world. As long as we can repair that seal, we canpletely avert the sealednd crisis, no?¡±

    Suolun Shi answered with a bitter smile, ¡°How could it be that easy? That is most likely what the Second Prince thought back then, so he took the risk of barging in. Now, everyone has sacrificed so much because of him. What we should focus on now is to try to control the sealednd¡¯s outer region, preventing the monsters inside from spilling out; that should already be enough.¡±

    Zu An was actually starting to admire the Second Prince a bit.

    <i>That guy has quite the sharp strategic insight, but he overestimated his abilities a bit. This is a problem that the past Fiend Emperors haven''t been able to solve for thousands of years, and yet he thought he alone could fix it all?</i>

    <i>He was probably driven mad from despair, right? He knew he had already been practically abandoned and could only exhaust his troops here. In order to strive for that sliver of a chance at life, he could only take the risk.</i>

    It was still both Zu An and the Second Empress who had been too careless. They had never expected him to actually make such a a choice.

    Then, Suolun Shi and Zu An talked about what had happened during the intervening days. After Zu An listened to it all, he just felt that something wasn¡¯t quite right, yet he couldn''t really ce his finger on it either.

    Suddenly, a trace of red fluttered in front of them. Even Suolun Shi¡¯s attention was drawn in that direction. After all, the world around them had contained nothing but an expanse of pure white, and yet now, an entire area was red. How could it not be surprising?

    ¡°Could this be the true sealednd?¡± Suolun Shi murmured, her voice trembling.

    Zu An shook his head slightly and said, ¡°That¡¯s not too likely. If it had been that close, at least one Fiend Emperor could have reached this ce over several thousands of years...¡±

    His eyes suddenly narrowed, because he already knew what that trace of red was. It was a city - a city of the dead that was dyed entirely red from blood!

 Chapter 2034: Problem

    <h4>Chapter 2034: Problem</h4>

    ¡°I... think I smell blood,¡± Suolun Shi said, her face turning a bit pale. Even though she still couldn''t see the city of death clearly yet, as a member of the Demon race, her sense of smell was especially sensitive.

    ¡°There is a city of death up ahead, and from the looks of it, a bitter battle has been fought there. The blood still hasn¡¯t dried yet,¡± Zu An exined gravely.

    Suolun Shi¡¯s voice was shaking as she said, ¡°Could it be the Second Empress¡¯ army...¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t reply. Instead, he flew even faster.

    Soon after, they arrived outside the city. Most of it was already buried under snow, with only some broken walls remaining exposed. It seemed to be a city the Fiend races had abandoned a long time ago during the ancient wars. Even so, a great battle had clearly taken ce here not too long ago, because there were bloodstains everywhere. Even much of the snow was dyed dark red. There was a strange stench, as well as the fishy smell of blood mixed into the air. Even Suolun Shi, who was used to all kinds of terrifying things, couldn''t help but retch when she saw the scene.

    Zu An continued forward, and Suolun Shi quickly followed behind him. The two looked around. They saw that apart from the bloodstains, there were also some scattered weapons and shields. However, there wasn¡¯t a single person in sight.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we see even a single corpse?¡± Suolun Shi wondered, her voice trembling a bit. Everything here was just way too strange. Not only were there no corpses from the Fiend races¡¯ army, there were no monster corpses either. Forget about that, there weren¡¯t even any severed limbs or other remains.

    Zu An said seriously, ¡°Those monsters eat the corpses. Even the corpses of theirrades are no exception.¡±

    Suolun Shi thought back to how herpanions had also been devoured by the monsters. She turned to the corner of a wall and vomited again.

    Zu An¡¯s mood was also really grave. If there weren¡¯t any remains, that meant the monsters had won this battle. Otherwise, this definitely wouldn¡¯t have happened. As he stared at the blood-red stains everywhere, he could imagine just how cruel the attack had been. The hellish surroundings made him feel an indescribable rage.

    Heavy breathing and footsteps started to fill the air around them. Roughly a dozen monsters that resembled komodo dragons moved in their direction, as if Suolun Shi''s vomit had drawn their attention. The monsters¡¯ skin was full of cracks, and it seemed like the flesh underneath was rotten too, with disgusting mucus dripping out all over the ce.

    ¡°Crawlers!¡± Suolun Shi eximed, her expression changing.

    She had witnessed the power of these things. Even though they were all ugly on the outside, they were incredibly fast and strong, able to easily tear through a soldier''s armor. More importantly, there was poison in the mucus covering their bodies. If one were toe into contact with it, one''s entire body would quickly be corroded into a pile of rotten flesh. Many soldiers from the Demon race had lost their lives to these creatures.

    The crawlers seemed to have sensed her as well, and looked as if they had just seen the most delicious food. All of them started to be excited. As they dashed at Suolun Shi, their clumsy crawling turned into sprinting; they moved with extreme speed.

    Suolun Shi was about to counterattack when a streak of sword ki came from off to the side. In the time it took for sparks to fly off a flint, sword shadows filled the whole area. A momentter, a dozen crawlers¡¯ heads separated from their bodies, and they were killed without even knowing how they died.

    Suolun Shi gritted her teeth. She took out a mace from her storage pouch and viciously smashed the crawlers¡¯ heads in, crushing them into nothing.

    When he sensed what she was doing, Zu An walked over and asked her, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°Even if their heads are removed, these crawlers can still shoot out their tongues to attack, and they can also spray poison. Back then, many of our people suffered because of that,¡± Suolun Shi said through gritted teeth. There was hatred in her expression. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An knew she had personally watched as her subordinates suffered aplete defeat, and that she had umted too much pressure. Letting her vent a bit was good too.

    Suddenly, he looked in a certain direction and called out, ¡°Show yourself!¡± With a wave of his hand, a terrifying suction force pulled a being through a wall it had been hiding behind.

    At first, Suolun Shi thought it was a monster and rushed over while brandishing her mace, but when she saw who it was, she was stunned. It wasn¡¯t a monster at all, but rather someone dressed in the attire of a Fiend soldier. She eximed, ¡°It¡¯s you?¡±

    ¡°I''m a survivor of the battlefield; I''m not a monster! Don¡¯t kill me!¡± the person hurriedly cried out as he waved his hands. This man was too terrifyingly strong! He didn¡¯t even see how the man had attacked, but then those dozens of crawlers had lost their heads. Meanwhile, he was so far away, and yet he had been pulled over so easily.

    ¡°Are you the Little Golden Peng King¡¯s subordinate?¡± Suolun Shi asked, feeling as if the soldier was a bit familiar. Considering her status, she had interacted with the Little Golden Peng King and naturally recognized his people.

    The soldier was overjoyed and immediately exined, ¡°Yes, princess. This subordinate is the scout captain of the Little Golden Peng King¡¯s troops, Wang Gu. I met the princess a few days ago.¡±

    Zu An asked, ¡°Why are you here? Are you a survivor of this ce?¡± As he spoke, he sized up the soldier. This person was quite clean, without many battle scars.

    Wang Gu said with an anxious expression, ¡°The Little Golden Peng King heard that the Second Empress¡¯ army was ambushed by monsters, so he sent me over to check on the situation and see if there were any survivors. There are dozens of brothers just like me who went in different directions. Now, it seems I am the only one who found the scene of the crime.¡±

    Suolun Shi moved closer and said, ¡°Big brother Zu, he is indeed the Little Peng King¡¯s subordinate.¡±

    Zu An secretly examined Wang Gu. There were no monsters attached to the man, so he let him go before asking, ¡°Are these members of the Second Empress¡¯ main army?¡±

    Scout Captain Wang Gu replied, ¡°That¡¯s right, but ording to the information we obtained, the remaining troops of the Second Empress broke out and left. They weren¡¯tpletely defeated.¡±

    When he heard that, Zu An sighed in relief. As long as the Second Empress wasn¡¯t dead, there was still a chance. He asked, ¡°Where is the Second Empress right now?¡±

    ¡°This subordinate doesn¡¯t know the details. I only know that they¡¯ve broken out. As for which direction they went in, I''m not sure,¡± Wang Gu replied.

    ¡°Where is the Little Golden Peng King?¡± Zu An asked. Even if the scout captain didn¡¯t know, there was no way that someone with the Little Golden Peng King¡¯s status wouldn¡¯t.

    ¡°Approximately two hundred miles northeast,¡± Wang Gu said as he pointed in a direction.

    ¡°Take us there,¡± Zu An said, thinking to himself that two hundred miles wasn¡¯t that far. He intended to check on the situation first.

    ¡°Understood!¡± Wang Gu hurriedly replied with a nod. Then, with a shake of his body, two pairs of wings suddenly appeared, and he soared into the air. He said, ¡°Regent, princess, please follow me.¡±

    Zu An nodded. As one of the most talented scouts, Wang Gu naturally did have some ability. He casually held Suolun Shi¡¯s slender waist, then followed along.

    When he saw that Suolun Shi didn¡¯t oppose the gesture in the slightest, Wang Gu was a bit surprised.

    <i>Is Suolun Shi going to marry the regent? I must let the young master know about this crucial piece of information.</i>

    Even though Wang Gu wasn¡¯t slow, he was still much slower than Zu An. However, Zu An didn¡¯t urge him to go faster, and instead took the time to sort out out his thoughts. Since the beginning, he had sensed that some things were fishy. Now, he finally figured out where the problemy.

    At first, he''d been told that the Second Prince led his main army into the sealednd to fix the ancient seal, and thus finally put an end to the conflict. It was believed that no monsters had left the sealednd recently because the main forces had gone right into the enemies¡¯ home base. Primeval Iron City hadn''t seen any signs of fighting.

    So why were there monsters everywhere inside? Shouldn''t they have been fighting fiercely against the Second Prince? After all, the army the Second Prince led was quite powerful. If they seized strategic positions, facing the monsters here should have been an evenly matched affair. Once he rushed in, there should have been no way for the battle to end quickly. How could the monsters have the chance to attack the reinforcements the Second Empress came in with?

    Could it be that the Second Prince¡¯s army was alreadypletely wiped out? Or had some incredibly powerful monster torn through the entire army? If so, why hadn¡¯t they left the sealednd?

    Suddenly, he thought in surprise,

    <i>Could it be that these guys did all this on purpose, deliberately using the pretext of requesting reinforcements to bring the Fiend races¡¯ army inside?</i>

 Chapter 2035: An Army? I Have One Too

    <h4>Chapter 2035: An Army? I Have One Too</h4>

    By the time Zu An thought through things, he had already unknowingly arrived at a city. He could tell that this city had also been abandoned by the Fiend races¡¯ army in the past. After that, it was once more turned into an encampment by the Little Golden Peng King. Even looking at it from a distance, Zu An could tell that the arrangement and division of troops were clear, and the defenses were also solid. He nodded to himself and thought, <i>As expected of the Little Golden Peng King, one of the four great generals.</i>

    The troops below also noticed their approach. All kinds of city siege crossbows and rune cannons were aimed at their party in the air.

    Wang Gu said, ¡°Regent, princess, I¡¯ll head down to contact them first.¡±

    Zu An nodded, and Wang Gu quickly flew down.

    Suolun Shi said, ¡°Big brother Zu, we can invite the Little Golden Peng King to help us rescue the Second Empress. Our chances of sess will be greater then.¡±

    Zu An gave the city below a look, saying, ¡°They may not be willing to do that.¡±

    Suolun Shi was stunned, asking, ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    She suddenly thought back to when Zu An had mentioned how strange it was for the Little Golden Peng King to suggest dividing the troops.

    <i>Could it be that...</i>

    Suddenly, Zu An¡¯s eyes narrowed. He eximed, ¡°Be careful!¡±

    As soon as he spoke, he grabbed her by the waist and dodged off to the side. At almost the same time, dozens of thick city siege crossbow arrows flickering with runes fired at the location they had been in. This kind of arrow could directly st through city walls, let alone human flesh.

    Suolun Shi¡¯s face turned deathly pale. She eximed, ¡°Has the Little Golden Peng King gone mad?¡±

    ¡°He hasn¡¯t. It¡¯s just that he¡¯s decided to drop his act,¡± Zu An said with a sneer. He looked at the young man in golden armor standing on the tform in the center of the city.

    ¡°As expected of the regent. Not even this kind of vicious ambush could injure you in the slightest,¡± the Little Golden Peng King said with a smile. His voice wasn¡¯t loud, yet it was clearly audible even amid the snowstorm. His cultivation was clearly quite high.

    ¡°Why?¡± Suolun Shi suddenly shouted angrily, ¡°You have a venerable status, and your n has enjoyed honor and wealth for generations. Why have you betrayed the Second Empress and brought harm to countless Fiend race citizens?¡±

    When she first listened to Zu An¡¯s analysis, even though she had held some doubts, she and the Little Golden Peng King had grown up together and had simr levels of status. That was why they had easily be friends. She hadn¡¯t believed that the Little Golden Peng King would do something like this.

    ¡°Why?¡± the Little Golden Peng King repeated, his expression turning cold. ¡°My father remained faithful and true to the Fiend races, and yet, what did he get in return in the end? All because they were a bit scared of him, he was killed for no reason by the Fiend Emperor, and worst of all, we weren¡¯t even allowed to get angry and we had to pretend to be deeply grateful to the ruler!¡± He looked a bit agitated as he yelled, ¡°We are the glorious Golden Peng Race, not mere dogs!¡±

    ¡°Thete Fiend Emperor was indeed wrong in this matter, but he is already dead. Even if you have any grudges, they should be in the past. Was it just because of this that you betrayed the Second Empress and the other ns? Those monsters are from other worlds. If they really end up invading, do you think you¡¯ll be able to survive?¡± Suolun Shi asked, finding that a bit hard to understand.

    ¡°What do you understand?¡± The Little Golden Peng King sneered. ¡°They¡¯re called monsters, and we¡¯re called fiends. Don¡¯t you feel that our names share a bit of resemnce?¡±

    Suolun Shi was momentarily stunned, asking, ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    The Little Golden Peng King stood with his hands behind him. As he looked into the sky, his eyes were full of yearning as he said, ¡°I only learned of this recently. We fiends and the monsters from a different world actually share the same ancestor. The same blood flows through us.¡±

    Zu An and Suolun Shi were both speechless.

    ¡°You¡¯ve gone mad. How could we be the same species as those disgusting creatures?¡± Suolun Shi eximed. Those monsters dripping with mucus were still fresh in her memory. They were as disgusting as disgusting could be. If she was the same as them, then she really would rather be dead.

    ¡°We are naturally different from those low-level monsters; we have a high-level bloodline. Regent, you¡¯ve probably seen the high level monsters, right? They are all incredibly powerful beings!¡± the Little Golden Peng King said excitedly.

    Zu An said indifferently, ¡°I have seen them before, but they are all strange and grotesquely-shaped creatures. They aren¡¯t as pleasing to look at as the fiends on this side.¡±

    ¡°We also have our original forms. If we remained in those forms, the humans naturally wouldn¡¯t like us.¡± The Little Golden Peng King didn¡¯t pay him any more attention, and instead reached out to Suolun Shi, saying, ¡°Little sister Suolun, we should be together. Join us; our future lies in the stars above. How insignificant is a small world like this?¡±

    However, no one expected Suolun Shi to sigh and take out her mace, saying, ¡°My subordinates were killed because of you. I haven¡¯t even gotten vengeance for them yet, so how can I join up with you?¡±

    ¡°Pigheaded. Kill them!¡± the Little Golden Peng King snapped, losing his patience when he saw her resolute expression. With a wave of his hand, countless skills shone from the army in the city and fired at the two of them.

    Zu An grabbed Suolun Shi. In order to evade the continuous streaks of light, he moved as fast as lightning. However, there was an entire army beneath them, so the attacks were innumerable. All kinds of attacks came in from all different directions. The usual strategies, such as evasion, baiting, and exploiting weaknesses, werepletely useless. That was also one of the reasons why it was so difficult for an individual cultivator to face a proper army.

    When he saw that even though Zu An was fast, he still couldn''t deal with the army¡¯s attacks that covered the entire sky and had to take some with his own body several times, the Little Golden Peng King smiled. He said, ¡°Regent, even though your cultivation is high, in front of an entire army, your strength is still too insignificant.¡±

    All of his troops were elites, and he was one of the Fiend races¡¯ four great generals, so hismanding ability allowed the army to disy even more of their power. There was no way he would give Zu An any chances. He thus nned to wear down Zu An just like that. After all, no matter how powerful the enemy''ss attacks were, if they were split among ten thousand people, they would still be survivable. These soldiers were weak individually, but through sheer force of numbers, they were still capable of threatening strong cultivators.

    Suolun Shi did her best to block the attacks below to share in Zu An¡¯s burden. She said, ¡°Big brother Zu, you don¡¯t need to care about me. Use this chance to get away! There is no way his army can move out immediately. You will be able to find a chance to kill your way back.¡±

    ¡°I don''t have the habit of abandoning myrades,¡± Zu An said calmly.

    ¡°Even so, in front of a fully prepared army, the power of a single person is limited!¡± Suolun Shi eximed, panicking. As a member of the Demon race¡¯s upper echelons, she knew the advantage an army had against a single cultivator fully well.

    ¡°An army? I have one too,¡± Zu An said with a chuckle.

    Suolun Shi was stunned. Then, she sensed water-like ripples appear in the air. After that, arge group of strange metal birds appeared from those ripples. Some of them were t and sleek, entirely ck like falcons, while others were huge in size and entirely white like swans...

    ¡°What are those?¡± the Little Golden Peng King wondered.

    He was stunned, but he instinctively sensed the danger behind these things. He quickly ordered his subordinates to shoot at the metal birds first. And yet, the metal birds flew too high, reaching tens of thousands of meters in the air, and they flew extremely fast. It was difficult for the army¡¯s attacks to hit such things.

    Suddenly, the metal birds seemed toy eggs. Rows of unknown things emerged from their bellies and dropped on the Little Golden Peng King¡¯s army. As they listened to the shrill screams on the wind, the soldiers didn¡¯t even need the Little Golden Peng King¡¯s orders to fire at the spherical things.

    <i>Boom!</i>

    Streaks of blinding mes erupted in the sky. Terrifying sts of air engulfed the entire ruined city. At first, the army¡¯s defensive formation could still withstand the shockwaves, but as more and more bombs dropped, their formation could no longer withstand the damage. Cracks appeared one after another. Finally, it broke apartpletely, and the entire city turned into a sea of mes and tremors. The Little Golden Peng King¡¯s army could no longer remain organized. They screamed as they ran in all directions.

    Zu An thought to himself, <i>How could these soldiers possibly be able to withstand the power of the B-2 paired with the Tupolev Tu-160?</i>

    Suolun Shi¡¯s jaw never closed after it initially fell. Her beautiful eyes were full of shock. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    <i>What in the world is this? How does big brother Zu still have so many different things?</i>

    When he saw that his impressive army of elites had been utterly defeated in a second, the Little Golden Peng King almost broke down. He turned into a streak of golden light and cut across the sky. Wherever he went, those strange metal birds broke down and exploded one after another.

    Zu An¡¯s expression turned cold. He vanished, then grabbed at the golden light.

 Chapter 2036: How Can He Have One?

    <h4>Chapter 2036: How Can He Have One?</h4>

    The Fiend races had countless powerful individuals, and every race had special talents that made it difficult to say for certain which one was stronger than another. However, in terms of movement abilities, there were two races that were publicly acknowledged to have the fastest ones. One was the Golden Crow Radiant Flow, and the other was the Invincible Heavenly Peng. In the past, even thete Fiend Emperor had acknowledged that in terms of pure movement ability, even the Golden Crow Radiant Flow was a bit slower than the Invincible Heavenly Peng.

    Even so, with Zu An¡¯s current cultivation, he didn¡¯t need any movement ability at all. Just by lifting his leg and taking a step, he could cross ten thousand meters. He was extremely urate and immediately grabbed at the golden light.

    The Little Golden Peng King was horrified, but he suddenly became thirty percent faster, forcibly changing directions to dodge to one side. However, Zu An seemed to have already anticipated the move. He activated Grandgale¡¯s teleportation ability. Regardless of how his opponent changed directions, he was always right behind.

    Finally, he seized an opportunity and grabbed toward his opponent. At the same time, he activated the Heaven Devouring Sutra, which seemed to suck in the space in that area itself, leaving the Little Golden Peng King with no ce to run at all.

    Suddenly, a loud and clear bird''s cry filled the air. A giant Heavenly Peng projection rushed out from the Little Golden Peng King¡¯s body, and with a p of that projection¡¯s wings, the surrounding space copsed, allowing it to break free from Zu An¡¯s Heaven Devouring Sutra. It took the Little Golden Peng King ten thousand meters away. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Suolun Shi, who was watching from below, revealed a look of shock. She eximed, ¡°Earth immortal?¡±

    In that instant, a powerful ki field erupted. Even at such a distance, she could sense how terrifying it was. The only thing she felt apart from shock was numbness. She had once been quite close to the Little Golden Peng King, so she naturally knew about his cultivation. Even though it was a bit higher than hers, there was a limit to that; at most, it should have been a grade or two higher. But why had he immediately shot up to the earth immortal rank? It wasparable to the Fiend Emperor¡¯s power! Was there something wrong with the world today somehow?

    The Little Golden Peng King stretched out his neck and looked at the massive Heavenly Peng behind him. He was a bit excited as he said, ¡°You guys kept saying that those monsters were lying to me, but I am no three-year-old child! How could I not know if they fooled me?

    ¡°This is the power that lies within the Golden Peng Race¡¯s bloodline, and it was fully released through an ancient hidden method. With this Heavenly Peng Incarnation, there would be nothing to fear even if Zhao Han or the Fiend Emperor came back to life!¡±

    Zu An examined his opponent for a bit. The Heavenly Peng behind him was especially big, and its entire figure was surging with demonic mes. Just a single wing reached ten kilometers in length. Every feather was vivid and lifelike, making it hard to tell if it was a projection or a tangible form.

    ¡°Bloodline power, you say...¡± Zu An muttered grimly.

    It seemed the Little Golden Peng King¡¯s words really were true! There was a certain connection between this world¡¯s Fiend races and the foreign monsters. That made things more tricky. At first, there had been a good chance that the humans and fiends could fight together against the monsters¡¯ invasion. However, if the Fiend races were tempted to switch sides, perhaps this world would really be finished!

    Suddenly, the Heavenly Peng Incarnation moved its wings. Countless terrifying tornadoes appeared in the world. The bomber nes in the sky were quickly blown around in the winds before being torn to shreds.

    The Little Golden Peng King grinned. He looked at his hands and murmured ¡°Is this the feeling of power? The feeling of being the most powerful in the entire world? It''s just too amazing.¡±

    The terrifying tornadoes had already begun sweeping toward Zu An. They were so powerful, they could probably tear the flesh right off a grandmaster¡¯s body.

    <i>Ding!</i>

    The sound of a Buddhist bell filled the air. A massive golden bell appeared around Zu An. Sanskrit chants surrounded it, blocking all of the roaring tornadoes outside.

    ¡°Why is Tranquility Temple¡¯s Tranquility Bell in your hands?¡± the Little Golden Peng King asked in shock. With his status, he knew quite a few things, and naturally recognized the origins of this item.

    Even so, there was naturally no need for Zu An to exin to him that it was just a weapon from the Rune Weapon Chart. With a wave of his hand, the Tranquility Bell rang again. Invisible sound waves rippled outward, and the terrifying tornadoes disappeared.

    ¡°Hmph, even if you have that bell, so what? Without an incarnation of your own, how could you possibly be my opponent?¡± the Little Golden Peng King said; he then actually merged with the incarnation behind him, both halves actually bing one.

    The Heavenly Peng projection became even more solid. As it swooped down toward Zu An, a red glint flickered through its eyes. Even though it was massive, it didn¡¯t seem heavy and clumsy at all. On the contrary, it instantly appeared in front of Zu An like a sh of lightning. Two terrifying giant ws, each dozens of meters long, grabbed at the golden bell canopy around him, shattering it in barely an instant. A w then grabbed at Zu An in the middle.

    It was rumored that in ancient times, the Heavenly Peng had preyed upon giant dragons. Their ws could instantly seize the lives of dragons, creatures that were famous for their physical defenses. How could a human withstand such power?

    Suolun Shi panicked. She wanted to warn Zu An to be careful, but that Heavenly Peng was just too fast. She was just about to speak out when the terrifying w grabbed Zu An, immediately tearing him to pieces.

    ¡°Ahh!¡± She couldn¡¯t help but scream. She felt as if her entire body had fallen into a frozen cave.

    However, the Heavenly Peng didn¡¯t show any sign of happiness. On the contrary, it dodged to the side to avoid a streak of incisive sword ki. It suddenly turned to the other side.

    There, Zu An was floating in the sky, saying with a sigh of admiration, ¡°This Heavenly Peng Incarnation of yours is indeed impressive.¡±

    The Heavenly Peng spoke, but it was with the Little Golden Peng King¡¯s voice. ¡°How could low-level creatures like you understand the power of an incarnation? Without this ability to fight against us, there is no way you can defeat me.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Who says I don¡¯t have one?¡± Zu An replied with a chuckle. With a wave of his hand, a steel giant dozens of meters tall slowly walked out from the void. The steel giant was entirely white with eight blue wings behind it. It had a unique aesthetic of beauty.

    The Little Golden Peng King was stunned and couldn''t help but ask, ¡°What is this thing?¡±

    ¡°Gundam,¡± Zu An replied, a reminiscent look appearing in his eyes. ¡°Strike Freedom Gundam!¡±

    <i>I really miss the days when I watched Gundam, balthough boss Kira seemed to like stealing his friends¡¯ fiances...</i>

    ¡°What kind of stupid name is that?¡± the Little Golden Peng King remarked, finding the word ridiculous. ¡°Hmph, do you really think thatpared to my Heavenly Peng, this thing of yours can be considered an incarnation?¡±

    Even the distant Suolun Shi had to admit that this Gundam or something looked really handsome, but it paled inparison to the Heavenly Peng. It wasn¡¯t even on the same scale.

    ¡°Whether it is or not, won¡¯t we find out once we fight? It¡¯s not something that can be decided through a debate,¡± Zu An said; just like that, the wings behind Strike Freedom Gundam fully spread out.

    ¡°Then I will let you experience exactly what despair is,¡± the Heavenly Peng said, then moved its wings and charged at the Gundam. It nned to immediately crush the giant to death right from the get-go.

    However, a streak of light shed past, and the Heavenly Peng discovered that it had actually missed. From the Gundam''s wings came a strange, intangible form that took the shape of wings of light. The Gundam was so fast and nimble that it waspletely outside of his predictions!

    The Heavenly Peng harrumphed and charged again. Its strongest aspect was none other than its speed. However, no matter how it attacked, the Gundam was always as crafty as a fly, dodging at all kinds of strange angles. It finally realized that its body was toorge. Against a small creature like this, it couldn''t cut corners as quickly as its nimble opponent.

    ¡°You¡¯ve truly angered me now,¡± the Heavenly Peng said, then gave up on charging. Instead, it spread its wings and every single feather shot into the air. A secondter, they turned into a golden rain of arrows that instantly engulfed everything within a kilometer of its opponent. No matter how fast and nimble the Gundam was, it couldn''t avoid such a saturated attack.

    Sure enough, after evading a few times, the Strike Freedom Gundam couldn''t dodge anymore. Suddenly, however, its wings spread out and turned into several cannon barrels. They fired streaks ofser beams that urately sted away the iing feathers. Then, the two cannons in its hands activated at full force, forcibly creating a safe space.

    The Heavenly Peng¡¯s eyes narrowed. It used the chance to immediately close the distance. Its wings sliced down on the Gundam like a de that could cleave space itself.

    Meanwhile, the Strike Freedom Gundam was facing the feather arrows and lost much of its mobility. It hurriedly dodged to the side, but its wing cannons were immediately sliced to pieces.

    The Heavenly Peng didn¡¯t give the Gundam any chance to leave. It gave chase, nting a pair of ws on the mecha''s body. However, the Gundam suddenly produced a shield of light to block the attack. Then, it decided to retract the cannons in its hands. It drew two red beam sabers from its waist and quickly sliced open several-meter-long wounds on the Heavenly Peng''s ws that reached all the way to its bones.

    ¡°What kind of swords are those? Why are they so sharp?!¡± the Heavenly Peng eximed, panicking. If not for the fact that its ws were toorge, this attack alone could have already sliced its ws straight off!

    Its body¡¯s defensive abilities were already incredibly strong. It was near impossible for normal des to wound it! Thus, it became more and more worried. It didn¡¯t want to give Zu An any more chances and decided that it had to kill him as quickly as possible.

    A demonic me erupted around its entire body. Then, as if a massive ck hole appeared in its mouth, it inhaled in the Strike Freedom Gundam¡¯s direction. The Strike Freedom Gundam staggered under the terrifying suction force, unable to maintain its center of gravity anymore. A sinister glint appeared in the Heavenly Peng¡¯s eyes; it would soon fully devour the enemy¡¯s incarnation.

    Suddenly, a streak of light fired out. It was so fast that it didn¡¯t have the chance to react at all.

    ¡°The Sun ying Bow!¡± the Heavenly Peng eximed, shivering all over. The next second, however, its brain was already sted open.

    Zu An lowered the flickering Sun ying Bow and remarked with a sigh, ¡°Did you think I was reallypeting with you in incarnations? It was just a distraction.¡±

 Chapter 2037: Reunited

    <h4>Chapter 2037: Reunited</h4>

    From the moment he first witnessed the Heavenly Peng¡¯s strength, Zu An had already known that it would be hard to win without using a divine weapon. Furthermore, against this kind of bird, the most suitable weapon was none other than the Sun ying Bow. However, the Heavenly Peng was way too fast, so locking onto it was almost impossible.

    That was why Zu An had used the Rune Weapon Chart to create the famous Strike Freedom Gundam to act as his own incarnation. He had even entered the gundam¡¯s cockpit in front of the opponent''s face. In the Little Golden Peng King¡¯s eyes, that was the same as bing one with the gundam, so he hadn¡¯t suspected anything at all.

    Meanwhile, Zu An had secretly used his exchange skill that allowed him to swap positions with any tangible thing within the range of his divine sense. He had hidden in the dark and used the Strike Freedom Gundam to draw the Heavenly Peng¡¯s attention, then finally found an opening and took him down.

    The Sun ying Bow¡¯s power went without saying. Even though the Heavenly Peng¡¯s massive size made it look as if it could even cover the sun itself, it had died instantly after having its head blown apart. Then, the incarnation disappeared. The Little Golden Peng King fell heavily to the ground. Perhaps it was because the incarnation took most of the damage, but his head was still fine. Even so, blood was flowing out from every orifice, and all of his bones were broken. It was obvious that he wouldn¡¯t survive.

    Zu An flew above him and stared at him coldly.

    ¡°The Sun ying Bow lives up to its name, as expected,¡± the Little Golden Peng King said while coughing out several mouthfuls of blood.

    ¡°Little Golden Peng King, why did you have to do all of this?¡± Suolun Shi asked as she rushed over as well. When she saw her former good friend end up in such a state, she couldn''t help but sigh deeply.

    ¡°Are you pitying me? It¡¯s hard to say which one of us needs to be pitied,¡± the Little Golden Peng King said angrily. ¡°Are you not confused as to why none of the Demon race¡¯s reinforcements have arrived, even though it has been so long?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Suolun Shi asked as her expression changed.

    ¡°Pitiful.¡± The Little Golden Peng King gave her a look and said mockingly, ¡°Those reinforcements aren¡¯ting. They were used as chess pieces without even knowing it.¡±

    Suolun Shi¡¯s entire body trembled, her face extremely pale. That was something she had suspected, but she hadn''t felt as if it made sense. That was why such thoughts had disappeared as soon as they came up. Now that he was saying such a thing, though, could it be...

    ¡°Where are the Second Empress and the others?¡± Zu An asked gravely.

    ¡°Do you think I¡¯ll tell you?¡± the Little Golden Peng King replied, his expression surprisingly calm. His life was already over anyway, so what did he have left to fear?

    ¡°I have many ways to make you speak, but I still want you to tell me yourself,¡± Zu An said, giving him a look. ¡°Do you not want revenge? If I try to save the Second Empress, her situation should be the most dangerous, so there''s a high chance that I¡¯ll die there.¡±

    The Little Golden Peng King was briefly stunned, but then heughed bitterly and said, ¡°The regent really is a talent after all. I have to admit that what you say carries reason. I guess it¡¯s fine to tell you. The Second Empress should be around four thousand kilometers out, by Qielu Snowfield. As for whether they¡¯ve managed to bring their troops into the nearby city to protect themselves, that, I do not know.¡±

    ¡°Your respected self does have a lofty spirit,¡± Zu An said with a nod. ¡°May I ask how many people have awakened their ancestral bloodline power like you have?¡±

    The Heavenly Peng was indeed a bit tricky. If many people had awakened such an ability, that would really be a bit hard to defeat.

    The Little Golden Peng King looked at him with an ambiguous smile, replying, ¡°How many cultivators do you think can resist the temptation to be stronger?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s mood sank. The situation didn¡¯t look optimistic.

    The Little Golden Peng King raised his head to the sky, and the expression in his eyes ckened. He said, ¡°How hateful it is that I wasn¡¯t able to achieve my magnificent aspiration, and I can¡¯t get revenge myself either...¡± His voice became quieter and quieter, and his eyes remained wide open as he breathed hisst.

    Zu An¡¯s expression turned cold.

    <i>This guy is brave for trying to get revenge for his father, but the fact that he was the cause for so many deaths in the Fiend races makes him not worth pitying.</i>

    The Little Golden Peng King¡¯s troops had been utterly defeated by the bombers. Now that they saw their war god of a leader defeated as well, theypletely copsed. The remaining troops dispersed in confusion. Zu An knew that these people merely followed orders, so he didn¡¯t hunt them down.

    Suolun Shi, however, stared at one of them. She screamed and her mace flew over, sting the soldier into a meat pancake. He was none other than the scout Wang Gu, who had drawn them here.

    After that strike, Suolun Shi seemed to have vented out a bit of her frustrations. She moved over to Zu An¡¯s side and said apologetically, ¡°I fear I cannot apany you to the Second Empress¡¯ side.¡±

    ¡°Are you going to return to the Demon race?¡± Zu An asked. He had an idea of what she wanted to do.

    Suolun Shi voiced her agreement. ¡°After hearing what the Little Golden Peng King said, I need to go back and take a look, to warn my n¡¯s people not to fall for their tricks.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, <i>It might already be a bitte to go back now.</i> However, if she wasn¡¯t at least allowed to try, perhaps she wouldn''t be able to resign herself. He said seriously, ¡°Then you need to be careful. The Demon race might have alreadypletely changed.¡±

    Suolun Shi smiled in distress, saying, ¡°After everything I¡¯ve already gone through, if I could still afford to be so ignorant, I would really deserve to just die. Thank you for saving me, big brother Zu; I will repay this favor in the future.¡±

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°If you can really prevent the Demon race from acting up, that might be the best repayment.¡±

    ¡°I will do my best!¡± Suolun Shi replied and bit her lip, seemingly setting her resolve.

    Zu An was startled and said, ¡°Please don¡¯t act too rashly! If the situation calls for it, try to withdraw and find me as quickly as possible.¡±

    Suolun Shi smiled and said, ¡°Thank you for your concern, big brother Zu!¡±

    Zu An thought for a bit, then gave her a flying sword talisman. He then taught her how to use it before bidding her goodbye.

    Suolun Shi quietly stood in the wind and snow as she watched Zu An shoot into the sky and quickly vanish. A reluctant expression appeared on her charming face. Even so, that expression soon turned to decisiveness. She wrapped her coat closer around herself and resolutely turned around toward the exit of the sealednd. She had to contact herpanions from the Demon race as quickly as possible, so the Little Golden Peng King¡¯s tragedy wouldn¡¯t repeat itself.

    ...

    Meanwhile, Zu An continued to fly into the depths. He had some impression of Qielu Snowfield. That was an area that was at a bit of a higher elevation. That had once been a ce the Fiend races defended, but it had been taken over by monsters thousands of years ago. He had never expected the Second Empress¡¯ group to have actually already gotten in so far.

    ¡°Could it be that the monsters didn¡¯t attack them, to deliberately bait them deeper in...¡± He was a bit confused, but he suddenly realized something. Even someone like the Little Golden Peng King had changed sides and be so powerful without anyone knowing, so it made sense for the Second Empress¡¯ group to have been duped without any knowledge of it.

    After flying for a long time, he noticed something. He noticed a wave of ki rippling from up ahead, and there was a mysteriously familiar feeling to it. He didn¡¯t dare to be too slow and quickly flew in that direction. Soon, he could vaguely hear some strangeughter that was especially ear-piercing. It made one¡¯s blood run cold and felt extremely ufortable.

    Finally, countless figures appeared in the distance. Countless monsters were surrounding and attacking a few people in the midst of a snow valley.

    A white-d youngdy attacked the surrounding monsters while saying urgently, ¡°n leader, we will protect you! Hurry and run!¡± She was extremely beautiful, butpared to the pink-d woman next to her, she couldn''t help but pale a bit inparison.

    The pink-d woman had a charm and temperament that was hard for a youngdy to match. Her gaze was ice-cold as she replied, ¡°How could you possibly cover for me? It would be better for me to I protect you two, and for the two of you to find the regent as quickly as possible to tell him what happened.¡±

    All kinds of long painting scrolls flew out as she spoke, trapping many monsters within. However, there were just too many monsters, and she had already used as many painting scrolls as she could. It was clear that many were about to break out.

    A miserable scream suddenly filled the air. It turned out several thin-skinned monsters had broken out of their range of encirclement, and ched onto an elder. He screamed, and his flesh shriveled up at a visible rate. Meanwhile, the monster''s body becamepletely red, and it swelled in size. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Elder Zhu!¡± the blue-d youngdy screamed.

    The pink-d woman was shocked and furious. Her hair spread out in all directions, each end turning into a thin, hissing snake. Soon after, wherever the snakes'' eyes went, the thin-skinned monsters were petrified. In the end, the one that clung onto Elder Zhu couldn''t hold on and fell to the ground, shattering to pieces. Unfortunately, Elder Zhu had already be a shriveled corpse. All of his life force had already been sucked dry.

    The pink-d woman suddenly coughed out a mouthful of blood. She staggered unsteadily, and her head of thin snakes also became dispirited. In her moment of weakness, the monsters pounced. Countless thin-skinned monsters flew over to surround the three women.

    While the three women were in despair, a resplendent streak of sword ki appeared from the horizon. The thin-skinned monsters were like candles before a me, screaming as they disappeared into nothing.

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡± the pink-d woman eximed, shocked and overjoyed. The sword was just too familiar. However, she had already used up all of her strength. She could no longer stand steadily and fell to one side.

    Just then, a figure appeared at her side and took her waist into his arms. His other hand held a longsword, erasing all of the approaching monsters from existence.

    The white and blue-d youngdies saw who had arrived. Both of them were surprised and extremely happy.

    ¡°Big brother Zu!¡±

 Chapter 2038: One-Man Reinforcement Army

    <h4>Chapter 2038: One-Man Reinforcement Army</h4>

    The three women were Yu Yanluo, Little White, and Little Blue. Zu An hadn''t expected to just run into them like this in the middle of the boundless snowfield.

    Yu Yanluo was also shocked and happy. She gently called out, Ah Zu~ The Medusa Queens viciousness from a moment ago was nowhere to be seen!

    There was no time to reminisce, however. The Taie Sword in Zu Ans hands moved intricately sending hundred-meter-long streaks of resplendent sword ki everywhere to behead group after group of monsters.

    The youngdies eyes were full of shock. These monsters they had felt helpless against were being chopped to pieces in batches like chives! Even the thin-skinned monsters that were the toughest to deal with couldn''t withstand a single attack from Zu An''s sword ki.

    Right now, Zu An was focused on saving people, which was why he took out his divine weapon. With his cultivation and a divine weapon, how could the power he disyed be something these monsters could possibly resist?

    Again and again,rge groups of monsters died all around them. The remaining monsters were left feeling a bit scared. Even though they didnt have intelligence and moved based on their instincts, they could clearly sense just how terrifying the new human was.

    <i>Thats definitely not food! We''re actually the prey in his eyes.</i>

    Soon after, all of the monsters tacitly decided to run away in rm. However, Zu An unleashed dozens of streaks of sword ki, erasing anotherrge batch of monsters. Only a few managed to get away sessfully.

    He sighed in regret. Due to the inherent ceiling of the world''s origin, his cultivation rank seemed to have already reached a bottleneck, stopping at level 76. Otherwise, the monsters he had ughtered as ofte could have been enough for him to climb another level.

    Fortunately, even though he couldn''t increase his cultivation rank, the Kun Peng and Heaven Devouring Sutra replenished his ki through the killing of monsters. From start to finish, he never felt tired at all, and didnt have to fight painstakingly like the others only to eventually die from exhaustion. That was why, even though he had used the Rune Weapon Chart to summon all kinds of weapons, he still wasnt sucked dry.

    Only when the monsters all left did Zu An look at the woman in his arms. Her beautiful face was especially pale. He couldn''t help but ask worriedly, Are you hurt?

    Yu Yanluo''s injuries werent light. Even though her life wasnt in danger, it wasnt that far off.

    n leader frequently used her bloodline power to fight against the monsters. Her consumption of energy has been really great, the white-d youngdy said.

    Little White, so many brothers and sisters from the n have fallen in battle. My bit of fatigue is nothing, Yu Yanluo said; a strong sense of grief filled her beautiful eyes.

    Little Blue looked at the shriveled corpse and said, The most regretful one was Elder Zhu. If he had just persisted for a bit longer, big brother Zu wouldve already arrived. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Yu Yanluo looked at him with a sentimental expression, saying, If not for Elder Zhu risking his life to save us, we might not have been able tost until this moment.

    Zu An was also filled with sadness. Whether it was the time he had saved Suolun Shi or this time, he had arrived a bit toote, which resulted in people dying.

    He thought for a bit, then proposed, Lets bring his corpse back to be buried properly in the Snake race''s territory and offerpensation to his family. Build a monument for him as well, for the Snake race to eternally pass down his heroic deeds.

    Yu Yanluo nodded and said, Thats all we can do. Apart from Elder Zhu, many brave warriors also sacrificed their lives here. I will also show them the glory and honor they deserve.

    n leader is wise and virtuous! Little White and Little Blue eximed, bowing respectfully.

    Zu An used the chance to ask, Why are you all here? What exactly happened recently?

    Yu Yanluo sighed deeply, saying, It seems we fell for the Second Princes ploy.

    Zu An wasnt surprised to hear that, as he had already reached the same conclusion.

    Yu Yanluo continued, The Second Prince didnt wish to fight bitterly against the monsters, but instead, already colluded with the monsters a long time ago. The pretext of advancing into the sealednd was nothing more than a ruse to draw in the elites from the various races, to take us all out in one go.

    Besides that, many other tribes have likely already colluded with the monsters, Zu An added.

    How do you know that? Yu Yanluo asked in surprise.

    Zu An told her what had happened with the Little Golden Peng King.

    Hmph, and to think we actually used to adore him, Little Blue said angrily, seeming really unhappy.

    Little White snuck Zu An a look, then quickly added, That was before we met big brother Zu.

    Little Blue was stunned. She quickly nodded in agreement.

    Zu An couldn''t help but chuckle. The Little Golden Peng Kings status was respected, and he had been handsome too. He was even one of the Fiend races four great generals, so it wasnt surprising for him to be the target of many youngdies admiration.

    Yu Yanluo also sighed and said, I never expected the Little Golden Peng King to fall into a state like that. Even so,pared to the tragedy he created, all of this is something he brought upon himself.

    This time, out of the Fiend races main forces, the Elf race stayed behind in the King Court, and the Peacock Wise King stayed behind in Primeval Iron City as backup. The Second Prince led the army in rebellion, and the Golden Peng racemitted betrayal. Now that the Demon races army still hasn''t arrived, if I am not mistaken, a huge problem likely happened among the Demon race. The Scorpion King and Flying Leopard Kings troops still havent arrived at Primeval Iron City either, and there are rumors that the two have also defected. Additionally, the Lion race and the Hyena race... There are quite a few among them who have also defected. There are even traitors among the Golden Crow race.

    Zu An was shocked to hear that. He said, The fact that you still havent beenpletely wiped out even in this kind of situation is a miracle in itself.

    It is actually thanks to the Second Empress. If not for hermands being excellent as she decisively led the troops to charge into the depths of the sealednd, we might have already beenpletely trapped in the encirclement prepared by the monsters andpletely ughtered, Yu Yanluo said, her voice full of admiration.

    Zu An was stunned. No wonder no monsters had emerged from the sealednd. So it turned out they were all busy chasing after the Second Empress. He had never expected that charming woman to have this other side to her.

    As if guessing his thoughts, Yu Yanluo teased, If the Second Empress is able to safely return, she should be able to rely on her own prestige to secure the young Fiend Emperors position. She will no longer require your help.

    Isnt that even better? Zu An replied happily. In the past, the reason why the Second Empress hadn''t been able to fully disy her talents was because everyone treated her as a pretty decoration without any skills. Now that she had shown herpetence, it was almost as if she could now live as her true self.

    Yu Yanluo had initially wanted to say are you not scared that she will no longer be fond of you anymore?, but after thinking about the current situation, she figured that such words were already quite meaningless. She changed her mind and said, Eventually, the Second Empress suffered defeat after defeat before running to Qielu Snowfield. She found the Mente City recorded in legends and used it to fend off the encirclement of countless monsters.

    However, her side all knew that if things went on much longer, it would eventually result in their loss. That was why she absolutely needed reinforcements. Furthermore, after the series of betrayals she experienced, I was the only one she could trust. That was why the task of breaking out and seeking reinforcements fell to us.

    Zu An was stunned, asking, The one she trusts the most is you? bender

    Yu Yanluo smiled and said, In the end, you are the reason for that. She thought I still didnt know about your rtionship and continued to put on all kinds of acts. She really thought I couldn''t figure out the reason why she trusted me.

    Little Whites mouth was wide open.

    <i>Did I just hear some incredible gossip I shouldnt have heard just now?</i>

    Little Blue, in contrast, had a thats only natural expression on her face.

    <i>As expected of big brother Zu, the only man even my throat cant handle. Isnt taking care of the Second Empress easy enough?</i>

    Zu Ans face heated up. He coughed and said, Now that you''ve found me, your mission is alreadyplete. Return to Primeval Iron City first.

    Yu Yanluo was stunned, asking, Youre not going back with us?

    Zu An shook his head, saying, Speed is a crucial asset in war. The Mente City the Second Empress is defending might have already fallen. I must hurry to rescue them as quickly as possible.

    But what can you do by yourself? I think we should return to Primeval Iron City to gather reinforcements. That was the Second Empress n... Yu Yanluo hurriedly said.

    Zu An smiled and said, I alone am equivalent to a great army. Even though his voice seemed calm, there was a mysterious power behind his words.

    Yu Yanluo became briefly absentminded, while Little White and Little Blues heart rates quickened.

    Then Ill go with you, Yu Yanluo said. She had experienced all kinds of situations, so she immediately calmed down.

    Your injuries are too severe and, you wouldnt be able to offer much help even if you returned with me. I would only end up being distracted taking care of you. You should return to Primeval Iron City and quickly report all of the intelligence you have, Zu An said. When he saw that she wanted to say something else, he said to the other two youngdies, Little White and Little Blue, I''ll give the two of you a mission too. Safely escort her back to Primeval Iron City. Can you do this?

    We can! Little White replied as she reflexively stuck out her chest, seeming to have gained newfound confidence.

    In contrast, Little Blue moved closer to him with a smile and asked, Then what kind of reward will big brother Zu give us after?

    What kind of reward do you want? Zu An asked, stunned.

    Little Blue licked her lips and said, The same asst time.

    When those words were spoken, Little White was a bit confused, but Yu Yanluo looked at the two of them with a strange expression.

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>This little fiend ispletely different from young humandies, as expected.</i>

    Zu An quickly took out a pile of defensive magical treasures to give to their group, saying, Even though Ive already cleaned out the monsters along the way, take these with you just in case.

    <i>Please dont continue that topic! I dont want to be treated as a pervert!</i>

    <strong></strong>

 Chapter 2039: A Million Monsters

    <h4>Chapter 2039: A Million Monsters</h4>

    Little White couldn''t help but give Little Blue a few extra looks.

    <i>Does she share a secret with big brother Zu that I don¡¯t know about? Huh, when did I fall behind?</i>

    Yu Yanluo wasn¡¯t in the mood to pursue jealousy right now; she was too worried about her lover¡¯s safety. Thus, she asked, ¡°Ah Zu, are you really sure you want to do this?¡±

    Zu An recalled the fate of certain death that had resulted from his divination. He couldn''t help but feel a bit gloomy as well, but he replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m really strong now. It¡¯s fine.¡± It was because there were so many unknown dangers that he didn¡¯t want Yu Yanluo to take risks alongside him in her current state. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°I guess it¡¯s fine. I won¡¯t be dragging you down then. Instead, I''ll return to Primeval Iron City as quickly as possible to gather reinforcements,¡± Yu Yanluo said. After all, she was a mature woman with sufficient wisdom. She knew she would only waste his energy on taking care of her if she went along.

    Zu An appreciated that about her. He took her firmly into his arms.

    ¡°Take care of yourself!¡± Yu Yanluo said, feeling a bit sad. For the first time ever, she had heard a bit of uncertainty in her lover¡¯s voice.

    ¡°You need to pay attention to your safety as well,¡± Zu An warned them, then kicked off and shot into the sky.

    Yu Yanluo stood amid the wind and snow, absentmindedly staring at his back. She didn¡¯t want to leave for quite a long while.

    Little White was a bit confused, asking, ¡°n leader, if you¡¯re so reluctant, why didn¡¯t you go with big brother Zu?¡±

    Yu Yanluo smiled and replied, ¡°You''re still young, but you¡¯ll understand in the future. Let¡¯s hurry back. I hope we can reach the exit safely."

    Little White and Little Blue shivered inwardly. If they encountered those monsters again, it really could be a bit dangerous.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, big brother Zu gave us so many defensive runes and formations. n leader, big brother Zu really is good to you,¡± Little Blue said with a sigh of amazement.

    ¡°I think now¡¯s a good time for you to talk about what''s going on with that reward of yours,¡± Yu Yanluo said, looking at her with an ambiguous smile.

    ¡°Exactly! Just what kind of secret do you have with big brother Zu?¡± Little White asked, looking at her little sister in confusion.

    ¡°Ah! I was joking...¡± Little Blue replied as her cheeks turned red.

    <i>But that was really fun... It was like sucking on a lollipop.</i>

    ¡°Hmph, you¡¯re clearly hiding things from me. Hurry and tell me!¡± Little White eximed, impatiently tugging on her sister''s face. The sisters quickly began to fight with each other.

    When she saw the two fighting yfully, Yu Yanluo smiled warmly.

    Waves of cold wind suddenly blew over them. She reflexively pulled her coat closer around her. She was scared of the cold the most, so this icy environment was extremely ufortable for her. She looked at the blurry path ahead of her, murmuring, ¡°I hope we can reach the exit safely...¡±

    But sometimes, what one feared the most just had to show up. Two hourster, the trio suddenly stopped. One after another, dark figures appeared in the wind and snow, quickly surrounding their party.

    Little White and Little Blue¡¯s expressions changed. They quickly took out the formations and talismans Zu An had given them to prepare for battle.

    However, Yu Yanluo stopped them and said, ¡°There¡¯s no need.¡± The sisters looked at her in confusion. Yu Yanluo sighed and continued, ¡°Those might be useful against a small group of monsters, but against the Second Prince¡¯s elites, all of our efforts are futile.¡±

    A clear and brightugh filled the air, and a voice called out, ¡°As expected of the Medusa Queen. This level of temperament truly is worthy of respect.¡±

    Soon after, a young man in golden armor appeared while riding on an impressive beast. He looked a bit like thete Fiend Emperor, but his features were younger and he looked more energetic.

    ¡°The Second Prince!¡± Little White and Little Blue eximed, also immediately recognizing him. This was the most famous prince, after all, so there were few people in the Fiend races who didn¡¯t recognize him.

    The Second Prince¡¯s eyes couldn''t help but light up. Why were the Snake race¡¯s women all so lovely? Even so, the Medusa Queen in the middle was still the most beautiful. Her looks were as devastating as expected.

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression became a bit cold as she said, ¡°We all came to rescue you and so many people have died, and yet you''re still standing here fine and well.¡±

    ¡°Many people died?¡± the Second Prince repeated as he put away his smile. ¡°How many of my people have died over these years, all to fend off the monsters?

    ¡°That kind of ceaseless struggle already left them all in despair. We all knew things became like this because of the battle at the Fiend King Court. I failed in my struggle for the throne, and those important figures in the court couldn''t publicly kill me because of the strength of my army, so they could only use a method like that to wear me down.¡± He paused for a moment. His expression grew cold before he continued, ¡°In other words, until the final drop of blood flowed out of our bodies, we would never be able to break free of that fate.¡±

    As they listened to his words, the soldiers under hismand revealed looks of extreme anger. It was clear that they couldn''t endure such a hopeless fate.

    ¡°All of you were guilty, and yet the Fiend King Court took the bigger picture into consideration and didn¡¯t kill you, instead giving you a chance to atone for your crimes. Not only did they not receive your gratitude in return, what they received was your resentment and betraya,¡± Yu Yanluo berated them in response. ¡°Furthermore, the Fiend King Court didn¡¯tpletely abandon your well-being. Not only did they provide you with the best logistical support, they frequently replenished your supplies. How is that making you bleed down to thest drop?!¡±

    ¡°Everyone has their own opinion. Debating this here is meaningless,¡± the Second Prince said, changing the subject by asking, ¡°Medusa Queen, do you want to fight, or do you wish to surrender?¡±

    Little White and Little Blue stared nervously at the surrounding army. They quietly said to Yu Yanluo, ¡°n leader, we have some secret techniques that can cover you and allow you to escape. You can''t turn around, and you must keep running!¡± They had already promised big brother Zu earlier, and protecting their n leader was the mission of every Snake race member to begin with. A resolute look appeared in the two young women¡¯s eyes.

    Yu Yanluo shook her head and said, ¡°We¡¯ve already sacrificed too many people. I can''t let you two do meaningless things. We surrender.¡±

    She knew that these young women were nning to use their lives to protect her. How could she agree to that? More importantly, she knew that before the Second Prince¡¯s army, unless she was at her strongest and had a bit of hope, there was no way to escape no matter what kind of price she paid.

    When he heard what she said, the Second Prince smiled and said, ¡°As expected of the Medusa Queen. Pass down the order and wee them into the army. In the following days, no one is permitted to treat them with disrespect.¡±

    ...

    A whileter, Little White quietly told Yu Yanluo, ¡°n leader, they didn¡¯t even send anyone to restrain us, nor did they put any restrictions on us. As long as we don¡¯t leave the area they permit us, they even let us do what we want.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, that¡¯s right! They didn¡¯t even separate us. I was so worried at first!¡± Little Blue hurriedly added, nodding.

    ¡°The Second Prince is an extremely proud person, and I am the queen of a n. Since we''ve already surrendered and given him face, he will naturally show us the appropriate etiquette in return,¡± Yu Yanluo replied.

    ¡°Then isn¡¯t he still pretty good?¡± Little White and Little Blue replied gratefully.

    ¡°Good, huh...¡± Yu Yanluo trailed off, remaining expressionless. Who knew just how many people had been led to their deaths due to the Second Prince''s actions?

    As she looked in the direction the army was moving in, Yu Yanluo was a bit confused. They seemed to be moving in the direction of the exit to the sealednd. Was the Second Prince nning to bring his people out? Did he not fear Primeval Iron City¡¯s Peacock Wise King?

    ...

    Meanwhile, Zu An moved through the wind and snow. He suddenly sensed something and turned around, but everything was covered in a dusky and overcast color. He couldn''t see any scenery at all. He didn¡¯t know if he was getting overly nervous from worry, but he just felt anxious about whether or not Yu Yanluo¡¯s party would return safely.

    ¡°They should be fine, right...¡± he muttered. With how things were, there was no way he could go back and look for them. After all, the Second Empress¡¯ situation was more dire. Their defenses could fall apartpletely at any time, and if that happened, their army could bepletely wiped out.

    ...

    With that, he adjusted his direction along the way. At first, he was worried that he wouldn¡¯t be able to find Mengte City within the vast sealednd. After all, there was no satellite navigation, and things like maps were only a rough approximation.

    However, he quickly realized that he was overthinking things. There was a foul stench unique to monsters that filled the air. It was so strong that it was a bit hard to breathe.

    ¡°What a strong smell...¡± Zu An muttered as he flew in the direction of that smell. His expression gradually changed.

    Monsters covered everything as far as the eye could see. Judging from their density, there were over a million. They stacked on top of each otheryer afteryer,pletely surrounding a lone city. The city was like a skiff in the ocean that was constantly being rocked back and forth, as if it could be overturned at any time. Beforea million monsters, an individual¡¯s strength was just that insignificant.

    Goosebumps covered Zu An¡¯s entire body. The scene before him was just like endless barnacles covering a rocky shore, so many that it was enough to create a newfound phobia.

 Chapter 2040: Despair

    This chaptr is updated by <h4>Chapter 2040: Despair</h4>

    The mostmon kind of monster outside Mengte City was something akin to a zombie. However, they werent zombified humans, but rather creatures from who knew what world. Bones were visible from the holes in their body, but they were nothing like the clean skeletons Zu An had seen before in secret dungeons. These things still had most of their flesh, but signs of rotting were visible. It was as if they had lost their skin, and their bodies were dripping wet. Forget about fighting against these creatures, if one came into contact with the rotting liquid, one could get infected with something.

    Countless zombies piled up on each other, crawling up the city walls like ants. Even though they werent fast, there were just too many of them. They were about to reach the top of the city.

    However, the army on top of the city walls seemed to have already prepared for them. Giant boulders came rolling down, causing the zombie towers that had been formed with extreme difficulty toe toppling down. At the same time, the city wall began to distort, and sharp points thrust out through the walls, skewering the zombies like chickens. Then, the sharp weapons withdrew, and the zombies fell. Such skills seemed to be the work of an earth element cultivator.

    Immediately after, a group of water element cultivatorsunched their attack at the top of the city wall. Ayer of watery mist that instantly froze under the frigid weather appeared on the surface of the wall, making its surface shiny and slippery. The clumsy zombies could no longer crawl up. The ones that werent able to withdraw in time were frozen directly to the wall. Their corpses and the ice became the best possible armor for the city wall to protect against other monsters long-range attacks.

    Suddenly, countless dark figures rushed past, far more quickly than the previous zombies. These were none other than the crawlers Zu An had previously fought against. They had incredibly sharp ws, so the sleek ice was like ordinary t ground for them. Furthermore, their movements were extremely agile. Even while climbing, they could twist their bodies around to avoid the iing arrows.

    Soon, dozens of crawlers climbed over the city wall. However, the Fiend races army was already fully prepared, and their spears stabbed forward. Even though the crawlers were extremely strong individually, they were quickly killed on the spot before a proper army.

    Even so, the number of monsters was too great. No matter how many died in front, they still charged as if they didnt care about their lives at all. The Fiend races front lines were battered again and again, gradually bing weaker than they were at first.

    There were many monsters in the air as well. Flying creatures of all different shapes and sizes were trying to cross the city walls and ughter their way into the city.

    The fiend soldiers fired ballistas into the air and used long-ranged magic. Many experts flew up to face the enemies. The Fiend races werent like humans, who needed to reach the master rank to fly about freely. Due to their innate talents and species origins, many were capable of natural flight, such as the Eagle, Peacock, Elf, and Golden Crow Imperial races! Now that it was a matter of life and death, there was no room for differences between species anymore. All of them fought together shoulder to shoulder against an external enemy.

    And yet, there were just too many monsters, and many of them could fly as well. The most troublesome among them were the thin-skinned monsters. They looked as if they only had ayer of skin covering their bones left, but if they had a chance totch onto a target, they could instantly suck out all of that target''s blood essence. All those present had already witnessed that tragic fate too many times. If that happened, there wasnt even a chance to end one''s own life. But with how the situation was, they all knew there was no way out. If they could kill one, that was still breaking even. If they could get a few more before going down, that would already be a steal.

    The Fiend races army tried to retaliate, using all kinds of skills to fight the monster army. Each time, they were able to take out a huge amount of monsters, but there were just too many of them. Whenever one monster died, several more took their ce. On top of that, the monsters quickly developed strategies to counter their ns. Some bug-shaped monsters raised the armor covering their bodies to shield theirpanions from long-range attacks.

    The situation on the battlefield, both in the sky and on the city wall, was deeply worrying.

    Suddenly, there was a disturbance among the monster ranks. Then, a huge vacant space opened up in the midst of a densely packed monster army. After that, a several-hundred-meter long worm slowly moved forward. It looked white and chubby, like a caterpir that could easily be crushed to death by hand; but even such a normally weak-looking creature gave off an indescribable pressure when it was as big as a dragon. On top of that, the giant caterpir had over a thousand legs. Every single leg had a suffering, warped human face on the end, creating a truly horrifying sight.

    The massive caterpirs upper body suddenly rose up and squirmed vigntly. Its stomach swelled up, as if something was moving through it.

    The higher level fiends in Mengte City clearly noticed the strange urrence. They all shouted for their troops to attack it, and that they definitely couldn''t allow it to do whatever it was trying to do. Subsequently, countless rune cannons and cultivator techniques fired outward at the giant caterpir. In response, many armor-ted bugs flew out from the monsters'' ranks, spreading their wings to form a massive shield.

    However, the Fiend races most elite troops were not to be trifled with. Half of the armored bugs were blown apart from the initial impact alone, and the remaining attacks continued toward the giant caterpir. And yet, the surface of the caterpir''s body only rippled, as if it was relying on its body fat to block all the attacks. Even so, some green fluid came out of its body, showing that it was injured.

    It seemed to be enraged, opening its massive mouth toward Mengte City; at the same time, the thing swelling up in its body just about reached its throat. It fired a torrent of green liquid in the city walls direction like a high-pressure water cannon. Meanwhile, its body also quickly shrank in size, as if it had already released all of its essence.

    The Fiend races armys formation masters quickly operated their formation discs. Soon after, a huge barrier appeared around Mengte City. Even though they didnt know what that green liquid did, none of them wanted to give it a try and experience what would happen.

    The green jet of liquid collided with the barrier around Mengte City almost instantly. The barrier flickered a few times, thenpletely shattered. Endless green liquid rained down; he formation masters below couldn''t avoid it in time and werepletely drenched. Miserable screams echoed through the air. The formation masters dissolved so quickly that not even bones were left behind!

    The green liquid continued to fall to the ground. The extremely sturdy city wall actually began emanating strands of green smoke. Soon after, that entire side of the wall quickly melted and copsed. The Fiend races stared at the scene before them in a stupor. They knew there was nothing they could have done to stop it from happening.

    Cheers resounded from within the monster army, and they began to rush at the copsed city wall.

    The eyes of all the fiend soldiers becamepletely red. They knew that if the enemy invaded the city, even their elites would be wiped out, and not even bones would remain. As such, they all bravely rushed out to block the opening without any thought for their own lives. It was as if the entire area had turned into a meat grinder, with each sh resulting in countless lives lost.

    The Second Empress took her Golden Crow Guards with her and rushed over. She no longer had her usual flirtatious and seductive appearance; instead, she was dressedpletely in silver armor. When she saw the scene, she didnt have time to give any orders, so she just charged with her army, ughtering countless monsters along the way.

    If not for the fact that she was wearing the empires most precious armor and had the Golden Crow Guards risking life and limb to protect her, she would have already died countless times. Even so, her armor was soonpletely covered in cracks. It was as if the next attack would shatter itpletely.

    A female officer at her side, named Xiao Yi, quickly grabbed her and cried, Your highness, hurry and retreat! Well protect you! We cant hold this city any longer...

    Shut your mouth! the Second Empress retorted, ring at her. You will damage the armys morale if you speak further, and be executed on the spot!

    Xiao Yi gritted her teeth and said, Your highness, even if you kill me, I must say this! As long as you are alive, there is still hope for our Fiend races. If you die here...

    "If I die here, then so be it! The Second Empress immediately cut her off with an ice-cold expression.

    There was no way she wouldnt know about the current situation. At this point, the copse of the city was already inevitable. However, she had already used all of the strategies and schemes she could think of; and yet in the end, despair seemed inevitable.

    Could she really abandon everyone else and run away? But where would she run?

    Wouldn''t she have to sacrifice the lives of so many soldiers just so she could live a bit longer? That wasn''t something she could bring herself to do!

    As the mother of an empire, she wanted to die an honorable death with her soldiers. As long as she continued to fight on the front lines, the soldiers morale could just barely be maintained, even if what followed was most likely to be a one-sided ughter.

    Even if she was going to die, she had to make the monsters pay a bitter price! n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The Second Empress eyes werepletely red. She only had one regret, which was that the regent wasnt here. Otherwise, they wouldnt have fallen into such a state... Still, she knew fully well that the regent was currently on the human side. Perhaps he didn''t even know about what was happening here. fre(e)webnovelbender

    While she was feeling despair, Xiao Yi screamed in surprise, What... What is that?

    The Second Empress had just sliced off the head of a crawler. When she heard Xiao Yi say that, she looked into the distance and saw an expanse of ck metal birds. They seemed to be throwing something into the monsters ranks. Then, terrifying explosions appeared one after another, causing fear and terror among the monsters.

    <strong></strong>

 Chapter 2041: Like Shooting Stars

    <h4>Chapter 2041: Like Shooting Stars</h4>

    ¡°There seems to be someone attacking the monsters from behind, but I¡¯ve never seen these metal birds before! Could it be that there¡¯s internal strife among the monsters?¡± Xiao Yi wondered.

    As she watched the metal birds fire zing lights that could instantly strge batches of monsters in a disy of absolute carnage, she swallowed with difficulty. This scene was just too inconceivable! Even the most elite Golden Crow Guards firing all their arrows couldn''t achieve such terrifying mass destruction! For some reason, the metal birds made her feel fear from the depths of her very soul.

    The Second Empress was really confused, but she quickly thought of something and immediately cried excitedly, ¡°It¡¯s the regent! The regent hase to save us!¡±

    She suddenly remembered that Zu An had a simr ability. After thinking about it, he was the only person in this entire world with this kind of ability.

    <i>Only he woulde here to save me.</i>

    The fiend soldiers immediately cheered. They had been bordering on the brink of despair and thought they were dead for sure. They had never expected there to actually be reinforcements! Furthermore, the regent was famous for his strength. It was rumored that after thete Fiend Emperor perished, he had the greatest cultivation out of anyone alive. Thus, the copsing front line immediately found their support. As they ughtered the monsters that were invading through the city wall, it was as if they had chicken blood injected into them[1].

    As they charged in retaliation, the monsters didn¡¯t care even if their jaws were being sliced right off. Many thin-skinned monsters slipped through the gaps to get onto the soldiers at the forefront. Whenever they were able to cling to a target, they instantly sucked out that person''s blood essence.

    Suddenly, a resplendent wave of sword ki descended from the sky. The thin-skinned monsters screamed miserably, and they all turned to ashes. Then, Zu An appeared in front of the city. When they saw that it was him, the soldiers let out an even more astonishing cheer of joy.

    The Second Empress was a mature woman, and because of her status, she was more restrained in her emotions. However, when she saw that figure, her eyes couldn''t help but be a bit moist as well.

    <i>Is he the man destined for me in this life?</i> N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°I¡¯ve arrivedte,¡± Zu An said. When he looked at the bitter scene and the soldiers who had fallen all around, his mood was extremely grave.

    The Second Empress was about to reply when new developments suddenly took ce on the battlefield. A shocking roar tore through the monsters¡¯ camp. Then, the entire city seemed to shake, as if struck by an earthquake.

    Nine ck-haired giants that towered into the clouds walked over from the distance. With each step, their mountainous feet crushedrge amounts of monsters into meat pancakes. It turned out the earthquakes were from their footsteps!

    Mengte City¡¯s soldiers were all terrified. These giants were just toorge, to the point that their upper bodies reached beyond the clouds and their faces couldn''t even be seen.

    The giants raised their massive hands and waved them all around as if they were swatting mosquitoes. One after another, the fighter aircrafts exploded from their strikes.

    Zu An¡¯s expression was grave. He tried to make the fighters evade, and he also made them fire countless air-to-air missiles. The missiles easily hit the giants, creating intense explosions on their skin, but the giants were just way too big. Even if there were some wounds, they were just like mosquito bites, unable to create any substantial damage. As for the machine gun fire, it couldn''t even break the giants¡¯ skin. Soon after, the previously majestic bombers and fighters became a mess. The remaining ones were also smashed out of the sky by the monsters, who had snapped out of their fear.

    Zu An sighed. He had already known that science and technology from his previous world wouldn''t necessarily be unmatched in this world. Perhaps they would be useful against lower cultivation creatures, but the high-technology weapons that reaped lives like mowing grass in his world couldn''t do much against those with a certain degree of cultivation in this world. Besides that, there were a million monsters, with nock of strong individuals among them. It was delusional to expect the Rune Weapon Chart¡¯s modern weapons topletely defeat them.

    When all of the surrounding aircraft were defeated, the nine giants beat their chests and roared proudly.

    In the ears of Mengte City¡¯s people, the roars were like thunder. Almost all of the soldiers¡¯ faces turned deathly pale. Even the regent¡¯s powerful methods had been ruined by these monsters. The giants were too terrifying! Even though they were still far away, the soldiers could feel a terrifying pressure. If these giants had joined the fight from the very beginning, just a few steps would have already crushed the city into pieces, right?

    When she sensed the drop in morale, the Second Empress was incredibly anxious, but she didn¡¯t know how to get out of the situation. She could only reflexively look at the man next to her. Even so, she knew she was hoping for way too much. He was only a man, not a god.

    However, when she saw what he was doing, her entire body trembled. She eximed, ¡°Sun ying Bow! It¡¯s the Sun ying Bow!¡±

    Zu An stood at the very front of the city. He took a step forward, then leaned backward, drawing the red bow in his hands in an arc like a crescent moon. His entire body emanated an air of extreme power.

    Immediately after, he released an arrow. It was like a shooting star, smashing through the chest of a ck-haired giant almost instantly.

    <i>Boom!</i>

    The giant''s chest, which had endured even against the missiles, exploded into a rain of blood. A huge hole that went alll the way through it appeared. The giant wailed in shock, and its entire body came crumbling down. The monsters below who couldn''t dodge in time were crushed into bloody pancakes. The giant twitched a few times, then fell silent.

    Everyone in the city now saw the giant¡¯s face. It was like an ape, but it had the mouth of a deep sea creature, filled with terrifying fangs; that made it far uglier and more disgusting than an ape.

    ¡°The regent is mighty!¡±

    ¡°Long live the regent!¡±

    ...

    When they saw the scene, every single person in Mengte City who was fighting against the monsters screamed with joy. The terrifying giant had been shot down by a single arrow!

    When they heard the disgraceful cheers, the Second Empress and those from the Golden Crow Imperial n didn¡¯t feel that it was unsuitable at all. On the contrary, they were so moved they really wanted to cheer along as well.

    Zu An didn¡¯t have the time to respond. He drew another arrow, and streaks of light tore through the sky. The ck-haired giants saw that the situation was unfavorable and wanted to run. They could cover ten thousand meters with a single step and weren¡¯t slow, but how could they be faster than shooting stars? One after another, they were struck by the arrows, opening up huge holes in their chests.

    There were even some giants that bravely tried to block the terrifying shooting stars with their arms, but how powerful was the Sun ying Bow? The shooting stars sted straight through their palms, blowing open holes in their bodies all the same.

    The nine terrifying giants fell, and the morale of Mengte City rose to its limit. As they ughtered the monsters, they were full of energy, their fighting strength rising to a hundred and fifty percent of their usual power! Soon after, the monsters werepletely forced away from the city wall.

    The Second Empress arrived at Zu An¡¯s side excitedly, her eyes full of adoration.

    <i>This man really is strong, as expected of the one I chose.</i>

    She was about to say something when Zu An leaned against her, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t make a big deal out of this. I need a moment to catch my breath.¡±

    The Second Empress could clearly sense that his hands were shaking a bit and immediately reacted. The Sun ying Bow was such a powerful divine weapon, so how could it be fired so easily, let alone nine times in session? Even the Golden Crow Guards¡¯ Elder Qi, who had the highest cultivation, would only perish and have his body explode after attempting such a thing. Only someone with a body as tough as Zu An¡¯s could achieve this result, where he was only a bit weary.

    When they saw the two holding each other, the Fiend races soldiers were a bit stunned, but they all revealed knowing smiles. Some people from the Fiend King Court had paid attention to their rtionship. Now, the rumors were proven true.

    However, no one felt as if there was something wrong with it. The Fiend races were different from the humans, after all. Things like widows remarrying, or taking one''s sister-inw after one''s brother died, were an ordinary affair. After fighting bitterly year-round, the ability to bear children became a highly valued resource, so they were much more open-minded in that sense. Furthermore, they worshiped the strong. Apart from the regent, who else was worthy of the Second Empress among the Fiend races?

    The Second Empress¡¯ face becamepletely red from embarrassment. Even though she wasn¡¯t scared of her affair being known, hugging Zu An in front of all of these soldiers made her heart pound quickly.

    Zu An looked at the ck expanse of monsters in front of him with a grave expression. After their initial rm, the monsters seemed to have recovered. They began to gather toward the wall again.

    ¡°Could it be that someone ismanding them?¡± Zu An wondered as he stared at the seemingly infinite monsters.

    1. Chicken blood therapy was a form of pseudo-medical therapy. People carried young roosters to the hospital, where several milliliters of chicken blood would be drawn and then injected into their body. Doing this once a week was believed to make someone aggressive and as powerful as an ox. ?

 Chapter 2042: That Night, Everyone Met Their Maker

    <h4>Chapter 2042: That Night, Everyone Met Their Maker</h4>

    Zu An stared into the endless monster army. However, the monsters didn¡¯t have officer banners like the humans, so it was hard to recognize who exactly wasmanding them.

    The Second Empress keenly sensed his frown and asked out of consideration, ¡°Ah Zu, what¡¯s wrong?¡± n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An shared his realization with her. He figured that since she had fought these monsters for a long time, perhaps she would know more.

    The Second Empress shook her head and said, ¡°It is honestly really strange. Most of the monsters have low intelligence and should be creatures that instinctively prey on food, and yet they are attacking with such strategy. They are even more fearless than human soldiers, so I do not know what to do either.¡±

    When he heard her description, Zu An said seriously, ¡°There''s definitely somethingmanding them, or else there would¡¯ve been mutual ughter among their army a long time ago. How could they possibly attack the city in such a concerted manner?¡±

    ¡°But we cannot tell who ismanding them at all,¡± the Second Empress said as she looked at the ck expanse of monsters. Normally, if one wanted tomand an army of such a huge scale, then apart fromnguage, they had to understand g signals, or drum beats. But these monsters didn¡¯t have any of that. She didn¡¯t even see any soldiers meant for passing along orders.

    The monster army once again swarmed toward Mengte City like an ocean wave. But this time, because of the incredible prowess Zu An disyed, the city¡¯s soldiers were full of morale and continued to stop their assault. The city wall that had previously been broken down by the caterpir became the focal point of the monsters¡¯ attacks. But with Zu An¡¯s assistance, the monsters weren¡¯t able to break through. At the same time, many earth, ice, and water element cultivators worked together to rebuild it, forming a new city wall.

    When she saw that a new city wall was going up, the Second Empress sighed in relief.

    Zu An¡¯s expression was grave, however. The fearless monsters continued charging forward again and again even though the fiends'' side was always able to fend them off, forcing them to leave behind a pile of corpses. It didn¡¯t look as if the monsters were decreasing in number at all. There were just way too many of them. Meanwhile, under the monster attacks, Mengte City¡¯s soldiers were suffering casualties again and again. If this continued for two or three more rounds, their entire battle line could copse.

    In the past, when the Fiend races fought against the human army, it was none other than their numbers advantage that had put the humans in a difficult spot. Who could have thought that fortunes would rise and fall so quickly, for these foreign monsters¡¯ numbers to far exceed their own?

    The Tiger race¡¯s leader, Hu Qianxiao, arrived at their side. He quietly said, ¡°Second Empress, regent, we can¡¯t hold on for much longer. Should we use this chance while everyone still has some strength left to break out of this encirclement?¡±

    The Second Empress¡¯ expression changed. If it were someone else who made this suggestion, perhaps she would have already executed them under militaryw. But Hu Qianxiao was different. His Tiger race warriors had brought heroic contributions the whole time.

    ¡°Of course I know that we can¡¯t hold on for much longer, but there are monsters everywhere outside of the city. How can we break out?¡± she replied bitterly.

    ¡°Even so, the only thing awaiting us here is death. If we try to break out, we will still have a chance of survival. The most important thing is hope...¡± Hu Qianxiao said nervously. He naturally knew that the Second Empress was worried that the morale would drop if they chose to abandon the city. At that point, they wouldn¡¯t be able to mount an effective retaliation at all. ¡°This humble one is willing to be at the very vanguard of the attack. I vow to ughter a bloody path of survival for everyone.¡±

    He was also going for broke. Being at the very front meant there would definitely be terrible casualties. However, what he was more scared of was defending this spot to the death. If that happened, the entire army would bepletely wiped out.

    The Second Empress was hesitant. She could only look toward Zu An.

    Zu An patted her hand to console her, saying, ¡°Let¡¯s not be in a rush to leave yet. It¡¯ll be fine as long as we can figure out a way to defeat these monsters head-on.¡±

    Hu Qianxiaoughed helplessly, saying, ¡°These monsters¡¯ forces are dozens of timesrger than our own, and they are all individually strong. We have already tried all kinds of methods. If we could defeat them with a frontal assault, we wouldn¡¯t have fled all the way here.¡±

    There was nock of famous generals among the Fiend races. That was also why, even though they had fallen into this trap, they were still able to hold on until now. They had already developed brilliant strategies outside the norm and used all kinds of schemes. But even so, they knew that there was no way of defeating these monsters, and they could only buy a bit more time.

    ¡°Just leave it to me,¡± Zu An said as he looked at the ck mass of monsters. He seemed to have alreadye up with a n.

    Hu Qianxiao frowned, saying, ¡°Regent, I know that your cultivation is high, but no matter how great an individual¡¯s power is, they still cannot change much against this many monsters. Not even thete Fiend Emperor reincarnated could do anything in this situation.¡±

    Zu An chuckled, saying, ¡°Thete Fiend Emperor is thete Fiend Emperor; I am myself. You can watch from right here, I¡¯ll be back.¡±

    Hu Qianxiao asked, ¡°Do you need help? This one can go with you!¡± He was already one of those with the greatest fighting prowess out of the survivors.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need. It¡¯ll be done soon.¡± Zu An paused for a moment before saying, ¡°Right, activate all of your defensive formations, the highest level you have.¡±

    The Second Empress was stunned, saying, ¡°But we don¡¯t have enough resources left to begin with. If we activate all of our defenses to the maximum, that will use up all of the energy we have. We won¡¯t be able to use them again!¡±

    ¡°Trust me,¡± Zu An said simply, then flew in the direction of the monster army.

    When she saw him leave, the Second Empress was full of worry. The metal birds he had taken out were already extremely shocking, but defeating a monster army of a million was still beyond their power. Even if he took them out again, even without the giants, they still had ways of defeating them. Since then, she had already thought of many ways the monsters could deal with the metal birds. Even though Zu An¡¯s cultivation was high, one man against a million monsters was like throwing a pebble into the ocean.

    All of the soldiers in the city cheered when they saw Zu An charge out. Even though they didn¡¯t know what kind of solution Zu An had, they had seen the regent¡¯s power themselves. It was precisely because they didn¡¯t have enough information that they had even greater hopes.

    When she saw that, the Second Empress gritted her teeth. She ordered the troops to activate the highest-level defensive formation. At the same time, she flew over to the war drums. She pushed the drummers away and personally hit the drums to give Zu An support.

    When he heard the pounding war drums behind him, Zu An turned around. Seeing the Second Empress behind him strike the drums with worry and resolution, he felt warm inside.

    Suddenly, many of the flying monsters sensed his arrival. They rushed at him to rip him to pieces. However, one after another, golden ripples appeared in the sky behind Zu An. Then, countless metal weapons fired out from inside. All of the iing monsters were instantly sted apart.

    When they saw that, the soldiers in Mengte City cheered even louder.

    However, the truly strong individuals such as Hu Qianxiao and the Second Empress were full of worry. This move Zu An showed was strong, capable of single-handedly dominating an army of ten thousand. But what he was facing off against was a monster army of a million! On top of that, there were still some especially strong monsters on the other side! Perhaps his terrifying sword ki could kill many, many enemies, but more monsters would instantly drown him out andpletely rip him apart. Only by increasing the distance and kiting the monsters, doing his best to face fewer enemies at a time and nibbling away at them while trying to stir up rm in the enemy army, would he be able to earn a slight chance of survival for all of them.

    And yet, what left the two of them stupefied was that Zu An didn¡¯t fly around the edge of the enemy army, and instead went to the very center.

    ¡°Has he gone mad?!¡± Hu Qianxiao muttered to himself.

    The Second Empress was also horrified. Even though Zu An was powerful,pared to the ck expanse of monsters, he was just like an ant. Even if ten Fiend Emperors rushed at the monsters, they would still be drowned under the weight of numbers. How could he possibly be ten times stronger than thete Fiend Emperor?

    When the monsters saw Zu An fly to the very center, many of them snickered. The ones at the very front were almost all cannon fodder, while this was where the stronger ones were. There was nock of creatures on the level of the Heart-Devouring Demon Spiders and Demonic Motherbug there. Sinister looks appeared on their faces. They would soon teach this fe what it meant to try and fight numbers with his two measly fists!

    <i>We can drown you to death with just our spittle!</i>

    The golden sword ki was really terrifying, but there was a limit to its power. With so many of them to take on a share of the burden, blocking the attacks wasn¡¯t difficult at all. Then, there would definitely be a chance to get closer and chew him to death.

    <i>The blood essence of someone this strong will definitely taste amazing!</i>

    When he saw those powerful monsters charge at him with sinister smiles, Zu An muttered to himself, ¡°I¡¯ve watched an animation where the main character had the nickname Nuclear Sword Immortal. It just so happens that I seem to be able to put together hydrogen bombs...¡±

    While he spoke, arge, droplet-shaped iron ball suddenly appeared behind him.

    ¡°What is that?¡± Many of the great monsters were stunned. The metal ball looked to be a few meters long. It wasn¡¯t even asrge as many of theirpanions.

    ¡°You want to crush us to death with such a small metal ball?¡± they eximed,ughing.

    ¡°Be careful! Those metal spheres earlier were able to create explosions of great heat and force,¡± a more cautious monster warned.

    ¡°Heh, the things those metal birds dropped aren¡¯t even enough to scratch an itch for us. A single punch will make him meet his maker!¡± a great monster that resembled a praying mantis replied, then sent a punch as fast as lightning at that iron sphere. It was so fast that the friction between its w and the air produced a sunset-like radiance.

    The other monsters nodded. The mantis¡¯ w was generally acknowledged to be the strongest among all of them. Its punch could crush any defenses, and it should have been more than enough to make the enemy meet their maker.

    But what they didn¡¯t expect was that the power of this punch was far greater than any of them had expected. It made all of them meet their maker!

 Chapter 2043: Dazzling Fireworks

    <h4>Chapter 2043: Dazzling Fireworks</h4>

    The hydrogen bomb actually needed an atomic bomb to ignite it, but Zu An hadn¡¯t expected this monster¡¯s punch to be so strong as to actually create a sufficiently high-temperature, high-pressure environment. It saved him that step and immediately ignited the hydrogen bomb.

    <i>Boom!</i>

    A blinding white light erupted from the center of the monster army. Many people within Mengte City had been watching what was happening, and those with lower cultivations immediately clutched their eyes in pain. Immediately after, a massive mushroom cloud soared. The fiery light that erupted in that instant even outshone the sun itself.

    The monsters that had been mocking Zu An for using a small metal ball against them all had drastically different expressions. Even such powerful beings sensed extreme danger. They all used their ultimate skills to run away as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, the power of the hydrogen bomb¡¯s central st zone was just too great. They could only scream as their bodies turned to ashes. Meanwhile, the mantis who was known for its strong punch died the most peacefully, because it was instantly vaporized.

    An enormous ball of fire surrounded everything within a few kilometers. Almost all of the monsters in the area were burned to ashes. Immediately after, a terrifying shockwave rippled out in all directions. The monsters on the outside instantly caught on fire and were blown into the sky by the shockwave.

    The shockwave quickly reached the distant Mengte City. The highest-level defensive formation was shining brightly, but it was quickly covered in countless cracks. A secondter, the barrier shattered. An earthquake tore through the entire city, and many houses inside copsed. Even the wall they had rebuilt copsed once more.

    Fortunately, because of the resistance of the defensive formation, most of Mengte City remained intact. Many people were injured, but didn¡¯t lose their lives. However, they reflexively hid behind cover as they stared at the terrifying mushroom cloud in the distance, which had reached its full size. It reached into the clouds, and the top couldn''t be seen anymore. Meanwhile, the bottom half was dozens of kilometers wide! What kind of power was this?

    The Second Empress looked at the very center of the explosion with a look of horror. If its power was this great, didn''t that mean everything boded ill for Ah Zu?

    As if seeing through her worries, Xiao Yi advised her, ¡°Your highness, there is no need to worry. The regent has always acted with confidence in his ns. He will definitely return safely.¡± n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The Second Empress nodded slightly and could onlyfort herself with simr words. But could he really be fine after experiencing such a terrifying explosion?

    She gritted her teeth, then gathered her thoughts again,manding her subordinates to rebuild the copsed wall. The terrifyingly hot winds around them made everything difficult, melting a lot of the ice on the city walls that had seemed as if it would never melt.

    Fortunately, the monster army was now inplete disorder and scurrying in all directions. They were definitely in no mood to attack the city further.

    ...

    Meanwhile, a thousand miles out, the Second Prince was leading his troops toward the exit when many mounts stirred restlessly. His troops all sensed something and turned around. They saw a huge ball of fire in the horizon, clearly visible even from all the way where they were. They were all shocked. What was that thing, and how could it be this frightening?

    There were some subordinates who asked the Second Prince if they needed to send some people to investigate it. The Second Prince¡¯s expression changed several times, but in the end, he waved his hand and said, ¡°We will carry out a rapid advance and leave the sealednd as quickly as possible.¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s beautiful brows furrowed slightly, but when she secretly observed the Second Prince¡¯s reaction, she felt a bit more at ease.

    If this was something even he didn¡¯t know about, it was probably not the monsters¡¯ attack and likely something Ah Zu hade up with.

    <i>Ah Zu, you have to stay safe!</i>

    ...

    Meanwhile, Zu An was observing the monsters¡¯ situation several kilometers away from Mengte City. He had used his exchange and instant movement abilities to just barely avoid the main st of the bomb. Light was flickering all around his body, and the outline of the Tranquility Bell faintly manifested around him. It was clear that with his current cultivation, the st waves couldn''t injure him.

    When he saw the situation in the distance, he couldn''t help but frown, muttering, ¡°The power of one hydrogen bomb is lower than I imagined...¡±

    Even though the powerful monsters at the dead center of the explosion had melted away on the spot and all of the monsters within a mile died, there were just too many monsters. Even though the monsters on the outer edges had all more or less suffered some injuries, there was no danger to their lives. This was, after all, a monster army with their own defensive formations. Together with their ridiculous strength, the bomb couldn''t have killed more than a fifth of the army at most.

    Zu An thought back to the destruction caused by tsunamis and earthquakes, and how that was equivalent to many thousands of nuclear weapons. The reason why humans feared nuclear weapons was still just because they were inherently too weak. These monsters were tough and strong, so they had a certain degree of resistance.

    As he watched the remaining monsters flee in all directions, Zu An knew that after some time, they would gather together and be a terrifying force again. Even if he used the hydrogen bomb again, they wouldn¡¯t bepletely unprepared like before. Even after thought of that, however, he gritted his teeth and made another hydrogen bomb, tossing it where the monsters were the most concentrated.

    When they saw it, the monsters all screamed, pointing at the hydrogen bomb while saying something. After learning their lesson from the mantis earlier, no one dared to attack it. Instead, some monsters used their own abilities to divert the hydrogen bomb toward Mengte City. When he saw that, Zu An broke out into a cold shiver and took control over the hydrogen bomb again.

    In that time, the monsters had already fled in different directions. When he saw how they scattered, Zu An knew the effects of this bomb would definitely be far less than the first one. The amount of energy he needed to consume to create a hydrogen bomb was quiterge. If he could only kill a few monsters with one, that was definitely uneptable. Was there a way to gather them together again?

    Zu An smiled helplessly. Even though these monsters didn¡¯t have much intelligence, they weren¡¯t stupid either. With their earlier lesson, how could they possibly decide to gather up together just to get hit again?

    <i>Hold up...</i>

    He suddenly thought of something and hollered at the running monsters, ¡°Didn¡¯t you all want to invade our world? Why do you only know how to run? Are you monsters all cowards? If you have the skill, why don¡¯t youe and fight us properly?!¡± With his current cultivation, his voice was already able to fill the entire battlefield.

    When she saw that he was safe and sound, the Second Empress couldn''t help but sigh in relief. But soon after, she was confused, because she naturally knew that Zu An wanted the monsters to gather up. Even so, those monsters weren¡¯t stupid, so why would they throw their lives away just because of some words of provocation from him?

    She wasn¡¯t the only one who had such thoughts. Many people were confused.

    <i>The regent is normally brilliant and heroic, so why does he now seem a bit... naive?</i>

    But soon after, their eyes almost popped out of their sockets, because they saw the monsters, whom they had thought absolutely wouldn¡¯t turn back, turn around one after another and rush at Zu An. They were all stupefied.

    <i>Did these monsters go mad?</i>

    All of the monsters felt as if they were going mad. They were clearly supposed to escape from the metal ball, and yet they were being insulted by a human? That was absolutely preposterous!

    <i>Humans are only worthy of being our food. When has food ever acted so arrogantly?</i>

    Besides, they were fearless monsters to begin with. For the sake of the monsters¡¯ glory, they had to kill that human!

    When he saw the monsters scream as they ran at him, Zu An chuckled. It seemed ¡®Fragrant Barf¡¯ was useful against these monsters too. Once the skill was activated, the targets would pursue the user relentlessly. Either he died, or they died.

    When he saw the ck mass of monsters charge at him, Zu An exchanged positions again with the monster farthest out. Immediately after, he teleported several times to move more than ten kilometers away. The monster that was swapped in waspletely stunned. It looked at the iing monsters, seeing that there was nock of powerful creatures that it normally wouldn¡¯t dare to face, and was immediately scared witless.

    But it wasn¡¯t just that monster alone that was scared witless. The charging monsters saw that the hateful human had vanished, and the terrifying metal ball was already right in the middle of all of them.

    <i>Boom!</i>

    Once again, dazzling fireworks blossomed outside Mengte City.

 Chapter 2044: Donâ€™t Leave, My Friends

    <h4>Chapter 2044: Don¡¯t Leave, My Friends</h4>

    ¡°What the hell is this? It¡¯s too scary!¡±

    ¡°Everyone, hurry and run! I saw a lot of great monsters that were instantly vaporized!¡±

    ¡°What was wrong with those guys? Did they turn stupid? They actually flocked over to that thing?¡±

    ...

    The remaining monsters were nowpletely mortified. They fled in all directions like pigs.

    Even the soldiers in Mengte City were left dizzy from the powerful impact. The Second Empress quickly moved the troops around so those with lower cultivations could hide in the back and get some rest, while those with higher cultivations held the front line. Even though the monsters were already fleeing in all directions, they still had to make the necessary preparations just in case.

    As she looked at the dazzling mushroom cloud in the sky, her expression was full of excitement.

    <i>Just how did he do all of this?</i>

    <i>This really is a man who continues to create miracles again and again...</i>

    During the past few days, she hadn¡¯t been able to catch her breath at all, going from one life and death situation to another. Eventually, the whole army had already been left on the brink of copse, unable to see any hope. They were facing a million monsters, after all... Numbers and strength that terrifying were already enough to crush any crafty plot.

    And yet, after Zu An appeared and delivered two massive firework explosions, the Second Empress suddenly felt that victory was no longer impossible. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Hu Qianxiao also ran over to her side excitedly and asked, ¡°Your highness, should I lead my army out and teach those motherf*ckers a proper lesson?¡±

    The monsters were alreadypletely frightened. This was a good chance to beat them down further.

    The Second Empress shook her head slightly and said, ¡°The explosion is still quite vicious. If we go out now, our casualties will also be extremely severe. Let¡¯s wait for the regent first.¡±

    She believed that once it was time, Zu An would definitely give the signal. Still, when she saw those scurrying monsters, she couldn''t help but be a bit worried. If they still didn¡¯t act soon, the monsters could reallypletely escape.

    Just then, Zu An flew up into the air again. A wantonugh echoed through the world. ¡°Everyone says you monsters are brave, but I don¡¯t see any difference between you and pigs!¡± He activated Fragrant Barf again.

    Many fleeing monsters immediately stopped, but many of them were still a bit hesitant. The metal ball that could create a huge explosion was just too terrifying. Among them, however, a great monster shouted out in monsternguage, ¡°There''s no way he can use that powerful weapon endlessly! Look at how weak his body is; he''s probably already at his limit and is only posturing!¡±

    Compared to a monster, a human like Zu An was much weaker. When they heard that, many monsters felt it made sense. That brat had already tossed out the terrifying weapons twice. Could he really still have a third one?

    For some reason, the monsters all burned with rage whenever they looked at the human. They wanted to chop up his corpse into a thousand pieces. As such, a group of monsters ran back, screaming as they charged at Zu An.

    When he saw the rage in the monsters¡¯ eyes, Zu An felt a bit of regret. Unfortunately, no Rage points could be earned when they were made angry because of the Fragrant Barf skill. Otherwise, the Rage points of a million monsters would have been exciting to even just think about.

    When he saw the monsters surrounding him, Zu An continued to use Fragrant Barf while acting weak. It was as if he was struggling to summon the terrifying weapon again.

    When they saw what he was doing, the monsters were a bit shaken. They reflexively slowed their approach. Even though they really wanted to kill him, the power of that weapon was just too frightening. Their survival instincts began to take over.

    Sweat appeared on Zu An¡¯s forehead. Even after he struggled for a long time, nothing came out.

    The monsters cheered when they saw that, eximing, ¡°Hepletely exhausted himself, as expected! Everyone, let¡¯s fight shoulder to shoulder!¡±

    When she saw the monsters rush at him like a flood, as if they had gonepletely mad, the Second Empressy couldn''t help but feel worried. She reflexively wanted to rush out and help, but Xiao Yi held her back, saying, ¡°Your highness, you absolutely cannot go! If you go out there, you¡¯ll die for sure!¡± The Second Empress would be instantly swallowed up by the ck mass if she went out, after all.

    ¡°But he¡¯s in danger!¡± the Second Empress eximed in a panick. She quickly flung away Xiao Yi.

    ¡°What if it¡¯s the regent¡¯s scheme? If you went there, your highness would only put the regent in danger because he would have to save you,¡± Xiao Yi quickly reminded her.

    ¡°Really?¡± the Second Empress replied, stunned. She realized that there was indeed that possibility.

    ...

    By now, the monsters had arranged themselves in threeyers around Zu An. They had learned from their earlier lesson and were scared that he could get away. Many of them set up spiderwebs and other screens. Anything that tried to go past such barriers would be stopped. The monsters weren¡¯t stupid. As long as he remained here, even if he could summon that powerful weapon, he himself would also die and wouldn¡¯t dare to use it.

    Unfortunately, even though their ns were good, he still suddenly vanished, and in his ce was a fat iron ball. It turned out that when Zu An looked like he was struggling, he had already summoned a nuke, but it was more than ten kilometers away. Once all of the monsters surrounded him, he then immediately swapped positions with it, not giving them any chance to escape.

    When they saw the fat metal ball, the monsters¡¯ eyes almost popped out.

    ¡°You piece of...¡±

    <i>Boom!</i>

    Another terrifying mushroom cloud rose!

    When she looked at the blinding ball of fire in the distance, even someone with the Second Empress¡¯ cultivation felt pain in her eyes. However, she didn¡¯t care at all and instead held Xiao Yi¡¯s hand excitedly, eximing, ¡°Xiao Yi, I didn¡¯t expect you to understand him best!¡±

    Xiao Yi wiped at her cold sweat. She had only said that to stop the Second Empress from throwing her life away. She''d had no idea that the regent was really this strong.

    Nearby, Hu Qianxiao couldn''t help but swallow with difficulty when he saw the terrifying mushroom cloud. He quickly warned his sons, ¡°You must firmly remember this. In the future, you must stand at the regent¡¯s side; you can never make him your enemy.¡±

    The Tiger race''s princes nodded frantically. One of them was really d that his rtionship with the regent hadn''t been bad during their earlier meeting, establishing some friendship between them.

    <i>In contrast, those Lion race princes really are dumbasses. They actually dared to provoke the regent! That was probably part of the reason why they sided with the monsters this time.</i>

    ...

    Just then, Zu An had already returned to the air. The dark expanse of monsters was now down to two-fifths of their original number. They were now far from being as impressive as before.

    When they saw Zu An return, the remaining monsters roared and ran at him. Even though he couldn''t understand what they were saying, judging from their expressions, they were definitely cursing him brutally.

    Zu An clenched his teeth and activated Fragrant Barf again. The scattered monsters all stopped. They hesitated as they exchanged looks.

    ¡°There¡¯s no way, right? Are we still going?¡±

    ¡°That kid already did three rounds. He¡¯s definitely at his limit.¡±

    ¡°But what if he isn¡¯t?¡±

    ¡°Look at how pale his expression is! Even his legs are shaking, and he can¡¯t even fly steadily anymore. He¡¯s definitely at his limit. Did you realize that when he came back this time, he wasn¡¯t as arrogant as before, and he sounds as if he¡¯s hoping we¡¯ll run away as early as possible?¡±

    ¡°I understand! Is this the so-called double bluff of the humans?¡±

    ¡°Brother, you''re amazing! You actually saw through him!¡±

    ...

    All of the monsters discussed with each other and felt that was highly likely. As such, they rushed at Zu An furiously. This time, they decided to stay a certain distance away and use long-range attacks.

    Zu An felt a bit annoyed. It seemed that after being fooled several times, they had be much smarter. Fragrant Barf was effective, but attacking from long-range was still trying to kill him. In order to bait these monsters toe closer, he didn¡¯t use the exchange skill, and instead took the attacks head-on.

    After around three breaths of time, the Tranquility Bell around him shattered. Even the dozens of defensive formations he quickly set up could only hold on for thirty seconds. Fortunately, he promptly used the Heaven Devouring Sutra to create ck holes all around him and neutralize all of the attacks, even taking out the Human Emperor Seal to protect himself. Only then could he barely hold on.

    Their numbers were still not to be underestimated. Even though none of these monsters were as strong as him, when several hundred of them attacked together, it was still extremely terrifying. If he didn¡¯t have all kinds of divine weapons and skills, perhaps he would have already been sted into dregs.

    As they watched the lights around him shatter one after another and saw him tottering, even the monsters that were watching from a distance couldn''t hold themselves back anymore. They thought that if they joined in too, they would definitely be thest straw that broke the camel''s back.

    <i>This guy is just too hateful, actually killing hundreds of thousands of ourrades. We can''t swallow down this grudge!</i>

    When he saw the remaining monsters start to gather, Zu An knew that it was about time. He suddenly vanished.

    When they saw another terrifying metal ball where he had been, all of the monsters went mad. They immediately turned around to run. Unfortunately, they had surrounded Zu Anyer afteryer, so how could it be that easy to run away?

    <i>Boom!</i>

    A mushroom cloud soared again.

    This one¡¯s destructiveness was even greater than the very first one. More than half of the remaining monsters were destroyed. Only a hundred or so thousand scattered monsters remained, and they fled in all directions.

    Zu An appeared in the sky again, calling out, ¡°Don¡¯t leave, my friends! You can definitely win this time!¡±

    However, when they heard his words, the monsters only ran even faster.

    <i>Like hell we¡¯ll believe that! This damned human is evil!</i>

 Chapter 2045: Life and Death Crisis

    <h4>Chapter 2045: Life and Death Crisis</h4>

    When he saw the monsters flee without even turning around, Zu An was left feeling quite restless.

    <i>Come on, guys, people should trust each other!</i> N?v(el)B\\jnn

    He could only wave his hand toward the city. The Second Empress immediately reacted and ordered for the army to leave the city in pursuit. After all, this time, the monsters were truly scared out of their minds. It was the best time to pursue and attack the fleeing enemy.

    Hu Qianxiao felt that his de was already extremely thirsty. He quickly summoned his troops to take the lead. The monsters¡¯ formation was already a mess, and they couldn''t mount any effective defense. What unfolded next was a one-sided ughter. The overwhelming and invincible army of a million monsters was soon reduced to a mere twenty thousand or so.

    As she watched the ughter, the Second Empress was left in disbelief. She flew over to Zu An¡¯s side and looked at him admiringly, eximing, ¡°Ah Zu, you are too amazing!¡±

    Zu An waved his hand to form a defensive barrier around her, saying, ¡°Be careful. The leftover radiation is harmful to the body.¡±

    ¡°So that stuff is called radiation?¡± the Second Empress replied, briefly stunned. However, she quicklyughed it off and continued, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We can sense some harmful things trying to invade our bodies, but as long as we use ki, we can block it out.¡±

    It was now Zu An¡¯s turn to feel surprise. He hadn¡¯t expected the cultivators of this world to be able to block out radiation that way. It seemed different worlds really had different answers to the same things.

    The Second Empress¡¯ eyes were full of affection. If not for the fact that there were countless people watching them right now, perhaps she would have already thrown herself into his arms.

    She was publicly acknowledged as the Fiend races¡¯ most charming woman; a single look or smile from her could make countless men¡¯s hearts melt. It was often said that if she ever slept with a man, her entire body would be as soft as cotton. Unfortunately, no one knew the truth of it, because no one dared to ask the regent that question. However, her alluring figure was public knowledge. She always gave off an enchanting air.

    As she watched these two, Xiao Yi couldn''t help but cover her face.

    <i>Your highness, even if you¡¯re going crazy, you should take a look around you first! There are still so many warriors watching!</i>

    She secretly observed the others'' reactions, but she didn¡¯t see them act weird at all. Instead, it was as if this was just to be expected, and the most beautiful woman of the Fiend races naturally belonged to the most powerful man.

    Instead, the warriors were filled with more excitement. As ofte, they had been pressured by the monsters to the point that they couldn''t even breathe. Now, they had finally reversed the situation and gotten their revenge, and they had vented out the rage that had built up within them for so long. They chased madly after the monsters, and even those left in the city cheered theirpanions on with everything they had.

    ¡°Ah Zu~¡± the Second Empress eximed, on the brink of tears.

    Zu An was about to respond to her when his expression suddenly changed. He turned to the battlefield.

    There were several craters on the battlefield that were over a kilometer long and several hundred meters deep. They were all left by the hydrogen bombs. Meanwhile, most of the monsters that had been caught up in the sts didn¡¯t even leave behind a corpse. The few shadows left behind against the walls of the craters were the remains of monsters that were already quite strong. Even so, there were quite a few charred corpses outside the craters. Even though they were all missing limbs, they were still rtively intact.

    Those were all usual sights; the only thing that was unusual was that the remains were still slowly wriggling. If it had been one or two bodies, perhaps it could be exined away as merely being reactions from the muscles and nerves. But all of them were wriggling, creating quite the frightening scene.

    ¡°What is going on?¡± the Second Empress asked, giving Zu An a look. She was feeling a bit scared too.

    ¡°Go back to the city first and have your subordinates prepare the defenses. Also, tell the troops who are hunting down monsters to note back for now,¡± Zu An said as he gave her waist a push, and a gentle force sent her back to the city.

    This scene really was way too strange, creating an ominous feeling. Fortunately, the army chasing the remaining monsters was already some distance away and hadn''t stayed behind on the battlefield.

    When she returned to the city, the Second Empress¡¯ blushing face immediately turned serious. She was someone who could separate her feelings from what was actually important; otherwise, there was no way she could have reached her current status. She continuously issued dozens of orders in session and arranged everything in the city neatly and tidily. That way, the soldiers wouldn¡¯t rush out on a momentary impulse.

    Just then, cries of rm filled the air. The Second Empress reflexively turned around. When she saw what was happening outside, she couldn''t help but gasp. She saw countless monsters¡¯ remains squirming, before gathering together to form a massive ball of flesh.

    There had been over a million monsters originally. Even though a lot of them had been burned to ashes by the hydrogen bombs, the amount of body parts scattered about was not to be underestimated. When so many corpses gather together to form an extremely massive ball of flesh, it was as if an enormous mountain towered above the soldiers.

    Zu An¡¯s expression was grave. With his current cultivation, he could naturally tell that the monsters had already died, but why had their corpses suddenly ¡®revived¡¯?

    The ball continued to wriggle; many monster corpses squirmed and twisted inside, forming an incredibly disgusting and terrifying sight. It was clear that if the process was allowed to continue, nothing good would happen. With a wave of Zu An¡¯s finger, over a hundred streaks of sword ki flew out.

    The ball of flesh wasn¡¯t too strong in terms of defenses, and there wasn¡¯t much resistance when the sword kinded on its body. The ki immediately exploded, creating over a hundred holes. Countless corpses fell away, scattering all across the ground.

    If that many terrifying holes appeared on its body, even a powerful monster on the level of the War Priest could very well have already lost its life on the spot. However, the ball of flesh lookedpletely fine. It continued to squirm, and just like that, the corpses crawled over again to fill in the holes. Soon, it seemed almost as if it had never been damaged at all.

    Zu An was speechless.

    Everyone in Mengte City cried out in rm. ¡°What kind of creature is this?¡±

    The Second Empress frowned. She thought back to the information the Fiend races had on these monsters to see if there was anything about this creature.

    Zu An released a cold snort. He slowly raised his right arm to summon the White Lotus me. Soon after, a several-hundred-meter long me de rushed through the air.

    As they looked at the massive me de, many people from the Fiend races sighed in amazement. They could feel its destructive power even from far away.

    <i>The regent is so young, but he really is unfathomable. I wonder just how he trained to be so strong. Even if thete Fiend Emperor were here, he would at most be this strong, right?</i>

    By then, the giant me de crashed ferociously against the massive ball of flesh. The ball was split open, and wherever the de went, countless corpses were lit ame. A cheer resounded from Mengte City.

    However, Zu An¡¯s expression remained serious. This ball of corpses was just toorge. With the remains of a million monsters being merged together, even a me de that was hundreds of meters long seemedpletely insignificant inparison.

    Sure enough, the ball of flesh was split in half, but eventually, the me¡¯s power was exhausted even before it couldpletely cleave the ball in two. Countless monster corpses wriggled, and just like that, the upper half was reformed. Countless corpses almost seemed to have gained their own consciousness as they frantically crawled onto the burning flesh. Soon after, they wrapped around the two burning surfaces, forcibly putting out the White Lotus me through the sheer number of bodies.

    On the surface of the flesh ball, multiple ces caved in, making it look as if two deep eye sockets and a mouth had formed. The ''face'' stared at Zu An as he floated in the air. In that instant, Zu An felt goosebumps all over his body, as if he sensed a threat to his life.

    A secondter, the corpse ball suddenly opened its mouth. Everything around Zu An was immediately covered, and he was swallowed in a single gulp.

 Chapter 2046: Tempting Offer

    <h4>Chapter 2046: Tempting Offer</h4>

    ¡°Ah!¡± The Second Empress couldn''t help but cry out in rm when she saw what happened.

    It wasn¡¯t just her; all of the soldiers in Mengte City turned pale and broke out into a cold sweat. The powerful regent had been devoured just like that?

    If such a thing had happened previously, they definitely wouldn¡¯t believe it, but in that instant, when the corpse ball opened its mouth, it looked as if it could even swallow up the stars. Its terrifying power made even the guards in the city far, far away tremble all over. The monster was just way too terrifying! More importantly, it was incredibly fast. The monster was clearly far away to begin with, and yet as soon as it opened its mouth, it had appeared where the regent was a secondter, devouring everything around him.

    However, just as their morale plummeted, countless golden lights suddenly rained down from the clouds.

    The Second Empress endured her urge to rush out. She quickly wiped at the tears around the corners of her eyes, eximing, ¡°That¡¯s his sword ki! He is still alive!¡±

    A figure descended from the clouds, and countless ripples appeared in the sky behind him. Then, nealy a thousand streaks of gold sword ki condensed in the air, scattering all across the corpse ball like rain. The incredibly sharp sword ki continuously eroded the corpses. However, there were just too many of them in the corpse ball, so even though some were sted apart by the sword ki, more immediately rushed out to take their ce. A million corpses wasn''t something that could be destroyed in a short amount of time.

    Zu An wiped away his cold sweat. This monster attacked way too quickly, almost like instant movement. More importantly, it had clearly looked sluggish and clumsy, but it had be that fast a secondter! That kind of baffling contrast really had nearly caught him off guard.

    However, at that instant, ¡®The Book¡¯ in his head had shown him a scene of himself being devoured by a massive mouth. He had already been saved by The Book¡¯s warnings many times, so he hadn¡¯t hesitated in the slightest, immediately using his exchange and teleportation skills to avoid that bite. Judging from the squirming monster corpses inside its body, he''d been able to tell that being devoured wouldn¡¯t end well for him at all.

    By now, the corpse ball was beaten badly by the golden sword ki. Even though it could promptly restore its body, it had to exhaust quite a bit of energy each time. Its mouth opened wide, resembling a silent scream. Then, ayer of dense green energy suddenly surged around its entire body. Whenever the sword ki touched the green energy, the swords quickly melted away.

    When they saw that Zu An was safe and sound, the soldiers in front of Mengte City had been cheering, but many of their faces suddenly turned green. Then, they fell to the ground and suddenly died.

    ¡°What dense and horrifying sword ki!¡± the Second Empress eximed. She was highly experienced and immediately reacted to what was happening. She quickly ordered the chief medical officer over to save them, and instructed the formation masters to put up a formation that would guard against corpse poison. She also had the medicine masters distribute antidotes.

    Those with lower cultivations were ordered to move to the center of the city. As for those with higher cultivations, when they circted their ki, they could gain a certain degree of resistance against the corpse poison.

    At the same time, the Second Empress looked at Zu An worriedly. The monster was many miles away, and yet the corpse poison was still this vicious, while he was so close to the monster. Wasn¡¯t he thus in even more danger?

    Zu An couldn''t help but clutch his nose. He almost fainted from the smell. This thing was just too foul-smelling! It was far worse than the herring cans of his previous world. He really wondered just how this monster was able to elerate the decay of the corpses. The smell of a million rotting monster corpses was absolutely horrifying! No wonder it was able to fend off his sword ki.

    The corpse ball stared at Zu An with its two deep eye sockets, as if looking at him. It almost seemed a bit stunned. How could a human like him be perfectly fine when facing such vicious corpse poison?

    Still, even though Zu An¡¯s body was impervious to poisons, he wasn¡¯t immune to stenches. The smell really almost made him vomit. He quickly formed a protective barrier around him to block out the air, thus making it a bit easier to endure. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The corpse ball wasn¡¯t willing to admit defeat and opened its mouth again. Its entire body immediately wrapped around the space Zu An was in.

    This time, Zu An was prepared and immediately shifted locations. At the same time, he created a hydrogen bomb. Since the bomb had been able to st the monsters into corpses, he figured it would also be able to once again st the corpses into smithereens.

    Unexpectedly, however, after the corpse ball swallowed up the hydrogen bomb, the anticipated explosion didn¡¯t happen. Instead, the corpse ball''s ''belly'' wriggled, and it opened up its mouth again. A lump wrapped in green smoke flew in Mengte City¡¯s direction.

    The ones defending the front of the city were all strong. They quickly saw that what was wrapped up in the green mist was none other than the extremely powerful explosive the regent had flung out. All of them were horrified.

    The Second Empress was even more aghast. She could only quickly order her subordinates to put up a formation, but she knew that if this bomb could kill a million monsters, there was no way their group could possibly withstand it. The corpse ball was too cunning, and had actually redirected the thing right back!

    While they were feeling despair, the hydrogen bomb wrapped in green smoke vanished, and in its ce was the regent. Then, a terrifying explosion happened in the distance. Unlike before, the mushroom cloud was actually green. It was easy to see just how powerful the monster¡¯s poison was.

    Those in front of the city didn¡¯t know how Zu An had been able to send that iron ball into the distance in such a short time. They all cheered with gratitude, thanking him for saving their lives.

    Zu An wiped at his cold sweat. He had never expected this corpse ball to have an ability that could divert his hydrogen bombs. He had almost let the Fiend races¡¯ elites get blown to dust. He didn¡¯t dare to use any more hydrogen bombs, or else it could be tossed at Mengte City again.

    The corpse ball opened its mouth and released cryptic and barely intelligible human speech. ¡°Exchange technique? Such a thing is a divine skill even among the endless cosmos. I didn¡¯t expect this weak world to have someone capable of it.¡±

    Zu An was shocked. It seemed his keyboard system was even more amazing than he imagined! He wondered just who had created all the skills it contained. However, what left him even more shocked was that this corpse ball could actually speak, and it even spoke thenguage of this world.

    He replied, ¡°I always thought that there was something secretlymanding this army of a million monsters. Now that I think about it, it should be you, right? How should I refer to your distinguished self?¡±

    The corpse ball gave Zu An a look. A whileter, it said, ¡°Human, you are very strong and have the right to learn this one¡¯s name. I am the Maniptor of Death.¡±

    ¡°Maniptor of Death?¡± Zu An repeated, stunned. ¡°Never heard of you.¡±

    The corpse ball paused for a moment. It had never expected to receive such a response.

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled the Maniptor of Death for +444 +444 +444...</strong>

    ¡°Who''s stronger between you and the War Priest?¡± Zu An asked, thinking back to the thing he had encountered over at Copper Gong Mountain. That thing had also been incredibly prideful.

    ¡°War Priest?¡± The corpse ball sneered. ¡°It didn¡¯t even have the qualifications to carry my shoes.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He had never expected that kind of reply. He could already sense that the pressure this thing gave him was a bit higher.

    Even so, the War Priest was also really strong. It hadn''t even been able to appear with its full strength because of this world¡¯s restriction. That was why Zu An had gotten the opportunity to kill it. If something as strong as the War Priest couldn''t even carry this Maniptor of Death¡¯s shoes, just how strong was it? The War Priest couldn''t even fully appear in this world, so how had this thing done so? Could it be that something had gone wrong in the sealednd?

    Suddenly, Mi Li¡¯s voice said in Zu An''s mind, ¡°Don¡¯t let it scare you. This fe is strong, but i''s definitely not as strong as you¡¯re imagining.¡±

    Zu An was already used to her randomly awakening and quickly asked, ¡°What makes you say that?¡±

    ¡°Do you still remember those things locked up in that great tomb? There are many beings you can''t even know the names of, to the point that speaking their names would instantly kill you,¡± Mi Li said. Her voice was always cold, as if she were a bystander merely observing thr world.

    Zu An immediately knew what she was saying. He clearly already knew this monster¡¯s name, but jr was still fine. That meant it wasn¡¯t so strong as to be impossible to defeat.

    The Maniptor of Death ''stared'' at Zu An with its eye sockets, saying, ¡°Human, your strength has won our respect. I will make an exception and give you a chance. As long as you surrender and swear your allegiance to me, we can take over this world together. You will be the ruler of this world and manage this ve world. You can even follow us in dominating more worlds. Do you really want to be trapped in this insignificant world for the rest of your life?¡±

    When they heard what the Maniptor of Death said, the people in Mengte City were all shocked. They had to admit that its offer was tempting. After experiencing this sealednd war, they already understood the monsters¡¯ power. More importantly, there were just too many monsters in a seemingly endless tide. No matter how they thought about it, it was a losing battle. The only question was how long this world could struggle on for. As long as Zu An agreed to the other side¡¯s conditions, he could change identities and would no longer have to face this absolute despair.

    And yet, what was most important was the allure of the final sentence. Which cultivator in this world didn¡¯t want to rise to the next level? Thete Fiend Emperor and the human emperor had both bbeen stunning, and yet even after exhausting their entire lives, they still hadn''t been able to transcend this world¡¯s limits. Now, there was such an opportunity before Zu An, so what choice would he make?

 Chapter 2047: Little Liâ€™s Flying Knife, Every Strike With Absolute Precision

    <h4>Chapter 2047: Little Li¡¯s Flying Knife, Every Strike With Absolute Precision</h4>

    Zu An was stunned. He had never expected the other side to actually try to recruit him. He couldn''t help but say with a smile, ¡°I don¡¯t know whether to be happy or upset that I¡¯m being acknowledged by you.¡±

    ¡°Of course you should be happy. There aren¡¯t many individuals in this weak world you all live in who can receive our recognition,¡± that corpse ball, no, the Maniptor of Death, said.

    Zu An keenly sensed the ¡®you all¡¯ in its words, so he used the chance to ask, ¡°Just how many beings simr to you are there?¡±

    ¡°You will naturally find out once you agree to my conditions. If you don¡¯t agree, there is of course no need for you to know,¡± the Maniptor of Death said with a mocking expression, clearly seeing through his thoughts. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°If you aren¡¯t even willing to talk about something like this, how am I supposed toe to a good decision?¡± Zu An replied with a sigh.

    ¡°You can stop stalling now. Surrender to us or die. These are the only two choices you have,¡± the Maniptor of Death said, clearly getting a bit impatient.

    ¡°You really aren¡¯t suited to be a lobbyist after all,¡± Zu An said, putting away his smile. ¡°Even so, I still have a third choice, which is to send you to your ancestors.¡±

    The Maniptor of Death was a bit stunned. The giant corpse ball looked at Zu An. Its monstrous face made of countless corpses smiled in ridicule, saying, ¡°I initially thought that anyone who could reach your level of cultivation would definitely be a smart person, but now, it seems you are still extremely stupid.¡±

    However, Zu An retorted, ¡°I initially thought that beings at your level would be pretty smart, but to be honest, it only seems like you''re extremely stupid.¡±

    ¡°Using your human speech, you are only parroting what I just said and trying to anger me through this method. This is hardly an impressive tactic at all,¡± the Maniptor of Death said, the mockery on its face bing even stronger.

    Zu An chuckled, saying, ¡°That wasn¡¯t a tactic, just a fact. What do you mean, you¡¯ll make me the leader of this world if I follow you? Right now, I''m not only the Fiend races¡¯ regent, but also the human race¡¯s regent. If I were to speak a bit boldly, I could say I already rule this world to begin with. Why would I need to rely on you and y along for the empty promise of a title?¡±

    When they heard that, many people in Mengte City reflexively looked toward the Second Empress. At the very least, she and the new Fiend Emperor were the rulers of the Fiend races, right? The regent¡¯s words seemed a bit excessive right now.

    And yet, the Second Empress¡¯ expression remained calm without any sign of displeasure, as if Zu An had stated the obvious.

    The others immediately felt relieved. In the end, this was still a world where the strong reigned supreme. With the strength the regent had disyed just now, and the grace he had shown in saving their lives, even if he became the new Fiend Emperor, that wouldn¡¯t be an issue at all.

    Just then, Zu An continued, ¡°As for that thing you spoke of about bringing me to other worlds, can¡¯t I just go by myself? Why do I need you to bring me? Also, it¡¯s not as if I haven¡¯t seen even stronger beings before.¡±

    ¡°Ignorant child, do you think the shackles of a world are so easily broken?¡± The Maniptor of Death was a bit angry now. It continued, ¡°Besides, how could ants of a low-level world like you have possibly witnessed any beings that were stronger than me before?¡±

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled the Maniptor of Death for +999 +999 +999...</strong>

    Zu An was stunned. He hadn¡¯t expected this thing to get so angry from just some random words.

    Just then, all of the corpses that made up the Maniptor of Death¡¯s body opened their mouths, as if they were speaking at the same time. ¡°Since you have chosen death, this one will help you with that goal.¡±

    Countless invisible sound waves rushed at Zu An, who felt a pain in his head. Hundredwarble activated, and the Violet-Gold Alms also shone with golden light. All manner of Buddhist figures appeared, defending against all of the iing invisible spiritual attacks.

    ¡°How does an ant like you have so many strange magical treasures?¡± the Maniptor of Death wondered, its voice carrying a hint of greed.

    Zu An didn¡¯t feel like replying. Since the weapons created from the Rune Weapon Chart couldn''t do much damage against this opponent, he¡¯d just give the real divine weapons a try. A dragon¡¯s cry resounded loud and clear as he drew the Tai¡¯e Sword. A resplendent wave of sword ki rushed into the clouds. The power of this sword alone instantly cleaved the giant corpse ball in half, and all of the corpsespletely scattered all over the ground. The sword ki¡¯s attacks didn¡¯t end there, however. Its power continued to leave behind a huge, bottomless ravine that extended several kilometers into the distance.

    At the front of the city, there were several fiend guards who cultivated the sword. Even though their cultivation ranks differed, they still had a lot of confidence in their sword skills. And yet, when they saw this sword, a lot of them felt their dao hearts shatter. This was true sword ki! Wasn¡¯t the sword they had practiced all their lives a joke?

    Fortunately, there were some who quickly realized that the regent was extraordinary to begin with. He was someone on the same level as the human and fiend emperors. He wasn¡¯t someone ordinary cultivators couldpete against, and it was only because he was too young that they had all overlooked this reality. They encouraged and consoled each other, eventually managing to prevent the whole group from breaking down.

    After being on the receiving end of such terrifying power, the Maniptor of Death should have beenpletely finished, right? That was what they thought.

    However, Zu An wasn¡¯t as optimistic as them, because he could sense that the enemy''s aura still remained, and it hadn¡¯t weakened at all. Sure enough, the corpses once again gathered together, quickly recreating its former appearance.

    ¡°It is useless. I cannot be killed, let alone in this weak world you all live in.¡± As they spoke such mocking words, all of the corpses on the Maniptor of Death¡¯s face lthat still had heads aughed visibly.

    Despair appeared in the eyes of everyone in Mengte City. That terrifying sword hadn''t been able to kill the monster! How were they still supposed to continue fighting?

    Zu An secretly asked Mi Li, ¡°Big sis empress, are there really unkible beings in this world?¡±

    Mi Li didn¡¯t even feel like correcting the nickname. When she heard that, she harrumphed and said, ¡°How could there be unkible beings in this world? If there seems to be one, all that means is that you aren¡¯t using the correct method.¡±

    Zu An nodded. It was just like the games of his previous world. There were some monsters with physical immunity, others with magic immunity, and still others with specific elemental immunities. But what was this guy¡¯s weakness?

    He had tried physical and elemental attacks earlier, and yet the enemy returned to normal. As long as the million monster corpses remained, it could still continue to regenerate. He even suspected that the corpse ball was only a temporary form it had. Even if the million corpses werepletely erased, it could still potentially reappear in another form.

    Moreover, the million corpses weren¡¯t so easily defeated either. The most useful weapons against them, the hydrogen bombs, would just be redirected. There was no way he could cut them down one by one with his sword, right? Besides, this thing was made from corpses to begin with, so the Poisonous Prick would clearly be ineffective. On the other hand, this thing couldn''t really be considered an undead spirit either. When he used the Primordial Origin Sutra, it hadn¡¯t seemed to be too effective. If he fired the Sun ying Bow, he would be able to scatter the corpses, but it would just quickly recover. The Human Emperor Seal didn¡¯t seem to be the right tool for the job either.

    <i>Wait, the most troublesome thing is its powerful regeneration ability, right...</i>

    The Maniptor of Deathughed and remarked, ¡°You must be feeling despair now, right? That¡¯s the reaction you should be having.¡±

    As it was talking, the entire corpse ball flew into the air. It opened its mouth wide, and countless monster heads flew out from inside. They all had sinister looks on their faces, as if they would only be satisfied after they took a bite out of Zu An. These monsters had all been mysteriously killed by Zu An, so it was only natural that they were filled with hatred.

    Zu An was unfazed. Ripples appeared in the air behind him, releasing countless streaks of golden sword ki. The heads were shed apart one after another. Immediately after, he swung the Tai''e Sword at the corpse ball again.

    When it saw him rush in, the Maniptor of Death¡¯sughter became even louder. It roared, ¡°It¡¯s useless! You can¡¯t kill me! You''ll only tire yourself out to death first!¡±

    A streak of dazzling sword ki flew out from Zu An¡¯s hand again, but a white me was mixed within, and there was even a phoenix projection around it.

    ¡°White Lotus me? Phoenix me? Interesting, but that¡¯s not enough to kill me.¡± The Maniptor of Death roared withughter. It wanted to fully break down this human¡¯s fighting spirit and teach him what despair meant.

    At the same time, however, it noticed that he seemed to have shot out a throwing knife. Judging from how small it looked, it couldn''t help but want tough.

    <i>Why is this stupid human trying to use such an insignificant knife on me?</i>

    Any random monster corpse was much bigger than the dagger. Even if it just stood in ce without moving, the knife would at most cut off a bit of skin. In contrast, the White Lotus me and the Phoenix me were a bit tricky.

    <i>Even though they can¡¯t kill me, being burned isn¡¯t the greatest feeling.</i>

    Just then, the knifended on its body.

    <i>Wait, something¡¯s not right! It¡¯s pitifully weak and didn¡¯t even manage to destroy a single monster corpse, but it is a bit painful. It seems to be effective at hurting the soul. </i>

    Unfortunately, in its current state, this bit of soul injury didn¡¯t do much at all. It thus directed its attention to the zing fire on the resplendent sword. That way, it could suffer a bit less pain.

    However, it seemed that the human had a divine weapon, and the power of that sword was quite frightening. It was cleaved in half again!

    <i>It doesn¡¯t matter. I can just rbine to make that human fall into absolute despair.</i>

    <i>Hm? Wait, why can¡¯t I freaking recover?!</i>

    It finally remembered thestrange knife from earlier. The corpses on the ground revealed looks of horror and cried out, ¡°Just what kind of throwing knife did you throw earlier?¡±

    Zu An covered his mouth with his fist and coughed a few times, then he slowly said, ¡°Little Li¡¯s Flying Knife, every strike with absolute precision.¡±

 Chapter 2048: Main Culprit

    <h4>Chapter 2048: Main Culprit</h4>

    ¡°F*ck you and your Little Li¡¯s Flying Knife!¡± the Maniptor of Death cried. It searched its memory across the various worlds it had experienced, and realized it had never heard of any Little Li¡¯s Flying Knife. This human was clearly trying to fool it! Together with the fact that it couldn''t restore its body, it was nowpletely pissed off.

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled the Maniptor of Death for +999 +999 +999...</strong>

    Zu An couldn''t help but chuckle. He''d thought that no one in this world would understand what he just said and was feeling a bit gloomy. He hadn¡¯t expected this guy to actually quote a line from the movie unwittingly.

    The throwing knife naturally wasn''t Little Li¡¯s Flying Knife, but rather one of the Immortal Beheading Knives he had unexpectedly obtained before. It was something that could wound the soul, while preventing the target from recovering. Zu An''s original goal had been to attempt to wound the enemy¡¯s soul. After all, in the past, the knife''s properties had been especially effective against Zhao Han¡¯s primordial spirit.

    As for preventing the enemy from recovering, that was a bit trickier. After all, it would only prevent them from recovering for a certain time after they were injured. As long as their regeneration ability was strong enough, it wouldn¡¯t make that much of a difference. If he was stronger than his enemy, why would he even need that ability in the first ce? As such, he had previously overlooked that property.

    But this time, now that he had to face a strange enemy like the Maniptor of Death with its despair-inducing regeneration, the throwing knife just happened to disy miraculous effects. The monster corpses were struggling tobine together again, but couldn''t gather up like before, and could only squirm helplessly in a disgusting and terrifying manner.

    Zu An didn¡¯t want any more variables to show up and give it any more opportunities. He immediately took out a hydrogen bomb from the Rune Weapon Chart and tossed it over. Even with his current cultivation, repeatedly creating powerful hydrogen bombs was still quite strenuous. Each time he did it, he felt as if he was being sucked dry. Fortunately, even though the million monsters couldn''t give him any more experience points because of this world¡¯s own restrictions, they had replenished his energy reserves. That was why he wasn¡¯tpletely out of energy yet.

    The hydrogen bomb descended, but this time, the Maniptor of Death couldn''t condense the corpse ball and reflect the bomb.

    ¡°Nooo!¡±

    <i>Boom!</i>

    Dazzling fireworks soared into the air. Countless monster corpses turned to ashes in an instant. Immediately after, Zu An¡¯s Tai¡¯e Sword carved out countless resplendent streaks of sword ki through the air. The monster corpses that remained were diced up into tiny pieces.

    The frigid, howling winds that swept through the world seemed to have vanished, reced only by an even colder sword wind. Not even any dregs remained of the monster corpses as everything was erased. Only Zu An alone stood at the center of it all, overlooking the battlefield coldly and decisively.

    The scene left everyone in Mengte City speechless. Some younger cultivators were overwhelmed with emotion.

    <i>How great would it be if one day, we could be like the regent...</i>

    When there was only onest corpse left, its head gave Zu An a resentful look, eximing, ¡°You dare to kill my incarnation? In the future, I will definitely personally...¡± n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°You really know how to spew bullshit!¡± Zu An retorted, bringing his sword down before it even finished speaking. The rest of its words disappeared together forever with the corpse.

    When Zu Annded at Mengte City, everyone within finally realized that they really had won. The entire city erupted into loud cheers.

    ¡°Long live the regent!¡±

    ¡°Long live the Second Empress!¡±

    ¡°We hope that the regent and the Second Empress can bear a son soon!¡±

    ..

    There was all manner of disgraceful speech mixed in the cheers, but no one felt there was anything wrong with it.

    Even the Second Empress herself was now acting like a youngdy who was experiencing her first awakening of love. She stood in front of Zu An with a reddened face, and in the end, she couldn''t help but throw herself into his arms.

    Zu An wrapped an arm around her waist, then held her cheek to kiss her. He had just killed a million monsters, so his mood had definitely been influenced a bit. When he felt her soft and sweet body, he finally recovered a bit of clear-headedness.

    The cheers and whistles around him became even louder, as everyone present was extremely excited. As for thete Fiend Emperor, they couldn''t care less. The regent had just saved all of their lives, and he had even disyed his incredible might in killing a million monsters. In the end, he had even taken down the incredibly terrifying corpse ball. Forget about the Second Empress, even if he wanted the most beautiful woman of every race, the crowd would offer them up more than willingly. Forget about forcing those women to agree, too; they would be throwing themselves at him all on their own.

    There were many women in the city, and they all looked at the Second Empress with jealousy.

    <i>We can¡¯tpete against the Second Empress¡¯ status, but once she¡¯s no longer at the regent¡¯s side, we¡¯ll try to get close to him then.</i>

    Compared to human women, the Fiend races¡¯ women were much more enthusiastic and passionate. However, the Second Empress finally became too embarrassed. When she sensed that Zu An even wanted to go a bit further, she gently pushed him away in rm. No matter how brazen she was, she couldn''t do it in front of so many of her subordinates! She quickly used the excuse that she had to discuss the sealednd¡¯s affairs and they left the front of the city. Soon after, the higher level officers of the Fiend races gathered in the city¡¯s discussion hall.

    Zu An was starting to get a bit embarrassed from everyone¡¯s looks of admiration. He quickly cleared his throat and asked, ¡°Just what exactly happened here? How were all of you surrounded by a million monsters?¡± Even though he had heard a bit from Yu Yanluo, she had already separated from the main force on the way here. She didn¡¯t know the details as well as the Second Empress, who was here.

    All of them began to speak one after another. ¡°When we learned that something was wrong with the sealednd, we were worried that the monsters mightpletely break free, so we hurriedly gathered the different races¡¯ elites and rushed to Primeval Iron City. There, we learned that the Second Prince already led his troops into the sealednd. At first, we thought that he wanted to eliminate the disaster forever and take a gamble. We naturally couldn''t just sit still as he took a fourth of the empire¡¯s elites inside for nothing, so we brought our main army to rescue them.

    ¡°And yet, in the end, none of us expected that all of this was a plot to kill us, and that the information we received led us right into the center of the monsters¡¯ encirclement. Together with the Little Golden Peng King, Shi Zhentian, and the Hyena race¡¯s betrayals, we were almostpletely wiped out. It was thanks to the Second Empress¡¯ brilliant leadership that we were able to break free from the encirclement, thus stalling for long enough until the regent¡¯s arrival.¡±

    The Second Empress said with a bitter smile, ¡°I would like to thank everyone for bravely attacking the enemy and using brilliant strategies. I was only able to be of some minor aid."

    ¡°Your highness is too humble.¡±

    ...

    Zu An frowned slightly.

    <i>There really was something wrong with the Second Prince, as expected. Even so, why haven¡¯t I seen him or his troops at all?</i>

    ¡°By the way, how did the regent find this ce?¡± Hu Qianxiao asked with a smile. The others were also curious, because this sealednd was unimaginablyrge. They had already been in absolute despair and really hadn''t thought he would be able to find them.

    ¡°At first, I tried to contact the Second Empress through the recording mirror but failed. I realized that something likely happened on this side...¡± Zu An began.

    When they heard what Zu An said, the officers'' eyes darted between the two, and they had knowing smiles on their faces.

    The Second Empress¡¯ face heated up. She gave them a re and said, ¡°He is also the human race¡¯s regent, so we were just talking about proper affairs.¡±

    The officers thought to themselves, <i>Like hell we¡¯ll believe you. Judging from how the two of you were glued together earlier, your conversations have probably reached the deepest subjects.</i>

    Zu An coughed lightly and said, ¡°Later, when I learned of the strange things that were happening, I came to Primeval Iron City. When I entered the sealednd, I ran into Yanluo... Ahem, into the Medusa Queen. That was how I learned of your location.¡±

    The officers gave the Second Empress approving looks and said, ¡°Back then, her highness stood her ground and paid a huge price to send out the Medusa Queen. Many people objected to her decision back then, but it turns out we were all short-sighted like blind mice!¡±

    The Mouse race¡¯s leader mmed a chair and cried out, ¡°Hey, I¡¯m still here, you know?!¡±

    Those present all roared withughter. Their moods had clearly improved a lot after their victory in battle.

    Zu An suddenly thought of something and asked, ¡°By the way, why did so many monsters appear here? If they were this powerful, they should have already left Primeval Iron City a long time ago, right?¡±

    When she heard him say that, the Second Empress¡¯ expression became grim. She said, "We also looked into some information since then. I reckon that the Second Prince broke some of the seals here, which led to the outbreak of countless monsters. If we cannot repair the seal promptly, even more monsters might appear rapidly. At that point, the situation willpletely copse.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>Second Prince, I¡¯m going to f*ck your mom!</i>

 Chapter 2049: Sacred Widow Body

    <h4>Chapter 2049: Sacred Widow Body</h4>

    As soon as that thought arose, Zu An reflexively gave the Second Empress a look. To a certain extent, the Second Prince also had to call the Second Empress mother, so he wasnt exactly wrong...

    The Second Empress gave him a confused look. She just felt that the way that he was looking at her was a bit strange, but she was too embarrassed to ask him in front of so many people.

    Zu An quickly focused his thoughts and asked, Right, where is the true sealednd?

    It should be even deeper inside than Mengte City. As for exactly where it is, I dont know, the Second Empress said. She quickly realized that stopping there was a bit inappropriate, so she quickly added, We were baited into this dangerous situation by the Second Prince as soon as we entered this ce, and then we were betrayed by the Little Golden Peng Kings group. We were constantly running for our lives and didnt have a chance to investigate any of these things.

    Zu An expressed his understanding. The fact that she could still help so many people escape even after falling into all kinds of traps, still managing to preserve most of their military strength, was already the most she could possibly do.

    ...

    Then, they all began to enthusiastically discuss what happened. They summarized all of their respective ns records and knowledge on the sealednd, then cross-referenced that with what they had seen and heard personally. In the end, there were three areas that were the most likely locations for the real sealednd. One was to the north of Mengte City, one was to the northwest, and one was to the west. Furthermore, they were allrgely unexplored areas that had to be investigated one by one.

    Zu An wanted the Second Empress to bring her troops out of the sealednd, and nned to investigate those areas himself. After all, the army had fought through bitter battles for many days already, and almost everyone present had some injuries; several were extremely grave. It had been a long time since they had any sleep, and they were at their physical limits. They needed time to rest and regroup to recover their fighting strength.

    Even so, the Second Empress and the other n leaders didnt agree to the n. After all, this was the Fiend races sealednd, and Zu An was a human. They were already really grateful that he had saved their lives, so how could they let him face these dangers alone?

    After talking for a long time, they finally reached an agreement. They would first send the most heavily injured individuals out of the sealednd while the rest recuperated in Mengte City, prepared to support Zu An at any time. Zu An knew that his individual power was limited, and that often, he did need the help of arge army. As such, he didnt persist with his previous idea.

    Zu An had initially been prepared to head out and investigate the different areas, but the Second Empress urged him to stay. He had just experienced a bloody battle and also needed rest. He was about to refuse, but in the end, when he saw the concern in her eyes, he agreed. Even though he''d been able to replenish his energy through that battle, the mental fatigue and tension were significant, especially after ughtering so many creatures. Fortunately, they''d all been savage monsters who moved on instinct, or else even his dao heart could have wavered.

    ...

    Soon after, he was given the best room in the city to rest. Inside the room, there was a formation prepared with the best ki stones, one that helped those inside recover from their injuries and helped them replenish their internal ki.

    After seeing off the others, the Second Empress used the excuse that she still had something to discuss with Zu An to stay behind.

    What was it that you didnt feelfortable talking about in front of the others? Zu An asked with a grave expression. Could it be that there were still more traitors hidden among those guys?

    The Second Empress looked around. With her back to the door, she backed up slightly to close it before saying, It''s something we cant let those guys know. Then, she rushed straight into his arms and warmly caressed his face, neck, and shoulders, continuing, You are way too nervous. Your entire body is so tense. Thats not a good thing when there are still so many unknown dangers ahead of us.

    Zu Anughed helplessly and said, Its not that Im nervous, but rather that Im really not used to the feeling of killing so much.

    That''s because deep down, you''re still a warm and kind person, the Second Empress said, looking up at him with her radiant eyes. Someone like you almost doesnt seem as if you grew up in this cruel world of cultivation. But it''s precisely because you''re like this that you''re special, and that''s why I''m willing to trust and share everything with you without holding anything back at all.

    There had actually been regents in the history of the Fiend races, but they were almost always influential ministers who held all authority within their grasp. In the past, the courts empress and child emperor had often needed to join together to fight and scheme, to barely preserve imperial authority. Zu An was the only regent who waspletely different, not caring about authority at all.

    At first, the Second Empress, who had already lived in the pce for a long time, had secretly prepared some countermeasures. However, after spending more time with Zu An, she discovered that she had actually been overthinking things. As a result, from then on, she discovered that she hadpletely fallen into enemy hands. She''d thought that it was just a political ploy, but she seemed to have really experienced the taste of love herself...

    On the surface, it seemed as if she''d won everything. An innocent and powerful regent was fully devoted to protecting her and her son, after all. However, she knew she had actually lost bitterly in this ordeal, and even given up her whole self, at that.

    However, when she realized those things, her expression only became even warmer. Her finger gently moved across Zu An''s lips and she sweetly said, I stayed behind to help you with the leftover fierceness inside of you, to help you vent out all of your negative emotions. I dont want someone like you to be affected by such emotions...

    After the Medusa Queen returned, the discussion as to who the most beautiful woman was became up for debate, but the most alluring woman was still definitely the Second Empress. Even Bluefield Countrys Tushan Yu, who was known for her charm, was a bit inferior.

    In the past, whenever they saw the agedte Fiend Emperor sit together with the young and captivating Second Empress in the throne hall, all of the men had wondered if thete Fiend Emperor could still do the deed. They all wanted to take his ce, and whenever they greeted the Second Empress, they hadn''t been able to help but dream about her...

    That was the effect of just seeing her from a distance, so how could itpare to having her soft and fragrant body right in one''s arms while she continued to murmur words of affection?

    Zu An couldn''t hold back at all anymore. He pushed her against the wall and pressed up against her back.

    The Second Empress was rmed. She hadnt expected him to be so rough! A hint of worry flickered in her eyes. It seemed there really were too many negative emotions left over from that battlefield. When she thought of that, she felt more and more pity for him. She used her warmest and most gentle side tofort him. freewe b

    In that instant, she even felt a bit proud. Everyone had witnessed that battle on the city gate tower, and the most arrogant experts had all asserted confidently that no one in this world could surpass the regent in matters of the sword. They had all spoken about how unstoppable it was, and how no one could stand in its way, and doing so would only result in destruction.

    And yet, she was biting her lip right now. Even the sharpest sword had a sheath that suited it, and she was the most suitable sheath for this man. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    But shortly after, her eyes rolled back, and she realized that it was still too early for her to be pleased with herself. That exceptional sword was thrusting in and out ruthlessly; no others couldpare. Trying to contain that exceptional and unrivaled sword ki all by herself didnt seem to be that easy.

    ...

    Xiao Yi, who was guarding the door outside, blushed.

    <i>Does this woman have no sense of shame? Thank goodness I had those guards all get lost earlier, or else there would be rumors about their passionate affair circting all throughout the Fiend races.</i>

    At the same time, she was also quite shocked. After all, in their n, the Second Empress was known for her special constitution. A hermit had once passed by their n in the past. When he saw her, he had been extremely shocked, dering that she possessed the legendary Sacred Widow Body. Such a constitution was rather ominous for her husband, as it portended that her husband was destined for a bad end. Its other effect was that her body was special. Put simply, she was a woman among women. Even the strongest man would immediately bepletely defenseless against her and be unable to hold themselves back at all. eastern fantasy

    In the past, the old n chief had chased the hermit away with a darkened expression. Unfortunately, the rumors of the Sacred Widow Body had still spread like wildfire. It was to the extent that the young elites of the n had all been a bit worried when they heard that. Even though they admired her appearance, they had all worried about her special cursed body.

    In the end, when thete Fiend Emperor passed by the n and saw her stunning beauty, he had immediately decided to make her his new wife. At the time, he was advised by many people who mentioned her special constitution. They had worried that it would be disadvantageous for him. However, thete Fiend Emperor had dismissed those warnings with augh. He hadn''t thought that someone as powerful as himself would need to fear such imaginary things.

    Butter on, sure enough, he had met a bitter end!

    Xiao Yi wasnt all that worried about the regent being cursed, actually. After all, he wasnt the Second Empress husband, and with their status, they wouldnt announce their rtionship to the world. That meant her constitutions issues didnt matter.

    Rather, she was shocked that the regent was actually not influenced by the other special trait of the Second Empress! Why did it sound as if it was the Second Empress who waspletely defenseless and begging for mercy?

    ...

    After an unknown amount of time passed, the Second Empress snuggled up in Zu Ans arms, her entire body soft and weak. As she looked at Zu An, her eyes were full of tender feelings as she said, Its alright, you dont need to hold yourself back. I want to bear your child.

    Zu An frowned, saying, You dont need to test me like this. The young emperor is still alive and healthy. I have no intentions of changing him out.

    The Second Empress shook her head. Her beautiful hair created a stark contrast as it fell onto her jade-like skin. She said, I''m not testing you. I only want to help you by bearing a son. It''s unrted to status or authority. Ive discovered that I can''t stop myself from loving you anymore. If I can''t have a child with you, I''ll regret it for the rest of my life!

 Chapter 2050: Undaunted

    Chapter 2050: Undaunted

    How could Zu An still hold back when he heard her words filled with endearment? He held her tightly, and another round of passion began.

    The Second Empress held the man she loved tightly. In that instant, it was impossible to know if she was crying or smiling. eastern fantasy

    ...

    Two hourster, when Zu An left the room, he felt incredibly refreshed. He was no longer affected by the battle against the monsters and hadpletely recovered to his peak state.

    When he left, he saw Xiao Yis astonished expression. He assumed it was because she was surprised by his ability to defeat a million monsters, but it had already been so long since then, so why was she still so shocked? Of course, he couldn''t really pry too much either. He nodded toward her slightly, then flew straight toward the first of the possible locations for the true sealednd.

    Xiao Yi went inside the room. When she saw that the Second Empress was wrapped under covers and smiling foolishly to herself for who knew what reason, she rolled her eyes in annoyance and said, Sigh, thank goodness no one else saw you like this, with an expression that looks as if you were yed with until you broke.

    The Second Empress looked at her. Their rtionship was really good to begin with, so she didnt go so far as to get upset. She replied, Xiao Yi, you know fully well just how hard it is to break me from ying. How can I not feel happy?

    Xiao Yi was speechless.

    <em>Fine, you win. Its impossible to win against the shameless.</em>

    But she still couldn''t endure her curiosity, asking, That special constitution of yours... didnt affect him?

    The Second Empress thought of something and blushed, saying, His constitution is definitely special as well. He was the only one affecting me. How could I do anything to him?

    Xiao Yi stared nkly for a moment. In the end, she could only say with a sigh, The regent is unrivaled after all.

    He is indeed unrivaled, the Second Empress said, her beautiful eyes swirling with brilliance.

    ...

    Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the Sealed Land, inside Primeval Iron City, Kong Nanwu asked the Peacock Wise King with a worried expression, Father king, do you think the Second Empress and the others will be able toe out safely?

    The Peacock Wise Kingughed and replied, What you are really interested in is whether or not the regent will be able toe out safely, right?

    Father~ Kong Nanwu pouted yfully. She pinched her fathers arm in annoyance.

    Alright, alright, your father will stop the nonsense. There was still a bit of a smile left in the Peacock Wise Kings eyes.

    Kong Nanwus face was red as she said, Thats right, I do have a good impression of the regent, but its still far from liking him. He has so many women around him, so father, you shouldnt randomly y matchmaker.

    "So the problem is that he has too many women around him, hm? the Peacock Wise King replied, then said seriously, You are the Peacock races princess, someone with a distinguished status. Your appearance isnt any inferior to others either, and youre smart to top it all off. How could an ordinary woman possibly win against you?

    Kong Nanwu was speechless.

    <em>The main part of what I said was in the first half! Why did my father only hear the second half?</em>

    ...

    While the father and daughter were bickering with each other, a bell suddenly rang urgently. The Peacock Wise Kings big smile disappeared, and he darted out.

    Kong Nanwu became serious as she followed behind him. This was the rm for an enemy attack. Could it be that the monsters had emerged from the Sealed Land?

    <em>Doesnt that mean everything bodes ill for big brother Zu?</em>

    Her footsteps quickened when she thought of that.

    ...

    Soon after, they arrived at the front of the city. They saw an army outside. Kong Nanwu couldn''t help but sigh in relief when she saw that it wasnt the monsters. Could it be that big brother Zu had saved the Second Empress army and returned?

    She quickly craned her neck to get a better look. She was a bit unfamiliar with the members of this army. All of them had injuries on their bodies, with blood dripping from their bandages. The ones who could still remain standing actually had it better, though, because there were many who were even missing arms and legs. Some of them were lying on stretchers, and it was unknown if they were dead or alive. This was clearly an army that had experienced a bloody battle. Furthermore, from the looks of it, they were on the brink of copse.

    A figure appeared at the head of the army and hollered in their direction, I am the Second Prince! Hurry and let us enter the city to rest and recover!

    The Second Prince? those who hade from the city eximed in shock. They quickly looked at him and saw that it was indeed him!

    The Second Prince was no longer dignified in bearing like before. His cloak was in tatters, reduced to just a few strips of cloth. No one knew where his helmet had gone either. His hair bun was alreadypletely undone, and blood-matted hair scattered down. There was quite a bit of hair stuck to his face. There was a massive wound in his chest, too; even his armor seemed to have almost been cleaved in half by a de. He tottered unsteadily as he stood there. It was clear that he was seriously injured.

    Second Prince, it really is you? the Peacock Wise King eximed, feeling surprised but happy. They hade all the way here precisely to save the Second Prince, and it had been so long since theyst received information about him. He hadnt expected the prince to actually appear here.

    Peacock Wise King! Who else could it be? It is indeed me, the Second Prince said, seeming pleasantly surprised to see him, as if he finally felt safe after seeing a familiar face.

    Peacock Wise King, please hurry and let us in! many soldiers behind the Second Prince shouted excitedly.

    Kong Nanwu hurriedly reminded her father in a soft voice, Father king, be careful of a potential scheme!

    The Peacock Wise King nodded slightly. He made a hand gesture to his subordinates behind the wall, and some soldiers went down to pass on a message to make preparations. He then looked outside the city and asked, Second Prince, why are you here? Where is the Second Empress and the other races troops?

    Please say no more... We suffered from a monster ambush in the sealednd and all of us fought bitterly, but the enemy was too great in number. The other troops were quickly driven off. We only managed to break out of their encirclement after losing most of our soldiers. We came this time precisely to ask the wise king for reinforcements. I hope you can lead the troops to save the Second Empress! the Second Prince replied. He even took out a de and stabbed it into the icy ground next to him, bitterly cursing those sted monsters.

    The Peacock Wise Kings brows furrowed slightly as he said, But the order I received was to hold Primeval Iron City no matter the circumstances, and act as the Fiend races final line of defense. We cannot let any monsters through.

    The Second Prince urgently said, The different races'' elites are all in deep trouble right now! If we dont swiftly send people to rescue them, and all of them are wiped out, our Fiend races will also be finished! How can we stop the endless monsters by relying on the trifling Primeval Iron City alone?

    The Peacock Wise King said gravely, This is a serious matter, so we need to take our time in making a decision...

    The Second Prince replied even more anxiously, Speed is a crucial asset in war! The different ns elites might die at any time in the sealednd, so how can we still take our time in making decisions?

    The Peacock Wise King was a bit hesitant. He also knew fully well that if the troops the Second Empressmanded werepletely wiped out, there was no way he could hold this city.

    Suddenly, Kong Nanwu said, Then we must ask you to enter the city first. We can discuss the exact details together.

    The Second Prince was overjoyed, eximing, Thank you so much, little sister Nanwu! Then, hemanded his subordinates to prepare to enter the city. Many soldiers immediately cheered.

    However, Kong Nanwu added just then, Second Prince, please do not misunderstand. We are only inviting you alone into the city.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The Second Princes expression immediately darkened. He asked, What is the meaning of this?

    Kong Nanwu had an apologetic expression as she said, I hope that the Second Prince doesnt take offense. We bear the heavy responsibility of defending this city, so we cannot afford even the slightest risk.

    The Second Prince retorted furiously, Then are you saying that my subordinates will treat you all unfavorably if we enter the city? Theyve fought bravely against the enemy on the front lines, and most of their brothers have died. Now, they carry severe injuries, but this is the treatment they get in return? Are you not scared of ruining their morale?

    The soldiers under hismand immediately became noisy. Many who had bad tempers even cursed her for not having any conscience.

    The prince''s words were extremely provocative. Even many soldiers in the city couldn''t help but have troubled expressions.

    Kong Nanwus expression was cold as she said, You are a famous general, so you should understand that we cannot rashly allow people into the city in this kind of situation. This little sister will definitely personally apologize to the soldiers after, and the Peacock race will also prepare generous gifts for everyone.

    Their lives were nearly lost, so who wants your gifts?! the Second Prince cursed. But no matter what he said, Kong Nanwu remained unmoved.

    The Peacock Wise King had actually been a bit moved at first, but he had always trusted his daughters wit. He opened his mouth, but didnt say anything in the end.

    Suddenly, the Second Prince seemed to have thought of something. He quickly waved his hand backward. Soon after, a charming figure emerged from their camp. He said, If you all dont trust me, then you should trust the Medusa Queen, right? She is extremely close to the regent, and she is also the Second Empress confidant. She fought together at the Second Empress side, so there is no way she would lie to all of you, right?

    Then, he secretly sent Yu Yanluo a voice transmission. If you do not speak the way we agreed, then forget about the lives of your servants, even the Heart-Devouring Demon Spider inside you will immediately activate. Then, you will be a walking corpse without any will of your own. I do not believe you wish to see that happen.

    Yu Yanluos expression remained calm. She nodded slightly. Even though the other side had treated her respectfully in a general sense, how could they not be wary at all against their group of captives? The prince had fed her the Heart-Devouring Demon Spider poison when she was off guard, to use precisely for this moment.

    Kong Nanwu was a bit moved too. She called out, Medusa Queen? Are the Second Empress and the Regent safe?

    Yu Yanluo took a deep breath and said slowly, The regent is safe, but I am not certain about the Second Empress.

    The Second Prince grinned. The worse the Second Empress situation seemed, the better. That way, the people inside would be in a rush to send out reinforcements to save her.

    What happened to the Second Empress? the Peacock Wise King hurriedly asked.

    Suddenly, Yu Yanluo quickly said, The Second Prince has betrayed the Fiend races and colluded with the monsters. All of you absolutely must not open up the city!

    The Second Prince, who had been feeling proud of himself, immediately felt his smile freeze on his face. He was shocked and furious!

    <em>How dare she?!</em>

 Chapter 2051: Circumstances Reversed

    Chapter 2051: Circumstances Reversed

    The Second Prince couldn''t understand at all. Yu Yanluo had the Heart-Devouring Demon Spider within her; it could hatch at any time, and if it did, she would bepletely controlled by that monster. Then, she would have to do whatever it made her do. Even if she had to do the most humiliating things, she could only obey the order.

    However, the Second Prince had always appreciated Yu Yanluos cooperation. Furthermore, turning such a beauty into a walking corpse just seemed like a waste. That was why he had been more lenient, only using the poison to control her and not directly activating it.

    After all, he figured there was no reason for her to go against his wishes. Perhaps she didn''t fear death, but if she had to continue living as a walking corpse, being an incredibly stunning woman, there was no way she would be willing to experience that.

    <em>Did this woman go mad?</em>

    Everyone watching from Primeval Iron City was horrified. They quickly aimed their weapons at the army below, ready to attack at any time.

    In this moment of crisis, the Second Princes subordinates could no longer keep up the act. They all took out weapons from the stretchers and prepared to defend.

    The Second Prince cursed all of them for being idiots. At first, he could still have tried to talk himself out of this situation even after what Yu Yanluo said, but now that his soldiers had already drawn their swords, it was toote for anything else.

    Sure enough, when he saw that, the Peacock Wise Kings expression grew cold. He immediately gave the order, The Second Prince hasmitted treason and colluded with the enemy.

    Soon after, the giant crossbows and catapults bombarded the army below with attacks. Furthermore, brilliant lights of many different colors rushed at the Second Prince as the cultivators on the city walls sent their techniques flying.

    In order to pretend to be wounded, the Second Princes soldiers hadn''t brought that much equipment. Now they had to suddenly fight, and as a result suffered tremendous damage. Many soldiers from the city immediately cheered when they saw that. Only Kong Nanwu looked at the beautiful woman below with a bit of worry. Yu Yanluo was clearly being ckmailed, and yet had still alerted them at a crucial time. The only fate that awaited her was probably death.

    When she thought about Yu Yanluo''s rtionship with big brother Zu, Kong Nanwu quickly tugged on her fathers sleeve and said, Father king, we must find a way to save the Medusa Queen!

    The Peacock Wise King sighed and said, She is currently insid the enemy camp. The Second Prince is a famous general, and has a lot of powerful experts under him. How can we save her?

    How could Kong Nanwu not know about that? She bit her lip so tightly blood almost came out.

    The Peacock Wise King consoled her and said, Since she made the decision to alert us, the Medusa Queen has clearly prepared to sacrifice herself. We cannot fail to live up to her expectations, and must firmly defend Primeval Iron City for all the Fiend races.

    But... Kong Nanwu wanted to say something else, but the Second Princes retaliation suddenly arrived from beneath the city. Arge amount of soldiers at the front of the city immediately copsed. When the Peacock Wise King saw that, he immediately rushed out to provide assistance.

    There was nothing Kong Nanwu could do. She could only watch Yu Yanluo''s beautiful figure with worry. Even though she was considered talented among her peers, in front of a regr army, it wasnt much at all. There was no way she could save Yu Yanluo.

    The Second Princemanded his army to siege the city. As he watched his subordinates experience bitter casualties, he looked at Yu Yanluo with seething rage, eximing, Why?!

    Yu Yanluo said with a calm expression, Do you think I should have tricked them to let you into the city instead, so you could lead the Fiend races into eternal damnation?

    I naturally know you wouldnt want that. What I''m asking about is, why did you dare to do such a thing? Have you not thought about the consequences? the Second Prince hissed with a dreadfui expression.

    Yu Yanluo didnt reply, and turned back to the sealednd instead; her gaze was full of reluctance.

    The Second Prince said with a nasty grin, In that case, then, you cant me me for doing this!

    Immediately after, he took out a whistle and blew an ear-piercing sound. It was the whistle that activated the Heart-Devouring Demon Spider eggs. When he saw Yu Yanluos beautiful appearance, he still felt a bit of pity. In the end, this incredible beauty was going to turn into a walking corpse...

    However, when he thought about the losses she had brought him, he immediately became more convinced of his decision. As a famous general and someone of tremendous ambition, even though he liked women, he wasnt perverted. He definitely wouldnt let women get in the way of his real mission.

    This was the only time he had needed to do something like this, as well as the time he had to pay the most bitter price.

    Soon after, Yu Yanluo clutched her chest with a pained expression. Her entire body bent over, as if she could fall at any time.

    The Second Prince watched her coldly.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    <em>You brought all of this upon yourself!</em>

    Yu Yanluo groaned in pain, but suddenly, she stood up straight again. Her expression became a bit empty.

    The Second Prince knew that the Heart-Devouring Demon Spider had sessfully controlled her. He sighed a bit in relief.

    <em>Hmph, Ill send you to seduce the influential figures of the Fiend races to bring them over to my side...</em>

    Now that the Heart-Devouring Demon Spider parasite had taken root in her, he didnt dare to touch her for fear of being unknowingly affected too. Even though he was coborating with the monsters, he still didntpletely trust them either. He still had to maintain a degree of wariness.

    After dealing with Yu Yanluo, his subordinates had already escorted Little White and Little Blue over. The two youngdies had more or less seen what happened from the back, and they now saw Yu Yanluos current condition and understood the situation. They couldn''t help but sob bitterly.

    When he looked at the two tear-stained young beauties, the Second Prince thought to himself that these two youngdies were quite the feast for the eyes, and it would be a waste to kill them. Hed just use them to seduce more bigwigs as well. However, the Heart-Devouring Demon Spider poison was extremely precious, and he couldn''t bear to use it on them. He had more than enough other methods to keep them under control. Thus, he ordered his subordinates to withdraw their des and restrained the two youngdies first, then turned around tomand his soldiers in battle.

    Suddenly, however, there were a few muffled groans behind him. He immediately became alert and dodged to one side. However, his shoulder was still struck by a fist, making him spit out a mouthful of blood. He sensed that his body had begun to petrify. The Second Prince stared at the exceedingly beautiful woman behind him, eximing in shock and anger, You werent controlled?

    Yu Yanluo stared at him with glowing golden eyes. The faint smile on her lips really did add a bit of beauty to the bloody battlefield. She replied, Why, should I have been controlled?

    Thats impossible! I personally fed you that Heart-Devouring Demon Spider back then! the Second Prince cried out in shock, using all of his cultivation to try and fend off the Medusa Eye.

    It''s all because someone gave me a body-protection talisman to ward off parasites, Yu Yanluo said, thinking back to how Zu An had warned her to be careful again and again like an old female servant. A warm smile appeared on her face.

    In the past, after Zu An witnessed the viciousness of the Heart-Devouring Demon Spider, he had be worried that his sweethearts would be schemed against, so he''d used the knowledge of the Baopu Sutra and researched how to defend against these parasites using talismans, working with Yan Xiangu. However, because these talismans required extremely precious materials, they couldn''t be produced inrge amounts, so he could only give them to a few people.

    Even so, I already destroyed all of your protective talismans! the Second Prince eximed, sounding shocked and furious. He was no fool, and had used all kinds of methods to destroy her protective treasurers before feeding her the poison.

    You thought you were a step ahead, but Ah Zu was five steps ahead, Yu Yanluo replied. When she thought about her lovers wits, her grin grew even bigger. He was worried that I would encounter simr dangers, so he gave me two kinds of defensive talismans. The one on the surface was there to numb the enemy and make them careless, while the true talisman was inside me. It didn''t produce a serious reaction when the bug entered, and instead secretly eliminated it.

    When she recalled how her lover had fed the protective charm to her through a kiss, her cheeks turned entirely red.

    <em>Hmph, I was definitely not the only one he gave this talisman to. He probably did it like this to the other women too...</em>

    When he heard that, the Second Prince was stunned. After some time, heughed out of helplessness. The regent is the bane of my existence after all. Ive been defeated several times at his hands.

    The Peacock Wise King called out, Second Prince! You havemitted treason and colluded with the enemy. Die!

    He had always been observing the situation, and thus saw Yu Yanluo retaliate. How could he let such a great chance go? He immediately attacked. As long as the leader was taken down, the remaining soldiers would be much easier to deal with. Kong Nanwu wanted to save Yu Yanluo, so she also flew over. eastern fantasy

    The Second Prince revealed a strange smile, remarking, Did you really not think I might have been baiting you over?

 Chapter 2052: Kilometers of Tombs

    <h4>Chapter 2052: Kilometers of Tombs</h4>

    Goosebumps covered the Peacock Wise Kings entire body. He immediately dodged a few inches to the side.

    However, he was still a bit toote, as the Second Princes entire body burst into golden light. The prince''s petrified skin immediately shattered, and he turned into a streak of golden light that rushed at the Peacock Wise King.

    The Peacock Wise King cried out bitterly as a mouthful of blood spurted out of his mouth. He was already seriously injured. eastern fantasy

    When he saw that the Peacock Wise King was lying on the ground without any ability to resist, the Second Princeughed proudly and said, I indeed never expected the Medusa Queen to still be hiding her strength, but I immediately reacted to beat you all at your own game, drawing you over. As long as you die, taking over Primeval Iron City will be easy enough. Peacock Wise King, what a great reputation you have! And yet, it only amounted to this much.

    After saying that, however, his expression suddenly changed. Golden light appeared all over his body, sting the area in front of him. Everything around him shattered like a mirror.

    The Peacock Wise King was standing in the distance, perfectly fine. Meanwhile, Kong Nanwu was already protecting Yu Yanluo and the two young Snakedies.

    The Second Princes expression darkened. People have always praised the Peacock races eye technique as being unparalleled. Even I was almost affected by your illusion.

    The Peacock Wise King was a bit surprised, saying, You actually broke free from the illusion so easily. This really doesnt match up with your original strength.

    After all, in the Fiend races, apart from the unfathomable Ocean races and thete Fiend Emperor, it was him, the Great Golden Peng King, and the Elf King who had the highest statuses. The Fiend races that cared about strength above all else didnt care about the nobility of bloodlines. Rather, their positions were all earned through strength. Furthermore, as the leader of the three great kings, his cultivation was the highest of them all.

    Previously, the Second Prince hadn''t been on the same level as him at all; and yet now, they were evenly matched.

    The Second Prince sneered, saying, You shouldnt treat the monsters as evil foreigners. In reality, they share a deep origin with us. I learned some methods to activate my bloodline power, and my strength can no longer bepared to what it was.

    Then Ill have to experience your growth properly for myself," the Peacock Wise King retorted. He had his pride as well, after all, and it was a rare chance to fight one on one. If he couldn''t take down this junior in such a situation, he would feel quite terrible himself.

    As for the Second Princes troops that flocked over to help, Yu Yanluos beautiful head of hair turned into snakes that hissed at the iing soldiers. Soon after, they all turned to stone sculptures. They definitely didnt have the Second Princes powerful cultivation.

    The Second Prince immediately gave the order, None of you are toe over. Continue the siege! He knew that Yu Yanluos abilities were too strange. If he didnt get involved, it would be really hard for the others to do anything to her. Meanwhile, he would only be stalled by the Peacock Wise King.

    Realizing that he couldn''t afford to waste time, he almost immediately turned into his true Golden Crow form. His wings spread out, immediately releasing his Ardent Sun Sword Formation. Countless zing feathers turned into flying swords that covered the sky as they attacked the Peacock Wise King. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The Peacock Wise King harrumphed. A streak of rainbow light flickered behind him. As they shed with that streak of rainbow brilliance, the endless flying swords fell one after another.

    The Second Prince wasnt too surprised to see this, and his feathers quickly returned to his wings. Those wings then turned into two several-dozen-meter long des. His entire body turned into a streak of light, and he attacked the Peacock Wise King from all directions at a speed that was difficult to follow with the naked eye. If it were anyone else, they would likely be instantly cut to shreds. Golden Crow Radiant Flow and Invincible Heavenly Peng were known to be the Fiend races two fastest movement skills, after all.

    Just then, however, the Peacock Wise Kings eyes became pitch-ck. A golden figure moved back and forth inside. Soon after, he vanished, turning into a streak of green light, and continued to sh with the golden light in the sky.

    Just like that, they shed more than ten times. The streak of golden light struggled free and reformed into the Second Prince. He gave the Peacock Wise King a look and said, The wise kings eye techniques are unrivaled after all!

    The Peacock Wise King could see through an enemys openings through his eye techniques, and it could even duplicate the other sides moves. Even though they were much weaker, those copied moves had still been able to fend the Second Prince off, making him feel extremely ufortable.

    You overpraise me. Your cultivation should now already be at the level of your father, thete Fiend Emperor. However, if his spirit were watching over us now and he found out what you have done, I wonder if he woulde back to life out of anger, the Peacock Wise King said, his tone full of pity. He had watched the Second Prince grow up, and had always seen him as a genius. However, how could he have known that this child would walk the wrong path?

    Hmph, if his spirit were still in this world, perhaps I wouldn''t be the first one he went after. The Second Prince harrumphed. He had heard a bit about Zu An and the Second Empress affairs. When he thought about the young and beautiful empress he treated with respect actually being pressed under another man, he had always felt really awful. free(w)ebnovel

    He gave the ring Medusa Queen in the distance a look, then looked back at his army that had suffered severe damage. After some hesitation, he gave the order to withdraw, saying, Ill request a spar from the wise king another day.

    He had been injured from Yu Yanluos ambush, and then been attacked by them from both sides. The situation was indeed a bit unfavorable right now. Of course, he had a way to be even stronger through a secret technique, but he still had some reservations toward the monsters. He didnt dare to fully activate the power granted by that side, or else he could identally be their ve.

    When he saw the Second Prince lead his soldiers away, the Peacock Wise King also sighed in relief. He didnt have any confidence in his ability to make the Second Prince stay here. The princes strength had improved too fast. He had even sensed a bit of danger. If he pushed the prince too far, even he could die. The Peacock races eye technique was extremely magical; since he could see death, he naturally wouldnt dare to disbelieve it.

    As such, both sides silently decided to give up and allow the opposing force to retreat.

    Kong Nanwu just assumed her father was worried that Primeval Iron Citys troops couldn''t win against the Second Princes seasoned field army if they left the city, so she didnt oppose the decision either.

    Soon after, they brought Yu Yanluo and the two young women inside the city. They asked about the events within the sealednd. When they heard about the dangers the Second Empress had experienced, they were incredibly nervous. When they heard that the regent was already heading out to save the Second Empress, however, they felt a bit of relief. It seemed they all had tremendous faith in Zu Ans ability.

    ...

    Achoo! Zu An sneezed as he moved through the endless snowstorm.

    <i>Who is thinking about me now?</i>

    He had already arrived at the ce directly to the north. It was just a small spot on the map, but when he arrived in person, the whole ce felt vast and endless. However, he had already searched this entire ce once without finding any seals. Instead, a group of strange, small mounds rested within. These mounds were everywhere, stretching across several kilometers.

    At first, Zu An had thought that they were just hills, but he soon realized that something wasnt right. Whenever such snowynds had elevation, it took the form of extremely tall snowy mountains and ciers. How could there be such short piles of snow?

    When he got closer, he noticed that next to the snow piles, there were some weapons embedded in the ground in groups of two and three. Most of them were already buried under ice and snow. Only a few spear-type weapons still had their tips exposed. He cleared away the nearby umted snow, and then he finally realized that these were no hills, but rather snow piled over graves.

    After some hesitation, he cleaved open a snow tomb and saw a fiend soldiers corpse. Even though countless years had already passed, the corpse was still vivid and lifelike. He even saw fatal w marks on the soldier''s lower back that reached all the way to the bone. When he examined the soldier''s weapon and attire, he discovered that they werent what the Fiend races currently used, but rather an older style from thousands of years earlier.

    Zu Am immediately felt a deep sense of veneration. These were likely left over from the battles of the Fiend races soldiers against the foreign monsters. Many soldiers who died in battle were buried locally, but history had proven that they were the final victors. They had been able to seal the monsters away. Still, so many brave soldiers had been silently sacrificed here.

    He closed the tomb again. His tone was extremely apologetic as he said, Im sorry for disturbing seniors rest... He took out a pot of wine and poured it around the surrounding simple and crude tombs, continuing, Seniors, once I seal these monsters again, I will definitelye to bring all of you home.

    As he looked at the endless graves, his mood was especially grave.

    After walking for a long time, he suddenly voiced his surprise. He turned around to look at the snow tombs, muttering, Hm? Something doesnt seem right...

 Chapter 2053: Spark

    <h4>Chapter 2053: Spark</h4>

    Zu An quickly returned to his original spot. With a wave of his sleeve, an invisible wave of energy brushed past the many years of built-up snow, revealing a dozen or so tombs underneath.

    His gazended on the weapons stabbed into the dirt. They included swords, des, spears, bows, and other weapons. However, the unusual thing about them was the amount. There were some graves that only had a single sword, while others others had des, spears, swords, and bows.

    If they were normal tombs, perhaps such a thing could signify that the owners'' statuses were different, causing a difference in their burial goods. However, these were soldiers who died on the front lines. They had clearly been buried hurriedly under ice and snow so they wouldnt just be sitting out in the open. People absolutely wouldnt bother to treat them differently in such a situation.

    If they were provided different burial goods, wouldnt the soldiers all be bitterly disappointed, too? In theory, the tombs would normally have carried the weapons they used when they were still alive. Perhaps some soldiers would use both a de and a spear, but why would they have bows and arrows too? Furthermore, there were some des and spears of different styles too.

    With Zu An''s present cultivation, he keenly sensed that these des and spears couldn''t possibly have been used by the same person. In that case, the weapons had to have another special reason for being here. Thus, he swept clear another area of snow, revealing even more tombs.

    After investigating them, he discovered that the appearance and style of the weapons weren''t what mattered, but rather the number of different types of weapons. All of the des, no matter how many of them there were next to the tombs, could be considered one type; so could all of the spears, all of the swords, and so on... Additionally, the types of weapons next to the tombs increased in order from one to nine, with nine tombs forming one set. The sets seemed to be arranged together like a kind of formation.

    Earlier, when he opened up the graves, the weapons next to them seemed to have been shining with a weak light, but it had quickly faded.

    After taking a moment to think to himself, he walked up to a tomb with just a single sword. A fine streak of ki cut open one of the graves. Sure enough, the sword lit up. Then, he walked up to a tomb that had two types of weapons... Just like that, the tombs lit up one after another until nine tombs were lit up.

    Zu An sighed in relief. Even if an ordinary person just happened to light up one or two of them by ident, if they didnt follow the patterns, the lights would quickly fade away.

    As the nine tombs lit up, a vibration came from the ground as if there were an earthquake.

    Zu An rose into the air and looked down at the snowy tombs. Soon after, he followed another special sequence and lit up some tombs. The entire snowfield suddenly emanated streaks of blue lines. Then, a giant formation began to appear in the snowfield.

    Zu An was pleasantly surprised. This had to be a formation the ancient Fiend race ancestors set up! The way to use it had probably been left with the Fiend races, but as time went on, the things they left behind had gradually been lost. There were likely only some fragmented legends left behind here and there. That was why he had only been able to arrive at this ce after many officers shared and discussed their intelligence together at Mengte City.

    Fortunately, he had learned the Baopu Sutra and was familiar with formations. He wasnt too stupid either, and was able to activate this ancient formation through trial and error.

    <i>Just what did those fiend seniors from back then leave behind?</i>

    He stared at the formation that gradually took form on the surface. His expression suddenly changed. This seemed to be a Soul Capturing Formation! Such a formation was extremely treacherous. The souls of the creatures who died here would never be able to transcend! Was this a formation left behind by the ancient Fiend races or the ancient monsters?

    Suddenly, a drone filled the air. The weapons next to the tombs trembled. At first, it happened in an extremely small range, but the vibration soon grew more and more intense. The snow that had umted for many years also began to break apart bit by bit, revealing the original forms underneath.

    Weapons flew up one after another, then moved toward set graves. They flew in circles while releasing waves of cries. Immediately after, the surroundings became extremely cold. This world of ice and snow was already extremely cold, but now, it had be even colder. It wasnt just a chill in the physical sense, but rather one that came from the soul.

    Soon after, figures rose one after another from the tombs. Even Zu An shivered a bit, because he saw the person from the tomb he had opened up earlier also standing up. However, he quickly calmed down. These seemed to be the souls of the ancient fiend soldiers. What kinds of beings hadnt he seen before in the different secret dungeons he had visited in the past? Ghosts werent all that strange.

    The soldiers spirits all turned to Zu An just then. They muttered, You are not a descendant of the Fiend races; you are a human, an enemy. Exterminate...

    As they spoke, their weapons pointed straight at Zu An. There were countless weapons everywhere, all surrounding Zu An at the center.

    Wait! I am the Fiend races reg... Zu An began, but before he could even finish, the spirits already entered their respective weapons and attacked him from all directions.

    Zu An darted around like lightning, barely dodging the attacks. Unfortunately, there were too many weapons, and these soldiers cultivations in life werent low. At the very least, they were far stronger than the elites the Second Empressmanded. Eventually, he had nowhere to escape. Ten thousand swords were about to prate his heart when a great golden bell suddenly appeared. The weapons were all deflected when they made contact with the bell''s surface. eastern fantasy

    But this wasnt the original Tranquility Bell in the end, and there were too many weapons. Right now, it was as if he was facing an entire army. Cracks quickly appeared on the bell, and it would clearly be destroyed soon.

    Zu An was getting annoyed from being one-sidedly beaten down. With a harrumph, he used the Primordial Origin Sutra. A streak of white light appeared around him. As soon as the weapons approached, they suddenly cried out in fear and quickly flew back. White smoke came out from their bodies as if they had encountered something terrifying, to the extent that some of them lost half of their soul bodies.

    Then, the weapons all stopped, not daring to crazily attack like before. Zu An said with a sneer, Come at me! Why are you all stopping now?

    He flew at the weapons as he spoke. However, they acted as if they had seen a ghost and flew away. It really was quite a strange scene. Just then, countless weapons had cornered Zu An alone, and yet now, Zu An seemed to be the one cornering countless weapons. Wherever he went, the weapons scattered away and hid.

    Zu An sneered. He wasn''t necessarily invincible against other enemies, but defeating the dead was too easy. The Primordial Origin Sutras purification effects were their natural bane.

    After he chased them continuously for a while, a strange flying sword suddenly flew out from among the weapons. The sword wasnt straight; rather, its de was wavy. It was dark-coloredd, and there were signs of rust on it. However, the other weapons seemed to respect it a lot. All of them moved aside respectfully in its presence.

    A spirit dressed in full armor and a helmet, who seemed to be a general, flew out from the strange sword. It bowed to Zu An and asked, What kind of rtionship does your distinguished self have with our Fiend races?

    You didnt even hear me out and started attacking me, but youre now here to be friends? Zu An retorted coldly. This generals strength didnt seem to be low. If not because his Primordial Origin Sutra was perfect for countering him, winning wouldn''t be that easy.

    It was indeed our side that was wrong earlier. But after being trapped for so many years, we could not help but develop a bit of vicious intent. When we saw that your respected self was not from the Fiend races, we naturally treated you as an enemy and attacked, the general said with an embarrassedugh.

    Then you''re not treating me as an enemy anymore? Zu An replied in annoyance. He hadnt expected that this general would still bully the weak and yield to the strong even after turning into a ghost.

    That is because your respected selfs cultivation is clearly powerful, and you have a way of severely wounding our soul bodies, yet you still held back and did not endanger our lives. That was when I realized that your distinguished self was not an enemy, but a friend, the general said in a serious tone.

    When he saw that the generals attitude had be much better, Zu An couldn''t really act up anymore either. He said, I have indeed been entrusted by the Fiend races with the task of locating the sealednd by investigating several possible locations. However, from the looks of things, the sealednd is not here.

    Did something bad happen to the sealednd again after all? the general asked, seemingly having already anticipated this happening.

    You dont seem to be too surprised, Zu An said; in fact, he was the one who was a bit surprised. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    In the past, the high priest prophesied this day, so we were left behind here to wait for the day when our descendants came here. Then, we would dedicate our lives onest time to the battlefield, the general said. He seemed a bit hesitant as he asked, May I ask how to address your distinguished self, and what kind of rtionship you have with the Fiend races? He quickly added, It is not that I do not believe your distinguished self, but rather that this is rted to the prosperity and decline of the entire Fiend races, as well as the survival of this world. It really is hard for me to imagine why our descendants would send a human to this ce.

    I am the Fiend races'' regent. There is no candidate more suitable for this than me, Zu An replied.

    Regent? the general repeated, stunned. The other weapons also vibrated with noise, as if they were whispering with each other. This waspletely beyond their imaginations. Why would a human be the regent?

    The general had a look of grief as he asked, Could it be that our Fiend races have already been dominated by the humans?

    Zu An knew the general was overthinking things and said, That''s not it at all. I just happened to end up in this position. Then, he tossed over his regent token.

    The general received the token and gently caressed it. Soon after, streaks of faint light appeared on the patterns. The general nodded slightly and said, This is indeed the true inheritance of our Fiend races. When he heard that the Fiend races hadnt been taken over, he sighed in relief and returned the token, asking, May I ask how your respected self became the regent?

    Zu An was getting a bit impatient, replying, Are you all done yet, interrogating me again and again? I still have more important matters to take care of with the monsters invading, and I dont have time to chat idly with you. You''re the ones who should be talking. What are you doing here?

    The general chuckled in embarrassment and said, "I was wrong. After not talking with another for so long, I could not help but be a bit long-winded. Then, his expression became serious as he exined, In the past, the high priest predicted that a great disaster would befall the Fiend races, and the entire world could be destroyed. That was why we were willing to have our souls eternally trapped in these weapons in hopes that when the day came, we could serve as the spark for the Fiend races counterattack.

 Chapter 2054: Traitor

    <h4>Chapter 2054: Traitor</h4>

    Zu Ans expression immediately became respectful. He said, "You seniors willingly sacrificed yourselves for a prophecy that might not havee to fruition, and let your souls be trapped within ice and snow for thousands of years. It truly is admirable.

    The general soul waved his hand as if he was a bit embarrassed, saying, It was merely our duty.

    Zu An couldn''t help but ask curiously, Just which great master managed to foresee this distant future through a prophecy?

    That would be the Venerable Master of the Imperial Gate, so no one doubted him, the general said in a serious voice.

    Zu An was surprised. There was only a single Venerable Master of the Imperial Gate, and that was Imperial Gate Bei Qing. He had been the strongest Yin Yang Master in the Fiend races'' history, and he was rumored to have even been able tomunicate with supernatural beings. There were still many legends rted to him among the Fiend races. The Fiend races youth had all grown up on his stories.

    May I dare ask generals esteemed surname? Zu An asked with a bow. The prophecy and arrangements of Imperial Gate Bei Qing were extremely formidable, but these soldiers sacrifices were even more deserving of respect.

    The general only raised his head toward the sky, saying, What was my name... It has been so long that I no longer remember...

    The other souls were also at a loss.

    Zu An became silent. It seemed the passage of time really left these souls with irreversible damage. After some time passed, he asked, By the way, what kind of divine artifact was left here in the past?

    The general waved his hand, and the sword that looked a bit damaged and dull appeared in his hand. He said, It was none other than this Skycloud Sword.

    Zu An was stunned. This sword did look a bit special, but it still looked far inferior to the Taie Sword, Sun ying Bow, and Human Emperor Seal. It didnt carry the terrifying pressure the other divine weapons had at all. He asked suspiciously, Just this sword alone is enough to defeat those monsters?

    This sword alone is naturally not enough, the general said as he gently caressed the sword, seemingly reminiscing about many things from the past. Three divine weapons need to bebined together in order to seal off the monsters again. Apart from this Skycloud Sword, there is also the Soulhook Jade and the Ninefoot Mirror. In the past, as a preparation against the unexpected, the Venerable Master of the Imperial Gate separately arranged these three divine weapons in three different locations. The three artifacts could only be gathered again by following the clues left behind with the Fiend races descendants.

    Zu An was surprised. These three divine weapons had been ced in three different locations, and the Fiend races upper echelons just happened to have decided on three locations after gathering and sharing their information. It seemed those were the locations of the three divine weapons.

    May I ask senior just how we can seal those monsters? The seal has already been damaged quite badly, and many powerful monsters have already escaped the seal," he said worriedly.

    The generals expression was serious as he replied, This is also precisely the reason why we old fellows stayed behind here. You can leave those monsters to us. As for the destroyed seal, once you gather the three divine weapons, you will naturally figure out how to fix the seal once more.

    Then what if I bring away this sword? Will you be affected? Zu An asked worriedly.

    He could sense that these souls seemed to have a certain deep connection with the sword. After all, a formation couldn''t be made out of thin air. There needed to be something like a formation core. Something that could keep the souls of so many powerful creatures here would naturally need to be extremely powerful. Here, it seemed to be none other than the Skycloud Sword.

    It doesnt matter. This is already our home, the general said before continuing, Just take this sword with you. When you need to, use this sword to call us, and we will be summoned to you and help you fight against the monsters.

    After saying that, he once again gently caressed the Skycloud Sword, as if he was a bit reluctant. Howevver, in the end, he still tossed it to Zu An and said, Take good care of it.

    Zu An was stunned. He reflexively caught the sword and was about to say something, when he suddenly clutched his head and groaned in pain.

    Hahaha! He believed us? He actually believed us?

    The ghost soldiers'' nk expressions faded, reced with cruel and strange smiles. Their faces looked especially twisted.

    The general who seemed to have had a righteous and noble air had a strange smile on his face too. His hands opened up, and he floated into the air. He closed his eyes and revealed a look of enjoyment, as if he was weing the feeling of freedom. He eximed, Just how long has it been? We finally have a chance to leave.

    As he spoke, endless darkness appeared from the Skycloud Sword. Every single shadow was a fiend soldier''s soul, but all of their expressions were really warped. They rushed at Zu An, as if they wanted to drag him down into hell with them.

    Suddenly, Zu An remarked with a sigh, This is the n youve thought of after thousands of years?

    The general was stunned. A look of disbelief appeared on his face as he eximed, How is that possible?! Even though you''re strong, there''s no way you could endure the attacks of over ten thousand souls all at once!

    Oh, are you talking about this sword? I didnt touch it, Zu An said, raising the sword in his hand. Only then did the general notice the ck energy at the center of Zu An palm. There was a small gap between the palm and the sword. If one didnt look carefully, one wouldnt notice that he hadnt actually caught the sword.

    The ck souls quickly rushed at Zu An''s body. However, he harrumphed and a streak of white light suddenly flickered around him. The vengeful spirits were like leftover snow meeting the blistering sun, white smokeing out of their bodies as they dissipated into nothingness.

    How did you know that I was scheming against you? the general eximed, glowering at him.

    Just now, Zu An had clearly lookedincredibly moved after listening to the generals story. Also, judging from Zu Ans reply, it definitely sounded as if he believed it. That was why the general had nned to use the moment when Zu Ans hands made contact with the Skycloud Sword to send ten thousand vengeful spirits straight into his sea of consciousness. No matter how strong he was, there was no way he could react in time, and he would only be forced to let his mind be destroyed by countless vengeful spirits.

    Zu An looked at him and said with a sigh, I already suspected you when I first found out that you were trapped here for ten thousand years.

    Why? Could it be that there was something wrong with our behavior? the general asked with a frown.

    No, your performance was quite perfect, Zu An said, shaking his head. Unfortunately, it was just too perfect.

    What do you mean? the general asked; he and the other soldiers looked confused.

    Since you still retained your previous consciousness, you would likely have still retained your emotions," Zu An said as he looked at them. When I thought about how I would feel if I were in your situation, even if I had been willing to stay here in the distant past... After all this time passed and I was trapped here all this time with only wind and snow to apany me, without any Fiend race descendants making any offerings, I would probably be full of resentment. I might even have been driven mad by the endless passage of time. There would be no way I could still keep the same intentions I had at first.

    Thats all? the general replied. He didnt know whether tough or cry right now. Since we were willing to make the sacrifice for the Fiend races, we would naturally have resolute wills and be fullymitted. How could we possibly end up like that?

    Zu An chuckled. He didnt feel like arguing about that, and continued, Of course, that wasnt all. I asked you for your name, but you said you''d already forgotten.

    Too much time has already passed. Its natural for me to have forgotten my name, the general said, remaining expressionless.

    And yet you still remembered Imperial Gate Bei Qings name, Zu An said as he looked into the general''s eyes. Someone who already forgot their own name, still remembering someone elses name? That would either mean it was an enemy they hated bitterly, or that they were deliberately hiding their own name for fear that the other side would be on guard if they found out. Either way, there was clearly an issue.

    The generals expression gradually became a bit distorted as he eximed, It was just because of these groundless usations that you doubted me?

    Of course, that wasnt all, Zu An said as his gaze shifted to the endless tombs below. You might not have known that I just happen to be quite proficient in formations, and recognized that this was the extremely treacherous Soul Capturing Formation. If you really were heroes devoted to the Fiend races, how could Imperial Gate Bei Qing use such a vicious method to keep your souls here?

    So you already suspected us from the very start. Then why did you still converse with us pleasantly like that, as if you were really moved? the general asked, grinding his teeth. Just a moment before, he had beenughing in ridicule, thinking that this guy waspletely fooled, and yet he was the real clown all along.

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Shi Bingxiu for +999 +999 +999...</strong>

    Zu An was startled.

    <i>So it was him.</i>

    Shi Bingxiu was a famous traitor of the Fiend races. In the past, during the great war against the monsters, he had been a coward who led his troops in abandoning theirmander-in-chief, creating an opening in the armys nk. The army had almost beenpletely wiped out. Fortunately, the exceptional genius Imperial Gate Bei Qing had appeared with his extraordinary abilities and barely reversed the situation, managing to avert a tragic end for the Fiend races. After the matter, Shi Bingxius troops had been brought to justice and executed by martialw. He was the Fiend races most famous traitor. Even young children knew of his story, so it was no wonder he wasnt willing to mention his own name. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    I just wanted to obtain some intelligence from you as quickly as possible. If I hadnt fooled you, how could you have shared some pieces of the truth with me? Zu An replied with a chuckle. Since Shi Bingxiu had wanted to fool him so badly, he would naturally have decided to tell mostly the truth with some lies mixed in. As long as Zu An figured out which parts were lies, the rest would be all truth. freew eb

    Shi Bingxiu finally couldn''t handle it anymore, eximing, Then just use force against us! Even though your ability restrains us, how can you defeat an entire army all by yourself?!

    As soon as he said that, countless weapons rose into the air. eastern fantasy

    Shi Bingxiu hissed through gritted teeth, Kill him!

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Shi Bingxius army for +999 +999 +999...</strong>

    Then, the weapons all rushed at Zu An.

 Chapter 2055: Ruined Temple

    <h4>Chapter 2055: Ruined Temple</h4>

    Zu An had already been prepared ahead of time. Ripples appeared behind him, and all of the weapons in front of him were duplicated. When the endless armaments shed against each other, even though the ones he created were a bit weaker than the original, it wasn¡¯t to an overwhelming extent.

    Zu An took the chance to say, ¡°There''s no way Imperial Gate Bei Qing went through all that trouble just to trap your souls here. He must have ordered all of you to do something to atone for your crimes, right?¡±

    He''d been about to use the Primordial Origin Sutra topletely purge all of the spirits, but he quickly realized that if that happened, he''d just he just be letting these traitors off easy! Imperial Gate Bei Qing definitely had a purpose behind his actions.

    Sure enough, when he heard what Zu An said, Shi Bingxiu¡¯s expression became conflicted, as if he was engaged in some kind of internal conflict.

    The Tranquility Bell¡¯s projection appeared around Zu An again. At the same time, streaks of clear light appeared, and many formations appeared around him. He continued, ¡°Do you really think you can win against me?¡±

    Shi Bingxiu remained quiet. He was feeling rather discouraged, actually. He really wondered just where this absurdly powerful guy hade from. Of course, if Zu An hadn''t had a skill that just happened to counteract their soul bodies, then with the army behind him, Shi Bingxiu wouldn¡¯t be all that scared. However, with all these disadvantages stacked against him, there really was no fight left to be had.

    When he sensed that Shi Bingxiu''s will was being shaken, Zu An gave him one more push, saying, ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, if I kill your soul bodies one more time, you might never be able to transcend, right?¡±

    When they heard what he said, the weapons also began to hesitate. Normally, if you died, then you died, but now that they knew that there was another world after death and that perhaps they would never be able to pass on, didn¡¯t that mean they didn¡¯t even have the slightest future left?

    When he sensed his subordinates¡¯ wavering will, Shi Bingxiu finally said, ¡°You win. Back then, Imperial Gate Bei Qing told us that we needed to fight for the Fiend races. As long as we helped our descendants seal the monsters, we would naturally be set free.¡±

    Zu An nodded.

    <i>This isrgely simr to what he said before. Earlier, he had to speak mostly the truth in order to fool me.</i>

    At the same time, he was a bit shocked that Imperial Gate Bei Qing actually had that ability, and could actually decide whether or not someone could be set free even thousands of yearster.

    <i>Just how did he do it?</i>

    Even though he had learned the Baopu Sutra and was quite well learned in this field, he still couldn''t imagine just what kind of method could produce a simr result. He could only ask, ¡°Can I still use this Skycloud Sword to summon you?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, but a special incantation is needed,¡± Shi Bingxiu said, then repeated the incantation to him.

    Zu An vigntly tested it out. When he saw that he could indeed order the ghosts around through the incantation, he sighed in relief. He was a bit confused, however. He said, ¡°Imperial Gate Bei Qing was able to keep all of you here to help the Fiend races, but he didn¡¯t pass on the incantation to the Fiend races directly, and passed it on to you instead?¡±

    Shi Bingxiu¡¯s expression grew strange as he replied, ¡°I didn¡¯t understand it either and just thought that guy was a fool. There was no way I would obediently listen to him, after all. At the time, he said that only if I sincerely spoke of this incantation and coborated with a certain person from the future would I be truly set free. Now, I seem to understand a bit better.¡±

    Zu An was stunned.

    <i>It seems Imperial Gate Bei Qing wanted them to repent genuinely and sincerely, and only then would they actually help at the crucial time. Otherwise, if they once again chose betrayal at the crucial battle between the fiends and monsters, everything would be over.</i>

    Even though he could understand the reasoning, Zu An still felt that Imperial Gate Bei Qing was just too brave. Was he not scared that these fellows would never change their ways? If it weren¡¯t for his quick wits, and if another Fiend descendant hade in his stead, they would¡¯ve already died several times over. There was no way Shi Bingxiu would have obediently offered up the true incantation.

    After thinking about it for a long time, he couldn''t figure out just where Imperial Gate Bei Qing had gotten such confidence from. However, he still had more important matters to worry about, so he couldn''t be bothered to worry about all of those things. Thus, he took the Skycloud Sword with him and quickly headed in another direction.

    The soldiers¡¯ souls stood on the snowy tombs and watched Zu An gradually disappear. They were clearly trapped here unless the Skycloud Sword was used to summon them.

    Among them, there was a deputy general who couldn''t help but move over to Shi Bingxiu¡¯s side, asking, ¡°General, do you think he''ll only use the divine weapon for the seal and won¡¯t free us?¡±

    Shi Bingxiu shook his head and replied, ¡°He won¡¯t. He still needs us.¡±

    Immediately after, the countless figures gradually vanished into the air. Wind and snow covered the snowy tombs again.

    ...

    Zu An went northwest, toward another location the people of Mengte City had deduced. There was another divine weapon hidden there, and that fact was confirmed by Shi Bingxiu, who had said that the Ninefoot Mirror would be there. Zu An knew that if he dyed for even a bit longer, those monsters could break through, so he flew at full speed without spending even a moment to rest.

    When he arrived at the region designated on the map and searched for a while, he decided to stop near a few ck rocks that were quite conspicuous in the end. He walked up to those rocks and saw that they weren¡¯t naturally formed, but rather had traces of being handmade. He could even make out some decorative carvings, and he could barely recognize some characters written on them.

    He was about to remove the snow that covered them to look at them more closely when the ground beneath him gave out. The entire world seemed to suddenly cave in, and he immediately fell down. Even so, with his cultivation, he quickly stabilized himself in the air. At first, he thought that perhaps there was some trap below, but once he took a look, he saw that the umted snow had begun to slide off, gradually revealing the scene underneath.

    These weren''t rocks, but rather towering pirs! They had been buried under the snow and their entire form couldn''t be seen, so that was why he had mistaken them for stones. However, since there was a huge amount of space below, the years-old piles of snow weren¡¯t too stable. His steps on the surface had caused the snow topletely copse and reveal the pirs'' original appearance.

    When he saw the ruined walls up ahead and the pirs that soared into the air, Zu An was a bit confused. He hadn¡¯t expected this ce to actually have such structures, because they was clearly made in the style of the Fiend races¡¯ buildings. The looked like a ruined temple.

    The ancient Fiend races had actually built a temple here? Could it have been built specially to store the Ninefoot Mirror?

    Zu An''s divine sense scanned the area. When he was sure that there were no monsters waiting in ambush, he then moved further inside.

    As he went further in, Zu An was a bit confused as he looked at the surrounding buildings. These walls were a bit too strange, right? Normally, after the endless passage of time, many buildings would naturally be eroded and destroyed, but there would still be some traces left. There was no way there could be no traces left at all. Furthermore, many other walls were clearly well-preserved. Being buried under snow had ended up preserving them. That made the missing buildings¡¯plete disappearance seem even stranger.

    Zu An was quite puzzled. He didn¡¯t dy and quickly walked inside. In theory, the Ninefoot Mirror would be stored at the very center of the temple. Theyout the Fiend races designed their temples with appeared in his mind; he headed toward several pces where the mirror could be.

    And yet, not long after, he ran into a dead end. There was no great hall or other such areas, only a bare wall. He reached out his hand and investigated the wall. It was solid, without any hidden secret rooms.

    He wasn¡¯t willing to just give up and continued to search the broken structure, searching every nook and cranny of it, but he ended up with nothing. The areas that could be considered actual rooms could be counted on his fingers. There was no way that any Ninefoot Mirror could possibly be hidden here.

    <i>Could it be that a monster got here first?</i>

    Zu An shook his head. These three divine weapons were the Fiend race¡¯s greatest secrets. Not even the higher level figures in Mengte City knew of such intelligence, so there was even less of a chance of the Second Prince knowing. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    It seemed the Ninefoot Mirror definitely had to be hidden somewhere here, but he just hadn¡¯t found it yet. He decided to just sit down by an empty area and try to figure out a solution.

    Could it be that the buildings here were all a kind of formation? He had investigated them earlier. The stone material that these structures used was quite special, something that he had never seen before. When he hit the surface, it had even absorbed some of the force and remained unharmed. No wonder this ce had remained standing for so many years.

    Of course, with Zu An¡¯s current cultivation, if he really wanted to destroy it, he had ways. Even so, he was worried that he could destroy theyout and end up ruining his chances of finding the Ninefoot Mirror forever.

    Countless formationbinations appeared in his mind, but not a single one of them matched up with the one in front of him right now.

    ...

    Time passed. Soon, the sky gradually turned white, clearly signaling the end of the night.

    Zu An, who had been sitting in meditation, opened his eyes. He stared at everything around him in disbelief. After all, almost every inch of the surroundingsstructures were already engraved inside of his memory so he could find a way through this ce¡¯s puzzle. And yet now, these structures had changed greatly in appearance!

    No, apart from some minor things, it was already entirely different from what he had seen before. Many buildings from the previous night had vanished, and many other ces now contained more structures!

 Chapter 2056: Flower, Yet Not a Flower; Fog, Yet Not Fog. Where Is the Inverse Universe?

    <h4>Chapter 2056: Flower, Yet Not a Flower; Fog, Yet Not Fog. Where Is the Inverse Universe?</h4>

    Zu An noticed that a well had appeared out of thin air in a vacant area. He had examined that area many times the day before, so he was certain that it wasn''t there previously. He walked up to the side of the well and saw something even stranger: The water inside wasn¡¯t frozen!

    After all, in this world of ice and snow, even the air that a normal person exhaled would be a frigid mist. Ayer of icy-cold frost would appear on one¡¯s face in just a few seconds. A bit longer, and an ordinary person would already freeze to death. Not even those with lower cultivation ranks would be able to hold on for very long. How could this well still have water that hadn¡¯t frozen? Could it be that the Ninefoot Mirror was hidden in this well, and that the well was kept under protection by its divine force, thus preventing the water from freezing?

    Zu An reached his hand into the water to feel it, and ascertained that there was nothing strange. Then, he jumped straight in. With his Blue Mard ability, there was no problem moving through water at all.

    At first, he thought that there could be some giant space underneath, and he was even ready to explore for a long time. However, after sinking a dozen or so meters, he didn¡¯t actually discover any hidden rooms or spaces. There were only a few characters carved at the very bottom.

    Even though he was in the dark, that wasn¡¯t any trouble for Zu An. He quickly read through the contents. ¡°Flower, yet not a flower; fog, yet not fog. Where is the inverse universe?¡±

    Zu An was stunned. What was the meaning of this sentence?

    Even after thinking to himself for a long time, he couldn''t figure anything out. He could only leave the well for the time being. He stood by the side of the well and stared at the rippling surface of the water. He continued to think about the meaning of those words. Several guesses appeared in his mind, but he dismissed them one after another. Right now, he had too little information and couldn''t make any conclusions.

    Zu An didn¡¯t keep dwelling on it either and decided to take a look elsewhere. He discovered that there were far more structures around him in the morning than at night. Right now, it resembled the outlines of a temple more.

    He felt a bit of relief. He had been wondering why there were so many structures missing yesterday, and there were no traces of erosion either. So they were all over here! Could it be that different parts would appear as the day changed?

    This was a ce where the ancient Fiend races kept their treasure. Furthermore, judging from the design of the temple¡¯s buildings, this was likely the work of Imperial Gate Bei Qing again. Just how had they managed to do all of this?

    Zu An couldn''t help but be curious about the mysterious Imperial Gate Bei Qing. He hadn¡¯t expected the Fiend races to actually have someone so incredible in their past. Bei Qing''s achievements in the field of formations weren''t necessarily inferior to Immortal Ruler Baopu''s.

    While he was feeling incredibly moved, he walked around the newly appeared structures. In the end, he stopped in front of a ce that looked like the main hall. There, he found a stone stage with a nted disc on top. At the center of the disc was a stone needle. All kinds of scales and diagrams were marked all around the disc.

    Zu An noticed that the stone needle was pointed at a certain marking on the disc. He couldn''t help but feel a bit startled.

    <i>This thing is really simr to an ancient sundial!</i>

    But apart from those markings that represented time, what were the other strange diagrams?

    He reached out his hand and gently touched the disc. Suddenly, cracking noises filled the air. He was shocked to discover that the disc could actually be turned!

    As the disc moved, the stone needle also moved to different markings. Zu An suddenly looked up, because he discovered that the sun above him was also moving along with everything else. He couldn''t help but feel horrified. This thing could actually control the sun? Then just what kind of being was Imperial Gate Bei Qing?

    Even so, Zu An quickly calmed down. He reached into the skies with his divine sense, and his expression became a bit strange. He muttered, ¡°It¡¯s not a real sun after all.¡±

    As he continued to turn the disc, he discovered that night quickly arrived. The surrounding structures became faintly visible, and even the disc in his hands seemed as if it was about to disappear. Fortunately, he was already prepared for that. He quickly spun it back and returned to daytime. Then, the structures finally stabilized.

    Just then, he noticed that the special diagrams could be moved as well! He tried to move them, and heard a rumbling noise. Some of the buildings began to move. He immediately realized something when he saw that. He could now roughly guess the arrangement Imperial Gate Bei Qing had created here.

    No wonder he had felt that theyout of these buildings was a bit messy. It turned out they needed to be rearranged! Furthermore, this sundial in front of him seemed to be the formation disc. Not only could it control time, it could even manipte the positions of the buildings.

    In order to increase the difficulty, the buildings were even divided into day and night. That way, no matter how one tried to piece them together, it was impossible to seed. Only when they were merged together would the structures bepletely pieced together.

    Even so, none of that was a problem for Zu An. His memory was practically photographic. The structures from the previous night were still firmly in his memory. He tried to move the diagram on the disc and quickly figured out the rules. He began to quickly move the structures based on his memories. Soon after, the walls, pirs, and other structures moved together, and resembled aplete temple more and more.

    However, Zu An furrowed his brows. While moving the diagrams, he hesitated several times, and eventually, he let gopletely and thought to himself. Even though he had already pieced together most of it ording to his memory, nearly half of the structures just didn¡¯t join together. He recalled the structures fromst night to make sure that he hadn¡¯t made a mistake. He found that those structures couldn''t be moved either, nor could they be controlled by the disc, so there was no issue on this side.

    He stared at the structures in front of him. He had already tried several strategies before, but there had always beed some buildings he couldn''t piece together, and there were still quite a few buildings were missing. He was now already certain that these buildings alone couldn''tplete the temple. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ording to the earlier clues, his original n to manipte the disc to move the structures wasn¡¯t wrong. It seemed he was still missing some important clue, though.

    He suddenly thought of the well from earlier and the sentence at the bottom: Flower, yet not a flower; fog, yet not fog. Where is the inverse universe?

    <i>Is the first half referring to the philosophical concept of ''water moon, mirror flower''</i>[1]<i>? And thetter half, manipting day and night through the sundial?</i>

    He felt as if he had almost grasped something important, but then it slipped away.

    Unknowingly, he arrived at the side of the well. He wanted to go inside and take another look. His gaze stopped on the water''s surface. Apart from his own reflection, there were also the other structures. A smile appeared on his face. He finally understood where the missing structures were.

    He quickly flew back to the disc and reorganized the buildings. This time, he scrambled the entire ce before quickly arranging it again. If there were other people watching, they would definitely find that extremely strange, because the structures now looked extremely messy and chaotic. They didn¡¯t even look as good as his earlier n.

    However, the grin on his face grewrger andrger. Eventually, with a final twist, he rubbed his hands together and said, ¡°It¡¯s finished!¡±

    He had justprehended the meaning of that sentence. It was actually quite simple; the meaning was that he couldn''t see those buildings from a normal viewpoint, but rather had to flip them at a ny degree angle. The structures on the ground and the water surface thhus linked up together to form a perfect temple.

    The only troublesome thing was that he wascking the buildings from nighttime. He frowned. Once night fell, the daytime buildings would disappear. So how was he supposed to make both buildings appear at the same time?

    Suddenly, he thought of how the sealednd could only be entered when the sun and moon exchanged. He slowly moved the sundial¡¯s outer disc to a certain time.

    The sun in the sky was about to disappear behind the mountain, but it didn¡¯tpletely fall. At the same time, the sun¡¯s inverted image appeared in the well. Because of the cool well water, it looked like a moon, which perfectly fit the condition of replicating the sun and moon¡¯s exchange.

    The nighttime structures began to appear, then ultimatelybined with the other structures and reflections to form aplete temple.

    A burst of blinding light suddenly shot out from the well, and immediately after, the entire thing quickly shrank. In the end, the water surface condensed into a mirror.

    The Ninefoot Mirror thus appeared!

    1. Mirror Flower, Water Moon is a Chinese proverb/phrase referring to something that can be seen but not touched, like a flower reflected in a mirror or the moon reflected on the water''s surface; something that is beautiful but unattainable dreams, a mirage. ?

 Chapter 2057: Imperial Gate Bei Qing Is a Woman?

    <h4>Chapter 2057: Imperial Gate Bei Qing Is a Woman?</h4>

    The Ninefoot Mirror was like the ancient well in miniature. The patterns around it were identical to the ones that had been on the well.

    Zu An smiled. From the very start, he had felt that the well was a bit special; it was just that he hadn¡¯t expected it to be none other than the Ninefoot Mirror. Everything around it had be a world unto itself, where even the sun, moon, and buildings could be moved. It turned out all of that was possible through the miraculous effects of the item.

    He walked over, and was about to take the Ninefoot Mirror when he suddenly stopped. He looked at it with a serious expression.

    The Ninefoot Mirror suddenly emanated a streak of white mist. An illusory shadow gradually appeared.

    Zu An secretly prepared for battle. Incredible treasures often had things protecting them. Could it be that this was some form of protection Immortal Gate Bei Qing had left behind? But if he had prepared a protector in addition to the puzzle that had so much invested into it, wasn¡¯t this Immortal Gate Bei Qing a bit too much of a busybody?

    The white figure gradually appeared. It didn¡¯t look like a monster, but rather like a slender and elegant woman; she was an extremely beautiful woman, at that. She was dressed in a voluminous ck and white gown, and on her head was a tall hat. She looked a bit like the onmyoji Zu An had seen on the inte. She was clearly extremely beautiful, but Zu An''s first reaction wasn¡¯t to admire her beauty, but rather to admire her aura of transcendence. She seemed like an incredible being from beyond this world, so pure that it was impossible to think of any evil thoughts about her.

    Zu An was actually a bit confused. He had clearly never seen this woman before, so why did she feel a bit familiar? After all, with his current cultivation, his memory was already incredibly strong. He wouldn¡¯t even forget a stranger he passed by on the street, let alone a woman with such an incredible presence.

    The woman looked back at him. It felt as if countless emotions passed through her eyes in an instant, but in the end, she only released a soft sigh. She said, ¡°Even though I really want to see you, that might not be a good thing. It seems as if things really are headed in the worst direction.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He eximed, ¡°You recognize me?¡±

    Judging from her tone, it was as if the two of them were really close friends, and perhaps even more than that.

    <i>What the heck? Do I have memory loss or something? If not, why can¡¯t I think of anything?</i>

    The woman nodded, but then shook her head.

    Zu An chuckled, remarking, ¡°Don¡¯t you think your way of flirting is a bit too overused?¡± Even though he was full of doubts, he quickly calmed down and didn¡¯t show any of it.

    The woman smiled and said, ¡°Sure enough, some things never change.¡±

    When he heard her familiar voice, Zu An felt even more confused. He asked, ¡°Are you the protector Immortal Gate Bei Qing left behind to guard the Ninefoot Mirror? Speak up already if there¡¯s some kind of trial, or if we have to fight. I¡¯m in a hurry.¡±

    This woman was indeed extremely pretty, but it had been a long time since he couldn''t move on when he saw a beautiful woman. Furthermore, he had already spent more time than he would have liked here, and he was worried that the seal couldpletely break. Everything would be toote then.

    The beautiful woman shook her head slightly and said, ¡°I am not the protector of the Ninefoot Mirror; I am Imperial Gate Bei Qing.¡±

    When he heard her words, Zu An¡¯s eyes almost popped out. He had many guesses, but he never could have predicted this.

    <i>Wasn¡¯t Immortal Gate Bei Qing a man? Even children know about his story.</i>

    <i>How did he be a woman, and such a beautiful woman at that?</i>

    The woman smiled when she saw his look of puzzlement, saying, ¡°Of course, this is not me, but rather just a fragment of my will that I left in the Ninefoot Mirror to await the one who shares this destiny. I simply did not expect that person to be you. As expected, you were the only one who could solve my puzzle.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He replied, ¡°Excuse me, beautiful miss, can you please not talk in riddles and just tell me what''s going on directly?¡±

    The more the woman spoke, the more confused Zu An grew, especially when he heard her mention that things were headed in the worst direction, which gave him an ominous feeling.

    The beautiful woman didn¡¯t respond to his question, and instead looked at him quietly. Her eyes were filled with endless reluctance, and her entire figure gradually grew faint. It was clear that the fragment of her will couldn''t stay in this world for that long.

    Zu An panicked and continued, ¡°You''re already about to disappear, and yet you can¡¯t even tell me a bit of useful information? Do you really like being mysterious that much? Or is there a way for me to preserve this fragment of will?¡±

    The beautiful woman smiled faintly and replied, ¡°The fact that I could even remain here for this long is already a miracle in itself. There is no other method that can prolong my life further. However, there is no need for you to worry, because we will meet again.¡±

    Zu An was a bit speechless. He said, ¡°Miss, you are already an ancient senior who died who knows how many years ago, so how can I possibly meet you? Hm? Could it be that you left another will fragment somewhere else?¡±

    The beautiful woman didn¡¯t reply, and instead looked at him with aplicated expression. She said, ¡°You only need to firmly remember one thing. Cause is not necessarily the beginning, and effect is not necessarily the end.¡±

    Afterward, she dissolved into specks of starlight.

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>What the f*ck? What in the world is going on?</i>

    ¡°Big sis empress, why is this woman just like you, someone who loves to talk in riddles?¡± Zu An remarked mockingly.

    ¡°Hmph, what big sis? Call me master,¡± Mi Li said as she appeared nearby, seeming really dissatisfied with what he called her. Amid this world of ice and snow, her red garb seemed even more striking.

    ¡°Okay, big sis empress,¡± Zu An said, before btedly eximing in shock and surprise,¡°You woke up!¡±

    At first, he had just been making a casual remark, and hadn¡¯t expected Mi Li to actually wake up.

    ¡°I might not wake up if you say good things about me, but I definitely will when you¡¯re saying bad things about me.¡± Mi Li harrumphed.

    Zu An chuckled, saying, ¡°But I didn¡¯t say anything bad. This Imperial Gate Bei Qing came out and spoke a bunch of obscure crap, and just refused to tell it to me straight. I really wonder where she picked up that bad habit from.¡±

    ¡°Why are you dragging me into this too?¡± Mi Li retorted in annoyance, then added, ¡°Do you think Imperial Gate Bei Qing is an idiot?¡±

    Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°Of course not.¡±

    Ever since ancient times, there had been countless stories surrounding Imperial Gate Bei Qing circting among the Fiend races, and her name had almost be synonymous with the word ''wisdom''. How could someone like that possibly be an idiot?

    ¡°Then isn¡¯t that enough? If she isn¡¯t an idiot, and she can¡¯t tell it to you straight, she definitely has a reason, and has no choice but to talk that way,¡± Mi Li said with an annoyed look.

    ¡°What reason?¡± Zu An asked.

    Mi Li reflexively answered, ¡°For example, she could be worried that knowing more would only bring you danger, or that it would provoke a certain being...¡± She shut her mouth midway through her sentence and shot him a look, asking, ¡°Are you messing with me again?¡±

    ¡°I really was confused...¡± Zu An said, chuckling in embarrassment.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to think too much about it. Just remember what she told you. You¡¯ll naturally understand once the timees,¡± Mi Li said. She stretchedzily and added, ¡°Sigh, this was a rare chance to emerge. I¡¯ll have to go back to sleep again.¡± n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An was a bit reluctant, asking, ¡°Just who are you hiding from? Can¡¯t you just stay with me for a bit?¡±

    ¡°The world barrier has already been activated, so I can only do my best to remain asleep. Otherwise, I¡¯ll end up drawing the attention of a certain being you have absolutely no chance against,¡± Mi Li said with a sigh. If not for the fact that she knew this was a space created by the Ninefoot Mirror, she wouldn¡¯t have dared toe out like this.

    When she saw the reluctance on his face, a hint of warmth appeared on Mi Li¡¯s face. She said, ¡°If you want me to spend more time outside, then you should hurry and be stronger.¡±

    ¡°How strong do I have to be?¡±

    ¡°You''ll know when the timees.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    In the end, Mi Li returned to the Tai¡¯e Sword. Zu An put away the Ninefoot Mirror and continued to the third location without taking any time to rest.

    He wondered just what kind of nonsense he¡¯d have to deal with once he arrived at the Soul Capturing Jade¡¯s location. When he recalled what Imperial Gate Bei Qing had looked like, he actually felt a bit annoyed. He really wanted to prop her up on his knees and give her a vicious spanking. She had spoken so much, and yet she hadn¡¯t even told him how to obtain the Soul Capturing Jade.

    <i>Does she really have that much confidence that I¡¯ll be able to solve her incredibly hard prompts?</i>

    ...

    Soon after, he arrived at the final region marked on the map. After searching around for a bit, in the end, he focused his attention on an ice hole he couldn''t see the bottom of. There was a dim blue lighting from inside, and there was a special kind of chilling out from it that made even him, with his current cultivation, shiver. The Wind Fire Wheels¡¯ mes became really weak, as if they could go out at any time.

 Chapter 2058: Snow Lady

    <h4>Chapter 2058: Snow Lady</h4>

    ¡°This kind of feeling...¡± Zu An muttered with a frown. He just felt a mysterious sense of familiarity.

    He put away the Wind Fire Wheels and entered the ice hole. Energy quickly moved around him to dispel the chill. As he ventured deeper inside, he saw that it was evenrger than he imagined. Compared to the tattered temple where the Ninefoot Mirror was, this ce had likely been been preserved even better because it was hidden deep inside the ice hole.

    The ce looked like a sacred temple that both humans and fiends would use to hold offerings to the heavens. Next to a perfectly straight main path towered two rows of giant humanoid ice sculptures. Every single sculpture was strange in appearance, and they bore someplicated rune engravings. They all gave off a mysterious sense of divinity. Zu An figured they were probably deity-like beings that the Fiend races had offered sacrifices to in the past. In the past, perhaps he would have treated these things as mere folklore, but now that he had experienced all kinds of strange and bizarre things, in that instant, he even wondered if these deities truly existed...

    As he walked deeper inside, he discovered that there were some ancient murals on the walls. As he followed them, he saw that they seemed to record the heroic deeds of the Fiend races as they fought off the monsters from worlds beyond.

    Suddenly, he focused on one part, noticing that there were some copsed and broken mechanisms there. He could tell that there were traces of a formation having been there previously. He felt a sense of unease. There had probably been some shielding and protective formations here before, which was why no one had discovered it. The only reason he''d been able to find this ce so easily was because of the map provided by the higher-ups of the Fiend races and his own powerful divine sense. Only now did he realize that it was the unnatural ki leaking out from this ce that had drawn him to it.

    Before he arrived, he''d been worried about whether there was some really hard problem he had to solve. Now, it seemed there was nothing for him to solve, because someone had already gotten ahead of him.

    He didn¡¯t stall any longer and quickly flew inside. Soon after, he arrived in front of a narrow pathway and heard strange roarsing from inside.

    <i>Is there some kind of beast inside? </i>

    As he looked at the pitch-ck path, Zu An frowned slightly. Even so, with his current cultivation, he naturally didn¡¯t fear any beast. He took out a talisman and tossed it over. Soon after, the talisman lit up everything in front of him like a re. This path seemed to be hundreds of meters long, but it wasn¡¯t that spacious and could only barely allow a single person through. Some individuals withrger builds would just barely be able to crawl through it.

    And yet, what drew his attention was that there were many deep, chaotic scars all over the surrounding walls, as if they had been cut open by an extremely sharp de. Zu An reached out and touched the surface. He couldn''t sense any sword or de intent from them. He was worried that someone would get to the divine artifact before him, so he didn¡¯t think about it any further and decided to go inside first.

    After he walked a few dozen meters ahead, the low roar became louder and clearer. A faint yellow Tranquility Bell projection appeared around his body. At the same time, he put up several defensive formations.

    Just then, the roar suddenly became extremely sharp. When he saw the st of wind surging at him, he finally knew what it was.

    Wind! An incredibly berserk and wild wind!

    There were many wind element cultivators in this world. Apart from excelling in speed, they also had a simr ability, which was the Wind Edge. It was as hard to block as a powerful swordsman¡¯s sword ki. However, even all of the wind element experts added together couldn''tpare to the gust of wind in front of Zu An.

    The defensive formations around Zu An were shattered almost instantly. Immediately after, the Tranquility Bell onlysted for a few breaths of time before it was covered in cracks and shattered. Fortunately, Zu An reacted quickly and used the Heaven Devouring Sutra. His entire body became like a ck hole, absorbing and converting the berserk winds, thus avoiding disaster.

    ...

    After passing through the narrow path, Zu An saw that it was connected to a void. The one who created this ce had probably used some ingenious method to guide chaotic tribtion winds into this ce, so it was no wonder that they were so powerful. Forget about a grandmaster, even earth immortals would quickly have all of their flesh stripped right off of their bones.

    <i>That Imperial Gate Bei Qing woman really is a two-faced bitch! She actually set up such a dangerous trap here? Wasa she not scared of her descendants being shredded to dust here?</i>

    But after thinking about it, anyone who came here would definitely be here for the mission of sealing the monsters from an alien word. Those with lower cultivations wouldn¡¯t be able to do much even if they obtained a divine artifact, and leaving such artifacts in their hands would only result in a bigger risk of the enemy getting their hands on them...

    Zu An felt a bit more relieved when he understood that. Still, he felt that Bei Qing was a bit too unreasonably calcting in her thinking. The terrifying cosmic storm had another benefit, however. At first, he had been worried that the Soul Capturing Jade would be seized by someone else first, but now, that possibility no longer seemed too likely. Even he had almost died here, so he refused to believe that there was anyone else who could pass through.

    Soon, he arrived at the altar in the center. He saw a staircase that extended downward, and there were clearly still hidden mechanisms there. If they weren¡¯t triggered, there was no way they would appear on their own. He hurriedly rushed inside, but quickly stopped in his tracks, his smile freezing on his face. There was a hidden room beneath the altar, containing a stone box... but it was already open. The contents were missing.

    Zu An¡¯s expression became extremely unpleasant. This was clearly the ce that stored the Soul Capturing Jade, and sure enough, it had already been brought away by a mysterious person. If it was a person, that would still be fine, but if it was a monster, the consequences would be too horrible to imagine.

    He was still unwilling to give up and searched several times around the vicinity. In the end, however, he could only admit that the Soul Capturing Jade was indeed no longer here. Just who was it that had the ability to get through Imperial Gate Bei Qing¡¯s various mechanisms, and even pass through the terrifying cosmic storm?

    His eyesnded on the stone box, and his finger gently touched the surface. Even though he was surrounded by a world of ice and snow, there was a part of the surface that was even colder. He could still vaguely sense the leftover chill. He closed his eyes and fully rxed himself. He opened up his sea of consciousness and began to silently sense everything in the room.

    A whileter, he finally sensed a faint trace of an aura. That aura was extremely familiar,to the point that there was no way he could ever forget it.

    ¡°The Snow Lady?¡± Zu An eximed, his eyes widening in shock. In the past, his cultivation had still beencking and he was chased after by the mysterious Snow Lady. In order to flee for his life, he''d had no choice but to use Keyboard Come. At that time, his body had almost broken downpletely, but fortunately, Yan Xuehen had used her own body to save him...

    How could he forget such a deeply engraved memory? That Snow Lady¡¯s aura was just too unique, to the point that nothing else was even simr in this world. But why would the Snow Lady be here?

    He had already sensed a familiar aura outside the cave. At the time, he''d thought that he was mistaken. After all, this was the Fiend races¡¯ sealednd. It was far, far away from the Great Snowy Mountain. How could the Snow Lady possibly appear in this ce?

    But now, he had no choice but to believe that this was indeed what had happened. Judging from the traces here, it seemed to have not been that long since the Snow Lady left.

    When he thought of that, he didn¡¯t dare to wait any longer. He rushed straight for the exit of the cave. He was initially worried that he would lose the trail, but soon after he left the ice hole, he saw it. Even though there was only wind and snow around him, the Snow Lady¡¯s aura was especially distinct.

    As he chased after that aura, Zu An became more and more confused. Normally, with the Snow Lady¡¯s cultivation, her aura wouldn''t be leaking out so prominently. Was this a trap to draw him in, or was there something wrong with the Snow Lady¡¯s body?

    He continued for more than ten kilometers before suddenly stopping. He looked at the beautiful figure he saw within a snowy valley. The Snow Lady was sitting on a rock, in a daze. It was impossible to tell what she was thinking about.

    In the past, he had only felt that the Snow Lady was horrifying, but now, this was the first time Zu An had examined her appearance. Her entire body was made from ice and snow, and there seemed to be ayer of light muslin covering her body. Her face was clearly a bit hazy, but overall, she looked like a stunning, veiled beauty. There was a pure and transcendent feelinging from her. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An couldn''t help but think of the incredibly beautiful snow women he had seen before online. In that instant, he became briefly absent-minded.

 Chapter 2059: Unexpected Reply

    <h4>Chapter 2059: Unexpected Reply</h4>

    ¡°That really did bring back memories about the TikTok poprity voting days...¡± Zu An muttered. Even though it had already been a long time since he transmigrated into this world, many memories from his previous world were still deeply ingrained in his memory.

    The snowstorm continued to rage, but none of it seemed tond on the Snow Lady, and seemed to merge with her instead. Zu An actually briefly glimps her beautiful hair that was made of ice and snow, but a momentter, it was seemingly covered in a veil again. Normally, it would have made sense to assume that she simply had an entire body made of ice and snow. But now, Zu An¡¯s cultivation was extremely high and his eyesight was far stronger than in the past. He saw that she actually seemed to be dressed in clothes made of ice, resembling a pretty wedding dress.

    In the past, when Zu An read ¡®Demigods and Semi-Devils¡¯, he just hadn''t been able to figure out why that brat Duan Yu would be so obsessed with a jade statue after a single look. Now, he was starting to understand a bit more. There really were some statues that were more beautiful than a real person.

    Suddenly, the Snow Lady seemed to have noticed his approach. With a wave of her hand, a st of cold rushed at Zu An. However, he didn¡¯t dodge it. He swept his hand outward, and a streak of sword ki split the iing wind in half.

    He was a bit surprised, because the attack seemed to be much weaker than what he had experienced in the past. It wasn¡¯t an impression he had just because he had be stronger, but rather a logical deduction. The Snow Lady didn¡¯t seem to be at her strongest right now.

    The Snow Lady finally saw Zu An. She tilted her head slightly, eximing, ¡°It¡¯s you?¡±

    Zu An was a bit surprised, replying, ¡°You still remember me?¡± He was actually more surprised that she was actually capable of human speech. Apart from her tone being a bit cold, her voice was actually quite nice.

    ¡°I attacked you in the past, but you were able to get away. That event was quite hard to forget,¡± the Snow Lady said as she stood up. Her body was clearly made of ice and snow, and yet not a single bit fell off.

    Zu An looked at her, asking, ¡°You¡¯re injured?¡± At his cultivation realm, it wasn¡¯t hard to deduce her current condition.

    The Snow Lady frowned slightly and said, ¡°If we''re going to fight, then so be it. What¡¯s the use in wasting so much time?¡±

    Zu An said seriously, ¡°This time, I didn¡¯te for revenge, but rather in search of the Soul Capturing Jade. If you return it to me, I''ll leave immediately.¡±

    ¡°Soul Capturing Jade?¡± the Snow Lady repeated as she took out a pendant-like object. She asked, ¡°Are you talking about this?¡±

    The pendant looked like a crescent moon. Even though Zu An had never seen the Soul Capturing Jade, he was immediately certain that this was it as soon as he saw it. Moreover, both the Ninefoot Mirror and Skycloud Sword were shaking slightly. It was clear that now that the three divine weapons were near each other, they had started to resonate with each other.

    Zu An had a weird expression. The Snow Lady had actually ced the pendant by her chest, within her icy clothes.

    ¡°How rude!¡± As if sensing where he was looking, the Snow Lady got angry. She raised her hand, and countless icicles fired over like sharp swords.

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled the Snow Lady for +344 +344 +344...</strong>

    A streak of faint golden light appeared around Zu An, blocking all of the icicles. When he saw that she was going to continue attacking, he quickly raised his hand to stop her. He said, ¡°You''re clearly not a match for me right now, and I don¡¯t want to take advantage of your difficulties either. As long as you give me that item, I''ll leave immediately. We can fight again once you¡¯ve fully recovered.¡±

    The Snow Lady looked at him in confusion and replied, ¡°Attacking an enemy when they''re weakened is the most fundamental principle of fighting, is it not? Why are you doing this instead?¡±

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°Maybe it''s because I''m human.¡±

    For some reason, when he saw her now, he just felt that there was a mysterious sense of intimacying from her... As soon as he had that thought, he chastised himself inwardly. To think that when he saw her in Great Snowy Mountain, he had treated her like a monster, but just because she was pretty, his attitude had changedpletely!

    ¡°What a strange human,¡± the Snow Lady said. At first she didn''t quite believe him, but when she sensed that he didn¡¯t carry much hostility, she didn¡¯t continue attacking and said, ¡°I can''t give this to you.¡±

    ¡°Why is that?¡± Zu An asked with a frown. He really needed the item to repair the seal. If she wasn¡¯t willing to give it to him, then no matter how pretty she was, he could only use force.

    ¡°I''m injured and need this item to treat my injuries,¡± the Snow Lady said, not holding back the truth either. Either way, he had already seen through her current condition.

    ¡°You¡¯re injured? Who in this world could even injure you?¡± Zu An eximed in surprise. After all, the Snow Lady was already one of the most powerful beings in this world. In the past, not even the powerful Zhao Han or thete Fiend Emperor had been able to easily enter the Great Snowy Mountain precisely because they feared her existence. Now, both Zhao Han and the Fiend Emperor had died, so who could still injure her?

    ¡°I don¡¯t know either. I''ve never seen them on the Great Snowy Mountain before, but recently, some powerful beings suddenly appeared. They invaded my territory and paid no heed to my warnings. I couldn''t chase them away either. After fighting a great battle, even though I forced them back, I was also wounded,¡± the Snow Lady said candidly.

    Zu An found the exnation rather amusing. This Snow Lady¡¯s way of thinking was a bit simr to an animal''s territorial tendencies.

    Snow Lady¡¯s cultivation was extremely high and she quickly sensed his expression. She eximed, ¡°Are youughing at me?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not!¡± Zu An cried. His expression immediately stiffened as he denied it.

    ¡°You clearlyughed just now," the Snow Lady said.

    ¡°I...¡± Zu An was about to reply when he was suddenly stunned. Why did this sound like a conversation between lovers?

    He quickly collected his thoughts and asked, ¡°What exactly are those beings like? Can you describe them a bit?¡±

    ¡°Ugly, extremely disgusting,¡± the Snow Lady said with an expression of disdain. Then, she looked at Zu An and remarked, ¡°You''re much better looking than them.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. For some reason, after hearing this praise, he couldn''t bring himself to smile at all.

    ¡°It seems the monsters from another world have already invaded the Great Snowy Mountain,¡± Zu An said, his mood a bit heavy. Hadn¡¯t the War Priest previously said that there was some world barrier, that most of those powerful beings couldn''t cross over? Why were they all over the ce?

    <i>That guy didn¡¯t give me wrong information on purpose, did he?</i>

    ¡°Monster? That word seems to be quite fitting,¡± the Snow Lady said with a nod. She clearly approved of that name.

    Zu An thought for a bit before asking, ¡°How strong were those guys? How do theypare to you? Were you injured because they surrounded you?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± the Snow Lady said, shaking her head as she continued, ¡°One of them fought against me one on one. That individual was really strong, and I was only able to win by relying on the familiar terrain around me. He had a fewpanions who were roughly on par with him in strength, and there was also one who was clearly much stronger than him who didn¡¯t fight.¡±

    Zu An immediately felt a bit downcast. He hadn¡¯t expected that none of them would be weaker than the Snow Lady, and one was even clearly stronger. The world barrier had probably already been poked full of holes by the monsters.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t they surround and attack you together, and let you get away instead?¡± Zu An wondered, finding it a bit strange. If they were all that strong and there was even someone stronger, there should have been no reason to let her go so easily.

    ¡°I have some friends on the Great Snowy Mountain too,¡± the Snow Lady said, raising her chin proudly. ¡°Also, I could sense that they had misgivings toward something and couldn''t attack at their full strength.¡±

    Zu An realized something and said, ¡°They barely managed to break through this world¡¯s barrier, but they''re still not tolerated by the will of the world. That''s why they can''t use their full power for now.¡± n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Actually, neither the War Priest nor the Maniptor of Death had been able to fight at full power.

    ¡°World barrier?¡± the Snow Lady repeated, then thought to herself for a bit. ¡°It''s most likely as you say.¡±

    Zu An asked, ¡°Can you tell me about those monsters in more detail, and what their abilities are like?¡± Only by knowing oneself and one''s enemy like that would he be better prepared in the future.

    ¡°Why do I need to share such important information with you?¡± the Snow Lady retorted coldly.

    Zu An was speechless./ He was about to phrase his question differently when the Snow Lady¡¯s head tilted slightly and she stared at him for a while. She suddenly said, ¡°Maybe it''s because those monsters were too ugly, but the more I look at you, the more pleasing I find you. As long as you answer a question of mine, I''ll tell you about those monsters.¡±

    Zu An suddenly felt a bit overwhelmed by favor. He had never expected her to respond like that. He replied, ¡°Sen... What does thedy wish to ask me about?¡± He briefly thought about calling her ''senior'', but he just felt that it was a bit unsuitable because of how cold and beautiful she was.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t I see that woman who was with youst time?¡± the Snow Lady asked, looking around.

    ¡°I came alone this time. She still has things to take care of herself,¡± Zu An replied. He hadn''t expected her to actually ask about that.

    ¡°Were the two of you previously lovers?¡± the Snow Lady asked.

    Zu An was speechless. Wasn¡¯t this Snow Lady a bit too straightforward with her questions?

    ¡°That¡¯s already the second question," heined.

    ¡°But I think it''s the same question as the previous one,¡± the Snow Lady said, clearly not feeling that there was anything wrong with it.

    ¡°We still are,¡± Zu An said. He figured that either way, this Snow Lady didn¡¯t understand anything and there was no way she would have mingled with humans much. He decided to just answer her directly to prevent her from asking more and more questions. Either way, he and Yan Xuehen had already done everything lovers did. After all of that, no one would believe it if they said they weren¡¯t lovers.

    ¡°So that was the case,¡± the Snow Lady said. She remained silent for a long time, seemingly thinking about something.

    ¡°Can you tell me about those monsters now? Also, how did youe all the way here from the Great Snowy Mountain? Did youe here because you knew that the Soul Capturing Jade was here?¡± Zu An immediately asked everything he wanted to know, just in case the Snow Lady would refuse to answer more than a single question.

    The Snow Lady looked at him in confusion and asked, ¡°What are you talking about? This is the Great Snowy Mountain.¡±

    Zu An was dumbfounded by the unexpected reply.

 Chapter 2060: A Deal

    <h4>Chapter 2060: A Deal</h4>

    ¡°You''re saying this is the Great Snowy Mountain?¡± Zu An asked, looking at her in disbelief. <i>This Snow Lady is quite pretty, but there seems to be something not quite right with her brain...?</i>

    The Snow Lady nodded. She appeared to find his reaction quite strange.

    ¡°This ce is clearly the sealednd to the north of the Fiend races'' territory. If I roughly calcte the distance, it should be a hundred and eight thousand miles away,¡± Zu An couldn''t help but say.

    ¡°Fiend races? Sealednd?¡± the Snow Lady repeated in confusion, as if she didn¡¯t care much about worldly affairs. ¡°I don''t know what you''re talking about, but I''m sure that this is the Great Snowy Mountain. I''ve always lived on the Great Snowy Mountain, so how can I not know about my own home?¡±

    Zu An immediately became quiet and thought to himself.

    <i>Judging from how she''s behaving, it doesn¡¯t seem as if she''s lying, so what exactly is the problem?</i>

    <i>Either one of us is wrong, or else... neither of us is! This ce is the Fiend races¡¯ sealednd, but also the restricted Great Snowy Mountain.</i>

    Now that he thought about it, the Fiend races¡¯ sealednd and the Great Snowy Mountain were really simr in many aspects. Both were deste and uninhabited, and both were worlds of ice and snow.

    He recalled that when he was heading through the north to provide assistance to the Fiend races, he had clearly sensed that the Great Snowy Mountain was colder than he remembered in the past. Now that he thought about it, it was probably because of the monsters invading, causing the environment to change. As for himself, he had clearly been in the sealednd, and yet he''d now suddenly arrived on the Great Snowy Mountain. It could be that there was some ovep between the two ces, or maybe even that they were the same ce.

    No wonder the Great Snowy Mountain had been known as a forbidden ce since ancient times. Even those as powerful as Zhao Han and thete Fiend Emperor hadn¡¯t dared to venture too deeply inside. So it turned out to have this much of a connection with the ancient sealednd!

    Zu An quickly snapped back out of his daze and said, ¡°Right, tell me more about those monsters.¡±

    This time, the Snow Lady didn¡¯t refuse. She exined, ¡°The one who fought against me was a several-hundred-meter long bone dragon. It had two ugly wings, and ice didn¡¯t seem too effective against it. Fighting against it was really disadvantageous for me.¡±

    ¡°Bone dragon?¡± Zu An repeated, startled. He wondered if it was some kind of undead spirit, because then he would have a natural advantage against it.

    The Snow Lady nodded slightly and continued, ¡°There were a few others. One seemed to have been entirely pieced together from rocks and had a really strange appearance, another was half-human and half-scorpion, and thest one that was the most mysterious was covered in light, which prevented me from seeing exactly what it looked like too clearly.¡±

    ¡°Not even you were able to see their appearance too clearly?¡± Zu An eximed in surprise.

    After all, with the Snow Lady¡¯s cultivation, she should have been able to see through all kinds of illusions. Things like halos of light could conceal someone from ordinary people, but at her cultivation rank, that shouldn''t have been too big of a deal at all. If she couldn''t see the other side¡¯s real appearance, there was only one possibility, which was that their cultivation was much higher than the Snow Lady¡¯s.

    Even though Zu An¡¯s cultivation had made huge breakthroughs, the Snow Lady¡¯s power had left him with too deep of an impression back then. Even though he wasn¡¯t scared of a fight if they really fought, he wouldn¡¯t dare to im that his strength was far greater than hers. Didn¡¯t that mean the mysterious glowing individual was much stronger than himself?

    <i>It seems there really is something wrong with the seal. Even someone this powerful was able to cross over.</i>

    As such, he quickly said, ¡°I need that Soul Capturing Jade to repair the seal, or else more and more powerful creatures will cross over. Miss, could you give me the Soul Capturing Jade?¡±

    ¡°But I need it for treatment,¡± the Snow Lady said indifferently, directly rejecting the request.

    ¡°I''m quite good at treating people. I¡¯ll help you recover from your injuries, so give me the Soul Capturing Jade,¡± Zu An said.

    ¡°But I''m not a human,¡± the Snow Lady said, looking at him with a calm expression.

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>You¡¯re making so much sense...</i>

    He indeed didn¡¯t know what the Snow Lady¡¯s body was made of, so treatment wouldn''t be so simple. Still, after thinking about it, he said, ¡°It¡¯s all about different means to achieve the same end. I can give it a try.¡±

    The Snow Lady shook her head and said, ¡°I''m not used to letting people touch me.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, I can feel your pulse through threads,¡± Zu An said. He took out two thin strands of silk and sent them toward the Snow Lady¡¯s wrist. He could turn his ki into threads too, but he was worried that she would still consider that to be a part of his body, so he didn¡¯t do that.

    The Snow Lady looked at the two thin threads curiously. When they touched her wrist, she reflexively pulled back. However, Zu An said impatiently, ¡°They have to be on your wrist for me to sense your current condition.¡±

    The Snow Lady was a bit suspicious. She asked, ¡°You won¡¯t use this chance to ambush me, right?¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He said, ¡°Your injuries aren¡¯t light. If I really wanted to do anything to you, I wouldn¡¯t need an ambush at all.¡±

    The Snow Lady was a bit unhappy as she said, ¡°I admit that your cultivation isn¡¯t bad, but even though I¡¯m injured, it wouldn¡¯t be that easy for you to defeat me.¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes, yes, you¡¯re right. That''s why I''m talking with you so nicely,¡± Zu An said. He really wasn¡¯t lying, though. Even though he could win against the Snow Lady, doing so would be going against his nature, and the monsters were her enemies too. The enemy of his enemy could well be a friend.

    The Snow Lady was finally satisfied with that answer. She reached out her hand with a bit of hesitation.

    Now, Zu An couldn''t help but sigh with amazement. ''Spotlessly white wrists'' could perhaps be used as praise when used to describe other women, but for the Snow Lady, that was but a natural fact. He had never seen a woman¡¯s hand that was so white before...

    He quickly regained his focus. The two strings gently wrapped around the Snow Lady''s wrist, and Zu An closed his eyes to sense her condition. Soon after, he opened his eyes in shock. He had thought that her body would be entirely different from a human¡¯s, but now that he examined her, it was actually extremely simr!

    But if she was human, how was she alsopletely made from ice? How could she still have the energy of life?

    ¡°What is it? You can''t treat me?¡± the Snow Lady asked when she saw that.

    ¡°It¡¯s not that there''s no way, but that method is... Forget it, I don¡¯t have a way,¡± Zu An said, not going into the details.

    Her injuries were indeed very serious, and they were wounds left behind by someone extremely strong. Primordial ki alone wouldn¡¯t be enough, so he could only use that method... Even so, he was too embarrassed to mention that method to even his lovers, because it would feel as if he was taking advantage of them. How could he do that to a stranger he had only met a few times?

    When she heard him speak like that, the Snow Lady became even more curious. She asked, ¡°Just what kind of method is it?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s that my medical skill is so humble that I can''t heal you,¡± Zu An said, covered in cold sweat. If he really talked about it, perhaps she would just kill him on the spot. He was even starting to regret being so indecisive earlier.

    ¡°Humans really aren¡¯t honest after all.¡± The Snow Lady harrumphed. Her expression became even colder.

    ¡°How long do you n on using that Soul Capturing Jade?¡± Zu An asked to test the waters.

    The Snow Lady looked away and clearly didn¡¯t want to pay him any attention.

    Zu An could only say, ¡°This is, after all, quite an important matter. You don¡¯t want those powerful creatures to appear day after day and disturb you on the Great Snowy Mountain either, right?¡±

    The Snow Lady frowned. When she pictured that scenario, she seemed to be a bit troubled. In the end, she said, ¡°If I use it for treatment, the Soul Capturing Jade will be consumed.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    <i>Then what the hell am I still messing around for? </i>

    He even started to emanate killing intent now. Even though that didn¡¯t match his style of doing things, when it was rted to the safety of an entire world, he couldn''t be bothered with the consequences anymore.

    ¡°What, are you going to kill to steal the treasure?¡± The Snow Lady said with a sneer, ¡°Humans are hypocritical and deceitful after all.¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°You didn¡¯t need to tell me the truth, so why did you tell me that?¡±

    ¡°To see if you would use the chance to attack,¡± The Snow Lady said coldly. ¡°But now, even though you already have killing intent, you''re still a bit hesitant, so you¡¯re still not that bad of a person.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>Is this woman really the aloof type who doesn¡¯t care about worldly affairs?</i>

    The Snow Lady said, ¡°I can give you the Soul Capturing Jade, but you have to help me with something.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Zu An asked, surprised.

    ¡°Help me drive away the monsters in my territory,¡± the Snow Lady said seriously. She was clearly unhappy with those creatures disturbing her nest.

    ¡°No problem,¡± Zu An said, sighing in relief. Either way, the monsters were his enemies too, so he would be taking care of two birds with one stone.

    ¡°Then you should go now,¡± the Snow Lady said as she got up. She clearly didn¡¯t want to waste any time.

    ¡°Your injuries...¡± Zu An said hesitantly.

    The Snow Lady walked ahead and said coldly, ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡±

    Zu An quickly said, ¡°I''m worried that your life might be in danger, so it might be better if I go on my own.¡±

    When she sensed the concern in his voice, the Snow Lady stopped and said, ¡°You aren¡¯t a match for all of them by yourself.¡± After pausing for a moment, she continued, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, as long as the Great Snowy Mountain remains, I won¡¯t die.¡±

 Chapter 2061: Tussling From All Sides

    <h4>Chapter 2061: Tussling From All Sides</h4>

    Zu An was stunned. Judging from what she was saying, could it be that the Snow Lady was the incarnation of Great Snowy Mountain herself? He asked, ¡°If you can¡¯t die, why do you still need the Soul Capturing Jade for your recovery?¡±

    The Snow Lady gave him a strange look and replied, ¡°Not dying doesn¡¯t mean I can¡¯t be injured. You look pretty smart, so why are you asking me such a stupid question?¡± There was a bit of purity in her expression, as if she didn¡¯t really know the affairs of the world too well. However, the more it was like that, the more it hurt.

    Being called stupid by someone naturally ignorant definitely didn¡¯t make Zu An feel good. He could only ask, ¡°Just how did you find out that the Soul Capturing Jade could treat your injuries?¡±

    After all, the Soul Capturing Jade was one of the three divine artifacts needed to strengthen the seal. That was the Fiend races¡¯ greatest secret, and not even the higher-ups of the Fiend races knew about it. He himself had only managed to piece together the information by chance, so how did the Snow Lady know that this thing could treat her injuries?

    The Snow Lady casually replied, ¡°In the past, a human told me that if I was injured in the future, I could find the Soul Capturing Jade to heal my injuries.¡±

    ¡°Just what kind of remarkable person was it? How long ago did this happen?¡± Zu An eximed in surprise. The word she had used was ''human'', meaning it wasn''t a fiend. How could a human actually know so many secrets?

    The Snow Lady reflexively opened her mouth to reply, but her expression became a bit lost. In the end, she said, ¡°I forgot.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. That was a reply he wasn¡¯t expecting at all. How could someone as powerful as the Snow Lady possibly forget that kind of thing?

    The Snow Lady seemed to have realized that her behavior was a bit unusual too. She exined, ¡°I don¡¯t know what''s happening either, but there are many events of the past that I can''t remember anymore. Even so, these should all be things from a long, long time ago.¡±

    Zu An wanted to ask some more, but he discovered that she was already in deep thought and muttering to herself, ¡°That¡¯s strange... Why would I trust the words of a human that much?¡±

    The Snow Lady continued to walk forward in a daze, as if she really couldn''t figure the situation out.

    Zu An became more and more curious, wondering just who could have been so incredible. The two of them walked through the snowstorm just like that, one behind the other, creating an extremely tranquil and harmonious scene.

    ...

    Meanwhile, in the human side¡¯s Imperial Pce, Liu Ning stood in front of her mirror while dressed in splendid clothes. When she saw the beautiful figure in the reflection, she sighed deeply.

    Off to the side, Eunuch Lu was absolutely breathtaken. Immediately after, he asked with an apologetic smile, ¡°What seems to be bothering your highness?¡±

    ¡°Little Lu, do you think I¡¯m beautiful?¡± Liu Ning asked, running her fingers across the exaggerated curve between her waist and bottom.

    Eunuch Lu swallowed with difficulty before answering, ¡°Your highness is as beautiful as a heavenly immortal, the number one beauty under the heavens.¡±

    ¡°Tsk, it clearly sounds so fake.¡± Liu Ning harrumphed. ¡°I still know myself. Among my peers, I can¡¯tpare to Yu Yanluo, and among the younger generation, the Chu n¡¯s first miss, the Bi n¡¯s hussy... None of them are worse than me, and they have their age to their advantage.¡±

    ¡°What is your highness saying? In this servant¡¯s eyes, your respected self is the most beautiful. None of the others added together canpare to even a single fingernail on your respected self¡¯s body,¡± Eunuch Lu said eagerly.

    ¡°Who cares if that¡¯s what you think? What¡¯s most important is what Ah Zu thinks,¡± Liu Ning said. She gently raised her dress and turned in front of the mirror, continuing, ¡°Such a beautiful body, and yet it can only remain untouched at home.¡±

    ¡°The regent will return to spend time with your highness once he finishes handling affairs on the Fiend side,¡± Eunuch Lu said. He wasn¡¯t too upset; he knew that he had a fundamental deficiency in that department and couldn''t console his goddess. Besides, he had already found an avenue for even greater gratification - the regent, who was powerful regardless of which aspect one was talking about. That was the man most suitable for the woman he loved the most in this life.

    ¡°I really wonder when he''ll be able toe back. He''ll no doubt have so many women at his side once hees back too,¡± Liu Ning said, seemingly realizing something; she couldn''t help but feel a bit upset.

    Eunuch Lu¡¯s expression darkened and he offered, ¡°Your highness, what if this servant got rid of those vixens for you?¡±

    Liu Ning was startled and eximed, ¡°Are you going mad? I was just randomly speaking my mind. If something happened to those women, Ah Zu would definitely know that I did it. Wouldn¡¯t he hate me forever then?¡±

    Eunuch Lu quickly said, ¡°This servant will make sure to do it secretly, and even if it ends up being exposed, this servant will apologize for the offense myself, and will definitely not implicate your highness.¡±

    ¡°Pah, who doesn¡¯t know you¡¯re one of my people? How could I not be involved?¡± Liu Ning red at him and cursed in annoyance.

    Even though he was being cursed at, Eunuch Lu still felt a sweet senation inside. Those words continued to echo in his mind.

    <i>You¡¯re one of my people, you¡¯re one of my people...</i>

    <i>Heh, her highness did treat me as one of her people after all.</i>

    ¡°Don¡¯t think about doing those random foolish things. Forget about implicating me; even if it didn¡¯t, you wouldn¡¯t be able to kill those vixens. For example, that Chu n one has Sect Master Yan behind her. Could you win against her?¡± Liu Ning continued.

    ¡°Your highness¡¯ criticism is correct,¡± Eunuch Lu said, bowing and nodding. His mood was clearly really good. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Liu Ning released a long sigh. ¡°Sigh... I was perfectly fine as an empress, but I suddenly became an empress dowager. It makes me feel as if I suddenly became a few decades older for no reason.¡±

    ¡°Of course not! Your highness is still in your prime. Last time the southern border tribe¡¯s official came to visit your respected self, he even thought you were the crown princess,¡± Eunuch Lu immediately said.

    ¡°That¡¯s just a subject¡¯s craftiness, and he clearly said that to make me happy. You even believe something like that?¡± Liu Ning said. Despite that, the happiness in her expression was still clear. Her mood was clearly lifted.

    Eunuch Lu chuckled. Her highness had frequently been at odds with the Eastern Pce. The fact that she was happy to be mistaken for the crown princess could be a first.

    ¡°Little Lu, what major events have happened recently in the capital?¡± Liu Ning asked, her mood clearly having be much better. She turned her attention to the court''s affairs.

    ¡°Your highness, the most significant event recently has been none other than King Wu entering the pce. King Wu is quite handsome, and Madam Wu is also exceptionally beautiful, so they immediately received a lot of poprity when they revealed themselves at the capital. Madam Wu in particr is someone who is difficult to forget after just a single look. There are even rumors that if she had been at the capital, perhaps the crown princess would not have been able to win her position among the younger generation so convincingly,¡± Eunuch Lu said with a bow.

    ¡°Hmph, that wench Linglong isn¡¯t pretty enough topletely dominate the others anyway. Madam Dai and Madam Jin aren¡¯t any worse than her. Isn¡¯t it because she relied on her special identity as the crown princess to add to her charm?¡± Liu Ning remarked disdainfully.

    ¡°Your highness is absolutely correct,¡± Eunuch Lu immediately said in agreement, but he found it a bit amusing deep down.

    <i>It seems her highness and the crown princess really don¡¯t like each other much.</i>

    Liu Ning harrumphed. ¡°Stop paying so much attention to all this love affair stuff and start talking about proper affairs. What do you think about King Wu¡¯s entrance into the pce?¡±

    ¡°Perhaps the Bi n invited him in to reinforce their side?¡± Eunuch Lu asked to test the waters.

    ¡°Hmph, who else could it be but them? Kings outside the capital are absolutely not allowed to enter the capital unless summoned, and yet he used the pretext of mourning his father and brother to do so. If not for the Bi n voicing their support, those two excuses alone wouldn¡¯t have been enough for them to enter,¡± Liu Ning said with a sneer.

    ¡°I believe King Wu visited all sorts of different ns after entering the capital, and he also sent Madam Wu to socialize with those prestigious ns. It seems he is preparing something,¡± Eunuch Lu reminded her.

    ¡°Hmph, everyone has already seen how King Dai courted death, and yet this brat still has aspirations to the throne?¡± Liu Ning remarked, sounding a bit excited to see some more chaos. ¡°The Bi nss must want to use him to go against me, but has she not considered that he might betray her, and that she might not even be able to keep the position of empress anymore?¡±

    ¡°Your highness is wise!¡± Eunuch Lu remarked approvingly.

    ¡°You only know how to tter me. How boring.¡± Liu Ning harrumphed.

    <i>Ah Zu wouldn¡¯t just submit to me like this; only I submit to him...</i>

    Her thoughts were inscrutable, but ayer of redness appeared on her face.

    Eunuch Lu spoke up and asked, ¡°Your highness, do we really need to act against King Liang¡¯s side? He has a good reputation, and the repercussions might be great.¡±

    Liu Ling retorted coldly, ¡°What good reputation? It¡¯s just some seniority in his n. Ever since he was little, he received endless resources from the royal family, and yet even after all these years, he''s only managed to barely scrape his way into the master rank. All of his age was wasted on that idiot. Recently, he¡¯s been relying on his high status so much that he¡¯s begun to forget his ce, even frequently telling me what to do! If I don¡¯t teach him a good lesson, that old bastard will want a mile if he¡¯s given an inch.¡±

    After a pause, she added, ¡°Besides, ording to our intelligence, that guy bothered Ah Zu before in Brightmoon City, so it¡¯s a good chance to help him vent out some resentment.¡±

    Eunuch Lu still looked a bit worried.

    <i>Her highness seems to have bepletely bewitched by the regent! Just King Liang alone naturally isn''t a big deal, but the Eastern Pce is watching over their every move. There''s also that ambitious guy, King Wu, so it¡¯ll be easy for things to go wrong...</i>

 Chapter 2062: Undefeatable

    <h4>Chapter 2062: Undefeatable</h4>

    Meanwhile, In the Eastern Pce, the very person Eunuch Lu had been talking about was removing her makeup in front of a copper mirror. Her maid Rong Mo stood behind her and carefully removed the precious hair ornaments from her head one after another, and she stored them away in their respective cases.

    Bi Linglong tilted her head to one side to remove an earring. She murmured with a worried expression, ¡°I wonder just how he''s doing now.¡±

    Behind her, Rong Mo asked as if she didn¡¯t know what Bi Linglong was talking about, ¡°He? Which he is the young miss talking about?¡±

    Bi Linglong rolled her eyes at her and retorted, ¡°Do you want to die?¡±

    Rong Mo giggled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, young miss. The regent is so strong, he''ll definitely seed no matter what he does.¡±

    ¡°Even so, this time, he''s facing those unknown alien monsters,¡± Bi Linglong said; her expression revealed a hint of concern.

    ¡°The regent¡¯s cultivation is actually secondary to his ability. His greatest asset is his resourcefulness. I really can''t think of how he would lose out in any situation,¡± Rong Mo said, recalling just how badly she had suffered because of him in the past. She couldn''t help but pout.

    Bi Linglong smiled and said, ¡°I remember that you used to call him reprehensible, saying that he was the most annoying person in the world. Why does it now seem as if you''re using some words of praise? Could it be that you¡¯ve also begun to like and admire him?¡±

    ¡°No way!¡± Rong Mo protested. Her face immediately reddened. ¡°Isn¡¯t it because even you already became his? How can I talk badly about the young master?¡±

    When she heard her call Zu An ''young master'', Bi Linglong blushed too. It took her a moment to snap out of her embarrassment. With a light cough, she changed the subject and said, ¡°I heard that father has been inviting King Wu into the manor as a guest quite frequently.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. That Madam Wu is really pretty, you know? Many of the Bi n¡¯s younger disciples went to see her when they heard about that, and there were even rumors that she was prettier than you! Hmph, did those people be blind?¡± Rong Mo answered. Her voice was clear and fast, and she immediately spouted a bunch of drama in one go. She knew that the young miss was embarrassed, so she naturally didn¡¯t keep talking about the regent.

    ¡°We¡¯ve met a few times. Madam Wu is indeed pretty, so it isn¡¯t all that surprising for there to be such a rumor,¡± Bi Linglong said, although she didn¡¯t seem to care that much. ¡°Compared to Madam Wu¡¯s beauty, I''m more worried about King Wu¡¯s ambition. When you have a chance, pass on a message to my father for me, to remind him of King Wu¡¯s hidden motives. He''s definitely not someone who would be content to serve under another, so my father needs to remain vignt.¡±

    ¡°Understood. I''ll pass on the message tomorrow.¡± Rong Mo paused for a moment, but then she couldn''t help but say, ¡°Even so, everyone says King Wu came to help you face the empress dowager. If we end up creating any tension between us now, what if he goes over to the empress dowager¡¯s side?¡±

    She was Bi Linglong¡¯s personal maid, after all, so she knew about many things. Bi Linglong didn¡¯t hide many secrets from her either, so she naturally knew more secrets than normal maids.

    Bi Linglong harrumphed. ¡°Wasn¡¯t that all because of father¡¯s decision to invite King Wu into the capital using my name? I couldn''t just refuse it either. That¡¯s the only reason why the outside world has had such thoughts.

    "This King Wu has some influence and can help keep the empress dowager in check to a certain degree, but his ambitions are too great. He could be going after the emperor¡¯s throne, so it might just end up hurting me instead.¡±

    ¡°He dares?!¡± Rong Mo raised her brows and her voice grew louder. ¡°Who does he think he is? With the regent and young miss still here, does he really think he could have any chance at the imperial throne?¡±

    Bi Linglong also chuckled and said, ¡°With King Dai and the Meng n being examples to learn from, if he dared to have any such thoughts, his actions would be nothing but courting death.¡±

    Rong Mo moved over to her shoulder and said with a big smile, ¡°I finally know why the young miss isn¡¯t in a rush at all. With the regent on your side, why would you still need any other support?¡±

    Bi Linglong immediately became a bit shy. She retorted, ¡°Damnss, I¡¯m going to rip that mouth off your face!¡±

    ¡°My mouth can¡¯t be ripped off, but as for...¡± Rong Moughed, then began to imitate what she had heard before. ¡°Ah, I¡¯m going to break...¡±

    When she heard Rong Mo mimic her, Bi Linglong finally couldn''t take it anymore. She got up and pounced on Rong Mo, and the two of them began to noisily fight against each other.

    ...

    Meanwhile, in the sealednd, Zu An and the Snow Lady were traveling through the snowstorm. Along the way, there were several times when Zu An wanted to say something to her, but the Snow Lady was too cold. Not only was she cold temperature-wise, she carried an air of indifference that pushed everyone far away. He couldn''t help but click his tongue and mutter, ¡°You¡¯re even colder than Chuyan...¡±

    When he first met Chu Chuyan, she had been famous for being an ice-cold beauty. And yet, this woman in front of him was the very embodiment of an icy mountain.

    ¡°Why do you keep staring at me?¡± The Snow Lady suddenly turned around and looked at him with a frown. His behavior along the way clearly hadn¡¯t escaped her notice.

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t staring at you, I was just wondering how to talk to you,¡± Zu An said, feeling a bit embarrassed. He really felt wronged, because it would be really bad if he was mistaken by Snow Lady as a pervert.

    ¡°Can¡¯t you just talk to me if you have something to say? Why do you still have to think so hard about it? You humans really are a bit strange,¡± the Snow Lady said, seemingly unable to understand his behavior.

    Zu An was stunned, but a smile immediately appeared on his face.

    <i>I guess that¡¯s right. Interaction between people was just this simple to begin with. It was all those who came after that made it soplicated.</i>

    ¡°I wanted to ask you about your cultivation and abilities. That way, it¡¯ll be easier for us to coordinate when we fight together," he said.

    ¡°I heard the other leaders of the Great Snowy Mountain mention that humans are the most cunning beings, so I can''t tell you my exact cultivation and abilities. Otherwise, it¡¯ll be dangerous for me if you prepare to fight against me,¡± the Snow Lady immediately replied.

    Zu An was speechless. For the sake of cooperation, he could only show her a smile he believed carried the most sincerity possible and exin, ¡°Just like the inhabitants of the Great Snowy Mountain, there are good and bad people among humans. You can''t just throw them all in the same box and condemn them like that.¡±

    ¡°But I think you''re a bad person just from your smile,¡± the Snow Lady said bluntly.

    Zu An was stunned, asking, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that I looked pretty good?¡±

    ¡°Someone in the past told me that the better someone looks, the better they are at lying," the Snow Lady retorted.

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t the one who told you that also a human? You were willing to trust them, so doesn¡¯t that further prove what I''m saying?¡± Zu An replied.

    The Snow Lady was stunned, as if her brain had short-circuited. After some time, she said, ¡°You saw my abilitiesst time. They''re mainly rted to ice and snow. I can do practically anything you can think of.¡±

    Zu An blinked, dazed.

    <i>You can do anything I can think of? What kind of a reply is that?</i>

    The Snow Lady continued, ¡°Instead of focusing on me, you should be more concerned with the enemy¡¯s abilities. That bone dragon¡¯s other abilities are one thing, but it has one that''s especially tricky. It can reflect the injuries you inflict on it back to you threefold. The reason I was injured was because I didn¡¯t expect it to be capable of that. The attack I thought would deliver a fatal blow and grant victory was sent right back by the dragon. I was caught off guard and was seriously injured.¡± n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An was stunned. Previously, she had only told him that the bone dragon didn¡¯t really fear cold. She hadn''t offered this much detail. Naturally, she''d be able to deduce how strong her own attack was, as well as how much it had been multiplied after being reflected. That really made things tricky. If the bone dragon had such an ability, wouldn¡¯t that make it undefeatable?

 Chapter 2063: Refinement

    <h4>Chapter 2063: Refinement</h4>

    ¡°What abilities does that bone dragon have? How can we win against it?¡± Zu An wondered, starting to feel frustrated.

    ¡°That¡¯s not my responsibility. You said you''d help me get rid of those guys, so that¡¯s for you to think about,¡± the Snow Lady said matter-of-factly.

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>This Snow Lady is acting more and more like a human woman.</i>

    ¡°I''ll help you draw away that shadow person and stone monster, but you have to make sure to get rid of the bone dragon in that time. Otherwise, they probably won¡¯t fall for it again,¡± the Snow Lady warned.

    Zu An was a bit worried, saying, ¡°That stone monster isn¡¯t any weaker than you, let alone that shadow person who is even stronger than you. You¡¯re injured right now, so won¡¯t you be in great danger if you try to lure them away?¡±

    The Snow Lady shook her head and replied, ¡°This is my home, so I have my ways of protecting myself.¡±

    At their level, she naturally wouldn¡¯t give away all of her secrets. Since they were now partners, however, Zu An chose to trust her. It seemed he had to eliminate that bone dragon as quickly as possible. After all, she wouldn''t necessarily be able to hold up the two others for very long, and it would be more dangerous the longer they waited. However, the bone dragon¡¯s threefold reflection ability was a bit too ridiculous. Just how was he going to get rid of it quickly?

    ...

    The two continued forward for some time. As he looked at the surroundings, Zu An started to feel a vague sense of familiarity. The first ce he had encountered the Snow Lady in the past seemed to be nearby, and back then, he had been chased until he had absolutely no way out.

    When he recalled how terrifying she was, he couldn''t help but give the Snow Lady a look. She was entirely made of ice and snow. Her cheeks were clearly a bit hazy under the snowy mist, but she still looked a bit weak. He wondered if it was because she was injured.

    The Snow Lady turned around and just happened to meet his gaze, asking, ¡°Why are you looking at me again?¡±

    Zu An said honestly, ¡°It¡¯s just that I feel as if you¡¯re not the same as before.¡±

    ¡°How am I different?¡± the Snow Lady asked in confusion.

    ¡°You¡¯re not as mean as before,¡± Zu An said with a chuckle.

    The Snow Lady remained silent for a long time before finally saying, ¡°It seems I really was injured badly.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>This woman¡¯s way of thinking doesn¡¯t seem to be that normal.</i>

    A whileter, the Snow Lady said, ¡°Come a bit closer to me.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Zu An asked. Even though he didn¡¯t know what she wanted, he still moved a bit closer to her. He stopped about a foot away.

    ¡°A bit closer,¡± the Snow Lady said with a frown.

    Zu An was stunned. <i>This woman isn¡¯t trying to use a honey trap against me, right?</i>

    However, he immediately gave up on that thought when he saw the Snow Lady¡¯s emotionless face. There had to be another reason for this.

    Sure enough, the Snow Lady said quietly, ¡°We''re about to approach my territory. In order to prevent you from being noticed by those guys, we have to conceal our auras.¡±

    While she spoke, a plume of snowy mist suddenly erupted beneath her feet. Then, the mist quickly extended to Zu An¡¯s side, wrapping the two within. She said, ¡°Alright, we¡¯ve now be one with the surrounding ice and snow. Those three won¡¯t be able to find us anymore. I¡¯m injured right now, so this is the limit of my reach."

    Zu An now realized what was going on. The wind and snow around them didn¡¯t block their line of sight, but their presence had indeed already disappeared from this world. No wonder she had been able to flee from those three powerful individuals. He turned slightly to nce at the Snow Lady. The two were now really close, with only a few inches between them. He could clearly sense the cold emanating from her body.

    <i>Now this is a real ''body of ice'', right? I wonder if she would melt if she walked close to a volcano...</i>

    Suddenly, both of them stopped and looked up at the tallest snow-covered mountain in the distance. The sun had already risen. A trace of golden light slowly spread across the snowy mountaintop, bathing it in color. Zu An thought to himself.

    <i>Now this is what you call sunshine over a golden mountain! The photographers of my previous world climbed up freezing mountains doggedly in order to capture these kinds of scenes. Even so, not every day was beautiful like this. You could easily go more than two weeks without any results and be forced to go home.</i>

    This snowy mountain was more majestic than any mountain he had ever seen in his previous world, and it also had an elegant air to it. He really wondered just how those two entirely different feelings had managed tobine together atop this mountain. As the mountaintop was covered in ayer of gold, it became even more astonishing.

    However, most of Zu An¡¯s attention was on a gray figure slowly circling above the mountaintop - it was a several-hundred-meter long dragon. If it had been one of the giant dragons from the Ocean races, perhaps it would have added a bit of beauty to the scene; and yet, this was a skeletal bone dragon that was full of deathly energy, whichpletely ruined the view. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°What is it doing?¡± Zu An wondered in confusion, thinking, <i>Has that bone dragon gone mad? Why does it keep circling the mountaintop?</i>

    The Snow Lady was also a bit baffled at first. Immediately after, she closed her eyes and seemed to bemunicating with something. A whileter, she opened her eyes and said, ¡°It''s refining this entire mountain!¡±

    ¡°Refining the entire snowy mountain?¡± Zu An eximed in shock. Was there something special about this snowy mountain? Otherwise, why would the dragon use up so much energy to refine it? Also, just what kind of method was it using?

    ¡°The death energy around its entire body has already begun to corrode this entire snowy mountain. We can''t let it continue! We have to get rid of it as quickly as possible!¡± the Snow Lady eximed, sounding a bit panicked. ¡°By the way, I can¡¯t sense that shadow person and the stone monster. Can you sense their auras?¡±

    Zu An closed his eyes when he heard her say that. He sent his vast divine sense in all directions. A whileter, he opened his eyes and shook his head, saying, ¡°I can¡¯t sense them either. This really is strange.¡±

    ¡°Then there¡¯s no problem. The snowy mountain told me that those two seem to have left for some reason. They seem to be preparing to refine other ces,¡± the Snow Lady quickly said.

    Zu An was surprised. Three powerful beings were going to refine three separate ces? That perfectly matched up with the three divine artifacts. He wondered if there was any connection there. Suddenly realizing something important, he asked, ¡°You canmunicate with the snowy mountain?¡±

    The Snow Lady gave him a strange look and replied, ¡°This is my home, so of course I can.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He was bing more and more curious as to just what kind of being the Snow Lady really was. She had previously mentioned that as long as the Great Snowy Mountain existed, she wouldn¡¯t die. Could it be that the Great Snowy Mountain had developed sentience, and that she was its incarnation?

    The Snow Lady quickly said, ¡°The other two not being here right now is good news. I can coordinate with you now. Have you thought of any solutions?¡±

    Zu An nodded, saying, ¡°I do have a way, but I need your cooperation.¡±

    ¡°Sure, what do you need me to do?¡± the Snow Lady asked, sounding a bit excited. She really wanted to get these intruders out of her home as quickly as possible.

    ¡°We need to do this...¡± Zu An moved closer to the Snow Lady¡¯s ear and whispered. They were now so close that he could clearly see her sparkling ear. He was briefly stunned.

    <i>Why is this ice doll looking more and more like a person?</i>

    Meanwhile, the bone dragon was still doing its best to refine the snowy mountain below. When it sensed that its death energy was gradually corroding the Great Snowy Mountain, a proud smile appeared on its sinister face. This entire ce would bepletely refined before much longer.

    Suddenly, an ice-cold voice called out, ¡°Ugly dragon, stop right there!¡±

    The bone dragon raised its head and saw a beautiful snowy figure standing at the peak of the mountain across from its own. Its attention was immediately drawn. It said, ¡°Last time, you fled with your life by a fluke. Who would have thought that you woulde back to throw your life away?¡±

    ¡°You had yourpanions with youst time, and I was distracted. That was why I was injured. You¡¯re alone today, so let¡¯s fight a proper battle,¡± the Snow Lady said coldly.

    The bone dragon seemed as if it had heard something utterly absurd. It retorted, ¡°You weren¡¯t a match for me even when you were at your strongest. You¡¯re seriously injured right now, so aren¡¯t you just courting death?¡± However, it voiced its surprise midway throug, saying, ¡°Hold on, you clearly got awayst time. How could you possibly do something so stupid?¡±

    Zu An, who was hiding in the dark, was rmed.

    <i>Could it be that this bone dragon saw through our n?</i>

    However, the bone dragon burst out intoughter and said, ¡°I got it! It seems you sensed that I was already about topletely refine this snowy mountain, so you had no choice but toe. Since you¡¯vee to die, don¡¯t me me for being rude!¡±

 Chapter 2064: Unassuring Circumstances

    <h4>Chapter 2064: Unassuring Circumstances</h4>

    As soon as the massive bone dragon spoke, it rushed straight at the snowy peak on the other side.

    The Snow Lady¡¯s expression was cold. She didn''t seem to move at all, but the entire snowy mountain seemed to tremble. Endless snow came tumbling down in an avnche, rolling forth in waves before suddenly condensing into a pair of giant hands. They reached out from the surging avnche and grabbed the flying bone dragon out of the sky.

    The bone dragon roared in anger. Its entire body iled frantically, and its long tail suddenlyshed out at one of the hands grabbing at it. Every single segment of its body was razor-sharp, and when dozens of sharpened bonesbined together, they resembled both a whip and a massive de. The hands were nearly destroyed the moment it made contact.

    Immediately after, the bone dragon¡¯s tail segments began to spin like an electric drill,pletely destroying one icy hand. Then, it thrashed at the hand that remained. Even though therge hand tried to grip its tail, it couldn''t withstand the drilling stabs, quickly bing filled with holes. In the end, it couldn''t hold on and maintain the shape of a hand anymore, ultimately turning back into wind and snow.

    The Snow Lady¡¯s expression changed. She quickly kicked off the ground and rushed at the other snowy mountain.

    ¡°You want to run?¡± The bone dragonughed maliciously. With a swing of its body, it quickly rushed at the Snow Lady. With the difference in their speeds, it was confident it could catch her within ten breaths of time.

    Suddenly, the thick snow below burst open. A figure rushed straight at its head like a shooting star. The longsword in his hand turned into a streak of white light that bore down on the dragon''s neck with terrifying momentum.

    The bone dragon finally realized what was happening. It turned out the Snow Lady had been baiting it to chase after her, and she had even used such a shy attack, all to use the endless ice and snow to cover the true killer¡¯s figure!

    <i>Just where did she find such a terrifying assistant?</i>

    Even so, there was no more time for it to think. It mustered all of its strength to avoid the attack. However, this sword skill was too profound. No matter how it evaded, the sword continued to aim right at its vitals, and kept closing in at a speed it couldn''t outrun! The dragon was horrified. How could a world of this rudimentary level have a swordsman with such profound cultivation?

    The sword finally stabbed into the weakest bone in the dragon''s neck. A resplendent streak of white light flickered past, and the bone dragon¡¯s massive body crashed into the valley. Its tremendous weight made it fall so far, it couldn''t be seen anymore.

    Zu Annded nearby. He had heard the Snow Lady describe the bone dragon¡¯s ability and was confused at first, but he quickly realized something. If its ability really didn¡¯t have any weaknesses, wouldn¡¯t it be invincible? However, judging from what the Snow Lady had told him, that shadow person clearly had an even higher rank.

    After thinking about it, he''d figured that even though the bone dragon¡¯s threefold reflection ability was strong, it probably couldn''t always be active. As such, the n he discussed with the Snow Lady was to have her cover him first, to give him a chance to assassinate it in a single blow. That way, the bone dragon would die without even getting the chance to use its ability. The Snow Lady had been a bit doubtful, but Zu An had enough confidence in his own sword that he''d been sure he could definitely seize that chance.

    Sure enough, it was as he expected. The bone dragon¡¯s retaliation wasn¡¯t something that could be activated at will. His n had seeded! Even so, he couldn''t bring himself to feel happy at all.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± the Snow Lady asked as she flew over to his side. When she saw that he hadn¡¯t suffered any retaliation, she couldn''t help but sigh in relief.

    Zu An shook his head. He reached out to grab a pair of scales that had fallen. They had originally been one scale, but they''d been cut in half by his sword. There had beenplex patterns carved on it, and the surface had previously flickered with glimmers of light. Now, it was cut in half and the light had disappeared.

    ¡°You actually managed to destroy my protection charm! You damned couple, I''ll definitely y you alive and rip out your tendons! I''ll make you regreting into this world!¡± A furious roar echoed through the valley. Immediately after, there was a huge explosion as a long figure rushed into the sky.

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled the Bramble Bone Dragon for +999 +999 +999...</strong>

    The bone dragon¡¯s two eye sockets erupted with two eerie mes. It stared resentfully at Zu An and the Snow Lady.

    Zu An frowned.

    <i>How do these guys have so many life-saving measures?</i>

    He had already encountered simr events several times. It seemed he had to start taking these possibilities into consideration in the future too. Fortunately, judging from the dragon¡¯s reaction, the protective charm was extremely difficult to obtain, so it probably didn¡¯t have any more.

    ¡°Just where did youe from? How could there be a human this powerful in this world?¡± the bone dragon wondered as it stared at Zu An. It was feeling really nervous. After all, it actually hadn''t been able to avoid that sword at all after being ambushed! How ridiculous was that?

    It suddenly thought of something. As it looked at Zu An, its eyes narrowed and it asked, ¡°Are you the one who killed the War Priest?¡±

    Zu An raised his brows and replied, ¡°Oh? It seems you monsters do know each other a bit after all.¡±

    The Bramble Bone Dragon suddenly backed up by around a kilometer, and only then felt a sense of safety. It said, ¡°Hmph, I definitely don¡¯t want to mysteriously die in this low-level world like that War Priest guy. There''s no chance for you to ambush me anymore.¡±

    The Snow Lady warned Zu An, ¡°Be careful. It''s already activated the reflection skill.¡±

    Zu An noticed that there were some profound designs faintly visible around the entire Bramble Bone Dragon¡¯s body. They vaguely formed a sort of protective cover.

    ¡°Why are you whispering among yourselves over there? Why don¡¯t youe and fight against me if you have the skills?¡± The ghostly mes in the bone dragon¡¯s eyes moved as it taunted them in a rather despicable manner.

    Zu An sighed and said, ¡°When you make such a despicable request, it¡¯s really hard for me to not want to grant you all your wishes.¡±

    He instantly reappeared by the bone dragon¡¯s neck as soon as he said that. A ck glint appeared in his palm as he pressed forward.

    At first, the Bramble Bone Dragon had intended to avoid the attack, but when it remembered what kind of abilities it had, it decided to raise its head and just take the initiative to receive that attack head-on. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    <i>Attack me, go for it! The harder you hit me, the worse your injuries will be!</i>

    Suddenly, the palm pressed against its neck. A streak of light erupted from the patterns all over the Bramble Bone Dragon¡¯s body, making it tremble. Its incredibly sharp tail struck directly at Zu An.

    However, Zu An had already retreated to a safe distance. He frowned inwardly. Just now, he had used the Heaven Devouring Sutra. He''d been thinking that since the dragon reflected damage, he wouldn¡¯t deal damage, and would instead suck the power out of its body. He hadn¡¯t expected that strange ability to even be able to block something like this, though.

    The Bramble Bone Dragon looked at him with a hint of fear, eximing, ¡°You actually have the Taotie¡¯s power within you? Thank goodness it wasn¡¯t strong enough, or else I might have really been killed here.¡±

    Zu An was surprised. This wasn¡¯t the first time he had heard simr things. It seemed the Taotie had quite the reputation in this universe! It was clearly not just one of the minor monsters he had seen before in the Yinxu Secret Dungeon. They weren¡¯t strong enough to be this famous.

    ¡°Even though you now know that I have the Taotie¡¯s power, you still dare to make me your enemy?¡± Zu An remarked. He knew that there was no way the dragon would answer him if he asked it directly, so he deliberately spoke like that.

    The Bramble Bone Dragon was starting to hesitate. It whispered to itself, ¡°Could it be that this world has already been targeted by the Taotie?¡±

    ¡°You idiot, that human is clearly trying to dupe you. You even believe something like that? Is your brain really only the size of a walnut?¡± a humanoid with a scorpion tail called out after suddenly appearing in the distance.

 Chapter 2065: I Actually Died Just Like That?

    <h4>Chapter 2065: I Actually Died Just Like That?</h4>

    ¡°Damn scorpion, you¡¯re not allowed to say that my brain is only the size of a walnut!¡± the Bramble Bone Dragon protested, seemingly having had its sore spot struck. It immediately erupted in anger.

    ¡°The truth always hurts the most,¡± the scorpion man said while snickering.

    ¡°You¡¯re courting death!¡± The Bramble Bone Dragon roared and charged at the scorpion man. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    One of the scorpion man¡¯s ws mped down on the mountain peak it was standing on. That segment of the mountain was instantly broken, and he threw it at the bone dragon.

    Boom!

    The Bramble Bone Dragon¡¯s body was incredibly tough. The enormous snowy mountaintop exploded to pieces from the impact, but the dragon also stopped in its tracks.

    The scorpion man asked with a sneer, ¡°Is your intention to fight against me and let those two over there have it easy, or are we going to get rid of this foreign enemy first?¡±

    The Bramble Bone Dragon thought to itself for a bit. The fighting intent in its eyes withdrew and it said, ¡°Hmph, I¡¯ll settle things with you once I¡¯ve dealt with them.¡±

    At first, it had wanted to warn the scorpion man that this human was the one who had killed the War Priest, but after remembering that the scorpion man had actually humiliated it by calling it ''walnut brain'', it didn¡¯t say anything. Instead, it said, ¡°Then I¡¯ll deal with this tricky Snow Lady.¡±

    The scorpion man said, ¡°You already fought against the Snow Ladyst time, so just let me test her out a bit this time.¡±

    <i>Hmph, does this idiot dragon really think I don¡¯t know that the Snow Lady is injured? Even though that human¡¯s aura looks weak, he¡¯s definitely not an easy opponent. On the contrary, the Snow Lady is already seriously injured, so she¡¯s easy enough to defeat.</i>

    It didn¡¯t wait for the bone dragon to reply and dashed straight at the Snow Lady.

    The Snow Lady quickly said to Zu An, ¡°I¡¯ll do my best to stall it, so you have to deal with this bone dragon as quickly as possible!¡±

    Afterward, a blizzard rushed forth from below her, and she faced the scorpion man. The two sides exchanged several moves in an instant. The Snow Lady actually wasn''t at a disadvantage, at least for the time being.

    The bone dragon said mockingly, ¡°Scorpion King, you were blowing your own horn, and yet you can¡¯t even win against a seriously injured woman? Do you have any sense of shame?¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t feel happy about that at all, because he knew the Snow Lady had probably used some secret method that could temporarily make herself stronger. Those kinds of skills definitely required a severe price to be paid after, and the longer this dragged on, the more danger she would be in.

    Sure enough, the Scorpion King cursed and said, ¡°Can¡¯t you tell that she wants to end this battle against me as quickly as possible? Do you think my brain is as small as yours? Like hell I¡¯m going to be stupid enough to fight her head on right now!¡±

    He raised his two pincers, then murmured a series of cryptic words that were difficult to understand. Then, ck energy surged all around him. Rows after rows of scorpion soldiers emerged from the ground. Every single one was over two meters tall; they were d in armor, with shields in their left hands and spears in their right. The tips of the spears resembled scorpion stingers, drawing out a treacherous and dangerous arc.

    When he saw that, Zu An¡¯s expression changed a bit. <i>The Scorpion King¡¯s ability is summoning?</i>

    Individually, these scorpion soldiers were all even stronger than the Fiend races¡¯ most elite Golden Crow Guards, and they were greater in number too. They were strong enough to threaten even earth immortals. It was obvious that the Scorpion King didn¡¯t intend for these soldiers to kill the Snow Lady, but rather just to wear her down. As time went on, the Snow Lady would only be weaker and weaker, and that was when it would strike.

    There was no happiness or sadness to be seen on the Snow Lady¡¯s face. With a wave of her hand, snowkes fluttered. When they fell on the snowynd, the umted snow seemed to manifest a summoning as well. Snowman soldiers stood up one after another, forming up with orderly gaits. They faced the iing scorpion army, the two sides quickly shing.

    It was clear that the scorpion soldiers were much more agile, but the snowman soldiers had the home field advantage. Between that and their unique constitution, which meant they didn''t need to fear the poisons of the scorpion soldiers, the two sides were actually evenly matched.

    The Bramble Bone Dragon roared withughter. ¡°Damned scorpion, is that all you''ve got?¡±

    The Scorpion King¡¯s expression grew a bit unpleasant. After being looked down upon by this idiot, his ego couldn''t take it. He roared angrily, ¡°Then let¡¯s see who can defeat their enemy first!¡±

    It threw aside its misgivings and charged straight at the Snow Lady. It had to have cost her quite a bit to summon so many snowmen, so this was the perfect chance to rush in.

    The Bramble Bone Dragon didn¡¯t dare to fall behind. It rushed at Zu An and attacked him while taunting him provocatively, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you hitting me, why aren¡¯t you hitting me...¡±

    Zu An naturally chose to satisfy its request. As he attacked, his fist flickered withyer uponyer of white light.

    <i>Boom boom boom!</i>

    The Bramble Bone Dragon¡¯s head rang from the strikes, but there wasn¡¯t any pain to be seen on its face. On the contrary, it was getting more and more excited as it said, ¡°Tsk tsk, your skills seem to perfectly counter me. If not for my armor, you might really have defeated me.¡±

    Zu An wiped at the blood around his lips. Just then, he had used the Primordial Origin Sutra, which was extremely effective against the undead. However, his opponent had reflected all the damage threefold. Even though he was already prepared for that and used the Heaven Devouring Sutra to absorb away the reflected power, how strong were his attacks now? When they were reflected threefold, even he found it a bit hard to handle.

    Even so, he didn¡¯t hesitate at all and sent his fist flying again.

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you using your sword from before? It looks like you¡¯re not stupid,¡± the Bramble Bone Dragon said, sounding a bit disappointed.

    <i>If this brat used that sword, he might have already been sliced in two.</i>

    It rushed forth again as it spoke. It didn¡¯t try to defend its vulnerable areas, because the harder the enemy hit it, the better things would be.

    Just like that, the two fought for a while. The Bramble Bone Dragon waspletely unharmed, but Zu An soon coughed up blood continuously. The Bramble Bone Dragon roared withughter, taunting, ¡°Did youe to hit me or did youe to hurt yourself? I didn¡¯t expect you humans to have this kind of fetish.¡±

    Zu An coughed out a mouthful of blood. It had already been a long time since he wasst injured. The feeling of vomiting blood really was nostalgic.

    Suddenly, a cry filled the air, as the Snow Lady finally couldn''t hold on anymore. A moment of carelessness caused her to be struck down by the Scorpion King. She plummeted toward the ground.

    Zu An quickly reached out to grab her, using a gentle force to neutralize her terrifying momentum. Otherwise, she would likely be injured even more badly if she crashed into the ground like that. Even so, her momentum was too great, and Zu An wasn¡¯t in the best condition from his wounds either. He couldn''tpletely stop her and lost his own center of gravity. The two of them rolled across the ground several times before finally stopping.

    ¡°Are you alright?¡± Zu An quickly asked.

    The Snow Lady didn¡¯t reply. She quickly pushed herself away from him. Perhaps Zu An was imagining things, but there seemed to be a faint blush on her face. He''d thought that her body would be extremely heavy due to being made of ice and snow. But when they made contact, he discovered that she was much lighter than he''d imagined.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. I won¡¯t die. You¡¯ll have to work a bit harder on your side, though,¡± the Snow Lady said. Suddenly, her expression changed. She pushed Zu An to one side and cried out, ¡°Be careful!¡±

    Just then, the Bramble Bone Dragon¡¯s sharp tail hadshed out. Fortunately, the Snow Lady''s push allowed Zu An to narrowly avoid the attack. Meanwhile, a deep hole appeared where he had been standing.

    However, Zu An just happened to be pushed in the Scorpion King¡¯s direction. When h saw that, the Scorpion King, who had been chasing after the Snow Lady, snickered maliciously. Its ink-ck tail stabbed straight at the middle of Zu An¡¯s back. The poison on its tail could bring down many terrifying beings in the universe; of course, if it really ended up fighting against those guys, it probably wouldn¡¯t be given the chance to use the poison.

    <i>But this brat doesn¡¯t seem to be on those beings¡¯ level.</i>

    It already foresaw the human turning into a puddle of goo from the poison. But just then, the human suddenly vanished.

    The Scorpion King was rmed. It quickly brandished its pincers behind it to stop the ancient sword it sensed rushing toward it.

    ¡°The sword isn¡¯t bad, I¡¯ll dly...¡± the Scorpion King said proudly, but its expression suddenly changed. It lowered its head and saw a short, pitch-ck dagger by its abdomen.

    It turned out everything else was just a ruse to hide this real attack!

    <i>Even so, how much damage could such a small dagger do?</i>

    After all, it had tremendous resistance against poisons. Even if it was poisoned, it wouldn¡¯t do much.

    It was about tough with ridicule when its entire body stiffened. Strange and ancient runes appeared around it, and it dropped straight from the sky.

    Itsst thought was:

    <i>I actually died just like that?</i>

 Chapter 2066: Big Bro, Stop Hitting Me, Please!

    <h4>Chapter 2066: Big Bro, Stop Hitting Me, Please!</h4>

    The Scorpion King was powerful. Even though he wasn¡¯t one of the universe¡¯s greatest beings, he was still an overlord of a region. That fact was reinforced by the lethality of his venomous tail, which could pose a threat even to some of the highest-level beings. He had invaded many worlds and brought upon them cmity and destruction, bing more and more powerful and obtaining even more special abilities in the process.

    He clearly had countless formidable skills he hadn¡¯t used yet, but he had actually died just like that! He''d died in such a weak world, in the hands of a creature he saw as food.

    <i>I can¡¯t ept this! That damned walnut brain scammed me!</i>

    ...

    The Scorpion King fell from the sky, filled with disbelief and endless regret. He had lost his life right there and then!

    The Snow Lady gave Zu An a look of astonishment. She knew just how strong the Scorpion King was from fighting against him for so long. And yet he was killed in a single exchange?

    On the other hand, the ghost mes in the Bramble Bone Dragon¡¯s eye sockets were practically about to pop out. It had often bickered with the Scorpion King, and yet neither could do much against the other. How was someone like that actually killed so easily?

    Even though the Scorpion King had often insulted its intelligence, making it want to strangle that scorpion bastard, the Bramble Bone Dragon still found the Scorpion King''s sudden death a bit hard to ept. If it had known things would turn out like this, it would have warned it that Zu An was the one who had killed the War Priest. In that instant, the Bramble Bone Dragon felt some regret.

    Even so, that regret was soon reced by excitement. Now that the annoying scorpion died, no one else would antagonize it in the future. Once the time came to split the loot of this world, there would be one lesspetitor.

    It looked at that pitch-ck dagger in Zu An¡¯s hand and said, ¡°That dagger in your hand seems to contain the powerful death curse of a death deity or other great being. It is formidable, but unfortunately, it is useless against me.¡±

    It seemed to be saying that to give itself more confidence. It even straightened its back a bit while speaking.

    <i>Right, I¡¯m not even scared of this dagger, so what do I have to be so hesitant for?</i>

    Besides, as long as it killed Zu An, it would obtain that miraculous dagger. It could even refine the weapon into its tail to drastically increase its own strength. It could even be able to seize a top three spot within its circle! When it thought about how wonderful that would be, its mouth inadvertently cracked open into a big grin.

    Zu An put away the Poisonous Prick. What the dragon said was true. Since it was already undead, the weapon would naturally useless. However, the white radiance of the Primordial Origin Sutra appeared on his fist again as he replied, ¡°The dagger might not work, but what about this?¡±

    A hint of fear appeared in the Bramble Bone Dragon¡¯s eyes, but it quickly calmed down. It said, ¡°That skill of yours does counter me, but unfortunately, I have my reflective armor¡¯s protection!¡±

    It actually found that quite strange. Why did this human have the keepsake of a death deity, but also a skill of light? Those two forces were always mortal enemies, so how could they both be on the same person?

    Suddenly, it no longer had time to think about that, because Zu An¡¯s fist had already arrived. However, it remarked with a grin, ¡°You¡¯re using brute force again? I¡¯m just going to stand here and let you hit me!¡±

    Zu An¡¯s fists bombarded the dragon''s body, while it didn¡¯t move at all. Instead, it was Zu An who coughed out blood repeatedly.

    A hint of worry appeared in the Snow Lady¡¯s expression.

    <i>He¡¯ll be in danger if this continues, right...</i>

    However, the battle she just fought against the Scorpion King had triggered her internal injuries. She couldn''t help even if she wanted to. She could only try to umte some strength in preparation to bring Zu An away at any time.

    A long time passed just like that. The Bramble Bone Dragon was starting to be a bit rmed, saying, ¡°Hey, why aren¡¯t you dying yet?¡±

    Normally, when so many vicious attacks were reflected, they would have already sted a human into a bloody mist. Even though Zu An¡¯s injuries weren¡¯t light, there wasn¡¯t any sign of him dying! Furthermore, he was getting more and more ferocious the more he fought, as if his condition was starting to improve.

    Zu An wiped away blood from his lips with the back of his hand. He replied with a chuckle, ¡°Even you haven¡¯t died yet, so how can I die?¡±

    His powerful constitution and regenerative prowess were a crucial factor. Even though he got injured from his own attacks being reflected, their primordial ki and his own techniques came from the same source to begin with, so those injuries were lessened as a result. Besides that, his natural regeneration was powerful, so he always maintained a certain level of equilibrium.

    As the attacks continued for longer and longer, things even seemed to be slowly shifting, to the point that he was regenerating faster than his injuries umted. Meanwhile, it was the Bramble Bone Dragon¡¯s aura that grew weaker and weaker. It was already tottering on the verge of copse from the shower of attacks.

    ¡°You¡¯re mad,pletely mad! I¡¯m not going to continue this game with you anymore!¡± the Bramble Bone Dragon cried, its voice shaking a bit. It suddenly gave up on attacking and fled into the distance.

    ¡°Do you think it¡¯ll be that easy for you to get away?¡± Zu An retorted, a smile appearing on his lips as if to say ''as expected''.

    Actually, when he first heard that this bone dragon could reflect an attack threefold, he''d also felt a lot of pressure, as if he couldn''t possibly win. And yet, when he thought more about it, how could thews of the world permit the existence of a skill without any w? Besides, the dragon wasn¡¯t even able to reign undefeated in the world of monsters through relying on its skill. That meant it definitely had to have a weakness.

    At first, he''d tried all kinds of attacks and eliminated one possibility after another. Eventually, he''d deduced that a set price had to be paid in order for the bone dragon to use its ability. That cost could manifest in all sorts of ways. Even though he couldn''t figure out what it was, there was something that he was sure of, which was that the Bramble Bone Dragon couldn''t pay that cost limitlessly.

    That was why he had endured the injuries and continued to pressure his opponent into doing so, knowing that the key to victory here would hinge upon who gave in first. Fortunately, Zu An¡¯s body had already been tempered by the Primordial Origin Sutra several times. It was already stronger than that of a dragon, and together with his powerful regenerative ability, he had managed tost until the end.

    The Bramble Bone Dragon frantically fled into the distance, but why would Zu An ever fear another in terms of speed? He used Grandgale and his position-swapping skill in quick session and quickly caught up to it. The purification power of the Primordial Origin Sutra surrounded his fist as he unleashed punches on its head once more.

    The Bramble Bone Dragon¡¯s special patterns flickered continuously. Zu An could sense that the reflected power was growing weaker and weaker, which made him more and more confident. The power of his punches also grew stronger and stronger. In the end, the dragon''s patterns erupted into a burst of dazzling brilliance before fading outpletely.

    Just then, Zu An¡¯s fistnded on the dragon''s head. Wisps of white smoke appeared, and the dragon screamed bitterly in pain. The destructive power of primordial ki against the dead was too powerful!

    ¡°Big bro, I was wrong! Stop hitting me, please!¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you tell me to keep hitting you just a moment ago?¡±

    ¡°Big bro, it was this little dragon who was wrong just now! I hope that big bro can be open-minded enough to not mind the wrongs of someone petty like me...¡±

    ¡°But the way you acted earlier was too despicable. I just can¡¯t let it go without beating the shit out of you.¡± n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°...¡±

    The two ran around just like that, with one fleeing and one chasing. The Bramble Bone Dragon became slower and slower, and its pleading became quieter and quieter. It cried out softly, ¡°Big bro, I really can¡¯t take it anymore... I¡¯ll really die if you keep going...¡±

    ¡°Then why don¡¯t you first tell me why you were trying to refine that snowy mountain?¡± Zu An asked; he reduced the force he was using a bit, but didn¡¯t stoppletely. Otherwise, the dragon''s reflective ability could recover again.

    ¡°That¡¯s because boss said that this snowy mountain was the final barrier, and that as long as we refined it, he would have a way to fully unlock the seal!¡± the Bramble Bone Dragon hurriedly replied.

    Zu An was startled. It turned out the monsters¡¯ invasion had already gotten this far and they were going to fully unlock the seal soon! He asked, ¡°Who is your boss?¡±

    ¡°Boss is boss...?¡± the dragon tentatively answered.

    <i>Bang!</i>

    It got a huge punch in return, almost putting out the ghost mes in its eye sockets. It hurriedly said, ¡°The Snow Lady has seen him before! It¡¯s the one who was shining all over!¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Zu An thought, <i>No wonder the Snow Lady couldn''t see their true appearance through the light.</i> He asked, ¡°What is your boss¡¯ name? How does his strengthpare to yours and that scorpion¡¯s?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know the boss¡¯ name because I spent less time with him. Everyone calls him boss and no one dares to speak his name directly,¡± the Bramble Bone Dragon said. ¡°As for his strength, we wouldn¡¯t be a match for him even if all of us worked together.¡±

    Zu An immediately felt discouraged.

    <i>Could it be that this boss or whatever¡¯s strength has already reached alevel where even his name can''t be spoken?</i>

    In the great tomb where he met Jing Teng, there had been many powerful beings whose names he couldn''t even utter. Even now, he still had a deep impression of the pressure they had given him.

    ¡°Then what kinds of skills does your boss have?¡± Zu An asked after thinking to himself for a bit.

    ¡°Will you let me go if I tell you?¡± the Bramble Bone Dragon asked as its ghost mes swirled around.

    ¡°As long as your intelligence has enough value, I can consider letting you go,¡± Zu An said seriously.

    ¡°Will you make a vow on that?¡± the Bramble Bone Dragon asked; it didn¡¯t really believe him. It just felt that these words were too ambiguous.

    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll make the vow,¡± Zu An said. In truth, he didn¡¯t really mind. Either way, he was quite good at things like wordy. He had trapped quite a few people with it in the past.

    When the Bramble Bone Dragon heard his vow, it sighed in relief and asked, ¡°Then can you not hit me first? I really am about to be burned to death.¡±

    Primordial ki had a powerful scorching purification power against the undead. Naturally, it didn''t feel particrly good.

    ¡°The faster you speak, the less pain you¡¯ll feel,¡± Zu An said without stopping. He couldn''t give a fellow like this even a moment to catch its breath.

    ¡°I¡¯ll talk, I¡¯ll talk! His ability is...¡±

 Chapter 2067: The Nails of the Seal

    <h4>Chapter 2067: The Nails of the Seal</h4>

    ¡°All those that are seen by him will...¡± the Bramble Bone Dragon began to say, but suddenly a look of horror suddenly appeared on its face. It screamed, ¡°No, I didn¡¯t sell you out! Please don¡¯t...¡±

    Before it could even finish speaking, a speck of light suddenly appeared between its brows. Immediately after, that light spread throughout its entire body, turning its dark bones bright. A secondter, its body turned into specks of starlight that faded into nothingness.

    Zu An was speechless. He had finally caught a living captive, and one that had both low intelligence and weak moral principles, no less. He''d been about to get some useful intelligence out of its mouth, and yet it died just like that?

    It seemed the Bramble Bone Dragon had been ced under a restriction by its boss ahead of time. As long as it did anything that betrayed the boss, it would immediately lose its life from the restriction on the spot. The dragon was already powerful, and yet the boss was actually able to mysteriously set up a restriction inside its body. It really was hard to imagine just how powerful the boss was.

    Any target that they saw would... They would what? If they died immediately after seeing him, there would be no point in fighting at all.

    Yu Yanluo actually had a simr skill. All those who were caught in her Medusa Eye would turn to stone. And yet, her ability definitely had a limit, which was that they had to be of a simr level to her. If the target¡¯s cultivation far exceeded hers, she wouldn¡¯t be able to petrify them and could at most cover their skin with ayer of stone. If she forced the petrification process on an opponent much stronger than her, she would lose her own life in the process.

    The boss monster¡¯s strength was definitely far greater than anything Yu Yanluo couldpare to. Being caught in his gaze sounded like a particrly risky prospect. Unfortunately, it was toote to think about any of that further; Zu AN could only return to the snowy mountain for the time being.

    The Snow Lady had just adjusted her condition a bit, preparing to head over to help. When she saw him return, she couldn''t help but feel surprised. She asked, "Did that bone dragon get away?¡±

    Zu An shook his head and told her roughly what had happened, saying, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that radiant being to be so cunning and set up a restriction in the Bramble Bone Dragon¡¯s body.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s something no one could have expected. The fact that you could defeat both the Scorpion King and the Bramble Bone Dragon is already quite amazing,¡± the Snow Lady said. Her reasoning seemed to be far simpler than Zu An''s.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes lit up, however. He quickly flew into the valley and dragged out the Scorpion King¡¯s corpse.

    ¡°What are you going to do? Are you going to eat it?¡± The Snow Lady followed and asked in confusion. As she looked at the Scorpion King¡¯s ugly corpse, she had an expression of disgust.

    ¡°Of course not. But this scorpion tail hook is excellent stuff,¡± Zu An said, chuckling as he tried to remove the tail using condensed sword ki. However, the sword ki actually only left faint traces on its surface.

    ¡°Hm? It seems his body armor is also good,¡± Zu An said quite happily.

    Previously, the Bramble Bone Dragon waspletely burned away by that mysterious speck of light, so he had practically fought for nothing. He''d even been injured quite badly as a result. Fortunately, there was still the Scorpion King. Judging from their brief battle, he had already noticed that this tail was special. The tip seemed to be poisonous, and when the hook approached, it had covered his body with goosebumps. That was his body¡¯s instinctive reaction, warning him that the poison could threaten his very life.

    Even though the Primordial Origin Sutra granted him poison immunity, after fighting against these monsters again and again, he also realized that the universe was far greater than he could ever have imagined. His body was immune to the poisons of this world, but it wouldn''t necessarily be immune to all the special poisons in the universe. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    He took out the Tai¡¯e Sword and sliced down with sword ki. The Scorpion King¡¯s armor wasn¡¯t able to do much anymore, allowing Zu An to sever his tail. Even though he knew that the creature was already dead, Zu An still felt a shiver when he looked at that ink-ck tail hook. He carefully stored it away in the Brilliant ss Bead.

    Immediately after, he brandished the Tai¡¯e Sword again, cutting off the Scorpion King¡¯s armored shell along its joints¡¯ vein lines. Its defensive properties seemed quite good, and it could be made into a nice set of armor. He then took the scorpion''s pincers as well. Even though they weren¡¯t as precious as the stinger, they were still excellent for making weapons.

    He stored the items away one by one, then gave the remaining flesh a look. He figured it could be good for refining artifacts, or perhaps it would be needed for a goddess¡¯ breakthrough, so tossing it would be too much of a waste. As such, he also stored it away after some hesitation.

    When she saw that, the Snow Lady had a look of disdain as she muttered, ¡°And I thought you said you weren''t eating it.¡±

    For better or for worse, this Scorpion King was still a powerful opponent she had fought against. And yet, now that Zu An had killed it, he didn¡¯t waste a single bit. That really felt strange to her.

    Zu An chuckled. He didn¡¯t exin anything and stretched out a hand toward her, asking, ¡°It¡¯s now time for you to give me the Soul Capturing Jade, right?¡±

    The Snow Lady hesitated, but in the end, she still took out the Soul Capturing Jade from within her cleavage and handed it to him.

    Zu An received the Soul Capturing Jade from her and felt the icy cold sensation in his palm. He reflexively gave her chest a look. The Snow Lady stared coldly at him.

    Zu An coughed lightly and said, ¡°Pleasure doing business, hope to see you again.¡± After cupping his hands in greeting, he prepared to leave.

    However, the Snow Lady called out, ¡°Can you help me with something else? The snowy mountain told me that there are two others who are refining the other snowy peaks. If they seed, huge unexpected changes might happen to the Great Snowy Mountain.¡±

    Zu An became silent, seemingly thinking about something.

    The Snow Lady looked at him quietly, looking a bit flustered.

    <i>Could this be the nervousness humans speak of?</i>

    ¡°You previously said that as long as the Great Snowy Mountain existed, you wouldn¡¯t die, right?¡± Zu An asked.

    The Snow Lady voiced her confirmation.

    ¡°Then if some major change happened to the Great Snowy Mountain, would you be in danger too?¡± Zu An continued.

    ¡°I don''t know,¡± the Snow Lady said, shaking her head.

    Zu An was speechless. This was rted to her own safety, and yet she was actually talking as if it wasn¡¯t that important. After thinking to himself for a bit, his eyesnded on the snowy mountain in front of him. He said, ¡°Let¡¯s take a look and see what that bone dragon was really refining first.¡±

    For some reason, he just felt a sense of familiarity from this Snow Lady. Could it really be just because she was pretty? Zu An had considered that before, but no matter how pretty she was, she was still a being of snow. It was probably her special constitution that was more unique.

    Even so, that alone wouldn¡¯t make him forget about more important matters. He recalled what the Bramble Bone Dragon had told him just now, that its boss had told them to refine three different peaks, and that as long as they did so, they couldpletely destroy the seal. That seal was probably the same one used to repel the foreign monsters in ancient times. Thus, stopping them from refining these snowy mountains waspletely in line with what he needed to do himself anyway.

    ¡°Is there anything unusual about these mountains?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°Unusual?¡± The Snow Lady thought for a bit and said, ¡°I¡¯ve resided in the Great Snowy Mountain region for countless years, but I¡¯ve never felt that there was anything special about them. The only thing that might be a bit special might be that these three mountains are the three highest peaks of the whole area. Besides that, their heights are all the same.¡±

    If it were anyone else, they wouldn''t necessarily be able to urately deduce the heights of these three mountains. The Snow Lady and the Great Snowy Mountain region had a special connection, so it was only natural for her to know.

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>Not even something that distinctive is enough for you to consider them different?</i>

    He flew straight into the sky to observe the surrounding terrain. Knowledge from ¡®One Drop of Heaven¡¯s Essence¡¯ appeared in his mind. The mountains in front of him gradually turned into specks and connected lines.

    ¡°Hm?¡± Zu An suddenly voiced his surprise.

    He had thought that this snowy peak would be a special mountain like a dragon vein, and yet he discovered that it was nothing of the sort. Rather, the smaller mountains formed a connected dragon¡¯s vein. It was actually this peak that seemed to have interrupted it. It was like a nail that had dropped down straight from the sky and stabbed straight into the dragon vein!

    When he followed the trail of the snowy mountains, he didn¡¯t even need the Snow Lady¡¯s exnations to determine the approximate locations of the other two peaks. The three peaks were clearly special. They were like three sealing nails that locked the entire Great Snowy Mountain region down.

 Chapter 2068: Full Power Unleashed

    <h4>Chapter 2068: Full Power Unleashed</h4>

    The Snow Lady flew over to his side just then. She looked at the ruined gray color all over the mountain and said worriedly, ¡°This snowy mountain has already been corroded by the Bramble Bone Dragon¡¯s death energy. I don¡¯t have any way of getting rid of such strong death energy. Do you have a way?¡±

    She''d seen that the attacks Zu An used carried a white light that seemed to be good at countering the Bramble Bone Dragon, which was why she looked on expectantly.

    Zu An nodded and said, ¡°Let me give it a try.¡±

    Hended on the mountain, then used his skills to transfer the primordial ki of the world. His cultivation was now much stronger, so vast amounts of primordial ki quickly covered the entire snowy mountain. The ash-gray death energy was like a mouse fleeing from a cat as it quickly retreated. After an hour, he fully cleaned out the death energy, and the snowy mountain recovered its sparkling jade-like luster.

    The Snow Lady was really happy to see that, eximing, ¡°Thank you so much!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not a big deal,¡± Zu An said.

    Suddenly, he thought of something. He took out the Soul Capturing Jade and saw the surface shine slightly and even tremble a bit, as if there was something summoning it. He unfolded his hand, and the Soul Capturing Jade flew into the sky on its own, eventually suspending itself above the mountain peak. Then, it erupted with sparkling radiance that surrounded the entire snowy mountain.

    In response, the mountain seemed to have been summoned as well. It gradually began to tremble and shine. In the end, a few profound runes appeared on its surface.

    Zu An¡¯s skill in formations and runes had already reached apletely different level of proficiency, but he still couldn''t understand the meaning of the runes. They seemed a bit simr to some of the runes in the great tomb he had visited with Jing Teng. It seemed they had been used to seal and restrict this ce. He really wondered just who could have been so incredible, that they could use so few runes to achieve such a powerful suppressive effect.

    The Soul Capturing Jade spun in ce for a while. Then, it descended with extraordinary speed, entering straight through the snow covering the mountaintop. Zu An released his divine sense and was shocked to discover that it hadn¡¯t stopped in the snow, rather entering straight into the mountain. His divine sense couldn''t reach inside.

    The Soul Capturing Jade and the mountain became one, and the entire peak blossomed with golden light. Then, an invisible wave spread out in all directions, extending far into the distance. Even though there wasn¡¯t any concrete proof, Zu An could vaguely sense that this region seemed to have be a bit more stable.

    When he saw that, he finally understood a bit of what was going on. Sometimes, no matter how hard one looked for something, one wouldn¡¯t be able to find it; and yet, after one stopped trying, it woulde effortlessly. He had been wondering how to use the three sealing objects, but now, it seemed they were to be used for none other than the three peaks. He hadn¡¯t expected that helping the Snow Lady would so perfectly line up with his own goals.

    The Snow Lady arrived at his side and said with a sigh, ¡°I never expected that the snowy mountain would have such secrets, and yet I had no idea at all.¡±

    When he saw the sunlight shine on her, covering her in a faint golden glow, Zu An felt that she looked even more beautiful. He quickly focused and asked, ¡°Where are the other two snowy mountains? We should hurry over, or else things will get really bad if those monsters refine them.¡±

    <i>This really is strange. What is this mysterious feeling I keep getting from her? Do I really just have some weird fetish?</i>

    <i>Fox spirits, snakes, female ghosts, talismans... Am I going to add more weird beings to the list?</i>

    The Snow Lady turned around and gave him a look, asking, ¡°Is there something on my face?¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Then why are you looking at me like that?¡±

    ¡°Uh... I just get a familiar feeling from you somehow.¡±

    ¡°You humans always use these flowery words to fool women. Frankly, you should try harder.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Zu An really hadn¡¯t expected things to turn on him so quickly.

    ...

    Under the Snow Lady¡¯s guidance, they quickly arrived at the second peak''s location. Sure enough, it was the same spot Zu An had previously suspected. Before he even approached, he heard waves of rumblinging from the distance, and felt the mountain shaking.

    All of that wasing from a rock giant smashing the majestic mountain with its fists. The giant was dozens of meters tall, butpared to the snowy mountain, it still looked small inparison. Even so, whenever its fist smashed against the mountain, the entire peak rocked back and forth and the snow covering its surface fell away to create huge avnches. However, even though they would be lethal natural disasters for ordinary cultivators, they didn¡¯t do a thing to the giant. Whenever the snow crashed down on its body, a yellow barrier appeared and deflected it off to the side.

    Zu An noticed that a crack had already appeared on the mountain. Endless piles of snow and rocks were starting to fall. Even though the crack wasn¡¯t thatrgepared to the entire mountain, if that rock giant continued to batter it with attacks, it could still potentially copse.

    As expected, this wasn¡¯t an ordinary mountain! Otherwise, with the rock giant¡¯s power, it would have long since been ttened.

    ¡°Stop!¡±

    The Snow Lady and the Great Snowy Mountain had a deep connection. She could sense the mountain''s pain and could no longer hold herself back. Countless sharp swords formed from ice and snow attacked the rock giant.

    <i>Clink nk clink nk!</i>

    Sharp noises filled the air. When the icicles approached the rock giant, the yellow radiance around its body shone brightly, revealing its armor made of stone sheets. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The giant suddenly turned around. When it saw the Snow Lady, itughed in a low and muffled voice, saying, ¡°I was wondering who it was. So it was you! Last time, you ran away on your own, but who would have expected that you would deliver yourself into my hands of your own free will?¡±

    Zu An had a strange expression.

    <i>Why do I feel a sense of deja vu from these words?</i>

    The rock giant raised its hand. Its thick and strong fist fired out like a missile, traveling extremely quickly. The injured Snow Lady couldn''t dodge in time at all, and could only raise her hands in front of her.

    <i>Boom!</i>

    Wind and snow flew everywhere, and the Snow Lady was blown back. The giant fist continued to go after her, as if it would stop only after she was smashed into pieces.

    When he saw that, Zu An quickly flew over to support the Snow Lady. The fist returned to the rock giant¡¯s arm. as it eximed, ¡°Hm? I was wondering why you had the gall to return. So you called over your lover!¡±

    The Snow Lady was a bit embarrassed to hear that. She quickly pushed Zu An away. At the same time, she found it a bit strange. She had never liked anyone being close to her, but why was it that she didn¡¯t feel that much disgust even though this person had already carried her several times?

    Zu An felt the leftover chill on his hand. He looked at the rock giant with a displeased expression.

    <i>This guy really is annoying.</i>

    He waved his hand, sending a streak of sword ki at it. The rock giant¡¯s yellow armor lit up again, blocking the enormous st of ki.

    ¡°Nothing more than a tickle!¡± the rock giant eximed, roaring withughter. Then, its fists smashed into the ground. Dozens of massive rock spikes erupted from the ground beneath Zu An and the Snow Lady!

    Fortunately, Zu An reacted quickly and took the Snow Lady away from the area.

    ¡°Be careful, it seems to be able to absorb and redirect your attacks,¡± the Snow Lady said.

    Zu An nodded. He also sensed a familiar auraing from those spikes. The rock giant¡¯s aura seemed to be able to absorb and neutralize his attacks, and use that to increase the power of its retaliation. However, it wasn''t the same as the ability used by the Bramble Bone Dragon. The Bramble Bone Dragon had been capable of threefold reflection, while the rock giant absorbed a portion of the attack before transforming it into a counterattack.

    At the moment, the giant''s ability didn¡¯t seem as tricky as the Bramble Bone Dragon¡¯s. After all, it would still receive a portion of the damage itself. Butparatively, it didn¡¯t need to pay as big of a price as the Bramble Bone Dragon either. Its ability could probably be maintained longer.

    ¡°It tickled? Then what about now?¡± Zu An harrumphed. Golden ripples appeared in the sky, and countless glowing golden weapons appeared from within before flying at the rock giant. He didn¡¯t need to hold himself back the way he had against the Bramble Bone Dragon. He could now attack with everything he had.

    The rock giant¡¯s body was fairly heavy and clumsy, so it couldn''t evade the countless weapons. The armor around it surged with light to stop the attack. Unfortunately, it had still underestimated Zu An''s power. At first, its armor blocked all the attacks, but as the endless weapons continued to crash down, the armor began to crack. In the end, it couldn''t hold on anymore andpletely shattered.

    The giant roared madly and brandished its fists at those weapons, but how many volleys of the rain of swords could it block? Its bodypletely crumbled to pieces, scattering shattered rock across the ground.

    ¡°This attack...¡± the Snow Lady murmured, her eyes wide with fascination.

 Chapter 2069: Shameless

    <h4>Chapter 2069: Shameless</h4>

    The Snow Lady didn¡¯t think she could withstand an attack on that level. And yet, it wasn''t the attack''s power that shocked her, but rather something else. Her brows furrowed, and a hint of confusion flickered through her eyes. She almost seemed to be recalling something.

    Meanwhile, Zu An didn¡¯t seem that happy with his result. Instead, he looked at the pile of rocks with a frown.

    Suddenly, the rocks began to move. Then, they flew toward each other andbined together. To Zu An and the Snow Lady''s shock, the rock giant condensed once more.

    When she saw that, the Snow Lady forgot about her earlier confusion and cried out in rm, ¡°It can regenerate automatically?¡±

    ¡°Regenerate?¡± Zu An repeated as he reflexively reached for the Immortal Beheading Knives. They just happened to counter strong regenerative abilities. However, when he looked at the giant''s massive body and remembered that it was made of rocks, he put them away in the end. The Immortal Beheading Knives only worked when they injured the opponent. This thing¡¯s defense was too strong, and it was made of rocks to begin with. The Immortal Beheading Knives wouldn¡¯t be able to pierce through.

    ¡°I never expected a pervert like you to have this level of skill. I did underestimate you just now,¡± the rock giant said as it struck its chest and red at the Snow Lady and Zu An.

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled the Iron Fist Rock for +358 +358 +358...</strong>

    Zu An was a bit surprised. So the rock giant was named the Iron Fist Rock! Its fists really had been pretty heavy,e to think of it.

    ¡°But if you two fight against me, the only thing that awaits you is defeat and death!¡± the Iron Fist Rock roared, then turned at the waist and sent its fist flying at the two of them.

    Even though there was over a kilometer between them, Zu An¡¯s expression changed. He yelled, ¡°Be careful!¡±

    He could only ignore everything else for now. He held the Snow Lady¡¯s hand and teleported several thousand meters to the side.

    <i>Boom!</i>

    A transparent fist projection smashed down on the location where they had just been. A massive ripple surged in the skies above, as if even space itself had copsed in that area.

    Zu An was shocked, because in that instant, he had actually seen the bright sky be pitch-ck. He had even seen specks of starlight in the darkness.

    <i>This guy¡¯s fist even smashed apart space itself? No wonder it''s called the Iron Fist Rock!</i>

    Even though Zu An¡¯s body was sturdy, if he was hit by this fist that could rip apart even space itself, he would still be seriously injured even if he didn''t die.

    ¡°You''re pretty fast,¡± the Iron Fist Rock said, stunned. It didn¡¯t hesitate and punched again. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    After seeing what just happened, there was no way Zu An would take that attack directly. He immediately moved to another position.

    The Iron Fist Rock struck again, but it was too slow and missed several times in a row. It was so angry it yelled, ¡°You damn rat! If you have the skill, then stop running and fight a proper battle against me!¡±

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled the Iron Fist Rock for +599 +599 +599...</strong>

    Zu An¡¯s figure suddenly reappeared in midair as he said, ¡°Fine, I won¡¯t run anymore. Let¡¯s fight a proper battle.¡±

    The Snow Lady in the distance immediately panicked, calling out, ¡°You can¡¯t fall for his words!¡± She figured that shing directly with the rock giant was an extremely unwise choice.

    The Iron Fist Rockughed and said, ¡°Haha, that¡¯s more like it. You have some guts. Take this fist of mine then!¡± This time, its fist was almost twice as strong as before.

    It looked at Zu An expectantly, but it was disappointed to find that the human didn¡¯t keep his promise to remain in ce. Instead, he vanished into thin air.

    The rock giant was about to scream, but it was suddenly baffled. By the time it reacted, it discovered that it was in midair, while the human was in its previous location. It sensed a terrifying and familiar fist flying toward it, leaving it really confused. Its eyes immediately widened.

    <i>Boom!</i>

    Even with its armor, it couldn''t withstand its own full-powered attack. Its body was sted into pieces and scattered everywhere.

    The Snow Lady sighed in relief. She had already seen Zu An''s position-exchanging skill.

    <i>Hmph, humans are sly after all.</i>

    Zu An kept staring at the remaining rocks on the ground. Sure enough, the rocks began to shake and gather together. In just a few seconds, they gathered together to form a new rock giant.

    ¡°You bug, how can you have no sense of trustworthiness at all? You¡¯re despicable and shameless!¡± the Iron Fist Rock cried, its massive eyes wide. It was so mad that its eyes almost seemed as if they would burst into me.

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled the Iron Fist Rock for +999 +999 +999...</strong>

    Although he sensed its anger, Zu An didn¡¯t seem to mind that much. He asked, ¡°Why can¡¯t we kill you? Is there even a point in me fighting against you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m immortal to begin with, as long as...¡± the Iron Fist Rock began, but as it suddenly realized what was going on, it immediately closed its mouth. ¡°You despicable human, you actually tricked me! Thank goodness I¡¯m not like that stupid dragon with a walnut-sized brain, or else I would¡¯ve really fallen for your tricks.¡±

    Zu An was a bit speechless.

    <i>Is that Bramble Bone Dragon really at the very bottom of this circle¡¯sdder of disdain? But I don¡¯t think the others¡¯ intelligence amounts to much either.</i>

    <i>As expected, the more someone''scking in that department, the more they like topare it.</i>

    ¡°What a pity though, I¡¯ve already obtained the information I needed,¡± Zu An said with a smile.

    The Iron Fist Rock eximed in horror, ¡°Impossible! How could you know that I...¡±

    However, it snapped out of its daze and said with a sneer, ¡°I almost fell for your tricks again! Enough with the nonsense. Let¡¯s settle it with our fists.¡±

    It sent its fists flying again, not wanting to give Zu An any chance to trap it through words.

    Unfortunately, how could itpete against Zu An¡¯s unpredictable movement abilities? It could only watch as he leisurely avoided the attack and said, ¡°There¡¯s a story from my hometown that talked about a giant who was really strong, and it even said that his mother was the earth. As long as he was connected to the ground, he would have endless power and could never be defeated. That was why he never lost a fight. However, eventually, there was a strong man who learned of his weakness. When the two fought, he found a chance to lift the giant into the air, preventing him from remaining on the ground. Once he lost the source of his power, that giant became weak, and then was starved to death by that strong man...¡±

    When the story first started, the Iron Fist Rock didn¡¯t seem to mind it all that much, but its expression suddenly changed when it heard the ending. With a huge roar, it unleashed more than a dozen punches in session to make a huge area copse. Immediately after, it turned tail and ran. Even though it didn¡¯t excel at speed, it was still strong, so it became little more than a blur in the distance.

    Zu An avoided the copsing space. He grinned and remarked, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect my guess to be spot on.¡±

    He took out the Sun ying Bow and nocked an arrow. A resplendentet cut through the air and struck the Iron Fist Rock in the middle of its back. Its body exploded on the spot.

    The Snow Lady didn¡¯t need Zu An to say anything, and knew exactly what to do. A huge snowstorm rose up from the ground, picking up the scattered rocks and sending them into the air so they couldn''tnd. However, it wasn¡¯t just a simple attack. Every single snowke was like the sharpest of des, turning it into an enormous grinder. Soon after, the rocks in the sky were crushed into powder, and then sent all the way into the stratosphere.

    As expected, the Iron Fist Rock was unable to regenerate.

    The Snow Ladynded by Zu An¡¯s side and asked with a hint of curiosity, ¡°Just how did you know that it needed to make contact with the ground to regenerate?¡±

    Zu Anughed and said, ¡°There''s no way there could immortal beings in this world. So, its ability definitely had to have a weakness. When we fought earlier, I made sure to smash it to pieces in the air, but it didn¡¯t immediately regenerate in the air, only doing so after itnded on the ground again. That was when I developed this hunch.

    ¡°Of course, it was just a guess. I was just trying to scare it with a random story and didn¡¯t expect it to lose its cool so quickly. That proved my guess was correct.¡±

    The Snow Lady was speechless. Only after a while did she ask, ¡°Are humans all as cunning as you?¡±

    ¡°Come on, you¡¯re using the wrong word here. This is called being smart, and I don¡¯t think there are that many who are as handsome and as smart as me,¡± Zu An replied.

    The Snow Lady stared at him for a long time before saying, ¡°You really are shameless.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He coughed lightly and changed the topic, saying, ¡°Thest one is their boss. Your injuries are too serious, so I think it¡¯s best if I go by myself.¡±

    He just had a bad feeling about that radiant being. Just what was its ability?

 Chapter 2070: Radiant Boss

    <h4>Chapter 2070: Radiant Boss</h4>

    ¡°We already discussed this topic before, and my answer is still no,¡± the Snow Lady said, tilting her head slightly to look at him. ¡°Are you humans all as overly sensitive as this?¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He really couldn''t say anything else at this point. In the earlier battle, even though the Snow Lady was injured, she hadn¡¯t entirely been without any fighting strength left. Later, the Iron Fist Rock had been killed with her help. As such, he didn¡¯t try to convince her further, and instead took out both the Skycloud Sword and Ninefoot Mirror. He didn¡¯t know which of the two items would be used for the next mountain¡¯s seal.

    Fortunately, the mountain reacted soon after he took it out. The Ninefoot Mirror in his hands lit up. Then, it was brought away as if by a pair of invisible hands and taken straight to the mountain. A warm light poured out from the Ninefoot Mirror and surrounded the entire peak. Because the mountain had been continuously bombarded by the Iron Fist Rock¡¯s attacks, there were already massive cracks and copsed holes in its surface; but after the light shone on it, the cracks actually sealed at a visible rate. Streak after streak of light appeared between the cracks, and an invisible power repaired them. As thest crack began to close, the Ninefoot Mirror flew toward it and entered the mountain just like the Soul Capturing Jade.

    The entire mountain shone with profound runes. Just like the previous mountain, the entire ce seemed to carry a holy air. Zu An keenly sensed an invisible fluctuation spread out.

    The Snow Lady said, ¡°I¡¯ve been rather restless recently, but now, I seem to feel much more at ease.¡±

    Zu An gave her a look.

    <i>This woman isn¡¯t actually the incarnation of the Great Snowy Mountains, is she?</i>

    ...

    After finishing with the two mountains, Zu An didn¡¯t tarry. He set out for the third mountain with the Snow Lady. Along the way, he asked tentatively, ¡°Do you still remember when you came to these snowy mountains?¡±

    The Snow Lady shook her head and said, ¡°I only remember that it has been a long, long time, but I don¡¯t remember exactly when it was anymore. Actually, for beings like me who have lived extremely long lives, time itself has already lost pretty much all meaning.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>Is this woman showing off? Does she know how many people lose their minds and give up everything for the sake of immortality, yet end up with nothing? And yet these beings that are actually immortal don¡¯t think it''s anything special.</i>

    ¡°Then were you here before the Great Snowy Mountains existed, or did you onlye into being after the Great Snowy Mountains were already here? Or did both of you appear at the same time?¡± Zu An asked, trying to figure out the Snow Lady¡¯s origins.

    The Snow Lady didn¡¯t seem to pick up on that and instinctively replied, ¡°It should be the Great Snowy Mountains that came first, and then me after...¡±

    ¡°Should be?¡± Zu An repeated, stunned.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I already tell you that I can¡¯t remember many past events anymore?¡± The Snow Lady clutched her head as she spoke, as if she was in a bit of pain.

    ¡°Then don¡¯t think about it anymore,¡± Zu An hurriedly said. When he saw her in pain, he couldn''t help but feel a bit of pity.

    However, he quicklyughed in self-mockery. He really only cherished people when they were pretty...

    ...

    While they were talking, the two quickly arrived near the third mountain. Both of them narrowed their eyes, as it was just too blindingly bright. Their first thought was that a second sun had appeared in the sky, but then, they realized that there was a glowing being at the top of the snowy mountain. The light it released was even more dazzling than a real sun. After all, the position of the Great Snowy Mountains was special, so the sun wasn¡¯t as bright here.

    ¡°The fact that the two of you are here means those fools have already been killed,¡± the glowing sphere said.

    Zu An took the Snow Lady behind a hill and said, ¡°Your distinguished self doesn¡¯t seem to be surprised.¡±

    <i>Previously, that Bramble Bone Dragon mentioned that as long as you were seen by this radiant being, something would happen.</i>

    Even though he didn¡¯t know what would happen, it was definitely not a good thing. As such, he remained on guard so he wouldn¡¯t be taken advantage of.

    ¡°Why would I be surprised? Even though those guys had some skill, they were quitecking in the intellect department. Even though they all said that the bone dragon¡¯s brain was the size of a walnut, I don¡¯t think the other two¡¯s were that much bigger,¡± the radiant being said. Its voice was extremely indifferent, as if the ones who died weren¡¯t even itspanions. When it saw Zu An hide behind the hill and not talk to it face to face, the radiant being¡¯s voice seemed to convey a hint of interest as it continued, ¡°It seems like you obtained a bit of information from them.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t even care about their deaths, so why would they remain loyal to you? Of course they told me all of your secrets.¡± Zu An said deliberately to try to provoke it.

    ¡°I doubt that.¡± The radiant being chuckled. ¡°Setting aside the restriction I set in their bodies, even if you had some way of obtaining any intelligence from them, you should have pretended you didn¡¯t know anything instead of speaking like this... Hmm, let me think for a moment... You likely know a bit, but not everything, so you''re deliberately trying to feel out the situation. You¡¯re trying to figure out some things from what I say, right?¡±

    Zu An sighed, saying, ¡°As expected, you''re a bit smarter than those other guys.¡±

    ¡°Even though those guys were stupid, they were still pretty strong. Not even that Snow Lady should have been able to kill them. The only one who has such ability in this weak world...¡± The radiant being paused for a moment. ¡°You''re the one who killed the War Priest, Demonic Motherbug, and Maniptor of Death, right?¡±

    Zu An was a bit surprised. He said, ¡°Now even I have a bit of respect for you. You actually pieced together so much from just a bit of information.¡±

    ¡°You are indeed a talent, and I admire talents,¡± the radiant being said. It thought for a bit and offered, ¡°How about this? I¡¯ll give you a chance. If youe to my side, I can spare you your life and also the lives of your friends and family. You can also conquer worlds much more vast than this one with the rest of us. I just happen to becking a smart subordinate like you.¡±

    ¡°I was just praising you for being smart, and yet now you¡¯re suddenly showing me how dumb you are. I¡¯ve already refused all the previous offers, so why try the same thing again without much sincerity?¡± Zu An sneered. ¡°You''re clearly at a disadvantage right now, and I¡¯ve already reinforced the other two seals. As long as I deal with this one, I¡¯ll be able topletely seal all of you demons. I really don¡¯t know where you get your confidence from, thinking you can actually make me bow down to you.¡±

    The radiant being chuckled. ¡°It seems the one who doesn¡¯t fully understand the current situation is you. Previously, because of the world barrier, we decided to hide ourselves for a decade or two to slowly infiltrate your world¡¯s powers and attack by coordinating attacks inside and outside. However, we never expected your world to have a Fiend race prince with such vigorous ambitions, someone who would actually take the initiative to coborate with us, helping us loosen the seal and letting us invade this world. From that point on, all of you were doomed to lose.¡±

    Zu An frowned.

    <i>This guy really knows how to act like a pretentious prick.</i>

    The radiant being continued, ¡°Do you know why I didn¡¯t decide to help those idiots even though I could sense the changes that were happening to the sealing nails?¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± This time, it was the Snow Lady who spoke.

    ¡°That¡¯s because, as long as I could upy this sealing nail, the two of you woulde sooner orter. After I dealt with you two, I could refine the other two sealing nails, so wouldn''t it all be the same then? Meanwhile, if I left and you two just happened to rush here, wouldn¡¯t I have been lured away like a fool?¡± the radiant being said matter-of-factly

    Zu An was speechless. He replied, ¡°Isn¡¯t your distinguished self a bit too overconfident?¡±

    The radiant being sighed, saying, ¡°After conquering countless worlds anding to such a low level world, it¡¯s very difficult not to be confident.¡±

    ¡°The mountain can¡¯t take much more,¡± the Snow Lady muttered with a frown. She could clearly sense the mountain¡¯s groans. She couldn''t hold herself back anymore. With a wave of her sleeves, a wild snowstorm swept forth from the bottom of the mountain up to the summit.

    Suddenly, a streak of light appeared on the mountaintop. The roaring and surging blizzard seemed to bepletely still. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The radiant being said, ¡°I have experienced a myriad of worlds and encountered snow women in some worlds. However, you are different from them. You seem like a human, and yet you aren¡¯t. You also resemble a monster, and yet you aren''t. Just what kind of a being are you, really?¡±

 Chapter 2071: Annihilation

    <h4>Chapter 2071: Annihtion</h4>

    When he heard what the radiant being said, Zu An was also a bit curious. Even this mysterious monster leader couldn''t analyze the Snow Lady¡¯s background... This woman really did seem unfathomable.

    However, the Snow Lady wasn¡¯t interested in replying to the radiant being¡¯s question. She retorted, ¡°Either way, I¡¯m not a disgusting creature like you.¡±

    While speaking, she already seemed to have resonated with the nearby mountains. In just an instant, avnches crashed down from all of the snowy peaks. Endless waves of snow surged relentlessly before finally gathering together to form a snow dragon that roared and charged at the radiant being.

    Such tremendous natural power really made Zu An sigh at the insignificance of human beings. At the same time, he began to admire the Snow Lady quite a bit. After all, she was seriously injured, but she was still able to release such a powerful attack.

    The radiant being only slowly raised its hand toward the ferocious and overbearing massive dragon of snow, saying, ¡°And the Lord said, let there be light.¡±

    As soon as it spoke, a tremendous amount of dazzling light engulfed the world. The huge dragon of ice and snow was enveloped within, releasing a painful scream as its entire body began to shake intensely. Its body began to melt at a visible rate. Soon after, it disappearedpletely, snowkes blowing away in the wind.

    When she saw that, the Snow Lady waspletely stunned. She hadn¡¯t expected that the ultimate move she had been preparing this time would be defeated so easily.

    Zu An was also a bit stunned. He could see a humanoid outline in the center of the blinding light, a figure who appeared to be coldly overlooking everything below. He was really rmed now.

    <i>There¡¯s no way this guy really is some god, right?</i>

    Even so, he quickly gave up on the thought, because it was definitely a monster who wanted to invade this world. How could it possibly be some sacred and holy god?

    The radiant being looked at the two of them and said, ¡°You two should now be convinced, right? There''s no way you could be a match for me. Surrendering as soon as possible is your best option.¡±

    Zu An chuckled and retorted, ¡°If you¡¯re really that strong, then why even bother talking so much to us? Isn¡¯t it all to erode our fighting spirit and scare us into surrendering?¡±

    When she heard what he said, the Snow Lady was surprised. She looked at Zu An and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect the monsters to be as crafty as you.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>Is this woman praising me or mocking me?</i> n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The radiant being stopped speaking for a moment. It didn¡¯t seem to have anticipated that Zu An would speak that way. A whileter, it said, ¡°I admire your confidence. But in that case, why are you hiding behind that hill? Do you not even have the courage to fight me face to face bravely?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s really no need for you to taunt me. I don¡¯t need to face you to attack you,¡± Zu An said with a chuckle. He reached out his hand, and golden ripples appeared in the air. Their brilliance wasn''t inferior in any way to the radiant being¡¯s light.

    The radiant being voiced its surprise. ¡°A summoner? An interesting skill indeed.¡±

    One after another, golden weapons appeared from the ripples. Then, they flew at the radiant being. Zu An was really d that he had the Rune Weapon Chart, letting him attack from a distance without having to face his opponent directly. The weapons attacked the radiant being from all sorts of different angles. Zu An didn¡¯t just use them as brute force artillery; instead, he made several weapons use sword techniques at the same time to coordinate with each other.

    The sword skill Zu An was best at was none other than the Snowke Sword. When she saw it, the Snow Lady cried out in surprise. She then began to think a bit to herself.

    Zu An didn''t pay her reaction any mind. All of his attention was taken up by controlling the various weapons to attack the radiant being. However, when the weapons entered the radiant being¡¯s vicinity, they all slowed down and were no longer as responsive as before. It was hard for Zu An to even control them.

    The radiant being didn¡¯t treat the attacks with any importance. Its voice was full of contempt and ridicule as it said, ¡°Not a bad skill. Unfortunately, the sword skills are only flowery andck substance. The weapons are each fighting on their own andck cooperation. It seems this low-level world has never even seen things like sword formations.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. In the past, not many had been able to stop the endless rain of swords as soon as he used this move. Winning with brute strength naturally didn¡¯t require any technique; but now that he was facing a stronger enemy, there was clearly no way he could win with just sheer force, and he could only try to win through technique. And yet, he hadn''t expected that this sword technique, which he had done his best to bring out, would be so full of holes in the enemy¡¯s eyes.

    Indeed, the Snowke Sword was designed to be used by an individual. When so many weapons were using it together, they could at most increase the technique''s power additively. Now that the enemy had mentioned a sword formation, Zu An was stirred.

    <i>It seems there are definitely some powerful sword formations in this world.</i>

    ¡°A sword formation, you say? I have those too.¡± Zu An harrumphed. He controlled the golden weapons and flew into the air. The sword tips pointed straight down, then poured down in the form of the Blue Luan Sword Formation skill. Countless weapons interwove in the air, faster than the eye could see. In that instant, the entire space turned into a forbidden zone.

    ¡°Oh? This level ofprehension is quite high. That''s a bit more interesting,¡± the radiant being said, no longer as indifferent as before. Instead, its body fired out a blinding barrier of light that shone upon everything within hundreds of meters.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes narrowed. His sword formation hadpletely stopped!

    No, actually, they hadn''t stopped. He could sense that his own weapons were flying toward their target with extreme speed. But to the naked eye, they appeared to be frozen in midair and not moving at all. With those two contradicting experiences appearing at the same time, even Zu An¡¯s expression turned nk.

    However, he had experienced all kinds of things, and together with his knowledge as a transmigrator, he quickly figured out the key issue. The reason for the seeming contradiction was because of the light¡¯s interference. It formed a special space in the surroundings that made all physicalws be chaotic and ineffective. It seemed like just a kilometer or so of distance, but in reality, there were countlessyers of space stacked on top of each other, creating endless distance in between. It was like a spacecraft traveling through the cosmos - to people on Earth, it would appear extremely fast, but amid the boundless void of space it would look as if it wasn''t moving at all.

    ¡°This makes things much trickier,¡± Zu An muttered; he was getting a bit of a headache. Previously, the Bramble Bone Dragon and Iron Fist Rock had used powerful reflective or defensive skills. They were hard to deal with too, but at least he could hit them and kill them just by whittling them down. But this radiant being had countless spatialyers protecting him. It was impossible to hit him!

    Fortunately, he had been able to learn about this skill through the sword formation. Otherwise, their battle could have reached a critical point before he found out, leading him to think that he was far closer to the enemy than he truly was. The consequences of that would have been severe.

    Just then, the radiant being looked in Zu An¡¯s direction and said, ¡°You still came out in the end.¡±

    Zu An was really rmed. For the sake of seeing what was happening, he had unwittingly revealed the upper half of his body. He was now within the radiant being¡¯s line of sight. He reflexively tried to dodge, but he was horrified to discover that he couldn''t move his body. It was as if he had a freezing spell cast on him. He finally understood what that Bramble Bone Dragon had been talking about now. As long as you were seen by the radiant being, you wouldn''t be able to move at all anymore and could only wait for it to finish you off.

    ¡°What a pity it is that you didn¡¯t ept my recruitment offer. In that case, I can only help you... die.¡± The radiant being¡¯s voice was cold, as if it was a judge that ruled over all things. It pointed in Zu An''s direction, and a blinding pir of light fell upon him.

    As he sensed the annihtion intent behind the light, goosebumps covered Zu An¡¯s body. Even though his body had been refined endless times and was now incredibly tough, there was no way it would end well for him if he was hit by the pir. Unfortunately, he was already within the opponent¡¯s sight, so he couldn''t use any of his skills anymore.

    Suddenly, a snowstorm surged beneath Zu An''s feet and swept around him, allowing him to barely avoid the destructive light. He was delivered to the neighboring peak. The snowstorm disappeared and turned into the Snow Lady. Both of them looked at the ce they had just been. There was a several-meter-wide hole blown through it, with extremely sharp edges. There was no bottom visible, and it was impossible to tell how far it reached. There had been no sound when the light struck, either; it was as if all physical matter had been directly erased.

 Chapter 2072: Sure Hit Skill

    <h4>Chapter 2072: Sure Hit Skill</h4>

    Their expressions changed slightly. If they had been hit by that pir of light, even if they didn¡¯t die, they would only have barely survived, right?

    ¡°Oh? You actually avoided it? That move was quite interesting,¡± the radiant being said, continuing to look in their direction.

    Just then, Zu An had been brought away by the Snow Lady and escaped the enemy¡¯s line of sight. He subsequently recovered the ability to move. After seeing the radiant being''s attack, there was no way he would give the enemy another chance. He grabbed the Snow Lady and flew elsequere.

    ¡°You actually managed to move faster than me. Hm, it seems to be an instant movement skill,¡± the radiant being said, sounding a bit surprised. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect this low-level world would have such an ability. It really doesn¡¯t make much sense.¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t respond to it, and thought about how to win instead. Not even such a powerful sword formation had been able to injure it. Spacetime around the radiant being seemed to be abnormal. He wasn¡¯t confident he would be able to injure it even if he used some more of his trump cards.

    The radiant being looked in their direction again, but this time, the Snow Lady tacitly moved in a different direction from Zu An. That way, there was no way the enemy could attend to both problems at the same time.

    Zu An had his instantaneous movement skill, while the Snow Lady could turn herself into wind and snow, and that was what this cecked the least. Comparatively, it was actually Zu An who would be a bit easier to catch. Sure enough, the radiant being didn¡¯t chase after the Snow Lady, and stared straight at Zu An instead.

    Fortunately, Zu An already hadplete mastery over his Grandgale ability, with Mo Xi¡¯s skill asionally reducing the cooldown of its next use. Besides, with his current cultivation, he was extremely fast to begin with, so he could just about deal with the attacks.

    As time went on, Zu An felt less pressure and sighed in relief. Even though the enemy¡¯s attack was powerful, as long as he was prepared, he would be fine as long as the enemy didn¡¯t look straight at him. Thus, he found an opening to teleport right next to the radiant being, and attacked with the Tai¡¯e Sword¡¯s Domain of Power.

    The radiant being¡¯s figure trembled slightly, clearly affected by the domain. However, when Zu An¡¯s sword was three inches from the enemy, it stopped cold.

    By then, the radiant being reacted and turned around, but Zu An had already anticipated that. He immediately moved several kilometers away. He naturally knew that the sword likely couldn''t hurt the enemy, and had just wanted to test the waters from up close. It was as he''d expected. Even though it looked as if there was only three inches between them, in reality, when he shed with his sword, he had felt as if the target was infinitely far away.

    ¡°This sword of yours seems to be a bit special. It''s not a bad weapon, even across the universe¡¯s various realms,¡± the radiant being said, looking at the Tai¡¯e Sword in Zu An¡¯s hands. Its voice carried a bit of admiration, as this was clearly outside of its expectations.

    ¡°Not bad, huh...¡± Zu An muttered, noticing the wording it used. In this world, the Tai¡¯e Sword was already a deity-grade weapon. It seemed the many realms of the universe really were vast.

    ¡°There''s no way for you to defeat me. I advise you to surrender earlier and cease this meaningless struggle," the radiant being said.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have a way to catch me either, right? You make it sound as if everything is under your control,¡± Zu An said disdainfully while avoiding its line of sight.

    ¡°I merely let you run around to see your abilities. Do you really think I have no way of dealing with you?¡± the radiant being asked, looking at Zu An again.

    Zu An was about to move when he heard the enemy say, ¡°This attack will inevitablynd.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He discovered that even though he used his instant movement skill, the radiant being¡¯s eyes stillnded on his body. He was instantly frozen in ce and unable to move, leaving him speechless.

    <i>What kind of a skill is this? Soulspeak? If whatever it says happens, what the hell is the point of even fighting anymore?</i>

    He had a simr skill in Keyboard Come. However, he had to pay a heavy price to use the skill, while his opponent seemed to be able to use it at will!

    ¡°Do you now know regret? It''s a pity that it¡¯s toote for you.¡± The radiant being sneered, as if it really liked seeing its enemies'' expression in these situations.

    In order to guard against the Snow Lady¡¯s rescue attempts, it waved its hand and cast endless light all around Zu An¡¯s location. If the Snow Lady dared toe close, she would only die with Zu An. Sure enough, a burst of wind and snow nearby scattered and exposed the Snow Lady¡¯s real body. She was really anxious, but she couldn''t break through theyer of light. She couldn''t save him at all.

    The radiant being didn¡¯t pay her any attention. In its eyes, even though the Snow Lady¡¯s strength wasn¡¯t bad, everything was already in its grasp. She wasn''t as much of a threat as Zu An. As such, it didn¡¯t hesitate and immediately attacked Zu An with killing intent.

    The Snow Lady sensed the light of annihtion fire at Zu An. She had witnessed the power of the light earlier, so she couldn''t help but feel a bit of despair. It seemed as if Zu An was now finished. Suddenly, however, her vision blurred and she lost sight of Zu An. Afterward,the radiant being was left standing where Zu An had just been.

    The radiant being was also a bit stunned, clearly not expecting this predicament. Before it could even react, the destructive light had already smashed into its body. A dazzling ball of blinding radiance erupted. The Snow Lady couldn''t help but close her eyes. Only after quite a bit of time did the light dim a bit. She quickly looked at the scene of the battle.

    The radiant being was still standing there, not destroyed by the destructive light. Of course, it wasn¡¯tpletely unaffected. The light around itself had clearly be much dimmer, and they could now clearly see a ck humanoid figure within. But apart from its eyes, no other features could be seen on its face. Its outline looked like a rippling ck me. It seemed more like some kind of energy being than a human.

    ¡°An exchange skill? Not even I could stop it. This is a top-tier divine skill even among the various realms. I never expected to have discovered such a thing here in this world.¡± Even though the radiant being was injured, it now sounded even more excited.

    As he stood in the distance, Zu An frowned. He had actually expected the earlier attack, so he''d been baiting the enemy to use its most powerful attack, and hadn¡¯t even hesitated to put himself at risk to do so. He hadn¡¯t expected the enemy¡¯s own strike to not be effective.

    ¡°I¡¯m really reluctant to kill you now. I have to imprison your soul and slowly interrogate you for these skills of yours,¡± the radiant being said excitedly. It hadn¡¯t expected to receive something so great from this world.

    ¡°It¡¯s still hard to say who will kill whom.¡± Zu An harrumphed. He moved continuously around the radiant being¡¯s surroundings like a bolt of lightning. He continued to test it out, trying to find its weakness.

    No matter what a skill was, there had to be a way to defeat it. He refused to believe that this radiant being waspletely without weaknesses. Thews of the universe wouldn¡¯t permit such a ridiculous being. The most important thing now was how to find these weaknesses.

    As it watched Zu An dart around it, the radiant being said with a hint of mockery, ¡°It¡¯s useless. Facing me, all of this evasion is futile. This trick of yours will inevitably...¡±

    Midway through its sentence, it heard Zu An say, ¡°What you lookin'' at?!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m lookin'' at you, shithead!¡±

    The radiant being was stunned as soon as it said that. It had never expected such a thing. That didn¡¯t seem like something it wanted to say!

    However, it was experienced and knowledgeable, quickly eximing in shock, ¡°You actually know soulspeak techniques?¡±

    This human had brought it too many pleasant surprises. Even though he wasn¡¯t weak in this world, his strength didn''t amount to much in the boundless cosmos, and the radiant being had seen too many beings who were stronger than him. If not for this world barrier¡¯s hindrance, it could easily have picked out some of its own subordinates who were stronger. Even so, this guy¡¯s skills were each more dazzling than the next. Even the radiant being was starting to feel a bit of desire. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    When he saw that his skill had worked, Zu An finally felt at ease.

    <i>The products of the keyboard system are reliable as usual.</i>

    He had always thought that ¡®what you lookin'' at¡¯ was always kind of silly, but now, it seemed to be the very bane of soulspeak. As long as the enemy spoke, it would always be interrupted by ¡®what you lookin'' at¡¯. Then, they naturally wouldn¡¯t be able to use their soulspeak ability anymore!

 Chapter 2073: Time Severing

    <h4>Chapter 2073: Time Severing</h4>

    The radiant being didn¡¯t get angry; instead, it said happily, ¡°It seems this world was about what I expected after all, hahaha...¡±

    Even though this world appeared to be really weak, it was full of all sorts of mysteries. Ignoring everything else, even if another weaker world had a world barrier, how could it have possibly stalled their invasion for so long? And now, the miraculous skills disyed by this human further proved certain things.

    Zu An was a bit confused. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    <i>Is this guy crazy or something?</i>

    He couldn''t be bothered to think about that, though. He was worried that the other side was ying tricks on him, so he continued to use ¡®what you lookin at¡¯ to interrupt the enemy¡¯s skills.

    The Snow Lady found this scene ratherical to watch. These were clearly the two most powerful beings in this world, and yet they looked like little children y-fighting against each other.

    <i>Hm? Why do I know how human children y?</i>

    The Snow Lady was stunned. She suddenly clutched her forehead. She felt as if some new memory fragments had appeared in her head. Zu An noticed how she was behaving, but he didn¡¯t have the freedom to take care of her. He could only focus on finding an opportunity to attack.

    Sure enough, after continuously replying ¡®I¡¯m looking at you, shithead¡¯ again and again, the radiant being couldn''t help but be driven a bit crazy as well. ¡°Damn youngster... I¡¯m looking at you, shithead! ...Can you stop... I¡¯m looking at you, shithead!... F*ck...¡±

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled the Shadow Monster King for +499 +499 +499...</strong>

    Zu An thought to himself, <i>So that was your name! That¡¯s strange though. You clearly have light all around you, so why is there ''shadow'' in your name? Could it be rted to the dark ck color of your body?</i>

    Even so, he quickly found a chance to attack. A red bow suddenly appeared in his hand. This being''s light was a bit simr to the sun, so the Sun ying Bow could be effective.

    The Star Shattering Imprint activated, increasing Zu An''s power tenfold! He drew an arrow. Profound runes flickered all over the Sun ying Bow, and they converged onto that arrow. In the next instant, it flew toward the Shadow Monster King¡¯s body.

    Unlike the previous attacks, the arrow cyer afreatedteryer of watery ripples. It was as if theyers of space were experiencing intense pressure and chaos. The arrow wasn¡¯t suspended in the air, but rather continued to approach the Shadow Monster King. Even though it had clearly slowed down considerably and wasn¡¯t much faster than an ant, it still persistently closed in on the monster''s body.

    The Shadow Monster King stared at the arrow in front of it, as if it was using some kind of ability to defend itself. In the end, the arrow finally arrived in front of it. Even so, a secondter, it crumbled away into ashes, as if it had beenpletely corroded.

    In the past, the Fiend races had held the Sun ying Bow, but no Sun ying Arrows. Even though arrows could be condensed out of ki, thete Fiend Emperor hadn''t been satisfied with just that. He had scoured the world for treasures, then gathered all of the skilled crafters of the Fiend races to refine some arrows. Even though those arrows couldn¡¯tpare to the legendary true Sun ying Arrows, they were still the best this world could produce and weren''t inferior to immortal-grade weapons. On top of t hat, with the additional support of the Sun ying Bow, their power already far exceeded that of ordinary immortal-grade weapons. However, even an arrow that sharp had shattered, and turned into scattered ashes no less.

    The Shadow Monster Kingughed at Zu An, saying, ¡°I already told you it was impossible for your attacks to hurt me, and yet you insist on doing such futile things.¡±

    At the same time, it was pretty shocked.

    <i>Why is the bow in his hands like that legendary bow? But why would that bow possibly appear in this world? Also, its power isn¡¯t right either, so I''m probably just overthinking things.</i>

    Even so, Zu An¡¯s expression remained calm as he said, ¡°I have a rough idea now. What flows around you isn¡¯tyers of space; rather, you control the flow of time. That''s why you are able to create this kind of effect.¡±

    He couldn''t help but feel a bit frustrated now. It was hard to say whether space or time was harder to deal with. Regardless of which one it was, though, this guy already far exceeded the level he could currently deal with. He knew fully well that it would be better to retreat while he still had a chance. Nothing good woulde out of fighting further.

    The prediction of guaranteed death from the divination he''d carried out before entering the sealednd appeared in his mind. At first, even though the others enemies were dangerous, they''d never really threatened his life. He''d thus felt as if that divination was just meant to scare him. But now, it seemed the prediction wasn¡¯t directed at the other enemies, but rather this guy.

    Even so, he only hesitated for a moment before he calmed down again. Right now, he had the safety of an entire world on his shoulders. Whether it was the humans or the fiends, he had to protect them. If he feared death and backed down at a time like this, allowing the monsters to fully open the seal, more monsters would invade this world. Furthermore, if the world barrier shattered, the most powerful monsters would no longer be hindered. There would be even less of a chance of him winning then.

    This was his only opportunity. Even though the difference between them was enough to cause despair, it was definitely the moment when their strength disparity was the smallest it would ever be. He had to stop this enemy here and seal the monsters away, even if he had to give up his life to do so.

    In the past, when he''d watched heroes sacrifice their lives, even though he was moved, he''d never wanted to be a hero himself. His ideal lifestyle was that of an indolent ruler with three thousand members in the imperial harem. It would be even better if he didn¡¯t have to deal with any of the court¡¯s matters.

    And yet, he''d never expected that when the moment truly arrived, he didn''t feel there was much to fear about a sacrifice either. It was just that natural. Even if it wasn¡¯t for the people he didn¡¯t know, he still had to protect those at his side...

    When he thought through all of that, Zu An only became calmer. At the same time, he mocked himself, thinking that he really couldn''t do random divinations in the future, or else it would really affect his mentality and judgment. Then, he would be imperceptibly pushed toward the predicted oue.

    His expression grew serious. He drew the Sun ying Bow again, but he didn¡¯t use the imitation Sun ying Arrow the Fiend Emperor had made, but rather the real, white-ribboned arrow he had obtained from the secret dungeon!

    He was worried that the radiant being wouldn¡¯t give him another chance to attack, so he immediately used Keyboard Come¡¯s ability, calling out, ¡°This arrow will shatter all skills!¡±

    The power of the Sun ying Arrow was extremely great. It was even capable of shooting down suns. However, the enemy could control space or time around itself, so Zu An wasn¡¯t sure if the arrow could hit it. That was why he immediately applied Keyboard Come¡¯s effect to the arrow. He didn¡¯t know just what kind of price he would have to pay to negate the temporalws around the enemy¡¯s body, but he didn¡¯t have a choice left now. He couldn''t gamble on this arrow failing. If this arrow was defeated, the entire world could be finished.

    As soon as he said that, a solemn and divine air suddenly filled the world.

    The Shadow Monster King¡¯s expression changed greatly. Its entire body erupted with brilliance, and endless radiance covered the entire region, surrounding everything within a thousand miles.

    Zu An¡¯s pupils contracted rapidly. He discovered that his arrow had been about to fly forth, and yet it stopped a mere instant instant before it could! He''d been about to release it, and yet everything had stopped.

    It was different from the experience of freezaing from being looked at. Right now, the enemy hadn¡¯t even looked at him. Instead, it was as if a sun had engulfed the surrounding space, filling it with light. It was everywhere, impossible to resist and impossible to defend against. Regardless of how he moved, or even if he used the exchange skill, it was all meaningless, because all the space around him was surrounded by light.

    He even noticed the Snow Lady¡¯s appalled and heartbroken expression. She was also frozen. He could see a snowstorm that had been starting to move beneath her dress, noticing that she had been about to change into snow to evade, but she was frozen in that instant. He could see every intricate and beautiful snowke clearly. Everything was clearly moving, and yet it was also frozen in ce.

    The st waves of the battle had caused avnches to descend from the nearby snowy peaks. The copsing snow, however, had stopped halfway up the mountain. Nearby birds had been pping their wings frantically in an attempt to leave this dangerous ce, but they were trapped in their struggle while their bodies were frozen in midair.

    ...

    The entire world seemed to have had the pause button pressed on it. Such a feeling was strange and terrifying!

    Only one being could still move - the Shadow Monster King. It slowly walked toward Zu An as it said, ¡°Even though I didn¡¯t believe you had the ability to kill me, in that instant, I sensed the threat of death. I had no choice but to pay a great price to use Time Severing. You can now feel proud of yourself even in death.¡±

 Chapter 2074: You Finally Came to Find Me

    <h4>Chapter 2074: You Finally Came to Find Me</h4>

    Zu An cracked a grin and said, ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, but I only give my body and soul to my lovers, not you.¡±

    The Shadow Monster King sneered. ¡°That isn¡¯t up to you...¡±

    Suddenly, its eyes widened, because it realized something. Why was this guy able to speak? It realized that the situation was unfavorable for itself and immediately withdrew thousands of meters, but unfortunately, it was already toote. The Sun ying Arrow that had already been fully charged up and waiting to be fired left the bowstring!

    The arrow already defied the very concept of speed. The instant it was released, it hit the Shadow Monster King. Only then did it see aet cut across the sky.

    <i>Boom!</i>

    A blinding sphere of light exploded outward, looking like the explosion of a star amid the void of space! However, it only persisted for a second; the next second, a ck hole appeared, sucking all of the light away.

    Meanwhile, the Shadow Monster King had alreadypletely scattered. There wasn¡¯t even a trace of it left.

    The Snow Lady had already recovered her ability to move. She flew over to Zu An¡¯s side and supported his staggering body, asking, ¡°How do you feel right now?¡±

    Zu An chuckled, saying, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to be the caring sort.¡± However, there were fine cracks covering his entire body, and his smile only worsened his injuries and made some blood trickle out.

    ¡°Do you know what kind of condition you''re in right now? And yet you''re still making jokes!¡± the Snow Lady eximed, her usual cold demeanor giving way to worry.

    Zu An was stunned. He looked at the sparkling radiance in her eyes and the frozen beads that slid down her stunning face, which made her look even more gorgeous.

    <i>She¡¯s crying? And for my sake, no less? Were we really that close?</i>

    No matter how much of a narcissist Zu An was, he couldn¡¯t really believe he had that much charm. How could they possibly have started another interspecies romance in such a short amount of time?

    Even so, she was crying right now, and for some reason, he felt really awful when he saw her cry, as if he had forgotten the most important thing in his life. He quickly consoled her, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Even though my injuries are serious, I won¡¯t die.¡±

    With his current strength, if he had immediately used Keyboard Come to say ¡®this arrow will shatter all skills¡¯, perhaps there wouldn''t even have been ashes left. Fortunately, after he received Mi Li¡¯s guidance, he''d realized that he could use the Heaven Devouring Sutra to form a ck hole, distorting space and light. The enemiy''s Time Severing ability would thus be weakened to some degree, lessening the power needed for Keyboard Come to sessfully activate. Of course, he had only used that skill in a hastyst-ditch effort, so he naturally couldn''tpletely destroy the Shadow Monster King¡¯s divine skill. It had had a special defense in front of its body as well, which was why he still had to rely on Keyboard Come for the rest in the end.

    All of that naturally came with a price, which was why he was seriously injured. He was bleeding from his entire body, and all of the meridians in his body were a mess. Thankfully, his life was still intact. With his body¡¯s ridiculous regenerative prowess, he would be able to recover after resting for around a year.

    When she heard him say that, the Snow Lady pulled him into her arms emotionally. Her body trembled a bit. Sometimes, she was crying, but other times, she was smiling.

    Zu An was stunned.

    <i>What is going on here?</i>

    As the Snow Lady hugged him with her icy body, Zu An could suddenly feel everything. He had no idea where to ce his hands. He was really puzzled. Just what is going on right now?

    <i>There''s absolutely no way she would be like this from just a brief interaction. There has to be something else going on that I just don¡¯t know about right now.</i>

    He was about to ask her about it when a sneer suddenly came from the distance, and a voice said, ¡°Look at the two of you. Such an adulterous couple, head over heels in love. But unfortunately, the two of you are celebrating a bit too early, no?¡±

    Zu An and the Snow Lady were both shocked. They quickly followed the source of the sound and saw a small shadow. Then, that shadow began to move; it slowly grewrger until it finally took the form of the Shadow Monster King. Just then, both Zu An and the Snow Lady were full of questions.

    ¡°???¡±

    <i>This guy didn¡¯t even die from that? Is it a damn cockroach that can¡¯t be killed?</i>

    The Shadow Monster King also grimaced as it looked at Zu An, saying, ¡°I really underestimated you. I didn¡¯t expect you to really have the ability to kill me, and even put me in such a miserable state!¡±

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled the Shadow Monster King for +999 +999 +999...</strong>

    ¡°There''s no way you could¡¯ve survived that arrow. Just what is going on?¡± Zu An asked gravely. In the past, the legendary archer Houyi had even been able to shoot down suns with these arrows, and he had tested them out in the secret dungeon before. There was definitely nothing wrong with the power of that arrow, so there was no chance for this Shadow Monster King to have blocked it.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. In a sense, you did in fact kill me,¡± the Shadow Monster King said, its eyes filled with seething rage. ¡°But I''ve always been meticulous in my actions, so I concealed a shadow clone. I borrowed that clone to revive.¡± n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>Even after all of this, the enemy had a substitute...</i>

    ¡°You must be feeling despair now, right? If you hdan¡¯t continued to woo each other and immediately found me instead, I would have been at my weakest and couldn''t defend against you at all. But now, I¡¯ve already fully revived. What awaits the two of you is only death,¡± the Shadow Monster King said with a maliciousugh.

    The Snow Lady was a bit annoyed. It was all her fault for being too emotional, or else she wouldn¡¯t have made such a mistake. She hadn''t even been able to win against the monster when she was at her strongest. Now, she was injured and Zu An was in terrible condition, so there was no way they would be its match.

    Zu An remained calm as he said, ¡°Drop the act already. There''s definitely no way you can make unlimited clones of yourself. If the strength of each clone were truly on par with your own, wouldn¡¯t that make you invincible? You¡¯re probably still quite weak, using these words to provoke us and keep us immersed in emotions of regret and frustration. That way, it would be easier for us to make mistakes.¡±

    The Shadow Monster King was stunned. It said, ¡°I never expected the thoughts of a human like you to be so cunning. That¡¯s right, I no longer have the strength I had at my peak, but both of you are seriously injured. My current strength is more than enough to deal with the two of you.¡±

    It raised a finger while speaking. Then, aser fired out from its finger.

    Zu An reacted quickly. He immediately tried to dodge, but his current condition was too horrible and he couldn''t keep up with his thoughts at all.

    ¡°Be careful!¡± the Snow Lady eximed as she brought him away and evaded to the side. She nervously looked at Zu An and asked, ¡°Are you hurt?¡±

    Zu An shook his head. Then, his eyesnded on her shoulder as he said, ¡°But you were.¡±

    A fine hole had suddenly appeared in the Snow Lady''s shoulder. It was clear that after saving him, she''d been unable to dodge in time and was hit by the Shadow Monster King.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± the Snow Lady said with a weak smile. Snowkes fluttered around her wounds, and the injury quickly recovered.

    ¡°Why do you... care so much for me?¡± Zu An asked.

    That was what he couldn''t understand at all. At first, the Snow Lady had definitely been an ice queen in every way. She hadn¡¯t even wanted him to touch her when he saved her earlier, and yet now, it was as if she was apletely different person. She was no longer the ice-cold Snow Lady, but more like one of his lovers he shared deep affection with. Even so, he wasn¡¯t some naive and innocent boy who couldn''t tell if someone was really his own lover or not.

    The Snow Lady looked at him with her clear and cold eyes. She didn¡¯t answer; instead, she said to herself, ¡°You finally came to find me.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    The Shadow Demon King was about to explode from anger, eximing, ¡°You damn adulterers, shouldn¡¯t you treat a viin like me with a little more respect?¡±

    Zu An frowned, saying, ¡°Something¡¯s not right. You shouldn¡¯t be so chatty. From when you tried to make me surrender until now, you¡¯ve spoken far too much. I refuse to believe that someone of your cultivation rank would make that kind of mistake. Just what are you stalling for?¡±

    There had been several times when the enemy could have attacked, and yet it had deliberately rambled on and on. Zu An had felt that something was off for a while.

    The Shadow Monster King chuckled. ¡°Did you only realize it now? Should I praise you for not being aplete idiot, or mock you for still being too stupid?

    ¡°There was one part that you got wrong with your guesses. The reason I continuously advised for your surrender wasn¡¯t because I was scared that I couldn''t win against you. Rather, I was stalling for a bit of time because I was worried that you would ruin my ns. But now, I don¡¯t need to worry about that anymore, because my ns are alreadyplete.¡±

    The third mountain peak suddenly began to rumble. Then, the entire thing suddenly rose, revealing a massive silhouette it had been resting on all this time.

 Chapter 2075: Caution Even In the Face of Certain Victory

    <h4>Chapter 2075: Caution Even In the Face of Certain Victory</h4>

    The entire mountain was like a prison that seemed to have been holding down a ck figure, one that was incredibly massive. It looked just like the dinosaurs from the movies of Zu An¡¯s previous world.

    Zu An didn¡¯t have the time to admire the sight. He quickly took out the remaining divine artifact, the Skycloud Sword, to try and reseal the snowy mountain. Unfortunately, there was no reaction from it at all even after he took it out. It didn¡¯t resonate with the mountain the way the other two divine artifacts had at all. In that instant, he didn¡¯t know how to reseal the mountain anymore either and quickly asked the Snow Lady, ¡°You share a special connection with the mountain, so do you know how we can reseal it again?¡±

    The Snow Lady shook her head and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t even know that in the past, these mountains were seals.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    Just then, a deafening roar erupted from the ck figure, one that seemed to make the entire mountain range tremble. Some powerful snow beasts in the distance fell to the ground, their bodies shaking all over.

    Zu An could clearly sense a trembling sensation that came from his very soul. However, he was already someone with exceptional willpower and quickly overcame that out-of-sorts feeling.

    Only then did he have a chance to carefully size up the ck figure. When he saw it clearly again, he couldn''t help but be stunned. Why did this thing look a bit like a t-rex, but also like an alien queen from a certain movie? It had a grotesquely-shaped head and a mouth full of giant, sharp teeth. It stood on two thick and strong legs. Even though its arms were much thinner inparison, every w it had was a viciously sharp weapon. As it swayed back and forth willfully, its thick tail resembled a third leg. There was an aura of destruction around it, as if it was ready to attack at any time.

    There was a bit of restraining fear in the Shadow Monster King¡¯s eyes as it floated closer to the creature, saying, ¡°Revered Lord of ughter, I can set you free. In ordance with our past agreement, we should set up a soul contract.¡±

    Zu An was startled.

    <i>No wonder this guy is full of murderous energy and looks like a weapon of mass destruction. The name is pretty fitting.</i>

    He didn¡¯t dare to treat this thing as an ordinary beast. He could feel the powerful pressureing from its body even from far away. Furthermore, the cruelty and shrewdness visible in its eyes showed that it was definitely a being with extremely high intelligence. Judging from how respectful the Shadow Monster King was acting, the Lord of ughter''s status and strength were definitely not inferior to its own.

    The Lord of ughter nodded. It spoke in a monotonous and dull voice that was extremely harsh on the ears. The nearby mountain even trembled a bit from the sound.

    The Shadow Monster King sighed in relief, a trace of joy in its eyes. The reason why it hade all the way here was that it had been retracing certain ns¡¯ legends. In ancient times, the Lord of ughter had been an extremely famous and powerful being. At first, rather than fulfilling the agreement, the Shadow Monster King had nned to turn the sealed creature into its own pet. Then, with its own power, as well as the Lord of ughter¡¯s strength, it wouldmand a certain level of status even among some extremely powerful worlds.

    At first, it had been fully confident in its ns. After all, its own cultivation and skills were strong. It had enough faith in itself even when facing other ancient beings, let alone one that was sealed. Now, however, it suddenly felt a bit apprehensive. After all, its original body had been killed not too long ago. This clone was much weaker, so it couldn''t face the Lord of ughter so calmly anymore. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Fortunately, the Lord of ughter stillplied with the prior vow. As long as it agreed and signed the soul oath, there would be no chance of a betrayal. With the protection of a powerful pet like the Lord of ughter, the Shadow Monster King could slowly recover to its peak. It wouldn¡¯t have to worry about attacks from strong opponents while it was recovering.

    As it thought about all of these things, the satisfaction in its eyes only grew greater. It didn¡¯t waste any time and instead quickly chanted an incantation. Runes rushed forth in a waterfall-like torrent.

    Zu An tried to raise the Sun ying Bow again, but the Snow Lady stopped him and said, ¡°Their oath has already received the acknowledgement of the world. If you attack them now, you''ll only bring the world¡¯s retaliation upon yourself.¡±

    When Zu An heard that, he couldn''t help but say in disappointment, ¡°But once theyplete the oath, won¡¯t we just be sheep waiting for ughter?¡± He had paid such a great price to seriously injure the Shadow Monster King, and yet it now had an even stronger helper. Just the thought alone was enough to make one feel despair.

    Even so, the Snow Lady only smiled and said, ¡°Being able to die together with you isn¡¯t so bad either.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>Sis, do you know what¡¯s going on around us right now? And yet you¡¯re still having romantic delusions?</i>

    All of his mental strength was focused on how to deal with this situation before him. He didn¡¯t have the extra energy to think about what was going on with her.

    Mo Xi¡¯s Farewell Nanchao could sever oaths, but there was too big of a difference in strength between her and these two. Thus, the skill would probably be useless. And even if they severed the oath, wouldn''t the Lord of ughter then be free to do whatever it wanted?

    Just then, the oath ceremony came to an end. The Shadow Monster King roared withughter, eximing, ¡°I never expected to be able to obtain such a powerful pet! In the future, I''ll definitely be able to subdue even more worlds and be the greatest across the many realms!¡±

    The Lord of ughter said in its dull monotone, ¡°The oath is alreadyplete. It¡¯s time to bring me out, right?¡±

    When he saw the situation, Zu An quickly fired an arrow at the Shadow Monster King. He couldn''t gather the strength to fire a true Sun ying Arrow anymore. However, the Shadow Monster King wasn¡¯t as strong as before either, so he hoped it would be enough to stop it in time.

    ¡°Haha, it¡¯s toote!¡± The Shadow Monster Kingughed madly.

    It had been stalling the whole time to refine the seal. It had only done that because it was naturally cautious even in the face of certain victory. After all, it had witnessed all kinds of monstrous and grotesque skills and knew it couldn''t be overconfident no matter how good the situation looked. It had thus left behind a certain precaution.

    formed a hand seal, and a streak of light flew at the mountain. Soon after, the golden void chains that were still around the mountain gradually disappeared, and the Lord of ughter leaped out with a thunderous roar. Then, the mountain fell to the ground again, but what it had been pressing down on was no longer there.

    The arrow Zu An fired arrived in front of the Shadow Monster King just then, but arge mouth suddenly bit down on the arrow. Then, it closed, and thete Fiend Emperor¡¯s arrow that wasparable to an immortal-grade weapon was crushed to pieces instantly.

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>Every single one of this guy¡¯s teeth is tougher than an immortal-grade weapon!</i>

    <i>Is its entire mouth full of deity-grade weapons?</i>

    When it saw that, the Shadow Monster King¡¯s smile became even bigger. It flew up to the Lord of ughter and reached out to stroke its head, saying, ¡°Well done!¡± Its pet was so strong! The Shadow Monster King was already imagining how it would use the Lord of ughter to kill its old enemies.

    Just then, the Lord of ughter suddenly grinned. Its terrifying teeth emerged, and it bit down on the Shadow Monster Lord as fast as lightning.

    Even so, the Shadow Monster King was still a powerful ruler of its own domain and it evaded quickly; however, half of its body was still bitten off. The upper half that remained darted away in horror. ck liquid continuously flowed out from the wound like a stream of blood.

    ¡°You were really going to treat me as your pet? Even something like you?¡± the Lord of ughter remarked mockingly. It chewed for a bit, and with a gulp, half of the Shadow Monster King¡¯s body was swallowed. A satisfied look appeared on its face. ¡°It has already been far, far too long since myst meal. This taste really is too wonderful.¡±

    Zu An was also frightened when he saw that. He quickly took the Snow Lady with him and backed up.

    ¡°Why... Why can you hurt me?¡± the Shadow Monster King eximed, its expression was full of rm and puzzlement. After all, the two of them had just signed a master and servant agreement. For a pet, the first principle was that it couldn''t harm its master, and it had to unconditionally agree to its master¡¯s orders. Furthermore, the master could decide the life and death of its pet at any time.

    The Lord of ughter revealed a hint of ridicule as it said, ¡°You probably had no idea that the incantation of that oath you found after untold tribtions was something I personally left behind in the past, right?¡±

    ¡°Impossible! That was definitely an incantation to establish a contract between master and servant!¡± the Shadow Monster King cried, its expression twisting. It was no fool; there was no way it wouldn''t have examined the incantation.

    ¡°It is indeed a contract between master and servant, but I ingeniously inserted a hidden condition, which was that the stronger party would be the master, and the weaker would be the servant. What a pity it is that you''re weaker than me, making me the true master, while you''re the servant and pet.¡±

    The Shadow Monster King was speechless.

 Chapter 2076: No Weaknesses

    <h4>Chapter 2076: No Weaknesses</h4>

    In reality, the Shadow Monster King wasn¡¯tpletely unprepared for this. It had already anticipated this possibility when it first obtained the incantation, but it was incredibly strong at the time, and hadn''t thought that there would be anything here stronger than itself. As such, it had thought it naturally wouldn¡¯t need to fear the incantation¡¯s rebound. Even if this Lord of ughter was an incredibly famous ancient destroyer, the Shadow Monster King had its own pride and confidence too, and hadn''t thought it would lose in a confrontation.

    How could it have anticipated that its original body would be destroyed, though? It was already far weaker than normal. It had been in such a hurry to get revenge and recover its strength that it had briefly overlooked that point. But now, it was already toote for regrets. Now that it was in a clone body, it wasn''t as powerful as before; on top of that, it had been bitten in half, so it could die at any time. Thus, it began to panic. It hurriedly bowed in respect, saying, ¡°Revered Lord of ughter, it was me who was too rude just now. From now on, I am willing to serve your respected self and act on your orders.¡±

    The Lord of ughter looked at the Shadow Monster King''s remaining half that was fluttering in the air, as if it was a candlelight that could go out at any moment. It couldn''t help but sneer, saying, ¡°What a pity. I¡¯ve never taken in trash as my subordinate.¡±

    When it sensed the Lord of ughter''s killing intent, the Shadow Monster King¡¯s expression changed greatly. It pleaded, ¡°Lord of ughter, it was me who saved you! You cannot bite the hand that feeds you!¡±

    ¡°Saved me?¡± A ferocious look appeared in the Lord of ughter¡¯s eyes as it stared at the Shadow Monster King, roaring, ¡°You only wished to enve me! You even added some terms to the incantation that would turn mepletely into your pet, so I could never betray you and only let you take advantage of me. If it weren''t for that, I might have really spared your life.¡±

    The Shadow Monster King cursed itself inwardly.

    <i>Whose fault is it that you¡¯re so strong that I couldn¡¯t feel at ease without those additional conditions?</i>

    Even so, exining further now was already meaningless. It could sense the Lord of ughter¡¯s killing intent. It turned around and fled without any intention ofing back. It was actually surprised at how fast it could still move despite being seriously injured.

    <i>I have to find a ce to hide and recover properly. Once I recover to my peak strength, I¡¯ll settle things with this Lord of ughter after.</i>

    However, its expression suddenly darkened as a foul stench surrounded it. It reflexively raised its head and saw a bloody mouth descend from above, and just like that, its head was bitten right off.

    <i>Crunch, crunch...</i>

    With a few bites, the bloody mouth swallowed it all down. The Shadow Monster King was powerful, though. Even through all of this, it didn¡¯t immediately die. Its headless body reached out and groped around blindly, as if it was instinctively looking for its own head.

    Just then, the Lord of ughter devoured the rest of its body with a single bite. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    <i>Burp~</i>

    What followed was a satisfied burp, as if the meal was extremely pleasing. The Lord of ughter remarked, ¡°It¡¯s been so long since I¡¯ve enjoyed such a tasty meal. Eating is the most enjoyable thing in the world, indeed.¡±

    Far off in the distance, Zu An had a strange expression. He had seen the Shadow Monster King fleeing clearly at extreme speed, like a rainbow flying into the distance. But then, with only the strength of the Lord of ughter¡¯s legs, its massive body had actually leaped right in front of the Shadow Monster King. The Shadow Monster King was thus devoured without any chance to react.

    When Zu An first saw the Lord of ughter¡¯s alien dinosaur-like appearance, he''d thought that it wouldn¡¯t excel in speed. He''d thought that with its powerful body, it would mainly fight in closebat. Now, however, he immediately understood it. Its body was already so strong that it exceeded the domain of certain physicalws. It didn¡¯t need to rely on any movement skills to attack anymore.

    The Snow Lady quietly said to Zu An, ¡°I¡¯ll carry you, so let¡¯s leave this ce quickly.¡±

    Zu An replied with a bitter smile, ¡°If only there was a chance to leave.¡±

    Sure enough, the Lord of ughter''s massive eyes turned in their direction. It asked, ¡°It was the two of you who fought against the Shadow Monster King just now, am I right?¡±

    ¡°Yes. The enemy of an enemy is a friend. Is your respected self the Lord of ughter? I am Zu An, and this is the Snow Lady,¡± Zu An said with a big smile. Inwardly, however, he was quickly trying to think of ways of dealing with this situation.

    The Snow Lady had a strange expression.

    <i>This guy really knows how to suck up. You can even be friends with something like that?</i>

    ¡°The enemy of your enemy is your friend?¡± the Lord of ughter repeated, chuckling. ¡°What an amusing line. To be honest, I should be thanking the two of you for weakening the Shadow Monster King.¡±

    ¡°There''s no need for thanks. It¡¯s enough as long as we just return to doing our own thing,¡± Zu An said. He then asked to test the waters, ¡°What does your respected self n to do now? Are you nning to return to your original world to seize your lost throne?¡±

    ¡°Of course I need to go back," the Lord of ughter said.

    Zu An sighed in relief when he heard its words, and yet what he heard next covered his body in goosebumps. The Lord of ughter continued, ¡°Even so, I first have to have a proper meal in this world before going back. It¡¯s already been far, far too long since I¡¯ve eaten anything. Has it been a few thousand years, or tens of thousands of years...¡±

    Zu An asked sullenly, ¡°May I ask what your respected self wishes to eat? I still have some pull in this world, so I can prepare all sorts of plentiful food for your respected self.¡±

    ¡°Living creatures, of course. Ah, I''m getting excited just imagining the fountains of blood,¡± the Lord of ughter said, looking extremely moved. ¡°But I feel like you might not be able to bear that much of a burden.¡±

    ¡°How many do you need?¡± Zu An asked. As soon as he heard that it wanted living creatures, he immediately realized that there was no way the two of them could escape. He just wanted to stall for some time to recover a bit and think of countermeasures.

    ¡°How many do I want?¡± the Lord of ughter repeated, smiling cruelly before answering, ¡°All living creatures in this world, of course.¡±

    Zu An and the Snow Lady were speechless. Even though Zu An had already predicted something simr, he hadn¡¯t expected it to be this cruel.

    As if sensing the changes to the two individuals¡¯ emotions, a hint of mockery appeared in the Lord of ughter¡¯s eyes. It said, ¡°Even though I don¡¯t know how two weak beings like the two of you were able to injure the Shadow Monster King so badly, I can''t leave behind any dangers that can potentially threaten me.¡±

    As soon as it finished what it wanted to say, it instantly moved next to the two of them. Its teeth that could even crush immortal-grade weapons covered the skies, and a thick stench filled the air.

    The two had already prepared for battle, though. The Snow Lady turned into a snowstorm that carried Zu An to another location. At the same time, with a wave of her hand, endless icicles came out of their original location to impale the aggressor. However, those sharp icicles couldn''t leave behind even the smallest mark on the Lord of ughter¡¯s skin. They broke apart one after another.

    The Lord of ughter¡¯s thick tail swept out horizontally. Zu An and the Snow Lady reached out their hands to block at the same time, but the two were instantly sted a thousand meters away. Zu An coughed out several mouthfuls of blood. Ice and snow fell from the Snow Lady¡¯s entire body, and cracks even appeared on her skin. Fortunately, snowkes fluttered and the surface of her body quickly returned to its original state.

    As it looked at the two of them, the Lord of ughter grinned, taunting, ¡°Is that all you''ve got?¡±

    ¡°Be careful. The strength of its flesh seems to have already exceeded a certain limitm¡± Zu An hurriedly exined. Speaking optimistically, apart from its outer appearance looking a bit strange, the Lord of ughter was a purely physical fighter that had fully maxed out its defense, speed, and power.

    The Snow Lady grunted in agreement. Wind and snow spun in her hand, gradually forming a sword.

    When he saw the appearance of the sword, Zu An was stunned, thinking, <i>It seems a bit familiar...</i>

    However, he didn¡¯t have time to think about that in detail, because the Lord of ughter¡¯s attack arrived again. It was so fast that the Snow Lady didn¡¯t have time to bring Zu An away. Fortunately, Zu An had already recovered a bit. He pushed the Snow Lady away, crying out, ¡°We¡¯ll evade separately!¡±

    Then, he used his instant movement skill to teleport a hundred meters away. The Snow Lady turned into wind and snow.

    ¡°I hate you skill users the most.¡± The Lord of ughter harrumphed.

    After some hesitation, it chased after Zu An. After all, the Snow Lady was made of ice and snow. It had already been crushed by these snowy mountains for too long and really didn¡¯t want to spend a moment longer with anything that had to do with snow. Rather, it was more fond of fresh and living creatures like Zu An. The taste would definitely be exquisite.

    Soon after, Zu An¡¯s flickering figure quickly reappeared. Unfortunately, no matter how he tried to evade, the Lord of ughter always followed right behind like a relentless shadow. Zu An was incredibly rmed. The fact that this thing could catch up to his instant movement by relying purely on its speed was absolutely absurd.

    Meanwhile, the Snow Lady nervously tried to provide help, but the two were way too fast. She wasn¡¯t able to hit the enemy with her skills.

    On the other hand, Zu An was able to retaliate several times along the way, but the enemy seemed to have magic immunity. His various skills weren¡¯t able to do much at all. He couldn''t help but be a bit numb. How was he supposed to win against a powerful physical fighter who had magic immunity as well?

 Chapter 2077: Weapon of Deities

    <h4>Chapter 2077: Weapon of Deities</h4>

    Zu An, in particr, was seriously injured. It was now apletely one-sided battle, no matter how one looked at the situation. The one saving grace was that Zu An could use the Heaven Devouring Sutra to neutralize a certain degree of his opponent¡¯s shocking strength. Together with ¡®The Book¡¯, which warned him ahead of time, he was always able to avoid danger beforehand.

    Even so, he was still constantly in danger. The Lord of ughter was just too strong, and The Book¡¯s anticipation skill wasn¡¯t omnipotent. As aparison, if one were to y the Three Kingdoms Game as Zhuge Liang, even with the starsight skill that allowed its user to examine the tiles before ying them and even change the order of those tiles, the end result was still sometimes unavoidable.

    As the saying went: It is easy to know the will of heaven; it is hard to defy the will of heaven!

    Eventually, there was an instance where, after evading multiple times in quick session, Zu An wasn¡¯t able to dodge anymore. He was hit by one of the Lord of ughter¡¯s attacks, and his body mmed straight into the nearby mountain peak.

    <i>Boom!</i>

    Thendscape shook violently. Half of the majestic snowy mountain even copsed!

    The Lord of ughter was about to seize the moment and deliver a lethal blow when several roaring tornadoes suddenly appeared all around him. At first, they were rather small, but they quickly grewrger at a visible rate. All of the umted snow was swept up by the wind, covering the entire world in blinding white. At that moment, an ordinary person wouldn''t even be able to see a meter ahead of them!

    Zu An used the chance to crawl out of the deep crater his body had created from the impact. His clothes were in tatters, and there were three w marks across his chest, leaving a wound so deep his bones were visible. Even his pulsing heart was vaguely visible. His body was already as tough as that of a giant dragon, and yet he was left in such a state from a single w attack. It was easy to see just how strong the Lord of ughter was from that.

    However, Zu An couldn''t be bothered with his injuries. Instead, he quickly left his original location to avoid being attacked again. He looked at the endless snowstorm going on all around him, realizing that he had lost track of the Lord of ughter¡¯s whereabouts. He frowned.

    <i>Why is the world suddenly changing like this?</i>

    He quickly expanded his divine sense to investigate the area around him, but the wind and snow seemed to be a great hindrance to his divine sense, causing its scope to bergely reduced. He was used to having a ¡®panoramic map¡¯ that covered everything around him, so he felt as if he had suddenly gone blind. He was extremely shocked and wondered if the Lord of ughter was also affected. If it wasn¡¯t affected, wouldn¡¯t he be just like a sheep awaiting ughter?

    Suddenly, he was greatly rmed, as a sharp w tore through the wind and snow to grab at his back. He was just about to evade when a whirlwind of snow wrapped around him and took him several kilometers away.

    ¡°Leave this ce to me. You should just focus on resting,¡± said a voice. The wind and snow that blew over Zu An seemed to take on the Snow Lady¡¯s cold and pure appearance.

    Zu An sighed in relief. So this was something she had created! He didn¡¯t refuse and try to push himself at such a critical juncture. The Great Snowy Mountains were the Snow Lady¡¯s home field. Only something like this could live up to the experience he''d had in the past, back when he and Yan Xuehen were being chased. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    He sat down on the ground right where he was and quickly tossed several medicines into his mouth, including some that Ji Xiaoxi had given him when he left the capital and ones he had received from Yu Yanluo a few days ago. The Second Empress had also shoved a few into his pockets. In this world, all of them were considered medicine of the highest quality. Unfortunately, he was still suffering from the rebound of using Keyboard Come. Even though these medicines were useful to some degree, the time it took for them to take effect was too slow. Perhaps he would see their healing effect if he rested for half a month or so, but how could he possibly wait that long right now?

    After some hesitation, he took out a porcin bottle. He poured all of the liquid it contained, which was overflowing with natural ki, straight into his mouth. This was the Feather Mountain spiritual springwater he had obtained from the Fiend races¡¯ Imperial Tomb. It was rumored to even be able to revive the dead and restore flesh to white bones. It had already been used several times, and this was thest bit. Once it was used up, there would be no more.

    When he thought of that, he suddenly realized something. In the end, he decided to leave a bit left in the bottom.

    Shortly after, he groaned, and blood poured out from all the cracks on his body. After all, he''d eaten things that were all among the best medicines in the world. All of them had incredible healing effects. If anyone else had tried to consume them all at once, thebination of those medicines could very well have be a fatal toxin. Only someone like Zu An, who had a powerful body that had been refined several times over, could hold on and not die.

    He then did his best to use his primordial ki to heal his internal injuries. Faint white light surrounded his entire body. Fortunately, the wind and snow all around him were also white in color. Otherwise, he would have been a bit worried that he would be bringing too much attention to himself.

    A whileter, the wound in his chest also began to move, healing at a visible rate. The fine bits of blood that had seeped out from his body because of the rebound from Keyboard Come were also gradually absorbed back into his wounds. At the same time, the cracks covering his body also started slowly healing.

    Roughly an incense stick''s worth of timeter, Zu An opened his eyes. Even though he hadn¡¯tpletely recovered from his injuries yet, he was sixty to seventy percent there. He already had some strength to fight with. More importantly, however, the Snow Lady couldn''t hold on for much longer. He could already hear her muffled groans due to her injuries.

    The Lord of ughter¡¯s recklessughter echoed from within the wind and snow. ¡°Hahah, I¡¯ve caught you!¡±

    With a loud noise, the wind and snow suddenly scattered. The Snow Lady fell onto the mountain. She clutched her shoulder with an expression of pain. Her left arm was gone! Judging from the scar left behind, it was obvious that the Lord of ughter had bitten it off. Just what kind of secret method had it used to be able to rip it off her body?

    The Snow Lady¡¯s entire body was suddenly surrounded by snowy mist. Soon after, a brand new arm appeared. Even though her face was really white to begin with, it now looked even paler. It was obvious that she was seriously injured. After regenerating her arm, she was also nearing her limit.

    The Lord of ughter spat out arge pile of snow off to the side, grumbling, ¡°I hate things rted to snow the most.¡±

    Anyone who had been crushed under snowy mountains as long as it had would probably hate snow this much too, after all.

    ¡°Even though it doesn¡¯t taste good, it¡¯s still better to kill you,¡± the Lord of ughter continued as a cruel smile appeared in its eyes. It prepared to pounce over andpletely kill the Snow Lady.

    Suddenly, a figure darted forth from one side, stabbing a pitch-ck dagger at its eye. It waspletely horrified.

    <i>Why didn¡¯t I sense his presence at all? And he didn¡¯t even emit the slightest bit of killing intent before he attacked! Otherwise, there¡¯s no way I wouldn¡¯t have detected this attack at all!</i>

    It turned out Zu An had borrowed the instant the wind and snow scattered to teleport to the Lord of ughter¡¯s side. He used the Unshakable Daoist Manual to hide all of his killing intent, then used the Star Shattering Imprint to increase his power tenfold. Just in case, he used the Poisonous Prick, which was most suitable for surprise attacks. It could kill as long as it wounded its opponent!

    He even ounted for the possibility that its skin¡¯s defensive power could be too strong and that the Poisonous Prick wouldn''t necessarily be able to pierce through, which was why he chose to attack the eye. Even if its skin was invulnerable, its eyes wouldn¡¯t be that tough, right?

    The Lord of ughter really was strong. Even against such a perfect ambush, it was still able to immediately evade to the side at thest minute. At the very least, it managed to avoid being stabbed in the eye. But how could Zu An¡¯s full powered attack be avoided that easily? In the end, its cheek was still cut by the dagger, leaving a several-inch-long cut. Viscous green blood spilled out.

    <i>Boom!</i>

    The enemy¡¯s thick tail smashed into Zu An¡¯s chest, sending him almost a kilometer away! He felt as if every single bone in his body was on the verge of breaking. And yet, he couldn''t hide the smile on his face.

    <i>This guy was hit by the Poisonous Prick! It¡¯s not a creature of death either...</i>

    Sure enough, streak after streak of ck profound runes appeared around the Lord of ughter¡¯s wound. They quickly extended across its body. However, when they reached halfway across its body, they suddenly stopped. Then, with a crack, the ck runes actually shattered!

    Zu An waspletely stupefied. After all, the Poisonous Prick was one of his greatest trump cards. He had managed to make aeback through the harshest of situations precisely through relying on it. Unless the enemy was already deceased, it had never failed before. Why was it failing now?

    ¡°A trifling dagger actually holds the reaper¡¯s curse?¡± the Lord of ughter eximed as it looked at the pitch-ck dagger in Zu An¡¯s hands. Its eyes narrowed.

    ¡°Why are you still fine?!¡± Zu An couldn''t hold himself back from asking.

    ¡°I forgot to tell you that I am the most perfect weapon created by the deities. Nows can affect me,¡± the Lord of ughter said, sounding rather proud of itself. It loved destroying its opponent¡¯s confidence like this and watching as its prey fell into absolute despair.

 Chapter 2078: Reunion

    <h4>Chapter 2078: Reunion</h4>

    Zu An was stunned. He noticed something that the creature had just said, though.

    <i>Weapon of the deities? Shouldn¡¯t normal weapons be like swords and spears? This thing is like a freaking t-rex, how does it resemble a weapon at all?</i>

    <i>And what are these deities?</i>

    After what had happened in the Fiend races¡¯ imperial tomb secret dungeon, he had some exposure to the celestial court and the ancient era¡¯s legendary immortals. He knew that there really were deities in the world. Still, he wondered if the deities this Lord of ughter spoke of were the same as the deities of the celestial court that he''d seen.

    ¡°If you aren¡¯t affected by any magicalws, how were you sealed underneath this snowy mountain in the past?¡± Zu An asked in frustration. If it really wasn¡¯t affected by the differentws, that would really be hard to deal with. Many of his skills were actually just made up of various magicalws, and those were the skills that he relied on to defeat those stronger than himself. But now, they were allpletely ineffective against this enemy. That was why he had to find out just how powerful this immunity was.

    ¡°Hmph, what else could it be? I was fooled by a crafty bastard...¡± The Lord of ughter gritted its teeth in anger as it spoke. ¡°Now that I¡¯m looking at you again, that bastard looked a bit simr to you. In that case, I¡¯ll just take out my resentment on you!¡± After saying that, it charged straight at Zu An.

    Zu An quickly raised his sword to protect himself. His body was actually extremely tough, but now that he was injured, he really couldn''t withstand its ferocious attacks. Helpless to do anything else, he could only rely on his instant movement skill from time to time.

    However, the Lord of ughter seemed like an absolute fighting machine. After fighting for a while, it gradually became ustomed to his skills. After Zu An teleported twice and reappeared in the sky, it was actually already waiting for him at his final location ahead of time. It opened its bloody mouth and chomped down in his direction.

    At that moment, Zu An¡¯s skill was on its ¡®cooldown¡¯ period. In reality, under the cooldown reduction effects of Mo Xi¡¯s skills, it was already extremely short. Ordinary people wouldn¡¯t be able to even notice that it existed, but the Lord of ughter was a fighting genius. Not only did it urately seize upon that point, it even predicted where Zu An would dodge.

    It was already toote for Zu An to use his skill to dodge. As he felt the threat of death approach, he looked dejected. He decisively shed with his sword at the monster¡¯s mouth in an attempt to take it down with him.

    Suddenly, a brightntern appeared in the sky. Its yellow light covered the Lord of ughter. Then, someone let out a light scoff, and a wall of light suddenly appeared in front of Zu An. It was the light element''s ultimate defensive skill, the Wall of Sighs! And naturally, thentern was the Empress Lantern!

    The Lord of ughter¡¯s movements became sluggish for the slightest of moments. The next moment, a wshed out toward the sky. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    <i>Boom!</i>

    The Empress Lantern exploded into pieces, and the yellow light also quickly vanished. At the same time, the Lord of ughter''s head mmed into the Wall of Sighs. The most powerful defense of the light element actually couldn''t evenst for a single second before shattering into pieces.

    Even so, that bit of time was already enough for Zu An to catch his breath. He was able to increase the distance again. Then, he looked at the stunning and graceful youngdy standing in the distance, eximing, ¡°Honglei!¡±

    The woman was dressed in a brilliant red overcoat that made her even more captivating. Who else could it be but Qiu Honglei? Thest time they''d seen each other was at the Lake of Hatred. He had never expected to meet her again here, and for her to save him, no less!

    As she looked at him, Qiu Honglei frowned. Then, her gaze shifted to the Empress Lantern in the sky that was now in pieces, and an absent-minded expression appeared on her face. This was an artifact that her master had given her. Even though it wasn¡¯t the original, it had been made through the collective wisdom and craftsmanship of several generations of the Devil Sect¡¯s elites. It had roughly eighty percent of the original¡¯s power. Thisntern had apanied her for too many years already, staying at her side through countless dangers. It had helped her win against countless powerful enemies, and yet she''d never expected it to be destroyed here.

    While she was feeling absent-minded, a foul stench swept toward her. The Lord of ughter had finally exploited Zu An¡¯s opening and was about to kill him, and yet it was all ruined because of this woman. It wouldn¡¯t be so easy to create such a chance again, because Zu An was like a slippery loach that was incredibly hard to catch. It was furious that the woman had ruined its ns. In that case, since it couldn''t catch Zu An, it would take its anger out on her first.

    Qiu Honglei had been to the daoist secret dungeon, so she had seen all kinds of powerful beings. Her reactions to situations and her mental state were already entirely different from the past. Dazzling white light instantly appeared in front of her. It was the light element skill, Blinding Radiance! At the same time, she created another Wall of Sighs in front of her. She also took out a pair of curved des to use her most powerful skill, ¡®Neb Rend¡¯. It was as if a starry cosmos appeared in front of her.

    If Yun Jianyue were here, she would definitely be extremely gratified, because Qiu Honglei¡¯s cultivation was now much more powerful than before. Apart from Chu Chuyan, there was probably no one else among the daoists¡¯ younger generation who could face her anymore.

    Unfortunately, the enemy she was facing right now was far beyond her imagination. The terrifying Neb Rend clearly hit the Lord of ughter¡¯s head; normally, the enemy would have their body quickly shredded up by the chaotic spatial power. However, her attack actually scattered just from a brute force collision! On top of that, in its eyes, even the Wall of Sighs was no different from a sheet of paper.

    Only the blinding white light seemed to have some effect on the Lord of ughter. It reflexively closed its eyes, and its body froze up a bit. After being crushed under a mountain peak for countless years, it was already unused to bright light.

    Using that moment when it was caught off guard, Zu An picked up Qiu Honglei and left this ce. He initially wanted to use the chance to kill the Lord of ughter, but there wasn¡¯t enough time for him to do considerable damage at all. Rather, both of them could lose their lives instead.

    When it saw that it had lost sight of its target, the Lord of ughter roared furiously a few times. It was about to chase after them when the Snow Lady blocked it with a sword, buying some time for Zu An and Qiu Honglei.

    ¡°Why are you here?¡± Zu An asked while observing the battle.

    ¡°I was out for a random stroll. How could I have known that I would even run into you here?¡± Qiu Honglei harrumphed, but her body was no longer as rigid as before.

    She had beenpletely stupefied when she inadvertently saw Zu An and her master doing the deed. On one side was her most beloved lover, while the other side was her most beloved master!

    She was an orphan who had been raised by Yun Jianyue alone. Even though her master had been harsh on her, the love and care Yun Jianyue showed her was clear. The two were master and disciple in name, but she had already begun treating her master as family a long time ago. That was why she had been so shocked to see that scene.

    Thus, she had fled the scene, feelingpletely disheartened. Her only thought had been to leave the two of them as far behind as possible. Eventually, she unknowingly ended up in the dangerous Great Snowy Mountains. Only in a ce as deste and uninhabited as this would neither the human and fiend regent nor the Devil Sect Master find her.

    At first, she felt awful, but as she spent her time in this solitary world of ice and snow, her mind gradually calmed down. Since ''that'' had already happened, it just had to be dealt with. In the end, she''d decided to help her master and Ah Zu. After all, in her eyes, her master was just too unfortunate. Even though everyone else feared Yun Jianyue and thought that she was a murderous demon, only a disciple like Qiu Honglei knew just how lonely her master was. s, because of the whims of fate, Yun Jianyue had been forced to be alone all these years.

    Qiu Honglei had previously had thoughts of ying matchmaker for her master, but every single attempt had failed and she''d even ended up angering her master, receiving a nasty beating as a result. As a result, she eventually came to understand that her master¡¯s standards were incredibly high, such that there was no man in this world that could reach them.

    She''d thought that her master would live out the rest of her life alone, but now, there was a man that Yun Jianyue actually found favorable. That should have been something incredibly blissful! The only sad part was that the man was also Qiu Honglei''s own lover...

    After thinking back to the kindness her master had shown her all these years, she''d made the decision to back out. However, when she thought about her lover, she still felt incredibly heartbroken. She''d made the choice to live out her pitiful life alone on this snowy mountain. But who would have thought that she would suddenly sense such an intense battle today? The st waves had even made her feel rmed and horrified. How could there be something this powerful in this world?

    She''d instinctively wanted to leave, but then she sensed that the battle¡¯s energy was a bit familiar, and something about it really resembled Ah Zu¡¯s aura. Even though she hadn''t expected such a great coincidence as Ah Zu being here, she still couldn''t suppress her curiosity and went over to investigate. As it turned out, she really did her sweetheart, and even helped him out!

    ¡°How did you end up provoking such a terrifying monster?!¡± Qiu Honglei eximed. Even though she couldn''t help but recall the despicable thing Zu An had done with her master when she saw him and really wanted to stab him a few times, she couldn''t be bothered with that right now, since they were facing such a great enemy.

    ¡°It¡¯s a long story. We might really end up dying together as sweethearts this time,¡± Zu An said with a bitter smile. Qiu Honglei¡¯s cultivation was way too low to be of any help. She had already overperformed just now, and yet it didn¡¯t do much to change the greater situation. She couldn''t even run away. After all, no matter how long she ran for, the Lord of ughter would still be able to easily catch up.

    ¡°Hmph, who wants to die as sweethearts with you? You can go and find master to do that with you.¡± Qiu Honglei harrumphed.

    Before Zu An could even reply, the Snow Lady snapped icily, ¡°Are you two finished yet? I¡¯m about to die fighting over here!¡±

 Chapter 2079: Follow in Death

    <h4>Chapter 2079: Follow in Death</h4>

    Qiu Honglei blushed. She pushed Zu An away and gave the Snow Lady a curious look. At the same time, she was shocked by the Snow Lady''s beautiful appearance. She had never expected a person made of snow to be this beautiful.

    But why had the Snow Lady sounded a bit jealous just then? Could it be that there was something between her and Ah Zu? Qiu Honglei¡¯s expression became extremely strange.

    <i>There¡¯s no way, right? Just how long has it been since Zu An and I separated, and yet he''s already be close with another woman? And can she even be considered a person?</i>

    <i>Ah Zu¡¯s tastes are always so weird. He¡¯s a hundred percent trash!</i>

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Qiu Honglei for +311 +311 +311...</strong>

    ...

    Zu An, who was fighting earnestly on the front lines, couldn''t help but feel baffled.

    <i>Why is she angry? Is it because of the affairs involving her master or because I''m fighting together with the Snow Lady?</i>

    However, when faced with the Lord of ughter¡¯s attacks, he didn¡¯t have a chance to think carefully. As he grabbed the Snow Lady and avoided an attack that would have definitely killed him, he took out a drop of murky liquid from the Brilliant ss Bead with a grave expression. It was the spoils of war he had obtained from the War Priest, the Naihe Oblivion Water! It couldpletely erase the memories and will of any creature it touched, almost like reformatting a hard drive. It would turn someone into an idiot who knew absolutely nothing. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Even though he hadn¡¯tpletely refined it for himself yet, he could now use Blue Mard¡¯s ability to just barely control it. Thus, the murky yellow droplet in the air began to squirm. As it flew into the air, it slowly elongated into a strand. The higher it flew, therger that strand became. Eventually, it turned into a river that swept at the Lord of ughter.

    Zu An¡¯s timing was excellent; he unleashed it at the perfect time as it charged over, making it impossible for the Lord of ughter to dodge. Soon after, the monster waspletely submerged.

    ¡°Naihe Oblivion Water?¡± the Lord of ughter eximed in surprise. It clearly recognized the origins of this water.

    ...

    In the distance, Qiu Honglei was a bit worried. It didn¡¯t look as if the Lord of ughter was affected much by the Naihe Oblivion Water.

    As expected, half of its body emerged from the water. It roared withughter and eximed, ¡°How can you be so stupid? I already told you that these kinds ofws couldn''t affect me!¡±

    The Naihe Oblivion Water¡¯s effects belonged to a certain high-level magicalw.

    However, the Lord of ughter¡¯sughter suddenly came to a halt, and it let out a bitter scream. In that moment, Zu An had leaped out from the Naihe Oblivion Water while surrounded by a bubble. In his hand was a hook weapon that stabbed into its mouth. The Lord of ughter rolled back and forth on the ground as if it had gone mad, leaving behind a huge mess. A nearby mountain was even smashed in half by its swinging tail.

    ¡°What the hell did you prick me with?! It hurts like hell!¡± it screamed as it clutched its mouth, seeming about to break out into tears. Its entire mouth was swollen like Crayon Shin-chan''s face.

    Zu An dangled a scorpion tail in his hands. A smile finally appeared on his face. Naturally, he''d known that the Naihe Oblivion Water¡¯s magicalws wouldn¡¯t be able to take down the Lord of ughter. His grandiose attack was just a smokescreen, all to catch it off guard when it was feeling overconfident.

    The Scorpion King¡¯s tail contained an extreme toxin that wasn¡¯t derived from the power of magicalws. Sure enough, it was effective! Back then, even he had felt a bit of fear toward this scorpion tail despite his poison immunity. Its poison was clearly top-notch across the various worlds. He just didn¡¯t know if it could poison the Lord of ughter to death.

    Just then, the Lord of ughter suddenly grabbed its mouth, then wed out a deep wound on the surface. Green blood flowed out, mixed with a significant amount of ck that clearly indicated poisoned blood. When the bloodnded on the snowy ground, arge amount of snow quickly turned ck. The ground was also corroded by the ck blood, creatingrge holes.

    ¡°So it was the Scorpion King¡¯s poison,¡± the Lord of ughter said as it looked at the hook in Zu An¡¯s hand. ¡°That poison might be effective against other powerful beings, but my blood also carries powerful corrosive properties, so poisons aren¡¯t too effective against me.¡±

    As it spoke, the wound around its mouth stopped swelling, andpletely green blood came out from the injury with no sign of poisoning left. Still, the pain it had felt in the beginning was still real. It had actually suffered this much because of a weak human! That was absolutely intolerable!

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled the Lord of ughter for +998 +998 +998...</strong>

    Zu An felt a chill run through his entire body. He hadn¡¯t expected even that to fail. To be honest, this Lord of ughter hadn¡¯t given him as much pressure as the earlier Shadow Monster King at first, seeming a bit easier to defeat. But when they really fought, he''d found out that between its immunities to magicalws, and now its blood''s ability to neutralize even such an extreme poison, it really had no weaknesses! No wonder it was called the perfect machine of ughter.

    The Lord of ughter didn''t give him any time to think. It was already furious from falling for Zu An¡¯s tricks. At that moment, it frantically charged at them. It only had a single thought, which was that only by ripping these bastards into pieces would it be able to vent out its resentment!

    In Zu An¡¯s hand, the Tai¡¯e Sword shone brilliantly. He was about to sh with the Lord of ughter directly when he found that the enemy suddenly disappeared. The next second, it appeared in front of Qiu Honglei. Under her shocked expression, it bit down.

    The monster had an innate heart of ughter, after all. Even though it was furious, it still understood who the weak link was here. That was why it went straight after Qiu Honglei. Even though Qiu Honglei did her best to defend and retaliate, the difference between their strength was too much. There was only death waiting for her.

    It was already toote for Zu An to head over. He quickly used the position exchange skill to swap positions with Qiu Honglei. Thus, he faced the Lord of ughter¡¯s full-powered attack himself.

    ¡°I already expected that you woulde back!¡± the Lord of ughter remarked, smiling nastily.

    <i>This human really is hard to catch, darting about like a pest. But if he has to save someone, he can only defend himself passively!</i>

    <i>Boom!</i>

    The sh from the two sides made everything within a thousand miles tremble. Snow scattered all throughout the air. Amid the expanse of snow, there was a huge explosion of blood!

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡± Qiu Honglei cried, panicking. The monster¡¯s blood wasn¡¯t red, so the one who had been hurt was clearly Zu An. She could no longer think of her jealousy over the previous affair. She only had one thought in her head. As long as Ah Zu was safe, nothing else mattered.

    The wind and snow gradually scattered. Zu An¡¯s sword was stabbed into the snow. His body was covered in horrifying wounds, and he was tottering. He had clearly suffered bitterly from that attack.

    The Lord of ughter slowly walked out from the wind and snow, pressing closer and closer to him. It said tauntingly, ¡°Keep running! Why aren¡¯t you running anymore?¡±

    Zu An had a grave expression. Even if he used his instant movement skill, he probably wouldn¡¯tst much longer. On top of that, if it attacked Qiu Honglei again, he would have to save her again, so his mobility advantage was already meaningless.

    ¡°Ah Zu, it¡¯s all my fault for being a burden,¡± Qiu Honglei said; she could naturally tell what was going on. A hint of decisiveness appeared on her face. Her curved de moved over to her neck as she decided to end her own life to get rid of her lover¡¯s burden.

    When he saw that, Zu An was horrified. In his current condition, he couldn''t stop her at all.

    Fortunately, an icicle knocked Qiu Honglei¡¯s curved de away. The Snow Lady quickly arrived at her side and looked at her coldly, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t do something so stupid.¡±

    ¡°But I...¡± Qiu Honglei murmured as her eyes turned red. She hadn''t been any help right now, and had only put her lover in more danger.

    ¡°Who says you weren''t of any help? If you hadn¡¯te in time, I might have already died. You already saved my life, and yet you¡¯re still saying you haven''t helped,¡± Zu An said with a smile.

    Qiu Honglei bit her lip tightly.

    <i>Ah Zu is still so kind. He¡¯s stillforting me even now.</i>

    If she had known it was going to be like this, she wouldn¡¯t have left out of anger. She could have just spent this time together with him happily, unlike right now, where this meeting could be thest one they ever had. Her expression suddenly became resolute. She wouldn¡¯t leave him anymore. If he died, she would just end her own life to follow after him. She couldn''t let him pass on into the afterlife alone.

    ¡°Tsk tsk, look at these two stupid lovers. It¡¯s such a pity that I love shattering these beautiful scenes the most,¡± the Lord of ughter said with a proud expression. It clearly found ruining these kinds of things really enjoyable.

    Zu An¡¯s expression became serious. He raised his sword again. There was nothing else he could do right now...

 Chapter 2080: Shop 58

    <h4>Chapter 2080: Shop 58</h4>

    There was no other choice than to use Keyboard Come. Even though Zu An knew that the consequences were probably beyond what he could handle, everyone here would die if this continued, and the entire world would even fall to enemy hands.

    Suddenly, Mi Li quickly said, ¡°Stop! If you use Keyboard Come now, you''ll definitely die.¡±

    Zu An had a sorrowful smile as he replied, ¡°There will always be some people who still make the same decision despite knowing the consequences.¡±

    When she heard the decisiveness in his voice, Mi Li knew that he was now really prepared for death. She couldn''t help but panic, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t fret yet! There¡¯s still another way. I¡¯ll teach you something.¡±

    ¡°What way?¡± Zu An asked, stunned. He had never expected Mi Li to tell him such a thing. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you wouldn¡¯t interfere for the sake of my growth?¡±

    Mi Li said impatiently, ¡°That¡¯s because you still had a chance of survival back then, but you just didn¡¯t realize it yet. I can''t even see how you could possibly make it out of this situation, so of course I can¡¯t just keep watching anymore!¡±

    The two of them shared a contract of souls. Neither of them wanted the other to die.

    ¡°Alright, enough of that nonsense. Remember these incantations...¡± Mi Li quickly shared some incantations with him. ¡°This is the skill I believe to be the most suitable for you right now. Even though you''ll have to pay a bit of a price, it''s within the scope of what you can endure. At the very least, it¡¯s much better than that Keyboard Come of yours.¡±

    Zu An had aplicated expression as he asked, ¡°Are you really the empress of Qin Shihuang?¡±

    This kind of skill was something that was extremely profound even for his current self. He had faced Qin Shihuang¡¯s soul fragment in the past. Even though the emperor was strong, it was definitely not at her level.

    ¡°You still have the energy to worry about something like that?¡± Mi Li sneered.

    In that time, the Snow Lady had actually protected Qiu Honglei from the Lord of ughter¡¯s continuous attacks. However, judging from how dangerous the situation looked, it seemed as if they could perish at any time.

    Zu An¡¯s expression grew serious. He quickly gathered his thoughts, then chanted the incantations and formed the seals ording to Mi Li¡¯s instructions. Profound formations immediately appeared all around him, and the entire world seemed to begin resonating with something. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The Lord of ughter sensed what was happening. It had already been schemed against by this brat several times, and the things it suffered were still fresh in its memory. It was worried that he was up to something else again and didn¡¯t dare to let him carry his ns out fully. It quickly abandoned the two women and ran in his direction.

    ¡°Hurry and stop it! We need to buy Ah Zu time!¡± the Snow Lady cried, turning serious as she brandished the sword in her hand. The ground itself overturned, and countless icicles appeared on its surface as it crashed down on the Lord of ughter.

    The Lord of ughter waved its ws and tore the wall of icicles in its way to pieces. But a secondter, even more ice and snow tried to imprison it. It couldn''t help but feel a bit annoyed.

    <i>Why is this Snow Lady suddenly much stronger than before?</i>

    Qiu Honglei also reacted to the situation. She quickly used all sorts of light element skills. She knew that the gap in strength between the Lord of ughter and herself was far too great, so she didn¡¯t choose to use skills that were heavy in attack power; rather, she switched to support skills instead. This change in strategy proved to be surprisingly effective. When she cooperated with the Snow Lady, they were actually able to temporarily stop the Lord of ughter.

    Even so, there was something that she was confused about. Why had the Snow Lady also called him Ah Zu? Furthermore, judging from her tone, it sounded as if they were really close.

    ...

    Using the time the two of them bought for him, Zu An finallypleted his technique. The sharp and clear peal of a bell suddenly rang out.

    Immediately after, the skies split open. A pawn shop-like building appeared. It had a tall sales counter with vertical bar railings covering the surface. A shopkeeper dressed in a swallow-tailed coat was standing behind the counter with a big smile and a bell in hand. The sound had clearlye from this ce.

    Zu An had a strange expression. This pawn shop was clearly Chinese-style, and yet the shopkeeper was dressed like a western butler. It really was a weirdbination.

    ¡°World Shop 58, wholeheartedly at your service. My name is Paul; how may I be of assistance today?¡± the shopkeeper said in greeting, showing Zu An a respectful smile.

    ¡°Shop 58?¡± the Lord of ughter repeated, stunned. It seemed to have recalled a certain rumor. It could no longer remain calm anymore.

    Zu An looked at the golden letters ¡®Shop 58¡¯ written on the pirs. When he then thought about the shopkeeper¡¯s name, he thought to himself, <i>Do these different worlds also watch the NBA?</i>

    He quickly collected his thoughts. He pointed at the Lord of ughter and said, ¡°I want your help in getting rid of that creature.¡±

    The swallow-coated shopkeeper named Paul sized up the Lord of ughter. There was a bit of surprise in his eyes as he eximed, ¡°Hm? It¡¯s actually a weapon made by the deities in the past! This is a bit tricky indeed. However, as long as you can pay a sufficient price, we are willing to help.¡±

    The Lord of ughter¡¯s expression finally changed. It roared, ¡°Kid, if you have the skills, then fight me directly! How can you be proud if you win by cheating?!¡±

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled the Lord of ughter for +666 +666 +666...</strong>

    At the same time, it looked toward the shopkeeper and asked, ¡°I share no grudges with you, so why are you making me your enemy?¡±

    Shopkeeper Paul smiled and said, ¡°We are merely a shop doing business. There¡¯s no reason for us to refuse our customers.¡±

    The Lord of ughter¡¯s eyes moved around as it said, ¡°Then I¡¯ll do business with you! That punk is so weak and I''m so much stronger. The stuff I can bring out is definitely worth more!¡±

    Shopkeeper Paul shook his head, replying, ¡°Business has to be done one at a time. He was the one who summoned me, so of course I need to take his business first. Once this business is finished, I will then receive your respected self¡¯s business.¡±

    The Lord of ughter was speechless.

    <i>I might already be dead once you finish your business! How would I still be able to do any business?</i>

    It decided to make the first move as a disy of strength, so it ran straight at the shopkeeper. It was used to being the stronger one wherever it went, so it naturally had its pride. Even though it had heard some legends surrounding Shopkeeper Number 58, they could just be false rumors. It refused to believe that a trifling shopkeeper could really be that strong. As long as it could shatter this space, Shopkeeper 58 would naturally disappear.

    Its massive body instantly smashed into the small pawn shop floating in midair. The pawn shop was the most simple and crude sort from the ancient past, with chairs and even railings made of wood. It looked as if anyone reasonably strong could easily break the furniture. No matter which angle one looked at it from, the Lord of ughter should have been able to easily smash apart this shop and rip anyone inside to pieces. After all, even the towering snowy mountains had easily copsed under its strength.

    And yet, astonishingly, there was only a loud noise. The Lord of ughter smashed into the wooden railings, and it was sent flying right back! The impact left it on the ground with its four legs facing the sky. Those weak-looking railings didn¡¯t budge in the slightest!

    The Snow Lady and Qiu Honglei were both happy to see that. After all, this was something Ah Zu had summoned, so the stronger the shopkeeper was, the better, of course.

    The Lord of ughter quickly struggled to its feet. It roared in anger and charged at the shopkeeper again. When had it ever been humiliated like this in all its years?

    Suddenly, Shopkeeper Paul reached out of the window with a gun in hand, aiming it at the Lord of ughter. The Lord of ughter instantly froze. Its entire body was taut, and there was nervousness in its eyes.

    Zu An¡¯s eyeballs were about to pop out of their sockets! No matter how he looked at it, the shopkeeper¡¯s gun was like a 16th century European firearm from Earth! Its range was short, and its power was weak. It was far inferior to the advanced weapons of the modern age. Yet it was precisely this ancient gun that made the Lord of ughter feel as if it was facing its greatest enemy?

    Shopkeeper Paul coldly said, ¡°Customer, please do not break the rules.¡±

    The Lord of ughter chuckled awkwardly and said, ¡°I was just joking just now; please don¡¯t take it seriously. Hahaha...¡±

    Zu An realized something. He quickly said, ¡°It attacked your shop just now. Don¡¯t tell me you aren¡¯t going to punish it at all?¡±

    The Lord of ughter gave Zu An a hateful look. This bastard was trying to screw it over!

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled the Lord of ughter for +444 +444 +444...</strong>

    Shopkeeper Paul replied with a smile, ¡°Shop 58 has never done business that has lost us money. Without proper payment, even if it really tore apart our shop, we wouldn¡¯t do anything to it. Of course,pensation would still need to be paid.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>This shopkeeper really is thorough...</i>

    ¡°Then can we finish the business we were trying to do earlier?¡± he asked. A moment before, he had still doubted the shopkeeper¡¯s ability, but after seeing what just happened, he now definitely had confidence in him.

    ¡°We can help you deal with the target, but you need to offer up something of equivalent value to us,¡± Shopkeeper Paul said, looking at Zu An politely.

    ¡°What do you need?¡± Zu An asked. For some reason, he just felt a bit scared from being looked at by those eyes. But when he remembered Mi Li saying that the price was still something he could handle, he felt more at ease.

    ¡°This Lord of ughter is really strong, so normal things might not be enough. How about this? I¡¯ll give you preferential treatment and only ask for your life. Also, I¡¯ll need your soul to serve as an apprentice in the shop for five hundred years,¡± Shopkeeper Paul continued; he still had his professional smile on his face, as if what he was saying was already a show of utmost sincerity.

    Zu An and the women werepletely speechless.

    Mi Li was the first to get angry. She borrowed Zu An¡¯s mouth to exim, ¡°What''s going on? Your prices were clearly not that high before!¡±

    She couldn''t show up herself, but since her will was the same as Zu An¡¯s, it was fine to borrow his mouth to speak too.

    Shopkeeper Paul gave Zu An a look of surprise and said, ¡°Your distinguished self seems to understand our shop quite well. That¡¯s right, the prices indeed didn¡¯t need to be so high in the past, but what can we do about intion? Pengpeng meat has increased so much in price recently.¡±

    A Pengpeng seemed to be a spirit beast simr to a warthog, known across the worlds. Its meat was especially tasty, making it a delicacy across the different worlds.

    Mi Li was a bit speechless, replying, ¡°Your Shop 58 doesn¡¯t even buy pengpeng meat!¡±

    ¡°But our boss likes it, and the price went up. For his sake, of course we can only increase the price.¡±

    Mi Li was speechless. Zu An was also a bit speechless. He hadn¡¯t expected to see situations so simr to the ones in his previous world all across the cosmos.

    ¡°Are you willing to pay the price? If not, then this business will end. Time is extremely precious for us," Shopkeeper Paul said, then raised his hand to look at his watch. He clearly cared a lot about time.

    Zu An was hesitating when the Snow Lady said, ¡°Can I pay the price you just spoke of?¡±

    Zu An panicked and was about to stop her when Shopkeeper Paul shook his head and said, ¡°You have a very pretty soul, but I do not care about female charms. It is still this young hero¡¯s soul that is worth a bit more.¡±

    The Snow Lady was speechless.

    Under the shopkeeper¡¯s urging, Zu An was struggling a bit. He could actually reach a simr effect through Keyboard Come, but his soul would then be destroyed. Meanwhile, if he carried out this transaction with the shopkeeper, at least his soul would be preserved and he would have his freedom again after five hundred years. He didn¡¯t know which one to pick.

    The Snow Lady then secretly asked Qiu Honglei, ¡°Are you willing to sacrifice your life to save Zu An?¡±

 Chapter 2081: Who Is Calling Me

    <h4>Chapter 2081: Who Is Calling Me</h4>

    Qiu Honglei was stunned when she heard the question. There were a thousand thoughts she wanted to say.

    <i>What is this woman doing? Of course I¡¯m willing to save Ah Zu, but why isn¡¯t she sacrificing herself and is making me do it instead?</i>

    <i>Don¡¯t tell me she wants to use this chance just to get rid of a love rival?</i>

    <i>She really is a bitch!</i>

    As someone who was raised in an environment like the Devil Sect, one of constant mutual deception, she was already used to seeing simr tricks. People clearly had selfish intentions, and yet made it sound as if they were justified and honorable. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    <i>Hmph, this woman normally looks pure and indifferent, but in the end, she''s no different from the rest of them.</i>

    <i>Look at her pretending to be some innocent white lotus, hmph!</i>

    With her normal personality, she would normally continue to smile and pretend as if she didn¡¯t know anything. Then, she would pull some small tricks to make the enemy suffer a double loss. But she was nowpletely discouraged. She couldn''t muster any thoughts of fighting back anymore.

    <i>Whatever. It doesn¡¯t matter anymore. I already nned to end my life on this snowy mountain. If I can even save Ah Zu, that¡¯s good too. I¡¯ll just let this bitch get away with her n.</i>

    Endless thoughts stormed through her mind, but in reality, only an instant passed. She reflexively nodded and said, ¡°Of course I¡¯m willing!¡±

    When she heard the reply, the Snow Lady¡¯s expression suddenly became a bitplicated.

    ...

    Meanwhile, Shopkeeper Paul was urging Zu An to hurry and make a decision. He also said that the more time passed, the higher a price Zu An would have to pay. After all, Shop 58 had always believed in the principle of ''time is money''.

    Zu An was about to make a decision when the Snow Lady stopped him, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t agree to his offer. I have a solution, trust me!¡±

    Zu An was puzzled. But when he saw her serious expression, he still nodded.

    The Snow Lady quickly said to Qiu Honglei through qi transmission, ¡°Don¡¯t you know that Dance Offering to the Universe? Perform that in a bit.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Qiu Honglei was confused why the other person knew about that skill, which she had just obtained from the daoist secret dungeon not too long ago. However, the issuey in the words that followed. She asked, ¡°I¡¯m not too familiar with that dance; can it really defeat an enemy of this level?¡±

    ¡°It can. It¡¯s just that the Dance Offering to the Universe you learned is still iplete...¡± the Snow Lady said, then sent a strand of wind and snow around Qiu Honglei, transmitting some information.

    Qiu Honglei immediately widened her eyes. She could sense that it was a higher level of Dance Offering to the Universe, but why did this woman know of it? Just who was she?

    She quickly learned the contents. Many things she previously hadn''t understood now made sense. She felt a sense of enlightenment, and couldn''t help but begin to dance. The wind wept as it swept through the world, mournful like the sobbing of countless women.

    In the distance, the Lord of ughter turned its head. It was a bit confused at what it was seeing.

    <i>Did this woman go mad? Why is she suddenly starting to dance?</i>

    <i>More importantly, why does ite with its own music?</i>

    Every single female voice sounded like a force of nature. The voices were absolutely enchanting, and they rxed the mind. But what was even more captivating was the stunning figure at the very center. Up until that point, none of those present had realized that a woman¡¯s figure could be this gentle and beautiful.

    In order to make it easier to dance, Qiu Honglei removed the overcoat around her body. She danced lightly and gracefully while wearing a light pink dress. Every movement looked as if it had been carefully carved by the heavens; she looked as if there was a gentle radiance shining behind her, revealing her sweet and graceful lines through her clothes. Her dance was beautiful and sacred. The snow in the sky even condensed into flowers of its own ord, blossoming near her. All of that seemed to coordinate with soft chants of those mysterious women.

    Qiu Honglei had be the sole main character of this world.

    Zu An was now both the regent of the humans and the fiends. He had seen countless dances from the best dancers. Butpared to this dance, they were nothing special at all. The only thing that could beparable was the Bewitching Dance that Yun Jianyue danced. However, that dance was full of allure, while this dance was filled with a holy air. He was suddenly stunned, remembering that Qiu Honglei seemed to have received a miraculous encounter in the daoist secret dungeon and learned the Dance Offering to the Universe. Could this be it?

    <i>But could this beautiful dance really do anything to the powerful Lord of ughter?</i>

    <i>Are you going to kill it with beauty?</i>

    Shopkeeper Paul looked up at the descending flowers. He looked a bit confused as he wondered, ¡°There is actually someone in this world who can trigger a resonance with the world to this extent?

    ¡°Wait, this dance...¡± he murmured as he suddenly thought of something. His expression suddenly changed. He quickly closed the door and looked as if he was going to run away.

    Zu An panicked, asking, ¡°Why are you leaving? You didn¡¯t even finish conducting business yet.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s all your fault for dillydallying! I¡¯m not doing it anymore!¡± Shopkeeper Paul replied, waving his hands.

    <i>You even have this level of skill, so what are you even calling me out for? Are you just making fun of me?</i>

    He was scared that he would be left behind here if he was too slow. The dazzling pawn shop quickly began to copse and shrink until it was just a line. Then, with a sh, it disappeared. There were only the falling flowers left. Shop 58 was nowhere to be seen.

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>What the hell is wrong is wrong with that guy?</i>

    The Lord of ughter was rmed as well. It was a powerful being itself, so it was able to gradually sense that some special changes were happening to this world. After connecting that to Shopkeeper Paul¡¯s frantic escape, it also realized that something wasn¡¯t right. It roared at Qiu Honglei, ¡°Stop dancing!¡±

    Then, it charged straight at her. When he saw that, Zu An was horrified and quickly stepped forward to stop it. If he let it get close to Qiu Honglei, it could just swallow her in a single gulp. However, his injuries were too serious. If he had to fight without evading and sh directly, he would be sent flying from the first collision. He watched as it charged at Qiu Honglei and was about to use his position swap skill to switch with her, but he didn¡¯t know if doing so would interrupt her dance.

    Suddenly, the Snow Lady appeared in front of Qiu Honglei. Her hands formed seals, and a giant snow-white lotus bloomed in the sky. It perfectly surrounded the Lord of ughter.

    The Lord of ughter that had been crashing around to and fro was now actually trapped by the white lotus. Ayer of frost appeared over its entire body, and it seemed to be frozen.

    ¡°Don¡¯t get any closer. Your current self can¡¯t handle it,¡± the Snow Lady hurriedly said, as if she was worried that Zu An could try to attack at that moment.

    Zu An felt as if he had been struck by lightning. He looked at her without moving, murmuring, ¡°The Pure World Icelotus? You''re... Chuyan?¡±

    That lotus was too familiar. He had been with Chuyan in the daoist secret dungeon and knew what she obtained from that experience. However,, he had never seen her use it.

    The Snow Lady looked at him with aplicated expression, replying, ¡°You finally recognize me?¡±

    Zu An shivered. He reflexively shook his head and eximed, ¡°No, that¡¯s impossible! Chuyan is cultivating in the White Jade Sect, so how could you possibly be her? Also, I even fought against you a long time ago. How could you be Chuyan?!¡±

    A hint of broken-heartedness appeared on the Snow Lady¡¯s face. She muttered, ¡°So I was still cultivating in seclusion at this time. If I think about the time, I¡¯ve likely already entered that ce...¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Zu An asked, feeling as if he was about to go mad. He reflexively looked at Qiu Honglei in the hopes that that she would give him a bit of confidence, but she continued that holy dance as if she had already forgotten about everything else in this world.

    The Snow Lady took a deep breath before saying, ¡°Long story short, I am Chuyan from a different timeline.¡±

    Zu An was stunned.

    Inside the Tai¡¯e Sword, Mi Li had a pensive expression.

    ¡°We will meet again in the very distant past. Many things happened between us, and I ended up like this,¡± the Snow Lady said, suddenly feeling a bit downcast. She asked, ¡°Am I really ugly now? I¡¯ve be a monster.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not ugly! You¡¯re extremely beautiful,¡± Zu An reflexively replied. But he quickly shook his head and said, ¡°That¡¯s not what¡¯s most important! What happened? Why did you be like this? And what do you mean by saying that we''ll meet again in the distant past?¡±

    The Snow Lady shook her head and said, ¡°There are many things I can''t tell you. You have to experience it for yourself. Otherwise, we''ll be killed by thews of time.¡±

    Zu An was startled. Many guesses appeared in his mind. He was about to say something when the lotus flower next to him split open with a loud noise. The Lord of ughter jumped out from within.

    ¡°What a powerful lotus flower. I was almost frozen into an ice statue inside!¡± the Lord of ughter eximed, still feelingsome lingering fears. ¡°Even so, your injuries are too severe and this lotus can''t disy its true strength. Let¡¯s see who can save you all now!¡±

    Just then, Qiu Honglei finally finished her dance. Her final move was to kneel down on the ground, as if she was praying to the heavens. The world suddenly became quiet. It was different from the Great Snowy Mountain¡¯s quiet; this was a kind of absolute silence. Even the powerful Lord of ughter didn¡¯t dare to speak. It could only look around in fear. In the end, its eyes shifted toward the sky.

    The clouds in the sky seemed to form a pair of eyes. Then, those eyes slowly opened. Everyone present felt a mysterious pressure that made their souls tremble. They all felt as if they were ants facing a great primordial beast. They couldn''t even muster the slightest intent to resist.

    Compared to Zu An, the Lord of ughter was in an even worse state. Perhaps because of its strength and its stronger spiritual senses, which made it feel things even more strongly, its entire body was shaking. In the end, it sprawled across the ground like a clump of noodles.

    ¡°Who... is calling me...¡± said a voice.

 Chapter 2082: Who Are You Prepared to Save?

    <h4>Chapter 2082: Who Are You Prepared to Save?</h4>

    It didn¡¯t seem to be a human voice, but rather more like the embodiment of the world¡¯s will. Some kind of supernatural being had descended upon this world.

    The insufferably arrogant Lord of ughter was lying on the ground and shaking all over. It looked incredibly rmed.

    <i>How could there be something this powerful? And it was summoned by a weak woman? This makes absolutely no sense!</i>

    Qiu Honglei looked up at the eyes in the sky. She bravely answered, ¡°It was I who summoned you.¡±

    Those eyes looked at Qiu Honglei for a long time, then the voice said, ¡°Hm... that¡¯s right. That dance was indeed quite stunning. It has already been a long time since I¡¯ve seen anyone dance such a perfect Dance Offering to the Universe. What do you wish to ask of me?¡±

    Qiu Honglei replied respectfully, ¡°A powerful monster that doesn¡¯t belong to our world has invaded, and we couldn''t eliminate it. I hope that your respected self can help us eliminate him and restore peace to this world.¡±

    When it heard those words, the Lord of ughter was immediately horrified.

    <i>This woman is truly vicious!</i>

    It couldn''t be bothered with exining and turned tail to run on the spot. It had only a single thought in its mind right now, which was to stay as far away from this terrifying being as possible. It was so fast, it moved like a bolt of lightning. It disappeared into a speck in the wind and snow in the blink of an eye.

    Qiu Honglei was worried. If it managed to run away this time, everyone would still be dead if they encountered it again in the future!

    The mysterious being said, ¡°Oh, so it was this little thing. But it indeed isn¡¯t something your world could handle.¡± n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    While the voice was speaking, the Lord of ughter suddenly appeared in front of the others. It was still running frantically with everything it had. They could see just how much effort it was making just from its bulging muscles. However, it didn¡¯t realize that even after running all this time, it had returned to its original location. From the perspective of Zu An and the others, it was running in ce, but it had no awareness of that at all.

    ¡°Just how is it doing this?¡± Zu An eximed in horror. The sight before him was a bit outside of his realm of understanding, and he hadn¡¯t even seen that mysterious being doing anything, and yet the Lord of ughter had already been dragged back here.

    Just then, something happened to the Lord of ughter¡¯s body. It was still running tirelessly, but the flesh on its body was already melting visibly. Zu An and the Snow Lady had attacked it countless times without even leaving a scratch. And yet now, some unknown power was actually making it melt like ice. The Lord of ughter¡¯s flesh soon melted awaypletely, leaving behind only a skeleton. It finally realized that something was off. It looked down at its body, then screamed. Then, its skeleton turned to ashes, and with a gust of wind, not even dregs remained.

    Zu An was speechless. He was incredibly shocked. He had felt that he was already quite strong, that he had a fighting chance even against these foreign monsters. Yet now, he realized that he was actually just a frog at the bottom of the well. So it turned out that the truly strong could reach this level!

    The mysterious being in the air spoke up again. ¡°Youngdy, I find you rather pleasing. How about you follow me and be my servant? You can then dance for me frequently.¡±

    In his opinion, this was a tremendous opportunity and favor. There were countless beauties across countless empires across the worlds who would never even have such an opportunity, so this woman could just faint from excitement over this kindness.

    But Qiu Honglei slowly shook her head and said, ¡°I thank your distinguished self for your good intentions, but in this life of mine, I will only dance for one man.¡±

    Even though Zu An was really moved, he couldn''t help but be a bit worried. He was about to say something when the mysterious being said with a light sigh, ¡°Then that¡¯s a pity.¡±

    With his status and identity, he naturally wouldn¡¯t be shameless enough to ask again after being refused once. However, he said, ¡°I¡¯ve already responded to your favor. So ording to the rules, you need to provide an offering. If you agreed to be my servant, I could have overlooked this, but it truly is a pity.¡±

    The voice was extremely calm, and it was gradually growing more distant. Those eyes slowly closed as well, and the gathered clouds scattered. That terrifying pressure was gone.

    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± Zu An eximed, stunned. He quickly ran over to Qiu Honglei, as he wasn¡¯t sure what the offering that mysterious being spoke of meant.

    When she saw hime over, Qiu Honglei smiled sweetly. It was the most beautiful smile Zu An had seen in his life, but also the most heart-shattering. That was because at almost the same time, Qiu Honglei¡¯s entire body began to erode away with the wind, her body gradually disappearing from this world.

    ¡°No!¡± Zu An cried. He wanted to hold her, but he didn¡¯t dare to touch her for fear that she wouldpletely shatter and disappear.

    Just then, streaks of cold radiance flew toward Qiu Honglei. A Pure World Icelotus suddenly bloomed around Qiu Honglei¡¯s body, wrapping her within. Qiu Honglei¡¯s body that had been about to break down was suddenly frozen, forcibly stopping the process. It turned out that all this time, the Snow Lady had been preparing a secret skill, thus barely sessfully preserving Qiu Honglei¡¯sst trace of life.

    ¡°Thank you...¡± Zu An said, feeling surprised and grateful. He was about to thank the Snow Lady when he waspletely stunned. He discovered that even though Qiu Honglei¡¯s body¡¯s copse had stopped, it was now/ the Snow Lady¡¯s body that began to break down.

    ¡°Ah Zu, don¡¯t feel broken-hearted. I asked her if she was willing to sacrifice her life for you, and she said that she was willing.¡± The Snow Lady chuckled, saying, ¡°If even these vixens are willing, how could I, your wife, not be willing? Who knows, she might have even been cursing me for trying to get rid of her earlier.¡±

    She naturally wouldn¡¯t selfishly make Qiu Honglei give up her life alone; rather, she had just wanted to test Honglei out. She had already prepared to take on the consequences of the dance from the very start. She just happened to know a secret technique that could redirect another person¡¯s karma toward herself.

    Zu An walked up to the Snow Lady and opened his mouth. Normally, he was quite proud of his ability to talk, but now, he could only utter some inaudible sybles, unable to even form aplete sentence.

    ¡°Ah Zu, you don¡¯t need to feel sorry for me. Honglei might really die if she is ignored, but as long as the Great Snowy Mountain remains, I won¡¯t truly perish. I might just revive again after some time,¡± the Snow Lady said, wiping away the tears on his face.

    When he sensed that ice-cold touch, Zu An finally asked with difficulty, ¡°How long?¡±

    ¡°Several thousand years, or maybe ten thousand years...¡± When she saw his expression of horror and despair, the Snow Lady smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s actually not that long. I¡¯ve already waited for you on Great Snowy Mountain for nine thousand, five hundred and twenty seven years. It¡¯s not too big of a deal to wait another ten thousand years for you.¡± Then, she moved closer and gave Zu An a light kiss.

    Zu An immediately broke down into tears. He could tell that this was the Kiss of the Goddess, the same Kiss of the Goddess that only Chu Chuyan and Pei Mianman knew! That same Kiss of the Goddess was even different between Chu Chuyan and Pei Mianman. Pei Mianman was fiery and passionate, while Chu Chuyan was the kind that was reluctant at first, but still epted in the end...

    Even so, this kiss that was normally so wonderful was now just too bitter.

    Zu An wanted to keep her here, but as soon as he touched her face, she scattered and disappeared into endless snowkes. In that instant, he felt as if his soul had been ripped out of his body. He stood there in the wind and snow without moving at all.

    He suddenly thought of something. He was about to speak when Mi Li appeared in front of him and said, ¡°She was destroyed byws that exceed your understanding. If you try to forcefully interfere with your current strength, even if you use Keyboard Come, you might follow in her footsteps as soon as you utter the first word.¡±

    Blood was about toe out from how hard Zu An was biting his lips. He asked, ¡°Then should I just watch as she dies? I have to at least try!¡±

    ¡°Then what about Qiu Honglei?¡± Mi Li replied, pointing at the sealed Qiu Honglei. Her expression became mysteriouslyplicated as she continued, ¡°Even if you don¡¯t want your own life and use Keyboard Come to save one person, with your current strength, you can only save a single person at most. Qiu Honglei or Chu Chuyan, who are you prepared to save?¡±

 Chapter 2083: Perish

    <h4>Chapter 2083: Perish</h4>

    Zu An had never expected that he would actually end up encountering this cliched problem of who to save. He really wanted to say that he would save them all. However, in the end, he couldn''t say those words, because he knew that there was no way for him to save both of them at all.

    Whether it was Qiu Honglei or Chu Chuyan, they were both lovers whom he would live and die together with. He had pledged his undying love to both of them and loved them deeply. This was evident from how both of them were willing to give up their lives to save him after encountering a problem they couldn''t deal with this time. How could he fail to live up to these women he loved so much?

    Regardless of who he chose, it would imply the death of another. For the first time, he felt despair.

    <i>Screw it, I¡¯ll just save one for now and join the other in the afterlife. That way, she won¡¯t be all alone.</i>

    When she saw his expression change as if he had made his decision, Mi Li was frightened. She hoped that her questioning didn¡¯t make him suddenly lose his mind. She quickly said, ¡°Stop dwelling on it already. Chu Chuyan has already turned into wind and snow, so you can¡¯t even save her anymore even if you want to. Also, it doesn¡¯t even seem as if she¡¯s truly died. In the future, once you have the ability to do so, you can try to figure out a way to save her then. In contrast, Qiu Honglei is on herst breath here. If you don¡¯t pay her any attention, she might really die.¡±

    Zu An trembled all over. A third party always saw the situation more clearly, after all. Just then, he had beenpletely crestfallen and his brain hadn¡¯t been working properly. Now that he was reminded by Mi Li, he quickly went over to Qiu Honglei¡¯s side to check her condition. She was preserved in the ice lotus,pletely maintaining her appearance when she was ¡®alive¡¯. There was still an expression of reluctance in her eyes as she looked at Zu An, because she knew that she was going to die.

    ¡°Chu Chuyan¡¯s Pure World Icelotus is indeed powerful. It can even freeze damage to this degree. But this process does nothing but slow down her death. As time goes on, she still won¡¯t be able to escape her end,¡± Mi Li said, sighing.

    Zu An suddenly thought of something. He took out the leftover Feather Mountain spring water and carefully poured it on top of the lotus. He had originally nned to drink all of it to recover his fighting strength as quickly as possible, but he''d decided to leave this amount for some reason. He hadn¡¯t expected it to be able to preserve Qiu Honglei¡¯s life.

    When the spiritual spring waternded on the ice lotus, it quickly entered. Qiu Honglei¡¯s terrifyingly paleplexion became a bit rosier.

    ¡°Alright, with this Feather Mountain spring and the Pure World Icelotus¡¯ protection, her life should be preserved for now. Once you''re strong enough or find a way to save her, you can then release her from the lotus,¡± Mi Li said; she had also been watching the process nervously. Now, she sighed in relief.

    Zu An was stunned, asking, ¡°I still can¡¯t let her out even now?¡±

    After all, Feather Mountain¡¯s spring water could revive even the dead, and yet it only managed to barely keep her alive?

    Mi Li rolled her eyes and replied, ¡°Why don¡¯t you think about what kind of being that one was? The fact that she could even keep her life is all because of the special method Chu Chuyan used, thus transferring away most of the damage. That¡¯s the only reason why you even had a chance to use Feather Mountain¡¯s spiritual spring in the first ce and obtain this result. You should just count your blessings.¡±

    Zu An asked seriously, ¡°Who was that just now? Why was he so strong?¡± He had his fair share of experience, with many secret dungeons under his belt. He had seen all types of powerful beings too, but the pressure he had felt just now was unprecedented.

    Mi Li¡¯s expression became grave as she said, ¡°He''s probably someone of the highest level across the universe¡¯s various worlds. He might have even transcended the worlds.¡±

    ¡°You know him? You can¡¯t say his name?¡± Zu An asked, recalling her saying that there were some beings whose names couldn''t be spoken.

    Mi Li shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know him, but I was able to deduce all of this from what happened. As for his name, there¡¯s no way I would know that.¡±

    Zu An became quiet.

    <i>Mi Li concluded that the other person was someone at the very peak of the worlds, which means she''s seen simr things in the past. Otherwise, how could she be so certain?</i>

    Just these casually spoken words already told him many things, but he didn¡¯t continue to ask about it. He knew that he was still too weak, and that by telling him, she would only be putting him in danger.

    <i>Either way, she won¡¯t do anything to harm me...</i>

    Even though he knew that he couldn''t randomly trust people, if one didn¡¯t have even a single person they were willing to trust in this world, that would really be a bit too tragic.

    ¡°Do you think I¡¯ll have a chance to reach that level?¡± Zu An asked. He was someone who always had confidence, but what happened just now had delivered too great of a shock to him. Right now, he couldn''t help but feel a bit lost.

    ¡°You definitely will,¡± Mi Li said, now sounding particrly confident.

    When he saw her intense gaze, Zu An also recovered his fighting spirit, saying, ¡°That¡¯s right. I managed to reach my current state despite being a crippled loser in the past, so what do I have to be scared of?!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s more like it,¡± Mi Li said, a smile returning to her expression.

    ¡°Then how long do you think it¡¯ll take for me to get there? That way, I¡¯ll be able to save Honglei,¡± Zu An quickly asked.

    Mi Li¡¯s smile froze. She said, ¡°Uh, I feel like for now, it¡¯d be more practical for you to search for other methods.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>Why did her expression change so much?</i>

    Mi Li gently touched the ice lotus with her hand and said, ¡°There is definitely a way to save her across the worlds, but I¡¯ve lost too many of my memories and can''t think of them. That''s why you need to slowly search for now, and I need time to recover my memories in the meantime.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear,¡± Zu An said as he looked at Qiu Honglei inside the ice lotus.

    <i>No matter how difficult it is, I will definitely save her.</i>

    <i>And also Chuyan...</i>

    ¡°But there''s another issue right now. Where should I put her?¡± Zu An asked.

    As he looked at the ice lotus, he was a bit hesitant. With his current authority, he could find ces whether it was the fiend or human side. But if he didn¡¯t personally watch over her, he was just worried that something would happen. If he left her with the Devil Sect, Yun Jianyue would naturally be trustworthy. Even so, she was a sect master and couldn¡¯t constantly watch over her every second. Besides, the Devil Sect was a ce where all sorts of crooks lived. If something bad happened, it¡¯d be toote for regrets.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that easy enough? Just put her in that bead of yours,¡± Mi Li said, not seeming worried at all.

    Zu An frowned, saying, "The Brilliant ss Bead can''t store living creatures...¡±

    ¡°Did you forget about that jade container you took when you were searching for Lord Sui¡¯s Pearl?¡± Mi Li suddenly asked.

    Zu An nodded. Back then, Lord Sui¡¯s Pearl seemed to have had a close connection with the Medusa Race. The jade coffin was invulnerable to any sword attacks and seemed a bit special, so he''d taken it.

    ¡°That jade coffin is actually something really good. It can preserve someone inside for ten thousand years without decay. Store Qiu Honglei inside, and then you¡¯ll be able to store her inside that bead,¡± Mi Li exined.

    ¡°Really?¡± Zu An asked hesitantly. After all, this was no joke. If he made a mistake, Qiu Honglei could just die on the spot.

    ¡°When have I ever lied to you?¡± Mi Li replied with a frown. But she knew that he really cared about his lover, so she suppressed her impatience and exined, ¡°That jade coffin has a space of its own inside. To a certain degree, you can view it as a cosmos flying ship. Didn¡¯t you used to always talk about some nine dragons pulling a coffin? If I am not mistaken, that coffin should be a cosmos ship.¡± n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An was speechless. He had never expected her to still remember the random webnovels he talked about, let alone the fact that this jade coffin was actually so amazing.

    He quickly took out the jade coffin. Its entire body was sparkling and transparent, and there was an extraordinary light flowing around it. He carefully ced Qiu Honglei into the jade coffin. He gave her a light kiss on the forehead, saying, ¡°Honglei, don¡¯t worry. I''ll definitely do my best to save you as soon as possible.¡±

    When he looked at those beautiful eyes, he couldn''t help but ask Mi Li, ¡°Will she be lonely or scared if she''s locked up in this pitch-ck space?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re overthinking it,¡± Mi Li said in annoyance. ¡°She¡¯s currently in a state between life and death. Time is already meaningless to her. In other words, she''s unconscious. Even if you forgot about her in this jade coffin and left her until the end of time, she wouldn¡¯t feel a thing.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. Even so, her words still brought him a bit of relief. Then, he stored the jade coffin back into the Brilliant ss Bead. A few secondster, he took her out again to check if she was still okay. Only then did he store the jade coffin away again.

    Mi Li rolled her eyes and asked, ¡°Did you really think I was lying to you? Rather than paying attention to these trivialities, you should start thinking about the current situation.¡±

    ¡°What situation?¡± Zu An asked. As soon as he spoke, however, he suddenly felt the world surge up and down like an ocean wave, as if the entire Great Snowy Mountain Range was about to be destroyed.

 Chapter 2084: Unable to Live, Unable to Die

    <h4>Chapter 2084: Unable to Live, Unable to Die</h4>

    Zu An was shocked. He still clearly remembered Chu Chuyan saying that as long as the Great Snowy Mountain remained, she wouldn¡¯t truly die. But now, everything was starting to crack and copse. The Great Snowy Mountain Range itself seemed to really be in danger.

    ¡°Just what is going on?¡± Zu An quickly asked Mi Li.

    ¡°It¡¯s probably because that being just now was too strong and this world is struggling to bear its power, causing some problems with this space. Earlier, didn¡¯t the Lord of ughtere out from beneath the Great Snowy Mountain? There were probably already issues with the seal then. Factoring in all of those elements, it seems that the seal haspletely copsed,¡± Mi Li said after looking around.

    Zu An followed her gaze and saw pitch-ck cracks appear in space. At first, it was just a single one, but he could clearly sense that the rupture was growing bigger and bigger. Soon after, monsters started forcing their way out. In just a few seconds, there were nearly ten thousand monsters storming into the world. Judging from how the cracks were growing bigger and bigger, that number would only continue to grow exponentially.

    There were even some massive bodies that were trying to force their way over from the space behind the crack, and every single one was clearly an incredibly powerful being. If they were allowed to descend, the whole world would definitely be in enormous trouble.

    As he watched events unfold, Zu An felt a sense of powerlessness. He had worked so hard for so long, but was all of it for nothing? If he had been at his strongest, he could eliminate the monsters that had just entered. But after fighting huge battles again and again, the people at his side had either died or fallen into eternal unconsciousness. He was in a terrible state himself and didn¡¯t have much strength left.

    ¡°You¡¯ve already done everything you could. This isn¡¯t your fault. You should first pick up that de, and take some time to recover. You can think about all of this after you¡¯ve restored your condition,¡± Mi Li said. She was worried that after losing his lover, Zu An do something impulsive. She wanted him to fully heal and deal with the situation again once he made a full recovery.

    Zu An didn¡¯t say anything. However, his eyes still followed Mi Li¡¯s line of sight and he saw a de stabbed into the ground. That was the ce where the Lord of ughter had been ¡®brought away¡¯. When it met power at that level, even something as powerful as that monster had turned to ashes, only leaving behind this de.

    When he walked over, Zu An finally saw that it wasn¡¯t a de, but rather a tooth. Since it was toorge, its shape looked like a de. It shone with a cold glint, and was sharp and sturdy. There wouldn¡¯t be much issue in using it as a de. The fact that it remained even now proved that it was clearly special.

    Mi Li floated over to him. While looking at the de, she said, ¡°Anything that could survive under that level of power is definitely of extraordinary grade. It seems like something that the Lord of ughter was only able to refine through a miraculous encounter.¡±

    Zu An held the tooth in his hand. The surface was extremely smooth and didn¡¯t give off any smell. When he brandished it, it was as easy to use as a proper weapon.

    ¡°You can forge weapons, right? Once you return, you can make it into a real de. I can sense some kind of special energy within it. Who knows, the fact that the Lord of ughter could ignore the influence of various magicalws might just be because of this tooth,¡± Mi Li said, her eyes sparkling.

    Zu An was startled. The reason why the Lord of ughter had been so hard to deal with was because it had that immunity to magicalws. If this ¡®de¡¯ had that ability too, it would be much easier for him to deal with various situations.

    ¡°Since you''ve already obtained something good, you should hurry and leave this ce. Once you recover, you can gather the humans and fiends to deal with these foreign monsters,¡± Mi Li urged.

    However, Zu An didn¡¯t move. He looked at the monsters that swarmed out and the crumbling snowyndscape, creating a scene that was like the end of the world. He said, ¡°I can''t leave.¡±

    If the Great Snowy Mountain Range was destroyed, then Chuyan would truly die.

    ¡°But you can''t stop them at all! That is, unless you use Keyboard Come, but if you do that, you¡¯ll turn into ashes. There are still so many people waiting for you. Qiu Honglei is also waiting for you to save her!¡± Mi Li eximed, starting to panic.

    <i>This kid isn¡¯t really going to be stupid enough to sacrifice himself, right?</i>

    ¡°That may not be. That de reminded me that I still have something else,¡± Zu An said, then took out the Skycloud Sword from the Brilliant ss Bead. He began to use the summoning method just as he had been previously taught.

    Soon after, clear smoke surged all around him. Shi Bingxiu appeared nearby along with the other departed spirits.

    Zu An pointed at the monsters that covered everything and spoke gravely. ¡°Don¡¯t you all wish to atone for your crimes? Your chance hase. Kill all of these monsters and save the world!¡±

    Shi Bingxiu looked at all the monsters and said, ¡°There are so many...¡±

    Zu An remained silent. As time went on, there would only be more and more monsters. To be honest, he wasn¡¯t too optimistic about Shi Bingxiu and his soldiers. Even though they had quite a few numbers,pared to these monsters, they wouldn¡¯t be able to do too much. Even so, he believed in the Imperial Gate Bei Qing behind them. Even though he had only met her briefly and she spoke in riddles, since she had set up all of this in the distant past, there was definitely a purpose for it.

    ¡°Are you all scared? Do you want to run away again?¡± Zu An asked coldly. He was worried that they were too scared, so he could only try to spur them on with taunts.

    ¡°I am indeed a bit scared,¡± Shi Bingxiu said, chuckling in embarrassment. The surrounding soldiers also had awkward expressions.

    Zu An was disappointed.

    <i>As expected, a leopard can¡¯t change its spots. These deserters aren¡¯t reliable.</i>

    Suddenly, Shi Bingxiu asked, ¡°If I help you kill these monsters, can you really set us free?¡±

    Zu An was a bit hesitant. To be honest, he didn¡¯t know why Imperial Gate Bei Qing had spoken like that, and she hadn''t taught him how to set these departed spirits free. However, he suddenly remembered something and replied seriously, ¡°I can!¡± N?v(el)B\\jnn

    When they saw him hesitate, Shi Bingxiu and the others were a bit disappointed, but when they heard his reply, all of them cried out in excitement.

    ¡°Brothers, do you all still wish to continue on like this in these forms that are neither dead nor alive?!¡± Shi Bingxiu suddenly shouted toward his soldiers.

    ¡°We don''t!¡± the departed spirits all roared, their voices making the entire ce shake a bit. Even the noisy monsters in the distance briefly fell silent.

    To a certain degree, their current state could be considered immortality, but they couldn''t leave the range of the Skycloud Sword, nor could they enjoy the pleasures of the world. Their five senses seemed to have been stolen. Living on like this was nothing more than a form of eternal suffering. They all wanted to end things. Even if they couldn¡¯t enter the cycle of reincarnation, aplete end was also a kind of freedom.

    Shi Bingxiu gave Zu An a deep look and said, ¡°I hope you aren''t lying to us, or else our ghosts will haunt you for eternity!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I''m only interested in women. I have no intention of bickering with you all for eternity,¡± Zu An calmly said.

    When he heard the rather rude reply, Shi Bingxiu justughed and said, ¡°Brothers, follow me!¡±

    The departed spirits were full of fighting spirit as they charged at the endless monsters.

    When they saw that, the monsters were stunned, but they soon broke out intoughter, as if they were mocking the soldiers for overestimating themselves. After all, in terms of numbers, these departed spirits didn¡¯t have the advantage. They likely hadn''t been all that powerful when they were alive either. Judging from their appearances, if they had been here in life, they would be nothing more than food for the monsters. And yet, a mere pile of food wanted to go against their fate?

    Many monsters bared their fangs and pounced on the departed spirits. Meanwhile, Zu An watched the battle nervously. He had to admit that Shi Bingxiu was an outstanding general, who didn¡¯t blindly order his subordinates to attack at full force. Instead, he surrounded the enemy with all kinds of formations, then attacked the monsters from more favorable positions.

    At first, it was pretty effective. Many monsters were surrounded and killed like that. However, the monsters weren¡¯t stupid either. They quickly realized what was happening and began to surround the soldiers instead. Thus, their power and numerical advantage was revealed. The departed spirits didn''t just fail to eliminate the monsters they surrounded; they were soon the ones being attacked instead. Soon after, the soldiers were eliminated one after another, and Shi Bingxiu¡¯s formation waspletely scattered by the monsters.

    Zu An felt a wave of gloominess fill him.

    <i>As expected, it seems this won¡¯t work.</i>

    Shockingly, however, the departed spirit army suddenly reappeared out of thin air. They continued to follow orders and attack. Zu An¡¯s memory was now extremely sharp, so he quickly recognized quite a few familiar faces. These were all departed spirits that had already ¡®died¡¯! He finally understood the spirits¡¯ endless suffering. Even if they were killed, they would still be revived and suffer eternal torment. No wonder they had all been driven mad one after another! The rebel army broke free and fought valiantly.

    ...

    After a long time passed, Shi Bingxiu¡¯s army had already been wiped out countless times, and yet they always revived and rejoin the fight.

    After seeing their powerfulpanions die one after another, the monsters were starting to grow apprehensive. Even though they were much stronger than these departed spirits, they couldn''t withstand the other side''s endless revivals! If this continued, they would just be slowly whittled away!

    Countless monster corpses were strewn everywhere. The remaining monsters panicked and fled back toward the void crack. Even the monsters behind the cracks stopped and didn¡¯te out. If they continued to just fight like this, they would all eventually die! Thus, they nned to observe the situation first.

    When Zu An saw that almost all of the monsters had fled back into the void crack, and that apart from the monster corpses, there were no others, he started to doubt his own eyes.

 Chapter 2085: Compensation

    <h4>Chapter 2085: Compensation</h4>

    Shi Bingxiu moved over to Zu An¡¯s side and said, ¡°We¡¯ve already pushed back the monsters ording to our agreement. It''s time for you to fulfill your promise.¡±

    When he saw the departed spirits stare at him with fiery gazes, Zu An wondered whether they would rip him to pieces if he said he couldn''t do it. He looked up at the crack. The monsters were currently looking through the cracks as well. If the departed soldiers disappeared, they would then immediately charge over.

    Even so, it wasn¡¯t realistic to demand that these departed spirits run into the crack to chase after the monsters. Zu An remained quiet for a moment before quickly saying, ¡°Wait for a bit until I deal with these monsters first.¡±

    Shi Bingxiu was a bit doubtful, asking, ¡°How will you deal with them?¡±

    From his perspective, this situation was already far from something human power could resolve.

    Zu An quickly thought about how to deal with the crack in the sky that was growingrger andrger. He did know some monster-sealing formations, but they could only be used on a smaller scale. They would naturally be useless against something of this size. However, when he thought about monster-sealing formations, he suddenly recalled something.

    He took out the jade coffin. When he opened it, he saw that Qiu Honglei was still lying inside calmly like a statue. However, Zu An hadn¡¯t brought the coffin out for her sake; instead, he removed an elegant and refined ancient talisman from within.

    At first, he''d been a bit worried when Mi Li suggested to store Qiu Honglei in the jade coffin, because it was also the ce where Jing Teng was sleeping. Even so, the jade coffin was big enough to fit them both, so he had opened it up anyway. But then, he''d discovered that Jing Teng had actually turned into a talisman. It seemed that returning to her original form would make it easier for her to recover.

    When he saw the delicate talisman, Zu An¡¯s expression changed greatly. After all, the two of them had shared the most intimate kind of rtionship...

    As if sensing the movement, the talisman moved. Then, a clear light floated out and drifted through the air. The talisman turned into Jing Teng. She opened her eyes drowsily. When she saw Zu An, she eximed with a huge smile, ¡°Oh! Is it time for treatment? I thought you''d forgotten about me. Come over here.¡± She enthusiastically grabbed Zu An¡¯s arm while speaking.

    When he saw the beautiful Jing Teng act yfully around Zu An, as if she was asking for permission to do it right then and there, Shi Bingxiu''s eyes widened.

    <i>This kid is really, really lucky! Sigh, that¡¯s what the joys of living should look like!</i>

    Mi Li had an ambiguous smile. She naturally knew what the so-called treatment was.

    Zu An was really embarrassed when he sensed their strange looks. He looked at Jing Teng¡¯s legs.

    <i>ck leggings? So it¡¯s Dark Jing Teng. No wonder she¡¯s so enthusiastic.</i>

    He quickly said, ¡°There¡¯s a serious problem right now...¡±

    He then gave a rough exnation of the spatial crack in the distance. ¡°An ancient seal was broken and the foreign monsters are trying to invade this world. I want to repair the seal. Do you have any ideas?¡±

    Jing Teng had previously sealed countless powerful beings within a great tomb, and that seal was far superior to this one. She would be a good specialist to talk about the subject with.

    Dark Jing Teng immediately sneered and said, ¡°I thought you missed me, but you actually called me out because you needed me for something.¡±

    Zu An could only pamper her by saying, ¡°Come on, I really did miss you, but as ofte, I''ve kept encountering these events that are trying to destroy the world and haven''t had any free time at all.¡±

    ¡°Hah, keep up the act. Do you think I¡¯m that easy to fool?¡± Dark Jing Teng sneered.

    Zu An was getting a bit of a headache. Dark Jing Teng had once been the Ghost King. She''d had a bunch of strong individuals under her, so she was definitely not that easily swayed. He could only reply, ¡°What can hair be attached to if there''s no skin? Once I save this world, I¡¯llpensate you properly, okay?¡±

    When she heard him emphasize the word pensate¡¯, Dark Jing Teng seemed to realize something and her face reddened. She harrumphed and said, ¡°For all I care, this world can just be destroyed then. With your current ability, we can just go to another world.¡±

    Zu An frowned and said, ¡°I have many friends and loved ones in this world, and even if they weren''t here, I wouldn''t be able to just watch as a world was destroyed by monsters just like that.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, what are you getting all serious for? I finally got a chance toe out, and yet it wasn¡¯t for romance, but rather these kinds of annoying things that ruin the mood. If you¡¯re so awesome, why don¡¯t you go and save the world yourself?¡± Dark Jing Teng retorted. Having been the Ghost King, how could she tolerate this kind of disappointment? The two quickly reached a standstill.

    Mi Li suddenly said, ¡°Ah Zu, there''s such a huge hole in the sky right now. Having a little girl like her help you might be troubling her too much, right? How about we ask her older sister and see if she has any solutions?¡±

    ¡°Who said I was only acting like this because I don¡¯t have a solution?¡± Dark Jing Teng eximed, immediately getting provoked. She red at Mi Li. ¡°And who is this auntie here? Go away and stop causing trouble around Ah Zu.¡±

    Mi Li narrowed her eyes, her gaze immediately bing unpleasant. Dark Jing Teng didn¡¯t back down and stared right back at her.

    Zu An could only introduce her by saying, ¡°She''s my master.¡±

    Dark Jing Teng¡¯s expression grew rigid, but then she immediately said with a sweet smile, ¡°So it was master; why didn¡¯t you tell me earlier? And here I was thinking it was just another seductive slut who lusted after Ah Zu¡¯s body. Please don¡¯t take any offense. master; I¡¯ll pour tea for you as an apology.¡± She took out a cup of tea that came from who knew where to hand over to Mi Li.

    Mi Li had an ambiguous smile as she remarked, ¡°That means that you really do have a solution, yes?¡±

    ¡°Are you joking with me right now? I single-handedly suppressed beings that were indescribably powerful throughout the ages. There¡¯s no way I wouldn¡¯t know how to fix such a trifling seal,¡± Dark Jing Teng said proudly.

    As he watched her arrogant behavior, Zu An started to feel a bit vexed. He said, ¡°If I had known this earlier, I would¡¯ve called you out sooner.¡±

    If he''d done that, perhaps Chu Chuyan and Qiu Honglei wouldn''t have ended up in their current state.

    ¡°It''s the perfect timing now,¡± Dark Jing Teng said, suddenly feeling guilty. She''d actually just been talking big for most of what she just said. In her current state, even if she''de out earlier, she wouldn¡¯t have been able to do much. In order to hide her embarrassment, she quickly said, ¡°Judging from the current circumstances, it seems the seal has just broken. There''s still a way to fix it, but we need the articles used to bear the burden of the seal. For example, just like me and my big sister, a seal needs a vital formation eye or divine artifact. If we can¡¯t find it, there¡¯s nothing I can do.¡±

    Zu An was startled. He took out the Skycloud Sword and asked, ¡°Is this enough?¡±

    Dark Jing Teng moved her fingers gently over the surface, saying, ¡°Hm? This does have a connection with the seal, but its power alone seemingly isn¡¯t enough. It''s still missing something else.¡±

    ¡°Wait for a moment!¡± Zu An replied, closing his eyes. He sensed the positions of the other two snowy mountains and reached out his hand, calling out, ¡°Come!¡±

    Two streaks of light quickly flew in his direction. They were none other than the Ninefoot Mirror and the Soul Capturing Jade!

    As it turned out, when the powerful being appeared, causing the changes that had taken ce, the seal loosened up. The two artifacts had also been shaken out of the snowy mountains. These divine artifacts resonated with each other, which was why they were so easily summoned over.

    Dark Jing Teng looked at the three divine artifacts in her hand and said, ¡°Alright, it feelsplete now.¡±

    With a wave of her hand, the three divine artifacts floated around them. Then, her hands formed all sorts ofplicated seals. Streaks of light scattered into the surrounding space, gradually forming lines that were faintly visible in the air. They vaguely made out the outline of a giant formation. Meanwhile, the three divine artifacts flew to three different locations to supply the formation with an unending stream of power.

    The monsters that had just been watching the situation noticed that something wasn¡¯t right. They screamed, ¡°Hurry and stop that woman! She''s repairing the seal!¡± The monsters could no longer hold themselves back and charged at Jing Teng.

    Zu An looked at Shi Bingxiu and said, ¡°I¡¯ll leave it to you.¡±

    Shi Bingxiu felt a wave of resentment build up inside.

    <i>Screw you! You¡¯re enjoying your time with girls, and yet we''re the ones who have to fight to the death?</i>

    <i>Do I have to help you push your buttter too?</i>

    But with how things stood, he didn¡¯t dare to argue back. He only stared at Zu An and said, ¡°If you go back on your promise, I''ll make sure that you won¡¯t have a pleasant death.¡±

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Shi Bingxiu for +444 +444 +444...</strong>

    Then, he summoned his subordinates and once again charged forward to stop the iing monsters.

    ...

    A whileter, Dark Jing Teng finally finished what she was doing. Then, she shouted, ¡°Seal!¡±

    The faintly discernible lines in the sky immediately shone with brilliance. Arge-scale formation appeared in the air. The three artifacts each went to three different formations, forming a giant ¡®seal¡¯ character whenbined!

    Immediately after, the formation quickly moved toward the giant crack in the air. The monsters behind the crack were all stirred up. They all struggled to rush through. Soon after, a massive w reached out from within. The pressure immediately felt as if a great primordial beast had appeared in this world.

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed a bit. He looked at the crack nervously. This kind of presence was iparable to the Lord of ughter, but it wasn¡¯t far off. If it really crossed over, there wouldn¡¯t be anyone who could face it. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The massive w tore at the sides of the spatial crack, and sure enough, it opened up a bit. Even a massive, powerfully-built figure became faintly visible. However, the giant ¡®seal¡¯ character appeared on the spatial crack once again, causing it to close at a visible rate. In response, even more ws reached out from inside the crack. Because of the twopeting forces, the crack alternately widened and narrowed.

    Dark Jing Teng harrumphed. She used another magical skill, and a beam of light fired onto the formation. The three divine artifacts suddenly glowed brightly, and the formation became twice as bright as before. Countless furious and unwilling roars resounded from behind the crack, as the monsters could no longer stop the spatial crack from closing. In roughly the time it took for an incense stick to burn, the sky returned to how it had been before. Everything became calm once more.

    Zu An and the others were naturally really happy to see the blue sky and white clouds again. The monsters that had crossed over screamed in despair. They all flew into the air to try and reopen the gateway.

    Shi Bingxiu didn¡¯t let such a great chance go. He led the departed spirits in a one-sided ughter, killing all of the monsters that crossed over.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Zu An said as he moved over to Jing Teng¡¯s side excitedly.

    Jing Teng was about to say something, but herplexion was extremely pale. She couldn''t help but faint in his arms. Her final words before fainting were, ¡°I really lost a lot this time. You have to keep mepany for ten days. No, a whole month, every single day!¡±

 Chapter 2086: Itâ€™s All for Saving Lives

    <h4>Chapter 2086: It¡¯s All for Saving Lives</h4>

    Shi Bingxiu was about to return and ask Zu An to fulfill their agreement when he saw the scene unfold. He and the soldiers looked at Zu An with incredible shock. Even though they had been departed spirits for a long time, they still had an appreciation for human aesthetics. They could naturally recognize Jing Teng¡¯s astonishing beauty and voluptuous figure. Even in life, this was a goddess-level figure they could never have hoped to attain. And yet a woman like that was actually being so proactive with Zu An?

    Zu An had never expected Jing Teng to be this direct. He could only look awkwardly at Mi Li.

    Mi Li remarked with an unhappy expression, ¡°What are you looking at me for? She¡¯s still waiting for you topensate her for her loss.¡±

    Zu An almost choked on the spot. He quickly sent some natural ki into Jing Teng''s body so herplexion wouldn''t be so pale anymore. It seemed that repairing the broken seal had cost her quite heavily.

    Shi Bingxiu really couldn''t keep watching this anymore. He and his men had already been dead for so long, and yet he still had to watch this damned public disy of affection. He coughed lightly and said, ¡°We¡¯ve helped you defeat the monsters and repair the seal. Shouldn¡¯t it be time for your respected self to fulfill your promise?¡±

    After he said that, the spirits stared at Zu An. If he dared to say that he couldn''t, they would immediately rip him to shreds.

    Zu An set Jing Teng down off to the side first. Then, he cupped his hands toward Shi Bingxiu and the others, saying, ¡°Thank you for bravely killing the enemy and saving this world, everyone.¡±

    Shi Bingxiu chuckled, saying, ¡°I guess we didn¡¯t cower this time... Hold on, stop trying to curry favor with us. Can you save us, or can you not?¡±

    ¡°I can,¡± Zu An said, not dying any longer. Instead, he used the Primordial Origin Sutra, and with its purification skill, chanted, ¡°Dust to dust, earth to earth. What should not remain should cease to exist...¡±

    He was now more and more curious about Imperial Gate Bei Qing.

    <i>Just how did she know that I would definitely obtain this Skycloud Sword, and how did she know that the one with the Skycloud Sword would just happen to be able to purify these departed spirits?</i>

    <i>On top of that, judging from how she spoke, it almost seemed as if she knew me.</i>

    A clear gust of wind blew over them, and streaks of blue light flickered in the air. Some illusory figures appeared, and one after another, the departed spirits began to disappear like dust. When they saw that, the soldiers didn¡¯t feel fear. Instead, there was a serene smile on their faces. Perhaps death was really scary for others, but for them, it was something they had long sought but could never obtain. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    When he saw that his own body was also disappearing, a rare smile appeared on Shi Bingxiu¡¯s face. He said, ¡°It turns out the feeling of not being deserters, but rather heroes, is quite good...¡± Afterward, he alsopletely disappeared from this world.

    Zu An thought to himself, <i>If things were going to end up like this anyway, why did you decide to do what you did?</i> And yet, in the end, he didn¡¯t say those words. After all, the soldiers had been tremendously helpful in fighting back the monsters.

    Mi Li said, ¡°Now that the danger has passed, it¡¯s time for me to return to sleep. Sigh, I wonder if my appearance drew the attention of those guys this time.¡±

    ¡°Are those guys stronger than the Shadow Monster King and the Lord of ughter?¡± Zu An couldn''t help but ask.

    ¡°Those two aren¡¯t even fit to wipe their shoes,¡± Mi Li said in disdain.

    ¡°Then what about the one who appeared after the Dance Offering to the Universe?¡± Zu An asked.

    Mi Li hesitated before replying, ¡°That¡¯s hard to say.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. If even she was saying that, then even if they weren¡¯t as strong as that being, they were probably not far off.

    <i>As expected, both immediate and long-term priorities have to be paid close attention to...</i>

    ¡°You should rest properly in the meantime. I¡¯ll seriously think about how to make you stronger, and how to save that little lover of yours,¡± Mi Li said with a grave expression. The things that had just happened made her really nervous too.

    ¡°Thank you, master!¡± Zu An said sincerely.

    ¡°Hmph, you¡¯ve finally addressed me properly for the first time because of that little lover of yours,¡± Mi Li said, chuckling and waving her hand. Then, she returned to the Tai¡¯e Sword.

    Zu An looked at Qiu Honglei inside the jade coffin, and then at the Great Snowy Mountain. He felt as if he was looking at Chu Chuyan¡¯s cold and pure appearance. He said resolutely, ¡°I''ll definitely save you both!¡±

    He then went over to Jing Teng¡¯s side. He was about to return her to the jade coffin, but she just happened to wake up. She quickly said, ¡°I don¡¯t want to go back to the coffin! I¡¯m tired of just lying there. I want to get some fresh air! Also, now that you''ve thrown a chunk of ice in there, I''m about to freeze to death!¡±

    Dark Jing Teng immediately began to chatter continuously.

    Zu An looked at her slender legs and the ck leggings covering them. He said in annoyance, ¡°Of course it¡¯ll be cold if you only wear that much.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, with my cultivation, I normally don¡¯t get cold at all. Even if I didn¡¯t wear a thing, I wouldn¡¯t feel cold. But this ice you dragged in there is a bit different, and it even makes me feel a bit cold.¡± Dark Jing Teng harrumphed.

    When he thought about how this was Chu Chuyan¡¯s Pure World Icelotus, Zu An couldn''t help but feel a bit broken-hearted.

    ¡°Hey, it ended up costing me a lot to help you, you know? It¡¯s almost as if I rested all that time for nothing. Hurry up andpensate me!¡± Dark Jing Teng cried. As she spoke, she couldn''t help but purse her lips, her expression turning both alluring and enticing.

    Zu An said withcking interest, ¡°Let¡¯s wait for a little bit. I can¡¯t get into the mood right now.¡±

    Dark Jing Teng was stunned, replying, ¡°There¡¯s no way, right? Your body was ridiculously toughst time. There¡¯s no way you could have be weak so quickly! Could it be that humans age that fast? Wait, could it be that some vixen already sucked you dry?¡±

    Zu An became a bit unhappy as he said, ¡°I just lost two loved ones one after another, so do you think I¡¯m in the mood to talk about these things?¡±

    Dark Jing Teng looked at Qiu Honglei in the jade coffin before saying, ¡°Oh, so it was that woman in the tombst time. Who is the other one? Hm? She has the Pure World Icelotus intent around her. Is it that blue and white-d one, the one with the Kiss of the Goddess?¡± Previously, those two women had ruined her ns, so she still had a deep impression of them.

    Zu An voiced his confirmation.

    Dark Jing Teng grinned.

    <i>Hmph, I hope all of those vixens disappear.</i>

    However, when she saw Zu An¡¯s unhappy expression, she wasn¡¯t stupid either and didn¡¯t show it. Instead, she pretended to be hurt and said, ¡°That¡¯s a huge pity then.¡±

    ¡°Your act would be more convincing if you weren¡¯t smiling,¡± Zu An said, promptly exposing her in annoyance.

    Dark Jing Teng decided to just not pretend anymore, saying, ¡°Hmph, I¡¯m not even close to her, and she almost ruined everythingst time. I¡¯m already being respectful by not pping and celebrating.¡±

    ¡°You...!¡± Zu An was a bit angry, but when he saw her stare at him stubbornly, he sighed and said, ¡°Forget it.¡±

    He also knew that Dark Jing Teng was rather unreasonable in nature, and she had been a viin to begin with. The way she thought was very different from that of an ordinary person. Besides, it was because of her great help that the world had been saved, so he naturally couldn''t criticize her.

    When she saw him act all discouraged, Dark Jing Teng carefully asked, ¡°Will you not be close to me anymore in the future because of this?¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>This woman really is quite the prodigy, isn¡¯t she?</i>

    When she saw that he didn¡¯t say anything, Dark Jing Teng immediately panicked. ¡°You can¡¯t just abandon me when times be hard! In the worst case, I¡¯ll just help you think of a way to save them, okay?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t misuse idioms,¡± Zu An said with a scowl. ¡°When did I say that I was going to abandon you? And also, what ways are there to save them?¡±

    Dark Jing Teng propped up her chin with her hand and said, ¡°I can vaguely remember that there''s a way to save them in this kind of situation, but I¡¯ve lived for so long that I¡¯ve lost a lot of my memories. I can¡¯t think of it right now.¡±

    Zu An grabbed her excitedly and said, ¡°You have to remember it!¡±

    <i>Sigh, they remain young and beautiful after living for thousands or even tens of thousands of years, but the biggest issue is that their memories aren¡¯t great. Mi Li is like this, and she''s also like this.</i>

    Dark Jing Teng¡¯s eyes swirled with brilliance. She said, ¡°But right now, my fundamental power is really exhausted. If you help me replenish it and I recover more, I might be able to remember.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He almostughed out of anger. This woman always managed to circle back to that subject somehow.

    ¡°Let¡¯s leave this ce first,¡± he said. Even though he was in a rush to save his lovers, he wouldn¡¯t do something like that in this kind of ce.

    When she heard his tone loosen up, Dark Jing Teng smiled. She didn¡¯t return to the jade coffin, and instead decided to just travel with Zu An.

    ...

    There was only the snowy mountain range all around them, but Dark Jing Teng was still full of interest and excitement. Along the way, she chattered continuously with Zu An and always asked questions that were beyond obvious to normal people.

    At first, Zu An was annoyed, butter, he realized that she''d had to keep the monsters in the great tomb suppressed for a seemingly endless amount of time. After bing her own person, she''d lived in the dark Ghost Realm, so she probably hadn''t gotten many opportunities to see the outside world. He couldn''t help but develop a sense of pity for her. As he answered her questions, his tone became gentler.

    When she sensed the change, Dark Jing Teng intimately held his hand. Her body even naturally stuck to him.

    Soon after, a wave of smoke and dust suddenly stirred in the distance. A group of mounted riders on all kinds of strange beasts rushed over. A few momentster, they arrived. The one in front was incredibly charming, and her expression carried the delicate and helpless air of a widow. Who else could it be but the Second Empress?

    Meanwhile, behind her were many of the Fiend races¡¯ experts. Just then, they also saw Zu An and looks of excitement broke out on their faces. They were about to call out when they suddenly saw Jing Teng sticking to him. All of their words stopped in their throats. From time to time, their eyes darted over to the Second Empress. They had all kinds of expressions on their faces.

 Chapter 2087: Spectators Donâ€™t Fear Drama

    <h4>Chapter 2087: Spectators Don¡¯t Fear Drama</h4>

    When she first saw Zu An, the Second Empress was about to jump into his arms, but when she saw Jing Teng, she stopped rigidly in ce.

    <i>Who is that bitch? She looks as if she really wants to just throw herself into Ah Zu¡¯s arms. Is she in heat? Look at how shameless she''s being in broad daylight, </i>the Second Empress thought to herself in irritation. Shepletely forgot that she had previously also jumped right into Zu An¡¯s arms in front of all of the Fiend soldiers.

    The expressions of those very same soldiers immediately became varied and colorful.

    <i>Where did this womane from? She''s so beautiful that she doesn¡¯t even seem inferior to the Second Empress!</i>

    After all, the Second Empress¡¯ beauty was something that the Fiend races all publicly acknowledged to be without faults. That charming style of hers in particr, as well as her unique widow''s charm, left countless individuals bewitched. And yet, they had never expected to see a youngdy who rivaled her in beauty!

    Many people¡¯s eyes shifted toward Jing Teng''s long, slender, ck-stocking-covered legs as they thought, <i>This really is damned attractive. We have to make our own wives try them on once we get home.</i>

    Zu An was a bit surprised to see them, eximing, ¡°Hm? Why did you alle here?¡±

    The Second Empress looked at him for a while before exining, ¡°We were resting and reorganizing in Mengte City, but we discovered that an intense battle was taking ce here not too long ago, and that the world itself was changing. I was worried about your safety, so I brought reinforcements over. What is the current situation like? Are you hurt?¡±

    When he sensed her concern, Zu An felt warm inside. He said, ¡°Thank you foring to help, everyone, but the issue has already been solved.¡±

    ¡°Just what happened? Hurry and tell us!¡± the Second Empress eximed, stunned.

    Everyone else found it inconceivable too. The disturbance just then had felt like the end of the world. They had even prepared to die in battle, and yet Zu An was now saying that it was all taken care of? Even though they all understood his strength, the sounds and rumbles of battle were just too terrifying. It really was hard for them to believe that he had taken care of it all on his own.

    ¡°It¡¯ll take a while to exin everything...¡± Zu An said, feeling a bit sad when he recalled what happened to Chu Chuyan and Qiu Honglei.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s go back and slowly talk along the way,¡± the Second Empress said. Even though she was also shocked, she trusted that he wouldn¡¯t joke around about something that serious. As such, she ordered the army to return. At the same time, she had people bring over two beasts for Zu An and Jing Teng to ride on.

    Even though she wanted to ride together with Zu An, she still cared about face in the end. After all, she was still the Fiend races¡¯ Second Empress, and it hadn¡¯t been too long since she became a widow. She had already been very intimate with Zu An not too long ago, but that could be exined as excitement after the cmity. If she continued to flirt with him in front of her subordinates¡¯ faces, it really would tarnish her national prestige.

    Suddenly, her eyes widened, because the ridiculously beautiful woman apanying Zu An didn¡¯t ride on the beast they had prepared for her, but jumped straight into Zu An¡¯s arms to ride together with him instead.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to be separated from you,¡± Jing Teng said as she rubbed her cheek intimately against Zu An¡¯s chest, as if she was saying something that couldn''t be more obvious.

    The Second Empress¡¯ brows twitched. As far as she could tell, this woman was full of schemes, and had to be deliberately showing off in front of her!

    As they looked at the three, the other higher-ups of the Fiend races had strange expressions. Their expressions were all betweenughter and tears. Why did they suddenly feel as if the Second Empress was being NTR¡¯d by another woman?

    Normally, who in this world could even receive the favor of someone as stunning as the Second Empress? Even if they could, they would be too scared of hurting her in the slightest. Who would be willing to make her feel broken-hearted or jealous? Only the regent was capable of something like that, and the women he found weren¡¯t inferior to the Second Empress at all.

    <i>Tsk tsk, the regent really is a role model for our generation. We¡¯ll have to have my nsmen ask the regent for tips once we get back!</i>

    When he saw people''s expressions, Zu An was a bit embarrassed. He wanted to push Jing Teng away, but she only hugged him even tighter. When he gave her paleplexion a look, he knew that she was really weak right now and his heart softened, so he didn¡¯t refuse her again.

    When the Second Empress saw that Zu An tacitly allowed such a thing to happen, anger burned in her eyes.

    <i>They¡¯re fighting, they¡¯re definitely fighting... </i>the authoritative figures of the Fiend races thought, clenching their fists as they felt the sparks in the air. They looked at the two women excitedly. Either way, they knew they would never be able to obtain either woman, so they didn¡¯t mind watching an interesting drama.

    Unfortunately, things didn¡¯t develop as they anticipated. The Second Empress asked with a big smile, ¡°Regent, who is this youngdy here? Are you not going to introduce her to us?¡±

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled the Second Empress for +233 +233 +233...</strong>

    Zu An finally reacted and said, ¡°This is Miss Jing Teng; this is the Second Empress...¡±

    Jing Teng was a bit surprised when she learned about the other person¡¯s identity. She eximed, ¡°Oh! You¡¯re actually the empress dowager?¡± She hadn¡¯t expected such a young and beautiful woman to actually already be the empress dowager! She''d previously thought that empress dowagers were all old grandma-like people.

    The Second Empress narrowed her eyes.

    <i>What is the meaning of this? Is she making fun of me for being old?</i>

    Zu An sensed that the mood was off and immediately said, ¡°By the way, it was thanks to Jing Teng that we were able to repair that seal.¡± Then, he told them about how Jing Teng had used the three divine artifacts and the Great Monster Sealing Formation to repair the rift in space.

    Now, the expressions of those present immediately changed. They no longer dared to look down on Jing Teng when they looked at her now. They''d thought that she was just some concubine who was only good for her looks, but never expected her to be so skilled!

    The Second Empress¡¯ expression became serious. She bowed respectfully to Jing Teng and said, ¡°This one thanks Miss Jing for your favor in ce of all the Fiend races'' people. From today on, Miss Jing will be our Fiend races¡¯ most honorable friend.¡±

    She was the mother of an empire, after all. After she heard the entire story, how could she still be so small-minded as to continue acting jealous?

    Jing Teng was stunned. At first, she''d felt a mysterious hostility from the other side, but she didn¡¯t really care about that at all. Either way, she only cared about Zu An alone. However, who knew that this person would suddenly be so friendly in the blink of an eye? She suddenly felt a bit awkward, because she''d previously only lived with people who were constantly trying to outwit each other, in a ce where only strength mattered. She had never experienced sincere gratitude like this before.

    ¡°It actually wasn¡¯t that big of a deal. Ah Zu already promised topensate me," Jing Teng said, ufortably waving her hand.

    ¡°How is he going topensate you?¡± the Second Empress asked curiously.

    Jing Teng blushed as she replied, ¡°Him? Every day, he will... Mmm...!¡± n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    She couldn''t say the rest of what she wanted to say, because Zu An already covered her mouth and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, your highness. I''ll thank her properly.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± the Second Empress replied; her eyes darted between the two of them as she gave them a skeptical look.

    The others saw how Zu An covered Jing Teng¡¯s mouth as if it wasn¡¯t that big of a deal, and how she didn¡¯t seem to have gotten angry either. They felt more and more admiration for him.

    <i>It seems the regent and this woman are already really close. He really is a model for all men!</i>

    ...

    Then, their group proceeded to Mengte City. Along the way, Zu An gave the Second Empress and everyone else a summary of what had happened so far. They were all really shocked as they listened. They had really never anticipated such ridiculous things to happen, and that there would be so many powerful enemies.

    Forget about them, even Jing Teng was listening with great interest. As she looked at Zu An¡¯s handsome face, her smile grew bigger and bigger. Even though she didn¡¯t approve of a lot of things her big sister did, her eye for men was indeed not bad.

    When they returned to Mengte City, the Fiend races¡¯ upper echelon organized a bonfire and celebratory feast. Even though they werecking in supplies, when they thought about how the sealednd¡¯s dangers had now beenpletely eliminated and how they could now just focus on eliminating the monsters that had already crossed over, they couldn''t hold back their joy.

    The Fiend races were good at making alcohol, and the most famous was known as Burning Sky. This time, the higher-ups of the various races brought out all of their most precious collection. Meanwhile, as an important minister, Zu An was naturally someone they saw as the highest priority to propose a toast to, and there were many who even toasted to Jing Teng.

    Unfortunately, Jing Teng wasn¡¯t interested in alcohol at all. Zu An saw how rigid her tone was and was worried that the others¡¯ good intentions would be spoiled, so he helped her drink. That was how these kinds of drinking gatherings went, after all. However, even with how tough Zu An¡¯s body was now, he still couldn''t withstand round after round of alcohol for so long. Soon after, he could feel the intoxication start to settle in.

    It was still the Second Empress who took care of him and quickly came over to stop what was happening. She had a subordinate general support Zu An back to his room to get some rest.

    However, Jing Teng got a bit jealous and immediately refused to let the female general touch Zu An¡¯s body. She said, ¡°I¡¯ll bring him to his room.¡±

    Laughter immediately broke out from all around. The Second Empress was a bit unwilling to let such a thing happen, but she couldn''t really argue with Jing Teng in front of so many people and could only tacitly allow it.

    Meanwhile, Jing Teng supported Zu An back to the room. As soon as she supported him onto his bed, she heard him mumble while tugging on his clothes, ¡°It¡¯s hot...¡±

    Jing Teng helped Zu An remove his clothes. When she saw his well proportioned chest rise and fall with his breathing, and how he seemed to be covered in a strange glow under the candlelight¡¯s glow, her eyes couldn''t help but shine brightly.

    ...

    Meanwhile, the dazed Zu An suddenly felt as if something wasn¡¯t right. His eyes widened as he looked down. He saw that Jing Teng was also lying on the bed. He didn¡¯t immediately realize what was happening, asking, ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    Jing Teng raised her head to look at him. Her hair was a bit scattered around her temples. Her lips were especially moist as she said, ¡°You kept saying how ufortable it is, so I¡¯m helping you.¡±

    She clearly had a pure and innocent appearance, and yet right now, there was a seductive charm to her appearance.

    After being teased by her for so long, Zu An felt as if he was about to explode. With a growl, he flipped her over and pressed her down under him.

 Chapter 2088: Weâ€™ll Both Have Our Own Fun

    <h4>Chapter 2088: We¡¯ll Both Have Our Own Fun</h4>

    Meanwhile, at the bonfire feast, everyone was still drinking happily. The Second Empress eventually managed to excuse herself, then hurried to Zu An¡¯s room. However, when she was almost there, she suddenly stopped. Her pace became neither too fast nor too slow, and she recovered the natural grace of a ruler. She coughed lightly and said, ¡°Aunt Xiao, help me prepare some hangover soup for the regent.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± Aunt Xiao replied with a smile. It seemed as if she was thinking about something interesting, but she didn¡¯t dare to say it.

    Once she left, the Second Empress then sorted out her clothes and hair. When she felt that her appearance was perfect, she then continued forward. She was about to knock on the door when she suddenly heard strange noisesing from inside. Her smile immediately froze on her face. Her hand stopped in front of the door, and only after some time did she pull it back.

    ¡°That woman really doesn¡¯t have any sense of shame! Is she not scared that other people will hear her?¡±

    ¡°And that Ah Zu, really! Do you have to go at it that hard?¡±

    ...

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled the Second Empress for +413 +413 +413...</strong>

    Inside, Zu An was stunned when he saw the continuous string of iing Rage points. He thus realized that the Second Empress was currently outside.

    When she sensed that he suddenly stopped, Jing Teng clung to him like an octopus. She exhaled fragrant breath into his ear.

    Zu An was still a bit tipsy and not that clear-headed. When he felt that, he couldn''t be bothered with anything else. He continued the task he hadn¡¯tpleted yet.

    Jing Teng groaned. She discovered that Zu An seemed to be even hotter and more excited now, and her body melted even more.

    When she heard Jing Teng¡¯s charming moans, the Second Empress harrumphed inwardly.

    <i>As expected of a natural seductress!</i>

    She couldn''t stay any longer and turned to leave.

    Not long after she left, she saw Aunt Xiao carrying some hangover soup. When she saw that the Second Empress¡¯ expression was off, Aunt Xiao asked in confusion, ¡°Why are you leaving so quickly?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I suddenly don¡¯t want to go there anymore,¡± the Second Empress said coldly.

    Aunt Xiao was stunned, asking, ¡°Then what do I do with this hangover soup?¡±

    ¡°Feed it to dogs!¡± the Second Empress snapped, then left without even turning back around.

    Aunt Xiao was bewildered.

    <i>She was fine just a moment ago, so why is she like this now?</i>

    <i>Don¡¯t tell me she had a fight with the regent?</i>

    However, even though the master was throwing a temper, she didn¡¯t dare to really feed the soup to dogs. She decided to still give it to the regent after all, so that he would know how much her highness cared about him. As such, she quickly carried the hangover soup to Zu An¡¯s room. She was about to knock on the door when she heard the noisesing from within. Her face immediately turned red as well.

    She now finally understood why the Second Empress had left in anger. This neer woman was... quite proactive.

    She harrumphed, then left after leaving the hangover soup by the door. After walking a few steps, however, she felt angry for her own master¡¯s sake. She turned around and took the hangover soup with her.

    ...

    Meanwhile, inside the room, Zu An was also really shocked. He hadn¡¯t expected Jing Teng¡¯s soft and charming body to be hiding so much strength. Perhaps it was because of her experience as the overlord of the Ghost Realm, but Dark Jing Teng was tough, and she refused to give in. There were several times when she wanted to seize the initiative.

    But Zu An wasn''t someone who was used to yielding either, so the two tussled back and forth for a long time. In the end, Dark Jing Teng was still a bitcking, and with one-slip up, she was defeated for the rest of the night.

    When he saw her eyes roll back as if she was about to faint, Zu An felt more and more confident and followed up on the victory. He taunted, ¡°Weren¡¯t you pretty good at this? Why did you stop? Keep going!¡±

    Jing Teng opened her eyes in a daze. When she saw the scene in front of her, she sat there nkly, seemingly stupefied.

    ¡°Call me daddy!¡± Zu An cried. Even though he found her expression a bit strange, he was drunk right now, so his reactions were a bit slower than usual too.

    Jing Teng¡¯s face immediately turned visibly red. Then, with a loud smack, she pped Zu An¡¯s face and cried, ¡°You¡¯re shameless, vulgar!¡±

    Zu An was stunned, asking, ¡°Just now, didn¡¯t you say that the one who lost had to call the other daddy?¡±

    ¡°You guys...¡± Jing Teng murmured, feeling ashamed and annoyed, but she didn¡¯t know how to exin herself.

    When he saw the shyness and reservation in her expression, and how it waspletely different from the fiery and daring one she''d previously had, Zu An suddenly realized something. He looked down and saw that the ck leggings had be pure white.

    ¡°You¡¯re White Jing Teng...¡± he slowly said, feeling a bit embarrassed.

    ¡°Just what kind of nonsense game were you ying with her just now?!¡± White Jing Teng eximed, feeling as if she was going mad. She had finally woken up, and yet this was the first thing she experienced!

    Zu An reflexively moved as he replied, ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious?¡±

    White Jing Teng¡¯s cheeks turned bright red as she cried, ¡°You¡¯re still moving? Get off me!¡± n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    She tried to struggle to her feet, but unfortunately, he had her pinned down, so she couldn''t get up at all.

    Zu An also felt as if his head was going to explode from these two sisters. Just what was going on right now? But even though he was a bit muddle-headed, he knew that if she really left right now, things would be even harder to deal withter. That was why he disregarded the consequences and kissed her.

    ¡°Let me... mmm... go...¡± White Jing Teng protested in embarrassment. She continued to struggle underneath him.

    Unfortunately, it seemed as if Zu An didn¡¯t hear her at all. He kissed her firmly and domineeringly. At first, White Jing Teng resisted strongly, but her movements became slower and slower, and her resistance weakened. Her beautiful eyes became a bit watery. After all, he was her lover as well, and the two had shared an intimate rtionship before.

    Zu An was no longer as rough as he was with Dark Jing Teng. He became more and more gentle.

    ...

    After who knew how much time had passed, Jing Teng touched the scars on Zu An''s body in distress, asking, ¡°Does it hurt?¡±

    She felt she had panicked too much with her initial reaction.

    <i>It¡¯s all that Dark Jing Teng¡¯s fault!</i>

    ¡°If you kiss that ce, it won¡¯t hurt anymore,¡± Zu An said as he looked at her with a smile. He had to admit that she really was shockingly beautiful. She clearly had a morous face and ridiculously sexy body, and yet she had a pure personality that didn¡¯t seem to match her figure. That only made her even more captivating.

    He thought that with White Jing Teng¡¯s personality, she would definitely refuse, but who would have thought that she would suddenly get up? Then, seemingly worried that her hair would tickle Zu An¡¯s body, she moved it behind her ear, exposing her cheeks that were red from embarrassment. Then, she kissed his wound.

    Zu An was filled with tender feelings. He took her right into his arms.

    Jing Teng¡¯s expression changed a bit as she said, ¡°Wait, I need you to go more slowly...¡±

    When he saw her lovable and timid behavior, Zu An was full of pity. He naturally couldn''t bear to be too rough with her, and instead gently brought their heads together.

    Jing Teng suddenly cried, ¡°If you can¡¯t do it, then let me!¡±

    Even though the voice was almost the same as White Jing Teng''s, its tone was entirely different.

    Zu An was shocked. He looked down and saw that the pure white stockings had once again turned a dangerous ck.

    It turned out Dark Jing Teng had woken up again! She had fainted earlier and was really embarrassed, but now that she had a bit of rest, she felt that she could go at it again. That was why she was impatient to get back her dignity. However, her stockings became white again and Jing Teng cried, ¡°No way! You¡¯re crossing the line!¡±

    When she thought about how her sister had used her body to mess around with Zu An, White Jing Teng felt really unhappy.

    ¡°Thepetent one should use the body! Stop upying the toilet if you¡¯re not going to shit!¡± Dark Jing Teng cried as the stockings became ck again.

    Zu An¡¯s forehead darkened. <i>Am I the toilet or the...</i>

    Sure enough, even White Jing Teng started getting angry, saying, ¡°A woman shouldn¡¯t say such vulgar things.¡±

    ¡°Who wants to always put on an act like you? You clearly really want it, but you say you don¡¯t.¡± Dark Jing Teng harrumphed.

    ¡°Who said I really want it?!¡± White Jing Teng cried, almost fainting from anger.

    ¡°Then that¡¯s perfect. If you don¡¯t want it, I¡¯ll do it. Isn¡¯t it a win-win?¡± Dark Jing Tengughed, as her evil scheme had worked.

    White Jing Teng was speechless.

    ¡°I¡¯m not letting you!¡± she shouted angrily. Even though she couldn''t win against her sister in an argument, she still fought back for some reason.

    Soon after, the two women''s auras fought for control over their body. The stockings sometimes turned ck, and sometimes white. In the end, neither could win against the other. One stocking became white and the other became ck.

    ¡°Stop, stop, stop! I don¡¯t want to waste the energy I finally recovered from this kind of internal conflict!¡± Dark Jing Teng cried out.

    ¡°Then you should just continue to sleep!¡± White Jing Teng snapped, feeling really annoyed that her sister was disturbing her time with her lover.

    ¡°Why do I have to go back to sleep? You probably don¡¯t want to go back and sleep either. Isn¡¯t what we¡¯re like right now fine? We¡¯ll both have our own fun,¡± Dark Jing Teng said as if it waspletely reasonable.

    White Jing Teng was speechless.

    Zu An was rmed.

 Chapter 2089: Return

    <h4>Chapter 2089: Return</h4>

    White Jing Teng couldn''t take it anymore, eximing, ¡°Do you still have any sense of shame?!¡±

    Dark Jing Teng was confused, saying, ¡°You like him, and I like him too, but neither one of us wants to step aside. So why don¡¯t we just both take a step back and y together? Isn¡¯t that a pretty good idea? What part is there to feel ashamed about?¡±

    White Jing Teng was speechless. She eventually asked, ¡°Do you really have no idea, or are you pretending? How can we do this kind of thing together?¡±

    ¡°Why can¡¯t we do it together?¡± Dark Jing Teng snapped in annoyance. ¡°I¡¯m already trying topromise here, and yet you¡¯re still being so pushy! In that case, you can¡¯t me me for bing hostile!¡±

    White Jing Teng retorted angrily, ¡°This is my body to begin with, so let¡¯s see just how you¡¯ll be hostile!¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this also my body?¡± Dark Jing Teng replied, refusing to back off at all.

    When he saw the two women arguing angrily back and forth, Zu An couldn''t take it and advised them, ¡°Sisters shouldn¡¯t be fighting like this...¡±

    Both women looked at him at the same time and eximed, ¡°You need to choose! Which one of us do you want to stay?¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He hadn¡¯t expected to draw their aggression to himself. He looked at these two, who clearly shared the same body and said the same thing to him with the same face. He couldn''t help but feel a bit amused, replying, ¡°Isn¡¯t it the same?¡±

    ¡°We are not the same!¡± the sisters both said in unison.

    They hadn¡¯t expected each other to say the same thing. Both harrumphed when they heard what the other person said. They wanted to turn their heads away, but one wanted to turn left and the other right, so they just remained in the same ce. They could only stare at Zu An in annoyance and wait for his reply.

    Zu An hesitated for a bit, then quietly said, ¡°Only a kid would have to choose. Adults naturally want it all...¡±

    The two women were stunned, but then they were extremely embarrassed. Even Dark Jing Teng, who supported this at first, had begun hoping that he would choose her. As such, both women were of the same opinion. They rushed at Zu An furiously to vent out their frustration and anger.

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled White Jing Teng for +444 +444 +444...</strong>

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Dark Jing Teng for +444 +444 +444...</strong>

    Zu An began screaming miserably from their bullying, but of course, it was hard to say whether he was really in pain or if he was actually happy.

    ...

    The next morning, when Zu An woke up, he sought out a separate courtyard to focus on cultivation. After several days of intense battles, he now truly understood just how many powerful beings there were outside of this world, some even beyond his imagination. If he still didn¡¯t exercise any vignce, he''d only end up being powerless again when he experienced something simr in the future. Of course, he definitely didn¡¯t want to go through what had happened ever again.

    He used a set of sword skills in the courtyard, then circted all of his various skills once. But midway through, he couldn''t help but hold his waist.

    <i>I feel a bit sore...</i>

    <i>What a bothersome woman... no, pair of women!</i>

    Suddenly, a voice remarked with a sneer ¡°Tsk tsk, I didn¡¯t expect that even the iron-bodied regent could have a sore waist and back! It seems you definitely enjoyed an incredible timest night.¡±

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled the Second Empress for +745 +745 +745...</strong>

    When he sensed her uncontroble anger, Zu An reacted quickly and exined, ¡°What are you thinking about? These are injuries left from the battle against the Lord of ughter...¡±

    Sure enough, when she heard that these were injuries from the battle, the Second Empress couldn''t keep acting angry. She moved over and asked, ¡°How do you feel right now? Should I bring over the military doctor to take a look?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, it just hurts a bit. I¡¯ll be fine after a few days,¡± Zu An replied, feeling quite moved when he saw her nervous expression.

    ¡°Your body is clearly so strong and you can recover so fast, and yet you¡¯re still in pain. Does that mean that maybe there¡¯s some hidden injury? I think it¡¯s best if we have the physician take a look just in case,¡± the Second Empress said nervously.

    Zu An shook his head and replied, ¡°Those who reachmy cultivation realm understand our bodies better than most physicians. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m really fine.¡±

    When she heard what he said, the Second Empress sighed in relief and said, ¡°That¡¯s good. then.¡± But immediately after, she asked with a big smile, ¡°Why are you cultivating so early in the morning and leaving that little sister all alone in the room? You really don¡¯t know how to pamper women.¡± Even though she was smiling, the cold glint that flickered in her eyes gave away her true intentions.

    ¡°Little sister?¡± Zu An replied, his expression strange. ¡°Her age is probably much greater than yours.¡±

    ¡°How is that possible?¡± the Second Empress asked, stunned. Sure enough, her attention was diverted.

    ¡°She isn¡¯t human. She might already have existed in this world for more than ten thousand years. It would be far from enough for you to even call her ''ancestral grandmother'',¡± Zu An exined. He shared Jing Teng¡¯s background with her a bit, but of course, he concealed what he wasn''t supposed to say.

    The reason he did so was because he was worried that the Second Empress might provoke Jing Teng out of jealousy, then do some unwise things as a result. White Jing Teng was one thing, since even though she was still rather unfriendly, she was nowhere near as problematic as Dark Jing Teng. However, Dark Jing Teng had once been the infamous Ghost King, the type who easily killed without thinking. What if she really was offended badly and the two went after each other¡¯s throats?

    Sure enough, the Second Empress was incredibly shocked. She opened her mouth several times, but in the end, she sighed and said, ¡°So you liked older...¡±

    Zu An was stunned.

    <i>This woman¡¯s brain seems to be a bit weird... Was that the most important part of what I said?</i>

    But he felt that it was still effective. After all was said and done, when she learned that Jing Teng was an ¡®ancestral grandma¡¯ over ten thousand years old, the Second Empress¡¯ jealousy calmed quite a bit. She eventually remarked, ¡°Alright, that little girl... Ahem, that senior has really taken care of her appearance well. I have to remember to ask her for some tipster.¡± n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>Jing Teng¡¯s method probably won¡¯t work for you.</i>

    ...

    Then, the main army continued to move. After all, the Second Prince¡¯s men were still atrge, and they needed to quickly return to Primeval Iron City to reconvene with Peacock Wise King and reorganize.

    Along the way, Zu An and the Second Empress rode side by side on their beasts. Meanwhile, Hu Qianxiao and many other leaders of the Fiend races were stunned, because Jing Teng was curled up in Zu An¡¯s arms intimately like a kitten. They couldn''t help but give the Second Empress a look, but they didn¡¯t see any sign of anger or jealousy from her expression.

    <i>How is this possible?</i>

    They understood the Second Empress¡¯ personality way too well. She could be smiling on the surface, while being full of bloodlust deep in her bones. She was definitely a vicious and merciless individual. Even so, right now, she didn¡¯t seem as if she had any ill feelings inside at all!

    Furthermore, the fact that the youngdy was able to seal the foreign monsters meant that she was definitely some incredibly great individual. And yet these two women didn¡¯t seem to mind each other at all, rather seeming to get along. The onlookers were immediately filled with deep respect.

    <i>The regent really is unfathomable. Just how did he manage to aplish this?</i>

    <i>We only have a few wives back home, and apart from being a bit prettier than average, none of them have many skills at all, and yet the harem inevitably ends up in absolute chaos.</i>

    <i>Sigh, it¡¯s a pity that we didn¡¯t ask the regent for some tips when he was drunkst night.</i>

    ...

    Meanwhile, Zu An was discussing how to deal with the monsters from now on with the Second Empress.

    ¡°We don¡¯t need to worry too much about the monsters that have already invaded. Since the source has already been sealed, we can take our time getting rid of them. It''s actually the Second Prince that I''m worried about. He might be taking advantage of the fact that no one outside knows of his betrayal yet to stir up a huge disaster,¡± the Second Empress said worriedly.

    ¡°Is there a chance of bad things happening to Primeval Iron City?¡± Zu An asked in a grave voice. ¡°That¡¯s the Fiend race¡¯s base of logistics. If anything goes wrong there, even they might not be able to leave this ce smoothly.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s unlikely. The Peacock Wise King is extremely detailed, and together with Nanwu¡¯s resourcefulness, the Second Prince shouldn¡¯t be able to fool them,¡± the Second Empress replied after thinking to herself for a bit.

    Zu An sighed in relief. After all, Yu Yanluo and the others had withdrawn to Primeval Iron City. Since the Second Empress had deduced that Primeval Iron City was fine, that meant there wasn¡¯t much to be worried about.

    ¡°Will he suddenly ughter his way into the King Court and depose the young emperor?¡± he suddenly asked.

    ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I''m worried about,¡± the Second Empress said, biting her lip. After all, the Second Prince was part of the royal family, and he had a lot of prestige. If he upied the King Court, he could justpletely reverse the situation. More importantly, the Second Empress'' son was in the King Court.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I heard the Peacock Wise King mention that because of the monsters¡¯ invasion, the path to the King Court is on high alert. It won¡¯t be easy for the Second Prince to lead his men straight there,¡± Zu An said in constion.

    The Second Empress released a sigh of relief and said, ¡°I hope that''s the case.¡±

    The two of them both had their worries, so the army hurried back. Fortunately, the ones the Second Empress had brought with her were all the cream of the crop. They weren¡¯t slow at all, and after a few days of traveling, their group finally returned to Primeval Iron City.

    When they first saw the army, the lookouts in Primeval Iron City immediately blew their bugles. All of the soldiers in the city had vignt expressions.

    But then, someone shouted excitedly, ¡°It¡¯s the Second Empress and the regent!¡±

    The entire city immediately cheered. Yu Yanluo and the Peacock race''s father-daughter duo rushed out of the city. Yu Yanluo, in particr, had been rather scared and on edge. Now that she heard that Zu An had returned safely, she immediately felt really excited. She couldn''t keep herposure and ran over quickly.

    But then, she encountered the same trouble the Second Empress had. There was a beautiful woman nestled in Zu An¡¯s arms! Yu Yanluo couldn''t help but stop in ce.

 Chapter 2090: Provocation

    <h4>Chapter 2090: Provocation</h4>

    When she saw Yu Yanluo''s reaction, the Second Empress felt strangely refreshed. She couldn''t just suffer this kind of feeling all alone, right?

    <i>It¡¯ll be even better if they end up fighting each other.</i>

    Unfortunately, she was disappointed, as Yu Yanluo didn¡¯t act up. Instead, she looked at Zu An with her beautiful eyes and said, ¡°Ah Zu, you¡¯re finally back.¡±

    Now, it was Jing Teng¡¯s turn to be shocked. This woman¡¯s eyes really were alluring! Even she, as a woman, was a bit moved. This woman was so beautiful, and the way she spoke to Zu An was so special. Jing Teng couldn''t help but ask, ¡°Who is she?¡±

    Naturally, it was Dark Jing Teng. White Jing Teng definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to cuddle up in Zu An¡¯s arms in front of so many people.

    ¡°She''s the Medusa Queen, Yu Yanluo. She''s also my lover,¡± Zu An said, looking at Yu Yanluo with a smile. His eyes were full of warmth and gentleness.

    The Second Empress immediately felt jealous.

    <i>Why didn¡¯t Ah Zu acknowledge our rtionship when we had a simr situationst time? </i>

    Of course, she also knew that there was no way he would say that she was his lover in front of so many Fiend soldiers.

    <i>Sigh, I wish I were the Medusa Queen. She can just be with him legitimately.</i>

    Yu Yanluo also felt warm inside. She''d thought that Zu An would hide their rtionship because he had that woman in his arms, but he actually didn¡¯t cover it up at all.

    <i>As expected of my strong and powerful man!</i>

    An ambiguous smile appeared on her face as she asked, ¡°Did Ie at a bad time?¡± n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An spread out his arms and replied, ¡°No, you came at the perfect time.¡±

    When they saw that, the others'' eyes widened.

    <i>Is the regent really that awesome?</i>

    <i>Even if you can satisfy all of these women, can you really do it all at the same time?</i>

    The Second Empress had been screaming inside, rooting for a hell battlefield between these women. After all, the Medusa Queen was a n leader. Did she really not want any face? Also, there was that woman... Her fussy temper didn¡¯t seem to be that agreeable. Perhaps Yu Yanluo could hold herself back, but she''d thought the other woman definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to.

    <i>Fight! The more fiercely, the better!</i>

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression also became a bit reproachful.

    <i>Ah Zu, this guy, really...</i>

    Still, she couldn''t embarrass him in front of so many people. Besides, after this recent crisis, they had almost beem separated forever by death. The only thing she''d wished for was for her sweetheart toe back safely. Now that her wish was satisfied, how could she still have such worldly misgivings? After just a moment of hesitation, she walked toward Zu An with a bit of embarrassment, then leaned into his arms.

    When she saw Yu Yanluo walk over, Dark Jing Teng¡¯s brows rose. She was about to act up, but after thinking about it, she felt that Zu An was quite amazing. She and her sister weren¡¯t even a match for him when they worked together, so she felt that she needed to find some allies to help them out.

    <i>Hmm, this woman isn¡¯t bad. Not only is she beautiful, herplexion is rosy and her figure is amazing. She¡¯s definitely a woman who can pull her own weight.</i>

    When she thought about these things, her brows rxed a bit. In fact, when Yu Yanluo leaned against Zu An¡¯s shoulder, Dark Jing Teng couldn¡¯t help but touch her hair and exim, ¡°Huh? Your hair is really a bit special. How is it so thick?¡±

    Yu Yanluo was a bit surprised when she sensed the other woman¡¯s strange friendliness. She reflexively replied, ¡°That¡¯s a special trait of my bloodline. They can turn into snakes. Does that scare you?¡±

    ¡°Snakes? They¡¯re that interesting?¡± Dark Jing Teng replied, only bing even more curious. ¡°I want hair like this too!¡±

    When they saw the two women chat as if they were sisters, the onlookers'' jaws almost dropped to the floor.

    The Second Empress was now feeling really depressed.

    <i>What is going on here? This great-aunt definitely didn¡¯t treat me that nicely back then!</i>

    <i>Is Yu Yanluo really just that much more approachable than me?</i>

    As for Hu Qianxiao and the other Fiend generals, they were already about to prostrate themselves in admiration to Zu An. They had already felt that he was awesome enough before, but they''d never expected that there would be no upper limit to that, only more awesomeness.

    <i>At this point, is he still a mere person?</i>

    The Peacock Wise King couldn''t help but turn around to look at his daughter. He knew that his daughter seemed to have some kind of mysterious good impression of the regent, but now, it seemed that she was most likely going to be left broken-hearted over this affair.

    Kong Nanwu¡¯s face darkened for a moment. But soon after, a smile appeared on her face. She was a smart woman. Since there were already so many outstanding women around Zu An, why would she bother joining the liveliness? Just watching them from a distance was already enough.

    In the end, the Second Empress couldn''t stand the jealousy anymore and remarked, ¡°How about we enter the city first?¡± She really wanted to add ¡®just how long do you three n on hugging each other for¡¯, but in the end, she didn¡¯t.

    Yu Yanluo finally became clear-headed. She gently pushed Zu An in embarrassment. Zu An chuckled and let go of her. Then, their group quickly entered the city.

    ...

    Zu An and the Second Empress listened to the Peacock Wise King inside the city¡¯s main hall. They all felt extremely gratified and relieved that the Second Prince¡¯s n hadn¡¯t seeded.

    The Second Empress held Yu Yanluo¡¯s hand and said, ¡°Please don¡¯t be so foolish in the future! If something really happens to you, just how am I supposed topensate for the losses?¡±

    Yu Yanluo¡¯s expression remained warm and calm as she said, ¡°Compared to the safety of Primeval Iron City and the Fiend races, how much worth does my petty life alone carry?¡±

    The Second Empress gave Zu An an unhappy look and said, ¡°But I think a certain someone probably doesn¡¯t think that way.¡±

    Zu An was also still feeling a lot of lingering fear. Thank goodness he had created that protective talisman against parasites, or else he likely wouldn''t have been able to see her ever again. When he thought about the main culprit, his expression turned ice-cold. He asked, ¡°Where is the Second Prince now?"

    ¡°After that day, the Second Prince knew that he likely wouldn''t be able to take down Primeval Iron City for now, so he secretly left under cover of night,¡± Kong Nanwu said.

    ¡°Did he head toward the King Court?¡± the Second Empress quickly asked.

    ¡°ording to the information we received a few days ago, he didn¡¯t. Je seems to have headed east. I don¡¯t know just what his objectives are,¡± Kong Nanwu replied. ¡°For safety¡¯s sake, we had Princess Suolun contact the other ns along the way. The Second Prince didn¡¯t press toward the King Court, so he probably wishes to upy some remote ce and go into hiding.¡±

    When she heard that the King Court was safe, the Second Empress finally released a sigh of relief.

    Zu An suddenly frowned slightly. He walked up to the giant map of the territory and asked, ¡°ording to your investigations, where has the Second Prince passed?¡±

    ¡°He passed through here, here, and here...¡± Kong Nanwu picked up a small rod and pointed at the map. They were indeed some remote and barren ces that were difficult even for the Fiend races to survive in.

    Zu An stared at the map and became quiet for a while. Then, his expression suddenly changed as he eximed, ¡°He wants to attack the humans¡¯ reinforcement armies!¡±

    It wasn¡¯t that Kong Nanwu and her father¡¯s strategies were insufficient, but as members of the Fiend races, they naturally subconsciously prioritized the King Court. Besides that, their attention had been focusedpletely on the sealednd, so they didn¡¯t understand the itinerary of the humans¡¯ reinforcement army too well.

    Meanwhile, Zu An just happened to know it well. After all, he was the one who had nned the route of the human reinforcement army, and he''d even had Tushan Yu coordinate with them. That was why he was able to guess what the Second Prince was doing from his movements.

    Sure enough, Kong Nanwu¡¯s expression changed. She immediately guessed the Second Prince¡¯s schemes and cried, ¡°Oh no! If the human reinforcements are attacked, that might trigger another war between our two sides! Then, the entire world will be in chaos, and the Second Prince will be able to benefit from the disorder!¡±

    ...

    Meanwhile, the human reinforcement army had been traveling north. It was already dark, and the army had begun setting up camp.

    In the main camp, an elder dressed in official robes was leisurely sipping on some tea, while two young individuals were debating something with reddened faces. One of them had thick brows and big eyes, while the other had fairer features.

    ¡°Respected king, we should assign more patrols around us. What if there¡¯s an enemy attack in the middle of the night?¡±

    The elder was none other than the leader of the human reinforcement army - King Liang, Zhao Yi. Meanwhile, the youngsters were brothers from the Qin n, Qin Guangyuan and Qin Yongde. Naturally, they wanted to regain honor for the Qin n. Thus, as soon as they recovered, they had volunteered to join the expedition north as part of the reinforcement army. Even Qin Yongde, who normally lived a life of debauchery, was now much more mature than before.

    King Liang said in a calm and unhurried voice, ¡°We¡¯re all already really tired from this trip. The soldiers need to rest in order to preserve their fighting ability.¡±

    ¡°But no matter how tired they are, scouting isn''t something that you can neglect!¡± Qin Guangyuan said nervously.

    ¡°This is the Fiend races¡¯ territory, and Bluefield Country even escorted us along the way, treating us so well. If we sendt out more scouts, wouldn''t that just show mistrust toward the Fiend races? What if we ended up ruining the hard-earned peace between us? Would you be able to handle the consequences?¡± King Liang replied, giving them a sidelong nce.

    ¡°We''re soldiers and don¡¯t know that much. We only know that as soldiers, we need to ensure the safety of the army,¡± Qin Guangyuan said stubbornly.

    ¡°If you''re so worried, then you can bring your own men to go scout!¡± King Liang snapped impatiently.

    The brothers eximed, ¡°It has always been our own brothers who have been patrolling and standing guard the whole time! They''re already incredibly exhausted, so we hope that the king can assign some more personnel...¡±

    <i>m!</i>

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t all of that something you brought upon yourselves?¡± King Liang roared as he mmed the table. ¡°This king has already tolerated the two of you for long enough. You two are full of criticism and keep throwing orders around as if you own the ce. Are you themander here or am I? Do you think the army is still your Qin n¡¯s territory?! Get out of my sight!¡±

 Chapter 2091: Sacrifice

    <h4>Chapter 2091: Sacrifice</h4>

    The Qin brothers were about to continue arguing, but King Liang got impatient and had the guards drive them out.

    Xie Xiu looked at the two of them with a big smile, remarking, ¡°Didn¡¯t I already tell you that it¡¯s useless to talk to him?¡±

    Qin Yongde harrumphed. ¡°Pah, who does he think he is? If not for the fact that something happened to the Qin n, would he ever have been able to boss people around and do whatever he wanted like this?¡±

    ¡°Watch what you say!¡± Qin Guangyuan immediately stopped him. ¡°We''re in troubled times right now. Please don¡¯t bring more trouble onto our Qin n.¡±

    ¡°I really can¡¯t stand him. He says that he''s worried about the cooperation between the two sides, but isn¡¯t he just doing this to fawn on that Bluefield Country Lord?¡± Qin Yongde continued in annoyance.

    Xie Xiu nodded and said, ¡°That Bluefield Country Lord is indeed pretty.¡±

    Qin Yongde¡¯s eyes darted around. He put his arm around Xie Xiu''s shoulder and said, ¡°Brother Xie, you¡¯ve always been good with women. What do you think about trying to get closer to that country lord?¡±

    Xie Xiu replied with a bitter smile, ¡°I like human women, okay? Also, there was nothing different in that Bluefield Country Lord¡¯s eyes when she saw me. Do you know why?¡±

    ¡°Does that even matter? Do you expect her to love you at first sight or something?¡± Qin Yongde asked in confusion.

    Xie Xiu smiled, saying, "And that''s why you still don¡¯t understand women well enough. The look in their eyes can reveal a lot of things. Even though this humble one isn¡¯t that handsome, I still think I have a bit of charm. If a woman has no reaction when they see me, there can only be two possibilities.¡±

    ¡°Which two possibilities?¡± Qin Guanyuan asked curiously.

    ¡°One, she''s blind. Two, she already has someone!¡± Xie Xiu answered with a sigh. ¡°Bluefield Country Lord is clearly not the former, which means she''s clearly thetter.¡±

    There was something else that he didn¡¯t say, which is that when they first met, Tushan Yu had already told him that she came because the regent entrusted her with this task. With Zu An¡¯s nature, it would be weirder if there was nothing between them.

    Qin Yongde said with a smile, ¡°With your skills, even if they have no feelings for you, you can still get closer to them.¡±

    Qin Guangyuan¡¯s expression became serious as he said, ¡°Nonsense. How could you do something so indecent?¡±

    Just then, a curious voice called out, ¡°What kinds of indecent affairs are you talking about?¡±

    Two beautiful figures drew closer. One carried the grace of a wise and virtuousdy, while the other was dressed in golden armor. Their figures were especially tall and slender. They were none other than Xie Daoyun and Murong Qinghe, who had also joined the operation to assist the Fiend races.

    The men''s faces immediately heated up. How could they still continue talking about this? They could only change the topic. ¡°It¡¯s all because that King Liang is too despicable. He¡¯s not willing to assign troops to scout our surroundings.¡±

    ¡°What else can we do? Our people have patrolled every day and can¡¯t take it anymore,¡± Murong Qinghe said in worry.

    They all came from military ns, after all, so they still had some servants traveling with them who had been sent over to assist in the fight, and also to protect the young masters. It seemed that perhaps King Liang was deliberately targeting them, as he never listened to their advice. They were worried that something would happen, so they could only lead their own people on patrols. Even so, they really were too few in number. They had to continue the march during the day and patrol the surroundings at night. Even their tough bodies couldn''t handle it anymore, and gradually,ints emerged from their ranks.

    Qin Guangyuan said gravely, ¡°My brothers can''t take this much longer, so let¡¯s let them rest first. The three of us will take over sentry duty today.¡±

    Xie Xiu couldn''t help butin, ¡°Sleeping toote will ruin the skin of a beautiful man like me!¡±

    Qin Yongde put his arm around Xie Xiu''s shoulder and secretly gave it a squeeze, asking, ¡°Then are you going or not?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll go, I¡¯ll go...¡± Xie Xiu said with a miserable expression.

    Xie Daoyun and Murong Qinghe both blurted out at the same time, ¡°We¡¯re going too!¡±

    Xie Xiu was stunned, asking, ¡°Big sis, why are you going?¡±

    The Qin brothers also quickly advised Murong Qinghe against the idea. They knew that she was the childhood sweetheart of Chu Youzhao, so they were worried that something could happen to her.

    Xie Daoyun smiled warmly and said, ¡°I¡¯m not some weak and delicate daughter. Of course I have to do my part as well.¡±

    Murong Qinghe brandished the spear in her hands and said, ¡°I spent a lot of time in the military and am already used to these kinds of things. Big sister Xie and Ican look after each other too.¡±

    When they saw how stubborn the young women were about this, and thought about how they had to patrol all around at night even though they really didck manpower, the three men could only agree.

    ...

    Soon after, night fell. The Qin brothers each brought some subordinates to patrol one direction. Xie Xiu was ced in charge of one direction alone, while Xie Daoyun and Murong Qinghe were both ced in charge of thest direction.

    The area the two women were assigned to spanned around two kilometers. They didn¡¯t notice anything strange. Besides, it had been quite peaceful recently, so they couldn''t help but rx a bit.

    ¡°It seems the Qin brothers were worrying excessively after all,¡± Xie Daoyun said with a smile.

    ¡°Big sister Xie, these are all things that a qualified military officer should do. Perhaps it might be useless ny-nine times, but as long as it''s useful once, it can save the lives of everyone in the army,¡± Murong Qinghe exined.

    ¡°Ah, it seems I was too ignorant,¡± Xie Daoyun said, feeling a bit embarrassed.

    ¡°Big sister Xie speaks too seriously,¡± Murong Qinghe said in constion. There weren¡¯t many women in the army camp, so the two of them were frequently together and had grown much closer than before. ¡°By the way, big sister Xie, I heard that you used to frequently follow big brother Zu in his adventures. Can you tell me some stories about what happened?¡±

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t all that often. It was just once or twice,¡± Xie Daoyun said. When she started to talk about Zu An, she became a bit shy.

    The two women quickly started chatting with each other while continuing the patrol.

    After an unknown amount of time passed, a shrill arrow suddenly whistled in the distance. The two women''s expressions both changed, as the arrow came from Qin Guangyuan¡¯s direction, and it was a special whistling arrow used for rms. Thus, they both quickly rushed in that direction. Qin Guangyuan only had a few guards with him, so they knew it would be really dangerous if he really encountered an enemy attack. Xie Daoyun tossed out a few talismans to apply to Murong Qinghe¡¯s body, and Murong Qinghe immediately sensed that she had be much faster. The two quickly rushed to the scene. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    There, the Qin brothers were sitting back to back, wounded. Their few personal guards had already copsed in pools of blood, and the corpses of many Fiend soldiers were surrounding them. The reason why they hadn''t beenpletely annihted by the numerous Fiend soldiers around them was because Xie Xiu was risking his life to protect the two brothers.

    Xie Xiu¡¯s fingers were like lightning as chess pieces fired out like bullets, taking down Fiend soldiers with each strike. Not even the best of the armor they wore was able to stop his attacks. Even so, there were just too many Fiend soldiers around them, apanied by several officers who were quite powerful. Even with the help of formations, Xie Xiu was gradually pushed into a disadvantageous position.

    Murong Qinghe shouted as she thrust her spear. She immediately rushed to Xie Xiu''s side to defend against several Fiend soldiers attempting to ambush him. Her golden armor was elegant, and she had long and slender legs; when they saw that, the eyes of the surrounding Fiend soldiers immediately lit up. As they charged, they became a bit more excited.

    Xie Daoyun quickly activated her talismans, and support skills quickly manifested to assist herpanions. Talisman formations lit up in the air one after another, clearly weakening the iing attacks.

    However, dozens of crossbow bolts flew from the distance. The enemy was clearly no pushover; they realized how much of an impact Xie Daoyun had on the battlefield and didn¡¯t want to give her a chance to activate them fully. Helpless to do anything else, Xie Daoyun could only withdraw the formations, taking out some talismans to defend herself. In that instant, a group of Fiend soldiers quickly rushed up to her. Their cultivation wasn''t low at all.

    Xie Daoyun was a rune and formation master. Given enough time and distance, she could wipe out this small troop all on her own. However, in such a situation, no one would give her the chance to use all of her powers. She was quickly surrounded by peril.

    Xie Xiu and Murong Qinghe quickly supported her, one from a distance and one from up close. Unfortunately, there were enemies all around them as well. They were soon caught within the enemy¡¯s ranks, and the space they could use to fight back grew smaller and smaller, while the pressure they faced only increased. They felt more and more despair. Judging from the scale of the enemy army, this was clearly not the main force and was just meant to stall them. As for where the main force was headed, that went without saying.

    The group thought about the human army that waspletely defenseless several kilometers away. If they were ambushed in the middle of the night, they were probably going to bepletely wiped out!

    Even so, they didn¡¯t have the freedom to think about all of that, because a dark figure swiftly flew out from the Fiend soldiers'' camp at extreme speed. Even though everyone in the group did their best to defend and retaliate, they were still wounded.

    Just then, a bat-like monster appeared, hanging upside down on a tree. It looked at the FIend soldiers with disdain and remarked, ¡°You all really are trash. You couldn¡¯t even deal with these people yet? Thank goodness the Second Prince sent me here.¡±

    The soldiers were all really angry, but they didn¡¯t dare to offend it. They knew that the monster was the ckhair Bat, an emissary from the alien monsters. It was incredibly strong, and it liked to suck out blood essence from its targets. If they died in its hands, that would definitely be indescribably painful.

    Then, the ckhair Bat looked at Xie Daoyun and the others greedily and said, ¡°You cuties are quite lively, especially those three youngdies. Your tender flesh will definitely be delicious.¡±

    Xie Xiu eximed furiously, ¡°Open your damned eyes, I¡¯m a freaking man!¡±

    He took out a chess board and was about to attack when he suddenly staggered. He fell to his knees, hissing, ¡°Poison!¡±

    As soon as he said that, Xie Daoyun and Murong Qinghe also both felt dizzy. They looked at the wounds on their arms and saw ck blood already starting toe out.

    ¡°Heh heh, beautifuldies, ept my warm embrace and be my ves!¡± Tthe ckhair Bat cried out. Naturally, it wouldn''t let such a good chance go and immediately rushed over. When it spread its wings, they immediately extended ten meters outward, instantly surrounding the two women.

    Xie Daoyun tried to summon something, but the poison activated and she couldn''t move at all. She was full of regret. It seemed like she stillcked real fighting experience... If she had immediately exerted herself to use the Record of High Firmament, perhaps the battlefield would be entirely different.

    A decisive look flickered through Xie Xiu¡¯s eyes. Several ck and white pieces shed around him, and Xie Daoyun and Murong Qinghe appeared at his side, while he appeared inside the ckhair Bat¡¯s wings. This was an ultimate skill that Hei Baizi had researched through chess theory, Substitution! Depending on the state of the game, as long as he believed that there were enough benefits, he could sacrifice a piece. Although usually, someone else was used as the sacrifice, the user was now treating himself as the sacrificial piece.

    ¡°Noooo!¡± Xie Daoyun cried, naturally recognizing what the skill was. When she saw her little brother face death in her ce, she immediately felt endless despair.

    ¡°Hm? That¡¯s interesting. But I¡¯ll just eat you first and then slowly enjoy those two beauties after,¡± the ckhair Bat said, thenughed sinisterly.

    It was about to devour the young man in its arms when a resplendent sword descended from the sky, nailing its head to the ground.

 Chapter 2092: Irresistible

    Chapter 2092: Irresistible

    The intense battlefield immediately calmed down. Everyone present looked in that direction.

    Many Fiend soldiers were confused. What was going on here? Just now, the ckhair Bat had been cackling like a big shot, and yet it had ended up like this just a secondter! More importantly, what was that dazzling thing? It felt as if a meteorite had crashed down from above and smashed the bat to death. Wasn¡¯t it just too unlucky?

    Suddenly, the ckhair Bat¡¯s giant wings twitched a few times, as if it was preparing to get up again. However, its head was nailed to the ground by the sword. It failed even after trying several times.

    Xie Daoyun and the others were stunned.<em>This thing isn''t dead even now? This bat¡¯s survival ability is actually this ridiculous? What if it really breaks free¡­</em>

    A figure then descended from the sky. The tip of his feet tapped against the sword hilt, and that was the straw that broke the camel¡¯s back. The ckhair Bat could no longer utter another sound.

    ¡°Big brother Zu!¡± both Xie Daoyun and Murong Qinghe shouted at the same time when they saw who it was. They were extremely happy to see him.

    Xie Xiu also released a huge sigh of relief when he was saved from danger. When he saw Zu An and the looks in the young women''s eyes, he mumbled to himself, ¡°He really is damned handsome. I guess I¡¯ll just have to let him have this one.¡±

    Zu An nodded slightly and smiled toward them. After managing to guess the Second Prince¡¯s ns, he hadn¡¯t hesitated, and immediately rushed south. After all, these reinforcements had only been sent by the human side to give him face. If they really were wiped out in the Fiend races'' territory, the two sides would really have no hope of reconciliation left. The resulting war would create a sea of corpses, and the undercover monsters would be given a chance to turn things around. The more ughter and bloodshed there was, the easier it would be for the monsters to propagate. As such, he practically hadn''t stopped at all, heading straight in this direction at full speed.

    The Second Empress and Yu Yanluo understood the severity of the matter. Even though they had been sad to see him go, they worried that they would hold him back and chose not to travel with him. In contrast, Jing Teng insisted on sticking to him. There were eveb several times when Dark Jing Teng nagged at him about her ¡®reward¡¯ along the way.

    Even though Zu An was a bit shaken up when he thought about the sisters¡¯ special rtionship, he knew how pressing the situation was. After doing his best, he managed to persuade Dark Jing Teng to dy for a few days and return to sleep in the jade coffin. Only then did he hurry over as quickly as he could. He sensed the battle as soon as he got near, and thus was able to save Xie Xiu at thest second.

    ¡°Re¡­ Regent!¡± There were individuals among the Fiend soldiers who also recognized Zu An. They immediately panicked.

    A general in ck armor shouted, ¡°What are you scared of? No matter how formidable he is, he''s only one person. We''re an entire army. Are you all cowards?!¡±

    Zu An looked up and saw that everything within a range of several kilometers was surrounded by a formation. A military banner was faintly visible at the center.

    It was a ssic military formation. With it active, all of the soldiers inside would not only be as one entity, cooperating in their attacks and sharing the burden of defense; it would also greatly increase every individual soldier¡¯s attack, defense, and speed. Furthermore, the enemy would experience all kinds of disadvantages. That was why the cultivators of this world still feared armies. In particr, if one was surrounded, unless one happened to be strong enough, what awaited would be almost certain death.

    ¡°So it was the Second Prince¡¯s personal army.¡± Zu An sneered when he saw the markings on the military banner.

    When the ck-armored general saw that many of his soldiers were still scared, he roared, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that you''ve all forgotten who it was that forced us to fight to the death in the sealednd, all the way until we bled ourst?!¡±

    The soldiers¡¯ eyes reddened when they heard that. After all, they were the Second Prince¡¯s trusted aides. They were supposed to have enjoyed tremendous benefits and been promoted to nobility. They would then have had beautiful wives and reached the pinnacle of their lives. And yet, because of Zu An¡¯s sudden appearance and his single-handed support of the young prince onto the throne, they''d be a rebel army overnight! Then, they''d been sent to the sealednd to fight against the alien monsters, with no home or return in sight. It was clear that the King Court nned to use them until they all fought to the death.

    ¡°Kill him, and we can once more return to the King Court.¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t want to be a rebel army anymore!¡±

    The soldiers¡¯ eyes reddened. They raised their shields and spears, then began tightening their encirclement one step after another. They intended to use the advantage of an army to wear the enemy down to death within their ranks.

    Xie Xiu, Xie Daoyun, and Murong Qinghe quickly supported the Qin brothers and moved closer to Zu An. Against a murderous army that surrounded thempletely, many of their usual skills became useless.

    Xie Daoyun took out a talisman and was about to forcibly activate it when Zu An suddenly took her hand, saying, ¡°Your cultivation isn''t high enough yet. Forcefully using Sun En¡¯s talismans will cause irreversible damage to your mind. Just leave this ce to me.¡±

    When she heard that warm voice and felt that warm hand, Xie Daoyun blushed and she said quietly, ¡°Okay.¡±

    When Xie Xiu saw his big sister¡¯s bashful appearance, he thought to himself,<em>It¡¯s over, it¡¯s over! My big sister has already beenpletely captured! Why do I feel as if I¡¯m really taking a loss here?</em>

    <em>Why doesn¡¯t that bastard Zu An have any sisters?! Dammit!</em>n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Xie Xiu for +5 +5 +5¡­</strong>

    ¡­

    When he saw the soldiers approach closer and closer, Zu An said gravely, ¡°Out of consideration for the possibility that the Second Prince poisoned your minds, if you surrender now, I can still give you all a chance.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t listen to his flowery nonsense!¡± This time, it wasn¡¯t the ck-armored general who spoke, but rather many soldiers shouting in righteous indignation.

    When he saw their eyes filled with hatred and the endless Rage points flowing in, Zu An sighed. Countless gatling guns appeared around him.

    ¡°What are those?¡± the soldiers wondered in confusion, but they found out a secondter.

    Every single gatling gun spat out blue tongues of me. The shields the soldiers bore were instantly ripped to shreds like paper. Then, rows after rows of soldiers continuously fell. These gatling guns weren''t too useful against the strongest individuals, but against such soldiers, they tore through the rebels like a scythe through wheat. After all,ven though the military shields could block some bullets, they couldn''t withstand the countless gatling guns Zu An prepared. The sheer number of bullets was already enough to turn the tide.

    Some soldiers tried to mount a counterattack, but they were soon blown to pieces by even more bullets. Eventually, the remaining soldiers finally broke down and fled in all directions.

    Zu An knew that the casualties in the sealednd were all because of the Second Prince and these subordinates, and that if he let them incite disharmony between the two sides again, countless lives could be lost. Thus, he didn¡¯t show them any mercy. In the end, silence fell, and the smell of blood saturated the air.

    Murong Qinghe was more or less alright, since she was already used to simr things. However, the Xie siblings¡¯ faces turned pale. In the end, they ran off to the side and vomited. It was clear that many years of life in a distinguished family had prevented them from experiencing intense situations like this.

    Xie Daoyun was the first one to recover. She had experienced many things with Zu An before, after all. She said, ¡°Let¡¯s hurry back to the main camp. Their main forces aren''t actually here!¡±

    Zu An examined the Qin brothers¡¯ conditions. When he saw that even though they were severely injured, there was no threat to their lives, he gave them some medicines before saying to Xie Daoyun and Murong Qinghe, ¡°Please lead the way. Brother Xiu, I¡¯ll be leaving the Qin brothers to you.¡±

    He was about to have Murong Qinghe show him the way, but when he saw how pale Xie Daoyun¡¯s face was, he knew that leaving her here would be too cruel. That was why he decided to bring her with him.

    When they saw Zu An take one young woman in each arm and fly into the sky, Xie Xiu and the wounded Qin brothers looked at each other in dismay. In the end, they all said at the same time, ¡°Hoes before bros!¡±

    Xie Xiu gave the Qin brothers an annoyed look and asked, ¡°Hey, you''re his brothers-inw, aren''t you? How can you not keep an eye on him when he¡¯s womanizing at all?¡±

    The Qin brothers retorted with darkened faces, ¡°You¡¯re not far off from being a brother-inw yourself. Why aren¡¯t you doing a thing?¡±

    Xie Xiu was speechless.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in the humans¡¯ main camp, outside a morous tent, several Fox race soldiers stopped an elder from moving closer. They said, ¡°King, the country lord has already turned in for rest.¡±

    The elder was naturally King Liang. After being bothered by the Qin n¡¯s two little bastards, he''d been really pissed off. He couldn''t help but recall Bluefield Country Lord¡¯s beauty and couldn''t fall asleep, so he''d decided to just seek her out. However, in the end, the other side stopped him and refused to meet him.

    These Fox race soldiers were all women, and they were all outstanding beauties by the standards of the human world. The guards behind King Liang were all enamored.

    <em>These fox girls really are hot! The military uniforms they¡¯re wearing can¡¯t cover up their incredible bodies! If I can get with one of them, I wonder just how amazing it¡¯ll feel!</em>

    Normally, if King Liang experienced this kind of treatment, he would have already flipped out. But when he thought about how beautiful Tushan Yu was, his temper became much better than usual. He said, ¡°Please contact your country lord and tell her that this king has some pressing military intelligence that I need to discuss with her.¡±

    ¡°Please do not trouble us, respected king,¡± the fox soldiers said, unconvinced. The scorn in their eyes was very clear. As fox women, they understood the thoughts of men the most.

    <em>Does this old pervert really think we don¡¯t know what he''s thinking?</em>

    King Liang finally couldn''t take it anymore. He glowered, saying, ¡°This matter is rted to the friendship of our two sides. A single mistake could cause arms to be raised between both sides. Can you two handle such a consequence?¡±

    After saying that, he tried to barge straight in. The foxdies quickly tried to stop him, but King Liang¡¯s guards also used the chance to move forward and take advantage of them.

    The two sides were about to break out into a dispute when a gentle and lovely voice called out, ¡°What''s happening here?¡±

    Immediately after, a graceful figure walked over. It was none other than Bluefield Country Lord Tushan Yu.

    The eyes of King Liang and the others immediately widened. They saw how fair and slender her neck was, and how tall she was. She looked as if she was almost glowing, making those present feel inferior. And yet, there was a provocative smile in her expression that immediately made them feel closer to her, as if she could be easily obtained. When they saw her sensuous chest, incredible waist, and moving skirt that seemed to reveal something yet didn¡¯t reveal anything, they couldn''t help but swallow their saliva.

    She really was an incredibly irresistible woman! Anyone who saw her would immediately think of taking her to bed.

 Chapter 2093: How Can I Not Grant Your Request?

    Chapter 2093: How Can I Not Grant Your Request?

    A hint of greed shed through King Liang¡¯s eyes, but he quickly concealed it. He said, ¡°There were some important military matters that I wished to discuss with the country lord, but your subordinates actually stopped us and prevented us from meeting.¡±

    ¡°You two, really! King Liang, why didn¡¯t you tell me if you had something to talk about?¡± Tushan Yu remarked. She was an incredibly beautiful woman, with countless pursuers all around her. How could she not know what King Liang was really thinking? However, she didn¡¯t expose him, and pretended to scold her subordinates to let the matter pass instead. She asked, ¡°May I ask what it is that King Liang needed to talk to me about tonight?¡±

    King Liang naturally wouldn¡¯t continue to chase after the prior matter, as that would only ruin his image. He used the chance to say, ¡°We aren¡¯t too familiar with the Fiend races¡¯ territory. I wonder if the country lord has assigned any soldiers to patrol the surroundings?¡±

    Tushan Yu was stunned, asking, ¡°Could it be that your side didn¡¯t assign any patrols?¡± She thought that was absolutely unbelievable, as such a thing was something any army would know to do.

    King Liang¡¯s face heated up and he quickly said, ¡°I did want to assign some guards to patrol the surroundings, but there are some brats on our side who stopped me and said that doing so would make it seem as if we didn¡¯t trust you, and that it would tarnish the rtions between our two sides. I didn¡¯t want to listen to them, but I couldn''t go against their ns that have military influence. Their seniors have extraordinary prestige in the army, so I couldn''t offend them too harshly.¡±

    If the Qin n brothers heard this, they would definitely curse loudly, thinking,<em>How could there be such a shameless person in this world?!</em>However, King Liang said all that without even batting an eyelid.

    Tushan Yu was a bit surprised. She was a bit confused, because she had met the Qin brothers before, and they didn''t really seem to be like that However, she said with a smile, ¡°Then we¡¯ve really troubled the king. But in my opinion, we still ought to have the patrols just in case. Safety is most important after all.¡± The reason she hadn¡¯t assigned sentries was mainly because she didn¡¯t want to act out of ce.

    ¡°Your words are wise, country lord," King Liang said. When he saw her beautiful smiling face, he was really itching deep down. He was about to tease her some more when he suddenly heard a screeching arrow. The expressions of those present changed. No matter how ignorant King Liang was, even he knew that it was an rm arrow.

    ¡°What¡­ What happened?¡± he asked those around him in a panic. But they had been with him all this time, so how could they know what had happened?

    King Liang thought to himself,<em>I was just here to flirt with women. Why did I end up encountering this kind of thing?</em>

    There were vague shouts of fighting in the distance. The entire camp was in disorder. Even so, the human army still had talented individuals. Soon after, a vice-general led a group of brave men over to remind King Liang to return to the main tent at once. Otherwise, it would be bad if soldiers came for orders and he wasn¡¯t there.

    ¡°Yes, yes, let¡¯s hurry on back,¡± King Liang said, nodding hurriedly. He was in such a rush that he almost fell.

    When she saw how out of his wits he was, Tushan Yu felt disdain for him. She quickly gathered her subordinates to have them prepare for battle. At the same time, she prepared to look into what exactly had happened.

    Just then, another group charged straight throughto them. The one in the lead was dressed in dazzling golden armor that contrasted greatly with the ck-armored soldiers around him.

    When she saw his impressive demeanor, Tushan Yu¡¯s expressionpletely changed. She eximed, ¡°The Second Prince?¡±

    <em>Shouldn¡¯t the Second Prince be in the sealednd? Furthermore, the Second Empress even went to save him with great fanfare. Why did he suddenly appear here?</em>

    Even though she didn¡¯t fully understand the situation, she instinctively felt that something wasn¡¯t right.

    Suddenly, the Second Prince gave King Liang and the others a vignt look, then looked at Tushan Yu and said, ¡°Bluefield Country Lord, your mission isplete.¡±

    Tushan Yu was bewildered.

    King Liang acted as if he had suddenly realized what happened. He pointed at Tushan Yu in , roaring, ¡°You''re really something! You two already colluded a long time ago and baited us into an ambush!¡±

    Tushan Yu was speechless.

    <em>This guy seems to be a bit slow in the head normally, but why is his reaction so fast now? More importantly, why is he being so dramatic?</em>

    ¡°King Liang, please don''t listen to his nonsense. I came on orders from¡­¡± Tushan Yu began.

    Before she even finished what she wanted to say, however, the Second Prince cut her off. ¡°Country lord, please hurry ande to this side. It''s safer here.¡±

    King Liang seemed almost as if he''d received some kind of of suggestion and hurriedly shouted, ¡°We can''t let them group together! Seize Tushan Yu and make her our hostage!¡± As soon as he said that, he charged straight at Tushan Yu. He grabbed at her with his hands curved into ws.

    When they saw the attack, Tushan Yu¡¯s guards all retaliated. In response, King Liang¡¯s subordinates interfered too.

    Tushan Yu tried to protect herself while shouting, ¡°King Liang, you¡¯ve misunderstood! He''s trying to incite disharmony between us!¡±

    King Liang knew that the main army wasn¡¯t prepared for any of this. An ambush in the middle of the night would have terrible consequences. After hearing what Tushan Yu said, he had his doubts, but he couldn''t think of any other solutions at the moment. Thus, he nned to take Tushan Yu as a hostage first. Then, perhaps they would at least have a chance of mounting aeback!

    That was the only thought in his mind, as well as the only thing he could count on. He had even finished thinking things through, concluding that even if he wrongly med her, as long as he insisted on that point, he would be fine even once they went back to the court. They wouldn¡¯t be able to find any fault in him. As for the soldiers suffering tragic ends, what did that have to do with him?

    The other soldiers didn¡¯t think through things as thoroughly as he had. When they saw him move, they reflexively drew their weapons and attacked Bluefield Country¡¯s group as well. After all, people often followed orders blindly. In this kind of crisis, now that someone was taking the lead, they often didn''t take time to think properly.

    Tushan Yu didn¡¯t have any time to exin anything as both sides quickly started to fight against each other.

    The Second Prince grinned. If the human army and Tushan Yu¡¯s troops had cooperated immediately, perhaps he would have suffered some losses. Now that they had started to fight among themselves, things were incredibly easy for him.

    Bluefield Country didn¡¯t excel at fighting. Furthermore, with King Liang¡¯s higher numbers, Tushan Yu quickly fell at a disadvantage. Many on her side were hurt, and it was unclear if they were alive or dead.

    The Second Prince shouted, ¡°Bluefield Country Lord, let me lend you a helping hand!¡± His subordinates rushed over. He was worried that if he let this continue for too long, the two sides would realize that something was off, so it was better to use the chance to muddy the waters even more.

    King Liang felt as if a huge stone had dropped on his chest. He screamed, ¡°You colluded with the enemy from the inside after all! All of you, swiftly ept your deaths!¡±

    He still had master rank cultivation, and his guards were all elite soldiers. They quickly cut through with tremendous force. Bluefield Country¡¯s soldiers couldn''t stop him. The Second Prince imed to be helping Tushan Yu on the surface, but he didn¡¯t actually exert himself that much.

    Tushan Yu soon couldn''t withstand it anymore. After suffering a blow, she coughed out blood as she was blown backward.

    When he saw how beautiful she looked even while she was coughing blood, King Liang was a bit stirred inside and held back a little.

    <em>She is the lord of a country, after all. Even though I have a lot of authority, I normally wouldn¡¯t have any way to obtain her. But if she colluded with the enemy from the inside and caused the human army to suffer a crushing defeat, I''d have a proper pretext to capture her. Then wouldn¡¯t I be able to do whatever I wanted with her on the way back?</em>

    He wasn¡¯t too worried about his own safety. In this kind of situation, the enemy was clearly focused on surrounding the main camp. Otherwise, it would be dangerous for them if this army was given time to gather and prepare to fight back. There was no way this Second Prince was that stupid, so even if anyone died, it would be the other military officials. As the main general, he had so many guards around him. He could use the chance to break out of the encirclement and escape.

    King Liang thus pounced on Tushan Yu¡¯s body. He was so close could even see her trembling eyshes.

    <em>She really is a stunning woman!</em>

    He reflexively used a bit less force. After all, it would really be a pity if he ended up killing such a beauty.

    Suddenly, a figure appeared at Tushan Yu¡¯s side and took her into their arms. Then, that person stared coldly at him.

    When he saw who it was, King Liang trembled. His outreached hand stopped in front of him, and he looked at the other person with aplicated expression, murmuring, ¡°So it was the regent¡­¡±

    Just a few years prior, this person had just been a trifling drafted son-inw from Brightmoon City. Back then, their statuses had been as far apart as heaven and earth. He wouldn''t even have had to do anything himself. Just a look from him, and his subordinates would make this brat wish he were dead.

    And yet, just how much time had passed? Somehow, Zu An had already grown to a point that King Liang had no choice but to look up to him.

    Tushan Yu had been struggling for her life and never expected to fall into a warm embrace. When she sensed that familiar feeling, she was startled and happy, crying out in a sweet and lovable voice, ¡°Regent~¡±

    In the distance, Xie Daoyun felt goosebumps appear all over her body.

    Murong Qinghe couldn''t help but ask her quietly, ¡°Big sister Xie, do you think this Bluefield Country Lord and big brother Zu have something going on between them?¡±

    Xie Daoyun replied with a frown, ¡°Why don¡¯t you go and ask your big brother Zuter?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no way I could do that!¡± Murong Qinghe eximed worriedly.

    <em>Big brother Zu is good in every other way, but he¡¯s just too fickle in love.</em>

    Zu An looked at King Liang with an ice-cold expression, saying, ¡°Not only did you not coborate and fight alongside the Bluefield Country Lord when facing a great enemy, you started to fight against each other instead. Why is that?¡±

    King Liang hurriedly said, ¡°Regent, you might not know this, but this woman colluded with the Second Prince from the inside, leading them to ambush our main army! I was about to capture her to use her as a hostage!¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t¡­¡± Tushan Yu was about to exin when Zu An stopped her.

    ¡°Do you have proof?¡± Zu An asked, looking at King Liang.

    When he saw that Zu An hadn¡¯t even listened to Tushan Yu¡¯s exnation, King Liang was inwardly happy. He replied, ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for her colluding with the enemy from the inside, how could the Second Prince appear here silently? Besides, the Second Prince said so himself and everyone heard it. Right, you guys?¡±

    ¡°Yes¡­¡± people replied slowly. However, apart from the ones who were fiercely loyal to him, the others were starting to wake up and realize that something wasn¡¯t right. Why did they feel the something was off?

    ¡°Do you just believe everything the enemy tells you? You still have no idea even after falling for the enemy¡¯s schemes. Absolutely useless!¡± Zu An cursed coldly.

    King Liang¡¯s expression changed as he said, ¡°I am still a senior rtive of the current emperor. Regent, please watch what you say!¡±

    ¡°You still have the nerve to say that the Second Prince appeared here mysteriously? Isn¡¯t it because you didn¡¯t arrange any guards?! The Qin brothers advised you to do so several times, but you refused them each time, causing the human race¡¯s reinforcements to almost bepletely wiped out. My criticism of you is nothingpared to that,¡± Zu An said. He thought to himself,<em>If it wasn¡¯t because the empress dowager and empress were trying to keep each other in check, why would they ever assign such an idiot here?</em>n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    King Liang also screamed, ¡°There are some things that can''t be said irresponsibly! Wasn¡¯t it the regent who rmended this woman to escort us, which was why Ipletely trusted her? I was worried that the rtions between the two sides would be harmed and that you would lose face, so that was why I didn¡¯t assign many patrols. Now that something is wrong with your own people, you''re shifting the me to me! This is absolutely preposterous!¡±

    When they heard what he said, many soldiers began to discuss things spiritedly, as if there was some reasoning to his words.

    Murong Qinghe now spoke up and said, ¡°Tsk, you make yourself so high-sounding, but wasn¡¯t it because you coveted Bluefield Country Lord¡¯s beauty yourself and wanted to leave her with a good impression? And yet, because of that, you ended up risking the lives of countlessrades!¡±

    When he sensed the doubtful looks of the soldiers all around him, King Liang started panicking. He retorted, ¡°Don¡¯t you like that Chu n brat? And the regent is the Chu n¡¯s young master. Of course you''d speak up for him!¡±

    Murong Qinghe was embarrassed and panicky, eximing, ¡°The Qin n¡¯s brothers have suggested for you to assign patrols several times, but they¡¯re both seriously injured because of you! Big sister Xie can also attest to this.¡±

    ¡°Who doesn¡¯t know that this Xie girl likes the regent?!¡± King Liang sneered.

    Xie Daoyun had been about to say something, but when she heard that, her face immediately became entirely red. She eximed, ¡°What kind of nonsense are you saying?!¡±

    King Liang was about to say something else when Zu An stopped him, snapping, ¡°Enough! For hindering military affairs, neglect of duty, and almost bing a great sinner of the human race, men, arrest Zhao Yi to be escorted back to the capital to stand trial.¡±

    ¡°Who dares?!¡± King Liang cried, brandishing his weapon at the iing soldiers. ¡°Mister Zu, I am the chiefmander of the army that the court has assigned, and I am his majesty¡¯s grandfather. What qualifications do you have to arrest me?! Are you using this chance to collude with the Fiend races? If you have the skill, then just kill me now, or else once I return to the capital, I will definitely¡­¡±

    Before he even finished speaking, a dazzling sword flickered, and a head flew straight into the sky.

    Zu An shook away the droplet of blood on the tip of his sword, remarking, ¡°Since you asked for it, how can I not grant your request?¡±

 Chapter 2094: Ancestral Bloodline

    Chapter 2094: Ancestral Bloodline

    King Liang¡¯s head rolled across the ground a few times until it was covered in dirt and weeds. His widened eyes were full of disbelief.

    He had never expected in his wildest dreams that Zu An would actually just kill him. Even though he''d known that Zu An killed King Jin in the capital, that was just a junior of the royal family, someone who didn¡¯t have too much influence. But he was different! He was an important minister of the court, a master rank cultivator with extraordinary virtue and prestige! More importantly, he had been assigned as the chiefmander of the human army this time, someone with a massive military force under him!

    He''d only nned to say some fierce words, followed by something that would give Zu An a chance to back off. Then, he would also drop the matter after that. That way, he wouldn¡¯t lose too much face either. But how could he have known that Zu An wouldn¡¯t act ording to proper reasoning at all?!

    The others were all stunned. King Liang¡¯s status was extraordinary, and he was a master rank expert himself. Why had he been killed so easily?

    They all looked at Tushan Yu in Zu An¡¯s arms and suddenly realized something.

    <em>Could it be that King Liang was poking at something he shouldn¡¯t have?</em>

    ¡°You actually dared to kill King Liang!¡± King Liang¡¯s trusted aides finally reacted and drew their des toward Zu An.

    ¡°What, do you have any objections?¡± Zu An replied indifferently.

    The reason why he''d killed King Liang was because he was worried that the king would continue to mislead the public and incite disharmony within the human army. If he let that idiot continue to act up at such a critical juncture, who knew what kind of erratic things he would do? Rather than leading the human army into an unsalvageable situation, he figured he''d just cut straight through the mess decisively. When he saw the looks in their eyes, he could naturally guess what they were thinking. He just didn¡¯t feel like exining it to them.

    King Liang¡¯s trusted subordinates saw the coldness in Zu An¡¯s eyes, but when they opened their mouths, none of them could say anything. King Jin, King Dai, and the Meng n had been so impressive, and yet, how had they ended up? There was a clear lesson to be learned from them, so they didn¡¯t dare to court death upon themselves. At the same time, they grumbled inwardly,<em>Did King Liang go mad? He could have chosen to offend anyone, yet he just had to offend this lunatic.</em>

    ¡°Brilliant, truly brilliant!¡± Suddenly, a burst of apuse filled the air. The Second Prince pped, remarking, ¡°I thought that it was only our Fiend races that followed thew of the jungle. We all praised the humans as a society of etiquette, but it seems we¡¯re all the same, no? The one with the biggest fist is the one with etiquette. What''s the point in keeping up all the usual pretenses then?¡±

    Many human soldiers¡¯ expressions changed when they heard that. Today¡¯s events really didn¡¯t follow normal procedure. Even if King Liang hadn''t been a king, with his identity as the chiefmander, there would have been no reason for him to be executed on the spot. He should have been brought back to be tried by the three ministries.

    Zu An remarked, ¡°Second Prince, why bother trying to sow dissent between us? You¡¯ve colluded with alien monsters and almost brought doomsday upon this world. It¡¯s time for me to settle this matter with you.¡±

    The Second Prince¡¯s expression changed slightly, but it quickly changed back. He replied, ¡°You''re still in the mood to settle things with me? Are you not going to bother with your human race''s main army? If you still don¡¯t head over now, they might soon bepletely wiped out.¡±

    The reason why he''d been so confident all this time was because he understood that point clearly. As long as he stalled the leader of the humans here, the main force could use that chance to charge into the human camp. The human army hadn¡¯t prepared many defenses at night, after all. Once they were attacked and widespread panic set in, it would practically be a one-sided ughter. The better the fight went on that side, the more options he would have on this side.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need to worry about that side, because your men¡¯s attacks won¡¯t make it through for quite some time,¡± Zu An said, seeming to have already anticipated that the prince would say that.

    The Second Prince¡¯s expression changed. He flew into the air and saw that a transparent formation was already surrounding the main army. His men were frantically attacking the defensive cover.However, under the directions of variousmanders, the army inside the cover was also gradually waking up and arranging themselves. The Second Prince¡¯s heart plummeted, as the human army was already reorganized. Even if they broke through the protection, they would lose the advantage of surprise.

    ¡°Why are you always ruining my ns?!¡± the Second Prince cried, giving Zu An a look of resentment. If it weren¡¯t for this guy, he would already be the new Fiend emperor, and he wouldn¡¯t have been forced to walk this path.

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled the Second Prince for +444 +444 +444¡­</strong>n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An looked at him coldly and said, ¡°Sins caused by the deities can be forgiven, but sins caused by oneself cannot be spared!¡±

    ¡°Do you really think you¡¯vepletely won against me?¡± the Second Prince retorted in annoyance. He waved hismand banner, and rows and rows of crossbow marksmen and formation masters appeared from the nearby forest. As they fired on the humans, the crossbow bolts were all supported by shining techniques.

    King Liang¡¯s soldiers were horrified. They hadn''t brought their rune shields in the middle of the night, and there was no way they could deal with these powerful magical attacks. They would be ripped to shreds in just a few seconds.

    Just then, Zu An soared into the sky to stand between them and the lights. An ancient-looking yellow bell suddenly appeared in the center of his palm, and his finger tapped against its surface. An invisible bell toll rippled out. It collided with the shining techniques, and the attacks were actually scattered into bits of starlight. The Second Prince¡¯s subordinates¡¯ eyeballs were about to pop out. They had never seen an army¡¯s attacks so easily blocked by a single person.

    Zu An remainedpletely indifferent, however. The Tranquility Bell was Tranquility Temple¡¯s most important treasure. Even though this was just an imitation created by the Rune Weapon Chart, and it likely wouldn''t be able to stop the most powerful beings, it was more than enough against the attacks of ordinary soldiers.

    The Second Prince gave out more orders. ¡°What are you all gawking at? Continue the attacks!¡±

    He normally managed his army with strict discipline. Even though his soldiers were really shocked, they instinctively responded to his order and prepared to attack again. They knew that after what had happened in the sealednd, there was already no chance of mediation. Either Zu An would die, or all of them would perish without a proper burial.

    Countless lights and weapon attacks gathered, and they were just about to fire when countless golden sword ki poured down like rain, nailing the Second Prince¡¯s soldiers to death. Zu An knew that these people¡¯s beliefs had already been twisted, and they were all aplices to the murder of countless Fiend soldiers. That was why he didn¡¯t show any mercy.

    A shrill bird¡¯s cry resounded. The Second Prince turned into a giant golden crow. Then, it opened its mouth and fired a terrifying fireball at Zu An.

    It was the Golden Crow Sacred Fire!

    This fire was rumored to beparable to the Phoenix and Vermilion Bird¡¯s fires. A lot of nts on the ground visibly shriveled and burned up while it was still in midair. Everyone present tugged at their cors, covered in sweat. They felt as if they were about to be lit on fire.

    A resplendent streak of sword radiance rose into the air. The terrifying fireball was cleaved in half and erased from the world. However, the sword didn¡¯t stop and continued toward the golden crow in the sky.

    Countles sparks exploded, and the golden crow screamed; its body was sliced in half.

    Those present widened their eyes. The Second Prince couldn''t even take a single attack?

    Suddenly, the two halves of the golden crow shone with golden brilliance, and the two mes merged together, restoring its appearance once more. But now, it was a bit smaller than it had been at first. The few surviving soldiers on the Second Prince¡¯s side cheered.

    Zu An wasn¡¯t too surprised to see that. When he fought against the Golden Crow Crown Prince, the opponent had also had these self-healing skills.

    Looking at Zu An, the Second Prince flew into the air with an expression of fear. He was reliving the moment when this man defeated the masses and supported his younger brother to the throne. But even though Zu An had been strong back then, it wasn¡¯t to this extent, right?

    Even so, he was a decisive person. When he saw that, he activated his bloodline power. In the past, the monsters had helped him activate the ancestral power in his bloodline, but he had always been on guard against them and didn¡¯t use it. But now, he clearly had no choice. Even if those monsters had yed a trick on him, he had to deal with this matter first and worry about the consequencester.

    Soon after, a terrifying fluctuation spread out through the air. The soldiers with slightly weaker cultivations fainted on the spot, while those with higher cultivations felt their limbs turn ice-cold and goosebumps appearing all over their bodies.

    The horses and beasts that had been trained for a long time by the military were in and even worse state. Compared to humans, their instincts were stronger. They ally on the ground and trembled in fear, with many of them pissing themselves on the spot.

    The golden crow in the sky became many timesrger than before. Its wingspan exceeded a kilometer in length, and it was as if there was a giant sun behind it, one that silently overlooked all living things.

 Chapter 2095: Thunderous Suppression

    Chapter 2095: Thunderous Suppression

    As he looked at the giant golden crow in the sky, Zu An was a bit surprised. There seemed to be demonic mes surging around the Second Prince, whose current state wasparable to that of thete Fiend Emperor. Zu An remembered how the Little Golden Peng King had also suddenly be stronger, as if the alien monsters had activated the ancient bloodline power within their bodies.

    <em>Could it be that the FIend races really are deeply rted to those alien monsters?</em>

    When he saw Zu An stand there in a daze, the Second Prince felt really pleased with himself. He remarked, ¡°You never expected this, did you? My strength is now already on par with father emperor''s past peak. You must be feeling a lot of regret now, right?¡±

    When he sensed the demonic power filling his body, he felt extremely confident. It was as if no one else couldpare to him in this world. He was even starting to feel some regret. So power actually carried such a feeling! If he had known it would be like that, he would have used this power sooner. He even felt that with his current power, he could now easily win against the alien monsters even if they yed some tricks.

    Zu An was a bit confused, replying, ¡°Why would I feel regret?¡±

    ¡°You must be regretting how arrogant and conceited you were when you spared me back in the King Court,¡± the Second Prince said, getting more and more excited. ¡°But it''s such a pity that you don¡¯t have any chances left. I''ll teach you that even after thirty years on the east bank of the river, and thirty years on the west bank, it''s still unwise to underestimate the young¡­¡±

    Before he even finished, a square seal flew at him. As it flew, it grew bigger and bigger. In the end, it crashed down right on top of him like a mountain. His body was struck until it plummeted from the sky, so the rest of his words were naturally cut off.

    ¡°Nonsense!¡± the Second Prince eximed furiously. He''d wanted to show off a bit, and yet he was knocked out of the sky by this thing.

    <em>So many soldiers are still watching! What about my dignity?</em>

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled the Second Prince for +444 +444 +444¡­</strong>

    He reflexively tried to fly into the air again, but unexpectedly, the seal was just too incredibly heavy. All of his muscles strained to the fullest, and yet the object pressing down on him only became heavier and heavier. The huge seal flowed with yellow light that came down in strand after strand. The surface flowed with a natural rhythm of the universe that surrounded the Second Prince. He tried to p his wings several times, but underneath its weight, he was stillpletely helpless.

    ¡°Human Emperor Seal?¡± the Second Prince suddenly eximed in horror. The reason why he recognized this item was because he had watched one of the great battles between his father and the human emperor. In the past, the weapon the human emperor had used was none other than this seal.

    In the past, Zhao Han¡¯s invincible figure had left him with an indelible impression. After all, in his eyes, his father was like a deity, and yet even the Fiend Emperor had been at a disadvantage in that fight. This Human Emperor Seal was the main weapon used by Zhao Han back then, so the Second Prince couldn''t help but have a deep impression of it.

    The human soldiers also saw this scene. When they saw that huge seal that was surrounded by strands of dao rhythm, some generals recognized it. They excitedly shouted, ¡°The Human Emperor Seal! It¡¯s the Human Emperor Seal!¡±

    In the hearts of the human race, the Human Emperor Seal was a divine item. To a certain degree, it represented a kind of faith, a kind of mental pir.

    However, while many people felt extremely excited, they were also a bit confused.

    <em>Wasn¡¯t the Human Emperor Seal lost in the secret dungeon with thete emperor? Why is it with the regent?</em>

    Even when he saw the people''s doubtful looks, Zu An didn¡¯t bother to exin himself. He had kept this Human Emperor Seal hidden the entire time, and never used it precisely because he hadn¡¯t wanted to be associated with Zhao Han¡¯s death. But now that alien monsters were invading and the world had almost been destroyed, leaving his beloved Chuyan and Honglei both half-dead, he couldn''t care less about such things anymore. Besides, even if some people suspected that he was connected to the death of Zhao Han, so what?

    ¡°You bastard, ahhhh!¡± the Second Prince cried, feeling incredibly wronged. He''d been knocked out of the sky as soon as he began to show off and was never able to break free. It really drove him crazy. He felt as if his present cultivation was already equal to that of thete Fiend Emperor, so why was he left in such a sorry state by a single Human Emperor Seal?

    He couldn''t figure it out, but Zu An knew why that was the case. The Human Emperor Seal carried the will of the people. Now that the alien monsters were destroyed and the world was preserved, the morale of the human race was flourishing. How could it be so easily endured?

    Besides, the Second Prince¡¯s cultivation had only suddenly shot up, so how could he adapt to his power, cultivation, and skills growing countless times stronger all of a sudden? Naturally, only his cultivation was about equal to that of thete Fiend Emperor. In a real fight, thete Fiend Emperor could have easily crushed him. Perhaps he wouldn''t even be able topare to the Little Golden Peng King, who had clearly already awakened his ancient bloodline long ago and frequently trained with it, getting used to his new power.

    In the eyes of the current Zu An, the Second Prince was full of openings and mistakes. Thus, he didn¡¯t give the prince any time to adjust or adapt and immediately crushed him.

    A furious roar resounded. The Second Prince¡¯s entire body surged with mes. He was actually able to forcibly resist the Human Emperor Seal and stand back up, saying, ¡°Hmph, do you think that a trifling Human Emperor Seal could really trap me¡­¡±

    His words came to a screeching halt, because a streak of sword radiance shed, and a head fell to the ground. The headless Second Prince¡¯s body fell down after it, and the Human Emperor Seal descended down with the will of the human race, crushing the prince''s body into pieces.

    ¡°You really know how to shoot your mouth off,¡± Zu An said as he put away the sword.

    The Second Prince had already had his body restricted by the Human Emperor Seal. If Zu An still couldn''t take his life, he really would be beyond ipetent. After fighting against such terrifying beings as the Shadow Monster King and the Lord of ughter, fighting against the Second Prince was like fighting against a kindergartener.

    The entire battlefield was so quiet one could hear a pin drop; all those present watched in disbelief.

    The human soldiers hadn¡¯t understood the Second Prince¡¯s true strength fully. However, they had sensed that the terrifying auraing out from his body was on par with that of Zhao Han and thete Fiend Emperor, so they had subconsciously put him in the same category. And yet, such a being was so easily dealt with by a single cut from the regent? Just how high was the regent¡¯s cultivation?!n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Many generals had been wondering if the regent participated in the death of thete emperor. After all, there were too many points of suspicion in Zhao Han''s death, and he was the only person at thete emperor¡¯s side when he passed. However, when they saw this scene, they all suppressed such idle spection.

    <em>Whatte emperor or whatnot? All we need to do is follow the regent.</em>

    At first, King Liang¡¯s trusted aides were still a bit upset, and many of them had been nning to coordinate with the other generals in the army and get revenge for King Liang. But when they saw that, they all busily sorted out their clothes.

    <em>We weren''t really that close to King Liang to begin with, right? We¡¯re just workers earning a few hundred silvers a month. Why would we risk our lives over something like that?</em>

    As for the Second Prince¡¯s subordinates, they were leftpletely at a loss. Many of them even reflexively rubbed their eyes, wondering if their eyes were ying tricks on them. After all, the Second Prince was a famous general of the Fiend races. Over the years, he had led them to countless victories. Even in the sealednd, a ce where they had been doomed to eventually die, he''d found a path of survival for them. They already treated him like their deity. On top of that, the cultivation they had just witnessed had made them feel as if they were looking at thete Fiend Emperor.

    And yet, after just a single sword sh, it was all finished?

    All of them had been holding onto a single belief. As long as the Second Prince returned to the King Court and became the Fiend Emperor, they would no longer be traitors and would instead be subjects with incredible merit. However, as the Second Prince had been killed instantly, all of thempletely copsed as well. No one needed to take the lead; they all fled for their lives.

    The human soldiers wanted to chase after them, but they didn¡¯t understand the terrain too well. There were too many Fiend race soldiers, as well, so they weren''t confident that they would be able to catch the lot.

    Zu An¡¯s voice echoed across the sky as he called out, ¡°All those who followed the Second Prince can choose to drop your weapons and surrender to be put on trial by the King Court. All others will be executed on the spot.¡±

    Some Fiend soldiers couldn''t help but hesitate when they heard that. However, others continued to run without any hesitation.

    <em>Are you kidding me? We''re the direct followers of the Second Prince. If we''re tried by the court, we¡¯re dead for sure, so we might as well take the gamble here! That way, we¡¯ll at least still have a chance.</em>

    <em>There are so many people here, after all, and the terrain is soplicated. No matter how strong that Zu An is, how many can he catch?</em>

    Just then, there was a huge explosion. Winds stirred throughout the forest, so powerful that many people couldn''t even keep their eyes open. Countless metal birds with spinning heads appeared in midair. Their bellies suddenly released countless tongues of me. All of the soldiers that had continued to run without listening were blown to pieces.

    There were many among them that had high cultivation and reflexively wanted to retaliate, but unfortunately, they were already ovee by fear and panic, so they couldn''t fight together in a coordinated manner. How could they be a match for armed helicopters?

    Soon after, the fleeing soldiers were mowed down like grass. After a short while, there wasn¡¯t a single one left standing. However, the ones who had remained in ce and listened to Zu An kept their lives. All of their faces were deathly pale, and they were overwhelmed with gratitude for their earlier choice.

    ¡°From now on, the human army will be led by the Qin brothers and will assist the Bluefield Country Lord in capturing these rebel army soldiers. They will be escorted back to the court and be handled by the Second Empress," Zu An said.

    Even though the Qin brothers were still young and didn¡¯t have enough qualifications, no one said a single word of criticism against this order.

    Meanwhile, Xie Xiu had just supported the Qin brothers back. They saw what had just happened, and nced at the young women, whose eyes were practically about to turn heart-shaped.

    <em>Dammit! This is something I dream about happening to me¡­ when will I be able to show off like this?</em>

 Chapter 2096: White Jade Sect Up Above

    <h4>Chapter 2096: White Jade Sect Up Above</h4>

    After experiencing what had just happened, the Second Prince¡¯s remaining soldiers were especially attentive. They didn¡¯t resist in the slightest and allowed Tushan Yu¡¯s soldiers to tie them up.

    After sending some people to supervise the situation, the rest of the human side began to clean up the battlefield, treat the injured, and do various other tasks. As for King Liang¡¯s corpse, he was just collected like the other dead soldiers. No one gave him a second look.

    Qin Guangyuan assigned tasks while making sure to send a scouting group to patrol their surroundings to prevent unforeseen idents.

    Zu An nodded approvingly when he saw how clear and orderly everything was. Qin Guangyuan didn¡¯t show any negligence, even in this kind of situation where everything was practically over. These were indeed qualities befitting a general. Thus, Zu An left those matters to him and took Tushan Yu back to the tent so she could be treated.

    ...

    In the human camp, Murong Qinghe suddenly said quietly, ¡°That Bluefield Country Lord¡¯s rtionship with Big Brother Zu is special after all! Her entire body was almost sticking to big brother Zu just now.¡±

    Xie Daoyun voiced her agreement, although she seemed a bit disappointed and frustrated.

    ¡°Big sister Xie, are you not going to get mad?¡± Murong Qinghe couldn''t help but ask.

    ¡°Why would I get angry? I don¡¯t even have any right to get angry.¡± Xie Daoyun sighed. ¡°Anyway, that Bluefield Country Lord is really beautiful. If I were a man, it would be really hard for me to refuse her too.¡±

    Murong Qinghe nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s true. King Liang looked as if he really wanted to swallow her up.¡±

    Xie Daoyun felt even more depressed now. She moved a bit faster so she wouldn¡¯t have to listen to Murong Qinghe''s chattering.

    Murong Qinghe was confused, staring at Xie Daoyun''s back as she left and murmuring, ¡°Why do I suddenly feel a bit unhappy too?¡±

    ...

    Inside the Bluefield Country Lord¡¯s tent, Tushan Yu was sitting cross-legged in front. An unending stream of heat was entering through the center of her back. She suddenly said, ¡°Miss Xie seems to like the young master.¡±

    ¡°What kind of nonsense are you saying? We''re only friends.¡± Zu An sighed. To be honest, it was already quite difficult to say that he and Xie Daoyun only had a friendly rtionship. But after experiencing what had happened to Chuyan and Honglei, he really wasn¡¯t in the mood to talk about romance anymore.

    ¡°Just friends...¡± Tushan Yu chuckled, clearly not believing him. But when she saw that he didn¡¯t want to admit to it, she tactfully chose not to continue discussing the topic. Instead, she said, ¡°Apart from Miss Xie, I think that Miss Murong also likes you quite a bit.¡±

    Zu An was stunned, then shook his head and said, ¡°That¡¯s impossible. The one she likes is her childhood friend, the Chu n¡¯s third young master. She merely sees me as her big brother.¡±

    ¡°Is that how someone looks at a big brother?¡± Tushan Yu replied with a smile, but she didn¡¯t continue. She could tell that even the youngdy herself wouldn''t necessarily understand what she was feeling right now.

    <i>Perhaps the young master enjoys this kind of ambiguous feeling that''s neither close nor distant.</i>

    A whileter, Zu An retracted his hand and said, ¡°Your injuries aren¡¯t too serious. I helped you treat them a bit. You should be able to make a full recovery if you rest for a bit.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, young master~¡± Tushan Yu said, blinking as she looked at him.

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°We¡¯re not strangers. You can call me ''big brother Zu'' or ''Ah Zu''.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to. I like calling you ''young master''. That was what I called you the first time I met you, and that¡¯s how I''ll address you for the rest of my life,¡± Tushan Yu said as she leaned into his chest. She rubbed back and forth like a kitten, and her eyes seemed to be covered in ayer of mist.

    A whileter, she asked gently, ¡°Is there something that is bothering the young master?¡±

    As the queen of the Fox race, she understood the hearts of men the best. Judging from their earlier interaction, she had quickly discovered that Zu An was brooding over some thoughts. That was why she tactfully chose to stop her teasing, and warmly helped him massage his shoulders instead.

    Zu An was truly impressed. Tushan Yu always knew how to help him rx and say the most considerate things. He said, ¡°Some things happened in the sealednd...¡±

    ¡°Can the young master tell this humble one about it?¡± Tushan Yu asked with an expectant gaze.

    That pitiful expression was really hard to refuse. Zu An hesitated, but then he told her roughly what had happened in the sealednd.

    At first, Tushan Yu¡¯s eyes were sparkling as she listened, but toward the end, she became sad and dispirited, saying, ¡°Big sister Chu and big sister Qiu truly are brave. They really are admirable.¡±

    As the lord of a country, she was a bit older than those two young women, but she felt it was incredibly natural to call them older sisters. The address seemed to imply a different meaning too.

    ¡°I failed to protect them well,¡± Zu An said quietly.

    ¡°Young master, you shouldn¡¯t me yourself. You defeated such powerful alien monsters and saved the entire world. You¡¯ve already done really well. Those two big sisters are also heroes who saved the world. I don¡¯t believe that they would want to see you so dejected,¡± Tushan Yu said, then took out her handkerchief and wiped at the fine sweat on his forehead. ¡°Also, ording to what the young master just said, the two of them haven¡¯t truly died. We''ll definitely be able to save them.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I must save them!¡± Zu An eximed, and his expression became firm.

    ...

    The next morning, Zu An bid everyone else farewell. Now that he had already resolved the matter of the sealednd, the human reinforcement army naturally didn¡¯t need to continue heading north. Thus, he had the Qin brothers bring the army back, while Tushan Yu escorted the rebel army to the King Court.

    ¡°Where is big brother Zu nning to go now?¡± Xie Daoyun asked. Murong Qinghe also looked at him with a strange expression.

    Everyone in the army had been gossiping about the rtionship between Zu An and the Bluefield Country Lord, yet in the end, he''d stayed at Tushan Yu¡¯s tent as if it wasn¡¯t strange at all. Bluefield Country¡¯s guards didn¡¯t find it strange either.

    <i>Fine, you win. We don¡¯t need to gossip anymore.</i>

    <i>That old pervert King Liang was doing everything he could to fawn over her, and yet he couldn''t even take half a step into Tushan Yu¡¯s tent. It seems he never had a chance to begin with.</i>

    ¡°I n to pay the White Jade Sect a visit," Zu An said. When he saw all of their strange expressions, he naturally knew what they were thinking. Even so, he didn¡¯t exin why they had slept together, and that they had only purely slept together in each other¡¯s arms.

    <i>Hmm... Tushan Yu¡¯s fluffy tail does feel really amazing, though.</i>

    He reflexively cast a sideways nce and saw that Tushan Yu was also looking at him, as if she knew what he was thinking. Her face immediately became red. After all, her tail was her most sensitive spot. She wouldn¡¯t even show it normally, let alone allowing someone to touch it. But after what they had done in the sky back then, she could tell that the young master seemed to really like her tail. That was why, even though it was embarrassing, she had still brought out her tail on her own the previous night.

    <i>The young master does like it after all.</i>

    The only thing she was embarrassed about was that when her tail was being rubbed, she was always unable to hold herself back from making some embarrassing noises.

    <i>I hope the young master doesn¡¯t think that I''m a lewd woman...</i>

    ¡°Is big brother Zu going to visit big sister Chu?¡± Xie Daoyun asked with a bleak expression.

    Zu An voiced his confirmation. Even though he had confirmed that the Snow Lady was Chuyan, he still had to see her for himself. He wanted to see the Chuyan of this world. He could no longer hold back the yearning he felt. After bidding those present farewell, he flew into the sky and disappeared into the distance.

    When she saw him disappear, Xie Daoyun felt more and more dispirited. Tushan Yu suddenly arrived at her side and said, ¡°Miss Xie, the young master is currently in a rush to save big sister Chu, so that''s why he left so quickly.¡±

    Xie Daoyun was stunned, asking, ¡°Save big sister Chu?¡±

    Tushan Yu pulled her to the side and gave her a rough summary of what had happened.

    <i>Even though the young master is gentle and considerate, he often still doesn¡¯t understand the hearts of women enough. As one of the people at the young master¡¯s side, I naturally need to help him out a bit.</i>

    <i>This miss Xie clearly likes him so much, I can¡¯t let there be a rift between them. I heard that her rtionship with big sister Chu is quite good, so the young master probably won¡¯t mind me telling her this.</i>

    <i>If he really does get angry, at worst, I¡¯ll just let him pet it again...</i> n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    When she recalledst night, she even felt a mysterious sense of expectation.

    When she heard about everything that had happened, Xie Daoyun was extremely shocked. So many things had actually happened to Miss Chu and Miss Qiu!

    <i>Big brother Zu must be really broken-hearted, and yet I¡¯m throwing a tantrum over here.</i>

    <i>Compared to Chuyan and Honglei, who firmly sacrificed their lives to save the world, I¡¯m over here with only romance in my head. I really am small-minded.</i>

    Suddenly, ki stirred all around her, as if a streak of light hadnded on her. Her aura gradually grew stronger.

    Xie Xiu was pleasantly surprised, eximing, ¡°Big sister probably gained enlightenment! She actually triggered a resonance with this world!¡±

    Tushan Yu was stupefied.

    <i>She actually managed to gain enlightenment like that?</i>

    <i>The women around the young master really are too talented, I¡¯m feeling so much pressure here...</i>

    A whileter, the light around Xie Daoyun disappeared. She slowly opened her eyes, and her gaze no longer carried any trace of the bleakness or dejection from earlier. Instead, it was calm like autumn waters, beautiful and peaceful.

    ¡°Thank you, Miss Tushan,¡± Xie Daoyun said with a kind smile, now sounding much more intimate.

    ¡°Miss Xie is too polite,¡± Tushan Yu said as she also snapped out of her daze.

    <i>The women around the young master¡¯s side all have amazing personalities.</i>

    When the group scattered, Murong Qinghe secretly pulled Xie Daoyun over and asked, ¡°Big sister Xie, why did your rtionship with the Bluefield Country Lord suddenly be so good?¡±

    The two of them had still been criticizing her and gossiping behind her back not too long ago, after all.

    ¡°Miss Tushan is a really good person. We just misunderstood her before,¡± Xie Daoyun said, showing her an apologetic smile. She had just made a breakthrough and needed to hurry back to her tent to consolidate it all.

    As she watched Xie Daoyun leave, Murong Qinghe pouted. ¡°Hmph, you traitor.¡±

    ...

    Meanwhile, Zu An rushed toward the White Jade Sect all throughout the night, practically not stopping for any rest. The White Jade Sect wasn¡¯t hidden like the Lake of Hatred; all the higher authorities among the humans knew where it was located.

    After flying for more than half a month, he finally arrived in the White Jade Sect¡¯s vicinity. He unwittingly slowed down as he looked at the beautiful buildings in the clouds. He suddenly felt something simr to the awkwardness of returning to one''s hometown after a long time.

 Chapter 2097: Missing

    Chapter 2097: Missing

    Along the way, Jing Teng had always bothered Zu An whenever there was any free time. At first, Zu An¡¯s mood was really heavy and he wasn¡¯t in the mood to talk about romance, but in the end, he was no match for Jing Teng¡¯s endless pestering.

    White Jing Teng was one thing, since she''d considerately had a heart-to-heart chat with him from time to time along the way. But Dark Jing Teng didn¡¯t have such reservations when she came out. Whenever she came out, she would me him for not being trustworthy, saying that he was a liar.

    Zu An was really helpless before such criticism, and he was in the wrong to begin with, so he had no choice but to help her replenish the essence she had exhausted.

    Eventually, White Jing Teng appeared less and less, while Dark Jing Teng appeared more and more. Zu An was a bit suspicious of that. After all, the two had previously appeared at roughly the same frequency, with neither side having a chance of dominating the other. Why had it be so one-sided?

    Is it because White Jing Teng is too embarrassed? Or is it because she hasn''t continuously received essence like Dark Jing Teng, causing both sides to fall out of bnce?

    But these two are clearly sharing the same body...

    On several asions, Zu An had wanted to ask about that, but he always gave up on that particr death-courting impulse.

    Sigh, ignorance is bliss.

    ¡­

    Times of happiness were always short, however. Soon enough, they had unwittingly arrived at White Jade Sect¡¯s entrance.

    Countless mountain peaks stretched out before Zu An, every single one towering into the sky. The peaks were shrouded in clouds and mist, and atop them were beautiful pavilions and terraces. Looking at them from a distance, it was as if the pces were built on the clouds themselves.

    Zu An even noticed that the highest peak had arge river flowing through it that seemed to surround all of the other peaks. There were many cranes and other birds circling above the water. More importantly, the river flowedpletely in midair! He really wondered just how the White Jade Sect had been able to create a river that flowed in the sky like that.

    A poem Zu An had once read appeared in his mind.

    White Jade Pce up above, with twelve towers and five gates.

    Immortals cast blessings from above, binding our hair and granting immortality.

    No wonder the White Jade Sect had been able to be such an extraordinary faction among the daoist sects. Now that he was visiting this ce for himself, he found that it did indeed deserve its reputation. In the past, he had felt that the Righteous Sun Sect on Violet Mountain was also quite impressive, but there was more of a flourishing sense of prosperitying from that ce, while this location had a more transcendent air, as if they were in the world of immortals. It was no wonder that such a ce was able to cultivate individuals like Yan Xuehen and Chu Chuyan.

    When he thought about Chuyan, Zu An¡¯s expression couldn''t help but darken, but as he looked at those distant mountain peaks, he was also full of expectation. After all, perhaps this world¡¯s Chuyan was still fine. What happened before had involved a Chuyan from a different timeline¡­

    He stopped when he realized that. Even if she was Chuyan from a different timeline, did that mean he wouldn¡¯t save her?

    ¡°This is the White Jade Sect¡¯s most important location. All idlers are not allowed further!¡±

    Disciples of the sect soon came to chase Zu An away after noticing him pacing back and forth.

    ¡°I¡¯ll have to trouble you to contact Sect Master Yan. I have some important affairs to discuss with her and wish to request a meeting,¡± Zu An said calmly. He didn¡¯t act in an overbearing manner just because his cultivation was high.

    ¡°Do you know how many men have wished to meet with Sect Master Yan over the years? Sect Master Yan has already dered that she won¡¯t meet anyone. Respected sir, please return,¡± the disciples said as they exchanged a look, as if saying to each other, Another crazy fanatic has arrived.

    At first, they wanted to chase Zu An away. After all, they couldn''t sense any ki fluctuations from his body. But when they saw that the way he carried himself was different and noticed that there was a mysterious sense of pressure emanating from his presence, they didn¡¯t dare to be too forceful.

    When he saw that these people were standing in his way, Zu An frowned. He didn¡¯t bother arguing with them, and instead hollered straight at the distant mountains, ¡°Sect Master Yan, your old friend hase to see you¡­¡±

    His voice was clearly not that loud, and yet it echoed between the mountain peaks. Almost everyone present could hear it clearly.

    The disciples at the gate were horrified.

    How is this person¡¯s cultivation so horrifying?

    Thank goodness we didn¡¯t offend him just now!

    Just then, a transparent barrier suddenly appeared on the various peaks, the surface flickering with runes. It turned out the White Jade Sect¡¯s main defense barrier had been activated. Boundless radiance surged between the mountains.

    Several figures riding on swords arrived from the distance. They had also been really shocked when they heard that voice. Anyone who could aplish such a thing had to be a rare and powerful enemy. Out of fear that this enemy would attack their sect, the entire sect¡¯s most powerful individuals came out at almost the same time.

    While they were about to engage the trespasser, someone suddenly eximed in surprise, ¡°Isn¡¯t that the regent?¡± Some White Jade Sect disciples had met him previously during the Violet Mountain battle, after all.

    Only after learning his identity did the White Jade Sect¡¯s experts put away their hostility in embarrassment.

    Everyone in the sect knew that he had shown extreme kindness to the White Jade Sect. However, the members of the sect rarely interacted with the court. If they weed him in a grand manner, wouldn¡¯t that be giving the outside world some misleading signals?

    Hold on, he seems to be here for Sect Master Yan?

    Hmm, his wife seems to just happen to be Sect Master Yan¡¯s personal disciple...

    While everyone else was at a loss, a white figure flew over from the distance.

    ¡°We pay our respects to the sect master!¡± Many disciples bowed in greeting.

    Many of them sighed in amazement at Sect Master Yan¡¯s transcendent presence. Furthermore, for some reason, she seemed to even be a bit prettier than usual.

    When she saw that familiar figure, Yan Xuehen¡¯s eyes shone with a unique radiance, but she quickly hid it and asked in her usual cold voice, ¡°May I ask what the regent came all this way for?¡±

    ¡°I came here to see you, of course,¡± Zu An replied as he looked at her. Her facial features were like that of a painting, her long hair fluttering behind her and her white dress gently swaying. Her entire being seemed to be glowing.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s cheeks immediately turned red.

    How can you say something like that in front of so many people? Are you kidding me right now?

    Only when she saw that the disciples of the White Jade Sect didn¡¯t find it strange did she realize that she was Zu An¡¯s senior, as well as his wife¡¯s master. If he was seeking her out, it clearly had to be for his wife¡¯s sake, so they naturally wouldn¡¯t think anything strange.

    When she realized that, she didn¡¯t know whether to feel happy or sad. She collected her thoughts and said, ¡°Follow me.¡± Then, she turned around and walked up the mountain, looking just as beautiful from behind.

    Everyone else was a bit stunned. They were used to Sect Master Yan refusing all the men in this world, and yet today, they''d ended up seeing her let someone through so easily! Didn¡¯t this mean that the sect master had already agreed to their saintess¡¯ marriage?

    Zu An didn¡¯t bother trying to figure out what these people were thinking and quickly followed at Yan Xuehen¡¯s side. He secretly took her hand. Yan Xuehen was startled and quickly tried to pull her hand back, but he grabbed on firmly and didn¡¯t let her.

    ¡°Are you mad?¡± Yan Xuehen eximed; her heart was about to jump out of her chest!

    There were White Jade Sect disciples all around them. If she was seen holding his hand out here in the open, an uproar among the sect would be one thing, but the White Jade Sect itself could be a joke to the rest of the world! The master had ended up stealing her disciple¡¯s man¡­

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, they can¡¯t see anything,¡± Zu An said with a chuckle. After the battle with the Shadow Monster King, he''d gained the realization that the Heaven Devouring Sutra could create ¡®ck holes¡¯ that distorted space. Light could naturally be distorted too.

    The onlookers could only see that the two were walking side by side, while the space between them was blurry. Thus, others wouldn''t be able to see much at all.

    Yan Xuehen was stunned. She quickly extended her divine sense and saw that she couldn''t see from outside after all. She released a sigh of relief before asking, ¡°How are you doing this?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m merely warping the surrounding space a bit¡­¡± Zu An said, then told her a bit about the principles behind the technique.

    As she listened, Yan Xuehen¡¯s eyes began sparkling. A whileter, she said with a sigh, ¡°You really are a cultivation genius after all.¡±

    ¡°Of course I¡¯m a genius. How else would I be able to hold your hand?¡± Zu An replied with a chuckle.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s heart was racing. She had never thought that one day, she would be able to hold his hand publicly in the sect. This kind of feeling felt like some sort of taboo, and yet also brought her a sense of indescribable joy.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Still, she said, ¡°This is still the sect, though. Once we go further up, you need to quickly let go of me.¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you want to walk together with me too? Otherwise, you would have just flown on ahead. Why else would we need to take this small mountain path?¡± Zu An replied with a grin.

    ¡°You¡­!¡± Yan Xuehen seemed to have been exposed. She immediately felt embarrassed and panicked.

    For some reason, Zu An just really liked to see her embarrassed like this. However, when he remembered his purpose foring here, he sighed inwardly and gave up on continuing to tease her. He asked, ¡°By the way, is Chuyan okay?¡± As he asked the question, his voice started shaking a bit.

    Yan Xuehen suddenly became silent. A whileter, she replied, ¡°Sorry, but Chuyan has gone missing.¡±

 Chapter 2098: Inner Demon

    <h4>Chapter 2098: Inner Demon</h4>

    ¡°What?!¡± Zu An eximed. Even though he''d already been somewhat mentally prepared, he still felt incredibly awful. He asked, ¡°How did she go missing?¡±

    ¡°Follow me,¡± Yan Xuehen said. Her foot tapped against the ground, and she flew toward the highest peak. This time, Zu An didn¡¯t hold her hand, and quickly followed behind her instead.

    There were many cultivators who bowed respectfully to Yan Xuehen along the way, and many of them were curious who the man at their sect master¡¯s side was. But right now, Yan Xuehen wasn¡¯t in the mood to attend to such things at all.

    They quickly arrived at the highest peak. After passing through several strictly guarded checkpoints, the two of them arrived at an elevated tform with a mirror-like spatial rift atop it.

    Zu An was quite familiar with such rifts. He could tell that it was an entrance into a secret dungeon from a single nce. But right now, the spatial element around the entrance was extremely wild and chaotic, and anything that passed through could be instantly ripped to shreds.

    ¡°This is a secret dungeon that our White Jade Sect owns. The natural ki inside is much more abundant than in the outside world, so cultivating inside is far more efficient. Normally, only a few of the most outstanding disciples have the right to cultivate inside. When Chuyan returned from the daoists'' secret dungeonst time, she gained a lot of new insights. That was why the sect gave her special permission to cultivate inside the secret dungeon in seclusion," Yan Xuehen exined, her expression full of worry. ¡°But for some reason, a few days ago, there was suddenly an issue with the secret dungeon. At the time, those with the highest cultivation in the sect sensed that something was strange, so several elders and I entered to look for Chuyan. However, the secret dungeon had already undergone a huge transformation, and Chuyan wasn''t where she should have been.

    ¡°This secret dungeon isn¡¯t thatrge, so our group quickly searched every corner of it, and yet we didn¡¯t find any trace of her. Soon after, the spatial elements in the secret dungeon became more and more violent, and even the inside began to copse. We were forced to leave.

    ¡°A while after that, the spatial elements inside became extremely chaotic. Even heaven-grade weapons would be sted to pieces instantly by this kind of chaos, let alone human flesh. Thus, we could no longer enter to investigate her whereabouts.¡±

    Zu An asked expectantly, ¡°If even you and the elders couldn''t find her after searching the entire ce, could it be that Chuyan already escaped before the strange developments took ce?¡±

    Yan Xuehen shook her head and said, ¡°That¡¯s not likely. Our secret dungeon is special in that, because it''s extremely precious, the peaks all watch this ce carefully. We even set up some restrictions in the surroundings, so someone would immediately notice if anyone came out.

    ¡°Furthermore, the strangest thing was that Chuyan wasn¡¯t inside, nor did shee out. It¡¯s almost as if she vanished into thin air. I really don¡¯t know what happened.¡±

    Her expression became a bit lost. She was also quite knowledgeable and experienced, but she had never encountered anything like this in her entire life.

    ¡°I have an idea where she might have gone¡­¡± Zu An said with a sigh. Under her confused gaze, he then shared his experience with the Snow Lady with her.

    ¡°How could the Snow Lady possibly be Chuyan?¡± Yan Xuehen wondered, continuously shaking her head as she listened.

    Chu Chuyan had clearly vanished from her secluded cultivation in their sect¡¯s secret dungeon, so how could she possibly appear in the distant Great Snowy Mountain, and be the Snow Lady at that?!

    ¡°I know this is really hard to believe, but that''s precisely the truth. I could sense that the Snow Lady was none other than Chuyan,¡± Zu An said. The way Chuyan had looked at him before she disappeared appeared in his mind. He felt as if his heart was being stabbed by a de.

    ¡°I still can¡¯t believe it. We clearly met the Snow Lady before, and she even tried to kill us. That was why we¡­¡± Yan Xuehen felt her face heat up. Even though all this time had already passed, she would still feel her heartbeat quicken whenever she recalled what happened back there.

    ¡°At that time, she lost her memory and didn¡¯t recognize us,¡± Zu An said. When he thought about how Chuyan had experienced that endless amount of time all alone, to the point that even her memories were eroded away, he felt incredibly broken-hearted; how lonely and painful that must have been! He continued, ¡°Unless she entered another timeline, how could Chuyan possibly vanish without any reason in your own sect¡¯s secret dungeon?¡±

    As she listened to his reasoning, Yan Xuehen¡¯s face gradually grew paler and paler. She muttered to herself, ¡°How could this be¡­¡±

    She had always felt as if there was a sword hanging over her neck because of what she''d done with Zu An. What she''d been most scared of was that Chuyan would find out, so she couldn''t even look her disciple in the eye.

    However, even though that had already happened between the two of them, what she was most worried about right now was still Chuyan¡¯s safety. After all, whether it was Chuyan turning into the Snow Lady, how she had spent that endless amount of time all alone, or how she had disappeared, every single one of those things was a kind of unimaginable suffering.

    Yan Xuehen waspletely beside herself, saying, ¡°It¡¯s all my fault. It must be the heavens punishing us formitting that taboo act¡­ but even if someone ought to be punished, it should be me! What does it have to do with Chuyan?!¡±

    As she spoke, she coughed out a mouthful of blood. Then, her eyes closed, and she fell straight to the ground.

    ¡°Xuehen!¡± Zu An cried out as he quickly supported her. He discovered that she had fainted, and even her breathing was extremely weak.

    He was shocked. He had studied the Unshakable Daoist Manual before and knew how strict the conditions were. Once one cultivated to the level of the emotionless state, one could kill an enemy without them ever detecting the slightest bit of killing intent. However, if the cultivator experienced an intense surge of emotions, they could easily experience a rebound from the technique.

    Of course, normally, that was something that would almost never happen. After all, once one''s cultivation reached that point, one''s mental fortitude and willpower would already be far above everyone else''s. There wouldn¡¯t be any huge swings in one''s emotions.

    And yet, Yan Xuehen just had to have met the entric that was Zu An. On one hand, she loved him, and yet on the other hand, she was really terrified because he was her disciple¡¯s man. As time went on, this inner demon had gradually grown in her originally untainted heart.

    Of course, with Yan Xuehen¡¯s cultivation, normally such an inner demon wouldn¡¯t affect her too much. But when she suddenly learned of Chuyan¡¯s tragic fate, she was not only extremely heartbroken, she also felt an incredible sense of guilt and self-me. When those negative emotions suddenly broke out all at the same time, they''d ended up triggering thetent inner demon. All of her meridians were thrown into chaos, and all sorts of energies flowed in reverse, shing with each other.

    ¡°Sect master!¡± Several figures flew over. This was an important location of the White Jade Sect, so it was guarded with strict security.

    The sect master had brought the regent here, so they couldn''te closer, but they had always been watching from afar. At first, they were curious as to what the usually cold and indifferent sect master would talk about with him, and they had even worried that the sect master¡¯s coldness would offend the regent. After all, he was now someone with tremendous authority and cultivation.

    And yet, a momentter, the sect master had actually vomited blood and fainted!

    ¡°You rat bastard, let go of our sect master right this moment!¡± Even though they had still been worried about the sect master offending Zu An a moment before, now they weren''t even thinking of that at all.

    Over the years, Yan Xuehen had umted a lot of prestige. Between that and her stunning, transcendent appearance, whether it was the young, middle-aged, or elderly, she''d be the goddess of all their dreams. When they saw that she was suddenly injured, and they couldn''t even tell if she was still alive... and that she was in the arms of another man, at that, they couldn''t care less whether he was a regent or not.

    ¡­

    Even though Zu An was receiving arge amount of Rage points all at once, he couldn''t bring himself to feel happy at all. Instead, he firmly pressed his fingers against Yan Xuehen¡¯s pulse point to examine her condition.

    By then, the elder-level figures of the various peaks had also hurried over after receiving news of what happened. When they saw the situation, they drew their weapons and aimed them at Zu An. The situation immediately became extremely tense.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything to her. She''s most likely experiencing cultivation deviation right now,¡± Zu An said. He naturally didn¡¯t fear these people, but if there was conflict, the treatment process would be tricky.

    ¡°Nonsense! Senior sister Yan¡¯s heart cultivation has always been publicly acknowledged to be number one among the past three generations. She even reached the absolute emotionless state. How could she possibly experience cultivation deviation?!¡± an elder with a goatee loudly cried. Many other members of the sect also spoke up in agreement.

    Zu An gave that short elder a look. He hadn¡¯t expected Yan Xuehen to actually be this elder''s senior sister! He couldn''t help but feel strange about that. He said, ¡°I didn¡¯t attack her at all, so how could I have injured her? If you all don¡¯t believe me, you can examine her yourselves. Hurry and see if you have a way of saving her.¡±

    The elders turned to several middle-aged disciples, who had been the ones watching from a distance before, and said, ¡°Report.¡±

    Those individuals shook their heads and replied.

    ¡°We indeed didn¡¯t see him attack.¡±

    ¡°Even so, it''s hard to say for certain that he didn¡¯t use some strange methods to attack the sect master without needing to move.¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°For instance, he seemed to have been looking at the sect master the entire time.¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°Enough!¡± A white-robed elder who had an elegant bearing shouted at them to stop. If the glorious White Jade Sect Master could be injured to this extent from just a look from another, wouldn¡¯t they be aughingstock to the rest of the world? The elder said, ¡°Elder Qi, please go and take a look.¡±

    A middle-aged daoist nun nodded. She arrived at Yan Xuehen¡¯s side. Her facial features were quite good, and it seemed that in her youth, she''d been a beauty as well. But whenpared to Yan Xuehen, even though thetter was seriously injured and unconscious, she still paled inparison. She ced her fingers on Yan Xuehen¡¯s wrist. A whileter, her expression changed and she cried out in rm, ¡°How could this be?!¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± the white-robed elder asked nervously.

    ¡°Sect master, she¡­ she¡­¡± The middle-aged daoist nun tried to speak several times, but she couldn''t speak properly.

    The white-robed elder couldn''t wait any longer. He extended three threads from his sleeves and ced them on Yan Xuehen¡¯s wrist. At their level, using threads to check one¡¯s pulse was something that couldn''t be simpler. His expression also changed drastically. ¡°Her condition is actually this critical? Even if we manage to save her, she might end up losing all of her cultivation as a result.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Everyone present was stunned. Yan Xuehen was White Jade Sect¡¯s pride, the most outstanding disciple in centuries. And yet now, she was suddenly going to end up like this?

    As soon as he heard that, Zu An cut off the threads and said, ¡°So even after all of that, you''re all unable to do a thing. An absolute waste of my time! I''ll be the one to save her, then.¡±

    After saying that, he prepared to carry her to her nearby personal dwelling.

    The White Jade Sect¡¯s people were horrified and tried to stop him, eximing, ¡°What are you trying to do?¡±

    ¡°Save her, of course. Do you even need to ask?¡± Zu An snapped impatiently.

    ¡°But¡­ Men and women should not touch hands when they give or receive things!¡± Someone finally found a pretext, and the others nodded in agreement.

    Apart from being their sect master, Yan Xuehen was also an extraordinary beauty. How could she be carried into a room by a man? Who knew what he would do!

    ¡°Do you all understand what kind of situation we''re currently in? Are you just going to watch as she either dies or turns into a cripple?¡± Zu An shouted furiously.

    Everyone present choked up, none of them daring to bear that responsibility. In the end, it was the white-robed elder who said, ¡°In that case, let junior sister Qi enter with you. It¡¯ll be good to at least have some extra help.¡±

    He said that it was to help, but it was more for monitoring. None of them felt at ease leaving Yan Xuehen with a man while she didn¡¯t have any ability to resist.

    ¡°No, my treatment process can''t be seen by any bystanders,¡± Zu An said coldly.

    Are you kidding me? If they found out how I¡¯m going to treat her, wouldn¡¯t that start a huge scandal?!

 Chapter 2099: Defenses Penetrated

    <h4>Chapter 2099: Defenses Prated</h4>

    ¡°How could we possibly allow that?!¡± Before the white-robed elder even said anything, everyone else already tried to prevent that with shocked expressions.

    Are you kidding right now? Do you know what kind of person Yan Xuehen is? Even Zhao Han admired her greatly in the past, and who knows how people yearn for her day and night!

    She''s normally an unreachable goddess who wouldn¡¯t let any man touch even a corner of her clothes, and yet you actually want to stay alone in a room with her while she''s unconscious? Keep dreaming!

    Whether it was for Yan Xuehen¡¯s safety or the sect¡¯s reputation, there was no way they would permit something like that.

    Zu An was also really annoyed when he heard them continuously tell him to ¡®stop dreaming¡¯. These were Xuehen and Chuyan¡¯s fellow sect members, so he didn¡¯t want the situation to be too awkward. He could only remain patient and exin, ¡°Sect Master Yan is Chuyan¡¯s master, and also my¡­ ahem, senior. Could it be that you all think that I would do something disrespectful to her?¡±

    No matter how thick-skinned he was, he still couldn''t help but feel a bit embarrassed after saying that.

    ¡°Be that as it may, we still don¡¯t feel at ease with a man in the same room as the sect master. You didn¡¯t agree to us keeping junior sister Qi at her side either, which is really suspicious,¡± the white-robed elder said, starting to be fretful. If it weren¡¯t because he was worried about Yan Xuehen¡¯s safety and still carried a glimmer of hope, perhaps he would have already sent this guy flying a long time ago.

    Zu An said in a serious voice, ¡°The method I am using is a secret method that can only be passed down to a single generation. Outsiders cannot see it.¡±

    Elder Qi asked, ¡°Could it be that you are afraid that our glorious White Jade Sect would try to steal your method?¡±

    The surroundings became noisy again. They all said that the White Jade Sect was a sect that had existed for thousands of years and had countless techniques of the highest level, and that they definitely wouldn¡¯t covet some other group¡¯s random techniques.

    While the argument was getting noisier and noisier, a young disciple suddenly stepped forward, saying, ¡°I trust the regent. He definitely wishes to save the sect master and won¡¯t do anything disrespectful to her.¡±

    Zu An followed the source of the voice and saw that it was actually Lou Wucheng. He had previously been Li Changsheng¡¯s personal disciple, someone who was of the same status as Chuyan. They had publicly been known as two stunning talents, but after Li Changsheng¡¯s death, he''d suffered too much of a mental setback. Now, he had already be a bit dispirited and wasn¡¯t as motivated as before.

    ¡°Brother Lou, you''re only speaking up as a guarantee for him because he saved you, right?¡± another disciple retorted with a sneer.

    ¡°I vouch for him with a clear conscience!¡± Lou Wucheng snapped, getting a bit annoyed. In the past, this person had treated him with great respect, but now that his master had passed, the other person had started going against him because his master was still alive.

    The younger disciples split into two sides and argued noisily. In the end, Zu An became impatient and said, ¡°Enough! Just let here in with me.¡±

    He didn¡¯t dare to tarry any longer, or else Yan Xuehen would really be in danger.

    The White Jade Sect¡¯s people all sighed in relief when they heard him agree. He made all of them feel too much pressure, and if he really decided to act up, the consequences would be severe. Now that he had taken a step back, it was perfect for everyone.

    Zu An carried Yan Xuehen and walked toward her residence. The middle-aged daoist nun was about to follow him in when the white-robed elder secretly said through ki transmission, ¡°Junior sister Qi, if he tries anything strange, you need to immediately alert us. We''ll rush in to help you.¡±

    With the other side¡¯s cultivation, there was no way junior sister Qi could face him. However, the White Jade Sect was a powerful sect that had existed for over a thousand years, and had countless powerful individuals. When all of them worked together, they didn¡¯t need to fear him.

    Elder Qi voiced her understanding, then quickly followed behind Zu An.

    Zu An carried Yan Xuehen into the room and saw that theyout inside was quite simple. There was only a chair, a spiritual jade bed, and a shelf full of jade strips. It seemed she normally frequently read through all kinds of techniques and skills. Apart from that, there were several vases with spiritual flowers within. They weren¡¯t brightly colored, but rather elegant and refined, just like her personality. Other than the fragrance of flowers, there was also a faint delicate fragrance that really refreshed the mind.

    When she saw Zu An carry Yan Xuehen to the bed, the middle-aged daoist nun¡¯s brows rose. She almost couldn''t hold herself back from sounding the rm. Fortunately, Zu An gently ced her on the bed and got up to leave. He didn¡¯t do anything disrespectful, and walked toward Elder Qi instead.

    Elder Qi sighed in relief, but at the same time, she found it a bit strange. She asked, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you had a way to treat Sect Master Yan? Why aren¡¯t you starting?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll start after dealing with you, of course,¡± Zu An said with a grin.

    The middle-aged daoist nun sensed that something was off and was about to press down on the jade talisman she held, when everything in front of her darkened and she fainted. Thest thought in her head was shock. She was a respected elder, for better or for worse, so why couldn''t she even stop a single strike from him?

    After knocking Elder Qi out, Zu An returned to the bed. This bed was probably the only valuable piece of ¡®furniture¡¯ in the room. It was made entirely from spiritual jade, so that even when sleeping, the resting individual would still absorb the world¡¯s natural ki for cultivation. He undid Yan Xuehen''s clothes, and the entire room seemed to brighten a bit. Even the beautiful spiritual jade bed seemed to pale inparison.

    Unfortunately, right now, Zu An wasn¡¯t in the mood to enjoy the beautiful sight; instead, he took her tightly into his own embrace. He pressed one hand down on the center of her chest, and the other on her fair and smooth back, to understand her current condition better. He quickly sent primordial ki into her body to help her with the shing energies within her. Only once the chaotic energies within her calmed down a bit could he start to repair her damaged arteries.

    This time, Yan Xuehen¡¯s injuries were especially severe, to the extent that not even the best divine physicians of the world would be able to heal her. Fortunately, not only did he have his primordial ki, he had also learned the Unshakable Daoist Manual and could change his ki to be of the same source as Yan Xuehen¡¯s. That way, the berserk ki inside of her body wouldn¡¯t produce an intense bacsh.

    He quickly focused his attention and began the treatment.

    ¡­

    All of the White Jade Sect¡¯s higher ups were gathered outside, and many of them nervously paced back and forth.

    ¡°Elder, do you think Sect Master Yan can be treated?¡± someone couldn''t help but ask the white-robed elder.

    ¡°The regent sounded really confident, so he should be able to, right¡­¡± the white-robed elder said uncertainly. After all, he had examined the state of Yan Xuehen¡¯s body. Even if she was saved miraculously somehow, she would most likely turn into a cripple. Even though the regent was really strong, he wasn¡¯t omnipotent.

    ¡°I wonder just how he''ll save her,¡± another elder said, his expression full of worry.

    The white-robed elder gave him a look. He knew that in the past, this man had really tried to chase after Yan Xuehen, but over the years, as his cultivation and age increased, he eventually epted reality. And yet, how could the passionate time of his youth be so easily forgotten?

    He replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, junior sister Qi is watching inside. If she doesn¡¯t alert us, that means the regent didn¡¯t treat the sect master with disrespect.¡±

    When he realized that he''d been seen through, the elder¡¯s face turned red, and so he retreated.

    Everyone present looked at the residence in front of them nervously.

    ¡­n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Meanwhile, inside, Yan Xuehen was also gradually waking up. When she noticed that she waspletely naked and that there was a strange feelinging from her, her entire body immediately went rigid. She was about to prepare for a fight when Zu An said from beside her, ¡°You just experienced cultivation deviation, so don¡¯t use your ki.¡±

    When she heard that familiar sound, Yan Xuehen sighed in relief. She turned around and gave him a look. Her entire body was already covered in ayer of pink. She murmured, ¡°You¡­ How could you¡­¡±

    ¡°Hey, big sis, can you please not let your emotions run wild again? Just now, you gave me such a huge surprise that I was left with no other method to save you but this one,¡± Zu An said with a sigh. To be honest, he had almost been sucked dry by White and Dark Jing Teng on the way here, so at first, he really hadn¡¯t considered this method.

    Yan Xuehen gradually recalled what happened. With her cultivation, she naturally knew how dangerous it was. She sighed and said, ¡°I really didn¡¯t expect to have already developed such a serious inner demon. It¡¯s honestly all your fault¡­¡±

    Zu An was speechless, asking, ¡°Didn¡¯t I help you get rid of it?¡±

    Yan Xuehen was dumbstruck. However, she suddenly frowned and said, ¡°Chuyan has just gone missing, and yet we''re doing something like this. I really am a shameless and bad master¡­¡±

    When he saw a tear slide down her perfect cheek, Zu An was startled and hurriedly consoled her, saying, ¡°All of this is my fault. You absolutely can''t me yourself! Otherwise, you really might die if you develop another inner demon!¡±

    ¡°If I die, then at least everything will be over,¡± Yan Xuehen said, feeling rmed when she sensed his movements. She lowered her head and bit down on him before asking, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you affected by any inner demons at all?¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t really understand it either. A whileter, he said, ¡°It might be because I¡¯m already trash?¡±

    Yan Xuehen was speechless. She felt as if even her teeth were aching a bit from her anger, eximing, ¡°You womanizer! You¡¯re probably really proud of yourself, thinking that you¡¯ve obtained both master and disciple, huh? Why would you get an inner demon then?¡±

    Zu An felt wronged and cried out, ¡°It¡¯s clearly your cultivation technique that¡¯s weird. Why do you have to cultivate something that goes so harshly against human nature?!¡±

    ¡°I was going to fully devote myself to cultivation to begin with. At the time, I figured that it wouldn¡¯t matter much even if I abandoned my emotions and desires. Besides, the Unshakable Daoist Manual has faster cultivation speed than other techniques,¡± Yan Xuehen said, giving him a look. ¡°How could I have known that eventually, I would meet a guy like you?¡±

    Zu An was actually a bit proud of himself. He couldn''t help but move a bit closer, asking, ¡°Was it so bad to meet me?¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s body trembled. She instinctively clutched her own mouth before she suddenly remembered something important. ¡°Right, I remember that when I was unconscious, the sect¡¯s people seemed to have rushed over. You didn¡¯t kill any of them, did you?¡±

    ¡°No way! How could I touch any of your people? They¡¯re all waiting outside,¡± Zu An replied.

    Yan Xuehen sighed when she heard the first half, but she went rigid when she heard thetter half. She was speechless.

 Chapter 2100: Haggling

    <h4>Chapter 2100: Haggling</h4>

    Yan Xuehen was about to go crazy. She felt an incredible amount of guilt precisely because of what had happened to her disciple. That was why she''d experienced cultivation deviation and almost died. And yet as soon as she woke up, she found herselfpletely naked and lying in Zu An¡¯s arms. However, she knew that he had only did so to save her, so she couldn''t really say anything.

    She''d thought to herself that this had to be the absolutest time. She couldn''t continue this sinful rtionship. But how could she have known that there would still be arge number of White Jade Sect members standing guard outside?!

    When he sensed the shock and nervousness Yan Xuehen''s body was signaling, Zu An shivered. However, he still tried to calmly exin, ¡°There was no way around it. Unfortunately, your status is just too high in their eyes, and all of them treat you as their goddess. They wouldn¡¯t feel at ease at all leaving you alone with me, and insisted on standing guard outside. They even sent in a female elder to monitor us.¡±

    Yan Xuehen followed his line of sight and saw Elder Qi lying in the corner. She was horrified, asking, ¡°What did you do to her?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I merely struck her fainting acupoint,¡± Zu An replied while guiding her internal energy to move with him.

    Yan Xuehen quickly clutched her mouth, while her other hand hit his chest. She was a bit embarrassed. She was now really d that she''d covered her own mouth and hadn¡¯t made any noises even when she was still in a daze. Otherwise, if those outside heard her, she would really want to just disappear forever.

    Even so, she really couldn''t handle this man¡¯s incessant teasing. Not only did he not exercise restraint, he was even going further and further! This fellow seemed to have seen through what she was thinking, and wanted to make her make noise on purpose!

    He¡¯s really an annoying person!

    She reached out to try and push him away several times, but unfortunately, her arms had never felt so powerless.

    No, if she really thought about it, she had always been quite powerless whenever he bullied her like this... He really did have some crazy innate talent. In this kind of situation, she had always felt as if her entire body was beingpletely prated from from to end, causing her mind to go nk as if she would faint at any time.

    She really was a bit curious how, despite her high cultivation, as well as the amazing strength and flexibility of her body, she still couldn''t handle it. Just how had those women with ordinary cultivation survived this thing?

    ¡°Are you really trying to heal me or are you deliberately bullying me?¡± Yan Xuehen asked with a trembling voice.

    ¡°I¡¯m treating you, of course,¡± Zu An said. He knew that in her current state, he couldn''t be too rough with her, so he became more gentle.

    When she sensed the love he was expressing, Yan Xuehen sighed. She held onto him tightly. In the end, she still couldn''t refuse him.

    Zu An moved close to her ear and said with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s okay if you don¡¯t hold it in. I already set up a sound-blocking formation. They can¡¯t hear anything.¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s eyes widened.

    This guy didn¡¯t tell me all this time on purpose!

    But she was still grateful that he wasn¡¯t the impulsive and hot-headed type. He wasn¡¯t someone who would use this kind of opportunity to show his dominance over her in front of the rest of the White Jade Sect.

    She grinned. A bit of a stubborn look appeared in her eyes as she replied, ¡°But I don¡¯t want to!¡±

    ¡°Then it seems I haven¡¯t been working hard enough.¡± Zu An harrumphed.

    The ki inside Yan Xuehen¡¯s body had already been pretty much sorted out. It was now as calm as a sea, as peaceful as a blue sky with white clouds.

    And yet suddenly, it was as if a torrential rain poured down. Wild waves came one after another, not giving her any chance to catch her breath. As time went on, a faint, beautiful song suddenly emerged from the midst of that sea. At first, it was suppressed and the sound was brief, but it gradually became clearer and more wonderful.

    Legend had it that there was a kind of songstress in the sea that could draw in sailors with her beautiful song, and then she would lure those sailors and their ships to destruction. However, this song was even more amazing than that, and the person was far more beautiful as well.

    ¡°Your¡­ soundproofing¡­ If your soundproofing formation doesn¡¯t work, then I¡¯ll definitely¡­ definitely¡­¡± Yan Xuehen struggled to say; her face waspletely red, and her eyes were a bit watery.

    ¡°What will you definitely do?¡± Zu An replied as he looked down on her from above while feeling a mysterious semse of sess. The goddess who was normally far above in the clouds now seemed to be under hisplete control, as if he was responsible for her very life or death.

    ¡°I will definitely kill you with a single sword sh!¡± Yan Xuehen finished as she got up and bit down hard on his shoulder.

    ¡°I heard that White Jade Sect Master Yan¡¯s sword technique is amazing. But what do you think of my humble selfpeting against your sword technique with my spear technique?¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I already help you evaluate your stick technique?!¡±

    ¡°After receiving pointers from Sect Master Yan, I suddenly came up with a new set of spear techniques. I need the sect master to see if there''s any other room for improvement.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re so annoying¡­¡±

    ¡­

    After who knew how much time had passed, someone suddenly knocked on the door. Yan Xuehen shivered, then quickly grabbed her clothes to cover herself.

    Zu An looked outside impatiently and asked, ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°I wonder how our sect master¡¯s condition is right now. Has the regent¡¯s treatment gone smoothly?¡± the white-robed elder asked with some hesitation.

    Yan Xuehen thought about how there were many sect members standing guard outside, and yet she''d been here inside speaking nonsense with Zu An. She was so embarrassed she buried her head into his chest. Her hand reached out and gave his waist a pinch.

    ¡°Sss~¡± Zu An sucked in air through his clenched teeth. He loosened up the soundproofing formation slightly and said, ¡°Don''t worry, elder. Everything is going well. Your sect master is recovering well and is quite vigorous.¡±

    The white-robed elder was stunned.

    Why do your words sound so strange?

    He quickly asked, ¡°Elder Qi, do you need any help inside?¡±

    Zu An immediately understood what was happening. He knew that the people outside were worried about there being no news even though the three of them had been inside for so long. They naturally wouldn¡¯t trust the words of an outsider like him and instead tried to confirm the situation with the middle-aged elder.

    Yan Xuehen immediately became nervous. Elder Qi was unconscious right now, so how could she possibly reply? If they thought that something had happened to Elder Qi because they couldn''t hear her reply, they would rush in to save her¡­

    She didn¡¯t dare to continue thinking about what would happen then. It was just too terrifying.

    Zu An moved over to her ear and gently kissed her beautiful earlobe, asking, ¡°What are you standing around nkly for? Hurry and reply already.¡±

    Yan Xuehen was stunned.

    I really am out of it. I¡¯m already awake, so why would we have to wait for Elder Qi to reply?

    As such, she took a deep breath and did her best to calm down, saying, ¡°Elder Ming, I am fine. It is all thanks to the regent for saving me.¡±

    When they heard her voice, cheers of joy immediately came from outside. Elder Ming¡¯s tone seemed to be happier too as he said, ¡°I am extremely grateful that the sect master is fine. The regent truly is extremely skilled.¡±

    Yan Xuehen gave the man behind her a guilty look.

    This guy really is extremely skilled in certain aspects.

    She quickly said, ¡°My injuries previously were too serious, so right now, the regent is assisting me in repairing my meridians and needs a bit more time¡­ Huh?¡±

    It turned out Zu An had started feeling a bit mischievous when he saw a bit of flirtatiousness in her usually cold eyes¡­

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, sect master?¡± Elder Ming asked nervously when he heard something strange in her voice.

    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ It¡¯s nothing. Speaking to you just now made my internal energies act up again,¡± Yan Xuehen said, biting her lips tightly. Her beautiful eyes were wide, as if she was threatening Zu An to behave himself.

    Zu An looked at her with a smile. He was gentle, yet decisive. Why would he listen to her in this kind of situation?

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s red lips widened. Fortunately, her cultivation and willpower were astonishing, so she didn¡¯t make any sound.

    ¡°Then we won¡¯t disturb the sect master¡¯s treatment any longer,¡± Elder Ming said; he was startled and quickly excused himself. He also had the other sect members move further away.

    If they became the reason for the sect master¡¯s injuries remaining, that would absolutely be an unpardonable sin.

    But why is the sect master¡¯s voice shaking a bit?

    It¡¯s probably because of her injuries.

    After all, Yan Xuehen¡¯s cold demeanor had left too deep of an impression on them, so none of their thoughts went in that direction.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡­

    When Zu An sealed the soundproofing formation again, Yan Xuehen¡¯s fists continuously struck Zu An. She eximed, ¡°Do you really have to humiliate me like that to feel happy?¡±

    Zu An took her tightly into his arms before replying, ¡°How is that humiliation? It¡¯s just that you seemed to want to leave me again, so that was why I wanted topletely set you free.¡±

    Yan Xuehen immediately became quiet, because she really had thought of this as theirst time. She definitely couldn''t make this mistake again.

    ¡°Chuyan already left me, so I can''t let you leave me too,¡± Zu An said, looking at her with a firm expression.

    ¡°But I¡¯ve really let Chuyan down. After what already happened to Chuyan, I can''t continue to repeat my mistakes,¡± Yan Xuehen said, clear streams of tears running down her beautiful face.

    ¡°I already said that was unrted to you. What we should focus on the most right now is how we can save her, and not enter a vicious cycle of self-me,¡± Zu An said with a serious expression.

    ¡°We do have to save her, but we can''t continue the wrongdoing either,¡± Yan Xuehen said, her expression also firm.

    When he saw that her expression this time was different from before, Zu An became silent. After a bit of time, he suddenly undid the soundproofing formation.

    ¡°What are you doing?!¡± Yan Xuehen was startled and quickly sent a voice transmission.

    ¡°Since this is thest time, I¡¯ll have to make it an unforgettable one,¡± Zu An said, his smile a bit ambiguous.

    Yan Xuehen was speechless.

    ¡°Are you doing this because you want them to know about our rtionship, so that way, I would have no choice but to ept this reality and continue my rtionship with you?¡± Yan Xuehen¡¯s face turned cold as she said, ¡°If that''s really what you think, then I¡¯ll give you what you want! I¡¯ll let everyone in the world know that I¡¯ve already been won over, and then I''ll end my own life to cleanse myself of my guilt toward my sect.¡±

    Zu An seemed to have already anticipated that she would say that and said, ¡° If you end your own life, you might fix all of your problems, but what about Chuyan? Then, everyone in this entire world would mock her for having her man stolen by her master. You don¡¯t want her to be aughingstock of the entire world, do you?¡±

    ¡°You¡­!¡± Yan Xuehen stared at him and asked, ¡°Just what do you want?¡±

    She could indeed choose to end her own life, but if that would only result in such a miserable fate for Chuyan, she would be filled with endless guilt.

    ¡°Don¡¯t leave me,¡± Zu An said as he looked into her eyes.

    Yan Xuehen trembled. Even though she was really reluctant, her reason still won out and she said, ¡°No, this is thest time we¡¯ll be together.¡±

    ¡°Then it¡¯ll have to be thest three hundred times. Then, I won¡¯t bother you anymore,¡± Zu An could only answer her like hat.

    Yan Xuehen almostughed in anger. ¡°You can even haggle with this kind of thing?¡±

    ¡°Why not?¡±

    ¡°No way!¡±

    ¡°Then a hundred times.¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Ten times. You can agree to ten times, right?¡±

    ¡°Three times at most!¡±

    ¡°Fine, three times. Deal!¡±

    When she saw his smile that was as crafty as a fox, Yan Xuehen suddenly realized that she seemed to have fallen for his tricks. She was already no longer refusing him as firmly as before. He''d managed to exploit an opening.

    Three times, repeat three times; three times, how numerous they are!

    But deep inside, she really didn¡¯t want to leave him¡­

    At least this way, I¡¯ll have an excuse to console myself¡­

 Chapter 2101: Search

    <h4>Chapter 2101: Search</h4>

    ¡°What do we do about Elder Qi?¡± Yan Xuehen asked worriedly as she suddenly looked at the unconscious middle-aged daoist nun.

    Even though she hadn¡¯t seen what had happened, Elder Qi had been knocked unconscious by Zu An right from the start. Once she woke up, she would definitely suspect that the two of them had done something.

    ¡°I¡¯ll leave that up to you. This is your territory, after all,¡± Zu An replied with a smile.

    ¡°You¡¯ll leave it to me?¡± Yan Xuehen repeated, almost fainting. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you taking any responsibility at all?¡±

    ¡°I can take care of it if you want. I¡¯ll just destroy the corpse so there¡¯s no evidence,¡± Zu An said, his tone suddenly bing grave.

    ¡°Don¡¯t!¡± Yan Xuehen quickly said; her expression changed as she stopped him. ¡°Just let me take care of it!¡± How could she let her fellow sect member be harmed because of her own selfish interests?

    ¡­

    Elder Qi gradually woke up, a look of confusion appearing on her face. Soon, however, she took out her weapons to prepare for battle.

    ¡°Elder Qi, please do not feel nervous,¡± a clear and cold voice said from off to the side.

    When Elder Qi followed the source of the voice, she saw that Yan Xuehen was sitting there and looking at her. She was surprised and overjoyed, asking, ¡°Sect master, are you alright?¡±

    ¡°Yes, it was thanks to the regent¡¯s all-out¡­ healing,¡± Yan Xuehen said. When she recalled the earlier events, she couldn''t help but clench her toes. Fortunately, she was quite good at controlling herself and didn¡¯t show any suspicious behavior.

    Elder Qi gave the nearby Zu An a look, then quickly grabbed Yan Xuehen. She secretly asked, ¡°Sect master, he didn¡¯t do anything disrespectful to you just now, did he?¡±

    Countless memories appeared in Yan Xuehen¡¯s mind.

    Are you kidding me? It wasn¡¯t just disrespect, he already went all the way!

    Still, she replied, ¡°Of course not.¡± Afterward, her cheeks heated up a bit. She had never told lies in the past, but ever since she met that little demon, she''d begun to lie more and more.

    ¡°But he knocked me out as soon as we entered¡­¡± Elder Qi reflexively lowered her head to examine her own clothes while speaking.

    Zu An¡¯s eyelids twitched as he watched her.

    You¡¯re actually worried that I¡¯d do something to you? Keep dreaming!

    Yan Xuehen quietly exined, ¡°The regent already exined it to me before, telling me that his method is extremely special and cannot be seen by anyone else. The reason he agreed to you entering is because he did not wish to dy my healing process, so please do not take offense, Elder Qi.¡±

    ¡°But¡­¡± Elder Qi said, still a bit suspicious. Sect Master Yan was just too beautiful, and the regent seemed to be a famous yboy. Would he really bepletely untempted?

    Yan Xuehen guessed what she was thinking from her expression and said, ¡°What are you thinking? He is Chuyan¡¯s husband! To a certain degree, I am also his master. How could he possibly do what you are thinking of?¡±

    The moment those words left her mouth, she felt mysteriously guilty. The people of this world were indeed like this, attaching a lot of importance to respecting their masters, but this guy really was daring. He only knew how to disrespect his seniors!

    Elder Qi chuckled in relief.

    That¡¯s right! Even though Sect Master Yan is beautiful, with her and Chuyan¡¯s master-disciple rtionship, how could the regent dare to do anything?

    Even taking a thousand steps back, assuming the regent did something unforgivable and immoral, is Sect Master Yan¡¯s untarnished character something I should doubt?

    Her cold and indifferent personality means she didn¡¯t even give Zhao Han the time of day. If there really were something, would she be able to keep on such a natural expression?

    Sigh, it seems we were thinking like petty-minded people about a gentleman.

    She bowed respectfully to Zu An. ¡°Thank you so much for saving our sect master, regent.¡±

    Zu An sighed and said, ¡°It¡¯s alright as long as I¡¯m not mistaken for a demon of lust.¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Elder Qi felt more and more guilty as she said, ¡°It was us who were too inflexible.¡±

    Yan Xuehen red at Zu An.

    I don¡¯t think it¡¯s too far off, though!

    This guy really doesn¡¯t bat a single eyelid while telling lies.

    ¡°Elder Ming and the others were really worried and anxious while waiting outside, so I¡¯ll go out to talk to them first,¡± Elder Qi suggested.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go together. We¡¯ve worried everyone,¡± Yan Xuehen said, but as soon as she took a step, her expression changed a bit. She quickly used ki to hold something in.

    Elder Qi''s nose suddenly twitched. Yan Xuehen was rmed and asked, ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t help but feel as if there was some strange smell, but now I can¡¯t smell it anymore. It might have just been my imagination,¡± Elder Qi said apologetically.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s face was heating up to the point that she really wanted to crawl into a hole and hide forever. Fortunately, Zu An had already used a certain skill to get rid of those ambiguous smells before Elder Qi woke up, but she hadn¡¯t expected there to still be a bit left.

    The door to the dwelling quickly opened. When they heard the news, the mass of people outside rushed over. When they saw that Yan Xuehen was still as pure and transcendent as she usually looked, they were overjoyed and eximed, ¡°Sect master, have you recovered?¡±

    A look of amazement appeared in many people¡¯s eyes. Even though they had already seen her countless times, it was always a different experience whenever they saw the sect master again. She even seemed to be a bit rosier than usual. The distant and remote goddess in the clouds now seemed to carry a bit more worldly beauty.

    Yan Xuehen voiced her confirmation. ¡°It was thanks to a secret method only the regent knows.¡±

    Everyone from the White Jade Sect bowed to Zu An. ¡°Thank you so much, regent!¡±

    Elder Ming used the chance to secretly ask, ¡°Elder Qi, was there anything strange that happened inside?¡±

    ¡°No¡­ there wasn¡¯t.¡± Elder Qi hesitantly wondered whether to speak the truth, but after thinking about it, even though everyone in the sect trusted the sect master¡¯s judgment, if news of such a thing went out, who knew what the others would think? Then, not only would their sect master¡¯s reputation be harmed, even the White Jade Sect itself would be implicated. As such, she decided it was better to just not say anything.

    When he heard her reply, Elder Ming sighed inwardly in relief.

    ¡°Everyone is too polite. Sect Master Yan is Chuyan¡¯s master and my good friend. Whether for personal or public reasons, it was only right for me to to save her,¡± Zu An said as he stood behind Yan Xuehen and secretly held her hand.

    Yan Xuehen wanted to pull her hand back, but she couldn''t. She couldn''t exert too much strength in front of so many people either, and could only let him do what he wanted. Even so, her face was really heating up.

    This guy really isn¡¯t scared of anything at all!

    ¡­

    Afterward, the White Jade Sect wanted to hold a feast to thank Zu An, but Zu An wasn¡¯t in the mood. Yan Xuehen wasn¡¯t the type to enjoy too much activity either, so they decided not to hold such an event in the end.

    A separate courtyard was prepared near the main peak. It wasn¡¯t too far from where Yan Xuehen resided. Yan Xuehen was alreadypletely awake and fine, so they naturally didn¡¯t need to worry about anything.

    Zu An summoned Yan Xuehen and the other elders from the White Jade Sect to ask them about their secret dungeon. He wanted to get to the bottom of Chuyan¡¯s disappearance.

    ¡°This is a secret dungeon that we inherited and have passed down for thousands of years. It seems to have existed even before the White Jade Sect was founded. Natural ki is rich and abundant inside, and there are all kinds of rarely seen flowers and herbs within. Calling it a paradise wouldn¡¯t be too great of an exaggeration,¡± Elder Ming said. However, he frowned and continued, ¡°Furthermore, after thousands of years of exploration, we did not find it to contain any dangers at all, and yet this kind of thing happened. It really is strange.¡±

    ¡°Most of the secret dungeons of the world are ancient remains. While these remains contain opportunities, they also hold danger. Could it be that this secret dungeon of yours is one of those ancient remains?¡± Zu An asked in confusion.

    Yan Xuehen shook her head and said, ¡°Our secret dungeon is not one of those historical remains, and is instead more like a world of its own. It is like a mythical fairnd.¡±

    ¡°What exactly is inside the secret dungeon? Can you describe it in more detail?¡± Zu An continued. He wanted to see if he could find any clues.

    Elder Ming and the others were hesitating, so Yan Xuehen decided to take the lead. ¡°This secret dungeon was originally our White Jade Sect¡¯s secret, but since the secret dungeon has already been ruined, there is no harm in telling the regent.

    ¡°Actually, our White Jade Sect was modeled after the secret dungeon. The entire secret dungeon is located in the skies, and many peaks tower into the clouds. Every single peak is linked by clouds between them that serve as stairs. Every peak has a different elemental property. The cultivators who enter frequently cultivate on the peak with the element that resonates with their own the best. By doing so, they can achieve twice the results with half the effort.

    ¡°And the peak Chuyan chose was the ice element peak. I cultivated there in the past, so I don¡¯t know why this happened now.¡±

    Zu An asked seriously, ¡°Did you already search the entire secret dungeon? What about the world underneath the clouds?¡±

    ¡°There does not seem to be anything beneath the clouds; instead, there is only an endless abyss. There was once a senior who went down to investigate, but he was sent back by force not long after he went down. It seems to be a safety mechanism the secret dungeon has to protect cultivators,¡± Yan Xuehen replied. ¡°Besides, with Chuyan¡¯s cultivation, she would never just fall down identally.¡±

    Zu An began to think to himself. Chuyan had always been fine when she entered before, so why was it different this time? The first thing he considered was the alien monster invasion. Could it be that some kind of restriction had been activated?

    However, the sealednd was so far from the White Jade Sect, and judging from how these people were describing the situation, it didn¡¯t seem as if anything strange had happened. Would the monster invasion really affect this ce?

    Could this be the result of some transformations that took ce within Chuyan herself? She had learned some things from the daoist secret dungeon. It probably didn¡¯t have anything to do with Kiss of the Goddess, though. Could it be the Pure World Icelotus?

    He asked, ¡°Could it be that there really aren¡¯t any buildings or stone carving-like things in the secret dungeon? Everything is natural? Or are there any things that stand out?¡±

    Yan Xuehen hesitated before saying, ¡°Now that you mention it, there is something. I wonder if it has any relevance.¡±

 Chapter 2102: Nature Jade Plate

    <h4>Chapter 2102: Nature Jade te</h4>

    ¡°Sect master!¡± the elders said nervously, as if they were trying to hint at something to her.

    Yan Xuehen shook her head slightly and said, ¡°It¡¯s fine. With the regent¡¯s current cultivation, he wouldn¡¯t desire our sect¡¯s treasures.¡± Then, she looked at Zu An and continued, ¡°However, this matter is rted to the prosperity and decline of the White Jade Sect, so I hope that the regent will not speak about it with others.¡±

    When he saw how serious she was, Zu An became serious as well as he said, ¡°I understand.¡±

    Yan Xuehen now began to exin, "If we were to talk about anything in the White Jade Sect¡¯s secret dungeon that fit the description you just spoke of, the only thing that could fit that would be a certain jadestone.¡±

    ¡°Jadestone?¡± Zu An repeated, stunned. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Strictly speaking, rather than being a jadestone, it is actually a giant stone at the highest peak of the secret dungeon. However, the material is special and looks as if it is entirely made from jade. The surface is so glossy that you can see your reflection in it,¡± Yan Xuehen exined.

    ¡°Something that can exist at the highest peak of the White Jade Sect¡¯s secret dungeon is definitely no ordinary jadestone,¡± Zu An said with a sigh.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, the jadestone is indeed special.¡± A rare look of passion appeared on Yan Xuehen¡¯s face as she exined, ¡°Certain special images often appear on that jadestone, but they are not the reflection of any ce in the secret dungeon, nor are they ces we have ever seen in the outside world either. It is rumored that the jadestone reflects the scenery of the immortal realm.¡±

    ¡°Immortal realm?¡± Zu An repeated as he sat up. He suddenly became more interested.

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Yan Xuehen said with a nod. ¡°It is rumored that many, many years ago, the seniors in the sect saw an immortal perform a sword dance inside. The White Jade Sect¡¯s sword technique was inherited from precisely that scene.¡±

    ¡°Immortal¡¯s sword dance?¡± Zu An asked, stunned. Why did that sound so familiar? ¡°Have you all personally seen it?¡±

    The White Jade Sect¡¯s people all shook their heads. Yan Xuehen replied, ¡°We have only seen some records from the ancient texts left behind by the sect¡¯s seniors. We have never personally seen it, but there is no way to fake the sword skills that were passed down. For example, my Snowke Sword came precisely from that jadestone¡¯s immortal sword dance.¡±

    Zu An asked seriously, ¡°Could it be that a senior from White Jade Sect borrowed the name of an immortal for his technique?¡±

    When they heard that, many elders showed dissatisfaction. Yan Xuehen exined, ¡°There is no reason for the White Jade Sect¡¯s seniors to do such a thing. Furthermore, even though no one has seen the immortal¡¯s sword dance in the jadestone, there have been some other scenes. Throughout history, there have been talented individuals who obtained enlightenment through the jadestone and created their own techniques as a result.

    ¡°For example, the senior brother Li you met? His Immortal Sword came from some scenes he observed from the jadestone that gave him sudden enlightenment.¡±

    The sword technique Li Changsheng had used in the past appeared in Zu An¡¯s mind. Whenever the sword appeared, an illusory pce manifestedd in the sky. The style of that pce carried a divine air that seemed detached from the secr world. It was indeed quite different. It seemed this jadestone was special after all.

    ¡°Could that jadestone possibly be a passage that links up to another secret dungeon?¡± Zu An asked.

    Yan Xuehen shook her head and said, ¡°Countless seniors of the White Jade Sect have studied that jadestone to unravel its mysteries for thousands of years, but they never found anything. There were no spatial element waves detected. Apart from some mysterious scenes appearing every year on certain days, there was nothing else special about it."

    Zu An thought to himself that nothing seemed to stand out in particr in the period when Chu Chuyan had gone missing. He asked, ¡°Then where is that jadestone right now?¡±

    Yan Xuehen reflexively nced at Elder Ming. He replied, ¡°The sect master was busy searching for Chuyan¡¯s whereabouts and didn¡¯t notice, but the jadestone has actually already gone missing.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Even Yan Xuehen was shocked now.

    ¡°When the secret dungeon changed, I was more worried about that immortal jadestone. After all, our White Jade Sect¡¯s prosperity hasrgely depended on it. I wanted to see if I could arrange a protective formation around it, but when I arrived at the mountaintop, I was shocked to discover that the jadestone had already disappeared without a trace," Elder Ming said.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me about something so important ahead of time?¡± Yan Xuehen said, feeling a bit anxious.

    ¡°At the time, the sect master was frantically looking for Chuyan and was not in the mood to pay attention to these things at all,¡± Elder Ming said with a sigh. ¡°At the time, I contacted the other elders to search for the immortal jadestone, but we didn¡¯t find anything. We even suspected that the jadestone might have fallen out of the clouds when the entire secret dungeon changed.

    ¡°This matter is too important, so we¡¯ve since been investigating. We were worried that information could leak out and cause rm among the disciples. But now that we¡¯ve begun to discuss things, it seems that the jadestone¡¯s disappearance is rted to Chuyan¡¯s disappearance.¡±

    ¡°Even so, in all these years, there have never been issues with that jadestone...¡± Yan Xuehen said a bit absentmindedly. The jadestone was too important and too mysterious. Even though they now knew that it could be rted to Chuyan¡¯s disappearance, she didn¡¯t know what to do about it.

    ...

    The group discussed things with each other for a while longer, but they couldn''te to any useful conclusions. Furthermore, it was already dark, so they decided to separate for the time being.

    When he saw the daze Yan Xuehen was in, Zu An tried tofort her by saying, ¡°At the very least, we now know the reason for Chuyan¡¯s disappearance, so we aren¡¯t entirely without any clues anymore. Your serious injuries have only begun to heal, so you should go back and get some rest first.¡±

    Yan Xuehen did feel quite tired. When she heard that, she voiced her agreement. ¡°You¡¯ve also worked hard, so try to get some good rest as well.¡±

    After she said that, her cheeks heated up and she hurriedly added, ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant. I was saying that you must be tired from your journey here.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but smile, replying, ¡°I didn¡¯t say anything, though! What are you thinking about?¡±

    Yan Xuehen didn¡¯t even dare to look straight at him. She guiltily raised her dress and ran away.

    When she left, Zu An put away his smile. After putting up several formations that isted him from the outside world, he took out the Tai¡¯e Sword and asked, ¡°Big sis empress, are you there? I have something I want to ask.¡±

    ¡°I told you to call me master,¡± Mi Li said as a trace of red appeared. Her dignified and beautiful eyes were extremely enchanting.

    As he watched Mi Li lie down, Zu An couldn''t help but ask with a sigh of amazement, ¡°Why do you always like this kind of sleeping posture?¡±

    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. Whose fault is it that I¡¯m in this soul form? I can only save as much energy as possible,¡± MI Li said as shey down on the bed while supporting her head with one hand. The part of her wrist that was exposed gave off a gentle radiance.

    Zu An said seriously, ¡°We still need one final material to reconstruct a body for you. I''ll definitely do my best to find it for you.¡±

    ¡°I guess you have some conscience after all. But you should focus on saving those two little lovers first. In my situation, it won''t really make too much of a difference if it happens a day earlier or a dayter," Mi Li said, although a hint of a warm smile appeared on her face.

    ¡°Big sis heard our earlier conversation, right? Do you think Chuyan was brought away by that jadestone? Do you know the origins of that jadestone?¡± Zu An asked nervously. Among all the people he knew, the one with the most profound and deep knowledge was none other than Mi Li. For some reason, he subconsciously felt he could learn something from her.

    When she heard what he said, Mi Li¡¯s expression grew serious. There was a bit of hesitation on her face, but in the end, she said, ¡°I know that those two young women are very important to you... Whatever. I have some guesses regarding that jadestone, but many of my memories are in a sealed state. I need you to give me enough Rage points that I can unlock a portion and take a look.¡±

    Zu An had thought that she would talk in riddles again and hadn¡¯t expected her to say that, so he was really happy and surprised. He asked, ¡°Rage points can undo the seal on your memories? How many do you need?¡±

    Too many things had happened as ofte, so he hadn¡¯t had time to pull the lottery. He had already collected 511,340 Rage points.

    ¡°Rage points are a form of soul power that is produced when the emotions of living creatures are most intense. They''re a kind of power that''s of an even higher order than the world¡¯s natural ki. Once you reach a higher level, you''ll understand their true use,¡± Mi Li replied. ¡°I''m currently in soul form, so the umted Rage points are perfect for replenishing my power.¡±

    ¡°Sure, but how do I give them to you?¡± Zu An asked in confusion.

    ¡°You just need to agree,¡± Mi Li said, then suddenly closed her eyes.

    Zu An immediately sensed his Rage points go to zero. He couldn''t help but feel incredibly shocked. Even though the two of them had signed a soul contract and were already like one family after spending so much time together, he was still shocked when he saw that she could directly take the Rage points from his Keyboard System.

    <i>This woman is bing more and more mysterious. She can actually even link up with the Keyboard System?</i>

    <i>Just how does she do that?</i>

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to feel shocked. You''ll know in the future. All you need to know is that I won¡¯t harm you,¡± Mi Li said; she clearly didn¡¯t seem as if she wanted to exin any further. ¡°By the way, this amount of Rage points is far from enough. Remember that you still owe me a lot and that you need to pay it all back.¡±

    ¡°Just how much do I owe you exactly?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll let you know once you¡¯ve paid in full.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Still, since the information was rted to saving Chuyan, Zu An didn''t worry about that and said, ¡°Hurry and tell me what''s going on already.¡±

    Mi Li closed her eyes, seemingly thinking about something. A whileter, she slowly opened her eyes and said, ¡°Judging from the description of the jadestone from the White Jade Sect¡¯s people, if we connect that with the matter of Chu Chuyan¡¯s disappearance, that jadestone might be the legendary Nature Jade te.¡±

    ¡°Nature Jade te?¡± Zu An repeated. He couldn''t help but feel as if the name was a bit familiar, as if he had heard it before from his previous world¡¯s myths.

    ¡°The Nature Jade te is a treasure that has existed since the formation of primal chaos. It records the three thousand great dao and is rumored to have the mighty power to travel through time and change everything. There are many worlds that have legends surrounding its existence,¡± Mi Li slowly said.

    Zu An was stunned. So those things from legends were actually real!

    ¡°Of course, the Nature Jade te in the White Jade Sect¡¯s secret dungeon was definitely not aplete one. This world couldn''t possibly bear the power of the Nature Jade te, let alone one trifling secret dungeon,¡± Mi Li exined. ¡°I believe that this should just be a small fragment of the real Nature Jade te.¡±

    ¡°Since the Nature Jade te is so formidable, how could it have been destroyed?¡± Zu An asked with a frown. He just felt that such a thing was unimaginable.

    ¡°As for who destroyed such a primal chaos treasure, that''s unknown. There''s probably no one left in the universe who knows,¡± Mi Li said, shaking her head.

    ¡°But that jadestone was fine for thousands of years. Chuyan was fine when she cultivated there in the past. Why did something happen this time?¡± Zu An couldn''t help but ask.

    ¡°Did you forget that Chuyan obtained the Pure World Icelotus¡¯ intent from the daoist secret dungeon?¡± Mi Li replied, staring at him.

    ¡°Is there a problem?¡± Zu An asked. He''d had his suspicions that it was rted to that, but there wasn¡¯t enough information to reach a conclusion.

    ¡°The Pure World Icelotus is an even higher-grade item than you think,¡± Mi Li said. After some hesitation, she continued, ¡°I¡¯ll exin it this way. Among the countless heavens and realms, countless beings have searched for the very root of the cosmos. There is one saying that when the primal chaos was formed, the entire universe was formed from a single lotus.¡±

    Zu An was shocked, asking, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me it was none other than the so-called Pure World Icelotus?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not that exaggerated,¡± Mi Li said with a smile. ¡°But the Pure World Icelotus and the very first lotus from the formation of primal chaos have some connection. Additionally, the Nature Jade te is also an innate treasure of primal chaos, so the two could mutually resonate.

    ¡°That exins why the jadestone was fine for thousands of years, but once Chuyan obtained the Pure World Icelotus¡¯ intent, something ended up happening. It should be the case that the two treasures sensed each other¡¯s existence, which activated the Nature Jade te¡¯s functions. Even though it''s just a fragment, it''s not something that a secret dungeon can handle.¡±

    Zu An was worried, saying, ¡°Even that secret dungeon was destroyed, so doesn¡¯t that mean that Chuyan is...¡±

    ¡°Right now, you aren''t thinking straight because of your worry. Didn¡¯t you see the Snow Lady?¡± Mi Li replied, rolling her eyes. ¡°It¡¯s clear that she activated the Nature Jade te to travel through spacetime and entered another timeline.¡±

    Zu An was now even more confused, asking, ¡°There really is time travel in this world?¡±

    All of the science education he received from his previous world had taught him that time was irreversible. Even in the world of cultivation where there were many miraculous things, he had never heard of anyone traveling through time.

    ¡°Even though the conditions are extremely strict, it is possible in a select few situations!¡± Mi Li replied, then seemed to have thought of something. Her eyes blossomed with a brilliant expression.

 Chapter 2103: Laws of Time and Space

    <h4>Chapter 2103: Laws of Time and Space</h4>

    Zu An was still really confused, asking, ¡°Even so, if you traveled through spacetime, wouldn¡¯t that mean that you could change history? There could be even more theoretical paradoxes. Wouldn¡¯t this world copse?¡±

    ¡°How can changing history be that easy? The naturalws within the river of time might be the ones that are the most mysterious and hardest toe into contact with. There are countless taboos associated with them. For example, if you even attempted to change the pieces of history that everyone is familiar with, no matter how powerful you were, you would still be erased by thews of time,¡± Mi Li replied, seemingly enjoying his dumbfounded student-like appearance as she exined patiently. She continued, ¡°Apart from the famous pieces of history, you can''t change anything rted to yourself either. If you create some chaos in time, you''ll be eliminated by itsws.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t even change things that happen to yourself?¡± Zu An asked with a frown.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. The only reason you still exist is because of the things that happened to you in the past. If those things disappeared, the basis for your existence would be wed. Thews of time would be in disorder, and it would attempt to erase you, the anomaly,¡± Mi Li exined. ¡°Additionally, there''s another irond rule in thews of time. Two instances of you at the same point in time can''t meet each other. Otherwise, thews of time will erase the time traveler, and they might even erase both individuals.¡±

    Zu An nodded. That wasn¡¯t too hard to understand. If several versions of you appeared at the same time... Just the thought alone was scary. He remembered how even though Chuyan and the Snow Lady existed in the same timeline, they had been in different conditions, and had never met each other. That was how they had been able to avoid being eliminated by thews of time.

    ¡°As for the world copse you spoke of, there''s no need for you to worry about that. Even though there are some unimaginable beings in the universe, almost none of them have the ability to travel through time, so they practically all rely on some special treasures to do so. Meanwhile, these treasures are all things that have existed from before the formation of primal chaos, so they''re all rare and precious,¡± Mi Li added.

    Zu An asked seriously, ¡°But the stronger the being, the easier it is for them to collect those treasures, right? For example, the one that appeared after Dance Offering to the Universe. I refuse to believe anyone could seize those things before him.¡±

    Mi Li shook her head and said, ¡°Treasures on that level aren¡¯t things that you can seize just by relying on power. What bes most important is luck. Not only do people choose the treasure, the treasure chooses the person too. Only if you shared destiny with it would you have a chance to obtain it. If there was no karma between you, no matter how strong you are, that treasure wouldn¡¯t even appear, and you wouldn¡¯t be able to obtain it.

    ¡°For example, the White Jade Sect¡¯s Nature Jade te Fragment. There were so many seniors much more powerful than Chuyan who had examined it, and yet they''d gained nothing. But when Chuyan came into contact with it, it was activated, showing that she shared affinity with that treasure.¡±

    Zu An sighed and said, ¡°I would much rather that she didn¡¯t have such an affinity.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t think like that. This might seem like a disaster for her in your eyes, but if you look at it in terms of the future, it might be a tremendous opportunity for her. She might actually be thankful for this chance,¡± Mi Li said with a gentle voice when she sensed his sullen mood.

    Zu An couldn''t help but give her a look, saying, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to be someone who couldfort others.¡± Still, her words did indeed improve his mood quite a bit.

    When she saw his expression change, Mi Li grinned and replied, ¡°I''m merely speaking the truth.¡±

    Zu An then asked, ¡°But after the passage of countless years, there''s no way those most powerful beings wouldn''t have found even a single treasure of this type, right? As long as one of them found one, wouldn¡¯t it easily cause the copse of a timeline?¡±

    ¡°There aren¡¯t many treasures capable of crossing time to begin with, so it is normal for them to not find one. Also, even if they did find one, they wouldn''t be able to use it,¡± Mi Li replied.

    ¡°Why?¡± Zu An replied, stunned. He had never expected to hear that reply.

    ¡°That''s because they''re powerful, far too powerful.¡± Mi Li¡¯s expression became grave as she continued, ¡°They''re strong to the point where everything they say and do bes history. They involve too many people and things, and the karma they bear is too great. If they crossed through time, they wouldn''t even be able to move quietly and would definitely cause the timeline to bergely chaotic, which would kill them as a result.¡±

    Zu An nodded as if he finally understood a bit. He began to think to himself. A whileter, he suddenly said, ¡°If history is destined to be unchangeable, what meaning is there left in traveling through time?¡±

    With a wave of Mi Li¡¯s hand, a book-like object appeared in her hand. She asked, ¡°What does this look like to you?¡±

    Zu An gave it a look and said, ¡°Those are the Meng Dynasty¡¯s historical records.¡±

    Mi Li flipped through the book while replying, ¡°The Meng Dynasty didn¡¯t exist for that long, but it did exist for over a century. Countless people and events emerged during that period, and there were millions upon millions of people under their rule, and yet all of it only resulted in this single history book of just a couple hundred thousand words. It records the lives of a few hundred people and various major events. Do you think this book can epass everything that happened in the Meng Dynasty?¡±

    ¡°Of course not!¡± Zu An replied, stunned. He slowly added, ¡°You''re saying that...¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Mi Li said with a nod. ¡°The so-called history books are only able to record some major events. Furthermore, even these major events often only record some karma. There are many parts of the process that are unclear. Just like the boundless cosmos, the things that are recorded are like the shining stars in the sky. The things that aren''t recorded are like the remaining dark void. Do you think there are more shining stars, or more dark void?¡±

    ¡°Dark void, of course.¡± A smile appeared on Zu An¡¯s face. He now more or less understood what Mi Li was saying.

    Mi Li nodded in gratification, saying, ¡°The reason why those beings that are too powerful can''t travel through spacetime is because they are those stars themselves. They can''t hide themselves even if they want to, but you''re different. As long as you''re careful not to touch those stars, the dark void has many areas where you can do what you wish.¡±

    ¡°Got it,¡± Zu An said as he gave her a grateful look. ¡°Why do you know so much? Have you traveled through time before too?¡±

    A hint of a reminiscent expression appeared on Mi Li¡¯s face. She said, ¡°These aren¡¯t things that I experienced myself, but rather things that someone told me before.¡±

    ¡°Who told you? Qin Shihuang?¡± Zu An reflexively asked. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Him?¡± Mi Li shook her head. A hint of contempt appeared in her eyes.

    Zu An began to doubt more and more whether she really was the empress of Qin Shihuang. Or perhaps that empress role was nothing more than one of the positions she had upied in the past?

    He suddenly thought of something and asked somewhat nervously, ¡°Are you not scared that you might be discovered by someone by leaking these secrets?¡±

    She was always talking to him in riddles as if she was scared of something in the void finding out, and yet she''d ended up saying so much in order to help him save Chuyan.

    Mi Li smiled and said, ¡°I guess you at least have a bit of a conscience, but that¡¯s not something you need to worry about. What else do you think I wanted so much Rage points from you for? It was naturally to conceal some mysteries of fate.¡±

    ¡°Then in the future, I¡¯ll earn more Rage points for you. You can tell me more secrets then,¡± Zu An immediately said.

    Mi Li rolled her eyes. ¡°How can it be that simple? Some of the things I told you about just now are also secrets, but once you reach a certain level in the cosmos, you''d find out anyway. They don¡¯t involve any specific powerful being either, so they aren¡¯t too taboo. But if I spoke about some of the things you wish to know, certain powerful beings would sense it. Then, that would bring aboutplete destruction.¡±

    If it were in the past, Zu An would still be a bit suspicious, but he had just seen Shop 58 and the even more powerful being summoned by Dance Offering to the Universe, so he believed her. There were indeed some beings that, as long as you mention them, they would immediately sense it and appear.

    ¡°Then what do I need to do to save Chuyan from now on?¡± Zu An couldn''t help but ask. Even though Qiu Honglei was in danger as well, he could still sort of understand her current condition and could find some way to heal her. But Chuyan¡¯s situation really was too tricky.

    ¡°There are two methods. The first is to wait for what Chuyan said before. As long as the Great Snowy Mountain doesn¡¯t disappear, she''ll always exist. After thousands or perhaps tens of thousands of years, the Great Snowy Mountain will recreate her body,¡± Mi Li replied.

    ¡°What about the other way?¡± Zu An asked, furrowing his brows. That method was impossible. Forget about the question of whether he would even be able to live that long, even if he could, how could he let her spend all that time all by herself?

    ¡°The other method,¡± Mi Li paused for a moment, but still continued in the end, ¡°is that whoever starts the trouble should end it. Since she was transported away by the Nature Jade te through spacetime, you need to find a Nature Jade te and follow her path, to see if there''s any way to reverse this process.¡±

    ¡°But the Nature Jade te has already been brought away by Chuyan!¡± Zu An replied, starting to panic. He had learned from the elders that their jadestone had already disappeared without a trace.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you before that their piece is only a very small and insignificant fragment of the Nature Jade te? When the Nature Jade te shattered in the past, countless fragments were scattered across the universe. It''s entirely possible for you to find another fragment.¡±

    Mi Li was a bit worried. There were some things that she didn¡¯t say directly. Even though there were many Nature Jade te Fragments, how vast was the universe? If one wanted to find a piece... Even fishing a needle from the ocean was child¡¯s ypared to that.

    However, Zu An¡¯s eyes lit up and he said, ¡°At least there is a direction to work toward!¡±

    After all, he had been at his wit¡¯s end regarding how to save Chuyan, but now, even though it was hard, he knew where to put his efforts. That made it go from impossible to possible!

 Chapter 2104: Immortal Medicine

    <h4>Chapter 2104: Immortal Medicine</h4>

    ¡°By the way, what exactly is that ''realms across the universe, worlds within the heavens'' thing you always talk about? Are there still many other worlds?¡± Zu An suddenly asked.

    ¡°The universe is extremely vast with countless civilizations. Those civilizations often attempt to surmise what the universe is really like, but they haven¡¯t been able to reach an answer even now,¡± Mi Li exined with a respectful expression. ¡°Even so, there are somemon beliefs that have received the recognition of many people. Some believe that there is only one universe, but there are many parallel universes. There is a version of you in every single one of them, but because of various factors and events, your fate also bes different in each one.

    ¡°Another viewpoint suggests that the universes are all different, and every single one is like a bubble. There is an immeasurable distance between each bubble, and a vast amount of void matter in between. Indescribably powerful void monsters divide these universes, making it impossible for them to converse with each other. These barriers are really difficult to break down.¡±

    Zu An nodded to himself. The science of his previous world also had a lot of theories regarding this topic.

    Mi Li continued, ¡°But the more mainstream viewpoint is that there is a world tree in the void, and this tree isrge beyond imagination. It is limitless in size, with every main branch representing time, and every other branch representing different directions of the world. Every leaf represents a world or universe.¡±

    ¡°A tree?¡± Zu An repeated, nowpletely shocked. He had never expected the universe to be patterned after a tree! If every single universe was on top of that tree, just how big would it be?

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Almost all of the universe¡¯s civilizations have records of an ancient tree. People ofter worlds eventually discovered these records and wondered if the entire universe was on this giant tree. That was how this exnation recieved more and more acknowledgment,¡± Mi Li replied.

    Zu An was really moved. There seemed to be many civilizations in the past that had nevermunicated with each other, and yet they all had a great tree in their legends. For example, there was the Yggdrasil of Scandinavia, the World Tree of Persian mythology, and Rabbinical Judaism¡¯s Kabbh tree of life; even Chinese culture¡¯s ancient mythology had the Jianmu, a tree that served as a stairway connecting the mortal world to the heavens above, the mythological Fusang tree, and others. But it really was still a bit hard to imagine for the entire universe to be on a single tree.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I mention to you previously that the first appearance of primal chaos in the universe might have been from a lotus? To a certain extent, that''s simr to a tree as well,¡± Mi Li continued. ¡°But in the past, there was someone who told me that the so-called World Tree wasn¡¯t actually a single one, but rather two.¡±

    ¡°Two?¡± Zu An¡¯s eyes widened. Just one tree like that was already unimaginable.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. That person deduced this from some phenomena. For example, the silicon-based binary digits 0 and 1, carbon-based DNA¡¯s double stranded helix, the yin and yang of cultivation... Almost all civilizations and universes are connecteded to the number two. That was why he suspected that the world tree might actually be two trees.¡±

    ¡°It is a logical deduction," Zu An said with a nod. He was now really amazed by Mi Li¡¯s knowledge. At first, as a transmigrator, he''d felt a sense of superiority in terms of knowledge, but now, he learned that there were many beings across the cosmos who knew about the existence of science. He didn¡¯t dare to look down on them anymore.

    Blindly believing in science was also a kind of superstitious belief in itself. After all, the world was toorge, and the understanding of science was actually just a drop in the ocean. The different civilizations all used their own ways to understand and research the principles of the universe. All that meant was that the appearance of the method was different, but in reality, they were all different routes to the same destination.

    ¡°It seems you respect that person a lot, right?¡± Zu An couldn''t help but ask when he noticed Mi Li¡¯s expression each time he saw her mention this person.

    Mi Li gave him a deep look and said, ¡°He is indeed worthy of my respect, as well as the most important person in my life.¡±

    Zu An asked to test the waters, ¡°Then how should I address him? Martial father or martial ancestor?¡±

    ¡°You can give up on trying to find out my rtionship with him. Once you reach that level, you''ll naturally understand.¡± Mi Li immediately saw through his tricks.

    Zu An chuckled in embarrassment. He could only change the topic and asked, ¡°Apart from the science and technology-biased, silicon-based life-biased, and cultivation path-biased, are there any other simr civilizations?¡±

    ¡°Of course. There are magic-biased, mystery-biased, supernatural-biased, card-biased, beast taming-biased... There are countless types of civilizations,¡± Mi Li replied.

    ¡°Which type is stronger?¡± Zu An quickly asked.

    A smile shed across Mi Li¡¯s face. She said, ¡°I asked this question in the past too. Who would have thought that you would ask the same thing? Let me exin it like this. The way each civilization uses its power has its own respective advantages and disadvantages. There is no strongest civilization, only the strongest individuals.¡±

    Zu An had a pensive expression.

    <i>That¡¯s true. It''s just like the various factions in the world of cultivation. Who can say for certain that their cultivation is really the strongest? In the end, it''s dependent on the cultivator.</i>

    For example, Zhao Han had been faster than his peers using the same cultivation techniques, and he had been stronger than others as well.

    ¡°Then how do I go to these different worlds?¡± Zu An asked.

    Mi Li nodded slightly in approval. Zu An hadn¡¯t lost himself in this overwhelming amount of information, and instead quickly focused on the most important point. She said, ¡°There are several ways, but the simplest one is for you to be strong enough yourself, and shatter the void to open up a spatial path into another world. Or, you can travel through the void using your physical body.¡±

    ¡°The simplest method? I feel as if you¡¯re mocking me," Zu An replied. He naturally couldn''t open up a spatial path. Even so, with his current strength, his flesh could just barely enter the void. But without knowing the position of the other worlds and with how far they were, he definitely wouldn¡¯t be able tost for very long in outer space.

    ¡°I¡¯m not mocking you. That''s just how things are,¡± Mi Li said, chuckling. ¡°Another way is to borrow space shuttles, spaceships, and other transportation devices, but this world is a bit special. There are no space travel routes here, so there''s no way of finding such means of transportation.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean, special?¡± Zu An asked, keenly identifying the main point she was talking about.

    ¡°It''s special in every way,¡± Mi Li said seriously. ¡°Ever since I awakened some of my memories, I¡¯ve been secretly observing this world. Normally, with the degree of advancement of this world, it should have already made contact with other civilizations a long time ago. But judging from their history, it seems the only instance of contact was several thousand years ago when those monsters invaded, and recently. Apart from those instances, this world hasn''t interacted with other civilizations at all. It''s almost as if this world was blocked off by some being.

    ¡°Apart from that, there''s a problem with the upper limits of power of this world. I¡¯ve seen many extraordinary geniuses whose strength shouldn¡¯t only have been at the level they are at, and yet their cultivation ranks were much lower than equivalent geniuses in other worlds.¡±

    Zu An was startled. Even the incredible Zhao Han had been stuck at the peak of earth immortal for many years, unable to make any progress at all. He was now the same as well. He was supposed to have already made a breakthrough through the power he absorbed from several powerful beings. He asked, ¡°That seems to be because the source of this world isn¡¯t strong enough, right?¡±

    ¡°But that¡¯s where the issue lies. Normally, the source of a world like this shouldn¡¯t be weak at all,¡± Mi Li said with a frown. ¡°Your world seems to have secret dungeons all over the ce, and those secret dungeons are all connected to some special ces. That shouldn¡¯t be something a weak world should contain at all.¡±

    Zu An also couldn''t help but smile, saying, ¡°Now that we¡¯re on the topic, I met you in one of those secret dungeons too.¡±

    When she remembered how they first met, Mi Li¡¯s face suddenly became a bit red for some reason. She quickly changed the topic. ¡°So, this world is definitely hiding some secret. Right, I recall you mentioning that you were searching for the secret manuals of the twelve Unknown Regions?¡±

    Zu An nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s right, and I barely survived every experience. But I don¡¯t have any information on the remaining Unknown Regions, and don¡¯t know where to look for them at all.¡±

    ¡°As the regent of both the humans and fiends, the resources at your disposal have actually already exceeded those of thete Zhao Han or Fiend Emperor. You can use these resources to carefully search for clues,¡± Mi Li said. ¡°If you can gather all twelve Unknown Regions¡¯ skills, you''ll probably be able to unlock the secrets of this world. The benefits you will receive will definitely be great.¡±

    Zu An shook his head and said, ¡°Compared to those unknown regions that are so mysterious, I''m currently more interested in saving Chuyan and Honglei¡¯s lives.¡±

    When she saw the firmness of his expression, Mi Li was a bit hesitant. In the end, she could only say, ¡°Chuyan¡¯s current state might only be reversible if we find another piece of the Nature Jade te. As for Honglei, I did think of some ways to save her.¡±

    ¡°What ways?¡± Zu An asked as he grabbed her hand excitedly.

    Mi Li nced at his hand, and then continued, ¡°There are a handful of immortal medicines across the realms, and every single one can bring one back from the brink of death. However, every single one is protected by an extremely powerful individual. Obtaining one is extremely difficult.¡± n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Immortal medicines?¡± Zu An asked with a frown. ¡°I recall that there were rumors regarding immortal medicines in the secret dungeons I went to in the past. Back then, an honest and sincere deity was almost killed by a deity named Wei. Then, in order to save him, the Celestial Emperor had him eat an immortal medicine, but even though he was revived, he became the Yayu monster.¡±

    He definitely didn¡¯t want Honglei to be something like that!

 Chapter 2105: Ocean Races

    <h4>Chapter 2105: Ocean Races</h4>

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what went wrong with that immortal medicine. Maybe someone did something to the immortal medicine the Yayu ate, or maybe the immortal medicine they spoke of isn¡¯t the same immortal medicine I was talking about," Mi Li said; she naturally knew about Zu An¡¯s experiences in the secret dungeon. It had been different when her memories were sealed, but now that a portion was unlocked, she immediately realized that something wasn¡¯t right.

    ¡°But would the immortal medicine given by the Celestial Emperor really have problems?¡± Zu An asked in surprise.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know about that, but I actually don¡¯t have any memories of that Celestial Emperor either,¡± Mi Li replied. ¡°The immortal medicines I''m talking about are the ultimate treasures countless powerful beings in the universe are searching for, with every single piece beingpletely unique. Every single one can bring one back from the brink of death. However, their most famous use isn¡¯t that effect, but rather to grant the most powerful experts a secret chance to redo things again.¡±

    ¡°Redo things?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Even though those powerful beings throughout the universe are really strong and can live for a really long time, their lives are limited, just like Zhao Han in this world. They also experience conditions simr to heaven and man deterioration, but of course, other civilizations have different ways of referring to that process,¡± Mi Li patiently exined. ¡°Those powerful beings all have endless karma associated with them, and almost all of them have seized the natural luck and blessings of heaven and earth around themselves. Every single individual who has be this powerful has gone against the heavens, so they naturally receive the bacsh of the will of the world as a result. As their age increases, there are more and more karmic consequences. The will of the world rejects them more and more, until they finally hit a critical point at which they head towardplete destruction.

    ¡°But if they can obtain an immortal medicine, everything changes. Such immortal medicines can allow these heaven-defying beings to ¡®fool¡¯ the will of the world. The will of the world can be convinced that they have already been eliminated and will stop targeting them. Thus, they can start a new life.¡±

    Mi Li paused for a moment, then continued, ¡°These beings retain their intelligence, wisdom, battle experiences, techniques, and other such things. It¡¯s easy to see how much more terrifying they can be if they start over again.¡± n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°These immortal medicines really do seem incredible,¡± Zu An said. He thought to himself that the reason traveling to a different world was such an absurd concept was because one would have an additional world''s worth of life experiences, so one would have all sorts of advantages against the natives of that world. If those powerful beings across the cosmos were allowed to redo their lives, they would definitely have an evven greater advantage than transmigrators.

    ¡°That¡¯s indeed the case. That¡¯s why every single immortal medicine is something that the various factions fight over. Whenever one appears, it results in great carnage across many universes.¡± Mi Li sighed, as if she had recalled some unhappy memories. ¡°Of course, these immortal medicines often have their own sentience. Just like some of those treasures from the very beginning of primal chaos, they also choose their owners.¡±

    ¡°What kind of standard do they use to choose their owners?¡± Zu An immediately asked.

    ¡°If we look throughout history, every owner of these immortal medicines has been the strongest across the universe¡¯s worlds, the type that dominated an entire era,¡± Mi Li replied.

    Zu An was speechless. He eximed, ¡°Then like hell I¡¯ll still try topete against them!¡±

    Even though he was already unrivaled in this world, after fighting against the monsters, he''d realized that there were still many beings stronger than him across the universe. He now knew that this world was one of the weaker ones to begin with. Compared to the other worlds across the universe, their bit of cultivation wasn¡¯t much at all.

    ¡°What those immortal medicines care about isn¡¯t only absolute strength, but also potential,¡± Mi Li said, giving him a deep look. ¡°From the first moment I saw you, when you were beaten like a dog and yet wouldn¡¯t submit, and then you eventually... eventually even defeated me, I knew that you had the heart of the strong, that you would definitely be someone extremely powerful in the future. Now, I''ve stayed at your side over the years. I¡¯ve seen you defeat enemies far stronger than you, which only further proved my initial prediction.¡±

    ¡°I really love listening to big sis talk; please don¡¯t stop.¡± Zu An moved closer to her with a mischievous expression.

    <i>She smells really good! I wonder just how her body can still give off such a good smell despite being in a soul form?</i>

    ¡°Get lost!¡± Mi Li rolled her eyes. She moved backward a bit before continuing, ¡°That¡¯s why you still have a chance of being chosen by a piece of immortal medicine.¡±

    Zu An put away his smile and asked seriously, ¡°Just how many pieces of immortal medicine are there in the world?¡±

    ¡°Roughly a few dozen. As for how many there are exactly, it¡¯s hard to say,¡± Mi Li replied.

    ¡°That many?¡± Zu An asked in surprise. He''d thought that since these medicines were all unique, there would only be a few of them.

    ¡°Many?¡± Mi Li sneered while pointing at the night sky. ¡°Do you know how many worlds there are across the cosmos? More than the grains of sand in the ocean! Even if we grouped many worlds that are closer to each other as one worldyer, there would be millions and millions of worldyers. With so many worlds, do you still feel as if a few dozen immortal medicines are ''many''?¡±

    Now, Zu An was really stunned. He asked, ¡°There are that many worlds?¡± This was the first time he had realized the scope of the outside world.

    Mi Li suddenly sighed. A hint of loneliness appeared in her eyes as she said, ¡°Unfortunately, most worlds have already been destroyed. Even so, the remaining worlds still make up an astronomical number.¡±

    ¡°Who destroyed them?¡± Zu An asked, stunned. There were so many worlds, and yet more than half of them had already been destroyed?

    Mi Li shook her head and said, ¡°I can''t tell you that, or else it will bring a disaster unto this world. It would be a cmity far greater than the monsters you just faced.¡±

    After hearing her speak in such a serious manner, Zu An couldn''t continue to press the issue. He didn¡¯t think that she would joke around on this topic. There were many beings that were indeed powerful enough to the point that, if they were mentioned even in the most remote of corners, they could still sense it, and unleash their power in retaliation.

    ¡°As for the immortal medicines we were talking about, just what kind should I look for? There has to be some direction to work toward, right?¡± Zu An asked, knowing that Mi Li wouldn¡¯t speak thoughtlessly. Since she had mentioned them, there was definitely a purpose for that.

    Sure enough, a bit of praise appeared in Mi Li¡¯s expression. She said, ¡°The immortal medicines across the worlds are too mysterious, and I myself only know around ten or so. If I think about it, the Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine might be something you have a chance to obtain.¡±

    ¡°Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine?¡± Zu An repeated, making sure to remember the name well. ¡°Why is that? This is the first time I¡¯ve heard of this name.¡±

    ¡°The Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine, as the name implies, is rted to the Dragon race. It would definitely be born in a world with the Dragon race, and this world just happens to have a Dragon race,¡± Mi Li replied.

    Zu An was a bit stunned. The Dragon race? This world¡¯s Dragon race ruled the Ocean races. He had even killed a giant Gold Dragon, which summoned the Dragon King himself as a result. It seemed as if the Dragon King had withdrawn because of Shang Liuyu, and the matter was left at that.

    ¡°Then I need to pay the Ocean races a trip,¡± Zu An said as he stood up, his eyes full of excitement. With his friendship with Shang Liuyu, as well as his status among the humans and fiends, it was now much easier for him to do anythingpared to others.

    However, Mi Li dumped cold water straight on his enthusiasm and said, ¡°It¡¯s still too early for you to feel happy. Even though the Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine must be born in worlds with a Dragon race, not every world with a Dragon race will have a Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine. Who knows how many Dragon races there are across the worlds? And the one here is just one of many, and one of the weaker ones at that.¡±

    Zu An replied seriously, ¡°But didn¡¯t you say that our world is really special? It might just have a chance of producing an immortal medicine. Even if there isn¡¯t one, there¡¯s a chance of them having some clues regarding immortal medicines too.¡±

    Mi Li was a bit surprised. She nodded in praise, saying, ¡°You shift gears quickly. That was exactly what I nned to tell you to make you feel better. That¡¯s right, this world is indeed special, and not even I can figure it out. You might really be able to gain things that you never expected to find.¡±

    ¡°In that case, let¡¯s leave right now,¡± Zu An said as he got up and walked out of the room. Now that he had some clues in saving Honglei, he didn¡¯t want to waste any time.

    Mi Li had a grateful expression.

    <i>Even though he is a skirt-chaser, he does treat every woman around him with all of his sincerity.</i>

    ...

    Meanwhile, in the human capital, inside the empress dowager''s personal pce, the two brothers Imperial Uncle Liu Guang and Liu Yao were looking at the beautiful woman in the seat of honor with a confused expression. They asked, ¡°What is the reason for the empress dowager calling us into the pce so urgently?¡±

 Chapter 2106: Ominous Developments

    <h4>Chapter 2106: Ominous Developments</h4>

    The stench of alcoholing from the two¡¯s bodies could be smelled from far away. It was obvious that they had just arrived from a feast. It now made sense why it had taken them so long to arrive even though they were summoned a while back.

    The empress Liu Ning tried to suppress her rage as she asked, ¡°Could it be that you two still have no idea what happened today?¡±

    Even though these two were her seniors, she had been the empress, and was now empress dowager. Rulers and ministers were separated, so she didn¡¯t need to show too much politeness in her speech.

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t it just some blind ministers who wrote a letter criticizing the empress dowager? Don¡¯t worry, we''ll find some subordinates to impeach those ministers for offending their superiors,¡± Liu Yao said with an unperturbed smile.

    ¡°Wake up already!¡± Liu Ning finally couldn''t suppress her rage and stood up, saying, ¡°This entire time, there have been rumors going around the capital, saying that the volunteer army we sent to assist the Fiend races waspletely wiped out by the Fiend races. More importantly, we indeed can''t contact the troops on the front lines. They''re using this pretext to attack me, and yet you two are treating it as just a small matter?¡±

    Just then, Liu Guang also spoke up. ¡°Ning¡¯er, now that we¡¯re talking about this matter, I didn¡¯t agree to it when it was first brought up either, remember? You really dote on that Zu guy too much. You¡¯re a glorious empress dowager, and yet you listen to him on everything. At this point, just who is the one ruling over this Great Zhou Dynasty?¡± n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    When she heard what he said, Liu Ning¡¯s face darkened. She retorted, ¡°Would you dare speak those words in front of his face?¡±

    Liu Guang choked. He remembered what had happened to the Meng n and definitely didn¡¯t want to repeat that disaster.

    Liu Yao tried to smooth things over and asked, ¡°Ning¡¯er, why are you siding with outsiders? Sure, that Zu guy is strong, but he isn¡¯t one of us. There are many matters in which we can''tpletely trust him. Sigh, I even said earlier that we should have found a youngdy of appropriate age for him to marry, but you just didn¡¯t agree to it.¡±

    Liu Guang gave him an annoyed look and said, ¡°You make it sound so easy. His previous wife Chu Chuyan was famous for her beauty far and wide, rivaling even that of Yu Yanluo in the past. Does our Liu n have any women like that avable for marriage? Better to not fail a marriage and end up offending him anyway.¡±

    Liu Yao chuckled in embarrassment, saying, ¡°It¡¯s a pity that Ning¡¯er has already married and her status is now special. Otherwise, she''d be more than enough for that guy.¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Liu Guang red at his younger brother. Was that something one could just say so carelessly?

    <i>Ning¡¯er is now the empress dowager, so how could we have her be with that Zu bastard?</i>

    ¡°Enough! We¡¯ll leave this matter be for now,¡± Liu Ning said, her face red.

    <i>There¡¯s no need for you two to worry about that. I¡¯ve alreadypleted that mission.</i>

    Just then, Liu Guang said, ¡°Actually, it¡¯s not so bad that we didn¡¯t have him marry into our family earlier. Look, the Fiend races ambushed our reinforcement army in public! This is a disaster that will definitely create an unsolvable grudge between our two sides. That Zu guy is the Fiend races'' regent, and he was the one who strongly advocated for the reinforcement army, so there''s no way for him to escape responsibility in this matter. He''ll likely be the human race¡¯s greatest traitor in history. Then, once his reputation is swept away, it¡¯ll be a good chance for us to cut off our ties with him.¡±

    Liu Ning¡¯s phoenix-decorated eyes swept over them as she retorted, ¡°Could it be that you all don¡¯t fully understand the situation? This is something I also agreed to in the past. In the eyes of others, it was something that both the regent and I put into effect. Otherwise, why would the ministers publicly use me of misconduct?!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why we need to cut our ties with that Zu guy using this opportunity!¡± Liu Yao replied. ¡°Then, I''ll instruct our people to speak up against him and push all of the responsibility onto him and say that empress dowager was deceived. Then, no one will put any of the responsibility onto our Liu n.¡±

    Liu Ning was shocked. She said, ¡°Who says we have to cut ties with the regent? Did you two already forget just how terrifying the regent¡¯s cultivation is? What matter can¡¯t he take care of?¡±

    She couldn''t really talk about her real rtionship with Zu An and could only bring out these more ¡®reasonable¡¯ excuses.

    ¡°No matter how high his cultivation is, he can¡¯t take the entire human race as his enemy, right?¡± Liu Guang said skeptically. ¡°Besides, ording to the recent intelligence, he seems to have ran into the Fiend races¡¯ sealednd. The sealednd is a ce anyone would most likely die in. He still hasn¡¯t returned despite entering for so long, so I reckon he¡¯s probably already kicked the bucket.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible! He''s definitely safe and sound!¡± Liu Ning immediately stood up and shouted.

    Liu Guang and Liu Yao were both shocked. They looked at her in confusion.

    Liu Ning knew that she had forgotten her manners and quickly said, ¡°With the strength the regent disyed previously, even if he were to experience anything dangerous, he would still be able to handle it. I think it¡¯s best if you two don¡¯t ce your bets too early, or else you might end up offending him and lose any chances of redeeming yourselves.¡±

    ¡°What else can we do then? Don¡¯t tell me we should just let those people denounce our Liu n for our decision-making?¡± Liu Yao asked, starting to be a bit dissatisfied. Ever since they first met in Brightmoon City, he hadnever liked that Zu An brat. That kid had ended up climbing above him in just a few short years, which was something he found ridiculous.

    ¡°We¡¯ll just deal with things as they arise. Don¡¯t tell me that you two think we have something to fear in our current situation?¡± Liu Ning replied seriously. ¡°The situation on the front lines is unclear, so we shouldn¡¯t make any rash decisions.¡±

    When they saw how firm she was with her decision, Liu Guang and Liu Yao exchanged a look. They couldn''t continue to press the issue. ¡°Then we¡¯ll do things as you say for now.¡±

    Liu Ning continued, ¡°Things seem to be heading in an ominous direction. For some reason, I just feel as if something is about to happen, so you all need to be more vignt. Father, get in touch with the Liu n¡¯s trusted aides to investigate the court¡¯s movements. Uncle, you need to assign more patrols around the capital. As soon as there''s any sign of military movements, you need to contact me immediately.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± the two agreed. After discussing some other matters, they then left the Imperial Pce.

    ...

    When they left, Eunuch Lu walked in and said, ¡°The two elders seem to be unhappy with the regent. Should we give them some hints regarding your highness and the regent¡¯s rtionship?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that.¡± A hint of fatigue appeared on Liu Ning¡¯s face. She said, ¡°They can be unhappy if they want to be, but it won¡¯t affect the regent in the slightest. ¡°By the way, is there any progress on the things I had you investigate earlier?¡±

    ¡°This servant already had our spies among the Fiend races look into information on the regent, but currently, we¡¯ve only learned that he entered the sealednd. There''s no information on himing out yet,¡± Eunuch Lu replied with a bow.

    Liu Ning was really worried, asking, ¡°Do you think that something might have really happened to the regent?¡±

    Eunuch Lu bowed, saying, ¡°Your highness is currently not in the right state of mind from excessive worry. The regent¡¯s skills are unparalleled. Even if all of the Fiend races¡¯ soldiers have perished, the regent will definitely return safely.¡±

    Liu Ning clearly sighed in relief when she heard his reply, saying, ¡°I hope that''s the case.¡±

    ...

    Meanwhile, when the two Liu n elders left the pce, Liu Yao couldn''t help but say to Liu Guang, ¡°Big bro, Ning¡¯er seems to really trust that Zu guy. Don¡¯t tell me she ended up falling for him or something?¡±

    Liu Guang harrumphed. ¡°That Zu guy is pretty handsome, and he¡¯s young. Ning¡¯er was neglected in the pce alone for so long, so it wouldn''t be too surprising for her to like him. But as the empress dowager, she should understand what she should and shouldn¡¯t do.¡±

    Liu Guang¡¯s unhappiness was understandable, as ever since Zu An had risen up to authority, he had never paid the Liu n a respectful visit, which clearly meant that he was looking down on them.

    <i>We¡¯re not even that close to each other, so why do we have to be med together with him?</i>

    ¡°You have a point. Ever since she was little, Ning¡¯er was quite sensible. She¡¯d definitely be able to prioritize what''s more important,¡± Liu Yao said with a smile.

    ¡°By the way, what Ning¡¯er was worried about just now doesn¡¯t make sense. Make sure to pay more attention to this matter. To my understanding, neither the Bi n nor that brat King Wu are the sort to be content with doing nothing,¡± Liu Guang reminded before they separated.

    ¡°I got it, big bro,¡± Liu Yao replied immediately, but in his head, he thought he would just assign some of his people to pay attention to the matter and it would be enough. As for himself, there was no way he would actually look into it personally. The capital was a ce full of sensual pleasures to enjoy. He hadn¡¯t managed to get to his current position easily, so if he still had to do everything himself, wouldn¡¯t that mean he had worked so hard in the past for nothing?

    ...

    Meanwhile, in the White Jade Sect...

    Yan Xuehen sat in her room in meditation. Even though she had been saved by Zu An earlier today, she still needed to patiently adjust her body¡¯s condition. She digested the treatment she''d received today while secretly thinking to herself that Zu An¡¯s way of saving her really was a bit too embarrassing. All kinds of memories from back then appeared in her mind. The aura inside her body immediately became chaotic, giving her a fright. She immediately focused her attention again.

    Just then, someone outside knocked on her door. Zu An called out, ¡°Xuehen...¡±

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s cheeks immediately burned bright red. She quickly said, ¡°I''ll do what I promised you, but not today! I... I already can¡¯t take any more.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He eventually said, ¡°I actually came just to say goodbye.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Yan Xuehen was so embarrassed she almost mmed her head into the floorboards beneath her.

 Chapter 2107: Bitterness of Yearning

    <h4>Chapter 2107: Bitterness of Yearning</h4>

    ¡°Where are you going?¡± Yan Xuehen asked, quickly opening the door. Even though they had already been apart for some time, she still felt her cheeks heat up.

    <i>What in the world am I thinking?!</i>

    When he saw Yan Xuehen¡¯s embarrassed behavior, Zu An felt a bit of appreciation. The feeling of making a frozen goddess fall down into the world of mortals really was enchanting. He said, ¡°I¡¯m making a trip to the Ocean races'' territory to see if there''s any information on the Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine there...¡± He then exined what the immortal medicine was.

    Yan Xuehen clicked her tongue in wonder, asking, ¡°There''s actually a medicine that miraculous in this world? Then wouldn¡¯t that mean there''s a chance to save Chuyan?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face darkened as he said, ¡°Chuyan¡¯s situation is a bit special. I might need to find something called a Nature Jade te in order to help her.¡±

    ¡°Nature Jade te?¡± Yan Xuehen repeated, stunned. She''d thought that she was someone with a lot of knowledge and experience, but whether it was the immortal medicine or the Nature Jade te, they were both things she had never heard of before.

    Zu An was worried that he would end up attracting the attention of some mysterious beings, so he didn¡¯t dare to talk about it in too much detail. He roughly exined that the Nature Jade te was an incredible treasure that would allow one to travel through spacetime.

    Yan Xuehen¡¯s expression became serious. She said, ¡°I won¡¯t tell anyone else about this, and you need to be more careful as well. If news about this kind of treasure leaked out, it would easily cause a murderous cmity throughout the world. It could even be a threat to you.¡±

    Zu An held her hands, saying, ¡°You¡¯re different from other people. What do I need to hide from you?¡±

    At first, Yan Xuehen reflexively wanted to pull her hands back, but when she heard his gentle words, she immediately felt warm inside. She was full of gratitude and couldn''t bear to pull back. Instead, she said, ¡°Then you need to be careful. The Ocean races'' territory has always been a mysterious ce, and there are legends of many powerful creaturesing from that ce. My injuries still need some time to heal, but once I fully recover, I''ll wander the world to help you in the search for the Nature Jade te.¡±

    When she found out that Zu An was going to save Qiu Honglei first, she didn¡¯t have a strong negative reaction. After all, Chuyan¡¯s condition was too unique, and the Nature Jade te seemed nearly impossible to find. It was something that wouldpletely depend onluck. Zu An could very well just happen to find out more information about the Nature Jade te from the Ocean races.

    Zu An nodded and said, ¡°I¡¯m leaving.¡±

    When she saw the reluctance in his expression, Yan Xuehen felt really bad. The two had just reunited after so long and hadn¡¯t even spent a whole day together before they had to separate again. Filled with all kinds of emotions, she took the initiative to jump into his arms and hug him tightly.

    Zu An was a bit surprised. Yan Xuehen had always had a cold personality. Aside from when they were in bed, where she would passionately hold onto his waist, she rarely initiated anything.

    The two hugged each other tightly. All words seemedckluster inparison to the emotions they were feeling. The two of them enjoyed this final bit of shared time before the unavoidable, overwhelming sadness of parting.

    In the end, Zu An still left. As she watched his figure disappear into the night sky, Yan Xuehen¡¯s eyes unwittingly became a bit wet. She touched the tears on her cheeks and was a bit absent-minded. She was now feeling such strong emotions, but why didn¡¯t she experience cultivation deviation again?

    ...

    Zu An flew into the night sky. His natural flight speed was now a bit faster than when he used the Wind Fire Wheels. But as he flew east toward the great sea, he still rode on the Wind Fire Wheels for the sake of preserving his stamina. This world was farrger than his previous one, and the ocean was alsorger. There were many areas that the human race still hadn¡¯t explored. Meanwhile, the eastern ocean was where the Ocean races were located.

    Along the way, he took out the Recording Mirror and tried to call Shang Liuyu. She was the mermaid princess, someone with great status in the Ocean races. With her serving as an intermediary, many things would be much easier to deal with. Unfortunately, the screen¡¯s ripples scattered and didn¡¯t show her face. It only continued to swirl in circles.

    Zu An was now good at artifact refinement and immediately realized that it wasn¡¯t because he couldn''t contact her, but rather because the signal between the recording mirrors had a problem.

    It seemed that, due to the continuous invasion of the alien monsters, as well as the attempts to destroy this world¡¯s natural barrier, and then the summoning of that powerful being from Dance Offering to the Universe, it had ended up affecting some of this world¡¯s naturalws. That was why some issues urred between the recording mirror transmissions. It was like his previous world¡¯s sr windstorms, earthquakes, and tsunamis that affected the earth¡¯s maic fields, which could also affectmunication across the world. Simr things probably happened in this world. The question was how long it would take before thingspletely recovered. It could take a week to a month at minimum, or even dozens of years in the worst case.

    Zu An helplessly put the recording mirror away, then took out themunication jade strip he made himself. Sure enough, it didn¡¯t work either. However, after thinking for a bit, he still selected Yun Jianyue¡¯s portrait. Once he did so, he saw arge mass of information arrive.

    It turned out that because so many things had happened, he hdan¡¯t even gotten a chance to check his messages. Of course, that was also rted to the jade strip being a bit unreliable. Many messages didn¡¯t arrive promptly, so their arrival time was always unpredictable.

    ¡°Ah Zu, I¡¯ve already used every method the Holy Sect has to gather intelligence, but I still didn¡¯t find any trace of Qiu Honglei.¡±

    ¡°Do you think that she might have been unable to get over what happened and already... It¡¯s all my fault. I shouldn¡¯t have done that with you behind her back!¡±

    Zu An could sense her sorrow and grief even through the jade strip. The following message was clearly sent a few dayster. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°No, Honglei was someone I personally raised; I know what kind of personality she has. There''s no way she would do something so weak-willed.¡±

    ¡°Haha, I just received an update from the northwest! It seems someone saw an individual resembling Honglei pass by their territory. I was just about to say! There''s no way Honglei would be so weak.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, I was wrong in my word choicest time. It wasn¡¯t just my faultst time; you have even more responsibility! It¡¯s all your fault for seducing me!¡±

    ¡°Tell me honestly, are you actually a male fox spirit from the Fiend races?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not at the Lake of Hatred anymore. I went to... Forget it, I won¡¯t tell you. We might just end up meeting each other.¡±

    ¡°yboy, I sent you so many messages but you never responded to me! Are you fooling around with some other woman right now?!¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but smile when he read these messages. Yun Jianyue was definitely really happy after receiving news about Honglei. Even her tone had be much more rxed. But shortly after, his expression darkened. He wondered just how broken-hearted Yun Jianyue would be once she found out what kind of condition Qiu Honglei was currently in.

    After some hesitation, he recorded some messages into the jade strip, telling her that he had already met Honglei, so she didn¡¯t need to look for her anymore. As for the exact details, he would tell her in person. He was worried that Yun Jianyue would do something stupid if she found out the truth, so he decided to wait to tell her in person. Still, he wondered if these messages would even reach her.

    Once he exited Yun Jianyue¡¯s chatbox, he suddenly discovered that his other sweethearts had also left arge number of notifications. There were many more unread messages.

    Bi Linglong had sent him a lot of messages. At first, she had only shared some official matters and various news from the capital. Zu An could imagine how serious and careful she was when she wrote all of that. It seemed she had been worried that someone else would see what she wrote and find out their rtionship, so everything was written in an overly cautious way. But by the time he read up to the middle of the messages, he could tell that she was starting to loosen up.

    ¡°Did you see my messages or not? Why haven¡¯t you replied to me all this time?¡±

    Looking at the date the messages were received, she hadn¡¯t sent any more messages for many days. She was clearly angry. The next message came only five dayster.

    ¡°Sorry, I was wrong for ming you. I visited Mount Yuquan and heard Shen Xuzi say that the messages from the jade strips aren¡¯t reliable. You might not have seen the messages yet.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but smile.

    <i>She really is a little witch. She was worried that I tricked her, and she even went all the way to the academy¡¯s rear mountain to seek confirmation.</i>

    But after that brief episode of hers, her tone was no longer as estranged as before. Instead, she began to show more of her true emotions.

    ¡°The peach blossoms in the pce have all blossomed; when are youing back? We should go and admire them together.¡±

    ¡°This stupid jade strip! Why have I still not received your messages?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s so boring being in the pce all alone... Not only do I have to fight all day against that old granny empress dowager, the people back home aren¡¯t helping either. They seem to have secretly... Forget it. I¡¯ll tell you about it when you¡¯re back.¡±

    ¡°You probably reunited with Madam Yu in the Fiend races'' territory, right? Did you forget about home while enjoying her tender hospitality? Hmph, but I guess big sister Yu is pretty. If I were a man, perhaps i would just fall in love with her too.¡±

    ¡°I heard that the Second Empress was really beautiful. How pretty is shepared to me?¡±

    ¡°Hmph, the Second Empress is known for being flirtatious. You''d better not fall for her beauty traps.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m feeling really uneasy after not receiving any messages from you, you know? A few days ago, I even spent a lot of ki stones to activate the recording mirror, but I still couldn''t contact you. I don¡¯t even know if you''re in danger. You have to take care of yourself. Forget ''everything under the heavens'' or ''the changes of time'', none of it is as important to me as you.¡±

    ¡°Your cultivation is so high and you¡¯re such a naughty person, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be able to return safely.¡±

    ¡°Do you and Madam Wu know each other? She tried to secretly get information about you several times, and seems to care about you a lot. She thought that she was being sneaky about it, but how could she escape the detection of this empress¡¯ discerning eye?!¡±

    Zu An felt his scalp go numb. The sixth sense of women really was too strong. She was even able to sense something like that?

    However, that couldn''t be med on Yun Yuqing. No matter how careful she was, there was no way she could have known that he and Bi Linglong had a special rtionship. That was why it was hard for her not to give away her real intentions.

    ¡°I''ve recently sensed that some undercurrents are brewing in the capital. I wonder if it''sing from the empress dowager¡¯s side or... I hope I''m overthinking things.¡±

    ...

    Zu An frowned as he read theter parts. At first, she was talking more about how she missed him, butter, something different had clearly happened. The conversation even became serious. Could it be that something had ended up happening in the capital? Now thatmunications were cut off, though, there was no way for him to contact her immediately.

    He quickly replied on the jade strip and shared the recent events with her, telling her not to worry. Of course, he also typed a lot of words of affection. Otherwise, if he only replied with a few words when she had typed so much, that really would be a bit too trashy. He hoped that his message would be delivered immediately, or else if something else happened in the Ocean races'' territory, he wouldn''t be able to re-check and send the messages again.

    Huanzhao and Youzhao also sent him a lot of messages.

    ¡°Brother-inw, I really want to go to the battlefield too... Even Qinghe can go, and yet I can¡¯t. I feel so ashamed.¡±

    ¡°Second sis really is annoying. She just keeps mocking me about this. Butter on, I gave her a good beating and she didn¡¯t dare to shoot her mouth of anymore.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression became really strange when he saw this message, because he had just seen Huanzhao tell him a different story. He changed to Huanzhao¡¯s chat box and sure enough, she''d talked about the same thing too.

    ¡°That kid Youzhao keeps taking advantage of my weaknesses. Eventually, though, I finally taught her a good lesson and let her know a big sister¡¯s terror! Now that we¡¯re talking about it, brother-inw, I need your help. Unless you help me change my aptitude, winning against her might not be so easy.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He really wondered who was beating up whom here. The two sisters were pretty simr. Apart from expressing that they missed him, it was about their fights. As he read their messages, he had a knowing smile, and his mood also unknowingly improved.

    However, he suddenly noticed another message from Huanzhao.

    ¡°Brother-inw, my mom used to be really mean to you in the past. Will you end up hating her for it?¡±

    Zu An was stunned and didn¡¯t know why she would ask about that. After all, Huanzhao was always the carefree sort and wouldn¡¯t be so considerate as to try to mediate his rtionship with her mother. However, he quickly remembered that Huanzhao seemed to have mentioned that Qin Wanru really wanted amunication jade strip. She had asked for it several times and was always refused.

    <i>Could this be...</i>

    When he thought about how Qin Wanru had used the jade strip to write ¡®brother-inw¡¯, Zu An shivered and didn¡¯t dare to think any more about it.

    <i>She definitely thought I wouldn¡¯t know, or else she wouldn¡¯t have done this.</i>

    Unfortunately, he had messed around with all types of chatting apps in his previous world, where there were many grown men pretending to be cute girls, girls making new ounts to pretend to be fans of themselves... He was just naturally more sensitive about these types of things.

    He decisively chose to pretend not to know when he thought about such things. He continued to chat with her as if she was his sister-inw. Of course, the way he typed was a bit more careful.

    <i>Sigh, isn¡¯t this just a shoddy version of QQ messenger? I wonder why they¡¯re having so much fun with it.</i>

    Then, there were messages from Sang Qien and Zheng Dan.

    ¡°Sisi seems to have called me mama today. Even though Dandan said that she only said it identally, I¡¯m still really happy.¡±

    ¡°Big brother Zu, I went to the temple to ask for a peace charm for you. Dandan said that she was just keeping mepany, but she secretly asked for one for you too, and yet she was too embarrassed to admit it.¡±

    ¡°Big brother Zu, I miss you so much.¡±

    ¡°The capital looks calm and peaceful recently, but something seems off. King Wu entered the capital, and Madam Wu was trying to get closer to all kinds of influential ns. When I discussed this with my father, we just felt that King Wu is scheming something big. I really wonder where he gets his courage from after King Dai and King Jin¡¯s examples.¡±

    ¡°I found out that his entrance into the capital seems to have been the work of the Bi n. What is the empress thinking? Could it be that she''s trying to defeat the empress dowager?¡±

    ...

    When he saw these messages, Zu An¡¯s brows furrowed.

    <i>Bi Linglong is bringing King Wu into the capital?</i>

    <i>I don¡¯t think she would do something like that. It seemspletely pointless. Could it be to go against the empress dowager?</i>

    <i>But I¡¯m clearly close to her. There¡¯s no reason for her to do all of this. Don¡¯t tell me that she''s already guessed my rtionship with the Empress Dowager?</i>

    <i>She is a really smart woman, after all. She might have really managed to guess the truth from the clues.</i>

    When he thought about that, Zu An started to get a headache. He didn¡¯t know how to face these two womenter.

    ¡°Ah Zu, Qienqien keeps trying to teach Sisi to say ''daddy'', but Sisi couldn''t say it. In the end, Qienqien ended up saying ''daddy'' all day for nothing. I¡¯m about to die fromughter!¡±

    ¡°Before we knew it, you were already gone for so long. I even dreamed about you, and yet when I woke up in the middle of the night to change clothes, Qienqien asked me what was happening. I was too embarrassed to tell her what happened. It really is embarrassing...¡±

    ¡°Are things going well for you in the Fiend races'' territory? I asked around and it seems the sealednd is really dangerous. But with your skill, you should be fine, right?¡±

    ¡°Why haven¡¯t you responded to my messages all this time? Don¡¯t tell me that something really did happen to you in the sealednd, right? If something happens to you, I¡¯m going to find a man tomorrow and remarry immediately!¡±

    ¡°Hey... I was joking, so please don¡¯t get mad. Qienqien was really worried about you, but I always believed that you would be safe. After all, I watched how you defeated those big shots while you were still so weak, and even I lost to you. Hmph, how could a bad guy like you ever really get done in?¡±

    ¡°Sigh, I really miss those days back in Brightmoon City. Even though you weren¡¯t as strong as you are now, you were always with me... That was the happiest period of my life.¡±

    ...

    As he read Zheng Dan¡¯s messages, Zu An remembered that stunning young woman who''d spoken those embarrassing yet brazen words from back then, ¡®the ce where not even the sun can shine into, big brother, you can enter¡¯. He felt endless emotions fill him. He began to reply to those messages one by one, while simultaneously expressing his own love.

    Compared to Zheng Dan¡¯s fiery and daring personality, Xie Daoyun¡¯s messages were much more reserved and proper. She mainly asked if he was safe, or asked him about some things regarding formations and runes. He could sense her sweet-tempered personality between the lines. When he thought about how they hadn''t been able to talk that much thest time they met, Zu An sighed. He replied to those questions seriously, and he also gave them a lot of concrete advice on their paths of cultivation.

    It hadn''t been so long since the time he wished for all of the beauties of the world to be his, and yet he now discovered that a single sentiment weighed more than a thousand catties. It wasn¡¯t something so easily done.

    Just like that, he hurried along while replying to his sweethearts one by one. He traveled day and night for several days in a row, and then he finally arrived at the shore of the eastern sea.

 Chapter 2108: Conspiracy in Motion

    <h4>Chapter 2108: Conspiracy in Motion</h4>

    Meanwhile, in the human capital, the sun had just set and the city gates were tightly shut. However, the entire city was still bright from all thenterns that were lit. The reputation of the world¡¯s most prosperous city was well-earned.

    Unlike the bustling city, the Imperial Pce was much more peaceful. After all, an important location like the Imperial Pce had a lot of established rules that needed to be followed after nightfall, and it was heavily guarded.

    However, the emperor¡¯s personal pce was brightly lit. Inside, Fatty Zhao Ruizhi yawnedzily, his leg casually propped up on the imperial throne. He shoved some pastries next to him into his mouth, then held up a bowl of tea, draining it in one gulp before asking, ¡°Imperial uncles, why are you looking for this emperor? Please tell me quickly if there''s something you have to say. I still want to y.¡±

    Two middle-aged men were standing opposite from him. They were both dressed in pcemander uniforms. One was Zhao Si, and the other was Zhao Tai. Their father was King Yi, Zhao Huang. Zhao Huang was the East Defense General, so the prestige of his position was equivalent to that of the three ministers, making him an extremely respected individual from the royal family.

    For the sake of loyalty, the Pce Guards often awarded medals and achievements to the children of the royal family. That was how these two brothers had bemanders. Additionally, because Zhao Huang was Zhao Han¡¯s uncle, these two were now also considered Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s uncles.

    They watched as Zhao Ruizhi sat in a slovenly manner, his messy eating sending quite a bit of food everywhere. He really didn¡¯t resemble a ruler at all. Even so, the two definitely didn¡¯te to advise the emperor on his etiquette. They quickly said, ¡°We have confidential intelligence to inform your highness about. We must trouble your majesty to dismiss all other personnel.¡± Afterward, they looked at the eunuchs and maids around them with troubled expressions.

    ¡°How brazen! You are already visiting his majesty sote in the evening! How could we let his majesty stay with you two alone?!¡± the eunuch behind Zhao Ruizhi eximed. He had followed Zhao Ruizhi ever since he was the crown prince all the way until now. His status had now climbed greatly as a result. Everyone had called him Little Xu, but now, who wouldn¡¯t dare to call him Eunuch Xu? He knew clearly where all of this honor came from, so he naturally cared about Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s safety. After all, he wasn¡¯t... a normal person and didn¡¯t have much ability to protect himself.

    A guard leader by the entrance said, ¡°I¡¯ll stay behind to protect his majesty. No one will be able to injure him.¡±

    The emperor¡¯s personal bodyguards were called the Tiger Guardians, while the leader of the Tiger Guardians was King Guangling, Zhao Yuan. Beneath him were the pcemanders and officials. This person was the pce official Li Guanshi. With Zhao Yuan¡¯s status, there was naturally no way he could stay beside the emperor every waking second, which was why it was almost always Li Guanshi who led the Imperial Guards in watching over Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s safety. His cultivation was high, and he was extremely reliable in his work.

    When he heard that, Eunuch Xu didn¡¯t say anything else and left with the others.

    After the eunuchs and the maids left, Zhao Ruizhi asked in annoyance, ¡°Just what is it? Hurry up and spit it out already.¡±

    Zhao Si and Zhao Tai both kneeled down on the ground and said, ¡°Your majesty, the Imperial Tutor and War Chariot General from the Liu n have colluded with the regent, allying with the Fiend races. They are plotting treason!¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Zhao Ruizhi had just picked up another pastry and was going to bite down, but when he heard that, he waspletely stunned. No matter how stupid he was, this information was just too explosive, right? He said, ¡°That¡¯s impossible! The imperial tutor is the empress dowager¡¯s senior and is extremely loyal to this emperor. Also, the regent is this emperor¡¯s master, so why would he ever rebel?¡±

    ¡°This matter is absolutely true! News arrived from the Fiend races that something happened in the sealednd and they needed our reinforcements. The regent and Liu brothers supported the deployment of reinforcements for the Fiend races, and yet shortly after, our reinforcement army was ambushed in the Fiend races'' territory. That great army of elite soldiers waspletely wiped out!¡± Zhao Si hurriedly said.

    Zhao Tai also echoed what his brother said. ¡°That¡¯s right! Right now, all of the information from the Fiend races'' sealedndes from Zu An alone, and he is the Fiend races¡¯ regent as well. By colluding with the Fiend races¡¯ Second Empress, he clearly wishes to use this chance to eliminate the remaining forces of our human race so there will be no more hindrances to the Fiend races¡¯ future invasion.¡±

    ¡°And the Liu n brothers are taking care of this matter all on their own. They are clearly conspiring with Zu An," Zhao Si added.

    ...

    As they spoke, even their saliva flew everywhere. Zhao Ruizhi looked at the two in confusion, and after a while, he asked, ¡°Didn¡¯t we already talk about this in the court session? Linglong and the empress dowager both said that we don¡¯t have enough intelligence from the front lines and that it¡¯s too early to make a decision. Do you have anything else to report on? If not, I¡¯m going to y grasshopper.¡±

    Zhao Si and Zhao Tai were both stunned. They hadn¡¯t expected that their vigorous voices and expressions wouldn¡¯t bring about the slightest bit of interest from him. They knew that if they couldn''t get the results they wanted today, then the next day, many heads would tumble, including their own.

    The two of them gritted their teeth and said, ¡°The empress dowager is from the Liu n, so of course she would speak up for them.¡±

    ¡°The empress, the empress is...¡±

    ¡°What about Linglong?¡± Zhao Ruizhi suddenly raised his head and stared right at the two. Other people were one thing, but Bi Linglong was his Achilles heel. After all these years, he already thought of her as his most important person.

    When they saw his reaction, the two were frightened. They couldn''t find any suitable excuses either and became silent as a result.

    ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else, then beat it!¡± Zhao Ruizhi eximed, now in a bad mood. As if he cared that they were his uncles! Either way, there were so many members of the royal family. These two weren¡¯t important people either. Linglong would tell him about everything important anyway.

    Just then, Li Guanshi spoke up from the doorway. ¡°The empress might be speaking that way on purpose to help absolve the regent.¡±

    Zhao Si and Zhao Tai immediately widened their eyes.

    <i>This guy really said it out loud!</i>

    Sure enough, Zhao Ruizhi was furious. He stared at Li Guanshi and asked, ¡°What did you say?¡± Even though he normally acted like an idiot, there seemed to be killing intent in his eyes now.

    Li Guanshi said hesitantly, ¡°The empress seems to be too close to the regent. Furthermore, her highness clearly treats the regent differently from other men.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re speaking nonsense!¡± Zhao Ruizhi immediately panicked, making his fat jiggle.

    Li Guanshi sighed and said, ¡°Your highness, think about it carefully. Her highness never allows any man into her chambers, including your distinguished self. However, the regent can enter directly without any obstruction.¡±

    Now, even Zhao Si and Zhao Tai¡¯s breathing quickened. They seemed to have heard some explosive gossip today! Even though the two of them were both pce guardmanders and had heard some rumors here and there, they''d never treated them as a big deal. But now that such a thing was confirmed by someone at the emperor¡¯s side, it carried an entirely different meaning.

    ¡°That''s because Linglong and the regent have important military secrets to discuss. Linglong told me about that before!¡± Zhao Ruizhi hurriedly exined.

    ¡°But why doesn¡¯t her highness let your majesty into her personal chambers?¡± Li Guanshi looked at him sympathetically.

    ¡°That¡¯s because... because...¡± Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s face turned entirely red, and he started murmuring inaudible things. He couldn''te up with a good reason even after a long time.

    Zhao Si and Zhao Tai were sharp and quickly spoke up.

    ¡°That¡¯s right! I seem to recall that when her highness was still the crown princess, there was a scandal with the regent.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Back then, thete emperor had people examine the crown princess¡¯ purity.¡±

    Zhao Ruizhi seemed to have found his saving grace and quickly said, ¡°That¡¯s right, in the past, the nanny verified Linglong¡¯s purity. Besides, even thete libationer examined Zu An and said that he didn¡¯t lie.¡±

    Zhao Si had a strange smile on his face as he said, ¡°Your highness, nannies can be bribed. Besides, though thete libationer wasn¡¯t someone who would take bribes, what if he intentionally wanted to cover for someone? After all, he had always favored Zu An, and he even gave the position of libationer to him. That proves their rtionship was special!¡±

    ¡°Shut up, shut up!¡± Zhao Ruizhi threw the teacup in his hands at the two of them. ¡°You''re just guessing anding up with nonsense. Linglong is so good to me, and the regent has even saved me several times. There''s no reason for the two of them to do anything to let me down!¡±

    ¡°Who says they didn¡¯t?¡± Zhao Si quickly added, ¡°That Zu An might very well be the grandson of the previous dynasty. Even though it''s just a rumor, there''s no smoke without fire. He might harbor a deeply rooted grudge and wants to overthrow our Great Zhou Dynasty!¡±

    Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s face turnedpletely dark. He wasn¡¯t aplete idiot and could still discern between simple good and bad. If the regent really had such an identity, that would indeed be a good enough motive for a rebellion.

    Just then, Li Guanshi also spoke up. ¡°As for her highness the empress dowager, she naturally carries deep loyalty for his majesty, but the regent is just too strong. Even his majesty¡¯s brothers were killed on a whim, and King Dai was crippled just like that. Her highness might have done this to protect you, making her cater to the regent despite her best wishes.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Zhao Ruizhi suddenly got up and pointed at him. His entire body started shaking because of his extreme anger.

    Li Guanshi added more fuel to the fire, asking, ¡°Your majesty, do you still remember that one time, the regent entered the empress¡¯s personal chambers, and yet your majesty was stopped outside and couldn''t go in? In the end, the regent stayed for many hours beforeing back out again.¡±

    ¡°Stop talking!¡± Zhao Ruizhi covered his ears with his hands. His chubby face was in extreme pain. These things were definitely weird; now that they were speaking about it, he was gradually starting to pick up on the strangeness.

    ¡°Take care of yourself and endure, your majesty. A small mistake can lead to a great disaster! You could be letting down her highness despite the sacrifice she made for you,¡± Li Guanshi said in constion.

    ¡°You son of a bitch!¡± Zhao Ruizhi smashed the chair next to him to pieces with a stomp. ¡°Endure, endure, endure your mom! Guards, chop those rebels and traitors into ten thousand pieces for me!¡±

    ¡°The traitors are extremely ferocious. How can your majesty¡¯s important self personally do these things? Just leave it to your subjects; only, we¡¯ll need your majesty to write an imperial order for us,¡± Zhao Si and Zhao Tai hurriedly said.

    When he recalled Zu An¡¯s violent side, Zhao Ruizhi couldn''t help but swallow with difficulty. He said, ¡°I agree with what you said, but I need to gather my ministers to write an imperial order...¡±

    Before he even finished, Zhao Si already took out an imperial edict from his inner pocket and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, your majesty! The imperial order has already been prepared by this loyal subject of yours. We just need your majesty to apply the official seal.¡±

    ¡°Perfect!¡± Zhao Ruizhi was overjoyed. He didn¡¯t think about why an imperial order had already been prepared at all. He took the imperial order, and applied the official seal without even giving it a single look. The only thing in his head right now was the desire to kill that despicable Zu An. How could he still bother with anything else?

    Normally, it was always Linglong who took care of various government affairs in the Imperial Pce. But out of respect for his title as the emperor, she normally returned the jade ruler¡¯s seal to Zhao Ruizhi at night and asked for it back the next morning. She had never expected others to seize this opportunity at night to do something crazy like this!

    ...

    When they left the emperor¡¯s personal chambers, Zhao Si and Zhao Tai were incredibly happy. ¡°Thank goodness we have Official Li¡¯s help. Otherwise, our n might have failed at thest moment.¡±

    ¡°I wonder who that Official Li is working under. Why would he help us? There¡¯s no way that he really is loyal to the emperor and is only doing this out of righteous indignation, right?¡±

    ¡°Of course not. He''s a pce official, so he might be a subordinate of King Guangling, Zhao Yuan. But that¡¯s hard to say too. He might be a spy nted by some other bigwig who was of decisive use today.¡±

    ¡°Do you think that what he said about Zu An and the empress is true?¡±

    ¡°The stupid emperor believed it, but even you¡¯re believing it? Do you know what kind of a person the empress is? She''s always been a well-bred youngdy, someone who was meant to be the mother of this world. How could she possibly do something like that?¡±

    ¡°I guess you¡¯re right. That Official Li really is vicious. He actually thought up such a terrible scheme.¡±

    ¡°Thank goodness he¡¯s on our side.¡±

    ...

    In another small courtyard, there was a room with no lights. However, there was a group of people sitting inside, waiting without speaking a single word. The atmosphere was extremely suffocating and quiet. Many of them had fine sweat on their foreheads. After all, their plot was incredibly huge. If they failed, the punishment would be the eradication of their entire n! Even though everyone here had braved their fair share of major events, they were still extremely nervous.

    Just then, the door was pushed open, and someone sent in a rolled object. The yellow luster made the eyes of everyone inside light up.

    The one in the lead was none other than the father of the current empress, the Bi n¡¯s lord, Bi Qi. He received the imperial order and gave it a look. Then, he roared withughter, eximing, ¡°We¡¯ve already half seeded! From here on out, everyone just needs to act ording to the n!¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± Everyone got up and left. If anyone else were present to see this scene, they would definitely be really shocked, because every single member was an influential figure of the capital.

    ...

    In the capital¡¯s Pei manor, there was a lively feast being carried out in a side courtyard. Two young men were drinking and chatting merrily with their arms around each other.

    ¡°Brother Pei, which one of your Pei n¡¯sdies is rather outstanding? Can you introduce some to your brothers here?¡±

    ¡°Brother Gao, you really forget loyalty when ites to women! We invited you so many times before, and yet you¡¯ve always avoided us! But this time, when the Pei n said that they wished to be connected to you through marriage, you immediately showed up!¡±

    These two were, surprisingly, Gao Ying and Pei You. After Cloudcenter Commandery¡¯s affairs stabilized, they had been summoned back to the capital by their respective ns. It was a pity that they''d ended up missing a chance to reunite with Zu An.

    ¡°It¡¯s not as if you don¡¯t know. I¡¯m currently in charge of the Imperial Pce¡¯s safety and have heavy responsibilities. It wasn¡¯t easy to ask for a day off,¡± Gao Ying said with a bitter smile.

    ¡°Tsk tsk tsk, I guess we ended up giving you an opportunity to show off. I almost forgot to congratte you for being promoted to Right Guard General!¡± Pei You said with augh.

    ¡°It¡¯s not as if you didn¡¯t know that I was only able to reach this level through connections. How could I possibly convince everyone while still being so young? That¡¯s why I always find myself skating on thin ice and couldn''t find time to meet with the brothers here all this time. I¡¯ll drink three cups as a punishment,¡± Gao Ying said, feeling quite hard-pressed. He took the initiative to drink three cups.

    The Liu n¡¯s authority was flourishing, and Gao Ying was the son of a daughter of the Liu n, so that was why he had been ced in a position with authority.

    Pei You couldn''t help but sigh. He drank with Gao Ying and said, ¡°Only we know that this is really what you think. If it were anyone else, we would¡¯ve thought that they were using this chance to show off even more. Still, don¡¯t undervalue yourself. Your cultivation has advanced really quickly recently, and you already reached the ninth rank. Apart from your young age, that''s already enough to hold your current position.¡±

    Gao Ying said in annoyance, ¡°It¡¯s not as if you don¡¯t know where my ninth rank cultivationes from. It¡¯s all through the Liu n¡¯s endless funneling of resources. To be honest, I feel as if I¡¯ve advanced too quickly and my foundation might not be stable enough, which might cause trouble down the line.¡±

    ¡°Tsk tsk tsk, look at you boasting again. Here I am wishing that the Pei n would give me that many resources to make me outstanding too.¡± Pei You was a bit upset. His status in the Pei n was clearly not as high as Gao Ying¡¯s in the Liu n.

    Gao Ying realized that he had crossed the line a bit too. He put his arm around Pei You''s shoulder and said, ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about these things anymore. Help a brother out a bit here, won¡¯t ya? Just which young miss is it that wishes to marry me?¡±

    The beauty of the Pei n¡¯s women was well known. For example, Pei Mianman had left him speechless from the first moment he saw her. Of course, she was brother Zu¡¯s woman, so he wouldn¡¯t dare to have any other thoughts. He only wished for this Pei n girl to have sixty to seventy percent of Pei Mianman''s looks and that would be enough.

    Pei You said awkwardly, ¡°Actually, I don¡¯t really know either. It was my father who told me. I don¡¯t know which daughter the older generation has decided on. But today, there''s no need for you to agree at all. Let¡¯s just take a look first. Your brother here will secretly ask around for you before you make a decision.¡±

    Gao Ying was really happy, saying, ¡°A true brother!¡± n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The two of them drank merrily. Additionally, the others from the Pei n urged them to drink from time to time, so the drinking was really lively.

    Suddenly, a woman on the woven mats spoke up. ¡°Huh? Why has the sky be a bit red?¡±

    Gao Ying nced over and reflexively replied, ¡°Maybe some unlucky n caught fire? Let me think, which n is in that direction...¡±

    Suddenly, his eyes opened wide. He broke out into cold sweat, because that was the Imperial Pce¡¯s direction. There were no other residences nearby. He eximed, ¡°Cloud Dragon Gate!¡±

    As the Right Guard General, he was now really familiar with the Imperial Pce¡¯syout and topography. He immediately realized where the fires wereing from. Cloud Dragon Gate was one of the Imperial Pce¡¯s two most important pce gates!

    He could no longer sit still. He got up and was about to leave, but as soon as he stood up, he felt a wave of dizziness and almost fell. He cried out, ¡°Something¡¯s wrong. The alcohol is poisoned!¡±

 Chapter 2109: Gamble of Life and Death

    Chapter 2109: Gamble of Life and Death

    Even though Gao Ying had drunk a lot today, he now had nine ranks of cultivation. If he activated it and circted his internal energy, he could easily force out the alcohol. When he realized that something had happened at the capital, he''d wanted to force out the alcohol¡¯s effects, but as soon as he used his cultivation, he immediately realized that something was wrong inside his body. He felt really dizzy, and even his inner ki was chaotic. With all of those signs, it was easy to see that something wasn¡¯t right.

    Gao Ying suddenly looked at Pei You, his expression carrying both disappointment and fury. He cried, ¡°I thought of you as my brother, yet you actually schemed and plotted against me!¡±

    Pei You had told him that the Pei n was interested in bing rted to him through marriage, and had thus invited him over to the Pei manor to take a look at thedies here. Now, it seemed the entire affair was a conspiracy!

    Pei You¡¯s expression changed greatly as he eximed, ¡°It wasn¡¯t me! I didn¡¯t do it!¡± Then, he quickly got up and looked in the direction of his father.

    There were many people on the woven mats that werepletely oblivious to what was going on. They had all still been so happy a moment ago, so why had they suddenly fallen out?

    Just then, Pei Yi quickly stood up from his seat. With a p of his hands, arge group of guards appeared and moved to surround Gao Ying. In response, Gao Ying¡¯s guards all drew their weapons and protected him. The women all ran away toward the inner residence in panic.

    ¡°Father, just what is going on?¡± Pei You eximed, rmed and angry. He really never could have imagined that any of this would ever happen.

    Pei Yi said with a sigh, ¡°You¡¯ve probably already guessed it. Why bother asking so many questions?¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Pei You replied with a scowl, ¡°You used me to fool him?¡±

    Gao Ying said with a sneer, ¡°Keep acting, why don¡¯t you!¡±

    He quickly took out a porcin bottle and shoved several pills into his mouth. At the same time, he gave them to his subordinates. He was now the Right Guard General, after all, and the Liu n was now incredibly powerful, so he had all kinds of amazing medicines. There was naturally nock of antidotes among them. Sure enough, after ingesting these pills, he immediately felt his condition improve considerably.

    When he saw that, Pei Yi¡¯s expression changed. He yelled, ¡°Capture him!¡±

    With a shout, the subordinates all rushed straight at Gao Ying.

    ¡°General Gao, hurry and escape!¡± the guards at Gao Ying¡¯s side quickly shouted.

    Every n had their own deathsworn soldiers. Now that it was clearly proven that this was a trap, it would definitely be impossible for all of them to get away. They could only try their best to help Gao Ying leave, upon which their mission would beplete. As for their families, they would naturally be taken care of by the Liu n.

    The two sides shed, and blood was instantly drawn. In this kind of irreconcble battle, they instantly abandoned all flowery tricks and techniques. They only used the attacks that would take lives the quickest.

    The guards that protected Gao Ying¡¯s side were naturally all carefully selected elites; every single one¡¯s cultivation was higher than these Pei n subordinates. However, the difference in numbers meant that all they had awaiting them was an inevitable defeat.

    Even Gao Ying¡¯s eyes becamepletely red. He gritted his teeth and cut down two Pei n guards around him, then rushed out. His thoughts moved quickly. There was no way that this ploy would be solely directed against him. They had definitely lured him away from his post to do something else there. After seeing the huge fire by Cloud Dragon Gate, he realized that their main objective was the Imperial Pce. However, as long as he returned to the Imperial Pce, he would be able to gather his Right Guard Army. Then, there would be a chance to overturn the situation.

    The Pei n clearly understood that well. They continued to rush at him in endless waves. As they fought around him, Gao Ying¡¯s subordinates prioritized his safety above all. Even if they were injured or lost their lives, all they sought was just to buy one more minute, one more second of time.

    It was just a few courtyards'' worth of distance, and yet one after another, the guards all fell around Gao Ying. Eventually, not a single person survived. Even so, the results they obtained were also clear. Gao Ying finally reached the Pei n courtyard¡¯s walls. He was about to leap out when he suddenly heard a fierce shout.

    ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going?!¡± With a sh, Pei Yi stood in Gao Ying''s way.

    Gao Ying gritted his teeth. He prepared to fight when Pei You appeared between the two of them, saying, ¡°Brother Gao, hurry and leave! Leave this ce to me!¡±

    Gao Ying was stunned. Meanwhile, Pei Yi erupted with fury, roaring, ¡°Have you gone mad? Do you know that what we''re doing today is enough to have our entire n executed? If he leaves, our entire n might face annihtion!¡±

    Pei You smiled in distress, saying, ¡°You didn¡¯t tell me a single thing, so how could I have known what you all were scheming? The only thing I know is that I can''t sell out my friend for the sake of my own n¡¯s glory!¡± Afterward, he immediately shouted, ¡°Gao Ying, why aren¡¯t you leaving yet?!¡±

    Gao Ying gritted his teeth. He cupped his hand toward Pei You¡¯s back, then jumped over the fence and ran toward the court.

    The other soldiers wanted to chase after him, but they were stopped by a sh from Pei You.

    ¡°You unfilial son!¡± Pei Yi roared furiously. He could no longer hold himself back and charged forward.

    ¡­

    Once Gao Ying left the Pei manor, roughly a dozen soldiers rushed over and asked, ¡°General Gao, what is happening?¡±

    Gao Ying had always been a careful person. These were people he''d left outside the Pei manor. Who would have thought that they would actually prove to be of vital use?

    ¡°The Pei n hasmitted treason. The Imperial Pce is in danger. Hurry and send some people to contact the Liu n¡¯s elders. The rest of you are to follow me back to the Imperial Pce!¡± Gao Yi quickly issued the appropriatemands. Soon after, the soldiers formed several groups and ran in different directions.

    Gao Ying took the remaining seven or eight soldiers toward Cloud Dragon Gate. Surprisingly, however, there was no battle there. Instead, soldiers were patrolling the city gate tower in a clear and orderly manner. Others were putting out some of the leftover fires.

    ¡°Name yourselves!¡± the soldiers by the pce gate barked vigntly when they saw people approach. However, when they saw Gao Ying, they clearly sighed in relief and said, ¡°So it was General Gao.¡±

    ¡°What happened?¡± Gao Ying asked. Why were things different from what he imagined?

    ¡°Devil Sect traitors appeared, trying to infiltrate the Imperial Pce in the night. We discovered them and already eliminated them,¡± a general on the gate tower replied.

    ¡°Devil Sect?¡± Gao Ying¡¯s brows furrowed.

    When had the Pei n allied with the Devil Sect? Besides, even if there really was a conspiracy, they would either choose to wait orunch a thunderous, all-out offensive. How could they be so easily defeated? Wouldn¡¯t such actions from the Pei n only be courting disaster? He couldn''t shake off the feeling that something was wrong. He was about to walk toward the pce gates when he noticed that these soldiers were a bit unfamiliar.

    He quickly reined in his horse and asked, ¡°By the way, why don¡¯t I see General Li?¡±

    Li Mian was also a nephew of the Liu n. The Liu n had sent him to guard the strategic location of Cloud Dragon Gate, and also had him manage a portion of the Imperial Pce¡¯s soldiers.

    ¡°General Li was seriously injured from fighting against the Devil Sect renegades. The imperial physician is currently treating him. General Gao shoulde in and take a look,¡± the military officer on the city walls said with a wave.

    When he heard that, Gao Ying¡¯s expression changed. He turned around and ran, shouting to his men, ¡°Hurry and leave!¡±

    The moment they saw that, the Imperial Pce guards¡¯ expression changed. They all drew their weapons to attack him.

    Unfortunately, the mounts Gao Ying and his men rode were all special beasts that had been carefully raised by the court since they were young. They also had wind element runes applied to their bodies; such runes came from the academy and made them even faster. The guards were worried that they would be exposed and didn¡¯t dare to show any hostility, so there was no way they could catch up in such a situation.

    When he saw that the soldiers had been left behind, Gao Ying sighed in relief. He wondered whether to return to the Liu n and look for Liu Guang and Liu Yao, or leave the city to find Third Elder Liu¡¯s camp outside the city.

    Just then, a group of men appeared right in front of him, blocking his way forward. His expression changed, but he calmly said, ¡°So it was General Zhao. Something has happened at Cloud Dragon Gate. Please go there and provide reinforcements.¡±

    The middle-aged man at the head of the group was East Central General Zhao Quan. His seniority in the royal family was high, and he was even one generation above Zhao Han. Zhao Quan¡¯s father was one of the eight dukes, Imperial Tutor Zhao Chen. His son was Hexi King, Zhao Zai, who frequently coborated with King Yan. They had been one of the most influential ns in the entire capital. Unfortunately, some tragedies had befallen them. Because they''d gotten involved in the conflict between the Meng n and King Dai against Zu An, Zhao Chen was killed on the spot by Zu An, which made their n¡¯s power fall considerably.

    When he thought about his own rtionship with Zu An, Gao Ying immediately sensed that Zhao Quan''s arrival was nothing good.

    Zhao Quan replied with a fake smile, ¡°Isn¡¯t General Gao the Right Guard General who is in charge of the protection of the Imperial Pce? Why are you running in the opposite direction instead of going there?¡±

    Gao Ying secretly gestured to his subordinates while replying, ¡°Traitors have instigated a great scheme today. I still need to go to other areas to investigate the situation.¡±

    ¡°But I fear you won¡¯t be able to go anywhere anymore,¡± a voice called out. The men from Cloud Dragon Gate had already caught up.

    Gao Ying recognized the one in the lead as Changshui Officer Zhao Shun. His heart couldn''t help but sink.

    Zhao Shun¡¯s father was King Yi, the East Defense Chief General Zhao Huang; someone of virtue and prestige in the royal family. When Gao Ying connected that information with Zhao Quan''s presence on the other side, didn¡¯t that mean the royal family was collectively revolting?

    What was an even bigger headache was that Changshui Officer Zhao Shun was in charge of one of the six field armies near the capital. Now, he had actually led these troops into the city, and yet the Liu n had no idea about it at all. Just how many of the six field armies had already turned traitor?

    Just then, Zhao Quan said coldly, ¡°If I hadn''t promptly arrived, they would have almost gotten away.¡±

    Zhao Shun said in annoyance, ¡°This kid looks honest, but he¡¯s as slick as a ghost. I didn¡¯t expect him to have seen through our n.¡±

    ¡°It seems Li Mian has already fallen for your plot,¡± Gao Ying said with a sigh. He tried to stall for time while thinking of a way to get out of this situation. However, he just couldn''t think of anything. This was nothing but a situation of inevitable death.

    ¡°If that Li Mian had been as careful as you, I wouldn¡¯t have seeded so easily. The Liu n¡¯s people are useless after all,¡± Zhao Shun said disdainfully.

    ¡°As members of the royal family, you already have enough riches and honor, and yet you¡¯re colluding with traitors. What is this all for, really?¡± Gao Ying asked, although he knew that he was dead for certain. He took a deep breath. All he sought now was to die with understanding.

    ¡°Traitors?¡± Zhao Quan roared withughter. ¡°You really overestimate yourself! The ones who havemitted treason are clearly your group. We are acting in ordance with his majesty¡¯s orders topletely capture all of the Liu n traitors!¡±

    Gao Ying¡¯s expression immediately changed. He eximed, ¡°That¡¯s impossible! The empress would never issue that kind of order!¡± In the past, he had even fought side by side with the empress. Besides, Zu An had an extremely close rtionship with the empress, so there was no way she would agree to such orders.

    ¡°Is there something wrong with your ears? We are following his majesty¡¯s orders and not the empress¡¯ orders,¡± Zhao Quan said with a sneer.

    Gao Ying said with a sigh, ¡°So you¡¯ve fooled his majesty. Once her highness reacts tomorrow morning, all of you will get what you deserve.¡±

    ¡°Just who is it that''s fooled his majesty?¡± Zhao Shun retorted angrily. ¡°Just who do you Liu n people think you are? You merely rely on your rtionship with the empress. Your n is clearly filled with useless trash, and yet you upy all kinds of important positions!

    ¡°Forget about the idiot duo Liu Guang and Liu Yao, even a brat like you was able to easily rise up to the position of Right Guard General. Do you know how many people strive their entire lives, and yet will never be able to sit in your position? That bastard Liu Guang would even put a dog from the n into the court if he could. Does this world actually belong to our Zhao n or your Liu n?¡±

    Gao Ying said with a coldugh, ¡°So all of you did this out of jealousy.¡±

    He inwardly sighed with relief. He''d actually predicted that this kind of thing would happen. He''d tried to advise his maternal uncles many times, but they refused to listen. The only thing they knew how to do was continue to put the Liu n¡¯s people in vital positions. Now, the consequences had finally arrived, and they were far more intense than the n elders had imagined.

    ¡°Jealous of those Liu n trash?¡± Zhao Shun retorted with a scowl. ¡°We¡¯re just getting rid of the rubbish and recing them with thepetent.¡±

    Gao Ying smiled calmly and said, ¡°Even though the Liu n doesn''t have any ability, treacherous sorts like you aren¡¯t much better than us.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re courting death!¡± Zhao Shun roared furiously, charging straight at him.

    Gao Ying¡¯s eyes lit up. The reason why he had taunted his opponent was precisely for this moment. He abandoned all defenses and allowed the opponent¡¯s weapon to enter his own chest. Meanwhile, his own de sliced at the enemy¡¯s neck. He knew that there was no chance of him surviving today, so he decisively chose to swap life for life.

    Zhao Shun was horrified. He reflexively wanted to pull his sword back to defend himself, but Gao Ying grabbed his sword with his hand and held it in ce. He couldn''t pull it out at all. He had expected Gao Ying to fight back while cornered, but he hadn¡¯t expected to injure a ninth rank cultivator that easily. However, his first attack had ended up seriously injuring his opponent, so all of his following strategies were useless. In a battle between strong individuals, life and death was often decided by a sliver of an opportunity. This slight mishap made it so that he could only watch as the grim reaper approached. His eyes were full of regret and despair.

    Suddenly, Gao Ying¡¯s head flew into the air. It turned out that Zhao Quan had arrived promptly. How could Gao Ying still have the leftover strength to guard against the surprise attack of an older generation expert?

    A burst of hot blood flew through the air. Gao Ying''s eyes were wide as he reflexively looked in the Imperial Pce¡¯s direction. Hisst thought was that the empress dowager was a grandmaster, so she''d definitely be able to subdue this conspiracy.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in the empress¡¯ personal pce, Liu Ning had been resting in her chambers. Suddenly, she sensed weapons shing in Cloud Dragon Gate¡¯s direction. She flew out from her room and looked at the mes from afar. Her restless mind made her just about to rush over and examine the situation when she suddenly stopped. She looked to her left with a grave expression.

    Under the moonlight, a long-haired, ck-d beauty stood atop a roof ridge. The moonlight seemed to serve as her backdrop, making her figure look even more enchanting and moving.

    However, while the empress was looking at her, she was also sizing the empress up. When her eyesnded on the empress'' bottom, a look of surprise appeared in her eyes.

    Your ass is huge!

    When she looked at that beautiful and dignified face, Liu Ning called out with a grave expression, ¡°Devil Sect Master Yun Jianyue!¡±

    The woman, whose long hair reached all the way to her bottom, nodded. ¡°I''m surprised that your highness still remembers me.¡± It was when she first invaded the pce that she''d first met that little devil Zu An.

    ¡°Sect Master Yun¡¯s stunning figure is something no one would forget after a single nce,¡± Liu Ning said; she also remembered that assassination. In the past, her cultivation still hadn¡¯t recovered. In the end, it was also Zu An who had saved her. At that time, how could she have known that she would be fiercely subdued by that guy?

    The two women couldn''t help but blush at the same time, but then they each gave the other a strange look. They didn¡¯t know why the other¡¯s reaction was so strange. How could they possibly know that they had actually thought of the same man at the same time?

    ¡°The Devil Sect¡¯s evil intentions have not ceased, and you wish to invade once more?¡± Liu Ning replied with a sneer. After she received the help of Zu An¡¯s essence, her cultivation had not only recovered, but even grown a level stronger. She didn¡¯t fear Yun Jianyue. Besides, this was the Imperial Pce, her own home field.

    ¡°I''m here with a single mission, which is to borrow your highness¡¯ decapitated head.¡± Yun Jianyue¡¯s voice was calm, but she spoke words filled with killing intent.

    Liu Ning narrowed her eyes. ¡°I fear that the sect master doesn¡¯t have the ability to do so.¡±

    Yun Jianyue chuckled. She didn¡¯t say anything more; rather, she rushed forth like lightning and attacked. At the same time, a crescent moon suddenly appeared in the sky behind Liu Ning and rushed at her neck.

 Chapter 2110: Fleeing

    <h4>Chapter 2110: Fleeing</h4>

    Liu Ning harrumphed. Suddenly, several streaks of white silk appeared from behind her. Half of them rushed at Yun Jianyue, while the other half swept toward the Crescent Ring behind her.

    The Crescent Ring was incredibly sharp and almost instantly sliced the silk to pieces. However, a remaining strand slipped through the opening and struck the weapon right at its center, knocking it flying.

    The strands of silk moved just like Liu Ning¡¯s own fingers, containing a strange, gentle force. When she saw thaat, Yun Jianyue couldn''t help but say with a sigh of praise, ¡°Your eyes are quite good. You were able to instantly find the Crescent Ring¡¯s weakness.¡±

    Even though that was what she said, with a wave of her hand, the Crescent Ring instantly returned to her side. It continued to vibrate in ce, seemingly ready to deliver a lethal blow at any time.

    Liu Ning¡¯s expression also grew grave. She was no longer as confident as earlier. She had already concentrated her full attention on facing this opponent, and yet Yun Jianyue was still able to chat so casually. It didn¡¯t even seem as if she''d used all of her strength.

    <i>It seems her cultivation is even a bit higher than mine.</i>

    Fortunately, she had been able to receive the help of Ah Zu¡¯s nourishment to bring her to a higher level. Otherwise, with her previous cultivation, she would likely have already beenpletely defeated. Now, she at least had a bit of a chance.

    <i>But what is going on with this Devil Sect Master? Her cultivation clearly wasn''t this high thest time she attacked the Imperial Pce!</i>

    <i>I had the help of Ah Zu¡¯s nourishment, but what did she rely on to grow so quickly?</i>

    After all, the higher one¡¯s cultivation reached, the slower one''s growth would be. Frequently, one could go decades without any advancement at all. Yun Jianyue¡¯s growth since that time was absolutely ridiculous! How could the empress not be shocked?

    ¡°Help, there''s an assassin!¡± Liu Ning dealt with Yun Jianyue¡¯s violent barrage of attacks while shouting loudly.

    She didn¡¯t fear the attacker because this was the Imperial Pce, her own territory. She was the glorious empress dowager. Why would she have to fight to the death against a Devil Sect renegade? She could, but there was no need. She had countless subordinates under her control. Using them to defeat and capture her attacker was what someone of a higher position was supposed to do.

    <i>But this Devil Sect Master really is beautiful. Ah Zu might like her if he sees her.</i>

    <i>Hmph, I definitely can¡¯t let the two of them meet, or else it¡¯ll be bad if he ends up being infatuated by this witch.</i>

    When he heard her shout, Eunuch Lu quickly rushed over with arge group of guards. When they saw the demonic deity-like Yun Jianyue with her long, fluttering hair, their expressions changed.

    ¡°Hurry and protect her highness!¡± Eunuch Lu loudly shouted.

    The guards didn¡¯t recognize the Devil Sect Master. Even though they could sense that she was extremely powerful, they had all undergone strict training before. They got into formation while charging at the enemy.

    ¡°You¡¯re courting death!¡± Yun Jianyue¡¯s expression turned cold. The Crescent Ring flickered in and out of view in the air, taking the life of a guard practically every time it disappeared.

    Meanwhile, Eunuch Lu arrived at Liu Ning¡¯s side and said, ¡°Never fear, your highness. This servant hase to protect you.¡±

    When she saw Eunuch Lu, Liu Ning felt a mysterious sense of relief. Perhaps it was because they had been around each other for so many years, but this guy had always known how to make her feel at ease.

    Liu Ning looked at the murderous Yun Jianyue in the distance, saying, ¡°Be careful, this woman seems to have encountered a miraculous opportunity. Her cultivation is much stronger thanst time. I''ll hold her up for now. Go and gather the experts of the pce to get rid of this... What are you doing?!¡±

    Her voice was full of bitterness as she sent Eunuch Lu flying with a single palm, but she herself coughed out a mouthful of blood. There was a palm imprint left on her dress at her waist, and ayer of white frost had formed on the surface. She stared at Eunuch Lu. Her eyes were full of confusion, but even more so anger. She eximed, ¡°Why?!¡±

    Eunuch Lu had always served at her side loyally all these years and was faithful and true to her. There was also the love they had shared in their youth. Even though she called him a dog servant, she already viewed him as a member of her own family. She''d even felt that even if everyone in the entire world left her, Eunuch Lu wouldn¡¯t. As for Zu An, he had too many sweethearts; for example, that Bi Linglong was someone he couldn''t even part with. He''d just refused to fullye to her side all this time.

    Even so, it was precisely this person, whom shepletely trusted, who had attacked her at the most crucial moment and made her fall into an endless abyss. Eunuch Lu knew where her weakness was, and he seemed to have been hiding his cultivation this entire time. The attack had really almost taken half her life right there and then. She couldn''t use her cultivation properly anymore.

    When he saw her cough out blood, a bit of pity appeared in Eunuch Lu¡¯s eyes. He sighed and said, ¡°Does your highness still remember those guys who told me that they could help me recover my cultivation and be a normal man again?¡±

    Liu Ning was stunned, replying, ¡°Didn¡¯t you kill them on the spot?¡± Midway through her sentence, she realized something and said, ¡°You did that deliberately for me to see and trust you!¡±

    Eunuch Lu¡¯s expression wasplicated as he said, ¡°Actually, it wasn¡¯t just once or twice that they sought me out. At first, I didn¡¯t regard them with much importance, but eventually, I was still tempted. They''re monsters, after all, and they''re the best at making a man fall into depravity.

    ¡°Your highness should understand my feelings for you. I really want to truly be your man, for you to feel my love.¡±

    ¡°Screw you!¡± Liu Ning spat. The only thing she felt when she saw the passion in his eyes was disgust. She suddenly thought of something and said, ¡°No, something¡¯s not right. Don¡¯t you have that freakish fetish? Why did you suddenly change?¡±

    The two of them had spent so many years together, and each knew the other better than anyone else. She really understood what he was like. Thus, she naturally knew about Eunuch Lu¡¯s weird fetish. Every time she did it with Zu An, Eunuch Lu had felt crazy excitement. He really liked to watch his beloved woman be vited by another man, especially an especially strong one. That feeling brought him unprecedented satisfaction. He could fool her through other ways, but that kind of thing definitely wouldn¡¯t change.

    A blush appeared on Eunuch Lu¡¯s face as he said, ¡°That¡¯s right, I do have that fetish. But one day, I suddenly wondered... If I became a true man, would I still feel the same sense of joy when I saw someone else take advantage of you? I really want to experience that special kind of feeling.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re disgusting!¡± Liu Ning eximed furiously. This man¡¯s psyche was way too twisted, twisted to the point that she almost didn¡¯t recognize him.

    Eunuch Lu walked toward her with a smile, saying, ¡°Your highness doesn¡¯t need to worry. I won¡¯t harm you. It¡¯s just that your cultivation is too high, so I needed to restrain you a bit. Now I can bring you to a faraway ce, away from thisnd of quarrels.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯te any closer!¡± Liu Ning cried, her expression changing greatly. The ¡®family¡¯ she had been so familiar with now made her feel a strange sense of estrangement. She reflexively wanted him to disappear. Unfortunately, the sinister power of the enemy¡¯s palm had invaded her body. It was hard for her to muster any strength right now.

    <i>Could it be that I really have to be brought away by this man, and then be turned into his ve in a remote and deste ce? Then, for the sake of satisfying his fetishes, he''d find some unknown men to take advantage of me...</i>

    When she thought of that terrifying scenario, Liu Ning¡¯s entire body shook. She instinctively backed up, but she tripped over the corpse of a guard behind her. She lost her center of gravity and fell to the ground. She watched as Eunuch Lu walked closer and closer to her. She only felt as if his face was bing more and more twisted and disgusting. At that moment, she sank into absolute despair.

    Eunuch Lu was about to get his hands on her when a beautiful figure blocked his path. When she saw the long hair that reached all the way down that person''s back, Liu Ning was stunned. The guards had already beenpletely killed, and yet Yun Jianyue was now standing at her side?

    ¡°What is the meaning of this, Sect Master Yun?¡± Eunuch Lu asked, looking at Yun Jianyue with a bit of apprehension.

    ¡°I''ve always hated traitors the most, and as a woman as well, your actions leave me disgusted.¡± Yun Jianyue¡¯s face was ice-cold. She looked at him with eyes full of killing intent.

    Eunuch Lu¡¯s expression changed as he said, ¡°Sect Master Yun, we are allies. This is different from what we agreed on.¡±

    ¡°It''s only because we''re allies that I didn¡¯t take your life,¡± Yun Jianyue said coldly. ¡°The empress dowager and I were fighting an honorable battle, and yet you ambushed her from behind. Is that something I would do? Just that alone is already enough for me to take your life.¡±

    Then, she turned around to look at Liu Ning, saying, ¡°You should leave first. Whether or not you can escape will depend on your own luck.¡±

    Liu Ning gave her a look of shock. She firmly engraved this favor deep in her heart as she said, ¡°Thank you!¡± As the empress dowager, she wasn¡¯t the type to waste time. She immediately leaped out of the empress pce.

    Eunuch Lu reflexively wanted to chase after her, but Yun Jianyue took a step to the side to stand in his way.

    ¡°Sect Master Yun, the only reason I joined you was because of her highness, the empress dowager. Now that you¡¯ve let her go, where does that leave me?!¡± Eunuch Lu eximed, his eyes full of anger.

    Yun Jianyue said with a sneer, ¡°I don''t know who you made that agreement with, but I was only in charge of dealing with her highness. Nothing else is my business. Whether or not those people can capture the empress dowager will depend on heaven¡¯s will, but you can''t go.¡±

    Eunuch Lu¡¯s entire body shook. His emotions were clearly on the verge of exploding. In the end, he took a deep breath and calmed down before turning around and leaving. He had just watched the battle between the empress dowager and Yun Jianyue. This witch seemed to only be a step away from the earth immortal rank now. He wouldn¡¯t be able to win against her. Furthermore, when he thought about the uncontroble disgust in her eyes and the murderous reputation she had, he didn¡¯t doubt for a moment that she would just kill him despite being allies, just because she wanted to.

    When she looked at his stooped figure and thought about their conversation, Yun Jianyue couldn''t help but scoff, her expression full of disdain. ¡°Disgusting!¡±

    ...

    Meanwhile, when Liu Ning left her pce, she wanted to call the Imperial Pce Guards, but she saw that the empress¡¯ chambers were brightly lit, with two armies fighting. Even the Embroidery House had troops there. When she recalled the fire at Cloud Dragon Gate, her heart sank to rock bottom. Since even Eunuch Lu had betrayed her, there was definitely something wrong with his brother Lu He. After all, Lu He was the Left Guard General, someone who was in charge of half of the Imperial Pce¡¯s security.

    No wonder even though she had fought for so long on her side, no guards had arrived to provide reinforcements. So there were already problems within the entire Imperial Pce. However, she had no idea who was rebelling. They had actually colluded with the Devil Sect and converted Eunuch Lu! Perhaps there weren''t any safe ces left in the entire Imperial Pce.

    She gritted her teeth and ran out of the pce. At the same time, her thoughts moved quickly. The only one with the power and motive to do all of this was the Bi n. But what was going on with the fight over by Bi Linglong¡¯s side?

    She recalled the usations of misconduct a few days prior. Back then, she had already sensed that something was brewing in the capital. She''d told the Liu n¡¯s people to be on high alert. And yet today, something so major had happened, but she hadn¡¯t received a single bit of intelligence on it. Just what were they doing while they were supposed to be on high alert?!

    When she recalled her father and uncle¡¯s usual unreliable appearances, Liu Ning nearly erupted into curses. ¡°They¡¯re useless idiots, as expected!¡±

    Even so, there was nothing she could do. The Liu n was her true backing. She could only reunite with them first, then take their time in discussing what to do after. However, she didn¡¯t act rashly; instead, she entered a private house and looked in the Liu manor¡¯s direction. She saw mes rush into the skies, and she could hear sounds of fighting even from all the way where she was. Her hands and feet turned ice-cold.

    <i>Right, since they attacked me, that means it¡¯s a huge plot. How could they possibly leave the Liu n alone?</i>

    If she ran over to the Liu manor too, she would just be walking right into their trap.

    Suddenly, a shout came from nearby. ¡°The traitor ran that way!¡±

    Liu Ning turned around and saw a group of soldiers aiming arrows at her. Her expression changed. She quickly kicked off the ground and continued to run. Arrows fell behind her again and again.

    However, she suddenly groaned. There was no way she couldpletely avoid such a concentrated barrage of arrows while being seriously injured; an arrow hadnded in her lower back.

    Even though she could still kill that small troop of soldiers, she didn¡¯t dare to stop. She knew that if they surrounded her, an unending stream of soldiers would rush over. She would have no chance to escape again. She recognized that these soldiers had been stationed outside the capital. She wondered just how many of the capital¡¯s military officers were a part of this rebellion.

    She continued to move through the streets and alleys. Many times, she just barely managed to shake off some pursuing troops, only for another group to rush at her. It was to the extent that her entire body was filled with a sense of loss. The capital was normally sorge, and yet right now, she had no idea where she could hide herself.

    She thought about running to the academy. Zu An was the libationer, and the academy¡¯s teachers had always remained neutral. They definitely wouldn¡¯t join this rebellion. But she quickly realized that if she could think of that, why wouldn¡¯t the enemy? There would definitely be soldiers hiding around the path to the academy, waiting for her to walk right in.

    As for the regent manor, Zu An wasn¡¯t there right now, so there was nothing she could rely on there. It would also be carefully watched by the enemy.

    One after another, different ces popped up in her mind, but she rejected them one after another. When she was near the point of absolute despair, however, she suddenly thought of something.

    <i>That ce should be safe.</i>

    She gritted her teeth, then ran in a certain direction.

    ...

    Meanwhile, in the Sang manor, Sang Qien was trying to appease the crying daughter in her arms as she stared gravely at the capital¡¯s surging mes. She asked, ¡°Father, just what is happening?¡±

    Sang Hong¡¯s expression was also grave as he said, ¡°If it¡¯s something this big, that means the capital will likely change greatly soon. Close the windows and don¡¯t go anywhere tonight, to avoid being caught up in it.¡± n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The maids were all trembling as they hurriedly checked the doors and windows.

    Sang Qien said worriedly, ¡°No wonder there were so many unfamiliar faces around the capital recently. I wonder which side is causing all this chaos? But the court should be under Ah Zu¡¯s control right now. Don¡¯t tell me he''s the one they are going against?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll know tomorrow morning. None of us are going to sleep tonight. We¡¯ll remain vignt through the night,¡± Sang Hong said seriously. The women all nodded. How could they still sleep in this kind of situation?

    When she saw Sang Qien¡¯s anxious expression, Zheng Dan took Sisi from her arms, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Qienqien. Even if these people came for Ah Zu, it wouldn¡¯t be a big deal even if they seeded. Ah Zu is so strong that as long as he returns, they''ll all be one-sidedly defeated. All of these treacherous people will naturally disappear too.¡±

    ¡°But Ah Zu went to the Fiend races¡¯ sealednd and we haven¡¯t heard anything from him after all this time. I¡¯m worried that something might have happened to him.¡± After saying that, Sang Qien felt more and more worried.

    A gentle smile appeared on Zheng Dan¡¯s face as she said, ¡°That guy is so mischievous and cunning, and he now has his ridiculous cultivation level. It has only ever been his enemies who were in danger. When has anything ever happened to him? He''ll definitely return safely.¡±

    Sang Qien wanted to say something else when a noise came from the back courtyard. It was as if something heavy had fallen.

    Their expressions changed and they quickly ran over. When they arrived, they saw a stunning woman copsed in a puddle of blood under the moonlight¡¯s illumination.

 Chapter 2111: Indecent Swords

    <h4>Chapter 2111: Indecent Swords</h4>

    ¡°Be careful!¡± Sang Hong said, his expression grave. He quickly activated his ki and slowly approached. When he finally saw the person¡¯s appearance, his expression changed as he called out, ¡°Empress dowager?¡±

    Sang Qien and Zheng Dan were both shocked. They had never expected this beautiful woman with so many wounds on her body to actually be the empress dowager! In that instant, countless thoughts appeared in their minds. If even the empress dowager had suffered such serious injuries, it seemed the Imperial Pce had already reached a certain degree of chaos.

    Also, why had the empress dowager run all the way here? They didn¡¯t seem to have any form of rtionship.

    Just then, Liu Ning¡¯s lips twitched, as if she wanted to say something. Since men and women needed to watch their interactions with each other, Sang Hong couldn''t really touch her. Zheng Dan handed Sisi to Sang Qien and squatted down to support Liu Ning, asking, ¡°What happened, your highness?¡±

    Liu Ning looked at Zheng Dan''s beautiful oval face.

    <i>As expected, that guy Zu An¡¯s beauty standard is always first-rate.</i>

    However, she was incredibly weak and could only say, ¡°I am Zu... Zu An¡¯s woman...¡±

    Afterward, she could no longer endure her injuries and fainted. Everyone else was left baffled just like that.

    When Zheng Dan had somewhat recovered from her shock, she asked in a trembling voice, ¡°I... didn¡¯t hear wrongly just now, did I?¡±

    Sang Qien¡¯s expression also changed continuously between shock and embarrassment. She said, ¡°I think... I also... heard wrongly."

    Even so, they knew fully well that they were all cultivators. Even though the empress dowager''s voice was soft, how could they not have heard it well?

    Sang Hong¡¯s old face was now full of amazement.

    <i>That kid Zu An really is fickle in love! My own daughter and daughter-inw have already been stolen... ahem, I seem to have given out my daughter on my own. But I never expected him to be so daring that he would even dare to try to steal the empress dowager!</i>

    <i>If news of this got out, that would be enough for the entire n to be executed!</i>

    <i>That kid might be the only one in this entire world who would dare to do such a thing!</i>

    In her annoyance, Zheng Dan tossed away the woman in her arms, letting her fall heavily to the ground. She grumbled, ¡°What is wrong with this woman? She ran all the way to our ce just to say such weird things. Is there something wrong with her head?!¡±

    Sang Qien sighed and said, ¡°She is the empress dowager, and yet her injuries are so severe. It¡¯s obvious that the rebellion was directed at the Liu n. Judging from how injured she is, she clearly had to fight her way out of an encirclement and had nowhere else to go, so that''s why she came to us.¡±

    ¡°The capital has so many ces. What do you mean she has nowhere else to go? Doesn¡¯t the Liu n normally always strut around? Why is she running over to us? Are we even that close to her?¡± Zheng Dan replied as she continued to pace back and forth in the courtyard, clearly in a terrible mood. At the same time, she was actually starting to respect this sister-inw of hers. Sang Qien had actually managed to piece together the truth with just a few words.

    Sang Qien gave her a look and said, ¡°Why do you think the empress dowager would say those strange words before going unconscious? It¡¯s probably because there''s already no ce left in the entire capital that she trusts. Only our ce is left, and the only reason that she trusts us should be because she knows that we...¡± She gave her father an embarrassed look before continuing, ¡°Because she knows about our rtionship with Ah Zu and that we won¡¯t harm her.¡±

    Zheng Dan eximed angrily, ¡°What right does she have to do that? Does she really think that we won¡¯t harm her just because of that? Even if we don¡¯t harm her, that doesn¡¯t mean we should take the risk to save her!

    ¡°That guy Ah Zu really is something. Does he not have any back at home? He just had to go around and fondle other flowers.¡±

    Sang Qien gave her an upset look.

    <i>Did she forget that we aren¡¯t Ah Zu¡¯s own proper wives either? We were also the result of his ¡®flower fondling¡¯.</i>

    ¡°Also, Ah Zu really isn¡¯t picky. He even wants a woman this old!¡± Zheng Dan got angrier the more she spoke. But in the end, she gave the empress dowager on the ground another look and had to admit that she was indeed beautiful.

    <i>Her ass is so big and perky...</i>

    <i>Ahhh, I¡¯m getting more and more upset!</i>

    Sang Hong finally said, ¡°Regardless of what reason she has toe here, I don¡¯t think we should keep her here. She is someone from the pce, and furthermore the respected empress dowager. The fact that she is injured to this extent means that the Liu n ispletely done for. Those rebels will definitely search everywhere for her whereabouts. We¡¯ll only be bringing trouble onto ourselves if we keep her here.¡±

    Sang Qien shook her head, saying, "We can''t do that. Since she came all the way here, she has a close rtionship with Ah Zu. How can we just watch without doing anything? Otherwise, if Ah Zu returns and finds out what happened, he''ll definitely me us.¡±

    A hint of viciousness flickered across Sang Hong¡¯s face as he replied, ¡°Won¡¯t it be fine as long as he doesn¡¯t know? We can just silence her, or throw her out on the street. There¡¯ll definitely be rebels who will help us take care of things.¡± n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Now, Zheng Dan also spoke up. ¡°Ah Zu might not know, but we''d never have a clear conscience. We wouldn¡¯t be able to face Ah Zu anymore. Besides, if it were me in her situation and I looked for other sisters while on the verge of death, I definitely wouldn¡¯t want that to happen to me.¡±

    Sang Hong¡¯s expression changed. He asked, ¡°But do you know the price that has to be paid for letting her stay? If the rebel army found out... We still have Sisi to think of. Not a single one of us would survive! You have to take responsibility for everyone¡¯s safety!¡±

    Sang Qien took a deep breath before saying, ¡°Father, I understand your misgivings, but this is something I can''t watch as a bystander. We must save her.¡±

    Sang Hong¡¯s expression changed several times. In the end, he said with a sigh, ¡°Love truly is irrational.¡±

    Afterward, his figure flickered and he disappeared outside the courtyard wall.

    Zheng Dan eximed in surprise, ¡°What is he doing?¡±

    Sang Qien stopped her, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, father left to clean up after the traces that the empress dowager left behind. Otherwise, the rebel army soldiers would easily track her to us.¡±

    When she looked at the scars on the empress dowager¡¯s body, Zheng Dan was starting to feel a bit of admiration. She said, ¡°Sir Sang really is tough on the outside, but soft on the inside. He is the most meticulous after all.¡±

    Sang Qien said with a bitter smile, ¡°Father¡¯s personality is exceedingly rational. It was only because he couldn''t persuade us that he ended up ying along with our nonsense.¡±

    They gave the empress dowager on the ground another look. Both girls harrumphed at the same time.

    ¡°It¡¯s all that yboy Ah Zu¡¯s fault!¡±

    Then, Zheng Dan picked up Liu Ning and hid her in a secret room. This whole affair was too important, so they couldn''t even let the manor¡¯s servants and maids see. They could only take care of things between the two sisters themselves.

    The two women undid Liu Ning¡¯s clothes and treated her injuries. When they did so, the entire room seemed to brighten a bit. Zheng Dan couldn''t help but say with a snort, ¡°Her skin really is good. She¡¯s already so old, just how does she do it? No wonder that guy Zu An couldn''t hold himself back.¡±

    When Sang Qien heard that Zheng Dan wasn¡¯t even calling him Ah Zu anymore, she couldn''t help but smile with amusement. She said, ¡°The empress dowager was incredibly famous in the capital in the past. Now that she''s a grandmaster, her body doesn¡¯t age like a normal madam''s would.¡±

    ¡°Is this the massive butt rumored to easily bear sons? And yet even after all these years, we¡¯ve never heard of her giving birth to anyone, neither male nor female,¡± Zheng Dan said; she took out some medicine and pressed it against Liu Ning¡¯s body while giving the empress dowager''s butt a p. That shocking sticity made even her tremble.

    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t treat the empress dowager with disrespect!¡± Sang Qien reflexively said, startled.

    Zheng Dan smiled ambiguously and replied, ¡°What empress dowager? She''s nothing more than a boorish woman who''s trying to steal our man.¡±

    ¡°Maybe you have a point...¡± Sang Qien said, blushing. Then, she also gave Liu Ning¡¯s bottom a p, producing a white wave. She clicked her tongue in amazement. ¡°It really is big!¡±

    As someone from a distinguished n, she had been taught to follow the rules inflexibly and remain absolutely loyal to the royal family. Who would have thought that she would actually do something so unfilial to the empress dowager?!

    ¡°I really wonder just what this woman eats to get that big.¡± Zheng Dan harrumphed. However, her hands didn¡¯t stop continuing to apply medicine on Liu Ning¡¯s body. ¡°Hmph, these were medicines that Ah Zu prepared for us in the past, and yet we¡¯re actually using it all on this woman.¡±

    ¡°Exactly!¡± Sang Qien felt as if she had just opened the door to a brand new world. She gave that perky bottom another strike.

    Zheng Dan couldn''t hold herself back and gave Liu Ning¡¯s breast a squeeze.

    <i>Wow! Mine aren¡¯t that small either, but this woman is actually so impressive. Maybe only Manman can win against her.</i>

    The unconscious Liu Ning seemed to have sensed something. Maybe it was because of the pain of her injuries, or because of their movements, but she couldn''t help but groan.

    The two women shivered, their faces turning red.

    ¡°Look at this woman moan. No wonder Ah Zu was bewitched by her.¡± Zheng Dan scowled. She took a dab of ointment and threw it right onto the empress dowager''s body.

    Sang Qien was a bit dejected too. She was now wondering if maybe she was a bit too bashful when she was with Ah Zu, as she didn¡¯t even dare to loudly speak her real feelings. And yet each time, the more she acted like that, the more Ah Zu seemed to go on the offensive, forcing her to speak up.

    <i>Maybe that¡¯s what he likes?</i>

    ...

    The mood in the room was a bit heavy. The two of them silently applied the medicine and patched up her wounds. But as they saw just how many injuries Liu Ning had suffered, the two women¡¯s hostility also gradually lessened.

    ¡°Just how many battles did she have to fight in order to receive so many injuries?¡± Sang Qien wondered worriedly.

    ¡°Exactly! She¡¯s a grandmaster, you know? And yet she was still injured this badly. If it were the two of us, we might¡¯ve already died eight hundred times over,¡± Zheng Dan said, starting to feel a bit of admiration.

    If the rebel army dared to go against the empress dowager, they had definitely prepared a powerful cultivator of the same level, and they would even have needed a numbers advantage. Even after all of that, this woman had still been able to escape from a situation of inevitable death like that. As expected of one of Ah Zu¡¯s women!

    <i>Hm? What is this mysterious sense of pride I¡¯m suddenly feeling?</i>

    The two of them had already finished patching up her injuries, but they knew that the most important wound was still the one around her waist. Half of Liu Ning''s body was already covered in ayer of ice, and that was most likely due to the effects of some sinister palm force.

    The two women both used their ki. One of them took Liu Ning''s hand, while the other sent ki into Liu Ning¡¯s body. The two women¡¯s aptitudes were genius-ss among their peers to begin with. Furthermore, Zu An had used a secret method to clear up their meridians and even used spiritual medicines to improve their aptitude. The two of them had even secretlypeted against each other, so their cultivation speeds had improved tremendously.

    Roughly two hourster, they both broke out into a shiver. They let go of Liu Ning¡¯s hand.

    ¡°I can¡¯t do this anymore! It¡¯s way too cold,¡± Zheng Dan hugged her arms and said in a shaking voice. The cold poison in Liu Ning''s body was too strong, and the cultivation of the one who had used it was extremely high. Even though their own cultivation ranks weren¡¯t low, they were still too young and had only had their aptitudes raised not too long ago. The difference was still too great.

    ¡°I can¡¯t take it anymore either.¡± Sang Qien¡¯s teeth were chattering. ¡°But we¡¯ve already helped her remove some of the cold poison, and we¡¯ll help her dispel a bit each day. The rest will be up to her.¡±

    ¡°I guess you¡¯re right. Hmph, how could a glorious grandmaster be so useless?¡± Zheng Dan muttered as she felt a cold wave surge through her body. She quickly spread her arms and hugged Sang Qien. ¡°Qienqien, please stay with me. I feel so cold.¡±

    ¡°Me too,¡± Sang Qien said. She and Zheng Dan usually hugged each other when they slept together. They had still been pretty embarrassed at first, but now, they instinctively held each other tightly, borrowing each other for warmth.

    The two of them thought of something. They took out the Yin Yang Swords Zu An had given them and pressed them together. They borrowed the yin and yang force to remove the cold from their bodies. An hourter, the two of them opened their eyes. They felt that a lot of the coldness had disappeared, and they no longer felt as if they were in a frozen cer like before.

    Just then, their internal energies flowed naturally between each other. On top of that, with the harmonizing of yin and yang energy, the way they looked at each other now was much more intimate. For some reason, a trace of redness appeared on their faces. They looked into each other''s eyes, and they unknowingly moved their faces closer and closer.

    Right when their lips were about to touch, Sang Hong suddenly knocked on the door and called out, ¡°Qienqien, how are things looking down there?¡±

    The two women felt as if they had been pricked by a needle. They instantly separated in rm. Sang Qien replied in a bit of panic, ¡°Noth... Nothing happened. We were helping the empress dowager with her injuries. Her other injuries are fine, but the cold poison inside her body is really strong.¡±

    ¡°You have to be careful too. Don¡¯t force it!¡± Sang Hong hurriedly warned her.

    ¡°Okay,¡± Sang Qien replied quietly.

    ¡°I¡¯ll wait for you guys outside,¡± Sang Hong said, his footsteps receding into the distance.

    Only now did the two women look at each other again. They saw each other''s necks be red. When they thought of what had just happened, they both looked at the Yin Yang Swords in their hands, then threw them away.

    ¡°What kind of stupid swords are these? They actually have such an effect,¡± Zheng Dan said angrily.

    ¡°Yeah, these swords are really weird.¡± Sang Qien¡¯s face also reddened.

    ¡°That guy Ah Zu, really! Even the weapons he gave us are indecent just like him!¡± The two women quickly began to denounce Zu An.

    ...

    Meanwhile, Bi Linglong was reading through the memorial to the emperor when she suddenly heard the activity in the pce. She couldn''t help but frown, asking, ¡°Momo, what happened outside?¡±

    Rong Mo quickly ran in, saying, ¡°There seems to be a fire by Cloud Dragon Gate. I wonder if there are assassins.¡±

    ¡°Assassins? What assassins would be that audacious?¡± Bi Linglong¡¯s beautiful brows furrowed as she instructed, ¡°Continue to look into it.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± Rong Mo quickly ran out.

    Normally, even if there were assassins, Bi Linglong didn¡¯t need to worry too much because of the strict security around her. But for some reason, she just felt a bit uneasy and could no longer continue her work. She got up and walked outside. As soon as she walked through the entrance and looked toward Cloud Dragon Pce, she felt some terrifying st wavesing from another direction.

    Bi Linglong looked in that direction and was horrified, murmuring, ¡°That¡¯s the direction of the empress dowager¡¯s pce!¡±

    Shockwaves that intense could only be from a battle at the grandmaster level. Sure enough, under the moonlight, she saw a dancing figure with long hair. She immediately realized who it was.

    ¡°Devil Sect Master Yun Jianyue!¡±

    The impression Yun Jianyue had left her with back when she invaded the pce was too deep. Unfortunately, Zhao Han was no longer in the pce to stop her. Furthermore, Zu An wasn¡¯t in the pce either.

    Even though Bi Linglong normally always argued with the empress dowager, if the honorable empress dowager was assassinated by the Devil Sect Master, the entire empire would lose too much dignity. She picked up her weapon and said, ¡°Men, send messages to the pce armies to strictly defend their stations. Furthermore, send some people to assist the empress dowager¡¯s pce!¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± Her subordinates quickly ran out to pass on the message. However, as soon as they reached the exit, they quickly backed up step by step.

 Chapter 2112: A Dilemma

    <h4>Chapter 2112: A Dilemma</h4>

    Bi Linglong narrowed her eyes as she noticed a group of pce guards moving in their direction. She called out, ¡°General Zhao, what is the meaning of this?¡±

    The leader of the group was Zhao Si. He was actually a senior of the royal family, but suddenly leading troops over to the empress pce really was a bit strange.

    Zhao Si bowed and said, ¡°I greet the empress. There is someone invading the pce, so this general brought my troops to protect your highness!¡±

    Bi Linglong¡¯s brows furrowed as she replied, ¡°No need. This empress is extremely safe here and doesn¡¯t need your help. It is the empress dowager¡¯s pce that seems to be the main target of the assassins¡¯ attacks. Hurry and provide her with reinforcements instead.¡±

    Zhao Si didn¡¯t move at all, saying, ¡°This general¡¯s duty is to protect your highness. As for the empress dowager, there are others who will save her.¡±

    Bi Linglong remained silent for a few seconds. Suddenly, she asked, ¡°In that case, why are you stopping this empress¡¯ messenger guards?¡±

    ¡°Please forgive me, your highness, but the pce is currently in chaos and the situation is unclear. There might be people colluding with the enemy from within. In order to minimize the chaos, the generals are all guarding their respective positions and carrying out a strict lockdown everywhere. That way, there will be nowhere for the traitors to go!¡± Zhao Si replied.

    ¡°Are you saying that this empress¡¯ subordinate guards might have also colluded with the enemy?¡± Bi Linglong retorted with a sneer.

    ¡°This general wouldn¡¯t dare,¡± Zhao Si said. Despite that, he didn¡¯t show any intention of moving aside.

    ¡°In that case, then, this empress will personally go out on a visit. You can¡¯t possibly im that I am colluding with the enemy, right?¡± Bi Linglong got up and walked out.

    However, Zhao Si raised his hand to stop her. ¡°Your highness, please do not make things difficult for us!¡±

    ¡°How audacious! You dare block the empress¡¯ path?!¡± The fiery-tempered Rong Mo could no longer take it. She nted her arms on her waist and berated Zhao Si.

    The guard captains Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun also voiced their agreement. The other guards drew their weapons and faced the other side with unhappy expressions. Even though Zhao Si was part of the royal family, Bi Linglong was the empress. Zhao Si was a nobody inparison!

    Zhao Si¡¯s expression changed slightly as he said, ¡°We are also acting on orders. If your highness insists on causing trouble, you will force us to act rudely.¡±

    With a wave of his hand, his subordinates aimed their weapons at the empress pce¡¯s people as well, creating an atmosphere of mutual hostility.

    Bi Linglong gave the soldiers a look and sneered. She walked forward as she remarked, ¡°I wonder whose orders you are acting on? Are you thinking of rebelling?!¡±

    Ever since she became the crown princess, practically everything in the Eastern Pce had fallen under her management. Now that she was the empress, her authority was even greater than before. She already carried the dignity of a ruler. Her usual decisions were swift and decisive, with clear separation of punishment and rewards, to the extent that many of the imperial guards respected her greatly. Now that they were watching her walk toward them, Zhao Si¡¯s pce guard subordinates swallowed with difficulty and continued to back up for fear of hurting her.

    Suddenly, a cold and indifferent voice barked, ¡°We are, of course, acting on his majesty¡¯s orders!¡±

    Li Guanshi led arge group of Tiger Guardian soldiers their way. With them joining the fray, Zhao Si¡¯s subordinates immediately regained confidence. They no longer cowered, and pressed forward a few steps instead.

    The empress pce''s guards had initially held a numbers advantage, but now that more forces had joined the other side, the advantage immediately shifted to the opposition.

    ¡°His majesty?¡± Bi Linglong¡¯s expression changed as she recognized Li Guanshi. She naturally knew that Zhao Ruizhi wouldn¡¯t give such an order, but he was too stupid. He¡¯d inevitably be fooled by others. Thus, she asked, ¡°Then I wonder what orders they are?¡±

    Li Guanshi cupped his hands and said, ¡°The Liu n has colluded with the Fiend races and attempted to bring upon the downfall of our empire. Our loyal subjects are currently capturing those traitors.¡±

    They had deliberately used Zu An to incite and anger the emperor in order to get the emperor¡¯s seal, but they all knew that Zu An had killed an earth immortal and eradicated the Meng n. His undefeated image was too cemented in the hearts of the people. Furthermore, there were too many forces that were on friendly terms with Zu An. Rashly iming his rebellion would easily incur harsh retaliation. As such, they''d nned to get rid of the Liu n first. Once they established a foothold, they would then slowly whittle away Zu An¡¯s power.

    As soon as those words were spoken, everyone in the empress pce broke out into amotion. They had never expected to hear such news!

    Bi Linglong¡¯s expression changed several times. With her ability and wisdom, she instantly thought of many possibilities. No wonder she''d felt that something wasn¡¯t quite right in the capital. So it turneds out people had been plotting this affair.

    <i>My father and older brother are probably a part of this plot too.</i>

    <i>There¡¯s also King Wu¡¯s side. He''s full of ambition and is clearly contributing to the chaos.</i>

    Even though she normally didn¡¯t get along with Liu Ning, she couldn''t bring herself to feel happy about this at all.

    <i>Father probably knew that I most likely wouldn¡¯t agree, so he deliberately kept it from me.</i>

    <i>Are they insane? Did they forget about what happened to the Meng n?</i>

    She suddenly remembered something. Her father seemed to have killed the previous dynasty¡¯s princes and concubines. Could it be because he felt that he was already too deeply involved, and that Zu An would one day get revenge if he found out the truth, so he struck first to gain the upper hand?

    <i>But where does that leave me?!</i>

    On one side were her father and brothers, and on the other was the one she loved. Bi Linglong suddenly felt a deep sense of powerlessness.

    ¡°General Li, you really did hide your true colors well,¡± Bi Linglong said through gritted teeth. This Li Guanshi was usually a quiet person who put on quite the loyal and devoted act. She''d never expected that he had already be the chess piece of some power a long time ago! She wondered if he worked for the Bi n, or if he had been bought out by King Wu.

    ¡°Your highness overpraises me,¡± Li Guanshi said calmly. He didn¡¯t even try to argue.

    Just then, another group of men hurried over. The eyes of those on the empress¡¯ side immediately lit up, because they recognized those men to be the Armed Escort Army - the regent Zu An¡¯s personal forces! The two generals in the lead were none other than the Armed Escort Army Deputy Generals Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang.

    ¡°Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang greet your highness the empress!¡± The two bowed to Bi Linglong to directly express their stance. They began to spread out around Li Guanshi¡¯s Tiger Guardian Army.

    As it t urned out, they had immediately gone on the alert as soon as something happened in the Imperial Pce, and had quickly gathered their subordinates to assemble. After the two of them privately discussed everything that was happening, they''d quickly realized what was going on. Cloud Dragon Gate seemed to have encountered some sudden developments, and there were assassins by the empress dowager pce. At the same time, the pce¡¯s military also seemed to be moving really strangely.

    Wang Bolin had wanted to bring their people to save the empress dowager. After all, Zu An¡¯s rtionship with the empress dowager was normally really good.

    However, Zhang Zijiang had stopped him, saying, ¡°Brother Wang, you need to take a moment to consider just who could even touch the empress dowager in the first ce.¡±

    ¡°Are you talking about the empress?¡± Wang Bolin¡¯s expression changed.

    ¡°Apart from the empress and the Bi n, who else would have such guts?¡± Zhang Zijiang replied with a bitter smile.

    Wang Bolin had felt as if he was about to go mad. Zu An and the empress dowager were political allies, but he was simrly close to the empress. Furthermore, he had evene from the Eastern Pce in the first ce, so he was supposed to be a bit closer to that side than even the empress dowager. Who were they supposed to help then?

    It was Zhang Zijiang who hade up with a n, saying, ¡°The situation in the pce is currently unclear. How about we head over to the empress¡¯ pce to ask her for advice? We¡¯ll make a decision after seeing the situation over there.¡± n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Wang Bolin had agreed to that n, and the two of them quickly brought the Armed Escort Army over. Then, even from afar, they had seen that there was an army that was surrounding the empress¡¯ pce! As such, they decided to surround those forces with their own men.

    ¡°Please hurry and rise!¡± Bi Linglong said, overjoyed to see these two. With their help, the situation in the pce could have a chance to stabilize.

    Li Guanshi eximed loudly, ¡°Wang Bolin, Zhang Zijiang, are the two of you nning to revolt?!¡±

    Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang said with a sneer, ¡°Li Guanshi, you¡¯ve brought so many people to surround the empress¡¯ personal pce. That''s closer to what a rebellion looks like, right?¡±

    Li Guanshi raised a golden medal, saying, ¡°I am acting on his majesty¡¯s orders to protect her highness with my troops. What crimes have Imitted?¡±

    The expressions of everyone in the Armed Escort Army changed when they saw that golden medal, because that was indeed the personal token that the emperor carried with him. As such, this order was equivalent to the emperor¡¯s own words.

    ¡°Long live his majesty!¡± Everyone present could only bow down in greeting. Even though they all knew that the emperor was a stupid puppet, they didn¡¯t dare to ck off on the proper etiquette.

    Li Guanshi then said, ¡°Wang Bolin, Zhang Zijiang, make sure to guard your positions with your own troops. No one is to move around without his majesty¡¯s own orders, or else you will be punished for treason.¡±

    Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang¡¯s expressions changed. If they weren¡¯t allowed to go anywhere, didn¡¯t that mean the empress dowager¡¯s side...

    They quickly gave Bi Linglong a pleading look, hoping for some instructions from her.

    Bi Linglong¡¯s expression changed greatly. She knew that today¡¯s affairs had to be her father¡¯s plot. Could it be that she really did have to ruin his ns? Still, if they were really allowed to do as they wished and end up provoking Ah Zu, the consequences would be too horrible to imagine.

    <i>Why did father act without thinking properly like this? Did he really forget how the Meng n and King Dai were finished?</i>

    <i>But father has never been the exceedingly rash type. He definitely took Ah Zu¡¯s strength into consideration.</i>

    <i>Could it be that he still has something else to rely on? But there aren¡¯t any opponents who couldpare to Ah Zu!</i>

    Her expression changed greatly. But when she recalled what had happened between her and Zu An, and the vow she''d made in the past, she made up her mind. She took a deep breath before shouting coldly, ¡°Armed Escort Army, heed my orders!¡±

    Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang were rmed. They both stood tall and replied loudly, ¡°We will carefully obey your highness¡¯ orders!¡±

    The situation in the Imperial Pce was too chaotic, and they couldn''t figure out what was really going on. However, they still remembered one thing well, which was that they were the regent¡¯s troops. They would only listen to the orders of the regent¡¯s personal people. And as far as they knew, the one closest to the regent in the Imperial Pce was none other than the empress, and the second was the empress dowager. There was no way following the empress here would be wrong.

    Li Guanshi¡¯s expression changed. He asked, ¡°Your highness, what are you trying to do?¡±

    Bi Linglongpletely ignored him and said to Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang, ¡°Escort me to meet his majesty. This empress suspects that his majesty has been deceived by a crafty scoundrel and is currently in danger.¡±

    From that act, one could see how talented and brilliant she was. She didn¡¯t say that she was going to save the empress dowager, but rather said that she was going to meet the emperor. Everyone in the capital knew that she and the emperor were united in honor and disgrace. Over the years, however, everything important had been achieved through her own efforts alone. That was why in their eyes, she was the spokesperson for Zhao Ruizhi.

    Now that she was saying that she was visiting the emperor, such an action could only be interpreted as right and proper. There would definitely be no one who suspected her of carrying any ill will. Furthermore, once she met Zhao Ruizhi, she would be able topletely control him. If they acted with one will, unless these Pce Guards really had plotted a rebellion, who would still dare to go against her?

    Sure enough, Li Guanshi¡¯s expression changed when he heard what she said. The Tiger Guardian Army under him also looked at each other in dismay. In truth, apart from his few trusted aides, most of the soldiers didn¡¯t know what was going on either. They only listened to theirmander¡¯s orders. Previously, they''d still had the emperor¡¯s orders to rely on, but now, how were they still going to stop the empress?

    The Armed Escort Army¡¯s morale immediately shot up. They shouted loudly, ¡°We will obey!¡±

    Meanwhile, Li Guanshi could sense that his own subordinates¡¯ morale was dropping and immediately said, ¡°Your highness, his majesty¡¯s orders are for your respected self to remain in your pce. We are in charge of your highness¡¯ safety, so I hope that your highness won¡¯t ce yourself in danger.¡±

    Bi Linglong walked forward with a sneer, retorting, ¡°What, do I need your approval to meet with his majesty too? You keep using all sorts of excuses to prevent me from meeting with his majesty. Could it be that you did something to him?¡±

    She had already carried a lot of awe and prestige while she was the crown princess, let alone now that she was the mother of this empire! At this rate, even many of the people in the Tiger Guardian Army who were starting to have doubts. As such, no one stopped her when she walked straight forward.

    Li Guanshi¡¯s expression changed several times. He pressed his hand against his de several times, but in the end, he didn¡¯t dare draw it. He knew that the Armed Escort Army troops were glowering at his side, and that his own soldiers were shaken. Even if hepelled his subordinates to use force to stop them, if there was a battle, they would definitely lose.

    However, if he really allowed the empress to meet the emperor, that stupid fatty didn¡¯t have an ounce of wits and would spill everything. At that point, he would be dead for sure. When he realized that, he no longer hesitated. He drew his de with one hand and held the emperor¡¯s golden medal in the other, calling out, ¡°Soldiers, obey my orders! I carry his majesty¡¯s orders, all who resist are to be regarded as traitors!¡±

    There wasn¡¯t even the slightest trace of fear visible on Bi Linglong¡¯s face. She said, ¡°The emperor¡¯s current condition is unknown. Li Guanshi is faking his majesty¡¯s orders. Soldiers, arrest him!¡±

    When they heard those words, her subordinates Jiao Sigun and Piao Duandiao roared. The empress pce¡¯s soldiers all prepared for battle.

    Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang had already been prepared. They shouted, ¡°We willpletely obey the empress¡¯ orders!¡±

    The Armed Escort Army prepared to attack.

    It was actually the Tiger Guardian Army that wasn¡¯tpletely united. Apart from Li Guanshi¡¯s personal troops, who immediately drew their des, close to half of the other soldiers stood in ce,pletely at their wits'' end.

    Just as a battle was about to erupt, azy voice called out, ¡°What is going on here? What is everyone getting so worked up for?¡±

    The soldiers turned around and saw avishly dressed prince arrive with a group of soldiers.

    When she saw who it was, Bi Linglong¡¯s expression changed. It turned out this was her older brother Bi Ziang.

    Piao Duandiao was really happy to see him, saying, ¡°This is great! Now that the empress¡¯ older brother is here, victory is surely in our grasp!¡±

    Jiao Sigun chuckled, replying, ¡°It might not be. That¡¯s hard to say.¡±

    On the other side, Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang exchanged a look. They secretly said through voice transmission, ¡°It seems that it was indeed the Bi n who started this political struggle, targeting the empress dowager and the Liu n.

    ¡°The only confusing part is why the empress doesn¡¯t seem to understand the details, and seems to be in apletely different camp from them.¡±

    The two of them were high-ranking military officers in the pce, so they still had some degree of sensitivity. Bi Ziang was a subject who served outside the pce, so the fact that he had entered with troops in the middle of the night already answered many questions.

    Li Guanshi used the chance to say, ¡°Young master Bi, you¡¯vee at the perfect time. We bear the emperor¡¯s orders to ensure her highness¡¯ safety, and yet she insists on leaving. The outside is still extremely dangerous!¡±

    ¡°Who knows what the emperor¡¯s current situation is like? It could very well be that you just falsely created an imperial decree!¡± Bi Linglong retorted, still struggling with thest bit of effort. Even though she talked about Li Guanshi, she were staring straight at Bi Ziang, hoping to obtain some information from his attitude.

    Bi Ziang roared withughter and said, ¡°Little sister, you¡¯re worried about too many things! I just came from his majesty''s side. He did send Officer Li to protect you. Little sister, please empathize with his majesty¡¯s painstaking effort and don¡¯t put yourself in danger.¡±

    When she heard that, Bi Linglong¡¯s heart sank to rock bottom. It seemed this was indeed her father and brother¡¯s plot. What else could she do? Was she still going to use the same argument as before? But her older brother had just testified for Li Guanshi. If she continued with her story,wouldn¡¯t that be the same as saying that her own father and brother had rebelled? That way, even if this matter was resolved, the entire Bi n would face eradication.

    Her brother¡¯s words were more of a hint for her. He wasn¡¯t trying to tell her to empathize with the emperor at all, but rather reminding her to empathize with himself and their father.

 Chapter 2113: The Dust Has Settled Pt.1

    <h4>Chapter 2113: The Dust Has Settled Pt.1</h4>

    Thest sentence was even more of a direct threat. If she still decided to act brazenly, he wouldn¡¯t show any mercy either.

    Bi Linglong gave the surroundings a look. She only had the empress pce troops and the Armed Escort Army on her side, while Li Guanshi¡¯s Tiger Guardian Army and the soldiers her big brother had brought had an absolute numbers advantage. If they fought, there would be no chance of victory. She couldn''t just let her own and Ah Zu¡¯s soldiers die for nothing.

    When she realized that, she said with a sneer, ¡°In that case, I hope that Officer Li can send some people to properly ensure his majesty¡¯s safety.¡±

    After saying this, she turned around and walked into her own chambers. When they saw that, Li Guanshi and Bi Ziang sighed in relief.

    <i>Thank goodness the empress backed off, or else it could really have be tricky if we ended up fighting.</i>

    After Bi Linglong took a few steps, however, she suddenly stopped and said, ¡°Right, since the pce is so chaotic, Officer Wang, Officer Zhang, you two should also bring some troops to guard the surroundings and protect this pce.¡±

    Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang had anxious expressions, but they couldn''t help but feel happy to hear that. They replied, ¡°Understood!¡±

    As long-term soldiers of the pce, how could they not understand what was really going on? She said that she needed their protection, but the empress was actually protecting them. Otherwise, if they left, Li Guanshi and Bi Ziang could use the emperor¡¯s name to do whatever they wanted to them, while they would have no way of defending themselves. They could only wait like livestock waiting for ughter. If they remained by the empress pce, no matter what happened, her highness would protect them.

    Bi Ziang and Li Guanshi both frowned. They naturally saw through Bi Linglong¡¯s intentions. However, they were worried that if the Armed Escort Army was allowed to leave, that could create even more variables. Since they had finally settled the matter with great difficulty, they would just let her have her way here.

    ...

    Meanwhile, the Embroidery House also responded to the irregr events that were taking ce in the pce.

    Xiao Jianren summoned all of the Embroidered Envoys in the pce to discuss what to do. After being promoted by Zu An, he was the one with the highest status here. He looked at the Envoys and said, ¡°There seems to be turmoil unfolding in the pce. What does everyone think?¡±

    ¡°I am loyal to his majesty and the chiefmander. We will follow Sir Xiao¡¯s orders!¡± the envoys replied uniformly. Xiao Jianren nodded.

    Just then, a woman said, ¡°I went out to investigate just now. It seems that a battle took ce by Cloud Dragon Gate. Furthermore, there was intense activity in the empress dowager¡¯s personal pce. It seemed as if peak grandmasters were fighting. The strangest part of it all is the Pce Guards¡¯ reactions. They didn¡¯t immediately provide reinforcements, and instead guarded their own locations.¡±

    As soon as she stood up, her tall and slender figure immediately drew the others'' attention. This woman had been transferred from to the capital from the regional areas. As soon as she arrived, she''d immediately sought out Xiao Jianren, who had given her the identity of a silver token envoy.

    At the time, the others had criticized him for his decision, wondering if this woman was Xiao Jianren¡¯s ''close friend'' or something. After all, even though she wore a mask, they could tell that she was definitely a beauty just from her figure.

    One day, she had identally overheard those rumors. That day, she viciously beat up the guy who was gossiping. From then on, they all knew just how tough she was. Even though those long legs were beautiful, they really could kick someone to death.

    Eventually, it was Xiao Jianren who stepped forward to mediate things. In order to prevent further misunderstandings, he privately let out some information. After that, the others understood that this beauty with the long legs was actually a subordinate of the chiefmander. Who would dare to gossip anymore after that?

    From then on, Zhang Zitong had often taken the lead, charging in even more fervently than the men. Their enemies had suffered bitterly because of her. With that, the others were gradually convinced of her strength. They knew that she definitely hadn¡¯t earned her rank through her looks.

    When they heard what she said, many silver token envoys began to analyze things, thinking that if the pce¡¯s armies were acting so strangely, that meant that there was a huge conspiracy. However, there was no need for them to care about too many things, because they only needed to be responsible for the emperor.

    Of course, the current emperor was a bit... simple, so they listened more to the empress. After arming themselves, the group decided to seek further instructions from the empress.

    However, shortly after, a bronze token envoy reported, ¡°Sirs, an army has suddenly appeared andpletely surrounded the Embroidery House.¡±

    The Envoys eximed furiously, ¡°Absolutely preposterous! Who dares to act impudently here?¡±

    After all, the Embroidered Envoy always did their business as they wished. Whether it was the big shots of the world of warriors or the emperor¡¯s rtives, they wouldn¡¯t even dare to breathe too heavily around the Envoys. It was always they who troubled others; since when did anyone ever dare to show off in front of the Embroidery House like this?

    ...

    The group quickly rushed out with weapons in hand.

    Xiao Jianren touched the sses on his nose bridge; they were something the chiefmander had given him. He looked at the one in the lead and sneered. ¡°Zhao Yuan, the pce is in chaos, and yet what are you doing? You didn¡¯t bring your people to pacify the rebellion, and came here instead?¡±

    The one on the other side was none other than the leader of the Tiger Guardians, Zhao Yuan. He was in charge of the pce¡¯s most powerful guards, and he was also a member of the imperial n. He held the title of King Guangling. Unfortunately, the Embroidered Envoy didn¡¯t care about any of that. The Embroidered Envoy had investigated individuals of far higher status in the past, so there was naturally no need for Xiao Jianren to show too much courtesy.

    Zhao Yuan smiled and said, ¡°This king came to pass on the order to the armies to not willfully leave your stations, so as to make it easier for us to capture the traitors and purge them one by one.¡±

    The Embroidered Envoys looked at each other in dismay. No wonder it had been so unnaturally quiet in the pce before. So it was all because of his orders.

    ¡°I wonder who these traitors are?¡± Xiao Jianren replied, feeling a mysterious sense of unease.

    Zhao Yuan shook his head and said, ¡°The greater situation is still undecided. Before we receive his majesty¡¯s imperial orders, I cannot share any of these details.¡±

    Xiao Jianren said with a sneer, ¡°Even so, the Embroidered Envoy has always strictly followed his and her majesty; you do not have the authority to restrict us. Please move aside; we wish to meet his and her majesty.¡±

    Just then, Zhao Yuan raised his hand. A g suddenly rose behind him, bearing the image of a beast that resembled a tiger. Its entire body was brilliantly colored, and a strand of cloth formed a long tail that seemed even longer than its body.

    When they saw that g, the Embroidered Envoys were all surprised. They reflexively lowered the weapons in their hands. This was the Zouyu g that belonged exclusively to the emperor. Whenever there was danger, it was either used to issue a decree or control troops. Those who saw it had to immediately bow in respect and stop moving, or else they would be punished for crimes of disrespect.

    When he saw the Embroidered Envoys'' reaction, Zhao Yuan nodded in satisfaction. He said, ¡°This king has received orders from his and her majesty to inform all troops to guard their respective positions. Without his majesty¡¯s golden medal, they are not to leave. Do you have any more objections?¡±

    Xiao Jianren frowned. Even though he could sense that many of the Embroidered Envoys were dissatisfied, he could only say helplessly, ¡°We do not.¡±

    ¡°Alright. If you Embroidered Envoys do anything willfully, it will be Sir Xiao¡¯s responsibility,¡± Zhao Yuan said, then left behind some men to monitor the Embroidery House¡¯s surroundings before taking the remaining troops to other areas.

    Xiao Jianren could only issue the orders to lock down the Embroidery House, prohibiting anyone from leaving.

    ¡°Sir Xiao, are we really going to just wait here and do nothing?¡± Zhang Zitong couldn''t help but ask once they returned to the main hall.

    ¡°Exactly! When has our Embroidered Envoy ever had to endure something like this?¡± The others spoke up as well.

    ¡°These are the orders of the emperor and empress, and the chiefmander isn''t here. What else can we do?¡± Xiao Jianren replied with a sigh.

    ¡°But I just feel that there''s something fishy going on...¡± Zhang Zitong said with an expression full of worry.

    Xiao Jianren nodded, saying, ¡°The empress dowager has never received any help all this time. That really is fishy. We¡¯ll choose a few individuals to seek more information from his and her majesty.¡±

    Zhang Zitong immediately said, ¡°I¡¯ll go!¡±

    After some hesitation, Xiao Jianren shook his head. He chose a few others and said, ¡°You haven''t been in the pce for that long, and aren¡¯t as familiar with the situation here.¡± n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    <i>Since the chiefmander left her to me, how can I let something happen to her?</i>

    When she heard his rational pretext, Zhang Zitong couldn''t say much else. She could only watch from afar as mes surged in the pce, so she felt incredibly frustrated.

    <i>Why isn''t the chiefmandering back? If he were here, there¡¯s probably nothing he couldn¡¯t handle, right?</i>

    <i>Hm? Wait, the chiefmander and the Devil Sect master seem to have something going on. It¡¯s hard to even say which side he¡¯d end up helping out...</i>

    ...

    Meanwhile, inside the Liu manor, everything was aplete mess. Liu Guang and Liu Yao were sitting at the highest seats in disheveled clothes. Their clothes were covered in alcohol stains, and there were even some lipstick kiss marks on their faces. They had just been enjoying themselves withpany left and right, and only rushed back now after learning of what happened in the city.

    The Liu n¡¯s trusted aides had all gathered, and many people were discussing the situation below. As the Liu n¡¯s discussion hall became as noisy as a food market, their faces were flushed red with anger.

    ¡°Stop arguing already!¡± an older gentleman with the air of a teacher shouted. ¡°Let¡¯s hear what our two elders have to say!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, please give us instructions, elders.¡± Many of the trusted aides finally calmed down.

    ¡°Huh? What we have to say?¡± Liu Guang and Liu Yao replied a bit absent-mindedly. They were caught off guard and didn¡¯t really know what to say.

    The older gentleman coughed. He covered his mouth and passed on a ki transmission. ¡°Have theme forward one by one and speak their suggestions.¡±

    Liu Guang seemed to have woken up from his dreams and said, ¡°What Teacher Zhu says is right. Ahem, what does everyone think? Please share your thoughts one by one and not all at once. How does everyone think we should deal with the current situation?¡±

    A military officer stood up and said, ¡°I believe that we should immediately bring out troops to the Imperial Pce¡¯s Cloud Dragon Gate to provide reinforcements. Gao Ying and Li Mian are both managing the Pce Guards. If we coordinate both inside and outside, we should be able to quickly subdue the rebellion.¡±

    ¡°Officer Xie¡¯s words are reasonable!¡± Liu Guang replied with a nod, feeling that that was indeed a sensible suggestion.

    Just then, a civil official stood up and said, ¡°I don¡¯t think that is a good idea. It has already been some time since the fire began in Cloud Dragon Gate. There do not seem to be any signs of battle anymore, which means the conflict is already over. If Li Mian and Gao Ying won, it wouldn''t matter even if we didn¡¯t go. If they lost, that would be nothing more than walking into a trap.

    ¡°In my opinion, we should defend our position and wait for reinforcements. Once the sky brightens again, third elder will have received information and entered the city with his troops. We can then easily deal with any revolts.¡±

    The Liu n had three brothers. Liu Guang and Liu Yao upied high positions in the capital. After what happened to the Qin n, the Liu n had used the chance to seize the positions of Central Lead General and Central Protection General. The third brother Liu Ji had been promoted to Central Lead General and normally resided outside the city to keep the various factions in the capital in check. Furthermore, the Liu n¡¯s trusted aide Yuan Zhou had taken on the position of Central Protection General and was usually stationed inside the city.

    ¡°What Sir Ming says is correct,¡± Liu Guang said, nodding again. He felt that that analysis was a bit more rational.

    Another person got up and said, ¡°This n seems to be reliable, but it is too passive. We do not know what the situation in the capital is like, and there is still a long time before daybreak. That is enough time for too many variables to take ce. I think we should still have great general give the order for us to open up our arsenal and equip the people in their respective manors. We should contact General Yuan and try to control the city gates together so as to contain the rebel army inside the city. Once morninges, Third Elder can enter the city. We can take our time dealing with those bastards and capture them all in one go!¡±

    Liu Guang¡¯s eyes lit up as he said, ¡°Sir Xuan¡¯s thoughts are quite meticulous. That will ensure that the city gates are in our hands. Then, no matter what variables take ce, we can adapt to it."

    Everyone present grumbled inwardly.

    <i>Why does the great general think every n is good? This makes him seem as if he doesn¡¯t have his own opinions at all, right?</i>

    Just then, someone said, ¡°I think you are all still thinking too optimistically. It has already been so long, and yet there has been no news from the pce at all. Gao Ying and Li Mian are both diligent and experienced individuals. If there were any opportunity to do so, they would have definitely sent news over. Furthermore, General Yuan¡¯s army still has not appeared despite so much time already passing. I already fired a messenger arrow toward Third Elder outside the city, but there was no activity outside at all. All of this seems really abnormal.¡±

    ¡°What are you trying to say?¡± Liu Yao asked unhappily.

    <i>Why is what this guy is saying making it sound so scary?</i>

    That person¡¯s expression became grave as he continued, ¡°I believe that the ones who are causing trouble might have already seized the absolute advantage, and we have little chance of victory. We should immediately rush out of the city gates before theypletely surround us, and return to our own fiefdom. Then, we can gather all of our troops to fight back. We will also be able to stall for enough time for the regent to return. Then, with him here, no matter what kind of trouble takes ce this evening, it¡¯ll be easily resolved.¡±

    A huge uproar broke out when the others heard those words. After all, the prospect was a bit too horrifying.

 Chapter 2114: The Dust Has Settled Pt.2

    <h4>Chapter 2114: The Dust Has Settled Pt.2</h4>

    Liu Yao said reproachfully, ¡°Sir Yin, please do not try to harm our morale. The current situation isn¡¯t anywhere near as bad as what you are describing.¡±

    Liu Guang also said, ¡°That¡¯s right. Our brothers control all the soldiers of this world. The pce even has the empress dowager overseeing it, so we hold the advantage. How can we talk about fleeing so easily? From here on, if anyone chooses to run, they will immediately be executed without exception!¡±

    After all, not too long ago, he had even wanted to me the disappearance of the reinforcement army in the Fiend races'' territory on the regent. He had even ordered many of his own subordinates to denounce the regent. How could they suddenly turn around and rely on him?

    <i>That damn brat who still stinks of his mother¡¯s milk just got some lucky opportunities. We¡¯ve eaten more salt than he¡¯s eaten rice! Why would we need him to save us?</i>

    The strategist surnamed Yin shut his mouth, but his expression was quite angry.

    ...

    Then, many other strategists and military officers spoke. There were some in the Liu manor that mainly spoke words of ttery, but there were also those who really werepetent as well. There were many individuals with reasonable suggestions.

    Liu Guang sometimes felt that one idea was better, but then changed his mind and decided another was better. He just couldn''te to a decision.

    Sir Yin sneered when he saw that.

    <i>An immature person is not to be consulted in nning.</i>

    He stood up and said, ¡°Great general, I¡¯ll leave to inquire about the intelligence around the Imperial Pce for now. I¡¯ll also gather the n¡¯s guards to support us along the way.¡±

    Liu Guang nodded and said, ¡°Alright,e back quickly.¡±

    Sir Yin smiled, then strutted out the door.

    <i>Come back quickly? What,e back to follow you all into death?</i>

    As soon as he left, there were many experienced individuals who quickly caught on. They then all found various reasons to excuse themselves too.

    At first, Liu Guang reflexively agreed, butter, Teacher Zhu brought that to his attention, telling him that just under half of the hall was missing. He finally realized what was happening and roared, ¡°Those bastards! This old one treats them quite generously normally, and yet they''re all leaving me one after another at this vital time! If anyone else dares to leave, don¡¯t me me for being rude!¡±

    Quite a few of the remaining peopleined inwardly. They were regretting having hesitated earlier. Now, they couldn''t leave even if they wanted to.

    When Liu Guang finally chose a n of action and was about to leave, a servant suddenly ran over to report in rm, ¡°Elder, a huge army of men suddenly appeared outside. They havepletely surrounded our Liu manor withyer uponyer of men!¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Everyone in the room was horrified, especially Liu Guang. He regretted not making a decision sooner.

    Teacher Zhu suggested, ¡°We need to hurry and gather all of the Liu n¡¯s disciples. The moment of life and death has arrived!¡±

    ¡°Fine!¡± Liu Guang waved his hand and struck a bell in the main hall.

    An ear-piercing peal spread throughout the entire Liu manor; it was their highest-level alert. Not only would it inform every single person in the manor to prepare for battle, it would also contact the Liu n¡¯s friendly forces inside and out, and summon them toe to their aid. The Liu n still had more than a thousand men in total, including the guards and servants. Together with the Liu n¡¯s defensive structures and high-level formations, they would still be able to hold on for some time.

    ¡°The rest of you will follow me. This old one wants to see who dares to behave poorly in front of our Liu n!¡± Liu Guang also brought out his imposing manner as the War Chariot General. Everyone present who had been a bit shaken up now calmed down.

    <i>Right, the Liu n has the greatest authority in the capital. We have so many troops, and we even have the reliable empress dowager. Why do we need to fear anyone?</i>

    Soon after, Liu Guang¡¯s group arrived at an observation point by the entrance. When they saw the one leading the enemy, they were shocked and furious. Liu Guang eximed, ¡°King Wu, do you know that moving troops inside the capital in the middle of the night can be considered treason?!¡±

    ¡°Treason?¡± King Wu seemed as if he''d heard the funniest joke and burst outughing. ¡°Liu Guang, perhaps you still haven¡¯t fully understood the current situation?¡±

    Liu Yao was furious, saying, ¡°Zhao Yan, you actually dare to treat the War Chariot General with disrespect!¡±

    King Wu sneered and didn¡¯t pay him any attention. He took out a yellow silk-wrapped imperial edict and dered, ¡°Liu Guang, Liu Yao, receive this edict!¡±

    Liu Guang and Liu Yao¡¯s expressions changed. The other side had clearlye with bad intentions, but the special runes and power the imperial edict gave off could not be falsified. They could only kneel, saying, ¡°We subjects will receive the edict!¡± n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    King Wu then opened it and said, ¡°By the grace of the heavens, the emperor issues a decree... War Chariot General Liu Guang and Guard General Liu Yao have colluded with the Fiend races and sold out the human race¡¯s army, resulting in the deaths of a hundred thousand elite soldiers. They have plotted a rebellion and betrayed the empire. All of the Liu n¡¯s people are to be stripped of their official positions and thrown into the imperial prison to be tried by the three departments...¡±

    When they heard the imperial edict, everyone in the Liu n felt as if they had been struck by lightning. All of them felt as if the sky was copsing on them.

    ¡°We¡¯re being wrongly med! We brothers have already reached the highest official positions; why would we need tomit treason?¡±

    ¡°There must be a misunderstanding somewhere here! We wish to meet with his and her majesty!¡±

    Liu Guang and Liu Yao were overwhelmed with distress.

    The disdain in King Wu¡¯s eyes grew even stronger. <i>These men who upied the highest positions were actually such weak-willed fools! They should¡¯ve given up their positions to morepetent individuals a long time ago.</i> He said, ¡°Any grievances can be spoken to the three departmentster. Men, arrest them.¡±

    Teacher Liu grabbed the Liu brothers while shouting at the same time, ¡°That imperial edict is fake! The empress dowager is still in the pce, so why would this kind of decree be released? It is definitely a forged document King Wu made to eliminate his majesty¡¯s loyal ministers and set his hands on the throne!¡±

    For better or for worse, Liu Guang and Liu Yao had sat in high positions for many years and weren¡¯t stupid. When they were reminded by Teacher Zhu, they immediately reacted. This was already a moment of life and death. Forget about whether or not King Wu could forge an imperial edict, even if it was real, they had to treat it as fake. They quickly said, ¡°That¡¯s right! The sessive generations of ancestors have instructed that kings are not permitted to enter the capital for no reason. King Wu¡¯s visit to the capital is clearly filled with evil schemes. Soldiers, arrest this traitor for the sake of his and her majesty!¡±

    The Liu n''s men, whose faces werepletely disheartened, immediately seemed to have grabbed onto hope again. All of them erupted with astonishing fighting spirit. They all knew that once this matter was decided, their entire n would be destroyed. They could only go for one final gamble.

    King Wu¡¯s expression changed. He cried, ¡°Preposterous! You actually dare to go against an imperial edict? That¡¯s another crime added to the list. Men, arrest Liu Guang and Liu Yao! All who stand in the way are to be killed. Eradicate the entire n!¡±

    His subordinates were already eager to fight. When they heard that, they all charged at the main gates. The Liu n¡¯s formations also swiftly activated. Both sides immediately shed, resulting in an extremely intense and bitter battle. Countless individuals died almost as soon as the fighting broke out.

    ...

    Meanwhile, in the capital¡¯s outer city, the Central Protection General Yuan Zhou sensed that there was something happening in the capital. He immediately summoned his subordinates to provide the Liu n with aid. However, it was alreadyte at night, so the city gates were already shut. The amount of forces he could transfer was limited.

    Even so, he didn¡¯t care. All of the remaining thousand or so troops were all elites. Furthermore, the Liu n controlled various critical positions in the military. Gao Ying was the Left Guard General and Li Mianmanded the Pce Guards. There were also Liu Guang and Liu Yao¡¯s respective troops. They had an absolute advantage. That was let alone the fact that all of the barracks outside the city were under their Third Elder¡¯s control. He could bring the main force and quell the capital¡¯s unrest at any time. He was curious just which little clowns dared to start a rebellion in the capital!

    Yuan Zhou was speeding along when his expression suddenly changed. He quickly pulled on his reins. The army that was speeding toward the capital came to a sudden stop. He looked all around him amd saw that the windows and doors of the homes around him were tightly shut. Not the slightest bit of light leaked out. Only a cold wind blew some leaves along the street, making this ce seem extremely quiet and somber.

    Suddenly, the houses opened their doors and windows. Rows and rows of archers were hiding inside, and many soldiers rushed out from various alleys too.

    ¡°As expected of General Yuan, a veteran of the battleground. You were actually able to see through our ambush. Unfortunately, it is already toote,¡± a voice called out, as a figure in the distance slowly walked closer.

    ¡°Zhao Anming!¡± Yuan Zhou recognized who it was. His entire body immediately became cold.

    Zhao Anming was the son of King Liang, Zhao Yi¡¯, but that wasn¡¯t the most important part. He was an incredibly high=ranking military officer who managed one of the capital city outskirts'' six field armies! Normally speaking, he should have been under the administration of the Third Elder, but why was he able to silently appear inside the capital with his army? Did that mean something had happened to the Third Elder¡¯s side?

    ¡°Isn¡¯t the young master a bit too overconfident? Do you really think you can defeat my war-hardened army?¡± Yuan Zhou replied, seeing that Zhao Anming didn¡¯t have that many subordinates with him. They were almost evenly matched. It seemed that if he wanted to enter the capital silently, Zhao Anming couldn''t bring too many soldiers with him. In that case, since they were even in numbers, it didn¡¯t necessarily mean he would lose.

    Just then, someone spoke up from behind him with a sneer. ¡°Then what if you add me to the mix?¡±

    Yuan Zhou¡¯s expression changed again. He quickly turned around and said through gritted teeth, ¡°North Central General Zhao Huang!¡±

    This man¡¯s father was King Yi, and he himself was the East Defense General Zhao Huang. Could it be that the royal family¡¯s elders were revolting together?

    Zhao Huang¡¯s army quickly joined Zhao Anming¡¯s men. They now had several times as many men as Yuan Zhou, and the enemy surrounded his forces. The situation looked grim.

    Yuan Zhou clenched his teeth and drew his long de, saying, ¡°Soldiers, follow me. We will break through!¡±

    Zhao Anming and Zhao Huang both coldly issued their orders. ¡°Kill them!¡±

    When he saw the enemies all around him, Yuan Zhou¡¯s heart sank to rock bottom. Everything pointed toward disaster. However, he was still a war-hardened veteran general and quickly adjusted his mindset. He roared, ¡°Everyone, hold on! Once the Third Elder outside the city, the empress dowager inside the city, and General Gao realize the situation, they will definitelye to our aid!¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡±

    His soldiers immediately gained a huge morale boost. Too often, despair was only present because there was no hope. As long as there was a shred of hope, no matter how difficult the situation was, there would always be people who would risk their lives.

    Zhao Anming roared withughter and retorted, ¡°Those guys? Their heads might have already left their necks.¡±

    Yuan Zhou¡¯s subordinates were immediately shaken up. However, Yuan Zhou roared, ¡°Don¡¯t let the enemy confuse you!¡±

    The soldiers snapped out of their daze. It was the enemy saying these things, so how could they believe it? As such, they began to fight with their enemies ferociously. Blood and flesh flew everywhere in the alley.

    ...

    Some timeter...

    The Liu n¡¯s Third Elder Liu Ji was processing military affairs when he suddenly got up. He picked up the teapot next to him and drained it in one gulp. For some reason, he just felt ill at ease today.

    He said to a soldier, ¡°Send someone to pay the capital¡¯s Liu manor a visit. Check to see if anything has happened over there.¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± Even though the soldier was a bit confused, he still obeyed the orders and left. It was alreadyte into the night and the city gates were already closed. But with the Liu n¡¯s authority, sending a person or two inside wouldn¡¯t be too difficult.

    Not long after that guard left, someone quickly came to report, ¡°Reporting to the general, Left Guard General Lu He requests a meeting.¡±

    Liu Ji was stunned.

    <i>Why did he run all the way here in the middle of the night? Don¡¯t tell me that something really did happen in the capital?</i>

    ¡°Quick, invite him in!¡± he replied; naturally, he didn¡¯t dare to show any negligence here.

    Even though his military rank was higher than Lu He¡¯s, Lu He managed half of the Imperial Pce¡¯s Pce Guards and was a fiercely independent individual who wouldn¡¯t listen to any of his orders. Lu He was also Eunuch Lu¡¯s very own brother, and Eunuch Lu was the empress dowager¡¯s most trusted eunuch. That level of rtionship made him feel a bit closer to Lu He.

    ¡°What brings General Lu¡¯s visit so deep into the night?¡± Liu Ji weed Lu He enthusiastically upon thetter''s arrival.

    Lu He chuckled and said, ¡°It couldn''t be helped. The empress dowager has something she needs Third Elder for, and has invited you into the pce. This officer had no choice but to personally make a visit.¡±

    ¡°The empress dowager is looking for me?¡± Liu Ji asked, stunned. He hadn¡¯t heard a thing about that before. ¡°Does General Lu know the reason why?¡±

    Lu He shook his head and replied, ¡°How can the empress dowager¡¯s thoughts be something us lowly subjects can guess at? Third Elder, please hurry so that the empress dowager doesn¡¯t be too anxious while waiting.¡±

    Liu Ji thought to himself, <i>Could it be what the empress dowager spoke of a few days ago? She was worried that something might be happening in the capital and wanted me to pay closer attention.</i>

    When he thought of that, he cupped his hands and said, ¡°Please wait for a brief moment, General Lu. I¡¯m going to make some quick arrangements in the army camp before leaving.¡±

    ¡°But of course,¡± Lu He said unhurriedly. He tactfully returned outside to wait for him.

    Liu Ji thus gathered his trustedmanders and had them watch over the barracks, warning them to be mindful of various things.

    When they heard that Liu Ji was going to enter the pce so deep in the evening, they all advised, ¡°General, please be careful of potential schemes!¡±

    ¡°Indeed, even if the empress dowager had anything she needed to summon you for, why does she have to do it sote at night?¡±

    ¡°There are all sorts of suspicious points here. You absolutely must be careful.¡±

    ...

    Liu Ji said with a smile, ¡°I actually already felt these misgivings when I first heard that, but the one who came was General Lu He, so my misgivings disappeared. There is no one more loyal to the empress dowager in this entire world than Eunuch Lu. Lu He and Eunuch Lu have always been extremely close, so why would he harm me?¡±

    When they heard what he said, the others couldn''t really continue arguing about that.

    Eunuch Lu was known to be a loyal hound who always remained by the empress dowager¡¯s side. The Lu and Liu n had always had an excellent rtionship. Since Lu He hade personally, that meant there was indeed nothing to be worried about.

    As such, Liu Ji quickly brought some of his trusted men and followed Lu He to the capital. Along the way, he and Lu He chatted happily in good spirits.

    A whileter, however, Liu Ji suddenly looked around him. He saw that the surroundings werepletely empty. They were clearly off the main road and away from where the people lived. He remarked, ¡°Hm? This doesn¡¯t seem to be the way back to the capital.¡±

    ¡°The city gates are already closed, since it''s nighttime. There''s a small path that is a bit faster on this side,¡± Lu He replied.

    Liu Ji didn¡¯t continue forward, and instead began thinking to himself. He wasn¡¯t stupid; it was just that he had trusted Lu He too much. Now, he realized that something wasn¡¯t right.

    Lu He couldn''t help but sigh, saying, ¡°The Liu n¡¯s three brothers only have a Third Elder who is a genius after all. If it weren¡¯t for me personallying, it would have been very difficult to deal with you.¡±

    Liu Ji¡¯s expression changed. He asked, ¡°Lu He, why would you betray the empress dowager?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s something the Third Elder can slowly think about in hell.¡± There was still a smile on Lu He''s face, but it was already extremely cold. He roared, ¡°Attack!¡±

    His subordinates had long since prepared. They all drew their weapons and struck at Liu Ji¡¯s subordinates.

    Liu Ji didn¡¯t have many people with him to begin with, and the enemy had been actively plotting. How could they react in time? More than half of them were killed almost immediately.

    ...

    Soon after, Liu Ji¡¯s entire body was covered in blood. The only way he could remain standing was by leaning on the de he had stabbed into the ground. He stared hatefully at Lu He, saying, ¡°You traitors... Once the regent returns, there''s no way he''ll let you all go.¡±

    He knew fully well that if Lu He had rebelled, there was most likely something wrong with Eunuch Lu too. That meant the empress dowager was in grave danger. The enemy definitely had other schemes at y. The Liu n could really be done for this time. The only thing he could still hope for was now the regent Zu An. What wasughable was that his eldest and second brother had even thought of cutting ties with the regent. He really wondered what they were thinking.

    ¡°Regent? It has already been so long since we heard from him. He¡¯s probably long dead by now in the Fiend races¡¯ sealednd,¡± Lu He said, seemingly unbothered. With a sh, Liu Ji was decapitated.

    Even if they took ten thousand steps back, if the regent really returned, there was nothing to fear. They had the empress on their side. With her rtionship with him, wouldn¡¯t Zu An only be able to ept reality?

    It was just that at that moment, no one in the capital knew that these developments formed the prelude to a country-wide rebellion.

    ...

    ¡°Achoo!¡±

    By the shore of the eastern sea, Zu An rubbed his nose. He muttered to himself, ¡°Just who is thinking of me?¡±

    He already had an appearance-altering mask on his face. It wasn¡¯t that he feared the Ocean races, but rather that he was now the regent of both the Fiend races and the humans. If he suddenly appeared in the Ocean races'' territory, that could cause quite the disturbance. Then, all of the officials of the Ocean races woulde to wee him along the way. He was here for the Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine to save Honglei, so he didn¡¯t want to take the risk of wasting any time.

    He arrived at a small ind surrounded by coastal waters. There was a restaurant there that he had heard the Second Empress and Shang Liuyu mention before. If he wished to head to the Ocean races'' territory, that restaurant had to be be visited first. Then, at a certain time, a ship would arrive to take the visitor into the sea.

    He looked up at the restaurant in front of him. Compared to the capital, or even Brightmoon City¡¯s dazzling and splendid restaurants, this restaurant really was a bit too simple. It was hard to even call it a restaurant. Strictly speaking, it was more like a small wine shop.

 Chapter 2115: A Huge Pile of Slander

    <h4>Chapter 2115: A Huge Pile of nder</h4>

    The restaurant¡¯s style was quite unique; it seemed to have been built on the skeleton of arge fish. The walls weren¡¯t made from y, but rather pieced together from the shells of some kind of mussel. The window was made from a giant shell. Many of the pirs and beams were made of all kinds of brightly colored coral. The building''s appearance really made Zu An feel as if he had entered a strangend.

    There was a statue of a strange fish perched high on the eaves of the restaurant; it gazed in the great sea¡¯s direction. Zu An knew that therge ships that set out to sea often had such statues mounted on their helms. They almost seemed to represent a kind of prayer for the ship to not encounter strong winds and waves.

    When he pushed open the doors, Zu An immediately smelled a fishy scent so strong that he nearly vomited on the spot.

    The tables inside seemed to bepletely filled with people, quite a few of which seemed to be fishermen. But unlike normal fishermen, there was a tough look in all of their eyes. They were clearly all from the Ocean races.

    Apart from that, many of the others were clearly wandering warriors, wearing conical bamboo hats or masks. Some of them were covered in countless scars. They were clearly all fugitives.

    Zu An¡¯s arrival immediately drew the attention of everyone present. Even though his appearance was ordinary, he was too clean. Besides that, he seemed to give off a unique presence just by standing there.

    ¡°Tsk, it¡¯s actually a human.¡±

    ¡°From the looks of it, some young master probably secretly ran away to y.¡±

    ¡°A young master that looks this ordinary?¡±

    ¡°Who said young masters all need to be handsome?¡±

    ...

    Even though they were all privately mocking him, none of them dared to actually cause trouble. While most of them were from the Ocean races, there were still quite a few humans and even some fiends. They all lived lives marked by blood-drenched des. Before getting someone''s true measure, none of them would provoke a stranger rashly.

    Zu An walked straight to the bar. He discovered that theyout was fairly different from the restaurants on the human side, and was a bit more simr to the bars of his previous world. He sat down on a chair in front of the bar and remarked, ¡°I heard that you have the best information here.¡±

    The bartender had a huge tortoiseshell on his back. Judging from his green skin, he was clearly a member of the Tortoise race.

    Zu An''s gaze shifted to the lumps that covered the bartender''s arm.

    <i>Are those tenghu[1]? I really want to dig them out.</i>

    ¡°If you have money, then it¡¯s the best. If you don¡¯t, then don¡¯t bring it up,¡± the turtle bartender said while wiping a wine cup with a handkerchief. He didn¡¯t even give Zu An a look.

    Zu An endured the urge to dig the tenghu out and took out a heaven-grade ki stone, replying, ¡°What about now?¡±

    As soon as he took out the ki stone, it drew the attention of everyone in the restaurant. Many of them even began to breathe heavier.

    Zu An frowned slightly. The reason he hadn¡¯t brought out immortal-grade or deity-grade ki stones was for the sake of remaining low-profile. After all, information on the Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine¡¯s whereabouts would definitely be worth even more ki stones. However, he hadn¡¯t expected to still end up drawing a lot of attention.

    Still, he soon understood why that was the case. He now had the greatest status on both the human and fiend sides. A heaven-grade ki stone was ordinary to him, but for these bloodthirsty vagabonds, how could they possibly cultivate with that many resources? They could even end up killing each other over a single earth-grade ki stone. Once he realized that, he only felt a bit of regret before growing calm again. He looked at the turtle bartender.

    ¡°Of course, of course.¡± The turtle bartender almost drooled. He immediately reached out to take the heaven-grade ki stone.

    However, Zu An pushed down on the stone and said, ¡°You still haven¡¯t asked about what I want to know.¡±

    ¡°As long as you¡¯re not trying to ask for the Mermaid Queen¡¯s whereabouts, we know everything,¡± said the turtle bartender with a smile.

    ¡°Mermaid Queen?¡± Zu An frowned, but he still asked what he actually wanted to know. ¡°Do you know where in the Ocean races'' territory I can find the Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine?¡±

    ¡°I seem to have heard about it before, but I need some time to investigate.¡± The turtle bartender put away the heaven-grade ki stone with a big smile.

    Zu An was stunned. He hadn¡¯t had too much hope, and only asked about it casually. His n had still been to head to the Ocean races'' territory to ask the Dragon King and Shang Liuyu. He hadn¡¯t expected this person to actually know.

    <i>Could it be that the Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine is actually really famous among the Ocean races?</i>

    His mood improved a lot when he thought of that. He was now one step closer to saving Honglei.

    ¡°By the way, what''s going on with that Mermaid Queen you spoke of?¡± Zu An asked, still confused. If he wasn¡¯t mistaken, once he met the Dragon King, he would end up meeting the Mermaid Queen too. She was supposed to be Shang Liuyu¡¯s older sister, so having some intelligence ahead of time wouldn¡¯t be a bad thing.

    The turtle bartender brought out a ss of alcohol and said, ¡°This guest must have only arrived recently, right? You actually didn¡¯t even know about such important news.¡±

    ¡°Hm? I¡¯d like to hear the details,¡± Zu An said as he took a sip of the alcohol. It really wasn¡¯t good wine, and had the stench of poor-quality alcohol. This guy really was an unscrupulous businessman.

    ¡°Because of this guest¡¯s outspoken and straightforward personality, I won¡¯t be charging you more for this information.¡± The turtle bartender chuckled. ¡°I might even be providing the guest with a chance to make money.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡±

    ¡°The biggest thing that''s happenedtely among the Ocean races is the disappearance of the Mermaid Queen. On top of that, the Dragon King gave the order for her arrest, and the bounty is extremely high. All those who can provide useful information will be generously rewarded. If you can catch the Mermaid Queen, you won¡¯t need to worry about securing glory and wealth even for your next generation,¡± the turtle bartender said mysteriously.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes immediately widened. ¡°What?¡±

    He''d never expected such a development to take ce. After all, in the past, both Shang Liuyu and Chi Wen had spoken about the great rtionship between the Dragon King and the Mermaid Queen. Why was it that not only had she disappeared, she was even on the wanted list?

    ¡°Haha, when they first hear this information, others always have the exact same reaction as you.¡± The turtle bartender was quite proud of himself when he saw his reaction.

    ¡°Just what happened? Why would he order her arrest?¡± Zu An quickly asked.

    ¡°That¡¯s something no one knows. Some say that the Dragon King just wishes to find the Mermaid Queen sooner, and has thus resorted to such an extreme method.¡± The turtle bartender shook his head as he spoke. ¡°Still, that exnation isn¡¯t too convincing. It''s actually another rumor that seems more believable.¡±

    ¡°What rumor?¡± Zu An asked as he picked up the ss. He needed to digest this shocking piece of information.

    <i>Will this affair involving the Dragon King and his wife end up getting in the way of my search for the Dragon King Immortal Medicine?</i>

    <i>After all, in the Ocean races, I¡¯m only close to Shang Liuyu, and the Mermaid Queen is her big sister. Will she end up being involved too?</i>

    The turtle bartender gave his surroundings a vignt look, then moved closer to Zu An before quietly saying, ¡°I heard that the Mermaid Queen was with another man behind the Dragon King¡¯s back. Then, the Dragon King returned ahead of schedule to take care of something and caught them in the act. The Mermaid Queen and the adulterer thus ran off together.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    Just then, the body of a middle-aged woman trembled slightly, as if she''d heard what the bartender said. Zu An couldn''t help but give her a look; he''d actually already noticed her when he looked around as soon as he entered. It wasn¡¯t just him, though; many of the other guests couldn''t resist ncing at her from time to time. With her thorny hairpin and cloth skirt, she was clearly dressed like a peasant woman, and yet her figure was elegant and wonderful. It was a pity that her face was waxen yellow and her features were ugly. Just what tribe of the Ocean races was she from?

    The restaurant¡¯s guests were all well-traveled individuals. They took a careful look at her neck and wrist and saw that they were the same waxen yellow color, and even seemed swollen with pimples. It was quite the unpleasant sight.

    <i>What a pity... She has such an amazing figure.</i>

    Many people sighed.

    Zu An retracted his gaze and gave the turtle bartender an annoyed look, saying, ¡°There¡¯s absolutely no way that¡¯s true.¡±

    He turned his nose up at the information. Even though he hadn¡¯t interacted with her personally, only through that sky projection in the past, he had seen that the Mermaid Queen was a gentle and virtuous woman. On top of that, she and the Dragon King had seemed deeply in love. How could this kind of nonsense possibly happen?

    ¡°In the past, the Mermaid Queen was our Ocean races¡¯ number one beauty; on top of that, she always had a gentle personality. In contrast, the Dragon King¡¯s temper was never too good. If not for the Mermaid Queen¡¯s frequent advice, who knows how many criminals would have been executed.¡± The turtle bartender had a reminiscent expression as he said, ¡°Now that we¡¯re on the topic, she even saved me in the past. Only then was I sent here and had my life spared.¡±

    When he saw how the turtle¡¯s look of respect wasn¡¯t faked, Zu An asked impatiently, ¡°In that case, why are you talking about her behind her back like this?¡±

    ¡°So many people have received her grace, so we naturally believe that the queen wouldn¡¯t do something like that. But it''s still the most reasonable exnation. Otherwise, why would the Dragon King suddenly give out an order for her arrest to the entire world?¡± the turtle bartender replied with a bitter expression.

    Zu An slowly drank the wine in his ss. No wonder so much gossip was going around. There really was no other possibility.

    ¡°Besides, I recently received news that was finally able to exin this affair,¡± the turtle bartender said hatefully. ¡°Since the issue doesn¡¯t lie with the gentle and kind queen, it definitely has to be because of that adulterous man.¡±

    Zu Anughed involuntarily and replied, ¡°What man could possiblypete against the Dragon King, and more importantly, make a woman like the Mermaid Queen be most willing as well?¡±

    As he spoke, he drank the remaining half of the alcohol. Even though the wine was harsh, the spicy hot feeling made him feel a bit nostalgic for the past. His mind really had been a bit too tense as ofte. He needed to use the chance to rx a bit.

    ¡°If it were a normal person, of course it would be impossible. But if it were that regent of both the Fiend and human races, anything would be possible,¡± the turtle bartender said with a solemn expression.

    <i>Pfft!</i>

    Zu An immediately spit the alcohol in his mouth all over the ground. He couldn''t be bothered to wipe his drenched clothes and looked at the bartender in shock, eximing, ¡°Who did you say the adulterous man was?!¡±

    ¡°The regent of the fiend and human races, Zu An, of course.¡± The turtle bartender looked at him as if he was a country bumpkin.

    <i>This guy really has no knowledge at all. Does he not even know Zu An?</i>

    ¡°Let me tell you, ever since thete Fiend Emperor and the human race¡¯s Zhao Han perished one after another, there were already rumors that Zu An is the strongest in the world. Of course, I feel as if he might not be able to win against our Ocean races¡¯ Dragon King. But our Ocean races have always kept a low profile, so we won¡¯t argue with outsiders about any of that.¡± The turtle bartender acted like an experienced person teaching a greenhorn a lesson. ¡°That Zu An not only has really high cultivation, he''s young and even really handsome. I heard that he lives a carefree and romantic life. No matter where he goes, wherever he sleeps, he always has arge amount of exceptional beauties with him.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    ¡°What kind of look is that?¡± The turtle bartender sensed the look in his eyes and began to panic. ¡°I¡¯m really not kidding. When your cultivation reaches that level, many beautiful women will take the initiative to jump into your arms. Besides, that Zu An is handsome and confident, so he doesn¡¯t even care for ordinary pretty girls. Meanwhile, someone like you has probably never experienced that kind of joy.¡±

    Zu An chuckled in embarrassment. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    <i>You can¡¯t hit a smiling face, after all. If this turtle keeps praising me, I can¡¯t really act up.</i>

    ¡°I heard that when he was on the human side, he ended up getting the number one beauty over there, and then even forcefully seized a married woman. Then, he felt as if the husband was getting in the way and even killed him...¡±

    ¡°Who said that?!¡± Zu An eximed with a scowl.

    <i>Is he talking about Zheng Dan? That was because Sang Qien was courting death! What does that have to do with me? I was a victim from start to finish, okay?</i>

    The turtle bartender didn¡¯t feel like responding to his reaction. He was getting more and more excited as he spoke. ¡°When he reached the human race''s capital, he even conquered the crown princess, empress, empress dowager, princess... As long as they¡¯re pretty, who hasn¡¯t he gotten his hands on? Let alone those distinguished daughters of nobility.¡±

    Zu An was shocked.

    <i>Could it be that all of those affairs were already exposed?</i>

    Even so, he reacted quickly. It was probably nothing more than the gossip of idling warriors. Besides, the Fiend races had always been part of the enemy camp and would only add fuel to the fire to make stories more interesting. That had to be why things had ended up like this.

    ¡°Once he arrived in the Fiend races'' territory, he was even more incredible. Not only did he get the number one beauty, the Medusa Queen, he even stole the exclusive property of the Tiger race king, the fox-spirit Bluefield Country Lord. It was rumored that after thete Fiend Emperor¡¯s death, the widowed Second Empress also ended up being taken to bed by him.¡± The turtle bartender had a huge smile on his face, and his voice couldn''t help but be a bit louder. Judging from his appearance, it seemed he was so jealous he was about to cry.

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>It seems that, because the Ocean races are under the Fiend races, they have much better intelligence on their side.</i>

    Another guest nearby suddenly threw the wine bowl in his hand.

    ¡°That motherf*cker is a walking gigolo king! This time, he¡¯s actually climbing all over our Ocean races!¡±

    Others quickly spoke up in agreement.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. The Mermaid Queen is so beautiful and gentle, yet she was actually defiled by this gigolo king!¡±

    ¡°Have you all noticed something? The women by that guy¡¯s side are all incredible beauties. Apart from his cultivation being a bit higher and his being a bit more handsome than usual, how was he able to win over so many beautiful women?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, I visited the human race¡¯s Brightmoon City before, the ce where that gigolo king rose up in the world. There was a rumor from the academy over there that he''s hung like a donkey. Why else do you think he was able to win over so many extraordinary beauties?¡±

    ...

    When he saw the Rage points increase all around him, quickly breaking past the hundred thousand mark, Zu An was really left betweenughter and tears. He was now a bit d that he''d worn a mask to avoid trouble. Otherwise, wouldn¡¯t the others immediately attack him if they recognized him?

    Just then, a tough-looking man harrumphed. ¡°Like a donkey? What¡¯s so special about that? It¡¯s like a toothpick inparison.¡±

    ¡°Hah, so what if your original form canpare to a donkey? What about after you turn into human form? Can you stillpare to him? Which one of those extraordinary beauties isn¡¯t in human form? There¡¯s no way they could do it with your original form,¡± another person said in annoyance.

    The tough-looking guy¡¯s face immediately turnedpletely red. He picked up his wine bowl and drained it in one gulp.

    Another guest said with a sigh, ¡°When I think about that gigolo king using his donkey-sized thing to plow our beautiful and gentle Mermaid Queen, my heart suddenly feels a bit pained.¡±

    <i>Bang!</i>

    A pot of wine fell to the ground. The noise immediately made the entire tavern be quiet. When they followed the source of the sound, they saw that it had fallen from the table of the ugly middle-aged woman with the amazing figure. Her entire body was shaking. Her fists were tightly clenched, as if she was enduring something.

    The tough-looking man in the corner walked over and said, ¡°Damn it, now that you''re all talking like this, I¡¯m suddenly getting hard. Sis, how about youe with us for some fun?¡±

    Mockingughter filled the air.

    ¡°Hai Daniu, you really aren¡¯t picky when you¡¯re hungry. You even want something like this?¡±

    ¡°Right, her face is covered in pimples. Don¡¯t you feel grossed out?¡±

    The one named Hai Daniu snickered, retorting, ¡°What do you all know? If you turn off the lights and cover the face, which woman isn¡¯t the same?¡±

    Everyone else began to nod. They were starting to regret not thinking of that sooner. Even though that middle-aged woman was ugly, her figure was top-tier.

    ¡°Sis, why aren¡¯t you saying anything? This big bro is really strong, you know?¡± The tough-looking man belched and inched closer to her.

    Zu An watched the scene unfold with interest, because he could sense that there was more to this middle-aged woman than met the eye. The tough-looking guy was most likely in trouble.

    1. Apparently, these are barnacles. They seem to be a delicacy in some ces. ?

 Chapter 2116: Into His Arms

    <h4>Chapter 2116: Into His Arms</h4>

    Sure enough, the ugly woman¡¯s eyes narrowed. Inside her sleeve, her hand rose slightly. A needle that was so thin it was almost transparent appeared between her fingers, and she looked as if she was about to strike.

    Just then, the main entrance of the restaurant was kicked open, and a group of strange-looking armored individuals walked in.

    When that ugly madam saw that, she twisted her fingers and withdrew the needle back into her sleeve.

    ¡°So it was the Yaksha Ocean Patrol. How unlucky,¡± the tough-looking guy grumbled. He walked back to his original position with unsteady steps,pletely unaware that he had just made a trip around the gates of hell and back.

    Zu An sized up the ones who had entered. They all had indigo-colored faces and cinnabar-colored hair, and they wielded an assortment of giant hatchets and tridents. They looked extremely ferocious.

    ¡°So these are the Ocean races¡¯ Yaksha Ocean Patrol...¡± Zu An muttered to himself.

    The Ocean races frequently had these elite troops patrolling the seas to keep troublemakers in check. Even though they were no threat for the current Zu An, for the ordinary cultivators of the various races, they were still a powerful and intimidating force. For instance, the moment he saw them, the lust-consumed tough guy immediately became cool-headed.

    The turtle bartender weed them with a few jars of alcohol, saying, ¡°Sirs have worked hard. Come and drink a bit of wine to warm your bodies.¡±

    Seeing that the turtle bartender was good at reading the room, the Yaksha Ocean Patrol members¡¯ ferocious gazes eased up a bit. They took the jars of alcohol and quickly drank it all.

    When the people present saw them drink the strong alcohol without being affected much at all, they all thought to themselves, <i>As expected of the Yaksha Ocean Patrol, their bodies are extremely sturdy, with fiery blood and ki.</i>

    The turtle bartender then asked, ¡°I wonder what noble errand brings you gentlemen here? If there is anything you need this humble one¡¯s help with, please tell me immediately.¡±

    ¡°What else could it be but the Mermaid Queen affair?¡± One of the Yaksha Ocean Patrol members took out a stack of posters from his inner pockets and handed them over, saying, ¡°Here, go and put these up.¡±

    The turtle bartender quickly received the poster, and one after another, he stuck them in ces that everyone in the bar could see.

    Zu An gave one a look and saw that it was the Mermaid Queen¡¯s wanted poster. Even though the brush strokes were simple and crude, he could still tell that she was an extraordinary beauty.

    <i>Hm? So the Mermaid Queen was named Shang Hongyu. As expected of Shang Liuyu¡¯s older sister.</i>

    The Yaksha Ocean Patrol said loudly, ¡°If anyone knows the Mermaid Queen¡¯s whereabouts, quickly make a report to the closest Yaksha Ocean Patrol. You will be rewarded based on the importance of the information. If you assist in the capture or even capture Shang Hongyu, not only will you be awarded with more cultivation resources than you will need for the rest of your life, the Dragon King will even take you in as his personal disciple and pass his techniques onto you.¡±

    When they heard what he said, the entire restaurant immediately broke out into amotion. Who would have thought that the bounty would increase again in just a few days! The endless cultivation resources were already enough to make one go mad, but now, one could even be taught techniques by the Dragon King personally? Just what kind of an opportunity was this?!

    After all, the Dragon King was one of the most powerful individuals in this world. If one could obtain his inheritance, wouldn¡¯t they reach the very top of the world? Even if one took ten thousand steps back and wasn¡¯t talented enough to reach the pinnacle, just the status of being the Dragon King¡¯s disciple was already enough for anyone to mingle with the higher levels of the Ocean races¡¯ society.

    Just then, the Yaksha Ocean Patrol began to investigate around table by table. They seemed to be checking if there was anyone suspicious among the restaurant guests.

    Zu An suddenly thought of something. With a cool breeze, the middle-aged woman reappeared in the seat next to him. He had to admit that even though she was ugly, her scent was still quite refreshing.

    ¡°Are you not going to invite me for a drink?¡± The woman propped up her cheek with a hand and looked at him with her head tilted slightly. Her posture did have a kind of natural charm. Unfortunately, she looked just a bit too ugly.

    Zu An said with a calm smile, ¡°Give me a reason to.¡±

    ¡°Because ever since I entered this ce, you were the only person in this entire restaurant who didn¡¯t have any lust or disdain in your eyes when you looked at me.¡± The woman''s eyes were shining brightly. Unfortunately, with her bumpy face, it looked like pearls buried in dirt.

    ¡°That¡¯s just what you feel, what does it have to do with me?¡± Zu An replied, remaining unmoved.

    The woman gave him a look of surprise. This man had an ordinary appearance, but his personality was quite unique.

    She looked at the approaching Yaksha Ocean Patrol that were approaching their table and asked in a low voice, ¡°Aren''t you looking for the Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine?¡±

    Zu An was finally moved. He lowered his wine cup and replied, ¡°Do you know about it?¡± He poured her a cup as he spoke.

    The madam raised the cup and took a small sip. Judging from the way she carried herself, her background was definitely special, or else it wouldn¡¯t be easy to have such a distinguished bearing. She replied, ¡°Of course. As for that turtle bartender, he only said those things because he wanted your money. There''s no way his investigations could produce anything useful.¡±

    "Seems like it," Zu An replied with a chuckle. He had already abandoned all hope when he saw the bartender''s flustered behavior just then. He''d actually only wanted to get his hands on some intelligence about the Ocean races, and to find out how to get a ship ticket to their territory. He gave her a look of interest and asked, ¡°Then how do I know that you aren¡¯t lying to me?¡±

    The woman was surprisingly calm, replying, ¡°Do you have any other choice but to believe me?¡±

    ¡°Then what do I have to do to make you tell me the Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine¡¯s whereabouts?¡± Zu An asked with a smile.

    ¡°Embrace me!¡± the madam suddenly said quietly.

    Zu An¡¯s smile immediately froze on his face. He was dumbfounded. Ten thousand possibilities had gone through his mind, but he had never expected the request to be this one.

    But when he realized that the Yaksha Ocean Patrol wereing their way, his thoughts moved quickly. He reached out and wrapped an arm around the madam¡¯s waist. He couldn''t help but feel stunned when he touched her, though. After all, there were a lot of bumps on this woman¡¯s face and neck, so he''d thought that her body would also be like that; and yet when his hand moved over her skin, he could feel that it was soft and smooth.

    The woman used the chance to lean into him and look at him intimately, saying, ¡°I want you to feed me.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>Sis, do you know that your current appearance paired with that yful voice is a bit scary?</i>

    But for the sake of saving Honglei, what was the big deal? As such, he picked up the wine cup and brought it to her lips with a smile. At the same time, he even used his fingers to wipe away the bit of extra alcohol around her lips.

    When she sensed his gentle movements, the woman was stunned. She looked at him with a slightly strange expression.

    However, in the eyes of the people around them, it was as if the two of them were just flirting with each other. If it were a handsome man and beautiful woman, that would be one thing, but the man was ordinary without anything special about him in the slightest. The woman was exceedingly ugly to the point that even a second nce would sting the eyes.

    The Yaksha Ocean Patrol moved past them after giving them a single look.

    <i>This guy really isn¡¯t picky. He even went after a woman like this.</i>

    They didn¡¯t even feel like questioning them. The one they were looking for would never lie in the arms of a man so affectionately.

    The turtle bartender returned to his spot behind the bar. When he saw their behavior, he secretly gave Zu An a big thumbs up.

    After all, the tough-looking Hai Daniu had said it best. If you turned off the lights and covered the face, weren¡¯t they all the same? Let alone the fact that this woman had such an amazing figure.

    He suddenly thought of something and quickly called out to the Yakshas, ¡°Sirs, the Mermaid Queen¡¯s cultivation is so high. Even if we find her, we won¡¯t be able to catch her!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, her cultivation is so high. Even if we find out where she is, she¡¯ll already be gone by the time we contact you.¡± The restaurant guests seemed to have suddenly realized that. They all began to argue noisily.

    <i>That¡¯s right, you need to still keep your life to enjoy the sweetest of rewards!</i>

    ¡°That¡¯s not something you need to worry about,¡± the Yaksha Ocean Patrol leader said. ¡°She is already seriously injured and likely has littlebat ability left.¡±

    Many people cheered when they heard that. They were already imagining themselves reaching the very pinnacle of their lives after capturing the Mermaid Queen. However, some others sighed. These were people who had previously benefited from the Mermaid Queen¡¯s grace. They really didn¡¯t want to see her end up like this.

    Zu An frowned.

    <i>She¡¯s seriously injured? Did the Dragon King hurt her?</i>

    <i>But that shouldn¡¯t be the case. With the Dragon King¡¯s cultivation, if he had been the one who attacked her, would the Mermaid Queen even have a chance to escape?</i>

    Suddenly, everything in front of him darkened. It turned out that the Yaksha Ocean Patrol had already left and the tough-looking guy named Hai Daniu came over. He said in a low, muffled voice, ¡°I was first! This woman is mine!¡±

    The other restaurant guests couldn''t help but blow a whistle. This sort of love affair jealousy happened almost every day, but it was the first time they''d seen it happen over an ugly woman.

    Zu An couldn''t help but smile at the woman, saying, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to be so popr.¡± n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The woman¡¯s expression was a bit unnatural, and it was clear that even she was a bit surprised by this turn of events.

    <i>Is this Hai Daniu crazy? I already look like this, yet he¡¯s still interested?</i>

    She smiled and leaned into Zu An¡¯s arms before saying, ¡°But I am already hispanion.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>People say that beautiful women are the source of disaster, but who would have thought that this womanwould be good at that stuff too!</i>

    Hai Daniu glowered at Zu An and said, ¡°You better let go of her right now.¡±

    Even as he spoke, his hand moved toward Zu An.

    <i>Bang!</i>

    A loud noise filled the air. There was only a blur in front of the onlookers'' eyes, and a secondter, Hai Daniu was already gone. They looked around and saw that he was already upside-down, buried in the sandy shore outside. His legs were exposed above the ground, twitching in midair.

    As they looked at each other, their expressions changed. It seemed no one had seen how the human attacked. His appearance was ordinary, but he was actually a tough one.

    The woman suddenly straightened up. There was a look of surprise in her eyes as she looked at Zu An.

    ¡°Why did you get up? Weren¡¯t you acting close to me just a moment ago?¡± Zu An asked, casually reaching out to hold her again. However, she avoided his hand in a really natural manner.

    Zu An looked at her with amusement.

    <i>What a soft waist she has.</i>

    The woman¡¯s expression was a bit unnatural as she said, ¡°There are too many people here. It¡¯s just a bit embarrassing in front of all of them...¡±

    ¡°I guess it¡¯s fine. It would be better if we changed locations.¡± Zu An nodded. Hereached out for her waist and they walked straight out. The woman wanted to move out of the way, but his hand almost seemed to contain a demonic force andnded right on target.

    When they watched the two disappear, everyone in the restaurant began to enthusiastically discuss Zu An¡¯s background. Unfortunately, none of them could figure it out.

    ¡°Say, his cultivation is so high, so he can have any woman he wants. Why would he go after a middle-aged one who''s so ugly?¡±

    ¡°You know that those rich bastards all have strange tastes. I reckon that people with high cultivation ranks are about the same. Once you get tired of the pretty ones, it might be more fun to y with some other types.¡±

    ¡°If your beauty standards change that much when your cultivation rank gets high, I think I''m better off the way I am.¡±

    ...

    Meanwhile, once Zu An and the woman reached the sandy shore, the woman asked curiously, ¡°Your cultivation seems to be really high, no? There''s no way that you don¡¯t have a reputation on the human side. May I ask how I should address you?¡±

    ¡°Why should two individuals in a chance meeting be previously acquainted? Even if I tell you my name, you might not believe it. I believe you likely won¡¯t tell me your true name either.¡± Zu An smiled.

    The woman was stunned at first, and then she smiled. ¡°You are quite interesting.¡±

    Zu An sighed. ¡°If you weren¡¯t pressing that needle against my waist vital while saying those words, perhaps I would receive them with more sincerity.¡±

    The woman¡¯s expression changed. She saw that he still didn¡¯t show any intention of guarding against it. After some hesitation, she didn¡¯t use the needle and retracted it with a flip of her fingers. She said, ¡°I did want to take your life, but after thinking about it, I''ve decided not to. It¡¯s fine for everyone to just forget what happens in the world of warriors.¡±

    ¡°You had many chances to attack along the way. Why did you hesitate for so long?¡± Zu An asked with a curious look. If she had made her move back then, he wouldn¡¯t have been so patient.

    ¡°You did help me just now, after all, and touching my body wasn¡¯t your original intention. If I harmed you, would be repaying gratitude with enmity,¡± the woman said with a sigh.

    Zu An¡¯s expression was a bit strange. He asked, ¡°You were going to take my life just because I touched you? You know, it was you who took the initiative just now, and strictly speaking, I''m the one who''s losing out, okay?¡±

    A bit of anger and embarrassment appeared between the woman¡¯s brows. She retorted, ¡°What do you know?! I...¡± She trailed off for a moment before suddenly saying, ¡°Whatever, it¡¯s fine if you don¡¯t know. It might only bring you more trouble if you do know.¡±

    ¡°Your identity is quite special. Just what kind of background do you even have? Are you a manta ray?¡± Zu An asked curiously.

    ¡°Manta ray?¡± The woman widened her eyes and eximed, ¡°You¡¯re the manta ray!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you use needles? Even after thinking for a long time, the only creature that has anything to do with poisonous needles is the manta ray,¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°Who says there¡¯s only the manta ray? The Ocean races have so many species, and there are many who use poison needles...¡± The middle-aged woman suddenly stopped midway through her sentence. ¡°That¡¯s not what¡¯s most important! I''m not a manta ray. Enough, I don¡¯t want to talk to you anymore. Goodbye.¡±

    ¡°Hey, you can¡¯t leave.¡± Zu An grabbed her hand.

    That woman widened her eyes and stared at him, eximing, ¡°You¡¯re touching me again?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not as if you¡¯ll lose a chunk of your flesh if I touch you,¡± Zu An said in annoyance. ¡°You still haven¡¯t told me where the Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine is.¡±

    The woman¡¯s expression immediately became grave. ¡°Just where did you hear that name from? Why are you looking for it?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not something you need to worry about. I naturally have a use for it.¡± Zu An naturally wouldn¡¯t tell just anyone that he was trying to save his lover. Who knew if someone would try to ckmail him with this information?

    ¡°I don¡¯t care what kind of reason you have, but I advise you to give up on it. There''s no way you could obtain it.¡± The woman shook her head.

    ¡°Why?¡± Zu An asked, unsatisfied.

    ¡°Because...¡± The woman hesitated and was about to reply when her expression suddenly changed. A group of people surrounded them. With a few leaps, they had already surrounded the pair.

    At first, Zu An thought that it was because he''d taken out a heaven-grade ki stone and ¡®exposed his wealth¡¯, leading to the other customers¡¯ greed. He thought that they had been waiting for him and the woman in a secluded ce to kill him and take everything. He was a bit confused, wondering if they were all blind. They were stilling after him even after seeing what happened to Hai Daniu?

    However, he quickly saw who the figures approaching were. They were ferocious-looking and had red hair. They were part of the the Yaksha Ocean Patrol!

    <i>Hm? Something¡¯s not right.</i>

    Zu An noticed that there was a ck miasma around the Yaksha Ocean Patrol¡¯s bodies that made them clearly different from the earlier ones. He frowned. He felt a sense of deja vu from this energy.

    The woman¡¯s expression changed. She pushed Zu An to the side and ran in the other direction.

    Zu An couldn''t help butugh when she saw her leave.

    <i>This woman is surprisingly kind. She¡¯s worried that she might end up dragging me into her mess.</i>

    However, the Yaksha Ocean Patrol were extremely fast and blocked the woman¡¯s path, saying, ¡°You cannot escape anymore. Just give up and let us capture you!¡±

    Their voices were much more coarse than the Yaksha Ocean Patrol in the restaurant, as if they were demons from hell. Just listening to it could make one shiver in fear.

 Chapter 2117: The Mermaid Queen

    <h4>Chapter 2117: The Mermaid Queen</h4>

    ¡°Stop speaking nonsense!¡± The woman took out two emeici[1]-like weapons and started to fight with the Yaksha Ocean Patrol.

    Zu An nodded. He could tell that her cultivation wasn¡¯t low, and she always made the most rational decisions. But her energies didn¡¯t seem to be uniform and always became a bit sluggish at the most crucial moments, preventing her from taking advantage of her enemy¡¯s openings. As a result, she ended up in danger.

    What was even stranger, however, was the Yaksha Ocean Patrol. The madam kicked the Yakshas'' vital points several times, and yet they seemedpletely fine. Were their defenses really this strong?

    The madam finally found an opportunity. With a flick of her finger, a thin needle struck between the brows of a Yaksha that was attacking her. The Yaksha fell to the ground. Her needle was clearly no ordinary item.

    Zu An chuckled.

    <i>It¡¯s good that this thing didn¡¯t enter my body earlier.</i>

    Just then, the situation on the battlefield swiftly changed. The remaining Yaksha Ocean Patrol used the chance to attack at the same time. Several pikes sealed off all routes of escape.

    With a twist of the woman¡¯s waist, however, she slipped out past those pikes at an unbelievable angle.

    ¡°What a flexible waist!¡± Zu An sighed in amazement.

    On top of that, the madam''s body seemed to be using the great dao of the world. It was like a fish waving its tail, or an antelope striking with its horns. It resembled nature itself. However, as soon as she broke out of the encirclement, her body staggered. The Yaksha that seemed to have been killed and was lying on the ground suddenly opened his eyes and grabbed her ankle.

    Even though the madam reacted quickly and reflexively kicked his hand away, with that dy, the other Yakshas had already surrounded her. Several pikes aimed at her body¡¯s vitals so she couldn¡¯t dare to move at all. The woman gave the Yaksha on the ground a nk look. She really couldn''t understand why it could still move despite being struck between the brows by her weapon.

    Even so, she quickly reacted to her current predicament. She looked at the nearby Zu An and eximed, ¡°What are you just standing around for? Are you really not going to help?!¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°But these are the Ocean races¡¯ famous Yaksha Ocean Patrol, and we¡¯re just strangers who met by chance. Why do I have to take the huge risk of offending the Ocean races? Of course, if you''re willing to help me look for what I told you about earlier, I can consider helping out a bit.¡±

    ¡°For better or for worse, we shared a drink. You really are cold!¡± the woman snapped furiously. ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to help you, but rather that there really is no way to obtain that thing.¡±

    Zu An was almost speechless. ¡°Are you really that stupid? Do you know what kind of a situation you''re in, and yet you still can¡¯t tell a lie to save yourself?¡±

    The middle-aged woman was speechless.

    The Yaksha Ocean Patrol exchanged a look. ¡°What do we do about him?¡±

    The leader said seriously, ¡°Since he saw us capture her, we naturally need to silence him.¡±

    The dismayed woman¡¯s eyes lit up. She watched his sudden misfortune with great joy.

    <i>Whose fault is it for just standing around and watching this happen?</i>

    Zu An was speechless.

    Several Yakshas nodded. With a tap of their feet, they rushed at him from both sides like artillery shells. They were extremely fast and arrived in front of Zu An almost instantly, their glistening pikes only a few inches from reaching his skin. The Yakshas'' ugly faces and sinister smiles were extremely striking.

    <i>Boom!</i>

    Several muffled groans filled the air. The ferocious Yakshas were blown back, their bodies twitching continuously on the ground. Quite a few parts of their bodies were twisted. It was obvious that almost all of their bones were broken.

    The woman widened her eyes. After seeing him send the tough-looking Hai Daniu flying, she had felt that his cultivation wasn¡¯t bad, but she hadn¡¯t expected him to be this strong! After all, the Yakshas were far stronger than Hai Daniu! And this ck miasma seemed to make them even stronger than ordinary Yakshas. And yet they''d ended up like this from a single exchange? More importantly, she hadn¡¯t even seen how he attacked!

    Her expression changed in an instant. She looked at him vigntly.

    <i>Just who is he? What is his purpose in approaching me?</i>

    The remaining Yaksha leader harrumphed. A strand of ck miasma reached out and quickly surrounded the bodies of hispanions. Then, a teeth-aching grinding noise filled the air. The Yakshas that were lying on the sand with all of their bones and meridians shattered actually crawled to their feet again. Many of them fixed their own twisted arms and legs. One even twisted their head back bu 180 degrees.

    The woman finally knew why the Yaksha she attacked hadn¡¯t died even though he was struck between the brows by her treasure, and seemed perfectly fine instead. She said, ¡°Be careful. Judging from their current state, they might no longer be the Yaksha Ocean Patrol.¡±

    ¡°Hm? So you actually knew how to care for me!¡± Zu An remarked with a chuckle. He didn¡¯t seem surprised by this sudden change at all.

    ¡°Pah!¡± The woman harrumphed. Even though there was no redness on her face, Zu An could sense her embarrassment from her gaze.

    Zu An felt a bit of regret. He really just couldn¡¯t fix this bad habit of his. He already owed enough people debts of affection; it was a bad idea to keep willfully teasing others like this.

    The Yaksha Leader and a dozen guards surged with thick ck energy and attacked Zu An again. Even though this human seemed strong, they currently had undying bodies. The one who died in the end would definitely be him.

    Zu An gave them a look and coldly said, ¡°They¡¯re nothing more than mere puppet weapons refined through death energy.¡±

    His body erupted with a gentle white radiance. The Yakshas seemed to have encountered the most terrifying thing in the world and screamed miserably. The ck miasma began to dissolve at a visible rate. In just a few seconds, the Yakshas were all lying on the ground with ashen expressions. Many ces on their bodies were already rotting. It was clear that they had long since died.

    Zu An walked over to the woman and said, ¡°I just saved your life. How will you thank me?¡±

    When she saw how he was bathed in white light, the woman was a bit absentminded. She muttered, ¡°Are you a god?¡±

    Zu An was briefly stunned. He first turned off the Primordial Origin Sutra, and the light gradually faded. He said, "Just a bit of purifying power that¡¯s not worth mentioning.¡±

    The woman finally reacted to what was happening. and asked,¡°Just who are you?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what I should be asking you. Just who are you?¡± Zu An repeated, staring at her with a pondering gaze. ¡°Or perhaps I should call you... the Mermaid Queen?¡±

    The woman¡¯s expression changed. ¡°How did you know... Wait, I¡¯m not!¡±

    With a wave of Zu An¡¯s hand, the demonic shackles binding her were cut apart. He said, ¡°I¡¯m not an idiot. You have such an amazing figure, and yet you have that ugly face. You might have been able to fool the others in the restaurant, but I know you¡¯re definitely using some incredible magic artifact to hide your appearance.¡±

    There was something else that he didn¡¯t dare to mention. Her presence waspletely different from that of the foul-smelling Ocean race customers in the restaurant. Also, perhaps she could fake other things, but the feeling of her waist wasn''t something an ordinary woman could have.

    ¡°So you already knew who I was from the start, but you deliberately went over and... and treated me with disrespect?¡± The woman touched her face, revealing her stunning features. Her milk-like, exquisite skin was nothing like her previous yellow and bumpy face! There was a faint blush on her face, perhaps out of embarrassment or anger.

    When she recalled how she''d been the one to move closer to him, and even leaned into his arms to avoid the pursuing troops, she really wanted to dig a hole in the ground and hide. At the time, she had another appearance and no one had known who she was, which was why she hadn''t felt as if it was a big deal for her to go a bit further.

    <i>But now, ahhhhh! I want to die...</i>

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Shang Hongyu for +233 +233 +233..</strong>

    Zu An had an ¡®as expected¡¯ expression when he saw the name that showed up. She did really resemble Shang Liuyu, but the greatest difference was in her temperament.

    Shang Liuyu was like the flowing clouds in the sky, a clear spring in the forest. She seemed to have a lofty and unsullied air of disinterest in the mundane world. In contrast Shang Hongyu was a bit more charming. Furthermore, there was a unique air of kindness to her. Could it be because she was already married?

    ¡°Wait, are you Chi Wen¡¯s mom?¡± Zu An thought back to the unlucky kid he''d met in the past. Wasn¡¯t this woman a bit too young?

    ¡°Chi Wen?¡± Shang Liuyu couldn''t help but smile when she thought of that mischievous kid who needed a good beating. She exined, ¡°Chi Wen is my big sister¡¯s child. Unfortunately, my big sister died from an illness, so that childcks a bit of proper teaching.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>The Dragon King really is a bit ridiculous. He took both sisters in!</i>

    Shang Hongyu¡¯s expression suddenly changed. She said, ¡°Stop changing the topic. Did you do that on purpose before?¡±

    ¡°I actually didn¡¯t," Zu An said. When he thought about how this was Shang Liuyu¡¯s big sister, he still felt that he had to do some exining. ¡°At first, I thought that you were just some distinguished madam who left to travel the world and y. After all, there have been simr examples all around the world, and they were all women who were full of unrealistic fantasies about the world from the books they read.¡±

    The Mermaid Queen was speechless.

    ¡°Later,, when the Yaksha Ocean Patrol came looking for you and I saw your nervous appearance, I became suspicious for the first time.¡± Zu An chuckled. ¡°But your weapon was a needle, and I don¡¯t think I''ve heard of the Mermaid Queen using such a weapon. That¡¯s why I wondered if you were from the manta ray race.¡±

    The Mermaid Queen was speechless again.

    ¡°Of course, most importantly, I didn¡¯t think that the Mermaid Queen would proactively lean against the body of another man.¡± Zu An had a strange expression as he spoke. If the Dragon King found out that he''d taken advantage of his wife, that would be a bit troublesome. Besides, what would he say to Shang Liuyu? Would she really believe his innocence?

    ¡°You¡¯re still talking about that?!¡± the Mermaid Queen eximed, feeling a bit embarrassed. She reflexively raised her fists to hit him, but she suddenly felt as if doing so would be a bit too intimate and quickly pulled her hands back.

    Zu An coughed lightly and replied, ¡°You can¡¯t me me for any of this, you know? Butter, when the ck miasma-shrouded Yaksha Ocean Patrol caught up to you, and I saw that not only were you injured, you also had those high-levelbat skills that only the Ocean races'' royal family could know, I¡¯d have to be an idiot to still not know who you were.¡±

    Shang Hongyu took a deep breath and calmed down a bit before asking, ¡°Then who are you?¡± Then, she added, ¡°Don¡¯t y those games with that ''chance meeting, not acquainted'' stuff. With your cultivation, there''s no way you¡¯re unknown on the human side. You¡¯re definitely someone big.¡± She frowned as she spoke, musing, ¡°When did the human side be so prosperous? Someone this strong actually came from there.¡±

    Zu An was a bit embarrassed, saying, ¡°Actually, the two of us do have a bit of a rtionship...¡±

    Shang Houyu raised her brows and eximed, ¡°Are you trying to take advantage of me again?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not it...¡± Zu An felt a bit helpless. He could only tell her who he was.

    Shang Hongyu looked at him in shock. ¡°There¡¯s no way. I¡¯ve seen Zu An¡¯s appearance before...¡±

    ¡°You know, I¡¯ve seen your portrait too and you don¡¯t look like that,¡± Zu An replied. Left with no choice, he could only take off his mask and reveal his true appearance, saying, ¡°I just didn¡¯t want my real face to be known by outsiders.¡±

    Shang Hongyu¡¯s red lips opened slightly when she saw his face. A whileter, she said with aplicated expression and a sigh, ¡°So it really was you. That¡¯s fine. At least I wasn¡¯t bullied by an outsider.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. Why did this suddenly sound a bit like ¡®keeping the goodies within the family¡¯?

    ¡°I¡¯ve offended you considerably thus far, so I hope your highness doesn¡¯t me me for that.¡± Zu An put away his frivolousness and bowed toward her.

    Shang Hongyu pursed her lips and smiled, saying, ¡°Arrogant at first, and then respect after... Aare you worried that I¡¯ll tell on you to Liuyu?¡±

    Zu An chuckled in embarrassment. ¡°Your highness must be joking. I don¡¯t believe you wish for the Dragon King to know what happened either, right?¡±

    Both of them were stunned when those words came out. Zu An felt as if it sounded a bit weird, as if they''de out of one of those Japanese stories.

    Shang Hongyu became dispirited and suddenly sighed deeply.

    When he recalled the wanted posters, Zu An couldn''t help but ask, ¡°Right, just what happened? Why did you have to run? And why is the Dragon King ordering for your arrest?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a long story,¡± Shang Hongyu said as she looked into the distance. There were many people running in their direction. The sounds of fighting had already startled the people by the restaurant, and they''d all rushed outside to investigate.

    ¡°Follow me.¡± Shang Hongyu grabbed Zu An¡¯s hand and ran off to the side. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    After running for a while, Zu An finally couldn''t help but ask, ¡°Your highness won¡¯t me me for taking advantage of you anymore?¡±

    Shang Hongyu harrumphed. ¡°You and little sis are... good friends, so of course you¡¯re my good friend too. What¡¯s wrong with brothers and sisters holding hands?¡±

    Zu An was stunned.

    <i>I guess you¡¯re making a bit of sense? It¡¯s my bad for having impure thoughts and thinking random things.</i>

    ¡°How about you point toward where we should go?¡± Zu An suggested; he could tell that she was injured and couldn''t run too fast. There were quite a few strong individuals among the restaurant customers. It would be a bit tricky if they couldn''t shake them off.

    ¡°Over there, there¡¯s a cave near the cliff...¡± Midway through her sentence, Shang Hongyu suddenly felt herself being taken into the air and couldn''t help but cry out. It turned out Zu An had already put his arm around her waist, flying into the air above the ocean.

    When she felt his strong and warm arm, Shang Hongyu opened her mouth and wanted to say something, but didn¡¯t in the end. She had just said that it was fine for siblings to hold hands. If she now went back on her word, that would only make things more awkward.

    Zu An was incredibly fast. They left the restaurant customers behind in the blink of an eye. Shang Hongyu gave him instructions along the way, so they were able to reach the cave in the cliff quickly.

    1. Traditional Chinese martial arts weapons that look like thin metal rods with spiked tips. ?

 Chapter 2118: Impersonating Husband and Wife

    <h4>Chapter 2118: Impersonating Husband and Wife</h4>

    Once theynded in the cave, Shang Hongyu left Zu An¡¯s arms.

    The cave was likely the abandoned nest of a giant bird. Shang Liuyu moved some bones to the side for fear that throwing them out would end up alerting others. This kind of cave was really bad-smelling, but she had somehow made it so that there weren¡¯t any strange smells at all, and the ce had a faint delicate fragrance instead. There was ayer of hay piled on the giant rock to the side. It was quite tidy, but the entire cave was too crude. It didn¡¯t match the Mermaid Queen¡¯s identity at all.

    ¡°I¡¯ve shown you a poor side of me. Sit anywhere you like. There''s no tea here, so I can''t entertain you properly,¡± Shang Liuyu said, using her messy hair that had been blown all over her face to hide her blush.

    ¡°I have some.¡± Zu An casually grabbed at empty air, and a tea set quickly appeared. He chose some spiritual tea ingredients, and ced them into a pot before pouring in some spiritual springwater gifted to him from the various sects. His finger produced a small me, which quickly brought the tea to a boil.

    Shang Hongyu watched with a stupefied expression. A whileter, she said, ¡°That seemed to be a true me just now. If the people of this world knew that you were using such a precious true me to cook tea, they would curse you for wasting resources recklessly.¡±

    As the Ocean races'' empress, her knowledge was naturally special. True mes were birthed naturally by the world, and each one was extremely powerful. More importantly, they could be used to refine weapons and pills that ordinary mes couldn''t. However, true mes were really difficult to control. The slightest mistake and one would end up hurting oneself, and yet Zu An was actually able to control it so effortlessly to prepare such a small pot of tea. This level of skill really was incredible.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t all of these things meant to make life more convenient, for life to be more blessed? Otherwise, you''d only be a ve to your own tools.¡± Zu An chuckled and poured her a cup of tea.

    ¡°You have a point,¡± Shang Hongyu said, then picked up the teacup and took a sip. She felt a refreshing feeling prate deeply into her heart before scattering. Her mood was calmed quite a bit, and her injuries even stabilized a bit. She took a few sips, surprised. This tea was really special!

    She couldn''t help but secretly give Zu An a look. At first, she''d thought that he was a bit too frivolous and indulgent in his behavior, and hadn¡¯t really approved of it. But only now did she realize that he was doing this for her. She couldn''t help but sigh, thinking that it was no wonder her usually proud and arrogant little sister would treat him so differently.

    ¡°Can your highness tell me exactly what happened now?¡± Zu An asked with a curious look. He had way too many questions right now. Just what was this couple ying at? There was no way he was just being messed around with in a game they were ying, right?

    ¡°Something bad happened to the Dragon King. The current Dragon King is an imposter.¡± Shang Hongyu¡¯s very first sentence was already earth-shattering.

    ¡°What?!¡± Zu An eximed in shock.

    After all, the Dragon King¡¯s cultivation wasn¡¯t inferior to thete Fiend Emperor''s or Zhao Han¡¯s. How had something suddenly happened to him? Besides that, what was going on with this fake Dragon King? There were so many powerful individuals among the Ocean races. How could he possibly be impersonated?

    Shang Hongyu continued, ¡°A few days ago, the Dragon King went out on a trip, but he was acting a bit strange when he came back. Now that I think about it, that was probably when he was reced by another.¡±

    ¡°Where did the Dragon King go?¡± Zu An asked. After his initial shock passed, he trusted Shang Hongyu¡¯s deduction. After all, they were husband and wife, and she was someone of distinguished temperament. How could she possibly joke around about this kind of thing? As such, he asked some questions to see if he could learn anything.

    ¡°To the m Lady,¡± Shang Hongyu said with a frown.

    ¡°The m Lady?¡± Zu An asked, stunned. This touched upon a blind spot of his knowledge. ¡°Are there any dangerous areas over there?¡±

    ¡°No, but he was only going there to have fun. The m Lady is really affectionate, so which man in the Ocean races wouldn¡¯t like that?¡± Shang Hongyu said with a sneer.

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>This is awkward... I only wanted to ask about what dangers happened to the Dragon King, so how did it end up bing a situation of jealousy?</i>

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to feel embarrassed about that,¡± Shang Liuyu said, as if seeing through his thoughts. ¡°The Dragon King is known for being lustful. No matter the race, not a single woman can escape his harem as long as they''re pretty.¡± She gave Zu An an ambiguous smile as she said that, then continued, ¡°It''s been rumored that the regent is simr in style, yet I feel as if you''re much more fresh and pure. I''ve heard about those sweethearts of yours too. Compared to the Dragon King¡¯s women, it isn¡¯t even on the same level.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>I was just enjoying someone else¡¯s drama, and yet it ended up turning on me instead?</i>

    However, the Dragon King really was ridiculous. He had nine main sons, and they had all been birthed by women of different species. They were allpletely different in appearance.

    <i>Hm? Wait, a female ghost, a talisman, a fox-spirit...</i>

    <i>I¡¯m not really all that much better myself...</i>

    Shang Hongyu put away her smile. ¡°Every few days, he runs off to another woman to flirt with them, and I¡¯ve already gotten used to it. It doesn¡¯t really bother me. But this time, when he returned, he seemed to have be apletely different person.¡±

    ¡°What kind of changes were there? Don¡¯t tell me that none of the Ocean races¡¯ numerous experts saw through the issues with the Dragon King?¡± Zu An asked about the thing that was bothering him the most.

    ¡°Those people all interact with him from a distance, so how could they know him as well as us women? How could a woman not understand her own husband?¡± Shang Hongyu replied coldly.

    ¡°Oh...¡± Zu An looked as if he now understood something.

    Shang Hongyu was stunned, and her face turned red. She eximed, ¡°What are you thinking?! I didn¡¯t let him take advantage of me! It¡¯s just that after being married for so long, I''m just too familiar with him. That''s why I immediately noticed that something was wrong as soon as he came back.¡±

    She didn¡¯t know why she felt as if she suddenly had to exin that to him.

    Zu An felt a bit awkward. He was the one whose thoughts had gone in the wrong direction. At first, he''d even felt that it was a bit pitiable. He asked, ¡°Do you know anything about that person¡¯s origins?¡±

    Shang Hongyu shook her head slightly and said, ¡°I don''t. To be honest, it is a bit strange. That person didn¡¯t reveal any gaps or holes in their speech and behavior. If not for the fact that I''m so familiar with the Dragon King from having been around him for so many years, even I might have had a difficult time telling him apart.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, <i>Could it be an appearance changing skill?</i> But normal appearance changing skills aren¡¯t that amazing, let alone trying to impersonate someone that powerful. Could the imposter also know Face of a Thousand Identities? n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Try to think about who among the Dragon King¡¯s enemies would be the most likely to be able to do something like this. After all, with the Dragon King¡¯s cultivation, how could an ordinary person possibly injure him?¡± Zu An asked.

    Shang Hongyu quietly thought to herself for a bit. In the end, her eyesnded on Zu An and said, ¡°After thinking back and forth about that, I concluded that the only possibility was you."

    Zu An was dumbfounded.

    Shang Hongyu then exined, ¡°The Dragon King¡¯s cultivation is even higher than the people of the world think. Out of everyone in the world, the only ones he still regarded as rivals were the human emperor Zhao Han and thete Fiend Emperor. Those two have already died, so the only one who could still harm him in this entire world is you.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    Shang Hongyu chuckled in distress before saying, ¡°Even though I had that suspicion before, when I thought about your rtionship with Liuyu, I felt that it couldn¡¯t be you. Now that I''ve met you myself, thest bit of doubt has been directly erased.¡±

    When Zu An heard that, he quickly asked, ¡°Then what about Shang Liuyu? If your arrest was ordered, doesn¡¯t that mean she''s in danger too?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, she rarely remains in the Dragon Pce. A few days ago, she went out to obtain some lost ancient songs and said she wouldn¡¯t be back for some time, so she isn¡¯t in danger. She¡¯s a smart woman, too. Now that she''s heard about my arrest order, she definitely won¡¯t rashly return to the Dragon Pce, and will secretly investigate this matter instead,¡± Shang Hongyu replied.

    Shang Liuyu appeared in Zu An¡¯s mind and he reflexively nodded. She was indeed that kind of reassuring person. He said, ¡°Since no one in this entire world could harm the Dragon King, it seems the enemy must havee from outer space."

    Shang Hongyu¡¯s pretty face had a look of surprise as she asked, ¡°Are you talking about those alien monsters?¡± Zu An had previously informed the Fiend races and Ocean races¡¯ higher-ups through various channels, so she naturally knew about the invaders.

    Zu An voiced his confirmation. ¡°That¡¯s right. I''ve had quite a few dealings with them in the past. Those monsters are really strong and many of them are stronger than thete Fiend Emperor. I thought I had already dealt with most of the hidden dangers in the sealednd, and didn¡¯t expect there to be more in the Ocean races'' territory.¡±

    The Ocean races¡¯ territory was extremely vast, but they normally didn¡¯t have much contact with humans. They liked to remain close to their own territory, so that was why they hadn''t left too big of an impression on him. But what if the chaos in the sealednd and on the human side had been nothing more than a ruse to distract the strongest beings of the world from noticing the invaders'' plot in the Ocean races? With the Ocean races¡¯ size and numbers, if the alien monsters got their way, just how terrifying would that be?

    Zu An broke out into a cold sweat when he thought of that.

    ¡°That is indeed a possibility. The Yaksha Ocean Patrol we encountered just now was strange. I''ve never seen the ck miasmaing out of their bodies before,¡± Shang Hongyu said.

    ¡°It''s a kind of death energy, but it is a bit special. It seems to be especially pure and concentrated,¡± Zu An said gravely. He had fought against many kinds of departed spirits, but this was the first time he had encountered such pure death energy.

    The two both had their own issues to think about. A brief, strange silence fell upon the cave.

    A whileter, Zu An remembered his reason foring here and asked, ¡°Right, why were you always beating around the bush with the Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine? Is there some difficulty in acquiring it?¡±

    Shang Hongyu snapped out of her daze and said, ¡°Oh, that thing. It¡¯s because I didn¡¯t know who you were, and these Ocean races¡¯ secrets can¡¯t be told to outsiders. But since it¡¯s you, it doesn¡¯t really matter.¡± She paused for a moment and sized up Zu An, asking, ¡°Can I ask why you want to find this medicine?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s to save someone.¡±

    ¡°From the looks of it, it should be a woman.¡±

    Shang Hongyu sighed inwardly when she saw the pain Zu An revealed in that moment.

    <i>This kid is quite the affectionate one, and he¡¯s not as fickle as the Dragon King. He really is a rarely seen good and pure man. Little sister¡¯s insight is much better than mine.</i>

    ¡°The Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine might only be a legend in the Ocean races. Apart from the Dragon King and myself, the ones who know about it among the Ocean races might not exceed three people. But even so, none of us have ever seen it before," she continued.

    Zu An was surprised, saying, ¡°I¡¯d like to hear the details.¡±

    ¡°Legend has it that the Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine only has a chance of being produced in ces with the strongest draconic energy. And currently, there is only one ce where draconic energy is the richest, which is the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons.¡± Shang Hongyu¡¯s expression grew grave as she continued, ¡°But even in the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons, there is only a chance of producing a single Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine. Even so, no one has ever really seen it in all these years.¡±

    ¡°The Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons, huh...¡± Zu An began to think to himself. That seemed to be the tomb where sessive generations of the Dragon race were buried. Whether there was anyone who had seen the Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine before or not, he still had to personally make a trip there.

    ¡°The Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons is a forbidden area of the Dragon race, and it only opens once every hundred years. We''re close to its opening time, but there is another problem,¡± Shang Hongyu exined. ¡°The Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons only permits the entry of the Dragon King, and not even I have the qualifications to enter. As for the other members of the Dragon race, you must be at least of the Great Golden Dragon bloodline to enter. All other dragons can only be sent into the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons after they pass away.¡±

    Zu An said indifferently, ¡°I don¡¯t think anyone could stop me if I wanted to enter.¡±

    ¡°I know you''re strong, but the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons is not only the Dragon race¡¯s holynd; it''s also one to the Ocean races. Your status is also special, so if you barged straight in, it would definitely spark a war between the Ocean and Fiend races,¡± Shang Hongyu hurriedly advised. ¡°Besides, apart from that, the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons has always been a final resting ce for generations of the Dragon race. Over ten thousand years ago, countless powerful individuals created all sorts of restrictions inside, so it''s already be the Ocean races¡¯ most famous forbidden zone. If you really entered, no matter how high your cultivation was, you would still most likely die if those restrictions activated.¡±

    Zu An frowned. What she said could be true. After all, not only would he be facing the Dragon race experts of this generation, but also the umted killing intent of the whole Dragon race across thousands of years.

    He suddenly thought of something and asked, ¡°Do you think that guy could be impersonating the Dragon King precisely for a chance to enter the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons?¡±

    Shang Hongyu¡¯s expression turned grave. She said, ¡°Now that you¡¯ve mentioned it, that is a big possibility.¡±

    ¡°If they can impersonate the Dragon King, we can as well.¡± Zu An already had a n forming.

    ¡°How are you going to do that?¡± Shang Hongyu asked in confusion. She didn¡¯t understand what he meant at all.

    ¡°I know an appearance-changing skill that can allow me to change into the Dragon King. Together with you as the real queen, I¡¯ll be even more real than that fake Dragon King,¡± Zu An replied.

    But he hadn¡¯t expected Shang Hongyu to shake her head, replying, ¡°The Dragon King isn¡¯t so easily changed into. Among the Ocean races, there are countless outstanding individuals with prating eyesight. How could an appearance-altering skill deceive them? That''s why I''m so confused about how that fake Dragon King did it.¡±

    ¡°My appearance-altering skill is a bit different. One moment...¡± Zu An closed his eyes and thought about what the Dragon King had looked like when he appeared after he killed that golden dragon in the past. Then, he activated Face of a Thousand Identities.

    Soon after, before Shang Hongyu¡¯s horrified gaze, Zu An became just like the Dragon King.

    ¡°How about now?¡± Zu An looked at Shang Hongyu and chuckled.

    Shang Hongyu immediately jumped back a huge distance in shock. When she was standing by the entrance, she finally suppressed her urge to run. She eximed, ¡°You... Just who are you?!¡±

    Zu An sighed. ¡°I already told you that my appearance-changing skill is a bit special.¡± Then, he returned to his normal appearance.

    Afterward Shang Hongyu swallowed with difficulty, then returned to his side hesitantly. She reached out and pinched his face, and then pinched his body here and there. After that, she used some strength to pull on him.

    ¡°Hey, it hurts!¡± Zu An grabbed her in annoyance. ¡°Just what are you trying to confirm?¡±

    When she felt the heat from his hand, Shang Hongyu¡¯s heart skipped a beat. She pulled her hand back and said, ¡°I was checking to see if you were a fake.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure now?¡± Zu An rubbed his face unhappily.

    Shang Hongyu grinned when she saw his behavior. She said, ¡°If not for the fact I heard that you were someone who always created miracles from little sis, I really wouldn¡¯t have dared to believe you.¡±

    Zu An was surprised, replying, ¡°She really said that about me? Ah, even if it¡¯s true, she shouldn¡¯t be telling everyone about that. I like to keep a low profile, you know?¡±

    Shang Hongyu was speechless.

    ¡°You really care about what she thinks about you, huh? She told me something else about you. Do you want to know what it was?¡±

    ¡°I do!¡±

    ¡°She said that you were really shameless, and that if there was apetition to see who was the most shameless in the world, you would win.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    ...

    The two joked around for a bit, and then Shang Hongyu grew serious. ¡°Your appearance-changing skill is indeed amazing, but your voice is different from the Dragon King''s, so you still can¡¯t impersonate him.¡±

 Chapter 2119: A Dizzy Queen

    <h4>Chapter 2119: A Dizzy Queen</h4>

    Zu An¡¯s expression was a bit unnatural as he said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I can change the voice to be the same too.¡±

    ¡°Then why don¡¯t you give it a try?¡± Shang Hongyu asked, suddenly getting an expectant look in her eyes.

    Zu An chuckled in embarrassment, replying, ¡°It¡¯s not too convenient for me to do it now. Using that skill needs an appropriate price, so it can¡¯t be used randomly."

    <i>Are you kidding me? If she found out that the Kawaii Waifu Voice Changer needed me to first pretend to be a woman to trick a man, wouldn¡¯t she be rolling all over the ground inughter?</i>

    <i>If news of this got out, my image would bepletely destroyed!</i>

    ¡°Alright, since you¡¯re saying so, then it should be fine.¡± Shang Hongyu didn¡¯t ask too many questions. Many abilities in this world came with a cost. It would actually be weirder for him to show it to her. She continued, ¡°Then the problem right now is that your words and actions still don¡¯t resemble the Dragon King enough. I¡¯ll teach you along the way, and with your wits and intelligence, I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll take long for you to be just like him."

    Zu An frowned. ¡°Do we really have to go through all that trouble?¡±

    Right now, his focus waspletely on finding the Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine as quickly as possible. As long as it was enough to fool the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons¡¯ mechanisms and the Ocean races¡¯ cultivators, that was already enough. Why would he ever bother properly learning about the Dragon King¡¯s bearing and actions?

    Shang Hongyu seemed to have guessed his thoughts. She stared at him and said, ¡°I¡¯ll help you obtain the Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine, and you help me get rid of the fake Dragon King. This should be a fair trade. You won¡¯t just leave without taking responsibility, right?¡±

    ¡°Why are you making it sound so weird?¡± Zu An replied, feeling a bit wronged. ¡°Besides, that Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine might not even exist, and the fake Dragon King is something that could evenpletely rece the real Dragon King. It doesn¡¯t seem like a fair trade at all!¡±

    ¡°Are you really not at all curious about what those monsters want to do to the Ocean races? If theypletely control the Ocean races, that¡¯ll be a huge disaster for both the human and fiend sides.¡± Shang Hongyu didn¡¯t get nervous. Her expression became one of amusement as she continued, ¡°Besides, even if you don¡¯t care about these things, can you ignore Liuyu?¡±

    Zu An was speechless. Eventually, he said, ¡°You win. But if these two things end up shing with each other, I''ll look for the Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine first.¡±

    <i>Who said this woman was a good and innocent person? Her skill in manipting people is top-notch!</i>

    ¡°That¡¯s fine,¡± Shang Hongyu replied. When she heard him agree, she felt her entire body ease up.

    Zu An got up and asked, ¡°Where are you going next?¡±

    ¡°I was only going to look for some information here, then look for you on the fiend and human sides. I didn¡¯t expect the heavens to deliver you right to me. There¡¯s naturally no reason for me to go over there now, so we can just travel through the great sea.¡± Shang Hongyu also stood up.

    ¡°You were looking for me?¡± Zu An asked in surprise.

    ¡°Of course. Apart from you, who else could defeat that fake Dragon King? Besides, you have that that level of friendship with Liuyu, so it¡¯d be a waste not to make use of that.¡± Shang Hongyu winked at him craftily.

    Zu An was speechless. He said, ¡°Your highness really is good at calcting.¡±

    <i>But why does it sound so weirding out of my mouth?</i>

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to call me ''your highness'' so politely. Do I have to call you ''regent'' every time? Just call me Hongyu. Of course, you can call me big sis just like my little sister,¡± Shang Hongyu corrected him with a smile.

    Zu An was a bit conflicted. He and Shang Liuyu didn¡¯t really have anything further than friendship, so he couldn''t bring himself to call her big sister. She said, ¡°I¡¯ll just call you Hongyu then. From now on, you can call me Ah Zu.¡±

    ¡°Ah... Ah Zu.¡± Shang Hongyu¡¯s face heated up a bit. He''d actually just called her by name directly! Apart from the Dragon King and the seniors of the n, no one addressed her like this. She''d actually wanted him to call her big sister, but it now seemed that his rtionship with her little sister wasn¡¯t as close as she had imagined. A bit of worry appeared between her brows.

    Zu An stood by the edge of the cliff cave and gazed into the vast sea, asking, ¡°How are we going to get to the Dragon Pce? Don¡¯t we have to take thatrge ship by the dock?¡±

    ¡°If you can fly for a long time, there¡¯s no need. We can go...¡± Shang Hongyu suddenly felt weakness overtake her midway through her sentence. Her feet buckled and she couldn''t stand still anymore. She fell straight down from the cliff.

    Fortunately, Zu An¡¯s hand moved quickly and caught her. He asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    While supporting her, he sent a wave of ki into her body. At the same time, he examined her condition.

    <i>Yeah, she¡¯s definitely suffered serious internal damage. This was most likely an injury inflicted by the Dragon King¡¯s subordinates when she was trying to escape.</i>

    <i>She''s been trying to avoid the arrest order and pursuit the whole time, so she¡¯s always been too tense. She probably didn¡¯t have time to even rest.</i>

    He carried Shang Hongyu to the bed and sent in ki to treat her injuries while feeding her some treatment medicine.

    When she felt something foreign being fed into her mouth, Shang Hongyu woke up in rm. But when she saw that it was Zu An, she sighed in relief.

    Zu An then lowered her and said, ¡°You should focus on treating your injuries and get some good rest. I¡¯ll watch our surroundings. You don¡¯t have to worry about any enemies that are looking for you.¡±

    When she heard what he said, Shang Hongyu felt a mysterious sense offort. After all, the Ocean races seemed to have collectively gone mad after the fake Dragon King gave the arrest order. In addition to the government soldiers, there were countless warriors out in the open too. Even the Fiend races and humans had many people who had rushed over for the sake of the generous reward. That was why she had been forced to run and hide every day, often only just finding a ce to stop over before the enemy would catch up again. Then, she could only change to another location.

    After a long time of that, her body was indeed already pushed to the limit. After she met Zu An, her excess of tension had unwound like a taut string that ckened. Now, she could no longer endure the fatigue.

    She already felt a bit more rxed, however. After circling her own internal energy, she suddenly opened her eyes and asked, ¡°Wait, why aren¡¯t you helping me treat my injuries?¡±

    Zu An''s exuberant power was something she could clearly sense even when she was unconscious. There was still some of his energy left inside her. If he continued to help her, she''d be able to recover even faster.

    Zu An¡¯s expression became strange as he said. ¡°My ki is a bit special. It¡¯s not really appropriate for me to use it on you.¡±

    ¡°Why? Don¡¯t tell me that you''re still worrying about your human side¡¯s culture of keeping distance between men and women?¡± Shang Hongyu grinned. ¡°I¡¯m the woman, and yet even I¡¯m not worried, so what are you worried about? Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t tell Liuyu. Also, even if she found out, she wouldn¡¯t say anything.¡±

    ¡°It really isn¡¯t appropriate...¡± Zu An chuckled. Ever since the Gold Phoenix ability had merged with his Primordial Origin Sutra, it would always stimte someone''s lust whenever he used his ki to treat them. If he only sent in a bit of ki to help a seriously wounded individual to gradually recover, it was fine, but if it prated deeply into their injuries, it was easy for other things to happen.

    ¡°Why are you being so stingy? What is so inappropriate about it?¡± Shang Hongyu didn¡¯t understand. ¡°I¡¯m in a hurry to recover and deal with the following situation. Even if there¡¯s an issue, I can take it.¡±

    Zu An was really left helpless here. He felt as if he couldn''t really exin with words, so he moved closer and prodded her body with his finger. Then, he used the Primordial Origin Sutra.

    Shang Hongyu felt a warm stream of force enter her, and it quickly flowed to every part of her body. Many areas of pain eased up.

    ¡°Hm? This treatment of yours is quite effective, so why did you keep beating around the bush... Mmm, ah~¡± Her entire body trembled midway through her sentence. An embarrassing moan couldn''t help but emerge from her mouth. She clutched her mouth in rm. Her beautiful face immediately became entirely red, and she glowered at him. ¡°What... What the hell are you doing?!¡±

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Shang Hongyu for +3 +3 +3...</strong>

    Zu An was quite surprised that she only gave him so few Rage points. But he still retracted his finger and shrugged. ¡°You now know why I wasn¡¯t treating your injuries, right?¡±

    Shang Hongyu was stunned, but she finally realized something. Her eyes widened as she said, ¡°You¡¯re saying that your treatment... will provoke a woman¡¯s... passion?¡±

    ¡°Maybe... Something like that,¡± Zu An said, a bit embarrassed. This skill of his really wasn¡¯t all that decent. He always felt a bit embarrassed talking about it.

    Shang Hongyu¡¯s expression changed between anger and fright. She harrumphed and said, ¡°Gross!¡±

    That feeling just now was just too provocative! She was feeling a bit dizzy even now.

    Zu An was speechless. He was now feeling a bit wronged, and replied, ¡°I said that I couldn''t treat you, right? You just had to keep pestering me to do it.¡±

    But just then, Shang Hongyu giggled. ¡°Just what kind of stuff do you study normally? No wonder you have so many sweethearts around you.¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you call me a pure and innocent little boy just not too long ago?¡± Zu An retorted in annoyance.

    ¡°That was before I knew about this ability of yours.¡± Shang Hongyu found it more and more amusing. ¡°Your skill really is good for taking advantage of women.¡±

    Zu An grew serious and said, ¡°My lovers and I all share mutual affinity. I''ve never used this skill to do anything dishonest.¡±

    ¡°Oh my, big sis was joking around with you. Look at how nervous you¡¯re getting.¡± The entire cave echoed with Shang Hongyu¡¯sughter. ¡°I get it, you¡¯re aplete gentleman. But I really can¡¯t have you help me from now on.¡±

    She actually even had the strange thought of just letting him treat her and be done with it. Either way, she had a clear conscience, and his rtionship with Liuyu was special. He also seemed like a proper gentleman. Those random thoughts would probably be under control.

    But in the end, she gave up on that thought. A single mistake and there could be no going back. Moreover, even if they could hold it in, if her embarrassing behavior ended up being fully disyed in front of him, how was she going to face him in the future?

    <i>Hmph, this guy¡¯s skill really is despicable. He¡¯s like a walking aphrodisiac. I¡¯ll have to warn little sis to be more careful. She absolutely can''t identally fall for these tricks.</i>

    Zu An walked to the entrance of the cave and sat down. He faced the great sea and had his back to her, saying, ¡°You should focus on treating your injuries and getting rest. I¡¯ll be on watch from here.¡±

    When she saw his broad back, Shang Hongyu felt warm inside. ¡°You cane a bit closer, you know? The wind is really strong outside.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. With my current cultivation, I don¡¯t get affected by the cold. A bit of wind won¡¯t do much.¡± Zu An had already closed his eyes. He had also been traveling day and night. It had been a long time since he got any rest.

    ¡°Thank you~¡± Shang Hongyu gave him a long look. Then, she began to transfer her internal energy to digest the medicine she''d just taken. When she sensed the endless medicinal strength, she was full of amazement. When she left, she was in such a hurry that she''d already used up the small amount of medicine she had with her.

    <i>His medicine is quite good, top-tier even by the standards of the Ocean races. I¡¯ll have to ask him about it when there¡¯s a chanceter.</i>

    <i>Hmm, but it is a bit worse than the ki he used to treat my injuries earlier.</i>

    She recalled that warm feeling that flooded her entire body as soon as his energy entered her. It had felt as if every single cell in her body was cheering.

    <i>Hmph, his women really are blessed. They can just enjoy his treatment without any worries at all.</i>

    When she thought of that, her cheeks suddenly became red. Her breathing also became a bit heavy. She opened her eyes in fright.

    <i>Shang Hongyu, Shang Hongyu, didn¡¯t you just let him do it once, and yet you¡¯re already like this?</i>

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Even though Zu An didn¡¯t move, he could still sense the strangeness that was happening to her.

    ¡°No... Nothing.¡± Shang Hongyu panicked a bit. If he found out about what she was thinking, perhaps she would just die from embarrassment.

    Still, she was the Ocean races'' queen, someone who had experienced many things. She quickly calmed down and removed the random thoughts on her mind. She began to seriously treat her injuries.

    ...

    After some time had passed, the stars in the sky started to fall. The sea in the horizon was dyed in a faint yellow glow.

    Shang Hongyu opened her eyes, then got up and walked to Zu An¡¯s side. She sighed in amazement and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect it to already be sunrise.¡±

    ¡°How are your injuries?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°Much better. They¡¯ve at least stabilized. If I take some time to adjust my internal energy each day, I should gradually recover,¡± Shang Hongyu replied. As she gazed into the sea, she was a bit absentminded.

    Zu An sighed in amazement.

    <i>As expected of the Ocean races'' queen. Both her cultivation and aptitude are first rate. She was able to recover from such serious injuries much faster than I expected.</i>

    Zu An noticed that longing expression in her eyes and was stunned. ¡°What are you looking at?¡±

    ¡°I miss the sea,¡± Shang Hongyu said, a bit embarrassed. ¡°There''s a serious issue with my injuries. If I just use my cultivation like this, the effects are actually much worse than usual.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Zu An frowned. He needed her to recover sooner so he could then go looking for the Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine.

    ¡°Our Mermaid race''s bodies are a bit different. We can''t leave the water for too long, or else we gradually grow weak. Recovering from injuries naturally also bes a much more difficult process,¡± Shang Hongyu replied.

    Zu An finally understood why there was such a longing in her eyes when she looked at the sea. No wonder Shang Liuyu had always had arge swimming pool in her courtyard. So it was because of her constitution.

    ¡°Then can¡¯t you just jump into the sea and swim around for a bit? The sea is sorge, we should be able to find a ce with no one there, right?¡± Zu An asked in confusion. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°I could find a ce without anyone, but if I reveal my original strength, it would be hard to conceal the Mermaid race¡¯s aura. The fake Dragon King has a treasure that can sense Mermaid aura. His subordinates would soon catch up.¡± Shang Hongyu said in vexation, ¡°The reason why the Yaksha Ocean Patrol was always on my tail was also because of that.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, <i>No wonder the Yaksha Ocean Patrol covered in the ck miasma were so urate with their pursuit. It seems she couldn''t hold it in anymore and went for a swim.</i>

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, I¡¯ll help you,¡± Zu An said after thinking about it.

    ¡°How are you going to help me?¡± Shang Hongyu asked, stunned.

    ¡°I¡¯ll help you conceal your aura, of course.¡± Zu An chuckled. He naturally couldn''t let go of any chances to allow her to recover faster. Of course, he couldn''t treat her personally.

    ¡°But...¡± Shang Hongyu suddenly stopped. Only now did she realize that this was someone at the very peak of the world. With him covering for her, there would naturally be no one who could find them.

    ¡°That¡¯s great then. follow me!¡± Shang Hongyu flew toward the sea in a certain direction.

    Zu An quickly followed her. Roughly an hourter, they arrived at a part of the sea with clear water. Compared to the sea by the restaurant, the water was so clear one could see the bottom, as if it was a gtin dessert, and yet also like ss. It glistened under the sunlight.

    ¡°This is a good ce. I already saw this ce a while ago, but I never dared toe here.¡± Shang Hongyu looked as happy as a young child.

    Zu An waved his hand, and a mysterious ki field surrounded everything within several miles. He said, "You can go in now. No one will be able to find you.¡±

    When she saw the tangible ki barrier, Shang Hongyu clicked her tongue in wonder. Then, she asked with a smile, ¡°Are you not going to turn around? I¡¯m going to take everything off.¡±

 Chapter 2120: The Side No One Knows

    <h4>Chapter 2120: The Side No One Knows</h4>

    Zu An¡¯s face heated up. He''d actually forgotten about that! He quickly turned around.

    ¡°You''d better not use your divine senses to peek at me,¡± Shang Hongyu said teasingly from behind him.

    ¡°Alright, alright. Are you going to wash up or not?¡± Zu An replied in annoyance. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°I was kidding. I don¡¯t need to take off my clothes. Sigh, sometimes, you really are like a pure little boy. I really wonder how you ended up getting the reputation of being a yboy.¡± Shang Hongyu¡¯s prettyugh filled the air. Her mood had clearly improved after she got the opportunity to move through the sea freely.

    Zu An turned around when he heard that. Sure enough, Shang Hongyu was still fully dressed, but she jumped straight into the water and fully submerged herself with a twist of her waist. Zu An was stunned. He quickly expanded the range of his screening barrier by more than a mile to give her more room to move around in.

    Just then, there was a ssh, and a mermaid leaped out from the water like a dolphin.

    Shang Hongyu was quite different from before. Her upper body was incredibly beautiful. She was no longer dressed in the in clothing she''d worn at the restaurant, but rather a piece of garment that resembled both a suit of armor and a swimsuit made of red scales. However, it only covered her chest and exposed arge amount of milky white skin. She had delicate corbones and a slender waist, which made her look just like a youngdy. Only her deep cleavage exposed that she was already an extremely mature woman.

    Even so, Zu An¡¯s eyes were fixated on her lower body. Her legs had already disappeared without a trace, now reced by arge, beautiful fish tail. Under the sunlight¡¯s radiance, every scale shone like rubies. Unlike Shang Liuyu¡¯s sky blue color, Shang Hongyu was mainly red. She was fiery and gorgeous.

    ¡°Do you like what you¡¯re seeing?¡± Shang Hongyu asked as she wandered unhurriedly through the water. After swimming back and forth a few times, she returned to thesurface. She propped her chin up on her arms, and her beautiful tail swayed leisurely in the water. The droplets on her cheeks were like pearls under the sunlight.

    ¡°I do,¡± Zu An said with sincere praise. She really was beautiful, and her current mermaid form gave him an even greater visual shock.

    ¡°Is this the first time you¡¯ve seen a mermaid? Has little sis never shown you before?¡± When she saw the shock in his eyes, Shang Hongyu felt quite proud of herself. Which beautiful person didn¡¯t want others to acknowledge their beauty, let alone the fact that this was no ordinary man at all?

    ¡°I already said that Liuyu and I were only friends,¡± Zu An said in annoyance. He had actually encountered an ancient mermaid queen in a secret dungeon, but after all, that one had already died. How could shepare to the lively living one in front of him?

    ¡°Haha, then I¡¯ll try to find a chance to show you again in the future.¡± Shang Hongyu did a turn. She swam leisurely on the water surface while looking at the man in the sky, calling out, ¡°Do you want toe down for a swim too? It feels really good.¡±

    Zu An shook his head. Even though a sea this beautiful was a bit tempting, the other person''s status was special. It wasn¡¯t appropriate for them to bathe together.

    ¡°Tsk, what is a grown man like you getting all embarrassed for? Just what are you thinking about? The sea is so big, and it¡¯s just swimming together,¡± Shang Hongyu said with an ambiguous smile.

    Zu An said impatiently, ¡°You¡¯re acting way too different from when we first met.¡±

    ¡°How so?¡± Shang Hongyu asked curiously. She didn''t bother inviting him in anymore.

    ¡°At first, you were really reserved and dignified, giving off a virtuous and warm feeling. That was how the other customers described their queen too. Now, you seem a bit...¡± Zu An immediately stopped. He didn¡¯t know how to describe it.

    ¡°A bit flirtatious?¡± Shang Hongyu harrumphed with a frown.

    ¡°Not necessarily.¡± Zu An chuckled. ¡°A bit daring, much more fiery and passionate than I had imagined.¡±

    ¡°That mouth of yours is pretty sweet indeed. No wonder so many women like you.¡± Shang Hongyu¡¯s ice-cold face finally seemed to melt. ¡°Who says that a virtuous and warm queen can¡¯t be fiery and passionate too?¡±

    ¡°Uh...¡± Zu An was now left at a loss for words.

    ¡°That¡¯s just what you men think. You all probably wish for every woman to be sweet-tempered and reserved, to the point that they won¡¯t even take a single step outside of the rules, and yet you yourselves love to go skirt-chasing and tease all kinds of pretty women.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression became strange. It seemed that the Dragon King¡¯s constant yboy behaviors had left the queen with a lot of resentment.

    Shang Hongyu looked at Zu An and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t know who you were, so of course I¡¯d treat you like everyone else. But now that I know who you are and we¡¯re all our own people, of course you get to see my real nature.¡±

    Zu An suddenly seemed to understand a bit when he looked at the queen''s beautiful red figure. It seemed that Shang Hongyu had also been a youngdy full of liveliness, someone who dared to love and dared to hate. But eventually, once she joined the Dragon Pce and became the queen of the Ocean races, she had been forced to follow the pce¡¯s rules, and had no choice but to face everyone with that mask. After all these years, she had been really sessful, and everyone in the Ocean races praised her for being a virtuous queen. But who knew what she was really feeling inside? It was only now that something happened to the Dragon King, pushing her to flee for her life, that she was able to drop her usual act andpletely return to her true self.

    When he thought of that, he couldn''t help but feel a bit of pity. He said, ¡°Your highness really must have felt wronged all these years.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re calling me ''your highness'' like a stranger again.¡± Even though that was what Shang Hongyu said, she was actually really happy, because she could feel the admiration in his expression. She immediately felt as if she was chatting with an intimate friend. Her tail suddenly patted the water surface to draw the attention of the man in the sky as she asked, ¡°Do you and Liuyu really not share any romantic feelings?¡±

    ¡°What are you suddenly asking this for?¡± Zu An asked curiously.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing much...¡± Shang Hongyu smiled and entered the water again. She swam around happily.

    Zu An was telling himself not to look at her disrespectfully, but in the end, he still couldn''t help but give that faintly discernible figure in the ocean another look.

    <i>Beautiful things should be admired in the first ce. Yeah, that¡¯s right.</i>

    ¡°Are you really noting down?¡±

    ¡°Nah.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t tell Liuyu.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    ¡°The Dragon King won¡¯t find out either.¡±

    ¡°Are you really talking about swimming at this point?¡±

    ¡°Heheh~¡±

    Soft and gentleughter continued to fill the air. It sounded like an elegant instrument, a sound that was difficult to forget.

    ...

    After who knew how much time had passed, Shang Hongyu swayed her tail in the water, and then rushed out. A sparkling curtain of water appeared around her to block Zu An¡¯s sight. Then, she began to rapidly spin. The beautiful tail turned into long and slender legs, and the red scales gradually faded, turning into a red dress that wrapped around her. A ribbon was tied around her waist, making her figure look even more graceful and elegant.

    Zu An continued to nod inwardly. This was an outfit that matched her more. Now, she no longer had the crude air of a working-ss woman from the restaurant, nor did she have the delicate appearance of the legendary queen. Instead, she had a valiant and formidable air, with nock of tender beauty within.

    ¡°It¡¯s been so long since I¡¯ve felt sofortable.¡± Shang Hongyu gradually sorted out her mmy hair. Since she was being pursued, she had always tried to rush herself when she entered the water; it was nothing like her current condition, in which she had been able topletely rx and enjoy the feeling of the sea on every inch of her skin.

    ¡°Are we returning to the cave now?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m not going back. Why would we go to that shoddy ce?¡±

    ¡°Makes sense. Then how about we go straight to the Dragon Pce? I can carry you while flying, so you just need to show me the way,¡± Zu An proposed. ¡°Which way?¡±

    However, Shang Hongyu said, ¡°We''re going to the port to ride the ship.¡±

    Zu An was confused, asking, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that we didn¡¯t need that ship anymore?¡±

    After all, at first, he''d been nning to take it because he didn¡¯t know the way. He could only follow the way everyone else took. But now that he had Shang Hongyu with him, why would he still choose such a slow method?

    ¡°I changed my mind, alright?¡± Shang Hongyu smiled sweetly. ¡°Don¡¯t you know that women are the best at that?¡±

    Zu An frowned and said, ¡°I really am in a rush to save someone.¡±

    ¡°It still isn¡¯t time for the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons to open, so it¡¯s useless even if you go there earlier,¡± Shang Hongyu said to appease him. ¡°Besides, didn¡¯t I say that even though you can look and sound like the Dragon King, your bearing and behavior are still too far off? We can use this journey to train you.¡±

    When Zu An thought about how the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons wasn¡¯t open yet, he realizedthere was indeed no need to rush. ¡°I guess it¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll just listen to you this time.¡±

    ...

    Then, the two flew along the shore. When they were about to arrive, Zu An gave the morous Shang Hongyu a look, asking, ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to change your appearance? You¡¯ll end up causing a hugemotion if you look like this.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I don¡¯t want to keep being that ugly anymore. You don¡¯t know how gross I felt whenever I looked at all those bumps in the mirror,¡± Shang Hongyu said in disgust.

    Zu An was speechless. ¡°Then how did you even endure it for so long? From my perspective, it looked as if you were actually kind of having fun.¡±

    Shang Hongyu rolled her eyes. ¡°That was because I had no choice. It was a matter of life and death, and I had the secrets of the fake Dragon King too. I couldn''t just let myself die. But now that you¡¯re here, I don¡¯t need to suffer like that anymore.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He really couldn''t figure out just what kind of logic she was using.

    Even so, she had already showed that appearance here before, so using it again wasn¡¯t too appropriate. When he realized that, he took out a thin mask and handed it to her, saying, ¡°Put this on then. Even though it¡¯s not pretty, it won¡¯t be ugly either.¡±

    Whether one was too pretty or too ugly, it would leave a strong impression. This mask would turn someone into apletely normal person, one that others would forget after a single look. Now that Zu An thought about it, this was the spoils he had received from that bandit boss in Brightmoon City, and yet it had helped him quite a bit. He was pretty thankful to that... <i>Hm? What was that ckwind Stockade guy surnamed? Chen, or was it something else? Forget it, it¡¯s not important.</i>

    Shang Hongyu took it from him. ¡°Hm? This mask is pretty interesting. Is this what you were wearing yesterday?¡± She put the mask onto her face while speaking, and her stunning features quickly became ordinary. Then, she looked at Zu An with a smile, asking, ¡°Did you use this mask before? Does this count as an indirect kiss then?¡±

    Zu An was stunned. Why did he always feel as if he was being harassedtely? She seemed to enjoy it to the point where she would never get tired of it. But this was Shang Liuyu¡¯s older sister, so he could only let her have her fun.

    ¡°Oh my, I was just kidding! Don¡¯t be so serious.¡± Shang Hongyu spun around in front of him before asking, ¡°So? My disguise should be fine now, right?¡±

    ¡°We need you to change your clothes. Your ordinary face and such pretty clothes clearly don¡¯t match,¡± Zu An said after giving her a look.

    ¡°I¡¯ll just take it as you praising me~¡± Shang Hongyu spun a few more times; the vibrant red of her dress disappeared, and it turned into a simple andmon outfit. ¡°What about now?¡±

    Zu An was a bit surprised. ¡°How are your clothes changing like this? Why does it turn into something else with just a spin?¡±

    ¡°This is my magic treasure. It can change into all kinds of clothes. Otherwise, how do you think I was able to avoid being caught after that bounty was ced on me?¡± Shang Hongyu sounded quite proud of herself.

    ¡°Can you give me one set of these clothes? I can trade another treasure for it.¡± Zu An thought to himself that his ¡®Pin Ru¡¯s Wardrobe¡¯ just happened to becking clothes. It would always be helpful to have a few more sets.

    But Shang Hongyu¡¯s cheeks turned a bit red, and she replied, ¡°I can¡¯t give you that, or else I¡¯ll end up beingpletely naked!¡±

    Zu An was stunned.

    When she saw his expression, Shang Hongyuughed loudly. ¡°Silly little brother, these clothes are made from mermaid scales. Even though they can turn into all kinds of clothes, they''re still only a single set in the end. If I give them to you, then won¡¯t I have nothing left?¡±

    Zu An was a bit embarrassed. ¡°Sorry, I really didn¡¯t know and was too rude.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not a big deal at all. You didn¡¯t do it on purpose.¡± Shang Hongyu moved closer. Her bright eyes revealed a curious look as she asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t you a veteran yboy? Why do I feel more and more like you¡¯re a pure and innocent little boy?¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    ¡°I was just messing with you. Do you think there¡¯s anything else I need to fix?¡± Shang Hongyu asked with a serious expression. She didn¡¯t want there to be any holes in her appearance on their trip to the Dragon Pce.

    As he examined her entire body, Zu An propped up his chin with his hand. In the end, his eyesnded on her astonishing waist and bottom, saying, ¡°You need to conceal your figure too, or else what happenedst time might happen again.¡±

    Shang Hongyu couldn''t help but grit her teeth when she remembered that experience, saying, ¡°That damned Hai Daniu really was despicable. If it had been in the past, I would have already made him regret being born in this world.¡±

    ¡°The world always praises the queen for being gentle and virtuous. Now, it seems as if that¡¯s not necessarily the case,¡± Zu An said with augh.

    ¡°It wouldn''t be a big deal if it had been for other reasons, since they didn¡¯t know, but that guy was just too despicable. He¡¯s not worthy of sympathy.¡± Shang Hongyu rolled her eyes. ¡°Besides, everyone in the world says that whenever you go to a new ce, you sleep with someone new. Humans, fiends, female warriors, distinguished daughters; all of them, you¡¯ve slept with. Is it really true?¡± She had heard gossip surrounding the regent in the restaurant too. Now, just thinking about it made her want tough.

    Zu An was speechless. He didn¡¯t know what to say.

    Shagn Hongyu said in a vexed tone, ¡°My figure isn¡¯t something I don¡¯t want to change, but that¡¯s just how it is. There¡¯s no way to change it... I don¡¯t know any transformation skills either. Otherwise, there wouldn¡¯t have been that gap in my appearance.¡±

    ¡°How about this?¡± After thinking to himself for a bit, Zu An took out two buns from the Brilliant ss Bead and shoved them into her clothes. That way, her soft and thin waist immediately swelled up. He nodded and said, ¡°It¡¯s solved. That¡¯s more like it."

    Shang Hongyu jumped back in rm, and she clenched her clothes tightly. ¡°Don¡¯t you know that guys and girls should keep their distance? How can you just shove things in other people¡¯s clothes?¡±

    Zu An said in annoyance, ¡°I didn¡¯t even take off your clothes. Besides, you were wearing much less when you were swimming in the ocean. What, now you suddenly know how to be scared?¡±

    <i>She needs to be disciplined a bit, or else she¡¯ll never stop harassing me.</i>

    After her initial rm, Shang Hongyu returned to normal. She said, ¡°So it was revenge. But I¡¯m a woman. I can tease you, but you can¡¯t cross the line, or else I¡¯ll tell Liuyu.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>This woman¡¯s logic seems to be quite self-serving.</i>

    ...While they were chatting, the two of them had already arrived at the restaurant from before. Compared to before, there were many more guests, and they all looked at the two of them unkindly. More eyes were on Shang Hongyu. They weren¡¯t convinced when they saw her face, but when they examined her chest and waist, they pulled back their gazes.

    ¡°I really should thank those buns of yours, or else there might have been more trouble,¡± Shang Hongyu secretly said. She sounded quite d.

    ¡°Yeah. The atmosphere here is different from yesterday,¡± Zu An replied.

    Soon after, the two arrived at the bar counter. They looked at the dispirited and downcast turtle bartender and asked, ¡°Are there still tickets to the Jadewave Region?¡±

    The Jadewave Region was where the Dragon Pce was. Normally, anyone who went to the Dragon Pce had to first ride the ships at the designated ports to the Jadewave Region before anything else.

    ¡°There are. One room is one heaven-grade ki stone,¡± the turtle bartender repliedzily.

    ¡°It¡¯s that expensive?¡± Zu An frowned. It wasn¡¯t that he couldn''t afford it, but it was much more expensive than he thought. He didn¡¯t want to be taken advantage of.

 Chapter 2121: Are You Trying to Take Advantage of Me?

    <h4>Chapter 2121: Are You Trying to Take Advantage of Me?</h4>

    ¡°Hey, it¡¯s your fault foring at a bad time.¡± The turtle bartender didn¡¯t back down, and immediately got up and exined, ¡°The main reason for this is because everyone is searching for the queen¡¯s whereabouts, so many of the ports¡¯ ship travel routes have been stopped.

    ¡°Additionally, some of the Yaksha Ocean Patrol died yesterday and it was rumored to be the work of the queen, which is why more and more adventurers have been hurrying in this direction for the bounty. The Ocean races'' government also sent many people over. If I''m not mistaken, this might be thest time our port can send a ship out. There will definitely be an official document tomorrow to close this route. Who knows when it¡¯ll open up again? So of course it¡¯s expensive.¡±

    The turtle bartender sized up the two of them. His eyesnded on Shang Hongyu as she said, ¡°I advise you not to move on your own anymore. Recently, all single women, regardless of what they look like, have been seized by adventurers and investigated so that the queen can¡¯t get away with a disguise.¡±

    Shang Hongyu asked with interest, ¡°Are you not worried that I could be the queen then?¡±

    The turtle bartender sneered. ¡°Sorry for being direct, but the queen is far more beautiful than you are. She showed me tremendous favor in the past and already became someone special in my heart. Even if she was using a disguise, there''s no way that her exceptional beauty could be concealed fully. These insightful eyes of mine would be able to recognize her instantly. Besides, with the queen¡¯s sweet-tempered and virtuous nature, why would she ever be so close to another man and travel together with him?¡±

    His eyes moved over to Shang Hongyu¡¯s bloated waist and he almost blurted out, ''Why don¡¯t you look in a mirror first before you speak?''

    Shang Hongyu was speechless. She suddenly didn¡¯t know whether to be angry or happy.

    Zu An took out two heaven-grade ki stones and said, ¡°We want two...¡±

    Shang Hongyu removed one of the heaven-grade ki stones from his hand and said, ¡°We want one room. Big brother, you need to save whenever possible when we go out, you know?¡±

    Zu An couldn''t really say much in response, so he used the chance to say, ¡°That¡¯s right, one room is enough. Your ticket is way too expensive.¡±

    The turtle bartender looked at the ki stone in Shang Hongyu¡¯s hand with regret.

    <i>Are these two still just in the talking phase and haven¡¯t confirmed their rtionship? This man is really a bit dumb. The woman already calcted everything.</i> n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    <i>Hmph, this brat has just made a lifemitment for the sake of saving a single ki stone. He¡¯s definitely losing out big.</i>

    In his opinion, even though both of them looked ordinary, the man wasrge and tall with a bit of an impressive temperament. This woman had a bucket for a waist and had a swollen figure. Of course it was the man who was losing out here!

    He cursed while taking out a small, square shell token. Around it was a ring of coral that formed special runes, which had probably been put in ce as a counterfeit-preventing measure. He said, ¡°Here, this is your ship ticket. There¡¯s no recement if you lose it.¡±

    Shang Hongyu reached over to take it. Just then, however, she cried out in rm and the ship ticket fell behind the bar. The turtle bartender was speechless.

    Shang Hongyu gave him an apologetic look and asked, ¡°Sorry, can you help me pick it up?¡±

    This was his his main job, after all, so even though the turtle bartender was unhappy, he still bent over and picked it up for her. He said, ¡°Be careful, you might not be so lucky next time.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, thank you.¡± When Shang Hongyu put away the ship ticket, she tugged on Zu An and rushed straight to the port.

    ...

    When they left the restaurant, Zu An asked with a smile, ¡°What did you fish out from his shell just now?¡±

    It turned out she had dropped the ship ticket on purpose, and then when the turtle bartender stooped down, she quickly got what she wanted. Shang Hongyu opened up her hand, revealing the heaven-grade ki stone inside.

    Zu An was a bit speechless. He asked, ¡°Even though this train ticket is expensive, there''s a proper reason for it. We had a proper trade, so why did you have to steal it back?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean, I stole it? You make it sound so bad.¡± Shang Hongyu red at him. ¡°This isn¡¯t the ki stone for the ship ticket, but rather the heaven-grade ki stone he used to trick you yesterday. He clearly didn¡¯t know anything about the Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine, and yet he still took your money. How despicable.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but smile, saying, ¡°It¡¯s just a heaven-grade ki stone, so why is the honorable Mermaid Queen being such a haggler? Moreover, that turtle seems to be your fan.¡±

    ¡°What fan? He screwed me over pretty badly yesterday. Someone with a slippery character like this might seem loyal when he speaks, but he¡¯d be the first to tell all of my secrets as soon as he finds out who I really was.¡± Shang Hongyu harrumphed.

    Zu An said impatiently, ¡°Even if you¡¯re right, shouldn¡¯t you return that ki stone to me? Why did you put it away?¡±

    ¡°This heaven-grade ki stone is for obtaining information about the Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine. Didn¡¯t I tell you the rted information yesterday? So of course this ki stone should be mine.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He retorted, ¡°And here I was thinking that you were doing this for my sake. So it was just because you felt that he went after your things.¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I also help you vent a bit?¡±

    ¡°Uh... Then shouldn¡¯t we split the ship fare?¡±

    ¡°That was your own ship fare. I''m just freeloading off of you.¡±

    ¡°You''re the honorable Mermaid Queen... You¡¯ve really expanded my worldview today.¡±

    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. Even a phoenix is like a chicken when it falls to the ground. Right now, I''m just a wanted criminal. I left in a hurry and don¡¯t have a thing on me. There''s no way that you¡¯ll continue to stay at my side, so of course I need to save up a bit.¡±

    Zu An was stunned when he heard that. Only now did he realize that her current situation was really bad. After thinking to himself, he took out a bag of ki stones and handed it to her, saying, ¡°Take this for now. Apart from heaven-grade ki stones, there are also some immortal-grade ki stones. It shouldst you for a bit.¡±

    But Shang Hongyu didn¡¯t even give it a look and tossed the bag right back, saying, ¡°Tsk, what a boring man.¡±

    Zu An was utterly full of confusion.

    <i>Didn¡¯t she say it herself that she wascking ki stones? Why is she unhappy that I''m giving them to her?</i>

    He''d thought that after all these years, he already understood women quite well, but in this moment, he really began to question life.

    ...

    Soon after, the two of them arrived by the port. There was arge ship there that seemed to be around a kilometer long; it seemed to be made from the skeleton of a massive ocean beast. The deck and hull were made of a special kind of wood from the ocean floor, and its surface was decorated with shells, pearls, and coral.

    With Zu An¡¯s current cultivation, he could naturally tell that these things weren¡¯t just for decoration; they ingeniously formed some formations. There were formations for increased water affinity, wind element eleration formations, fortification formations, and bncing formations..

    But what drew his attention even more was that there were quite a few massive catapults on the ship. Unlike the human race¡¯s city siege catapults, they seemed to have incredibly sharp tridents mounted on them. Of course, there were also many magical catapults that seemed to be used to deal with creatures of different elements.

    As if she could sense his confusion, Shang Hongyu spoke up. ¡°Even though the ocean is the Ocean races¡¯ world, there are many powerful beasts residing within. Even though these beasts have some intelligence, they can''t change into human form and are naturally bloodthirsty. They don''t belong to the Ocean races'' society. Our two sides frequently fight. Their bodies are all incredibly massive, and they prey on isted Ocean race individuals. The Ocean races also form armies to encircle and take down these ocean beasts.

    ¡°The further we get from shore, the deeper we go into the sea, the stronger these ocean beasts be. There are even some that even the Dragon King feels some apprehension toward. These powerful weapons are used to deal with attacking ocean beasts.¡±

    Zu An was a bit surprised, saying, ¡°And here I was thinking that your Ocean races lived really carefreely.¡±

    ¡°The weak are petty to the strong; that''s really normal,¡± Shang Hongyu replied nonchntly, as if she was already long since used to this. She quickly got onto the boat.

    The staff checked their ticket before guiding them to their room.

    When he saw the room that wasn¡¯t all that bigger than the sleeper train rooms of his previous world, Zu An was a bit stunned. He couldn''t help but curse, ¡°That damned turtle! He took so much money from us, but we only have this tiny room?¡± After all, when he saw howrge the ship was, forget about a presidential suite, it should at least have been quiterge, right? How could he have expected such a narrow and cramped space?

    Shang Hongyu chuckled. ¡°You¡¯re actually misunderstanding him here. The rooms in this ship are all quite small.¡±

    Zu An was stunned.

    Shang Hongyu exined, ¡°That¡¯s because there are manyrge-scale weapons to protect against the ocean beasts, and those weapons take up a lot of space. They also need a lot ofrge-scale formations as support. That''s why, for the sake of safety, the rooms left for the guests aren¡¯t toorge.¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll look for the captain of the ship to see if I can buy another room.¡± Zu An was about to leave when Shang Hongyu stopped him.

    ¡°We can¡¯t. We came here together. We¡¯ll definitely draw suspicion if we split up and stay in separate rooms,¡± Shang Hongyu exined. ¡°Also, did you forget what the turtle said? The various forces are all investigating women traveling alone. Do you want me to be caught?¡± As she said that, she had a pitiful look in her eyes.

    Zu An felt rather helpless. ¡°But this room is too small, so it¡¯s inappropriate for us to stay together, right? Also... There¡¯s only one bed.¡± Suddenly, he had a vignt look on his face as he asked, ¡°You wouldn¡¯t try anything strange, would you?¡±

    At first, he''d thought that it would be fine for them to stay together since the room would berge. After all, it wasn¡¯t as if they hadn''t stayed in the same cave earlier. But this was such a small ce and there was only a single bed. How were they supposed to stay here?

    Shang Hongyu¡¯s eyes suddenly went red. Tears fell from her eyes like pearls... That wasn¡¯t just flowerynguage, it was a realistic description. When her tearsnded on the ground, they really did form pearls one after another!

    In the past, Zu An had heard about the legends of mermaids, but seeing it for himself was still quite shocking.

    ¡°Could it be that I really am such a fickle woman, someone who doesn¡¯t know honor and shame?¡± Shang Liuyu replied.

    Zu An was a bit apologetic. ¡°I was joking just now. Even though your highness isn¡¯t quite the same as the rumors, you''re just a bit more lively and passionate. You aren¡¯t that type of woman.¡±

    In reality, even though she found a lot of joy in teasing him, whenever he really did pretend to do something, she was more rmed than anyone else.

    Shang Hongyu rubbed her teary eyes and asked, ¡°Do you know what the hardest part is for you to impersonate the Dragon King?¡±

    Zu An replied seriously, ¡°My words and bearing don¡¯t match the Dragon King?¡±

    Shang Hongyu shook her head. ¡°That¡¯s not it. Even though that¡¯s difficult, I believe that you¡¯re smart and capable. You¡¯ll be able to learn quickly while traveling together.¡±

    ¡°Then what is it?¡± Zu An asked, stunned.

    Shang Hongyu gave him a deep look before slowly saying, ¡°It¡¯s your rtionship with me, of course.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. Then, he began to think to himself. He understood what she was trying to say.

    Shang Hongyu continued, ¡°The Dragon King and I are husband and wife, so a lot of the interaction between us happens naturally. However, what we have is fake. Even if we just touch each other slightly, we might inadvertently slip up. At that time, how could we fool those sharp individuals in the Dragon Pce? How could we make them stand at our side? On top of that, you''d have no way of seeding in your ns at the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons.¡±

    Zu An sighed and said, ¡°What you¡¯re saying makes sense. But how do I imitate the feeling of being husband and wife with you?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why I wanted us to stay in the same room. This trip to Jadewave Ocean Region will take roughly half a month. In that time, we¡¯ll be around each other all the time and foster that intimacy. At the very least, you can¡¯t be so nervous just because I touch your arm, right?¡± Shang Hongyu looked at him with a firm expression. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re thinking, but I''ll definitely uncover that fake Dragon King¡¯s conspiracy. For the sake of the Dragon King, for the sake of the Ocean races, this sacrifice isn¡¯t a big deal at all.¡±

    When he sensed that awe-inspiring bearinging out from her, Zu An started to blush with shame.

    <i>What she carries is a great love for the Ocean races, and yet what am I randomly thinking about here?</i>

    As such, he said with a serious tone, ¡°I was the one who was too inflexible. I''ll do my best to cooperate and learn, to the point that there are no mistakes.¡±

    Shang Hongyu''s reaction finally turned from tears toughter. She raised her hand and said, ¡°Then I will first teach you the Dragon Pce¡¯s etiquette. Hold my hand.¡±

    Zu An walked over. As soon as he reached out his hand, Shang Hongyu frowned and said, ¡°Your mask is really ugly. You should just restore your real appearance.¡±

    Zu An figured that made sense. Normal women didn¡¯t like strange men touching their bodies to begin with, let alone a noble queen.

    When she saw him recover his original appearance, Shang Hongyu removed her mask as well, revealing her beautiful oval-shaped face. Then, she took out the two buns around her waist and tossed them aside. ¡°You have no idea how stuffy these were! They kept poking me and it was really ufortable.¡±

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°You need to get used to this outfit too. We¡¯re going to be on this ship for a while.¡±

    ¡°How about we just don¡¯t leave this room?¡± As she spoke, Shang Hongyu grabbed his arm naturally, continuing, ¡°We¡¯ll start with the basics. This is the way that the Dragon King and I walk when there is an important ceremony in the Dragon Pce...¡±

    The two of them leaned against each other intimately. A light blush inadvertently appeared on Shang Hongyu¡¯s neck.

    Zu An couldn''t help but feel rmed when she held his hand. He could feel an astonishingly soft sensation.

    <i>This Mermaid Queen¡¯s body really is amazing...</i>

    But he quickly focused. She was shouldering such a grand mission, so how could he ruin her noble goal? As such, he focused on listening to her exnation, fixing all sorts of mistakes as she instructed him step by step.

    A whileter, Shang Hongyu said with surprise, ¡°Your talent is exceptional after all; you were able to learn properly so quickly! There are only a few more details regarding this etiquette that you need to pay attention to. We¡¯ll practice it often, and then you should be able to master it fully.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Zu An wiped away the fine sweat on his forehead. They had only covered some walking just now, and yet he felt even more tired than after hours of swordy.

    Of course, it was mainly because he was trying to control his thoughts. After all, such a beautiful woman was sticking to him warmly, and she had a special status. Not only was she the Ocean races¡¯ queen, she was also Shang Liuyu¡¯s older sister. Regardless of which identity she had, he absolutely couldn''t allow himself to have any bad thoughts.

    But sometimes, the more one thought that way, the more one tried to control it, the more often it would have the opposite effects. Only someone like Zu An, whose cultivation was high enough and who already trained his will to be incredibly strong, could barely resist this temptation.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s study the next thing. Come here and hold my waist.¡± While Shang Hongyu spoke, her heart started beating really fast. However, she kept her tone calm as if it waspletely fine.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Zu An was stunned. He hadn¡¯t expected there to be something like this too.

    ¡°What''s that ''huh'' about? Didn¡¯t you hold me really easily yesterday at the restaurant?¡± Shang Hongyu red at him in annoyance.

 Chapter 2122: Turns Out He Was Scum

    <h4>Chapter 2122: Turns Out He Was Scum</h4>

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know who you were back then.¡± Zu An chuckled in embarrassment.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t know who a woman was, and yet you were willing to embrace her just like that? Now that I¡¯m someone you know, you can¡¯t hug me anymore, is that right?¡± Shang Hongyu red at him. When she saw the awkward look on his face, she couldn''t help but giggle. ¡°You¡¯re overthinking things. The reason why I''m telling you to hold my waist is because what we just practiced is the etiquette when the Dragon King and I are in public. What we''re doing now is for normal dance parties or other casual settings. After all, in everyone else¡¯s eyes, we''re deeply in love.¡±

    Zu An keenly sensed the strangeness in her words and asked, ¡°In everyone else¡¯s eyes?¡±

    Shang Hongyu sighed. ¡°In the past, I only married the Dragon King because of the marriage tradition between our two races. Meanwhile, the Dragon King is a willful and perverted guy. He doesn¡¯t spend much time in the pce and instead goes hunting all over the ce. Tell me, how great can our affection for each other be?¡±

    Zu An asked in confusion, ¡°If the Dragon King is perverted and you''re so pretty, why does he still run around all over the ce?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you men all love a feeling of freshness?¡± Shang Hongyu gave him a resentful look.

    Zu An was speechless. He didn¡¯t know how to continue the conversation now.

    Shang Hongyu continued, ¡°Actually, it''s also because the Dragon King¡¯s preferences are a bit different...¡±

    When he saw her clenched teeth, Zu An was suddenly interested in the drama and quickly asked, ¡°Different?¡±

    Shang Hongyu was really bothered beyond endurance and could only reply, ¡°These are things that I shouldn¡¯t tell others, but the current situation is special. Whatever, since you''re going to pretend to be him, then you should know about this. Otherwise, you might end up being exposed.

    ¡°He loves to pretend to be an ordinary person, and fool around with married women of different races.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. When he first saw him above the human capital¡¯s skies, the Dragon King had looked decent and upright, and yet he was actually this kind of scum?

    Shang Hongyu felt rather humiliated and ashamed, saying, ¡°He likes the feeling of leading good people astray, and then he enjoys watching them struggle between the brink of morality and desire. Actually, he has already destroyed the households of many nobles and ministers. I''ll tell you about these subjects too, or else it¡¯ll be bad if you encounter them and act suspiciously.¡±

    Zu An was bewildered. He asked, ¡°He even touches the families of his own important subjects? Then wouldn¡¯t they work together to overthrow him?¡±

    ¡°Why would they want to overthrow him?¡± Shang Hongyu asked in confusion. ¡°This is a kind of honor for those ministers¡¯ families. In particr, if they''re able to give birth to the Dragon King¡¯s progeny, that''s even more amazing. Regardless of whether the illegitimate child is recognized by the Dragon race, it serves as a great help to those ministers¡¯ families.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He felt as if he had heard too many shocking things here today. Wasn¡¯t this just a bit too ridiculous?

    Shang Hongyu seemed to have thought of something. She said with a smile, ¡°Comparatively speaking, our Ocean races¡¯ social customs are even more open than those of the Fiend races. We are indeed quite different from the human race¡¯s viewpoint.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, <i>What do you mean quite different? It¡¯spletely opposite!</i>

    Shang Hongyu continued, ¡°Whether it''s for the sake of the entire Ocean races or for the sake of stabilizing the Dragon Pce¡¯s power, both the Dragon King and I must express that we are in love. That way, it can prevent certain individuals from having unrealistic fantasies.¡±

    ¡°Are you talking about some women who want to take your position?¡± Zu An asked, surprised.

    ¡°It isn¡¯t just women; it''s also some men,¡± Shang Hongyu said.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes immediately widened.

    When she saw his expression, Shang Hongyu knew right away that he had misunderstood. She said in annoyance, ¡°It¡¯s not what you''re thinking. After those ministers learned of the Dragon King¡¯s strange fetish, they deliberately chose beautiful women as their wives. Then, they would use all kinds of tricks to send this information to the Dragon King and wait for the Dragon King toe over and steal them. Later, they would try to promote these women to higher positions, which would bring their own ns glory and authority. If no one kept these things under control, wouldn¡¯t the Dragon Pce be aplete mess?¡±

    Zu An chuckled in self-mockery. At the very least, this aspect was pretty simr between the humans and the Ocean races. Even his previous world had a lot of simr situations.

    ¡°Enough already. These are all secrets kept between us as husband and wife, and yet you already know everything,¡± Shang Hongyu protested yfully. ¡°You¡¯re asking so many questions. Are you going to hug me or not?¡±

    ¡°Of course, I¡¯ll do it.¡± Zu An was feeling a bit depressed as well. Why was this kind of feeling so strange? It was almost as if their roles were a bit swapped.

    He reached over, but when he was about to touch her, his arm suddenly stopped. However, he quickly collected his thoughts. This was just a performance. He was, after all, someone who had gone through all kinds of dangerous and terrifying situations. He quickly calmed himself down and held her waist naturally. Even though this wasn¡¯t the first time he''d done so, the sensation really was unique. He wondered if it was because of the Mermaid race¡¯s unique talent, but her waist really was soft and slim. He could feel the astonishing flexibility and smoothness through her clothes.

    Shang Hongyu blushed. Zu An''s hand was hot like a zing sun, making her entire body feel warm andfortable. Her heart rate couldn''t help but speed up too. Even so, she reacted quickly as well. She calmly gave him instructions. ¡°Your hand shouldn¡¯t be so rigid; be a bit more natural. Yeah, and move it a bit higher.¡±

    As she spoke, she guided his hand to the correct position. Compared to her soft and delicate skin, Zu An¡¯s hand was clearly rougher, but she didn¡¯t feel ufortable at all. Rather, their skin seemed to share an indescribable affinity. As his hand moved, she suddenly felt her legs grow a bit weak.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± When he saw that she was acting a little strangely, Zu An was a bit worried. He asked, ¡°Did your injuries re up again?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Shang Hongyu took a deep breath to calm herself down.

    <i>Thank goodness I have my injuries as an excuse. Otherwise, it really would be way too embarrassing...</i>

    She was someone of distinguished status, after all. After reminding herself of her mission, she quickly readjusted her mood. She began to seriously guide him.

    At first, the two of them tried to find some conversation to ease the awkwardness, butter, they couldn''t find any more topics. They could only silently coordinate with each other using their bodies and words.

    ...

    After a long time had passed, even Shang Hongyu¡¯s breathing became a bit heavy. The room was full of an ambiguous mood. She quickly darted to the side, leaving his arms. There was a sweet smile on her face, and there was a mysterious expression in her eyes. She said, ¡°Alright, you are indeed quite sharp. You were able to learn it so well so quickly.¡±

    Zu An sighed, saying, ¡°I''m suddenly feeling a bit of regret. I should¡¯ve learned it all a bit slower.¡±

    Shang Hongyu was rmed.

    <i>If you learned it more slowly, we would have kept holding each other like that...</i>

    She immediately red at Zu An. ¡°Hmph, you even dare to tease your big sister. I can¡¯t wait to see how Liuyu will lecture youter.¡±

    Zu An immediately felt regret after saying that. He really shouldn¡¯t have said that, but he really couldn''t control his mouth. After all, he had always been like this, so it was already an instinct engraved into his bones.

    The reason why Shang Hongyu had mentioned Shang Liuyu¡¯s name was to remind him of their real rtionship. He naturallly wouldn¡¯t develop any feelings in such a short amount of time. However, they were so close to each other, and she had been the Ocean races¡¯ number one beauty. That forbidden identity was also something that would make any normal man feel something different.

    Zu An quickly collected his thoughts and coughed lightly, saying, ¡°I¡¯ll be going up to the deck for some fresh air.¡±

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯m going too.¡± Shang Hongyu was also a bit flustered. She didn¡¯t want to stay in this room, or else she would end up remembering what happened again.

    The two both decided to walk to the entrance. Since the room was too narrow, however, they bumped into each other.

    Shang Hongyu burst outughing. ¡°You seem to have forgotten to put your mask back on.¡±

    <i>Look at this guy, he doesn¡¯t seem to be as calm and unbothered as he looks on the surface. Hmph, it wasn¡¯t just me after all.</i>

    Zu An replied in annoyance, ¡°Aren¡¯t you the same?¡±

    After this mutual teasing, both of them sensed that their rtionship had returned to normal. They chatted with each other while putting on their disguises again.

    ...

    They arrived on the deck. When they saw the moon and stars outside, both of them were surprised. How had time passed so quickly? Had they really stayed that long in the room? With their cultivation, they should have been very aware of how much time passed. Unless, of course, they had been... too immersed just now. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    They couldn''t help but look at each other and just happened to look into each other¡¯s eyes. Then, they separated awkwardly.

    ¡°You must be hungry now, right? Should we head over to the dining hall for some food?¡± Zu An suggested.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Shang Hongyu nodded.

    ...

    The two of them quickly arrived at the dining hall. Perhaps because the ticket was just too expensive, the meals didn¡¯t require additional expenses.

    ¡°It¡¯s actually a buffet?¡± Zu An eximed in surprise.

    After seeing how small the rooms were, he hadn''t held particrly high expectations for the dining hall. However, the environment was actually much better than he''d imagined. The guests were in groups of twos and threes, and it wasn¡¯t too crowded. Even though there wasn¡¯t as much of a variety as the real buffets of his previous world, the ingredients were fresh. Many of the options had likely been caught from the sea not too long ago.

    Zu An was actually missing sashimi quite a bit, so he immediately picked up a few tes of tuna. He turned around excitedly and asked, ¡°What do you want?¡±

    He saw that Shang Hongyu''s brows were slightly raised, and that she was staring at the fish meat on his te.

    Zu An realized what kind of race she was from and awkwardly returned the tes of tuna. He picked up some shrimp and steak, saying, ¡°Yup, it¡¯s still shrimp that tastes better.¡±

    Shang Hongyu smiled when she saw his movements. She also picked some shrimp and fruits.

    The two sat down by the window to have their meal. Shang Hongyu seemed to be brooding, deep in thought. She asked, ¡°Do you want to drink some alcohol?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll pass.¡± Zu An was rmed. Alcohol easily confused the mind, so he really was worried that he wouldn''t be able to control himself.

    Shang Hongyu seemed to have guessed his thoughts. She red at him, saying, ¡°Even I¡¯m not scared, so what are you scared of?¡±

    With a wave of her hand, a bottle of red wine floated over. She also fetched two wine sses.

    The nearby guests didn¡¯t find it too strange when they saw that. All those who could take this ship to Jadewave Region had high cultivations and were able to fetch objects from a distance.

    ¡°Drink a ss with me.¡± Shang Hongyu poured two cups, and then she lightly touched sses with him. Then, she drained it in a single gulp.

    Zu An was a bit worried, saying, ¡°Your mood doesn¡¯t seem to be the best.¡±

    Shang Hongyu replied with a scowl, ¡°Do you think your mood would be great if you experienced everything I have?¡±

    ¡°Makes sense.¡± Zu An thought to himself that not too long ago, she had been the glorious and honorable Ocean races'' queen, and yet she was now a wanted criminal. More importantly, things didn¡¯t seem good for her husband at all. An imposter had taken the Dragon King¡¯s ce, and she had to worry for the Ocean races. She''d been so busy running for her life that she probably hadn¡¯t had time to process these things yet. Now that things calmed down a bit, those thoughts hade rushing into her head.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll help you,¡± Zu An said in constion.

    Shang Hongyu rolled her eyes. ¡°The only thing you¡¯re thinking of is how to get the Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine. If these two things aren¡¯t in conflict, you might just help me in passing, but if they weren¡¯t, why would you care about what''s happening on my end?¡±

    ¡°Sorry.¡± Zu An became silent. Saving Qiu Honglei was the most important thing. Compared to her, the Mermaid Queen¡¯s issue did seem...

    When she saw his reaction, Shang Hongyu now felt apologetic instead. ¡°The one who should apologize is me. You¡¯ve already helped me a lot. If it weren¡¯t for you, I might already have been done for, so how would I still have the chance to sit here leisurely and have a meal? Also, you¡¯ve returned the hope of getting revenge for me, so I should be thanking you instead ofining.¡±

    ¡°There''s no need for you to constrain your emotions so much. After experiencing so many things, and the future now seeming so bleak, it¡¯s normal for you to feel a bit of unrest,¡± Zu An said gently. ¡°You''re Liuyu¡¯s older sister, so I''ll do my best to help you. Even if the two doe into conflict, I''ll definitely think of a way to take care of your side.¡±

    Shang Hongyu picked up the wine ss and smiled ambiguously. Looking at her through the wine ss made her beautiful eyes seem even more enchanting. She asked, ¡°What if I hadn''t been Liuyu¡¯s big sister? Would you just stand aside and do nothing?¡±

    Zu An smiled and replied, ¡°We are already friends, so how could I ignore my friends?¡±

    ¡°No wonder Liuyu said you were really popr with thedies on the human side,¡± Shang Hongyu said, her tone from worry to happiness. ¡°I like your reply. Cheers to that.¡±

    When the two touched sses, however, the entire ship suddenly shook intensely. Countless bowls and tes fell to the floor and shattered, and there were cries of rm all over the ce.

    Shang Hongyu was still wounded, so a moment of carelessness resulted in her almost falling over. However, a hand quickly caught her and stabilized her.

    ¡°What is going on?¡±

    ¡°Did we strike a reef?¡±

    ¡°But we¡¯re so far from shore! Where would there be a reef out here?¡±

    ¡°Did we run into an iceberg? I read from a human love story that a couple were riding on a luxurious cruise ship when it suddenly hit an iceberg.¡±

    ¡°Do you think you''re the male lead or female lead?¡±

    ...

    Many people began to discuss among themselves in the dining hall. Shang Hongyu¡¯s expression turned extremely grave, however. After all, this ship was specially made to transport all kinds of guests to the Dragon Pce, and to some extent, it was a representation of the Ocean races¡¯ prestige. The material used for the ship was first-ss. Not only was it equipped with all sorts of powerful weapons, there were top-tier formations too. Even the seamen had decent cultivations. Those top-tier formations would grant the guests apletely smooth journey even through a storm, and yet the ship was shaking so intensely. How could it be as simple as running into an iceberg?

    When she saw Zu An continue eating as if he waspletely unbothered, Shang Hongyu was a bit surprised. She asked, ¡°Are you not worried?¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°Why should I feel worried?¡±

    Shang Hongyu remembered that he was one of the most powerful individuals in the present world. Even if they ran into something, the one who had to worry would be the enemy. When she looked at the calm man before her, she was suddenly a bit absentminded. The Dragon King was normally dignified, but he wascking in this aspect.

    There was a scream, and a massive tentacle smashed through the dining room¡¯s window. It grabbed a fierce-looking guest.

    That individual had a murderous aura, and was clearly someone who had seen quite a bit of blood in recent years. He cried out in rm, but he was a tough and valiant individual. He quickly drew a de to sh the tentacle, and it erupted with vicious radiance. His cultivation was clearly not low.

    However, when the dended on the tentacle, there wasn''t even the slightest bit of damage. It turned out that the tentacle was covered in a thickyer of mucus. When the de radiance made contact with the mucus, it dissipated, and only the de made contact. But because of the strange mucus, it slid off to the side and couldn''t inflict any damage on the giant tentacle.

    Still, it seemed to cause a bit of pain to the monster. Another tentacle suddenly swept over. The fierce-looking guest wanted to attack again, but he waspletely caught by the tentacle. A miserable scream filled the air as he actually melted at a visible rate, eventually turning into a puddle of blood. Then, the tentacle¡¯s suckers seemed to move like mouths as they greedily absorbed the blood. Soon, the fierce-looking man waspletely devoured by the tentacle.

    ¡°Kraken! It¡¯s the Kraken!¡±

    There were many experienced individuals in the dining hall. The monster¡¯s origins were quickly recognized. Their voices carried despair. All of them ran outside, only leaving behind Zu An and Shang Hongyu, who were still sitting in ce.

    ¡°Something¡¯s wrong. Why would the Kraken appear here?¡± Shang Hongyu¡¯s red lips parted slightly. She looked as if she had just heard somethingpletely inconceivable.

 Chapter 2123: Playing With Fire

    <h4>Chapter 2123: ying With Fire</h4>

    ¡°Kraken?¡± Zu An¡¯s expression became a bit strange. He had previously seen this kind of monster in the secret dungeon he encountered in the past. Now that he thought about it, this monster had a special purpose...

    Suddenly, the window to the side was smashed open. A tentacle swept toward the two of them. The Kraken had clearly sensed the smell of delicious flesh.

    The tentacle was about to reach the table when Zu An waved his hand and said, ¡°Get lost!¡±

    The chopsticks in his hands flew out practically at lightspeed. The tentacle that all the guests couldn''t damage in the slightest was pierced straight through by the chopsticks; the mucus on its surface didn¡¯t seem to be of any use either.

    A bitter wail erupted, shattering all of the ss around the dining hall. The tentacle immediately retracted out of pain. Then, the endless tentacles that had been iling around powerfully seemed to have been really rmed and shrank back into the sea. The massive figure down below was fleeing in even greater rm.

    The seamen on deck and countless cultivators were all counting their blessings for having survived this disaster.

    ¡°Why did that monster suddenly leave?¡±

    ¡°It might be because our attacks worked, right? It knew that we weren¡¯t so easily provoked.¡±

    ¡°Hah,pared to that, I would rather believe that it already ate its fill. Who knows how many guests and seamen had their flesh and blood sucked away by those tentacles?¡±

    ...

    They all surmised that the greatest possibility was that therge-scale weapons of the ship had nearly been activated. Thus, the monster felt a bit rmed, and because it had already eaten enough, it had decided to leave.

    Only Shang Hongyu knew the real reason. She looked at the man across from her with shock. Even though the window had exploded and pieces were flying everywhere, there seemed to be an invisible force field around the table where the two were, blocking everything outside. The food, and even the wine sses, were perfectly fine.

    Zu An chuckled when he saw her expression, remarking, ¡°I was pretty cool just now, wasn¡¯t I?¡±

    Shang Hongyu¡¯s face turned red. She quickly shifted her eyes away and said, ¡°Hmph, it¡¯s about the same as the Dragon King. I¡¯ve already seen enough of this kind of thing.¡±

    But deep inside, she knew that even though the Dragon King didn¡¯t fear the Kraken, that was because of the natural pressure he could exert with the Dragon race bloodline. If they really fought against each other, he likely wouldn''t have been able to win so effortlessly.

    Zu An didn¡¯t mind. He took out a porcin bottle, and with a wave of his hand, the pool of pink fluid that the Kraken had left behind from its wound entered it.

    When she saw that, Shang Hongyu''s eyes widened and she said, ¡°You really aren¡¯t a good person.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°Why are you suddenly saying that?¡±

    Shang Hongyu pointed at his bottle. ¡°The mucus of the Kraken has powerful aphrodisiac properties, especially toward women. If you''re collecting it, who are you nning to use that powerful effect on?¡± As she said that, she crossed her arms in front of her chest and she moved backward. ¡°You aren¡¯t nning to use it on me, are you?¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He said in annoyance, ¡°If I really wanted to do something to you, why would I need something like this? The reason I''m collecting it is because this mucus is an extremely valuable medicine refinement material and hard to gather. I naturally wouldn¡¯t just leave it now that it¡¯s here.¡±

    ¡°So you know a bit about medicine refinement... Wait, what''s the meaning of that? What do you mean, you wouldn¡¯t need to use this to do something to me?¡± Shang Hongyu looked at him angrily.

    Zu An smiled and shook his finger, replying, ¡°Did you forget the effects of treatment with my ki?¡±

    Shang Hongyu now remembered her treatment. Even though it was just an instant, that was a feeling she would never forget for the rest of her life. With that ability, there was indeed no need to use the Kraken¡¯s mucus.

    ¡°Hmph, despicable!¡± Her face heated up and she scoffed.

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>I was clearly just exining things to this woman. What else am I supposed to do?</i>

    Suddenly, there were noisy footsteps outside. The two quickly nced over.

    ¡°We should leave for now,¡± Shang Hongyu suggested. If the others saw that the two of them werepletely fine, it would be hard to avoid suspicion.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Zu An got up. With a wave of his hand, the seat they were on was sted to pieces, as if it had been destroyed by the tentacle.

    Shang Hongyu nodded, feeling that he was quite meticulous.

    Soon after, a group of seamen rushed in. When they saw the two, they were a bit surprised. ¡°You two are quite lucky. You actually weren¡¯t eaten by that monster.¡±

    Shang Hongyu patted her chest and said as if she was filled with lingering fear, ¡°Thank goodness I was hiding in the corner, and then that monster suddenly left. That was how I survived!¡±

    Zu An looked at how the seamen were fooled.

    <i>It seems that women are all natural-born actresses.</i>

    The two of them quickly arrived at the deck. They enjoyed the ocean breeze while watching the seamen rush around busily to repair the damage. Many of the rooms were a mess from the giant tentacle, and even some of the giant catapults on the ship had been destroyed. However, he ship doctor was rather idle, only needing to pacify the guests. After all, the previous attack only had deceased casualties and none injured.

    Shang Hongyu looked at their own room in the distance. She couldn''t help but feel happy, saying, ¡°Our luck is pretty good. The room is still safe and sound.¡±

    <i>Could this be because of some mysterious form of destiny?</i>

    ¡°If that guy had dared to destroy our room, it could forget about leaving,¡± Zu An said nonchntly.

    Several guests heard what he said and rolled their eyes.

    <i>Look at this guy bragging,</i>

    <i>That woman seems to be a fool too. She actually believes such a terrible lie. But she doesn¡¯t look all that pretty, so it¡¯s no wonder that she doesn¡¯t know much.</i>

    Zu An was speechless.

    Meanwhile, Shang Hongyu wasughing so hard that she was shaking a bit.

    ...

    After that brief interruption, the two began to talkt about more important matters.

    ¡°That Kraken seems to be a bit weak. It isn¡¯t as strong as the one I met before,¡± Zu An said seriously.

    ¡°Hm? I didn¡¯t expect you to have actually met a Kraken before? As expected of the legendary regent.¡± Shang Hongyu was a bit surprised. ¡°After all, the Kraken usually lives deep in the sea. Even the Ocean races see it very rarely.

    ¡°That one earlier wasn¡¯t a mature Kraken. It should still be a child.¡± She put away her smile and said, ¡°But even if that''s the case, it shouldn¡¯t have appeared in this ce.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Zu An gave therge-scale weapons on the deck a look and said. ¡°And here I thought that these weapons ewre for defeating these kinds of monsters.¡±

    Shang Hongyu exined, ¡°These weapons are indeed meant for the ocean monsters, but against terrifying monsters like the Kraken, it¡¯s no different from a child trying to fight off adult criminals with a knife. I previously told you that the deeper into the sea we went, the stronger those ocean monsters would be. Normally, it would be impossible for monsters of this level to appear.¡± Her expression became extremely grave as she continued, ¡°However, the Kraken just happened to appear in this ce, which means that either there''s something that attracted it here, to the extent that it didn¡¯t mind traveling thousands of miles, or...¡±

    ¡°Or something strange is happening in the ocean depths, so it could only leave its own native home against its will?¡± Zu An finished with a frown. His original n had just been toe to the Ocean races'' territory to look for the Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine. How could he have known that it wouldn''t be peaceful at all here? It felt as if a massive ck web was surrounding the entire Ocean races'' territory, to the extent that if he made a single mistake, he could end up being caught up as well.

    Shang Hongyu also realized that point. She stared into the ocean depths. Even though she was wearing a mask, it couldn''t hide the worry between her brows.

    ¡°We don¡¯t have enough information at all, so worrying about these things too much is meaningless. Let¡¯s return to the Dragon Pce first. We¡¯ll just deal with any further issues as they arise,¡± Zu An said while gently patting her shoulder.

    Shang Hongyu voiced her agreement. Then, a smile appeared on her face as she said, ¡°For some reason, I just feel really at ease with you here.¡± She couldn''t feel any of the rm and panic she had felt while being constantly pursued now. Instead, there was only a sense of peace and safety.

    ¡°Being of service to the queen is this humble one¡¯s greatest glory.¡± Zu An bowed, using the same court etiquette Shang Hongyu had taught him not too long ago, making her rock back and forth withughter.

    ...

    The two enjoyed the sea breeze on the deck while admiring the stars in the sky, chatting with each other from time to time. Time passed really quickly. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The seamen in charge of repairs gradually left to get some rest. After recovering from their shock, the guests also returned to their rooms. Even though many of the rooms were destroyed, there were also many lives that had been taken by the Kraken, so there were enough rooms left.

    Continuing on the deck at this point would end up drawing unwanted attention, so the two also returned to their room. When they entered, both of them immediately removed their disguises. They just couldn''t really get used to each other¡¯s unfamiliar faces.

    When they looked at the single bed in the room, both of them were a bit embarrassed. The reason why the two of them had stalled for so long outside was because they subconsciously wanted to avoid this scenario.

    But Zu An had experienced his fair share of daunting experiences. He quickly said, ¡°You should use the bed to rest, and I¡¯ll just sit here in meditation. With my current cultivation, I don¡¯t need to stick to a bed so inflexibly.¡±

    Shang Hongyu said with a smile, ¡°You should be the one to use the bed. Either way, I still need to sit in meditation to heal my wounds. Besides, you¡¯ve helped me so much already, so how can I let you sleep on the floor?¡±

    ¡°Letting a woman sleep on the floor, especially a beautiful one at that, isn''t what a gentleman would do.¡± Zu An moved over a stool and sat by the entrance. Judging from his behavior, it seemed as if there was no way he would make Shang Hongyu sleep on the floor.

    After some hesitation, Shang Hongyu suddenly opened her mouth and said, ¡°Actually... This bed is prettyrge. We can both sleep in it.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    When she saw his shocked expression, Shang Hongyu waved her hand and said, ¡°Don¡¯t misunderstand. It''s just that we need to pretend to be husband and wife anyway. Once we return to the Dragon Pce, we might have to sleep in the same room. There¡¯ll be many servants attending to us. If we separate then, that might make us suspicious, so we might as well get used to it now, so we¡¯re not caught off guardter.¡±

    Zu An was still hesitant, saying, ¡°Even so, men and women should keep their distance. Wouldn¡¯t this kind of behavior be inappropriate?¡±

    If this had been few years prior, such a thing would be exactly what he would be looking for. But he had already experienced all kinds of things. His way of thinking was already different from before. There were too many things waiting for him to deal with, and romance was now just one part. There were times when it actually became a kind of emotional burden.

    ¡°What''s inappropriate about it? It''s not as if I''ll take advantage of you.¡± Shang Hongyu rolled her eyes. ¡°In my eyes, you¡¯re just a little brother.¡±

    Zu An was speechless, replying, ¡°Then what if I take advantage of you?¡±

    Shang Hongyu said with an amused look, ¡°Then I¡¯ll tell Liuyu!¡±

    Zu An was speechless. What kind of threat was this? Did it even have any power? Why did it almost sound as if she was encouraging him?

    However, they were both individuals with extraordinary statuses. After they made up their minds, it wasn¡¯t so awkward anymore. After all, they were going to take the risk of impersonating the Dragon King, so theypletely set aside their emotional burdens.

    Zu An stopped refusing and got onto the bed.

    Shang Hongyu said, ¡°You should sleep soon. I¡¯ll perform some meditation for my injuries first.¡±

    Zu An handed her a medicine bottle. He didn¡¯t say anything else andy down.

    Shang Hongyu didn¡¯t refuse. She opened the bottle, took one pill, and then went to the edge of the bed to meditate and absorb the moonlight essence from above. The speed of her recovery clearly grew a bit faster.

    Zu An opened his eyes and gave her a look. The faint moonlight that scattered over her body covered her in ayer of hazy light. She looked splendid and magnificent. Together with the vast and tranquil sea, it formed an extremely beautiful scene. He sighed in praise. No wonder her status in the Ocean races¡¯ hearts was so high. She was indeed extremely beautiful. He closed his eyes again, his mind at peace. There were many sorts of beauty where just admiring it was enough.

    After meditating for around two hours, Shang Hongyu slowly opened her eyes. Under the support of both the medicine and moonlight, she could feel that the condition of her injuries had clearly improved a lot. Her eyes shifted to the man sleeping on the bed. He had one hand casually supporting the back of his head, looking really rxed. His breathing was tranquil and drawn out. He had clearly already fallen asleep. She couldn''t help but lean against the windowsill and look at him while resting her chin on her hand.

    <i>Handsome sharp brows, tall nose bridge, those lips that seem as if they''re always carrying a faint smile...</i>

    She sighed inwardly.<i> </i>

    <i>No wonder that proud and confident little sister of mine has such a good impression of him, always bringing him up from time to time. He really is quite handsome.</i>

    <i>Now that his cultivation has already reached such extraordinary heights, even if he''s just lying there, the natural dao flows evenly around him, and his existence implicitly aligns with the natural state of the world. No, he is nature itself!</i>

    As she looked at him, her cheeks suddenly turned red. She couldn''t help but touch her forehead with her hand.

    <i>Ah... Did I end up ying with fire here?</i>

    She moved over to the bed. She bit her lip, and then she turned toward the window. Some timeter, she suddenly felt as if she had a clear conscience.

    <i>What do I have to fear?</i>

    As such, she returned to the side of the bed. But when she saw that handsome face and the refined qualities of his body, she suddenly felt guilty and turned around, going back to the window.

    After that continued a few times, Zu An suddenly said, ¡°If you keep this up, the floorboards might break from all the wear.¡±

    Shang Hongyu¡¯s almond eyes were wide open as she eximed, ¡°You were already awake? You were watching me make a fool of myself!¡±

    <i>And that guy¡¯s eyes were still closed, so he was pretending to be asleep! How annoying!</i>

    <i>Right, with his cultivation, how could he not know what''s happening right next to him?</i>

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Shang Hongyu for +66 +66 +66...</strong>

    Zu An opened his eyes and said, ¡°I was asleep at first, but with how many times you went back and forth, I¡¯d have woken up even if I was a pig.¡±

    Shang Hongyu¡¯s face fluctuated between red and white. Her chest rose and fell repeatedly. It was obvious that she couldn''t calm down at all right now.

    ¡°Who was it who said that you wouldn¡¯t take advantage of me so confidently?¡± Zu An remarked with interest. He was the one who had been acting timid, while this woman had been acting like an older sister teasing a little brother. Why was she now the one who was scared?

    ¡°Hmph, who''s scared of whom here? Just make sure you keep your clothes on, or else I won¡¯t take responsibility if you identally end up being taken advantage of by me,¡± Shang Hongyu retorted. After her initial shock, shey down straight on the bed.

    A refreshing scent wafted over. Zu An was really a bit curious. He hadn¡¯t seen her put on any makeup these past few days, so why did she still smell so good?

    At first, Shang Hongyu was still a bit nervous, but when she saw Zu An shuffle toward the corner out of the corner of her eyes, leaving open arge space between the two of them, she burst outughing. ¡°Why are you staying so far away? Come a bit closer, I won¡¯t eat you or anything.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He replied, ¡°Woman, you¡¯re ying with fire.¡±

 Chapter 2124: Awkward

    <h4>Chapter 2124: Awkward</h4>

    ¡°What do you mean, woman? We¡¯re siblings here,¡± Shang Hongyu corrected.

    Zu An replied impatiently, ¡°Aren¡¯t we pretending to be husband and wife?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s in front of outsiders. There are no outsiders here, so we know what our real rtionship is.¡± Shang Hongyu grinned.

    ¡°You¡¯re making some sense, but...¡±

    ¡°There are no buts. Come here and hug me.¡±

    ¡°Huh? That¡¯s not too good, is it?¡±

    ¡°Why not? This will happen often in the Dragon Pce in the future. Did you already forget so soon?¡±

    ¡°But we¡¯re in bed right now.¡±

    ¡°So what if we¡¯re in bed? It¡¯s fine as long as we both have a clear conscience. Why are you stalling so much? Don¡¯t tell me that...¡± Shang Hongyu suddenly moved in front of Zu An and sized him up with widen eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that you have any strange thoughts?¡±

    With how close she was, Zu An could even clearly sense her breathing. He couldn''t find a single w on her tender and glorious face. She clearly had a face that represented the peace and prosperity of the people, and yet there was always that faint hint of flirtatiousness and allure in her expression.

    Zu An¡¯s expression became a bit unnatural. ¡°Who''s the one with weird thoughts? You¡¯re not allowed to make bogus usations against me in the future though.¡±

    ¡°Have you ever suffered a loss with a woman before? What are you acting so careful for?¡± Shang Hongyu found his slightly nervous behavior a bit amusing.

    As he breathed in her beautiful fragrance, Zu An harrumphed and said, ¡°I¡¯ll hug you if you want, but you better not regret it.¡±

    He felt as if he had to teach this woman a lesson, or else she''d continue to be really pleased with herself. Immediately after, his hand moved around her waist and he took her into his arms. The two of them were now sticking close to each other.

    <i>Is this woman made of water? Why is her body so soft?</i>

    <i>But her waist is pretty firm. I practically couldn''t even hold her in ce when she reflexively struggled a bit.</i>

    Sure enough, Shang Hongyu was now a bit rmed. She instinctively pressed her hand against Zu An¡¯s chest, trying her best to create a slight bit of space between the two of them. She cried, ¡°We''re just practicing, so you¡¯re not allowed to use any dirty tricks!¡±

    She hadn¡¯t felt much when they were still apart, but now that they were pressed up against each other, that sense of touch was especially strong. He was like a blistering sun that was so hot, her entire body felt as if it was going to melt. It was to the point that even her voice was shaking a little bit.

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°Of course.¡±

    Immediately after, he loosened his hold on her waist a bit. Shang Hongyu then shot backward as if she had been zapped by lightning, making some distance from him. She moved the messy hair around her temples behind her ear to hide her rm, then did her best to pretend to be calm as she said, ¡°Your performance just now was okay, but there are still some details that need to be fixed. As things are, the pce maids will still be able to tell that something is wrong.¡±

    ¡°Oh? How should I fix it?¡± Zu An asked with amusement.

    ¡°I¡¯ll teach you...¡± Shang Hongyu suddenly thought of something and immediately went on alert. ¡°You aren¡¯t allowed to move, though!¡±

    ¡°Fine, I won¡¯t move, and will let you move instead.¡± A strange smile appeared on Zu An¡¯s face.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll show you...¡± Shang Hongyu finally reacted and looked at him with a reddened face. ¡°You were actually such a bad guy!¡±

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t that what you said? I was just ying along.¡± Zu An cried out in injustice.

    ¡°You bad guy, I¡¯m definitely going to tell on you to my little sister.¡± Shang Hongyu shot him a look. But then, her eyes quickly moved around. Whether or not it was out of anger or something else was impossible to tell.

    However, these two were individuals at the top of the world. Jokes were jokes. In the end, neither one of them misunderstood what was most important. One seriously taught, while the other seriously learned. Even though they did joke around from time to time, both of them tacitly upheld a certain boundary. In the end, both sides were really tired, so they involuntarily entered thend of dreams.

    The next morning, sunlight spread through the windows. Shang Hongyu suddenly woke up. She didn¡¯t open her eyes, but silently sensed her body¡¯s condition instead. Then, she sighed slightly in relief. It seemed Zu An truly hadn¡¯t taken advantage of the fact that she was sleeping to do something to her.

    She silently opened her eyes, but she was suddenly stunned. Her pretty face also turned red. It turned out she was curled up like a kitten in his arms. The two were pressed tightly against each other. That wasn¡¯t the most important part, though; there was a hand around her stomach, while the other hand was around her neck, holding her chest! She hadn¡¯t expected her chest to so perfectly fit in a man¡¯s hand. She could even feel the heating from the center of that palm!

    She was a mature woman, so she didn¡¯t scream like a little girl. Instead, she began to calmly analyze just what was happening. She couldn''t act up right now, because on top of his hand was her own, and she was even tightly holding his fingers. She could even guess what had happened in the middle of the night without even asking. She was definitely the one who had taken the initiative to guide his hand over.

    Liuyu had always made fun of her for her sleeping habits. She hadn¡¯t really agreed back then, but now, she finally understood.

    <i>What am I supposed to do now?! Just how will he see me from now on?</i>

    <i>He must think that I normally act earnest, but then always flirt and y around, and that I¡¯m actually a perverted woman!</i>

    <i>I¡¯m finished, I¡¯m done for! My reputation ispletely over!</i>

    She bit her lip and quietly raised his hand to slowly move it away. As long as she could do so before he woke up, then they could get past this awkwardness.

    But that was easier said than done. Her entire body was cuddled in his arms and she was being held tightly. She could only move a single hand slightly, and she didn¡¯t even dare to move too much. After all, the man behind her had unfathomable cultivation. It would be really awkward if she ended up waking him.

    She tugged a bit, but a bit of carelessness made it so that she coulddn¡¯t get a firm hold of his finger and dropped it again. Fortunately, her body was extremely soft and made enough cushioning that she didn¡¯t wake him up. She couldn''t help but feel a bit proud of herself. But soon after, she rubbed her sore wrist with a pained expression. Her hand was all sore already, and yet all of her efforts were in vain. Still, she had no choice but to continue. She carefully moved again.

    Just when she was about to seed, the guy behind her suddenly groaned. His body moved a bit to change to a morefortable posture, and then his other hand moved in front of her chest again, leaving her stunned. She couldn''t help but turn around to give him a look, but she didn¡¯t see anything strange in his face. She could sense his calm and moderate breathing, so it seemed he was still dreaming. She sighed with relief.

    Helpless to do anything else, she began to carefully move away his left hand. The process was really hard, and she couldn''t move too much each time. If she moved too much, she would end up waking him up. She could only move him as slowly as an ant, little by little. Whenever she moved a bit, she had to lower his hand again to rest. Only when she sensed that there was no sign of him waking up did she continue.

    After tossing and turning for a while, she could feel ayer of fine sweat covering her body. Suddenly, her face turned entirely red. She grabbed his hand and didn¡¯t dare to continue moving. They were tightly pressed up against each other. The room entered a strange silence.

    A whileter, Shang Hongyu finally couldn''t help but say, ¡°You¡¯re already awake, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    There was no reply.

    She took a deep breath. She bit her lip to calm herself down, hissing. ¡°You¡¯re prodding against me!¡±

    She wasn¡¯t a little girl who didn¡¯t know anything, but rather the queen of the Ocean races. How could she possibly misunderstand it as him hiding some sword?

    Zu An gradually woke up. He naturally stretched out his body and asked, ¡°Hm? You¡¯re already awake? The weather doesn¡¯t seem bad today.¡±

    Shang Hongyu snickered. ¡°Keep acting, why don¡¯t you? Your body reaction already sold you out.¡±

    Zu An was a bit awkward, saying, ¡°You can¡¯t me me for that. This is just a normal reaction when men wake up in the morning.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re still going to keep making things up?¡± Shang Hongyu red at him.

    Zu An could only say, ¡°I had no choice! It¡¯s your fault for jerking back and forth in my arms. If I didn¡¯t have any reaction toward a woman this beautiful, wouldn¡¯t that be the greatest disrespect to you?¡±

    Shang Hongyu was speechless. Sheughed out of irritation and retorted, ¡°What, in the end, prodding me like this is actually a sign of respect for me?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± There was no embarrassment in Zu An¡¯s expression.

    Shang Hongyu was speechless. She did her best to control her shoulders from shaking as she asked, ¡°When did you wake up?¡±

    ¡°Just now, I woke up when you spoke.¡±

    ¡°Hah.¡±

    ¡°Uh, actually a bit before that.¡±

    ¡°Hah.¡±

    ¡°A bit before that.¡± n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°How much longer before exactly?¡± Shang Hongyu felt as if she was about to gopletely berserk.

    ¡°Uh... When you first started to move my hand.¡± Zu An¡¯s voice grew softer, as if he even felt that he was in the wrong himself.

    ¡°You were awake from the very start?!¡± Shang Hongyu felt as if she was about to faint from anger. ¡°Then why didn¡¯t you say anything? Were you just watching me make a fool of myself?¡±

    When she recalled how sneaky she''d been trying to be, she was so embarrassed her toes almost dug through the bottom of the bed.

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Shang Hongyu for +300 +300 +300...</strong>

    Zu An chuckled in embarrassment and said, ¡°I saw how careful you were being, so I was worried that you would be embarrassed if I said something. That was why I just continued to pretend to be asleep.¡±

    ¡°Then am I not supposed to feel embarrassed now?¡± Shang Hongyu was starting to go mad.

    Zu An mumbled, ¡°Actually, we wouldn¡¯t need to be so awkward if you hadn¡¯t said anything.¡±

    Shang Hongyuughed out of anger. ¡°You kept prodding against me, and you¡¯re telling me I should have pretended that I didn¡¯t feel anything?¡±

    Both of them were a bit embarrassed now.

    Shang Hongyu suddenly thought of something. She looked at him dangerously, saying, ¡°I was clearly about to seed earlier, but you stretched and put your other hand... Was that on purpose?¡±

    ¡°That was just a coincidence.¡± Zu An¡¯s expression stiffened.

    ¡°It really was a coincidence?¡± Shang Hongyu moved her head closer until their faces were almost touching.

    ¡°It really was a coincidence.¡± Zu An had to admit that she had a stunning face. He couldn''t even see any pores or ws from so close.

    ¡°Did it feel good?¡± Shang Hongyu quickly asked.

    ¡°It di...¡± Zu An reacted midway through his sentence and quickly said, ¡°I just woke up and was a bit absentminded. I really didn¡¯t notice any feeling.¡±

    When she saw how he was acting, Shang Hongyu finally couldn''t take it anymore andughed. ¡°Alright, alright, let¡¯s forget about this matter. We¡¯re now husband and wife anyway, so it¡¯s hard to avoid hugging and touching.¡±

    Zu An sighed in relief. He couldn''t help but respect her open-mindedness.

    ¡°However...¡± As she changed the topic, Shang Hongyu had an ambiguous smile on her face, her eyes seemingly covered in a misty veil as she asked, ¡°How long do you intend to keep prodding me?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face waspletely red. Now, he really was embarrassed. He quickly let her go and moved over to the wall, saying, ¡°I was too nervous from your questioning, so I didn¡¯t react yet. Please don¡¯t me me.¡±

    Shang Hongyu harrumphed. ¡°So even you know how to be nervous, huh? There are still things left in this world that can make you nervous?¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    Fortunately, Shang Hongyu wasn¡¯t truly upset. She got up and sorted out her clothes. She looked at the sea outside, and a longing expression appeared on her face. ¡°My entire body feels all sticky and ufortable because of you. You have topensate me.¡±

    ¡°How?¡± Zu An asked, stunned. He reflexively gave her stomach area a look.

    ¡°Keep mepany in the sea below for a bath of course. Help me set up a barrier and block off my aura.¡± As soon as Shang Hongyu said that, she noticed the look in his eyes. After a moment of absentmindedness, she finally reacted. Her beautiful face turned entirely red. ¡°It¡¯s sweat! Moving those pig trotters of yours away exhausted a lot of energy! What are you thinking about?!¡±

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Shang Hongyu for +99 +99 +99...</strong>

    ¡°But I didn¡¯t even say anything!¡± Zu An felt really wronged.

    ¡°The look in your eyes is indecent!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    In the end, Zu An agreed to keep herpany in the sea, which finally quelled her anger.

    The two of them secretly arrived at a corner of the deck where no one was watching. Zu An¡¯s divine sense surrounded everything, and he was sure that no one was paying attention to the area they were in. Then, he took Shang Hongyu with him and jumped down. He had the Blue Mard water-controlling ability, so they didn¡¯t even make a sound or ssh when they entered the water.

    Shang Hongyu was a bit surprised. But when she thought about his cultivation, she felt that it made sense.

    Soon after, Zu An put up a barrier around them in the ocean, saying, ¡°Alright, you can y around however you want. I¡¯ll bring you with me to catch up to that ship againter.¡±

    ¡°Who wants you to take me? We of the Mermaid race are famous swimmers. It won''t even be hard to catch up to that ship,¡± Shang Hongyu said as her clothes withdrew and she turned into a beautiful red mermaid. Her soft waist gently moved, leaving behind rings of enchanting ripples in the water.

    Shang Hongyu¡¯s mood was clearly not bad. She swam around while humming along, and a lovely melody echoed through the waters from her throat.

    Zu An couldn''t help but ask, ¡°I heard a legend about the sea, that whenrge ships passed through deep waters, there would sometimes be a beautiful song that drew them over. Then, the ships would be destroyed and the people would perish. Those legends aren''t talking about you guys, are they?¡±

    ¡°Those are sirens!¡± Shang Hongyu came out from the water and stared at him impatiently before saying, ¡°Of course, there are times when we mermaids sing on reefs, which might also draw over some ships and seamen, but we always jump into the sea as soon as we sense that. We wouldn¡¯t actually meet those people face to face, let alone harm them.¡±

    Zu An nodded and said, ¡°No wonder.¡±

    ¡°Are you noting down for a bath?¡± Shang Hongyu waved her hand toward him. Her beautiful, snow-white arm had water droplets hanging from it. In the sunlight¡¯s radiance, rainbow brilliance emanated from the droplets, making her look as if she was in a dreand.

    Zu An refused with a smile, saying, ¡°I won''t, so please enjoy the swim.¡±

    They had already been ying with fire in the morning. In the future, they still had to pay attention to the distance between them.

    ¡°Tsk, you haven¡¯t bathed in so many days. What a dirty and stinky human,¡± Shang Hongyu said angrily.

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°Once you reach my cultivation rank, you¡¯ll understand. Your entire body will bepletely clean. Forget about a few days, it¡¯s not a big deal even if you don¡¯t bathe for a year or two.¡±

    ¡°If you really don¡¯t bathe for a year or two, even if you¡¯repletely clean, you can forget about touching me or sharing a bed with me.¡± Shang Hongyu had a disgusted expression. She jumped into the sea again.

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>This woman really just can¡¯t go without teasing me.</i>

    ...

    Shang Hongyu swam in the ocean for a long time, and her mood improved a lot. She quickly moved what had happened this morning to the back of her mind and started to talk with Zu An about how they were going to deal with that fake Dragon King.

    When he heard what she had to say, Zu An was a bit surprised, saying, ¡°Your n is quite ingenious.¡±

    ¡°But of course. I am a genuine talent and not just a big-breasted bimbo.¡± Shang Hongyu was quite proud of herself. She was the Ocean races''s queen after all, so her knowledge and wits were both exceptional.

    Zu An couldn''t help but give her chest a look.

    <i>The feeling from this morning was indeed... big.</i>

    As if she noticed the look in his eyes, Shang Hongyu immersed herself under the water and stared at him with herrge eyes.

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°Even so, if he brings other powerful cultivators with him, it might be tricky.¡±

 Chapter 2125: Dragon Palace

    <h4>Chapter 2125: Dragon Pce</h4>

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I understand the fake Dragon King¡¯s intentions well. That kind of situation won¡¯t happen,¡± Shang Hongyu said with confidence.

    Zu An acknowledged her conclusion too, asking, ¡°Do we really not have to capture that fake Dragon King alive? Who knows, we might be able to obtain some useful intelligence from questioning him.¡±

    ¡°Absolutely not!¡± Shang Hongyu immediately said with a stern and firm expression. ¡°That fake Dragon King is an imposter, but his cultivation can only be stronger than the real Dragon King¡¯s. It was only because I understood the formations and mechanisms of the Dragon Pce well, and also because I sacrificed a lot of immortal-grade treasures, that I was able to just barely escape from his clutches. Even so, I was still seriously injured. Your cultivation is extremely high, but silently restraining him would still be extremely difficult. If we ended up alerting other people, all of our following ns will be done for.¡±

    ¡°Fine, we¡¯ll follow your ns then,¡± Zu An replied. ording to what Shang Hongyu was saying, apart from that fake Dragon King, there were some trusted aides in the pce that were also this imposter¡¯s men. He didn¡¯t have to worry about not having people to question.

    After discussing some details, the two chased after the ship to board it again. However, Shang Hongyu refused Zu An¡¯s proposal to take her by air and instead chose to swim by sea.

    Zu An let her do what she wanted to. Along the way, he maintained the barrier to prevent her aura from leaking out and being detected by the outside world. Watching that wonderful figure swim through the waters was quite the pleasing sight.

    Soon after, the two of them quickly caught up to the ship. Shang Hongyu suddenly realized what was going on and she looked at the man in the sky apologetically, saying, ¡°Sorry, I was a bit too stubborn and forgot that you had to maintain the barrier to protect me. You probably exhausted a lot of energy along the way, right?¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°This bit isn¡¯t too big of a deal. Being able to see you happily swim through the sea made it worth it.¡±

    Shang Hongyu was briefly stunned. She looked at him quietly for a long time, and after a while, she said with a sigh, ¡°Ever since my father passed away, there has never been someone else who doted on me so much.¡±

    On the contrary, she had been made to bear the weight of the entire Mermaid race with her delicate shoulders. Her little sister had still been young back then, so she''d had to take care of her too. After she became the queen of the Ocean races, she had then needed to be the mother of the seas. As such, her real self could only be hidden away. In all these years, only recently could that part of her start to surface a bit again.

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s fine, you can just call me daddy in the future. I¡¯ll continue to dote on you.¡±

    Shang Hongyu was dumbstruck. Furious and embarrassed, she grabbed a handful of seawater and threw it at him. ¡°Go to hell!¡±

    ...

    As they teased each other back and forth, time passed quickly on the journey. The biggest change was that the two of them grew to be on better and better terms with each other, and they also became more and more familiar with each other. On the first night, they had still been a bit embarrassed when they slept together, butter, they eventually started to get out of bed and turn in for rest naturally. Each time, Shang Hongyu curled up into his arms, and she even proactively tugged on his hand to hold her, and she didn¡¯t even mind at all if his itchy hands gave her a squeeze from time to time.

    The two of them were as intimate as a real husband and wife. Of course, they knew to strictly adhere to their bottom line.

    ¡°We¡¯re going to arrive at the Jadewave Region tomorrow. I¡¯m a bit nervous,¡± Shang Hongyu said quietly while huddled up against Zu An¡¯s chest. She stared at the stars in the night sky.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you have me next to you. I will protect you.¡± Zu An tightened his arm that was wrapped around her, bringing her a bit closer.

    ¡°It¡¯s so strange, but now that I hear you say that, I feel calmer just like that.¡± Shang Hongyu leaned her head against his arm. She twisted her body around to get into a morefortable position.

    ¡°I¡¯ve said the exact same thing before. What¡¯s the difference?¡± Zu An even helped her move the long hair around her shoulder naturally so that he wouldn¡¯t crush her hair.

    ¡°Of course it¡¯s different.¡± Shang Hongyu smiled and didn¡¯t exin further.

    Just then, she moved her body around a bit, but that ce still seemed a bit ufortable. She turned around and raised her head to look at him. There was a strange smile on her face as she asked, ¡°Should I help you? You look pretty ufortable being like this all the time.¡±

    Zu An replied in annoyance, ¡°How would you help me with that?¡±

    ¡°With my hands, of course.¡± Shang Hongyu sat up straight. She moved closer to his ear and blew gently. ¡°Otherwise, what would you want me to use?¡±

    Zu An immediately became a bit flustered. ¡°Stop causing trouble and go to sleep already. We still have things to take care of tomorrow.¡±

    He suddenly remembered the famous mermaid joke from his previous world. ¡®Hy? Ho?¡¯ Of course, there was no way he could ever tell her about that.

    ¡°Hahahah~¡± Shang Hongyu giggled. ¡°You¡¯re even more of a gentleman than I thought. I didn¡¯t judge you incorrectly after all. If you really agreed, I would¡¯ve made sure to teach you a lesson!¡± After saying that, she waved her fist around a bit to intimidate him, then continued to sleep in his arms in peace.

    Zu An was speechless. In the end, this woman had actually been testing him again.

    Another night passed just like that.

    ...

    The next day, the ship stopped at a small ind. Zu An looked out and saw that the sea was a beautiful jade green. It really was clear and stunning.

    They were now in the deep ocean, so in theory, the ocean water should have been darker. However, the water''s color was still so pretty.

    ¡°This is the Jadewave Region. There are inds like this spread all throughout that serve as the Dragon Pce¡¯s outpost stations; they receive human and fiend guests, as well as guests from other areas of the sea,¡± Shang Hongyu said to Zu An secretly through a ki transmission. She exined all sorts of things along the way.

    Normally, once one left the ship, one would head over to Snail Pce to carry out transferring procedures, and then the ind would activate a special transport formation to send them to the ocean depths¡¯ Dragon Pce. But with Shang Hongyu here, the two of them naturally wouldn¡¯t take an ordinary path. They found a chance to quietly separate from the other guests of the ship and enter a small alley.

    They snaked left and right through the ind. Zu An noticed that there were strangely-shaped creatures everywhere on it. Some were human-shaped, some were half-human and half-beast, but they all shared certain special characteristics. After all, the Ocean races, especially those that were found deeper down, had more unique features.

    There were some Ocean race individuals on the ind who were going around doing their business, and some who were lying by the beach and chatting idly. From time to time, some people jumped into the water for a swim, then returned ashore. That seemed to be their instinct, as they didn¡¯t like to leave the water for too long.

    From time to time, some soldiers patrolled around. Judging from their pointy hats and tail wings, Zu An could tell that they were shrimp soldiers even without any introduction from Shang Hongyu. There were also some higher-ranking military officers that asionally passed by. They had heavy armor on their backs and sinister pincers in their hands; they were probably crabs.

    ¡°They really are shrimp soldiers and crab generals.¡± Zu An chuckled.[1]

    ¡°Don¡¯t look down on them. The sea has a huge number of shrimps and crabs. Of course, there are some species that are more numerous, but they''re too weak. When the Shrimp and Crab races join together, they be the best soldiers. They adhere to strict obedience, and their individual strength isn¡¯t too weak either. If not for the fact that our Ocean races prefer the sea much more thannd, even the humans and fiends¡¯ soldiers added together wouldn¡¯tpare to us.¡± Shang Hongyu couldn''t help but feel a bit proud when she spoke about these things.

    Zu An immediately exposed her and said, ¡°Stop bragging. Not even someone as strong as you can leave the water for a long time. If you really tried to send this shrimp and crab army ashore, we wouldn¡¯t even need to do a thing before they dried up and died.¡±

    Shang Hongyu was still a bit unconvinced. ¡°If you have the skills, why don¡¯t youe over to defeat our Ocean races?!¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t Ie personally?¡± Zu An chuckled. ¡°Now that we¡¯re on the topic, your Ocean races have already acknowledged allegiance to the Fiend races, and I''m the Fiend races¡¯ regent. Even your Dragon King needs to greet me respectfully if he sees me.¡± n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Hmph, what do you mean, acknowledge allegiance? We¡¯re only paying allegiance because we don¡¯t want any meaningless trouble.¡± Shang Hongyu harrumphed. ¡°Even if yourte Fiend Emperor were here, he wouldn¡¯t dare to behave disrespectfully in front of our Dragon King.¡±

    ¡°That''s why thete Fiend Emperor was inferior to me. I can even get the Dragon King¡¯s wife to warm my bed every night.¡± Zu An had a proud smile.

    ¡°Do you want to die right now?!¡± Shang Hongyu immediately became really embarrassed. She gave him a vicious pinch in the side.

    ...

    They continued to move as they chatted. Under Shang Hongyu¡¯s guidance, they turned left and right through the ind and eventually arrived at a remote cliff by the edge of the sea.

    With Zu An¡¯s current knowledge in formations, he could tell that they had made a detour around many defensive formations. If any outsiders who didn¡¯t know tried to barge in, they would be quickly discovered by the guards. Forget about the attacks of these defensive formations, they would immediately be surrounded by endless Ocean race reinforcements. Even though Zu An didn¡¯t fear such a situation, it would still be really annoying to deal with.

    Shang Hongyu pointed into the distance. ¡°Eight hundred li out is a remote and unmanned ind. That ce is really barren, and not even the Ocean races have anyone who would go there. It¡¯s perfect for us to use as our base of operations.¡±

    ¡°Sounds good!¡± Zu An held her waist and flew straight in that direction.

    They were deep in the Ocean races¡¯ territory, so Shang Hongyu didn¡¯t stubbornly insist on turning into her original form to swim in the sea. Instead, she cautiously reminded him about which areas in the air had defensive formations. Zu An was good at formations to begin with, so after she reminded him, he was even more sensitive to these formations. Sometimes he flew lower, and other times he rose into the clouds; sometimes he entered deep into the sea to avoid the mechanisms and formations one after another.

    As she watched him move around, Shang Hongyu was full of admiration.

    <i>If this guy wanted to sneak into the Dragon Pce and harass our women, even we probably couldn¡¯t do anything to stop him.</i>

    With Zu An¡¯s speed, they arrived at their destination shortly after. This was indeed apletely deste ind, and it was full of strangely shaped craggy stones. It was barren andcked nt life. Even seabirds were a rare sight.

    Shang Hongyu easily brought Zu An around the ind. She quickly arrived in front of a hidden cave and said, ¡°This is a ce I liked to y in when I was little. Back then, little sis and I would y hide-and-seek. There were no nannies or maids to bother us... It really is a nostalgic memory.¡±

    When he saw the look of adoration on her face, Zu An thought to himself that one¡¯s memories from youth really were the most treasured and unforgettable things. The scene of two little mermaids ying around on the ind appeared in his mind. He couldn''t help but smile.

    Then, Zu An began to set up formations nearby. When she saw the flickering lights surrounding them, Shang Hongyu was amazed. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to also be so good at formations despite your cultivation rank being so high. Sigh, is there still anything in this world that you can¡¯t do?¡±

    Zu An nted a few formation banners in a corner. He smiled and said, ¡°I can¡¯t give birth to children.¡±

    Shang Hongyu sat on a clean rock with her chin propped up on her inteced fingers. She looked at him and said with a smile, ¡°But you can let other women give birth to your children. I¡¯m sure there are women lining up to do that.¡±

    ¡°Then do you want to as well?¡± Zu An blurted out while he continued to set up the formations.

    Both of them were stunned as soon as those words came out of his mouth.

    Shang Hongyu harrumphed. ¡°Hmph, you dare to even take advantage of your big sister.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, <i>Which one of our actions these days hasn''t gone this far?</i>

    Even so, he knew that he''d been a bit too hasty with thatment.

    <i>Damn this bad habit of mine, I really just can¡¯t fix it.</i>

    In order to fix the awkwardness, he tried to change the topic. ¡°I don¡¯t think you and the Dragon King have had any heirs after all these years, right?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t want to give birth to a child for him, so I said that I was still young and just wanted to have fun as an excuse to say that I didn¡¯t want a child for now. But eventually, I found out my worries were excessive, because the Dragon King¡¯s side had more to consider. In the past, my older sister had already given birth to Chi Wen. If he had another child with the Mermaid race, the bnce between the different ns would be broken.¡± Shang Hongyuughed in self-ridicule. ¡°After all, he has wives from all different races to dote on.¡±

    Zu An was shocked. ¡°Then wouldn¡¯t it be even easier for me to slip up in front of those other wives?¡±

    ¡°Keep dreaming!¡± Shang Hongyu red at him. ¡°I''m the only empress in the Dragon Pce. As for the other wives, they''re almost all with their respective ns. That¡¯s also why the Dragon King always runs around all year long. So you won¡¯t be seeing those wives anytime soon.¡±

    Zu An sighed in relief. ¡°That¡¯s good, that¡¯s good.¡±

    <i>Are you kidding me? With my current identity, how can I just let random women take advantage of me?</i>

    Shang Hongyu¡¯s face suddenly heated up. ¡°Look at you, why do you only want to hear about the life between husband and wives? You know even the most confidential stuff now. Why don¡¯t you tell me a bit about your own romance? For example, how it was rumored that you even slept with the Second Empress. Is that true?¡±

    When he saw how interested in gossip she was, Zu An was a bit speechless. He immediately changed the topic. ¡°Ahem, if one day I needed you to pretend to be my wife, I would probably have to tell you all of these secrets too.¡±

    ¡°Annoying! Just tell me,e on~¡± Shang Hongyu moved closer and tugged on his sleeves while pleading yfully.

    No matter how steady Zu An¡¯s will was, he was still a bit stirred up by her sweet and lovable voice.

    <i>This woman really is a bit...</i>

    In the end, Zu An still managed to focus his mind. He firmly ignored her yful behavior. After setting up the formation, he fastened Shang Hongyu to a rock pir. While doing so, he asked her, ¡°Is this a bit too tight?¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. If it¡¯s not too tight, then the Dragon King will be suspicious.¡± Now that it was about more important affairs, Shang Hongyu became serious as well.

    Zu An nodded and continued the process.

    A whileter, Shang Hongyu¡¯s face turned entirely red. ¡°Why do I feel a bit humiliated from the way you''re tying me up?¡±

    The way the rope was tied up perfectly matched her curves, fully exposing her incredible figure. Since she was a mermaid, her body was even more flexible than usual. Besides that, she had both the dignity of a ruler and an alluring charm. All of that created an extremely powerful work of art. Just looking at her brought a sense of great delight.

    Zu An¡¯s face couldn''t help but heat up. He had never tied up anyone before, except one time in the sky with Tushan Yu... That was why he had reflexively done it the same way, and also added some stuff he saw online in his previous world.

    <i>Those forum users tricked me!</i>

    He said with a deadly earnest voice, ¡°This is called the Immortal Eightfold Binding, one of the world¡¯s most profound binding techniques. That way, the Dragon King won¡¯t be suspicious easily.¡±

    ¡°Is it?¡± Shang Hongyu asked, half-convinced.

    Zu An¡¯s heart elerated a bit. He took out some protective treasures and talismans and gave them to her. ¡°Keep these on you. If you''re in danger, you can activate them to ensure your safety.¡± He taught her how to use them while shoving them into her arms.

    Shang Hongyu was a bit absent-minded. She looked at him with aplicated expression. ¡°Do you treat all of your women this well?¡± She could tell that these treasures and talismans were all things he had made himself, and they were all extremely profound. Even in the Dragon Pce, they would be extremely precious things, and yet he''d just casually taken out so many of them.

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°I only do this for my good friends.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, it seems to me that pretty women are all your close friends,¡± Shang Hongyu retorted. Despite that, she was still happy inside.

    Zu An sensibly chose not to reply. He waved goodbye and said, ¡°I¡¯m going to the Dragon Pce first.¡±

    As she watched him leave through the cave entrance, Shang Hongyu felt a bit reluctant, saying, ¡°You have to hurry back soon! Otherwise, if other men pass by, I might end up being taken advantage of. It¡¯d be toote for regrets then!¡±

    When he saw how pitiful she looked, Zu An was a bit speechless. ¡°Forget about the formations I''ll set up by the cave that no one can undo, even if someone really does barge in here, you can just struggle free using the method I told you. Then, with all those treasures, how could anything happen to you?!¡±

    <i>This woman really is good at messing with others!</i>

    ¡°I don¡¯t care about that! What if I forget the incantation? You have to hurry back as quickly as possible.¡± Shang Hongyu stared straight at him.

    Zu An could sense that she didn¡¯t want to part with him, so he nodded and said, ¡°I¡¯ll return as quickly as possible.¡±

    ...

    Once he left the ind, Zu An immediately flew into the air. He quickly arrived on the ind where the ship had first stopped at. With his cultivation and the Blue Mard ability, he could have just gone to the Dragon Pce by sea himself. However, that would draw too much attention. The Fake Dragon King and his subordinates would definitely be alerted, and they would mobilize all of the Ocean races¡¯ experts to deal with him. That wasn''t a result he wanted to see.

    He went to thergest building at the very center, which was shaped like a conch shell. He was soon stopped by the shrimp and crab soldiers, who called out, ¡°Halt. Do you have entry permits or other permissions?¡±

    ¡°I don''t, but I have this.¡± Zu An took out a sheet of paper.

    The soldiers were about to be hostile when they heard the first half, but when they saw what was in his hands, their expressions changed. That was the Mermaid Queen¡¯s wanted poster. None of them dared to treat anything rted to the queen with negligence. The troop quickly escorted him to a room to the side.

    Soon after hearing the news, a robust two-meter-tall man rushed over with his subordinates. Judging from his toothy mouth and the special patterns around his neck, it wasn¡¯t hard to guess that his original body was some kind of shark.

    ¡°This is Sir Shark who is in charge of our area here,¡± a shrimp soldier to the side said.

    ¡°Youngster, do you have information on the Mermaid Queen?¡± Sir Shark looked down at Zu An from above, his eyes carrying a bit of surprise. He could tell that this was a human. Why would a human have information on the queen that even so many Ocean races couldn''t find?

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Zu An calmly drank the drink the soldiers had prepared. It seemed to contain some kind of coconut juice and other special seagrass, and had a bit of a unique taste.

    ¡°Then just tell us. I''m here to judge if your information has any value.¡± Sir Shark harrumphed. There were many people who came for the reward, but they usually only gave some clues that seemed right but were actually wrong. The soldiers would go and investigate, only to return with nothing at all.

    Zu An shook his finger and said, ¡°You don¡¯t have enough qualifications to hear that.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Sir Shark was furious when he heard that, roaring, ¡°You¡¯re courting death, brat!¡±

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Shark Diao for +444 +444 +444...</strong>

    The entire room was surrounded by a powerful pressure. Many of the shrimp soldiers¡¯ blue faces immediately turned red and they backed up. The flower vases and other things in the room were also shaken back and forth by the powerful energy.

    However, the drink cup that was within three inches of Zu An sat safely in ce, as if it wasn¡¯t affected at all. Shark Diao¡¯s eyes narrowed when he saw that.

    <i>This fellow seems to be perfectly fine, so his cultivation is definitely not low. There might actually be useful information this time.</i>

    When he realized Zu An¡¯s strength, he immediately became more polite. ¡°May I ask who has the qualifications?¡±

    ¡°The Dragon King. Only he has the qualifications to hear what I have to say,¡± Zu An said calmly.

    When they heard what he said, forget about the ordinary soldiers, even the robust Shark Diao¡¯s expression changed. He almost couldn''t resist the urge to teach this human a lesson, but Zu An just sat there casually. He was like a towering and imposing mountain, or a deep and immeasurable sea.

    <i>Dammit, there are clearly no ki fluctuationsing from his body, so why am I getting so scared?</i>

    As someone who could manage an important location like this ind, Shark Diao wasn''t stupid. In the end, he still gave up on attacking. ¡°Sir, I can help you contact the Dragon King, but you need to show something that proves what you are saying, right? After all, the Dragon King doesn¡¯t have a good temper. If he finds out that we wasted his time, not even I will be able to escape punishment.¡±

    Zu An thought for a bit, then took out a hairpin from his inner pockets and said, ¡°He¡¯ll know if you give this to him.¡±

    The hairpin was made of extremely high-quality tortoiseshell. There were even some beautiful coral decorations on it. But the most eye-catching part was the massive ck pearl embedded in it.

    ¡°That¡¯s the queen¡¯s hairpin!¡± everyone in the room cried out in rm. Even though none of them had seen it before, the unique aura of the Ocean races¡¯ ruler couldn''t be faked. Besides, apart from a woman like the queen, who else had the right to wear such a precious hairpin?

    ¡°Sir, please wait a moment! I will immediately pass on the message for you! What are you all still standing around for? Bring out the best stuff to receive this sir!¡± Shark Diao¡¯s expression became extremely respectful. He found an embroidered case to store the hairpin, then quickly left.

    Zu An enjoyed the fruits and snacks that the maids brought in one after another. He thought to himself that the Ocean races really did have a lot of delicacies. He had to make sure to bring back some for his sweethearts to try. However, he suddenly thought of Chu Chuyan and Qiu Honglei, and his expression couldn''t help but darken.

    Soon after, Shark Diao hurried over and said, ¡°Sir, the Dragon King wishes to meet with you.¡±

    1. These are the army of the Dragon King of the Eastern Sea in mythology and popr fiction ?

 Chapter 2126: Just Who Should I Trust?

    <h4>Chapter 2126: Just Who Should I Trust?</h4>

    Shark Diao had a joyful look on his face. Now that the Dragon King was going to receive information, he himself would definitely be rewarded. Moreover, the reward would definitely not be small.

    Zu An wasn¡¯t surprised to see this. Shang Hongyu was the only w in the fake Dragon King¡¯s current disguise, so he naturally needed to eradicate her as quickly as possible.

    Soon after, under the lead of Shark Diao, he reached the innermost area of the Snail Pce. There wereyers afteryers of guards everywhere. They arrived in front of a giant formation. Zu An only needed to look at it for a moment to recognize that it was a transport formation that could immediately bring them very far away. However, the formation borrowed the power of the water element and surrounding sea to achieve its result. The distance such a formation could reach onnd would be extremely limited.

    ¡°Sir, please head on inside. This transport formation can send sir straight to the Dragon Pce. There will be someone on the other side to receive sir, so I will not be traveling with you.¡± Shark Diao said respectfully.

    Zu An showed that he understood and walked up to the formation. One after another, the subordinates brought outrge ki stones to fill in the grooves around the formation. As the final piece was put in, blue patterns lit up all across the ground. The ki stones were like batteries that charged the formation from the outside in. Rings of formation patterns shone; when the entire formation was illuminated, space twisted, and Zu An instantly disappeared.

    ...

    Shortly after, Zu An reappeared on the formation tform on the other side. But Shark Diao¡¯s group was no longer around him, and the environment also changed greatly.

    ¡°Spatial power, huh...¡± Zu An silently remembered the sensation. He had only experienced spatial power whenever he passed through a portal into a secret dungeon. The humans and fiends rarely had these kinds of transport formations. The Ocean races were full of secrets after all.

    ¡°Is this the sir who came with information regarding the queen? Please follow us; the Dragon King wishes to meet with you.¡± Two attendants greeted him outside the formation.

    Zu An examined the two of them. Apart from the blue fins around their ears, they didn¡¯t seem too different from humans. Their cultivation ranks weren¡¯t low either. It seemed this fake Dragon King was treating him with some respect.

    He nodded and gestured for them to lead the way. At the same time, he secretly examined his surroundings. Even though Shang Hongyu had already roughly introduced the Dragon Pce to him, he still couldn''t help but feel shocked when he saw it himself.

    He had gone to underwater theme parks before, but he had mostly only admired them from behind giant bs of ss. Only asionally, when he traveled through a ss tunnel, had he felt as if he was really walking along the ocean floor. But now, he really was doing so! He had thought that there would be a giant ss dome outside the Dragon Pce to stop the seawater froming in and that there would be no water inside, making it no different from the outside world. However, there were no ss barriers at all. The entire Dragon Pce was immersed in water!

    Likewise, he was also underwater. Normally, an ordinary person¡¯s body would have been crushed into a bloody paste from the water pressure. Even if not for that, there would be no way to breathe. Of course, with his current strength, Zu An didn¡¯t need to worry about that, but he didn¡¯t feel any pressure either. Even if an ordinary person were here, they would simrly be able to move around as if they were on dry ground. They wouldn¡¯t be hindered at all. He focused his attention further out, his powerful divine sense taking in his surroundings. He thus discovered that even though there was no ss barrier, there was a huge formation surrounding the Dragon Pce.

    The Dragon Pce had all kinds ofplicated formations that flickered with light; included among them were many mysterious and ingenious methods that even left Zu An amazed. Along the way, there were pretty coral reefs everywhere, with anemones continuously swaying atop them as if they were trying to make the rainbow-colored fish that were passing by stay. From time to time, some jellyfish slowly drifted about around them, every single one glowing faintly like shiningnterns.

    Zu An was a bit surprised. Using the jellyfish asnterns was quite clever. Of course, the entire Dragon Pce couldn''t possibly rely purely on jellyfish for lighting, so a streak of bright light shone down from right above and made the entire Dragon Pce as bright as if it were in broad daylight. However, Zu An knew very well that the Dragon Pce was located deep, deep underwater. There was no way that light could be from the sun. Normally, it would be so dark that one wouldn¡¯t be able to see one''s own hand in front of one''s face. It was probably some special formation that brought sunlight all the way down here.

    A long flight of stairs made of a white marble-like material soon appeared in front of him. The engravings on it were extremely delicate. Along the way, there were pirs topped with ser-ball-sized pearls that further spread the sunlight from above all around them. Zu An¡¯s eye twitched when he saw that. The Ocean races¡¯ natural resources really were abundant. This ce was far more extravagant than the pces of the humans and fiends.

    At the end of the stairs was a splendid and magnificent pce. The details of its design were entirely different from those of the humans and fiends, with many different parts influenced by the multiple styles used by the Ocean races. There were dragon and mermaid sculptures, as well as many statues of other sea races. There were many that Zu An didn¡¯t even recognize.

    But what drew Zu An¡¯s attention even more was that the entire pce was made from translucent crystal. Under the sunlight, the entire pce shone with crystalline radiance. It was truly a work of art, stunning beyondparison. Zu An sighed in praise. No wonder the Dragon Pce was also called the Crystal Pce.

    ...

    As he continued to move around, he unwittingly realized that he had been led to arge structure in the depths of the Dragon Pce. The soldiers at the entrance weren¡¯t shrimp and crabs, but rather seahorses and strange fish. But they weren¡¯t like the seahorses he remembered. These seahorses were extremelyrge, and there was a stern auraing from their bodies. Meanwhile, the fish soldiers had human bodies and fish tails. They all held tridents in hand and watched him vigntly. At first, Zu An was worried that they were part of the Mermaid race, but when he saw how ugly they were, he determined that they clearly weren¡¯t. They were probably some kind of strange fish from the Ocean races that he didn¡¯t know about.

    Every single one of the soldiers had ninth rank cultivation. Zu An clicked his tongue in wonder. After all, in the human and fiend races, even though there were many with ninth rank cultivation, their elite soldiers weren¡¯t this strong. Fifth or sixth rank were already pretty much the limit. Those soldiers then coordinated through all sorts of war formations to achieve great power.

    But what if the same weredone with soldiers at the ninth rank? If not for the fact that the Ocean races couldn''t leave the water, the humans and fiends could have long since been conquered.

    Two strange fish soldiers stopped in front of Zu An, then took out a water crystal. They shone it all over Zu An¡¯s body, then nodded to the soldiers beside them and opened up the way. Zu An gave the crystal a look. This thing was probably used to check if one had any dangerous weapons or other such things. After all, everyone who could enter the Dragon Pce was an important individual. Directly carrying out a body check wouldn¡¯t be giving them much face.

    Then, Zu An was brought into arge pce. A tall and well-built man was at the highest point. He sat on an open shell that looked like a giant throne and looked down on Zu An from high above. Judging from his familiar appearance and the horns on his forehead, as well as the king-like presence he gave off, he was clearly the fake Dragon King.

    Even though Zu An was already informed about this person''s true identity from the Mermaid Queen, when he saw the fake himself, he actually couldn''t find a single w in his disguise.

    <i>Just how did this imposter do it?</i>

    In that instant, he even had thoughts of taking in the fake Dragon King for interrogation. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    But in the end, he still gave up on that thought. The fake Dragon King¡¯s powerful aura was no different from that of the real Dragon King. His true strength was probably on par with the Dragon King''s own as well. Additionally, there were many important ministers and generals off to the sides, all of whom were at least at the master rank. There were quite a few grandmasters as well. The Ocean races really did have endless powerful cultivators, as expected. If he attacked right now, that would undoubtedly immediately spark a direct conflict with the entirety of the Ocean races. More importantly, there were many among the Ocean races who werepletely in the dark. Fighting to the death would really be a meaningless battle.

    Zu An was wondering what to do when the fake Dragon King on the throne said, ¡°Hm, it was actually a human. You only have trifling master rank cultivation, and yet you dared toe to the Dragon Pce. You truly are quite bold.¡±

    Normally, Zu An didn¡¯t have any ki fluctuations emanating from him. He hadn¡¯t needed to worry about that in front of Shark Diao, who was likely to expect it to be because Zu An had higher cultivation than his own, but if he continued to hide his ki in front of the Dragon King and other Ocean races, that could create a lot of unnecessary trouble.

    After all, there was no way that anyone who coulde here would be an ordinary person without any cultivation, but if no one in the Dragon Pce could see through his cultivation, wouldn¡¯t they be worried that he was too strong? That would easily cause them to be on guard, so that was why Zu An had deliberately imitated the ki aura of the master rank. Sure enough, it simplified many things.

    Zu An smiled. ¡°I didn¡¯te to be an enemy of the Dragon Pce, so why does it matter whether my cultivation is higher or lower?¡±

    ¡°You do have a bit of courage.¡± The fake Dragon King harrumphed. He took out an item from the small box next to him, asking, ¡°Where did you obtain this item from?¡±

    This was Shang Hongyu¡¯s hairpin, which Zu An had brought with him.

    ¡°From the Mermaid Queen, of course,¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°How brazen! What did you do to the queen?!¡± a minister positioned beneath the ''Dragon King'' shouted.

    Zu An gave him a look. He had a horn on his head, and the Dragon race¡¯s traits were quite clear on his body. He was a bit simr to the Dragon King. He was likely the Dragon King¡¯s brother. After seeing his concerned and worried expression, as well as how he was going all out in his speech, Zu An¡¯s expression became a bit strange.

    <i>Does he like his sister-inw?</i>

    The aura this individual was giving off was at the peak of the grandmaster rank. If he changed into his original form, his strength could be even greater.

    Zu An replied, ¡°Your words confuse me. Wasn¡¯t her arrest ordered? It also seems that she is already no longer the queen. Even if something had been done to her, we would still have to follow things ording to the arrest order, right?¡±

    Those words immediately drew angry looks from everyone in the pce.

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Ao Yong for +444 +444 +444...</strong>

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Gui Chengxiang for +444 +444 +444...</strong>

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled...</strong>

    When he saw the huge amount of Rage points that came in, Zu An waspletely unaffected. Instead, he quickly looked for a certain name. However, when he saw one particr message, his eyes suddenly narrowed:

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Dragon King Ao Zhan for +444 +444 +444...</strong>

    A chill ran down his back when he saw the message. He immediately had a really bad feeling.

    <i>Just what is going on? This is clearly the real Dragon King!</i>

    He had said those words just now on purpose to anger the Dragon King. He''d wanted to use this chance to see just who was pretending to be the Dragon King. The Keyboard System collected the power that came when one¡¯s soul was shaken up. After so many years, it has never failed to identify someone. How could he have expected that the Rage system would actually disy the name Dragon King Ao Zhan?!

    But if he really was the true Dragon King, then wouldn¡¯t Shang Hongyu''s story be a lie?

    When he recalled the time they spent together, and how intimate they were, on top of that dignified yet alluring face, Zu An suddenly felt horror. Since he had first met Shang Hongyu and he had his rtionship with Shang Liuyu, he had subconsciously been inclined to trust her. That was why he''d concluded that there was an issue with the Dragon King, and that there was a mysterious being impersonating the Dragon King and trying to take over. He''d believed that that person was trying to get rid of Shang Hongyu, the only one who knew the truth.

    But if it was the other way around, and the Dragon King was real and there was no one impersonating him, then the fact that the Mermaid Queen¡¯s arrest was ordered could only mean that there was an issue with Shang Hongyu! When he thought about how Shang Hongyu seemed to have been teasing him, intentionally or otherwise, and that she had even approached him in a tavern first, he wondered whether that could be the truth.

    But what was going on with the Yaksha Ocean Patrol whose bodies were covered in ck miasma? Could all of this just be an act Shang Hongyu had put on to mislead him?

    <i>But how would she have known where I am?</i>

    <i>And how could she have perfectly arranged all of this so that a pursuit took ce right in front of me?</i>

    In that instant, too many possibilities appeared in his mind. Even though he was someone who had been through his fair share of frightening events, he still broke out in cold sweat.

    Just then, the Dragon King said with an awe-inspiring smile, ¡°She is our Ocean races'' queen, after all. I wonder just what you did to her exactly?¡±

    Zu An could feel the real killing intent behind his words.

    <i>Could he really be worried that I did something to his wife?</i>

    His thoughts were too messy right now and he couldn''t really figure out which side was wrong. For now, he didn¡¯t want to antagonize either side. He said, ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything. I just happened to encounter a seriously wounded queen, and then I trapped her with a formation. After that, I came here to make a report. Everything I¡¯ve done is clearly in line with the arrest warrant. Could it be that the Ocean races are people who go back on their word?¡±

    ¡°Impudent!¡± Many Ocean race ministers were furious. They glowered at him angrily.

    Zu An wasn¡¯t even in the mood to pay attention to the Rage points he was receiving. Instead, he continued to think about what had happened as ofte.

    All of Shang Hongyu¡¯s behavior had been normal. If it was all just acting, her acting skills were just too incredible. After all, with his current experience, fooling him really was difficult. Furthermore, they had interacted with each other day after day, and they had even held each other when they slept. He hadn¡¯t sensed the slightest bit of ck miasma from her body.

    <i>Wait... There were, but it was from her injuries.</i>

    <i>What if she was just hiding it through the pretext of the injury?</i>

    The Dragon King raised his hand to stop the criticisms of his subjects. ¡°What this human says is within reason. We do not see others as members of our Ocean races.¡± Then, he looked at Zu An and said, ¡°You actually captured the Mermaid Queen. This truly is a bit unexpected. Where is she right now?¡±

    ¡°Where is the reward I was promised?¡± Zu An replied, showing a greedy and longing expression. In terms of acting, he wasn¡¯t any worse off himself.

    With a wave of the Dragon King¡¯s hands, a group of guards carried over more than ten chests. With another wave, all of the chests were opened. They shone with brilliant light. They contained the highest-quality ki stones, jewelry, and magic treasures.

    ¡°Tell me where the queen is, and these will all be yours. Also, I will fulfill the promise and receive you as my disciple. In the future, no one in this Dragon Pce or the Ocean races will dare to mistreat you.¡± The Dragon King stared straight at Zu An with hisrge eyes.

    When he saw the copious amounts of riches, Zu An thought to himself, <i>Shang Hongyu is indeed worth quite a bit. </i>He suddenly asked, ¡°May I ask why the Dragon King wishes to arrest the queen?¡±

    He needed more information to make the correct decision.

    ¡°Audacious!¡± the turtle with the small beard next to the Dragon King snapped.

    The Dragon King looked at Zu An and asked, ¡°Why do you concern yourself with this question?¡± There was a faint killing intent in his eyes, as if a single wrong word would cause him give the order for Zu An¡¯s death.

    ¡°I just want to know if this rewardes without any dangers to my life. After all, the order is to arrest the Mermaid Queen. If I identally ended up getting involved in the secrets of your rtionship as husband and wife, I could well be killed off to preserve them,¡± Zu An replied.

    Laughter resounded through the pce. The atmosphere was no longer as grave as before.

    ¡°This human is surprisingly cowardly.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not really his fault. It¡¯s only natural that he''s worried about such things.¡±

    ...

    Sure enough, the Dragon King¡¯s expression eased up a little. He said, ¡°That¡¯s not something you need to worry about. Could it be that I¡¯d go back on my word in front of so many of our important subjects? What dignity would I have left in the Ocean races in the future? You can hand over the queen now, right?¡±

 Chapter 2127: A Strike Like Lightning

    <h4>Chapter 2127: A Strike Like Lightning</h4>

    ¡°I cannot,¡± Zu An said. The expressions of everyone in the Dragon Pce changed. However, Zu An then continued, ¡°The queen is trapped within my formation. If she leaves the formation, I might not be able to capture her anymore. Wouldn¡¯t I then bemitting the crime of taking advantage of the ruler? As such, I invite the Dragon King to make this trip with me. With the Dragon King at my side, she won¡¯t be able to leave no matter what she tries.¡±

    When he heard that, the Dragon King fell silent. Next to him, Ao Yong hurriedly said, ¡°Brother king, you must be careful of tricks being yed!¡±

    When he saw his nervous appearance, Zu An thought to himself, <i>This guy clearly doesn¡¯t want the Dragon King to find the queen.</i>

    <i>It seems he really does have feelings for his sister-inw... I should find a chance to find out what Shang Hongyu¡¯s rtionship with them is. It seems as if Ao Yong would take the risk to protect her even in this kind of situation.</i>

    He was suddenly stunned when he thought of that. He had subconsciously thought of Shang Hongyu first. It seemed he still trusted her a bit more right now.

    Judging from the current intelligence, Shang Hongyu was real and the Dragon King was real. Then who was the fake?

    <i>It can¡¯t be me, right?</i>

    <i>Just where does the problem lie...</i>

    He couldn''t be bothered with all of that right now, however. Thus, He decided to restrain both sides and let them confront each other instead.

    The Dragon King voiced his agreement. He didn¡¯t pay Ao Yong any attention, seeming to have guessed at his thoughts. He asked Zu An, ¡°Where is the queen trapped approximately?¡±

    ¡°She is on a small ind within the seas,¡± Zu An replied. The seas of this world were really vast, so this information alone wouldn¡¯t allow the Dragon King to find her without his help.

    When they heard that she was still within the range of the Ocean races¡¯ influence, everyone in the pce sighed in relief. They had been worried that she was on the human or fiend side, because then it could be a trap. If it was in the seas, that was still within the Ocean races¡¯ control. The other side wouldn¡¯t be able to cause much trouble.

    ¡°Then this king will follow you out for a trip.¡± The Dragon King stood up from his throne. His entire being emanated a mysterious power.

    Just then, Gui Chengxiang to the side advised, ¡°Your majesty, you should bring some strong cultivators with you as a preventive measure against potential traps.¡±

    The Dragon Kingughed. ¡°With Zhao Han and the Fiend Emperor dead, who else in this world can face me?¡±

    Zu An picked up on a hint of something when he heard those words.

    Gui Chengxiang said with an apologetic smile, ¡°Your majesty is naturally powerful beyondpare, but everyone in this world knows that. If they truly wished to defeat your respected self, they would definitely make preparations with your strength in mind. It is never wrong to be careful.¡±

    Ao Yong cupped his hands and said, ¡°What Gui Chengxiang says is reasonable. This subject, your brother, is willing to travel together with reinforcements.¡±

    At the same time, he was a bit worried.

    <i>Could it be that sister-inw really was schemed against and trapped by this human? I might still have a chance to save her if I go as well. If I don¡¯t go, I won¡¯t have any chance anymore.</i>

    The Dragon King frowned and said, ¡°Fine, you can follow me.¡± Then, he pointed at a group of individuals. Ao Yong was only one of them.

    ¡°Where to?¡± the Dragon King asked as he walked up to Zu An with the others.

    Zu An pointed northeast. The Dragon King nodded. Then, with a wave of his hand, their group was wrapped within a current and rushed in that direction. The water moved aside on its own wherever they went, and they traveled at extreme speed!

    Zu An was secretly filled with admiration.

    <i>The Ocean races really do have some interesting things. If I fought against the Dragon King underwater, he would be supported by his own home field. That¡¯s not something to look down on at all.</i>

    At the same time, he felt more and more curious. This Dragon King looked to be the genuine article. Apart from him, who else in this world could have such formidable water-controlling ability?

    Along the way, Zu An corrected the direction from time to time. Shortly after, their party arrived at the remote ind.

    The Dragon King chuckled and said, ¡°She was actually hiding right in the Jadewave Region. The most dangerous ce is the safest ce after all.¡±

    Many subordinates secretly felt praise. They''d searched everywhere because they thought that the queen already escaped far away. They had even thought that she could have fled to the human or fiend side by now, and yet she was actually right in their backyard. It now seemed that the intelligence they received had all just been from diversionary tactics she used.

    <i>As expected of the queen, this level of intelligence and wisdom is really admirable!</i>

    <i>It¡¯s just a pity that she just happened to encounter this human!</i>

    Zu An pointed at a craggy, barren hill and said, ¡°The queen is in that cave. I left a formation marking outside. With the Dragon King¡¯s insight, you should be able to find her easily.¡±

    The Dragon King harrumphed and said, ¡°You¡¯re going with me.¡± Even if there was any danger, as long as this human was with him, that would prevent him from taking his own life or anything like that.

    Zu An was a bit stunned, but he still nodded and said, ¡°Sure.¡±

    It seemed the position Shang Hongyu held in the Dragon King¡¯s heart was quite high. If he had suggested going in with the Dragon King first, he would have seemed even more suspicious. But since the Dragon King had suggested it himself, it all worked out.

    Then, the Dragon King ordered his subordinates, ¡°You guys are to surround this ind. Don¡¯t even let a single fly escape. Also, guard against any suspicious activity. Everyone else, follow me.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± His subordinates respected his order.

    Ao Yong was a bit nervous, saying, ¡°Brother Zhan, be careful of any schemes! How about I go with you?¡±

    The Dragon King chuckled. ¡°Could it be that you really think that this ruler cannot even deal with a trifling human?¡±

    <i>If I bring you, tthat¡¯ll only create more variables.</i>

    Ao Yong still wanted to strive a bit more, saying, ¡°Please be careful of making a blunder...¡±

    The Dragon King said indifferently, ¡°We, husband and wife, might not be able to avoid speaking some confidential information. Could it be that brother king has an interest in that too?¡±

    The expressions of the surrounding Ocean race experts couldn''t help but be a bit strange.

    Ao Yong¡¯s expression changed. He eximed, ¡°This subject doesn¡¯t dare!¡±

    Now that things already reached this point, what else could he say? He could only give the barren hill a worried look.

    <i>I hope that human is just another liar.</i>

    Soon after, he and the other Ocean race experts scattered to different parts of the ind. That way, even if anyone tried to escape, they would still be able to intercept. They would also be able to swiftly provide assistance if something unexpected happened on the ind.

    Meanwhile, the Dragon King brought over a dozen of his trusted aides to enter with him.

    Zu An led the Dragon King inside. Along the way, he suddenly said with a sigh, ¡°I have long heard of the Dragon King¡¯s outstanding cultivation. However, a few days ago, I heard some rumors and nder from the human side that left me a bit confused.¡±

    ¡°What kind of rumors and nder?¡± The Dragon King frowned and didn¡¯t look too happy.

    Zu an exined, ¡°Not too long ago, the human race regent seemed to have killed a Giant Golden Dragon in the capital. At the time, the Dragon King appeared, but the matter was left at that. Everyone said that the Dragon King feared the human regent. Now that I¡¯ve seen the Dragon King¡¯s might myself, I realize that those rumors must be false.¡±

    ¡°But of course. Back then, I just didn¡¯t want to destroy such a difficult to obtain peace and ruin the rtionship between the Ocean and Human races.¡± The Dragon King harrumphed. ¡°But that nephew actually dared to kill a fellow member of the Dragon race. One day, this emperor will properly settle things with him.¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°From what I¡¯ve seen, that human regent is likely not a match for the Dragon King.¡±

    The Dragon King harrumphed, as if he felt it beneath him to blow his own horn.

    ...

    The two quickly arrived at the cave Zu An had been in. The Dragon King gave it a look before remarking, ¡°There is an aura blocking formation here. You are quite careful.¡±

    ¡°It''s naturally not worth mentioning before the Dragon King.¡± Zu An chuckled, then quickly opened up the cave formation.

    The Dragon King ordered the dozen or so trusted aides, ¡°You are to stay outside. No one is permitted toe closer.¡± As he said that, he gave the distant Ao Yong and the others a deliberate look.

    ¡°Understood!¡± Those individuals quickly positioned themselves around the cave.

    ¡°You will follow me inside.¡± The Dragon King pointed at Zu An and said, ¡°Walk in front.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Zu An sneered inwardly.

    <i>This guy is quite careful.</i>

    Shortly after they entered the cave, after walking through the narrow passage, they saw Shang Hongyu. She was bound, her amazing feminine curves on full disy. The Dragon King¡¯s eyes immediately widened when he saw that. Even his breathing became a bit heavier. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    A woman¡¯s voice suddenly called out from the cave, ¡°You imposter!¡±

    Shang Hongyu was stunned. She clearly hadn¡¯t said anything!

    However, the Dragon King¡¯s expression changed. His fingers were like sharp ws as they grabbed at the head of the human in front of him. He felt that the human was a bit mysterious, so for the sake of being sure, he used all of his strength. The entire cave erupted with a mysterious power.

    Shang Hongyu¡¯s face turned deathly pale. Under this power, not even a grandmaster could move in the slightest.

    All of the Ocean race experts who were guarding outside were startled. The Dragon King had made a move!

    Ao Yong¡¯s expression changed. He was about to head over to take a look when hispanion stopped him, saying, ¡°King, please do not make a fool of yourself.¡±

    ¡°But...¡± Ao Yong wanted to say something, but anotherpanion said, ¡°Since his majesty has decided to act, the situation is already decided. Going over there now is already meaningless. We just need to wait for the results.¡±

    Ao Yong sighed. His entire body became listless.

    However, the guards outside the cave had calm expressions, as if they had already anticipated this.

    ...

    Meanwhile, inside the cave, the Dragon King attacked Zu An with all of his strength to silence him. Normally, with his cultivation, if heunched a surprise attack on a trifling master rank human, there would definitely be no chance for anything unexpected to happen.

    And yet, something unexpected did happen. There was suddenly a blur, and a momentter, the human was gone.

    <i>No, this is where that human was just standing. Is it some spatial-type divine skill? Position exchange?</i>

    He was rmed. His aura suddenly erupted again. That person was definitely not a master rank cultivator!

    <i>But so what? In this world, just who else is my match? Even if thete Fiend Emperor or Zhao Han revived, there''s no way a fight would be decided without at least a few hundred exchanges.</i>

    <i>Even that bloodthirsty brat has no chance of defeating me in a short amount of time. Meanwhile, I can immediately summon all of the experts outside the cave. WIth so many powerful Ocean race experts here, he will undoubtedly die!</i>

    Just then, he felt a slight pain at his waist.

    <i>It seems to be that bloodthirsty brat after all! Only that guy cpi;d inflict an internal injury on me in such a short amount of time.</i>

    <i>That little bastard was pretending to be a pig to devour a tiger!</i>

    But he didn¡¯t panic at all. This kind of superficial wound didn¡¯t matter. He had only lost in this exchange because he was caught off guard.

    <i>Hmph, now that I¡¯ve realized what is going on, it¡¯s hard to say who will win in the end. I even have so many powerful Ocean race reinforcements outside!</i>

    <i>The advantage is mine!</i>

    He focused on defense while opening his mouth to call for reinforcements. Suddenly, however, his entire body froze, and his expression was full of disbelief. ck runes began to spread from the wound at his waist. Immediately after, his entire body was drained of life force.

    Zu An was also breathing heavily. Even though only an instant had passed, the level of danger hadn¡¯t seemed inferior to that of a proper battle. He''d known that if he gave the Dragon King even a moment of reprieve, the Ocean race experts outside would flock over and surround him. That way, even if he could break out and protect himself, that would be the worst-case scenario.

    He''d wanted to capture the Dragon king for interrogation, but he was forced to immediately change his ns. This guy was too strong. If he hadn¡¯t gone all out, the tide would easily turn on him. Fortunately, the opponent wasn¡¯t a departed spirit of some sort. The Poisonous Prick had been extremely effective, taking his life.

    The pressure disappeared, and Shang Hongyu snapped out of her daze. She silently chanted the incantation and the bindings around her fell away. She said with a bit of lingering fear, ¡°I wanted to help you, but I didn¡¯t expect his domain to be that strong. I was injured and actually couldn''t move.¡±

    At the same time, she was absolutely horrified. Even though she knew that Zu An''s cultivation was really high from being around him, she hadn¡¯t expected it to be this high. She''d thought that the two would fight for quite some time. Even if the world wasn¡¯t turned upside down, this mountain would still have been shaken up, right? How could she have known that it would end in an instant?

    <i>Is this a battle between the strongest in the world?</i>

    In that instant, she couldn''t help but start to question her own life.

    Zu An looked at her and asked, ¡°Who are you really?¡±

    ¡°What are you saying? Wait, your voice...?¡± Shang Hongyu was stunned. Zu An¡¯s voice had already be identical to the Dragon King¡¯s.

    A guard outside asked, ¡°Your majesty, is everything fine?¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°Stand guard outside properly. Do not let anyonee closer.¡±

    He had already used the Kawaii Waifu Voice Changer to fool the Dragon King when he had his back turned, which was why he could already freely imitate the Dragon King''s voice.

    ¡°Understood!¡± The guards immediately rxed when they heard his voice.

    Zu An looked at Shang Hongyu, then put on a sound blocking formation and said, ¡°You still haven¡¯t answered my question.¡±

    Shang Hongyu couldn''t help but back up, saying, ¡°I am Hongyu, of course! Don¡¯t be like that! I¡¯m a little scared...¡±

    Zu An said seriously, ¡°I already checked in the Dragon Pce. He was indeed the real Dragon King.¡±

    Shang Hongyu¡¯s expression changed and she cried, ¡°That¡¯s impossible! He''s definitely fake! Just how did you check?¡±

    Zu An said coldly, ¡°There could be no mistake with my method of judgment. He is the genuine Dragon King.¡±

    Shang Hongyu was shocked. She quickly examined the Dragon King¡¯s corpse.

    <i>Could it be that the real Dragon King already dealt with the fake Dragon King? Then wouldn¡¯t that mean I colluded with another man to kill my own husband?</i>

    When she thought of that possibility, she felt a bit dizzy. Her face turnedpletely pale. But when she carefully examined the corpse, she couldn''t help but be excited, eximing, ¡°He really was fake!¡±

    Zu An was stunned when he heard that. He quickly noticed the changes that were happening to the Dragon King¡¯s body. He saw that the Dragon King suddenly began to shrink, and the entire body became blue. In the end, the corpse belonged to a humanoid monster. His appearance wasn¡¯t the Dragon King¡¯s, but rather a face without any features. It was quite horrifying to look at.

    Zu An was surprised. In the end, this Dragon King was still fake! Then why hadn''t the Keyboard System been able to differentiate between them? Still, he didn¡¯t have time to think about that for the time being. He removed the clothes, then sent a strand of White Lotus me over the corpse. The pure white embers quickly swallowed up the fake Dragon King¡¯s body. Soon after, it waspletely burned away.

    ¡°Hm?¡± Zu An picked up a bead that was left over even after the mes burned away everything else. It was definitely something special. Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t obtain any information when he examined it with his divine sense. He could only put it away for now.

    He then used the Face of a Thousand Identities to change into the Dragon King, while Shang Hongyu began to put the Dragon King''s clothes on him. The outfit had some details that were pretty tricky, so those who weren¡¯t familiar with it could make a mistake.

    Shang Hongyu suddenly asked while sorting out his clothes, ¡°Since you thought that the imposter was fake, why did you still continue with the n? Were you really not worried that I would lie to you?¡±

    Zu An chuckled and said casually, ¡°Compared to him, I still trusted you more. Besides, even if he was real, so what? If I killed him, then so be it. I''d definitely stand on your side.¡±

 Chapter 2128: Infiltrating Inside

    <h4>Chapter 2128: Infiltrating Inside</h4>

    Of course, the reasoning wasn¡¯t actually just that simple. He had actually tested out the fake Dragon King several times along the way. He''d made sure to ask him about the events in the capital. After all, that was the first time he really had interacted with the Dragon King.

    There wasn¡¯t anything really wrong about the other things he said, but the reason for why the matter had been left unsettled was wrong. At the time, the Dragon King really had been nning to fight, but because the queen next to him said something, and because of Zu An''s rtionship with Shang Liuyu, the Dragon King had ultimately decided not to.

    Of course, he hadn''t really been able to voice that reason publicly, and so the excuse he''d provided was that he didn¡¯t want to ruin the two races¡¯ morale and cause them to go to war. The truth was something only he, the real Dragon King, and the queen knew about. Sure enough, the fake Dragon King had exposed himself there.

    Later, Zu An had tried to confirm it again. He''d used the Kawaii Waifu Voice Changer to pretend to be Shang Hongyu in order to call him an imposter. Sure enough, the imposter immediately had a guilty conscience and attacked to silence him, the one who knew the truth.

    What else was there to say then? Zu An just had to kill him after that. Of course, exining all of that would be tooplicated, so he just casually responded instead.

    However, Shang Hongyu was stunned when she heard that. Then, she stared at him in a daze, her expression turning nk.

    ¡°Why are you looking at me like that?¡± Zu An showed off his clothes after they were properly put on. ¡°So? Is there anything weird?¡±

    ¡°No... Nothing is wrong?¡± Shang Hongyu¡¯s face was red. She looked down, feeling slightly rmed. Then, she snapped out of her daze and came over to examine it for him. ¡°Alright, it¡¯s pretty much perfect. Later, just act like how I taught you, and no one else will be able to tell that you¡¯re a fake.¡±

    ¡°Then let¡¯s go out now.¡± Zu An held her hand.

    Shang Hongyu took a deep breath. She voiced her agreement, and after sorting out her emotions, she then started to walk out.

    ...

    When the two of them left the cave, the guards noticed the activity and turned around. ¡°We greet the Dragon...¡±

    When they saw Shang Hongyu, they werepletely stunned.

    <i>What is going on?</i>

    ¡°She has already recognized her wrongs and is willing to serve this ruler. The Ocean races cannotck a queen,¡± Zu An said curtly.

    The reason these individuals had been chosen by the fake Dragon King toe here meant that they were his true trusted aides. They could havee from the same ce.

    The guards exchanged a look. The guard leader said hesitantly, ¡°But...¡±

    Zu An raised his hand. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, she is already under my control. Nothing will happen.¡±

    He made sure to remember this individual¡¯s face. It seemed there was indeed something wrong with these people.

    A group of people flew over toward them, and the one in the lead was none other than Ao Yong. He just hadn''t been able to hold back his worry, and in the end, he decided toe over and take a look. The others had also noticed that the Dragon King¡¯s aura seemed to have activated twice, which seemed a bit strange, so they''d alsoe over to see what happened.

    The suspicious leader of the guards thus shut his mouth and swallowed his words.

    But when Ao Yong saw Shang Hongyu at Zu An¡¯s side, joy immediately burst from his eyes. He eximed, ¡°Queen, did anything bad happen to you?¡±

    Zu An gave him a surprised look.

    <i>This guy really does have some feelings for his sister-inw!</i>

    Shang Hongyu forced a smile. She shook her head.

    Ao Yong¡¯s eyes thennded on Zu An¡¯s hand that was holding Shang Hongyu¡¯s. His expression immediately became extremelyplicated.

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Ao Yong for +520 +520 +520...</strong>

    Zu An was about tough from how ridiculous this was. He hadn¡¯t expected Shang Hongyu to be so charming that she would have a brother-inw who liked her this much all this time.

    <i>Why didn¡¯t she tell me ahead of time?</i>

    Zu An then said, ¡°There was a bit of a misunderstanding between me and the queen before. The reason the bounty was ced on her was so that we could find her as quickly as possible. Now that the misunderstanding has already been cleared, the bounty naturally needs to be removed. My queen, if you had exined everything properly earlier, I wouldn¡¯t have had to go this far.¡±

    Shang Hongyu¡¯s face turned a bit pale. She said, ¡°I¡¯ve troubled your majesty deeply.¡±

    Everyone listening had strange expression.

    <i>What are you two ying at right now?</i>

    <i>Back then, you ordered for her arrest as if you wanted to kill her as soon as possible, but now it was all just a misunderstanding?</i>

    <i>Are we all just actors in your marriage y?</i>

    But this was still a good thing. Because of this arrest order, the Ocean races had almost been turned on their head. After all, the queen was beautiful and gentle, so she had umted a lot of prestige over the years. She had many loyal supporters too. Now that everyone was happy, there was naturally nothing better.

    The Ocean race officials looked around and asked, ¡°Is your majesty alright? We sensed that your respected self seemed to have experienced a battle.¡±

    ¡°Where is that human?¡±

    ...

    Zu An said indifferently, ¡°That human arranged many formations inside and plotted against this ruler. He has already been killed.¡±

    The subjects looked at each other in dismay, wondering if that human had gone mad. Why would he try to fight against the powerful Dragon King single-handedly? Even if he had prepared formations, that would still be no different from seeking his own destruction!

    But everyone present was intelligent. They realized that this affair was full of suspicious points, so that human had probably already been silenced by the Dragon King.

    <i>What really happened between the Dragon King and the queen? Why are the things that have happened recently so confusing?</i>

    When he saw their expressions, Zu An pointed at the cut by his clothes. ¡°That human hid his strength, and he used the power of the formations. This ruler really was almost injured.¡±

    Sure enough, most of their attention was drawn to that.

    ¡°Hm? He was actually able to harm your majesty¡¯s clothes? His cultivation is already quite impressive.¡±

    ¡°For him to be so good at formations, could he be someone from the human side¡¯s academy?¡±

    ¡°Hmph, the humans are getting more and more out of hand. Last time, they killed a Great Golden Dragon, and this time, they tried to assassinate his majesty. Do they really think that we of the Ocean races are pushovers?¡±

    ...

    When he saw that their attention was sessfully diverted, Zu An sighed in relief and said, ¡°You should return to the pce first. I am going to spend some time with the queen nearby.¡±

    He definitely couldn''t return with these guys. After all, he couldn''t just sweep everyone around him right to the Dragon Pce with the power of the sea like the real Dragon King. Even though he could achieve a simr result with his power and the Blue Mard skill, there were so many strong cultivators here. They would definitely sense that the skill was different. He couldn''t take that risk.

    The others were hesitant.

    ¡°But...¡±

    Zu An frowned. At the same time, he put his arm around Shang Hongyu¡¯s waist and took her into his arms, asking, ¡°Do you wish to hear our intimate talk between husband and wife?¡±

    ¡°We wouldn¡¯t dare!¡± All of the subjectsughed in embarrassment.

    <i>That makes sense. The two of them already experienced such a huge drama, so they ought to chat with each other to smooth things over.</i>

    Shang Hongyu said, ¡°Thank you for your care, all of my beloved officials. These things have inconvenienced everyone.¡±

    Compared to the imposter that was Zu An, she was the real queen. Her interaction with her subjects was smooth and easy.

    ¡°My queen speaks too severely.¡± The subjects all quickly responded courteously to give her a way out.

    <i>The queen really is just as lovely as always. Having her continue serving as the queen will naturally be better than those other pretty and flirtatious women.</i>

    Only then did Zu An carry Shang Hongyu in his arms and gradually leave.

    The Dragon King¡¯s personal guards exchanged a look. Then, the guard leader took a few others to enter the cave and check again. Sure enough, they saw traces of a battle, as well as the leftover clothing the human had worn. Apart from that, there was nothing strange, which finally put them at ease.

    Outside the cave, many Ocean race elders sighed as they looked at the two departing figures. ¡°That is how the Dragon King always carried the queen. It seems like they really have made up already.¡±

    Everyone present had gratified looks. Only Ao Yong alone clenched his fists so tightly that his nails were about to dig into his flesh when he saw the two hug so intimately.

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Ao Yong for +555 +555 +555...</strong>

    When he saw the huge amount of Rage pointsing in through the backend, Zu Anughed involuntarily. He secretly said to Shang Hongyu, ¡°That brother-inw seems to like you quite a bit.¡±

    Shang Hongyu grinned and replied, ¡°There are many in the Ocean races who like me. Please don¡¯t mind them too much.¡± Then, she sighed and said, ¡°Actually, it¡¯s not that I didn¡¯t sense how Ao Yong felt before, but back then, he kept it rather controlled. Recently, for some reason, he doesn¡¯t seem to be hiding it all that much anymore.¡±

    ¡°Could it maybe be because you used to be a queen, but then you became a wanted criminal, so that¡¯s why he felt as if he had a chance?¡± Zu An asked with a chuckle.

    ¡°Perhaps.¡± Shang Hongyu quickly added, ¡°But I¡¯ve never treated him any differently in the slightest.¡±

    ¡°Are you scared that I¡¯ll get jealous?¡± Zu An asked with a smile.

    ¡°Hmph, aren¡¯t you the one who''s my husband right now?¡± Shang Hongyu clung to his arm and leaned against him. They looked no different from a real married couple as Zu An took Shang Hongyu away from the small ind. Wherever they went, the ocean waters parted.

    There had been some Ocean race ministers who still weren¡¯t at ease, but when they saw that, they said, ¡°As expected of the Dragon King!¡±

    Zu An said to Shang Hongyu, ¡°Judging from what just happened earlier, there seem to be issues with the Dragon King¡¯s personal guards. I wonder which officials are the fake Dragon King¡¯s henchmen.¡±

    ¡°It seems quite a few of those guys in the Dragon Pce have been swapped out. We might need to investigate secretly and carefully, and we absolutely cannot alert them and scare them off.¡± Shang Hongyu¡¯s expression was grave. She couldn''t tell who was loyal and who wasn¡¯t right now either.

    Zu An frowned. ¡°It''s one thing that the other side could pretend to be the fake Dragon King, but how could they switch out so many people in the Dragon Pce?¡±

    That level of ability was just too ridiculous. Just a single person being switched out was already a huge headache, but there were so many of them?

    ¡°It might not be all of them who can disguise themselves so easily. As far as I could tell, many of the guards were strangers to me. The fake Dragon King disbanded the others at his side and changed them out for his own people. Of course, there are also some that I recognize, and I don¡¯t know if they were switched out. We can¡¯t let them find out what we did,¡± Shang Hongyu reminded him. ¡°Also, we don¡¯t know how many of those officials might also be on their side.¡±

    When he sensed her deep worry, Zu An held her tightly and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m here.¡±

    Shang Hongyu¡¯s mood immediately improved a lot when she sensed the strength from the crook of his arm. She took the chance to lean in against him. The two strolled around leisurely for a while. After they discussed some more details of their n, they figured that they''d wandered around for long enough. They dove into the sea and rushed toward the Dragon ce.

    When she saw the waters around them part, forming a safe space for the two of them, Shang Hongyu was a bit surprised, asking, ¡°Are you really not from the Ocean races?¡±

    ¡°Why? Are you hoping that I''m from the Ocean races?¡± Zu Anughed. The woman in his arm was soft and smelled amazing, making the trip much more enjoyable.

    ¡°Of course. If you were from the Ocean races, even if the real Dragon King was here, he¡¯d have no choice but to yield the position of King of the Ocean races to you,¡± Shang Hongyu said with a sigh. Whenever she was around Zu An, she would sometimes feel like she already understood him well enough, only to suddenly be shocked again by something new.

    ¡°But then you wouldn¡¯t be the queen anymore,¡± Zu An teased.

    ¡°That¡¯s hard to say.¡± Shang Hongyu blinked. ¡°Aren¡¯t we husband and wife right now?¡±

    Zu An was a bit stirred inside.

    <i>This woman really knows how to provoke me.</i>

    ¡°Normal married couples sleep with each other.¡± Zu An decided to retaliate, or else she could go even further.

    ¡°Haven¡¯t we slept together every day as ofte?¡± Shang Hongyu¡¯s face reddened. It was hard for her to hide her embarrassment.

    Zu An was speechless. He eventually replied, ¡°Sleeping together isn''t the same as sleeping with each other.¡±

    ¡°Oh my, you were actually going after that!¡± Shang Hongyu looked at him with shock. In the end, she sighed and said, ¡°If you really wanted it, how could others stop you? I¡¯m relying on you for everything, so how can I refuse you?¡± She had a teary-eyed and pitiful look on her face.

    Zu An knew that she was faking it, but he still couldn''t take it. ¡°Enough, enough. You really are putting on quite the realistic act. Am I the type to take advantage of someone¡¯s difficulties?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what I thought too.¡± Shang Hongyu¡¯s tears turned into smiles. She blinked herrge eyes and looked at him with an extremely bright and moving expression.

    Zu An was speechless.

    The two of them frequently went back and forth like this and never seemed to get tired of it, but they both tacitly agreed to preserve that bottom line. They didn¡¯t truly dive into the deep end.

    ...

    The two unwittingly arrived outside the Dragon Pce. They could feel a faint resistance from the water region ahead of them, as if it was stopping them from entering.

    Shang Hongyu took out a token from her inner pocket. It was something that the fake Dragon King had carried on him. The token shone with a faint light, and then the formation in front of them seemed to sense something. The pressure instantly disappeared.

    When the two entered the range of the Dragon Pce, Shang Hongyu returned the token and said, ¡°When my arrest order was issued, my token¡¯s authority was removed. Once you return, you have to give the order to reactivate it.¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± As he sensed the different formations all around him in the air, Zu An was a bit amazed. There was an ancient and profound aura all around. Even with his current achievements in formations, he still couldn''t see through the principles at all. He remarked, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect the Ocean races to have such a profound understanding of formation arts.¡±

    Shang Hongyu replied, ¡°These are all formations left behind from ancient times. The Ocean races have only continued to maintain their operations through the prescribed instructions. Many of the formation principles have already been lost. If these formations break, no one will know how to repair them and they can only be abandoned in ce.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself for a bit. The Ocean races¡¯ background seemed to run even deeper than he imagined. There was something else that really caught his attention, which was that the ancient era''s Ocean races were even more powerful than the current ones. Many of those formations had even been preserved until now despite the current Ocean races not understanding them. But that wasn¡¯t something unique to the Ocean races.

    The humans and fiends also had many legends from ancient times, and they all seemed to be stronger than the present era. However, that didn¡¯t line up with the pattern of civilizational growth! After all, as civilizations continued to exist, they would only make further progress on the foundations of their predecessors, thus bing more and more developed. Why had they declined instead?

    ¡°We pay our respects to your majesty and her highness!¡± Respectful voices interrupted Zu An¡¯s thinking.

    A group of maids weed them at the entrance. It was obvious that the Ocean races¡¯ officials and guards had already returned to the Dragon Pce and informed everyone about the two of them. Zu An couldn''t help but give the maids a second look. Their skin was especially fair, and their features were good. He wondered just what races they were from.

    ¡°Stop gawking at them already, they¡¯re mdies,¡± Shang Hongyu sent an annoyed voice transmission.

    Zu An was stunned. No wonder the Dragon King went over to the mdies¡¯ race to hunt. If even normal mdies were so cute, wouldn¡¯t the real beauties of the m race be absolute goddesses? However, he naturally wasn¡¯t jealous of the Dragon King and quickly retracted his gaze. He headed in with Shang Hongyu.

    Then, the Dragon Pce prepared a feast as a way of weing the Mermaid Queen¡¯s return, as well as celebrating their reconciliation.

    Fortunately, they had already practiced the corresponding etiquette before. At the same time, Shang Hongyu secretly told Zu An about the officials that were present. He then skillfully responded and acted without missing any details.

    At first, Shang Hongyu was a bit worried. After all, practice was practice, but reality was different. No matter how well one practiced, it was still easy to make mistakes in the real deal. But she hadn¡¯t expected Zu An to perform so well, as if this wasn¡¯t the first time he had done such a thing. It was so good that even she couldn''t tell that he was the fake one.

    Unlike the human nobles who enjoyed seeing women perform dances, the Ocean races¡¯ nobles liked to go down and dance themselves.

    Soon, it was time to invite dancing partners. A beautiful madam walked up to Zu An and raised her skirt. She had an alluring smile on her face as she invited him for a dance. Zu An remembered that Shang Hongyu had introduced this woman as the duchess of an Ocean race, a famous beauty whom countless men dreamed about.

    But Zu An refused and said, ¡°For an asion like today, I would rather dance with the queen.¡±

    Warmughter resounded from all around. Even though this didn¡¯t match the Dragon King¡¯s usual behavior, no one doubted him for his choice today. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The duchess was a bit stunned, but a smile quickly returned to her face. ¡°But of course, it was I who was too rude. But I hope that this humble one can take a turn after the queen and apany your majesty in the second dance.¡±

 Chapter 2129: Against Oneâ€™s Own Volition

    <h4>Chapter 2129: Against One¡¯s Own Volition</h4>

    Zu An felt a bit of a headache. Why were these Ocean race women even more passionate than fiend women? He had clearly already tactfully refused her, but why was she still going on the offensive?

    Fortunately, Shang Hongyu replied in his ce, ¡°But of course.¡±

    The duchess then left in satisfaction, to which the other Ocean race nobles nodded. The queen was still as generous as usual. No one could pick out any ws from her decisions.

    <i>Thank goodness the Dragon King went back on the right path, or else where would we be able to find a queen as perfect as this?</i>

    Meanwhile, Zu An had begun holding Shang Hongyu¡¯s waist and dancing. He was handsome and tall, while the woman was beautiful and gorgeous. When they leaned against each other intimately, their feelings for each other seemed to have be even better than before.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you agree to the duchess¡¯ request? She''s so pretty that countless men here are gawking at her,¡± Shang Hongyu said with an ambiguous smile. Then, she added, ¡°She only came to the Dragon Pce recently, so whether it''s the real or fake Dragon King, neither of them have gotten their hands on her yet. There¡¯s no need for you to have any misgivings.¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°No matter how beautiful she is, she¡¯s still not as beautiful as my queen.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re such a smooth talker~¡± Shang Hongyu pouted yfully. Even though she knew he was only saying that to tease her, she still felt really happy.

    A whileter, she added, ¡°However, you still need to dance with those pretty madams and youngdies. That¡¯s more like the Dragon King¡¯s perverted self.¡±

    Zu An sighed. ¡°This Dragon King really isn¡¯t that easy to impersonate.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, look at youining even though you¡¯re getting all the good stuff.¡± Shang Hongyu smiled and said, ¡°They''re all the greatest beauties of the Ocean races. This opportunity is something countless men dream about, yet will never get.¡±

    ¡°But I¡¯m not like other men.¡± Zu An frowned in annoyance.

    Shang Hongyu knew that what he said was the truth. With his current cultivation and position, forget about the fact that he was handsome, even if he looked like a pig, he would still be surrounded by endless beauties.

    <i>Hmph, correction. If he looked like a pig, then at the very least, I wouldn¡¯t pay him any attention.</i>

    She added, ¡°By the way, when you dance with themter, you can use the chance to cop a good feel of their butts and breasts. The Dragon King loved to use those times to take advantage of his dance partners.¡±

    Zu An was briefly speechless. He could only ask, ¡°Don¡¯t you feel that a wife telling her husband to harass otherdies is a bit weird?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s so weird about that? You¡¯re not even my real husband.¡± Shang Hongyu smiled. ¡°This is something you should be happy about, and yet you¡¯re still beating around the bush.¡±

    Zu An sighed. ¡°I really don¡¯t want that kind of ''happy event''.¡±

    If this had been a few years ago, perhaps he would really have been interested. But now, he had too many things he was shouldering. He didn¡¯t have much room left for something like that.

    ¡°Just endure it. It¡¯s all for the sake of the n¡¯s sess.¡± For some reason, Shang Hongyu felt a bit strange as she advised him. <i>How could there be any men in this world who would refuse something this wonderful?</i>

    <i>This man really is different!</i>

    When their dance finished, the duchess walked over with a big smile. Zu An was a bit helpless and could only ept her invitation, starting another dance. He had to admit that she was an extraordinary beauty. She smelled amazing and felt wonderful in his arms, making the dance an easy task.

    And yet, who would have thought that just a momentter, Shang Hongyu¡¯s impatient voice quickly called out in his ear?

    ¡°What are you doing? Why are your hands so obedient? Hurry and grope her already! It¡¯s even better if you secretly reach into her clothes.¡±

    Zu An really waspletely stunned. Was this woman really the gentle and virtuous queen that everyone in the Ocean races saw her as?

    Just then, a man walked up to Shang Hongyu. His formal attire was sharp and snappy, matching his figure well. It made him look even more handsome and confident. He bowed with a smile, his every movecking the slightest w. Many of the noble youngdies¡¯ eyes were sparkling as they watched him ask, ¡°Beautiful queen, may I invite you to a dance?¡±

    He was none other the Dragon King¡¯s younger brother, Ao Yong. He was especially excited right now. Regardless of what had happened, the queen was no longer a wanted criminal, so from now on, he could once again see her every day. Also, after what happened, even though this married couple was putting on a great act on the surface, they¡¯d definitely feel a bit estranged inside.

    <i>Sister-inw will definitely see through brother king¡¯s cold-heartedness, and together with brother king¡¯s womanizing nature, she will definitely feel really disappointed in him.</i>

    <i>So, I¡¯ll use this chance to appear at her side and show her the most meticulous care. Then, she will know just who really treats her well.</i>

    In the past, when the great wedding was held in the Dragon Pce, the moment he first saw this beautiful sister-inw had already left him with an unforgettable memory. He had spent countless nights dreaming of spending them with her. But back then, he''d always understood very clearly that he didn¡¯t have the slightest chance. That was because his brother was the powerful Dragon King, and he and his wife loved each other a lot.

    However, after what just happened, even though there were many strange factors, Ao Yong was still happy with the results. There was now a rift between the couple, which served as an opportunity for him. Even though the Dragon King was strong, for the sake of love, he was willing to take any risk. Moreover, the Dragon King was always out skirt-chasing and was rarely in the Dragon Pce. Even if he really did have something going on with the queen, his brother wouldn''t necessarily find out.

    <i>Hmph, brother really is something else. He doesn¡¯t cherish his beautiful wife at home and insists on eating those unsavory types all around, leaving sister-inw at home all alone.</i>

    <i>Since you¡¯re going to waste something so wonderful, you can¡¯t me someone else for helping you out.</i>

    His eyes were fiery. After all, his sister-inw had always treated him with warmth and gentleness. Even though she treated everyone the same, he had still sensed that there was a bit of difference.

    <i>She definitely feels something for me!</i>

    That was why Ao Yong used the chance while the Dragon King was dancing with the duchess to invite the queen to a dance. Her dissatisfaction was probably at its limit, so he figured she''d likely ept.

    While he was feeling expectant, however, Shang Hongyu leaned to one side and said, ¡°Please move out of the way.¡±

    Ao Yong was speechless.

    <i>What kind of a reply is this? It doesn''t even seem to be a real reply at all.</i>

    Even so, he followed her line of sight and saw that Zu An and the duchess were swaying gently side to side. He realized what was going on and said, ¡°Brother king is busy taking care of the duchess, so let this little brother take care of my sister-inw.¡±

    Shang Hongyu said with an apologetic smile, ¡°I truly am sorry, but I don¡¯t feel too well today and wish to get some rest. There are still many youngdies waiting for your invitation.¡±

    When he heard her refusal, Ao Yong¡¯s smile instantly froze on his face. But he recovered after just a moment, saying, ¡°In that case, please get some rest, my queen. I won¡¯t be disturbing you any further.¡±

    He maintained sufficient elegance the entire time that many of the nobles secretly thought praises of him. Soon, he quickly found another nobledy to dance with. The youngdy was clearly overwhelmed by favor. This was the Dragon King¡¯s younger brother, and he was handsome, a lover that countless youngdies dreamed of. She was so excited that she made mistakes in her dance several times, and she even stepped on his foot.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry!¡± The youngdy panicked.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, just follow my rhythm. I¡¯ll teach you.¡± Ao Yong¡¯s dazzling smile left the youngdy a bit absent-minded.

    <i>Why would the queen refuse such a perfect man?</i>

    Ao Yong was also thinking about that. Could it be that his sister-inw was really deeply in love with the Dragon King?

    <i>No, that shouldn¡¯t be. Sister-inw showed me a smile just now. She¡¯s clearly interested in me.</i>

    <i>She probably just didn¡¯t want to seem too close to me in front of everyone else.</i>

    <i>Sigh, I was still a bit too hasty. I¡¯ll just look for her when there aren¡¯t as many people around us.</i>

    Perhaps it was because he was thinking about how incredible it would be once they were together, but his smile became even more dazzling. Meanwhile, the youngdy in his arms waspletely enamored by his smile.

    ...

    Meanwhile, Zu An and the duchess were dancing with each other, and he was feeling really moved.

    <i>Are the Dolphin race really all this healthy? Their curves rise and fall like the waves. These swaying movements make it hard for even me to keep my eyes open.</i>

    <i>The Dragon King¡¯s usual life is way too extravagant. He really ought to be critiqued a bit.</i>

    The duchess suddenly said with a smile, ¡°Your majesty seems to be a bit different from before.¡±

    Zu An shivered and asked, ¡°How so?¡±

    <i>Was I exposed?</i>

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard quite a few rumors about your majesty before entering the Dragon Pce, but now that I¡¯ve met you, you¡¯re very different. It¡¯s almost as if the one who''s holding me isn¡¯t the Dragon King, but rather a modest gentleman,¡± the duchess said with a smile.

    Zu An was speechless, replying, ¡°Can I interpret that as the madam lusting after me?¡±

    ¡°Lustful is a word used to describe vulgar and low-quality men. Your majesty is such a heroic figure, so how could you use something like that? Of course, it is nothing but the grace of your majesty, and countless people only hope for your majesty to take pity on them.¡± The duchess bit her red lip slightly as she spoke. Her eyes showed him an ambiguous hint.

    ¡°Hurry and start touching her already! I never saw you hesitate so much when you were practicing on me.¡± Shang Hongyu¡¯s disappointed and resentful voice entered Zu An''s ears.

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>How could I just do that?</i>

    The duchess followed his line of sight and saw Shang Hongyu standing far away. She couldn''t help but say with a smile, ¡°I was going to say, so it''s because the Dragon King is thinking about the queen. It seems that the two of you are even closer than the rumors say.¡±

    ¡°But of course.¡± Zu An harrumphed.

    ¡°Even so, now that the queen has nobleman Yong taking care of her, your majesty doesn¡¯t need to worry. You can focus on dancing with me, right?¡± the duchess asked with a yful pout. A hint of craftiness appeared in her eyes.

    But what kind of a person was Zu An? He immediately realized that this woman seemed to be inciting disharmony between him and Ao Yong. He wondered just what her objective was. Still, he couldn''t help but give that side a nce. Ao Yong liked his sister-inw and always wandered around Shang Hongyu¡¯s side like a fly. That really was a bit annoying.

    However, Zu An just happened to see Shang Hongyu refuse him before finding a ce to sit down. She raised a cup of wine and looked at him with an ambiguous smile. She asked yfully in his ear, ¡°Jealous?¡±

    ¡°We aren¡¯t even a real married couple, so why would I be jealous?¡± Zu An remained indifferent.

    ¡°What a heartbreaking answer.¡± Shang Hongyu harrumphed. Then, she added quietly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I''ll only dance like that together with you. As if I¡¯d let another man touch me.¡±

    Zu An was a bit moved.

    <i>What is she trying to say here?</i>

    Shang Hongyu spoke again, but it was much louder than before. ¡°You are the Dragon King. Who knows how many pairs of eyes are secretly watching you? If you say anything wrong, we¡¯ll have failed at the veryst moment...¡±

    Zu An sighed. He wasn¡¯t an unreasonable person. Since they were going to put on a performance, he had to act a bit more like the real deal. Of course, it could just be because he couldn''t take Shang Hongyu¡¯s endless pestering.

    When she sensed his hands that seemed to contain magic, the duchess¡¯ entire body trembled. Her breathing even became a bit disorderly as she said, ¡°Oh my, and I was just praising your majesty for being a gentleman.¡±

    ¡°Then do you want me to be a bit more gentlemanly, or to be less gentlemanly?¡± Zu An replied. He had to admit that this duchess felt incredible. All the trouble he''d gone through to impersonate the Dragon King wasn¡¯t for nothing.

    ¡°As long as it''s your majesty, then I like it all~¡± The duchess moaned, and practically leaned half her body into Zu An¡¯s arms.

    Zu An was speechless.

    ...

    After the dance wasplete, when they saw how the duchess couldn''t even walk steadily back to her seat, many of the nobles of the Ocean races exchanged looks.

    <i>His majesty really is his majesty after all. This level of technique is quite impressive.</i>

    Even so, for some reason, Shang Hongyu felt strange. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    <i>Hmph, and he was acting all pure and innocent in front of me. Not even the Dragon King himself might have been this proficient.</i>

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled the Mermaid Queen for +110 +110 +110...</strong>

    Zu An was really confused when he saw the Rage points.

    <i>Didn¡¯t you tell me to do it? What are you getting angry for?</i>

    However, he didn¡¯t have the time to think about that, because another high-ranking military officer¡¯s youngdy came to invite him to a dance. Even though she wasn¡¯t as gorgeous as the duchess in terms of figure, she was more youthful. Her skin was extremely smooth and she was full of life.

    There were many people who seemed to be paying attention to his expression. Zu An knew that this was his first performance in the Dragon Pce, and he had to give them a good show. Only then would he be able torgely reduce their suspicions. Otherwise, if the seed of doubt was nted, no matter how well he performed after, he would actually have already failed. As such, he got up with a smile and returned to the dance floor with the youngdy.

    After some time passed, Zu An could no longer keep track of how many Ocean race noblewomen he had danced with. The madams and youngdies of the noble ns, the princesses from various races... He couldn''t even remember their names anymore. There were many younger women who also gave him enough signals, and as long as he wanted to, he could take them to bed.

    Zu An finally understood why the Dragon King didn¡¯t stay in the pce much. The outside world really was too wonderful.

    ...

    The banquet eventually finished. As he returned to their room with Shang Hongyu, Zu An seemed as if he was finally relieved of a huge burden.

    When Shang Hongyu looked at Zu An¡¯s face and saw lipstick marks all over it, she had an ambiguous smile as she said, ¡°You must be feeling really refreshed now.¡±

    Zu An sighed. ¡°Wasn¡¯t it because you kept egging me on? I really wouldn¡¯t like to experience that again.¡±

    He wasn¡¯t a block of wood. After dancing with so many beautifuldies of all kinds, he felt as if his body was on the verge of exploding.

    ¡°You really are quite the dreamer. How could an extravagant banquet like this be so easily held?¡± Shang Hongyu harrumphed. In front of all of the servants and maids¡¯ eyes, she returned to her own room with a frown.

    ...

    Zu An used this chance to summon the minister named Gui Chengxiang. ¡°By the way, there was a bit of a misunderstanding previously between this ruler and the queen. Shang Liuyu must be worried as well, and we don¡¯t know where she is. Have you discovered her whereabouts?¡±

    He hadn¡¯t let himself bepletely swept away by all the fun, and was still concerned about the Shang sisters¡¯ safety.

    Gui Chengxiang replied, ¡°The third princess is often wanders in the outside world and her whereabouts are hard to determine. We are unable to locate her.¡±

    ¡°Now that the misunderstanding between this ruler and the queen has been resolved, you should hurry and inform the world about it. She will naturally find out and hurry back,¡± Zu An said.

    ¡°Understood. This subject will quicklyplete the task.¡± Gui Chengxiang bowed with his shell on his back and withdrew in a stooped posture.

    Soon after, the suspicious guard leader entered and asked, ¡°Dragon King, why are we sparing the queen?¡±

 Chapter 2130: Suspicion and Probing

    <h4>Chapter 2130: Suspicion and Probing</h4>

    Zu An was surprised. It seemed there was something wrong with this person after all! As such, he harrumphed and said, ¡°The Dragon King and the queen have always shared loving affection. The reason given for the previous arrest order on the queen has already drawn suspicion from many among the Ocean races. Now that she is under my control, it can save us from a lot of issues.¡±

    The guard leader briefly fell silent. What Zu An said did make some sense. Countless important subjects had admonished the decision, and the Dragon Pce had entered an uproar. At the same time, even more people had begun investigating what really happened between the two of them, and they were unable to find any reasonable exnations.

    Fortunately, there were lechers who had created that sex scandal between the queen and the Fiend races¡¯ regent. That had diverted people''s attention a bit. Now that the queen returned to the pce, the previous chaos had calmed down considerably. However...

    The guard leader harrumphed. ¡°You make it all high-sounding, but in the end, isn¡¯t it because you''re after her body? Even so, the queen is a rarely seen beauty, so it¡¯s natural for you to be tempted.¡±

    Zu An chuckled.

    It seemed that what Shang Hongyu guessed was correct. After all, with the fake Dragon King¡¯s strength, if not for the fact that he still had some feelings for the Mermaid Queen, then no matter how many treasures she had, she wouldn¡¯t have been able to get away. As a woman, she could clearly sense the desire others had for her body. That was the foundation for this entire n. Otherwise, how could she possibly be allowed to remain alive in the Dragon Pce?

    Furthermore, judging from recent developments, Zu An was sure that the fake Dragon King was the same as the real Dragon King in one respect, which was that they were both extremely perverted.

    ¡°I really can¡¯t figure out what¡¯s so interesting about that stuff.¡± The guard leader harrumphed before taking out a bottle and said, ¡°This is what you wanted me to find. I¡¯ve already found it for you.¡±

    Zu An was full of questions. How could he possibly know what the thing the fake Dragon King wanted the guard to find was? As such, he said ambiguously, ¡°Alright, you can just put it over there.¡± He¡¯d slowly investigate it once the other side left.

    The guard leader frowned and said, ¡°You can''t act carelessly in an affair like this. We¡¯ll be using it tonight.¡±

    ¡°Tonight?¡± Zu An remained calm, but he began to wonder what was in that bottle. He absolutely couldn''t make any mistakes here.

    ¡°Of course, the longer we wait, the more variablese into y,¡± the guard leader said seriously. ¡°The Mermaid Queen is soft on the outside but stubborn on the inside; she isn¡¯t someone who would give in so easily. Only if wepletely move her over to our side can we be sure that she won¡¯t betray us.¡±

    ¡°Fine!¡± Zu An figured that this bottle probably had some drug that controlled one¡¯s mind. Could it be that it was how these guys controlled the others too?

    He almost gave into the impulse to subdue this guard leader in front of him, in order to see if he could get more information out of him. But when he thought about how this individual didn¡¯t treat the fake Dragon King with as much respect as an ordinary subordinate would give their superior, he realized that the other person''s strength was probably greater than it seemed to be. More importantly, he didn¡¯t know how many others were a part of their group. If he ended up making a mistake, he¡¯d end up being on the defensive both out in the open and in the dark.

    When he saw that the guard leader was still standing in ce, Zu An asked, ¡°Is there anything else?¡±

    ¡°No, but it¡¯s time for your majesty to turn in for rest.¡± The guard leader looked at him just like that.

    ¡°I got it.¡± Zu An was a bit confused.

    <i>What does whether or not I rest have to do with you?</i>

    But he wasn¡¯t sure how these guys really interacted with each other in private, so he didn¡¯t dare to say anything else.

    ¡°Remember to take this thing with you.¡± The guard leader''s eyesnded on the bottle on the desk. His expression was a bit strange.

    Zu An didn¡¯t say anything. He put away the bottle before walking toward the resting chambers. Along the way, several maids and eunuchs tended to him. Zu An had spent a long time in other pces, and Shang Hongyu had even trained him for such situations, so there were naturally no ws in his behavior.

    Once he returned to the resting chambers, he found Shang Hongyu sitting by the window with a nk look on her face. There were several maids behind her who seemed to be advising her about something. However, she was still sitting there in a sullen mood. There was no sweet smile on her face like the one she''d put on during the banquet.

    Zu An sighed in amazement. This woman¡¯s acting skills really were first-rate. After all, the banquet was just for dealing with outside ministers. Deep inside the pce was the fake Dragon King¡¯s home territory, and the people within naturally knew that the queen wasn¡¯t fully willing to return. If she pretended to be really happy, that would only seem weirder.

    ¡°We greet your majesty!¡± The maids all bowed when they saw Zu An¡¯s return.

    Shang Hongyu pretended to be shocked when she saw him, eximing, ¡°What are you doing here?!¡±

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°I am the Dragon King, and you are the queen. This is our sleeping chamber. What do you think I¡¯m doing here?¡±

    Shang Hongyu looked so ¡®scared¡¯ that she immediately backed up a few steps. ¡°This is different from what we previously agreed on!¡±

    The maids looked at them with strange expressions.

    <i>What are these two ying at?</i>

    Zu An didn¡¯t know which of these maids were the fake Dragon King¡¯s eyes and ears, so he decided to just wave his hand and said, ¡°All of you, leave.¡±

    Whether it was the fake or real Dragon King, there was no way these maids would be allowed to see what happened next. Sure enough, they didn¡¯t suspect anything and left.

    ¡°Don¡¯t leave...¡± Shang Hongyu who ¡®urged¡¯ them to stay. However, the maids seemed to not have heard her. They all left without even a backward nce. They even considerately closed the door behind them.

    Zu An and Shang Hongyu¡¯s expressions darkened when they saw that. So it turned out these maids were most likely all the Fake Dragon King¡¯s people! In just a short amount of time, he had already managed to co-opt the pce to this extent.

    ¡°What are you doing? Don¡¯te over here!¡± Shang Hongyu cried in rm. At the same time, she was really grateful that all of this was just an act. If she hadn''t run into Zu An, just how much despair would she be in if this really happened?

    ¡°Keep yelling. Even if you yell your throat out, no one wille to save you,¡± Zu An said with a snicker. He had to admit that ying this kind of role did feel pretty good. No wonder viins all loved to do this kind of thing. It really did hit the spot!

    Shang Hongyu couldn''t help but stare at him.

    <i>Is this guy really just acting? Why is it so realistic?</i>

    ¡°If you move any further, I will end my life right now!¡± She was already prepared as well. She removed her hairpin and brought it to her throat.

    ¡°Fine, fine, I won¡¯te closer, alright? We¡¯ll talk just like this.¡± Zu An yed along, but his expression darkened. Their voices weren¡¯t too loud, but they weren¡¯t too soft either, just enough for the maids and guards outside to hear. But even after all this time, no one came to check on the situation. It seemed things were even worse than he imagined.

    ¡°Leave! I don¡¯t want to talk to you!¡± Shang Hongyu shouted while secretly expressing simr concerns, saying through voice transmission, ¡°These maids and guards are all unfamiliar faces. It seems all of the people at our side have been swapped out.¡±

    ¡°Sure, sure, I won¡¯t get any closer to you. That¡¯s okay, right?¡± Zu An deliberately stood a bit farther away, as if he was scared of forcing her to make an impulsive decision while secretly replying, ¡°I already asked around earlier. That guard leader is named Ka Qier. Do you have any impression of him?¡±

    Shang Hongyu nodded and secretly said, ¡°From what I know, Ka Qier is a warrior from the Shark race. He was bold and powerful in battle, and he was previously appointed to enter the Dragon Pce. But back then, he was only in charge of patrols around the Dragon Pce, unlike now, when he''s be the Dragon King¡¯s personal guard leader.¡±

    ¡°He was probably already reced by those mysterious fellows. I could sense that he was deliberately hiding his cultivation. His real strength might be on par with the fake Dragon King''s," Zu An said worriedly.

    ¡°I really wonder just where these guys came from. We were nning to quietly capture one or two for interrogation, but their people are everywhere, so we probably can¡¯t continue with that n anymore,¡± Shang Hongyu said in frustration.

    ¡°From what I know, they''re probably not beings of this world. They might be from beyond this world.¡± Zu An frowned. ¡°But I already eliminated the hidden alien monsters before, and the seal has been reinforced. Just where did these guyse from?¡±

    Shang Hongyu suddenly thought of something and immediately said, ¡°Maybe they didn¡¯te from the worlds beyond, and instead came from the abyss.¡±

    ¡°Abyss?¡± Zu An repeated, stunned. This was the first time he had heard the term.

    ¡°I''ve only heard the Dragon King casually mention it once in the past. At the time, he was drunk and became really sentimental all of a sudden. He said that the King of the Ocean races seemed formidable, but that he was nothing more than a guard dog for the abyss,¡± Shang Hongyu said with a pensive expression. ¡°At the time, I was really curious and even asked him what he meant. However, he was suddenly startled and wasn¡¯t willing to say another word. He even said that I''d heard incorrectly. At first, I didn¡¯t pay it too much mind, but what you just said made me recall it."

    Zu An sank into his own thoughts and muttered, ¡°The abyss...¡±

    He''d found it a bit strange when he entered the Dragon Pce too. There were many formations that he didn¡¯t understand. Could it be that they were seals meant to contain the ce known as the abyss? n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    As ofte, because of the invasion of the alien monsters, some issues had formed with the world¡¯s natural barrier. Could that be the reason why some beings had crossed over from the abyss too? But why hadn¡¯t they just invaded this world, as opposed to impersonating the Dragon King? That really didn¡¯t make sense.

    All kinds of possibilities appeared in Zu An¡¯s mind, but he really didn¡¯t have enough information and couldn''t make an urate judgment.

    ¡°By the way, that Ka Qier didn¡¯t suspect my return, did he?¡± Shang Hongyu suddenly asked.

    ¡°I managed to fool him, but he still wasn¡¯t fully convinced and gave me this thing.¡± Zu An took out a bottle. ¡°He said that using this could put you fully under control, and that you¡¯d be of one mind with the rest of them. This is probably some kind of poison, but I couldn''t ask him about it, nor did I have a chance to investigate it.¡±

    Shang Hongyu sighed in relief and said, ¡°That¡¯s easy enough. You can just tell them that I¡¯ve already taken the drug.¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Zu An nodded. There was no way he would make her take such a mysterious drug.

    Shang Hongyu picked up the bottle with a curious look and said, ¡°But we should still examine what kind of drug this really is and what kind of use it has. That way, you won¡¯t raise suspicion when you interact with them.¡±

    She opened the bottle and a wave of pink mist sprayed at her face. She was frightened and quickly tossed the bottle to the side.

    Zu An quickly supported her and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, were you poisoned?¡±

    He tried to check her meridians, but Shang Hongyu blushed a bit and she awkwardly pushed his hand away, saying, ¡°It isn¡¯t some poison, but rather the Desires Unleashed Dew made from the mucus of a Kraken.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He naturally knew what the mucus of a Kraken could be used for. He had even collected some while he was on the ship a few days before. On top of that, the drug this thing made was called Desires Unleashed Dew. Anyone with a brain could figure out what it was.

    ¡°Were you affected?¡± Zu An quickly asked. ¡°You absolutely can''t use your cultivation to remove the drug. That can easily elerate this thing''s spread throughout your body. I¡¯ll find some clear water to wash your face first.¡±

    Shang Hongyu looked at him with an ambiguous smile, replying, ¡°Are you hoping for me to be affected or not?¡±

    Zu An looked at her impatiently and shot back ¡°Do you know what kind of a situation we¡¯re in? And yet you¡¯re still in the mood to make these kinds of jokes.¡±

    He prepared to look for some water when she stopped him and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not stupid. I knew it was a poison, so how could I not be prepared at all? I already held my breath and focused my will, and I also used ki to produce a defensive barrier around me. I wasn¡¯t affected.¡±

    Zu An sighed in relief and said, ¡°That¡¯s good then.¡±

    ¡°Are you really disappointed?¡± Shang Hongyu bent over and shifted closer to him, then sized up his expression with a mischievous look.

    Zu An was speechless. He really didn¡¯t feel like responding.

    <i>This woman really is addicted to ying these kinds of games.</i>

    Shang Hongyu chuckled and said, ¡°That guy really is hateful, but their n is perfect. If it were the fake Dragon King, there''s no way he would let this kind of opportunity go. He would definitely have tricked me into drinking this, then used that chance to dominate me. The Mermaid race cares the most about purity. I wouldn¡¯t have the face to say anything else and could only tacitly approve.¡±

    Zu An was a bit surprised. ¡°Your Mermaid race even has that kind of tradition?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± Shang Hongyu looked a bit proud as she exined, ¡°In all of our Mermaid race¡¯s history, our women have always been faithful unto death. It''s only because of our reputation of purity that we were able to obtain the position of queen of the Ocean races.

    ¡°So if those guys really had seeded, I definitely couldn¡¯t say anything. That wouldn¡¯t only affect me, but rather the entire Mermaid race. Our reputation would be ruined right there and then. Shame would be brought upon generations and generations of the Mermaid race toe.¡± As she spoke, Shang Hongyu had a look of lingering fear on her face.

    Zu An didn¡¯t know whether to feel admiration or mockery. He clearly sensed that the way of life was more free and open here, even more so than among the Fiend races. And yet the Mermaid race was still so pure and reserved. That really was strange.

    That guy Ao Yong really wasn¡¯t all that bright. He had to know of the Mermaid race¡¯ traditions, yet he still dared to love his sister-inw?

    Suddenly, Ka Qier called out from outside, ¡°Your majesty, this guard will stand outside today to prevent any shameful individuals from disturbing you.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>This guy sounds all nice and proper, but he¡¯s clearly here to monitor the situation!</i>

    <i>Wait, could it be that I exposed any mistakes before?</i>

    He recalled everything that happened and ascertained that he couldn¡¯t have made any mistakes. The biggest opening would have been when he brought back the queen. If it had been the Fake Dragon King who did that, it would be a bit risky. That had to be why the other side wanted to nip all potential troubles in the bud.

    Shang Hongyu also scoffed with a reddened face.

    <i>That guy really is shameless!</i>

    Zu An replied toward the door, ¡°I won¡¯t be troubling you for that. We have the maids to take care of this ce. You can return to get some rest first.¡±

    If it were just the maids, they would be easy enough to fool, but this guy¡¯s cultivation was too high. Even though he wouldn''t necessarily go so far as to look inside the room, there were still many things that wouldn¡¯t escape his eyes and ears.

    ¡°Thank you for your concern, your majesty, but this officer is in charge of protecting the king and queen. I wouldn¡¯t dare to show the slightest negligence,¡± Ka Qier replied. ¡°At the same time, I must remind your majesty not to forget about the duty you bear.¡±

    Zu An had a bitter smile.

    <i>Hmph, this guy is rushing me, isn¡¯t he?</i>

    ¡°What do we do now?¡± Shang Hongyu asked through ki transmission as she bit her lip. Her expression was a bit unnatural.

    Zu An replied through ki transmission, ¡°Why don''t I set up a ki barrier and screen off everything? That way, he won¡¯t be able to hear anything. Tomorrow, I¡¯ll just tell him that the deed is already done.¡±

    ¡°No, he¡¯s definitely already suspicious. We can still exin things by saying that the Fake Dragon King is perverted, but if you try to hide it like this, he might end up doubting your true identity. If that happened, everything would bepletely over.¡± Shang Hongyu shook her head and refused.

    Zu An rolled his eyes. ¡°What else can we do then? We can¡¯t really do it just to fool him, right?¡±

 Chapter 2132: Playing With Fire and Getting Burned Pt. 1

    Chapter 2132: ying With Fire and Getting Burned Pt. 1

    Ao Yong climbed atop a giant coral reef. Once he got past this area, he would be in the queen¡¯s personal chambers.

    Suddenly, his entire body went rigid. He saw someone standing in front of the distant courtyard entrance. It was the Dragon Pce guard, Ka Qier!

    Ao Yong widened his eyes in disbelief.

    <em>Why is he here?</em>

    Ka Qier was the Dragon King¡¯s personal guard and was in charge of the Dragon King¡¯s personal safety. The two of them were practically inseparable. More importantly, he wasn¡¯t someone who got along well with others. He had once been a ferocious general in the army and didn¡¯t get along with the noble circles. Then, for some reason, he had suddenly received the Dragon King¡¯s appreciation and was promoted to being the new guard leader as a special consideration.

    When he recalled Ka Qier''s past achievements and how he''d felt each time they crossed paths, Ao Yong felt fearful toward the guard. He''d always felt as if he couldn''t really see through this person. More importantly, if Ka Qier was here, didn¡¯t that mean the Dragon King was here too?

    Ao Yong didn¡¯t dare to make a single sound out of fear of being seen by Ka Qier.

    <em>Wait, he seems to be leaning to the side and listening, so his vignce seems to be a bit lower than usual.</em>

    After a bit of hesitation, Ao Yong was still reluctant to leave. He borrowed the cover of the coral to secretly look into the courtyard.¡­

    Meanwhile, inside the chambers, Shang Hongyu was lying down on the bed. However, her body was even more dazzling than the white jade surface beneath her. Her chest continuously rose and fell, and her breathing was a bit messy too. After going through that intimate experience, her entire body seemed as if it hadpletely melted.

    When she saw Zu An reach a critical point, her bright and beautiful eyes carried both shock and nervousness. She reflexively pressed her hands lightly against his chest. Her voice was shaking a bit as she said, ¡°In all these years, our Mermaid race women have always maintained our loyalty and faith. We have never allowed any men other than our husbands to touch us¡­¡±

    When he sensed the twinge of hesitation and remorse in her voice, a teasing smile appeared on the corners of Zu An¡¯s lips. He asked, ¡°Do you want me to take on the Dragon King¡¯s appearance? So that way, I¡¯ll be your husband?¡±

    Ever since he started the treatment process earlier, he had already returned to his original appearance.

    ¡°No!¡± Shang Hongyu bit her lip. ¡°I want you to stay like this. We''ve been husband and wife for some time to begin with. It isn¡¯t as if... isn''t as if we¡¯re going against the rules, right?¡± Her voice carried a hint of rm, as if she was trying to convince herself.

    Zu An couldn''t help butugh. Beautiful women were all good at lying, but he had never expected that they would even go so far as to lie to themselves. He replied, ¡°Of course.¡±

    Zu An was just about to move when Shang Hongyu stopped him again. Her hesitant eyes revealed an expression of embarrassment and pleading as she said, ¡°I¡¯ve never seen you so¡­ Please¡­ Please be gentle.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s breathing immediately quickened. This woman had kept teasing him for so long. But now that they¡¯d reached this point, now she knew fear?

    <em>How can we still go ording to your pace?!</em>n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Ah~?!¡±

    When he heard the voice that seemed to convey pain, yet was also filled with sweetness, Ao Yong¡¯s entire body felt as if it had been stuck by thunder. He was no innocent virgin, so how could he still not know what was going on inside? The beautiful and gentle queen of his dreams was being ravaged by another man! He felt as if blood was leaking out of his heart. He gripped the coral reef rightly, and his emotions stirred chaotically. The sturdy coral was crushed to pieces under his grip.

    ¡°Who''s there?!¡±

    Ka Qier had been paying attention to the activity inside, nodding after hearing the sounds.

    <em>This is how it should¡¯ve been. I don¡¯t know what that guy was hesitating over. From now on, the queen is in the same boat as us. There''s no chance of her regaining the upper hand.</em>

    Suddenly, he heard some noise by the coral reef that caught his attention. With a wave of his hand, his personal de fired out without even being unsheathed first. With a loud noise, the pitch-ck de stabbed deeply into the coral reef!

    Ao Yong was horrified. He quickly used all of his skills to run. Fortunately, he had already prepared a transport treasure, and because only he knew about the hole in the formations, he was just barely able to escape.

    Ka Qier chased after the intruder but ended up failing to track him. He couldn''t help but frown. All of his attention had been on the inside of the room, which ended up allowing an outsider to get in. He didn¡¯t know where the other side was from and really didn¡¯t feel at ease, so he gathered his subordinates to search the surroundings.

    As for the queen¡¯s side, since they had alreadypleted the first step, there wasn¡¯t much he had to worry about anymore.

    <em>That guy is so perverted, he¡¯ll definitely be able to subdue the queen.</em>

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in the room, Shang Hongyu¡¯s eyes gradually returned to normal. At first, she waspletely at a loss, but then she was extremely embarrassed.

    <em>Did¡­ Did I just faint just now?</em>

    She couldn''t help but bite his shoulder, saying, ¡°You really are a bad guy. You clearly promised me, and yet¡­¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t recall agreeing to anything,¡± Zu An said with a teasing smile.

    ¡°You¡­¡± Shang Hongyu recalled what had happened earlier. Zu An indeed didn¡¯t seem to have said anything concrete. She protested, ¡°I really was fooled by your gentlemanly behavior. You¡¯re clearly just a beast!¡±

    ¡°Thank you for the praise.¡±

    ¡°That wasn¡¯t praise!¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°By the way, there seemed to be something going on outside just now.¡± Shang Hongyu was still a grandmaster, for better or for worse. Even though she had been a bit dazed back then, she''d still heard something happen outside.

    Zu An replied, ¡°That Ao Yong loves his sister-inw so much that he somehow made his way all the way over here and was discovered by Ka Qier, who''s currently chasing him.¡± With his divine sense, even the movements of a single de of grass wouldn¡¯t escape his sea of awareness. Ao Yong¡¯s visit was naturally no exception.

    ¡°What do you mean, he loves his sister-inw so much? It sounds so awful.¡± Shang Hongyu hit his chest lightly as she yfullyined.

    ¡°What, doesn''t he love his sister-inw? Then why would hee all the way to your ce sote into the night?¡± Zu Anughed. ¡°I think that guy might just be so self-obsessed that he thought you gave him a hint at the banquet or something.¡±

    Shang Hongyu was speechless. How could she have possibly expected that Ao Yong would think along those lines?

    ¡°But I do have to thank that guy for at least luring Ka Qier away. There¡¯s no one left to disturb us now.¡± Zu An looked down at her blushing face and asked, ¡°How about we continue?¡±

    Shang Hongyu clenched her teeth gently. She was a bit excited, but also a bit afraid. She reflexively pressed her hands against him again and said, ¡°Then you can¡¯t act like just now.¡±

    ¡°But that¡¯s clearly not what your body is saying,¡± Zu An said, sounding surprise.

    <em>As expected of the Ocean races, her body has already be as soft as water.</em>

    ¡°That¡­ That¡¯s just because of that Desires Unleashed Dew! It has nothing to do with me!¡± Shang Hongyu started pleading a bit. ¡°I¡¯ve really never tried something like this, so you''d better¡­¡±

    Zu Anughed and replied, ¡°But I¡¯m afraid that¡¯s not up to you!¡±

 Chapter 2133: Playing With Fire and Getting Burned Pt. 2

    Chapter 2133: ying With Fire and Getting Burned Pt. 2

    <em>Boom!</em>

    Meanwhile, in the human capital, the Liu n¡¯s main gate that had been defended for a long time waspletely sted open by the enemy¡¯s massive battering ram. Its momentum didn¡¯t stop and continued straight into the Liu manor.

    Many Liu n guards tried to prevent it, but how could they stop that terrifying battering ram? If they weren¡¯t knocked aside, they were sted into a bloody paste on the spot. Endless blood covered the ground.

    Everyone in the Liu manor fell into a state of despair. In contrast, King Wu¡¯s troops immediately experienced a boost in morale. They shouted loudly as they ughtered their way in.

    Inside the Liu manor, the Liu brothers were jumping around like ants on a frying pan. Just then, someone advised, ¡°Elders, our defenses have been broken through! Even if we have to risk our very lives, we need to safely escort our two elders away!¡±

    Liu Guang and Liu Yao¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Right, as long as we can escape, we¡¯ll have a chance to make aeback!¡±

    Just then, a mockingugh erupted. ¡°Escape? Where else can you still run to?¡±

    King Wu, d in a full set of armor and weapons, charged in with a group of powerful cultivators. There were nasty grins on their faces.

    Liu Guang suddenly screamed, ¡°Everyone, follow me in arresting this traitor King Wu!¡± He knew fully well that with how things stood, only by capturing the king would they have a chance at survival.King Wu believed that victory was already in his grasp. Since the other side dared to rush straight at him, he¡¯d give them that sliver of an opportunity.

    When they heard that, everyone in the Liu manor also snapped out of their daze and charged at him.

    The Liu n had maintained authority for so many years that they now had many strong cultivators too. Now that they were already in a moment of despair, the momentum of their charge and their voices were quite intimidating.

    Meanwhile, King Wu was nothing more than a prefectural king. It wasn¡¯t likely for his subordinates to be stronger than the Liu n¡¯s.

    However, King Wu didn¡¯t panic at all and coldly said, ¡°Liu Guang and Liu Yao have defied the decree and even made a futile attempt to murder the Imperial Envoy. Their crimes have increased in severity and they are to be executed on the spot!¡±

    As soon as he said that, a group of soldiers rushed out from behind him. They didn¡¯t roar as they advanced, and remained silent instead. There was a unique murderous aura around them. Their attacks were extremely straightforward and they had excellent cooperation. Whenever their des moved, another life was taken. Soon, the cultivators of the Liu n were lying in puddles of blood.

    Shortly after that, Liu Guang and Liu Yao were ambushed from the side, and their heads flew into the air. As they spun around in midair, their final thoughts were ¡°How could King Wu have so many terrifying experts under hismand?¡±

    With the death of the Liu brothers, the morale of everyone in the Liu manorpletely copsed. They all tried to flee in horror, but it turned into a one-sided ughter.

    King Wu stepped right on the Liu n¡¯s seat of honor, their symbol of authority; he looked especially excited. ¡°Take Liu Guang and Liu Yao¡¯s heads and show them to everyone in the capital. All those who resist are to be executed without exception!¡±

    The Liu n had maintained power in the capital for many years, so their influence was deeply rooted. Today, it was mainly because they weren¡¯t fully prepared that their forces weren¡¯t able to fully disy their power. If King Wu''s side waited until the others reacted and fought back, it could lead to the rise of unexpected variables. But if the heads of Liu Guang and Liu Yao were disyed throughout the capital, even those people could only give in. Who would still be willing to throw away their lives for two already-deceased leaders?

    mes rose in all parts of the capital, weapons shing everywhere. Many of the nobles and high officials didn¡¯t know what was happening, and only told their n guards to keep their doors shut and remain vignt.

    Before daybreak, the various parts of the capital gradually quieted down. It was clear that victory had already been decided and the dust had already settled. The scouts the ns had sent out finally found out what happened. They learned that the Liu n had been wiped out just like that. All of them couldn''t help but feel a bit of sorrow.

    The Liu n had relied on their status as rtives to the royal family to promote their own people to important positions, which had already infuriated the masses. That was especially the case after thete emperor passed; with the empress dowager¡¯s support, the Liu n brothers had held no more misgivings, bing even more domineering and arrogant. Others had all been extremely dissatisfied with them in private, often cursing them to meet their end sooner.

    But dissatisfaction was just dissatisfaction. They hadn''t thought that the Liu n would meet its end like this.

    The highest-ranking officials were situated at the highest level of the empire¡¯s authority, so they naturally disliked events that contained too many variables. And tonight¡¯s events were precisely that kind of uncertain event. Besides that, a prefectural king seemed to have participated in the events too. With this as a pretext, all of the ambitious individuals under the sky could start to move.

    On top of that, all throughout the process, the eight dukes actually hadn¡¯t presided over the situation. Was it because something had happened to the eight dukes, or was it because they had tacitly allowed all this to happen?

    ¡­

    The next morning, the bell to summon all the officials rang out. It was a bell that was never sounded unless there was an emergency. In the past few decades, this was the first time it had been used. Many ns even wondered if there was someone lying in ambush, using this chance to catch all of them in one go.

    While they were waiting on standby, they quickly received news that King Yi, East Defense General Zhao Huanglu, had entered the pce to join the court session. He was Zhao Han¡¯s uncle, someone with great prestige in the royal family. Since he had arrived, it seemed thatst night¡¯s events hadn¡¯t had too much of an effect on the emperor.

    Immediately after, the Director of the Imperial Secretariat Pei Ming, the Imperial Secretariat¡¯s Right Confidential Assistant Bi Qi, and the Chief Attendant Pei Zheng entered the pce. With these big shots taking the lead, the other ns in the capital sighed in relief. It seemed that the current situation was still within control. As such, they all made their way into the pce.

    Before he left, Sang Hong warned Aunt Mu again and again, ¡°If I don''t return by noon, then bring Qien¡¯er and the others to the academy. Sang Qien and Zheng Dan are now rear mountain disciples, and Zu An is the libationer, so no one should be able to barge in there.¡±

    Aunt Mu was worried, asking, ¡°Should I go with you?¡±

    As Sang Hong¡¯s lover for so many years, she naturally knew about Sang Qien and Zheng Dan helping the empress. If others found out about that, the entire Sang n would be done for.

    Sang Hong shook his head and said, ¡°If something really does happen, having you with me won¡¯t help at all. It¡¯ll just be throwing away another life.¡±

    Just then, Sang Qien spoke up. ¡°Aunt Mu, there¡¯s no need for you to worry too much. The capital was already so chaoticst night, and no one knows where the empress went. Father might not be in danger. Rather, if he doesn¡¯t enter the pce today, it¡¯ll be even more suspicious.¡±

    ¡°But even though your father and I have cleared up the traces around our home, there¡¯s nothing we could do about the tracks left behind further away. Those people will definitely have an idea where the empress disappeared to. This morning, I went out and saw that there were already soldiers searching nearby. Sooner orter, they''lle knocking on our door, and at that time¡­¡± Aunt Mu began.

    Zheng Dan chuckled. ¡°There¡¯s no need to worry about that. For the sake of my own enjoyment over the years, I¡¯ve managed to gather some people too. There''s a way to secretly send out the empress.¡±

    Sang Hong and Aunt Mu had strange expressions. They knew a bit about what she was doing too. She seemed to have been secretly roping in and subduing some of the capital¡¯s underground forces. They knew that she had previously established a gang in Brightmoon City, and hadn''t actually approved of it much when they saw her go back to her old ways.

    After all, the pce¡¯s influence was especially great, and those underground groups were just ying around inparison. If news of such a thing went out, and the Sang n¡¯s daughter-inw were to be identified as the leader of an underground organization, that would definitely hurt their reputation.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    But no matter how powerful the court¡¯s influence was, it wouldn¡¯t reach into the lowest ces. Using these channels to escort the empress could actually be really suitable.

    When he saw how amazing his daughter and daughter-inw were, Sang Hong nodded in gratification. Then, he entered the pce.

 Chapter 2134: Crazy Scandal Pt. 1

    Chapter 2134: Crazy Scandal Pt. 1

    In the court session, the officials all whispered among each other. Many of them were consulting their elders about what was happening, but those elders were allpletely tight-lipped.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°The emperor and the empress have arrived!¡± Only when the eunuch¡¯s shrill voice filled the air did the moring hall quiet down.

    Soon after, Zhao Ruizhi and Bi Linglong entered from the side one after another. Zhao Ruizhi sat down on the dragon throne in front, while Bi Linglong sat down on the phoenix seat behind the pearl curtains.

    Many worried officials sighed in relief when they saw that the two individuals were still there. It seemed everything was still within control. However, those who were more perceptive noticed that the position Bi Linglong sat in was a bit different from usual. Usually, the empress dowager sat at the very center while Bi Linglong''s position was a smaller one to the side. But she was now seated at the very center, while the empress dowager didn¡¯t appear. The seat that the empress dowager normally sat in had even been directly removed.

    There were quite a few people who had already heard some rumors. When they saw that, they all felt a bit guilty. The Liu n was indeedpletely done for. They had thought that, with how many years the empress dowager spent in the capital as well as her grandmaster rank cultivation, as long as she was here, the Liu n would still have a chance to make aeback. But now¡­

    After all of the officialspleted the formalities, Bi Linglong cleared her throat and said, ¡°I believe all of my beloved subjects have already heard that some things happenedst night. The empress dowager attempted to overthrow the throne, and she colluded with the Liu brothers both inside and outside. Fortunately, with the assistance of King Yi, King Wu, and the other members of the royal family, we were able to quell the rebellion.¡±

    Not too long ago, her father Bi Qi had entered the pce and had a long talk with her. She realized that with how things stood, she could only continue dealing with the situation at hand. Otherwise, if the matter was really investigated, wouldn¡¯t the Bi n be used of treason for creating a fake decree?

    Either way, she had never gotten along with the empress. Now that nothing boded well for the empress, she would first stabilize the situation. She would then slowly settle things with everyone else.

    Even though the officials were mentally prepared, there was still a huge uproar when they received the news. They all knew that the current emperor was the child of the empress dowager¡¯s older sister. With that level of blood rtion, wasn¡¯t the Liu npletely mad for trying to rece him for a prince that had no rtion to them at all?But now that the dust had already settled, none of them would speak up for the losing family. They just continued to nce at King Yi and King Wu. So those two were the main forces behind yesterday¡¯s events! At the same time, they nced at Bi Qi from time to time. They all knew that the Bi and Liu ns had never gotten along. No one would believe it if he said he''d taken no part in this event.

    Sure enough, King Yi, Zhao Huang was promoted from East Defense General to Grand General during the following rewards ceremony, which made him the leader of all of the military officers. His sons Zhao Shun and Zhao Yi were both granted the title of king and granted fiefdoms of ten thousand households. Zhao Shun was even promoted to Right Guard General. King Wu was promoted to Liu Yao¡¯s previous title, leaving him in charge of the capital¡¯s defense. At the same time, he concurrently held the position of Central Lead General, with the six field officers outside the city being under hismand.

    On the other hand, Bi Qi¡¯s fiefdom was increased by eight thousand households, and he concurrently took the positions of Chief Attendant and War Chariot General. Many insightful individuals could tell that even though Bi Qi didn¡¯t seem to have received as much as King Yi and King Wu on the surface, he had received many practical benefits.

    Even though the Imperial Secretariat was the highest of the three secretariats in name, the position came with a duty to carry out a lot of governmental affairs. Not only was it an extremely busy position, it was far from the center of policymaking. However, the Chief Attendant was different. That was a key figure who discussed and designed policies right by the emperor¡¯s side. The War Chariot General was also the third-ranked among the generals. The Grand General was now King Yi, while the second-ranked White Rider General, King Qi, was already dead. Now, it was nothing but an empty position. That meant Bi Qi''s position in the army was actually number two. It also meant that from now on, not only would he have authority both in the military and in policymaking, the Bi n could also end up bing the number one richest and most powerful n.

    Everyone who had participated in the removal of the Liu n received satisfactory returns. Apart from that, there were some individuals of noble and high prestige who also received rewards. For example, the Commandant of Justice Jiang Boyang was added to the Chief Attendants to also be at the center of policymaking. He was also appointed as the Crown Prince¡¯s Imperial Tutor. Additionally, he was permitted to have an increase of five hundred personal troops and honor guards.

    Everyone present secretly suspected that the reason why the empress had done this was to appease the high ministers of the court.

    Jiang Boyang, who was always upright and in-spoken and held the Commandant of Justice position, was in charge of thew to begin with. If he really decided to investigate the legitimacy of the matter involving the empress dowager and the Liu n in earnest, it really would be a bit difficult to wrap things up. That was especially the case if one took into ount how the Jiang n, Pei n, Yu n, and even the royal family were all connected by marriage, and the unmarried daughter Jiang Luofu was even a teacher at the Royal Academy''s rear mountain, someone of considerable importance in the court.

    Since the Liu n was finished, there were a lot of vacancies in the court. That was why almost every single important official who attended was promoted, making it quite the joyous asion.

    When she saw that her high-handed measures had finally satisfied the civil and military officials and made them tacitly ept the event, Bi Linglong finally sighed in relief.

    But who would have thought that just then, the usually silent Zhao Ruizhi would suddenly ask, ¡°Where is Zu An? Why haven¡¯t I heard about where he is all this time?¡±

    <em>???</em>

    The entire pce entered a terrifying silence. Many people looked at each other in dismay. Their eyes were full of confusion. Why was the regent being dragged into this matter? The ones they consulted around them were alsopletely confused. Theymunicated with their eyes ¡®I don¡¯t know!¡¯

    A smile had just appeared on the face of Bi Linglong behind the curtains, but when she heard that, her expression changed. She immediately looked at Bi Qi below. She was a smart woman and immediately reacted. So the previous day''s events were actually also directed at Zu An? Why would they dare?!

    Bi Qi spoke up and replied, ¡°The regent went to the Fiend races¡¯ sealednd to fight against the alien monsters. We currently stillck news of him, so I fear that he has already¡­¡±

    ¡°Hmph, aren¡¯t we letting him off easy here? This emperor wants to strip him of his Regent position.¡± Zhao Ruizhi raised his fist angrily.

    ¡°You absolutely must not! The regent has earned his position through tremendous merit! Even if he perished in the Fiend races'' sealednd due to an unforeseen event, everyone of the human race, no, the entire world, would have tomemorate his achievements. How could we do such a thing that would make the world sneer?!¡± Jiang Boyang finally couldn''t endure the rage that had umted in his chest and spoke up with a firm tone.

    Sang Hong also stepped forward and said, ¡°That¡¯s right. The regent has done miraculous work time and time again in recent years. Now, he has even risked his own life to fend off the alien monsters. I wonder what mistake he has made that has angered your majesty so.¡±

    What kind of a joke was this? The Sang n was nowpletely bound to Zu An. How could he just stand there without saying anything?

    Just then, the Qin n, Murong n, and other officials who were close to Zu An all spoke up in agreement. There were also many officials who had close rtions with the academy that spoke up.

    Zhao Ruizhi had never expected that these officials who had been extremely respectful just a moment before would suddenly be so worked up. When he saw that there were many among them who were a bit intimidating, he immediately couldn''t help but feel a bit of regret. He said, ¡°Even if what you guys say makes sense, still¡­ Still, he bullied this emperor¡¯s Linglong. This emperor¡­ How could this emperor so easily forgive him?¡±

    He didn¡¯t speak those words with even half an ounce of a ruler¡¯s prestige, and he sounded more and more wronged toward the end. His voice also became softer and softer. However, the important officials who had the right to attend the morning court ceremony all had impressive cultivation ranks. They all heard what he said clearly.

    The impassioned and worked up court immediately became quiet. They all looked at Bi Linglong in shock, wondering where this crazy scandal had suddenlye from!

 Chapter 2135: Crazy Scandal Pt. 2

    <h4>Chapter 2135: Crazy Scandal Pt. 2</h4>

    Bi Linglong almost fainted from anger. She was ashamed and furious. However, she reacted quickly and immediately said with a snort, ¡°His majesty was too startledst night, so his state of mind isn¡¯t too clear and he''s ended up speaking nonsense. Men, bring his majesty back to his chambers to get some rest.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡±

    Soon after, some eunuchs and maids went to support Zhao Ruizhi. The empress¡¯ prestige was normally extremely high, so outside of some special situation like the previous day, they still reflexively obeyed her orders.

    Zhao Ruizhi protested unhappily, ¡°My mind is not unclear! I don¡¯t want to go back to rest. That Zu guy bullied you, yet you only did it to protect me...¡±

    King Yi coughed lightly to interrupt him. ¡°His majesty is indeed a bit muddle-headed. It¡¯s best if you return to the pce for some rest.¡± The one who gave off the greatest pressure was him. After all, in order to fool this idiot emperor, his two sons had used Zu An as an excuse. But if they really chased the issue, they wouldn''t necessarily be able to handle the consequences.

    Normally, a subject interrupting the emperor was alreadypletely disgraceful, but not a single person present found it unsuitable. Instead, many people spoke up in agreement, urging the emperor to rest earlier.

    <i>Are you joking? If this idiot emperor continues to create trouble, how are we supposed to clean up this situation?</i>

    <i>There are so many people here. Who can say for certain that nothing will get out?</i>

    This was the genuine emperor, after all, so there was no way they could just ignore what he said. Besides, if what he said was true and an official had an affair with the empress, that would be a huge scandal even if one looked throughout history! Every single one ilvolved would be disgraced in the history books.

    More importantly, how were they supposed to handle the aftermath right now? Were they really going to use the regent of a crime? Forget about how many connections the regent had in the court, and how he was even the libationer of the Royal Academy; even if he didn¡¯t have these things, just his strength alone made himpletely untouchable.

    King Jin, the Meng n¡¯s old ancestor, King Dai Manor¡¯s countless experts, and the massive terrifying Giant Golden Dragon¡¯s skeletons still hadn¡¯t gonepletely cold yet. Who would dare to throw their lives away? Apart from that, if they really pushed him to the Fiend races'' side, if he led the army south even the existence of the Great Zhou Dynasty itself would be a problem.

    If what the stupid emperor said was false, however, that would be a huge blow to the emperor¡¯s dignity and exalted status if news of it gets out. The entire royal family and the court¡¯s dukes would be aughingstock. That was why...

    <i>Your majesty, can your respected self shut up?!</i>

    That was what almost everyone in the court was thinking.

    Zhao Ruizhi was about to say something else, but Bi Linglong shot him a terrifying look with her phoenix-colored eyes. He immediately shut his mouth out of fear. Ever since he became the crown prince, he had been under her management. She was sometimes just like his mother, exuding a kind of natural pressure simr to that between a cat and a mouse. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    After Zhao Ruizhi was ¡®invited¡¯ back to his chambers by the eunuchs and maids, Bi Linglong looked at the civil and military officials. She wanted to say something, but her cheeks heated up. It had already been so many years since she had been so embarrassed. No matter how smart she was, no matter how much prestige she had as the mother of this empire, she was still just a youngdy under twenty. How could she calm herself down over this sort of affair?

    She had thought about countless scenarios in which her rtionship with Zu An was exposed, and yet this was the only one she hadn¡¯t predicted. Everything had happened just too suddenly...

    If she didn¡¯t speak up, none of the subjects here would dare to speak. All of them were behaving carefully for fear of bing the unfortunate soul who was picked out. But this only made things difficult for the people who had spoken up to help Zu An. They couldn''t continue to speak, but they couldn''t just back down either.

    Sang Hong had a weird expression. After all, he had always felt a bit resentful that both his daughter and daughter-inw were served to Zu An in the same pot. He could only continuously console himself that his daughter-inw was also half a daughter, so they couldn''t let the good waters flow into another field. Only now, when he realized that Zu An had even done the empress, did he suddenly feel a sense of pride. His own daughter and daughter-inw were sisters with the current empress!

    Jiang Boyang¡¯s face also became full of expression. Even though he knew that brat¡¯s frivolous nature, he''d never expected Zu An to actually be so brazen and even touch the empress!

    <i>No, I have to make sure my daughter stays a bit further away from him.</i>

    After all, Jiang Luofu had already known Zu An back in Brightmoon City, and she was now working under him at the Royal Academy. It really was too dangerous.

    King Wu¡¯s expression also changed greatly. Zu An had always been a thorn in his heart. That was especially the case when he first heard about the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra¡¯s secrets; he had even sent his own wife into Zu An''s room. At the time, he''d thought that Zu An was just a nobody he could silence after the fact. But who could have thought that he would grow to this extent?!

    <i>After the ambush in the capital, Yuqing even had a huge fight with me in order to save him. Judging from how she was acting, it¡¯s clear that she already fell for that guy.</i>

    <i>One time? Just a single time was enough to make my normally loving and devoted wife be hell-bent on speaking up for his sake?</i>

    King Wu had been driven mad with regret whenever he thought of that, and yet that Zu bastard was just way too strong, so he couldn''t do anything to get revenge. Only the previous night had he finally found a glimmer of hope. But he was now feeling even happier, because even the empress had fallen victim to that brat. Even the glorious emperor had suffered the same way!

    <i>I¡¯m not alone!</i>

    <i>Just what kind of ability does he have to make women fall for him like this?</i>

    The ones who were the most horrified and depressed were none other than the Qin n. After all, Zu An had been the Chu n¡¯s drafted son-inw at first. Even though he and Chu Chuyan previously divorced, everyone knew that was just a perfunctory measure. The rtionship between the regent and Chu Chuyan, as well as the Qin n, was extremely good. However, the Qin n was the family of Chu Chuyan¡¯s mother, and their son-inw had had an affair; it was even with the empress...

    <i>Sigh, we just came to attend a court session. Why do we suddenly feel as if green light ising out of our heads?</i>

    Just then, Bi Linglong coughed lightly. She finally recovered a bit and said, ¡°There were indeed some groundless rumors stating that this empress and the regent had something between us, but the libationer personally attested to our innocence. Thete emperor was supervising the process, but we were innocent. I believe that his majesty heard some nder, so please do not take it as fact. This is something that this empress will definitely investigate strictly.¡±

    King Yi¡¯s expression changed a bit when he heard what she said.

    <i>Those two little bastards back at home are already well into middle age, and yet they still can¡¯t figure out what¡¯s important. Now look what¡¯s happened!</i>

    The others all spoke up and said, ¡°Yes, your highness!¡±

    But inwardly, they felt a desire for drama bubble up within them. The empress¡¯ exnation was reasonable, and there was no w to be picked from it. And yet there were many things that were just like that. The more one exined, the more people would suspect guilt.

    Normally, no one would suspect the libationer¡¯s testimony. But now that they thought about it, thete libationer had passed on his position to Zu An! That meant their rtionship was special. With the libationer¡¯s way of doing things, he had probably long since decided on his sessor. So after the rumors started, in order to protect Zu An, what was the big deal with telling a lie?

    Besides, even if nothing had happened between them back then, what about after? After thete emperor passed, the entire pce had fallen under the empress and regent¡¯s rule. Additionally, the regent had entered the pce frequently, which meant that there were too many chances for such a thing.

    Thinking back, even in the crown prince¡¯s Eastern Pce, the regent had already spent a lot of time in private with the crown princess. Compared to the idiot fatty Zhao Ruizhi, the regent was handsome and had incredible cultivation. What youngdy could resist his charms?

    In the past, Bi Linglong¡¯s identity and her mature and rational way of doing things had made people forget that she was actually a youngdy. Only now that Zhao Ruizhi reminded them of it did they suddenly realize that fact. The two were a perfect match!

    When she saw the strange looks and expressions in the eyes of the subjects below, Bi Linglong already roughly guessed what they were thinking. She almost fainted on the spot.

    <i>These old foxes who don¡¯t think normally really are despicable!</i>

    Even so, her rtionship with Zu An was real, so she would feel guilty even if she tried to argue back. Helpless to do anything else, she could only harrumph and say, ¡°Not a word of today¡¯s events is to be spoken outside. If this empress hears any rumors, I will definitely punish the offenders severely!

    ¡°Court adjourned!¡±

    She really couldn''t stay here for even a second longer!

    When they saw Bi Linglong leave with apletely cold expression, as if she was fleeing, everyone present had a bit of a smile in their eyes.

    <i>She¡¯s panicking!</i>

    <i>As expected, she is a youngdy.</i>

    Bi Linglong returned to her pce with a sullen expression. Along the way, none of the maids dared to utter even a single word. Even Rong Mo didn¡¯t dare to try to advise her about anything.

    ¡°Have Sir Bie and meet me!¡±

    After giving the order, she shut herself in her room alone and didn¡¯t allow anyone in. Then, she buried her head into her covers, and she rolled back and forth on her bed. Only her legs were exposed outside, kicking everywhere.

    ¡°Ahhhh, this is so humiliating!¡±

 Chapter 2136: Triple Agent Pt. 1

    <h4>Chapter 2136: Triple Agent Pt. 1</h4>

    A whileter, Rong Mo reported, ¡°Your highness, Sir Bi has arrived.¡±

    ¡°Alright, have him wait in the study,¡± Bi Linglong said as she finally got up. She sorted out her clothes and hair, then walked out with a gloomy expression.

    ¡°I greet your highness.¡± Bi Qi, who had just raised his teacup in the study, hurriedly got up and greeted her when he saw her enter. Even though this was his own daughter, there were too many people in the pce, so he couldn''t skip the necessary formalities.

    Bi Linglong waved her hand and gestured for the others to leave for now. Then, she looked at him coldly and asked, ¡°Did you go against the regentst night?¡±

    Bi Qi didn¡¯t respond to her question; instead, he asked, ¡°Is there really something between you and the regent?¡±

    Bi Linglong was embarrassed, but there weren''t any actual changes in her expression as she replied, ¡°No. You still haven¡¯t answered my question.¡± Her rtionship with Zu An was something she couldn''t tell even her own father.

    Bi Qi gave her a suspicious look for a moment and said, ¡°It would be best if there isn¡¯t. After all, you are the mother of the empire, so you shouldn¡¯t be doing something that will make the whole world mock you.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t need to listen to your lecturing.¡± Bi Linglong coldly cut him off. ¡°Why would his majesty speak like this?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s something I''m not too clear on. I''ll look into it,¡± Bi Qi replied.

    ¡°Then what about the regent? Did you do all of that yesterday to target him?¡± Bi Linglong stared into his eyes.

    Bi Qi said with a smile, ¡°Our target is naturally the Liu n. Why would it be the regent?¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Bi Linglong frowned. She was a bit suspicious.

    ¡°Of course. Your dad still hasn¡¯t be so confused that he wouldn¡¯t understand that. There''s no need for you to overthink it either. Now that we¡¯ve eliminated the Liu n overnight, from today on, you have thest say in the pce. There will no longer be an empress dowager to constantly nitpick from the side. Our Bi n will also rece the Liu n outside and be the world¡¯s most influential n. You should be happy.¡± Bi Qi¡¯s mood was quite good. They had schemed for a long time, but when the n was put into action, they had achieved aplete victory.

    ¡°Even so, I can¡¯t bring myself to feel happy at all,¡± Bi Linglong said coldly. ¡°There''s no next time for this kind of thing. Otherwise, don¡¯t me me for not cherishing our familial connection.¡±

    ¡°But of course. We¡¯ve already won, so why would we need a next time?¡± Bi Qi said with a nod. However, even though that was what he said, there was still a hint of something else in the depths of his eyes.

    Bi Linglong suddenly said, ¡°That King Wu has too much ambition and is hard to guard against. You absolutely can''t let all of this end up just benefiting him instead.¡±

    Strictly speaking, Bi Qi¡¯s ns didn¡¯t have too much of an effect of her interests, and it had even eliminated that annoying empress dowager for her. But if King Wu wanted to do something, that could end up changing her entire world. At that point, would she even have her position as the empress left?

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, father was only using him to deal with the Liu n. We¡¯ll let him have fun for a bit, and then slowly deal with him after.¡± Bi Qi had a mysterious expression.

    Bi Linglong said with a coldugh, ¡°I hope that you really do have some n and things don¡¯t end up getting out of hand.¡±

    ...

    Meanwhile. in the Sang manor, Aunt Mu and Sang Qien were both extremely nervous. They sighed in relief when they saw Sang Hong¡¯s peaceful return.

    ¡°Just what happenedst night?¡± Sang Qien and Zheng Dan couldn''t help but ask

    ¡°Most likely, Bi Qi allied with the dissatisfied members of the royal family, additionally coordinating with the vassal kings King Wu and King Yi to conspire against the Liu n. The Liu n is alreadypletely finished.¡± Sang Hong recalled the empress dowager and couldn''t help but say, ¡°Now that the court has already made their decision on the matter, saying that it was the empress dowager who colluded with the Liu n in rebellion, there''s no way for her to continue being the empress dowager from now on. Keeping her is really just holding a hot potato. In my opinion, we should silently get rid of her.¡±

    The Liu n¡¯s three brothers had all been beheaded, and their trusted aides and descendants were all either killed or captured. Only a few had sessfully escaped, so there was almost no chance for them to cause much trouble. Even if the empress dowager recovered to her strongest, she was already powerless to change things. If they still continued to shelter her, that would only carry tremendous risk.

    Sang Qien immediately refused. ¡°No way! Let alone the fact that the Liu n was innocent to begin with this time, purely based on her rtionship with... with big brother Zu, we can''t just watch without doing anything.¡±

    Even though she''d already had a night to think about things, when she thought about how big brother Zu and the empress dowager had a thing, she still felt that it was explosive news.

    When he saw how firmly his daughter insisted on defending the empress dowager for the sake of her lover, Sang Hong felt a huge headache. After thinking to himself for a bit, he couldn''t help but say, ¡°There¡¯s something that I feel would be best if I informed the two of you about...¡±

    Then, he told them about how in the morning court session, the emperor had used Zu An of bullying the empress.

    After hearing about all that, Sang Qien and Zheng Dan were full of questions, leaving thempletely petrified.

    Only after quite some time did Sang Qien snap out of her daze, asking, ¡°Could it be that someone is trying to start a scandal? That they¡¯re just trying to nder big brother Zu?¡±

    She had met the empress before in the past. When she was still just the crown princess, she had already been the idol of countless youngdies. Not only was she a cultivation genius, every movement she made exuded the bearing of a distinguished and virtuousdy. Almost all of the ns had used her as a role model to educate their own daughters. It really was difficult to imagine that a woman so perfect would do something so disgraceful.

    <i>Wait, but if it was big brother Zu though...</i>

    Sang Hong gave his daughter a sympathetic look. His daughter had always been intelligent, but why did she always seem to have nothing but emotions in her head whenever it came to Zu An? After some hesitation, he decided to still exin in a more tactful manner, ¡°That is indeed a possibility. Although, based on what we know now... The empress is still young and Ah Zu is both handsome and outstanding. Forget about that stupid emperor, evenpared to the geniuses among her peers... Sigh, no, no one canpare to him.

    ¡°It would be one thing if Ah Zu just had high cultivation and was handsome, but more importantly, he knows how to please women...¡± Sang Hong couldn''t help but give Sang Qien and Zheng Dan a look as he spoke. Both of their faces turned red.

    <i>Sigh, there are living examples right in front of me...</i>

    He then continued, ¡°And that¡¯s why it isn¡¯tpletely unexpected that the empress might have had a rtionship with him.¡±

    Sang Qien opened her mouth and was about to defend her lover, but she didn¡¯t know what to say.

    Zheng Dan harrumphed and said, ¡°There¡¯s no need to guess anymore. The two of them definitely have something.¡±

    Sang Qien asked curiously, ¡°How are you so sure?¡±

    ¡°I understand him too well.¡± Zheng Dan didn¡¯t sound too happy. ¡°That guy is a walking stud. As long as he sees someone who''s pretty, there¡¯s no woman he won¡¯t dare to touch.¡± Back then, the same thing had happened to her, after all...

    Sang Qien said with a deep sigh, ¡°You¡¯re right. Big brother Zu is good in every other way, but he''s just a bit too fickle.¡±

    ¡°Is it really just a bit?¡± Zheng Dan¡¯s voice raised an octave. ¡°He even dared to touch the empress dowager, and now the empress...¡±

    Suddenly, she was a bit stunned. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    <i>Something doesn''t seem to be right here.</i>

    Sang Qien also realized something and asked with a strange expression, ¡°Do you think the empress and the empress dowager know about Zu An¡¯s rtionship with the other side?¡±

    Sang Hong was also stunned. He had actually forgotten to consider that!

    Zheng Dan¡¯s eyes immediately widened and shone brightly as she eximed, ¡°They might! After all, the empress and the empress dowager have fought so much over so many things and are on the verge of strangling each other. Maybe it was all over jealousy for Ah Zu!¡±

    Sang Qien shook her head and said, ¡°No, before big brother Zu entered the capital, one was still the crown princess while the other was still the empress, and they already didn¡¯t get along. It doesn¡¯t have anything to do with big brother Zu.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Zheng Dan asked.

    ¡°It really is hard for me to imagine that a perfect woman like the empress would act with such viciousness against the empress if she knew about this level of rtionship,¡± Sang Qien said while thinking to herself. ¡°And I also trust big brother Zu¡¯s judgment. He probably wouldn¡¯t look for women who are too malicious.¡±

    ¡°Have youpletely lost your head over love? How can you use something like that as a reason?¡± Zheng Dan replied, dumbfounded. Still, even though that was what she said, she still acknowledged Sang Qien''s analysis. Actually, to a certain degree, she also had a strange sense of trust toward Zu An.

    ¡°The various signs from the court seem to show that neither side knew about this level of rtionship,¡± Sang Hong said, having thought through the things that happened and reached a conclusion. ¡°The main issue now is... Should we tell the empress dowager about this?¡±

    The two women''s expressions immediately changed drastically when they heard the question.

 Chapter 2137: Triple Agent Pt. 2

    Chapter 2137: Triple Agent Pt. 2

    Meanwhile, in the Dragon Pce, Shang Hongyu¡¯s expression was even more interesting. Her eyes had lost focus. She felt as if she had soared straight into the heavens one moment, then fell down into the abyss the next.

    She had never known that her own knees could actually be raised so high! They were pressed right up against her face.

    ¡­

    After quite some time passed, even though it was almost always Shang Hongyu who had cried out, this time, it was Zu An who did. It was as if he had seen something extremely shocking.

    A bright red fish tail had suddenly appeared on the white jade bed.

    Shang Hongyu practically sobbed as she said, ¡°It¡¯s all your fault that I can¡¯t control myself anymore. I¡¯ll quickly change it back¡­¡±

    Zu An quickly stopped her. ¡°Don¡¯t change back, just keep it like this.¡±

    Shang Hongyu was stunned. She quickly realized what was going on and couldn''t help but shout, ¡°You pervert!¡±

    But she still listened to Zu An and didn¡¯t change back into her human form. Her beautiful tail gently wrapped around Zu An¡¯s waist.Zu An thought to himself, <em>Now I finally have an answer to the age-old mermaid question.</em>

    ¡­

    Outside, Ka Qier and his guards searched all night, but they couldn''t find the assassin. They began to think deeply to themselves. That person¡¯s cultivation was definitely high; otherwise, even though his attention was diverted, there was no way Ka Qier would only have discovered them at that moment. Additionally, that individual¡¯s understanding of the Dragon Pce was extremely high and they had some special treasures on them. It seemed their status in the Dragon Pce wasn¡¯t low.

    He prepared to go back and report to the fake Dragon King, but when he heard the noise outside the courtyard, his eyes immediately widened. He suddenly began to question life as he raised his head. The waters above were already starting to turn white. The Dragon Pce experienced a simr night and day cycle as the surface, so that meant the two of them had already tossed and turned for an entire night.

    ¡°His stamina really is damned good!¡± After being speechless for a moment, Ka Qier scoffed before turning around and leaving. He wasn¡¯t interested in this kind of thing. When he heard howpletely invested the queen was, he knew she had already been fully subdued. He had nothing to worry about at all anymore.

    ¡­

    The next morning, Zu An left the Crystal Pce. He made sure to order the maids not to wake up the queen and let her sleep for a bit longer.

    The maids replied that they understood while looking at him with amazed eyes.

    <em>The Dragon King is just way too powerful, right? They continued for an entire night!</em>

    <em>Perhaps only someone like the queen with her cultivation and constitution could withstand it for that long, right? If it had been a weak pce maid like us, we might have long since been pounded into paste.</em>

    When he sensed the shock and looks of adoration in the pce maids¡¯ eyes, Zu An was also a bit embarrassed. It had been a long time since he hadpletely given his all likest night. Shang Hongyu¡¯s cultivation was high, and she was from the Ocean races, so her body was tougher than that of a human. That was why the two of them hadpletely lost track of themselves.

    <em>Sigh, I wonder if this was good enough. I don¡¯t know if that Fake Dragon King has this much stamina. I won¡¯t be exposed because of this, right?</em>

    Zu An finished washing up with the help of the maids and finished breakfast. Many of them gave him unusual looks the entire time, as if they were hinting at something. To be honest, these maids had all been selected quite carefully, as they were all beautiful. But after what he''d gone through with the Mermaid Queenst night, how could they make him feel anything?

    Suddenly, Ka Qier walked into the side hall. He waved his hand, gesturing for the maids to leave.

    Zu An was startled. It seemed these people in the pce listened to Ka Qier''smands! It was almost as if he was the real Dragon King.

    Ka Qier stared at him. While Zu An was worried, wondering if he had exposed himself, Ka Qier suddenly asked, ¡°Last night¡­ How was it?¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry. He hadn¡¯t expected Ka Qier to ask such a question. Even though he didn¡¯t love discussing his intimate times with women with other men, the situation was different this time, so he could only imitate the fake Dragon King¡¯s expression and say, ¡°A divine experience of course, one you couldn''t stop doing even if you wanted to.¡±

    All kinds of scenes fromst night couldn''t help but appear in his mind. The Mermaid Queen sitting on him, the pleading look in her eyes, the gentle swaying of her tail that really was as slippery as water¡­ If not for his extraordinary skills, he likely wouldn''t have been able to withstand her swaying motions.

    Ka Qier nodded. ¡°The Mermaid Queen might seem proper and dignified on the surface, but she has an extremely seductive body. Now that it''s been fully activated, she won¡¯t be able to go back to how she was. You¡¯vepleted your mission extremely well yesterday, only¡­¡± He changed the topic and looked at Zu An suspiciously, asking, ¡°When did you be so tough? You were able to hold on all night?¡±

    ¡°You know fully well how rare these opportunities are. Also, the queen really was too good. If it had been any other man that was in that kind of situation, they''d probably even stuff their balls in too.¡± Zu An paused for a moment before saying, ¡°Of course, I also made sure to prepare some drugs for myself in advance.¡±

    <em>I hope Shang Hongyu can¡¯t hear me. Otherwise, it¡¯d be weirder if she didn¡¯t get mad and bite me.</em>

    ¡°Haha, your description is quite interesting. Even someone like me who has no interest in women has to admit that you¡¯re right.¡± Ka Qier chuckled. After a pause, he asked while feigning disinterest, ¡°I heard that you were investigating Shang Liuyu¡¯s whereabouts yesterday?¡±

    Even though Ka Qier spoke casually, Zu An still became vignt. For some reason, he subconsciously felt that it was a dangerous question. A slight mistake and everything could be ruined. He reacted quickly and said, ¡°I only did that to fool the queen. She was always worried about her little sister¡¯s safety, so I just asked for her sake.¡±

    ¡°So that was it. I thought you''d already forgotten that Shang Liuyu has already fallen into our hands.¡± Ka Qier sighed in relief.

    Zu An was horrified.

    <em>No wonder Ka Qier suspected me! So that''s where the problem was!</em>

    At the same time, he became worried. Shang Liuyu was actually caught by these guys! He wondered how she was doing right now.

    Ka Qier continued, ¡°It seems our luck is quite good these days. We just caught Shang Liuyu and haven¡¯t had a chance to question her yet, but then we received news of her older sister. The queen was captured as well shortly after. It seems as if the heavens are standing on our side. Our great n will surely be sessful.¡±

    Zu An sighed inwardly in relief. Judging from what he was saying, Shang Liuyu was probably still alright for now. They had probably only caught her when he entered the pce yesterday, and then ended up in a rush to detain Shang Hongyu. In the evening, Ka Qier had needed to guard the pce to monitor Zu An and make sure the Mermaid Princess waspletely ¡®subdued¡¯, and then he''d gone to chase after Ao Yong. Thus, he hadn''t had time to interrogate Shang Liuyu yet.

    Zu An wondered what the ''great n'' was. But after learning his lesson, he didn¡¯t dare to take any more risks.

    ¡°The queen has already be one of us, so what are you nning to do with Shang Liuyu?¡± Zu An asked to test the waters. If there was really a threat to her life, then forget about the consequences, he''d have to save her first.

    ¡°I came precisely to discuss that matter with you,¡± Ka Qier said with a smile. ¡°Since Shang Hongyu is arrogant in nature, we might not be able to obtain the whereabouts of the crown even with torture. But things are different now.¡±

    Zu An was surprised. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    <em>Crown? What crown? Why would it be with Shang Liuyu?</em>

    Zu An followed the other side¡¯s logic and asked, ¡°Are you referring to her sister?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, and it was actually dependent on whether or not youpletely broke her yesterday.¡± Ka Qier stared at Zu An.

    Zu An was speechless, but he still replied, ¡°What do you think?¡±

    ¡°With the queen¡¯s normal dignified and virtuous personality, all of her pride and aloofness has probably beenpletely shattered after an entire night¡¯s experience.¡± Ka Qier had a somewhat wretched smile as he said, ¡°But for the sake of safety, you need to put in a bit more overtime and do it a few more times, topletely break her and make her fall into depravity until she ispletely subservient to you.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He had never expected this kind of request. These guys¡¯ level of immorality really was infuriating!

    He asked, ¡°With Shang Liuyu¡¯s intelligence and wit, even if the queen shows up, it¡¯ll probably be hard to fool her, right?¡±

    Ka Qier nodded. ¡°It seems you haven¡¯t bepletely muddle-headed because of women yet. You¡¯re right, we need to set up a trap.¡±

    ¡°Why do we need to set up a trap?¡± Zu An immediately went on alert. Compared to the fake Dragon King, this guy was much shrewder in his thinking and harder to deal with. He had to maintain a hundred and twenty percent vignce.

    ¡°Even if the queen acknowledges her fate, she''ll probably not be too happy trying to fool her own little sister. But if you join in, things will be different.¡± Ka Qierughed in a mysterious manner. There was a bit of excitement in his eyes, as if even he was impressed with his own ns.

    ¡°How do I join in?¡± Zu An asked in confusion.

    ¡°By impersonating the real Dragon King,¡± Ka Qier said.

    Zu An was surprised, asking, ¡°Isn¡¯t that what I¡¯m doing right now?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s different. You¡¯ve only managed to fool the high officials and those from the other ns, but in the eyes of the two sisters, you''re still an imposter,¡± Ka Qier replied. ¡°That''s why right now, in front of those two sisters... no, mainly Shang Liuyu, you need to act as if the real Dragon King has returned to earn their trust.¡±

    Zu An was full of confusion.

    <em>Am I supposed to be a triple agent here?</em>

    Shang Hongyu had tasked him to impersonate the fake Dragon King to fool those on the fake Dragon King¡¯s side. Now the fake Dragon King¡¯s henchman wanted him to impersonate the real Dragon King to fool the Shang sisters!

    These two sides really knew how to y!

    ¡°That¡¯s probably going to be difficult,¡± Zu An said in a somewhat troubled manner. ¡°It¡¯s not as if you¡¯re unaware of Shang Liuyu¡¯s vignce.¡±

    ¡°It was indeed difficult before, but now that Shang Hongyu can act as your screen, the chances of sess have be much higher.¡± Ka Qier felt more and more that this n was perfect the more he thought about it.

    <em>I really am a genius!</em>

    ¡°Then¡­ Alright. I¡¯ll do my best.¡± Only then did Zu An agree, sounding troubled.

 Chapter 2138: Saving an Old Friend Pt. 1

    <h4>Chapter 2138: Saving an Old Friend Pt. 1</h4>

    ¡°What do you mean you¡¯ll do your best? You must seed,¡± Ka Qier said with a serious expression. ¡°The crown in Shang Liuyu¡¯s possession is rted to whether or not we can open up the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons; not only that, we''ll also need her help for many of the trials toe. That¡¯s why you must seed!¡±

    Zu An was really surprised. So that was why they were so focused on fooling Shang Liuyu! More importantly, they actually knew what was inside the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons. Just what kind of situation was it that needed Shang Liuyu¡¯s ability?

    Unfortunately, he could only bury those thoughts for now. He said with a worried look, ¡°Alright, but if we''re going to do this, we need to make a perfect n.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we''ll all coordinate in this performance. As for how you''ll impersonate the real Dragon King, I¡¯ve already thought of a way,¡± Ka Qier said while thinking. ¡°We¡¯ll use the human who caught the queen for the reward as our opportunity. We¡¯ll say that the real Dragon King was actually hiding in the cave at the time, and then when the fake Dragon King went to look for the queen, he was attacked and reced.¡±

    Zu An was horrified. If he hadn''t already heard about the other parts of this n, he would have wondered if he was already exposed. He frowned and asked, ¡°You¡¯re not suspecting me, are you?¡±

    Ka Qier chuckled. ¡°What are you talking about? I was a bit suspicious at first, but that misunderstanding was quickly cleared up. Besides, it was because of this small hup that I was able to make such an excellent n. This is our only chance of making Shang Liuyu believe that you''re the real Dragon King.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nowhere near as excellent as you¡¯re making it out to be. The time spent in that cave was so short that even if the real Dragon King had prepared an ambush, it would be hard for him to defeat me so quickly. How could Shang Liuyu not notice such an obvious hole in our exnation?¡± Zu An said with a harrumph.

    Inwardly, though, he was actually somewhat dumbfounded. Just what in the world was going on? He was a fake to begin with, and yet this guy¡¯s n just happened to be identical to what had really happened.

    ¡°That is something to worry about, but we can exin it as the Mermaid Queen and the real Dragon King working together to ambush you. There just happened to be some formations in the cave, so you two somehow managed to barely seed.¡± Ka Qier chuckled. ¡°Now, even I¡¯m starting to be a bit convinced that you¡¯re the real Dragon King.¡±

    When he heard the ridicule in Ka Qier''s voice, Zu An actually started to admire himself a bit. The best lies weren¡¯t the ones you told to fool others, but rather the ones others helped youplete.

    ¡°It¡¯s still a bit far-fetched,¡± Zu An said with a contemtive expression. ¡°We also need the queen¡¯s full cooperation.¡±

    ¡°That''s why it¡¯ll all depend on you. You need topletely win over the queen in the meantime,¡± Ka Qier said with a smile. ¡°Should I fetch a few more bottles of Desires Unleashed Dew for you? Tsk tsk tsk, to be honest, this drug was something the real Dragon King used up a lot of effort to gather so he could use it on other people¡¯s wives. Who would¡¯ve thought that it would ultimately be used by someone else on his own wife? You really are getting all the benefits.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. When he heard the ridicule in Ka Qier¡¯s voice, he even started to feel some sympathy for the real Dragon King.

    <i>Sigh, the only thing I can do is help him take good care of his wife.</i>

    ¡°Hurry and keep that beautiful queenpany. Remember to put in more effort. Once you feel you¡¯ve fully subdued her, that¡¯s when we¡¯ll start our n,¡± Ka Qier said with a snicker.

    Zu An thought to himself for a bit before saying, ¡°Make sure to send someone to take good care of Shang Liuyu and don¡¯t use torture on her. That way, she¡¯ll think that the real Dragon King is secretly helping her.¡±

    Ka Qier¡¯s eyes lit up. He reflexively nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s not a bad suggestion. Let¡¯s do that. It¡¯s time for us to start preparing things after all.¡±

    Zu An sighed in relief when he heard him agree. Then, under Ka Qier¡¯s urging, he had no choice but to return to the bedroom chambers.

    Shang Hongyu was sitting at the head of the bed in a somewhatzy manner and doing her makeup while facing the mirror. She was rxed and stunning, but she was in a bit of a daze as she propped up her chin, as if she was thinking about something. From time to time, aplicated expression appeared on her face, containing resentment but also sweetness.

    When she saw Zu An enter, she said with a cold snort, ¡°Get out. I don¡¯t want to see you.¡± However, those words were spoken for the maids to hear.

    The covers were removed, exposing her satin-like skin. Only, her usually fair skin now had quite a few red marks on it, the result of their rough activity throughout the night.

    Zu An waved his hand, gesturing for the maids to withdraw for now. Then, he sat down at her side and said, "Your acting is quite good.¡±

    When she felt him approach, a bit of fear shed through Shang Hongyu¡¯s eyes. She instinctively moved aside, as if she was worried that he would do something to her again. However, her brows furrowed as soon as she moved. Her body couldn''t help but be rigid.

    Zu An quickly tried to support her when he saw her unnatural movement and asked worriedly, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°You still have the nerve to ask that?!¡± Shang Hongyu rolled her eyes. ¡°How did you treat me yesterday? You really are a crude man; you don¡¯t cherish the fairer sex at all!¡±

    She was even starting to wonder if he really was a human. For better or for worse, she did have the body of a grandmaster, and she was a fully mature woman too, and yet she''d still been left in such a tragic state at the end of it.

    Zu An gently caressed her slender chin. ¡°Even though you won¡¯t admit to it, your body told me that you liked what happenedst night.¡±

    Shang Hongyu was really embarrassed. She continued to lightly hit him. ¡°You...! That gentlemanly behavior before waspletely an act! I really was dragged along by your evil ns.¡±

    Zu An replied impatiently, ¡°It was me who was forced to follow your ns, okay? You were the one who kept teasing me in all kinds of different ways.¡±

    <i>This woman just kept teasing me for her own pleasure. </i>

    Even though he had still been able to hold it in, he couldn''t help but have pent-up desire build up inside him. Andst night, it had all beenpletely released. Part of it was, of course, payback for all of the teasing Shang Hongyu had done. He''d wanted to see if she would still continue to feel so proud of herself while doing that stuff.

    Sure enough, there hadn¡¯t been much substance backing her provocations. The attacker and defender roles had quickly swapped.

    ¡°You¡¯re just too good at that stuff. I really was fooled by your harmless exterior!¡± Shang Hongyu¡¯s cheeks turned red. She wouldn¡¯t have even dared to think about teasing him if she knew how much of a ferocious carnivore he was. She said with a huff, ¡°No wonder you have so many lovers around you. You must¡¯ve made thempletely drop their guard with your innocent and harmless behavior, and thenpletely swallowed them up! Hmph, I have to tell my little sis so she''ll remain vignt around you and doesn''t fall for your tricks."

    When he heard her mention Shang Liuyu, Zu An¡¯s expression turned serious. He said, ¡°Shang Liuyu was caught by those guys.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Shang Hongyu¡¯s eyes that had been full of charm immediately became clear. She asked nervously, ¡°How is she doing right now? Did she receive any unjust treatment? We have to hurry and save her!¡±

    When he saw how nervous she was, Zu An could feel the true sisterly love between them. He replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. She¡¯s still alright for now. They most likely only caught Shang Liuyu the day I entered the Dragon Pce. They haven¡¯t had time to do anything to her.¡± n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°But now that she''s been captured by those guys, she¡¯ll be in constant danger.¡± Just then, Shang Hongyu was stunned and asked, ¡°Wait, how do you know so much about that?¡±

    ¡°Ka Qier told me, of course.¡± Zu An chuckled. ¡°The reason why I was able to obtain hisplete trust was all thanks to your passionate performancest night.¡±

    Shang Hongyu eximed, ¡°I¡¯m going to die from embarrassment!¡±

 Chapter 2139: Saving an Old Friend Pt. 2

    <h4>Chapter 2139: Saving an Old Friend Pt. 2</h4>

    ¡°I have to say it like it is, right?¡± Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°I actually slipped up right from the beginning. Fortunately, yesterday¡¯s events managed to dispel his misgivings.¡±

    Then, he shared how his inquiry about Shang Liuyu¡¯s whereabouts toward the high officials had drawn Ka Qier¡¯s suspicion, and that was why he''d used the Desires Unleashed Dew to test him.

    Shang Hongyu¡¯s eyes widened when she heard everything. After a moment of silence, she mumbled, ¡°Why am I the only one who gets hurt...¡±

    ¡°What do you mean, hurt? I made sure to treat you along the wayst night. Your injuries should already be pretty much healed,¡± Zu An teased.

    ¡°You...!¡± Shang Hongyu¡¯s face was so red that smoke seemed about toe out of the top of her head.

    Normally, with her outwardly gentle but inwardly passionate personality, she wouldn¡¯t have gotten this embarrassed. She already finished her mental preparations beforehand, and she also had positive feelings toward him. However, that didn¡¯t mean that she could withstand the brutal intensity ofst night! All of her aloofness and pride werepletely shattered by this guy, and even the shape inside her...

    There had been several times when she even lost consciousness, but then when she woke up, she had been met with more waves and waves of pounding. She hadn''t been able to keep herself from crying several times; however, that wasn¡¯t from pain, but rather from a sort of ecstasy and release.

    Shang Hongyu had never felt so weak before, as if she was just his toy. If he wanted her to live, she¡¯d live; if he wanted her to die, she¡¯d die. She knew fully well that afterst night, she would never forget this man for the rest of her life, or even ten lives if she could live for that long. She had alreadypletely taken on his shape. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    <i>Sniff... How humiliating...</i>

    Even so, she was the Ocean races'' queen and had her fair share of experiences. She was a mature woman. She did her best to calm down and try to regain the upper hand like before. ¡°I finally understand why your cultivation is so high. It was actually because of your transcendent aptitude. You''re probably the only one with this quality in the entire world.¡±

    The effects of that weird technique were one thing, but the blood essence of the transcendent aptitude was incredibly nourishing. Last night¡¯s experience had brought her benefits equivalent to many years of cultivation.

    <i>No wonder there are so many women who are infatuated with him. Hmph, they¡¯re all vixens who just want his body.</i>

    Zu An chuckled and didn¡¯t bother exining. Even though transcendent aptitude blood constitution was useful, the reason why he had been able to reach his current state was because he''d always skirted the brink of death. That was how he''d continued to advance and improve.

    After holding her in his arms for a while, Zu An asked, ¡°By the way, does Shang Liuyu have some kind of crown? The type that can open the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons?¡±

    When she heard what he said, Shang Hongyu gritted her teeth. ¡°What other crown can it be? Of course it¡¯s the Dragon King¡¯s crown, the symbol of authority and prestige for the Ocean races'' ruler, the greatest emblem of sessive generations of Dragon Kings. It''s only ever brought out during the ascension to the throne, weddings, and rare ceremonial offerings.¡±

    ¡°Ceremonial offerings...¡± Zu An thought, <i>No wonder the crown is needed to open the Tomb of Ten Thousand Kings.</i> He asked curiously, ¡°Why would this crown be in Shang Liuyu¡¯s hands?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s obvious if you think about it. The Dragon King definitely wanted my little sister. And with her personality, there¡¯s no way she would ept any of his gifts. That was why he proposed for her to help him safeguard the crown. With that, little sis couldn''t refuse him,¡± Shang Hongyu said with a sneer. ¡°But with that excuse, he could frequently seek out my little sister with a proper pretext.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. At first, he had felt a bit of sympathy for the Dragon King, but now, it seemed thetter had it alling.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to have already earned all of their trust so quickly. I really do have a whole different outlook toward you,¡± Shang Hongyu said with a moved tone. They had even been able to obtain such crucial information! This was far more than what she''d been expecting.

    Zu An¡¯s expression became a bit strange as he said, ¡°That¡¯s not all. Ka Qier wanted me to impersonate the real Dragon King.¡±

    Shang Hongyu replied in confusion, ¡°Isn¡¯t that what you¡¯re doing right now?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t understand what I¡¯m trying to say...¡± Zu An then exined Ka Qier¡¯s n to her.

    When she heard what he said, Shang Hongyu¡¯s expression became strange. A whileter, she sighed and remarked, ¡°Even something like this can happen?¡±

    At first, she''d thought that their impersonation would be full of danger, that if they were even a bit careless, they would be exposed. The things that had happened yesterday only further fueled her suspicions, causing her to have no choice but to ¡®sacrifice¡¯ her purity to dispel the enemy¡¯s doubts. And yet after that night, their situation had actually improved this much?

    The enemy wanted Zu An to impersonate the real Dragon King. That meant even if they did make a mistake, the enemy would just think it was because of their own n. They wouldn¡¯t suspect Zu An at all.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to be so straightforward with your thinking. The one thing Ka Qier is still a bit worried about is if you¡¯ve beenpletely... tamed. That¡¯s why he urged me to do some overtime.¡± Zu An¡¯s smile became a bit evil.

    Shang Hongyu¡¯s face heated up. She lightly hit his shoulder and mumbled quietly, ¡°Whether or not I¡¯ve been... You already know.¡±

    Zu Anughed, then pulled her close and gave her a kiss. Shang Hongyu moaned and her body immediately softened up.

    A whileter, however, she could sense changes happening to Zu An¡¯s body. She was shocked and quickly stopped him. ¡°I really can¡¯t anymore! I still haven¡¯t recovered fromst night yet!¡±

    ¡°I see...¡± Zu An was a bit disappointed, but he knew that they had gone quite wildst night, so he didn¡¯t force it. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll sleep here for a while to fool Ka Qier.¡±

    Shang Hongyu¡¯s eyes moved around, and she suddenly leaned against him before asking, ¡°Should I help you?¡±

    ¡°How are you going to help?¡± Zu An asked, stunned.

    The two suddenly felt a mysterious sense of familiarity. The two of them had shared simr words on the ship before, but both of them had known they were just teasing each other and weren¡¯t actually going to do it.

    But now, Shang Hongyu bit her red lip and her eyes shone brightly. She asked, ¡°How do you want me to help?¡±

    Zu An stared into her eyes, then shifted his gaze downward and said, ¡°As long as it¡¯s not with your hands.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re so bad~¡± Shang Hongyu pouted yfully, but she still moved her hair behind her ear and slowly bent down.

    Zu An sat on the white jade bed that represented the highest authority of the Ocean races and watched as the stunning Mermaid Queen gently serviced him. In that moment, he felt a tremendous sense of aplishment.

    ...

    After some time passed, Zu An took Shang Hongyu to the prisons to check on Shang Liuyu.

    Ka Qier thought at first that he was rushing things a bit, but when he saw Shang Hongyu lean against the ''fake Dragon King'' bashfully and the faint swelling of her lips, he couldn''t help but secretly give Zu An a big thumbs up.

    <i>This guy is even more amazing than I thought! The Mermaid Queen is pressing up against him like this and she even helped him that way; she¡¯s clearly already beenpletely subdued!</i>

    <i>Is this kind of stuff really that effective?</i>

    He had once looked down on such things a lot and just felt that they would get in the way of more important matters. But now, he was starting to change his opinion.

    Subsequently, he took the two down to a secret courtyard in a remote corner of the Dragon Pce. Even though it wasn¡¯t a prison, the security was even tighter than that of a prison. There were elite soldiers along the way and many defensive formations. It was almost impossible to sneak in silently.

    ¡°These guards all look really unfamiliar. They¡¯re definitely not the original Dragon Pce guards,¡± Shang Hongyu secretly said to Zu An.

    Zu An nodded. The enemy had definitely used their most trusted people for such vital positions.

    When the guards outside the courtyard saw Zu An and Ka Qier, they let them in after a bow. The group entered the courtyard.

    Suddenly, the air was filled with a drawn-out and distant song; its sound was filled with natural beauty, and yet carried a hint of forlorn sadness.

 Chapter 2140: Sisters of One Heart Pt. 1

    Chapter 2140: Sisters of One Heart Pt. 1

    Zu An was startled when he heard the music; it was the sound of an ocarina. Only someone like Shang Liuyu could perform with such great technique and emotion.

    Sure enough, after he passed through a coral forest, everything in front of him suddenly opened up. There, a beautiful woman sat by a windowsill. Her blue dress was woven from Darklight Cyan Beast scales and Rainbow Frost Silkworm silk, which were extremely precious materials used by the Ocean races, and it was decorated with beautiful coral that had sparkling pearls embedded within. Despite that, she looked extremely simple and elegant, as if her very existence was detached from the mortal world.

    What drew even more attention were her fair and beautiful feet. She was clearly bare-footed, and yet her soles werepletely untainted by any dirt. It was as if the world¡¯s finest essence had gathered to form their perfect curves. Those small and delicate feet were exceptionally elegant.

    For some reason, the word ¡®frozen treat¡¯ suddenly appeared in Zu An¡¯s mind.

    Could this be a talent of the Mermaid race? They clearly weren¡¯t born with feet, but once they turned into human form, their feet were always extremely beautiful. Shang Hongyu''s were no exception; Zu An had already yed around with her all night. But Shang Liuyu¡¯s feet were even more beautiful, as if they were the world¡¯s most perfect work of art.

    Just then, the music came to an abrupt stop. Shang Liuyu had clearly noticed their arrival. As if sensing Zu An¡¯s gaze, she reflexively bent her knees and pulled her feet into her dress. A hint of disgust also flickered through her beautiful eyes.

    ¡°You can give up on your schemes. I won¡¯t tell you where the crown is,¡± Shang Liuyu said indifferently. Even though she was quite displeased and disgusted, her voice was still graceful and beautiful.

    Ka Qier said with a smile, ¡°The third princess is overthinking things. The Dragon King and Mermaid Queen came to pay you a visit.¡±

    When she heard the first half, Shang Liuyu¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change at all, but when she heard about her older sister, she reflexively sat up straighter.Shang Hongyu stepped out from behind Zu An. The moment she saw her sister, her eyes immediately reddened. She said, ¡°My dear little sis, you¡¯ve really suffered¡­¡±

    ¡°Big sis!¡± Shang Liuyu¡¯s calm expression also changed a bit. Ayer of watery mist covered her eyes as the two sisters quickly hugged each other.

    ¡°Big sis, you were also caught by these guys?¡± Shang Liuyu asked with concern as she helped her older sister wipe away the tears at the corners of her eyes.

    However, there was actually no need to ask this question at all, because the current situation was already clear enough.

    Sure enough, Ka Qier said, ¡°The queen has agreed to cooperate with us. The princess should abandon your incorrect ways and change as well.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean, ''incorrect ways''?¡± Shang Liuyu said with a sneer.

    Ka Qier¡¯s expression changed. ¡°You''d better wake up to reality! If not out of respect for the Dragon King and Mermaid Queen, do you think you would be allowed to leisurely y your instrument here like this?¡±

    Shang Liuyupletely ignored Zu An and held Shang Hongyu¡¯s hand instead. ¡°Big sister, you¡¯ve really had it hard.¡±

    She figured that all thefort she''d enjoyed was due to the work of her older sister. She had no idea just how great of a price Shang Hongyu would have had to pay in such a terrible situation.

    Shang Hongyu shook her head slightly. ¡°It wasn¡¯t hard, not at all.¡± In reality, what she was saying was the truth. To be honest, with Zu An here, she really hadn¡¯t suffered at all, and had instead experienced a ton of joy.

    But to Shang Liuyu, it only made her think that her big sister had suffered even more, and yet was forcing herself to say otherwise so that she wouldn¡¯t worry. She immediately felt grieved and broken-hearted. Her eyes also brimmed with tears.

    Shang Hongyu turned around and said to Zu An and Ka Qier, ¡°I wish to talk to my little sister alone.¡±

    Ka Qier harrumphed. ¡°It¡¯s all the same if you say it right now.¡± He clearly didn¡¯t agree to the thought of letting the two stay together alone.

    Just then, Zu An spoke up and said, ¡°These sisters have finally reunited and must have a lot of private things to say to each other. Let them spend some time talking to each other, and then we can talk about more important matters.

    Ka Qier hesitated, but then he reluctantly agreed. ¡°Fine. Since that¡¯s what the Dragon King said, then you two can stay together for a bit.¡±

    Shang Liuyu sneered. She clearly didn¡¯t believe him when he called Zu An the Dragon King.

    Ka Qier frowned. He walked outside the courtyard with Zu An and said quietly, ¡°The effects don¡¯t seem to be that great.¡±

    All of this had been a deliberate act between him and Zu An, but Shang Liuyu didn¡¯t seem too convinced.

    Zu An smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t panic, all of this is just preparation for Shang Liuyu toter suddenly realize that I''ve actually been secretly helping her.¡±

    Ka Qier nodded. ¡°Right. I guess I was being a bit too impatient. We¡¯ll now have to see if the queen can convince the third princess.¡±

    Then, his divine sense immediately expanded to cover the entire courtyard. Every word and action of the people inside was within his detection. That was part of the reason why he had been willing to exit. The two inside probably had no idea that his real strength was this great, giving him the perfect chance to check if they were still hiding things from him.

    Shang Hongyu held her little sister¡¯s hand as they went into the inner room. Shang Liuyu suddenly asked curiously, ¡°Big sister, why is your mouth swollen? Your voice also seems to be a bit rough.¡±

    Outside, Ka Qier couldn''t help but give Zu An a look. His expression was a bit strange as he gave him a thumbs up.

    Zu An chuckled as if he was proud of himself, but he was actually extremely embarrassed inside.

    The guilty-hearted Shang Hongyu was worried that her little sister would continue to ask about that, so she anxiously helped Shang Liuyub her hair while changing the topic. ¡°LIttle sis, you weren¡¯t hurt, were you?¡±

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t. It¡¯s only been a few days since I was captured. At first, that fake Dragon King nned to interrogate me, but then a messenger arrived, and after hearing the message, he left in a hurry; he was most likely held up by something. He hasn¡¯t had the chance to do anything to me yet,¡± Shang Liuyu said calmly, as if such dangers werepletely unrted to her.

    ¡°I think I know the reason why¡­¡± Shang Hongyu was about to say something when she stopped and asked, ¡°Right, how were you captured?¡±

    ¡°A few days ago, I was wandering around in search of ancient songs when I suddenly heard about your arrest order,¡± Shang Liuyu replied. ¡°Even though your rtionship with brother-inw isn¡¯t all that great, you still treated each other with great respect as husband and wife, and yet things actually got so out of control. That had to mean something huge had happened for things to have reached that state.

    ¡°The conclusion I came to was that it wasn¡¯t something wrong with you, but rather brother-inw. The one who was forced to run away as a fugitive was you, which meant something definitely had to be wrong with the Dragon King. That was why I chose not to return to the Dragon Pce.¡±

    When she heard her sister''s calm analysis, Shang Hongyu said with a sigh of admiration, ¡°As expected of you.¡± Her little sister was, as always, cool-headed and reliable.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Shang Liuyu suddenly said with a chuckle, ¡°Everyone in the Ocean races was wondering what happened to you, and some of those rumors were quite ridiculous. They actually said that brother-inw walked in on you cheating with Zu An, so that was why he went after the two of you furiously.¡± That was the only thing she''d heard recently that made herugh.

    ¡°Those people¡¯s imaginations really are wild, but their conclusion really does at least make some sense.¡± Shang Hongyu chuckled in embarrassment. Perhaps that had really just been a joke before, but after what happenedst night, the rumors had be the truth!

    <em>Sigh, I don¡¯t even know how to tell little sis about this in the future.</em>

    ¡°It''s mainly because Ah Zu¡¯s reputation is really too poor and he really would do something like that. But I know big sis is definitely not someone who would do something like that, let alone the fact that you¡¯ve never even met each other.¡± Shang Liuyu¡¯s expression became much more lively when she mentioned Zu An.

    Shang Hongyu was speechless. She was now even more embarrassed. If everything was exposed in the future, wouldn¡¯t she end up experiencingplete social suicide?

 Chapter 2141: Sisters of One Heart Pt. 2

    Chapter 2141: Sisters of One Heart Pt. 2

    ¡°I¡¯ve been searching for clues about where you could be, thinking you had to have felt really helpless. A few days ago, I received news that you seemed to have appeared near the shore, so I wanted to save you. But rather than finding you, I ended up running into those guys¡¯ subordinates,¡± Shang Liuyu said angrily. ¡°I don¡¯t know what happened to the Yaksha Ocean Patrol, but they actually won¡¯t die. A moment of carelessness resulted in my capture.¡±

    Shang Hongyu recalled the situation near the restaurant. If not for Zu An¡¯s prompt appearance, she''d likely have been captured by the Yaksha Ocean Patrol as well. However, her little sister had been captured instead. The activity they caused had likely ended up drawing the attention of a lot of strong cultivators. Unfortunately, the two just happened to have missed each other. Had she reunited with her little sister, with Zu An there, there was no way Shang Liuyu would have been captured.

    But now that she thought about it, if her little sister had been there, perhaps she would have been an outsider considering how close the other two were. She wouldn¡¯t have been able to be as close to Zu An as she was now¡­

    <em>Ahhh! What in the world am I thinking? Is this stuff even important at allpared to my little sister¡¯s safety?</em>

    Even though she continued to tell herself that, she still couldn''t help but recall her time with Zu An¡­

    ¡°Big sis, how were you caught?¡± Shang Liuyu asked curiously.

    ¡°I was seriously injured. A human who was greedy for the bounty ended up capturing me.¡± Shang Hongyu sighed.

    <em>Sigh, it wasn¡¯t just capture. I waspletely subdued and tamed.</em>

    ¡°We both really suffered¡­¡± Shang Liuyu became a bit dejected as she asked, ¡°That Dragon King should be fake, right?¡±Shang Hongyu voiced her agreement. ¡°He¡¯s colluding with Ka Qier and those guys.¡±

    Outside, Ka Qier narrowed his eyes.

    <em>This woman doesn¡¯t seem to be acting as I predicted. Shouldn¡¯t she be using this chance to say that he''s the real Dragon King?</em>

    Zu An asked with a smile, ¡°Did you think she would really help us fool her little sister so quickly?¡±

    Ka Qier nodded in agreement. With Shang Hongyu¡¯s usual personality, he would have suspected that something was wrong if she decided to cooperate in fooling her little sister so quickly.

    <em>Yeah, even if she¡¯s fallen, there still has to be a process.</em>

    <em>She must be struggling and hesitating inside. But once the Dragon King educates her for a few more days, it should be good enough.</em>

    ¡°Has brother-inw already met an unfortunate end?¡± Shang Liuyu asked.

    Shang Hongyu¡¯s eyes reddened. Everything boded ill for the Dragon King. Even though the two of them weren¡¯t deeply in love, they had been married for so many years. There was still at least a bit of familial connection between them. Now that she thought about his fate, she was still extremely broken-hearted.

    But when she thought about their ns, she couldn''t say that directly. She could only say ambiguously, ¡°I don¡¯t know either. I hope he cane back and save us one day.¡±

    ¡°I fear that the chances aren¡¯t too great.¡± Shang Liuyu remained extremely cool-headed. ¡°Big sis, don¡¯t worry. I already sent a message asking Ah Zu for help a few days ago. Once he receives the message, he''ll definitely save us.¡±

    Zu An was startled when he heard her.

    <em>She actually sent me a message? But I''m not on the human or fiend side, so there''s no way for me to have received her letter. Although, I somehow mysteriously ended up choosing toe here myself. Truly, a sole blessing among tragedies.</em>N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Ka Qier frowned when he heard those words. He whispered to Zu An, ¡°The Ah Zu she is speaking of should be the human and fiend sides¡¯ regent. If he reallyes, things will indeed be a bit tricky.¡±

    Zu An harrumphed in dissatisfaction. ¡°With the two of us here and so many powerful cultivators from the Ocean races, what is there to fear?¡±

    ¡°Be that as it may, that guy already killed the War Priest and a bunch of other strong beings. We really can¡¯t be careless,¡± Ka Qier said with a serious expression.

    Zu An thought to himself, <em>These guys really are from the same ce as the other alien monsters?</em>

    ¡°Time is pressing, so we have to move up the n. You need to work harder,¡± Ka Qier said with a worried expression. He had clearly be nervous when he heard that Zu An was going to learn of the situation on this side.

    Zu An was speechless. He could only say, ¡°I¡¯ll do my best.¡±

    ¡°Not only do you have to do your best, you have to finish in the shortest amount of time.¡± Ka Qier harrumphed. ¡°If you can¡¯t handle it, I can send some guys over to help. They¡¯ve lusted after the Mermaid Queen for a long time too.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed. He said with a cold snort, ¡°She¡¯s mine. I don¡¯t need anyone else¡¯s help. Besides, with the queen¡¯s personality, that¡¯d only end up putting our n at risk.¡±

    Ka Qier nodded. ¡°What you''re saying makes some sense. I was just too anxious. You still look like her husband, so she can fool herself. If others join in, with the Mermaid race¡¯s pride and how much they value their chastity, she might just end her own life¡­ How about this? I¡¯ll bring you a few more bottles of Desires Unleashed Dew and give you some Nine vor Earth Emperor Pills to help you nourish your body. You must make the queen cooperate as quickly as possible. Heh, that Dragon King prepared quite a few nourishing items in his pce, but I didn¡¯t expect them all to end up benefiting you.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. If he still refused at this point, that could just draw the other party¡¯s suspicion.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Shang Hongyu was about to say something, but then stopped. When she saw how worried her little sister was, she really wanted to tell her that the Ah Zu she was talking about was right outside. But she knew that every single movement she made was being monitored. In the end, she didn¡¯t dare to speak the truth, replying, ¡°I hope so. But is that guy really that amazing?¡±

    She had only heard her little sister talk about Zu An from time to time in the past, but now, she actually really wanted to know everything about him.

    Shang Liuyu¡¯s sullen expression gave way to a bit of a smile. ¡°When I just met him, he waspletely weak and powerless, and yet he waspletely full of himself¡­ Actually, it would be more urate to describe him as beingpletely shameless.¡±

    Shang Hongyu nodded inplete agreement.

    <em>That guy really is shameless.</em>

    ¡°I already knew back then that he would definitely be extraordinary. Whether or not one is strong isn¡¯t decided just by cultivation and strength. What''s more important is whether or not one has a strong heart. As long as someone has that, even if they start out weak, they''ll be strong in the future.¡± When she recalled the past, Shang Liuyu¡¯s expression became extremely gentle. ¡°That guy didn¡¯t disappoint me. Later, he became so strong, strong to the point that I didn¡¯t dare to believe it.¡±

    ¡°I find it really hard to believe too¡­¡± Shang Hongyu mumbled.

    <em>That guy is even stronger in bed.</em>

    And yet, whether it was Shang Liuyu inside or Ka Qier outside, neither one of them sensed the strangeness in her words.

    ¡°I believe that with his strength, together with his natural intelligence and wit, he''ll definitely find a way to deal with the situation on this side. The only thing I¡¯ve been worried about is¡­¡± Shang Liuyu said with an expression of concern. ¡°I¡¯m worried about whether he¡¯ll be able toe in time.¡±

    Forget about whether or not he¡¯d be able to receive the letter at such a distance, even if he did, the Ocean races were so far away. Just the travel alone would take some time. By then, the dust would have long since settled.

    When she saw her sister¡¯s expression, Shang Hongyu felt her heart soften. She helped herb her hair while saying reassuringly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. In the past, you told me he was a man who creates miracles. He should be able to sessfully save you too.¡±

    Outside, Ka Qier sneered. Perhaps the queen was saying to herself that this was to save her little sister, but she had probably already realized that she herself had already fallen and there was no way back.

    <em>This is a good start.</em>

    Inside, Shang Liuyu just thought of it as her sister trying to cheer her up and didn¡¯t think too much of it.

    ¡°By the way, why did your brother-inw leave the crown with you?¡± Shang Hongyu asked, causing Ka Qier''s ears to perk up.

 Chapter 2142: Accepting a Compromise Pt. 1

    <h4>Chapter 2142: epting a Compromise Pt. 1</h4>

    ¡°Brother-inw said that because he was frequently outside, he couldn''t always carry something so important with him. He was worried that if he gave it to you, you would be the target of others¡¯ schemes, so he wanted someone who''s usually sharp and alert, like me, to safeguard it. That way, no one would expect it, and even if something ended up happening, the enemy wouldn¡¯t be able to immediately get their hands on the crown,¡± Shang Liuyu replied.

    Shang Hongyu harrumphed. ¡°You even believed a reason like that?¡±

    Shang Liuyu¡¯s face reddened. ¡°Big sister, you''re so smart, so you must¡¯ve guessed a few things. Brother-inw did indeed have some inappropriate thoughts about me.

    ¡°He was affected by his Dragon race bloodline. They''re just naturally like that, so the special attention he gave me wasn¡¯t anything too surprising, it¡¯s just that I didn¡¯t think too much of it. Besides, I didn¡¯t want to get in the way of your marriage, so I never said anything to you.¡±

    ¡°Little sis, you don¡¯t have to apologize at all. You¡¯re so pretty that it¡¯d be weird if he didn¡¯t feel anything toward you.¡± Shang Hongyu harrumphed. ¡°We''re close sisters who share the same bloodline. That Dragon King is nothing more than a stinky outsider.¡±

    Shang Liuyu felt warm inside when she felt her strong affection for her. ¡°But brother-inw¡¯s decision actually did end up being of use this time. Otherwise, the crown could have already entered the hands of those scoundrels.¡± n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°You¡¯re quite smart too and didn¡¯t carry the crown on you. Otherwise, you would¡¯ve been in danger.¡± Shang Hongyu was happy to see this result too.

    Shang Liuyu smiled. ¡°I¡¯m not stupid, after all. When I realized that something happened to the Dragon Pce, I immediately hid it. The sea is sorge, they can have all the fun they want searching for it.¡±

    Outside, Ka Qier harrumphed. ¡°This woman really is quite hateful. If not for the fact that I have I have a better n, I would¡¯ve properly disciplined her, so we''d see if her mouth could really stay that stubborn.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. With her older sister helping us, we''ll quickly find out the whereabouts of that crown,¡± Zu An said with a chuckle.

    Ka Qier voiced his agreement. When he noticed that the two weren''t talking about the crown anymore, he went back inside with Zu An and brought Shang Hongyu out.

    ...

    When they returned to the resting chambers, Shang Hongyu said with a deep sigh, ¡°Little sis is still full of hope and waiting for you to save her. Should we secretly tell her about you?¡±

    After thinking about it, Zu An rejected the idea. ¡°We can''t. The current situation is tooplicated, and putting aside the fact that Ka Qier¡¯s people are always watching us, even if we sessfully inform her, something this outrageous would definitely leave her extremely shocked. It¡¯d be difficult for her to avoid slipping up.¡±

    For some reason, Shang Hongyu released a sigh of relief when she heard what he said. This was her and Zu An¡¯s little secret, and they could keep it just between them for a bit longer.

    As soon as that thought emerged, she felt a bit ashamed. This was her own little sister they were talking about! It really wasn''t right to think this way.

    ¡°By the way, did we end up giving Ka Qier too much information during our conversation earlier?¡± she hurriedly asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine overall, but he was a bit unhappy that you didn¡¯t tell her that I was the real Dragon King. I managed to deal with it though,¡± Zu An replied.

    When she heard the reason he gave, Shang Hongyu voiced her agreement. ¡°That¡¯s what I was thinking too. If I told her that you were the real Dragon King today, that would really be forcing it a bit. If my little sister believed me just like that, Ka Qier wouldn''t think much of it at first, but after the fact, he would realize that something was strange and start suspecting us.¡± She paused before continuing, ¡°Then did he say anything about what we should do now?¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯re asking if he said anything, then he did.¡± Zu An had a weird expression as he said, ¡°It was just telling me that he was going to find more Desires Unleashed Dew for you to drink. Also, he was going to find some medicines the Dragon King used, to help nourish my body.¡±

    Shang Hongyu was speechless. Her pretty oval face became visibly red. She began to run after him and yfully hit him out of embarrassment. ¡°Are you kidding me?!¡±

    Zu Anughed. He shrugged as he avoided her yful attacks. ¡°I wasn¡¯t the one who said those things. He just wants you to be tamed earlier.¡±

    ¡°Then you can tell him that yesterday, I was already... already... by that stuff. He doesn¡¯t have to worry about it anymore.¡± Shang Hongyu had been really daring and bold before, but she really had been taught a bitter lesson by the rodst night and was too embarrassed to even say it out loud.

    Zu An endured the urge tough. ¡°But you just said that if we told him too soon, he''d be suspicious.¡±

    ¡°Hmph!¡± Shang Hongyu harrumphed. She hadn¡¯t been talking about this stuff earlier! Otherwise, others would think that she was deliberately stalling so she and Zu An could... do that stuff.

    ...

    The two of them y-fought for a while longer, but then Zu An took her into his arms. ¡°I actually do have a way to convince him that you¡¯ve beenpletely tamed. But you might have to suffer a bit.¡±

    ¡°What way?¡± Shang Hongyu asked, stunned. She continued with a serious expression, ¡°As long as it can help this n, what¡¯s wrong with a bit of suffering?¡±

    Zu An thought to himself for a bit, then moved closer to her ear and whispered something.

    Shang Hongyu¡¯s ear tingled a bit from the airing out of his mouth. She reflexively pulled back, but when she heard what he said, her eyes opened wide. ¡°You... Are you just using this as a chance to take advantage of me?¡±

    Zu An said with a serious face, ¡°Absolutely not. If you don¡¯t want to, I¡¯ll just think of something else.¡±

    ¡°Forget it, either way... Either way... It¡¯s all up to you.¡± Shang Hongyu had never expected herself to one day act like a youngdy again.

    <i>Sigh, thank goodness it¡¯s Zu An. </i>

    Otherwise, she really didn¡¯t know if she would have truly fallen into depravity after experiencing all of these things.

    ...

    A whileter, Ka Qier received a message and arrived outside the resting chambers. He asked, ¡°Your majesty is looking for me?¡±

    ¡°Yes,e in.¡± The Dragon King¡¯s voice came from inside.

    Ka Qier raised his brows.

    <i>The Dragon King¡¯s voice sounds a bit strange today.</i>

    When he entered the room, he saw that all of the maids had been chased away and the Dragon King was sitting in front of his desk. He seemed to be working, but he also seemed to be a bit absent-minded.

    Ka Qier''s eyes shifted to the table below. Even though he couldn''t see under the desk from his angle, with his cultivation, he could sense that someone was squatting down over there.

    <i>That¡¯s... the Mermaid Queen¡¯s aura!</i>

    Ka Qier was a bit surprised when he confirmed who it was.

    <i>This fe really knows how to y.</i>

    But he still had some admiration for Zu An¡¯s skills. He had actually made the normally proud and haughty queen do such a thing!

    ¡°Why were you looking for me?¡± Ka Qier didn¡¯t expose him and cooperated with the other side''s perverted whims.

    Zu An took a deep breath to slightly calm his emotions, then said, ¡°After thinking about it carefully, if we continue to lock up Shang Liuyu, even if the queen tells her what we want her to tell her, she¡¯ll still be a bit guarded. She won¡¯t necessarily believe us so easily.¡±

    ¡°Then what do you think we should do?¡± Ka Qier asked.

    ¡°Oh~¡± Zu An suddenly groaned in satisfaction, then said, ¡°That¡¯s why we must ce her somewhere she thinks is safe. That way, it¡¯ll be easier to gain her trust.¡±

    Ka Qier¡¯s eyes shifted to the table again.

    <i>Do you really have to do that stuff right in front of me?</i>

    <i>Hmph, what Mermaid tradition of pure chastity? They seem just like a bunch of horny fish to me.</i>

    But inside, he felt as if a weight had fallen away from his body. He had always felt that, with the dignified and poised behavior the Mermaid Queen normally disyed, it could take a while longer for her topletely fall. But now, it seemed as if he had overestimated this woman and they could move their ns up earlier.

    ¡°What kind of new n do you have?¡± he asked.

 Chapter 2143: Accepting a Compromise Pt. 2

    <h4>Chapter 2143: epting a Compromise Pt. 2</h4>

    Zu An gently stroked Shang Hongyu¡¯s hair while replying, ¡°For example, breaking Shang Liuyu out.¡±

    ¡°Breaking her out?¡± Ka Qier frowned.

    ¡°Of course, it isn¡¯t really breaking her out. She¡¯ll still be monitored by us,¡± Zu An exined. ¡°But that way, Shang Liuyu will think that she''s already free. And with the gratitude she expresses after being saved, it¡¯ll be more likely for her to trust our words.¡± n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Under the table, Shang Hongyu was full of admiration as she listened.

    <i>This guy really does manage to surprise you again and again! She¡¯ll clearly be safer once she''s rescued and doesn¡¯t have to face the constant threat of torture and interrogation, but the way he said it made it sound as if he was strategizingpletely from the imposter''s point of view!</i>

    <i>He really is a crafty man!</i>

    She remembered how she had even boldly teased him before, but she was thenpletely tamed by him. Just who was the hunter and who was the prey here?

    <i>This guy was probably already cooking up bad ns and was just ying along with me.</i>

    She felt a bit ashamed and annoyed when she thought of that. She exerted a bit of force with her teeth.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Zu An¡¯s body immediately stiffened.

    Ka Qier was also speechless when he saw his reaction.

    <i>It seems the queen is actually quite content doing this. Hm, that¡¯s even better.</i>

    ¡°Your n doesn¡¯t sound bad. Are you going to do the rescuing?¡± Ka Qier asked after thinking about it.

    ¡°Of course not. She still thinks that I¡¯m the fake Dragon King and ispletely guarded. Even if I go, she''ll think that I¡¯m just acting. That¡¯s why I need someone she trusts to go.¡± Zu An paused for a moment before looking down and saying, ¡°The queen might be the only one suited for this mission.¡±

    Shang Hongyu made some sounds in response.

    Ka Qier felt even more relieved when he saw that. He said, ¡°But I wonder if the queen is willing.¡±

    Shang Hongyu let out a few more whimpers, as if she couldn''t really speak because of a situation that everyone present knew about.

    Zu An said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve already told the queen about this. As long as she coordinates with me, we can ensure the sisters¡¯ safety, as well as preserve the glory of the Mermaid race. They can choose to follow the Dragon King, but can¡¯t they also choose to follow us?¡±

    Shang Hongyu voiced a few more sounds as if she was agreeing with him.

    Zu An shrugged and said to Ka Qier with a smile, ¡°Look, she agreed.¡±

    Ka Qier¡¯s misgivings were nowpletely gone.

    <i>Her body was subdued bythis guy¡¯s powerful masculine charms, and even her little sister and the entire Mermaid race were used to break down her will. It¡¯s no wonder that she fell from grace so fast.</i>

    ¡°We don¡¯t have much time left, so let¡¯s just do it tonight,¡± Ka Qier said.

    ¡°Fine, that¡¯s what I was thinking too,¡± Zu An replied.

    Then, the two discussed some finer details to ensure that nothing would go wrong in this evening¡¯s ns.

    Ka Qier then left in satisfaction. When he reached the entrance, however, he suddenly stopped. He turned around and showed Zu An a strange smile before saying, ¡°By the way, I almost forgot to wish you a good time in your fun.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve had quite the good time these past few days.¡± Zu An¡¯s tense bodypletely rxed.

    Ka Qier chuckled, and then he considerately closed the door for him.

    A whileter, a burst of intense coughing filled the room. After a pause, Shang Hongyu crawled out from under the table. Her face was alreadypletely red. She wiped traces of tears from the corners of her eyes while saying, ¡°Hey! Our Mermaid race¡¯s throats are extremely precious. If our voices are damaged, we won¡¯t be able to sing anymore.¡±

    <i>This guy really is a bit inhuman. I almost choked just now.</i>

    Zu An looked at her with a smile, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯re being properly nourished. Even if there were some injuries, it¡¯ll recover immediately.¡±

    Shang Hongyu rolled her eyes at him, but she had to admit that what he was saying was the truth. He was the only one in the world with transcendent aptitude blood essence, which was indeed superior to most holy medicines. That was why she didn¡¯t waste it either and warmly helped him clean it all off.

    <i>Sigh, he¡¯s handsome, so strong, and he knows how to make a woman happy. These things are already amazing enough to make any woman in this world fall for him.</i>

    <i>And yet he even has this ridiculous talent. He¡¯s really a walking aphrodisiac...</i>

    <i>...</i>

    Soon, it was nighttime. Shang Liuyu was in her room, dazed. In front of her was a halfpleted drawing. A whileter, she sighed and muttered, ¡°I still can¡¯tpare to senior sister, I can¡¯t recreate that level of charm and grace.¡±

    She looked out the window at the night sky while feeling a bit lost inside.

    <i>Will that person be able to receive my message and save me...</i>

    The Dragon Pce¡¯s situation was already as bad as could be. Even her big sister had been captured by the enemy. She wondered if her big sister had been humiliated recently...

    There were some things she didn¡¯t even dare to think too much about.

    Just then, there were two muffled groans outside. Even though the voices were soft, she was currently very vignt and immediately reacted.

    ¡°Who is it?¡± she called out, her expression cold. She took out the ocarina in her inner pocket and was about to y it when a familiar voice spoke up from outside.

    ¡°Little sis, it¡¯s me.¡±

    Then, a ck-d individual leaped in through the window. Even though her face was covered, her astonishing figure and alluring curves were still fully visible.

    ¡°Big sis?¡± Shang Liuyu cursed inwardly when she saw her remove her veil.

    <i>With that kind of physique, even if you''re dressedpletely in ck, everyone will still know who you are, right? After all, you''re the only one with this kind of body in the entire Dragon Pce.</i>

    ¡°We¡¯ll chatter. Hurry and follow me.¡± Shang Hongyu held her hand while running out of the courtyard. Along the way, she gave the drawing on the table a nce. Even though it was only half finished, after how much time she had spent with that man recently, how could she not tell that it was Zu An?

    <i>Aiya... If little sis finds out what I¡¯ve been doing with Zu An... I¡¯ll really die from embarrassment...</i>

    Shang Liuyu didn¡¯t notice her reaction. She was decisive as well, immediately storing the drawing away and rushing out with her older sister. Along the way, she saw that many guards were copsed on the ground, clearly having already been dealt with. She was a bit puzzled. There seemed to be fewer guards than usual, too.

    As soon as she had that thought, however, several new guards appeared. They seemed to be a bit surprised to see the two, but they quickly reacted and drew their weapons. ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going?!¡±

    Shang Hongyu harrumphed. She acted extremely ruthless in her attacks, as if she was venting out all of her umted frustrations. These guards had decent cultivations, but how could they withstand her grandmaster rank cultivation. With Shang Liuyu helping her, they quickly killed the guards.

    The other guards in the courtyard also reacted to what was going on, and all rushed in their direction.

    Shang Hongyu didn¡¯t stubbornly continue fighting, and jumped over the surrounding wall with her little sister instead. They took a roundabout path through the Dragon Pce and quickly arrived at a remote corner,pletely throwing off their pursuers.

    ¡°This ce should be safe.¡± Shang Hongyu patted her chest. Her heart was beating quite quickly from the intense escape.

    ¡°Big sis, how were you able toe and save me?¡± Shang Liuyu asked. She was surprised, but also a bit confused.

    ¡°You''re my little sister. Who else would I save if not you?¡± Shang Hongyu pinched her little sister¡¯s cheeks. She''d loved to do so ever since she was little, and sometimes, she couldn''t help but add a few yful bites. Her sister''s stretchy cheeks really were tempting.

    When she sensed her big sister¡¯s familiar actions, Shang Liuyu felt warm inside. However, she asked, ¡°But weren¡¯t you captured by them? Why can you move on your own and even save me?¡±

 Chapter 2144: Exposed Pt. 1

    <h4>Chapter 2144: Exposed Pt. 1</h4>

    When she saw her sister''s cold and clear eyes stare at her, Shang Hongyu sighed.

    <i>Fooling this smart little sister really isn¡¯t easy.</i>

    Fortunately, she was prepared for this and replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about all of that and just use this chance to leave.¡±

    Sure enough, Shang Liuyu¡¯s curiosity was diverted. But how could she bear to just leave? She replied, ¡°No! What will you do if I leave? If we¡¯re leaving, then we¡¯re leaving together.¡±

    Shang Hongyu shook her head. ¡°I can¡¯t leave yet.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Shang Liuyu asked, feeling more and more confused. They had finally managed to get a chance to leave, so why would her sister still stay behind?

    <i>Is all of this just orchestrated by those imposters?</i>

    After some hesitation, Shang Hongyu said quietly, ¡°It¡¯s because I have to keep your brother-inwpany.¡±

    ¡°Brother-inw?¡± Shang Liuyu frowned. ¡°Are you talking about that imposter?¡± n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°No, he¡¯s real,¡± Shang Hongyu replied.

    ¡°Real?¡± Shang Liuyu widened her eyes. She suddenly found that she couldn''t understand the situation.

    Shag Hongyu pretended to be a bit hesitant, then said, ¡°The reason why I was able to help you escape so easily is because he was secretly helping me. Now only did he transfer away some of the guards, he''s also secretly drawing their attention away. That was how I was able to sneak in and rescue you.¡±

    When she heard everything her older sister said, Shang Liuyu began to think to herself. A whileter, she suddenly said, ¡°Big sister, could it be that the brother-inw you are talking about is actually still that imposter, but for the sake of obtaining my crown, they¡¯re deliberately pretending to be my real brother-inw and are just using this performance to fool me?¡±

    Ka Qier, who was hiding in the darkness, exchanged a look with Zu An.

    <i>This woman is incredibly cunning after all. Thank goodness we prepared sufficiently, or else we really would have been exposed.</i>

    Meanwhile, Shang Hongyu said impatiently, ¡°Of course he¡¯s not fake. How could I not recognize my own man?¡±

    ¡°Why are you so sure?¡± Shang Liuyu asked, still feeling that the whole affair was suspicious.

    ¡°You¡¯ll know once you get married,¡± Shang Hongyu said in embarrassment.

    Shang Liuyu¡¯s expression suddenly became a bit strange, as if she had guessed something. ¡°The two of you already...¡±

    Shang Hongyu immediately thought about the social suicide she would experience if her little sister found out the truth. But this act had to continue, so she could only say with a reddened face, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he is definitely your brother-inw, but he''s pretending to be that imposter.¡±

    ¡°Then what about the imposter?¡± Shang Liuyu asked curiously. The whole affair really sounded a bit ridiculous.

    ¡°He¡¯s already dead.¡±

    ¡°Dead?¡±

    Then, Shang Hongyu told her about everything that had happened when she was caught. Her little sister was really amazed as she listened.

    Outside, Ka Qier couldn''t help but give Zu An a thumbs up.

    <i>This guy really is amazing. In just two days, he managed to make the queenpletely subservient. She¡¯s actually acting in such a natural and realistic way.</i>

    Zu An¡¯s expression was strange. Ka Qier thought that Shang Hongyu was acting, but Shang Hongyu was clearly just telling the truth. That was why it sounded so real.

    When she heard what her older sister said, Shang Liuyu didn¡¯t suspect her either; instead, she felt really happy at the turn of events. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect brother-inw to actually have been able to save you!¡±

    ¡°Hmph, and judging from how you were acting a moment ago, it almost looked as if you were suspecting your big sister of working with those guys to trick you,¡± Shang Hongyu said unhappily.

    Shang Liuyu quickly apologized. ¡°My amazing big sister, I was worried that you were fooled by those guys, you know? I can¡¯t help but be a bit more sensitive since we¡¯re constantly surrounded by danger.¡±

    ¡°Since you already asked everything you wanted to know, just get away first. Use this chance to get as far away from the Dragon Pce as possible,¡± Shang Hongyu urged her ording to their ns. Only then would she seem more like a big sister who cared about her little sister¡¯s safety.

    Shang Liuyu shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m not leaving. You and brother-inw are still in so much danger. How can I escape all on my own?¡±

    Ka Qier was feeling more and more satisfied.

    <i>As expected, these sisters understandd each other best.</i>

    At first, he had been worried when he heard Shang Hongyu urge her sister to leave, but previously, Shang Hongyu had expressed certainty that her little sister wouldn¡¯t agree.

    <i>Heh, I wonder just what kind of amazing expression the third princess will have once she finds out that the queen fooled her.</i>

    ¡°But it¡¯ll be more dangerous if you stay behind here,¡± Shang Hongyu continued. ¡°What if you get captured again? We might not be able to save you again.¡±

    Shang Liuyu smiled and said, ¡°I was only captured because I was careless. Now that I¡¯m prepared, I won¡¯t fall into their hands so easily again.¡±

    Meanwhile, Ka Qier sneered.

    <i>It¡¯ll still be just as easy to capture you. But for the sake of the crown¡¯s whereabouts, we¡¯re just pretending that we don¡¯t know.</i>

    Shang Liuyu continued, ¡°Big sister and brother-inw just happen tock one of your own people here. Who knows how many people in the Dragon Pce have already been reced by those imposters. With me assisting you, things will be a bit more reassuring.¡±

    Shang Hongyu was a bit moved. She asked, ¡°Then where are you going to hide?¡±

    Shang Liuyu thought for a bit and said, ¡°The most dangerous ce is the safest ce. Those imposters must think that I¡¯m running frantically to escape right now, so they must have gone far away to arrest me, but I¡¯ll just be hiding right by your side. It¡¯ll be a blind spot in broad daylight.¡±

    ¡°Our side?¡± Shang Hongyu was now a bit flustered. Things didn¡¯t seem to be going ording to their n!

    <i>If she stays by my side, then wouldn¡¯t Ah Zu and I be...</i>

    <i>Ahhh! Social suicide!</i>

    She was about to refuse when Ka Qier¡¯s voice said in her ear, ¡°Agree to what she says!¡±

    Having Shang Liuyu under their direct monitoring would make things much easier than having her run around anywhere else.

    Shang Hongyu was hesitant, but things were going so smoothly that she didn¡¯t want to start any conflict with Ka Qier just because of this. She said, ¡°I guess it¡¯s fine too. But your appearance stands out too much, so you might have to change it a bit.¡± Then, she took out a thin mask and gave it to her sister, continuing, ¡°Put this on to change your appearance. This is something I used while I was fleeing before, and it helped me escape many pursuers.¡±

    Ka Qier didn¡¯t doubt what she said at all. She was the Ocean races'' queen, so it was normal for her to have treasures.

    <i>No wonder they couldn''t catch her even with the arrest order.</i>

    But when Shang Liuyu picked up the mask, she was a bit absent-minded. She seemed to recall that Zu An used to have something simr.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Shang Hongyu asked when she saw her sister in a daze.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Shang Liuyu chuckled and immediately put the mask on. Its cool sensation wasn''t ufortable at all. With a wave of Shang Hongyu¡¯s hand, a mirror formed on the water surface to reflect her appearance.

    When she saw the ordinary face that appeared, Shang Liuyu nodded and said, ¡°This is better. My face won¡¯t draw any more attention.¡±

    In the shadows, Ka Qier was surprised. This was a face that would indeed bepletely overlooked and forgotten. If it wasn¡¯t because he had already known that she was changing her appearance, he really wouldn¡¯t be able to catch her again.

    Shang Hongyu grabbed her little sister¡¯s hand. ¡°If you want to stay, we have to immediately return to the pce. These guys have probably already realized what''s going on and might investigate me soon.¡±

    Shang Liyyu also became a bit nervous and quickly followed her back to her pce.

    Shang Hongyu opened a hidden wardrobe and took out a maid outfit for her to change into. ¡°I was nning to use this to escape, but it¡¯s perfect for you right now.¡±

    Shang Liuyu chuckled. She didn¡¯t hesitate at all and quickly began to change clothes.

    Shortly after she finished, there was some moring outside. Then, Ka Qier barged in with a group of people.

 Chapter 2145: Exposed Pt. 2

    Chapter 2145: Exposed Pt. 2

    Shang Hongyu stepped forward with a frown. ¡°General, this is my personal pce. How can you barge in with so many people in the middle of the night?¡±

    Ka Qier sneered inwardly.

    <em>This woman really knows how to act. She¡¯s clearly already been toyed with until she¡¯s our ything, yet she''s still putting on this high and dignified queen act.</em>

    Even so, there was no way he would expose her right now. His eyes scanned the surroundings as if he was looking for any suspicious things.

    Shang Liuyu naturally blended among the pce maids and quickly lowered her head he wouldn¡¯t find her expression suspicious at all.

    Ka Qier then asked, ¡°What was the queen doing just now?¡±

    ¡°Resting, of course. Why would I even need to exin anything to you in the first ce?¡± Shang Hongyu¡¯s expression turned cold. There wasn¡¯t even a trace of her flirtiness from when she was with Zu An.

    Ka Qier harrumphed.

    <em>These pce maids might be fooled by your arrogant act, but I know that you were kneeling and servicing the fake Dragon King in that humiliating manner. If not for the greater n, I would definitely make you pay for saying that.</em>¡°You didn¡¯t leave?¡± he asked, then turned to the maids and guards.

    ¡°The queen seems to have been in her room the whole time,¡± the others replied.

    Shang Hongyu had grandmaster rank cultivation, after all. Additionally, Ka Qier had deliberately lowered the number of guards around her. That was why she had been able to secretly leave and return without anyone noticing anything.

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Ka Qier became quiet.

    In a far corner, Shang Liuyu was really nervous. If she was found, not only she, but even her big sister and brother-inw, could be in danger.

    <em>These imposters are way too mysterious. They¡¯ve already almostpletely cut offmunication with the outside world. Even brother-inw and big sis were dealt with before they could activate most of the Ocean races¡¯ forces.</em>

    She felt a bit of regret when she realized that. She was still a bit too rash. If she really ended up harming her big sister and brother-inw, not even ten thousand deaths would atone for her crimes.

    Just then, Zu An arrived with a group of guards. He asked, ¡°What happened? Why are there so many people here?¡±

    Shang Hongyu harrumphed. ¡°Why don¡¯t you ask him?¡±

    Zu An looked toward Ka Qier.

    Ka Qier almostughed.

    <em>This woman only acts like a toy in front of the Dragon King. She¡¯s still acting all haughty in front of me.</em>

    He coordinated with the performance and said, ¡°There was someone who brought away the third¡­ Ahem, I came here to check on the situation.¡±

    ¡°I also noticed that something was strange and investigated personally, but I didn¡¯t find any traces of that traitor. The other side was probably already prepared for our reaction, so what we should be doing now is quickly seal off all important routes to prevent them from escaping,¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°We¡¯ve already caused a huge ruckus with the queen¡¯s arrest order. If we do something like that again, we might¡­ Forget it, that¡¯s all we can do for now.¡± Ka Qier seemed a bit hesitant, but he still decided to leave. However, when he walked by Shang Liuyu, he suddenly stopped and asked, ¡°Why is your majesty¡¯s taste so bad? Is a servant this ugly even worthy of serving you?¡±

    Shang Liuyu immediately became nervous when she heard that.

    <em>Ah! I forgot that brother-inw is a huge pervert! The maids that serve him are all beauties. Now that an ordinary-looking face like me has appeared, I¡¯ll end up standing out!</em>

    Shang Hongyu seemed to be staring at her too, as if she was really nervous.

    Zu An gave her a look and said nonchntly, ¡°Her face might be ordinary, but her figure is excellent.¡±

    Shang Liuyu was speechless. Never had she expected to actually be grateful for someone else ¡®praising¡¯ her this way.

    Ka Qier sized her up. ¡°Her figure is not bad indeed. Perhaps your majesty could reward me with this maid?¡±

    When she heard that, Shang Liuyu was so scared that her heart almost jumped out of her chest.

    ¡°If you want someone like her, go look for one yourself. I like this one and she¡¯s mine.¡± Zu An stepped in front of Shang Liuyu.

    Shang Liuyu was speechless.

    <em>I never thought that I would one day be grateful for my brother-inw being perverted¡­</em>

    ¡°Enough, enough, how could this humble subordinate dare to fight over someone your majesty favors?¡± Ka Qier only wanted to scare Shang Liuyu a bit and didn¡¯t really want her. He then used the situation to leave.

    Shang Liuyu secretly sighed in relief.

    <em>Thankfully, he doesn''t know.</em>

    Ka Qier grinned as he left.

    <em>She thinks I don¡¯t know¡­</em>

    Zu An and Shang Hongyu watched Ka Qier leave. Their expressions were a bit strange.

    <em>He thinks we don¡¯t know he knows.</em>

    In the end, it would all just depend on who was more skilled.

    ¡­

    Once Ka Qier left, several maids quickly approached to serve the Dragon King and queen. At the same time, many of them looked at Shang Liuyu with hostility.

    <em>Just where did this maide from? She just arrived and the Dragon King already likes her?</em>

    <em>More importantly, this maid really isn¡¯t that pretty. Isn¡¯t it just her butt sticking out a bit more when she stands up, her bearing a bit more graceful, and her figure being a bit better?</em>

    It could have been a bit easier for them to ept if she was extremely pretty. But when she looked like this, it made all of them feel a sense of ¡®I could do it too if it were me¡¯.

    Shang Hongyu sensed their jealousy and was worried that her little sister¡¯s identity would be exposed, so after some hesitation, she ordered for her sister to serve her personally in the future.

    Still, that only made the other maids even more jealous. However, Shang Liuyu¡¯s expression was extremely calm.

    <em>These people don¡¯t know anything, so there¡¯s no need to fight with them. Even showing any negative emotion toward their reactions is unnecessary.</em>

    Soon after, some maids brought over a beautiful case, delivering it to the Dragon King. Shang Liuyu frowned and she stopped them, asking, ¡°What is this?¡±

    ¡°It was sent by General Ka Qier. He repeatedly warned us that we have to hand it to the Dragon King,¡± the maids replied.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    When she heard that it was brought by Ka Qier, Shang Liuyu became even more nervous. She said, ¡°Give it to me, and I¡¯ll bring it to the Dragon King.¡±

    The maids were a bit hesitant, but Shang Liuyu said with a harrumph, ¡°What, are you worried that I¡¯ll take it for myself?¡±

    Since she had even said that, the maids could only hand it to her. When they turned around and left, they continued to grumble.

    ¡°What is she acting so proud for?!¡±

    ¡°Exactly! She was just promoted by her highness, and yet she''s already forgotten her own surname!¡±

    ¡­

    Even though their voices were soft, with Shang Liuyu¡¯s cultivation, how could she not hear them? But she didn¡¯t take it to heart. When they left, she opened the case and was about to check what was really inside to make sure that they weren¡¯t delivering poison to her brother-inw and big sister.

    There were several bottles resting inside the beautiful case. One of the bottles wasbeled ¡®Desires Unleashed Dew¡¯, and the other wasbeled ¡®Nine vor Earth Emperor Pills¡¯.

    Shang Liuyu¡¯s expression went nk.

    <em>What kinds of medicines are these?</em>

    She had never heard of them before. They seemed to touch upon a gap in her knowledge.

    <em>The names suggest that they¡¯re nourishing products...</em>

    But she was still worried and nned to examine them first. Even though she wasn¡¯t proficient in medicine, at her level of cultivation, she could roughly deduce whether a certain drug was harmful or not. She opened the Desires Unleashed Dew first, and prepared to give the contents a gentle sniff.

    Suddenly, a pair of hands shot out and seized the bottle away. At the same time, she was pushed aside.

    As she looked at her anxious older sister, Shang Liuyu was a bit stunned. She asked, ¡°Big sister?¡±

    ¡°Do you smell something strange? Like something sweet?¡± Shang Hongyu looked at her nervously.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t? Why did you push me away?¡± Shang Liuyu replied. Her eyesnded on the bottle and she asked, ¡°What kind of medicine is that?¡±

 Chapter 2146: Insomnia Pt. 1

    Chapter 2146: Insomnia Pt. 1

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, just some nourishing medicine.¡± Shang Hongyu panicked. If it really was the Dragon King she was using the medicine with, it wouldn¡¯t even be a big deal, but this was the man her little sister was always thinking about! And yet as the older sister, she had swallowed up the man her little sister had formed a good impression of first. She was a bad sister no matter how she thought about it, right?

    ¡°Nourishing medicine?¡± Shang Liuyu repeated with an inquisitive look. ¡°But I saw a bit of red miste out just now.¡±

    Shang Hongyu was speechless. She said helplessly, ¡°That¡¯s because of the medicinal qualities.¡±

    Shang Liuyu looked at her calmly. She didn¡¯t say anything, but her expression seemed to be saying ¡®do you take me for an idiot?¡¯.

    Shang Hongyu felt a bit guilty. Helpless to do anything else, she could only say, ¡°This is Desires Unleashed Dew.¡±

    ¡°I can read.¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­ It¡¯s that kind of medicine. It¡¯s something refined from the mucus of a Kraken¡¯s tentacles.¡± Shang Hongyu was too embarrassed to be too direct.

    A bit of redness immediately appeared on Shang Liuyu¡¯s face. Thankfully, she was wearing a mask, so she didn¡¯t look too embarrassed. ¡°That Ka Qier gave you guys that kind of drug?¡± Even though she didn¡¯t know anything about this stuff, she wasn''t stupid. She immediately realized what it was for, and was both embarrassed and upset.

    Shang Hongyu quickly stopped her from continuing. After looking around, she pulled her sister into the room.¡°Did brother-inw ask him for this drug?¡± Shang Liuyu immediately asked when she entered the room.

    ¡°It¡¯s not your brother-inw¡¯s fault. He¡­ He had no choice either,¡± Shang Hongyu stutered.

    Shang Liuyu was nowpletely lost. ¡°Just what is really going on?¡±

    Shang Hongyu then continued, ¡°Back then, your¡­ brother-inw changed positions with the fake Dragon King, right? In order to track down your whereabouts, he ended up drawing suspicion from the enemy. He didn¡¯t know that you had already been captured, so that was why Ka Qier used the Desires Unleashed Dew to test our rtionship. The fake Dragon King already lusted after me and sought out Desires Unleashed Dew to make me submit. If he was the fake Dragon King, he would never have given up on that chance.¡±

    Shang Liuyu¡¯s expression grew strange. ¡°So in order to gain the imposters¡¯ trust, you and he¡­?¡±

    ¡°He is your brother-inw, after all.¡± Shang Hongyu said guiltily.

    <em>Considering my current rtionship with Zu An, there¡¯s no real issue with calling him brother-inw either.</em>

    Shang Liuyu couldn''t help butugh awkwardly. ¡°No wonder you were able to ascertain that he was the real brother-inw.¡±

    As husband and wife, they had already done all of that, so how could she not be sure?

    Shang Hongyu¡¯s face reddened. She had no idea how she was going to exin things in the future. She could only say, ¡°Get some proper rest here. You¡¯ve been a captive all this time, so you probably weren¡¯t able to get any proper sleep.¡±

    There was a small bed in the outer room specifically for the maids to rest so they could always be on call. They were the people who served the Dragon King and queen directly. Even if it was a smaller bed, the conditions were still better than in most homes.

    Shang Liuyu voiced her agreement. Even though she looked calm on the surface, she was still really anxious inside and had almost never slept. She had been alerted if there was even the slightest activity. Now that her big sister brought it up, she realized that she indeed had to get some proper rest.

    When she saw her big sister bring the drugs inside, she couldn''t help but ask, ¡°Are you still going to use those drugs?¡±

    Shang Hongyu was so embarrassed she wanted to dig a hole to hide in forever. However, she still replied, ¡°In order to dispel Ka Qier¡¯s suspicions, even if I don¡¯t really want to, we can only do what we must.¡±

    Shang Liuyu was immediately filled with deep respect. She said, ¡°You¡¯ve worked hard, big sister.¡±

    Unfortunately, she couldn''t help with that kind of thing even if she wanted to. She couldn''t help but feel sorry for her big sister.

    Shang Hongyu felt even more sorry. She opened her mouth and wanted to exin to her little sister, but she didn¡¯t know what to say. In the end, she could only say, ¡°I hope you won¡¯t me me in the future, little sis.¡±

    Shang Liuyu was a bit confused. ¡°Big sis, you saved me and you made such a great sacrifice. I don¡¯t even have enough time to be grateful for you, so why would I me you?¡±

    The two sisters normally had a great rtionship, so she naturally knew what kind of a rtionship Shang Hongyu really had with the Dragon King. Her sister was only doing this to help the Mermaid race; she normally spent very little time with the Dragon King, and yet for someone she didn¡¯t love, she had to¡­ service him. She really was being wronged.

    Shang Hongyu didn¡¯t want to exin any further. After a sigh, she went into the inner room.

    Inside, Zu An was seated in meditation. When he sensed her arrival, he opened his eyes and said, ¡°When I drew away those guards earlier, I used the chance to investigate some of them. They''re all being controlled by Heart-Devouring Demon Spiders.¡±

    ¡°Heart-Devouring Demon Spiders? Are they the alien monsters that you informed all of the different races aboutst time?¡± Shang Hongyu asked, stunned. She realized what was going on.

    Back then, Zu An had used his identity as the human regent to inform the entire world, telling them to be careful of Heart-Devouring Demon Spiders. The Ocean races had naturally received news of that as well.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I examined their bodies when I faced them. Their hearts were already upied by Heart-Devouring Demon Spiders. I¡¯ve fought against those creatures before, so I immediately sensed it,¡± Zu An said gravely.

    ¡°It seems they¡¯re already dead. I was always suspicious about how those imposters managed to impersonate our Ocean races¡¯ members so quickly.¡± A bit of worry shed across Shang Hongyu¡¯s face as she said, ¡°I wonder if Ka Qier is also controlled by a Heart-Devouring Demon Spider.¡±

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°Judging from our interactions, it doesn¡¯t seem like it.¡±

    That Ka Qier gave him an extremely mysterious feeling, and the degree of the Heart-Devouring Demon Spider¡¯s control had a limit. There was no way it could control someone that strong without causing any suspicion.

    ¡°Apart from Ka Qier, that fake Dragon King wasn¡¯t controlled by a Heart-Devouring Demon Spider either. He was another kind of mysterious being.¡± Zu An recalled that faceless person. But because there was no time, he had only thought about wiping away all traces. He hadn''t gotten any chances to investigate the corpse.

    ¡°Maybe they''re a kind of being that can perfectly imitate someone else.¡± Shang Hongyu recalled the past Dragon King as well, and couldn''t help but feel a bit horrified. ¡°Those guys really are hard to guard against. They¡¯re even more terrifying than the Heart-Devouring Demon Spiders.¡±

    ¡°Our main goal now should be to deduce who''s been reced and who''s normal,¡± Zu An said seriously. ¡°Once we''re certain, I''ll then make my move. I won¡¯t give them the chance to react at all.¡±

    WIth his current strength and experience in all kinds of dangerous events, there was no need for him to fear these beings at all. The only thing he was worried about was that they were hiding too many things, so if he couldn''t deal with them in one go and let some slip away, things would be tricky once they gathered again and make aeback.

    ¡°Yeah. So far, we can only confirm one person who isn¡¯t one of the imposters.¡± Shang Hongyu nodded.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu Anughed. ¡°That Ao Yong who likes you?¡±

    Shang Hongyu immediatelyined yfully, ¡°I really don¡¯t have anything to do with him! But if he were one of the imposters, he wouldn¡¯t have wanted to approach me so badly before.¡±

    ¡°I agree with you. The only reason why he even dared to so brazenly sneak into the pce to find you and ended up being pursued by Ka Qier is that he isn¡¯t one of them.¡± Zu An had a smile as he continued, ¡°Additionally, judging from my interactions during the previous banquet, the duchess I danced with and the other young misses should also be normal.¡±

    Shang Hongyu was a bit surprised. ¡°So you weren¡¯t just groping them for fun back then, but examining their bodies.¡±

    They had been quite close to Zu An before, so there were indeed many chances to examine them.

    Zu An replied, ¡°Erm¡­ strictly speaking, examining their bodies was secondary. They really did feel quite good.¡±

    ¡°Do you want to die~¡± She had clearly been the one egging him on back then, and yet when she heard him say that now, Shang Hongyu still felt a bit of jealousy and chased him around.

    Shang Liuyu smiled when she heard theughtering from inside the room.

    <em>Big sister and brother-inw¡¯s rtionship seems to have gotten much better.</em>

    But that made sense as well. After experiencing something like ''that'', it would be stranger if there was no progress in their rtionship.

    Soon, the two were tangled around each other from all the y-fighting. Zu An suddenly noticed the two bottles in Shang Hongyu''s hand and asked with a strange expression, ¡°Why did you bring those two bottles inside?¡±

 Chapter 2147: Insomnia Pt. 2

    Chapter 2147: Insomnia Pt. 2

    ¡°Ka Qier sent them over so you could win me over sooner. Actually, it was little sis who took them from him¡­ Ah¡­ Just thinking about how I¡¯m going to exin things to her in the future makes me want to die from embarrassment.¡± Shang Hongyu buried her head into Zu An¡¯s chest as if she wanted to find a ce to hide in.

    Zu An also felt a headacheing when he thought about that situation. He asked, ¡°Why don''t you transfer her a bit further away for now? You can¡¯t help but feel a bit embarrassed since she¡¯s so close.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t just Shang Hongyu, he was also full of guilt! If Shang Liuyu learned what he had done to her sister while only being separated by a single wall, he wouldn¡¯t dare to meet those cool and calm eyes of hers.

    Shang Hongyu shook her head. ¡°We can¡¯t. You don¡¯t understand the way women think at all. You already expressed your thoughts in front of everyone just now, making many pce maids jealous of her. If she really leaves our vicinity, she¡¯ll end up being targeted by all of the maids. Even though little sis doesn¡¯t fear them, Ka Qier and the enemy are currently watching us carefully. We can''t take any amount of risk.¡±

    When he heard what she said, Zu An nodded in agreement, saying, ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± He didn¡¯t actually feel at ease having Shang Liuyu stay too far away either.

    Then, his eyes shifted to the bottles she was gripping tightly in her hands. He asked, ¡°Are you nning to drink that?¡±

    ¡°Do you want me to?¡± Shang Hongyu replied, looking up. Her graceful and dignified face was now full of embarrassment. And yet, there was a hint of expectation in her eyes.

    Zu An clenched her hand tightly and took the bottle from her. He was about to toss it away when she stopped him.

    Although Zu An was confused, Shang Hongyu said with aplicated expression, ¡°The Mermaid race has always been loyal to love and their husbands. They''ve never done anything that has gone against that. That¡¯s why I need a reason.¡±When Zu An heard what she said, he first examined the bottle to make sure that the drug was fine. Then, he brought it to her lips. Shang Hongyu opened her mouth and drank all of the contents in one gulp.

    ¡°You bad man, I¡¯ve already been affected by such a bad drug in spite of myself¡­¡± Shang Hongyu said, soon bing teary-eyed. She stared at Zu An with those alluring eyes, silently inviting him in.

    Zu An¡¯s lower body was also starting to burn up. This woman was dignified and reserved outside, but she was incredibly passionate inside. When both temperaments werebined together, and one added in her special status, it really created a powerful sense of shock. He couldn''t hold himself back anymore!

    Afterst night¡¯s experience, the two of them were already extremely familiar with each other. They didn¡¯t need to slowly get into it and their souls immediately joined.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    For some reason, Shang Hongyu got into the mood especially quickly today. Her skin soon turned red and her expression became passionate. She imperceptibly guided Zu An¡¯s hand around her neck.

    After the previous night, Zu An knew that this noble and righteous empress had some preferences that she couldn''t let the others of the world know, and over the course of the night, he seemed to have unlocked a certain gateway.

    Zu An also found it incredibly novel. His hands coordinated with her and wrapped around her neck, and then he exerted some force.

    Shang Hongyu gradually felt a stifling sensation surround her, but she didn¡¯t feel any fear. Instead, she felt a mysterious, wonderful sensation. Her body was also much more excited than usual.

    ¡­

    Soon after, Shang Hongyupletely melted into Zu An''s arms. She gasped for breath, sweat covering her hair. She seemed more and more tender and beautiful by the moment. When she saw Zu An¡¯s ambiguous expression, she couldn''t help but be embarrassed. ¡°You¡¯re not allowed tough at me.¡±

    ¡°This is allpletely normal. There¡¯s no need for you to feel embarrassed,¡± Zu An said tofort her. This wasn¡¯t actually too big of a deal, and such a thrilling experience only made things more interesting.

    Shang Hongyu bit her lip, because she could feel his current condition.

    <em>Is he really human? His stamina is at a level that would make any woman rmed.</em>

    Just then, she moved closer to Zu An¡¯s ear and quietly whispered, ¡°Why don¡¯t you carry me to the wall over there?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes immediately widened, because the wall she was pointing at was the one that separated them from Shang Liuyu. Soon after, he couldn''t help but blurt out Hong Shixian¡¯s famous lines.[1]

    Shang Hongyu continued to wrap her arms around her neck while giggling in a silly manner. Her eyes were full of expectation and pride.

    Zu An finally couldn''t resist the temptation and picked her up, walking outside.

    ¡­

    Soon after, Shang Liuyu, who was resting in the outer room, suddenly opened her eyes. Her cool and beautiful face was covered by a pink blush. She harrumphed and said, ¡°Brother-inw really is vulgar!¡±

    There was only a single wall separating them, and she could even imagine just how her big sister was leaning against the wall. Even though Shang Hongyu was doing her best to cover her mouth and not make any sounds, how could she possibly control something like that?

    Bursts of muffled and suppressed moans were vaguely audible even through the wall. The sweetness and joying from her sister''s voice made Shang Liuyu extremely ufortable. She rolled back and forth and found it hard to sleep.

    <em>Brother-inw is really shameless!</em>

    She couldn''t help but curse inwardly. After all, she believed her usually dignified and reserved big sister would never do something like this. It was definitely that usually perverted and underhanded brother-inw Dragon King who had forced her to!

    Outside the pce, Ka Qier, who had always been paying attention to the situation inside, had a strange expression. After some time, he couldn''t help but say, ¡°This damned guy really knows how to y!¡±

    When he was certain that everything was proceeding as nned, even going better than predicted, he didn¡¯t want to continue listening anymore.

    ¡­

    The next morning, Shang Hongyu walked out of the room with a glowingplexion and cheerful mood. When she saw her little sister, she was startled and asked, ¡°Why are your eyes a bit swollen?¡±

    But it wasn¡¯t just Shang Liuyu''s face; there were even some dark circles under her eyes. All in all, such a thing was rarely seen for the naturally beautiful Shang Liuyu.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. It¡¯ll get better quickly.¡± Shang Liuyu gave her a resentful look.

    <em>You still have the nerve to ask? I had to listen to you all night, so how could I possibly sleep?</em>

    She felt even more awful than she had in the previous few days. But she had to admit that her big sister looked far better than before, with a more dazzlingplexion than ever.

    <em>Are the benefits of love really that amazing?</em>

    Of course, she also felt happy for her big sister. She knew that her big sister¡¯s marriage had been without love. Now, this could be considered a kind of blessing amid disaster.

    Still, she saw Zu An walk out and couldn''t help but mutter, ¡°You beast!¡±

    <em>This guy humiliated big sis all night, how infuriating! But big sister doesn¡¯t seem mad, nor did she act up at all.</em>

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Shang Liuyu for +333 +333 +333¡­</strong>

    When he saw the iing Rage points, Zu An felt a huge headache. Their momentary whim had ended up creating a string of troubles. It was fine for now, since he had this Dragon King identity to cover for him. But if everything was revealed in the future, the good impression he had made on Shang Liuyu coulde crashing down. He felt his scalp go numb when he imagined that situation.

    <em>Sigh, lust reallyes with a guillotine above one¡¯s head. I should¡¯ve been a bit more carefulst night.</em>

    <em>But I really can¡¯t do much when her big sister is so good at this kind of stuff¡­</em>

    1. From the same fictional universe as Pinru from his skill Pinru¡¯s Wardrobe. The lines he''s referencing could be ¡®you¡¯re so naughty¡¯, ¡®what you¡¯re doing is seduction and temptation¡¯, and ¡®dummy, stop acting¡¯ ?

 Chapter 2148: Plot Against Plot

    <h4>Chapter 2148: Plot Against Plot</h4>

    Zu An coughed awkwardly, then refocused his attention. After the maids helped them wash up, he chased away everyone else and only left the ¡®maid¡¯ Shang Liuyu behind to serve the two of them alone.

    If this were a normal situation, such a move would be extremely risky and would draw the suspicion of the imposters. But it was actually the imposters¡¯ n, so there wasn¡¯t any need to worry about such things. This was the first time Zu An had felt a joy simr to ¡®ying around with women on imperial orders¡¯.

    When he saw Shang Liuyu continue to stand off to the side in a cautious and conscientious manner, Zu An couldn''t help but find it a bitughable. He said, ¡°Just sit down and eat with us.¡±

    Shang Liuyu gave the food on the table a look. She couldn''t help but swallow as well. After tossing and turning all night, she had actually been really hungry for a while.

    ¡°But...¡± She still had many misgivings. If others saw her eat with the Dragon King and Mermaid Queen, her identity would definitely be exposed.

    Zu An guessed why she was hesitant and said in constion, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, with me here, I¡¯ll know if anyone approaches us.¡±

    Shang Liuyu finally calmed down and sat down. She couldn''t help but harrumph and ask, ¡°If you really are that great, then why were you reced by those imposters in the first ce, making big sister suffer so much? We¡¯re now left in an extremely passive situation.¡±

    When she heard that, Shang Hongyu felt a bit sad. The real Dragon King was probably already dead. Even though the two didn¡¯t share very strong feelings, they had still remained married for so many years.

    ¡°In the past, those guys were deliberately acting as if nothing was wrong, so I was caught off guard and fell for their tricks,¡± Zu An said. He could sense that Shang Hongyu was getting emotional, so he gently held her hand under the table and secretly said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I''ll help you get revenge.¡±

    When she sensed the warmth from his hand, Shang Hongyu¡¯s mood finally improved a bit.

    Even though Shang Liuyu was really hungry, she still ate in an extremely graceful manner. After she finished a pastry, she wiped the corners of her mouth and asked, ¡°What do we do from now on?¡±

    Shang Hongyu replied, ¡°After our observations as ofte, we''ve determined that with Ka Qier as the leader, most of the attendants and maids in the pce have been reced. That¡¯s why we have to be careful.¡±

    ¡°Just where did hee from? Just how was he able to do all of this, swapping out so many people without being exposed in the slightest?¡± That was Shang Liuyu¡¯s biggest source of confusion as ofte.

    ¡°The ordinary servants and maids might have been controlled by Heart-Devouring Demon Spiders. As for the higher-level ones like Ka Qier, we don¡¯t know how he managed to achieve that either,¡± Shang Hongyu said with a frown.

    ¡°Heart-Devouring Demon Spiders?¡± Shang Liuyu eximed, and her expression changed.

    Shang Hongyu secretly gave Zu An a look and said with a smile, ¡°It was information from that regent friend of yours. Previously, your brother-inw didn¡¯t treat it as a big deal. It was you who continued to advise the Ocean races to prepare some preventive measures.¡±

    ¡°But in the end, it was still toote.¡± Shang Liuyu sighed. She wondered when these alien monsters had infiltrated the Dragon Pce.

    ¡°In the end, it¡¯s all your brother-inw¡¯s fault for ignoring his responsibilities and always going around skirt-chasing. Otherwise, these aliens wouldn¡¯t have had a chance,¡± Shang Hongyu said with a cold snort. That really upset her quite a bit. She didn¡¯t actually mind that much that he was always womanizing, but if all the Ocean races were ced in unprecedented danger as a result, that waspletely different.

    Shang Liuyu gave Zu An a look as well. ¡°That¡¯s right. He can''t escape me for that.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>Why am I suddenly bing the target of their anger for no reason?</i> N?v(el)B\\jnn

    <i>Forget it, since I''ve enjoyed the benefits of being the Dragon King, it¡¯s not a big deal to suffer some of his grievances too.</i>

    ¡°Ahem, I wasn¡¯t able to tell what kind of a creature that faceless impersonator of the Dragon King was,¡± Zu An said. The most worrisome thing for him was why he couldn''t expose the imposter through the Keyboard System¡¯s Rage system.

    Shang Liuyu couldn''t be bothered to continue criticizing him and also became worried, saying, ¡°Those imposters seem to care a lot about the crown in my possession, which means they likely intend to open the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons. I wonder just what they want to obtain from the tomb.¡±

    ¡°For now, we can only try to beat them at their own game. You should take out the crown, and then we¡¯ll find out what their purpose is once we follow them in,¡± Zu An said.

    Shang Liuyu frowned. She secretly tugged on Shang Hongyu¡¯s hand. The two sisters exchanged a look, and shemunicated with her eyes.

    <i>Big sis, is he really the real brother-inw?</i>

    Shang Hongyu¡¯s face reddened.

    <i>Of course he¡¯s your brother-inw, or else why would I... do that stuff with him?</i>

    Shang Liuyu was still doubtful. She just felt that something wasn¡¯t quite right here. It felt as if those imposters were trying to fool her into giving up the crown somehow.

    <i>Could you perhaps have been fooled by some illusion they ced on you?</i>

    Shang Hongyu was speechless. She had to admit that her little sister was quite vignt.

    Zu An could more or less guess what the two sisters were saying to each other with their looks. He decided to just say, ¡°That¡¯s right, it is indeed the n of the imposters. They want to trick you into giving up the crown.¡±

    When she heard what he said, Shang Liuyu looked as if she had been zapped by electricity. She looked at him with a wary expression.

    Zu An smiled. ¡°Let me finish first. Saving you and keeping you in the pce were things that Ka Qier and the others actually know about. They were cooperating with us in creating this illusion. But there is one thing that they don¡¯t know, which is that I''m not the fake Dragon King.¡±

    Shang Liuyu looked at her big sister. Shang Hongyu nodded with a smile.

    ¡°That''s why we are plotting right back to find out what those imposters are nning,¡± Zu An continued.

    ¡°But will those guys not suspect you at all?¡± Shang Liuyu asked skeptically. The imposters weren¡¯t idiots, or else there was no way they would¡¯ve been able topletely seize control of the Dragon Pce so quickly before the Ocean races could even react.

    ¡°Of course they¡¯ll be suspicious. Otherwise, why do you think they made me and your big sister do those things?¡± Zu An said with a sigh.

    Shang Hongyu¡¯s face immediately reddened. She gave him an annoyed look.

    <i>Should you be saying these things in front of my little sister?!</i>

    Shang Liuyu was stunned at first, but then she quickly realized what had happened.

    <i>Those imposters were probably worried that big sis wouldn¡¯t really agree to fool me, so that was why they had him bully her day after day, since she would have no way out then and could only cooperate in humiliation. That way, Ka Qier and the others would feelpletely at ease.</i>

    She looked at Zu An with apologetic eyes.

    <i>Brother-inw is now different from before. It wasn¡¯t that he was still only thinking about those perverted things even in this kind of situation, but rather that he was trying to gain the enemy¡¯s trust. I misjudged him.</i>

    <i>And big sis... She really suffered too many wrongs.</i>

    Fortunately, somehow miraculously, her brother-inw really had returned. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t dare to imagine what her big sis would have had to go through.

    ¡°Brother-inw, I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯ve always carried many misunderstandings about you all this time.¡± Shang Liuyu bowed seriously toward Zu An.

    When he saw how sincere she was being, Zu An ended up feeling embarrassed instead.

    <i>Sigh, all this acting really is going too far. Just how am I going to clean everything up in the future?</i>

    ¡°Ahem, it¡¯s not too big of a deal. Most importantly, from now on, we need to join together as one... Ahem, I mean work together as one.¡± Under Shang Liuyu¡¯s suspicious gaze, Zu An quickly changed his wording. ¡°Just pretend to have fallen for it first and keep the crown with you. We¡¯ll enter the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragonster and see what exactly is going on inside.¡±

    Shang Liuyu¡¯s beautiful brows furrowed. ¡°But there are so many of those imposters, so what if they suddenly surround and attack us? We might end up... being attacked.¡±

    Her expression clearly showed that she didn¡¯t trust the Dragon King too much. After all, if he really was that awesome, he wouldn¡¯t have been so easily reced by the enemy.

    <i>Will he really be able to do it?</i>

    Shang Hongyu coughed lightly and said, ¡°Trust him. With him here, there won¡¯t be any problems.¡±

    She''d still had some doubts before, but after their time together, she really was amazed by how powerful Zu An was.

    <i>Yeah, regardless of whether it''s off the bed or...</i>

    Even though Shang Liuyu was still full of doubts, she knew that her big sister wasn¡¯t the type to joke around about important affairs. She thus nodded and said, ¡°Okay, the crown is hidden in...¡±

 Chapter 2149: Seen Through

    <h4>Chapter 2149: Seen Through</h4>

    Shortly after, Zu An and Ka Qier met face to face. When Ka Qier heard that the ''Fake Dragon King'' had already obtained the crown¡¯s whereabouts, he was immediately overjoyed. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll immediately fetch people to seize the crown back.¡±

    ¡°Wait.¡± Zu An stopped him. ¡°Don¡¯t we still need Shang Liuyu? Wouldn¡¯t you be exposed right here and now if you went to get the crown immediately? Now that I¡¯ve obtained her trust, we¡¯ll just keep the crown with her so that she still won''t find out about our ns.¡±

    ¡°Excellent!¡± Ka Qier gave him a thumbs up. He felt more and more that this n was wonderful. He quickly agreed.

    Zu An then found a chance to bring Shang Liuyu with him to pick up the crown. With him taking the lead in the Dragon Pce, many things became much easier.

    Along the way, Shang Liuyu nced at Zu An several times. He couldn''t help but touch his face a bit from all the staring, asking, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Is there something on my face?¡±

    Shang Liuyu shook her head. ¡°No, I just feel as if you don¡¯t seem to be quite the same as before.¡±

    ¡°How so?¡± Zu An was rmed.

    <i>Could there be some details that I maybe missed? </i>

    ¡°You always used to use all sorts of pretexts to take advantage of me whenever you met me in private, but you¡¯re now much more disciplined,¡± Shang Liuyu said coldly.

    Zu An was stunned.

    <i>This Dragon King really deserves to get beaten up.</i>

    As such, he replied with a smile, ¡°Then could it be that you want me to do something to you?¡±

    Shang Liuyu frowned and took a step back. ¡°I thought that maybe you changed, but you¡¯re still so irredeemable.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He replied helplessly, ¡°I didn¡¯t actually do anything, right? Now that so many things have happened, how could I still be in the mood to constantly think about those things?¡±

    Shang Liuyu harrumphed and muttered, ¡°But it seemed as if you were definitely in the moodst night.¡±

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Shang Liuyu for +22 +22 +22...</strong>

    Zu An was speechless.

    It seemed Shang Liuyu was still quite upset that she couldn''t sleep from all the noisest night.

    Meanwhile, the two of them had unknowingly already arrived at the ocean outside. Shang Liuyu took out the ocarina at her waist and gently blew into it. A rhythmic melody quickly filled the air. Zu An was surprised. This frequency already exceeded the realm of what normal people could hear. Perhaps only the Ocean races had this level of talent.

    A whileter, there was a response from the distance.

    ¡°That¡¯s... a whale?¡± Zu An eximed in surprise. It was a sound he had frequently heard when he was browsing videos in the past.

    Soon after, a several-hundred-meter long whale approached closer and closer. Then, it cheerfully swam around the two of them. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Shang Liuyu smiled and intimately stroked its head. The giant whale seemed to enjoy it a lot, and a happy expression appeared on its face.

    Zu An also felt warm inside when he saw this loving scene. Not all creatures among the Ocean races had high intelligence; there were many ordinary sea creatures as well. They couldn¡¯t turn into human shape and could only rely on their bloodline power to gradually strengthen themselves.

    ¡°Alright, I came to fetch the item,¡± Shang Liuyu said as she patted the whale''s jaw. The whale opened its mouth in response and spat out a beautiful case.

    Zu An noticed that there were quite a few formations applied to the case. There were ones that were for protection, and others that were for blocking out the outside world¡¯s energies. He couldn''t help but feel amazed.

    <i>Shang Liuyu really is smart. With the crown in the whale¡¯s belly, it¡¯d constantly be on the move and wouldn¡¯t have a set location. Even if Ka Qier and the others flipped the entire Dragon Pce or even the Mermaid race''s territory upside down, they still wouldn¡¯t be able to find it!</i>

    Shang Liuyu opened the case with a special technique, then brought it up to Zu An and said, ¡°It¡¯s time for the Crown of the Ocean Deity to return to its rightful owner.¡±

    Zu An was surprised. He had thought it would be called the Crown of the Dragon King, but it was actually called the Crown of the Ocean Deity.

    <i>Could it really be rted to a deity?</i>

    His reaction wasn''t surprising, as the crown in the case really was extraordinary. If one just looked in from outside, the Crown of the Ocean Deity was extremely simple, only a golden circle. At the very front was a trident symbol, which just barely made it look like a crown. But the entire thing seemed to contain endless magical power. It gave off a mysterious pressure just from sitting in ce.

    <i>A divine artifact!</i>

    Zu An sensed that this object seemed to have an aura simr to the ones present in the Sun ying Bow and Human Emperor Seal. He have thought that it was nothing more than a symbolic crown. Who would¡¯ve thought that it would actually be a powerful divine artifact!

    ¡°Put it on and give it a try.¡± Shang Liuyu had a mysterious look in her eyes as she said, ¡°If you had carried this with you, you probably wouldn¡¯t have been defeated by those alien monsters so easily.¡±

    ¡°Who could have even predicted that there would be anything in this world that could hurt me back then?¡± Zu An said with an awkwardugh. At the same time, he cursed the Dragon King for letting the thing in his pants control his head.

    He reached out to take the Crown of the Ocean Deity. He could still have to use it in the future; it was best to get used to it now so there wouldn¡¯t be any slip-upster. But as soon as he touched it, the crown suddenly trembled. An invisible ripple spread out, as if it was resisting Zu An¡¯s touch.

    Shang Liuyu¡¯s expression immediately changed. In reality, she had always felt as if something wasn¡¯t right. Even though her big sister had always said that this brother-inw was real and she hadn¡¯t sensed anything strange either, she had just felt a strange sense of unease.

    <i>If big sis is also fooling me...</i>

    She didn¡¯t know where that thought came from, but she had been horrified as soon as it emerged. She''d tried to erase it several times. If that really was the case, that would just be way too disappointing. But the more she tried to not think about it, the clearer it became.

    That was why she had decided to carry out one final test when she came for the crown.

    <i>I really hope it¡¯s not what I think.</i>

    When she thought about her big sister¡¯s recent experiences, Shang Liuyu had continued to pray.

    But reality was cruel. The Crown of the Ocean Deity was rejecting this man! The alien monsters didn¡¯t know it, but the Crown of the Ocean Deity could only be used by the Ocean races. The rejection of the crown just now exined everything!

    Her expression immediately changed. She closed the case again, then quickly flew backward. She didn¡¯t even ask who the other person was, because that was already meaningless.

    She thought about how her big sister had been with this fake Dragon King day after day, how she''d thought he was real and offered up everything to him. She still vividly remembered her big sis¡¯ joyous expression. If her sister found out that this wasn¡¯t the real Dragon King, just how cruel would that be?

    Still, she had to tell her big sister the truth. She couldn''t let this imposter continue to fool her.

    <i>I also need to protect this Crown of the Ocean Deity!</i>

    <i>The enemy really created an extremely sinister plot!</i>

    She was extremely upset right now.

    <i>Why wasn¡¯t I more on guard if I was suspicious? I just had to believe in a fluke.</i>

    If the Crown of the Ocean Deity entered the hands of those alien monsters, not even dying ten thousand times over would atone for her crimes.

    Her lower body suddenly turned into an ocean-blue fish tail. With a sway, she quickly swam into the sea. The Mermaid race excelled in speed. She hoped that she could rely on that to escape.

    Just then, her red lips parted slightly. A beautiful and moving song spread through the sea. Soon after, countless sea creatures swam over. There were giant whales, ferocious sharks, and even many octopuses with countless tentacles. They gathered together to block the path behind Shang Liuyu and buy her some time.

    But Shang Liuyu felt incredibly cold, because she discovered that it was all meaningless. The imposter was already blocking her path. She didn¡¯t try to summon more creatures to help her. That would only make them sacrifice their lives meaninglessly.

    She gritted her teeth, then reached out her hand to grab the Crown of the Ocean Deity. She wanted to borrow the power of the divine artifact to stop this imposter. But she knew that with her cultivation, there was no way for her to control such a divine artifact. If she forced its use, that would only result in her own destruction. Yet with how things stood, she could only take the gamble.

    As if sensing the resolution in her eyes, Zu An was horrified and thrust out his finger to stop her.

    Shang Liuyu¡¯s eyes were full of despair.

    <i>Is the difference really that great, that there¡¯s not even the slightest chance...</i>

 Chapter 2150: Torturous Questioning of the Soul

    <h4>Chapter 2150: Torturous Questioning of the Soul</h4>

    ¡°Just what are you exactly?¡± Shang Liuyu asked, knowing that there was already nothing else that she could do. She could only stare at the other personand hope that she could die while knowing the truth.

    Zu An felt a huge headacheing. He had never expected that Shang Liuyu would be careful to this extent. Even now, she still didn¡¯tpletely trust him.

    ¡°I¡¯m really your brother-inw.¡±

    ¡°Hah.¡±

    After a period of silence, Zu An was getting more and more frustrated. He could only say, ¡°It¡¯s not what you''re thinking. You, your big sister, and I are on the same side. Ka Qier and the others are ourmon enemy.¡±

    ¡°Do you think I''d still believe you?¡± Shang Liuyu retorted, looking at him coldly. ¡°What meaning is there left in trying to fool me? Do you think that I¡¯ll still help you all aplish your aim?¡±

    When she thought about how this man had yed with her big sister¡¯s emotions and then disgraced her, all while her sister still thought he was her husband and responded enthusiastically, she felt rage boil within her.

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Shang Liuyu for +999 +999 +999...</strong>

    ¡°I''m really not an alien monster,¡± Zu An said out of frustration. ¡°Your big sister knows this as well. We¡¯ve always been working together to fool those imposters.¡±

    Fortunately, he had already obtained Ka Qier¡¯s trust. Ka Qier had been worried thating here would end up drawing Shang Liuyu¡¯s suspicion, so that was why he hadn''t joined them. Otherwise, they would¡¯ve all been exposed right here.

    Shang Liuyu sneered. ¡°Even if my big sister really decided to put on an act with you, would she do it with you in bed?¡±

    With her understanding of her big sister, she was definitely not the fickle type. There was even less of a chance of her doing those things with him if he wasn¡¯t her husband, let alone ying around in such a shameful way.

    <i>This shameless guy still wants to fool me!</i>

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Shang Liuyu for +999 +999 +999...</strong>

    Zu An¡¯s teeth were starting to ache a bit from irritation. That was the point that was the hardest to exin. But if he didn¡¯t exin things clearly here, Shang Liuyu wouldn''t cooperate with them anymore. Even if he managed to restrain her and hide her somewhere, there was no way he could fool Ka Qier.

    Helpless to do anything else, he could only grit his teeth and say, ¡°Big sis Shang, it¡¯s me.¡±

    He had thought through countless situations in which they would reunite, and yet he had never expected that it would be in this kind of situation. After what happened recently in particr, he had been wondering how he would exin his rtionship with her big sister. But he just couldn''t think of a good way. In the end, he had decided that he could only try his best to hide the truth from her.

    <i>Running away might be shameful, but it¡¯s effective!</i>

    But things just refused to go the way he wanted. He was thus forced to reveal his hand whilepletely caught off guard.

    Shang Liuyu saw the fake Dragon King¡¯s appearance gradually change, revealing Zu An. Her eyes were full of shock. Her mouth couldn''t help but open. But her expression was soon reced with anger as she eximed, ¡°Despicable, you¡¯re actually impersonating him now!¡±

    Since he could impersonate the Dragon King and even fool her big sister, he clearly knew an appearance transformation skill. It wouldn¡¯t be that difficult for him to take Zu An¡¯s appearance at all.

    <i>It''s one thing if he transforms into my brother-inw to fool my big sister, but now he''s trying to change into Ah Zu to fool me?</i>

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Shang Liuyu for +999 +999 +999...</strong>

    Zu An said with a bitter smile, ¡°Big sister Shang, it really is me. Do you still remember when we first met in the gazebo outside Brightmoon Academy, the song that I gave you?¡±

    He didn¡¯t wait for her to reply; he just took the ocarina from her waist and started to y it. An elegant tune that carried a bit of sadness filled the air. The style was entirely different from the music of this world. It was the style of his home!

    Shang Liuyu was stunned. A look of disbelief appeared in her eyes, and then it was reced by doubt and silence. However, she didn¡¯t immediately criticize him.

    A whileter, she said, ¡°It¡¯s not that big of a deal that you know this song. I y it from time to time in the Dragon Pce too...¡±

    Her face reddened when she said that. She continued, ¡°You alien monsters are always scheming, so it¡¯s not too surprising for you to have found out about this song. Then what happened between us when we metter in the Fiend races'' territory?¡±

    ¡°I ended up running into that idiot Chi Wen and was almost killed by him. Later, because you appeared and spoke as his little aunt, I got a lot of treasures from him. The Primal Skysilk, Golden Brick, Wind Fire Wheels, Violetme Snake Pike, and more. They helped me quite a bit.¡± Zu An suddenly remembered the various amazing uses of the Primal Skysilk and couldn''t help but give himself some credit. Now that he thought about it, this time, he hadn¡¯t run into Chi Wen at the Dragon Pce. That guy was simr to his dad and liked to travel around, which had helped him avoid a disaster.

    ¡°Then what about the Primal Skysilk? Take it out and show it to me,¡± Shang Liuyu suddenly said.

    Zu An was speechless. He had given the Primal Skysilk to Yan Xuehen, and then because she wanted to end her rtionship with him, he had given it to Chuyan. How was he supposed to take it out now?

    ¡°Uh, I gave it to someone else.¡±

    ¡°What about the Golden Brick?¡±

    ¡°I... gave that away too.¡±

    ¡°Yin Yang Swords?¡±

    ¡°...also given away.¡±

    Shang Liuyu didn¡¯t say anything else and just looked at him with a sneer.

    Zu An suddenly smacked his head and said, ¡°Right, I still have the Wind Fire Wheels.¡±

    He had really lost hisposure because he was caught off guard and had his rtionship with her big sister exposed, so that was why he couldn''t think straight. Then, he summoned the Wind Fire Wheels, which appeared beneath him. Even though there was the ocean all around him, the mes continued to burn.

    Shang Liuyu¡¯s expression finally changed a bit when she saw the Wind Fire Wheels. ¡°You gave away everything else except for this?¡±

    ¡°No, there¡¯s still one more.¡± Zu An quickly summoned Mo Xi. At the same time, he used the Blue Mard ability to create a safe space for her.

    Mo Xi, dressed in her refreshing and revealing style, appeared in the water. She looked around curiously, feeling a sense of novelty.

    Zu An said with a cough, ¡°Hey, take out that me pike and swing it around.¡±

    Mo Xi didn¡¯t move; instead, she opened her mouth and moved closer to him. Judging from her behavior, it looked as if she wanted something to eat. Zu An was extremely embarrassed when he saw Shang Liuyu¡¯s strange expression, but he had no choice but to fish out some Ki Fruits to feed her.

    Mo Xi swallowed the Ki Fruits and revealed a look of satisfaction. She licked her fingers as if she really wished there was more. Then, she took out the Violetme Snake Pike and swung it around. She looked quite valiant and formidable.

    Shang Liuyu looked at this beauty who wore an upper garment with a bare midriff, and a miniskirt below thatpletely exposed her strong and healthy legs. Her expression grew even stranger.

    Zu An felt a bit guilty and recalled Mo Xi before saying, ¡°See? The Violetme Snake Pike is still there.¡±

    Shang Liuyu harrumphed. ¡°Didn¡¯t you still give it away?¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    Another unbearable silence fell.

    Zu An discovered that even though he had braved all types of dangerous and thrilling experiences, even wandering along the brink of death several times, he had still never been this nervous before. ¡°Um... But you believe me now, right?¡±

    ¡°You could have still found out about the encounter in the Fiend races'' territory if you interrogated Chi Wen. Last question, and you must reply to me immediately. Otherwise, you''re a fake,¡± Shang Liuyu suddenly said.

    Zu An was stunned, but he said, ¡°Alright, ask away.¡±

    He was a bit curious now, wondering just what she was going to ask him considering that she still didn¡¯t believe him even after asking about so much stuff already.

    <i>Yeah, I¡¯ll definitely answer immediately. Otherwise, I won¡¯t be able to dispel her doubts.</i>

    ¡°Where do you want to touch me the most?¡± Shang Liuyu asked extremely quickly, staring right at him with her beautiful eyes. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Feet...¡± As soon as Zu An blurted the answer out, he immediately reacted and became extremely embarrassed. He felt as if he had done something bad and gotten exposed for it. ¡°Just what kind of crazy question is that?!¡±

    When she saw how embarrassed he was, Shang Liuyu smiled. ¡°So it really was you!¡±

    When they first met, Zu An had stared straight at her feet absentmindedly. Later, whenever he came to meet her, even though he tried to hide it, the looks he snuck at her feet didn¡¯t go unnoticed.

 Chapter 2151: To Each Our Own

    <h4>Chapter 2151: To Each Our Own</h4>

    Zu An eximed in disbelief, ¡°You didn¡¯t believe me even after I said all of that, and yet you believe this?¡±

    ¡°I was actually already more or less convinced.¡± Shang Liuyu harrumphed. ¡°Thest question was just to confirm it.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>I didn¡¯t expect this woman to be so two-faced.</i>

    ¡°Please don¡¯t run off again this time.¡± Zu An tapped the air with his finger gently and undid her restriction.

    Shang Liuyu scoffed lightly. ¡°Wouldn''t you have chosen to run if you were in my shoes just now?¡±

    Zu An chuckled in embarrassment. He quickly brought the topic back to more important matters. ¡°Let me take a look at that Crown of the Ocean Deity. That thing seems as if it''s going to be pretty important for uster on, so I want to see if I can use it.¡±

    ¡°The Crown of the Ocean Deity can only be used by the Ocean races. You probably...¡± Despite what Shang Liuyu said, she still handed the case over. She had previously thought that he was the fake Dragon King, and was naturally extremely guarded. But now that she was sure that he was Zu An, there was nothing more to fear.

    Zu An wasn¡¯t fully convinced either. He took the case and tried to pick up the crown again. Just like before, a powerful force tried to reject him. However, he was already prepared, so this time, he released his Blue Mard skill that gave him affinity with water. Sure enough, the crown¡¯s resistance weakened a bit, as if it wasn¡¯t so sure whether he was of the Ocean races or not anymore.

    However, Zu An didn¡¯t give the crown a chance to think about the question, and went with brute force. He grabbed it and tried to control it forcefully. The Crown of the Ocean Deity seemed to sense that it was being held by an outsider and struggled intensely. It tried to break free from his grasp.

    Zu An harrumphed and a great wave of power spread out. He was now both the regent of the humans and fiends, so to a certain degree, he was superior to the respective emperors of both sides. Furthermore, his cultivation was now greater than that of thete human emperor and the Fiend Emperor, let alone the Dragon King.

    That Crown of the Ocean Deity could sense his strength, so it immediately quieted down. Either way, it seemed as if Zu An did possess some aura of the seas, so the crown didn''t feel as if it waspletely going against its path.

    <i>I¡¯ll just let him do what he wants...</i>

    Shang Liuyu watched all of this with a stupefied expression. She had never expected Zu An to actually make the Crown of the Ocean Deity submit.

    As the crown epted him, Zu An suddenly gained a kind of enlightenment and learned of its ability. It had the ability to control the seas, and it allowed him tomunicate with all sorts of sea creatures. To a certain degree, it could make sea creatures weaker than him heed his orders.

    ¡°As expected of the king of the seas,¡± Zu An said with a deep sigh. The Dragon King really was something else to have given up this crown in order to flirt with Shang Liuyu, resulting in the alien monsters¡¯ exploitation of the Ocean races.

    Shang Liuyu was now a bit excited. ¡°Since you¡¯ve now obtained the Crown of the Ocean Deity, why don''t you just order the Ocean races to capture all of those alien monsters?¡±

    There were monsters all around them, which made them feel heavily outnumbered, but now that he had this crown, he could just summon all of the Ocean races to help him and reverse the situation.

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°It won¡¯t be easy to detain Ka Qier. More importantly, I don¡¯t know how many otherpanions they have. If we end up letting some slip away and go into hiding, it might be hard for us to defend against a surprise attack in the future.¡±

    After all, many people would spend a thousand days living as a thief, but no one wanted to guard against thieves for a thousand days.

    Shang Liuyu figured that made sense as well. Right now, the enemies were working in the shadows while they werepletely in the open, so striking blindly wasn¡¯t too wise. Still, she asked, ¡°But are we really going to help those monsters open up the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons? I don¡¯t know what they''re trying to do. What if we identally help them with their aim? The consequences of that would be too horrible to even imagine.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m here,¡± Zu An said when he saw how worried she was. However, he still warned himself to be careful. It seemed he did have to make some preparations.

    ¡°Look at how full of yourself you are,¡± Shang Liuyu said, although she was also a bit moved. Thezy, crippled, drafted son-inw of Brightmoon City now stood at the top of the world after just a few years. Now that he was speaking such words, she actually didn¡¯t feel that it was over the top.

    Suddenly, her expression froze. She seemed to have thought of something and stared at Zu An. ¡°The one who bullied big sis the past two days should also be you, right?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean, bullying...¡± Zu An was immediately hard-pressed. He really hadn¡¯t expected that in the end, he still wouldn¡¯t be able to escape this soul-torturing interrogation.

    ¡°Hah, you know exactly what I¡¯m talking about.¡± Shang Liuyu sneered.

    ¡°Uh, I had no choice, you see... It was mainly to fool those monsters.¡± Zu An wascking in confidence as he spoke.

    ¡°You really do have some nerve. My big sister is so pitiful. She just lost her husband and then experienced so many difficulties, and yet you used that chance to take advantage of her?¡± Shang Liuyu gritted her teeth. She didn¡¯t know why she was getting so angry either.

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Shang Liuyu for +888 +888 +888...</strong>

    When he saw the iing Rage points, Zu An could imagine just how angry she was.

    <i>How is this my fault?! It was all your sister who was teasing me the entire time!</i>

    Of course, there was no way he would say that out loud. He wouldn¡¯t ce his own women in such an embarrassing situation. As such, he could only reply ambiguously, ¡°Uh... but did you see your big sister look unwilling or say that she was bullied at all recently?¡±

    Shang Liuyu rolled her eyes. ¡°She was already screaming so pitifully, and yet you¡¯re still saying she wasn¡¯t bullied?¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>I almost forgot that Shang Liuyu had this kind of free and unaffected personality.</i>

    <i>Other unmarried women would definitely be too embarrassed to discuss this topic, but she wouldn¡¯t care...</i> n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°The situation was beyond my control. You¡¯ll understand in the future.¡± Zu An was feeling really frustrated with all of this too. He really had no way of exining such a thing.

    ¡°Understand, my ass!¡± Shang Liuyu erupted into a rare state of anger. She just felt really pent-up somehow.

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Shang Liuyu for +999 +999 +999...</strong>

    In reality, how could she not understand? Not only had her big sister clearly not been forced into it, she even looked happier than she had in many years.

    <i>This Zu An not only has incredible authority, he also has unparalleled cultivation. More importantly, he''s handsome as well, so why wouldn¡¯t womenlike him? It¡¯s not surprising for big sis to like him too.</i>

    She also knew that Zu An was a skirt-chaser, but she hadn¡¯t cared too much about it before. She''d figured none of that really had anything to do with her. But this time, it was her own big sister who had ended up together with him! That was a bit harder for her to swallow.

    <i>I was clearly first...</i>

    She immediately choked that thought to death as soon as it appeared. She looked at Zu An coldly, saying, ¡°You used to call me big sis, but you probably never expected me to end up calling you brother-inw so soon, right?¡±

    Zu An chuckled awkwardly. ¡°I¡¯ll still call you big sis. We¡¯ll just each continue like before.¡±

    Shang Liuyu raised her pretty brows and replied, ¡°You really do want to be my brother-inw?¡±

    She began to hit him to vent her frustration. Zu An didn¡¯t guard against it and let her hit him. From time to time, he screamed bitterly in pain.

    A whileter, Shang Liuyu pulled back her hands. Her face was a bit red as she said, ¡°Alright, alright. With your cultivation, me hitting you makes no difference at all. You¡¯re not even putting that much effort into your screams.¡±

    ¡°It really did hurt. Making big sis Shang sad makes my heart hurt.¡± Zu An sighed.

    ¡°Pah!¡± Shang Liuyu scoffed and scowled. She said, "Since we''re facing a great enemy, I¡¯ll put this matter aside for now. I¡¯ll settle things with youter. Once we go back, don¡¯t tell my big sister that I already know about your real identity.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Zu An was stunned. He was briefly confused about what kind of game she was now ying.

    ¡°Big sis has always been dignified and reserved, and our Mermaid race has always had a tradition of loyalty to our partners. If she finds out that I already know about this, she''ll be really humiliated,¡± Shang Liuyu said worriedly.

    Zu An was stunned. He hadn¡¯t expected her to be so considerate. She really was an amazing little sister.

    <i>But Shang Hongyu, dignified and reserved? She¡¯s as passionate as a zing me, okay?</i>

    <i>Who would¡¯ve thought that just like everyone else, this little sister also didn¡¯t understand what she was really like.</i>

    ¡°Butter, if she finds out that we kept her in the dark, she won¡¯t be happy,¡± Zu An said. He thought to himself that even though he had just dealt with one problem, there was another one that could erupt at any moment. Just imagining that kind of situation made his scalp go numb.

    Shang Liuyu shot him a look. ¡°Didn¡¯t you keep me in the dark before too?¡±

    When he sensed her resentment, Zu An immediately chose to shut up.

    ¡°Also!¡± Shang Liuyu¡¯s eyes turned red as she red at him. ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to mess with my sister next door to me in the future!¡±

 Chapter 2152: Lord of Myriad Transformations

    Zu An was speechless.

    <em>That was what your big sister asked for.</em>

    Unfortunately, there was no way for him to exin that. He could only take on the me.

    ¡­

    When Zu An and Shang Liuyu returned to the Dragon Pce, Shang Hongyu came out to wee them. She asked, ¡°Did everything go smoothly?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, we already got it,¡± Zu An replied ambiguously. Things had gone well, but some other things had happened.

    ¡°That¡¯s good. I was worried that those guys would seoze the chance to steal it.¡± Shang Hongyu sighed in relief.

    Zu An was a bit surprised.

    <em>Ka Qier didn¡¯t show up at all today. What is he doing?</em>On the way back to the pce, when Shang Liuyu saw how her big sister wrapped her arm around Zu An, noticing how the two looked just like a couple that had been married for many years, her expression became really strange.

    <em>Big sis, big sis, do you know just what kind of social suicide is waiting for you once you find out everything?</em>

    Shang Hongyu was confused when she saw her little sister¡¯s expression. She asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°Nothing.¡± Shang Liuyu retracted her gaze, then gave Zu An a warning look.

    <em>You better not say anything.</em>

    Zu An had a pained smile on his face.

    <em>Just what kind of situation did I get myself into today? I have to act so much! At this point, I''d better get an Oscar for this.</em>

    ¡°Your brother-inw didn¡¯t do anything to you, did he?¡± Shang Hongyu suddenly became a bit vignt. She just felt as if something was off somehow today. After all, Zu An and her little sister were old friends, and their rtionship was so close.

    <em>There¡¯s no way he couldn''t hold it in anymore and chased after her there and then, right?</em>

    Shang Liuyu raised her brows when she heard the words ¡®brother-inw¡¯. He said, ¡°He wouldn¡¯t dare with big sis here. Right, brother-inw?¡±

    When he saw her clench her teeth as she spoke, Zu An sensibly chose not to retort.

    ¡°Really?¡± Shang Hongyu was a bit suspicious. She was about to ask more directly when the servants suddenly came to deliver a report. Some friends of the Dragon King had requested a meeting.

    ¡°Friends?¡± Zu An asked in confusion. He looked at Shang Hongyu.

    Just then, Shang Liuyu said with an ambiguous smile, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, brother-inw? You¡¯ve forgotten which friends you have and need to ask big sis?¡±

    Zu An thought to himself that this woman really did still have a grudge after all. She wouldn¡¯t give up any chance to mess with him. But he had to admit that her voice carried a unique charm. Just hearing her call him ''brother-inw'' made him feel amazing.

    Shang Hongyu quickly covered for him. ¡°How could your brother-inw not know? He¡¯s just confused as to why they would look for him right now." At the same time, she quickly introduced those people to him. ¡°These people can just about be considered the Dragon King¡¯s friends. But ording to information we received not too long ago, they should be enjoying their lives back in their respective ns, and they should be far away from the Dragon Pce. I really don¡¯t understand who woulde here at a time like this.¡±

    Zu An replied seriously, ¡°We¡¯ll deal with changes by sticking with what hasn¡¯t changed. If they really are friends, they¡¯ll be able to help us a bit.¡± Afterward, he got up and headed for the lobby.

    Shang Hongyu watched him leave worriedly. The things she had taught him mostly pertained to the inside of the pce. Most of the things outside the Dragon Pce had just been mentioned briefly. She wondered if he¡¯d be able to handle the situation.

    When Shang Liuyu saw her nervous look, she couldn''t help butugh. She said, "Big sis, don¡¯t worry. He¡¯ll definitely be fine.¡±

    <em>Is big sis really treating him as my brother-inw?</em>

    <em>No, she was never that worried about the Dragon King before.</em>

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, after Zu An entered the guest hall, he saw three individuals seated there. Every one of them was cloaked, so he couldn''t see what they looked like. He couldn''t help but frown, because all of them were extremely strong. They were all at least at the earth immortal rank! More importantly, there was a familiar auraing from their bodies, the aura of monsters.

    <em>Are master ranks really beneath dogs, and are there just earth immortals everywhere?</em>n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An had frequently seen situations like this from webnovels. He hadn¡¯t expected to experience it himself today. Without reaching a certain level, one naturally wouldn¡¯t know of things beyond that level; let alone the fact that these guys came from outer space. All of the alien monsters were stronger than the cultivators of this world. It seemed he had to do his best to strengthen this world as quickly as possible. Otherwise, for the stunning geniuses of this world to be inferior to those alien monsters would really be an unfair reality.

    When the three saw Zu An, they gestured for the servants and maids to withdraw.

    Then, the individual on the right, who had mes for eyes, asked, ¡°Lord of Myriad Transformations, do you still need to keep that shoddy appearance on even in front of us?¡±

    Zu An was startled. So the Fake Dragon King was called the Lord of Myriad Transformations!

    <em>This name is quite fitting. No wonder he was able to be the Dragon King and fool everyone in the Ocean races.</em>

    These monsters were clearly really familiar with him.

    <em>This is bad! How does the Lord of Myriad Transformations appear in front of these three?</em>

    <em>Does he really show that faceless appearance in front of them?</em>

    While he was at a loss for what to do, one of them, who had a mouth that was protruding quite a bit, snickered and added, ¡°Firedevil Sea Beast, did you already forget that the Lord of Myriad Transformations has no such thing as a set appearance? Even the one he showed usst time might be fake.¡±

    Zu An sighed in relief.

    <em>Thank goodness these guys helped me out themselves and even introduced each other for me.</em>

    No wonder he had sensed a strong me element aura from the first monster before, and yet the sea around them couldn''t affect the mes around him at all. So it turned out that monster was called the Firedevil Sea Beast.

    <em>As for the one with the big mouth and scales on his face, he¡¯s not some alligator monster, is he?</em>

    ¡°Did you really think I didn¡¯t know that? Are you kidding me? Bloodthirst Crocodile, when you¡¯re acting all serious, you look like one of those old human fishermen,¡± the Firedevil Sea Beast said with a sneer.

    ¡°What did you say? Are you picking a fight with me right now?¡± The Bloodthirst Crocodile was furious. He immediately crushed the table next to him to pieces with a strike of his palm.

    A thick bloodthirsty intent filled the entire hall, bringing with it a strong stench of blood.

    ¡°Do you think I¡¯m scared of you?!¡± The Firedevil Sea Beast suddenly got up. mes zed around him and seeped out of his cloak, igniting all of the blood around him.

    The mes and the blood shed. Neither side could win against the other.

    ¡°Enough, enough. Did you forget where you¡¯re causing trouble?¡± the third person remarked with a sneer. A ck miasma entangled his entire body, distorting even the light around him.

    Whether it was the Bloodthirst Crocodile¡¯s bloodthirsty intent or the Firedevil Sea Beast¡¯s mes, neither could approach even three feet around him.

    Zu An gave him a look. The substance around this person¡¯s entire body seemed to be fear itself, made tangible.

    <em>Is he a spiritual-attribute attacker?</em>

    ¡°Hmph. Shadowhorror Devil, I''ll give you some face and not bicker with you today,¡± the Bloodthirst Crocodile said with a huff and sat back down.

    Zu An really wanted to go over and give him a kiss, because this littlemotion had saved him quite a bit of trouble. At the very least, he now knew their names. Even though he could have found them out with the Rage system, that would have been a bit more troublesome.

    The guards asked nervously from outside, ¡°Dragon King, did anything happen inside?¡±

    There had been such a hugemotion that there was no way the guards wouldn¡¯t notice.

    Zu An said indifferently, ¡°It¡¯s nothing, just a joke between friends. You can withdraw for now.¡±

    As he spoke, the power of the sea swept through the entire room, cleaning all of the bloodiness and mes away. He had seen how the fake Dragon King used his abilities. He used a skill that was simr to the real Dragon King''s, so he wasn¡¯t too worried about being exposed.

    When they sensed that the aura in the room had calmed down, and felt the Dragon King¡¯s great power as well, the guards all obeyed his orders and withdrew.

    As he looked at Zu An, the Bloodthirst Crocodile was a bit envious. ¡°Lord of Myriad Transformations, I really am a bit jealous of your abilities. Not only can you change into their appearance, you can even use their abilities. I really don¡¯t know how you do it.¡±

    Zu An was startled. No wonder he hadn''t been able to identify the monster with the Rage system. So the Lord of Myriad Transformations had that kind of ability too!

    <em>Does that mean he could justpletely rece someone? That kind of ability really is ridiculous! It''s no wonder this guy is envious.</em>

    <em>Then just how did the Lord of Myriad Transformations obtain such a ridiculous ability?</em>

 Chapter 2153: Hell

    ¡°I fear it isn''t something you can learn,¡± Zu An casually responded.

    The other three didn¡¯t mind it too much, because there was no way anyone would just give away their greatest secrets.

    The Shadowhorror Devil said, ¡°Let¡¯s talk about more important matters. We¡¯ve already killed off the important military officers around the Dragon Pce, and taken them over with Heart-Devouring Demon Spiders. Even if you¡¯re exposed, we don¡¯t need to fear the Ocean races turning things around anymore.¡±

    Zu An immediately felt sullen.

    <em>The situation seems even worse than I imagined.</em>

    <em>These guys are probably on the same side as the Lord of Myriad Transformations. The reason why they separated for a bit was probably just to take control of several important individuals.</em>

    Still, that was why he had been able to rece the Lord of Myriad Transformations. Otherwise, with these people here, he could have already been exposed.

    ¡°Haha, I¡¯ve really troubled you all. It seems our sess is already imminent.¡± Even though Zu An was feeling dejected inside, there was a big smile on his face.

    ¡°I heard that after you caught the Mermaid Queen, you quickly managed topletely subdue her. When are you going to lend her to me to y around with?¡± the Firedevil Sea Beast asked with a smile. ¡°I¡¯ve wanted to y around with these mermaids for a long time. I heard that the Mermaid Queen looks reserved and dignified on the outside, but she¡¯s extremely passionate inside. I like that type.¡±Zu An¡¯s eyes narrowed. These monsters really didn¡¯t have any morals or integrity after all. They talked about something like that as if it waspletely normal. If Shang Hongyu had really fallen into these monsters¡¯ hands, just how miserable would her end have been?

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± he said, but his tone conveyed cold refusal.

    The Firedevil Sea Beast¡¯s expression changed. He protested, ¡°We¡¯re all working together, so why do you get to enjoy everything alone?¡±

    ¡°If you have the ability, why don¡¯t you try to be the Dragon King?¡± Zu An replied, his expression calm. He told himself that this guy was the first one he would eliminate once he got the chance.

    ¡°You¡­!¡± The Firedevil Sea Beast suddenly got up. But when he thought about how this was the Dragon Pce, and the other side¡¯s previous disy of power left even him a bit frightened, he felt some reservations and didn¡¯t know whether to continue.

    The Bloodthirst Crocodile watched what was going on with amusement. He was hoping for these two to start fighting, since he could just reap all the benefits after.

    The Shadowhorror Devil stepped in to mediate things. ¡°Enough. With our current ns being more important, how can we afford to start stirring things up here? Could it be that you''ve all forgotten about what happened in the Fiend races¡¯ sealednd?¡±

    After hearing that, the Firedevil Sea Beast sat down in disappointment. He didn¡¯t continue to aggressively pick fights. Even the Bloodthirst Crocodile felt a bit dejected. He wasn¡¯t in the mood to enjoy any drama anymore.

    ¡°Is that Zu An really that amazing? There were such huge preparations in the sealednd, and yet he actually ended up dealing with them,¡± the Bloodthirst Crocodile said in frustration.

    Zu An¡¯s expression was also strange. He had never expected these people to be talking about him! As such, he used the chance to say, ¡°When I heard that he killed the War Priest, I thought that it was just some fluke, but now, the Maniptor of Death, Iron Fist Rock, and Scorpion King have also died to him.¡±

    He didn¡¯t dare to go into too many details for fear of being exposed.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°That¡¯s not all.¡± The Firedevil Sea Beast sighed. ¡°Even the Shadow Monster King died. Which one of us here is stronger than that guy?¡±

    A strange silence quickly fell. Zu An was startled. It seemed these monsters understood each others¡¯ strength well. The pressure the Shadow Monster King had emanated really was overwhelming. At the very least, it was a bit greater than what these three had.

    ¡°Apart from the Shadow Monster King, even the legendary Lord of ughter seems to be dead. I really can''t imagine how a human like him can be this strong,¡± the Shadowhorror Devil said, sounding slightly bitter. The Shadow Monster King was someone he had admired greatly, so that event was quite shocking for him.

    As for the Lord of ughter, it was a legendary being in the Monster Realm.

    When he heard these monsters sigh in distress, Zu An found it a bitughable. He hadn¡¯t expected that one day, he would be even more frightening to them than other monsters.

    ¡°I just feel as if it''s impossible. Forget about the Shadow Monster King, how could the Lord of ughter possibly lose to a human? A few days ago, a terrifying aura suddenly covered the sealednd, as if something extraordinary had descended. I figure the two of them were probably killed by that being.¡± The Bloodthirst Crocodile shook his head as he spoke. He was clearly unable to ept the other possibility.

    ¡°That might indeed be a possibility.¡± The Shadowhorror Devil and Firedevil Sea Beast had fearful looks on their faces. If what they felt toward Zu An was apprehension, what they felt toward something like that was pure submission and fear.

    ¡°I really wonder just where that presence came from,¡± Zu An chimed in.

    ¡°No one knows what happened over there, but the monsters in the sealednd are all dead.¡± The Shadowhorror Devil shivered as he spoke.

    ¡°Our luck is quite good. We split up into three paths and thought that we were stuck with the toughest and most unrewarding job, but it now looks as if we have the highest chances of seeding.¡± The Firedevil Sea Beast startedughing, as if to give everyone present confidence again.

    Zu An was startled.

    <em>Three paths? The sealednd is one, and the Ocean races'' territory is another, so where is thest one?</em>

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Judging from recent intelligence, we seem to have obtained a great treasure. Once we swallow up this world, we¡¯ll be the greatest contributors and obtain the greatest benefits,¡± the Bloodthirsty Crocodile said confidently.

    Zu An wondered what this great treasure was. Judging from how excited they were, it probably entailed some recently learned secrets, and the Lord of Myriad Transformations likely knew about it too. As such, he couldn''t ask about it, or else he would expose himself. However, various signs indicated that the great treasure seemed to be inside the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons.

    ¡°But everyone should still remain a bit more careful. It¡¯s already been some time since west received news of Zu An from the human and fiend sides. He might already be on his way to the Ocean races'' territory,¡± Zu An said on purpose to try and fish for more intelligence.

    ¡°What the Lord of Myriad Transformations says is reasonable. We can''t be careless.¡± The Shadowhorror Devil nodded.

    ¡°What are you all so scared of? We''ll soon be able to enter the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons. Once we get that item, what can that human even do to us anymore?¡± The Bloodthirst Crocodile licked his lips. ¡°Hmph, if it weren¡¯t because this world¡¯s natural barrier suppresses our cultivation, why would I fear a human? At that time, I¡¯ll let him have a taste of my Rolling Death. It¡¯ll definitely crush him into mincemeat.¡±

    Zu An was startled. The secret was in the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons after all! They wanted to enter and obtain that thing.

    <em>I wonder just what that thing is. It seems that if they get their hands on it, their cultivation will no longer be blocked?</em>

    When he thought of this, his expression turned grave. Things really would be dangerous if he yed around too much.

    ¡°Hmph, you¡¯ve always been too rash and impulsive.¡± The Shadowhorror Devil released a cold scoff. ¡°Did you forget that there''s still Ka Qier¡¯s side?¡±

    Zu An thought, <em>As expected. Ka Qier in¡¯t on the same side as these guys.</em>

    ¡°Working together with those Hell bastards is just way too dangerous. A single mistake and we¡¯ll be dragged down with them! That¡¯d really hurt a lot.¡± The Firedevil Sea Beast couldn''t help but shiver. He clearly had some reservations about that ce.

    <em>Hell? </em>Zu An hadn¡¯t expected to obtain such information today. <em>There really is a hell in this world!</em>

    No wonder he had sensed the energy of departed spirits from the Yaksha Ocean Patrol. It seemed toe from Hell.

    ¡°We¡¯ll just each take what we need from each other. They need our help, and we need their abilities. Only then will we all be able to enter the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons together,¡± said the Shadowhorror Devil. ¡°But what they tell us might not be theplete truth. That¡¯s why we need to maintain a hundred and twenty percent vignce so those bastards from Hell won¡¯t even know that they¡¯re getting screwed over.¡±

    Since it was rted to the safety of the entire world, Zu An had wanted to get rid of these guys first, and he''d been worried that he could slip up. But when he heard the Shadowhorror Devil, he realized that these parties had to all work together to enter the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons, which made him give up on the idea. He could potentially make use of this animosity. Otherwise, it¡¯d be really bad if both sides ended up turning against him.

    ¡°For the sake of minimizing unnecessary risks, we¡¯ll be meeting infrequently from now on and will go into hiding in the Dragon Pce. Summon us if you need anything, especially if those guys on Hell¡¯s side start doing anything suspicious,¡± the three warned Zu An before leaving.

    Zu An agreed outwardly, but inside, he thought to himself that ording to what Shang Hongyu had told him, Ka Qier was clearly an expert from the Shark race. Why was he now a visitor from Hell?

    <em>Could it be that Hell also has appearance changing abilities?</em>

 Chapter 2154: Real Appearance

    <h4>Chapter 2154: Real Appearance</h4>

    When he recalled the Yaksha Ocean Patrol that had been controlled, Zu An frowned slightly. Ka Qier still seemed to have his wits about him, so that didn¡¯t seem to be the case with him.

    When they left, he returned to his personal pce and shared what he learned with the two women. When they heard what he said, both of them were shocked. So apart from the monsters, Hell itself had also joined in on this plot!

    ¡°Are we really going to open the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons?¡± Shang Hongyu was a bit worried. She just felt like the risk was a bit too high.

    Shang Hongyu didn¡¯t say anything; instead, she gave Zu An a look, because she knew that he was looking for the Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine. He had to look for a way inside.

    Zu An knew what she was thinking and admitted right away, ¡°That¡¯s right, I''m looking for something and must make a trip into the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons. But we can also use this chance to see just what those monsters and Hell creatures are searching for. We can¡¯t just passively respond to everything.¡±

    Shang Hongyu nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s true. If we can¡¯t deal with this issue fully, the consequences will be immeasurable.¡±

    Shang Liuyu gave her a look.

    <i>These two really are acting like a proper couple. I¡¯m suddenly the one who feels like an outsider.</i>

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Shang Liuyu for +11 +11 +11...</strong>

    Zu An was speechless. He was also a bit helpless. These two sisters really knew how to y around...

    One of them thought that the other didn¡¯t know, and was giving an Oscar-worthy performance; the other clearly knew, and yet didn¡¯t talk about it. Now, he was the one stuck in the middle of it all. It was easy to imagine just how mad Shang Hongyu would be if she found out the truth.

    <i>I¡¯ll definitely be a target for her venting then too.</i>

    Fortunately, Shang Hongyu changed the topic. ¡°By the way, what''s going on with that Ka Qier? I actually didn¡¯t see him all day. This is the same guy who usually loves to monitor us.¡±

    If it hadn¡¯t been for the fact that Ka Qier was always tailing her, she wouldn¡¯t have had to go that far with Zu An. Even though... Even though she had experienced pleasure she had never experienced before, that was only because she had been forced to.

    <i>There¡¯s no way I would thank him for something like that!</i>

    ¡°I find it a bit strange as well. I was pretty surprised when he told me that he wouldn¡¯t be following us, but I didn¡¯t think that there would still be no sight of him even now,¡± Zu An said with puzzlement.

    Shang Liuyu¡¯s expression suddenly changed. ¡°Do you think he might be doing something bad? We need to be on our guard against that.¡±

    Zu An nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll go to where he lives and look around.¡¯

    Shang Hongyu was really worried, saying, ¡°But that Ka Qier¡¯s cultivation is extremely high. What if you end up being discovered...¡±

    ¡°There might have been a chance of being discovered in the past, but now that I have the Crown of the Ocean Deity, I can control the waters themselves. I have even more confidence that I won¡¯t be discovered by him.¡±

    Shang Liuyu said seriously, ¡°But you still can¡¯t be careless. Judging from what you just said, Ka Qier is most likely a part of the Hell faction. We¡¯ve never interacted with those Hell guys before and don¡¯t know what kind of strange abilities they have.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll be careful,¡± Zu An said. After he bade the sisters farewell, he didn¡¯t leave through the main door, and slipped out of the window instead. With his cultivation, he didn¡¯t have to worry about alerting the nearby guards at all.

    Shang Liuyu watched her sister looking at Zu An disappearing into the distance, and couldn''t help but tease her. ¡°Big sis, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen you worry so much for brother-inw.¡±

    ¡°The past is the past, and the present is the present. It¡¯s not as if you don¡¯t know the things that happened.¡± Shang Hongyu rolled her eyes.

    ¡°I really envy you, big sis. You have someone you love at your side.¡± Shang Liuyu suddenly sighed. ¡°I wonder if Ah Zu received my letter or not. It would be great if he were here. With him and brother-inw working together, they wouldn¡¯t need to fear those monsters, no matter how many of them there are.¡±

    Shang Hongyu couldn''t help but chuckle. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he¡¯ll definitelye in time to save you.¡±

    Shang Liuyu¡¯s mood finally improved a bit when she saw just how hard her big sis was pushing her performance.

    <i>Hmph, act, keep acting. The more you put on this act, the more devastating your social suicide will be.</i>

    ...

    Meanwhile, Zu An quickly arrived at Ka Qier¡¯s residence. As the leader of the Dragon Pce''s guards, Ka Qier had his own home in the pce.

    The security here was stricter, even including many defensive formations. If it had been in the past, no matter how profound Zu An¡¯s cultivation was, it would¡¯ve been difficult for him to infiltrate such a small ce with so many vignt eyes watching. But now that he had the Crown of the Ocean Deity...

    He suddenly realized something and quickly withdrew his aura. Immediately after, he was surrounded by a circle of seawater. From the eyes of those outside, the area he was standing in was no different from the waters nearby. The entire Dragon Pce was immersed in water, which made things much easier for him.

    Soon after, the seawater silently flowed into Ka Qier¡¯s residence. The surrounding guards didn¡¯t notice anything, because there was water everywhere to begin with. With Zu An¡¯s current skill in formations, he could tell which areas had traps. He carefully avoided them and went inside the courtyard.

    ¡°Hm? There¡¯s a sound blocking formation too?¡± Zu An muttered in confusion. The formation in front of him only blocked sound, but the design was extremely profound andplex. Even if a nuclear bomb exploded inside, no one would hear a thing outside. Just how many resources had been used to design such aplicated formation?

    <i>Could it be that Ka Qier is currently discussing secrets with the people inside?</i>

    When he thought of that, he quickly entered. As soon as he passed through the formation, he heard a bitter howl. He really couldn''t imagine just what kind of pain one would have to endure to scream like that.

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed. That was Ka Qier¡¯s voice!

    <i>Did someone ambush him? But who would do such a thing in the current Dragon Pce? Is it the Bloodthirst Crocodile¡¯s group?</i>

    <i>But judging from the previous conversation, it doesn¡¯t seem too likely.</i>

    He couldn''t suppress his curiosity anymore and approached the source of the sound with increased vignce.

    <i>There¡¯s no sign of a battle...</i>

    Zu An arrived next to a building that seemed to be Ka Qier¡¯s personal house. He looked in through a crack in the window, and his eyes immediately widened. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The scene inside was quite horrifying. Ka Qier¡¯s figure was twisting wildly in bed as his entire body split apart from the inside... No, it was only his skin that was splitting apart. Immediately after, an indistinct, human-shaped flesh monster came out. There wasn¡¯t even a bit of skin left on it, only blood-red flesh. Its entire body was covered in dirty blood and viscous liquids. Not one part of it remained in good condition, and it seemed almost to have been forcefully pieced together. It was as if the creature would melt at any time.

    Fortunately, Zu An had seen too many inconceivable things in his life, and his mental strength was particrly great; otherwise, even if he hadn¡¯t cried out, his heart rate and breathing could have sped up enough to draw attention. However, his aura waspletely withdrawn, as if he didn¡¯t exist. He just silently observed everything. His eyesnded on theyer of skin on the bed that still seemed fairly intact.

    <i>So the real Ka Qier was killed after all, and this monster emptied out his body and only left behind his outer skin. Then, it hid inside to impersonate him.</i>

    <i>This monster really is disgusting-looking!</i>

    The monster rolled around on the bed in pain. It frantically scratched at the flesh on its body, as if that could slightly alleviate the pain it felt. But the more it scratched, the more its flesh became distorted as pieces of flesh fell from it. Sometimes, even the bones inside became visible.

    Zu An waspletely baffled at what he was seeing.

    <i>Just what is it doing? It doesn¡¯t seem like cultivation deviation. It looks more like it¡¯s enduring some kind of torture!</i>

    <i>Wait, it came from Hell. Legend has it that only the worst of the worst enter Hell, so that''s why they have to suffer punishment. Don¡¯t tell me that''s real?</i>

    <i>But who''s torturing them?</i>

    He carefully observed for a while. With his current strength, he could vaguely sense that there seemed to be some kind of ancient and mysterious power, belonging to a being that didn''t belong in this world. It wasn¡¯t some concrete person or creature that was torturing the monster, but rather some kind of specialw!

    <i>Are these Hell¡¯sws? </i>Zu An thought in rm. He hadn¡¯t expected that despite this creature being able to already enter this world, it still wouldn¡¯t be able to escape the punishment of Hell.

    In the blink of an eye, seventy to eighty percent of that monster¡¯s flesh had already melted away. At the same time, however, many areas suddenly began to grow new skin. Shortly after, a newyer of intact skin covered its entire body.

    Zu An finally saw the monster¡¯s real appearance.

 Chapter 2155: Not a Human, Inside or Out

    <h4>Chapter 2155: Not a Human, Inside or Out</h4>

    The creature had a hooked nose, thin lips, and sinister-looking eyes. Apart from its face being especially pale, it didn¡¯t look too different from an ordinary person.

    Just then, however, something strange happened again. It screamed in pain again, this time a bit louder than before. It was as if a mysterious power was acting on the top of its head. Soon after, a hole opened up in its scalp. Immediately after, a pair of invisible hands seemed to reach in, tearing the skin apart. The freshly-regrownyer of skin was forcibly ripped apart. However, the monster''s skin and flesh seemed to be stuck really tightly. As its skin was ripped off, a lot of flesh was also torn off along with it, as if it wanted to leave the monster''s body too.

    More importantly, the process didn¡¯t happen all that quickly. The mysterious power seemed to be moving extremely slowly to increase the monster''s suffering, practically ripping apart its body inch by inch. Each time it made a ripping motion, the screams of the monster became a bit more bitter.

    Zu An finally understood why there was a sound-blocking barrier outside. If not for that, the monster''s wails could have already drawn the attention of everyone in the Dragon Pce.

    The torturous motions were slow, but how much skin could a person even have? Soon, it waspletely peeled off. Unfortunately, the monster didn¡¯t get much of a break. Its body grew flesh again, and a newyer of skin appeared.

    Zu An felt a chill run down his back. Even though they were enemies, he still felt some sympathy when he saw such inhuman torture. However, when he gave Ka Qier¡¯s skin off to the side a look, that bit of sympathy immediately vanished.

    Who knew how many members of the Ocean races had been harmed by this creature? Such torture waspletely deserved. After all, Hell wasn¡¯t some good ce; it specialized in punishing viins.

    Just like that, the monster suffered eighteen rounds of skin-ying in total before the process finally stopped. It copsed on the bed and gasped for breath. Its entire body seemed to have copsed from exhaustion.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes narrowed. This was when the monster was the weakest, so striking now to subdue it wouldn¡¯t be too hard. But in the end, he decided to give up on that thought. The Shadowhorror Devil¡¯s group had mentioned that they needed Ka Qier¡¯s help in order to open up the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons. The monsters also seemed a bit fearful of Ka Qier. Judging from what they said, these Hell beings couldn''t be killed, because they came from Hell to begin with.

    But Zu An didn¡¯t believe that they were really impossible to kill. There had to be a way; it was just that he hadn¡¯t found it yet. After thinking about all of those things, he gave up on making his move.

    ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± the monster suddenly called out, having sensed the hint of killing intent. It suddenly turned in the direction of Zu An. It grabbed toward the window, its bloody and mangled hand rese,mbling a demon¡¯s w.

    ¡°Hm? So it was a stingray.¡± The monster walked over to the window and looked at the stingray that struggled in its hands. When it saw the fresh blood flowing out of the stingray''s wound, a hint of viciousness shed through the monster¡¯s eyes. It raised the stingray and began to gorge itself. Shortly after, the stingray waspletely devoured, and an intoxicated look appeared on the monster''s face as it said, ¡°The taste of flesh and blood really is incredible.¡±

    In the distance, Zu An frowned slightly. Fortunately, he had been able to use the position swap skill to avoid being discovered. This guy was even more vignt than he had imagined, and even more cruel, at that. He had to find a way to eliminate the monster as soon as possible.

    The monster looked around him and didn¡¯t sense anything else strange, so he returned to the room. He made his way into Ka Qier¡¯s skin and released afortable sound, saying, ¡°As expected, having skin feels the best.¡±

    Zu An used this chance to leave this courtyard.

    ...

    When he returned to the private chambers, Zu An set up a sound-blocking formation. Then, he shared what he had just seen and heard with the sisters. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°How gross...¡± Even though they hadn¡¯t seen it for themselves, Zu An¡¯s description was too vivid, so Shang Hongyu had already formed a mental image of it herself.

    ¡°As expected of Hell creatures. Judging from your description, he seems to be suffering from skin-ying torture.¡± Shang Liuyu also showed an expression of displeasure. As a woman, she naturally felt revulsion toward disgusting things.

    Zu An was surprised, remarking, ¡°Could it be that he came from the skin-ying hell?¡± He recalled that some mythology rted to theherworld had stories of eighteen hells.

    ¡°Skin-ying hell?¡± The two women reflexively agreed. ¡°That is indeed a possibility.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but ask, ¡°Do you two know any information about the rtionship between this world and Hell?¡±

    The two women shook their heads. Shang Liuyu said, ¡°Just like achieving immortality, there''s also very little information about Hell. Such stories are usually just folktales that imagine the worst forms of torture in this world as part of a ¡®hell¡¯. That''s why we always assumed they were just rumors and never treated them as the real deal.¡±

    Zu An was soon lost in his own thoughts.

    <i>Right, there were many legends surrounding hell in my previous world too, but no one had ever seen the real deal. I didn¡¯t expect to really run into Hell creatures in this world.</i>

    ¡°We still don¡¯t know how those monsters and Hell creatures are rted. We also don¡¯t know what it is they want at all, or even if what they want is the same thing,¡± Shang Liuyu said while thinking.

    ¡°Judging from our earlier conversation, they didn¡¯t seem to have gotten in touch in this world. They were likely already in an alliance from the start,¡± Zu An said gravely. ¡°The aliens¡¯ world and Hell might be connected in some way.

    ¡°As for what they want, if it¡¯s just a single thing, it¡¯ll be much easier to incite disharmony between them. But if it¡¯s not the same, it¡¯ll be difficult.¡±

    The sisters also grew worried when they heard his analysis. They really didn¡¯t have enough information right now and couldn''t make any conclusive judgments.

    When he saw how discouraged the two women were, Zu An smiled and said, ¡°There¡¯s no need to feel so down. Actually,pared to before, when we didn¡¯t even know who our enemies were, we at least know that now and have obtained so much information. The scales of victory are already leaning in our favor.¡±

    Shang Hongyu asked in a yful protest, ¡°Just how do you always have so much confidence?¡±

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°I¡¯m just telling the truth.¡±

    Shang Hongyu couldn''t help but give him a light punch.

    When she saw how her big sister was flirting with Zu An, Shang Liuyu felt a strong sense of nausea. If it were her sister and her brother-inw, that wouldn¡¯t matter much, but this was Ah Zu! It just felt a bit strange somehow.

    Zu An said seriously, ¡°We don¡¯t know what other ns the alien monsters and Hell have. We need to develop our own countermeasures too. This is what we need to do from now on...¡±

    ...

    The three of them continued to discuss their n. Time passed quickly and night quickly approached.

    Zu An was now a bit embarrassed. In the past, it would have been fine if he slept with Shang Hongyu, but Shang Liuyu now knew everything. It would just feel strange somehow if he continued to sleep with her sister.

    However, Shang Hongyu waspletely in the dark. She continuously reminded her sister to sleep well. Meanwhile, she herself bashfully wrapped her arm around Zu An¡¯s and returned to their room.

    Zu An reflexively gave Shang Liuyu a look. Her expression was a bit weird.

    Shang Liuyu asked indifferently, ¡°Why are you looking at me, brother-inw? Could it be that you want me to sleep with you two as well?¡±

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Shang Liuyu for +28 +28 +28...</strong>

    ¡°He wouldn¡¯t dare!¡± Shang Hongyu shot Zu An a look. ¡°You¡¯re not really targeting my little sister, are you?¡±

    She knew that Zu An¡¯s rtionship with her little sister was good. Such a thing could really spark something between them.

    Zu An said in embarrassment, ¡°You''re misunderstanding. I just get the sense that my little sister hasn¡¯t slept so well, so maybe she should sleep inside with you while I sleep outside.¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Now, Shang Hongyu felt a bit of disappointment. She had been looking forward to continuing with him... He was just too amazing. This was the first time she had experienced something so incredible.

    However, she reacted quickly as well. A bright smile appeared on her face as she tugged on her little sister¡¯s arm, saying, ¡°Right, little sis wasn¡¯t able to get much sleep recently. Just sleep together with big sis today.¡±

    Shang Liuyu watched her sister¡¯s performance with apletely indifferent expression. A momentter, she said, ¡°I have no desire to sleep in your love nest.¡±

    When she remembered what those two had done on that bed, she felt really ufortable. Who knew what kind of stuff had been left on it...

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Shang Liuyu for +110 +110 +110...</strong>

    Zu An was speechless.

 Chapter 2156: One Head, Two Headaches

    <h4>Chapter 2156: One Head, Two Headaches</h4>

    As she saw his startled expression, Shang Liuyu also realized that he had clearly said that to help her, and yet she''d gotten angry instead of showing gratitude. That was a bit too much. As such, she continued, ¡°You should just rest with big sis. You¡¯re the honorable Dragon King. If someone saw you sleeping outside, what would they think? The alien monsters and Hell creatures would also grow suspicious.¡±

    Zu An was stunned.

    <i>Are you being serious right now? You want me to keep your sisterpany?</i>

    Shang Hongyu¡¯s eyes moved quickly. She suddenly said with a big smile, ¡°How about this? Little sis, you can sleep with your brother-inw and I can just sleep outside. Either way, in the eyes of those monsters, the imposter is a pervert, so sleeping with you matches his style.¡±

    Zu An was stunned.

    <i>These two really aren¡¯t scared of chaos, are they?</i>

    Even more surprisingly, Shang Liuyu suddenly replied, ¡°Sure, then I¡¯ll just keep brother-inwpany.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>Something amazing is happening right now...?</i>

    Shang Hongyu was also a bit stupefied. She had just been nning to tease her little sis a bit, sure that she would never agree. But she had never expected her games to end up biting her instead!

    Shang Liuyu giggled and said, ¡°I¡¯m joking. Look at how reluctant you look right now. You might see him as a treasure, but he¡¯s nothing more than a de of grass to me.¡±

    Shang Hongyu finally realized that she was being messed with. She harrumphed in embarrassment. ¡°We¡¯re sisters anyway, so I wouldn¡¯t mind it. Let¡¯s not push back and forth anymore and just sleep together. The White Jade Bed is much morefortable than a maid¡¯s bed.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes lit up.

    <i>I¡¯m not against that idea...</i>

    A hint of red appeared on Shang Liuyu¡¯s face. She pinched her sister in annoyance. ¡°I¡¯m not going to join in on your nonsense!¡±

    Then, shey down on her own bed and pretended to sleep.

    Zu An couldn''t help but give her fair exposed feet a look.

    <i>They really are a work of art...</i>

    As if sensing his gaze, Shang Liuyu pulled her feet into her dress. Then, her voice rang out in his ears. ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to bully my sister!¡±

    Zu An naturally knew what she meant by bullying.

    <i>You already know who I am, so how can I continue to court death next door?</i>

    ...

    When Shang Hongyu and Zu An returned to their room, she suddenly moved closer to Zu An. ¡°Speak honestly. You were tempted when you were alone with my sister just now, weren¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t.¡± Zu An had apletely deadpan expression. He naturally couldn''t admit to that.

    ¡°But I saw your eyes light up back then.¡±

    ¡°You saw wrong.¡±

    ¡°Why don''t you go and just tell her who you really are? With your rtionship, she might reallye over, you know?¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>You¡¯re overthinking it. She already knows. She¡¯s already giving me a lot of face.</i>

    When she saw that he ignored her, Shang Hongyu shifted closer again. She began to gossip curiously. ¡°Just what kind of rtionship do the two of you have?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re just good friends,¡± Zu An replied. A warm smile appeared on his face when he remembered their first meeting.

    ¡°Hmph, judging from your smile, you¡¯re clearly not just normal friends. Little sis always brings you up too. I¡¯ve never seen her care so much about any man in all these years.¡± Shang Hongyu harrumphed.

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Zu An replied.

    He''d always felt that, even though Shang Liuyu treated him a bit better than others, it wasn¡¯t that much better. The two of them had always had a kind of boundary between them that made their rtionship feel a bit distant, and that distance couldn''t be closed at all. Actually, it was only when he admitted to his rtionship with her sister that he felt they had be a bit closer. But there was no way he could let her know about his thoughts, or else she could really cut him.

    ¡°Should I lend you guys a helping hand?¡± Shang Hongyu asked as she cuddled in his arms and looked up at him with a big smile.

    ¡°How so?¡± Zu An asked, stunned. He reflexively looked at her moist red lips.

    When she saw him staring at her, Shang Hongyu was really embarrassed. ¡°Help you pursue my sister, of course. What are you thinking about?¡±

    Zu An was a bit embarrassed. It was all her fault for saying simr words before! He replied, ¡°That¡¯s alright. I won¡¯t be needing your help with that.¡±

    <i>Are you kidding me right now? Shang Liuyu already knows who I am. Am I really going to have her big sister y matchmaker in this situation?</i>

    <i>Even if you want to die, that¡¯s not how you should go about it!</i>

    ¡°Why not? With her big sister helping, I guarantee that you¡¯ll make progress twice as fast.¡±

    ¡°I hope you won¡¯t end up experiencing social suicide.¡±

    ¡°What did you say?¡±

    ¡°Nothing.¡±

    The two chatted for a while longer. Shang Hongyu suddenly bit her red lip, then began to kiss the corners of his ear.

    When he saw her watery eyes, Zu An remembered Shang Liuyu¡¯s warning and quickly said, ¡°Um, you sister is next door, so I think it¡¯s best if we don¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°What are you scared of? It¡¯s not as if she knows who you are.¡± Shang Hongyu blew gently past his ear. ¡°Besides, weren¡¯t you even more excited than usualst time?¡±

    When that memory was reawakened, Zu An couldn''t help but swallow with difficulty.

    Shang Hongyu could sense the changes happening to his body. She giggled and bent down.

    ¡°Oh...¡± Zu An took a deep breath.

    <i>Big sis Shang, big sis Shang, it¡¯s not that I didn¡¯t want to uphold that promise, but your sister is just too... too proactive!</i>

    ...

    Meanwhile, Shang Liuyu was lying outside, rolling back and forth, just unable to sleep. For some reason, she just felt some pent-up frustration.

    She reflexively picked up the ocarina by her waist to y away her frustrated emotions. Whenever she was in a bad mood, she always used music to cheer her up. But she quickly realized that she was undercover in the Dragon Pce, so she would be easily exposed if she yed music here. Helpless to do anything else, she could only put it away. That made her even more annoyed.

    Suddenly, she heard music, but it came from next door. The sounds carried resentment, yet also admiration; there was weeping and moaning... Her face quickly shifted between red and pale.

    <i>That rascal is bullying my sister again!</i>

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Shang Liuyu for +444 +444 +444...</strong>

    Zu An¡¯s body froze up. They had been discovered after all!

    ¡°Why did you suddenly stop?¡± Shang Hongyu wrapped around him like an octopus. Her body was incredibly fiery.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing...¡± Zu An set his resolve.

    <i>If I¡¯m going to die, then so be it.</i>

    When she heard her older sister suddenly cry out, Shang Liuyu gritted her teeth.

    <i>This guy is getting more and more excited!</i>

    But shortly after, she was stunned, because why was she so angry?

    <i>I¡¯m not even one of his women, so what does it have to do with me if he gets intimate with another woman?</i>

    <i>Wait, the one he¡¯s bullying is my big sister, so of course it has something to do with me!</i>

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Shang Liuyu for +499 +499 +499...</strong>

    Inside, Zu An was getting two headaches within a single head. Continuing was a bad idea, but stopping wasn¡¯t a good idea either.

    Fortunately, Shang Hongyu didn¡¯t make things too hard for him. Her waist proactively twisted around him, as fluid as water.

    ...

    The next morning, when Zu An left the room, he prepared to sneak out so as to not give Shang Liuyu the chance to question him.

    However, Shang Liuyu seemed to have already expected this and blocked his path. She stared at him with a look that could kill.

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Shang Liuyu for +404 +404 +404...</strong>

    ¡°What happened to your promise?¡± Shang Liuyu asked through a ki transmission.

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>I did honor it and didn¡¯t touch your sister. It was your sister who touched me!</i>

    But he couldn''t speak those words out loud.

    Just then, Shang Hongyu walked out, seemingly glowing with health. She wrapped her arm around his and asked, ¡°Hm? Why are the two of you standing here?¡±

    Shang Liuyu looked at her beautifulplexion and the way she intimately held onto Zu An¡¯s arm. She suddenly felt a bit downcast.

    <i>Why am I interrogating the one my big sister likes in the first ce?</i>

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± She couldn''t help but sigh, then turned around in disappointment.

    ¡°What¡¯s with her?¡± Shang Hongyu gave Zu An a confused look.

    ¡°Uh... I have no idea either,¡± Zu An said. Even though he knew, he couldn''t tell her the truth, right?

    Fortunately, Ka Qier had arrived to help him out of this predicament. Thus, Zu An quickly seized the chance to meet with Ka Qier.

    ¡°I heard that you¡¯ve already obtained the Crown of the Ocean Deity?¡± Ka Qier asked from within the study after chasing everyone else out.

    ¡°I¡¯ve already gotten it.¡± Zu An couldn''t help but give Ka Qier a second look. When he thought about how there was a demonic being inside thetter, one that experienced endless suffering, he couldn''t help but shiver.

    ¡°That¡¯s good. Fortunately, with your ability, you can activate the Crown of the Ocean Deity. Otherwise, it really would¡¯ve been a bit difficult.¡± Ka Qier didn¡¯t have any intention of taking the crown from him. He clearly knew that he couldn''t use it.

    Zu An thought to himself, <i>Thank goodness those alien monsters told me the name of the fake Dragon King the day before and knew about his abilities.</i> Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t really know what Ka Qier was talking about right now.

    ¡°Hmph, I hope that you''ll fulfill your end of the agreement and not create any unnecessary trouble.¡± Zu An took the chance to try and get some more intelligence.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, our side has always been trustworthy.¡± An ambiguous smile appeared on Ka Qier¡¯s face. ¡°You seem to be having quite the good time recently. Why don''t you take both sisters in? That¡¯ll make things even saferter.¡±

    Zu An harrumphed. ¡°That Shang Liuyu is incredibly smart. I was almost exposed before, so I don¡¯t want any misunderstandings because of something like this.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s good that you¡¯re still clear-headed and haven¡¯t let lust take over your brain.¡± Ka Qier nodded in satisfaction. ¡°Just hold on for a few more days, and then we¡¯ll be able to enter the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons.¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

 Chapter 2157: Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons

    <h4>Chapter 2157: Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons</h4>

    Zu An tried to make indirect approaches several times, but Ka Qier was exceptionally cunning and didn¡¯t give him too much useful information. He knew that Ka Qier had many misgivings too and wouldn¡¯t dare to reveal everything, so he didn¡¯t push the subject.

    Subsequently, all the parties carried out the things they needed to do.

    The Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons only opened once every hundred years. Apart from the usual sacrificial offerings to the ancestors, the corpses of those dragons that had passed away in that time would be moved inside.

    Additionally, some dragon ancestors who knew that they didn¡¯t have much time left were willing to spend their remaining time inside the tomb. Otherwise, if they ended up dying just a few years after the tomb closed again, they could end up having to wait another several centuries. After all, the Dragon race didn¡¯t hold a proper burial unless there were enough deceased dragons. If their corpses were left outside for several centuries, they could be lonely souls. What other ce could evenpare to the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons? Their souls would return to the embrace of the dragon deity inside, and they could even be able to reincarnate into a new dragon sooner.

    Whenever the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons was opened, the Ocean races always held a grand celebration.

    ording to convention, the Dragon King and Mermaid Queen always invested a lot of time and energy into the ceremony. Zu An thus took the chance to frequently make public appearances with Shang Hongyu. They used the pretext of addressing various details, while actually taking the chance to find out where the alien monsters and Hell creatures had nted their people.

    Fortunately, because he hadpletely ¡®tamed¡¯ Shang Hongyu, and the fact that he could use the Crown of the Ocean Deity, both sides weren¡¯t too worried about him, so they didn¡¯t suspect his movements. Zu An was thus able to gather quite a bit of intelligence.

    Soon after, the time came for the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons to open up. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    That day, Shang Hongyu was in the middle of putting on her makeup and attire with the help of the maids when her expression suddenly changed. She ran off to the side and vomited.

    ¡°Your highness, what¡¯s wrong?¡± the maid next to her asked, startled.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Continue with what you were doing.¡± Shang Hongyu forced a smile. Then, she sat down and gestured for the maid to resume. But shortly after, she ran to the side and retched again. After a few times, she felt a bit dizzy.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s best if we bring in the imperial physician,¡± a maid suggested, but Shang Hongyu stopped her.

    The maid Shang Liuyu was disguised as suddenly asked, ¡°It¡¯s not a pregnancy, is it?¡±

    The maids suddenly understood.

    <i>Right, the Dragon King has really pampered the queen, and the two are almost like newlyweds! The queen¡¯s moans even make all of us a bit embarrassed, and herplexion has been radiating health. She looks even more beautiful than usual. Who knows how much essence the Dragon King poured into her.</i>

    News quickly spread. When Zu An and Ka Qier, as well as some other monster big shots rushed over, Shang Hongyu was already lying in bed and resting. It seemed she had just fainted.

    ¡°Do pregnancies have such huge reactions?¡± Ka Qier asked suspiciously.

    The Firedevil Sea Beast said with a chuckle, ¡°Look at how ignorant you are! If the real Dragon King made her pregnant, of course there wouldn¡¯t be that big of a reaction, but did you forget who he really is?¡±

    They¡¯d already dismissed the servants, so they didn¡¯t have to worry about others listening in. They couldn''t help but give Shang Hongyu a look.

    <i>This Mermaid Queen really is beautiful! Now that she¡¯s pregnant, it¡¯s even more stimting. Once we leave the great tomb, I definitely have to find a chance to divert the Lord of Myriad Transformations away. I have to enjoy the Mermaid Queen properly at least once.</i>

    Ka Qier immediately felt relieved when he heard those words.

    <i>Right, he''s an alien monster. Who knows what kind of monster wille out now that he¡¯s gotten the Mermaid Queen pregnant. The Mermaid Queen¡¯s strong reactions are most likely because she can¡¯t handle the childbirth process.</i>

    The Bloodthirst Crocodile and Shadowhorror Devil alsomunicated through divine will.

    ¡°The Lord of Myriad Transformations really is incredible. He actually got the Mermaid Queen pregnant.¡±

    ¡°Do you think it¡¯ll be a mermaid or another Lord of Myriad Transformations?¡±

    ¡°I think the chance of it being another Lord of Myriad Transformations is a bit higher. He is stronger, after all.¡±

    In the infinite realms, those who were stronger had stronger bloodlines.

    When he saw these individuals gossip among themselves, not suspecting that Shang Hongyu was pretending, Zu An sighed in relief. This saved him a lot of exining.

    The two of them had indeed had their fair share of fun, but they both knew that they couldn''t risk anything too big at such a crucial point. As such, Shang Hongyu¡¯s pregnancy was naturally faked. They just needed a pretext to keep her outside, so it¡¯d be easier for her to do what she needed to do.

    Ka Qier suddenly asked with a frown, ¡°If the queen is sick, then how are we supposed to carry out the following formalities?¡±

    The Firedevil Sea Beast didn¡¯t think it was too big of a deal. ¡°She¡¯s not the only one who can carry out the ceremony. We still have her sister, don¡¯t we?¡±

    Ka Qier figured that made sense too, so he agreed to the n.

    Then, when the others left, Zu An dered the joyous news of the queen¡¯s pregnancy, bringing about great festivities throughout the ns. There were endless cheers of joy among the Ocean races¡¯ people. After all, the more of the imperial bloodline there was, the better. They naturally had no objection to the queen remaining in her pce to rest.

    Many devoted and loyal ministers were even happier. After all, not too long before, they had been worried that the arrest order of the queen would lead to great chaos in the Ocean races. Now that both sides were on such good terms and with their feelings being even deeper than before, that was the best news they could possibly have heard.

    Of course, there were still some who weren¡¯t happy, such as Ao Yong. His fingernails were practically about to dig into his flesh when he heard the news.

    <i>Damn it, damn it!</i>

    <i>That rascal actually got the queen pregnant!</i>

    When he recalled the loud moans he''d heard outside the courtyard that night, his entire body trembled.

    <i>You were already almost mine, so why are you bearing the child of another?!</i>

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Ao Yong for +999 +999 +999...</strong>

    When he sensed the Rage points in the backend, Zu An gave him an annoyed look.

    <i>Is there something wrong with this guy¡¯s head?</i>

    But he didn¡¯t think too much of it. After all, there were more important enemies that he had to maintain a hundred and twenty percent vignce against.

    ...

    Shortly after, the time came for the offering ceremony. It wasn¡¯t too different from the ceremonies of the human side, but the one they were worshiping seemed to be the Ocean Deity. When the ceremony wasplete, they then arrived in front of the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons.

    Zu An had previously studied One Drop of Heaven¡¯s Essence, so he had a lot of knowledge surrounding geomancy. Just a single look at the mountain range before him left him incredibly moved. The mountains were incredibly majestic and vast. It was as if a giant dragon was winding around the region. The ''dragon veins'' that human geomancy referred to were just a turn of phrase to talk about especially grand mountains, but here, the same words were an urate description. Every single mountain range seemed to be full of rich draconic energy. This was an eternal resting ce that human emperors could only wish for in their dreams!

    He was starting to get a bit excited. He could feel such strong draconic energy even from such a distance. Once he entered, perhaps he could really find a stalk of Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine.

    ¡°Your majesty, it¡¯s your turn,¡± Ka Qier said in Zu An''s ear.

    The Ocean races¡¯ elders had alreadypleted the formalities. A giant tomb entrance suddenly appeared within the great mountain before them. The entrance was several hundred meters tall and had all kinds of profound runes engraved on it; they clearly formed an extremely profound ancient formation that extended throughout all of the dragon veins. Zu An could sense the tremendous power hiding within them. If someone tried to use brute force, the formation would trigger a ferocious retaliation.

    Zu An became more and more shocked, because he discovered that he actually couldn''t really understand these runes even with his knowledge of formations! After he''d obtained the Baopu Sutra, his achievements in formations had already be unmatched throughout the world. He hadn¡¯t expected that even at his level, he still couldn''t see through the formations of this tomb!

    When he recalled the ancient and profound formations in the Dragon Pce that were left behind from the past, Zu An felt more and more that he had underestimated the Ocean races. Their history was even greater than he''d imagined. Additionally, judging from what he had seen from their realm as ofte, the Ocean races could very well only be an insignificant speckpared to their prestige in ancient times.

    The runes on the tomb entrance seemed toe alive, vaguely forming the shape of a dragon. The dragon stared at Zu An with a ferocious gaze, as if a single mistake would be enough for it to devour and eliminate him.

    Zu An had already learned the procedure to open up up the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons from the sisters, so he walked forward without any nervousness. When he approached the area that the dragon was overlooking, the crown on his head suddenly lit up. Then, as if it was being led by something, the light on the crown gathered into a single ray and aimed toward the eyes of the dragon of stone on the tomb gate.

 Chapter 2158: Counterattack

    When it sensed the rays of light, the ferocious gaze of the stone dragon eased up. Immediately after, the rune lines around it scattered and gathered again. The dragon pattern eventually disappeared and formed some other special diagrams. Then, with a series of loud creaks, the tomb entrance slowly opened. The interior was incredibly dark, like the mouth of an abyss waiting for people to jump in.

    The Firedevil Sea Beast and the others were really excited. They were now just a single step away from sess. However, Ka Qier was surprisingly calm. He only stared at the tomb entrance calmly. It was hard to tell what he was thinking.

    Then, Zu An waved his hand, gesturing for everyone to follow him in.

    An Ocean race elder stepped forward to stop him. His expression was a bit troubled as he protested, ¡°Your majesty, in the past, only the Dragon King and the deceased dragons were allowed to enter the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons!¡±

    Zu An said indifferently, ¡°The Mermaid Queen has been blessed, and this ruler is in a good mood. I¡¯ll be bringing in some people to experience the grace of the Dragon Deity together.¡±

    ¡°But¡­¡± The Ocean race elders looked at each other in dismay.

    Just then, Ao Yong spoke up. ¡°What brother king says makes sense. There are more deceased dragons this time than usual, so we can¡¯t just have brother king carry them all alone, right? We¡¯ll help him bring them inside.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He had never expected this guy to be the one who would speak up for him.

    <em>Is the sun rising from the west today?</em>Shang Liuyu, who was impersonating a maid, gave Ao Yong a look. This trip into the tomb was likely going to be dangerous. Having more people from the Ocean races to help out could be good.

    Zu An couldn''t help but chuckle.

    <em>This woman really is naive. She might not know just how much this guy likes her sister. There¡¯s no way he would help me.</em>

    Even so, he decided to agree as well. Keeping Ao Yong outside could only bring Shang Hongyu more danger in her following ns. It could be better to take him in.

    When they saw how firm the Dragon King was on this, and with Ao Yong taking the lead, many other Ocean race higher-ups approved of the n, even including some of the elders. Thus, the other elders didn¡¯t stop them and let them proceed.

    In truth, they were actually a bit curious about what the inside of the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons looked like themselves. However, they had a duty to stand guard outside the tomb. Thus, in the end, they chose some elders to follow the Dragon King, Ao Yong, and the others into the tomb.

    Zu An secretly warned Shang Liuyu, ¡°Big sis Shang, follow me closely. Don¡¯t go beyond three feet from me.¡±

    Whether it was the alien monsters or the Hell creatures, none of them were good sorts. If she was too far from him, he wouldn¡¯t be able to guarantee her safety.

    Shang Liuyu had a weird expression. She had previously found ¡®big sis Shang¡¯ quite endearing, but after what he had done with her sister, she was supposed to be calling him brother-inw. For him to call her ''big sis'' felt especially strange now. She opened her mouth and was about to ask him to change the way he called her, but she just couldn''t bring herself to say it. In the end, she could only voice her confirmation.

    Zu An¡¯s group entered the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons in a grandiose fashion, and the tomb entrance slowly closed. Only when all of the rituals wereplete would the Dragon King be able to open the door again from inside.

    When they saw the tomb door gradually disappear, many people from the Ocean races had looks of worry on their faces. There had never been anyone who entered the tomb in such a huge group.

    <em>Will bad things happen if so many people enter at the same time? Over a thousand people went in!</em>

    Still, several others seemed to be at ease. They felt that it was a sign of the Ocean races¡¯ might. In the past, the Dragon Kings had always been fine, so how could there be any problems if so many powerful individuals went in together? What they were more worried about was the Mermaid Queen¡¯s pregnancy. Now that they thought about it, the Dragon King already had several children with women of the Mermaid race. Now, the Mermaid race¡¯s influence could ruin the bnce of the Ocean races.

    Thankfully, the Mermaid race had always been peace-loving and weren¡¯t cruel and bloodthirsty. The various races¡¯ rtionship with them was good too. The empress was gentle and dignified, so people all had an excellent impression of her. Compared to the previous situation, when the queen had a bounty on her head, the current situation was much better.

    ¡­

    While resting inside the pce, the Mermaid Queen everyone was talking about suddenly opened her eyes. Her hands shot out like lightning and she quickly restrained the maids in the room. Then, she pulled away the covers and jumped out of bed. As she took a few steps, pieces of armor appeared out of thin air before eventually forming a beautiful set of red armor. Not only did it further entuate her figure, it also added a heroic air to her appearance.

    This was the Mermaid race¡¯s most precious battle armor, and because she was now the Mermaid Queen, it had been improved with many materials from the Dragon Pce. It was probably one of the most outstanding armors in the entire world. Now that she put on this set of armor, it officially signified the start of a war.

    Soon after, she killed some servants and maids near the Dragon Pce. They were all individuals she knew for sure were on the monsters¡¯ side, based on their previous investigations.

    Most of the alien monsters and Hell creatures had already followed Ka Qier and the Shadowhorror Devil into the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons. To them, Shang Hongyu appeared to have already been fully subdued by Zu An, so they weren¡¯t worried about her at all. They figured that leaving her out here was no different from leaving the sick and elderly alone.

    Then, she contacted some of her trusted aides in the Dragon Pce. She began to lead the troops to swiftly eliminate the monsters in the Dragon Pce. She and Zu An had already gotten a very clear picture of the current situation while they were preparing for the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons¡¯ ceremony.

    Many of the monsters who had seized key positions were immediately killed. Those who remained were without their leaders and could only fight on their own, so they were also quickly wiped out. The monsters and Hell creatures tried to contact the Shadowhorror Devil, Ka Qier, and the others, but the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons was a special ce. Even with his knowledge, not even Zu An could understand its formations. Itpletely isted the inside from the outside world. Thus, they couldn''t contact their masters at all and could only await their deaths in despair.

    The blood of Shang Hongyu¡¯s enemies sttered across her face. She no longer had her usual soft and graceful air. Instead, her presence was full of killing intent. It was as if she was venting out all of the humiliation and resentment she had experienced here and now.

    She had been the queen for many years. Whether in terms of her cultivation or prestige, both were enough to convince the masses. At first, many subjects sensed that there was something going on and were rmed, but when they saw her, they quickly calmed down. Additionally, she dered that she was acting on the decree of the Dragon King to eliminate monsters. They knew just how in love the two were, so no one doubted her.

    In fact, fear of the fact that the monsters had already infiltrated so deeply made more and more Ocean race cultivators join in. How could those alien monsters and Hell creatures possibly stop them?

    There were a few smart individuals that imed that they were the Dragon King¡¯s real trusted aides and that the queen was revolting. Unfortunately, Shang Hongyu removed the Heart-Devouring Demon Spiders right from their corpses to show everyone. That was more convincing than any words could be.

    Once they were surrounded by the infuriated Ocean race experts, in the end, the alien monsters and hell creatures were filled with despair. They decided to just announce that the Dragon King was already one of them, telling everyone to cease their futile struggle, and that the earlier they defected to the side of the aliens and Hell, the better.

    Now, sure enough, many Ocean race experts hesitated. They remembered the mysterious dispute between the Dragon King and Mermaid Queen, and then the arrest order for the queen. They all began to form doubts, wondering if the Dragon King had already be a monster. What meaning was there left in their resistance then?

    When those thoughts arose, the morale of their side couldn''t help but waver.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Shang Hongyu sneered. ¡°The Dragon King has already received the acknowledgement of the Crown of the Ocean Deity, which proves that he is the true Dragon King. Don¡¯t believe the lies of these fiends!¡±

    Everyone else suddenly realized that as well.

    <em>Right, with the Dragon King and Mermaid Queen here, why are we listening to what the monsters say?</em>

    As such, they all raised their weapons in fury, circling and annihting the monsters.

    Then, Shang Hongyu mobilized her forces to investigate if there were any monsters or Hell creatures left in the Dragon Pce. In the past, such arge-scale operation would definitely have stirred up public dissent, but they had just seen monsters upy some Ocean race corpses, so who would go against the order?

    If anyone wasn¡¯t willing to be checked, that only implied they carried guilt. They could very well be a monster. There were glowers being cast all around, so no one was willing to take that risk. Furthermore, they did find some monsters through this process, so that made everyone present cooperate even more.

    When Shang Hongyu saw that the situation in the Dragon Pce was stabilizing, she sighed in relief. She looked in the direction of the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons.

    <em>Everything now depends on you two. You and little sis need to be safe.</em>

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An had Shang Liuyu at his side; following them were Ka Qier and the three alien monsters. Around them were many of their respective subordinates. Zu An had already deduced that these individuals were either controlled by Heart-Devouring Demon Spiders, or were Hell creatures dressed in skins.

    The only ones remaining were Ao Yong¡¯s group and some Ocean race elders, as well as some servants who were transporting the dragon corpses.

    Zu An felt that something was a bit strange. The alien monsters clearly had the Lord of Myriad Transformations and Shadowhorror Devil¡¯s groups, while the Hell creatures only had Ka Qier on their level. That was a four to one ratio. Even though Ka Qier had more subordinates, there was no way it would make up for the difference in strength.

    <em>Is he really not worried that the alien monsters might suddenly turn hostile against him?</em>

 Chapter 2159: Hidden Treasure

    The group continued into the depths of the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons. At first, even though the passage was dark, some light sources glimmered from time to time. It was as if there were many treasures embedded within the passageway that made the space be a bit brighter.

    Additionally, there were massive pirs that were so wide, it would take more than a dozen people linking their arms to surround it. On their surface, all kinds of Ocean race creatures were engraved. The further in they went, the stronger the creatures that were depicted became. Eventually, it was almost all dragons that covered the pirs. They could even clearly see the scales on the dragons¡¯ bodies. The dragons seemed to be lying in wait within the clouds, ready to strike at any time.

    Immediately after, they arrived in front of an enormous pce. In that instant, Zu An almost felt that this was the real Dragon Pce. The pce outside was a bit more extravagant and gorgeous, while this one was gloomier and clearly abandoned. There were ruined areas everywhere. Every single step and stone conveyed the traces of a time long past. Even so, the pce still exuded a majestic feeling. It made people feel a deep sense of respect even from far away.

    The Ocean race representatives that had entered were all surprised, with many of the more devout individuals kneeling and kowtowing. They called this ce the Pce of the Ocean Deity.

    ¡°The Ocean Deity?¡± Zu An muttered as he began to think to himself. He didn¡¯t sense any divine power, but there was an almost tangible draconic energy that filled the ce.

    On the human and fiend sides, no matter how famous the mountains¡¯ dragon veins were,pared to this ce they really were just too insignificant inparison. Cultivating here would provide benefits even greater than if one were in the middle of a ki stone mine, especially for those of the Dragon race.

    Sure enough, Ao Yong and some of the elders trembled all over in excitement when they sensed the pure draconic energy. If they could cultivate in this kind of ce, their cultivation could make incredible breakthroughs every day!

    When he realized that, Ao Yong stared at Zu An¡¯s back resentfully.

    <em>There was a ce this amazing, and yet he kept it to himself all this time.</em><em>No wonder I could never catch up to him, even though my talent isn¡¯t any worse than his.</em>

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Ao Yong for +444 +444 +444¡­</strong>

    When he saw the Rage points, Zu An didn¡¯t feel anything special. To him, Ao Yong was someone who couldn''t even figure out who the real enemy was, so he wasn¡¯t even worth a second nce.

    ¡­

    The group quickly proceeded up the stairs and entered the underground pce. At the very center of the pce was a dome that peaked over a thousand meters above them. An azure blue sea was vaguely visible beyond it, as well as some massive figures slowly swimming around.

    Forget about Ao Yong¡¯s group, even the alien monsters and Ka Qier now clicked their tongues in wonder.

    Zu An began to think to himself.

    <em>Something¡¯s strange here¡­ This height shouldn¡¯t even go past the undersea mountains outside the tomb entrance. Why can we see the sea here?</em>

    Additionally, the giant sea creatures swimming above the pce should have been able to see inside the pce. Why had the Ocean races never had any legends surrounding this great pce? Was it only visible from one direction?

    He looked up at the dome, and could vaguely make out someplicated runes in that area. They probably formed a spatial formation that the designer of the pce had created in the past.

    ¡°What are you looking at?¡± Shang Liuyu asked through a sound transmission. She was quite skilled in thews of sound, so she wasn¡¯t too worried about her voice transmissions being detected by the monsters.

    ¡°This ce feels even more mysterious than I imagined. It doesn¡¯t seem to be a ce that your Ocean races could¡¯ve built with your current ability,¡± Zu An said with a grave expression.

    ¡°It might have been built by the ancient Ocean races. The current Ocean races have lost many thingspared to ancient times,¡± Shang Liuyu said with a smile, but most of her attention was still on the monsters and Hell creatures.

    The other side had the absolute advantage. Even though Zu An¡¯s cultivation was high, the Shadowhorror Devil¡¯s group of three all had earth immortal-rank strength, and Ka Qier was also a mysterious and unpredictable factor. They really were heavily outnumbered in strength.

    She and her big sister had nned to choose some of the Ocean races¡¯ strongest to help them, but Zu An had refused. His reasoning made sense too. At a battle of this level, fewer people could be better. If there were too many people, the alien monsters and Hell creatures could band together and create some unwanted variables. The sisters had thus given up on the idea.

    When she saw Zu An casually stroll around, Shang Liuyu was in a bit of a daze. If it wasn¡¯t because the sisters were already really familiar with Zu An in their own way, she would really have wondered if he was actually the fake Dragon King. Otherwise, how could he still be so calm in this kind of situation?

    <em>That young and immature little brother from the gazebo already grew up.</em>

    ¡­

    The group soon arrived in front of a giant sculpture that depicted a dragon. The lower half of its body was coiled within a raging sea, while the upper half had some clouds engraved around it, as if it had broken out of the sea to soar into the clouds. The entire sculpture looked vivid and lifelike. Butpared to the other meticulously designed areas, the dragon head was a bit indistinct and ingeniously hidden within the clouds. It was impossible to make out a clear appearance.

    Shang Liuyu said in Zu An''s ear, ¡°This is a sculpture of the legendary Dragon Deity. No one has ever seen what the Dragon Deity really looks like. It¡¯s rumored that deities usually abstain from leaving behind traces of their appearance in the world of mortals.¡±

    Zu An was surprised. ¡°Wait, are the Dragon Deity and Ocean Deity the same person?¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Shang Liuyu replied, ¡°Actually, the debate of whether the Dragon Deity and Ocean Deity are the same has been an ongoing debate among the Ocean races for a long time, and thousands of years of research and discussion have yet to clear this confusion up. After all, deities are too distant from us, and no one has truly seen them before. The ancient Dragon race might have, but they didn¡¯t leave behind enough evidence for us. Eventually, the majority came to view both as the same deity. Of course, some people are used to calling them one way or another, so they''re more partial to addressing the deity the way they did in the past.¡±

    Zu An nodded.

    An Ocean race elder quickly reminded him that he could now begin the ceremony. A group of attendants began to bow down before the Dragon Deity statue, arranging all manner of sacrificial offerings. Then, the Ocean race elders knelt down in respect.

    Zu An was the Dragon King right now, so he naturally needed to step forward and chant the corresponding sacrificial rites. These were fixed rituals that couldn''t be skipped. Even though the aliens and Hell creatures were impatient, they still endured and cooperated to prevent unnecessary trouble. Still, the sacrificial rites were soonplete, and what followed was burying the dragon remains.

    In the side pces were many caves that led to great mountains. Each mountain was filled with even more caves like a ho¡¯s nest. Every single cave could be used to bury a dragon. Of course, ording to the dragon¡¯s status in life, they would be buried in different mountains. Even the same mountain would have differences in their prestige. The closer to the top of the mountain they were buried, the greater the status of the buried dragon was. In contrast, the dragons that were buried lower were of lower status.

    Zu An seemingly took the initiative to watch the burial of the dragons, but in reality, it was because the ces where the dragons were buried had the richest draconic energy. He wanted to see if the Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine grew nearby.

    The Ocean race representatives and the families of the deceased dragons were honored by his presence.

    <em>The Dragon King really cares about his subjects! He is actually willing to personally oversee the burial process.</em>

    Zu An arrived at the dragon burial mountains and released his divine sense. The draconic energy was especially rich, as expected. It flooded one¡¯s body like the ocean¡¯s waters. From time to time, the caves gave off glimmers of light. Judging from the radiance, they were clearly extraordinary.

    The Shadowhorror Devil, Firedevil Sea Beast, and Bloodthirst Crocodile exchanged a look. They all saw the excitement in each other¡¯s eyes.

    <em>We¡¯ve really struck it rich this time!</em>

    After all, as an innate trait, dragons loved to hoard treasure. Whenever a dragon was buried, their ns would bury their most beloved treasures with them. Even without the treasures and just the dragon corpses alone, dragon tendons, scales, blood, and flesh were incredible ingredients. Of course, as time went on, the blood and flesh would already have rotted away. However, the other things would still be intact.

    Furthermore, those weren¡¯t the most precious things. Once some powerful dragons died, all of their essence formed into a dragon pearl. Such pearls were even more incredible than a dragon¡¯s inner core!

 Chapter 2160: Dragon Devil Binding Formation

    After a dragon¡¯s death, its inner core could gradually disappear, but a dragon¡¯s pearl wouldn¡¯t, and such pearls contained the purest power of the world that was useful to cultivators of all different races.

    If a human cultivator ingested one, they could immediately gain countless years of cultivation and receive help with a cultivation breakthrough. If a monster devoured one, they could immediately digest the power within and improve their strength by another level.

    However, dragon pearls were rarely formed. Not even one could form out of a hundred corpses. It was hard enough to find a dragon corpse to begin with, let alone a dragon pearl. But in the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons, such a thing became possible.

    There were many caves that sparkled as if with starlight, which could very well be the glimmers of light from dragon pearls.

    The monsters all thought that once theypleted their task, they definitely had to empty out this treasury. Once they returned, they had to spend some time cultivating. For all they knew, they could even be able to reach the level of the Shadowhorror Devil, and even that of the legendary Lord of ughter wasn¡¯t entirely impossible. When they thought of that, even their breathing became rushed.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    In contrast, Zu An was a lot more disappointed, because he didn¡¯t see any signs of the Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine. Even though this ce wasrge, how powerful was his divine sense now? Furthermore, the Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine would definitely be surrounded by supernatural signs, which wouldn¡¯t escape his notice.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t find it?¡± Shang Liuyu asked, looking at him with worry.

    While being around him as ofte, she had already asked Zu An why he was on the Ocean races'' side. After all, there was no way he could havee so quickly even if he left as soon as he received her letter. So Zu An had told her about how he needed the Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine to save Qiu Honglei. When she''d heard about what happened to Chu Chuyan and Qiu Honglei, Shang Liuyu was incredibly shocked. Even though they weren¡¯t that close, she had still lived in Brightmoon City for several years, and they were acquainted with each other.

    Upon hearing that Zu An was looking for the Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine for them, her opinion of him changed a bit too. At the very least, the anger she had felt lessened. Of course, if he hadn¡¯t ended up hooking up with her older sister along the way, the respect she felt for him could have been much stronger.¡°I haven¡¯t,¡± Zu An said dejectedly. He hade all the way here, and the feeling of hope going up in smoke really felt awful.

    When she saw how frustrated he looked, Shang Liuyu tried tofort him. ¡°Even though it isn¡¯t here, the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons is so big. It might be somewhere else. For example, the ce the alien monsters and Hell creatures are looking for definitely isn''t here, right?¡±

    Zu An also realized that.

    <em>Right! Ka Qier and the alien monsters aren¡¯t too impressed by this ce, which means this isn¡¯t their goal. It seems the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons has many secrets. There might still be more opportunities to find the Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine.</em>

    ¡°Thank you!¡± he replied. With such a caring and considerate womanforting him, he immediately felt warmer inside.

    Shang Liuyu smiled when she saw that he had regained his spirit. She didn¡¯t say any more.

    Since there was no immortal medicine here, Zu An immediately felt disinterested in this ce. He didn¡¯t want to continue watching the burial process and returned to the main hall.

    The other Ocean race representatives didn¡¯t find it too strange either. The fact that the Dragon King had even been willing toe here already gave them a lot of face. How could they have him participate in the following affairs? As such, the Ocean race elders continued to conduct the burials with the deceased dragons¡¯ families.

    ¡­

    When Zu An returned to the main hall, he noticed that something was off. He looked up and saw that Ao Yong was roaming all around the pce, vaguely encircling him.

    ¡°What is this Ao Yong trying to do?¡± Shang Liuyu frowned. Unfortunately, with her disguise, she couldn''t speak up and berate him.

    Zu An noticed that the elders who had agreed to everyone entering together also seemed to be siding with Ao Yong. He asked coldly, ¡°What are you all doing?¡±

    ¡°What are we doing?¡± Ao Yong repeated with a sneer. ¡°I''m going to prove that you''re not worthy of being the Dragon King in front of the Dragon Deity himself!¡±

    Zu An raised his brows. This guy¡¯s decisions were always just too unexpected.

    Shang Liuyu was shocked and furious. She had just said to Zu An that it was a good thing that Ao Yong had entered as well, because they would at least have some Ocean race helpers inside. How could she have anticipated that he would do something like this?

    The Shadowhorror Devil and Ka Qier¡¯s group had strange expressions. The feeling was quite hard to describe¡­ It was as if a group of heavily-armed bandits were about to carry out a huge undertaking, only for some small-time bandits to emerge and try to rob them.

    ¡°How impudent!¡± Shang Liuyu finally couldn''t take it anymore. She helped Zu An berate them. ¡°Do you know what you''re doing right now?!¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± Ao Yong harrumphed. He pointed at Zu An and asked, ¡°Do you all think that this guy is worthy of being the Dragon King? Just what has he even done over the years? He only knows how to go around womanizing day after day, flirting with women from different races. Many important ministers¡¯ wives have even been defiled by him. So many people are furious, and yet no one dares to say anything. Almighty Dragon Deity, is this something a king should be doing?¡±

    Zu An nodded and said, ¡°It is indeed uneptable.¡±

    The things the Dragon King had done before really were a bit too much, especially his fetish for going after the wives of others. It had gotten to the point that he even did so inside the Dragon Pce! It really was absurd. If not for the fact that he''d only cared about ying around, with the Dragon King¡¯s cultivation, the Ocean races'' important individuals wouldn¡¯t have been reced silently to this extent.

    Ao Yong was left speechless. He had thought that the Dragon King would definitely berate him back, so he had prepared many criticisms regarding the other party¡¯s morals, but how could he have known that the Dragon King would just straight up admit to it?

    <em>Now I really don¡¯t know what to do anymore!</em>

    An Ocean race elder coughed lightly to remind him of his duty.

    Ao Yong finally reacted and said, ¡°Since you already know it as well, just abdicate the position yourself in front of the Dragon Deity. Then, I¡¯ll spare your life and promise you a life of glory and riches.¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°I might be a womanizer and might have ignored my responsibilities, but I know that I''m a good Dragon King. As for you? Just where do you get the confidence to go after my position?¡±

    ¡°Heh, I might not be able to do much against you outside, but your mistake was agreeing to my entry into this tomb.¡± Ao Yongughed, feeling quite proud of himself. His subordinates and trusted aides all began to chant and use their skills.

    The entire hall lit up. One after another, runes quickly appeared as the hall was filled with a mysterious formation.

    ¡°The Dragon Devil Binding Formation?¡± Shang Liuyu¡¯s expression changed. She immediately realized what it was.

    Ao Yong was quite surprised. ¡°This maid of yours knows quite a bit. That¡¯s right, this is the Dragon Devil Binding Formation that I obtained through great difficulty. Inside this formation, the strength of anyone from the Dragon race is reduced to just half of their usual power, while those from the other Ocean races are only able to use seventy to eighty percent of their real strength. I have an exemption talisman here, but what about you? How are you still going to face me?¡±

    As he spoke, he felt more and more proud of himself.

    <em>If I kill the Dragon King, I¡¯ll be the new Dragon King!</em>

    <em>Once we leave, I can just find some random pretext to say that the Dragon King died. There''s nothing the guys outside can even do if they suspect me. Everything will already be over then, and his position as the Dragon King will be secured!</em>

    <em>Then, sister-inw will be mine!</em>

    When he thought about how Shang Hongyu seemed even more captivating than usual, his thoughts began to heat up.

    <em>Hmph, it¡¯d be best if she submits to me when the timees. If she dares to disobey, I¡¯ll start with threatening the child in her womb. She¡¯ll have no choice but to follow me.</em>

    <em>Even so, in the future, that child will be a disaster. Once Shang Hongyu gives birth to my heir, I¡¯ll secretly deal with that first child. Once we have children of our own, Shang Hongyu will most likely just ept her fate then.</em>

    <em>But¡­ Will I seem too evil then?</em>

    Ao Yong already began to imagine a lifetime of bliss with Shang Hongyu. The corners of his lips couldn''t help but curl up into a grin.

    When he saw Ao Yong smiling like a fool, Zu An couldn''t help but asked with a sigh, ¡°This big formation is your so-called trump card?¡±

    ¡°What, is it not enough for you?¡± Ao Yong suddenly felt a weight drop inside of him when he saw how calm Zu An remained the entire time.

    <em>Don¡¯t tell me he still has something to rely on that I don¡¯t know about?</em>

 Chapter 2161: You Four Trash Can Come At Me Together!

    <em>But that¡¯s impossible! I¡¯ve already prepared so, so long for today! How could the Dragon King have any skills that I don¡¯t know about?</em>

    <em>Hmph, he¡¯s definitely just acting tough to scare me.</em>

    Ao Yong took a step forward and let his aura run wild. ¡°Ever since I was little, you were never all that much stronger than me. But because you were chosen as the Dragon King, you had endless resources poured into you. Since my talent isn¡¯t any worse than yours, I¡¯ll just use a hundred times more effort to surpass you.

    ¡°Do you know how I spent all these years? I only slept three hours at most every day. As for every other waking moment, if it wasn''t spent on cultivation, then it was spent on more cultivation. And what about you? You only knew how to spend your time in drinking and pleasure, using all your energy struggling on the bellies of women. With this squandering of your energy and the Dragon Devil Binding Formation, you have absolutely no chance of winning against me!¡±

    As he spoke, tears even glimmered in the corners of his eyes. After all these years of living a life more tiring than that of a dog, he was now finally going to reap the benefits. Meanwhile, his aura broke through to the earth immortal rank. It turned out he had been hiding his cultivation all this time!

    When he sensed the familiar aura, Ka Qier thought to himself, <em>No wonder I didn¡¯t discover him by the Dragon King¡¯s private pcest time. So he was an earth immortal!</em>

    <em>I was going to say¡­ Even if my attention was focused on the fake Dragon King and Mermaid Queen inside, there¡¯s no way I would be that careless.</em>

    Shang Liuyu also started to panic. She wanted to warn Ao Yong that they were facing a great enemy and that now wasn¡¯t the time for internal strife.

    However, Zu An secretly stopped her. Ao Yong had schemed for so long and had even bought out many elders of the Dragon race. With so much effort being put into y, there was no going back. He was actually starting to feel a bit of respect for Ao Yong. This fellow was indeed a bit more deserving of respectpared to the Dragon King. Just what was it that had motivated him to bide his time for revenge?<em>Was it Shang Hongyu?</em>

    <em>No, he mentioned things from when he was still young. Shang Hongyu still hadn¡¯t married the Dragon King then.</em>

    <em>It must be that his mind has be warped from always being inferior to his brother. He always wanted to surpass his brother and steal his big brother¡¯s things to prove his own superiority, including seizing his brother¡¯s woman!</em>

    Shang Hongyu was nothing more than a focus of Ao Yong''s warped emotions; it wasn¡¯t that he truly loved her. Unfortunately, he had no idea what he was facing right now. Everything he had done until now was doomed to bepletely meaningless.

    Zu An said to Ka Qier, ¡°General Ka Qier, I¡¯ll be leaving these annoying fellows to you.¡±

    He wanted to use this chance to see just what kind of methods these Hell creatures had.

    Ka Qier¡¯s expression changed slightly. He gave Ao Yong a look, then looked at the Shadowhorror Devil¡¯s group, who found the situation really amusing. He said grimly, ¡°Let''s attack together and eliminate them swiftly so they won¡¯t get in the way of our ns.¡±

    The Shadowhorror Devil¡¯s group snickered and said, ¡°Since the Dragon King selected you, we¡¯ll just be troubling you to handle it.¡±

    Ao Yong frowned. ¡°You''re so confident in defeating me with trash like this? Brother king, brother king, I thought that you would at least have some courage, but you¡¯re too scared to even face me and are just throwing these petty soldiers at me. It truly leaves me filled with contempt.¡±

    Ka Qier was speechless.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The alien monsters who had beenughing just a moment beore froze up too. The Bloodthirst Crocodile was furious. ¡°F*ck! This guy is just too arrogant. Perfect timing. This big mouth of mine has already been waiting patiently to be fed for a long time.¡±

    The Firedevil Sea Beast also stretched out his ws. ¡°I didn¡¯t feel like joining in before, but this kid is courting his own death. You have no one to me but yourself.¡±

    The Shadowhorror Devil said coldly, ¡°Agreed!¡±

    When he saw their unkind expressions, Ao Yong could sense that things didn¡¯t seem right. But he didn¡¯t really understand where the problemy. He was clearly really strong; after all, he was an incredibly powerful earth immortal. Furthermore, the other side was being affected by the Dragon Devil Binding Formation and couldn''t even bring out their full strength, so there was absolutely no reason for him to be scared! He immediately felt much more confidence and said, ¡°Haha, you four trash can juste at me together then.¡±

    Zu An and Shang Liuyu¡¯s expressions grew a bit strange. They really didn¡¯t know whether to y along with Ao Yong orugh at his ignorance.

    ¡°You¡¯re courting death!¡± The Shadowhorror Devil could no longer hold in his rage. His aura surged powerfully, and a visible domain extended in all directions. Ao Yong¡¯s subordinates immediately sensed an extreme aura of dread. Their bodies trembled all over and weakened, and they couldn''t even lift a finger.

    The Bloodthirst Crocodile quickly rushed over. Sharp ws extended from his hand, and an Ocean race elder was instantly sliced in half, his innards spreading all across the ground. His other hand¡¯s ws stabbed into the chest of another cultivator and directly ripped out a still-beating heart. He then shoved it into his mouth. The sound of blood and flesh being chewed between teeth really was horrifying to experience.

    The Firedevil Sea Beast said with a cold snort, ¡°Your way of eating is always so disgusting! How can you do that in public?¡±

    He suddenly appeared behind one of Ao Yong¡¯s generals. A thin me ignited on his finger, then sliced open the general''s brain like a fine surgical knife. Once it was opened, he moved in and sucked out all of the contents. He said, ¡°Mmm, a feast like this is much more elegant!¡±

    All of this happened in an instant. These powerful cultivators were already devoured in such cruel ways before anyone could even react.

    Shang Liuyu couldn''t help but lean a bit closer to Zu An. In the end, monsters really were monsters¡­ This kind of scene really was a bit too disturbing to watch. Zu An gently patted her hand tofort her. When she felt his hand¡¯s warmth, Shang Liuyu¡¯s expression finally eased a bit.

    Ao Yong was shocked and furious. ¡°Just what kind of sted things are you?!¡±

    After all, he too had earth immortal cultivation. He instinctively rushed at the three. Just then, however, Ka Qier appeared in front of him.

    ¡°Die!¡± Ao Yong yelled, unleashing a punch toward Ka Qier. It was because of this guy that his wonderful ns had all been ruined at the Dragon King¡¯s private pce, which was why he could only watch as his beloved woman was ravaged by another man. He''d had too many misgivings back then and couldn''t go all out. He didn¡¯t need to hide anymore now.

    But who would have thought that his fist, which should have sted Ka Qier to smithereens, would be easily blocked?!

    Ka Qier grinned. His mouth opened wide, the corners of his lips reaching all the way to his ears. It was as if his skin wasn¡¯t made from one piece. His mouth stretched even wider as he bit down on Ao Yong¡¯s wrist.

    ¡°Ahhh!¡± Ao Yong rushed backward in rm while screaming bitterly. His arm was dripping with blood.

    Ka Qier chewed on the hand he had bitten off, filling the air with the sounds of crunching bone.

    Once one reached the earth immortal rank, one¡¯s body would disy an incredible degree of toughness. And yet, Ao Yong''s hand had been bitten right off, and his whole fist was chewed to pieces. Just how terrifying was that?!

    Soon after, Ka Qier swallowed all of the flesh and bones. He said, ¡°Bear paws are famous for being delicious, but in my opinion, they''re far from a dragon palm.¡±

    ¡°You¡­ Just who are you people?!¡± Ao Yong was now truly terrified. All of this waspletely beyond his wildest imaginations.

    That guy¡¯s subordinates were all so cruel and savage! They were like tigers among a flock of sheep as they cruelly ughtered his subordinates.

    <em>Something isn¡¯t freaking right here!</em>

    <em>I was clearly the one who meticulously schemed against them and even prepared the Dragon Devil Binding Formation. These guys should be the ones being one-sidedly ughtered, so why are thingspletely reversed?</em>

    <em>Wait, why isn¡¯t the formation affecting them at all?</em>

    Ka Qier grinned. Pieces of flesh were still dangling from his teeth as he said, ¡°We aren¡¯t people.¡±

    When he saw Ka Qier¡¯s bloody teeth, Ao Yong felt as if he was about to go mad. He immediately looked at Zu An. ¡°Brother king, hurry and help me! We¡¯ll defeat these monsters together!¡±

    Shang Liuyu couldn''t help but give Zu An a look. She was hesitant too. Even though Ao Yong was seriously injured, he was an earth immortal and had some fighting strength. If they allied together, it would be much better than facing these aliens and Hell creatures alone.

    But Zu An remainedpletely calm. He replied mockingly, ¡°Weren¡¯t you trying to steal my position just a moment ago? Why did you suddenly remember this brother king of yours?¡±

 Chapter 2162: The Mermaid Raceâ€™s Secret

    <h4>Chapter 2162: The Mermaid Race¡¯s Secret</h4>

    ¡°Brother king, I was wrong! A great man like yourself shouldn¡¯t bother yourself with a petty person like me. From today on, I¡¯ll serve you with all my heart no matter what brother king asks of me!¡± Ao Yong struggled to avoid his opponent¡¯s attacks while continuing to beg Zu An for mercy.

    ¡°Many people wish this world had medicine for regret, but unfortunately, it doesn¡¯t exist.¡± Zu An remained unmoved.

    Shang Liuyu sighed inwardly. She wasn¡¯t surprised by Zu An¡¯s decision. She knew fully well that this was something Ao Yong was only saying because he had no way out. If he was given a moment to catch his breath, he would sell Zu An out without a moment of hesitation. Still, she really couldn''t bear to watch these Ocean race people be ughtered mercilessly by the alien monsters and Hell creatures.

    When he saw that Zu An had no intention of interfering, Ao Yong panicked. ¡°Do you think they¡¯ll let you go just because you¡¯re staying out of the fight? Once I die, you¡¯re next!" He paused for a moment before continuing, ¡°...Wait a second, you¡¯re all in this together? Damn it all! You already colluded with these monsters a long time ago!¡±

    He was shocked and furious as he continuously cursed Zu An.

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Ao Yong for +888 +888 +888...</strong>

    Zu An remainedpletely calm as he watched the Rage pointse in continuously. A pig teammate like this wasn¡¯t worth saving. Not only had he not been any help, he''d only made these monsters band together.

    Ao Yong once again screamed bitterly, because his earlier moment of carelessness enabled the Bloodthirst Crocodile to pull off an ambush, biting down on his other arm.

    The Bloodthirst Crocodile roared withughter. ¡°He¡¯s an earth immortal and even of the Dragon race. The taste really is incredible!¡±

    His teeth continued to grind down the flesh and bones, and shortly after, the hand waspletely devoured.

    Ao Yong¡¯s mindpletely broke down. He used his life-saving treasures to run away. Even with his cultivation, he wasn¡¯t a match for these guys even one on one, let alone one against four!

    ¡°You want to run?¡± The Shadowhorror Devil sneered. Suddenly, a sphere of darkness surrounded him andpletely sealed off the surrounding space.

    Ao Yong¡¯s expression was full of fear. He had never expected this enemy to be able to stop his life-saving treasure!

    Then, the Firedevil Sea Beast, Ka Qier and Bloodthirst Crocodile rushed forward. Ao Yong was ripped to shreds almost instantly. His subordinates and even the Ocean race elders who had sided with him were alsopletely wiped out by the alien monsters and Hell creatures. The entire hall was dyed blood red, and the air was filled with a nauseating bloody scent.

    Shang Liuyu couldn''t help but give the Dragon Deity statue a look.

    <i>If the Dragon Deity was here, I wonder what he would think.</i> n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Ka Qier licked the flesh around his teeth and said to Zu An with augh, ¡°Let¡¯s go. We¡¯ll do what we need to now.¡±

    Zu An nodded. ¡°Alright.¡± He grabbed Shang Liuyu¡¯s hand as he went further in, as if he was seizing her.

    Shang Liuyu was really nervous right now. She didn¡¯t know how Zu An was going to defeat these terrifying monsters. But the situation had already developed like this, so she could only follow him down this path to its end.

    Ka Qier¡¯s group had been worried that Shang Liuyu would be suspicious from this scene. When they saw what happened, theypletely rxed and let go of that thought.

    ...

    Ka Qier quickly led their group around the giant Dragon Deity statue and approach the wall behind it.

    Zu An noticed that this wall actually had a mermaid engraved on it. The strokes were incredibly fine. Even though it was just a sculpted relief, he could still sense her enchanting beauty.

    When she saw the sculpture, Shang Liuyu was a bit stunned, because a simr sculpture existed in the Mermaid race''s territory. It was rumored to be a sculpture of the first Mermaid Ancestor. Of course, there were those who had imed that she wasn¡¯t the founding ancestor, and rather a mermaid queen who established outstanding contributions to the Mermaid race, and even the entirety of the Ocean races.

    Still, regardless of which saying it was, this individual had enjoyed the respect and offerings of generation after generation of the Mermaid race, and was worshiped from the cradle to the grave. Why was her statue also in the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons?

    Zu An stayed at the wall. He could sense a formation that was even more profound than the one on the entrance to the tomb. No, he didn¡¯t even know if he could call it a formation. There were only a few dozenplicated runes, and they were all runes he had never seen the strokes and shapes of before. He didn¡¯t dare to look down on them, because he could sense a divine and sacred power emanating from them. Could they be the legendary runes of deities?

    Even though he couldn''t understand the fundamental principles behind these runes with his current skill, he could clearly deduce that they contained tremendous power. If anyone dared to try and break through using brute force, they would definitely incur a devastating retaliation. No wonder Ka Qier and the other monsters were so cautious.

    Ka Qier gave Shang Liuyu a look, then said secretly to Zu An, ¡°This wall is something only the Mermaid race¡¯s queen can open. It¡¯s time to put Shang Liuyu to work.¡±

    Both of Shang Liuyu¡¯s sisters had already be the Dragon King¡¯s queen before. But whether it was in terms of cultivation aptitude, intelligence, beauty, or outstanding bearing, people had always believed that there was no better candidate suited to be the Mermaid Queen than Shang Liuyu.

    Zu An was a bit stunned. He asked, ¡°What does she need to do?¡± He couldn''t help but feel worried. If there was danger involved, he absolutely couldn''t let Shang Liuyu take the risk.

    ¡°She needs to sing a song. As for what song, she should know,¡± Ka Qier replied.

    Zu An frowned.

    <i>A song?</i>

    This was something he had never expected. Even something as simple as a song could open this wall filled with divine runes?

    <i>This isn¡¯t Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves!</i>

    <i>Wait, why is Ka Qier so familiar with these things?</i>

    Not only did Ka Qier know about the mysterious wall behind the Dragon Deity statue, he even knew how to open it.

    Zu An secretly told Shang Liuyu about what had been said. Shang Liuyu was stunned, and she said with an astonished expression ¡°Our Mermaid race has indeed always had a song passed down throughout history, and only those who were to be the Mermaid Queen were allowed to learn it. I never expected it could be used here.¡±

    Judging from her expression, it was obvious that she had learned the song. She looked hesitantly at Zu An. ¡°Are we really going to open it up for them?¡±

    No one knew whaty inside. A single mistake, and the monsters and Hell creatures would end up getting what they wanted. If that happened, the consequences would be catastrophic.

    ¡°Please.¡± Zu An remained calm.

    Perhaps influenced by his calmness, Shang Liuyu also became calmer. She walked up to the wall and began to sing. Her voice was really beautiful to listen to, but what was surprising was that the lyrics of the song only consisted of the ¡®ah¡¯ sound. However, every single word¡¯s pronunciation and intonation was entirely different. There were many sybles that humans and fiends couldn''t produce. That was the result of the structure of the Mermaids'' vocal cords and the talent of the Mermaid lineage. No matter how great the cultivation of humans became, they still couldn''t reproduce such sounds.

    The lyrics were clearly monotonous, and yet when Shang Liuyu sang the song, it became full of colors and emotion. It was pure and sacred, leaving even the monsters and Ka Qier fascinated.

    The song of the Mermaid Queen was outstanding, as expected!

    They secretly praised Zu An. They had actually been a bit worried that Shang Liuyu wouldn¡¯t cooperate after seeing what happened just now, out of doubt toward their identities. And yet with just a few words from Zu An, she had obedientlyplied.

    <i>It seems he really does have a certain degree of influence over women.</i>

    Ka Qier, the Bloodthirst Crocodile, and the Shadowhorror Devil were one thing, since they weren¡¯t too interested in women, but the Firedevil Sea Beast was now tempted. In the future, he had to consult Zu An on how he hadpletely won over these sisters in such a short amount of time.

    As Shang Liuyu¡¯s song continued, the wall began to shine with specks of blue light. Gradually, the blue lights increased in number before converging into a sea. The mermaid statue on the wall seemed toe alive. It was as if a real mermaid was singing in the ocean.

    Everyone present clicked their tongues in amazement. They wondered just who had sculpted these things in the past, because their skill was truly remarkable.

    Just then, the mermaid¡¯s outline lit up and a holographic image appeared. An incredibly beautiful woman appeared in front of those present.

 Chapter 2163: Threefold Restriction

    <h4>Chapter 2163: Threefold Restriction</h4>

    The Firedevil Sea Beast was practically about to drool as he watched.

    <i>This chick really is hot!</i>

    Zu An¡¯s expression remained neutral. This woman was beautiful, but she didn¡¯t have a soul. Her expression was empty, making her far inferior to Shang Liuyu.

    The mermaid projection looked at Shang Liuyu. Two beams of light suddenly fired out from her eyes and scanned her from head to toe before saying, ¡°Confirming Mermaid Queen bloodline. Permitted to proceed.¡±

    After saying that, the projection returned into the mermaid sculpture on the wall. The mermaid sculpture¡¯s outline began to undo its mechanisms. Then, a special diagram formed that resonated with the surrounding runes. Soon after, several golden lines linked together, and the entire wall erupted with golden radiance.

    The Shadowhorror Devil and Ka Qier quickly took a few steps back.

    Zu An was surprised.

    <i>They seem to fear this kind of light.</i>

    Unfortunately, the light didn¡¯t persist for that long and quickly went out again. Shortly after, the wall slowly parted to either side, revealing arge and deep cavern entrance.

    Shang Liuyu was shocked. This wall had previously been seamlessly closed and didn¡¯t look as if it could be opened at all, and yet there was actually such arge space behind it!

    Ka Qier and the three monsters were all excited. ¡°We¡¯ve seeded!¡±

    With a wave of their hands, they quickly ordered their subordinates to scout out the way. Shortly after, those subordinates returned to report that there were no dangers up ahead. The smiles on their faces thus grew even bigger. They gestured for Zu An to follow along and enter together with them.

    Shortly after, their gazesnded on Shang Liuyu. Now that this door was opened, there was no use left for her. They were all monsters or Hell creatures, while this woman was from the Ocean races.

    Zu An could guess their thoughts. He secretly said to them, ¡°This ce is too mysterious. We might still need her help in other areaster.¡±

    The monsters figured that made sense too. Shang Liuyu¡¯s cultivation was decent in this world, but to them, she was nothing, inferior to even one of their subordinate elites. She wouldn¡¯t be able to start much trouble at all, so they gave up on any thoughts of killing her for now.

    The Firedevil Sea Beast even teased Zu An. ¡°You really do cherish beauties. You don¡¯t really feel anything for them, do you?¡±

    Zu An replied indifferently, ¡°The sisters are both mine now. It¡¯d be a waste to kill them.¡±

    The monsters all had knowing smiles on their faces. Eating such beautiful Mermaid Queens would indeed be a waste.

    Both sisters... The Lord of Myriad Transformations really knew how to have fun.

    Zu An didn¡¯t pay their wretched looks any attention and took Shang Liuyu straight inside.

    ...

    A single room appeared before them, and in it, there was another pair of doors blocking their way. There was an endless sea engraved on the doors. The raging sea looked as if it was real and could spill out at any time.

    ¡°It¡¯s your turn.¡± Ka Qier looked at Zu An.

    When he sensed the surging force of the sea from the doors, Zu An realized something. He took out the Crown of the Ocean Deity and stepped toward the gate. There was a circr depression in the door that perfectly fit the crown. When the Crown of the Ocean Deity was inserted, itpletely lit up. Then, the lines on the door seemed toe alive and also gradually moved. The sculpture on the stone gates also turned into a real sea at a visible rate. Eventually, the stone gates also disappeared, bing a part of the sea.

    Everyone present clicked their tongues in amazement. They wondered just how all of this had been made in the past. These gates seemed to contain incredibly profound elemental transmutation methods that not even they couldprehend.

    They were deep in the sea, and the sea contained an endless power of destruction. If that water came gushing out, there wouldn¡¯t be many of them left alive.

    Shang LIuyu thought to herself that it was no wonder they had insisted on obtaining her and the Crown of the Ocean Deity. So they had needed both to open up this mysterious passage! Fortunately, she was from the Mermaid race, and due to her rtionship with her big sister, she was extremely familiar with the Dragon King.

    And yet, whether it was the Mermaid race or the Dragon King¡¯s side, neither seemed to have records of this path. Just where did it lead?

    The Crown of the Ocean Deity returned to Zu An¡¯s head. Zu An had a pensive expression as he held Shang Liuyu¡¯s hand and walked straight in. As he drew closer, the gate formed by the seawater parted to either side, producing a deep pathway.

    The others quickly followed along. Once they entered, they realized that they weren''t surrounded by stone or earthen walls, but rather walls formed from the parted ocean. They reflexively raised their heads and saw that there was ocean water above them too. They were far, far from the ocean''s surface. If this water suddenly came crashing down, even their earth immortal bodies could be ttened into flesh pancakes instantly, right?

    All of them looked at the supernaturally crafted passage and couldn''t help but walk a bit faster. They wanted to leave this ce as quickly as possible. After walking for a while, the group finally left the ocean floor path and returned to solid ground again. They all sighed in relief.

    But shortly after, they were stopped by another wall. It was entirely different in style from the previous designs of this ce. This wall¡¯s carving waspletely different from the prior sea; rather, it was a huge demonic face. The face was extremely malevolent, with two dark red mes within its eye sockets. It stared at the uninvited guests. The entire wall was surrounded by a thick aura of death.

    Shang Liuyu immediately felt a bit scared and reflexively leaned closer to Zu An. Zu Anforted her while sharpening his vignce. This ce was clearly rted to supernatural creatures. Could this be a trap that Ka Qier had set up?

    Still, he immediately rejected that thought. Forget about the fact that the Shadowhorror Devil¡¯s group wasn¡¯t scared at all, there was no possible way that Ka Qier could havee here before. After all, they had needed to rely on Shang Liuyu¡¯s singing and his own Crown of the Ocean Deity in order to open up the way.

    Sure enough, the Bloodthirst Crocodile spoke up. ¡°Skin-ying King, it¡¯s your turn.¡±

    Zu An was startled. <i>Skin-ying King?</i>

    <i>It seems that''s the identity of the guy inside Ka Qier.</i> n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    When he recalled what he had seen inside Ka Qier''s room, the skin-ying torture that the monster had endured, he thought the name was quite fitting.

    Ka Qier voiced his confirmation and walked up to the demonic face. A scepter suddenly appeared in his hand. On the very top of the scepter was a skull that released a white jade-like light. However, the rest of the staff was releasing waves of ck energy, the color of death.

    As the scepter emerged, the room was filled with a strange feeling that made everyone within feel uneasy. Forget about Shang Liuyu, even the monsters were feeling a bit anxious. As for Ka Qier¡¯s subordinates, they were all shaking all over as if they were going to prostrate in worship.

    Zu An looked at the scepter and thought to himself that it likely represented a certain kind of authority in Hell. Otherwise, these Hell creatures wouldn''t be so scared.

    Ka Qier stabbed the scepter straight into the wide open mouth of the demonic face. The face released ck energy that wound about the scepter, as if it was inspecting something.

    A whileter, the ck death energy gradually withdrew. Then, it crawled up to the wall like a tentacle and quickly entered inside. Shortly after, the dark red light in that demonic face¡¯s eyes turned green. The wall rotated and retracted in all directions, revealing an entrance.

    The Skin-ying King¡¯s breathing quickened. He picked up the scepter and ran in.

    Upon seeing that, the three monsters quickly followed him in as well. The alien monsters and Hell creature subordinates also followed them inside.

    Shang Liuyu was a bit nervous. She urged Zu An, ¡°We should hurry and go inside too, or else they¡¯ll end up taking all of the good stuff!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯ll be even better.¡± Zu An chuckled. ¡°There¡¯s no rush.¡±

 Chapter 2164: World Law Beacon

    Zu An squatted down and ran his fingers over the carvings of the demonic face. Only after a while did he get back up, saying, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Shang Liuyu couldn''t help but ask him, ¡°Just how are you going to deal with these people? Can you tell me a bit about it?¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°It won¡¯t be as awesome if I give it away too early.¡±

    ¡°Tsk, stingy.¡± Shang Liuyu gritted her teeth.

    <em>This guy really is a bit annoying. I really want to bite him.</em>

    But she quickly remembered how her big sister had bitten him and her face became entirely red.

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Shang Liuyu for +77 +77 +77¡­</strong>

    Zu An looked at her in confusion. Why was she suddenly getting angry? With her personality, she wasn''t supposed to be so petty, right?

    Just then, they heard cries of rm. When the two of them walked forward, they saw that the inside was like a divine pce. There were sinister stone statues lining the path that were all several meters tall. They resembled both dragons and lizards, but were neither. Their expressions were extremely lifelike. All of the stone statues were staring at the uninvited guests, creating a rather strange atmosphere. It was no wonder that the monsters had cried out in fear.Facing the stares of the stone statues, Shang Liuyu shivered as well. She secretly inched toward Zu An and asked, ¡°They aren¡¯t living things, are they?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. After countless years, even if they were alive before, they''re already dead through and through by now,¡± Zu An said. Even though he was reassuring her, however, he also felt a bit strange inside.

    <em>They look a bit too lifelike, right? They seem almost as if¡­ almost as if they were petrified by Yu Yanluo¡¯s Medusa Eyes.</em>

    Just then, the Bloodthirst Crocodile and the other monsters also berated their subordinates for getting scared over nothing. They were clearly the ones who were supposed to scare others, so how could they be the ones getting scared instead?

    The group continued inside. They discovered that the path was extremely long. They were starting to see some changes to the statues along the way too. At first, it was still the creatures that were neither dragons nor lizards, but the subsequent ones became stranger and stranger. All of them were filled with killing intent.

    But what was even stranger was that there was a faint scent in the air. The smell was incredibly rxing, and it made one''s body feel as if it was cheering.

    Zu An frowned slightly. This ce was too strange, and it was giving off such a mysterious sweet scent. It seemed like a trap. But when he carefully examined it, that smell didn¡¯t seem to be poisonous.

    Just then, Shang Liuyu said hesitantly, ¡°These statues¡­¡±

    ¡°Did you remember something?¡± Zu An asked, surprised. She was the only one from the Ocean races here, so she could know something that no one else here knew.

    ¡°These monsters are a bit like a certain thew enforcement group mentioned in history. It was rumored that every single one of their bodies was extremely suited to battle. The Ocean races used them to charge and break through enemy lines, as well as tasking them with arresting criminals,¡± Shang Liuyu said secretly with a sigh. ¡°But I thought they were just legends. I didn¡¯t expect to really see their statues here.¡±

    Zu An shivered.

    <em>Law enforcement group, huh¡­</em>

    When he looked at their dangerous and unkind expressions, he couldn''t shake off the feeling that this ce wasn¡¯t safe at all.

    Just then, he suddenly noticed something. He looked up and directly ahead.

    The Bloodthirst Crocodile and the other monsters cried out in rm. Even the most cool-headed of the group, the Shadowhorror Devil, had a trembling voice as he eximed, ¡°We¡¯ve found it!¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    There was a tall altar straight ahead of them. The altar emanated brilliant colors, as if a rainbow was being worshiped there. It was no wonder the surroundings weren¡¯t as dark as they had imagined. It turned out to be because of the lighting out of this ce. It was actually able to cast its light even so far away.

    ¡°A rainbow?¡± Zu An eximed, stunned.

    <em>Just what is this thing?</em>

    Just then, Mi Li¡¯s voice suddenly spoke up in his head. ¡°That¡¯s a World Law Beacon!¡± She sounded a bit agitated too. This thing was clearly extraordinary.

    ¡°What is a World Law Beacon?¡± Zu An asked, stunned. He looked at the rainbow again.

    <em>This thing actually roused big sis empress awake.</em>

    ¡°The World Law Beacon is where a world¡¯sws manifest concretely. To a certain degree, you can understand it as the highest authority of this world,¡± Mi Li quickly exined. ¡°If anyone manages to gain ownership of such a beacon, then even by the standards of the worlds beyond, they be the owner of that world. They can also activate or shut down the world¡¯s barrier at will.¡±

    Zu An was shocked. No wonder the monsters had been scheming so deeply for this item! After all, they had already attacked this world once before in ancient times. Their attacks had failed twice, both times because of the world¡¯s barrier. That was the reason why the aliens who were especially powerful weren¡¯t able to cross over into this world. Even if they managed to barely enter through some secret methods, they still had their cultivations suppressed by the world barrier to a certain degree. That was the only reason why Zu An even had a chance against them.

    If this World Law Beacon fell into the monsters¡¯ hands, they could invade this world however they wished. How could anyone possibly fight back?

    Mi Li asked, ¡°Weren¡¯t you always frustrated as to why your strength couldn''t increase at all, as if it was being suppressed by something? As long as you can obtain this World Law Beacon and merge it with the World Law Beacons of other worlds, you can merge the worlds together and strengthen this world¡¯s source. Then, not only you, but all of the cultivators of this world, will be able to rise up together.¡±

    Zu An was really shaken up by those words. After all, in all these years, countless stunning cultivators had been unable to advance even the slightest bit after reaching the earth immortal rank! The reason behind that was the inhibition of the source of this world. If the world source were strengthened, those like Zhao Han and thete Fiend Emperor could have easily risen to a higher cultivation rank. They had been searching for a method of gaining immortality, but the real issue that needed to be solved was right here!

    ¡°How strange¡­ A normal World Law Beacon shouldn¡¯t be this dazzling and colorful. Only a more powerful world would have so much color, and yet this world is clearly not that powerful¡­¡± Mi Li said to herself in puzzlement.

    Just then, Zu An suddenly widened his eyes. Even his breathing became a bit rushed. He didn¡¯t have the time to listen to Mi Li¡¯s words at all. Right next to the altar, he saw a stalk of medicine flickering with golden light. The herb was shaped like an exquisite little dragon, and its leaves looked like a dragon¡¯s w. It stood there, swaying back and forth. By the dragon head was a fully grown fruit. The sweet scent came from none other than that herb.

    Everyone else¡¯s attention was drawn to the dazzling rainbow of the World Law Beacon, and the altar was right in front of them. That was why they hadn¡¯t noticed the medicine growing in the corner. Surrounding it was an exuberant draconic energy that was visible with the naked eye. Even though Zu An had never seen it before, he immediately recognized what it was.

    Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine!

    The Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine really did exist! Honglei coud be saved!

 Chapter 2165: Revived

    Just then, the other monsters also saw the divine medicine. Their heart rates sped up and they swallowed with difficulty.

    ¡°Immortal medicine, there¡¯s actually a stalk of immortal medicine here!¡±

    ¡°This should be the legendary Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine. Only a ce like the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons with all of its draconic energy could produce this kind of divine medicine.¡±

    ¡°No, just the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons¡¯ draconic energy wouldn''t be able to produce something so incredible. In order to take form, it also seems to be borrowing the power of the World Law Beacon.¡±

    ¡­

    The monsters were all knowledgeable individuals. They immediately recognized the medicine and were all incredibly excited.

    To a certain degree, this stalk of divine medicine was even more precious than the World Law Beacon. Apart from some special World Law Beacons, most World Law Beacons weren¡¯t as valuable as this Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine. After all, if they obtained the World Law Beacon, it would merely allow them to invade this world more easily. The benefits would be shared among everyone in their faction. But the benefits of this immortal medicine would belong only to the one who imed it!

    Throughout the endless worlds, there were only a trifling dozen or so of these immortal medicines. Most of them were also controlled by the most powerful individuals, while the locations of the rest were all mysterious and unknown. They had never expected a world this small to have such a legendary item. Whether it meant allowing them to live once again or to do business with the most powerful beings of the worlds, the benefits would be unimaginable!

    They all began to rush at the altar at the same time. But as soon as they moved, their bodies suddenly froze. They noticed each other''s movements and felt some misgivings. They were each worried that they would be everyone else¡¯s target if they rushed forth first. That was why no one dared to take the first step. There was only a single stalk of Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine, but there were still so many people here.The Firedevil Sea Beast looked at Ka Qier and asked with a snicker, ¡°Skin-ying King, ording to our previous agreement, the things inside should belong to us, right? Why are you suddenly trying to fight with us over it?¡±

    Zu An was startled.

    <em>So this was their agreement! But what does the Skin-ying King want then?</em>

    Ka Qier smiled insincerely. ¡°Our agreement was for your group to obtain this World Law Beacon. It doesn''t include this Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine.¡±

    When they heard what he said, the alien monsters¡¯ faces darkened. The Skin-ying King''s reply wasn¡¯t too surprising. After all, this was a temptation that few across the endless realms could resist.

    When Zu An saw that the situation right now was the most favorable for him, he spoke up and suggested, ¡°How about we get rid of him first, and then we¡¯ll divide this immortal medicine evenly among ourselves? That¡¯d at least be keeping the goods among ourselves.¡±

    When he heard this, Ka Qier¡¯s expression changed greatly.

    <em>I gave you the Unleashed Dew and let you have all that fun for nothing! You immediately turned on me without any hesitation.</em>

    The Bloodthirst Crocodile grinned. ¡°No objections.¡±

    The Shadowhorror Devil replied briefly. ¡°Agreed!¡±

    The Firedevil Sea Beast alsoughed. ¡°If you''re all already being like this, of course I¡¯m not opposed to it.¡±

    However, they all knew that even if Ka Qier was taken out of thepetition, there would still be another bitter battleter. Even so, having one lesspetitor was always a good thing. That was especially true for these Hell creatures, whom they just couldn''t figure outpletely. Getting rid of him earlier was the safer choice.

    Zu An smiled when he saw the monsters¡¯ reaction. He knew that this was what all of the monsters had been thinking, which was why it wasn¡¯t hard to get them to agree.

    Shang Liuyu also sighed in relief when she saw that.

    <em>No wonder he didn¡¯t want to borrow the strength of Ao Yong¡¯s side. The first reason is that he was unreliable, and the second is that with amon enemy, the alien monsters and Hell creatures wouldn¡¯t break their alliance easily. Only now, when themon enemy has disappeared, can rifts in their rtionship form.</em>

    The monsters surrounded the Hell creatures. Malicious grins appeared on all of their faces, as if they were already prepared for a bitter massacre.

    Ka Qier suddenly sighed. ¡°Just what makes you so confident that you can defeat me?¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The monsters all frowned. Ka Qier¡¯s confidence made them a bit apprehensive. It was four against one, and they were all on the same level. They just couldn''t figure out how he was going to make it out of this alive. Take Ao Yong, for example. Under their joint attacks, he had been defeated almost instantly. Just what was Ka Qier still hiding?

    Just then, Ka Qier suddenly erupted with powerful death energy. ck miasma spread through the entire hall. Then, his hand shot out and thrust into the stone statues to the side.

    ¡°Did this guy go mad?¡± The alien monsters were stunned. They hadn¡¯t expected him to suddenly activate his aura. He hadn¡¯t attacked them, and had gone after the statues instead?

    But they quickly realized why he was doing that. The statues didn¡¯t shatter from Ka Qier¡¯s strike. Instead, some cracks appeared on their skins. They were all shocked. After all, Ka Qier¡¯s casual attacks couldn''t destroy the world, but copsing mountains would be easy enough. And yet his strikes actually couldn''t break down these statues?

    While they were all feeling confused, the surfaces of the statues gradually split apart, then fell off piece by piece. An ancient, bleak, and savage energy spread out in all directions.

    ¡°I can smell the scent of monsters~¡± A long and drawn-out voice echoed through the pce. Then, all of the statues cracked apart.

    ¡°Skin-ying King, what the hell is this?!¡± The Firedevil Sea Beast was shocked and angry. The strange aura in this hall even made him feel a bit of unease.

    Ka Qier smiled sinisterly. ¡°I was nning to bring out this trump card a bitter, but you courted death yourselves. You have no one to me but yourselves.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself that Ka Qier hadn''t had good intentions either after all. He had nned to get rid of these alien monsters from the very start. Of course, the alien monsters weren¡¯t any better. Even if Zu An hadn''t said anything just now, they had probably also nned to get rid of Ka Qier together.

    <em>But what kind of skill did Ka Qier use? Did he use some secret Hell method that could make these statuese alive?</em>

    He quickly rejected that suspicion. The ck death energy around the statues had been released by Ka Qier just now. These statues didn¡¯t have any death energy inherently. It seemed that Ka Qier¡¯s skill was a trigger that had activated a certain defensive mechanism in this ce.

    <em>But how is he so familiar with this ce?</em>

    Zu An had already had his doubts from the moment the other party first opened the door. Ka Qier seemed almost to havee here before, and yet hister reactions showed that he hadn¡¯t.

    <em>Did he find out about theyout of this ce through some ancient texts or journals?</em>

    In the same instant, the smallest statues burst apart. But even though they were the smallest, they were still several meters in height. Creatures that looked like neither dragons nor lizards crouched atop stone pirs. They stared at everyone present with fierce expressions. A powerful pressure emanated from them as well.

    Just then, one of the creatures moved. They leaped straight into the alien monsters standing farthest from the center of the group. An alien monster was ripped to shreds almost instantly. The Heart-Devouring Demon Spider within hurriedly tried to escape, but it was crushed t by a p in an instant.

    At the same time, the creature swung its tail, making numerous monsters rock back and forth unsteadily. An unfortunate individual had his body pierced straight through by its sharp tail. A sinister creature whose entire body was made of bloody and badly mangled flesh struggled free. It looked as if it didn¡¯t have any skin. It was clearly one of the Skin-ying King¡¯s subordinates.

    The Ocean race people who had been reced by these two factions really were unfortunate. Their insides had beenpletely devoured until only ayer of skin remained.

    When it saw the Hell creature try to run, the reanimated monster opened its mouth. A colorless ball of energy mmed into its body. That Hell creature screamed bitterly, and its entire body was surrounded by the colorless energy. Its entire body seemed to be pierced right through. Soon after, it turned into a streak of clear smoke beforepletely disappearing.

    Bitter screams resounded continuously in the main hall. Many of the creatures that were neither lizard nor dragon came alive, leaping into the group of alien monsters and Hell creatures.

 Chapter 2166: Killing With the Blade of Another

    The creatures'' ws mmed into the floor. The ground immediately rocked back and forth, and countless sharp thorns stabbed out from underground. Many alien monsters and Hell creatures were left reeling from the huge shockwave.

    The reanimated creatures pounced over. Their ws were especially sharp, and their movements were rough and cruel. They often stabbed straight into an enemy''s body before brutally tearing it in half. Blood and internal organs sttered everywhere.

    All those who were allowed toe here were quite strong, with tough bodies. And yet in front of these reanimated creatures¡¯ ws, they were like paper.

    Just a moment before, the alien monsters and Hell creatures had one-sidedly ughtered Ao Yong¡¯s subordinates. They had never expected the tide to turn so quickly.

    When he saw his subordinates being massacred, the Firedevil Sea Beast was furious. He charged in with a roar, spitting a fireball at one of the reanimated creatures along the way.

    As the reanimated creature saw the fireball, it also opened its mouth. A st of colorless energy fired out. Previously, that energy had been able to instantly eliminate several Hell creatures. But against the fireball, it was instantly vaporized. Then, the fireball continued toward its target and engulfed its body in mes. The reanimated creature screamed bitterly. Its flesh was soon burned clean away, and in the end, not even bone dregs remained.

    Shang Liuyu shivered at the sight. The Firedevil Sea Beast¡¯s strength was unfathomable, as expected. Not even these terrifying monsters were a match for him. She couldn''t help but give Zu An a look, but she saw that his attention waspletely on the Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine on the elevated tform. It was as if he didn¡¯t see the scene at all. Shang Liuyu opened her mouth, but in the end, she decided not to say anything.

    The Bloodthirst Crocodile also rushed over. Its clothes suddenly exploded, revealing its original form. A massive crocodile bit down on the neck of one of thee reanimated creatures. The creature screamed and frantically shed with its ws and tail to break free. However, the Bloodthirst Crocodile¡¯s body flipped violently. With a crack, the reanimated creature¡¯s head was bitten right off. The leftover body spurted blood everywhere before copsing to the ground, where it continued to twitch from time to time.

    The Shadowhorror Devil didn¡¯t let itself be outdone. It suddenly vanished from its ce, and a secondter, it appeared in the shadow of one of the reanimated creatures. Its ck aura surrounded the monster, which immediately froze. Its eyes were filled with fear, and it copsed without any sign of life.Shang Liuyu shivered. This Shadowhorror Devil¡¯s attacks were too strange. He assassinated his target without anyone even knowing how he did it.

    Now that these three had joined in, the tide of battle began to reverse. The alien monsters and Hell creatures had only been temporarily caught off guard. After all, they had all been carefully selected to be allowed to enter. Now that they had regained theirposure, they began their counterattack. The reanimated creatures were quickly killed and eaten by the alien monsters and Hell creatures, their numbers reduced by a third.

    Just then, more than a dozen evenrger creatures joined the battle. Only then did the monsters they remember that the statues were a dozen or so meters tall when they first entered, butter, they were farrger. Theserge creatures seemed to have their own special auras that influenced others. When they joined in, the nearby smaller creatures entered berserk states. Their speed and power increased.

    The alien monsters and Hell creatures were caught off guard again, and many of them died. Meanwhile, therge monsters rushed at the Firedevil Sea Beast¡¯s group. However, the Firedevil Sea Beast released a cold snort. He fired arge amount of zing mes at the monsters.

    One of therge monsters also fired a huge ball of energy. Unlike the earlier balls of colorless energy, not only was this ball much bigger, it was full of water element power. When the energy ball collided with the mes, it actually stopped the attack right there!

    The Firedevil Sea Beast voiced his surprise. He exerted even more power, and the mes immediately became a bit stronger. The water sphere began to rapidly shrink, clearly unable to hold on anymore.

    Anotherrge creature released a ball of ice element energy. When the two energies merged together, they finallypletely erased the mes.

    The Firedevil Sea Beast was furious. He was about to continue attacking when his expression suddenly changed. He quickly dodged to the side.

    At almost the same time, a sharp ws suddenly appeared where he had just been. It was as if space itself was about to shatter. A long, bloody gash appeared on the Firedevil Sea Beast¡¯s shoulder. He was clearly already injured.

    <em>I was actually injured?</em>

    <em>In front of all of these people?</em>

    The Firedevil Sea Beast immediately felt as if he was losing too much face. With a furious roar, his entire body surged with mes. He charged at therge creature that had just ambushed him. The creature didn¡¯t react fast enough and was pounced upon. Then, enormous mes immediately swallowed it up. It screamed bitterly as it was burned to ashes.

    When the otherrge creatures saw that, they all rushed over to attack him. The Firedevil Sea Beast had no choice but to admit that even though there was no danger to his life, there was no way for him to get rid of theserge creatures in a short amount of time.

    The Bloodthirst Crocodile and Shadowhorror Devil didn¡¯t have it easy either. There were severalrge creatures attacking each of them. Moreover, the creatures all had different elemental powers. Some could spit out balls of electricity, others could control the earth, and still others could release special mes. Even though the monsters'' cultivations were profound, they were also caught in a tricky situation.

    Zu An and Ka Qier also had many creatures attacking them, but both of them had the same thoughts. From the very start, they hadn¡¯t disyed any strength that was especially great, so the ones that attacked them were just some ordinary smaller creatures. With their cultivation, it wasn¡¯t too hard to deal with them.

    The Firedevil Sea Beast, Bloodthirst Crocodile, and Shadowhorror Devil were so angry that their noses were about to be crooked. ¡°Lord of Myriad Transformations, why aren¡¯t you attacking with all your power? We need to eliminate these monsters swiftly!¡±

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled the Firedevil Sea Beast for +666 +666 +666¡­</strong>

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled the Bloodthirst Crocodile for +666 +666 +666¡­</strong>

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled the Shadowhorror Devil for +666 +666 +666¡­</strong>

    <em>These two really are cunning. We three are fighting with our lives on the line here, and yet they¡¯re just waiting to reap all the benefits!</em>

    <em>Ka Qier is one thing since we¡¯re in different camps. We were even about to kill him, so there¡¯s no way we can me him for his decision.</em>

    <em>But the Lord of Myriad Transformations is on the same side as us!</em>

    Zu An said unhurriedly, ¡°I''m currently keeping the Skin-ying King in check. Otherwise, he might use this chance to go after both the World Law Beacon and the Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine.¡±

    The three alien monsters choked.

    <em>What he says makes sense! Someone does have to keep an eye on the Skin-ying King, but why do we feel so unhappy?</em>N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Just then, something different happened. Several three-headed, six-armed creatures suddenly appeared. They were much more formidable than the others. Their bodies moved like lightning. Wherever they went, a huge amount of alien monsters and Hell creatures fell.

    One suddenly rushed at the Bloodthirst Crocodile, who was caught off guard and had its tail grabbed. The three-headed, six-armed creature brought down one of the weapons it was holding. With a loud noise, the Bloodthirst Crocodile¡¯s tail was actually cut in half!

    ¡°AHHHHHH!¡±

    The Bloodthirst Crocodile screamed miserably. It used its evasion skill several times to flee to a safe location and looked at its severed tail. It felt a bit of rm and fear. Even though it could regenerate its tail eventually, now that the appendage had been forcibly hacked off like this, the crocodile would need to spend close to a hundred years of time and cultivation to recover.

    Just what kind of background did these three-headed, six-armed monsters have? They were actually incredibly powerful!

    When they saw what happened to the Bloodthirst Crocodile, the two other alien monsters were shocked. They both withdrew to protect themselves.

    The three-headed, six-armed creatures rushed at the most powerful among the alien monsters and Hell creatures. There were several grandmaster rank monsters and Hell creatures that were caught in the creatures¡¯ hands, and were ripped apart before falling like a rain of blood.

    Shaang Liuyu was both rmed and happy to see this. She had previously thought that the alien monsters and Hell creatures were too strong, as apart from the four earth immortal captains, there were also a huge amount of grandmaster and master rank subordinates. She really hadn''t been able to imagine how Zu An could defeat so many enemies all alone.

    And yet, in the blink of an eye, close to half of the alien monsters and Hell creatures were eliminated. Now, there weren¡¯t many of the grandmaster rank elites left either.

 Chapter 2167: Death

    <h4>Chapter 2167: Death</h4>

    What was surprising was that the monsters attacked indiscriminately, as if they wanted to kill everyone who invaded this hall.

    If not for the fact that Zu An was protecting Shang Liuyu, she could have already been hurt by those creatures.

    ¡°Master empress, just what are these things? Why is it that not too long ago, they seemed no different from statues?¡± Zu An asked in confusion. He had made sure to examine them with his divine senses, but he didn¡¯t notice anything strange at the time.

    ¡°It looks like they were sealed through some secret method in ancient times and turned into statues to guard this ce. Once certain conditions were met, they would awaken.¡± Mi Li sighed. ¡°ording to what I know, the only way for this kind of secret method to work is if the target is willing. Only, they''ll have already lost their intelligence after so much time passed, only remembering the promise from the past and thus bing nothing more than monsters that defend this ce.¡±

    When he heard that, Zu An couldn''t help but feel deep respect. These creatures were actually willing to be sealed here as statues! Just how were they able to make such a difficult decision? They had most likely done so precisely to guard the World Law Beacon. As for the Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine, it was something that had most likely only appeared in this ceter on.

    Earlier, Ka Qier had attacked the statues with the death energy of Hell and woken them up. Once they sensed the intrusion of creatures from beyond this world, they had naturally awakened to kill all of the foreign beings.

    When Zu An realized that, he showed more leniency in his attacks. He only knocked the monsters away toward the others and didn¡¯t kill them.

    The other monsters also noticed that something was off with the way he was acting. They began to curse him.

    <i>This Lord of Myriad Transformations is absolutely despicable!</i>

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled the Skin-ying King for +444 +444 +444...</strong>

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled the Firedevil Sea Beast for +444 +444 +444...</strong>

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled the Shadowhorror Devil for +444 +444 +444...</strong>

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled the Bloodthirst Crocodile for +444 +444 +444...</strong>

    They also tried to send more monsters his way, but theycked Zu An¡¯s ability to control the sea, so their degree of control was much worse. If they used too much strength, it would easily draw the enmity of more of those reanimated creatures. Thus, the creaturespletely ignored the Lord of Myriad Transformations and when right for them.

    Zu An was looking for a chance to seize the Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine and World Law Beacon when he suddenly remembered something.

    <i>Wait, the three-headed, six-armed statues weren¡¯t thest ones. There are still a few that have humanoid bodies and dragon tails...</i>

    Just then, a terrifying draconic cry resounded. The alien monsters and Hell creatures that had the lowest cultivations clutched their heads in pain.

    <i>Bang bang bang!</i>

    Suddenly, their heads exploded like melons!

    Fortunately, Zu An reacted quickly enough and took Shang Liuyu into his arms. At the same time, he set upyers of defensive formations around himself.

    Shang Liuyu staggered into his embrace. When she felt his body that was full of masculine power, her cheeks turned a bit red. But she knew that he definitely wasn''t doing this to take advantage of her, so she didn¡¯t struggle and cooperated in sticking to him.

    Sure enough, when she saw the other monsters¡¯ heads explode, sending red and white mush everywhere, her expression turned deathly pale. If not for Zu An¡¯s protection, she could have experienced the same end. Even though she didn¡¯t fear death, dying like that was still hard to ept.

    Several streaks of golden light suddenly appeared in the pce. They were so fast that even Zu An almost didn¡¯t see them clearly. Every single streak of golden light was actually a dragon-tailed humanoid creature! They looked identical to the statues from before. They seemed to be the strongest, which was why they had taken a bit longer to awaken.

    But their auras were entirely different. They were full of golden light and gave off a terrifying air. It was almost as if they couldmunicate with each other telepathically. All of them rushed at the closest monster, the Firedevil Sea Beast.

    The Firedevil Sea Beast¡¯s fine hairs stood on end. mes erupted ferociously from his body. The previously dim pce immediately lit up like daytime.

    However, the intense light only persisted for an instant. Immediately after, there was a bitter scream. Several dragon-tailed humanoid creatures surrounded the Firedevil Sea Beast, each of them holding a trident in their hands. All of the tridents stabbed straight into the Firedevil Sea Beast¡¯s body and raised him into the sky like meat on a barbecue skewer.

    The Firedevil Sea Beast¡¯s mes rapidly extinguished. Shortly after, his head drooped powerlessly, his eyes filled with shock and disbelief.

    <i>I didn¡¯t even get to y with the Mermaid Queen, and yet I¡¯m going to die here like this?</i>

    <i>Screw it all!</i>

    <i>Damn you, King of Myriad Transformations!</i>

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled the Firedevil Sea Beast for +1024 +1024 +1024...</strong>

    Everyone in the hall was shocked. Even someone as powerful as the Firedevil Sea Beast had died in this ce!

    The Bloodthirst Crocodile and the Shadowhorror Devil silently agreed to move closer together. They could already tell that these dragon-tailed humanoid creatures were extremely powerful, but if they were fought alone, they would still be a bit weaker.

    However, the things were just too fast. Just now, they had suddenly ambushed the Firedevil Sea Beast while his attention was on the three-headed, six-armed creatures. A single moment of carelessness and he had been killed. If the remaining two let these guys surround them while alone, they would probably meet simr ends. Thus, only if they grouped up would they stand a chance.

    They roared at Zu An and Ka Qier in shock and fury, ¡°Lord of Myriad Transformations, Skin-ying King, we might all die here if we still don¡¯t join hands!¡±

    If these two attacked with all their strength, they would still have a chance to win. After all, the creatures seemed to only have their killing instincts left and didn¡¯t have much intelligence. What they were worried about the most was that the two would continue to wait for the best moment to get all the benefits. If that happened, they could really be killed by the creatures.

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled the Bloodthirst Crocodile for +510 +510 +510...</strong>

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled the Shadowhorror Devil for +510 +510 +510...</strong>

    ¡°Hm? Where did the Skin-ying King go?¡± The two alien monsters were stunned, because they suddenly couldn''t find Ka Qier anymore.

    ¡°He seems to have already fled further inside.¡± Zu An pointed at a cave inside.

    The Skin-ying King had used the moment when the Firedevil Sea Beast was killed and everyone else''s attention was diverted to secretly slip away.

    ¡°Why did you let him leave?¡± The Bloodthirst Crocodile and Shadowhorror Devil were about to faint from anger. After all, the reason Zu An had given for not helping them was because he was keeping an eye on the Skin ying King.

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled the Bloodthirst Crocodile for +690 +690 +690...</strong>

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled the Shadowhorror Devil for +690 +690 +690...</strong>

    Zu An pointed at the tform and replied, ¡°Isn¡¯t our goal this World Law Beacon?¡±

    At the same time, he added inwardly, <i>and the Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine</i>. That was what he cared about the most. He couldn''t let it fall into the monsters¡¯ hands. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The Bloodthirst Crocodile and Shadowhorror Devil choked.

    <i>What this guy says makes sense. We can¡¯t seem toe up with any argument against him!</i>

    The Shadowhorror Devil reacted quickly and said, ¡°Then you should head over here first. We¡¯ll kill these things andplete our mission.¡±

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°I have another idea. Why don''t you guys hold up these monsters, and then once I obtain the World Law Beacon and Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine, I¡¯ll share them with you after?¡±

    Even the less-sharp Bloodthirst Crocodile also realized what was happening.

    <i>Like hell we¡¯ll believe you!</i>

    <i>This guy was up to no good from the very start. He clearly wants to use us.</i>

    They wanted to stop him, but the reanimated creatures seemed to be dead set on them. They didn¡¯t have the freedom to stop him at all.

    Zu An didn¡¯t hesitate at all. As soon as he said that, he used his instant movement skill to shift closer to the altar. He had been waiting for this chance. Now that the Skin-ying King had left and one alien monster had died, while two more were held up by these creatures, there was no better chance.

    But his expression quickly changed. He discovered that as soon as he approached ten or so meters from the altar, he suddenly dropped out of the air. This was the first time Grandgale had failed!

    There was clearly nothing in front of him, and yet it seemed as if the entire space was locked down. A tremendous pressure rushed at him.

    Zu An frowned. Since he couldn''t teleport, he''d just charge straight in!

    But as he continued forward, the pressure became stronger and stronger. Just then, arge bell projection appeared and surrounded his body.

    The Tranquility Bell blocked the pressure, but as he took another three steps, cracks started to form on it. Then, it shattered to pieces with a loud noise.

 Chapter 2168: Mysterious Voice

    <h4>Chapter 2168: Mysterious Voice</h4>

    Zu An remained unfazed. He used the Crown of the Ocean Deity to wrap water around his body. After he took a few steps, however, the water seemed to start boiling. It continued until all of the water evaporated.

    A golden imperial seal suddenly appeared above him, sending down strands of energy to protect his body.

    The alien monsters and Hell creatures that had been fighting bitterly were all stunned when they saw this scene.

    ¡°The Lord of Myriad Transformations has something like that?¡± The Bloodthirst Crocodile was confused.

    ¡°That¡¯s the Human Emperor Seal. It used to belong to the human emperor Zhao Han, and then I heard that it ended up in the regent Zu An¡¯s hands,¡± the Shadowhorror Devil said in shock.

    The Bloodthirst Crocodile was stunned. ¡°The regent was also someone the Lord of Myriad Transformations impersonated?¡±

    The Shadowhorror Devil was speechless. He stared at hisrade and said, ¡°Sometimes, I really wonder if you are the crocodile ancestor.¡±

    ¡°What would I be, if not the crocodile ancestor?¡±

    ¡°The pig ancestor, of course.¡±

    ¡°You bastard, you dare to curse me!¡±

    ¡°You idiot, it¡¯s clearly the human regent who was impersonating the Lord of Myriad Transformations! He really took us for a spin this time, and yet you actually thought that the Lord of Myriad Transformations was impersonating him. What else are you if not a pig?¡±

    ¡°Dammit!¡±

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled the Bloodthirst Crocodile for +666 +666 +666...</strong>

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled the Shadowhorror Devil for +666 +666 +666...</strong>

    <i>Just how did this guy impersonate the Lord of Myriad Transformations? To reach this degree of resemnce, is he even human?!</i>

    Zu An activated all of his energy. The Human Emperor Seal floated above him, the Crown of the Ocean Deity rested on his head, the Tai¡¯e Sword appeared in his hand, and he also took out the Sun ying Bow. Under the support of these deity-grade weapons, he was finally able to resist the terrifying pressure and walk up to the tform.

    The tform was shrouded in strands of brilliant divine splendor. There was a powerful medicinal fragrance suffusing the air.

    Zu An reached toward the Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine first. However, just as his arm drew near to the brilliant stalk, it began to crack apart at a visible rate. Then, his flesh swiftly turned into scattered ashes. He was horrified. After all, his body had already been refined several times. And yet, together with the support of so many divine artifacts, he actually couldn''t even endure for a single second? It was as if there was some special and mysteriousw that passed straight through the power of the deity-grade artifacts and directly affected his body.

    Zu An clenched his teeth. He was determined to remove the things inside even if he had to be seriously injured as a result.

    Mi Li urgently stopped him. ¡°Stop! That¡¯s a restriction set by a certain unparalleled being. You won¡¯t be able to take it out even if your entire arm turns to ashes. You¡¯ll only end up bringing that destructive power upon yourself.¡±

    ¡°What should I do then?¡± Zu An swiftly pulled his arm back. Even if Mi Li didn¡¯t say anything, he could also sense a terrifying power from the altar that was about to erupt. Even though he really wanted what was inside, he hadn¡¯tpletely lost his wits yet.

    ¡°Judging from the current situation, it seems we''re still missing a certain step. You need to receive a certain item of authority left behind by the creator of this restriction to obtain the things inside,¡± Mi Li quickly said.

    ¡°A certain authority?¡± Zu An was startled. He then recalled Ka Qier who had just left.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Many ces of inheritance require passing tests to obtain the approval of a certain being. That grants the so-called authority or ess privilege,¡± Mi Li said. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, there''s no way those aliens can get any closer while fighting in this ce, let alone obtain the things inside.¡±

    Zu An nodded. If not for the help of the divine artifacts, he wouldn¡¯t have even been able to approach the altar. There was no way those guys could do it. Once he realized that, he returned to Shang Liuyu¡¯s side and helped her chase away some creatures that had rushed over.

    ¡°What happened to your hand?¡± Shang Liuyu saw his hand that had almost been reduced to bones and was frightened.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing,¡± Zu An said while using the Primordial Origin Sutra. The regenerative force covered his arm, and flesh grew at a visible rate. Soon after, his arm was back to normal. Apart from being a bit paler than usual, there was no difference.

    Shang Liuyu was shocked. High-level cultivators did have powerful recovery abilities, but one would need at least almost a year to recover from a wound like that, as well as the support of countless treasures! And yet, Zu An was able to recover almost instantly!

    Zu An recounted what had happened on the altar to Shang Liuyu. Shang Liuyu¡¯s thoughts moved quickly, and she quickly shouted, ¡°The Skin-ying King!¡±

    The Skin-ying King seemed to know a lot about this ce and had likely found out that information ahead of time from a different source. That was why he hadn¡¯t wanted to fight over it here, instead heading inside to participate in the trial of authority.

    Zu An calmly said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I ced a Far-Tracking Talisman on him. I know where he is.¡±

    He was about to proceed with Shang Liuyu when he froze.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Shang Liuyu quickly asked when she noticed his strange behavior.

    Zu An¡¯s expression was strange. ¡°There seems to be a voice calling out to me.¡±

    ¡°Calling out to you?¡± Shang Liuyu¡¯s expression changed. ¡°This kind of calling is sometimes an opportunity, but sometimes a trap. You need to be careful.¡±

    ¡°That woman is right. You can follow it and take a look. Who knows, it might just lead to a way to obtain this World Law Beacon and Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine,¡± Mi Li said.

    Zu An shook his head slightly. ¡°There''s no urgent need to respond to this calling. I¡¯ll go after dealing with the Skin-ying King first. I just have a feeling that he¡¯s up to no good.¡±

    The reason why he hadn¡¯t chased after the Skin-ying King before was because he was worried that the alien monsters gathered here would be able to obtain the World Law Beacon and immortal medicine. Since he was now sure that they couldn''t get the treasures, there was no need to remain here.

    Just then, the two alien monsters said, ¡°Kid, regardless of whether you''re the Lord of Myriad Transformations or an impersonator, we¡¯re all in the same boat now. If we don¡¯t work together to kill these monsters, we¡¯ll all die here!¡±

    Zu Anughed. ¡°Who says I''m in the same boat as you two?¡± N?v(el)B\\jnn

    After saying that, he left in the same direction Ka Qier had gone earlier.

    As if guessing his thoughts, the Shadowhorror Devil released a cold snort. He sent a dragon-tailed humanoid into the cave to block their way. ¡°How about now?¡±

    When it reached the entrance, the dragon-tailed humanoid seemed to have remembered its mission. It quickly gathered several three-headed, six-armed creatures to block the entrance so no one could escape.

    Shang Liuyu¡¯s expression changed. Those three-headed, six-armed creatures were already strong enough, let alone these dragon-tailed humanoids who had just killed the Firedevil Sea Beast. Now that they were blocking the entrance, they wouldn''t be able to go after the Skin-ying King immediately.

    However, Zu An wasn¡¯t fazed at all. He took her into his arms and wrapped her tightly within his cape. Shang Liuyu was stunned. When she felt their bodies press together tightly, her face became a bit red.

    <i>What is he trying to do?</i>

    Just then, the light rays around Zu An twisted. Then, he became like a ck hole, turning everything within three feet dark.

    This was a skill he hadprehended while fighting against the Shadow Monster King. He distorted the surrounding light rays with the Heaven Swallowing Sutra to produce darkness. Then, he used his Hidden in the Dark skill. In absolute darkness, his presence would bepletely erased.

    Sure enough, he and Shang Liuyu vanished from the eyes of the aliens and reanimated creatures. There was no trace of them left.

    ¡°What?!¡± The Bloodthirst Crocodile and Shadowhorror Devil widened their eyes. This scene was beyond their understanding. Where did that guy go?

    And with that, the two of them became the target of the beatings.

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled the Bloodthirst Crocodile for +666 +666 +666...</strong>

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled the Shadowhorror Devil for +666 +666 +666...</strong>

 Chapter 2169: Abyss of Death

    <h4>Chapter 2169: Abyss of Death</h4>

    Even so, getting upset was one thing; they still had to take care of what was in front of them. The creatures quickly came at them. They could only do their best to gather their subordinates to mount an organized resistance.

    Even the Hell creatures reflexively chose to obey their orders. After all, they had already been abandoned by the Skin-ying King. If they continued to fight on their own, there was nothing awaiting them but death.

    Zu An gave thebattlefield a look. The Bloodthirst Crocodile and Shadowhorror Devil were powerful. Even though they were at an absolute disadvantage, it wasn¡¯t that easy for the creatures to win quickly either. This battle could continue for quite some time.

    He withdrew his attention. With one arm around Shang Liuyu¡¯s waist, he took her into his embrace and slowly proceeded toward the cave. Even though their auras were currentlypletely hidden, they would still end up exposing themselves if they uttered any sounds. There were too many severed limbs, as well as fallen weapons, strewn across the ground. Stepping on them would easily make noise.

    After losing track of him, the reanimated creatures started growing restless. They frantically brandished their ws and weapons around them. Because the attacks were too concentrated, Zu An had no choice but to carefully avoid them.

    As such, they moved really slowly, so slow that Shang Liuyu was on edge throughout the entire process. She was, after all, a youngdy who had never experienced romance. And yet, she was being carried in the arms of a man and moving carefully. Their young bodies continued to grind against each other, and she could sense his masculinity. Shang Liuyu couldn''t help but bite her lips.

    Then, a single thought appeared in her mind.

    <i>Was he holding my sister like this a few days ago...</i>

    As soon as she thought about that, her face became bright red. Her heart rate sped up.

    ¡°Calm down,¡± Zu An quickly warned her. His skill could only barely cover Shang Liuyu. If her body¡¯s reaction was too strong, they could still be discovered.

    Shang Liuyu wasn¡¯t the overly emotional sort. She quickly adjusted her thoughts and put such distractions away. Her aura quieted down again.

    Zu An continued to sneak forward just like that, and finally managed to approach the cave entrance. Shang Liuyu looked up ahead worriedly. A dragon-tailed humanoid was blocking the path right in front of them. Its massive body didn¡¯t leave much room to pass through at all. Moving past him seemed as if it would be a bit tricky.

    With Zu An¡¯s cultivation, he could defeat that creature, but that would only draw the attention of even more dragon-tailed humanoids. The Bloodthirst Crocodile and Shadowhorror Devil would experience less pressure too. At that point, they would definitely spare no effort to keep him here.

    While Shang Liuyu was feeling worried, she suddenly felt her eyes blur. Both she and Zu An instantly appeared in the cave, and the dragon-tailed humanoid was where the two of them had been.

    Position exchange!

    The dragon-tailed humanoid looked around it in confusion and quickly discovered what happened. It rushed at the two of them with a roar.

    However, Zu An was faster. Once he left the hall, he had no more misgivings. He took Shang Liuyu with him and seemingly teleported ahead, immediately crossing dozens of kilometers. Still, the dragon-tailed humanoids and the three-headed, six-armed creatures weren¡¯t slow either. They continued to chase after the two relentlessly. Even with Zu An¡¯s speed, it was still hard for him to throw them off.

    Only when they passed a long bridge extending off a cliff did the creatures seem to feel some reservations. They stopped by the side of the bridge and anxiously paced back and forth. They roared endlessly at the two.

    ¡°It seems they won¡¯t dare to cross this bridge.¡± Shang Liuyu¡¯s cheeks were a bit red as she finally separated herself from Zu An''s arms. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An said seriously, ¡°There''s probably something inside that they''re scared of.¡±

    Shang Liuyu was rmed. ¡°If it¡¯s something that even they¡¯re scared of, doesn¡¯t that mean it¡¯s even more dangerous?¡±

    After all, these creatures were already strong enough to even kill earth immortals.

    ¡°We have to at least take a look, right? The Skin-ying King is just up ahead.¡± Zu An paused for a moment. His expression became a bit strange. ¡°And it just so happens that the voice calling out to me ising from the same direction.¡±

    Shang Liuyu¡¯s eyes widened. She felt that such a thing was a bit inconceivable.

    Zu An didn¡¯t waste any time, however. He continued to hold Shang Liuyu¡¯s hand and continued forward. They soon arrived in front of a cliff. Zu An couldn''t help but slow down. It turned out that the Skin-ying King was standing right at the edge of the cliff.

    Ash-colored energy raged chaotically beneath the cliff like a sea of clouds. It was the aura of death!

    Zu An and Shang Liuyu were both horrified. They had never seen death energy so dense that it seemed tangible.

    Just then, a torrential current came from the ocean floor and pushed away some of the strong white energy, revealing the area below. In that ce was a massive ck vortex. They were already in the depths of the sea, and yet there was still such a massive abyss there! Just a single look at it made one feel as if they would bepletely sucked in. It really was enough to trigger a phobia of the deep sea all by itself!

    Zu An suddenly remembered Shang Hongyu mentioning that there was an ancient legend among the Ocean races. The Dragon Kings seemed like the rulers of the Ocean races, but in reality, they were just guardians watching over a mysterious abyss.

    Could it be that the legends were real and that this was the abyss being guarded? Just whaty within?

    The Skin-ying King noticed Zu An''s arrival. He turned around and gave him a mocking look, saying, ¡°You¡¯ve finally arrived.¡±

    Zu An chuckled. He put away his curiosity toward the abyss and said, ¡°You don¡¯t seem to be too surprised at my arrival.¡±

    ¡°Of course. You¡¯re different from those idiots.¡± The Skin-ying King¡¯s expression was a bit strange. ¡°After all, you aren¡¯t the real Lord of Myriad Transformations. Your performance as ofte leaves me with nothing but astonishment.¡±

    Shang Liuyu¡¯s expression changed. She looked at Zu An with worry.

    Zu An remainedpletely calm. ¡°Oh? So I¡¯ve already been found out.¡±

    There was already no point in continuing the act now. He and Shang Liuyu returned to their original appearances.

    ¡°You don¡¯t seem to be surprised at all,¡± the Skin-ying King said in surprise.

    ¡°I might have really been fooled if you hadn¡¯t put so many puppet-controlling corpse bugs in the Unleashed Dew and our normal food and drinks.¡± Zu An sighed.

    When she heard that, Shang Liuyu almost vomited. The things they had been eating all this time had corpse bugs in them?

    The Skin ying King¡¯s face darkened. ¡°It seems I still underestimated you. Since you¡¯re putting it like that, you must have already eliminated those corpse bugs.¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°But of course. I don¡¯t want bugs to start growing in my brain, let alone the same happening to my women.¡±

    Shang Liuyu immediately became really happy. But she quickly realized something.

    <i>Is the woman he is talking about my sister, or does it include me?</i>

    <i>It¡¯s definitely my sister. He''s alreadypletely be my brother-inw, after all.</i>

    ¡°Just when did you realize that I was fake?¡± Zu An asked curiously. He didn¡¯t think he had given anything away the whole time.

    The Skin-ying King didn¡¯t mind answering his question. ¡°Back then, I ced a curse on the Lord of Myriad Transformations because I wanted to eliminate himter. It was a pity that once he came out of the cave, the curse was gone. I naturally realized that he had already been reced.¡±

    Zu An was quite impressed. ¡°So you already knew a long time ago. But why didn¡¯t you expose me?¡±

    ¡°What benefits would there have been in exposing you? We couldn''t find the Mermaid Queen, let alone a way to make her cooperate. However, you helped us aplish something that we couldn''t do. That¡¯s why I just went with the flow.¡± The Skin-ying King smiled. ¡°I have to admit that your acting is quite good. If I hadn''t already used my secret technique on the Fake Dragon King, I would¡¯ve really been fooled.¡±

    Zu An sighed. ¡°Your acting isn¡¯t all that bad either. You clearly knew that I was fake, and yet you didn¡¯t give anything away and yed along. We were almost dancing in your palm."

    ¡°It¡¯s a pity that even though they were fooled, you weren¡¯t. You''re also quite formidable. You actually managed to fool them the entire time without telling them the truth. You wanted to use this chance to take advantage of the sisters too, didn¡¯t you?¡± The Skin-ying King smiled and continued, ¡°So? The Mermaid Queen must¡¯ve tasted amazing, no?¡±

 Chapter 2170: Trump Card

    <h4>Chapter 2170: Trump Card</h4>

    Shang Liuyu¡¯s expression changed.

    <i>Doesn''t that mean big sis was actually in the dark the whole time?</i>

    But she reacted quickly as well. She looked at the Skin-ying King coldly and said, ¡°You can give up on trying to break us apart. My big sister really does like him, so what they did was only natural.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He had never expected Shang Liuyu to actually speak up for him.

    The Skin-ying King chuckled and said, ¡°What a thoughtful sister-inw you have here. You¡¯re actually speaking up for him.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve known him longer than you. I know what kind of person he is,¡± Shang Liuyu said coldly. ¡°There''s definitely a reason why he didn¡¯t tell us. For example, we could have ended up giving something away and been noticed by you guys.¡±

    Zu An felt warm inside.

    <i>Big sis Shang is different from other women after all.</i>

    ¡°Hah, but what a pity that he acted for so long, only to end up helping me reach my aim. I¡¯ve finally arrived here.¡± The Skin-ying King pointed at the abyss and asked, ¡°Do you know what lies below?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Shang Liuyu immediately had an ominous feeling.

    ¡°This is the entrance to Hell, of course.¡± The Skin-ying King roared withughter. ¡°Only the deceased can enter. If you don¡¯t fear death, you can follow me inside.¡±

    After saying that, he jumped straight off. He spread his arms and embraced the endless abyss below.

    However, his vision suddenly blurred. He discovered that he had actually appeared on the surface again. The Skin ying King was stunned.

    Shang Liuyu was rmed. She quickly looked down from the cliff. She had seen Zu An use the position exchange skill before, so she naturally knew why the Skin ying King had returned. Sure enough, Zu An was falling in the position the Skin ying King had just been in.

    Shang Liuyu thought about how the Skin-ying King said that this was the entrance to Hell, a ce where only the deceased could go.

    <i>No matter how high Zu An¡¯s cultivation is, isn¡¯t he still dead for sure?</i>

    Just then, Zu An suddenly mmed his palm downward. A tremendous force fired out, and he used the recoil force to return to the cliff.

    By the time she saw himnd on the ground again, Shang Liuyu¡¯s face waspletely pale. Cold sweat soaked her back.

    Zu An didn¡¯t hesitate at all. He shot at the Skin-ying King like a streak of lightning. He immediately used the Primordial Origin Sutra and One Drop of Heaven¡¯s Essence to redirect the dragon vein power of the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons. His Tai¡¯e Sword was suffused with dazzling radiance. The sword was like the sun, countless times stronger than any sword energy he had ever used before. Even quite a bit of the death energy swirling above the abyss below was erased by its blinding radiance.

    The Skin-ying King was rmed. He immediately took out the white bone staff. A st of ck death energy condensed, and countless ghostly monsters were summoned. They brandished all kinds of weapons as they attacked the sword energy.

    Primordial energy¡¯s purification power was a natural bane of death energy. Furthermore, the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons was incredibly rich in draconic energy, which made Zu An¡¯s sword more powerful than ever before. The baleful ghostly creatures were obliterated by the sword energy almost instantly.

    The Skin-ying King¡¯s eyes were wide. He didn¡¯t have time to have any other reaction, though. The blinding sword didn¡¯t stop at all and came crashing down on his head. His final thought was, <i>Are you kidding me?</i>

    <i>You¡¯re this strong, and yet you were still ying games? Should I be thanking you?!</i>

    Zu An was left gasping for breath. Everything had happened extremely quickly just now. It seemed easy enough, but in reality, he had already imagined this scene countless times. Every single detail had been carefully considered so the Skin-ying King wouldn¡¯t have the slightest chance to react.

    After all, with the Skin-ying King¡¯s cultivation, even if it was the Shadowhorror Devil, or even the whole group of alien monsters joining together, they wouldn¡¯t have been able to achieve this result. But Zu An had the Primordial Origin Sutra¡¯s powerful purification ability. It was the natural bane of these ghostly creatures. Still, Zu An had been worried that the Skin-ying King could have some special resistance against this type of purification power. That was why the draconic energy of the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons had been his real trump card!

    Shang Liuyu¡¯s mouth hung wide open. The scene before her was just way too shocking. She was quite knowledgeable herself, and her brother-inw had been one of the world¡¯s three strongest individuals. She had met thete libationer in the academy as well. She had asionally seen Zhao Han, as well as thete Fiend Emperor. In short, she had experienced the pressure of the strongest. But in that moment, she had felt something entirely different. It was iparable, something that wasn''t on the same level at all!

    The Skin-ying King had actually been really strong. As someone who was able to scheme against the Dragon King, his cultivation could only be greater. Furthermore, he had been full of secrets. And yet, such a powerful being was killed instantly?

    No wonder Zu An had been so calm this entire time even though Shang Liuyu was panicking. After all, there had been three earth immortal-grade alien monsters and the mysterious Skin-ying King. They''d also had so many subordinates with them, while she and Zu An were just two people. She just hadn''t been able to imagine any ways of winning no matter how she thought about it. She had relied purely on her faith in Zu An that drove her to stay with him in life and death.

    But now, it seemed that even if the three earth immortal-grade alien monsters had been here, or even if the frightening reanimated creatures worked together with Ka Qier, they still wouldn¡¯t have been able to block that resplendent sword. The immature and underripe boy she had met at that gazebo in Brightmoon City had now already grown to this extent.

    Zu An didn¡¯t stop, and activated the Primordial Origin Sutra. He then added the White Lotus me and Phoenix me to burn the remaining corpse into nothing. He had heard that this Skin-ying King seemed unkible, and had only nned to cut off the enemy''s limbs and then restrain him after crippling him. Still, he hadn''t expected the Skin-ying King to end up being so weak despite sounding so impressive. He had died without Zu An even having to do anything extra. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    But in the end, it was because the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons was more powerful than he had imagined. Now, he only had to hope that these methods were enough topletely purify the Skin-ying King.

    The-Skin ying King¡¯s corpse quickly turned to ashes. However, a frown appeared on Zu An¡¯s face, because a spirit suddenly floated into the air.

    ¡°I never expected you to be so strong. If we were to fight by normal means, I would indeed not be your match. Unfortunately, we deceased are undying. This death will only reincarnate me in the closest Hell. Since I''m closest to this underworld gate, I''ll definitely head inside. To be honest, I should be thanking you for sending me over.¡± The Skin-ying King''s spiritughed out loud.

    Zu An¡¯s expression was grave. He used the Heaven Devouring Sutra to try to suck over the spirit, but the enemy seemed to be wrapped within a mysterious power. This power seemed to be a kind of extremely fundamental principle that couldn''t be resisted orpared. Under the guidance of thesews, the Skin-ying King¡¯s spirit quickly flew into the abyss below before disappearing.

    Zu An was speechless.

    Shang Liuyu tried tofort him. ¡°You¡¯ve already done extremely well. In that instant, I was so scared my soul almost left my body. At least you¡¯re still okay right now, which is more important than anything else.¡±

    Zu An sighed. ¡°If we''ve really allowed that Skin-ying King to pass that test, and he obtains the World Law Beacon as a result, that''s when our troubles will really begin.¡±

    Even so, his mental state wasn¡¯t too affected. At worst, he would just guard the area near the World Law Beacon. That way, even if the enemy passed the trial, he¡¯d just kill the Skin-ying King again once he came back to obtain it. He had the help of the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons¡¯ dragon veins, so he had more confidence than ever before.

    Just then, an ancient voice suddenly asked, ¡°Destined one, do you wish to join in that trial?¡±

    Zu An and Shang Liuyu were both stunned. They reflexively looked around them, but they didn¡¯t see anyone.

    Zu An frowned. Even though he wasn¡¯t using the power of the dragon veins, with his current cultivation, the range of his divine sense ensured that not a single bug would escape his perception. And yet, he couldn''t pinpoint the voice¡¯s location. It didn¡¯t make sense at all.

    Zu An used One Drop of Heaven¡¯s Essence to borrow the power of the dragon veins again. Suddenly, he opened his eyes, and with a wave of his hand, an invisible wave of energy fired out. The dense ash-colored death energy was brushed away, revealing a giant sculpture.

    Shang Liuyu looked up, filled with shock.

 Chapter 2171: Hell

    <h4>Chapter 2171: Hell</h4>

    Even Zu An was stunned. With their statuses and knowledge, they had both already seen countless impressive sculptures. The statue of the Dragon Deity earlier had already been quite impressive. But even the things they had seen before added together paled inparison to the one before them right now.

    The statue stood on one side of the endless abyss. Its body seemed to be asrge as the world itself. Its feet were in the deep abyss, while its head towered into the clouds. It was as if it was as tall as the sky itself. On its head was a tasseled crown, the curtain of beads in front blocking its face and preventing others from seeing what it really looked like.

    Zu An frowned. Forget about pearl curtains, even real curtains wouldn''t be able to block his perception, and yet he couldn''t see this individual¡¯s face. He could only feel an incredibly dignified and holy air. This individual was even more powerful than he had imagined. The feeling was evenparable to the being who showed up when Qiu Honglei performed Dance Offering to the Universe.

    ¡°Hm? This world actually still has a human as powerful as you?¡± The indomitable giant was clearly surprised that Zu An could notice it and disperse the dense death energy to look at it. It gave Zu An a look and said, ¡°So you were borrowing the power of the dragon veins. No wonder the will of the world permits a being like yourself.¡±

    Zu An was shocked.

    <i>This guy could even tell something like that?</i>

    Also, judging from what it was saying, it seemed that the will of the world would eliminate those who were stronger...

    ¡°You seem to wish to participate in that trial as well, no?¡± the giant statue asked. Just its voice alone made one feel the urge to prostrate oneself. It was only thanks to Shang Liuyu being inherently proud, and because Zu An helped her shield against arge portion of the pressure, that she didn¡¯t kneel down.

    Zu An didn¡¯t reply to the question, and instead asked, ¡°Who are you? The one who was calling out to me before seems to be you. Why are you calling me the destined one?¡±

    ¡°Who am I?¡± The giant statue replied indifferently, ¡°I cannot tell you. If you hear my name, you will only be throwing away your life in vain.¡±

    Zu An was surprised. He had already seen some powerful beings. Just knowing those individuals'' names would result in one''s destruction. This individual was clearly that sort as well.

    ¡°Master empress, do you know who this is?¡± Zu An secretly asked. But the only thing he received in reply was silence. Mi Li didn¡¯t answer.

    That giant statue said, ¡°The one who called out to you before was indeed me. I could sense that you possess something that shares great karma with me.¡±

    Zu An was stunned.

    <i>Just what is it?</i>

    The voice hadn¡¯t spoken until he started to treat himself.

    <i>Could it be the Primordial Origin Sutra?</i>

    <i>Wait, don¡¯t tell me that this guy is Qin Shihuang?</i>

    But he immediately rejected that thought. He had seen the first emperor before in the secret dungeon. He lookedpletely different from this giant statue.

    ¡°Hm?¡± The giant statue was looking at Zu An when it suddenly seemed to have noticed something and voiced its surprise.

    Zu An and Shang Liuyu exchanged a look and only saw confusion in each other''s eyes. The statue''s voice sounded cold and indifferent, as if he was a deity that one needed to worship. But his surprised voice sounded as if he had noticed something that was extremely shocking.

    ¡°So it was you, old friend.¡± The giant released a deep sigh. His voice became a bit more intimate.

    ¡°Old friend?¡± Shang Liuyu looked at Zu An with wide eyes.

    <i>He¡¯s actually old friends with this kind of being?</i>

    Zu An was nowpletely stunned. Even though he wanted to continue with the act, the current situation really wasn¡¯t one in which that was wise. It was just too absurd!

    ¡°So you haven¡¯t recovered your memories yet.¡± The giant voiced its surprise. ¡°That makes sense. Even though your current self is quite strong in this world, you are still too weakpared to the vast universe. Recovering your memories would indeed be too dangerous for you.¡±

    Shang Liuyu¡¯s pretty brows frowned. She gave Zu An a look, feeling that this man was bing more and more mysterious.

    Zu An remembered how Mi Li often spoke in riddles. Was it because of this?

    <i>Could it be that she was also one of my old friends?</i>

    ¡°Let me take a look. Your current self...¡± Thegiant statue closed its eyes and seemed to be sensing something. Soon after, it opened its eyes. ¡°So you are fighting over this world¡¯s World Law Beacon.¡±

    Zu An calmed his emotions. When he heard what the statue said, he immediately asked, ¡°If we''re good friends, can you loosen up that authority and help me obtain the World Law Beacon?¡±

    Why would he bother struggling with that Skin-ying King if he could just take a shortcut?

    ¡°That is what I would like as well, but I am merely a strand of remnant will in charge of fulfilling a past agreement. I am unable to do that. If you want to obtain the World Law Beacon, you must fully obtain the authority of this world first,¡± said the giant statue.

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>A waste of my good intentions!</i>

    But he naturally wouldn¡¯t dare to speak those words out loud. He could only ask, ¡°Then that authority you''re talking about, how do I get it?¡±

    ¡°Participate in the trial I left behind in the past. Whomever obtains the final victory will receive the authority. The altar¡¯sws will then permit that person to cross through,¡± said the giant statue. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°And that Skin-ying King just now went to participate in the trial?¡± Shang Liuyu hurriedly asked.

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± replied the giant statue.

    ¡°Even someone like that can participate in the trial? Are you even trying to guard this ce?¡± Zu An was really unhappy with this so-called old friend of his.

    ¡°As long as he satisfies some of the conditions I left behind in the past, he has the qualifications to participate in the trial. That little ghost has indeed satisfied the conditions,¡± the giant statue replied.

    ¡°Little ghost?¡±

    For better or for worse, Ka Qier was the Skin-ying King, and yet he was being called a little ghost! Even so, for an being like this, ''ghost king'' or ''little ghost'' indeed didn¡¯t make much of a difference.

    ¡°What kind of condition?¡± Zu An immediately asked. He thought that, since he had to give it a try too, he definitely couldn''t let the Skin-ying Kingplete the trial.

    ¡°In order to have the right to join the final trial, one must be a king of a certain region in Hell,¡± said the giant statue.

    Since he was called the Skin-ying King, he was probably the king of the Skin-ying Hell. That did indeed satisfy the condition.

    ¡°Wait.¡± Zu An¡¯s expression suddenly changed. He looked at the pitch-ck abyss below. ¡°I remember the Skin-ying King mentioning that only the dead can enter. Doesn¡¯t that mean that there¡¯s no way for me to join the trial?¡±

    The giant statue briefly fell silent. A whileter, it said, ¡°That is indeed the case.¡±

    Zu An and Shang Liuyu were speechless.

    ¡°Then what did you call me here for?¡± Zu An was a bit annoyed. He had never expected there to be such a trial. Could he only watch as the Skin-ying King seeded in the trial? It would be one thing if something else passed the trial, as it wouldn''t necessarily affect this world. But if the Skin-ying King seeded, there would just be too many unknown variables, and he hated unknown variables the most.

    ¡°At first, I wanted to give you another kind of opportunity, but since I now know who you really are, I changed my mind. Letting you win this trial would be better,¡± the giant statue said.

    Zu An frowned. ¡°But I¡¯m a living person and not dead. How am I supposed to enter the underworld and participate in your trial?¡±

    ¡°That is indeed a bit tricky. I¡¯ll do my best to dy the opening of the trial. During that time, you should find something rted to the underworld, and you must be quick. I am but a strand of will, after all, and cannot influence the trial for too long,¡± said the giant statue.

    ¡°Something rted to the underworld?¡± Zu An suddenly thought of something. With a wave of his hand, a drop of turbid yellow water appeared. There was still the color of blood vaguely swirling within it. ¡°Is this enough?¡±

    This was something he had obtained from the War Priest. He really had to thank that guy, who had left behind quite a few riches.

    ¡°Naihe Oblivion Water? I didn¡¯t expect you to actually have that! It seems that this is heaven¡¯s will.¡± The giant statue was also quite moved and couldn''t hold back his emotions.

    ¡°What do we need to do now?¡± Zu An asked.

    The giant statue replied, ¡°With this drop of Naihe Oblivion Water as the medium, I will forge a link between you and Hell, allowing you to be one of its members.¡±

    Shang Liuyu¡¯s expression changed. ¡°But everyone in Hell is dead!¡±

    If saving the world required Zu An to sacrifice himself, what meaning would there be left in saving it?

 Chapter 2172: Naihe Oblivion Karma

    The giant statue replied, ¡°Normally, that is indeed the case, but I have some special privileges at my disposal and only need his soul to leave his body. I can help his soul carry attributes of the deceased so Hell epts him.¡±

    ¡°My soul leaving my body?¡± Zu An frowned. ¡°Is it the yin soul, yang soul, or primordial spirit?¡±

    At the earth immortal rank, one gained the ability to control these special soul bodies. Of course, because his cultivation method was a bit special, he wasn¡¯t as strong in such aspects as the proper cultivators like Zhao Han.

    ¡°The yin, yang, and primordial spirits are only rough outlines created by your world. To put it simply, the soul leaving the body is a unity of these three souls. Apart fromcking a flesh body, it won¡¯t be any different from the normal you,¡± replied the giant statue.

    ¡°But from what I know, if you don¡¯t have the protection of your physical body, your soul bes extremely weak andcks a root, preventing you from using many of your skills. At that point, even if he enters Hell, wouldn¡¯t he just be courting death?¡± Shang Liuyu asked fearfully.

    ¡°There is no need for you to worry about that. My secret technique is sufficient to prevent him from being affected. That is, apart from some few special skills like his purification skill. He will have the attributes of the departed himself, so using that skill might just result in his own purification,¡± the giant statue said with augh.

    Shang Liuyu now felt a bit more at ease. She couldn''t help but look at Zu An to see what he thought.

    Zu An began to think to himself.

    <em>Is this mysterious guy really trustworthy? What if he''s lying to me, and when my soul leaves the body, he¡¯ll use that chance to attack? If that happens, my soul form won¡¯t be able to defend myself that well at all.</em>But this giant statue did seem quite sincere, and everything made sense as well. He also needed to stop the Skin-ying King.

    The giant statue suddenly added, ¡°Hm? I just realized that there was someone close to the Naihe Oblivion Water who shares tremendous karma with you.¡±

    ¡°Who?¡± Zu An was immediately surprised.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Sorry, but this touches upon thews of the world, so I cannot tell you,¡± said the giant statue. ¡°But trust me, you are destined to go to Hell.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He was hesitant, but Mi Li suddenly spoke in his head. ¡°Trust him.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He reflexively asked her for more information, but Mi Li didn¡¯t respond. After a moment of silence, he nodded. ¡°Fine!¡±

    Shang Liuyu was a bit worried. ¡°Ah Zu¡­¡±

    Zu An gently patted her hand to console her. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I know what I¡¯m doing.¡±

    He didn¡¯t trust this giant statue, but rather trusted Mi Li. To be honest, even though he had so many sweethearts, he seemed to spend the most time alone with her. The two of them knew each other through and through, and he had almost no secrets from her.

    <em>Of course, this woman seems to have been acting a lot more mysterious recently¡­</em>

    That giant statue said, ¡°That¡¯s good. Rx your mind and follow what I say¡­¡±

    Then, Zu An sat down cross-legged as the giant instructed. The Naihe Oblivion Water floated in front of him. Shortly after, a transparent figure floated out from the top of his head. He was shocked to discover that he could see his own body, and he could even see Shang Liuyu nervously guarding him.

    <em>Is this the feeling of whates after death?</em>

    His expression suddenly changed, because he sensed an irresistible force pulling him along. It seemed to be dragging him toward the pitch-ck abyss below. It was the power of some kind of naturalw, so it waspletely impossible to go against.

    Just then, the giant statue shouted, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you swiftly returning to where you should be?!¡±

    Then, the Naihe Oblivion Water entered Zu An''s soul body, to his horror. He knew that the Naihe Oblivion Water erased all of one¡¯s memories. If he ended up forgetting all of the people and things of this life, that would be far too cruel. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do to stop the process. He could only watch as the Naihe Oblivion Water entered his body and seemingly merged with his soul.

    <em>Hm? Wait, my memories still seem to be fine?</em>

    <em>It seems like the giant statue¡¯s secret technique really is quite amazing.</em>

    Shang Liuyu was horrified when she sensed that there was no life left in Zu An¡¯s body at all. ¡°Ah Zu?¡± She raised her head and stared hatefully at the giant statue, eximing, ¡°You killed him?!¡±

    ¡°Of course not. He is only feigning death. Once his soul returns to its original location, he will be reborn.¡± The giant statue looked at Zu An and sighed. ¡°Old friend, I didn¡¯t expect you to be so different now. You actually have so many beauties around you.¡±

    Zu An was stunned.

    <em>Did I used to be a saint who didn¡¯t touch women?</em>

    <em>That¡¯s impossible, right?</em>

    The giant statue pointed a finger, and a streak of dense white mist surrounded Zu An¡¯s soul.

    Zu An could sense that the white mist was the purest energy of the deceased, but it was entirely different from the death energy from before, because there was also a holiness to it. He couldn''t reconcile these two entirely different attributes with each other, but that was the reality before him nheless.

    Soon after, his soul condensed together and gradually materialized again. It didn¡¯t seem much different from before. Only now did Shang Liuyu see him; she looked at his physical body, then nced back and forth a few times with apletely shocked expression.

    Zu An couldn''t help but help her wipe the tears that appeared from her beautiful eyes. ¡°Is big sis Shang shedding tears for me?¡±

    The giant statue was stunned when it saw that.

    <em>This guy didn¡¯t forget to flirt even in this kind of situation¡­</em>

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡± When she heard his familiar voice, Shang Liuyu couldn''t resist the strong emotions she was feeling. She threw herself straight into his arms and hugged him tightly; she almost seemed afraid that he would disappear if she loosened up even a bit.

    This was a rare chance to see Shang Liuyu so emotional. Zu An felt warm inside couldn''t help but return her hug.

    When she felt that his body was just like his physical one, and that apart fromcking its usual warmth, that it wasn¡¯t all that different, Shang Liuyu quickly asked, ¡°Do you feel any danger? Will you be able toe back?¡±

    Zu An voiced his confirmation. ¡°I feel pretty good, as if I can return at any time.¡±

    The giant statue said, ¡°You absolutely must not. I have finally managed to condense your current form with such difficulty. I definitely do not have the energy to do it again.¡±

    ¡°Thank you. Even though I don''t know who you are yet, I believe that we were definitely good friends in the past.¡± Zu An cupped his hands toward the giant statue.

    ¡°Hah, now you¡¯re starting to carry a bit of your shamelessness from before,¡± the giant statue replied, leaving Zu An a bit speechless.

    ¡°Um¡­ How do I join in that trial? Should I just jump down?¡± Zu An looked down at the incredibly dark abyss. Even with all of his knowledge and experience, he still couldn''t help but shiver.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. As for the karma you share with the Naihe Oblivion River, since the identity I forged for you is rted to the Naihe Oblivion River, you¡¯ll be able to find out yourself,¡± replied the giant statue. ¡°Once you¡¯ve seeded in the trial, you¡¯ll naturally know how to return.¡±

    Shang Liuyu hurriedly asked, ¡°What if he fails to win that trial? How will he return then?¡±

    The giant statue remained quiet. He didn¡¯t respond.

    Shang Liuyu¡¯s heart immediately hit rock bottom.

 Chapter 2173: Temptation

    Zu An was the one who consoled her instead, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve already experienced countless things more dangerous than this, and yet I¡¯ve made it through all of them. I¡¯m now far stronger than back then and even have this old friend helping me. If I still can''t win, even I''ll begin to look down on myself a bit.¡±

    Even though he could also just stand by the altar and kill the Skin-ying King again and again, he had to seize the authority if he wanted to obtain the Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine. Additionally, he really was worried about the variables that would form if the Skin-ying King passed the trial. At that point, wouldn¡¯t the entire worldpletely merge with Hell?

    ¡°But this is still too dangerous! I would rather you not take the risk. Even if the Skin-ying King obtains the World Law Beacon of this world, so what? We can just try and think of another solution then.¡± Shang Liuyu held onto his hand tightly without letting go.

    Zu An shook his head slightly. ¡°There are things that need to be done no matter what. I want to enjoy a safe and simple life too. Perhaps great poweres with great responsibility. If not me, then who else could we hope for to take on the risk?¡±

    Shang Liuyu bit her lip. How could she not understand that he was the best candidate? But the pitch-ck abyss was horrifying just to look at, let alone entering to participate in some trial. The chances of making it out alive were slim.

    When he sensed that she was still grabbing onto him firmly, Zu An continued, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve already wandered along the brink of life and death so many times over the years, so I have some experience. Trust me.¡±

    ¡°If you keep taking risks, one of these times, you might¡­¡± Shang Liuyu stopped midway through her sentence. ¡°That¡¯s not what I was trying to say. It¡¯s just that this is too dangerous for you.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. If you¡¯re still worried, then how about you give me a kiss as a reward once I return? I won¡¯t be willing to die so easily if I know what¡¯s waiting for me,¡± Zu An said with augh.

    The giant statue rolled its eyes.<em>If this guy isn¡¯t flirting, he''s thinking of how to flirt...</em>

    Zu An almost smacked himself on the mouth out of regret. He had seen so many movies in his previous world; did he still not understand what setting up these kinds of gs meant?

    While he was thinking about how to offset that, Shang Liuyu suddenly threw herself toward him and said, ¡°You don¡¯t need to wait until youe back.¡±

    Afterward, she gave him a kiss. Her soft lips carried the unique fragrance of a youngdy. Zu An was immediately stunned. He reflexively reached out his hand to hug her, but Shang Liuyu jumped back, seemingly in rm.

    ¡°Don¡¯t misunderstand! It¡¯s not because I like you or anything! I just wanted to do everything I could to encourage you.¡±

    Shang Liuyu¡¯s mind went nk as well. Their rtionship had always been quite good, but it hadn''t reached this extent yet, right? Let alone the fact that he already had that kind of rtionship with her big sister.

    <em>How can I¡­</em>

    Zu An touched his own lips. He smiled and thought to himself, <em>I didn¡¯t expect big sis Shang to also be a tsundere.</em>

    The giant statue coughed lightly. ¡°Once you enter Hell, you will also die if something ends up happening to your physical body on this side. Thus, you need some way of protecting your body.¡±

    Zu An looked at Shang Liuyu with a gentle expression. ¡°Where else would I need to look? Of course I¡¯ll have big sis Shang protect me.¡±

    Shang Liuyu was rmed. ¡°Me? But what if I¡¯m not strong enough?¡±

    She wasn¡¯t being humble. With her current cultivation, she was already quite strong in this world. However, there were just too many astonishing beings who had entered the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons this time. Whether it was those alien monster leaders or their elite subordinates, or those creatures that had been in the tomb to begin with¡­ She could perhaps stall for a bit against one or two of them, but if there were too many opponents, she really was worried that she wouldn¡¯t be able to ensure Zu An¡¯s safety.

    Zu An thought for a bit, then took out a formation disc. He set up several great defensive formations, then handed her the disc. ¡°Hold onto this. If you have this formation, you should be able to defend yourself even if enemiese.¡±

    Shang Liuyu hurriedly took it. With her cultivation and knowledge, she naturally knew how to control the formation disc.

    Zu An then took out the Human Emperor Seal to use as the formation core. With Shang Liuyu¡¯s current cultivation, she couldn''t make full use of the Human Emperor Seal on her own. But if she borrowed the help of this formation, she could just barely bring out its power.

    Shang Liuyu didn¡¯t refuse. When she sensed the might of the Human Emperor Seal, she calmed down a bit.

    Then, Zu An continuously warned Shang Liuyu that if there really was no way for her to resist anymore, she had to protect the pendant he was wearing.

    Shang Liuyu was stunned. ¡°Is that pendant also a divine artifact?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not it¡­¡± Zu An chuckled in embarrassment. The pendant carried the sleeping Jing Teng, and it would be better not to disturb her for no reason. ¡°You¡¯ll know when the timees. But you absolutely can''t disturb it without a good reason, or else the consequences will be too terrible.¡± There was no way he would admit that it was actually because he was worried about the two women meeting. If that happened, there would definitely be hell on earth.

    Shang Liuyu nodded. She remembered her warning firmly.

    After Zu An finished giving her instructions, he nodded toward the giant statue. He leaped down just as he had been told to and vanished into the abyss.

    Shang Liuyu¡¯s beautiful eyes widened. She looked around vigntly and clenched the formation disc tightly. She was also ready to take out her instrument at a moment¡¯s notice.

    When it saw how guarded she was, the giant statue chuckled. ¡°There is no need for you to feel nervous. No one wille here.¡±

    Shang Liuyu looked at the giant statue and suddenly asked, ¡°What is your mission here? Is it to draw worthy candidates into the trial?¡±

    ¡°That is indeed the case. Once they finish the trial, my mission will beplete and I will disappear,¡± replied the giant statue.

    Shang Liuyu shivered. ¡°Then couldn¡¯t you choose to never let those people pass for the sake of living longer?¡±

    The giant statue chuckled. ¡°Youngdy, your imagination is quite strong. However, you cannot understand beings like us. Life and death do not carry much meaning for us.¡±

    Shang Liuyu frowned. It was hard for her to understand what he was trying to say.

    The giant statue didn¡¯t try to help her; instead, it continued, ¡°Right, you asked me what mission I have here. I remember that apart from guiding those suited to participate in the trial, I also epted a request from the Mermaid Ancestor of that generation, to pass on her inheritance to a sessor.¡± He looked at Shang Liuyu and said, ¡°You seem to possess the Mermaid King race bloodline and your temperament isn¡¯t bad, making you a good candidate for receiving the inheritance.¡±

    Shang Liuyu¡¯s pretty brows furrowed. ¡°Why did our Mermaid race''s ancestor need you to help her choose a sessor?¡±

    The giant statue chuckled. ¡°Since you were able toe here, you probably passed through three gates, right? In the past, the Mermaid Ancestor, the Ocean Deity, and I set up those three gates. The Mermaid Ancestor created the first gate. Because the Mermaid Race has always possessed the outstanding trait of being faithful and unchanging, if a Mermaid opened her gate and came here, her character would definitely be deserving of trust.¡±

    Shang Liuyu thought, <em>So that was the case.</em> Unfortunately, the ancestor had probably never predicted the currentplicated situation.

    ¡°Later, the gates the Ocean Deity and I set up had corresponding trials as well. The Mermaid Ancestor could not exist for as long as me, so she entrusted me, her friend, to help with this small matter,¡± said the giant statue.

    Shang Liuyu shook her head. ¡°I think it¡¯s alright. I need to protect Ah Zu.¡±

    ¡°You aren¡¯t even going to consider such a good opportunity?¡± The giant statue was a bit confused. ¡°Either way, there is no danger here, and it won¡¯t take that long for you to receive the inheritance. Once you return, you¡¯ll be even stronger, which will help you protect him better.¡±

    Shang Liuyu was a bit tempted. After all, this was indeed an extremely rare opportunity. But after just a moment of hesitation, she shook her head. ¡°Forget it, I¡¯ll give it a try once Ah Zues back.¡±

    The giant statue sighed. ¡°How can there be something so perfect in this world? It has already been far, far too long since the Mermaid Ancestor left it behind. Herst bit of power is already about to fade, or else I would not have even remembered this. After joining that trial, your friend will note back for quite some time. By the time he returns, thest of your Mermaid Ancestor¡¯s power will have alreadypletely faded away.¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

 Chapter 2174: Black and White Guards of Impermanence

    <h4>Chapter 2174: ck and White Guards of Impermanence</h4>

    Shang Liuyu immediately felt conflicted. If that was the case, she really would end up passing up an excellent opportunity. Which member of the Mermaid race wouldn¡¯t wish to see the Mermaid Ancestor, to listen to her instructions and receive her inheritance? It was all because she was too weak that it had been hard for her to help much at all against powerful enemies. Now that there was a chance to change that, why would she refuse it?

    But when she looked at Zu An whose eyes were closed, and whose status was unknown, she firmly said, ¡°It¡¯s okay. I need to protect him.¡±

    ¡°I already told you that no creatures can approach this ce, and I am his friend. I will help you protect him.¡± The giant statue was getting a bit upset at herck of ambition. ¡°Judging from our earlier interactions, I can deduce that he definitely has a lot of lovers, and every one of them is pretty and skilled. How can you win over your rivals in love if you continue to remain with him?¡±

    Shang Liuyu¡¯s face reddened. ¡°What love rivals? I''m just friends with him. He can like whomever he wants.¡±

    ¡°Would normal friends give up a once in a lifetime chance to be stronger for his sake?¡± The giant statueughed, immediately seeing through her lie.

    Shang Liuyu was speechless.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It will not take long at all for you to receive the inheritance, and I am here. Nothing will happen,¡± the giant statue said again in an earnest and well-meaning tone.

    Shang Liuyu¡¯s expression suddenly became sharp. ¡°You¡¯ve been trying to lure me away from this ce since the start. Just who are you and why are you trying to do this?¡±

    She had already secretly moved her finger onto the formation disc, ready to activate the Human Emperor¡¯s Seal. Even though they didn¡¯t seem to be on the same level of power, since the other party hadn''t forced her to leave, there had to be a reason for it.

    When it saw her vignt expression, the giant statue harrumphed. ¡°I merely did not wish for you to lose out on such an excellent opportunity out of consideration that you are his friend, and yet you actually ended up misunderstanding me here. Forget it then. The Mermaid race¡¯s inheritance has nothing to do with me either, so I will not try to persuade you anymore.¡±

    It straightened its body and returned to its dignified appearance again.

    Shang Liuyu was now the one who became a bit unsure.

    <i>Don¡¯t tell me that I really just missed out on my ancestor¡¯s inheritance?</i>

    She bit her lip, but she didn¡¯t say anything else again. The ancestor¡¯s inheritance was important, but Zu An¡¯s safety was even more important.

    <i>I cannot leave him when he is at his weakest.</i>

    Her restless heart gradually calmed down when she realized that. She picked up the formation wheel and continued to earnestly defend Zu An¡¯s body.

    The giant statue could clearly see how vignt Shang Liuyu was, sitting within the various formations through the clouds of death energy. It suddenly grinned, revealing a strange smile.

    ...

    Meanwhile, Zu An had leapt into the pitch-ck abyss. He could immediately feel that he was surrounded by endless darkness, and it was hard for him to even tell left from right. He didn¡¯t even know how long it had been since he jumped down. It was almost as if time and space had lost meaning. He shivered.

    <i>I wasn¡¯t fooled by that mysterious giant statue, right? If I really ended up being trapped in this kind of ce, just how terrifying would that be?</i>

    Just then, he felt a faint power guiding him through the surrounding murkiness. Even though it was faint, it was extremely clear in this endless void. Zu An didn¡¯t know if whaty ahead was a path or a trap, but he still followed it. After all, he couldn''t continue to remain in this ce without any sense of time or space. If he did so, he really would go mad.

    Thus, he was pulled along just like that, continuing through the formless chaos. He had no idea if he was going forward or backward, and sometimes, he even felt as if he was climbing up.

    Suddenly, he felt his entire body lighten. The endless omnidirectional pressure disappeared without a trace, and his feet found solid ground again. He turned around and saw what seemed to be a huge crack opening up not too far away from him. There was a mysterious ck vortex inside; just a single nce could make one subconsciously want to jump in. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An focused his mind and flew forward a bit to distance himself from the pitch-ck whirlpool. He could tell that the vortex was of the same source as the pitch-ck abyss from before. He didn¡¯t want to experience that earlier feeling again.

    He now knew why the giant statue had remained silent when Shang Liuyu asked about how he was to return if he failed the trial. He definitely couldn''t return this way. The environment that waspletely void of the sensation of time and space was something not even someone with his cultivation could navigate through. He had relied on the mysterious guidance to get here; it was a force meant to guide the deceased, so there was no way it would guide him back out.

    He looked all around him.

    <i>Is this the legendary Hell?</i>

    He felt an eerie sensation all around him. His surroundings were covered in ayer of faint fog. The fog was sometimes white, sometimes green, and if one looked closely, sometimes ck. Being inside the fog could make one feel a kind of trembling from one''s very soul.

    Even so, Zu An had already experienced all sorts of things, so he didn¡¯t get scared. He instead felt a sense of familiarity. He remembered his very first secret dungeon, and the tomb that had sealed Mi Li. There had been many departed soldiers inside back then. After that, the secret dungeons either had tombs in their depths, or pathways leading to them. He had already seen countless creatures of the dead. Additionally, because of the Primordial Origin Sutra, he actually hadn''t minded running into these kinds of enemies at all, as his skill directly countered them.

    He reflexively circted the ki within him. He discovered that sure enough, he couldn''t use the Primordial Origin Sutra like before. Fortunately, apart from the Primordial Origin Sutra, his other skills all seemed fine. His anxious heart finally calmed down. As long as his cultivation remained, he dared to adventure even through Hell.

    He looked into the distance. Even though he couldn''t see too far because of the fog around him, he could make out the outlines of some mountain ranges that seemed to connect heaven and earth. His expression couldn''t help but change. He had gone through many worlds and had his fair share of experience, but this was the first time had seen such imposing and majestic mountains.

    As he continued forward, no matter how far he went, the mountain range continued to tower over the horizon endlessly. There was no end in sight at all. Thus, Zu An retracted his gaze. Even though the mountains were incredible, they were too far from him. He wouldn¡¯t be able to investigate their secrets, and it was best for him to focus on his mission first.

    <i>That giant statue said he was my old friend, so why isn¡¯t he bothering tomunicate at all after sending me here?</i>

    <i>Is he in charge of guiding me? What about the mysterious voice?</i>

    <i>Just how do I join that trial?</i>

    He continued to proceed aimlessly. Fortunately, there seemed to only be a single road in front of him, so he just needed to follow it. He vaguely heard the voices of wailing ghosts were around him, as if all of the world¡¯s vengeful spirits had gathered not far away. Those strange voices were enough to make most people shudder in fear, but Zu An only felt a sense of familiarity.

    <i>Sigh, Jing Teng used to be the Ghost King, and there were always ominous winds around her whenever she appeared. It really was quite simr to this ce.</i>

    <i>Would she feel at home in this kind of ce?</i>

    While he was trying to find joy in his sorrows, he suddenly shivered. He could sense that there were two creatures quickly closing in from up ahead. He secretly prepared to defend against them. This was Hell, so they were definitely no kind individuals. Unfortunately, his divine senses were currently blocked by the fog and he couldn''t really sense anything too far ahead.

    Soon after, the two creatures appeared in front of him. When he saw who they were, Zu An was a bit stunned.

    One was dressed entirely in a ck robe, and the other was dressed entirely in white. They both wore pointed hats on their heads. The ck-d individual had the words ¡®chasing after you¡¯ on his hat, and he looked fiendish and vicious. The white-d individual had the words ¡®you have arrived¡¯ on his hat, and he looked extremely friendly.

    But no one couldugh when they saw the two, because their tongues were hanging out of their mouths, so long that they dragged across the floor.

 Chapter 2175: Naihe Oblivion Ferryman

    <h4>Chapter 2175: Naihe Oblivion Ferryman</h4>

    The reason for Zu An¡¯s shock wasn¡¯t because of their appearance. After all, he had seen a lot of grotesque alien monsters as ofte. Rather, it was because these two looked a lot like the ck and White Guards of Impermanence[1]!

    His gaze shifted to their ck and white mourning staves. The staves had what appeared to be cloth strips bound around them, making them look like chicken feather dusters. Even so, Zu An didn¡¯t dare to look down on them, because he could sense that both staves contained a kind of naturalw power that could directly affect the soul.

    ¡°So another little ghost came. It seems our quota for the month is going to be reached,¡± said the ck Guard of Impermanence. He was clearly talking about something good, and yet there wasn¡¯t a hint of joy visible on his face.

    It was the White Guard of Impermanence who said with augh, ¡°That¡¯s right. We can now take a proper vacation.¡±

    Zu An was stunned.

    <i>Why do these ck and White Guards of Impermanence sound like normal wage ves? All they¡¯re thinking about is when they can take time off.</i>

    But his entire body quickly went taut. He had more important things to take care of right now and definitely couldn''t let these two catch him. It seemed that a battle was unavoidable.

    <i>Those mourning staves seem as if they''d be lethal in my current state. I might need to catch them off guard and ambush them to take them out in one go.</i>

    Even though that was what Zu An determined, he didn¡¯t strike immediately. He still had many misgivings.

    ording to legend, the ck and White Guards of Impermanence seemed to be proper employees of the Underworld Pce, and their ranks weren¡¯t too low either. If he immediately killed off two of their government employees right off the bat, wouldn¡¯t that instantly turn the entire manor against him? At that time, forget aboutpleting his mission, he wouldn''t be able to easily move through Hell at all.

    While he was feeling a bit conflicted, the White Guard of Impermanence suddenly eximed, ¡°Hm? Why do I feel as if this little ghost is a bit special?¡±

    The ck Guard of Impermanence was also surprised. ¡°You¡¯re right. He doesn¡¯t seem to be a normal lonely and lost soul, and he also seems to be a bit strong.¡± He secretly raised his mourning staff while speaking.

    Zu An shivered. It seemed he couldn''t wait any longer. Even if he didn¡¯t kill them, he had to restrain them first.

    He was about to act when the White Guard of Impermanence suddenly said, ¡°This person has a mysterious aura around him. Hm? So it was a colleague! Apologies for the disrespect.¡±

    ¡°Co... Colleague?¡± Zu An was about to attack, but he was stunned when he heard that. He had thought of countless scenarios, but never this one.

    ¡°Are you not?¡± The White Guard of Impermanence returned his mourning staff to his back. His expression immediately became rather friendly.

    Zu An didn¡¯t lower his guard. Who knew if this guy was just saying that, only to suddenly strike him unexpectedly?

    He snuck the ck Guard of Impermanence a look and saw that he had put away the staff as well. The ck Guard said, ¡°So it was a new Naihe Oblivion Ferryman. Why didn¡¯t you say so earlier? We almost had a misunderstanding.¡±

    Zu An waspletely confused. ¡°Naihe Oblivion Ferryman?¡±

    <i>Wait, the mysterious giant statue said that I shared karma with the Naihe Oblivion River, and even used it as the intermediary to send me into Hell. Is this the identity I was given?</i>

    When they saw his confusion, the White and ck Guards of Impermanence were stunned, but then they said with a smile, ¡°This brother has just arrived in Hell, so it¡¯s natural that you don''t understand this ce too well yet. Don¡¯t think that being a Naihe Oblivion Ferryman is some arduous and thankless job like being a boatman in your past world. In Hell, it''s quite the respectable position! I¡¯m sure that this brother has umted a lot of achievements and virtue in your previous life to earn this position.¡±

    ¡°My humble self has just arrived. I still haven¡¯t asked for these two brothers¡¯ great names.¡± Zu An bowed respectfully. Since they didn¡¯t have to be enemies, he had to improve their rtionship. For all he knew, maybe he''d even be able to obtain their helpter.

    When they saw his friendly attitude, the White and ck Guards of Impermanence became even more friendly. The White Guard of Impermanence said with a chuckle, ¡°We are Hell¡¯s ck and White Guards of Impermanence. Whenever someone passes in the world of the living, we arrive to bring their soul into Hell. We sensed the appearance of a new soul and wanted to bring them to Hell, but it was actually you.¡±

    Zu An was startled. It was just like the legends, as expected! He asked, ¡°Could it be that this ce isn¡¯t Hell?¡±

    ¡°Technically, it is, but strictly speaking, you need to enter through the Hell Gates in order to be really inside of Hell,¡± exined the ck Guard of Impermanence.

    ¡°Hell Gates?¡± Zu An had heard many legends regarding the gates of hell. Many people had described themselves as making a trip around these gates whenever their lives were in grave danger. He hadn¡¯t expected to really have to pass through them.

    ¡°Look, it¡¯s over there.¡± The White Guard of Impermanence pointed forward.

    Zu An looked in that direction and saw a giant decorated archway nearby. The archway had four pirs, forming three entrances. Every single pir had a fierce and malevolent statue in front of it, likely a beast of Hell. Meanwhile, above the gates were seven towers of varying heights. They had soaring eaves and rising corners, but there were no real rooms between the towers.

    Such decorated archways were quitemon in the human world. The richer the n, the more extravagant their archway would be. But this archway was very distinctive, because the decorated archways of Zu An''s previous world were usually red, sometimes adorned with bright yellow zed roof tiles. And yet, this archway was pitch-ck. It was ck to the point of making one¡¯s very soul shiver. The only color that stood out came from the words written on the board directly overhead that read: Hell Gates.

    Zu An shivered. He hadn¡¯t expected the Hell Gates to look like this.

    He then noticed two monsters standing off to the sides of the Hell Gates. They had human bodies, but one had the head of a bull, while one had the head of a horse. He asked in surprise, ¡°Are these two Ox Head and Horse Face?¡± The mythology of his previous world was being proven true over and over! N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The ck and White Guards of Impermanence exined, ¡°They are the guards of the Hell Gates. There are some ghosts that try to flee from Hell, so these guards are in charge of capturing them and bringing them back. When some creatures that are especially powerful die and their ghosts still retain powerful fighting ability, Ox Head and Horse Face are in charge of subduing them during their capture.¡±

    Zu An was surprised. ¡°Then judging from what you''re saying, their strength is quite great?¡±

    ¡°Their fighting strength is indeed quite good,¡± said the ck Guard of Impermanence.

    The White Guard of Impermanence seemed to have guessed something and added, ¡°We brothers aren¡¯t weaker than them. After all, the world of the living frequently has extremely powerful beings that are troublesome to deal with.¡±

    Zu An wondered if they had suddenly said that because they were worried that he would look down on them, so he used the chance to speak some words of praise. The two Guards of Impermanence responded to his words extremely positively.

    Soon after, Ox Head and Horse Face noticed them as well. ¡°Hm? White and ck Guards of Impermanence, who is this? Why are the two of you treating him so courteously?¡±

    ¡°This is a future colleague of ours, a Naihe Oblivion Ferryman. We are bringing him to his appointment,¡± said the White Guard of Impermanence proudly.

    When they heard that he was a Naihe Oblivion Ferryman, Ox Head and Horse Face¡¯s expressions immediately changed. Zu An actually saw a bit of ttery on their ugly faces as they spoke. ¡°So he was the one who was newly appointed. White and ck Guards of Impermanence, the two of you are so busy that you should just leave the remaining escorting to us.¡±

    ¡°We just happen to be quite free today, so we¡¯ll help brother Zu travel to take up his new post along the way. Your jobs of defending the Hell gates are extremely important, so we won¡¯t inconvenience the two of you,¡± said the ck Guard of Impermanence with a darkened face.

    Zu An had been thinking of using a fake name, but since the other party specialized in capturing souls, he could have ended up offending them if they were able to learn of his name through some secret method.

    ¡°It¡¯s no trouble. These sorts of affairs should be the duty of us brothers.¡± Ox Head and Horse Face walked over, seeming keen on Zu An going with them.

    ¡°We have already be familiar with Brother Zu along the way, so we can take him.¡± The White Guard of Impermanence gripped his mourning staff, but there was still a smile on his face. ¡°Isn¡¯t that right, brother Zu?¡±

    The mood immediately became a bit serious. It seemed that a conflict was on the verge of breaking out.

    Zu An naturally didn¡¯t want the White Guard of Impermanence to lose face. He agreed, but then cupped his hands toward Ox Head and Horse Face. ¡°I¡¯lle to invite brothers Ox and Horse to a gathering once I¡¯ve familiarized myself with my new post. Thank you for your warm wee.¡±

    ¡°Haha, it should be the two of us who hold a weing dinner for you.¡± A smile returned to Ox Face as well; he thought, <i>This neer is quite capable.</i>

    The ck and White Guards of Impermanence gave him a look of shock. It was naturally best if they didn¡¯t start a conflict with Ox Head and Horse Face. They had never expected this neer to be quite capable socially.

    When they passed through the gates, the White Guard of Impermanence suddenly said with a smile, ¡°Brother Zu, you must be curious why Ox Head and Horse Face were so enthusiastic in their greeting.¡±

    1. Heibai Wuchang, also known as the ck and White Impermanence, are the Gods of Death from Chinese mythology, tasked with escorting the shades of the deceased down to the Chinese Underworld. The White Guard is named Xie Bi''an while the ck Guard is Fan Wujiu. ?

 Chapter 2176: Red Spider Lily

    ¡°A bit, yes,¡± Zu An said while thinking, <em>It wasn''t just them. Aren¡¯t the two of you the same?</em>n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The White Guard of Impermanence exined with a chuckle, ¡°It¡¯s actually not their fault. After all, the position of Naihe Oblivion Ferryman is quite lucrative.¡±

    ¡°Lucrative job?¡± Zu An was confused. He really couldn''t associate being a ferryman with a lucrative post.

    ¡°Of course it¡¯s a lucrative job,¡± the ck Guard of Impermanence said in a low, muffled voice. ¡°After all, when one dies, their souls are captured by us brothers and brought up to the Hell Gates, upon which they fall under Ox Head and Horse Face¡¯s jurisdiction. Their subordinates escort the dead through the Yellow Springs Path before arriving at the Hall of King Qin Guang. After that is crossing the Naihe Oblivion River. The only way to cross involves a Naihe Oblivion Ferryman, and the ferryman never brings anyone across for free. All souls need to pay the toll.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°What money would souls even have?¡±

    ¡°Of course they have some. Normally, the rtives of the deceased among the living, their loved ones and descendants, burn a lot of ritual money for them. It is those who die violently or lonely souls who have no one seeing them off who cannot get on the ship,¡± the ck Guard of Impermanence exined. ¡°Without a ferry, those souls are forced to continue on their own to enter the cycle of reincarnation, so they often take the risk and swim to shore. Still, there are some ghosts that try treachery and use other schemes to get on the boat. And yet in the end, they are just tossed into the Naihe Oblivion River.¡±

    The White Guard of Impermanence added, ¡°The Naihe Oblivion River is a mysterious river of Hell. No matter what kind of being enters the river, they will have all of their memories washed away and be empty-headed fools. They thus forever remain in the river and be river ghosts. Throughout the countless years, there have been innumerable river ghosts. Whenever a new soul identally falls into the river, the river ghosts frantically grab and tear at that soul, denying them the chance to climb ashore and turning them into a river ghost just like themselves; one bes forever trapped in the river, unable to return to the cycle of reincarnation to be set free.¡± The White Guard of Impermanence almost seemed happy to talk about them. He clearly looked down on those river ghosts who wanted others to suffer because they were suffering.

    Zu An clicked his tongue in amazement as he listened. He had felt the power of the Naihe Oblivion Water even when he was fighting against the War Priest. That was just a single drop, and yet it was already so strong. If it were a whole river¡­ Just thinking about it was terrifying.

    The White Guard of Impermanence smiled and said, ¡°Every single soul that enters hell, regardless of how much authority or wealth they had, or how high their cultivation was before they passed on, needs to pay the Naihe Oblivion Ferrymen. So tell me, do you think it¡¯s a lucrative job or not?¡±¡°It really is indeed.¡± Zu An thought to himself, <em>No wonder the ck and White Guards of Impermanence became so much more friendly when they knew what kind of identity I was going to have.</em> It seemed that the idiom ''money will make ghosts turn millstones'' really was true.

    ¡°By the way, what was the Hall of King Qin Guang you guys were just talking about just now?¡± he asked, remembering some of the names they had mentioned.

    The White and ck Guards of Impermanence wanted to cultivate a better rtionship with him to begin with. It wasn¡¯t too often one would run into a newbie who didn¡¯t know anything here, so they were more than happy to exin things. ¡°Our Hell has eight great kings of hell, and every single one of them has their respective pce. The Hall of King Qin Guang is where he rules, and it is also the first pce that ghosts need to pass through.¡±

    ¡°The Hall of King Qin Guang is mainly in charge of determining whether or not we ghost emissaries caught the wrong person. If there is no mistake, then the ghost will be judged based on whether their life was good or evil. If their good exceeds their evil, they are sent directly to the Hall of Reincarnation to enter the six paths of reincarnation. If their evil is greater, hmph¡­ then they have quite the experience awaiting them.¡± The White Guard of Impermanence¡¯sugh was especially sinister.

    The ck Guard of Impermanence exined, ¡°If they have done more evil, they enter through the great kings of hell¡¯s respective pces one after another. Depending on what kinds of evils they have done, they are sent to different regions to experience endless torture. They can only endure countless years of pain before they can wash away their evils and be allowed into the six paths of reincarnation.

    ¡°Of course, there are some individuals who havemitted so many evils that they might never be able to leave Hell.¡±

    Zu An suddenly remembered Ka Qier and asked about the Skin-ying Hell.

    ¡°The Skin ying Hell¡­ It seems to belong to the Hall of King Bian Cheng,¡± the White Guard of Impermanence replied after taking a moment to think.

    ¡°Does hell have ghost kings?¡± Zu An asked directly.

    ¡°Ghost kings?¡± The White Guard of Impermanenceughed. ¡°Those guys in hell are all prisoners. With us brothers here, how could they dare to im to be kings?¡±

    Zu An was stunned. If there were no ghost kings, what was going on with the Skin-ying King?

    Just then, the ck Guard of Impermanence exined, ¡°But there are some evil ghosts in Hell who suffer torture day and night, so they can¡¯t help but be filled with negative emotions. This often causes them to frequently fight each other, and sometimes, an especially strong one might appear. They call themselves ghost kings in private, but to the rest of us, it is just a joke.¡±

    Zu An frowned slightly. He felt that something wasn¡¯t quite right here. He asked, ¡°Then in what kinds of situations can those ghost kings leave and act on their own?¡±

    The ck Guard of Impermanence was stunned. ¡°Normally, it is only after they¡¯ve paid for their evil that they can be cleansed and moved to the Hall of Reincarnation before being sent into the six paths. But anyone who could be a ghost king would normally be someone responsible for great evil, so how could they possibly be cleansed of their sins? What you are talking about does not really happen.¡±

    ¡°Then what if a ghost king really did leave?¡± Zu An continued.

    The White Guard of Impermanenceughed heartily and said, ¡°That would be impossible unless all of us are killed.¡±

    The ck Guard of Impermanence¡¯s serious face also had a bit of a smile on it, as if he had heard something extremelyughable.

    As he looked at the ck and White Guards of Impermanence, Zu An was starting to feel more and more doubt. But when he saw that he couldn''t obtain any more useful information, he asked about some other things. ¡°By the way, you guys said that the Hall of Qin Guang examines whether one has lived a good or evil life, but there are so many people in the world and so many things have happened. Would anyone really be able to judge them all?¡±

    ¡°This is where yourck of information confuses you.¡± The White Guard of Impermanence chuckled, making his long tongue look especially terrifying. ¡°The Hall of Qin Guang has a Mirror of Evil. Any ghost that has his reflection shown in the mirror has the events of his life revealed, especially the evils he has done, so every ghost who enters Hell is convinced by the decision.¡±

    ¡°There was actually something so amazing in this world!¡± Zu An eximed in surprise. He really couldn''t imagine how the mirror did all of that.

    ¡°Hell has so many mysterious and incredible things that we have no way to talk about all of it. We can slowly chat about it with Brother Zu when we get a chance in the future.¡± The ck and White Guards of Impermanence enjoyed the feeling of mentoring a neer. They remembered how they had been about the same when they first came here in the past, knowing nothing and wanting to ask about everything.

    Zu An suddenly saw what appeared to be a blood-redntern light in front of him and was stunned. After all, once he entered Hell, he had found himself in an almostpletely grayscale world without other colors. That was why the blood-red glow was especially striking.

    Up ahead, there was a quiet and secluded path with beautiful flowers to either side. However, there wasn¡¯t even a single leaf. Every single flower blossomed like strands of fine silk; gathered at the center were flower petals. They looked beautiful, yet also dangerous. Additionally, the flowers¡¯ bright red color gave off an ominous air.

    ¡°So these are the legendary Red Spider Lilies?¡± Zu An asked, recalling some legends.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, the human world sometimes calls these Red Spider Lilies. These flowers grow at the sides of the Yellow Springs, and also serve to guide souls. The flowers can condense fragmented souls and make them remember some things from their previous incarnations,¡± exined the White Guard of Impermanence.

    ¡°Previous incarnations?¡± Zu An repeated in surprise. He reflexively sniffed the floral scent in the air, and memories of when he had typed furiously in online forums reappeared. He was about to say something when some terrifying scenes appeared in his head. It was as if the world was perishing and all life was howling in grief.

    His expression changed as he felt an intense pain in his head. He couldn''t endure it even with his willpower and screamed.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± The ck and White Guards of Impermanence hurriedly asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Zu An¡¯s expression was a bit pale. The earlier scene had only flickered past, and yet all of it just seemed too real. He tried to recall it, but he couldn''t remember anything specific anymore.

 Chapter 2177: Grandmother Meng

    <em>Just what was going on with that doomsday scene?</em>

    <em>In my previous world, I was just a shut-in keyboard warrior. I¡¯ve only seen things like that in movies before.</em>

    <em>No, movies would never be that realistic. It was as if I saw it with my own eyes.</em>

    He also thought about that mysterious giant statue calling him an old friend, and how Mi Li always refused to go into detail.

    <em>Was I really just a shut-in keyboard warrior in my previous world?</em>

    Just then, the ck Guard of Impermanence said, ¡°You are now a Naihe Oblivion Ferryman acknowledged by Hell, so these Red Spider Lilies will naturally have little effect on you. So you have no need to worry too much.¡±

    Zu An forced a smile and set aside his confusion for now. They continued to walk along the path with Red Spider Lilies when he suddenly felt a sense of recognition.

    <em>That¡¯s right, Big Manman has a diagram of this flower right on her lower back!</em>

    She hadn''t had it before, but after they came out of that great tomb and she received the power of the Paramita Butterfly, whenever she was stirred emotionally, like when she kissed Zu An, the image of the Red Spider Lily appeared on her lower back. Whenever Big Manman was lying down on her stomach, Zu An had seen it clearly. It was identical to these flowers, but the image on Big Manman¡¯s waist was even more gorgeous.<em>Could it be that the Paramita Butterfly has some kind of connection with Hell?</em>

    Zu An felt a sense of foreboding. After all, this wasn¡¯t a ce that the living could visit.

    He inquired, ¡°Brothers ck and White, do you two know about any connection between a ck butterfly and the Red Spider Lilies?¡±

    ¡°ck butterfly?¡± The ck Guard of Impermanence shook his head. ¡°There is a legend rted to a ck butterfly, but I have never heard of anyone truly seeing it before. It is probably just a rumor that got more and more out of hand.¡±

    ¡°What kind of legend is it?¡± Zu An hurriedly asked.

    ¡°It just mentions¡­¡± The ck Guard of Impermanence was about to reply when the White Guard of Impermanence interrupted him. ¡°Brother Zu, you will learn about these things in the future. Knowing about too many of these things too early will not be good for you.¡±

    The ck Guard of Impermanence seemed to have realized that as well and reflexively nodded. ¡°That is right. There is no need to exin this type of thing now. It will only increase karmic hindrance.¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An was now getting more and more curious, but even after trying to make indirect inquiries several times, he saw that they still remained silent on the matter, so he could only give up on the thought for now. He looked at the seemingly-endlessrge mountain ahead of him and couldn''t help but ask, ¡°Sirs, what is going on with the mountain up ahead? Why do I feel as if, even though we¡¯ve already walked for so long, we still can¡¯t see the end of it at all?¡±

    When they saw that he didn¡¯t continue to ask about the ck butterfly, the ck and White Guards of Impermanence released a breath of relief. The ck Guard of Impermanence replied, ¡°That is Yin Mountain, and Hell only has this single mountain. Yin Mountain and the Naihe Oblivion River are incarnations of the world¡¯s variousws. They are extremely mysterious and sacred.¡±

    ¡°Right, didn¡¯t you ask about the Skin-ying Hell before? Actually, the eighteenyers of Hell are all behind Yin Mountain,¡± replied the White Guard of Impermanence.

    ¡°Behind Yin Mountain?¡± Zu An repeated in surprise.

    <em>The eighteenyers of hell are real!</em>

    Still, since even the ck and White Guards of Impermanence and Ox Head Horse Face were real, it wasn¡¯t all that strange for Hell to really have them.

    Then, after the ck and White Guards of Impermanence¡¯s exnations, he gained a rough understanding. The so-called eighteenyers of hell weren¡¯t one floor under another, but rather different locations to punish evil ghosts differently for different crimes. Many of the hells had more than ten smaller hells beneath them. For example, the Skin-ying Hell was one of the sixteen smaller hells within the Screaming Hell. The most unendurable ce was the Continuous Hell, which was also called the Hell of Ceaseless Pain. The ones locked up inside were all those who had lived the most reprehensible lives. Normal hells were insufficient to push them for their wrongdoings, so they needed to be in the Continuous Hell. They endured all sorts of punishments from the other hells without a moment of rest, so that was why it was called the Continuous Hell.

    When he looked at the majestic Yin Mountain, Zu An felt more and more curious. He even wanted to take a look around himself.

    Just then, the strange red color gradually faded. Their group had already unknowingly arrived at the Yellow Springs Path.

    A pce appeared before them. Zu An had seen his fair share of pces, from the human side to the fiend side;ter, he had even seen the Dragon Pce. They all had their unique specialties. However, the trait they all shared was that they were all splendorous and majestic. But simple adjectives didn¡¯t match the pce before him at all. The entire pce was shrouded in ayer of dark and dim tones. Just a look from a distance would make one tremble, likely due to the natural fear souls of the deceased felt toward the kings of Hell.

    Zu An noticed an elevated tform that held a b of rock simr to a mirror. It was most likely the Mirror of Evil stage that was used to reveal one¡¯s past good and evil deeds from when they were alive, which the guards of impermanence had mentioned.

    <em>I wonder if I¡¯ve done more good or evil in this life of mine¡­</em>

    He thought of himself as still being a rather good person, but the number of creatures who had died under his hands was vast. Additionally, he had heard the guards of impermanence frequently mention that especially lustful individuals had a hell specifically for punishing them. That was definitely not something he had ever been especially careful about, and strictly speaking, he was actually quite the repeat offender.

    Even so, he quickly became focused again. He saved the people who needed to be saved, loved the people he loved, and had a clear conscience, so why did he have to be so overcautious and fear the Mirror of Evil¡¯s trial? With that thought, he immediately felt more rxed. There was even a bit of natural grace that surrounded him, bing more and more concentrated over time.

    The White and ck Guards of Impermanence immediately sighed with emotion. ¡°Brother Zu really is quite extraordinary. Normal souls tend to be so scared they break down in fear in front of the Hall of King Qin Guang and can barely stand straight. To be honest with you, when we brothers first came here, even though we weren¡¯t that unsightly, we were still quite scared and anxious. We were nowhere near as calm as brother Zu, who has even managed to resonate with the naturalws of the underworld.¡±

    They were starting to feel more and more confident that their investment of friendship here was going to be worth it. Their future prospects in the underworld would definitely be limitless.

    Zu An spoke some humble words in return. When he saw the Guards of Impermanence were leading him off to the side, however, he was stunned. ¡°Are we not going inside the Hall of King Qin Guang?¡±

    The White Guard of Impermanence chuckled and said, ¡°You aren¡¯t a rogue soul and are a proper member of underworld society. Why would you need to be questioned in the Hall of Qin Guang? We¡¯ll first bring you to the Naihe Oblivion River for your appointment. Once you¡¯ve settled and adapted to your work, you can find some time to pay your respects to the respective kings¡¯ pces.¡±

    Zu An was surprised and used the chance to ask, ¡°Are the ten kings of Hell the highest-ranked ones in this underworld?¡±

    ¡°That is not quite the case.¡± The ck Guard of Impermanence shook his head. ¡°Above the ten kings of hell are the five ghost emperors. But the five emperors normally do not involve themselves with the concrete affairs of the underworld.¡±

    ¡°Could I ask what these five ghost emperors are called?¡± Zu An asked, nodding inwardly. The leaders of the highest level only needed to think about the overall n. He just hadn¡¯t expected there to be more individuals above the kings of Hell.

    The White Guard of Impermanence¡¯s expression changed. ¡°Brother Zu may not know, but in the future, whether it is inside the underworld or other ces, you cannot willfully ask about the taboo names of some beings. Once those names are spoken, if you are not strong enough, you will only incur tremendous harm.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your reminder, brother White.¡± Zu An had already experienced these kinds of things several times. He hadn¡¯t expected the five ghost emperors to also be among such powerful beings.

    When he saw that Zu An heeded his advice, the White Guard of Impermanence¡¯s expression eased a bit. ¡°Above the five ghost emperors are two transcendent beings. They are individuals who cannot be mentioned directly.¡±

    Zu An shivered. The five ghost emperors at least had a way to refer to them collectively, and yet those two above them couldn''t even be mentioned like that. It seemed they were quite a bit more powerful than the five ghost emperors.

    The ck Guard of Impermanence said, ¡°Brother Zu, we can be considered kindred spirits during this journey, so there is no harm in telling you about some individuals that you mighte into contact with. If we do not mention them now, you should not ask about them to avoid bringing harm onto yourself.¡±

    Zu An cupped his hands. ¡°Thank you, brother ck! I will listen with respectful attention!¡±

    The ck Guard of Impermanence then said, ¡°Apart from the ten kings¡¯ halls, there are also the Ministry of Reincarnation, Ministry of Judgment, Ministry of Inferno, and the Ten Great Ghostly Officials.¡±

    ¡°The Ministry of Reincarnation is managed by Grandmother Meng. She manages the Bridge of Helplessness. All departed spirits who wish to enter the cycle of reincarnation must pass through the Bridge of Helplessness and drink Grandmother Meng¡¯s soup to wash away memories from their previous life.

    ¡°You and Grandmother Meng actually share an origin. You are in charge of ferrying souls into Hell, while she is in charge of sending souls back out.¡±

    Zu An was inwardly nodding along when he heard Grandmother Meng¡¯s introduction. It was simr to the mythology of his previous world. But when he heard what they said after, his expression immediately froze.

    <em>Wait, that mysterious giant statue said that there was someone in the Naihe Oblivion River who shared great karma with me. Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s this Grandmother Meng?</em>

 Chapter 2178: Endless Souls

    <h4>Chapter 2178: Endless Souls</h4>

    When he imagined a white-haired old womantching onto him with a big smile, Zu An¡¯s face couldn''t help but twitch.

    ¡°The Ministry of Judgment is made up of local guardians of different regions. Every single guardian is in charge of a smaller town or bigger city to ensure that no phantoms cause mischief.¡±

    When he heard what the ck Guard of Impermanence said, Zu An couldn''t help but grumble internally. There were alien monsters invading the human world, but why didn¡¯t he ever hear these so-called guardians paying any attention to it?

    ¡°The Ministry of Inferno is quite important in Hell. Under its administration are the Goodness Appreciation Ministry, Evil Punishment Ministry, Investigation Ministry, and Yin Law Ministry. The Goodness Appreciation Ministry records the achievements and virtue of one¡¯s life, while the Evil Punishment Ministry records all of one''s wrongdoings. The Investigation Ministry investigates cases inside the underworld to prevent incorrect punishment. The Yin Law Ministry is in charge of the Book of Life and Death and Soul Drawing Pen. They can increase one¡¯s predestined lifespan or draw one''s soul to the underworld respectively.¡±

    Zu An recalled that in Journey to the West, Sun Wukong had broken into Hell to forcibly change his own fate written in the Book of Life and Death. He hadn¡¯t expected this world to have such a thing too! He really wanted to check to see what was written about himself and his friends. If possible, he was tempted to change it like Sun Wukong himself.

    The White Guard of Impermanence said, ¡°As for the Ten Great Ghostly Officials, they are roughly divided into three categories. The Yin Ghostly Officials are separated into day-wandering deities, night-wandering deities, and the ghost kings you mentioned before. They are frequently in charge of patrolling thend of the living and capturing rogue souls that have escaped.¡±

    Zu An was surprised.

    <i>Could it be that the Skin-ying King isn¡¯t actually from the punishment hells and is instead a ghostly official?</i>

    ¡°The Soul-Capturing Officials are our brothers, including Ox Head, Horse Face, and the General of Chains and Shackles. They are in charge of bringing in the souls of those whose predestined lifespans have already ended.

    ¡°Another type are the Beast-Capturing Officials. They are in charge of bringing in the souls of beasts, birds, aquatic creatures, bugs, and others.¡±

    After saying that, the White Guard of Impermanence added, ¡°These might be individuals you might encounter in the future while working. It will be good to remember these things.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but ask, ¡°Then what is a Naihe Oblivion Ferryman like me considered?¡±

    The Guards of Impermanence were stunned when they heard that. They stroked their long tongues and said, ¡°It is quite strange; we actually cannot recall whose jurisdiction you fall under. It feels as if individuals like you do not belong to a certain ministry, and your status in the underworld is high...¡±

    When he saw their conflicted appearance, Zu An thought to himself, <i>Could it be a position that the giant statue created out of nothing, so that''s why the two can''t think of anything? </i>But if this was the case, the abilities of the giant statue would be a bit too exaggerated, right?

    ¡°The Naihe Oblivion Ferrymen have always been mysterious and do not frequently interact with others. Someone like brother Zu who is so easy to interact with is actually a first,¡± the White Guard of Impermanence said with a big smile. ¡°Once you interact with the other ferrymen, you might then learn which sir you are under.¡± n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°Are there a lot of other Naihe Oblivion Ferrymen?¡±

    ¡°Of course there is more than one; how could we rely on a single person to ferry so many souls into Hell every day?¡± the ck Guard of Impermanence replied, then added, ¡°It is not just the ferrymen. There are more Guards of Impermanence than just the two of us too.¡±

    Zu An figured that nade sense. If there were only a single pair of ck and White Guards of Impermanence, there was no way they would be able to catch all of the deceased souls.

    As they chatted, soon after, they heard the sound of rushing water. Zu An looked up and saw a wide river several miles directly ahead. The Yellow River of his previous world was already yellow enough, but he hadn¡¯t expected the water here to be countless times more turbid than that. At the same time, there was a faint blood-red hueing from the river, making it seem rather eerie.

    With Zu An¡¯s cultivation, he could even see some indistinct ghostly figures in the water from time to time. He figured that they had to be the water ghosts that were mentioned previously. These water ghosts were doomed to never be able to leave the Naihe Oblivion River, which was why their faces were distorted and malicious. They were always trying to draw even more people down into the water, as they only felt a bit of constion when they saw others¡¯ fates be as tragic as their own.

    ¡°The Naihe Oblivion River is just ahead. We won¡¯t be seeing brother Zu all the way there.¡± The Guards of Impermanence couldn''t help but give the river a fearful look.

    Zu An recalled the river¡¯s power, which these two had mentioned. Even if these two were now deities in the underworld government, if they fell inside, they would still have their entire minds erased, and then be dragged down by the water ghosts to be trapped within eternally. It was no wonder they didn¡¯t want to get any closer.

    ¡°Thank you, brothers. Once I''m settled on this side, I''ll invite you two for a drink,¡± Zu An cupped his hands and said sincerely. He was actually extremely grateful that he had these two to help him answer many questions. Otherwise, he would have beenpletely in the dark here. Who knew how long it would¡¯ve taken to obtain all of this intelligence?

    When they saw how friendly he was, the ck and White Guards of Impermanence were all smiles as well. ¡°This brother is too polite. We will have a proper gathering once you¡¯ve gotten settled down.¡±

    Afterward, they waved goodbye to Zu An, and then with just two or three steps, they disappeared and reappeared several miles out.

    Zu An clicked his tongue in amazement. These two Guards of Impermanence were probably much stronger than the Firedevil Sea Beast and other aliens. When he thought about how many more Guards of Impermanence there were in Hell, and how they were all a part of the underworld government, he could only feel more shock toward the strength of Hell. Could a trifling Skin-ying King really cause any trouble in this kind of ce?

    <i>And how am I supposed to seed in that trial in this kind of environment?</i>

    To be honest, he didn¡¯t even know how to start that trial, or even where it was. He had tried to make insinuations about it to the Guards of Impermanence along the way, but they didn¡¯t seem to know about any trials.

    Meanwhile, he had unknowingly arrived near the Naihe Oblivion River. He could see a huge line of souls in queue to get on boats one after another.

    ¡°Are those Naihe Oblivion Ferrymen?¡± Zu An muttered, noticing that the boats weren¡¯t as small as he imagined. He ha thought that they could only seat a person or two, but he now realized that they could actually seat several dozen each.

    The ferrymen were dressed in ck coats, with cowls on their heads that hid their appearances. They each had an oar in hand. With a single stroke of those oars, seemingly not needing much strength, their boats moved away from shore.

    Many of the souls were doing their best to get the attention of the ferrymen so as to get onto the boats. The souls frequently fought with each other to get ahead in queue. The Naihe Oblivion Ferrymen only watched them indifferently without any intention of interfering. To them, any souls could get on the boats as long as they paid the fare.

    Zu An could only shake his head when he saw that. These ferrymen naturally didn¡¯t have to pay them any attention. Either way, there were still many halls belonging to the hell kings awaiting these souls. The souls thatmitted evil acts to get ahead in line would know regret then.

    There were many souls who saw that Zu An had a rather impressive bearing, thinking that he was a fat sheep ready to be exploited. By chance, they agreed to rob him. Unfortunately, their expressions changed as soon as they came within a certain distance of him. They could feel a mysterious pressureing from Zu An¡¯s body, a kind of power that they couldn''t defy. It was as if they had encountered one of the deities of the underworld. They could only turn around and run away miserably. They knew that if they came any closer, their souls could break apart.

    Just then, a Naihe Oblivion Ferryman in the distance saw the activity and remarked, ¡°Hm? So it was a colleague.¡±

    When Zu An noticed that the ferryman was looking at him, he cupped his hands and tried to show goodwill. ¡°Excuse me...¡±

    However, the other party turned around and didn¡¯t pay him any attention, leaving him stunned. It seemed that these individuals weren¡¯t as easy to get along with as the ck and White Guards of Impermanence, Ox Head, or Horse Face! No wonder the Guards of Impermanence had said that the Naihe Oblivion Ferrymen were all antisocial and strange, and that they weren¡¯t easy to associate with.

    But he suddenly realized something and went up to the riverside. He reached out his hand and waved. Sure enough, a boat appeared and slowly came to the shore.

    <i>Is this the boat that the underworld has assigned to me?</i>

    He didn¡¯t need anyone to teach him, and naturally jumped onto the boat and picked up the oar. Many water ghosts initially swam over to drag him down, but when they sensed the boat and oar, they all shrank back in fear. However, they weren¡¯t willing to go too far away.

    ¡°Another ferryman has appeared!¡± Just then, the departed spirits saw the activity on the shore and rushed over. The other ferrymen had long lines, so who knew how many months or years it would take to cross over? There was a new line opening up here, so naturally, a huge group rushed over.

    When he saw how lively it was, Zu An suddenly felt a bit dizzy. He felt as if he was traveling during a holiday in his previous world.

    Soon after, people began to argue and fight for ces in line. There were many that cut in line, fought, and cursed. Zu An didn¡¯t pay them any attention. He wasn¡¯t so bored that he would try to take charge over justice for these souls. Instead, he began to think to himself. Just how was he supposed to start the trial?

    <i>I¡¯m not going to be a ferryman my whole life, right?</i>

    <i>Wait, previously, that mysterious giant statue mentioned that I needed the identity of a member of Hell to participate in the trial. I''m now a Naihe Oblivion Ferryman. Is this still not enough?</i>

    While he was feeling puzzled, there was suddenly a disturbance. Some of the souls who were fighting over a spot had ended up being pushed toward the shore. A footnded in the river.

 Chapter 2179: An Impossible Mission

    <h4>Chapter 2179: An Impossible Mission</h4>

    The departed spirit was horrified and reflexively tried to pull his leg back, but he suddenly froze up and his expression became sluggish too. At almost the same time, countless water ghosts appeared by the shore and strove to be the first to grab his foot and pull him into the water. Then, a group of water ghosts surrounded him and began to tear at his body. In that instant, it was as if every single drop of Naihe Oblivion River water had taken the shape of a water ghost. It really was a terrifying sight.

    Even though the departed spirit had already lost his intelligence, he still instinctively sensed pain and frantically struggled. Unfortunately, how could he possibly win against the endless water ghosts? He was dragged into the water, and when the water ghosts finished their meal, a new water ghost appeared. Unlike the other ones, it was full of fresh resentment and hatred. It stared at the souls ashore as if it wanted to drag a few more down to serve as itspanions.

    When they saw that, the other souls all took a few steps back. They looked at the river before them with extreme fear.

    ¡°Enough;e up one at a time. Anyone who causes trouble will be thrown straight into the river,¡± Zu An said sternly. He could tell that these weren¡¯t benevolent individuals, so he could only try to control them through other ways.

    Together with that unfortunate soul¡¯s fate, his words were especially effective. Even though the souls were still shoving each other a bit, they still formed some semnce of a line. They quickly got onto the ship one after another. They all handed over coins with looks of ttery.

    Meanwhile, Zu An thought, <i>What would I need this money for? </i>But he could sense that these coins were rather special, so he still took them. They weren¡¯t like the paper money burned at funerals; rather, they were hollow in the center like copper tokens. And yet, the material wasn¡¯t metal; it was some other special material.

    ¡°These are... achievements and virtue?¡± Zu An muttered in surprise.

    He had heard the White and ck Guards of Impermanence say that the underworld cared the most about achievements and virtue. If the souls had enough, they wouldn¡¯t need to suffer in Hell and could directly enter the six paths of reincarnation instead. The more they had, the easier it was to gain a good reincarnation.

    The worst scoundrels could end up having their wrongs washed away by the torture they suffered in Hell, but because their achievements and virtue were too low, they could often only enter the lower three paths like animals. Forget about those souls, even the ghostly officials like the White and ck Guards of Impermanence seemed to be paid in achievements and virtue as well. All trade was done with this substance, making it the best currency.

    <i>No wonder the Guards of Impermanence said that Naihe Oblivion Ferrymen have lucrative jobs! So it¡¯s because the boat fare is achievements and virtue!</i>

    He wondered where these souls even got this money. It was probably rted to the paper money that their loved ones burned at their funeral, and there was probably a system in the underworld simr to a bank that helped them make the exchange.

    Soon after, the boat was filled with passengers. Zu An had collected dozens of virtue coins. Even though he didn¡¯t have much of a use for them now, he still collected them.

    Just like that, he rowed the boat toward the other shore. Along the way, the river was especially violent, so the boat also shook quite a bit. The souls on board weren''t particrly courageous; they all huddled toward the center and stayed far away from the edge of the boat.

    It turned out that the shaking was because the water ghosts followed the boat, and from time to time, they grabbed at the boat with their ws to try and pull souls down from the boat to suffer with them. However, the boat seemed to have a mysterious power that prevented the ghosts froming too close. Still, their resentful nature drove them to try and pull down more souls into the water, so that was why the ghosts on board were all terrified.

    Zu An couldn''t help but find the trembling ghosts on board a bit amusing. But he really was curious about the material the boat was made out of. It was actually able to float on the Naihe Oblivion River without sinking. After all, the legendary Naihe Oblivion Water could sink even a feather. Additionally, the oar seemed to be one with the boat. He couldn''t figure out what kind of material it was made out of either.

    <i>To a certain extent, this boat should also be a divine artifact, right? Is there a way to bring it out with me?</i>

    Just like that, Zu An unknowingly brought the boat of souls to the other side. The souls hurriedly jumped off as soon as they reached the other side. They didn¡¯t even want to speak an extra word to him. They just wanted to stay as far away from the terrifying river as possible.

    Zu An felt a bit annoyed.

    <i>Don¡¯t tell me I have to just stay here and continue to ferry these souls over?</i>

    He had an important mission, so there was no way he would just toil away here. He also jumped off the boat and decided to continue moving forward to see if he could obtain any more information.

    Just then, a voice suddenly resounded in his head. ¡°If you want the qualification to participate in the trial, you must be the undisputed king in your respective region of Hell.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed. It was the mysterious giant statue¡¯s voice. He asked, ¡°You came all the way here too? Where are you right now?¡±

    The voice didn¡¯t seem to have heard him, and thus didn¡¯t reply to his question. Instead, it continued, ¡°As a Naihe Oblivion Ferrymen, today is the final day of thepetition. It will end at the third of the five night watch periods of the night. By then, the one who has transported the most souls and gained the most virtue will be the king of the Naihe Oblivion Ferrymen and obtain the qualification to participate in the trial.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes narrowed sharply in surprise when he heard that.

    <i>Are you kidding me right now? Just how long has it been since I got here? So far, it''s just been one boat that hasn¡¯t even reached fifty souls.</i>

    <i>The other ferrymen have already been here for who knows how long. They must have already transported almost ten thousand souls each by now!</i>

    As if sensing his frustrations, a piece of news suddenly appeared in his head.

    <i>The Rank 1 ferryman has carried across 108,800 souls.</i>

    <i>The Rank 2 ferryman has carried across 108,600 souls.</i>

    <i>The Rank 3 ferryman has carried across 108,500 souls.</i>

    ...

    Even the tenth rank had carried across tens of thousands. But after that, the difference became a bit greater. It was clear that the final victor would be within the top three rankings.

    And Zu An¡¯s name was especially striking in thest ce, having only carried across thirty-eight.

    <i>Are you screwing with me right now?</i>

    Zu An finally knew why the other ferryman hadn¡¯t paid him any attention when he tried to talk to him before. Everyone was busy participating in thispetition, so who would waste time talking? He took a deep breath and asked, ¡°What time is it right now?¡±

    He was currently in the underworld and didn¡¯t know the exact time. He hoped that he at least had a day left, as that would give him a bit more leeway in figuring out a solution. Even if he had half a day, he could have a chance. He could get the help of the ck and White Guards of Impermanence, as well as Ox Head and Horse Face, to see if they could turn things around. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The voice spoke. ¡°It is currently the second watch period. There ares roughly two hours left from the time limit.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He eximed, ¡°Aren¡¯t you an old friend of mine? You sent me in to experience this kind of scam?¡±

    ¡°I do not understand what you are saying. Thispetition entirelyplies with the doctrine of fairness and impartiality.¡±

    mes almost came out of Zu An¡¯s eyes. He was so angry he could kill. He wouldn¡¯t be able to catch up in this amount of time even if he had an aircraft carrier with him!

    He looked at the Naihe Oblivion Ferrymen and suddenly thought of something. If he wanted to seize the victory, he didn¡¯t necessarily have to guide the most ghosts.

    <i>Won¡¯t I be first ce as long as I get rid of all of mypetitors?</i>

    He was about to act when the giant statue¡¯s voice spoke in his head again. ¡°I advise against that. Thispetition measures who guides the most souls, not who is the strongest. These ferrymen have all umted great virtue. If you kill them, your evil deeds may exceed your good ones, which might ce you in the Continuous Hell. Furthermore, every single Naihe Oblivion Ferryman has the Naihe Oblivion Art. You might not be able to win against them while atop this river.¡±

    Zu An clenched his teeth. ¡°But what the hell am I supposed to do with this tiny amount of time?!¡±

    The voice became quiet for a moment, and then it said, ¡°I do not know why you appeared at this time and even carry some of my leftover energy on you, but there must be a reason why you were sent here. I trust that you will be able to do it.¡±

    Zu An asked coldly, ¡°Apart from these words of encouragement, are you not going to offer any more help?¡±

    He suddenly thought of something. Judging from what this guy was saying, he seemed to be isted from the giant statue outside. Even though they were the same being, their way of thinking and memories seem to be different.

    ¡°My reminder to you earlier was already the greatest help I could give. Otherwise, you would already have fallen into the Continuous Hell,¡± said the voice.

 Chapter 2180: Not Even a Ghost Can Resist

    Zu An realized that what the voice said was true. Without that reminder, he would have gone over to kill the otherpetitors; forget about all of the evils he would incur, he wouldn''t necessarily be able to win either.

    Even though those Naihe Oblivion Ferrymen all had the so-called Naihe Oblivion Art, he still had confidence in facing one or two of them. But if he gave away his intentions, the other ferrymen weren¡¯t idiots and would definitely band together to get rid of him. That way, if he had to fight against so many Naihe Oblivion Ferrymen with the Naihe Oblivion Art, the most likely fate awaiting him would be getting thrown into the river and turning into a water ghost.

    But there were only two hours left. Where would he even go to gather so many souls? It would be great if there was a bridge...

    His eyes suddenly lit up.

    <em>Wait, shouldn¡¯t the Naihe Oblivion River have a Bridge of Helplessness, and the Bridge of Helplessness has a Grandmother Meng? The ck and White Guards of Impermanence said that we shared destinies, and the giant statue even said that there was someone here who shared great karma with me.</em>

    He looked around him and spread out his divine sense. Unfortunately, there was no bridge in sight across the endless waters.

    He quickly asked the voice, but it replied, ¡°In order to ensure the safety of thispetition, I cannot help you any more.¡±

    Zu An was about tough out of anger. ¡°Fairness? I only have two hours left, while those guys have all already ferried over a hundred thousand souls. You call this fair?¡±

    The voice hesitated for a moment before saying, ¡°What you say carries some reason. How about this? I''ll make one more exception. The Bridge of Helplessness is not here; it is behind the Hall of King Reincarnation. It is not in the same spatial position as this ce, so you can give up on that idea.¡±¡°I can¡¯t do this, I can¡¯t do that, why don¡¯t you tell me something I can do?!¡± Zu An eximed angrily.

    ¡°You can only rely on yourself for this trial. Since you were brought here by ¡®me¡¯, I believe that you will definitely be able to do it.¡± After finishing its sentence, the voice no longer responded.

    Zu An immediately erupted into curses. However, he took a deep breath and held back his anger, as it waspletely meaningless.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Just how was he supposed to make up the hundred thousand gap in ferried souls in under two hours? He looked at the surging river and suddenly thought of something.

    <em>It doesn¡¯t seem to bepletely impossible.</em>

    Then, Zu An jumped onto the small boat again. With a row, he tested out what he envisioned in his mind. Sure enough, it worked! He immediately felt much more encouraged.

    When he reached the other shore, he ran to the closest ferryman and asked, ¡°This brother over here, how about we make a deal? Seeing as the virtue you''ve earned is far inferior to the first three ranks, how about selling your virtue to me?¡±

    The ferryman rolled his eyes as if he was looking at an idiot. ¡°What are you going to use to buy my virtue?¡±

    ¡°What do you need?¡± Zu An asked.

    The ferryman sneered and said mockingly, ¡°I need virtue.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    Just then, the ferryman continued, ¡°In Hell, the only thing useful to us is virtue. Everything else is useless.¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t panic and replied, ¡°It¡¯s true that I don¡¯t have that much virtue on me, but I can pay in installments, right?¡±

    ¡°Pay in installments?¡± The ferryman was stunned. He had clearly never heard of such a thing before.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. For example, if you give me the ten thousand virtue you have right now, I¡¯ll return one thousand one hundred every month. That way. after ten months you¡¯ll have eleven thousand virtue. Ten percent in earnings is already pretty good,¡± Zu An exined. Either way, he was going to leave the underworld once he finished his mission, so he couldn''t care less where these ferrymen looked to collect the debt after.

    <em>If you greed after my interest, then I¡¯ll greed after your capital!</em>

    The ferryman was a bit tempted, but his expression quickly became stern again. He said, ¡°I¡¯m not interested.¡±

    <em>Are you kidding right now? I was already about to give up, and yet you came up with this new way of thinking.</em>

    <em>Can¡¯t I just do this myself?</em>

    <em>What right does a newbie like you with just a few dozen virtue coins have to work with me?</em>

    As such, he chased Zu An off and tried to get ferrymen with more virtue to work with to see if he could catch up to the top three.

    When he saw how wild with joy the ferryman was, Zu An chuckled. He wasn¡¯t surprised by the reaction at all. Then, he contacted a few more ferrymen, and they all refused him without exception. However, they also excitedly looked for others to get loans.

    They all started mocking this neer inwardly.

    <em>You only have a trifling couple dozen virtue coins, so what right do you have to work with us? You really overestimate your own worth.</em>

    Zu An didn¡¯t get angry. He found the fourth-ranked ferryman. That person now had eighty thousand virtue, and even though he wasn¡¯t that far from the top three, catching up in this short amount of time was near impossible.

    The ferryman sneered when he saw Zu An arrive. ¡°You can save your breath. I already have a rough idea of what happened. Those guys really are stupid and want to pay back in installments, but can¡¯t those in the top positions do it themselves? They can do the same thing, and how can the others catch up to them then? In the end, these guys will end up owing a bunch of money for nothing without gaining anything at all.¡±

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°It seems your distinguished self is a smart person. Then could it be that you don¡¯t n to participate anymore?¡±

    ¡°Of course not. A loss is a loss. Even though I can''t gain the qualifications to participate in this trial, I¡¯ve at least earned these eighty thousand virtue properly. It¡¯s enough for me to enjoy afortable life for quite some time.¡± The ferryman acted as if he was the only one who knew what he was doing. ¡°So there¡¯s no need for you to try to advise me.¡±

    Just then, Zu An said, ¡°This brother has misunderstood. I didn¡¯te to discuss installments with you, but rather that I wanted to remind you of something. Have you considered lending to others?¡±

    ¡°Lending?¡± The ferryman frowned.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Since those guys are so greedy and you know that you can¡¯t catch up to the other three this way, why don¡¯t you lend out your virtue? Everyone wants virtue coins right now, so they¡¯ll definitely wee it if you lend your coins,¡± Zu An advised.

    ¡°Hmph, it¡¯s just a ten percent return, so why would I care about that?¡± The ferryman waved his hand. He was someone who liked stability more. It¡¯d be really annoying if he couldn''t collect his virtue back.

    ¡°It¡¯ll be more than ten percent,¡± Zu An exined with a smile. ¡°That''s just a diversion. For example, if you lend ten thousand to someone, they''ll return you one thousand one hundred in the first month. However, at that point, they''ll clearly owe you nine thousand. If we still continue to evaluate that based on the initial rate of ten thousand, the real interest is almost double. You can then continue to lend out your money once you get it back again and increase the assets lent out. In the end, the virtue you¡¯ll gain will be unimaginably greater.

    ¡°Besides, if everyone is frantically seeking virtue, even if you increase the rate a bit, I¡¯m sure most people will still be able to ept it. Then, you might earn double, or even several times the virtue back,¡± Zu An advised.

    To be honest, if it wasn¡¯t because there wasn¡¯t enough time, he would even want to mess around a bit himself and let this underworld experience the power of finance, the shrewdness of capitalism.

    Sure enough, the ferryman¡¯s eyes immediately widened. He wouldn¡¯t take the risk if it was just ten percent, but what if it was several hundred percent in returns? No one¡­ Not even ghosts could resist this kind of temptation!

    His breathing became a bit hurried, but he still retained hisst bit of rationality. He looked at Zu An suspiciously and asked, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you doing something so great yourself and came all the way here to tell me?¡±

    Zu An shrugged and said helplessly, ¡°I want to do it too, but I¡¯m a neer without much capital, so there¡¯s just no way. That¡¯s why I can only try to coborate with you. I just hope that after this brother seeds, you''ll share a thousand virtue with me.¡±

    ¡°Are you not scared that I¡¯ll go back on my word?¡± the ferryman asked with a chuckle.

    ¡°Brother seems to be outstanding and impressive in bearing, and you aren¡¯t as disloyal as the others I spoke to, so that¡¯s why I shared this method with you first. This is also an expression of my sincerity,¡± Zu An said with a sincere expression. If any of his sweethearts were here right now, they would immediately realize that he was scheming.

 Chapter 2181: Anyone Else?

    <h4>Chapter 2181: Anyone Else?</h4>

    The ferryman roared withughter. ¡°Indeed. Since you know what¡¯s good for you, I can share a bit with you after the matter.¡±

    But inwardly, he was ridiculing Zu An for being an idiot.

    <i>Look at you revealing everything right from the start! Whether or not you get anything willpletely depend on my mood.</i>

    <i>Just a hundred or two hundred virtue coins should be enough as a hard work fee, but why would I give him a thousand? Keep dreaming. This newbie has no idea just how precious virtue coins are in the underworld.</i>

    When he saw the cunning glint in the ferryman''s eyes, Zu An smiled. Since everyone thought of themselves as smart, they''d just have to wait and see whoughedst.

    Shortly after, amotion broke out by the ferry crossing. There were many who wanted to borrow virtue from others, but there were only so many ferrymen. Fighting actually began to take ce. However, just then, the fourth ranker appeared and stated that he was willing to provide virtue.

    When he heard the ridiculous interest rate, Zu An thought to himself, <i>Even the most ruthless andcking in conscience among capitalists would be speechless.</i>

    But everyone present was only thinking about taking the number one spot, so even though they knew that the fourth ranker''s rate was crazy, they still had no choice but to grit their teeth and ept it.

    Those ranked in the top three couldn''t take it anymore either. If this continued, others really could make aeback and surpass them. As such, they joined in the fray. With the three of them joining in, the interest rate climbed even higher. The fourth ranker secretly felt some regret, because if he had known it would be be like this, he would¡¯ve definitely raised the rate a bit higher from the start.

    There were many stuck in the middle of the rankings that realized there was no way they could catch up to the top three with their current amount of virtue. In that case, wouldn¡¯t it be better for them to lend out their virtue too? With that thought, they felt more at ease and the scene became even more lively.

    Only the ferrymen whom Zu An had interacted with first had sullen expressions. Now that many people had lent out their virtue coins, the costs they had paid to acquire their own coins were nowpletely meaningless. The difference from the top three rankings didn¡¯t be smaller; instead, it became even wider. Helpless to do anything else, they could only try to get rid of their virtue coins too. But the others weren¡¯t stupid and knew that they were in a panic, so they began to depress the prices. After all, the increase in interest rate before was too ridiculous, to the point that not even the top three could handle it.

    The initial ferrymen became even more depressed.

    <i>Why are we always the ones who suffer?</i>

    <i>We¡¯re buying virtue when the rates are high, but when we want to sell, why are the rates suddenly low?!</i>

    <i>We¡¯re losing on both sides!</i>

    Not only had they not gained anything, they had ended up losing a huge amount in the end.

    <i>It¡¯s all that guy¡¯s fault!</i>

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Naihe Oblivion Ferryman X for +444 +444 +444...</strong>

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Naihe Oblivion Ferryman Y for +444 +444 +444...</strong>

    ...

    When he saw the Rage points, Zu An almostughed out loud.

    <i>Do these guys not even have names?</i>

    But it made sense too. After all, the ck and White Guards of Impermanence went by nothing more than a code name. Once they came to Hell, everyone would gradually forget their original name. But fortunately, the Keyboard System didn¡¯t seem to be affected despite him being in a soul body.

    He tried to call out to Mi Li, but there was no reply at all, even though he had clearly brought in the Tai¡¯e Sword.

    <i>Wait, she wasn¡¯t killed by thews of Hell, was she?</i>

    He was frightened when that thought arose. However, he quickly dismissed that suspicion. Mi Li had been in a soul body to begin with, and she was even protected by a divine artifact like the Tai¡¯e Sword. Furthermore, their souls were already bound, so they could only live and die together. If something had happened to her, there was no way he wouldn¡¯t have sensed anything.

    <i>Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s to avoid that mysterious being?</i>

    He quickly collected his thoughts. Nearby, the Naihe Oblivion Ferrymen were already about to start fighting. Now was the perfect time for him to act. After all, the Naihe Oblivion Ferrymen were already ying the game of finance. They were all trying to use all sorts of tricks to get more virtue coins from theirpetitors. After all, that would definitely be way faster than ferrying souls themselves.

    As a result, the souls had no one to escort them. More and more gathered by the shore, and all of them were extremely anxious and uneasy. They instinctively wanted to cross the river, but they didn¡¯t dare to enter the water. They were all really resentful, but they didn¡¯t dare to curse the Naihe Oblivion Ferrymen. After all, they still needed boats to bring them over. If they offended the ferrymen and couldn''t cross, or were pushed off the boat due to a grudgeter, that would be terrible. Still, waiting wasn¡¯t a solution. Eventually, they almost couldn''t hold it in anymore. They were like barrels of gunpowder ready to be ignited at any time.

    Just then, Zu An waved his hand toward the shore and said, ¡°Over here! You can cross the river over here!¡±

    When they saw that there was finally a Naihe Oblivion Ferryman who was willing to work, the souls were so moved that they were about to cry. They all ran over. Even though they knew that this small boat wouldn¡¯t be able to carry so many over, this was theirst hope. As such, they still swarmed in that direction. When the ones at the back saw those in front rush forward, even though they didn¡¯t know what was going on, they also followed along.

    When the ferrymen on the other side saw that, they all sneered. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    <i>The newbie really is a fool.</i>

    <i>Just how may souls can he even ferry over even if he works his hardest? A hundred, two hundred?</i>

    Even the smallest bit of interest they collected would exceed that.

    <i>Forget it, we¡¯ll leave a bit of soup for him to sip on.</i>

    After all, it was this newbie who hade up with this idea, and they hadn¡¯t even had time to thank him yet.

    When he saw that more and more souls had gathered, Zu An nodded in satisfaction. He had just given these people the ideas of installment payment and lending so they wouldn¡¯t try to fight him over this ¡®business¡¯. He wanted the souls to gather up as much as possible.

    Out of fear toward the Naihe Oblivion River, they all remained several meters from the shore. The souls in front each said nervously, ¡°I have virtue coins here, so please bring us across the river!¡±

    Being at the very front was a difficult task that had finally paid off, but the souls in the back continued to push and shove to get to the front, and the ones in front almost couldn''t stop them anymore. If they were pushed into the river, that would be too tragic.

    ¡°Don¡¯t push each other. I''ll throw anyone who continues to push straight into the river!¡± Zu An hollered. His voice was extremely fierce, making all of the panicking souls immediately calm down.

    They were shocked by the pressure he exuded. Such pressure wasn¡¯t something one could possess unless they had killed tens of thousands before.

    <i>So this ferryman used to be a ferocious individual when he was alive!</i>

    Now, even the ferrymen in the distance nced over.

    <i>This newbie seems to be pretty strong. It seems we can¡¯t treat him too poorly. We¡¯ll try not to bother him anymore in the future.</i>

    But they didn¡¯t pay it too much attention. As individuals who could be ferrymen, which one of them didn¡¯t have a trick or two up their sleeves? Furthermore, they werepeting as ferrymen to see who could umte more virtue. Individual strength didn¡¯t mean a thing. When they realized that, they all calmed down and continued their financial contest.

    When he saw that the others didn¡¯te to disturb him as expected, Zu An grinned. He flew into the sky and said, ¡°All of you, line up properly into rows of fifty. Anyone who pushes or shoves will be personally thrown into the river by me.¡±

    The souls immediately became a bit restless. There were some souls who had always acted rudely; they protested, ¡°Will you even be able to bring so many souls over? Why do we have to listen to you?¡±

    ¡°Exactly! Who do you think you are?¡±

    Several souls voiced their agreement. Everyone present had failed to directly enter the Hall of King Reincarnation through the green path, so they were naturally not the benevolent sort. Their patience had already reached the limit. They were lined up pretty far in the back anyway and wouldn¡¯t have a turn, so they didn¡¯t mind offending Zu An. They could just find another ferrymanter.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes grew cold. With a wave of his hand, those souls immediately lost their bnce and were sucked into the air. They all screamed and struggled frantically, but it waspletely useless. They couldn''t break free from his control at all.

    Zu An didn¡¯t hesitate and casually threw them in the river¡¯s direction. The faces of those souls that were still shouting arrogantly turned pale as they fell in. They immediately wanted to swim to shore, but why would the ghosts in the river give them that chance? Countless water ghosts grabbed their ankles and crawled all over their bodies before biting down.

    Those souls screamed bitterly in pain. The souls that had been getting restless immediately became quiet.

    The ferrymen in the distance also looked in Zu An''s direction, but their expressions remainedpletely calm. There had always been some souls that didn¡¯t listen well throughout the years, and which one of them hadn¡¯t tossed some into the river? As such, they quickly returned to their battle of finance.

    Zu An¡¯s expression was ice-cold. He looked around and asked, ¡°Anyone else?¡±

 Chapter 2182: Crossing the River?

    <h4>Chapter 2182: Crossing the River?</h4>

    As for his boat not being able to fit enough people, that wasn''t as important as dealing with those guys first.

    When he saw all of the souls line up like obedient and adorable babies, Zu An thought to himself, <i>These guys really only listen to power and might.</i>

    The only unfortunate part was that he was deducted twenty points of virtue. He wondered just how the underworld calcted such things. Fortunately, he had already earned a couple dozen virtue points before. Besides, the ones he had thrown into the river were all troublemakers to begin with, so the price to deal with them wasn¡¯t too high. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have had enough virtue to deduct from.

    When the souls all lined up properly, Zu An began to collect the toll. At first, the souls cooperated, taking out the virtue coins to pay him.

    But after He collected several dozen of them, the souls in the back immediately realized that something wasn¡¯t right. And yet, they didn¡¯t dare to really say anything after witnessing the power he showed. Another few dozen handed over the fare.

    But Zu An didn¡¯t stop and continued to collect coins. When he reached several hundred, the souls finally couldn''t take it. Someone asked quietly, ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to send the ones in the front out first?¡±

    His earlier disy of power really had been shocking. Even though they were already extremely dissatisfied, they still asked in a more moderate manner.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Since I''ve collected your fare, I''ll naturally be in charge of bringing you over,¡± Zu An replied. He continued to collect the fare.

    ¡°But...¡± n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The unfortunate souls who had been dropped into the river were still fresh in their minds. Many souls opened their mouths, but in the end, they didn¡¯t dare to say anything.

    By the time Zu An collected thousands of coins, someone who was a bit braver finally couldn''t take it. ¡°You keep collecting coins without sending a single person over. Will you be able to bring everyone over?¡±

    <i>Are you kidding me right now? There are so many people here! Even if he uses three days and three nights, he still won¡¯t be able to send them all! And yet he keeps collecting the fee.</i>

    Even though they were still a bit fearful about what had just happened, they only had this amount of virtue. If it ended up being stolen from them and they still couldn''t cross the river, they would still suffer endlessly. Rather than that, they had to be a bit braver to find out the truth.

    ¡°Of course I can send all of you over.¡± Zu An knew that something bad could happen if this continued. As such, he said loudly, ¡°Everyone, please don''t worry. Since I¡¯ve collected your fares, I''ll definitely be able to send you over. This is the Naihe Oblivion River. Thews of the underworld prevent me from stealing your coins.

    ¡°The Naihe Oblivion River will testify that if I can''t send all of you over, I''ll have topensate you double what you paid. Otherwise, let my soul be forever trapped in the Naihe Oblivion River without any chance of escape.¡±

    The souls were immediately stunned when they heard how serious he was. After all, this was the underworld, and they were next to the Naihe Oblivion River. Vows were definitely effective.

    The people here had all been sinners when they were alive, so they were used to making promises and not treating them as a big deal, often going back on them. But when they arrived in the underworld and passed through the Mirror of Evil Stage, only then did they realize just how wrong they were. Every crossed promise was recorded, and an extra level of wrongdoing was even added.

    Furthermore, a vow in the underworld was even more serious. It would be confirmed shortly after, with a corresponding consequence soon following.

    Even though they didn¡¯t believe that he could really bring them all across in a short amount of time, since he had already made a vow, wouldn¡¯t beingpensated double be good too? Taking ten thousand steps back, even if this guy couldn''tpensate them, watching a ferryman be forever trapped in the river was amusing to see too.

    Some of the ferrymen who were engaged in the financial battle also heard the disturbance. They all sneered, thinking, <i>Did this guy gopletely mad for the sake of earning virtue coins?</i>

    There was only a short amount of time left, and there were so many souls. Forget about him alone, even if all of the Naihe Oblivion Ferrymen worked together, they wouldn¡¯t be able to send the souls over within a single day.

    <i>This guy is doomed to fail. How would he possibly get his hands on so many coins? It seems he¡¯s doomed to be trapped in the river forever.</i>

    <i>He''s most likely doing this to win thepetition. Unfortunately, if he doesn¡¯t manage to bring the souls across, these coins will only be in his hands temporarily, and won¡¯t truly belong to him. In that case, there¡¯s no way it''ll count as a part of thispetition.</i>

    <i>This newbie really isughable. He¡¯s actually pulling such lowly tricks.</i>

    When he saw the reaction of the other ferrymen, Zu An thought to himself that if he didn¡¯t have a Rage system, and had a ridicule-collecting system instead, he would be raking it in right now.

    He didn¡¯t waste any time and continued to collect coins. But when he collected ten thousand, he finally wasn''t able to continue.

    Even though he had made a promise, there were so many souls that he clearly couldn''t send them all over. The rest didn¡¯t want the few coins of virtue they had left to be stolen away. They knew that they would get double back if Zu An couldn''t fulfill his promise, but if this continued, he wouldn¡¯t be able to pay up the losses! Even though seeing a ferryman fall into the river would be a great sight, when they thought about how they had to lose a coin of virtue for it, they still couldn''t bear to do it.

    Zu An knew that it was about time as well. He was actually looking down on this slow rate of collecting coins too. As such, he scanned his eyes around and said seriously, ¡°Please keep this in mind. It is only one coin right now, but if you want to cross the river in the future, it will be several times the price.¡±

    The souls all avoided eye contact with him, but they sneered inwardly, thinking, <i>This guy really knows how to act. Only an idiot would be fooled by you!</i>

    When he saw that there were still no more souls that were willing to pay, Zu An didn¡¯t panic; instead, he moved over to the shore and said, ¡°Those who have paid, stand a bit closer. Those who haven¡¯t paid, stand a bit further back.¡±

    The ones in the front swallowed... even though they were already souls and didn¡¯t have saliva. But it hadn¡¯t been long since they died, so they still retained some instincts from when they were alive. ¡°Excuse me, sir; safety is most important. Please don¡¯t overload the boat and cause it to turn over!¡±

    The other souls also became worried.

    <i>Right, this guy collected so many ferry fares, so he¡¯ll definitely do his best to cram his boat. It¡¯ll be really bad if the boat ends up sinking as a result!</i>

    Even if it didn¡¯t sink, it would still be really cramped. Wouldn¡¯t that mean many of them would have to be close to the edge of the boat?

    The water ghosts were still moring chaotically, and there could very well be some unfortunate ghosts that would be pulled down.

    While everyone present was feeling dissatisfied and dissent was brewing, Zu An said coldly, ¡°Who says we need to ride a boat?¡±

    ¡°If we don¡¯t ride a boat...¡± The souls were about to ask nervously when they were all stunned. Their eyes openedpletely wide as if they had seen something inconceivable.

    The surging Naihe Oblivion Water suddenly spread apart to either side, revealing a wide path. The river water seemed to be blocked by some transparent barrier.

    ¡°Is... Is this still the Naihe Oblivion Water?¡± The souls werepletely stupefied. Even though it hadn¡¯t been long since they came to Hell, they had heard too many legends surrounding this river. This was a great river that even a feather would sink in. Only the Naihe Oblivion Ferrymen¡¯s boats could travel across.

    The Naihe Oblivion River, Yin Mountain, and the Six Paths of Reincarnation were all the most sacredndmarks of Hell. How could something this incredible suddenly be split in half?

    There were quite a few souls who had been quite strong when they were alive. They knew it wasn¡¯t too hard to cleave apart a river with a de, but this Naihe Oblivion River wasn¡¯t an ordinary river!

    ¡°What are you all standing around nkly for? Hurry and go across! Don¡¯t waste time!¡± Zu An said with a snort.

    He had just used the Crown of the Ocean Deity¡¯s power. After all, he''d suddenly remembered that the power of the crown could control the seas. Even so, most great rivers were included too. When he first gave it a try, he''d discovered that the crown alone couldn''t do this. But he still had the Blue Mard¡¯s water affinity! When the two merged together, they were actually able to control the river!

    This was also the solution he had managed to think of. As for the installment and lending, that was all to get the attention of the ferrymen. Only that way would they be too busy to pay attention to the souls, causing them to umte. At the same time, the ferrymen were so busy with their financial war that they wouldn¡¯t be able to stop him for quite some time.

 Chapter 2183: Naihe Oblivion Riverâ€™s Man

    <h4>Chapter 2183: Naihe Oblivion River¡¯s Man</h4>

    The souls up ahead were all a bit hesitant, asking, ¡°Can we really just go through?¡±

    <i>What if the waters close in on us while we''re only halfway there? </i>

    Just the thought of being torn apart by countless water ghosts made all of the souls shiver in fear.

    ¡°Just go! Stop wasting time!¡± Zu An didn¡¯t have the time to reason with them. He decided to just use the Heaven Devouring Sutra to pull the souls at the very front into the path at the center of the river.

    The souls were howling in fear and frantically tried to run back, but the vicious demon that was Zu An didn¡¯t let them return. Helpless to do anything else, they could only run for their lives toward the other shore. Perhaps because of their fear toward the Naihe Oblivion River, no one dared to stop. Almost all of them ran as if it was a hundred meter sprint, and they reached the other side in almost an instant.

    ¡°We really made it?¡± the souls on the other side eximed as they stepped on solid ground. They realized that they weren¡¯t dreaming and all cheered. With them taking the lead, the hesitating souls all rushed over one after another.

    There were some that were especially brave; they saw how firm the walls were and went closer to take a look. They would never have a chance like this to see the river up close! Furthermore, they had been so scared of the water ghosts they wanted to stay as far away as they could, so it wasn¡¯t too often that they could see the ghostspletely. Now that there was this wall of water in the way, they could see these water ghosts bare their fangs and ws viciously, while being unable do a thing to them. They suddenly felt as if they had blown off some steam.

    <i>These little things are actually pretty cute.</i>

    When he sensed that the souls were moving slower, Zu An quickly noticed what these idiots were doing. He didn¡¯t say anything and just started moving the walls. The sturdy water walls suddenly trembled a bit, as if they were going toe crashing down. The water ghosts all looked eager toe in, causing the souls to be scared witless. Only then did they realize just what kind of incredible power controlling this river was.

    <i>That guy doesn¡¯t seem to be all that experienced of a ferryman, so the amount of time he can control the walls for is definitely limited.</i>

    <i>What if he can''t hold on anymore and the waterse crashing down? Wouldn¡¯t we really be idiots then?</i>

    With that, no one else dared to waste any time. The first ten thousand actually quickly ran over. There wasn¡¯t too much of a need to maintain order. After all, after their earlier lesson, no souls dared to approach the water walls anymore. Besides, if there was some conflict between them and it affected everyone else¡¯s passage, it would incur public anger.

    The other souls finally realized what was going on. The souls that hadn¡¯t paid the fare looked around, and then they also ran over to try to take advantage of the chaos. Either way, the road was so wide, so a few of them going in too wouldn¡¯t draw too much attention.

    But Zu An released a cold snort, and the river around those souls suddenly closed, swallowing them up.

    The water ghosts had been forced to watch as these souls ran across because of the mysterious power, and there were even some despicable individuals who had dared to provoke them! The water ghosts already couldn''t hold themselves back.

    The miserable screams made the souls that were starting to grow restless immediately calm down. Then, they ran over to shore to hand their coins to Zu An. ¡°Sir, please ept our fare! We want to cross over as well.¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t ept them; instead, he coldly said, ¡°The toll is now either three times, or all of the virtue you have on you.¡±

    He still showed these souls some mercy. After all, not every soul could afford three times the price.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say double before?¡± many souls immediately cried out.

    Zu An harrumphed and said, ¡°I changed my mind. Whose fault was it that my mood was ruined?¡±

    The souls immediately felt conflicted. If they paid, it was too expensive, but if they didn¡¯t and continued to stay here... With how many souls there were, just when would they be able to cross over? After all, every day they stayed on this side of the shore was another day their minds suffered damage. As time went on, they could quickly be muddle-headed monsters.

    Injections weren¡¯t inherently scary; the most terrifying thing was waiting for the needle to enter. These souls felt something akin to that. Once they thought about the halls of the kings of hell, none of them knew what kind of punishment was awaiting them. This sort of wait really was too much of a torment.

    /As such, in the end, the souls gritted their teeth and paid three times the fare. They¡¯d just cross over as quickly as possible for now. Still, they were full of regrets. If they had known things would be like this, they would have just paid the fare the first time.

    But how could they have known that he could just directly spread the river apart?! Was he the river¡¯s boyfriend or something?

    Just then, the ferrymen finally realized what was taking ce on Zu An''s side. ¡°Wait, what is happening over there?¡±

    There were actually people who had noticed it from the start, but because they were caught up in the financial drama and fighting over resources, they had already started to get infuriated with each other. There were many ferrymen who had even started fighting. That was why even though they noticed, no one hade over to see what was going on.

    Now that hundreds of thousands of souls had begun to cross the river, however, it was almost impossible for them not to notice.

    ¡°How did that guy do it?!¡± All of the Naihe Oblivion Ferrymen were shocked. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    But they quickly reached a consensus. What were they still fighting over here for? If that guy really did ferry over all of those souls, he would definitely end up taking the lead. If they kept fighting back and forth with each other, how could they possibly catch up?

    <i>So that guy telling us about installments and lending was just to trick us!</i>

    When they realized that they had been tricked, the ferrymen erupted in fury.

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Naihe Oblivion Ferryman X for +999 +999 +999...</strong>

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Naihe Oblivion Ferryman Y for +999 +999 +999...</strong>

    <strong>...</strong>

    When he saw the crazy amounts of Rage points, Zu An almostughed. He had never expected this unexpected return.

    He urged the souls to move a bit quicker while flying into the air to face the flustered and exasperated Naihe Oblivion Ferrymen.

    ¡°You¡¯re cheating!¡± a Naihe Oblivion Ferryman shouted. Zu An recognized him as the previously fourth-ranked ferryman.

    The fourth-ranked ferryman really was triggered quite badly. Previously, Zu An had treated him with utter respect as if he was an honorable senior. He had even thought about sharing a bit with Zu An once he made his own fortune and taking him in as a little disciple who would help him carry tea and speak ttery. He had never expected the other side to actually be a hidden dragon, that all of that virtue they had been discussing was just to lead him astray!

    <i>The clown was actually me?</i>

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°You can all just do this too. Just like before, I can teach you how, and it¡¯ll depend on you.¡±

    All of the Naihe Oblivion River Ferrymen were speechless.

    <i>Sure, you can teach us, but how the heck are we supposed to control the river?</i>

    The fourth-ranked ferryman roared in anger and charged at Zu An. He couldn''t just ept being conned like this. With him taking the lead, the other ferrymen also followed along. Right now, there was only a single thought in their mind, which was that they definitely couldn''t let Zu An continue like this. Otherwise, he was definitely going to win thispetition.

    When he saw their intentions, Zu An¡¯s expression was cold. With a wave of his hand, the Naihe Oblivion River rushed forth violently, forming a screen of water that blocked them from advancing.

    The Naihe Oblivion Ferrymen were horrified and quickly backed up. Even though they were ferrymen, if they made contact with this water, they were no different from ordinary souls. Even though they all had some skills rted to the river, which one of them could control the river directly like him?

    <i>Is he the Naihe Oblivion River¡¯s man?</i>

    <i>F*ck!</i>

    Just like that, Zu An controlled the water to stop the ferrymen while urging the remaining souls to move along.

    As they watched him stop so many ferrymen all by himself, the souls were full of admiration and fear.

    <i>It seems he''s the true ruler of the Naihe Oblivion River!</i>

 Chapter 2184: The Second Phase

    <h4>Chapter 2184: The Second Phase</h4>

    Some souls had been wondering whether to just wait a few days until the other ferrymen returned, but when they saw the situation, they immediately woke up. It was important to be on the right side during crucial moments!

    How could the other ferrymenpare to this one in front of them? If they ended up offending the others, just a little bit of maniption of the river would make it more than easy enough to knock them off their boats. As such, they took out the virtue coins and handed them all over. Then, they swiftly ran through the river passage.

    If the two sides started fighting, a single ssh of Naihe Oblivion River water would cause them to die in vain. With that understanding, the souls moved even faster.

    The other Naihe Oblivion Ferrymen could only grow more and more infuriated out of helplessness. They wanted to stop the crossing, but the river stopped them from getting any closer.

    Some wanted tobine all of their coins to try and mount aeback. But after their earlier bickering, they already felt too much disdain toward each other. The only reason they weren¡¯t fighting with each other was the presence of Zu An, theirmon enemy.

    Each one wanted the others to give them their virtue coins, so no one chose to help anyone else. After all, even if they didn¡¯t win this time, having so much money would still be really helpful in the future for their quality of life. Why would they give up on so much virtue because of momentary anger?

    Naturally, they all had their own sinister motives. Even though some ferrymen still loudly argued in favor of pooling resources, in the end, they couldn''t reach an agreement. Time went on just like that.

    Suddenly, a voice called out, ¡°Thepetition has concluded!¡±

    Then, a golden list that recorded the virtue points each ferryman had umted appeared in the air.

    The previous top three¡¯s points had all increased drastically; the one with the most already had four hundred thousand, while even thest of the three had three hundred thousand. However, not a single smile could be seen on their faces. They were looking at the number one spot instead. He had a total of six hundred and sixty thousand virtue points!

    They were even more infuriated when they thought about how they had paid a huge price for the other ferrymen¡¯s virtue, and yet they hadn¡¯t managed to obtain anything in the end!

    <i>No, we got a huge freaking pile of debt in return!</i>

    Rage filled the bellies of the ferrymen.

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Naihe Oblivion Ferrymen X, Y, and Z for +999 +999 +999...</strong>

    Of course, there were some who were sad and others who were happy. The ones who were ranked lower and had long since given up all hope of reaching first ce were greatly delighted. They had lent out all of their coins, so not only did they not owe anything, they had even made a good profit. They really wanted to run over and give Zu An a few kisses right now. They naturally wouldn''t have agreed to join up with the front rankers to win against Zu An.

    Different humans experienced different emotions; the same went for ghosts.

    Zu An no longer cared about those losers, because a familiar voice spoke in his ear. ¡°Congrattions. You have sessfully be the king of the Naihe Oblivion River and have the qualifications to join the final trial.¡±

    A figure appeared in front of Zu An, but his face was indiscernible. And yet, when he appeared, all of the disturbances came to an end, including the cheering of the souls who had crossed over as well as the fury of the ferrymen. The emotions were still visible on their faces.

    Zu An was shocked. His attention returned to the figure as he asked, ¡°Why can¡¯t I see what you look like?¡±

    ¡°Not letting you see what I look like is for your own good.¡± The figure¡¯s reply wasn¡¯t anything too surprising.

    Zu An was dumbfounded, asking, ¡°Then why did you even show yourself?¡± n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°I was surprised that you were able to make aeback. Even I couldn''t think of any way for you to win,¡± the figure said with a sigh of admiration.

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°Even you didn¡¯t think I could win, and yet you still said all of those things?¡±

    ¡°I trust the insight of my other self. Since he sent you in, he definitely had to have his reasons. This only proves I wasn¡¯t wrong,¡± the figure replied.

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>How do I argue against that?</i>

    ¡°Then you should tell me just what this trial is, right?¡±

    Fortunately, the figure didn¡¯t continue to talk in riddles. ¡°The trial is being held for the sake of obtaining a special book. In other words, to obtain authority.¡±

    ¡°Authority?¡± Zu An was surprised. He remembered the rainbow-colored World Law Beacon he had seen in the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons.

    ¡°You will know the exact details if you win. Knowing too much will only bring you harm,¡± the figure continued.

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>Hah! And here I was praising you for being straightforward for once. Looks like it was wasted.</i>

    The projection waved his hand, and a ck vortex appeared. ¡°Go on. I didn¡¯t think too highly of you at first, but I can now sense a bit of hope for you.¡±

    Zu An frowned.

    <i>Shouldn''t you be saying you have some confidence? Why did you use the word ''hope'', and why is your expression soplicated?</i>

    ¡°You have to at least tell me what''s being tested in this trial, right? Why do I feel as if the other candidates of Hell know way more than I do? Also, I should be thest one to obtain the qualifications, right? I¡¯m already far behind everyone else, so is that even in line with your principle of fairness?¡± Zu An remembered the Skin-ying King and didn¡¯t want to give up any chance of gaining intelligence.

    The figure hesitated, but then said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, this time, there is no difference whether you join the trial earlier orter. The other candidates don¡¯t really know much either.

    ¡°But out of consideration for the fact that you carry a bit of my other self¡¯s aura, and that your performance was indeed quite spectacr, I can share a bit of information with you. Everything you see from here on out will represent events that took ce in a certain time and ce different from this one. It is a ce akin to a fragment of time. In order to advance to the next checkpoint, you need to achieve better results than the others within that segment of history.¡±

    Zu An was a bit startled. This wasn''t the first time he had encountered something like this. The other secret dungeons had required him to do simr things. He asked, ¡°How many phases are there?¡±

    ¡°You need to explore this by yourself...¡± The figure trailed off. He gave Zu An a push, sending him straight into the ck vortex.

    Zu An was really shocked, because even with his current cultivation, he couldn''t react at all! If the other party had any bad intentions, he would be in big trouble.

    After all, the Naihe Oblivion Ferrymen, ck and White Guards of Impermanence, Ox Head and Horse Face were all individuals he was confident he could win against. And yet in front of this individual, he felt a really strong sense of powerlessness. Just who was this person?

    Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t have time to think about it any further. As he fell into the ck vortex, he experienced a brief moment of absent-mindedness; and then, in the next moment, everything suddenly became bright, with no remaining traces of underworld gloom.

    There was water all around him. He was clearly on the ocean floor, inside a beautiful pce. It bore simrities to the Dragon Pce he had previously stayed at. In that instant, Zu An was a bit stunned. He wondered if everything had been a dream, that he had never entered the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons and was still in the Dragon Pce.

    But he quickly discarded that thought. Thisyout was simr to the Dragon Pce, but it was also greatly different. The main difference was that it was a bit smaller in scale, and the surrounding water seemed to be freshwater...

    Zu An scanned his surroundings and saw that there were many servants and ministers. He could tell that they were all kinds of fish and shrimp species, as their bodies carried quite a few distinctive traits of those species. He frowned.

    <i>Can these still be called fish?</i>

    Compared to Shang Liuyu and Shang Hongyu, they were far inferior. These fishmen really weren¡¯t that attractive.

    There were a few maids around him that were a bit prettier, butpared to the standard of the Dragon Pce he had stayed at, they were far inferior. Nheless, no matter where they were in his previous world, the maids would all have still been campus beauty queens.

    Zu An calmly examined his surroundings. This seemed to be a Dragon Pce too, just much smaller in size. The reason he was so sure of that was because he had already sent his divine sense out and knew what kind of ce he was in. Additionally, there was a crown on his head, and his face had draconic features.

    Suddenly, many memories rushed into his head at that moment. He was the Dragon King of Jing River. This river was under his control, and he also shouldered the responsibility of maintaining the harmony of nature.

    ¡°Dragon King of Jing River? Why does it sound a bit familiar...¡± Zu An was thinking when he was suddenly interrupted by a hurried voice.

    ¡°A disaster! A disaster has taken ce!¡±

 Chapter 2185: Predicting Death to Proclaim Life

    <h4>Chapter 2185: Predicting Death to Proim Life</h4>

    Zu An looked up and couldn''t help but feel a bit surprised. The person who had run over in great rm actually resembled the members of the Yaksha Ocean Patrol he had met when he first encountered Shang Hongyu. However, this person was different, and his physique and strength were also inferior.

    ¡°What happened?¡± Zu An asked seriously. Right now, he didn¡¯t have enough information at all, so it was best to wait and see for now.

    The Yaksha replied, ¡°This humble subject followed the water to the riverside and started listening to the conversation of a fisherman and a woodcutter. When I was about to leave, I heard terrible news. The fisherman said that along Eternal Peace City¡¯s western gate street, there is a divination master who is extremely precise. Whenever he is given a golden carp, he passes on a lesson, teaching them many things. If he really is skilled and capable, won''t we water creatures bepletely eradicated? Why would they still pay the Water Manor any respect and revere our great king¡¯s power?¡±

    When he heard those words, Zu An immediately felt a mysterious sense of anger. He couldn''t help but feel surprised. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    <i>Why are my emotions so unstable?</i>

    Immediately after, he realized that he was in the body of this Jing River Dragon King. This person was probably quite arrogant normally, and yet he had ended up being offended by some ordinary people. That was why he had be so angry.

    There was a famous phrase, ''golden carp leap by the gates of the dragons''. Golden carp were the water creatures¡¯ most precious and respected dragon sons and grandsons. If they were being captured by an ordinary person to boil into soup, how could the water creatures possibly stand that?

    But Zu An wasn¡¯t a real Dragon King, so he quickly calmed down to think about how to solve this fragment of spacetime. Could it be that the keyy in this event?

    Just then, some dragon descendents cried out in fury. ¡°That¡¯s absolutely preposterous! We¡¯ll raise our swords to take the head of that divination master!¡±

    Zu An said solemnly, ¡°It¡¯s best if I personally make the trip.¡±

    What hecked the most was information. How could he entrust this task to others?

    When they heard what he said, many subjects advised against it. ¡°Great king, please quell your anger! As themon saying goes, words that pass the ears cannot be fully trusted. If the great king goes as is, the clouds will apany you and the winds will assist you, rming the popce of Eternal Peace City. If the great king does not make himself known and only acts as an outstanding schr, it will be much easier for you to obtain information in Eternal Peace City. If this person exists, it will not be toote to end him then, but if he does not exist, we will not need to needlessly harm others!¡±

    Zu An¡¯s memories surfaced and he recognized the ones who spoke: Minister Shrimp, Commander Crab, Advisor Shad, High Official Perch, and Governor Carp. They were all freshwater creatures, quite unlike in the Dragon Pce of his world.

    ¡°What my beloved officials say is indeed true.¡± Zu An wasn¡¯t too interested in going out and making a huge fuss to begin with. He just wanted to go and take a look at what was going on to see if he could figure out any solutions for this ce. It was these people who had misunderstood, thinking that he was nning to take up the sword to punish the evildoer, but he just went along with what they said.

    When they heard that he had ¡®changed¡¯ his mind, the subjects sighed in relief and apanied him to the shore.

    Along the way, Zu An carefully asked about information rted to the Dragon Pce. He discovered thatpared to the Ocean races¡¯plicated structure, the Dragon Pce here was much smaller in both governmental structure and size. The ones he had seen earlier were already most of the important individuals of the Jing River Dragon Pce.

    Among them were the Jing River Dragon King¡¯s sons. They were all hedonistic individuals who oppressed the people. One of his sons had even abused his wife every day, to the point that she ran away.

    ¡°They¡¯re all dregs of society.¡± Zu An sneered. If not for the fact that he knew these things had already happened and that finding the solution to the trial was more important, he would teach those sons a proper lesson.

    Along the way, he didn¡¯t see anything especially noteworthy.

    When he arrived, General Shad reminded him, ¡°The great king¡¯s bearing is too outstanding. If it isn¡¯t changed a bit, it might end up causing rm in the city.¡±

    Zu An nodded. He had been thinking of taking out a face-changing mask, but just then, he realized that this body seemed to have some kind of transformation skill. With a thought, his appearance changed. He had a jade-colored gown and had a carefree headband on his head, making him resemble a handsome schr.

    The subjects all voiced their praise. ¡°Your highness really is heroic and handsome, towering over valleys and reaching into the sky, graceful and poised, majestic and mighty!¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, <i>No wonder everyone covets authority.</i> Being showered in praise day after day by these guys really felt quite amazing.

    But he quickly gathered his thoughts. He began to think to himself that this Jing River Dragon King¡¯s transformation skill was quite amazing. It even resembled the Lord of Myriad Transformations a bit. His own Face of a Thousand Identities now seemed like a pale imitation instead.

    ...

    After bidding all of the subjects goodbye, he walked toward the towering city up ahead. With his speed, he quickly arrived at the city gates./ When he saw the words ¡®Eternal Peace¡¯ written in massive characters on the city gates, he suddenly became a bit absent-minded.

    When he interacted with the water race¡¯s high officials, he hadn¡¯t noticed anything noteworthy about the Dragon Pce¡¯s side. However, the conditions on the human side were worth pondering over. This was the human empire¡¯s capital, Eternal Peace City, and the human emperor was known as Emperor Tang.

    Zu An had tried to ask why that person was called Emperor Tang. He wanted to check if the emperor had anything to do with the Emperor Tang from his previous world. But unfortunately, the ministers had all been confused. They only knew that he was called Emperor Tang and didn¡¯t even know what his name really was.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me this is a secret dungeon...¡± Zu An was a bit shaken up. He had experienced many secret dungeons over the years. Almost every single one of them had something to do with the history of his previous world. Of course, only the names were simr and the rest of the details were revised. There were frequently magical events, such as shifting mountains and filled seas. The events were far more incredible than those of the dynasties from his previous world.

    Zu An didn¡¯t go straight toward where the fortune-teller was, and chose to look around the city first instead. Anyone who yed role-ying games knew that exploring for intelligence and triggering side quests was far better than just blindly clicking ¡®next¡¯. Judging from the information he had obtained before, he couldpletely predict that once he approached the divination master, the main storyline would immediately progress. If he did that, he would be going inpletely blind. It would be too difficult to change anything then.

    After strolling around leisurely, Zu An couldn''t help but feel a bit confused. This Eternal Peace Cty¡¯s citizens were all ordinary people. He didn¡¯t see many cultivators at all. There was no way this really could be the Tang Dynasty from his memories, right?

    He didn¡¯t learn anything useful along the way at all. After asking around, he learned that the current Tang Emperor was Li Shimin, the second Tang emperor he remembered, and that it had already been many years since the Xuanwu gate coup. Everyone praised their ruler as a good emperor.

    As he strolled around, he arrived at the Imperial Pce. He wanted to go inside and have a chat with Li Shimin, but his eyes suddenly narrowed. Ordinary people couldn''t see it, but in his line of sight, the entire Imperial Pce was shrouded under the protection of heavenly dao. It was impossible for someone like him to enter without being noticed.

    He looked up at the sky.

    <i>Is this the real meaning of the title ¡®son of heaven¡¯ that''s usually applied to emperors? To obtain the acknowledgement of heavenly dao?</i>

    The water race subjects had also mentioned a ce known as the Celestial Court. It seemed such things really did exist in this world.

    Zu An''s expression became grave. If the Celestial Court existed, that meant there were far more incredible beings here. A single Jing River Dragon King like him wouldn¡¯t be able to do much at all. At first, he had thought that this was a world of ordinary people, and that with his powerful cultivation, he could do whatever he wanted. But now, it seemed that this world was far more powerful than he imagined!

    He didn¡¯t force his way into the Imperial Pce, as he had already gathered roughly enough intelligence. He turned around and walked in the direction of Eternal Peace¡¯s west gate. The divination master that the Yaksha had mentioned earlier was to be found there.

    As he walked, he continued to think.

    <i>Tang Dynasty, Celestial Court immortals... It¡¯s not that world, is it...</i>

    When he thought of that possibility, Zu An smiled bitterly. Even though he was strong now, that was onlypared to human cultivators. If it really was that world, there were just too many big shots around.

    Just then, he noticed a rowdy area not too far away from him. He saw that a group of people had gathered there as if they were watching something really lively. Loud and arrogant words emerged from inside every so often. ¡°Those born with the dragon zodiac sh with the tiger zodiac. Yin, chen, si, and hai of the earthly branches! Even though it seems like a harmoniousbination, the day¡¯s energies are in conflict with the prevailing energies of the year.¡±

    When he heard those words, Zu An immediately knew that the voice had to belong to the divination master.

    He walked up. Even though there were a lot of people here, with his cultivation, an invisible energy field spread around him. The crowd was easily separated and he was able to reach the very front. It turned out that all of them were gathered outside a residence¡¯s entrance.

    The bell boy saw that he had an impressive bearing and didn¡¯t dare to hold him back. Thus, Zu An was quickly guided inside.

    ...

    The interior of the residence was splendidly decorated with pearls and silk. A duck-shaped incense burner was present inside the room, adding a unique sandalwood fragrance to the air. There were also some decorative porcin bottles that looked rather elegant.

    Several paintings hung on the walls around them. Even though Zu An didn¡¯t know much about painting, he could still tell that they were special. The scenery depicted was ancient and remote, and they even seemed to convey the essence of zen. He noticed that the name ''Venerable Master Mosh¨¦'' was inscribed on one of them.

    <i>Is this Wang Wei¡¯s painting?</i>

    He had studied his poetry in literature ss, so he had some impression of that name.

    There was another painting high on the wall right in front of him. The painting was of an elder, and judging from the character next to it, it seemed to be the Ghost Valley Master. In his previous world¡¯s history, the Ghost Valley Master had been a hermit who excelled at the art of strategic maneuvering and diplomatic skill; he was Zhang Yi and Su Qin¡¯s master. Another legend imed that he even knew the technique for immortal cultivation. He was an extremely mysterious figure in Chinese history.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes quickly scanned the room. There were several rhyming couplets hanging from the pirs:

    ¡°Well-versed in the six lines; proficient in the eight divinatory trigrams.¡±

    ¡°Capable of understanding the principles of heaven and earth; skilled at discerning the emotions of ghosts and deities.¡±

    ¡°Events of the future and events of the past should be viewed like the reflection of the mirror or moon. Some fortunes rise, some fortunes fall; the key lies in insight and discernment.¡±

    "Knowing ominousness to determine auspiciousness; predicting death to proim life."

    "When speaking, stormse swiftly; when writing, even ghosts and deities are startled."

    ...

    When he saw these pairs of verses, Zu An¡¯s body suddenly erupted with rage. <i>This ordinary man is really full of himself!</i>

    Forget about the original Jing River Dragon King, even Zu An himself felt that these verses were a bit too arrogant. Also, why was the setup so simr to what a con-man would use?

    The divination master was seated at the central position. On the desk was a duanshi inkstone and some golden ink sticks. Surrounded by bold, vigorous strokes and fine, delicate details, the person himself was quite handsome and had an air of elegance. His name was on the signboard next to him: Divination Master Yuan Shoucheng.

    ¡°Yuan Shoucheng?¡± Zu An frowned slightly. He didn¡¯t have much of an impression of that name. He only knew one magician surnamed Yuan from the Tang Dynasty; that was Yuan Tiangang, a man associated with great mystery, character, and all sorts of legends.

 Chapter 2186: A Way Out

    <h4>Chapter 2186: A Way Out</h4>

    The divination master gave him a look. He got up and bowed, saying, ¡°Honored guest, please have a seat!¡±

    Zu An¡¯s current identity was that of the dragon king, and he was a regent of both the human and fiend races himself. He naturally carried the prestige of someone of higher status and naturally took a high seat. Everyone present was impressed when they saw his exceptional bearing.

    As the boy servant brought him some tea, the divination master named Yuan Shoucheng asked, ¡°What has this honored gueste to ask about today?¡±

    Zu An gave the rather egotistical rhyming couplets a look and replied, ¡°Could I ask sir to interpret the matter of the sky¡¯s changes in weather?¡±

    This body¡¯s memories told him that the Jing River Dragon King was in charge of this region¡¯s clouds and rain to begin with. No one knew about such things better than him.

    Yuan Shoucheng rolled up his sleeves and tossed out a few divination items, then carefully observed them for a bit. He replied, ¡°Clouds confuse the hilltops; mist shrouds the forest tips. If one divines for rain, it shall stand correct for the following day.¡±

    Zu An continued to ask, ¡°When will the rain fall tomorrow? How many inches?¡±

    This guy was acting as if he was incredible, but Zu An knew that there were some fortune tellers who liked to give ambiguous replies when fortune-telling, so there was no way he would give him that kind of chance.

    The divination master replied calmly, "Tomorrow, clouds will gather at the hour of Ch¨¦n (7-9 AM), thunder will resound at the hour of S¨¬ (9-11 AM), rain will fall at the hour of W¨³ (11 AM-1 PM), and the rain will cease at the hour of W¨¨i (1-3 PM). Altogether, the rainfall will amount to three feet, three inches, and forty-eight drops.¡±

    Zu An was about to say something when there was suddenly an irresistible urge within him. He said with a chuckle, ¡°There is no way to falsify something like that. If there is rain tomorrow and it is in ordance with the time and amount that you have deduced, then I will send you fifty taels of silver in gratitude. If there is no rain, or the time and amount is wrong, I say honestly right now that I will definitely break down your shop front and destroy your signboard, and swiftly chase you out of Eternal Peace so that you cannot deceive the people any longer!¡±

    Zu An was stunned when those words came out of his mouth. Even though what he said was reasonable, he just felt that it was strange somehow, as if he had been possessed and forced to say that. An ordinary person would likely be unable to deduce that, but with his cultivation and knowledge, he sensed the strangeness.

    Yuan Shoucheng replied dly, ¡°This matter will be up to you. Pleasee back after the rain tomorrow.¡±

    Zu An left the Yuan manor. He continued to think to himself along the way.

    If other people hade to this fragment of spacetime, perhaps they would assume that they needed to win against this fortune-teller and chase him out of Eternal Peace City to protect the water races in the Dragon Pce, and that wouldplete the mission; but he could sense that something wasn¡¯t quite right from the earlier strangeness. Was that really the solution?

    Meanwhile, he unknowingly returned to the riverside. The water races all came out to greet him. ¡°What does the great king think about that divination master?¡±

    Zu An shared their conversation with the high officials. All of them smiled and said, ¡°The great king manages eight rivers; you are the great dragon deity in charge of rain. Only the great king holds this knowledge, so how could he dare to speak sphemy? That fortune-teller is going to lose for sure! For sure!¡±

    But Zu An found it hard to smile. He just felt that something was strange. The reason he had gambled with that Yuan guy was because if not even he, who was in charge of controlling the rain, couldn''t say for sure that it was going to rain tomorrow, this divination master would definitely lose.

    But he just felt that something wasn¡¯t right, to the point where he felt as if his fine hairs were about to stand up. This was the culmination of his experiences with danger and The Book¡¯s ability, resulting in his sharp intuition.

    But where was the dangering from? Could it be that the bet contained hidden dangers? But even if he lost, it was just a loss, right? It wasn''t supposed to be that big of a deal.

    A group of water race subjects were mocking that Yuan guy for beingpletely blind, actually daring to show off before the dragon king himself. They all had huge smiles on their faces.

    The difort Zu An felt became stronger and stronger. This wasn¡¯t the typical fictional setting where the viin would ridicule and unleash all manner of hatred upon the protagonist, but eventually, the cockier he was at first, the more bitter the payback would be... Was it?

    <i>In the end, I became the viin?</i>

    <i>Then who''s the main character? Yuan Shoucheng?</i>

    <i>But aren¡¯t main characters all young men? That guy is already an elder with one foot in the grave. I really can¡¯t see the radiance of a main character around him.</i>

    Zu An was bing a bit restless. This kind of trial really was a pain. There were no mission guidelines or objectives. Passing it would relypletely on his own guesses.

    Just then, a voice suddenly came from midair. ¡°Jing River Dragon King, ept this decree.¡±

    Everyone present looked up and saw a warrior in golden clothes. He approached the water manor with the Jade Emperor¡¯s decree in hand.

    Zu An was stunned. It really was someone from the Celestial Court!

    The golden-d warrior shone with golden light and had a divine aura around him. He seemed to be an expert above the earth immortal rank.

    If a messenger was already this strong, just how strong was the Jade Emperor? And were there beings even stronger than the Celestial Emperor?[1]

    Regardless, Zu An was at least certain about one thing, which was that the Celestial Court was definitely not a ce he could make his enemy right now.

    Just then, the subjects next to him hurriedly gave him reminders, and only then did Zu An sort out his clothes and burn incense to receive the decree.

    When the golden-d warrior left, Zu An opened the decree and gave it a look. On it was written, ¡°The imperial decree orders the head of eight rivers to send lightning and thunder, to bestow rain to aid and relieve Eternal Peace City.¡±

    The times and amount of rainfall indicated were no different from what the divination master had stated at all.

    Zu An was really shocked. No wonder he had felt that sense of unease earlier! So it turned out this was where the problemy!

    Just then, all of the water race subjects also looked at each other in dismay. Many of them said with a sigh, ¡°There really was a person of such spiritual affinity in this world! He really does know all under heaven! It seems we¡¯ll definitely lose this time.¡±

    Just then, Advisor Shad said respectfully, ¡°Great king, please do not worry. Why would winning against him be difficult? This subject has a small scheme that will surely shut that scoundrel''s mouth.¡±

    Zu An gave him a look and said expressionlessly, ¡°Let us hear it, then.¡±

    Advisor Shad said, ¡°When it is time to rain, just send a bit less; wouldn¡¯t that divination master be inurate then? Why do we need to worry about winning against him? Then, we can pulverize his signboard and chase him away. Wouldn¡¯t that be easy enough?¡±

    Many subjects felt that it was a brilliant idea. Advisor Shad also had a proud look on his face.

    But Zu An¡¯s face darkened and he roared, ¡°How brazen! This is a decree sent personally from the Jade Emperor; how can we go against his decree over a bet of such small importance? Do you want me tomit the crime of going against the monarch? Men, have him beheaded at once!¡±

    These things made him vaguely recall some ancient legend. Even though he couldn''t remember it all too clearly, he could clearly sense that this guy¡¯s suggestion was definitely a huge pitfall.

    The entire hall suddenly became silent. The high officials¡¯ expressions were full of disbelief, while Advisor Shad broke down in tears. ¡°Great king, this subject is being wrongly used! I was merely wholly devoted to assisting the great king in winning the bet; what fault is there in that?¡±

    Many high officials also spoke up to help him when they heard his pleas, but Zu An remained indifferent. Soon after, shrimp and crab soldiers dragged Advisor Shad down.

    Shortly after, those soldiers came to report anxiously, ¡°Reporting to the great king, Advisor Shad¡¯s head has been removed, but his body suddenly disappeared into a streak of light and vanished.¡±

    All of the high officials who had been speaking up for Advisor Shad immediately shut their mouths.

    <i>What is going on with Advisor Shad?</i>

    Zu An said coldly, ¡°He was someone who intended to harm me, as expected.¡±

    Many subjects cried out in rm.

    ¡°Just who is trying to harm the great king?¡±

    ¡°What do we do now?¡±

    ¡°How about we find that divination master and offer an apology so that he doesn¡¯t take offense?¡±

    ¡°Nonsense! The great king is the glorious rain-controlling great dragon deity; why would he bow down to a human? Furthermore, those fishermen are getting greedier and greedier. If they continue to encourage the fisherman to scatter out those family-capturings, then our water races in Jing River could reach less than a tenth of our current poption in under ten years. Everything would be over for us then!¡±

    ¡°But what else can we do if we don¡¯t make amends? What else can we do? That divination master can even anticipate the Jade Emperor¡¯s decree, so he definitely has a powerful patron backing him. If we fought him to the end, wouldn¡¯t we just be seeking our own doom?¡±

    ...

    Zu An was feeling quite annoyed as he listened to the high officials discuss the matter. Each side had some reason behind their words. He found himself rapidly thinking through the situation.

    He already had a rough idea of what was being tested here. This story existed in Journey to the West. Originally, in a fit of rage, the Jing River Dragon King had listened to Advisor Shad¡¯s nonsense and really had gone against the decree. Then, he had ended up viting heavenlyw, being sentenced to execution.

    Afterward, the Jing River Dragon King had run over to plead with Yuan Shoucheng for advice. Yuan Shoucheng had told him that the executioner sent by the Celestial Court was the Tang Dynasty¡¯s Wei Zheng, so he needed to bring his plea to the Tang Emperor Li Shimin. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The Jing River Dragon King had gone to Tang Emperor to beg for mercy, and the Tang Emperor agreed. He deliberately invited Wei Zheng into the pce that day to y chess with him so he would be too busy to bother with other things.

    Wei Zheng had then fallen asleep after ying chess. The Tang Emperor thought that the matter was settled, but how could he have known that Wei Zheng¡¯s primordial spirit would leave his body to carry out the execution?

    The Jing River Dragon King¡¯s resentful soul thought that the Tang Emperor went back on his word, so he had reported the Tang Emperor in the underworld. The Tang Emperor¡¯s life was nearing its end too, so the underworld had sent a ghostly official to bring in the Tang Emperor¡¯s soul for a confrontation.

    The Tang Emperor spent a day in the underworld. When he returned to the world of the living, he was full of lingering fear, so he held a great Water and Land Ceremony to help the souls of the deceased that had perished under his hands pass on. There, he had met Xuanzang, and after the Therav¨¡da and Mah¨¡y¨¡na branches of Buddhism discussed the matter with each other, they decided to send Xuanzang on a journey to the Western Paradise.

    The reason why Zu An hadn''t thought of it before was because this plotline wasn¡¯t too prominent in Journey to the West. Besides, his attention had mostly been on Sun Wukong, the Seventh Fairy, and the Kingdom of Women. But now that he had personally experienced all of this, those blurry memories were bing clear again.

    So, how could he deal with this situation? It seemed quite easy on the surface, but there had actually been a mysterious presence in the instigator Advisor Shad¡¯s body. That made everything impossible to unravel.

    He thought about the various crucial events so far, and then an idea gradually appeared in his head.

    1. The Jade Emperor and Celestial Emperor refer to the same deity in Chinese mythology ?

 Chapter 2187: Retaliation

    <h4>Chapter 2187: Retaliation</h4>

    As such, Zu An loudly ordered the officials to cease their argument and had them prepare all kinds of precious gifts. Then, he transformed into a human once more and went to Eternal Peace City to visit Yuan Shoucheng again.

    When he saw Zu An''s arrival, Yuan Shoucheng was clearly a bit surprised. ¡°What is the reason for this honored guest¡¯s visit today?¡±

    Zu An had his subordinates bring over the gifts, and then gave a greeting of admiration. ¡°Sir is extremely knowledgeable and wise. I am full of admiration toward you. I have offended you considerably in the past and I hope that sir does not take too much offense.¡±

    Many people present still had an impression of him from yesterday. Earlier, this man had clearly been dead set on ruining the master¡¯s business, and yet he''d suddenly switched from arrogance to deference. They all became a bit rowdy, as they were more and more convinced that Yuan Shoucheng was the real deal.

    Yuan Shoucheng stroked his beard and said with a mysterious smile, ¡°Tomorrow has yet to arrive, so how does your distinguished self know that you¡¯ve lost? I think it¡¯s best if we wait until tomorrow.¡±

    Zu An looked straight at him and said, ¡°Since sir is full of knowledge and understanding, how could you not know the reason for my visit today?¡±

    Yuan Shoucheng was stunned. He was briefly left at a loss for how to answer the question.

    Zu An bowed sincerely again and said, ¡°if sir needs golden carp, I can send someone to deliver one to sir every day from tomorrow on. If sir has the interest, then you are wee to the Water Manor as a guest at any time.¡±

    The reason why the divination master had taught the fishermen where to cast theirs to catch fish was precisely because he wanted them to bring him a golden carp each day.

    When Yuan Shoucheng saw how enthusiastic he was being, he couldn''t keep being cold anymore either. ¡°Your respected self speaks too gravely. We merely had a misunderstanding before ,and neither of us needs to think too much of it in the future. Jing River is at Eternal River¡¯s shore, so we are neighbors. We just need to take care of each other more in the future.¡±

    ¡°But of course,¡± Zu An replied with a smile. The two chatted in a friendly manner for a while before bidding each other goodbye.

    When Zu An left, Yuan Shoucheng put away his smile. The child next to him changed as well, his body shining with brilliant light.

    The ordinary people outside who hade for fortune-telling seemed to have been frozen by time. They couldn''t see the things that were happening inside at all.

    The ¡®child¡¯ asked in a serious voice, ¡°You aren¡¯t really intending to be his friend, right?¡±

    Yuan Shoucheng said with a smile, ¡°He is nothing more than a chess piece. Why would you think about whether something like that is a friend or not?¡±

    ¡°But now that the Jing River Dragon King hasn''t fallen for our tricks, our ns are now a mess. What do we do now?¡±

    Yuan Shoucheng said calmly, ¡°That Jing River Dragon King wishes to leave the chessboard, but how can it be that easy? The golden carps are the descendants of the dragons, candidates to be their sessors. After some time, their bloodline will bepletely wiped out. Furthermore, it is in all of our nature to be greedy. Now that the fishermen know about the movement patterns of the fish, they will always cast out therges to earn more money. If that continues, after just a few years, there will soon be under a tenth of the Water race residents left. As the Dragon King, he must protect his country, so this will still be a great crime in his name. Regardless of what happens, he cannot escape his fate.¡±

    The ¡®child¡¯ smiled when he heard that. ¡°Your n is truly brilliant. This Jing River Dragon King is destined to experience a tragedy. This result cannot be med on us.¡±

    ...

    Meanwhile, after Zu An left Yuan manor, his bright smile suddenly became serious.

    He naturally knew that the ¡®apology¡¯ earlier hadn¡¯t truly solved the problem. If there hadn''t been a mysterious presence hiding in Advisor Shad and he hadn¡¯t watched Journey to the West, and if he hadn¡¯t gone through all those dangerous experiences, perhaps he would have really believed it. The reason he still had to go through this act was to temporarily make that Yuan guycent for a bit.

    He didn¡¯t return to the Dragon Pce; instead, he approached the Imperial Pce and took up residence in the closest inn. When evening came, he sent his primordial spirit out of his body and cast a dream skill.

    The Imperial Pce was protected by heavenly dao, so it would be difficult for someone like him to move unnoticed. But if he used the dream skill, he could draw the Tang Emperor out. This was a skill the Jing River Dragon King had. When he recalled the rted information from this body, it wasn¡¯t too hard to achieve.

    Honestly, this Jing River Dragon King wasn¡¯t too strong, but his skills were still quite incredible. For instance, he had that transformation skill and this dream skill. Even Zu An was starting to desire them a bit. He wondered if he would still remember how to use the skills once he left this body.

    His primordial spirit wandered outside the Imperial Pce¡¯s gates, and just happened to see the Tang Emperor Li Shimine out for a stroll. Judging from the emperor''s current state, he was clearly dreaming.

    As such, Zu An bowed and said, ¡°Jing River Dragon King greets your majesty.¡±

    The Tang Emperor was rmed. ¡°You... You are the Dragon King?¡± He was an emperor who had reached his position by traveling through mountains or corpses and seas of blood, so he had a certain degree ofposure. When he saw that the other person bore no malice, he gradually calmed down.

    Zu An actually appreciated this level ofposure. He was clearly just an ordinary person, and yet this was a bearing that many powerful cultivators didn¡¯t possess. ¡°Your majesty is the true dragon son of heaven, while I can only be considered a dragon of a water region. I am far inferior to your majesty.¡±

    The Tang Emperor roared withughter. ¡°The Dragon King is too humble. May I ask why the Dragon King has sought out this emperor today?¡±

    ¡°There is indeed some small matter that I must trouble your majesty about. Recently, there have been many fishermen wantonly fishing by the river. Normally, it is to maintain their livelihood, so it is expected for them to capture some fish and shrimp. However, for some strange reason, the fishermen have always been able to find out exactly where the fish are, and they are avaricious and insatiable, only sending outs that collect all of the fish. If this continues, then the fish and shrimp in the river will go extinct. This is not something that will benefit the people of the Tang Dynasty¡¯ster generations.¡±

    The Tang Emperor was stunned. ¡°So there was something like that going on! This emperor is now aware, and will send the rted departments in the court to investigate this matter. We definitely cannot end our supply of resources because of greed and leave behind a Jing Riverpletely devoid of life for ourter generations.¡±

    When he saw the other party¡¯s expression, Zu An immediately knew that the emperor didn¡¯t treat it as too big of a deal. After all, for an emperor, there were just too many governmental affairs he had to take care of. It really was hard for the livelihoods of some fishermen to get too much of his attention.

    But he was prepared for that and continued, ¡°These are actually all trivial matters, and alone, they would hardly require a personal visit from me. However, the main issue is that the fishermen catch a golden carp each day. Has your majesty heard of the phrase ''golden carp leaps through the dragon gate''?¡±

    The Tang Emperor nodded. "If the golden carp leaps through the dragon gate, it can be a real dragon.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. These golden carp are the dragons of our future, and they also preserve the Dragon race of Eternal Peace City. The fishermen¡¯s will unfortunately end up harming the dragon lineage of Eternal Peace, as well as the natural blessings of the Tang Dynasty,¡± Zu An said gravely.

    Sure enough, the Tang Emperor¡¯s expression changed greatly. He didn¡¯t reply as if it was just a governmental issue anymore. He eximed, ¡°What? Which bastard is secretly trying to bring the downfall of my Great Tang Dynasty?!¡±

    No matter how high-minded the emperor''s words were about the lives of the civilians, he still wouldn¡¯t care about that too much. But if it was rted to the stability of his own country, that was more important than anything else!

    Zu An said seriously, ¡°I am the Dragon King of the river and am bound by heavenly treaty. As such, I am unable to get too involved in matters onnd. That is why I borrowed a dream to meet with your majesty.¡±

    At first, the Tang Emperor had been confused as to whether this was truly the glorious Dragon King, and why he was being bullied by some fishermen; but when he heard that, he no longer had any misgivings. Instead, he expressed his gratitude sincerely. ¡°Thank you for the information, Dragon King, or else this emperor would have been keptpletely in the dark. This emperor will definitely investigate this matter thoroughly!¡±

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°Your majesty speaks too seriously. Since your majesty is willing to help our Water Manor deal with such a big problem, out of gratitude, I want to rmend someone of extraordinary talent to your majesty.¡±

    ¡°Oh? May I ask who it is?¡± The Tang Emperor was immediately interested. Someone like the Jing River Dragon King would already be considered a deity, so how could someone of extraordinary talent not be special too?

    ¡°There is a divination master named Yuan Shoucheng on Eternal Peace¡¯s west street. This master knows the secrets of heaven above and understands the geography of earth below. His divinations are never wrong, so your majesty can seek him out to find out how much of your long age is left,¡± Zu An replied.

    The Tang Emperor was overjoyed. ¡°Thank you for your guidance, Dragon King!¡±

    After all, for an emperor, what couldn''t they obtain in this world? The only thing an emperor worried about was their own lifespan. Everyone wanted to live forever, but generations of experience had taught people that such a thing was impossible. In that case, if they could know their lifespan ahead of time, they could arrange for many things beforehand and wouldn¡¯t have variables appear because of a sudden death.

    After taking care of everything, Zu An bid him farewell and left his dream.

    ...

    Zu An opened his eyes in the inn outside the pce. He didn¡¯t know what condition he needed to meet in order to end this trial. That was why he could only try to deal with all the problems he could take care of.

    He couldn''t go against the will of the Celestial Court and let himself turn into a vengeful spirit. He couldn''t let the fishermen wipe out all of the Water race either.

    Of course, just those things alone weren¡¯t enough. He couldn''t just continue to passively defend against that Yuan bastard¡¯s schemes, and had to take the initiative to scheme against him too.

    For example, he could vaguely recall that the reason why the Tang Emperor had been brought to the underworld in Journey to the West, apart from the Jing River Dragon King tattling on him, was also because his own life was already nearing its end.

    Wasn¡¯t that Yuan bastard quite good at plotting? Then, would he tell the Tang Emperor the truth?

    If the Tang Emperor found out that he was going to die soon, he would likely pursue quick results in the investigation of the fishermen. If he received the report that it was this Yuan bastard who had those fishermen capture the fish, what would he think then?

    Would he feel that the fortune-teller was misleading the public with rumors? On one hand, Yuan Shoucheng was secretly assisting the fishermen in ending the Great TangDynasty¡¯s dragon lineage, while on the other hand, he was trying to trick the Tang Emperor into thinking that his death was near. If the emperor didn¡¯t immediately kill the fortune-teller, that would really be a disgrace to his background as someone who had crossed mountains of corpses and rivers of blood! n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An didn¡¯t feel that such revenge was too much. After all, it was clear that the Yuan guy¡¯s plot had targeted him, going after his very life. He wasn¡¯t as stupid as the Jing River Dragon King, so he wouldn''t just blindly jump in.

    Even by the time he finished taking care of other things, it still wasn¡¯t toote. When he returned to the Water Manor, he quickly wrote up a memorial to the Jade Emperor.

    It mentioned that recently,rge amounts of the Water race were being fished up, and that he had learned that the fishermen would always be able to find out where the fish wandered no matter how they moved. No matter how he ordered the fish to change their routes, the fishermen would still know exactly where they are.

    At first, he had thought that it was because there was a traitor in the Water race, but his personal investigation had discovered that the information came from a divination master in Eternal Peace City. This person was able to divulge the will of heaven and no matter what he sought, he would always be correct. Today, the divination master had been able to learn that the Celestial Court was ordering him to bring rain upon the city even before him, and that even the timing and amount was correct without exception, which waspletely unimaginable.

    As an insignificant Jing River Dragon King, he couldn''t figure out the real reason and didn¡¯t dare to rashly make guesses, so he could only report these things directly as they happened.

    From start to finish, Zu An had never overlooked the Celestial Court¡¯s existence.

 Chapter 2188: Honey Trap?

    <h4>Chapter 2188: Honey Trap?</h4>

    Since the Celestial Court could send him an imperial decree, he clearly had the authority to directly present a memorial to the Jade Emperor.

    At first, he couldn''t help but feel that the Celestial Court was terrifyingly powerful, wondering what he would do if he antagonized them. But he had suddenly realized that an organization that terrifying would have no reason to be hostile towards him at all. Wouldn''t it be better to cling well onto this great patron?

    He could more or less guess the ns of Yuan Shoucheng and even those behind him. Those terrifying beings were definitely not people he could contend against. In that case, he would just let the ones who could beat these guys fight instead.

    ...

    The next morning, Zu An held the Celestial Court''s imperial edict and summoned the Wind Uncle, Thunder Duke, Cloud Child, and Lightning Mother. He continued all the way to the ninth firmament above Eternal Peace City. He arranged clouds at the period of chen, sent down thunder at the period of si, called the rain at wu, and stopped at wei. There was a total of three feet, three inches, and forty-eight drops, no different at all from what the imperial edict stated.

    Afterward, he stopped the Wind Uncle, Thunder Duke, Cloud Child, and Lightning Mother. Then, he took out the memorial he had written himself and asked these incarnations of the weather to deliver it to the Jade Emperor. They were quite troubled, since such a thing was against the rules. But since they had worked together for quite some time and the Jing River Dragon King was quite friendly this time, bringing them many gifts, they agreed.

    When the Thunder Duke, Lightning Mother, and the others disappeared into the horizon, everything in front of Zu An¡¯s eyes suddenly changed. Eternal Peace City was nowhere to be seen, and everything was reced by apletely closed room. On the other side stood a figure; it was the Jing River Dragon King.

    Zu An noticed that he had already returned to his original appearance. It seemed he had already passed this trial.

    The Jing River Dragon King looked at him with aplicated expression. After some time, he asked, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you help the Water races vent out your anger on a trifling mortal divination master?¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°The Dragon King must be a bit confused. How could someone who could see through the mysteries of heaven and even know about the Jade Emperor¡¯s secret decrees ahead of time possibly be a trifling mortal?¡±

    The Jing River Dragon King was stunned. Shortly after, he sighed and said, ¡°That is indeed the case. I served as the Dragon King for far too long and really didn¡¯t treat these people with any importance. When I heard that he was teaching fishermen how to catch my people, I couldn''t help but be furious. How could I have known that he had such a mysterious background?¡±

    ¡°This indeed can''t be med on you. You had a group of bootlickers all around you, so you ended up thinking that you were the most important person around. Then, when they nted some individuals with unfathomable motives, it naturally became hard for you to control your emotions even if you wanted to,¡± Zu An tried tofort him. Everyone cared about face, let alone a dragon.

    ¡°Are you talking about that Advisor Shad?¡± The Jing River Dragon King¡¯s expression darkened.

    ¡°It isn¡¯t just him; there might have been something wrong with that Yaksha as well. Or perhaps the fishermen someone arranged for the Yaksha to just happen to have overheard,¡± Zu An exined.

    Sure enough, the Jing River Dragon King¡¯s expression improved quite a bit. ¡°These bastards that bite the hand that feeds them actually dared to plot against me like this!¡±

    <i>It wasn¡¯t that I was stupid, but these scoundrels who wanted to harm me after all!</i>

    The Jing River Dragon King collected himself and asked curiously, ¡°After finding out that divination master had a powerful background, an ordinary person would just stop at apologizing. Why did you even visit the Tang Emperor through a dream, and go so far as to write a memorial to the Celestial Court?¡±

    There were others who had attempted this trial in the past, and many of them were intelligent. Some of them had known that the fortune-teller had to be someone great, so they hadn¡¯t wanted to foolishly go against the imperial decree and had visited the divination master with gifts in apology instead. Unfortunately, they still couldn''t change the fate of destruction.

    Zu An exined, ¡°If someone mysterious like this set up such a plot, how could it all be purely over a bet made between both parties? No matter how precious the gift, it still wouldn¡¯t make someone like this change their ns. The reason I brought the gifts was just to cate the other side, so it would be easier to find the true solution.¡±

    The Jing River Dragon King gave him a long look. ¡°I really do feel some admiration toward you. You were actually able to think this far ahead. Not only did you write a memorial to the Celestial Court, you even used the Tang Emperor to deal with that Yuan bastard and the despicable fishermen. If I had been as smart as you were back then, I wouldn¡¯t have had to experience the fate of execution.¡±

    ¡°The Dragon King was in the middle of a plot; the spectator sees more of the game, after all. I was only able to think about these things because I knew there was a problem ahead of time.¡± Zu An had been on guard the entire time only because he knew that this time fragment definitely contained something extremely dangerous. Furthermore, using his knowledge of Journey to the West¡¯s stories was how he had found the solution. It was actually a bit of a fluke that he had seeded.

    ¡°You really are too humble. For example, you clearly already wrote a memorial to report things through official channels, so why did you still choose to entrust the message to Thunder Duke and Lightning Mother?¡± the Jing River Dragon King asked with a smile.

    ¡°Since that Yuan Shoucheng could know about the contents of the Jade Emperor¡¯s decree ahead of time, that clearly meant he had people on his side in the Celestial Court. I was worried that he would try to seize the letter in advance if I went through the original method, so that¡¯s why I troubled Thunder Duke and Lightning Mother. That way, I would attack one problem from two angles. If something happened to one side, the other would still at least have a way of reaching the heavens. Of course, if Yuan Shoucheng really was so incredible that he could control both the government channels as well as Thunder Duke and Lightning Mother, I could only ept my fate," Zu An exined gravely. In the end, his n had also been a gamble. If there was a chance, he would have even personally gone up to meet the Jade Emperor himself.

    The Jing River Dragon King continued to nod as he listened. He sighed and said, ¡°What a pity, what a pity. If only I had been half as smart as you were in the past, it would¡¯ve been great.¡±

    While speaking, his figure began to scatter. Zu An felt the scene before him distort. When he regained hisposure, he saw that he was lying on arge bed.

    ¡°Is this the next time fragment?¡± he muttered in a daze. He had clearly already passed the first phase of the trial. He reflexively looked around, wanting to identify his surroundings.

    Suddenly, however, his body froze up. He could feel that he was touching something soft and amazing. When he turned around, he saw that there was an incredible beauty lying down next to him without a single piece of clothing on her. She was nestling against him with her amazing body.

    Zu An was stunned.

    As if sensing his movements, the beauty gradually woke up and looked at him in confusion. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, your majesty?¡±

    The words ¡®your majesty¡¯ were delivered in a lovable and charming voice. Zu An wondered if this trial was a honey trap. Perhaps others had immunity against women, but he could really find himself unable to hold back!

    Just then, a memory rushed into his head. He immediately learned the relevant information about this body. It turned out that this time, he was none other than Li Shimin, and the beautiful woman next to him was the wife of his little brother Li Yuanji. During the Xuanwu gate coup, he had killed all of his brothers to seize the throne.

    Because the woman was beautiful, Li Shimin had given the order for her toe into the pce so that she would be taken care of. Of course, it was obvious that that was just a pretext. In the pce, she was soon pampered by Li Shimin and became a member of his harem.

    The memory of the first time she had been dominated was still fresh in his mind. When he thought about how she was the wife of the younger brother he had always been fighting against, that feeling was especially strong, making the sensation even better.

    After getting past those alluring memories, Zu An''s expression couldn''t help but be strange.

    <i>Everyone hates these kinds of people, but they all want to be them too. The ancients were clearly no exception either.</i>

    <i>Not even an emperor like Li Shimin could be free from such secr desires.</i>

    ¡°Your majesty?¡± Seeing that Zu An didn¡¯t reply, the woman called out charmingly and made her way into his arms. Her satiny body rubbed back and forth against his in a truly seductive manner.

    Zu An thought to himself that this woman was alreadypletely used to her new identity, and was doing her best to gain the emperor¡¯s favor.

    ¡°You should sleep first.¡± Zu An got up and left the bed. He didn¡¯t know what this ce was testing. It would be really hard for him to resist her youthful body rubbing back and forth against him. He would really be screwed if he continued to mess around and really fell for a honey trap. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The concubine was already extremely tired to begin with. When she heard that, she voiced her confirmation and quickly entered thend of dreams.

    Zu An got up and poured a cup of herbal tea to calm down the passion bubbling within him. His current condition was a bit strange. He discovered that he had lost all of his cultivation and couldn''t use any of his abilities. It was as if all of it was being blocked by some naturalws. Still, he didn¡¯t panic. That was likely due to thews of this time fragment.

    Right now, he was no different from an ordinary person. And as an emperor who was constantly being sucked dry by women, he was even on the weaker end. Zu An was already used to the strength of a cultivator, so his current state made him feel extremely weak and powerless.

    <i>Ordinary people really are weak after all. Even bing an emperor like this seems to be rather meaningless.</i>

    Zu Any down on a chair and began to think to himself. Just what was this time fragment testing? Right now, he was more like apletely ordinary person. This didn¡¯t seem to be a world of deities and devils. In theory, it wouldn''t be that dangerous, right?

    And yet, since it was the second phase, it was unlikely to be easier than the first phase. Furthermore, as the Jing River Dragon King, he had actually met Tang Emperor Li Shimin, yet he was now Li Shimin himself. Was there any connection between these two events?

    His thoughts were quick, but his weakened body couldn''t handle his usual speed of cognition. Fatigue quickly overtook him and he unknowingly drifted off to sleep. Still, he continued to think about the matter even while fast asleep.

    He wandered around the pce to familiarize himself with his environment and unknowingly arrived outside the pce gate. Suddenly, he heard a panicked voice crying out, ¡°Your majesty, save me! Save me!¡±

    He saw a white-d man kneeling in front of him with an expression of iparable rm. When he saw the appearance of the white-d man, Zu An sighed.

    <i>It was as I suspected after all...</i>

 Chapter 2189: Decision of Life and Death

    <h4>Chapter 2189: Decision of Life and Death</h4>

    It turned out that this white-d man was none other than the incarnation of the Jing River Dragon King.

    Zu An calmed himself down and pretended to be ignorant. He asked, ¡°Who are you? Why are you asking this emperor for help?¡±

    The Jing River Dragon King hurriedly replied, ¡°Your majesty is a real dragon, while this one is nothing more than an evil dragon. Because I went against the heavens, your majesty¡¯s capable subject Wei Zheng was ordered to carry out my execution. I came here to ask for help. Please help me, your majesty!¡±

    Zu An remained expressionless. He reflexively wanted to refuse and not get affected by this karma.

    After all, this matter had absolutely nothing to do with him. The bet was something the Jing River Dragon King insisted on having with Yuan Shoucheng, and it was Wei Zheng who was going to kill him. The Tang Emperor had decided to save him out of good intentions, and yet because he failed, this Dragon King didn¡¯t try to get revenge on Yuan Shoucheng or Wei Zheng, and instead hounded him endlessly. Did good people really deserve to be mistreated like this?

    Words of rejection were about to reach his lips when he noticed the ferocity in the Jing River Dragon King¡¯s eyes. He looked around and saw that he was already outside the pce without any guards. He was as weak as an ordinary person. If he ended up offending the Dragon King, the other party could just decide to drag him down with him. At that point, it would be really toote for tears.

    As such, he quickly produced a smile and said, ¡°Since Wei Zheng is the one who is carrying out the execution, this emperor can save you. Please feel at ease and go.¡±

    The Jing River Dragon King was already at the end of his rope; he had thought that if the other party didn¡¯t agree, he would just drag the emperor down with him, but he hadn¡¯t expected agreement! He immediately felt as if he hade back from death¡¯s door. He quickly kowtowed in gratitude. ¡°Thank you, your majesty!¡±

    When he saw the Dragon King leave in high spirits, Zu An didn¡¯t dare to continue wandering on his own outside the pce. Otherwise, once he lost the protection of the pce¡¯s natural blessing and encountered some scoundrels, then things would be tricky.

    ...

    Shortly after he woke up, the time came for the morning court session. With the help of his concubine, Zu An quickly got dressed and left the throne room.

    He had already enjoyed a high position for many years and was already long ustomed to how things in the Imperial Pce were. That was why there were no mistakes in his behavior during the morning court session. But he didn¡¯t dare to act carelessly at all, and tried to not miss a single detail.

    No one knew what this kind of time fragment trial was really testing. He could only try to do things as perfectly as possible. He even suspected that there could be some entrics who would immediately notice if he acted strangely at all. They would then use him of being an evil spirit to have him killed.

    After all, this world looked like a dynasty of ordinary people, but in reality, the subjects had the ability to y dragons. There were those who could see through the mysteries of heaven among themon people as well. Who knew what kinds of big shots were hiding in the court?

    Soon after, the court greetings ended and everyone separated into their respective positions. Zu An looked around. The memories belonging to this body allowed him to recognize these high officials. Among the civil officials were Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhai, Xu Shiji, Xu Jingzhong, Wang Gui, and others. The military officials included Ma Sanbao, Duan Zhixian, Yan Kaishan, Cheng Yaojin, Liu Hongji, Hu Jingde, Qin Shubao, and more. They were all individuals with awe-inspiring bearing.

    However, he didn¡¯t see the most senior minister, Wei Zheng.

    Zu An thought to himself for a bit before saying seriously, ¡°This emperor had a strange dreamst night. In that dream, someone paid me a visit and stated that he was the Jing River Dragon King and he vited thews of heaven, and that high minister Wei Zheng has been ordered by another to execute him. He asked to be saved, and this emperor has already agreed. I do not see Wei Zheng today. Why is that?¡±

    Since he was the emperor, he had to use this position¡¯s advantages.

    There were many capable people here, so perhaps they would able toe up with a possible solution.

    Xu Shiji stepped forward and answered, ¡°The dream is correct. We must order Wei Zheng to enter the court, and your majesty cannot let him leave. After today passes, the dragon in your dreams will be saved.¡±

    The other subjects all voiced their agreement, but Zu An frowned. He naturally knew that doing so wouldn¡¯t save the Dragon King, but he couldn''t think of anything better either. That was why he decided to bring Wei Zheng in for questioning first.

    The imperial messenger quickly left, carrying a decree to bring Wei Zheng to the court session.

    Shortly after, Wei Zheng rushed over in a hurry. When he met Zu An, he hurriedly kowtowed and cried out, ¡°This official begs for forgiveness!¡±

    Zu An was a bit rmed when he saw how flustered he was. This Wei Zheng was someone who could directly receive the decree of the Celestial Court, someone whose primordial spirit could leave his body and kill the Jing River Dragon King, and yet he was so respectful toward an ordinary person like the emperor. Could this be the might of a human emperor with the natural blessing of heaven?

    ...

    He quickly dismissed the court session and had Wei Zheng stay behind by himself. The two of them met at an auxiliary pce hall.

    Zu An didn¡¯t immediately ask about the execution of the Dragon King, because if he brought it up and they reached an impasse, there would be no leeway left for anyone to maneuver. Instead, he indirectly asked about Wei Zheng¡¯s background. After all, anyone who could be appointed as the executioner of a Dragon King definitely couldn''t be a nobody.

    Unfortunately, Zu An didn¡¯t have any cultivation right now and waspletely unable to tell what kind of cultivation Wei Zheng had.

    When he heard the emperor ask him abut cultivation, Wei Zheng said with a serious voice, ¡°Your highness is the ruler of a country, and should be concerned with the peace and stability of the empire. Your respected self should not bother with things rted to those mountain hermits who seek immortality. Those who seek immortality frequently be incapable rulers.¡±

    There was a dignified air when he spoke. Zu An could even sense a bit of fear from the body he was currently in. Still, he found it a bitughable. Li Shimin, an emperor who had conquered the world, actually feared a civil official like this! No wonder there had been so many stories in history rted to subjects who dared to speak frankly before the emperor.

    In order to prevent drawing suspicion, Zu An didn¡¯t continue to ask about it and discussed the country¡¯s policies instead. He was the human and fiend races'' regent and was knowledgeable about various matters, so there were no mistakes in his behavior here.

    Time unwittingly passed, and soon, it was close to afternoon. Zu An ordered for a chessboard to be brought over and said, ¡°This emperor wishes to have a match with my worthy official.¡±

    Concubine Yuan Ji brought over the chess game and set up the table. Wei Zheng was grateful for the honor, and so a game began. Little by little, the game developed.

    For better or for worse, Zu An had yed against Hei Baizi a few times. How could the chess ability of a cultivatorpare to that of an ordinary person? The two of them went back and forth. For a time, they were equally matched.

    Zu An yed the game while continuing to think about the situation. ording to the storyline, Wei Zheng would quickly fall asleep, and then his primordial spirit would leave his body to execute the Jing River Dragon King. As long as he prevented the other side from sleeping, there was no way he could kill the Jing River Dragon King while being awake, right? Everything was going smoothly...

    But it was going too smoothly!

    For some reason, Zu An felt a mysterious sense of danger, as if he was at the crossroads of life and death.

    <i>Why do I have this feeling?</i>

    Zu An couldn''t figure it out either. He hadn¡¯t revealed any mistakes when he held the court session with civil and military officials, which was likely the first checkpoint. Then, he had stalled Wei Zheng to save the Jing River Dragon King, which was likely the second checkpoint. Everything seemed to make sense so far. As long as he stalled Wei Zheng and didn¡¯t let him fall asleep, missing today¡¯s deadline, the Dragon King situation would be concluded. Whether or not the Dragon King died after that wouldn¡¯t have anything to do with him.

    But why did he feel such a strong sense of unease? Even his fine hairs were standing on end. Zu An knew that this was his intuition after wandering on the brink of life and death all this time. This world could temporarily seal off his various abilities, but not this kind of intuition.

    Just then, Wei Zheng yawned and naturally began to lie down on the table with a thunderous snore.

    Zu An was about to reach out, but while his hand still hung in midair, he ultimately didn''t lower it again. He finally understood where the problemy.

    Because he had been the Jing River Dragon King, he''d reflexively been seeing things from the other party¡¯s viewpoint. He had been focused on how to help the Dragon King make it through this situation. That way of thinking had made him hear out the Dragon King¡¯s plea, and he reflexively wanted to stop Wei Zheng to save the Dragon King.

    Even so, he was now the Tang Emperor Li Shimin! His interests weren''t the same as the Dragon King¡¯s.

    If the original plotline developed, not only would Li Shimin fail to save the Dragon King, the dead Jing River Dragon King would report him to the king of hell. Then, he would be brought to the underworld. However, there was a hidden detail, which was that Li Shimin was already close to the end of his life. But because of the friendly rtions between the underworld judge and both Li Shimin and Wei Zheng, the judge would secretly add twenty years to his life! As such, if he stopped Wei Zheng from killing the Dragon King, there would be no additional underworld trip, which would skip the addition to his lifespan. Then, he would quickly die of old age, and the trip to the underworld would be a true death.

    No wonder he felt a mysterious sense of danger!

    This trial really was too dishonest. Thest trial was designed to mislead his decisions in this trial. It seemed like a simple scenario, but it was easy to end up in apletely hopeless situation.

    Zu An thus pretended that nothing was wrong and let Wei Zheng sleep. Wei Zheng''s primordial spirit then left and killed the Jing River Dragon King.

    Shortly after, Wei Zheng woke up. He fell to his feet and said, ¡°This subject deserves to die! This subject deserves to die! Just now, this subject fell asleep for some unknown reason. I hope your majesty will pardon this official for his crimes!¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°What crimes are there? Please rise. Let¡¯s clear away the previous game and start a new one.¡±

    Wei Zheng thanked him for his grace and picked up a chess piece.

    Just then, however, there was a big fuss outside. Shortly after, Qin Shubao and Xu Maogong carried a bloody dragon head inside while clicking their tongue in wonder. The object had suddenly fallen from the clouds, and these two had entered to report on the event.

    When he saw the sinister dragon head stare right at him as if it carried endless grudges, Zu An¡¯s heart rate suddenly sped up. He felt a sense of rm and unease. He couldn''t help but frown. Even though Li Shimin had conquered the world through mountains of daggers and seas of me, it was still a bit inferior to the plights cultivators faced. He was actually scared so badly by a dragon head!

    Zu An gave Wei Zheng a look. Wei Zheng immediately bowed and begged for forgiveness, and readily admitted that he had killed the dragon in his dream. In response, Zu An asked Wei Zheng how he had such ability.

    After some hesitation, Wei Zheng exined, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare to hide things from your majesty. This subject¡¯s natural disposition is upright and outspoken. I have already been selected by the Celestial Court to serve at the Goodness Appreciation Ministry under the Ministry of Inferno. I record all of the good deeds done by souls when they were alive. I am now just waiting for my life to end, in order to ept that post.¡±

    ¡°There was actually something like that!¡± Zu An was now truly amazed. He had heard the White and ck Guards of Impermanence mention that the Ministry of Inferno contained the Goodness Appreciation and Evil Punishment ministries. He had never expected the one in charge of the Goodness Appreciation Ministry to actually be Wei Zheng! N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Wei Zheng seemed to be worried that the emperor was too interested in this matter and suddenly said, ¡°Your highness is the true dragon son of heaven, who bears the blessing of the human emperor. As long as you earnestly love the people, there is no need to pay too much attention to supernatural things. You will naturally be under the care of the world.¡±

    Zu Anughed heartily and said, ¡°With such a good teacher as a friend, as well as my official, what need is there to worry about in my Great Tang Dynasty?¡±

    He could tell that even though Wei Zheng¡¯s voice was strict, he still carried goodwill. He definitely had to cling well to this supporter.

    As they chatted, he feigned nonchnce as he asked, ¡°Has the high official heard of a divination master named Yuan Shoucheng by Eternal Peace¡¯s west main street? I heard that he is supremely clever, and that all of his divinations will surely seed.¡±

 Chapter 2190: Why Did My Hair Turn Green? Pt. 1

    <h4>Chapter 2190: Why Did My Hair Turn Green? Pt. 1</h4>

    Wei Zheng said seriously, ¡°Yuan Shoucheng is the uncle of the court¡¯s Imperial Observer Yuan Tiangang. He does indeed possess true abilities.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, <i>So Yuan Shoucheng was actually Yuan Tiangang¡¯s uncle!</i> It seemed he needed to find a chance to ask Yuan Tiangang some questions. That was quite the extraordinary talent, after all.

    When he saw Wei Zheng off, Zu An immediately wrote up a decree summoning Yuan Tiangang. However,, he learned that Yuan Tiangang had gone out into the country to observe the stars, so he wasn¡¯t here at present. He felt a bit of regret. He thought about seeking out Yuan Shoucheng, but it was already gettingte and that wouldn¡¯t be too appropriate, so he could only turn in for rest.

    When it was the second night watch period, he heard a sob outside the pce gates. Many pce maids were surprised. Even Concubine Yuan Ji was shaking a bit. ¡°Your majesty, is there... Is there a ghost outside?¡±

    ¡°Cease such nonsense at once and rest. How could there be ghosts in this world?¡± Zu An remained surprisingly calm and continued to sleep.

    He naturally knew what was going on, so he waited for the Jing River Dragon King to arrive in his dreams. Sure enough, when he was sleeping, he suddenly felt a cold wind stir and the temperature immediately dropped. He felt as if he was inside a frozen cer. He opened his eyes and saw that the once splendorous and majestic pce had be incredibly gloomy. There were blue-green lights everywhere, and there was also a gray fog.

    The temperature had dropped visibly, making it hard to recognize the figure a few meters away. It was pitch-ck in the distance, and a ghostly wail filled the air from time to time. ¡°Return my life to me! Return it!¡±

    Zu An thought to himself that any normal person, even if it really was an incredible emperor like Li Shimin, would still end up wetting their pants. Even so, he was someone who really had gone through the underworld, so how could he be scared by something like this?

    He was thinking about something else instead. Since the other side could appear here, that proved one of his suspicions.

    Just then, the Jing River Dragon King¡¯s headless corpse slowly appeared from the distance. In its hand, it carried a bloody head, forming a horrifying sight. The bloody head screamed, ¡°Emperor Tang! Return my life to me! Return it! You promised to save me, so why did your official kill me instead? Come out,e out! The two of us will be judged by the king of hell!¡±

    Zu An had already seen scenes far more frightening than this, so he naturally wouldn¡¯t let it get to him. He replied seriously, ¡°For the sake of saving you, I had Wei Zheng enter the pce and yed chess with him the entire time so that he wouldn¡¯t have any chances to kill you. When I saw that he fell asleep out of fatigue, I thought that the matter was settled, but how could I have known that he would send out his primordial spirit to kill you? I¡¯ve already done all I could.¡±

    ¡°All you could?¡± The Jing River Dragon King cursed maliciously, ¡°Wei Zheng is your official, so how could you not know what he is capable of? You could have simply given an order forbidding him from killing me; would he have dared to go against your orders? I am now nothing more than a vengeful soul. You want to appease me just by saying that you did everything you could?¡±

    Zu An frowned. ¡°How could a Dragon King like you be so unreasonable? The one you resent should be the one with a blood debt, or if you took... Ahem. You should understand why you offended the heavenlyw better than anyone, and you should also know who killed you. You didn¡¯t seek out revenge against those people and went after me instead, the only one who tried to help you. Is there something wrong with your head?¡±

    The Jing River Dragon King was stunned. It was as if his sorest spot had been hit. But when he thought about how he couldn''t offend any of the other people, he could only curse, ¡°Those people still had proper reasons to harm me, and only a hypocrite like you agreed to save me, and yet you just sat there and watched your subordinate harm me! You are the most despicable, so I want you to pay with your life!¡± Then, he pounced at Zu An with a ferocious expression.

    Zu An reacted quickly, but his cultivation was already sealed. Right now, he was no different from an ordinary person, so he couldn''t move at all. The Dragon King immediately got his hands on him. While the two were tugging and pulling, the bloody head opened its mouth to bite Zu An.

    Zu An¡¯s face darkened. He began to activate the formation that he had previously prepared. Even though his cultivation was sealed, his memories remained. That was why he had made sure to arrange some formations near the pce. Even though hecked some high quality ki stones to bring out their full potential, they were likely enough to ensure his own safety.

    Just then, a streak of golden light suddenly appeared from the horizon. Fragrant clouds swirled around from the south and colorful mist drifted through the air. A female immortal appeared, a willow branch swaying gently in her hand. The Jing River Dragon King was immediately frightened and let Zu An go and ran off to the northwest, wailing with grief.

    When he saw the female immortal, Zu An was really rmed, but he didn¡¯t show it on the surface at all. He quickly expressed his gratitude. ¡°Thank you for saving me. May I ask what this female immortal¡¯s great name is? I will definitely repay you generously.¡±

    The female immortal revealed a slight smile. ¡°I have received the buddha¡¯s decree to go to the easternnds and seek out the one with the scriptures; thus, I reside in an earth temple within Eternal Peace City. I heard the wailing of ghosts in the night and came to drive away the evil dragon, thus saving the emperor.¡±

    Zu An wanted to ask her more questions, but multicolored light erupted around her, and just like that, she was already gone. It seemed she didn¡¯t wish to converse with him any more. He chased after her, but suddenly, the ground beneath him gave out and he woke up with a start.

    ¡°Did your majesty have a nightmare?¡± Concubine Yuan Ji asked; she was kneeling in front of him and helping him wipe away the cold sweat on his face.

    Zu An suddenly felt a wave of dizziness. All of his clothes were soaked in sweat, and he felt really weak. He noticed that the eunuchs and maids were kneeling and shaking in fear. He couldn''t help but be curious, asking, ¡°What are you all doing?¡±

    Concubine Yuan Ji replied, ¡°Your majesty was dreaming and shouting loudly that there was a ghost. We couldn''t wake you up no matter what we did, so that was why all of us were frightened.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He was clearly not scared at all in that dream! Could it be that Li Shimin¡¯s body was too weak, or was this just the original storyline? He gestured for everyone to leave for the time being. At the same time, he sent a decree to the court, informing them that there wouldn¡¯t be a morning court session today. The first reason was that he really was too weak and wasn¡¯t suitable for holding a court session in his current state. The second reason was that he needed time to sort out his thoughts. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    It wasn¡¯t hard to guess who that female immortal was. It was naturally the Western Paradise¡¯s bodhisattva.

    Zu An had actually already formed some guesses during the first phase. Yuan Shoucheng was just a trifling mortal, so how could he possibly know the mysteries of heaven? There had to be a divine being behind him. When he thought about it, the only ones with the strength and motive were the western paradise''s Buddhists. But he hadn¡¯t expected the one who carrived to actually be someone of such high status!

    This was the first time he had met a legendary divine being. The pressure and power she gave off made him shiver a bit even now. Forget about the fact that his body currently didn¡¯t have a sliver of cultivation, even if he had all of his cultivation, it wouldn¡¯t be hard for her to instantly kill him at all.

    The feeling was almost simr to the being Qiu Honglei had summoned with Dance Offering to the Universe. Unfortunately, his cultivation realm was toockingpared to them and he couldn¡¯t be certain just who was stronger between the two. He just vaguely felt that the pressure emanated by that entity was a bit greater...

    ...

    In the following days, Zu An thought that his condition would improve if he rested for a bit, but his health worsened more and more. He had to remain bedridden for a long time. Many physicians were helpless even when they examined him. He was quite speechless. The bodies of ordinary people really were weak! He clearly hadn''t been frightened by that Jing River Dragon King, so why was his condition getting worse and worse! Could it be because of the ghostly energy¡¯s contamination?

    He wanted to personally pay the earth temple bodhisattva a visit, but he couldn''t even get out of bed. He could only send someone else to invite her, as she would no doubt be able to exorcise whatever was inside of him with her skills.

    However, the one who went came back without any results. They didn¡¯t meet the bodhisattva and only came back with the ambiguous message, ¡®a destiny yet to arrive cannot be forced¡¯.

    Zu An thought to himself, <i>Then when would there be a suitable opportunity?</i>

 Chapter 2191: Why Did My Hair Turn Green? Pt. 2

    Zu An then sent people to seek out Yuan Shoucheng and bring him into the pce to find out where his confidencey. However, Yuan Shoucheng was already gone, and the people said that he was continuing his travels to explore areas of excellent geomancy.

    Zu An sneered. This wasn¡¯t outside of his expectations. As such, he decided to just look for Wei Zheng. Since this person already had a job in the underworld, he could be considered a specialist in the matter of the Dragon King''s soul.

    Wei Zheng was a bit troubled. ¡°Your majesty, this subject still has a flesh body and hasn''t formally moved on yet, so there are still many abilities that I still cannot use. The only reason why I could kill the Dragon King was because of the Celestial Court¡¯s decree. However, it isn¡¯t too difficult to deal with this Jing River Dragon King. You can have General Yuchi Gong and Qin Shubao guard the entrances. They have fought their entire lives and carry fierce auras. Not even ghosts would dare to give them a baleful look.¡±

    Zu An expressed his agreement. He knew that after this, Yuchi Gong and Qin Shubao had begun to be treated by the people as door gods. People frequently stuck portraits of them on doors.

    Then, with Yuchi Gong and Qin Shubao¡¯s protection, his health indeed improved a lot. Zu An didn¡¯t experience nightmares at night, nor was he disturbed by any ghostly creatures. Even so, General Yuchi Gong and Qin Shubao were ordinary people and couldn''t stand guard every night. Zu An decided to have a painter hang their portraits on the door.

    However, after just a few days, more ghostly creatures came from the rear entrance, so Wei Zheng personally guarded that entrance with his sword. Ever since then, no more ghosts attacked, but Zu An¡¯s body still grew increasingly weak. Soon after, the disease reached a critical condition beyond cure.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    While Zu Any on his deathbed, Wei Zheng said, ¡°Please feel at ease, your majesty! This subject has a way to guarantee your majesty a long life.¡±

    Zu An pretended to sigh heavily. ¡°My condition is incurable and my life is almost over. How can I continue living?¡±

    Wei Zheng replied, ¡°This subject will send a letter to the underworld government, asking for the help of Underworld Judge Cui Jue.¡±Zu An was surprised and asked, ¡°Who is Cui Jue?¡±

    Wei Zheng replied, ¡°Cui Jue was a minister in service to thete emperor, and previously served as the magistrate of Zi state before being promoted to the Assistant Minister of Rites. He and I performed the eight bows of friendship and share a deep bond. Although he has now passed away, he serves in the underworld as the Judge of Fengdu, making him responsible for the registers of life and death. We still frequently meet in my dreams. If I take this letter to him, then because of our friendship, he will surely let your majesty return. I guarantee that your soul will return to the world of the living and reim your imperial throne.¡±

    Zu An sighed in relief. ying along with the storyline had finally helped him reach this point in the story. The otherpetitors likely didn''t know the situation and would try to find all sorts of ways out of this, but this was a situation where the more one did, the more mistakes one would make. It would only make something easy be more dangerous. Of course, he was taking advantage of his knowledge of this segment of history. If he didn¡¯t know all that/, he would¡¯ve made the same mistake.

    Shortly after, he received the letter and ced it into his sleeves. Then, he closed his eyes and passed on. However, he only had an out-of-body experience. He gradually left the Imperial Pce, but he didn¡¯t panic. After all, this wasn¡¯t the first time he''d experienced such a thing.

    Just then, someone called out from the distance. ¡°Great Tang Emperor,e this way.¡±

    Zu An looked over and saw that this person had a ck gauze cap on his head and a rhinoceros horn belt around his waist, and looked a lot like the underworld judges from the shows of his previous world. He already had his guesses regarding who this was, but he still pretended he didn¡¯t know as he asked, ¡°Who are you?¡±

    That person replied, ¡°This humble servant served thete emperor as the magistrate of Zi state, and then I took on the office of assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites. My surname is Cui, given name Jue. I have now been given the duty of underworld judge in the capital of Hell. In Yama¡¯s Pce, I saw that Jing River¡¯s ghost dragon petitioned, iming your majesty executed him despite promising to save him. King Qinguang of the first hall immediately sent a ghostly official to summon your majesty for a trial before the three courts. Once this subject learned of this, I came here to receive you, but unexpectedly camete. I am truly sorry for this, truly¡­¡±

    Zu An sized him up. This individual was likely even higher-ranked than the ck and White Guard of Impermanence, Ox Face, and Horse Head. However, he couldn''t sense how powerful the judge really was because his cultivation was currentlypletely sealed.

    ¡°Sir has had a long and exhausting journey. This emperor¡¯s high official Wei Zheng wrote a letter entrusted to you, so it is fortunate that we are meeting now.¡±

    Zu An handed him the letter while thinking to himself, <em>Normally, an underworld judge is a rather high-ranked official in the underworld, so why is he still so polite and respectful toward Li Shimin?</em>

    <em>Is there anything a human world emperor could do to influence the underworld?</em>

    Cui Jue opened the letter and gave it a look. His expression immediately turned happy as he said, ¡°This subject has already heard about Wei Zheng executing the dragon. I feel nothing but praise toward him. He has been looking after my descendants day and night. Now that this letter has arrived, your majesty can be at ease. This humble servant will ensure that your majesty returns to the living world and once again ascends to the jade pce.¡±

    Then, Cui Jue brought Zu An to the underworld. Zu An hadn¡¯t expected toe back so quickly. When he saw the Hell Gates, the Yellow Springs Path, the sinister red spider lilies, and the dusky Yin Mountain in the distance, he suddenly felt a sense of familiarity.

    Then, the two entered a city. This was the territory of King Yama. Zu An hadn¡¯t entered through this side before.

    Shortly after, he saw thete emperor Li Yuan, as well as his brothers Jiancheng and Yuanji. They came closer and said, ¡°Shimin is here! Shimin is here!¡±

    Jiancheng and Yuanji came over to demand his life. Zu An didn¡¯t have any cultivation right now and couldn''t move out of the way. He was instantly captured by the two.

    Jiancheng cursed, ¡°It¡¯s one thing if you killed me to take my position, but why didn¡¯t you even let your sister-inw go? You''re worse than a beast!¡±

    Zu An had seen some simr shows before. The screenwriters seemed to really like depicting a rtionship between Li Shimin and his sister-inw. It turned out the dramas weren¡¯t nonsense!

    He immediately denied the ims and said, ¡°Such things have never happened. I treat my sister-inw with nothing but respect. I definitely have not vited her.¡±

    ¡°If there isn¡¯t anything, why are there all kinds of rumors here in the underworld?!¡± Li Jiancheng cursed furiously.

    Zu An gave Li Yuanji a look. He couldn''t help but feel repulsed. A feeling of disgust filled his mind. It seemed that Li Shimin really did loathe this disgusting younger brother, so he said, ¡°I¡¯m sure he is merely spreading nonsense. I treat my older brother¡¯s wife with nothing but respect, but as for my young brother¡¯s wife, maybe she was mistaken for the former.¡±

    Li Yuanji was speechless.

    <em>I was just enjoying my melon while watching this fun drama, but why did my hair suddenly turn green?</em>

    He was irritable in nature to begin with. He couldn''t take it anymore and ran over to grab Zu An, yelling, ¡°I¡¯ll kill you!¡±

 Chapter 2192: True Mastermind

    Just then, Underworld Judge Cui Jue harrumphed. He mmed the door and sent a ferocious-looking ghostly official to force Jiancheng and Yuanji back. Only then was Zu An free again.

    When they were escorted away, Zu An could still hear Jiancheng trying to console Yuanji. ¡°He¡¯s taunting you on purpose. Don¡¯t forget that your wife¡­¡±

    Unfortunately, he couldn''t hear the rest of the words because the ghostly official took them far away.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    <em>Sigh, life without cultivation really sucks.</em>

    Just then, he arrived in front of a vast and grand hall. A burst ofughter emerged from within. It turned out that the ten great kings of hell - King Qinguang, King Chujiang, Emperor Song, King Wuguan, King Yama, King of Equality, King Mount Tai, King of the City, King Biancheng, and King Reincarnation - had arrived. They bowed in greeting toward Zu An.

    Zu An returned the greeting while sizing up the ten kings of Hell. They were all dignified and fierce-looking. An ordinary person would be scared witless from seeing them.

    <em>It must be because of this unique storyline that I''m able to see their true appearances, right¡­</em>

    The ten kings said, ¡°Your majesty is the human ruler of the world of the living, and we are the ghostly kings of the underworld. We each have our own important duties to uphold, so why should anyone yield excessively?¡±

    Zu An began to feel more and more amazed. Underworld Judge Cui¡¯s enthusiasm could be exined by his rtionship with Wei Zheng. However, weren¡¯t these ten kings of Hell a bit too friendly?¡­

    They then entered Yama¡¯s pce. After the courtesies werepleted, they sat in their respective seats.

    Then, King Qinguang asked about the matter of the Jing River Dragon King. Zu An exined the whole story to them.

    When the ten kings heard what he said, they bowed and said, ¡°Even before that dragon was born, the Southern Dipper Star''s book of death already decreed that he was going to die at the hands of a man, which we were already aware of. But he continued to raise a dispute, and insisted on bringing your majesty down here to have his case investigated before the three courts. We were the ones who sent him into the wheel of reincarnation. Today, we¡¯ve troubled your majesty toe and visit us, and we ask for your understanding for our urgency.¡±

    After saying that, they ordered the underworld judge with the Book of Life and Death, ¡°Hurry and retrieve the book so we can see how much of his majesty¡¯s lifespan is left.¡±

    Zu An grew a bit nervous. He knew that the most important time had arrived. If the predestined lifespan of this body ended here, perhaps he would never be able to leave Hell.

    Underworld Judge Cui hurriedly went to the office and found the general records of the heavenly fates of the kings of all nations, and began to examine them one by one. He saw that this Tang Emperor was destined to live up to the thirteenth year of the Zhenguan Era. He was shocked and quickly took out a pen to add two strokes above the one (Ò») character to make it three (Èý) before presenting the book.

    The ten kings gave it a look. When they saw that the second Tang emperor was destined to live for thirty-three years after the start of the era, the kings of Hell asked in surprise, ¡°How many years has it been since your majesty ascended the throne?¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°Counting today, it has been thirteen years since this emperor took the throne.¡±

    The kings of Hell said, ¡°Your majesty can feel relieved to know that there are still twenty years of your lifespan left. This case has already been cleared, so please return to the world of the living.¡±

    Zu An felt the huge stone weighing down on him leave. He bowed and expressed his gratitude.

    Then, Underworld Judge Cui led Zu An away from the manor. They didn¡¯t take the same route; instead, they went through Yin Mountain and passed through the eighteen Hells. The things he saw along the way made even someone like Zu An, who had seen all sorts of things, feel rmed; let alone the ordinary mortal Li Shimin.

    Then, they passed through Tragedy City. Countless evil spirits screamed ¡®Li Shimin is here¡¯. All manner of monsters with missing body parts demanded Zu An¡¯s life. Zu An asked Underworld Judge Cui to help them.

    The judge was a bit troubled. ¡°Your majesty, those people are the ghosts of the sixty-four ces of smoke and dust, the seventy-two areas of bandits, and the leaders of other gangs. Even though they died tragic deaths, they are nowpletely abandoned, without the ability to reincarnate and no money to go anywhere. They arepletely alone and poor, existing as hungry ghosts. Your majesty must give them some money for me to save them.¡±

    However, Zu An didn¡¯t have any money on him. The underworld judge said, ¡°Your majesty, there is someone in the world of the living who has gold and silver here in the underworld. If your majesty can agree to my request, this humble judge can guarantee that I will lend you that money to free these hungry ghosts.¡±

    Zu An asked, ¡°Who is that person?¡±

    The underworld judge said, ¡°He is a native from the Henan province¡¯s capital, Kaifeng. His surname is Xiang, given name Liang. He has thirteen storehouses of gold and silver here. If your majesty borrows from him, you can just return it to him in the world of the living.

    Zu An was willing to use his reputation to borrow the money. Thus, he drew up a document to borrow from Xiang Liang''s treasury with the underworld judge. On the inside, however, he remainedpletely calm. Even though his cultivation hadpletely disappeared, his thoughts remained sharp. Since starting the second phase, he had thought about the rted plotlines of Journey to the West day and night. Many blurry details gradually became clear.

    If he was remembering correctly, this Xiang Liang hadn¡¯t epted Li Shimin¡¯s money. As such, the emperor had built a Xiang temple to thank him. Li Shimin was a mortal who would likely be scared witless by these things, but how could Zu An not tell that all of this was a setup waiting for him to walk into?

    The underworld judge then said to the vengeful souls, ¡°This money can be divided equally among all of you. Let your Tang Emperor go. It is still far from the end of his life. I am here on the orders of the ten kings of Hell to send him back to the world of the living. I will advise him to hold a Water and Land Assembly. All of you will be delivered to the cycle of reincarnation and freed from the events of your past lives.¡±

    When the ghosts heard that they could obtain gold, they all backed up in fear.

    The underworld judge waved the soul-guiding banner. He then led Zu An out from Tragedy City and onto Pingyang Road. Next, they crossed the Bridge of Helplessness. Beneath the bridge were the surging yellow and blood-red waters of the Naihe Oblivion River.

    Zu An looked for Grandmother Meng to see if the two of them really did share any destiny. However, he didn¡¯t see Grandmother Meng at all; he only saw fiendish-looking underworld officials and countless malicious spirits that were submerged in the Naihe Oblivion River, frantically reaching toward him. It was as if they were begging him for help, but they also seemed to want to drag him down. If he were the real Li Shimin, perhaps he would have defecated himself out of fear, but Zu An only thought it was a rather intimate sight. Of course, on the surface, he still pretended to be really scared.

    After the Bridge of Helplessness, they finally returned to where the Six Paths of Reincarnation were. When he saw six different-colored vortices swirling in the void, Zu An was surprised. These six paths of reincarnation carried countless profound mysteries andws. Just standing here could make one feel a trembling and longing from one''s very soul.

    Underworld Judge Cui exined to Zu An, ¡°These are called the ''Six Paths of Reincarnation¡¯. Those who do good works reincarnate in the Immortal Ascension Path. Those who disy loyalty to the end are reincarnated in the Transcendent Noble Path, those with filial piety in the Good Fortune Path, and the fair in the Mortal Return Path. Those who umte merit reincarnate in the Riches Reincarnation Path. Those who were malicious fall into the Demonic Depravity Path. Your majesty, please remember to exined all of this to themon people once you return.¡±

    Zu An nodded inwardly. The six paths of reincarnation represented the simplest desires of the people, as expected.

    Then, Underworld Judge Cui led Zu An to the ¡®Transcendent Noble Path¡¯ and pushed him from behind, sending him back into the world of the living.

    ¡­

    There was in white silk everywhere in the Imperial Pce. All the imperial concubines and officials were present, weeping. They were about to begin the funeral when the emperor in the casket opened his eyes. Many people screamed in rm and fled in disarray. Fortunately, Yu Maogong, Wei Zheng, Yuchi Gong, and Qin Shubao were faithful and bold. They managed to get the situation under control.

    When they heard that the emperor had indeed died ande back to life, the concubines and officials all rushed over excitedly.

    After Zu An¡¯s body recovered a bit, he granted the world a general amnesty and released thousands of exceptional pce maids, granting them freedom. Everyone in the world spoke praises of him.

    Then, as per the agreement, he thanked Xiang Liang, whom he had borrowed money from in the underworld. As expected, the other party didn¡¯t ept his money, so he built a Great Xiang Temple in Xiang Liang''s honor.

    He also held the Water and Land Assembly to help all of the souls who had been killed when he seized power in the past, allowing them to move on. During the Water and Land Assembly, Xuanzang recited scriptures to help the souls find peace. However, the bodhisattva emerged and stated that this was the Hinayana Dharma and that they could not be delivered. Thus, Xuanzang was sent to the Western Paradise to retrieve the Buddhist scriptures.

    When he saw the white and pure Xuanzang, Zu An was curious as to whether this person¡¯s flesh could really grant immortality, but he knew just how big of a deal that was. He didn¡¯t want to end up the same way as those countless monsters who had coveted Xuanzang¡¯s flesh, so in the end, he didn¡¯t do anything to overstep any bounds.

    After seeing Xuanzang off, Zu An stood atop a watchtower facing west, surveying the scene. Just then, Concubine Yuan Ji brought over a bowl of ginseng soup and advised in a gentle voice, ¡°Your majesty does not need to worry. Xuansang will definitely bring back the scriptures.¡±

    Zu An suddenly turned around to look at her, asking, ¡°How are you so certain?¡±

    Concubine Yuan Ji was stunned. She said with an unnatural smile, ¡°That Xuanzang is a senior monk who has achieved the dao, someone with a firm will. He also has the protection of the bodhisattva, so of course he can seed.¡±

    ¡°Oh. Since you¡¯ve already achieved your objective, why are you still staying at this emperor¡¯s side?¡± Zu An stared into her eyes.

    Concubine Yuan Ji¡¯s expression changed. ¡°What is your majesty saying? I don¡¯t understand.¡±

    Zu An harrumphed. ¡°I already had my suspicions a long time ago. The Imperial Pce has the protection of heaven¡¯s blessing, so how could the soul of the Jing River Dragon King possiblye in? Yuchi Gong, Qin Shubao, and the others were protecting me, and yet he still managed toe in. That means there could only be two possibilities. The first is that there was someone working from the inside, coordinating with him to let him in.¡±

    In the previous phase, he had been the Jing River Dragon King. At the time, he had wanted to enter the pce, and yet saw that it was protected by the blessing of heavenly dao. That was why he could only use his dream skill, forcing Li Shimin to leave the pce. How could the Jing River Dragon King¡¯s soule and go as he pleased?

    ¡°The second possibility,¡± Zu An paused for a moment before continuing, ¡°Is that the Jing River Dragon King¡¯s soul never existed to begin with. The one that appeared was someone pretending to be the Jing River Dragon King!¡±

    Concubine Yuan Ji took a step back. ¡°Why is your majesty looking at me? Don¡¯t tell me you are suspecting this concubine?¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t answer her question; instead, he continued, ¡°Back then, Wei Zheng helped this emperor guard the rear gate; afterward, there were clearly no more ghosts. However, this emperor¡¯s body still grew weaker by the day. Everyone else thought that this emperor was scared badly by the ghost and grew sicker as a result, but I have traversed through mountains of corpses and seas of blood. How could a trifling ghost possibly scare me?¡±

 Chapter 2193: The Third Phase

    His eyes drifted toward the ginseng soup next to him. ¡°This emperor was clearly not scared, and yet I was growing weaker by the day. It is probably because of this ginseng soup, right?¡±

    Concubine Yuan Ji forced a smile and asked, ¡°Could it be that your majesty has encountered too many unimaginable things and has be a bit overly suspicious?¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°I met Yuanji when I was wandering around the underworld.¡±

    Concubine Yuan Ji¡¯s expression immediately changed. ¡°Those are all things of the past, so why is your majesty still bringing such a thing up?¡±

    Zu An sneered. ¡°Yuanji tried to harm me again and again. I have nothing but disgust toward him. When I saw his ghost, I tried to taunt him with our rtionship, and yet I ended up hearing Jiancheng giving him advice. Despite Yuanji¡¯s irritable nature, he actually ceased his anger when he heard what Jiancheng said, which means he definitely found the advice reasonable.¡±

    Concubine Yuanji asked curiously, ¡°I wonder what they said?¡±

    ¡°''He¡¯s taunting you on purpose. Don¡¯t forget that your wife¡­''¡± Zu An repeated everything word for word. ¡°Even though the ghostly official brought them away and I couldn''t hear what else they said, once I pieced together all of the information, it was enough for me to guesswhat was happening.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s gaze immediately became sharp. ¡°I reckon the real Concubine Yuan Ji already died a long time ago. They probably only said that because they already saw her soul in the underworld. Who exactly are you?¡±

    Concubine Yuan Ji suddenlyughed. She put on an extremely flirtatious smile as she replied, ¡°Your majesty suspects that there is something wrong with me just because of these reasons? Isn¡¯t that a bit too far-fetched?¡±¡°Of course that wasn¡¯t all.¡± Zu An remained calm. ¡°While I was there, the underworld judge clearly added twenty years of life for me, but history recorded that I passed away in the twenty-third year of my rule. So where did the remaining ten years go?

    ¡°Since the underworld judge added to my lifespan, there couldn¡¯t be any mistakes unless I encountered something unexpected that prevented me from dying a natural death. Between that and the ghost scaring this body to the point that an illness reached between my heart and diaphragm, I was sure that there was someone near me who wanted my life. After thinking it over, you are the most likely culprit out of everyone around me.¡±

    Concubine Yuan Ji¡¯s expression changed several times. Her eyes also became cold as she asked, ¡°How do you know that you will die in the twenty-third year of the Zhenguan Era? Just who was it that told you?¡±

    ¡°Answer my question first.¡± Zu An remained calm.

    The second Tang Emperor was quite famous in Chinese history, and he was pretty well known on the inte of Zu An''s previous world too. As someone who was a keyboard warrior in the past, Zu An had frequently debated with people on historical forums. He clearly remembered that the second emperor had ruled for twenty-three years. As such, when he confirmed that Underworld Judge Cui had added twenty years to his lifespan, he immediately realized that there was something wrong.

    Concubine Yuan Ji suddenlyughed. Her figure became indistinct, and another pretty face appeared in ce of hers.

    When he saw the two little horns on her head, Zu An was stunned. ¡°A dragon woman?¡±

    ¡®Concubine Yuan Ji¡¯ughed and said, ¡°Your highness is surprisingly knowledgeable. I am indeed a dragon woman, the daughter of the Dongting Dragon King. In the past, I was married to the Jing River Dragon King¡¯s second son, but I was terribly humiliated. Fortunately, I received¡­ ahem, fortunately, I was rescued from that abyss of suffering.¡±

    Zu An had never expected her to have such an identity. He could vaguely remember his experience as the Jing River Dragon King in the previous phase. At the time, when he investigated the Dragon Pce, there seemed to have been some hedonistic sons that were truly despicable. Among them, the second son¡¯s wife had even gone missing for many years. Those sons¡¯ behavior really had been hard for him to endure.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    But at the time, Zu An was focused on solving the trial and didn¡¯t regard the matter with much importance. He could never have expected that the disappeared daughter-inw would actually take the ce of Concubine Yuan Ji and hide in the Imperial Pce!

    ¡°So the execution of the Jing River Dragon King was the result of you pulling the strings behind the scenes?¡± Zu An asked with a strange expression. After all, he had been the Jing River Dragon King in the previous phase, and he hadn¡¯t fully adjusted away from that viewpoint yet.

    <em>Wait, I''ve been sharing a bed with her all this time. To a certain degree, weren¡¯t we actually¡­</em>

    ¡°He deserved it!¡± the dragon woman said coldly. ¡°Back then, as the manager of eight rivers, he threatened and ckmailed our Dongting Manor. Otherwise, why would I be willing to marry that scoundrel of a son? After our marriage, I was abused repeatedly by him, and yet no one seemed to care at all. Later, I learned that all of this was because my father had offended him in the past, so he made the Water Manor¡¯s people humiliate me like that!¡±

    Zu An nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. The Jing River Dragon King indeed courted his own death.¡±

    When he thought about how the Jing River Dragon King¡¯s first reaction was to kill Yuan Shoucheng when he heard about him, and then he actually brazenly dared to go against the imperial edict for the sake of winning a bet, he knew the dragon king was clearly undisciplined and out of control.

    When she heard that he agreed with what she said, a relieved smile appeared on the dragon woman''s face.

    Immediately after, Zu An frowned. ¡°But why did you harm me?¡±

    The dragon woman shook her head. ¡°I didn¡¯t harm you, but you were a key part of the n. I did my best to service you, so you weren¡¯t really losing out¡­¡±

    Zu An continued to ask, ¡°What n?¡±

    A hint of fear shed across the dragon woman¡¯s face. Then, she said with a harrumph, ¡°You still haven¡¯t told me how you know what year you will die in, so why would I tell you?¡±

    Zu An thought of something and said, ¡°The bodhisattva told me, of course.¡±

    ¡°What? She even told me to¡­¡± The dragon woman¡¯s expression changed greatly and she suddenly cried out in rm. ¡°No, I didn¡¯t say anything, spare me!¡±

    Immediately after, she screamed miserably. Her entire body surged with mes and burned up into nothing in the blink of an eye.

    When he saw that, Zu An felt some lingering fear. After all, this was a woman who had served him morning and night. Even though he knew that she had been up to no good, he still couldn''t help but sigh when he saw her die so tragically.

    A streak of light suddenly appeared in the sky. Then, all of his fine hairs stood on end. He felt a life and death crisis descend...

    Just then, however, everything shattered, and the scene before his eyes disappeared. Zu An realized that he was now in an empty void.

    ¡°Congrattions, you have passed the second phase,¡± the voice of the giant statue said.

    ¡°What was going on earlier?¡± Zu An asked in shock. In that instant, even breathing had be a bit difficult.

    ¡°You discovered a certain truth and was about to be killed by a powerful being. Fortunately, these are merely time fragments, so that was why I was able to promptly rescue you,¡± the giant statue replied.

    Zu An became silent for a moment.

    <em>I was too rash just now. I didn''t expect that being to actually target me directly.</em>

    ¡°What exactly did the second phase test?¡± he asked curiously.

    ¡°The first was your acting skill - whether or not the Great Tang Dynasty¡¯s people would suspect anything strange,¡± replied the giant statue.

    ¡°It¡¯s that simple?¡± Zu An had suspected something like that, but it was still surprising to find out that this was truly part of the test.

    ¡°It isn¡¯t simple,¡± the giant statue said seriously. ¡°After all, the Great Tang Dynasty had many capable individuals. For example, Wei Zheng did not only gain various abilities after he died, despite what he said; he actually cultivated immortal arts ever since he was young. That was why he was chosen to be a member of the underworld¡¯s Goodness Appreciation Ministry. There were quite a few other individuals like him in the Great Tang Dynasty, and there was even someone like the dragon woman who shared your bed. Fooling all of them is no easy task.¡±

    Zu An was secretly d that he hadn''t overestimated himself, realizing that less was more in this trial. That was why he had acted like an ordinary person the entire time and taken on the role of Li Shimin.

    The giant statue continued, ¡°The second was to see if you could cross the barrier of life and death. If not for the fact that the underworld judge replenished your life, you would have really died in the second part of the trial.¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t reply, as he was busy thinking about some things. If not for the fact that he had watched Journey to the West before, he wouldn''t have known that his life could be prolonged like that. Then what kind of end would befall those who hadn¡¯t seen that show, but participated in this trial anyway? He could vaguely feel some kind of predestination, as if this trial was made with him personally in mind.

    ¡°Of course, the hardest part was the third part, which was seeing if you would notice the true killing intent around you. You were actually able to expose the dragon woman, which surprised me.¡± The giant statue sighed and said, ¡°It was to the point that you already started the third phase ahead of time.¡±

    Zu An shivered and quickly asked, ¡°What does the third phase test?¡±

    ¡°The third phase has already begun,¡± the giant statue replied.

 Chapter 2194: The Truth

    <h4>Chapter 2194: The Truth</h4>

    ¡°You''re the third phase?¡± Zu An¡¯s expression grew serious. This giant statue was way too mysterious. He hadn¡¯t even seen its real appearance yet. He couldn''t help but feel as if he had been caughtpletely off guard in a dangerous situation.

    ¡°There is no need for you to feel nervous. In this phase, you only need to answer some of my questions.¡± The giant statue seemed to be smiling.

    ¡°Will you let me pass if I fail to answer them correctly?¡± Zu An asked.

    The giant statue froze before saying, ¡°Of course not. When I created this trial in the past, the one thing I prioritized the most was fairness.¡±

    ¡°Are you kidding me? There¡¯s only death waiting for me if I can''t win. Is there a way for this situation to not be so tense?¡± Zu An asked in annoyance.

    ¡°The fact that you participated in this trial despite knowing all of these things proves that you have great courage and wit. That is why I have confidence that you can pass this trial,¡± said the giant statue.

    ¡°Compared to words of encouragement like that, why don''t you give me some tangible help? Weren¡¯t we friends?¡± Zu An grumbled.

    ¡°And how do you know that I did not offer you any tangible help?¡± the giant statue suddenly asked in return.

    Zu An was stunned.

    <i>When have you directly helped me?</i>

    He knew that there was no need for this individual to lie. Could it be the reminder he had been given near the Naihe Oblivion River?

    He suddenly thought of a few things, but he didn¡¯t ask about them and tried to calm down instead. ¡°Then let¡¯s start.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± The giant statue¡¯s voice filled the world. ¡°The questions for this phase are actually closely rted to the two previous phases.

    ¡°After thest two phases, what do you think is the true story behind the death of the Jing River Dragon King?¡± The giant statue paused for a moment before adding, ¡°You must think carefully before you answer.¡±

    All kinds of things appeared in Zu An¡¯s mind. This was actually something that he had been thinking about the whole time. At first, he had experienced it all from the Jing River Dragon King¡¯s perspective, and then he had viewed it again from Li Shimin¡¯s perspective. Those seeminglyplicated and confusing bits of information finally seemed to connect and reveal a possible truth. He replied seriously, ¡°The reason why the Jing River Dragon King died was because he was caught up in the Buddhist Western Paradise¡¯s grand ns to move east. The Buddhists had scriptures they wished to pass onto the eastern Tang Dynasty, and the bodhisattva volunteered to search for someone who could go on that journey. If I''m not mistaken, Yuan Shoucheng or someone at his side might be an incarnation of a bodhisattva, which is why he was so powerful and could foresee the mysteries of heaven in advance.

    ¡°The Jing River Dragon King was so stupid that he didn¡¯t know a thing. Advisor Shad and the Yaksha at his side were likely both Buddhists. Even his daughter-inw was saved from under him and ced at Li Shimin¡¯s side. He went against the imperial edict and vited heavenlyw, and yet he even went to plead for mercy from Yuan Shoucheng. It was as if he was scammed, but ended up counting money for them too.

    ¡°Once he perished and reported what happened to the underworld, the kings of hell brought in Li Shimin¡¯s soul for questioning. As a result, the Buddhists were able to have all kinds of sworn enemies and vengeful spirits demand his life in Hell, such as Li Jiancheng, Li Yuanji, and all of the bandits and criminal leaders from the City of Tragedy. Those terrifying scenes in hell definitely scared Li Shimin badly. They taught him about reincarnation, and they advised him to hold a great Buddhist ceremony to help the spirits cross over so that in the future, he wouldn¡¯t enter Hell with karmic hindrances. That way, the journey to send Xuanzang to the Western Paradise to fetch the scriptures would go smoothly.¡±

    Zu An suddenly frowned as he spoke. He just felt as if he was missing some crucial piece of information here. But even after thinking over the situation carefully, he just couldn''t figure it out.

    ¡°Judging from what you are saying, would you say the ones who arranged all of this from the shadows were the Buddhists?¡± ahe giant statue asked.

    Zu An was about to answer ''yes'' when he was stunned. He finally realized what was wrong. In the underworld manor, why was it that whether it was Underworld Judge Cui or the Ten Kings of Hell, they had all been extremely friendly toward Li Shimin?

    At first, he''d thought that it was because Li Shimin had the heavenly blessing of the human emperor. But after he passed through the Hell Gate, he''d met Li Yuan. Wasn¡¯t that person also a human emperor? Why had he been brought away by a random lesser ghost instead of by Underworld Judge Cui? They hadn¡¯t treated him like an emperor at all!

    That meant there had to be a difference between him and Li Shimin that caused such a difference in treatment. Li Shimin was indeed much more capable than Li Yuan, but would a difference in ability between mortals really be that important to these ghostly deities?

    No, they definitely needed Li Shimin¡¯s help with something, and Li Yuan couldn''t offer the same help. Judging from that, it had to be because Li Shimin was the present emperor and could affect the policies of the Tang Dynasty. They could expand Buddhism''s reach toward the east with the greatest convenience and gain countless believers that way.

    But then, that posed another problem. The underworld manor¡¯s people were clearly subordinates of the Celestial Court, so why had they cooperated with the Buddhists in their own territory? That didn¡¯t make sense! After all, the Celestial Court mainly consisted of Daoists. Why would they allow Buddhism to invade their territory?

    Wei Zheng was also a bit strange. The giant statue had said that he had studied immortal arts since he was young, whichh was why he was chosen as the underworld judge. Additionally, the fact that he could kill the Dragon King in his dreams meant that he was clearly extremely skilled.

    But why was it that, when Zu An was being haunted by the Jing River Dragon King¡¯s ghost, Wei Zheng had imed that because he hadn¡¯t passed on and take up his new post, he couldn''t use his abilities? With his ability as an underworld judge, would he really not be able to tell that it was the dragon woman ying the devil?

    Why had he deceived Li Shimin? It couldn''t be because he was getting revenge for Li Jiancheng, right?

    When Zu An thought about how Li Jiancheng was berated by a lesser ghost, he immediately rejected that possibility. That meant there was one possibility left. Had Wei Zheng and the dragon woman been working together?

    Zu An immediately shivered when he realized that.

    To what extent had Buddhism already infiltrated the Celestial Court? If they were so powerful, why did they have to go through such trouble to set up that scenario?

    In that instant, Zu An felt as if his head was spinning. His mind leaped from one possibility to another, but each one had some kind of hole in the exnation.

    <i>Wait, why was Yuan Shoucheng able to learn of the Jade Emperor¡¯s decree ahead of time? The rain¡¯s timing was one thing, since he could predict it through other methods, but he even knew the exact number of drops.</i>

    He had thought at first that it could be because the bodhisattva had miraculous abilities and nted spies within the upper levels of the Celestial Court. But now that he thought about it, which high officials could know about the Celestial Emperor¡¯s personal decrees? Additionally, who would dare to do something so risky as to participate in Buddhism¡¯s expansion to the east?

    Zu An was getting a bit anxious. He realized that he seemed to have overlooked something really important. He closed his eyes and began to recall every single detail he had experienced during these two phases. Fortunately, he had already recovered his cultivation. His powerful mind could now support the overclocked thoughts he was having.

    First, he had entered the Jing River Water Manor, and then he had gone to Eternal Peace City. Afterward came the Great Tang Imperial Pce and the underworld...

    <i>Wait...</i>

    A portrait from the Imperial Pce appeared in Zu An''s mind. He suddenly opened his eyes. He realized what he had overlooked!

    Li Shimin was the Great Tang Emperor! The Great Tang Emperor was surnamed Li, and they worshiped Laozi as their ancestor. Laozi was one of the Three Pure Ones, the leaders of the Daoist faction!

    Daoism was the state religion of the Great Tang Dynasty!

    No wonder the Buddhists had been acting so carefully. No wonder the members of the underworld government had shown such strange expressions; no wonder the Celestial Court...

    No wonder the giant statue had imed to have helped him!

    Just then, the giant statue asked, ¡°Have you thought through your answer?¡±

    Zu An nodded and slowly said, ¡°All of this was mainly prepared by the Buddhists, but they were actually just a chess piece.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Then who was the chess yer?¡± The giant statue¡¯s voice seemed to carry a hint of happiness.

    Zu An was a bit hesitant. ¡°I know that there are some powerful beings who would immediately notice me if I mentioned their names, and that would subsequently bring down an unknown, devastating power.¡± N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°You do not need to worry about that. In this ce, I can temporarily help you screen such things off so no external powers will notice,¡± the giant statue said.

    Zu An felt relieved and said, ¡°The one behind all of this was the Celestial Emperor. He was working with the Buddhists to direct the situation.¡±

    ¡°Oh? What made youe to such a conclusion? Isn¡¯t Daoism the primary religion in the Celestial Court? Why would the Celestial Emperor work together with the Buddhists?¡± the giant statue asked.

    ¡°It''s precisely because the Celestial Court is mainly made up of Daoists that the Celestial Emperor didn¡¯t want one party to be too strong. Otherwise, the Celestial Court would only follow the Daoist ancestor and wouldn¡¯t recognize the Celestial Emperor anymore. That¡¯s why he guided the Buddhists to keep the Daoists in check,¡± Zu An said, having finally sorted out all of the clues.

    <i>Why was Yuan Shoucheng able to learn about the Celestial Emperor¡¯s decree beforehand?</i>

    <i>No matter how powerful their bodhisattva was, there¡¯s no way she would be able to learn about a decree of that level.</i>

    <i>That means there could only be one reason, which was that the Celestial Emperor told the bodhisattva!</i>

 Chapter 2195: Necropolis Emperor

    Zu An was now the true ruler of the human, fiend, and ocean sides. That was why it wasn¡¯t too hard for him to guess the motives of an emperor.

    Not even these supernatural entities could escape from the schemes of an emperor!n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Since the Jing River Dragon King had existed in this world and its underworld, and Xuanzang had journeyed to the west, that probably meant Sun Wukong had also wreaked havoc in heaven 500 years ago. The world of Journey to the West most likely existed too.

    Back then, the Celestial Emperor had found himself in quite the difficult situation because of Sun Wukong. None of his supernatural subordinates of his had been a matc for Sun Wukong, having all been beaten outside the Southern Heavenly Gate.

    Butter, when Sun Wukong went on the journey to fetch the scriptures, he had encountered the mounts of several celestial beings, which had descended to the mortal world and turned into demons. Each of those mounts had often ended up stealing one of their master¡¯s treasures, and that had already been enough to leave Sun Wukong hard-pressed. Even though it was because Sun Wukong was cking off a bit, thatpletely proved that those celestial beings hadn''t been trying their best when he was causing trouble in heaven, either.

    The Celestial Emperor had probably thus discovered that there were celestial beings who, despite saying they were his subordinates, all had their own intentions in secret. So that was why he had brought in the Buddhist forces to keep the Daoists in check. With those two powers facing each other, as the Celestial Emperor, he would have much more room to do what he wanted.

    Now that Zu An thought about it, if the Celestial Emperor was the mastermind behind the scenes, the report he had written would most likely have killed him right there and then. It was likely that the giant statue had helped him to pass smoothly.

    Just then, a streak of light condensed into a human figure. Then, it slowly walked toward him. The person was dressed in the ck robes of a ruler. He wore a crown with tassels, and his presence was mightier than any of the Kings of Hell Zu An had met before.

    ¡°You''re¡­ the giant statue?¡± Zu An was still a bit unsure as he asked. He could clearly see the person''s face, but he discovered that he couldn''t keep the face in his mind at all. He couldn''t even find any adjectives to describe the other person.The figure said with a smile, ¡°That¡¯s right, I am the giant statue you speak of. But to be more precise, everyone calls me the Necropolis Emperor, the true ruler of the underworld.¡±

    ¡°Necropolis Emperor?¡± Zu An was now extremely shocked. He had naturally heard that name before. There had been legends of aherworld sovereign who was higher than even the five ghostly emperors. Some had imed that it was King Ksitigarbha, while others said that it was the Necropolis Emperor; but he had thought those were just myths of his previous world. Now that he had entered this world of cultivation, the names of those powerful beings held tremendous might, so he couldn''t say them willfully anymore. When he realized all of that, his expression changed. If the name of such a being was spoken, then¡­

    As if guessing his worries, the Necropolis Emperor smiled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. In this world of mine, I can naturally protect you.¡±

    With a wave of his hand, a stone table and two chairs suddenly appeared. On the table were a pot of wine and two wine cups. The Netherworld Emperor sat down and personally poured a cup of wine, saying, ¡°Old friend, have a seat and drink a cup with me.¡±

    Zu An was shocked and overjoyed at the turn of events. He wasn¡¯t scared at all and sat down to touch cups with the Netherworld Emperor.

    ¡°It¡¯s good wine,¡± he remarked. He had to admit that this wine was better than anything he had ever drunk before. Even calling it ambrosia of the immortals seemed to be a bitcking.

    ¡°This wine was actually something that you gave me in the past.¡± The Necropolis Emperor chuckled.

    Zu An snapped out of his daze and said, ¡°You¡¯ve called me your old friend all this time, but I don¡¯t even know who I am. Since you can block off the perception of others in this world, can you tell me my true identity?¡±

    This was the first time he had seensome hope. Whenever he brought up this subject in the past, whether it was Mi Li or other profound beings, none of them had said anything. But they were in a special world now, and they had even named both the Celestial Emperor and Necropolis Emperor, so he figured that he could finally get to the bottom of many secrets.

    But to his surprise, the Necropolis Emperor only shook his head and said, ¡°I cannot. There is too much karma attached to you. I cannot tell you who you are right now.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    As if seeing through his dissatisfaction, the Necropolis Emperor said with augh, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Now that I have seen you, it proves that our past decision was correct. You will be more and more powerful, and ultimately change a fate that was originally set in stone.¡±

    Zu An sighed. ¡°You all love to talk in riddles and I still don¡¯t know what I should even be doing. How will I be able to change any fate then?¡±

    ¡°The only thing you need to know is that you need to be stronger,¡± said the Necropolis Emperor. ¡°That keyboard should still be with you, right? As long as you have her, it will always lead you out of the mist and to the other shore of sess.¡±

    Zu An was now really shocked. ¡°You know about the Keyboard System?¡±

    All this time, the keyboard had always been his biggest trump card, and yet someone actually saw through it!

    ¡°You call it a system?¡± The Necropolis Emperorughed loudly and replied, ¡°How could I not know about it? I was one of the ones who was involved in building it. I even contributed a small gadget to it.¡±

    After saying that, he waved his hand and a pitch-ck dagger flew out from Zu An¡¯s chest. It flew into the air and trembled a bit, as if it was really excited.

    Zu An was startled. He asked, ¡°The Poisonous Prick is yours?¡±

    ¡°Poisonous Prick?¡± The Necropolis Emperor frowned slightly. ¡°Your naming sense really is as bad as before. This is¡­ Forget it, you can call it whatever you want.¡±

    He gently caressed the de of the Poisonous Prick and said, ¡°Across the endless realms, as long as something is alive, no matter what it is... If it is injured by this dagger, death is its only end. But right now, the dagger has not beenpletely unsealed yet and cannot disy its full power.¡±

    After saying that, he gave it a light tap. The Poisonous Prick quickly returned into Zu An¡¯s arms.

    ¡°How can Ipletely remove the seal?¡± Zu An asked curiously. No wonder the Poisonous Prick had such a powerful death curse! So it was the weapon of the Necropolis Emperor, the one who controlled death.

    ¡°Let nature take its course; you will know in the future. If Ipletely unseal it now, it will only draw enemies you cannot defeat at all to you. It will only be unfavorable to you,¡± said the Necropolis Emperor. ¡°By now, you should know that even if you have it, that does not mean you arepletely invincible, right?¡±

    Zu An nodded. Even though the Poisonous Prick¡¯s ability was incredibly powerful, it had its ws. One of the biggest ones was that he had to be able to injure his opponent first. If the difference was too great, its ability wouldn¡¯t have a chance to activate at all.

    He wanted to ask a bit about the keyboard, but the Necropolis Emperor shook his head. ¡°That object has too much karma attached to it. What I have said about my involvement with it is already the limit. There is no need for you to ask anymore.¡±

    Zu An asked impatiently, ¡°Then what can you talk about?¡±

    The Necropolis Emperor replied, ¡°This trial, for one thing.¡±

    ¡°It seems I¡¯ve passed the three phases, then?¡± Zu An couldn''t help but sigh.

    ¡°You are very smart, as expected of my friend,¡± said the Necropolis Emperor with a smile.

    Zu An was speechless.

    <em>Why does it feel as if, even though he¡¯s praising me, he¡¯s actually exaggerating?</em>

    ¡°If the others who took the trial could deduce that it was the Buddhists that were working behind the scenes, that was already quite amazing. Only someone like you could uncover the shadow of the Celestial Emperor behind it all,¡± said the Necropolis Emperor with a sigh of admiration. After all these years, this trial had tested all sorts of brilliant geniuses. And yet in the end, they could only deduce that the Buddhists were behind it at best.

    ¡°I only managed to guess that through a coincidence,¡± Zu An said.

    He wasn¡¯t just being humble. At first, he had also thought that it was the Buddhists¡¯ scheme, but he had suddenly gained a burst of insight and recalled all kinds of details that didn¡¯t make sense. Additionally, he had held simr status to an emperor for the past few years, allowing him to guess the truth. But if he hadn¡¯t watched Journey to the West before, he wouldn¡¯t have thought of any of that at all.

    When he realized that, he couldn''t hold back his doubts anymore. ¡°Why do I feel as if the trial was made just for me?¡±

    ¡°You cannot speak so carelessly,¡± the Necropolis Emperorsaid as he stroked his beard. ¡°I was very fair from the very start. The reason you feel this way only proves that it was your fate.¡±

    Zu An became quiet.

    <em>Fate¡­</em>

    If it had been the past, he would have just thought of the concept as some kind of superstition, but after reaching his current level of cultivation, he had begun to feel more and more as if there was some kind of fate at work.

    He quickly snapped out of his daze and asked, ¡°By the way, why would the Three Pure Ones allow all of this to happen? Laozi is the ancestor of the Tang Emperor¡¯s Li n. Why would he allow the Buddhists to contaminate his own property?¡±

 Chapter 2196: Netherworld Book of Life and Death

    The Necropolis Emperor didn¡¯t reply directly, and asked a question in return instead. ¡°How do you view these celestial beings?¡±

    Zu An muttered to himself, ¡°Celestial beings? They''re immortal and all-knowing, of course¡­¡±

    ¡°Wrong.¡± The Necropolis Emperor interrupted him. ¡°Firstly, even though celestial beings live for a long time and are practically immortal in the eyes of mortals, it is not the same kind of immortality that mortals believe exists. Even though their lives are long, there is still an end. Your human world has the deterioration of heaven and man. Even though the term is slightly inappropriate in this case, it is a simr concept. Once celestial beings approach the end of their lives, their bodies manifest many signs of decline. That is also why immortal medicines are so precious across the endless realms.¡±

    Zu An was shocked, eximing, ¡°Immortal medicines are useful even for immortals?¡±

    ¡°But of course,¡± replied the Necropolis Emperor. ¡°The legendary Jade Lake Peaches of Immortality, the Ginseng Fruit, the fruit from the Garden of Eden; these legends from the human world are all immortal medicines. Celestial beings are all incredibly powerful humans or lifeforms of other species. There are even some nebs or other abstract entities that can gather and be celestial beings. They are strong enough to create or destroy worlds, and these individuals often end up being seen as deities.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes narrowed. He hadn¡¯t expected even things like nebs to be able to be celestial beings. Still, it wasn¡¯t all that surprising. Weren¡¯t the twenty-eight constetions ancient legends of Chinese mythology? It was just that at the time, the people had thought that certain celestial beings upied those constetions. Now, though, it seemed possible that those deities were just the incarnations of the constetions themselves.

    Just then, the Necropolis Emperor continued, ¡°Secondly, no celestial beings are truly all-knowing. Even though every single deity has their own divine abilities to learn about many things, none of them can reach true omnipotence. There are endless divine abilities in the world, and there will always be some beings of the same level who can screen off some mysteries of fate and cause errors in judgment. This is precisely where the saying ''the great dao has fifty paths, and the heavens overflow forty-nine paths; no matter what kind of a situation it is, there is always a chance of life''es from. You must firmly remember this point, as it might be helpful to you in the future.¡±

    Zu An was surprised. No wonder he had always felt that prophecies and destiny were extremely mysterious, and yet he neverpletely trusted them. So he would really be able to change them¡­

    The Necropolis Emperor continued, ¡°Even though the Three Pure Ones[1] are powerful, if both the Celestial Emperor and the Buddha worked together, it wouldn¡¯t be too difficult to fool them. After all, even mortals know the concept of ''one day in heaven is one year on earth''. Even after many years pass in the human world, it might only have been an instant in the heavens.¡±Zu An asked curiously, ¡°The so-called heaven, is it in a ck hole? Otherwise, why is there such a huge difference in time?¡±

    He recalled some science fiction movies of his previous world, such as Interster. The main character¡¯s group had only spent less than a day on a celestial body around the ck hole, and yet when they returned to their ship in normal orbit, they found that theirpanions had already waited for them for decades. It was because of different gravitational forces causing time to flow differently in different locations.

    ¡°ck hole?¡± The Necropolis Emperor couldn''t help butugh. ¡°That is what some scientific civilizations exin it as, but they are just special kinds of worlds. Once you be powerful enough, you can take a look yourself.¡±

    Zu An became more and more curious about the outside world. He suddenly thought of something and continued, ¡°I encountered multiple Celestial Emperors in some secret dungeons before. Even though I never personally met them, I heard many rumors. I wonder, are those Celestial Emperors the same as the one we''re talking about now?¡±

    He had encountered some ancient legends in the Xia Dynasty secret dungeon. There was a Celestial Court there, and there seemed to be many Celestial Emperors in other legends too. The various lineages seemed to be quite messy and confusing, so he hadn''t even been able to figure out who was the real Celestial Emperor.

    ¡°It is normal for you to have doubts, because the current Celestial Court is not the Celestial Court of the first generation.¡± The Necropolis Emperor¡¯s expression grew serious. ¡°Like the human empire, the Celestial Court has also faced many wars and power struggles. Dynasties change; the defeated gradually scatter away, being reced by the victors. After countless years, this kind of thing has already happened many times.

    ¡°Of course, not every time resulted in both sides being unable to coexist. There were situations in which the two sidespromised and coexisted. For example, the underworld was a ce where I was the absolute ruler, butter, King Ksitigarbha rose to power. Neither of us was able to defeat the other, so we reached a certainpromise. King Ksitigarbha acknowledged my position as sovereign of the underworld, while I permitted him to establish his altar and preach his scriptures to guide and transform the souls of the deceased.¡±

    Zu An was incredibly shocked when he heard that. He remembered what the White and ck Guards of Impermanence had told him before. ¡°You and King Ksitigarbha should be the two unspeakable beings above the five ghostly emperors, right?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± The Necropolis Emperor nodded slightly. ¡°But once you leave my special space, you cannot mention these taboo names, or else it will bring tremendous harm upon you.¡±

    ¡°I know.¡± This wasn¡¯t the first time Zu An had received such a reminder. There were all kinds of emotions running through his head.

    <em>So my old friend was a being of this level! Then who was my ¡®past¡¯ self?</em>

    ¡°When an individual is too weak, there are no benefits to knowing too much. It will only bring forthpletely needless disaster,¡± the Necropolis Emperor said seriously. ¡°This is all that I can tell you. There are many things that you need to personally experience and explore on your own.¡±

    Zu An was already used to this and couldn''t help but say with a smile, ¡°I guess it¡¯s fine. Then what kind of rewards are there for passing this trial? Since we''re old friends, you better put some effort into it.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re still the same as before, never content with being on the losing end,¡± the Necropolis Emperor remarked.

    A book suddenly appeared in his hand; it was pitch-ck with some mist circling around it. An extremely dense deathly energy emanated from it and could be sensed even from far away, but there was also a powerful aura of life inside. The two entirely different attributes had actually beenbined together into one object! It really was beyond Zu An''sprehension.

    Then, with a gentle push, the book flew up to Zu An. Its pages opened up and mist surged. All manner of scenes flickered inside.

    ¡°This is the Netherworld Book of Life and Death. The one who owns this is the ruler of the underworld. Henceforth, your words represent the will of the underworld.¡±

    Zu An was shocked. ¡°I can¡¯t ept something this precious! Besides, what will you do if you give this to me?¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The Necropolis Emperor sighed. ¡°Old friend, could it be that you still cannot tell that I already passed on a long time ago? My current self is but a fragment of lingering will. Once I have passed this item onto you, I can be fully at ease.¡±

    Zu An was now truly shocked. ¡°You''re the ruler of the underworld. Even you can die?¡±

    An ordinary creature¡¯s soul would enter the underworld once they passed; in the Necropolis Emperor died, wouldn¡¯t he just return to his own territory? How could someone like that die?

    The Necropolis Emperor smiled. ¡°Didn¡¯t I already tell you that even deities can die? I am naturally no exception. Right now, I am quite happy that it is indeed as the prophecy stated. You sessfully passed my trials, and I have even more confidence that you can change predestined fate and defeat the true enemies.¡±

    Zu An immediately felt a sense of unease. ¡°Who are those true enemies you''re talking about?¡±

    The Necropolis Emperor shook his head and didn¡¯t exin any further. Instead, he said, ¡°Old friend, share another drink with me.¡±

    For some reason, Zu An suddenly felt something akin to the pain of eternal separation. He knew that the Netherworld Emperor''s soul could be on the verge of disappearing. Thus, he didn¡¯t interrupt, and instead helped the Netherworld Emperor pour a cup to send him off.

    The two touched cups, but then the Necropolis Emperor suddenly thought of something. ¡°Right, I have used my ability to hide the secrets of heaven and managed to pass on the Netherworld Book of Life and Death to you, but there are some other old friends who are waiting for you outside. You must defeat them and go through the motions. I reckon that it should not be too difficult for you.¡±

    1. Also known as the <strong>Three Divine Teachers</strong>, the <strong>Three rities</strong>, or the <strong>Three Purities</strong>; these are the three highest gods in the Taoist pantheon. They are regarded as pure manifestations of the Tao and the origin of all sentient beings, along with the "lords of the Three Life Principles", or qi. They were also gods who were associated with the sky, the earth and the underworld. They were thought to be able to control and have power over time in various ways. They were sometimes seen as literally the "Past, Present, and Future". ?

 Chapter 2197: Meeting the Victimâ€™s Family

    <h4>Chapter 2197: Meeting the Victim¡¯s Family</h4>

    ¡°Old friends?¡± Zu An repeated, stunned.

    ¡°Of course, I am not talking about ''friends'' like us, but rather those who share great karma with you in this world. You will know soon enough.¡± The Necropolis Emperor chuckled and didn¡¯t talk about it in more detail. Instead, he focused on pouring the wine. There was a wistful look on his face. ¡°This really is a nostalgic taste...¡±

    As he spoke those words, his figure gradually disappeared. For some reason, even though Zu An had clearly only known him for a short time, he felt really sad inside, as if an intimate friend had just left him.

    As the Necropolis Emperorpletely disappeared, the surrounding space suddenly distorted. Zu An discovered that he was in a spacious martial arena that also resembled arge military drill ground. The majestic Yin Mountains in the distance, as well as the surging Naihe Oblivion River, were faintly visible.

    ¡°This should be a valley near the Yin Mountains,¡± Zu An muttered, then realized something. He felt as if he was looking at the scene before him through countless pairs of eyes in the underworld.

    There were still three departed spirits in the arena. When he saw who they were, Zu An had a strange expression. He finally understood why the Necropolis Emperor had called them his old friends. One was the Skin-ying King, another was thete Fiend Emperor, and thest was actually the Dragon King!

    The Skin-ying King was also extremely shocked to see him. This underworld was a ce that only the deceased could go to.

    <i>Don¡¯t tell me he killed himself just so he could chase after me?</i>

    <i>That¡¯s just going too far, right?</i>

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that someone else would pass the trial ande here,¡± thete Fiend Emperor remarked, but then he suddenly saw Zu An. He immediately gritted his teeth and hissed, ¡°It¡¯s you!¡±

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled thete Fiend Emperor for +999 +999 +999...</strong>

    Zu An was also a bit surprised. He hadn¡¯t expected to meet the three here. They hade to the underworld after they died and even be the kings of certain regions. They had even passed the various tests to arrive at this ce. They were heroes in life, and heroes even as ghosts!

    <i>Wait, since they''re all here, where is that other one?</i>

    Zu An looked all around him. He didn¡¯t see that person, nor did he see thete libationer and the others. He thought to himself, <i>Don¡¯t tell me that they aren¡¯t in the underworld, and went to heaven instead? </i>Thete libationer was one thing, but how could someone like Zhao Han with all of his wrongdoings go there?

    The Dragon King had been staring straight at the Skin-ying King, but when he heard the activity, he also looked in Zu An¡¯s direction. When he saw him, he was stunned, eximing, ¡°Regent, you also died?¡±

    ¡°Uh... In a sense, I guess.¡± Zu An had a bit of an awkward expression. He had never expected to encounter the Dragon King¡¯s vengeful spirit here! After all, all this time, he had been pretending to be the Dragon King and spent a great deal of time around Shang Hongyu. Even though he was helping the Dragon Pce fight against the alien monsters, he had just felt that he was letting the Dragon King down somehow.

    Just then, the Dragon King sighed and said, ¡°If even you''ve died, it seems there¡¯s no one left in that world of ours to stop those alien monsters.¡±

    The Skin-ying King said with a big smile, ¡°You¡¯re actually still worrying about him? That guy was ying with your wife day after day in the Dragon Pce; who knows just how much fun he was having!¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    The Dragon King was dumbfounded. He looked at Zu An in confusion.

    Zu An naturally wouldn¡¯t let things go the way the Skin-ying King wanted it to. He said, ¡°Dragon King, please don¡¯t listen to his provocations. Everything I did was to fight against the alien invaders and the Hell spirits.¡±

    Thete Fiend Emperor now had a pensive expression. At first, he had been nning to properly settle things with Zu An, but now that there was this new drama, he naturally had to grab some popcorn first. Even though the Dragon King was considered a fiend in name and was his subordinate, both of them knew that arrangement was only in name. Whether it was the Dragon King¡¯s cultivation or the Ocean races'' power, neither was inferior to those of the human or Fiend Emperors.

    He had naturally met the Ocean races'' queen before too. That mermaid was indeed remarkably stunning. Even he had started to feel a bit tempted. Of course, out of fear toward the Dragon King¡¯s strength, he had never dared to have such thoughts. He hadn¡¯t expected Zu An to actually end up having a taste...

    The Skin-ying King added fuel to the mes, saying, ¡°Tsk tsk tsk, you¡¯re putting it all nicely, but feeding the Mermaid Queen Unleashed Dew and toying with her everyday, was that also to fend off the alien monsters?¡±

    Even though the Dragon King knew the Skin-ying King was trying to provoke him, this kind of description was a bit too vivid! He immediately felt a surge of anger when he looked at Zu An. ¡°Regent, is what he said true?¡±

    The dragons were lewd by nature. It had always been him who made others wear green hats. How could he have known that he would be the one experiencing such treatment one day?[1] N?v(el)B\\jnn

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Dragon King Ao Zhan for +110 +110 +110...</strong>

    He still retained a bit of rationality. The Skin-ying King was the biggest scoundrel, so what he said wasn''t necessarily true.

    <i>Yeah, it must be false!</i>

    Before Zu An could reply, the Skin-ying King suggested mockingly, ¡°Whether or not it¡¯s true, why don¡¯t you just make him swear to the underworld¡¯s Yin Mountain and Naihe Oblivion River? No one dares to lie before the divine mountain and river. Right, I recall that there was one time when he even humiliated the Mermaid Queen in his study right in front of my face. At the time, the Mermaid Queen was kneeling under the table and helping him... Heh, I don¡¯t think I need to exin anymore, do I?¡±

    The Dragon King was speechless. When he heard those words and saw the look of hesitation on Zu An¡¯s face, realizing that he hadn¡¯t immediately retorted, the Dragon King waspletely stunned.

    <i>Shang Hongyu and I always treated each other with mutual respect. Out of respect for the Mermaid Queen¡¯s power and the fact that the queen was always dignified and reserved, even I didn¡¯t touch her, but someone else did?</i>

    <i>Absolutely ridiculous!</i>

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Dragon King Ao Zhan for +999 +999 +999...</strong>

    ¡°It¡¯s absolutely ridiculous!¡± The Dragon King roared and ran straight at Zu An. His attacks were aimed straight at his vitals.

    Zu An could only evade helplessly while replying, ¡°Dragon King, please don¡¯t fall for his provocations! I...¡±

    Before he could even exin, the Dragon King interrupted him. ¡°Of course I know that he¡¯s provoking me, but all you need to do is tell me if what he''s saying is true or not! Do you dare to vow before the Yin Mountain and Naihe Oblivion River?¡±

    Zu An was speechless. This ce was special. He really didn¡¯t wouldn¡¯t dare to lie. He could only exin, ¡°Those things were all because of special circumstances. You were reced by the Lord of Myriad Transformations, so in order to fool the alien monsters and Hell creatures, I could only secretly kill the Lord of Myriad Transformations and impersonate the Dragon King. Shang Hongyu knew about all of these things from start to finish, and she only cooperated in fooling the other forces for the sake of getting revenge for you and saving the entire world!¡±

    Zu An¡¯s movements were extremely ingenious, and he was fast to begin with. He thus quickly exined the situation. But even afterying it all out on the table, he didn¡¯t have much confidence in himself, because the exnation really was a bit sketchy.

    Sure enough, the Dragon King was furious. So it was true after all! As such, he transformed into an enormous dragon that was over a thousand meters long and rushed ferociously at Zu An.

    Even with Zu An¡¯s cultivation, he felt a bit of pressure when faced with the Dragon King¡¯s full-force attacks. More importantly, there were two others eyeing him right now.

    He quickly asked, ¡°Don¡¯t you have a lot of women? You know that everything I did was to protect the world, and in a sense, I was getting revenge for you. It¡¯s one thing for you to not thank me, but why are you repaying favors with enmity?¡±

    The Dragon King gritted his teeth. ¡°If you had yed with my other concubines, I wouldn¡¯t have said a thing, and I¡¯d even have thanked you for getting revenge for me. But Hongyu is different!¡±

    ¡°How?¡± Zu An asked in annoyance.

    <i>This guy really can¡¯t distinguish between what¡¯s important and what isn¡¯t. No wonder he was reced by the monsters so easily!</i>

    The Dragon King was momentarily stumped. He couldn''t really exin why he was so angry either. He could only brace himself and say, ¡°Either way, Hongyu is different from the other women, and you actually humiliated her like that!¡±

    He remembered the eagerness he had felt when he first saw her. Back then, the previous Mermaid Queen had been alive, and Hongyu was his younger sister-inw. Perhaps it was because he still had a strong impression of that kind of forbidden feeling, but even though he went around skirt-chasing normally, he was always extremely respectful to Shang Hongyu. He hadn¡¯t dared to, nor was he willing to use those kinds of methods on her.

    And yet the white moonlight[2] in his heart had actually been used and abused like that? This guy didn¡¯t cherish her at all!

    When he thought about those things, he felt even more angry.

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Dragon King Ao Zhan for +666 +666 +666...</strong>

    1. Green hat = cuckolded. ?

    2. Unrequited love from the past that one is never able to get over. ?

 Chapter 2198: Anger Against a Common Enemy

    <h4>Chapter 2198: Anger Against a Common Enemy</h4>

    At this point, when he saw the Dragon King¡¯s reddened eyes, Zu An knew that it would be useless no matter what he said. The Dragon King was alreadypletely ovee with rage. Suddenly, however, he thought of something and said, ¡°The Unleashed Dew was something that the Skin-ying King secretly gave Hongyu. I was just saving her.¡±

    Sure enough, the Dragon King now stopped and turned around to look at the Skin-ying King. So the perpetrator was actually this guy! When he recalled how this guy had allied with the Lord of Myriad Transformations to kill him, both new grudges and old hatreds immediately filled his head. He released a draconic roar and charged at the Skin-ying King.

    The Skin ying King was speechless. With a wave of his hand, all sorts of creatures made from ghostly energy rushed out to stop the Dragon King. Then, he said, ¡°Dragon King, the one who toyed with the Mermaid Queen wasn¡¯t me. We can settle our grudge slowly afterward.¡±

    However, Zu An suggested, ¡°Dragon King, how about we join together to get rid of this ghost king? Once we get rid of this grudge, let¡¯s settle things between us after.¡±

    The Dragon King said through clenched teeth, ¡°Either way, both of you must die!¡± Then, he opened his mouth and fired dragon breath at Zu An.

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>This guy really has a one-track mind! He actually wants to fight against both of us? Does he even have the ability to do so?</i>

    The Skin-ying King said with a smile, ¡°Regent, since this dragon is courting death, how about we join hands to send him on first, and then settle the grudge between us after?¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°Sounds good to me!¡±

    Since the Dragon King wasn¡¯t listening, the two of them reached an agreement almost immediately.

    But while the two of them were defending against the Dragon King¡¯s attacks, they both suddenly attacked each other at the same time. Two sts of power collided in midair. Even the Dragon King could only back off for the moment.

    Zu An sighed and asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t we allies? Why are you attacking me out of nowhere?¡±

    The Skin ying King retorted with a treacherous smile, ¡°You''re no different!¡±

    At the same time, he now felt much more confidence.

    <i>It seems he was only stronger in the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons because of the dragon veins and abundant draconic energy.</i>

    <i>Now that we¡¯re in Hell, there aren¡¯t any of those ridiculously powerful dragon veins. This is also my home territory, so I don¡¯t need to fear him anymore.</i>

    <i>Hmph, I almost forgot that this guy was able to use the power of dragon veins.</i>

    ...

    In the distance, thete Fiend Emperor was delighted to see these three fight with each other, hoping that they would end up taking each other out. Then, he could find the best timing to attack all three of them and thus obtain the final victory, seizing the underworld¡¯s authority. At first, he had been full of resentment because Zu An was the one who had killed him. But now, it seemed that could have been a blessing in disguise. He couldn''t be the Fiend Emperor anymore, but wasn¡¯t the throne of the underworld an even mightier position?

    Just then, the Skin-ying King suddenly called out ¡°Why is the Fiend Emperor only watching? I heard some rather interesting rumors when I was in the Ocean races'' territory. After this Zu guy became the regent, even though the Fiend races dered that your son was the emperor in name, almost everything fell under his control.

    ¡°The Second Empress is so stunning and charming. Which man do you think could resist the temptation of a widow? There are already many rumors surrounding Zu An and the Second Empress¡¯ rtionship.

    ¡°They¡¯ve even made it into some operas, like ¡®The Second Empress¡¯ Secret¡¯, or ¡®Untold Affairs Between the Regent and the Second Empress¡¯.

    ¡°I thought those were just unfounded rumors and sent some people to look into them, only to find that this Zu An stayed in the emperor¡¯s bed day after day. The Second Empress couldn''t even get off the bed after.¡±

    The Skin-ying King spoke eloquently, with every sentence tugging at the emotions of the listeners.

    Thete Fiend Emperor had been quite happy just enjoying the drama from the sidelines, but his smile quickly froze on his face. Why did the drama suddenly involve him too? The Skin-ying King was especially hateful, describing everything in such vivid and lifelike terms. Those scenes couldn''t help but appear in his mind.

    ¡°Shut up! Stop talking!¡± Thete Fiend Emperor ground his teeth in rage.

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled thete Fiend Emperor for +446 +446 +446...</strong>

    When he saw the other side¡¯s reaction, the Skin-ying King became even more confident. ¡°Tsk tsk tsk, I wasn¡¯t the one who bullied the Second Empress, you know? Why are you getting angry at me? The main perpetrator is right here.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>What the hell? You¡¯re starting more drama before the first one is even dealt with?</i>

    Thete Fiend Emperor glowered at him like a tiger ready to feast. ¡°Zu An, did you really bully my Second Empress?¡±

    Zu An directly denied it. ¡°Of course not.¡±

    That couldn''t be considered a lie. The Second Empress had always enjoyed herself to the fullest. Even if she was askedter, she wouldn¡¯t say that she was bullied in the slightest.

    Thete Fiend Emperor sneered. The expression on his face became extremely sinister. ¡°You still dare to lie to me? Do you remember the words you said in that secret dungeon back then? You personally admitted to it. I still remember the words ¡®your wife is so good¡¯ clearly!¡±

    He had thought that Zu An only said those words to distract him so he wouldn¡¯t immediately choose to run. As a result, he had always been full of regret. Instead of staying behind in his righteous fury, it would have been better to flee in order to preserve his own life. Once his injuries healed, he could have killed Zu An easily. And yet, the Skin-ying King had confirmed that those words were true!

    The Dragon King had been chasing after Zu An. When he heard that, a shiver ran through his body.

    If one were to rank the words that were the most humiliating for a man to hear, the phrase ''Your wife is so good'' would probably rank in the top three. Compared to the other two, ¡®The happiness I experienced with him in a day is greater than all of the years I spent with you¡¯ and ''If you can, then you can; if you can¡¯t, then you can¡¯t. What do you mean you need to take a break?¡¯, which one was worse would differ from individual to individual.

    At first, the Dragon King had been the main victim, and felt that he had already lost all face. He had be so angry he wanted to skin Zu An alive. But now that he saw a fellow sufferer, his mood seemed to have improved quite a bit...

    The Skin-ying King continued to fan the mes. ¡°That¡¯s right, this Zu bastard truly is despicable. Not only did he steal everything you created, he even toyed with your woman. can you really endure such a thing?¡±

    Sure enough, as he stared at Zu An, thete Fiend Emperor¡¯s eyes seemed as if they were about to spew out mes. A terrifying aura began to surge around his entire body, as if he was ready to attack at any time.

    Zu An looked at the Skin-ying King. ¡°Just who are you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m the Skin-ying King, of course.¡± The Skin-ying King sneered and continued, ¡°What, did you lose your mind from fear, for you to ask such a stupid question?¡±

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°No, you know our world way too well, and you know me too well. An ordinary ghost king definitely wouldn''t have such knowledge.¡± n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The Skin-ying King remained calm. ¡°I was lying low in your world and studying it, so I naturally investigated things about your world.¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°Every single individual who can participate in this trial is the king of a respective part of the underworld. I''m the king of the Naihe Oblivion Ferrymen, and I believe that the Fiend Emperor and Dragon King are also the kings of their own regions. As for you, you''re definitely the king of the Skin-ying Hell, but that''s merely your identity in this underworld. What was your identity when you were alive?¡±

    With that, both thete Fiend Emperor and the Dragon King looked at the Skin-ying King curiously. They had both been among the most powerful individuals in the world when they were alive. They had just been too angry to consider Zu An''s point before. Now, they quickly realized that something was strange.

    <i>That¡¯s right, who exactly is this Skin-ying King?</i>

    <i>He''s been taunting us the entire time and clearly has unkind motives.</i>

    The Skin-ying King sighed. ¡°That mouth of yours really is glib, as expected. I believe that the two others must have also suffered from it as well, right? As for who I am, is it really that important?¡±

    Thete Fiend Emperor nodded in agreement. When he first met Zu An, he had felt that this kid spoke extremely well, and just treated him as a favorable subject. Never had he expected that he would ultimately die at Zu An''s hands, and even his empress would end up being defiled under Zu An!

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled thete Fiend Emperor for +444 +444 +444...</strong>

    The Dragon King thought to himself, <i>I didn¡¯t really suffer that way. This Zu bastard and I never really interacted. But if he used that glib tongue of his on Hongyu¡¯s body...</i>

    As soon as he thought of that, his expression immediately became unpleasant.

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Dragon King Ao Zhan for +233 +233 +233...</strong>

 Chapter 2199: Laughing at Othersâ€™ Misery

    <h4>Chapter 2199: Laughing at Others¡¯ Misery</h4>

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>It¡¯s one thing if thete Fiend Emperor is mad at me, but this has nothing to do with the Dragon King! Is there something wrong with his head?</i>

    He calmed himself down and looked at the Skin-ying King. ¡°I know who you are.¡±

    The Skin-ying King raised his brows. ¡°Oh? Do tell.¡±

    Zu An sighed. ¡°Zhao Han, you used to be someone who was at the top of the world. When did you suddenly be someone who hides behind half-truths?¡±

    Thete Fiend Emperor and the Dragon King were both shocked to hear that. This guy that was neither man nor demon was actually Zhao Han? It really was difficult to associate the Skin-ying King¡¯s face, from which drops of blood trickled out from time to time, with the Zhao Han who had dominated an entire age.

    The Skin-ying King choked. He opened his mouth and was about to retort, but the pride within him prevented him from doing so. In the end, he asked gravely, ¡°When did you learn of my identity?¡±

    As he spoke, the rotten flesh on his body gathered together, restoring his original appearance. Even though it used up a bit of energy, he didn¡¯t want to keep disying that disgusting and sorry appearance in front of these old enemies.

    Zu An didn¡¯t reply. It hadn¡¯t been too hard to guess the answer, in truth. The Necropolis Emperor had said that these were ¡®old friends¡¯ who shared deep karma with him and were waiting for him here. Since thete Fiend Emperor and the Dragon King were both here, how could Zhao Han, the most important one, be missing?

    He looked at him and said, ¡°I really am quite curious. You used to be so proud and arrogant, dominating the world with the attitude of an invincible figure. When did you learn to start drama with gossip and sow dissent?¡±

    Thete Fiend Emperor and the Dragon King¡¯s expressions became even stranger. They had actually faced Zhao Han as an opponent far longer than Zu An and understood this man¡¯s pride well. His current behavior really was a bit unexpected.

    The Skin-ying King, no, Zhao Han gritted his teeth and said, ¡°Anyone would change after experiencing the skin-ying torture day after day.¡±

    Thete Fiend Emperor shared in hisment. ¡°That¡¯s right. Because I killed too many people in my past life, I''ve been in the Knife Mountain Hell this whole time. I need to climb mountains of knives and seas of me day after day. It truly is horrible.¡±

    The Dragon King sighed. ¡°Meanwhile, because I was too lustful, I was thrown into the Frozen Mountain Hell. Day after day, I have to endure the torture of freezing. It''s so cold there that even one''s soul feels as if it¡¯ll be frozen solid.¡±

    The others looked at Zu An. ¡°Just which hell did you enter? Hurry and tell us so we can feel better.¡±

    The Dragon King spected, ¡°You¡¯ve stolen others¡¯ foundations and dominated their wives. I believe that you should have been put in the Deep Fryer Hell and been boiled in hot oil day after day.¡±

    Thete Fiend Emperor didn¡¯t agree. ¡°His tongue is so wicked and he''s so good at arguing and deception, so I think he had to be in the Tongue-Ripping Hell. His tongue deserves to be ripped out nine times every day.¡±

    Zhao Han sneered. ¡°This little bastard hasmitted far worse crimes than that. In my opinion, only the Continuous Hell would suffice. He deserves to suffer every single torture in Hell one after another without any interruptions in between.¡±

    Thete Fiend Emperor nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right, this guy ought to go to the Continuous Hell!¡±

    He clearly knew that the Continuous Hell was the most painful of the eighteenyers of Hell.

    The Dragon King was a bit surprised. ¡°Isn¡¯t the Continuous Hell a bit too much?¡±

    Zhao Han retorted with a cold snort, ¡°What, do you like the fact that he¡¯s ying with your wife?¡±

    ¡°What did you say?¡± The Dragon King stared at him furiously.

    ¡°I''m just telling it as it is,¡± Zhao Han said indifferently.

    Thete Fiend Emperor was also staring at the Dragon King with an unhappy look.

    <i>Is there something wrong with this guy¡¯s head? He¡¯s actually speaking up for Zu An?</i>

    Zu An coughed lightly and said, ¡°Sorry to disappoint all of you, but I wasn''t in any hell. I already told you, I''m a Naihe Oblivion Ferryman.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± The three of them stared daggers at him. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    <i>Does this make any sense? Someone this shameless actually didn¡¯t need to suffer in the Hells?</i>

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Zhao Han for +666 +666 +666...</strong>

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled thete Fiend Emperor for +666 +666 +666...</strong>

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Dragon King Ao Yong for +666 +666 +666...</strong>

    Zhao Han snapped out of his daze and asked, ¡°Do you all think this is fair? This guy has toyed with your wives and reaped what he hasn''t sown. Now is the time to get revenge!¡±

    The Dragon King suddenly said with a sneer, ¡°You can forget about trying to provoke us. Why aren¡¯t you going at him yourself?¡±

    Zhao Han remained calm. ¡°I don¡¯t share a deep grudge with him the way you all do.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± The Dragon King suddenly snickered. ¡°Thete Fiend Emperor is one thing, since he died the earliest, but I know about you. You¡¯ve been having the time of your life talking about how he messed around with the Second Empress and even... the Mermaid Queen. But what about your own empress?¡±

    Zhao Han¡¯s face darkened. His brows firmly locked together.

    ¡°He''s not only the Fiend races'' regent, but also the regent of the humans! Since he dared to act against the Second Empress, do you think hed let that beautiful empress in your human Imperial Pce go?¡± The Dragon King had a huge smile on his face as he spoke. ¡°I asked around about this before. Even though there'' no concrete proof, the chance of them having had an affair is almost a hundred percent.¡±

    He didn¡¯t know about everything else, but he was an expert at stealing others¡¯ wives himself. It was naturally easy enough for him to guess Zu An¡¯s intentions.

    Thete Fiend Emperor¡¯s eyes also lit up. ¡°That¡¯s right, that empress of yours has such an incredible figure. Besides, for the sake of preserving your lifespan, you always practiced restraint and neglected her. Her pent-up desires could be sensed all the way from my Fiend races'' territory! She might still have had some misgivings when you were still alive, but there would be none of that left after. Zu An is younger than you, more handsome than you, and knows how to pamper women. If the fiery Empress Liu met him, it would be like heavenly thunder bringing forth earthly mes, creating sparks instantly!¡±

    At first, when he learned that Zu An had yed with his wife, losing his own self-respect was one thing, but losing face in front of these two old enemies was another. But now, even Zhao Han had suffered the same fate as him. Why did he suddenly no longer feel as ufortable?

    <i>I even feel a bit happy...</i>

    <i>Pah, what kind of thoughts are these?!</i>

    <i>I need to add more fuel to the mes.</i>

    He added, ¡°Right, I heard that idiot son of yours has a pretty wife, but she hasn¡¯t let that fool touch her. She clearly looks down on him. She didn¡¯t cherish her purity for so many years only to offer it up to Zu An, did she?¡±

    The Dragon King also picked up on what was happening and said with a smile, ¡°That¡¯s right. I heard that in the past, there was even quite amotion in the capital. The crown princess and that kid Zu An had some kind of scandal and even asked the libationer to testify. Doesn¡¯t that mean they were already together even before that? Zhao Han, you were so strong all your life, but both your wife and daughter-inw ended up servicing another man. Isn¡¯t that far more miserable than our situations?¡±

    Thete Fiend Emperor nodded enthusiastically. The smile on his face was so big the corners of his mouth almost ripped open. Even though he knew that his own situation was quite tragic, seeing his arch-nemesis in an even worse position made him feel even happier.

    Zhao Han¡¯s eyelids twitched furiously. He actually knew about Liu Ning and Zu An¡¯s affairs, because Zu An really was too despicable. That kid had used those extremely destructive words to provoke him during their fight as well. As for Zu An''s rtionship with Linglong, he had already guessed what was happening a long time ago. The fact that his split soul inside the crown prince¡¯s body had gone missing after they went into the secret dungeon already exined many things.

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Zhao Han for +999 +999 +999...</strong>

    <i>But the damned Fiend Emperor and Dragon King...! What kind of a situation are we in right now? And yet they¡¯re stillughing at the misfortune of others!</i>

    The expressions of the countless souls in the underworld were really strange. They were here to watch an extraordinary fight, but why did it now seem like a gathering of victims?

    <i>Even so, that youngster really is quite something. Many people have heard about those three ghost kings¡¯ deeds when they were alive. Did this guy really steal all three of their wives?!</i>

    Many of the departed spirits became even more excited. Even though they didn¡¯t see a ferocious showdown on the stage, this kind of drama seemed pretty interesting too. They even continued to heckle thebatants in a rowdy manner so they could hear even more outrageous things.

    Of course, that wasn¡¯t what everyone present was thinking. Within Tragedy City, there was a headless soul who was holding his head in his arms. He watched the scene in the sky above, and after a while, he sighed deeply and said, ¡°Brother Zu really is amazing!¡±

    Below the Bridge of Helplessness, there was a cool and aloof woman who was watching as well. Her red lips opened several times, but in the end, she didn¡¯t say anything.

 Chapter 2200: Questioning His Ghost Life

    Zhao Han took a deep breath and suppressed his urge to argue back. He said gravely, ¡°Since we are all victims, we should join hands to get revenge, rather than starting conflict among ourselves and letting our enemyugh at us.¡±

    Thete Fiend Emperor and the Dragon King immediately widened their eyes. They looked at him with disbelief. They had thought that this guy would at least retort a few times, but he actually just admitted to it? Now, all of the words they had been about to say had to be swallowed back down.

    Furthermore, Zhao Han had lived his life as the world¡¯s strongest, yielding to none. And yet, someone like that was actually inviting the two of them to work together? In that instant, thete Fiend Emperor and Dragon King even felt a bit overwhelmed by the favor.

    Thete Fiend Emperor said with an embarrassed chuckle, ¡°It is just a trifling junior; how could he be worthy of all three of us working together to fight him? Since Brother Zhao has the deepest grudge with him, it would be best if brother Zhao has the honor. We¡¯ll help you bring up the rear so that no one else can disturb the two of you.¡±

    The Dragon King shot him a sidelong look. ¡°What are you trying to say? Who else is here other than me?¡±

    Thete Fiend Emperor harrumphed. ¡°I wasn¡¯t even talking about you, so what are you panicking for?¡±

    In the past, he had only lost to Zu An in a ce that was especially rich in spiritual essence. This underworld environment definitely couldn''t handle that ridiculous ability¡¯s activation again. Besides, this time, Zu An didn¡¯t have those women supplying him with cultivation energy, so killing him was easy enough. It was actually Zhao Han who was the biggest problem.

    Zhao Han immediately saw through his intentions and said with a cold snort, ¡°Fiend Emperor, your information really is toocking. Do you even know how I died?¡±

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t it because you fell into some secret dungeon, and then King Qi and thete lbationer worked together to take you down with them?¡± After he said those words, the Dragon King¡¯s expression suddenly changed. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that you were killed by this guy?¡±¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Zhao Han stared at Zu An, gritting his teeth.

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Zhao Han for +444 +444 +444¡­</strong>

    Thete Fiend Emperor frowned. ¡°Did he scheme against you while you were seriously injured from your fight against King Qi and the libationer?¡±

    ¡°Even though he did take advantage of my injuries and used all sorts of other tricks, his current self is entirely different from back then. Additionally, a few days ago, I exchanged some blows with him in the human world. This time, it was a fair fight, and yet I was still defeated by him,¡± Zhao Han said, his expression grave.

    Thete Fiend Emperor and the Dragon King¡¯s expressions changed. ¡°How many moves did it take for you to lose?¡±

    ¡°One.¡± Zhao Han¡¯s expression remainedpletely calm.

    ¡°What?!¡± The Dragon King¡¯s jaw almost dropped to the floor.

    ¡°But how?!¡± Thete Fiend Emperor found it even harder to believe. He and Zhao Han had been enemies for decades. They understood each other through and through, and they were evenly matched¡­

    <em>Fine, I¡¯ll admit that Zhao Han was a bit stronger, but it¡¯s at most forty-sixty! And yet someone like this was instantly killed by that brat?</em>

    <em>Then wouldn¡¯t Zu An also be able to kill me instantly?</em>

    He thought about how Zu An had been no match for him at all and only managed to sessfully kill him through all manner of coincidences and tricks, but then realized just how much time had passed since then. Despite that, Zu An was able to grow to this extent?

    When he saw thete Fiend Emperor¡¯s suspicious expression, Zhao Han raised three fingers. ¡°I vow to the Yin Mountain and Naihe Oblivion River that I was defeated by Zu An in a single move not long ago. If this is a lie, send me to the Continuous Hell!¡±

    He understood fully well that earlier, Zu An had borrowed the endless draconic power of the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons, as well as his skill that could restrain departed spirits. Still, there was no Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons now and Zu An was also in soul form himself, which meant he probably couldn''t use that special skill. Thus, Zhao Han was confident he could win if they fought again. Even so, he wouldn¡¯t exin such things to the other two. It¡¯d be better if they worked together to get rid of this little bastard. Inparison, he knew thete Fiend Emperor and the Dragon King better, so there wouldn¡¯t be so many variables if he fought against them.

    When they heard his vow, thete Fiend Emperor and the Dragon King immediately believed him. After experiencing the tortures of Hell, they knew just what kind of ce the Continuous Hell was. Not even the most wicked people would dare to go there.

    The three tacitly began to surround Zu An. They no longer looked down on him like before; instead, they focused on getting rid of this most powerful enemy first.

    However, thete Fiend Emperor was secretly scheming, thinking that once Zu An was gone, Zhao Han would be the strongest. For better or for worse, he and the Dragon King were old friends and would be fine facing Zhao Han together. Once they got rid of Zhao Han, he wouldn¡¯t lose to the Dragon King.

    <em>It seems the Netherworld Book of Life and Death is mine!</em>

    The Dragon King was also thinking.

    <em>I''m the weakest out of the three here and pose the least threat. That¡¯s why once I get rid of Zu An, Zhao Han and the Fiend Emperor will definitely want to eliminate each other first. I''ll just wait to swoop in and reap all the benefits at thest moment.</em>

    <em>The Netherworld Book of Life and Death is mine!</em>

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An was feeling frustrated that all three were grouping up against him. As the saying went, the character for lust (É«) had a de (µ¶) hanging above it after all! He just hadn¡¯t expected retribution to happen so quickly.

    He looked at the Dragon King and made ast-ditch effort. ¡°Dragon King, don¡¯t forget who it was that killed you. Even if I really had something going on with Hongyu, for better or for worse, I helped you get revenge, which should mean those things cancel each other out. Meanwhile, Zhao Han colluded with the alien monsters to destroy this world. Could it be that you really want the Ocean races to fall into the hands of the aliens?¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    He also looked at thete Fiend Emperor when he said that, clearly implying that thetter had to think of the greater situation.

    Zhao Han said with a sneer, ¡°What is so bad about an alien worlding in? Our world is just far too weak. That is why we were always trapped at the earth immortal rank and couldn''t improve at all. If a new world merges with ours, the source of our world will be stronger, and we can also be stronger then. That is what people like us seek.¡±

    Zu An said gravely, ¡°If that happened, countless ordinary civilians and cultivators would be devoured by the alien monsters. The people would drown in a sea of misery. Do you not understand the price?¡±

    ¡°The sess of one general is built on the withered bones of thousands; that is an ancient principle,¡± Zhao Han said with a sneer. ¡°Besides, I''ve already died. Why would I care about the world ending when I''m already dead?!¡±

    Thete Fiend Emperor nodded in deep agreement.

    <em>As expected of my old enemy, whom I¡¯ve faced all my life. His thoughts arepletely in line with mine.</em>

    The Dragon King, whose rtionship with Zu An wasparatively better out of the three, said, ¡°The Skin-ying¡­ Zhao Han did collude with the aliens to scheme against me, but now that I have already died, it is meaningless to think about those things now. It is the authority of the underworld that is more important. As long as the Netherworld Book of Life and Death can be obtained, we will naturally be able to protect our world.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    <em>He didn¡¯t even care about getting revenge on the one who killed him? So why do these guys still care so much about having their wives stolen?!</em>

    ¡°Stop wasting time with nonsense. Just show me your skills if you have them!¡± Zhao Han yelled.

    He was a bit afraid of Zu An¡¯s slick tongue, and was worried that something could really happen if he allowed him to continue talking. As such, he made the first move. He knew that if he didn¡¯t attack, those two cunning bastards, thete Fiend Emperor and the Dragon King, definitely wouldn''t.

    With a wave of his hand, a massive palm mmed down toward Zu An from the sky above. In that instant, space itself seemed to freeze. Nothing within could escape.

    Zu An had seen Zhao Han use this move when he was still weak. It had left him with an unforgettable impression; at the time, he was truly shocked, feeling as if that terrifying power and the spatial restriction were invincible. But now that he had grown to his current level, when he saw it again, his only thought was¡­

    <em>Is that all?</em>

    He took a step forward and jumped out of the spatial entrapment.

    A huge noise resounded. The giant hand mmed down on the spot where Zu An had just been, leaving behind a handprint that was dozens of meters deep. Its terrifying power made countless souls gasp. They had heard that even this guy¡¯s wife and daughter-inw were stolen, and assumed that he was a spineless coward. They hadn¡¯t expected him to be so strong!

    Thete Fiend Emperor and the Dragon King also shivered.

    <em>Zhao Han seems to be even stronger than back then.</em>

    <em>But this Zu An really is unfathomable. We really can¡¯t evaluate him the same way as before.</em>

    At first, even though they had already seen Zhao Han make a vow, they''d still carried some doubts as to whether Zu An was really that strong. But now, they fully believed it and didn¡¯t dare to show any carelessness.

    Thete Fiend Emperor harrumphed. A giant pair of wings suddenly unfolded behind him. They swept at Zu An, every single feather containing iparably powerful sword energy. In the past, these sword energy wings had glowed a brilliant gold, but now that he had be a departed spirit, they were a hazy gray. He had been killed by Zu An¡¯s devastating weapons once, but he''d learned his lesson; this time, he didn¡¯t want to give Zu An the chance to bring those weapons out.

    The Tai¡¯e Sword appeared in Zu An¡¯s hand. A streak of resplendent sword energy illuminated the sky, resembling the Milky Way as it instantly erased most of the sword energy fired from thete Fiend Emperor¡¯s wings.

    Fortunately, just then, the Dragon King roared. The sound waves formed walls that stopped the sword energy, keeping thete Fiend Emperor from being seriously injured by this exchange.

    ¡°How?!¡± Thete Fiend Emperor¡¯s hands were dripping with blood. The sword wings were a manifestation of his Golden Crow Technique and weren¡¯t much different from his own wings, so why were they immediately defeated?

    Since he was the first one to be killed by Zu An, he was the most shocked out of everyone present. Back then, he had beenseriously injured and Zu An had the support of that special secret dungeon¡¯s dragon veins, which was why Zu An''s surprise attack had worked to begin with.

    In his mind, he''d always thought that if he was at his strongest, killing this brat Zu An would be as easy as turning his hand. But when he saw this, he immediately began questioning his ghost life.

    <em>How did this guy grow so fast?</em>

 Chapter 2201: An Alliance

    Zhao Han¡¯s eyes narrowed. At first, he''d thought that Zu An waspletely reliant on the help of the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons. Additionally, Zu An couldn''t use the skill that countered departed spirits anymore; there was also no tribtion right now either, and thus no heavenly lightning to help him. As such, Zhao Han hadn''t thought it would be too hard to win. If anything, his earlier portrayal of Zu An had been intended as an exaggeration to drag the Fiend Emperor and Dragon King into the fray. But now, it seemed they really did have to join hands to defeat Zu An.

    <em>This is absolutely ridiculous!</em>

    When he thought about how this had been a wretched beggar whom he could crush with a single finger in the past, and yet Zu An had now grown to this extent, he finally understood the meaning of the famous saying ¡®nurturing a tiger invites cmity¡¯!N?v(el)B\\jnn

    <em>Why didn¡¯t I just strangle this little demon in the past?!</em>

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Zhao Han for +587 +587 +587¡­</strong>

    The Dragon King roared again, unleashing white dragon breath. His palms mmed toward the ground, covering it in ice that spread with tremendous speed, quickly appearing around Zu An¡¯s legs. As a member of the Dragon race, he was good at water element attacks to begin with. All the time he had spent in the Frozen Hell even allowed him toprehend a new power.

    Zu An¡¯s body froze at a visible rate. But a secondter, an intense me zed around him, melting away all of the ice around his body.

    Zhao Han¡¯s figure flickered, and he instantly appeared behind Zu An. He sent a punch flying at the middle of Zu An''s back. The light rays around his fist were a bit blurry, signifying spatial distortion. If his fistnded, space itself would copse, let alone a human body. He had been unrivaled in the human world for countless years. Two of the biggest reasons were that his acute insight and hisbat experience were both first-rate. He thus keenly seized the best chance to strike.

    There was no chance for Zu An to evade, and he could only brace himself for the strike. Even so, he had just exchanged blows with thete Fiend Emperor and was frozen by the Dragon King. Thus, thje energies within his body would definitely be a bit sluggish at this moment.<em>There¡¯s no way he could be a match for me in a direct exchange of blows!</em>

    There was no time for Zu An to swing his sword. He raised his own hand, meeting Zhao Han''s fist with a palm.

    Zhao Han smirked. After so many years of his dominance over the world, people had alle to believe that the Human Emperor Seal was his strongest weapon, but he actually didn¡¯t need any weapons. The weapons he trusted in the most were none other than his own two fists.

    <em>Not even thete Fiend Emperor dared to experience these fists directly and needed to rely on powerful weapons to defend himself, and yet this brat actually dares to use his bare palm? </em>

    <em>I¡¯ll cripple that hand of his!</em>

    The fist and palm met.

    However, the arm-snapping scene that Zhao Han had imagined didn¡¯t happen, nor was there a terrifying explosion. Instead, it waspletely silent; the fist and palm were quietly pressed against each other.

    The Dragon King eximed in annoyance, ¡°Zhao Han, why are you just holding hands with him?!¡±

    Only Zhao Han understood his bitterness right now. He could feel that his tremendous power seemed to have vanished into nothing. Zu An¡¯s palm was like a ck hole that sucked away all the strength of his fist. That wasn¡¯t all, either. There was a terrifying suction forceing out from Zu An''s palm that made all of his ki rage chaotically, as if it was about to pour out into Zu An¡¯s hand at any moment.

    Thete Fiend Emperor noticed that something was strange. If he had seen Zhao Han suffer so badly in the past, it would already be surprising if he didn¡¯t kick thetter while he was down. But this time, Zu An¡¯s strength was truly outside of his imagination. He couldn''t just watch as Zu An took down such a powerful ally. As such, he used the Golden Crow Radiant Flow to attack Zu An.

    Zhao Han also fought back. His skin fell offyer byyer to try and break free from Zu An''s restraint.

    Soon after, the three individuals surrounded Zu An at the center again, but none of them seemed as rxed as they had been at first. Instead, there was fine sweat on their foreheads.

    <em>How did this guy suddenly be so strong?</em>

    Zu An sighed deeply inside.

    <em>If you were all in my ce, being forced to fight against those ridiculous enemies day and night, you would¡¯ve grown stronger too.</em>

    It wasn¡¯t just his fighting experience and mindset; even his baseline strength had increased by quite a bit.

    The Phoenix Nirvana Sutra¡¯s Kun Peng skill and the Heaven Devouring Sutra hadbined together to form an ability that increased his cultivation whenever he killed a powerful opponent. At this point, he had already killed countless powerful monsters.

    Back in the world of the living, it had only been because he was restricted by the world¡¯sws that his level couldn''t increase at all. But there was no such restriction here in the underworld. Perhaps it was because the umted ¡®experience¡¯ hadn¡¯t disappeared, or it was because of the unique setting of the underworld; either way, he could feel that his own cultivation seemed to be steadily climbing.

    Just then, Zhao Han reminded the other two seriously, ¡°be careful, he has a sinister skill that can absorb the strength of others. Do your best to avoid direct contact.¡±

    He had faced Zu An in the past and thus knew about that skill, but at the time, it had only been usable for defense, helping Zu An neutralize attacks from those at higher cultivation realms than his own. Zhao Han hadn¡¯t expected tthe skill to be capable of being used offensively now, nor did he expect that its power would be this frightening!

    <em>But it makes sense. Our cultivation realms are simr now, and his might even be a bit higher. It¡¯s only natural that this sinister skill would have powerful offensive characteristics.</em>

    The Dragon King suddenly realized something and eximed, ¡°No wonder he has such terrifying cultivation at his young age! So it was because he cultivated this treacherous skill!¡±

    Originally, this had been a realm that only he, Zhao Han, and the Fiend Emperor had the qualifications to partake in. Perhaps the libationer could be considered one more as well. However they were all quite old. They were incredible geniuses, which was how they were able to reach their level through cultivation. But Zu An wasn''t even twenty years old, and yet this cultivation was already at this level! Didn¡¯t that mean they had lived their long lives for nothing?

    When the Dragon King arrived at this ¡®truth¡¯, however, he immediately felt much better.

    <em>Hmph, the ki you can obtain through this kind of sinister technique is impure. There¡¯ll definitely be problems in the future! It¡¯s nothing like our stable cultivation foundations that were steadily trained bit by bit.</em>

    Thete Fiend Emperor warned the others, ¡°He has another skill that can produce all sorts of fiery weapons. Those weapons possess extraordinary destructive power. If possible, do not try to make contact with them if you see them.¡±

    That ''gatling'' or whatever was one thing, but that ¡®Dongfeng unfurls into a thousand trees, blooming in the night sky like a rain of stars¡¯ had really made him taste bitterness.

    <em>What kind of stupid name is that? It¡¯s so long!</em>

    Zhao Han grimaced and said, ¡°He has another skill called ¡®ikuu ikuu¡¯ or something. It¡¯s extremely despicable. Be careful not to be hit by it.¡±

    The Dragon King was stunned. ¡°What kind of skill is ''ikuu ikuu''? Tell us more clearly!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s hard to exin. You¡¯ll know if you¡¯re hit by it.¡± Zhao Han¡¯s expression was gloomy. That skill really was too humiliating! How could he bear to exin that he had been vited by some burly chaps to these two old enemies of his?

    The old Fiend Emperor added, ¡°He also has this ¡®what you lookin¡¯ at¡¯ skill that can easily make you lose your concentration. It¡¯s especially effective against your Dragon race''s Soulspeak skill. Dragon King, you need to be careful.¡±

    Judging rfom their earlier fight, he knew that this was definitely not the time to be holding back. He, Zhao Han, and the Dragon King were at least on the same level, and it was possible for any of them toe out on top in the end, but this kid was too strange. None of them could win if they faced him alone.

    Zhao Han said with a grim expression, ¡°He seems to have another forbidden skill that prevents you from moving for a single breath of time.¡±

    That was the skill that had made him suffer tremendously when he was facing tribtion, and it was also because of that skill that he had perished.

    Zu An sighed. Unfortunately, he had used up the ¡®Nickname Card¡¯ and couldn''t use ¡®John Doe¡¯s Nemesis¡¯.

    Thete Fiend Emperor then said, ¡°He stole my Sun ying Bow. Be careful of it.¡±

    Zhao Han also said, ¡°My Human Emperor Seal was stolen as well.¡±

    The Dragon King grumbled, ¡°I seem to sense the energy of my Crown of the Ocean Deity too.¡±

    The three of them became speechless.

    The Dragon King suddenly felt as if he was siding with the wrong teammates.

    <em>Being close to this kind of guy doesn¡¯t seempletely uneptable...</em>

    <em>Hm¡­ Should I rmend one of my own sisters-inw to ease our rtionship?</em>

    <em>Wait, Liuyu seems to be pretty close to him.</em>

    <em>Dammit! This guy ate the food, but he even wants to take the cooking pots home!</em>

    Thete Fiend Emperor took a deep breath. ¡°Zhao Han, Ao Zhan, this guy is even stronger than we imagined. If we continue to be on guard against each other, he might take us down one by one. We can¡¯t hold back anymore. How about we get rid of this guy first, and then we¡¯ll settle things between the three of us?¡±

    Zhao Han said seriously, ¡°Agreed!¡±

    The Dragon King looked from side to side, but in the end, he gritted his teeth and said, ¡°Fine!¡±

 Chapter 2202: If You Canâ€™t Beat â€˜Em, Join â€˜Em

    <h4>Chapter 2202: If You Can¡¯t Beat ¡®Em, Join ¡®Em</h4>

    Hongyu was one thing, but the Dragon King couldn''t hand over the underworld¡¯s authority to Zu An!

    <i>I don¡¯t want to spend an eternity in that Frozen Hell!</i>

    A sea of blood rushed out from beneath thete Fiend Emperor. This was a new power he had obtained after experiencing the torture of climbing a mountain of knives, crossing a sea of mes, and then arriving at an ocean of blood. He felt more powerful than ever before. He had initially nned to save this move as a trump card against Zhao Han or the Dragon King, but now, he had no choice but to use it ahead of time.

    He climbed higher and higher into the air as the sea of blood beneath him formed a tremendous ocean wave. Many sinister ghosts appeared at his side, preparing to fight alongside him. At the same time, a dusky sun rose behind him. His domain had once been a golden sun, but this was what it looked like now after being influenced by the underworld. Combined, the dark sun and the sea of blood formed a new domain. He could sense that he was much stronger now than when he was alive.

    Zu An gave the technique a look.

    <i>Big sis Yun¡¯s domain also seems to be a blood sea, but hers is much prettier. I wonder if this underworld blood sea is useful for big sis Yun at all. If it is, should I bring her over here to take a look around?</i>

    Zhao Han also spread his palms. Coundless thin ghost skins danced through the air, every sheet looking like aplete ghost. Of course, there was only skin, without any meat inside. The ghost skins ppeda round like bats. They cackled sinisterly and looked extremely malicious, as if they were waiting for any opportunities to devour the blood essence of their enemies and turn them into ghost skins like themselves. This was a new skill he hadprehended in the Skin ying Hell. Initially, he''d had the same idea as thete Fiend Emperor, thinking of saving it for a nice surpriseter at a crucial moment. But right now, dealing with Zu An was a more pressing matter.

    When the Dragon King saw that the skills were getting more and more stunning, he cursed, ¡°They¡¯re all sneaky foxes!¡±

    The temperature around him suddenly dropped. Hell ice spread in all directions, so cold that it seemed as if it could even freeze the air itself. It didn¡¯t fall behind the other two¡¯s skills at all. But he didn¡¯t feel good about the situation at all, because he had revealed his skill immediately earlier. How simple-minded did that make him look?

    When he saw the three powerful warriors¡¯ Blood Sea Hell, Skin-ying Hell, and Frozen Helle at him, Zu An only released a soft sigh.

    Thete Fiend Emperor had an evil grin as he eximed,. ¡°Do you now know fear? I¡¯m not going to kill you so easily; instead, I''ll submerge you in the sea of blood. Only after you¡¯ve experienced the torment I endured all these years will I be satisfied!¡±

    Zu An was stronger than he had imagined, but what kind of strength did the three of thembined represent? They had been the strongest beings in the world when they were alive, and all of them had obtained new powers now. When the three of them allied together, this little bastard would have no choice but to ept his defeat!

    Zhao Han sneered. ¡°Don¡¯t be careless. He might still have other strange skills.¡±

    For some reason, when he recalled Zu An¡¯s various small tricks, he felt a sense of unease. He couldn''t shake off the feeling that this kid really was a bit mysterious.

    <i>Don¡¯t tell me he still has other trump cards?</i>

    Zu An finally spoke. ¡°When we fought in the past, you were indeed stronger than me, so I could only rely on those skills to preserve my life. But now, why would I need to use any tricks in order to win?¡±

    As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly flew into the sky. Ripples appeared behind him, and some kind of power emanated from them.

    ¡°No, you can¡¯t let him use that ability!¡± Thete Fiend Emperor¡¯s expression changed. This was the skill he had suffered from in the past.

    Zhao Han and the Dragon King were both peak experts themselves. They didn¡¯t need him to remind them and attacked at the same time.

    Ghost skins concealed a world-eradicating fist, while a several-hundred-meter long dragon condensed from ice, and a Golden Crow image inside a surging sea of blood appeared; they arrived in front of Zu An at almost the same time.

    The endless creatures watching the fight cursed them for being shameless. It was clearly a battle to be the sovereign of the underworld, and yet these three were actually teaming up against a single person! Even if they won this way, how could they im to be the strongest?

    Within Tragedy City, a headless ghost was cursing the most bitterly of all. He almost looked as if he wanted to rush over and help.

    The soul next to himughed and chided him. ¡°Come on, your bit of cultivation can¡¯t even take on a single ghost skin over there.¡±

    ¡°They''re choosing the most powerful being in the underworld, and yet their actions don¡¯t carry the proper bearing of the strongest at all! Are you willing to let people like this be your big boss?¡±

    ¡°Even if we don¡¯t acknowledge it, what can we do? Cultivation isn¡¯t the only kind of power; wits are a sort of power as well. The fact that that youngster couldn''t promptly recruit allies and was surrounded means he''s stillcking in this aspect.¡±

    ...

    Simr conversations were taking ce in every corner of the underworld. Below the Bridge of Helplessness, a woman was clenching her hands nervously. It was hard for her to even keep watching the broadcast in the air. She could only mutter to herself, ¡°Ah Zu, you must win!¡± N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Just then, shouts of rm suddenly filled the air around her. She quickly looked up. Shocking developments had taken ce in the arena!

    Zu An¡¯s expression turned cold. ¡°You may have used the power of your respective Hells, but have you forgotten which region I became the king of?!¡±

    As soon as he spoke, streaks of sword energy appeared behind him. The Rune Weapon Chart and Blue Luan Sword Formation joined together. However, the sword energy contained within this time was extremely special. The swords were no longer just projections; instead, they released a reddish-yellow glimmer. Every single sword seemed to contain the power of a divine weapon.

    Just a second before, the three opponents had been feelingconfident, but now, their eyes narrowed rapidly. They all cried out, ¡°Naihe Oblivion River! It¡¯s the river water!¡±

    In order to sh with the sword energy formed from Naihe Oblivion River water, the three individuals released all manner of techniques. The sword energy seemed to shatter as soon as they made contact, but they didn¡¯t feel happy about that at all.

    That was because the swords turned into endless droplets, and every single droplet became a sword!

    Every single drop of Naihe Oblivion Water had the power to wash away the essence of all living things. The malicious ghost skins began screaming in panic, but when they made contact with the water droplets, their expressions immediately turned nk and fell to the ground. Afterward, struggling figures emerged from the ghost skins and were sucked into the nearby Naihe Oblivion River.

    The ghosts that had been valiantly and vigorously intending to rip the enemy to shreds immediately screamed for their lives as they fled. Even though being soaked in the sea of blood was painful, for better or for worse, they would still be able to maintain their awareness. After ages passed and their wrongdoings were cleansed, they would at least have the chance to be reincarnated. But if they fell into that river, they would forever be idiot water ghosts. At that point, everything would be over.

    Unfortunately, the rain covered everything!

    When the Naihe Oblivion water dropletsnded in the sea of blood, the powerful sea immediately became turbid. The entire thing was clearly being transformed into Naihe Oblivion Water.

    <i>If you can¡¯t beat ¡®em, join ¡®em!</i>

    No matter how much of the blood sea there was, it all became Naihe Oblivion Water in the end. The three opponents¡¯ skills were annihted, and the water continued to attack them.

    The Dragon King cursed, ¡°Fiend Emperor, you motherf*cker! Are you trying to help the enemy with your damned skill?!¡±

    Thete Fiend Emperor¡¯s expression waspletely grim too. ¡°Screw you! What right do you have to criticize me? If it wasn¡¯t for your Crown of the Ocean Deity, would he be able to control this damn river?!¡±

    The Dragon King was stunned. ¡°That¡¯s impossible... The Crown of the Ocean Deity shouldn¡¯t be able to do such a thing. How can the Naihe Oblivion River be controlled so easily?¡±

    The Crown of the Ocean Deity had been in his possession for a long time, so he naturally knew that the ability of the crown definitely couldn''t control the Naihe Oblivion River.

    However, the three of them couldn''t be bothered with figuring out that question. They could only do their best, using all of their skills to protect themselves against the endless Naihe Oblivion River water droplets. After being in the underworld for all this time, they naturally knew that making contact with even a single drop of water would contaminate their very souls, turning them into water ghosts.

    Unfortunately, the water could corrode anything. Oneyer after another, their defenses were melted.

    The Dragon King was the first to give in, pleading, ¡°Brother Zu, I was wrong! I won¡¯t argue about you and Hongyu anymore! My voice was a bit too loud before, but Ipletely acknowledge you now. You are the one who ought to be the lord of the underworld!¡±

 Chapter 2203: Crushing Their Hopes and Dreams

    <h4>Chapter 2203: Crushing Their Hopes and Dreams</h4>

    Even the prospect of winning the authority of the underworld was nothingpared to the terrifying fate of being trapped in the Naihe Oblivion River forever.

    Zu An sighed. ¡°I gave you a chance before, but you actually ignored the Ocean races out of selfish interests, and you also ignored the fate of the entire world.¡±

    When he sensed that a Naihe Oblivion droplet was just an inch from him, the Dragon King really started to panic. ¡°Please let me go out of respect for Hongyu! I can personally tell her to properly serve you in the future!¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face darkened. The water droplet shot straight through the Dragon King¡¯s forehead.

    The Dragon King¡¯s expression became nk, and his body copsed, being devoured by the river. At first, he seemed to snap out of his daze and struggled briefly, but soon after, his body stiffened. Then, hepletely turned into a numbed water ghost of the river.

    Zu An remarked coldly, ¡°If you can even sell out your own wife, who would still choose to trust you?¡±

    When he saw Zu An walk toward him, thete Fiend Emperor gritted his teeth. ¡°Did you think I would beg just like the Dragon King did?¡±

    He understood the grudge they shared. There was no way Zu An would let him go. If he were in Zu An''s position, there was no way he would do that either. Why bother acting weak before his death then?

    Zu An nodded slightly. ¡°As expected of the Fiend Emperor. You still retain the dignity of an emperor even in this kind of situation.¡±

    As he watched theyers of defenses around him melt away bit by bit, and the river water came within half a foot of him, thete Fiend Emperor realized that this time, there was no way of making aeback. However, he wasn¡¯t willing to die just like this and had to get back at Zu An somehow. He eximed, ¡°Do you think you¡¯re really all that amazing for taking advantage of the Second Empress? I can now tell you that the Second Empress has an innate Sacred Widow Body. She is cursed by the world. Anyone who bes her husband will die tragically in the end. Back then, I refused to believe in such supernatural things, but I only ended up proving that curse. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll soon follow after me.¡±

    Thete Fiend Emperor had a huge smile. When he thought about how Zu An could only be proud of himself temporarily, and was doomed to follow in his footsteps soon, he immediately felt relieved.

    Zu An replied with a strange expression, ¡°The Second Empress mentioned this to me before, so she suggested that we not get married, and for us to just remain as lovers. That way, the curse won¡¯t affect me.¡±

    Thete Fiend Emperor¡¯s eyes immediately widened; he was dumbstruck.

    ¡°Screw yoooou!¡± He was nowpletely ruined.

    <i>This bastard is too despicable! It¡¯s not enough for him to kill his enemies, he even crushes their hopes and dreams!</i>

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled thete Fiend Emperor for +1024 +1024 +1024...</strong>

    He was filled with despair and couldn''t keep up the defenses around himself anymore. Shortly after, he was swallowed up by the endless Naihe Oblivion sword energy, and his soul sank into the reddish yellow water.

    Zu An walked up to Zhao Han, who was struggling bitterly too.

    After seeing both the Dragon King and thete Fiend Emperor die one after another, Zhao Han felt his body gopletely cold. He sighed. ¡°Are you the bane of my existence? Whether it''s in the human world or in the underworld, all of the ns I carefully set up only ever ended up helping you. I only regret that I didn¡¯t put an end to your evil on our first meeting!¡± n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Zhao Han for +999 +999 +999...</strong>

    He practically hissed those words through gritted teeth.

    Zu An remainedpletely calm and said, ¡°This is still the reality of the situation. Aren¡¯t your majesty¡¯s words a bitughable?¡±

    Zhao Han gradually calmed down. ¡°You¡¯re right, a loss is a loss. Why bother speaking such pointless words?¡±

    Then, he said, ¡°There is just one thing I am confused about. Just how did you be so strong? Even if you could really control the Naihe Oblivion River, you shouldn¡¯t be able to have such overwhelming power.¡±

    Just then, the shower of sword ki had covered almost everything. Its terrifying power was even more dazzling than the resplendent sword he had faced in the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons.

    Zu An chuckled. He looked at the towering Yin Mountain and replied, ¡°Who said I could only use the power of the Naihe Oblivion River?¡±

    <i>As expected of the Necropolis Emperor being my good friend. Even though he said that it waspletely fair, he chose to hold the finalpetition between the Yin Mountain and the Naihe Oblivion River.</i>

    When Zhao Han followed his gaze, he finally realized something. If one were to talk about mountains, how could the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons¡¯ mountains possiblypare to the underworld¡¯s Yin Mountain? This mystical mountain could very well hold the mightiest dragon veins in the world.

    Zu An moved closer to Zhao Han¡¯s ear and said in a voice that only the two of them could hear, ¡°Your (please fill in the nk yourself) is so good!¡±[ref]The ''fill in the nk'' part is directly tranted from the raw.[ref]

    The grudge between the two of them was far greater than what Zu An had shared with thete Fiend Emperor. He naturally wouldn¡¯t let Zhao Han pass on that happily.

    Zhao Han¡¯s breathing immediately quickened, and his face turned entirely red. Then, his entire body began to quickly expand.

    The only reason why he had been saying so much to Zu An was so that he could close the distance, then detonate his own soul to take Zu An down with him. Once he heard those words, how could he still hold back?!

    Unfortunately, Zu An seemed to have anticipated that. Suddenly, a ck hole pressed down on the top of Zhao Han''s head. His swelling body suddenly seemed to spring a leak. All his energy rushed straight into the ck hole until he gradually shriveled up.

    ¡°Noooo!¡± Zhao Han screamed in despair. Not only had his final attack failed to injure his nemesis, all of his cultivation had eveb ended up being nourishment for Zu An! Was there anything else in this world that could be more despair-inducing?

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Zhao Han for +1024 +1024 +1024...</strong>

    When Zhao Han was nothing but an empty shell, Zu An tossed him into the Naihe Oblivion River. His soulpletely turned into an ordinary water ghost that could never break free.

    ...

    After the three were dealt with, the entire underworld began to stir.

    This was what a proper sovereign was supposed to look like! All that scheming, allying, and collusion wasn¡¯t worth anything! The ruler of the underworld had to be the strongest, someone who could one-sidedly crush all their opponents!

    Zu An looked up at at the floating Netherworld Book of Life and Death. He flew straight over and grabbed it. In that instant, a trace of light flickered from the book, and his surroundings also flowed with light.

    The underworld was normally mostly ck and white with only a few traces of color, such as the reddish-yellow Naihe Oblivion water and the red spider lilies. But right now, Zu An¡¯s surroundings were bright and colorful. All of the creatures in the underworld manor were excited. Just how many years had it been since they saw such rich colors?!

    All of the departed spirits realizedsomething. In the future, this was going to be the ruler of the underworld, their new emperor! As such, they couldn''t help but bow down respectfully.

    Zu An closed his eyes. He could somehow sense the endless souls offering him their respect. The instant he came into contact with the Netherworld Book of Life and Death, a sh of understanding had appeared within him.

    The book represented the underworld¡¯s highest authority. The one who held it could rule over everything in the underworld. As long as he willed it, he could understand what was happening in every corner of the underworld. He could appear in any ce in the underworld, too.

    At the same time, the lives and ascensions of every single soul fell within his grasp. Souls couldn''t die, because if they died, they would only return to the underworld. After a long period of slumber, or after paying a certain price, they could be revived. But as long as he wished, he could make those soulspletely disappear from the world, eradicating them in the truest sense. They would no longer be able to enter the cycle of reincarnation. Apart from death, he could also set them free, saving the tormented souls in Hell and sending them to be reincarnated. He could also decide whether they''d be reincarnated in the higher three or lower three paths.

    Of course, those weren¡¯t things he could do without limit. He needed to use the corresponding amount of virtue. The more difficult something was, the higher the cost would be. Naturally, there were also some special ghosts who had toply with the fundamentalws that existed in the underworld. He couldn''t alter those at will either.

    After all, the virtue system was the foundation of the entire operation of the underworld¡¯s six paths of reincarnation. If hepletely destroyed all of that, the entire underworld¡¯s foundation would be rocked.

    Zu An frowned. He wanted to see just how much virtue he had. Soon, a line of numbers appeared in front of him.

    The number of zeros left himpletely stunned. When he counted them, he discovered that the amount was actually ten billion!

 Chapter 2204: New Secret Manual

    <h4>Chapter 2204: New Secret Manual</h4>

    Zu An was a bit confused. He''d thought that he would only have the six hundred thousand from sending all of those people over the river earlier, and was surprised to find out how much he actually had.

    Mi Li spoke in his mind just then. ¡°Did you forget how many times you saved the world? Not only did you prevent the massacre of countless millions of living beings, you also prevented the world from falling into the hands of the alien monsters. That''s where most of your virtue came from. There''s also another portion of virtue that was given by that individual. Now that you''re the underworld emperor, if you didn¡¯t have any virtue to use that book with, that would really be quiteughable.¡±

    Zu An immediately became happy. ¡°Big sis empress, you woke up?¡±

    ¡°Shush, every single word and action you make is currently being watched by millions of departed spirits,¡± Mi Li reminded him.

    ¡°That¡¯s a simple enough matter to take care of.¡± With a thought, Zu An ended the ¡®live stream¡¯. He felt as if he could control everything in the underworld right now.

    When they saw the projection in the sky disappear, millions of souls sighed, feeling as if they wanted to continue. The headless ghost in Tragedy City muttered to himself, ¡°Brother Zu really is amazing. Sigh, he¡¯s nothing like me, who turned into a headless ghost...¡±

    The woman under the Bridge of Helplessness bit her lip. Several times, she''d felt the urge to seek out the person on the disy, but divine light had flickered around her and prevented her from leaving every time.

    ...

    Meanwhile, Mi Li replied to Zu An, ¡°How could I keep sleeping after you experienced something so big? It¡¯s just that it wasn¡¯t too convenient for me to go out earlier.¡±

    Zu An was startled. He began, ¡°Are you worried about the Necro...¡±

    Mi Li hurriedly stopped him. ¡°Watch what you say. You¡¯re not in that special space anymore and don¡¯t have any protection. If you mention any beings that are too strong, you¡¯ll bring a disaster upon yourself.¡±

    Zu An was getting a bit annoyed. ¡°I¡¯ve already be the underworld emperor, and yet I still can¡¯t talk about those names?¡±

    Mi Li exined, ¡°To a certain degree, your current status is a bit... disjointed. Your position is extremely high, but your strength hasn''t grown at a simr rate. Of course, you don¡¯t need to worry. You¡¯ve be the underworld emperor, and once the source of this world grows bigger, you can also go to other worlds. With your aptitude, you should be able to grow rapidly.¡±

    Zu An nodded. Indeed, he didn¡¯t feel the suppression of the world¡¯s source anymore. His cultivation was currently growing rapidly.

    ¡°Right, I seem to have sensed that this underworld¡¯s world is a bit...¡± Zu An thought for a bit, and then he found the words. ¡°...a bit iplete. It¡¯s almost as if this world is iplete.¡±

    Mi Li nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. There are other underworlds across the realms. If you merge those world fragments, not only can you make the entire underworld moreplete, it will also increase your strength as well.¡±

    Zu An asked, ¡°Do those worlds have other underworld emperors?¡±

    Mi Li shook her head. ¡°They don¡¯t. You¡¯ve obtained the Netherworld Book of Life and Death, so you''re the sole sovereign of the underworld. Of course, that doesn¡¯t mean that there aren¡¯t other underworld deities.¡±

    Zu An nodded. He had more or less sensed that this world was actually severely damaged. It didn¡¯t have the five ghost emperors, the ten Kings of Hell, the Underworld Judge, or even the ck and White Guards of Impermanence. What he had seen before was only an illusion in the Necropolis Emperor¡¯s trial. Those probably belonged to theplete underworld of a certain moment in time many, many years ago. When he recalled the pair of White and ck Guards of Impermanence, Ox Head, and Horse Face whom he had gotten along with, who could very well have long since vanished into the great river of history, he couldn''t help but sigh.

    ¡°Wait, why do you even know about these things?¡± Zu An suddenly realized something.

    ¡°I know a lot of things. I also know that your Keyboard System obtained a new secret manual. Are you going to take it in?¡± Mi Li suddenly asked.

    Zu An was stunned. Then, he quickly examined himself. Sure enough, he saw the F8 key flickering. There was a message saying:

    <strong>New secret manual detected. Do you want to absorb it?</strong>

    Zu An was a bit stunned, asking, ¡°You even know about this?¡±

    Mi Li harrumphed. ¡°The two of us are bound by a soul contract. We live and die together. Is it really all that strange for me to know about these things?¡±

    Zu An was getting a bit frustrated. ¡°But you have so many secrets that I don¡¯t know about. I feel as if I¡¯m losing out here.¡±

    There was a bit of amusement in Mi Li¡¯s voice as she said, ¡°You¡¯ll know in the future.¡±

    Zu An looked at the flickering F8 key. He felt a bit hesitant. ¡°What if I end up losing this underworld authority when this Netherworld Book of Life and Death is absorbed by the keyboard?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, that won¡¯t affect your underworld authority,¡± Mi Li replied.

    Zu An asked, ¡°How do you know for sure?¡±

    ¡°I just do. Now it just depends on whether you trust me or not,¡± Mi Li said with a frown.

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°If my beautiful master said it, then of course I have to believe her.¡±

    ¡°Just say ''master''! Why are you adding ''beautiful''? Look at how cheeky you''re being.¡± Even though Mi Li was scolding him, she sounded a bit proud; it was unclear whether that was because of the world ¡®beautiful¡¯ or ¡®master¡¯.

    ¡°Okay, beautiful master.¡± Zu An absorbed the manual as soon as he spoke. Soon after, the Netherworld Book of Life and Death turned into a stream of light and entered the F8 key. Only a small image of it remained on the key.

    At the same time, a voice came from the Keyboard System.

    <strong>New secret manual collected. New function unlocked: Skill System!</strong>

    <strong>From today forth, as long as you have encountered the object or being you wish to learn a skill from, you can use a certain amount of Rage points to immediately learn it.</strong>

    <strong>Please note: The required amount of Rage points corresponds to the skill¡¯s grade and quality. The stronger the skill, the higher the amount of Rage points needed. Some skills might need an astronomical amount of Rage points.</strong>

    <strong>Of course, if you already possess some lower-level versions of the skill or other necessary foundations, the required Rage points will decrease substantially.</strong>

    When he saw the system¡¯s message, Zu An''s breath quickened. This new system was pretty overpowered! He could actually learn new skills just froming into contact with them! After all, there were many skills that would require one to cultivate one''s entire life toprehend. If a system like this existed, wasn¡¯t it just a cheat? Even though he knew that it was limited by the Rage system, he wasn¡¯t too bothered. After all, there were no free lunches in this world. If he could learn some skills just from spending Rage points, that was still worth it. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Judging from how you¡¯re acting, it seems you¡¯ve received something good, right?¡± Mi Li asked.

    ¡°Our souls are connected, right? You should already know,¡± Zu An said in annoyance.

    Mi Li harrumphed. ¡°I¡¯m not monitoring every single thing about you every second. Earlier, I investigated a bit more because of how important that matter was. I normally don''t bother with your random affairs. Otherwise, if I had to watch you spend your time with your lovers, wouldn¡¯t I need to constantly scrub my eyeballs?¡±

    <i>This woman¡¯s tongue is getting sharper and sharper...</i>

    ¡°You¡¯re right, I¡¯ve gotten something pretty good.¡± Zu An was worried that she would sense what he had just thought and immediately said, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect this underworld trip to also take ces in an unknown region. That means I¡¯ve already collected six secret manuals. I wonder what will happen once I collect them all.¡±

    An ordinary person likely wouldn''t even be able to gather a single one in their entire lives, and yet he had managed to collect six in just a few years, which was practically unheard of. But Zu An still felt that it was too slow.

    <i>It seems I need to speed things up a bit from now on.</i>

    ¡°You¡¯ll naturally know when the timees. Since you¡¯re fine now, you should hurry and go back so that nothing ends up happening to your body. I¡¯m going back to continue my cultivation too.¡± Mi Li did some stretching, then returned to the bed she had carefully arranged.

    When he remembered that Shang Liuyu was still guarding him, Zu An also became a bit worried. After all, there were too many powerful beings in the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons. He wondered if Shang Liuyu was in danger. As for himself, he wasn¡¯t that worried. He had already be the underworld emperor, so even if he died, this was his territory to begin with. Of course, he still liked being alive better, and didn¡¯t want to continue as a mere soul.

    He owned the Netherworld Book of Life and Death and coulde and go from the underworld at will, so returning to the human world was easy enough. With just a thought, a vortex of light appeared in front of him. As long as he stepped through, he would return to the cliff inside the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons.

    Just as he raised his leg, however, he suddenly stopped in midair. He frowned.

    <i>Wait, did I forget about something?</i>

    For some reason, he suddenly felt a sense of unease, thinking that if he left now, he would miss out on something precious. His foot stopped in midair just like that. He began to recall everything that had just happened.

    With his current cultivation, this kind of feeling definitely wouldn''t be for no reason. There was definitely something he had forgotten. He began to retrace his steps starting from the arena and didn¡¯t let a single detail go.

    When he reached the moment before he had jumped off the cliff into the abyss, he suddenly thought of something. Back then, the Necropolis Emperor''s giant statue had said, ¡°There is someone who shares great karma with you tied to the Naihe Oblivion River.¡±

 Chapter 2205: Questioning of the Soul

    <h4>Chapter 2205: Questioning of the Soul</h4>

    Back then, the Necropolis Emperor hadn¡¯t given him too many details, so Zu An hadn''t paid it too much heed. After he became a Naihe Oblivion Ferryman, he''d wondered if the one he shared destiny with was Grandmother Meng. But earlier, after he did a rough scan of the entire underworld, he''d discovered that those deities in the underworld were all gone, including Grandmother Meng.

    If it wasn¡¯t Grandmother Meng, who was it?

    He didn¡¯t go to the Naihe Oblivion River; instead, he closed his eyes to think. The Netherworld Book of Life and Death was now one with him. He was now the underworld emperor. With just a single thought, all kinds of things in the underworld appeared in his mind.

    <i>Naihe Oblivion River...</i>

    A pair of eyes seemed to manifest and scan the entire river.

    Suddenly, when Zu An''s gazended on the Bridge of Helplessness, his entire body shook! In that instant, he vanished from the arena. A momentter, he reappeared next to the bridge. He had passed by the Bridge of Helplessness before, but that was just a time fragment and not the real Bridge of Helplessness of this world. As such, some things were still the same, but other swere different.

    The surging Naihe Oblivion River was full of howling water ghosts. The stone bridge that hadn¡¯t changed for countless years was still here. Cold winds surged and bloody waves overflowed. The sounds of howling and grief in the air were unending. Forget about a living being, even a departed spirit would shiver in fear here.

    However, Zu An turned a deaf ear to all that. Instead, he looked beneath the bridge and saw a woman there.

    Her figure was as graceful as a swaying willow, and her temperament was calm and cool. She sat atop a lotus seat on the Naihe Oblivion Water, deep in cultivation. Her eyes were closed. As her eyshes gently trembled, her beautiful and tranquil face seemed to be entirely different from the sinister and warped souls around her.

    Zu An¡¯s heart began beating incredibly quickly; this was Chuyan, whom he had dreamed about day and night! All of the blood in his body almost turned cold. He understood the Naihe Oblivion River better than anyone else. Even the most powerful creature would have all of their memories washed away and be turned into an idiot. Then, they would end up as a water ghost. Thus, he didn¡¯t dare to stall for even half a second. He parted the waters and moved to Chuyan¡¯s side.

    When she sensed the changes happening around her, the blue-d woman slowly opened her eyes. When she saw Zu An, she was stunned at first, but then a bit of emotion stirred on her originally calm expression. She couldn''t help but stand up from the lotus leaf and reach out to caress his face. However, she stopped in midair and looked at him from a short distance. She opened her mouth, and yet couldn''t say anything. There was only endless grief in her expression.

    Zu An could no longer hold himself back. He had endless things he wanted to say, but in the end, he could only say, ¡°Chuyan...¡±

    These two sybles were uttered in a shaking voice. He was really scared that she had lost her memories, that perhaps she had already became a water ghost just like Zhao Han and the others, scared that she...

    He didn¡¯t dare to think about anything else. The only thought in his mind was that he had to find a way to save her no matter what.

    The woman had a look of disbelief in her eyes as she said, ¡°Ah Zu...¡±

    Her voice was incredibly beautiful, and Zu An was shocked and happy to hear it. He couldn''t hold himself back anymore and hugged her firmly.

    Chu Chuyan was also incredibly moved. A warm smile appeared on her face as she hugged him back tightly.

    The two embraced each other just like that without saying anything. Only the strength their slightly pale arms exerted showed the strong emotions they felt. In contrast, Chuyan¡¯s hair was a beautiful ck, unlike the Snow Lady''s icy white hair. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    A whileter, Chu Chuyan said with a groan, ¡°Ah Zu, you¡¯re hurting me.¡±

    Zu An let her go with a big smile. ¡°Sorry, I was just way too excited.¡±

    Chu Chuyan looked straight at him with eyes as beautiful as a snowy mountain. Her expression was full of surprise. ¡°You... You can see me?¡±

    ¡°Of course I can see you,¡± Zu An began, then quickly realized what she was saying. ¡°Why would you say that?¡±

    Chu Chuyan gently bit her lip before exining, ¡°Crossing over the Bridge of Helplessness requires one to drink Grandmother Meng¡¯s soup and have all of one''s memories erased to enter the cycle of reincarnation. But I... I didn¡¯t want to forget about you, so I chose another path, which was to spend a thousand years beneath the Bridge of Helplessness. Yyou shouldn¡¯t be able to see me.¡±

    Even so, Zu An was now the underworld emperor. After investigating for a second, he immediately understood what she was saying.

    Normally, once people died and entered the underworld, if their goodness exceeded their evil, or they had experienced enough punishment in the Hells to clean away their wrongdoings, they could cross the Bridge of Helplessness and be reincarnated. Usually, that required one to drink Grandmother Meng¡¯s soup to wash away memories of their previous world. Once they reincarnated, they would be apletely different person; otherwise, the world of the living would be a huge mess.

    Of course, there were some who were so attached to their loved ones that they weren¡¯t willing to forget them. They thus refused to drink Grandmother Meng¡¯s soup.

    The underworld had sympathized with these people and prepared another path for them. That entailed spending a thousand years under the Bridge of Helplessness and enduring the corrosion of the Naihe Oblivion River day after day, experiencing lifetimes of endless loneliness. Because of their unique choice, the underworld¡¯sws could temporarily shield their minds from being immediately erased by the river; instead, it would slowly wear them down. As long as they could endure a thousand years, they could reincarnate with all of their memories of their past life.

    And yet, the cruel reality was that during those thousand years, their loved ones would likely have already reincarnated several times, crossing the Bridge of Helplessness each time. The lover beneath the bridge could only hope that their lover would also choose to not drink Grandmother Meng¡¯s soup and endure for a thousand years as well.

    On the other hand, they would still have to worry about their lover truly making that choice and being forced to endure a thousand years of torment. Furthermore, thews of the underworld made it so that only the one below the bridge could see the one above, but the one above couldn''t see them. They couldn''t meet with each other, so they couldn''t warn each other.

    Most people who chose to go beneath the bridge could only watch as their beloved decisively chose to drink Grandmother Meng''s soup to reincarnate, rather than holding on to their feelings. That choice showed that their beloved''s feelings weren''t as strong as their own.

    At first, the ones below the bridge would understand out of love, not wishing for their loved one to suffer like themselves. But as time went on and the endless years passed, and they thought about how they had to remain down here alone and endure this seemingly endless torment, they would start to question their own persistence, wondering whether their love truly carried any meaning. Once that love was shaken, their conviction would copse. Then, they wouldn¡¯t be able to resist the corrosion of the Naihe Oblivion Water and would ultimately be a resentful soul of the river, forever unable to be set free.

    As such, there was almost no one throughout history who had truly been able to endure for a thousand years.

    Zu An¡¯s heart trembled when he realized that. He immediately took Chu Chuyan into his arms and eximed, ¡°How could you be so foolish?!¡±

    Chu Chuyan smiled and said, ¡°Because I didn¡¯t want to forget about you, of course.¡±

    When he heard what she said, Zu An used even more strength. ¡°This was just too much of a risk! What if I couldn''t see you? Wouldn¡¯t you be forced to spend a thousand years all by yourself here?¡±

    "I''ve always enjoyed peace and quiet to begin with, so it wasn¡¯t too big of a deal. Besides, I was protected by the Pure World Icelotus, so there wasn¡¯t too much suffering,¡± Chu Chuyan replied.

    Only then did Zu An notice the lotus beneath her. It surrounded her, and indeed seemed to block the corrosion of the river.

    ¡°This Pure World Icelotus is quite extraordinary,¡± Zu An said in surprise. He understood fully well how powerful thews of the Naihe Oblivion River were, and yet this lotus was actually able to block them.

    Just then, he suddenly thought of something and continued, ¡°Right, didn¡¯t you ask why I could see you? Well, because of the river¡¯sws, other lovers can¡¯t meet, but I¡¯m different. I¡¯m now the underworld emperor and manage the entire underworld! Aren¡¯t I amazing?¡± He couldn''t help but be a bit proud as he said that, just like a young man showing off in front of a young woman.

    ¡°I know.¡± A strange look appeared on Chu Chuyan¡¯s face as she said, ¡°All of the departed spirits saw how you defeated the other three candidates. By the way, what does ¡®your wife is so good¡¯ mean?¡±

 Chapter 2206: Deja Vu

    Zu An was someone who had already gone through all kinds of experiences before. It wasn¡¯t easy to make him feel things like fear or panic. But in that instant, the seemingly casual question from this weak and delicate youngdy made him break out into a cold sweat. He was immediately put in a difficult position, saying, ¡°Uh, about that¡­. That was just something I said to piss off those sworn enemies of mine so they couldn''t think straight.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Chu Chuyan gave him an indifferent look, but she didn¡¯t expose his lie.

    Zu An wiped away the cold sweat on his forehead and quickly changed the topic. ¡°I¡¯m now already the lord of the underworld, and I can bring the departed spirits out from this ce. I¡¯ll save you right now¡­¡±

    He quickly tried to save Chu Chuyan and bring her out of the underworld. Even if he had to spend some virtue, so what? He had ten billion, so how could it not be enough¡­

    His expression suddenly froze. He discovered that he actually couldn''t save Chu Chuyan. When he obtained the Netherworld Book of Life and Death and became the ruler of the underworld, he had learned that he could grant life to most departed spirits, except for a few. And she was none other than one of those special exceptions! Right now, she was in a state between life and death, and she was also bound by the thousand-year contract of the Bridge of Helplessness. She couldn''t leave this ce at all.

    When she saw the rigid smile on his face, Chu Chuyan seemed to guess what he was thinking; she consoled him, saying, ¡°Ah Zu, my current condition is a bit special. My body has already disappeared, but I''m protected by the Pure World Icelotus. Only after a bit more time passes and I can condense a new body will I be able to return to life.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s voice trembled as he asked, ¡°How long are you talking about?¡±

    Chu Chuyan opened her mouth, but in the end, she didn¡¯t answer directly. ¡°It should be a bit longer than the time I need to stay under the Bridge of Helplessness.¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An felt his heart turn ice-cold. ording to thews of the Bridge of Helplessness, those who didn¡¯t drink Grandmother Meng¡¯s soup to wash away all of their memories had to stay under the Bridge of Helplessness for a thousand years. If it was even longer than a thousand years... He then remembered something else he had heard. Perhaps it would take over ten thousand years¡­When she saw how sad he became, Chu Chuyanforted him, saying, ¡°It¡¯s fine. You¡¯re now the underworld ruler, so you cane and see me often, right? I won¡¯t be so lonely then.¡±

    She actually sounded really happy. Before this, she had thought that she would have to spend thousands, perhaps even more than ten thousand years alone. No matter how much she enjoyed peace and quiet, it would still be lonely. Sometimes, she hadn''t been able to help but feel a bit of despair when she realized that in the future, she could end up being able to see Zu An but not talk to him, and that he wouldn¡¯t even be able to see her.

    But now that Zu An had be the underworld emperor and could keep herpany at any time, why wouldn¡¯t she feel happy?

    Zu An hugged her again. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I''ll definitely find a way to save you and bring you out ahead of time.¡±

    ¡°Okay, I believe in you.¡± A look of happiness appeared on Chu Chuyan¡¯s face as she spoke. She had personally watched her lover achieve far too many things that seemed entirely inconceivable at first. Now, he had even be the underworld emperor! Everything seemed like a dream.

    Zu An took her into his arms. When he felt her cold body, he suddenly had an urge to cherish her greatly. ¡°I went to White Jade Pce to look for you, but Yan¡­ Your master said that you went into the secret dungeon to cultivate, but you went missing inside. Did you end up going to another point in spacetime?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to even know about that,¡± Chu Chuyan said in surprise. ¡°That''s exactly what happened. Back then, I was cultivating in White Jade Sect¡¯s secret dungeon, when there was suddenly a disturbance on that stone at the mountaintop. The entire secret dungeon grew unstable. I wanted to see what was happening, but I was sucked inside as soon as I approached that stone. When I came to, I was already in an unfamiliar ce and time, and I encountered some special circumstances.¡± She looked at Zu An and was about to say something further, but stopped.

    ¡°You can¡¯t talk about those things?¡± Zu An asked considerately.

    Chu Chuyan nodded and said, ¡°You need to experience many of those things yourself. If I speak of it, it''ll only harm you.¡±

    ¡°Then don¡¯t talk about it. You know what kind of guy I am! I¡¯ll probably get by just fine no matter where I end up.¡± Zu An massaged her slender waist. He didn¡¯t want to trouble her too much. Many times, knowing too much would only bring trouble, so it would be better if he just didn¡¯t know in the first ce!

    ¡°Okay.¡± Chu Chuyan leaned gently into his chest as she said, ¡°I actually felt a bit sad at first. You experienced a lot of things together with Manman and even the other women, and the two of us spent the shortest amount of time together, so I always felt a bit of regret over that. But I won¡¯t think about those things anymore. We experienced a lot of things together, far more than you can even imagine.¡±

    Zu An knew that she was likely talking about the events of that different point in spacetime. He didn¡¯t continue to ask about it out of consideration for her safety. Instead, he remarked, ¡°It seems you were the Snow Lady all along.¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Chu Chuyan felt happy as she said, ¡°Some things happened in that time period and I became the Snow Lady. I gradually forgot about many things, only recently regaining my memory. I didn¡¯t expect to reunite with you in that kind of situation. Unfortunately, we had to part again just after we met.¡±

    Zu An was ovee with pity. He couldn''t help but kiss her.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s body trembled. At first, she was still a bit rigid, but she gradually began to rx and gently responded to him. After a long time passed and their lips separated, there was a bit of a blush on her pale face. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect it to feel the same as when I was alive, even after I became a ghost.¡± A lot of the sensations were still there, and even stronger at that.

    ¡°The other souls might not be so lucky. Besides, you aren¡¯t a true soul since you¡¯re in a state between life and death. Even I don¡¯t really know what kind of condition you''re currently in,¡± Zu An exined. ¡°But since I''m now the underworld emperor, I still at least have some authority.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but move closer to kiss her again, but her fingers pressed lightly against his mouth to stop him.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Zu An asked in confusion.

    Chu Chuyan¡¯s expression seemed to be a bit strange. After some hesitation, she said, ¡°You and my master¡­¡±

    Zu An was rmed and quickly said with an embarrassed smile, ¡°There isn¡¯t much between us.¡±

    Chu Chuyan rolled her eyes. ¡°After I became the Snow Lady, many of my memories were sealed and damaged, but after all those things happened in the sealednd, I remembered who I was and many of my memories returned. If I wasn¡¯t mistaken, when I was the Snow Lady in the Great Snowy Mountains, I chased after you and my master, right?¡±

    Zu An was sweating buckets and said ¡°Uh, you were pretty fierce back then. Sigh, if I had known it was you, why would we even run?¡±

    ¡°You seemed to have used some forbidden skill that left you severely injured,¡± Chu Chuyan recalled.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I was still pretty and you were at the earth immortal rank. If I hadn¡¯t gone all out, I might not have been able to leave the Great Snowy Mountains,¡± Zu An said with a deep sigh.

    Chu Chuyan suddenly asked, ¡°How did you recover?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression immediately froze. ¡°Uh, you know that my skill is a bit special and my regenerative ability is pretty strong.¡±

    Chu Chuyan shook her head. ¡°I understood your condition back then well. You were already on the verge of death. Your normal recovery abilities wouldn¡¯t be able to treat those injuries at all.¡±

    ¡°I had some special medicines¡­¡± Zu An exined without much confidence.

    Chu Chuyan seemed to just watch his performance quietly. When she saw that he couldn''t continue the act, she said, ¡°In that kind of situation, perhaps only that special treatment method of your Primordial Origin Sutra could save you, right? Just like how you saved me in the past. But you need a woman to cooperate with you for that, and the only one at your side was my master.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    ¡°If I remember correctly, there seemed to be some special hot springs in the direction you went missing. Was that the ce where you were treated?¡± Chu Chuyan stared at Zu An with her beautiful eyes, as if she could see straight through his heart.

 Chapter 2207: Updating For Donator 60238806

    [1]Zu An opened his mouth, but he didn¡¯t know what to say.

    Chu Chuyan sighed. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to be a matchmaker between you and my master.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve let you down, Chuyan," Zu An replied. No amount of exnations would do anything in this kind of situation. He didn¡¯t want toe up with any more excuses to deceive her either.

    ¡°You really have let me down.¡± Chu Chuyan frowned. ¡°The two of you were already together since then, and yet you¡¯ve kept it from me all this time and pretended there was nothing at all. I was the only one kept in the dark. Is it that fun to have an affair? I didn¡¯t expect to be part of your game.¡±

    Zu An immediately panicked. ¡°Chuyan, you¡¯ve misunderstood! It¡¯s not like what you''re thinking! We weren¡¯t trying to make you the fool, it¡¯s just that there¡¯s no way to exin this kind of thing at all! And your master and I didn¡¯t have anything together. She always felt that she was letting you down and always pushed me away.¡±

    ¡°Tsk tsk tsk, look at how quickly you''re trying to speak for her. It seems like your feelings for each other are already really strong, hm?¡± Chu Chuyan replied with a coldugh. ¡°No wonder I always felt that my master was treating me a bit strangely. Even such a strict person as her kept avoiding eye contact with me, and she was particrly nice to me. So it was all out of guilt!¡±

    Zu An said dejectedly, ¡°I was indeed the one who was wrong here. Your master didn¡¯t have a choice.¡±

    He didn¡¯t know what Chuyan had experienced in that other point in spacetime, but her presence seemed to have be much stronger too.

    ¡°She had no choice?¡± Chu Chuyan cut him off coldly. ¡°I understand my master¡¯s personality the best. She was never nterested in men and always maintained three feet of distance from any man. If she really loathed you, would you even have a chance? Let alone the fact that you were already a hair¡¯s breadth from dying. Could you even force her to do a thing? She was definitely the one being proactive between the two of you!¡±¡°That¡¯s also just a freakbination of different factors¡­¡± Zu An was panicking. If her rtionship with her master ended up being ruined because of him, with Yan Xiuhen¡¯s self-critical nature, she could decide to stop living. Then, Chuyan would feel as if she had killed her master and be left with a lifetime of guilt, which she would never be able to leave behind¡­ That type of situation made him feel absolutely awful.

    ¡°Oh? Then please exin to me just how my master, who has always been as cold as ice and was called the frozen queen in the world of warriors, ended up giving up her own purity to help you? I want to hear everything in full detail. I know full well that if it was any other man, even if my master owed them a tremendous favor, she would absolutely still never choose to save them in the same way,¡± Chu Chuyan said with a frown.

    Helpless to do anything else, Zu An was forced to exin to Chuyan that Yan Xuehen had gone all the way to Cloudcenter Commandery to kill him for her sake. Then, they had been trapped in the ki stone mines and encountered all kinds of dangers and powerful beasts. They had relied on each other for survival. He also told her about all of the other things that had happened.

    When she heard about all of that, Chu Chuyan looked really jealous. ¡°So you guys already experienced so many things together! Am I your wife, or is she?!¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He sensibly chose to remain silent here. Anything he said would only add fuel to the fire.

    However, Chu Chuyan stared at Zu An and didn¡¯t say anything else. Zu An was a bit rmed and said, ¡°Chuyan, you can hit me or curse me, but please don¡¯t ignore me¡­¡±

    ¡°Give me your hand!¡± Chu Chuyan suddenly snapped coldly.

    Zu An didn¡¯t know what she was going to do and instinctively reached out his hand. Chu Chuyan suddenly grabbed his hand and bit down as hard as she could.

    ¡°Sss!¡± The sharp pain made Zu An suck in air between clenched teeth. He instinctively wanted to pull back his hand, but he quickly realized something and gave up on defending himself, letting her bite him.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    A whileter, Chu Chuyan let go. When she saw the deep mark and the bit of blooding out of his hand, she felt a bit of regret. But she quickly asked with a frown, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you protect yourself?¡±

    ¡°I was scared of hurting you,¡± Zu An replied. ¡°I know that you¡¯re really mad. Compared to the pain I¡¯ve brought you, what¡¯s the big deal with this bit of pain?¡± Then, he reached over with his other hand too.

    ¡°Hmph, who wants to bite on your pig trotters?¡± Chu Chuyan harrumphed and turned away.

    Zu An sighed in relief. He could clearly sense that her anger had subsided quite a bit.

    Chu Chuyan suddenly sighed deeply. ¡°You really are too good at making women like you. After what you told me, I don¡¯t even know how to get angry at you. No wonder even my master was done in by you! I wonder just how many ignorant youngdies you¡¯ve fooled with these tricks¡­ No, there are also all kinds of madams, like the Second Empress, the Mermaid Queen, the human empress¡­¡±

    Sweat poured down from Zu An¡¯s forehead.

    ¡°Tell me honestly, how many other women I don''t know about are there?¡± Chu Chuyan stared at him calmly. Her clear eyes carried a kind of tenderness that could shatter one¡¯s heart.

    ¡°Um, about that¡­¡± Zu An was now really panicking. He really didn¡¯t want to fool her, but he had just told her about Yan Xuehen. The current atmosphere was a bit off, so if he told her a bunch of other things too, even calling it a bloodbath would be putting it midlly. He was worried that he could really lose her forever.

    Chu Chuyan harrumphed and said, ¡°Forget it, I suddenly don¡¯t want to hear about any of that stuff anymore.¡±

    <em>I¡¯m not that generous. I might really not be able to take it if I hear about everything¡­</em>

    Zu An was full of guilt. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Chuyan.¡±

    Chu Chuyan shook her head. ¡°There¡¯s nothing to be sorry about. I should actually be thanking my master.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He looked at her in shock.

    ¡°Do you think I¡¯m being sarcastic?¡± Chu Chuyan suddenlyughed. Then, her ten slender fingers gently sped his face. ¡°If my master hadn''t saved you with that method in Great Snowy Mountain, I would have been the one who killed you. If I recovered my memories and learned that I had personally killed you, I might have really gone mad.¡±

    When he heard the fear in her trembling voice, Zu An felt extremely moved. ¡°Then why were you still so¡­ so scary just now?¡±

    ¡°If I hadn¡¯t done that, how would you have told me about your rtionship inplete detail?¡± Chu Chuyan winked. A cunning look appeared on her face.

    Zu An was speechless.

    <em>Why has my Chuyan, who was as pure as a white sheet of paper, seem to have be a bit of a schemer?</em>

    Chu Chuyan then said, ¡°By the way, don¡¯t tell her that I know about your rtionship when you get out. Hmph, I just want to see how she¡¯ll continue to pretend in front of me!¡± Her eyes were shining brightly as she spoke, as if she was really looking forward to that and found it really exciting.

    Zu An was a bit troubled. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ not too good, is it?¡±

    If Yan Xuehen found out that he had worked together with Chu Chuyan to fool her, another bloodbath could follow.

    Chu Chuyan rolled her eyes at him. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you feel that way when you worked together to keep it from me before?¡±

    Zu An was speechless. When he saw the resentment in her eyes, he sensibly chose not to refuse her.

    ¡°That¡¯s more like it.¡± Chu Chuyan smiled happily. Then, she suddenly cried out in rm. ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    ¡°I miss you.¡± Zu An hugged her tightly. He moved closer to her ear and began to kiss her gently.

    <em>She was the one who was menacing all this time, so it¡¯s now time for me to go on the offensive.</em>

    Chu Chuyan was embarrassed and panicked. ¡°I¡¯ve already died, you know?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not even a soul, you¡¯re between life and death,¡± Zu An said with a big smile. ¡°Even if you¡¯re a soul, it¡¯s not really a problem either. Did you forget who I am now?¡±

    Chu Chuyan blushed. ¡°You really are a scoundrel¡­¡±

    Zu An interrupted her and said domineeringly, ¡°I''m the big boss here now. There''s no one else I want to disrespect; the one I want is you.¡±

    At first, Chu Chuyan was still a bit embarrassed and instinctively struggled. But then, she heard her lover whisper by her ear, ¡°Chuyan, we¡¯ve already been apart for a long time¡­¡±

    She couldn''t help but feel stunned when she heard that. Even though they hadn¡¯t been apart for that long from this world¡¯s perspective, from her own perspective, she had entered the river of time and had even be the Snow Lady. It had already been far, far too long between the two of them. Andst time, she had even shattered into pieces and disappeared before his eyes, so that had probably affected him a lot.

    <em>He must have been trying to find a way to save me all this time.</em>

    When she thought of that, she felt endless tenderness. She also embraced him tightly.

    Zu An had already set up a restriction around them, so the water ghosts in the river wouldn¡¯t be able to watch what wasing.

    Both of them began to kiss each other intensely and embraced each other firmly, as if they each wanted to take the other into their own body. Then, they naturally joined together.

    Ever since he entered the underworld, Zu An had always seemed like an invincible and unstoppable divine sword. But no matter how strong he was, no matter how unmatched, he was still returned to the sheath in the end.

    Their bodies trembled greatly. They were now purely souls, so the experience waspletely different. It was a true merging of spiritual desire.

    Zu An kissed Chu Chuyan while sharing the bitterness of his yearning in the time they were apart.

    Chu Chuyan suddenly said, ¡°Hmph, you sound so romantic, but weren¡¯t you having a lot of fun with the Mermaid Queen all that time?¡±

    1. The author has been consistently updating after a slump in China, and so he titled this chapter after his sponsor. ?

 Chapter 2208: Old Friend

    <h4>Chapter 2208: Old Friend</h4>

    Zu An froze up.

    <i>Is this woman trying to overthrow the Big Dipper?!</i>

    As such, he increased the offensive to assert his dominance.

    Sure enough, Chu Chuyan was no match at all. She continued to moan and beg for mercy. But she knew that such pleas in the ears of men were no different from bugle horns signaling to attack.

    Soon after, she also started getting into it. She even daringly moved closer and bit on his ear, asking, ¡°Who is better, me or my master?¡± n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An¡¯s breathing immediately quickened.

    <i>This woman really shows an entirely different side sometimes!</i>

    He naturally wouldn¡¯t answer this question straightforwardly and court death. Instead, he replied with a big smile, ¡°If you want, we can call over big sis Yan and have apetition together.¡±

    ¡°Hah, keep dreaming! You¡¯re so annoying!¡± How could Chu Chuyanpare to him in shamelessness? She immediately couldn''t take it anymore.

    <i>Look at this guy. He got more worked up as soon as I mentioned master.</i>

    <i>Hmph, what master? I¡¯m going to have Xuehen serve me tea next time. I want to see just what kind of expression she has then...</i>

    ...

    After a long time had passed, Chu Chuyany in Zu An¡¯s arms. Her body trembled from time to time. There were still strong emotions in her expression. Her cheek was pressed up against Zu An¡¯s chest, her finger drawing circles gently on him. She felt really sweet and fulfilled inside. She had thought that she would need to spend an eternity here alone. How could she have known that she would still be able to experience such bliss...

    The two of them continued their romantic mumurings for a while, as if they had endless things to say. However, Chu Chuyan suddenly realized something and said, ¡°Ah Zu, your physical body is still outside, right? Hurry and go back so that nothing bad happens!¡±

    Even though she knew that he was the underworld emperor and that he could continue to stay here even if he died, she still wished for her lover to be safe and sound, and to continue living.

    Zu An knew that leaving his body outside was indeed dangerous, and that it would bring Shang Liuyu danger. He had just obtained the Netherworld Book of Life and Death and reunited with Chuyan too, so he definitely didn¡¯t want all of these happy things to be suddenly followed by tragedy.

    When he realized that, he didn¡¯t waste any more time. He put on his clothes and said goodbye to Chu Chuyan, saying, ¡°Then I¡¯m going first. Wait here for me, and I¡¯lle back once I¡¯ve finished all the busywork.¡±

    Even though he was in a soul form, things like clothes worked more or less the same way as they did for ordinary people. There were so many souls, and all of them still needed to remain dressed, after all.

    ¡°There¡¯s no rush.¡± Chu Chuyan gently helped him sort out his clothes. ¡°You can just visit me once a month. The Pure World Icelotus is quite special, and I need to sleep a lot to recover. If not for the broadcast of the struggle for the authority of the underworld, I might not even have woken up.¡±

    Then, a sweet smile appeared on her lips. ¡°It was also thanks to this that I was able to reunite with you.¡±

    Zu An gave the lotus beneath them a look. This Pure World Icelotus really was special; just a portion of its intent was already this powerful. If it were the real thing...

    But he didn¡¯t feelpletely at ease. After thinking about it, he set up a restriction around the Naihe Oblivion River to have the surrounding waters flow past Chuyan to either side. At the same time, the water ghosts wouldn¡¯t be able to disturb her anymore. It wasn''t too difficult; when Zu An was still a Naihe Oblivion River Ferryman, he had already been able to control the river, let alone now when he was the underworld emperor. He also set up a lot of protective restrictions to ensure Chu Chuyan¡¯s safety.

    He knew it would actually be fine even if he didn¡¯t do these things, since the river was the best defense in and of itself. Everyone stayed far away from it. But he still couldn''t feel at ease. After setting up everything, he reminded her, ¡°Chuyan, call for me if anything goes wrong. The entire underworld is now under my management, and I¡¯ve set up all kinds of protection for you. If you call for me, I''lle immediately.¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright. When did you be such a nag? Hurry and return to your body so nothing bad happens.¡± Chu Chuyan pushed him away, but she had a big smile on her face because she could sense how much her lover cared about her.

    ¡°Okay, then I¡¯m going first.¡± A vortex appeared in front of Zu An. He was about to leave, but he was still a bit worried. He scanned the underworld again to see if there was something else he had missed.

    Suddenly, his expression froze. After he bid Chuyan goodbye, his figure flickered and he appeared in another ce.

    ...

    Meanwhile, Tragedy City was a ce full of souls that had died tragically without anyone to care about them. They couldn''t reincarnate, nor did they have any money for traveling expenses. They were all hungry ghosts who were poor and alone.

    A particr headless ghost sat on a rock in a daze, holding his head in his hands.

    Several other souls ran over and said, ¡°Headless ghost,e and y ser with us.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not going!¡± The headless ghost coldly refused.

    ¡°Tsk, look at you not seeking out any bit of joy in Tragedy City. How are you even going to survive here? We¡¯re just trying to help you socialize,¡± the other souls said whileughing.

    The headless ghost harrumphed. ¡°I trusted you bastardsst time, but you all just ended up using my head as a ball to kick!¡±

    The souls roared withughter. They were about to say something else when they sensed something. They immediatelyy on the ground. Not a single one of them dared to raise their heads.

    That headless ghost also sensed a pressure aimed at the very soul. He also quickly kneeled down in fear. He didn¡¯t know who it was, but every single cell in his body was trembling.

    However, a pair of hands supported him and asked, ¡°Brother Gao, why are you here?¡±

    Then, the surroundings calmed down. The cold, roaring winds of Tragedy City were nowhere to be felt, nor were there any more ghostly wails. The powerful pressure also disappeared without a trace.

    When the ghost heard that familiar voice, he was immediately so moved that his eyes were brimming with hot tears. ¡°Brother Zu!¡±

    It turned out that this headless ghost was Gao Ying! He''d had his head chopped off in the chaotic battle of the capital, which was the very definition of a tragic death. Furthermore, because of what had happened to the Liu n, there was no one to clean up his corpse. When his identity was ascertained, he had thus been sent straight to Tragedy City.

    When he saw the tears pouring out of the head held by that body, Zu An reached out his hand. Gao Ying¡¯s head flew up andnded on his neck.

    ¡°It¡¯s useless. No matter what I do, it just won¡¯t stay... Huh?¡± Gao Ying had tried all kinds of ways to rece his head, but it would always fall off no matter what he did. It had been as if there was something invisible at his neck that prevented his head and body from reconnecting. But midway through his sentence, his eyes opened wide. He discovered that his head had actually reattached itself! Even though his neck had rejected his head at first, immediately after, there was another wave of even more powerful force that suppressed the rejection, and thus the two parts were sessfully attached.

    Zu An was now the underworld emperor and naturally understood thews of the underworld. Someone like Gao Ying who had been beheaded when he was alive would be subjected to naturalws by the underworld that prevented him from being able to connect it again. Until he was reincarnated, he could only continue to live as a headless ghost. But those weren¡¯t some especially strongws. With Zu An¡¯s current ability, it wasn¡¯t too hard to change that at all.

    With a wave of Zu An¡¯s hand, a table and chairs appeared. He poured some tea for Gao Ying while having him sit down and rest.

    Gao Ying was immediately overwhelmed by the favor. ¡°Brother Zu... No, you are now the underworld emperor. How should I...¡±

    He had been cheering for Zu An the entire time the fight was being broadcasted, so he naturally knew who Zu AN was now.

    Zu An said with a chidingugh, ¡°Brother Gao, we''re good friends in the world of the living, so how can you treat me as such a stranger now?¡±

    Gao Ying was also someone who didn¡¯t let these kinds of things bother him too much. When he recalled their past friendship, a smile gradually appeared on his face. ¡°You can¡¯t me me for that. As a soul, I carry a natural fear toward someone in your powerful position.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s just continue the way we were before. Unless you think I would think differently of you just because I became the underworld emperor? What kind of person would I be then?¡± Zu An continued in constion.

    ¡°I guess you¡¯re right. Brother Zu has always been full of righteousness. I was the one worrying too much for nothing.¡± Gao Ying gradually calmed down as well. He picked up his wine cup and drank it in one gulp. ¡°It has been so long since I¡¯ve tasted alcohol. The fact that I can even reunite with you again really is a joyous asion. It seems like the heavens are still treating me quite well.¡±

    Zu An poured another cup for him, and then he asked, ¡°Brother Gao, how did you end up like this?¡±

 Chapter 2209: Protection

    <h4>Chapter 2209: Protection</h4>

    ¡°It¡¯s a long story...¡± Gao Ying sighed. ¡°In the end, it¡¯s actually because I trusted Pei You too much.¡±

    ¡°Pei You?¡± Zu An repeated, stunned.

    <i>Could it be that he was harmed by Pei You? But how is this possible?</i>

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Gao Ying gritted his teeth and said, ¡°If it wasn¡¯t because I trusted that Pei bastard so much and attended that banquet without any vignce, I wouldn¡¯t have been ambushed. Control of the Imperial Pce wouldn¡¯t have been stolen so easily...¡±

    He then exined what happened that day in full detail.

    Zu An frowned as he listened. He hadn¡¯t expected those guys to already start something that big in just the short time he was away from the human side. Even though Gao Ying had died early and he didn¡¯t know much about the details, he was able to deduce who the main culprit was after just a bit of thinking. If he were to think about who had the motive and patience to do all of this in the capital, who else could it be but Bi Qi?

    But the Bi n alone likely wouldn''t have enough power to achieve all of this. They had likely allied with other powers, and as for who they were, he would have to go back and take a look. He wondered if Liu Ning and Linglong were in danger...

    Zu An gathered his thoughts and said seriously, ¡°I believe Pei You was also keptpletely in the dark. With his nature, he definitely wouldn¡¯t do something like sell out his friends.¡±

    Gao Ying sighed when he heard that. ¡°Actually, I also realized that was probably the case after my head cooled and I thought about it. But in the end, it was still the Pei n who schemed against me and I couldn''t swallow that resentment down. Later, he seemed to have found my body and burned a lot of paper money for me, but I didn¡¯t want anything from the Pei n, and so I threw it all away. That was how I ended up in Tragedy City.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>This guy really is stubborn. If he took the money and got the virtue, he might have been able to cross over and pass through the Mirror of Evil to reincarnate.</i>

    <i>Why did he need toe all the way to Tragedy City and experience all of this bitterness?</i>

    He quickly said with a smile, ¡°But I guess all of it was a blessing in disguise. It was because you were so stubborn that we could reunite here. I¡¯ll bring you back and see if I can save you.¡±

    ¡°Huh? I can still be reborn even in this current state?¡± Gao Ying was shocked and overjoyed.

    Zu An smiled. ¡°A normal person might not be able to do it, but did you forget who I am now?¡±

    ¡°Underworld emperor!¡± Gao Ying alsoughed.

    ¡°But you need to make some mental preparations too. The conditions to save you might be quite harsh and we might not be able to seed,¡± Zu An said seriously. He was a bit worried.

    <i>What if his body was alreadypletely destroyed...</i>

    ¡°That¡¯s only natural,¡± Gao Ying said seriously. ¡°I¡¯ve already ended up like this, so even just a bit of hope is already unexpected good news.¡±

    Zu An nodded. Then, he stored Gao Ying''s soul away for now.

    The Netherworld Book of Life and Death managed the various affairs of the underworld, so it could naturally store some souls too. Even though it had been taken into the keyboard¡¯s F8 key, that hadn¡¯t ended up affecting its function.

    Then, he opened up a path back into the world of the living through the Netherworld Book of Life and Death. A spatial vortex appeared in front of him. He was about to return to the world of the living when a voice spoke next to his ear, leaving himpletely stunned.

    ...

    Meanwhile, on the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons¡¯ cliff, Shang Liuyu was watching for any activity all around her vigntly. It was to the extent that she had hardly gotten any sleep out of fear that she wouldn¡¯t be able to notice anything because of a slight moment of carelessness.

    At first, she had constantly watched the mysterious giant statue vigntly. She had just felt that he was trying to draw her away, causing her to remain guarded. At the same time, she was a bit curious. This was a being that gave off such a terrifying pressure naturally, so why would he need to go through such tricks?

    But since she couldn''t figure it out, she''d decided to just stop thinking about it.

    Just like that, several days passed, and she discovered that the giant statue suddenly grew silent. No matter how she tried to test the waters and talk to it, there was no reply at all. Only then did Shang Liuyu feel a sense of deep loneliness.

    This Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons was the Dragon race¡¯s grave, so it was filled with strong yin energy. There was also the massive and terrifying ck whirlpool below. Even just a nce from a distance would make one feel as if one''s very wits were being sucked away. Furthermore, the cliffside was also extremelyrge, and yet she could only see darkness around her, as if she was standing at the very edge of the world.

    Shang Liuyu was someone who enjoyed a blue sky with white clouds more than anything. This kind of environment felt especially awful. Fortunately, she had her music to keep herpany. She gently yed the song Zu An had given her while examining his face from up close, which could still be considered a happy thing. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°No wonder big sis likes him. This guy is pretty handsome.¡± Shang Liuyu remembered his rtionship with her big sister. There was suddenly a bit of mncholy in her song. Even so, she still understood her current task fully well. She restricted the music to this region so she wouldn''t end up drawing mysterious enemies.

    She spent a long time there just like that. Just then, however, her expression suddenly changed. She stood up from Zu An¡¯s side and watched the other side of the cliff vigntly.

    ¡°Hmph, we¡¯ve finally arrived!¡± A loud and arrogantugh filled the air.

    The Bloodthirst Crocodile and Shadowhorror Devil appeared nearby. Both of them were in sorry states. The Bloodthirst Crocodile had not only lost its tail; it even seemed to be missing a hand too. The Shadowhorror Devil wasn¡¯t much better off. There was a gaping, bloody hole in its chest. Normally, with its earth immortal rank cultivation, it would be able to quickly recover from such injuries. But the bloody hole remained, which means that there was some chaotic energy wreaking havoc there. It couldn''t remove the energypletely, so its injury didn¡¯t improve. Their hair was disheveled and their clothes were in tatters, making them look like beggars.

    Shang Liuyu recognized those w marks. It was probably the terrifying reanimated monsters that had created these wounds.

    The two had many subordinates under them before, each one an elite, but now, there wasn¡¯t even a single one left. They had probably beenpletely wiped out by the reanimated monsters.

    ¡°Those monsters fear something in here and won¡¯te here, as expected.¡± The Shadowhorror Devil was really grateful for that fact.

    ¡°Damn it all! We¡¯ve really lost a lot on this trip.¡± The Bloodthirst Crocodile cursed.

    Then, their attention was quickly drawn to the giant ck abyss. ¡°What... Just what is that?¡±

    Even with all of the things they¡¯d seen and experienced, when they saw the incredibly dense deathly energy and the pitch-ck abyss below, they still felt their knees weaken and started to sweat out of nervousness. There was a kind of natural pressureing from this ce; the higher one¡¯s cultivation, the clearer one would feel that pressure.

    ¡°How despicable. That Skin-ying King definitely went down this way,¡± cursed the Bloodthirst Crocodile. He wanted to go down too, but the fear he felt toward the abyss prevented him from taking a single step.

    ¡°The death energy is so dense that it almost seems tangible. We probably won¡¯t be able to enter.¡± The Shadowhorror Devil stopped him, and then looked at Shang Liuyu. ¡°But this trip wasn¡¯t made entirely in vain.¡±

    When the Bloodthirst Crocodile saw Shang Liuyu and Zu An, his anger changed to happiness. ¡°That¡¯s right. The two of you really put us in a rough spot. It¡¯s time to properly repay that debt!¡±

    He was extremely depressed. Since they''d had four earth immortal rank beings with a huge army with them, he had thought that this mission was already in the bag. Even if the Skin-ying King was scheming something, they would still be able to overwhelm him through brute force.

    But how could they have anticipated that the Lord of Myriad Transformations was just Zu An acting as an impersonator? Ont top of that, there were so many terrifying monsters in the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons, so they were almostpletely wiped out there. Only by sacrificing thest of their subordinates had they been able to flee here. When they saw the main culprit, how could they not be angry?

    His eyes shifted to the silent Zu An as he spoke, and he eximed in shock, ¡°He¡¯s already dead?¡±

    The Shadowhorror Devil stared at Zu An. ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem like it. I can¡¯t sense the air of death from his body; instead, there''s actually a trace of life, as if he is feigning death. Hm? Could it be that it was through this death-feigning method that he was able to jump into the death abyss below?¡±

    Shang Liuyu started to feel a bit of admiration. Even though this was her enemy, his insight was indeed extraordinary.

    The Bloodthirst Crocodileughed loudly. ¡°That¡¯s even better. Otherwise, with his strength, it might have been a bit hard for us to win. We can use this chance to make sure that he¡¯s really dead.¡±

    The Shadowhorror Devil also smiled. ¡°That¡¯s right. We¡¯ll kill him first, and then we can use a simr method to look around this death abyss.¡±

    Shang Liuyu took a deep breath before eximing, ¡°Are you two pretending that I don¡¯t exist?¡±

    The two monsters exchanged a look, and then they roared withughter. ¡°Sorry, but whether you''re here or not really won¡¯t make much of a difference.¡±

    What level were the two of them on? If not for the world barrier¡¯s restriction, their cultivation ranks would be far above the earth immortal rank. But even earth immortal power was already more than enough to deal with this woman. She was only at the master rank at most. Any one of their subordinates would have been stronger than her.

    The Bloodthirst Crocodile¡¯s personality was the most fiery. Because he was missing his tail and a hand, he opened his terrifying mouth, saying, ¡°Then just leave the flesh of the strong for me to enjoy to nourish my body.¡±

    Even though he hated Zu An a lot, he had to admit that he was this world¡¯s strongest being. Eating his flesh could help him recover - and it could even nourish him beyond that.

    As for Shang Liuyu, her soft skin and tender flesh was definitely delectable.

    As soon as the crocodile spoke, it extended its massive bloody jaws to bite two of them, as if it was scared that the Shadowhorror Devil would fight with it over this food.

 Chapter 2210: Persistence and Despair

    <h4>Chapter 2210: Persistence and Despair</h4>

    <i>Boom!</i>

    A huge noise filled the air, immediately followed by a teeth-aching grinding sound.

    The Bloodthirst Crocodile screamed miserably and instantly returned to his humanoid form. He clutched his mouth, two bloody teeth appearing in his hand.

    Just then, in that instant, streaks of divine light had appeared at Shang Liuyu and Zu An¡¯s side as defensive formations lit up. The Bloodthirst Crocodile had ended up biting down straight on the formation, causing powerful light to flicker. Two teeth had been sted off as a result.

    The Shadowhorror Devil cursed the Bloodthirst Crocodile for being an idiot. With how calm she seemed, he had immediately realized that Shang Liuyu definitely had something backing up her confidence. Even if she didn¡¯t, that crafty and cunning bastard definitely did. How could he leave his fleshly body here without any protection at all?

    Only that idiot Bloodthirst Crocodile would rush over as if he was fighting over something good. But this wasn¡¯t a bad result either, since they could now see what Zu An''s trump card was. That wasn¡¯t all; the Bloodthirst Crocodile''s bite in his true form was incredibly strong, too. Even though two teeth had broken, the bite still shattered the outermost formation.

    The Shadowhorror Devil''s gazended on the Human Emperor Seal right above Zu An¡¯s head and he sneered. ¡°So he was borrowing the power of this divine weapon. No wonder the formation is so strong. But aren¡¯t you looking down on us a bit too much? Do you really think that trifling weapon can really stop us?¡± As soon as he spoke, countless figures appeared around him to attack the enemy.

    Shang Liuyu didn¡¯t dare to show any carelessness. She quickly used the formation¡¯s defenses to block the Shadowhorror Devil¡¯s attacks one by one. But after blocking so many attacks, the formation outside grew dim, and then itpletely shattered.

    She didn¡¯t panic, and manipted the formation disk again. Soon after, a new formation appeared.

    The Shadowhorror Devil¡¯s brows furrowed tightly. Even though he had just shattered one formation, he couldn''t bring himself to feel happy at all. It seemed he hadughed a bit too early. This woman¡¯s understanding of formations seemed to be greater than he had imagined!

    If it was just this woman controlling the formations alone, she would still be too weak. No amounts of tricks would be enough to make up for the difference in their strength. Or if it was just the Human Emperor Seal maintaining the formation, it wouldn¡¯t be hard to deal with either. After all, it would just be a dead formation. There would be too many areas to exploit. But when the two sides worked in tandem, the effect was far greater than the sum of its parts.

    The Shadowhorror Devil began to admire Zu An more and more. These weren¡¯t techniques this woman could think of alone; Zu An had actually been able to teach in line with her ability and achieve this result in such a short amount of time.

    The Bloodthirst Crocodile snapped out of his daze. He charged angrily and shattered the nextyer of the formation together with the Shadowhorror Devil.

    ¡°This is too slow.¡± The Shadowhorror Devil examined the changes in the formation and said seriously, ¡°I can tell from a rough estimation that there are still dozens of formations left here. At this rate, that guy might already be on his way back by the time we finish.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, it is a bit tricky.¡± The Bloodthirst Crocodile grimaced in pain.

    If they were beyond the borders this world, they naturally wouldn¡¯t fear Zu An, but their strength was restricted by this world, so they did feel some apprehension. After all, the War Priest and so many experts in the sealednd had fallen to his hand. Just a random setup here could even deflect theirbined attacks. If he was allowed to regain consciousness, what would happen after?

    ¡°We can¡¯t hold back anymore. Bring out your strongest skills so we can get this done in the shortest time possible,¡± the Shadowhorror Devil said.

    Just then, a bell appeared in his hand. With a gentle shake, the surrounding space seemed to distort. Visible sound waves appeared in the formations. The outermost three formations seemed to resonate with the sound and instantly shattered.

    Shang Liuyu was horrified. She was proficient in thews of sound herself, so how could she not recognize the bell''s power?

    Dealing with sound waves was normally easy enough, since one could release the opposite frequencies to neutralize them. Unfortunately, the difference in cultivation was too great, and the powering from the bell didn¡¯t seem to be much weaker than the Human Emperor Seal. Her own weapon couldn''tpare at all.

    That wasn¡¯t all. Even while inside the formation, she could hear the bell tolls. All of the blood in her body seemed to freeze up, making her feel endless dread. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Still, she quickly reacted. Her fingers gently moved across the formation disk, and a sound-blocking barrier manifested. Her surroundings immediately became quiet. Only then did she discover that her back was drenched.

    <i>That was probably the Shadowhorror Devil¡¯s special ability.</i>

    If she waspletely overwhelmed by fear, he would be able to move straight into her shadow and ignore the formation.

    The Shadowhorror Devil cried out inwardly in regret.

    <i>This woman¡¯s cultivation might not be high, but her talent is extraordinary and she reacts quickly. If this were a different time and ce, I might¡¯ve even taken her in as my disciple.</i>

    The Bloodthirst Crocodile roared withughter. ¡°Just watch me.¡±

    He took out an enormous pair of crocodile-tooth shears and snipped in the direction of the flickering formation. With loud cracking noises, two formations were immediately cut through.

    Shang Liuyu was rmed. The giant shears seemed to be some kind of extraordinary demonic weapon. If things continued at this rate, even the dozens of formations Ah Zu had left behind wouldn¡¯tst that long at all!

    The Bloodthirst Crocodile cursed, ¡°Damn! If I weren''t missing an arm, I would¡¯ve definitely broken through more formations than you!¡±

    The Shadowhorror Devil said in annoyance, ¡°Hmph, do you even recognize what kind of situation we''re in? And yet you¡¯re still bickering over something like that. Hurry up and focus on breaking more of these formations so we can kill that Zu bastard. I have a feeling that he¡¯ll be back soon. Things will be really bad for us then.¡±

    He wasn¡¯t trying to praise Zu An on purpose; rather, it was that Zu An had really brought their monster worlds much shocking news. Countless experts had died at his hands, and they had just experienced a bitter battle themselves and weren''t in peak condition. They couldn''t help but feel a bitcking in confidence.

    ¡°Agreed!¡± Even though the Bloodthirst Crocodile wasn¡¯t that smart, he knew how important this was right now. He screamed while brandishing the shears against the formation.

    Even though Shang Liuyu used everything she had learned and was already using her wits to the fullest extent to use all kinds of formations, she was facing off against two individuals at the peak of the earth immortal rank, both of whom had weapons that weren¡¯t any weaker than the Human Emperor Seal. How could she be a match for that? She could only watch as the formations shattered one by one under their joint attacks, and all she could do was slow down the rate at which they broke. She started feeling more and more anxious, and prayed that Zu An would return sooner.

    After three days passed, Shang Liuyu only had onest formation left.

    The Bloodthirst Crocodile rubbed his sore wrist andined, ¡°Why is this woman this strong?¡± He was even starting to feel admiration for her. She had managed to use the formations in ingeniousbinations with her pitiful cultivation, slowing their attacks for so many days.

    The Shadowhorror Devil couldn''t help but say, ¡°We have fifteen minutes left at most before we can break this final formation. Miss Shang, your wits have earned our respect. We promise you that as long as you surrender to us, not only will we not kill you, we¡¯ll even take you in as a disciple. In the future, you''ll be high above others even in the monster world. There''s no reason for us to carry out this kind of life and death struggle.¡±

    He was also starting to panic. Even though they were going to break through the final barrier soon, they had used up way too much time. That Zu bastard could just show up at the final moment, which would end up ruining everything. At first, it had just been a bit of worry, but he was now starting to feel a bit scared.

    He knew that even though Shang Liuyu was of crucial importance, these miraculous formations had been left behind by Zu An. The formations had be harder and harder to break through toward the end, making each subsequent one take longer. If even the formations he had left behind were this strong, what if their creator appeared?

    Shang Liuyu clenched her teeth and said with a sneer, ¡°I¡¯ve already heard simr attempts at recruitment so many times. Did you really think I would agree?¡±

    Her face waspletely pale. She had already practically exhausted everything she had over thest few days. But against the attacks of two at the very peak of the earth immortal rank, how could she afford to be distracted for even a second? She had almostpletely drained herself to maintain the operation of the formations. The only reason she didn¡¯t fall down on the spot was because she was hanging on through sheer willpower.

    ¡°I''ll definitely hold on until hees back!¡± Shang Liuyu eximed, biting her lip until blood came out to remain clear-headed.

    ¡°Hmph, how pigheaded. Do you not believe me when I say that I¡¯ll ruin you first before killing you? No, once I finish, I¡¯ll hand you over to the monster army and let them all have a turn with you each. You¡¯ll really know what it means to wish you were dead then.¡± The Bloodthirst Crocodile was nowpletely furious. They had actually been stopped by this woman for so long! How ridiculous!

    ¡°You¡¯re shameless!¡± Shang Liuyu¡¯s entire body trembled when she imagined that situation, but she still had more pressing concerns. The only thing she could do was to stall for time at all costs so Zu An could have a chance toe back.

    A whileter, the final formation began to be covered in cracks. Shang Liuyu finally fell into despair, as Ah Zu still hadn¡¯t been able to return.

    <i>There¡¯s already no time left...</i>

 Chapter 2211: Witch

    <h4>Chapter 2211: Witch</h4>

    She had already tried all kinds of methods, even calling out to the mysterious statue for help. Since it had imed to be Zu An¡¯s old friend, it wouldn¡¯t just watch as he died, right?

    At first, the Bloodthirst Crocodile and Shadowhorror Devil were a bit scared. After all, a being like that definitely wouldn''t be weak. The strange reanimated statues had already made them suffer quite a bit, but now, it seemed like Shang Liuyu was calling out to a certain unparalleled being!

    However, Shang Liuyu¡¯s cry didn¡¯t receive any response. The mysterious giant statue waspletely silent, as if it had already died.

    The Bloodthirst Crocodile and Shadowhorror Devil thought she had just been bluffing and became furious. Their attacks became even more ferocious.

    Shang Liuyu threw away the badly damaged formation disk. Nothing else she could do with it would be of any meaning. She gently caressed Zu An¡¯s face, saying, ¡°Ah Zu, I¡¯m sorry. I wasn¡¯t able to protect you.¡±

    She didn¡¯t even have the strength to cry. There was only one thought left in her mind, which was that she had to jump into the abyss together with Zu An so she wouldn¡¯t end up being humiliated at the two monsters¡¯ hands. She had beenpletely focused on resisting the two monsters¡¯ attacks and didn¡¯t have the spare energy to consider anything else.

    At thest moment, however, she gently removed the ne Zu An had given to her, with all her hopes having turned to dust. She didn¡¯t think there was anything that could really turn things around. After all, there were two peak earth immortals on the other side and they had demonic weapons that weren¡¯t inferior to deity-grade artifacts. Even if the pendant was a divine artifact, it was still probably useless. Besides, she was also knowledgeable. She had never heard of there being a pendant-shaped divine weapon before.

    Just then, a mist came out of the pendant, and azy voice called out, ¡°Which seductive vixen is disturbing my rest?¡±

    Shang Liuyu was stunned. It was the voice of a woman, and it was a really nice one at that.

    <i>Wait, what does she mean by ¡®seductive vixen¡¯?</i>

    Just then, a beautiful woman appeared in front of Shang Liuyu. When she saw how Shang Liuyu was holding Zu An¡¯s hand, her expression immediately became a bit strange.

    <i>This woman¡¯s temperament is like an orchid in a lone valley, as if she''spletely detached from the secr world. She¡¯s now weak and pitiful, so calling her a seductive vixen isn¡¯t quite suitable. How annoying! That guy Zu An only has exceptional women like this around him, leaving me no sense of security at all!</i>

    While she was sizing up Shang Liuyu, Shang Liuyu was also examining her.

    <i>The symbol of beauty and status!</i>

    For some reason, those words appeared in Shang Liuyu¡¯s mind.

    <i>This woman¡¯s chest is so big, and her legs are so beautiful. She wears silk stockings just like Principal Jiang, but why is one ck and one white?</i>

    ¡°Who are you?¡± the two both said at the same time.

    Just then, there was a crack as the final formation was broken through. Jing Teng eximed, with a frown, ¡°Ah Zu died? No, it looks like he¡¯s feigning death. Could it be that his soul entered the ghost realm?¡±

    The two Jing Tengs were twins. The younger sister had previously served as the Ghost King of a certain yin and yang world and was especially familiar with these kinds of things. She could immediately recognize Zu An¡¯s current condition. When the two then saw the two revolting monsters attacking the barrier viciously, they could already guess the current situation without Shang Liuyu exining anything.

    ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about other stuff for now. Let¡¯s fend off these enemies first,¡± Jing Teng said with a cold snort.

    Shang Liuyu blinked nkly.

    <i>This woman is so cool. I can¡¯t help but feel a mysterious sense of security. Is she also Zu An¡¯s woman?</i>

    <i>But why can¡¯t I sense the aura of a human from her? I have no idea what kind of race she''s from.</i>

    <i>And why was she in that pendant? Doesn''t that mean she knows about everything that happened between Zu An and big sis? Ahhhh! That guy really is a pervert!</i>

    This woman could have been right there watching from the side when her big sister was being intimate with Zu An! Even though she wasn¡¯t the one who had been engaging in that kind of activity with Zu An herself, she still felt embarrassed for her older sister.

    <i>It¡¯s all Zu An¡¯s fault!</i>

    Just then, Jing Teng¡¯s expression suddenly grew cold. It was almost as if she was thinking out loud. ¡°Hmph, so you get all the good stuff, but when it¡¯s time to fight, you¡¯re sending me out?¡±

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t I the one who came out and foughtst time? It should be your turn to put in some effort this time. Besides, it''s not as if I didn¡¯t invite you to join in.¡±

    Shang Liuyu widened her eyes.

    <i>What is going on with this woman? Why is it that even though it always seems like one person talking, the tone is entirely different? It just seems a bit weird.</i>

    <i>Does she have multiple personalities? Or is her body upied by another soul?</i>

    In that instant, all kinds of possibilities appeared in Shang Liuyu¡¯s head.

    The Shadowhorror Devil and Bloodthirst Crocodile snapped out of their daze. ¡°You¡¯re just dressing up as a god! Die!¡±

    The Bloodthirst Crocodile was the first to charge. The shears in his hands struck in their direction. Their giant des were strong enough to cut right through Zu An and the two women.

    Jing Teng harrumphed. She pushed outward with her beautiful palm, and a palm projection appeared in between the des, blocking them.

    The Bloodthirst Crocodile¡¯s face immediately became entirely red. He couldn''t move it at all anymore! This was absolutely ridiculous! Even though he was missing a hand and couldn''t bring out the scissors'' full potential, he was still a terrifying and powerful great monster! And yet he was blocked by the palm of a dainty little girl. Just how humiliating was that?

    ¡°Be careful, this woman¡¯s cultivation realm doesn¡¯t seem to just be at the earth immortal rank!¡± the Shadowhorror Devil reminded hispanion while starting his attack too.

    There was no such thing as justice or honor for these monsters. As long as they could seize the ultimate victory, who cared if they were fighting with a numbers advantage? Several shadows appeared and pounced at the women¡¯s backs maliciously.

    Shang Liuyu could clearly see them approach, but she had already used up all of her strength and couldn''t really move her own body anymore. She could only cry out anxiously, ¡°Be careful!¡±

    Just then, Jing Teng sneered, and a ghost face suddenly appeared above her and released a terrifyingugh. The Shadowhorror Devil¡¯s fear puppets immediately screamed miserably as they were sucked into the ghost face¡¯s mouth. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Soul-Sucking Demonic Voice!¡± The Shadowhorror Devil was terrified. He quickly protected himself with the bell in his hands. The Bloodthirst Crocodile also gave up on attacking and protected himself with the shears so his soul wouldn¡¯t be sucked right out of his body.

    Shang Liuyu¡¯s face was deathly pale. If it wasn¡¯t for the protection of the Human Emperor Seal, she could have been the first one to lose her life. Even so, she was too weak right now, and not even the Human Emperor Seal seemed to be enough. Something was about toe out of her head.

    Jing Teng suddenly frowned and dispelled the Soul-Sucking Demonic Voice.

    ck Jing Teng asked in dissatisfaction, ¡°Why did you stop it? We can just swallow up this woman¡¯s soul too, so she doesn¡¯t end up seducing Zu An.¡±

    Shang Liuyu was stunned, and her face was deathly pale. In that instant, she had felt as if she was drowning and was doing everything she could to save herself, but couldn''t grab onto anything. That kind of feeling was just too scary, and there was still a bit of pain in her head even now. It was clearly the result of her soul being injured.

    <i>Why does Ah Zu bring a demoness like this around with him?</i>

    Meanwhile, Jing Teng said coldly, ¡°If you want Zu An to kill you in revenge, you can just keep sucking.¡±

    Dark Jing Teng was stunned. ¡°He wouldn¡¯t go that far, right? This woman looks all proud and haughty and is clearly a virgin. How can her rtionship with Zu Anpare to mine?¡±

    Shang Liuyu was speechless.

    <i>Why does it sound as if she''s had an intimate rtionship with Zu An?</i>

    White Jing Teng said indifferently, ¡°Zu An was willing to leave his body to her, and she has done her utmost to protect him all this time. Do you think someone who is willing to do that could have an ordinary rtionship with him?¡±

    Dark Jing Teng grumbled, ¡°Fine, let¡¯s just say that you¡¯re right.¡±

    Shang Liuyu opened her mouth and wanted to exin that she wasn¡¯t in love with Zu An, but no matter how she tried to exin her situation, she found it a bit strange. Besides, for some reason, she didn¡¯t really want to say so to the two women either.

    The ice-cold voice seemed a bit easier to deal with, while the more alluring one was aplete witch.

 Chapter 2212: Return

    <h4>Chapter 2212: Return</h4>

    The Shadowhorror Devilughed and said, ¡°And here I was getting all scared, but it seems she¡¯s being suppressed by this world too and isn¡¯t at her strongest. If we work together and strike, they¡¯ll be forced to protect the weaker liabilities!¡±

    The Bloodthirst Crocodile wiped away the blood around his lips. ¡°That¡¯s what I was thinking too!¡±

    If this neer was no weaker than them, it wouldn¡¯t really be possible to win in a short amount of time. But it would be different if they had someone they needed to protect. Right now, Zu An was like a dead person, and Shang Liuyu waspletely exhausted. With those two serving as baggage, there was no way they could attend to so many things at the same time.

    Sure enough, the two monsters continued to attack Zu An and Shang Liuyu. Jing Teng had no choice but to protect them and was quickly ced at a disadvantage.

    Shang Liuyu was full of gratitude. Even though this woman¡¯s voice was icy cold, she moved to protect her several times. As such, she said, ¡°You don¡¯t need to pay any attention to me. It¡¯s good enough as long as you protect Ah Zu.¡±

    Jing Teng sneered. ¡°They¡¯re going to attack Zu An anyway, so protecting you as well isn¡¯t going to make that much of a difference. Otherwise, if you really did die here, how would I ever exin things to big brother Zu?¡±

    When she heard her call him ''big brother Zu'' so naturally, Shang Liuyu knew that their rtionship was close.

    <i>That¡¯s right, if their rtionship really wasn''t special, why would he carry them with him wherever he went...</i>

    ¡°Hmph, you want to protect both of them? I don¡¯t think you have the ability.¡± The Bloodthirst Crocodile harrumphed. Then, he decided to not attack Jing Teng; instead, he aimed all of his attacks at Zu An and Shang Liuyu.

    The Shadowhorror Devil also cooperated with a sinister grin. He was ready to deliver a fatal strike against Jing Teng as soon as she revealed an opening.

    Just then, there was a light harrumph. Jing Teng¡¯s hands produced afterimages as she formed different seals and chanted, ¡°The valiant should join the ranks of war. The army is to the north; the ck tortoise awaits its summons!¡±

    As soon as she spoke, a holographic image of a turtle with the head of a snake appeared, protecting the three of them within. When they made contact with that image, the Bloodthirst Crocodile and Shadowhorror Devil¡¯s attacks were sent right back.

    ¡°Where did this womane from? She can actually summon the ck tortoise image!¡± The Bloodthirst Crocodile stretched out his sore wrist. He looked quite rmed.

    The Shadowhorror Devil¡¯s face darkened. ¡°Regardless of where she¡¯s from, we must kill that Zu bastard today. Otherwise, the ones who will die will be us.¡±

    All of the monsters had been shocked when they heard that the War Priest was killed in this world. However, most of them had initially assumed that it was because the War Priest had been careless, or that he had fallen for some kind of scheme or trap. Later, however, after powerful monsters were killed by Zu An one after the other, no one thought of it as a fluke anymore. The one called Zu An was indeed formidable.

    But the monsters still hadn''t been too worried, because they were merely being suppressed by thews of this world, which prevented them from disying their true strength. If they were somewhere else, killing Zu An would be extremely easy. However, after interacting with Zu An up close, these two found that he had impersonated the Lord of Myriad Transformations and taken them for a ride, proving his cunning.

    He wasn¡¯t even here at the moment, and yet just some formations he had left behind with a weak woman were able to stall them for three days and three nights. On top of that, he had been hiding such a powerful and mysterious woman on him. The two monsters even sensed that her true strength wasn¡¯t weaker than theirs, and that she was also being suppressed by thews of this world. On top of that, there was some special aura unique to her that even made their souls tremble. It was as if she was their natural enemy.

    If they waited until Zu An came back, the only thing awaiting them would be death.

    Once he realized that, the Shadowhorror Devil roared and said, ¡°Use everything! You¡¯re still holding back. If you still don''t go all in, there might not be another chance!¡±

    As soon as he said that, he suddenly transformed into a hundred-meter-tall shadow. Everything in the vicinity immediately dimmed. The shadow stretched its body toward the three within the turtle from all different angles. The three of them were like a lonely skiff on a raging sea that could bepletely swallowed up at any time.

    The Bloodthirst Crocodile cursed, ¡°F*ck! You already said not to hold anything back earlier, and yet you were still hiding this. So you were nning to scheme against me from the very beginning!¡±

    But curses were curses; he still knew what was more important right now. With a roar, his entire body surged in size and he turned into a three-hundred-meter long crocodile. The shears actually merged with his own mouth. From the looks of it, even if there were a great dragon in front of him, the crocodile could be able to snap it in half with his jaws.

    The two earth immortal monsters attacked without holding anything back, and yet the ck tortoise image still remainedpletely solid.

    Shang Liuyu couldn''t help but feel admiration. ¡°Young miss, you really are amazing. Your defensive image actually hasn¡¯t weakened at all even in the face of such powerful attacks.¡±

    Earlier, when she was borrowing the power of the Human Emperor Seal and defensive formations, she had always been on the verge of copse from the monsters¡¯ attacks. It was nothing like right now, where she felt a mysterious sense of safety.

    But to her surprise, Jing Teng suddenly said coldly, ¡°I can¡¯t hold on for much longer.¡±

    Shang Liuyu had just released a sigh of relief, but the smile on her face instantly froze.

    Jing Teng looked at the monsters¡¯ attacks and said, ¡°I was injured badly. I need to... sleep to recover my power.¡±

    Her face suddenly turned red. There was actually another kind of method that could aid in her recovery, but there was naturally no need to talk about that.

    ¡°A few days ago, I woke up once, and ended up using up almost all of my strength then. If it wasn¡¯t because Zu... ahem, I might not have even woken up this time.¡± As she spoke, Jing Teng couldn''t help but give Zu An a look. ¡°Did I owe him something in my past life or something? I¡¯m alwayspletely emptied out as soon as I recover just a bit.¡±

    ¡°Make him keep uspany, make him keep uspany!¡± Dark Jing Teng cried excitedly.

    ¡°Shut up!¡± White Jing Teng¡¯s expression changed. She was worried that her little sister would identally reveal what ''keeping thempany'' meant. Even though she did like that too, if the other women found out, she definitely couldn''t remain as thick-skinned as her little sister.

    Sure enough, Shang Liuyu looked at her curiously.

    <i>How do they want Zu An to keep thempany?</i>

    But she naturally knew that this wasn¡¯t the time to ask such questions. She quickly asked about something even more important. ¡°How much longer can this projectionst for?¡±

    Jing Teng looked at the two malicious monsters with her hands behind her back, looking at how they ruthlessly attacked the image with their massive bodies. Her expression was extremely calm. ¡°Ten...¡±

    When she saw how calm Jing Teng was, Shang Liuyu immediately sighed in relief, asking, ¡°Are there still ten hours left?¡±

    She naturally wouldn¡¯t think that there would be ten days left. After all, the two monsters¡¯ attacks were too horrifying. If they couldst ten days, she wouldn¡¯t have said those earlier words.

    ¡°Nine!¡±

    ¡°Eight!¡±

    ...

    Jing Teng didn¡¯t reply, and only continued to count down.

    Shang Liuyu was stunned.

    <i>Big sis, are you cracking a joke right now?</i>

    <i>Why are you acting so calm when there¡¯s so little time left?</i> n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    When the countdown finished, the ck tortoise image exploded to pieces with a loud noise.

    The Shadowhorror Devil and Bloodthirst Crocodile charged over with evil grins. Jing Teng took a deep breath and said, ¡°I might not be able to stop them for much longer. Take Zu An and run as far away as you can.¡±

    The Bloodthirst Crocodile roared withughter. ¡°Run? Not a single one of you will be able to get away today!¡±

    Shang Liuyu gave Zu An a look and said with a bitter smile, ¡°You should take Ah Zu and run. I can¡¯t move anymore.¡±

    Protecting Zu An had already exhausted the veryst bit of her strength. How could she still run?

    Jing Teng frowned. ¡°Then, apologies!¡± She could only do her best to bring Zu An away, and even then, she wouldn''t necessarily be able to.

    Shang Liuyu chuckled when she saw them leave, but she didn¡¯t feel any fear. She only gave Zu An a reluctant look. She took out her ocarina to y ¡®Scenery of Home¡¯, the song Zu An had given to her as a gift, calmly weing her death. She hoped that once she died, her spirit could return home as well...

    However, she knew how bitter these two monsters were, and that she would soon wish she were dead. As such, she yed the final song of her life while standing on the edge of the cliff. She fell backward.

    The pitch-ck abyss was a ce of absolute death. No matter how powerful those two monsters were, they still wouldn¡¯t dare to descend.

    <i>I hope thatdy will be able to escape with Ah Zu.</i>

    She didn¡¯t have the strength to y the entire song, so she decided to close her eyes and wait for the moment she fell into the abyss of death.

    But a whileter, she felt a bit strange. She didn¡¯t enter the endless abyss; instead, she stopped falling. She found herself lying down on solid ground. Even so, there was no pain. Instead, there was endless warmth and ease.

    She opened her eyes in confusion. What entered her view was a pair of familiar eyes and a familiar face. She asked absent-mindedly, ¡°Ah Zu, did we meet again in the underworld?¡±

    Zu An helped her sort out her slightly messy hair. ¡°Big sis Shang, I¡¯ve returned.¡±

    He had actually already sensed that something had gone wrong here some time ago, but for certain reasons, he''d had no choice but to silently watch things y out from the side. Only now did he appear. When he saw how bad of a condition she was in, he immediately felt endless pity and remorse.

 Chapter 2213: Ill Help You Vent

    <h4>Chapter 2213: I''ll Help You Vent</h4>

    ¡°You¡¯re back?¡± Shang Liuyu was feeling a bit dizzy. She suddenly thought of something and her face reddened a bit. She quickly struggled free from his arms.

    However, she realized that they were floating above the underworld abyss. She had already felt that it was extremely terrifying when she was on the cliff, but now that they were up close, she could feel every pore on her body shivering, as if the abyss was the mouth of a great ancient beast. She was frightened so badly that her entire body weakened. She immediately buried her head into Zu An¡¯s chest.

    Only after a while did she exim in annoyance, ¡°Are you doing this on purpose?!¡±

    <i>This guy is stopping me on purpose to scare me. I can¡¯t even get out of his arms!</i>

    But for some reason, she couldn''t bring herself to truly feel angry.

    Zu An smiled. ¡°It¡¯s such a rare opportunity to see big sis Shang so weak and delicate, so of course I need to admire you for a while longer.¡±

    Shang Liuyu¡¯s heart rate suddenly sped up when she heard those words. She opened her mouth to say something, but in the end, she didn¡¯t say anything else.

    Just then, there was a harrumph from the side. ¡°Can the two of you flirt at a different time?¡±

    Jing Teng was a bit upset right now. She had been sleeping peacefully, and yet she''d ended up being woken up. After that fight, the strength she''d finally managed to recover waspletely used up again. She''d initially thought that it was fine if she just had to protect Zu An alone, but now, there was suddenly another rival in love? They had finally managed to wait until Zu An returned, and yet the first thing he did was flirt with another woman right before their eyes?

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled White Jing Teng for +250 +250 +250...</strong>

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Dark Jing Teng for +250 +250 +250...</strong>

    Shang Liuyu was so embarrassed that her toes could dig out a three bedroom one living room basement... No, she was floating in midair, so her feet didn¡¯t touch the ground and couldn''t dig out anything.

    Zu An chuckled in embarrassment. With a sh, he reappeared back on the cliff. He promptly stopped the attacks of the two monsters.

    The Shadowhorror Devil and Bloodthirst Crocodile were extremely upset. They had used up so much time and were about to kill Zu An, and yet he ended up waking up!

    <i>This is the so-called pain of failing at the final effort!</i>

    Fortunately, that multiple personality woman seemed to have reached her limit and didn¡¯t have much strength left. Otherwise, they would have almost no chance of victory if it was a proper two versus two fight. They were clearly at simr cultivation ranks, but after experiencing so many things, they had begun to mysteriously fear this brat Zu An for some reason.

    Zu An ignored them and thanked Jing Teng instead. ¡°Thank you for your help. Otherwise, my physical body might¡¯ve already perished.¡±

    Shang Liuyu¡¯s face darkened, but she immediatelyughed inwardly in a sullen manner.

    <i>It was this woman who saved Ah Zu in the end, and she even saved my life. I should be grateful to her.</i>

    ¡°Hmph, so you did remember to thank me.¡± Jing Teng had an indifferent look as she asked, ¡°Then why didn¡¯t you help me the moment you woke up, and ran over there to flirt with your lover instead?¡±

    Zu An chuckled awkwardly. ¡°Didn¡¯t she jump down? I have to save her first, right?¡±

    ¡°You could have juste back after you saved her, so why did you stop down there?¡± Jing Teng was a bit unhappy. This guy had been flirting with another woman right in front of her face; how ridiculous!

    ¡°Ahem...¡± Zu An was immediately embarrassed. He couldn''t just say that he knew she would be fine with how strong she was, right?

    Jing Teng said, ¡°Forget it. She was the one who held on over the past few days, and that was how you were protected for so long. I just came inter to collect all the credit.¡±

    Even though they hadn¡¯t interacted with each other for very long, she could still tell just how bitterly Shang Liuyu had needed to struggle during the past few days.

    Shang Liuyu gave her a look of surprise. This woman was actually speaking up for her!

    <i>This woman really is proud. She isn¡¯t willing to take advantage of anyone.</i>

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°I should be thanking big sis Shang, but I should also be thanking you two. These two things don¡¯t conflict with each other.¡±

    ¡°Big sis?¡± Jing Teng raised her brows. She stared at Shang Liuyu, asking, ¡°Just how old is she that she can be your big sister?¡±

    She had lived for an endless amount of time, and yet still had to obediently call him ''big brother Zu''. Just how old was this woman? If Zu An called her big sis, didn¡¯t that mean she had to as well? She could yield to anything else, but not such titles!

    When she suddenly sensed the other woman''s hostility, Shang Liuyu had a weird expression, saying, ¡°I''m a bit older than him. That was what he called me when we first met.¡±

    ¡°Then with my age, I could be your gran... Ahem, don¡¯t I call him big brother too? Remember to change the way you address him from now on.¡± Jing Teng thought to herself, <i>That was too close!</i> She had almost made a mistake. Even though Zu An had a bit of a preference toward big sister types, it wouldn¡¯t include grandmother types, right...

    <i>Sigh, if I had known things were going to be like this, I shouldn¡¯t have tried to act cute by calling him big brother Zu. Wouldn¡¯t it be great if I had him call me big sis as well?</i>

    Zu An blinked, his expression turning nk. He really didn¡¯t know why these two would fight over something so small.

    ...

    The two monsters on the other side couldn''t keep watching. ¡°Are you guys done? Do you think we aren¡¯t here or something?!¡±

    The Bloodthirst Crocodile had secretly conversed with the Shadowhorror Devil in the meantime. Even though this Zu An brat was a bit hard to read, if Shang Liuyu and Jing Teng had no fighting strength left, they could continue the previous strategy of forcing him to protect the others. That way, they would be able to gain the advantage. With those two acting as useless baggage, no matter how strong Zu An was, he would still have no choice but to perish.

    The two monsters couldn''t help but feel a bit embarrassed. They had always conquered through domination over the years. When had they needed to scheme and plot like this? And it was all merely to deal with a native of a weak world like this, even though their strength had originally been far above the earth immortal rank!

    They continued to give themselves mental encouragement. Their confidence gradually returned.

    Zu An¡¯s gaze finally turned to them as he said, ¡°Oh, I really did almost forget about the two of you.¡±

    The Shadowhorror Devil and the Bloodthirst Crocodile were speechless.

    <i>We¡¯re monster bosses here and came to bring ruin to this world, to make endless creatures tremble in fear! And you actually forgot about that?</i>

    <i>Can¡¯t you at least show us a bit of respect?</i>

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled the Shadowhorror Devil for +455 +455 +455...</strong>

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled the Bloodthirst Crocodile for +455 +455 +455...</strong>

    The Bloodthirst Crocodile suddenly asked, ¡°Where is the Skin-ying King?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s dead,¡± Zu An replied. There was no need to hide something like that.

    Shang Liuyu sighed in relief when she heard that. That guy had killed her brother-inw and forced her big sister to... be a real couple with Zu An. He had always been the greatest viin in the Dragon Pce, and he had evene all the way here through mysterious means earlier. She''d always felt that he was the biggest variable. Now that he was gone, she could finally release a sigh of relief.

    ¡°He¡¯s dead?¡± The Shadowhorror Devil frowned. ¡°I thought that he couldn''t be killed!¡±

    He knew about the special characteristics of departed spirits, and that they would just return to the underworld once they died. After paying a certain price and spending some more time, they would reappear. They were the trickiest to deal with.

    ¡°Sure, you two couldn¡¯t kill him,¡± Zu An said indifferently.

    ¡°What are you trying to say? The special nature of departed spirits has left countless powerful beings helpless. Even a frog at the bottom of a well like you from a weak world at the border of the cosmos dares to shoot your mouth off?!¡± The Bloodthirst Crocodile didn¡¯t believe him.

    The Shadowhorror Devil was quite shocked and thought of a certain possibility. ¡°Did you already win something special?¡±

    The Skin-ying King had always been searching for something. The fact that he had died to Zu An meant that thetter had already sessfully obtained that thing.

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Zu An nodded. He didn¡¯t feel like exining any further to them.

    The Shadowhorror Devil¡¯s entire body suddenly trembled. Something that could fully kill the Skin-ying King... just how great of a power was that?

    ¡°You¡¯re just dressing up as a god!¡± The Bloodthirst Crocodile harrumphed, and then secretly said to the Shadowhorror Devil, ¡°We¡¯ll go with the same n. Let''s attack one of the women each. He¡¯ll be unable to protect himself as he tries to save them.¡±

    Then, with a great roar, he opened his massive jaws and chomped down toward Shang Liuyu. He was feeling a bit proud of himself for picking this pushover first, which meant that the Shadowhorror Devil had to go after the trickier Jing Teng. Even though she seemed to be injured and couldn¡¯t hold on for much longer, she still had her cultivation, making her much more dangerous than Shang Liuyu.

    When he saw him cunningly going after Shang Liuyu, Zu An¡¯s face darkened. He watched everything clearly. These two were clearly among the most powerful beings in the world, and yet they adopted such treacherous and despicable methods. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    When she saw that she was being attacked, Shang Liuyu was a bit worried. She quickly tried to push Zu An away so he wouldn¡¯t be burdened because of her.

    But Zu An didn¡¯t let go and pulled her even closer instead. ¡°Big sis Shang, this guy was bullying you earlier. I''ll help you vent.¡±

    Jing Teng raised her brows. She decided to just let Dark Jing Teng¡¯s personalitye out and make an exaggerated expression of disgust.

    However, shortly after, she was stunned. She saw Zu An pull out a sword, subsequently unleashing a resplendent, dazzling burst of ki. It was as if a river of stars had poured down from the cosmos. Just what in this world could stop such terrifying sword energy?

    The Bloodthirst Crocodile had a nasty smile because he was expecting to see Zu An¡¯s troubled expression, but a momentter, terror filled his expression. That boundless and brilliant sword energy came straight at him, and then the demonic crocodile shears that made up his mouth instantly shattered under its power!

    The terrifying sword energy gave him a feeling of powerlessness. He only had time to nce sideways, hoping that the Shadowhorror Devil would also attack so that Zu An would retract his sword; only that would give him the slightest chance of living.

    But he saw that the Shadowhorror Devil hadn¡¯t attacked Jing Teng as nned, and had turned around to run instead. He was already thousands of meters away.

    <i>You motherf*cker!</i>

    <i>That bastard left me to die!</i>

 Chapter 2214: The Shadowhorror Devilâ€™s Horror

    Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t have any way of getting revenge anymore. The starry river of sword energy passed through his body that instant.

    The sturdy scales on his body had formed a powerful set of armor, which was why even though he seemed a bit slow-witted, he was often the one who came out on top when he fought at the same level. All of that was because of his life-preserving scales.

    But that extremely powerful set of armor was now like paper, barely able to stop the sword energy for even a split second before it passed through his body. Then, his entire body was chopped into countless pieces¡­ vertically.

    His miserable scream came to a grunting halt. The pieces of his body werepletely sted to ashes by the sword energy.

    As she watched, Jing Teng was a bit stupefied. Even though she knew that her big brother Zu was really strong, when had he be this strong? After all, the power of this sword would already rank him quite high evenpared to the creatures that were locked in the great tomb she previously guarded. But it clearly hadn¡¯t been that long since theyst met!

    Dark Jing Teng was also screaming in her head, ¡°Big sis, big sis, I want him, I want him! My legs are about to go weak from watching!¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± White Jing Teng was ashamed and panicky. She was really d that she shut her mouth in time, or else it would really be way too embarrassing if she ended up saying that out loud.

    ¡­

    While the sisters continued to fight, Shang Liuyu was alsopletely dazzled. The underripe young man of the past had now already be so strong!<em>And he was so handsome when he swung that sword¡­</em>

    Compared to the endless happiness these three were feeling, the Shadowhorror Devil only felt horror inside. Every single cell in his body was crying out in fear.

    It was quiteughable to think about. He was the Shadowhorror Devil, so he was supposed to be the one who inflicted horror onto others. He always enjoyed the despair and cries of rm disyed by others when they were terrified, but only now did he understand that those feelings weren¡¯t all that great to experience.

    <em>This human is too strong, absurdly so!</em>

    Perhaps they would be stronger without the world¡¯s suppression, but even if they were at their strongest, they still wouldn¡¯t be able to stop that terrifying sword.

    <em>Just how was he able to be this strong? Shouldn¡¯t he be restricted by the source of this world? What''s going on with his strength right now?</em>

    <em>He¡¯s cheating!</em>

    He didn¡¯t have any time to think about anything else. He only had a single thought left in his head, which was to run and get away from that terrifying guy. Once he got back, he definitely had to warn those arrogant colleagues of his to not look down on the natives of this world, telling them that they had to send their strongest.

    Only, the sealednd had now been repaired and the n for the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons had also failed at thest moment. The strongest monsters likely wouldn''t even be able to descend into this world. They could only hope to produce some results via the third path, so they could then summon the most powerful ones¡­

    Of course, he didn¡¯t have the energy to keep thinking about those things. The only thought left in his head was to run!

    Fortunately, he had that idiot Bloodthirst Crocodile to help stall for time. The chances of escape were still quite high.

    <em>Hm? Why are my surroundings running ahead of me?</em>

    At first, he was stunned, and then he was shocked to discover that it wasn¡¯t the surroundings running ahead of him, but that he was being sucked backward!

    He sensed a frightening suction force pulling him back. He turned around and was horrified.

    Zu An had reached out with his hand and was grabbing toward the air. At the center of his palm was a vortex that resembled a ck hole, and the terrifying absorption force originated from none other than that.

    The Shadowhorror Devil was still at the very peak of this world, and yet even after running so far away, he was pulled right back by the suction force! This kind of power only existed in some special celestial bodies across the cosmos!

    There was already no time to think about anything else; he didn¡¯t even have time to protect himself with the bell. His center of gravity grew unsteady and he was instantly sucked into Zu An¡¯s hand. His massive body quickly shrank, and he took the form of a small elder.

    ¡°Where is that monster world of yours? Which forces are there, and who is the strongest?¡± Zu An¡¯s hand gripped the top of his head. He didn¡¯t immediately take the monster¡¯s life, and questioned him coldly instead.

    Previously, he had always been on the defensive, reacting against these monsters¡¯ schemes. It was time for him to be proactive.

    The Shadowhorror Devil gritted his teeth and said, ¡°Just kill me if you¡¯re going to do it anyway. You can forget about turning me into a traitor!¡±

    ¡°How can it be that easy for you to die?¡± Zu An harrumphed. He used the Heaven Devouring Sutra to make the Shadowhorror Devil¡¯s internal energies go wild. The pain caused by that would feel as if a million needles were stabbing into his fine nerves and meridians.

    ¡°Ahhhhh!¡± The Shadowhorror Devil screamed bitterly. His entire body contorted and jerked as if he could faint at any time, but even through all of that, he didn¡¯t beg for mercy.

    Zu An frowned. He hadn¡¯t expected this guy to be a tough nut to crack. He''d thought that it would be harder to make a brute like the Bloodthirst Crocodile yield, and that these sinister types were easier to wear down. It was a pity that the Firedevil Sea Beast had already died; perhaps it would have been easier to deal with that perverted guy.

    Just then, Jing Teng said, ¡°Leave this guy to me, and let me fill up a bit.¡±

    ¡°Fill up?¡± Zu An gave her a confused look.

    Jing Teng¡¯s face turned a bit red. She gave him an annoyed look. ¡°What are you thinking? My little sister has a skill simr to yours that can swallow up the energy of another creature. Our carefully stored energy ended up beingpletely used up to save you, so we can just use him to supplement that.¡±

    ¡°This is just a start, though! What we do with big brother Zu can¡¯t be skipped out on!¡± Dark Jing Teng hurriedly said.

    ¡°Shut up!¡± White Jing Teng felt a bit humiliated.

    ¡°Big sis, don¡¯t you like it a lot too? Look at how your mouth doesn¡¯t match your heart.¡± Dark Jing Teng harrumphed.

    White Jing Teng was stunned. She retorted, ¡°No one will think you¡¯re mute if you don¡¯t speak!¡±

    Shang Liuyu blinked her eyes. Her eyes darted up and down along the woman¡¯s body.

    <em>What is that thing she''s talking about?</em>

    When he saw that White Jing Teng was about to explode, Zu An considerately helped her out. ¡°That¡¯s good too. I¡¯ll just leave him to you then.¡±

    After saying that, he tossed the Shadowhorror Devil over. The Shadowhorror Devil wanted to use the chance to run, but his entire body had already been restrained by Zu An and he couldn''t move at all.

    Jing Teng suddenly manifested a ghost face. It opened its mouth and inhaled. Fear filled the Shadowhorror Devil¡¯s face as he screamed, ¡°Noooooo!¡±

    Immediately after, a spirit struggled out of his body, and it was sucked straight into the ghost face¡¯s mouth. The face burped in satisfaction, as if it was full.

    Jing Teng then looked toward Zu An. ¡°Big brother Zu, once wepletely absorb his soul, we should be able to learn some of his memories when he was alive. Of course, there might be missing pieces in his memory, but we should be able to piece together around seventy percent of it.¡±

    Zu An was pleasantly surprised. ¡°That¡¯s great!¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    He wouldn''t necessarily have been able to get even a bit of intelligence from this Shadowhorror Devil, but now that he could obtain seventy percent, that was already unexpectedly good news!

    ¡°I¡¯m tired, so I¡¯m going to sleep first. I¡¯ll look for you once I wake up next time.¡± Jing Teng yawned. She had been seriously injured to begin with and just fought another great battle, and then she''d swallowed the Shadowhorror Devil¡¯s soul. She needed to immediately sleep to slowly digest it.

    Dark Jing Teng felt annoyed. ¡°If I had known this was going to happen, I would¡¯ve slept with Zu An first before eating this devil. Ah, this pisses me off!¡±

    White Jing Teng was speechless. She was too embarrassed to face the people present and turned into a strand of smoke, returning to the world within the pendant.

    In the end, the only ones left were Shang Liuyu and Zu An, who looked at each other in dismay.

    ¡°Did she just say that she should have slept with you first?¡± Shang Liuyu¡¯s expression was full of various emotions.

    ¡°You heard wrong.¡± Zu An was also a bit embarrassed. Dark Jing Teng didn¡¯t understand the ways of the world at all and just did whatever she wanted without misgivings. Even though this was a kind of pure innocence, it really did easily cause problems¡­

    Shang Liuyu harrumphed. ¡°My cultivation might not be high, but it isn''t to the point of being deaf. Besides, with how much of a womanizer you are, which woman around you hasn''t been bullied before? Even my big sis was done in by you a few days ago.¡±

    Zu An replied with a deadly earnest expression, ¡°What you said isn¡¯t right, you know? We¡¯ve known each other for so long, but I¡¯ve never bullied you before, right?¡±

    How could Shang Liuyu have expected such a sharpeback? She waspletely speechless and didn¡¯t know what to say anymore. Her eyes rolled back and she fainted on the spot.

 Chapter 2215: He... Is the World

    Zu An was startled. He quickly checked her pulse and saw that she wasn¡¯t pretending. In order to protect him, she had used up everything she had and was now alreadypletely exhausted both mentally and physically. Now that she rxed a bit, she finally couldn¡¯t take it anymore and fell asleep.

    Zu An took out a spiritual medicine pill and fed it to her to help heal her damaged meridians. Then, he picked her up by the crook of her legs and carried her horizontally. He also fed her ki continuously to help dissolve the medicinal effects. She had only fainted from exhaustion and wasn¡¯t injured, so he didn¡¯t need to use the Primordial Origin Sutra to treat her, and thus he didn¡¯t have to worry about the weird side effects of the Primordial Origin Sutra after merging with the Gold Phoenix.

    Shang Liuyu groaned while asleep. Her slightly furrowed brows also gradually loosened up. Just then, she had probablypletely entered thend of dreams.

    Zu An suddenly thought of something as he left. He bowed toward the giant stone statue and said, ¡°Goodbye, old friend.¡±

    Once the Necropolis Emperor passed on the Netherworld Book of Life and Death to him, the strand of will had alreadypleted its task. Both this soul fragment and the one in the underworld were now asleep forever. Even though they hadn¡¯t spent that much time together, Zu An still couldn''t help but feel endless grief well up within him.

    After bidding the Necropolis Emperor goodbye, Zu An carried Shang Liuyu back. They quickly returned to the bridge. The monsters that had been chasing them had stopped there, not going any further. However, Zu An didn¡¯t stop and proceeded while carrying Shang Liuyu. He didn¡¯t care about the terrifying reanimated creatures at all.

    Roars filled the air shortly after. The half-dragon half-lizard creatures could smell the scent of the living and rushed over, surrounding Zu An. They bared their fangs, but didn¡¯t attack and hesitated instead. Shortly after, several three-headed, six-armed creatures hurried over. When they saw Zu An, strange expressions appeared on their malevolent faces. At first, they were confused, but then they felt a bit of fear.

    Then, they all kneeled down in greeting. With the three-headed, six-armed creatures taking the lead, the other creatures also kneeled down as if they were weing their ruler.

    Zu An was stunned. He''d thought that there was going to be another battle, but this ended up saving him the trouble. He naturally didn¡¯t think it was because they were scared of his power. This was most likely because he now carried the aura of the Necropolis Emperor, or perhaps it was the underworld authority.<em>I wonder if these guys used to be the Necropolis Emperor¡¯s subordinates¡­</em>

    Zu An nodded slightly. Then, he proceeded to the main hall. The altar was still sitting quietly at the highest point of the room. At its center was the rainbow-like World Law Beacon. Its brilliant colors were especially beautiful.

    The Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine next to it was still full of life. Rings of energy that almost looked as if they had physical substance spread outward. A strong medicinal fragrance filled the entire space. Even the dreaming Shang Liuyu looked morefortable after smelling it.

    Zu An recalled the powerful restrictions around the altar and was worried about hurting Shang Liuyu. He gently leaned her against the wall, and then because he was worried that she would be cold, he removed his own jacket and ced it on the ground before setting her down.

    ¡°Tsk tsk, look at how much you treasure your women.¡± Mi Li suddenly appeared nearby with an ambiguous smile.

    Zu An said in annoyance, ¡°Can you at least say something before you appear? It really is scary if you pop up all of a sudden like this.¡±

    ¡°Tsk, why would you feel guilty unless you did shameful things?¡± Mi Li replied indifferently.

    ¡°And what shameful thing did I do? She ended up like this after trying to protect me, so what¡¯s the big deal with me taking care of her? Besides, it''s not as if you¡¯re my wife,¡± Zu An grumbled.

    Mi Li blushed. ¡°Hmph, you even dare to take advantage of your master?! As your master, I naturally need to help your wife keep you in check. You just pledged your undying love to Chu Chuyan under the Bridge of Helplessness not too long ago, and almost even moved me with your emotions, and yet you¡¯re already flirting with other women a secondter. Honestly, even I feel as if you might have multiple personalities of some sort.¡±

    Zu An gave her a look. He clearly didn¡¯t want to discuss matters of love with her. His attention quickly returned to the altar and he asked, ¡°Did you suddenly appear because of this?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I was worried that you wouldn¡¯t know how to use it.¡± Mi Li put away her teasing smile and also looked at the dazzling World Law Beacon on the altar. ¡°Once you obtain it, you need to bind it to a specific item you carry with you. That way, you willpletely grasp this world¡¯s authority, and to a certain extent, you will be the ruler of this world.¡±

    Zu An wasn¡¯t too interested in bing the ruler of this world. After all, he was already at the peak of this world¡¯s various civilizations. The human side¡¯s Empress Dowager Liu, the Fiend races'' Second Empress, and the Ocean races'' Mermaid Queen... It wasn''t as if they hadn¡¯t knelt down and called him master before.

    But there was indeed a need to secure this kind of authority, or else those monsters would continue to covet it. By doing so, he could also fully stabilize the world barrier and prevent those alien monsters from invading again.

    Mi Li continued, ¡°By the way, it would be best for that item to be something especially durable, one that¡¯s hard to break. Otherwise, if it broke, the World Law Beacon would disappear and condense in another hidden location. Finding it again then could be tricky.¡±

    Zu An nodded. He definitely couldn''t just secure it to some random object.

    ¡°What about the Tai¡¯e Sword?¡± He instinctively thought of that item first.

    ¡°No, the Tai¡¯e Sword is my territory. I won¡¯t let anything else disturb me.¡± Mi Li refused.

    Zu An was speechless.

    <em>You¡¯re really treating this sword like your home?</em>

    Several other items appeared in his mind. In terms of what was hard to break, the first choices were naturally divine weapons like the the Sun ying Bow, Human Emperor Seal, Crown of the Ocean Deity¡­

    But the Sun ying Bow would remind him of thete Fiend Emperor, and the Human Emperor Seal was Zhao Han¡¯s representative weapon. The Crown of the Ocean Deity was simr. Even though thy were good, that was their mainfw.

    Zu An suddenly thought of something. A pitch-ck dagger appeared.

    The Poisonous Prick!

    This dagger had actually been at his side the longest. When he was still weak, he had ovee more powerful enemies countless times because of it. Even though it wasn¡¯t a divine weapon and didn¡¯t exude the special pressure they did, when it shed with divine weapons, it wasn¡¯t outdone at all, and it was even superior due to its special ability.

    ¡°Let¡¯s just choose this.¡± Zu An gently stroked the dagger. A gentle smile appeared on his face.

    Mi Li chuckled. ¡°As expected. It¡¯s quite fitting too.¡±

    Then, she shared the method of binding the World Law Beacon with him. It wasn¡¯t tooplicated, but it was probably something that not many people knew.

    Zu An was already used to her mysterious nature and didn¡¯t ask too much. Instead, he walked toward the altar. As he approached, the terrifying pressure appeared again, trying to stop his movements. It also served as a sort of warning that stubbornly advancing could result in disastrous consequences.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An didn¡¯t stop and continued in. Many runes around the altar flickered, clearly preparing devastating attacks. However, Zu An suddenly realized something. These runes seemed to be able tomunicate with the World Law Beacon and the world source¡¯s will. It was no wonder that even with his cultivation, he couldn''t endure the attacks. No matter how powerful one was, they wouldn¡¯t be more powerful than an entire world.

    He was already prepared, however. He suddenly released the aura of the underworld emperor.

    Other runes suddenly lit up on the altar. Then, as if it was inspecting something, a gentle light shone on his body. Perhaps sensing the special authority that he carried, the runes that had been growing brighter and brighter gradually dimmed. The destructive power also gradually disappeared.

    Zu An knew that the altar had alreadypletely opened itself to him, allowing him to enter as he pleased. Sure enough, he continued all the way to the center of the altar, but didn¡¯t sense any danger at all.

    He reached out and gently took the World Law Beacon. It was really hard to describe what kind of sensation it carried.

    It was as if he was holding a rainbow. It felt as if he was holding something, and yet also as if he wasn¡¯t holding anything at all. In that instant, he could feel the fluttering skies and the thick and sturdy earth. He could feel endless streams gathering into rivers, then ultimately converging at the sea. He could feel the slightly trembling feathers of the birds in the sky, and the gently swaying grass in the wind. He sensed the roars of beasts, the buzzing of bugs, the emotions of countless living things. He could feel the entire world.

    No, he¡­ was the world!

    When he opened his eyes, there seemed to be countless lights and shadows flickering in them. In the end, they all gathered into a speck of starlight that entered his eyes.

    Mi Li appeared at his side. ¡°How do you feel?¡±

    ¡°I feel as if I¡¯ve be stronger.¡± Zu An was a bit confused, though. He remarked, ¡°However, there¡¯s clearly no increase in cultivation. Strange¡­¡±

 Chapter 2216: Wonderpoint World

    A gratified smile appeared on Mi Li¡¯s face. ¡°It¡¯s because you''ve nowe into contact with a power of a higher level. The cultivators of the world train their individual bodies and at most use a world¡¯s spiritual essence to do so, which naturally has an upper limit. Now, you¡¯vee into contact with the source of an entire world and can sense the power contained within it. It¡¯s a fundamentally different concept. It''s natural to feel that those cultivators you¡¯ve met in the past are insignificant inparison.¡±

    ¡°So that was what was happening.¡± A look of understanding appeared in Zu An¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°In the future, once you¡¯ve seen even more worlds and encountered even more powerful beings, you will also feel as if your current self is really weak again.¡± Mi Li gazed into the sky, lost in her thoughts, as if she was reminiscing about something.

    Zu An nodded. He felt a greater and greater yearning toward the other worlds in the universe.

    He bound the World Law Beacon to the Poisonous Prick in the way Mi Li had taught him. In that instant, he gained a kind of enlightenment. He seemed to be able to direct the will of this world to a certain extent now. The first thing that he had to do right now was ''that''¡­

    He held the Poisonous Prick in his hands and began to connect to the world¡¯s will.

    Outside this world, countless monsters had gathered. They continuously attacked certain areas of weakness in the world¡¯s barrier to try to open up another hole for them to enter through.

    Just then, however, the entire world suddenly shone with a streak of light. The monster that was hitting that area of the barrier was hit by the light. It screamed bitterly and turned into scattered ashes. The other monsters were rmed and quickly dispersed. They didn¡¯t dare to continue their attacks.

    Soon after, the light surrounded the entire outeryer of the world. The holes werepletely repaired and there were no longer any gaps to exploit.The monsters¡¯ expressions all became extremely unsightly.

    ¡°It seems that the Lord of Myriad Transformations'' group failed.¡±

    ¡°A bunch of trash!¡±

    ¡°The World Law Beacon actually fell into the hands of the natives!¡±

    ¡°But it really is strange for someone in a world as weak as this to be able to control a World Law Beacon.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s useless to think about those kinds of things now, since this is reality. Now that the Sealed Land and Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons ns have failed, we only have onest opportunity.¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Otherwise, unless we invited those rare beings across the realms, breaking through the world¡¯s barrier would be almost impossible.¡±

    ¡°Based on the intelligence we''ve received, the third n seems to have gone more smoothly. It seems we¡¯ll be able to enter this world soon.¡±

    ¡°Hah, that¡¯s what you said thest two times too, but now, those natives have even repaired the world barrier!¡±

    ¡°What else do you want me to say then? This is already ourst hope.¡±

    ¡­

    In the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons, Zu An opened his eyes. In that instant, his thoughts had joined up with the will of the world and he had given the alien monsters a look.

    <em>Thank goodness we have the world barrier, or else if all of those powerful monsters invaded, this world¡¯s cultivators likely wouldn''t be able to win against them.</em>

    But he wasn¡¯t all that worried now. The world¡¯s barrier had been reconstructed, so those guys couldn''t enter anymore. The only thing that he had to worry about now was the third n they were talking about. He''d heard from Gao Ying that the capital was a mess, and reckoned that there were monsters behind that event.

    He asked Mi Li, ¡°Weren¡¯t you confused at first, wondering why the World Law Beacon of this weak world was so radiant and colorful? I finally know why now.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Why is that?¡± Sure enough, Mi Li was now interested.

    ¡°That¡¯s because this is a special world that can connect to any other worlds. It''s able to cross through time and space,¡± Zu An said in a serious tone. When he connected to the will of the world just now, he had finallye to understand many secrets.

    After all, the universe was vast and boundless. Even the speed of light described by thenguage of science and technology was akin to moving like an ant across the universe. The world was so big that even light would have to run over nine billion years. Just how long a time was that?!

    Nine billion years was enough for the heavenly emperors of the novels Zu An had read to be erased countless times, let alone the fact that this universe wasn''t necessarily the same as the one of his previous world and could be even bigger. ording to what Mi Li said before, outside this universe there could even be other universes. When facing such a distance, no matter how powerful one was, it would still end up exhausting their entire lives.

    And yet, these worlds really did still interact with each other. Even though this world was at the very edge of the cosmos, there were still monsters who had reached it. The reason for that was because the universe had special locations.

    For example, on a sheet of paper, drawing a line on it would create the shortest path, but if one folded the paper in half, the two points would be right on top of each other. They could reach each other¡¯s locations and wouldn¡¯t need to travel that straight line that seemed like the shortest distance.

    And there just happened to be a few such locations in the universe. The smaller ones could be described as wormholes, but therger ones were actually entire worlds. The world that Zu An was currently in was precisely that kind of special ce.

    No wonder this world had so many secret dungeons, and no wonder every single secret dungeon had seemed like an entire world!

    In that instant, Zu An suddenly understood a lot of things. Many of the things he had previously been confused about now made sense.

    ¡°So that was what happened!¡± Mi Li¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect it to be a Wonderpoint World!¡±

    ¡°Wonderpoint World?¡± Zu An had never heard such a term before.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. There are some special worlds in the cosmos that can join up with other worlds and reach them in the shortest amount of time possible. Furthermore, outsiders can''t enter these special worlds without the owner¡¯s permission, bringing them an absolute sense of safety. It''s because of the special spatial attributes of these worlds, which is why they''re called Wonderpoint Worlds.¡± Mi Li sighed with amazement and said, ¡°It''s precisely because these Wonderpoint Worlds are precious that the owners of these worlds are all the strongest beings. Only these individuals can obtain the authority over such worlds through endless ughter. Who would¡¯ve thought that this border world you live in would actually be such a precious Wonderpoint World?¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but chuckle. ¡°My luck has always seemed to be quite good.¡±

    Mi Li couldn''t help but smile too. ¡°But of course. If it were anyone else who continuously fought on the brink of life and death like that, they would probably have already died a long time ago.¡±

    ¡°But I never cked off, and I always faced them with a hundred and twenty percent vignce.¡± Zu An sighed deeply as well. After barely surviving time and time again through dangerous situations, he didn¡¯t know if his luck would still continue to be so good in the future.

    ¡°By the way, since this world is actually a Wonderpoint World, its source shouldn¡¯t be so weak. It probably shattered into countless pieces because of something in the past. This world is probably just one fragment of that original world, and the most special fragment. You can link up the underworld with this world to strengthen the source. Once you collect more fragments in the future, you can probably restore this Wonderpoint World to its peak again. You might even be able to bring it past its former glory,¡± Mi Li said while pacing back and forth.

    Zu An was a bit worried. ¡°The underworld is and of the dead. If we merged it and this world together, wouldn¡¯t we be bringing a disaster to the people?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about that,¡± Mi Li exined. ¡°The underworld is just one form of the six paths of reincarnation, and the Wonderpoint World can be considered entirely the world of the living. They''re all part of the six paths ande from a simr source, so there won''t be a problem in merging them.

    ¡°On the contrary, once the world¡¯s source grows stronger, the human world¡¯s cultivators, Fiend races, and Ocean races will all have their upper cultivation bounds raised. The underworld will also be stronger as tit''s supplemented by the departed spirits of this world. This is a win-win situation.¡±

    Zu An sighed in relief. ¡°Then how do I join up these two worlds?¡±

    Mi Li seemed to have skipped over those things before.

    ¡°It isn¡¯t too hard for you. You only need to merge the two World Law Beacons. You''re now the owner of this Wonderpoint World, and you have the authority of the underworld, so that should be easy enough.¡± Mi Li paused for a moment before saying, ¡°But I advise you to merge it a bitter. If you merge the worlds, the world barrier will bebined, which will give the monsters outside a chance to invade. On top of that, once the worlds are merged, this Wonderpoint World¡¯s source will be strengthened, and the cultivation speed and upper bounds of cultivation will swiftly increase. Judging from what those monsters said, there''s probably a third path they''re using to enter this world. If the restriction is suddenly lifted, they''ll quickly recover their previous power, but this world¡¯s natives still need time to grow. That would create an unfavorable situation for you.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but sigh in amazement. ¡°My beautiful master considers things much more deeply, as expected!¡±

    ¡°Hmph, I only did all this because I was worried that you might have be full of yourself after winning all the time, and got a bit too confident as your strength grew,¡± Mi Li said.

    She had already criticized him countless times for him to address her properly, but he just refused to change, so she could only let him have his way in the end. Either way, she loved hearing him call her ''master'', and the word ¡®beautiful¡¯ didn¡¯t seem to sound that bad either¡­

    ¡°Being too weak isn¡¯t necessarily a bad thing for this world. At the very least, the people of this world have to be extremely careful in everything that they do. After all, being too arrogant can bring them danger. Who knows how many powerful individuals across the cosmos have perished because of their arrogance?¡±

 Chapter 2217: Tastes So Good That Iâ€™m Willing!

    Zu An shivered and immediately said with a bow, ¡°I understand, beautiful master!¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Ignoring everything else, even if it was just thete Fiend Emperor or Zhao Han, which one of them hadn''t been able to easily crush him? And yet, just because they thought that killing Zu An would be incredibly easy and looked down on him, he had ended up making aeback. He definitely couldn''t walk down their path.

    When she saw that he took her words seriously, Mi Li sighed with relief inwardly and smiled. She really did enjoy seeing this respectful side from him. She thought to herself that she find a recording mirror to get all of this down so that she could show him once he returned to how he usually was again.

    <em>Yeah, I¡¯m sure that¡¯d be an amazing sight!</em>

    Zu An gave her a strange look.

    <em>Why is she smiling like a dummy right now?</em>

    He couldn''t be bothered with such things and walked up to the Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine. He saw that it was curved at the stem like a powerful dragon, and its leaves were like dragon ws. The fruit at the very top was like a dragon head. There was a hazy lighting from its entire body. Now that he was closer, the medicinal fragrance became even stronger, stronger than anything he had ever smelled before. Even though it was strong, however, it wasn¡¯t repulsive at all. On the contrary, there was a refreshing feeling to it. It was almost as if his cultivation was improving just by breathing in the scent.

    Zu An had seen all kinds of incredibly precious things. The only thing that couldpare to this even in the slightest would be the Feather Mountain Spring.

    He was about to reach out when the Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine came to life and darted to the side. Then, it seemed as if it wanted to dig underground.Zu An was stunned, but he reacted quickly as well, immediately locking down the area. With his current cultivation and the fact that he held the authority of two different worlds, forget about a stalk of immortal medicine, not even a cultivator with the fastest movement skill could escape from his gaze.

    Sure enough, the medicine sensed Zu An''s terrifying pressure. The Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine trembled all over, and its w-like leaves reached outward. It cupped those ''ws'' in respect and bowed repeatedly, as if it was begging for mercy.

    Zu An was stunned. This spiritual medicine actually had its own intelligence! He recalled that the Silverme Flowertree he had encountered in the Yu n¡¯s underground mines was a bit simr.

    Mi Li said, ¡°This stalk of Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine hasn¡¯t matured, so picking it is a bit too much of a pity. The most powerful beings in the universe always nurture a stalk of immortal medicine near them so they can mutually benefit from each other.¡±

    Zu An frowned. Even though this Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine was precious,pared to Qiu Honglei, it was still just a worldly possession.

    Mi Li seemed to have guessed his thoughts and said, ¡°If you want to save Qiu Honglei, you don¡¯t need to use the entire stalk of divine medicine. Make a cut and take some of the juice within, and it should be enough.¡±

    Zu An was surprised. It was rumored that these immortal medicines could enable the strongest in the universe to even live a second life. With Qiu Honglei¡¯s current cultivation, it indeed seemed a bit excessive to use such powerful medicinal strength.

    Mi Li said to the Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine, ¡°We won¡¯t kill you. Are you willing to acknowledge him as your owner and also offer up some medicine to help him save someone?¡±

    The Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine hurriedly shook its head like a henchman. It was almost as if it felt that if it didn¡¯t bend the knee and scrape to curry favor, it would immediately die. It had lived as it pleased here for so many years, so how could it have known that this great demon would appear out of nowhere, and that it wouldn¡¯t even be able to run away?

    As if it was scared that Zu An would straight up eat it, it reached out with its ''ws'' and began to squeeze the fruit on its head. Soon after, three drops of golden liquid came out of thet fruit that had yet to mature. Then, it immediately became dispirited, as if it waspletely emptied out. Even the fragrance became a bit fainter.

    With Zu An¡¯s cultivation, he seized those drops as soon as they came out, not letting them hit the ground. He carefully stored them into a jade container and said, ¡°I¡¯ll give it a try first. If it¡¯s still not enough, I¡¯lle look for you again.¡±

    When it heard him, that Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine was so scared that its entire body trembled. It almost fled again, but it quickly waved its hands, as if to say this amount would be enough to save that person, that it was definitely enough.

    Mi Li said with a smile, ¡°This is the essence of an immortal medicine. Because these drops were extracted, its fruit might take another eon to mature. It should be enough to save Qiu Honglei.¡±

    The Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine nodded in gratitude, practically looking teary-eyed. Zu An and Mi Li were worried that the fruit on its head could just fall straight off from how hard it was shaking its head.

    Mi Li then said to Zu An, ¡°Sign an agreement with it now. Cut open your finger and ce a drop of your blood essence on its body, and then¡­¡±

    When it heard that it had to sign an agreement, the Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine immediately became unwilling.

    <em>Do you know what kind of species I am? I am of the highest bloodline across the endless realms, so what garbage bloodline are you going to use to contaminate me¡­</em>

    But the situation was outside of its control, so it could only endure the humiliation to save its own skin and scheme in secret. Once it fully matured, it would try its best to break free from this guy¡¯s evil clutches.

    While it was thinking, Zu An had already released a drop of his blood essence onto its body.

    <em>This disgusting and lowly blood¡­ Hm?</em>

    The Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine¡¯s head briefly drooped as if it was in pain, but its body immediately straightened.

    <em>This is, this is¡­</em>

    Then, its entire body started to rub against Zu An¡¯s leg, as if it wanted more.

    <em>It¡¯s so tasty!</em>

    Zu An was stunned.

    Mi Li said with a chuckle, ¡°Your transcendent aptitude blood essence is also extremely nourishing for immortal medicines. In the future, if you water this stalk of Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine with your blood essence every so often, you can shorten its period of maturity, and that can also further remove the restraints between the two of you.¡±

    ¡°So that was it. Sigh, stop rubbing against me, it itches¡­¡± Zu An was quite amused by the Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine too. He couldn''t help but gently stroke its body.

    The Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine normally rejected anyone getting close to it, but now, it looked as if it enjoyed it a lot and wanted him to stroke it more.

    ¡°Since you already signed the agreement, let¡¯s just let it continue to grow here so that the endless draconic energy of the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons can continue to nourish it. One day, once you learn how to refine your own paradise dwelling, you can take these dragon veins inside. You can then bring it with you wherever you go,¡± Mi Li said.

    Zu An had seen Jing Teng¡¯s paradise dwelling, which was also the jade pendant he wore. It was indeed extremely convenient. But to take the entire Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons in¡­ Just what kind of concept was that? It really was beyond his wildest imaginations.

    He could only let the Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine continue to grow here. There was already a formation in ce that prevented anyone he didn¡¯t permit to approach. Anyone who did would be sted into ashes by the power of the source of the world.

    Just then, he looked at the creatures that were kneeling on the ground. He said seriously, ¡°Continue guarding this ce. After a hundred years, I will let all of you immediately reincarnate on the upper three paths. Whether you wish to continue being of the Dragon race or be humans, or any other race, you will be permitted to.¡±

    These were all creatures who had been willing to sacrifice themselves to be these monsters and guard this ce, so he felt a lot of respect for them. That was why he wanted to help them as much as possible. Now that he was the underworld emperor, he naturally had that ability.

    Even though the creatures had lost their original wills, they still carried some instincts. When they heard that, they all moved excitedly. After all, they had actually been cursed to forever guard this ce. Even if they died, they wouldn¡¯t be able to enter the cycle of reincarnation.

    Even though they were all willing in the past, after so many years, they had also experienced endless suffering. Now that this person was granting them hope for release, they were all incredibly moved. It was just a hundred years! For creatures like them, it wasn¡¯t that long at all.

    The reanimated creatures all bowed respectfully to Zu An, and then returned to the stone pirs they were standing on. Then, one by one, they became stone statues once again to silently guard this ce.

    After taking care of all the creatures, Zu An took Mi Li and Shang Liuyu into the paradise dwelling within the jade pendant.<blockquote>

    Pika''s Thoughts

    Editor Felis: What dragon? That''s just a hungry cat.</blockquote>

 Chapter 2218: Greeting the Master

    <h4>Chapter 2218: Greeting the Master</h4>

    Because Qiu Honglei¡¯s body was so weak, the Jing Teng sisters had decided to just give her the jade coffin while they themselves slept in a room inside the paradise dwelling.

    Zu An and Mi Li moved toward the jade coffin, opening it and seeing the beauty sleeping within. The stunning youngdy was nowpletely pale. If not for the bit of life force that could asionally be felt from her, she could easily be mistaken for a corpse.

    Zu An took out the jade bottle, his usually steady hand shaking a bit. Even though he had found the stalk of Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine, he didn¡¯t know what he would do if he couldn''t save her. He didn¡¯t even dare to pick Qiu Honglei up for fear that he could end up extinguishing those embers of life.

    He brought the jade bottle to her lips. A drop of golden immortal medicine entered her mouth. A wave of fragrance spread throughout the jade coffin, and Qiu Honglei¡¯s cheeks grew visibly rosier.

    Zu An immediately started to be excited.

    <i>It was effective as expected!</i>

    He poured another drop of immortal medicine into her mouth. Soon, a ripple of gold spread out from her lips and surrounded her entire body. Her entire body seemed to even be shining a bit.

    Zu An was overjoyed, eximing, ¡°Her body is continuously healing!¡±

    He continued to pay attention to her condition. Qiu Honglei gradually stabilized a bit; more than that, a trace of life force even appeared within her. Even though it was small, it was vigorous. It would help her gradually recover shortly after.

    Mi Li also nodded in admiration. ¡°It seems two drops of the immortal medicine elixir are already enough.¡±

    Just then, Jing Teng cried out in rm. Even though she was sleeping, how could she not notice when something so big was happening in the paradise dwelling? She came out and took a look. She was incredibly shocked, eximing, ¡°It¡¯s the energy of an immortal medicine!¡± With her knowledge and experience, it wasn¡¯t surprising that she knew about immortal medicines.

    Dark Jing Teng was more direct. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you let me have a taste of something so good?¡± She licked her lips as she spoke and swallowed with difficulty several times.

    Zu An exined, ¡°I just obtained the Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine.¡±

    Mi Li said, ¡°The Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine is still really young. If we force out any more, that might end up damaging it irreparably.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t there still another drop?¡± Dark Jing Teng got up onto her tiptoes and looked at his bottle.

    Zu An replied seriously, ¡°I still have other uses for this drop.¡±

    Dark Jing Teng immediately became upset. ¡°Are you going to give it to another woman? We sisters helped you so much, and yet you didn¡¯t even know to thank us. How ungrateful! Big sis, let¡¯s leave, this guy isn¡¯t worth caring about.¡±

    White Jing Teng said in annoyance, ¡°Enough already. Big brother Zu definitely has an important use for it. I don¡¯t think he would go so far as to use it to flirt with another woman.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>White Jing Teng¡¯s words are like needles concealed in silk cloth!</i>

    He coughed lightly and could only exin, ¡°This is all to help a friend. Because of something unexpected, he ended up dying. I wanted to see if I could save him.¡±

    He was naturally talking about Gao Ying. Normally, no matter how strong a cultivator¡¯s regenerative abilities were, the head was the source of the six yang. If it was removed, one definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to live. But now, he had summoned Gao Ying¡¯s soul again, and could use the authority of the underworld emperor to heal him... at least, provided that his body could be saved first. That step couldn''t be skipped.

    Zu An just didn¡¯t know if Gao Ying''s body could still be repaired. He didn¡¯t think the chances were all that great. In such a chaotic battle, the corpse could have already been long destroyed, or it could have already rotted. At that point, he really wouldn¡¯t be able to reverse the situation. But Gao Ying was a good friend, so he had to at least give it a try. How could he just not do anything?

    When she learned that it was to save a friend who had already died, Dark Jing Teng¡¯s expression finally eased up a bit. She was going to say something when White Jing Teng took control over their body. She had a somewhat apologetic expression as she said, ¡°Sorry about what I said earlier. I didn¡¯t know...¡±

    Zu An cut her off. ¡°It¡¯s fine. It isn¡¯t your fault. Once the immortal medicine matures a bit, I¡¯ll definitely get some for you two.¡±

    White Jing Teng said bashfully, ¡°You don¡¯t actually need to go that far...¡±

    Before she even finished, Dark Jing Teng took over. ¡°Even if you don¡¯t want it, I want it. But I heard that it takes a really long time for the immortal medicine to mature, so big brother Zu has to fill me up through that other method.¡±

    Mi Li and Zu An were speechless.

    ¡°Can you shut your mouth?!¡± White Jing Teng finally couldn''t take it anymore. Her little sister was always embarrassing her, and this time, it was even in front of Zu An''s master. It really was too humiliating!

    She nervously bowed toward the two of them. ¡°We were just woken up because of the immortal medicine. I... I¡¯m going back to sleep now.¡± After saying that, she hurriedly returned to her room. The back of her neck was bright red.

    Mi Li couldn''t help but say with a smile, ¡°Those two sisters are pretty interesting.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s mood was quite good at the moment. He remarked, ¡°They are indeed fun.¡±

    The sisters often used ''carrot and stick'' tactics. Whenever White Jing Teng was too embarrassed, she had Dark Jing Teng speak for her. In truth, she seemed to be rather cunning herself. But Dark Jing Teng always said the craziest things, escting the situation beyond what White Jing Teng could endure.

    ¡°And what do you mean by ''they are fun''?¡± Mi Li looked at him with an ambiguous smile.

    ¡°???¡± Zu An turned to look at her. This woman had actually made that kind of joke!

    Just then, there was a groan from beside them as Shang Liuyu gradually woke up. It turned out that after smelling the fragrance of the immortal medicine, she had felt her fatigue improve considerably. Her body also recovered a bit.

    Zu An looked at Mi Li and asked curiously, ¡°Are you not going to hide yourself?¡±

    This woman had always behaved so mysteriously, not wanting to meet anyone else. What was going on today?

    Mi Li harrumphed and said, ¡°I am your master, not your mistress. Why would I need to hide? These women of yours should all be offering me tea respectfully.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He couldn''t be bothered to mock her back at the moment, and hurriedly ran over to help Shang Liuyu up. He eximed happily, ¡°Big sis Shang, you¡¯re up!¡±

    ¡°Ah Zu~¡± When she realized that the first person she was seeing after waking up was Zu An, Shang Liuyu felt really at ease. ¡°Hm? It smells amazing here.¡±

    She sniffed the air gently. She wanted to find the source of the smell, but then she suddenly saw Mi Li next to her. The woman was dressed entirely in red, and her figure was dazzling. Judging from her expression, she seemed to be the proud and confident type.

    <i>Is this also one of Ah Zu¡¯s women?</i>

    <i>Wasn¡¯t there that Jing Teng before I fainted? Why did another one appear so soon?</i>

    For some reason, she just felt a bit strange when she realized that.

    <i>Is the smelling from her?</i>

    <i>Not even women can resist this kind of fragrance, let alone a simple-headed man like Zu An.</i>

    Mi Li gave Zu An a look, seemingly a bit annoyed.

    Zu An felt a huge headache. He led Shang Liuyu up to Mi Li and said, ¡°Big sis Shang, this is my master.¡±

    ¡°Master?¡± Shang Liuyu immediately became really embarrassed.

    <i>So it was a misunderstanding!</i>

    ¡°Greetings, master.¡±

    Mi Li had an ambiguous smile as she remarked, ¡°Oh? You changed your way of speaking so quickly.¡±

    Shang Liuyu was now even more hard-pressed and said awkwardly, ¡°Ah Zu and I don¡¯t have that kind of rtionship. W''are just pure siblings.¡±

    ¡°Siblings?¡± Mi Li gave Zu An a look, her expression seemingly saying ''you really know how to mix up how you y''.

    Zu An didn¡¯t feel like ying along with her whims and asked, ¡°Can you stop with your jokes already? Big sis Shang is still weak right now.¡±

    Mi Li curled her lips in annoyance.

    <i>This guy is already going into his protective mode?</i>

    <i>If I really were one of his lovers, wouldn¡¯t I be seething in anger right now?</i>

    Zu An looked at Shang Liuyu considerately and asked, ¡°Big sis Shang, do you feel better now?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, much better. This fragrance smells so good, I feel as if my mind has cleared up a lot already,¡± Shang Liuyu replied.

    ¡°This is the smell of the Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine...¡± Zu An roughly exined what had happened to her.

    ¡°Thendy Qiu can be saved?¡± Shang Liuyu asked happily. She knew why Zu An had entered the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons. Now that everything had worked out, it couldn''t be better.

    ¡°Yeah, but she might need a bit more rest before she can wake up again,¡± Zu An said. ¡°Honglei¡¯s injuries were too severest time. Even the immortal medicine elixir needs time to repair her body.¡± n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°That¡¯s good. As long as she¡¯s no longer in danger, she can slowly recuperate. The Dragon Pce has all kinds of healing medicines. I¡¯ll find them for youter.¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll thank you in her ce now,¡± Zu An said; his mood had improved a lot.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to be so polite with me,¡± Shang Liuyu replied.

    Zu An she suddenly noticed that Mi Li was smiling as if she was his aunt. He immediately felt embarrassed.

    <i>This woman is normally really carefree and aloof, and she¡¯s like that even around Chuyan, but why is she acting like this in front of Shang Liuyu? Is it because she wants her to greet her respectfully?</i>

    ¡°Alright, I won¡¯t disturb you young¡¯uns anymore. I¡¯m going back to sleep as well.¡± Mi Li nodded toward Shang Liuyu before disappearing.

 Chapter 2219: Inheritance

    <h4>Chapter 2219: Inheritance</h4>

    Shang Liuyu was shocked. She looked around and said, ¡°Ah Zu, this master of yours is a bit... mysterious.¡±

    Zu An nodded in deep sympathy. ¡°She is indeed quite mysterious.¡±

    ¡°How old is she?¡± After hearing Mi Li call them ''young¡¯uns'', Shang Liuyu was a bit curious.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what her exact age is, but even if it isn¡¯t ten thousand, it should be at least eight thousand.¡± Zu An figured that since she had slept from a past dynasty until now, she definitely wasn¡¯t young.

    Shang Liuyu was now even more shocked. There was actually someone who had been able to live for such a long time! She remarked, ¡°No wonder you grew so quickly. So you had such an amazing master.¡±

    While lying on her bed in a certain space, Mi Li¡¯s ears perked up. A smile appeared on her face.

    <i>This little girl isn¡¯t bad. I like her.</i>

    <i>Hmph, I¡¯ve seen many of his women. This seems to be the first one who has praised me.</i>

    She slept peacefully after seeing that Shang Liuyu wasn''t speaking badly of her behind her back.

    Zu An said in annoyance, ¡°She is really strong, but she isn¡¯t all that reliable. Forget it, let¡¯s stop talking about her and head out for now.¡±

    He figured that she could still be listening in secret, so he naturally wouldn¡¯t give her things to use against him.

    Soon after, he led Shang Liuyu out of the pendant. She clicked her tongue in wonder, feeling really amazed by the paradise dwelling. When she left, she saw the Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine next to the altar, and she also learned that Zu An had already obtained the World Law Beacon. She sighed deeply and said, ¡°The few days I''ve spent around you have felt more enriching than my entire life so far. I¡¯ve seen far too many incredible things.¡±

    ¡°Then you can just always stay at my side,¡± Zu An blurted out, but he immediately regretted it. He just couldn''t change this frivolous mouth of his. He already had enough rtionships going on and had told himself not to tease others anymore so many times, and yet he just didn¡¯t listen.

    Shang Liuyu had already recovered her usual demeanor. When she heard that, she smiled and said, ¡°Sure! I¡¯ll go and ask my big sis first, to see if she agrees.¡±

    Zu An was rmed and wondered what she meant. Was she tactfully declining, or was she saying that they¡¯d all be together if her big sister agreed?

    Unfortunately, Shang Liuyu had a big smile on her face and didn¡¯t give anything away. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    In that instant, Zu An was once again that youngster who worried about those kinds of things again. But he had already gone through many experiences, so he quickly calmed down. He said, ¡°By the way, I heard that you used your singing voice as a form of defense, which seems to carry traces of the academy¡¯s teachings. Are you the mysterious ¡®singer¡¯ thete libationer mentioned?¡±

    ¡°Ah! I didn¡¯t expect you to have even seen through that.¡± Shang Liuyu immediately admitted to it. ¡°When teacher saw that I was talented in singing, he epted me as a disciple and gave me a lot of pointers. At first, he was worried that being his disciple would bring me trouble because of my special identity, so he didn¡¯t let me announce it to the world. Of course, I don¡¯t need to hide that from you.¡±

    Zu An sighed. ¡°It seems the libationer knew that he would have to face Zhao Han one day, and was worried that you could all be implicated.¡±

    Shang Liuyu''s expression filled with grief as she said, ¡°That¡¯s right. Only now do I realize how much thought teacher put into it. He could have discussed this with us and we would¡¯ve thought it over together. Then, he might not have been forced to take down Zhao Han with him.¡±

    ¡°He probably just wanted his rtionship with his students to be more of a professional one,¡± Zu An said in constion.

    ¡°Yeah. Even though teacher was always easygoing, he was quite the proud person inside. He might have thought that this was a grudge shared only between him and Zhao Han, and thus never wanted us to join in on it from the very start.¡± Shang Liuyu looked as if she was recalling memories fondly.

    Zu An recalled how he hadn¡¯t seen thete libationer¡¯s soul in the underworld either. He wondered if the libationer had already chosen to reincarnate, or if it was for some other reason. Otherwise, he would definitely have looked after the libationer a bit.

    After the two reminisced for a bit, Shang Liuyu suddenly asked curiously, ¡°By the way, how did you know that I was able to use music inbat? I only revealed that when I faced those two monsters, right?¡±

    ¡°I was just about to talk to you about that,¡± Zu An said apologetically. ¡°I actually arrived a while back, and was watching how you fended off the attacks of those two monsters the entire time.¡±

    Shang Liuyu was stunned. She looked at Zu An in confusion, but didn¡¯t get angry, because she knew that there definitely had to be a reason for his actions.

    Sure enough, Zu An quickly answered, ¡°Actually, after I finished my work in the underworld, I discovered that there was something happening on this side. When I was just about to return, there was a voice that stopped me... You seemed to be experiencing a kind of trial yourself, so if I made an appearance, you wouldn¡¯t have been able to seed.¡±

    ¡°A trial?¡± Shang Liuyu was stunned. She suddenly remembered what the mysterious giant statue had said.

    Zu An exined, ¡°A holographic figure told me that she was a remnant will left behind by the Mermaid Ancestor. and that she was about topletely disappear. Fortunately, previously, the Necro... Ahem, her friend agreed to help her choose a sessor and began the trial. But she couldn''t continue to maintain the trial anymore, and entrusted me with the task of testing you.

    ¡°The qualities your Mermaid race takes the most pride in are none other than love, friendship, and loyalty. It¡¯s very evident that even at the most critical moments, you didn¡¯t abandon me, and did your best to struggle for as long as you could instead. Your loyalty, courage, and wisdom are all the most precious qualities of the Mermaid race. That¡¯s why I hereby dere in that senior¡¯s ce that you have passed the trial to obtain the Mermaid Ancestor¡¯s inheritance.¡±

    While he spoke, a blue sphere of light suddenly appeared in his hand. With a light tap, that light entered between Shang Liuyu''s brows. In that instant, Shang Liuyu felt as if endless memories and knowledge appeared in her sea of consciousness. There was also a beautiful figure who began telling her something.

    As he waited, Zu An started getting nervous. He asked, ¡°So... How do you feel?¡± Even though he had examined this ball of light before and saw that there were no traps or resentful soul-type things, he still couldn''t help but be worried when he saw Shang Liuyu suddenly go nk.

    Shang Liuyu snapped back to reality. ¡°Good. There¡¯s so much information in my head, and it¡¯s all about skills that have long been lost to the Mermaid race. I can also feel that my cultivation has grown by quite a bit too. But the Mermaid Ancestor told me that I can¡¯t rush it, or else my foundation will be unstable. I need to train step by step as she instructs me in order to gradually digest the present she has given me.¡±

    ¡°That makes sense. It¡¯s easy for problems to ur if your cultivation breaks through too quickly. It¡¯s better to be a bit safer,¡± Zu An said in agreement.

    Shang Liuyu pursed her lips and smiled. ¡°You¡¯re making it sound as if your cultivation speed is slow or something.¡±

    She had already heard too many stories of geniuses before, and she was even a genius herself. And yetpared to Zu An, all of them paled inparison.

    Zu An was a bit embarrassed. ¡°My situation is a bit special.¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright, I know you¡¯re special. None of us canpare to you.¡± Shang Liuyu looked at him with a big smile. She suddenly asked with a serious expression, ¡°By the way, what if I didn¡¯t pass the test and couldn''t hold on anymore? What would you have done?¡±

    ¡°I would¡¯ve immediately saved you, of course.¡± Zu An looked into her eyes and continued, ¡°And I would still have immediately considered you to have passed the test.¡±

    Shang Liuyu pouted yfully and said, ¡°You¡¯re cheating here!¡±

    Zu An looked at her warmly. ¡°So what if I¡¯m cheating a bit if it¡¯s for big sis Shang¡¯s sake?¡±

    Shang Liuyu¡¯s face turned a bit red. Her heart started beating really quickly.

    <i>What is he trying to say?</i>

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to be able to hold out for that long at all. I thought that with your nature, if you knew everything, you would definitely want to pass with your own ability,¡± Zu An continued.

    Shang Liuyu formed a heart shape with her thumb and index finger. ¡°You really understand me!¡±

    She immediately regretted it, however. This kind of thing was really popr among the Mermaid race, but didn¡¯t mean much. But right now, it did seem as if she was flirting a bit.

 Chapter 2220: Welcoming the Dragon Kingâ€™s Return

    Shang Liuyu quickly changed the topic. ¡°I might have to cultivate in seclusion in the Dragon Pce for some time, so I won¡¯t be keeping youpany.¡±

    The inheritance she received would take a lot of time to digest. This was a rare opportunity, and if she waited for too long, the Mermaid Ancestor¡¯s inheritance could disappear. At that point, the knowledge would be gone forever and she would be one of the Mermaid Race¡¯s greatest sinners.

    Zu An voiced his understanding and said, ¡°I need to make a trip to the human side to take care of some important affairs.¡± The first reason was that he had to save Gao Ying, and the second was that he was worried about the safety of Liu Ning and some others.

    They both had things they were worried about as they made their way out of the tomb.

    Suddenly, Shang Liuyu frowned and kneeled down in ce. She was really weak right now, so after walking for a bit, she felt the world spin around her.

    Zu An was a bit apologetic as he said, ¡°I was too careless. You need to rest, so I¡¯ll carry you.¡±

    Shang Liuyu¡¯s face reddened and she reflexively refused. ¡°There¡¯s no need. I¡¯ll be fine after just a bit of rest. Sigh¡­¡±

    Before she even finished, she was already picked up in a princess carry. She pursed her lips, but in the end, she didn¡¯t say anything. The two continued forward just like that.

    The Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons was extremely peaceful. Shang Liuyu could even clearly hear the heartbeating from her chest. No matter how much of a free and unaffected life she lived, she was still a young woman who hadn¡¯t gotten married. A man was now sticking to her so intimately that her face couldn''t help but turn red.There seemed to be a strange atmosphere filling the air. The two of them continued silently and unknowingly arrived in front of the Dragon Deity statue, where there were chunks of corpses everywhere. Even the seawater was dyed a bit red as a result of the monsters killing Ao Yong¡¯s group.

    Shang Liuyu was a bit hurt. ¡°These are people of the Ocean races, still. It is a bit too pitiful to leave them out here just like that.¡±

    Zu An stopped and used the power of the Crown of the Ocean Deity to surround the corpses. Then, he sent them all into a certain cave in the distant Dragon Burial Mountain. Then, currents swept through the pce and the blood was washed away without a trace. The pce returned to its peaceful and dignified state.

    ¡°I¡¯ve already arranged a ce for them in the Dragon Burial Mountain, which can be considered a return home,¡± Zu An said.

    ¡°Thank you!¡± Shang Liuyu knew that Ao Yong and the others deserved to be punished for their crimes. If it wasn¡¯t for her sake, he definitely wouldn¡¯t have done such things.

    ¡°Why do we need to use words like ''thanks'' between us?¡± Zu An smiled and continued to lead her out.

    At first, Shang Liuyu¡¯s body was still a bit rigid, but she gradually softened up. She leaned naturally into his arms, and it started to seem as though being carried like this wasn¡¯t so bad either¡­

    But the happiest times were always the shortest. Soon after, the two of them arrived at the entrance of the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons.

    ¡°Oh, right!¡± When they saw the door, Shang Liuyu suddenly remembered something important. She looked at Zu An worriedly and asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to change your appearance first and return to being my brother-inw?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need. This is just fine.¡± Zu An shook his head.

    Now that he had just killed the Dragon King in the underworld and knew that he was already dead, he didn¡¯t feel like continuing to impersonate him. He couldn''t just do it forever, right? This was a good chance to dere the news of the Dragon King¡¯s death.

    Shang Liuyu opened her mouth and was about to say something to change his mind, but she suddenly felt as if there was no need. He definitely had his reasons for doing this.

    ¡°Then let me go for now,¡± Shang Liuyu said quietly. The Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons was sorge that there was definitely going to be Ocean race guards outside. If all of them saw him carry her out, that would be way too humiliating.

    ¡°You''re too weak right now. You might faint after just a few steps.¡± Zu An rejected her suggestion.

    ¡°But¡­¡± Shang Liuyu opened her mouth, but didn¡¯t know what to say.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Meanwhile, Zu An had already opened up the exit of the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons. Light immediately entered from outside, which made him unable to help but close his eyes.

    ¡°We wee the Dragon King¡¯s¡­ return?¡±

    At first, arge number of Dragon race subjects, soldiers, maids, and others kneeled down in respectful greeting. But midway through their sentence, they suddenly saw that the one who hade out wasn¡¯t the Dragon King, but rather an unknown man, and there was even a woman in his arms. Judging from her clothing, she looked like the Mermaid Princess?

    <em>What is going on right now?</em>

    Shang Hongyu had already heard the news ande over. After she purged the hidden monsters among the Ocean races, she had been waiting outside of the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons. She had always been nervous about her little sister¡­ and Zu An''s safety. She wanted to find out what had happened as soon as possible.

    Of course, she recognized Zu An. When she saw that both he and her little sister were safe, she was happy at first, but then she became nervous immediately after.

    <em>Why is he showing his real appearance?</em>

    She quickly reacted and greeted him first. ¡°I greet the regent!¡±

    Zu An praised her inwardly for her wits. He also smiled toward her and said, ¡°Greetings, queen.¡±

    The officials of the Ocean races immediately began to whisper among themselves. Many of them vaguely recalled that this person was none other than the Fiend races'' regent; strictly speaking, that made him a superior to the Ocean races. But what they were all curious about was why the regent would appear in the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons! Judging from the situation, the queen seemed to have known about it. Furthermore, there was also the question of the Dragon King; where had he gone?

    When she heard the chaotic voices from the crowd, Shang Hongyu started getting worried as well. She could only ask, ¡°Is Liuyu fine?¡±

    ¡°Big sis, I just feel a bit tired¡­¡± Shang Liuyu couldn''t keep up the act and could only turn around to look at her big sister.

    All of the Ocean races erupted into anothermotion. It really was the Mermaid Princess!

    Shang Liuyu and Shang Hongyu had high prestige among the Ocean races. Shang Hongyu was one thing, since she was the Ocean races'' queen, so everyone could only respect her and wouldn¡¯t dare to have any other thoughts.

    But Shang Liuyu was single! She was also beautiful and noble, and good at music. Her beautiful and mellow song had made countless young officials and guards yearn for her day and night, and she had already be the lover of countless young adults¡¯ dreams. But Shang Liuyu was like a drifting cloud high up above the mountaintops. She looked as if she was in reach, and yet it also felt as if she was as distant as the horizon. Who knew how many outstanding men had confessed their feelings to her, yet they were all refused.

    They¡¯d never even seen her let any man approach her. There were even some rumors that the sisters could be lesbians. The Dragon King was so perverted and the queen was so pretty, and yet they hadn¡¯t spent much time together at all. Shang Liuyu had also pushed men far away and only smiled around her older sister. That made it seem as if the Mermaid Queen¡¯s marriage was just to fool everyone else.

    Many people hadpletely given up, and they even shipped the sisters together. After all, they were too beautiful, and just thinking about the two of them was a kind of enjoyment too.

    But all of that was shattered today. They had never expected that Shang Liuyu, who had always pushed men far, far away, was now lying bashfully in the arms of a young man! Furthermore, judging from her expression and weakness, could it be that they had done something exhausting together? She had been tormented so badly that she couldn''t even stand up anymore?!

    <em>That scoundrel, he actually treated our goddess like that!</em>

    A huge amount of Rage points entered through the system. Zu An was a bit puzzled.

    <em>What is going on with all of these people?</em>

    Shang Hongyu shared simr thoughts with those people. She had a weird expression when she saw her little sister lying bashfully in Zu An¡¯s arms. She asked, ¡°She¡¯s tired? What were the two of you doing just now?¡±

    At first, Shang Liuyu was stunned, and then she became extremely embarrassed. ¡°Big sis! I just fought against those monsters for many days in a row, and that¡¯s why I¡¯m exhausted! What in the world are you thinking?!¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Shang Hongyu¡¯s face heated up. After staying around Zu An for so long, she couldn''t help but have her thoughts drift in that direction. She felt as if she had learned from a bad example.

    Just then, many Ocean race subjects surrounded them. ¡°Your highness the queen, what is happening?¡±

    The three were all chatting happily, as if they already knew each other.

    Shang Hongyu reacted quickly and said, ¡°Everyone here already knows about the infiltration of monsters among our Ocean races. The regent hid his identity and was working together with me and the Dragon King to eliminate the monsters in the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons. Regent, why don¡¯t I see the Dragon King and the others?¡±

    After all, he had been pretending to be the Dragon King, so she quickly realized that something was off. How close she had be with the ¡®Dragon King¡¯ after she returned was now public knowledge. If they learned that the Dragon King had been an imposter, there would definitely be a hugemotion, so she immediately changed her wording. At the same time, she couldn''t understand why Zu An had stopped pretending to be the Dragon King, since that would save all of them a lot of trouble.

    Shang Liuyu secretly admired her sister¡¯s move.

    <em>Big sis really is amazing. She was immediately able to produce a reasonable exnation even though we didn¡¯t interact with each other at all.</em>

    <em>It¡¯s no wonder she and Zu An were able to fool mepletely.</em>

    Zu An sighed and said, ¡°The Dragon King sacrificed himself in order to eliminate those monsters. He perished together with the Skin-ying King. I hope your highness is able to find sce in your sorrow.¡±

    The Dragon King and Skin-ying King had indeed died together in that arena. To a certain extent, he wasn¡¯tpletely lying.

    As soon as those words filled the air, this entire ce immediately became silent.

    The Dragon King had actually died?

 Chapter 2221: You Alone Canâ€™t Win Against Us All!

    ¡°Huh?¡± Shang Hongyu¡¯s face became deathly pale. She staggered for a bit, and then fainted on the spot. Fortunately, Zu An reacted quickly and immediately supported her.

    Shang Liuyu also hurriedly reached out to help her. When she sensed that her big sister¡¯s ki was still abundant and her aura stable, she immediately sighed inwardly.

    <em>Big sis¡¯ acting fooled even me.</em>

    Zu An had one sister in each arm right now. However, the Ocean race subjects didn¡¯t think much of it, because they were preupied by even more shocking news.

    ¡°What? The Dragon King is dead?¡±

    ¡°How could the Dragon King die with such high cultivation?¡±

    ¡­.

    They all looked at Zu An with suspicion, as if they were interrogating him.

    <em>Did you kill our Dragon King?</em>¡°This matter unfortunately cannot help but raise suspicion,¡± an Ocean race elder finally said. ¡°I wonder if there is any proof?¡±

    Shang Liuyu was the first to say, ¡°I am a witness who can attest that what the regent said is true.¡±

    Zu An gave her a smile.

    <em>She chose to stand at my side, as expected.</em>

    ¡°But¡­¡± The Ocean race subjects all whispered among themselves. They all looked really conflicted. Normally, with Shang Liuyu¡¯s character and prestige, there was no reason for what she said to be a lie.

    But all of them could see how she was cuddling up in Zu An¡¯s arms with a gentle expression. It was hard for them to not think that they had some special kind of rtionship.

    ¡°May I ask where master and the other elders are?¡± This time, someone under Ao Yong¡¯s faction spoke up. They looked for their master everywhere, but apart from Zu An and Shang Liuyu, they didn¡¯t see anything at all.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, there were many others who followed the Dragon King into the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons. Why didn¡¯t a single one of theme out?¡± An elder had been looking everywhere, but didn¡¯t see anyone else. There were some good friends of his who had gone went inside for this trip, and yet now, not a single one of them remained.

    Shang Liuyu gave Zu An a worried look.

    <em>The things that happened inside are too bloody. I don¡¯t know how to tactfully exin it to everyone.</em>

    Zu An gave her a look as if telling her not to worry and said, ¡°Those monsters were too cunning and set up a great suppression formation. However, Ao Yong and the many elders fought together with the Dragon King to defeat those monsters. In the end, they all lost their lives.¡±

    Commotion filled the ce as soon as those words were spoken.

    Shang Liuyu was speechless.

    <em>That really is tactful enough¡­</em>

    ¡°All of them died? And you alone survived?¡± The expressions of the Ocean race elders grew more and more serious. Those who had lost family members on this trip were starting to get emotional.

    As for Ao Yong¡¯s subordinates, they were stupefied. The core members of the faction knew that it was actually Ao Yong who seemed to have set up a great formation to eliminate the Dragon King. Why was the story now that he jsf fought together with the Dragon King?

    <em>Could it be that when they were about to activate it, they discovered that the monsters were trying to destroy the Ocean races, so he decisively gave up on his hostility against the Dragon King and the brothers faced the monsters together?</em>

    <em>He really¡­ We''re about to drown in tears!</em>

    <em>But master and the Dragon King haven''t been able to tolerate each other¡¯s existence for so long. Even the chances of him cooperating with the monsters to kill the Dragon King seems to be a bit higher¡­</em>

    When she heard the surrounding mor and noise, Shang Hongyu ¡®conveniently¡¯ woke up again. She quickly asked Zu An, ¡°Which monsters were there? What was the battle like?¡±

    Zu An knew that she was providing cover for him, so he used the chance to say, ¡°There were five monsters in total. The Skin-ying King impersonated the court guard Ka Qier. There were also the Shadowhorror Devil, Bloodthirst Crocodile, Firedevil Sea Beast, Lord of Myriad Transformations¡­¡±

    He exined the skills of the monsters while sharing the relevant events from within the tomb. His exnation was quite clear and rational.

    As she listened, Shang Liuyu was full of admiration. She felt that, had she not personally experienced it herself, she might¡¯ve been fooled too.

    <em>This guy is just too good at fooling others.</em>

    <em>Hmph, I wonder if he frequently fools women too, and that¡¯s why he¡¯s so good at it.</em>

    When she heard the entire story, Shang Hongyu was full of surprise. She naturally knew that there was no Dragon King at all. When shepared the story to what she did know, she could more or less piece together what actually happened in the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons. She couldn''t help but feel grateful that Zu An was here. Otherwise, if it had been anyone else, they definitely wouldn¡¯t have been able to deal with all of this.

    Many subjects became quiet when they heard the exnation. What Zu An said made sense, and there weren¡¯t any clear points of suspicion. It seemed things really had y out like that. But now that the Dragon King had perished, things in the Ocean races were probably going to change.

    Just then, a trusted aide of Ao Yong¡¯s faction said skeptically, ¡°There are too many suspicious points in this story. How did Zu An alone manage to infiltrate the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons? Why did so many people die, and yet you two are still alive? Doesn¡¯t this mean you can make up any kind of story you want?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. No one knows whether what you said is true or not. Maybe you colluded with the monsters to silence the others!¡± someone else from Ao Yong¡¯s faction said noisily.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Shang Liuyu¡¯s expression changed. ¡°Are you all saying that I¡¯m lying?¡±

    ¡°Who knows if you are or not? Judging from how you two are hugging each other, you¡¯re clearly close,¡± said an Ocean race official with a sneer.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I heard that you were already friendly with this Zu An while you were on the human side. There were even some scandals in your rtionship. We naturally can¡¯t believe your testimony with that level of a rtionship!¡± said someone else.

    Even though Shang Liuyu had been the sweetheart in everyone¡¯s dreams, she was single back then. That naturally granted her an additional halo of mor. Now that she was together with another man, their rose-tinted lenses were shattered. Out of shame and anger, they only wanted to destroy anything they couldn''t obtain.

    When she saw that the atmosphere was turning sour, Shang Hongyu quickly said, ¡°The regent and I have previously discussed this. He sneaked into the troop precisely to work with the Dragon King against the monsters. This is something that both the Dragon King and I knew about. Could it be that you are all suggesting I am lying as well?¡±

    ¡°We naturally wouldn¡¯t, but your respected self didn¡¯t see what happened in the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons. Furthermore, Shang Liuyu is the queen¡¯s little sister, so you would naturally choose to speak up for them,¡± another elder said.

    ¡°You¡­!¡± Shang Hongyu was panicky and furious, while inside, she was incredibly worried. The situation was gradually slipping out of control!

    She was about to say something when Zu An stopped her. He calmly looked at those present and said, ¡°All those who question my words can step forward now.¡±

    When they heard those words, the noisy area immediately quieted down. All of them had more or less heard about some of the things that had taken ce in the Fiend King Court.

    An elder under Ao Yong gritted his teeth and stepped forward. ¡°What, are you going to oppress the people with force? Even though your cultivation is high, the Ocean races are full of powerful individuals. You alone can''t win against us all!¡±

    He had no choice but to speak up here. He had invested everything he had into Ao Yong. If Ao Yong had ascended to the throne, he would have achieved meteoric sess and risen up to the peak of the Ocean races'' authority. Now, all that was gone, so how could he not at least figure out what happened?

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Zu An sneered. No one saw him do anything, but a trace of sword energy flew out, and then the official¡¯s head shot into the sky.

    The head''s eyes were wide open, filled with disbelief.

    <em>He actually really dared to kill me!</em>

    With that, the ce immediately erupted intomotion. Many Ocean race experts took a step back. They drew their weapons and surrounded him vigntly.

    ¡°Mister Zu, are you going to make our entire Ocean races your enemy?¡± an Ocean race elder of good moral standing and reputation asked after gathering his courage. His voice was shaking a bit.

    The elder who had spoken up just now had simr cultivation to himself, and yet no one even saw how Zu An had attacked before that elder was killed instantly. If it had been him in that ce, his end would likely have been the same. His only source of confidence was that the Ocean races'' territory was his home field, and there was an army here too. No matter how high Zu An¡¯s cultivation was, how could he make an army his enemy?

    Sure enough, the army rushed over when they heard the news andpletely surrounded the area. The harsh atmosphere made it seem as if, as long as they were given the order, they would make sure to erase all traces of Zu An¡¯s existence.

    The Ocean race elder was about to give the order to arrest Zu An when a mysterious pressure suddenly descended. All those present felt a trembling from their very souls and couldn''t control themselves from kneeling down.

    This was like the legendary aura of a deity! It was vast and iparable, making all of them feel just how insignificant they were.

    There were some formations in the army that specialized in resisting the pressure of their enemies, but this pressure was on an entirely different level of existence, so the formation didn¡¯t do much at all. The formation users all fell to their knees too.

    Everyone present looked at Zu An in the air in horror. All of them were shaking in fear. How was this person so absurdly powerful?!

    In that instant, they suddenly realized something. He seemed to have be one with this entire area of the world. His will was the will of the world.

    Forget about the Ocean races, who could defy the will of the world?

    Only Shang Liuyu and Shang Hongyu didn¡¯t kneel, but it was because they were in his arms, and their hands were intertwined with his.

    Shang Hongyu opened her red lips slightly, her expression filled with shock. It had just been a few days since theyst met, so how had he be this powerful already? Even though she knew he was strong, that had still been within her realm of understanding.

    But his power now exuded a kind of divine might. It wasn¡¯t on the same order of magnitude as the other experts of the world anymore. No wonder he had remained so calm from start to finish!

    She was a bit happy. Their encounter at the seaside restaurant seemed to have been dictated by fate. Otherwise, she really didn¡¯t know how she could have faced the horrifying events that came after¡­

 Chapter 2222: Wedding Bows

    Compared to her big sister¡¯s shock, Shang Liuyu was much calmer inparison. After all, she had already seen how powerful Zu An was in the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons, so she had already made mental preparations. But right now, she was feeling more bashful.

    <em>Why does Ah Zu keep holding me in his arms? The Ocean races¡¯ people are all kneeling on the ground right now¡­ I¡¯m sure news of this will soon spread throughout the entire Ocean race territory.</em>

    Of course, while she was feeling shy and embarrassed, she also felt a bit gratified. Which youngdy didn¡¯t dream about such a thing? They all dreamed about their lover descending from the heavens like a deity. This scene right now¡­

    She immediately got rid of that thought as soon as it appeared. There was a trace of redness on her cheeks.

    <em>We are only like siblings! What kind of nonsense am I thinking?</em>

    Zu An¡¯s voice echoed in the heads of every Ocean race individual like a divine decree. ¡°Previously, I only had the patience to listen to what you said out of respect for Shang Liuyu and Shang Hongyu, and yet you all think that I really am scared of you?¡±

    ¡°We wouldn¡¯t dare, we wouldn¡¯t dare!¡± The Ocean race subjects who had previously objected were all shaking all over and kowtowing as they begged for mercy.

    It felt as if the entire world¡¯s will was looking down on them and exerting its pressure, preventing them from producing the slightest thought of rebellion. Every inch of their bodies was shaking. They were already regretting their actions severely.

    <em>If we had known you were so amazing before, why would we dare to utter a word? None of us are tired of living yet¡­</em>¡°You¡¯re begging for forgiveness? Then it¡¯ll depend on whether the queen is willing to forgive you all or not.¡± Zu An gave Shang Hongyu a smile.

    Shang Hongyu¡¯s face now truly turned red. She naturally knew that he was helping her establish her authority here. After all, now that the Dragon King had died, a queen like her would only have power in name, and she''dck a bit of pressure. Even though people had seen how she purged the monsters, not many really feared her. A clear example was that when she spoke up for Zu An earlier, those subjects hadn''t paid her any attention.

    She took a deep breath and said, ¡°The regent was kind enough to help us, and yet not only did we not thank him, we instead repaid kindness with evil words. Sir regent was so generous, but we cannot just pretend that this didn¡¯t happen.

    ¡°All those who spoke words of opposition will have their government titles decreased by three ranks and forfeit their sries for three years!¡±

    This was a good chance to clean out some of these individuals who had relied purely on their seniority to hold their positions. Then, she could ce her own trusted aides in those positions. Of course, she couldn''t be too cruel, or else it wouldn¡¯t be in line with her reputation of being virtuous.

    ¡°Thank you, your highness! Thank you, regent!¡± Those subjects all bowed in gratitude. Right now, they were truly grateful, because when they saw what happened to that unlucky official earlier, they''d thought that they were done for. And yet now, they were actually able to stay alive! Her highness really was virtuous! In that instant, Shang Hongyu¡¯s position in their hearts became much higher.

    Zu An nodded slightly and said, ¡°Out of respect for the queen, I will tell you the truth that you all wished to hear before.¡±

    Those who were kneeling were stunned. They didn¡¯t dare to even say a thing.

    Shang Hongyu and Shang Liuyu were a bit confused. They didn¡¯t know what he was preparing.

    ¡°The real situation is that Ao Yong coveted the throne. He and his trusted aides set up a great suppression formation in the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons¡¯ hall, andunched a rebellion. Together with the monsters who were all at the peak of the earth immortal rank, and the awakening of many powerful reanimated beasts in the main hall, that was how the Dragon King died. In the end, I could only save Shang Liuyu alone.

    ¡°I wanted to hide this from the Ocean races, as the most important thing right now is to recover, rather than entering another period of inner turmoil. Thus, I didn''t speak of this matter. I didn¡¯t expect that the people Ao Yong sent would still not be convinced. As a result, I have to tell you the truth so that no further unexpected events will happen among the Ocean races.¡±

    He had used absolute power to convince the masses today, but he was worried that once he left, there would be hidden dangers for Shang Hongyu to deal with. That was why he patiently exined these things.

    Everyone liked looking for some new drama to listen to. Regardless of when it was, they felt as if there was some plot or conspiracy going on, let alone the fact that the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons trip this time was indeed full of suspicious events. But they were often ignorant as well. As long as one gave them a believable conspiracy, gave them a ¡®viin¡¯, they would be satisfied and think, ''it was as I expected''. Few people would think even deeper.

    Sure enough, when they heard his words, everyone present immediately looked as if they understood. All of them looked at Ao Yong¡¯s people with anger. Quite a few of them had actually known about Ao Yong¡¯s ns. As such, when they heard the exnation, they immediately believed it.

    Ao Yong¡¯s people were shivering in fear. They wanted to run, but under this powerful pressure, they couldn''t move at all.

    Shang Hongyu also reacted and said with a cold expression, ¡°Men, arrest Ao Yong¡¯s faction and carefully interrogate them!¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± Her trusted guards immediately restrained Ao Yong¡¯s faction.

    Shang Hongyu then bowed toward Zu An and said, ¡°Thank you so much for your help, regent. It is already dark, so why not stay at the Dragon Pce for a bit of rest?¡±

    Zu An was worried about the situation at the capital. He was worried that everything could already be over on that side after so long. But he still had to discuss many things about the Ocean races with Shang Hongyu, and he had to support her in stabilizing the situation here. At the same time, Shang Liuyu¡¯s injuries also needed treatment, so he nodded in agreement.

    Shang Hongyu brought Zu An into the Dragon Pce. All of the Ocean race officials sighed in relief.

    ¡°We really don¡¯t know how to tell good from bad. The regent clearly helped us eliminate those terrifying monsters, and yet that was how we treated him. We really are wretched.¡±

    ¡°Thank goodness the queen and the regent have a good rtionship, or else there might¡¯ve been rivers of blood today.¡±

    ¡°It isn¡¯t just the queen; there is also the queen¡¯s sister who is also close to him. If it weren¡¯t for both of these sisters mediating things, our Ocean races might¡¯ve really been done for this time.¡±

    ¡­.

    At first, many people had been angry that Zu An and Shang Liuyu were so close, but now, they were hoping for their rtionship to be even closer.

    When there wasn¡¯t that big of a difference in strength between two parties, it was easy to feel jealousy. However, when that difference widened past a certain degree, that kind of jealousy would disappear, and instead be reced with admiration.

    Soon after, the events that took ce spread throughout the entire Dragon Pce, and then throughout the whole ocean rapidly.

    Many ns secretly discussed things among themselves.

    ¡°Now that the Dragon King has died and so many elders have died, and with young master Ao Yong¡¯s faction also being purged, our Ocean races have really been weakened. What if an enemy invades us? Things might be really bad then!¡±

    ¡°Exactly. He is the human and fiend sides¡¯ regent. What if the humans and fiends target us? He will definitely side with them.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s actually easy enough to solve this problem.¡±

    ¡°Oh? What does this brother suggest?¡±

    ¡°I heard that the regent is a bit fickle in love, and our queen has always been known for her beauty. If those two can walk together, the regent will also be one of us in the future. We wouldn¡¯t have to fear humans or fiends anymore then, right?¡±

    ¡°The Dragon King has just perished, so this is a bit inappropriate, right?¡±

    ¡°What is inappropriate about it? The Fiend races¡¯te Fiend Emperor perished, and yet didn¡¯t the Second Empress and the regent end up together? There was the crown princess of the human side before, and even the human empress seems to be mysteriously close to the regent. Our Ocean races are already falling behind! The queen should be sacrificing herself for the sake of the Ocean races, and in my opinion, her rtionship with the regent seems to be quite good.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, our Ocean races have another advantagepared to the humans and fiends, which is that our queen has a little sister. If the sisters move together, their allure will definitely surpass that of the Second Empress and human empress.¡±

    ¡­

    Simr conversations were taking ce all across the various ns. There were even some people who wanted to send some people to give the Mermaid Queen a push. The main reason was because the strength Zu An had shown was too astonishing. Whomever someone like this decided to side with, the scales would lean in that direction.

    The humans and fiends had already seized the advantage here. Their Ocean races had to prepare themselves too. And all they had to do was give up a single woman; on top of that, she and Zu An were even an ideal couple. This wouldn¡¯t be too much of a humiliation for the queen.

    As for the Dragon King who had just died, no one really cared about him. That wasn¡¯tpletely unexpected, as countless subjects had their wives stolen by the Dragon King. They had been furious, but they hadn¡¯t dared to say a thing. They all felt it was a deserved end for the Dragon King.

    They naturally wouldn¡¯t show the queen any disrespect, but why did they feel a strange sense of vengeful joy at the thought of urging the queen to seduce the regent?

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An had just returned to the Dragon Pce. With his identity, he naturally couldn''t stay in the same chambers he had stayed in before. That was why Shang Hongyu arranged an especially extravagant pce for him to live in. This was a ce reserved for individuals on the level of thete Fiend Emperor and Zhao Han when they visited, and it had only been used twice in the past. They hadn¡¯t expected it to be of use again today.

    Zu An had Shang Liuyu remain in the pce and focused on treating her injuries, and he also helped her digest the Mermaid Ancestor¡¯s inheritance. He would be leaving soon, so he was trying to help out as much as he could.

    ¡°How do you feel now?¡± Zu An asked with concern after helping her circte her internal energy.

    Shang Liuyu was dripping with sweat, with steaming out of her entire body. Her usually cool facial features were now a bit rosy, like a glistening apple that one couldn''t help but want to take a bite out of.

    ¡°Much better. With your help, my injuries might heal a month earlier.¡± Shang Liuyu twisted her body, as the stickiness covering her was a bit ufortable.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°That¡¯s good then.¡± Zu An sighed in relief. ¡°Once you recover, focus on cultivating in seclusion so you canpletely absorb the Mermaid Ancestor¡¯s inheritance.¡±

    Shang Liuyu voiced her understanding. Then, she looked at him with her big eyes and said, ¡°You were a bit cool today.¡±

    ¡°Only a bit?¡± Zu An immediately sounded a bit dissatisfied.

    ¡°Because you¡¯ll always be that little brother to me,¡± Shang Liuyu said with a smile.

    ¡°I''m definitely not little, though!¡± Zu An reflexively blurted out, but he immediately regretted it as soon as he spoke those words.

    A red blush covered Shang Liuyu¡¯s neck. She got up unnaturally. ¡°I''m still sweating quite a bit, so I¡¯m going next door for a bath first.¡±

    Zu An was a bit hesitant, ¡°Should I send you back to your own ce? Getting treatment here is one thing, but if you take a bath here, it might not be good for your reputation.¡±

    Shang Liuyu rolled her eyes. ¡°You still have the nerve to say that? You carried me in front of all of those people for so long back then. My reputation has already beenpletely destroyed because of you.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    ¡°Sorry.¡±

    ¡°What is there to be sorry about?¡± Shang Liuyu didn¡¯t seem to mind. ¡°I was too weak to even stand. If you hadn¡¯t carried me, I might¡¯ve really made a fool of myself. I should actually be thanking you.¡±

    ¡°You were the one who protected my physical body, so I should be thanking you.¡± Zu An also smiled.

    <em>As expected of big sis Shang, she¡¯s not as pretentious as normal youngdies.</em>

    ¡°You would¡¯ve been fine even if I wasn¡¯t there. You were clearly already back.¡± Shang Liuyu gritted her teeth in annoyance when she said that. Even though there was a reason for it, she felt really embarrassed when she knew that he had been watching her performance the entire time.

    ¡°Are the two of you doing your wedding bows or something? Why are you going back and forth like that?¡± A charmingugh came from the entrance.

    A white-d figure slowly walked over. Shang Hongyu wasn¡¯t in her usual outfit, but instead wore a snow-white dress that made her look simple and elegant. The white waistband she wore in a simple manner made her waist look even more slender and beautiful.

 Chapter 2223: Heart-to-Heart

    Shang Hongyu had removed almost all of the ornaments she normally wore on her head, leaving behind only a small white flower decoration. Her eyes were a bit red, as if she had just cried. Her beautiful eyes were full of emotion to begin with, and now that it was paired with the bit of sadness in her expression, there was something of a delicate and shattered air about her that would make others unable to help but feel a sense of pity from deep within.

    ¡°Big sis~¡± Shang Liuyu quickly got up to move away from Zu An, as if she had been caught in an affair with her brother-inw. Even though he wasn¡¯t the real Dragon King, his and her big sister¡¯s ¡®activities¡¯ were too fresh in her mind, preventing her from really treating him as her brother-inw.

    <em>But I was clearly first¡­</em>

    <em>Pah! Pah! What am I thinking? We''re clearly siblings!</em>

    ¡°Your current appearance is¡­¡± As he looked at Shang Hongyu, Zu An was a bit confused, but his eyes were filled with shock.

    Shang Hongyu sighed deeply. ¡°We publicly announced the death of the Dragon King, and I am the queen, after all. I have to arrange a funeral for him, and I''ve been busy with that the entire time.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, <em>So that was what happened. No wonder she''s in a widow getup.</em>

    ¡°You seem to have cried too,¡± Zu An said as he noticed her slightly red eyes.

    Shang Hongyu rolled her eyes. ¡°For better or for worse, I am known as a virtuous queen. Now that my husband has died, am I supposed tough in front of everyone? Of course I have to show them that I am a bit sad. Do you think that since I can even act out these kinds of emotions, I''m a bad woman?¡±Shang Liuyu coughed lightly and said, ¡°I¡¯m still here! Can the two of you go somewhere else to have these kinds of talks?¡±

    Her big sister¡¯s words sounded as if she was scared of her lover misunderstanding her or something. She really was something!

    Shang Hongyu smiled and took her sister into her arms. ¡°You¡¯re not even an outsider. Who was it that was leaning into his arms in front of the entire Ocean races just now?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to die from embarrassment!¡± Shang Liuyu couldn''t take it anymore and pinched her big sister¡¯s waist. The two sisters quickly began to fight with each other noisily.

    Zu An smiled as he watched them. These two sisters were both pretty. Even a fight between them was a delightful sight.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Shang Liuyu was still weak, so how could she be a match for her big sister? She was quickly subdued. Shang Hongyu eximed, Little sis, you still have a ways to go!¡±

    ¡°Ah Zu, look at how she''s¡­¡± Shang Liuyu was being pressed against the bed by her sister''s arms. Her current posture really wasn¡¯t that of a gracefuldy. The sisters¡¯ clothes were a mess and she couldn''t help but reveal a bit too much at times. In the end, she wasn¡¯t as open-minded as her big sister and could only beg for assistance.

    Zu An advised in a timely manner, ¡°She was injured and is still weak, so her body can¡¯t take too much. You should get up quickly.¡±

    Shang Hongyu couldn''t help but feel a bit surprised. ¡°Just how many days has it been, and yet you¡¯re already speaking up for her? I¡¯m suddenly feeling like an outsider here.¡±

    Even though that was what she said, she still got off her little sister for fear of really identally hurting her.

    Shang Liuyu got up and sorted out her messy clothes. She couldn''t help but retort, ¡°I was clearly first.¡±

    ¡°Ah Zu, did you hear that? She admitted to it,¡± Shang Hongyu said with a smile, as if her scheme had seeded.

    Shang Liuyu finally realized what was going on and was really embarrassed. ¡°What are you saying? I meant that I met him first, which is a fact!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, sure, sure.¡± Shang Hongyu didn¡¯t argue back and looked back and forth at the two of them.

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to argue with the two of you anymore. I¡¯m going to take a bath first.¡± Shang Liuyu didn¡¯t even dare to look into Zu An¡¯s eyes and left in a hurry.

    When he saw her act flustered, Zu An couldn''t help butugh. She was clearly normally calm and carefree, and yet she became much more sensitive in front of her big sister. Was this the natural dominance a big sister had over her little sister?

    ¡°So the two of you still haven''t had that happy ending yet?¡± Shang Hongyu couldn''t help but ask mockingly when she saw how startled her little sister was.

    ¡°Big sis Shang and I arepletely pure and innocent. You better not say random things,¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°Pure and innocent?¡± Shang Hongyuughed as if she had heard something really funny. ¡°The way you carried her out from the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons really looked as if she had just lost her chastity and couldn''t move.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    ¡°Don¡¯t look at me with that kind of shocked expression. I was definitely not the only one who thought that back then. Otherwise, why do you think there were so many people who were unhappy with you?¡± Shang Hongyu sighed deeply. ¡°Who knows how many men of the Ocean races have dreamed of my little sister, and yet she ended up being ¡®defiled¡¯ by you. How could they not panic?¡±

    ¡°She''d just experienced a serious battle and exhausted herself, plus she suffered some other injuries. Just what were you all thinking?¡± Zu An retorted in annoyance.

    ¡°But back then, little sis really looked like that, okay? It¡¯s not as if I didn¡¯t experience it before¡­¡± Shang Hongyu mumbled. No one could tell what she was thinking about, but her face becamepletely red. The white clothes made her look even more alluring.

    Zu An was speechless.

    ¡°By the way, little sis calls me ''big sis'', and you call her ''big sis''. Then shouldn¡¯t you call me ''big sis'' too?¡± Shang Hongyu thought of something interesting and a huge smile appeared on her face.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to.¡± Zu An immediately refused.

    ¡°I knew that you were a bad guy. You always make me call you ''big brother'' when we¡¯re doing that¡­¡± Shang Hongyu shot him a look, but there was no anger in her voice at all. Instead, there was endless charm in her voice.

    Zu An was also a bit worked up and immediately took her into his arms. He had to admit that Shang Hongyu¡¯s body really was soft. No matter what part it was, it was always like cotton.

    Shang Hongyu¡¯s eyes became misty. She bit her red lip gently and gently pushed him away, saying, ¡°I¡¯m wearing these clothes right now, so it¡¯s not appropriate.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, <em>Are you looking down on the fetishes of my past world? The seductive power of this kind of outfit could rank in the top three, if not number one!</em>

    But he knew that there were more important matters to take care of. He collected his thoughts and asked, ¡°Are you feeling broken-hearted now that the Dragon King has died?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d be lying if I said that I didn¡¯t feel anything at all. We were still married for so many years. Even if we didn¡¯t love each other, we still shared some affection.¡± Shang Hongyu sighed. ¡°But if you were to talk about being broken-hearted, then I wouldn''t go that far. You know how we kept to ourselves over the years. Rather than calling us a married couple, we were more like partners.¡±

    Zu An nodded. ¡°Then I should tell you everything that really happened in the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons¡­¡±

    Shang Hongyu grew serious. She naturally knew that what they''d told the public was definitely not the entire truth. She just didn¡¯t know how much he had been hiding.

    Zu An told her everything that had happened from start to finish. Apart from the few secrets that involved the Necropolis Emperor that would bring her danger if she knew, he told her everything else.

    Shang Hongyu¡¯s eyes sparkled as she listened. She''d never expected him to have encountered so many things. Everyone had always been puzzled as to why Zu An was able to have such incredible cultivation despite being so young. But just a few days of his life were already much more dazzling than what countless people experienced in their entire lives.

    When he talked about the underworld, she waspletely stunned. She was the Ocean races'' queen for better or for worse, and she was quite the talented person who had experienced many things ever since she was young. And yetpared to Zu An, it waspletely insignificant inparison.

    But when she heard that the Dragon King¡¯s soul had appeared on the stage, her excitement immediately cooled down. Then, when she heard about the Dragon King¡¯s end, she becamepletely quiet.

    ¡°Even though there was a reason for it, I was the one who killed him. I felt I couldn''t hide that from you,¡± Zu An said seriously. After all, since the other side was sincere, he had to to return the sincerity.

    Shang Hongyu remained silent for a while. In the end, she said with a sigh, ¡°I thought that even though the Dragon King was a bit frivolous and had some strange addictions, he was still an outstanding hero after all. I didn¡¯t expect his death to be so unsightly.¡±

    ¡°Hell is a ce of suffering, after all. To a certain degree, his actions are still understandable,¡± Zu An replied.

    Shang Hongyu shook her head. ¡°For the sake of his own prospects, he abandoned the entire Ocean races and ignored the safety of the world, and colluded with those monsters. I don¡¯t think I would do something like that. I believe that you wouldn¡¯t either.¡±

    Zu An said seriously, ¡°That¡¯s right. Why would I sacrifice all of the world¡¯s beings to satisfy my own desires?¡±

    Shang Hongyu¡¯s expression gradually became firm. ¡°I was still a bit conflicted at first. Even though the Dragon King used to womanize and thatangered me, I was still his queen. When I did that with you¡­ Even though it was to fool those monsters and I had no choice, I still felt as if I let him down. But if I had known he was that kind of person, back then, I¡­¡±

    Her eyes couldn''t help but grow red, but she was worried that Zu An would think that she was saying this to free herself of responsibility, and that couples ought to abandon each other in the face of disaster. At the same time, she couldn''t suppress the pent-up frustrations she felt inside. She couldn''t help but feel a bit sorry for herself. In the end, it was fate that had toyed with her.

    Zu An felt a bit apologetic and gently helped her wipe away the tears from her cheek. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have told you about these things and made you feel so conflicted.¡±

    ¡°What is there to feel conflicted about?¡± Shang Hongyu actually felt a bit relieved. ¡°The ones who killed the Dragon King were the Lord of Myriad Transformations and the Skin-ying King. You even killed them to get revenge for the Dragon King. As for the one in the underworld, it was nothing more than a warped soul that had suffered in Hell. He wasn¡¯t my husband.¡±

    Zu An was stunned, but then he smiled in relief. ¡°It seems I was the one who was too inflexible here.¡±

 Chapter 2224: Feeling of Being Crushed

    <h4>Chapter 2224: Feeling of Being Crushed</h4>

    At first, Zu An had thought that this would be a thorn in their rtionship, but he had actually just been overthinking things. Thus, he took Shang Hongyu into his arms. They told each other all about the things that had happened while they were apart.

    Shang Hongyu¡¯s beautiful face was stained with tears, and now that she was dressed in a widow¡¯s outfit, it really was pitiful. Zu An couldn''t help but give the tears on her face a kiss.

    If theynded on the ground, a mermaid¡¯s tears would turn into pearls, so teardrops that hadn¡¯t touched the ground were an extremely precious weapon refinement material. Normally, it was difficult to obtain even a single mermaid tear, and yet Zu An was able to just drink them as he pleased.

    ¡°It tickles...¡± Shang Hongyu was a bit broken-hearted, but she couldn''t help but blush from his movements. Even her breathing quickened slightly.

    The two individuals stared at each other and saw the endless desire in each other¡¯s eyes. Soon after, their lips joined together. As a mature man and woman, they didn¡¯t need too many other techniques. Everything continued smoothly just like that.

    Shortly after, Shang Hongyu undid her waistband and prepared to remove her clothes. Just as her shoulder was exposed, however, Zu An stopped her and said, ¡°Don¡¯t take it off. This is even better.¡±

    Shang Hongyu was a bit stunned, but then she realized what he meant and yfully hit his chest. ¡°You¡¯re such a bad person~¡±

    Even though that was what she said, she didn¡¯t feel upset at all. On the contrary, her heart started pounding when she heard those words, and tears almost came out of her eyes.

    ...

    Meanwhile, Shang Liuyu had just moved to the adjacent room. Some maids had prepared the water in a seabed hot springs but Shang Liuyu had them withdraw. She wasn¡¯t used to being served like this by other people.

    She removed her clothes, revealing her perfect body that made even statues pale inparison. However, her face suddenly reddened. She was so close to Ah Zu right now, and his divine sense was so strong. Didn¡¯t that mean he could see everything?

    But she immediately dismissed that possibility.

    <i>Even though Ah Zu is a bit lustful, he wouldn¡¯t do something as despicable as that.</i>

    <i>He knows I came here to take a bath, so he definitely wouldn¡¯t send his divine sense here.</i>

    She soaked herself inside the hot spring and sshed some of the hot water gently over her arm.

    When she remembered how Zu An had continued to carry her intimately in front of all of the Ocean race people who were waiting outside the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons, she immediately became really embarrassed again.

    <i>At the same time, when Ah Zu released his power and intimidated all of the Ocean races into kneeling respectfully, being carried in the air felt like a dream...</i>

    She felt so excited that her mermaid tail appeared and gently struck the spring water, as if to show that she was in a really good mood.

    <i>Ah! I don¡¯t know if he¡¯ll misunderstand...</i>

    When she remembered what her sisterhad said while teasing her, Shang Liuyu immediately became even more embarrassed. She knew that her big sis was trying to help her, and it seemed as if Hongyu was even trying to pull their rtionship closer. However, she just felt that it was a bit too forced.

    Still, even though she and Zu An imed to have a ¡®sibling-like¡¯ friendship, since when did siblings act as intimate as that? But if one were to call them sweethearts, that term seemed to fall a bit short too.

    <i>I clearly met him much earlier than big sis, so why did big sis end up together with him so naturally, while I¡¯m here still worrying about all of these things?</i>

    <i>Is it because my sister was more proactive? Ah Zu isn¡¯t really good at refusing others, let alone someone as beautiful as my sister.</i>

    <i>Sigh... But my sister''s personality ispletely different from mine! I can¡¯t be like her... Even just thinking about it is embarrassing.</i>

    Just then, she suddenly heard a deliberately muffled sound. Mermaids were all good at music and singing, so they were especially sensitive to such things.

    <i>Big sis¡¯ voice is really beautiful. The Mermaid race¡¯s elders all praised her in the past. If she had focused on the field of music, she definitely wouldn¡¯t be less skilled than me.</i>

    <i>Wait, why is she suddenly singing? What kind of time is it already?</i>

    Shang Liuyu was curious and perked up her ears. But soon after, a red blush covered her spotless and glistening body.

    <i>That¡¯s not singing at all! It¡¯s clearly...</i>

    <i>Big sis, really! Just how long has it been since I left? And yet the two of them are already... like that.</i>

    She couldn''t help but bite her lip.

    <i>Those two clearly know that I¡¯m over here taking a bath, and yet they aren¡¯t holding back at all!</i>

    <i>Do I really have to just be a part of their game?</i>

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Shang Liuyu for +119 +119 +119...</strong>

    ...

    Next door, Zu An sensed the string of iing Rage points. He immediately realized that Shang Liuyu had heard everything that was happening. Still, he really couldn''t stop right now. The pure-white widow clothes were just too stimting! Also, Shang Hongyu¡¯s singing-like voice was like a bugle horn signaling for him to press the attack. As the world¡¯s bravest and strongest warrior, how could he back off at all at a time like this?

    The beautiful and dignified Mermaid Queen¡¯s eyes lost focus and shepletely lost herself under his powerful pounding. Her head wentpletely nk and she couldn''t think about anything anymore. She could only instinctively use her own gentleness to offset the other side¡¯s vigor.

    ...

    After an unknown amount of time passed, Shang Hongyuy in Zu An¡¯s arms, her body shaking slightly. She eventually recovered a bit, then hit his chest yfully and said, ¡°It¡¯s all your fault. You made me embarrass myself in front of my sister again...¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He replied, ¡°Why do I feel as if you did that on purpose for her to hear?¡±

    ¡°What did you say?!¡± Shang Hongyu was really embarrassed. She twisted back and forth in his arms and really wished she had a nket to hide in.

    Zu Anughed heartily. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The two of them embraced each other for a while before Shang Hongyu got up and put on her clothes properly, saying, ¡°I need to return first. There are a lot of people who knew that I came to look for you. There will be all sorts of gossip if I stay here for too long.¡±

    As she got dressed, Zu An admired her amazing figure and replied, ¡°You¡¯ve been here for quite a while already.¡±

    ¡°Look at how smug you look.¡± Shang Hongyu red at him. She really couldn''t understand why such a thing was something to brag about.

    ¡°Even though I¡¯ve stayed here for a bit longer than expected, I can just say that I was here to discuss important affairs with you. Even if they be suspicious, there¡¯s nothing much they can do about it anyway. But if I stayed here all night, that would be too much.¡±

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll follow you to your personal chambers.¡±

    Shang Hongyu smiled and shook her head. ¡°I won¡¯t be going to my chambers today. Now that I''m taking care of the Dragon King¡¯s funeral arrangements, ording to our customs, I need to keep watch beside the coffin. I only left for a while to look for you.¡±

    After the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons, Zu An had be more powerful than ever before. If the queen said she was meeting Zu An to discuss something, who would dare to stop her? In fact, several officials had all been trying to push the queen to improve his mood, so he wouldn¡¯t decide to end the Ocean races on a whim.

    ¡°Then I¡¯lle and...¡± Zu An began, but Shang Hongyu interrupted him before he even finished speaking.

    ¡°No! The mourning hall has high officials guarding it. It¡¯s not appropriate.¡± Shang Hongyu¡¯s face turned red, perhaps because of what had happened just now, or because she imagined something happening in the mourning hall.

    Zu An was speechless. He eventually replied, ¡°I was going to say I''d light some incense for the Dragon King. What were you imagining?¡±

    Shang Honyu immediately became really embarrassed. ¡°You¡¯re terrible! You were messing with me!¡±

    The two y-fought for a bit, but then Shang Hongyu suddenly cried out. She looked at her clothes and said in rm, ¡°It¡¯s all your fault! You insisted on me wearing this. Look at how wrinkled it is now...¡±

    She had, after all, just changed into new mourning clothes, so they had been clean like jade. Only then would they be able to represent the dignity and prestige of the death of a ruler.

    <i>And yet this guy just had to do that! </i>

    The two of them had wrestled back and forth for so long that their clothes were already a mess.

    Previously, she''d had her servants all go away under the pretext that she had to discuss important affairs with the regent. Perhaps some people would be suspicious, but that would only be suspicion. However, if she came back out with messy clothes, it would serve as proof.

    ¡°So what if they find out? I even heard that some of the Ocean race subjects were discussing how to make you seduce me.¡± Zu An had a big smile on his face. He had to admit that thebination of her pitiful clothes and her annoyed expression created a uniquely beautiful appearance.

 Chapter 2225: Empress

    <h4>Chapter 2225: Empress</h4>

    ¡°Ah, you heard about that stuff?¡± Shang Hongyu immediately became really embarrassed. ¡°Those guys really aren¡¯t acting properly despite their old age. They only have the Ocean races¡¯ interest in mind. Ahhh, they''re so frustrating!¡±

    The various n leaders and elders had all previously secretly sought her out. They had pretended tofort her for a bit, telling her to not be too broken-hearted and even advising her to seek her own happiness from now on.

    At first, Shang Hongyu had been a bit angry, thinking that they were having audacious thoughts about her after the Dragon King¡¯s death.

    However, those people had then begun to hint at Zu An being young and handsome, mentioning how strong he was. They had said that if he supported the humans and the fiends, things would be bad for the Ocean races. And Zu An had shown the Ocean races such grace, so they needed to repay him properly. But... Their Ocean races didn¡¯t seem to have anyone else who was on good terms with him apart from the mermaid sisters!

    Even though they had been rather tactful, how could Shang Hongyu not realize what they were hinting at? They clearly wanted her to seduce Zu An! That way, the Ocean races would also be taken care of. At the very least, Zu An wouldn¡¯t just side with the humans and fiends if war broke out between them.

    Shang Hongyu had felt quite annoyed by their words. After all, she had constantly been on the brink of life and death as ofte. Luckily, she''d just happened to run into Zu An when she was being pursued. Later, in order to win the trust of the monsters, she''d even ended up giving up her purity... Of course, it didn¡¯t seem like that much of a sacrifice now. Her time together with Zu An really was wonderful.

    Even so, she had already given up far too much, but in the end, those people hadn¡¯t done a single thing. But now they wanted to use her to thank Zu An... They were just being generous at others¡¯ expense!

    She was willing to be with Zu An, but that was because their affection for each other had already reached that level, and they were both willing. If they added in that element of political interest, what kind of rtionship would they have then? If Zu An found out about such ulterior motives, what would he think of her?

    That was why, when she was at the mourning hall, she had gotten so angry that she just stormed out. Chatting with Zu An and her sister had made her feel a lot better, but how could she have known that they would end up chatting on the table, at the window, against the wall...

    <i>Sigh... If those guys found out, they¡¯d definitely be rolling on the groundughing at me.</i>

    <i>They¡¯d think ''She looks all decent and proper on the outside, but didn¡¯t she still proactively give herself away?''</i>

    When he noticed the changes in her expression, Zu An frowned. ¡°It seems I went a bit too easy on them. They actually dared to pressure you like this?¡±

    Shang Hongyu was really rmed and quickly said, ¡°It¡¯s not actually their fault. If it had been me, I would¡¯ve most likely suggested a simr n for the Ocean races. Please don¡¯t be mad anymore.¡±

    If conflict between Zu An and the Ocean races came about because of her... It would naturally be a one-sided beating, and she would be filled with remorse.

    Zu An asked seriously, ¡°Who are you all nning to make the new king?¡±

    Shang Hongyu shook her head. ¡°Since the Dragon King thought he was still in the prime of his life, he didn¡¯t set a crown prince. All of his sons have a chance, and there''s a supporter behind every single one of them. Everyone is evenly matched, and no matter who takes the throne, some people will be dissatisfied. That''s why the situation has been locked in a stalemate.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not hard at all. You can just be the new ruler,¡± Zu An said with a smile.

    If she had a son, she could support him to the throne, but she didn¡¯t have any children. Rather than supporting the other sons of the Dragon King, Zu An would rather support her in taking the throne instead.

    ¡°Me? I''m but a woman! No way, no way!¡± Shang Hongyu was rmed and immediately shook her head.

    ¡°Why not? Who says women can¡¯t be rulers? There are quite a few female rulers already in this world. For instance, the Snake race has the Medusa Queen, and the Fox race has the Bluefield County lord. Even your Mermaid race probably has a woman ruling over you, right?¡± Zu An replied while walking forward to help her with the wrinkles on her clothes. His hands seemed to have some mysterious power, because just a light brush was enough to smooth out the wrinkles.

    ¡°Those are just rare examples. How could I rule over an empire as vast as the Ocean races? Those princes would immediately rebel, and their supporters would definitely cause trouble as well...¡± As she spoke, Shang Hongyu¡¯s voice even started shaking a bit. Whenever Zu An¡¯s hand moved over her skin, it felt as if electricity flowed past. Her body couldn''t help but soften up. The charming and gentle memories of when she was subdued appeared in her mind.

    <i>This guy really is a scoundrel!</i>

    ¡°There are supporters behind every prince?¡± Zu An chuckled. He remarked indifferently, ¡°I don¡¯t care who supports the other princes. I only support you. More importantly, are you willing or not?¡±

    When she heard what he said, Shang Hongyu took a deep breath. She felt a storm of emotions inside.

    She was the Ocean races'' queen, so her worldview was naturally very different from that of an ordinary person. She had just never considered the option of a female ruler. Now that she was reminded of that possibility, she immediately realized that it was indeed a feasible path. After all, the reason why she had received the love and respect of the Ocean races was in part due to her own virtue and kindness, and the fact that she helped a lot of people; but more importantly, it was because she was the queen.

    Now that the Dragon King had died and she didn¡¯t have any heirs, who would still truly respect her in the future if a new king ascended to the throne? It would already be quite a good situation if she was given her own pce and they still maintained some level of respect toward her.

    The things those high officials had been saying to her in private were already clear proof of that. In their eyes, she was just a bargaining chip, a pretty one that could be used to appease Zu An whenever they wanted.

    It was one thing if it was Zu An, since they already had affinity with each other, but what if it was someone else next time? If the humans, fiends, or even the alien monsters invaded, and these officials saw that the enemy was perverted, wouldn¡¯t they hand her right over?

    Apart from her, her little sister was also renowned as a great beauty among the Ocean races. Mermaids were all famous for their beauty. If the various ns wanted them to sacrifice themselves for the interests of the entire Ocean races, what were they supposed to do then? Was she supposed to beg Zu An with puppy-dog eyes each time?

    No, absolutely not! Her fate had to be in her own hands. She definitely couldn''t let what happened today in the funeral hall repeat itself.

    Besides, Zu An had all kinds of beautiful women at his side already. Even before she met him, she had already heard all manner of rumors about the regent. Every single one of those women was first-rate. If she didn¡¯t have the title of Ocean races'' queen and only had her own power, how was she supposed to contend against them in the future?

    Taking ten thousand steps back, even if she didn¡¯t fight with them, as long as she managed the Ocean races she would be able to help Ah Zu much more. Whenever he was too tired from dealing with the outside world, this could be a ce for him to find shelter and rest.

    When she thought through those things, her expression turned firm. ¡°Okay, I¡¯m willing to do it!¡±

    Zu An immediately smiled and said, ¡°That¡¯s more like it.¡±

    Shang Hongyu¡¯s face heated up when she saw his gaze. ¡°But there¡¯s still another problem, which is that everyone will be curious as to why you''re supporting me. After all, this will also show how far you are willing to support me.¡±

    ¡°Just tell them that you''re my woman and that I¡¯ll support you without limits.¡± Zu An couldn''t help but take her into his arms again. Shang Hongyu¡¯s body was soft and fragrant, so hugging her felt incredible.

    ¡°We just fixed the clothes, so don¡¯t wrinkle them again.¡± Shang Hongyu gave him a yfully protesting look. ¡°It¡¯s a bit inappropriate for me to say that now, since the Dragon King has just died. The Dragon King still had quite a lot of prestige when he was alive. If we said that right now, it wouldn¡¯t be good for the prospect of me taking over the Ocean races. It wouldn¡¯t be good for your reputation either.¡±

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°My reputation was terrible to begin with. There are already a lot of rumors about me and the Second Empress, as well as the human empress. Aren¡¯t they all pretty much the same? But what you said makes sense, so let¡¯s not announce it yet for now.¡±

    Shang Hongyu had an ambiguous smile as she asked, ¡°Then are those rumors true or false?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face heated up. He said ambiguously, ¡°Half true, half false, I guess.¡±

    He wasn¡¯t lying either. The rtionships were real, but those rumors were too absurd, with many details that werepletely made up. How could he be that shameless?

    Shang Hongyu considerately chose not topletely expose him and continued, ¡°Then let¡¯s just say that you and my little sister are lovers, and that you''re helping me because of her.¡±

    Next door, Shang Liuyu was dumbstruck. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    At first, there had just been too many noises next door, making it useless even if she covered her ears. She couldn''t sleep either, so she could only listen. Of course, she wouldn¡¯t admit to the fact that she was actually a bit interested and wanted to listen in...

    But how could a virgin like her withstand this kind of talk? Her face quickly turnedpletely red. Her expression became a bit absent-minded too. She didn¡¯t even hear the following words too clearly, but she immediately shivered when she heard that it had to do with her.

    <i>What does big sis mean? She keeps using me in their games!</i>

    <i>It¡¯s clearly the two of you who have something going on, and yet you¡¯re using me as a shield. I¡¯m a woman too! Do you think I don¡¯t care about my reputation?</i>

    <i>Ah Zu will probably refuse, right...</i>

    <i>No, he will definitely refuse. We''re like siblings!</i>

    Sure enough, Zu An sounded a bit hesitant. ¡°That¡¯s not too good for her reputation, right?¡±

    Shang Hongyu rolled her eyes. ¡°Everyone already saw you carry her out of the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons, and she looked as if you already took her purity. It would be worse for her if you didn¡¯t admit to it.¡±

    Zu An nodded. ¡°Alright, then let¡¯s do that. I hope big sis Shang won''t be opposed to it.¡±

    Shang Liuyu was stunned.

    <i>You¡¯re really going to do this to me?</i>

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, she wouldn¡¯t be opposed to it.¡± Shang Hongyu gave the next room a look while smiling.

    <i>She might even be secretly happy.</i>

    <i>Little sis, sorry for sneaking a bite of your tasty food first. I¡¯ll try my best to make up for it as much as possible.</i>

    <i>But you really are a bit too cold. Shouldn¡¯t you be a bit more proactive about these types of things? There was clearly just thatst thin sheet of paper between the two of you to break through. If you took even the slightest initiative, it would be broken. I wouldn¡¯t have stolen him away first at all.</i>

    Meanwhile, Shang Liuyu was going through a storm of emotions.

    <i>What do you mean I won¡¯t mind? I mind it a lot, okay?</i>

    She quickly got up to clear things up next door, but the sound of rushing water when she stood up and ran to the door reminded her that she had just been taking a bath. She quickly ran back into the water while looking for her clothes.

    Meanwhile, Zu An said, ¡°I should make a trip over to the mourning hall with you.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Shang Hongyu didn¡¯t refuse him this time. She had previously assumed he wanted to do that stuff in the mourning hall, but now, she realized it was clearly meant as a sign of support for her.

 Chapter 2226: An Intervention

    <h4>Chapter 2226: An Intervention</h4>

    After all, rather than just having Shang Hongyu saying Zu An supported her, having him personally there would make a far greater impact. Thus, their footsteps quickly disappeared into the distance.

    Shang Liuyu didn¡¯t even have time to put on her clothes properly. She bit her lip, and could only give up on heading over in the end. After all, she couldn''t really say anything. Could it be that she was supposed to admit that she had been listening to their conversation the whole time, which was why she knew what was going on?

    ...

    Meanwhile, Zu An and Shang Hongyu left their pce. The maids and guards outside were a bit surprised; the queen had spent quite a while inside, after all. If it were any ordinary concubine, there would have already been a scandal. But one was publicly known as a virtuous woman, while the other was the invincible regent, so no one dared to dwell on that any further.

    Soon after, they entered the mourning hall. There wasn¡¯t as somber of a mood inside as they''d expected; it was actually a bit noisy. The people inside all seemed to have been discussing something, and were separated into several groups that maintained a good amount of distance from each other. The way they looked at each other wasn¡¯t too kind either, with sparks seemingly about to appear whenever their eyes met.

    There were all sorts of emotions on their faces. There were some that were angry, others that were gloomy, and yet others that were happy... The only thing that couldn''t be seen on their faces was sadness.

    Zu An thought to himself that the Dragon King really was quite pitiful. No one even tried to act as if they were sad after he died, even in his own mourning hall.

    When they saw Zu An and Shang Hongyu arrive, the small groups of twos and threes walked over enthusiastically.

    ¡°So the regent hase.¡±

    ¡°The queen is here too.¡± N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Shang Hongyu¡¯s expression was cold. These people only maintained their respect toward her likely because of her good rtionship with Zu An.

    ¡°Greetings, little uncle.¡± There was only one greeting that was different.

    Zu An looked over, and couldn''t help but smile. This was the only one of the Dragon King¡¯s sons that he was even remotely familiar with, the ninth prince Chi Wen.

    Chi Wen normally spent his time wandering the world. He was just as much of a womanizer as his father and liked to take advantage of ordinary women. But a little while back, he''d received news that something huge seemed to have happened in the Dragon Pce, so he returned in a hurry. At the time, he had some misgivings, since he shared blood rtions with the Mermaid race. The Mermaid Queen¡¯s bounty was too strange and he had been worried that it could be a trap, which was why he had always stayed in the ocean regions near the Dragon Pce.

    It was only a few days earlier, when Shang Hongyuunched a great purge on the hiding alien monsters, that he could let out a sigh of relief. He''d been about to continue his travels when news of his father¡¯s death was announced. That was why he had returned to mourn.

    Meeting with this old acquaintance Zu An again also gave him quite the rollercoaster of emotions. The two of them had gotten to know each other from fighting too, which had always made him feel really embarrassed. Later, his little aunt had even sided with this outsider, making him hand over all of the treasures that his father had given him as a reward. That had really been a dark moment in history for him.

    And yet now, Zu An had be an incredible figure. Chi Wen could now walk with his chin up and back straight, feeling as if he had nothing to be embarrassed about.

    <i>What dark history? That was clearly a glorious moment from my past!</i>

    At first, he''d thought that his beautiful little aunt¡¯s rtionship with Zu An was like poking flowers in a pile of manure. But now, he called Zu An little uncle without feeling any sort of remorse.

    ¡°Chi Wen, it¡¯s been a while!¡± Zu An greeted him with a smile. The amount of stuff he jad taken from this kid in the past was quite considerable.

    The Wind Fire Wheels, Universe Ring, Violetme Snake Pike... They had all been extremely useful.

    <i>Of course, the one I had the most fun with was the Primal Skysilk...</i>

    At first, Chi Wen was still a bit nervous. After all, everyone had been describing this little uncle¡¯s actions during the previous day as if he were a demonic god. It would be embarrassing if Zu Anpletely ignored him.

    Now, he stuck out his chest and looked really proud as he looked at the others, as if he was implying ¡®now you all believe me, right?¡¯.

    Sure enough, the Ocean race officials all exchanged looks, seeing shock and apprehension in each other¡¯s expressions.

    <i>So Chi Wen really did know Zu An!</i>

    <i>Could it be that Zu An ns to support Chi Wen as the new Dragon King?</i>

    Chi Wen was the son of the previous Mermaid Queen, and was very close to the Mermaid race. His bloodline wasparatively more noble than the others.

    But no one treated him as a real candidate for session, as he was just too unreliable. Ever since he was little, he had always been ying and idling, and he also got into all manner of trouble, not acting like a prince at all. He was more like a rascal from the streets. Furthermore, he loved to travel the world, constantly fooling around with innocent people''s women. There had been several times when a family head woulde to protest...

    Still, all that would only make him simr to the Dragon King. However, he didn¡¯t have the Dragon King¡¯s strength and political knowledge. Even after all these years had passed, he still hadn¡¯t established his own faction. It was naturally difficult for someone who was always running around ying, and not minding the Ocean races'' affairs, to gain support. More importantly, he was really immature and unreliable when it came to handling things. Many people had experienced quite a bit of that over the years.

    The most memorable event recently was when Chi Wen had returned with a strange blue ice crystal in high spirits, and said that soaking it in some tea and drinking it would grant him longevity. He had even offered it to the Dragon King.

    The Dragon King had been really gratified, feeling that his son had finally grown up and learned to show filial respect. That was why he had held a great celebration, inviting many high officials to taste the strange blue crystal tea. Of course, they had inevitably mentioned that it was Chi Wen who offered it up.

    The officials had all offered fawning praise, saying that the father and son were truly an excellent pair. Even though the blue crystal-soaked tea didn¡¯t taste that good and it even had some strange smell, how could they refuse tea that the Dragon King had invited them to drink?

    After that, the Dragon King had invited them over for that tea every so often. As they kept drinking it, they all gradually experienced all kinds of different tastes. A few who were trying to curry favor had quoted the ssics, saying that the blue crystal could be some ancient divine object.

    The Dragon King had started smiling andughing a lot in that time. Chi Wen had also basked in the limelight, striding with his head held high every day. He''d only wished that the ice crystal couldst longer than just a single month.

    At first, even though everyone who tasted it felt that the smell was a bit disgusting, they all felt that the tea the Dragon King invited them to drink was definitely no ordinary substance, and definitely had miraculous effects. That was why they had drunk it all despite frowning.

    However, one day, a youngster couldn''t help but propose a suggestion. If something they drank smelled like shit and looked like shit, what else could it be?

    As if the emperor¡¯s new clothes had been exposed, they all finally realized something. What ancient divine blue crystal? This was a freaking air-dried shit wrapped in a crystal! And yet, they had used it to make tea...

    Almost everyone had immediately thrown up on the spot, causing the smell of vomit to spread everywhere in the Dragon Pce.

    The Dragon King had been even more embarrassed, so he raised his staff and beat Chi Wen until thetter was screaming for mercy. If not for the fact that the queen had just returned from the Mermaid race and stopped the Dragon King, Chi Wen could have been beaten to death right there and then.

    That whole affair had be a dark moment in history that the Dragon King and all of the Ocean races''s high officials were too embarrassed to talk about. They''d all agreed to cover it up.

    Normally, there was always someone who would end up leaking secrets. There was no way to hide something forever. But this situation was really strange, as only the high officials knew about it. No one among them wanted others to know what they had eaten, so none of them had been willing speak about it.

    The main culprit in that affair was naturally Chi Wen, so some people even had thoughts of killing him. Who would support someone as unreliable as that bing the new ruler? Whenever they thought about the possibility that Zu An would support this guy in bing the king of the ocean, as well as the fact that they would then end up remembering that they''d eaten shit whenever they greeted him, their faces darkened.

    After Zu An responded to Chi Wen, he walked up to the mourning hall to light incense for the Dragon King. When he saw the portrait of the Dragon King, he sighed. In the end, this guy had been quite the mediocre ruler. He''d been too lustful to the point of forgetting his original duty, thus allowing the monsters to invade so easily. That had almost resulted in the total destruction of the Ocean races.

    When they saw him stand in front of the portrait silently, the other Ocean race subjects exchanged looks with each other.

    <i>It seems the regent and the Dragon King did share a friendship. Sigh, we really did misunderstand him before.</i>

    Shang Hongyu¡¯s face reddened slightly. After all, she had just engaged in an intense match with Zu An not too long ago, and yet they were now standing in front of her deceased husband¡¯s portrait together. It just felt a bit strange somehow.

    A whileter, after Zu An ced the incense, he turned around and said to the Ocean race officials, ¡°I heard that you''re all choosing the next candidate for the ocean king?¡±

    All of the officials looked at each other in dismay, but they couldn''t just remain silent. ¡°That¡¯s right. Now that the Dragon King has perished, the empire cannot be without a ruler for even a single day. That is why we have all decided to first elect a new ruler, so we can all be at ease.

    ¡°But the issue of finding a good candidate has produced endless quarrels. The princes all have their respective strong points.¡±

    The great prince, second prince, fourth prince, eighth prince, and others¡¯ supporters began to talk about how incredible their respective prince was, quoting the ssics to show how suitable they were to inherit the throne.

    When he saw that the mourning hall was bing as noisy as a food market, Zu An immediately interrupted them. ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to argue anymore. I have a candidate.¡±

    The Ocean races¡¯ officials were surprised.

    <i>He''s joining in the selection of the ocean king after all.</i>

    Even so, he was too strong, so no one dared to oppose him. They could only quietly ask, ¡°May we ask who the regent has set your heart on?¡±

    The other qualified princes and their officials all snuck Chi Wen a look.

    <i>Don¡¯t tell me he''s going to choose the ninth prince?</i>

    But they weren¡¯t too rmed yet, because the ninth prince really was too unreliable. Furthermore, after the blue ice affair, he had offended almost all of the important officials. Someone like that had almost no chance of bing the ocean king. They had a proper reason to refuse him.

 Chapter 2227: She Is My Woman

    When he saw the others'' expressions, Chi Wen started to panic. He didn¡¯t want to be the Dragon King at all! Wasn¡¯t traveling the world great? Why did he have to be the ocean king? He''d have to handle endless documents and governmental affairs, and be tied down by all sorts of trifles! It¡¯d never end!

    The only regret was that his father was dead, so he didn¡¯t have his backer anymore.

    <em>If I get out there again, no one will care that much about me anymore.</em>

    <em>Sigh, it¡¯d be great if second aunt became the new ruler. She has always doted on me. It was precisely second aunt who stopped father king when he was about to beat me to death.</em>

    This thought only appeared in his head briefly before he quickly refuted it. How could they possibly have a woman be the new ruler of the sea?

    And yet, just a secondter, Zu An pulled Shang Hongyu forward and said, ¡°The Mermaid Queen¡¯s wise and capable traits have long been praised by the Ocean races. Earlier, it was through her heroic and decisive actions that we were able to crush the alien monsters¡¯ conspiracy and save the entire Ocean race territory. That further proves her ability. Currently, I believe that there is no one more suitable to be the new ocean ruler.¡±

    Chi Wen¡¯s eyes almost immediately popped out of his head.

    <em>Did I somehow identally learn how to use Soulspeak?</em>n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    But while he was in a daze, the rest of the mourning hall erupted with noise.¡°Absolutely preposterous!¡±

    ¡°We absolutely cannot permit such a thing to happen.¡±

    ¡°How can we let the queen be the new ruler?¡±

    Some overly conservative officials spat saliva everywhere. They all criticized the suggestion, calling it absurd. No matter how high Zu An¡¯s cultivation was, this was too far beyond belief. They couldn''t even be bothered with the consequences anymore.

    Zu An remained calm the entire time. An invisible aura blocked the shouting, and then he slowly said, ¡°Sorry, but this isn¡¯t for you all to discuss. Rather, I merely came to inform you all about this.¡±

    Then, a powerful pressure descended upon the entire mourning hall. Everyone present felt that it became much harder to breathe. The noisy mourning hall immediately became quiet.

    Shang Hongyu couldn''t help but give him a look.

    <em>He really is handsome. No wonder I''ve already fallen for him even though we haven¡¯t known each other for that long.</em>

    But there was a bit of worry in her eyes.

    <em>No wonder he didn¡¯t say anything along the way. He was going to use this extreme method.</em>

    Just then, there was an Ocean race elder who finally couldn''t take it anymore. ¡°Regent, the election of the new king is our Ocean races¡¯ affair. I think it¡¯s best if an outsider like you doesn¡¯t interfere.¡±

    ¡°Are you trying to teach me how to do things?¡± Zu An gave him an indifferent look.

    The pressure from his look almost made that Ocean race elder lose his footing, but he still took a deep breath and said, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare. Who would dare to teach the regent what to do in this entire world? But even though your respected self is strong, it would be hard for you to control the masses. Even if you forcefully supported the queen onto the throne, the Ocean races still wouldn¡¯t be convinced. She wouldn''t necessarily be able to sit in that position for long.¡±

    Chi Wen cast a sidelong nce.

    <em>During the daytime, wasn¡¯t everyone still saying that even though Zu An was strong, he might not be a match for all of the Ocean races? Why is he suddenly changing his tone now?</em>

    <em>You all still love to put on your usual proud and arrogant appearances.</em>

    ¡°Are you threatening me?¡± Zu An gave that person a cold look.

    Everyone nearby remembered that an elder of Ao Zhan¡¯s faction had also contradicted him previously, but then his head was separated from his body. Things didn¡¯t look good for this elder.

    The elder braced himself and said, ¡°It isn¡¯t a threat. I am merely speaking the truth.¡±

    Shang Hongyu said, ¡°Elder Zhang has always been upright and outspoken. He is a person of virtue and prestige, so he is judging things as they stand right now.¡±

    Elder Zhang gave her a look of surprise. He hadn¡¯t expected her to actually speak up for him, even though he was opposed to her rising to the throne.

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°Elder Zhang, you should be thanking the queen right now. Otherwise, your life might have ended right here.¡±

    As the pressure faded, Elder Zhang gasped for breath. He could feel that his back waspletely soaked in cold sweat.

    The others gave Shang Hongyu a look and thought to themselves, <em>The queen really is capable and virtuous, as expected.</em>

    Zu An then said, ¡°I know that many people will find my proposal unimaginable, but have you considered that the Ocean races have been greatly damaged after this disaster, and that the various ns have suffered tremendous casualties? Do you think that we need someone who is ambitious in skill and strategy, or someone who is wise and virtuous, to lead the Ocean races in recovery?¡±

    When those words were spoken, apart from the princes¡¯ trusted aides, everyone else began to ponder the subject. It seemed that Zu An¡¯s words made some sense.

    Elder Zhang frowned. ¡°But this matter is still too absurd. Ever since ancient times, the Ocean races have never had a female ruler.¡±

    ¡°There will be one from today forth.¡± Zu An was direct in his response.

    Elder Zhang choked. ¡°Regent, you are being unreasonable.¡±

    The others all began to sweat for his sake.

    <em>Elder Zhang really is bold.</em>

    Whether it was his friends or political enemies, they were all full of admiration. He was probably the only person who dared to speak up right now.

    ¡°I have already exined the reasoning to all of you. The queen has always been someone whom all of you respect, second only to the Dragon King, and she also acts on behalf of the will of the Ocean races. When I first arrived at the Ocean races'' territory, I heard many words of praise for her even in a roadside restaurant.¡±

    Shang Hongyu couldn''t help but look toward him as he spoke. The two met each other''s gazes. When she recalled what she''d encountered in the past, she couldn''t help but feel a sweet sensation.

    Zu An continued, ¡°As such, the queen¡¯s rule is founded upon the strong feelings of the people. Additionally, as I said before, the reason why we were able to quell the disaster of the alien monsters was primarily because of the queen¡¯s hard work. She fooled the alien monsters with her strategy, and then decisively eliminated the hidden monsters. I¡¯m sure all of you have witnessed her ability.¡±

    Everyone present recalled the events that had taken ce a few days prior. The queen really had earned a new level of respect from them.

    The second prince¡¯s high official muttered, ¡°That was likely because of the Dragon King and the regent¡¯s strategies, right?¡±

    ¡°No, the entire n was designed by the queen,¡± Zu An replied.

    The others had strange looks on their faces.

    <em>The Dragon King is dead now, so can¡¯t you just say whatever you want?</em>

    ¡°But the Dragon King has so many heirs. It isn¡¯t suitable to not choose from them and choose an outsider instead,¡± Elder Zhang said.

    Zu An said with a sneer, ¡°In the world of cultivation, when has the position of ruler ever been decided through blood rtionships?¡±

    Elder Zhang said seriously, ¡°That¡¯s right. Ever since ancient times, it has always been the most formidable individuals who could be rulers. However, the Dragon race has always been powerful, which is why most of our kings havee from the Dragon race. The queen¡¯s cultivation might not be bad, but she is still quitecking if she wants to be an exception and seize the throne through strength.¡±

    In theory, everyone did respect thew of the strong, but in reality, there was always the influence of bloodline as well. The human side''s Zhao n and the fiend side¡¯s Golden Crow race were both like that.

    Shang Hongyu took a deep breath. She was about to say that she was willing to decide things through cultivation. For some reason, her cultivation seemed to be improving quite quickly. Could it be that Ah Zu¡¯s¡­ stuff was nourishing her? As long as she wasn¡¯t facing some elders, she had quite a bit of confidence.

    But Zu An stopped her and directly said, ¡°You want to talk in terms of strength? As long as she gives me the world, I¡¯ll help her crush all of her enemies.¡±

    The others'' expressions changed when they heard these words. This stance was extremely firm!

    When she looked at Zu An, Shang Hongyu¡¯s expression became more and more gentle.

    <em>So the feeling of a man blocking the wind and rain is like this¡­</em>

    The Dragon King only knew how to womanize and had even gone after other''s wives. He waspletely unreliable.

    Elder Zhang immediately panicked. ¡°You are you, and the queen is the queen. You are not of the Ocean races and don¡¯t have the authority to participate in thepetition to be the ruler of the Ocean races. As for the queen, if the ruler of the Ocean races could only depend on someone else, wouldn¡¯t that make us a hugeughingstock? Even though you can help her now, will you be able to help her for the rest of her life?¡±

    ¡°Of course I can.¡± Zu An paused for a moment, and then looked gently at Shang Hongyu. ¡°Because she is my woman.¡±

    As soon as she heard those words, Shang Hongyu¡¯s mind went nk.

    <em>Why are things ying out differently than how we discussed it?</em>

    <em>If you tell them right now, then¡­</em>

    The entire mourning hall became deathly silent. Everyone present looked at each other in dismay.

    <em>Did we hear incorrectly?</em>

    And yet, judging from the shock they saw in each other''s eyes, they knew that there was no mistake.

    <em>It¡¯s all over! Will he end up silencing everyone in this mourning hall?</em>

    <em>But this matter is simply absurd! This is the Dragon King¡¯s mourning hall! He is basically trampling on the face of the entire Ocean races!</em>

    Chi Wen was thinking about something else right now.

    <em>Should I call him ''little uncle'' or ''dad'' in the future?</em>

    But Elder Zhang¡¯s shocked and furious voice interrupted his thoughts. ¡°Regent, you have gone intolerably far!¡±

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Elder Zhang for +999 +999 +999¡­</strong>

    Elder Zhang nowpletely went for broke. ¡°She is our Ocean races'' queen and represents the face of the Ocean races. The Dragon King has just died, and yet you are¡­¡±

    ¡°The Dragon King told me to take her in,¡± Zu An interrupted him.

    ¡°Even if the Dragon King¡­ huh?¡± Elder Zhang was about to uphold justice in an impassioned manner when he suddenly stared nkly.

    <em>What in the world is going on right now?</em>

    This was beyond what his lifetime of experience had prepared him for.

    The others in the mourning hall were also stunned. What kind of a situation was this? They''d heard that the Dragon King liked to go after other married women, but they had never heard of the same thing happening to him¡­

    Shang Hongyu also looked surprised. Zu An hadn¡¯t mentioned this to her before. Was this something he''d made up or was it¡­ true?

    Elder Zhang reacted and immediately shouted, ¡°What absolute nonsense! How could that be possible?!¡±

 Chapter 2228: Giving Away Your Wife

    Chapter 2228: Giving Away Your Wife

    Everyone else in the mourning hall became noisy as well. Of course, it wasn¡¯t because they were all protesting out of righteous anger like Elder Zhang, but rather because they were worried that the regent would just silence all of them once things were settled.

    Just then, Zu An turned toward the Dragon King¡¯s memorial tablet. He pointed to the sky and vowed, ¡°I can make a vow to the will of the heaven and earth in front of the Dragon King¡¯s memorial tablet. If what I said was wrong, then let the will of this world punish me immediately!¡±

    Firstly, what he''d just said was indeed true. The Dragon King really had been about to give Shang Hongyu to him while pleading for his life. Secondly, he was now the incarnation of the world¡¯s will, so he was just vowing to himself. Even if there were any slip-ups, it wouldn¡¯t be that much of a big deal.

    When they heard that he''d made a vow to the will of the world, the others'' expressions changed. Vows couldn''t be recklessly made by cultivators, because they would be held ountable. It seemed that the Dragon King really had given him the queen. But how was that possible?!

    Of course, people''s imagination was limitless. Since they had confirmed that it was real, the most likely scenario appeared in their heads.

    It was probably because the Dragon King and the regent had fought together and formed a brotherly bond. Then, when he knew that he was going to die, he had beem worried about his wife¡¯s safety and the invasion of the alien monsters, so he entrusted Zu An to help take care of both. But Zu An had a lot of titles and wouldn''t necessarily have the time to take care of the Ocean races, so he¡¯d need another reason to help. That made entrusting the queen to him the best choice.

    They had also nned to use the queen to ¡®rope in¡¯ the regent. They hadn¡¯t expected the Dragon King to have already thought of all of that ahead of time.

    As expected of the Dragon King!

    The way they looked at Zu An now carried a bit less hostility. Since the Dragon King had made such a decision, that meant he really had trusted Zu An. This was a rtionship in which he had offered up his own wife!

    Shang Hongyu bit her lip. She felt as if she was in a bit of a daze. She had previously thought that they could only be together in secret, and was worried that they would be exposed. She had never expected that they could be together in public like this!

    But the Dragon King actually did something like that? He really is¡­

    She knew the truth of what happened in the underworld, and thus knew that the Dragon King definitely hadn''t treated Zu An as his friend. However, since Ah Zu had made a vow, that meant his im was most likely true.

    There was only one possibility left, which was that the Dragon King had offered her to Zu An in order to beg for mercy. When she realized that, she didn¡¯t know whether what she was feeling was anger. In the end, she released a long sigh.

    Elder Zhang bowed toward Zu An and said, ¡°I hope that the regent doesn¡¯t mind the many times I¡¯ve offended you.¡±

    Zu An supported him up and said, ¡°Elder, you speak too severely. You were doing this out of consideration for the Ocean races and not out of selfish intent.¡±

    Someone who was this upstanding would be respected anywhere. Previously, when Zu An had released his pressure, even though the more ambitious individuals were dissatisfied, they hadn¡¯t dared to say a thing. Only this Elder Zhang had argued strongly for what was right. Furthermore, Shang Hongyu told him that Elder Zhang wasn¡¯t part of any prince¡¯s faction and was only doing this out of a sense for the public good, so there was no reason to trouble him further.

    After some hesitation, Elder Zhang said, ¡°Even though the Dragon King entrusted¡­ the queen¡¯s care to you, making her the ruler of the sea is still¡­¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An interrupted him and took out the Crown of the Ocean Deity. ¡°Who said that he only entrusted me with taking care of Hongyu? He also passed on the throne to her. This Crown of the Ocean Deity is proof of that.¡±

    When they saw the Crown of the Ocean Deity in his hands, the Ocean race officials immediately kneeled down. Among them, the Crown of the Ocean Deity was a divine object. It could even be considered a symbol of the Ocean races¡¯ faith.

    When Zu An took out the crown, the princes who had previously felt a bit unwilling knew that there was no chance left for them.

    Even though everyone present guessed that the Dragon King had most likely only wanted Zu An to take care of the queen and hadn¡¯t really passed on the position, who would dare to try and make Zu An take another vow?

    Zu An walked toward the stunned Shang Hongyu with a smile and gently ced the crown on her head. Then, he bowed toward her. ¡°I greet the empress!¡±

    With him taking the lead, Shang Hongyu¡¯s subordinates took the lead and kneeled in greeting. ¡°We greet the empress!¡±

    With that, after some hesitation, the neutral faction also kneeled down respectfully.

    Among the princes, Chi Wen was the first to kneel. The voice he greeted the new empress with was especially loud and full of excitement. At first, he''d thought that he would be without a backer, and that he couldn''t live as carefreely as he had in the past anymore. He hadn¡¯t expected that his second aunt really would be the empress! Then he could just continue traveling freely!

    The princes who hadn¡¯t had any hope of seeding the throne also greeted her with respect.

    In the end, only the princes who''d had some chance of bing the Dragon King were left standing in the mourning hall. They looked at each other in dismay and could see the reluctance in each other''s eyes. But with how the current situation was, there was no way to reverse the situation anymore.

    Shang Hongyu felt as if she was dreaming. She just watched the events happen with a nk expression. Only when Zu An secretly reminded her through a voice transmission did she snap out of her daze and quickly tell the officials to rise.

    When Elder Zhang got up, he couldn''t help but look at Zu An. ¡°Did the regent make a mistake? Shouldn¡¯t we be calling her queen?¡±

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°There''s no mistake. The Ocean race territory is its own ce just like the human and fiend sides; it''s just that the Ocean races never sought to put on airs. Since I''m here, then I¡¯ll return the Ocean races¡¯ original glory back to you. From today forth, the Ocean races¡¯ ruler will be on equal footing with the human emperor and fiend emperor, and will also have a simr title. We will work together as one to fend off the attacks of the alien monsters.¡±

    The previous Dragon King, the Human Emperor Zhao Han, and thete Fiend Emperor had all been on equal footing. The Ocean races had only served the Fiend races in name, and the Fiend races understood that from the very start. Their government, private property, and military were all independent. The Ocean races had always only listened to orders, but not decrees.

    Furthermore, the Fiend King Court had always given the Ocean races a lot of money to win them over, which was an arrangement that had been extremely painful to continue. The Fiend races'' higher officials had frequently discussed whether or not spending so much just to obtain the Ocean races¡¯ nominal allegiance was worth it.

    In that case, Zu An decided to use this chance to directly eliminate the problem, which had been present for so long throughout history. Even though he was ''just'' a regent, no one here questioned his ability to make it happen. Whether due to his noble status in the human and fiend sides, or his current astonishing cultivation, he could make this decision a reality.

    All of the Ocean race officials in the mourning hall were overjoyed. ¡°Thank you, regent!¡±

    Perhaps they had only been forced to pay their respects to Shang Hongyu as their new ruler because of the situation, but they were now truly happy. After all, only if she sat on the throne would the Ocean races regain the imperial title. In all of these years, who knew how many ocean kings had wished for that?

    Shang Hongyu looked toward Zu An with an extremely gentle expression. ¡°Since everyone else calls you regent, from today on, you are the Ocean races¡¯ regent as well. This will forever be your home, and you are always wee here.¡±

    When they heard what she said, everyone else had knowing smiles. They all thought that making him the regent was inevitable and right. After all, he was already the regent of the humans and fiends. In fact, they all thought that the rewards were a bit too stingy. This regent title wasn¡¯t something the Ocean races had bestowed upon him. Rather, if he was willing to ept, that would be the Ocean races¡¯ glory.

    And yet, they all felt at ease when they heard what Shang Hongyu said after. What reward could possibly be as secure as an emotional bond?

    It seems she did process the advice we shared with her in private.

    Thank goodness we have such a beautiful and moving queen. No, we ought to call her empress now.

    In the Dragon King¡¯s mourning hall, with Elder Zhang in the lead, all of the officials began to discuss the ascension ceremony and other details.

    Zu An didn¡¯t participate in those arrangements, but he didn¡¯t leave. Just standing there served as a kind of support for Shang Hongyu.

    By the time morning came, Zu An saw that Shang Hongyu already hadplete control of the situation and finally felt at ease. He thus said goodbye and left.

    Shang Hongyu was still really reluctant when she saw him out. She tugged on his hand and asked, ¡°Can you stay?¡±

    ¡°I still have some things to take care of on the human side. Once I finish dealing with them, I¡¯lle back to see you,¡± Zu An said tofort her while gently stroking her cheek.

    Shang Hongyu bit her lip. She knew that he had more important things to handle and couldn''t stay, so she didn¡¯t try to make him remain and handed him the Crown of the Ocean Deity. ¡°You might encounter some formidable alien monsters. This Crown of the Ocean Deity is more useful at your side than mine.¡±

    Zu An put the crown back on her head with a smile, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I don¡¯t need this anymore. On the other hand, you are about to be the new Sea Empress. How can this crown be missing during the ceremony?¡±

    His Blue Mard ability already gave him intimacy with water. After using the Crown of the Ocean Deity, his understanding of these things had already reached a new level. He had also just activated the new Skill System. Touching the Crown of the Ocean Deity thus allowed him to learn its abilities.

    The amount of Rage points needed to learn the abilities of the crown would normally be extremely high, but because the Blue Mard¡¯s ability and the crown shared simrities, and because he had joined up with the will of the world to gain a new understanding of power, he only needed to spend ten thousand Rage points to learn all of the crown¡¯s skills. There was naturally no need for him to have it with him anymore.

    Shang Hongyu was really moved when she heard that. She hugged him tightly. ¡°Ah Zu¡­¡±

    A light cough came from off to the side. They turned around and saw that it was actually Shang Liuyu, who had rushed over when she received the news.

    Shang Liuyu didn¡¯t know what to do either and said awkwardly, ¡°It seems that I came at a bad time.¡±

 Chapter 2229: Return

    <h4>Chapter 2229: Return</h4>

    Shang Liuyu immediately turned around to leave.

    ¡°No, you came at the perfect time.¡± Shang Hongyu¡¯s face heated up, but she quickly reacted and rushed over to hold her hand. ¡°Ah Zu is about to leave, so you should have a proper goodbye.¡± N?v(el)B\\jnn

    After she ced her sister¡¯s hand in Zu An¡¯s, she left quickly, as if she was running away.

    Shang Liuyu was stunned. She instinctively pulled her hand back, but Zu An grabbed on tightly.

    Shang Liuyu pursed her lips, but in the end, she didn¡¯t struggle anymore and said, ¡°I heard that you made my big sis into an empress.¡±

    ¡°Did you want to be the empress too? How about I establish a double empress system for the Ocean races?¡± Zu An looked at her beautiful face with a smile.

    <i>This really is a beautiful sight, no matter when I see her.</i>

    ¡°Why would I want to be an empress? If it weren¡¯t because I had no choice, I wouldn¡¯t even want to be the queen of the Mermaid race.¡± Shang Liuyu rolled her eyes. ¡°By the way, the Ocean races are all extremely grateful that you are making big sis the empress rather than a queen, and even big sis thinks simrly. But the way I see it, you probably just thought that an empress would be more fun than a queen.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face heated up. He asked with a bit of guilt, ¡°Am I that kind of person?¡±

    Shang Liuyu snapped out of her daze. She looked at him with an ambiguous smile. ¡°You seem to have been that kind of person ever since the first time I met you.¡±

    ¡°Ahem, ahem...¡± Zu An couldn''t handle the embarrassment and didn¡¯t know how to exin himself.

    Shang Liuyu didn¡¯t continue to ¡®torture¡¯ him. ¡°But regardless, I need to thank you. If it weren¡¯t for you, big sis¡¯ situation might¡¯ve been really bad.¡±

    She had also heard about how the others had pressured her sister in the mourning hall. It was thanks to Zu An that the situation hadn¡¯t be a problem.

    Zu An also put away his smile and said seriiously, ¡°From now on, both you and your sister will need to be careful, and make sure to seize all authority as soon as possible. I definitely don¡¯t want you two to be bullied by the Ocean races¡¯ high officials anymore.¡±

    Shang Liuyu nodded. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I''ll definitely help big sis.¡±

    She and her sister were usually kind, but that didn¡¯t mean they would let people walk all over them. After all that had happened, they had already decided topletely seize control over the Ocean races, whether it was to make sure they never experienced something like this again, or to provide Zu An with a helping hand.

    Zu An nodded in satisfaction. With the sisters¡¯ ability and wisdom, he believed he wouldn¡¯t have to worry about the things toe anymore. After saying goodbye to Shang Liuyu, he vanished like lightning, quickly disappearing into the distance.

    As she watched Zu An disappear, Shang Liuyu suddenly felt a bit lonely. She stood there with a nk look on her face. It wasn¡¯t as if he wasn¡¯t going toe back, and she could go looking for him anytime she wanted, so why did she feel so awful?

    He hadn¡¯t even said that much to her before he left. She even felt as if he had talked more with her big sister.

    <i>It¡¯s almost as if she''s closer to him than I am...</i>

    A look of self-mockery appeared on her face.

    <i>He and big sis are already like that, so of course they''re closer together.</i>

    <i>But I clearly came first...</i>

    She didn¡¯t know why she was having such strange thoughts either. It clearly didn¡¯t match her personality at all, but she just felt really frustrated. Whenever she thought about that, her eyes became a bit watery.

    Just then, there was a familiar voice. ¡°Right, I forgot about something.¡±

    Shang Liuyu immediately turned around with happiness and excitement. She saw that Zu An had actuallye back! She was about to say something, but suddenly realized what she looked like right now. She quickly turned around to remove the tears from around her eyes.

    ¡°You were crying?¡± Zu An was stunned. He hadn¡¯t expected the usually carefree big sis Shang to actually be so sentimental in goodbyes.

    ¡°No way! Don¡¯t think too much of it. There¡¯ll always be a bit of sadness when friends separate, so don¡¯t think that I¡¯m crying for your sake!¡± Shang Liuyu exined with a bit of rm, but she immediately regretted it.

    <i>Big sis is always telling me to be a bit more proactive, so why do I keep trying to cover things up?</i>

    Zu An couldn''t help but smile. ¡°Tsunderes are already out of favor, but I still like this quite a bit.¡±

    Shang Liuyu blinked in confusion, not knowing what he was talking about. However, when he said he liked it, her heart rate sped up a lot. ¡°Just what did you forget?¡±

    Zu An looked at her with a smile. ¡°Someone said that as long as I returned safely from the underworld, they would give me a kiss, but I almost forgot about that because of everything that happened recently.¡±

    When she saw him pucker his lips as he spoke, Shang Liuyu immediately became really embarrassed. ¡°I clearly already kissed you before the underworld...¡±

    ¡°In business, you need to collect both the deposit and the bnce, right? That was just the deposit!¡± Zu An looked at her with a big smile. He really liked seeing this usuallyposed woman be rmed.

    He thought that she would bashfully refuse, but a secondter, his nostrils were filled with a fragrant scent. Then, her exquisite body fell into his arms and her soft lips pressed against his. A grin appeared on the corner of his lips and he hugged her tightly.

    Shang Liuyu¡¯s body quickly froze up.

    <i>Why is he reaching out his tongue in this kiss?</i>

    Still, she didn¡¯t find it repulsive at all, and her heart rate sped up instead. Her head wentpletely nk, and her body gradually softened too.

    <i>Why is he so good at this...</i>

    <i>Is this how he kisses my sister...</i>

    All kind of thoughts rushed into her head, but she quickly immersed herself in the passionate kiss.

    ...

    Zu An thus left the Ocean races. As he looked at the gleaming and crystalline sea, he couldn''t help but sigh at its beauty. Of course, the most beautiful things in the seas were still those sisters.

    A warm smile appeared on his face when he recalled the gentle, yet underripe movements of the Shang sisters. Even though they had already experienced a life and death struggle, it was only now that they had broken through the final paper-thinyer and grown a bit closer.

    When he recalled the bashfulness and sweetness he had felt from Shang Liuyu just now, Zu An felt extremely blessed. In that instant, he didn¡¯t even want to leave anymore. Even so, he knew that there were more important things that needed his attention. He put away those thoughts and gave the beautiful woman who was gently waving from the sea onest look. Then, he rushed into the sky and flew in the direction of the human capital.

    Even though the Wind Fire Wheels were morefortable and made longer journeys less tiring, he wanted to return as quickly as possible. As such, he didn¡¯t use them and flew at full speed instead. With Zu An¡¯s current cultivation, his flight speed was much faster than even the nes of his previous world. However, he still felt that he was a bit too slow, because this world was muchrger than the Earth he''de from.

    He really envied Zhao Han¡¯s spatial control skill. But as he grew stronger, he''de to realize that Zhao Han hadn¡¯t truly fully grasped the power of space either. He hadn''t really been able to move without any regard for distance, but rather transmitted a portion of his strength through his imperial edict or other special methods.

    Zu An thought to himself that once he had some free time, he definitely had to prepare some transport formations in various ces across the world. That way, moving around would be much easier. With his current knowlege of formations and control of resources, it wasn¡¯t impossible anymore. What hecked the most were time and some special raw materials, though.

    He moved as fast as lightning for several days, and thus finally returned to the capital. When he saw the familiar bustling state of the capital, he was a bit rmed. If he hadn¡¯t heard about what happened from Gao Ying, he wouldn¡¯t have known that so many serious events had taken ce already.

    He gave the Imperial Pce a look from the distance, but then decided to go to the Pei manor first. The Liu n¡¯s situation had probably already settled. There wouldn¡¯t be much he could do even if he went over now. Of course, more importantly, he had previously scanned the underworld¡¯s departed souls and hadn¡¯t sensed the empress. That gave him a bit of relief.

    It had already been some time since Gao Ying¡¯s death. If he wanted to revive him, he needed to find Gao Ying''s corpse first. Normally, the corpse would have already rotted and decayed after so much time, but Zu An thought of a possibility and clung onto a glimmer of hope.

    Soon after, he arrived at the Pei manor. Its formations didn¡¯t stop him at all. He found his old friend Pei You¡¯s room. The moment he pushed open the door, he frowned, because there was a strong smell of alcohol filling the air. He walked straight in. The room was a terrible mess with empty wine bottles everywhere, and a drunken many sprawled across a distant table.

    In that instant, Zu An almost didn¡¯t recognize Pei You. The normally cool-faced yboy now looked more like a sloppy middle-aged uncle. His beard was a mess and his hair looked as if it hadn¡¯t been washed for a long time. His eyes were swollen and pitch-ck.

    ¡°Pei You?¡± Zu An didn¡¯t hide his aura, but Pei You didn¡¯t react even after he walked up to his friend. If someone with ill intent had approached, not even ten lives would be enough to save Pei You.

    After Zu An called out several times, Pei You slowly raised his head and rubbed his eyes. They werepletely bloodshot, as if he hadn¡¯t had any proper rest for a long time.

    ¡°Brother Zu?¡± Pei You called out, stunned. He belched and then said, ¡°It seems I¡¯m dreaming again.¡±

    He then copsed onto the table again.

    Zu An was speechless. He reached out with a finger, and a strand of ki entered Pei You¡¯s body to eliminate some of the drunkenness.

    Pei You finally raised his head again. When he saw Zu An, his expression changed several times. Then, he covered his face and turned around to run.

 Chapter 2230: Rise From the Dead

    ¡°Why are you running?¡± Zu An stopped him in annoyance.

    ¡°I''m way too ashamed to face you!¡± Pei You didn¡¯t lower his hands from his face.

    Zu An sighed. ¡°Is it because of Gao Ying?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, I killed brother Gao.¡± Pei You couldn''t hold himself back and began to bawl.

    Real men didn¡¯t cry easily unless they were truly broken-hearted. Thus, Zu An didn¡¯t say anything. He let Pei You release all of the emotions that were pent up within.

    After a long time passed, Zu An said seriously, ¡°I thought that you might try to exin yourself first.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s not much to exin. Brother Gao was fooled by me, and then died because of me.¡± Pei You raised his head. ¡°I was the only one to me for this, and it has nothing to do with anyone else. If you want to kill me, I''ll dly ept my fate.¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°If you carry so much remorse, why didn¡¯t you end your own life?¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± Pei You¡¯s face turned entirely red, as if he couldn''t find the words at all.Zu An then continued, ¡°Is it because you''re taking care of Brother Gao¡¯s remains?¡±

    Pei You¡¯s eyes turned red, but then he nodded slowly. He was too embarrassed to talk about it. After all, the person had already died, so it would seem a bit superficial no matter what he said.

    ¡°Why don''t you take me to his remains for now?¡± Zu An sighed inwardly in relief. He hadn¡¯t misjudged Pei You after all.

    Pei You voiced his agreement with a look of extreme grief on his face. He took Zu An away from the Pei n and arrived at a secluded courtyard. ¡°After the sudden events that took ce, I seized brother Gao¡¯s corpse. But he is someone from the Liu n and those people were aggressively wiping out everyone from the Liu n, so I could only secretly hide his corpse.¡±

    Zu An nodded and asked, ¡°Just what has happened while I was away?¡±

    Pei You replied, ¡°There was suddenly a rumor that the army sent north to assist the sealednd waspletely wiped out in the Fiend races'' territory, and that they were most likely ambushed by the Fiend races'' army. Some of the officials in the court got worked up and med that on the Liu n.

    ¡°But they were all groundless usations, and there was no concrete proof. At the time, the empress dowager governed from the imperial throne and the Liu n nted their people in all of the important positions, so they dealt with the situation easily.

    ¡°And yet, no one expected the sudden developments that happened after¡­¡±

    He then gave Zu An a rough summary of what had happened. He mentioned that he had inadvertently be an aplice to Gao Ying¡¯s murder and broke down once more.

    ¡°All of these things were hidden from you too. It¡¯s not your fault,¡± Zu An said tofort him. After listening to everything that happened, he knew that Pei You hadn¡¯t joined in on this conspiracy. Of course, arge part of it was because they had already known each other for many years and he trusted Pei You¡¯s character.

    Pei You said with a bitter smile, ¡°Even if I didn¡¯t join in on it, I participated in my family¡¯s ns. Brother Gao was only harmed because he trusted me so much, so how could I try to hide my responsibility in this?¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An knew that Pei You was still feeling conflicted. On one side was his friend, while the other was his n. Regardless of which side he chose to side with, there would be no good ending. If this continued, Pei You likely wouldn''t be able to make much progress in his cultivation for the rest of his life, and he could even regress.

    But Zu An didn¡¯t say anything and continued to ask about the capital¡¯s events instead.

    Pei You exined, ¡°I only know that King Wu suddenlyunched an attack, and then there was an imperial edict that came from the pce. I don¡¯t really know the exact details.¡±

    After he found a way to seize Gao Ying¡¯s corpse, he hadpletely lost himself. He had drunk his sorrows away, not paying much attention to the changes that had taken ce. Even so, Zu An received quite a bit of information from this conversation. Even though Pei You didn¡¯t supply him with that much information, he could infer some of the missing pieces.

    The Liu n waspletely finished, and the empress seemed to have gone missing. Still, that was the best news he could have received, because that meant there was no confirmation of her death. The one who had presided over this matter seemed to be King Wu, but the Bi n¡¯s people had filled in a lot of the empty official position vacancies. Judging from that, Bi Qi had definitely yed a big part here. Furthermore, Pei You had mentioned that King Wu was acting on an imperial edict, so Zu An wondered if Bi Linglong had participated in it or not. After all, the seal to pass an imperial edict was in her hands¡­

    They arrived at a secluded courtyard. Zu An''s expression grew grave, because he saw that there was paper money and candles scattered everywhere. The whole ce was arranged like a mourning hall. He could see a coffin arranged right at the center.

    Pei You exined, ¡°I wanted to bury brother Gao and let him rest as soon as possible, but the court is strictly monitoring the Liu n¡¯s remains, so I could only arrange him here for now.¡±

    At first, Zu An had still been a bit worried, but he was nowpletely relieved. He could sense that the mourning hall was full of ki. There seemed to be a formation underneath the coffin that protected Gao Ying¡¯s body from decaying. ¡°You really are considerate. Thank goodness you did all of this.¡±

    This type of formation used up quite a few ki stones, and it had already been running for such a long time. Everything Pei You had done was kept a secret from his n too, so he''d probably already used up everything he had saved up.

    ¡°This is all I could do.¡± Pei You¡¯s expression was full of bitterness. ¡°I can''t immediatelyy brother Gao to rest, so I can¡¯t just let something happen to his remains.¡±

    ¡°This has been a huge help.¡± Under Pei You''s shocked and confused gaze, Zu An opened up the coffin.

    Gao Ying¡¯s remains had clearly been carefully taken care of. He had experienced a bloody battle before he died, and yet there wasn¡¯t a single drop of blood on his body right now. His severed head had also been sewn back on so that it lookedplete and intact.

    Zu An tapped his finger against Gao Ying¡¯s neck injury. His primordial ki began to reconnect the broken meridians and blood vessels. The Primordial Origin Sutra had powerful healing capabilities to begin with, but because it was mixed with the Gold Phoenix skill, it easily triggered the innate desires of the individual it was used on. Normally, Zu An would never use this skill on a man, but he naturally didn¡¯t need to have such misgivings right now. After all,Gao Ying was already dead. Those annoying traits naturally wouldn¡¯t trigger.

    When he saw what Zu An was doing, Pei You felt even more miserable. ¡°Brother Zu, it¡¯s useless. Brother Gao has already been dead for quite some time.¡±

    He saw this as Zu An being unable to ept reality, and thought that he was still trying to treat Gao Ying. When he realized this, he immediately felt like utter scum again. The intense surge of emotions caused his internal energies to stir chaotically. He immediately coughed out a mouthful of blood.

    ¡°Collect yourself. I don¡¯t want to have to save you too after just having saved him,¡± Zu An said impatiently.

    Pei You¡¯s face turned deathly pale. He couldn''t process what Zu An was saying at all and just stared nkly.

    Zu An couldn''t be bothered with him, and focused on repairing Gao Ying¡¯s body. Under the treatment of the Primordial Origin Sutra, Gao Ying¡¯s damaged wounds began to heal. The shriveled meridians also gradually reconnected. If it had been Zu An''s past self, not even the Primordial Origin Stura would¡¯ve been able to achieve all of this. But now that he had seized the World Law Beacon''s authority, his will was the will of the world. He could transfer a sea of natural energy to nourish and repair Gao Ying¡¯s damaged body.

    Of course, even with all of that, Gao Ying wouldn¡¯t be revived. It was like gluing a broken hand together. This kind of reconnection was still extremely weak. Still, Zu An only intended to temporarily reconnect his body.

    Then, he took out a jade bottle and poured the drop of Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine into Gao Ying''s lips. The golden immortal medicine liquid spread throughout Gao Ying''s mouth, and his head even released glimmers of golden light.

    The change drew Pei You¡¯s attention. He couldn''t help but stand back up.

    Just then, the golden light slowly descended. It moved through Gao Ying''s throat, his neck, his neck, his neck¡­

    Zu An frowned. When he saw that the golden liquid was stuck in Gao Ying''s neck, he quickly used his ki to help spread the golden light.

    Finally, as the golden light nourished him, Gao Ying¡¯s neck began to grow new flesh, continuously healing until the head waspletely joined with the body again. With that, even without Zu An¡¯s ki to maintain its condition, his head wouldn¡¯t fall off again.

    Then, the golden light continued to move down, flowing through his chest and stomach before finally gathering in his core. It turned into countless fine strands of golden light and dispersed toward his limbs. The pale-faced Gao Ying gradually became a bit rosier inplexion. He didn¡¯t lookpletely dead like before.

    ¡°What¡­ What kind of medicine is this? Is there actually a divine medicine that can bring the dead back to life?¡± Pei You was shocked and excited.

    Zu An exined, ¡°This is the juice of the Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine. There''s only a single drop left. Normally, as long as someone still has a single breath of life left, it can bring them back. Unfortunately, brother Gao has already been dead for some time, so his soul needs to be summoned back as well.¡±

    If not for the fact that he happened to be the underworld emperor and had brought back Gao Ying¡¯s soul, not even the incredible Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine would be able to bring him back. He would only be a living corpse.

    With a shake of Zu An''s sleeve, a wisp of smoke appeared in this hall. Then, Gao Ying¡¯s silhouette appeared.

    Pei You immediately widened his eyes. ¡°Brother¡­ Brother Gao!¡±

    This world had legends surrounding ghosts, and even stories of many cultivators who practiced necromancy and could control departed spirits. Many of those souls would inadvertently be ferocious spirits, which were simr to puppets. Not many had seen souls that weren¡¯t much different from the living like this.

    Gao Ying looked at Pei You with aplicated expression. In reality, how could he not know that Pei You had done all of that without knowing the truth? But it was because he''d trusted Pei You that he left the pce gate unattended, which led to the entire Liu n being eradicated. That had driven him mad with frustration, so he couldn''t help but carry a bit of unwillingness and resentment.

    That was why, even though Pei You had burned so much paper money for him, he hadn¡¯t epted it and had decided to avoid reincarnation in Tragedy City. But ever since he met Zu An, his grievances had finally eased, and he felt much calmer than before.

    He had actually been released by Zu An as soon as they arrived at the Pei n. When he first came out, he''d felt as if this world didn¡¯t tolerate his existence. Whether it was the zing sun or the surrounding natural energy, they wanted to erase him. But suddenly, all of that pressure had disappeared. He knew that was because of Zu An¡¯s power. He couldn''t help but once again sigh at this living legend.

    Then, he had been taken into Zu An¡¯s sleeves, so he saw and heard everything Pei You did. When he saw how much pain Pei You was in, and how thetter had even taken on such a huge risk to do all of this for him, and that even his revival was thanks to the excellent maintenance of his corpse, most of his resentment disappeared.

 Chapter 2231: When Did the Capital Become So Unfamiliar

    Zu An took the opportunity to say, ¡°Brother Gao, so much time has passed, and yet Pei You has still preserved your remains so well. I believe he''s paid quite a considerable cost to achieve this.¡±

    After a long silence, Gao Ying finally opened his mouth and said hoarsely, ¡°Many thanks.¡±

    Pei You got even more worked up. ¡°This was just something I did to atone for my crimes. Why would you need to thank me?¡±

    Zu An knew it would take time before the two parties buried the hatchet, so he said, ¡°Let¡¯s not waste any time right now. Let¡¯s have brother Gao return first.¡±

    Pei You hurriedly nodded. Gao Ying took a deep breath. He looked extremely nervous right now. After all,ing back to life was something unheard of.

    Zu An reminded him, ¡°The head is the leader of the six yang, and your soul has left the body for too long. So even if your soul returns to its body, you need to rest for a period of time before the body and soul join together in recovery. But I still have other things to take care of in the meantime¡­¡±

    Pei You hurriedly said, ¡°I will take care of brother Gao!¡±

    Zu An gave him a look. ¡°You''re covered in alcohol right now, and even a random hoodlum could take your life. Would you really be able to take care of him?¡±

    Embarrassment covered Pei You''s face as he said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, from now on, that won¡¯t happen anymore.¡±¡°Alright.¡± Zu An nodded in appreciation. He didn¡¯t want Pei You to sink into absolute despair, and also wanted to use this opportunity to ease their rtionship.

    Sure enough, Gao Ying said to Pei You, ¡°Thank you for your trouble!¡±

    Pei You immediately felt overwhelmed with favor. ¡°I''m only doing what''s right.¡±

    Zu An chuckled. Then, he used a secret method to guide Gao Ying¡¯s soul back to his body. The entire process made Pei You exim in amazement. When Gao Ying¡¯s soul entered the body, Zu An arranged formations in the vicinity so it wouldn''t identally leave again.

    After the whole task wasplete, Pei You suddenly cried out in amazement, ¡°He¡¯s breathing! Brother Gao is breathing!¡±

    Zu An wiped away sweat from his forehead. ¡°He might have to sleep for some time. I¡¯ll be entrusting him to your protection.¡±

    Pei You showed Zu An a deep bow. ¡°Brother Zu, I am truly thankful to you this time. If not for you, brother Gao wouldn¡¯t have been able to revive, and I would never have been able to forgive myself in this life.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s already all in the past, and time will heal everything.¡± Zu An supported him up and patted his shoulder in encouragement. The rest would be up to him.

    When he left the courtyard, Zu An went straight to the Sang manor. He had to get more information before entering the pce. He didn¡¯t know how he was going to face Bi Linglong either.

    However, the Sang manor had some hidden spies around it. Zu An frowned slightly and wondered which force had nted them.

    <em>Are they monitoring Sang Hong, or are they here to check if I¡¯ve returned or not?</em>

    Even so, his heart was already set on going home, and he didn¡¯t feel like bothering with those people. With his current cultivation realm, if he wanted to enter the Sang manor silently, the spies wouldn¡¯t detect a single thing.

    The youngdies inside were ying with baby Sisi when she suddenly pointed behind them and began tough. She began to murmur unclear baby talk.

    ¡°Sisi seems to beughing at something¡­¡± The two women turned around and saw Zu An standing at the entrance. Both of them were stunned, but then they cried out in surprise.

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡±

    ¡°Big brother Zu!¡±

    Sang Qien and Zheng Dan both rubbed their eyes in disbelief. When they were sure that they weren''t just seeing things, they both cried out in happiness and rushed into his arms. However, Sisi was scared by their screams and frowned. Just a moment before, she had been smiling, but she immediately began to cry.

    The twodies hurriedly returned in rm, but Zu An was even faster than them. He immediately took the chubby little girl into his arms. It really was strange, but Sisi''s cries of distress immediately gave way to happy giggles.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zheng Dan couldn''t help butment mockingly, ¡°You really are too lethal against women. Whether they''re over a thousand years old or merely female infants, none can escape your charms.¡±

    Sang Qien rolled her eyes and retorted, ¡°Dandan, what are you saying? Sisi clearly sensed her father returning.¡±

    Zheng Dan finally reacted. She couldn''t help but cover her mouth andugh.

    ¡°Little Qien, little Dan, what happened?¡± Sang Hong and Mu Yi heard the disturbance and rushed over. There were too many things that had been happening in the capital, after all. In several ways, they had no choice but to remain vignt.

    When they saw Zu An, both of them were stunned. ¡°Ah Zu returned?¡±

    ¡°I greet respected uncle and aunt.¡± Zu An smiled toward them.

    Aunt Mu immediately blushed, while Sang Hong had a big smile on his face as he said, ¡°Then I¡¯ll leave you youngsters to chat. We won¡¯t be disturbing you.¡±

    He then led Aunt Mu away in embarrassment.

    Aunt Mu asked in confusion, ¡°Master, shouldn¡¯t we tell Ah Zu about what happened recently?¡±

    Sang Hong smiled. ¡°As long as he''s returned, even the worst things aren¡¯t a big deal anymore. I can finally get some good sleep.¡±

    Aunt Mu figured that made sense as well. She didn¡¯t worry anymore. In fact, she felt much happier after hearing Zu An call her ''aunt''.

    ¡­

    Inside the room, Zu An teased his daughter while looking at the two women. He couldn''t help but feel a bit broken-hearted as he said, ¡°Both of you seem to have slimmed from exhaustion.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, we were so scared while you were away that it¡¯d be hard to get fat even if we wanted to.¡± Zheng Dan harrumphed.

    Even the way Sang Qien looked at Zu An was a bit strange.

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°Just what happened?¡±

    Zheng Dan gave Sang Qien a little push. ¡°You¡¯ve always been clever and eloquent, so you should tell him.¡±

    Sang Qien was a bit moved. She was very smart herself, so how could she not know that Zheng Dan was trying to give her an opportunity? After all, her rtionship with Zu An hadn''t started as a natural one of mutual consent.

    But thankfully, after more than a year passed, they''d be more and more familiar with each other. They weren¡¯t as reserved as in the beginning. As such, she cleared her throat and began to exin what had happened. ¡°There was a rumor that the Fiend races set up a trap to eliminate the reinforcements we sent north, and that even you¡­ perished because of that.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve made all of you worry.¡± Zu An had been in a rush to find the Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine to save Qiu Honglei, and hadn¡¯t expected something so major to take ce in the capital.

    ¡°I did feel as if I was at my wits'' end, but it was still Dandan who understood you more. She was absolutely sure that nothing bad had happened to you,¡± Sang Qien said in embarrassment.

    Zu An reflexively gave Zheng Dan a look, but he only saw her raise her chin and remark, ¡°Hmph, we all know that good people don¡¯t live long, but disasters continue for a thousand years. How could someone like you die so easily?¡±

    In that instant, he felt as if he had returned to the time he spent with her in Brightmoon City. Zu An felt a sense offort fill him. ¡°It''s still you who understands me best.¡±

    When she saw the tacit look of understanding between them, Sang Qien had a faint smile on her face. She would still have felt sorry for herself if she''d seen such a thing in the past, but Dandan treated her so well, so how could she maintain any feelings of jealousy? She only wanted their rtionship to be better and better. After all, the two of them were already pretty much one entity. The other fish big brother Zu had raised in the pond were all sharks, so how could two little shrimp like them not ally together?

    Then, Sang Qien began to exin the events that had yed out in the capital while Zu An was away. What she knew was far more detailed than Pei You¡¯s exnation; she started with the fact that the Liu n had been pulled up by the roots. As for the main culprits, they were the Bi n; King Wu; Imperial Tutor, Zhao Chen¡¯s faction; and King Yi, Zhao Huang¡¯s faction.

    Zu An was a bit surprised. ¡°You even know who the main culprits are?¡±

    Sang Qien smiled. ¡°Even though the Bi n acted in secret and used King Wu as a shield, it was easy to figure out by seeing who had the most to gain from this.

    ¡°After the Liu n was overthrown, these ns took over most of the Liu n¡¯s vacant positions. The Bi n gained the most benefits, while Zhao Chen¡¯s faction was just furious that you killed Zhao Chen and just followed along. King Yi likely joined in because they were never on good terms with the Liu n, and was worried that imperial power would fall.

    ¡°Of course, after the fact, the Commandant of Justice Jiang Boyang was also promoted, but he doesn¡¯t have a motive for participating in the coup. It was most likely the Bi n who borrowed his prestige to stabilize the situation.¡±

    ¡­

    Sang Qien¡¯s exnation was clear and orderly. She recounted all of the details of the capital¡¯s changes. Naturally, Zu An felt much of his confusion resolve.

    <em>Sang Qien really is an extremely outstanding strategist and secretary, and she really can help me do many things. When there is some free time, we can¡­</em>

    He quickly gathered his thoughts and didn¡¯t utter the famous quote from his previous world; instead, he focused on more important affairs. ¡°By the way, where is the empress dowager right now?¡±

    Sang Qien and Zheng Dan exchanged a look. Both of them had strange smiles on their faces.

    While Zu An was feeling confused, Zheng Dan said in annoyance, ¡°And here I was, wondering how much longer you would hold yourself back. You were worried about her after all.¡±

    ¡°Um¡­ The empress is from the Liu n and has a respected position in the pce. It¡¯s normal for me to be concerned about where she is, right?¡± Zu An replied, thinking, <em>Why do I feel a bit weird?</em>

    ¡°Keep acting, why don¡¯t you?¡± Zheng Dan sneered, ¡°Isn¡¯t your worry because she is your woman?¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He chucked in embarrassment before saying, ¡°So you already knew.¡±

    He''d already had his suspicions. But the tone Zheng Dan had spoken with prevented him from denying it further. After all, if they didn¡¯t really know, why would they associate him with the empress?

    ¡°You really are something. You even dared to mess with the empress dowager.¡± Zheng Dan had a weird and extremelyplicated expression. There was a bit of admiration mixed into the disdain that was really hard to describe with words.

    Zu An was about to say something when Sang Qien said quietly, ¡°It¡¯s not just the empress dowager, either. You even dared to mess with the empress¡­¡±

    Zu An was dumbfounded.

    <em>Just how long has it been since I left the capital? When did the capital be so unfamiliar all of a sudden?!</em>

 Chapter 2232: Spies

    <h4>Chapter 2232: Spies</h4>

    When Sang Qien saw his dumbfounded expression, she startedughing so hard that she couldn''t even keep her mouth closed anymore. Zheng Dan also had a weird expression as she eximed, ¡°Ah Zu, you really are good at hiding things! You actually quietly slept with the two most influential women in the entire empire!¡±

    Zu An waspletely caught and thrown for a loop now. ¡°Is anyone going to tell me just what exactly happened?¡±

    Judging from the current situation, it seemed they weren¡¯t saying this just to mess with him, and that his rtionship with the empress really had been exposed. But he really couldn''t understand it. It was one thing if his rtionship with Liu Ning had been exposed after what happened to the Liu n. Now that the Bi n had be so powerful and Bi Linglong was still the empress, why would they permit rumors like this to spread?

    ¡°During the court session the morning after the event, that stupid emperor denounced you for bullying the empress in front of all of the civil and military officials. There were so many people there, so the empress couldn''t keep it a secret even if she wanted to. By now, the entire human race probably knows about your rtionship with the empress,¡± Sang Qien exined to him.

    Zheng Dan said with a sneer, ¡°There are books titled ¡®History of the Regent¡¯s Romance¡¯, ¡®Empress¡¯ Secrets¡¯, ¡®Ah Zu Dominating Linglong¡¯, and many others now. I''ve heard that they¡¯re quite popr too.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He eximed, ¡°What kind of madness is that Zhao Ruizhi experiencing?¡±

    He quickly calmed himself down. With Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s intelligence, there was no way he would know about that. As such, it meant that someone had definitely instigated all of this. But his rtionship with Bi Linglong was a great secret that almost no one knew about. Why did the people responsible know?

    <i>Could it be that Rong Mo told the Bi n and the Bi n divulged the secret?</i>

    <i>No, this isn¡¯t in line with the Bi n¡¯s interests.</i>

    <i>The Bi n was able to achieve their current position by relying on their daughter bing the crown princess, and then the empress. Any rumors of Bi Linglong being with another man would only tarnish their authority.</i>

    Sang Qien gave Zheng Dan a look.

    <i>Dandan really is amazing. When I first heard it, I thought that it was definitely false, but Dandan was so confident that it was true.</i>

    <i>Judging from big brother Zu¡¯s reaction, it seems to be true, as expected!</i>

    She then exined, ¡°Those people were probably just throwing baseless usations, as sshing some dirty water on you and the empress would help them achieve their goals easier. They just never expected the shot in the dark to be the truth.¡± n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    As she spoke, she couldn¡¯t help but smile. It wasn¡¯t so often that she could see Zu An in such a sorry state.

    Zu An immediately understood when he listened to her analysis. It was likely not far from the truth. Still, this really was a bit ridiculous. He and Linglong had kept the secret so well, and there was no way anyone could have found out, and yet it ended up being exposed because of this kind of reason.

    <i>Linglong is pretty sensitive. She''s probably felt terrible all this time, right?</i>

    He couldn''t help but ask about Bi Linglong¡¯s situation. Sang Qien replied, ¡°ording to the news father brings back each time he returns from the court session, the empress is still handling governmental affairs like before, as if nothing happened. There were a few subjects and maids who ended up being caught discussing this rumor, but she didn¡¯t get mad and punish them. That doesn¡¯t seem to resemble the way she did things in the past.¡±

    ¡°What is so difficult to understand here?¡± Zheng Dan said with a sneer. ¡°She probably felt a bit embarrassed when this was first exposed, but soon realized that it was better to just get the pain over with rather than prolong the agony. She was probably wondering how she could ever publicly announce her rtionship with Ah Zu, but isn¡¯t this a readily avable way? She thus decided to just not refute it and let everyone get used to it. After a few years, she could then announce her rtionship with Ah Zu, and it wouldn¡¯t really create that much of amotion then.¡±

    Sang Qien had a ¡®so that was what was happening¡¯ expression. She was better at analyzing the conflict between the various forces in the court, but Dandan was better at understanding the interpersonal feelings between men and women.

    When he heard that Bi Linglong was fine, Zu An sighed in relief. After some hesitation, he asked, ¡°What is the empress dowager¡¯s current situation?¡±

    ¡°Are you asking how your rtionship with the empress dowager was exposed?¡± Zheng Dan immediately saw through his intentions. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, this isn¡¯t something everyone knows about. Only we know about it.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. That secret was exposed, but only they knew about it? How?

    ¡°The reason is that after the events of that night, the empress dowager jumped into our courtyard after being heavily injured,¡± Sang Qien exined.

    Zu An suddenly got up. ¡°What? Where is she right now?¡±

    At first, he''d thought that with Liu Ning¡¯s cultivation, she would at least be able to protect herself. He hadn¡¯t expected her to be injured and run all the way to them for help. That meant she''ddefinitely had no other way out.

    ¡°Look at how worried you seem right now.¡± Zheng Dan rolled her eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, with our meticulous care, the empress has already recovered. But you can¡¯t meet with her right now.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s because she suddenly went missing.¡± Zheng Dan sighed. She was clearly a bit annoyed by this as well.

    ¡°Went missing?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Sang Qien said tofort Zu An when she saw how rmed he was. ¡°The empress isn¡¯t in any danger. She left a few days ago on her own.¡±

    Zu An was a bit puzzled. The two women had saved Liu Ning¡¯s life, so how could she just leave without even saying anything?

    Sang Qien exined, ¡°It was probably because there are rumors of your rtionship with the empress everywhere, and she knew that even if you came back, you would be torn between the two of them. That was why she decided to leave first and find her own way to get revenge.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s all my fault for not thinking of this. I didn¡¯t take good enough care of her,¡± Zheng Dan said, feeling a bit apologetic.

    Sang Qien immediately responded, ¡°How is that your fault? Back then, the court searched everywhere for traces of the Liu n¡¯s remnants and followed the trail all the way up here. If not for the fact that you sorted out the capital¡¯s underground forces and had the ability to move her to a safer ce, our entire Sang n might have been done for.¡±

    Zu An was a bit surprised.

    <i>Zheng Dan really still has a lingering passion for being an underground gang boss. She was like this in Brightmoon City, and it¡¯s the same here in the capital.</i>

    ¡°Because the empress was staying outside and there are spies hidden everywhere, we couldn¡¯t just leave that easily. That¡¯s why we weren¡¯t able to immediately stop her once she left,¡± Sang Qien was a bit apologetic.

    Zu An said in constion, ¡°It¡¯s not your fault. She''s a powerful grandmaster. How could the two of you stop her if she wanted to leave?¡±

    He ced his daughter into Sang Qien¡¯s arms and asked, ¡°Who do the spies outside belong to?¡±

    The two women both shook their heads in confusion. ¡°We suspect that they might be here to search for the empress¡¯ whereabouts. After all, the empress headed in this direction before she disappeared.¡±

    ¡°In that case, we can just ask them.¡± Zu An vanished as soon as he said these words.

    ...

    Meanwhile, outside the Sang manor, there was an incredibly dark ce that resembled the inside of an attic. Inside, someone dressedpletely in ck was secretly monitoring the Sang manor¡¯s activity. Even though the Sang n did seem suspicious, he hadn¡¯t been able to find anything concrete. Furthermore, he hadn¡¯t seen any traces of that person¡¯s return.

    Suddenly, his body went rigid. He turned around in disbelief, discovering that another person had suddenly appeared in the room.

    And there was probably no one in the entire capital who didn¡¯t know who that person was. He was the killer of a prince, the culprit behind the eradication of the Meng n. The one who had dominated an earth immortal, the dragon yer, the lover of the queen, the collector of beautiful women, the regent Zu An!

    There was a terrifying presence just from Zu An standing there. The spy couldn''t produce even the slightest thought of resistance. As such, he didn¡¯t hesitate to end his own life at all.

    Zu An was stunned. He had been about to ask where the spy came from. How could he have anticipated that thetter would do something like this?

    Sang Qien and Zheng Dan both rushed over. When they saw the scene, they were frightened, as it was just too strange. The moment the spy died, his body quickly began to rot.

    Zu An¡¯s expression turned cold. ¡°This seems to be a corpse ghost controlled by malicious arts.¡±

    If one died without a soul, their corpse would quickly rot. That was, unless someone paid a great price to preserve the corpse. Additionally, there were some malicious arts that controlled departed spirits. The user would put a strand of their own divine will into such corpses to control them. To a certain degree, it was simr to controlling a body with a Heart-Devouring Demon Spider.

    ¡°Then it seems as if it¡¯ll be really hard to find the main perpetrator behind the scenes.¡± Zheng Dan had oncee from the world of warriors, so she had heard about corpse ghosts too.

    For those malicious cultivators, corpse ghosts were nothing more than consumables. Even if they were lost, they wouldn¡¯t feel that brokenhearted over them. The greatest benefit was that they could retract their divine will from such corpse puppets at any time. That way, even if something happened, there would be no way of tracing them.

    In the past, when the various forces of the capital fought against each other, it had still been founded upon some basic principles. There was no way they would use such sinister techniques, as they would easily be the target of public criticism. Now, however, they werepletely unscrupulous in their methods.

    Zu An said indifferently, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he won¡¯t be able to get away.¡±

    With his current cultivation and the fact that he now grasped the authority of the world, it would be a real joke if he let this person escape from right under his eyes. In that time, his divine will had already covered the entire city.

    Normally, even though he could potentially find someone, he would also have been sensed by others. It was like a radar. Even if he located your target, even a third party would sense his powerful divine will.

    But now that he had merged with the will of the world, everything was silent and untraceable. Who would still pay attention to the natural energy around them?

 Chapter 2233: Why Are Things Not Going According to Plan

    He quickly noticed something. ¡°This guy is surprisingly cautious.¡±

    He had been tracking that faint will fragment, and discovered that it had actually split in three different directions at the same time before returning to the bodies of three different individuals. The fragments wanted to run when they returned to those three individuals¡¯ bodies, but their faces paled. They immediately sensed that a terrifying aura had already locked down on their bodies. In an instant, the three individuals¡¯ heads drooped, and they immediately lost their lives.

    These three were clearly also corpse puppets. They were like a firewall that prevented potential trackers. When the one controlling them sensed that Zu An had actually tracked it all the way to them, not only did it abandon the three corpse puppets, it decided to give up on that strand of will entirely and self-destruct it.

    Unfortunately, even doing such a thing still left behind behind a trace for the current Zu An. He immediately noticed the slight trace of will in the air and tracked it to its source.

    Somewhere nearby was a ruined daoist temple with a dried-up well in the rear court. There wasn¡¯t even a single insect alive within, and there was a bit of ck energying out from the opening.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    There was a whole different ce in the well. Someone had dug out a cave within, and an elder dressed in daoist robes was seated there in meditation. He suddenly coughed out a mouthful of blood. He opened his eyes. There was fear in his expression as he eximed, ¡°What a powerful pressure!

    ¡°Hmph, thank goodness I was careful enough and set up several measures so I can¡¯t be traced. No matter how powerful he is, he still won¡¯t be able to find me.

    ¡°However, this ce can no longer be used. I need to switch locations as quickly as possible.¡±

    Just then, a voice asked from beside him, ¡°Where do you n to relocate to?¡±¡°Of course¡­¡± The old daoist reflexively replied when he realized that something was off. He suddenly turned around and saw a handsome man and two beautifuldies looking at him with an ambiguous expression. His eyes immediately narrowed.

    ¡°How can this be?!¡± the old daoist eximed inplete disbelief. Just a second ago, he had been confidently iming that he couldn''t be tracked, and yet his prideful statement immediately came back to bite him.

    Zheng Dan and Sang Qien were feeling just as shocked as the elder. Just a moment before, they had still been near their home, and yet an instantter, they were now suddenly here? They didn¡¯t even have any impression of how they had gotten here. They only recalled that Zu An had carried them, one in each arm, and then there was a bit of heat around their waist. They had felt a bit embarrassed and thought that he was going to do something to the two of them, wondering whether to push him away. And yet a secondter, they realized that they had overthought things.

    Zu An had wanted to chase after the one that was monitoring them, but he was also worried that it would be too dangerous to leave these two in their home. Besides, they had already been apart for quite some time, and he cherished every second they could spend together, so he''d decided to just take them with him. The two women''s bodies were extremely light, so carrying them wasn¡¯t difficult at all.

    Zu An examined the whole ce. He could smell a faint fishy scent in the air and saw skeletal remains scattered in the corner. His face couldn''t help but darken. ¡°It was a monster after all!¡±

    He''d thought that it could be some malicious cultivator, but when he arrived, he sensed a different auraing from the elder''s body. It was just pretending to be human.

    ¡°Everyone imed that the regent¡¯s cultivation was unrivaled. Today, sure enough, I have seen that this is indeed the case. If it were anywhere else, I might still be a bit scared of you, but what you absolutely shouldn¡¯t have done was toe all the way here and even bring those two dainty girls with you.¡± The old daoist snickered. Then, his body swelled, and the robes covering him ripped apart inch by inch.

    A pitch-ck monster appeared in the cave. It had countless pairs of legs and looked like a giant centipede. Of course, there were other differences, one of them being that there was a head between every leg. It really was horrifying to look at!

    The monster twisted its body, and then seemed to merge with its surroundings. The cave suddenly lit up with streaks of red light, as if countless pairs of eyes were staring at the three of them. These were the eyes between its legs!

    At the same time, the scattered skeletal remains all flew into the air. As they danced around, the skulls released horrifyingughter. A sinister and terrifying aura gradually filled the cave, feeling as if it could devour all living beings.

    Even Zheng Dan, who had experienced all kinds of terrifying things, turned a bit pale with fright. Sang Qien¡¯s face paled a bit as well and she reflexively hid behind Zu An.

    Zu An said with a cold snort, ¡°Insignificant skill!¡±

    No one even saw him really move, but a sh of white light appeared, and all of the sinister winds disappeared. The skulls fell to the ground, and the red eyes exploded one after another.

    <em>Spurt!</em>

    The monster spat out a mouthful of blood. It could no longer maintain its original form and shrank back to its old daoist appearance.

    His face was covered in disbelief. The murderous setup he had prepared was dealt with that easily? He was about to turn tail and run, but he discovered that he was restrained by a terrifying aura and couldn''t move an inch.

    Zu An slowly walked over and asked, ¡°What is your name?¡±

    The elder was really scared and reflexively replied, ¡°Ten Thousand¡­ Thousand-Footed Elder.¡±

    Zu An felt that this name was quite fitting.

    Sang Qien and Zheng Dan, who were leaning into Zu An, both saw the shock in each other¡¯s eyes. Even though they already knew that Zu An was extremely strong, wasn¡¯t this a bit too much?

    They were both academy students and viewed the world from a different lens. They knew that the true form the monster had revealed, coupled with the frightening and treacherous formation it had prepared, made it far stronger than even grandmasters. Even if it couldn''tpare to an earth immortal, it wasn¡¯t too far off.

    And yet, something that powerful was subdued by Ah Zu without much effort at all?

    ¡°I believe that you must be part of the monsters¡¯ third path. Who are your colleagues, and what kind of ns do you have?¡± Zu An asked directly.

    This Thousand-Footed Elder was a bit weaker than the Bloodthirst Crocodile and the other monsters he had met in the Ocean races. He was now far stronger than before as well, so it was naturally easy enough to subdue the monster.

    The Thousand-Footed Elder snapped out of its daze and said with a sinister smile, ¡°Since you know about all of that, I believe that the Lord of Myriad Transformations and the other pieces of trash must have failed. But you can cease your delusions if you want to get information out of me.¡±

    After saying that, his entire body trembled, and his head drooped. Just like that, he died. It wasn''t a transfer of divine will from the corpse puppets, but rather that his body had really died.

    Just then, a sinisterugh resounded from around them. ¡°You inferior species think that you can really defeat us? If it weren¡¯t for this world¡¯s barrier stopping us and the fact that we cannot descend in our strongest condition, why would we have been defeated by you?¡±

    Sang Qien couldn''t help but move closer to Zheng Dan. She looked around her and asked in a slightly trembling voice, ¡°Dandan, is¡­ Is this a ghost?¡±

    Zheng Dan swallowed with difficulty. ¡°It¡¯s probably just a monster trying to dress up as a god.¡±

    Zu An looked at a certain area inside this cave. He naturally knew what kind of state this individual was in. ¡°Hm? Your soul seems to actually be able to leave your body after death, and it can return to another point?¡±

    ¡°But of course. This annoying world barrier has greatly restricted the way I can descend into this world. Even the War Priest, Shadow Monster King, and Lord of ughter died here, so no one is willing to risking into this world anymore. In order to solve this problem, the Monster Lord gave us brothers this blessing. Even if we identally die in this world, our souls can return to the Monster Lord¡¯s side and revive. This is a mighty force that you can never even hope to obtain," the Thousand-Footed Elder said. He continued sinisterly, ¡°Once I revive, you will understand what the meaning of regret is.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help butugh. ¡°Since I could kill you this time, killing you again would still be just as easy.¡±

    A hint of bitter hatred appeared in the Thousand-Footed Elder¡¯s eyes. ¡°You might be strong and I can¡¯t win against you, but what about the people around you? Do you not have any close friends? For example, these delicate little girls, you can¡¯t just protect them forever, right? But I can revive endlessly and will eventually find an opportunity. Then, I will make sure to properly humiliate them and make you regret offending me.¡±

    Zheng Dan and Sang Qien were both greatly rmed. You could live as a scoundrel for a thousand days, but how could you guard against a scoundrel for a thousand days? Ah Zu was so busy normally, and he was often away from home. How could he continue to protect them at their side?

    Zu An gently patted their heads and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he won¡¯t have the chance.¡±

    The Thousand-Footed Elder looked extremely unhappy about being looked down on. ¡°Little girls, don¡¯t be fooled by him. He has no way of protecting the two of you. Haha, just look forward to when I pay you two a visit again...

    ¡°Hm? Why am I still here?¡±

    The Thousand-Footed Elder finally realized that something wasn¡¯t right. Normally, he would have already returned to the Monster Lord¡¯s side. Why were things not going ording to n?

    Zu An sighed and gave him a pitiful look. ¡°It seems you monsters don¡¯t really have the best brains in your skulls. Did you really not realize that I never looked worried from the very start?¡±

    ¡°What¡­ What did you do to me?¡± The Thousand-Footed Elder finally panicked.

 Chapter 2234: Doomsday Spirit

    <h4>Chapter 2234: Doomsday Spirit</h4>

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°You¡¯ve already died to me, but you still want to escape somewhere else? Then wouldn¡¯t I have made this trip for nothing?¡±

    He was now the underworld emperor and had death and reincarnation within his very grasp. It would be weird if he let this guy¡¯s soul get away right in front of him. Thus, he quickly made a grabbing motion. Just like that, the monster¡¯s figure was sucked right into his hand and had its neck mped between his fingers.

    The Thousand-Footed Elder¡¯s entire body trembled. He now felt a natural fear and pressure that came from his very soul, as if Zu An was his natural predator...

    No, it was even stronger than fear toward a natural predator. He had encountered some powerful enemies when he was still weak, but the fear he''d felt back then was still far from what he was currently experiencing. It was as if he could vanish without a trace with a single thought from Zu An. He gradually materialized again, struggling a bit.

    ¡°I admit that I was speaking a bit too boldly earlier. Your respected self is generous, so please just treat what I said like a fart in the wind...¡± The Thousand-Footed Elder¡¯s face was full of fear and an obsequious smile.

    Sang Qien and Zheng Dan were speechless. They had both seen countless powerful beings before. Normally, those beings all had great pride and self-respect. They had really never seen such a being bending and scraping for favor like this guy.

    Of course, they also understood that all of this was because of Ah Zu¡¯s power. The arrogance the monster had treated the two of them with was still fresh in their memory. The two women couldn''t help but give the tall and strong figure in front of them another look. The love and adoration in their eyes became even stronger.

    ¡°Answer my questions,¡± Zu An said indifferently.

    ¡°Will you let me go if I answer your questions?¡± the Thousand-Footed Elder asked in a trembling voice.

    ¡°If you answer my questions, I''ll grant you an easy death.¡± Zu An¡¯s voice waspletely indifferent, as if he didn¡¯t even want to bother lying.

    The Thousand-Footed Elder¡¯s eyes opened wide.

    <i>What kind of condition is this? If I''m going to die anyway, why would I tell you anything?</i>

    A secondter, Zu An waved his hand, and countless scenes of Hell appeared in the monster¡¯s mind.

    The monster¡¯s entire body began to shake uncontrobly. There was actually such a terrifying ce in this world! So it turned out an easy death was actually a kind of benevolence in itself. He didn¡¯t hesitate at all and immediately asked, ¡°What does your respected self wish to ask? This humble one will definitely tell you everything without skipping a single detail!¡±

    ¡°The monsters split into three paths. One was the sealednd, and another was the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons. Is your group thest one?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°Yes, of course, that¡¯s right,¡± the Thousand-Footed Elder replied as he carefully observed Zu An¡¯s expression. He felt that his reply was a bit too simple, so he didn¡¯t wait for Zu An to ask more before adding on his own, ¡°You clearly already know about the other two paths. The third path¡¯s main objective was to incite chaos within the human race. War and death would bring about destruction, causing the entire world to be thrown into disorder. Then, the world barrier would be weakened, allowing the monster army to break through and enter this world.¡±

    Zu An took a moment to think to himself. He now understood a bit about this world¡¯sws, after all.

    The world barrier protected this world, and its energy enabled people to strengthen themselves in cultivation. At the same time, the humans, fiends, and ocean races could make the world flourish and thrive. That would strengthen the world barrier in turn. But if the world fell into chaos and wars broke out everywhere, causing widespread death, that would contaminate the world that was normally filled with vitality, causing it to be flooded with evil and sinister beings. There had been records of such things in the past.

    If there were no outside enemies, after decades or perhaps even a century, the world would slowly recover its vitality as it became peaceful again. However, the alien monsters were eyeing them right now. If the scenario of chaos breaking out urred, those monsters¡¯ main force would sneak in. Then, the entire world would be devastated.

    Zu An¡¯s expression grew cold. These monsters really had thought of all kinds of different methods to torment this world. Even though he grasped the world¡¯s authority right now, and the world barrier was much stronger than before, who knew what kinds of things could happen if he let these monsters go into hiding and left them alone?

    He asked, ¡°Who is your leader? Where are your other colleagues?¡±

    The Thousand-Footed Elder immediately replied, ¡°There are two leaders this time, the Doomsday Spirit and gue Monarch.¡±

    ¡°Is the Doomsday Spirit a soul body? What kind of abilities does he have?¡± Zu An asked. He thought to himself that if the Doomsday Spirit was a soul, that would make him extremely easy to deal with. His abilities would naturally counter the Doomsday Spirit in that case.

    The Thousand-Footed Elder quickly shook his head. ¡°The Doomsday Spirit isn¡¯t a soul body. Instead, he''s someone who''s good at stirring up public sentiment through false statements. He magnifies the darkness in one¡¯s heart and creates conflict and discord, which ultimately esctes into war.

    ¡°As for his exact abilities, we monsters are actually quite guarded against each other and are ready to be turned on or ambushed at any time, so no monster would ever reveal all of their trump cards to the others. That''s why I don¡¯t know what else he is capable of, and only know that he''s much stronger than me.¡±

    ¡°Then how do theypare to the Shadowhorror Devil, Bloodthirst Crocodile, and Lord of Myriad Transformations?¡± Zu An asked. He needed something as a reference point.

    ¡°That¡¯s hard to say.¡± The Thousand-Footed Elder had a troubled expression as he said, ¡°If it were a frontal fight, the Doomsday Spirit and gue Monarch would probably be on equal footing with the Shadowhorror Devil¡¯s group. Even if they were a bit stronger, it wouldn¡¯t be overwhelmingly so. However, the Doomsday Spirit and gue Monarch have never fought others directly. Instead, they''ve always chosen to use their abilities to ce the enemy in a terrible situation. So if there really were a conflict, even the Shadowhorror Devil, Bloodthirst Crocodile, and Firedevil Sea Beast added together wouldn''t necessarily be a match for the Doomsday Spirit and gue Monarch.

    ¡°As for the Lord of Myriad Transformations, perhaps he would be able to rely on his unique abilities to protect himself.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself that the Lord of Myriad Transformations'' skill was indeed useful. He wondered what the mysterious pearl that had been left behind after the monster''s death could be used for. He had to use the Skill System on it once he got a chance in the future. He''d almost forgotten about it due to all the events that had happened in the Ocean races'' territory, and his main priority of saving his people.

    ¡°Is the gue Monarch good at spreading gues?¡± Zu An continued his questioning when he saw that the Thousand-Footed Elder didn¡¯t actually know that much about the Doomsday Spirit.

    ¡°Yes.¡± The Thousand-Footed Elder nodded. ¡°The two of them are actually a perfect match for each other. The gue Monarch needs arge amount of corpses to start his gues, while the Doomsday Spirit provokes people into fighting against each other. Arge-scale war can create countless corpses.¡±

    Zu An sneered inwardly.

    <i>This Monster Lord is quite good at putting people in the right ces, arranging them together.</i>

    ¡°Then how do I find them?¡± he asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± The Thousand-Footed Elder shook his head. He was scared that Zu An would think he was trying to dodge the question and quickly exined, ¡°Because the others failed, and because of the sessive deaths of powerful monsters, the Monster Lord told us to be especially careful this time. The Doomsday Spirit and gue Monarch are famous for being really good at hiding and surviving among monsters, and they¡¯re even more cautious now. It''s always been limited to one-waymunication ever since we entered this world, and only they can contact us. We have no way of contacting them. That way, regardless of what happens to one side, it won¡¯t end up impacting the safety of ourrades.¡±

    The Thousand-Footed Elder was feeling more and more depressed the more it exined. At first, it had actually approved of that countermeasure, thinking it would be safe even if the other monsters were caught. But now that it was exposed, it really was frustrating. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    <i>Why do I have to be the only one?</i>

    This was how monsters were; they didn¡¯t have any kindness at all. They all hoped to seize all the benefits for themselves, and for as much misfortune to fall upon the other monsters as possible.

 Chapter 2235: Search and Seize

    <h4>Chapter 2235: Search and Seize</h4>

    Zu An felt an ominous sensation.

    <i>It seems the Doomsday Spirit and the gue Monarch are the two trickiest ones to deal with after all. They actually schemed to this level.</i>

    <i>I have to give some more protective measures to those important to me. Otherwise, it''d be bad if those monsters secretly did something to them.</i>

    ¡°Then what are you doing here? You¡¯re not here just to monitor me, right?¡± Zu An looked at the surroundings. He could tell that there seemed to be an extremely sinister formation here. All of the daoists had been turned into corpse puppets, and the well¡¯s bottom was covered in leftover bones. The once solemn and divine daoist temple was now an eerie and creepy ce.

    The Thousand-Footed Elder didn¡¯t try to dodge the question. ¡°I set up a Lesser Life Offering Formation, which is the task the gue Monarch gave me. There are simr formations everywhere in the capital, and when the time is right, the gue Monarch will merge all of them together into a Greater Life Offering Formation. Then, all the lives in the capital will be refined away.¡±

    He couldn''t help but lick his lips as he spoke. ¡°The human race is the most powerful in the entire world, and the capital is full of powerful cultivators. They also have the best talents in the various professions. If this city is refined into blood pills and they''re ingested, it''ll be enough even for those most powerful monsters to rise to a new level.¡±

    He had no chance of eating them anyway, so he¡¯d rather no one be able to eat them anymore. He was even hoping for this demon Zu An to get rid of all the other monsters, so they could keep himpany in his misery!

    Sang Qien and Zheng Dan were horrified. This ce was just too sinister! If it wasn¡¯t because Zu An had inadvertently ended up encountering this scheme on his way back, who knew how many lives in the capital would¡¯ve been unknowingly refined into pills?

    Zheng Dan had been the underworld boss of Brightmoon City and had seen all sorts of sinister methods. Butpared to these monsters, she felt as if everything they''d done was as innocent as a baby''s ytime.

    ¡°If you''re here to monitor whether big brother Zu returned, how would you have contacted gue Monarch if you had discovered something?¡± Sang Qien keenly sensed the contradiction behind the monster''s words. Earlier, he''d said thatmunication was only one-directional, but if there really was no way of contact, how would they even know if he had discovered something?

    The Thousand-Footed Elder immediately panicked. ¡°I wasn¡¯t lying to you! I really don¡¯t have a way of contacting the gue Monarch or Doomsday Spirit directly. However, I was given other means of contacting them if I discovered that the regent had returned.¡±

    ¡°How?¡±

    ¡°By lighting up the nine special sticks of incense in front of the daoist temple.¡±

    Zu An followed his line of sight and saw nine especially thick sticks of incense. They were all several meters tall and as thick as an infant¡¯s arm. Surprised, he said, ¡°Light the candle now.¡±

    Zheng Dan and Sang Qien were stunned, but Sang Qien couldn''t help but ask worriedly, ¡°Ah Zu, wouldn¡¯t that be a bit risky?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s return was a secret. His presence was still unknown to the enemy right now, but if he took the initiative to inform the monsters of his existence, it would definitely be dangerous.

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡±

    When the Thousand-Footed Elder saw that he wasn¡¯t joking, he quickly began to think to himself. If he burned the incense and contacted the gue Monarch and Doomsday Spirit, and they came to fight against Zu An, perhaps he would have a chance to escape. Taking a thousand steps back, even if the gue Monarch and the Doomsday Monarch couldn''t win against Zu An and were killed, he would at least be dragging some people down with him, which didn¡¯t seem that bad either.

    As he realized that, he felt more and more excited. He sent some corpse puppets to run over to the incense burner outside the main hall and light the nine sticks of incense.

    Zu An didn¡¯t move; instead, he closed his eyes,pletely releasing his divine sense. He had already examined the candles earlier. Apart from being a bitrger than usual, they weren¡¯t really special treasures. So, if they were meant as a signal, there had to be someone near the daoist temple who could see it. They could even be hiding nearby. That meant as long as he paid attention to when it was lit and who was paying close attention to this location, he could track them down easily.

    Normally, that would bepletely impossible. Even though this daoist temple was in a deste and remote ce, it was still in the capital, making it extremely difficult to track everyone who came and went. Still, it wasn¡¯t too hard for the current Zu An. His divine sense silently covered everything in the vicinity, from the widest street to the narrowest alley, from the peddlers to the passing children, the vagabonds hurrying to and fro... Even the chickens, dogs, and cats didn¡¯t escape his monitoring.

    Soon after, he saw a dozen suspicious individuals looking toward the giant burning incense. He split his divine sense along multiple paths to follow them.

    Just like that, an hour passed before he opened his eyes again.

    ¡°So?¡± The Thousand-Footed Elder gave him an expectant look. Right now, he was actually the one who hoped for Zu An to find the gue Monarch and the others more than anyone else.

    ¡°You were fooled,¡± Zu An said indifferently.

    The Thousand-Footed Elder was stunned.

    Just then, Zu An exined to the two at his side, ¡°I noticed that there were a dozen or so individuals who looked in this direction after the candles were lit. But when I carefully looked into them, they weren¡¯t monsters, and were just purely interested in the size of the candles. I also searched even further, but I didn¡¯t sense anything strange.¡±

    ¡°Then what was the purpose of these candles?¡± Zheng Dan asked in confusion.

    ¡°They were just a trick to make the Thousand-Footed Elder seem more believable. If I''m not mistaken, their true method of monitoring should have been in the bodies of the corpse puppets that the Thousand-Footed Elder used. If something happened to those corpse puppets, they would know that I¡¯d returned,¡± Zu An exined.

    The Doomsday Spirit and gue Monarch were probably scared of his power, worried that the Thousand-Footed Elder wouldn¡¯t be able to escape from Zu An at all, and thus they had arranged all of these things.

    Zu An sighed.

    <i>The Doomsday Spirit and gue Monarch really hid themselves damned well. They even fooled their own colleagues.</i>

    The Thousand-Footed Elder also realized that something had happened. He immediately began to passionately curse the families of those two.

    Since the monster was already of no use, Zu An waved his hand and erased his soul. In a way, this was a form of revenge for the pitiful people who had previously used this daoist temple.

    Just then, Sang Qien and Zheng Dan said with worried expressions, ¡°Since we¡¯re already exposed, we¡¯ll be out in the open, vulnerable to attacks, while they can scheme freely in the dark. We can¡¯t do anything but react passively.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to be that worried, though. The most dangerous situation is when you don¡¯t even know who the enemy is.¡± Zu An gave the two a reassuring smile. ¡°I¡¯ve now at least gained a lot of useful information about them, and I¡¯ve personally experienced how cunning and crafty they are. I¡¯m much more prepared to deal with them now.¡±

    Sang Qien¡¯s eyes shone brilliantly.

    <i>Big brother Zu is always so calm. That natural confidence really is enchanting.</i>

    Zheng Dan also blushed. However, when she noticed Sang Qien¡¯s expression, she thought, <i>Is this woman in heat again?</i>

    <i>Do you really have to go that far? Isn¡¯t Ah Zu just... Well, he is pretty handsome.</i> n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ...

    Soon after, Zu An brought the two women back to the Sang manor. He set up a few formations around them and thanded them several protective treasures. ¡°Those monsters are still hiding, so you need to protect yourselves and Sisi.¡±

    These formations and treasures wouldn''t be able to resist the strongest monsters for too long, but it would still be long enough for him to rush back as long as he was still in the capital. The Thousand-Footed Elder incident had reminded him of something, which was that the monsters werepletely unscrupulous. He thus had to prepare some countermeasures.

    When she sensed that he was going to leave again from his tone, Zheng Dan was a bit reluctant. She asked, ¡°Are you going to leave again?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. While I was searching for the gue Monarch and Doomsday Spirit, I noticed something else that was urgent. I need to head over to save someone right now,¡± Zu An quickly said.

    ¡°What happened?¡± Sang Qien and Zheng Dan hurriedly asked.

    ¡°Something happened at the Jiang manor. King Wu is leading troops to search the ce and seize the entire n.¡± Zu An¡¯s voice was cold.

    ¡°What?!¡± Zheng Dan and Sang Qien were both shocked. Sang Qien said, ¡°Uncle Jiang is now the Chief Grand Secretary and he has always had extremely high prestige. He¡¯s also connected to the various ns in marriage. Is King Wu trying to start a rebellion?¡±

    She had received a lot of care from Jiang Luofu while she was in the academy, and was full of gratitude. How could she not panic when she learned that something so serious was happening to the Jiang n?

 Chapter 2236: A Facade of Fairness

    <h4>Chapter 2236: A Facade of Fairness</h4>

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what''s going on," Zu An said with a serious expression.

    <i>This King Wu really is courting death.</i>

    Zheng Dan and Sang Qien were about to head over to help when Zu An shook his head. ¡°The monsters are watching us right now. It¡¯s best if you stay here to watch over Sisi.¡±

    The two women thought that made sense as well. If the Sang manor ended up being invaded by the monsters because they left, it would be an absolute tragedy.

    Zu An quickly left the Sang manor and rushed toward the Jiang manor.

    ...

    Meanwhile, at the Jiang manor, swords were drawn and bows were bent. A huge group of heavily-armored soldiers surrounded the ce. Comparatively, the Jiang manor¡¯s guards and servants were much weaker in both numbers and prestige. Many of them trembled with fear after being surrounded by so many murderous-looking elites.

    Jiang Boyang was standing in the midst of the group. His gaze was as fierce as a thunderstorm as he asked, ¡°King Wu, why are you surrounding this official¡¯s manor with troops without any reason at all?!¡±

    He had always been an upright and outspoken person. Even in this dangerous situation, there was no fear visible on his face, and he only stared angrily at the leader on the other side. When they heard his tone, everyone from the Jiang manor immediately felt their spirits rise.

    There was a handsome and confident prince standing in the midst of the other side. Everyone in the capital, whether they were friend or foe, had to admit that King Wu was the most handsome among Zhao Han¡¯s sons. It was no wonder that when King Wu and Madam Wu entered the capital, all of the ns had praised them as a beautiful, perfect pair.

    King Wu was dressed in silver armor, sitting astride a white steed. Under the sunlight, he looked even more showy and suave. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    He was feeling really content with his achievements so far. Just a few months before, none of these top ns and authorities had treated a vassal state''s king like him with much respect, and yet who dared to look down on him now? Since then, countless ns in the capital had been eradicated by his hand. Many proud and arrogant individuals had been reduced to wagging their tails and begging for pity. Such a difference in treatment brought him a feeling of ecstasy like no other. There were quite a few who had considered themselves unequaled like Jiang Boyang, but in the end, didn¡¯t they all beg for mercy?

    He said with a cold snort, ¡°Mister Jiang, the court and the empress have treated you quite well, and yet you didn¡¯t understand gratitude and plotted rebellion instead. This is an unpardonable sin!¡±

    ¡°Rebellion?¡± The expressions of the Jiang n¡¯s guards changed. They worked for Jiang Boyang, but they were still court members.

    The Jiang n treated them very well normally, so if it were for any other reason, they would be willing to endure any difficulties together with the Jiang n. But the current situation involved a charge of rebellion! That was a crime big enough to eradicate an entire n! Who dared to still remain with the Jiang n?

    When he saw the Jiang n¡¯s morale plummet, King Wu grinned. He had already seen simr things y out several times. This sensation of toying with another¡¯s emotions really was captivating!

    Jiang Boyang waspletely stunned. When had he rebelled?

    The other side had sent someone to arrest him. He realized that now and protested, ¡°This is absolute nonsense! Who in the court doesn¡¯t know that I am a faithful patriot? Even though I may not be very good at other things, I at least have some reputation and virtue. How could I possibly rebel?¡±

    Everyone in the Jiang manor nodded.

    <i>That¡¯s right! Everyone understands Sir Jiang¡¯s character. Even if the entire capital rebelled, there''s no way he would join them!</i>

    King Wu snorted coldly. ¡°Is that so? You¡¯ve been rushing around a lot on your own. The Eight Dukes, the Qin n, the Murong n, the academy, and the people in charge of the army... You¡¯ve been trying to establish ties with all of them. What else can it be but a rebellion?¡±

    Jiang Boyang¡¯s expression changed. He had indeed been visiting the ns of many important ministers. After all, the events of that night had just been too bloody. The court had practically been under the thumb of the Liu n, and yet after that night, the entire n waspletely pulled up by the roots. One could very well imagine how many people had died.

    What was even more ridiculous was that the people had said the empress dowager disappeared! He naturally didn¡¯t believe that. Things probably hadn¡¯t ended well for her at all.

    That was what he was the most unsatisfied about. The empress dowager was, strictly speaking, a member of the imperial family. She didn¡¯t have much to do with the Liu n. Even if those people had acted against the Liu n, how could they possibly go against even the empress dowager? The empress dowager represented the dignity of the court, and to a certain extent even represented the imperial court itself. And yet they had actually killed even the empress dowager!

    The events of that night had happened too quickly. The people of the capital¡¯s various ns hadn¡¯t even been able to react in time. After the initial chaos, however, they''d begun to realize something was wrong. They had thus started to privately discuss what had happened.

    Jiang Boyang had always carried the highest prestige, and he was now a high official, the Chief Grand Secretary. That was why they''d all wanted to have a talk with him. He had a lot of criticisms of the event himself, which was why he''d frequently exchanged his own thoughts and opinions with the various ns. Still, he definitely had thoughts ofint and dissatisfactions, but any thoughts of rebellion absolutely did not exist.

    After he thought through all of those things, he said loudly, ¡°That isplete nonsense. This official is now the Chief Grand Secretary, so it is proper and to be expected for me to visit the court¡¯s subjects. Why would I n a rebellion?¡±

    King Wu sneered and said impatiently, ¡°If you have anything to say, you can bring it up with the three justices. Hm? It seems you used to be a member of the Commandant of Justice. I¡¯m sure that¡¯ll be quite the interesting sight.¡±

    Then, he waved his hand, ordering his subordinates to arrest Jiang Boyang.

    Jiang Boyang forcibly endured his rage and replied, ¡°King Wu, you keep saying that I am rebelling. Who gave you this order? Do you have an imperial edict?¡±

    He really couldn''t understand why the sharp and intelligent empress in the Imperial Pce would do something this unwise. Could it be that King Wu was acting on his own? After all, he had just presented a memorial stating that he felt that King Wu¡¯s personality was too fierce and ambitious, and suggested that he be ordered to return to his own fiefdom as soon as possible. King Wu had probably learned of that, and thus decided toe for revenge. As long as he held on here, the court would realize what was happening, and the danger would naturally resolve itself.

    ¡°An imperial edict?¡± King Wu sneered, looking as if he had expected this to happen. ¡°Open your eyes and take a look!¡±

    He raised his hand, revealing a golden scroll. What else could it be but an imperial edict?

    ¡°What?!¡± A huge explosion went off in Jiang Boyang¡¯s head. He felt as if all strength had suddenly leaked out of his body. He''d thought that it was just King Wu¡¯s rebellion, but thetter was actually acting on an imperial edict!

    <i>It seems the Bi n wants to get rid of me...</i>

    No matter how wise and unwavering the empress was, she was still a member of the Bi n. The Liu n¡¯s experience had already made it so they couldn''t coexist. It seemed his actions had already poked her in her sore spot.

    When he saw Jiang Boyang hang his head dispiritedly, King Wuughed coldly. With a wave of his hand, his subordinates immediately rushed over to shackle Jiang Boyang.

    Just then, however, a pencil flew over and knocked the chains away. King Wu¡¯s eyes narrowed, and everyone in the court quickly turned their heads.

    Just then, the clear sound of high heels hitting stone filled the air. Every single strike seemed to tap against the onlookers'' very hearts. They clearly didn¡¯t see her yet, but nheless, a pair of long and beautiful legs ending in high-heeled stilettos appeared in their minds.

    When they saw who it was, the noisy courtyard immediately quieted down. From time to time, sounds of heavy breathing filled the air.

    That person was beautiful, with her hair worn high up above her head and held in ce by a jade hairpin that resembled a pencil. Her long and slender neck made her seem even more cold and noble. However, the onlookers'' gazes couldn''t help but shift downward.

    <i>What gorgeous legs!</i>

    When had these soldiers ever seen legs wrapped in ck silk stockings like this? The ckce decoration that wrapped around her thighs created even greater sexual appeal. It was almost as if thece didn¡¯t wrap around those thighs, but rather their hearts.

    Even King Wu, who had already seen his fair share of beauty, couldn''t help but swallow with difficulty. It was often said that the Jiang n had a daughter with stunning legs. It seemed that was a fully justified reputation!

    <i>But the Jiang n has already fallen into my hands...</i>

    When he thought of that, he stuck out his chest and tried to speak in a cold and proud voice. ¡°I am here on imperial orders to arrest a criminal. Does Miss Jiang intend to go against the decree?¡±

    Jiang Luofu¡¯s chest rose and fell heavily. She had rushed over from the academy as soon as she learned that something had happened in the n. Her internal energies were still a bit worked up. She gave King Wu a cold look and replied, ¡°An imperial order? Open it up and let us take a look first.¡±

    She had been wondering why the court would act against the Jiang n on the way here. After thinking about it, she''d felt that the entire matter was really fishy, but she didn¡¯t have time to do anything else. She could onlye back to stop her father from being arrested first.

    When he heard what she said, King Wu¡¯s face darkened. ¡°Shameful. Are you implying that this king is falsifying an imperial decree?!¡±

    Jiang Luofu walked over to her father¡¯s side and forced the soldiers to back off. She then said seriously, ¡°The capital is experiencing troubled times, and my father is also a Chief Grand Secretary. It is to be expected for us to act a bit more cautious, to prevent crafty individuals from getting their way.¡±

    King Wu¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°As expected of someone from the academy, you are quite good at speaking. Unfortunately, this isn¡¯t the academy, and this king doesn¡¯t feel like bickering with you. If you have anything to say, you can say it to the three justices. Arrest him!¡±

    As soon as he gave the order, the surrounding soldiers raised their shackles and walked toward Jiang Boyang again.

    Jiang Luofu¡¯s gaze turned cold. ¡°Who dares?!¡±

    As she spoke, several pencils appeared in front of her, ready to strike like flying swords. At the same time, a small teacher¡¯s pointer-like rod appeared in her hands. Being hit by this object definitely didn¡¯t seem as if it would be a good experience.

    Jiang Luofu had always held great prestige. She had many admirers in the n too. With her taking the lead, many hot-blooded disciples and guards of the Jiang n clenched their weapons and prepared to fight.

    ¡°Sir Jiang, is your Jiang n nning to start a rebellion?¡± King Wu looked coldly at Jiang Boyang.

    Jiang Boyang frowned slightly. He was also hesitating and struggling inside.

    King Wu spoke again. ¡°I always heard that Sir Jiang was upright and in-spoken when he was the Commandant of Justice, that you were the incarnation of the empire''sws. No one has ever been falsely charged under your hand, and you believe firmly in the fairness of thew; these are things that have been said again and again. What, could it be that when it¡¯s your turn, you''re willing to go against thew?¡±

 Chapter 2237: Revenge

    <h4>Chapter 2237: Revenge</h4>

    Jiang Boyang raised his hand to stop his daughter and the n¡¯s disciples, saying, ¡°What King Wu said is correct. I believe that the court will bring me justice!¡±

    Jiang Luofu immediately panicked. ¡°Father!¡±

    Jiang Boyang shook his head slightly. ¡°Your father¡¯s clean reputation cannot be ruined here. When I am reviewed jointly by the three justices, I will exin everything to his majesty and her highness.¡±

    He had defended thew for countless years and had confidence in verbal sparring. The empress was a wise and capable person, so he just needed to list down the merits and drawbacks of the case frankly. That would be enough to convince her.

    ¡°But...¡± Jiang Luofu just felt that something wasn¡¯t right. She wanted to remind her father, but she knew that her father had always been a stubborn person who wouldn¡¯t change his mind once it was made up.

    When King Wu saw that, he didn¡¯t give them the chance to do anything else. ¡°Arrest him!¡±

    Soon after, the soldiers shackled Jiang Boyang. These chains were designed to restrain powerful individuals, and they had all kinds of soul-restraining runes carved on them. The cultivation of anyone restrained by them would be forfeit. Jiang Boyang was thus rendered no different from an ordinary old man.

    As the soldiers led Jiang Boyang into their midst, King Wu looked at Jiang Luofu with a slightly strange expression and said, ¡°Men, arrest all of the Jiang n¡¯s people. If they resist, kill them without exception!¡±

    Jiang Boyang¡¯s expression changed. ¡°Just now, you said you were only arresting me! Didn¡¯t you say you were going to make a decision after I appeared in front of his and her majesty?!¡±

    King Wu sneered. ¡°Is Sir Jiang joking? What you¡¯vemitted is the great crime of treason. After serving as the Commandant of Justice, don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t know what kind of crime that is?¡±

    Jinag Boyang¡¯s expression finally changed. How could he not know the result of treason? Not only was that a crime deserving of n eradication, more importantly, nine generations would be punished by association!

    ¡°But my crimes are still not set in stone without appearing before the three justices. You cannot treat the Jiang manor¡¯s people like this!¡± Jiang Boyang stood his ground. After all, what he was more worried about than anything was that the people who were captured could have ¡®evidence¡¯ forced out of them even if none existed through torture.

    Normally, as long as an official like him cooperated, the court would show him at least a certain degree of respect. How could he have known that King Wu wouldn¡¯t y by the rules at all?!

    ¡°Your crimes are still undecided? His and her majesty¡¯s words are like gold and jade. They have already issued a decree, so how could your crimes still not be decided?¡± King Wu sneered. ¡°The Jiang n hasmitted treason and we are capturing all of the Jiang n¡¯s people. This matter is unrted to other people. If anyone insists on carrying out any desperate resistance, they will be charged with simr crimes!¡±

    Jiang Boyang¡¯s heart turned ice-cold. Even though King Wu was arrogant, he wasn¡¯t stupid. All of these things were being done to break the spirits of the Jiang n''s people.

    Sure enough, the Jiang n¡¯s guards all hesitated. Even though they all carried the duty of protecting the Jiang n, they all had their own families at home. How could they act impulsively when their actions could involve many more people?

    When he saw the guards lower their weapons, King Wu smiled proudly. He had already done this kind of search and seizure many times in the past few days. He already had a firm understanding of how these people thought.

    ¡°You¡¯re despicable!¡± Jiang Luofu shouted. The pencils in front of her fired forward, and the guards around her father immediately groaned and copsed. She quickly rushed at her father, and her long and slender rod darted around. All those who were hit immediately felt their armor crack. They groaned in pain while clutching their wounds.

    King Wu¡¯s face darkened. ¡°Hmph, you actually dare to resist? The Jiang manor hasmitted treason, as expected! Men, arrest them! Kill all those who dare to resist!¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± His subordinates rushed straight at Jiang Luofu and the other Jiang n disciples.

    Jiang Luofu immediately felt the pressure she was experiencing increase many times over. She had been about to reach her father¡¯s side, and yet soldiers closed in on her, causing the distance between them to grow.

    King Wu had reacted quickly, as if he had already practiced everything beforehand. Jiang Luofu fully understood that she''d fallen for his tricks. He had clearly done this to fool and mislead them, to cause them to make irrational decisions out of anger. Then, he would have a proper pretext to kill them.

    Unfortunately, she couldn''t think of any solutions. Even if she could endure her anger, since the enemy had alreadymitted to this course of action, he would still be able to make her do irrational things. She even suspected that King Wu wouldn''t even bring her father to the three justices, and that they would just secretly kill him. They could just im that Jiang Boyang hadmitted suicide to escape punishment, and his treason would be set in stone.

    Jiang Luofu had studied thew because of her family background, and she was also known as the foremostwyer of the academy. She naturally knew what kinds of wretched methods they could use down there. Thus, she only had a single thought right now, which was to save her father and return to the academy first. The academy was like her second home. It was a ce that didn¡¯t involve itself in worldly affairs, and it was now also Ah Zu¡¯s domain. She was sure that these people wouldn¡¯t dare to cause trouble there.

    If she ensured her father¡¯s safety, the other ns would have time to react to this situation ande to speak up for the Jiang n. After all, the Jiang n was connected to the various great ns in marriage. Her oldest brother was married to a woman from the Pei n, and her second brother was married to a royal princess. Her third brother was married to a woman from the Yu n. Whichever one it was, there was no way they would just ignore the Jiang n''s current situation.

    But even though that was what she believed, she didn¡¯t have much confidence. After all, the Liu n had held far more authority than the Jiang n, and they''d also been connected to other ns in marriage. And yet, they''d gone up in smoke overnight and those ns had all quickly cut ties, choosing to either back out of the marriages or im that the Liu n''s womenfolk hadmitted suicide to protect themselves.

    But even if all of those ns abandoned the Jiang n, there was one person who would definitely help her. That figure appeared in her mind, and she couldn''t help but feel a bit of rm. She remembered how he had once been a student in her care. She hadn¡¯t expected that in just a few years, he would be someone who could protect her.

    Her thoughts moved quickly, but her movements definitely didn¡¯t slow down. Her rod smashed several targets, and her kicksshed out viciously. Whenever she struck someone with her high heels, a hole appeared on their body, bleeding non-stop.

    These people were here to destroy their entire n to begin with, so there was no need for her to hold back. But the enemy hade prepared, and their numbers were too great. The pressure she experienced became greater and greater, and the room she had to move around in grew smaller and smaller.

    Meanwhile, King Wu felt his breathing quicken when he saw her fighting, his expression filled with excitement.

    Normally, Jiang Luofu was beautiful even when she was just walking. Now that she was fighting, the way she moved her legs inbat disyed another side of their beauty.

    When King Wu saw how the ck silk slightly wrapped around those sturdy and well-shaped thighs, he almost screamed ¡®Step on me, please¡¯! But when he saw the bloody holes that remained whenever someone was actually stepped on, he immediately thought to himself, <i>But don¡¯t wear high heels when you step on me.</i>

    He secretly told his subordinates that they could kill everyone else except Jiang Luofu. They had to capture her alive. After all, she was an incredible beauty who wasn¡¯t inferior to Madam Wu. Ever since the incident with Zu An before, his marriage that had seemed like the perfect couple to outsiders couldn''t help but contain a bit of animosity. It would be perfect if he could find a recement.

    Still with the current state of the Jiang n, there was no way she could be the princess.

    <i>I''ll lock her up in a secret prison, and then I¡¯ll make her change her stockings for me every day.</i>

    <i>Tsk tsk, these legs are enough for me to y with for an entire year!</i>

    He immediately felt a wave of heat rise up from his lower body when he thought about that wonderful scene.

    Apart from Jiang Luofu, the Jiang n¡¯s disciples were divided into two factions. One side was just willingly waiting to be captured, hoping they could be cleansed of their injustice and rescued by other court officials. However, the other side had seen through the conspiracy just like Jiang Luofu. They were all fighting back with everything they had, but they were facing impossible odds.

    Soon after, a miserable cry filled the air. Jiang Luofu turned around and saw that the son of one of her n brothers had been cut down by a general. He was a nephew of hers who was usually very sensible. Whenever he saw her, he had always obediently called her ''auntie''.

    Jiang Luofu was furious. ¡°Chang Fu, for better or for worse,you used to be an official who worked under my father, and yet you don¡¯t even carry the slightest bit of loyalty now? You didn¡¯t even let a child with no cultivation go?¡±

    Her father had once held some military titles concurrently in the past, and this person had been a deputy general under her father. In the past, he had frequentlye to chat with her whenever he had free time, and his eyes always darted toward her legs. She still had some impression of him. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The general named Chang Fu smiled coldly when he heard this, ¡°Loyalty? It was precisely because of your father being my superior that I was almost killed off because I made some small mistake, save for the fact that my military achievements offset them. Even so, I still had my three legs broken and lost three ranks. More importantly, my legs could heal, but that ce could not.¡±

    As he spoke about the events of the past, he nced at his lower body. His gaze was full of resentment.

    ¡°A small mistake?¡± Jiang Boyang was furious. ¡°In the past, when you were passing through a vige, a kind-hearted family offered you lodging, and yet you actually raped the hostess in the middle of the night. Furthermore, you tied the host up and forced him to watch you do it! If I had known you were such a despicable person, I would have killed you back then!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Why didn¡¯t you kill me back then?¡± Chang Fu put away his sinister smile. ¡°Unfortunately, you don¡¯t have a chance to anymore. You can only watch as I kill your Jiang n¡¯s people. Back then, I vowed that I had to make the Jiang n pay for what I lost ten thousand times over.¡±

    After saying that, he tore apart the clothes of the mother who had fallen onto her child''s corpse, sobbing bitterly. When they saw the fair white skin of her shoulder being exposed, many soldiers felt their breaths quicken.

 Chapter 2238: Despair

    <h4>Chapter 2238: Despair</h4>

    At first, many soldiers had still retained a bit of rationality, but when they were stimted by this erotic sight, their eyes immediately became a bit bloodshot. The families of the capital¡¯s big shots were all smooth-skinned and pretty. What kind of wonderful fairnd lives were they living? It was nothing like their bitter lives in the army! Even a female pig would be treated as a goddess by them.

    <i>Why?!</i>

    If they had continued to live destitute but honest lives, it wouldn¡¯t have caused many problems. But after the gates of desire were opened, it was hard for them to restrain themselves again. They had already apanied King Wu in ughter through countless ns. They''d been allowed to do whatever they wanted to noble women they previously wouldn¡¯t even dare to touch, and those ns¡¯ treasuries had held a lot of wealth too. It seemed the Jiang n was doomed to be another fat sheep to plunder.

    Their breaths quickened and their eyes shone. It was as if they were waiting for an incredible feast to begin.

    Just then, a pencil flew over and stabbed through the back of Chang Fu¡¯s hand. He dropped his de, and it ttered to the ground as he screamed in pain.

    Jiang Luofu was about to take his life when the enemy surrounded her again. She couldn''t run over to him at all.

    The Jiang n¡¯s people were all furious. The Jiang n members who had been about to ept their capture also grew uneasy. Many of them looked angry, as if they were struggling to decide whether or not to resist.

    Just then, King Wu directly cut down a Jiang n disciple who was kneeling on the ground. He said coldly, ¡°Since they dare to resist, we must kill them all ording to thew. This is the result of their own choice.¡±

    The soldiers hemanded all shouted loudly. They licked their lips, wishing for the Jiang n¡¯s people to resist even more. Then, they could use that chance to carry out a blood purge of the Jiang n. They would steal the n''s wealth and sleep with the n''s women.

    Jiang Boyang was furious. ¡°How dare you scoundrels!¡±

    He released a great roar. His aura suddenly surged, and he coughed out a mouthful of blood. The shackles around him were immediately shattered. Then, he charged straight at King Wu. He knew that the only way to seed in this situation was to take down the leader, and only then would they still have a chance of survival.

    King Wu¡¯s guards drew their weapons to stop him. However, how could they stop his wrathful attack? Soon after, they were struck flying one after another.

    Jiang Boyang was about to grab King Wu¡¯s shoulder, but thetter didn¡¯t even move. Instead, a white-faced elder next to him rushed forward and exchanged a palm with Jiang Boyang.

    <i>Boom!</i>

    A powerful st wave erupted and nearly made all of the surrounding soldiers lose their bnce. The white-faced elder was forced three steps back. However, Jiang Boyang¡¯s initial charge was blocked, and other experts rushed over soon after. Injuries soon covered his body.

    ¡°Dad!¡± Jiang Luofu immediately used her pencil weapons with everything she had to force the soldiers around her father away. She then quickly rushed to his side to bring him back to their forces.

    However, she had to pay a bitter price. All of her pencils were scattered away, while she sustained some internal injuries from pushing her energies too fiercely. A hot sensation filled her throat, and a bit of blood trickled out from the corner of her lips. She didn¡¯t bother wiping it away before asking her father out of concern, ¡°Dad, are you alright?¡±

    Jiang Boyang didn¡¯t reply. His face paled, and suddenly turned red. He spat out a mouthful of blood. A moment before, he had been like a ferocious tiger, but his aura immediately became extremely weak, as if he was now just an old man with one foot in the grave.

    When she saw the bits of internal organs mixed in that puddle of blood, Jiang Luofu became really nervous. Her father had forcefully broken free of the chains and charged straight at King Wu, and to aplish all of that, he had damaged his cultivation''s foundation. If he didn¡¯t receive treatment soon, the consequences would be extremely severe.

    ¡°Sir Jiang, you served as the Commandant of Justice for so many years, and yet you are going against the imperial edict. You know thew and are breaking it! This only adds another level to your crimes!¡± King Wu shouted coldly. ¡°Furthermore, you are not amenable to reason. Not only are you to be killed on the spot, nine generations are to be implicated as well!¡±

    The Jiang n¡¯s morale plummeted, because this involved treason. It was only because of Jiang Luofu¡¯s fight that their morale improved a little bit. They had even started getting excited when they saw Jiang Boyang erupt with power. But when they saw that he was seriously injured and on the verge of death, all of them fell intoplete despair. They couldn''t produce any thoughts of resistance anymore.

    Soon after, they were crudely forced to their knees and forced to stare at the ground as des pressed against their necks. There were some who were prouder and tried to resist a bit, but all they got in return was a de. Soon after, the only people who remained standing in the Jiang manor were Jiang Luofu and her father.

    When she saw the scene, Jiang Luofu feltpletely cold. It seemed the Jiang n was truly finished today.

    Jiang Boyang was full of regret. ¡°It¡¯s your father¡¯s fault for trusting this despicable person earlier. I can only risk it all with my final strength to protect you and help you leave. Once you leave, head for the academy and look for Zu An. He will protect you.¡±

    Jiang Luofu shook her head forcefully. ¡°I won¡¯t leave!¡±

    How could she not tell that her father had used some secret method to ignite thest of his potential? Forget about whether or not she could even break out, at the very least, there was no way her father would live. He had already been close topletely exhausting himself not too long ago.

    ¡°Miss Jiang, just give up. Don¡¯t let the entire Jiang n perish because of you,¡± King Wu said while looking at the ck stockings that were slightly torn from the fighting. He almost blew out a catcall.

    <i>Just which genius came up with this thing? It really is stunning.</i>

    When he saw those rips, he couldn''t help but want to crudely tear the stockings apart.

    He had already begun to imagine how, once Jiang Boyang was within his grasp, Jiang Luofu would have no choice but to yield to him to save her father. He loved the feeling of seeing proud women lower their heads.

    <i>They clearly look down on me and hate me, and yet they have no choice but to obey me and let me do whatever I wish to them.</i>

    When he thought of that out of excitement, even his breaths quickened. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    An elder of the Jiang n tried to persuade Jiang Luofu. ¡°Luofu, you cannot cause our deaths because of your impulsive decisions! You cannot escape at this point either, so isn¡¯t it better to surrender?¡±

    Jiang Luofu was shocked and furious. This person was a distantly rted uncle, and part of the first batch to surrender.

    Jiang Boyang cursed furiously. ¡°Old eighth, what kind of nonsense are you saying?!¡±

    ¡°Nonsense?¡± That eighth uncle also became worked up. ¡°n leader, do you see what kind of situation you have ced our Jiang n in? You are usually the most noble and virtuous. For the sake of your own false reputation, you never received gifts or permitted us to make money even though you clearly had a high position. It¡¯s all because you didn¡¯t want us to dirty that damned reputation of yours! Which one of us hasn¡¯t been hard-pressed because of you over the years?¡±

    With him taking the lead, there were many other members of the Jiang n who also spoke up in agreement. Now that they¡¯ve fallen so far, they were all anxious and venting their emotions.

    ¡°The Liu n¡¯s people at least enjoyed themselves, but we didn¡¯t even enjoy any wealth, and yet we''ve already ended up in the same state as them. This is all the result of your own selfishness!¡±

    ¡°You seemed all noble and virtuous, you were so amazing, but after putting on that act for so many years, isn¡¯t it because of your treason that all of us are going to die?!¡±

    When he saw this, Jiang Boyang felt his heart turnpletely cold. Was the standard he had persistently upheld all these years really wrong?

    Just then, an upstanding young member of the n who got along with Jiang Luofu couldn''t help but raise his head and asked, ¡°What does this have to do with the n leader? Isn¡¯t all of this just to hide your greed for life? Time will return to our Jiang n the justice we deserve. With how things are already, why continue to make such fools of yourselves?¡±

    Hearing that, King Wu¡¯s expression turned cold. The general named Chang Fu understood his intention and immediately beheaded that youngster.

    ¡°Ah Le!¡± Seeing that, Jiang Boyang felt a surge of emotions. He was already extremely weak; a mouthful of blood rushed out of his body, and he fainted on the spot.

    Jiang Luofu stared at Chang Fu and roared, ¡°I will definitely kill you!¡±

    Chang Fu¡¯s body was also covered in blood. Heughed sinisterly when he heard that. ¡°I''ve already heard simr words of hatred many times, but it''s always just powerless anger. But I suppose that rather than me killing you, the chances of you crushing me to death between those long legs of yours are a bit higher.¡±

    When they heard those words, the soldiers around him immediately blew taunting whistles as they stared at Jiang Luofu¡¯s legs.

    <i>This woman really is pretty! Her legs really look firm and sexy!</i>

    ¡°Miss Jiang, I''ll start to count backward. Whenever I call out a number, if you don¡¯t lower your weapon in surrender, I''ll kill a Jiang n disciple. Let¡¯s see if you¡¯ll feel any guilt at all after causing the deaths of so many of your nsmen," King Wu said as he gave Chang Fu a look.

    <i>These soldiers really don¡¯t know anything. This woman belongs to this king, and yet you all think you¡¯ll ever have a turn?</i>

    Jiang Luofu heard his words before she could even do anything. She immediately sank into despair. She naturally saw the maliciousness behind this plot. She was being put on the spot to divide the Jiang n.

    Sure enough, her eighth uncle screamed, ¡°Luofu, hurry and cease your resistance! Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ll only be satisfied when you kill us all?¡±

    When they saw him take the lead, the other members of the Jiang n were also worried about getting caught up in all of this. They all spoke up to advise her too.

    Jiang Luofu bit her lip so hard that drops of blood came out. She felt an ice-cold sensation overtake her. She and her father had treated these people well, and yet once disaster struck, they were all like this.

 Chapter 2339: Ill Help You Vent Your Anger

    <h4>Chapter 2339: I''ll Help You Vent Your Anger</h4>

    Still, Jiang Luofu knew fully well that it wasn¡¯t their fault.

    ¡°Are you still not going to surrender? It seems Miss Jiang thinks I won¡¯t actually kill anyone.¡± King Wu sneered, then gave his subordinate a look.

    When he saw the signal, Chang Fu brought his de down on a Jiang n junior. This was someone who hadn¡¯t pleaded for mercy, so killing such a person would inflict even more psychological trauma on Jiang Luofu.

    <i>ng!</i>

    A purple streak of light flew over, knocking the de out of Chang Fu¡¯s hands.

    ¡°Stop!¡± a delicate voice shouted.

    Everyone present turned around and saw a stunning beauty arrive on a red horse. Her facial features were stunning, her nose was elegant, her lips were red, and her skin was fair. She looked as if she had walked straight out of a painting. Many people recognized who it was. It was Madam Wu, Yun Yuqing! When she stood together with King Wu, the two of them really looked like a perfect couple.

    When he saw that he''d been stopped, Chang Fu was about to curse. But when he saw who it was, his malicious expression was immediately reced with an apologetic smile.

    <i>The madam really is beautiful! She¡¯spletely different from this Jiang woman. If I could have my way with her, I¡¯m sure it¡¯d be worth it even if I had to risk my life for it!</i>

    When he saw that his wife had arrived, King Wu frowned ever so slightly. ¡°Why are you here?¡±

    ¡°Why can¡¯t Ie if the king cane?¡± Yun Yuqing replied with a faint smile. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Many people present were stunned. Why did the way they were talking to each other seem a bit off?

    King Wu said unhappily, ¡°I am handling proper matters here. How about we talk moreter?¡±

    Yun Yuqing¡¯s eyes scanned the surroundings, and her eyes stopped on Jiang Luofu for a long time. There was a bit of amazement in her gaze.

    <i>So stockings could actually be so seductive! I need to find myself a pair to try on sometime too.</i>

    When she heard what King Wu said, she gathered her thoughts and replied, ¡°Sir Jiang has always had an outstanding reputation; this is something no one can refute. We shouldn¡¯t turn the Jiang manor into the site of such a bloodbath.¡±

    King Wu harrumphed and said, ¡°They are suspected of treason and have publicly resisted this king¡¯s arrest, which further solidifies their rapacious designs. This king is perfectly justified in making such fierce decisions.¡±

    Yun Yuqing frowned. ¡°The Jiang n¡¯s people have already surrendered, so how can we continue to ughter them while they are unarmed and defenseless?¡±

    Jiang Luofu gave her a grateful look. She really had been pressured to the point that there was nothing else she could do. If she resisted, she would be harming her nsmen. If she didn¡¯t... How could she resign herself to such a fate? Now that Madam Wu had spoken up for her, their n was probably going to be alright.

    King Wu frowned. ¡°If she surrenders, I won¡¯t kill the Jiang n¡¯s people. It all depends on how much weight these people¡¯s lives carry in her heart.¡±

    Out of fear that she would make a rash decision, many people in the Jiang n hurriedly advised Jiang Luofu again.

    While Jiang Luofu was feeling conflicted, Yun Yuqing spoke up and said, ¡°Miss Jiang, we are both women. I can promise you that as long as you surrender, I can ensure your safety.¡±

    Jiang Luofu stared into her eyes and asked, ¡°Can I trust you?¡± She knew fully well the desire in the eyes of King Wu, Chang Fu, and the other soldiers. She knew what kind of tragic fate most likely awaited her after she surrendered.

    ¡°Trust me, I will protect you," Yun Yuqing said with a nod. Then, she secretly sent Jiang Luofu a message. ¡°I am your libationer¡¯s friend.¡±

    Jiang Luofu was stunned.

    <i>She is Zu An¡¯s friend? What kind of rtionship do they have?</i>

    But she didn¡¯t have the energy to think about those things. After releasing a long sigh, she threw the rod in her hand away. She had already been at her wits'' end when King Wu threatened her with the lives of the Jiang n. At the very least, Madam Wu was now giving her a choice.

    Yun Yuqing¡¯s maid moved over to restrain Jiang Luofu¡¯s acupoints. She was about to bring thetter to the madam¡¯s side when King Wu suddenly stood between them. ¡°Why don¡¯t you leave her to me first?¡±

    Jiang Luofu¡¯s expression couldn''t help but change when she heard that.

    The maid was immediately put on the spot. She looked toward Yun Yuqing.

    Yun Yuqing¡¯s face darkened. ¡°King, I have just made a promise to ensure her safety.¡±

    King Wu replied indifferently, ¡°Could it be that you think that this king will privately use torture on her? The Jiang n is suspected of treason, and this person is an important member of the Jiang n. We naturally need to escort her to the Imperial Prison and continue with the customary procedures.¡±

    Yun Yuqing said in a serious tone, ¡°In that case, I will move together with her.¡±

    At first, Jiang Luofu had been worried that she''d been fooled. She felt a bit more at ease when she heard those words.

    ¡°Nonsense.¡± King Wu was a bit annoyed. ¡°You aren¡¯t a criminal; how can the Imperial Prison be a ce anyone can casually enter?¡±

    Yun Yuqing didn¡¯t back down. ¡°I only know that I guaranteed her safety just now. It is important to keep one¡¯s promises!¡±

    They stared into each other''s eyes. It was as if sparks would appear at any time. The expressions of everyone present immediately became strange.

    <i>Isn''t it widely known that the king and madam are deeply in love? What is going on right now?</i>

    However, several people thought of an exnation. It was probably because the madam had seen that Jiang Luofu was too beautiful, and that her legs were too alluring, so she became jealous. She was worried that the king wouldpletely lose control, so she didn¡¯t want them to stay together.

    However, the people involved weren''t so easily convinced. King Wu secretly asked, ¡°What is the meaning of saying this in front of so many other people?¡±

    ¡°What is the meaning of doing all of this to the Jiang n?¡± Yun Yuqing calmly replied.

    ¡°The Jiang n has rebelled. I am only acting on an imperial decree,¡± King Wu said with a snort.

    ¡°Hah.¡± Yun Yuqing clearly didn¡¯t believe him.

    Her expression and tone seemed to sting King Wu. ¡°Everything I am doing is for our future. Once I eliminate these insufferably arrogant ns in the capital, I will be the emperor and you will be the empress.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care if you wish to act against anyone else, but you cannot touch Jiang Luofu.¡± Yun Yuqing clearly expressed her attitude. ¡°She is an academy teacher. The academy has always carried great status. You should not be touching her.¡±

    King Wu couldn''t help but grow a bit angry when he heard that. ¡°Is it actually because she is a teacher from the academy, or because she is Zu An¡¯s friend?¡±

    Yun Yuqing¡¯s pretty brows furrowed. ¡°Whether it is because of the academy or because she is Zu An¡¯s friend, both are reasons why you shouldn¡¯t touch her.¡±

    King Wu said with a cold sneer, ¡°Compared to thete libationer, the current academy is alreadypletely different. Forget about that Zu guy, he hasn¡¯t evene back after so long. Who knows which ditch he died in? He has already be a thorn in those monsters¡¯ sides. No matter how powerful his cultivation is, how could itpare to those incredibly powerful monsters?¡±

    Yun Yuqing took a deep breath to calm her emotions. ¡°You can think what you want, but I will protect her today.¡±

    King Wu¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he no longer spoke through voice transmission. ¡°In that case, we¡¯ll let Miss Jiang choose herself. Miss Jiang, are you willing to follow the madam or this king? You should think through your choice well.¡±

    He gestured toward his subordinates, and des were pressed against the necks of the Jiang n disciples who had resisted just now. It was as if, as long as King Wu gave the word, those des would immediately descend and heads would roll.

    Jiang Luofu¡¯s entire body trembled.

    <i>This King Wu truly is too shameless and despicable.</i>

    When she saw that, Yun Yuqing stood behind Jiang Luofu. ¡°The Jiang n has yet to pass through the three justices. How can we carry out private punishment?¡±

    King Wu said with a sinister smile, ¡°Everyone saw how they resisted when I came to arrest the traitor with an imperial edict before, which is a serious crime in itself. I should¡¯ve already killed them all then. No one will say that my actions were wrong, even in front of the court.¡±

    Yun Yuqing¡¯s expression changed. She hadn¡¯t expected King Wu to not give her any face at all. After all, King Wu had always listened to her over the years. She''d thought that there was no way he would refuse her in this case, but now, it seemed that the events back then really had created a rift between the two of them.

    ¡°Miss Jiang, did you make your choice? This king¡¯s patience has a limit.¡± King Wu didn¡¯t look at her anymore, and instead stared at Jiang Luofu.

    Jiang Luofu¡¯s chest rose and fell intensely. She was locked in an intense psychological struggle.

    King Wu gave his subordinate a look. Chang Fu nodded, and the de in his hand fell toward the Jiang n disciple¡¯s neck.

    ¡°No!¡± Jiang Luofu screamed.

    King Wu smiled in satisfaction. ¡°You have to remember that you are the one who killed him. Had you agreed earlier...¡±

    Midway through his sentence, he suddenly sensed that the atmosphere was a bit off. He quickly turned around. He didn¡¯t see the beheading he expected, and instead saw Chang Fu lying to the side. There was a man standing next to the Jiang n¡¯s disciples. He was clearly tall and handsome, confident and heroic; but that face was the source of many nightmares over the past few years.

    ¡°Regent!¡±

    No one knew who had shouted, but everyone in the Jiang n immediately became excited. Meanwhile, King Wu¡¯s soldiers reflexively backed up. Arge space opened up with Zu An in the center.

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡± The moment she saw him, Jiang Luofu¡¯s eyes actually became watery and blurry, even though she''d been trying to put on a brave face. She had never realized that she could be so weak before. She really wanted to endure the tears, but she couldn''t hold them back anymore at all.

    Zu An walked up to her side and gently wiped the tears that were trickling from her eyes, saying, ¡°Sorry, I came toote.¡± As he spoke, he undid her body¡¯s restrictions.

    Yun Yuqing silently watched the events unfolding. She had also been quite moved when she saw Zu An¡¯s safe return, but for some reason, she felt really heartbroken right now. Because of their statuses, she was destined to never be able to act like this with him in public.

    ¡°My dad, he...¡± Jiang Luofu urgently looked at her unconscious father.

    Zu An examined him and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, even though his injuries are severe, there''s no danger to his life. He¡¯ll be able to recover after resting for some time.¡±

    When she heard what he said, Jiang Luofu sighed in relief.

    Meanwhile, King Wu couldn''t hold himself back and said, ¡°Regent, the Jiang n are criminals who havemitted treason!¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t pay him any attention, and looked at Jiang Luofu instead. He asked, ¡°Who did this to you? Tell me and I''ll help you vent your anger!¡±

 Chapter 2240: Destroy Body and Spirit

    <h4>Chapter 2240: Destroy Body and Spirit</h4>

    Yun Yuqing¡¯s expression was strange.

    <i>This guy really understands a woman¡¯s heart! Which woman could possibly resist this kind of charm?</i>

    Jiang Luofu didn¡¯t hesitate, and immediately pointed at the nearby Chang Fu. ¡°Him!¡±

    Even though King Wu was despicable, Chang Fu had been doing all of this for the sake of revenge because he was punished by her father for his crimes. He had killed many of the Jiang n¡¯s people. Her hatred for him had naturally reached the limit.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Zu An nodded and turned to Chang Fu. He didn¡¯t ask why.

    Chang Fu had just crawled to his feet. When he met Zu An¡¯s gaze, he felt a mysterious sense of rm. He quickly tried to hide in the crowd and gave King Wu a pleading look. He was about to say something, but there was a blur in front of his eyes, and Zu An disappeared.

    By the time he could see clearly again, he was already in Zu An''s hand, being held in front of Jiang Luofu. Chang Fu was a strong cultivator himself, and yet he''d been grabbed like a little chick and pressed against the ground. He couldn''t move at all.

    ¡°How do you want to deal with him?¡± Zu An looked at Jiang Luofu, waiting for her words to decide his fate.

    Jiang Luofu didn¡¯t reply directly; instead, she walked up to the mother whose son had been killed. When they saw Zu An stand behind Jiang Luofu, the soldiers who were restraining that woman reflexively backed up. How could they dare to do anything?

    Jiang Luofu undid the woman¡¯s restraints. ¡°Aunt, how do you want to get revenge? I¡¯ll help you carry it out.¡±

    This woman was the wife of a n senior. Even though she was from a distant branch, Jiang Luofu still addressed her respectfully.

    The woman shook off her restraints and walked up to Chang Fu with gritted teeth. ¡°I want to get revenge myself, so there''s no need for you to do anything!¡± Her son had been brutally killed by Chang Fu, and she herself had been taken advantage of. She was already beyond furious.

    When he saw her walk toward him like a harbinger of death, Chang Fu was ovee by panic. ¡°No! King, save me!¡±

    He knew quite well what kind of end he would meet at the hands of a furious mother.

    King Wu, feeling humiliated, said, ¡°Regent, General Chang was only acting on the orders of the imperial edict. Even though he acted rather fiercely, it was primarily because of the Jiang n¡¯s rebellion.¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t pay him any attention at all. He stood by Jiang Luofu and that woman¡¯s side, coldly looking at all of the surrounding soldiers. They all unwittingly took a step back for fear of their intentions being misunderstood by him.

    Such a response was unavoidable due to the prestige Zu An had umted over the years. That was especially true after he had erased the Meng n, killed one of the eight dukes who was at the earth immortal rank, and even killed a giant dragon in the capital not too long ago. Even the Dragon King hadn¡¯t dared to say anything about it back then. Later, there had evem been rumors that he''d killed all kinds of terrifying alien monsters. He was now already the publicly acknowledged strongest person in the world after Zhao Han¡¯s death.

    The more quick-witted among those present were already starting to worry. A lot of the developments in the capital had been founded on the assumption that the regent had already died while fighting the alien monsters. Now that he had returned safely, many people would probably be in danger.

    The Jiang n woman had already walked up to Chang Fu. She picked up the de next to her and slowly gestured at his body, asking, ¡°Where do you think I should stab first?¡± She was full of hatred and didn¡¯t want to kill him immediately. She wanted him to experience as much pain as possible.

    Chang Fu¡¯s eyes narrowed. After all, he would normally be able to end this woman''s life with a mere finger, but now, he had been mysteriously subdued by some kind of unknown power. He didn¡¯t have the strength to retaliate at all, and could only watch as she gestured across his body.

    ¡°Madam, I... I was only acting on orders. This doesn¡¯t have anything to do with me!¡± Chang Fu tried to emphasize his innocence.

    King Wu narrowed his eyes.

    <i>I was nning on saving this idiot, and yet he''s now pushing his wrongs onto me?</i>

    He''d been a bit conflicted on how to deal with Zu An to begin with. Now, he could just ignore Chang Fu and not save him.

    Just then, Chang Fu screamed miserably as the woman stabbed the de into his lower body.

    The scream and the blood that spurted out actually startled the woman. A trace of fear appeared on her face. She was, after all, a woman who normally lived like a princess. When had she ever experienced something like this?

    But when she gave the corpses of her son and husband a look, that fear quickly disappeared. She thrust the sword forth again. Even though she didn¡¯t really understand cultivation, she still knew where a person¡¯s vital points were.

    Chang Fu screamed miserably again and again. At first, he continued pleading, but when he realized that it was useless, he began to loudly yell terrible curses.

    However, Zu An found it noisy and crushed his jaw so he couldn''t say anything else. Chang Fu could only whimper iprehensible sounds as a result. Not being able to say anything made him suffer even more.

    After the woman started, she gradually got used to the feeling. She continued to stab Chang Fu again and again. Even after Chang Fu fell silent, her hands didn¡¯t stop.

    The soldiers felt a numb sensation from their scalps. This was just too cruel.

    Jiang Luofu quickly embraced the woman and said, ¡°Enough, he¡¯s already dead.¡±

    The woman seemed to finally snap out of her daze. Her malicious expression returned to normal, and then she broke out into painful sobs.

    Jiang Luofu continued to console her. When she heard her sobs and remembered what the Jiang n went through today, her eyes couldn''t help but turn red as well.

    King Wu cleared his throat and said, ¡°Regent, Chang Fu is still a court general, and yet you incited another person to carry out personal punishment. I fear that this is a bit unsuitable, no?¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± Zu An gave him a look. ¡°But it''s already been done. What are you going to do about it?¡±

    ¡°I...¡± King Wu choked. He didn¡¯t know what to say at all. Only now did he remember that this was someone who dared to kill a prince in broad daylight, and had even pulled the powerful Meng n up by its roots. What was the big deal with eliminating a deputy general?

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Zhao Yan for +299 +299...</strong> N?v(el)B\\jnn

    He forcefully suppressed his rage and said in a serious tone, ¡°Fine, since you¡¯ve vented out your resentment, I''ll take the Jiang n¡¯s people away now.¡±

    Then, he gave the orders to bring the Jiang n¡¯s people away. As for Jiang Luofu... He gave those beautiful legs another look, but in the end, he still gave up on his thoughts of capturing her.

    <i>I¡¯m not scared of him, there¡¯s just no need to go further.</i>

    Jiang Luofu immediately panicked. However, Zu An gently patted her shoulder to signal her to feel at ease. He then said, ¡°You can''t bring the Jiang n¡¯s people away.¡±

    When he heard that, King Wu was furious. ¡°Regent, I have already given you enough face. Don¡¯t go too far!¡±

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Zhao Yan for +488 +488 +488...</strong>

    ¡°I don''t need you to give me face, and I don¡¯t need to give you any face either,¡± Zu An replied as he looked back coldly.

    This seemed to be one of the main culprits behind the capital¡¯s chaos. There was naturally no need for him to show this man any respect. Once he figured out exactly what had happened, he would then slowly settle the debt with all of these people.

    ¡°You...!¡± King Wu¡¯s face turned entirely red. This guy wasn''t giving him any face in front of so many people!

    He''d been fully content with his achievements in the capital over the past few days. No matter where he stepped, the capital had trembled in response. Almost all of the major ns had acted with fear and respect toward him, and they had all started currying favor with him. He was already used to living proudly.

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Zhao Yan for +666 +666 +666...</strong>

    His face darkened as he eximed, ¡°Do you understand what the crime of going against an imperial edict represents?¡±

    ¡°Everyone knows that Sir Jiang is upright and honest, and that he''s incredibly loyal to the court, so there''s absolutely no chance that he instigated a a rebellion. That means either someone offered nder to fool the emperor in the pce, or the emperor made a mistake himself,¡± Zu An said coldly.

    With the help of Zu An¡¯s spiritual pill and energy cirction, Jiang Boyang had gradually woken up. He felt a bit moved when he saw this scene. If Zu An hadn''t arrived in time, the entire Jiang n would likely have really been finished.

    ¡°You actually dare to speak such disgraceful words?!¡±

    There was a huge uproar. King Wu was shocked and excited to see it.

    <i>He really got overconfident! He actually dared to say that the emperor made a mistake!</i>

    Yun Yuqing was also a bit worried.

    <i>He might have been a bit less careful with his words because of anger. The court will probably have many imperial censors criticizing him for this matter.</i>

    Zu An didn¡¯t pay King Wu any attention, and instead supported Jiang Boyang to his feet. He then said, ¡°Leave the Jiang n¡¯s people behind. I''ll personally enter the court and hear the entire situation from his majesty myself.¡±

    King Wu¡¯s expression changed, but in the end, heughed and said, ¡°Since the regent insists on going against the imperial edict to protect the Jiang n, you can exin it to his majesty yourself when the timees.¡±

    <i>Since this bastard is so confident that he''s willing to make this kind of mistake, the condemnations of the officials themselves will be more than enough for him to chew on!</i>

    <i>Meanwhile, I¡¯ll seize the chance to discuss things with everyone else. We¡¯ll gather more experts to take him down.</i>

    Zu An¡¯s battle achievements in the capital really were too shocking. Even though King Wu had brought a sizable force today, he still didn¡¯t feel much confidence.

    <i>Besides, why do I have to take the risk of fighting bitterly when those other guys are just rxing and waiting to reap the rewards?</i>

    When he thought of those things, he calmed down considerably. He gave the order for his people to let the Jiang n go. He then said to Yun Yuqing, ¡°Madam, it¡¯s time to leave.¡±

    He said that on purpose to remind her of her identity. After all, in everyone¡¯s eyes, she was Madam Wu.

    Yun Yuqing was thoroughly unwilling, but she couldn''t really refuse him in front of so many people. She gave Zu An an apologetic smile.

    She was about to say goodbye when she saw Zu An spread out his arms and say, ¡°Yuqing,e over here.¡±

    King Wu was speechless.

 Chapter 2241: Her Choice

    <h4>Chapter 2241: Her Choice</h4>

    When he heard that, even King Wu was stunned. He couldn''t believe his ears.

    <i>Did I hear wrongly? He''s telling my wife toe into his arms?</i>

    <i>This bastard isn¡¯t regarding me with any importance at all!</i>

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Zhao Yan for +888 +888 +888...</strong>

    He understood Yun Yuqing and Zu An¡¯s rtionship, so he immediately figured out thetter''s intentions. But the cultivators and soldiers under him didn¡¯t! They all had dumbfounded expressions.

    <i>Did the regent go mad?</i>

    <i>The king and madam are known all over as a perfect couple who are deeply in love... Even though what we¡¯ve seen recently doesn¡¯t seem to really match that, but still.</i>

    Jiang Luofu was also shocked. She had been secretly mocking Zu An for being close to every single beautiful woman around, but that was just a passing thought. After all, this Yun Yuqing was a madam, and there had always been talk of her affectionate marriage circting throughout the noble circles. Additionally, when thete emperor was still alive, he had frequently praised the two of them for their mutual respect in marriage. He had cited it as a model for other princes and his daughter-inw.

    But what was going on now? She couldn''t help but be a bit worried.

    <i>Is Ah Zu getting carried away?</i>

    <i>His cultivation is high and he has powerfulbat strength, but stealing a king¡¯s wife is a bit... too inappropriate, right?</i>

    <i>They¡¯re a loving couple over there. Do you think she¡¯ll love you just because you¡¯re strong?</i>

    Even though King Wu hade here to carry out an illegal search and seizure, and thus she hated him bitterly, she didn¡¯t hate Yun Yuqing. After all, thetter had done her best to help her earlier.

    On the other hand, she was worried that Zu An¡¯s personality could have be twisted, that he was no longer the kind-hearted youngster she once knew and was now starting to abuse his authority and strength.

    <i>That would just be too sad...</i>

    ...

    Yun Yuqing felt a huge explosion go off in her mind. She naturally knew the true nature of the rtionship she had with Zu An, and knew how deeply it ran better than King Wu. But... But what was he trying to do here?

    <i>I¡¯m still a proper princess. I¡¯m willing to follow in private, but how can I do so in front of all of these people...</i>

    <i>Could it be because he''s angry about King Wu¡¯s treatment of the Jiang n, so he wants to get revenge, and is doing this on purpose?</i>

    <i>Then just what am I to him? A toy? Or maybe spoils of war to show off to the enemy?</i>

    When she thought about these things, her pretty face paled, and her eyes became a bit misty.

    <i>But since he already said it, if I followed King Wu, wouldn¡¯t I be embarrassing him?</i>

    All kinds of thoughts filled her head at that moment, leaving her extremely conflicted.

    At first, the soldiers around her were at a loss, but they saw that the madam didn¡¯t immediately refuse or berate Zu An. Instead, she stood in ce and hesitated. They immediately sensed that something wasn¡¯t quite right.

    <i>What is going on with the madam?</i>

    <i>Could it be that she''s just a bit scared of the regent and doesn¡¯t dare to refuse him?</i>

    <i>But that doesn¡¯t make sense! She is still the wife of a king, and King Wu is right here. There are so many cultivators and soldiers here too. She shouldn¡¯t be so scared that she doesn¡¯t dare to even say a single word.</i>

    <i>Could she really have feelings for him?!</i>

    <i>King Wu is famous for his good looks, but the regent is also handsome. More importantly, he''s full of vigor, and isn¡¯t just a weak pretty boy like King Wu. Zu An¡¯s figure is tall and mighty like a mountain.</i>

    Normally, King Wu looked like a giant among men. Butpared to Zu An, he looked like a farmyard chicken next to a red-crowned crane.

    Even though Zu An''s behavior didn¡¯t seem too respectful toward King Wu... The difference really was too apparent. After all, women all liked men who were handsome and rich. They loved men who had more authority and were stronger. Even though King Wu had already done quite well in those aspects, the regent was just too much topete against.

    Yun Yuqing looked up at Zu An, and her eyes became a bit blurry. She really wanted to ask him why he was doing this to her... But she couldn''t ask. All she saw in return was his gentle smile and an encouraging look.

    She sighed inwardly. In the end, she still had to make a decision. She was, after all, King Wu¡¯s nominal wife. He was the most important man in her life.

    <i>Forget it, I don¡¯t want to think about all of that anymore.</i>

    Just then, she emptied her head of all other thoughts and moved purely on instinct.

    She reflexively stepped toward Zu An.

    When they saw her move, and furthermore toward him, the onlookers immediately cried out in surprise.

    The soldiers were shocked, but there was also a bit of excitement in their eyes. They hadn¡¯t expected the madam to actually have this side to her!

    <i>Does this mean that if we were strong enough, we could also get our hands on the beautiful madam?</i>

    Even though they knew that there was no way they could possibly reach Zu An''s or even King Wu¡¯s prestige, that didn¡¯t stop them from enjoying this drama.

    Jiang Luofu was also shocked.

    <i>What is going on right now?</i>

    <i>Madam Wu looks like she¡¯s crying, but it doesn¡¯t look like she was forced to do this!</i>

    When she recalled how Madam Wu had imed to be Zu An¡¯s friend when she came to save her, she began to wonder if the two had an even deeper rtionship.

    When she recalled the various rumors surrounding the regent and the empress, it didn¡¯t seem all that unexpected for him to have a secret rtionship with a king¡¯s wife?

    <i>Who would have thought that this guy was so good at seducing women?</i>

    <i>In the past, apart from staring at my legs all the time, I don''t remember him ever fooling around with me...</i>

    Yun Yuqing could hear the cries of surprise around her and snapped out of her daze. She knew that if she really walked toward Zu An, she''d likely have no hope of turning back. After all, she was a queen. There was no way she could be married to Zu An formally with that background. The praise she had received up until now would bepletely reced with abuse and mockery.

    No one would dare to curse the powerful regent, but they wouldn¡¯t be so tolerant toward a woman like her. She would thus suffer from the worst scorn in the world, perhaps even going down in history as an infamous depraved wife.

    Besides, she didn¡¯t only represent her own interests, as she had the Demon race behind her as well. Her marriage with King Wu had been part of the Demon race¡¯s n. Now, all of that would be destroyed. She would be a sinner of her n...

    When she realized all of that, she couldn¡¯t help but waver. She looked up and was about to say something when she saw that warm and gentle smile once again.

    In that instant, all of her hesitationspletely disappeared. She didn¡¯t think about anything else, nor did she try to calcte anything. She decided to take a risk and follow her heart. She trusted that this man wasn¡¯t the type who would treat her as a toy and show her off in front of his enemies as a prize. He definitely had a reason for doing this. If reality proved that she was wrong, it would only mean that she''d been blind enough to love someone she shouldn¡¯t have loved, but she could just choose death at worst.

    When she thought things through, she wiped away her tears and walked toward Zu An, entering his embrace.

    The moment he saw that, King Wu¡¯s eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets as he yelled, ¡°Yuqing!¡±

    Unfortunately, no matter how he called out, his own wife still walked into that man¡¯s embrace with a smile. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Because of his unique fetish, he actually didn¡¯t mind letting others y with his own wife, but that was only in private. This was in front of so many eyes! Such a shocking choice took the faces of him, the entire King Wu Manor, and even the royal family and ground them against the floor. This was absolute nonsense!

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled King Wu for +999 +999 +999...</strong>

    ¡°Bastard Zu, you''re going too far!¡± King Wu drew the sword at his waist with reddened eyes.

    When they saw him take the lead, King Wu Manor¡¯s subordinates and the soldiers all drew their weapons. With things having already reached this point, it seemed as if a battle was unavoidable.

    Jiang Luofu saw that Yun Yuqing hadn¡¯t been forced, and that the two clearly had feelings for each other. She was no longer as worried as before, and felt a mysterious sense of happiness instead.

    Just a moment before, King Wu had been pressuring the entire Jiang n to a point where they could only feel anger and helplessness, but the tide had actually turned so quickly. He now had to endure several times more pain.

    Most of the Jiang n felt the same way. Even someone as upright as Jiang Boyang was finding a bit of joy in King Wu¡¯s misfortune.

    <i>Return good for evil? Why bother with good? Just go straight for revenge!</i>

    Jiang Luofu couldn''t help but give Zu An a look.

    <i>He''s probably doing this to help me vent, right?</i>

    Her heart rate couldn''t help but speed up, and her face heated up a bit.

    <i>This guy really knows how to make a woman happy.</i>

    <i>But unfortunately, this will end up hurting Yun Yuqing...</i>

    When she thought about how Yun Yuqing had been forced into such a difficult situation, she felt a bit apologetic.

    Yun Yuqing almost couldn''t even stand straight anymore. Right now, she was just feeling too much pressure, and didn¡¯t dare to look at anyone for fear of seeing their disdain and disgust. She could only bury her head in Zu An¡¯s arms. Tears quickly soaked his clothes.

    When he felt her trembling body and endless tears, Zu An realized just how much pressure she was facing. He lowered his head and whispered in her ear, ¡°The reason I''m doing this is for everyone to know that you''vepletely cut ties with King Wu Manor. That way, you won¡¯t be implicated by their crimes anymore.¡±

    When she heard his exnation, Yun Yuqing reflexively raised her head. Her beautiful, tear-stained eyes suddenly shone with brilliant light. There were just too many implications behind what Zu An had just said. In that instant, she suddenly thought of all kinds of possibilities.

    Her tears of sorrow turned into ones of joy.

    <i>He wasn¡¯t that kind of person after all!</i>

 Chapter 2242: Everyone Is Trash

    <h4>Chapter 2242: Everyone Is Trash</h4>

    In an instant, all hope had turned to dust. She''d even entertained thoughts of ending her own life. When she thought about how she was nothing more than a tool for men to show off to each other, she''d felt as if the entire world had lost color.

    But now, she felt as if color had returned to the world.

    <i>My judgment of men wasn¡¯t wrong after all. He did this to protect me.</i>

    But she quickly realized the implication behind his words.

    <i>Is he prepared to act against King Wu Manor?</i> n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    When he saw his own wife lean into the arms of another man in front of everyone else¡¯s eyes, and the way they looked at each other with so much affection, King Wupletely lost it. ¡°Bastard Zu, you¡¯ve crossed the line!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s something King Wu must¡¯ve heard many times recently, if I¡¯m not mistaken,¡± Zu An remarked, his expression cold.

    This guy had been causing all manner of chaos in the capital, and many ns had been left destitute and homeless. When had he ever shown mercy when he was denounced by them? When he thought about Gao Ying¡¯s encounter, Liu Ning¡¯s disappearance, and now the near-disappearance of the Jiang n, he felt really out of sorts.

    It would be really easy to deal with King Wu, but to hit him where it truly hurt, Zu An would have to attack the areas he cared about the most. That was why he decided to raise Yun Yuqing¡¯s chin with his finger, then lowered his head to kiss her.

    <i>Weren¡¯t you always putting on that act of being a perfect couple, that you were deeply in love and taking full advantage of its benefits? Today, I¡¯llpletely crush all of that. Let¡¯s see how you n to be the emperor once you be theughingstock of the entire world.</i>

    ¡°Mmm...¡± Yun Yuqing moaned. Her head wentpletely nk, and she instinctively responded to him.

    <i>It¡¯s okay. Either way, King Wu and I are only husband and wife in name. This is the perfect chance to let everyone know that I''m Ah Zu¡¯s woman...</i>

    When he saw that, King Wu¡¯s eyes went as wide as they could go, and he bit his lip so hard that blood almost came out. However, he discovered with great shame that he was actually getting a bit stimted. However, when he sensed the changes that were happening to his body, he became even angrier. He shouted, ¡°Kill him, kill him right now! Whomever cuts him will be rewarded a thousand gold and be promoted three grades. The one who kills him will obtain a noble title that can be inherited!¡±

    <i>I don¡¯t care what they do in private, but what about my dignity when you¡¯re doing this in broad daylight?</i>

    The surrounding people watched all of this unfold with widened eyes. The events that were ying out really were too shocking! Most importantly, the beautiful and noble queen didn¡¯t even resist at all. It looked as if she waspletely willing and even proactively extending her tongue.

    King Wu¡¯s soldiers quickly rushed at Zu An with brandished des. The information lower-rank soldiers like them had was naturally limited. Even though they had heard of the regent¡¯s power, they still saw him as a single man. How could he face an entire army alone?

    As for the direct supporters of King Wu, now that their king had been insulted, they naturally had to share in his woes. Besides, the reward was just too enticing. If they could really kill Zu An, they would obtain a noble title that could be inherited! They would rise from being petty soldiers to noblemen! Most of the noble ns of the Great Zhou Dynasty had ancestors who had been mere soldiers or low-rank generals, but they had managed to kill important individuals from enemy forces, which allowed them to immediately soar to greatness.

    Even though Zu An¡¯s cultivation was extremely high, he was only one person. There was no way he could be a match for an entire army; that wasmon knowledge!

    In particr, the regent was kissing the queen and didn¡¯t seem to be paying them any attention at all. Such an overconfident attitude created an even better opportunity to exploit.

    <i>It seems we misunderstood the queen. She''s using her own beauty to ensnare the regent so he won¡¯t be able to deal with all of us. She¡¯s creating an opportunity for us!</i>

    Many soldiers formed small groups, and formations began to activate between them before linking into arger formation. A faint blue glow emanated from the formation runes. The soldiers then all charged forth excitedly. From the looks in their eyes, it was as if they weren¡¯t looking at a cultivator, but rather at a stepping stone to wealth.

    Zu An didn¡¯t even move at all and continued to kiss Yun Yuqing.

    However, the soldiers suddenly sensed a tremendous pressure descending upon them while they were charging. All of them were filled with fear and a desire to prostrate themselves that came from deep within.

    <i>Cling, ng!</i>

    The weapons in the soldiers¡¯ hands scattered across the ground, and all of them kneeled down, their bodies shaking all over. As for the runes designed to deal with powerful cultivators, which had been surrounding them just a moment before, they only shone for a single second before shattering to pieces.

    Many soldiers¡¯ bodies exploded on the spot, killing them instantly. As a result, the surrounding soldiers were even more frightened. They continued to kowtow and beg for mercy.

    Only Jiang Luofu could tell that Zu An wasn¡¯t killing at random, and that all those who died were the ones who had brutally killed the Jiang n¡¯s people and harassed the Jiang n¡¯s womenfolk. She sighed deeply.

    <i>Ah Zu actually went so far to appease my anger.</i>

    If this had been any other time, she''d probably have been incredibly moved. But now...

    She looked at the two who were passionately kissing and frowned.

    <i>Can you not be embracing another woman when you want me to be grateful?</i>

    Jiang Boyang was also incredibly shocked, partly due to Madam Wu¡¯s rtionship, and partly because of the unfathomable strength Zu An had revealed. He had previously served as a military officer and understood the advantage an army had over a single person quite well. King Wu had only taken his elite troops with him, and even though he hadn''t brought a massive army with him due to the limitations of space, there were still formations involved. Even if the most powerful grandmaster encountered this setup, they would be forced to run away.

    And yet, Zu An didn¡¯t even seem to have done anything, but the entire army was already crushed!

    King Wu and the others were petrified. He''d known that Zu An was strong, and hadn¡¯t expected his army to be able to defeat thetter. But it should still have been a bloody battle for better or for worse, right? They should have been able to exhaust quite a bit of Zu An¡¯s strength, right?

    And yet, Zu An hadn¡¯t even moved a hand, but King Wu''s subordinate elites were all kneeling on the ground.

    <i>And he''s still carrying Yuqing, as if to taunt me!</i>

    <i>Does Yuqing really need to look as if she¡¯s that into it? She''s never shown me that bashful side of hers before!</i>

    ¡°My king, please don¡¯t panic. This old one is here!¡± the long-bearded elder said reassuringly.

    Even though the pressure was strong, the soldiers further away could all endure it. As a result, the elder didn¡¯t know that the pressure was only meant to deal with the soldiers nearby and assumed that Zu An was exaggerating his strength. He didn¡¯t know how Zu An had managed to deal with the army so easily, but it seemed like an ability meant to deal with lower-rank soldiers. It wouldn¡¯t end up affecting stronger cultivators, right?

    When he sensed the elder''sposure, King Wu immediately felt much better. ¡°Elder Lin!¡±

    This Elder Lin was a powerful follower whom he had recruited using a lot of wealth in the past. King Wu had always been an ambitious person, and had already recruited a lot of powerful cultivators. Those warriors had all been extremely proud and unwilling to yield to each other. All of them had believed themselves to be the strongest.

    Eventually, afterpeting against each other several times, the experts in King Wu Manor had determined which four were the strongest, and they''d been unable to win against each other. In the end, they had acknowledged each other''s strength and were named the Four Great Attendants by King Wu. The one who had forced back Jiang Boyang with a single palm was one of these four attendants. One could see how high their cultivation ranks were from that.

    Later, Elder Lin had joined King Wu Manor, and his arrogant behavior provoked the four attendants. One of the attendants had decided to teach him a lesson, but he was defeated by a single move. After that, Elder Lin said mockingly, ¡®I am not targeting you specifically, but rather think that everyone here is trash¡¯. That had ended up causing a huge uproar at the time.

    The other three attendants had been furious and attacked him together with the other cultivators of the king manor, but they were all defeated shortly after. Several cultivators had even died from Elder Lin''s heavier strikes. That battle had solidified his position as the strongest in King Wu Manor. From then on, no one dared to provoke him anymore. There were many who had privately imed that he was the strongest under the earth immortal rank. Some others even suspected that he had already broken through into that level.

    That was why King Wu immediately felt relieved when he heard what Elder Lin said.

    <i>It seems like Elder Lin must be confident, since he said that.</i>

    Just then, Elder Lin looked at Zu An. ¡°Distinguished sir, you''re seizing the madam in front of everyone. Aren¡¯t you looking down on this old one a bit too much?¡±

    He could naturally tell that the madam was fully willing, but he still had to give King Wu some face.

    Zu An and Yun Yuqing¡¯s lips parted. As he looked at the bits of saliva that remained as the queen¡¯s rosy lips moved back, King Wu¡¯s eyes twitched.

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Zhao Yan for +444 +444 +444...</strong>

    ¡°We''re a talented man and a beautiful woman who are each other¡¯s sunshine. Do we need thements of an ugly bastard like you?¡± Zu An retorted as he let go of Yun Yuqing, although it wasn¡¯t because of that elder. Rather, it was because she could suffocate if he continued to kiss her.

    When she heard how he described the two of them, Yun Yuqing¡¯s face turned red.

    King Wu felt as if his heart had been cut out when he saw his wife suddenly be bashful.

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Zhao Yan for +577 +577 +577...</strong>

    Elder Lin even choked briefly.

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Lin Duanshui for +499 +499 +499...</strong>

    Only after some time did he snap out of his daze. ¡°Youngster, don¡¯t be too arro...¡±

    Before he even finished his sentence, he suddenly saw Zu An raise his hand. Then, a secondter, he lost his center of gravity and he was instantly sucked into Zu An¡¯s hand.

    <i>Crack!</i>

    Just like that, his neck drooped. His limbs lost all resistance and fell limp like noodles.

    ¡°What was he about to say?¡± Zu An casually tossed Elder Lin¡¯s corpse aside and looked at the nearby King Wu. He was now the underworld emperor and held the authority of the world. He''d thus been able to discern all of the emotions that were going through Elder Lin before thetter died from a single look.

    When he saw Zu An nce at him, King Wu felt goosebumps cover his body.

 Chapter 2243: Reaping Where They Have Not Sown

    <h4>Chapter 2243: Reaping Where They Have Not Sown</h4>

    King Wu Manor¡¯s people couldn''t help but swallow with difficulty when they saw Elder Lin¡¯s end. The Four Great Attendants even reflexively took a few steps back. After all, Elder Lin had been an insurmountable mountain to them. They''d thought that with him taking the lead, perhaps they would even be able to put up a fight against Zu An. How could they have known that he would be killed so effortlessly?

    <i>Weren¡¯t you acting all strong and mighty when you won against us? Where did those mysterious and powerful skills go now? Why didn¡¯t you even use a single one before dying?</i>

    They now finally understood that the regent was far more terrifying than the rumors imed. How the hell were they supposed to even fight someone like that?!

    <i>Is there something wrong with King Wu¡¯s head? He actually made someone like that his enemy!</i>

    <i>Hopefully, the madam will the regent a bit to quell his anger. He might even end up sparing the king''s life if his mood improves.</i>

    <i>Yeah, keeping King Wu alive should give the regent a greater feeling of victory.</i>

    ¡°What are you all backing off for? Hurry up and get rid of him for me!¡± Now that he saw his subordinates¡¯ movements, King Wu also panicked. He immediately criticized them, all the while nning his retreat. However, his subordinates were shaking all over and their bodies were weak. Even movements that were normally extremely simple became impossibly hard.

    King Wu Manor¡¯s men rolled their eyes.

    <i>The regent is already this strong, but you still want us to charge forward? Do you take us for idiots?</i>

    Even though King Wu Manor treated them quite well, it wasn¡¯t to the extent that they would give up their lives as repayment.

    When King Wu saw that his subordinates were frowning and were even standing behind him now, he was about to cry. He held the imperial edict in a trembling hand while saying to Zu An, ¡°This king is acting on an imperial edict, so you cannot kill me...¡±

    With a wave of Zu An¡¯s hand, a terrifying force wrapped around King Wu and sucked him right over.

    King Wu normally unted his status as a capable cultivator, but he couldn''t even produce the slightest thought of resistance. His body waspletely limp. Once he left his mount, he couldn''t even stand and kneeled helplessly on the ground.

    When she saw his unsightly appearance, Yun Yuqing¡¯s beautiful brows couldn''t help but furrow. In the end, she released a soft sigh.

    ¡°An imperial edict?¡± Zu An remarked as the imperial edict appeared in his hand with a wave. When he opened it, his eyes narrowed.

    He''d thought that King Wu had faked an imperial edict, since there was no way Bi Linglong would write such an order. But he''d never expected it to be written so explicitly, stating that the Jiang n hadmitted treason and that King Wu had been ordered to capture all of them.

    He gave the Imperial Pce a look.

    <i>Just what is going on?</i>

    However, soon after, his eyes narrowed. His hand moved over the imperial edict, and the words disappeared. Then, he showed it around, saying, ¡°Zhao Yan, you really are daring. You actually dared to forge a fake imperial edict!¡±

    The Jiang n cheered when they saw this. They''d thought that the Jiang n would be finished, but they were unexpectedly rescued from danger!

    However, Jiang Boyang and Jiang Luofu realized what had happened. They specialized in thew, so seeing what Zu An had done made them raise their eyebrows. However, they weren¡¯tpletely inflexible. They naturally wouldn¡¯t correct him here.

    King Wu looked at the empty imperial edict and becamepletely dumbstruck.

    <i>He can even freaking do something like that?</i>

    But he immediately snapped out of his daze. Then, a trembling that came from his very soul spread through his entire body. Without the protective talisman that was the imperial edict, Zu An had a proper pretext to kill him by invoking the crime of falsifying an imperial edict.

    He immediately hollered to Yun Yuqing when he realized that. ¡°Yuqing, save me! Help me talk to him!¡±

    He frantically tried to grab the corners of her clothes. However, Yun Yuqing dodged to the side and looked at him rather angrily. ¡°Zhao Yan, you''ve always presented yourself as a heroic figure. Why don¡¯t you look at how you¡¯re acting right now?¡±

    ¡°Compared to the regent, what kind of hero am I? I¡¯m just a coward!¡± There was an apologetic smile on King Wu¡¯s face as he replied. Inwardly, he thought that a leader could submit or stand tall as required. As long as he made it through this, it wouldn¡¯t be toote to slowly get revenge after.

    Yun Yuqing felt more and more disappointed. A bit of disgust appeared in her eyes. She turned around and ignored him. But during that moment of hesitation, she secretly said to Zu An, ¡°Ah Zu, we have been married for so many years. Even though we don¡¯t share any romantic feelings, there is still some sense of duty. Can you...¡±

    Before she even finished, when King Wu saw that she had ignored him, he thought that she was just going to let him die and cursed, ¡°You slut! I treated you so well all these years, and yet now that you have a stronger backer, you''re immediately abandoning me! Regent, if this kind of woman can leave me today, once she meets someone better, she¡¯ll also abandon you!¡±

    Zu An gave Yun Yuqing a look. The meaning in his eyes was clear.

    <i>Is someone like this deserving of your mercy?</i>

    When she heard what King Wu said, Yun Yuqing¡¯s entire body shook. ¡°You...!¡± n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An looked down at King Wu and replied, ¡°Oh? Do you think there''s anyone who''s a better choice than me?¡±

    King Wu immediately cursed his own mouth. ¡°Damn this mouth of mine. Regent, you are the best choice, and you are also the world¡¯s strongest man. How about we just let this matter pass in exchange for my having been something of a matchmaker between the two of you in the past?¡±

    Jiang Luofu had been listening the entire time. When she heard that, she widened her eyes.

    <i>Huh? Judging from what he''s saying, it seems King Wu was the one who took the initiative to send the madam Zu An¡¯s way. What''s wrong with him?</i>

    <i>So I misunderstood Ah Zu. Madam Wu must¡¯ve developed feelings for him after that event. The two really are a harmonious couple.</i>

    ¡°A real man should just ept death when ites. Why continue to wag your tail like this so pitifully?¡± Zu An said with a frown. Then, his hand pressed down on King Wu¡¯s head.

    ¡°Stop!¡±

    Just then, a sudden shout came from the distance. Dust surged as a group of men rushed over on horses.

    ...

    Meanwhile, inside the Heart Nurturing Pce that the emperor lived in, the security was extremely strict. If Zu An were there, he would immediately realize that the guards all seemed to be unfamiliar faces. They all watched the surroundings vigntly, as if they were on guard against outsiders entering.

    Inside the main hall, the emperor Zhao Ruizhi was meeting with the Bi n¡¯s leader, Bi Qi. The maids and eunuchs had all been chased out. If there were any outsiders here, they would definitely be rmed, because Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s eyes were shining intelligently, and didn¡¯t look like a fool at all.

    ¡°The Thousand-Footed Elder was exposed.¡± Bi Qi picked up his teacup to take a sip and reflexively frowned.

    <i>This stuff is so bitter. I have no idea why the daoists like to drink this.</i>

    Zhao Ruizhi harrumphed. ¡°That guy never did anything properly and always failed.¡±

    ¡°It isn¡¯t his fault. That Zu An is indeed quite formidable.¡± Bi Qi tossed the teacup aside with a look of disgust.

    ¡°Fortunately, we were careful enough and didn¡¯t let the Thousand-Footed Elder really contact us.¡± Zhao Ruizhi leaned backward. There seemed to be two strange lights flickering in his eyes.

    ¡°Hmph, he was nothing more than a chess piece that had alreadypleted his mission and was thus discarded.¡± Bi Qi chuckled. There wasn¡¯t even a bit of pity to be seen in his expression. ¡°But what''s worth noting is that Zu An has already hurried to the Jiang n. King Wu is there, so that fool might end up embarrassing himself.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fine. Judging from what we know, Zu An apparently killed a prince before, which became the talk of the town for a while. It would be best if he killed King Wu this time too, as wed have something interesting to work with then.¡± Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s face looked a bit strange. He didn¡¯t look like his normal stupid self at all.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, it would be best if he killed King Wu too. The more chaotic the situation, the better. We could use the power of the entire empire against him then.¡± Bi Qi smiled sinisterly. ¡°That pitiful King Wu still thinks he''s exploiting us, when he has no idea just how pitiful he is.¡±

    Zhao Ruizhi alsoughed. ¡°Even though he''s stupid, he has quite the attractive wife.¡±

    ¡°Won¡¯t his wife be ours to enjoy once he dies?¡± Bi Qi exchanged a look with him. The two felt as if things were going more and more ording to n.

    ¡°The empress seems to have sensed something off. She no longeres here to pay respects like before.¡± Zhao Ruizhi was a bit dissatisfied.

    Bi Qi chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll just find a chance to have a talk with her. I am her father, after all.¡±

    Zhao Ruizhi shook his head slightly when he heard that. ¡°Daughters often end up siding with outsiders once they grow up, and whether or not she still sees you as her father is questionable in itself. In my opinion, it would be best to turn her into one of us.¡±

 Chapter 2244: There Is No Need For That

    Everyone in the Jiang manor looked in the direction the sound wasing from. They saw that three groups of soldiers were surrounding the Jiang manor from different directions.

    Compared to the light-armored troops that King Wu had brought with him, these soldiers were all dressed in heavy armor, with the ones at the very front holdingrge and heavy shields that were even taller than them. Their heavy and uniform footsteps seemed to crash down on people''s very hearts, creating a harsh mood that made everyone in the vicinity feel rattled. Behind the armies were massive war chariots, bearing dozens of city siege crossbows and all sorts of rune cannons. They towered menacingly over the onlookers.

    Jiang Boyang¡¯s expression changed drastically. As someone whorgely remained in the capital, he immediately realized that this force was the capital¡¯s field army. More importantly, they had brought all manner of heavy weaponry with them, as well as arge number of formation masters. At this moment, the entire army was surrounded by several rune formations, something that the simplified version King Wu¡¯s troops had brought forth couldn''tpare to at all.

    King Wu had onlye to eliminate the Jiang n, so the force he''d brought with him was already far more than enough for that. However, he hadn¡¯t expected Zu An¡¯s sudden return. In contrast, this army had clearly already received news of Zu An¡¯s return and made full preparations. Whether it was the city siege crossbows or rune cannons, just a few rounds from them would be enough to raze the entire Jiang n to the ground, let alone ughtering the people.

    Zu An also recognized the ones who had arrived. The one in the center was Zhao Han¡¯s uncle, East Defense General King Yi, Zhao Huang. After the offensive against the Liu n, his official position had likely risen again. The other two generals d in golden armor were East Central General, Zhao Quan and North Central General Zhao Zhang. Their father was one of the eight dukes, Imperial Tutor Zhao Chen. These two were also Zhao Han¡¯s uncles. After Zhao Han¡¯s death, almost all the affairs of the royal family had been decided by them.

    When he saw the deep hostility behind Zhao Quan and Zhao Zhang¡¯s eyes as they looked at him, Zu An remembered that their father Zhao Chen had died at his hand. In the end, this was all because he had been too soft-hearted back then, not wanting to eliminate everyone involved. But now, these two had waited until he left the capital to start all of this trouble.

    ¡°Regent, release King Wu at once!¡± King Yi shouted. He was at the very center of the army and maintained some distance from the Jiang manor. He didn¡¯te close.

    King Wu cried tears of joy. ¡°Uncle, hurry and save me!¡±

    ¡°Release him?¡± Zu An smiled. ¡°Sure.¡±Then, King Wu fell to the ground. With a loud noise, a human-shaped hole immediately appeared in the bluestone floor. King Wuy in the center, twitching from time to time. Blood trickled out of his mouth and nose, and his entire body looked like a pile of mud. There was only airing out and none going in.

    Zu An said gravely, ¡°Out of respect for Yuqing, I will spare your life today.¡±

    Of course, King Wu''s life could be spared, but punishment and suffering couldn''t be skipped. All of his bones and meridians were broken. Even with his cultivation, he could only barely stay alive.

    King Yi was furious. ¡°Zu An, what are you doing?!¡±

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Zhao Huang for +500 +500 +500¡­</strong>

    Zu An gave him a strange look and replied, ¡°Didn¡¯t you tell me to release him? That¡¯s what I did.¡±

    ¡°You¡­!¡± King Yi choked. He was angered so badly that he almost inflicted internal injuries on himself.

    From the other side, Zhao Quan said with a snort, ¡°The regent is good with words, as expected. However, King Wu is from the bloodline of the present emperor, and also a respected king. The fact that you have treated him this way must mean that you n tomit treason, no?¡±

    Just then, Jiang Luofu said, ¡°King Wu falsified an imperial edict and led troops to attack our Jiang n. This is a crime punishable by death, so the regent has already shown lenience!¡± Ah Zu hade to help her, so she naturally couldn''t let him face the enemy¡¯s criticisms alone.

    Zu An gave her a look of surprise. A gentle smile appeared on his face.

    Zhao Huang¡¯s group reflexively nced at Jiang Luofu¡¯s well-shaped thighs and the slightly ripped stockings around them.

    <em>No wonder people have always talked about Jiang Boyang¡¯s daughter having the capital¡¯s most beautiful legs. Now that we¡¯ve seen them for ourselves, they fully deserve their reputation.</em>

    None of them were young anymore, and with their great authority, there was nock of beautiful women around them. That was why their craving for women was usually fairly weak. But in that instant, even they felt the passion of their youth.

    Zhao Huang was the oldest of them all and was the first to snap out of these thoughts. ¡°Hmph, we have heard a bit about this matter. His majesty indeed issued the order, so King Wu didn¡¯t carry a fake decree.¡±

    Jiang Luofu harrumphed and raised the imperial edict next to King Wu. ¡°This is clearly a nk imperial edict. What else could it be but a fake decree?!¡±

    Zhao Zhang cursed, ¡°Who knows what kind of sted methods you used to rece the original with a fake? Everyone knows that the regent is fickle in love, and today, he must havee here because of his lust for your beauty. He is only shielding the Jiang n for personal reasons!¡±

    Everyone present couldn''t help but give Yun Yuqing a look.

    <em>Why is Madam Wu standing at Zu An¡¯s side? She looks like she''s really intimate with him too.</em>

    <em>No beautiful woman can escape Zu An¡¯s evil clutches after all!</em>

    Jiang Luofu was an academywyer and had even studied thew because of her family. In terms of debating the scriptures, there was no way she would lose to anyone. However, the enemy didn¡¯t debate in a normal way, and immediately left her stunned with that sentence. Her face heated up a bit and she didn¡¯t know how to retort.

    Jiang Boyang had seen his fair share of various experiences and was the first to recover. ¡°Speaking in the interest of the public good, the regent and my humble self have acted as officials for many years and he understands this official¡¯s character, knowing that I definitely wouldn¡¯t participate in something like treason. Speaking out of personal interest, the regent and my daughter are good friends, and they work together in the academy with a rtionship of master and disciple. It is not unexpected at all for him to help us.¡±

    Jiang Luofu gave her father an annoyed look.

    <em>Even though Ah Zu is the libationer, I''m thete libationer¡¯s student. What master and disciple rtionship?</em>

    Of course, she knew her father¡¯s intentions. He didn¡¯t want her reputation to be damaged, and he didn¡¯t want to bring Ah Zu any problems either.

    King Yi said with a sneer, ¡°Whether or not there is treason involved, is that something you can say yourself? We can find out whether or not King Wu falsified an imperial edict if you follow me to the Imperial Pce and meet his majesty.¡± He was confident that as long as Zu An agreed, he could immediately act to imprison thetter, under the pretext of him being a possible suspect as well. Dealing with him after would be much easier.

    Jiang Boyang and Jiang Luofu exchanged a look. They both saw the worry in each other''s eyes. They naturally knew that this imperial edict was the genuine article. Even though they didn¡¯t know why such an imperial edict would be passed in the pce, it was most likely because these people already controlled the emperor.

    If they went to meet the emperor, the Jiang n¡¯s crimes would most likely be set in stone. But if they didn¡¯t go, wouldn¡¯t that suggest the Jiang n¡¯s guilt?

    Just then, Zu An said in a disinterested tone, ¡°In my opinion, I don¡¯t think there''s much of a need for that.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± King Yi frowned.

    ¡°Nothing much. If I say that Sir Jiang didn¡¯tmit treason, he didn¡¯tmit treason,¡± Zu An calmly said.

    King Yi couldn''t help but be surprised and happy to hear that. ¡°His majesty clearly stated that he rebelled. Could it be that your words carry more weight than his majesty¡¯s?¡±

    At first, acting against the Jiang n seemed to have been King Wu and the Bi n¡¯s intention, but they hadn¡¯t expected Zu An to actually speak such disgraceful words just to protect the Jiang n! They could just seize this chance to brand Zu An a criminal. This was an unexpectedly good turn of events!n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Both Yun Yuqing and Jiang Luofu immediately understood the danger of the situation. They were worried that Zu An would say something rash and spoke up to advise against it.

    However, Zu An raised his hand and gave them a look, as if telling them not to worry. Then, he looked at King Yi and the others. ¡°I still haven¡¯t settled things with all of you over the rebellion you all started, but you decided to deliver yourselves right to me. This is fine too, as it saves me quite a bit of time seeking you all out.¡±

    Jiang Luofu and Yun Yuqing were speechless.

    <em>That¡¯s what you meant by ''don¡¯t worry''?</em>

    They were now really worried. Even though Zu An was strong, he was just a single person. The other side had a well-trained and powerful army that hade fully prepared!

    King Yi roared withughter. ¡°Bastard Zu, you were hiding the ambition of a wild wolf after all and wanted to rebel!¡±

    Zhao Zhang and Zhao Quan were both extremely happy. They had never anticipated such a great result on this trip. At first, they hadn¡¯t known how to get revenge for their father because of Zu An¡¯s strength. But now, it seemed that since he was courting death, they could just subdue him through the power of the entire empire.

    They were already prepared. With a single gesture, the entire army readied itself for battle. At the same time, all kinds ofbat formations flickered to life to prepare against a sudden attack from Zu An. Their men had been arranged in all areas of the capital, so any ns allied with Zu An couldn''te to provide assistance at all. This was the perfect chance to kill him.

    King Wu Manor¡¯s people also spread out to circle Zu An. When they saw that, King Wu¡¯s four attendants were stunned. These people had just seen Zu An¡¯s power, and yet they still dared to make him their enemy?

    <em>Wait, why do these people look a bit unfamiliar? They seem to be Madam Wu¡¯s people.</em>

    Yun Yuqing was also shocked and furious. ¡°Elder Rong, what are you all doing?¡±

    The elder said indifferently, ¡°Mydy, that is something I should be asking you. What are you doing?!¡±

    Zu An gave the dozen or so people around him a look. The lowest-level cultivator was a master rank, while half were grandmasters. They had likely used some special method to hide their auras and cultivation.

    Rong was a rather rare surname in this world. He recalled Yun Yuqing¡¯s Demon race lineage and what Princess Suolun Shi jad told him about the Demon race; there were four Demon race ns, surnamed Yun, Suolun, Rong, and Wu. These were all Demon race people.

 Chapter 2245: Since Youâ€™ve Come, Thereâ€™s No Need to Leave

    <h4>Chapter 2245: Since You¡¯ve Come, There¡¯s No Need to Leave</h4>

    Yun Yuqing¡¯s face heated up. She naturally knew what the other side was talking about. Her rtionship with Zu An was something only she and her husband knew about, and yet she had just thrown herself into Zu An¡¯s arms under countless gazes, which naturally confused the onlookers.

    She sighed deeply and quickly said, ¡°I''ll slowly exin things to everyer. Come to this side first and help big brother Zu fight.¡±

    When they heard what she said, King Yi and the others looked at each other in dismay. Their brains almost short-circuited.

    <i>What the hell is going on? Why is Madam Wu siding with an outsider?</i>

    Her husband was lying at Zu An¡¯s feet like a dead dog, and yet she wasn¡¯t thinking of getting revenge and was even helping the culprit? And the way she was calling him ''big brother Zu''? It sounded incredibly intimate!

    Even many of the lower-rank soldiers looked at Zu An in confusion.

    <i>Just what kind of crazy power did this man have?</i>

    Madam Wu had shown herself quite frequently as ofte. Stories of her beauty had spread far and wide through the entire capital. Many people had even started wondering if she would be the future empress. After all, with King Wu¡¯s prestige and the fact that he also had the blood of thete emperor, he was a better candidate in every aspectpared to the stupid Zhao Ruizhi.

    Elder Rong shook his head and said, ¡°Young miss, not only have you betrayed King Wu, you have also betrayed our entire n.¡±

    Yun Yuqing¡¯s expression changed. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    Zu An was also a bit confused. These were clearly the individuals the Demon race had sent to assist Yun Yuqing. Why were they now betraying her one after another?

    <i>Could it be because the Demon race has invested too much into King Wu, so they''re upset that Yun Yuqing suddenly ruined those ns?</i>

    <i>But that doesn¡¯t make sense. King Wu has already be a cripple and has nearly no value left. In contrast, they could just rely on Yun Yuqing to be closer to me. Why are they insisting on continuing down their own path?</i>

    <i>Besides that, I''m the Fiend races'' regent, and the Demon race is part of the Fiend empire. They should be standing at my side.</i>

    <i>Unless...</i>

    Elder Rong shook his head slightly. He clearly didn¡¯t wish to say any more. Instead, he gave the order, ¡°Activate the formation!¡±

    When they heard his words, even the Four Great Attendants moved instinctively.

    King Wu¡¯s eyes started brimming with tears of excitement when he saw this. No one else knew about his wife¡¯s rtionship with Zu An, but in the past, he had personally sent her to his room, so how could he not know?

    More importantly, he had discovered that during the assassination attempt in the capital that one time, Yun Yuqing seemed to have developed real feelings. Zu An had thus be an inner demon for King Wu, who had always wondered how to kill him since then.

    Later, King Wu had begun frantically recruiting powerful cultivators, and eventually found something called a Source Locking Formation. When master and grandmaster-rank individuals used it, it could iste all of the natural ki of the world. It was the best formation if one wanted to win with numbers against a powerful foe.

    At first, the formation was supposed to have been used by Elder Lin, but he''d been so interested in showing off that he was instantly killed by Zu An, leaving him no chance to activate it at all.

    King Wu hadn¡¯t expected Elder Rong to be able to use it too! Additionally, the elder had already been secretly setting up the formation for a while, and now it was fully in ce.

    <i>This bastard Zu is dead for sure!</i>

    Yun Yuqing also sensed that the surrounding natural ki was disappearing. She was shocked and furious, eximing, ¡°What are you all doing? Stop at once!¡±

    Elder Rong looked at her coldly. ¡°Women are emotional and impulsive, as expected. You almost made the entire n perish because of your stubbornness. But it doesn¡¯t matter. Now that the Source Locking Formation has already beenpleted, there is still time to fix all of your mistakes.¡±

    King Wu¡¯s four great attendants were shocked when they saw this.

    <i>Thank goodness we stood on the right side in time just now.</i>

    With this Source Locking Formation and the powerful army, they believed that no matter how high his cultivation was, Zu An only had death awaiting him. Their only regret was that King Wu was already crippled. They would have to find someone more suitable to follow after this.

    ¡°What is the meaning of this? Didn¡¯t you alle here to assist me?¡± Yun Yuqing was extremely confused. These were all people she had brought from the Demon race, but they were acting likeplete strangers right now.

    Zu An ced his hand on her shoulder. ¡°I fear that some changes might have already happened to the Demon race. These people have already been influenced by the alien monsters.¡±

    Princess Suolun had mentioned that the Demon race¡¯s reinforcements never appeared when they were supposed to when he was in the sealednd. She had returned to receive the Demon race''s reinforcements at the time. The current situation was likely extremely dangerous for her.

    ¡°The alien monsters?!¡± Yun Yuqing¡¯s heart sank.

    <i>If my n really has colluded with the monsters, doesn¡¯t that mean...</i> n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    King Yi and their army grew a bit restless when they heard the topic of monsters being mentioned. They had never expected there to be monsters among these people! After all, for most ordinary people, the monsters were a more frightening and more important enemy.

    King Yi said with a cold snort, ¡°Do not listen to that Zu guy¡¯s lies. He is already at the end of his rope and is just saying this to ssh dirty water on them. Those people are King Wu Manor¡¯s trusted aides, so how could they possibly be monsters?¡±

    But he felt an icy sensation inside. The pressure Zu An gave off was just too strong. As long as he was eliminated, what did it matter if they had to work together with the monsters temporarily?

    Zhao Zhang and Zhao Quan had simr thoughts. Because of their father¡¯s murder, they knew that they already couldn''t coexist with Zu An in this world.

    <i>Zu An didn¡¯t kill us before because he was stupid. There¡¯s no way we would believe that excuse he gave, saying we had to face the alien monsters together for the sake of the greater good.</i>

    <i>But that might¡¯ve also been because he didn¡¯t have his hands free at all. After he dealt with the aliens, he''d probably have just carried out a purge of our ns.</i>

    That was why they decided to strike first. It was also why they hadn¡¯t hesitated to join in on the attack on the Liu n and the empress. Now, there was definitely no way they would turn back.

    Jiang Boyang was furious. ¡°Who would have thought that for the sake of your selfish desires, you wouldn¡¯t even hesitate to collude with the alien monsters?! The fact that you hold power in the court is our human race¡¯s greatest misfortune!¡±

    ¡°Hah, how dare those who plot treason criticize the government?!¡± King Yi retorted. He knew that he couldn''t let these people continue to speak, as it could end up shaking the will of the army. As such, he immediately gave the orders for his subordinates to attack.

    Even though there were still some soldiers who hesitated, his personal subordinates fired the city siege crossbows and rune cannons. At the same time, the army¡¯s cultivators used all kinds of powerful long-range attacks. Together with the screaming city siege bolts and energy sts, skills of many different colors rained down on the Jiang manor.

    Meanwhile, Zu An and the people of the Jiang n were trapped in the Source Locking Formation.

    Jiang Luofu and Yun Yuqing wanted to help Zu An with their cultivation, but they discovered that they couldn''tmunicate with the ki of the world at all. They couldn''t even use their own internal energies. They could even end up being instantly blown to pieces by the attacks of this massive army. They looked at Zu An worriedly. One thought to herself that it was because Ah Zu was helping them that they had ended up in such a dangerous situation, while the other med herself for bringing Elder Rong and the others along.

    But Zu An remainedpletely calm and stood in ce like a towering mountain. He hadn¡¯t even moved once from the start. Soon, the two women moved over to his side. Even if they were going to die, they wanted to die together, as a trip across the yellow springs wouldn¡¯t be too lonely then.

    King Yi and the others all had smiles on their faces.

    <i>It seems these guys have already given up on any thought of resistance.</i>

    <i>But it¡¯s to be expected. What could they possibly do in this kind of situation?</i>

    However, their smiles quickly froze, and their eyeballs almost popped out of their sockets.

    The skills that covered the skies, the screaming city siege bolts, and the terrifying energy stspletely stopped in midair when they were a few feet away from Zu An. It was as if there was an invisible, mighty force that stopped all of these attacks.

    ¡°How is that possible?!¡± Elder Rong and the others were even more shocked and heartbroken. After all, being trapped in the Source Locking Formation meant that Zu An wasn''t supposed to be able to use any natural ki powers.

    Zu An slowly walked forward. He didn¡¯t make any other movements, but wherever he passed, the various colors were all wiped out.

    King Wu Manor¡¯s Four Great Attendants were the first to try to flee, but they discovered that they couldn''t move. As he passed them by, no one even saw what he did, but they felt that their life force had already left their bodies.

    A wormhole appeared behind Elder Rong¡¯s body, which was his life-saving skill. He was trying to escape. However, the purple portal copsed as soon as it appeared.

    ¡°Since you¡¯ve alreadye all the way here, there¡¯s no need for you to leave.¡±

    When he heard that booming voice that seemed like a deity speaking from the heavens, a resolute look appeared on Elder Rong¡¯s face. He bit down on a poison capsule in his teeth to end his own life.

    <i>Even if I die, It''s better than ending up in his hands and leaking out information.</i>

    <i>Hm? Why is there a transparent me?</i>

    <i>Is this the ''lingering soul after death'' phenomenon...?</i>

    <i>Why is that Zu An looking at me with a smile?</i>

    <i>He can see me?</i>

    <i>But how?!</i>

 Chapter 2246: Plea For Mercy

    <h4>Chapter 2246: Plea For Mercy</h4>

    Normally, Elder Rong would be happy that there was still a soul left after death. After all, being able to still retain one''s consciousness after death was far better than facing an endless void.

    However, he couldn''t bring himself to feel happy at all, and only felt a fear that came from his very soul. He felt as if he was facing his natural predator, and that his soul itself was being suppressed. It was as if just a single look or thought could obliterate his very existence forever. He instinctively wanted to flee, but he found that under Zu An¡¯s gaze, he couldn''t move at all.

    With a wave of Zu An''s hand, Elder Rong and the others¡¯ souls were absorbed into the Netherworld Book of Life and Death. Once he had some free time, he intended to slowly interrogate these guys to find out what was really going on.

    Yun Yuqing widened her eyes. These were powerful cultivators she had brought from the Demon race, and the strength they''d disyed here was even greater than what she expected of them. It was easy to see how strong they were just from the Source Locking formation they had prepared, thatpletely prevented those within from using any skills. Even so, all of that still hadn''t been enough to make Ah Zu fight seriously.

    Zu An didn¡¯t stop. Step by step, he walked toward King Yi and the others. He didn¡¯t walk quickly, and yet King Yi and the others felt as if it was extremely fast. As he got closer, they felt goosebumps cover their entire bodies.

    ¡°Fire the arrows, fire them!¡± Zhao Quan and Zhao Zhang screamed hoarsely with everything they had. They had held positions in the army for a long time, after all, and immediately used thest of their strength to save themselves.

    The soldiers theymanded right now were all the elites of the court¡¯s field army. Soon after, a group of their most loyal men obeyed and drew their bows. These bows all used arrows that had been specially processed with runes to be able to pierce through armor. They specialized in sting through the body-protecting skills of cultivators.

    However, Zu An didn¡¯t even give them a single look. The incredibly sharp and powerful arrows were automatically destroyed, turning to ashes around him.

    Zu An quickly arrived at King Yi¡¯s side. King Yi¡¯s mount was an incredible steed, but it couldn''t endure the iing pressure. Its legs trembled and it fell to the ground, its body trembling helplessly; it almost seemed to be kneeling in worship toward a supreme being.

    King Yi was thrown right off. He wanted to stand up and draw his weapon to at least look a bit courageous; unfortunately, his legs were shaking so much that even though he tried several times, in the end, he fell to the ground. Even standing was too hard, let alone drawing his weapon.

    As a glorious king and an elder of the royal family, hemanded arge number of powerful cultivators and deathsworn warriors. When they saw him fall, they instinctively wanted to help him, but they were all restrained by an iparably vast power. They felt a trembling and desire to show worship that came from their very souls. It was as if the will of the world itself had descended upon them.

    When they saw that, Zhao Quan and Zhao Zhang, who were a bit farther away, didn¡¯t hesitate to run away at all. They used all their secret methods to flee. There was only a single thought in their heads, which was to get away - the farther away from this ce, the better. They didn¡¯t even need to go home; it would be best if they could leave the capital, and maybe even the human territory, and find some deste ce to live in anonymously. Maybe that way they could at least continue to live on.

    If they had known that Zu An was this strong, they wouldn¡¯t have dared to go against him even if they had ten times their courage, let alone think of getting revenge! They had heard stories about how Zu An destroyed the Meng n, but they hadn¡¯t felt too bothered by it. Only now that they were facing Zu An themselves did they truly understand how scary he was. This kind of suffocating pressure was even greater than that of thete emperor.

    The two of them ran in opposite directions. They were both gambling on a fifty percent survival rate. The usual camaraderie and brotherhood they feigned hadpletely disappeared. They both only hoped that Zu An would chase after the other brother so that they themselves would have time to get away.

    Zu An stood in ce without any intention of chasing after them. Instead, he raised his hand, and the two of them felt a terrifying force pull them from behind. They did everything they could to struggle free, but they were immediately overwhelmed by that force.

    ¡°Huh? Why do I see my own back?¡±

    The brothers were both shocked. They saw that their bodies were frantically running forward, while they themselves couldn''t help but move backward.

    ¡°Is this the legendary separation of soul and body?¡±

    As soon as they reacted, everything before their eyes turned ck and they lost all awareness.

    When he saw Zu An pull the two brothers¡¯ life force straight out of their bodies, King Yi felt as if his scalp was about to explode. There was a warm sensation in his pants, and he frantically begged, ¡°Don¡¯t kill me, don¡¯t kill me...¡±

    Zu An looked at him indifferently, and gently tapped his forehead with a finger.

    King Yi opened his mouth several times. He had thought of countless ways to beg for mercy, but when the final moment approached, he noticed that he couldn''t say anything and only felt endless fear.

    Just then, several anxious voices called out.

    ¡°Have mercy!¡±

    ¡°Please don¡¯t do it, regent!¡±

    ...

    Jiang Luofu looked up and saw several old and gray-haired elders approach from different directions in the capital. She was surprised to see that they were the eight dukes!

    Of course, there were only five left now: Imperial Tutor Zhuang He; Taibao Minister Yu Rui; Grand Officer King Yang, Zhao Song; Minister of Education Du Jian; and Grand General Cheng Yuan.

    The eight dukes were the eight elders with the highest prestige and virtue across all of the human race. In the past, even Zhao Han had needed to treat them with additional respect. In the past, if any one of them had made an appearance in the capital, everyone would greet them with utmost respect.

    And yet, now that the dukes were showing up at the same time, it didn¡¯t seem to be all that special... After all, three of them - Imperial Tutor Zhao Chen, Minister of Works Meng Jing, and Minister of War Shi Miao - all seemed to have died at Zu An¡¯s hand.

    The ones that remained no longer disyed the usual pride they carried, and instead had humble and apologetic smiles. In Jiang Luofu¡¯s eyes, those smiles even seemed to convey intent to curry favor.

    The five dukes were also feeling extremely depressed. After all, they were all ancestor-level figures and didn¡¯t have much longer left to live. They usually cultivated in their respective ns in seclusion. Unless it was a matter involving the very survival of their n, they wouldn¡¯t make an appearance. And yet they''d been forced toe out twice in a row, and it was because of the same person both times!

    They had been cultivating in seclusion until they suddenly sensed that something different had happened in the world that left them greatly rmed. WIth their cultivation realm, they naturally sensed the appearance of the will of the world and thought that their opportunity hade. But when they heard the reports from their ns, they learned that King Yi and the others had surrounded the Jiang n, and that it just happened to coincide with Zu An¡¯s return. The situation immediately became one of Zu An singlehandedly overwhelming King Yi¡¯s magnificent army.

    When they recalled what happened thest time Zu An had created a huge disturbance, they had begun tomunicate with each other through divine will and subsequently decided toe and take a look. They nned to protect the empire and the dignity of the eight dukes. But the closer they got, the more shocked they became. The will of the world they''d sensed seemed to be from that very ce. Thus, they had continued to search for it in shock, only to find that it came from Zu An himself.

    They all exchanged looks and determined that what they''d sensed wasn¡¯t wrong. They were overwhelmed with shock.

    <i>Zu An has resonated with the will of the world?</i>

    <i>What kind of cultivation rank is this?!</i>

    After all, not even Zhao Han seemed to have reached this level.

    As such, they naturally gave up on thoughts of maintaining the dignity of the eight dukes and instead put on friendly smiles on their faces. ¡°It seems that the regent has returned.¡±

    ¡°Did you all hurry over just to plead for mercy on his behalf?¡± Zu An asked indifferently.

    The five dukes looked a bit embarrassed. There were still so many people watching. But the events that had taken ce in the Meng n reminded them that Zu An wasn¡¯t someone who listened to threats, and they realized that they had a much better chance speaking gently. If they threatened him to release King Yi, he definitely wouldn¡¯t give them any face.

    As such, they all tried to convince him with appeals to both emotion and reason.

    ¡°Zhao Huang, this brat deserves to be in his current condition for offending the regent.¡±

    ¡°Zhao Huang, did you lose your mind? You dare to even offend the regent?!¡± n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Have you spent all that time in the army and the capital for nothing? Are you plotting a rebellion?¡±

    ...

    King Yi kneeled on the ground and almost cried when he heard their criticism.

    <i>I was waiting for you guys to uphold justice for me, so why are you guys immediately criticizing me without even trying to distinguish right and wrong?</i>

    Just then, the Grand Tutor Zhuang He said, ¡°Even so, Zhao Huang is still a member of the royal family and still has a bit of prestige. Killing him might end up shaking up the confidence of this empire.¡±

    Just a trifling Zhao Huang wasn¡¯t that big of a deal for the eight dukes. However, they did care about the dignity of the royal family. After all, Zu An had just killed a prince in the capital, and then he had wiped out the entire Meng n and even two of the eight dukes.

    They had finally managed to calm down the situation caused by thest time. The death of the prince could still be exined, since it was a conflict on a smaller scale. But right now, there was a king and two members of the royal family, who hade with a massive army. If they were killed in this situation, the will of the people could waver and the world of warriors could be unstable!

 Chapter 2247: I Can Uphold Justice Myself

    <h4>Chapter 2247: I Can Uphold Justice Myself</h4>

    ¡°Shaking the roots of the empire?¡± Zu An replied indifferently. ¡°Then what about when theymitted a coup d''¨¦tat in the capital and ughtered countless high officials? Even the empress dowager¡¯s survival is unclear right now. Why didn¡¯t any of you step forward to uphold public justice then?¡±

    The Minister of Education Du Jian exined, ¡°Everything that night happened too suddenly. Before we even figured out what was going on, everything had already settled. We thought it was just a political scuffle inside the court, and we normally do not interfere in such matters.¡±

    Zu An replied with a sneer, ¡°Oh? Then why are you interfering in this matter?¡±

    The five dukes exchanged a look. They were all a bit stumped.

    Zu An said calmly, ¡°I know why, even if you don¡¯t speak. Previously, you all saw it as a conflict between the empress dowager and the empress¡¯ factions. Regardless of who won, the meat would still fall into the same pot. But I''m different. I''m just an outsider without any foundation. If I kill your royal family disciples, that might make the royal family lose face, making them the target of mockery for all people.¡±

    The five dukes couldn''t help but smile awkwardly. They didn¡¯t really know how to respond to what he said.

    Grand Officer Zhao Song said, ¡°Regent, I know that you are quite angry right now. How about this? If you let Zhao Huang go today and leave the judgment of this matter to the court¡¯sws, today, I can promise you that you will definitely be returned justice.¡±

    A hint of anger appeared on Jiang Luofu¡¯s face. Her father had ended up like this precisely because he''d trusted the court¡¯sws too much. Of course, she didn¡¯t want to trouble Zu An and didn¡¯t say anything.

    Just then, Zu An turned around and gave her a warm look. It seemed they were thinking the same thing.

    Jiang Luofu¡¯s face heated up a bit.

    <i>I never felt it much before, but this kid really is good at teasing me!</i>

    ¡°What does the regent think?¡± Zhao Song thought that Zu An was tempted and couldn''t help but sigh inwardly in relief.

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°Justice? That¡¯s not something I need others to help me uphold. I can seize it myself.¡±

    With that, his finger gently tapped on King Yi¡¯s forehead, and thetter''s entire body trembled. King Yi''s life force was severed right there and then.

    The soldiers in the surroundings swallowed with difficulty.

    <i>The regent really is fierce!</i>

    Right now, even the most trusted aides of King Yi couldn''t produce any thoughts of revenge. All of their heads hung as low as possible for fear of drawing Zu An¡¯s rage as well.

    ¡°You...!¡± When Zhao Song saw this, he couldn''t help but erupt with rage. ¡°Regent, are you nning treason?¡±

    He was one of the eight dukes, and he had always received respect in turn. Even Zhao Han had to treat him politely whenever they met. He had already given Zu An enough face, and yet this kid didn¡¯t return any at all.

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Zhao Song for +499 +499 +499...</strong>

    The other four dukes'' expressions changed when they heard what he said. They reflexively moved a bit further away from him.

    When he saw that, smoke almost came out of Zhao Song¡¯s head.

    <i>You guys normally act all tough and mighty, but why are you all so cowardly now? The court has raised you for so many years, and yet you¡¯re backing off now when it needs a bit of support?</i>

    ¡°Grand Officer Zhao Song has spoken out of line.¡± The most handsome elder among the five cleared his throat. He was the Yu n¡¯s ancestor, Yu Rui. ¡°Regent, the Grand Officer is concerned with the safety of the royal family and misspoke. We hope that you will not lower yourself to his level.¡±

    The Yu n was the closest to Zu An, so he was the most suitable one to speak here.

    The other three gave Zhao Song an annoyed look.

    <i>Just what is wrong with this guy¡¯s head? He¡¯s actually using Zu An of treason?</i>

    <i>Can you stop him if he really decides to rebel?</i>

    When he heard the elders secretly tell him to stop, Grand Officer Zhao Song only got even angrier. After all, the eight dukes were all individuals that everyone worshiped, and yet they kept losing all face because of this brat. That was especially the case when Imperial Tutor Zhao Chen was killed just because Zu An said he was going to kill him. Even though he was terrified at the time, he had also suppressed a lot of anger.

    <i>Does the Zhou Dynasty still belong to our Zhao n?</i>

    <i>Even the young prince was killed just like that, and a royal family elder who was also a member of the eight dukes was killed willfully as well!</i>

    This time, Zu An had been even more ruthless, killing King Yi, Zhao Quan, Zhao Zhang, and other royal family members one after the other, without any mercy in front of so many people¡¯s eyes. Their kind words of persuasion hadn''t had any effect at all.

    <i>Does he regard us with any respect at all?</i>

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Zhao Song for +555 +555 +555...</strong>

    He suddenly felt a powerful sense of responsibility and duty. He felt as if, as a member of the royal family, he had to serve as the final line of defense in protecting the world of the Zhao n. If he backed down here, the world could really change.

    ¡°Even if you don¡¯t dare to say it, I will!¡± Zhao Song shouted. ¡°Zu An, you¡¯ve killed too many members of the royal family this time. Just what are you nning to do?¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t reply, but Jiang Luofu couldn''t hold herself back and argued, ¡°The Grand Officer is overthinking. It was always the other side that started the conflict first. The libationer only acted in retaliation. Everyone in the capital knows who is right and wrong in these events.¡±

    Grand Officer Zhao Song¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Do you think you can speak when people like us are talking?¡±

    A terrifying pressure crashed down toward Jiang Luofu.

    <i>I can¡¯t deal with Zu An, but do you think I can¡¯t keep someone like you under control?</i>

    Even though Jiang Luofu was quite strong herself, the eight dukes were all close to the earth immortal rank. There could even be some that had secretly crossed over, so how could she withstand this level of power?

    When he saw that, Jiang Boyang panicked. He quickly tried to help, but he was seriously injured and couldn''t produce the strength to at all. Besides, even if he wasn¡¯t injured, his cultivation was too far from the realm of the eight dukes.

    While he was on the brink of despair, however, he saw Zu An stand in front of his daughter. Zu An didn¡¯t even seem to do anything, but the terrifying pressure disappeared without a trace.

    ¡°Thank you...¡± Jiang Luofu stared nkly for a moment, but then a faint smile appeared on her face.

    Yun Yuqing had a strange expression on her face.

    <i>This guy really never gives up on any chance to look cool in front of women.</i>

    <i>But this woman¡¯s legs really are beautiful, and those ck stockings arepletely unmatched.</i>

    <i>So Ah Zu likes this kind of thing! In that case, I¡¯ll look for a chance to wear them for him in the future.</i>

    Zu An then looked at Zhao Song. ¡°I believe that it''s inappropriate for the Grand Officer to abuse a junior like this too, no?¡±

    Zhao Song harrumphed. ¡°It was that woman¡¯s fault for not knowing the rules.¡±

    ¡°The rules?¡± Zu Anughed. ¡°Advancing into the earth immortal rank means that everyone in the world has to obey your rules?¡±

    Everyone present looked at Zhao Song in shock.

    <i>No wonder he was so stubborn this time! So it was because he felt that his strength had improved after his cultivation grew higher!</i>

    Zhao Song choked. He was furious, but the way Zu An had deemphasized his dignity made him feel a bit of apprehension. He didn¡¯t want to continue on this topic anymore. Instead, he asked, ¡°Hmph, why don¡¯t you start exining why you killed so many members of the royal family in session? Thatss said that you were just defending yourself, but I heard that you were the imperial grandson of the previous dynasty! That makes things much more interesting, since you have a motive.¡±

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Zhao Song for +601 +601 +601...</strong>

    The other four dukes frowned. They had heard of this rumor as well, but they thought that Zhao Song was a bit too rash in dering it outright.

    <i>What if he really is the imperial grandson of the previous dynasty? Wouldn¡¯t that force him to rebel?</i> n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Imperial grandson?¡± Zu An chuckled. ¡°I almost forgot about that. That¡¯s right, there was such a rumor. I don¡¯t even know whether that''s true or not myself.¡±

    ¡°Are you admitting to it?¡± Zhao Song asked coldly.

    ¡°So what if it is, and so what if it isn¡¯t?¡± Zu An remained calm. ¡°I am myself. I wouldn¡¯t act any differently even if I was the imperial grandson of a previous dynasty, nor would I be willing to be looked down on by others as a former cripple of Brightmoon City. You might care about bloodlines, imperial titles, and other such things, but to me, they''re like fleeting clouds.¡±

    ¡°Hah, what a coincidence. Since you don¡¯t care about that, why don¡¯t you resign your position as regent right now? That way, we can believe that your previous actions truly didck other motives,¡± Zhao Song said.

    The other four dukes were about to say something, but stopped.

    <i>Does he want to use this chance to get rid of the problem that is Zu An?</i>

    Zu An was indeed an unpredictable variable, but this method was a bit too rash.

    Jiang Luofu and Yun Yuqing were both extremely worried. If Zu An agreed, that would perfectly match the other side¡¯s objectives. But if he refused, wouldn¡¯t that solidify the usation Grand Officer Zhao Song had leveled? This suggestion really was vicious.

    Zhao Song was also feeling quite proud of himself, feeling that his tactics were just too wonderful. He didn¡¯t think that Zu An would agree to let go of his authority, which meant that they would have a proper pretext to denounce him as an evil remnant from the past dynasty. Then, they could use the entire empire¡¯s power against him.

    <i>His cultivation might be high, but how could it be a match for an entire country?</i>

    He was thinking through all kinds of ns when he felt his shoulders droop. He was horrified to discover that Zu An had already vanished from his original location and appeared at his side, a palm resting on his shoulder.

    Zu An sighed. ¡°A nobleman can be deceived by righteousness, which is why the noblemen of history have all lost to people like you. However, it is unfortunate, but I cannot be considered a nobleman.¡±

    Zhao Song¡¯s fine hairs stood on end. After all, he had just broken through into the earth immortal rank and had his lifespan greatly increased. His confidence and strength had reached new heights. He believed that even if he lost to Zu An, he would at least have a fighting chance. But he hadn¡¯t even seen when Zu An got close to him!

    ¡°Zu An, you dare? I am...¡±

    His words came to a sudden stop. His eyes were wide open in disbelief.

    He died!

 Chapter 2248: Thinking Highly of Themselves

    <h4>Chapter 2248: Thinking Highly of Themselves</h4>

    ¡°Zu An, what are you doing?!¡± When they saw this scene, the other four dukes were horrified and immediately widened the distance. They secretly made hand seals in their sleeves, or prepared various weapons to defend themselves.

    Zhao Song had been a bit hard to deal with because of his personality, but they had all served as the eight dukes for so long that seeing an old acquaintance die just like that felt a bit tragic. Furthermore, Zhao Song had just broken into the earth immortal rank, so he should have at least had a bit of a fighting chance! Why had he died without any of them even seeing what Zu An did?

    Just what level had Zu An¡¯s cultivation reached?

    At that moment, they were all worryied for their own safety.

    Everyone present was stunned. They had been wondering how Zu An was going to take care of the situation now that King Yi, Zhao Quan, Zhao Zhang, and the other members of the royal family were killed. They hadn¡¯t expected even one of the glorious eight dukes to be killed! What they were worried about now was how the remaining four dukes were nning to resolve the situation.

    <i>The regent really seems to be angered badly this time. He won¡¯t just rebel on the spot, will he?</i>

    Jiang Luofu gave Zu An a bit of a worried look. Even though the Jiang n had just experienced such a horrifying event and she really wanted to kill them herself, she felt that Zu An¡¯s actions were a bit too extreme.

    King Yi¡¯s death was already said and done, but Zhao Song was one of the glorious eight dukes! He was also a respected elder of the Zhao n. Ever since Zhao Chen died, the entire royal family had been led by Zhao Song. It seemed that it would be hard for things to end well now.

    But she quickly calmed down. She would stand at Zu An¡¯s side no matter what.

    <i>I''ll convince my academy brothers and sisters to support Zu An too.</i>

    Yun Yuqing didn¡¯t seem to care too much. She came from the Demon race either way, so even if Zu An couldn''t remain on the human side, she would just take him back to the northern Fiend territory. If that happened, she could even shake off the sweethearts here on the human side. She felt that such a conclusion wouldn¡¯t be that bad at all. The only thing that was worrying was that the Demon race seemed to have some internal conflict.

    Zu An calmly said, ¡°I only discovered that I was too kind before. Just because I left for a slightly longer time than usual, these people started to cause trouble left and right, starting all kinds of conspiracies against me. I don''t wish to make the same mistake a second time. Since he was dissatisfied with me, rather than letting him scheme and stir up a huge amount of trouble the next time I left, I thought it would be best if I eliminated such hidden threats now.¡±

    This time, things had happened to Liu Ning and Gao Ying, but what about next time? He had too many people he cared about. He wouldn''t necessarily be so lucky as to be able to save them all then. There was also another, more important point, which was that the alien monsters were still eyeing this world. The Doomsday Spirit and gue Monarch were still brewing plots in the dark. What the human side needed was to work together to face this foreign enemy, and he couldn''t tolerate these fellows being a drag. It was better to just get the pain over with than prolong the agony, so he decided to eliminate all of the problems once and for all.

    Grand General Cheng Yuan took a deep breath and askedd, ¡°Zu An, are you really nning treason?¡±

    They had all felt that Zhao Song was too rash when he asked the same question. But what difference was there between Zu An''s current actions and a rebellion? As one of the eight dukes, he felt like he had the duty to step forward.

    Zu An didn¡¯t say anything. With a wave of his hand, the clouds above scattered and the cosmos above was revealed. The sight of countless monsters gathered above entered full view.

    Everyone present gasped when they saw the densely packed monsters. Even though they had heard about the monsters¡¯ invasion, that was something only the strongest few needed to worry about. Most people had no real concept of the danger involved. But now that they personally saw the monsters with such malicious appearances and menacing fangs, it was clear that the invaders intended to feast on people! That was far more useful than any earnest and well-meaning advice from the court.

    With a wave of Zu An¡¯s hands, the clouds gathered once more, and the sky regained its usual appearance. This scene couldn¡¯t be maintained for too long, as it would easily create panic among themon people.

    ¡°I''ve spent so long fighting bitterly against these terrifying and cunning monsters, which has consumed almost all of my spirit. I don''t wish to exhaust even a sliver more of my attention on des aimed at my back,¡± Zu An said in a grave voice.

    The remaining four dukes exchanged a look. They could all see the shock in each other''s eyes.

    <i>Zu An could split open the skies with just a wave of his hands? Just what kind of tremendous power is this?</i>

    They only felt as if they had been pressured until they had no choice. None of them really wanted to make someone this terrifying their enemy. When they heard those words, they all bowed with respect. ¡°The regent has worked hard.¡± n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    As long as there was a sufficient pretext. there was no need for them to publicly make Zu An their enemy. After all, he was too strong, and he didn¡¯t have much regard for rules. Who knew if he would just end their lives a secondter?

    Even though the court had a Demon Suppression Formation in the capital, and they would still potentially have a fighting chance against Zu An, it was just a fighting chance. Even if all eight dukes were here, they would still have most likely lost in a fight against Zu An. And now there were only four dukes left, and Zu An was the academy libationer. If the great formation was activated, who knew if those guys at the academy would interfere and meddle?

    Zu An nodded. ¡°I''ll leave this matter to all of you to take care of. I''m going to take a look around the Imperial Pce to see what exactly is going on with the usation of treason against Sir Jiang.¡±

    Yu Rui saw the others look toward him, and could only brace himself to say, ¡°That is still the Imperial Pce, after all, so I hope that the regent doesn¡¯t... doesn¡¯t act too impulsively.¡± He really couldn''t find any words that were suitable to speak right now.

    Zu An nodded. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I know what I''m doing.¡±

    ...

    The entire matter was settled like that. All of the soldiers and major ns that had rushed over had strange expressions.

    If it had been anyone else who started something like this, even death by a thousand cuts and having their manorpletely emptied out would be getting off lightly. And yet when the regent did it, they only felt as if it made perfect sense.

    Otherwise, it¡¯d be hard to say who would end up searching and confiscating whose possessions.

    Zu An exchanged some words with Jiang Luofu. There were some people who heard the news and hade over from the academy, so he had them stay behind to protect the Jiang n. The teachers of the academy all agreed. As they were all from the academy, they naturally shared more feelings of unity, let alone the fact that Jiang Luofu was their own sister.

    After arranging all of that, he walked over to Yun Yuqing and suggested, ¡°Why don¡¯t you follow me on a trip into the pce?¡±

    He had initially wanted to keep Yun Yuqing with Jiang Luofu and the others, but she wasn¡¯t that close with those from the academy. She had abandoned everything to side with him, so how could he leave her here all alone?

    At first, Yun Yuqing had seen how popr and bright Zu An looked as he stood amid so many people, almost as if he had forgotten about her. She couldn''t help but feel a bit sad.

    Before what happened today, she had been the revered Madam Wu, whom everyone praised as a perfect wife. And yet after today, she was no more than a bad woman who had abandoned her husband and chosen a stronger man for the sake of social climbing. That wasn¡¯t all, as even the Demon race people betrayed her. She really was all alone without a friend in the world. She felt a mysterious sense of loneliness.

    However, while she was worrying about what she was going to do now, she suddenly heard Zu An¡¯s voice and raised her head. She saw that he was already standing in front of her with a smile. There was none of the coldness or awe that he showed other people; instead, there was only warmth and tenderness.

    ¡°Okay!¡± Yun Yuqing held hands with him. When she felt his warm andrge hand, she immediately felt that everything had been worth it.

    When she saw Yun Yuqing¡¯s smile shine brightly, Jiang Luofu released a deep sigh.

    <i>This kid really is considerate. He didn¡¯t forget about the feelings of his sweetheart even in this kind ofplicated situation. No wonder those women are so dedicated to him.</i>

    When she recalled how Yun Yuqing had decided to leave King Wu so decisively and walked over to Zu An¡¯s side, Jiang Luofu couldn''t help but feel respect for her.

    ...

    Meanwhile, in the Imperial Pce, Zhao Ruizhi and Bi Qi wereughing heartily while chatting. The mood was quite good.

    ¡°The products of this world really are abundant. The fact that these weak ants upy this kind of fertile ce is punishable by death in itself.¡± Zhao Ruizhi suddenly felt quite unhappy.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. All of these things will soon be ours.¡± Bi Qiughed sinisterly. ¡°The only thing we need to worry about is that Regent Zu An. That person¡¯s strength is mysterious and profound,pletely unlike the natives of this world. Many of our colleagues have been killed by him.¡±

    Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s eyes immediately widened. ¡°Those idiots had nothing but muscle for brains! We''re clearly in a world where our power is being suppressed by the world barrier, and yet they kept insisting on using brute force. It¡¯d be weirder if they hadn''t died.¡±

    Bi Qiughed and said, ¡°It¡¯s still your method that¡¯s better, to hide in this stupid emperor¡¯s body so no one can find you. That way, you have a proper reason to use this entire empire¡¯s power and make them fight against themselves.¡±

    ¡°The only unfortunate thing is that I have to disguise myself as that idiot and y those games. It really is miserable.¡± Zhao Ruizhi got up and stretched out his chubby body.

    ¡°Just endure it for a bit longer. Soon, once this entire world is in chaos, once war and death are everywhere, my gue will be able to disy its greatest power,¡± Bi Qi said with a sinister smile. ¡°Assigning the two of us to this mission really was an extraordinary decision! You can engulf the entire world in war so my ability can be used at its maximum potential. The only thing we need to do is to properly hide our identities.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, how could that Zu bastard possibly expect that we''re hiding in the pce?¡± Zhao Ruizhi looked extremely proud.

 Chapter 2249: Instability and Opportunity

    <h4>Chapter 2249: Instability and Opportunity</h4>

    Zhao Ruizhi stood by the window and looked in the direction of the empress¡¯ personal chambers. ¡°I wonder if it¡¯s because I¡¯m currently attached to this guy¡¯s body and being affected by human aesthetics, but that daughter of yours is quite pretty.¡±

    Bi Qiughed loudly and said, ¡°Beauty is always connected across the endless realms. It''s ugly things thate in all sorts of different appearances. The empress is indeed very pretty, so you can''t be med for your thoughts.¡±

    Even in the worlds of these monsters, even though they took all sorts of different forms when they fought, they all still thought that the human form was the most beautiful. High-level monsters almost always preferred to appear in human form.

    ¡°Fine, I guess I¡¯ll just seek out that beautiful empress then,¡± As he got up, Zhao Ruizhi felt passion fill him.

    Bi Qi frowned slightly. ¡°You''ll easily be exposed if you seek her out now.¡±

    ¡°Do you think I would avoid being exposed just by not looking for her?¡± Zhao Ruizhi retorted with a cold snort. ¡°That woman seems to have given up on paying her respects to me too. Even though this emperor is just a puppet, she still used to fulfill those duties properly. But now, she probably already suspects me.¡±

    ¡°She might not suspect you. I don¡¯t think you¡¯ve revealed any mistakes in your behavior as ofte.¡± Bi Qi was a bit confused.

    ¡°Judging from the information we have, she seems to be quite smart. She might have sensed that something was off when we swapped out the people around us. No, I must make a trip to see her right now andpletely turn her into one of us, or else I just won''t feel at ease,¡± Zhao Ruizhi said as he got up anxiously.

    ¡°But ording to the rumors, the empress seems to be rather close to the regent. Will we end up exposing ourselves through that?¡± Bi Qi wondered worriedly.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that even better? If we act right when she and Zu An are in their most intimate moment, we might really be able to kill that bastard.¡± Zhao Ruizhi sounded a bit excited.

    ¡°But I still feel that this is a bit of a risk.¡± Bi Qi still wanted to advise against the idea. He just felt that this guy was acting purely out of lust, and looking for reasons to rationalize his behavior.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. That idiot King Wu went to raid the Jiang n and ran into the regent, which means he¡¯s probably dead. Zhao Quan and Zhao Zhang are both from the royal family, and King Yi apparently brought their men over too. Either Zu An has to submit, or he has to unleash a great ughter. Regardless of the situation, he won¡¯t be able to remain in the capital for some time. He naturally won¡¯t realize what''s happening to the empress.¡±

    Bi Qi couldn''t help but smile. ¡°That¡¯s right. These humans really are stupid. Even though they already know that we''re invading their world, they¡¯re still busy scrambling for power and profit among themselves. They all feel that they¡¯re the smartest and that they can deal with us once they get rid of everyone else, and yet they have no idea that they''re nothing more than chess pieces to us.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go. Follow me to the empress¡¯ side to take a look. She seems to have increased the security around her pce. With you speaking up as her father, it¡¯ll be easier for me to get closer to her,¡± Zhao Ruizhi said.

    ¡°Fine!¡± After weighing the pros and cons, even though Bi Qi felt that there was some risk, the potential benefits also seemed to be quiterge. If they made the empress one of their own, no matter what they did, they wouldn¡¯t have to worry as much anymore.

    Soon after, they left for the empress¡¯ personal pce with some servants in tow.

    ...

    Meanwhile, in the Pce of Peace, Rong Mo wasbing Bi Linglong¡¯s hair. ¡°Your highness¡¯ hair is like satin; it¡¯s so beautiful and enviable.¡±

    She continued to chatter endlessly for a long time, but she saw that Bi Linglong didn¡¯t reply at all and was staring a bit nkly. She asked, ¡°Your highness, why do I feel as if you''ve been brooding a great deal?¡±

    After some hesitation, Bi Linglong couldn''t help but ask, ¡°Momo, don¡¯t you feel as if his majesty has be a bit strange recently?¡±

    ¡°Weird? Not at all. He still looks as stupid as he always does.¡± Rong Mo didn¡¯t really understand what she was trying to say. ¡°Why is your highness asking about this? Shouldn¡¯t you be more concerned about the regent?¡±

    Bi Linglong¡¯s face reddened. ¡°Lass, you¡¯re getting more and more out of control these days. You even dare to make fun of me now!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not just me! Who knows how many people in the entire capital are privately discussing your involvement with the regent. They¡¯repletely blowing it out of proportion, saying that you already knew each other a long, long time ago, but because of your special identity, you had no choice but to marry the current emperor as your n decided, marrying that stupid... Later, the regent suffered the painful loss of separating from you and was strongly determined to be great himself, and that was how he gradually reached his current power and status. That way, he could share his destiny with you.¡±

    Bi Linglong was stunned. ¡°Who came up with all of this?¡± She had to admit that even she was a bit fascinated by this story. Just how great would it be if Ah Zu had reallye to the capital because of her?

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but that¡¯s what everyone is saying. Oh, there are also a few other versions that are even more ridiculous. Does your highness want to hear about them?¡± Rong Mo had a big smile.

    Bi Linglong was a bit tempted, but she quickly collected her thoughts. ¡°Forget it, we have more important things to worry about. Did you find the person I had you look for?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, they should be here pretty soon.¡± Rong Mo nced outside.

    Soon after, people from the pce sent a message about a maid wishing for a meeting. Bi Linglong and Rong Mo exchanged a look. Rong Mo knew what she was implying and quickly escorted the maid in.

    Compared to the delicate and petite Rong Mo, this maid had a tall but slender figure. Her long legs were especially eye-catching.

    ¡°Embroidered Envoy Zhang Zitong greets your highness the empress!¡± When the others withdrew, the maid bowed respectfully to Bi Linglong.

    ¡°At ease.¡± Bi Linglong carefully examined this maid in front of her.

    <i>This really is quite the beauty. Those legs are so long, I wonder if they¡¯ve tempted Ah Zu at all.</i>

    Zhang Zitong rxed her posture a bit. She was curious why the empress had summoned her here, and had even ordered her to dress up like this.

    ¡°Can I trust you?¡± Bi Linglong suddenly asked.

    ¡°This subject is faithful and true to your highness. I will immediately do my utmost toplete any orders you have for me.¡± Zhang Zitong was confused, but she immediately gave the most proper reply.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear these prescribed words.¡± Bi Linglong shook her head. After thinking for a bit, she said, ¡°Let me ask in a different way. If the orders of his majesty and the Chief Commander shed, who would you listen to?¡±

    Zhang Zitong was shocked.

    <i>This is a question that could get me killed!</i>

    In a normal situation, if the empress asked this kind of question, she would naturally have to reply in support of his majesty. But for some reason, when she remembered that man¡¯s tall figure, she didn''t want to lie. ¡°I would listen to the Chief Commander¡¯s arrangements. The Chief Commander is also loyal to his majesty.¡±

    Bi Linglong couldn''t help but smile. ¡°Look at this woman getting all clever. But I¡¯ve already received the reply I wanted to hear.¡±

    Zhang Zitong was a bit nervous. She didn¡¯t know what Bi Linglong was implying.

    Bi Linglong put away her smile and arrived at her side. She said through voice transmission, ¡°The reason I sought you out is because it isn¡¯t hard to summon a woman like you. It¡¯s much harder to have someone like Xiao Jianrene here. Contact Xiao Jianren and find some trustworthy envoys to secretly monitor his majesty.¡±

    ¡°Monitor... his majesty?¡± Zhang Zitong was horrified. In that instant, she thought of countless possibilities.

    Bi Linglong gave her a cold look. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that the changes that have taken ce in the pce arepletely unknown to the Embroidered Envoy? If that were the case, this empress would truly be disappointed in your ability.¡±

    ¡°It does seem a bit strange. His majesty has changed out many people recently.¡± Zhang Zitong also became serious.

    ¡°I suspect that his majesty might no longer be his majesty,¡± Bi Linglong said calmly.

    Zhang Zitong felt as if thunder had struck by her ears. ¡°What?!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have any proof, and it is just a suspicion, so I need you to help me investigate. You must be careful, and do not trust anything the other side tells you,¡± Bi Linglong warned gravely.

    ¡°Okay.¡± Zhang Zitong finally understood why the empress had summoned her in such a secretive manner.

    Then, Bi Linglong discussed a few more details with Zhang Zitong.

    ... n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Elsewhere in the pce, a maid with a stunning figure moved rapidly. She was always able to just barely avoid any patrolling soldiers. She darted around the Imperial Pce as if she knew it like the back of her hand.

    If Zheng Dan and Sang Qien were here, they would have both been incredibly shocked, because this woman was actually the missing empress!

    While Liu Ning was avoiding the guards, she shot the Pce of Peace a look full of hatred. It was because of that woman and the Bi n behind her that the Liu n had been leftpletely ruined.

    She was going to repay this debt of blood today!

 Chapter 2250: Vengeance

    <h4>Chapter 2250: Vengeance</h4>

    The things that had happened that night were still fresh in Liu Ning''s memory. There wasn¡¯t a single living member of the Liu n left. Even some officials who were rtively close to the Liu n had been eliminated.

    Fortunately, she had known about the rtionship of the Sang n¡¯s women with Zu An and won in her gamble. The two of them had managed to save her.

    <i>That Sang Qien was quite smart. She managed to analyze the events of the court quite clearly.</i>

    <i>Zheng Dan was also quite formidable. She actually managed to establish such arge and powerful underground force in a ce like the capital! Otherwise, there''s no way I would¡¯ve been able to escape from the pursuit of those soldiers.</i>

    After associating with the two women, she couldn''t help but sigh in amazement again.

    <i>Did Zu An save the universe in his past life or something? Why are there so many beautiful women fully devoted to him?</i>

    At first, the time she had spent with the two of them was quite happy. However, when she heard the rumors about Zu An and Bi Linglong, her heart had immediately sunk. In that instant, a lot of details connected together. She suddenly realized what had happened.

    <i>I¡¯m so stupid, really...</i>

    Even though the opinions differed and they were all just rumors, with many people thinking that they were spread just to defame both parties'' reputation, she had immediately realized they were true.

    <i>That guy Zu An dares to even touch me, so why would he let go of the more intimate and younger Bi Linglong?</i>

    She had previously thought that Bi Linglong trusted him a bit too much, but she''d just assumed it was because Zu An worked in the crown prince¡¯s Eastern Pce. He had also earned those achievements in the crown prince¡¯s secret dungeon, so it made sense Bi Linglong trusted him so much. Now, though, it seemed that the two of them had already gotten together a long time ago!

    When she heard Sang Qien¡¯s pleading, she''d initially nned on waiting to get revenge. She had intended to wait for Zu An to return. But when she learned about his rtionship with Bi Linglong, she knew she couldn''t wait any longer. If both of them were still there, who would he end up helping?

    She''d even felt a bit of fear. Bi Linglong was younger than her, and while she herself was now a stray, the other party was still the noble empress. She felt that if she were a man, even she would likely choose Bi Linglong. She didn¡¯t want to ce Zu An in such a predicament, and she was even more scared of him making that choice at all.

    She didn¡¯t have a n anymore, nor did she have her father and brothers. She didn¡¯t have anything left. She didn¡¯t want the veryst person close to her to disappear too.

    That was why after she fully recovered, she had secretly left the ce that Zheng Dan was hiding her in. She could only get revenge herself!

    The Bi manor had a lot of powerful individuals protecting it and had heavy security. Furthermore, Bi Qi was a powerful cultivator himself, so there was no chance for her to get closer at all. But the Imperial Pce was different. As long as she was a bit more careful, it wouldn¡¯t be too hard for her to infiltrate inside at all.

    ording to the surrounding discussions, she realized that Bi Qi had entered the pce today. If she wasn¡¯t mistaken, he was here to see his daughter. This father and daughter pair were definitely scheming together. Bi Qi couldn''t bring his guards into the inner pce, right? That was the best chance to strike.

    As she looked at the Pce of Peace, Liu Ning sneered. This was where she had lived, after all, and she had stayed in this ce much longer than thatss Bi Linglong.

    At first, she hadn¡¯t wanted to hand over the pce, but she couldn''t hold off the officials¡¯ advice, saying that not doing so was against the rules, going against the wishes of the ancestors. She had been pestered beyond endurance, and moved away from this ce in the end. And yet shortly after, all of those things had happened.

    She knew about a secret path in the Pce of Peace, but because the handover hadn¡¯t been all that pleasant, she hadn¡¯t told Bi Linglong about it.

    <i>Thank goodness I didn¡¯t tell her. It¡¯s perfect for sending this father and daughter pair to the afterlife!</i>

    She secretly moved to a more remote pce and turned a few stones at a rather unremarkable rock garden in a special way. A formation soon revealed itself. She took out her personal keepsake and ced it at the eye of the formation. With a faint flicker of light, the formation parted to either side as a door opened.

    Liu Ning looked around cautiously, making sure that no one had noticed her. Then, she entered the path. She had prepared a few things inside; if someone had passed by, it would have left behind a trace. She secretly examined those markings and saw that there wasn¡¯t anything strange about them, which allowed her to sigh in relief.

    ...

    Meanwhile, after Bi Linglong had given Zhang Zitong careful instructions and was about to have her leave, a voice suddenly called, ¡°His majesty has arrived!¡±

    Bi Linglong¡¯s expression changed. She quickly said to Rong Mo, ¡°Go and stop him. Tell him that I don¡¯t feel too well today and that it''s unsuitable for me to meet him.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Rong Mo was Bi Linglong¡¯s personal aide, and knew that she only loved the regent. Why would she meet with that stupid emperor?

    Zhang Zitong watched all of this with shock.

    <i>The empress and his majesty are only united in appearance, while divided at heart! It seems the rumors of her being with the regent are most likely true.</i>

    ¡°You should act like a maid for now, so it won¡¯t look weird if we end up meeting them.¡± Bi Linglong sat down in front of her table and began to sort through the memorials on it. However, she felt a bit anxious for some reason.

    ...

    Outside the Pce of Peace, Zhao Ruizhi and Bi Qi were both stopped outside.

    ¡°How dare you! You dare to even stop his majesty?!¡± Zhao Si shouted.

    He was the son of King Yi. In the past, because of his family background, he had been chosen to be a high-ranking officer of the guards. It was precisely he and his brother who had used that ¡®nder¡¯ against Zu An to persuade Zhao Ruizhi to approve the imperial edict. After that instance, King Yi and the other brothers had received tremendous rewards, immediately bing far more influential.

    Because of what happened, Zhao Ruizhi trusted him a lot, feeling that Zhao Si was one of the few talents who could help him in fending off the great evil that was the regent. That was why Zhao Si had been greatly promoted and kept at the emperor¡¯s side to serve him.

    Zhao Si had, of course, been extremely delighted. Compared to burdensome governmental affairs, he now only had to properly pamper this stupid emperor. Furthermore, the authority he had at the emperor¡¯s side couldn''tpare to serving as an official anywhere else. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    That was why he immediately leaped out when he saw that there were guards in the emperor¡¯s pce who stopped him. His aptitude wasn¡¯t that great, but he had received a lot of resources growing up that granted him his mediocre cultivation today. If he didn¡¯t express his loyalty here, what other use did he have?

    The empress¡¯ guards, Jiao Sigun and Pu Duandiao, also broke out into cold sweats. ¡°We ask for your majesty¡¯s forgiveness. Her highness gave strict orders to not meet anyone today. If we let anyone inside, there is only death awaiting us.¡±

    ¡°You scoundrel, is his majesty the same as other people?¡± Zhao Si cursed. ¡°You all fear the empress, but you don¡¯t fear his majesty?¡±

    ¡°This lowly official wouldn¡¯t dare!¡± Jiao Sigun and Pu Duandiao continued to bow, holding their hands in front of them. They were incredibly worried.

    <i>We''re just two lowly guards, so how could we dare to do something like that?</i>

    ¡°Her highness has been hiding in the pce since this morning and hasn¡¯t allowed anyone in. Is she meeting with someone else?¡± Zhao Si remarked with a sneer.

    Jiao Sigun and the others were shocked. Who in the pce didn¡¯t know about the scandal involving the empress and the regent? This usation really was ruthless.

    Just then, a clever voice retorted, ¡°Her highness is feeling out of sorts right now, and yet you''re making insinuations against her? Those are crimes punishable by death!¡±

    Rong Mo ran over angrily and stared at Zhao Si.

    <i>This guy really is up to no good.</i>

    Zhao Si was also furious.

    <i>This little girl actually dares to shout and quarrel with me?</i>

    He was about to say something when a group of soldiers rushed over.

    ¡°Miss Rong, what happened here?¡±

    The group was the Armed Escort Army led by Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang. After the coup that had taken ce that night, if not for the fact that they had been protecting the empress, they would likely have already been forced to remove their armor and return to their farms. Then, some random imaginary charges would ce them in jail. As such, they knew they didn¡¯t have any way out. They had to follow the regent and the queen to the end.

    The queen had arranged for the Armed Escort Division to remain nearby, as if she was guarding against something. When they sensed that something strange had happened, they quickly rushed over. Upon seeing that it was the emperor¡¯s group, they quickly bowed respectfully.

    When he saw this group of people, Zhao Si became even angrier. ¡°What, are you all here to help the empress block his majesty too?¡±

    ¡°We wouldn¡¯t dare!¡± Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang were starting to get a huge headache. They both sensed Jiao Sigun and Pu Duandiao¡¯s awkwardness.

    ¡°Enough,¡± Bi Qi put a stop to Zhao Si escting the situation further. He looked at Rong Mo and said, ¡°Little Mo, his majesty and I have important matters we need to meet with Linglong about. Please pass on this message.¡±

    When she saw the n lord speak, which she had feared the most, Rong Mo felt a huge amount of pressure. While she was at a loss for what to do, the empress called out from inside, ¡°You can let them in.¡±

    ...

    Meanwhile, Liu Ning was carefully moving underground. The Imperial Pce was full of powerful cultivators and rm formations. The slightest mistake would easily result in her exposure.

    Eventually, she finally arrived at the Pce of Peace. At the other end of the passage was a wardrobe. She could vaguely hear that Bi Linglong was speaking with a woman.

    She was about to open the wardrobe and end the empress'' life when a eunuch¡¯s shrill voice called out, ¡°His majesty has arrived!¡±

    She frowned, nning to wait first. If the emperor was here, that meant he would definitely have his guards with him. More people meant more variables.

    Liu Ning was extremely annoyed by the eunuch¡¯s shrill voice. The one she hated the most after the Bi n¡¯s father and daughter pair was Eunuch Lu. She had thought that he was her loyal hound and trusted him greatly. She had never expected him to betray her.

    If it hadn''t been for him coordinating both inside and outside, she wouldn¡¯t have only realized that something was wrong after the pce gates were lit ame. Unfortunately, she had no idea where he had run off to, and she couldn''t find him at all. That was why she could only kill the Bi n¡¯s father and daughter first.

    ...

    Meanwhile, hiding outside the Pce of Peace was a beautiful figure in the shadows. When she saw Zhao Ruizhi and Bi Qi enter the Pce of Peace, she couldn''t help but frown. ¡°Should I help or not?¡±

 Chapter 2251: Cards Revealed

    <h4>Chapter 2251: Cards Revealed</h4>

    ¡°If the others find out that I helped the government, they mightugh their heads off...

    ¡°But if I don¡¯t help, then will that guy end up ming me in the future?

    ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s watch the situation for now.¡±

    The beautiful figure in the shadows muttered to herself before quickly disappearing.

    ...

    Meanwhile, in the Pce of Peace, Zhao Ruizhi left his subordinates outside and entered apanied only by Bi Qi.

    Officer Li Guanshi, who was watching from one side with a cold gazee, couldn''t help but frown. ¡°Your majesty, how about I bring some people with me and go in with you?¡±

    He secretly looked down on Zhao Si, but he didn¡¯t dare to show any carelessness when it came to the emperor¡¯s safety. In the past, he wouldn¡¯t have needed to enter at all, but after the political shift that happened recently, the rtionship between the emperor and empress had be extremely tense. The rumors involving the empress and regent had also caused a huge disturbance. If something ended up happening to the emperor inside, Li Guanshi knew that he''d likely be the first one to be held responsible and punished.

    ¡°Why would I need you toe with me when I¡¯m seeing my own wife? If you go in, everyone else will want to go in too. We¡¯re not holding some temple fair here.¡± Zhao Ruizhi waved his hand and refused in annoyance.

    Bi Qi also said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be going in with his majesty.¡±

    Li Guanshi briefly wondered to himself whether his majesty would be able to do anything if the father and daughter worked together. But his majesty seemed to really favor Sir Bi, and the two seemed to frequently meet in private. It seemed unlikely that Bi Qi would have any untoward motives against the emperor.

    However, while he was hesitating, Zhao Ruizhi had already entered the Pce of Peace with Bi Qi. Li Guanshi could only remain outside and monitor the Armed Escort Division and the empress¡¯ guards.

    Wang Bolin, Zhang Zijiang, Pu Duandiao and Jiao Sigun were full of worry, but with their status, there was no way they could enter. They could only stay here to hold off the emperor¡¯s guards and hope that the empress could deal with the emperor by herself.

    <i>But Sir Bi is there as well, so the empress shouldn¡¯t be in too unfavorable of a situation.</i>

    The two sides thus reached a tacit equilibrium.

    Just as Zhao Ruizhi and Bi Qi arrived outside the pce, Bi Linglong bowed to them from the entrance and said, ¡°This empress isn¡¯t feeling too well, so I hope that your majesty will excuse me for noting out to meet you.¡±

    ¡°Not at all, not at all.¡± Zhao Ruizhi looked at the delicate and beautiful flower makeup on her forehead that made her skin look even fairer. He walked over with a big smile to help her up.

    ¡°Father, why are you here?¡± Bi Linglong stood up on her own and turned around to face Bi Qi, avoiding Zhao Ruizhi without being too obvious about it.

    Bi Qi chuckled. ¡°I came to see you, of course.¡± n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    He noticed that Zhang Zitong and Rong Mo were both present. He indicated for both of them to leave.

    Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s eyes couldn''t help but light up.

    <i>This maid is so pretty, and those legs really are long andpletely different from those of normal women. </i>

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Letting them stay isn¡¯t a big deal.¡±

    Zhang Zitong was dismayed inwardly. The way Zhao Ruizhi looked at her made her feel really ufortable.

    Bi Linglong said indifferently, ¡°You two should stand watch for me outside.¡±

    Even though she had them leave, they wouldn''t be too far away, and could stille in to help her if something did go wrong.

    Zhang Zitong understood the order without being told explicitly. After she and Rong Mo left the room, she didn¡¯t go any further.

    ...

    When she saw that it was now just the three in the room, Liu Ning was really happy.

    <i>That stupid emperor¡¯s cultivation is negligible, and the father and daughter are both here. It seems that the heavens have taken pity and granted me this great opportunity for revenge!</i>

    The closer she was to sess, the calmer she got. There were many guards outside; if she failed to kill them in a single strike, not only would she fail her revenge, she would also die here. She nned to wait until Bi Qi was a bit closer to her before making her move, as he was the one with the highest cultivation. As long as she got rid of him, Bi Linglong wouldn¡¯t be a problem.

    ¡°There are no outsiders here now. Can you two tell me about your true purpose foring here?¡± Bi Linglong continued to maintain a certain distance from Zhao Ruizhi.

    ¡°I miss my wife. What other purpose would I have ining here?¡± Zhao Ruizhi replied while giggling.

    Bi Qi also chimed in, ¡°Exactly. Linglong, you and the emperor are husband and wifen after all. Aren¡¯t the two of you acting a bit too unfamiliar? Furthermore, the rumors involving you and that Zu An have been the talk of the town...¡±

    Bi Linglong retorted with a cold snort, ¡°Isn¡¯t that because of the nonsense he said during the court session?!¡±

    Zhao Ruizhi chuckled a few times in a foolish manner. ¡°That was just because I care too much about you, you know?¡±

    Bi Qi said just then, ¡°If the two of you continue to remain so aloof, this matter might never be settled.¡±

    ¡°What is father proposing?¡± Bi Linglong frowned slightly.

    ¡°You and his majesty should be a bit more intimate, and show that side in all kinds of public gatherings. That way, the rumors will be easily discredited,¡± Bi Qi said with a chuckle.

    Inside the wardrobe, Liu Ning frowned deeply.

    <i>Has Bi Qi gone mad?</i>

    <i>He clearly knows about his daughter and Zu An¡¯s intimate rtionship, and yet he wants his daughter to grow closer to Zhao Ruizhi?</i>

    Everyone knew that Zhao Ruizhi was a stupid emperor. Now that Zhao Han had already died and the powerful cultivators in the royal family had also died or were killed off, the Zhao n was already seriouslycking talents.

    Meanwhile, Zu An had the academy behind him, as well as the Qin n, Yu n, and other friendly ns who seemed stronger than others. Furthermore, Zu An¡¯s current strength and prestige alone was enough to make him a greater asset to invest in than Zhao Ruizhi.

    Bi Linglong also frowned, but her brows quickly eased up. ¡°What father says carries some reason. His majesty and I will publicly attend some events together to get rid of everyone¡¯s misgivings.¡±

    <i>This two-faced woman!</i>

    Liu Ning and Bi Linglong had fought openly and covertly for many years, so Liu Ning fully understood thetter''s personality. Linglong''s manner and tone of speaking sounded sincere, but what she was thinking was entirely different.

    <i>But why does she have to use such schemes even in front of her own father?</i>

    Bi Qi asked happily, ¡°Why wait a few days? How about we just do it today? There just happen to be a lot of people outside, so you can go out together and show them some intimacy.¡±

    Bi Linglong lowered her head. ¡°I feel unwell today, so let¡¯s change it to another day.¡±

    ¡°I wonder what part of your body is unwell? I happen to know a bit of medicine and can take a look for you.¡± Bi Qi had a bit of impatience on his face.

    Just then, Bi Linglong suddenly raised her head. ¡°Ever since I was designated as the crown princess, I was always raised in an isted courtyard with only women inside. No male servants were ever allowed near me. Your respected self strictly taught me that as a woman of the royal family, I had to have the awareness of a mother of the world, that it was of utmost importance to distinguish the boundaries between men and women. Not even my father or my own brothers coulde too close to me. And yet, you came here to check my illness?¡±

    Her expression grew cold. ¡°You are not my father. Who are you?!¡±

    Liu Ning was shocked. What was going on right now?!

    Bi Qi was a bit startled, but Zhao Ruizhi seemed to be really scared. He immediately left Bi Qi''s side and eximed, ¡°Who are you? Linglong, hurry and protect me!¡±

    But before he even got close to her, Bi Linglong already evaded to one side. She ended up right next to the wardrobe. Liu Ning could take her life with a mere turn of her hand, but she didn¡¯t do anything. She decided to keep watching for now.

    ¡°Linglong, what are you doing?¡± Zhao Ruizhi sounded a bit wronged.

    Bi Linglong didn¡¯t reply; instead, she shouted, ¡°Servants!¡±

    But Rong Mo and Zhang Zitong didn¡¯te in even after she shouted several times. Bi Linglong¡¯s expression changed drastically.

    Bi Qi said seriously, ¡°Give up. I have isted the entire room. No matter what happens inside, no one outside will be able to hear a thing.¡±

    Zhao Ruizhi also said to him with a smile, ¡°You were worried that I would expose myself, but it was still you who exposed yourself first.¡±

    ¡°You two are alien monsters?¡± Bi Linglong asked, intending to stall for time while quickly trying to think of a way to escape.

    Inside the wardrobe, Liu Ning¡¯s expression changed several times.

    <i>Thank goodness I brought a magic artifact that conceals my aura, since I came here to assassinate her. Otherwise, these two would probably have already noticed me.</i>

    ¡°Sometimes, it isn¡¯t a good thing for a woman to be too smart,¡± Bi Qi said sinisterly.

    ¡°Where is my father?¡± Bi Linglong quickly asked. As for Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s death, she couldn''t care less.

    ¡°Your father? Am I not your father right now?¡± Bi Qi raised his hand. ¡°This is your father¡¯s body! It can actually be just barely considered strong.¡±

    Bi Linglong¡¯s eyes turned red. She knew that her father was most likely already dead. ¡°So was the eradication of the Liu n actually your n?¡±

    ¡°That was actually your father¡¯s wish. What we did amounted to nothing more than fanning the mes a bit.¡± Bi Qi sneered. ¡°Unfortunately, he thought that he was the hunter, and yet he had no idea that everything was within our grasp. All he did amounted to preparing wedding clothes for the celebration of another.¡±

 Chapter 2252: Enemy Into Friend

    <h4>Chapter 2252: Enemy Into Friend</h4>

    ¡°No wonder so many things have changed in the capital recently. So it was your side causing chaos!¡± Bi Linglong gritted her teeth in anger. She was extremely furious right now. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Actually, all of this was nned by your father, but he didn¡¯t have the ability. Now that we''ve helped him achieve his goals, we¡¯ve just collected a bit of reward for ourselves.¡± Bi Qi¡¯s expression was a bit strange, as if he found it perfectly reasonable to use lives as a reward.

    Bi Linglong was shocked and furious, but the most important thing was still to get past the current crisis. ¡°Just how did you two make yourselves look just like them? Did you use Heart-Devouring Demon Spiders?¡± She had heard about those spiders from Zu An. There had been a huge investigation in the capital to check who was infected soon after.

    ¡°Heart-Devouring Demon Spider? Why would we use such low-level demonic things?¡± Bi Qi answered impatiently with a sneer.

    ¡°Stop wasting time and let me enjoy myself with her.¡± Zhao Ruizhi rubbed his hands as he moved closer and closer to her. He really enjoyed the feeling of seeing his prey in absolute fear. The more scared and rmed she was, the more excited he would be.

    As she looked at the sinister and wretched expression on Zhao Ruizhi''s fat face, Bi Linglong was filled with disgust.

    Bi Qi said with a frown, ¡°Don¡¯t take too long. We don¡¯t want any unnecessary trouble.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve always been a quick one.¡± Zhao Ruizhi chased after Bi Linglong as she ran away in panic. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, once you be mine, you''ll realize just how low-level your previous life was, and how great of a blessing it was for you to meet me.¡±

    ¡°Go to hell!¡± Bi Linglong shouted. A dagger appeared from her sleeves and stabbed at him.

    The speed and technique of she employed were brilliant. Unfortunately, in the face of absolute power, all that was meaningless. With just a casual strike of the de, Bi Linglong felt overwhelming force course through her hand. She could no longer hold onto the weapon and the dagger flew away.

    She didn¡¯t hesitate for even a moment and quickly removed the golden hairpin in her hair. It was something she always wore on her, but that wasn¡¯t only because it was pretty. It was also a magic weapon. As soon as it left her hands, the golden hairpin became muchrger, drawing an arc of light as it shot at Zhao Ruizhi like a flying sword.

    However, Zhao Ruizhi opened his mouth and swallowed the flying sword in a single gulp. Chewing loudly, he remarked, ¡°Hm, there¡¯s actually a bit of a fragrance to it. Tastes pretty good.¡±

    Bi Linglong was horrified. Something that could be used as the magic weapon of an empress definitely wouldn''t be weak. Even a grandmaster would be injured if they were even a bit careless. And yet this guy actually just ate it?

    While she was stunned, Zhao Ruizhi had already closed the distance. He grabbed straight at her. ¡°Why don¡¯t youe here, beautiful girl?¡±

    However, the moment his hand made contact with her clothes, the flower ornament between Bi Linglong¡¯s brows shone with a streak of golden light, knocking his hand away. Zhao Ruizhi was forced to back up over ten meters before he finally stabilized himself. He could feel his insides churning a bit.

    ¡°Hm?¡± Now, forget about Zhao Ruizhi, even Bi Qi was a bit surprised. ¡°This power...¡±

    Bi Linglong bit her lip. Since she was the crown princess, Zhao Han had given her some methods to protect herself, and stored it in that flower ornament. But she had already used it in the secret dungeon before. Later, Zu An hade up with a good idea, which was to keep a bit of power inside of it to protect her. At the time, she had teased him by saying that she was already the empress and had many guards, so there was no way she would encounter any danger.

    And yet, it was actually useful today! Unfortunately, it was only a one-time use power. Zu An hadn¡¯t anticipated that she would encounter such a terrifying enemy either.

    She didn¡¯t waste the opportunity, and crushed a bead. The pce floor shone with streaks of blue light, which gathered into a transparent cage that trapped Zhao Ruizhi and Bi Qi within. She then sprinted for the door. She knew fully well that there were many Imperial Pce guards outside. As long as they were alerted, there would be a chance of survival. Even though many of them were part of the emperor¡¯s army, they were still human. Once they learned that the emperor had been reced by a monster, they would definitely fight against the monsters.

    But when she reached the entrance, she couldn¡¯t smash through the way she had anticipated. Instead, she bounced off due to a strange power.

    Just then, there was a burst of apuse. Bi Qi pped while saying, ¡°I¡¯ve long heard about the empress¡¯ intelligence and wit. Sure enough, I¡¯ve seen just how brilliant you are today. If not for the fact that I''d already isted this area beforehand, we really would¡¯ve ended up letting you slip away from right under our noses.¡±

    Even as he spoke, he and Zhao Ruizhi had already destroyed the cage. Although the formation wasn¡¯t bad, how could it stop such terrifying monsters?

    When she saw how effortlessly the enemy dealt with all her defenses, despair filled Bi Linglong¡¯s eyes. There were clearly guards right outside, and yet the door felt like an uncrossable moat.

    ¡°I won¡¯t let you two humiliate me even if I die!¡± Bi Linglong knew that things probably wouldn¡¯t end well for her today. She decisively took out a knife and brought it up to her throat. If she ended up in these monsters¡¯ hands, she would only find herself wishing she were dead, so she¡¯d rather die on her own terms. The only regret she had was that she would never be able to see Ah Zu Again.

    ¡°Stop!¡± Zhao Ruizhi was shocked. It would be no fun if she died! He ran at her like a streak of lightning.

    <i>This woman really is decisive, but she doesn¡¯t understand the strength of our cultivation rank at all. Of course I¡¯ll stop her from cutting her own throat!</i>

    Just then, there was a huge explosion as the nearby wardrobe burst open. Countless wood fragments shot at Zhao Ruizhi like sharp knives, leaving him shocked. He hadn¡¯t expected there to be anyone else in the room at all.

    He brushed aside the wood fragments with a wave of his hand. But then, a sh of cold light appeared that forced even him to quickly back up. When he looked down, he saw that there was already a cut in his dragon robes. There was also a bit of blood.

    ¡°It¡¯s you?¡± Bi Linglong stopped because of the sudden developments. When she saw that it was actually her enemy of so many years, she couldn¡¯t react properly!

    <i>She actually saved me?</i>

    ¡°What are you standing around for? Move!¡± Liu Ning pushed her toward the secret passage. She actually felt awful right now. She had really never expected to one day actually save this damnedss.

    But when she learned that the eradication of the Liu n was actually the work of these monsters and that Bi Qi had already died, most of her resentment toward Bi Linglong had already disappeared. When she then recalled Bi Linglong¡¯s intimate rtionship with Zu An...

    Zheng Dan and Sang Qien had previously saved her for that same reason. If she just stood around without doing anything today, how was she going to face Zu An in the future? Besides, those two were the ringleaders in the eradication of the Liu n. She wanted to dice their corpses into a thousand pieces!

    ¡°You want to escape? There won¡¯t even be a door for you to do so!¡± Bi Qi harrumphed. He pressed his hand against the ground, and it seemed toe alive, sealing off the secret passage.

    Liu Ning was rmed to see the passage close.

    ¡°So it was the empress dowager. Very good, now we have everyone.¡± Zhao Ruizhi recognized Liu Ning. When he saw that they couldn''t escape anymore, a smile appeared on his plump face.

    Liu Ning looked at Bi Linglong unhappily. ¡°This is the worst. I¡¯m going to die because of you today.¡±

    Even though she was a grandmaster and was normally quite proud of that, she could sense that these two were clearly at the earth immortal rank. That was a level she definitely couldn''t go against.

    Even though Bi Linglong was grateful that she had been saved just now, there was no way she would admit to it. ¡°Hmph, you¡¯re the real idiot. You already knew they were monsters after they showed themselves, so why didn¡¯t you contact the guards outside instead of running over here just to die?¡±

    ¡°Hah, those people might have attacked me as soon as they see me,¡± Liu Ning said with a cold snort. ¡°Besides, if I had left, that guy would have ended up feeling broken-hearted.¡±

    Bi Linglong was stunned.

    <i>Judging from what she''s saying, does she also have something going on with Ah Zu?</i>

    Perhaps it was because this was a critical moment of life and death, but her brain was moving a bit faster than normal. She immediately thought back to various things that had happened in the past.

    <i>Right, that guy Zu An is extremely perverted. Why would he not take advantage of such an opportunity?</i>

    ¡°That guy really is hateful. He even wants a woman like you.¡± Despite what Bi Linglong said, she knew Liu Ning was an incredible beauty. Otherwise, Zhao Han wouldn¡¯t have picked her to be the empress. Besides, the signs of age weren''t as obvious for cultivators as ordinary people. When she stood next to Bi Linglong, people would only think that Liu Ning was an older sister at most; who would think of her as being someone from an older generation?

    ¡°You...!¡± Liu Ning gritted her teeth. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have meddled earlier!¡±

    Zhao Ruizhi clicked his tongue in wonder. ¡°In my opinion, the empress dowager seems to still be very attractive.¡±

    Bi Qi said in an awe-inspiring voice, ¡°This is perfect. If we turn both the empress and the empress dowager into our people, we¡¯ll have an even stronger pretext to control the entire world.¡±

    When she heard what he said, Bi Linglong knew that there was no way to save herself. She couldn''t help but say rather apologetically to Liu Ning, ¡°It¡¯s all my fault for involving you. I¡¯ll do my best to stall for some time. Try to run away and don¡¯t worry about me. It¡¯s enough as long as you reveal their identities to the entire world!¡±

    ¡°How could you possibly stop them with your shoddy skills? I¡¯ll try to stop them and you run.¡± Liu Ning took a deep breath. She stared at the two on the other side, not wishing to waste even a single second.

    ¡°Run? I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll be able to.¡± Bi Qi¡¯s expression turned cold. ¡°Let¡¯s do this together to wrap this up as quickly as possible.¡±

    ¡°Fine!¡± Zhao Ruizhi also knew that Zu An was already back. Things would be troublesome if he noticed what was going on here.

    The two of them attacked immediately from two sides. Liu Ning felt as if she was being trapped within some kind of strange forcefield. It was as if she had entered quicksand, making even moving difficult.

    ¡°An earth immortal? It¡¯s not as if I haven¡¯t met one before!¡± Liu Ning clenched her teeth. Her entire body suddenly erupted with red light.

    Whether it was Zhao Han in the past or Zu An in the present, they were both the world¡¯s strongest individuals. After being around them all the time, her worldview was naturally much different now. She also had countless treasures on her. She struggled free from the forcefield with a secret technique, and then sent a palm at the ground around the secret passage. The entire room seemed to have been locked down by an isting barrier, so the tunnel was their only hope of survival.

    A hole appeared, revealing the secret tunnel that had just been plugged up. Liu Ning pushed Bi Linglong in that direction.

    Bi Qi¡¯s expression was cold as he stopped all of Liu Ning¡¯s frantic attacks; meanwhile, he sent Zhao Ruizhi to stop Bi Linglong. With a sinister smile, Zhao Ruizhi instantly appeared at the entrance to grab Bi Linglong.

    Bi Linglong¡¯s cultivation was extremely weakpared to theirs. The powerful pressure made it hard for her to even breathe.

    However, in her moment of despair, the ceiling exploded. A beautiful and bewitching crescent moon appeared in the room.

 Chapter 2253: A Slow Arrival

    <h4>Chapter 2253: A Slow Arrival</h4>

    Zhao Ruizhi was caught off guard and almost let the crescent moon cut his neck. Even though he avoided it in time, a segment of his hair was still cut. He saw that it wasn¡¯t a crescent moon at all, but actually a rapidly spinning weapon. It buzzed while spinning around a cool and elegant beauty whose hair reached all the way to her bottom.

    If he had seen a woman this beautiful any other time, Zhao Ruizhi would definitely have felt really happy. But he couldn''t bring himself to feel that way right now at all.

    ¡°Will this never end?!¡± Zhao Ruizhi eximed in annoyance. It was now the second time that a woman had suddenly showed up to get in the way. Was today destined for a peach blossom love affair or something?!

    The ck-robed woman seized the chance to take Bi Linglong back to Liu Ning¡¯s side.

    When they saw the hair that reached all the way to her waist, Liu Ning and Bi Linglong both blurted out at the same time, ¡°Devil Sect Master Yun Jianyue!¡±

    ¡°Shush!¡± Jianyue put her finger on her lips. ¡°I don¡¯t want the entire world to know that I saved you guys!¡±

    Liu Ning had a weird expression. She had a really strong impression of this woman. Yun Jianyue was precisely the one who had stopped her a few days prior, which was why she hadn¡¯t been able to immediately leave the pce. Butter, when Eunuch Lu ambushed her, it was the same woman who had let her go, helping her stop Eunuch Lu.

    <i>But why is she helping me again this time?</i>

    Bi Linglong also had a strong impression of this woman. In the past, it was precisely because of Yun Jianyue¡¯s invasion of the Imperial Pce that she had been saved by Zu An for the first time, leading to the romance theyter shared. Yun Jianyue was the Devil Sect Master, someone ranked within the top three of the court¡¯s wanted list.

    She suddenly remembered the reason why Liu Ning had saved her and her expression immediately became strange. ¡°You aren¡¯t helping us because of Ah Zu too, are you?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Yun Jianyue chuckled when she saw the two women''s expressions change. ¡°Ah Zu is the lover of my precious disciple, so what¡¯s the big deal with me helping out his other sweethearts a bit?¡±

    When she mentioned her disciple, her expression immediately grew dim. She really wondered if Qiu Honglei could be saved.

    Bi Linglong immediately felt dejected. Zu An was the glorious regent, and yet he actually had an ambiguous rtionship with the Devil Sect¡¯s saintess! What was even more infuriating was that out of all the beautiful women he knew, at least eight out of ten had a thing going on with him.

    <i>That guy really is too much!</i>

    But she had to admit that she was thankful for Zu An fooling around so much. Otherwise, there wouldn¡¯t be so many ¡®sisters¡¯ here to help her right now.

    ¡°Yun Jianyue, since you¡¯re known as the Devil Sect master, you should be a bit closer to us and rely on us for help. We¡¯ll make you a feudal lord at the very least. Why are you helping them instead?¡± Bi Qi was a bit upset. He had done his homework beforehand, after all. He had some understanding of all of the strongest individuals of this world, let alone someone who had helped out King Wu during the attack on the Liu n.

    Yun Jianyue said coldly, ¡°Our Holy Sect''s members are only called devils because our ideals don''t align with the court¡¯s. Why would we want to be anything like you real monsters?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re courting death!¡± Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s face warped. He had been interrupted again and again today. He decided not to show mercy anymore.

    Yun Jianyue had a faint smile as she said, ¡°I think you two should actually start thinking about your own situation now.¡±

    While she spoke, her Crescent Ring flew toward the door and smashed open a hole. Outside, Rong Mo and Zhang Zitong had been frantically hitting the door. Li Guanshi led the emperor¡¯s troops, while Jiao Sigun and Pu Duandiao led the empress¡¯ soldiers. The Armed Escort Division¡¯s Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang were present, as well as many Embroidered Envoys. They all hurried into the pce.

    They had all been spurred on by the chaos caused by Yun Jianyue dropping from the sky. The emperor and empress were in the room too, so they were all worried that there could be assassins.

    When they saw these people rush in, Zhao Ruizhi and Bi Qi¡¯s expressions changed. They quickly put away their malicious auras.

    Liu Ning and Bi Linglong looked at Yun Jianyue with admiration. At first, they had thought that even with Yun Jianyue, the three of them still wouldn¡¯t be able to win against these two monsters. How could they have known that she had never nned to fight against them, and instead wanted to borrow the power of the entire Imperial Pce?

    Liu Ning stared at the hole in the door. She hadn''t even been able to break through the barrier earlier. Even though Yun Jianyue had the benefit of a superior weapon, the power she had disyed didn¡¯t seem to be much different from that of an earth immortal.

    <i>It seems she held backst time...</i>

    <i>Hmph, it was just because I was injured for too long and had my cultivation stalled. But with Ah Zu¡¯s miraculous nourishment, it shouldn¡¯t take that long for me to catch up to her at all.</i>

    ¡°These two are alien imposters. Arrest them!¡± Bi Linglong reacted quickly and immediately pointed at Zhao Ruizhi and Bi Qi. She quickly and concisely revealed the truth.

    When they heard what she said, everyone who entered was shocked. <i>What is going on?</i>

    Rong Mo and Zhang Zitong were the first to move to protect Bi Linglong. They looked at Zhao Ruizhi and Bi Qi vigntly.

    ¡°Nonsense!¡± Bi Qi shouted first before Zhao Ruizhi could say anything. ¡°Linglong, do you really have to make fools of everyone in public?¡±

    All of the guards here were now even more confused.

    Bi Qi then began to exin, ¡°There was a bit of conflict between the empress and emperor. Alright, everyone can disperse now.¡±

    Bi Linglong quickly said, ¡°He is not my father. My father has already been killed by the monsters, and even his majesty fell for their evil schemes. They wanted to kill me just now!¡±

    The empress¡¯ guards and the Armed Escort Army immediately drew their weapons to protect Bi Linglong¡¯s group.

    Zhao Ruizhi finally said, ¡°Linglong, you still can¡¯t bear to part with that Zu An, right? You¡¯re even framing us because of that!¡±

    Amotion immediately broke out. Comparatively, Bi Qi and the emperor being alien monsters was just too absurd. It was the empress and regent¡¯s affair that everyone knew about. Such a motive seemed to make a bit more sense.

    When she saw Bi Linglong fall at a disadvantage, Liu Ning said, ¡°I am the empress dowager. I can attest that these two are fake!¡±

    Many people looked at each other in dismay when they saw that it was Liu Ning. They were all officials in the pce, so many of them had seen the empress dowager before. Now that both the empress and empress dowager were saying that the emperor and Bi Qi were alien monsters, their words seemed to carry more weight.

    Now, even Officer Li Guanshi reflexively chose to move some distance away from Zhao Ruizhi. At the same time, he ced a hand on his de¡¯s handle in preparation.

    Bi Qi said with a cold snort, ¡°You are clearly doing this because of your hatred for his majesty and myself for the Liu n¡¯s destruction, now that you have found a chance for revenge. Furthermore, you actually recruited the Devil Sect master Yun Jianyue, so I¡¯m sure you were just trying to seize the empress and force her to speak untrue things. Your majesty, please forgive the empress for her earlier mistake. What she said was not what she truly believed.¡±

    Zhao Ruizhi secretly gave him a big thumbs up. When he heard this, he nodded and said, ¡°Of course, why would I me Linglong?¡±

    At first, Zhao Si felt really nervous. He had offended the empress and empress dowager earlier, but that was because he had the backing of his majesty. But if his majesty was a monster, no good end awaited him no matter which side won! Now that he heard what Bi Qi said, he gained a sudden understanding and said, ¡°That¡¯s right, what kind of person is the Devil Sect Master? Everyone knows that she''s evil! They want to overthrow the court and actually thought of such a ridiculous ploy!¡±

    The guards that Zhao Ruizhi and BI Qi had previously swapped out spoke up in agreement. The situation soon became entirely different. The emperor¡¯s guards stood on one side, while the empress¡¯ forces stood on the other. Both sides were extremely tense and a battle seemed to be on the verge of breaking out.

    Bi Qi looked coldly at the Armed Escort Army, as well as Jiao Sigun and Pu Duandiao. ¡°You two actually dare to draw your des against his majesty? Are you thinking of rebelling?¡±

    When they heard his shout, Bi Linglong¡¯s soldiers looked at each other in dismay. They became a bit hesitant. Publicly going against the emperor really was a bit outrageous. They all had their families and homes; none of them wanted to bear the stain of a criminal charge.

    Just then, Bi Linglong spoke up. Her tone was extremely calm. ¡°It¡¯s quite easy to determine which one of us is lying. We should all just let ourselves get captured and let the court bind us with the restrictive chains used by the Imperial Pce¡¯s guards. Then, once the court¡¯s important ministers and academy expertse and examine our bodies, we will naturally know the truth.¡± n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Nonsense! His majesty¡¯s body is more precious than any amount of gold, and you are the mother of an empire; how can you be bound like that and even have your body carelessly examined? What dignity would the court and the royal family have left?¡± Bi Qi loudly protested.

    His exnation was fully reasonable, and his soldiers nodded in agreement. None of them dared to arrest both the emperor and empress.

    Bi Linglong frowned. This opponent was incredibly cunning and always managed to neutralize her attacks with proper pretexts. It really was a bit hard for her to deal with now.

    Yun Jianyue said with a smile, ¡°Don¡¯t fret, little girl. We¡¯ll see the results soon enough.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Bi Linglong and Liu Ning were both confused. In response, Yun Jianyue only smiled.

    However, Bi Qi and Zhao Ruizhi exchanged a look. They were getting a bit impatient. They knew that Zu An had already returned to the capital; who knew when he woulde here? If that happened, it would all be over.

    When he realized that, Zhao Ruizhi shouted loudly, ¡°Ah, it¡¯s so annoying! Just capture all of them! Everyone who goes against this order will be considered a traitor without exception!¡±

    When they saw the emperor act up, his guards all voiced their agreement. They drew their weapons and pushed toward Bi Linglong¡¯s group.

    The empress¡¯ guards and the Armed Escort Army were all a bit doubtful. The emperor¡¯s words were like gold and jade; if they went against them...

    Just then, Xiao Jianren hurried over with a group of Embroidered Envoys and yelled, ¡°There must be a misunderstanding here! We should take our time in making a decision!¡±

    Bi Qi¡¯s expression grew cold. ¡°Sir Xiao, if I recall correctly, the Embroidered Envoy are his majesty¡¯s private guards and only listen to his majesty alone. Arrest that Devil Sect witch and those female sinners immediately!¡±

    Xiao Jianren took a deep breath, as if to help him set his resolve. He then replied, ¡°The Embroidered Envoy should naturally obey his majesty¡¯s orders, but what if his majesty is no longer his majesty? Everyone, protect the empress!¡±

    He wasn¡¯t actually sure if the emperor was real or fake. However, when he remembered what the Chief Commander had told him, he decided to go for broke and firmly stand at the empress¡¯ side.

    Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang were both happy to see that. With the Embroidered Envoy joining the mix, they now had a bit more confidence.

    Bi Qi¡¯s face darkened. He knew he couldn''t stall for any more time. He immediately gave the order, ¡°Arrest all of these rebels and traitors!¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± The trusted aides they had swapped out heeded the order. Among them, Zhao Si¡¯s group was the most energetic.

    Li Guanshi frowned slightly. Even though the situation was a bit strange, his role and duty prevented him from saying anything. He intended to first restrain the empress and the others. Either way, if the empress dowager really recovered her authority, his side that had participated in the coup wouldn''t meet a good end.

    Just then, azy voice called out, ¡°Who did you call rebels and traitors?¡±

 Chapter 2254: Isnâ€™t His Majesty Committing Treason?

    Bi Qi and Zhao Ruizhi both frowned when they heard the voice. They exchanged a look and saw the concern in each other¡¯s eyes.

    Unlike them, Bi Linglong and the three women¡¯s eyes lit up. They looked in the direction where the voice hade from.

    There was a single person standing in the air, looking down on everyone else. He walked over step by step, as if there was a transparent flight of stairs in the air.

    There were many powerful cultivators in the Imperial Pce, most of whom were shocked when they saw that. One could fly once they reached the master rank, but everyone still did so by borrowing the power of the world. They could move quickly, but it was very difficult to move slowly, let alone take leisurely steps like this.

    <em>The regent¡¯s cultivation seemed to have increased by quite a bit once again!</em>n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Ah¡­¡± Bi Linglong was about to call out to him when her expression froze. He wasn¡¯t alone, but had another exceptional beauty with him, and he was holding her hand. She knew the woman; it was none other than the mighty and unapproachable Madam Wu. She was confused.

    <em>Why is this guy with Madam Wu right now?</em>

    But her thoughts moved quickly.

    <em>If he dares to even flirt with the empress dowager, it¡¯s not all that surprising for him to be interested in the young and pretty Madam Wu.</em><strong>You have sessfully trolled Bi Linglong for +166 +166 +166¡­</strong>

    Liu Ning had a weird expression. First it was Bi Linglong, then Madam Wu; and there were even rumors about Madam Jin and Madam Dai¡­ All of Zhao Han¡¯s daughters-inw had been thrown into the pot together! If he found out about this, wouldn¡¯t he juste back to life out of anger?

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Liu Ning for +120 +120 +120¡­</strong>

    The reason why Yun Jianyue had remained calm was because she had previously sensed Zu An¡¯s aura from the other side and knew that he would be here soon. However, as she stared at their sped hands, the look in her eyes turned a bit dangerous as well.

    <em>This guy already screwed up my rtionship with my disciple, and yet he won¡¯t even let my little sister go?</em>

    <em>He really likes to finish his te!</em>

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +250 +250 +250¡­</strong>

    Yun Yuqing was embarrassed, but also felt a different kind of bliss. She and Zu An had appeared in front of everyone¡¯s eyes while holding hands! This was more useful than any public deration. Furthermore, walking step by step together felt as if they were celebrating a wedding. Everyone present served as a witness.

    And yet, when she saw the way they looked at her, she was still a bit embarrassed. The empress and her big sister especially looked as if they were about to swallow her up whole.

    <em>Huh? Is that the empress dowager, who''s been missing for many days?</em>

    <em>Why is she looking at me like that too?</em>

    Although he saw their Rage points, Zu An pretended to not notice the women''s anger at him. Instead, he looked at Zhao Ruizhi and Bi Qi before saying, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect the Imperial Pce to be so lively.¡±

    The soldiers who had been approaching Bi Linglong all stopped when his gaze passed over them. They all swallowed with difficulty and subconsciously backed up.

    Wang Bolin and Zhang Jiang almost cried tears of joy when they saw him return. They really had been shouldering the lives of their entire ns by supporting the empress in this situation! The pressure they had felt was tremendous. With Zu An¡¯s return, however, it was all worth it.

    Jiao Sigun and Piao Duandiao wiped the fine sweat off their foreheads.

    <em>We don¡¯t have to face the emperor¡¯s wrath anymore! Our feeble limbs can¡¯t possibly withstand such a heavy responsibility.</em>

    The Embroidered Envoys had knowing smiles on their faces, especially Zhang Zitong. As they looked at Zu An, their eyes carried something of a worshipful expression.

    Bi Qi cupped his hands. ¡°So the regent has arrived. His majesty and I have been worried to death ever since you went missing.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, <em>What a crafty fox.</em> He replied with a smile, ¡°Could it have been worry that I didn¡¯t die?¡±

    Bi Qi¡¯s expression changed. ¡°Regent, please do not joke about this!¡±

    The empress¡¯ guards had strange expressions. Bi Qi definitely hadn''t so agreeable just a moment before. Now that the regent appeared, however, he didn¡¯t even dare to show any hostility!

    Bi Linglong knew that it was more important to deal with the most pressing matter. She suppressed the dissatisfaction she felt and quickly reminded Zu An, ¡°Both he and the emperor have already been reced by alien monsters.¡±

    Zu An gave the two of them a surprised look. He hadn¡¯t expected the gue Monarch and Doomsday Spirit that he''d been so worried about tracking down to actually deliver themselves right to him!

    <em>How kind of you!</em>

    Zhao Ruizhi and Bi Qi both had unpleasant expressions. They had been thinking highly of themselves just a moment ago, believing there was no way Zu An would be able to find them because they were hiding inside the Imperial Pce.

    Bi Qi gave Zhao Ruizhi an annoyed look.

    <em>It was all because this guy ended up being affected by human desires that everything we worked to prepare is now about to fall through.</em>

    Zhao Ruizhi shot a look right back.

    <em>Weren¡¯t you here all this time too? Why didn¡¯t you immediately detain Bi Linglong instead of ming me?</em>

    ¡°Ahem, Linglong, please don¡¯t speak nonsense. How could your father and his majesty be alien monsters?¡± Bi Qi still did his best to carry out one final struggle.

    Zu An said with a faint smile, ¡°Whether you''re alien monsters or not, won¡¯t we find out after I do a simple check?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯te over here!¡± Zhao Ruizhi screamed. ¡°I don¡¯t want you to examine me! You bullied Linglong, and now you want to harm me too!¡±

    The emperor¡¯s faction nodded inwardly. The empress and regent had an unclear rtionship. Even if they weren¡¯t alien monsters, the regent could still use this as a chance to frame them.

    Just then, a guard hurriedly ran over, even stumbling midway. ¡°Reporting to your majesty, the regent, he¡­¡±

    He suddenly saw Zu An midway through his sentence, causing his voice toe to a screeching halt.

    ¡°What about me?¡± Zu An asked with a warm smile. That person suddenly trembled all over, and couldn''t speak at all.

    ¡°Speak, what happened?¡± Bi Qi grinned. He had a rough idea of what it was, thinking, <em>This person came at the perfect time.</em>

    A stream of warmth entered the guard''s body, allowing that person to slowly recover. He gave Zu An a look, and then took a few steps toward Bi Qi and Zhao Ruizhi. He said, ¡°King Wu led his men to search and seize the Jiang n. At first, everything was going smoothly, but then the regent suddenly arrived. Then, King Wu was¡­ turned into a cripple.¡±

    Everyone present gasped when they heard those words. The Jiang n¡¯s affairs still hadn¡¯t been released to the public, so this was the first time many people were hearing of it in the pce. Even though this person hadn¡¯t spoken about how King Wu turned into a cripple, judging from Zu An¡¯s expression, they could all tell who was responsible.

    <em>But¡­ Why is Madam Wu holding hands with Zu An if her husband was just crippled? She doesn¡¯t even look aggrieved at all, and even looks as blessed as a newlywed!</em>

    That sight caused many people¡¯s brains to short-circuit.

    ¡°Regent, you are quite daring.¡± Bi Qi was secretly overjoyed.

    He was just about to use that matter as a reason to cause a fuss when the guard hurriedly said, ¡°Also¡­¡±

    ¡°Also?¡±

    ¡°Later, King Yi and the East Central General, as well as the North Central General, brought their men over to see what was happening. After a round of disagreements, conflict broke out. They were all killed by the regent,¡± the guard quickly said.

    ¡°What?¡± Zhao Si¡¯s body grew unsteady and he almost fainted.

    <em>My dad died?</em>

    He was shocked and furious. ¡°Bastard Zu, are you thinking ofmitting treason? I will definitely report this matter to the eight dukes and have them uphold justice!¡±

    That guard then quickly added, ¡°The eight dukes have already received news and made an appearance. The Grand Officer was¡­ was also killed.¡±

    Zhao Si was stunned. He asked, ¡°What about the other dukes? Did they not say anything?¡±

    The guard shook his head. ¡°They seemed to exchange some words with the regent, and then they began to take care of restoringw and order to that ce.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± Zhao Si was in disbelief. Zu An had killed so many members of the royal family, and even one of the eight dukes had been killed, and yet the others just let it go?

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s it.¡± The guard nodded.

    Zhao Si opened his mouth, but he didn¡¯t know what to say. Forget about him, everyone else had roughly the same expression. This information was just a bit too explosive.

    ¡°Zu An, you really are rebelling?¡± Bi Qi shouted what everyone else was thinking.

    ¡°The ones who have rebelled seem to be your Bi n and King Yi, I believe. I am the honorable empress dowager, and yet I was chased all around by your people like a stray dog!¡± Liu Ning finally couldn''t take it anymore and spoke up for Zu An.

    Many guards in the Imperial Pce swallowed with difficulty. There were just too many shocking insider details being brought into the open today. They wondered if they would even live to see tomorrow.

    ¡°That is because your Liu n was too bossy and didn¡¯t treat his majesty with any respect. How many key positions in the civil and military departments were upied by your people? At that point, was it the Zhao n who ruled this empire, or your Liu n?¡± Bi Qi retorted with a cold snort.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t the entire court belong to your Bi n now? ording to what you are saying, isn¡¯t the Bi n alsomitting treason?¡± Liu Ning stared coldly at him.

    Bi Linglong was speechless.

    <em>Sis, that guy can¡¯t represent our entire Bi n, okay?</em>

    ¡°What an annoying troublemaker. It was his majesty who personally dered your treason.¡± Bi Qi waved his sleeves. He clearly didn¡¯t wish to argue this topic.

    Zu An asked just then, ¡°Oh? Then may I ask why his majestymitted treason?¡±

    When they heard his question, everyone¡¯s eyeballs almost popped out of their sockets.

    Bi Qi was even more worked up, eximing with an angryugh, ¡°What did you just say? Are you trying to overturn the order of the heavens?¡±

    ¡°This dynasty was established under the rule of filial piety. Filial piety is the national policy. The emperor¡¯s natural mother is from the Liu n, as well as the older sister of the current empress dowager, and yet he dered that the Liu n rebelled, massacring the seniors of the Liu n. He even sent people to chase down the current empress dowager. Someone as unfilial as this shakes the root of this dynasty. If that isn''t treason, then what is it?¡±

    Zhao Ruizhi clenched his teeth when he heard thaat. Unfortunately, he was currently ying the role of an idiot and couldn''t really say anything. He could only continuously give Bi Qi looks.

    Bi Qi shouted, ¡°Ever since ancient times, when has a subject ever been allowed to criticize the ruler? You¡¯ve killed so many members of the royal family today, and even dared to kill the prestigious Grand Officer. When webine that with all of the princes and members of the eight dukes that you have killed, we can see that you have rapacious designs after all! You are trying to bring down this empire!¡±

    When he heard that, Zhao Si shouted in agreement, ¡°That¡¯s right! This Zu guy had an illicit rtionship with the empress in secret, and they have already plotted actively to rebel. Everyone had better listen up! Whomever follows him is a traitor and ought to have nine generations of their ns eradicated!¡±

    ¡°Illicit rtionship¡­¡± Bi Linglong¡¯s face turned pale when she heard that, and her body staggered backward.

    Just then, Liu Ning shot over to Zhao Si¡¯s side like a sh of lightning and smacked the back of his head with a palm strike.

    <em>Crack!</em>

    Zhao Si¡¯s skull fractured, sending blood gushing out of his seven apertures. He died on the spot.

    ¡°Hmph, what nonsense. You actually dare to criticize the empress? You ought to have died ten thousand times over!¡±

    She did so first and foremost for revenge. Back then, this guy had been one of the main perpetrators behind the political upheaval of the capital. The second reason was that, if she continued to let these scoundrels sway public opinion, it would be unfavorable to Ah Zu. As for Bi Qi and Zhao Ruizhi, she trusted that Zu An would ensure her safety.

    Sure enough, when he saw what she did, Bi Qi¡¯s body shook a bit. However, he gave Zu An a look and didn¡¯t act. He could only protest, ¡°You¡¯re actually killing someone to silence them?¡±

    ¡°This empress dowager has already killed that person. What can you do about it?¡± Liu Ning returned to Zu An¡¯s side and gave him a provocative look.

    ¡°You¡­¡± Bi Qi¡¯s expression changed several times. The soldiers under hismand immediately waned in morale.

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°Now that I think of it, which one of those alien monsters wasn¡¯t aggressive and domineering, acting as if everyone else was trash and they had a right to conquer the world? The two of you have pushed this far, and yet don¡¯t even dare to do a thing. You really are the shame of the alien monsters.¡±

    Zhao Ruizhi couldn''t hold himself back and shouted, ¡°You¡¯re only doing this to obtain Linglong! That¡¯s why you¡¯re framing us as alien monsters! Even though I¡¯m not smart, I''m still the emperor! The emperor cannot be humiliated! Men, kill this traitor for me! Bastard Zu, if you have the skill, thene and kill me! History will remember you as a scoundrel whomitted regicide!¡±

    When they heard this solemn and stirring speech, many of the emperor¡¯s soldiers directed their anger at theirmon enemy. Their eyes became fiery, and they shouted that they would protect the emperor to the end. There were still many people loyal to the emperor in the Zhou dynasty, which had already ruled this world for many years.

    Zu An admired their courage. However, his expression remained extremely calm as he said, ¡°We¡¯ll know if they¡¯re alien monsters once I capture them.¡±

    As soon as he said that, he appeared in front of Zhao Ruizhi and grabbed toward thetter''s face.

 Chapter 2255: Everything Erased

    ¡°Stop!¡±

    ¡°Protect his majesty!¡±

    The guards were all horrified, but not even the leader, Li Guanshi, could stop Zu An in time, let alone anyone else.

    Fortunately, a figure appeared in front of Zhao Ruizhi and sent a palm out, dying Zu An¡¯s attack slightly. Both he and Zhao Ruizhi flew backward a hundred meters before finally standing still again, and then he coughed out a mouthful of blood. Bi Qi eximed, ¡°Regicide! Zu An wants to kill the emperor!¡±

    When they heard the shouts, Li Guanshi and the other guards all drew their weapons to surround Zu An.

    Wang Bolin and Zhang Zitong exchanged a look. They clenched their teeth and said, ¡°Men, protect her highness!¡±

    They knew this was the chance to make their choice. They could only follow the regent to the end now. If they watched the regent lose without doing anything, they would definitely be eliminated by the emperor¡¯s faction after the fact. Soon after, the Armed Escort Division and Li Guanshi shed.

    Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun clenched their teeth. ¡°Brothers, we¡¯re going to stake it all!¡±

    They were close to Zu An and the empress, and thus would naturally help them.The Embroidered Envoys secretly asked Xiao Jianren, ¡°What should we do now?¡±

    Normally, the Embroidered Envoy only listened to the Chief Commander and his majesty¡¯s orders. The fact that they even had to ask this question meant that they were already wavering.

    Xiao Jianren said seriously, ¡°Help the empress and the regent!¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± The Embroidered Envoys all sighed in relief. They then rushed at the imperial guardsmanded by Li Guanshi. The bnce of victory soon started to tip.

    Zu An looked at Zhao Ruizhi and Bi Qi, asking, ¡°Which one of you is the Doomsday Spirit and which one is the gue Monarch?¡±

    Their expressions changed, and they sent their ¡®greetings¡¯ to all of the Thousand-Footed Elder¡¯s rtives.

    <em>That guy actually told him everything!</em>

    ¡°What are you talking about? I don¡¯t understand. Cease trying to nder me and his majesty,¡± Bi Qi said with a cold snort.

    Zu An looked at the two of them with amusement. ¡°ording to the information I obtained before, both of you seemed to be quite cunning. I was worried that I wouldn¡¯t be able to find you, and would have to always act reactively. And yet, the two of you actually chose to be such prominent big figures! I don¡¯t know whether to say your luck is bad, or if you two really are stupid.¡±

    Zhao Ruizhi and Bi Qi¡¯s expressions immediately darkened.

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled the Doomsday Spirit for +745 +745 +745¡­</strong>

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled the gue Monarch for +745 +745 +745¡­</strong>

    How could they not be angry? They were quite proud of their disguises, and they had a huge advantage. They had been in the best position to stir up conflict within the human race, and use their own power to wear down Zu An. And yet because of their rashness today, they had made a huge mistake and were exposed. How could they have anticipated that the seemingly easy to capture Bi Linglong would actually suddenly have two women at the peak of grandmaster rank appear to help her?

    They had also been worried about releasing their energies and being detected by Zu An, so they had always fought conservatively. However, the women that appeared one after another were stronger than the previous ones, so they couldn''t even deal with them using a few attacks.

    On top of that, the isting formation they had casually set up was just meant to block sound and to prevent Bi Linglong from escaping. How could they have anticipated that two tigresses would appear and smash through the barrier?

    Then, Zu An had arrived¡­

    Zu An saw the Rage points that came in and felt that sometimes, luck came when you least expected it. He didn¡¯t want there to be a meaningless ughter among the Imperial Pce¡¯s guards; as such, he shed forward and attacked both individuals.

    The two sneered.

    <em>Does he really think he''s unrivaled in this world?</em>

    <em>He¡¯s actually attacking us both at the same time?</em>

    They were nning to teach him a lesson when their expressions changed, because they suddenly felt that they were facing Zu An¡¯s full-power attack. His hand was white and clean, and yet it felt more terrifying than a mountain crashing down.

    No, how could a mountain describe its power? This felt as if the world itself was crashing down on them!

    The Doomsday Spirit and gue Monarch didn¡¯t dare to hold back. If they continued to maintain their human identities, they would be instantly ttened into meat pancakes. Soon after, their backs burst open. Two streaks of light, one ck and one white, flew out and appeared in midair.

    The white monster was like a ghost that gave off an air of resentment and chaos. It was naturally the Doomsday Spirit.

    Although the Doomsday Spirit had at least some redeeming aesthetic qualities, the gue Monarch was ugliness incarnate. It was like a mountain of ck flesh, and its entire body was shrouded in thick ck energy. Ragged clothes that were even worse than that of a street beggar covered its body.

    Small strips that resembled threads hung off it and fluttered in the wind. But upon closer inspection, they weren¡¯t threads at all, but rather lines of mice biting on each others¡¯ tails. It was impossible to think of them as normal mice, as they all had red eyes and sharp teeth. What seemed to be ck energy was actually made up of blood-sucking mosquitoes and green-headed flies that flew around it. There were even countless roaches crawling across its body.

    All of the women present began to retch when they saw this. It really was too disgusting.

    The guards who had been fighting against each other all stopped as well. They saw that Bi Qi and the emperor were lying on the ground with their backs ripped open, their innards already long gone. They were nothing more than empty shells. How could they still not know if the empress was telling the truth or not? These two were monsters after all!

    As she looked at her father¡¯s corpse, Bi Linglong¡¯s eyes couldn''t help but turn red. Even though she had already known that her father was most likely already dead, seeing him die so tragically still made tears trickle out of her eyes.

    Liu Ning only felt that Bi Qi¡¯s condition was fully deserved. She almostughed in the face of her enemies¡¯ death, but out of consideration for Bi Linglong¡¯s face, she decided to forcefully stop her grin.

    However, her eyes quickly moved toward Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s corpse. Even though they called him an idiot emperor in private, he was still her older sister¡¯s only son. Seeing him end up like this, she wondered if her older sister would have felt sad. When she saw that, she couldn''t bring herself to feel happy anymore.

    ¡°Hmph, I was nning to hold off on killing everyone untilter, but since you''re all courting death, you can feel the fear of death now,¡± the gue Monarch spat angrily.

    Countless hands spread out, moving to activate formations scattered throughout the capital. He nned to use the flesh of all the creatures in the capital as a sacrifice, and obtain tremendous power through it to defeat this powerful foe.

    But nothing happened even after he muttered incantations for a while. He was stunned.

    ¡°What is going on?¡± He tried to activate the great formation again, but he quickly discovered that he had lost his link to it.

    ¡°Are you looking for these things?¡± Zu An asked. With a wave of his hand, several ck banners flew out. Every single one had strange runes on it, and was surrounded by ck energy. However, under the pressure Zu An exerted, they couldn''t do anything.

    ¡°How can this be?!¡± The gue Monarch was shocked and angry.

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled the gue Monarch for +666 +666 +666¡­</strong>

    ¡°The reason it took so long for me toe here was because I was taking care of these shitty things.¡± Zu An had learned about the grand formation from the Thousand-Footed Elder. He''d thus run around pulling out all of these formations to make sure it wouldn¡¯t be a threat anymore. He had a lot of formation knowledge to begin with, and now that he had resonated with the will of the world, it wasn¡¯t hard to find these things at all.

    ¡°So what if this formation is gone? I still have other methods!¡± The gue Monarch¡¯s entire body shook, and then endless cockroaches, mice, mosquitoes, and flies spread through the air. As long as they touched a living being, they would immediately spread gue.

    He''d decided that he would just use the Imperial Pce¡¯s people as the source to spread a gue through the entire capital, and then to the rest of the world. Even though it would end up damaging his foundation, there was nothing else he could do now. Zu An¡¯s cultivation was high, but there was no way to effectively use powerful cultivation against a gue.

    ¡°Haha, there are so many seeds of gue being released. No matter how great your cultivation is, how many of them can you stop?¡± The Doomsday Spirit also chuckled. As long as a single one escaped, the gue would be sessfully released.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Zu An took out the Soul Summoning Banner that was full of ghostly energy. He gently waved it at the mice and other pests in the air.

    The pests trembled, and then they all fell out of the sky. They couldn''t scatter across the world at all. Furthermore, what awaited them was the White Lotus me, which burned thempletely to ashes without any traces remaining.

    Just like that, everything waspletely erased!

    The Doomsday Spirit: ¡°¦²(¤Ã¡ã§¥¡ã;)¤Ã¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The gue Monarch: ¡°¦²(¤Ã¡ã§¥¡ã;)¤Ã¡±

 Chapter 2256: Whip Of Heavenly Punishment

    <h4>Chapter 2256: Whip Of Heavenly Punishment</h4>

    ¡°That¡¯s a Soul Summoning Banner!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the War Priest¡¯s magic weapon!¡±

    The gue Monarch and Doomsday Spirit immediately felt awful. They had never expected this human to use a monster¡¯s weapon against them!

    The Soul Summoning Banner wasn¡¯t all that useful against beings like them. However, while the gue Monarch¡¯s cockroaches, rats, mosquitoes, and flies excelled in numbers and were nearly impossible to stop effectively, their souls were just too weak. They couldn''t withstand a single wave of the Soul Summoning Banner.

    Zu An was really d that he hadn¡¯t destroyed this weapon. He''d felt that the banner was too sinister at first, but after a lot of hesitation, he had chosen to repair it instead of destroying it. Now, it seemed even clearer than ever like weapons and artifacts weren¡¯t inherently good or evil. What was more important was the one who was using them and what they were being used for.

    The gue Monarch felt a bit broken-hearted, but he still asked with a sinister smile, ¡°Do you think a single Soul Summoning Banner can really deal with all of my gue seeds? Those were nothing more than the embodiment of somews. Once their souls return, I¡¯ll still be able to create them endlessly.¡±

    As long as the Doomsday Spirit stalled Zu An for a bit, the gue Monarch believed it would be able to find a way to spread those gue seeds again. Thus, after it spoke, it opened itsrge mouth to suck all of the scattered gue souls back.

    However, even after it sucked for a long time, there was no response at all.

    ¡°I¡¯m sucking!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to keep sucking...?¡±

    ¡°???¡±

    Even after it tried three times, apart from inhaling a lot of air, not even a single hair came back. The gue Monarch was stupefied. What was going on right now?

    ¡°Soul return? That seems to just be what I happen to be good at.¡± With a raise of Zu An¡¯s hand, there was a transparent sphere that appeared. Within the sphere, countless transparent figures tried to flee while screaming in grief.

    He was now the underworld emperor, so all things obeyed him after death. Some events that took ce in ces further away were one thing, but even souls of the dead that had perished right in front of him wanted to flee?

    The gue Monarch¡¯s eyes narrowed. It could feel that it hadpletely lost connection over the gue seeds. Their power waspletely in Zu An¡¯s hands. However, it said with a cold snort, ¡°You¡¯re just ying god!¡±

    Then, it said to the Doomsday Spirit, ¡°Let¡¯s not hold back anymore and use our strongest abilities. We¡¯ll show him just how powerful we are!¡±

    Afterward, its entire body surged with demonic energy. It became several times stronger than before.

    ¡°gue Monarch, it seems you had some abilities I didn¡¯t even know about before!¡± The Doomsday Spirit roared withughter. It also felt a boost in spirits and erupted with light.

    The two secretly discussed their n of attack.

    ¡°We¡¯ll attack together!¡±

    After it shouted, however, the Doomsday Spirit shot away like lightning, immediately turning tail to run.

    The guy they were facing was too terrifying! He''d so easily neutralized the skills the gue Monarch was most proud of. No wonder so many monsters had been killed by him before. They hadn¡¯t died for no reason!

    The Doomsday Spirit knew its ability could control and stir up one¡¯s emotions, and that its skill was most useful when used in the dark to incite disharmony. This kind of frontal sh really wasn¡¯t its forte. If it stayed behind and fought to the death, it would most likely die.

    <i>I¡¯m the glorious Doomsday Spirit! Why would I let myself die in a frontal battle? Wouldn¡¯t that be the greatest humiliation to me?</i>

    <i>But I¡¯ll have to trouble the gue Monarch now, and have him hold up that incredible disaster of a human. Judging from how its power suddenly increased severalfold, it definitely has a lot of trump cards.</i>

    The only thing it could do was control the Imperial Pce¡¯s guards to help it, which in its opinion, paid off its debt. When it thought of that, it reflexively turned around to take a look; but then its eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

    The gue Monarch wasn¡¯t doing what they nned at all, and had instead turned tail to run as well, running even faster than it was! The gue Monarch had already rushed toward the horizon in the blink of an eye. Its eruption of aura was just a bluff, and it had also fooled its colleague so they could stall the enemy.

    The Doomsday Spirit eximed, ¡°You &%@#*!¡±

    The only thing it was grateful for was that the gue Monarch wasn¡¯t stupid enough to have run in the same direction as it had. The guards in the Imperial Pce were rushing at Zu An like a tidal wave, so he could probably only chase after one of them. Since things had already reached this point, it would just depend on whose luck was better!

    Each of the monsters was praying for that demon to chase after the other.

    <i>Wait, just who is the monster here?!</i>

    ...

    Meanwhile, all of the Imperial Pce soldiers had started rushing at Zu An, whether they were the emperor¡¯s guards or the empress¡¯ troops. Even the Armed Escort Division and Embroidered Envoy were attacking him. Their eyes were all red. Only a few people were able to just barely remain clear-headed.

    It was clear that this was the Doomsday Spirit¡¯s ability. Only upon reaching a certain level of strength would someone be able to avoid being controlled.

    This kind of ability was quite despicable. It sent countless people to their deaths, and if one retaliated, it would involve taking many of their lives. If one didn¡¯t, being attacked by all of these soldiers at the same time would still be quite headache-inducing.

    In order to temporarily avoid the manipted guards, Zu An flew straight into the sky. Then, he looked toward the monsters that had flown in opposite directions. He didn¡¯t choose to chase after a single one, and spread his arms instead. He closed his eyes, as if he was trying tomunicate with something.

    In an instant, the gue Monarch and Doomsday Spirit¡¯s surroundings were covered by dark clouds. Then, countless lightning bolts appeared out of thin air.

    The two monsters were shocked. Lightning had evil-eradicating effects to begin with, so it was the natural enemy of monsters. They quickly dodged to the side to change directions and avoid the lightning.

    However, the lightning immediately turned into a sea of electricity. They had nowhere to escape to. In an instant, their surroundings werepletely swallowed up by the sea of lightning.

    The two monsters both used their greatest skills and took out all kinds of life-saving treasures, and only then did they barely escape the sea of lightning. However, their bodies seemed to have be a size smaller, and perhaps even a bit dimmer. It was obvious that their injuries weren¡¯t light.

    But they didn¡¯t have a moment to catch their breath at all. A bolt of lightning that seemed to light up the worldshed at them like the whip of judgment. They seemed to have been locked onto by the will of the world, so how could they avoid this incredibly terrifying whip of heavenly punishment?

    There was a loud boom, and they were sted until their bodies were blown to dust. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°This bastard can freaking control the entire world! How are we even supposed to fight against that?!¡±

    ¡°How can I just die like this?!¡±

    Those were the final thoughts of the gue Monarch and the Doomsday Spirit.

    Following the Doomsday Spirit¡¯s death, the Imperial Pce guards who were being mind-controlled had the red in their eyes fade, gradually waking up one by one. As they looked at Zu An, they were full of shock. Even though they had been controlled by the Doomsday Spirit, their memories still remained. Zu An hadn¡¯t even needed to do too much to summon lightning and destroy the enemy. That whip of lightning that seemed to cover the entire world especially made them tremble from their very souls.

    It wasn¡¯t just them. Even the strongest cultivators present were incredibly shocked. The higher one¡¯s cultivation, the more they understood just how inconceivable this was. Perhaps there were some cultivators who were proficient in lightning skills, but it was usually on a small scale. How could itpare to an entire ocean of lightning like that of legendary heavenly tribtion?

    <i>Is this even something the power of man can control?</i>

    Yun Jianyue remembered how she had borrowed that something cage to defeat Zhao Han with tribtion lightning. She''d never expected that Zu An could already control such powerful lightning himself! After all, she had just met him not too long ago at the Devil Sect General Headquarters. Back then, he clearly hadn''t been able to do this yet.

    <i>Sigh, if you improve this quickly, how am I even supposed to catch up?</i>

    She suddenly noticed that the other women''s eyes were shining dazzlingly as if they were starstruck. She felt more and more annoyed.

    <i>You¡¯re so handsome and so strong too; no wonder you¡¯re attracting so many bees and butterflies.</i>

    <i>Honglei, Honglei, just where are you? I might not be able to hold the fort alone...</i>

    ...

    Meanwhile, the remaining members of the eight dukes finished wrapping up the matter of the Jiang n. They sensed the battle that was taking ce in the Imperial Pce, and all of them hesitated.

    <i>What if Zu An really shed with the emperor? Who should we help?</i>

    In theory, they had to help the emperor. As the final pirs of the empire, they were supposed to support the royal family.

    But after the Meng n affair, and now everything that had taken ce outside the Jiang n, they understood very well that Zu An had already reached a level far beyond what they could hope to understand. If they made him their enemy, that would be no different from throwing their lives away.

    As such, when the aura of monsters appeared, they hurried over to help. However, all they managed to do was watch as Zu An controlled heavenly lightning to eradicate the two powerful monsters. They exchanged a look, seeing the same shock and admiration in each other¡¯s eyes.

    Zu An descended from above. No one knew who started it, but shouts soon began.

    ¡°The regent is without equal under the sky!¡±

    ¡°Long live the regent!¡±

    ...

    When they saw everyone present kneel, the remaining four dukes didn¡¯t feel any more psychological burden. They also bowed. As cultivators, they revered the strong to begin with, let alone someone like this, who was already strong to the point that he resonated with the world.

    Deafening shouts echoed across the entire Imperial Pce until everyone in the capital could hear it.

    The great ns all looked in the Imperial Pce¡¯s direction. They hurriedly summoned their n members for a meeting to figure out what to do next.

    In the Jiang manor, with the help of the academy¡¯s Divine Physician Ji Dengtu, Jiang Boyang¡¯s condition had stabilized. Almost everyone was at the highest point of the Jiang manor, looking in the Imperial Pce¡¯s direction. After seeing Zu An summon the terrifying lightning to obliterate the two monsters, none of them could calm down.

    After a while, Jiang Boyang sighed and said, ¡°Starting today, the world is probably going to change.¡±

 Chapter 2257: Just a Trifling Imperial Throne

    <h4>Chapter 2257: Just a Trifling Imperial Throne</h4>

    Ji Dengtu stroked his beard, feeling quite proud of himself.

    <i>You guys might think this regent or whatever is pretty awesome now, but doesn¡¯t he still have to treat me with respect? He definitely won''t go west if I tell him to go east!</i>

    <i>But I definitely need to keep a closer eye on Xiaoxi. Which girl wouldn¡¯t like someone who looks as cool as him?</i>

    <i>Even someone as cold as eighth sister has stars in her eyes. How could my Xiaoxi resist him?</i>

    ¡°What are you looking at me for?¡± Jiang Luofu asked in annoyance when she saw the look in his eyes.

    ¡°Nothing.¡± Ji Dengtu immediately pulled his neck back. This little aunt had never minced her words with him. He was very confident that she would take her anger out on him if he ended up embarrassing her.

    ¡°What does everyone think of the current situation?¡± Yan Xiangu asked seriously. There was a hint of worry between his brows.

    The other academy teachers looked at each other in dismay. They''d admired Zu An a lot when he just entered the capital, and they had even established close friendships. Even though the academy had never participated in the court¡¯s politics, there was too much responsibility involved in today¡¯s matter. None of them dared to make a decision.

    However, Ji Dengtu rolled his eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you''re all so worried about. He is the academy libationer to begin with, so our entire academy already has his mark stamped all over it. All of the other forces see us as being together with him on everything. We don¡¯t even have a choice.¡±

    Jiang Luofu took a deep breath. ¡°Ah Zu has saved my Jiang n¡¯s people, so no matter what he says, I''ll support him unconditionally. However, my fellow martial brothers and sisters don''t need to let my decision impact your own decisions.¡±

    The others smiled and replied, ¡°What is eighth sister saying? We''re naturally unified in our decisions. We advance and retreat together, let alone with someone like the libationer who has already earned everyone¡¯s confidence.¡±

    When she saw that everyone present was firmly supporting Zu An, Jiang Luofu suddenly looked at her father. ¡°Father, you won¡¯t remain stubbornly loyal to the end, will you?¡±

    Jiang Boyang replied in annoyance, ¡°Would I really be that inflexible? I''ll soon contact the major ns to inform them.¡±

    ¡°Dad, you still haven¡¯t healed from your injuries.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not a big deal. I won¡¯t die.¡±

    ...

    Meanwhile, in the Imperial Pce...

    Zu An looked at his hands. Ordinary cultivators relied on cultivation to resonate with the world, borrowing that power that was connected to heaven and earth to use some powerful skills. But he now had the entire world¡¯s authority in his grasp. To a certain degree, he had already merged with the will of the world; it was an extension of his own will.

    As such, he would bepletely unmatched within this world, unless the enemy¡¯s power was already great enough to destroy the entire world. It was obvious that the gue Monarch and Doomsday Spirit hadn¡¯t reached that level yet. That was why they had been hacked to death by lightning tribtion that was produced by a single thought.

    But he quickly woke up from that feeling of power. In the end, that was only because he controlled the authority of this world. If he left the world''s boundaries, he likely wouldn''t be able to disy such great power again.

    He descended while thinking through these things. His voice rang throughout the entire capital as he said, ¡°The main culprits have been executed, but many of their subordinates still hide throughout thends. The Embroidered Envoy will be tasked with eliminating the remaining evil.¡±

    The information he received from the gue Monarch and Doomsday Spirit¡¯s ruined souls would help him catch all of the hidden alien monsters in one go.

    ¡°We will obey your orders!¡± Xiao Jianren said with a bow.

    Many people in the capital shivered.

    <i>The regent is probably going to use this as a pretext to eliminate everyone who went against him.</i>

    But that was only to be expected. Anyone in his position would do the same.

    When he saw the looks around him, Zu An guessed what they were thinking, but he didn¡¯t feel like exining himself further. His eyes thennded on the hollowed corpses of Zhao Ruizhi and Bi Qi and he said, ¡°Let¡¯s bury both of them.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± People quickly came to collect the corpses.

    Bi Linglong¡¯s eyes turned red. She knew that Zu An was most likely doing this for her, butying her father to rest sooner was a good thing in and of itself.

    On the other hand, even though Liu Ning hated Bi Qi, he had died such a tragic death that a lot of her resentment was now gone.

    Zu An looked at Liu Ning and said, ¡°The Liu n was harmed by the alien monsters and received unjust treatment. Give the order to rehabilitate those whose reputations were unjustly sullied and reinstate the empress dowager in the Pce of Compassion.¡±

    ¡°We greet the empress dowager!¡± Everyone present bowed.

    Even so, it was hard for Liu Ning to feel happy. She was probably the only one left in the entire Liu n. What meaning was there left in being the empress dowager?

    However, she suddenly thought of something. The position would at least let her help Ah Zu a bit. But she was now all alone, so how could she stillpete against those vixens?

    Just then, the remaining members of the eight dukes sent Yu Rui to say, ¡°The empire cannot be without a ruler for even a single day. Who does the regent feel is suitable to be the ruler? Or perhaps... Does the regent wish to personally be the emperor?¡±

    ¡°Emperor? I have no interest.¡± Zu An couldn''t help but find their nervous looksughable. In the eyes of these people, the position of the emperor seemed extremely valuable, but for someone like him who was the lord of this world, it wasn¡¯t worth mentioning.

    Even so, he couldn''t just let anyone be the emperor. If they were exploited by someone again... He definitely didn¡¯t want today¡¯s events to reur.

    ¡°We will continue as per usual. The court will be managed by Linglong. The empress dowager and Yun Yuqing will assist her,¡± Zu An continued.

    Bi Linglong and Liu Ning both looked at Yun Yuqing. They were old opponents and had grasped the power of the court for many years. But what was Madam Wu doing here?

    Liu Ning realized something. Now that the Liu n waspletely destroyed, it would be hard for her to hold her ground alone. As for Yun Yuqing, she was a natural ally who could be privately roped in.

    Bi Linglong was also a bit surprised. She hadn¡¯t expected that, even though it was because of her own oversight that her father had ended up creating all of this political turmoil and brought a disaster to the capital, Ah Zu still wanted her to continue being the ruler. If it were anyone else, even if she was pardoned, she would still resign to save face.

    She gave that man a look. Suddenly, she felt that everything had meaning again. As for Yun Yuqing being added to the mix, it wasn¡¯t a big deal at all. Because of her mistake, a huge disaster had started in the capital, one that led to the Liu n¡¯s tragic end. Adding another person could actually help stabilize the situation.

    Yun Yuqing was shocked and happy. Today, she had faced the criticism of the entire world for betraying King Wu. Even though Zu An knew her real rtionship with King Wu, no one else did! She was now seen as a woman who had abandoned her husband in pursuit of her own glory. She''d thought that it would already be enough if she could be Zu An¡¯s secret lover, but now, Ah Zu had not only descended from the sky together with her, he had even entrusted this important duty to her. Wasn¡¯t this the same as announcing their rtionship openly to the world?

    <i>He¡¯s not scared of harming his own reputation at all?</i>

    Her eyes couldn''t help but be a bit watery. The way she looked at that man was filled with sweetness and gentleness.

    When she saw the look in her sister¡¯s eyes, Yun Jianyue felt annoyed. Even though her rtionship with Yun Yuqing wasn¡¯t that intimate, they were still sisters, and yet they''d ended up being served to that guy together just like that!

    Grand Tutor Zhuang He of the eight dukes couldn''t help but ask, ¡°Having a woman rule, this... is perhaps not too suitable, right?¡±

    Zu An replied indifferently, ¡°What is unsuitable about it? Just a few days ago, I was in the Ocean races'' territory, and the Mermaid Queen became the Ocean Empress who rules the seas. Are you suggesting a man can manage the household, but women can''t?¡± n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Everyone present was shocked to hear those words. After all, there was no way news from the Ocean races'' territory could reach this side of the world that quickly.

    ¡°May I ask about the previous Dragon King?¡± Zhuang He couldn''t help but ask.

    ¡°He¡¯s dead. They were also awfully interested in fighting over who was going to seed him, so I directly supported Shang Hongyu.¡± Zu An spoke as if this waspletely to be expected.

    The expressions of those present grew strange.

    <i>Why didn¡¯t he talk about the Dragon King¡¯s death in more detail? Did the regent kill him too?</i>

    <i>But if he can make a woman the Ocean Empress, a woman ruling this side doesn¡¯t seem too shocking either.</i>

    They hadn¡¯t expected Zu An to already be this powerful. Together with his influence among the Fiend races, he was actually more or less the ruler of the world! No wonder he didn¡¯t care much about the position of emperor at all.

    <i>Wait, the Fiend races¡¯ Second Empress is the one calling the shots and she seems to be close to him too. The Mermaid Queen is now the Ocean Empress... Is he nning to do the same thing here as with the Ocean races and make Bi Linglong the future empress?</i>

    <i>The female rulers of the three greatest races are actually all his women...</i>

    <i>This youngster really knows how to y!</i>

    Bi Linglong and the other women¡¯s eyes narrowed. It seemed that Zu An had gone on a trip to the Ocean races'' territory and ended up getting together with the Ocean races¡¯ queen. They refused to believe that Zu An would support a woman he had no rtionship with at all. All of them were really frustrated.

    <i>Ah Zu really is a perfect lover, but the only bad part is that there are too many women...</i>

    ¡°Does anyone have any objections?¡± Zu An asked, sweeping his gaze over the crowd.

    The remaining dukes reflexively shook their heads.

    <i>Are you kidding? He just mentioned the ruler of the Ocean races so casually, and he even put an empress on the throne just like that. Having Bi Linglong and the others run the court doesn¡¯t seem to be anything too serious either.</i>

    They didn¡¯t have any objections, so the other high officials of the court naturally wouldn¡¯t dare to speak up either.

    ...

    Zu An handed the various follow-up tasks to Bi Linglong and the others. They had more experience with these things. As for Li Guanshi and the others who had participated in the political upheaval, he didn¡¯t even give them a single look. He knew Linglong would take care of them, and that he didn¡¯t need to personally question them at all.

    Zu An said to Yun Jianyue, ¡°Big sis Yun,e with me. I have something to say to you.¡±

    Yun Jianyue raised her brows. She gave her little sister a taunting look before following him inside.

    Everyone in the pce was stunned. However, they had seen too many ridiculous things, so seeing the Devil Sect Master enter the Imperial Pce actually felt more normal than all that.

 Chapter 2258: Compete on the Same Stage

    <h4>Chapter 2258: Compete on the Same Stage</h4>

    ¡°What did you want to talk to me about?¡± When she saw Zu An close the door behind him, Yun Jianyue¡¯s heart rate suddenly increased.

    <i>This guy isn¡¯t thinking about that stuff, is he?</i>

    <i>There are still people outside! That would beplete nonsense...</i>

    She had never expected that a Devil Sect Master like her, who left everyone terror-stricken at the mention of her name, would one day feel like a restless little girl.

    Zu An looked at this gorgeous woman whom he had been separated from for a long time. Her long hair was still just as bright and bewitching. There was a natural hint of pride and strength in her expression. But right now, why did there seem to almost be a bit of charm and bashfulness as well?

    However, he quickly focused his attention when he remembered what was more important. He said, ¡°I found Honglei.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s words immediately woke up Yun Jianyue from her wandering thoughts. She eximed, ¡°Huh? Where is Honglei?¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s face heated up.

    <i>Just what kind of nonsense was I thinking just now?</i>

    Herplicated emotions were quickly reced by concern for her disciple. She was worried that there could be bad news.

    Zu An didn¡¯t reply, and took out the pendant ne instead. Soon after, it became a world of its own. He took Yun Jianyue''s hand and led her inside, saying, ¡°Follow me.¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s face turned a bit red when she sensed the warmth of his hand. But in the end, she didn¡¯t pull her hand back. However, she was suddenly a bit confused when she looked at the mystical paradise dwelling. Why did it seem a bit familiar? When they entered and she saw the lush bed of green grass, as well as the small bridge over running water, she sighed in amazement at the wonders of the dwelling.

    Just then, the two heard a startled shout from a sweet and lovely voice. ¡°Big brother Zu, did you finallye to sleep with me~¡±

    A beautiful youngdy dressed in a ck dress and ck leggings rushed over from a house off to the side. But when she saw Yun Jianyue, her smile immediately froze.

    Yun Jianyue was stunned. She also recognized the woman as the formidable Ghost King from the secret dungeon, Dark Jing Teng! No wonder she''d thought that this dwelling was so familiar. But Dark Jing Teng''s earlier words carried shocking information! Was she always this direct?

    Zu An also frowned. Dark Jing Teng seemed to be rather unaware of normal customs and always said whatever she wanted to say.

    <i>But White Jing Teng really is also up to no good. She''s clearly the host, and yet she always sends out her little sister at these times.</i>

    ¡°Hm? Isn¡¯t this that Devil Sectss fromst time?¡± Dark Jing Teng looked at their entwined hands and immediately frowned.

    Yun Jianyue smiled. ¡°So it was ancestor granny who has practically lived forever. I didn¡¯t expect you to be someone who would still call Ah Zu big brother even at your age, tsk tsk.¡±

    Dark Jing Teng¡¯s expression immediately grew dangerous. ¡°What did you say, you damn brat?!¡±

    Yun Jianyue was about to fire back when Zu An quickly stopped them. ¡°Enough, enough. This is a rare meeting, so let¡¯s try not to fight.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, I¡¯ll give big brother Zu face and not argue with you.¡± Dark Jing Teng ran over to Zu An and wrapped her arm around his, pulling him toward the room. ¡°Come inside already! Big sis and I miss you a lot.¡±

    Her clothes gradually turned white. White Jing Teng appeared and eximed with a mix of embarrassment and annoyance, ¡°When did I ever say that?!¡±

    Dark Jing Teng seemed to have realized what kind of personality her big sis had, and just decided to just ignore her. Instead, she continued to pull on Zu An¡¯s arm to drag him toward the room. White Jing Teng was more embarrassed, and quickly withdrew from the situation.

    When he felt a certain sense of fullness on his arm, Zu An only managed to collect himself again with great difficulty, saying, ¡°There are still other people here.¡±

    Dark Jing Teng stuck out her neck to look at Yun Jianyue. ¡°Hm? Do you want her to join too? She is quite pretty, so she has the right topete with me. But I fear that big sis might be too embarrassed.¡±

    Zu An and Yun Jianyue were speechless. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Yun Jianyue quickly let go of Zu An as if she had been electrocuted and said, ¡°Go and do whatever you want to do. Don¡¯t involve me in it.¡±

    She had thought that she was already quite carefree as the Devil Sect Leader, but she felt as if she just wasn''t this woman''s match at all.

    <i>Hmph, she really knows no shame.</i>

    White Jing Teng finally couldn''t take it anymore and seized control over the body again, saying, ¡°Big brother Zu, don¡¯t listen to little sis¡¯ nonsense.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but smile and say, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I understand what she¡¯s like. I brought Honglei¡¯s master here today to see her.¡±

    In his mind, however, the scenario Dark Jing Teng had mentioned just now suddenly appeared.

    <i>That wouldn¡¯t be bad at all...</i>

    ¡°Alright, then I¡¯ll leave you two to do that. We won¡¯t disturb you anymore.¡± White Jing Teng really couldn''t take it anymore and returned to her room with a reddened face.

    Dark Jing Teng grumbled on the way, ¡°What are you doing? You know what this is called? Going to hell to keep up appearances!¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡±

    ¡°No! What are you going to do about it?¡±

    ...

    When she heard the sisters¡¯ conversation, Yun Jianyue had a strange expression. After some time, she said, ¡°Those two women really are quite interesting.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face heated up. Continuing on this topic wasn¡¯t a wise decision. He said, ¡°Let¡¯s go and see Honglei first.¡±

    At first, Yun Jianyue hesitated when she heard her disciple¡¯s name.

    <i>Why is Honglei here together with the Jing Teng sisters?</i>

    The two of them unwittingly arrived in front of a room. Yun Jianyue couldn''t help but stop moving; she actually didn¡¯t dare to continue forward. After all, it was because Qiu Honglei had seen into what the two of them were doing that she left home. Even though it had already been a long time, the problem between the two of them had never been resolved. She suddenly didn¡¯t know how to face her disciple. It was almost like the sudden nervous feeling one could get upon returning home.

    Zu An held her hand. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the situation is different from what you''re thinking.¡±

    He then took her inside.

    ...

    In the other room, the Jing Teng sisters were secretly looking out of the window. When she saw them holding each other¡¯s hands, Dark Jing Teng remarked with a harrumph, ¡°See what I¡¯m saying? They definitely have something going on.¡±

    ¡°But she''s Qiu Honglei¡¯s master, right? How could they...¡± White Jing Teng was a bit hesitant.

    ¡°Why not? I¡¯m your little sister, but wasn¡¯t it the same?¡± Dark Jing Teng rolled her eyes.

    White Jing Teng clenched her teeth. ¡°You still have the nerve to say that? You keep fighting over everything I have!¡±

    ¡°It''s just obtaining things based on skill; what do you mean fighting over it? Besides, shouldn¡¯t you be sharing something that good with me in the first ce?¡±

    White Jing Teng was furious. The sisters quickly began to wrestle with each other, rolling back and forth in the covers.

    ...

    Meanwhile, Yun Jianyue nervously entered the room. She felt that it wouldn''t be too good for Honglei to see them intimately holding hands and wanted to pull her hand back. But when she saw Qiu Honglei inside the jade coffin, she eximed in horror, ¡°Honglei!¡±

    In that instant, her mind was filled with thoughts that they would never see each other again, and that she had let her down...

    When he saw the tears that welled up in her eyes, Zu An quickly exined, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, she''s still alive. She just needs to sleep for a while.¡±

    ¡°What exactly happened?¡± Yun Jianyue asked, suddenly feeling overjoyed. When she moved over to the jade coffin, sure enough, she saw that Qiu Honglei¡¯s breathing was even. She finally calmed down a bit.

    Zu An gently caressed Qiu Honglei¡¯s tender face, his expression full of pity as he exined, ¡°For the sake of saving me, Honglei performed the Dance Offering to the Universe...¡±

    Then, he gave her a rough ount of everything that had happened in the sealednd.

    ¡°No wonder there was that terribly frightening power that everyone in the world could sense. So that was why.¡± Yun Jianyue gritted her teeth. She then asked, ¡°Then Honglei... How did you save her?¡± Even though she could see that Honglei was lying there peacefully, she still felt nervous.

    ¡°I went on a trip to the Ocean races'' territory and found the Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine...¡± Zu An told her roughly what had happened in the Ocean races'' territory.

    When she first heard that he had gone to the Ocean races'' territory and gotten together with the Mermaid Queen, Yun Jianyue had felt a bit unhappy, thinking that he really couldn''t resist fondling the flowers and trampling the grass wherever he went. But when she heard the entire ount of events, she became silent. If it had been anyone else who encountered all of this, they would most likely have ended up dead.

    Only Zu An could have just barely managed toplete everything so perfectly. Additionally, the Mermaid Queen had yed a vital part. With that, there was no way Yun Jianyue could still be angry. She was even a bit grateful toward the Mermaid Queen. Without her, they wouldn''t necessarily have been able to find the Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine, and then there wouldn¡¯t have been a way to save Honglei.

    ¡°The incredible things that happen around you really are rare and amazing...¡± Yun Jianyue sighed deeply. ¡°I thought I''d made great progress recently, and that I¡¯d closed the gap between us, but only now do I realize you¡¯ve gone so far that I can¡¯t even see your back anymore.¡±

    As the Devil Sect Master, she had been exceptionally talented ever since she was young. And yet after she met Zu An, she couldn''t help but feel somewhat discouraged. After all, a year or two prior, he hadn¡¯t even been a match for her.

    The two had spoken for a long time already. In order to not disturb Qiu Honglei, they quickly returned to the pce.

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I''ll merge that underworld with this world, and then the source of this world will be stronger. Your cultivation will then rise smoothly as well.¡±

    ¡°But I¡¯ll still be really far from you. I might not even be able to keep up with your footsteps then.¡± Yun Jianyue didn¡¯t feel tooforted, and still felt a bit sad.

    Zu An suddenly had a strange smile as he said, ¡°I do have a way to quickly raise your cultivation.¡±

 Chapter 2259: Like a Mayfly Looking at the Clear Sky

    <h4>Chapter 2259: Like a Mayfly Looking at the Clear Sky</h4>

    ¡°How?¡± Yun Jianyue became excited. After all, if she grew stronger, she could help Zu An in the future, and if she could increase her cultivation in a short time, she could give that stone cold woman a good beating.

    Zu An reached out his hand and took her into his arms. As he felt her slender and supple waist and her luxurious long hair, he said with a big smile, ¡°I now own the authority of the world, and so to a certain degree, I¡¯ve be one with the will of this world. You can use me as a bridge to sense what thews of the world are like. It¡¯ll be extremely beneficial to your cultivation.¡±

    After he became able tomunicate with the will of the world, his knowledge regarding cultivation had be entirely different. Comparing his current and past selves together, even if he didn¡¯t use any of the items he had gained from the trip to the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons, he would still be able to beat his past self up one-sidedly. The key to that was because his understanding regarding power and naturalws had reached a whole new level.

    The moment she entered his arms, Yun Jianyue felt her heart rate increase. But she was curious as to what he meant and asked, ¡°How do I use you as a bridge?¡±

    When he saw the usually mighty and awe-inspiring Devil Sect Master bewildered, Zu An couldn''t help but lower his head, saying, ¡°Like this...¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s eyes widened and she instinctively wanted to push him away. However, after failing several times, she could only let him get away with it.

    <i>Just what is the meaning of this? This is the Imperial Pce, and there are still so many people outside!</i>

    She was feeling restless when she suddenly noticed a stream of energy pass through his lips. Suddenly, she felt as if clouds had been parted, fully revealing the clear sky above.

    <i>So that was what Ah Zu meant!</i>

    With her current cultivation, she wasn¡¯t at a level where she coulde into contact with the foundation of the world yet. But through Zu An¡¯s body, she could ¡®peep inside¡¯ from outside.

    The further along cultivators went, the harder it became to progress. They could be stuck at the same level for decades, or even over a century. Whether or not one could break through would often depend on opportunity and sudden insight. So even though it was just a small look, the benefits were incredible.

    She sensed that, if she had some time to ponder this insight, her cultivation speed would make miraculous breakthroughs.

    <i>Sigh, Ah Zu was doing this for my sake, and yet I was thinking that he was just being perverted. I really misunderstood him.</i>

    She felt endless gentleness when she thought of that, and her somewhat rigid body also gradually softened up to gently receive him.

    Unknowingly, she felt a certain sensation well up; it was as if she was getting closer and closer to the door forward. But no matter how hard she tried, she still seemed to be missing something. She felt extremely rmed. For a cultivator,ing into contact with a mysterious realm they knew they had never seen before was a kind of deadly temptation.

    When she thought of that, she looked at Zu An. The expression in her eyes seemed to fully express her misgivings.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes conveyed a smile as he kissed her ear and said, ¡°That¡¯s because the final step is still missing.¡±

    Yun Jianyue trembled. She came from the Devil Sect, and she was also the first one to have sessfully cultivated Heavenly Devil Temptation. How could she not know what he was saying? She suddenly felt a bit moved. It had been a long time since she was separated from Zu An, and she was already worked up from their past intimacy. Additionally, as a cultivator, she naturally had a desire to progress. She really wanted to experience what it felt like to be at a higher cultivation rank.

    Of course, as the Devil Sect Master, she had usually acted on her own to challenge the court and take down authority. But the court was now Ah Zu¡¯s home, so that objective had naturally be meaningless. Although being able to ¡®defile¡¯ this dignified Imperial Pce this way seemed quite interesting too...

    Deep down, she was still a witch, and she wasn¡¯t as reserved as Yan Xuehen. An affectionate expression appeared on her face as she said, ¡°Then this one will properly serve the regent with my body.¡±

    Zu An was also surprised. He could sense that she was already using her skills, bringing her natural charm to the highest level. She was no longer the dignified and domineering Devil Sect Master, but rather the embodiment of seduction itself. He still remembered the first time he had seen her use those skills, back in the Xia Dynasty secret dungeon, very clearly.

    Zu An could now even control heavenly lightning, but he discovered that he couldn''t control the surging sea of lightning inside his body. Only after being drawn into a wondrous spring, with a massive whip of lightning pouring in, did a slight bit of reliefe.

    <i>The melodious songs of orioles pass smoothly beneath the flowers, the murmuring spring flowing with difficulty beneath the ice.</i>

    <i>As the silver bottle shatters, the contents ssh from within; the iron cavalry bursts out with swords and spears nging!</i>

    ...

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s entire body was shaking. She didn¡¯t know if it was because of what felt like a zing sun piercing through her entire body, or if it was because of the excitement she felt from her cultivation increasing. She had thought that the difference between herself and Zu An was akin to a mayfly looking at the bright moon. Only now did she know that she was like a mayfly looking at the clear sky.

    ¡°Big sis Yun, focus.¡± A gentle voice suddenly spoke in her ear.

    Yun Jianyue finally gathered her thoughts after she was battered almost to the point of copse. She still felt lingering fear. If not for Zu An watching over her, her dao heart could have copsed if she instantly crossed through several cultivation ranks'' worth of perception.

    ¡°Big sis Yun, what you sensed wasn''t entirely my power. More of it was the source of the world, so don''t feel discouraged,¡± Zu An gently consoled her.

    ¡°Okay.¡± Yun Jianyue felt a sense of warmth and gentleness.

    <i>What a considerate man.</i>

    Just then, a knock came from outside. Yun Yuqing¡¯s sweet voice called out, ¡°Big brother Zu, can Ie in?¡±

    Yun Jianyue suddenly heard her little sister¡¯s voice at this crucial moment, which scared her so badly that her entire body trembled. She could no longer control her body and shivered.

    Zu An took a deep breath and held her tightly. He tried his best to control his voice with a lot of difficulty, replying, ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°The empress dowager and big sis Linglong have some things they want to seek your advice about. Also, the Jiang n¡¯s big sis and the Qin n¡¯s people wish to meet you. They''re all big brother¡¯s old friends, so I couldn''t refuse them,¡± Yun Yuqing replied. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Alright, give me a moment.¡± Zu An knew that the two of them had already stayed inside the room for long enough. There were still a lot of people outside, so they couldn''t avoid suspicion if they still didn¡¯t open the door. When he sensed the woman in his arms cuddling up against him like a kitten, however, he couldn''t help but lower his head to kiss her.

    Yun Jianyue felt extremely embarrassed, and hurriedly pushed him away. But her legs slipped as soon as she stood on the ground, and she almost fell.

    <i>I¡¯m going to die from embarrassment! I¡¯m the glorious Devil Sect Master, the first to seed in the Heavenly Devil Temptation. Even the slightest hint of a smile from me should be able topletely disarm any man!</i>

    And yet, after just a single round, she was the one who had beenpletely disarmed. She sorted out her messy clothing. She saw the puddle on the ground and was even more embarrassed and rmed. If anyone came in and saw this, she really couldn''t go on living!

    Zu An chuckled. Everything immediately returned to normal with a wave of his hand.

    Yun Jianyue didn¡¯t have time to sigh at his amazing skills. She quickly turned around and hid in the corner. Her face was bright red, so she had to calm down as quickly as possible.

    ¡°Big brother Zu?¡± Yun Yuqing asked suspiciously from outside. Why hadn¡¯t he opened the door even after all this time?

    <i>Are the two of them doing something shameful inside?</i>

    She couldn''t help but turn around to look at the numerous guards and high officials behind her, and reflexively shook her head.

    <i>They shouldn¡¯t have cone that far, right? My big sis is usually fierce and definitely wouldn¡¯t do anything like that.</i>

    But she felt as if time really was dragging on. A mature woman and two younger women behind her were staring daggers through the back of her head.

    When they heard about the events that had happened in the Imperial Pce, the Qin n had been incredibly shocked, feeling that they had to meet with Zu An. But the power he had shown was too terrifying, and he was probably so busy that he had no time to meet with the Qin n.

    After some hesitation, Qin Wanru had volunteered to bring Chu Huanzhao and Chu Youzhao to the capital to get some more information. The n elders knew that these three had always been closer to Zu An, so it was a good choice to send them, and thus they agreed. Meanwhile, the two Qin n lords had begun talks with the other ns that they were on good terms with, doing their best to rope in more allies for Zu An. That way, the things he had done wouldn¡¯t produce too intense of a bacsh in the capital.

    The women had just happened to run into Jiang Luofu as they arrived, so they went over together. Knowing that they were Zu An¡¯s old friends and couldn''t be politely refused like the others, Liu Ning and Bi Linglong had thus instructed Yun Yuqing to bring them here.

    Jiang Luofu¡¯s expression was calm as she continued to stand outside with a cool and elegant demeanor. She chatted with Yun Yuqing from time to time, thanking her for her prior help.

    Qin Wanru and her two daughters continued to look at Yun Yuqing. The three of them were a quarrelsome but loving family, and were able tomunicate with just their eyes.

    ¡°Does this woman also have something going on with your brother-inw?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, there are rumors in the capital that Madam Wu abandoned King Wu in front of countless people and ran into brother-inw¡¯s arms.¡±

    ¡°Tsk, how shameless. Why would your brother-inw care for a woman like this who abandoned her husband for personal glory?¡±

    ¡°But she is really pretty. If I were a man, even I would like her.¡±

    ¡°Is that what brother-inw likes? Should I copy her look a bit?¡±

    ¡°What kind of nonsense are you all thinking right now?¡±

    Qin Wanru gave her daughters a look. In response, the two young women also exchanged a look and both stuck out their tongues.

 Chapter 2260: Arranged Marriage

    Just then, the door suddenly opened and Zu An called out, ¡°You cane in.¡±

    Yun Yuqing sighed in relief. She''d felt as if she would go crazy if these women continued to stare at her.

    ¡°Brother-inw!¡± Chu Huanzhao was the most innocent out of everyone present. When she saw him, she leaped toward him and immediately grabbed his arm to act spoiled.

    Chu Youzhao also wanted to go over, but she was dressed as a man right now and couldn''t act like her sister.

    Qin Wanru¡¯s eyelids twitched when she saw that.

    <em>No wonder everyone always says that daughters hook their elbows with outsiders. Even after all I did, I still have to let Zu An have everyone?</em>

    Yun Yuqing saw that Yun Jianyue was in the corner.

    <em>Why is she standing there, and why does she have her back to us?</em>

    She was a bit confused and gave Zu An a look. However, she saw that he waspletely calm, as if nothing had happened.¡°Yuqing, what did you want to talk to me about?¡± Zu An asked as he rubbed Huanzhao¡¯s head. This young woman was always so lively and vigorous. Whenever he saw her, he would always remember the youngdy running around with a whip whom he had first seen when he first entered this world.

    Yun Yuqing focused her thoughts and said, ¡°Even though the main culprits of the capital¡¯s events are the monsters, there were many ns who took part in it, like the Bi n and the Pei n¡­ Big sister Bi said to leave it to the empress dowager, but then the empress dowager sent me to ask you what to do.¡±

    Zu An immediately understood. The Bi n was Bi Linglong¡¯s home, while the Pei n was rted to Pei Mianman. Bi Linglong couldn''t really say much about the matter, while Liu Ning couldn''t really punish the Bi n also because of Bi Linglong¡¯s connection to it. No wonder neither of them could make a decision.

    He thought for a moment, and then replied, ¡°Handle the ones who took part in the coup that night ording to thew. There''s no need to bring further harm to the innocent for those who didn''t participate. As for the Pei n, deal with those involved properly. However, Pei You didn¡¯t know about what happened and tried his best to save Gao Ying, so he''s pardoned of any crime.¡±

    The Pei n members such as Pei Yi who had participated in the coup weren¡¯t from the same side as Pei Mianman, so he didn¡¯t need to have many misgivings about his decision.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Yun Yuqing acknowledged the instruction, then continued, ¡°Big brother Zu, Miss Jiang and the Chu n¡¯s members wish to meet with you.¡±

    Zu An looked at Jiang Luofu. She had already changed into a different set of clothes and didn¡¯t look as battered as before. But the most eye-catching thing were still her long, ck silk stocking-covered legs. These socks had a differentce border that was especially stunning.

    Jiang Luofu was about to speak when she suddenly gave Qin Wanru and the others a look. They were a bit hesitant.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, they¡¯re all our own people,¡± Zu An said with a smile.

    Qin Wanru immediately stuck out her chest, feeling relieved.

    Jiang Luofu then began, ¡°The reason I¡¯vee here is firstly to thank the regent for saving the Jiang n, and secondly¡­¡±

    Before she even finished, Zu An interrupted her. ¡°Big sis principal, just continue to call me Ah Zu. Why should we act so unfamiliar with each other?¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Jiang Luofu smiled. She had actually been a bit worried that since Zu An had grown so powerful, perhaps they would end up bing estranged from each other. She sighed in relief and said, ¡°The second reason is that I''m representing my martial brothers and sisters to tell you that we''ll stand firmly at your side no matter what decision you make. They''re contacting the ns they''re close to now.¡±

    Yun Yuqing and Qin Wanru were both surprised. They knew what that kind of attitude meant. After all, the academy had usually abstained from governmental affairs.

    Zu An was also happy to hear that. He said gratefully, ¡°I sincerely thank all of you.¡±

    He hadn¡¯t let victory get to his head, and knew that strength could only make one yield on the surface. It wouldn¡¯t allow him to truly convince the masses to obey him. On the contrary, he could end up just like thest Ming emperor, who had clearly held paramount authority, able to kill any official he wanted no matter their rank. And in the end, he had still been no match for the officials underneath him who seemed devoted on the outside, but were opposed in secret. In the end, his rule had still ended prematurely.

    With the academy¡¯s teachers taking the lead, however, it would be much easier for the entire empire to ept him.

    ¡°Your words are too serious.¡± Jiang Luofu smiled. ¡°I¡¯ll return first and not take up any more of your time.¡±

    She thus quickly said her goodbyes, knowing that Zu An definitely had a lot of things to take care of. There were also so many women present, making the mood a bit strange. Ji Xiaoxi and Xie Daoyun were initially supposed to havee with her, but Ji Xiaoxi had been held back by her father using some pretext, while Xie Daoyun had also suddenly decided not toe for some reason.

    She shook her head slightly.

    <em>Ah Zu is good in every other respect; he just has too many women around him.</em>

    But how could the women of this world resist the charms of an amazing man like him?

    When she recalled how he had descended from the skies as if there were clouds of multicolored brilliance around him right when the Jiang n was in its greatest moment of despair, then saved her and the entire Jiang n, her heart couldn''t help but pound.

    ¡°What is wrong with me?¡± She clutched her warm cheeks as she hurriedly left the imperial pce. The usually clear rhythm of her high heels even became a bit chaotic.

    ¡­

    After Jiang Luofu left, Qin Wanru cleared her throat. ¡°The reason we came is roughly for the same reason as Miss Jiang. I represent the Qin, Chu, and Murong ns to express our support for you. The seniors of the ns are also contacting their former colleagues and subordinates about this. At the very least, we can ensure that there won¡¯t be any rebellions in the military.¡±

    ¡°I express my thanks to the elders.¡± Zu An smiled.These people could be considered his greatest allies. With them here, even if the emperor and the royal family¡¯s important figures had been killed, the empire could still continue to operate smoothly.

    ¡°Oh, there is one other matter. Our Youzhao and the Murong n¡¯s girl are going to announce their wedding. We wish to ask the pce for its blessing,¡± Qin Wanru said directly.

    ¡°Youzhao and Qinghe are getting married?¡± Zu An was shocked. He looked at Chu Youzhao. She was bashful and had reddened cheeks, looking really embarrassed.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. The old master of the Murong n came to discuss the matter with us, expressing that he feels that Qinghe is already of suitable age. She''s also beenf ollowing Youzhao left and right all the time without any concern for anything else, so he wanted to just confirm the wedding.¡± Qin Wanru stroked Youzhao¡¯s head with an expression of doting love. ¡°Qinghe was going to get married when she returned from the north, but then all the things that happened in the capital dyed the wedding. It won¡¯t be good to dy it any further. Since you¡¯ve returned, I can just ask you to be a wedding witness.¡±

    Zu An wanted to say something, but hesitated. In the end, he said to Yun Yuqing, ¡°Yuqing, please bring big sis Yun back to get some rest first.¡±

    Yun Yuqing looked at them with suspicion, but she didn¡¯t ask anything and went over to Yun Jianyue instead. ¡°Sis, you should just rest in the pce. I¡¯ll arrange a ce for you.¡±

    Yun Jianyue had already managed to gradually calm down. She replied, ¡°There¡¯s no need for all that trouble. Just find a room wherever you¡¯re staying.¡±

    She was the infamous Devil Sect Master. If a special pce was prepared for her, it would likely incur harsh criticism from the daoists if they caught wind of it. Of course, there was another, more important reason. She was still feeling guilty after what she''d just done with Zu An. Zu An was now the master of the Imperial Pce, so if she had a pce to herself, wouldn¡¯t that only further suggest that she was one of his women? Then how would she face her little sister, let along Honglei? What she was most scared of was beingughed at for the rest of her life by the stone cold woman.

    Yun Yuqing was a bit stunned, but she quickly nodded. ¡°Okay.¡± She was now almostpletely alone, and felt a sense of loneliness. Even though they weren¡¯t that close to each other, they were still sisters. Being able to stay close to ease their rtionship wouldn¡¯t be bad either.

    When they left, Zu An waved his hand and the door closed on its own.

    Qin Wanru was startled.

    <em>Why is he closing the door?</em>

    When she saw that Zu An and her daughters'' expressions were still natural, she sighed in relief.

    ¡°Youzhao is a woman, so how do we deal with that once they¡¯re married?¡± Zu An asked seriously.

    Chu Youzhao pursed her lips and looked down at her toes. She looked a bit sad.

    Qin Wanru sighed. ¡°We don¡¯t have a choice either. Youzhao was raised as a son ever since she was little. The Chu n¡¯s noble title and fiefdom can only be passed onto a son, and we also need a proper wife for the n.¡±

    ¡°But wouldn¡¯t that end up spoiling little sister¡¯s lifetime of happiness?¡± Zu An was a bit helpless. ¡°How about this? I can ensure that the Chu n¡¯s noble title and fiefdom can be maintained. You two can tell things properly to the Murong n.¡±

    He was at the peak of authority right now. This was something he could take care of.

    Chu Youzhao was immediately moved. She couldn''t help but look at her mother.

    Qin Wanru thought for a bit, but then she said with a shake of her head, ¡°Ah Zu, you might not know how many other things are involved in this decision. The system of nobility has existed for tens of thousands of years, and it¡¯s something everyone understands well. If you made an excuse just for us, how would the many ns of the world see it? They would all copy and imitate us. What would we do about them then?

    ¡°The court has local officials, but most of themon people are ruled jointly by these noble ns. If something happened to the noble title systems, that could likely shake the foundations of the empire and bring you endless trouble.¡±

    Zu An was a bit surprised. He hadn¡¯t expected Qin Wanru, who usually didn''t seem verypetent, to be able to give such a clear and concise answer. It seemed she still understood the rules of noble society very well after being a member of it for all of these years. What she said was indeed reasonable. If such an exception was given, it could really bring about a series of troubles.

    Qin Wanru said, ¡°Even if we took a thousand steps back and the Chu n could preserve its position, if Youzhao¡¯s gender was revealed, the duke position would definitely fall into the hands of the second or third branch. I don''t wish for everything I¡¯ve worked hard to achieve in this lifetime to end up helping them.¡±

    Zu An remembered that the branch families had brought him quite a bit of trouble in the past. They were indeed a bit annoying.

    ¡°Ah Zu, you don¡¯t need to be too worried. What arranged marriages between ns consider is mainly the benefits of both ns. They usually don''t base marriages on the love or happiness of the younger generation,¡± Qin Wanru continued. ¡°This marriage has the Chu n¡¯s benefits in mind, but it is also what the Murong n needs. What''s even rarer is that Qinghe and Youzhao are both childhood sweethearts and share deep affection for each other, so this is the best choice regardless of which child we''re talking about.¡±

 Chapter 2261: Tit For Tat

    Zu An frowned slightly. He knew that what she said made sense. There was really no significance to the happiness of the younger generation in a marriage between ns. What was really important was that this marriage would join the two ns and that they could share honor and disgrace together. Still, that was a bit too unfair for Murong Qinghe.

    However, he suddenly remembered hearing Murong Qinghe say that no matter what happened, she would always choose to be together with Chu Youzhao. As such, he just asked the one directly involved. ¡°Youzhao, what do you think?¡±

    Chu Youzhao pursed her lips. ¡°I¡¯ll listen to what the n wants.¡±

    ¡°Then what about what you want?¡± Zu An continued.

    After some hesitation, Chu Youzhao said in a voice that was as quiet as a mosquito¡¯s squeak, ¡°I want to be together with little sister Qinghe, and little sister Qinghe doesn¡¯t want to marry anyone else either.¡±

    Zu An was stunned.

    <em>These two seem to be even closer than I thought! Maybe I was overthinking all of this?</em>

    When he saw that she thought the same way as well, Zu An didn¡¯t continue to chase the matter. ¡°Since you''re persisting with it, I can only wish you two the best. As for the pce bearing witness over this marriage, I''ll arrange someone to take care of it.¡±

    Chuyan was still suffering under the Bridge of Helplessness, so if he could help her n out a bit more, he would do it.Qin Wanru was overjoyed at the sudden good news. Having a high official oversee the wedding would bring much more glory than a normal marriage.

    Chu Youzhao¡¯s face reddened as well. She bowed toward Zu An and said, ¡°Thank you, brother-inw.¡±

    With proper matters now taken care of, Chu Huanzhao immediately became high-spirited again and swayed Zu An¡¯s arm back and forth. ¡°Brother-inw, brother-inw! Where have you been all this time? We were all so worried about you!¡±

    ¡°Me? I went to fight the monsters.¡± Zu An really found Chu Huanzhao cute. His mood also improved, and he began to tell them about what had happened while he was gone.

    When Qin Wanru saw how Huanzhao was grabbing Zu An¡¯s arm and her body was almost sticking to his, she nearly called out to warn her daughter several times. She saw how natural they were around each other and how happy they were, how there were no reservations at all. But in the end, she gave up on saying anything.

    <em>Forget it, Huanzhao was close to Zu An when he first came to the Chu n. Why should I be the viin here?</em>

    As she listened to all kinds of stories about experiences she had never heard of before, Chu Huanzhao shouted out in excitement. She even ran over to pour Zu An a cup of tea. ¡°Brother-inw, drink this for your throat. You don¡¯t need to talk too fast either.¡±

    Chu Youzhao also helped him massage his legs considerately, her beautiful eyes looking dazzling as she looked at him. His stories were clearly extremely alluring to the two young women.

    Qin Wanru¡¯s brows jumped when she saw her daughters crowding around Zu An, one serving him tea and the other massaging his legs.

    <em>These two have never even done this for me and their father before!</em>

    <em>Girls of age must be married off after all!</em>

    <em>Also, did I owe this brat Zu An something in myst life? Why are all of my daughters being stolen by him?</em>

    Even so, she was also quite interested as she listened. Forget about youngdies, such excited stories even left a madam like her, who usually stayed inside, amazed.

    ¡­

    Time unknowingly passed by. As night fell, Bi Linglong found some free time to excuse herself for a bit.

    When she saw how engrossed the three women were, she was a bit astonished as well. She frowned when she saw how intimately Chu Huanzhao held Zu An¡¯s hand, and how she was almost pressed up against him. There was also the Chu n¡¯s young master; why was he acting like a youngdy? Still, with his delicate features, he was quite pretty.

    <em>Don¡¯t tell me Ah Zu likes this type too?</em>

    She immediately thought of many things, but she did her best to calm herself down. She said, ¡°Ah Zu, I¡¯ve already sorted out the Heart Nurturing Pce and changed everything inside. You can just stay there in the future.¡±

    ¡°Heart Nurturing Pce?¡± Qin Wanru was shocked. Almost everyone knew that pce was the emperor¡¯s personal resting ce. What was the real meaning behind this?

    Zu An also frowned slightly. He intended to refuse because he didn¡¯t want to live there.

    As if guessing his thoughts, Bi Linglong continued, ¡°Ah Zu, there can''t be any cracks in authority. If you show any vulnerability, there will always be other forces trying to breach through. This is the only way for everyone to be convinced, so they won''t have thoughts they shouldn¡¯t have.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right. Then I¡¯ll just live there," Zu An said with a nod. He also knew that he could modestly decline in some situations, but other times, he couldn¡¯t pass all responsibility to others. They weren¡¯t in the most stable times, so there was a need to appease the various sides.

    When she saw that he agreed, Bi Linglong smiled and said, ¡°I still have many things to take care of, so I¡¯ll be leaving first." She then turned around and nodded at Qin Wanru and the others before hurriedly leaving.

    Zu An sighed when he saw her leave in a rush.

    <em>Thank goodness I have Linglong and Liu Ning, who have always dealt with governmental affairs. Otherwise, this current situation might really have left me in a terrible spot.</em>

    Suddenly, Chu Huanzhao stuck out her head and asked, ¡°Brother-inw, do you and the empress have that kind of rtionship?¡±

    Chu Youzhao also looked at him with interest, while Qin Wanru secretly gave her a thumbs up. She also wanted to know about that.

    <em>Hmph, I need to help Chu Chuyan watch her husband. Otherwise, there¡¯ll be all sorts of vixensing here to steal him away!</em>

    ¡°What kind of rtionship are you talking about?¡± Zu An teased.

    ¡°You know, that kind.¡± Chu Huanzhao¡¯s face turned red. Even though she normally had a bold and lively personality, she was still a youngdy. She was still a bit embarrassed when talking about that kind topic.

    ¡°I guess we do,¡± Zu An replied honestly. There wasn¡¯t much to hide at this point. It was already spreading through the entire capital.

    ¡°Huh?!¡± The three women all cried out in rm. Their mouths hung wide open.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Even though there had been rumors, the idea was just a bit too ridiculous. Bi Linglong was the glorious empress, so they had still carried a hint of hope that he would ¡®keep his hands to himself¡¯. And yet he''d immediately admitted to it!

    <em>This kid isn¡¯t treating our Chuyan with any importance at all!</em>

    Qin Wanru immediately felt as if her daughter¡¯s man had been stolen away by a scoundrel. She ced her hands at her hips, and was about to properly lecture him in Chuyan¡¯s ce. But when she looked into his eyes and remembered the power he had shown earlier, how even the emperor and several dukes had been killed just like that, she immediately felt her courage dete.

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Qin Wanru for +0 +0 +0..</strong>

    Zu An was stunned. This was the first time he had ever seen such a thing. What in the world?

    Qin Wanru suddenly realized that she looked a bit too cowardly, so she braced herself and asked, ¡°Does Chuyan know about this?¡±

    Zu An smiled and replied, ¡°Chuyan¡¯s ce in my heart will never change.¡±

    Even though she felt that his reply was a bit too slick, Qin Wanru was still happy to hear that.

    <em>Hmph, I¡¯ll definitely show off to her about how much I tried to help her today.</em>

    When she realized those things, her mood immediately improved. She said, ¡°It¡¯s alreadyte, so we ought to return.¡±

    ¡°Ah, we¡¯re leaving so soon?¡± Chu Huanzhao and Chu Youzhao were both reluctant.

    ¡°The pce gates are closing!¡± Qin Wanru replied. Even though also wanted to continue listening, her reason still won out in the end.

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I can have my subordinates arrange a courtyard for them in the pce.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao and Chu Youzhao were both surprised. However, Qin Wanru quickly pulled them behind her. ¡°No way! Staying in the Imperial Pce overnight will damage their reputations.¡±

    <em>This guy¡¯s reputation in this aspect is already utterly terrible. If we stayed the night here, forget about my daughters, even my own reputation could be at stake!</em>

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°It was my fault for not thinking things through. Alright, men, have someone see them out of the pce.¡±

    ¡°Brother-inw, I¡¯lle to see you tomorrow!¡± Chu Huanzhao said while curling her lips. She waved at him reluctantly.

    Chu Youzhao also kept turning around, making Qin Wanru feel a huge headache. The three sisters were clearly different in personalities and liked different things, and yet this was mysteriously the one aspect they were all unified in for some reason.

    ..

    Meanwhile, Yun Jianyue followed Yun Yuqing to her pce. Once the maids and eunuchs were dismissed, she said with a sneer, ¡°Back then, the Demon race came to ask me to help you, but they also told me to help King Wu ascend the throne. Who would¡¯ve guessed, hm? You and Zu An were already a thing a long time ago.¡±

    Yun Yuqing sighed. ¡°Do we sisters really have to go tit for tat as soon as we meet again?¡±

    Yun Jianyue turned her back with a wave of her sleeves. She felt really wronged right now.

    <em>How can I not go against you when you ended up together with my man?</em>

    <em>And my rtionship with him isn''t evenpletely clear yet!</em>

    <em>This is so annoying!</em>

    She took a deep breath and asked, ¡°Since you''re calling us sisters, how about you open up? Tell me when the two of you got together.¡±

 Chapter 2262: Sisters in Unity

    <h4>Chapter 2262: Sisters in Unity</h4>

    Yun Yuqing had never expected her sister to ask such a question and looked at her suspiciously. ¡°Huh? Why would you care about something like that? This isn¡¯t like you.¡±

    Yun Jianyue was rmed and quickly said, ¡°Hmph, Ah Zu is my disciple''s man. Why wouldn¡¯t I be concerned about how my own little sister stole my disciple¡¯s man?¡±

    ¡°Honglei?¡± Yun Yuqing was a bit embarrassed. ¡°Isn¡¯t she your sect¡¯s saintess? I heard that the saintess must maintain a pure body and can never marry for the rest of their life. How can she be together with Zu An?¡±

    ¡°The reason that rule exists is mainly because we need to cultivate Heavenly Devil Temptation. If we lose our purity ahead of time, that can prevent us from reaching a higher cultivation rank. However, Honglei is an incredible genius who has already sessfully cultivated the technique, so there are no misgivings left.¡± Yun Yuqing harrumphed and said, ¡°Furthermore, I am the sect master. Whether or not she can marry anyone is up to me to decide.¡±

    Yun Yuqing looked at her with surprise. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to be so open-minded. I would have thought a famously vicious Devil Sect Master like you would immediately kill that man as soon as you found out your disciple liked someone.¡±

    She knew that Zu An¡¯s cultivation had only skyrocketed in recent years. In the past, he likely hadn''t been a match for her older sister.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s face darkened. ¡°Am I that kind of evil woman to you?¡±

    Yun Yuqing smiled. ¡°You can ask around in the world of warriors and see what they think of you out there.¡±

    Yun Jianyue was speechless. She was suddenly a bit worried.

    <i>Is my reputation a bit too awful? Did I present my character as being a bit too fierce? Will Ah Zu hate that...</i>

    ¡°Wait, you still haven¡¯t answered my question. Why am I the one who keeps talking?¡± Yun Jianyue reacted. She had almost ended up going along at this woman¡¯s pace.

    When she saw her little sister, who had curved brows, a small mouth, eyes that were like autumn waters, and an obedient demeanor, she sneered inwardly.

    <i>She looks like some white lotus flower on the outside, but she¡¯s a scheming woman inside.</i>

    ¡°Ah Zu and I...¡± Yun Yuqing¡¯s face reddened. ¡°There aren''t that many good things to say about that.¡±

    The way they had met wasn¡¯t all that spectacr.

    When she saw her sister¡¯s bashful behavior, Yun Jianyue grew even more curious. ¡°Hurry and tell me. You were saying that sisters should be unified or something. Why are you immediately hiding things now?¡±

    Yun Yuqing looked out the window at the rising moon. Her face reddened as she said, ¡°It¡¯s alreadyte, and we¡¯re tired from busying about all day. How about we rest for now and continue the chat tomorrow?¡±

    Yun Jianyue naturally wouldn¡¯t let these small tricks fool her. ¡°It¡¯s fine. Since we sisters want to be a bit closer, let''s just sleep together. We can just do everything together and talk freely to our heart¡¯s content.¡±

    Yun Yuqing was speechless. She really couldn''t understand why her sister was that curious.

    <i>He¡¯s your disciple¡¯s man, not yours...</i>

    But when she thought about how she had cut off King Wu and how she''d been betrayed by the Demon race, she realized there really wasn¡¯t anything she could rely on now. Bi Linglong and Liu Ning were both extremely formidable individuals, and she''dter learned that Ah Zu even had a proper wife. If she had to face all of those vixens alone, she really would be a lonely soul.

    With her big sister as support, she could at least stay close to Honglei. That way, they wouldn¡¯t have to be so scared of those love rivals anymore. Thus, she didn¡¯t continue to refuse. She shared what had happened when Zu An passed by King Wu Manor, feeling embarrassed.

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s eyes shone brilliantly. ¡°You and King Wu were actually a fake married couple?¡±

    ¡°But of course. With our real identities, how could we randomly entrust ourselves to a human? I just needed the identity of a queen as a cover. Besides, King Wu was also a pervert.¡± Yun Yuqing sounded a bit proud; it was a kind of pride that came from her very lineage as a member of the Demon n¡¯s king race.

    Yun Jianyue sneered. ¡°You make it sound so great, but isn¡¯t Zu An also human?¡±

    Yun Yuqing¡¯s face reddened. ¡°That was just something that happened suddenly. Later... Later, I discovered that I couldn''t sleep well at all, and I''d always think of him in the dead of night. I then realized that I''d already fallen in love with him.¡±

    After all, the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra was a secret manual that one could cultivate immortality through. For that kind of opportunity, she had naturally been willing to use any method to obtain it. But she hadn¡¯t expected that the fake act would be real, and that that guy would just be too amazing...

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s attitude was a bit sour. ¡°Is that guy really that charming? If I¡¯m not mistaken, he was nothing more than a court criminal back then, right? His cultivation wasn¡¯t anything special at all.¡±

    Yun Yuqing seemed to have remembered something. Her eyes sparkled with watery light as she said, ¡°Ah Zu is a really special man. As long as a woman has spent the night together with him, they won¡¯t be able to leave him anymore.¡±

    Her words triggered something, and Yun Jianyue seemed to remember something. Her face heated up as she murmured, ¡°Exactly...¡±

    Yun Yuqing was bewildered.

    When she saw her sister¡¯s suspicious expression, Yun Jianyue immediately said with a firm expression, ¡°I knew there had to be something else about him from how many women there were around him.¡±

    Yun Yuqing had a look of relief. However, no matter how crazy her imagination was, she still wouldn¡¯t be able to predict that her domineering and mighty big sister could have that kind of a rtionship with Zu An.

    ¡°By the way, do you know who his other women are? The time we''ve spent together has always been brief. I¡¯ve suddenly discovered that I don¡¯t know much about him at all," she asked, her beautiful brows furrowed with worry. Knowing one''s enemy and knowing oneself were both extremely important, but she didn¡¯t even know who the enemy was right now! She clearly loved him deeply, but strictly speaking, they had only met a few times. When she realized that, she immediately felt a bit anxious and frightened. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°He has a loooot of women around him.¡± Yun Jianyue¡¯s voice immediately turned cold.

    Yun Yuqing carefully gave her sister a look.

    <i>She seems to be angry...</i>

    <i>But I guess it makes sense. Her disciple¡¯s man keeps womanizing, so it makesplete sense for her master to be angry.</i>

    ¡°You should already know about Honglei. There''s also the disciple of that stone cold woman from the White Jade Sect. That woman really is my fated arch-nemesis in this life. It¡¯s one thing if she opposes everything I do, but even a disciple she took in is fighting with m... my disciple¡¯s woman,¡± Yun Jianyue said through gritted teeth. If Yan Xuehen were here, she would probably pick a fight on the spot.

    ¡°You''re talking about the Chu n¡¯s youngdy? From what I know, she''s Ah Zu¡¯s proper wife, right?¡± Yun Yuqing asked quietly.

    <i>Big sis¡¯ ability to distort the truth really is amazing. It was clearly her disciple who stole the man of another¡¯s disciple.</i>

    ¡°What did you say?!¡± Yun Jianyue was furious. ¡°What proper wife? They already divorced each other a long time ago! When Ah Zu was in trouble, those Chu n snobs didn¡¯t hesitate to cut ties with him so they wouldn¡¯t be implicated by his crimes. They¡¯re nothing like Honglei, who is devoted in love. She even secretly apanied him while he was being escorted to the capital. That¡¯s a true test of love.¡±

    ¡°You actually can''t me the Chu n for that. If it were anyone else, they would¡¯ve most likely made the same choice. And in my opinion, the Chu and Qin n treat him pretty well.¡± Yun Yuqing had done her homework; this Chu Chuyan, who was the only one Ah Zu had married, was naturally a target of her careful research.

    ¡°Hah!¡± Yun Jianyue sneered. ¡°Wasn¡¯t that because they saw Ah Zu got stronger and stronger, so they wanted to get close to him again? And yet she still acts as if she¡¯s the proper wife or whatever. She¡¯s just as hypocritical and shameless as her master.¡±

    Yun Yuqing smiled.

    <i>Big sis is clearly only doing this because of her personal grudge with Sect Master Yan.</i>

    Even so, what Yun Jianyue said wasn¡¯tpletely without reason. They had clearly already divorced, so why did Chu Chuyan still consider herself the proper wife?

    ¡°Apart from the Chu n brat, there''s one in the Pei n too. She has that ridiculously shameless pair of breasts,¡± Yun Jianyue continued.

    Yun Yuqing¡¯s eyes shifted toward her sister¡¯s bursting chest, and she was quite shocked. ¡°They can¡¯t be bigger than yours, right?¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s face heated up. ¡°I have no idea what that woman grew up on, but it really is ridiculous.¡± When she recalled Pei Mianman¡¯s appearance, she couldn''t help but sigh.

    Yun Yuqing sat up with a startled expression. With such an introduction, Pei Mianman really had to be a formidable opponent.

    ¡°There''s also the Yu n woman, whom you''ve probably heard of before. She used to be called the world¡¯s number one beauty.¡± As she spoke, Yun Jianyue became more and more frustrated.

    <i>Why are all of them formidable opponents?</i>

    Yun Yuqing said with a smile, ¡°That¡¯s just a nickname some busybodies came up with. Thete emperor was still a prince at the time, and with him being a part of the mix, that was why the rumors got blown out of proportion. In my opinion, big sis¡¯ appearance isn¡¯t inferior to Madam Yu¡¯s at all.¡±

    Yun Jianyue rolled her eyes. ¡°Enough with the ttery. She¡¯s the Medusa Queen, someone who can bring down a country with her beauty. The temptation she represents for men is no joke.¡±

    She had seen Yu Yanluo before. Thetter''s beauty made even a woman like herself feel as if she wanted to get closer.

    ¡°We are demon witches too, though.¡± Yun Yuqing was a bit upset.

    ¡°Witch...¡± Yun Yuqing suddenly sighed while deep in thought.

    ...

    Meanwhile, Zu An had been nning to find Bi Linglong or Liu Ning to talk to them, but he discovered that they were both busy with their respective political tasks, and didn¡¯t have time at all.

    Helpless to do anything else, he could only return to the Heart Nurturing Pce. At the very least, the ce wasn¡¯t too unfamiliar to him. He had frequently visited it when Zhao Han ruled the empire, as well as when Zhao Ruizhi rose to the throne after. He hadn¡¯t expected that it would ever be his.

    All of the furnishings and articles had been swapped out, and the current style was entirely different from before. Even the maids and eunuchs had beenpletely switched.

    <i>Linglong really is considerate.</i>

    He was busy giving himself a small tour when someone suddenly reported that a woman wished to meet with him and make a report.

 Chapter 2263: Ultimate Dream

    <h4>Chapter 2263: Ultimate Dream</h4>

    After asking for a bit more information, Zu An learned that the one who was requesting a meeting was a female Embroidered Envoy. He immediately knew who it was.

    When she came in, sure enough, it was Zhang Zitong. Those distinctive legs were still just as striking as ever.

    ¡°Did you need something?¡± Zu An asked curiously.

    <i>Why is she looking for me?</i>

    ¡°This subordinate has something to report on, and I can only share it with the regent,¡± Zhang Zitong replied.

    Zu An waved his hand to gesture for the eunuchs and maids to leave. They all withdrew, none of them suggesting that it could be dangerous without anyone else here. After all, everyone had seen how powerful he was today. Who could even hurt him in this world now?

    When they left, Zu An looked at Zhang Zitong. ¡°You can speak now.¡±

    Zhang Zitong looked up. Her expression was reallyplicated, containing admiration, pleasant surprise, and also shock. After some hesitation, she greeted him with the standard Embroidered Envoy greeting. ¡°This subordinate greets Sir Eleven!¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression turned cold. ¡°What did you say?¡±

    Zhang Zitong sighed. ¡°Sir really did hide everything perfectly, but I always found it a bit strange. Why was it that whenever something major happened, Sir Xiao always unconditionally supported the regent? Onlyter, when I saw that the Devil Sect Master was close to you, did I suddenly realize the truth.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean, suddenly realize the truth?¡± Zu An remained calm. There was no emotion visible on his face.

    ¡°Our visit to the Lake of Hatred was the most unforgettable adventure of my life. I still remember every single detail clearly.¡± Zhang Zitong looked at him and said, ¡°Back then, the Devil Sect Master and sir were especially close. Now, I¡¯ve seen that the Devil Sect Master and the regent are close as well. The Devil Sect Master is an extremely proud person, and ording to the Embroidery House¡¯s information, she has never shown any interest in any man. How could she be so close to two different men at the same time? That meant there could be only one answer, which was that they were the same person.

    ¡°Sir excels at transformation skills, so you could be anyone. In that case, why can¡¯t you be the regent? Or perhaps this is your respected self¡¯s real appearance, and that Sir Eleven was but one of your disguises.¡±

    Zhang Zitong looked really excited and nervous right now. She had always admired Sir Eleven a lot, which was why she had always paid a lot of attention to him. Once she had formed her guesses and connected them with the other clues, many things had fallen into ce.

    Her expression suddenly changed. She felt a terrifying pressure descend on her. Even the air felt thick and viscous. It was as if an invisible pair of hands had wrapped around her throat, raising her into the air.

    Zu An stood on the steps and looked at her coldly, saying, ¡°I recall saying to you that being too smart isn¡¯t always a good thing.¡±

    He was actually feeling a lot of admiration deep down.

    <i>As expected of the most outstanding Silver Token Envoy back then, her deduction skills are quite outstanding. I¡¯ve been seen through twice now.</i>

    When she felt the iing threat of death, Zhang Zitong instinctively kicked in the air, but she couldn''t struggle free at all. She did her best to pull at those invisible hands. Her charming face waspletely red as she said, ¡°You won¡¯t kill me, because you''re a good person.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He hadn¡¯t expected that he would be dealt the ¡®nice guy¡¯ card even in this kind of situation. He replied, ¡°Oh? But not too long ago, I killed quite a few people, no? In the capital, there are many people calling me a bloodthirsty demon in secret, and yet you''re calling me a good person?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because the ones sir killed all deserved death,¡± Zhang Zitong struggled to reply. She felt that it was getting harder and harder to breathe.

    ¡°Then why do you think I wouldn¡¯t kill you?¡± Zu An looked at her coldly.

    ¡°That¡¯s because our Zhang n waspletely killed trying to save the previous dynasty¡¯s prince. I am the only one left,¡± Zhang Zitong quickly said. Right now, she didn¡¯t have any time to think at all, because she could feel that she was dying. However, that turned out to be the very reason for Zu An''s actions.

    ¡°You were willing to be so presumptuous just by relying on that?¡± Zu An harrumphed. He removed the terrifying force field.

    Zhang Zitong fell out of the air. She sat on the ground, rubbing her neck as she gasped for air. However, there was a big smile on her face. ¡°Of course not. Most importantly, it was because sir was a good person. Otherwise, I definitely wouldn¡¯t dare to court death like this.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He walked up to Zhang Zitong and looked down at her, saying, ¡°I don¡¯t know why you would try to expose my identity. There''s no benefit to you at all.¡±

    ¡°Because I wanted to get to know the real Sir Eleven, of course.¡± Zhang Zitong looked up at him, her expression shining.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t we already know each other before?¡± Zu An asked impatiently.

    ¡°That was different.¡± Zhang Zitong smiled as she carefully examined his features. ¡°The Sir Eleven I knew before was just a made-up name with a mask in between us. I didn¡¯t even know what he looked like. How could that be considered really knowing each other?¡±

    ¡°Then you can see what I look like now?¡± Zu An really couldn''t figure out how this woman¡¯s brain worked. She had taken such a huge risk just because of this?

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Zhang Zitong was too embarrassed to look straight at him, and continued to shift her gaze around. There was a bit of bashfulness on her face.

    When they were together in the Lake of Hatred, she had been really curious about what he looked like. She''d reflexively thought that he had to be really handsome, but then quickly snapped out of it, deciding that Sir Eleven was handsome no matter what he looked like. Even the ordinary appearance he had adopted at the Lake of Hatred was handsome.

    But never had she expected Sir Eleven to be even more handsome than she imagined. Besides that, he just happened to be the regent!

    ¡°Even though I don¡¯t want to kill you, you know too much. Even if I don¡¯t want to kill you, I have to.¡± Zu An frowned.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Zhang Zitong was immediately stunned. She reacted quickly and said, ¡°I¡¯m on your side! I¡¯ll follow you no matter what you do in the future!¡±

    Zu An said with a sneer, ¡°You didn¡¯t even tell me what organization you were under. You expect me to trust you even when your background is so shady?¡±

    Zhang Zitong bit her lip. She seemed to be struggling internally. But she quickly set her resolve and said, ¡°I definitely wouldn¡¯t tell anyone else, but since sir is asking about it...¡±

    She paused for a moment before continuing, ¡°When I was locked up, it was Tang Tian¡¯er who saved me. It was also her who sent me to the Devil Sect General Headquarters.¡± Sir Eleven and the regent were the two people she admired the most in the world. She was willing to trust his character.

    ¡°Tang Tian¡¯er?¡± Zu An was stunned. That sweet smile appeared in his memory. He had never expected it to be her. ¡°The young miss of Pegasus Merchant Group?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. She''s the Pegasus Merchant Group¡¯s young miss on the surface, but she''s actually an important figure in the Hub of Freedom,¡± Zhang Zitong replied.

    ¡°You really were from the Hub of Freedom after all.¡± Zu An had had his guesses, but his main suspicion was now confirmed. As for Tang Tian¡¯er being from the Hub of Freedom, that was something he hadf already known. However, it seemed that her role as an employee there was just to mask her real identity.

    ¡°I''m no longer a part of the Hub of Freedom. The trip to the Devil Sect''s Lake of Hatred was thest thing I did for them, to repay them for saving my life,¡± Zhang Zitong hurriedly said.

    ¡°What did she send you to the Devil Sect for?¡±

    ¡°To ruin the Shadow Group¡¯s ns, annd to prevent the Devil Sect from being seized by the Shadow Group.¡±

    Now that he heard her reply, Zu An was a bit intrigued. ¡°How much do you know about the Shadow Group?¡±

    ¡°The Shadow Group has always been mysterious, so I don''t know that much.¡±

    Zu An frowned slightly. That organization was too mysterious, and they always seemed to have been in the background in major events. However, he just couldn''t get his hands on them at all. An organization that could remain outside of his control really did make him feel a bit uneasy.

    ¡°Then how much do you know about them? Don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t know anything?¡± he asked as he looked at Zhang Zitong.

    Zhang Zitong replied, ¡°The organization was originally established by some Meng Dynasty remnants who remained loyal and refused to change. Their goal was to protect the Meng Dynasty¡¯s imperial bloodline, and they vowed to overthrow the Zhao n¡¯s regime. In order to umte the necessary funds, the Hub of Freedom was established, using some of the secret channels and information of the previous dynasty to seed. Business became better and better over time.

    ¡°Once they all became richer, however, a divide formed between the group''s members. There were some whose loyalty grew weaker, as they only wanted to make more money and enjoy their lives. There were others who never gave up on their ideals. Tang Tian¡¯er is stuck between the two groups, and has been mediating their rtionship.¡±

    She suddenly smiled and said, ¡°However, even all of these people added together can''tpare to sir. Sir single-handedly reced the Zhao n¡¯s empire and regained the throne.¡± n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An said indifferently, ¡°I don''t have any interest in the matter of the past dynasty¡¯s prince or imperial grandson or whatever. Some vow to regain the empire doesn''t interest me. Everything I''m doing isn¡¯t for them, nor is it for somest-generation grievance. Tell the Hub of Freedom that out of respect for their past contributions, they can show allegiance to the court and I''ll make proper arrangements for them. If they have any other thoughts, tell them to give up. Otherwise, I won''t show any mercy.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± Zhang Zitong wasn¡¯t too surprised to hear this response. With the regent¡¯s current strength and position, why would he care about those things at all?

    She then said with a big smile, ¡°I''ve already told all of my secrets to sir. Can I stay by sir¡¯s side now?¡±

    When he looked at her expectant, but also scared look, Zu An felt his heart soften. The Zhang n really had sacrificed far too much, and he really did need a trusted aide to help him with various things right now. As such, he said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll keep you here as a secretary.¡±[1]

    ¡°What is a secretary?¡± Zhang Zitong was stunned.

    Zu An thought for a bit. He exined it to her using the system of the modern officialdom. ¡°It¡¯s just like being the emperor¡¯s assistant. You¡¯ll handle some daily matters.¡±

    Zhang Zitong was pleased beyond her wildest expectations. ¡°Okay! In the future, if there''s anything to do, you can make this secretary do it!¡±

    ¡°Then what if there isn¡¯t anything to do?¡± When he saw how happy she was, Zu An¡¯s mood couldn''t help but improve.

    ¡°You can stille looking for me, of course.¡± Zhang Zitong patted her chest. ¡°I promise that I''ll take good care of sir.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. However, when he saw her pure and innocent expression, he knew that his thoughts had gone in the wrong direction.

    <i>Sigh, who would¡¯ve thought that I would already achieve the ultimate dream of countless keyboard warriors in this different world.</i>

    1. The term used for ''secretary'' in modern times is ÃØÊé (mi shu), with the characters individually meaning ''secret'' and ''book''. ?

 Chapter 2264: Sisters Fooling Each Other

    <h4>Chapter 2264: Sisters Fooling Each Other</h4>

    When she saw his reaction, Zhang Zitong was stunned at first, but she quickly realized to the implied meaning behind her earlier words. She immediately became embarrassed. ¡°Sir, that¡¯s not what I meant! Don¡¯t misunderstand! But of course, if you want to... Ah! That¡¯s really not what I meant!¡± She was normally extremely sharp when she handled cases, and she spoke eloquently too. But now, she stumbled over her words as if she didn¡¯t even know how to speak anymore.

    When he saw her reddened face and panicked expression, Zu An smiled. ¡°Alright, I know that¡¯s not what you meant. I wanted to nurture you into a Golden Token Envoy, but it seems that I need to make other arrangements now.¡±

    Zhang Zitong immediately panicked. ¡°Ah, I can continue to be an Embroidered Envoy, though!¡±

    Zu An gave her an amused look. ¡°The Embroidered Envoy has never gotten involved in political affairs. Don¡¯t you think you''re being a bit too greedy by getting involved in both sides?¡±

    ¡°Ah? I just didn¡¯t want to lose my connection with Sir Eleven...¡± Zhang Zitong hurriedly exined. That was a memory she really cherished.

    ¡°Then you can make your choice now. You can continue to be an Embroidered Envoy, or you can start working for me.¡± Zu An¡¯s eyes seemed to pierce straight through her thoughts.

    ¡°I...¡± Zhang Zitong immediately felt conflicted. She naturally wanted to stay by sir¡¯s side, but her experiences as an Embroidered Envoy were something that she treasured a lot. She suddenly didn¡¯t know which side to pick.

    Zu An chuckled when he saw how conflicted she was. ¡°Forget it, I¡¯ll make an exception for you. You''ll be reinstatedas a Silver Token Envoy, but you can''t interfere with the Embroidery House¡¯s concrete affairs. On top of that, you''ll act as my secretary here to handle daily affairs. You''ll also be assigned to be the Pce Commander, in charge of overseeing the guards in front of the pce hall.¡±

    Zhang Zitong rubbed her ears in disbelief. When she finally processed what was happening, her eyes even became a bit red. ¡°Thank you, sir!¡±

    She naturally knew what kind of favor this was. She was probably the only Embroidered Envoy since its founding who could be a court member! Of course, someone special like Sir Eleven didn¡¯t count. That wasn¡¯t all, either! She was also going tomand the pce guards.

    She wasn¡¯t grateful for the official position, but rather the trust he ced in her. Whether it was being a secretary or the Pce Commander, they were both positions that only the most trustworthy people would be ced in.

    <i>Sir really is too good to me.</i>

    <i>Could it be that sir... likes me?</i>

    She felt even happier when she thought of that.

    When he saw the rapid changes in her expression, Zu An couldn''t help but smile. He''d gotten quite emotional when he heard about the Zhang n¡¯s story in the past.

    The Zhao n had ruthlessly hunted down the remnants of the previous dynasty, and yet at the time, the Zhang n had still dared to take on the great risk of protecting the previous dynasty¡¯s prince. That was also the reason why the entire n had been eradicated. Even though he didn¡¯t acknowledge the identity of the imperial grandson himself, how could he betray the blood that the loyal members of the Zhang n had shed?

    Besides, Zhang Zitong was quite charming in her own right. He admired her ability and disposition when they had worked together on several cases. This was a time when he just happened to be in need of people, so he chose her.

    ¡°Alright, stop wiping your tears on my clothes. Carefully exin the current situation with the Hub of Freedom to me, as well as everything you know about the Shadow Group.¡±

    When Zhang Zitong returned to her senses, she asked worriedly, ¡°Is sir going to go against the Hub of Freedom?¡±

    ¡°So what if I wanted to go against them?¡± Zu An asked.

    Zhang Zitong gritted her teeth. ¡°I will naturally help sir scheme if sir wants to act against them.¡± How could she still be divided at heart when he had already chosen to trust her? She had to make a clean break with everyone else.

    Zu An nodded with satisfaction. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the Hub of Freedom has earned their own merit to a certain extent, so how could I go against them? Going forward, I just want to ce the right people in the right ces as much as possible.¡±

    Zhang Zitong sighed in relief. The Hub of Freedom had helped her, so she didn¡¯t want to make them her enemy. Thus, she began to happily chat with him.

    ...

    Meanwhile, in Yun Yuqing¡¯s manor, the sisters both clenched their teeth in annoyance after finding out how many more rivals in love there were.

    <i>Zu An is too unfaithful! Just what do we do with all of these love rivals in the future?</i>

    Yun Yuqing wanted to borrow her big sister¡¯s strength to form an alliance with her martial niece. They could then face these vixens together.

    Yun Jianyue was actually a bit relieved. Even though she was upset, she didn¡¯t want to participate in this battle between women. After all, there was no way her rtionship with Zu An could be exposed. If that happened, the only one who would be hurt was Honglei. That silly girl was probably bound to feel like a lonely soul.

    The two of them had already chatted for a long time. Both of them really did gradually fall asleep on the same bed. After a long time passed, their breathing became steady and light, with a stable rhythm.

    Just then, Yun Yuqing suddenly opened her eyes. She secretly left the bed. She was scared of making the slightest sound, so she carried her clothes and shoes in hand to walk barefoot on the ground.

    When she reached the door, she was still a bit worried. She gave the sleeping woman a look and asked in an extremely quiet voice, ¡°Big sis?¡±

    She waved her hand while calling out. When she saw that her sister didn¡¯t respond, she feltpletely at ease. She gently closed the door and flew out in high spirits.

    As soon as she left, Yun Jianyue suddenly opened her eyes. She couldn''t help but sneer when she recalled her sister''s movements.

    <i>That woman really is good at acting. She said she was sleeping, but she¡¯s secretly looking for Ah Zu now.</i>

    <i>I¡¯ll have to be sure to warn Honglei to always remain vignt. None of these women are easy to deal with.</i>

    She turned over, intending to continue sleeping, but for some reason she just couldn''t get back to sleep. She felt really annoyed, as if wind had disturbed a previously calmkeshore. The memory of when she was with Zu An earlier appeared in her mind. The embarrassment and awkwardness of being interrupted midway really was an extremely disturbing feeling.

    She continued to toss and turn for a while longer in bed. In the end, she decided to just sit up. A blush appeared on her usually dignified face.

    ¡°I''m just going to see what that silly girl Yuqing is up to. Then, I¡¯ll also talk to Ah Zu about the highest state of cultivation,¡± she muttered to herself while getting dressed. She also quickly disappeared from the room.

    ...

    Meanwhile, as she stood guard outside the Heart Nurturing Pce, Zhang Zitong¡¯s back was especially straight. She was tall and slender to begin with; now that she was dressed in a military uniform, she looked even more valiant and formidable.

    Many guards snuck looks at her. There was amazement in all of their eyes. Even so, no one dared to develop any strange thoughts. They all knew that this woman was their future immediate supervisor, and that she had once been an Embroidered Envoy. Embroidered Envoys were famous for being fierce, and none of them wanted to be brought back to the Embroidery House.

    More importantly, she had been personally appointed by the regent and was even made his secretary. Not only was she in charge of the regent¡¯s safety, she would also take care of his day to day affairs. They all knew what that meant.

    Zhang Zitong could sense their gaze. She was embarrassed but also proud. She didn¡¯t really mind their misunderstandings, because she did admire Sir Eleven, after all...

    This was the first time she had chatted for so long with the real Sir Eleven. Even thinking about it now was exciting.

    <i>Sir really is handsome...</i>

    Just then, she shivered and looked in a certain direction. ¡°Who is it?!¡±

    She quickly charged in that direction. What kind of a joke was this? This was her first day of duty, so if she let an assassin approach her boss, wouldn¡¯t that mean she waspletely unreliable?

    The other guards also immediately responded and charged forth.

    ¡°It¡¯s me,¡± Yun Yuqing called out, feeling really embarrassed. She had wanted to sneak in and look for Zu An without anyone knowing, but was this guy the cat zodiac or something? She had actually been discovered!

    Yun Jianyue, who had been following closely behind, grinned. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    <i>Little sis really is an idiot. She¡¯s losing face for the entire Demon race.</i>

    She wasn¡¯t worried at all. Her body merged with the moonlight, and then she snuck into the Heart Nurturing Pce while the guards¡¯ attention was drawn.

    ¡°Madam Wu?¡± Zhang Zitong saw who the ¡®assassin¡¯ was and had a weird expression. She had heard about the events of the day.

    <i>There''s no way she can avoid looking suspicious whileing to look for sir in the middle of the night.</i>

 Chapter 2265: Donâ€™t Even Think About It

    <h4>Chapter 2265: Don¡¯t Even Think About It</h4>

    The other guards had surprised expressions. This woman was really beautiful; it was no wonder that the capital had a famous saying about her and King Wu being a perfect pair. Their reputation had even briefly surpassed the empress at one point in time.

    ¡°I am no longer Madam Wu.¡± Yun Yuqing was a bit unhappy. Her female intuition let her sense the hostility from the other side, and she asked, ¡°Who are you?¡±

    ¡°The regent appointed me to be the pce¡¯s Command Officer, Zhang Zitong!¡± Zhang Zitong stuck out her chest proudly.

    Yun Yuqing looked her up and down. In the end, her gaze stopped on Zhang Zitong''s legs for a bit. This woman was pretty, but her facial features were still a bit inferiorpared to her and her sister. However, those legs were indeed extremely beautiful.

    She had carefully examined her big sister¡¯s body while they were sleeping. Her legs were also pretty, but because there were too many other stunning parts of her body, others would naturally pay attention to other areas first. But this woman was tall and graceful, and her legs were eye-catching. People''s gazes would immediately be drawn to her legs.

    In terms of appearance alone, Yun Yuqing knew that she was superior, but it almost felt as if they shared the limelight when she stood next to her.

    In recent years, the two pairs of legs that had left her with the deepest impression during the daytime belonged to Jiang Luofu, and now Zhang Zitong. Jiang Luofu¡¯s legs were more well-rounded, and gave off a more sensual appearance. The way the ck silk slightly tightened around her thighs was just too stimting a sight. It was a level of charm difficult even for a woman like her to resist. In contrast, this woman¡¯s legs were more slender and long. It was entirely different from Jiang Luofu¡¯s style. But they were both equally beautiful in their own way.

    <i>Hmph, isn¡¯t it obvious what Ah Zu is trying to do by keeping a beauty with long legs so close to him?!</i>

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Yun Yuqing for +122 +122 +122...</strong>

    ¡°So it was Officer Zhang. I have something I need to see the regent for, so I hope little sister can pass on the message.¡± She resisted the unhappiness she felt and showed a perfect smile.

    Several guards were dazzled by her smile.

    <i>How could a woman this beautiful have any bad thoughts?</i>

    But as people who could be selected to be imperial guards, they were all individuals with strong wills. They quickly snapped out of their daze. Even so, the way they looked at her was no longer as sharp as it had been at first.

    ¡°The regent has already turned in to get some rest, so it isn¡¯t a suitable time,¡± Zhang Zitong tactfully refused. This woman hade in the middle of the night! Her schemes were more than obvious.

    ¡°If you tell him I''m the one who came, he''ll meet with me,¡± Yun Yuqing said, doing her best to remain patient.

    ...

    The activity outside didn¡¯t escape Zu An¡¯s notice. He knew about Yun Yuqing¡¯s arrival, and was just about to call her in when he suddenly noticed something off to the side.

    By the window, there was a beauty with long hair reaching down to her bottom. The moonlight seeping in made her look even more beautiful and alluring. She was sizing him up with an ambiguous smile.

    ¡°Big sis Yun!¡± Zu An spread out his arms.

    Yun Jianyue harrumphed.

    <i>Is this guy treating me like some young maiden in love?</i>

    <i>I am the glorious Devil Sect Master!</i>

    <i>Men can only hope to be stepped on beneath me...</i>

    But when she looked at that warm smile and those open arms, she bit her lip and kicked off with her toes, jumping into his arms.

    As they hugged each other tightly, Yun Yuqing harrumphed and said, ¡°Look at you, already assigning a pretty woman with nice long legs as your guard.¡±

    Holding her exquisite and soft body in his arms, Zu An said with a smile, ¡°Her father treated me with kindness in the past, so I''m just paying back the Zhang n. What, is big sis Yun jealous?¡±

    ¡°Why would I be jealous? I¡¯m just expressing injustice for Honglei, that¡¯s all.¡± Yun Jianyue got on her tiptoes and gave his mouth a bite.

    This almost seemed like a signal. Zu An grinned and asked, ¡°Do you want to explore and study the highest cultivation rank again?¡±

    ¡°Hurry!¡± Yun Jianyue¡¯s eyes moved quickly. She knew her little sister was still outside.

    Zu An thought to himself, <i>As expected of the Devil Sect Witch. She really knows how to have fun!</i>

    The usually domineering Yun Jianyue rarely showed this side. Zu An didn¡¯t hesitate and kissed her back passionately. It was as if heavenly lightning shed with earthly mes as they pressed tightly against each other.

    Perhaps it was because time was pressing, but they didn¡¯t use any tricks at all. True mastery of a skill could often appear simple!

    Yun Jianyue also put everything into it. Her waist rose and fell like an ocean wave. Even the sharpest sword had a suitable sheath to receive its edge.

    Once again, through Zu An¡¯s help, she was able to experience a taste of thews of the world. Her head seemed to explode. She felt as if she was surrounded by a sea of stars. She watched as they swirled, and all things rose and fell. It felt as if endless information flowed through her body, making every single nerve and cell cheer with joy.

    She also knew fully well that it was only because her own cultivation rank was extremely high, and she had already sessfully cultivated the Heavenly Devil Temptation, that her body was tough enough to resist such tremendous power. If this were another day, perhaps she would even be able to continue.

    She was experiencing so much joy that she almost cried out loud. Her entire body wrapped around his softly, grateful towards this man who had helped her peer into heavenlyw.

    <i>Hmph, I¡¯ll definitely give Yan Xuehen a good beating the next time I see her. I¡¯m going to press her against the table and spank her!</i> n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    <i>Knock knock knock!</i>

    Zhang Zitong¡¯s knocks came from outside.

    ¡°Sir, Madam... Ahem, Miss Yun wants to meet with you.¡±

    Even though she was unhappy that Yun Yuqing hade looking for her boss in the middle of the night, she knew she had her responsibility. She didn¡¯t dare to let her private judgments override Zu An¡¯s decisions.

    ¡°Oh~¡±

    Zhang Zitong was a bit stunned when she heard his reply.

    <i>What does that mean? Should I let her in or not?</i>

    A whileter, Zu An said, ¡°You can let her in.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± Zhang Zitong epted the order and left.

    Yun Jianyue bit him fiercely, her expression carrying a hidden grudge. She was clearly ming him for meeting another woman at such a crucial time.

    Zu An said apologetically, ¡°Yuqing gave up everything to stand by my side today. If I refused to see her, she could end up having other thoughts.¡±

    Yun Jianyue naturally knew that, but knowing it was one thing; the current situation was another.

    Zu An lowered his head to whisper by her ear, and Yun Jianyue¡¯s already red face became even brighter. ¡°Pah, keep dreaming!¡±

    Yun Yuqing¡¯s gentle voice came from outside the door. ¡°Yun Yuqing wishes to meet with the regent~¡±

    Yun Jianyue sighed. Her sister really was endearing and pitiable. Her voice and tone could leave any man infatuated.

    ¡°Alright, just a moment.¡± Zu An looked down at the beauty in his arms. It was as if his eyes could speak.

    ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it!¡± Yun Jianyue harrumphed. She didn¡¯t dare to stay here for a moment longer. If Yun Yuqing caught the two of them together, that really would be social suicide! She had been pretending to be asleep just now, after all.

    She quickly struggled free from Zu An¡¯s arms and ran for the window. However, her legs almost gave out as soon as she took a single step. She turned around and gave the culprit an embarrassed look. The only one who could make an earth immortal¡¯s legs go weak was probably this man.

    As Yun Yuqing opened the door and came in, Yun Jianyue had just jumped out the window in a sorry manner.

    Yun Yuqing felt as if she saw something move out of the corner of her eyes and reflexively looked at the window. Unfortunately, she only saw a pretty curved moon. She couldn''t help but smile sweetly, saying, ¡°The moon really is beautiful today.¡±

    ¡°Even though the moon is beautiful, it can¡¯tpare to your beauty.¡± Zu An closed the door behind her.

    Outside, Zhang Zitong still had a bitter expression. She had thought that being able to serve close to Sir Eleven was a happy event. But now, it didn¡¯t seem to be that wonderful anymore. For one thing, she had to just watch as women of all sorts looked for Zu An, and yet she had to stand outside and keep watch for them.

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Zhang Zitong for +55 +55 +55...</strong>

    Yun Jianyue, who was hiding outside the window, felt her teeth ache.

    <i>This guy really is something! He immediately switched modes just like that! He was just saying that I was beautiful.</i>

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +66 +66 +66...</strong>

    Yun Yuqing lowered her head bashfully. ¡°Big brother Zu~¡±

    Yun Jianyue¡¯s entire body trembled.

    <i>Little sis is putting on that green tea act again.</i>

    She knew that her evaluation was biased, but whose fault was it that they were half-sisters with different mothers, dooming them to never get along with each other?

    Zu An looked out the window in confusion.

    <i>Why is she still here?</i>

    He held Yun Yuqing¡¯s hand and walked into the room. ¡°Have you gotten used to life in the pce?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s alright. The empress dowager and big sis Linglong all treat me quite well. They chose a very pretty pce just for me.¡± Yun Yuqing had been tense and nervous the whole day, but when Zu An held her hand, she felt a sense of unprecedented peace.

    ¡°I heard that your big sis was living with you. Did she know you wereing here?¡± Zu An grinned.

    Yun Jianyue was speechless.

    <i>This guy really wants to see the entire world in chaos!</i>

    Yun Yuqing said with a grin, ¡°Big sis might have been too tired from fighting today, but she fell asleep after we chatted for a while. I had a lot of worries on my mind and couldn''t sleep, so I wanted to talk to you.¡±

    Yun Jianyue was stunned.

    <i>This girl was yawning while we were chatting just now, and pretended to fall asleep first, and yet she¡¯s telling apletely different story in front of him! This is ridiculous!</i>

 Chapter 2266: A Misunderstanding

    Zu An only found the current situation really interesting. He couldn''t help but ask teasingly, ¡°What were the two of you chatting about, for you to even end up falling asleep while talking about it?¡±

    Yun Jianyue was startled.

    <em>Little sis won¡¯t be stupid enough to really talk about it, right?</em>n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    She definitely hadn¡¯t held back her roasting of Zu An earlier, and she had said a lot of things about the other vixens too.

    <em>We were just casually chatting, but if Zu An found out, he could think I was badmouthing him behind his back. Wouldn¡¯t that make me look really bad?</em>

    ¡°Chatting about things rted to you, of course.¡± Yun Yuqing¡¯s eyes curved as she smiled. Her words immediately made Yun Jianyue panic a bit, but she then continued, ¡°We were chatting about how we got to know you.¡±

    Yun Jianyue sighed in relief.

    ¡°Ah? But our meeting isn¡¯t something that would be too good to talk about, right?¡± Zu An had a strange expression as he recalled that sensual night. Of course, he was talking about the fact that he had never expected King Wu to actually send his own beautiful madam to his room. He still remembered that strange feeling even now.

    ¡°I left King Wu¡¯s side toe to your side in front of everyone else. So many people know about our rtionship now, and she''s my older sister, so there¡¯s nothing to hide.¡± As she spoke, a hint of worry appeared on Yun Yuqing''s beautiful face.¡°What¡¯s in the past is in the past. You''re no longer Madam Wu, and you have me at your side.¡± Zu An held her in his arms as he consoled her.

    Underneath the window, Yun Jianyue was sweating profusely. She stroked her arms, feeling goosebumps everywhere.

    Yun Yuqing leaned into his arms and said quietly, ¡°Ah Zu, I¡¯m really scared.¡±

    ¡°What are you scared of?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m scared that you won¡¯t want me anymore, and that now that I''ve turned my back on my past, on everything, I won¡¯t have anything anymore once you tire of me.¡± As she spoke, Yun Yuqing¡¯s eyes even turned red. Sparkling teardrops slid down her fair white face.

    Yun Jianyue sneered outside the window.

    <em>This girl really knows how to act weak and helpless. How could a man not feel pity for her if they see this?</em>

    But she also knew that even though her little sister was acting a bit, most of this still came from her real feelings. After all, most people had known Yun Yuqing as Madam Wu for half her life, and she''d also had the Demon race behind her. Now, all of that was gone.

    ¡°The fact that you chose me today means you trust me. Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t leave you.¡± Zu An touched Yun Yuqing small face and gently helped her wipe away the tears on her cheek. ¡°After a bit of time passes, I¡¯ll bring you back to the Demon race. You won¡¯t have to worry about beingpletely alone then.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, big brother Zu.¡± Yun Yuqing was shocked and happy to hear that. Even though she didn¡¯t know why she had been betrayed by her nsmen, something had clearly happened on the Demon race''s side. She''d thought that she would end uppletely homeless, not expecting her lover to be willing to help her solve this problem.

    Outside, Yun Jianyue harrumphed.

    <em>This guy really knows how to make a woman happy.</em>

    She actually only had half Demon heritage, so she herself didn¡¯t feel any sense of belonging to the Demon race. The things happening in their territory didn¡¯t interest her at all either. But that was all really important to Yun Yuqing. Wouldn¡¯t her little sister now be even more devoted to Zu An in the future?

    Zu An kissed Yun Yuqing¡¯s bright and clean forehead before asking, ¡°Then how do you n on thanking me?¡±

    Yun Yuqing¡¯s face reddened. Then, she got on her tiptoes to kiss him. Perhaps because of the lip gloss she was wearing, her soft lips were especially alluring.

    Zu An¡¯s arms reflexively tightened and wrapped around her. Yun Yuqing¡¯s waist was especially thin, and so soft that he felt as if she was boneless. He suddenly felt as if the room was bing a bit hot.

    However, it wasn''t because of the temperature. Forget about Zu An''s current cultivation, once one reached the master rank, or even the ninth rank, one would be unaffected by most cold and hot temperatures. The real reason he felt this way was because he had just been stimted by Yun Jianyue earlier. Even though their earlier experience was extremely wonderful, they had been a bit too rushed. Yun Jianyue had managed to experience the highest cultivation rank, but how could that much be enough for his current self?

    When she felt the intense pressure from her lover, Yun Yuqing started to be ovee by passion. There was a saying that a short separation was better than being newly wed; but rather than a short separation, the number of times they had been together could be counted on one¡¯s fingers. As she responded to her lover tenderly and softly.r, her love reached its peak.

    When she heard the ambiguous soundsing from inside, outside the window, Yun Jianyue thought, <em>This woman really is shameless! There are still people who saw here in.</em>

    <em>And Ah Zu, really! He clearly just¡­ And yet he¡¯s already like this with my sister.</em>

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +119 +119 +119¡­</strong>

    Even though she also knew that her anger was a bit strange, she still couldn''t control herself.

    Only when Zu An saw the iing Rage points did he realize that she hadn¡¯t left yet. He was starting to feel a bit annoyed.

    <em>What is big sis Yun doing? She doesn¡¯t want to leave, but she isn¡¯t willing to do what I suggested to her earlier, either.</em>

    <em>Hm? Wait, big sis Yun is usually proud and unyielding. Of course she wouldn¡¯t agree if I just asked her.</em>

    <em>But is she suggesting something by staying here¡­</em>

    When he thought of that, he couldn''t help but feel stimted. He carried Yun Yuqing to the bed and ced her by the window.

    ¡°Ah¡­¡± Yun Yuqing was already a bit confused, but when she felt the evening wind, she suddenly gained a bit of mental rity and said, ¡°Ah Zu, someone might see us here.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I already gave orders earlier. No one will approach this ce,¡± Zu An said while secretly looking at Yun Jianyue beneath the window.

    Yun Jianyue was so scared her soul almost left her body. She gave Zu An a fierce look.

    <em>Thank goodness little sis¡¯ back is to the window, and she doesn¡¯t dare to turn around because of her embarrassment. But if she saw me here¡­ That would be absolute social suicide.</em>

    <em>What is this guy trying to do?</em>

    When she saw that he was even about to take her hand, Yun Jianyue finally couldn''t take it anymore. She kicked off and disappeared into the night sky with a reddened face.

    <em>This guy is too much! Sometimes, I¡¯m even left wondering if he spent some time in our Devil Sect. Just where did he learn all of this stuff from?</em>

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +66 +66 +66¡­</strong>

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Yun Yuqing sensed something and quickly turned to look.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing,¡± Zu An said, feeling a bit disappointed. When he saw how Yun Jianyue reacted, he realized he had misunderstood her after all.

    Yun Yuqing had a hint of watery mist in her eyes. ¡°Ah Zu, can we not do it here? It¡¯s too embarrassing.¡±

    Even though the Imperial Garden was behind them and there didn¡¯t seem to be anyone there, what if a guard or maid passed by? That would be way too embarrassing!

    ¡°No, we¡¯re staying right here.¡± Zu An refused. He hadn¡¯t really cared that much at first, but the way she tried to refuse and yet continued was especially tempting.

    When she saw how dominant he was, Yun Yuqing gently bit her lip. There was a bit of annoyance in her gaze, but this kind of feeling, as if they were walking on a cliff''s edge, gave her a different sense of expectation. In the end, she decided to just let him do what he wanted.

    Zu An looked down at the beauty in his arms. Even though this wasn¡¯t the first time he had seen her, he still found the view breathtaking. Yun Yuqing always looked at him with those peach blossom eyes that were full of emotion. This was a kind of invitation that would raise any man¡¯s fighting spirit. The way those pretty brows furrowed and the way she clenched her teeth really gave him an iparable sense of achievement.

    <em>Knock knock knock!</em>

    Suddenly, however, there was a knock at the door as Zhang Zitong called out from outside, ¡°Sir, the empress wishes to meet with you.¡±

 Chapter 2267: Gratitude and Grudges

    Meanwhile, by the time Bi Linglong dealt with the various things that she had to take care of, she noticed that it was already dark outside, with the sun already sinking beneath the trees.

    She couldn''t help but rub her temples. Far too many things had happened today; any one of them would be earth-shaking on its own, and yet they''d all happened at the same time. Not only did she have to handle matters inside the Imperial Pce, she also had to take care of the Bi n''s situation. Her father had been killed by the monsters, and many people from the Bi n were involved in the coup.

    Fortunately, the empress dowager was lenient, and didn¡¯t truly pursue the matter. Otherwise, most of the Bi n would have had to suffer. Even so, half of the n was still punished. When she recalled how everyone had cursed her when shest returned to the Bi manor, she felt really ufortable.

    ¡°Momo, do you think I made a mistake?¡± Bi Linglong showed a rare expression of helplessness.

    Rong Mo naturally knew why she was asking that. She eximed in righteous indignation, ¡°What did the young miss do wrong? It was clearly thete master and some n seniors who were bewitched by the monsters andmitted those crimes. If not for you, the entire Bi n might¡¯ve been pulled up by the roots. Not only were those people not grateful, they even cursed you. They really forget favors and vite justice!¡±

    Bi Linglong sighed. ¡°They feel as if this entire disaster only happened because I sided with Ah Zu.¡±

    The logic of the Bi n was quite straightforward. Since she was already the empress, someone with extremely high status, she could have worked together with Zhao Ruizhi and shared in mutual glory. But what could she obtain by standing alongside Zu An? She had clearly lost her status as the wife of the emperor. Zu An already had his own wife, so what was her ce in his life?

    Even though she was still in charge of the government, what about the future? There had never been a new ruler who let someone else¡¯s empress be their own empress. Taking the previous empress into their own harem as a concubine was already the best possible oue.

    To them, not only had Bi Linglong ended up lowering her own status and authority by a grade, even the entire Bi n had been almostpletely eradicated. No one in the n could understand her decision.Rong Mo eximed angrily, ¡°What does that have to do with mydy? The regent¡¯s cultivation is now iparable. If he wants to do something, what can the people of the world do to stop him? Additionally, the regent even helped thete master get revenge. I actually think that the Bi n should be grateful that you''re close to the regent, because otherwise, they might have already beenpletely eradicated. Those people only care about their own authority and position; they don¡¯t care about what mydy likes or if she¡¯s happy at all.¡±

    Bi Linglong felt much better when she heard Rong Mo chatter continuously for her sake. She couldn''t help but ask with a smile, ¡°Didn¡¯t you hate Ah Zu quite a bit before? You were always arguing with him. Why does it now sound as if you have nothing but high praise for him?¡±

    Rong Mo¡¯s face turned red as she replied, ¡°The regent is already so strong now, why would I still dare?¡±

    She recalled how Zu An had dominated the Bi n and how he''d killed those monsters today.

    <em>He''s so handsome¡­</em>

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I should have a chat with Ah Zu too,¡± Bi Linglong said as she got up. Rong Mo also eagerly followed behind.

    When she arrived outside the Heart Nurturing Pce, Bi Linglong was quickly noticed.

    ¡°We greet her highness the empress!¡±

    Unlike an outsider like Yun Yuqing, there was almost no one here who didn¡¯t recognize Bi Linglong after her years of governing. Zhang Zitong also admired her a lot, and was especially impressed by how Bi Linglong had already sensed that something was off with the emperor before the regent returned today.

    ¡°Hm? Why are you here?¡± Bi Linglong asked in surprise.

    Zhang Zitong replied, ¡°Sir assigned me to manage the guards.¡±

    When she noticed that she was calling him ¡®sir¡¯, Bi Linglong raised her brows.

    <em>She actually already knows that Ah Zu is Golden Token Eleven! It seems she really is his trusted aide.</em>

    <em>But that guy is such a womanizer. Would he really choose a beauty with long legs like her as his guard without any other intentions in mind?</em>

    ¡°There is indeed no one else more suitable than you.¡± Bi Linglong smiled and gave her some encouragement in passing.

    Zhang Zitong felt really happy. ¡°Is your highness looking for sir? I¡¯ll pass on the message right now.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be troubling you.¡± Bi Linglong nodded slightly. She could also sense Zhang Zitong''s goodwill.

    Zhang Zitong moved quickly and grinned. The first reason was because she did like Bi Linglong, and the second reason was that she could use this as a pretext to ¡®disturb¡¯ Yun Yuqing¡¯s happiness.

    <em>Hmph, you came all the way here to disturb sir in the middle of the night. What are you trying to do?</em>

    When Zu An heard Zhang Zitong¡¯s knocks, he was full of questions.

    <em>Are the heavens messing with me right now?</em>

    <em>It was like this with big sis Yun, and we¡¯re now going through it again?</em>

    Yun Yuqing¡¯s entire body shook intensely. She had already been embarrassed and worked up, and now with this, her heart almost jumped straight out of her throat.

    Zu An took a deep breath and calmed himself down with a lot of difficulty. ¡°Ahem, you can invite her in.¡±

    Yun Yuqing widened her eyes.

    <em>If she sees us together like this, what is Bi Linglong going to think?</em>

    Zu An was a bit apologetic. ¡°There were just too many important events that took ce today. Linglong might also also be really scared and sensitive, so I can¡¯t refuse her.¡±

    After he said that, however, even he was surprised at himself. Why did these words sound so familiar?

    Yun Yuqing figured that made sense. Bi Linglong''s ¡®husband¡¯ had also died, and even her father had passed away. To a certain extent, Linglong was even more pitiable than she was. After she thought of that, she finallyposed herself and quickly pushed Zu An away.

    When she heard a sound like champagne being opened, she really wanted to find a hole to crawl into. She began to sort her clothes in rm. Suddenly, however, she felt dizzy and weak. Her body softened, and she almost fell out of the window. Fortunately, Zu An supported her.

    Just as Yun Yuqing was about to jump out of the window, Bi Linglong pushed open the door and entered. A bit stunned, she said, ¡°So Yuqing was also here.¡±

    ¡°Big sis Linglong.¡± Yun Yuqing was also a bit grateful that Linglong didn¡¯t call her Madam Wu. As expected of a considerate person!

    But what had just happened was way too embarrassing and she really didn¡¯t know how to face her. As such, she quickly said with a reddened face, ¡°I''ve already finished talking to Ah Zu, so I won¡¯t disturb the two of you anymore.¡± She practically seemed to be running away as she left.

    When she saw Yun Yuqing leave, Bi Linglong gave Zu An an annoyed look. ¡°Ah Zu, did you take advantage of her just now?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face heated up. ¡°What kind of nonsense are you thinking about? She already gave up so much today. She was flustered and came to talk to me.¡±

    Just then, he had waved his hand andpletely cleaned the room. With his current control over the water element, not the slightest trace remained.

    Bi Linglong thought that Yun Yuqing seemed to have been a bit red around the neck earlier, and the way she walked was also different from normal. It would be weirder if nothing had happened. Even so, she didn¡¯t expose him and just said, ¡°It seems she and I seem to have simr things to worry about.¡±

    ¡°Come and sit down over here. I¡¯ll give you a massage to help you ease your fatigue.¡± Zu An pushed her in front of a chair and had her sit down.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°We can just talk,¡± Bi Linglong said, thinking, <em>Who knows what else you¡¯ll be massaging with those hands?</em> But she still felt his concern for her. It was as if they were a loving married couple.

    ¡°Have you finished dealing with the Bi n¡¯s affairs?¡± Zu An asked as he sat down next to her. He held her hand and sent over a stream of ki.

    When she sensed that warm stream, Bi Linglong immediately felt much more refreshed. Her fatigue seemed to havepletely disappeared in one go. She replied, ¡°I did. The empress dowager was lenient, which was probably to give you face.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good. I apologize about your esteemed father¡¯s fate and offer my condolences.¡± Zu An sighed.

    ¡°Ah Zu¡­¡± When she heard his gentle voice, Bi Linglong¡¯s stubbornnesspletely copsed. She couldn''t help but rush into his arms while sobbing.

    Zu An gently caressed her smooth, long hair. Everyone said she was a natural-born politician and that she was extremely skillful, perhaps even cold-blooded. However, all of them had probably forgotten that she was just a youngdy in herte teens!

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in the Pce of Compassion, Liu Ning was talking to two beautiful youngdies. ¡°Qienqien, Dandan, I really need to thank the two of you.¡±

    These two were naturally Sang Qien and Zheng Dan. Liu Ning remembered their kindness firmly. As such, as soon as she finished taking care of pce affairs, she''d had someone invite them over.

    However, there was a shadow lurking in a remote corner of the Pce of Compassion. A pair of sinister and fierce eyes stared in the direction of the empress dowager¡¯s resting ce. Suddenly, those eyes filled with zing heat.

 Chapter 2268: Fell for the Trap

    <h4>Chapter 2268: Fell for the Trap</h4>

    Sang Qien and Zhang Dan both returned the greeting. ¡°The empress dowager speaks too highly of us. Anyone would have helped in that kind of situation.¡±

    Even though that was what they said, in reality, if not for her rtionship with Zu An, perhaps they wouldn''t have taken such a huge risk.

    ¡°What empress dowager? You two are acting like strangers.¡± Liu Ning held their hands as she sat down. ¡°I''m only a bit older than you. If the two of you don¡¯t find it too excessive, you can just call me big sister in the future.¡±

    ¡°We absolutely cannot! With the empress dowager¡¯s respected status, what if some high officials or other pce people heard us? It would really be disrespectful.¡± Sang Qien immediately refused.

    Zheng Dan forced a smile.

    <i>Is the empress dowager telling us to call her big sister because we saved her, or because of Zu An?</i>

    <i>Hmph, if we''re really talking about the pecking order, she should be calling the two of us big sisters.</i>

    <i>Hm? Wait. I actually don¡¯t know when she and Zu An got together. But it¡¯s definitely after me. As for Qienqien, I don¡¯t know.</i>

    ¡°What do you mean, disrespectful? How could those convoluted and overly borate rulespare to the two of you saving my life?¡± Liu Ning put on a frown and said, ¡°Could it be that the two of you are still upset that I left without informing the two of you?¡±

    ¡°We wouldn¡¯t dare,¡± Sang Qien said, feeling a bit troubled. ¡°Since the empress dowager has expressed such sincerity, we''ll just call each other sisters.¡±

    Zheng Dan secretly gave her a big thumbs up.

    <i>Qienqien really is smart after all, and only said that we¡¯ll call each other sisters. She didn¡¯t say who the big sister was.</i>

    ¡°By the way, how did you meet Ah Zu?¡± Zheng Dan asked curiously. They hadn''t really gotten to ask when they were back in the Sang manor, because the Liu n had just experienced such a huge tragedy.

    ¡°In the past, my cultivation wasn¡¯t low, but I ended up suffering from a condition that wasn¡¯t easy to cure. From then on, I became just like an ordinary person. Fortunately, Zu An entered the pce. With his help, my injuries gradually showed signs of improving. Then, gradually, little by little... familiarity bred fondness.¡± When she talked about the past, Liu Ning felt sweetness, but also bashfulness. After all, they''d been engaging in an illicit rtionship back then.

    Sang Qien sighed in amazement. The wife of the world¡¯s former strongest cultivator, someone whom almost all women admired, was now sitting in front of them and chatting with them in a friendly manner. In the end, all of this was because of Ah Zu!

    Zheng Dan¡¯s expression was a bit strange. Zu An only seemed to have a single treatment method. Zhao Han had still been alive back then... That guy really was daring!

    Liu Ning had spent a long time in the pce, and was more than familiar with the methods members of the harem used to strive for favor. How could she not have known that these two deliberately avoided calling her ''big sister''? As such, she said sincerely, ¡°My status is special, and so there''s no way I can publicly announce my rtionship with Ah Zu. Still, I am extremely grateful to him and will be satisfied with just being able to help him a bit behind the scenes. I won¡¯t ask for anything more.¡±

    When she heard what Liu Ning said, Zheng Dan¡¯s expression couldn''t help but dim. The empress dowager¡¯s status was special, but wasn¡¯t she the same? Even though Ah Zu knew that she had still been untouched back then, in everyone else¡¯s eyes, she was nothing more than the Sang n¡¯s daughter-inw. Even if she were to change families, she would be lowered in status. As for the hierarchy, there was no way she could be a big sister.

    <i>I just regret that I didn¡¯t choose Ah Zu back then during the arranged marriage.</i>

    But she knew that no matter how one looked at Zu An back then, he wouldn¡¯t have been someone the Zheng n would ever have considered choosing as their young master. The Zheng n wasn¡¯t like the Chu n, which had beenpletely unwilling to participate in the climb for the imperial position and needed a good-for-nothing drafted son-inw to end the Shi n¡¯s greed.

    <i>Sigh, I really don¡¯t know just what that brat Chuyan did in herst life. How did some random shield she found end up bing Ah Zu?</i>

    But she had already gotten over that. Even if she could change families and marry Ah Zu, there was no need to. Rather than entering his harem only to be a nobody, she would rather just continue to be the Sang n¡¯s youngdy.

    <i>That guy seems to like the feeling of stealing another¡¯s wife.</i>

    When she thought of that, her little face couldn''t help but be rosy.

    Sang Qien also had simr worries. Even though she had birthed big brother Zu¡¯s daughter, that was the child of her sister-inw and her older brother in name. There was no way to announce the truth to the entire world. Even though her rtionship with big brother Zu had improved a lot, she had never experienced all sorts of thrilling things with him the way the other women had. Their feelings for each other were stillcking a bit inparison. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The two women both sighed when they realized that. ¡°What big sister says is right. Aren¡¯t we the same?¡±

    They now really felt sympathy for each other. Either way, neither of them could be the big sister anyway. With the empress dowager¡¯s status, calling her big sister wasn¡¯t really losing out either. Besides, fellow sufferers empathized with each other. Thus, the three womenmiserated a great deal.

    Then, the three began to chat even more intimately. They were no longer as formal as they had been at first. They had already grown quite close to each other from staying together before; now that the final barriers had been removed, they acted more like close friends.

    Liu Ning led the two women up to severalrge chests and said, ¡°There was nothing I could do before, but I made sure to prepare some gifts for you two. Little sisters, tell me if you like what you see.¡±

    ¡°Then we¡¯ll be thanking big sister.¡± Sang Qien and Zheng Dan didn¡¯t continue to refuse her kindness. When they opened the chests, they saw that apart from beautiful and precious jewelry, there were also a lot of heaven-grade ki stones, protection treasures, cultivation pills, and other things inside.

    ¡°These are too precious!¡± Even though the two of them had already prepared themselves to receive her gift, they were still frightened. These things were enough for a n in Brightmoon City to survive for a whole year!

    Liu Ning said with a smile, ¡°The two of you saved my life, so what''s so special about this amount of stuff? Could it be that little sisters think that big sister¡¯s life isn¡¯t worth this much?¡±

    The two women looked at each other and replied with a smile, ¡°Since it''s big sister¡¯s kindness, we won¡¯t continue to act unreasonable.¡±

    Liu Ning had a big smile on her face when she saw the two ept her gift. ¡°Then I¡¯ll have my people send these things to the Sang manor tomorrow.¡±

    There was no way storage pouches could hold so many things, and there was no way she could have them carry it themselves either.

    ¡°Thank you, big sister.¡± Sang Qien and Zheng Dan were both happy. With these resources, their cultivation would be a bit faster. Furthermore, their rtionship with the empress dowager would improve further. She was also a grandmaster, so in the future, they could consult her about cultivation problems.

    But after everything that had happened today, their conversation naturally changed to Zu An again. Liu Ning was really curious about how these two had met Zu An. The more they chatted, the more they felt like kindred spirits.

    Suddenly, Liu Ning got up and suggested, ¡°Since we¡¯re already all inside the pce, how about we go and visit Ah Zu?¡±

    Zheng Dan and Sang Qien¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°We really can?¡±

    Even though they were really close to Zu An, they had never met him in a ce as dignified and sacred as the Imperial Pce.

    ¡°Why not? He now has the final say in the Imperial Pce. Also, with me in the lead, who would dare to say anything about the two of you?¡± Liu Ning was getting more and more excited. ¡°Let¡¯s go. I¡¯ll also take you on a small tour of the pce along the way.¡±

    There was something else that she didn¡¯t say.

    <i>That cunning fox Linglong will probably look for him too. If I didn¡¯t do anything, wouldn¡¯t I just be letting her do whatever she wants?</i>

    If she searched for Zu An alone, she felt that her intention of ruining their happy time would be too apparent. But with Sang Qien and Zheng Dan apanying her, no one could really say anything.

    The three women got up and were about to put on their coats when they suddenly felt their minds go nk. They sat back down at the same time.

    ¡°Big sister, what is going on? Why do I feel a bit dizzy?¡± Sang Qien and Zheng Dan feltpletely powerless. They were startled.

    ¡°We¡¯ve been poisoned!¡± Liu Ning¡¯s expression turned ice-cold.

 Chapter 2269: Are the Heavens Messing With Me?!

    <h4>Chapter 2269: Are the Heavens Messing With Me?!</h4>

    Within the Heart Nurturing Pce, Bi Linglong, who was usually very mindful of her etiquette, was snuggling up against Zu An like a kitten. She had just cried her heart out, but now she gradually calmed down as Zu Anforted her. As she felt his warm chest and heard his gentle voice, she suddenly felt that things were no longer that scary. It was just as he''d said: Bad things would always pass, and from now on, he would be by her side. That was enough for her.

    ¡°By the way, Ah Zu, the reason I came to see you was to let you know about what the empress dowager and I discussed regarding personnel arrangements.¡± Bi Linglong finally remembered what she hade here for. She wanted to sit up, but as Zu An held her firmly, she decided to just continue leaning against him. She really liked the feeling of being hugged by her lover; the Imperial Pce really was toorge, and the ce where she normally sat was too cold.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, you two can decide. I trust you,¡± Zu An said with a smile.

    Bi Linglong rolled her eyes at him yfully. ¡°Where else could I ever find an arm-flinging shopkeeper like you? We still need you to personally decide on some more crucial matters.¡±

    When he saw her yfully angry look, Zu An couldn''t help but kiss her.

    ¡°Let¡¯s talk about proper matters first, or else I might not have any strength to talk about anything else after.¡± Bi Linglong put her finger against his lips. Her cheeks were a bit red.

    ¡°Tell me then! I didn¡¯t even kiss you on the lips,¡± Zu An replied with a smile. He continued to kiss her cheek and neck.

    ¡°It tickles~¡± Bi Linglongughed, trying to avoid him. She knew she always ended up extremely embarrassed because of this guy, and as a result, ended uppletely forgetting whatever she really came to do. Thus, she exined quickly, ¡°The Pei n participated in the coup, so Pei Ming naturally doesn¡¯t need his Director of the Imperial Secretariat position anymore. I n to give the position to Jiang Boyang. He''s always had prestige andpetence, and he also has a good rtionship with you. He bears a lot of gratitude toward you for what you did, so he¡¯s the best candidate for this position.¡±

    Zu An nodded slightly. Jiang Boyang was indeed suited to this role.

    Bi Linglong suddenly asked, ¡°By the way, is that Miss Jiang your woman?¡±

    ¡°What kind of nonsense are you saying? We''re only friends. She was the academy principal when I was still in Brightmoon City, and she took care of me a lot back then,¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°Only friends? Miss Jiang is so beautiful. She was almost chosen as the crown princess, which was why she ran away to avoid this responsibility. Did you really let someone like that go?¡± Bi Linglong asked in disbelief.

    Zu An replied in annoyance, ¡°Am I really just some lust demon who goes after every beautiful woman I see?¡±

    ¡°Are you not?¡± Bi Linglong retorted while puckering her lips a bit.

    Zu An was speechless. He gave her a firm knead out of annoyance.

    Bi Linglong moaned and wrapped her arms around Zu An¡¯s neck. She moved closer to his ear and asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t Miss Jiang¡¯s stockings really beautiful?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re alright.¡± Zu An couldn''t help but grin when he thought of Jiang Luofu¡¯s ck silk stockings and high heels.

    ¡°If you like them, I can wear them for you next time too.¡± Bi Linglong¡¯s cheeks turned bright red. She had always been raised to follow the most reserved and traditional etiquette. This kind of thing was way too embarrassing for her.

    Zu An was clearly excited, replying, ¡°Sure!¡±

    Stockings were quite rare in this world; they had only been seen in some ancient dungeons, so there weren¡¯t too many of them on the market. Still, Bi Linglong was the glorious empress! It wouldn¡¯t be too hard for her to find some.

    <i>Ah Zu really is greedy for Miss Jiang after all.</i>

    Bi Linglong¡¯s eyes darted around quickly. After a harrumph, she continued, ¡°Also, Yu Xuanchong is also a person of virtue and prestige. He left his official position because he got caught up in the struggle between the crown prince and King Qi, but considering the rtionship between you and Madam Yu, it would be a good choice to restore him to his position.¡±

    She couldn''t help but feel a bit dejected when she reached this point. After all, that was the position her father had held.

    <i>Father schemed so much, but what did he obtain after all of that?</i>

    <i>It would have been better if he hadn¡¯t done a single thing. As long as I supported Ah Zu, the entire court would have been his. The monsters wouldn¡¯t have been able to harm him.</i>

    But she knew that wasn¡¯t realistic. With her father¡¯s suspicious nature and the fact that he had participated in the assassinations of the previous dynasty¡¯s princes, he would never have believed that Ah Zu would let him go. And yet, she knew that for her sake, Zu An wouldn¡¯t pursue this matter to its end.

    <i>He was a really good person to begin with...</i>

    As if sensing her change in emotions, Zu An gently patted her back in constion.

    Bi Linglong calmed herself down and said, ¡°There is also the Secretariat Director position. The empress dowager suggested that Sang Hong take this position. He is a capable subject, and he''s worked as the vice minister of finance, so he''s familiar with all kinds of governmental affairs. It was only because his family background wasn¡¯t good enough that he couldn''t go further. However, because of Miss Sang and Zheng¡¯s rtionship to you, I feel that he''s also quite suitable.¡±

    Zu An nodded. Even though Sang Hong wasn¡¯t a good person in the traditional sense, he was a capable official. Additionally, Sang Hong was his strongest ally at the moment, so there was no better choice for this position.

    ¡°As for the military, we¡¯ll definitely have to change out many positions. The Qin n¡¯s state dukes have always held a lot of prestige, and they''re good for stabilizing the station. However, because they held both the Vanguard and Defense General positions, almost every officer came from the Qin n. Together with their closeness to the Murong and Chu ns, I fear this situation might end up creating some hidden disturbances. More importantly, the Qin n doesn¡¯t have a daughter to marry to you, and their rtionship with you is too frail. That''s why I n to make one of them the Defense General, but the other a Guard General. What do you think?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face darkened. ¡°Do you really need them to marry a daughter off to me? I¡¯m not so stingy that I¡¯d appoint people based on nepotism alone.¡±

    Bi Linglong said with a serious expression, ¡°As someone with authority, nepotism isn¡¯t a bad thing. Only in this way can you ensure that your thoughts will be passed down smoothly. Even though there are quite a few people who are capable, if they''re not of one mind with you, the more capable they are, the more dangerous it will be for you.

    ¡°Even though I don¡¯t like how much mercy you show people, I have to admit that it¡¯s actually a plus in politics. It''s just like being joined to other ns in marriage. With that kind of rtionship, their interests will be aligned with yours, and I can feel at ease entrusting greater responsibilities to them. Have you not noticed that those important officials we just talked about all have daughters who have close connections to you?¡±

    Now, even Zu An was starting to be a bit embarrassed. ¡°I didn''t want my skirt-chasing to suddenly be so high-sounding based on your description.¡±

    Bi Linglong sighed. ¡°What else can I do? It¡¯s my fault for liking you, so I can only do what I can for myself to ept all of you.¡±

    A woman as outstanding and proud as her, no matter how much she loved someone, would still definitely hope for a single-minded and devoted love. Perhaps she would tolerate a few concubines at most to help the n establish branch families. But Zu An was too outstanding, outstanding to the point that she felt it was a bit unreal. She knew he was definitely not someone she could keep all to herself. Thus, rather than continuing to criticize him for his faults, she figured it could be better to be a bit more generous right from the start. That idea was part of the education she had been raised on ever since she was chosen to be the crown princess. She''d never expected to end up using it here.

    ¡°Linglong.¡± Zu An felt moved and hugged her tightly in his arms.

    Bi Linglong¡¯s cheeks pressed against his chest as she said, ¡°By the way, I heard that Qin Wanru wanted you to give your blessing for their marriage with the Murong n? I remember that Murong Qinghe seems to have a good impression of you. If you put in a bit more effort, that youngdy could definitely be easily obtained as well. That way, the Murong n would be your most loyal ally, and the Qin, Chu, and Murong n wouldn¡¯t form too close of a triangle alliance.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but say with a chuckle, ¡°Qinghe and Youzhao are childhood sweethearts. Don¡¯t worry, I know all of their ns and they¡¯re all upstanding people. I don¡¯t think the situation you''re thinking of will ur.¡±

    ¡°It might not appear in this generation, but what about the next generation? Or perhaps a few more after that? An alliance between subjects like this is a threat to the court,¡± Bi Linglong grumbled.

    Zu An knew that her worries weren¡¯t unfounded. After she''d managed the court for so many years, he was amazed at how her way of thinking was alreadypletely that of a ruler. He remarked, ¡°Linglong, you really are suited to being the empress.¡±

    Bi Linglong¡¯s face turned a bit red. ¡°I don¡¯t want to be an empress at all. I''d rather just live like a normal person and calmly spend the rest of my life with you.¡±

    The education she had been raised under made her pursue power and influence over all. But now, the Bi n had already fallen so much, and she was practically cut off from everywhere else. What meaning was there left in pursuing any of that stuff anymore?

    Still, she knew that with Zu An¡¯s current ability and status, how could he ever live an ordinary life? Even if she was willing, the vixens around him wouldn¡¯t be willing!

    ¡°Linglong, let me share something with you. I have no interest in the throne, and I''m only staying here to help the overall situation stabilize a little. In the future, I''ll do my best to assist you in bing the empress. You''re better suited to manage this country than me.¡± Zu An knew his own personality well. Just thinking about managing suchplex governmental affairs gave him a headache, let alone the fact that his goals were now set much further away. A trifling human emperor position wasn¡¯t very interesting to him.

    ¡°Hm? You seem to have made the Mermaid Queen an empress, and now you want me to be the human empress...¡± Bi Linglong¡¯s expression suddenly turned red. ¡°Look at you! Are you tired of just ying around with a normal empress, so now you¡¯re more interested in female rulers?¡±

    Zu An was surprised. He held her close and replied, ¡°Is that not okay?¡±

    ¡°You bad person~¡± Bi Linglong gently hit his chest. ¡°And what''s going on between you and that Mermaid Empress? If I remember correctly, the two of you had never met before, right? Why did you two suddenly be a couple?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean, a couple? We just dealt with some important affairs together,¡± Zu An said with an embarrassedugh.

    ¡°And then familiarity bred fondness?¡± Bi Linglong replied with an ambiguous smile.

    Zu An was a bit surprised. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to be able to make these kinds of jokes either.¡±

    Bi Linglong¡¯s face reddened. ¡°I was influenced by you, obviously! You lead me astray.¡±

    Zu An hugged her close and said, ¡°Haha, since you¡¯re so interested, I¡¯ll tell you about what happened in the Ocean races'' territory...¡±

    ¡°Ah! Just keep talking if you¡¯re going to talk about the Ocean races! Why are you tugging at my clothes?¡± Bi Linglong suddenly noticed that something wasn¡¯t quite right.

    ¡°Just talking is boring, so we can do some other things as well to save time.¡± Zu An felt as if he was about to explode after having been interrupted just now.

    When she saw the changes happening to him, Bi Linglong¡¯s face turnedpletely red and she said, ¡°Then I won¡¯t listen.¡± n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    She was about to get up and leave, but suddenly, she was pulled back and cried out in rm. When she felt Zu An''s zing hot lips and slightly rough hands, her body softened up. Her resistance became weaker and weaker.

    The two of them had been apart for too long, and she had missed him every day. Now, her emotions overtook her and she couldn''t help but respond to her lover. Still, she wondered if this was how he had been taking advantage of Yun Yuqing just now. She couldn''t help but give his body a sniff, but she didn¡¯t smell anything strange.

    <i>But Ah Zu seems to be able to use the water element, so covering it up wouldn''t be too difficult.</i>

    <i>Ah, just what am I thinking about right now...</i>

    Her body suddenly trembled. She tightly hugged the man beside her, and she bit down fiercely on his shoulder, as if she was ming him for being too rough.

    Zu An looked a lot morefortable. Then, he slowly told her about his experiences as ofte. But his expression changed again before he could even say too much.

    <i>Are the heavens screwing with me right now?!</i>

    <i>There are moreing right now?</i>

    ¡°Ah Zu, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Bi Linglong¡¯s hair was a mess, and she looked as if she was drunk. In contrast to her disheveled face, the flower mark between her brows looked even more beautiful.

    ¡°Hmph, someone is courting death!¡± Zu An said with a cold snort.

 Chapter 2270: Even Someone Like You?

    ¡°Poison?!¡±

    In the Pce of Compassion, Sang Qien and Zheng Dan were at a loss. At first, they''d thought they heard incorrectly. After all, they were in the heavily-guarded Imperial Pce, and this was even the empress dowager¡¯s private pce. It really was hard to imagine that there could be poison here.

    Zheng Dan was involved with the world of warriors, so she immediately reacted and noticed some smoke rising from the corner.

    ¡°Servants!¡± Liu Ning shouted, but no one replied.

    ¡°Your highness, there''s no need for all this shouting. I¡¯ve already dealt with all of the guards and eunuchs outside.¡± A figure slowly walked in. Zheng Dan and Sang Qien saw that he was an individual dressed in a grand eunuch outfit. The feeling he gave off was really sinister, as if he never got any sunlight all year round and hid in the shadows like a vampire.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The two women realized something and immediately guessed his identity. This was the empress dowager pce¡¯s Chief Eunuch, Eunuch Lu! When she faced the Devil Sect Master, the empress dowager had been plotted against by this man, and that was why she''d had to flee to the Sang n while seriously injured.

    Sure enough, Liu Ning hissed through gritted teeth, ¡°Lu Qi, it was actually you!¡±

    ¡°Of course it''s me.¡± Eunuch Lu had a sinister smile as he replied, ¡°How could I just leave her highness behind and leave?¡±

    Liu Ning became silent. She hated Lu Qi bitterly and had tried to find him to get revenge after the fact, but she couldn''t find any traces of him at all, and had only been able to order his arrest through the court. How could she have anticipated that they would meet again in this kind of situation?¡°What kind of poison did you use on me?¡± she asked in confusion. She was, after all, at the peak of grandmaster rank. Ordinary poisons weren''t supposed to be effective on her at all!

    ¡°A kind of flower from the monster world that is especially effective against the cultivators of this world,¡± Eunuch Lu said with a smile.

    ¡°So you sided with the monsters after all!¡± Liu Ning shouted hatefully. ¡°But you clearly killed that monster that was trying to fool you. Why would you still betray me?¡±

    ¡°I did kill it at first, butter, in the dead of night, I suddenly felt that what the monster said made sense.¡± Eunuch Lu chuckled. ¡°Compared to staying in the shadows forever and watching you and the regent make love, I still felt that it would be better if I experienced her highness for myself. More monsters came to recruit me, and we smoothly agreed to work together. It was thanks to the fact that I killed that monster that you didn¡¯t suspect me in the slightest.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re despicable!¡± Liu Ning was furious. She wanted to get up and attack him, but she staggered and couldn''t muster up much strength at all.

    ¡°It would be best not to use ki. It will only worsen the effects of the poison. It won¡¯t be much fun if you end up fainting.¡± Eunuch Lu admired Liu Ning¡¯s incredible figure from afar and remarked, ¡°Your highness, you truly are beautiful.¡±

    Liu Ning said gravely, ¡°Those two monster leaders have already been killed by the regent. No one would have pursued you if you fled, but now that you¡¯ve returned, there¡¯s no way for you to escape at all anymore.¡± She needed to stall for time. Part of the reason was to see if she could force out the poison, and the other part was that she was hoping someone in the pce would notice the abnormalities that were happening ande to save her.

    ¡°Run? Why do I need to run?¡± Eunuch Lu shrugged and said, ¡°I saw how the regent killed the Doomsday Spirit and the gue Monarch. I have to admit that the regent is the most powerful man I have ever seen. He is even more powerful than Zhao Han ever was. Just watching a powerful man like that have his way with you is already exciting enough just thinking about it.¡±

    Liu Ning was speechless.

    Sang Qien and Zheng Dan exchanged a look. They saw the same weird expression in each other''s eyes. They had heard Liu Ning talk about Eunuch Lu before, and knew that he had a twisted sense of love, but they had never expected it to be to this extent!

    Liu Ning took a deep breath to suppress the anger she felt before eximing, ¡°Then why did you betray us?!¡±

    ¡°Because my body was iplete, of course.¡± Eunuch Lu was suddenly a bit stirred, saying, ¡°I could only watch the regent enjoy your body without being able to do anything. Even though I was stimted in some sense, after that there was only an endless void. Sometimes, I wondered... If I were a true man, and I could really enjoy Mount Wu with you, would I feel even greater happiness if I saw you dominated by another man after that?¡±

    Dumbfounded, Liu Ning eximed, ¡°You freak!¡±

    Sang Qien and Zheng Dan both cursed under their breath too. Their faces wentpletely red. Did people from the Imperial Pce really y in such a crazy way? They had thought that Zu An was a bit too perverted, but now, Ah Zu actually seemed to be the most normal one. These freaks were the real damned perverts!

    Eunuch Lu looked down at a certain bulge protruding from his lower body. His expression twisted as he said, ¡°Ning¡¯er, with the monsters¡¯ help, I¡¯ve already be a true man. I can finally be one with you!¡±

    Liu Ning looked at him withplete revulsion and said, ¡°Even though the past Lu Qi was a bit cowardly and had strange fetishes, he was still a friend I grew up with. Now, you''re nothing more than a monster that has been contaminated by other monsters. I feel nothing but disgust for you.¡±

    ¡°You can say what you will. Either way, there''s no going back for me.¡± Eunuch Lu¡¯s expression suddenly became fiercer as he said, ¡°Today, I''m going to achieve everything I''ve ever wanted to do in this life of mine.¡±

    As he walked toward Liu Ning, his gaze suddenlynded on Sang Qien and Zheng Dan. He was a bit surprised, saying, ¡°Your highness truly is considerate. You¡¯ve helped me find two pretty youngdies to serve aspanions.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to treat them with disrespect!¡± Liu Ning suddenly moved and swung with all of her strength.

    <em>Bang!</em>

    Eunuch Lu¡¯s body mmed into a pir. However, Liu Ning coughed out a mouthful of blood, and her face immediately paled.

    ¡°Big sister!¡± Zheng Dan and Sang Qien both cried out.

    Liu Ning forced a smile. Before she could even say anything, however, Eunuch Lu got to his feet. He wiped away some blood from the corner of his lips while saying, ¡°Hah, it seems I still ended up underestimating your highness after all. However, if you had continued to bide your time and struck when I was sharing extreme bliss with them, you might¡¯ve been able to kill me in one strike.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re spouting absolute nonsense!¡± Liu Ning retorted. After all, the reason she''d invited the two women here was to thank them for saving her life. If something really happened to them here, she would never be able to forgive herself.

    ¡°What adorable sisterly bonds.¡± Eunuch Lu¡¯s expression suddenly became twisted as he said, ¡°The regent really has amazing luck with women. Why does he always have so many pretty women at his side? But fortunes rise and fall. Not too long ago, I could only watch as he ravaged your body to his heart¡¯s content, while I endured jealousy and grievance all alone. Now, he can also have a taste of what I felt.¡±

    He approached the three women, smiling maliciously.

    Sang Qien and Zheng Dan were horrified. Liu Ning¡¯s expression also changed and she quickly said, ¡°If you leave now, I¡¯ll pretend that nothing happened, and I¡¯ll even repeal your arrest order. If you persist with your madness, you¡¯ll definitely meet a tragic end!¡±

    ¡°I know what kinds of consequences there are for my actions. However,pared to living my life as a maggot, I think it would be much more delightful to have a taste of you three and let the undefeated regent experience the feeling of failure.¡± Eunuch Lu¡¯s face was full of madness. He knew he would definitely die, but he was willing to give up everything in order to enjoy that momentary sense of achievement. When he thought about how exciting it was, he could no longer hold himself back and threw himself at the three of them.

    Just then, however, a translucent golden finger suddenly pressed down from the heavens.

    Eunuch Lu¡¯s expression changed. He quickly raised both hands above his head to try and stop the finger. But as soon as he made contact with it, he felt as if he''d been sted by lightning. A mouthful of blood gushed out of his mouth. His knees could no longer hold on and he fell to his knees, choking out the word, "Re... Regent!¡±

    His voice was full of fear. Even though he had known that Zu An was really strong, he had never expected the distance between them to be this great. He murmured, ¡°Who would¡¯ve thought that in the end, I wouldn¡¯t be able to make you feel what I felt.¡±

    ¡°Even someone like you?¡± said a voice above them. Then, the finger pressed down.

    <em>Spurt!</em>

    Just like that, Eunuch Lu¡¯s entire body was crushed into meat paste. Then, he was burned by true fire until nothing remained.

 Chapter 2271: Hook, Line, and Sinker

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡± Zheng Dan and Sang Qien eximed, feeling shocked and happy. The two had been trying to contact Zu An with the defensive treasures he''d given them before, but they hadn''t been able to use their ki, preventing them from doing so. They hadn¡¯t expected their lover toe on his own first.

    ¡°I¡¯ve startled you,¡± a voice said. A shining projection that looked identical to Zu An appeared in the room.

    ¡°Big brother Zu, hurry and help big sister Ning. She was injured pretty badly,¡± Sang Qien said anxiously.

    The image of Zu An nodded and moved closer to Liu Ning¡¯s side. He lifted her up, and then tapped the middle of her back with his finger, sending ki into her body.

    ¡°Her foundation is quite good. Even though her injuries are serious, it won¡¯t be too much trouble. She¡¯ll be fine after some rest once I treat her.¡± Zu An waved his hand as he spoke. An invisible force lifted Zheng Dan and Sang Qien to their feet.

    The two women felt strength gradually return to them, and ki began to move through their bodies again. They felt happy and surprised.

    ¡°Ah Zu, you really are amazing. Even the poison from the monster world was eliminated so easily," Zheng Dan remarked. She knew that even though Zu An had other detoxifying abilities, he needed to resort to that shameful method. Previously, when they were together, that was precisely the method he''d used to eliminate the Eighteen Spring Winds poison.

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°That¡¯s only because we''re in this world. I canmunicate with this world¡¯s will, so these things are quite easy to solve. If we were in a different world, it wouldn¡¯t be so easy for me at all.¡±

    Liu Ning gradually adjusted the ki within her body before asking, ¡°Ah Zu, how did you know that Eunuch Lu was here?¡±¡°My divine sense can now cover the entire Imperial Pce. I can immediately sense it when something strange like this has happened,¡± Zu An replied.

    In reality, with his current cultivation, it wouldn¡¯t be too hard to cover the entire capital with his divine sense. But he didn¡¯t have a fondness for spying on others. If he made it cover that wide a range, the different voices would be extremely annoying. Unless it was absolutely needed, he didn¡¯t want to spread it that far.

    After all the things that had happened today, he''d been worried that there could still be monsters hiding in the Imperial Pce. As such, he''d covered the entire Imperial Pce with his divine sense to monitor for abnormalities. He hadn¡¯t expected to really detect Eunuch Lu¡¯s shenanigans.

    Liu Ning was already used to this kind of ability. Zhao Han had been capable of something simr. She looked at the projection and asked, ¡°Is this your primordial spirit?¡±

    ¡°Strictly speaking, it isn¡¯t. Still, you can think of it as something simr,¡± Zu An said. His cultivation method was special, and he couldn''t divide his soul into the primordial spirit, yang spirit, and yin spirit like other cultivators. However, with his current cultivation and the world¡¯s authority, aplishing something simr wasn¡¯t too hard.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t youe here yourself?¡± Liu Ning suddenly asked. If it was faster for the soul toe at first, that was one thing, but so much time had already passed. He should¡¯ve already hurried over here!

    Zu An¡¯s expression stiffened. ¡°Um¡­ I¡¯m currently at a critical point in my cultivation, so I won¡¯t being.¡±

    ¡°Cultivation?¡± Liu Ning had a weird expression. Her eyes moved quickly. ¡°I brought Qienqien and Dandan into the pce and put them in danger because of that. You won¡¯t me me, right?¡±

    Sang Qien and Zheng Dan both immediately responded, ¡°Who could¡¯ve known that something like this would happen? Why would we ever me you?¡±

    Still, what had just happened really still left them a bit shaken up.

    <em>Hm? Wait, why is big sister Ning gesturing at us like that?</em>

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°There¡¯s not much to me you for at all.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s alreadyte and the pce gates are closed. How about we just let them stay in the pce?¡± Liu Ning suggested.

    ¡°Why not?¡±

    ¡°Then should they stay with me, or do you want me to send them to your side?¡±

    Zheng Dan and Sang Qien were both really embarrassed. Even though they were really close to Zu An, that was in private. Now that they were being exposed like this, they immediately became really embarrassed.

    ¡°They can stay with you for now. I¡¯ll arrange a pce for them another day, so they cane and go as they please,¡± Zu An replied.

    Zheng Dan and Sang Qien¡¯s hearts were pounding. They were going to have their own ce here? Wasn¡¯t that the same as publicly announcing their rtionship?

    ¡°That¡¯s good too. Then which pce do you think is suitable?¡± Liu Ning continued.

    Just then, Zheng Dan and Sang Qien seemed to have realized something too. Big sister Ning seemed to be deliberately holding Ah Zu up in conversation.

    ¡°About that¡­ Sss¡­¡± Zu An suddenly felt something and sucked in air through his teeth.

    Liu Ning had an ambiguous smile as she asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Ah Zu?¡±

    Inside the Heart Nurturing Pce, Bi Linglong also asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Ah Zu?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Zu An felt as if his head was going to explode. He responded to Liu Ning in the Pce of Peace while continuing to wrap himself around Bi Linglong. He naturally knew that Liu Ning was deliberately preventing him from leaving, and that she had likely even already guessed something.

    Meanwhile, Bi Linglong was sitting in his arms like a beautiful Persian cat. Her delicate face turned a bit red as she said, ¡°I thought you didn¡¯t like that just now.¡±

    ¡°No, I like it a lot.¡± Zu An ced his hand on her lower back. He had to admit that just like her name, her waist was truly exquisite[1]. That A4 waist trend that was popr online in his previous world didn¡¯t hold a candle to this at all.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Bi Linglong bit down gently, then moved her beautiful hair behind her shoulder a bit. She ced her hand on his shoulder, then looked at her lover with her beautiful eyes just like that, allowing him to do whatever he wished. She asked, ¡°Did you already take care of the thing that happened just now?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, almost.¡± Even though this wasn¡¯t the first time they had been together, Zu An was still taken by just how amazing Bi Linglong was.

    <em>The beautiful shades of the mountains that vary in depth, the mountains that are far and close;</em>

    <em>The emerald mist that can be thick and faint, the trees that are tall and short;</em>

    <em>Truly range upon range of mountains, the winding curves leading into the most secluded and serene ce.</em>

    He responded to the three women in the Pce of Compassion while answering the lover in his arms. Fortunately, his mind was now strong enough that he could multitask like this. Otherwise, he really would answer inappropriately.

    Bi Linglong kissed him while asking curiously, ¡°Everyone has probably witnessed your power today. Who would dare to cause trouble now?¡±

    Zu An felt as if he was being kissed by several little fish. He took a deep breath and answered, ¡°It was Eunuch Lu, who used to work in the empress dowager¡¯s pce. He refused to give up on his evil intentions and actually dared to return.¡±

    ¡°That Eunuch Lu was always way too gloomy. Whenever I saw him, I always felt that he was a bit of a freak. I don¡¯t like him,¡± Bi Linglong muttered.

    ¡°He was indeed a freak. But he''s dead as dead can be, and even his bones have been burned to ashes.¡± Zu An¡¯s voice became a bit cold.

    ¡°By the way, what kind of rtionship do you and the empress dowager have?¡± Bi Linglong suddenly looked up at him with shining eyes.

    Zu An was about to reply when Bi Linglong ced her finger on his lips, saying, ¡°You can¡¯t lie to me, or else I might make some mistakes in my judgment in the future. If I had known your rtionship was so good, why would that coup have ever happened?¡±

    ¡°Since you already know, why are you still asking about it?¡± Zu An replied with a bitter smile.

    ¡°Hmph, I was right after all.¡± Bi Linglong bit down on him and didn¡¯t let go.

    Zu An didn¡¯t pay much attention to the paining from his shoulder. Instead, he gently caressed her beautiful hair so she could properly vent. After all, Bi Linglong and Liu Ning had already fought for so many years, and she had even warned him before that he could look for anyone else, but he absolutely couldn¡¯t get involved with Liu Ning. But by then, things had already happened between them.

    ¡°Do you feel really proud of yourself right now? Both the empress and the empress dowager have beenpletely won over by you.¡± Bi Linglong suddenly looked up at him. Her smooth and flexible waist stopped their lively twisting motion.

    ¡°No, I know that I¡¯ve let you down by doing this,¡± Zu An said apologetically.

    Bi Linglong quietly looked into his eyes. She sensed the sincerity in his eyes, and eventually, she sighed. ¡°Sigh, I wonder just what kind of an ill star I was born under to end up meeting a womanizer like you.

    ¡°Still... With your current cultivation and status, you could just force us to ept all of this, and yet you still feel apologetic. I''m really happy that I didn¡¯t pick the wrong person.¡±

    ¡°You can have the empress dowagere over now. We should start trusting each other fully now, and use this chance to end our grievances with each other,¡± Bi Linglong suddenly said.

    ¡°Really?¡± Zu An was happy to hear that.

    ¡°You had those kinds of thoughts after all!¡± Bi Linglong¡¯s expression suddenly changed, and she began to hit him with her fists.

    Zu An was speechless.

    <em>As expected, the prettier the woman, the better they are at lying!</em>

    1. Linglong = exquisite ?

 Chapter 2772: Peak Acting

    The acting skills of women really were too frightening. Bi Linglong had spoken with such strong feelings that Zu An really believed her. How could he have known that she was baiting him? She had immediately fished out his real thoughts.

    Bi Linglong was causing trouble when Zu An¡¯s expression suddenly turned strange and he said, ¡°Let¡¯s stop fighting for a bit. They really dide.¡±

    ¡°Who?¡± Bi Linglong was stunned. She thought Zu An was trying to get out of his predicament.

    Zu An said in embarrassment, ¡°The empress dowager, and she brought Sang Qien and Zheng Dan with her.¡±

    He''d wanted to advise them against that with his soul projection, but Liu Ning had insisted on going for a tour through the pce with Zheng Dan and Sang Qien. After all, Zheng Dan and Sang Qien had never entered the Imperial Pce before. They weren¡¯t too familiar with this ce.

    When Zu An saw Zheng Dan and Sang Qien¡¯s expectant eyes, how could he refuse them? He could only let them do what they wanted.

    But after showing them around, Liu Ning had actually taken them straight to the Heart Nurturing Pce! Liu Ning¡¯s reasoning was simple, too. The Heart Nurturing Pce was the most important ce in the entire Imperial Pce, so she had to show it to them.

    Bi Linglong was speechless. After she stared at him for a few seconds and ascertained that he wasn¡¯t joking around, she screamed and quickly tried to separate herself from him. However, Zu An was holding on tightly to her waist. Her struggles and twisting around seemed to have only made things more interesting for him.

    ¡°Hurry and let go of me already!¡± Bi Linglong eximed, sounding shy and embarrassed. Her soul had almost left her body! How could she still be angry?¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯ll be a bit longer before they get here.¡± Zu An looked at her with a big smile. The empress¡¯ embarrassed expression was extremely alluring.

    ¡°How far are they?¡± Bi Linglong released a slight sigh of relief and her waist responded to her lover a bit.

    ¡°About three hundred feet away, maybe?¡± Zu An¡¯s brows eased up a bit. He looked as if he was really indulging himself.

    Bi Linglong was dumbfounded. At first, she had thought that they were still farther away, but if it was just a few hundred feet, didn¡¯t that mean they were almost here?

    The shock she felt was no small matter! She began to struggle again, crying out, ¡°Hurry and let me go, or else if they see me like this, I won¡¯t want to go on living!¡±

    ¡°Wait a moment!¡± Zu An took a deep breath. Her struggles had really pushed him to his limit! Tonight, he had been interrupted again and again, so he was feeling really pent up. Only now did he finally satisfy himself.

    Bi Linglong¡¯s eyes briefly rolled back. With his release, her entire body shook continuously. She held onto her lover tightly.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Liu Ning brought Sang Qien and Zheng Dan to the Heart Nurturing Pce.

    Sang Qien was still a bit hesitant, asking, ¡°Big sister Ning, this isn¡¯t too good, right? Big brother Zu is cultivating, right? Won¡¯t we be disturbing him by visiting him?¡±

    Liu Ning rolled her eyes. ¡°Silly girl, do you really believe he''s cultivating? Forget it, you don¡¯t need to worry at all. His cultivation is now extremely profound, and cultivating a bit less won¡¯t affect him that much.¡±

    ¡°Exactly. Qienqien, you don¡¯t need to worry at all. I want to see what the Heart Nurturing Pce is like too.¡± Zheng Dan already had her guesses too. She wanted to see some chaos.

    ¡°Al¡­ Alright then.¡± Sang Qien¡¯s face was bright red. Still, she was also really curious as she looked at the brightly lit Heart Nurturing Pce in the distance. After all, this had always been the emperor¡¯s private dwelling. A normal person likely wouldn''t be able to evene close to this ce in their entire life.

    ¡°I greet the empress dowager!¡± Zhang Zitong noticed the three women and quickly bowed with respect. At the same time, she examined the other two out of the corners of her eyes. A bit of surprise appeared in her eyes.

    <em>Where did these beautiese from? Their bearing is entirely different from that of the concubines of the pce.</em>

    ¡°Hm? You''re the one in charge of the pce guard now?¡± Liu Ning lived in the pce almost year-round, so she immediately recognized Zhang ZItong''s current responsibility.

    ¡°Yes. The regent has given this lowly one his trust, and I will spare no effort to dedicate myself to this task,¡± Zhang Zitong replied with a serious expression.

    Liu Ning¡¯s eyes moved to her long and slender legs.

    <em>That guy is probably just thinking about how he¡¯ll spare no effort on you.</em>

    Sheposed herself and said, ¡°I''ve brought the regent¡¯s friends to see him. You can let him know.¡±

    Zhang Zitong thought, <em>These two women had a rtionship with sir after all!</em>

    <em>Why are all of the women at sir¡¯s side so pretty?</em>

    <em>I feel so much pressure!</em>

    ¡°Responding to the empress dowager, her highness is currently in the Heart Nurturing Pce.¡±

    She decided to give the empress dowager a warning first. Madam Wu seemed to have been here too. If the empress dowager brought more people inside, she wouldn¡¯t dare to imagine what it would be like.

    <em>Sigh, why didn¡¯t sir tell me a bit about all of this? How am I supposed to cover for him?</em>

    Liu Ning¡¯s eyebrows rose slightly.

    <em>As expected!</em>

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. The regent knows we''reing.¡±

    ¡°Then I will inform him,¡± Zhang Zitong said.

    She was about to turn around when Zu An called out from inside, saying, ¡°You can let them in.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Zhang Zitong replied, although she was a bit curious. <em>Why does sir¡¯s voice suddenly sound a bit weak and tired?</em>

    But she quickly dismissed that thought.

    <em>Are you kidding me? He''s so powerful and unrivaled! Who could make him weak?</em>

    When Liu Ning¡¯s group of three entered the Heart Nurturing Pce, they saw Zu An sitting upright and still in the middle. They didn¡¯t see Bi Linglong at all.

    Liu Ning said with a smile, ¡°While waiting outside, I heard that Linglong was also here. Why don¡¯t I see her?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m over here.¡± Bi Linglong walked out from behind a screen. ¡°I identally spilled some tea and cleaned myself up. I didn¡¯t expect the empress dowager to have arrived too.¡±

    ¡°Tea?¡± Liu Ning looked at Bi Linglong''s face that was pure like jade. It waspletely red.

    <em>It¡¯s probably a different kind of liquid, right?</em>

    Sang Qien and Zheng Dan looked at Bi Linglong. They had seen her from a distance before. Now that they were looking at her up close, they once again sighed in amazement at her beauty. There was also the proud and noble temperament that she naturally gave off. This was something the two of them couldn''t learn at all, havinge from ordinary ns. Bi Linglong''s face was rosy pink, making the entire room seem to light up.

    ¡°I brought Qienqien and Zheng Dan here to look for Ah Zu. I didn¡¯t disturb the two of you, did I?¡± Liu Ning asked with an ambiguous smile.

    Bi Linglong only felt as if she had beenpletely seen through. She quickly said, ¡°The regent and I were talking about the assignments of personnel. We were almost finished with our conversation.¡±

    Sang Qien and Zheng Dan did their best to hold back their smiles.

    <em>Who would have thought that the empress would also believe her own lies! Who inside the capital doesn¡¯t know about her rtionship with Ah Zu now? And yet she''s still calling him regent, as if she''s emphasizing to us that they don¡¯t have anything going on.</em>

    When she saw their strange expressions, Bi Linglong didn¡¯t dare to meet their gazes. She quickly said to Zu An, ¡°As for the Central Defense Army position, how about we have Brightmoon Duke take on that role? He used to have a lot of prestige in the army, and if hees here, he can keep the Qin n in check to a certain degree so they will not grow toorge on their own.

    ¡°There is also old man Murong; he can have the Security Officer position back to ensure the safety of the capital.

    ¡°Pei Zheng can keep his Chief Attendant position. His faction didn¡¯t participate much in this matter, and he isdy Pei¡¯s grandfather.

    ¡°Xie Xiu is brimming with talent, so we can have him serve as the Secretariat Assistant Minister.

    ¡°The Armed Escort Division was of vital use this time. The Pce Imperial Guard needs to be changed out. Wang Bolin can take on the role of Left Guard General, while Zhang Zijiang can be the Right Guard General. The other Armed Escort Army¡¯s officers will be ced in other branches of the Imperial Guard.

    ¡°Gao Ying will be the Bright Tiger Army General. Pei You will be the Great Rider Army General.

    ¡°Jiao Sigun will be themander of the Armed Escort Division, while Piao Duandiao will be themander of the Special Force Army.

    She had nned for Pu Duandiao and Jiao Sigun to be generals in the pce and take control over the Bright Tiger Army, but since Zu An had already appointed Zhang Zitong, she could just take the chance to appoint those two asmanders of the imperial armies. That would be a proper reward for the bravery they had shown during the conflict.

    ¡°If the regent has no objections, I will issue the decree tomorrow to formally appoint them.¡±

    When they heard Bi Linglong talk about all of these things in a regr and thorough manner, Sang Qien and Zheng Dan both felt incredible admiration. She had actually arranged all of these people so clearly!

    <em>As expected of the one who has acted as the empress for all these years. These are things we couldn''t learn even if we wanted to.</em>

    Even Liu Ning couldn''t help but give her an extra look.

    <em>Could it be that the two of them really were chatting about official matters, and I was the one who thought wrongly?</em>

    ¡°Alright. Since you and the empress dowager have already discussed this properly, I naturally have no objections,¡± Zu An said; he was also filled with admiration. Just a moment before, this woman had looked as if she was broken, and yet she was able to fool these people now in such a short amount of time.

    ¡°Since we¡¯ve already talked about everything, I won¡¯t be disturbing you all and will be leaving first.¡± Bi Linglong and the others nodded slightly, and then hurriedly left.

    Sang Qien and Zheng Dan exchanged a look. They secretlymunicated through ki, ¡°The empress didn¡¯t even talk to us. I wonder if she doesn¡¯t like us.¡±

    ¡°It might be because we''re standing on the empress dowager¡¯s side. I heard that the two of them don¡¯t get along,¡± Zheng Dan replied after thinking about it for a bit.

    Sang Qien nodded slightly. ¡°That might be it.¡±

    ¡­

    While the two were secretly making their guesses, Rong Mo saw Bi Linglonge out. She quickly went over and said, ¡°Your highness.¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Let¡¯s go back to the pce.¡± Bi Linglong took a deep breath. Her entire body felt a bit tense.

    Rong Mo was a bit confused. ¡°Your highness, did the empress dowager bully you again? Why do I feel as if your voice is a bit strange?¡± Others likely wouldn''t notice, but she served herdy everyday. How could she not sense this?

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Bi Linglong frowned and continued walking.

    Rong Mo was full of concern.

    <em>You¡¯re still saying that nothing is wrong? Even the way you¡¯re walking is a bit off.</em>

    Bi Linglong¡¯s face turned bright red. She bit her lip and said, ¡°Why are there so many¡­¡±

 Chapter 2273: Myriad Transformations

    Inside the Heart Nurturing Pce, Zu An had Liu Ning sit down first before saying, ¡°You¡¯re injured and should be resting. Why are you running around all over the ce?¡±

    ¡°I wanted toe and see you, that¡¯s all. Whose fault was it that you weren¡¯t even willing to show your real self during your rescue?¡± Liu Ning still carried a bit of resentment.

    Sang Qien and Zheng Dan snapped out of their daze.

    <em>Wait, he clearly said he was cultivating, but the empress was here. Was he cultivating together with the empress?</em>

    Zu An said, ¡°I really did have something else going on. How about this? You can rest here, while I¡¯ll take them around the Imperial Pce.¡±

    ¡°What would an empress dowager like me be doing staying the night in the Heart Nurturing Pce? Even if you don¡¯t care about your reputation, I do! I¡¯ll just go back first, and you don¡¯t need to see me off either. Just take them around. It¡¯s their first time here, so don¡¯t let them feel as if they''re getting the cold shoulder now.¡±

    Zu An naturally didn¡¯t really let her go back on her own. He saw her back first, and then took Sang Qien and Zheng Dan on a leisurely stroll around the pce.

    Zhang Zitong wanted toe along with some servants, but he refused, leaving her feeling a bit wronged. After all, this imperial bodyguard position didn¡¯t really seem to use any of her abilities.

    <em>Sir¡¯s cultivation is so high too¡­</em>¡°Ah Zu, is that woman with the long legs your lover?¡± Zheng Dan asked with a smile when they were in the Imperial Garden.

    Zu An frowned. ¡°We don¡¯t have any rtionship of that sort. Just what are you thinking about? Also, her name isn¡¯t ''woman with long legs'', it¡¯s Zhang Zitong. I owe the Zhang n some gratitude, so I put her in that position.¡±

    The two women more or less knew about Zu An¡¯s background. Zheng Dan couldn''t help but feel apologetic, saying, ¡°Sorry.¡±

    ¡°What is there to be sorry about? Rx. Just treat this ce like your own home,¡± Zu An said while holding their hands.

    The two women''s faces turned red. It was a good thing that there were no maids or eunuchs around them, or else they would have felt even more embarrassed because of their identity.

    ¡°The pce is indeed pretty,¡± Sang Qien said with a sigh.

    ¡°But for many who live in the pce, it''s more like a prison. They''re raised like canaries in a cage, without any chance of obtaining freedom in life,¡± Zu An said with a sigh.

    ¡°The concubines and maids of the pce really are pitiful.¡± Zheng Dan sighed.

    ¡°But all of that will change, starting with me. I''ll allow the concubines and maids to do as they wish, including being allowed toe and go from the pce freely,¡± Zu An said seriously. He had been an ordinary person in his past world, so he would do his best to help the ordinary people of this world.

    There were very few concubines in the harem now. The first reason was because of Zhao Ruizhi¡¯s ipetence, since he had never put much thought into that. The second was that Zhao Han had been approaching the limit of his lifespan as well, so he''d remained in seclusion every day. Even the stunning empress had been left alone for so many years, so why would he be in the mood to look for other concubines?

    But there were many maids, and almost all of them were young and pretty. Having them stay in the pce for the rest of their lives, letting their beauty decline just like that, was truly too cruel.

    ¡°Big brother Zu has a kind heart, something rarely seen among the nobles.¡± Sang Qien looked at her lover with a gentle expression. The people of the world knew him as a scoundrel and a pervert, while others said that he was a shameless, small-minded person. There were others who said that he was a ruthless murderer. However, she knew very well that big brother Zu was a good person, someone who was really, really kind.

    Zheng Dan couldn''t help but wrap her arm around his shoulder. ¡°As expected of the man I chose!¡±

    Even though she was the eldest daughter of an affluent n, it was a merchant n. As someone who had associated with underground gangs for a long time, she knew just how those with authority treated ordinary people.

    Zu An hadn¡¯t expected to be issued two ¡®nice guy cards¡¯. He chuckled and took them into his arms. The three of them sat down on a bench by the river, enjoying the moonlight while talking about the things that had happened while they were apart.

    Zheng Dan and Sang Qien both felt really warm andfortable. They had been brought into the pce by the empress dowager, and were then taken to the Heart Nurturing Pce to see Zu An. They''d been worried that something ridiculous would be asked of them. Even though they were willing to fool around with him in the Sang n, this was the unfamiliar Imperial Pce. There were also the empress dowager, the empress, and countless other eyes watching them. They definitely didn¡¯t want to do that stuff and be looked down on by others.

    Instead, Zu An was very attentive to them, chatting with them intimately. They really felt an indescribable sense of bliss. Just like that, they spent a wonderful night together.

    ¡­

    During the next day''s court session, the civil and military officials were almost all present. To a certain extent, it was an expression of their stance. Thanks to the academy¡¯s teachers, the Qin n, the Jiang n, and others paying visits to their friends, the initial shock from the great changes that had taken ce gradually subsided. Furthermore, with the eight dukes¡¯ Yu Rui taking the lead, everyone present bowed respectfully to Zu An, Bi Linglong, and the empress dowager.

    Bi Linglong announced the new appointments; they were all within expectations. The officials always followed the ruler; that was how it had always been. That was, of course, excluding the main culprits behind this incident. They didn¡¯t have the right to stand in the court anymore.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Then, Zu An mentioned that he was raising the leader of the Ocean races to the status of empress as well, and that she would be at the same level as the human and fiend emperors.

    Even though many members of the older factions disapproved, they knew very well that the Ocean races¡¯ strength had always been on par with that of the humans and fiends to begin with. If their ruler insisted on being called an emperor, there was nothing they could do either. It was better to have a good rtionship in the end.

    If anyone had to panic, it would be the Fiend races. After all, the Ocean races had been subordinate to them to begin with. But Zu An was the Fiend races¡¯ regent as well, and he was extremely close to the Second Empress. There would naturally be no opposition from that side toward the title of Ocean Empress.

    Many people realized that now, the Fiend races listened to Zu An, and the Ocean races'' empress also listened to Zu An. He was the regent of the human side as well. In a sense, he was the ruler of the entire world. This was an achievement that no one had ever aplished in history!

    Thest bit of resentment they still carried thus disappeared. The regent was already too amazing; who would still be so blind as to oppose him?

    When he saw that no one was opposed, Zu An mentioned that there would be diplomats arriving from both the Fiend races and Ocean races. The three forces would form an alliance to fight against their alien enemy.

    Previously, they had all thought that the world was something for them to constantly fight over among each other; but they had now learned that there was a far more vast world beyond this one, and yet the alien monsters still desired their home. That knowledge formed the foundation for an alliance.

    Of course, it was really all founded on Zu An¡¯s powerful influence with all three races. Otherwise, amon enemy alone wouldn¡¯t be enough for them to reconcile, let alone be allies.

    ¡­

    When the court session finished, Zu An paid Gao Ying a visit. Pei You had been watching over Gao Ying the entire time; his beard was already cleanly shaved, and he was now regaining his former vigor.

    Zu An could tell that Gao Ying¡¯splexion was bing rosier, and that he wouldpletely recover soon. He could even wake up before Qiu Honglei. After all, Qiu Honglei had ended up in her current condition because she came into contact with power on an entirely different order of magnitude.

    ¡°You should already know about the Pei n¡¯s situation, right?¡± Zu An looked at Pei You.

    Pei You nodded. ¡°Brother Zu, I am already extremely grateful that you spared my father and only sent him away to serve a penal sentence. As for the further reward you bestowed upon me, I have no face to ept it at all.¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°I just happen to becking helpers, so of course I need to find trustworthy people. Unfortunately, there aren''t that many of those people, and you just happen to be one of them. A real man should be bold and not pass his responsibilities to others. Besides, only then can you have enough strength to protect your family and one day restore the honor of the Pei n.¡±

    Pei You was full of gratitude. He choked back emotions as he said, ¡°Thank you so much!¡±

    Zu An patted his shoulder and didn¡¯t say anything else.

    ¡­

    In the following days, Zu An found a rare period of leisure. Bi Linglong and Liu Ning were perfect at their jobs, and took care of everything thoroughly and methodically.

    The two of them had previously fought against each other intensely. Now, however, even though they weren¡¯t incredibly intimate, they were at least able to reachpromises and not be a hindrance to each other. The entire court was left amazed.

    <em>The regent really is amazing. After all, not even Zhao Han was able to make these two get along!</em>

    The only thing Zu An needed to personally be a part of was Chu Youzhao and Murong Qinghe¡¯s wedding in a few days. During the period of downtime, he continued collecting information on the monsters.

    One day, he suddenly took out a strange bead. It was something that had been left behind after the White Lotus me burned away the corpse of the Lord of Myriad Transformations. He had known that it was definitely a treasure, but he just hadn¡¯t really known what to do with it all this time. After that, he had been held up by all kinds of things.

    When he held the bead in his hand, the ¡®Skill System¡¯ in the keyboard suddenly lit up.

    <strong>Learnable skill detected: Myriad Transformations. Do you wish to learn this skill?</strong>

 Chapter 2274: Losing Yourself

    Zu An was surprised at first, but then he became extremely happy. Back then, the Lord of Myriad Transformations¡¯ impersonation had beenpletely wless. Even Shang Hongyu had admitted that he was identical to the real Dragon King. If not for some mistakes in what the Dragon King said, she likely would have also been fooled.

    Zu An had felt that the Lord of Myriad Transformations¡¯ skill was extremely powerful. However, he had been in a hurry, and couldn''t learn it.

    And yet, this pearl actually recorded that skill! He figured the Lord of Myriad Transformations had probably ingested this pearl in his earlier years to learn this extraordinary ability. Now that he had the chance, why wouldn¡¯t he learn it?

    He quickly clicked ¡®yes¡¯. Then, a number appeared on the system.

    <strong>Skill requirement: 10,000,000,000 Rage points.</strong>

    Zu An was stunned.

    <em>How many?</em>

    He rubbed his eyes, thinking that there was something wrong with his eyes.

    <em>Are you freaking kidding me?!</em>But he knew fully well that the Skill System determined the cost of a skill based on its rarity. This ridiculous amount proved that this ¡®Myriad Transformations¡¯ was indeed a rare skill.

    He actually wondered whether to swallow the pearl and see if he could learn the skill the same way the Lord of Myriad Transformations had. However, he didn¡¯t have a monster¡¯s body, so the chances of it seeding wasn¡¯t high. Besides that, he was worried that swallowing it would modify his body and turn him into somethingpletely different, perhaps even into a monster.

    While he was hesitating, however, the Keyboard System suggested something.

    <strong>Prerequisite skill detected: Face of a Thousand Identities contains arge amount of foundational knowledge needed for this skill. The required Rage points can be greatly reduced. Recalcting¡­</strong>

    Soon after, a new number appeared.

    <strong>1,000,000 Rage points are needed to learn this skill. Would you like to purchase this skill?</strong>

    Zu An couldn''t help but feel happy to see this difference. The instructions had mentioned this function when the Skill System was first awakened. If he was already familiar with a certain field, it would cost much less to learn a rted skill. A million Rage points was a lot as well, but it was now within a range he could handle.

    He had already totaled up the Rage points he''d umted recently, and discovered that he had 3,050,030 Rage points. He was d that he hadn¡¯t spent them recklessly. He had a feeling that as the functions of the Keyboard System increased, many functions would require more Rage points. If he used it all up on the lottery, that would be way too luck-based.

    ¡°Purchase!¡±

    One million points were quickly deducted. Then, a wave of information entered Zu An''s mind through the pearl.

    After some time passed, Zu An suddenly opened his eyes. He found a mirror to look into. Then, his body gradually became blurry. He quickly became Zhao Han, thete Fiend Emperor, the Dragon King¡­

    People he remembered appeared in the mirror one after another before he suddenly thought of something.

    Chu Chuyan thus appeared in the mirror, truly the image of a cold and aloof ice queen. A bit of shock and confusion appeared on her beautiful face. Then, her hands reflexively moved toward her chest¡­

    A secondter, Zu An recovered his original appearance. He had a strange expression.

    <em>No, I can¡¯t just randomly be a woman. As the saying goes, if you dress as a woman once, there will be countless times in the future. If you do it too much, your way of thinking will be weird too.</em>

    A whileter, he suddenly thought of something else. His body blurred again, and then a brightly-colored tiger appeared in the mirror. It paced back and forth, then swung its ws awkwardly from time to time, as if it wasn¡¯t too used to this appearance.

    Then, the massive tiger turned into a little bird. It fluttered in front of the mirror, as if it was really amazed by what was happening. A whileter, the little bird seemed to get tired of flying and stood on the mirror, then vanished. Upon closer inspection, it had turned into an extremely small mosquito.

    Zu An transformed into all kinds of animals at least once. Suddenly, a st of mist spread out and he reappeared in front of the mirror. He had a really strange expression. He had gotten so excited by the ability to transform that he changed into almost all of the creatures in his memory.

    He had almost turned himself into a maggot out of sheer excitement¡­ Fortunately, he reacted in time.

    This Myriad Transformations skill was incredibly powerful, as expected! It was even more awesome than Sun Wukong¡¯s Seventy-Two Transformations. After all, Sun Wukong¡¯s transformation skill had a weakness. No matter what he changed into, it was still hard for him to hide his monkey tail. In contrast, this Myriad Transformations Skill didn¡¯t have any ws. As long as it was a living thing, he could be exactly like it. It wasn¡¯t just a superficial smokescreen to deceive others, but rather a transformation of the body at a gic level. He could even use the corresponding power that came with their bloodline talent!

    <em>No wonder learning this skill needed so many points!</em>

    If not because he had just happened to learn Face of a Thousand Identities through the Keyboard System, he''d likely have never been able to learn this skill for the rest of his life. Now that he thought about it, he had really gotten lucky when he killed the Lord of Myriad Transformations. If thetter hadn''t been caught off guard and unable to use this skill, he really would¡¯ve been a difficult enemy to face.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    He suddenly thought of something else. He''d be able to change into monsters too, right?

    Soon after, his appearance changed. A person with an ox head appeared in the mirror.

    Zu An was stunned.

    <em>Why did I change into this thing?</em>

    He quickly used Myriad Transformations again. He changed into the gue Monarch, and then into the Doomsday Spirit. Next, the Shadowhorror Devil, Bloodthirst Crocodile, and Firedevil Sea Beast appeared one after another in front of the mirror.

    ¡°I really can change into monsters after all¡­¡±

    He was about to change into the Lord of ughter he had encountered in the sealednd, but when he saw the crazy digits that appeared in the system¡¯s backend, he was frightened and quickly gave up on that thought.

    <em>It seems this skill isn¡¯t entirely without ws. Changing into things that are weaker than myself doesn¡¯t really require much, apart from a small number of Rage points. But if I want to turn into something stronger, that will require a tremendous amount of Rage points.</em>

    It wasn¡¯t only the huge amount that had to be paid when he started the transformation; he had to pay continuously for every moment he used it. Still, that made sense too. Otherwise, this Myriad Transformations skill would be invincible. There would be no need to learn anything else, as he could just change into the most powerful being.

    Apart from that, the Myriad Transformations skill had another w, and it was a warning that seemed to have been left behind by the creator of the skill. It was that the more one transformed, the more one would gradually lose one''s original mind. It was even possible for the user to forget what they originally looked like, and at that point, they will never be able to go back.

    That kind of situation even made Zu An feel a bit scared. He already felt a bit dizzy after transforming so many times. He even started needing to think about the thing he was changing into before he could continue. Whenever he used the skill, countless faces appeared in his head; as long as he could think of it, all of them could be him. Even remembering what he originally looked like among the endless faces was indeed a bit difficult.

    <em>It''s no wonder that after I killed the Lord of Myriad Transformations, his real form ended up being a faceless monster.</em>

    The Lord of Myriad Transformations had probably already forgotten what he originally looked like after transforming himself into all sorts of different things.

    Zu An no longer felt his original excitement; instead, he isted himself to stabilize his mind. Only after three days passed did he wake up from that dazed feeling, having found the way to distinguish himself among the chaos.

    ¡°This skill really does have treacherous dangers hidden within it. I must be careful when I use it in the future. I definitely can''t misuse it,¡± Zu An secretly warned himself.

    When Zu An left the Heart Nurturing Pce, Zhang Zitong¡¯s face was full of excitement. She eximed, ¡°Si¡­ Young master, you finally came out!¡± She had decided not to call him sir anymore, or else people could make the Embroidered Envoy connection. That was their secret, one she couldn''t let others know about.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Zu An gave her a second look. She had looked worried earlier, but she now had a bright smile. The sudden change really was shockingly beautiful.

    ¡°The young master hadn¡¯te out for so many days, so naturally, it was because I was worried that¡­¡± Zhang Zitong¡¯s face turned a bit red. She quickly said, ¡°The empress and empress dowager came several times, but they left in disappointment when they learned that you were cultivating in seclusion. Not too long ago, the empress came again and told me to inform your respected self to attend the Chu n heir¡¯s wedding.¡±

 Chapter 2275: Wedding

    Zu An pped his forehead. He''d almost forgotten about the wedding because he was so engrossed in understanding the Myriad Transformations skill. He asked, ¡°Has Linglong already gone?¡±

    Zhang Zitong was already used to the way he spoke about people and replied, ¡°Her highness was worried that you could miss the asion because of your secluded cultivation, so she left to represent the court in your ce first. That way, the Chu n wouldn¡¯t lose face in the capital.¡±

    ¡°She really thought of everything.¡± Zu An chuckled. ¡°Let¡¯s go to the Chu manor, then!¡± Chuyan was still suffering under the Bridge of Helplessness, so how could he let her family suffer in the capital?

    ¡°Understood!¡± Zhang Zitong¡¯s spirits immediately improved. Even though she was really happy staying at sir¡¯s side, the Imperial Pce was still quite boring, especially since sir hadn¡¯t left for the past few days.

    Shortly after, a group of people left for the Chu manor.

    As holders of a dukedom, the Chu n had a manor in the capital that matched their noble status. However, since their main industries were in Brightmoon City, few of their people normally stayed in their residence. Chu Youzhao spent most of her time at the Qin manor; meanwhile, Qin Wanru hadn¡¯t returned to her parental home in a long time, and she and Huanzhao also stayed in the Qin manor, making it a livelier ce. But since this was a wedding celebration, they naturally couldn''t continue to hold it in the Qin manor.

    Zu An had been nning to head to the Chu manorfortably in a small carriage, but Zhang Zitong advised him that because of his special status now, every word he spoke and every movement he made would be judged. If he was too casual, people would think that he didn¡¯t treat the Chu n with much importance. Zu An thought that what she said made sense, so he had her prepare a proper procession before heading to the Chu manor in a grandiose fashion.

    Along the way, Zu An sighed deeply. He preferred to do as he pleased much more than this. He was d that he hadn¡¯t taken the position of emperor, or else life would have been even moreplicated.

    ¡°The regent has arrived!¡±By the time Zu An arrived at the Chu manor, everyone in the Chu n had already received the news, and came out to greet the procession. The empress dowager, the empress, and other high officials also came out.

    In reality, with the empress dowager and empress¡¯ status, it didn¡¯t match proper etiquette for them toe out and wee him. But no one present felt that it was wrong at all.

    The person standing in front of the Chu manor had upright features that made him schrly and handsome. Zu An quickly got off the carriage and supported him to his feet, saying, ¡°Elder, please hurry and rise.¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    This was the Brightmoon Duke, Chu Zhongtian. Zu An¡¯s status was now special, and because of his divorce from Chu Chuyan, he couldn''t continue to call the duke ''father-inw''. Now that he thought about it, his situation when he first transmigrated had been quite difficult, but Chu Zhongtian had treated him quite well back then.

    ¡°Thank you, regent!¡± Chu Zhongtian replied. He looked at the handsome and heroic-looking young man in front of him and sighed deeply too. Who would have thought that a sorry-looking young man from Brightmoon City could one day grow to this extent?

    <em>It seems no one else''s judgment coulde close to Chuyan¡¯s. It was she who stood her ground and chose Zu An. Everyone else thought that she had gone crazy, and even I found it a bit hard to understand. Only now do I realize just how horribly wrong everyone was back then.</em>

    ¡°When did elder arrive at the capital?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°I arrived two days ago. How could I not be present when Youzhao is getting married?¡± Chu Zhongtian answered, smiling happily.

    He''d actually wanted toe to the capital to see his daughter and old friends for some time, but with the emperor and King Qi¡¯s factions in conflict, the situation had previously been quite tense. He''d been worried that he wouldn¡¯t be able to return if he left his fiefdom.

    But King Qi and Zhao Han had died one after the other, and the court had fallen under Zu An¡¯s management. Naturally, he''d had no misgivings left. Between that and Youzhao¡¯s wedding, he had already left a few months earlier to head to the capital.

    However, midway there, he''d learned that a coup had taken ce in the capital. He''d hesitated for a bit, but out of worry for his wife and daughters¡¯ safety, he still continued to hurry over. Fortunately, Zu An had been able topletely stabilize the situation.

    ¡°Brother-inw!¡± Chu Youzhao and Chu Huanzhao both greeted Zu An.

    Zu An stroked Chu Huanzhao¡¯s head. Then, his gaze quickly shifted toward Chu Youzhao. He had to admit that the cross-dressing Chu Youzhao looked like an extremely handsome pretty boy. Her wedding clothes made her look even more dashing.

    ¡°Youzhao, you look really good today!¡±

    ¡°Thank you, brother-inw.¡±

    Chu Huanzhao curled her lips from the side. But today was Chu Youzhao¡¯s important day, so she decided not to fight with her sister today.

    <em>Hmph, as the big sister, I really am considerate.</em>

    After he greeted the people of the Chu n, Zu An followed Bi Linglong, Liu Ning, and Yun Yuqing into the Chu manor.

    ¡°Are you alright?¡± Bi Linglong asked worriedly. Zu An had suddenly entered secluded cultivation for a few days, so it was hard for others to not worry.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, just some small problem I had to take care of. It¡¯s already dealt with.¡± Zu An chuckled as he exchanged some words with her. Then, he asked Liu Ning, ¡°How are the empress dowager¡¯s injuries?¡±

    ¡°The recovery process is a bit slow. When is the regent going to help this poor widow heal?¡± Liu Ning replied with an ambiguous smile.

    Zu An felt himself be a bit worked up. He hadn¡¯t expected her to be so daring and talk about that in front of so many people! He could only say in return, ¡°Let¡¯s schedule it for another day. Today isn¡¯t a convenient date.¡±

    ¡°I will remember these words.¡± Liu Ning¡¯s eyes were starting to curve from her smile as she replied.

    Many high officials saw this scene and sighed inwardly. They called her the empress dowager, but she still looked young and beautiful. That intoxicating charm she carried really wasn¡¯t something youngdies could possess. Several of them began to recall the past. Back then, the empress dowager had been a woman an entire generation of men dreamed of!

    Bi Linglong and Yun Yuqing exchanged a look. Even though Zu An and Liu Ning''s conversation sounded normal on the surface, the two of them just found it a bit strange for some reason.

    ¡­

    Then, the wedding ceremonies began. Whether it was the the Chu, Qin, or Murong n, everyone was incredibly happy. After all, the regent, empress dowager, and empress had personallye to offer their congrattions. This was truly an iparable honor! The envious looks of all of the other ns already made that very apparent.

    When it was the bride¡¯s turn to appear, she walked out in front of the manor. Because of her red veil, no one could see Murong Qinghe¡¯s face. However, judging from her tall and slender figure, along with her pretty wedding clothes, everyone present could tell that she was a beauty. The upper-ss women of the different ns whispered to themselves,plimenting the Chu heir¡¯s handsomeness and Murong daughter¡¯s beauty. They felt it was an excellent match.

    The bride stepped over a brazier before entering the main hall; this was a tradition that symbolized burning away all things bad and ominous, so the newlywed couple could live a future life that zed a fiery red. So as to prevent her wedding dress being burned, a middle-aged female servant next to her raised the corners of her dress, revealing her beautiful, slim, and well-proportioned legs.

    Many people couldn''t help but look toward Jiang Luofu and Zhang Zitong. Murong Qinghe¡¯s legs weren¡¯t inferior to theirs! They seemed to be a bit closer to Zhang Zitong¡¯s style. Perhaps due to her youth, however, her legs seemed even more fair and slender. But because Murong Qinghe always trained in the spear, she didn¡¯t seem too skinny either. That and her tanned skin added a hint of unruly appeal to her.

    Zhang Zitong blushed under the crowd''s stares.

    <em>I really want to dig out all of their eyes.</em>

    <em>But sir seems to have nced at me too. Yeah, everyone except for him¡­</em>

    Then, it was time for the wedding couple to perform ritual bows toward each other.

    In all these years, this was the firstplete wedding Zu An had witnessed. When hr transmigrated to Brightmoon City, he had also been a groom. However, he had alreadypleted the ritual kneeling by then. When he remembered the past, he couldn''t help but think of Chu Chuyan again. A hint of sorrow filled him.

    After the ritual kneeling concluded, the bride was sent into the bridal room. Meanwhile, the groom had to keep everyone elsepany with drinks.

    Bi Linglong and Liu Ning had special statuses and couldn''t stay for too long. Since they had already participated in the wedding to show their favor, their objective had been met, so they took their leave. Their subjects all understood that, and all respectfully saw them out.

    Yun Yuqing used the chance to follow them back to the pce as well. She wasn¡¯t too fond of this kind of lively gathering, especially since it was too easy for others to remember what had happened to her recently. She felt it would be much better for her to return to the pce and chat with her sisters.

    Zu An didn¡¯t leave; instead, he continued to drink with Chu Zhongtian and some other good friends. Several members of the great ns and high officials of the court came to toast with him; he didn¡¯t refuse anyone.

    Later, however, many people also proposed a toast for the groom. Zu An knew that Chu Youzhao was a woman and was worried that she would drink too much, so he also helped her drink.

    When she saw him drink one cup after another, Zhang Zitong couldn''t help but secretly remind Zu An, ¡°Sir, you drank too much today.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, I¡¯ve been too tense all this time. It¡¯s a rare chance topletely rx.¡± Zu An chuckled, then returned to drink with the other subjects.

    Zhang Zitong thought to herself, <em>Even though sir is smiling really happily today, he seems to be feeling a bit broken-hearted.</em>

    She figured he would be fine no matter how much he drank, so she decided to stop advising him otherwise.

    However, she didn¡¯t know that Zu An hadn¡¯t used his cultivation to get rid of the alcohol today. He needed to experience drunkenness. If he used his cultivation to force out the alcohol, where was the fun in drinking?

    ¡­

    The drinking continued untilte into the evening, when the guests gradually dispersed.

    Seeing Zu An and Chu Youzhao lying across the table, Zhang Zitong found it rather amusing.

    <em>Sir could clearly use his cultivation to easily get rid of his drunkenness, and yet he just had to drink himself into a stupor.</em>

    <em>And the Chu n¡¯s young master really is a lightweight. Sir already helped him drink most of the alcohol, and yet he''s still drunk.</em>

    Zhang Zitong was about to bring Zu An away when Qin Wanru said with a smile, ¡°Ah Zu is already so drunk. He should just stay the night here.¡±

 Chapter 2276: The Only Choice

    Zhang Zitong frowned slightly. ¡°That¡¯s against the rules¡­¡±

    She was about to refuse when Qin Wanru interrupted her. ¡°Ah Zu is already so drunk that it won¡¯t be appropriate for you to bring him back like this. Besides, this ce isn¡¯t that close to the Imperial Pce, and there might be some unexpected dangers along the way, so it¡¯s safer if he stays with us. Anyway, Ah Zu is our Chu n¡¯s son-inw and not an outsider. Could it be that you''re worried we¡¯d harm him?¡±

    Zhang Zitong naturally knew about the rtionship between Zu An and the Chu n. But she still had her responsibility and didn¡¯t dare to show any carelessness. And yet, she found what Qin Wanru said reasonable too. What if there was an ambush on the way back? That would be dangerous indeed.

    While she was hesitating, Zu An mumbled, ¡°It¡¯s fine, just¡­ Just let me stay the night here.¡±

    Zhang Zitong sighed in relief when she heard him speak. ¡°Then I¡¯ll be troubling the madam.¡± Immediately after, she assigned the imperial guards to guard crucial points around the manor to root out any potential dangers.

    Qin Wanru nodded, then had the servants bring Chu Zhongtian, who had also drunk too much out of excitement, back to his room. Then, she woke up Chu Youzhao, who was also lying on the table in a drunken stupor. ¡°Hurry and wake up, and take your brother-inw back for some rest.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­ Okay.¡± Chu Youzhao rubbed her eyes. She raised her head in a daze. She wasn¡¯t like Zu An, who had wanted to get drunk, and she hadn¡¯t drunk that much either. That was why she quickly woke up when she was called.

    Even Zhang Zitong couldn''t help but give her a second look.

    <em>The Chu n¡¯s young heir really is handsome. He might even be prettier than a woman.</em>If it wasn¡¯t for the strict training she had undergone with the Embroidered Envoy, she would have thought that Chu Youzhao was a cross-dressing woman... Of course, there was no way she could know that Youzhao had a special magic treasure that helped hide her gender.

    With Chu Huanzhao¡¯s help, Chu Youzhao brought Zu An to the inner residence. Zu An was the Chu n¡¯s young master to begin with, so no one felt that it was strange for him to enter. Zhang Zitong helped along the way as well.

    Qin Wanru said with a smile, ¡°Miss Zhang must be tired from working all day. Come and eat something, then get some rest. Otherwise, people might think that our Chu n doesn¡¯t treat our guests properly.¡±

    Zhang Zitong shook her head. ¡°I will stand guard at the young master¡¯s side.¡±

    Qin Wanru said with a smile, ¡°We''re in the Chu manor either way. Do you really think we¡¯re going to sell him off or something? How about you ask Ah Zu then? See if he''s willing to see you work so hard. If I remember correctly, he treasures women the most.¡±

    Zhang Zitong¡¯s face heated up a bit, but she still remembered her responsibility and remained at Zu An''s side without taking half a step away.

    When she saw that, Qin Wanru didn¡¯t continue to advise Zhang Zitong. Instead, she had some servants prepare some food to bring over to her.

    Zhang Zitong wanted to say that she didn¡¯t need it, and that guards like them had their prepared rations and wouldn¡¯t eat random things from outsiders to prevent unexpected situations. But since this was sir¡¯s mother-inw and she had already refused many things today, she thought that refusing more would end up making her lose face, so she didn¡¯t say anything else.

    Soon after, Chu Youzhao and Huanzhao took Zu An to a courtyard in the back.

    With a wave of Zhang Zitong¡¯s hand, the guards quickly searched the ce and didn¡¯t find anything strange. Of course, the situation was a bit special, so they couldn''t search every single corner.

    Meanwhile, she gave the courtyard, which was decorated withnterns and colored banners, a look. There were characters of ¡®double happiness¡¯ everywhere. She was a bit surprised.

    <em>So the bride¡¯s room is behind this ce!</em>

    Qin Wanru nodded, saying, ¡°That¡¯s right. These are the two best courtyards of the Chu manor. One is for the newlyweds, while the other naturally needed to be left for Ah Zu.¡±

    Zhang Zitong didn¡¯t feel as if there was anything wrong. With Zu An¡¯s current status, only a ce like this was worthy of him. Soon after, she helped Zu An into the room and watched as servant girls helped clean him up. They removed his outer garment and shoes, then put a nket over him. After watching the whole process, she sighed in relief.

    ¡°Brother-inw is already so drunk, should I stay behind to take care of him?¡± Chu Huanzhao volunteered herself.

    ¡°Nonsense! How could a youngdy like you stay behind here?¡± Qin Wanru shot her a look. Then, she said to Zhang Zitong, ¡°We¡¯ll be troubling miss Zhang again. I¡¯ll leave several maids outside, ready to listen to any orders.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve troubled you, madam.¡± Zhang Zitong had to admit that Qin Wanru¡¯s arrangements were organized and efficient. Then, she said to Chu Youzhao with a smile, ¡°Young master, please don¡¯t dy here any longer. The bride is still waiting for you inside the bridal room.¡±

    Chu Youzhao¡¯s face turned red. She bowed before excusing herself. Chu Huanzhao was also brought away by her mother while pouting. The entire courtyard immediately became much quieter.

    Zhang Zitong arranged for the guards to patrol nearby, while she continued to stand guard outside, ready to receive Zu An¡¯s orders at any time. However, everything she did was just a formality. She knew about sir and the Chu n¡¯s rtionship. This ce was basically his home, so why would they need to be so guarded? The only thing they had to worry about were people who coulde in from outside.

    Besides, with Zu An¡¯s current cultivation, even though he was drunk, the ki protecting his body wouldn¡¯t allow any injuries. If someone wanted to harm him, his powerful spiritual sense would immediately detect it. Then, his ki would operate and all of his drunkenness would disappear.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zhang Zitong had a smile of self-mockery when she realized that.

    <em>I really am just acting based on groundless fears.</em>

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, after Qin Wanru left with the others, she sent Chu Huanzhao to get some sleep. Huanzhao had gone around excitedly the whole time, so she was already tired. Besides, she didn¡¯t have her brother-inw around anymore, so she felt that things were now too boring. She grumbled as she headed off to sleep.

    Then, Qin Wanru had the servants leave as well. She and Chu Youzhao looked at each other and the room became quiet.

    ¡°Mom, do we really need to do that?¡± Chu Youzhao was a bit hesitant.

    Qin Wanru sighed. ¡°Your mother doesn¡¯t want to do this either, but it¡¯s your wedding night. Normally, you might be able to hide your status as a woman with the treasure, but you need to ¡®share the bed¡¯ with your wife tonight. How could you possibly fool her?¡±

    Chu Youzhao¡¯s little face paled a bit. She was also really nervous. This was, after all, the Chu n¡¯s greatest secret. A single mistake could result in everything being ruined.

    Qin Wanru continued, ¡°If Qinghe discovered the truth and ran back to the Qin n, not only would our two ns not be able toplete this marriage, it would even result in the grudge. Then, everyone would know that the Chu ncks an heir, while we would be the sinners of the entire Chu n.¡±

    ¡°But even if Qinghe found out, she wouldn¡¯t tell everyone!¡± Chu Youzhao tried to speak up for her childhood sweetheart.

    ¡°I know Qinghe is naturally kind, and that she gets along with you well. It''s most likely as you say, but we can''t take that risk.¡± Qin Wanru shook her head slightly. When she saw that Chu Youzhao was still conflicted, she sighed and held her daughter closely, saying, ¡°Actually, it would be meaningless even if we made it through tonight that way. Even if Qinghe likes you enough and is willing to be married to you now, after a few years, you would still run into the issue of children. After all, you two can''t produce an heir for the Chu n, so wouldn''t the problem remain?"

    She paused for a moment, then said, ¡°If you really don¡¯t want to, then forget it. We¡¯ll find someone else toplete this task in the future.¡±

    Chu Youzhao immediately shook her head. ¡°No way! If it ere anyone else, little sister Qinghe would definitely go crazy. I will never agree to any other man bullying her.¡±

    ¡°But if it¡¯s your brother-inw, the two of you are willing?¡± Qin Wanru¡¯s expression became a bit strange.

    ¡°Brother-inw is naturally an exception.¡± It was impossible to tell what Chu Youzhao was thinking, but her face became red. ¡°I asked Qinghe something simr in the past. Back then, she couldn''t resist my endless pestering and secretly admitted that if she hadn¡¯t met me, she would most likely have liked brother-inw. Actually, in my opinion, she already likes brother-inw a lot.¡±

    ¡°That guy is indeed very good at making women like him.¡± Qin Wanru felt a bit sour inside, but she had to admit to Zu An¡¯s charm. Forget about Chuyan, even Huanzhao and Youzhao liked him a lot. Even the glorious empress was dead set on him. But after some hesitation, she didn¡¯t expose Youzhao¡¯s feelings for Zu An.

    Chu Youzhao took a deep breath, and then made up her mind. ¡°If we have to do this eventually, the only choice is to go with brother-inw!¡±

 Chapter 2277: Actively Plotting

    ¡°Alright, in that case, today is the best opportunity. If we miss today, we might not be able to make your brother-inw ¡®cooperate¡¯ anymore,¡± Qin Wanru quickly said.

    Chu Youzhao voiced her agreement. When she remembered what she was about to do, her face couldn''t help but turn a bit red.

    ¡°Then we¡¯ll continue ording to n. Youzhao, do you still remember? Should I exin it to you again?¡± Qin Wanru asked worriedly.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I remember.¡± Chu Youzhao took a deep breath and pushed open the door to leave.

    Looking at her daughter''s back, Qin Wanru was about to say something, but then stopped. In the end, she could only sigh. cing the n¡¯s heaviest responsibility on Youzhao really was hard on her. They were also letting down Qinghe¡­

    Meanwhile, in the bridal room, Murong Qinghe sat nervously on the bed with a red veil over her face. A thick red candle was burning brightly in the room, covering the entire room in a hazy, festive air.

    Murong Qinghe¡¯s hands were ced on herp like a properdy. She twiddled her fingers idly as she murmured, ¡°It¡¯s already sote, why isn¡¯t big brother Chu here yet¡­¡±

    This was her happiest day. The fact that she could marry her childhood sweetheart, big brother Chu, made it hard for her to restrain the grin on her face. However, she had heard from the maids that big brother Chu was drinking with the guests.

    <em>Hmph, big brother Chu is so gentle and refined, he probably can¡¯t handle all of their toasts. It¡¯s a good thing that I heard big brother Zu helped big brother Chu drink a lot of the alcohol instead.</em><em>Big brother Zu really is a good person. He¡¯s now such a respected person, but he still treats us just like before.</em>

    <em>He was so handsome when he killed those two monsters in the air. If I hadn¡¯t met big brother Chu first, I might¡¯ve also¡­</em>

    <em>Aiyah! Murong Qinghe, Murong Qinghe, just what kind of stuff are you thinking about right now?</em>

    <em>You''re already big brother Chu¡¯s wife, and yet you¡¯re still thinking about so much nonsense.</em>

    <em>You really have no sense of shame¡­</em>

    <em>But big brother Chu asked a simr question before. It does sound a bit strange now. Just why would he ask something like that?</em>

    <em>Could it be because he suspects I won¡¯t be loyal to him?</em>

    Her pretty face immediately paled.

    <em>No, big brother Chu¡¯s expression waspletely normal then. I don¡¯t think that¡¯s what he was thinking.</em>

    <em>And I can also sense that he likes brother-inw quite a bit. He even looks a bit jealous sometimes.</em>

    She managed to calm down a bit when she realized this.

    ¡­

    As she waited and waited, suddenly, she remembered the different things the old nanny in the n had taught her before she left. Her face gradually became a bit red. She actually hadn''t understood most of what the nanny said, but she''d been too embarrassed to ask her for more details.

    <em>Big brother Chu would probably understand, right¡­</em>

    <em>But he''s such a refined gentleman, it¡¯s hard to imagine that he would know about those things.</em>

    <em>Ahhh! Just what is wrong with me today? Why is my mind full of such embarrassing stuff?</em>

    While Murong Qinghe was worrying about all of these things, there was suddenly a heavy knock outside, leaving her startled. She immediately sat up straight. She was so nervous that she could hear her own heart beating.

    Just then, the door opened, leaving her a bit confused.

    <em>Why does it sound as if three people are entering?</em>

    She raised her head slightly and peeked out from beneath her veil. It turned out that two servants had brought Chu Youzhao back.

    <em>Big brother Chu¡¯s feet seem to be dragging a bit, and I can smell the alcohol from far away. It seems he¡¯s already unconscious from drinking.</em>

    Murong Qinghe suddenly felt a bit disappointed. She had been looking forward to her newlywed night, and yet her husband was already this drunk. But that bit of disappointment was quickly reced with a feeling of pity. She quickly walked over to help hold him, wondering, ¡°How did you end up drinking yourself into this state?¡±

    The two maids said with a smile, ¡°Those guests were too enthusiastic with the toasting. Fortunately, the regent helped him drink a lot, or else we¡¯d have been worried that the young heir could die from drunkenness.¡±

    Murong Qinghe reached out to touch Chu Youzhao¡¯s meridians. When she sensed that his breath seemed steady, she knew he was just drunk. She sighed in relief. However, she suddenly asked, ¡°How is the regent right now?¡±

    ¡°The regent is even more drunk. He drank far more than the young heir, after all,¡± said the two servants.

    Murong Qinghe was both grateful and apologetic. She really was troubling big brother Zu too much tonight.

    Just then, the two maids chatted noisily, ¡°I heard the others say that the regent¡¯s cultivation is really high, so he shouldn¡¯t be this drunk¡­¡±

    ¡°He was probably in a bad mood and decided to use the alcohol to numb his worries.¡±

    Zu An was already the focal point of everyone¡¯s attention in the capital. Even the maids were full of curiosity about him.

    When she heard the maids¡¯ discussions, Murong Qinghe was a bit confused.

    <em>Big brother Zu¡¯s cultivation is so high, and he has so much authority. Why would someone like him still have any worries?</em>

    ¡°We almost disturbed thedy¡¯s rest.¡± The two maids suddenly seemed to realize what was happening. After cing Chu Youzhao on the bed, they ced an incense burner by the bed before bowing and leaving.

    ¡°What is this?¡± Murong Qinghe asked curiously.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°This is a blessing for fertility that the madam specially sought out. It is said to be able to bring the madam and young heir more sons and happiness,¡± said the two maids.

    Murong Qinghe¡¯s face turned a bit red. She was so embarrassed she didn¡¯t know what to say.

    The two maids bowed, and then closed the door behind them.

    Murong Qinghe sat by the edge of the bed and quietly waited for a while. But Chu Youzhao seemed to have already fallen unconscious from drinking. From the looks of it, he wouldn¡¯t be waking up for quite some time.

    Murong QInghe suddenly pursed her lips. After some hesitation, she reached out, guiding big brother Chu¡¯s hand to remove the red veil covering her face,pleting an extremely important step of their marriage ceremony. She looked at Chu Youzhao with a bashful expression and murmured, ¡°Big brother Chu, I am already your wife now.¡±

    She knew he couldn''t hear her, which helped her feel a bit less embarrassed. She looked Chu Youzhao in the face just like that. In that instant, her eyes were filled with love.

    <em>Big brother Chu is so handsome, he¡¯s almost like big brother Zu¡­</em>

    <em>Ah! Why am I thinking about big brother Zu again?</em>

    Her face heated up and she quickly picked up the towel that the maids had just prepared. After wetting it, she helped Chu Youzhao wipe his face and wrists. As she continued to wipe his body, her heart began to beat like crazy. She reached out her hand to help big brother Chu take off his clothes.

    However, she quickly pulled her hands back as soon as she touched the waistband.

    ¡°I¡¯m a woman! Why am I acting as if I have no sense of shame at all? What if big brother Chu wakes up tomorrow and finds out that I was so proactive, and then doesn¡¯t like it?¡± Murong Qinghe clenched her teeth. In that instant, she began to worry about what to do again.

    In the end, she gave up on helping Chu Youzhao change her clothes. The red candle in the room went out, and shey down with all of her clothes on. Her bashfulness as a youngdy prevented her from even being too close to him, even though they were already married.

    All kinds of thoughts flew through her head. She was nervous, excited, and bashful. She thought at first that she would lie awake all the way until dawn. But for some reason, when she smelled the sweet scenting from the incense burner, she felt her body gradually rx, and she unknowingly fell asleep.

    A whileter, the seemingly drunken and Chu Youzhao suddenly opened her eyes. She looked at the youngdy beside her, whose delicate and pretty facial features now looked especially beautiful. Her expression was extremelyplicated. In the end, she released a deep sigh. ¡°Little sister Qinghe, we will be together forever.¡±

    She got up and put out the rest of the candle mes. Once the room waspletely pitch-ck, she moved over to Murong Qinghe¡¯s body. After some hesitation, she began to remove her wedding clothes. She was really nervous throughout the entire process.

    In the middle, Murong Qinghe seemed to have sensed something. She muttered something, and her body couldn''t help but move too. Chu Youzhao was a bit frightened.

    Fortunately, Murong Qinghe didn¡¯t wake up. Chu Youzhao couldn''t help but nce at the incense burner, which still burned dimly.

    <em>Thank goodness we prepared this.</em>

    Even though she had already taken some antidotes and held her breath, in order to prevent little sister Qinghe from realizing that she was actually awake, she had ended up breathing in a bit of its scent. Subsequently, she felt her body burn up a bit. She bit her lip and gave Murong Qinghe a long look. Only then did she lie down by thetter''s side again.

    Then, she took hold of a secret button on the wall.

 Chapter 2278: Fertility Stew

    <h4>Chapter 2278: Fertility Stew</h4>

    Chu Youzhao gently twisted the button, and the wall next to the bed suddenly spun. She was sent next door, and the person sleeping next door took her ce. Lying on the bed in the next room, Chu Youzhao looked at the wall. She mumbled to herself, ¡°Brother-inw, please help...¡±

    Perhaps because the wall was moving, Murong Qinghe made a bit of noise, but it wasn¡¯t to the point that she would be roused awake. It was unclear what kind of dream she was having, but her face waspletely red. Her body twisted back and forth from time to time.

    Then, with a turn of her body, she touched the man next to her. The masculine presence his body gave off held a kind of attraction that seemed toe from the very source of life. She unconsciously moved closer and closer to him, as if only then could she alleviate her body¡¯s suffering a little bit.

    Zu An, who had fallen asleep, sensed the movements. However, his spiritual sense didn¡¯t detect any danger or evil intent. As such, he turned over and remained asleep. However, in his daze, he suddenly smelled a sweet scent. A small hand moved across his body, and then there was suddenly a delicate body in his arms.

    ¡°Is it Linglong or Liu Ning...¡± he wondered. He''d drunk way too much tonight, and he was sleeping reallyfortably, so his thoughts were a bit slower than usual.

    <i>It shouldn¡¯t be Liu Ning. Her body is a bit more voluptuous.</i>

    <i>It¡¯s not big sis Yun either. Big sis Yun¡¯s hair is really long.</i>

    <i>Is it Linglong or Yun Yuqing...</i>

    Her figure seemed simr, but also a bit different. The beautiful figure in his arms seemed to be a bit slimmer, and her skin was smooth and stic. That was the distinct feeling of youthfulness.

    <i>I really can¡¯t tell at all...</i>

    Zu An opened his eyes in a daze. The darkness of the room didn¡¯t affect his sight. However, the young woman was buried in his chest, so he couldn''t see what she looked like at all.

    ¡°Hm? She looks a bit familiar. Who is it?¡± he murmured in confusion. The youngdy seemed like a little kitten that was tentatively sipping on a bowl of milk in front of her.

    ¡°Sss!¡± Zu An sucked in air through the gaps of his teeth. <i>This woman really is good at this!</i>

    He was still quite drowsy, and there were no dangers right now either, so he didn¡¯t feel like waking uppletely. Since he couldn''t figure out who it was, he decided not to bother. Either way, Zhang Zitong was watching the entrance and she wouldn¡¯t allow an unfamiliar woman in. He wondered which of his women was ying a prank on him, but since she was burying her head in his chest to hide it from him, how could he be a brute and demand that she reveal herself?

    He instinctively took the youngdy into his arms. She moaned and became really embarrassed, as if sensing his invasive movements.

    <i>Hm? This woman¡¯s legs are so long. It¡¯s not Zhang Zitong screwing around, is it?</i>

    <i>Forget it, that woman is pretty adorable. If I refused her now, she wouldn¡¯t know what to do.</i>

    He was now already extremely experienced. How could the youngdy in his arms keep up? Soon after, her body began trembling slightly and her breathing quickened. She felt as if her soul had been ignited!

    ...

    Meanwhile, a maid said hesitantly, ¡°Mydy, you cannot immediately ce thergest piece of firewood when making a fire. You have to first make the fire bigger before you put in the firewood.¡±

    Qin Wanru was a bit beside herself. When she heard that, she snapped out of her daze. ¡°Huh? How do I do this then?¡±

    ¡°Madam, I should be the one doing this kind of unskilledbor.¡± The maid was a bit confused. Why had the madam suddenlye to the kitchen to prepare a meal in the middle of the night of her son¡¯s wedding?

    ¡°No, I need to personally prepare a bowl of fertility stew for Qinghe and Youzhao. Just teach me,¡± Qin Wanru said, blushing with shame. She had beenpletely preupied thinking about the things happening in the bridal room, so much so that the fire in the kitchen stove was almost extinguished.

    ¡°Madam, you need to first put in some things that are easier to ignite first.¡± The maid squatted down next to her and pointed to some hay off to the side.

    ¡°Oh.¡± Qin Wanru tried to use a long and thin pair of tongs to pinch some of the hay. However, this was the first time she had ever done such a thing, so she failed even after trying many times. She could only pick up thicker pieces of firewood.

    ¡°Why are these fire tongs so much longer than normal tongs? They''re not easy to use at all.¡± Qin Wanru¡¯s face heated up as she muttered to herself. Then, she began to move the pot.

    ¡°They were something the Murong n¡¯s maid brought. They are used to this type; she said it was pretty, and it is indeed easier to use.¡± The maid knew what the madam was like, and didn¡¯t dare tough out loud. She held the madam''s hand while guiding her to move bits of hay into the stove.

    Qin Wanru was a bit excited, but she hesitated shortly after. ¡°The fire in the kitchen stove already went out. Where are the flints? I¡¯ll start another fire.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that.¡± The maid held her hand and moved the tongs into the kitchen stove to make some space in the middle of the kindling pile. ¡°These things need to be fiddled with a bit. Giving the kindling enough space and air will make it easier to light.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡± Qin Wanru gave the stove a look, and sure enough, she saw that some embers were starting to appear on the hay. ¡°It¡¯s being lit, it¡¯s catching fire!¡±

    ¡°You can add some smaller branches in. The beginning embers are still really weak, so you can¡¯t put in that thick chunk of firewood yet. Otherwise, it will immediately put the fire out.¡± The maid pointed from off to the side.

    Qin Wanru immediately grabbed some branches and gently tossed them in. However, she immediately sucked in air through her teeth and pulled her hand back as if she''d been zapped by lightning. Her fair finger had been pricked by the branches, causing a droplet of blood to appear.

    The maid was shocked, eximing, ¡°Madam, I¡¯ll bring you the medicine box to wrap up this wound immediately!¡± n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that at all; it¡¯s just a small injury and doesn¡¯t bother me much at all. This madam isn¡¯t that weak.¡± Qin Wanru ced her finger into her mouth and sucked on it. The bleeding quickly stopped.

    ¡°Should I do it instead? How can such crudebor be done by the madam?¡± asked the maid anxiously.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. This is the only thing I can do for Qinghe. I hope I can make things up to her a bit.¡± Qin Wanru¡¯s tone was extremely apologetic.

    The maid had a puzzled expression.

    <i>What is the madam saying? Why does she need topensate the young madam?</i>

    Qin Wanru suddenly said, ¡°Ah! The fire is already about to go out because we didn¡¯t do anything.¡±

    The maid handed her a bamboo tube and said with a smile, ¡°Madam, it¡¯s okay. Use this and blow into the fire a bit. It will immediately start burning again.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Qin Wanru blew into the bamboo tube as the maid told her to. Soon after, a pile of smoke rushed out.

    ¡°Ah! Madam, not so hard!¡± The maid cried out, ¡°You can¡¯t use that much force!¡±

    When she saw the maid¡¯s slightly darkened face, Qin Wanru was a bit embarrassed. She was able to avoid it in time, but the maid wasn''t.

    ¡°Okay.¡± She then lowered herself in front of the stove and gently blew into the bamboo tube. Sure enough, the fire that had been about to go out became a bit brighter. There were also more embers. When she saw that, she became more and more excited. She blew gently, and the weak embers gradually strengthened. A fire soon started in the stove.

    ¡°You can add the firewood now,¡± the maid hurriedly reminded her.

    Qin Wanru nodded. Her ten fine fingers moved through the firewood. After picking and choosing for a long time, in the end, she selected thergest piece to put in. The fertility stew she was making had to be slowly cooked for a long time, so arger piece of firewood would be better.

    However, the fire that had just started was almost put out because of the sudden addition of such a big piece of firewood. Qin Wanru immediately picked up the bamboo tube to blow continuously in rm. Only then did the fire stabilize a bit.

    When therge piece of firewood began to burn, the fire in the stove started growingrger andrger. Soon after, a sizzling sound came from the pot.

    Qin Wanru was really happy to see that, eximing, ¡°It¡¯s boiling, the water is boiling!¡±

    She quickly ced spiritual herbs and other precious ingredients inside. She then started stirring a bit from time to time, controlling the fire so the stew wouldn¡¯t burn.

    After a long time passed, Qin Wanru felt her waist and back growing sore. Fortunately, the fertility stew was starting to take form, gradually bing viscous.

 Chapter 2279: Harsh Criticism?

    <h4>Chapter 2279: Harsh Criticism?</h4>

    Murong Qinghe felt as if she had experienced an incredible dream. In it, she and big brother Chu lived together and experienced a fairytale life. She had never been so happy before. Even though she was a bit ufortable at first, what came after was a kind of feeling she had never experienced before. In the past, she had always felt extremely happy when she made cultivation breakthroughs, but she had never expected that... this would feel even a bit better.

    This beautiful dream was just too amazing, but eventually, she discovered that big brother Chu ended up bing big brother Zu!

    She was startled awake. Soon after, she felt a special kind of pressure that made her cheeks turn red. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    <i>It wasn¡¯t a dream!</i>

    She quickly realized where she was. The familiar sweet scent around her, and the special new bed, meant she was supposed to be here with big brother Chu. But for some reason, the night light that was left in the room had already gone out and the room was pitch-ck. She couldn''t see clearly at all.

    Only, why would she need to see clearly? This was her and big brother Chu¡¯s room, and they slept together. Who else could this be but her lover?

    <i>Why would I still dream about big brother Zu? Murong Qinghe, Murong Qinghe, you''re already big brother Chu¡¯s woman! Why would you still have such stray thoughts?</i>

    But soon after, she had no more time to think about those things. She felt as if her entire body was about to explode. She bit her lip, then held the man next to her tightly. She was incredibly embarrassed.

    <i>Big brother Chu looks so refined and schrly normally, but the muscles under his clothes are so...</i>

    In that instant, she felt as if something was wrong. However, big brother Chu rarely touched her body, and she had only touched his arm at most. She had never seen him with his clothes off, so her slight confusion quickly disappeared.

    A whileter, her face turned redder. Suddenly, a memory of fighting the Fiend races in the army alongside her grandfather appeared in her mind.

    The Fiend races had a kind of creature called a minotaur that was extremely strong; one of their greatest abilities was their powerful wild charge. They often charged straight into the human army. A bit of carelessness could mean an entire army formation would be ruined, allowing the minotaurs to charge straight through. If the front line was broken through, the entire army would break apart.

    When she thought about big brother Chu¡¯s refined appearance, Murong Qinghe gritted her teeth.

    <i>How can I disappoint big brother Chu so quickly?</i>

    Her pride andpetitive spirit were stirred up, and she put away those thoughts of defeat. Sheposed herself, resolving topete against him again!

    She understood the power of the minotaurs¡¯ wild charges well. She gave up on the idea of fighting head-on at the front gate and decided to draw the enemy in even deeper, to lure them into the city and fight their soldiers in the alleys. Once the impulsive minotaurs entered the city, she could theny an ambush for them from all sides.

    After all, the first spurt of energy wouldn¡¯tst forever. No matter how strong the minotaur was, their charge would eventually run out of momentum and they would grow tired. That would be the chance for her to mount aeback. She didn¡¯t understand why she was suddenly remembering her experiences in the army, but her pride didn¡¯t allow her to acknowledge defeat so easily.

    Big brother Chu also seemed to have noticed her provocation and reacted with surprise. He began to increase the strength of his assault.

    Murong Qinghe was immediately stunned. She finally understood the meaning behind the words her grandfather had told her about war.

    <i>Before absolute strength, all strategy is meaningless.</i>

    She discovered that not only had her alleybat n not redeemed the situation, it had somehow made the enemy even stronger!

    In the end, she had a relieved smile on her face. Losing to big brother Chu wasn¡¯t too bad either. When she realized that, she gave up on resistance and did her best to soften her body instead. She only wanted her lover to feel as happy andfortable as possible.

    After she hit her climax, she hugged the man on top of her tightly. She moved her lips close to his ear and whispered, ¡°Big brother Chu, it seems your usual refined demeanor is a facade. But I¡¯m really happy that we can finally be together.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. When he heard the voice, his first thought was that he had heard ''big brother Zu''. But a few secondster, he finally reacted. He quickly looked down at the beauty in his arms. A look of shock appeared on his face. His drunkenness immediately cleared up considerably out of fear.

    The beauty¡¯s hair was disheveled, and her tanned skin now carried an enchanting blush. Her red wedding clothes were scattered all over the ground. The characters of ''double happiness'' were stuck all around the room.

    In that instant, too many thoughts appeared in Zu An¡¯s mind.

    <i>Did I lose all of my morality because of the alcohol? I went straight into the bride¡¯s room and did something so terrible?</i>

    <i>Was it because my cultivation is too high that the Chu n couldn''t stop me?</i>

    <i>I¡¯m aplete brute!</i>

    He was even starting to look down on himself. After all, Youzhao and Qinghe both had a good rtionship with him, and they were so close to the Chu n. And yet now, he had ended up bullying the Chu n¡¯s new bride in public!

    But soon after, he was a bit puzzled. Why did he have no impression of these things at all?

    <i>I remember Zhang Zitong brought me back to my room to sleep. </i>

    With his cultivation, even if he was drunk, he shouldn¡¯t have been unable to feel anything at all, right?

    ¡°Big brother Chu, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Murong Qinghe felt the changes happening to her man and was a bit confused.

    <i>Why did big brother Chu suddenly stop moving? And he seemed to be looking down on me from above.</i>

    When she thought about what she no doubt looked like right now, Murong Qinghe only felt embarrassed from being stared at. That was why she got up to hug her man again, saying, ¡°Big brother Chu, don¡¯t look at me like that. I¡¯ll get embarrassed...¡±

    Her cultivation wasn¡¯t high enough to see the other person in the darkness, but she could vaguely make out his outline and his bright eyes.

    Zu An sucked in air through his teeth.

    <i>Murong Qinghe really is a rare talent. Her young body is actually so charming.</i>

    <i>Wait, why is she calling me big brother Chu?</i>

    <i>Does she think I''m Chu Youzhao?</i>

    <i>Just what is going on?</i>

    While he was thinking about what to do, Murong QInghe wrapped tightly around him like an octopus. Her waist began to move up and down like a wave.

    Zu An looked at the messy yet dazzling wedding clothes and the tenderness of a bride, watching the natural charm of her underripe movements. This somewhat taboo situation in particr was something that was hard for him to resist even with all of his experience.

    The volcanopletely erupted!

    Murong Qinghe cried out in surprise. Even though she was in the army, and her body was tougher than that of a normal youngdy, how could she withstand the battering of waves upon waves like this? Her eyes rolled back, and she fainted on the spot.

    Only after a while did Zu An gradually calm down. He searched around with his divine sense and noticed Chu Youzhao next door. His face darkened. With a sh, he instantly reappeared next door.

    ¡°What is going on?¡± Zu An was about to criticize her harshly, but he was stunned instead.

    He saw that Youzhao¡¯s hair was a bit messy and she wasn¡¯t in her usual male getup. She hadpletely returned to her female appearance with pretty features. Her beautiful hair fell across her shoulders in disarray. She seemed to only be wearing her sleepwear and was wrapped in covers. There was a redness on her face that normally wasn''t there, and she looked as if she was about to cry.

    Zu An was stunned.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Chu Youzhao cried out in rm, but quickly covered her mouth for fear of alerting Zhang Zitong outside.

    She had never expected Zu An to suddenly appear here! After all, she had just listened to all the activity next door. How could a youngdy like her withstand such passionate sounds? Her face and ears quickly turned red, and her entire body heated up badly. She couldn''t help but remove her outer garments as well and lie down in bed. As she sensed his smell, her expression became one of confusion.

    ¡°Brother... Brother-inw.¡± Chu Youzhao shrank into her covers, feeling embarrassed and guilty. She didn¡¯t dare to look into his eyes at all.

    ¡°Why was I next door? What is going on with Qinghe?¡± Zu An asked with a frown. When he saw the way she was acting, it didn¡¯t seem as if he had forcefully created this situation.

    Chu Youzhao said quietly, ¡°Brother-inw, you know I''m a woman, so how could I sleep with Qinghe? That¡¯s why I had to ask you for help.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He almostughed out of annoyance. ¡°Someone can help with even this kind of thing?¡±

    ¡°Why not? Brother-inw isn¡¯t an outsider, and little sister Qinghe likes you a lot too.¡± Chu Youzhao blushed. This matter was a bit ridiculous, so it was no wonder that her brother-inw had such a strong reaction.

    ¡°Absolute nonsense!¡± Zu An was immediately left speechless. Just what was going on inside this youngdy''s head?

 Chapter 2280: I Have Another Request

    ¡°Sorry, brother-inw. I really couldn''t think of any other way.¡± Chu Youzhao held Zu An¡¯s arm and gently rocked it.

    ¡°You¡¯re already married, and yet you¡¯re still acting like a spoiled child¡­ Put on your clothes properly first.¡± Zu An turned around when he saw the exposed skin around her loosely worn clothes.

    ¡°Oh.¡± Chu Youzhao blushed and quickly sorted out her clothes, then put on her outer garment. A whileter, she said quietly with a reddened face, ¡°I¡¯m done, brother-inw.¡±

    <em>Why don¡¯t I have any defenses at all in front of brother-inw?</em>

    Zu An turned around. ¡°Why are you doing this, really?¡±

    Chu Youzhao hung her head and said rather apologetically, ¡°Brother-inw, you know I''m a woman and can¡¯t do that stuff. The Chu n also needs an heir, so I could only ask you for help.¡±

    ¡°Is what you did asking me for help?¡± Zu An almostughed out of annoyance.

    ¡°If I hadn¡¯t acted first and reportedter, would brother-inw have agreed?¡± Chu Youzhao mumbled.

    Zu An was speechless.Even though this kind of thing was quite appealing for him as a man, that was only something he had fantasized about whenever he saw billboard advertisements rewardingrge sums for having children. Who would do something so ridiculous in real life? If Chu Youzhao had asked him before, he would indeed have refused.

    ¡°Does little sister Qinghe know about this?¡± he asked.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t tell her yet. I n to slowly suggest it to herter¡­¡± Chu Youzhao said, a bit embarrassed.

    Zu An was speechless.

    ¡°Big brother Zu, you don¡¯t need to worry! I already asked Qinghe before, and she said she was willing to be with you,¡± Chu Youzhao added.

    Zu An looked at her with an expression full of questions.

    Chu Youzhao¡¯s face reddened a bit. She then added, ¡°The two of us had an intimate chat once. Back then, I asked her who she would¡¯ve liked if she hadn¡¯t met me. I had to push quite a bit before she disclosed the truth. Who do you think she said it was?¡±

    When he saw her worried expression, Zu An couldn''t help but feel a bit stirred. After all, being liked by a beautiful youngdy was always a happy thing.

    ¡°But even if that''s true, we can¡¯t just do things like this!¡± he replied, feeling a sense of absurdity when he recalled what had just happened. ¡°Once little sister Qinghe learns about the truth, how will she feel?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, brother-inw, you can just leave that to me. She''ll be able to ept it.¡± Chu Youzhao seemed to have quite a bit of confidence in herself.

    Zu An wondered briefly whether to just tell Murong Qinghe the truth, but what had happened today really was too ridiculous. It¡¯d be really bad if Murong Qinghe couldn''t ept it and did something silly. Additionally, the court had just calmed down a bit. If this whole affair was exposed, it would once again create a lot of unrest, and it would only bring harm to those involved.

    He couldn''t help but sigh. Sometimes, when one''s identity and status changed, the things one had to worry about also increased.

    ¡°Then you two are on your own. If Qinghe can''t handle the truth, tell me. I''ll personally apologize to her,¡± Zu An said, feeling really annoyed. Just what kind of situation were they in?

    He could have countless beautiful youngdies lining up to sleep with him with just a wave of his hand, so there was no need for him to do something like this at all. Who would have thought that he would be plotted against by the closest people around him? On top of that, in this situation, he had still sort of taken advantage of the other party too, so he didn¡¯t even know how to vent his frustrations.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, brother-inw. I''ll definitely take care of this properly.¡± Chu Youzhao sounded like a child who had made a mistake and kept trying to make up for it.

    Zu An harrumphed. He sorted out his clothes and walked out.

    Chu Youzhao was startled. ¡°Brother-inw, where are you going?¡±

    ¡°Back to the pce,¡± Zu An said coldly.

    ¡°You¡¯re going back when it¡¯s already sote?¡± Chu Youzhao was confused.

    ¡°I feel annoyed just thinking about what happened,¡± Zu An said impatiently.

    As he reached the door, Chu Youzhao quickly chased after him and grabbed his hand. ¡°Brother-inw, please don¡¯t be angry. I still have something else to ask you.¡±

    Zu An thought about how Chu Chuyan was still under the Bridge of Helplessness. He took a deep breath to clear his mind before asking, ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Can you take some time to keep Qinghepany whenever you have some time in the future?¡± Chu Youzhao asked softly.

    Zu An was stunned.

    Chu Youzhao¡¯s face turned a bit red. She could only exin bashfully, ¡°I could hear how happy little sister Qinghe was, so there¡¯s no way she¡¯ll forget about what happened. If she starts asking me for that¡­ As a woman, I can¡¯t help her.¡±

    Zu An almostughed out loud from anger.

    <em>Thisss¡¯ brain really operates a bit differently from normal!</em>

    He harrumphed and stormed off.

    Zhang Zitong heard the activity outside and quickly came over, saying, ¡°Young master, this is¡­¡±

    ¡°Return to the pce!¡± Zu An said coldly.

    Zhang Zitong was a bit confused, but she didn¡¯t ask any more questions. Instead, she gathered her subordinates to escort Zu An back.

    But she was a bit surprised. She seemed to recall seeing the Chu n¡¯s young heir in the room too. Wasn''t he supposed to be in the bridal room? Why would he be in sir¡¯s room?

    <em>Could it be that sir has that kind of preference?</em>

    <em>You want both the brothers and sisters, and you even went after them during their wedding night?</em>

    She couldn''t help but shiver a bit, but she had to admit that the Chu n¡¯s young heir was quite pretty. When his hair was down, he looked even prettier than many women. Which man wouldn¡¯t be tempted if they saw that?N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Chu Youzhao pouted when she saw Zu An leave.

    <em>Did brother-inw agree or refuse when he harrumphed just now?</em>

    She couldn''t think of the answer to that question even after a long time. But when she thought of her wife next door, she couldn''t be bothered with that and quickly turned the secret button again to return next door to the bridal room. She lit up a candle nearby, illuminating the room again. She walked over to the bed and put out the burning incense.

    Murong Qinghe¡¯s face waspletely red, and even though she was unconscious, her body was still trembling. Chu Youzhao couldn''t help but blush as well.

    <em>It seems little sister Qinghe was really happy¡­</em>

    The clothes scattered everywhere, the brightly-colored wedding clothes, Murong Qinghe¡¯s body that resembled a gentle sheep, and the moon visible from the room all carried different kinds of beauty.

    Chu Youzhao curled her lips.

    <em>Brother-inw was speaking righteously, but didn¡¯t he still go all out just now?</em>

    She carefully picked up some of her personal clothing and gently helped Murong Qinghe put them on.

    She could feel Qinghe''s smooth and delicate skin while helping her get dressed. When she saw red marks on Qinghe''s body, Chu Youzhao¡¯s face turned red again. She mumbled, ¡°Stinky brother-inw, bad brother-inw. Look what you¡¯ve done to little sister Qinghe.

    ¡°Hmph, something amazing like this is what men dream of, but are usually never able to do, and yet he was scolding me.¡±

    ¡­

    While she was sorting out Murong Qinghe¡¯s clothes, Chu Youzhao ended up touching Qinghe''s inner thigh, feeling arge wet pool there. Her face immediately turned red.

    The Chu n¡¯s nanny had taught her about some of these things because she was getting married. After all, only a few people knew that she was actually cross-dressing. Thus, she naturally knew what it was. She waspletely shocked. ¡°There¡¯s that much?¡±

    She sniffed a bit, and becamepletely absentminded.

    <em>Is this brother-inw¡¯s smell?</em>

    She reflexively brought her hand to her face, looking at it bashfully but also curiously. It was impossible to tell what she was thinking, but her face became even redder.

    ¡­

    The next morning, Murong Qinghe slowly woke up. All kinds of different thoughts appeared in her head, and she was incredibly embarrassed.

    <em>I actually faintedst night!</em>

    She turned around and saw Chu Youzhao staring at her with big eyes and an ambiguous smile. She immediately felt sweet happiness, and bashfully leaned into her husband, saying, ¡°Big brother Chu¡­¡±

    Chu Youzhao had never heard such a sweet tone before and felt more and more admiration.

    <em>Brother-inw really is amazing.</em>

    ¡°What is it, little sister Qinghe?¡±

    Murong Qinghe suddenly raised her head and gently gave Youzhao a peck on the lips. Her eyes were full of longing. ¡°Big brother Chu, I really was happyst night. I feel like the luckiest woman in the world right now.¡±

    Chu Youzhao had aplicated expression. She didn¡¯t dare to meet Qinghe''s gaze and gently hugged her. ¡°I hope you won¡¯t me me in the future.¡±

    She wondered what kind of a reaction Murong Qinghe would have once she learned the truth in the future.

    Murong Qinghe smiled sweetly. ¡°I like big brother Chu the most, why would I me you?¡±

    But for some reason, Zu An appeared in her mind. She quickly shook her head to shake away that thought.

 Chapter 2281: Merging of Worlds

    <em>Why did big brother Zu appear in my mind? My rtionship with big brother Chu is already so intimate.</em>

    Murong Qinghe¡¯s face was bright red. She was really confused.

    <em>Am I really a half-hearted woman?</em>

    Chu Youzhao had a weird expression too.

    <em>No wonder brother-inw has so many pretty women who like him. Little sister Qinghe has only spent a single night with him, and yet even someone as proud as her is now as docile as a kitten.</em>

    She wasn¡¯t used to them hugging each other like this, so she got up and said, ¡°Let¡¯s get out of bed now. We still have to serve tea to our parents.¡±

    ¡°Ah, I almost forgot!¡± Murong Qinghe¡¯s face reddened. She quickly got up, but then she cried out in surprise and held her lower abdomen. Her usually cheerful brows tightly furrowed together.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Chu Youzhao became really worried when she saw that Qinghe appeared to be in pain.

    Murong Qinghe bit her lip. She replied with a look of yful protest, ¡°Big brother Chu, do you really have the nerve to ask that right now? Isn¡¯t it becausest night, you¡­¡±<em>My entire body was about to split apart because of you¡­</em>

    Of course, she was too embarrassed to say that to big brother Chu.

    Chu Youzhao chuckled in embarrassment.

    <em>I¡¯m taking on me for big brother Zu again.</em>

    Murong Qinghe had grown up in the army and wasn''t a delicate and dainty daughter of a noble n. After she got used to the feeling a bit, she quickly put on her clothes and carefully removed a white handkerchief from the sheets. There was something that resembled a blossoming rose on it.

    ¡°What is this?¡± Chu Youzhao asked as she moved over. Murong Qinghe had apparently put the handkerchief underneath her bodyst night, but Youzhao hadn''t seen it at all.

    ¡°It¡¯s a women¡¯s thing. You don¡¯t have to worry about it.¡± Murong Qinghe put the white handkerchief behind her back while blushing bright red.

    Chu Youzhao suddenly realized what that was. After all, the nanny back home had taught her some rted information. The cloth was something that proved the purity of the wife.

    Her feelings were in disarray now, though. She and Murong Qinghe had always had a good rtionship, to the extent that thetter would still want to marry her even knowing she was a woman. If it were any other man who had bullied little sister Qinghe, she would be jealous, angry, and hurt for a long, long time. But since it was brother-inw, she didn¡¯t feel anything like that at all.

    ¡°Big brother Chu, hurry and get up!¡± Murong Qinghe scolded Youzhao yfully when she saw thetter stare nkly. If her husband¡¯s parents noticed them not getting out of bed in time, that would be really bad. This was their first day together, so she naturally had to leave a good impression.

    Chu Youzhaoughed in embarrassment. She quickly put on her clothes. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    As soon as Murong Qinghe took a single step, she suddenly groaned and bent down slightly. Her brows furrowed.

    Chu Youzhao hurriedly supported her. ¡°Are you okay?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s all your fault!¡± Murong Qinghe harrumphed. She shook off Youzhao''s hand with a reddened face and walked out as if she was running away.

    Chu Youzhao was speechless.

    <em>Brother-inw, brother-inw, couldn''t you go a bit softer? I still feel a bit sorry for her.</em>

    Murong Qinghe was still a bit hurt, so Chu Youzhao quickly caught up to her. Perhaps it was because what happenedst night was too embarrassing, but Murong Qinghe couldn''t bring herself to act too intimate with Youzhao, and let her walk in front instead of walking side by side.

    Chu Youzhao had things of her own to worry about, so she didn¡¯t force the issue.

    Murong Qinghe followed behind her. Yesterday¡¯s events continued to appear in her mind, and her heart started beating faster and faster. But when she looked at Chu Youzhao¡¯s rather slim back, she was suddenly a bit confused.

    <em>Big brother Chu was clearly really strong and muscrst night. Why does he seem a bit different now?</em>

    But her confusion onlysted for a moment. As a youngdy, she didn''t think about it in too much detail.

    ¡­

    Both of them quickly arrived at the main lobby. Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru were already sitting at the seat of honor, seemingly already waiting for their arrival.

    Qin Wanru was a bit beside herself. She was worried that thest night¡¯s n hadn¡¯t gone well. When she learned that Zu An had left in the middle of the night, she''d been so frightened that she almost burned all of the congee in the pot. But the bridal room seemed to have been quiet, and no sounds of arguing followed. She hadn¡¯t seen Murong Qinghe run home in tears either, so it was¡­ fine, right?

    While she was feeling nervous, she saw Murong Qinghe walk in bashfully with Chu Youzhao. The two bowed respectfully, then offered up tea to her and Chu Zhongtian. ¡°Father, mother, please enjoy this tea.¡±

    ¡°Good, good, good.¡± Chu Zhongtianughed happily. He found the newlyweds more and more likable by the moment.

    When she saw the bashful expression on Murong Qinghe¡¯s face, Qin Wanru immediately felt at ease. Being a woman as well, she was all too familiar with that kind of expression.

    <em>Last night must¡¯ve been extremely satisfying for her. The way she looks at Youzhaopletely gives it away.</em>

    <em>That kid Zu An really does have a bit of skill. No wonder even though everyone was opposed to him, Chuyan never left him.</em>

    <em>Sigh, Chuyan is much happier than this mother of hers.</em>

    She couldn''t help but give her husband a look.

    <em>Yeah,ughughugh, keepughing stupidly over there.</em>

    Chu Zhongtian felt a mysterious chilling from his back. He quickly sat up, and his expression became serious as well.

    When Murong Qinghe¡¯s tea was brought up to Qin Wanru, her slightly sour mood immediately changed to a smile. ¡°Qinghe is a good girl. Here is a pot of fertility congee; hurry and drink it.¡±

    The maid next to her quickly said, ¡°The madam used all kinds of precious materials to prepare this all night.¡±

    ¡°Did I tell you to say that much?¡± Qin Wanru gave the maid a look, but she was still quite satisfied with thetter''s tactfulmentary.

    ¡°Thank you, mother.¡± Murong Qinghe¡¯s face heated up slightly. When she recalled how she had been filled upst night, she thought, <em>Whether I drink this or not, it won¡¯t make a difference.</em>

    ¡­

    While the mood in the Chu n was joyous and harmonious, Zu An had summoned many high officials and the academy¡¯s teachers to discuss important matters. Many people noticed that Yu Rui and the others who remained of the eight dukes were standing off the stage respectfully; all of them were deeply moved.

    The eight dukes had always been incredibly proud. Apart from some important ceremonies of the empire, they almost never came to court. Even if they came, they would be granted seats of honor by the emperor. Even Zhao Han treated them with a lot of respect. And yet now, their pride was nowhere to be seen. They stood there while shivering like quails.

    Meanwhile, the academy teachers usuallypletely separated themselves from worldly affairs and didn¡¯t listen to anyone¡¯s orders. But now, they were all standing in the court obediently like good students.

    Even though a lot of high officials had died recently, overall, this was somehow the mostplete court session that had taken ce in the past few decades.

    What gave everyone present an even stranger feeling was the ck-robed beauty seated in a high position. Wasn¡¯t that the Devil Sect¡¯s Yun Jianyue? Her long hair that reached all the way to her bottom was just too unique. It was almost impossible for them to not recognize her.

    A wanted criminal was in a high position of the court, and yet no one dared to capture her because all of them knew she was quite close to the regent. But now that they thought about it, the regent could even control the Devil Sect! He was definitely much more amazing than Zhao Han.

    Behind the pearl curtains, Bi Linglong and Liu Ning cleared their throats. ¡°The reason why we have gathered everyone today is because the regent has something important to announce.¡±

    Everyone looked at Zu An atop the highest seat. Something that could be considered important even by him¡­ Just what could it be?

    ¡°I am about to merge another world with this world.¡± Zu An¡¯s first sentence was earth-shattering.

    <em>He actually has another world?</em>

    <em>And what does merging worlds mean?</em>

    Everyone present was a powerful cultivator, but this piece of news was too shocking.

    Zu An raised his hand slightly, and the pce quickly quieted down. He exined ¡°Merging worlds can make the source of this world be even stronger, and it can make the natural ki of the world be richer. That way, cultivation will be easier than in the past, and cultivation ranks that were difficult to reach will be easier. Even ranks above the earth immortal rank won¡¯t be impossible anymore¡­¡±

    Everyone present was shocked when they heard that. Just what kind of power was that? After all, once one reached the highest cultivation realm, every step further would be incredibly hard. One wouldn''t be able to make any progress for a few years, or even a few decades. Many people had long shared those worries, and yet there was now actually a way to solve the problem?

    The elders that remained of the eight dukes in particr were all so excited that they almost cried. After all, they didn¡¯t have much of their lifespans left. If the source of the world really could be strengthened, and they could make a breakthrough, didn¡¯t that mean that they would have several decades longer to live just like that?

    Many people of the courthad been unhappy with what Zu An did before, but they hadn¡¯t dared to say too much because of his strength. But once they heard these words, all of them wanted to cling onto him and call him daddy.

    Zu An said seriously, ¡°After the worlds merge together, quite a few changes will happen to the world. We must make some arrangements to ensure the safety of the ordinary people so they won¡¯t lose their lives because of natural disasters.¡±

    ¡°We understand. The regent loves themon people like his own children; this truly is a blessing for the people¡­¡±

    Everyone in the court was extremely happy, and they all offered up all manner of praise.

    Zu An continued, ¡°Furthermore, be sure to announce this publicly for all of the world¡¯s cultivators, to prevent them from creating chaos in their surprise.

    ¡°Of course, you should also arrange for your own disciples to cultivate. Don''t waste this rare opportunity to be stronger.¡±

    Many high officials smiled and replied, ¡°Rare opportunity? There might not even be another opportunity like this. We¡¯re all benefiting from the regent¡¯s blessing!¡±

    When they saw how the court¡¯s officials were ¡®currying favor¡¯ with Zu An, Bi Linglong and Liu Ning both had smiles on their faces. They had still been a bit worried at first, but now, it seemed this alone already brought Zu An unparalleled prestige. In the future, anyone who dared to go against him could be the target of public anger.

    After the court was dismissed, Zu An found Yun Jianyue and Yun Yuqing. ¡°I n to use this chance to pay the Demon race a visit and see what exactly is happening there. Why don¡¯t the two of you follow me?¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

 Chapter 2282: Experiences and Past

    <h4>Chapter 2282: Experiences and Past</h4>

    ¡°Sure!¡± Yun Yuqing¡¯s eyes immediately lit up. Even now, she just couldn''t figure out why the people from her n had ended up betraying her at the Jiang manor. Afterward, those n experts had decisively ended their lives without any hesitation, so she couldn''t even ask them if she wanted to. She has always felt ill at ease since then, sensing that something big had definitely happened within the Demon race.

    Yun Jianyue frowned slightly. In the end, she shook her head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t care about the Demon race¡¯s affairs, and I don¡¯t want to be involved with them at all. I won¡¯t be going.¡±

    Zu An was a bit surprised. He''d thought that since she had some Demon race heritage, she would be interested, but she didn¡¯t even want to travel with him this time. Not wanting to force her, he asked, ¡°What are you nning to do from now on?¡±

    ¡°Return to the Lake of Hatred, of course. I reckon that news of my appearance in the capital has already traveled back. Everyone will soon know that I appeared in court. The entire Holy Sect might fall into a panic, and some people might even stir up trouble,¡± Yun Jianyue replied.

    The Devil Sect was famous for having scoundrels, and yet they were now on the same side as the court and orthodox folk. What would the rest of the world think of that? If the Devil Sect lost their unified purpose, it would easily result in disaster everywhere.

    Zu An couldn''t help but say with a smile, ¡°In my opinion, you should just give your sect master position away to someone else soon, and thene to my side.¡±

    ¡°What,e to your side and just be a flower... Ahem.¡± Yun Jianyue realized that her sister was still here and quickly changed her tone. ¡°I am the respected Holy Sect Master. Wouldn¡¯t othersugh themselves to death if they found out I defected to your side?¡±

    Yun Yuqing had a strange expression on her face. Why didn¡¯t these two sound like a junior and a senior at all in their conversation? They actually sounded like a pair of lovers bantering flirtatiously.

    When he sensed her confusion and Yun Jianyue¡¯s hints, Zu An could only add, ¡°The Devil Sect is too small-scale, and this world still mainly follows the orthodox path. WIth your talent, you¡¯d be able to satisfy your aspirations more easily on this side.¡±

    Yun Jianyue shook her head. ¡°Everyone has their own ambition. There¡¯s no need for you to advise me any further.¡±

    She knew the only reason for the court to notpletely wipe out the Devil Sect was that she was its sect master. Whether it was Zu An¡¯s cultivation, prestige, or resources, they all vastly exceeded what Zhao Han had amassed. If the court really wanted the Devil Sect gone, it really would face the threat of annihtion. She didn¡¯t want to be the Devil Sect¡¯s greatest sinner.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I''ll definitely think of a way to lead the Holy Sect on a new path.¡± A mysterious sense of confidence appeared on her face as Yun Jianyue spoke.

    ¡°Alright then,¡± Zu An replied. He knew she was a proud person, and he actually felt a bit of admiration for her.

    Yun Jianyue remembered her disciple and suddenly asked, ¡°If you''re going to the Demon race''s territory, should I take care of Honglei?¡±

    Zu An shook his head slightly. ¡°There''s no need for that. She''s perfectly safe at my side. Besides, I hope she''ll be able to see me in the first moment when she opens her eyes again.¡±

    Yun Jianyue couldn''t help but give him a slightly sour look. But she quickly realized that she had no reason to be jealous of her disciple and gradually calmed down. ¡°That makes sense. I don¡¯t think there''s anywhere in the entire world that could be safer than by your side. In that case, it¡¯s time for me to leave too.¡±

    Zu An was a bit surprised, asking, ¡°So suddenly? You aren¡¯t going to y around for a few more days?¡±

    <i>What, y as a horse for you to ride? </i>

    Yun Jianyue almost blurted those words out.

    <i>This guy just had to use my hair like ponytails, even pulling on them like reins. Even my skin was burning up...</i>

    She quicklyposed herself to preserve a sense of pride befitting the Devil Sect Master. ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. The sect has many things to take care of, and I have to return to prepare for my cultivation breakthrough after the world merging.¡±

    She had already made a lot of progress when she was with Zu An this time. But that kind of cultivation realm and enlightenment was just too vast and profound. She didn¡¯t rush to immediately break through, instead taking the time to carefully experience it. Then, once the world merged and the natural ki of the world developed, she would attempt the breakthrough in her strongest condition. That would definitely bring the best results.

    <i>Yeah, once I break through, I¡¯ll have a proper reason to look for Ah Zu...</i>

    <i>Hmph, it¡¯s not because I like it at all, it¡¯s just for the sake of improving my cultivation.</i>

    She looked up after thinking that, and quickly rushed into the distance. Her long beautiful hair fluttered in the wind.

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>This woman really leaves confidently. She didn¡¯t even turn around to give me another look.</i>

    Yun Yuqing walked to his side and looked at the figure receding into the distance. ¡°Big sis actually hates the Demon race a lot, which is why she wasn''t willing to go.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Zu An was a bit surprised. He really didn¡¯t know much about the Demon race¡¯s affairs.

    ¡°Her mother was someone my father met while wandering through the human world. As the two spent more time together, they developed feelings for each other, and she eventually gave birth to my big sister. However, her mother¡¯s identity prevented her from ever being acknowledged in the n, with no way of integrating into our society. The Demon race has never treated her all that kindly, and she even suffered a lot because of them,¡± Yun Yuqing exined.

    ¡°What a stupid system of ss division.¡± Zu An harrumphed. His mood also soured when he thought about the things Yun Jianyue and her mother had been forced to go through.

    <i>No wonder Yun Jianyue doesn¡¯t like the Demon race much, and isn¡¯t too close to this little sister of hers either.</i>

    ¡°Actually, simr ss divisions exist everywhere. The humans also have many simr examples.¡± Yun Yuqing carefully spoke up for her n.

    Zu An figured that made sense as well. In the past, hadn¡¯t Yu Yanluo also experienced discrimination when her real identity was exposed? She had experienced criticism from all sides. But even though he hadn''t been able to do anything about it before, he was now the leader of the humans, fiends, and Ocean races. He had the power to undo the hatred and discrimination between the different races.

    ¡°Right, I still don¡¯t know the situation with the Demon race. Can you tell me the details?¡± Zu An asked. When he became the Fiend races'' regent, he had learned a bit about the Demon race. But at the time, there had been many other races on par with their rank, and there had simply been too many things to take care of. As such, he didn¡¯t really know the various details of the Demon race too well.

    ¡°The Demon race has four king races: Yun, Suolun, Rong, and Wu. I believe big brother Zu knows that.¡± Yun Yuqing also remembered his identity as the Fiend races'' regent.

    Zu An nodded slightly. He also knew Suolun Shi was the princess of the Suolun n. He asked, ¡°By the way, do the Wu n and the FIend races'' royal family share the same Wu surname?¡±

    ¡°They don''t.¡± Yun Yuqing shook her head slightly. ¡°But there is a bit of a connection between them. It''s rumored that the Wu n¡¯s first ancestor was connected to the royal family and had the imperial bloodline. Many people concluded that was just something the Wu n imed to elevate their own status, though. Besides, even if they were connected in marriage in the past, it''s nothing more than a distant trace of royal blood. Otherwise, there would have been more historical records.¡±

    ¡°I heard that your Yun n is the most powerful. Is that right?¡± Zu An asked curiously.

    ¡°The Yun n is indeed the most powerful among the four great ns.¡± Yun Yuqing couldn''t help but stick out her chest a bit in pride as she said that, but her expression immediately dimmed. ¡°A generation ago, my father was the Yun n¡¯s leader, but he ended up dying an untimely death. The Yun n has now fallen into the hands of my second uncle¡¯s bloodline.¡±

    Zu An felt pity and held her hand tofort her.

    <i>No wonder even though she was the daughter of a Demon king race, she was still sent to King Wu Manor to act as a spy at such a young age.</i>

    Yun Yuqing leaned against his chest. She felt all her worries and grievances disappear. Just how great would it be if she could be like this forever? n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Just then, Bi Linglong walked in with a letter in hand. ¡°Ah Zu, Jadefall Pce''s people...¡±

 Chapter 2283: Cute Little Sister

    <h4>Chapter 2283: Cute Little Sister</h4>

    When she saw the intimate scene inside, Bi Linglong took a step back. She turned around to deliberately knock on the door again, calling out, ¡°Excuse me, is this a good time?¡±

    Yun Yuqing blushed. She left Zu An¡¯s arms as if she had been zapped.

    Zu An hadn¡¯t expected Bi Linglong to y this kind of game with him. However, he was thick-skinned and quickly recovered. ¡°Ahem, Linglong, what is the matter?¡±

    ¡°I just received a letter from Jadefall Pce. It was addressed to you.¡± Bi Linglong handed the letter in her hands to Zu An. She gave Yun Yuqing a look from the corner of her eyes.

    <i>The way this woman looked just now really was pitiful.</i>

    <i>Do men all like this style? Am I a bit too bossy normally...</i>

    Zu An was a bit surprised. He quickly opened up the letter to look inside.

    Bi Linglong asked, ¡°Was it sent by Miss Pei?¡±

    WIth her status as the empress, she had already investigated most of the women around Zu An.

    Yun Yuqing immediately perked her ears up too.

    <i>Is it the one whose chest is even bigger than big sis¡¯?</i>

    Zu An said seriously, ¡°Jadefall Pce¡¯s letter says that Manman was cultivating in seclusion, but then she suddenly left behind a letter and left the sect. They''re asking me if she came here.¡±

    Because of what happened in the sealednd, the entire world¡¯s spatial fabric had ended up bing a bit unstable and recording mirrors couldn''t be used. That was why they could only send letters. Fortunately, Jadefall Pce was a powerful enough faction that they could send a letter at a speedparable to the eight-hundred-mile express of the military.

    ¡°Huh? Miss Pei didn¡¯te to the capital. Then where did she go?¡± Bi Linglong asked in confusion.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know either.¡± Zu An couldn''t help but remember what had happened with Chu Chuyan. He suddenly felt a sense of unease. Chuyan had also disappeared while cultivating in seclusion, and by the time they met again, she had be the Snow Lady. A single moment of separation had resulted in ten thousand years of distance between them.

    What he was at least grateful for was that it said Manman had left on her own, so it wasn¡¯t as strange a disappearance as Chuyan''s had been. With Manman¡¯s current cultivation and the skills she had obtained from the secret dungeon, she would be able to take care of herself.

    Yun Yuqing suggested, ¡°Should we split up into two paths? Big brother Zu, you can look for Lady Pei first, and I¡¯ll go back to investigate the Demon race. Once you find Lady Pei, you can thene to the Demon race''s territory after.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Let¡¯s go straight to the Demon race''s territory.¡± Zu An had no clues at all as to where Manman had gone. There was no way he would find her if he just searched blindly. Inparison, the Demon race was a clear source of danger. How could he let Yun Yuqing face it alone?

    Judging from the information he had received before, he could sense traces of monsters among the Demon race. They were likely thest remnants of the monsters'' forces in this world. The world looked as if it was protected by the world barrier, and he had already defeated the monsters¡¯ three main strategies, so this world was supposed to already be safe; still, he just couldn''t feel at ease without knowing what the remaining monsters were up to.

    ¡°But...¡± Yun Yuqing was really moved, but she was still worried that Zu An would be really heartbroken if something really had happened to Pei Mianman. Then, she would feel guilty for the rest of her life.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Lady Pei¡¯s cultivation is quite high and she should be able to protect herself.¡± Bi Linglong said, although she felt rmed inside.

    She felt as if she had wasted the first half of her life by directing her efforts in the wrong direction. Even though politics and scheming were important, before absolute strength, they weren¡¯t all that meaningful. She had once scoffed at such ideas and thought that with her skills, she would definitely be able to create the most favorable situation for herself. She had never expected to encounter a situation in which she would have to face an absolute difference of strength.

    And yet, she had been powerless during the capital¡¯s coup. Additionally, Zu An¡¯s return and his swift and decisive suppression of the entire capital had left her incredibly moved.

    <i>It seems that I need to spend more time cultivating. </i>

    She had once been a famous cultivation genius too. But after all these years, she had actually fallen behind many of her peers. However, a few days earlier, she''d started to feel as if her cultivation suddenly began improving again. Could it be that this guy¡¯s... <i>stuff </i>could really elerate cultivation?

    <i>No wonder he always has so many pretty women around him.</i>

    ¡°I¡¯ll be troubling you and the empress dowager to take care of other matters in the capital,¡± Zu An said apologetically to Bi Linglong. He was always telling others to work without doing anything himself, having them handle government affairs. To make up for it, he had prepared a cultivation manual for Linglong tailored to her current condition so she could cultivate much faster.

    ¡°I¡¯m already used to handling these matters, so it¡¯s not too much trouble.¡± Bi Linglong had previously thought that she had to firmly grasp authority in her own hands, but now she figured she''d leave a bit more for Liu Ning.

    <i>That way, I can spend more time cultivating and Liu Ning will also be more grateful toward me...</i>

    ...

    Zu An then said goodbye to everyone in the capital. Before leaving, he even visited the Chu manor. He was just worried that thest night¡¯s events had ended up hurting Murong Qinghe.

    However, he ended up seeing Murong Qinghe walk out in her bridal clothes, smiling sweetly alongside Chu Youzhao. Now, she was a bit less like an underripe youngdy, and had more of the gentle and bashful air of a newlywed.

    Strangely, she asionally nced secretly at him before looking down guiltily. Her face was also a bit red.

    Zu An couldn''t help but secretly ask Chu Youzhao, ¡°Does she already know?¡±

    ¡°No. I don¡¯t know why she keeps looking at you either.¡± Chu Youzhao had a weird expression. ¡°But brother-inw, you¡¯re really amazing. After that night, little sister Qinghe has bepletely submissive to me and listens to me in everything. She''s from a military family and is really proud. She used to argue with me about many things, but after that night, she just listens to me in everything.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    ¡°I''ll move slowly with the truth so she isn¡¯tpletely unprepared. But there is something really annoying about this.¡± Chu Youzhao¡¯s face suddenly turned red as she continued, ¡°She keeps looking for me at night. Even though she can¡¯t say it because she''s too embarrassed, we are still husband and wife. There¡¯s no way to fool her if this goes on for too long. Since you''ve alreadye here today, can you help me out again?¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He could only replied, ¡°Get lost!¡±

    He almostughed out of anger. It was one thing for him to have gotten too drunk and encountered a freakbination of circumstances, but how could he do something like that when he was in his right mind?

    Chu Youzhao immediately panicked. ¡°Brother-inw, Qinghe really likes you a lot. I still remember the look in her eyes when she woke up. I already feel really bad for her and can only do my best to make her happy.¡±

    Zu An replied in annoyance, ¡°So you¡¯re going to send me to make her happy?¡±

    Chu Youzhao¡¯s face reddened. ¡°Brother-inw, you were clearly really happy that night too.¡±

    She had heard what was going on next door really clearly. Her brother-inw had been like a wild ox and put in a lot of strength. On top of that, when she was helping little sister Qinghe put on her clothes the day after, the stuff that had been left behind was really amazing.

    Zu An was speechless. Naturally, however, he wouldn¡¯t really stay behind. He quickly found a reason to excuse himself and leave.

    Chu Youzhao pouted and looked disappointed. Murong Qinghe walked up to her and asked in confusion, ¡°Big brother Chu, what were you chatting with big brother Zu about?¡±

    ¡°About how to make you happy,¡± Chu Youzhao said without too much thought.

    Murong Qinghe¡¯s face reddened. She leaned her head against Youzhao''s shoulder and said, ¡°As long as I¡¯m with big brother Chu, I¡¯m already really happy.¡±

    ...

    Zu An and Yun Yuqing didn¡¯t fly into the air while they were in the capital. He didn¡¯t want his departure to be exposed so quickly; otherwise, some people with ulterior motives could start scheming to throw the capital into another mess. As such, they rode out of the capital in a carriage. They were about to look for a ce to fly when they saw several familiar individuals.

    ¡°Big brother Zu!¡± A charming youngdy with long bangs jumped up to greet them. The sides of her bangs extended past her cheeks, making her small face seem even more pretty and charming. Her pretty and clear eyes paired with her perfect face could really make one want to give her cheeks a squeeze.

    ¡°Xiaoxi!¡± Zu An was really happy to see her. He immediately picked her up by her underarms and spun her around a few times in the air. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    <i>This youngdy really is small and delicate. She¡¯s really too soft when I carry her.</i>

    ¡°Big brother Zu, let me down! I¡¯m not a little child!¡± Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s legs swung in the air. Even though she was trying to look angry, her voice was still soft and cute, making others want to bully her more.

    ¡°Why are you here?¡± Zu An put her down. He couldn''t help but pat her head.

    ¡°I heard that big brother Zu was going to the Demon race''s territory. There¡¯s a special medicine that only grows there, so I wanted to ask if I could go with you to get some.¡± Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s bright eyes were full of nervousness.

 Chapter 2284: The Mouth Is Unwilling, but the Body Is Honest

    <h4>Chapter 2284: The Mouth Is Unwilling, but the Body Is Honest</h4>

    Meanwhile, in the academy¡¯s rear mountain, Xie Xiu was sitting in Xie Daoyun¡¯s room, his chair leaning unsteadily from side to side. He had clearly been tormented by Hei Baizi badly, and finally found some time to take a small break at his big sister¡¯s ce.

    ¡°Big sis, I heard that many people went to visit Brother Zu. Why are you still here day after day?¡±

    Xie Daoyun had her sleeves pulled up a bit, revealing her bright and exquisite wrists. She was practicing a rune she had recently learned with a brush. When she heard that, her hand shook and ink almost fell onto the paper.

    However, she quickly calmed down. She continued to draw on the paper while replying, ¡°So what if I went to see him? So what if I didn¡¯t?¡±

    Xie Xiu looked up in confusion. ¡°Sis, don¡¯t you like him?¡±

    If Xie Daoyun had heard those words before, she likely would have been really embarrassed and started beating her brother up. But ever since that kiss with Zu An, she''d felt that she was just deceiving herself with such behaviors, so she decided to just tacitly ept it. ¡°So what if I like him? He¡¯s so amazing and has a lot of women around him. All of them are prettier than me and more outstanding than me. It wouldn¡¯t make a difference at all if I waws there or not.¡±

    Xie Xiu replied with a big smile, ¡°Says who? You''re so pretty, and you were even known for being beautiful in Brightmoon City. Who knows how many young masters dream about you day and night. You¡¯re incredibly popr even in a ce like the Royal Academy that''s full of talents. The students who like you could form a line all the way up the rear mountain!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nowhere near as exaggerated as you¡¯re making it sound.¡± Xie Daoyun shot him a look. She almostughed out loud.

    Xie Xiu cried out, ¡°What do you mean? Do you know how much I¡¯m benefiting because I¡¯m your brother? If they aren¡¯t giving me things to eat, they¡¯re helping me with my homework...¡±

    Xie Daoyun said in annoyance, ¡°You should stop going around and breaking people¡¯s hearts. If you don¡¯t like them, stop flirting with them! And yet you¡¯re using them to help you with your homework? You damned yboy!¡±

    ¡°Big sister, you¡¯ve misunderstood. They¡¯re all men,¡± Xie Xiu quickly said.

    ¡°Men?¡± Xie Daoyun immediately looked up and couldn''t be bothered with writing runes anymore. She quickly put down her brush and grabbed his ears. She pulled him all the way to the window, looking toward Brightmoon City. ¡°It¡¯s one thing if you like to y around, but you¡¯re getting more and more out of hand! Our Xie n still needs to rely on you to carry on our ancestral line, but if father and mother found out about what you''re doing, wouldn¡¯t they just die of anger?¡±

    ¡°It hurts, it hurts... Huh? What are you talking about?¡± Xie Xiu finally reacted to what was going on and quickly struggled free. ¡°Those men have been approaching me because they want to get closer to you! They¡¯re all scheming all sorts of things, so of course I need to keep them in check!¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Xie Daoyun quickly let go of her little brother¡¯s ear. She looked really embarrassed.

    ¡°A lot of them actually wrote you love letters.¡± Xie Xiu rubbed his ears and grimaced in pain.

    ¡°Where are the love letters?¡± Xie Daoyun asked, stunned.

    <i>Why have I never heard about them before?</i>

    ¡°I burned them all, of course. Those toads actually want a taste of swan flesh? They¡¯re all calling me brother, but they want to be my brothers-inw!¡±

    Xie Daoyun harrumphed. ¡°Quit it with the nonsense. If he found out, he''d probably think that no one wants your sister and that she has to marry him or something.¡±

    ¡°Do you not want to marry him?¡± Xie Xiu asked curiously.

    ¡°Nope,¡± Xie Xiaoyun said coldly with a frown.

    ¡°Is it because you think brother Zu isn¡¯t proactive enough with you? I think he actually treats you pretty well. He promoted our dad and also made me a high official. Everyone who¡¯s smart knows that the reason our Xie n has been able to enjoy this much glory is because of you,¡± Xie Xiu said with a chuckle.

    Xie Daoyun became quiet. She picked up her brush, but her strokes clearly weren''t as calm as before.

    ¡°Sis, listen to my advice. When a man chases after a woman, it¡¯s as if there¡¯s a mountain separating them. If a woman chases a man, it¡¯s as if there¡¯s just a thin curtain. Brother Zu has too many things to take care of, so how could he chase after you like a normal man? You need to be a bit more proactive yourself!¡± Xie Xiu said in a sincere and earnest voice.

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s eyes turned a bit red. ¡°Was I not forward enough before? But he didn¡¯t even show anything in return, always seeming neither close nor distant. Am I supposed to shamelessly throw myself at him?¡±

    ¡°What he''s doing is ying push and pull.¡± As soon as he said that, Xie Xiu couldn''t help but shake his head. ¡°No, wait. If I think about it using my incredible romantic judgment, it might be because he has too many women around him and is temporarily tired of love, so he doesn''t want to hurt you.¡±

    ¡°Look at how you¡¯re speaking up for him just because he gave you an official position. Is he your sister or am I?¡± Xie Daoyun retorted in annoyance.

    ¡°I¡¯m speaking from a perspective as a mature man who is extremely popr with women.¡± Xie Xiu took out his fan and fanned himself. He put on a tired expression as he said, ¡°You know, it¡¯s quite tiring to be people like us who have so many lovers. Being liked by too many women is a kind of burden too. Sometimes I also think to myself, I don¡¯t want to hurt some good women anymore.¡± n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°You¡¯re talking so much, but wasn¡¯t that Madam Wu quickly taken in by him?¡± Xie Daoyun rolled her eyes.

    ¡°So that¡¯s why you¡¯re upset! Actually, that¡¯s just a mature couple taking what they need from each other,¡± Xie Xiu said. ¡°Or maybe they already knew each other beforehand.¡±

    ¡°Even if they had been each other beforehand, would it have been before meeting the two of us?¡± Xie Daoyun was feeling really annoyed. ¡°Enough, enough! Quit it with your analysis. I¡¯m getting a headache just listening to you.¡± She pushed her little brother away as she spoke.

    ¡°It would be different if you could just give up on him.¡± Xie Xiu was being pushed out, so he quickly said, ¡°But there are so many women who are proactively going after him. It¡¯s fine as long as you don¡¯t regret it.¡±

    <i>Bang!</i>

    What he received in return was a heavy door m.

    Xie Xiu sighed. This thing called love really was harmful... If not for the fact that he couldn''t win against Zu An, he would give thetter a beating for his sister¡¯s sake too.

    Inside the room, Xie Daoyun was still in a daze from her little brother¡¯s words. However, she focused again after a while. Her master and martial uncle had recentlye up with something, so she could use that as a pretext to...

    ...

    Outside the capital¡¯s city gates, Zu An couldn''t help but remember when he went to gather medicine with Ji Xiaoxi in Brightmoon City. He felt really warm inside. As such, he replied, ¡°Of course you can!¡±

    He remembered what had happened when he was arrested by the Embroidered Envoy and brought to the capital. Back then, even though she was so shy, Ji Xiaoxi had still given him some medicine by kissing him in front of so many people. That was something he remembered very well.

    Unfortunately, the two of them had ended up living apart from each other, and weren¡¯t able to meet so easily again. Ji Dengtu, that daughter-obsessed maniac, was always on guard against him as if he was some bandit, always finding some pretext to send her away. That was why they hadn¡¯t been able to meet at all.

    When he thought of that, he immediately realized something. ¡°Hm? Your dad agreed to this?¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s face turned red. She lowered her head and muttered quietly, ¡°Dad... Dad agreed.¡± She clearly didn¡¯t have much confidence as she spoke.

    Zu An thought to himself, <i>I really would¡¯ve believed you if you weren''t sneaking looks at me like that.</i>

    ¡°Why even bother thinking about it? There¡¯s no way that old thing would agree.¡± A woman with beautiful legs d in ck silk stockings walked over with an elegant and mature gait. Her hairstyle that was arranged high above her head made her neck look even more fair and slender. Who else could it be but Jiang Luofu?

    At her side was a youngdy with a gentle and refined temperament. Her long hair fluttered in the air, and there was a slight smile on her face. Xie Daoyun always had a peaceful presence around her.

    ¡°Big sis principal, little sister Ling¡¯er.¡± Zu An was a bit surprised. He hadn¡¯t expected to meet so many people close to him in such a short amount of time.

    ¡°Big brother Zu.¡± Xie Daoyun smiled toward Zu An. What her little brother had said appeared in her mind. Her face heated up a bit from embarrassment.

    <i>I sounded so confident before, but didn¡¯t I stille looking for him on my own? If my little brother found out, he¡¯d really die fromughter.</i>

    ¡°Xiaoxi¡¯s father definitely wouldn¡¯t agree to let her run all the way to the Demon race territory...¡± Jiang Luofu said with a smile. She gave Zu An a look and continued, ¡°Especially while at your side.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>Ji Dengtu really is going too far. He isn¡¯t remembering the favor he owes me from all those books at all!</i>

    Jiang Luofu continued, ¡°But Xiaoxi really wants to go, so I gave in to her pleas and agreed to go with her. That way, her dad shouldn¡¯t get too angry even if he finds outter.¡±

    ¡°Little aunt is the best.¡± Ji Xiaoxi hooked her arm around Jiang Luofu''s elbow with a big smile on her face.

    Xie Daoyun also quickly said, ¡°My master and martial uncle came up with something new. You can use it as a mode of transportation, so I came to deliver it.¡±

 Chapter 2285: New Invention

    <h4>Chapter 2285: New Invention</h4>

    Zu An was really happy to meet the usually cute and obedient Ji Xiaoxi. Even though she already ran away from home, she was still worried about her father¡¯s reaction.

    When he heard what Xie Daoyun said, he became a bit curious. ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Please follow me, big brother Zu.¡± Xie Daoyun gently bit her lip. Thank goodness that there was this excuse, or else it would be really embarrassing.

    She brought everyone to an area in the outskirts. There was a special boat here.

    There were currently many ordinary people chatting and pointing around it.

    ¡°Why is this ship onnd?¡±

    ¡°There aren¡¯t any wheels under it, how do we even push it into a riverter?¡±

    ¡°Who designed this thing? Is there something wrong with their head?¡±

    ...

    When she heard these discussions, Xie Daoyun frowned. If her martial uncle Shen Xuzi heard those words, he''d probably start screaming in anger.

    She began to exin the new invention to Zu An. ¡°This flying ship is what martial uncle Shen Xuzi developed based on the concepts he discussed with you before. Then, he asked my master to design arge-scale flight formation. With the help of the other teachers, we were able to build it.¡±

    For some time, she had worked really hard with her master on formations rted to flying, wind, levitation, aerodynamics, and navigation. Whenever she thought about how these were big brother Zu¡¯s ideas, she had been able topletely engross herself in that world. Her skills in formation-making had also improved a lot. Her master had praised her a lot for that, calling her a role model for everyone in the academy to learn from.

    Zu An really was shocked and happy. He had just been talking casually in the academy at the time. The sci-fi movies and books of his previous world all had simr stuff, so he''d been wondering if he could make one in this world. He''d thought that it would be incredibly hard to make it a reality, but those geniuses from the rear mountain had actually done it!

    ¡°By the way, where are Sir Yan, Shen Xuzi, and the others?¡± Zu An looked around, but he didn¡¯t see any sign of them.

    ¡°They were too tired, so they left this task to me. Since I was involved in the creation of the formations, I know how to use it and maintain it.¡± Xie Daoyun¡¯s face was a bit red./ When she first heard their decisions, she had been confused as to why those two had decided not toe, but thinking back, they''d both had knowing smiles on their faces. They''d probably already seen through her and decided to secretly help her.

    <i>Ahhh! So embarrassing!</i> N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An gave Xie Daoyun a surprised look. ¡°Little sister Ling¡¯er, you''re bing more and more amazing. You could actually design such an amazing formation!¡± Just from a rough look, he could see over a thousand formations of various different sizes. Many of them were mysterious and borate.

    Xie Daoyun said with a smile, ¡°It was mostly my teacher¡¯s work. I just lent a helping hand.¡±

    Yun Yuqing couldn''t help but give her a second look. She remembered that this Miss Xie¡¯s given name was Daoyun.

    <i>Why is big brother Zu calling her ''little sister Ling¡¯er''? It seems these two are closer than I thought.</i>

    <i>Thank goodness I got closer to Jiang Luofu after what happened before. Otherwise, it would be really embarrassing being an outsider when they¡¯re already all so close.</i>

    Zu An was just too eye-catching, with so many beautiful women around him. There were also too many people present. So, he waved his hand and a powerful wind swept through the area.

    ¡°Bad weather ising! Everyone, let¡¯s hurry back home!¡± The people gathered lost interest in following Zu An''s group and ran while covering their heads.

    Jiang Luofu sighed as she watched, remarking, ¡°Ah Zu, you really are amazing now.¡±

    There were cultivators among them too, but not a single person could tell the wind apart from a natural phenomenon.

    ¡°Big sis principal, you''re too kind with your praise,¡± Zu An said as he took them onto the flying ship.

    Some academy staff members who had been guarding the area bowed toward Zu An. They handed control over the flying ship to him before excusing themselves.

    ¡°This flying ship doesn¡¯t need more people to operate it?¡± Yun Yuqing was really curious when she saw that.

    Xie Daoyun exined, ¡°It did at first, but eventually, teacher and Shen Xuzi both decided that the fewer people it needed, the better. Eventually, it was improved to only need someone who understands formations.¡±

    She thought to herself, <i>This woman really is pretty. No wonder big brother Zu likes her.</i>

    <i>So he likes this kind of morous beauty! Some boring clear soup like me is clearly not as interesting...</i>

    ¡°That¡¯s incredible!¡± Yun Yuqing thought, feeling a bit absentminded.

    <i>No wonder the human race is the most powerful in the world. If this kind of thing were used on the battlefield to attack the enemy from the skies, both the Fiend and Ocean races could suffer a lot of casualties.</i>

    ...

    The group quickly got onto the flying ship. Xie Daoyun took the jade strip used to control it and activated the ship¡¯s formations.

    The entire ship suddenly shone with streaks of light, casting the surroundings in a faint glow. Soon after, the flying ship swayed, and it gradually left the ground.

    Perhaps because it was the first time they had ridden such a thing, but several people almost lost their footing from the sudden ascent. Xie Daoyun was mentally prepared, so she maintained her bnce; as for most others, their cultivations were high, so even though they lost their bnce at first, they immediately regained their footing.

    Unfortunately, Xiaoxi¡¯s cultivation was the lowest. She cried out in rm and flew off to the side.

    Jiang Luofu, who had been taking care of her, quickly moved to support her, but she had only barely managed to stand still. Now that she was trying to help Ji Xiaoxi as well, she lost her bnce and fell too. She reacted quickly and took Xiaoxi into her arms to use herself as a cushion.

    Unexpectedly, though, the heavy collision never happened. Instead, she fell into a warm embrace.

    ¡°Be careful!¡± a gentle voice said next to her.

    Jiang Luofu was briefly absentminded. In the past, her father had always beeb upset at her, saying that it was one thing if she didn¡¯t want to marry that stupid crown prince, but there was no reason for her to still be alone after so many years. Back then, she had ignored those words disdainfully, figuring that there was nothing good about having a man. Wasn¡¯t she pretty happy all by herself?

    But in this instant, she suddenly felt that having someone reliable seemed to be pretty good too.

    ¡°Thank you!¡± She was still a mature woman and quickly reacted. She supported Ji Xiaoxi while thanking Zu An.

    ¡°Sorry, it was my fault for not standing properly.¡± Ji Xiaoxi quickly apologized.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Jiang Luofu consoled her while thinking about the physical contact a moment ago. For some reason, she felt as if her body seemed to be a bit different from normal.

    Zu An also had an unnatural expression. He had reached out earlier to catch her, and found that her well-shaped thighs really were on an entirely different level. He couldn''t help butpare her to Murong Qinghe from a few days ago. Qinghe was tall and slender; perhaps because she practiced the spear, her legs were long, beautiful, and full of well-proportioned sticity. However, since she was too young, making her a bit too slender and underripe, there wasn¡¯t truly a sense of well-muscled perfection.

    He shook his head slightly and threw out those random thoughts.

    <i>What is wrong with me? I¡¯m actually getting distracted because of this?!</i>

    ¡°It¡¯s all my fault for forgetting to tell you all beforehand.¡± Xie Daoyun was really apologetic. Just then, her head had been full of other thoughts, and she''d forgotten about something so important.

    ¡°It¡¯s alright!¡± The others naturally didn¡¯t me her. Their attention was quickly reced by the marvel of this flying ship. They had flown before, but sitting while flying through the sky was definitely a new experience.

    The sail on the mast gradually unfolded too. Various wind element formations operated, making full use of the surrounding winds to help the boat move.

    ¡°Big brother Zu, how do you feel?¡± Xie Daoyun looked at Zu An with sparkling eyes.

    ¡°This is an epoch-marking invention. It can even take many ordinary people into the sky, and it¡¯s much morefortable than other means of flying," Zu An remarked.

    At first, he had been a bit worried when he saw that so many people wanted toe along. Even though he could take all of them into the air himself, if there were too many people, he couldn''t just hold them all in his arms, right? He hadn¡¯t expected this flying ship toe along and solve so many things that were bothering him. There were many rooms on the flying ship too, and all of them were luxurious and tidy. It was naturally better than sleeping outdoors.

    ¡°The only w is that it isn¡¯t fast enough. Everyone, sit tight.¡± Zu An couldn''t waste any time on this trip to the Demon race''s territory. After thinking for a bit, he waved his hand. Powerful winds appeared around them, and the sail was immediately pushed to its limit. The boat flew in the Demon race territory''s direction like a streak of flowing light.

    ¡°You can really channel the power of the world at will?¡± Jiang Luofu was incredibly shocked. She''d already had her suspicions, but she finally received her confirmation.

    Ordinary cultivators all borrowed the power of the world. They had nothing but respect and humility toward such power. But Zu An was different; he was the one ordering the power of the world around.

    When he saw the shock and confusion of the women around hhim, Zu An couldn''t help but chuckle and say, ¡°The main reason is probably because I¡¯ve obtained the authority of this world.¡±

    ¡°World''s authority?¡± It was the first time these women had heard those words.

    ¡°All of you shoulde to my room. I¡¯ll tell you about the things I''ve experienced as ofte.¡± They didn¡¯t have much to do on the way there, so Zu An figured he''d take the chance to give his ¡®speech¡¯.

    He wanted to tell them about the things that had happened recently; he also hoped that they would gain some insights that would help them increase their respective cultivations as quickly as possible.

    The women surrounded Zu An. They were allpletely amazed and intoxicated by his stories.

    ...

    Time quickly passed, and the sun eventually set.

    Jiang Luofu couldn''t help but say with a sigh, ¡°Being with you for a single day makes me realize that I''ve lived all my life for nothing.¡±

    After saying this, she noticed the strange looks the other women were giving her. She immediately realized what she''d said. Her usually cool and elegant face immediately turned red.

    ¡°It¡¯s not what you''re all thinking!¡±

 Chapter 2286: Arrival at the Demon Races Territory

    <h4>Chapter 2286: Arrival at the Demon Race''s Territory</h4>

    Yun Yuqing said with a smile, ¡°We didn¡¯t really say anything either. Just what are you thinking about?¡±

    Since she had previously helped the Jiang n, her rtionship with Jiang Luofu was quite good right now, so she wasn¡¯t as cautious as the others. She didn¡¯t feel as much of an emotional burden when making these kinds of jokes.

    Jiang Luofu was about to exin when Ji Xiaoxi said in confusion, ¡°I also think that spending a day with big brother Zu gave me more benefits than a whole year of cultivation. What''s wrong with what little aunt said?¡±

    Now even Xie Daoyun, who had been doing her best to hold it in, burst outughing. Her face turned bright red.

    <i>I¡¯m finished, I¡¯m done for! In the future, I''ll probably just be a dirty little girl in big brother Zu¡¯s eyes.</i>

    Both Yun Yuqing and Jiang Luofu wereughing so hard that their bodies rocked back and forth. Only Ji Xiaoxi alone continued to blink herrge eyes in confusion.

    ¡°You¡¯re right, Xiaoxi. You don¡¯t need to worry about those other things.¡± Jiang Luofu gently rubbed Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s head.

    <i>This girl really is as pure and innocent as a white sheet of paper.</i> N?v(el)B\\jnn

    <i>Ji Dengtu has protected her a bit too well over the years. There are definitely both pros and cons to that.</i>

    The good thing was that Ji Xiaoxi had a kind heart of gold, but the bad part was that she was just way too innocent. If she left her father¡¯s protection and met someone really bad, she could end up suffering as a result.

    Zu An was clearly thinking the same thing. He took out some treasures and talismans to give to her, saying, ¡°Xiaoxi, keep these things on you to protect yourself.¡±

    Whether it was from the Imperial Pce or the academy¡¯s treasury, he could now take whatever he wanted. Those treasures weren¡¯t too useful for him now, but they were good for giving as gifts to people. His lovers did need a lot of things, after all.

    ¡°Ah! Big brother Zu, you already gave me a lot of stuff before. It¡¯s already enough.¡± Ji Xiaoxi quickly shook her hands. After all, she felt that she wasn''t supposed to get a reward if it wasn''t deserved. She didn¡¯t know why he would suddenly give her so many magical artifacts.

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s fine. It¡¯s always good to have more defensive artifacts.¡± He shoved them into her arms before she could refuse. He even put some of them straight into her clothes.

    When she saw how intimate he was acting, Yun Yuqing blinked in surprise.

    <i>It seems there are still quite a few we were missing when I was talking about his lovers with big sister.</i>

    Jiang Luofu thought to herself, <i>If Ji Dengtu saw this, he''d probably just faint from anger on the spot.</i>

    ¡°Then thank you, big brother Zu.¡± Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s face heated up a bit as she stored away the defensive treasures and talismans.

    She was the only one who had received gifts, but not a single person felt jealous. The main reason was because she was just too pure and innocent, like a weak little white rabbit. Anyone would feel pity when they saw her.

    It was already getting dark. The others wanted to keep listening to Zu An''s amazing experiences, but as women, they couldn''t really just stay with him all night. They quickly excused themselves one after another.

    The flying ship was quite high up in the sky, allowing everyone to see the stars and celestial streams more clearly from their rooms. They were all really excited; even Jiang Luofu acted like a little girl. As she stared at the starry sky, she became a bit absentminded, and a happy smile appeared on her face, although it was impossible to tell what kind of wonderful thing she was thinking about.

    But as the sky grew darker, the women on the flying ship also became more quiet, perhaps because they were falling asleep.

    ...

    Meanwhile, Zu An was seated on his bed in meditation, sensing the natural way of the world. He suddenly sensed something. A beautiful figure tiptoed into his room, then moved over to the window. She moved closer like a beautiful snake, filling the curtains with a sweet fragrance.

    ¡°I knew it was you.¡± Zu An smiled.

    ¡°You seem to be disappointed that the others didn¡¯te looking for you,¡± Yun Yuqing said in a sweet voice.

    ¡°There¡¯s no way.¡± Zu An took her into his arms. He added inwardly, <i>There''s no way the others woulde looking for me in the middle of the night. </i>He gave her a kiss before asking, ¡°Why do I sense a bit of bitterness from you?¡±

    ¡°How could I not be bitter? I thought this trip would belong to just the two of us, but now there are suddenly so many other people,¡± Yun Yuqing muttered. ¡°But the rooms and beds on this flying ship are quite good. The conditions are way better than if we had gone alone...

    ¡°It would be a bit of a waste to be given such great beds, but not do anything with them.¡± As she spoke, Yun Yuqing¡¯s eyes were covered in a faintyer of watery mist. Her features were incredibly beautiful to begin with, and that only made her even more alluring.

    ¡°Oh?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    Yun Yuqing moved her beautiful hair behind her head and tied it into a simple ponytail. She smiled charmingly toward him before lowering herself.

    Zu An yed with the ponytail in his hands. Her hair wasn¡¯t as long as her sister¡¯s, but it was bright and smooth. It felt just like satin in his hands, so picking it up and handling it was quite interesting.

    Suddenly, his expression froze. He looked up toward the window.

    <i>Are you kidding me? Are the heavens messing with me?</i>

    Outside the window, Xie Daoyun was hesitantly pacing back and forth. She thought about what her brother said, feeling that continuing to stall would really just be suffering. She decided that maybe it was better to just ask what Zu An really thought.

    But just as she was about to knock on the door, she pulled her hand back again. She sighed, and in the end, she turned around and left.

    If she didn¡¯t ask him, they could continue to be good friends. If she asked, perhaps they wouldn''t even be able to be friends anymore.

    In another room, Jiang Luofu was watching Xie Daoyun quietly. She couldn''t help but shake her head when she saw what was happening. After all, Xie Daoyun was a goddess in the academy, someone everyone chased after. They all felt that she was impossible to reach, but how could they have known that her love would actually be so difficult?

    <i>Just what kind of crazy charm does that damn brat have?</i>

    <i>How can he make so many outstanding women chase after him like this?</i>

    <i>Xiaoxi is only experiencing her first awakening of love, but she is too innocent. How can shepete against those formidablepetitors? Even the incredible genius Xie Daoyun is left in such a sorry state.</i>

    <i>But that kid does have quite the charm...</i>

    She unknowingly sat by the bed and slowly rolled down her silk stockings. She looked at her legs, which she had always been very satisfied with, and suddenly released a light sigh. ¡°If I remained the only one who gets to admire such a beautiful pair of legs, that would be a bit too much of a waste.¡±

    ...

    The women got to see mountains and rivers all around them, and rivers of stars in the night sky. They could even hear Zu An talk about all sorts of amazing stories along the way. They thus felt that time passed really quickly.

    Meanwhile, Zu An felt that each one had amazing things about them, and that even though they were different, they were all equally delightful.

    Just like that, they quickly entered the Demon race''s territory. Unlike the human side''s elegant mountains and rivers, this ce was clearly a poorer region. There were all kinds of strange craggy stones across thendscape, and there was very little vegetation. The weather was also quite strange. It was clearly blistering hot in one region, and yet snow was fluttering everywhere in an adjacent region.

    Jiang Luofu was amazed by this sight.

    <i>Our human ancestors really did steal the bestnd. Otherwise, the ones living here might have been humans.</i>

    Yun Yuqing stood at the head of the ship and stared at the scene below for a long time. ¡°This is probably the Rong n¡¯s territory. There isn¡¯t much in the way of courteousness or modest refusal here, which means conflicts are likely to arise. Our flying ship is too eye-catching and might incur jealousy. How about we put the flying ship away for now, and disguise ourselves to get some information?¡±

    Zu An looked at the beautiful women around him. He couldn''t help but say with a smile, ¡°No matter how incredible beauties like you disguised yourself, it¡¯d probably still be hard to not draw attention.¡±

    Even if they wore masks to hide their beautiful facial features, their bodies were still just as eye-catching as candle mes in the darkness.

    The four women all blushed a bit when they heard his praise. However, the same words would be receivedpletely differently if someone else said them.

    Zu An looked at the world below and calmly said, ¡°There¡¯s no need for all the trouble. Let¡¯s just go straight to the Rong n and ask about the situation."

    Yun Yuqing was stunned. Then, a smile appeared on her face.

    <i>Right, with his current status, why would he still need to keep hiding himself?</i>

    Just then, several figures rose into the air from below, surrounding the ship.

    ¡°What are you all doing?!¡±

    ¡°Is this the escort of another saintess?¡±

 Chapter 2287: Four Symbols Stones

    <h4>Chapter 2287: Four Symbols Stones</h4>

    ¡°Saintess?¡± Zu An was stunned. He hadn¡¯t known that the Demon race had that kind of title.

    Yun Yuqing was also a bit stunned. She clearly didn¡¯t know about any such thing either.

    ¡°Humans!¡± The demon experts recognized where they were from. They all released sharp whistles, and then even more demons flew into the air to surround the flying ship.

    ¡°Land this ship immediately and ept our questioning at once!¡± the strong cultivator leading the group shouted.

    When they saw the people on the ship, the demons were shocked. Even the Demon race, which was known for their beauties, rarely saw so many beautiful women.

    Jiang Luofu and Xie Daoyun prepared their weapons when they saw that these people¡¯s attitudes were unkind, ready for a fight to break out at any time.

    Zu An walked to the head of the ship and stood protectively in front of them, saying, ¡°I am the Fiend races'' regent. Have the Rong n Master meet me.¡±

    ¡°What regent? Never heard of him. Men, arrest these humans at once!¡± The leader harrumphed and ordered his subordinates to attack.

    This ship was clearly something extraordinary. They¡¯d really make it big if they got their hands on it. Besides, these human women were too beautiful. Wouldn¡¯t they be able to do whatever they wanted with the women after capturing them? Judging from these people¡¯s outfits and the man¡¯s tough talk, he was probably just a rich human young master who was taking his women traveling. Unfortunately for him,ing to the Demon race''s territory was nothing more than courting death.

    The surrounding Demon race experts all attacked when they received these orders. Purple sts of light flew at the flying ship.

    However, Xie Daoyun¡¯s fingers flew quickly to operate the formation disk. Soon after, a transparent barrier appeared around the flying ship, blocking all of the purple lights.

    The Demon race¡¯s leader was surprised. He quickly made a hand gesture to some people below. Several cannons on the mountain peaks below aimed at the flying ship.

    Xie Daoyun grew nervous. This flying ship could still hold on against these powerful individuals¡¯ attacks, but if it was hit by the powerful army cannons, it would immediately break down.

    Suddenly, here was a cold snort, and with a wave of Zu An¡¯s hand, the cannons that were gathering energy were destroyed by a mysterious power. The surrounding Demon race soldiers were shocked by the sudden development. It wasn¡¯t just them; the Demon race experts in the air were also stunned. They didn¡¯t even see how Zu An had attacked.

    ¡°Enemy attack! Initiate the highest threat...¡± the leader of the group eximed in shock. Midway, however, his voice suddenly stopped.

    The surrounding demons were stunned, thinking, <i>Where did he go? </i>Only a secondter did they see that the human man seemed to have raised his hand, and a mysterious power had sucked their leader forward. That person had instantly shriveled up into a corpse.

    Zu An threw the demon leader''s corpse away and called out, ¡°Can someone tell me where the Rong n Master is now?¡±

    The obscene look in the leader''s eyes hadn¡¯t escaped Zu An¡¯s notice. Since that guy was looking for trouble, Zu An just figured he''d help with that goal.

    The surrounding Demon race experts suddenly felt as if the world was spinning around them. By the time they reacted, they were already on the flying ship, with the man on the other side looking at them coldly. They all swallowed with difficulty. How could they still not know that they had ended up messing with the wrong person?

    One of them carefully replied, ¡°The n master isn¡¯t here. He brought the n¡¯s army with him after receiving the Yun n¡¯s invitation.¡±

    Yun Yuqing was shocked and quickly asked, ¡°What did the Yun n ask him to do?¡±

    ¡°Not only did they call for our n lord, they also invited the Wu n Lord. The Yun, Wu, and Rong ns have joined together to attack the Suolun n,¡± another individual quickly replied. After seeing what had happened to hispanion, he was worried that he would quickly be useless trash and be discarded.

    Zu An frowned slightly. He remembered that the reinforcements the Demon race had promised never came, so Suolun Shi had returned to find out what happened. Why were the other three ns suddenly attacking the Suolun n? He wondered if Suolun Shi was still safe.

    ¡°Why are the three ns attacking the Suolun n?¡± Yun Yuqing asked in confusion.

    After all, even though the four great ns of the Demon race weren¡¯t that close, they could still be considered unified in the past. There were even many marriages between the ns. There had never been any instance of three ns joining together to attack a fourth.

    Besides, the strongest among the four great ns was the Yun n. Strictly speaking, it should have been the other three working together to defeat the Yun n, right?

    ¡°That is because the Suolun n refused to offer up a saintess, and they are also unwilling to hand over the Four Symbols Stone," a Rong n cultivator quickly responded.

    ¡°Saintess? Four Symbols Stone?¡± Zu An gave Yun Yuqing a confused look. He had never heard of such things before.

    Even the well-learned Xie Daoyun and Jiang Luofu were a bit confused. These Demon race matters weren¡¯t well known by outsiders.

    Yun Yuqing said, ¡°I¡¯ve heard of the Four Symbols Stones before. It is rumored that the four great ns eachhave a special stone. The Yun n has the Azure Dragon Stone, the Suolun n has the White Tiger Stone, the Rong n has the Vermilion Bird Stone, and the Wu n has the ck Tortoise Stone. But I thought that was just a legend. When I asked the n elders, they all said that they¡¯d never seen such things before. Could it be that they really do exist?¡±

    Zu An was also really confused. What connection was there between the Demon race and these four symbols?

    <i>Wait, the Wu n is the ck Tortoise? I thought that the Wu n were golden crows. It now seems to be the ''wu'' from ''wugui'' (tortoise)...?</i>

    ¡°Hm? Why does thisdy know so much about my race¡¯s secrets?¡± a Rong n expert eximed in surprise.

    Yun Yuqing didn¡¯t reply, and asked another question instead. ¡°ording to what you just said, could it be that the Rong n has already handed over the Vermilion Bird Stone? Who did you hand it to?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s not just the Rong n either, the Wu n also handed over the ck Tortoise Stone.¡± n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°To the Yun n, of course.¡±

    Two people replied excitedly one after another.

    ¡°The Yun n?¡± Yun Yuqing¡¯s expression changed a bit. ¡°You all obeyed just because they asked?¡±

    After all, even though the four great ns did have stronger and weaker ns, they were still overall at around the same level. She had never heard of a single n being able to manage the other three ns.

    ¡°The Yun n is too powerful, so what other choice do we have?¡± The ones who could fly into the sky were all the strong cultivators that the Rong n had left behind. They knew more than others, so they exined, "Besides, with True Demons supporting them, how could we stand against them? Otherwise, wouldn¡¯t our end be the same as that of the Suolun n?¡±

    ¡°At first, the Yun n only wanted some cultivation resources. Even though the other ns weren¡¯t too happy, they could only give those resources up and be a bit more frugal among themselves.¡±

    ¡°Butter, the Yun n crossed the line more and more. They actually wanted the other ns to hand over the Four Symbols Stones.¡±

    ¡°At first, nobody agreed to it, but they were all scared that the True Demons would only support the Yun n. They were also worried that their n would be attacked, so the n leaderpromised. The Wu n probably shared simr thoughts as our Rong n.¡±

    ¡°True Demon?¡± Yun Yuqing repeated with a frown. She didn¡¯t understand this term.

    ¡°They are the emissaries from the world our Demon race¡¯s ancestors lived in. Their bloodlines are purer and they are stronger. They aren¡¯t like our Demon race whose bloodlines became weaker and weaker from mixing our blood. Not only were we bullied by the human race, we have to bow down to the Fiend Court too.¡±

    When they talked about the True Demons, their eyes all held a bit of a feverish expression.

    Jiang Luofu held Ji Xiaoxi in her arms while giving Zu An a worried look. She said through ki, ¡°Ah Zu, it sounds like the alien monsters.¡±

    Zu An nodded. He asked, ¡°How many of these True Demons are there?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s only one. The True Demon bloodline is precious, so how could there be many of them?¡±

    Zu An was a bit surprised when he heard their reply. ¡°Only one? A single one was able to make you all yield like this and even give up your n¡¯s most important possession?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because the True Demon proved just how incredible the noble bloodline of our Demon race is. They can even activate the bloodline that has be dormant after endless years, to raise the Demon race cultivators¡¯ strength by several cultivation realms in a single go and make them incredibly powerful.¡±

    ¡°But we don¡¯t have any hope of obtaining the True Demon¡¯s enlightenment; otherwise...¡±

    Even so, the unspoken implication was clear. If they could receive enlightenment, why would their n be in the sorry state it is now?

    Zu An¡¯s face darkened. It was the alien monsters, as expected. In the past, the sealednd¡¯s Golden Winged Little Peng King and the Fiend races¡¯ Second Prince seemed to have been enlightened by a monster through a secret method, allowing their strength to increase dramatically.

    ¡°What''s the deal with the saintess you were talking about? From what I know, the four great ns don¡¯t have any saintesses...¡±

 Chapter 2288: The Heavens Want Us to Perish

    <h4>Chapter 2288: The Heavens Want Us to Perish</h4>

    The Rong n¡¯s experts replied, ¡°The True Demon said that they wanted each of the ns to choose a saintess to represent their ns to offer up to the ancient Demon Deity. The saintess must be of direct bloodline of the respective ns. Not only do they need to have outstanding talent, they need to be beautiful as well. Otherwise, it would be a kind of sphemy to the Demon Deity.¡±

    Jiang Luofu frowned. ¡°This sounds more like a practice from an evil sect.¡±

    ¡°What kind of thing is that Demon Deity?¡± Zu An frowned. This Demon Deity seemed to be up to no good somehow.

    ¡°The Demon Deity isn¡¯t a thing...¡± The Rong n¡¯s cultivators¡¯ expressions changed a bit. ¡°No, no, the Demon Deity is an extraordinary being. The Demon Deity is a divine being that the entire Demon race worships and believes i; he¡¯s not something that can be sphemed against like this.¡±

    ¡°A divine being?¡± Zu An gave Yun Yuqing a look.

    Yun Yuqing said with a frown, ¡°Our Demon race does have a Demon Deity, and it is a divine being that all of the Demon race believes in. However, this legend is too mysterious. We don¡¯t even know what the Demon Deity looks like, so it''s more like a symbol. No one thinks that it''s a real being.¡±

    ¡°You are from the Demon race after all!¡± Those Rong n experts looked at her in horror. ¡°You cannot say such things willfully and nder the Demon Deity! Once you die, not even your soul will be able to find rest.¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, that¡¯s not something for that meddlesome Demon Deity to preside over.¡± That was his domain, after all.

    Judging from what these people said, this Demon Deity was a bit simr to the Ocean Deity that the Ocean races worshiped, some kind guardian deity of legend. Even if there was such a divine being, that would have been in the distant past. After so much time, those deities would have all perished.

    ¡°You are speaking sphemy against deities...¡± the Rong n experts muttered to themselves. They made some strange sounds that sounded like a prayer, as if they were asking for the Demon Deity¡¯s forgiveness.

    ¡°The Demon Deity is someone no one even really knows about. The four great ns¡¯ leaders are just normal people too. Do you really believe them just because they talk about the Demon Deity like that?¡± Yun Yuqing couldn''t help but ask. As someone from the Demon race, even though she remained in King Wu Manor most of the time, she had still received information from her homnd regrly. This really didn¡¯t seem like something that those elders she was familiar with would do.

    ¡°We thought that the Demon Deity had already abandoned us too, but now, we know that the Demon Deity is in the True Demons¡¯ world. It is just because our world is too far away and special that he couldn''t respond to our prayers,¡± the Rong n experts replied.

    Yun Yuqing retorted with a sneer, ¡°If he really is a Demon Deity, then why would the ns need to offer up a beautiful girl to serve him? It sounds more like that True Demon is making use of the Demon Deity¡¯s name to get somepany in bed.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not true.¡± The Rong n experts shook their heads. ¡°The Demon Deity has already revealed his divine power. Being able to serve him is a tremendous glory.¡±

    ¡°The divine power that you''re talking about, is it just the activation of the bloodline power inside you?¡± Xie Daoyun couldn''t help but ask.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. If not for the Demon Deity¡¯s mighty power, how could someone else activate the hidden power within our bodies?¡± The Rong n¡¯s experts all had yearning looks on their faces.

    ¡°Who were the ones chosen as saintesses from the different ns?¡± Yun Yuqing was more concerned about that. The ones who were most suitable for that role from the Yun n were naturally herself and her older sister. Strictly speaking, her older sister¡¯s bloodline wasn''t pure, so perhaps she herself would be the only one who was suitable. She had just returned, so how could the Yun n find a qualified saintess before that?

    ¡°The Rong n and Wu n chose their own princesses, the daughters of the n leaders. Whether it is their appearance or aptitude, both are things everyone has publicly acknowledged over the years. Those two are fully deserving of their title as saintessess.¡± The Rong n experts stuck out their chests proudly when they spoke of their own princess, as if they were sharing in her spotlight. ¡°The Suolun n¡¯s most suitable candidate is Princess Suolun, but the Suolun n isn¡¯t willing to cooperate, which is why the three ns are attacking them.¡±

    ¡°What about the Yun n?¡± Yun Yuqing was bing more and more curious.

    ¡°The Yun n should have offered up thete n leader''s daughter as the most qualified candidate to be the saintess, but it is rumored that she has been missing for a long time and cannot be found. That is why they found another woman to act as the saintess,¡± the Rong n experts said.

    ¡°Any random woman can be the saintess? It seems the Demon Deity is pretty easy to fool.¡± Zu An couldn''t help butugh.

    ¡°Everyone thought that the Yun n was ying games and going too far, but someone saw the Yun n¡¯s saintess, and praised her as fully deserving of the title.¡± The Rong n experts had longing looks on their faces. ¡°Even though we are from the Rong n ,we have to admit that the Yun n¡¯s saintess is number one, whether in terms of her appearance, figure, or talent.¡±

    ¡°What is the Yun n saintess¡¯ name?¡± Yun Yuqing¡¯s pretty brows frowned.

    <i>Why don¡¯t I remember the Yun n having a girl this outstanding?</i>

    The Rong n experts shook their heads slightly. ¡°We don¡¯t know; we only heard some rumors and never saw her ourselves. But there was someone who had questioned her identity, saying that the Yun n found a woman from somewhere else and brought her here. There was a hugemotion back then, because the ns all had to offer up a saintess, and no one wanted the Yun n to just get away with that. Later, however, her blood was examined and she was discovered to indeed be of the Yun n¡¯s lineage. It was rumored that she was a girl that a Yun n heir birthed outside.¡±

    ¡°So that was it.¡± Yun Yuqing was startled. She seemed to remember hearing about an aunt of hers who left home. It was rumored that said aunt had married someone outside and birthed a child, so that woman and Yun Yuqing¡¯s father were called the most unreliable siblings of the n.

    <i>Could she be the daughter of that aunt?</i>

    Zu An suddenly said, ¡°From what I know, the Suolun n isn¡¯t the most powerful of the Demon race. Would they be able to defeat the joint attacks of the three other ns?¡±

    ¡°Of course not.¡± The Rong n experts replied, ¡°But defense is always easier than attack. The Suolun n has already maintained their territory for thousands of years. Their headquarters is like a fortress, so taking it down isn¡¯t too easy. However, there is a huge difference between the two sides¡¯ forces, so they won¡¯t be able to hold on for that long.¡±

    Zu An gave the Rong n''s territory beneath him a look. It was built alongside a mountain and resembled a pillbox fortification. It would indeed be hard for a proper army to attack.

    He asked for some more information about the Demon race, especially about the True Demon and Demon Deity. However, what these Rong n people who had been left behind knew was limited. They all only talked about what everyone already knew. So, in the end, he asked for the location of the Suolun n''s territory. Since the other three ns were all attacking the Suolun n, he would just go there and ask the people involved. For all he knew, maybe he would be able to meet with that True Demon.

    Xie Daoyun quickly controlled the formation disk and steered the flying ship toward the Suolun n¡¯s territory.

    ...

    Meanwhile, outside Suolun City, there was a densely packed army d in many different colors. The Suolun n Master had an extremely ugly expression as he looked at them. The purple-armored army belonged to the Yun n, the red army belonged to the Rong n, and the ck army belonged to the Wu n. Judging from the scale of their forces, they were clearly going all out.

    ¡°n master, do we have any chances of winning?¡± the Suolun n elders asked with nk looks on their faces. All of the forts around the Suolun n had already been uprooted. Now, only this, their main headquarters, was left.

    Even the majestic Suolun City was already in tatters. There were lingering mes that still hadn¡¯t been put out everywhere, and many parts of the walls were damaged. What remained could only be preserved at the cost of the Suolun n soldiers¡¯ lives, but atop those walls, almost all of the Suolun n¡¯s soldiers were injured. Many of them had missing limbs. It was easy to imagine just how bitter the fighting had been for the past few days.

    ¡°The n has defended this city for thousands of years. How could they take it down?!¡± The Suolun n Master sensed his forces'' lowering morale. He quickly collected his thoughts and spoke to give them encouragement. ¡°Everyone, don¡¯t worry. I already have a n for victory. We will see the results soon!¡±

    He knew that the Yun n was powerful, and that the Rong and Wu n had most likely been threatened by the Yun n and had no choice but to join in. But as the saying went, ''when the lips are cold, the teeth perish''. He refused to believe that the Rong and Wu n masters really didn¡¯t have any other thoughts. That was why he had secretly sent his daughter out of the city to contact the Rong and Wu n masters to see if she could persuade them. Then, if they worked together from both inside and outside, they would be able to immediately end the sted Yun n! n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    While he was speaking, he sensed a disturbance in the armies outside. Then, a tform was pushed out from among the troops, and on it was a beautiful youngdy.

    When he saw his daughter there, the Suolun n Master¡¯s eyes darkened. He almost fainted on the spot.

    <i>The heavens want our Suolun n to perish!</i>

 Chapter 2289: What You Fear Most Will Come to Pass

    <h4>Chapter 2289: What You Fear Most Will Come to Pass</h4>

    ¡°Princess, it¡¯s the princess!¡± Many of the soldiers on the city walls saw who it was. They all cried out, ¡°n master, hurry and find a way to save the princess!¡±

    Princess Suolun was beautiful and kind. She was someone who had often helped the lower level soldiers, so her reputation among the people was really good.

    The Suolun n Master¡¯s expression was full of bitterness.

    <i>Would I not save her if I could?</i>

    There was only onest thought left in his head.

    <i>It¡¯s over, it¡¯s all over!</i>

    After all, Suolun Shi had visited the Rong and Wu ns in secret. Now that she had appeared here, it meant that the Wu and Rong n had clearly sold her out. His n to form an alliance with the Rong and Wu ns to defeat the Yun n was already done for.

    He really couldn''t understand. The ns had been on equal footing for thousands of years. Perhaps one n would be stronger than the others for a time, but eventually, fortunes would inevitably rise and fall, and after some time, another n will end up bing stronger. That was why there had always been a bnce between the four great ns.

    <i>Have the Rong and Wu ns gone mad? They don¡¯t want to enjoy their positions as n masters and just have to live as dogs for the Yun n?</i>

    <i>Once the Suolun n is finished off, how much longer will the Rong and Wu ns be able to hold on for?</i>

    <i>Why aren¡¯t those two old foxes able to think of this simple reasoning?</i>

    There were many things he didn¡¯t understand right now, but his attention was quickly drawn by the shouts outside the city.

    ¡°Brother Suolun, if you still do not surrender and offer up your loyalty to the Demon Deity, your precious daughter might end up dying," the Yun n Master shouted from an elevated tform. With his cultivation, he could make everyone on the battlefield hear his voice.

    While he was speaking, troops of soldiers began to pile firewood up beneath the tform. Killing a person was extremely easy, but killing them too quickly would be too boring. In contrast, the shocking sight of slowly burning someone alive would be much more effective in crushing enemy morale.

    Additionally, if the Suolun n changed their mind and surrendered, they could put out the fire at any time and release Suolun Shi. Otherwise, killing her could force the Suolun n topletely resist to the end.

    The Suolun n Master had initially tried to lead men out in a surprise attack, but when he saw the Rong n and Wu n on the tform, as well as how the three ns¡¯ soldiers surrounded it withyer uponyer, he immediately gave up the thought. He cursed, ¡°Bastard Yun, a battle between armies should be fought through strength and discipline. What kind of heroic deed is there in bullying a young girl?!¡±

    The Yun n roared withughter. ¡°Soldiers fight to the death for the sake of victory; when has war ever cared for pedantic rules? Furthermore, our Demon race is known to be cunning. Did you learn this strength and discipline nonsense from the humans?¡±

    When they heard those words, the troops outsideughed too. They all mocked the Suolun n for being inflexible.

    On the city walls, the Suolun n¡¯s soldiers were all furious. They all shouted that they wanted to fight to the death.

    ¡°Don¡¯t fall for their psychological attacks!¡± The Suolun n Master immediately stopped his troops. There was a huge difference in numbers between them and the enemy right now. If they charged out, that would just be exhausting their forces for no reason.

    ¡°The Suolun n used to be famous among the Fiend races for being brave and formidable in battle. And yet today, it seems you''re all just cowards!¡± the Yun n Master said with a sneer.

    The Suolun n Master knew that the opponent was deliberately angering their side and didn¡¯t pay much attention to it at all. Instead, he ordered his subordinates to strictly defend their positions. Without his orders, no one was permitted to leave the city to fight.

    As he watched himmand the soldiers on the walls, the Yun n Master started getting impatient. ¡°Suolun Xing, do you not even care about your daughter anymore? As long as you hand over the White Tiger Stone, Suolun Shi will be your Suolun n¡¯s saintess, and our four great ns will serve the Demon Deity together and await his blessings. All of us will have our bloodline powers awakened by enlightenment. The Demon race will regain the glory we lost in ancient times. Why must you insist on putting yourself in this kind of situation?!¡±

    The Suolun n Master shouted, ¡°Our n has instructed us about the importance of the Four Symbols Stones for thousands of years, telling us that they absolutely must not be given to an outsider. Rong n and Wu n, have you already forgotten that past vow?¡± n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The Rong and Wu n masters had looks of shame. When they officially became their respective n masters, they had received the Four Symbols Stones from the previous n masters. At the time, they had been warned again and again that this matter had to be kept a secret, and that these stones were extremely special. But as the years went on, they hadn¡¯t really found these stones all that useful, so they had graduallye to believe the artifacts weren¡¯t that big of a deal.

    The Yun n Master harrumphed. ¡°Do you even know what the Four Symbols Stones are? You don¡¯t even know what you''re guarding. What meaning is there in such senseless protectiveness? How could some trifling Four Symbols Stones be worth the lives of an entire n?!¡±

    Sure enough, many members of the Suolun n on the city walls couldn''t help but look at their n master. They had actually only learned of the Four Symbols Stones¡¯ existence recently. They had been secrets that only the n masters knew about.

    The Suolun n Master remained quiet for a while before saying, ¡°That¡¯s right. I don¡¯t know what the Four Symbols Stones are good for, but since the great ns have passed them down from generation to generation, there must be a reason for it. What I must do is to continue to pass down this mission so as to not be a great sinner of the Demon race.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, you don¡¯t know the use, but the True Demon and the powerful Demon Deity do. Only when our Four Symbols Stones are gathered together can they disy their real use,¡± the Yun n master continued.

    The Suolun n Master harrumphed. ¡°That True Demon¡¯s background is suspicious, and the Demon Deity is also something that might not even exist. What if they''re just fooling us? Do you understand what kind of consequence there will be if we hand over such important Four Symbol Stones then?¡±

    ¡°How audacious! You dare to speak disrespectfully about the Demon Deity and the True Demon?!¡± The Yun n Master was furious.

    The Rong n Master also tried to say, ¡°Brother Suolun, do you think that we''re all fools, that we can¡¯t distinguish between a real and a fake at all? All of us feel that they are trustworthy, so do you think you''re smarter than all of us?¡±

    The Wu n Master also said, ¡°Other things can be falsified, but there''s no way the True Demon¡¯s enlightenment and awakening of bloodline power can be faked, right? How else could he aplish that, if not through the power of the Demon Deity?¡±

    ¡°Shi¡¯er has said in the past that the alien monsters have a simr ability. The Second Prince and Little Golden Peng King were also enticed by the monsters, and their strength was able to increase explosively. However, the price they ended up paying was their very lives,¡± the Rong n Master said coldly.

    ¡°Don¡¯t try to delude the people with lies!¡± The Yun n Master was now getting a bit angry. ¡°That is nothing more than what the winners want everyone to believe. If not for the regent¡¯s interference, the Second Prince and Little Golden Peng King would still be alive and well. They might even have been more powerful than thete Fiend Emperor! Could it be that you don''t wish to possess that kind of power?¡±

    ¡°Even though I want to be stronger, I don¡¯t want us to be ves of the monsters,¡± the Suolun n Master said coldly.

    ¡°You are already beyond saving. You are nowpletely someone who has disgraced God.¡± The Yun n Master shook his head. He said to Suolun Shi next to him, ¡°Niece, hurry and tell your father to change his mind. Do not let him lead the entire Suolun n into destruction.¡±

    ¡°Father!¡± Suolun Shi took a deep breath. Tears could be seen in her eyes.

    Suolun Xing was also crying. ¡°Your father is useless and cannot save you. Shi¡¯er, are you scared?¡±

    ¡°I am.¡± Suolun Shi¡¯s voice became quiet, but she quickly raised her head again. ¡°But what I am more scared of is the Suolun n being consigned to eternal damnation. Father, do not worry about me. As a daughter of the Suolun n, I will only die standing, and not pitifully while wagging my tail!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re courting death!¡± The Yun n Master was furious. He grabbed at the tform, and a torch in a soldier''s raised hand was drawn down toward the pile of firewood below, quickly starting a raging fire. Surging heat rushed into the air. The Yun n Master looked coldly at the city wall and said, ¡°Suolun Xing, this is your final chance. If you surrender now, you can still save your daughter and keep the life of your n. Otherwise, this charming daughter of yours will be burned alive, and your Suolun City¡¯s end will be the same as hers.¡±

    Suolun Xing gripped the city wall so tightly that it actually left a hole. His lips continuously trembled. He wanted to say something, but he discovered that he couldn''t say anything at all.

    Just then, Suolun Shi shouted from the tform, ¡°Father, hold on. The regent will eventually sense the strangeness happening here. He will save the entire Suolun n.¡±

    ¡°The regent?¡± The Yun n Master sneered. ¡°That pretty boy is already in a drunken stupor in the human capital. By the time he finds out what happened here, the entire Suolun n might not even have ashes left to save.¡±

    Suolun Shi became silent when she heard this. She knew he was speaking the truth. Once the regent found out, he would rush over to help them, but by then, the other ns and the True Demon, and perhaps even the Demon Deity, would already have run off to who knew where. No one knew what they would do with the Four Symbols Stones too. Perhaps they would even be so strong that not even the regent would be able to stop them.

    More importantly, how much longer could the Suolun n even hold on for? At the very least, she definitely wouldn¡¯t be able tost until then.

    When she remembered what the regent had been like when they first met, and then how he had saved her in the sealednd, his handsome smiling face appeared in her mind and she was filled with reluctance.

    <i>I really want to see him one more time.</i>

    Just then, the Wu n Master eximed mockingly, ¡°That guy really is too much. He actually dared to even publicly defile the Second Empress! He hasn''t treated us Fiend race elders with any importance. Once the Demon Deity descends, he will finally understand that there are heavens beyond the heavens!¡±

    The Wu n had always enjoyed the glory of sharing the same surname as the royal family. Zu An¡¯s actions had made him feel extremely humiliated.

    The Rong n Master also spoke up in agreement. ¡°That¡¯s right. Rather than hoping for the regent to save you, you might as well look forward to the descent of the Demon Deity.¡±

    Just then, a voice suddenly called out, ¡°Oh? Is that so?¡±

 Chapter 2290: There is No Need

    <h4>Chapter 2290: There is No Need</h4>

    The n masters were shocked. After all, there were armies all around them, and the three of them were the most powerful among the Demon race, and yet they hadn¡¯t sensed this person before he spoke at all. There was no way they wouldn¡¯t be shocked.

    Suolun Shi, who was bound atop the tform, was extremely happy to hear the voice. ¡°This voice... It¡¯s big brother Zu! Big brother Zu!¡±

    The three n masters had already followed the direction of the sound and looked into the sky. They saw a figure suddenly appear in the distance; he walked over slowly, as if there was a set of transparent steps in the sky.

    The entire battlefield erupted into amotion. Everyone who could appear on this battlefield was strong enough to be the main character of their own stories. Even disregarding their strength, their sight was definitely good. If not, they would¡¯ve already died in a ditch in some battlefield elsewhere.

    They had seen people who could fly before. Once humans reached the master rank, they gained that ability. Some from the Fiend races were able to do so a bit earlier. But whether they were human or fiend, the way they flew in the sky was not as leisurely as the way this man moved, as if the sky was his own stage.

    When they first saw him, he seemed to be a faint speck on the horizon, but after just a few steps, even though every step didn¡¯t seem to be thatrge and he was walking in a carefree manner, he arrived in the blink of an eye.

    There was nock of female warriors in the Demon race. When they saw him, they couldn''t help but blow a whistle in admiration. Their eyes were full of excitement.

    <i>This man is so handsome!</i>

    The Demon race had always been famous for having attractive men and women, but the Demon race¡¯s men were usually more pale-skinned and were more like ¡®pretty boys¡¯, making them a bit feminine. After getting used to seeing that kind of man, and then seeing this man who resembled a chiseled statue, how could the women not be excited?

    Meanwhile, the male warriors were all getting a bit jealous.

    <i>Fine, he is handsome, and the way he¡¯s walking casually in the air makes us want to cry from jealousy! But your reactions don¡¯t need to be that exaggerated, right?</i>

    All of them looked as if they were about to just sit down and give up.

    ...

    ¡°Is this guy always such a showoff?¡± The same amazement was happening on the flying ship.

    Zu An¡¯s group had headed straight for Suolun City. His divine sense could now cover an extremelyrge area, which was why he had been able to sense the danger here ahead of time. The women had stayed behind on the flying ship to steer it while he went ahead, but Xie Daoyun drew a Mirror Image Talisman to cast what was happening in the distant battlefield above the flying ship.

    When she saw the manner in which Zu An had shown up and the crazy shouts of the Demon race''s youngdies, Jiang Luofu finally couldn''t help but say mockingly, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with the Demon race¡¯s women? Have they never seen a man before or something? Look at how scandalous they''re all acting.¡±

    Yun Yuqing couldn''t help but smile. ¡°If I recall correctly, this was also how he appeared when he rushed to the Jiang n to save you, right? He probably always shows himself like this. You were also really excited back then, so why do you now feel as if the Demon race¡¯s youngdies are exaggerating?¡±

    Jiang Luofu blushed, but as someone well versed in thew, she was good at talking and quickly said, ¡°My n was in a difficult situation, so that¡¯s why I was excited when I saw him, no matter how he appeared. Those youngdies who are screaming excitedly are clearly the aggressors and not in a terrible situation at all. Doesn¡¯t that mean this reaction is just a superficial one because of looks?¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi couldn''t help but say, ¡°But big brother Zu is really handsome, and the way he appears matches his style.¡±

    ¡°What Xiaoxi says is correct.¡± Xie Daoyun smiled, but she couldn''t help but sigh at Xiaoxi¡¯s innocence. Everything just soundedpletely natural, and no one would think anything else from what she said. Meanwhile, she was too embarrassed to praise Zu An in front of other women.

    ¡°He is indeed really handsome.¡± Yun Yuqing also had an infatuated smile.

    When she saw that all of the women around her had the same look, Jiang Luofu thought, <i>Is that guy really that deadly? Is his allure toward women that lethal?</i>

    Then, Yun Yuqing also snapped out of her daze. She began to exin the various forces of the Demon race to hide her lovestruck behavior.

    ¡°The one in front is my second uncle. In the past, he was jealous of my father...¡±

    ...

    Meanwhile, Zu An arrived on the battlefield. With a casual scan of the situation, he noticed the bound Suolun Shi and the raging mes below. He couldn''t help but feel a bit stunned.

    <i>Is this The Legend of the Condor Heroes or something...</i>

    The n masters had already seen Zu An before. The soldiers below who had never seen him were one thing, but they knew who he was.

    ¡°Why is the regent here?¡± The Yun n Master was shocked. He seemed to have said some bad things about Zu An just now, and he wondered if thetter had heard it. He said, ¡°Please excuse me for not going out to meet you, regent.¡±

    ¡°What is going on here? For now, release Princess Suolun first.¡± Zu An gave the burning tform a look. The Yun n Master''s words pulled him out of his memories of his previous world.

    Suolun Xing couldn''t help but be excited.

    <i>Now that the regent is here, Shi¡¯er can be saved, and the entire Suolun n will survive!</i>

    The other three n masters¡¯ expressions changed. ¡°Regent, this is something that has to do with our Demon race¡¯s internal affairs.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Zu An raised his brows. ¡°Could it be that my word is no longer that useful these days?¡±

    ¡°We naturally respect the King Court and the regent, but our various races arergely self-governed. This is also the agreement that the sessive Fiend Emperors and various leaders have agreed on for thousands of years. Thus, we will be troubling the regent to not take much interest in our internal affairs. Otherwise, the bnce maintained for thousands of years might be easily broken, and the confidence of the various races shaken. That would probably not be good for the Fiend races.¡±

    The expressions of everyone from the Suolun n immediately froze. They knew that was correct. The races were only loyal to the King Court in name. They worshiped the Fiend Emperor and epted his assignments. But at the same time, the King Court gave the various races a lot of freedom and courtesy. It had never interfered with the various races¡¯ internal affairs to prevent powerful retaliation that couldpletely destroy the political bnce.

    Suolun Xing felt despair take him.

    <i>Could it be that the heavens really want the Suolun n to end today?</i>

    After all, if one was given hope followed by disappointment, the feeling would only be worse than the initial pain.

    ¡°What a great usation you''re putting forth here.¡± Zu An sneered. He waved his hand toward the tform, and a gust of wind blew.

    Even the three n masters with their high cultivations almost lost their footing. They all used their ki and just barely maintained their bnce. Meanwhile, the mes below were instantly blown out.

    ¡°Hurry and capture the Suolun girl!¡± the Yun n Master hurriedly shouted.

    The moment he turned around, however, he waspletely stunned. There were only severed ropes left on the pole, and Suolun Shi was gone. She was already at Zu An¡¯s side.

    The women on the flying ship felt their hearts beating nervously. Only now did they sigh in relief.

    <i>Thank goodness he''s only holding her arm so she can stand next to him. He¡¯s not hugging that woman in his arms.</i>

    ¡°Big sister Yun, what''s the situation with this Princess Suolun? Are you close to her?¡± Ji Xiaoxi couldn''t help but ask.

    The other women immediately perked up their ears. Yun Yuqing¡¯s expression grew strange. ¡°I only know that she is the Suolun n¡¯s beloved daughter, known for her beauty and talent, but I am not close to her. After all, I usually stay on the human side.¡±

    ...

    Suolun Shi was already really excited even though she wasn¡¯t being carried in Zu An¡¯s arms. As she looked at him from the side, she became starry-eyed.

    The female warriors were all envious, wishing to be in her ce. If they were in despair and such a handsome man saved them, their reactions would probably be even crazier than hers right now, right?

    The Yun n Master was definitely not in the mood to think about love and gave Zu An a deep look instead. ¡°Is the regent determined to break the tacit understanding between the King Court and the various races? Do you insist on interfering with the Demon race¡¯s affairs?¡±

    Zu An said indifferently, ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to put thosebels on me. Princess Suolun is my friend, which is already enough reason in itself.¡±

    ¡°Just friendship alone is enough for you to outrageously interfere with the Demon race¡¯s internal affairs? I fear that the King Court won¡¯t agree once they find out,¡± the Yun n Master said gravely.

    Suolun Shi quickly said, ¡°Big brother Zu, this is already no longer a matter of the internal affairs of the Demon race. I suspect that they''re colluding with the alien monsters. This involves the survival of the entire Fiend races!¡± She didn¡¯t want big brother Zu¡¯s reputation to be tarnished because of her. She naturally wanted to speak up for him.

    Aboard the flying ship in the distance, Jiang Luofu nodded. This princess was intelligent after all, immediately providing Zu An with a justified reason for his actions.

    ¡°You lowly woman, you¡¯re speaking venomous nder!¡± The Yun n Master was furious.

    The other two n masters also spoke up in agreement.

    ¡°Niece, you cannot nder us with such crimes for the sake of your own safety!¡±

    ¡°Regent, you absolutely cannot listen to what she says. Her actions are merely that of a cornered dog driven to desperate action!¡±

    Suolun Shi¡¯s entire body shook. She was about to exin to Zu An when she saw his warm smile in return. He said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to say any more. I understand.¡±

    In that instant, Suolun Shi¡¯s resentment and anger vanished into thin smoke.

    <i>He understands me...</i>

    When he saw the two look at each other with such affection, the Yun n Master¡¯s brows twitched. He said in a serious tone, ¡°I believe that this matter should be reported to the King Court and we should let them make a decision.¡±

    ¡°There is no need for that.¡± Zu An paused for a moment before continuing, ¡°Because I have the final say in the King Court.¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

 Chapter 2291: True Intentions Revealed

    <h4>Chapter 2291: True Intentions Revealed</h4>

    The three n masters turned pale with fright when they heard that. The Yun n Master said gravely, ¡°I fear that the Fiend Emperor and the Second Empress might not be happy if they hear what the regent has just said, right? Furthermore, the King Court¡¯s elders might not acknowledge your words either.¡±

    ¡°You can ask whether or not they acknowledge these words yourself. But I think none of them would be opposed to my decision,¡± Zu An said calmly. ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell me about what''s going on with you now? Where is that True Demon? Why are you gathering the Four Symbols Stones?¡±

    The Wu and Rong n Masters were frightened. They both looked toward the Yun n Master.

    The Yun n Master¡¯s face darkened. ¡°Your respected self used to be a mere human. Due to coincidence and opportunity, you were able to ascend to the position of regent. You should be grateful to the new Fiend Emperor and the Second Empress, and yet you¡¯re acting so arrogant and despotic right now and not treating them with any respect; it''s as if you don''t even treat the entire King Court with any importance. Are you nning treason?¡±

    Suolun Shi couldn''t help but retort, ¡°What kind of nonsense are you speaking? It''s clearly what you''re doing that counts as treason!¡±

    ¡°Hah, I was wondering why this niece was so stubborn! So it was because you were bewitched by this human. You must¡¯ve lost your wits after seeing how handsome he was, making you lead the Suolun n down this incorrect path,¡± the Yun n Master said with a sneer.

    Suolun Shi¡¯s entire body shook. ¡°What kind of nonsense are you saying? I didn¡¯t!¡±

    ¡°Oh? Would you dare to make a vow in the name of the Demon Deity? Say that you aren¡¯t attracted to him, and that you don¡¯t like him?¡±

    ¡°I...¡± Suolun Shi was now at a loss. Her face became entirely red. How was she supposed to make such a vow? She did have a mysterious good impression toward big brother Zu, but it wasn¡¯t because of him that the Suolun n made this choice. But the worst part was that she couldn''t really exin those things.

    ¡°See, you have nothing to say now, right?¡± The Yun n Master sneered.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing like that!¡± Suolun Shi was embarrassed and nervous. Since she was next to Zu An, her brain seemed to be working a bit slower than normal. She didn¡¯t know how to reply.

    Zu An gently patted her shoulder and saidfortingly, ¡°You don¡¯t need to let him get to you.¡±

    Soon after, he turned around toward the direction of the flying ship. A strand of divine will asked Yun Yuqing, ¡°Yuqing, is this your second uncle?¡±

    The women on the ship had just been watching all the drama y out. When they heard what the Yun n Master said in particr, Jiang Luofu couldn''t help but say mockingly, ¡°That guy really goes around sowing his oats everywhere.¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi pouted. She felt a bit unhappy, and she didn¡¯t know exactly why.

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s expression was full of worry.

    <i>Why are there so many pretty women around big brother Zu?</i>

    Whenever she thought she already knew about all of them, a new one would suddenly pop up. Besides that, they were always so beautiful and outstanding even by themselves. It made her feel so much pressure!

    Yun Yuqing was also cursing inwardly. When she heard his voice, she immediately knew he was doing this for her sake. He didn¡¯t even say it out loud for everyone to hear. She asked Xie Daoyun, ¡°Miss Xie, can you drive the flying ship a bit closer?¡±

    Xie Daoyun voiced her agreement. The flying ship had been moving toward the battlefield this entire time so she could be helpful to big brother Zu. But he was too fast, so the ship had fallen behind. Now that she heard Yun Yuqing¡¯s request, she increased the speed again.

    As they got closer, Yun Yuqing got on her tiptoes, then dropped down toward to Zu An¡¯s side.

    When they saw her appear, the forces of both the three ns and the Suolun n were shocked.

    <i>Where did this womane from all of a sudden? Why is she so beautiful?</i>

    <i>Wait, she seems to have some traits of the Demon race...</i>

    Others wouldn''t necessarily know, but when they saw Yun Yuqing, the Yun n¡¯s expressions immediately changed. They recognized her instantly.

    Yun Yuqing moved over to Zu An¡¯s side and nodded toward Princess Suolun, who blinked in confusion.

    <i>Is this the Yun n¡¯s rumored...</i>

    ¡°Second uncle, big brother Zu was actually showing mercy for my sake the entire time. I hope second uncle can go back onto the right path,¡± Yun Yuqing advised in a gentle voice. She was also grateful that Zu An hadn¡¯t immediately used force.

    ¡°She is thete n master¡¯s daughter...¡± the Yun n¡¯s people all whispered to each other.

    Many people from the other ns also sized her up curiously. The previous Yun n Master was a legendary person. It was rumored that two of his daughters lived outside the n''s territory, and there were all sorts of mysterious rumors about them. None of those present had seen them personally.

    Someone had nominated Yun Yuqing during the n¡¯s saintess selection, but they couldn''t find her. That was why they had found a substitute. Fortunately, whether it was that person¡¯s figure or cultivation talent, she was an excellent choice, so they hadn¡¯t ended up being criticized for not having an appropriate saintess.

    <i>But this woman isn¡¯t bad either. Why is the Yun n¡¯s seed so good?</i>

    ¡°So it was Yuqing. What are you doing here?¡± The Yun n Master¡¯s eyelids twitched. He remembered that Yun Yuqing was supposed to be in the human capital, helping the Yun n¡¯s experts cooperate with King Wu to take over the human side! When he saw her suddenly appear in this ce, he had a bad premonition.

    Due to the the spatial element of this world being unstable, things like recording mirrors couldn''t be used. That was why he hadn¡¯t received news regarding what had happened in the capital yet.

    ¡°I missed home, so I decided toe and take a look. Still, I didn¡¯t expect to encounter something like this.¡± Yun Yuqing held Zu An¡¯s hand while introducing him. ¡°Second Uncle, this is big brother Zu. He''s now really strong. The humans, Fiends, and even the Ocean races listen to him.¡±

    The Yun n Master¡¯s face darkened. He ignored her introduction and instead asked, ¡°How are major affairs in the capital?¡±

    Yun Yuqing shook her head. ¡°With big brother Zu there, why would there be any major affairs?¡±

    The Yun n Master already guessed the truth. He was furious. ¡°Women should be married off when theye of age after all! It was only because you colluded with outsiders that our great n failed!¡±

    Zu An said, ¡°Oh, so you really were the ones causing trouble behind the scenes in the capital.¡±

    Yun Yuqing sighed and said to Zu An, ¡°Big brother Zu, do what you must. You don¡¯t have to worry about me.¡±

    Zu An nodded. He''d heard that because Yun Yuqing was the daughter of thete n master, this second uncle had carried out a wanton purge of her father¡¯s subordinates. He showed care toward her on the surface, but in reality, he wanted her to disappear as quickly as possible. For the sake of protecting herself, Yuqing had decisively chosen to be a spy on the human side. This second uncle had wanted to send her as far away as possible so that she wouldn¡¯t be able to influence his position as the n master.

    As such, there wasn¡¯t much affection shared between the two of them. On the contrary, there were grudges. Even so, Yuqing was still part of the Yun n, so Zu An had still held some misgivings.

    The Yun n Master suddenly ordered, ¡°Zu An has disrespected the royal family and his intent to rebel is clear. All of you, obey my orders and arrest this traitor!¡±

    The Yun n''s soldiers looked at each other in dismay. They were all hesitant. Still, the n master had loyal subordinates who immediately carried out their master¡¯s orders. All sorts of military attacks flew at Zu An.

    People often followed orders blindly; the Demon race was no exception. With the loyalists taking the lead, the soldiers who had previously hesitated also reflexively joined in the attack.

    All kinds of colors appeared in the night sky, painting it with bright light.

    On the flying ship, Ji Xiaoxi cried out. She nearly tipped over the side of the ship from worry.

    Jiang Luofu spoke up to reassure her. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, your big brother Zu is fine.¡±

    She had seen how Zu An fought in the capital. She knew he was now even stronger than thete Zhao Han. The current world¡¯s standards for cultivation were already meaningless to him.

    ¡°But this is still a proper army, and I heard that the Demon race''s people were all incredibly fierce.¡± Ji Xiaoxi was still really nervous. Even though she knew her big brother Zu was really formidable, the cultivation knowledge she had been raised on told her that an individual couldn''t face an entire army. When she saw Zu An face such a densely-packed army alone, she was full of worry.

    Xie Daoyun also tried tofort her with a smile. ¡°Xiaoxi, you¡¯re worrying too much. Big brother Zu An has survived just fine even in situations a hundred times more dangerous.¡±

    Just as she spoke, Zu An raised his hand on the other side.

    The eyes of all the soldiers on the battlefield almost popped out, as what happened next was something they had never seen before. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    As Zu An raised his hand, the countless lightsing from powerful army attacks suddenly stopped in midair when they came within ten meters of him, as if a pause button had been hit.

    But these lights weren¡¯t even physical substances!

 Chapter 2292: Shambles

    <h4>Chapter 2292: Shambles</h4>

    ¡°Big brother Zu really is handsome...¡± On the flying ship, Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s little face turned red and her eyes practically shone.

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s eyes were also shining brilliantly. Her rational mind always told her to quickly separate herself from big brother Zu, but whenever she saw him, the bit of willpower she painstakingly managed to gather would just as easily scatter.

    When she saw the reaction of the two youngdies and the female Demon race warriors in the distance, Jiang Luofu thought, <i>No wonder Zu An has so many lovers. </i>

    <i>If you¡¯re that handsome, forget about those youngdies, even I...</i>

    The women on the ship reacted dramatically enough, but Yun Yuqing and Suolun Shi were so excited that it was as if every pore on their entire body opened. Yun Yuqing was a bit morepose, as she had just seen him fight in the capital. But Suolun Shi¡¯s eyes were shining as she looked at Zu An. Then, she looked away guiltily. She wanted to keep looking at him, but was too embarrassed to stare too much.

    Zu An raised his hand, then clenched it into a fist. All of the techniques in the sky seemed to be crushed into a rainbow colored sphere of light by a vast invisible hand.

    The cultivators here were all shocked by the sight. After all, it would have been one thing if he managed to do that to physical arrows and spears, but these were magical attacks! And yet all of them were crushed as if they had physical form.

    On top of that, they could tell that power inside of the ball of light was flickering intensely. It was clearly already on the verge of going berserk, as if it would explode at a moment¡¯s notice. After all, these were attacks from several armies'' worth of cultivators, so they were enough to destroy an entire opposing force. And yet, all of them were now being crushed into such a small sphere. It was easy to imagine just how great their explosive power would be! It was likely that half of the people here would end up losing their lives.

    Almost everyone reflexively stepped back. They all wanted to keep some distance away from the terrifying ball of power.

    <i>This guy doesn¡¯t even care about his life anymore, all for the sake of chasing after women!</i>

    <i>Just go to hell!</i>

    The three n masters watched expectantly, hoping to see a brilliant explosion of fireworks.

    But the next second, everyone¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief. The terrifying explosion didn¡¯t happen. With a gentle clench of Zu An¡¯s hand, the ball of energy that was on the brink of exploding just... shattered.

    Right, it just shattered, in a way that was really difficult to describe with words. It was as if all of the power waspletely destroyed in an instant. That didn¡¯t match the principles of the techniques these cultivators had spent their entire lives learning at all! Just how was Zu An doing this?

    Just then, Zu An swept out his sleeves, and a powerful gust of wind immediately appeared. The soldiers of the three Demon race ns could no longer stand steadily, and were tossed to and fro. The military formations they had tried to maintain were soon all gone.

    A calm voice echoed in the skies above. ¡°I will let bygones be bygones if you end this here. If you remain stubborn, you cannot me me for being ruthless.¡±

    When they heard what he said, many soldiers threw the weapons in their hands away. With them taking the lead, the sounds of weapons falling quickly rang out across the battlefield. Even many of the three n masters¡¯ personal troops dropped their weapons.

    <i>Are you kidding me right now? Forget about the fact that he''s the Fiend races'' regent, with the terrifying strength he just disyed, isn¡¯t going against him just courting death?</i>

    Cheers erupted from Suolun City when they saw this scene. In contrast, the three n masters¡¯ eyelids twitched.

    The Yun n Master stared at Zu An, his eyes full of fear. He said to his twopanions, ¡°Brother Rong, Brother Wu, if we work together and use all of our trump cards, we might not lose to him.¡±

    But there was still no response even after a second had passed. He turned around and saw that the Rong and Wu n masters were already far away from him. They were already surrounding him next to Zu An.

    The Rong n master said with an embarrassed smile, ¡°Old Yun, I feel that your actions are a bit too extreme.¡±

    The Wu n master also said in agreement, ¡°That¡¯s right, he is the Fiend races'' regent. How can we treat the regent with disrespect?¡±

    The Yun n master was speechless.

    <i>You two shameless opportunists!</i>

    ¡°In that case, I hope that the regent won¡¯t mind any offenses I havemitted previously too much.¡± The Yun n Master''s serious expression gave way to an obsequious smile. He walked up to Zu An and continued, ¡°With your rtionship with Yuqing, we are all one family, right? Hahaha.¡±

    The Rong and Wu n Masters were stunned.

    <i>Does this guy have any sense of shame? He was criticizing us just a moment ago! He really is someone special!</i>

    Yun Yuqing¡¯s beautiful brows furrowed slightly. Her Second Uncle¡¯s behavior thatcked all integrity really was humiliating.

    Just then, something strange happened. As the Yun n Master approached Zu An, he suddenlyunched palm strikes forward. In that instant, his body suddenly changed, bing covered in ck scales. Countless bony spurs emerged along his back, forehead, and elbows.

    Following his attack, an Azure Dragon projection appeared in the sky. It roared and charged at Zu An. Compared to the giant dragon, Zu An looked extremely small and weak. The pressure that filled the world in that instant filled all of the soldiers and n masters with horror. It was as if the Fiend Emperor hade back to life! Since when did this guy suddenly have such powerful cultivation?

    ¡°Big brother Zu!¡± Ji Xiaoxi screamed.

    Jiang Luofu was quite experienced; for some time, she had already been prepared to help Zu An at a moment¡¯s notice. She had already prepared her skills and taken out her magic weapons. A pair of scales that represented the fairness of thew appeared in the sky, and smashed straight into the Azure Dragon projection.

    The Azure Dragon staggered from the force. However, it released a roar and quickly smashed the scales away.

    Xie Daoyun acted at the same time, but the talismans she used were a bit slower. Fortunately, she had Jiang Luofu to help her buy a bit of time.

    Suddenly, celestial troops appeared in the sky. The massive figures grabbed the Azure Dragon projection and held it in ce. The Azure Dragon struggled frantically, but just then, a giant golden-armored spirit swung an axe, chopping the dragon into several segments.

    It was the Record of Emperor¡¯s Suppression!

    Xie Daoyun had studied the talisman carefully. Thanks to the pointers she''d received from Zu An and her teacher from time to time, she was already able to use about thirty percent of the talisman¡¯s power.

    As the Azure Dragon projection disappeared, the Yun n Master was seriously injured. He vomited blood and fell from the sky. His heart was in shambles. He''d thought that the strength he had umted would be able to hurt Zu An, but thetter hadn''t even lifted a finger, only relying on the women around him to defeat him.

    It wasn¡¯t just him, though. The women also felt defeated.

    Suolun Shi in particr was thinking that the women around big brother Zu were not only pretty, they were all so formidable. Why would he like an ugly duckling like her?

    If the Demon race¡¯s people heard what she was thinking, many people would no doubt start shouting in protest. After all, Princess Suolun had always been known for her beauty and intelligence. She was the target of countless demon men¡¯s dreams. The Suolun n had been able to fend off the attacks of the three other nsrgely because they were fighting for her sake. Who could have imagined that the goddess of their dreams would actually feel so inferior in front of another man?

    Yun Yuqing gave Xie Daoyun a few looks.

    <i>Along the way, she looked delicate and bookish, and she didn¡¯t seem to be much of a threat. But she was actually this strong?</i>

    Ji Xiaoxi was the one who felt the most dispirited. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    <i>Big brother Zu has so many pretty and amazing big sisters. They¡¯re not like me, someone who can¡¯t even help at all.</i>

    She''d just discovered that even though it hadn¡¯t been many years since she and big brother Zu separated, he had already grown so fast that she couldn''t even see his back anymore.

    <i>Sigh, I miss the time when big brother Zu and I were gathering medicine in the mountains together.</i>

    ...

    Even though Zu An¡¯s cultivation was powerful, there was no way he could sense what every single woman was thinking. He quickly moved over to the Yun n Master¡¯s side. He looked at the scales and bony outgrowths on thetter''s back and asked, ¡°Was this power given to you by the Demon Deity you spoke of?¡±

    The Yun n Master coughed out a mouthful of blood. He looked away and said, ¡°History is written by the victors. I have nothing to say to you.¡±

    ¡°Where''s that True Demon emissary you were talking about? Why don¡¯t I see him?¡± Zu An asked the question he wanted to know the answer to the most. He had searched around the battlefield earlier but didn¡¯t see anything that resembled this True Demon.

 Chapter 2293: Transport Formation

    <h4>Chapter 2293: Transport Formation</h4>

    The Yun n Master looked up and said, ¡°Since I¡¯ve already ended up in your hands, you can do what you want with me, whether it''s taking my life or torturing me. Why would I answer your questions for the sake of living?!¡±

    The Wu n Master said with an apologetic smile, ¡°Responding to the regent, the True Demon Emissary didn¡¯t follow us here.¡±

    The Rong n Master also had a fawning smile as he added, ¡°That¡¯s right, the True Demon is in the Yun n ancestralnd, doing who knows what. That Yun guy has always remained mysterious and refused to tell us.¡±

    The Yun n Master was speechless.

    <i>You motherf*ckers!</i>

    <i>Do you really not have a shred of integrity?!</i>

    <i>You¡¯re putting this old one in such an embarrassing position!</i>

    He had wanted to speak a few ''unyielding'' words, and then with the help of his niece Yun Yuqing, he would be able to find a way to get out of this situation. They were all from the Yun n, after all, and the regent had to care about his reputation, right?

    But the Rong and Wu n Masters had both taken the initiative to speak up. What was he supposed to do now? This made it so his information lost all negotiation value! When he realized that, he finally began to panic.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Zu An gave the two n masters a look. ¡°Then has that True Demon Emissary activated your bloodlines too, and given you simr powers?¡±

    The Azure Dragon projection the Yun n Master had manifested was quite strong. However, the Record of Emperor¡¯s Suppression that Xie Daoyun had obtained was a bit too ridiculous.

    On the other hand, the Azure Dragon projection gave Zu An a sense of familiarity. White Jing Teng¡¯s skill was able to summon an Azure Dragon into battle too, but the power she could wield was greater.

    The Wu and Rong n Masters reflexively wanted to say no, but when they saw that the Yun n Master was ready to expose them at a moment¡¯s notice, they could only obediently reply, ¡°The True Demon Emissary has indeed granted us this kind of power, but we¡¯ve never used it before.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I always felt that this power was a bit suspicious. We''ve never heard of a technique like this in our n''s several thousand years of history. Cultivation is always obtained through diligent training, yet now, one''s strength can suddenly make incredible progress just because someone did something? We''ve always been a bit fearful that this might be some skill that uses one''s lifespan as the cost and that we could be paying a price we don''t know about, which is why we¡¯ve never used it.¡±

    When she heard what they said, Suolun Shi almost rolled her eyes.

    <i>That¡¯s not what these two were saying before.</i>

    After all, she had previously left the city in secret to seek them out, thinking she could persuade them. She figured they were smart as well and understood the dangers of letting the Suolun n fall. However, when the two of them heard that she had arrived, they''d appeared to receive her happily, but then immediately sold her out without any hesitation. The look on their faces when they spoke to that True Demon Emissary or whatever had been incredibly loyal and devoted!

    Of course, she wouldn¡¯t deliberately expose the two of them over this and drive them to desperation. Even though big brother Zu wasn¡¯t scared of them, that would definitely cause unnecessary trouble.

    But the Yun n Master definitely didn¡¯t have such misgivings. He immediately cursed them furiously, ¡°You damned opportunists! When the True Demon Emissary enlightened the two of you, weren¡¯t you moved to tears? And yet now, you¡¯re saying something like this? The Demon Deity and True Demon Emissary won¡¯t let the two of you off! Your souls will never be able to transcend!¡±

    The two n masters¡¯ expressions changed a bit when they heard him curse them. They were clearly scared of that kind of situation too.

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t worry about others being unable to transcend. Worry about yourself first.¡± Zu An gave the Yun n Master a look before continuing, ¡°What is this True Demon Emissary anyway? Describe him to me a bit.¡±

    While the Yun n Master hesitated, the other two n masters immediately strived to be the first to exin. ¡°The True Demon Emissary appeared in the Demon Race a few months ago. He looks like an elegant, handsome young master.

    ¡°Of course, he''s only a little handsome. He isn¡¯t even worth mentioning before the regent¡¯s handsomeness.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He snapped, ¡°Tell me the important traits!¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes, of course.¡± The Rong n Master searched his memories and replied, ¡°When he first came to us, he just seemed like an ordinary pretty boy, and no one treated him as a big deal. However, once he enlightened some ordinary Demon race people and made them as strong as the most powerful elders of the ns, we could no longer stay away.¡±

    ¡°We all treated him with great gifts, but he was in the Yun n¡¯s territory, so the Yun n benefited first.¡±

    The Wu n Master immediately retorted, ¡°What benefit? That was clearly the Yun n¡¯s misfortune!¡± n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°That¡¯s right, that¡¯s right. It now seems that the other ns, such as ours, are the ones who were blessed,¡± the Rong n Master immediately said.

    The Yun n Master was speechless.

    ¡°Later, under the Yun n¡¯s influence, everyone epted the idea that he was the True Demon Emissary and came to our world in ce of the Demon Deity. Something really was wrong with us before, and we blindly trusted his words. We thought we could go to his True Demon World and receive the Demon Deity¡¯s true inheritance, and thus receive a true transcendent rebirth,¡± the Wu n Master continued.

    ¡°I heard that he wanted a lot of cultivation resources from you?¡± Zu An sneered. ¡°If he really is that amazing, why would he need your cultivation resources?¡±

    ¡°At first, we thought he was fake as well, but his ability to activate the Demon race¡¯s bloodline couldn''t be faked. Furthermore, ording to what he was saying, the cultivation resources we gave him represented the degree of faith we had toward the Demon Deity. Even though cultivation resources are extremely precious to us, our ns have umted for thousands of years and were able to afford this price. That¡¯s why we decided to give it a try,¡± the Rong n Master replied, ¡°Later, he exchanged gifts for favors. Many people in our ns were enlightened, so everyone was happy. We became more and more enthusiastic in our gifts.¡±

    ¡°But it¡¯s one thing if he just wanted some cultivation resources; the other things he asked for were a bit strange,¡± the Wu n Master suddenly said.

    ¡°What was it?¡± Even Yun Yuqing was a bit curious now.

    ¡°He wanted a lot of meat and living creatures. It was as if he''d been starved for several lifetimes. We were wondering if it was because he hadn¡¯t tried these things in his world and liked them a lot,¡± the Wu n Master said with a chuckle.

    Zu An frowned slightly. This request was indeed strange. He wasn¡¯t really able to figure out why, though, so his attention returned to more pressing matters. ¡°Then apart from the cultivation resources, why did he want the Four Symbols Stones from your ns?¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t know about that. We can only ask him, because he was the one who told us all these things.¡± The two n masters looked at the Yun n Master.

    At first, the Yun n Master wanted to remain stubborn. But when he saw Zu An look down on him like a divine being, he suddenly trembled all over. That lowly niece of his hadn''t spoken up for him at all. The Wu and Rong n Masters were two opportunists too, so if he still didn¡¯t provide any value, perhaps he really wouldn''t be able to see tomorrow.

    As such, he could only reply, ¡°The True Demon Emissary didn¡¯t tell me exactly what they were for, but because he''s staying in the Yun n''s territory, I deduced from the materials and intelligence I gathered that he should be constructing some kind of transport formation. That formation is more mysterious than anything I¡¯ve seen and seems to be connected to another world. The most important parts of the formation core are the Four Symbols Stones.¡±

    Zu An was surprised. He hadn¡¯t expected the man to be so cooperative. But this was a good thing, of course.

    The True Demon Emissary¡¯s transport formation was a potential danger. He had turned on the world barrier to stop the outside monsters froming in, but if there was something wrong inside the world and a special transport formation was built, it could potentially still open a pathway to the monsters'' world.

    ¡°Lead the way! We¡¯re heading to the Yun n immediately to take a look!¡± He needed to personally see this transport formation for himself.

    ...

    On the flying ship, Jiang Luofu walked up to Xie Daoyun¡¯s side. ¡°Daoyun, what¡¯s wrong? Why are you so beside yourself?¡±

    Xie Daoyun rubbed her temples and forced a smile. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. It might be the talisman being a bit taxing on my body.¡±

    When she heard the words Four Symbols Stones, she couldn''t help but feel a sense of familiarity. But there was no reason for her to have heard of them before!

 Chapter 2294: An Unexpected Coincidence

    <h4>Chapter 2294: An Unexpected Coincidence</h4>

    Some unclear messages seemed to have appeared in Xie Daoyun¡¯s mind. She tried to make sense of it, but there seemed to be a thick fog separating that information from her awareness. She couldn''t see the contents inside clearly at all.

    She suddenly felt a stinging pain in her head, then staggered and couldn''t stand still anymore.

    ¡°Are you really okay?¡± Jiang Luofu asked while supporting Daoyun. She noticed that thetter''s hands were ice-cold and felt really worried.

    At that moment, Ji Xiaoxi appeared next to Daoyun. She quickly checked thetter''s pulse, then took out a small white pill to feed her. ¡°Big sister Xie, this medicine can help you regain mental energy. Your mind has been exhausted too severely, and this medicine can help you.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Xiaoxi.¡± Xie Daoyun swallowed the pill and felt a refreshing sensation spread from her throat. Then, it entered her head and made her stressed and tense mind immediately clear up. She couldn''t help but be amazed. Ji Xiaoxi had obtained her father¡¯s real inheritance after all! Her medicinal skills were incredible.

    ¡°You absolutely can''t use what you just did recklessly in the future. Even though it''s powerful, it¡¯s still too much for your current cultivation,¡± Jiang Luofu reminded Daoyun with a frown.

    ¡°Thank you, martial aunt.¡± Xie Daoyun felt warm inside when she sensed her concern. But the earlier situation was way too strange. She didn¡¯t know how to exin it.

    Jiang Luofu said with a smile, ¡°You can just call me big sister. Calling me martial aunt suddenly makes me feel really old.¡±

    ¡°But...¡± Xie Daoyun was a bit troubled. Jiang Luofu was her master''s martial sister. If she called her big sister and the people at the academy heard it, they would criticize her for being impolite.

    Jiang Luofu could see through her misgivings and said, ¡°We can change the address depending on where we are. Call me martial aunt at the academy, but you can just call me big sister in private.¡± n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Okay.¡± Xie Daoyun¡¯s face reddened. She was really grateful to Jiang Luofu. In the past, as the principal of Brightmoon Academy, Jiang Luofu had always taken good care of her, and it was the same in the academy. She had always really admired Jiang Luofu for her carefree and independent way of living.

    ¡°Then let me hear you call me big sister already,¡± Jiang Luofu said with a smile.

    ¡°Big siste,¡± Xie Daoyun said, still a bit shy.

    ¡°You¡¯re really a good girl.¡± Jiang Luofu pinched Xie Daoyun¡¯s cheeks.

    Ji Xiaoxi was about to cry, protesting, ¡°Ah, then wouldn''t I have to call her aunt in the future?¡±

    She''d been of equal standing with Xie Daoyun before, but if Daoyun was now the little sister of her little aunt, didn¡¯t that suddenly make her a generation younger?

    Jiang Luofu¡¯s usually cold face now had a trace of a smile. ¡°You guys can just continue calling each other the same way. You don¡¯t have to worry about these things.¡±

    Xie Daoyun also held Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s hand and continued to call her little sister. Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s sadness finally turned toughter.

    ...

    Meanwhile, based on the information he had just obtained, Zu An decided to pay the Yun n a visit.

    The Suolun n Master hurried over, first thanking Zu An with incredible sincerity, then taking out the White Tiger Stone and handing it over. ¡°Since the True Demon Emissary wants this item, something big will definitely happen when the Four Symbols Stones are gathered. Bringing this along might be of use to you.¡±

    The Yun n Master¡¯s eyes widened. He waspletely stupefied. After all, he had tried everything, using both the carrot and the stick for the sake of the White Tiger Stone. He''d joined up with the other two ns and met on the battlefield, losing so many people as a result, and yet the Suolun n Master hadgiven it to Zu An just like that!

    Zu An didn¡¯t refuse, as he also wanted to find out what secrets these Four Symbols Stones had. When he received the White Tiger Stone and gave it a look, he saw that it was about the size of a piece of jade. There was a white tiger pattern on it, but it seemed to have naturally formed rather than being carved. He couldn''t tell what kind of material the stone was made of; it was icy cool to the touch, but seemed to carry a fierce and harsh nature behind it that probably came from the white tiger pattern.

    ¡°This thing is indeed mysterious...¡± Zu An sighed.

    Just then, the Suolun n Master said, ¡°By the way, the True Demon Emissary wanted the four ns to offer up saintesses, which means they must have an important use too. Shi¡¯er is the Suolun n¡¯s most precious saintess, so she should also follow the regent to the Yun n and take a look. She will listen to what the regent asks of her.¡±

    The other three ns immediately raised their eyebrows. They''d thought that Suolun Xing was a hot-headed and impulsive person, but now, it seemed he was actually incredibly cunning! Helping the regent? He was clearly just giving out his daughter, to give her more opportunities! If she spent more time with him, with Suolun Shi¡¯s appearance and intelligence, it wouldn¡¯t be that hard to gain the regent¡¯s favor.

    Suolun Shi was a smart woman, so she naturally knew what her father was thinking. Her pretty face immediately became entirely red. She was naturally willing to follow the regent, but her reservation as a youngdy still made it a bit hard for her to agree in front of so many people.

    Fortunately, Zu An nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s not a bad idea. Then, we¡¯ll take her to the Yun n''s territory. I want to see just what that True Demon Emissary is up to.¡±

    Suolun Shi sighed in relief when she heard that, saying, ¡°I am willing to help the regent!¡±

    The other ns naturally weren¡¯t opposed to the n, so the matter was decided. Thus, Suolun Xing stayed behind to clear up the mess, while Zu An took the other three n Masters on the flying ship to hurry to the Yun n''s territory.

    When they got onto the flying ship, the Rong and Wu n Masters were amazed. At the same time, they thought to themselves that it was no wonder the humans were so powerful. They were always able toe up with all sorts of ridiculous inventions.

    Zu An then began to question the Yun n Master. With how things stood, thetter acknowledged his fate and answered almost everything. All he sought was to be able to keep his life.

    ¡°By the way, just what is going on with this Yun n saintess?¡± Zu An suddenly remembered that after considering Suolun Shi''s circumstances.

    Yun Yuqing was also curious. Just where had the Yun n gone to find such a perfect saintess candidate?

    The Yun n Master replied, ¡°She is indeed of the Yun n bloodline. Actually, she has a bit of a connection with Yuqing.¡±

    ¡°With me?¡± Yun Yuqing¡¯s first assumption was that it was Yun Jianyue, but she immediately rejected that suspicion. The two of them had been together in the capital, so the timing didn¡¯t match up.

    ¡°She is your aunt¡¯s daughter.¡± The Yun n Master sighed deeply.

    ¡°My aunt!¡± Yun Yuqing¡¯s expression changed.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Your aunt and your father had simr natures. They were both willful and rash. Your father had all kinds of affairs everywhere, and your aunt was also always chasing some kind of love.¡± The Yun n Master started sounding angry as he spoke. ¡°Then, your aunt went to the human world and actually ended up falling in love with a human, even giving birth to a child. Unfortunately, she chose the wrong person and she met a terrible end.¡±

    The Yun n Master had a hint of mockery on his face as he continued, ¡°If she had just followed the n¡¯s arrangements and married the one we chose for her, she might already have been an important individual among the Fiend races by now. Yet in order to chase some fleeting love, she ended up losing her very life. It truly isughable!¡±

    Yun Yuqing was feeling a bit sad when she heard about her aunt¡¯s fate, but Zu An had a strange expression as he asked, ¡°Your Yun n¡¯s saintess isn¡¯t surnamed Pei, is she?¡±

    ¡°How did you know?¡± The Yun n Master was a bit surprised. ¡°Her name is Pei Mianman. But we changed her surname to Yun, because the saintesses should be from our respective ns.¡±

 Chapter 2295: Fight For the Saintessâ€™ Sake

    <h4>Chapter 2295: Fight For the Saintess¡¯ Sake</h4>

    Zu An had just received Jadefall Pce¡¯ message a few days earlier. The message said that Pei Mianman had left behind a letter saying she was going away, and her current whereabouts were unknown. Back then, he''d been worried about her safety, but he hadn¡¯t expected to actually find out where she was this way.

    He quickly asked, ¡°Where is this Pei Mianman now?¡±

    For some mysterious reason, the four great ns had needed to choose a saintess. He didn¡¯t know if she was in danger.

    The Yun n Master replied, ¡°She said she wanted to find traces of where her mother had been in life, so that was why she chose to wander around the Demon race''s territory. They were all ces where her mother had previously lived, studied, and even done great deeds. When she finished doing all of that, she would thene back and fulfill her obligations as the saintess. Since the Suolun n¡¯s matter hadn¡¯t been dealt with yet, I agreed to her request.¡±

    When he heard that she wasn¡¯t in the Yun n''s territory, Zu An couldn''t help but sigh in relief. After all, the mysterious True Demon Emissary was also there. If Pei Mianman was caught unprepared, she could. fall for their schemes.

    ¡°Thinking about the amount of time that has passed, she should be returning to the Yun n soon,¡± the Yun n Master suddenly said, making Zu An nervous again.

    He summoned the power of the world. Powerful winds appeared around the flying ship, propelling it forward at several times the speed.

    The Demon race¡¯s people were shocked.

    <i>This person really is unfathomable! He can actually change the state of the world at will!</i>

    The women, meanwhile, were already used to this. They thought to themselves that this Peidy was definitely important to big brother Zu.

    ...

    Meanwhile, in the Yun n¡¯s ancestralnd, Pei Mianman had just asked a maid a few questions, learning that the Yun n Master had allied with the other two ns to attack the Suolun n. She frowned. After she had the maid leave, she continued to pace, muttering, ¡°The Demon race¡¯s situation seems a bit strange. That True Demon Emissary is probably an alien monster. I need to contact Ah Zu as quickly as possible to make sure nothing strange happens in this world. I¡¯ve already more or less finished investigating my mother¡¯s affairs, anyway. Staying here any further will be meaningless.¡±

    At first, she hadn¡¯t known about this True Demon Emissary and just sensed that things were strange among the Demon race, so she had done her investigation in secret. Only then had she uncovered his existence. She considered staying behind to quietly ruin the True Demon Emissary¡¯s ns, but after careful deliberation, she gave up on that idea. She didn¡¯t have much information on this True Demon Emissary. If she thought herself clever and ended up in danger instead, and Ah Zu had toe to save her, that would be reallyughable. Since the Suolun n was resisting and they couldn''t gather the Four Symbols Stones yet, contacting Ah Zu first was the most important thing.

    After thinking through these things, she didn¡¯t hesitate. She opened the door and prepared to leave in the night.

    But who would have thought that as soon as she opened the door, there would be a man standing there? He was handsome, but his long and slender brows, as well as his thin lips, made him seem a bit sinister. There was a slightly narcissistic smile on his face as he asked, ¡°Where is the saintess nning on going right now?¡±

    Pei Mianman reflexively took a few steps back to stay farther away from him. ¡°I wonder what brings the emissary here sote in the evening?¡±

    ¡°For certain reasons, the things I have been working on recently have been unable to progress, so I decided to go on a walk to see if it could bring me some more rity,¡± said the True Demon Emissary.

    Pei Mianman replied coldly, ¡°If the emissary is searching for rity, why did youe all the way here to me?¡±

    ¡°I have heard a lot of rumors praising the Yun n saintess for her beauty. Now that I have seen you today, I feel that the reputation is fully deserved.¡± The True Demon Emissary gave her stunning features a look. Then, his eyes shifted to her voluptuous chest.

    <i>This woman¡¯s figure really is the cream of the crop.</i>

    He bowed slightly in greeting. ¡°The moonlight is quite nice tonight. I wonder if the saintess is willing to appreciate it with me today?¡±

    ¡°I fear that won¡¯t be too convenient.¡± Pei Mianman directly refused. ¡°We saintesses came to serve the Demon Deity and cannot be touched by another man. The emissary is no exception to this.¡±

    She was going to close the door after saying that, but the True Demon Emissary¡¯s hand pressed against it. He said, ¡°The saintess¡¯ words are quite uninteresting. We are all intelligent people, so there is no need to y pretend like that.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Pei Mianman frowned slightly.

    The True Demon Emissary smiled as he looked at her stunning features. A hint of greed shed through his eyes. ¡°The Demon race¡¯s saintesses are all chosen to serve the Demon Deity. Putting aside the other conditions, they must be pure and spotless virgins. But you... Is that still true for you?¡±

    Pei Mianman was shocked. She naturally understood this point. Back when they were in the secret dungeon, she had held all kinds of identities, and had her first time taken by that Zu An several times. But for various reasons, this was a secret that had always remained between the two of them.

    Before she could say anything, the True Demon Emissary said, ¡°If everyone were to find out that the Yun n¡¯s saintess has already lost her chastity, what consequences would that bring about? The entire Yun n would be a joke, and the other three ns would use that as a reason to attack the Yun n. The Suolun n¡¯s present experience would be the Yun n¡¯s future.¡±

    Pei Mianman harrumphed. ¡°What does that have to do with me?¡±

    ¡°You are someone from the Yun n, after all. Do you not have any sense of honor for your n?¡± The True Demon Emissary was stunned. He was suddenly at a loss from her reaction.

    But he reacted quickly. There were some people who only cared about their own interests and wouldn¡¯t care about their n, after all. As such, he changed his tactics. ¡°Apart from the Yun n bing the target of criticism, you will also be a sphemer of the deity. There will be no ce left for you in the entire Demon race, and your end will be miserable. You will experience the cruelest punishment the Demon race has handed down in history.¡±

    He paused for a moment, then continued with a sinister smile, ¡°That is why you don¡¯t want your secret to be known by anyone else, right?¡±

    In his mind, he felt that she had to be incredibly scared right now. Soon, she would beg him for mercy. As long as he hinted that there was a way to save her, this outstanding beauty would obey his every wish.

    But Pei Mianman only sneered and replied, ¡°Are you done yet? Just get lost if you are; my bed is waiting for me!¡±

    Why would she care if there was no ce left in the Demon race for her? She didn¡¯t even want to stay here in the first ce. She knew fully well what this True Demon Emissary was nning, and she only felt disgust.

    <i>Bang!</i>

    Just like that, the door mmed shut. The True Demon Emissary was just about to walk forward when it mmed into his nose, leaving him practically about to cry from the pain. After a moment of shock, he was furious. He kicked the door flying.

    However, what met him was a blossoming ck rose of fire that was filled with the energy of destruction. Even the True Demon Emissary had no choice but to take a step back. The ck mes were at an extremely high level, especially the faintly visible ck butterfly inside that he felt apprehensive about.

    He had to admit that she was the most qualified youngdy to be the saintess from the Demon race. Only, who had ended up taking her first time? When he saw the outstanding features and stunning figure of this youngdy, he even started to be a bit jealous of that man. Just how blessed was that person?

    ¡°Saintess, what is happening?¡±

    Guards rushed over when they heard the disturbance.

    ¡°This guy came here in the middle of the night to do disrespectful things to me!¡± Pei Mianman hurriedly said.

    The guards were furious. After all, with Pei Mianman¡¯s appearance and identity, even though she had only been in the Yun n for a short time, she already had a lot of admirers and fans. How could they still stand it when they learned that she was almost attacked? They drew their weapons and charged at the emissary.

    When he saw this, the True Demon Emissary shouted, ¡°This saintess is fake! She is not a virgin, but a sphemer of the deity! Arrest her!¡± n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    However, he was soon stunned, because no one listened to his orders. Instead, all of them cursed him for being a criminal, saying that he was ndering their saintess. Only then did he realize that in order to preserve his secret, he had kept his real identity from all but a few people. These soldiers would naturally trust the saintess instead.

    He felt incredibly annoyed when he thought about all the things that were going wrong today. ¡°Get out of my sight!¡±

    An invisible force spread in all directions. Soon after, the brains of the guards at the very front exploded into a bloody mist, and they instantly lost their lives.

    ¡°Saintess, please hurry and leave. We¡¯ll hold him off here!¡± The remaining guards were rmed and shocked, but none of them were scared. Those who could be chosen to be the saintess¡¯ guards were all the most outstanding and brave men of the entire n, after all.

    Just then, a beautiful figure rushed up to the True Demon Emissary to save the soldiers that were about to be killed. Pei Mianman remarked calmly, ¡°Am I the kind of person to sacrifice the lives of others for my own survival? We¡¯ll just fight if we have to!¡±

    Immediately after, roses of me bloomed one after another, a ck butterfly fluttering around the flowers. Her aura erupted powerfully, and in that instant, it was no weaker than the True Demon Emissary¡¯s.

    The remaining guards were all inspired. They brandished their weapons and shouted, ¡°We¡¯ll fight for the saintess!¡±

    The True Demon Emissary¡¯s expression changed. He naturally didn¡¯t fear these people, but his miscalctions had already blown the situation out of proportion. He''d thought that Pei Mianman wouldpromise. How could he have known that she would be so fierce and stubborn?

    He could hear that the entire Yun n was already on alert. If all those people ran over to provide aid, he would be forced into a very passive position. After all, very few people knew who he was!

    He already considered the entire Yun n his private property. Killing them off would really be too heartbreaking. Thus, he decided to wait until the Yun n Master returned first.

    He gave Pei Mianman a look. ¡°The saintess has really earned a whole new level of respect from me. However, I will return. In the end, you will be mine!¡±

    He turned into a puff of ck smoke and disappeared.

 Chapter 2296: Reunion

    <h4>Chapter 2296: Reunion</h4>

    ¡°Just who is this person? He actually dares to nder the saintess? He¡¯s not regarding our Yun n with any importance!" N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°It isn¡¯t just the Yun n, they''re disrespecting the entire Demon race!¡±

    ...

    When they heard the words the True Demon Emissary spoke before he left, the guards were furious. Only a few elders who had hurried over guessed the true identity of that person. They couldn''t help but worry.

    After some hesitation, Pei Mianman decided not to reveal his identity. She didn¡¯t use the chance to leave either, instead staying behind to help take care of the deceased and treat the injured. After all, these people had died while helping her.

    The guards were all moved to tears when they saw how considerate she was. The prestige of the ¡®saintess¡¯ only climbed higher as a result.

    ...

    Meanwhile, the True Demon Emissary got angrier and angrier the more he thought about it. A setback had ended up happening with a beauty he''d expected to obtain easily. Now, because of the huge disturbance, the Yun n¡¯s attention would be focused on the saintess. It wouldn¡¯t be so easy for him to head over again. That was, unless hepletely gave up on his ns to acquire the entire Yun n.

    He had ended up being carried away by a whim today, but he still knew what was more important. That thing was still top priority. Everything else had to wait.

    When he thought of Pei Mianman¡¯s stunning beauty, the True Demon Emissary felt a strong itch. Subduing a thorned rose could only bring an even greater feeling of achievement, after all. But all that would have to wait until the Yun n Master returned. Once he showed himself, what resistance would that saintess be able to put up?

    ...

    As the saying went, ask and you shall receive. The next morning, the True Demon Emissary received news that the Yun n Master was returning. He was a bit surprised. ording to earlier intelligence, it should have been at least half a month before he would return!

    But this was good news. If the n master was returning earlier, that meant the battle had gone smoothly, and that he had already obtained the White Tiger Stone. Furthermore, he could now make the Yun n Master offer up the saintess immediately. Good things really happened in pairs!

    Compared to the excited True Demon Emissary, Pei Mianman was feeling both furious and cold-hearted. She hadn¡¯t expected the Yun n Master to return so soon. Other people didn''t know the True Demon Emissary¡¯s identity, but she did. Once the Yun n Master gave out his orders, who inside the Yun n would still help her?

    As soon as she thought of that, she didn¡¯t dare to hesitate and moved to escape the Yun n residence. She chose a secluded small path, but she froze as soon as she was about to jump over the wall.

    The True Demon Emissary was already standing right in front of her! When he saw Pei Mianman, he smiled cruelly. ¡°Where is the saintess going in such a rush?¡±

    ¡°How did you know that I would go this way?¡± Pei Mianman asked to stall for time. She examined her surroundings, but she didn¡¯t see any chance to get away.

    ¡°I was made a fool by youst night, so you were the only thing on my mind. There was no way I wouldn¡¯t pay close attention to what you were doing.¡± The True Demon Emissary saw through her intentions, but he didn¡¯t care. She was weaker than him, and the Yun n Master had now returned.

    <i>The situation ispletely in my favor. Why would I care if she''s stalling for time?</i>

    ¡°If the entire Yun n is alerted, you probably won¡¯t be able to continue hiding your identity anymore,¡± Pei Mianman said to try to intimidate the True Demon Emissary.

    ¡°Are you still trying to intimidate me?¡± The True Demon Emissaryughed. ¡°The Yun n Master has already returned. He will naturally be able to help me hide that. I don¡¯t think he would want to be used of choosing a random saintess to defile the Demon Deity.¡±

    Pei Mianman felt her hopes turn to dust. The worst case scenario had still ended up happening. Still, she didn¡¯t panic. She had already experienced so many dangerous situations with Zu An before, so how could a mere True Demon Emissary scare her?

    She sighed. ¡°In that case, it seems I can only ept my fate.¡±

    The True Demon Emissary was delighted to hear that. ¡°That¡¯s right, wouldn¡¯t it have been great if you had done this earlier? Serving me is actually the same as serving the Demon Deity... Huh? What are you doing?¡±

    Suddenly, he roared in shock and fury as the surrounding space instantly became pitch-ck. Normally, with the True Demon Emissary¡¯s cultivation, even a dark night was like daytime to him. But this darkness was extremely strange. He couldn''t see a thing, nor could he lock onto her aura. He couldn''t sense anything at all.

    This was the Fu Hao Owl Statue¡¯s domain of darkness!

    ¡°An interesting skill you have there.¡± The True Demon Emissaryughed. Even though he couldn''t see, he didn¡¯t panic. With a wave of his hand, everything within a range of three hundred meters was surrounded by mist. Bones then appeared in the mist, forming an enormous cage. He could sense that the space Pei Mianman had activated her skill in wasn¡¯t toorge. That meant as long as he locked down this ce with an evenrger prison, she wouldn¡¯t be able to get away.

    Sure enough, Pei Mianman used the chance to run away as quickly as possible toward the edge of the darkness. However, the white bone cage appeared out of thin air in front of her. She instinctively ran to one side to find another way out, but the cage covered every direction. Helpless to do anything else, she could only bring out her rose mes to bombard the white bone prison.

    ¡°I¡¯ve caught you!¡± The True Demon Emissary grinned in the darkness. He darted forth, and a secondter, he instantly reappeared next to Pei Mianman. He reached out to grab her shoulder.

    Fortunately, Pei Mianman¡¯s cultivation was now on an entirely different level. She barely avoided the attack. But she knew that now that the opponent was already prepared for the Fu Hao Owl Statue¡¯s skill, so she likely wouldn''t have another chance like this to escape.

    ¡°It¡¯s time for the game to end.¡± The True Demon Emissary smiled.

    He was about to attack when his expression suddenly changed and he looked up. He saw a flying ship descend from the skies, but his expression remained calm. There were all kinds of flying ships in the universe. Compared to those, this flying ship was quite primitive.

    However, the Yun n Master stood at the front of the flying ship. This was a bit surprising for the True Demon Emissary, because he didn¡¯t recall the n master having any such thing.

    ¡°Since the n master has returned, that saves us a lot of trouble.¡± The True Demon Emissary stood with his hands behind him. When there was someone else who could solve his problems, doing it personally would only lower his own status. It would be better for the Yun n Master to offer up the saintess himself. That would bring him a greater sense of superiority.

    ¡°What trouble are we saving?¡± The Yun n Master had a strange expression as he spoke.

    The True Demon Emissary pointed at Pei Mianman. ¡°I just happen to becking an obedient maid. She is quite suitable, so let¡¯s just choose her.¡±

    ¡°But she is the saintess.¡± The Yun n Master¡¯s expression became even stranger.

    ¡°You can just pick another one. Is there a problem?¡± The True Demon Emissary frowned. This Yun n Master normally always fawned over him, but what was going on today?

    ¡°You want her to be your maid? Even someone like you?¡± a calm voice asked from behind the Yun n Master.

    At first, Pei Mianman had a decisive look on her face as she resolved to fight to the end, but the moment she heard that voice, she was overwhelmed with joy.

    The True Demon Emissary was furious. ¡°You¡¯re courting death!¡±

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Donaire for +444 +444 +444...</strong>

    With a wave of his hand, arge hand appeared in the air. It grabbed at the space behind the Yun n Master. He just couldn''t understand it. Had the Yun n Master gone mad? Why was he actually traveling with someone like that?

    Even so, a secondter, his expression turned to shock, because therge hand suddenly vanished. Then, a hand ten times the size appeared around him. He wasn¡¯t given any chance to resist before it grabbed him firmly.

    Donaire¡¯s face immediately turnedpletely red. He used all of his strength to try to destroy the hand, but space itself seemed to have been frozen. Meanwhile, that hand seemed to be sucking away all of his power to strengthen itself. He was horrified. Just who the hell was this guy? Why was he so ridiculously powerful?

    But what made his eye sockets almost split apart was that the saintess flew toward the sky with a bashful smile on her face. Then, she jumped into the man''s arms and eimed, ¡°Ah Zu!¡±

    ¡°Manman~¡± Zu An spread open his arms to hug the excited and trembling beauty. He had been rushing in this direction when he sensed the power of the Fu Hao Owl Statue, causing him to head toward it.

    Atst, the two reunited.

 Chapter 2297: Bravado

    <h4>Chapter 2297: Bravado</h4>

    The True Demon Emissary¡¯s eyes were about to pop out of their sockets. The expressions of the goddesses on the ship were also extremelyplicated.

    Zu An had been burning with anxiety, and the way the two looked when they reunited immediately told the women just what kind of position Pei Mianman had in Zu An¡¯s heart.

    ¡°Is this that leviathan of a woman, Pei Mianman, who even made big sister feel inferior?¡± Yun Yuqing muttered as she looked down at her own chest. She finally understood why her big sister would say that.

    The only gratified thing was that the other women were all looking at their own chests too with the same sense of inferiority.

    ¡°So big brother Zu likes this type... No wonder he always just treats me as a little sister.¡± Ji Xiaoxi looked at her own t chest. She felt so wronged that she almost cried.

    Jiang Luofu patted her chest tofort her. Forget about Xiaoxi, even she was feeling self-critical.

    <i>Just what did that woman eat to grow that big?</i>

    Xie Daoyun also sighed. Even though she had been one of the ten great beauties of Brightmoon City, Pei Mianman and Chu Chuyan had always been the most stunning. When she remembered the secret dungeon¡¯s events, she knew that Pei Mianman and big brother Zu were probably closer than she thought. She wondered if the two of them had already grown that close in Brightmoon City.

    <i>Pei Mianman and Chu Chuyan were still close friends at the time. Just how could the proud Chu Chuyan tolerate the two of them being together too...</i>

    Suolun Shi carefully looked at Pei Mianman.

    <i>Is this the Yun n¡¯s saintess?</i>

    They were all saintesses of the four ns and were supposed to be equally famous. But when she saw Mianman, she suddenly felt as if all her hope had turned to dust.

    <i>The women around big brother Zu are all just so stunningly beautiful, and they are all so talented too. I really don¡¯t even know how topete against them...</i>

    ¡°Ah Zu, why are you here?¡± Pei Mianman eximed happily. She had never thought she would run into her lover here.

    When he felt the incredible body in his arms, Zu An also felt really happy about reuniting with her. ¡°This is what''s called ''those with destiny will reunite even if they are a thousand miles apart''.¡±

    ¡°That mouth of yours is always as sweet as honey.¡± Even though that was what Pei Mianman said, she was really happy. She reflexively wanted to kiss him with Kiss of the Goddess, but then she saw Jiang Luofu and the other women. She quickly pushed him away in rm.

    ¡°Principal... Principal Jiang, Miss Xie, little sister Xiaoxi...¡± It was one thing if others saw her, but these were all her old friends from Brightmoon Academy. When she thought of the passionate way she had received Zu An just now, Pei Mianman immediately felt as if she hadmitted social suicide.

    Jiang Luofu and the others nodded slightly in return. Even though they felt a bit jealous inside, they still had to show her proper courtesy on the surface.

    Just then, the True Demon Emissary roared, ¡°Are you all ignoring me?!¡±

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Donaire for +444 +444 +444...</strong>

    A streak of ck light suddenly lit up in front of him and his entire body began to disappear, as if he was turning into an empty shell. That shell quickly cracked. Then, with a brittle sound, it shattered into pieces.

    Zu An frowned slightly. He looked in another direction, knowing that the enemy hadn''t died.

    Sure enough, the True Demon Emissary gathered over there. He looked apprehensively at Zu An, saying, ¡°You actually made me use up one of my protection treasures. That¡¯s something you can be proud of.¡±

    Zu An was a bit surprised. This guy¡¯s treasure could actually let him escape from his clutches! Still, he already had this world¡¯s authority, so as long as they were fighting in this world, he would have the home court advantage. He was already pretty much invincible.

    ¡°What kind of monster are you? Tell me your objective and I might let you die an easy death.¡± Zu An shot the Emissary a cold look. The fact that this guy dared to go after Pei Mianman meant there was no way he was about to let him live.

    The Rong and Wu n Masters exchanged looks. They were really d that they had renounced their old ways. This incredibly powerful True Demon Emissary had actually only barely managed to escape with his life from the very first exchange! Furthermore, judging from what Zu An was saying, the Emissary''s life and death werepletely in his control!

    The Yun n Master¡¯s face also became ashen. He had thought that the powerful True Demon Emissary would be able to defeat Zu An, but now, it seemed he was no more than a tougher-looking piece of trash.

    ¡°You really know how to boast!¡± The True Demon Emissary was furious. When had he ever been spoken to like this?

    But when he recalled the power of the opponent¡¯s attack just now, he still felt lingering fear. He suddenly thought of something and his expression changed. ¡°Are you that regent?¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t reply. Instead, he reached out his hand and the Heaven Devouring Sutra created a terrifying absorption force.

    The True Demon Emissary was horrified. He hadn¡¯t expected Zu An to not say a single thing and immediately attack. He reflexively tried to use a skill to dodge, but he discovered that his body was imprisoned by a mysterious power. He couldn''t leave at all. He could only do his best to use his cultivation to stabilize himself. At the same time, countless motes of ck light flickered. This was his protective treasure, which helped him resist the terrifying force.

    ¡°I have over a thousand protective treasures. There¡¯s nothing you can do to me!¡± he said with a sneer.

    ¡°Is that so? It¡¯s just a thousand.¡± Zu An smiled. The absorption force became even stronger.

    The dark light around the True Demon Emissary flickered. It was clear that with every flicker, another protective treasure was destroyed.

    The True Demon Emissary¡¯s expression finally changed. ¡°Is this the power of the world¡¯s will? You¡¯ve already obtained the authority of this world!¡±

    Zu An was a bit surprised. ¡°You seem to have some knowledge.¡±

    The three n masters blinked. What was the world¡¯s will and world authority? They felt as if even though they didn¡¯t understand, this was something quite incredible.

    The True Demon Emissary was now really panicking. He roared, ¡°Do you think I¡¯m actually scared of you?!¡± He suddenly erupted with power. The terrifying pressure even exceeded that of the former Fiend Emperor.

    The three n masters¡¯ expressions changed.

    <i>Is something else unexpected going to happen?</i>

    The women on the flying ship were all secretly on guard, preparing to offer their help. Judging from the way things looked, the Emissary was clearly about to go all out. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    But a secondter, the True Demon Emissary suddenly erupted with ck light and turned into several figures that rushed a kilometer away. They directly broke free of the terrifying absorption force. What he''d done was just a bluff to make the enemy reflexively choose to defend, trying not to end up getting hurt over an easy victory. However, it was actually to help him escape. He had managed to flee from many incredibly powerful enemies across the universe with this skill. This Zu An was powerful, but he wasn¡¯t stronger than them.

    Zu An was also a bit stunned. But a secondter, he appeared next to the True Demon Emissary, pressing his palm down on thetter''s shoulder. The countless True Demon Emissaries were sucked into his hand. Then, the main body also became listless. He couldn''t put up any resistance anymore.

    ¡°How?!¡± The True Demon Emissary was full of horror. His skill that had never failed him ended up not working this time?

    Zu An was actually feeling quite grateful. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that they were in this world and the world¡¯s will was one with him, this guy could really have really managed to escape. He was about to ask the Emissary for information when the Keyboard System lit up.

    <strong>Bravado skill detected. Do you wish to learn this skill?</strong>

 Chapter 2298: Truth

    Zu An was stunned. He had never expected to stumble upon this pleasant surprise. He''d thought that the Keyboard System could only make use of dead objects, but it seemed able to activate on living things too.

    But nothing simr happened when he was intimate with his lovers... What seemed different here seemed to be that the enemy didn¡¯t have any ability to resist and waspletely at his mercy.

    Zu An carefully examined the skill, and discovered that he needed 500,000 Rage points to learn ¡®Bravado¡¯. He was stunned. After all, the Myriad Transformations skill had only needed a million Rage points. Even though that was because he was proficient in drawing and knew Face of a Thousand Identities, those prerequisite skills allowing him to greatly reduce the cost, this kind of skill still needed half the price of Myriad Transformations. That was a bit pricey for him. But if he had to use that much, it meant the skill would be quite strong, right?

    He still had around two million points, so after some hesitation, he chose to learn it. 500,000 points were quickly deducted, leaving behind 1,554,470 Rage points.

    He could feel a stream of information enter his head as he learned ¡®Bravado¡¯: It would make the user''s aura reach its most powerful point and give the enemy the illusion that they were going all out. That would then help increase their chances of escape.

    Zu An was full of question marks when he read through the skill introduction.

    <em>I used up 500,000 points for just this?</em>

    <em>What the hell is the use of a shitty skill like this? I feel scammed!</em>

    The True Demon Emissary had used this skill, yet he still couldn''t escape. Of course, that was a special situation. If not for the fact that this world had already be one with Zu An to a certain extent, he could have been fooled too.Even so, this skill seemed really useless! It was only used to escape, and it didn¡¯t even guarantee it.

    When he thought about the 500,000 points he had just lost, Zu An¡¯s mood soured. He squeezed with his fingers and light flickered all around the True Demon Emissary, whose protection treasures subsequently all became ineffective.

    Zu An said with a cold chuckle, ¡°And here I thought that there really were a thousand protective treasures. It was just a hundred or so.¡±

    The True Demon Emissary opened his mouth. He really wanted to say, <em>Is a hundred of such powerful protective treasures not enough? </em>But they had all been easily crushed by this human, and his cultivation had just beenpletely sucked dry. He was alreadypletely downcast.

    When they saw the True Demon Emissary lying limply in Zu An¡¯s hand like a dead dog, the Rong and Wu n Masterspletely felt at ease. It seemed they had changed sides at the right time.

    Meanwhile, the Yun n Master lost all hope. His entire body shook intensely. He could only hope that his life would be spared because of his connection to Yun Yuqing.

    ¡°Just who are you?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°You can kill or torture me if you want, but why would I ever beg for pity from a despicable native like you?!¡± the True Demon Emissary raised his head and cursed.

    ¡°How brazen! You dare to treat the regent with disrespect!¡± the Yun and Wu n Masters both shouted.

    Smoke almost came out of the True Demon Emissary¡¯s head. Not too long ago, those two old farts had been acting so subservient to him, and yet they''d immediately turned on him! Unfortunately, his cultivation had beenpletely crippled and he didn¡¯t even have the strength to criticize them anymore.

    ¡°I seem to have heard simr words before.¡± Zu An chuckled. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter; you''ll speak soon.¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    <em>Crack!</em>

    Just like that, the Emissary''s neck was snapped. The three n masters shivered.

    <em>The regent looks agreeable on the surface, but he really is decisive! I wonder if we''ll follow in his footstepster.</em>

    Even Jiang Luofu frowned slightly. It wasn¡¯t because she felt that this monster shouldn¡¯t have been killed, but rather that he shouldn¡¯t have been killed so quickly. They should have waited until they obtained enough information first, right?

    The True Demon Emissary was also shocked. He had never expected to be killed just like that!

    But he quickly realized that he still had his consciousness and that he could see his own body below him; he''d just turned into a spirit. He was really happy to see that. It seemed as if what the Monster Lord had left inside of him was now taking effect. He would soon be able to return to his original world, and afterward, he could take his revenge on this guy.

    <em>Hm? Wait, why is he smiling at me?</em>

    <em>He can see me?</em>

    <em>But how is that possible?!</em>

    What Zu An did afterwardpletely crushed all of the Emissary''s fantasies. Zu An waved his sleeves, and just like that the Emissary''s connection with the mother star was cut and he was taken into a strange space.

    Then, he saw a scene he would never forget even if he lived ten lifetimes; it featured all manner of tortures in Hell¡¯s eighteen cities. He couldn''t help but swallow with difficulty.

    <em>Aren¡¯t these guys a bit too extreme?</em>

    ¡°My patience has a limit. Are you going to speak now, or after you experience the eighteenyers of Hell¡¯s torment?¡± Zu An¡¯s voice echoed throughout the ce.

    The True Demon Emissary immediately felt all courage wither away. Not too long ago, Zu An had clearly spoken simr words, but why were they now so much scarier? It was as if Zu An was the deity of this world, and the Emissary''s fate could be decided by a single whim.

    The Emissary felt as if he was facing his natural predator!

    There was no further exnation, but he suddenly realized that Zu An was the underworld emperor, and almost cried.

    <em>Just what the hell did I do in myst life to deserve this? I actually ended up making a guy like this my enemy.</em>

    ¡°I¡¯ll talk, I¡¯ll talk right now!¡± the True Demon Emissary quickly said.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s toote,¡± Zu An said indifferently, then threw him straight into the Continuous Hell.

    The True Demon Emissary was dumbfounded.

    <em>Why aren¡¯t you behaving like a normal person?</em>

    He screamed endlessly inside. He had never imagined that there could be such great torture in this world. Only after a stick of incense¡¯s time did Zu An fish him out from the Continuous Hell.

    After this brief experience, the True Demon Emissary had alreadypletely broken down. He clearly felt as if he had undergone countless years of torture inside, yet only a short time had passed. If he really did suffer for countless years, just how miserable would that be?

    When he saw that the Emissary was now scared witless, Zu An knew he wouldn¡¯t dare to try any tricks or deception. He asked, ¡°Your identity?¡±

    ¡°My name is Donaire; I am the young lord of the True Demon race,¡± said the True Demon Emissary quickly. He was scared that Zu An would be unsatisfied with his answer and that he would be sent to that terrifying ce again.

    ¡°What kind of rtionship does the True Demon race have with the Demon race of this world?¡± Zu An asked. ording to his previous questioning of other monsters, he knew that the True Demon race was a top-tier power even in the entire Monster World, and that even the Monster Lord treated them with added courtesy.

    ¡°Our True Demon race is a higher-level Demon race. The Demon race of this world is from a lineage that some True Demons left behind in this world countless years ago. But as the years went on, the bloodline became weak, so that''s why they''re much weaker than we are. But I didn¡¯t lie to the great ns before. This is why I was able to activate their ancient bloodlines,¡± said the True Demon Emissary.

    Zu An frowned slightly. The True Demon Race were the Demon race¡¯s ancestors after all! Still, he could vaguely sense that something was strange. He was now one with this world, so he could clearly sense that the Demon race and the monsters were significantly different. But he couldn''t figure out exactly why that was either, so he could only temporarily put aside his confusion.

    ¡°What is your mission in this world?¡± he asked directly.

    ¡°To build a transport formation for the Monster World¡¯s creatures to enter this world,¡± the True Demon Emissary said quickly.

    ¡°Are the key points of the transport formation the Four Symbols Stones?¡± Zu An asked. He was also proficient in formations and knew just what kind of incredibly profound formation it would take to connect the endless cosmos, and that it would need an insane amount of energy and special materials.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. The True Demon race¡¯s ancestors recorded that this world contained the Four Symbols Stones that were left in this world by the first ancestors. They can open up a path through the heavens,¡± the True Demon Emissary replied.

    ¡°Why is your Monster World so dead set on our world? If they have this ability, they could have easily targeted other worlds.¡± Zu An had always felt that something was strange. He had already thwarted several of the monsters¡¯ ns, and the world barrier had even been stabilized. Normally, they shouldn¡¯t have been able to invade again, and yet they''d still expended so much effort to send in this True Demon Emissary. He just felt that something was fishy.

    The True Demon Emissary sighed and said, ¡°We have no choice. It¡¯s because our world is about to be destroyed.¡±

 Chapter 2299: Secrets

    <h4>Chapter 2299: Secrets</h4>

    Zu An was a bit stunned. He''d never expected to hear such a response. After all, ever since the moment he first met the monsters, they''d always attacked ferociously. Judging from the way they behaved, it seemed as if they had already destroyed many worlds before, bringing only cmity and tragedy to countless ces. He had spected about the monsters¡¯ motives too, but he usually attributed it to greed and cruelty. He''d never thought that it was because their world was also facing destruction.

    ¡°What kind of thing can destroy your world?¡± Zu An asked gravely.

    Judging from his interaction with the monsters, they were all incredibly strong. Even if there was a world barrier to limit their strength, they were still at the absolute peak of this world¡¯s power. They all had various incredible skills and abilities too. Without this world¡¯s restrictions, one could imagine just how powerful they were. There wasn¡¯t just one or two of those kinds of monsters, but rather a huge group! Just how powerful was the Monster World?

    So how could a world that powerful experience the threat of destruction?

    ¡°Even though our world is powerful, there are still too many stronger and more mysterious beings in the universe.¡± The True Demon Emissary seemed to have thought of something. A look of fear appeared on his face as he continued, ¡°An Annihtion Beast has arrived in our world. Some worlds call it a celestial weapon.

    ¡°From the moment it arrived, our world was thrown into chaos and natural disasters, with many cyclones that are even more powerful than this world of yours has ever seen. If your celestial body were thrown into those cyclones, it would be instantly swallowed up and ripped to pieces.¡± As he spoke about it, the True Demon Emissary still felt lingering fear. He had clearly experienced the threat of annihtion.

    Zu An was speechless. At first, he hadn¡¯t been too affected when he heard the Emissary mentioning the wild cyclones. After all, no matter how powerful cyclones were, how could they threaten a powerful world? Even his own world¡¯s strong cultivators wouldn''t fear such natural disasters.

    But when he heard what came after, he immediately knew that he had underestimated the threat. He''d never expected that cyclones could actually be this powerful!

    ¡°Have you never thought about fighting back? Judging from how it seemed when I faced the monsters, there are quite a few individuals from your world who are pretty strong.¡±

    ¡°We tried, of course,¡± the True Demon Emissary said with a bitter expression. ¡°But those cyclones appeared too abruptly and destroyed ny percent of our world¡¯s civilizations instantly. Then, over thousands of years, we tried to counterattack several times, but we always returned without any sess. The only thing we could do was create cities underground for the survivors to just barely continue living. But after thousands of years of torment from the cyclones, our worldcks cultivation resources, and even food has becking. As a result, we''ve be weaker and weaker.¡±

    Zu An thought, <i>No wonder the Demon race¡¯s n masters said he needed a lot of cultivation resources and food. So it was because of this.</i> ¡°So that is why you were looking for a new world outside and decided on this one?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. At first, the pro-war faction was the majority and wanted to kill that mysterious Annihtion Beast, but thousands of years of defeat made them acknowledge reality. That¡¯s why they began to gradually search for other worlds as a way out,¡± the True Demon Emissary said with a bitter smile. ¡°But our world¡¯s innate nature is violent. In the innumerable years prior, we alreadypletely conquered the worlds we could find nearby and couldn''t find any others anymore.

    ¡°That was, until someone remembered our failed attempt to invade this world of yours in the past. That was why they regrouped to try again.¡±

    Zu An finally understood the whole story with that exnation. ¡°Just what is the whole story with the attack on this world several thousand years ago?¡±

    The True Demon Emissary shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know too well either.¡± He could sense a frown appearing on Zu An¡¯s face. He immediately panicked. ¡°I really don¡¯t know! The great battle thousands of years ago is something the entire Monster World kept an absolute secret. Many records have been obliterated. It seems only a few elders know some details.¡±

    ¡°Obliterated?¡± Zu An frowned. He hadn¡¯t expected to hear that word.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, obliterated,¡± the True Demon Emissary repeated. ¡°I also sensed that there were some secrets hidden in that battle thousands of years ago, and that it was deliberately covered up. But our entire world is facing the threat of destruction, so I didn''t have a chance to investigate that either.¡±

    Zu An became quiet. He recalled Imperial Gate Bei Qing, whom he had met in the sealednd. The words she''d spoken were mysterious and concealed all kinds of secrets. It seemed the battle back then wasn¡¯t so simple.

    But he couldn''t obtain any concrete information right now, so he decided to not let himself be entangled by that problem. He concerned himself with practical solutions instead. ¡°When did you schedule your meeting with the Monster World using the Four Symbols Stones transport formation?¡±

    He nned to make use of his home field advantage to set up a trap and catch all of these monsters in one go.

    The True Demon Emissary shook his head. ¡°We didn¡¯t schedule a time; it was just my own private movements. I found records of the Four Symbols Stones from an ancient text and didn¡¯t report it. I merely followed the other monsters into this world, then found some excuse to leave the main party, trying my luck with the Demon race here. Then, my luck was actually pretty good, and I really found the Four Symbols Stones...¡±

    He suddenly felt dispirited.

    <i>What good luck? I ended up meeting this real monster. It was nothing but the worst luck of my life.</i>

    ¡°So you''re the only one who knows about this?¡± Zu An asked, surprised. He''d thought that the Monster Lord¡¯s schemes ran incredibly deep, such that even though he imed to have implemented three main strategies, he had actually concealed this secret path. It seemed Zu An had been worried for nothing.

    ¡°There are only a few people who know. I nned to go back and report to the Monster Lord, so I could use this to obtain more benefits for me and my n. Unfortunately, everything failed at the final step,¡± the True Demon Emissary said, sounding really discouraged. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°How about you tell me about your own n¡¯s situation now?¡± Zu An said.

    The True Demon Emissary hesitated. ¡°Will you let me go if I speak?¡±

    Zu An gave him a cold look. ¡°If you give me a satisfactory reply, I can consider not sending you into the Continuous Hell.¡±

    The True Demon Emissary sighed in relief when he heard that. He didn¡¯t actually carry much hope of Zu An letting him off, not after having tried to take advantage of his woman.

    <i>Sigh, did I have pigrd in my eyes or something back then?</i>

    It seemed he''d gotten overconfident and got carried away in the end. One really couldn''t slip up at any time.

    Still, the promise to not be put in that terrifying Continuous Hell was already enough. He began, ¡°My n is the highest-level one in the entire Monster World, just like how the Yun n is among the Demon races...¡± He then roughly exined the rted information.

    Zu An nodded slightly as he listened. The information he had received today was quite valuable.

    ¡°Is the strongest being in your world the Monster Lord? Who is stronger between him and the Lord of ughter?¡± Zu An continued. He had a premonition that sooner orter, he would have to face this Monster Lord. As the saying went, know yourself and know your enemy, and you will be ever victorious.

    ¡°The strongest is naturally the Monster Lord. The Lord of ughter was once the leader of our Monster World. His status was on par with that of the current Monster Lord. He was very strong, but the Monster Lord has the experience of his predecessors to draw on, and progress has been made across the eras. The Monster Lord should be a bit stronger,¡± the True Demon Emissary answered.

    Zu An nodded. This True Demon Emissary wasn¡¯tpletely a useless young master and was actually quitepetent;is analysis was perfectly reasonable. Thus, he continued, ¡°What kinds of abilities and treasures does the Monster Lord have?¡±

    ¡°The Monster Lord...¡±

    When the True Demon Emissary got to the middle of his sentence, Zu An¡¯s expression changed. The True Demon Emissary¡¯s head actually split apart, and his entire being was destroyed on the spot!

    He had encountered simr things before too. These monsters thought they would be reborn in the Monster World, but actually, the Monster Lord had set up restrictions on their bodies. If they revealed some key pieces of information, they would immediately perish. He''d thought that keeping their souls in Hell would avoid that, but it was actually ineffective.

    <i>It seems the restriction that the Monster Lord set up is mysterious after all. It worked even in Hell!</i>

    When he realized that, his expression became a bit more grave.

 Chapter 2300: Counterattack Plan

    <h4>Chapter 2300: Counterattack n</h4>

    Zu An¡¯s attention returned to reality. The others were still confused as to why he had suddenly killed the True Demon Emissary instead of keeping him alive for questioning. However, he didn¡¯t exin himself. Instead, he had the Yun n Master bring everyone to the transport formation that the True Demon Emissary had been working on this whole time.

    After seeing the True Demon Emissary killed like a chicken, the Yun n Master didn¡¯t even dare to think of resisting in the slightest. He quickly led the way to make up for his wrongs through merit.

    ...

    Their group quickly entered the depths of the Yun n. This was normally a restricted area; not many people in the entire Yun n had the authority toe here. But the Yun n Master was leading the way and they had just witnessed Zu An¡¯s power. Who would dare to say a single thing?

    This was a hidden valley in the mountains behind the Yun n. There were special rocks piled up in all directions, forming a set pattern. Almost everyone present could vaguely sense that there was a wave of powerful spatial energy rippling through the area.

    Xie Daoyun cried out in surprise. ¡°This is arge-scale spatial transport formation! It¡¯s at least several centuries more advanced than the formation knowledge of this world!¡±

    She was proficient in runes and formations, and once had a miraculous encounter in the secret dungeon that greatly widened her knowledge. When she saw the formation, her eyes shone and she seemed to have gained some insights herself.

    ¡°Little sister Ling¡¯er, can you understand this formation?¡± Zu An asked in surprise. Xie Daoyun¡¯s growth was much faster than he had expected.

    ¡°This should be arge-scale formation that can enable interster transportation.¡± Xie Daoyun was really excited. ¡°I need some time, but I should be able to understand it. If we leave this to the academy, we should be able to imitate and even make improvements upon it.¡±

    ¡°Then please make use of this chance to research it.¡± Zu An chuckled. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. These kinds of formations normally only existed in ancient ruins and were very rare. He would feel more at ease having the technology fully in their grasp.

    Suolun Shi suddenly shouted, ¡°The White Tiger Stone is starting to be hot!¡±

    After the Suolun n Master handed the White Tiger Stone to Zu An, he had given it to Suolun Shi for safekeeping. Now, she sensed something strange happening to it and took it out. Sure enough, it was shining, and a white tiger projection was faintly visible.

    At the same time, the surrounding formation gradually lit up. Streaks of dark blue faintly materialized and formed patterns. Then, they all joined together to form arge-scale transport formation. The east, north, and south directions¡¯ special stones all shone as well. The Azure Dragon, ck Tortoise, and Vermilion Bird images also faintly materialized, resonating with the White Tiger Stone in Suolun Shi¡¯s hands. The spatial ripples became even more prominent, and some patterns became visible in the air, as if arge gate was about to form.

    Suddenly, a kind of pull emanated from the western altar. Suolun Shi cried out, because she was caught off guard and the White Tiger Stone flew toward the tform.

    However, with a wave of Zu An¡¯s hand, the White Tiger Stone was intercepted. When it entered his hands, the burning hot stone gradually calmed down. The other three Four Symbols Stones couldn''t sense the White Tiger Stone¡¯s presence anymore and the images on them gradually faded. The blue light gradually dimmed, then disappeared.

    When he saw the others'' shocked expressions, Zu An exined, ¡°This transport formation is linked to the Monster World. We shouldn¡¯t leave withoutpleting proper preparations.¡±

    After hearing that, everyone present still felt lingering fear. Had they not stopped it in time and rashly opened up the passage, countless monsters would have invaded. That kind of situation would be extremely difficult to deal with.

    ¡°Little sister Ling¡¯er, this formation seems to still be a bit iplete in some areas. Will you be able toplete it?¡± Zu An had studied the Baopu Sutra, so he naturally understood this formation as well. However, he had more pressing matters to take care of and couldn''t invest too much time here.

    ¡°I need a few days to study it. But this formation is already ny percentplete. I should be able toplete the rest,¡± Xie Daoyun said after thinking to herself for a bit.

    ¡°That¡¯s good. I¡¯ll be troubling you then.¡± Zu An then let Yun Yuqing handle the Yun n Master, while Suolun Shi would take care of the Wu and Rong n.

    The Wu and Rong n Masters sighed in relief. Even though they had attacked the Suolun n, they had still been coerced, so they didn¡¯t carry as much of a grudge against the Suolun n. They would probably still be fine. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    But after thinking for a bit, they remembered that Suolun Shi had privately sought them out, and yet they had betrayed her and used her to threaten the Suolun n. Their expressions immediately became dismal.

    <i>We¡¯re finished; we¡¯re done for. This girl won¡¯t carry a grudge, will she?</i>

    The Yun n Master was in an even more sullen position. If he had been handed to Suolun Shi to deal with, perhaps he could still have lived. After all, Suolun Shi could choose to spare him out of consideration for Yun Yuqing. But if Yun Yuqing were to deal with him, she would definitely punish him severely in the name of justice.

    Furthermore, he had single-handedly uprooted her father¡¯s work, and it was also because of him that she''d had no choice but to go to the human world and endure the shame of marrying a human to carry out the Demon race¡¯s great ns. There was no way she wouldn¡¯t carry resentment over that.

    Zu An didn¡¯t care how they handled the situation. Instead, he gathered the women in his room to exin what he had learned to them.

    They were all really shocked when they heard about the monsters¡¯ situation. They hadn¡¯t expected the domineering monsters to actually be on the brink of copse. They were also amazed that Zu An had managed to acquire so much information in such a short amount of time. They began to me themselves for misunderstanding him earlier.

    ¡°I obtained some special skills from the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons in the Ocean races, and they are very useful for questioning...¡± Zu An told them about what had happened back then. This was the first time Pei Mianman had heard about these things, so she was really amazed. She also felt a bit frustrated.

    <i>What secluded cultivation was I even doing? I¡¯ll improve much faster at Ah Zu¡¯s side.</i>

    ¡°I''ll merge Hell with this world. Once I merge the two, the world¡¯sws will be more powerful and all of the cultivators of this world will advance much more smoothly. Make your preparations and don''t waste this opportunity,¡± Zu An reminded them.

    Now that some time had already passed, the Imperial Court, Fiend races, and Ocean races would likely have alreadypleted their preparations. It was time to merge the worlds to increase people''s cultivations.

    Jiang Luofu suddenly frowned. Her beautiful legs couldn''t help but change positions. ¡°Ah Zu, are you nning to pay a visit to that Monster World?¡±

    Zu An was a bit surprised. ¡°I can¡¯t hide anything from big sis principal after all. That was indeed my intention.¡±

    ¡°But why aren¡¯t we guiding those monsters here instead? I¡¯m sure there aren¡¯t many monsters left, and if we eliminate them a few more times, they''ll bepletely done for. The Monster Lord is so strong too, so going into the Monster World is just too risky. Since you already grasp the authority of this world, it should be easier for you to fight him with our home advantage.¡± Jiang Luofu was confused.

    ¡°That¡¯s what I was thinking previously too, but the Monster Lord isn¡¯t stupid. There''s no way he would ce himself in such danger,¡± Zu An exined. Judging from the restrictions the Monster Lord had ced on the monsters, he knew that the other party was an extremely prudent individual. Why would the Monster Lord take the risk to pass through a world barrier and fight him in a weakened state?

    ¡°But of course, there''s a more important reason. I learned that the Monster World is also facing a disaster. If we identally brought over the terrifying being destroying the Monster World while nning an ambush for the monsters, that would be the worst case scenario.¡±

    The Annihtion Beast was something not even the powerful Monster World could defeat. Zu An didn¡¯t believe this world had the ability to stop it.

    The women all gasped. They were all grateful that Zu An had considered the bigger picture. If they ended up bringing that thing to this world, that would really be an apocalyptic event.

    ¡°But that Monster Lord is too strong, and this world is about to be destroyed. It¡¯s too dangerous for you to go, big brother Zu.¡± Ji Xiaoxi was really worried.

    ¡°In many cases, it¡¯s fine if you don¡¯t know, but once you do find out, it¡¯s still better to take a look.¡± Zu An rubbed her head and chuckled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s not as if I haven¡¯t experienced more dangerous situations before. I''ll be careful.¡±

    Pei Mianman suddenly said, ¡°I¡¯ll go with you. Since they need some Demon race saintess or whatever, there¡¯s definitely a reason for it. I am still a Demon race saintess, for better or worse, and I can also look after you over there.¡±

 Chapter 2301: New Identities

    <h4>Chapter 2301: New Identities</h4>

    Zu An was really frightened. ¡°The Monster World is too dangerous! You guys can''t go!¡±

    The monsters¡¯ cultivations were all ridiculously high, and that was even after their strength was suppressed by this world. Their real strength would only be higher. On top of that, once he went to the Monster World, he wouldn¡¯t have the help of the world authority. He would be weaker than he was right now, and he wouldn''t necessarily be able to protect them.

    Ji Xiaoxi became a bit downcast. She realized that her cultivation was too weak and that she wouldn¡¯t be of any help at all. She felt a bit sorry for herself. This was the first time she urgently wanted to be stronger.

    Pei Mianman said, ¡°Ah Zu, I know you''re worried, but we''ve experienced several secret dungeons together. I have the strength to protect myself.¡±

    Xie Daoyun raised her hand weakly. ¡°I... I should also be able to help you.¡±

    Yun Yuqing and Suolun Shi both wanted to volunteer themselves. After some hesitation, Jiang Luofu said, ¡°Ah Zu, I think what they''re saying makes some sense. Since the True Demon Emissary wanted to find four saintesses, there has to be some meaning to it. If you don¡¯t have any saintesses to help you, there might be some big issues.¡±

    Zu An took a moment to think. What they said made some sense, but he unfortunately hadn''t gotten time to ask the True Demon Emissary what the saintesses were for.

    Pei Mianman said seriously, ¡°Ah Zu, we are also cultivators. Cultivators need to face all kinds of dangers in the first ce. Only by oveing hardships and prevailing over them can we be stronger. If we always remain under your protection in an absolutely safe situation, then how can we grow?¡±

    Jiang Luofu added, ¡°That is, unless you just keep them all in the pce and they all just y the traditional role of good wives.¡±

    Zu An gave her an annoyed look. ¡°Big sis principal, I¡¯ve finally realized how amazing the words of awyer are. Please don¡¯t say anymore, or else I¡¯ll end up bing a great sinner.¡±

    Jiang Luofu¡¯s cold face produced a smile. ¡°Then that means you agree?¡±

    ¡°I agree, I agree. How can I still refuse?¡± Zu An said, feeling a headacheing on.

    Of course, the real reason he agreed wasn¡¯t because of that, but because of what Manman had said. He couldn''t protect them forever, as they wouldn¡¯t be able to truly grow then. Which one of these young women wasn¡¯t incredibly talented and publicly acknowledged as a genius before he met them? They were all proud and had unyielding hearts. How could he prevent their growth just because he wanted to protect them? There was danger, but the reason he''d been able to grow so quickly was because he had wandered on the brink of life and death this entire time, and he had continued to push his limits time and time again.

    Pei Mianman and the other women grinned when they heard that he agreed.

    Zu An said seriously, ¡°The Demon race has four saintesses. Let¡¯s have the Rong and Wu saintesses return. We¡¯ll impersonate them with the rest of our people.¡±

    Yun Yuqing was the first to say, ¡°I''ll pretend to be the Rong n saintess. I have Demon race blood inside of me, so I won¡¯t be as easily exposed.¡±

    She knew that Pei Mianman was already the Yun n¡¯s saintess, so there was no way she could still appear as the Yun n¡¯s saintess.

    Suolun Shi said, ¡°I was supposed to be the Suolun n¡¯s saintess in the first ce. I hope I can be helpful to big brother Zu this time.¡±

    Zu An was a bit worried. ¡°It is going to be really dangerous this time. Shouldn¡¯t you discuss things with your father first?¡±

    Suolun Shi shook her head slightly. ¡°My father would definitely agree, and even if he didn¡¯t, he can''t dictate my life. As for the matter of danger, if even these big sisters aren¡¯t scared, how can I be? As a Demon race princess, I''ve never been far from danger anyway.¡±

    The other goddesses had strange looks on their faces.

    <i>But we have that kind of rtionship with Ah Zu. Do you?</i>

    <i>This woman seems to have a strangely favorable opinion of Ah Zu.</i>

    When he saw her persistence, Zu An didn¡¯t continue to dissuade her. The Wu n and Rong n saintesses were one thing, since he didn¡¯t know them, but he and Suolun Shi could be considered friends. If he tried to take her spot away in front of her, that would be going a bit overboard.

    Xie Daoyun quietly said, ¡°I can pretend to be the Wu n saintess. Judging from our earlier interactions, the Wu n seems to be good at formations and defensive skills, which just happens to be what I''m good at. I should be able to impersonate her.¡±

    Zu An nodded. Xie Daoyun¡¯s skills would indeed be greatly helpful.

    A weak voice suddenly said, ¡°Big brother Zu, I want to go too.¡±

    Everyone else turned around and were met with Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s timid expression.

    Before Zu An said anything, Pei Mianman and Xie Daoyun both said, ¡°Xiaoxi, this trip is too dangerous. It would be best if you stay here to help us take care of things on this side.¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi shook her head. ¡°I was really inspired by what big sister Pei said earlier. If I''m always protected, that means I¡¯ll never be able to really grow. My dad always helped me get rid of all kinds of dangerous things beforehand, and didn¡¯t let other people get close to me. I''m really grateful for that, but it is also really frustrating. It''s made a lot of things too boring. I want to experience different things and I want to help big brother Zu...¡± Her little face suddenly turned red as she added, ¡°I have a bit of confidence in medicine. I should be able to help big sisters.¡±

    The others all thought, <i>You probably just want to help your big brother Zu, right?</i>

    But since she''d already said all that, they couldn''t really continue to insist otherwise. Shutting the door as soon as they themselves got into the carriage would be a bit unkind. As such, they all turned to Zu An to wait for his decision.

    Zu An was really getting a headache now. Ji Dengtu would probablye for his life if he agreed and the former found out.

    Of course, that wasn¡¯t the main reason. It was actually because Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s cultivation was really a bit too low. With the slightest mistake, she could perish.

    He was about to refuse when he suddenly saw her eyes that were full of expectation and fear. He remembered the time they had spent together, and then how she had bravely given him medicine after he was put into a cage by the Embroidered Envoy to be escorted out of Brightmoon City. This was a young woman who was really dedicated to him. If he refused her here, perhaps he wouldpletely break her heart.

    But this trip was too dangerous! Even he didn¡¯t have absolute confidence in dealing with the Monster World himself, let alone dealing with that even more frightening Annihtion Beast.

    While he was hesitating, Jiang Luofu, who had been quiet the whole time, said, ¡°How about I go with Xiaoxi? I¡¯ll help take care of her.¡±

    ¡°You?¡± Zu An was stunned. Jiang Luofu¡¯s cultivation was fine, but he hadn¡¯t expected her to volunteer.

    When she saw him stare at her, Jiang Luofu¡¯s face heated up a bit. She replied, ¡°Can I not?¡±

    ¡°Of course you can. But we already have the four saintesses. If you all go too, then who are you going to pretend to be?¡± Zu An chuckled awkwardly.

    <i>Our gorgeous principal¡¯s ck silk is too eye-catching. It¡¯d be really hard to not draw attention.</i>

    Jiang Luofu and Ji Xiaoxi both frowned. This was indeed a problem.

    Yun Yuqing giggled and said, ¡°Big brother Zu, I actually have a suggestion.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Zu An asked with a chuckle.

    ¡°We¡¯ll be using the identities of the Demon race¡¯s four great saintesses, and you n to impersonate the True Demon Emissary, right?¡± Yun Yuqing asked.

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Zu An admitted. The women around him all more or less knew about his disguise abilities.

    Yun Yuqing said with a smile, ¡°Then that¡¯s easy enough. It was rumored that the True Demon Emissary was quite the yboy. When he was at the Yun n''s residence, he made my second uncle prepare all kinds of pretty maids. It would be weirder if someone like him didn¡¯t have women around him.

    ¡°Little sister Xiaoxi is cute and young, so she¡¯s perfect for this role. As for big sister Jiang...¡± Yun Yuqing paused, her expression turning conflicted before she continued, ¡°She can pretend to be a proud female cultivator who was subdued and turned into a female ve.¡±

    Zu An was rmed.

    Jiang Luofu was bbergasted.

    The other women were speechless.

    When she saw Jiang Luofu¡¯s cheeks turn red, Yun Yuqing quickly said, ¡°Big sis Jiang, please don¡¯t get angry. Think about it; someone with a naturally aloof and proud demeanor goes against the image of a totally submissive maid. In contrast, a female ve who lost because she was weaker but is still looking for a chance to fight back makes more sense.¡±

    Zu An chuckled awkwardly. ¡°Yuqing, let¡¯s not joke around like that. How could big sis principal...¡±

    Jiang Luofu spoke up and said, ¡°That¡¯s fine; this kind of character makes more sense.¡± N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An: ¡°???¡±

 Chapter 2302: Breakthrough

    ¡°But that¡¯s not too good, right?¡± Zu An couldn''t help but protest.

    Perhaps it was because Jiang Luofu was the principal of Brightmoon Academy and always had an indescribable air of dignity and maturity to her, but even though he wasn¡¯t scared of her, he had to admit that she gave off a natural kind of pressure. This wasn¡¯t rted to strength, but rather a feeling that came from her identity.

    In Brightmoon Academy, the degree to which her beautiful ck silk-covered legs had been weed was proportional to how terrifying the sound of her high heels tapping against the ground was. Her cold and dignified presence was something that had affected not only the students of Brightmoon Academy, but also the other teachers in the same school. Whenever they heard the sounds of her high heels in the distance, they couldn''t help but shiver.

    After all, when she was the principal, she''d been decisive and ruthless. Who knew how many teachers and students were punished fiercely? Even though Zu An hadn¡¯t personally experienced it before, there had always been rumors about her. His bad influence of a friend, Wei Suo, had frequently told him about Principal Jiang¡¯s ¡®glorious deeds¡¯, and those stories were likely more or less influenced by the truth.

    Was that kind of woman really going to be his female ve? He just felt as if doing so would be courting death.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing inappropriate about it. I can use this chance to empathize with the mental state of a female ve. I might even be able to publish a new paper in the academy because of this.¡± Jiang Luofu actually sounded quite excited, as if she was looking forward to this new identity.

    Suolun Shi had a weird expression.

    <em>Are all of the women at big brother Zu¡¯s side this open-minded?</em>

    She had to admit that Jiang Luofu was really pretty. Those ck silk stockings made even her, a fellow woman, feel really moved. She even wondered whether to give them a try in private.And yet, this kind of woman was actually going to y the role of a female ve! Which man could resist such a temptation?

    Suolun Shi wondered if she had been too reserved all this time. There were so many outstandingpetitors at big brother Zu¡¯s side. If she didn¡¯t think of something for herself, perhaps she really wouldn''t be able to make her way in.

    Pei Mianman and Xie Daoyun exchanged a look. The two of them had lived in Brightmoon City in the past and knew about Jiang Luofu¡¯s great reputation. That was why such a huge contrast was really shocking.

    <em>Only someone like Yun Yuqing who showed her n great favor during their moment of crisis, and who is close to her, could propose something like this.</em>

    More importantly, one side really dared to speak, and one side really dared to listen.

    Ji Xiaoxi blinked. Even though she didn¡¯t really get it, she knew that being female ve was quite humiliating.

    <em>Little aunt is only making such a huge sacrifice for my sake!</em>

    ¡°Alright, then that¡¯s how we¡¯ll do things. Let¡¯s start thinking about what we¡¯ll do after we enter the Monster World then.¡± Jiang Luofu waved her hand, indicating that this matter was already decided.

    Zu An opened his mouth, but he didn¡¯t say anything else. It would be good to have her take care of Xiaoxi too. Additionally, when he thought about having someone like her as his ve, that was quite stimting¡­

    He quickly discarded the nonsense in his head and started to discuss various details with the women.

    ¡­

    After the discussion was finished, the women all left to make their own respective preparations. Xie Daoyun needed to prepare a lot of talismans and formations, so as the local host, Yun Yuqing helped prepare all kinds of materials. Meanwhile, Ji Xiaoxi needed many medicines from the Demon race''s territory, so Suolun Shi acted as a guide to bring her and Jiang Luofu around the area to pick ingredients. Pei Mianman received Zu An¡¯s pointers and entered seclusion toprehend the Paramita Butterfly intent.

    On the other hand, Zu An remained at a special mountain summit that Yun Yuqing had prepared, which had the richest natural ki in the area. Thus, he started the procedure to merge the two worlds. Still, having never done such a thing before, he asked Mi Li for help just in case. ¡°Master empress, how do I merge the worlds?¡±

    The red-dressed Mi Li stretched her bodyzily, disying her elegant curves beautifully. ¡°Didn¡¯t I already exin it to you before?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the first time, so I felt that I needed your respected self¡¯s support,¡± Zu An said with a chuckle. These were two whole worlds, after all. If he made a mistake, who knew just how much trouble that would cause?

    When she saw his respectful expression, Mi Li found it quite pleasing. ¡°Since you''re now the underworld emperor, you should have the authority of the underworld. You can just merge it with the world beacon. Whichever world is the main one, you can merge thew beacon of the other world into it.¡±

    Zu An nodded. This world had to be the main one, of course. If he used the underworld as the main world, this world could end up bing eerie and sinister. The people probably wouldn''t be able to adapt to it.

    Then, he took out the Netherworld Book of Life and Death. With a thought, a ck and whitew beacon slowly flew out. He then took out this world¡¯sw beacon; a bright rainbow appeared in front of him. He then slowly merged the ck and whitew beacon into the rainbow beacon the way Mi Li taught him.

    The process was easier than he''d imagined. In just a few seconds, the ck and white beacon merged into the rainbow one, causing thetter to glow brilliantly. A trace of ck and white appeared amid its multicolored radiance, and the beacon''s light became more intense.

    ¡°Hm? Even though merging worlds isn¡¯t hard, this is a bit too fast, right?¡± Even Mi Li was a bit surprised.

    When he sensed the changes happening to her expression, Zu An asked, ¡°Is it normally not this fast?¡±

    ¡°Of course not. This is still the merging of two entire worlds, and it should need at least an hour. A process this quick can only mean one thing.¡± Mi Li frowned slightly.

    Zu An had to admit that a beautiful person was beautiful even when they were frowning.

    ¡°What possibility?¡± Zu An was surprised, but also a bit worried that something bad could have happened.

    ¡°Which is that these two worlds were originally one world to begin with,¡± Mi Li slowly finished, her expression turning serious.

    ¡°The same world?¡± Now, Zu An was also shocked. He''d learned that the underworld wasn¡¯tplete from the Necropolis Emperor, and that it had already been fractured into many world fragments. He hadn''t expected it to be a part of this world.

    Various signs showed that this world was indeed special. Not only was it a Wonderpoint World that could connect to all kinds of other worlds, it was rted to the underworld as well. So... Was his transmigration into this world really just a coincidence?

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to think too much right now. You just need to slowly merge other worlds for the time being. The most pressing thing right now is to increase your strength while the worlds are merging,¡± Mi Li said.

    ¡°But there doesn¡¯t seem to be that much of a difference after merging the worlds¡­¡± Before Zu An could finish his sentence, multicolored light filled the skies. Almost everyone in the world was drawn to the phenomenon, countless peopleing out to look.

    Soon after, the world trembled, and the mountains gradually rose. Mountains that had been hundreds of meters tall became thousands of meters tall, while those that had been thousands of meters tall were now tens of thousands of meters tall. The ones that had been tens of thousands of meters tall now soared straight into the clouds with no peak in sight. The entire world was undergoing an intense transformation. It actually seemed to be growing. Many once-t areas had giant mountains appear, as if they had been lying dormant underground.

    Whether it was the humans, Fiends, or Ocean races, they were all a bit fearful toward these changes. After all, not that much time had passed, so there was no way they could all be contacted. But even though they were feeling scared, there were people who were pleasantly surprised to discover that the world¡¯s natural ki was now many times richer.

    ¡°I¡­ I made a breakthrough!¡± It was unknown who first said that, but more and more who joined in excitedly. There were many people who had been stuck at their rank for many years with no hope of a breakthrough. They hadn¡¯t expected to suddenly seed at all.

    In the various great ns¡¯ ancestralnds, terrifying auras surged. Then,ughter echoed through the mountain forests. Several elders had finally broken into the earth immortal rank!

    Previously, the only ones able to reach this level had been Zhao Han, the Fiend Emperor, and a tiny handful of others. Most had been unable to make it this far. The earth immortal rank was something countless ns¡¯ old ancestors dreamed of. Now that they had finally broken through, they all wanted to find their own friends to brag to. However, they quickly sensed simr auras and realized that those friends had advanced as well.

    When they sensed the changes in the world¡¯s natural ki, they were once again amazed, realizing that this world could really be greatly changed.

    Meanwhile, on the summit of the Yun n¡¯s mountain, Zu An slowly opened his eyes.

    ¡°I seem to have broken through as well.¡±

 Chapter 2303: Strength Upgraded

    Zu An had long been stuck at level 75, unable to go past it because of the limitation of the world¡¯s source. But now that the two worlds had been merged together, that source was greatly strengthened. The cultivators of this world naturally benefited as well, and also experienced their cultivation rising. Even the ones who didn¡¯t immediately make breakthroughs could now cultivate at much faster speeds.

    However, Zu An received the most benefits. After all, he held the authority of the world, so the sea of natural ki surged toward his body first. By relying on his absorption ability together with the Keyboard System, he had umted a lot of energy after killing so many powerful beings. Now that the world¡¯s limitation was removed, the aura within him began to climb crazily.

    Level 76¡­ Level 77¡­ Level 78¡­ Level 79¡­ It continued all the way to level 79 before stopping!

    Naturally, the further one went along in cultivation, the harder it would be to make any progress, to the point of bing seemingly impossible. Many people couldn''t make any progress even after exhausting the rest of their lifespans. On top of that, at this point, the system¡¯s levels were eachparable to an entire greater cultivation realm. Even one was like the difference between an earth immortal and a grandmaster.

    Even though he had killed so many monsters and stored up all that power, Zu An had expected to reach around level 77 or 78 at most. He hadn¡¯t expected to go straight to level 79!

    After all, the experience needed for every subsequent level rose by an astronomical amount. Eventually, the curve was practically exponential. Even though he had killed a lot of monsters, because of the world¡¯s limitations, a lot of the energy had been wasted. And even if it hadn''t been wasted, he had never expected to go straight to level 79.

    Sensing his confusion, Mi Li exined, ¡°I believe it''s because you have both the authority of this cultivation world and the underworld. After you merged the two worlds, the world sources gave you their power as their owner to help bring you to a new level.¡±

    Zu An nodded. He finally realized the benefits of merging with the will of the world. Not only did it give him power up front to make him stronger, more importantly, it made him realize that the power could actually be used this way. However, if he left this world, he wouldn¡¯t be able to use this world¡¯s power at will anymore. He wouldn''t be as strong as he was here.

    Still, it was more important that he''de into contact with a source of power like this. His new worldview was something his past self could never have hoped to attain.¡°For now, you should cultivate in seclusion topletely get used to this new power. Otherwise, you''ll easily run into problems after entering the Monster World,¡± Mi Li said.

    ¡°Of course.¡± Zu An naturally knew that in a new cultivation rank, whether it was speed, power, or other things, he needed to adapt to them. Otherwise, if his mind and body didn¡¯t match, he''d easily make mistakes for enemies to exploit. When powerful cultivators fought, victory and defeat were often decided by a narrow margin. Even though he had relied on the world¡¯s authority to crush all sorts of powerful cultivators, he didn¡¯t really think he could easily overwhelm such powerful monsters once he reached the Monster World.

    ¡°By the way, I heard that the Monster World was facing the danger of the Annihtion Beast earlier. It¡¯s best if you don¡¯t engage in any conflict with that Annihtion Beast,¡± Mi Li suddenly warned Zu AN.

    ¡°Why do you say that?¡± Zu An asked curiously.

    Judging from the description provided by the True Demon Emissary, the Annihtion Beast was extremely frightening. It could use terrifying cyclones to easily destroy powerful celestial bodies. The Monster World had conquered countless other worlds and plundered those worlds'' sources to merge into their world, making it iparablyrge; to a certain extent, it could already be considered a gxy. And yet, the Annihtion Beast could easily destroy all that. It was easy to see just how powerful it was.

    Zu An naturally didn''t want to provoke such a creature. But once he went to the Monster World, things wouldn''t necessarily go as he wished. He could end up facing that Annihtion Beast. But Mi Li was warning him so seriously; just why was that?

    ¡°The Annihtion Beast isn¡¯t that scary. What¡¯s scary is the master behind it,¡± Mi Li said with deep worry.

    ¡°The Annihtion Beast¡¯s master?¡± Zu An eximed in surprise. A monster that could easily destroy a, or even a gxy, actually had an owner?

    ¡°Of course. As for who it is, it¡¯s not someone you can afford to have contact with, so don¡¯t be in a rush to find out. The reason I told you not to fight with that Annihtion Beast is to avoid the detection of that owner,¡± Mi Li warned him seriously.

    Zu An nodded and didn¡¯t continue to ask about the subject. He couldn''t even defeat the Annihtion Beast, so why would he even think about facing the master behind it? Sometimes, when the difference in strength was too great, knowing too many secrets would only bring about endless troubles and dangers.

    Mi Li had a gratified smile when she saw that he was being so cooperative.

    <em>He''s now much more mature than before.</em>

    Then, Mi Li went back to sleep and Zu An entered secluded cultivation. The other women also made use of the abundant natural ki caused by the worlds merging.

    ¡­

    After several days passed, all of them made considerable progress.

    Pei Mianman had been at the master rank to begin with, but she immediately broke through into the wisdom mortal stage of the grandmaster rank. She created the Fire Butterfly Domain for herself. Her fighting strength was now far more formidable.

    Xie Daoyun reached the essence mortal soul stage, which was the peak of the master rank. She was now only a single step from the grandmaster rank. Her main strength came from runes and formations, so the increase in her cultivation realm mainly provided her with more mental strength and ki.

    Yun Yuqing had been the one with the highest cultivation rank to begin with. When Zu An first met her, she had already been at the master rank level. Whether it was Zu An, Chuyan, Manman, or the others, they had only been around the sixth rank. Now, she went straight to the ascension mortal soul stage and cultivated her yin spirit.

    Suolun Shi was a Demon race genius, so she also reached the master rank.

    The most surprising was Jiang Luofu. She actually reached the grandmaster rank as well. As she said, her students were all so amazing, so how could a principal like her fall too far behind?

    Zu An knew Jiang Luofu was the perfect example of good preparation. Among the women, her foundation was the sturdiest. Someone like Manman had experienced miraculous encounters again and again, and increasing her cultivation too quickly like this could make it unstable. But Jiang Luofu was thete libationer¡¯s personal disciple, as well as one of the great teachers of the rear mountain.

    In the past, she had deliberately kept her cultivation rank lower because of the crown princess candidacy to avoid attention. However, she didn¡¯t have such misgivings now. Together with the fact that she had to protect Xiaoxi on this trip, she went all out with her cultivation, naturally resulting in a powerful breakthrough.

    Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s cultivation rank was a bit lower, only reaching around the beginning stage of the ninth rank. When she saw that everyone else¡¯s cultivation far surpassed her own, she was about to cry.

    After being around each other for some time, the others had formed a good impression of this kind-hearted and gentle little sister. All of themforted her.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    But the more theyforted her, the more Ji Xiaoxi felt that she was useless.

    Zu An couldn''t help but smile when he saw her, though. He said, ¡°Xiaoxi, you''re already improving pretty quickly. In the past, reaching the ninth rank at your age would have already been considered impossible. It¡¯s something that would actually be recorded as an amazing achievement in cultivation history.¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi pouted. ¡°Big brother Zu is lying to me again. Didn¡¯t you and the big sisters easily reach the ninth rank too?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression froze. ¡°Uh¡­ We''re a bit special. Your cultivation speed is already at genius level. Besides, you''re good at medicine and pill refinement. Cultivation isn¡¯t even your main strength.¡±

    ¡°But big sister Xie is also good at talismans and formations, and she''s already about to reach the grandmaster rank.¡± Tears appeared in Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s eyes as she spoke.

    Xie Daoyun had a weird expression.

    <em>I probably wouldn¡¯t have been able to reach this level too if I just cultivated normally.</em>

    It was mainly because she had followed big brother Zu and experienced all kinds of miraculous encounters. She had obtained the three magical talismans and Sun En¡¯s inheritance, which was why she was able to grow like this.

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°You are the youngest. If you were given another year or two, you''d probably be able to catch up too.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Ji Xiaoxi was not fully convinced. To go from the beginning of the ninth rank to the peak of the master rank in a year just felt a bit like a fantasy.

    ¡°Of course,¡± Xie Daoyun said with a smile. ¡°If you stay at big brother Zu¡¯s side, you''ll improve really quickly. Also, some of your strength lies in medicine. Not only can you poison your enemies, you can also use pills to increase your own cultivation. You¡¯ll definitely cultivate faster than other people.¡± She mainly practiced with runes, so she sympathized a lot with that experience.

    ¡°But my father said that increasing cultivation with medicine would easily create instability in my foundation.¡± Ji Xiaoxi excelled at medicine, so she naturally understood that worry.

    Zu An paused for a moment before saying, ¡°That''s all in the past. Now that the world has merged, the world¡¯s natural ki is abundant. Use pills to assist in cultivation, and the rest of us will help you dissolve the medicinal strength. It¡¯ll be fine as long as you don¡¯t purely rely on the pills to increase your cultivation.¡±

    In the past, the world¡¯s ki hadn¡¯t been as rich as the ki stored in pills. If cultivators relied purely on natural ki to cultivate, it would be much slower. But if one used pills to attempt breakthroughs, even if it resulted in increased cultivation speed, thee huge difference from the world¡¯s ki would make it like going against one''s fate. That naturally led to a great deal of trouble.

    However, the world¡¯s ki was now richer than before, shrinking the disparity between the two sources of ki. The side effects of using pills to cultivate were now much weaker as a result.

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll listen to big brother Zu.¡± Having found a way to be stronger, Ji Xiaoxi immediately had a big smile.

    The women all cursed inwardly.

    <em>We said so many words to persuade you, but they weren¡¯t as useful as a few words from your big brother Zu at all. Hmph, people really do forget loyalty when ites to love.</em>

    ¡­

    After a few more days passed, they allpleted their preparations. The group gathered around the formation. They took out the Four Symbols Stones, ready to investigate the Monster World and see what was really going on there.

 Chapter 2304: Formless Mass

    Zu An handed the Four Symbols Stones to Xie Daoyun. She had been studying thisrge-scale transport formation the whole time. He believed that no one here was more familiar with this formation than her.

    Xie Daoyun received the Four Symbols Stones. She didn¡¯t immediately ce them into the formation, however. She looked at him and asked hesitantly, ¡°Big brother Zu, aren¡¯t you supposed to pretend to be that True Demon Emissary?¡±

    Zu An stared nkly for a moment before realizing he had actually forgotten that step. He said, ¡°There were too many other things on my mind, so I almost forgot. Thank you for the reminder, little sister Ling¡¯er.¡±

    After saying that, he activated the Myriad Transformations skill. His appearance, and even his physique, began to slowly change. In the blink of an eye, hepletely became the True Demon Emissary.

    Even though they were already mentally prepared for this process, the women still backed up reflexively, looking at him vigntly as if they were ready to attack at a moment¡¯s notice.

    ¡°Big brother¡­ Zu?¡± Pei Mianman asked to test the waters.

    Zu An nodded. ¡°It¡¯s me.¡±

    The women sighed in relief when they heard his familiar voice. They surrounded him again and examined him all over. They were all amazed when they saw how much he resembled the real thing. Even though they knew he had an appearance-altering skill, it was still a bit mind-blowing when they saw this process in person.

    ¡°But your voice isn¡¯t quite the same.¡± Jiang Luofu frowned slightly. There was still that w.¡°What about now?¡± Zu An coughed lightly, and his voice became more frivolous. In the past, he''d needed the Kawaii Waifu Voice Changer to change his voice, but after learning this new Myriad Transformations skill, he didn¡¯t need to go through the trouble and could directly change it.

    When she heard that familiar and disgusting voice, Pei Mianman looked annoyed. ¡°I am one hundred percent sure that your voice is now exactly the same as the True Demon Emissary¡¯s.¡±

    ¡°Really? Why don¡¯t you show me a smile then, beautiful?¡± Zu An grinned and reached out with a finger to hook her chin.

    Pei Mianman immediately took a step back to avoid him. ¡°Don¡¯t touch me with that disgusting appearance.¡±

    Everyone in the surroundings smiled when they saw her looking scared.

    Yun Yuqing said with a big smile, ¡°You are indeed exactly identical now. The only w is that you¡¯re stillcking a bit in frivolousness. Where are his maids and female ves?¡±

    Jiang Luofu was speechless.

    <em>This woman Yun Yuqing really isn¡¯t scared of anything!</em>

    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m over here.¡± Ji Xiaoxi raised her hand with a red face. ¡°What should I do?¡±

    They had all done their best to seize the opportunity of the worlds merging to increase their cultivation, so she hadn¡¯t had time to train as a maid. She was now really nervous.

    The other women couldn''t help but smile. This youngdy really was incredibly naive and cute.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. You can just stay at big brother Zu¡¯s side,¡± Yun Yuqing said with aforting smile. This youngdy¡¯s soft-hearted and delicate nature didn¡¯t need any acting. As long as she followed behind Zu An, no one would have any ws to pick out.

    ¡°Oh.¡± Ji Xiaoxi sighed in relief. She quickly moved behind Zu An. When she saw his thick and broad back, she immediately felt much calmer.

    Suddenly, she blinked.

    <em>Are they saying that my personality is already close to a maid¡¯s?</em>

    <em>But being a maid doesn¡¯t seem to be that bad if I can always stay at big brother Zu¡¯s side.</em>

    ¡°Big sister Jiang, it¡¯s now your turn.¡± Yun Yuqing looked at her with an ambiguous smile.

    ¡°It seems you''re quite interested in bing a female ve to me yourself,¡± Jiang Luofu snapped, giving her an annoyed look.

    ¡°But you clearly volunteered for this,¡± Yun Yuqing said with a pursed smile.

    Jiang Luofu harrumphed. She moved over to Zu An¡¯s side. ¡°Is this good enough for you?¡±

    ¡°Xiaoxi is fine where she is, but you need to move a bit closer,¡± Yun Yuqing said with a frown.

    Jiang Luofu blushed. Even though she was already mature and rational enough in her way of thinking, being this close to a man still felt a bit unnatural.

    Yun Yuqing propped up her chin and looked at them. ¡°I just feel as if something isn¡¯t quite right. What do you all think?¡±

    Suolun Shi and the others also frowned slightly. ¡°Something does seem off.¡±

    ¡°I know what it is!¡± Yun Yuqing walked in a circle around them before her eyes suddenly lit up. She went over to their side, grabbed Zu An¡¯s hand, and put it around Jiang Luofu. ¡°That¡¯s more like it!¡±

    Zu An had held Jiang Luofu before when he saved her, but that was a chaotic situation and his focus waspletely on the capital¡¯s condition. Holding her waist in this current environment¡­ He had to admit that this was a mature and seductive body. Even though there were still clothes separating them, it was still enough to make him quite excited.

    When she felt the heating from her waist, Jiang Luofu also felt strange. Her heart rate couldn''t help but speed up. The faster her heartbeat was, the more flustered she became.

    <em>Ah Zu¡¯s cultivation is so high, he can definitely hear my heart rate, right?</em>

    ¡°No, your hand is still acting unnatural,¡± Yun Yuqing said. Then, she moved Zu An¡¯s hand down to Jiang Luofu¡¯s bottom. She nodded in satisfaction. ¡°That¡¯s more like what that True Demon Emissary would do.¡±

    Everyone else had strange expression.

    Pei Mianman just felt as if the top of her head was a bit green. Jiang Luofu was ¡®seducing¡¯ her lover right in front of her, yet there was nothing she could say. After all, the more convincing their act, the safer everyone would be.

    Xie Daoyun thought that if the academy¡¯s students saw this, their eyes would just pop out of their sockets. Even some of the other teachers could have simr reactions. After all, Jiang Luofu was known for being a cold beauty. She was the one in charge of discipline, so there had always been an air of unapproachable dignity around her.

    Ji Xiaoxi was a bit worried and stirred up. She knew that her little aunt had never liked being that close to a man.

    <em>She¡¯s definitely making this sacrifice for me.</em>

    Suolun Shi was a bit absentminded. If she''d known this was going to happen, she wouldn¡¯t have chosen to be some saintess. Being like that seemed pretty good too¡­

    Zu An was a bit apologetic. ¡°This is a bit inappropriate, right?¡±

    Yun Yuqing said, ¡°Why? You need to do it like this. Since she''s a female ve, then why would the True Demon Emissary care about etiquette?¡±

    Jiang Luofu took a deep breath. ¡°She¡¯s right. All of this is for the sake of better acting. Ah Zu, you don¡¯t need to overthink it.¡±

    Zu An thought, <em>I don¡¯t want to overthink it either!</em>

    <em>But that shocking touch really is hard to forget.</em>

    ¡°Big sister Jiang is right, but you can¡¯t look that shy and continue to maintain your cold and proud demeanor. It¡¯s better if you even show a bit of disgust for the True Demon Emissary. If you add a bit of helplessness too, that¡¯d be even more fitting.¡±

    Jiang Luofu was dumbfounded.

    <em>I really want to give that woman a good beating! Is that an expression that a human could make?</em>

    ¡°Exactly, just like that!¡± Yun Yuqing¡¯s eyes widened.

    Jiang Luofu was speechless.

    Despite the initial farce, however, she and Zu An still gradually got used to their new identities.

    As he held Jiang Luofu¡¯s mature body, Zu An was a bit flustered. He felt as if he had returned to Brightmoon City when he listened to Wei Suo shoot his mouth off. If that guy found out that he was holding his goddess like this, he''d probably be jealous enough to start drooling, right?

    ¡°There is another problem,¡± Pei Mianman suddenly said.

    ¡°What is it?¡± The others were startled.

    Pei Mianman spoke with a reddened face, but she still said, ¡°That True Demon Emissary seemed to have a kind of skill that let him determine if the other party was a virgin or not¡­¡±

    Everyone else already knew what she was saying before she even finished.

    Jiang Luofu and Ji Xiaoxi didn¡¯t have any love stories that anyone knew of, so they were definitely virgins. If the true demons saw them, they would definitely suspect the pair''s identities as a ve and a servant. After all, the True Demon Emissary was definitely no gentleman.

    When she saw the way the others looked at her, Jiang Luofu¡¯s expression changed. ¡°We can¡¯t¡­¡±

    She was okay with Zu An holding her like this for the sake ofpleting their mission, but it was a bit too fast to take a step further! Moreover, even if she was willing, she couldn''t let Ji Xiaoxi enter that pit of fire!

    Xie Doayun coughed lightly and said, ¡°I have a way.¡± She took out a pen and ink to draw a few talismans. ¡°This talisman of mine can prevent others from finding out.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Jiang Luofu¡¯s face was a bit red.

    <em>Just what was I thinking?</em>

    Zu An had a strange expression.

    <em>If things like this existed in my previous world, wouldn¡¯t some people end up buying them out?</em>n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    After Xie Daoyun gave them the talismans, she then ced the White Tiger Stone onto the altar. Then, Zu An took out the formation disc he''d gotten from the True Demon Emissary. It began to vibrate and let out a droning hum. The surrounding formation had already been repaired by Xie Daoyun, so soon after, one ring after another lit up.

    When they felt the changes in the surrounding space, everyone present held each other''s hands closely. A secondter, a blue streak of light appeared beneath their feet. It surrounded them, and they instantly vanished from their original location.

    When they regained their senses, they discovered that they were already in another space. They were all high-level figures of the present world and were quite experienced, but this was the first time they had taken an interster transport formation. Even Zu An was a bit nervous.

    They seemed to be surrounded by a special energy. The formation disk was releasing streaks of faint light that formed a faint connection with a certain direction up ahead. It led them toward that direction.

    Zu An looked around him. He''d thought that he would be able to see a beautiful starry sky or the cosmos, but it seemed he had been overthinking things. He was surrounded by a formless mass. He could only see rapidly moving streaks of light. In that instant, he even had the strange feeling that he was in the middle of some kind of data stream from his previous world.

    ¡°Everyone, make sure to hold on tight. If we fell here, not only would our survival not be guaranteed, even if we did survive, we would never be able to go back,¡± Xie Daoyun said nervously.

 Chapter 2305: Storm Eye

    <h4>Chapter 2305: Storm Eye</h4>

    This was the women''s first time experiencing such a thing. When they heard that, they became even more tense and stuck firmly to the people next to them.

    Zu An was in the middle of all of them, surrounded by soft and sweet-smelling bodies. Every one of them felt different to the touch. Some were soft like cotton, while others were well-proportioned. They all had unique fragrances too. If it were another man here, even if they didn¡¯t faint from the chaotic streams of nothingness, they would be lost in this feeling of softness and tenderness.

    But Zu An didn¡¯t have the leisure to enjoy these things. Instead, he focused his attention on sensing the surrounding chaos and spatial fluctuations. This kind of interster transport formation was rare, so he couldn''t miss such a good chance to experience it up close.

    The spatial current was extremely chaotic and unstable. If he identally touched it, he''d risk being obliterated on the spot. However, the whole group was enveloped by a special power. This was most likely due to the effects of the Four Symbols Stones and the transport formation allowing them to safely swim through the void. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    He tried to extend his divine sense to explore the surrounding space, but it seemed to dissipate into an endless void. With his current cultivation, his divine sense already covered an extremely wide area, and yet this was the result. It could only mean one thing, which was that this ce was already beyond the limits of space and time.

    Sometimes, powerful auras passed by. The women''s faces became really pale. Those weren''t beings they could contend against at all.

    Zu An tried tofort them and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Those are likely the so-called void monsters. We''re protected by the formation¡¯s power, so they can¡¯t sense us.¡±

    The Baopu Sutra had some info about these creatures. If they didn¡¯t rely on a transport formation and tried to move through the cosmos like this by relying on their own bodies, not only would the journey take an eternity, they would also run into all sorts of frightening void monsters.

    Xie Daoyun grew nervous. ¡°This is the first time I''ve repaired such arge-scale formation. I wonder if anything bad will end up happening.¡±

    When he saw her grab the corners of her dress nervously, Zu An said with a smile, ¡°You''re a genius in the field of talismans and formations, and you¡¯ve done very well. I¡¯ve taken a look at it too. There are no problems with this formation.¡±

    When she heard him say that, Xie Daoyun felt relieved.

    Sensing the others'' unease, Zu An realized that the more quiet the environment was, the easier it became to have negative thoughts. Furthermore, if he wasn¡¯t mistaken, this journey would take a bit longer than expected. They were traveling through the cosmos, after all.

    As such, he found a topic to talk about; he asked Pei Mianman, ¡°Manman, we¡¯ve been busy all this time and I almost forgot to ask you why you were at the Yun n''s residence. How did you end up bing the Yun n¡¯s saintess?¡±

    The other women also looked at her curiously. They hadn''t thought she would have a connection with the saintess too.

    Meanwhile, Pei Mianman was feeling a bit unhappy because she had always been alone with Zu An, but now she could only watch as he hugged other women.

    When she heard what he said, she snapped out of her daze and replied, ¡°I was cultivating in seclusion in Jadefall Pce when I suddenly received a letter. It said it had information about my mother. Even though I knew it was strange, I decided to do a bit of investigating.¡±

    Zu An knew the circumstances of her mother¡¯s death had always been strange, and that she had spent a long time investigating it. When they were at the Pei manor, they had learned that her mother¡¯s grave was plundered and that her remains were missing. He had even used the Embroidered Envoy¡¯s informationwork to help with her search, but there were no results.

    This had ended up bing something that always bothered Pei Mianman. It was no wonder that she hadn''t been able to hold back her curiosity after receiving a potential lead.

    ¡°Later, I went to the Demon race¡¯s Yun n following the information and found out my mother¡¯s real identity. She was actually from the Demon race, and she was even the sister of thete Yun n Master.¡± Pei Mianman sighed. She wasn¡¯t actually that surprised that the Demon race¡¯s bloodline was involved. After all, she had that strange ck me from her bloodline, which didn¡¯t seem like a human power no matter how she thought about it. That was why she''d already had her guesses about her background. After going through all of this, she was actually calmer than she''d initially expected.

    Yun Yuqing couldn''t help but give her a second look.

    <i>She is my aunt¡¯s child after all. That means we''re actually cousins. I didn¡¯t expect the two of us to end up liking the same man. Fate really loves to toy with us.</i>

    <i>Okay, I definitely have to consult her in privateter, and find out what she ate to grow that big.</i>

    Meanwhile, Xie Daoyun was worried. Chu First Miss had little sisters, the Pei n had sisters, and even Xiaoxi had her little aunt helping her.

    <i>I¡¯m the only one who''s all alone. I feel as if I¡¯m really at a disadvantage...</i>

    <i>No, I have a little brother! But Xie Xiu ispletely unreliable. He only knows how toe up with rotten ideas.</i>

    When she remembered how her little brother had told her to be a bit more proactive, Xie Daoyun¡¯s cheeks reddened.

    ¡°Was it the Yun n Master or the True Demon Emissary who wrote you that letter?¡± Zu An asked. He just felt that the one who had written the letter seemed to know a bit too much.

    ¡°Neither.¡± Pei Mianman shook her head. ¡°I thought it was them at first too, but after interacting with them, I found out that they didn¡¯t know about this. They were both really excited to learn that I had Yun n blood. It was all because I wanted to learn more about my mother that I agreed to be this saintess. Fortunately, you arrived in time, or else I would have been in danger.¡±

    ¡°Neither?¡± Zu An was a bit surprised. ¡°Then who sent the letter?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know either.¡± Pei Mianman frowned slightly. ¡°I did find out my real background when I came to the Yun n, but my mother¡¯s remains are still missing. I wanted to find the one who sent me the letter and ask for the truth, but they seem to have vanished without a trace... No, to be more precise, it¡¯s almost as if they never existed in this world.¡±

    ¡°Did Jadefall Pce¡¯s side investigate?¡± Zu An asked with a frown.

    ¡°The sect leader and master also had simr suspicions. They checked everyone in the sect, but they didn¡¯t notice anything. It¡¯s almost as if it really was like I just said. Other than the letter itself, it''s as if the sender never existed.¡± Pei Mianman also found this ridiculous. ¡°Even though I learned quite a bit by following what the letter said and came to the Yun n, I didn¡¯t find the sender at all.¡±

    Suolun Shi couldn''t help but say, ¡°Anyone who could aplish this much would have to be extremely familiar with the Demon race, and also have extremely high cultivation. They might even be close to big brother Zu¡¯s cultivation rank. Is there really someone like that?¡±

    Zu An also frowned. He had just asked about the subject rather casually. He hadn¡¯t expected to receive an answer like this. He felt a slight sense of unease, as if he''d overlooked something. He wondered if it would end up endangering them on this trip to the Monster World.

    His eyes suddenly widened while he was thinking. Solid ground suddenly appeared beneath their feet, leaving the women surprised. It seemed they had reached their destination.

    The chaotic streams gradually retreated, and their surroundings gradually appeared. The group was stunned. They seemed to be inside a small-scale underground fort, surrounded by sturdyyers of rock and earth. Even though they were underground, however, it wasn¡¯t pitch-ck. There were small-scale illumination formations here. There was also a formation above their heads that revealed thendscape outside.

    On the surface, there was wind everywhere! There was nothing protruding from the ground. Any towering mountains had already been ttened by the wind, let alone things like trees and nts. There were no rivers orkes either. All the water had been swept up into the sky. On top of that, there was a giant red eye that covered the whole sky, seeming to extend limitlessly into the horizon.

    ¡°What kind of monster is that? Why are its eyes so big?!¡± Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s face immediately paled.

    The other women were also quite rmed. The great pressure made them fully experience what it meant to fear giant things.

    ¡°That isn¡¯t a monster, but rather a storm that covers this entire world,¡± Zu An slowly said with a grave expression.

 Chapter 2306: Lethal Danger

    <h4>Chapter 2306: Lethal Danger</h4>

    ¡°A storm?¡± The women were terrified. Even though Zu An had already exined some things about this world to them, they still found it a bit unbelievable when seeing it for themselves. The endless pressure felt as if a massive star was about to smash into this. If they hadn¡¯t seen it for themselves, it really would be hard to even describe in words.

    Zu An knew that in his previous world, Jupiter had a storm called the Great Red Spot that was forty thousand kilometers wide and fifteen thousand kilometers tall. But judging from what the True Demon Emissary said and from what he was seeing now, this world¡¯s storm was countless timesrger than Jupiter¡¯s. No wonder it had been able to destroy the civilization of such a powerful world! Zu An sighed deeply.

    <i>Crack!</i>

    The group all looked for the source of the sudden, loud sound. They saw Xie Daoyun¡¯s face turn deathly pale as she stared at the formation disc in her hands.

    The once sparkling and shining formation disc had already lost all of its brilliance, turning it ash-gray. Countless cracks quickly appeared on its surface. Xie Daoyun tried to use talismans to preserve the formation disk, but in the end, it turned into fragments and scattered ashes with a loud noise. It waspletely impossible to put together again.

    The women were all speechless. They hade to this world through the help of therge-scale transport formation. Without the formation disk, didn¡¯t that mean they would never be able to return?

    Xie Daoyun was panicking so much that she almost cried. ¡°I didn¡¯t do this on purpose! I don¡¯t know what''s going on...¡±

    Zu An picked up a piece of the formation disc. He tried tofort her by saying, ¡°This doesn¡¯t have anything to do with you. This formation disc is probably just a one-time use device that self-destructs after itpletes its job. I didn¡¯t foresee either, so it isn¡¯t your fault.¡±

    With Xie Daoyun¡¯s skill in formations, she would normally have been able to realize that too. But because of her feeling of rm, she hadn''t thought about it in detail yet.

    ¡°Why did the True Demon Emissary make it like this? Could it be that he didn¡¯t need toe back to our world anymore?¡± Pei Mianman was confused.

    ¡°If my suspicions are correct, he seemed to be guarding against something. Maybe he was worried that the formation disc would be stolen by the Monster Lord, so he did this. He probably either wanted to gain a lot of merit through this, or...¡± Zu An paused for a moment before continuing, ¡°He might never have nned to tell the Monster Lord from the very start.¡±

    The women nodded. From what they knew about the True Demon Emissary, he did seem like the type to do that.

    To a certain degree, these monsters¡¯ way of thinking was very human. They all had their own ns, so their interests didn''t always align with those of the higher-ups.

    ¡°Then what should we do now? Will we never be able to go back anymore?¡± Jiang Luofu was a bit worried.

    The other women were also extremely worried when they heard that.

    Meanwhile, though, Ji Xiaoxi snuck Zu An a look.

    <i>As long as I can be with big brother Zu, there¡¯s nothing to be scared of even if I have to stay here.</i>

    Suolun Shi¡¯s face was also a bit red. Fortunately, there were both men and women here, so they could continue to procreate...

    <i>We might have to create a new race with big brother Zu all over again here...</i>

    <i>Ah, Suolun Shi, Suolun Shi, this world is already about to be destroyed! What kind of nonsense are you thinking about right now?!</i>

    ¡°We can make another formation disc,¡± Zu An said calmly. ¡°Little sister Ling¡¯er and I have researched the formation and formation disc before. We pretty much understand it.¡± n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    When she heard what he said, Xie Daoyun was about to say something, but stopped. They did more or less fully understand it, but there was still ten percent of the contents that they were still unsure about. Otherwise, they would¡¯ve sensed that the disc would self-destruct. Regarding this kind of interster transport formation, forget about a tenth, even if it was a hundredth that they were missing, that would still be enough to leave thempletely puzzled. Even so, she was intelligent and immediately suspected that he was saying this to help everyone else calm down.

    Sure enough, when they heard what he said, the other women''s fright began to subside.

    Even Jiang Luofu couldn''t help but give him a gratified look.

    <i>This man always manages to remain so calm in all kinds of dangerous situations, and he always has a solution. He is indeed a bit handsome...</i>

    Xie Daoyun still couldn''t help but feel worried inside. She said through ki transmission, ¡°Big brother Zu, there are still many areas I don¡¯t understand. We might not be able to make one again...¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°Since the True Demon Emissary was able to create the formation disc in this world, there should be rted formation knowledge avable. If we remember to look for that information, we should be able to make up for the gaps in our understanding."

    Xie Daoyun was stunned. When she heard him say that, she immediately felt much more relieved. However, she quickly thought of another problem. ¡°But the formation disc needs a lot of materials.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, I have a lot of materials with me,¡± Zu An said. He now held authority in the human, fiend, and Ocean races. Whether it was the Second Empress, the Mermaid Queen, or Bi Linglong and Liu Ning, they had always shoved all sorts of goods into his arms for fear that he wouldn¡¯t have enough. The Brilliant ss Bead¡¯s storage was massive as well, so the things he had with him were enough for all of them to survive without any problems for several decades.

    ¡°But that formation disc seemed to use a lot of precious materials I¡¯ve never seen before.¡± As soon as Xie Daoyun said that, she suddenlyughed. ¡°We¡¯ll get them from this world too, right?¡±

    ¡°Little sister Ling¡¯er is smart, as expected.¡± Zu An¡¯s look of praise as he spoke made Xie Daoyun¡¯s face redden slightly.

    Pei Mianman looked at the two suspiciously. She just felt as if these two were flirting right before her eyes, but she had no proof.

    Just then, Ji Xiaoxi eximed in surprise, ¡°Look over there! What is that?¡±

    Everyone else looked in the direction she was pointing. They saw a hill that was dozens of meters tall; it was cracking apart at a visible rate. It was as if every time the wind blew past, the hill had ayer shaved off.

    Jiang Luofu had some misgivings. ¡°Huh? Why is there still a hill like this that managed to survive the world-destroying winds?¡±

    Suolun Shi said with a trembling voice, ¡°That¡¯s not a hill, but rather the tallest mountain in the Monster World.¡±

    ¡°The tallest mountain?¡± Everyone else had a strange expression. It really was hard for them to associate a hill that was a few dozen meters tall with the tallest mountain!

    Suolun Shi picked up a notebook. ¡°This contains the notes left behind by the True Demon Emissary. This mountain used to be over a thousand kilometers tall, and the area it covered was even more unimaginablyrge. The reason why he chose this as the end point was because he wanted to borrow the remains of this mountain to resist a good amount of the cyclones¡¯ power.¡±

    The True Demon Emissary¡¯snguage was a bit simr to that of the Demon race. Suolun Shi was thus able to guess some of the meaning of what was written in his diary.

    Everyone else¡¯s expressions finally changed. What kind of concept was a mountain that was a thousand kilometers tall? There were no mountains that big in their world. And yet, that incredibly majestic mountain had already been worn away until it was just a few dozen meters tall. How terrifying was that cyclone¡¯s power?

    Zu An stared at it for a bit, then said seriously, ¡°The winds carry terrifying destructive power, and they even contain grit and water from this world¡¯s surface. With all that sweeping through the air, they''ve be countless times stronger than any sword ki!¡±

    After all, this Monster World¡¯s tallest mountain had been able to be so strong because it concentrated the essence of the world within it. The fact that this hill couldst until now was because it was the very foundation of that entire mountain, so it was made up of the toughest substance in the world. Their world¡¯s most miraculous weapons likely wouldn''t even be able to leave behind the smallest mark on its surface. And yet, the erosion of the terrifying cyclones was shaving it down at a visible rate. It was obvious that the hill that remained would soon bepletely erased from this world.

    Zu An¡¯s body was already incredibly tough, but he knew that if he tried to go outside and face the horrifying power of the cyclones, there wouldn¡¯t be anything left of him after just a few seconds.

    Suolun Shi pointed at a line of words in the notebook written in red ink. ¡°If I''m not mistaken, the True Demon Emissary said to pay close attention to that mountain. If its height goes below sixty meters, it will quickly copse. Without the protection of the mountain, this fort¡¯s defensive formation will be destroyed instantly!¡±

    Everyone else''s hearts sank when they heard that. The mountain seemed to already be smaller than that!

 Chapter 2307: Countdown

    When he heard that, Zu An didn¡¯t hesitate. He took out a formation disc and quickly set up close to a hundred defensive formations around them. The many formations he''d set up to protect his body inside the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons had managed to hold off the Bloodthirst Crocodile and Shadowhorror Devil for several days, but now, he set up double the number, showing just how seriously he was treating this matter.

    Xie Daoyun went over to help him when she saw that. She was a formation and talisman genius, after all; they didn¡¯t need to say anything, yet she was able to coordinate with Zu An perfectly.

    When they saw that, the others all took out their defensive treasures. None of them dared to hold back right now.

    <em>Crack!</em>

    Just then, with a loud noise, the hill suddenly broke apart from the inside. The top half of the hilltop flew into the air, and then was instantly ripped to pieces by the terrifying winds. Then, the lower half copsed loudly, and what remained of the hill disappeared into the wind. The entire process happened too quickly; it didn¡¯t happen bit by bit the way they''d been expecting. Instead, the whole hill was instantly destroyed once the erosion exceeded a certain point.

    At the same time, a massive figure suddenly leaped out from the mountain ruins with a furious roar.

    ¡°What a scary aura!¡± Jiang Luofu felt her throat turn a bit dry when she saw that.

    The figure belonged to a giant monster that was dozens of meters tall. The intense pressure it gave off made her soul shiver even though she was inside the fort. She had faced Zhao Han and seen the True Demon Emissary, but she had never felt such a sensation before.

    Zu An knew this monster was far more powerful than any invading monsters they had encountered so far. After all, those monsters had been suppressed by the world barrier, while this world didn¡¯t have such restrictions.The creature had evidently been hiding in the depths of this mountain, perhaps cultivating or trying to hide from the cyclones. But regardless of why it was there, something that could hide in the depths of the tallest mountain was definitely extraordinary. It would have practically been absorbing the essence of the world itself. If not for the fact that the mountain was destroyed, its strength could have grown to an unimaginable level. At the very least, it wouldn¡¯t have been weaker than the legendary Monster Lord.

    And yet, even a monster this powerful could only roar in despair.

    Streaks of light appeared around its body. They formed natural patterns that were already quite close to written characters; these were imprints of the great dao. Judging from that, it was easy to picture just how powerful the monster was. It fired a giant ball of light from its mouth to try to block the winds around it, but the powerful sphere onlysted for an instant before it was blown away by the winds of destruction. Then, endless wind crashed down on its body.

    The monster roared again and again, and the patterns on its body became even brighter. Suddenly, protective armor manifested around it.

    As the earth-shaking roars reached the fort, Suolun Shi¡¯s face paled. ¡°That monster really is terrifyingly powerful. Just its roar alone is enough to make souls tremble.¡± If not for the fact that they were inside the fort and also had all kinds of defensive formations around them, she could have died just from its roar.

    ¡°But I seem to hear fear inits voice,¡± Ji Xiaoxi said weakly, herrge eyes full of sympathy.

    Zu An gave her a look of surprise. Even though her cultivation was the lowest, she seemed to carry natural affinity with the living creatures of the world. Xiaoxi had keenly sensed its emotions. He said, ¡°You¡¯re right. This monster will be finished soon.¡±

    As soon as he said that, the monster outside suddenly screamed miserably. The light around its waist suddenly dimmed. A streak of bloody light appeared, and a strand of red mist floated out. That seemed to only be the beginning, as more and more wounds opened up after that.

    At first, they were fine blood threads; the monster''s powerful body flickered with light as it tried to recover from its injuries. Such powerful beings almost all had a great deal of regenerative ability. Unfortunately, its rate of regeneration couldn''t keep up with the rate at which the wounds were opening up at all.

    Shortly after, not only did more wounds appear, the size of the injuries also became bigger and bigger. Blood eventually stoppeding out of the monster''s wounds, because there was none left for it to shed. Soon, the special patterns on its body no longer flickered with light. Its head drooped, and its body fell from the sky.

    The monster had died!

    Its massive body didn¡¯t fall to the ground, however. As it fell, endless winds that were even sharper than sword ki melted its flesh away. The only thing it left behind was arge skeleton that was entirely snow-white, shining with sparkling brilliance.

    Everyone present was knowledgeable. They had seen simr bones in secret dungeons. These kinds of bones normally wouldn¡¯t erode for tens of thousands of years, and often contained powerful energy. They were among the highest-quality materials for weapon refinement. These bones were even shinier than any they had seen before, which meant they were also higher-quality than anything they''d encountered.

    And yet, these remains that would normally havested for an incredibly long time didn¡¯t evennd on the ground before they were crushed into dust.

    The women were all within the fort, watching the power of the winds from a safe ce, but once they saw that they all fell silent. Even though all this took a long time to describe, only a few breaths of time had passed from when the monster appeared to when it was crushed into dust. They knew that if they found themselbes in front of this wind, they would be obliterated in an instant.

    <em>Crack... Crack...</em>

    Terrifying sounds came from above them. They looked up and saw the entire fort was starting to crack apart. They suddenly realized that the True Demon Emissary had mentioned that this fort had only managed tost so long because the great mountain blocked a portion of the wind¡¯s strength. Now that the mountain was gone, the fort was facing the cyclones alone.

    <em>Boom!</em>

    They didn¡¯t have time to think about it any further, because the entire fort was instantly destroyed and the outermost formations also grew dim, losing their effects. Fortunately, Zu An and Xie Daoyun had previously prepared many formations. Otherwise, they would have been instantly erased from this world.

    But they still couldn''t bring themselves to feel happy, because they noticed that the powerful defensive formation Zu An had ced on the outermostyer, something none of them could possibly breach, had been destroyed in a single second by the terrifying winds.

    Fortunately, Zu An had prepared a hundred formations. But at to this rate, all of them would be destroyed soon. The only thing awaiting them then would be death.

    Zu An and Xie Daoyun¡¯s fingers moved quickly enough to leave afterimages. They continued to create more formations. If not for the tremendous amount of ki stones that Zu An had with him, the formations¡¯ costs alone would be too much. But even so, the speed at which they set up formations was far from matching the rate that the winds destroyed them.

    All of this was just to stall for a bit more time. The women tried all sorts of different ways to stabilize the formations, but there was only despair in their eyes.

    A drop of cold sweat appeared on Zu An¡¯s brows. He''d thought that the True Demon Emissary would install the transport formation on this side close to the True Demon race''s territory, or at least in a safe ce. He''d never expected to already be facing this kind of life and death crisis as soon as they arrived in this world. Unfortunately, the True Demon Emissary had suddenly died because of the restriction set within him, so Zu An hadn¡¯t been able to ask him too many details.

    Pei Mianman supplied ki to the formations while asking nervously, ¡°Ah Zu, what do we do now?¡±

    Zu An handed the formation disc to Xie Daoyun. ¡°You''ll set up the formations from now on.¡±

    ¡°But I¡¯m too slow by myself¡­¡± Even though that was what Xie Daoyun said, she still instinctively continued to arrange more formations.

    Zu An stood at the very center and observed everything. He began to think about how to get out of this situation.

    A whileter, Jiang Luofu finally couldn''t take it and reminded him, ¡°At the current rate, we only have thirty seconds left before all of the formations are destroyed.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s mind moved extremely quickly. It was as if he didn¡¯t hear what she said at all.

    ¡°Ten!¡±

    ¡°Nine!¡±

    ¡°Eight!¡±

    ¡­

    Jiang Luofu¡¯s countdown was getting closer and closer. The women were now in absolute despair.

    <em>Right, even if Ah Zu is amazing, what can he do in this kind of situation?</em>

    <em>But being able to die together isn¡¯t impossible to ept either¡­</em>n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

 Chapter 2308: A Fake Sky

    <h4>Chapter 2308: A Fake Sky</h4>

    Zu An¡¯s thoughts moved extremely quickly. He didn¡¯t immediately enter a state of despair, and instead focused on what he could do to survive.

    The True Demon Emissary wasn¡¯t an idiot. He definitely wouldn''t put himself in a clear situation of despair. Judging from his records, it seemed he''d also been paying attention to the mountain¡¯s changes. In that case, he had to have known that this ce could be destroyed at any time.

    The reason why he had made this the endpoint of the transportation formation, rather than somewhere in the True Demons'' home, was for the sake of protecting his secrets. But there was no need to put himself in that much danger in order to preserve a secret. He definitely had to have prepared some method to respond to this kind of situation. So just what was it, then? n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The first thing Zu An thought of was that there was no way they could remain on the surface if they wanted to avoid the terrifying cyclones. They could only go further underground. So was there an underground path?

    But he quickly rejected that thought. He had scanned this entire ce as soon as he arrived. If there were secret tunnels, he would have noticed immediately. Besides, the remains of the greatest mountain were all made of the toughest stone. Cutting open such a surface wasn¡¯t too realistic.

    He had thought about cutting a path underground himself, but before even considering whether or not he would be able to quickly cut into this stone that was tougher than diamond, he''d realized he would end up destroying the defensive formations around them as soon as he began. If that happened, all of them would be instantly torn to shreds by the terrifying winds.

    He had the instant movement skill, but he couldn''t bring away so many people with it...

    He quickly gave up on that thought, and instead tried to think from the True Demon Emissary¡¯s perspective. The only way to leave this ce was another transport formation!

    But the formation disc had been destroyed the moment they arrived. There were no signs of another formation disc nearby either.

    ¡°Three!¡±

    ¡°Two!¡±

    ...

    Jiang Luofu¡¯s countdown continued. From her initial rm to her now calmer voice, it was clear that she had already epted her fate.

    Zu An had a sudden insight and grabbed the notebook from Suolun Shi¡¯s hands. Then, he took out a badly damaged formation disc from his inner pockets. The two unexpectedly resonated, and the newly-formed formation disc produced blue light, wrapping the group within. The surrounding space rippled intensely, and all of them disappeared.

    At almost the same time, thest defensive formation was destroyed by the winds. Just then, the entire fort was turned to dust by the relentless cyclones.

    The group members all felt a sense of weightlessness. Soon after, they reappeared in another formation. There were no lethal cyclones; instead, there were only clear skies and a beautiful sun. There was even birdsong and fragrant flowers. They seemed to be in a valley.

    ¡°Am I dreaming?¡± Yun Yuqing took in everything around her with disbelief.

    ¡°Have I already died?¡± Ji Xiaoxi rubbed her eyes. As she looked at everything around her, she didn¡¯t really believe it either.

    Then, she cried out in surprise. She held her face and gave Zu An a wronged look.

    Zu An had a big smile on his face as he gave her cheek a pinch. He had to admit that supple and smooth feeling was pretty good. ¡°Of course not. Otherwise, how could you still feel pain?¡±

    ¡°Big brother Zu, you¡¯re so mean! Why didn¡¯t you pinch yourself to check instead?¡± Ji Xiaoxi couldn''t help butin. Jiang Luofu quickly stood in front of her and gave Zu An an annoyed look, fearing that he would continue bullying others.

    Pei Mianman was the first to snap out of her daze. ¡°Ah Zu, just how did we end up here?¡±

    Zu An exined his thought process. ¡°I actually already noticed that iplete formation disc when I was going through the True Demon Emissary¡¯s belongings. But at the time, I just thought it was something he was still working on and didn¡¯t give it too much attention.¡±

    Xie Daoyun nodded. As a formation master, she had a lot of halfpleted goods on her too. Whenever she suddenly gained some insight, she sometimes got started working on some formations, but for varying reasons, they couldn''t bepleted. That was why she had a lot of iplete formation diskc as well.

    Zu An continued, ¡°When I realized that we could only leave from this ce through a formation, I was wondering where the True Demon Emissary would hide the formation disc. There were none in the fort, and with the True Demon Emissary¡¯s cautiousness, he would definitely keep it on him. I thought through all of the things he had with him and remembered that this formation¡¯s missing part seemed to be identical to the notebook, so I put them together. Fortunately, I seeded.¡±

    ¡°Big brother Zu is too amazing! I already closed my eyes and waited for death, but you were actually able to think of this kind of method in such a short amount of time!¡± Suolun Shi¡¯s eyes were full of admiration.

    Jiang Luofu also had simr feelings. She''d been counting down the time, and needed to remain calm to urately calcte the rate at which the formation would be destroyed. But the more she did that, the greater the pressure she''d felt. Even with everything she knew, she couldn''t think of any solution, yet Zu An had managed to find the path to survival in such a short amount of time.

    <i>He is a man of miracles after all. No wonder these women are all so infatuated with him...</i>

    ¡°It was just a fluke.¡± Zu An still felt lingering fear when he recalled what happened. That had just been cutting it too close. If he''d guessed incorrectly, everyone here could have perished.

    If they had died in their previous world, it wouldn¡¯t have been that big of a deal. He was now the underworld lord. Even if he couldn''t revive them, he could take care of their souls. But the Monster World was so far away, so if they perished here, they wouldn''t necessarily return to the underworld. That was, unless hebined this world¡¯sw beacon with the underworld. But the Monster World was already about to be destroyed, so if hebined them, the Annihtion Beast could end up going to their world. Thus,he quickly gave up on that thought.

    As she looked at Zu An, Pei Mianman was full of love. If it had just been once or twice, maybe they would just be flukes. But she had already experienced so many things with Ah Zu and gone through too many simr situations of despair. Somehow, he had always managed to turn the situation around. How could that be described as just a fluke?

    <i>As expected of the man I love!</i>

    Xie Daoyun was also extremely excited. She wanted to say something, but the other women had already expressed their burning passion. How could she join in on such a lively atmosphere with her reserved nature? Instead, she bit her lip and looked around before asking curiously, ¡°Were we transported to another world? This city has a bright sun shining over it and a pleasant environment. There¡¯s no trace of the terrifying winds at all.¡±

    The women were all shocked. They really didn¡¯t want to experience those frightening cyclones again.

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°No, we''re still in the Monster World.¡±

    Even Pei Mianman was confused now. She pointed at the sun above them. ¡°Even the sun is here, and the sky is also really peaceful.¡±

    Every world had its own star that was like the sun.

    ¡°That¡¯s because this is a fake sky.¡± Zu An pointed at the sun above them. ¡°The sun is also fake.¡±

 Chapter 2309: Gap in the Act

    <h4>Chapter 2309: Gap in the Act</h4>

    ¡°A fake sky?¡±

    ¡°The sun is also fake?¡±

    The women looked up at the sky and the dazzling sun in confusion.

    ¡°Hm? It seems to be a bit strange somehow,¡± Pei Mianman muttered to herself after looking at it for a bit.

    The sky was a bit dimmer than a normal sky, and the sun was much brighter than a normal sun. That sun also seemed to be much closer to the ground, but even though it was so close, it didn''t seem all that big. At first, they''d thought that it could just be because this was a different world from their own, but after they heard Zu An¡¯s reminder, they realized that something was off.

    ¡°This seems to be arge-scale formation that imitates a real sky.¡± Xie Daoyun observed it carefully for a bit. Then, she cried out in surprise, ¡°Just what incredible skill could have produced such arge formation?¡±

    The women were also incredibly shocked when they heard her professional analysis. With their high statuses and identities, they had seen all sorts ofrge-scale formations themselves. The human capital¡¯s Great Demon-Eradicating Formation was already quite incredible. Butpared to creating an entire sky, it was still much less impressive.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect the Monster World¡¯s civilization to already be so advanced.¡± Zu An was amazed. The monsters weren¡¯t only individually powerful; their formation knowledge was also quite advanced. And yet, such a powerful world had still ended up facing destruction. In that instant, he could really sense the dangers of the cosmos.

    ¡°What is wrong with that sun? Why does it still seem so small even though it''s so close?¡± Jiang Luofu looked at the ball of light. She was full of curiosity.

    ¡°That¡¯s because it''s on a tall tower. It seems to be a giant illumination device that the monsters created.¡± With Zu An¡¯s cultivation, he was naturally able to sense the nature of the ¡®sun¡¯.

    Just as he spoke, the ¡®sun¡¯ in the sky suddenly went out, plunging the world into night. Sunsets were normally gradual, but this was more like turning a the light. It became dark just like that. Fortunately, there were many structures that produced specks of light in the distance, resembling a city... No, judging from how sparse the lights were, it couldn''t evenpare to the brightly-lit human capital at night.

    But these lights were still enough for the group to realize what was going on with the sun. There was a grand tower, and at the very top, an eyeball-like sphere spun rapidly. It was clearly this thing that had been shining, but it was now in some kind of recovery period.

    ¡°It was this ce¡¯s equivalent to day earlier, but it''s the equivalent of night now,¡± Xie Daoyun said.

    Jiang Luofu looked around her. She even gave the air a sniff. ¡°This ce should be deep below the earth. It¡¯s an underground city.¡±

    Yun Yuqing sighed in amazement. ¡°These monsters really are amazing. They actually made such a massive city underground, and even created this sort of day-night cycle.¡±

    The whole city seemed quite massive. They couldn''t see the end of it at all. The buildings'' architectural style was entirely different from anything they knew from their world. For instance, their world¡¯s gates were short and wide, while this world¡¯s gates were tall and narrow. But beauty was universal. The sense of grandeur that the different buildings gave off shocked even these experienced women.

    ¡°They had no choice because of the cyclones. They could only go underground.¡± Pei Mianman¡¯s words made the other women feel deeply worried and sick at heart. Even a world this powerful couldn''t defeat the Annihtion Beast and could only hide underground.

    ¡°Lower your voices. Someone¡¯sing,¡± Zu An suddenly said quietly. The women all stopped talking and prepared to take out their weapons forbat.

    Just then, a monster hurried over. Apart from his pointed ears, three ck stripes on his face, and entirely ck eyes, he looked like a human. He resembled the True Demon Emissary a bit; he was clearly a member of the True Demon race.

    The moment he saw Zu An, his eyes lit up. He spread his arms and ran toward Zu An. Zu An was about to stop him, but that person kneeled on the ground and continued to greet him. He immediately blurted out a ton of things and looked extremely happy.

    There was no way Zu An could still continue with his original ns; he was a bit stunned. This person definitely knew Donaire and was probably his subordinate. But he realized there was a serious problem. Even though there was nothing wrong with his current appearance, he didn¡¯t know the monsters¡¯nguage!

    The monsters had all seemed to want to blend in and used the localnguage in his world, so he''d assumed that the monsters¡¯nguage was the same. How could he have known that after returning to their world, the monsters would immediately use their ownnguage?

    The other women also realized this problem. Their expressions changed a bit. They prepared to restrain the monster.

    Just then, Suolun Shi spoke through ki transmission. ¡°He is Donaire¡¯s servant and is weing the young master¡¯s return.¡±

    Zu An was startled. ¡°You can understand the monsternguage?¡±

    Suolun Shi replied, ¡°Theirnguage is very simr to our Demon race¡¯s ancientnguage. I made sure to study the Demon race¡¯s ancient texts for the sake of cultivating some techniques. Even though there are some areas that aren¡¯t quite the same, I can barely understand it.¡±

    Zu An sighed in relief.

    <i>Thank goodness I brought Suolun Shi this time, or else we would only be able to stare nkly here.</i>

    Even though Yun Yuqing was also from the Demon race, she had been sent to the human world as an undercover spy when she was very young. She wasn¡¯t that familiar with the Demon race¡¯s ancientnguage.

    Just then, this True Demon looked up at Zu An in puzzlement, as if he was confused why the young master wasn¡¯t replying to what he was saying.

    Zu An quickly said to Suolun Shi, ¡°Talk to him for me. Do your best to get as much information as possible.¡±

    Suolun Shi nodded. She didn¡¯t ask for further instructions either. As an intelligent and quick-witted princess, she didn¡¯t need the details exined. She quickly conversed with the True Demon using the monsternguage.

    The True Demon gave her a confused look, but then gave Zu An a worshipful look.

    Suolun Shi¡¯s face turned a bit red. ¡°He''s asking us if these are the new female ves you¡¯ve collected.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face darkened. ¡°Tell him about your identities as the saintesses and see if you can find out what Donaire needs them for.¡±

    Suolun Shi nodded slightly. She continued to talk with the True Demon Emissary.

    Zu An used the chance to exin the situation to the other women through ki. They were also really grateful that Suolun Shi was here. However, when they heard that they''d been mistaken for female ves, all of their eyes shifted toward Jiang Luofu. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    When she saw that even Ji Xiaoxi was even looking at her, Jiang Luofu also couldn''t help but feel a bit embarrassed. However, now wasn¡¯t the time to act up.

    Soon after, Suolun Shi said, ¡°This True Demon is named Adiljan, and he''s Donaire¡¯s trusted aide. Donaire left him here to be ready to receive him at any time. He sensed the formation¡¯s changes and helped us hide its activity. That¡¯s why he dared toe over here.¡±

    ¡°Hide?¡± Zu An repeated, noticing something odd about what she was saying.

    Suolun Shi exined, ¡°I pretended not to know and asked. Judging from what he''s saying, everything in this entire underground city is being monitored, since the various formations need a huge amount of ki stones to operate. Everything on the surface of this world has already been destroyed andcks ki stones, which is why private use of formations is strictly prohibited. So, any usage has to be reported before the allotted quality will be distributed.¡±

    Zu An finally understood why Donaire had gone through so much risk to install therge-scale transport formation outside. The activity that kind of interster transportation device could generate wouldn¡¯t be something a single subordinate could control.

    ¡°What are the saintesses actually for?¡± Zu An asked.

    Suolun Shi shook her head slightly. ¡°I tried to find out more information about that, but he remained really guarded. It¡¯s clear that he will only talk about these things with Donaire.¡±

    Zu An felt a bit of a headache. He didn¡¯t know the monsternguage at all! When he interacted with Donaire, he hadn¡¯t sensed anynguage skills from thetter''s body. He had tried to make contact with Adiljan too, but he hadn¡¯t sensed anynguage skills he could learn either. Even if he didn¡¯t have to worry about finding out the secret of the saintesses from Adiljan''s mouth, he definitely needed to know thenguage when interacting with the Monster Worldter on.

    Suolun Shi suddenly grew nervous. ¡°He''s confused as to why the young master hasn¡¯t said anything this entire time!¡±

 Chapter 2310: Suspicion

    ¡°Tell him that my throat was injured in the fight against that world¡¯s natives.¡± Zu An reacted quickly.

    Suolun Shi nodded and quickly said that to Adiljan.

    Adiljan was shocked and quickly grabbed Zu An while shouting worriedly.

    Suolun Shi helped him trante and said, ¡°He''s expressing his care and concern for you.¡±

    Zu An could already tell what was happening from the fawning expression on Adiljan''s face, so he flung thetter''s hand away with an expression of annoyance.

    When he sensed the young master¡¯s impatience, Adiljan didn¡¯t dare to ask too much more. He said with an apologetic smile, ¡°Young master, this subordinate will bring you back to get some rest.¡±

    Zu An voiced his agreement and gestured for him to lead the way. Along the way, Adiljan continued to chatter away in order to curry favor with him. Even though Zu An was worried that he would end up showing some gaps in his behavior, this made it easier to obtain a lot of information. As such, he gestured for Suolun Shi to continue speaking.

    ¡°Young master, everyone has been wishing on the stars and the moon for your return,¡± Adiljan said exaggeratedly.

    ¡°Oh? Why is that?¡±¡°They miss the young master, of course.¡±

    ¡°Tell me the truth!¡±

    ¡°Heheh, everyone is waiting for the feast that the young master brought back, and the ki stones you always provide. Of course, this humble one definitely misses the young master.¡± Adiljan patted his chest to express his loyalty.

    ¡°Oh? Were those ki stones enough?¡± Suolun Shi was gradually getting used to speaking in Zu An¡¯s ce.

    ¡°There are ces to use ki stones everywhere. We have to maintain this underground city¡¯s formations, which constantly use up a tremendous amount of ki stones. How could it be enough?¡± Adiljan replied with a bitter expression.

    ¡°Is it only our race that is providing these ki stones?¡± Suolun Shi added on her own. She was the saintess from another world, after all, so her momentary curiosity was understandable.

    Sure enough, Adiljan didn¡¯t suspect anything. On the contrary, he admired the young master for having such strong control over these saintessess from a different world, to the point that they already believed this world belonged to the True Demon race. ¡°Of course not, but our True Demon race is one of the most powerful races, so of course we need to bear the greatest responsibility.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Then which other races are there?¡± Suolun Shi used the chance to ask.

    ¡°Also¡­¡± Adiljan was about to speak when his expression suddenly dimmed. ¡°Actually, all of them are just things of the past. There might not even be such a thing as a True Demon race in the future.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Suolun Shi asked curiously. She was pretty, and the way she directed the conversation was practically an art form. Who could refuse the gentle questions of an ignorant but curious pretty woman?

    Adiljan gave Zu An a careful look, but didn¡¯t see any signs of displeasure. He then exined, ¡°Destruction is already approaching. The Monster Lord brought everyone here to build this underground city because the outside world has already been destroyed. There is a deficiency of all sorts of resources and goods, so the Monster Lord has ced this underground city under martialw. All goods will be allocated by him alone.¡±

    When he heard that, Zu An¡¯s expression became a bit strange. He hadn¡¯t expected the monsters to actually be so poverty-stricken. No wonder they all seemed to have gonepletely mad for their conquest of cultivation worlds. He really wanted to ask if the ns had any resentment regarding these allocations, but he knew there would be doubts about his identity if he asked about something like that. As such, he suppressed his curiosity for the time being. At the same time, he started to think about finding a way out of this situation. It was fine for Suolun Shi to act as the intermediary for now, but if he couldn''t think of a permanent solution, it would quickly lead to problems.

    Adiljan also asked about the other women through Suolun Shi. Why did there seem to be a few more people than expected?

    Suolun Shi exined their identities. When she reached Jiang Luofu, Adiljan was immediately overwhelmed with respect.

    <em>As expected of the young master! This woman really is top-quality!</em>

    <em>Her face is beautiful, her chest big, her waist thin, and her legs long. More importantly, those ck silk stockings give off an alluring glow. Just how incredible would it feel to be squeezed between those two legs?</em>

    The cold and elegant feeling Jiang Luofu naturally gave off, mixed with the unwillingness to fall into the status of a female ve, created a really incrediblebination.

    <em>The young master really is eating good!</em>

    The True Demon race was the one that most resembled humans in the Monster World, which was why their aesthetics of beauty were aligned.

    When she saw Adiljan sizing her up, Jiang Luofu secretly asked Suolun Shi, ¡°What is he asking?¡±

    Suolun Shi endured her urge to smile. ¡°He is praising your beauty.¡±

    Jiang Luofu harrumphed and naturally didn¡¯t believe her. Even though she didn¡¯t understand the other party¡¯snguage, she could see the disrespectful look in his eyes. If this were in another ce and situation, she would have already gouged out his eyes.

    Adiljan¡¯s gaze then moved over to Ji Xiaoxi. When he saw her obedient and cute appearance, his respect for the young master rushed relentlessly like a raging river.

    <em>Just how did he find beauties of so many different styles?</em>

    <em>I hope that once the young master grows tired of ying with them, he can give me a bit of the soup to sip on too.</em>

    Soon after, he brought the group to a mountain peak that was clearly the True Demon race¡¯s territory. This ce didn¡¯t have any distinct buildings; rather, there were cave dwellings carved out of the mountainside, with mist swirling around them. Even though the peaks seemed fairly cramped, the environment was still far better than the distant underground city. Judging from that, it was easy to see that the True Demon race¡¯s status in the Monster World was indeed extraordinary.

    Suolun Shi¡¯s face turned a bit red. She said with a bashful expression, ¡°The young master wants us to stay with him.¡±

    That was also Zu An¡¯s intention. This Monster World was full of dangers. If they were too far from him, he wouldn''t necessarily be able to do anything if something happened to them.

    Adiljan had a knowing smile as he said, ¡°But of course. This humble one understands.¡± Then, he brought the group to a dwelling higher up and exined, ¡°This is the young master¡¯s dwelling. There are many rooms next to it that should be enough for thedies to live in for now. As for further arrangements, those will be decided after the council of elders. Please rest for now, and I will inform the elders to wait until tomorrow to meet the young master.¡±

    Zu An nodded to express his understanding. He was curious what those elders wanted from him, but he didn¡¯t continue to ask about it.

    Suolun Shi used the chance to say, ¡°Can you find some kind ofnguage book or jade strip? My sisters don¡¯t understand thenguage here, and they still need to serve the Demon Deity and the young master, so continuing like this isn¡¯t too convenient.¡±

    Zu An secretly gave her a thumbs up. This woman was smart after all.

    Adiljan was a bit stunned, but he quickly nodded and said, ¡°Of course we have them. This servant will quickly look for them.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Suolun Shi¡¯s smile immediately made Adiljan feel amazing.

    Zu An arrived in front of the cave dwelling and sensed a defensive formation there. He knew it was designed to function simrly to the door of a private room, to guard against other people entering. He calmly took out a jade pendant and let the formation sense it; the door then opened. Zu An thus brought the women into the room as Adiljan bade all of them goodbye.

    When he left that mountain peak, however, Adiljan turned around to look in Zu An¡¯s direction. His fawning smile disappeared.

    <em>This young master is a bit strange; it¡¯s best if I inform the council of elders.</em>n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, inside the cave dwelling, the women all looked around disapprovingly. ¡°What kind of young master is this True Demon Emissary? His living environment really is a bit unsightly.¡±

    They were all wealthy and respectable people at the top of the world. Even though they didn¡¯t really care about such things, they normally lived in ces that were far better than this. The residence was basically just a rock cave, with the tables and chairs all sculpted out of stone. It was simple and crude, far from the environments they stayed in. The only thing they were grateful for was that it could still be considered clean. There were other rooms here, enough for each of them to have one.

    ¡°I was really scared quite badly just now. I couldn''t understand anything the monster was talking about. I thought we gave ourselves away.¡± Ji Xiaoxi patted her chest, a look of lingering fear on her face.

    ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to the princess, or else we really wouldn¡¯t have had any solutions.¡± Pei Mianman looked at Suolun Shi with a gratified smile.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect thenguage to be so simr to the Demon race¡¯s.¡± Suolun Shi was a bit bashful, but she was happy inside. She had finally managed to show her worth in front of all of these incredible women.

    ¡°Thank goodness that Adiljan is just a bootlicker. Otherwise, we would¡¯ve easily exposed ourselves.¡± After experiencing the previous series of dangers, Yun Yuqing felt more at ease.

    Zu An shook his head slightly. ¡°That guy is already suspicious of us.¡±

 Chapter 2311: Peril Into Safety

    ¡°What?¡± The women were all shocked.

    Zu An exined, ¡°I never said anything the entire time. Even though speaking for me is a reasonable excuse, the monsters are cunning. How could they just trust us that easily? He never left the entire time after leading us up to the cave, and only went away when he saw me take out the cave¡¯s jade pendant. That means he''s already suspicious.¡±

    ¡°Then we should catch him and kill him!¡± Pei Mianman eximed, preparing to leave. This was the Monster World, after all. If they were exposed, it was easy to imagine the end they would face.

    Zu An grabbed her and said, ¡°Don¡¯t be too hasty. Killing him would be easy, but that would only draw more attention from the other monsters. After all, it would be quite difficult for us to exin the sudden disappearance of a trusted aide.¡±

    ¡°But are we supposed to not do anything¡­¡± Xie Daoyun was a bit worried.

    Zu Anforted them and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he''s only a bit suspicious. My opening the door already eliminated some of his suspicion. If he wants to suspect us, then so be it. I have more important things to take care of.¡±

    ¡°Are you talking about the monsternguage?¡± Jiang Luofu asked.

    Zu An nodded. ¡°Those monsters spoke ournguage in our world, which made me careless, thinking that theirnguage was the same as ours. We have to learn the monsternguage, or else we can¡¯t do anything. On top of that, not only do we need to learn the True Demon race''snguage, we also need themonnguage of the monsters. It might be different.¡±

    Everyone else nodded. If theirnguage was different, they could only stay inside the cave all day. They wouldn¡¯t have any ability to investigate anything.All of them looked at Suolun Shi and said, ¡°We¡¯ll be troubling the princess to teach us.¡±

    Suolun Shi blushed. ¡°I will naturally do my best, but learning anguage isn¡¯t something you can do in a short amount of time. We might not have that much time.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, we¡¯ll learn as much as we can.¡± Zu An walked over to Suolun Shi¡¯s side and patted her shoulder.

    As expected, there was no skill trigger to learn hernguage after making contact with her. It seemed that the Keyboard System was a bit willful and couldn''t distinguish every skill. Or perhapsnguage wasn¡¯t considered a skill.

    When she felt the heating from Zu An¡¯s hand, Suolun Shi blushed, but she didn¡¯t dare to show anything strange in front of the others. She coughed lightly and began to teach them the Demon race¡¯s ancientnguage.

    Yun Yuqing learned the fastest, because she was also from the Demon race and had the correspondingnguage background. Meanwhile, Zu An was the second fastest. The other women weren¡¯t too slow either, since they were all geniuses. Their ability to learn was far greater than that of the average person.

    But no matter how fast they were, something like anguage couldn''t be learned perfectly in a short amount of time. All of them only learned some of the very basics of daily conversation along the lines of ¡®how are you, I¡¯m fine, and you¡¯. They were still far from being able to converse regrly with the monster natives.

    In that instant, Zu An felt as if he had returned to his previous world¡¯s middle school, when he was being tormented by foreignnguage sses.

    While everyone was at their wits¡¯ end, Zu An suddenly noticed something. He looked outside the cave and said, ¡°There are monstersing, and there are quite a few of them.¡±

    The women immediately grew nervous. They quickly got up and arrived at the entrance.

    ¡°Young master, the elders heard that you were injured, so they came to see your respected self with treatment medicine,¡± Adiljan said with a beaming smile.

    The women exchanged a look. With their wits, they naturally didn''t believe him. It was as Ah Zu expected, after all. This Adiljan had grown suspicious and brought the n elders to investigate. They wanted to see if he was an imposter or not. They all felt an indescribable sense of danger. There were so many True Demons outside, and they didn¡¯t know how strong those elders were either.

    If the True Demons discovered that Zu An was fake, they would immediately attack him. Even though big brother Zu¡¯s cultivation was high, the monsters of this world weren¡¯t restricted by the world barrier. It was hard to say who would win in a fight. Even if big brother Zu won, it would still draw the attention of all of the monsters in the underground city. Then, if the Monster Lord came with endless reinforcements, there would only be destruction awaiting the group.

    ¡°Big brother Zu, how about I tell them that you don¡¯t feel too well and that you¡¯ve already turned in to get some rest, and for them toe a different day?¡± Suolun Shi quickly asked. She figured that a bit more time would allow big brother Zu to learn more of the monsternguage.

    Zu An shook his head. He moved toward the cave entrance and said, ¡°They came with a lot of people. If we didn¡¯t meet them, that would only confirm their suspicions. That wouldn''t be favorable for us at all.¡±

    These people were only suspicious of them, so that was why the forces they had brought weren¡¯t absurdly strong. If they were sure that he was an imposter, they definitely wouldn¡¯t havee with only this many people.

    ¡°But big brother Zu, you¡­¡± Princess Suolun was worried. Zu An hadn¡¯t learned the monsternguage, so he would easily end up being exposed.

    However, Zu An walked out before she even finished speaking. The women quickly followed him out. The situation was already like this, so at this point, they could only follow big brother Zu. They would go through life and death together.

    ¡­

    When they left the cave dwelling, they were surrounded by more than ten True Demons. The ones in front clearly weren''t young. Judging from how Adiljan was currying favor from them, these were most likely the True Demon elders he''d been talking about.

    The women were a bit uneasy because they couldn''t sense the real cultivation ranks of these elders at all. Thetter were clearly much stronger than they were.

    <em>They''re even stronger than earth immortals¡­</em>

    They were starting to feel despair, but when they remembered that Zu An was with them, they immediately felt at ease. An ordinary person would bepletely helpless in these situations, but Ah Zu was a man who created miracles.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    When he saw theme out, Adiljan had a confused expression. He was clearly surprised, but he quickly hid it. He quickly bowed toward Zu An¡¯s group. ¡°I greet the young master!¡±

    The elders also cupped their hands toward Zu An.

    Zu An was stunned, thinking, <em>Donaire¡¯s status in the True Demon race was actually this high?</em>

    But he reacted quickly. These people¡¯s lives in the underground city were a bit too difficult, and they didn¡¯t even have food to eat. They relied on fasting pills to alleviate their hunger. Donaire frequently gave them fresh meat and all sorts of ki stones, so it would be more strange if they didn¡¯t pamper him.

    The leader said, ¡°I heard that the young master was injured from his battle against the natives. We were wondering if it was serious.¡± He stared at Zu An¡¯s neck while speaking.

    Suolun Shi wanted to trante through ki, but Zu An stopped her. These True Demon elders were too strong. With Suolun Shi¡¯s cultivation, ki transmissions likely wouldn''t escape their notice. Suolun Shi naturally understood that as well, so she could only look at him with worry. Even though she had taught him some basics, it was far from enough for her to understand what this elder was saying.

    But Zu An had been in all kinds of dangerous situations, so he didn¡¯t panic. Judging from the look in his eyes, he immediately guessed roughly what the elder was saying. As such, he grunted ambiguously, but he also waved his hand as if to gesture that he was fine.

    The leader gave Adiljan a look. When he remembered the suspicions thetter had raised earlier, the look in his eyes became doubtful too. ¡°The young master is connected to the safety of countless people, so you cannot be careless. Let third brother look after your injuries.¡±

    Then, with a look, another elder walked toward Zu An with a smile. ¡°This old physician will take a look.¡±

    The women were all really nervous. Even though they had helped Zu An apply some bindings to cover up his ''wound'', how could it escape the elder''s detection up close? They were all incredibly nervous. They were waiting for Zu An¡¯s signal to go all out.

    Even Adiljan couldn''t help but swallow with difficulty. If there really was something wrong, he would earn a great achievement. But if there was nothing wrong with Donaire, he would be in big trouble.

    Zu An secretly made a gesture to tell the women not to act blindly without thinking. Then, he took the initiative to walk toward the elders. His action made the True Demon elders a bit nervous; they clenched their fists inside their sleeves as they prepared to attack at any time.

    But Zu An didn¡¯t do anything strange. Instead, he walked straight up to Adiljan and took the jade strip from his waist. He gave it a look, then handed it to Suolun Shi.

    Then, he said in the True Demonnguage, ¡°Why do I feel as if you aren¡¯t here to visit me, but instead to violently criticize me?¡±

 Chapter 2312: Former Acquaintance

    <h4>Chapter 2312: Former Acquaintance</h4>

    The women were really shocked when they heard what Zu An said. They looked at him with surprise, but they were all smart and quickly hid their shock. Inside, however, they were still confused. He had clearly just started learning the monsternguage from Suolun Shi, so they knew how far he''d progressed. Even though he learned a bit faster, it couldn''t have been to this extent yet, right?

    More importantly, his speech was even more fluent than Suolun Shi¡¯s, as if he was a pure native. In that instant, they even started wondering if Donaire had taken their big brother Zu¡¯s ce.

    Adiljan¡¯s mouth hung wide open. He hadn¡¯t expected the other party to actually be the real deal.

    <i>I¡¯m done for!</i>

    That was the only thought left in his head.

    The great elder immediately said with an apologetic smile, ¡°What is the young master saying? The young master shoulders an important responsibility, so we were only worried about your health. Since you are fine, old third doesn¡¯t need to go through all the trouble.¡±

    The third elder tactfully stopped. If he insisted on going through with the examination, wouldn¡¯t he be a target of everyone else''s me?

    The elders secretly gave Adiljan a look.

    <i>This guy really is full of nonsense, and we were blind for believing him. Why did we ever listen to someone like him?</i>

    When he sensed their dagger-like looks, Adiljan felt as if his hands had turned ice-cold.

    Zu An harrumphed. ¡°Since you¡¯ve already seen me and you don¡¯t need anything else, you can return now.¡±

    He turned around afterward, as if he was seeing them out. He knew that politeness was useless in the Monster World where strength and status reigned supreme. It would only bring even more problems.

    Sure enough, when they sensed his dissatisfaction, the elders felt even more awkward. They looked at the great elder as if hinting at something. The great elder could only brace himself and ask, ¡°Young master, we also came here to ask, why is there no food this time?¡±

    He knew this really wasn¡¯t a good time, but they ate fasting pills day after day and were being driven crazy from hunger. They really missed the taste of meat.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be impatient. Once the passage ispletely opened, there will be more than enough meat for all of you to eat.¡± Zu An naturally hadn¡¯t prepared any food for these people this time. He was now the master of a cultivation world. He definitely wouldn¡¯t use the living creatures of his world to satisfy the cravings of these monsters.

    ¡°But of course, of course.¡± The great elder still had many things he wanted to ask, but when he saw that the other party was unhappy, he could only swallow those words back down. This really wasn¡¯t a good time. If they pissed off this young master, none of them would have anything to eat.

    <i>It¡¯s all that Adiljan¡¯s fault.</i>

    They bowed respectfully, and also took Adiljan with them.

    ...

    When they saw the True Demons leave, the women all sighed in relief. They all surrounded Zu An.

    ¡°Big brother Zu, what was going on just now?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, how did you suddenly learn the monsternguage?¡±

    When he heard their lively discussion, Zu An revealed a jade strip in his hand. ¡°This jade strip contains the True Demon race¡¯snguage, as well as themonnguage of the monsters.¡±

    ¡°You got this from Adiljan, right?¡± Pei Mianman recalled what had happened earlier.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Adiljan was nning to use this to make up for his mistakes if the situation turned against him,¡± Zu An said with a smile. Who would¡¯ve thought that this would end up benefiting him?

    Ji Xiaoxi was confused. ¡°But even if the jade strip records the monsternguage, there¡¯s no way you could have learned it that quickly!¡±

    Jiang Luofu also responded, ¡°That¡¯s right. If you absorbed the information on that jade strip, the ki would definitely have alerted the monster elders. Also, even if you really did absorb it, there¡¯s no way you could¡¯ve learned it so quickly.¡±

    There were many techniques and skills that were recorded on jade strips. This was less burdensome than carrying books and also saved time that would normally be spent on learning. Still, that method was only a bit faster than normal. The actual technique and skills would still need to be slowlyprehended by the learner; such a thing had never represented instant sess.

    Zu An exined, ¡°I have a skill that allows me to immediately learn certain abilities by paying a small price.¡±

    He had naturally used the keyboard system¡¯s skill to directly learn the monsternguage. Because of the foundation Suolun Shi had already helped him establish, learning the monsternguage had actually only cost 500 Rage points. Compared to the tremendous costs of the other skills, this skill was really cheap.

    It was no wonder that the monsters couldn''t sense this skill from Zu An. Even the Keyboard System probably thought it really wasn¡¯t worth mentioning and hadn¡¯t bothered detecting it before. Those True Demon Elders were formidable, but they clearly couldn''t sense the Keyboard System¡¯s functions.

    ...

    Meanwhile, the elders were looking at Adiljan with frustration.

    When he sensed their rage, Adiljan felt his legs grow weak. ¡°Elders, I didn¡¯t know it would be like this either!¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you keep saying again and again that the young master seemed to have been reced by someone else? That he didn¡¯t even know our race¡¯snguage?¡± The great elder stared coldly at him.

    ¡°The young master was a bit strange when he came back this time! I just felt that he was a bit different from before...¡± Adiljan quickly exined. ¡°That¡¯s not all! Even if I had ten galldders, I still wouldn¡¯t dare to say anything bad about the young master!¡±

    ¡°Just what part of him is strange?¡± the great elder retorted with a sneer.

    ¡°You can¡¯t really tell from the surface, but he just feels off. Great elder, you need to trust me! I am the most trusted and closest aide of the young master, and know him the best. My suspicion is definitely not unfounded!¡± Adiljan answered anxiously.

    ¡°But you already saw earlier that the young master is clearly the same young master as before. And yet you actually said that he just used some appearance transformation skill, and that he didn¡¯t even know the True Demonnguage.¡± The great elder was getting a bit annoyed now too. He felt really stupid for believing this guy¡¯s nonsense. It was just because Donaire was too important that he couldn''t show any carelessness.

    Adiljan was also a bit stunned. But this was rted to his own safety, so he quickly said, ¡°There is definitely something wrong with him. Otherwise, he could clearly have spoken earlier, but why did he only have that women talk to me when he first got here? He even imed that he was injured and couldn''t speak! Right, he must¡¯ve secretly learned it from thatnguage jade strip he took from me!¡±

    It was already toote for regrets.

    <i>Why did I have to bring that damn thing with me?</i>

    The second elder harrumphed. ¡°What a joke! If he could learn my race¡¯snguage through a jade strip, why didn¡¯t we sense any ki fluctuations? Even if we took a thousand steps back and assumed that he has some concealment method, isnguage something that can be learned instantly from a jade strip?¡±

    Adiljan was now really panicking. ¡°Then that Suolun Shi woman next to him taught him!¡±

    The great elder was finding it harder and harder to keep listening. ¡°Enough! It¡¯s only been around four hours since you sought us out and when we went to take a look. How could he have learned it in that short amount of time?!¡±

    Language wasn¡¯t like other things; how could it be learned so quickly?

    ¡°But he really isn¡¯t the young master!¡± Adiljan said in rm. ¡°I could sense that he was different from the young master when we were together earlier!¡±

    ¡°How?!¡± the third elder said coldly. They had already gone and taken a look. That was clearly Donaire!

    ¡°I... I can¡¯t say.¡± When he sensed the strong killing intent from the elders¡¯ eyes, Adiljan quickly said, ¡°Elders, please give me some time to investigate. I will definitely bring back proof.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that!¡± The great elder finally had enough. With a cold snort, he grabbed Adiljan''s head.

    ...

    Meanwhile, Zu An handed the jade strip to the women in the cave dwelling so they could use this chance to study the monsternguage. That would make everything easierter. He even participated in teaching them alongside Suolun Shi. After all, he was now proficient in the monsternguage too.

    He suddenly noticed something and made made a shushing signal to the women. Then, he walked up to the cave entrance.

    There was someone wrapped entirely in ck robes standing there. When he saw Zu An, he couldn''t help but say with a chuckle, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to be more vignt than I expected. I thought you forgot about important matters because of all the women around you.¡±

    Zu An was a bit surprised. Judging from this guy¡¯s tone, it seemed that he was an old acquaintance of Donaire¡¯s. He could tell that this person wasn¡¯t up to any good and definitely didn¡¯t want to be noticed, so he asked, ¡°The elders just left, and yet you¡¯re already here?¡± N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, those trash won¡¯t be able to detect me.¡± The ck-robed being harrumphed. ¡°I came here to ask you how your mission went!¡±

 Chapter 2313: First Miss

    Zu An was a bit stunned. He really wanted to ask just what this guy was talking about. The Myriad Transformations skill could make him look exactly like the target, but things like memory couldn''t be replicated. That was why he didn¡¯t know this person at all, let alone this important matter.

    When he sensed his hesitation, the ck-robed elder asked in a menacing tone, ¡°What, it didn¡¯t go well?¡±

    Zu An was startled. He said, ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    ¡°Donaire, you¡¯ve disappointed me!¡± The ck-robed elder¡¯s face darkened.

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Mojard for +199 +199 +199¡­</strong>

    Zu An was able to see what the other party looked like now. Even though he was a humanoid being, hisplexion was gloomy, making him look like a middle-aged man with a lot of bitterness and resentment.

    <em>So this guy¡¯s name is Mojard! </em>

    Zu An had said that to provoke him into revealing his identity. Now, at the very least, he had the man''s name. But he still had no idea what that matter was about.

    However, he didn¡¯t panic; instead, he continued, ¡°That world has a regent. He''s a bit too tough to deal with.¡±When he heard that, the furious Mojard immediately became quiet. A whileter, he sighed and said, ¡°That regent is formidable indeed. The Monster Lord sent three great armies down different paths, and yet they all ended in failure. Many of those monsters had cultivation not inferior to my own, and yet they were all killed by him. I never expected that weak world to actually have someone that formidable.¡±

    ¡°I feel as if that world is a bit strange. If it were any other weak world, they would¡¯ve already been dominated by us a long time ago.¡± Zu An was worried that the other party would ask about things rted to the Monster World, which he knew nothing about. He could only continue steering the topic toward matters of cultivation, since he had more to say about that. Then, he could try to get more information out of the other party.

    Sure enough, Mojard blurted out, ¡°Of course that world is different, or else the lord back then wouldn¡¯t have gone to such an extent to attack that world and even ended up getting trapped there. That led to the Monster World being seized by the current Monster Lord instead.¡±

    Zu An was surprised. He''d only wanted to control the direction of the conversation. He hadn¡¯t expected to gain this piece of valuable information.

    <em>Who is the lord he spoke of?</em>

    <em>Someone powerful who attacked our world, and ended up being trapped there¡­</em>

    All of the beings he knew about appeared in his mind. Suddenly, the Lord of ughter came to mind.

    Anyone who could be called a lord by Mojard had to be a monster, and Mojard had said that it was the previous Monster Lord. The only one who fit those criteria and had sufficient strength was the Lord of ughter, and he had been subdued under the Great Snowy Mountains for countless years. That matched the description.

    <em>Could it be that he wanted Donaire to save the Lord of ughter?</em>

    But even though he was eighty percent sure, he didn¡¯t dare to jump to that conclusion. If he guessed incorrectly, all of his previous effort would have been wasted.

    ¡°That regent has the world¡¯s authority now. Entering that world again might be difficult,¡± Zu An said.

    ¡°Heh, stop trying to y these kinds of tricks with me. It might be difficult to enter that world again through normal paths, but don¡¯t you have that True Demon race¡¯s inheritance to let you secretly go to that world?¡± Mojard stared at him.

    Zu An chuckled awkwardly and didn¡¯t bother exining himself. He was still waiting for the other party to give him more information.

    Sure enough, when he saw Zu An act like this, Mojard harrumphed and said, ¡°Do you still have fantasies about the Monster Lord, and that¡¯s why you¡¯re hesitating?¡±

    Zu An said a bit ¡®awkwardly¡¯, ¡°You¡¯re overthinking it.¡±

    Mojard was still unconvinced by those words. He continued, ¡°You should know that when the Annihtion Beast arrived a thousand years ago, everyone entrusted all of their hopes to the Monster Lord. But what has he done in these thousand years?

    ¡°Not only was he unable to win against the Annihtion Beast, our line of defense only continued to pull back again and again. All of the cities on the surface have been destroyed, and we can only hide underground in this world without daylight.¡±

    Zu An gave the artificially created sun in the distance a look. Mojard said with a cold snort, ¡°What use is that kind of sun? Isn¡¯t it only there to appease everyone¡¯s moods? It only uses up a ton of resources for nothing. Haven¡¯t you noticed that the daytime has gotten shorter and shorter?¡±

    ¡°That is indeed the case.¡± Zu An thought, <em>I just came here, so how would I know?</em> But judging from this information, he could deduce that this world¡¯s resources were growing fewer and fewer. They definitely couldn''t afford the burden of the artificial sun¡¯s tremendous energy.

    ¡°Hmph, they¡¯ve managed to fool everyone with their trick of only reducing the time by a little bit. But soon, more and more people will notice.¡± Mojard continued, ¡°It is precisely because of the Monster Lord¡¯s ipetence and the fact that his so-called immigration n waspletely ruined, that we need to consider the will of the people.¡±

    <em>Is the immigration n for their people to move to our world?</em>

    Those three armies had been full of mettle back then. The fact that he was able to defeat them one by one was quite lucky. Because of them, Chuyan, Honglei, and the others had almost lost their lives as a result¡­

    ¡°There are now more and more people who are unhappy with the Monster Lord, which is how I managed to contact so many people in private. As long as we bring back the lord, we¡¯ll be able to set everything right!¡± As he spoke, Mojard seemed really excited.

    ¡°Who else is there?¡± Zu An asked.

    Mojard gave him a guarded look. ¡°I cannot tell you about such things.¡±

    ¡°Are you worried that I¡¯ll tell on you?¡± Zu An chuckled.

    ¡°It¡¯s not a matter of trust, but rather that I hold the responsibility of everyone¡¯s safety.¡± Mojard harrumphed. ¡°I won¡¯t sell you out either, if other people try to find out the same information. This is why everyone is willing to work with me.¡±

    Zu An gave him a thumbs up. ¡°Good!¡±

    Mojard was about to say something when he frowned slightly. He heard a certain voice somewhere, and a whileter, he said, ¡°Our first miss wants to meet with you.¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°First miss?¡± Zu An was stunned. He''d never expected there to be another person involved.

    ¡°Hmph, it¡¯s your honor that the first miss is willing to meet with you. Follow me.¡± Mojard turned around after speaking.

    Zu An was a bit hesitant. He couldn''t really figure the other party out, and he had even less information on this first miss. But he knew that what hecked the most right now was intelligence. If he missed this chance, there wouldn''t necessarily be a next one. Thus, he secretly informed the women inside before leaving.

    When she saw Zu An and Mojard disappear, Ji Xiaoxi asked worriedly, ¡°Will big brother Zu be in danger if he goes?¡±

    Pei Mianman¡¯s expression became strange. ¡°If it was just that Mojard, maybe, but if it¡¯s their first miss, then it should be fine.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Ji Xiaoxi blinked in confusion.

    ¡°Hmph, that guy is the natural bane of women. No woman would be able to bear harming him.¡± Pei Mianman harrumphed with a red face.

    The other women nodded in deep sympathy. They recalled the various experiences they had gone through.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Zu An followed Mojard through all sorts of detours across a mountain peak. They finally stopped at a quiet and secluded ce.

    Mojard gave him a deep look and said, ¡°Donaire, your strength seems to have improved since west met.¡±

    Zu An was inwardly shocked, but he didn¡¯t show it. ¡°I gained some benefits from that world.¡±

    Mojard didn¡¯t doubt him, and only had a yearning look on his face. He wanted to go to that world and take a look too. However, he quickly snapped out of his daze and warned, ¡°The first miss is waiting in the forest ahead. You absolutely cannot offend her, or else even I can¡¯t save you!¡±

    ¡°But of course.¡± Zu An could sense his apprehension.

    <em>Is that first miss¡¯ strength even greater than Mojard¡¯s?</em>

    After Mojard pointed out the way, he remained outside. This was the True Demon race¡¯s territory, so he had to stop any other monsters from going further.

    ¡­

    Zu An followed the road into the forest. He saw a figure sitting there; it was precisely the first miss Mojard had spoken of.

    However, when he saw the other party, his expression suddenly became really strange.

 Chapter 2314: First Missâ€™ Request

    <h4>Chapter 2314: First Miss¡¯ Request</h4>

    Zu An¡¯s first reaction when he heard ''first miss'' had been to assume that she was like Ren Yingying[1], or Rin Tohsaka[2] from that one anime. At the very least, she would be like Serena Sebastian[3], right?

    He even secretly warned himself that he hade to the Monster World with a lot of responsibility, so he definitely couldn''t have any of ¡®that¡¯ kind of rtionship with the monsters here. He had already let down too many women. He didn¡¯t want to develop feelings for a new one. He warned himself that he absolutely couldn''t be a brother-con and pamper his little bro all the time, teasing women just because they were pretty.

    But when he saw the figure in the forest, he was instantly struck speechless. His worries seemed to have been excessive...

    The first miss had a human body. When Zu An fought with the powerful monster invaders, the higher-level monsters had almost always appeared in human form. Humanity seemed to embody the soul of all living beings, so cultivating in this form seemed to be a bit faster.

    This first miss¡¯ figure could be considered well-proportioned, and her outfit was also quite good. Her skin was fair like jade, and it wasn¡¯t covered in scales and bumpy like the Bloodthirst Crocodile. Together with her identity as the first miss and her strong cultivation, even if she looked a bit ordinary, she could still be considered a beautiful woman. Even if she was a bit uglier, she could be praised as having some ss.

    But she... She had a head that was like a dinosaur... in the literal sense.

    A dinosaur head and a human body... If she were in their Cultivation World, it would definitely be horrifying. But this was quite normal in the monster world. Zu An had seen all kinds of weirdly-shaped monsters in the underground city on the way here. This was still on the better side. However, this was far from the image of a first miss he''d held in his mind.

    He''d been 80% confident before, but now he was 100% sure that the lord Mojard had spoken of was the Lord of ughter. This was because this first miss¡¯ head was practically identical to that of the Lord of ughter!

    ¡°Staring at ady like that seems a bit rude,¡± the first miss said, sounding a bit unhappy.

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Smay for +110 +110 +110...</strong>

    ¡°I greet the first miss.¡± Zu An greeted her respectfully. He was a bit apologetic, feeling that he had judged too much by appearance.

    Smay¡¯s expression eased a bit when she sensed the apology in his voice. ¡°It was rumored that the True Demon race¡¯s young master was handsome and confident. Now that I''ve met you today, it seems this is all... Delicate, fragile, and not sturdy enough.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve let the first miss see a poor side of me.¡± Zu An thought to himself that the monsters really did have a different aesthetic of beauty. He really couldn''t view things the same way, as a human.

    After hearing his deferential words, Smay¡¯s unhappiness finally disappeared. ¡°How goes the matter that Uncle Mo discussed with you?¡±

    Zu An already had his suspicions, but he didn¡¯t have enough intelligence. He could only carefully reply, ¡°About that, it didn¡¯t go too well...¡± n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°What?!¡± Smay pped the table and stood up. ¡°We gave you so many resources, and yet you couldn''t even aplish such a small matter in that weak world?¡±

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Smay for +300 +300 +300...</strong>

    Zu An thought to himself, <i>As expected.</i> He replied in a troubled manner, ¡°First miss, that world is actually not weak.¡±

    He wanted to say that the War Priest, Shadow Monster King, Bloodthirst Crocodile, and the others had all been killed. But after thinking about it a bit more, he swallowed these words back down. He didn¡¯t understand the degree of cooperation between Donaire and the other side yet. The more he said, the more mistakes there would be.

    ¡°Of course I know it¡¯s not weak!¡± Smay said with a cold snort. ¡°Otherwise, how could the Monster Lord¡¯s three armies all fail? So many powerful experts died in that world too. It¡¯s just that I didn¡¯t tell you to seize that world¡¯s authority, and I just wanted you to find out the Shadow Monster King¡¯s whereabouts. What¡¯s so hard about that?¡±

    Zu An was immediately d when he heard that. Thank goodness he hadn¡¯t given too many details, or else he would¡¯ve already given himself away. ¡°The main reason is that world¡¯s regent is too strong, so it was difficult for anything I did to escape his notice. But I did find out a bit about the Shadow Monster King. It seems that everything bodes ill for him.¡±

    ¡°Then why did you say you didn¡¯t find out anything?¡± Smay gave him an annoyed look.

    ¡°I only said that it didn¡¯t go too smoothly; I didn¡¯t say I hadn''t obtained any information.¡± Zu An thought, <i>I didn¡¯t know what you had Donaire take care of, so of course I had to reply like that.</i> But now that he had an idea what was going on, replying became much easier. ¡°I only know that the Shadow Monster King is most likely already dead, but I don¡¯t have any concrete proof.¡±

    He had personally seen the Shadow Monster King being killed by the Lord of ughter. Now, it seemed that the Shadow Monster King¡¯s n to be the master of the Lord of ughter really had been courting death.

    ¡°Useless! I know that the Shadow Monster King is most likely dead too. What I want is more precise information!¡± Smay was dissatisfied with his answer.

    ¡°There was a big disturbance near the sealednd. The Shadow Monster King and the others were about to seed, and the Fiend races¡¯ Second Empress¡¯ army was about to be wiped out. However, the regent then arrived and turned everything around. The Shadow Monster King and the other monsters were all wiped out too. Because of that, the sealednd¡¯s events ended up drawing the vignce of the people of the Cultivation World; troops were sent to seal off that side, and no one was allowed to get closer. That''s why I don¡¯t have proof for a lot of this information,¡± Zu An said.

    ¡°I have heard too many things rted to that regent. Even though he is from the enemy camp, I actually admire him considerably. If we are to rule the Cultivation World in the future, I must meet him. If I find him pleasing, I might even make him the emperor¡¯s son-inw.¡± Smay had a fascinated expression.

    Zu An wiped at his cold sweat.

    <i>I hope you don¡¯t meet him...</i>

    Smay snapped out of her thoughts. ¡°Do you have any information regarding my father?¡±

    Zu An immediately felt a headache when he heard that. Just how was he supposed to answer? Was he supposed to say that her father had already been destroyed by an unspeakable being, and that there wasn¡¯t even the slightest trace left?

    He coughed and quickly said, ¡°It is rumored that in the battle of the sealednd, the Cultivation World¡¯s Great Snowy Mountain encountered a bit of a disturbance. Judging from my investigation, your esteemed father might have been sealed under the Great Snowy Mountain.¡±

    ¡°Great Snowy Mountain!¡± Smay was excited. ¡°Right, it must be like that! ording to the memories of some people who escaped back in the past, once father was subdued, there was a great snowfall. Everything quickly became covered in ice and snow. That might be how the Great Snowy Mountain formed.¡± She walked over and was clearly really excited. ¡°Then how is my father right now? Did he pass on any messages?¡±

    Zu An chuckled in embarrassment. ¡°I still need more time for further investigation.¡±

    Smay took a deep breath. ¡°Shadow Monster King, that piece of trash. It seems like they didn¡¯t have time to save father. Otherwise, with my father¡¯s strength, there''s no way you wouldn¡¯t be able to get any news of him.¡±

    Zu An thought, <i>The Shadow Monster King really is being wrongly med a bit here. He already sessfully saved the Lord of ughter, but he ended up encountering that indescribable being.</i>

    Smay suddenly took a deep breath and said, ¡°Find a way to send me to that world. I want to personally rescue my father and bring him back!¡±

    1. Ren Woxing''s daughter. Although she is intelligent and caring towards her subordinates, she can be ruthless and cold-blooded at times. ?

    2. Rin Tohsaka is one of the three main heroines of Fate/Stay night. ?

    3. This is a character from Detective Conan. ?

 Chapter 2315: Outside Visitor

    <h4>Chapter 2315: Outside Visitor</h4>

    Zu An felt a headacheing on when he heard that. ¡°First miss, please don¡¯t be too reckless. There are already so many powerful being who have perished in that world, and that ce has already established aplete world barrier. It isn¡¯t too likely that we''ll be able to enter it again.¡±

    He could only do his best to dissuade her from executing this n. After all, the transport disc was now destroyed, and he didn¡¯t have the ability to return to the Cultivation World right now. If he really could bring her there, he wouldn¡¯t mind bringing her with him! Forget about her, he would even take the Monster Lord with him. Once they were in his home field, he could borrow the world¡¯s authority to do whatever he wanted. It wouldn¡¯t be like this world, where he had to always walk on thin ice.

    Smay frowned. ¡°It seems almost as if you''re having thoughts about siding with the Monster Lord, and you don¡¯t want topletely side with us.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He knew that the other party had misunderstood, but this was fine too, since it would help him keep his secret.

    Smay continued, ¡°That¡¯s right, the prestige that the Monster Lord has umted all this time still exists. It¡¯s natural for you to be hesitant. But there''s something that you probably still don¡¯t know about. Once you hear it, you might not trust the Monster Lord anymore.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Zu An was really happy to hear that. He hadn¡¯t expected this sudden precious information.

    ¡°Do you know that the Monster Lord recently invited an outsider?¡± Smay stared at him.

    ¡°An outsider?¡± Zu An wondered if Donaire would have known about that, but he felt that thetter likely hadn''t.

    Sure enough, Smay didn¡¯t grow suspicious and continued, ¡°That¡¯s right. He came from a distant world, and his status in that world doesn¡¯t seem to be low.¡±

    Zu An frowned slightly. ¡°Since we¡¯ve found a new world, why aren¡¯t we leading our army to seize theirs instead?¡±

    The Monster World¡¯s biggest crisis was that this world was on the brink of destruction. That was why they wanted to migrate to a new one outside, and continued to send their strongest forces to invade other worlds. The Cultivation World¡¯s barrier was now fully established, so the monsters¡¯ invasion was already hopeless. Now that there was news of a new world, didn¡¯t that mean there was a way out?

    ¡°Heh, do you think he doesn¡¯t want to?¡± Smay sneered and said, ¡°The Monster Lord tried to capture the other party and find out the location of that world. Unfortunately, he failed. That world¡¯s emissary is exceptionally powerful.¡±

    Zu An shivered. The Monster World was already really strong, and the Monster Lord was the undisputed king of countless monsters. Someone that terrifying actually couldn''t do anything to the emissary of a different world? Just a single Monster Lord already scared him quite a bit, and now there was another powerful enemy. It seemed this situation was going to be harder to deal with than he''d expected.

    ¡°The Monster Lord really is ipetent. If my father were here, he would be nothing like that.¡± Smay was happy talking about his misfortune.

    Zu An took the chance to praise the Lord of ughter a bit.

    Smay enjoyed hearing that a lot. Her expression eased up considerably. ¡°Actually, it''s one thing if the Monster Lord can¡¯t win against that emissary, but what''s worse is that he ns to sell out our entire world.¡±

    ¡°Sell out? How can that be?!¡± Zu An looked as if he was extremely shocked.

    But he was also a bit confused.

    <i>Sell this world out? How can you even sell a Monster World like this?</i>

    Smay said with a sneer, ¡°It¡¯s to be sold to that world, of course. Their world has a secret method where as long as a contract is signed, they can bind themselves to a magic beast. Then, the master can use the magic beast¡¯s power whenever they wish, which can increase their strength several times just like that.¡±

    ¡°Master?¡± Zu An keenly locked in on that word.

    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Smay gritted her teeth and said, ¡°The Monster Lord actually wants us to depend on that world and be their eternal ves!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s absolutely preposterous!¡± Zu An was really shocked, but he still spoke up to build rapport. ¡°It has always been our Monster World that has enved other worlds; how can we be the ves of another world?!¡±

    When she saw his rage, Smay nodded in satisfaction. ¡°That¡¯s right! He actually wants to turn our world into livestock? What need is there left for this Monster Lord?!¡±

    Zu An suddenly felt a bit strange and asked, ¡°Hm? How did the first miss manage to get ess to such confidential information?¡±

    Normally, someone like Smay would be considered a remnant evil from the former regime. Even if the Monster Lord didn¡¯t kill her, he would definitely remain on guard against her, not letting her have ess to such secretive information.

    Smay sneered. ¡°In the end, isn¡¯t it because the Monster Lord was unable to bring everyone out of this doomsday scenario? Almost all of his ns failed. The invasion of that human Cultivation World was made out to be such a huge deal, and yet the three great armies that he bragged about all failed. Everyone else¡¯s patience toward him has already reached its limit.¡±

    She paused for a moment before saying, ¡°That''s why all of the great ns have been reminiscing about the greatness of my father''s past reign... There''s no harm in telling you that roughly sixty percent of the ns have already sided with us. As long as the timing is right, we can immediately take over the position of the Monster Lord.¡±

    ¡°Sixty percent?¡± Zu An¡¯s eyes narrowed. He had to admit that this Monster Lord really wasn¡¯t doing too well. There were only traitors and backstabbers around him.

    He didn¡¯tpletely trust the number. Smay was likely exaggerating to sway Donaire intoing onboard with her. However, the truth probably wasn''t too different. The Monster Lord definitely had a lot of disloyal people around him, or else Smay wouldn¡¯t have been able to learn of such confidential information.

    When he realized that, he put on an obsequious smile and said, ¡°The first miss truly shares the outstanding demeanor of your father. This humble one has nothing but admiration!¡±

    ¡°Then what is the young master¡¯s decision?¡± Smay stared at Zu An. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°I will follow the first miss and bear loyalty to your esteemed father!¡± Zu An immediately said.

    Smay was happy to hear this. ¡°That¡¯s good. Then you are to immediately arrange a trip to the Cultivation World for me. I will personally rescue my father and bring him back.¡± She was already losing patience after having sent people so many times, yeting up empty-handed.

    Zu An was immediately a bit troubled. ¡°I might not be able to aplish this in the short term.¡±

    Smay¡¯s face darkened. ¡°Then were you lying to me?¡±

    ¡°The first miss has misunderstood. The Cultivation World¡¯s barrier has already formed, so entering is already almost impossible. Only the ancient methods of my n can aplish traveling between the two worlds. I have already used up all of my resources and need some special materials to recreate the transport formation. However, Ick the rted materials right now.¡±

    ¡°What materials do you need?¡± Smay frowned.

    ¡°Those materials are all under the control of the Monster Lord. I fear that...¡± Zu An was thinking, <i>Like hell I know what materials are needed!</i> But he already had a countermeasure for that. This world¡¯s resources all had set limits for their allocation. There were some precious materials that were definitely under the Monster Lord¡¯s control.

    As expected, Smay didn¡¯t continue asking. Instead, she remained silent for a moment before saying, ¡°I will try to find a way to get you into his treasury and give it a try. Wait for news from me!¡±

    ¡°Thank you, first miss!¡± Zu An replied, overjoyed. He''d never expected to randomly gain such an ally.

 Chapter 2316: Palace Emissary

    <h4>Chapter 2316: Pce Emissary</h4>

    ¡°You can withdraw for now. I will contact some rted personnel first.¡± Smay waved her hand. She seemed to have a distressed expression. The Monster Lord¡¯s treasury was clearly not an easy ce to get into.

    Zu An bade her goodbye and slowly withdrew. This visit had really brought unexpected good news. Not only had he gained a lot of intelligence, he was also able to obtain the help of this first miss. The materials he needed for the formation would now be much easier to get. The most important thing was now to get ess to the libraries of this world and learn their formation skills to make up for the things he and Xie Daoyun didn¡¯t know.

    He suddenly noticed something while he was deep in thought. He looked up and saw that Mojard was looking at him from nearby.

    Zu An greeted him. Mojard opened the door and remarked, ¡°I heard that the True Demon race¡¯s Donaire is good at currying favor with women. Today, I have developed a new level of respect for you. Our first miss has always been difficult to deal with, but the young master was actually able to make the first miss feel so happy.¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t have to say anything before Mojard''s expression grew grave and he said, ¡°However... Please don¡¯t me me for being harsh, but you''d better not have any wishful thinking toward our first miss. Otherwise, your end will definitely be extremely miserable.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face twitched. ¡°Please do not worry, sir. That will never happen.¡± n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    <i>Are you kidding me? Only you would treat that dinosaur-headed first miss as a treasure.</i>

    Mojard¡¯s expression eased a bit when he heard that. ¡°That¡¯s good. As long as the young master does not covet the first miss, we will be friends from now on and fight side by side. We will be outstanding subjects with great achievements once we wee the master home.¡±

    Zu An agreed while cursing inwardly. If he wasn¡¯t mistaken, this first miss had called Mojard ''uncle''. And yet, this guy seemed to have a strange kind of affection for Smay.

    <i>An old cow wants to eat tender grass...?</i>

    But when he thought about Smay¡¯s appearance, he thought to himself that this Mojard really had quite interesting taste.

    ...

    By the time Zu An parted with Mojard and returned to the cave, the women were already waiting anxiously by the entrance. They were all really excited and happy when they saw him return peacefully.

    ¡°Ah Zu, I¡¯m so happy that you returned safely. We were worried to death!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, we were about to head over to save you, but we were also worried that we would end up ruining your ns.¡±

    The women all chattered continuously. When he sensed their concern, Zu An couldn''t help but feel warm inside.

    Pei Mianman walked up to him with an ambiguous smile and asked, ¡°By the way, what did that first miss look like? Was she an extraordinary beauty too?¡±

    The women who had been busy talking quieted down. Even the aloof Jiang Luofu turned around and looked at Zu An with curiosity.

    Zu An¡¯s expression was a bit strange. He didn¡¯t really know how to answer this question.

    As if sensing his trouble, Pei Mianman said with a smile, ¡°There''s no need for you to have such misgivings. We''re currently in the Monster World and need to borrow any strength we can. For the sake of the entire world, I believe that no one would me you for using a male honey trap. Just charge forward bravely!¡±

    Zu An was speechless. Out of helplessness, he could only give the women a rough exnation of what had happened.

    The women all had strange looks on their faces when they heard what he said. Then, all of them roared withughter. They had been so worried over here, and yet this was the end result!

    Pei Mianman wasughing the hardest, her chest moving in great waves. When they saw that, the other women reflexively nced at their own chests, which made their own smiles be a bit stiffer.

    ¡°But Ah Zu, sometimes we have to make some sacrifices, you know?¡± Jiang Luofu urged him on.

    ¡°Absolutely not!¡± Zu An said with a serious expression. ¡°Am I someone who ys with others¡¯ feelings like that?¡±

    Pei Mianman couldn''t help but say, ¡°This is rted to the safety of the entire world. No one would me you even if you did it.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    It wasn¡¯t too often that he found himself so hard-pressed. Even the usually gentle and refined Xie Daoyun couldn''t help but grin.

    ...

    The women teased him for a while longer, but then began to discuss the new information.

    ¡°I never expected that they were trying to save the Lord of ughter! But the Lord of ughter is already dead, so how do we help them save him?¡± Pei Mianman had heard Zu An exin the sealednd¡¯s events before, and she knew that Qiu Honglei had almost died because of that, while Chu Chuyan had be the Snow Lady and was now suffering under the Bridge of Helplessness. She became a bit sad whenever she remembered this.

    ¡°We¡¯ll think about that after they help us enter the Monster Lord¡¯s treasury. There are other ways even if this doesn¡¯t work out," Zu An replied. The beginning of a n was already starting to form in his mind.

    When they sensed his confidence, the women were all full of admiration. No matter how difficult the situation was, this man always had a solution.

    Jiang Luofu said, ¡°Regardless, arge amount of the Monster Lord¡¯s trusted aides have already been roped in by the Lord of ughter¡¯s faction. This is a good thing for us.¡±

    Everyone else nodded. They''d thought that they would have to face the Monster Lord and his endless subordinates. Now that there was another force helping them to take on some of the burden and weaken him, that made the overall situation much better.

    Zu An frowned. ¡°A monster ising.¡±

    The beautiful women''s faces changed. They couldn''t catch a break at all! There were more monstersing? They were in a dangerous situation right now. The slightest mistake could end up alerting the enemy.

    Zu An¡¯s expression became a bit unpleasant too, because he saw that the one who hade was the great elder, who had another monster with him. Furthermore, the great elder¡¯s expression toward this person seemed to be really respectful.

    The second monster¡¯s entire body was ash-gray and was barely humanoid in shape. There were two sharp horns on his forehead. The most eye-catching part, however, was the pair of the pitch-ck wings on his back. They weren¡¯t made of a fleshy membrane like bat wings; rather, they looked more like the feathered wings of a hawk or crow. The monster''s expression was proud and dignified, and he didn¡¯t give the great elder next to him a single look.

    ¡°Young master, the pce emissary has arrived.¡± When he saw the other party¡¯s contemptuous attitude, the great elder was irritated, but he didn¡¯t dare to show it. He could only loudly remind Donaire. This youngster was now the hope of the entire True Demon race, so he absolutely couldn''t end up offending this pce emissary.

    <i>Pce emissary? </i>Zu An thought, surprised. Even though he had never heard of this person before, judging from the title and the great elder¡¯s respectful attitude, this was probably a trusted aide of the Monster Lord.

    As such, he didn¡¯t dare to show any carelessness and came out of the cave, saying, ¡°I greet the pce emissary!¡±

    At the same time, he sized up the other party¡¯s strength. With his current cultivation, he could see some things such as ¡®ki¡¯ that couldn''t normally be seen by the naked eye. That was more useful than checking energy fluctuations.

    The raging demonic mes around this emissary burned even more fiercely than those of the True Demon race¡¯s great elder. He was powerful, as expected!

    The pce emissary gave Zu An a look before saying, ¡°Donaire, the Monster Lord wants to see you.¡±

    Zu An felt a chill run through his body. He''d never expected to immediately end up meeting the Monster Lord.

    The women who heard Yun Yuqing¡¯s trantion inside the cave were all horrified as well. They knew that their big brother Zu was in danger!

 Chapter 2317: Audience With the Lord

    <h4>Chapter 2317: Audience With the Lord</h4>

    Even though they had never seen the Monster Lord before, the women had heard too many terrifying rumors surrounding him. Someone who could be the king in this savage and ruthless Monster World definitely excelled in both strength and intelligence.

    Additionally, this was the monsters¡¯ world, so there were no worldws suppressing their cultivation. Even though big brother Zu was strong, it wasn¡¯t enough to contend against the Monster Lord. If they met directly and something unexpected happened, big brother Zu wouldn''t necessarily be able to return alive.

    What was even more worrying was the question of why the Monster Lord had suddenly sought him out. Could it be that he had already deduced Zu An''s real identity?

    When he sensed the women''s rm and heard them telling him not to go, Zu An said with a smile, ¡°I¡¯ve troubled the pce emissary in ining all the way here to invite me, so I will leave immediately after sorting out my belongings.¡±

    The pce emissary¡¯s expression eased a bit and he said, ¡°Be quick; do not make the lord wait for too long.¡±

    ¡°But of course!¡± Zu An replied. After reentering the cave, he set up a sound barrier.

    The women finally couldn''t help but speak up.

    ¡°Ah Zu, you absolutely cannot go!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s too dangerous!¡±

    ¡°How about we join together to try and kill the pce emissary?¡±

    They all gave him various kind sof advice.

    Jiang Luofu finally couldn''t hold herself back and said, ¡°That¡¯s right. We¡¯ll just rely on Miss Smay afterward if we need to. I believe she has the ability to protect us for now. After she gives us the materials needed for the formation, we can bring her back to the Cultivation World. Once we¡¯re back in our own home territory, we won¡¯t need to fear them anymore.¡± Her way of thinking was much moreposed than that of the other youngdies, who were speaking purely out of concern. She immediately came up with a very usible n.

    Zu An shook his head slightly. ¡°That would put us in too passive of a position. It would be difficult for us to do much if we werepletely under Smay¡¯s control. Don¡¯t worry, the Monster Lord most likely hasn''t seen through my identity yet. It shouldn¡¯t be too dangerous to meet him.¡±

    He had considerable confidence in the Myriad Transformations skill. No matter how powerful the Monster Lord was, there was no way he would know what had happened in the Cultivation World.

    ¡°But we can''t ignore the smallest possibility that something might go wrong!¡± Pei Mianman had confidence in Zu An, but she was still really nervous.

    ¡°If the situation is unfavorable, I''ll run.¡± Zu An chuckled and said, "You''re the ones who have to take good care of yourselves in the meantime.¡±

    Xie Daoyun said, ¡°I¡¯ve already set up a lot of defensive formations. That should be enough to protect us for a short amount of time.¡±

    Zu An nodded. He reminded them of a few more things before going back out to where the pce emissary was again. He couldn''t make that person wait for too long.

    When they saw him leave, the women all felt powerless and frustrated.

    Pei Mianman was the first to say, ¡°It¡¯s useless even if we''re nervous. It would be best to learn the monsternguage as quickly as possible. That way, we might be able to help him in this Monster World.¡±

    The other women nodded. They took turns observing the surroundings for activity so they would be ready to coordinate with Zu An at any time. Meanwhile, the others would focus on learning the monsternguage.

    Xie Daoyun couldn''t help but give Pei Mianman a look. She admired her a lot. They had been fellow students in Brightmoon Academy, where they had been equal in beauty and talent. Back then, she hadn¡¯t even really epted Pei Mianman, thinking she was usually a bit too flirtatious. Now, though, Xie Daoyun she couldn''t help but feel admiration. Mianman was still able to remain so cool-headed in this kind of situation, and her calm appearance and bearing was just like that of a mature woman...

    <i>Ah, just what kind of nonsense am I thinking?</i>

    Meanwhile, Zu An left the cave. and said, ¡°I¡¯ve made the esteemed emissary wait.¡±

    The pce emissary grunted, then turned around to lead the way. A whileter, he gave the great elder a look, saying, ¡°The lord only wants to meet Donaire alone.¡±

    The great elder had an awkward expression as he said, ¡°Then I won¡¯t be apanying you, young master.¡± At the same time, he secretly reminded Zu An, ¡°Young master, you absolutely cannot offend the Monster Lord!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Zu An replied. He knew Donaire was in high demand right now among the True Demon race, and they were also relying on him to bring resources from the Cultivation World. They naturally didn¡¯t want anything bad to happen to him.

    ...

    Zu An followed the emissary toward the underground city¡¯s tallest castle. Along the way, he asked, ¡°Esteemed emissary, may I ask what the Monster Lord wishes to meet with me about?¡±

    He briefly considered sliding some high-level ki stones over to the emissary, but when he thought about how the world¡¯s resources were all under strict management, he figured it was best if he didn¡¯t rashly give these kinds of things out before he had a good idea of the emissary''s temper. Otherwise, he could end up revealing a weakness to exploit.

    ¡°You¡¯ll know once you¡¯re there.¡± The pce emissary frowned, seemingly not interested in talking with him at all.

    Zu An gave up on his ns to chat with the emissary, and focused his thoughts inward instead. He thought about the possible situations that could y out.

    The deeper in they went, the fewer monsters there were. It was clear that the Monster Lord¡¯s residence wasn¡¯t a ce normal monsters could approach.

    Along the way, Zu An observed the ce. There were all sorts of defensive and rm formations that filled the area with an indescribable pressure. There were many formations that were so incredible that he couldn''t even understand them. He felt more and more amazed at the formation knowledge of this world.

    However, as he secretly analyzed those formations in his mind, he gradually had a strange feeling.

    <i>There¡¯s something wrong with these formations!</i>

    There were many that were just there to look menacing and couldn''t actually be used. He thought about the state of this world, and quickly realized that there weren¡¯t enough ki stones to maintain the operation of all these formations. In other words, the unusable ones were actually just here as a bluff. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Of course, if he hadn''t studied the Baopu Sutra and gained a lot of knowledge about formations, he wouldn''t have been able to see through the ws.

    <i>The Monster World is already at the end of its rope after all. Even the Monster Lord¡¯s personal pce can''t continue to maintain the formations around it.</i>

    But there were some monster guards along the way. They all had various different appearances, and their strength made even Zu An feel some fear. Fortunately, with the pce emissary leading the way, no one stopped them along the way.

    They quickly arrived in front of a castle. Zu An paid special attention when he was entering, because the gate was especiallyrge. The only thing that couldpare to it was the great tomb¡¯s entrance when he was inside the Baopu Sutra''s secret dungeon. He could more or less guess the reason for it, though. Many monsters were quiterge, so a normal door wouldn¡¯t fit them at all.

    He saw all sorts of sculptures on the walls along the way, but it really was a bit difficult for him to appreciate the monsters¡¯ tastes. They were all sinister and evil-looking statues that looked as if they could jump out of the walls at any time to devour anyone passing by.

    Soon after, he saw a flight of stairs ahead that seemed to extend upward forever. mes zed at either side of the steps. Under the dim lighting of the mes, the sculptures on the walls looked like ten thousand dancing devils.

    Zu An suddenly noticed that there was someone standing at the bottom of the stairs. That person''s entire body was covered in pitch-ck scales, and he looked a bit like a mutated lizard. His pupils were especially deep and mysterious. There was a voluminous, brightly-colored scarf around his neck that gave him a faintly majestic aura, resembling a crown. But upon closer inspection, it was actually a frill made from his own skin, edged with extremely sharp spikes. Judging from their pitch-ck appearance, being pricked by them would definitely result in bad consequences.

    At first, Zu An thought this was the Monster Lord, but he quickly gave up on that idea. Even though the monster was really strong, his aura was only a bit stronger than Zu An''s own. It wasn¡¯t all that terrifyingly different. More importantly, he was standing there with a slightly bowed stance. His entire body was shaking slightly, as if he was scared of something.

    The pce emissary said to Zu An, ¡°Line up here and wait. It will be your turn after the lord finishes his meeting with the Green Iguana King.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself that this creature was most likely the Green Iguana King.

    <i>But the brightly-colored frill around his neck isn¡¯t green...</i>

    Suddenly, another pce emissary appeared on the tall tform. It said in a clear voice, ¡°The lord will meet with the Green Iguana King now.¡±

    The Green Iguana King couldn''t help but ask, ¡°The Mad King has already finished his conversation? Why didn¡¯t hee out?¡±

    The pce emissary at the top of the stairs coldly replied, ¡°There is no need for him toe back out.¡±

    The Green Iguana King was stunned at first, but then he understood what the emissary meant. If there was no need for the Mad King toe out, that meant he had already died inside.

    Zu An finally understood why this creature was called the Green Iguana King. The brightly-colored frill instantly turned a wretched green.

 Chapter 2318: Interrogation of the Soul

    <h4>Chapter 2318: Interrogation of the Soul</h4>

    The Green Iguana King swallowed with difficulty. His body started trembling even more. He even secretly gave the entrance a look, as if he was considering whether to run or not.

    Just then, the pce emissary who had brought Zu An here coldly said, ¡°Green Iguana King, hurry and meet with the lord. There are still others waiting after you.¡±

    The Green Iguana King could only give up on any thoughts of escape. He looked at Zu An as if they were fellow sufferers. His mouth moved slightly. He considered allying with Zu An in secret to risk it all, but when he gave the glowering pce emissary a look and thought about the Monster Lord¡¯s terrifying power, he ended up giving up on that thought. He hung his head and started to walk up the stairs.

    As Zu An looked at his back, he almost felt as if the Green Iguana King wasn¡¯t going up a flight of stairs, but rather was walking to his own execution.

    Zu An looked around the area. There were some guards standing off to either side in the distance. They were a bit simr to the pce emissary, but they didn¡¯t have wings. The energies their bodies gave off were much weaker too. Because of the stairs, Zu An couldn''t see what was beyond them.

    He wanted to send out his divine sense to find out what was going on inside, but he was worried that he would be found out by the Monster Lord and offend him. After all, with his strength, the Monster Lord would definitely be able to sense such a thing. As a result, Zu An decided to just quietly stand in ce. He began to think about what to doter.

    Roughly fifteen minutester, the pce emissary in front of the stairs appeared again. ¡°Donaire, the lord will now meet you.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He couldn''t help but ask the same question the Green Iguana King had asked. ¡°The Green Iguana King hasn¡¯te out yet?¡± N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°There is no need for him toe back out,¡± said the pce emissary indifferently, as if he was saying something extremely trivial andmonce.

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>This mortality rate seems to be a bit high...</i>

    At first, he had been quite calm about this matter, feeling that the Monster Lord definitely hadn''t been able to see through his disguise and probably just had some other reason for wanting to meet with him. And yet, the two people who had lined up before him were killed one after another. He was now actually a bit uncertain.

    He couldn''t help but give the entrance a look. He thought about his chances of escape, just like the Green Iguana King. But unlike the Green Iguana King, he had a high chance of seeding. A single pce emissary couldn''t stop him.

    However, in the end, he gave up on that thought. He''de to the Monster World to solve the problem at its root, so how could he just run away? He calmed down considerably when he realized that and went up the stairs.

    As he walked, he was amazed by the airs this Monster Lord put on. Thetter had made this long staircase on purpose to make himself seem more important. The people meeting him from below would thus always feel as if they were meeting some deity.

    Under the pce emissary¡¯s lead, Zu An quickly arrived at the inner hall, which was extremely spacious.

    The most eye-catching thing inside it was a giant three-headed bird. But even though it resembled a bird, it didn¡¯t have any feathers. The three strange heads were eagerly ripping apart a corpse. Judging from its ruined flesh and the green crest on the ground, Zu An was able to tell that this was none other than the Green Iguana King he had just seen.

    There was also a thick tail off to the side. Its ash-gray fur clearly didn¡¯t belong to the strange bird. That was most likely from the Mad King that had been mentioned earlier. He''d actually been eaten until only a tail remained!

    When he sensed the primal viciousness of the strange three-headed bird, Zu An shivered.

    <i>This is probably the Monster Lord¡¯s mount, right? Did he really have to feed it the subjects he executed? The Monster World really is savage, as expected.</i>

    His eyes shifted to the humanoid figure in front of the strange bird. Rather than a human form, the figure was just vaguely human-shaped, and fine, pitch-ck scales covered his entire body. The Green Lizard King had also been covered in scales, but these were entirely different. They gave off a cold metallic luster that actually made them resemble a fine suit of armor. It gave the being a unique aesthetic.

    But the most eye-catching detail was the being''s head, which was in the shape of a four-pointed star. In that instant, Zu An suddenly thought about the summoning stones of a certain gacha game.

    ¡°I greet the Monster Lord!¡± Zu An reacted quickly. He didn¡¯t show any negligence in his courtesy.

    The Monster Lord''s head had two shining yellow lights for eyes, with two strange vertical pupils vaguely visible within them. He gave Zu An a look before asking, ¡°Do you know why I called you here?¡±

    His mouth was oriented vertically, opening to reveal a row of terrifying teeth inside. If not for Zu An¡¯s multitude of experience, perhaps he would have been scared out of his wits after seeing such a thing.

    ¡°This subordinate doesn¡¯t know.¡± Zu An was secretly on guard. He''d discovered that he couldn''t urately sense the other party¡¯s cultivation. That meant either the Monster Lord''s cultivation method was much more profound than his own, or he was just that much stronger.

    Zu An had all sorts of incredible abilities, and even the Keyboard System only collected techniques through its F1-F12 keys. He refused to believe that this Monster Lord¡¯s cultivation method was that much more profound than his own. That could only mean the Monster Lord''s strength and cultivation rank were much higher.

    When he realized that, Zu An couldn''t help but reminisce about the moment when he had merged with the will of the world. Back then, he really had felt as if he waspletely invincible. Now that he was in this world, he could no longer use the power of the Cultivation World, so he was now much weaker.

    Even so, he didn¡¯t panic. Often, strength alone didn¡¯t decide victory or defeat. He had faced too many powerful enemies over the years, and yet he was always the one whoughedst in the end. As long as he used his skills well, he still had a fighting chance.

    The Monster Lord gave him a look before asking, ¡°How did your trip to the Cultivation World go?¡±

    Zu An felt a weight drop in his stomach. The Monster Lord knew about his visit to the Cultivation World after all. Judging from his tone, it sounded as if the Monster Lord had given Donaire quite a few missions.

    <i>This really is a headache.</i>

    Smay had also given him a mission, and he''d only barely managed to survive that ordeal. But he''d had one for the Monster Lord too! Furthermore, the Monster Lord didn¡¯t seem to be as easy to deal with as Smay.

    ¡°There were some detours...¡± Zu An said ambiguously, trying to figure out what the mission was.

    ¡°Did you meet that regent?¡± the Monster Lord suddenly asked.

    Zu An voiced his agreement. ¡°I was almost exposed by him.¡±

    ¡°Tell me about that regent.¡± The Monster Lord immediately became interested. ¡°My three great armies were all defeated by him. He really is quite the talent.¡±

    ¡°The regent looks handsome, like a jade tree facing the wind; he is confident and at ease...¡± Zu An sighed inwardly in relief. Now that it involved his world¡¯s affairs, he could talk a bit more without giving his real identity away.

    The Monster Lord was very interested in Zu An¡¯s cultivation and assorted abilities. It actually made Zu An feel really strange. With the Monster Lord praising him so much, he couldn''t make himself seem too weak, and yet couldn''t describe himself as being too ridiculously strong. He couldn''t really give all of his secrets away either. It was a bit difficult to find the right bnce.

    The Monster Lord nodded and remarked, ¡°The fact that you were able to keep your life against someone like that is already quite impressive.¡±

    Zu An quickly said, ¡°I didn¡¯t actually meet him face to face; it¡¯s rather that I was on guard against him and hurried back as soon as I received the news. That is why I have been unable to aplish many things.¡±

    That wasn¡¯t a lie, technically. Regardless of what it was that Donaire had been trying to do, he clearly hadn¡¯t finished his tasks.

    ¡°You¡¯ve already done well enough.¡± The Monster Lord grinned. Then, he changed the topic. He pointed at the Green Iguana King¡¯s corpse and asked, ¡°Do you know why I needed to kill them?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± Zu An immediately had an ominous feeling.

    ¡°It is because they took their benefits here, but sided with the outsider Smay,¡± the Monster Lord said with a cold snort. ¡°I¡¯ve treated them quite well over the years, and yet they dared to betray me! Not even death can erase their crimes.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    Just then, the Monster Lord gave Zu An a look. His eyes narrowed and he asked, ¡°Did youplete the mission Smay gave you?¡±

 Chapter 2319: Blood Sacrifice

    <h4>Chapter 2319: Blood Sacrifice</h4>

    Zu An felt goosebumps cover his body. He almost made a run for it on the spot. However, over the years, he had constantly wandered on the brink of life and death, so he was able to remain calm. He quickly exined politely, ¡°Smay did seek me out, but I didn¡¯t do anything for her.¡±

    The Monster Lord nodded. ¡°Very good. If you had imed to have never met Smay, you would already be a corpse.¡±

    ¡°The lord is wise.¡± Zu An naturally knew that since the other side dared to speak about Smay in front of him, denying having met her would be meaningless.

    In theory, if the Monster Lord had wanted to kill him, he wouldn¡¯t even have allowed the conversation to go on for so long. As such, Zu An was able to more or less guess the Monster Lord''s thoughts. He gave the two corpses a look and immediately understood that the Monster Lord had made hime in after those two to scare him.

    ¡°What is the mission Smay gave you?¡± the Monster Lord asked indifferently.

    ¡°She wanted me to find out information about her father in the Cultivation World. If possible, she wanted me to help her save the Lord of ughter,¡± Zu An replied. He naturally didn¡¯t have much loyalty to Smay, so he didn¡¯t hesitate much in replying. The Monster Lord seemed to be trying to rope him in, so if he didn¡¯t cooperate, he really would be an inflexible idiot.

    ¡°Rescue the Lord of ughter?¡± The Monster Lord sneered. ¡°So? What was the result? Did you seed in rescuing him?¡±

    ¡°Of course not. The Shadow Monster King and the others were defeated on the Great Snowy Mountain, which means that destiny is still with the lord¡¯s side.¡± Zu An praised him in a manner that wasn¡¯t too excessive or too mild.

    The Monster Lord roared withughter. ¡°Destiny is naturally with me!¡± Afterward, he asked, ¡°What exactly happened over there? Tell me.¡±

    Even though he had sent the three armies to conquer the Cultivation World, they were far away and there was a world barrier in their way. There were many details that he hadn¡¯t been able to receive in time.

    Zu An had already prepared what he wanted to say. He spoke frankly with assurance, but he naturally mixed thirty percent lies with seventy percent truth. The Lord of ughter¡¯s death in particr was something he hid.

    Afterward, he tested the waters by saying, ¡°Lord, I was only feigning civility with Smay. I didn¡¯t truly side with her.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Then why didn¡¯t you immediately make a report to me?¡± the Monster Lord replied with a sneer. The sound of the three-headed bird crunching bones behind him made him seemespecially sinister and terrifying.

    Zu An quickly replied, ¡°The main reason was because I was worried that I would be suspected by the lord, and I was also worried that I would be misrepresented by my colleagues, so I kept it a secret.¡±

    The Monster Lord said with a snort, ¡°I don''t know if these are your real thoughts, or if they''re just what you are saying to fool me.¡±

    Zu An was about to say something when the Monster Lord interrupted, continuing, ¡°But these things aren¡¯t important. Once you hear everything I''m about to tell you, you will naturally understand who to side your loyalty with.¡±

    Zu An was stunned when he heard that. He felt that something wasn¡¯t normal.

    ¡°Do you think that Smay, Mojard, and the others actually trust you?¡± the Monster Lord asked with a sneer. ¡°They''re just using you to deal with me. Do you know why they wanted you to bring the Cultivation World¡¯s Demon race saintesses back with you?¡±

    Zu An felt goosebumps. It turned out that in the end, the selection of Demon race saintesses was actually Smay¡¯s idea! Then hadn¡¯t he already given himself away by showing hisck of knowledge about that?

    <i>That Smay is just too cunning. Her actions seem sloppy on the surface, but her thoughts are actually extremely meticulous.</i>

    What wasughable was that he''d thought he hadpletely fooled her. She had probably been mocking him for his stupidity back then!

    In that moment, he felt another wave of shock. Since the Demon race saintesses were what Smay had wanted him to bring back, weren¡¯t Manman and the others now in danger? He was already thinking about how to return as quickly as possible. However, he also knew that without dealing with the Monster Lord first, there was no way to go home at all. If he tried to forcefully make his escape now, that would only bring the women even more danger.

    He could only console himself with the thought that they were in the True Demon territory. It wouldn¡¯t be that easy for Smay and the others to harm them. Besides, Manman, Xie Daoyun and the others weren¡¯t weak to begin with. They would probably be able to hold on for some time by relying on formations.

    When he realized that, he used the chance to ask the Monster Lord, ¡°Does the lord know what Smay¡¯s side wishes to use the Demon race saintesses for?¡±

    ¡°Hmph, it¡¯s nothing more than chasing a wild fantasy. They want to carry out a kind of ancient blood sacrifice to summon some legendary being, using it to deal with the imminent apocalypse.¡± The Monster Lord said with a sneer, ¡°These roaches scurrying in the dark don¡¯t really have any other solutions, so they ended up turning to that kind of sorcery. I reckon that if the n to save the Lord of ughter fails, they probably intend to use that method to face me.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. Even though he didn¡¯t know what exactly this blood sacrifice entailed, the term alone made it clear that it wasn¡¯t anything good. Regardless of what was summoned, the saintesses who were used as sacrifices definitely wouldn¡¯t survive. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    At first, he had actually wanted to work together with Smay¡¯s faction to face the Monster Lord, but that didn¡¯t seem to be an option at all. The conflict of interest he had with Smay couldn''t be mediated. But was he supposed to help the Monster Lord eliminate Smay¡¯s faction?

    Even though Zu An had a lot of misgivings, on the surface, he said, ¡°My lord, I am willing to help you eliminate Smay¡¯s group of traitors and bandits!¡±

    The Monster Lord harrumphed. ¡°Who wants you to eliminate them? All you need to do is to continue working with them and help them bring back the Lord of ughter.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. His mind was full of questions.

    <i>Did this Monster Lord go crazy? If the Lord of ughter were brought back, considering how strong that guy was, wouldn¡¯t the Monster Lord be ying with fire?</i>

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that a bit too risky?¡± Zu An asked in confusion. He wanted to figure out why the Monster Lord wanted him to do that. He trusted that the Monster Lord was definitely no fool, and that there were definitely things he didn¡¯t know about.

    ¡°That¡¯s not something you need to worry yourself about,¡± said the Monster Lord indifferently. ¡°I''ll make things easier for you from now on, so you can obtain Smay¡¯s trust. There''s nothing you need to worry about. The only thing you need to do is to help her as much as possible.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>I¡¯m actually going to be scared if you continue to mess with me like that.</i>

    Even though things would be a bit easier if he became a double agent, neither side actually had his best interests at heart. The slightest carelessness would lead to severe consequences.

    He wanted to ask for more information, but the Monster Lord quickly gave the order for him to leave. He could only withdraw.

    As he walked down the stairs, the shadow he cast on the wall twisted. That and the terrifying sound of the three bird heads chewing on the Mad King and Green Iguana King¡¯s bones filled the pce with an eerie feeling.

    ...

    When he left the pce, the emissary didn¡¯t continue to follow him. Zu An sighed in relief as he hurried to his cave dwelling. What he was most worried about at the moment was the possibility that Smay¡¯s group would seize the chance when he wasn¡¯t there to kidnap the women and conduct that blood sacrifice.

    He hurried back and finally returned to the True Demons¡¯ territory. He was about to return when he suddenly stopped at the foot of the mountain. He looked at the individual in front of him and immediately became nervous.

    ¡°Young master, you seem to be in quite the rush. Where did you just go?¡± Smay was standing in front of Mojard, looking at him coldly.

 Chapter 2320: Another Path

    <h4>Chapter 2320: Another Path</h4>

    When he saw Smay, Zu An gave the distant mountain peak a look. He wondered if Manman and the others were safe.

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you replying to what the first miss asked yet?¡± Mojard looked at him coldly.

    Zu An calmly replied, ¡°The first miss and I have a cooperative rtionship; I am not her subordinate. I must ask your respected self to ease up on the formalities.¡±

    ¡°You...!¡± Mojard was furious. ¡°You¡¯re courting death!¡±

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Mojard for +444 +444 +444...</strong>

    Then, a powerful pressure erupted from his body.

    But a secondter, Smay ced her hand on his shoulder. ¡°Uncle Mo, please don¡¯t be angry. What the young master says is correct. We''re just fellow cooperators.¡±

    When he felt her touch, Mojard immediately pulled back the pressure. He immediately reacted when he heard the first miss¡¯ private ki transmission. This was the True Demon n¡¯s territory. If the True Demons'' great elder came, that would be a difficult situation to clean up.

    Smay greeted Zu An and said, ¡°Young master, please excuse us for that hup. The main reason for our frustration is the disappearance of a few important colleagues of ours. Uncle Mo was feeling a bit restless as a result, so that was why his way of speaking was overly rigid. Don''t take it to heart.¡±

    Mojard harrumphed. If even the first miss was speaking like this, he naturally wouldn¡¯t make her lose face.

    ¡°Are the colleagues you''re talking about the Mad King and the Green Iguana King?¡± Zu An had a weird expression.

    ¡°How did the young master know?¡± Smay was stunned. Even Mojard gave him a look of surprise.

    ¡°That''s because I''ve just returned from the Monster Lord¡¯s pce. I personally saw him kill them,¡± Zu An said calmly.

    ¡°What?!¡± Smay and Mojard¡¯s expressions changed greatly. Those two were clearly extremely important to them.

    Zu An then gave them a rough ount of what happened.

    ¡°Our pitiful brothers... The Monster Lord is too cruel!¡± Mojard cursed furiously. He looked extremely moved.

    Smay took a deep breath before finally managed to calm herself down. She gave Zu An a suspicious look. ¡°Even they were killed, so why is the young master fine?¡±

    Mojard¡¯s face darkened when he heard these words, and he walked over to the other side of Zu An. He was ready to attack at a moment¡¯s notice.

    Zu An gave her a surprised look. ¡°Why would anything happen to me? I just met with you guys. No matter how good the Monster Lord¡¯s informationwork is, he shouldn¡¯t have found out that quickly, right?¡±

    Smay had a relieved smile as she said, ¡°What the young master said makes sense. It was the two of us who overreacted.¡±

    Mojard wanted to say something, but when he saw the gesture the first miss made, he swallowed those words back down.

    ¡°However, it does seem like a bit too much of a coincidence. The Monster Lord executed those two before you. I wonder what the intention behind that was.¡± Even though Smay was smiling, her eyes were flickering with other thoughts.

    ¡°Killing the chicken to warn the monkeys, I reckon. He wanted to do that to warn me not to be disloyal,¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°Then what has the Monster Lord asked of you?¡± Smay suddenly asked.

    Zu An replied, ¡°To help him open up a path to the Monster World, of course.¡±

    Smay became quiet for a moment. Then, she said, ¡°Young master, there is something I''m very curious about. The Monster Lord still has the advantage, and he just killed the Mad King¡¯s group. Why didn¡¯t you use this chance to sell me out? The Monster Lord would have rewarded you greatly as a result.¡±

    When he heard her say that, Mojard was shocked and quickly looked around. He sighed slightly in relief when he couldn''t sense any other monsters waiting to ambush them.

    Zu An hesitated for a moment before replying, ¡°That¡¯s right, if I had sold out the first miss at the time, there would be a good return indeed. However, the Monster Lord is very temperamental; heaven knows when he would rescind our cooperation and decide to just settle things on the spot. Besides, the Monster Lord¡¯s end is already in sight. Why would I tie my fate to someone like him? I figured it would be more worthwhile to take a bit of risk and see if I could gamble my way to survival.¡±

    Smay was really happy to hear that. ¡°The young master has prating insight, as expected. I misunderstood you earlier, and I offer my apologies here.¡±

    ¡°The first miss speaks too modestly.¡± Zu An gestured for her to stand back up.

    Smay then continued, ¡°We will definitely not let the young master down for cing your trust in us here.¡±

    Zu An naturally didn¡¯t treat these words with much importance; he said, "I''m still entrusting the matter of the Monster Lord¡¯s treasury to the first miss.¡±

    Smay voiced her agreement. ¡°The Mad King and Green Iguana King¡¯s deaths have affected our progress, but you don''t need to worry. I''ll get ess to the storehouse as quickly as possible and will contact you then.¡±

    Zu An nodded, then pretended to ask nonchntly, ¡°By the way, when do you need those Demon race saintesses?¡±

    Smay had a look of surprise on her face when she heard that, but she quickly covered it up. ¡°They can just stay with you for now. Just remember that they can''t lose their purity.¡±

    Zu An felt ice-cold inside. At first, he had been worried that the Monster Lord was just deliberately driving a wedge between them, but it turned out to have been true. It seemed like there was no way to reconcile this conflict of interest with Smay after all.

    They spoke for a while longer before Zu An excused himself.

    When they saw him leave, Mojard walked up to Smay. ¡°First miss, do you truly trust him?¡±

    ¡°So what if I trust him, and so what if I don¡¯t?¡± Smay chuckled. ¡°Whether he''s loyal or a spy, it¡¯s enough as long as he does what we need him to do.¡±

    Mojard was full of admiration. ¡°The first miss is wise!¡±

    ...

    Meanwhile, Zu An returned to the cave dwelling. He saw that Ji Xiaoxi was nervously watching the entrance. She was really shy, but she bravely held her weapon while craning her neck to look outside. Zu An felt warm inside.

    <i>Xiaoxi really is cute. Whenever I see her, I want to give her a hug.</i>

    ¡°Big brother Zu is back!¡± Ji Xiaoxi was extremely excited when she saw Zu An.

    The other women rushed out when they heard the news. All of them surrounded him, concerned that he could have been injured or maimed.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m fine.¡± Zu An then shared everything that had just happened with them.

    When they heard that the powerful Mad King and Green Iguana King had died just like that, the women''s faces paled. That Monster Lord¡¯s strength really was profound and mysterious. But they felt even more admiration for Zu An¡¯s quick reactions, as well as the fact that he''d been able to avert disaster in that kind of a situation.

    When they heard that Smay was actually preparing to use them as blood sacrifices, however, all of them gasped.

    ¡°This Smay really is treacherous and sinister. She was talking about cooperating with you, but she already nned to scheme against you a long time ago!¡± Yun Yuqing couldn''t help but curse.

    Jiang Luofu frowned. ¡°What I''m more worried about right now is that what you said to Smay earlier might have already exposed your identity. She might already have guessed that you''re a fake Donaire.¡±

    Xie Daoyun said quietly, ¡°It¡¯s probably not that bad, right? Big brother Zu made up for it a bit. Smay might have concluded that she misunderstood.¡±

    When he sensed the women''s worries, Zu An said, ¡°We don¡¯t need to care if she trusts me or not. She needs me right now, and that¡¯s enough.¡±

    The women nodded. They admired this calm and collected side of him.

    Pei Mianman couldn''t help but ask, ¡°What do we do now? Could it be that we really have to help the Monster Lord deal with Smay? If Smay¡¯s side is defeated, we¡¯ll be losing their side''s ability to keep the Monster Lord in check.¡±

    That was what the women were all most worried about. The current situation was quite awful. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An said seriously, ¡°Judging from the information we currently have, the Monster Lord can easily get rid of Smay¡¯s side. That would be true regardless of whether we help or not. What I don''t understand is why the Monster Lord is letting them do as they please, and why he even wants me to help her with her ns.¡±

    Suolun Shi was surprised. ¡°There is definitely a vital piece of information that we still don¡¯t have!¡±

    Zu An nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. So far, we''ve been swimming around in the circles that the Monster Lord and Smay have set up. No matter what we do, everything will still be within their control. What we need to do is to jump out of the plots they''ve designed and open up an alternative path.¡±

    ¡°Did you already think of a way, big brother Zu?¡± Ji Xiaoxi blinked. She felt as if she was back on the mountain, exploring with him. Back then, this was exactly how he''d looked when he had a n in advance.

 Chapter 2321: Eternal Damnation

    <h4>Chapter 2321: Eternal Damnation</h4>

    ¡°Yes, but even so, there are still some things that still need to be confirmed first," Zu An said. As he spoke, he got up and walked toward the entrance.

    Ji Xiaoxi and Jiang Luofu both stood up too. When he saw that Ji Xiaoxi really wanted to say something, Zu An was a bit curious. He asked, ¡°Xiaoxi, you...¡±

    ¡°I...¡± Ji Xiaoxi had just opened her mouth when her face turned a bit red. She seemed to be feeling a bit awkward, but she was too embarrassed to say what was on her mind.

    Jiang Luofu couldn''t help but hold her forehead, saying, ¡°I think I should speak for her.¡±

    Xiaoxi¡¯s personality was a bit too soft, so it was no wonder that Ji Dengtu didn¡¯t feel too at ease letting her go out like this. She looked like someone who was easy to bully and take advantage of.

    Jiang Luofu continued, ¡°Xiaoxi wants to help you, but her cultivation isn¡¯t high enough. So, she wants to research some poisons to deal with the monsters. But in order to do so, she needs to collect some herbs in the Monster World.¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s face was now really red. She felt that her big sisters were all really amazing, and that she was the most useless out of everyone here.

    ¡°That¡¯s a good thing; there¡¯s no need to be hesitant about that at all. Xiaoxi really is caring," Zu An couldn''t help but say with a smile.

    ¡°But it is a bit dangerous outside...¡± He took out many ingredients from the Brilliant ss Bead and continued, ¡°These ingredients should be enough.¡±

    ¡°No, they¡¯re not.¡± Ji Xiaoxi hurriedly waved her hand. Now that it involved her own area of expertise, she seemed to have be a different person. ¡°These are all ingredients from our world. The poisons that can be made from them might be effective against the creatures of our world, but they might not be able to defeat these monsters. If we want to win against them, we need to use methods that are in line with local conditions. We need to figure out the medicinal effects of the local medicine, and then I can research and produce a kind of poison that will be effective against the monsters.¡±

    ¡°But right now, the outside world...¡± Zu An suddenly realized just how difficult the situation was. If Ji Xiaoxi could make that kind of poison, that would be helpful too. Thus, he changed his tone. ¡°I''m about to meet with the True Demon race¡¯s great elder. Come with us. We can ask to see if the True Demon race has something like a medicinal field.¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Thank you, big brother Zu!¡±

    The other four women understood the severity of the matter, and didn¡¯t argue about going with him. They continued to remain in the cave dwelling. They continued with what they''d been doing, whether that was drawing talismans or cultivating. They were making their preparations for the great battles that were toe.

    Along the way, Zu An asked the two women with them, ¡°How is your progress with the monsternguage?¡±

    ¡°About seventy to eighty percent there,¡± Jiang Luofu replied.

    ¡°I¡¯m the slowest out of everyone...¡± Ji Xiaoxi said, feeling a bit embarrassed.

    Jiang Luofu couldn''t hold herself back from saying, ¡°Xiaoxi has actually been working really hard. Ordinary conversation should no longer be a problem.¡±

    Zu An was a bit surprised. ¡°You all really learned thenguage quickly!¡±

    After all, they didn¡¯t have any cheats like the Skill System.

    Jiang Luofu smiled and said, ¡°That jade strip has the ability to shorten learning times. Besides, they''re all among the most talented of individuals, with astonishing potential They all really want to help you as quickly as possible too, so they didn¡¯t stop at all, and were trying to learn the monsternguage in the shortest amount of time possible.¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi couldn''t help but add, ¡°Little aunt also studied really seriously. She was the fastest one among all of us.¡±

    Zu An gave Jiang Luofu a surprised look.

    When she saw that, Jiang Luofu¡¯s face reddened. She put on a cool and mature expression. ¡°For better or for worse, I was everyone¡¯s principal at one point in time. If even my students learned faster than me, what face would I have left?¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi mumbled, ¡°You clearly wanted to help big bro...¡±

    Her mouth was covered before she could finish her sentence. A surprising look of embarrassment and panic appeared on Jiang Luofu¡¯s face. ¡°No one will think you¡¯re mute if you don¡¯t speak.¡±

    ¡°Wuwu...¡± Ji Xiaoxi blinked in confusion. She didn¡¯t understand why her little aunt didn¡¯t feel grateful at all when she was speaking up for her.

    Jiang Luofu held Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s mouth while exining to Zu An, ¡°Don¡¯t think too much of it. It¡¯s just that I need to do everything I can in the current situation too.¡± The redness on her face didn¡¯t go away the entire time, however.

    Zu An found that a bit strange. <i>Why would she think I''d read so much into it?</i>

    But they quickly encountered some True Demons, so he couldn''t continue to ask her any other questions. The young True Demons greeted him respectfully, and Zu An nodded slightly in return.

    Even after he left, the young True Demons were all pointing and talking about Jiang Luofu.

    ¡°That woman¡¯s legs really are incredible! And what is she wearing? It looks so amazing.¡±

    ¡°They seem to be some scientific civilization¡¯s socks. They''re called ck silk... something. They do look great.¡±

    ¡°But I think that little loli is better. I want to savor those white silk popsicle legs for myself.¡±

    ¡°The young master really is lucky.¡±

    ...

    The women could now already understand the monsternguage. When they heard the filthy speech, Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s face turned red and she felt really wronged. Meanwhile, Jiang Luofu¡¯s expression turnedpletely cold. She didn¡¯t really care if they were only talking about her. She was already used to people talking behind her back, since she dressed the way she did. However, these people actually had such thoughts about Xiaoxi!

    Zu An gently held her waist while saying, ¡°The Monster World is just vulgar like this. You don¡¯t need to lower yourself to their level.¡±

    When she felt the heat suddenlye from his arm, Jiang Luofu¡¯s rage suddenly disappeared. Instead, her body felt a bit itchy. She wanted him to move his hand away, but she remembered her current identity and could only hold it in.

    Zu An saw that she was on the brink of exploding. He could only do his best to appease her and Ji Xiaoxi.

    And yet, that only made Jiang Luofu even more sensitive. However, she couldn''t speak about any of it out loud.

    ...

    Fortunately, they quickly arrived at the great elder¡¯s dwelling. He quickly came out to receive them when he heard the news. When he saw Zu An, he clearly sighed in relief. ¡°It¡¯s good that the young master is fine. I was worried that the lord would treat you unfavorably.¡± n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    His eyes then shifted to the two women next to Zu An. One of them was mature and elegant, while one was young and delicate.

    <i>The young master¡¯s tastes are extensive, as expected.</i>

    ¡°I was able to make it through due to a fluke,¡± Zu An said. ¡°I have some things to discuss with the great elder in private.¡±

    The great elder¡¯s expression became serious. He turned to the side and made an inviting gesture. ¡°Let¡¯s continue the conversation inside.¡±

    Zu An used the chance to secretly say, ¡°There are some things that I don¡¯t want them to hear. I have a servant who is very interested in medicine, and shecks ingredients right now...¡±

    The great elder was tactful and quickly said, ¡°Medicine, ki stones, and other things thate into the city are normally strictly managed, but our True Demon race has special status and we have some additional privileges. There is a small medicinal garden deep in the valley that they can go for a stroll around. If there is anything they want, they can pick at will.¡±

    The two women were the young master¡¯s people, and he''d even brought them with him, which meant that he doted on them a lot, so he naturally needed to treat them well too. After all, the entire True Demon race¡¯s future was relying on this young master. Thus, he quickly called over a servant to lead the two girls to the medicine garden.

    Ji Xiaoxi was really happy when she heard that. As long as she had the ingredients of this world, she had confidence in her ability to create poisons that would be effective against monsters.

    Zu An secretly warned the two to be careful, and to contact him at once if anything came up. Xie Daoyun had made manymunication talismans that allowed them to alert each other over short distances, and he could swiftly move over if something happened.

    ¡°I''ll take care of Xiaoxi. Don¡¯t worry.¡± Jiang Luofu gave him a look. She held Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s hand and left.

    Once they left, the great elder asked curiously, ¡°What is the important matter that the young master wants to discuss with this old one?¡±

    ¡°The True Demon race might be consigned to eternal damnation.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s very first sentence almost scared the great elder to death.

 Chapter 2322: True Demon Raceâ€™s Secret

    The great elder¡¯s hand trembled. The cup of wine he had prepared for Zu An almost fell to the ground. He couldn''t be bothered with pouring wine anymore, and quickly ced the bottle and cup down before asking, ¡°Why would you say that, young master?¡±

    Zu An then exined his encounters in the pce. ¡°I just saw both the Mad King and the Green Iguana King dying right before my eyes. The Monster Lord is clearly a merciless person. No doubt he did that for me to see.¡±

    The great elder swallowed with difficulty. ¡°I hadn¡¯t expected even outstanding heroes of their generation like the Mad King and the Green Iguana King to die in such a dismal way. Had they known things would be like this, they would¡¯ve just gone with the Shadow Monster King to the Cultivation World. Even if they died, they would¡¯ve died honorable deaths.¡±

    Zu An was a bit surprised. Judging from what the elder was saying, the Mad King and Green Iguana King¡¯s status and strength were almost equal to the Shadow Monster King¡¯s. The fact that the Monster Lord was able to so easily kill them meant his true power was even more unfathomable.

    ¡°But the young master doesn¡¯t need to worry. Judging from what you are saying, they clearly colluded with the past dynasty¡¯s remnant evil, and that was the reason for their execution. The lord was only doing this as a warning for the True Demon race. As long as we are cautious and conscientious, we won¡¯t need to be scared.¡± The great elder calmed down and returned to the table to pour some wine.

    Zu An then said, ¡°But I was recruited by first miss Smay and agreed to their request.¡±

    Since the Monster Lord already knew about that, he didn¡¯t have to worry about other people hearing about it. He could just use the information to be more proactive for once.

    ¡°What?!¡± The great elder finally couldn''t hold onto the wine pot anymore. It fell to the ground and shattered. The scarlet wine that flowed everywhere seemed to reflect his current emotions. There was no time for him to cherish this precious bottle of wine, though. He grabbed Zu An¡¯s hand and eximed, ¡°Young master, please don¡¯t scare me like that! Just what is going on?¡±

    Zu An had been paying attention to the elder''s reaction, and thus confirmed that thetter really didn¡¯t know about his rtionship with Smay. He replied, ¡°Mojard sought me out before I went to the Cultivation World. First miss Smay also sought me out earlier today.¡±The great elder started to panic. ¡°You¡¯ve made a grave mistake¡­ Young master, how could you have dealings with those traitors?¡±

    He didn¡¯t ask if Zu An really had sided with them. The fact that they had frequentlymunicated, and yet hadn¡¯t immediately reported it already exined a lot. He finally understood why the Monster Lord would deliberately kill the Mad King and Green Iguana King in front of the young master. He was clearly already suspicious.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t have a choice either. The entire world is on the verge of copse, and it might be destroyed at any time. Has the Monster Lord been able to find a solution in all these years? All of his ns ended in failure, so everyone is starting to feel uneasy. I only wanted to find another way of survival for the True Demon race,¡± Zu An replied, paying attention to the elder''s reaction so he could change his direction at will. Fortunately, thetter didn¡¯t start to suspect him.

    ¡°But even so, there is no need to mix with those remnant evils!¡± The great elder couldn''t help but exim, ¡°Do you think the Lord of ughter is some benevolent individual? He was incredibly cruel in the past, and all of the ns loathed him. Later, he was trapped in the Cultivation World after he failed to conquer it. Even if he truly could return, what would that change?!¡±

    ¡°But we still need to do something. We can¡¯t just wait for our deaths, right?¡± Zu An stared into his eyes.

    The great elder became silent. He looked really conflicted, and he wanted to say something several times, but stopped in the end. He paced around the room with his arms behind him. When even Zu An¡¯s eyes were starting to get a bit dizzy following him, he finally stopped and seemed to make up his mind, saying, ¡°It¡¯s all my fault. I should have told you about some things earlier. You wouldn¡¯t have acted so rashly then.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Zu An was surprised. Judging from various clues, he''d already formed suspicions that the True Demon race had some secrets, and that was why he''d put on this performance in front of the great elder. He hadn¡¯t expected it to really work!n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°You remember how your father died in the past, right?¡± The great elder¡¯s tone became extremely grave.

    Zu An ambiguously grunted in agreement.

    <em>How the hell am I supposed to know how Donaire¡¯s father died?</em>

    Zu An was worried that he would expose himself, but the great elder suddenly began to talk to himself. ¡°The Monster Lord brought your father and the other ns¡¯ kings to challenge the Annihtion Beast, yet they returned after a crushing defeat. The casualties among the kings were severe, with many of them not even returning. Even though your father managed to return sessfully, he was already seriously injured. Before his death, he told me about the True Demon race¡¯s secrets. He wanted me to pass these secrets onto you once you became strong enough.¡±

    He paused for a moment before looking straight into Zu An¡¯s eyes. ¡°I always believed that the young master was still not strong enough. However, this time, the young master achieved tremendous sess in the Cultivation World, and you have been going between the Lord of ughter and Monster Lord¡¯s designs. This level of ambition has surprised me, so I think it is time for me to tell you about this secret.¡±

    Zu An was full of curiosity. He really wanted to tell the elder to stop beating around the bush and get to the point.

    Fortunately, the great elder didn¡¯t make him wait for too long. He set up several sound-blocking barriers around them before saying in a serious tone, ¡°Young master, what I am about to say rtes to the very existence of our race. You must remember that no one else can know about this, whether it is your closest friends or the women at your side. Otherwise, there will be no hope for our True Demon race if even the slightest news leaks out.¡±

    ¡°But of course!¡± Zu An immediately agreed.

    When he saw how serious Zu An was, the great elder nodded in satisfaction. ¡°On your journey to the Cultivation World, the young master has probably seen the Demon race. Don¡¯t you feel that they are a bit simr to us?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. It isn¡¯t just appearance, even theirnguage and way of life is very simr,¡± Zu An replied. He was also a bit confused. Could it be that the Fiend races really were just bloodlines that the Monster World had left behind in the Cultivation World?

    ¡°It isn¡¯t just simr; we can even activate the power hidden within their bloodlines,¡± the great elder said with a sense of pride.

    ¡°Is it because theye from some lineage that our ancestors left behind in the Cultivation World?¡± Zu An asked to test the waters.

    ¡°The ancestor¡¯s bloodline? An inferior species like them?¡± The great elder sneered. ¡°The Cultivation World¡¯s Fiend races are nothing more than beings who gradually gained intelligence and evolved from blood our ancestors left behind in theirnds after all the battles.¡±

    ¡°The ancestors¡¯ blood was that powerful?¡± Zu An was a bit surprised. The blood of the powerful had a lot of amazing properties. For example, his blood could heal a lot of hidden injuries and speed up one''s cultivation. But causing beasts to gain intelligence? That was far from what his blood could aplish.

    ¡°Of course. Does the young master know what kind of being our ancestor was?¡± The great elder started to get a bit excited as he spoke.

    ¡°Was he not the True Demon?¡± Zu An asked, stunned.

    ¡°Of course not. It is only because we¡¯ve lost the power of the ancient bloodline that we¡¯ve degenerated into the True Demon race.¡± The great elder harrumphed. ¡°Our ancestor was a deity from the Celestial Court!¡±

    ¡°The Celestial Court?¡± Zu An was now truly surprised. Even though he''d suspected that the True Demon race¡¯s ancestor had an impressive background, he hadn''t expected it to be this incredible.

 Chapter 2323: Bad News

    <h4>Chapter 2323: Bad News</h4>

    ¡°That¡¯s right, the Celestial Court!¡± The great elder now had a different kind of glint in his expression. His slightly stooped back had now straightened too.

    ¡°Is the Celestial Court that one with the countless deities?¡± Zu An wasn¡¯t worried about misunderstandings anymore and tried to sound the situation out.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. In the past, it was the True Demon ancestor that established the Celestial Court; he was a deity that millions and millions of creatures looked up to. He had all manner of immortals that obeyed his orders, and his celestial army of a hundred thousand dominated the realms...¡± the great elder exined with a tone full of respect.

    Zu An felt more and more that these things were simr to the Celestial Court he''d known about before. He was also quite shocked. He asked, ¡°May I ask what the ancestor¡¯s taboo name was?¡±

    Was it the same as the one he was thinking of? More importantly, why had the Celestial Court of the myths ended up being connected this Monster World?

    ¡°The ancestor¡¯s taboo name is unknown to all. For those at their level, anyone who spoke their name while not being strong enough would only bring destruction upon themselves.¡± The great elder shook his head. ¡°But I know that everyone referred to him as the Celestial Emperor.¡±

    ¡°The Celestial Emperor?¡± Zu An frowned slightly. That name was really a bit too widely applied. It was difficult to get more information out of just that.

    He couldn''t help but remember the Fiend races¡¯ Imperial Tomb secret dungeon. He seemed to havee into contact with a Celestial Court there too. At the time, there was a Celestial Emperor who had granted him a red bow with white arrows. He wondered if that was the same Celestial Emperor as the True Demon race¡¯s ancestor.

    <i>Wait, the Monster World and the Fiend races have a close connection. That secret dungeon was also in the Fiend races¡¯ Imperial Tomb. Is it really just a coincidence?</i>

    ¡°That¡¯s right. This is something that not even the Monster Lord knows about. It is our True Demon race¡¯s greatest secret. You absolutely cannot speak of it, or else it will bring about a great cmity upon our True Demon race,¡± the great elder warned again.

    Zu An nodded. This secret really was shocking. He had just been testing his luck. How could he have known that there would be such a huge discovery to unearth?

    ¡°That is why, whether it is the Monster Lord or the Lord of ughter, they are nothing more than passing mist. Even though they are strong, they are nothingpared to us esteemed True Demons.¡± The great elder harrumphed. ¡°That is why what you need to do is to look for the ancestor¡¯s remains in the Cultivation World and obtain his inheritance. At the very least, you need to find the method to awaken our bloodline, the same way we can activate the bloodlines of the Fiend races in the Cultivation World. Once our True Demon race bes stronger, we won¡¯t need to listen to either the Monster Lord or the Lord of ughter anymore.¡± He looked upward as he spoke. His eyes filled with madness as he eximed, ¡°If you encountered the ancestor¡¯s real inheritance, or even awakened his will, who would even care about that world-destroying Annihtion Beast anymore?!¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>Does the Monster World not have any normal people? They¡¯re all scheming something, each bigger than thest...</i>

    But the ancestral remains the elder had mentioned were actually in the Cultivation World... He wondered which corner they were hidden in. He kept getting the sense that the Cultivation World was more and more mysterious. Not only had there been a secret dungeon like the underworld, there was even the remains of the True Demon race¡¯s ancestor.

    Zu An thus said, ¡°But I had to return early to avoid that world¡¯s regent. I didn¡¯t receive any valuable gains from this trip.¡±

    ¡°You brought back the Demon race¡¯s four saintesses, so how is that without value? Furthermore, you¡¯ve brought back a lot of ki stones, food, and other things. That is already a great help to to the True Demon race.¡± The great elder patted his shoulder to console him.

    However, a glint passed through his eyes when he touched Zu An¡¯s body. Even though Adiljan¡¯s report had been proven to be a misunderstanding, he was still a bit suspicious. He had followed the young master earlier before he met the Monster Lord, and now he deliberately touched his body, only to sense that it was indeed a True Demon body. He nowpletely felt at ease.

    <i>Hmph, that idiot Adiljan really deserves to die ten thousand times over!</i> n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An naturally knew the elder was trying to investigate his real identity, but he wasn¡¯t worried at all. The Myriad Transformations skill didn¡¯t have those kinds of ws. Sure enough, he sensed relief from the elder, and he alsopletely calmed down as a result.

    ¡°There is still another problem. The formation disc was destroyed this time because of the transportation. I need more materials to make a new formation disc.¡± Zu An could now freely make his requests.

    ¡°Even though various resources are guarded, our True Demon race can still gather most materials. But there are still a few crucial materials that have already been used up during the previous trips. The rest are in the Monster Lord¡¯s treasury and might be difficult to obtain.¡± The great elder frowned, clearly finding the request a bit troublesome.

    ¡°This is also why I got closer to Smay. They have a way to get me into the treasury,¡± Zu An said seriously.

    ¡°That is a good solution.¡± The great elder¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°But this is an extremely risky matter. The slightest mistake would mean no hope of reprieve.¡±

    ¡°With how things are, there¡¯s no other choice. We can only take a gamble,¡± Zu An said. In reality, the fact that the Monster Lord had made him a double agent made the matter less risky.

    ¡°What does Smay want you to do by helping them?¡± the great elder asked gravely.

    ¡°To help them find out information about the Lord of ughter, of course, and it would be even better if the Lord of ughter wais rescued.¡± Zu An sighed inwardly as he spoke.

    <i>Smay¡¯s faction has gone to such an extent and schemed so deeply, yet they have no idea that the Lord of ughter has already perished. All of their ns are doomed to never bear fruit.</i>

    ¡°Hah, as expected. However, even though you can help them, you cannot truly side with them. The Monster Lord¡¯s influence might not be as great as it was before, but if he is truly angered, his wrath is not something that our True Demon race can endure,¡± warned the great elder.

    ¡°I know what I''m doing.¡± Zu An used the chance to say, ¡°By the way, after this panicked trip, I suddenly realized that my knowledge of formations seems to be a bitcking. There are areas that can still be improved upon...¡±

    He wanted to ask if the True Demon race had any formation knowledge he could learn from. Donarie would definitely know about such things, so he couldn''t ask directly.

    Fortunately, there were many situations in which others could infer what you were trying to say without spelling it out. The great elder gave him a look of appreciation. ¡°Young master, it seems you¡¯ve really matured a lot after your trip to the Cultivation World. You always felt proud andcent when I made you study in the past, feeling as if you already knew everything about formations.

    ¡°The young master is a genius in this respect, of course, but the field of formations is limitless. How could you have already learned everything?¡± he continued while taking out a jade token. ¡°This is the key to our True Demon race¡¯s collection. In terms of formation knowledge, our True Demon race¡¯s library is not inferior to the Monster Lord¡¯s own. You should use this chance to study well.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, great elder!¡± Zu An was really happy. After all, there was still ten to twenty percent that he and Xie Daoyun still didn¡¯t understand about the transport formation. Now that they could make up for that knowledge, they could return once they collected the required materials.

    Zu An was about to leave when the great elder suddenly called out to him. ¡°By the way, you seem to like those women quite a bit. However, ying with them is enough. They are of an inferior species, after all. They are not of our kind, so their way of thinking will always be different.¡±

    ¡°But of course!¡± Zu An¡¯s expression grew strange, but he still agreed.

    Just then, a servant ran over and eximed in a panic, ¡°Great elder, bad news!¡±

    ¡°What happened?¡± Zu An recognized that this was the one who had taken Jiang Luofu and Ji Xiaoxi to the medicine field. He immediately had an awful premonition.

 Chapter 2324: Under One Monster, Above All Other Monsters

    <h4>Chapter 2324: Under One Monster, Above All Other Monsters</h4>

    The servant gave Zu An a look and immediately hesitated.

    The great elder said, ¡°You can speak.¡±

    The servant said, ¡°This one led the twodies to the medicine garden and everything was good at first, but then Manager Pi showed up.¡±

    ¡°Manager Pi!¡± The great elder¡¯s expression changed when he heard that.

    Zu An was curious. Just what kind of background did this Manager Pi have? Why had the great elder reacted that way?

    The servant carefully looked at Zu An before continuing, ¡°As soon as he saw the young master¡¯s servants, Manager Pi felt that the two women were pretty, so he wanted to take liberties with them. The older one protected the youngerdy, and there was a conflict...¡±

    Zu An disappeared before the servant even finished his sentence, heading straight for the medicine field.

    The great elder¡¯s expression changed. He quickly followed behind Zu An, saying, ¡°Young master, do not act rashly.¡± n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An harrumphed. ¡°What, I can¡¯t do anything when they are already stepping all over my face?¡±

    The great elder said with a bitter smile, ¡°Do not forget that Manager Pi is the lord¡¯s... trusted aide. The lord favors him a lot. There will be no good end if you provoke him.¡±

    Zu An scowled. He wasn¡¯t Donaire, so why would he care about all of that?

    The great elder quickly said, ¡°Young master, we still haven¡¯t received the ancestor¡¯s inheritance, so we still need to bide our time. It is just a few women; it isn¡¯t worth bing hostile with Manager Pi.¡±

    Zu An said with a cold snort, ¡°There are some things that I can back down on, and some things that I cannot. The Monster World is one where the strong reign supreme, anyway. If I let my women be stolen right in front of my face, how will the other ns view our True Demon race?¡±

    Sensing the rage in Zu An¡¯s voice, the great elder was now really panicking. ¡°Wasn¡¯t the way the young master dealt with Manager Pi before great? You even gave him a servant. Why are you unable to remain calm this time?¡± There was a bit of suspicion in his voice this time.

    Zu An was a bit surprised. He hadn¡¯t expected to end up slipping up here. However, he reacted quickly and said, ¡°That was then, this is now. I yielded back then, and yet I¡¯ve never seen him remember that favor, and it''s only encouraged his behavior. If I back down here too, won¡¯t he end up demanding something even more absurd from the True Demon race in the future? Then, all of the other ns will think that our True Demon race is easy to take advantage of and try to take a bite out of us. No matter how strong our True Demon race is, we still won¡¯t be able to handle it.¡±

    When he heard what Zu An said, the great elder was a bit moved. It seemed to make some sense. This Manager Pi really was crossing the line! Still, he couldn''t help but say with a smile, ¡°The young master is making a lot of excuses, but in the end, it¡¯s because you care a lot about those servants, right?¡±

    Zu An sensed the elder''s more rxed tone and knew he was fine this time. ¡°I won¡¯t deny it. That is part of the reason.¡±

    Meanwhile, they arrived next to the medicine field. There was arge group of monsters in the area who were taunting and provoking the two women. From time to time, they tried to touch the women, but Jiang Luofu always stopped them. She stood protectively in front of Ji Xiaoxi so as to ensure thescivious monsters wouldn''t be able to get what they wanted. She used all sorts of skills to protect Xiaoxi. Ji Xiaoxi was also doing her best to help her take on a share of the burden, but her cultivation was too low, and she couldn''t do much.

    Meanwhile, there was a group of monster guards surrounding a pale and chubby monster. He was watching the situation with a big smile. When he saw Jiang Luofu¡¯s beautiful legs swing around, he couldn''t help but blow a whistle.

    The great elder couldn''t help but give Jiang Luofu a second look too.

    <i>No wonder the young master likes them so much. They are indeed quite beautiful.</i>

    Legs like these weren¡¯t only attractive to those youngsters. If he were twenty years old again, perhaps even he''d be tempted. The younger woman was even more alluring, with a timid and delicate presence that easily triggered a man¡¯s protective instincts.

    ¡°Beauties, stop resisting and just follow the manager. The manager actually dotes on others well.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, Manager Pi is now someone who serves under one monster, but above all others. As long as you serve him, you can enjoy endless glory and wealth!¡±

    ¡°If you do not obey him, your end will only be worse than death.¡±

    The monsters continued to fly around the women while harassing them with evil smiles. Even though they had humanoid bodies with four limbs, their skin was entirely gray. There were two sharp horns on each of their heads, and their lower jaws were long and thin. Their heads were like inverted triangles. Some of them had swords in hand, while others were armed with weapons that resemblednces. They attacked the twowomen from all different directions.

    But Jiang Luofu had eight ¡®flying swords¡¯ flying around her,pletely protecting the two of them so the monster couldn''t get any closer at all.

    A lesser monster that was really deferential to the fat white monster couldn''t hold himself back and hollered, ¡°Have you guys been starving recently or something? Why can¡¯t you handle two women?¡±

    The lesser monster¡¯s skin was earthen brown, and hisrge mouth took up nearly half of his face. That and the disgusting lumps all over his body made him look like some kind of toad spirit.

    When they heard his shout, the guards didn¡¯t dare to hold back anymore. ¡°This woman really is a bit tricky to deal with. Everyone, let¡¯s not show leniency because they¡¯re women and use our real strength.¡±

    The rest voiced their agreement and started to attack the two women with greater intensity.

    Jiang Luofu immediately felt the pressure increase severalfold. She was feeling worried when several ck ki swords flew forth and passed straight through the surrounding monsters.

    ¡°Aaaahhh!¡±

    Miserable screams filled the air one after another as the surrounding monsters were all nailed in ce.

    The women turned around and saw that Ah Zu had arrived. Ji Xiaoxi was shocked and surprised, beginning, ¡°Zu...¡±

    Jiang Luofu cut her off and immediately shouted, ¡°Master!¡±[1]

    Ji Xiaoxi immediately reacted and also shouted, ¡°Master!¡± Her little face was entirely red.

    Jiang Luofu¡¯s face also heated up a bit. This was the first time she had called him master, and it was in front of so many people, no less. More importantly, he was younger than her, and he had been her student in Brightmoon City. She suddenly felt an indescribable sense of shame, as well as something different that was unique.

    When he saw that the two were safe and sound, Zu An sighed in relief. He was also a bit stirred up when he heard these two women who were entirely different in style call him master.

    But he quickly focused, shifting his gaze to the fat white monster in the lead. He couldn''t tell what the monster¡¯s original form was, but thetter had smooth skin and a face that resembled Majin Buu, with sideburns that wrapped all the way around. Both of those things together looked very strange.

    This was likely the Manager Pi that the great elder had been talking about.

    When he saw what Zu An did, Manager Pi¡¯s face darkened. The toad spirit was the first to shout, ¡°How audacious! You actually dare to harm Manage Pi¡¯s subordinates? Are you thinking ofmitting treason?¡±

    1. ''Master'' is ''zhu ren''. The first character sounds like Zu. Ji Xiaoxi wanted to call him ''big brother Zu'', and in Chinese, they would say ''Zu big brother'', which is why the first syble she said was ''Zu''. ?

 Chapter 2325: A Misunderstanding

    <h4>Chapter 2325: A Misunderstanding</h4>

    ¡°It¡¯s all a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding!¡± The great elder stepped forward to ease the situation.

    Manager Pi replied apathetically, ¡°A misunderstanding? My subordinates are lying dead on the ground. What kind of misunderstanding could there be?¡±

    The guards behind him all walked forth as he spoke. Four of the triangle-headed monsters hadrge shield-like objects on their arms; when they moved together, Manager Pi was perfectly protected. Meanwhile, at the very front were four monsters whose limbs turned into des. They were a bit simr to the monsters that had previously surrounded Jiang Luofu, but they were clearly stronger and of a higher level. There were also six marksman-like monsters who were scattered around the area. Their bows were aimed at Zu An.

    The great elder wiped at the cold sweat on his forehead. ¡°Donaire didn¡¯t see Manager Pi just now. He thought that it was another monster who was harassing his female servants, which was why he acted more seriously.¡±

    Zu An had already moved next to Jiang Luofu and Ji Xiaoxi. He patted their hands to tell them not to worry.

    Jiang Luofu¡¯s entire body had been tense. When she saw him, shepletely rxed. It really was strange; judging from how differential the great elder was acting, that Manager Pi on the other side was clearly an incredible person in the Monster World. The situation didn¡¯t look good for them. But with Zu An here, she felt an indescribable sense of peace.

    She secretly gave Xiaoxi a look. Thetter''s eyes were sparkling, full of her big brother Zu. Jiang Luofu couldn''t help but chuckle.

    <i>Why am I suddenly acting like a little girl?</i>

    The toad spirit suddenly retorted coldly, ¡°Then since you know now, shouldn¡¯t you offer an apology and make amends?¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes, yes. Our True Demon race will definitelypensate you for the losses this time,¡± said the great elder with an apologetic smile. Donaire was the hope of the entire True Demon race, so they couldn''t let anything happen to him. Even going bankrupt to avoid a disaster was worth it.

    ¡°But why isn¡¯t Donaireing here to greet Manager Pi?¡± The toad spirit¡¯s voice suddenly became louder. He gave Zu An a displeased look.

    The fat white Manager Pi raised his chin as if he considered himself unequaled in the world.

    ¡°About that...¡± The great elder was a bit troubled. He remembered what Donaire had told him along the way. In the end, he decided to quietly try to persuade thetter again. ¡°Donaire, try to speak in a softer manner, and this matter should be fine after.¡±

    Zu An nodded, but then looked back at the other side and remarked, ¡°Is Manager Pi a mute?¡±

    The great elder thought at first that Donaire would heed his advice and started to feel happy. At that moment, the smile on his face froze. He was stunned.

    When he heard that, Manager Pi looked at Zu An in disbelief. ¡°What did you say?¡± n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Manager Pi for +100 +100 +100...</strong>

    Even though he was utterly difited, his voice was still soft and a bit alluring.

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°So Manager Pi wasn¡¯t a mute. In that case...¡± He suddenly gave the toad spirit next to him a look. ¡°If Manager Pi hasn¡¯t said anything yet, is there a need for you to speak in his ce as if you own everything? Who do you think you are?¡±

    As the lord of a world himself, and as someone who had remained in a high position for quite a while, he now gave off an indescribable feeling of pressure.

    ¡°You... You...¡± The toad spirit immediately felt his entire body be weak when Zu An stared at him. Goosebumps covered his body, and he was so scared that he actually couldn''t say anything.

    It wasn¡¯t just him; even Manager Pi felt a bit scared from his look and reflexively took a step back. But he immediately reacted.

    <i>The one I serve is the Monster Lord. Everyone needs to be respectful toward me. Why do I need to be scared?</i>

    He stuck out his chest again. ¡°Hah! It seems you¡¯ve be much braver in the time we¡¯ve been apart, Donaire.¡±

    ¡°I paid the Cultivation World a visit and learned their customs. When a gentleman has been away for three days, he should be looked at with new eyes,¡± Zu An said calmly.

    The great elder was so nervous that he almost ripped his beard out.

    <i>Just how are we supposed to clean up the situation now?!</i>

    ¡°You¡¯ve made this manager see you in a whole different light, as expected,¡± Manager Pi sneered.

    The reason he''de here was naturally not because of two prettydies. It was actually because he''d heard that his master had just met with Donaire, and yet instead of killing thetter as expected, his master had praised Donaire instead. Manager Pi had suddenly felt a sense of danger when he thought about how Donaire was actually attractive and intelligent, so he''de here to take a look. He''d nned to use the two prettydies to pressure Donaire a bit.

    If Donaire behaved the way he had in the past, he would most likely just submit to the humiliation. Perhaps he''d even take the initiative to hand over the women. That way, Manager Pi could vent out his resentment and also knock Donaire down a peg. It would be a win-win situation.

    <i>But why isn¡¯t this guy ying his cards normally?</i>

    He flew into a rage out of humiliation. ¡°This manager saw that these two female servants were undisciplined and helped educate them a bit. It¡¯s one thing to not receive your thanks, but you actually dared to harm others?¡±

    ¡°Why would I need anyone else to educate my people?¡± Zu An retorted, looking back coldly.

    Even though he was protected by a group of soldiers, Manager Pi was still a bit frightened by that look.

    <i>Donaire seems to be a bit different from usual today!</i>

    The toad spirit also snapped back to reality.

    <i>If I don¡¯t say anything when my master is being wronged, I¡¯ll definitely have to suffer for it once we return.</i>

    He gave the powerful guards around him a look and calmed down. He cleared his throat and shouted, ¡°Donaire, don¡¯t be so narrow-minded. The female servants you gave master weren¡¯t any good and broke after they were yed with just a few times. These two female servants are much better than the other ones in both appearance and physique, and judging from their stubbornness, they¡¯ll surely be more resilient. Give them to the master and we won¡¯t bother following up on the matter of killing master¡¯s subordinates anymore.¡±

    The guards all gave Zu An mocking looks when they heard that. There was contempt and scorn in their eyes. The Monster World was one where the strong reigned supreme, after all. This guy was so weak-willed that he''d previously actually given his women to the manager, so today¡¯s actions were definitely just a bluff. He would still end up readily surrendering his women.

    Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s face paled a bit. She reflexively moved closer to Zu An¡¯s side. Jiang Luofu held her tightly with an expression full of anger.

    Zu An snorted coldly. With a wave of his hand, a spear on the ground shot out. It moved at such speed that it resembled a shooting star.

    The guards around Manager Pi were horrified. The shield-bearing guards quickly assumed a defensive position in front of him.

    But the spear was just too fast, and its angle was tricky. It passed straight through the opening between two shields. The tremendous force it carried made the two shield-bearing guards waver unsteadily from side to side. Meanwhile, the spear didn¡¯t stop and stabbed straight through the toad spirit. It kept moving, dragging the toad''s body off the ground and only stopping as it nailed the corpse to arge tree dozens of meters away.

    The toad spirit¡¯s corpse had an expression of shock and disbelief. He just couldn''t understand why Donaire dared to do this.

    <i>I actually died even though I was behind such heavy protection?!</i>

    The other monsters finally reacted to the situation. All of Manager Pi¡¯s guards drew their weapons and surrounded Zu An within. As they looked at him, however, their eyes were full of fear.

    ¡°Do... Donaire, this is just a misunderstanding!¡± Manager Pi swallowed with difficulty. If that spear had been aimed at him, he would already be dead.

    <i>A wise man knows better than to fight when the odds are against him!</i>

 Chapter 2326: Mysterious Book

    <h4>Chapter 2326: Mysterious Book</h4>

    ¡°A misunderstanding?¡± Zu An sneered and walked straight at him.

    ¡°Stop!¡± Manager Pi¡¯s guards warned him. They had been assigned by the Monster Lord to ensure Manager Pi¡¯s safety. If something ended up happening to him, heads would roll.

    Zu An¡¯s expression was cold. It was as if he didn¡¯t hear anything as he continued to walk toward Manager Pi.

    Those footsteps almost seemed to be stepping on the hearts of all the monsters present. Manager Pi reflexively stepped backwards. The other guards also backed up a few steps. For some reason, they felt as if this guy emanated a mysterious pressure that made them feel a bit scared.

    <i>Whoosh!</i>

    A marksman guard was too nervous and couldn¡¯t hold onto his bowstring steadily. With the slightest ckening of his fingers, an arrow swiftly flew at Zu An. In this kind of tense situation, if one person went first, the others would think that someone had given the order to attack. The arrows they had readied all flew forth.

    ¡°Oh no!¡± The great elder¡¯s legs almost went limp. He''d been about to dissuade Zu An from doing anything, but they suddenly started fighting!

    <i>Are the Monster Lord¡¯s guards all like this, unable to maintain their cool?</i>

    <i>But the young master really has grown quite a bit after his trip to the Cultivation World. He must¡¯ve felt a lot of pressure from that regent and received some kind of shock. As expected, growthes from experience.</i>

    Even though there were only six marksmen, as the Monster Lord¡¯s guards, how could they just be normal archers? Every single arrow was like an artillery shell, bringing terrifying pressure that was enough to raze the entire medicine garden to the ground. Additionally, the six arrows were coordinated such that they didn¡¯t allow for any room for evasion. No enemy could avoid the attack.

    But Zu An¡¯s expression was calm. He didn¡¯t dodge and merely stood in ce. Suddenly, he raised his hand.

    Manager Pi¡¯s eyes immediately narrowed. He clearly saw that the other party had raised his hand really slowly, as if he was just picking up a falling tree branch.

    One, two...

    In the blink of an eye, those lightning-like arrows appeared in Zu An''s hands.

    <i>How is this possible?!</i>

    Forget about Manager Pi¡¯s group, even the great elder was a bit confused. When had the young master¡¯s cultivation be so high?

    A secondter, Zu An flung his hand outward casually, and the arrows returned at even greater speed. They were so fast that the monsters couldn''t even react in time.

    ¡°Aaah!¡± the six marksmen screamed bitterly.

    Manager Pi turned around and saw that there was an arrow stuck in each of their heads. The powerful impact had even made their heads explode, creating an extremely bloody scene.

    ¡°Donaire, are you rebelling?!¡±

    The de and shield guards were shocked and frightened. They were, after all, the Monster Lord¡¯s own guards. Normally, who didn¡¯t treat them carefully and with utmost respect? And yet this guy had actually killed theirrades! The deaths of the guards that were around the two female servants could be exined as Donaire not knowing their identities, and those were all Manager Pi¡¯s personal guards. But these guards'' statuses werepletely different!

    While they were speaking, however, Zu An appeared in front of them.

    <i>Boom!</i>

    Therge shields on the shield guards'' arms were blown away. The de guards'' weapons were broken as well. They didn¡¯t even see how it had happened, but Zu An already had his hand around Manager Pi¡¯s neck, raising him up into the air.

    Manager Pi had been about to attack, but Zu An was too fast. The manager couldn''t do a thing before his vitals were already restrained. As he felt that hand that was like a steel mp, seeming as if it could crush his throat any time it wanted to, Manager Pi¡¯s breathing became more and more difficult. His fat white face immediately becamepletely red, eventually turning purple.

    ¡°Please show leniency!¡± When he could see that Manager Pi was about to die, the great elder ran over. He advised with a gesture, ¡°Young master, please don¡¯t be rash!¡±

    Zu An frowned slightly. He''d already offended this Manager Pi either way, so he figured it was better to just kill him to get rid of future troubles.

    When Manager Pi sensed his killing intent, he almost pissed himself. ¡°Spare... Spare me!¡±

    The great elder quickly said through ki, ¡°Young master, the Monster Lord treasures Manager Pi a lot.¡±

    ¡°So what?¡± Zu An retorted coldly.

    The Monster Lord needed him to spy on Smay, so there was no way he would harm him. In contrast, if he let this Manager Pi go, who knew what kind of nder he would offer up to the Monster Lord, and what kinds of schemes he woulde up with? There were too many dangers in the Monster World. He didn¡¯t need another enemy who could scheme against him at any time.

    The great elder panicked. ¡°Could it be that you¡¯ve forgotten that he is the lord¡¯s most beloved male pet? If you kill him, then the lord will be furious. Forget about you, not even the entire True Demon race might survive then.¡±

    <i>It is good that the young master became stronger, but are those two women really that important?</i>

    <i>Women only create trouble, as expected!</i>

    ¡°Male pet?¡± Zu An was stunned. He suddenly felt as if his hand was really hot. He threw Manager Pi away. Ayer of water gathered around his hand, immediately cleaning it several times.

    <i>No wonder even though this guy had such long sideburns, his skin is so soft and doesn¡¯t carry a shred of masculinity. So that was why.</i>

    When he saw that Zu An had let Manager Pi go, the great elder sighed in relief. He hurriedly supported Manager Pi to his feet, asking, ¡°Is the manager okay?¡±

    ¡°Hmph.¡± Manager Pi was about to act up, but he saw Zu An and remembered the threat of death. He swallowed the words he''d been about to say back down and turned around to run. As he fled, the other guards also followed him.

    Zu An¡¯s brows moved, but he didn¡¯t continue to attack.

    The great elder finally sighed in relief. ¡°I was scared to death just now! We would really have been in big trouble if you killed him.¡±

    ¡°I know how far to go,¡± Zu An replied.

    The great elder was a bit confused, saying, ¡°Donaire, you seem to have be a lot stronger.¡±

    In terms of cultivation, there wasn''t that much difference. However, that presence had made even him feel a bit scared. If it wasn¡¯t because he had already personally examined Donaire¡¯s body twice, he would have suspected that someone else was impersonating Donaire.

    Zu An had already prepared an exnation beforehand. ¡°I had some miraculous opportunities in the Cultivation World that benefited me tremendously.¡±

    The great elder sighed with amazement. ¡°That Cultivation World is mysterious after all. It seems the fate of the True Demon race really does lie with that world.¡±

    ...

    Meanwhile, Manager Pi was scared witless as he ran. He finally sighed in relief when he couldn''t see Zu An anymore. Then, he remembered his sorry appearance and quickly straightened his body. He also sorted out his messy clothes.

    ¡°Manager, this Donaire is absolutely outrageous! He actually dared to attack you!¡± the guards couldn''t help but cry out. Zu An had killed many of their colleagues. They had always been the ones bullying others; when had they ever been left in such a sorry state?

    Manager Pi had a cold and malicious expression as he hissed, ¡°I will make Donaire pay back today¡¯s humiliation a hundredfold!¡±

    He decided toin to the Monster Lord first. Once the lord got involved, he could immediately lead a huge army to settle things with Donaire. Then, Donaire would find himself lying on the ground like a dog, begging for mercy. After that, Manager Pi would toy with his two pretty female servants right in front of his face.

    After serving as the Monster Lord¡¯s male pet for so long, his way of thinking was already very warped. He only wanted to return what he experienced unto others a thousandfold.

    ¡°I fear you won¡¯t have that chance anymore.¡± A chuckle came from nearby.

    ¡°Who is it?¡± The monsters were shocked. They hadn¡¯t sensed anyone approaching them at all. When they followed the source of the sound, they saw a figure standing on a tree nearby.

    ¡°So it was you.¡± Manager Pi sighed in relief when he saw who it was. ¡°You scared me.¡±

    However, the figure suddenly vanished as soon as he finished speaking, and passed through his group like a streak of lightning. The natural instincts honed by the guards¡¯ many years of training made them reflexively raise their defenses, but it was already toote. There were already terrifying wounds on their necks.

    ¡°Wh... Why?¡± Manager Pi clutched the wound on his neck while trying to grab at the figure. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The figure didn¡¯t pay him any attention, and opened a book instead. He took out a shining pen and started to write, ¡°X year X month X day, Manager Pi provoked the female servants of the True Demon race''s young master Donaire. The two sides fought for the sake of a love rivalry, and Manager Pi was killed by Donaire in a fit of anger.¡±

    After he wrote those words, that book disappeared into the air, leaving behind some special patterns. It was as if an additional entry had been added to this very world¡¯s history.

 Chapter 2327: An Overlooked Detail

    <h4>Chapter 2327: An Overlooked Detail</h4>

    Meanwhile, the activity by the medicine field drew the attention of many True Demons. The great elder quickly ran over to tell them what had happened. Many of them cried out in surprise. This really was just too shocking!

    <i>And when did the young master suddenly be so brave?</i>

    <i>Didn¡¯t he only manage to avoid angering Manager Pi by giving him his women?</i>

    But when their gazes shifted to Jiang Luofu and Ji Xiaoxi, they immediately had looks that seemed to say ¡®as expected¡¯.

    One woman was mature and stunning, and although she was clearly already a female ve, she was still proud, making her even more exciting to be with. Those long, ck silk-covered legs were truly seductive too. Meanwhile, the youngdy was lovely and adorable. It made them unable to help but feel a sense of protective desire. The white stockings she wore gave her an even greater youthful feeling. The two women, one in ck and one in white, were entirely different, and yet theyplemented each other well.

    <i>No wonder Donaire wouldn¡¯t let them go no matter what. I wouldn¡¯t want to either if it were me!</i>

    As all of the monsters stared at her with interest, Ji Xiaoxi lowered her reddened face. She really wanted to find some hole to crawl into and hide herself. Even Jiang Luofu was feeling a bit ufortable. She didn¡¯t make eye contact with any of these monsters. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An moved over to their side and asked, ¡°You weren¡¯t injured just now, were you?¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi said, ¡°I had little aunt protecting me, and you came quickly too, so I wasn¡¯t hurt at all. But my little aunt...¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not hurt either,¡± Jiang Luofu said.

    ¡°Not hurt? This part is still bleeding,¡± Zu An held her elbow and said in annoyance.

    The guards weren¡¯t just ipetent fools. It was impossible for Jiang Luofu to not have been hurt at all when she was surrounded and attacked by so many guards.

    ¡°Just a flesh wound. It¡¯s not a big deal.¡± When she felt his finger touch her wound, Jiang Luofu felt her heart rate speed up a lot. She was scared that blood woulde out.

    Ji Xiaoxi was rmed. She quickly took out some medicine to help Jiang Luofu bind her wound.

    ¡°I¡¯m really fine...¡± Jiang Luofu¡¯s refusal only grew softer and softer. Her cold face reddened a bit as she watched Zu An carefully wrap up her wound, disying his handsome side profile...

    When he finished wrapping up her wounds, Zu An bid the great elder goodbye. The great elder also felt that these two women were too beautiful, and they could end up causing a stir if they stayed here, so he had Zu An quickly return to get some rest. He even blew a whistle, summoning a giant eagle to deliver them back.

    The three of them rode on the back of the eagle. Ji Xiaoxi was filled with a sense of excitement and novelty as she said, ¡°The beasts of this world are much bigger than those of our world. I wonder how they were trained to be so obedient.¡±

    ¡°If Xiaoxi is interested, I can catch one to be your mount in the future.¡± Zu An gave her a doting look. Who wouldn¡¯t like such an obedient youngdy?

    ¡°Thank you, big brother Zu.¡± Ji Xiaoxi grabbed his arm and had a big smile on her face.

    ¡°You¡¯re only giving one to Xiaoxi? What about me?¡± Jiang Luofu immediately regretted saying that as soon as it came out of her mouth. Why did it sound as if she was acting spoiled?

    Zu An was a bit stunned. ¡°If big sis principal wants one too, it would be my pleasure.¡±

    Jiang Luofu¡¯s face reddened.

    <i>Why do these words sound a bit weird? </i>

    But when she saw the clear expression in his eyes, she knew she was overthinking things.

    <i>Ah, just what is up with metely?</i>

    Ji Xiaoxi couldn''t help but grumble, ¡°Big brother Zu, can you not call my little aunt big sis anymore? Doesn¡¯t that mean I have to call you uncle?¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t even have time to respond when Jiang Luofu quickly said, ¡°We¡¯ll just continue as we always have. You don¡¯t need to worry about that.¡± For some reason, she didn¡¯t want Zu An to treat her like a member of the older generation the way Xiaoxi did.

    ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll just do that,¡± Zu An said with a smile. ¡°By the way, how did the medicine gathering go?¡±

    ¡°We collected quite a bit. The medicines in the True Demon race¡¯s medicine field were all very high-level.¡± Ji Xiaoxi took out a few stalks of medicine with an excited expression. ¡°Once I research their medicinal properties, I should be able to produce the relevant poisons.¡±

    Zu An rubbed her head. ¡°Don¡¯t tire yourself out now.¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi shook her head slightly. ¡°Big brother Zu, you haven¡¯t slept in many days. Compared to you, I¡¯m not tired at all.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. Only now did he realize that he hadn¡¯t slept at all since he came to the Monster World. But he didn¡¯t have time to sleep. There were so many things happening all around him, and he had always been wandering along the brink of life and death. He didn¡¯t dare to show any carelessness.

    ¡°How about you use this chance to sleep for a bit? There''s still a bit of time until we get back,¡± Jiang Luofu suggested.

    The True Demon territory¡¯s medicine field was some distance away from Donaire¡¯s residence.

    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea.¡± Zu An didn¡¯t refuse them.

    With his cultivation, even though it was fine if he didn¡¯t sleep, all those years of sleeping normally had already be a habit. Besides, he needed to rest for a bit to clear out his thoughts. That way, he could figure out if there were things he''d overlooked. He didn¡¯t even sit down in meditation; instead, he justy down on the eagle¡¯s back, using the most primitive sleeping method to rx his entire body. He almost instantly entered dreand.

    ¡°Big brother Zu really must¡¯ve been tired.¡± Ji Xiaoxi felt a bit heartbroken as she watched him sleep. ¡°Will it be ufortable for him without a pillow?¡±

    Jiang Luofu chuckled. ¡°With your big brother Zu¡¯s cultivation, forget about not having a pillow, he could sleep without a problem even in the harshest environment.¡± Even though that was what she said, after giving his sleeping posture a look, she hesitated for a moment before gently moving his head onto her thighs to serve as ap pillow.

    Ji Xiaoxi was shocked when she saw that. ¡°Little aunt, you...¡±

    After all, when her little aunt had just arrived at Brightmoon City in the past, because she was dressed in such a daring manner, many perverts had been drawn to her beautiful legs. Because she was more open-minded and unrestrained by conventions than usual, there were many people who had flirted with her and even tried to touch her legs. But none of them had seeded, without exception. They''d had their arms and legs broken instead, learning a painful lesson. In the past, there had even been bets going on in the underground world to see who could touch her legs first. From an initial hundred thousand silvers, it had reached close to a million silvers.

    There were even some people who had wanted to approach Ji Xiaoxi''s little aunt through her, but her little aunt had always pushed everyone else far away. Not a single person had been able to get close after all these years. Some had even wondered if she didn¡¯t like men to begin with.

    It was precisely because Ji Xiaoxi understood her little aunt¡¯s past all too well that she was so shocked when she saw Jiang Luofu ce another man¡¯s head on her thighs.

    Jiang Luofu moved her finger to her lips. ¡°Let him get some good sleep.¡±

    When she saw that her little aunt¡¯s expression was neutral, Ji Xiaoxi didn¡¯t think too much of it. Instead, she felt a bit jealous.

    <i>Little aunt¡¯s legs must be much fuller. My legs wouldn¡¯t be thatfortable for big brother Zu to sleep on.</i>

    The giant eagle was fast. The medicine field was quite far from the cave, but they quickly arrived at their destination.

    When he felt the giant eagle descend, Zu An gradually woke up. Even though he hadn¡¯t sle[t for a long time, he felt as if his brain had been rebooted. A lot ofplicated information had cleared up. He suddenly remembered a detail he''d overlooked. If things really were as he predicted, things would be problematic.

    While he was thinking over these things, Jiang Luofu asked teasingly, ¡°How much longer are you going to lie there for?¡±

    Only then did Zu An realize that he was lying on Jiang Luofu¡¯s thighs. The gorgeous principal had a pink blush on her face, adding an indescribable air to her usually cold demeanor.

    Jiang Luofu actually didn¡¯t mind it if he continued to stay there. But they had already arrived at the cave dwelling. It would be hard for her to exin things if the other women came out and saw them. What if they misunderstood and thought she was seducing Zu An? That would be terrible.

    ¡°Sorry.¡± Zu An quickly got up and apologized. He had already sensed a soft and supple feeling when he was still a bit muddle-headed. But because he was in a safe ce and he had two trustworthy sweethearts next to him, he hadn¡¯tpletely woken up. Instead, he had sorted out various details in his sleep to analyze the likelihood of his suspicions.

    When he got up, he couldn''t help but give Jiang Luofu¡¯s thighs a look. He had actually slept on the mostfortable pillows before, but he had never experienced anything like this.

    Just then, the other women received the news and came out. Pei Mianman couldn''t help but give Jiang Luofu a confused look. ¡°Hm? Big sis Jiang, why is your face so red?¡±

 Chapter 2328: Arrest

    <h4>Chapter 2328: Arrest</h4>

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Jiang Luofu replied, sounding surprised. She quickly touched her cheek and pretended she didn¡¯t care. ¡°Oh? It might be because we had some conflict with a group of monsters just now. I might be a bit worked up from the fight.¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi couldn''t help but sneak her a look.

    <i>Little aunt taught me to be honest and to not lie, but she seems to be pretty good at lying...</i>

    Pei Mianman and the others didn¡¯t know the truth and immediately became worried. They quickly asked what was going on.

    Ji Xiaoxi exined what had just happened with a huge smile on her face. Her tone was full of admiration for Zu An.

    Jiang Luofu sighed when she saw this.

    <i>Xiaoxi has really be Ah Zu¡¯s little fan.</i>

    Fortunately, because she was too adorable, nothing about her was even mildly threatening, whether in terms of appearance or personality. The other women didn¡¯t seem to be guarded against Xiaoxi at all.

    Yun Yuqing was filled with righteous indignation. She harrumphed and said, ¡°It¡¯s that Manager Pi¡¯s fault for being a toad and craving swan''s flesh. He actually tried to go after big sis Jiang and Xiaoxi! He deserved to be taught a good lesson.¡±

    ¡°But that Manager Pi is the Monster Lord¡¯s... close friend.¡± Xie Daoyun blushed. As a youngdy, she just found that subject a bit hard to talk about. ¡°But, big brother Zu, aren''t you worried that the Monster Lord will me you for offending him?¡±

    The women were all worried when they heard that.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. The Monster Lord still needs me to act as a spy and help the Lord of ughter¡¯s side. He won¡¯t do anything to me in the short term,¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°It¡¯s all my fault. If I hadn¡¯t asked to pick medicines, these things wouldn¡¯t have happened.¡± Ji Xiaoxi was full of remorse. Tears even appeared in her eyes, seeming as if they would fall at any time.

    The other women all tried to console her. ¡°How is that your fault? You wanted to help everyone too, and we did manage to find the medicine. We can now make drugs that will be useful against the monsters, which will be a great help.¡±

    Zu An also spoke up tofort her. ¡°Xiaoxi, don¡¯t worry about those things. The Monster World is one where strength rules above all. It was necessary to show that we aren¡¯t pushovers. Besides, judging from what the great elder said, I reckon that Manager Pi probably came after me in the first ce. He only harassed the two of you as a pretext to make a fuss.¡±

    ¡°Was he worried that you would steal his position as male pet?¡± Suolun Shi had always been sharp, and she''d been born from a king race. She quickly deduced Manager Pi¡¯s motives.

    Everyone else¡¯s expressions became strange.

    Zu An felt the situation was a bit unlucky, but in the end, they justughed the whole matter off. He changed the topic and shared the information he ''d gotten from the great elder with everyone else.

    When they heard that the Fiend races¡¯ first ancestors had just been some servants of the True Demon race, and that the great elder¡¯s speech was full of disdain toward the Fiend races, Yun Yuqing and Suolun Shi¡¯s expressions became a bit unpleasant.

    ¡°There''s no need for you to feel worried. This is merely the great elder¡¯s one sided story. It might not be true,¡± Zu An said, trying to appease them.

    Suolun Shi said with a bitter smile, ¡°The True Demons could activate our ancient bloodlines, which means they''re clearly beings of a higher level than us.¡±

    Yun Yuqing¡¯s expression darkened as well. The thought of having a servant¡¯s bloodline always left one feeling inferior.

    Zu An said with a serious expression, ¡°I''ve always opposed the idea of ss division. Just because your blood is more noble, you can hold power and authority forever? Kings and lords hold hereditary ims to power, but individual strength is also important. You all know just how many rulers have been destroyed throughout history, only for another powerful individual to take their ce. They then establish a new country or n.¡±

    The women nodded. They knew that the reason why big brother Zu had been able to grow to this extent was because, even though the miraculous encounters he''d experienced were important, what mattered most was his strong and unyielding heart.

    Yun Yuqing and Suolun Shi both felt inspired. ¡°What big brother Zu said is correct. As people who live in this world, how could we let something like this decide our fate?¡±

    They were all feeling more motivated than ever now. They all began to explore the great elder¡¯s secrets.

    ¡°What is that Celestial Court the great elder mentioned?¡±

    When he sensed the women''s confusion, Zu An shared the intelligence he had. ¡°I¡¯ve heard some legends surrounding the Celestial Court. However, I¡¯m not sure if they''re true.¡±

    He then told them about the Celestial Court and its deities from the myths of his previous world. The women were all amazed as they listened.

    ¡°This clear and detailed division of the Celestial Court is clearly not something that can be exined through ordinary hearsay. Big brother Zu, just where did you hear about all of this from?¡± Yun Yuqing asked curiously.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. There are some deities that I seem to have heard of, but most of them are unfamiliar to me. Moreover, the knowledge is so methodical and full of detail that it¡¯s clearly not something that was just made up out of thin air.¡± Jiang Luofu was also a bit confused. As awyer, she hade across all manner of knowledge. There was probably no one here who had read more books than her.

    Zu An wanted to say that he''d learned it from some secret dungeons'' ancient texts, but he was worried that such an excuse wouldn''t be enough to fool the well-learned Jiang Luofu, and would only produce greater misunderstandings. That was why he said, ¡°I frequently have dreams of another world. These are all things from that other world.¡±

    He couldn''t just say he was a transmigrator, right? He could only answer them like this.

    When they heard him say that, the women were even more surprised. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°There are dreams that are this miraculous?¡±

    ¡°But these dreams seem to be really detailed and reliable, unlike normal dreams. Could these be some memories from big brother Zu¡¯s previous life?¡±

    ¡°Ah Zu is incredible after all. I¡¯ve heard that when some powerful individuals reincarnate, as their strength gradually increases, theygradually regain some past memories. I used to turn up my nose at such sayings, but to think it was actually true!¡±

    ¡°I wonder what kind of person big brother Zu was in his past life, or what world he came from?¡±

    ¡°I feel like big brother Zu is just big brother Zu. He¡¯s not some reincarnated version of someone else.¡±

    ...

    As he listened to the women chatter on and on, their stories growing more and more ridiculous, Zu An quickly stopped them. ¡°I¡¯ve actually encountered a Celestial Court in a secret dungeon before too.¡±

    Then, he told them about what he''d experienced in the Fiend races'' Imperial Tomb secret dungeon. The women listened with sparkling eyes.

    Suolun Shi said excitedly, ¡°Our Fiend races do have a connection with the Celestial Court after all!¡±

    Jiang Luofu noticed that when she looked at Zu An, Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s eyes were full of stars. Actually, it wasn¡¯t just her; the other youngdies were the same. Her expression couldn''t help but beplicated.

    Just some random experiences Ah Zu had gone through were more exciting than ten lifetimes of an ordinary person! Perhaps it was also these rich experiences that gave him his special presence, right? How could these youngdies resist a man like this who was so full of mysteries?

    ¡°Butst time, I only saw the Celestial Court from afar and never interacted closely. I don¡¯t know if it''s the same Celestial Court as the one the True Demon great elder was talking about.¡±

    ¡°I think there is most likely some connection. After all, that Celestial Court was in the Fiend races'' Imperial Tomb secret dungeon. How can it just be that much of a coincidence?¡± Jiang Luofu concluded using the knowledge she''d gained from the numerous books she read over the years.

    ¡°Tight, that¡¯s what I think too.¡± Zu An became quiet. It now seemed that his transmigration to the Cultivation World likely wasn''t a coincidence. After all, he had even met the Necropolis Emperor personally. It wouldn¡¯t be all that surprising for him to encounter the real Celestial Courtter, right?

    While everyone was discussing the Celestial Court, the sound of a giant eagle pping its wings filled the air. Then, a burst of hurried footsteps drew near.

    ¡°Donaire, bad news!¡± the great elder called out.

    Zu An was surprised and quickly went out. He was a bit anxious now too. He knew something major had happened. He asked, ¡°Great elder, what is it?¡±

    The great elder didn¡¯t waste any time and immediately got to the point. ¡°Manager Pi has died. The Monster Lord is furious, and I heard that he has sent his men to arrest you!¡±

 Chapter 2329: Blood Ran Cold

    <h4>Chapter 2329: Blood Ran Cold</h4>

    ¡°Manager Pi died?¡± Zu An was stunned. ¡°How could that be?¡±

    "Somehow, that is what happened! You need to run; you are the True Demon race¡¯sst hope. Nothing can happen to you!¡± The great elder nervously rushed him.

    Zu An didn¡¯t agree. ¡°It can¡¯t be that serious, right? I wasn¡¯t the one who killed Manager Pi, and I only had a bit of a conflict with him. No matter how angry the Monster Lord is, it shouldn¡¯t be to the point that he¡¯ll kill me.¡±

    The great elder¡¯s expression grew extremely strange when he heard that. He looked Zu An in the eyes and asked, ¡°Weren¡¯t you the one who killed Manager Pi?¡±

    Zu An frowned. ¡°What is the great elder saying?¡±

    The great elder looked at Jiang Luofu and Ji Xiaoxi. ¡°I was discussing those secrets with you when we received news that Manager Pi was harassing your female servants in the medicine garden. You rushed out in a fit of rage, and then a conflict broke out. You killed the guards that were harassing the two women, and even that toad attendant at his side.¡±

    ¡°Yes, we both know that. Butter, after teaching him a lesson, didn¡¯t I let him go after taking your advice?¡± Zu An had a strange feeling about all this.

    The great elder wanted to say something several times, but he hesitated. In the end, he said, ¡°Of course, you did let him go, but Manager Pi left behind those hateful words, saying that he would make sure to have the Monster Lord punish you once he got back. He said he''d bring a lot of men to deal with you. Then, he was going to y with your women in front of your face...¡± n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The women had looks of anger when they heard that.

    <i>This Manager Pi really crossed the line!</i>

    The great elder continued, ¡°You were furious when you heard that, and said that rather than let him continue to cause trouble and try to get revenge, it was better to just nip the problem in the bud. Then, you chased after him and killed all of Manager Pi¡¯s guards. Back then...¡±

    ¡°Wait!¡± Zu An immediately cut him off. ¡°What you said at first is true, but I didn¡¯t chase after him! I came straight back.¡±

    He had a bit of doubt growing inside of him.

    <i>Is the great elder setting me up? Does he want to force me to help him do something?</i>

    <i>But isn¡¯t this a bit too forced?</i>

    The great elder sighed. He looked back with aplicated expression. ¡°Donaire, there are no outsiders here. Why do you need to put on pretenses in front of me?¡±

    He was speaking as if he really believed what he was saying, leaving Zu An more and more confused. ¡°I didn¡¯t kill Manager Pi though. What is the meaning of you saying this, great elder?¡±

    The great elder pointed at Jiang Luofu and Ji Xiaoxi. ¡°Even if you think I¡¯m lying to you, the people around you wouldn¡¯t, right? How about you ask them?¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He turned around to look at the two women.

    <i>Why would I need to ask them? Why would they do as you say?</i>

    But a secondter, Jiang Luofu said with aplicated expression, ¡°Master, you really did kill Manager Pi.¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi wiped her falling tears while saying, ¡°It¡¯s all my fault for saying that I wanted to pick some medicine. All of these things wouldn¡¯t have happened if it wasn¡¯t because of that.¡±

    Pei Mianman hugged her and eximed, ¡°How is this your fault? That Manager Pi was seeking his own doom.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He quickly grabbed Jiang Luofu and Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s hands. He had a grim expression on his face.

    Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s face reddened. She was too preupied to keep crying.

    <i>Big brother Zu is holding my hand in front of all of these big sisters! It¡¯s so embarrassing...</i>

    <i>Wait, why is he holding my little aunt¡¯s hand too? Could it be...</i>

    Jiang Luofu looked calm on the surface, but her heart was already pounding. Both she and Xiaoxi rarely had such intimate physical contact. She was suddenly a bit rmed.

    Even so, she quickly noticed the strange looks on the other women''s faces and reacted to what was going on, nearly trying to pull her hand back. But she remembered that they were in front of the great elder right now, and that she was the young master¡¯s female ve. She couldn''t just pull her hand back, so she could only ask with a shaking voice, ¡°What... What is going on with you?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s brows furrowed deeply. He was worried that the twodies had been controlled by Heart-Devouring Demon Spiders, making them repeat the great elder''s nonsense. But he didn¡¯t sense anything off with their bodies after he checked them.

    This was now a real problem. Why would they speak nonsense to frame him together with the great elder? Regardless of whether it was Ji Xiaoxi or Jiang Luofu, he refused to believe that they would want to harm him.

    Xie Daoyun said, ¡°Young master, right now, it isn¡¯t time to argue whether you killed him or not. Since you killed him, we should be thinking of what to do now.¡±

    The great elder nodded inwardly.

    <i>Donaire really is skilled. These women are all so dedicated to him.</i>

    Zu An¡¯s entire body trembled. Then, he looked at the other women. His expression was full of disbelief. ¡°Do all of you tink I killed Manager Pi?¡±

    The women nodded. ¡°Didn¡¯t you tell us you did just now?¡±

    They looked at each other in dismay, worried expressions on their faces. Firstly, they were worried about the grave consequences that woulde from killing Manager Pi, and secondly, the current Zu An seemed a bit strange. Could it be that he was possessed by some monster?

    It was clearly a bit hot, yet Zu An felt his blood run cold.

    <i>What the hell is going on?</i>

    It would be one thing if Jiang Luofu and Ji Xiaoxi were like this. Why were the other women also agreeing? In that instant, he even felt a bit swayed himself. He wondered if he was just too tired and that his own memories were a bit messy. But he quickly refuted that guess. With his current cultivation, he basically had perfect memory. Furthermore, he had joined up with the Cultivation World¡¯s will. His current power and knowledge were already far greater than before. There was no way he would misremember something that happened so recently.

    <i>There''s definitely a reason why they''re all like this!</i>

    He even sent out some ki to secretly converse with Pei Mianman and the others. He thought that they were hiding the truth because they had no choice or something. But the others came over to touch his forehead with worry, wondering if there was anything wrong with his body.

    Zu An finally understood what was going on. They weren¡¯t acting; rather, they really believed it. The great elder was also like that.

    But why? Why were their memoriespletely different from his own?

    His entire body shivered. He had never encountered kind type of situation before. It was as if an invisible enemy was silently watching everything he did.

    ¡°Young master, hurry and run. The n has a life-preserving formation, so hurry and take it. You need to go into hiding to wait for an opportunity.¡± The great elder tugged on his hand as he spoke.

    ¡°Then what about them?¡± Zu An pointed at the women next to him.

    The great elder said gravely, ¡°The ns have already been underground for over a thousand years. Our resources are very tight. The resources we are using to bring you away are already our limit.¡± His implied meaning was clear. There was no way they would use resources to bring the women away too.

    Zu An pulled his hand away. ¡°Then I won¡¯t be leaving.¡±

    The great elder was shocked. He said secretly, ¡°It¡¯s just some women! Once you find the ancestor¡¯s inheritance, there will be countless beauties for you to go after. Why do you need to cling to them like this?¡±

    Yun Yuqing quickly said, ¡°Young master, you should leave. Don¡¯t worry about us. You''re more important than us!¡±

    The others spoke up in agreement. They all had tears in their eyes as they said goodbye to him. They knew that this current situation was one in which they would do whatever they could to save the most important person. The Cultivation World still needed Zu An, while all of them added together couldn''t evenpare to him. Even though they were reluctant, they were all feeling emotional.

    Zu An¡¯s face darkened. He''d never had any thoughts of leaving in the first ce. He didn¡¯t want to abandon his own women for survival, and this situation was also way too weird. How could he just leave carelessly right now?

    When he saw that Zu An didn¡¯t move, the great elder started to panic even more. ¡°Young master, the situation is extremely serious. Hurry and leave!¡± His aura surged powerfully as he spoke. He''d already nned to bring Zu An away by force.

    Just then, there was suddenly a sneer. A voice called out, ¡°You want to leave? No one here can leave anymore.¡±

 Chapter 2330: Fighting to Live in the Field of Death

    <h4>Chapter 2330: Fighting to Live in the Field of Death</h4>

    The great elder¡¯s expression changed when he heard that. He clearly recognized the voice.

    Those present turned around and saw that the one standing outside was none other than the pce emissary who hade here not too long ago. But unlike thest time, there were now nine other emissaries standing in different ces. Every single one of them gave off an aura that was equal to the great elder''s own!

    Apart from them, there was also arge number of guards. They were all simr to the high-ranking guards who had been with Manager Pi. They were apanied by many marksmen who aimed their bows at the cave dwelling.

    The great elder¡¯s heart sank to rock bottom. This amount of power was already enough to erase the entire True Demon race. He hadn¡¯t expected the Monster Lord to be so swift and decisive that he would immediately send so many powerful monsters this way, and so quickly too. What brought him even more despair was that, even if he used up everything he had to escape from these powerful monsters, that would only result in the Monster Lord sending more monsters their way. He could evene personally. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The pce emissary stared at Zu An and shouted, ¡°Donaire, you¡¯ve killed Manager Pi so cruelly and publicly harmed the lord¡¯s personal guards. Do you plead guilty?¡±

    The guards all had resentful looks on their faces. Many of the ones who had been killed were their colleagues. They would normally always be treated with utmost respect wherever they went, being served with extreme care. And yet this Donaire dared to attack the guards. If news of this spread, many people would copy him. How were they supposed to enjoy their status then?

    The great elder quickly said, ¡°There¡¯s a misunderstanding here! Actually, back then...¡±

    ¡°Shut up! Who asked you anything?¡± The pce emissary red at the great elder.

    The great elder¡¯s body trembled and he could only take a step back. Even though he was angry, he didn¡¯t dare to show it. The only thought in his mind was ¡®We¡¯re finished, it¡¯s all over, the True Demon race is done for!¡¯

    Zu An replied, ¡°I didn¡¯t kill Manager Pi, so of course I won¡¯t plead guilty.¡±

    There was a hint of mockery in the pce emissary¡¯s eyes. ¡°Everyone already knows about this matter. What meaning is there left in trying to argue about it?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right. There is indeed no meaning in arguing over this. The reason I killed Manager Pi was toplete another important task,¡± Zu An said seriously.

    Right now, even Pei Mianman and the others believed that he killed Manager Pi. Arguing further right now was meaningless. For now, it was better off admitting to it so he could lower the guard of the real mastermind.

    ¡°What important matter?¡± the pce emissary asked curiously.

    ¡°It is an absolutely secret mission that the Monster Lord has given me. I can only say it to the lord,¡± Zu An replied.

    The pce emissary¡¯s expression changed. As someone who served at the lord¡¯s side, he naturally knew that there were many secrets. He knew that learning something he wasn''t supposed to know would only be courting death. As such, he didn¡¯t dare to continue the questioning. He waved his hand and said, ¡°Alright, I will bring you back to see the lord first. Arrest him.¡±

    Guards quickly tied Zu An up. At the same time, they stabbed several small, blood-red, nail-like objects into his various vitals, thus preventing him from using any of his cultivation.

    Pei Mianman and the others wanted to help him, but Zu An stopped them. He could resist and fight it out here, but things had happened too quickly, catching them almost entirely off guard. Meanwhile, the pce emissary was fully prepared. If they really fought, even if they could survive through the help of the True Demon race, the women would most likely perish. That wasn''t even ounting for the fact that the True Demon race likely wouldn''t even dare to go against the Monster Lord.

    In that case, he was better off taking the risk. He already had an idea, but he needed time to confirm and act on it.

    The pce emissary sighed in relief when he saw that Zu An didn¡¯t resist. ¡°Arrest the others and temporarily hold them in custody. Have them ready to stand trial at any time!¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± The other guards heeded the order. They arrested the True Demon race¡¯s people and the women.

    The pce emissary and two of hispanions took Zu An and flew toward the Monster Lord¡¯s pce. The remaining seven pce emissaries remained to make sure that the True Demon race didn¡¯t try to start anything.

    However, since there had been no real sh of forces, the guards didn¡¯t trouble the remaining people. They only had them remain in their respective cave dwellings and didn¡¯t allow them to move about willfully. The True Demon race had extraordinary status, after all. Without the Monster Lord¡¯s exact orders, none of them wanted to use force recklessly.

    The women watched from inside the cave dwelling as Zu An was escorted away and taken off into the horizon.

    Ji Xiaoxi asked while sobbing, ¡°Will we be able to see big brother Zu again?¡±

    The entire cave became silent. The women silently shed tears. They knew that things didn¡¯t look good for Zu An at all. This could have been theirst meeting.

    When Jiang Luofu heard that, she tried tofort everyone else. ¡°Don¡¯t be too discouraged. He decided to let himself be captured. That means he should have some kind of n.¡±

    Pei Mianman¡¯s eyes lit up when she heard that. She wiped away her tears and looked up. ¡°That¡¯s right. We clearly had a chance to fight back, but he didn¡¯t fight. That means he realized something. We need to trust him.¡± She gave Jiang Luofu a grateful look. She''d been so worried that her entire body had turned ice-cold and her mind had gone nk. She hadn''t thought of that until just now.

    Suolun Shi bit her lip and slowly began, ¡°Could it be that big brother Zu was worried that our chance of winning was too slim, and didn''t want to implicate us, so he...¡±

    The women''s expressions changed when they heard that. Even Jiang Luofu felt that was a possibility. If they really fought, Zu An could have been able to survive, but just a single one of them surviving would already be quite a good result.

    Pei Mianman shook her head resolutely. ¡°That shouldn''t be the case. Big brother Zu wouldn¡¯t make decisions on an impulse. Even if he''d been worried about that, he would stay behind to die with us. He definitely wouldn¡¯t give up resisting. He definitely made his choice because he had a n already. It was just that there were too many people here and he couldn''t exin it to us.¡±

    The others nodded. The one who had stayed with Zu An the longest here was likely Pei Mianman. If she said so, it was most likely true. Most of them weren¡¯t that close to Chu Chuyan; right now, they were full of admiration as they looked at Pei Mianman, feeling that she had the bearing of a mature woman.

    At first, they''d all had their own thoughts. Many of them had even held feelings ofpetitive desire and envy. But now that they had amon enemy, all of that could be put aside. They only hoped for their other sisters to be as strong as possible; the stronger, the better.

    ...

    Meanwhile, Zu An had been escorted to the pce.

    The Monster Lord sat atop his tall throne. The three-headed bird was lying down in front of him, eyeing Zu An with a sharp gaze. The Monster Lord gently stroked the bird''s heads as he said, ¡°Donaire, I didn¡¯t expect us to meet again so soon.¡±

    Zu An said with a bitter smile, ¡°Indeed. I didn¡¯t expect this either.¡±

    ¡°I heard the pce emissary say that the reason you killed Pi Yanyang was because you were doing something important for me? But why don¡¯t I know about that important matter?¡± The Monster Lord¡¯s expression was cold.

    Zu An gave the pce emissaries a look. ¡°What I am about to say is extremely important. I can only say it to the lord alone.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± The Monster Lord had an amused expression.

    The pce emissary next to him hurriedly said, ¡°Lord, this guy might just be acting out of desperation!¡±

    Zu An gestured at his restrictions and said coldly, ¡°Could it be that the emissary is worried that I would be able to assassinate the lord all alone? The lord¡¯s cultivation is unmatched, and I wouldn¡¯t be worth mentioning even if I was at my strongest, let alone how I am right now.¡±

    The Monster Lord roared withughter. ¡°What he says makes some sense. You can back down. I want to hear just what Donaire wants to tell me.¡±

    The pce emissaries felt reluctant, but they still didn¡¯t dare to say anything else when they heard the order. They all backed down after a bow.

    When it was only the two of them left, the Monster Lord continued, ¡°You can speak now, right?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t kill Manager Pi,¡± Zu An quickly said.

    The Monster Lord¡¯s face was expressionless. ¡°If that was all you wanted to say, that would be far too disappointing.¡±

    ¡°Of course not...¡± Zu An¡¯s following words immediately made the Monster Lord¡¯s expression change.

 Chapter 2331: Time Scribe

    <h4>Chapter 2331: Time Scribe</h4>

    ¡°With the lord¡¯s knowledge, I presume that your honored self has heard of all kinds of mysterious skills throughout the realms?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°But of course.¡± The Monster Lord raised his chin slightly in pride. Then, he frowned slightly. ¡°Why are you asking about that?¡±

    ¡°There is a problem right now, which is that I clearly didn¡¯t kill Manager Pi, and the great elder and many nsmen of the True Demon race previously knew that. But they''re all iming unanimously that I killed Manager Pi...¡± Zu An had a grave expression.

    ¡°Are you saying that they are wrongly ming you?¡± The Monster Lord was growing a bit impatient.

    ¡°No.¡± Zu An shook his head. ¡°I can tell that they truly do believe it, and it isn¡¯t just them. Even my female servants think that I killed Manager Pi. Are there any skills that can alter memories in this world?¡±

    ¡°What nonsense. How could there be...¡± The Monster Lord began. However, he suddenly thought of something midway through his sentence and became quiet. His expression changed several times. He was now clearly thinking about something.

    Zu An sighed in relief when he saw this reaction. It seemed his suspicions were correct.

    A whileter, the Monster Lord looked up at Zu An with great interest. ¡°You really have made me develop a whole new level of respect for you. You were actually able to absolve yourself of guilt through this kind of excuse.¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°It isn''t an excuse; it''s just the truth. I believe that with the lord¡¯s wisdom, you should have already realized who it was that was causing trouble, right?¡±

    ¡°There is a species that specializes in doing this. Furthermore, there just happens to be one of them in this underground city right now.¡± The Monster Lord paused for a moment before looking at Zu An again. ¡°However, that kind of skill changes everyone¡¯s memories. Why are you alone the exception?¡±

    Zu An was startled. That came as a surprise to him. He''d thought that the skill was useless against the victim and didn¡¯t think too much of that. But judging from what the Monster Lord was now saying, he should also have been convinced that he killed Manager Pi himself. Could it be because he wasn¡¯t really Donaire, so he wasn¡¯t affected the same way?

    He reacted quickly and said, ¡°I don''t know. Maybe there''s a certain weakness with that skill that I just happened to run into?¡±

    The Monster Lord gave him a look. He surprisingly didn¡¯t press the issue. ¡°The possibility you speak of does exist, but we cannotpletely conclude that you didn¡¯t kill Pi Yanyang. How about this? Tell me everything that happened today in detail. Do not skip out on any details.¡±

    ¡°Yes...¡± Zu An then told him everything that had happened in full detail.

    During the process, the Monster Lord continued to ask questions. Many times, he asked about a single detail over and over again. With that special pressure he naturally exerted, no lies would escape his notice. Even so, with his current mentality, Zu An naturally wouldn¡¯t be intimidated by the Monster Lord. Besides, he wasn¡¯t lying in the first ce.

    The Monster Lord asked about when each detail happened. The more detailed his questions were, the more at ease Zu An felt. That meant the Monster Lord believed him. Furthermore, even if that mysterious being was able to alter everyone¡¯s memories, knowing about their existence would still create a weakness to exploit.

    Lastly, the timing of events didn¡¯t match up. When Manager Pi died, Zu An had been flying on the eagle back to the cave dwelling. Many monsters would have witnessed that. As such, it wasn¡¯t too difficult to find out the truth through a careful investigation.

    ¡°I have already heard what you have to say. You can go back and wait for news. You are not permitted to wander about willfully. Be ready for questioning at any time.¡± The Monster Lord waved his hand to gesture for Zu An to leave.

    Zu An noticed his grave expression. The Monster Lord didn¡¯t seem to be in the mood to talk too much anymore. He was now a bit curious.

    <i>Could it be that mysterious creature is making the Monster Lord feel a lot of pressure?</i>

    He had tried to ask about the individual¡¯s identity and other information, but the Monster Lord had been extremely guarded and hadn¡¯t revealed anything.

    The pce emissaries were shocked to see hime out of the main hall. They all drew their weapons and surrounded him.

    The Monster Lord called out from the main hall, ¡°Let him return. Also, remove half of the guards from the True Demon territory. The remainder only need to ensure that the True Demon race does not try to escape.¡±

    When he heard that powerful voice, Zu An thought to himself that this Monster Lord really was strong.

    ¡°Understood!¡± The pce emissaries were confused, but they didn¡¯t dare to ask him any more questions. They could only step aside and watch Zu An leave.

    Zu An knew that the women had to be extremely worried right now. If he didn¡¯t hurry and return, it would be hard to ensure that they didn¡¯t do anything foolish. As such, he rushed back.

    But in the middle of his flight, he suddenly noticed something. He stopped near some trees and called out, ¡°Friend, you have followed me for a long time. Shouldn¡¯t you show yourself?¡±

    A burst of apuse came from behind the nearby tree as soon as Zu An said that. A person walked forth and said, ¡°You really do impress me, Donaire!¡±

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Zu An sized up the other person. This individual was different from the other monsters and greatly resembled a normal human. If he wasn¡¯t in the Monster World right now, he would even have thought that he''d encountered some young master. But there was a devil mask on the man''s face that hid his real appearance.

    ¡°Who I am is not important. Rather, you have piqued my curiosity.¡± That person walked around Zu An a few times, sizing him up while clicking his tongue. ¡°Donaire, the True Demon race¡¯s young master. Even though you have some skills, you are more known for your lustful, hedonistic lifestyle. Who would¡¯ve thought that everyone actually underestimated you?¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t reply, and secretly remained on guard. He actually couldn''t even sense the other party¡¯s strength!

    <i>Could this be someone as strong as the Monster Lord? But how is this possible?</i>

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to be on guard against me. I didn¡¯te here to fight with you. On the other hand, I am really curious about you. Why wasn¡¯t your memory affected?¡± The voice behind the mask couldn''t conceal his shock.

    Zu An cried out, ¡°So all of this was because of you!¡±

    Right now, apart from him and the Monster Lord, only that mysterious being knew about the memory-altering phenomenon.

    ¡°You don¡¯t seem that strong. Do you have some special treasure on you?¡± the masked individual wondered to himself. ¡°But that doesn¡¯t make sense. With your skills, how could you obtain something that amazing? Forget about you, not even the Monster Lord could escape my influence if he wasn¡¯t prepared. In the entire Monster World, perhaps only the old Lord of ughter...¡± He couldn''t help but chuckle as he spoke. He clearly found this suspicion a bit absurd. How could this guy have any sort of connection with the past Lord of ughter?

    But even though he was speaking to himself, Zu An was surprised.

    <i>The Lord of ughter? Could it be...</i>

    He finally realized why he wasn¡¯t affected. The Lord of ughter had been destroyed by the mysterious being summoned by the Dance Offering to the Universe, leaving behind only a single thing: His de-like tooth! That tooth had the power to neutralize all kinds of abilities. It seemed to be a divine object the Lord of ughter had obtained in his early years, andter refined into his own tooth. That was why he had been immune to the effects of all sorts of different skills.

    <i>That tooth is with me now, so it ended up inadvertently neutralizing the skill''s effects.</i>

    The masked person wanted to say something else when he suddenly looked into the air. ¡°It seems I don¡¯t have too much time to chat with you today. We¡¯ll meet again.¡± The moment those words left his mouth, he disappeared.

    At almost the same time, two pce emissaries flew over. ¡°The lord wanted us to escort you back.¡±

    Zu An knew that the Monster Lord had reacted too, likely worrying that he would be silenced by that mysterious person. On the way back, he couldn''t help but secretly ask in his mind, ¡°Master empress, master empress?¡±

    ¡°You only remember me when you need something.¡± Mi Li appeared next to him. She stretched out her bodyzily, disying her amazing curves. Still, she was a soul bound to Zu An. Unless she intentionally showed herself, only Zu An alone could see her.

    ¡°Did you see that masked guy? He can actually change people''s memories. Isn¡¯t that a bit too frightening?¡± Zu An was still feeling a bit shaken up.

    ¡°That guy? He should be a Time Scribe,¡± Mi Li casually replied, as if he was making a fuss about nothing.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

 Chapter 2332: Confusions Dispersed

    <h4>Chapter 2332: Confusions Dispersed</h4>

    ¡°Time Scribe?¡± Zu An repeated, stunned. He had never heard of such a thing before. ¡°What is that?¡±

    ¡°Time Scribes are just like cultivators; it''s a special kind of profession. Or perhaps they''re a certain being¡¯s disciples,¡± Mi Li exined.

    ¡°What kind of being?¡± Zu An asked.

    Mi Li shook her head. ¡°I can''t talk about them. With your current cultivation, it''s better if you don¡¯t hear their name.¡±

    Zu An rolled his eyes. He was already used to this. Mi Li always talked in riddles. But he knew that there were some especially powerful beings whose names he couldn''t speak randomly. If they sensed it and nced at him, just that look alone could kill him.

    At first, he had still been a bit skeptical of that since he was already quite strong himself, but the Dance Offering to the Universe had called down someone on that level of power, and he''dter met the Necropolis Emperor, proving the truth of the warning.

    Mi Li seemed to have almost sensed his dissatisfaction. After some hesitation, she exined, ¡°For example, that Annihtion Beast that brought destruction to this Monster World is actually the disciple of another powerful being. Those two beings are simr in strength.¡±

    Zu An had a serious expression. The Monster World was already so powerful that just some random monsters sent to the Cultivation World had almost destroyed it, and yet their world was slowly defeated by this Annihtion Beast over the course of thousands of years. This world¡¯s civilization was almostpletely destroyed, and the only thing left now was this underground city.

    And yet, something as terrifying as the Annihtion Beast was only the subordinate and disciple of another being? Just how frightening was its master, then? The being that the Time Scribe followed was around the same strength as well. Did this world have that many ridiculously powerful experts?

    Zu An said with a sigh, ¡°I suddenly feel as if living as the local tyrant of the Cultivation World isn¡¯t so bad. Why bother interacting with people this scary?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no hiding from them.¡± Mi Li gave Zu An aplicated look. ¡°The one this Annihtion Beast follows is your enemy. He will find you one day.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He''d said what he said without much thought, never expecting Mi Li to suddenly deliver such shocking news. He was practically bing numb as he asked, ¡°What kind of an insignificant person am I? Why would I be the enemy of someone like that?¡±

    That being¡¯s subordinate, the Annihtion Beast... No, even this world that the Annihtion Beast was destroying had countless beings that were more powerful than Zu An already. He couldn''t help but feel as if an elephant was treating an ant as an equal. The idea was that absurd.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry too much. It''s because you are too weak right now that the other side won¡¯t pay attention to you for quite some time.¡± Mi Li grinned when she saw how Zu An looked as if everything he knew had been toppled.

    ¡°Your words offort only make me feel worse.¡± Zu An felt really frustrated.

    ¡°Weren¡¯t you the one who continued to ask about this stuff, only to get annoyed when I didn¡¯t tell you about a lot of things? And yet this is your reaction when I do tell you these things.¡± Mi Li rolled her eyes and sneered.

    Zu An was speechless. He quickly said with an apologetic smile, ¡°I was the one didn¡¯t understand master empress¡¯ efforts. I was wrong.¡±

    The pce emissaries nced at him from the corners of their eyes. Why was that guy showing such a weird expression to empty air? Still, they didn¡¯t me him for being a bit unstable. He''d almost had his entire race wiped out by the Monster Lord after being used of killing Manager Pi. He''d no doubt lost his mind a bit out of fear.

    Zu An knew they couldn''t see Mi Li and didn¡¯t bother exining anything. He continued to ask Mi Li, ¡°Big sis empress, that being is too far away from me. For now, let¡¯s talk about this Time Scribe that¡¯s a bit closer.¡±

    Mi Li felt a bit of admiration. Zu An was still able to readjust his mindset after hearing such terrifying news and wasn¡¯t too affected. These years of trials and tribtions had created a truly strong will within him.

    ¡°This so-called Time Scribe is none other than someone who records things in the history book of time,¡± Mi Li replied.

    ¡°The history book of time?¡± That term sounded a bit familiar to Zu An. He had seen it before on the inte.

    ¡°The history book of time isn¡¯t actually a book. Some say that it has the outer appearance of a book, but it exists everywhere across the various heavens and realms,¡± Mi Li exined.

    Zu An was a bit confused. How could a book like that be everywhere across the cosmos? Didn¡¯t that mean there was such a thing around himself as well? He looked left and right. There was no book at all. He hadn''t even been able to sense any book in the Cultivation World, where he managed that world¡¯s authority. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°As the name implies, this books records all manner of history across the different heavens and realms. Once something is written, apart from a select few, everyone inevitably sees it as real history,¡± Mi Li replied.

    Zu An was surprised. ¡°Doesn¡¯t that make it a kind of great prophecy skill?¡±

    Mi Li had a look of contempt as she said, ¡°How could thatpare to a great prophecy skill? In the end, the history book of time only records some fake historical events. If someone saw through it, their records would be proven false. Then, what they wrote would forever disappear across the universe. Everyone would recover their original memories, just like what you¡¯ve done this time.¡±

    Zu An began to think to himself. ¡°Judging from what you¡¯re saying, this history book of time seems to only record incorrect history...¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. The history book of time is something that is only used when one alters real history for the sake of an objective. That way, everyone across the universe can be convinced to think that the fake event really did happen,¡± Mi Li replied.

    ¡°These Time Scribes really are despicable. Then doesn¡¯t that mean they would easily be public enemies of the entire world, and the target of eradication?¡± When he remembered what he had just gone through, Zu An was pissed off. If it wasn¡¯t because he just happened to have that mystical tooth that could break through all kinds of skills, he would¡¯ve ended up dying without even knowing how it happened.

    ¡°The various realms do indeed loathe Time Scribes, but the one behind those guys is too powerful. Furthermore, the movements of the Time Scribes have always been mysterious, and it¡¯s difficult to guard against them. There aren¡¯t many who can sense their existence, and there are very few who even know about them and how treacherous they can be. Unless absolutely necessary, people aren¡¯t willing to offend them. Otherwise, who knows how they could twist history? No one wants to be enemies of these people.¡± Mi Li frowned slightly. She was getting a bit of a headache when she thought about these Time Scribes too. She thought for a bit before adding, ¡°Furthermore, these Time Scribes might not necessarily harbor bad motives. That''s why the big shots tacitly permit their existence.¡±

    ¡°Altering history isn¡¯t bad enough?¡± Zu An really couldn''t understand what that meant.

    Mi Li thought for a bit before giving an example. ¡°There is some scientific knowledge in your memories, so how about this? Imagine that there is a special system that has countless inputs but only one output. If every single condition that is entered is predetermined, then isn¡¯t the output also fixed?¡±

    Zu An nodded. That was true.

    ¡°What those Time Scribes are doing is the same as changing some input conditions to see if they can change that singr output,¡± Mi Li saidcarefully.

    Zu An was a bit moved. ¡°Then doesn¡¯t that mean they would have to know what kind of conclusion the output leads to? How could they know if it''s good or bad?¡±

    Mi Li shook her head. ¡°That, I don¡¯t know too well. You can look into it yourselfter.¡±

    Zu An gave her a long look. ¡°Master empress, I feel as if you''re only growing more and more mysterious. Didn¡¯t you say that only a few beings across the universe know about the Time Scribes? And yet you¡¯re actually so familiar with these things.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t try to fish more stuff out of me.¡± Mi Li rolled her eyes. ¡°I already told you that I''m recovering some memories, but there are more memories that I haven¡¯t recovered. I¡¯ve already told you pretty much everything I can. As for the rest, I can''t tell you, so it¡¯s useless even if you ask.¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°I only know that master empress won¡¯t harm me, and that¡¯s enough. It¡¯s indeed useless to think too much of it right now.¡±

    Mi Li¡¯s expression grew serious. ¡°Don¡¯t trust anyone without holding back at all, and I''m no exception. Otherwise, you¡¯ll die without even knowing how it happened.¡±

    But Zu An had a smile on his face as he replied, ¡°If I couldn¡¯t even trust the closest person at my side, then wouldn¡¯t I bepletely alone? That¡¯s just too pitiful. Besides, a single person¡¯s strength will forever be limited. People are still stronger in numbers.¡±

    Mi Li became absentminded when she heard these words that sounded far too familiar. But she quickly said with a sneer, ¡°Do you know how many techniques there are in the world that can allow one to impersonate others? For example, that Myriad Transformations skill you have, and the Time Scribe¡¯s skill that can alter one¡¯s memories.¡±

    ¡°It is indeed a bit risky, but I still want to choose to trust the people around me. It¡¯s just that I need to make sure to keep my eyes open.¡± Zu An used the chance to add, ¡°For example, you can tell me what kind of limitations those Time Scribes have in changing history. That way, it¡¯ll be easier for me to foil their ns.¡±

    When she heard what he said, Mi Li couldn''t help but have a pensive expression. People were stronger in numbers...

    <i>In the past, he couldn''t do much alone, so it''s no wonder that now...</i>

    ¡°Of course there are limitations,¡± Mi Li exined. ¡°For example, it''s difficult for a Time Scribe to change a piece of history out of nowhere. Instead, they have to make some rational modifications based on something that really did happen. Otherwise, if someone found out that things didn¡¯t line up, the recorded history would disappear.¡±

 Chapter 2333: Visitor

    <h4>Chapter 2333: Visitor</h4>

    ¡°So they need to make changes based on what is happening in reality...¡± Zu An recalled his own encounter.

    <i>If it¡¯s like this, it¡¯s notpletely unstoppable.</i>

    As if sensing the changes in his thinking, Mi Li exined, ¡°Don¡¯t be careless. The Time Scribes aren¡¯t able to create something out of thin air, but their skills are still nearly impossible to guard against. Who knows how many powerful being have been ruined at their hands?¡±

    ¡°But of course. I''ll be careful,¡± Zu An replied. If it wasn¡¯t because of the Lord of ughter¡¯s tooth, he would probably have been screwed over too. He said, ¡°Big sis empress, you mentioned that not a lot of people know about the Time Scribes. Do you think the Monster Lord knows about them?¡±

    Mi Li frowned slightly. ¡°In theory, the chances of him knowing wouldn''t be high, but his reaction seems to prove that he doesknow about them. That makes things a bit strange.¡±

    Zu An was startled. Judging from her tone, she seemed to look down on the Monster Lord quite a bit. It was as if it was only natural that she knew things the Monster Lord didn¡¯t. That alone already exined a lot of things. But he didn¡¯t continue to ask any questions. He already knew from their conversations that she withheld information about many things for his sake. There was no point in adding annoyances right now.

    Mi Li returned to sleep after answering his questions. Zu An knew she needed sleep to recover right now, and that it also seemed to be able to unlock her memories. Even though he didn¡¯t know how that worked, it was a good thing, so he naturally couldn''t disturb her too much.

    Shortly after, Zu An and the pce emissaries returned to the True Demon territory. The pce emissaries and the guards there exchanged some words, and most of the guards were brought away. The emissaries then excused themselves.

    The great elder was shocked and happy to hear that the True Demon race had been spared. ¡°Donaire, just how did you do it?¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°The lord is a reasonable person. When I exined the matter to him in detail, he wisely deduced that I was wrongly med.¡±

    The great elder smacked his thigh and said regretfully, ¡°I really let you down before. I even misunderstood and thought you killed Manager Pi. Many people from the True Demon race also spoke unfavorable things about you.¡±

    "Great elder, you don¡¯t need to mind it too much,¡± Zu An consoled. ¡°This isn¡¯t your fault. It is just that the enemy in hiding is too cunning.¡±

    That mysterious masked figure appeared in his mind.

    <i>Why does this world that is about to be destroyed have a Time Scribe? Just where is he hiding, and why did he suddenly appear?</i>

    The great elder¡¯s expression eased up a bit. He couldn''t help but say, ¡°Even though this matter is a misunderstanding, the lord didn¡¯t immediately kill you out of anger and even patiently listened to your exnation. He really thinks of you highly! He never held you in such high esteem in the past.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know why this is either. Perhaps the lord needs to keep me at his side to help him with certain affairs,¡± Zu An replied.

    <i>It''s most likely my rtionship with Smay that made the lord decide I was still of use.</i>

    ¡°Needs you for certain affairs...¡± The great elder had a strange expression.

    <i>Even though the young master isn¡¯t totally spoiled and frivolous, he isn¡¯t that much better. What could the Monster Lord even see in him...</i>

    <i>Wait!</i>

    The great elder suddenly gave Zu An a look. This young man was handsome and confident looking. He was famous for his looks among the True Demon race. Furthermore, this trip to the Cultivation World seemed to have made him more mature. The slight feminine side to him was now gone, now reced with a heroic charm.

    <i>Manager Pi is already dead, so the lord is definitely looking for a recement. Meanwhile, the young master is so handsome...</i>

    A hint of sympathy appeared in his eyes when he realized that. He bowed to Zu An. ¡°The young master has really sacrificed too much for the True Demon race.¡±

    ¡°Sacrifice? What did I sacrifice?¡± Zu An was confused.

    ¡°I understand.¡± The great elder gave his bottom a look and thought ¡®as expected¡¯. ¡°I will never mention this matter again in the future, nor will I permit the nsmen to speak randomly. Everyone will engrave the young master¡¯s sacrifice deeply in our hearts.¡±

    He bowed seriously after saying that, then left.

    Zu An looked at the elder in confusion.

    <i>Is there something I don¡¯t know? Why did that guy speak so weirdly?</i>

    A whileter, he finally realized what it was.

    ¡°Motherf*cker!¡±

    His face becamepletely red. This really was nonsense. That respected great elder had nothing but filth in that head of his!

    ¡°Ah Zu!¡± The women came out to meet him when they received the news. Their eyes were brimming with tears when they saw him. They had been worried that they would be separated forever. They hadn¡¯t expected him to return safely so soon.

    Pei Mianman wanted to rush into his arms excitedly, but she saw that Yun Yuqing was about to do the same. Yun Yuqing also noticed her movements and felt awkward. Pei Mianman realized the situation wasn¡¯t too good, so she also froze in ce.

    Out of the remaining people, Suolun Shi and Zu An weren¡¯t at that level yet. Even though she admired him a lot, she didn¡¯t dare to show any extreme emotion in front of the others. Xie Daoyun was the same; she was gentle and quiet in nature. Even though this scene was really moving, she knew that big sister Pei and the others were still nearby. As for Jiang Luofu, there was even less of a chance of her doing anything.

    Only Ji Xiaoxi was the most pure. She didn¡¯t care about all of that. She had cried a lot, and now that she suddenly heard that Zu An was back, she was so excited that she jumped straight into his arms. She hugged him tightly while sobbing, ¡°Big brother Zu...¡±

    When he felt her trembling body, Zu An realized just how scared she had been. He felt tenderness fill him. He gently patted her shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m fine. Don¡¯t cry, Xiaoxi.¡±

    The women had been feeling a bit of regret, but that was now reced with relief. Xiaoxi was too adorable, and she has a good personality too, so everyone else treated her like a little sister. She and Zu An just acted like siblings, so they didn¡¯t think of anything else. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    All those emotional reactions actually happened in an instant. They were all filled with happiness because Zu An had returned. They excitedly asked about what happened.

    ¡°Let¡¯s talk inside...¡± This was an extremely important subject, so Zu An brought them into the cave dwelling first. He set up several sound-proofing barriers before exining everything. There were many things he had to hide from the great elder, but he didn¡¯t need to hide it from them.

    ¡°We actually misunderstood and assumed that you truly killed Manager Pi, but we really shouldn¡¯t have...¡± Pei Mianman bit her lip tightly. Her breathing was hurried and her chest heaved up and down. She felt a lot of remorse, not knowing why she hadn''t believed her lover.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to me yourself. This doesn¡¯t have anything to do with you. Rather, a Time Scribe was causing trouble...¡± Zu An exined.

    ¡°Time Scribe?¡± The women were all really shocked. They hadn¡¯t expected there to be such an incredible ability.

    ¡°Then in the future, even our memories won''t be reliable.¡± Jiang Luofu had a worried expression and a bit of fear in her eyes. This was just too frightening. She couldn¡¯t even know if what was in her own head was real or fake.

    ¡°Even though the Time Scribe¡¯s skills are very mysterious, it¡¯s not as if there are no weaknesses to it.¡± Zu An then exined the ws of the ability to them.

    They felt a bit more at ease after they listened to the exnation.

    ¡°Big brother Zu, you even know about this kind of profession and ability that we don¡¯t know about. What don''t you know in this world?¡± Suolun Shi couldn''t help but say with a sigh. Her eyes were filled with adoration.

    The others all nodded. Even Jiang Luofu was feeling a lot of admiration. In the past, Zu An had just been a boy she had to take care of in Brightmoon City. She hadn¡¯t expected him to be sorge and dependable.

    ¡°There are a lot of things that I don¡¯t know...¡± Zu An sighed. He thought about how Mi Li was often about to say something but hesitated in the end, as well as what the Necropolis Emperor had said back then. There were just too many mysteries.

    Everyone else was curious and wanted to ask more questions, but suddenly, a voice came from outside. ¡°At first, I was worried about the young master¡¯s safety, but the young master is already surrounded by beauties and is actually doing quite well.¡±

 Chapter 2334: A Deal

    <h4>Chapter 2334: A Deal</h4>

    ¡°It seems to be that princess from thest generation.¡± Pei Mianman had a strange smile as she said, ¡°You should hurry and go. Don¡¯t leave her waiting for too long.¡±

    The other women couldn''t help but smile. They all urged him to go. If it were any other woman who was so devoted to Zu An, perhaps they would feel some jealousy. But this Smay really was... a different kind of aesthetic. They hadplete trust in Zu An here.

    ¡°I greet the first miss.¡± Zu An bowed after exiting the cave.

    Smay seemed to have been lost in thought before she heard him. She gave him a look, and her eyes moved slightly. ¡°I thought you had been captured by the Monster Lord and interrogated, but you don¡¯t even have a single injury on your body.¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°Maybe I¡¯m the lucky sort.¡±

    ¡°That luck really is quite something.¡± Smay sized him up with a big smile. ¡°The Monster Lord is known for being temperamental. His mood has gotten even worse recently because of the front line¡¯s repeated defeats. After you killed his male pet, I thought I wouldn¡¯t be able to see you again.¡±

    Zu An frowned slightly. ¡°The first miss seems to be implying something...?¡±

    Smay stared straight into his eyes. ¡°Can I trust you?¡±

    ¡°What does the first miss mean?¡± Zu An responded in surprise. This Smay wasn¡¯t stupid. He keenly sensed that something was wrong.

    Smay put away her smile. A curved de suddenly appeared in her hand, aimed at his neck. She said fiercely, ¡°Speak! Have you already secretly sided with the Monster Lord?!¡±

    Even though she was fast, with Zu An¡¯s current cultivation, it wasn¡¯t too hard to avoid it. However, he stood in ce and let the de rest on his neck. ¡°If the first miss doesn¡¯t trust me, would a few words from me make you change your mind?¡±

    A hint of surprise appeared in Smay¡¯s eyes. She pulled the de back. ¡°If you had tried to say things with a guilty conscience, then you would already be dead.¡±

    Zu An chuckled and didn¡¯t bother arguing with her. ¡°Thank you for showing leniency, Smay.¡±

    Smay gave him a doubtful look. ¡°You really didn¡¯t sell me out?¡±

    ¡°First miss, please think about what kind of reaction the Monster Lord would have if he found out about our rtionship. Is there a need for me to take that risk?¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°That is true.¡± Smay nodded slightly. ¡°I trust that you aren¡¯t that stupid.¡±

    Zu An sighed in relief. Compared to the Monster Lord, Smay was still a bit inexperienced. On the other hand, just what was the Monster Lord trying to do? He knew everything Smay wanted to do, but he hadn¡¯t decided to get rid of her.

    ¡°First miss, you didn¡¯te here only to tell me these things, right?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°Of course not.¡± Smay had a slightly embarrassed look. ¡°Since you are still trustworthy, I need to ask you for some help.¡±

    ¡°What kind of help?¡± Judging from how she was hesitating, Zu An knew this wasn¡¯t going to be an easy job. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Smay hesitated for some time before finally saying, ¡°Help me save Uncle Mo.¡±

    ¡°What happened to Mojard?¡± Zu An asked, stunned.

    ¡°When we heard that something happened to you, I tasked Uncle Mo with finding a way to save you. However, his whereabouts were discovered, and the pce emissaries captured him. He is currently locked up in the pce,¡± Smay quickly said.

    ¡°That¡¯s quite the unbelievable lie,¡± Zu An said with a sneer. The interference of the Time Scribe had taken ce too quickly. He refused to believe that she had received information that quickly, and even less so that she would make Mojard go through such a huge risk to save him with their current rtionship.

    Smay¡¯s face heated up. ¡°The young master is smart, as expected. I really had no choice and said that out of desperation. I hope the young master can excuse that blunder.¡±

    ¡°What exactly is going on with Mojard?¡± Zu An naturally wouldn¡¯t criticize her over such a small matter.

    Smay now exined, ¡°Actually, strictly speaking, what I said wasn''t too far from the truth. The Green Iguana King and the Mad King were killed, so we needed to find another way to enter the treasury. Uncle Mo went to contact his old friends to see if they could help you enter the treasury and find those special materials you asked for. However, who would¡¯ve thought that he would be discovered by the pce emissaries? He was outnumbered and was arrested. He is currently locked up in the imperial prison.¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t even know what to say.

    <i>Even people like you want to go against the Monster Lord?</i>

    He thought for a bit before saying, ¡°I fear that the first miss has found the wrong person for this. What kind of superpower would I have that could save Mojard from the imperial prison?¡±

    He added inwardly, <i>You can¡¯t trust important matters to an immature child after all. It seems I have to find some other way to enter the treasury.</i>

    ¡°I naturally wouldn¡¯t make you do something so difficult. We don¡¯t need you to do anything like that; we only need you to find some way to draw the Monster Lord out of the pce. We will then have our own people infiltrate the imperial prison and save Uncle Mo.¡± Smay gave him a look. ¡°That Manager Pi he was so fond of was killed, yet he didn¡¯t even use any torture on you. It seems he trusts you quite a bit. I trust that you will definitely have a way.¡±

    She couldn''t figure out why the Monster Lord would let Donaire go either. She''d thought that Donaire had sold her out, but judging from their earlier conversation, that didn¡¯t seem to be the case. That meant the Monster Lord probably liked him.

    Manager Pi was dead, so the Monster Lord naturally needed a new male pet. Meanwhile, Donaire was smooth-skinned and famously handsome. He was much better looking than Manager Pi. The Monster Lord definitely wanted him. If Donaire used just a bit of a honey trap, he would be able to bring the Monster Lord out for a stroll. Of course, she considered his dignity and couldn''t speak those words out loud.

    Zu An felt that her expression was really weird, but he couldn''t figure out why. He harrumphed and replied, ¡°Why would I take such a huge risk to help you?¡±

    Smay cursed inwardly, thinking, <i>With your rtionship with the Monster Lord, what kind of risk would there be?</i> Of course, on the outside, she said, ¡°We¡¯ve already told you about the benefits you will receive by working with us. Besides, could it be that you are really okay with forever being... ahem, forever serving the Monster Lord?¡±

    She knew that Donaire was a famous yboy. He liked beautiful women, though, and definitely didn¡¯t want to be a second Manager Pi. It was just that the situation was greater than the person. She was giving him a chance to break free from thatsuffering!

    Zu An felt as if her words were a bit strange. He replied, ¡°That¡¯s it? That¡¯s not enough.¡±

    Smay clenched her teeth. ¡°Then what do you want?¡±

    When he heard her ask that, Zu An sized her up. He began to think to himself.

    Smay covered her chest and reflexively backed up. ¡°You''d better not have any thoughts about me! I already have someone I love.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>This woman seems to have a lot of confidence in herself!</i>

    ¡°I need these formation manuals, medicine manuals, and some special medicine...¡± Zu An spoke the names of some medicines. They were all things he''d been told about by Ji Xiaoxi. The True Demon race¡¯s medicine field was still limited, after all, so they were still missing a lot of ingredients. Ji Xiaoxi needed more ingredients and knowledge to aplish her goals.

    ¡°What do you need all of these things for?¡± Smay was confused. ¡°From what I know, the young masteres from a great formation family to begin with.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve been studying formations recently and have hit a bit of a bottleneck, so I¡¯m gathering as many resources as I can to see if I can make a breakthrough.¡± Zu An already had an exnation prepared. ¡°As for the medicine, my female servant is interested in it.¡±

    Smay couldn''t help but smile. ¡°The young master really does treat the fairer sex well. No wonder you acted so rashly to protect those women. Fine, I just happen to have some with me.¡±

    She swiftly took out a pile of jade strips and some storage pouches. ¡°These are the formation manuals and medicine manuals we have collected. Even though they carry good knowledge, they might not be of useto the young master. The moreplete collection is in the pce¡¯s warehouse. I will fulfill my promise of getting you inside.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, first miss. I will find a way to draw the Monster Lord out.¡± Zu An took everything without batting an eyelid.

    He''d actually already been prepared to help her from the very start. These things were just an unexpected bonus. He was just a visitor to this Monster World, after all, and had little to no help. He naturally wouldn¡¯t give up theserge cookies Smay was throwing at him.

    Smay¡¯s experts attacking the imperial prison would be a good opportunity; he could use that chance to enter the treasury. At the moment, the only problem was figuring out a way to lead the Monster Lord away.

 Chapter 2335: A Pillow Is Provided As Soon As Fatigue Hits

    <h4>Chapter 2335: A Pillow Is Provided As Soon As Fatigue Hits</h4>

    Smay couldn''t help but feel really happy when she heard him agree. ¡°Then I¡¯ll be waiting for your news.¡±

    ¡°But how do I contact you?¡± Zu An asked with curiosity.

    Smay thought for a moment, and then she handed him a jade pendant. She held up the other half of the pendant and said, ¡°Infuse your ki inside and I¡¯ll be able to sense it. I will thene to meet you.¡±

    ¡°Alright, wait for me to contact you.¡± Zu An put the pendant away.

    ¡°You need to hurry, or else I don¡¯t know what kind of torture Uncle Mo will go through. There might even be danger to his life.¡± Smay looked really worried.

    Zu An nodded. ¡°I need to think a bit about how to persuade the Monster King.¡±

    Smay voiced her understanding. ¡°That¡¯s alright; this isn¡¯t an easy matter. I won¡¯t disturb you any longer then. I¡¯m going to gather my subordinates, so I can initiate the rescue at any time.¡±

    After saying that, she bade him goodbye. Zu An returned to the cave dwelling and told the women what had just happened.

    ¡°This Lord of ughter¡¯s faction seems a bit too unreliable, right? They were actually captured so easily.¡± Jiang Luofu couldn''t help but feel a bit worried. ¡°Working with them might actually be very unfavorable for us.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I only intend to use their rescue of Mojard as a distraction so I can make a visit to the treasury,¡± Zu An said with a smile.

    Yun Yuqing asked in surprise, ¡°You¡¯re not going to wait for Smay¡¯s people to help you?¡±

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°cing my hopes on another seems a bit unwise. Seeing as there''s such a great chance right now, it seems a bit more reliable to seize the opportunity myself.¡±

    ¡°That is true.¡± Yun Yuqing nodded. ¡°Then have you thought of a way to lead the Monster Lord away yet?¡±

    ¡°Not yet, but I already have the beginnings of a n,¡± Zu An replied.

    Xie Daoyun couldn''t help but say with a sigh, ¡°I always feel as if things that seempletely impossible for us never seem to be that big of a deal to big brother Zu.¡±

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s merely a matter of habit. If you feel as if something is impossible, you''ll keep thinking of reasons for why it¡¯s impossible. But as long as you get rid of those distracting thoughts and decide that it is possible, you won¡¯t think about all of those failure scenarios and can instead focus on the matter at hand. That makes problems easier to solve.¡±

    The women all had pensive expressions on their faces. Jiang Luofu couldn''t help but give Zu An a second look.

    <i>Just how much blood, mes, and hardship did he go through to achieve this calm state of mind?</i>

    She had once viewed him as a young boy, but now, she felt more and more that he was a man full of charm.

    Pei Mianman picked up that jade pendant and said with an ambiguous smile, ¡°That Smay actually gave you a jade pendant. Does that mean she has the other half?¡±

    Zu An replied, ¡°That¡¯s right. Once I¡¯ve done what I need to do on our side, I¡¯ll send my ki into this pendant and she¡¯ll be able to sense it on her side. She''ll then immediately arrange to meet with me.¡±

    For the sake of safety, he''d set upyers of sound-blocking barriers around this jade pendant to guard against potential tricks Smay could y.

    ¡°Why does it sound like some kind of lovers'' keepsake?¡± Pei Mianman remarked with a teasing expression.

    The others all nodded as well. They also felt that this was a special item.

    Suolun Shi couldn''t help but quietly wonder, ¡°That first miss doesn¡¯t have any feelings for big brother Zu, does she?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s breath caught in his throat. Smay¡¯s face appeared in his mind, and he couldn''t help but shiver. He quickly said, ¡°You''re all overthinking things. She just wants me to contact her immediately so she can save Mojard.¡± Then, he took out the jade strips and medicinal ingredients, exining, ¡°These contain formation and medicine knowledge I got from Smay, as well as some special ingredients. We should use this chance to study them properly.¡±

    Xie Daoyun and Ji Xiaoxi both became really happy. One took the formation strips, while the other held the jade strips admiringly. This was precisely what they needed right now. With knowledge of these systems, everything would be much easier. Meanwhile, even though the others weren¡¯t good at formations or medicine, learning something was always good. They hoped they could be helpfulter.

    Zu An picked up the formation jade strips and was about to learn them when a pce emissary called out from outside. ¡°Donaire, I just received news from the lord, asking for you to visit the pce.¡±

    The women''s expressions changed. They all looked at Zu An with worry.

    ¡°Ah Zu, you just came from the pce, but they want you to go back so soon. Could it be because they discovered some unfavorable news?¡± Pei Mianman grabbed Zu An¡¯s hand nervously for fear that he would leave her.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. There has to be something wrong if he''s calling you back so urgently. In my opinion, you shouldn¡¯t go back anymore. Your luck was goodst time, but there¡¯s no way you''ll be that lucky a second time.¡± Jiang Luofu looked really worried.

    Zu An thought to himself for a moment, but then saidfortingly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It should be alright. If the Monster Lord really wanted to capture me, the pce emissary wouldn¡¯t be so polite.¡±

    Everyone else was stunned for a moment. They remembered that the pce emissaries had always been extremely fierce. They felt that what Zu An said made some sense. They couldn''t help but admire Zu An¡¯s way of thinking again. He was still able to notice that detail even in such a crucial situation!

    ¡°I just happen to need to lure the Monster Lord away too, so I can settle that problem with this trip.¡± Zu An told the women not to worry and to study the formations and medicines. Then, he got up and walked outside.

    ...

    Under the pce emissary¡¯s guidance, he quickly returned to the pce again. The Monster Lord was sitting on the elevated stage while teasing the three-headed bird next to him. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°I greet the lord!¡± Zu An saud respectfully.

    ¡°Do you know why I summoned you so quickly?¡± the Monster Lord asked.

    ¡°I do not. Please help me understand, my lord.¡± Zu An tried to gauge whether or not he could swiftly take out the other party at this distance. However, after thinking about it from several different angles, he found that the chance of sess was almost nonexistent.

    It would be one thing if it was just the Monster Lord. Even though he was stronger than Zu An, he wouldn¡¯t be expecting a sudden attack, which meant Zu An would have a chance. However, there was that powerful three-headed bird next to him. When they were together, beating them was almost impossible. This Monster Lord really was inseparable from his pet.

    ¡°Not too long ago, I caught Mojard. The two of us actually worked as fellow subjects in the same pce in the past. It is a pity that he showed no understanding of the times and wouldn¡¯t yield to the mandate of heaven. In the end, he chose to make me his enemy.¡± The Monster Lord couldn''t help but sneer when he recalled the past.

    Zu An was speechless. He wondered why the Monster Lord was telling him these things.

    The Monster Lord continued, ¡°Right, the pce emissaries found out that Smay¡¯s subordinates are currently gathering in secret. They must be trying to save Mojard.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Smay is extremely panicked. How about we use this chance to catch all of them in one go?¡± Zu An suggested. He knew well that a leader would only listen to the suggestions of his true trusted aides and be extremely guarded against the advice of anyone he didn¡¯t trust. They would subconsciously suspect that there were some problems with advice from thetter and definitely wouldn¡¯t listen.

    Sure enough, the Monster Lord replied with a sneer, ¡°Who said I wanted to capture them all?¡±

    ¡°But this is such a rare opportunity...¡±

    Zu An was interrupted before he could even finish his sentence. The Monster Lord said, ¡°The reason I called you here was to talk about this matter. Find a way to help Smay save Mojard.¡±

    Zu An was shocked. ¡°Why is that?¡±

    ¡°It is just too easy for me to catch Smay. The reason I haven¡¯t done anything is naturally because I have my own ns. You don¡¯t need to concern yourself with that.¡± The Monster Lord continued, ¡°You will help her rescue Mojard and see if you can fully gain her trust that way.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s mind moved quickly. The Monster Lord was clearly going through such great trouble to obtain something from Smay. But just what could an impoverished first miss like her possibly have that was worth all of this?

    ¡°What, is there a problem?¡± When he saw Zu An be quiet, the Monster Lord sounded a bit unhappy.

    ¡°I was just wondering how I can help her without drawing her suspicion.¡± Zu An pretended to think a bit before saying, ¡°May I be so bold as to invite the lord to leave the pce for some time?¡±

 Chapter 2336: Secrets of Spatial Distortion

    <h4>Chapter 2336: Secrets of Spatial Distortion</h4>

    ¡°Leave the pce?¡± The Monster Lord frowned.

    Zu An exined, ¡°If the lord stays in the pce, there just doesn¡¯t seem to be any opportunity for me to help Smay save Mojard. Even if they did save Mojard, Smay and Mojard would definitely suspect that it was the lord deliberately letting them leave, and then they would suspect me too. But if the lord just didn¡¯t happen to be in the pce when they saved Mojard, it would make much more sense.¡±

    The Monster Lord grinned. ¡°That¡¯s right. You¡¯ve thought things through quite thoroughly. Then when do you think I should leave?¡±

    Zu An thought for a bit. ¡°How about the evening two days from now?¡± n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The Monster Lord nodded. ¡°A good choice. That way, it won¡¯t be too slow, nor will it be so fast that it draws Smay¡¯s suspicion. Then, let''s go with the evening two days from now.¡±

    ¡°I wish to thank the lord for helping me seed.¡± Zu An then asked to test the waters, ¡°I wonder what the lord wants me to do after gaining Smay¡¯s trust?¡±

    ¡°I already said you were to help them save the Lord of ughter. As for whates after, I will tell you when the timees,¡± the Monster Lord said indifferently.

    ¡°Understood!¡± Zu An replied. He was getting even more confused now, but he couldn''t show it.

    ...

    When he returned to the cave dwelling, the women all sighed in relief. ¡°Ah Zu is brilliant after all! You were able to return safely.¡±

    ¡°It was just through a fluke. I still haven¡¯t figured out what the Monster Lord is really nning, and that makes me a bit uneasy.¡± There wasn¡¯t a trace of pride on Zu An¡¯s face.

    Yun Yuqing said in confusion, ¡°If the Monster Lord and Smay both trust you, they should be able to easilyplete this task together. Isn¡¯t that a good thing?¡±

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s just a facade. If we don¡¯t know what the Monster Lord is plotting, and he decides to move his n forward all of a sudden, it will be nearly impossible to make aeback then.¡±

    Pei Mianman remarked, ¡°Ah Zu, aren¡¯t you worrying a bit too much? There¡¯s not enough information right now, so it¡¯s not surprising at all that we can¡¯t figure this out. Besides, you''re currently also the True Demon race¡¯s young master. The Monster Lord¡¯s enemies are definitely the Lord of ughter, Smay, and the Annihtion Beast. Why would he pay that much attention to you? This will only make you even safer.¡±

    Jiang Luofu also chimed in. ¡°That¡¯s right. Your Myriad Transformations skill is just too incredible; we can¡¯t even see any ws in it. How could the Monster Lord notice anything? You¡¯ve been too tense recently and need to rest for a bit. You shouldn¡¯t be so nervous.¡±

    ¡°I hope that''s the case.¡± Indeed, Zu An felt he had been way too nervous recently. If he continued this way for too long, that would be too taxing. His thoughts would easily be sluggish.

    Ji Xiaoxi offered, ¡°Big brother Zu, why don¡¯t I give you a head massage?¡±

    As she spoke, she moved behind Zu An. Her slender and fine fingers rubbed his temples. She was an amazing doctor to begin with, and she cared a lot about Zu An, so she naturally poured in a hundred and twenty percent effort. Her finger glowed with a faint white light, and Zu An suddenly felt a cool sensation spread out from his head. His fatigue decreased considerably.

    When Yun Yuqing saw that, she made a note to ask Xiaoxi to teach her the techniqueter. Then, she would help Zu An do this in private.

    Pei Mianman¡¯s face reddened. If it were just the two of them, she could let Ah Zu lie in front of her breasts.

    <i>He likes being massaged like that the most.</i>

    But right now, only Xiaoxi could be this intimate with him without looking strange.

    <i>This is so frustrating!</i>

    Her eyes shifted to Ji XIaoxi¡¯s chest, which seemed unremarkablepared to her own. Only then did she feel a bit better. But she immediately felt ashamed that she had such thoughts...

    Xie Daoyun gave Ji Xiaoxi an envious look. She and her big brother Zu had clearly experienced a lot together and even kissed, and yet she''d always just felt as if there was onest barrier she couldn''t break down. It was really hard for them to act as natural together as Xiaoxi did with him.

    Meanwhile, Suolun Shi had already managed to collect her thoughts. These other women all had a special rtionship with her big brother Zu, while the two of them were just friends who were a bit closer than usual.

    She sighed, and her thoughts returned to the topic at hand. ¡°Big brother Zu, is it time for you to contact Smay?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no rush. She''ll definitely be suspicious if I tell her that I¡¯ve already dealt with the Monster King. We¡¯ll have her wait two days,¡± Zu An said with a calm expression. However, he quickly opened his eyes and asked the women, ¡°How far have you gone in the study of the jade strips?¡±

    Pei Mianman felt a bit depressed as she said, ¡°It¡¯s like reading the edicts of heaven. Only Daoyun and Xiaoxi can understand them.¡±

    Jiang Luofu was also a bit dejected. She was quite proud of the number of books she had read, but the formation knowledge of this world was just too profound, and she really couldn''t figure it out. As for medicine, she didn¡¯t know the various ingredients, so looking at that was aplete waste of time.

    Ji Xiaoxi said excitedly, ¡°With such aprehensive set of manuals, I believe I can produce a poison that can defeat the monsters of this world soon!¡±

    Zu An smiled. He gave her delicate cheeks a pinch. ¡°Xiaoxi is really awesome.¡±

    Meanwhile, Xie Daoyun said quietly, ¡°There are actually many areas I don¡¯t understand. No, I should say that I¡¯ve understood almost none of it. The formations that are recorded here are entirely different from what I¡¯ve learned. If it wasn¡¯t for my intuition telling me that this was an extremely profound text, I would even wonder if Smay was messing with you.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Let me take a look then.¡± Zu An was a bit surprised. After all, Xie Daoyun¡¯s knowledge of formations was already extremely amazing. He had even passed on the formation knowledge from the Baopu Sutra before, so she should have already surpassed even him. After all, she specialized in this field to begin with, while he had many different things to learn.

    As he spoke, he picked up the formation jade strips from Xie Daoyun¡¯s hands. He tested out his Skill System, but then he was immediately frightened when he saw the string of 0s needed to learn the knowledge contained within.

    <i>This formation knowledge actually needed such a ridiculous amount of Rage points?</i>

    He quickly gave up on using the Skill System to learn it. The Monster Lord¡¯s ns were still unknown, so he had to use his Rage points more sparingly. If he tried to understand the information himself and develop a foundation before using the Skill System, the amount of Rage points needed swould be greatly reduced.

    Of course, he was more curious as to just what kinds of formations these were for them to require so many Rage points, and for not even Xie Daoyun to be able to understand them. His divine sense entered the jade strips, and formation knowledge entered his mind.

    Secrets of Spatial Distortion!

    This sounded exactly like the spatial transportation formation they needed the most right now.

    At first, he hadn¡¯t held high hopes, since Smay had said that the best formation texts were in the pce treasury. He''d assumed that she only had some leftover books from her father¡¯s reign. But when he saw the contents, Zu An immediately became serious.

    Perhaps it was because Smay didn¡¯t really understand the contents, but the formation texts in the pce treasury likely couldn''t evenpare to this book. The formation theory that was contained within didn¡¯t seem to be any inferior to that of the Baopu Sutra. More importantly, it exined spatial formations from a different perspective.

    Normal spatial formation theories were formed from the basic runes - horizontal, left diagonal, vertical,rger dot, smaller dot, line, surface, and so on. However, this Secrets of Spatial Distortion suggested that even though most people saw things in terms of the passage of time, perhaps time was merely a concept people had added on themselves. If time didn¡¯t exist, things within the universe wouldn¡¯t move ording to the passage of time, but rather had to be seen through a different perspective. Adopting that perspective would allow one to see a different world.

    However, the two worlds actually formed an integrated whole. It all depended on which criteria one used to observe things. Each perspective contained its own unique information, so both of them had their own good points. Judging from what the ¡®Secrets of Spatial Distortion¡¯ said, even though the exnation was quite abstract, it would create an exceptional advantage if these theories were applied to spatial formations.

    Zu An found this more and more familiar the more he read. Why did this all feel a bit simr to the Fourier transform he had learned in college? If he used frequency as the horizontal axis, the same target¡¯s projection would be a more concise frequency domain...

    This Secrets of Spatial Distortion was none other than another way of describing this world. Even thoughparing ot with the Fourier transform wasn¡¯t too urate, as the various details were entirely different, the fundamental principles carried simrities...

    With that as the foundation, Zu An was able to understand things much easier. Otherwise, it would¡¯ve been too abstract.

    When she saw how Zu An was sometimes focused and other times amazed, Xie Daoyun became extremely excited. ¡°Big brother Zu, you can actually understand it?¡±

    When she saw the others'' weird looks, Xie Daoyun¡¯s face reddened. She quickly said, ¡°That¡¯s... I didn''t mean it that way.¡±

    She felt extremely annoyed.

    <i>The way I spoke really made it sound as if I was looking down on big brother Zu.</i>

    As Zu An carefully read through the contents, he developed a rough understanding of the fundamentals of the Secrets of Spatial Distortion. The Skill System thus stated that he only needed 100,000 Rage points to fully understand it.

    He sighed in relief and said, ¡°Come to my room tonight. I¡¯ll teach it to you.¡±

    When they heard what he said, the women immediately widened their eyes in disbelief.

 Chapter 2337: A Momentary Impulse

    <h4>Chapter 2337: A Momentary Impulse</h4>

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s face was bright red. She snuck a look at Pei Mianman and Yun Jianyue before saying quietly, ¡°That¡¯s not too good, ris it...¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s not good about it?¡± Zu An asked in confusion. ¡°The situation is too urgent, and we can''t waste any time. Don¡¯t sleep tonight.¡±

    When she saw that his expression waspletely clear, Xie Daoyun knew she was overthinking things. She quickly replied, ¡°Okay.¡±

    The others all had grins on their faces. All of their thoughts had gone in the wrong direction.

    Pei Mianman felt a bit sorry for Zu An. ¡°Ah Zu, you haven¡¯t gotten any sleep as ofte. Won¡¯t there be problems if this continues?¡±

    Even though high-level cultivators would still be fine if they didn¡¯t sleep, their condition still wouldn¡¯t be as good as if they got proper rest.

    Zu An chuckled and said, ¡°I slept a bit on the way back from the medicine field. It¡¯s fine.¡±

    He couldn''t help but give Jiang Luofu a look.

    <i>That feeling was really awesome...</i>

    Jiang Luofu¡¯s face became a bit red.

    <i>What is this kid looking at my thighs for?</i>

    Pei Mianman knew he probably couldn''t afford to rest. She sighed inwardly and didn¡¯t continue trying to persuade him.

    They women all returned to their own rooms to cultivate, research medicine, or do some other things. Meanwhile, Zu An took Xie Daoyun to his own room.

    When she heard him close the door behind them, Xie Daoyun was a bit surprised. Even though she knew big brother Zu didn¡¯t have any other intentions and that she was here to learn the Secrets of Spatial Distortion, being alone with a man still made her really nervous. It wasn¡¯t because she was worried that he would do anything improper, but rather that she felt an indescribable sense of shyness and even expectation.

    Even though he had already been here for a few days, this was the first time Zu An had been inside Donaire¡¯s own room. He wanted to find a desk for Xie Daoyun to sit down at so he could teach her properly, but there was nothing of the sort in the room.

    There was only a bed; it was extremelyrge, taking up more than half of the entire room by itself. More importantly, it was surrounded by pink curtains. There was a faint, sweet fragranceing out of them that added a kind of ambiguous atmosphere.

    When she saw that, Xie Daoyun¡¯s face became entirely red. The usually calm and collected Zu An also became a bit embarrassed.

    ¡°About that... I didn¡¯t know that there would only be a bed in here. How about we go outside again?¡± Zu An suggested. He really felt as if he hadmitted social suicide. No wonder the women had all had strange expressions when he suggested for her toe to his room. So they all knew what the rooms were like!

    <i>This Donaire really was a famous yboy. Just what the heck was he doing everyday?</i>

    <i>This bed is so big that all of the women he came here with would have room to sleep together!</i>

    When she saw this rare instance of Zu An being left at a loss, the nervous Xie Daoyun giggled. ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. Learning this kind of high-level knowledge requires a clear mind. The worst thing is being disturbed by others, so it¡¯ll be better if our surroundings are a bit quieter.¡± n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    She felt it would be really hard for her to calm down outside where those sisters coulde out at any time to take a look.

    Zu An didn¡¯t bother trying to persuade her and said, ¡°Then let¡¯s go to the bed.¡±

    They could only sit on the bed. There was nowhere else to go.

    When she heard those words, Xie Daoyun was rmed. As a youngdy, she felt really shy, but also a bit happy. She even recalled what her little brother had told her. She was a bit hesitant.

    <i>Should I be a bit more proactiveter when we''re on the bed together...</i>

    <i>Ah! No way, no way, that¡¯s way too embarrassing!</i>

    <i>Maybe if big brother Zu does something, I... I¡¯ll just silently allow it.</i>

    ¡°Hurry over here. This Donaire really knows how to enjoy himself. This bed was designed to be quitefortable.¡± Zu An had to admit that Donaire knew how to have fun. This bed had many small formation mechanisms within. Some parts could be moved up to make it a couch, and there were even massage functions. It was just like the clubhouses of his previous world.

    When she heard him, Xie Daoyun took off her shoes in embarrassment. She carefully sat at the end of the bed and did her best to hide her feet in her dress. For a carefully-raised daughter of a great n like her, taking off her shoes in front of a man was about the same as taking off her clothes.

    <i>But big brother Zu is normally quite open-minded, so he probably doesn¡¯t know about these things...</i>

    When he saw how ill at ease she was, Zu An couldn''t help but smile. He waved toward her. ¡°Come a bit closer. Why are you sitting so far away?¡±

    Xie Daoyun bit her lip. In the end, she carefully nudged her way over.

    ¡°This bed seems to have a massage function. This Donaire was a formation genius, but most of it seemed to be used for his own pleasure,¡± Zu An said as he helped her raise a portion for her to lean against. He also began to exin the function of these formations. ¡°Everyone has been tired as ofte. This is a great chance to use a treatment formation while researching the Secrets of Spatial Distortion.¡±

    Xie Daoyun nodded slightly. She was also a bit curious about these formations now. She figured she could make simr things once shepletely learned them.

    ¡°Hm? What is this formation?¡± She saw a strange formation knob and was a bit confused. With her knowledge of formations, she actually couldn''t figure out what it was. Out of curiosity, she gently pressed it. This was Donaire''s bed, anyway. There was no way he would have anything dangerous here.

    But as soon as she pressed it, she suddenly felt a powerful force pushing her from behind. She cried out in surprise as she was flung out,nding straight into Zu An¡¯s arms. The two of them were now staring right at each other.

    Zu An and Xie Daoyun were both speechless.

    Xie Daoyun reflexively looked up just in time to see Zu An look down at her. Their eyes met. Xie Daoyun was so nervous that her toes were practically about to dig open a three bedroom apartment in the bed.

    When she felt his sturdy chest and warm embrace, Xie Daoyun¡¯s face immediately turned red. Her youngdy instincts made her reflexively get up. ¡°I wasn¡¯t doing it on purpose...¡±

    But just as she was halfway to her feet, she felt another pushing force sending her right back into Zu An¡¯s arms. Xie Daoyun was humiliated and found herself panicking. She tried several times, but that force always sent her right back. The two of them moving around intensely again and again actually made it worse.

    Xie Daoyun was stunned. As she felt their bodies continue to rub against each other, her heart started beating like crazy. But right now, she felt more embarrassment than anything else. She was scared that he would think she was throwing herself at him on purpose.

    When he saw that tears were about to pour out of her eyes, Zu An quickly tapped the air. That tap released a force that pressed down on the formation she''d just activated. Only then did that force pushing against her gradually stop.

    Xie Daoyun finally sat up. She continued to wipe her tears alone.

    ¡°That Donaire really is a scoundrel. Just what kind of random functions did he end up installing?¡± Zu An muttered; he could already tell that this was a pleasure bed.

    Xie Daoyun suddenly wiped away all of her tears and took a deep breath. ¡°Big brother Zu, why don¡¯t you start teaching me the Secrets of Spatial Distortion?¡±

    Zu An gave her a confused look. He''d thought he would need to coax her a bit, but she had already regainedposure rather quickly.

    Xie Daoyun seemed to have noticed his confusion and said, ¡°I lost myposure right now. We''re currently in such a dangerous situation, so how could I waste big brother Zu¡¯s time over such a small matter?¡±

    Zu An was inwardly amazed.

    <i>Little sister Ling¡¯er is good at understanding others, as expected.</i>

    Heposed himself too. He took out the Secrets of Spatial Distortion and began to teach her.

    At first, Xie Daoyun was a bit embarrassed, since they were so close and she could feel his masculine energy. But she was soon enamored by the contents of the jade strips. ¡°So that was it...¡±

    She really admired the one who had written this Secrets of Spatial Distortion. She felt even more admiration toward her big brother Zu for understanding such abstract concepts so quickly. She''d thought that she was already a genius in the field of formations, butpared to big brother Zu, she was like a firefly¡¯s lightpared to the bright moon.

    One taught earnestly, while one studied earnestly, often suggesting some constructive opinions too. The two got more and more immersed. At first, they still maintained some distance for courtesy, but eventually, their shoulders were almost touching and their bodies drew closer and closer.

    At one point, when they were discussing a certain formation rune, their heads almost touched. The two suddenly noticed that and turned to look at each other. They noticed that they were really close, to the point that they could feel the other''s breath.

    Zu An was used to seeing beautiful women, but when he saw her pure and beautiful features, he was still left a bit absent-minded. The schrly aura she carried was even more enchanting.

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s face became bright red from looking at Zu An so closely.When she looked at that handsome face she yearned for day and night, her little brother¡¯s words suddenly appeared in her mind.

    Her head suddenly went nk. She bit her lip, and then felt an urge that she couldn''t resist welling up within her. She moved up on her own to kiss him.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes immediately went wide. He had never expected such a usually reserved and gentle young woman to do something so daring!

 Chapter 2338: Fruition

    <h4>Chapter 2338: Fruition</h4>

    When she kissed him, Xie Daoyun felt as if electricity coursed through her entire body. She suddenly regained her rationality.

    <i>Just what am I doing?!</i>

    Xie Daoyun was really nervous. She didn¡¯t know how to exin this. Was she supposed to tell him that she''d ended up being possessed by something and actually listened to Xie Xiu¡¯s urging?

    <i>It¡¯s all that damn brat¡¯s fault. I don¡¯t even know how to go on living now...</i>

    ¡°Big brother Zu, I... I didn¡¯t do it on pur...¡± she said, all sorts of chaotic thoughts running through her mind as she drew back in rm.

    Before she could even finish her sentence, however, a pair of strong arms wrapped around her wrist, and she entered Zu An''s arms. Then, a pair of hot lips pressed against hers. An explosion went off in her head, and all of her other words disappeared.

    At first, her entire body was stiff, and she didn¡¯t even know where to ce her hands. But as he kissed her, her body also gradually softened. With a moan, she leaned herselfpletely against her lover.

    Zu An wasn¡¯t aplete blockhead. How could he not be moved, seeing how the beauty in his arms had been acting? He had actually already noticed her feelings a long time ago, but he owed too much emotional debts, and hadn¡¯t wanted to take advantage of more women. But Xie Daoyun had actually remained devoted to him, eventually firmly expressing her own love.

    Zu An had always felt a bit of guilt whenever he looked into her deeply emotional eyes. After her bold move, if he didn¡¯t do anything else, he would havepletely crushed this graceful youngdy¡¯s heart.

    Xie Daoyun was a bit embarrassed at first, but she quickly noticed Zu An¡¯s zing feelings. Tears couldn''t help but appear in the corners of her eyes out of excitement. She had always been worried about how things would turn out, but now, all of it had worked out in the end. She couldn''t endure her urge to cry anymore.

    ¡°Why are you suddenly crying?¡± Zu An immediately panicked. What he hated the most was seeing women cry. He quickly helped her wipe her tears.

    Xie Daoyun recalled all the ways she had felt wronged as ofte when she saw her lover¡¯s nervous expression, but how could she still talk about any of it? Her tears flowed as if a dam had burst.

    Zu An quickly helped her wipe them away while saying, ¡°It¡¯s all my fault that little sister Ling¡¯er ended up bing so broken-hearted.¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Xie Daoyun shook her head. She looked at her lover¡¯s familiar face with infatuation. ¡°Big brother Zu, you are the best person in the world.¡±

    These simple and pure words of endearment were just that alluring. Zu An could no longer hold himself back and kissed her again.

    Xie Daoyun turned her head a bit in embarrassment, but she was worried that her lover would misunderstand and think she didn¡¯t want it. After a bit of hesitation, she kissed him again. She hugged her lover nervously, responding to him in a gentle and underripe manner.

    After an unknown amount of time passed, Xie Daoyun could vaguely sense Zu An''s hand reaching into her clothes. Her face becamepletely red. She panicked a bit. She had only nned to kiss, but wasn¡¯t this a bit too fast...

    However, that thought passed in an instant. As a youngdy who was in the snare of love, she could no longer refuse. She really wanted to give everything she had to her lover. Her clothes scattered across the bed like a butterfly, revealing her delicate and moving figure. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    However, Xie Daoyun¡¯s eyshes trembled slightly, and she cried out in surprise. She pointed at the ceiling. ¡°Big brother Zu, hurry and look over there!¡±

    Zu An turned around and saw a mirror. It was clearly reflecting the scene on the bed. It wasn¡¯t just the ceiling, either. There were mirrors everywhere around them that reflected every angle.

    He muttered with a strange expression. ¡°That Donaire really did research some perverse methods...¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s so embarrassing...¡± Xie Daoyun felt anxious; it was as if Zu An was an emperor watching from above as his lovers doted on him.

    Zu An kissed her on the cheek. ¡°It¡¯s fine; they''re just some mirrors. This is probably just some stuff Donaire made out of boredom.¡±

    Xie Daoyun was a bit embarrassed. ¡°Will someone else see?¡±

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°They¡¯re just normal mirrors. There aren¡¯t any formations or runes. No one will be able to see apart from us.¡±

    ¡°But...¡± Xie Daoyun was about to say something else when a pair of hot lips pressed against hers again. Her body trembled, because the embarrassment she felt from the mirrors was quickly reced by the passion of the heated kissing. When she sensed her lover¡¯s gentleness, shepletely lowered her guard. She hugged her lover tightly and lovingly.

    Soon, her lover practically became one with her, causing sparkling droplets to appear at the corners of her eyes. She felt a sweet pain, as well as tremendous happiness.

    She and her big brother Zu had finally reached this point... Even though Xie Daoyun was in pain, she felt really war, inside. But when she inadvertently saw the scenes in the mirror, and how her lover continued to upy her again and again, she became really embarrassed.

    Zu An was stunned. He didn¡¯t know why her body had suddenly started shaking so intensely. But he immediately understood when he followed her line of sight.

    <i>This damn Donaire really is something. I might have to make a few of these beds myselfter.</i>

    ...

    After a long time had passed, Xie Daoyun ended up curled up in her lover¡¯s arms like a kitten. She felt more blessed than she had ever felt in her entire life. But she suddenly thought of something and got up in rm, exposing her enchanting snow-white skin. ¡°Oh no! I still haven¡¯t learned the Secrets of Spatial Distortion yet!¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°Aren¡¯t you just too good of a student? You¡¯re still thinking about that at a time like this?¡±

    ¡°Of course! Time is precious, so I can¡¯t waste it. Moreover...¡± Xie Daoyun suddenly closed her mouth. She hade here to learn formation secrets, and all the others had seen her enter. If she didn¡¯t learn anything after a night of studying, how was she supposed to exin that to them?

    ¡°Moreover, what?¡± Zu An waited for the following words impatiently.

    ¡°Nothing.¡± Xie Daoyun¡¯s face became a bit red. She quickly said in yful protest, ¡°Big brother Zu, hurry and teach me already.¡±

    Zu An had never seen such a lovable side of hers. He immediately felt full of affection as he said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll teach you.¡±

    Xie Daoyun took the jade strips from him happily andy down on the bed. She pointed at a word on the jade strip and asked, ¡°Big brother Zu, what does this mean... Ah, what are you doing?¡±

    Zu An wrapped himself around her and kissed her ear with a big smile. ¡°I''m going to personally demonstrate to you how to make a space bigger.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re so annoying~¡± Xie Daoyun¡¯s skin turned as pink as a boiled shrimp. But she was worried that her lover would be ufortable, so she subconsciously moved her lower body a bit to coordinate with him.

    Thus, the two studied while ying with each other in this world of their own.

    ...

    The next morning, Zu An was roused awake by Xie Daoyun early in the morning. She just felt a bit guilty and didn¡¯t dare to sleep with him for too long.

    Zu An couldn''t help but give her a tap on the nose. ¡°Why do you need to be so sneaky about it? I¡¯ll just tell them all about itter.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want that!¡± Xie Daoyun eximed, panicking. ¡°I clearly said that I came here to learn about spatial formations, and yet I ended up... if they find out, how will they see me then?¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t sleep all night, and you''ve already learned seventy to eighty-two percent of it. What are you scared of?¡± Zu An replied with a smile.

    ¡°Ah, just don¡¯t talk about it yet. I¡¯ll find a way to tell my big sisterster.¡± Xie Daoyun grabbed his hand with a pleading look in her eyes.

    Zu An really couldn''t figure out what she was thinking. But when he saw that she cared this much about it, he could only agree.

    By the time the two left the room, the other women had already been waiting for a long time. It was obvious that none of them had been in the mood to sleep. They asked, ¡°Miss Xie, why did youe out so quickly?¡±

    Xie Daoyun¡¯s face reddened. ¡°I already pretty much learned it, so I came out.¡±

    ¡°Big sister Xie really is a genius!¡± Ji Xiaoxi eximed, looking starry-eyed. The others were also full of admiration. Something like this, which was like reading a heavenly edict, could actually be learned overnight?

    As for Zu An learning it even faster, they subconsciously overlooked that. That guy couldn''t be evaluated from the viewpoint of a normal person.

    Yun Yuqing noticed something about Xie Daoyun and asked out of concern, ¡°Why is miss Xie so tired?¡±

    ¡°She might have used up too much of her mental strength,¡± Pei Mianman exined considerately.

    Suolun Shi suddenly eximed, ¡°Hm? Miss Xie, why are your lips a bit swollen?¡±

 Chapter 2340: Unforeseen Event

    <h4>Chapter 2340: Unforeseen Event</h4>

    Zu An took the women around the pce. They were always able to avoid the patrolling guards ahead of time. The Monster Lord wasn¡¯t here, so he could use his divine sense freely like a radar. Of course, that was also thanks to Smay¡¯s attack on the Imperial Prison drawing most of the guards¡¯ attention. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t be able to find so many holes in the security to slip through.

    They quickly arrived at the storehouse. Zu An put on a set of pce emissary clothes he had prepared beforehand, and the women put on pce guard clothes. They then strutted straight inside.

    ¡°Halt!¡± Some guards quickly noticed them. The leader moved his hand to his weapon and looked at Zu An vigntly. However, when he saw the pce emissary clothes, he sighed in relief.

    ¡°The lord had mee and fetch some things,¡± Zu An said while secretly observing the guards¡¯ positions.

    The leader sheathed his weapon. He gestured with one hand hand. ¡°Please show us the lord¡¯s seal.¡±

    He took out half of a seal, clearly intending to verify Zu An¡¯s identity on the spot.

    Zu An noticed that the seal was shaped a bit like a tiger talisman. It was clear that the other half bestowed by the Monster Lord was also needed for them to open up the treasury.

    <i>I miscalcted. Smay¡¯s intelligence didn¡¯t include this information before. I wonder if they did it on purpose or if they really didn¡¯t know.</i>

    The women were worried, but Zu An reacted quickly. He reached into his pocket to pretend that he was taking out his seal. The leader reflexively nced in that direction, but just then, Zu An suddenly struck. The leader was caught off guard and had all of his acupoints restrained before he could react.

    The leader wasn¡¯t weak, but against someone with Zu An¡¯s current cultivation, what could he do against a surprise attack? He lost all strength as his de was only half-drawn. The women also attacked the other guards at the same time. Of course, they were already among the strongest of the Cultivation World. They had been preparing for situations like this, so they also immediately managed to seize control of the situation.

    ¡°You aren¡¯t a pce emissary! Who are you really?¡± The leader had a look of horror.

    Zu An said in a serious tone, ¡°Who I am is not important. Open the storeroom.¡±

    A wave of ki entered the leader''s body and stabbed at every single acupoint like a million needles. He screamed in pain, but hissed, ¡°It¡¯s useless even if you kill me. Only when the two seals arebined can this storeroom be opened.¡±

    Zu An had already prepared a soundproofing barrier to stop the screams. He frowned when he heard that, though. The situation was a bit tricky.

    Xie Daoyun had already taken the leader''s half of the seal and walked up to the door. She stared at a concave recess in it and said, ¡°He is most likely telling the truth. These doors operate based on an extremely intricate formation. They will only open when theplete seal is inserted here.¡±

    ¡°Will brute force work?¡± Yun Yuqing asked.

    Xie Daoyun shook her head. ¡°No. Also, forget about the fact that this door is made of a special material, making it as imprable as a mountain, the runes on the door also contain powerful offensive formations. Using brute force would produce devastating retaliation in return, and the disturbance alone would draw the attention of the pce¡¯s guards.¡±

    ¡°Then what do we do?¡± Yun Yuqing was incredibly nervous. She knew they didn¡¯t have that much time. If they were stopped over here, everything would be ruined at thest step.

    ¡°It¡¯s a pity that we don¡¯t know the other half of the runes. Otherwise, we could make one on the spot," Xie Daoyun said.

    This seal¡¯s most important part was the runes engraved on it. With Zu An and Xie Daoyun¡¯s knowledge of formations, they could deduce the other half of the runes. However, that would take some time, and by the time they found the solution, the guards would probably rush over, making their effortspletely meaningless.

    Just then, Jiang Luofu suddenly said, ¡°Let me give it a try.¡±

    Xie Daoyun couldn''t help but give her a look. Even though Jiang Luofu was well-learned, she didn¡¯t seem to have ever heard of thetter having much formation knowledge. And even if she was good at it, how could she be better than big brother Zu?

    Zu An knew that Jiang Luofu wasn¡¯t the type to try something without already having something in mind. He handed the seal to her.

    Jiang Luofu took out a scale-shaped magical artifact. Zu An had seen it before; it seemed to represent the fairness of thew. She had taken it out to fight when the Jiang n was in danger. She ced the seal on one side, and her hands formed several seals. She disyed some techniques quickly, and streaks of light shone on the scale. Suddenly, a holographic image of the other half of the seal actually appeared!

    Zu An and Xie Daoyun were shocked. The tiger talisman¡¯s runes were clearly visible. With their knowledge of formations, they immediately knew that the image was of the other half.

    ¡°How did you...¡± The two of them had never thought her scale could have such an ability!

    ¡°Don¡¯t waste any time. I can¡¯t hold on for that long,¡± Jiang Luofu said quickly.

    Zu An and Xie Daoyun collected their thoughts and carefully studied the patterns on the seal. They quickly memorized it. Then, Zu An took out a piece of jade. His fingers moved like the wind, quickly carving on the surface.

    ...

    Meanwhile, the Monster Lord had been reclining leisurely while sipping on blood wine. Suddenly, his expression changed. He took out the seal at his waist and sensed burning heating from its surface. His expression changed. ¡°Who dares to try to imitate my seal?!¡± He pressed down on the seal to cut the connection.

    ¡°We¡¯re going back to the pce immediately!¡± he snapped, all thoughts of leisurepletely leaving his mind. He quickly got up and walked out.

    ¡°But Smay¡¯s group is currently attacking the pce. Wouldn¡¯t our previous n be ruined if we returned now?¡± a pce emissary asked.

    ¡°Hmph, the things in the treasury are far more important than Smay. I want to see just who dares to sneak into my treasury like a rat!¡± As he spoje, the Monster Lord got on the three-headed bird¡¯s back and rushed into the air toward the pce.

    The pce emissaries quickly followed behind him, but they couldn''t keep up with the Monster Lord at all.

    ...

    <i>Spurt!</i>

    Jiang Luofu suddenly vomited blood outside the pce gate.

    ¡°Little aunt!¡± Ji Xiaoxi was startled and quickly took out a pill to feed her. However, Jiang Luofu''s eyes remained closed and her beautiful face had a sickly pale cast. Ji Xiaoxi couldn''t hold onto her properly and she fell straight to the ground.

    Fortunately, Zu An moved quickly and caught Jiang Luofu. He checked her pulse and quickly sensed that a dangerous power seemed to be spreading through her entire body. He quickly used the Heaven Devouring Sutra; his palm became like a ck hole that sucked away all of that power.

    Jiang Luofu then gradually woke up. When she saw that she was in Zu An¡¯s arms, she was a bit stunned. However, she quickly said anxiously, ¡°Hurry! We seem to have been noticed by the Monster Lord!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve already severed his tracking energy. Even if hees back, he won¡¯t be able to find out that it was you.¡± Zu An felt really d that he was able to do this. The Monster Lord was really a bit too strong, and was actually able to track Jiang Luofu with so much distance between them! It was only thanks to his Heaven Devouring Sutra mixed with the Kun Peng''s absorption force that he was able to stop the process, or else there really wouldn¡¯t have been anything he could do about that dangerous power.

    ¡°But he will definitely know that there¡¯s something wrong with the storeroom...¡± Jiang Luofu was still worried.

    ¡°That''s why things can only depend on who''s faster now.¡± Zu An¡¯s expression was grave. He handed her to Pei Mianman, then moved over to Xie Daoyun.

    ¡°It¡¯s done!¡± Xie Daoyun hadn¡¯t wasted any time. She had been focused on carving the rune formation the entire time.

    Zu An received the seal from her and pieced it together with the half taken from the guard, cing both into the door¡¯s indentation.

    The women stared at the door nervously. They saw a blue light shine from thebined seal, and then the runes around the indentation lit up. The door slowly opened. All of them cheered happily!

    The guard leader''s eyes widened when he saw that. He had never expected that even something like this was possible!

    When the women entered the storeroom, the scene that met their eyes left all of them shocked.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

 Chapter 2341: Goosebumps

    <h4>Chapter 2341: Goosebumps</h4>

    Zu An had thought that the storeroom would have a mountain of treasure, that there would be endless ki stones and all kinds of medicine. After all, this was the Monster Lord¡¯s most precious storeroom. But the scene before his eyes was a bleak sight. Several wardrobes and racks were all there, but the shelves were empty. There were only a few trifling items left in the corners.

    Everyone present felt a sense of absurdity looking at the ce. It was as if even a mouse that was locked up here would starve to death.

    Even though Zu An had known beforehand that the entire Monster World was trapped in this underground city and that they were short on all sorts of supplies, he hadn''t thought it would already be this serious. But he quickly focused his attention and said, ¡°Let''s move on our own. Take all the books rted to formations, medicine, and techniques. There¡¯s no need to think about making copies anymore.¡±

    His n at first had been to sneak in and out without anyone knowing and copy the rted texts. But he had already alerted the Monster Lord and definitely didn¡¯t have much time left. As such, he decided they might as well just take these things.

    The women also knew that time was important, so they all scattered to look for things to take. Even the injured Jiang Luofu was holding on and trying to help. Xie Daoyun rushed to the formation section, while Ji Xiaoxi went to check the medicine manuals. The others searched other parts of the storeroom.

    Zu An went to the techniques section. He wanted to take the chance to take a look at the Monster World¡¯s cultivation methods. It would be even better if he found out things about the Monster Lord¡¯s own skills.

    Compared to the goods section by the entrance, the techniques section was more abundant. Jade strips lined the racks and shone with all kinds of different colors, signifying different elements.

    Zu An quickly read through some jade strips. With his current cultivation and knowledge, he could roughly tell what the skills were about from a single nce. However, a disappointed look quickly appeared on his face. Even though there were powerful skills among these techniques, they couldn''tpare to the ones he currently had.

    More importantly, these jade strips were skills that were more suitable for monsters to cultivate, and mostly synergized well with certain types of bloodline power and unique body structures. If humans from the Cultivation World tried to learn them, it could lead to cultivation deviation and death. Zu An sighed in disappointment. He could only give up on these skills and search for other things.

    Shortly after, he arrived in front of a wall. There was a slight indent in it that contained a small bookcase. On it was a jade strip. This jade strip was clearly special, because there was a transparent barrier guarding it - a protective formation that prevented outsiders from taking the jade strip inside. The ki stones in the storeroom were already socking that there was no such protection for the other manuals, to save on ki stone usage. However, this jade strip was still being protected. That meant it was extremely important.

    With Zu An¡¯s current skill in formations, he quickly deduced its origins. He took out a formation disc and his fingers moved rapidly. Soon after, he inserted formation gs into the four corners of the wall. The yellow formation barrier gradually changed color, turning green before finally scattering away.

    Zu An sighed in relief. This formation was actually quite advanced. If it had fully activated, even with his abilities, he probably wouldn''t have be able to open it. It was likely because the resources underground were toocking that only the most basic defensive functions of the formation had been in use, to save on ki stones.

    Of course, even the most basic of its functions wasn''t something most formation masters could easily undo. Zu An had studied the Baopu Sutra first and already had a high level of skill in formations, and then he had learned Smay¡¯s Secrets of Spatial Distortion, bringing his formation skills to an even higher level. That was why he was able to get through so quickly.

    Zu An took out the jade strip. He saw the title written in the monsternguage: Resurrection Technique. When he saw the name of the skill, his expression became serious.

    <i>There¡¯s actually a resurrection technique in this world?</i> N?v(el)B\\jnn

    <i>Does that mean the Monster Lord can''t die?</i>

    He quickly flipped through it, but after a moment, he sighed in relief. It wasn¡¯t the kind of resurrection he had been thinking of, but rather another skill that came with a huge cost.

    When he first killed them, thepowerful monsters that invaded his world hadn''t been all that scared, saying they couldn''t be killed. The Monster Lord had used a skill that would allow them to quickly be revived once they returned so they could get their revenge. Fortunately, at the time, Zu An had be the ruler of the underworld, letting him seize their souls and drag them down to the Ceaseless Hell.

    This jade strip recorded the skill that had been used on them. By severing a sliver of the target¡¯s soul and blood essence, a puppet that was connected to them could be produced. Then, that puppet would be soaked in a special pool of blood. The pool¡¯s blood essence power would use the target''s soul and blood essence as the foundation to produce a new body that was identical to their original one. Then, a special method could extract the soul and ce it into the new body, which would retain all of the target¡¯s original skills and memories.

    In a sense, the new body was an exact clone of the original. Furthermore, the original''s body would be kept dormant in a certain ce in the pce. If they perished in another ce, their soul would be returned to the original body through previously recorded coordinates, thuspleting the revival ceremony.

    Of course, the process wasn¡¯t without ws. The clone did end up using up a portion of one''s soul and blood essence. Upon being revived, the creature would be seriously injured and need a long time to fully heal. Still,pared to perishing in another world, that degree of loss wasn¡¯t much at all.

    The reason they''d resorted to this technique was because too many powerful monsters had died in the Cultivation World. The Monster Lord hadn¡¯tpleted his objectives, and the monsters hadn¡¯t been too willing to continue the invasion after the ones who had gone before them all died. The monsters were also weakened by the will of the world in the Cultivation World, so they would feel too wronged if they died there. That was why the Monster Lord had thought up of this method. When they learned that they would have an extra life, the subsequent monsters had finally agreed.

    Zu An found this skill quite mysterious. He was about to store it away to study itter. However, he suddenly noticed the final line recorded in this manual. His expression immediately changed.

    The technique said that if the clone died, and the soul couldn''t return within a certain time frame, the body stored in the pce would quickly decay. There were just too many powerful beings who had mysterious skills to target the soul. Of course, the Monster Lord probably hadn¡¯t told those monsters about such a risk.

    When he saw the words ¡®original body will quickly decay¡¯, Zu An felt goosebumps forming on his skin.

    Donaire¡¯s soul had already beenpletely destroyed in the Cultivation World. That meant his original body would have alreadypletely decayed. The Monster Lord no doubt already knew that, so he had to also have known that Donaire had already died from the start.

    <i>So, he must¡¯ve known that I was a fake from the very start!</i>

    <i>But he didn¡¯t show any sign of that from the moment I arrived in this world!</i>

    His entire body was drenched in cold sweat. In that instant, he thought of far, far too many possibilities.

 Chapter 2342: Another Encounter with the Nature Jade Plate

    <h4>Chapter 2342: Another Encounter with the Nature Jade te</h4>

    ¡°Ah Zu, I saw some weapons and armor of decent quality. Should we take them?¡± Pei Mianman asked as she arrived next to Zu An. But when she saw that he didn¡¯t respond to her even after some time had passed, she tugged on his sleeve. ¡°Ah Zu?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Zu An finally reacted. Only then did he notice that his clothes werepletely wet from sweat.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Pei Mianman checked his forehead¡¯s temperature with the back of her hand and cried out in surprise. ¡°Why is your body so cold?¡±

    The other women rushed over when they heard the news, looking worriedly at Zu An.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Zu An didn¡¯t tell them about what had happened. After all, time was pressing and he couldn''t exin everything in a short amount of time. They would only get really nervous.

    Everyone else calmed down when they saw him gradually recover. Then, they began to exin their various discoveries.

    Ji Xiaoxi said, ¡°With the help of little aunt and big sister princess, I found many manuals and ingredients.¡±

    ¡°Big sister Yun also helped me find some manuals rted to formations.¡± Xie Daoyun was holding several jade strips, and there was a faint smile on her face. After she learned the the Secrets of Spatial Distortion, many manuals rted to space had be useless to her. She''d looked through the manuals present and found that only these books would be of help to her.

    Zu An nodded. ¡°It¡¯s good that we¡¯ve found some useful things. We need to hurry and leave this ce. The Monster Lord will return soon.¡±

    ¡°Are we not going to search a bit more?¡± Pei Mianman found it a bit strange. They hadn¡¯t spent that much time here and should still have been alright.

    <i>Why is Ah Zu already in such a rush to leave?</i>

    ¡°We¡¯ll talk once we¡¯re back.¡± Zu An returned the Resurrection Technique manual to its ce and was about to set up the defensive formation again. He couldn''t let the Monster Lord know that he''d already discovered this secret.

    ¡°Hm?¡± As he returned the Resurrection Technique manual, he saw that the wall seemed to have changed a bit. He reached out and searched with his ki, and quickly noticed that there was a hidden switch behind the wall. The stone the wall was made of could block divine sense, so it was no wonder he hadn¡¯t previously found the space behind it.

    He felt around and quickly activated the switch. It revealed a strangely-shaped stone the size of a fist.

    The object seemed to resemble both jade and stone, but was neither. It was actually a material that none of those present could recognize. The shape resembled the face of some animal, but it was too indistinct and none of them could tell what it was.

    ¡°Huh? I seem to have seen this thing before.¡± Xie Daoyun suddenly voiced her surprise. She reached out and took the stone from him.

    ¡°You¡¯ve seen it before?¡± Zu An was a bit surprised.

    <i>Little sister Ling¡¯er really is well-learned.</i>

    ¡°I don¡¯t know where, but I feel a mysterious sense of familiarity.¡± Xie Daoyun gently stroked the stone. Her expression became a bit nk.

    Suolun Shi suddenly smacked her forehead and said suddenly, ¡°I remember! I saw this design before back in the n when we were offering sacrifices to the first ancestor.¡±

    ¡°Sacrifices to the Demon race¡¯s first ancestor?¡± Zu An was a bit startled. It seemed the Demon race and the Monster World really did have a special rtionship.

    Just then, the strange stone shone with a faint luster and trembled slightly.

    Jiang Luofu voiced her surprise. ¡°It seems to be resonating with a certain person or bloodline here.¡±

    Xie Daoyun seemed to realize something. She quickly looked at Suolun Shi. ¡°Princess, could I borrow a drop of your blood to ce on its surface?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± Suolun Shi wasn¡¯t too bothered. She ran a fingernail across her fingertip, and several drops of bloodnded on the stone¡¯s surface. The drops of blood were absorbed by the stone, and faint red lines extended along its surface. The previously blurry animal features gradually became clear.

    ¡°A fox?¡± Zu An was surprised. This fox¡¯s face was a bit different from what he was used to. It had a hint of charming and seductive allure. He couldn''t help but remember the captivating Bluefield Lord, Tushan Yu. This stone was rted to the Demon race, but he wondered if it had anything to do with the Bluefield Fox race as well.

    However, while Zu An was lost in thought, cracks suddenly spread across the stone''s surface and it fell apart, revealing a blue jade core inside. Just then, he felt a burst of spatial ripples around them. His expression changed and he immediately shouted, ¡°Throw that stone away!¡±

    But it was already toote. Xie Daoyun looked at him in confusion, and the stone in her hand suddenly turned into a ck hole. Shortly after, that ck hole became as big as a person. Before Xie Daoyun could react in time, she was sucked inside. The ck hole also disappeared without a trace.

    <i>Rrrip!</i>

    Zu An looked at the scrap of torn clothing in his hand with an ashen expression. Everything had happened so quickly that even with his cultivation, he couldn''t react in time. He''d only managed to grab a corner of her clothes at thest second. Unfortunately, the mysterious ck hole¡¯s suction force was too great, and he couldn''t pull her back at all.

    Zu An had some understanding of spatial formations now. He quickly tried to open up another spatial passage through another method. A ck hole opened up in the air again, but Zu An had a grim expression. He could sense that there was nothing behind this space, and it wasn¡¯t the same ck hole as before. A single mistake in spatial transport could take someone an immeasurable distance away.

    The women all had nk expressions. None of them had expected these sudden developments.

    ¡°Ah Zu, where did little sister Xie go?¡± Pei Mianman hurriedly asked.

    ¡°That ck hole seems to be a certain special type of spatial passage," Jiang Luofu said. She came from the academy, so she had a plethora of knowledge.

    ¡°It¡¯s all my fault. I shouldn¡¯t have dropped my blood on it.¡± Suolun Shi¡¯s face was pale and her eyes were filled with guilt.

    ¡°It has nothing to do with you. She was the one who told you to ce the blood on it. No one could have known that this kind of thing would happen.¡± Zu An patted her shoulder tofort her while thinking as hard as he could with furrowed brows.

    ¡°Big brother Zu, don¡¯t you know how to make a spatial distortion formation? We¡¯ll help you set it up. Let¡¯s hurry and save big sister Xie.¡± Ji Xiaoxi was so nervous she was about to cry. After all, Xie Daoyun had always taken good care of her after she came to the academy. They had always been really close. How could she not be nervous after Daoyun disappeared mysteriously? n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An shook his head slightly. ¡°It¡¯s already meaningless.¡±

    He took out a piece of stone while speaking. After his hand touched its surface, a stone that looked extremely simr to the previous one appeared in his hand. WIth his cultivation and art skills, it wasn¡¯t too hard for him to make an imitation. He ced it back into the secretpartment and reapplied the defensive formation. A yellow barrier covered the wall again.

    ¡°Ah Zu, do you already know something?¡± Jiang Luofu couldn''t help but ask.

    ¡°Yes. The stone in her hands should have been a Nature Jade te. She''s most likely already been sent to another point in spacetime.¡± Zu An had a grave expression. He''d learned about the Nature Jade tes when he asked about Chu Chuyan¡¯s circumstances back in the White Jade Sect.

    In that instant, Zu An had sensed a familiar power. That was why he knew that no amount of effort could bring Xie Daoyun back. He''d wanted to find a piece of Nature Jade te to save Chuyan; but even though he finally found one, it had only ended up harming Xie Daoyun.

    Fortunately, the Nature Jade te would only bring someone to another point in spacetime. There wouldn¡¯t be any danger to their life. There would be a chance he could meet her again. Of course, he also knew that chance was slim. After all, there were countless worlds and different times. A person was like a speck in the ocean. How could there be that much of a coincidence...

    His expression suddenly became grave. A terrifying figure appeared in his mind, projected by the the alerting formation he had prepared outside the pce. The Monster Lord was going to return to the pce soon.

    He quickly collected his thoughts. ¡°We¡¯ll talk in detailter. We need to leave immediately. The Monster Lord has returned.¡±

 Chapter 2343: The Power of Destiny

    <h4>Chapter 2343: The Power of Destiny</h4>

    The whole group could only set everything else aside, and they quickly ran out of the storeroom.

    When he saw them storm out in single file, the guard leader stared straight at them, intending to firmly remember what they looked like. Failing to guard the storeroom was a mistake punishable by death. He had to make sure to find a way to lighten his crimes. What could be better for quelling the Monster Lord¡¯s fury than providing information on the invaders?

    <i>Why do these people look like humans? When was our Monster World invaded by humans?</i>

    He was feeling confused when suddenly, a sh of silver light appeared in front of him. He was shocked to discover that he could see his own back, and then there was nothing.

    Suolun Shi withdrew her curved de that was dripping with blood. She knew they couldn''t leave behind any witnesses for the Monster Lord to track them with.

    At the same time, a ck me rushed out from Pei Mianman. The guard¡¯s corpse waspletely burned away.

    Ji Xiaoxi found that a bit hard to ept. ¡°Big sister Pei, they''re already dead...¡±

    Pei Mianman exined, ¡°The monsters have all kinds of strange methods. We can''t be sure that they have no way obtain information from corpses.¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi was a bit embarrassed. ¡°It''s still big sister Pei who thinks of the bigger picture.¡±

    The others were also filled with admiration.

    Zu An didn¡¯t waste any time. With a sweep of his robes, an invisible force wrapped around the women and they flew out. At the same time, he used the same force to prevent their energies from leaking out.

    Almost the same moment they left, a three-headed bird¡¯s scream echoed above the pce. Then, the Monster Lord instantly appeared at the storeroom. When he saw that the door was open and that the guards had already turned to ashes, the Monster Lord¡¯s eyebrows twitched. He quickly went inside.

    The pce emissaries also arrived behind him. They were about to go in too when they were blocked by an invisible force outside. The Monster Lord called out from within, ¡°Stand guard outside. Send another group of people to track down the scoundrels¡¯ whereabouts!¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± The pce emissaries quickly split into two groups and dispersed.

    ...

    The Monster Lord entered the storeroom. When he saw the empty shelves and racks, his face darkened. He naturally couldn''t let his guards see what the condition of the storeroom was really like. If the residents of the underground city learned that their resources were already socking, there would be a huge uprising.

    He didn¡¯t stop, and went deeper inside until he arrived at that wall. He saw that the formation was still intact, and the Resurrection Technique was still there; he sighed in relief.

    Still, he didn¡¯t feelpletely reassured. He took out a key to unlock the formation, then removed the jade strip to examine it and make sure that it hadn¡¯t been switched out by someone. Then, he pressed the mechanism inside and saw that the strange stone was still there. Only then did he feelpletely relieved.

    Even though he didn¡¯t know what the stone was, it had been passed down by the Monster World for generations, so it was definitely something extremely important. It no doubt contained a tremendous secret.

    He returned the jade strip to its ce, then reactivated the formation. Then, he walked out and closed the storeroom entrance again.

    ¡°This storeroom¡¯s formation cannot be used anymore; it must be changed. In the meantime, you are all to stand guard here. Do not let anyone near,¡± the Monster Lord ordered.

    ¡°Understood!¡± The guards bowed respectfully. They didn¡¯t even dare to breathe too heavily for fear of angering the Monster Lord.

    Only one of the most trusted pce emissaries gathered the courage to say, ¡°Those scoundrels really are cunning. They not only silenced the guards, they even burned the corpses to ashes. We didn¡¯t have the time to search their memories.¡±

    The Monster World had a kind of soul-searching method that could retrieve memories. However, that would normally turn the target into a madman or an idiot.

    The Monster Lord harrumphed. ¡°The corpses have been burned and there¡¯s nothing to find there, but the mes they used are a bit special. Investigate that.¡±

    The pce emissaries also sensed the fire element energy that remained in the air. ¡°The lord is wise! These mes seem to be a bit simr to some abilities from the True Demon race, but it seems a bit different.¡±

    ¡°The True Demon race...¡± The Monster Lord had a pensive expression. A whileter, he said, ¡°The scoundrels stole some formations, medicines, and things our races normally don¡¯t need. Investigate that too.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± The pce emissaries bowed.

    Just then, a pce emissary rushed over. ¡°Reporting to the lord, Smay¡¯s subordinates have broken out Mojard and have just left the pce. If we pursue them, we should still be able to stop them...¡±

    The Monster Lord raised his hand to stop him. ¡°There is no need. Let them leave, but don¡¯t make it so obvious that they develop suspicions.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± The pce emissary quickly left to pass on these orders.

    ...

    Meanwhile, Smay¡¯s subordinates had indeed just rescued Mojard from the pce. They continued to flee toward an area of safety. When they saw that they had already broken free of the pursuers, Smay sighed in relief. ¡°It really was too dangerous today. Thank goodness we were able to save Uncle Mo.¡±

    Mojard was heavily injured, but he suddenly turned around to look in the pce¡¯s direction and said with a frown, ¡°Something¡¯s not right!¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Smay was stunned.

    ¡°I heard the Monster Lord¡¯s three-headed bird mount when we rushed out of the pce. He clearly came back, so how could we still possibly get away?¡± Mojard had a nk expression. ¡°Is he deliberately letting us get away?¡±

    ¡°But how can that be?¡± Smay¡¯s smile froze on her face. ¡°He has the ability to get rid of all of us in one go, so why would he let us go deliberately? He must be preupied with something right now.¡±

    Just then, a trusted aide said, ¡°There seems to have been another force that suddenly attacked the storehouse. The Monster Lord probably went in that direction.¡±

    Smay immediately felt relieved. ¡°That must¡¯ve been it.¡±

    Mojard¡¯s expression immediately became downcast. ¡°In the past, the Monster Lord and I both served as officials and were known as the outstanding duo. Yet now, even a storeroom is more important than me. He really doesn¡¯t regard me with any importance anymore.¡± N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Smay said reassuringly, ¡°Who in the Monster World doesn¡¯t know about Uncle Mo¡¯s fame? It was just that after that guy seized the throne, he had the world¡¯s resources at his disposal, and that was why his cultivation improved explosively. Uncle Mo didn¡¯t do anything wrong.¡±

    The otherpanions also tried to advise him against those thoughts. Mojard regained his confidence and said, ¡°Hahaha, all of you are right. This is a good thing. The pride of that guy will be the opportunity for us to make aeback.¡±

    ...

    Compared to his excitement, Zu An¡¯s group was quiet back in Donaire''s cave.

    Overall, their mission had gone quite smoothly today. They now had all of the formation and medicine texts they needed, as well as ingredients other special materials. If only Xie Daoyun hadn¡¯t disappeared...

    ¡°Ah Zu, what is that Nature Jade te?¡± Jiang Luofu couldn''t help but ask.

    ¡°In the past, Chuyan also disappeared into spacetime because of something like this...¡± Zu An exined.

    This was the first time many of them had heard about Chuyan¡¯s experience. Their expressions changed.

    ¡°There''s something that mysterious in this world?¡± Jiang Luofu finally eximed in surprise.

    Zu An nodded bitterly.

    ¡°Then how do we find her?¡± Jiang Luofu asked nervously. Xie Daoyun was her martial senior¡¯s disciple, as well as her former acquaintance from Brightmoon City. Their rtionship had always been quite good.

    ¡°We need to find another Nature Jade te, and we need to know the coordinates of where and when she was taken.¡± Zu An¡¯s voice became softer and softer. He knew that the chance of doing that was pitifully small. The two of them had clearly just confirmed their rtionship, and yet they could now be separated forever. If he had known things would be like this, he wouldn¡¯t have treated little sister Ling¡¯er so coldly. He would have epted her sooner.

    He sat down in a corner and buried his head in his knees.

    Suddenly, a pair of soft hands rested on his shoulder. Pei Mianman said gently, ¡°Ah Zu, don¡¯t be so downhearted. Fate will bring people together across a thousand miles. I believe that the power of destiny will reunite you and little sister Xie, just like how you met Chuyan again.¡±

    Zu An raised his head. A bit of color returned to his eyes.

    <i>Right, Chuyan also disappeared because of the Nature Jade te, and the Snow Lady even forgot who she was. Yet in the end, we still ended up reuniting...</i>

    The higher one¡¯s cultivation grew, and especially now after he had merged with a world¡¯s source, he could clearly sense the power of destiny. Even though it wasn¡¯t anything tangible, he had a powerful premonition that he would most likely reunite with little sister Ling¡¯er again, and it wouldn¡¯t be too far away either!

 Chapter 2344: Soul Shackles

    Zu An collected his thoughts. Since there was currently no way to save Xie Daoyun, he could only put the matter aside andplete the other important tasks he needed to deal with right now. If he continued to soak in negative feelings like bitter resentment or frustration, and the women around him ended up in danger, he would only be able to watch as it all happened. That would be the most foolish choice.

    He took inventory of all of the things he''d obtained from the storeroom. The most important formation texts had been lost with Xie Daoyun. However, he''d alreaady learned the Secrets of Spatial Distortion, which was already enough to make up for the formation knowledge he wascking. To a certain degree, he could now even modify the formation to be much more amazing than what Donaire had made before. Thus, the fact that he no longer had those formation texts from the storeroom wasn¡¯t a big issue.

    They did exin the formations that kept the city running, its defensive formations, and other such things. However, destruction was easier than creation. Even though he didn¡¯t know the fundamental principles behind those great formations, it wasn¡¯t too hard for him to destroy them.

    Of course, the areas where the important formations were located were all heavily guarded by the Monster Lord¡¯s soldiers. There was no way for outsiders to get close at all. He had to find a way to get to them. Fortunately, he already had an idea¡­

    Apart from the formation texts, there were also many medicine and poison manuals. Those were Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s area of expertise.

    At first, Zu An thought that because had the Baopu Sutra, learning all of those things wouldn¡¯t take up too many Rage points. But when he saw the crazy amount of points they all cost, he waspletely stunned.

    <em>Is there a mistake somewhere here?!</em>

    <em>Are you kidding me? Not even the Myriad Transformations took that many Rage points. Why would I spend that much on medical skills?</em>

    The system didn¡¯t react to his doubts at all. Instead, Mi Li suddenly said, ¡°Come over here to where I am. I have something to say to you.¡±Zu An was a bit surprised. His soul quickly entered the space inside the Tai¡¯e Sword. Normally, only another sword could enter, but their souls were already bound together, making movement inside extremely convenient for him.

    Mi Li was wearing a red dress, lying on arge bed. Her figure was so incredible it was as if the heavens had shown her special favor. She was so beautiful that it almost harmonized with the dao. Her head was resting on her chin; her beautiful and cold eyes seemed to be half open, and yet half closed. Her presence was shockingly alluring.

    Even Zu An, with his current level of mentalposure, couldn''t help but be a bit absent-minded. But he quickly snapped out of his daze and thought inwardly, <em>Mi Li always likes to appear like this. Is she not scared of scoliosis?</em>

    ¡°Are you thinking something bad about me right now?¡± Mi Li opened her eyes and looked at him with an unhappy expression.

    Zu An shivered. He quickly said with an apologetic smile, ¡°No way, I was just amazed by big sis master¡¯s beauty.¡±

    Mi Li showed a faint smile, but quickly hid it. ¡°Hmph, you¡¯re always praising your master¡¯s beauty. There¡¯s not even a bit of respect.¡±

    ¡°This is what I really think, so I said it naturally. I hope big sis master doesn¡¯t find it too strange,¡± Zu An said with a straight face.

    Mi Li was rather fond of these words. She did her best to stop the corners of her mouth from curling up into a grin. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you calling me master empress anymore? Master is just master, and what big sister? There¡¯s no respect at all.¡±

    Zu An sighed. ¡°With how things are right now, I¡¯m not aplete idiot, you know? Just what incredible ability did Qin Shihuang have for him to take you as his wife? Since you aren¡¯t a true empress, of course I can¡¯t call you empress anymore. Otherwise, if I keep calling you master empress, it makes you sound like a married woman. I feel as if that would be disgracing big sis master.¡±

    The many secrets Mi Li had told him definitely weren''t things an empress was supposed to know. Even though she''d never said it explicitly, she had definitely held extremely high status in the past. She seemed far more mysterious than even the Necropolis Emperor.

    ¡°Married woman?¡± Mi Li¡¯s face turned a bit red and she harrumphed. ¡°What kind of nonsense is that? Moreover, don¡¯t you like going after others¡¯ wives sometimes? You definitely didn¡¯t go easy on the women of the capital, and you even have Madam Wu outside of that.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    When she saw how awkward he was, Mi Li couldn''t really continue with this topic. She harrumphed again and said, ¡°Whatever, I¡¯ll stop picking on you. The reason you can¡¯t learn those medicinal arts is simple. Even though the human form is the preferred one for all souls and is capable of the most efficient cultivation, human bodies carry certain shackles. Think back to all the famous people in history. How many of them were the best in every field?¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He gradually came to realize what was going on. For example, Zhuge Liang had been almost unmatched in strategy, but his fighting strength was almost negligible. Lu Bu had almost been the strongest in the world, but he hadn''t been very bright. Han Xin had been like a deity when he wielded arms, but he was as naive as a child in politics¡­

    Even in the Cultivation World, thete libationer had been outstanding in many fields, and his talent hadn¡¯t been inferior to Zhao Han¡¯s. However, it was because he''d studied too many fields that he couldn''tpare to Zhao Han in terms of cultivation and strength.

    There were too many of such examples.

    Mi Li chuckled when she saw his expression. ¡°It seems you already understand. The mental energy of humans is limited. Once you reach the highest level in one area, that will make it harder for you to reach the same outstanding level in another field. The only ones who could do such a thing are the legendary deities.¡±

    Zu An was a bit hesitant. ¡°But cultivators are full of mental energy, and their souls are really strong. They should have enough mental strength to study all sorts of different things, right?¡±

    The humans in his previous world had all just been ordinary people, and yet they were all full of mental energy. The cultivators of the modern world didn¡¯t even need to sleep much, and their bodies made them almost different species from normal humans.

    Mi Li exined, ¡°The things cultivators learn require a tremendous amount of mental energy, far greater than what the knowledge of ordinary people canpare to. Actually, the principles are simr. Ever since the creation of the world, whether it''s humans or other creatures, their souls have had certain invisible and intangible shackles. People are fated to not be able to reach a higher level in too many domains.

    ¡°As for someone like you, who has already reached this level of achievement in several areas, that already makes you a genius among geniuses. But no matter how great of a genius you are, there is still an upper limit. Thus, if you want to learn medicine and poison, you will discover that the cost is extremely great, to the point that it¡¯s almost impossible.¡±

    Zu An became momentarily silent. He was now walking down the cultivation path and the formation path, and also had some appearance-transforming skills, reaching a very high level in all of those fields. That wasn''t even factoring in weapon and pill refinement, food, or other fields yet. If not for the fact that he had the system to help him, it would have been pretty much impossible to reach this level in so many fields. However, the system still couldn''t help him without limit. He had finally reached the ceiling for these additional subjects.

    ¡°Is there a way to remove these limitations or shackles?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°Since ancient times, there have only been very few who have seeded.¡± Mi Li shook her head. ¡°Even among the legendary deities, there are only a few who have been able to do so.¡±

    Zu An was shocked. ¡°Even the deities have to endure these restrictions?¡±

    ¡°Of course. This is an irond principle across the various realms. It can even be considered one of the most fundamentalws of the universe,¡± Mi Li replied.

    Zu An remained silent for a bit before suddenly asking, ¡°Could it be that humans, or even the creatures of the entire universe, were made by a certain being? Otherwise, why would all creatures have these shackles?¡±

    Mi Li shook her head. ¡°This is something that the most powerful beings in the cosmos have asked, but they have never been able to obtain an answer. The most popr belief right now is that there is a deity across the realms that controls the bnce of dao, the bnce of yin and yang, five phases, life and death¡­ thus preventing any individual from bing so powerful that they can transcend beyond those limits. The shackles I mentioned earlier could thus be seen as a measure used to maintain bnce. Otherwise, if every creature could reach the highest level in every field, there simply wouldn''t be enough resources across the worlds. The bnce would also be broken, and even the entire universe could copse¡­¡±

    "A deity who controls the bnce of dao¡­¡± Zu An was surprised. He had never thought too much about it before. There were too many examples of such bnce in his normal life. For example, wherever venomous snakes roamed, there would usually be detoxifying herbs nearby. Some poisons and spiritual medicines often apanied each other¡­N?v(el)B\\jnn

    <em>Wait, isn¡¯t this the same as those shitty game-bncing metrics?</em>

    ¡°I would rmend not thinking too much about this. I''ve already told you too many things I shouldn¡¯t have.¡± Mi Li had a grave expression. ¡°But I was worried that you would end up having your dao heart shaken, so that was why I exined these principles to you. If you search any deeper, you might be seen by a certain being and bring destruction upon yourself.¡±

    Zu An quickly stopped trying to learn more about those individuals. ¡°Thank you for the reminder, master. But judging from what you were saying, it seems there are ways to undo these soul shackles, right?¡±

    Mi Li voiced her agreement. ¡°There are some people who managed to undo the seals, but I don¡¯t know how. You don¡¯t need to deliberately search for them either. All those who managed to achieve such a thing were incredibly blessed by natural luck. It¡¯s not something you can force.¡±

    Zu An nodded. He didn¡¯t continue to dwell on the issue, and instead asked about Xie Daoyun.

    ¡°I already know about the matter of that young woman. Don¡¯t worry, you''ll reunite soon,¡± Mi Li said.

 Chapter 2345: Misunderstanding Getting Out of Hand

    <h4>Chapter 2345: Misunderstanding Getting Out of Hand</h4>

    Zu An was both surprised and really happy to hear thaat. ¡°How does big sis empress know?¡±

    Mi Li rolled her eyes. ¡°Didn¡¯t you already have a premonition that the two of you would reunite again?¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that,¡± Mi Li said in annoyance. ¡°Even ordinary people who do their best to carry out divinations can develop some vague revtions, let alone powerful cultivators. Furthermore, you¡¯re much stronger than normal high-level cultivators, because you''re also good at divination skills. Your serious efforts definitely won¡¯t bringpletely false results.¡±

    Zu An realized something. In his previous world, when he was ying games, he had sometimes felt a sudden burst of inspiration, getting the sense that he would definitely do well that day if he went for the gacha. He could even immediately strike gold... There were many other simr examples. Could that have been a mysterious power of fate?

    He took out a tortoiseshell scrying tool. After learning the Baopu Sutra, he was already proficient in divination. Even though he''d been worried that he would end up as a ve to fate and rarely used it, he had already fully internalized that skill. Sometimes, he unknowingly had some premonitions about the future.

    Indeed, it seemed that it wouldn¡¯t be that long before he would meet with Xie Daoyun again. His spirits immediately rose when he had that thought.

    ...

    Zu An said goodbye to Mi Li, and his soul returned to the cave. He handed the medicine and poison materials to Ji Xiaoxi. Thank goodness he had this little divine physician, or else he would be wasting all of these precious texts!

    Pei Mianman keenly sensed the changes to his mental state and remarked in surprise, ¡°Ah Zu, I feel as if you''re now a bit different from before.¡±

    ¡°I gained some more clues about little sister Ling¡¯er¡¯s situation, so I couldn''t help but feel a bit happier.¡± Zu An couldn''t really exin everything. Instead, he began to discuss their n going forward. They were all really surprised, but they all went to carry out their own missions.

    Zu An then found some time to go to Jiang Luofu¡¯s room. He asked, ¡°Big sis principal, how do you feel right now?¡±

    Jiang Luofu was sitting on her bed in meditation. When she heard what he said, she opened her eyes and sorted out her clothes. She moved her legs over to sit on the edge of the bed, replying, ¡°Xiaoxi took a look at me earlier and gave me some medicine. I¡¯m already much better.¡±

    ¡°Do you need me to help you with your recovery?¡± Zu An knew this was an injury from the Monster Lord, so he couldn''t help but feel a bit worried.

    Jiang Luofu hesitated, but she still shook her head and said, ¡°There¡¯s no need. You have a lot of important things to do right now. I can just recover on my own.¡±

    ¡°Ensuring all of your safety is my highest priority.¡± Zu An walked over with a smile. ¡°It¡¯s no trouble; the others are preparing the formation materials and I have a bit of free time to help you with your injuries. I only roughly dispelled the Monster Lord¡¯s power in the storeroom, but there''s likely still a bit left. It might end up affecting your future cultivation.¡±

    When she saw how sincere he sounded, Jiang Luofu didn¡¯t continue to object. ¡°Then I won¡¯t be refusing your kindness. My soul is being contaminated by some malicious power. I can¡¯t get rid of it no matter what I do.¡±

    Previously, during the sudden upgrade that came from the world beacons'' energiesbining, her strength had risen to the grandmaster rank. She had just managed to cultivate her soul. If it was affected so soon by the Monster Lord, it could leave behind some deficiencies. Forget about improving in the future, even her life could be in danger.

    When he heard that, Zu An didn¡¯t dare to show any carelessness and said with a serious expression, ¡°Release your soul. I''ll find a way to get rid of all of the nefarious power.¡±

    If it was the body, it was easy to heal, but apart from specific medicines, a soul could only be treated with a soul.

    Jiang Luofu eximed in surprise, ¡°That¡¯s a bit unsuitable, right?¡±

    Zu An was stunned. ¡°What''s unsuitable about that? We need to heal you as quickly as possible to deal with future dangers. The malicious energy inside of you was probably left inadvertently, but if it gets more out of hand, the Monster Lord might even discover it. That would be a real danger.¡±

    Seeing the clear look in his eyes, Jiang Luofu realized that he didn¡¯t have any bad thoughts. Besides, they were in great danger right now. If his time was wasted because of her and that ended up ruining everything, causing theirpanions to be in danger, not even dying ten thousand times would make up for the consequences.

    <i>We¡¯re all warriors here, so what¡¯s the use in being so wishy-washy about it?</i>

    She bit her lip when she realized that. ¡°Al... Alright.¡±

    She sat on her bed and quickly collected herself. A soul body gradually left her head.

    The yin spirits grandmasters first cultivated feared the sun more than anything else, and they couldn''t go too far from the body. However, the two were inside a cave and there were formations everywhere. Zu An had also set up a lot of defensive formations around them, so there was no risk of the yin spirit being damaged.

    Jiang Luofu¡¯s yin spirit was rather faint in color, and it was as intangible as a clear wind blowing. Even so, it was a precise match for her appearance and figure. However, her mouth was wide open as she looked at Zu An¡¯s soul.

    <i>Why is his soul the exact same as his body?</i>

    If she hadn''t his soul leave his body herself, she would¡¯ve even thought that it wasn''t a soul, but Zu An himself!

    <i>But more importantly, why does he have clothes on?</i>

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Zu An¡¯s eyes werepletely wide too. He was also full of question marks.

    <i>Why doesn¡¯t she have any clothes on?</i>

    And yet, calling herpletely naked wasn¡¯t quite correct. Jiang Luofu¡¯s soul was wearing silk stockings. But apart from them, there wasn¡¯t anything else. Her arm was covering her chest, but she had such an amazing figure, so how could that block itpletely? Her legs were closed and one hand was covering her bottom.

    The usually cold Jiang Luofu looked really flustered. Her original body was alreadypletely red in the face. She did her best to close her eyes, but her body was still shaking slightly. Her pale white skin had turned a bit rosy, as if she had a bit to drink. Her skin had never been this red before.

    Zu An quickly turned around and said in rm, ¡°Sorry. I didn¡¯t know your soul would appear like this.¡±

    He was even a bit at a loss. Whenever he''d seen himself, Mi Li, or others, they''d all all had clothes on. They looked no different from the real person, which was why he had suggested this treatment method. Jiang Luofu had probably been too embarrassed to exin these things, and yet he''d insisted that there was nothing wrong with it. He was now so embarrassed that he wanted to run away and hide.

    Inside her mysterious soul space, Mi Li was almost rolling on the groundughing.

    <i>One could say that this kid is dumb, and yet he¡¯s usually exceptionally cunning. But even if you were to say he was bright, he often makes these kinds of mistakes.</i>

    In the end, Zu An was a transmigrator, and didn¡¯t have a lot ofmon knowledge regarding cultivation.

    When cultivators broke through into the grandmaster rank and first cultivated their souls, they were practically like infants. Their soul bodies wouldn¡¯t have any clothes. But as their cultivation solidified and they cultivated regrly, they would then be able to gradually make their souls just like their bodies. Not only would their soul be sturdier, they could also imitate the clothes they normally wore.

    However , Jiang Luofu had suddenly risen to the grandmaster rank not too long ago when the worlds were being merged. Furthermore, they had gone to the Monster World not too long after that, so she hadn¡¯t had time to solidify her cultivation and refine her soul. That was why she was in this kind of situation, and why they''d ended up in such an awkward situation.

    When she saw how Zu An frantically turned around, Jiang Luofu said quietly, ¡°You¡¯re a soul right now, so you can probably see even if you turn around, right?"

    She could see every corner of this room. She could even see Zu An¡¯s expression although he was turned around. His cultivation was much greater than hers, so how could he not be the same?

    Zu An was now even more embarrassed. ¡°I¡¯m really sorry.¡±

    Just what kind of a situation was this? He clearly hadn¡¯t nned for this, and yet it was as if he''d done it on purpose. He really felt wronged!

    Jiang Luofu was really embarrassed too, but when she saw how awkward Zu An was, and that he wasn¡¯t like his usually confident self, it was as if she was seeing that inexperienced young man back in Brightmoon City again. Her panic gradually subsided.

    She moved behind her own body to use herself to block the view. Even though she knew that his soul could still see everything, she at least had her physical body in front of her. She calmed herself down quite a bit and said, ¡°This should be enough. You can turn around.¡±

 Chapter 2346: Driving the â€˜Shipperâ€™ Crazy

    Zu An almost had a nosebleed. Jiang Luofu really was looking down on his cultivation! How could her physical body block the sight of his soul? Forget about her soul, he could even see the hair on the legs of a mosquito in the corner of the room clearly. Meanwhile, Jiang Luofu''s body was sitting on the bed, so in order for her soul to hide behind her body, she needed to half-squat down. Even though her hands covered all of her sensitive parts, this half-hidden appearance only made her look more enticing.

    Moreover, even Zu An couldn''t help but feel a sense of absurdity. This woman hadn¡¯t condensed a single piece of clothing... other than a pair of silk stockings. It seemed her feelings toward silk stockings were true love!

    He collected his thoughts before saying, ¡°Ahem, this is fine for me.¡±

    Even though whether she turned around or not didn¡¯t make a difference, this would at least be a bit less embarrassing on the surface.

    Jiang Luofu was an extremely intelligent person. When she saw that he wasn¡¯t willing to turn around, she immediately realized that he''d already seen everything. Forget about her physical body, even her soul was starting to turn a bit red. But both sides tacitly chose not to expose that fact. She took a deep breath and quickly said, ¡°I can sense a cold and sinister power that keeps winding around my soul. At first, it wasn¡¯t too noticeable because you helped me take away most of the energy. But over time, I felt a bit of the leftover energy starting to grow on my soul. I tried many different methods, but I couldn''t get rid of it at all.¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    When he heard that, Zu An also gradually calmed down. His entire body floated in front of Jiang Luofu, but he still had his back to her as he said, ¡°That''s because the Monster Lord¡¯s cultivation is too high. Even if ny-nine percent of the sinister energy is removed and only a bit is left, it can regrow¡­ Give me your hand.¡±

    When she sensed hime closer, Jiang Luofu¡¯s heart rate sped up. Zu An''s soul body was like a zing sun. Normally, the first yin soul that was produced would fear the sun, but she didn¡¯t feel any danger from this zing sun at all. Instead, it felt really warm and made the chill within her body decrease a bit. She reflexivelly wanted to move a bit closer.

    <em>I really want to hug him¡­</em>

    Jiang Luofu was frightened as soon as that thought arose. She quickly collected herself.<em>Just what kind of nonsense am I thinking about? He is clearly the man Xiaoxi likes!</em>

    When she thought of Xiaoxi, she calmed down a bit. Then, she reached out her hand.

    When he saw that beautiful wrist reach over, Zu An couldn''t help but think of Jiang Luofu''s current condition again.

    <em>Sigh, Lu Xun really was right. When you see the wrist, when you see a fair arm, you will think of them without clothes. That¡¯s just human nature¡­</em>

    But he quickly got rid of those wayward thoughts. He ced his fingers on her wrist and quickly sensed some faint ck energy winding around her body. Compared to her soul, th ck energy was full of vitality. If they had dyed for a bit longer, the sinister energy would¡¯vepletely absorbed her soul as nourishment and reced it.

    <em>The Monster Lord really is amazing. Just how was he able to sense that Jiang Luofu was imitating his seal from so far away and even retaliate?</em>

    When Zu An¡¯s fingers touched Jiang Luofu¡¯s wrist, her entire body couldn''t help but tremble. A slightly absent-minded look appeared on her face.

    It wasn¡¯t as if the two hadn¡¯t touched each other before. When the Jiang n was in danger, Zu An had even carried Jiang Luofu in his arms. When they touched each other back then, she''d felt the bashfulness of a youngdy. Right now, though, they were just touching fingers, and yet she felt as if a huge streak of lightning had passed through her entire body. That powerful stimtion was a hundred times greater than the previous hug! Just what was going on right now?

    She suddenly rememberedsomething she had once read from a cultivation manual, and also heard from herte teacher: After the grandmaster stage, dual cultivation with a daopanion became possible. To a certain degree, dual cultivation with the soul would be countless times more efficient than doing it with the physical body. The soul body would react much more quickly than the physical body, to the point that a month of cultivation with the soul could be equivalent to a year of cultivation with the body.

    Her junior sister, had been incredibly excited to hear that when she was was still young. She''d even suggested that the martial brothers and sisters could do that kind of dual cultivation. Because she was still young and had the lowest cultivation, she had needed to work harder to catch up. At the time, she''d even wanted their teacher to personally engage in this cultivation with her.

    Back then, her martial siblings and their teacher¡¯s expressions had been quite exaggerated. In the end, it was their teacher who had warned their youngest junior sister that she couldn''t do that. Dual cultivation had to be done with a daopanion whom one shared deep affection with. It was definitely not something one could do with just anyone.

    The soul was extremely fragile. Unless it was someone you trusted a lot, cultivating together through the soul was absolutely not a good idea. Besides, when two people bonded emotionally, cultivating with their souls would naturally result in twice the results with half the effort.

    Back then, even though Jiang Luofu wasn¡¯t as innocent as her junior sister, she hadn¡¯t really understood the various details either. Only now did she understand why her teacher had spoken like that in the past.

    <em>No wonder teacher always emphasized that only daopanions could engage in dual cultivation. So it turns out¡­</em>

    She couldn''t help but feel a bit of regret when she thought of that. She really had been too careless. How was she supposed to handle the aftermath of all of this now?

    But she also knew that if she didn¡¯t get rid of the Monster Lord¡¯s sinister energy as quickly as possible, she would soon be fully corroded by it. Dying was one thing, but if she ended up being controlled by the Monster Lord, it would be a fate far worse than death.

    There was a nk look on her face. She didn¡¯t know what to do at all.

    Just then, Zu An said, ¡°Big sis principal, I¡¯ll be helping you remove the Monster Lord¡¯s energy. There might be a bit of pain during the process, so you''ll have to endure it.¡±

    Jiang Luofu snapped out of her daze and said, ¡°Fine!¡± With her nature, why would she be scared of pain?

    Zu An poured his ki into her body. All of the sinister energy moved toward one point, where he nned to collect it all.

    ¡°Ah~¡± Jiang Luofu cried out.

    Zu An was frightened. ¡°Does it hurt?¡±

    <em>And why does that voice sound a bit strange?</em>

    ¡°No¡­ Ah, right, it hurts a lot.¡± Jiang Luofu¡¯s face was red. She really wanted to bury her face somewhere right now.

    That was a sensation she had never felt before! It felt as if he had entered her body and they''d be one, as if their souls had merged. Even though she was a mature woman, she waspletely naive in this respect. She''d immediately felt a powerful stimtion. How could she have endured such a thing when she was caught off guard? That was why she''d reflexively cried out.

    But she''d immediately realized what was happening and felt extremely embarrassed. He was only helping her treat her injuries, so why was her behavior so disappointing? If he knew what she was thinking about, perhaps he''d end up thinking that she was a fickle and lewd woman. What then?

    That thought was why, even though she already felt as if there was a raging sea inside her and her entire body was shaking intensely, she still clenched her teeth and endured it with her willpower. Only, from time to time, there were still a few sweet sounds that leaked out.

    ¡­

    Mi Li was rolling back and forth on her bed, under the covers. She had some seeds that she''d gotten from who knew where in her hand, watching the scene through a mirror while eating them. She looked really frustrated.

    ¡°Just what is going on with the two of them? That kid Ah Zu is normally pretty sharp, right? Did he really not sense anything? Does he really not know that contact between souls isn''t much different from entering inside her? No, the feeling is many, many times stronger!¡±

    For some reason, even Mi Li¡¯s face was starting to get a bit red.

    ¡°But even though the kid¡¯s cultivation is high, he doesn¡¯t know much about a lot of cultivationmon sense. Besides that, because he''s in such a hurry to treat her, it wouldn¡¯t be strange for him to not realize it yet.

    ¡°But Jiang Luofu did study at the academy, for better or for worse, and is quite well-learned. There''s no way that she wouldn¡¯t know what an interaction between souls like this would result in, right?

    ¡°Could it be that she knows, but she is willing to go through everything? Or maybe she wants to use this chance to seduce Ah Zu?

    ¡°But judging from how hard she''s enduring it, it doesn¡¯t seem like that?

    ¡°Ah, this silly pair is driving me crazy!¡±

 Chapter 2347: A Beautiful Misunderstanding

    <h4>Chapter 2347: A Beautiful Misunderstanding</h4>

    Zu An was feeling a bit strange now too. He wasn¡¯t apletely unromantic and ignorant young man, after all. He could sense how Jiang Luofu was turning red all over, and her teeth were gritted as if she was enduring something. The suppressed seductive moans escaping from her lips sounded like the cries of a cat.

    He was a bit stunned.

    <i>Does my soul form also carry the Gold Phoenix attribute? Is that why I ended up activating her desires?</i>

    <i>But that doesn¡¯t seem right... I''m not using primordial ki and am using the Heaven Devouring Sutra instead. Only this kind of absorption force can remove the sinister energy of the Monster Lord, but it shouldn¡¯t have this kind of side effect!</i>

    In the end, he could only interpret it as Jiang Luofu being a bit more sensitivepared to other women. When he thought about her ck silk stockings and aloof nature, in contrast to how her body was actually so sensitive, even Zu An¡¯s heart rate sped up a bit.

    He quickly gathered his thoughts. He looked at the shaking Jiang Luofu and carefully said, ¡°Big sis principal, you don¡¯t need to hold it in like that. If you hold it in too much, it might end up injuring your soul.¡±

    ¡°Ah, really?¡± Jiang Luofu had just entered the grandmaster rank, after all, and she hadn¡¯t had time to read through the records rted to the soul at the academy yet. That was why her knowledge of this field waspletely nk.

    ¡°Of course. It¡¯s like a ball; if you keep blowing air into it, it will explode.¡± Zu An had a serious expression.

    Jiang Luofu was speechless.

    In the mysterious space, Mi Liughed so hard she almost fell off her bed. These two really were quite theedic duo! One really dared to say anything, and one believed everything.

    <i>It seems I should fill him in on some of this fundamental knowledge, or else this guy might end up encountering the same situation again or treat someone with his soul directly again, unknowingly taking away their purity.</i>

    Jiang Luofu was left with a dilemma. It was way too embarrassing to scream, but if she didn¡¯t, she was worried about injuring her soul and ending up damaging her cultivation foundation in the future.

    She bit her red lip and asked in a somewhat troubled manner, ¡°Roughly how long will it be?¡±

    ¡°I already removed quite a bit of sinister energy along the way, but there is still some that stubbornly persists. Once all of it gathers in one ce, I canpletely remove it. I reckon it''ll take around the time for a stick of incense to burn,¡± Zu An said.

    ¡°A stick of incense?¡± Jiang Luofu was about to cry. Normally, that wasn¡¯t a long time at all, but in her current state, it felt unbearably long. In the end, she looked down and said quietly, ¡°Then do it as quickly as you can.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Zu An carefully continued to help her sort out the remaining sinister energy in her body.

    ...

    In the mysterious space, Mi Li¡¯s expression was really strange.

    <i>This kid is treating the soul like a physical body. He¡¯s actually spreading his soul power through every inch of her body! Jiang Luofu¡¯s soul might already bepletely in his shape.</i>

    <i>And just what is going on with this Jiang Luofu woman? Isn¡¯t she known for her knowledge? How does she not even know about this? She¡¯s just letting him go in and out of her body like this?</i>

    Jiang Luofu naturally hadn''t known that the experience would feel like this. However, she also had a feeling that she''d agreed a bit too rashly. But right now, her cheeks werepletely flushed red. She really couldn''t calm herself down to review what had happened.

    She felt his thick and strong force ravage her body like a zing sun. Zu An had previously said that it would be bad to hold it in, and together with the fact that there was already a sound blocking formation around her, no one outside would be able to hear anything even if she made any sound. When she realized that, she finally found it a bit too hard to hold it in and carefully let out a sound.

    She quickly looked at Zu An. He still had his back to her and had a focused and serious expression. Thus, she finally managed to gradually calm down. She did her best to release the powerful feelings of her soul as sounds.

    Zu An¡¯s expression was calm, but inside, he was incredibly flustered. The reason he''d deliberately put on a calm expression was to help Jiang Luofu not feel as embarrassed. No matter how slow on the uptake he was, he''d still already realized that something wasn¡¯t right. Judging from Jiang Luofu¡¯s reactions, this situation was exactly the same as when his lovers were aroused.

    He quickly asked Mi Li, ¡°Big sis empress, something happened, something bad.¡±

    Mi Li replied in annoyance, ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Why did big sis principal end up like this? I made sure not to use the Primordial Origin Sutra to avoid activating the Gold Phoenix¡¯ ability, so why is she like this?¡± Zu An was panicking.

    ¡°What Gold Phoenix ability? Isn¡¯t this just the result of your souls intersecting?¡± Mi Li rolled her eyes.

    ¡°Huh? But I¡¯m only treating her right now,¡± Zu An said, confused.

    ¡°Keep up the act, why don¡¯t you? Didn¡¯t you used to y with Yun Jianyue and the others like this? Why did you forget so quickly?¡± Mi Li retorted with a sneer.

    ¡°When I yed with big sis Yun and the others... We were intimate. I''m only using my two fingers to touch...¡± Zu An was dumbfounded.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t your soul enter her body? And then you went all over her soul, right?¡± Mi Li asked with a scowl.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Well, yeah. How else would I help her get rid of the Monster Lord¡¯s sinister power?¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°Hah, what you¡¯re trying to do is what you would do with the body. How can the soul be treated like this? Every strand of your soul is like a portion of your body. You''ve covered her entire body with your soul, so isn¡¯t it the same as going in and out of her body continuously?¡± Mi Li replied with a sneer.

    Zu An really waspletely shocked; his jaw almost dropped to the ground like an emoji. ¡°I... I... I didn¡¯t know it would be like this! Big sis master, why didn¡¯t you warn me?!¡±

    He was really ill at ease now. He''d ended up taking advantage of Jiang Luofu just like that? Just what the hell was happening?

    ¡°Hah.¡± Mi Li said impatiently, ¡°How would I have known if you were doing it on purpose or not?¡±

    Zu An was dumbfounded. He eximed, ¡°Am I that kind of person?!¡±

    Mi Li gave him an ambiguous look. ¡°Look at the things you¡¯ve done! And yet you¡¯re still saying that you aren¡¯t?¡±

    Zu An spun around nervously in that mysterious space. ¡°I¡¯m done for, it¡¯s all over... I won¡¯t be able to wash it all away even if I jump into the yellow river!¡±

    Suddenly, he thought of something and was stunned. ¡°Why didn¡¯t big sis principal stop me?¡±

    ¡°How could she stop you? You''re doing your best to cure her; would she be so ungrateful to call you a pervert?¡± Mi Li replied, although inwardly, she was also confused about that point. Normally, Jiang Luofu wouldn¡¯t be this naive.

    ¡°But...¡± Zu An still found the entire matter a bit ridiculous. He was doing something bad with good intentions, and not a single person stopped him. Just what in the world was going on?

    Mi Li had been observing Jiang Luofu¡¯s expression the entire time. She saw that Jiang Luofu''s eyes were misty, and also noticed Zu An¡¯s soaked back.

    <i>It seems she already had some feelings for the brat, so that''s why even though she knew something¡¯wasn''t right, she still continued to carelessly trust him to continue.</i>

    <i>Hmph, this kid really is an unmatched incubus. He ends up seducing others wherever he goes.</i>

    For some reason, she suddenly felt a bit annoyed. At first, she''d been watching all of this with great interest, but she suddenly found it not so fun anymore.

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Mi Li for +99 +99 +99...</strong>

    Zu An was stunned when he saw these Rage points. He quickly exined, ¡°Big sis master, please don¡¯t misunderstand! I really didn¡¯t do this on purpose, I¡¯m not that despicable...¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to exin anything to me. Just focus on how you¡¯re going to appease your big sis over there with the beautiful ck stocking-covered legs.¡± Mi Li harrumphed. She sent his consciousness out of the secret space with a wave of her hand.

    After he left, she was a bit hesitant.

    <i>Should I tell him about Jiang Luofu¡¯s feelings...</i>

    <i>Forget it, I¡¯m not some matchmaker. Why would I get involved in this kind of thing?</i>

    She also felt as if she was being especially moody today. At one point, she''d been shipping them together and really wanted to personally make them a couple, but then she felt really annoyed and really wanted to give Zu An a vicious beating.

    Suddenly, she was a bit stunned. Could it be that because she quickly recovered some memories, she''d be impatient for results? Was that why something had ended up happening to her soul?

    <i>No, this won¡¯t do! I have to stabilize myself!</i>

    She pulled her covers over her andy down in bed to sleep. She didn¡¯t bother with what was going on between the ignorant man and resentful woman outside anymore.

    ...

    Meanwhile, inside the room, Jiang Luofu¡¯s entire body shook intensely as she screamed. She could no longer stand and fell weakly against Zu An¡¯s back.

    Zu An waspletely frozen.

    Two clear streams of tears were flowing from Jiang Luofu¡¯s eyes. She wasn¡¯t stupid. She had just entered the grandmaster rank without having time to apply the knowledge that she had. But now that she personally experienced it, she naturally managed toprehend the things she''d read rted to the soul. How could she still not know what an intersection of the souls meant?

    ¡°Sorry, I¡¯ve never done anything like this and didn¡¯t know that a treatment of the soul would be like this. I''ll take responsibility,¡± Zu An said in a troubled voice.

    ¡°Who wants you to take responsibility?¡± Jiang Luofu suddenly revealed a free and unaffected smile. ¡°I am your big sis; I am the only one who gets to take advantage of my little brother. How could it ever be the other way around? This is just a beautiful misunderstanding, and it is all in the past. We¡¯re all warriors, so why would we let something like this bother us?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Zu An was now really stupefied.

 Chapter 2348: Time Limit

    <h4>Chapter 2348: Time Limit</h4>

    Zu An waspletely confused. He couldn''t understand what Jiang Luofu really meant.

    Was she just downying the situation, or was it really just some casual fun? If it was the former, how could he be a heartless rat? If it was thetter... No, how could Principal Jiang be that kind of person?

    For many years, because of the daring stockings Jiang Luofu wore and her inherent beauty, her unique presence and charm had attracted countless fans. But Zu An had never heard of anyone truly getting close to her before. On the contrary, many perverts had been beaten up and tossed into the alleys. There was no way she''d be that kind of casual woman.

    But JIang Luofu¡¯s soul had already returned to her body and she slowly opened her eyes again. She discovered that her face was really hot, but she had to force herself to calm down and say, ¡°You are not allowed to tell anyone about this, especially not Xiaoxi.¡±

    ¡°Oh...¡± Zu An reflexively nodded, but he suddenly felt as if this wasn¡¯t quite right. He was about to say something when Jiang Luofu raised her hand to stop him.

    ¡°I already said it was a beautiful misunderstanding. I could sense that you didn¡¯t have any bad thoughts when our souls intersected, or else I wouldn¡¯t have just let this matter end like that. In that case, why don¡¯t we just forget about this matter? That¡¯s better for both of us.¡± Jiang Luofu¡¯s gaze regained its usual coldness.

    ¡°But that¡¯s not fair for you,¡± Zu An said; he was also feeling a bit frustrated with himself. The reason why Jiang Luofu had been taken advantage of like this was because hecked fundamental knowledge.

    ¡°I just had my soul touched a few times by you; it¡¯s not that big of a deal. I¡¯m a bit tired and want to sleep.¡± Jiang Luofu¡¯s tone was so calm that it was nearly ice-cold.

    Zu An shivered. He felt really strange right now. He was clearly the one who had taken advantage of her, but why did it now seem as if she''d used him, and their rtionship had even worsened as a result?

    Even so, he knew that she needed some time to cool off alone after this.

    <i>Especially after she showed that most unsightly side of herself in front of me just now...</i>

    He couldn''t really persuade her further and got up to say goodbye. ¡°Then I¡¯ll be leaving first. The sinister energy in your body has already beenpletely removed. If you feel any other sense of unease, tell me immediately.¡±

    Jiang Luofu was speechless.

    <i>Would I still dare to look for you after what just happened?!</i>

    But after a moment of hesitation, she still voiced her agreement.

    When he saw that she turned her back to him and spoke in a deliberately cold voice, Zu An also felt a bit ufortable. But when he remembered how much he''d hurt her, he didn¡¯t have the shamelessness to exin himself. He cupped his hands and left the room in low spirits.

    ...

    When he left, Jiang Luofu, who had been sitting up straight a moment before, seemed to have lost all strength. Her body immediately gave out. Her previously cold gaze seemed to fill with spring rain. She muttered quietly to herself, ¡°I¡¯m going to die from embarrassment...¡±

    She suddenly twisted her body. She felt a bit ufortable somehow. After she looked up and made sure that he''d closed the door properly, she removed her stockings. When she saw the situation inside, her face immediately turned red.

    <i>I really can¡¯t wear long one-piece pantyhose anymore in the future...</i>

    She''d never known that her body actually had that much water inside of her.

    ¡°Intersection of souls...¡± When she recalled the metaphors and hints that had been recorded in the texts she''ad read before, Jiang Luofu gritted her teeth in annoyance.

    <i>Those seniors really are scammers! Why didn¡¯t they write it more explicitly? I ended up embarrassing myself so much as a result!</i>

    When she recalled the feeling of their souls merging, Jiang Luofu reflexively held her face. She couldn''t help but be a bit absent-minded.

    ...

    Meanwhile, after Zu An left Jiang Luofu¡¯s room, Ji Xiaoxi rushed over when she heard the news. ¡°How is my little aunt?¡±

    When he remembered the freakbination of factors that had just intersected with Jiang Luofu, Zu An found it a bit hard to look Xiaoxi straight in the eyes. He replied a bit unnaturally, ¡°The sinister energy inside her body has already beenpletely removed, but she needs to rest. It would be best if you don¡¯t disturb her for now.¡±

    When she heard that her little aunt was fine, Ji Xiaoxi had a big smile on her face. ¡°Big brother Zu, you¡¯re too amazing! No trouble is too much for you to handle.¡±

    She was good at medicine and was the one who understood Jiang Luofu¡¯s condition the best. She''d used all kinds of methods to try and remove the strange power from her little aunt¡¯s body, but wasn¡¯t able to seed. However, Zu An had ended up doing so so quickly.

    Zu An felt a bit guilty and quickly changed the topic. ¡°How are the preparations on your side?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m studying the Monster World¡¯s medicine and poison. Even though there''s a big difference from the knowledge of our world, the fundamentals are simr across the many variations of the medical field. I should be able to master it all in a few more days.¡± Ji Xiaoxi stuck out her little chest and had a proud look on her face, as if she was waiting for praise.

    ¡°Xiaoxi really is amazing!¡± Zu An couldn''t help but rub her little head.

    Those manuals condensed an entire world¡¯s medicine and poison knowledge, and yet she''d already reached such mastery in a short amount of time! Even if she was already a little divine physician, this kind of speed was still a bit too much, right? It could only mean that her understanding of medicine and poison was extremely close to the dao. Only that way would she be able to easily absorb any new knowledge.

    When she heard his exnation, Ji Xiaoxi was a bit distracted. ¡°I''cw never thought about all of those things before. I just feel naturally closer to everything when I look at nts and herbs, as if they''re trying to tell me what they do on their own.¡±

    Zu An was even more shocked when he heard that.

    <i>Could this be one of those legendary heavenly physician immortal sacred bodies?</i>

    He was about to ask more about that when Suolun Shi ran over. ¡°Big brother Zu, a woman sent a message asking to arrange a meeting with you in the same ce as before.¡±

    When they heard that, all of the women turned to look at Zu An with interrogative looks in their eyes.

    In that instant, Zu An actually felt a bit nervous. He quickly said, ¡°It¡¯s probably Smay. What are you all thinking about?¡±

    When they recalled Smay¡¯s appearance, the women covered their mouths and smiled. Some of them even whispered among each other as if they were teasing him.

    Zu An¡¯s face darkened. He left the cave and went to the ce where he''d met with Smay the past few times. Sure enough, she was standing there with her hands behind her back.

    ¡°Judging from the first miss¡¯ expression, you should¡¯ve already sessfully rescued Mojard,¡± Zu An said with a smile.

    ¡°It was thanks to the young master¡¯s blessings.¡± Smay cupped her hands. ¡°However, the Monster Lord returned much earlier than usual. It was thanks to the mysterious person who infiltrated the pce treasury that we were able to seed, or else all of us could already have been captured.¡±

    ¡°Oh? There was actually a mysterious person who attacked the treasury? Does the first miss know who has such incredible abilities?¡± Zu An asked, pretending to be curious.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°After thinking about it, the only one who could fit the description of the mysterious person is the young master.¡± Smay looked at him with a big smile.

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed. ¡°I was leading the Monster Lord away from the pce, so how could I have been there? Besides, if I had that level of skill, the True Demon race wouldn¡¯t be in its current state.¡±

    Smay had been staring straight into his eyes the entire time. However, he had already experienced all sorts of events and his acting had no ws. She couldn''t detect anything suspicious. Thus, she said with a chuckle, ¡°What you say makes sense. It seems I overthought things.¡±

    She took out a storage pouch and handed it to him. ¡°After what happened, there won''t be another chance to approach the storehouse. I¡¯ve searched other sources to gather a batch of materials that should be enough to create a new transport formation. I wonder how long it will take for the young master to create it?¡±

    Zu An received the storage pouch and examined it. He saw all kinds of formation materials inside and was shocked. He hadn¡¯t expected to receive these unexpected gains. He remarked, ¡°The first miss seems to be in quite the rush, no?¡±

    ¡°Of course we¡¯re in a rush. The current situation...¡± Smay stopped midway through her sentence. She quickly changed her tone. ¡°An additional day we dy is another day my father suffers. Of course we need to save him as quickly as possible. Is three days enough?¡±

 Chapter 2349: Headache-Inducing Sisters

    The Monster Lord had to go after the one in the treasury, so he ended up letting Smay¡¯s group go instead. Both she and Mojard felt a powerful feeling of danger, as if the Monster Lord didn¡¯t treat them with any importance. They knew that the longer they stalled, the more unfavorable it would be for them. They had to rescue the Lord of ughter as quickly as possible. Only he could face off against the Monster Lord.

    Of course, there was no need to tell Zu An all of these things.

    ¡°Three days is too short,¡± Zu An said with a frown. He was actually already making the formation, but there was no way they could finish in three days.

    ¡°Five days is the maximum. If we dyed any longer, the Monster Lord could easily notice what is happening. Everything would be over then.¡± Smay had a serious expression. Everything in the underground city was under strict control, and the smallest activity would be noticed by the Monster Lord. Five days was already the longest they could stall for.

    Zu An knew the Monster Lord wouldn¡¯t do much even if he found out, but he still agreed in order to avoid drawing suspicion.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Smay nodded in satisfaction. Then, she discussed the details of their cooperation. In the meantime, however, she keenly sensed something and looked at him. ¡°I seem to have sensed that you wanted to say something several times, but stopped. Did you want to say something to me?¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°The first miss is overthinking things. I just wanted to praise the first miss for her carefully prepared n.¡±

    He was actually considering whether to tell her that the Monster Lord already knew everything and see if he could borrow her strength to fight the Monster Lord. After all, there were three forces right now. Both he and Smay were far weaker than the Monster Lord. But in the end, he still gave up on that thought. The Lord of ughter was already dead, after all, and he could even be considered to have died because of Zu An. Thus, in the end, they were destined to be enemies.

    More importantly, the Monster Lord already knew all of her ns, and yet she and Mojard were stillpletely in the dark. The gap in strength between the two sides could be even worse than he imagined. It also implied that she probably had moles on her side. If he told her the truth, it would be difficult for herto not leak crucial secrets. That would only put him in more danger.As such, it was better for Zu An to not say anything. Both of them remained allies, and he could still use her forces to wear down the Monster Lord; but more importantly, she wouldn¡¯t be a hindrance to him.

    When she heard his sincere praise, Smay seemed to enjoy it a lot. ¡°Haha, you are not too bad yourself. I thought that you were just a spoiled, perverted son, but it now seems that was just a facade you deliberately showed everyone.¡±

    Zu An smiled and didn¡¯t bother to exin things further.

    The two sides separated after the conversation. As Smay watched Zu An leave, her smile gradually disappeared.

    Mojard, who was covered in bandages, appeared at her side. ¡°First miss, do you truly believe this brat?¡±

    ¡°Of course not. He was hiding his real self so truly, so why would he obediently help us with what we need him to do?¡± Smay sneered, her demeanorpletely unlike the cheerful air she''d had just moments before.

    Mojard secretly made a gesture. ¡°Once he finishes the formation, should we¡­¡±

    Smay shook her head. ¡°No, we''ll still have more use for himter. We¡¯ll make our decision once we¡¯re in the Cultivation World. Once we meet my father, it will be useless no matter what kind of schemes he''s prepared.¡±

    Mojard had a fanatical expression as he said, ¡°Thete lord¡¯s cultivation touches the heavens. How could that trifling Donaire do anything? But the Monster Lord¡¯s strength has also risen powerfully over the years¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± Smay¡¯s expression was calm. ¡°Forget about the Monster Lord, even the Annihtion Beast outside is something father would be able to deal with.¡±

    A bit of confusion appeared in Mojard¡¯s expression. ¡°I wonder how thete lord could defeat the Annihtion Beast?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll naturally know when the timees.¡± Smay avoided the question, saying, ¡°Let¡¯s go. We should start doing what we need to do.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡±

    Mojard and Smay disappeared into the distance.

    ¡­

    When Zu An returned to the cave, he set up soundproofing formations and gathered the women for a meeting.

    Because of how serious this matter was, Jiang Luofu also participated. At one point, Zu An gave her a look, but he saw that her expression was cold and that she didn¡¯t look at him at all. His expression nked, but he couldn''t help butugh inwardly.

    <em>It seems she still mes me quite a bit.</em>

    Of course, he couldn''t afford to think of those things right now. Instead, he exined Smay¡¯s ns and his ideas with the rest. The women all had serious expression as they enthusiastically helped him consider things he could have overlooked. As they were all incredibly intelligent people with a lot of knowledge, the discussion made Zu An¡¯s n moreplete and reliable.

    ¡­

    In the following days, the group''s members went toplete their respective tasks.

    Zu An thus found a chance to return to his own room. He removed the pendant from his neck and entered the paradise dwelling inside. Compared to the poor environment of the underground city, this ce had a small bridge and flowing water. The scenery was elegant and refreshing.

    He then went to the wooden room at the center. There was a jade coffin resting upright there, and Qiu Honglei was lying inside quietly like a sleeping beauty. He hadn¡¯t expected her to still be asleep even after so much time¡­

    Zu An was lost in his worries when he suddenly heard a pretty voice by the door saying, ¡°Lady Qiu¡¯splexion has improved a lot as ofte. I believe she will wake soon.¡±

    Only then did Zu An notice Qiu Honglei¡¯s rosyplexion inside the jade coffin. It was already very different from the previous paleness that made her look as if she could pass away with the faintest gust of wind.

    <em>It seems I''m just overly on edge because of all the things that have happened recently.</em>

    He snapped out of his daze and looked at Jing Teng, who was dressed in a qipao. He had to admit that these clothes really showed off her amazing figure. Not only that, they made her assets even more noticeable.

    Normally, such a thing could make people think vulgar things, but her graceful and poised face made her look like a tree peony. Thus, her outfit only made her look even more beautiful and morous, and didn''t add any other associations.

    Judging from her calm andposed appearance, Zu An immediately realized that she was the older sister. ¡°Miss Jing, greetings.¡±

    Jing Teng replied calmly, ¡°With our rtionship, isn¡¯t this way of speaking a bit too strange?¡±

    Zu An was a bit embarrassed. ¡°It¡¯s because there''s a natural unapproachable presence around you that can¡¯t be offended, so I inadvertently became a bit polite.¡±

    ¡°And you haven¡¯t offended me enough?¡± The moment she said that, Jing Teng¡¯s snow-white skin turned a bit pink.

    Zu An couldn''t help but feel a bit stirred too. The intimate scenes between them appeared in his mind.

    ¡°Do you feel a bit morefortable talking to my little sister? Should I call her out?¡± Jing Teng asked suddenly.

    If a man said yes to that, their brain would be no different from a pig trotter.

    Zu An held her hand and said, ¡°No, I like staying with you more.¡±

    A pleased smile appeared on Jing Teng¡¯s face; and yet a momentter, her expression became really dangerous, and she flung his hand away. ¡°Hmph, men are no good after all. He shows one side in front of you and another behind your back.¡±

    Zu An was stunned.

    The ssical and graceful look disappeared, now reced with a flirtatious and dangerous expression. Dark Jing Teng¡¯s personality had clearly appeared again.

    Zu An sighed. ¡°Are you sisters messing with me on purpose?¡±

    White Jing Teng replied calmly, ¡°How would we know if you were sincere or not otherwise?¡±

    ¡°How could I not know that your personalities can change at any time? I was just ying along with your game earlier.¡± Zu An hugged her and bit her ear while whispering about some things they''d done together before. Dark Jing Teng¡¯s body immediately softened.

    <em>Right, we yed with him together like that before. How could he not know about this?</em>

    ¡°Then what did youe here today for? Did youe to make fools of us?¡± This time, the voice came from the proud older sister.

    ¡°Big sister, you really are unromantic. He definitely came here to unite on Mt Wu today. Same rules; we¡¯ll do the finger-guessing game to decide who goes first.¡± This voice came from the crafty, unruly, and passionate little sister.

    ¡°No way, you always refuse to admit your loss.¡±

    ¡°Then I guess I¡¯llpromise a bit; let¡¯s go together.¡±

    ¡­

    As he listened to their conversation, Zu An was speechless. When he saw that it was going somewhere strange, he quickly told them why he''d entered. ¡°Today, I came here because I have something special to entrust the two of you with.¡±

 Chapter 2350: He Doesnâ€™t Know That We Know

    ¡°Tsk, see, big sis? Didn¡¯t I say this guy had no conscience? He wouldn¡¯t look for us unless he needed something,¡± Dark Jing harrumphed and said with a sneer.

    As she looked at Zu An, White Jing Teng¡¯s expression also became a bit colder.

    ¡°Things really have been way too dangerous as ofte. It''s already been many days since I was able to sleep¡­¡± Zu An quickly exined what he''d experienced to them before adding, ¡°I know I¡¯ve neglected the two of you. I really am sorry.¡±

    ¡°You actually went to the Monster World!¡± White Jing Teng looked shocked as she said, ¡°No wonder I sensed a disgusting energy as soon as I woke up.¡±

    Zu An was a bit moved. After all, Jing Teng had been seriously injured and had to sleep a lot to slowly recover, and yet she''d appeared as soon as he came in. That meant she was really happy that he''d arrived and had woken up to meet him. And yet, he''d never visited them all this time. He really was behaving like a scumbag.

    ¡°And that Annihtion Beast or whatever, it sounds fun just hearing about it.¡± Dark Jing Teng frowned. ¡°But I¡¯m injured right now and am not at my strongest, or else even if there were several of those things, I¡¯d have easily defeated them.¡±

    Zu An was surprised. He knew that the sisters were strong, but he hadn¡¯t expected them to be this strong! After all, this Monster World was so powerful, and yet they''d been pressured to the brink of extinction. But she was saying that she could defeat several of them?

    After thinking about it for a bit, though, he recalled that the mysterious great tomb seemed to have suppressed a lot of really powerful beings. Once he realized that, it made more sense.

    ¡°Then aren¡¯t you in a lot of danger right now?¡± White Jing Teng didn¡¯t speak as much as her little sister, but she was more considerate.¡°Even though it was a bit dangerous, it should be okay. However, I do need the two of you to help me a bit,¡± Zu An said.

    White Jing Teng was about to say something when Dark Jing Teng sneered and said, ¡°Hmph, I have to sleep for ten years to make up for helping youst time. You said you were going to use yin and yang dual cultivation to help us recover, and yet we haven¡¯t seen any sign of you at all. We haven¡¯t even settled the bill for thest time, but you¡¯re already asking for our help again? I¡¯m not doing it! Or else I¡¯ll bepletely sucked dry by you.¡±

    Zu An was a bit embarrassed. As ofte, his behavior had indeed been a bit dishonest. Even though he had¡­ helped the two of them once,ter, he''d ended up with all sorts of things to worry about and never found the free time to do so again.

    White Jing Teng said, ¡°Don¡¯t listen to little sister. Since you''re in danger, of course we''re going to help.¡±

    Zu An was really happy to hear this. ¡°Thank you!¡±

    <em>It really is the big sister who is better at understanding others after all.</em>

    Dark Jing Teng gritted her teeth.

    <em>I¡¯m always ying the viin, and she''s always pretending to be a good person. She really is two-faced¡­</em>

    She was about to say something when she suddenly heard what Zu An was asking them for. Her eyes lit up. ¡°Hm? That sounds fun! You should¡¯ve told me sooner. I¡¯m up for it!¡±

    Zu An was speechless. When he saw how spirited she was, he even started to feel a bit of regret. He really hoped she wouldn''t end up causing any trouble!

    <em>It would be really great if it was just White Jing Teng who was helping.</em>

    Of course, he knew that the two sisters were now sharing this body and that they couldn''t be separated at all. Helpless to do anything else, he could only share the details with both of them. ¡°This is the current n¡­¡±

    ¡­

    In the following days, Zu An continued to create the transport formation in a hidden ce. He was incredibly busy one day, but someone suddenly reported that the Monster Lord had ordered for the pce emissary to bring Pei Mianman and the others away.

    He quickly rushed back. Jiang Luofu was already waiting for him and said when he arrived, ¡°Ah Zu, Xiaoxi and the others have been taken away by the pce emissary!¡±

    Zu An quickly looked around. There wasn¡¯t a single one of the others left apart from Jiang Luofu. His face darkened. He looked at the remaining pce emissary and eximed, ¡°What is going on here?!¡±

    The pce emissary replied, ¡°There was an intruder in the pce a few days ago. The lord has sent us to investigate. Even though we have captured some suspects, we have not captured the main culprit yet. The lord was worried about the saintesses¡¯ safety, so he ordered for us to invite them to the pce as guests. That way, they wouldn¡¯t be attacked by evildoers.¡±

    Zu An thought to himself, <em>Like hell I¡¯ll believe that! </em>He didn¡¯t bother responding to the pce emissary. He told Jiang Luofu to hide in the True Demon territory while he went after the others.

    The pce emissary stopped him. ¡°Young master, please calm down. The saintesses have already arrived at the pce. Nothing will happen to them.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression became ice-cold. ¡°Get lost!¡±

    That pce emissary¡¯s expression changed. With his identity, he would be treated carefully and respectfully no matter where he went. When had he ever been disrespected like this before?

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled the Pce Emissary for +444 +444 +444¡­</strong>

    He was about to act up, but when he recalled the lord¡¯s rage before he left, he forcefully endured his anger, stepped aside, and didn¡¯t start a conflict.

    Zu An quickly turned into a streak of light, rushing toward the pce.

    The pce emissary narrowed his eyes. This Donaire seemed to be much stronger than the rumors suggested!

    <em>Hmph, but no matter how strong you are, you''re no match for the lord. If you end up annoying the lord, we¡¯ll see just how you¡¯ll end up then!</em>

    While he was cursing Zu An behind his back, Zu An had already arrived at the pce to meet the Monster Lord.

    The Monster Lord stroked the three heads of the strange bird by his feet. He asked calmly, ¡°Why did you rush all the way here in such a panicked manner?¡±

    Zu An carefully looked at him. Even though the Monster Lord looked like a small old man who never saw the sun, Zu An still didn¡¯t dare to rx at all. With his current level of insight, he could see things that ordinary people couldn''t.

    The Monster Lord had demonic energy surging around his entire body like ck clouds. The demonic energy was even gathering to form a menacing face that stared at Zu An, as if it was ready to swallow him up at any time.

    Zu An replied, ¡°Thank you for your concern, lord, but even though our True Demon race has fallen quite a bit, we should still be able to protect a few women. There is no need to trouble the lord for that; it would be best to save the lord¡¯s forces for catching the true rebels.¡±

    ¡°The true rebels?¡± The Monster Lordughed. ¡°Who do you think those true rebels are? Smay?¡±

    ¡°Smay is naturally one of them, but there are also the ones who broke into the treasury a few days ago. They are clearly no pushovers. The pce has so many powerful experts, and yet not only did they sessfully break in, they even achieved their objectives and left. This subordinate is slow-witted and truly cannot imagine who in this entire pce has this level of ability.¡±

    Zu An sneered inwardly and thought, <em>If it wasn¡¯t because I just happened to know the truth, I might really have beenpletely fooled by this Monster Lord.</em>

    <em>I can use the fact that he still doesn¡¯t know that I already know to my advantage.</em>

    ¡°Oh?¡± Sure enough, the Monster Lord¡¯s eyes flickered brightly when he heard what Zu An said, as if he''d thought of something.

    Zu An remained expressionless, but he sighed with relief inside.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    <em>It seems my n to redirect attention has seeded. Besides that mysterious Time Scribe, what other faction in this underground city has that level of power?</em>

    He couldn''t say that he had already discovered the Time Scribe, and could only hint at him like this. Fortunately, the Monster Lord wasn¡¯t too stupid.

    <em>It¡¯s best if these two sides end up biting each other.</em>

    ¡°I already have some ideas about that matter. As for the saintesses, they can just live in the pce for now. I have heard that one saintess has already gone missing. I do not wish for the same thing to happen again,¡± the Monster Lord said.

    Zu An¡¯s expression changed. Xie Daoyun¡¯s sudden disappearance hadn¡¯t escaped others¡¯ sight. He couldn''t find any way to exin himself here.

    He wanted to say something else when the Monster Lord interrupted him and said, ¡°Smay wanted you to make a transport formation to go to the Cultivation World and save the Lord of ughter, right? Once you return, I will return the saintesses to you untouched. I am not doing this to target you; I do the same thing whenever I send out my men on battles or missions. You are no exception.¡±

    The Monster Lord chuckled. ¡°Of course, out of fear that you might be lonely, I left you with a single maid to take care of your everyday life. I am quite considerate, am I not? Ha ha ha.¡±

    Zu An became quiet. The Monster Lord¡¯s meaning was already clear. He didn¡¯t trust Zu An, which was why he needed all of these hostages. The saintesses were the best candidates. In theory, Ji Xiaoxi was a maid, but because Zu An had started conflict with Manager Pi over her, she was definitely someone he cared about.

    ¡­

    While Zu An was petitioning the Monster Lord, the captured Pei Mianman in the pce depths suddenly opened her eyes. She moved to the window and exchanged looks with herpanions.

    ¡°It was as Ah Zu anticipated after all. We¡¯ll continue as nned!¡±

 Chapter 2351: The First Missâ€™ True Appearance

    <h4>Chapter 2351: The First Miss¡¯ True Appearance</h4>

    They''d thought that they would have to at least knock out some guards first or something, but they discovered that they were being treated alright. As long as they didn¡¯t leave a certain area, no one woulde to stop them. That ended up saving them a lot of effort. The women thus began to carry out their respective tasks ording to their n.

    Meanwhile, Zu An left the pce in disappointment. Many guards looked at him with mockery. Several of them had seen his angry conflict with the Monster Lord.

    <i>This guy really is daring. He actually dares to anger the lord!</i>

    However, they could all tell that he cared a lot about those women. This way, with them as hostages, he wouldn¡¯t dare to betray them anymore at all.

    When he heard their ridicule, Zu An¡¯s furious and betrayed expression gave way to the slightest grin.

    All of this was actually within his expectations. He''d always known fully well that since the Monster Lord already knew his real identity, there was no way members of the True Demon race would be considered useful as hostages against him. Meanwhile, Pei Mianman and the others couldn''t be overlooked. Anyone in their right mind would use them to control him. Sure enough, the Monster Lord had acted just as he''d anticipated and brought the women into the pce.

    The more furious he looked on the outside, the safer Pei Mianman and the others would be.

    ...

    Just as Zu An returned to the edge of the True Demon territory, Smay suddenly appeared in front of him, blocking the way. ¡°Young master, I just learned that the Monster Lord captured your women.¡±

    Zu An shot her a cold look. ¡°Are you here to make a fool of me?¡±

    ¡°Of course not. The Monster Lord seems to be very suspicious and is using them to threaten you,¡± Smay said.

    ¡°I know that. Can you provide any constructive assistance? For example, helping me save them?¡± Zu An said coldly.

    ¡°Once my father returns, we will naturally be able to save them," Smay said, looking embarrassed. However, she seemed to sense that her words didn¡¯t carry much sincerity and quickly added, ¡°There¡¯s actually no need for you to be too worried right now. The Monster Lord likes men and not women, and right now, he... treasures you so much. Those women should be safe.¡±

    Zu An nodded slightly. It was only because his previous investigations had uncovered that fact that he dared to carry out this n. Otherwise, the risks would really have been too great.

    ¡°I can promise you that once I save my father, I will definitely help you save them.¡± Smay knew that he could turn traitor because he was now under the Monster Lord¡¯s control. That was why she had to confirm his loyalty.

    Zu An sighed. This Smay really wasn¡¯t a good boss. She didn¡¯t know how to provide any carrots. He feigned frustration as he replied, ¡°What if you can¡¯t save them?¡±

    Smay hesitated for a moment. She seemed to sense that he was a bit shaken and knew she couldn''t afford to let him have any other thoughts. She quickly said, ¡°If that kind of unfortunate situation really does happen, you can choose from all of the most beautiful women in the world...¡± As if sensing that her words were a bit too empty, she even added, ¡°And I can even give myself to you inpensation.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    <i>Why does this person just love to return favors with grudges?</i>

    In that instant, light shed across Smay¡¯s head. A beautiful face with a lovable yet displeased expression appeared in front of Zu An.

    Even though Zu An had seen his fair share of beauties, he was still a bit amazed in that instant. Smay was actually this beautiful?

    Of course, it could be partly because of the stark contrast this drew with her previous appearance, adding to the feeling of shock.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Sensing the shock in his eyes, a hint of pride appeared in Smay¡¯s gaze. With her beauty, wasn¡¯t a yboy like him more than easy enough to deal with?

    But soon, a bashful look appeared on her face as she said, ¡°I ask for the young master¡¯s forgiveness. The reason I met you with that other appearance is because it is my n¡¯s custom. The women of our n only let their husbands see their true appearance, so that is why... The young master believes my sincerity now, right?¡±

    Zu An immediately showed an extremely moved expression, as if he really wanted to take her hands. ¡°Being able to receive the first miss¡¯f avor is truly worth three lifetimes of this Donaire¡¯s happiness.¡±

    Smay took a slight step back while turning around to avoid his touch before saying, ¡°If the young master could help me save my father, that would be my good fortune. Once my father witnesses how courageous and brave you are, he will definitely agree to our marriage.¡±

    Zu An patted his chest and replied, ¡°I will take care of what I must. I will definitely save my father-inw!¡±

    When she heard him call the Lord of ughter ''father-inw'', Smay¡¯s eyes carried a hint of disgust, but she still quickly concealed it. ¡°I believe that the young master will definitely be able to do it!¡±

    Then, they discussed a few more details before Zu An left in high spirits.

    When Zu An left, the pleasant smile on Smay¡¯s face disappeared, reced by nothing but endless icy cold.

    Mojard quickly appeared next to her. He eximed with a hint of jealousy, ¡°That kid actually saw the first miss¡¯ first appearance! He deserves death!¡±

    Smay said indifferently, ¡°He does indeed, but not now. We still need his abilities. I had no choice either. All of his women were taken by the Monster Lord as hostages. I was worried that he would betray us, so I could only do this to rope him in.¡±

    ¡°The first miss has really suffered.¡± Mojard bowed.

    Smay said coldly, ¡°That Donaire at least has slightly good looks. We can offer him as a sacrifice, as his reward when the timees.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± When he learned of Zu An¡¯s fate, Mojard¡¯s displeasure immediately disappeared.

    ...

    Meanwhile, Zu An had already walked quite far away. The enamored look on his face immediately vanished without a trace.

    <i>This first miss really does think too highly of herself. Even if she has some looks, does she really think other people will be hell-bent on helping her just by relying on that alone?</i>

    Forget about someone like him who had already seen the most beautiful people in the world, even the real Donaire wouldn''t necessarily have beenpletely bewitched by her appearance alone. Besides, her dinosaur head really left people with too much mental trauma. Who knew what her real appearance was like?!

    But he still found it a bit strange. Her appearance was mysteriously familiar somehow, but he couldn''t really say how.

    By the time he returned to the cave dwelling, Jiang Luofu was already running around in circles. When she saw him return, she asked, ¡°So?¡±

    Zu An led her back to his room. After setting up a soundproofing barrier, he said, ¡°Everything went smoothly.¡±

    Jiang Luofu also said, ¡°When I heard that I wasn¡¯t going to be taken with the others, I secretly gave my portion to Manman.¡±

    They hadn¡¯t known who would be taken by the Monster Lord as hostages, and thought at first that all of them would be taken; that was how they''d been given their respective missions. Of course, for the sake of guarding against this kind of situation, they also had contingency ns. Who would have thought that those ns would actuallye into use?

    ¡°Alright, you¡¯ve done well. The Monster Lord was probably worried that I would be angered too badly, and made sure to leave you as a female servant to take care of me,¡± Zu An said with a smile.

    When she recalled what they had experienced not too long ago, Jiang Luofu blushed a bit. She harrumphed and said, ¡°You really don¡¯t have any decency at all. By the way, will they really be safe?¡±

    Zu An calmly said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the Monster Lord isn¡¯t interested in women. With their cultivation, they should be able to protect themselves. Furthermore, they still have their magic weapons and alerting devices. If something does happen, I''ll be notified immediately.¡±

    When she heard what he said, Jiang Luofu calmed down. She looked at the dusky underground city. ¡°If we calcte the time, the transport formation should be finished tomorrow. Everything will be over then.¡±

 Chapter 2353: Destruction is Easier than Creation

    ¡°This is just a precaution to ensure safe transportter.¡± Zu An¡¯s words immediately interrupted Smay''s order.

    ¡°Precaution?¡± Smay¡¯s expression turned cold. ¡°You¡¯ve caused such a disturbance that the Monster Lord will definitelye here to investigate, and yet you¡¯re still calling it a precaution?¡±

    She''d already received warnings from the hidden sentries she ced in the surroundings, sying that pce emissaries were alreadying here to investigate.

    Zu An chuckled. He pointed at the giant transport formation around him and said in an unhurried manner, ¡°When this kind of world-crossing transport formation is activated, it will inevitably create a disturbance. The Monster Lord will definitely be able to sense it then. Meanwhile, there will be a dy between the activation of the formation and the actual transportation. If the Monster Lord attacks us in that time, we might not be able to reach our destination and might even get stuck in the void.¡±

    Smay¡¯s expression changed. She knew that what Zu An was saying was true. Still, she asked, ¡°But wouldn¡¯t this kind of noise draw the Monster Lord here sooner?¡±

    As soon as she finished her sentence, the world shook intensely. Cracks appeared in the dome of the underground city.

    When they felt the encroaching power of destruction, all of the monsters present were horrified. Over the course of thousands of years, this terrifying power had already been carved deeply into their very bones.

    ¡°The energy of the Annihtion Beast!¡± the True Demon elder cried out, his face pale.

    Even Smay¡¯s side was trembling. There were traces of fear and despair in their eyes.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//omSmay looked up into the air. She quickly noticed the Monster Lord rushing upward from the distant pce and was surprised. She gave Zu An a look and asked, ¡°Was all of this your doing?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Zu An nodded. He looked at the distant Monster Lord with a calm expression.

    This underground city was thest bastion of the Monster World, which was why its defensive ability was also unprecedented. Zu An had looked around it whenever he had time. With his knowledge of formations, he had quickly seen that there was an ultrarge-scale formation that wrapped around the entire underground city. It not only fended off the destructive power outside, but also cut off the aura of the entire underground city so the Annihtion Beast couldn''t discover it.

    He had spent quite some time thinking about how topletely get rid of the potential future disaster that was the Monster World. Even though the Monster World was already on death¡¯s door, there were still countless powerful cultivators still here, let alone the most powerful of them all, the Monster Lord. If there were a frontal sh here, Zu An¡¯s side would have no chance of survival at all.

    Additionally, he''d unexpectedly learned that the Monster Lord knew he was a fake the entire time, but pretended otherwise the entire time. The Monster Lord was clearly scheming something even greater. Unfortunately, Zu An was never able to figure out just what exactly that was.

    In that case, he''d just destroy everything. That way, he wouldn¡¯t have to worry about the Monster Lord''s schemes anymore. And the easiest way to destroy this underground city was simply to borrow the power of the Annihtion Beast outside. As long as he could destroy the underground city¡¯s defensive formation, the power of destruction would naturally rush in. The Annihtion Beast would also soon notice this ce. Once it arrived, this entire world would bepletely destroyed.

    But how could it be that easy to destroy the underground city¡¯s defensive formation? It was extremelyrge-scale, and it was the very lifeline of this Monster World¡¯s survival. That was why its security was highly prioritized andprehensive. The important formation nodes were all heavily guarded, and there were other formations used to protect these spots. If an attempt was made, the attacker likely wouldn''t even be able to destroy those protective formations before the pce emissaries and even the Monster Lord could find and kill them.

    Furthermore, the entire formation¡¯s core was hidden deep in the castle where the Monster Lord personally oversaw it. Many guards and pce emissaries patrolled the pce, not allowing anyone near.

    Zu An could have changed his appearance and snuck inside, but if he''d done that, no one would be working on the transport formation outside. Without a way out, even if they seeded in destroying this formation, it would be game over whether it was the Monster Lord or Annihtion Beast that went after them.

    That was why he and the women had devised this n. As someone who had already held a position of high authority for a long time, he understood well how other authority figures thought. No matter how much they imed to trust their subordinates, they still made sure to have certain special methods of control. For instance, if a great army went out to battle, their family and children had to remain in the capital, and so on.

    Furthermore, the Monster Lord already knew that Zu An wasn¡¯t actually Donaire. He could even already know Zu An''s true identity. That meant he definitely needed some way to keep Zu An under control. And what, in this entire underground city, could be a better form of control than Pei Mianman and the other women?

    Everything had gone the way Zu An anticipated. The Monster Lord had sent people to take the women into the pce as hostages, which provided them with the chance to approach the formation core.

    Destruction was far easier than creation! Even with Zu An¡¯s current skill in formations, he likely still wouldn''t be able to make a massive formation like this. But if all he needed to do was destroy the huge formation, that would be much easier.

    Even though the formations in the pce had many strong cultivators guarding them, Zu An was now proficient in the Secrets of Spatial Distortion, and he''d made some special formations that let him influence the bnce of the formation core without making direct contact. Once the bnce of the core was broken, problems would happen across the entire defensive formation. The terrifying destructive power outside would then have a chance of getting in. At that time, the entire underground city would be brought to the brink of copse. No matter how many schemes the Monster Lord had, he wouldn¡¯t have the leisure to carry them out.

    Of course, the special formations Zu An had made couldn''t be ced too far from the formation core. Someone had to enter the pce. Meanwhile, Pei Mianman and the others had just been invited into the pce as hostages, which made things much easier. Naturally, just in case, the formation discs he''d given the women were each one part of the whole, and they had all been disguised as personal items. That made it harder for others to find out that they were formation discs.

    Now, it seemed as if Pei Mianman and the others had sessfullypleted their n.

    Smay was shocked and furious, eximing, ¡°You actually chose to destroy this entire underground city to hold him up?!¡±

    She''d wanted to save her father to make him the king of this world again. But if there was no world once he came back, wouldn¡¯t everything be meaningless?

    Even the True Demon elders¡¯ expressions changed. They wondered whether to immediately contact their nsmen so they could be transported away together.

    Zu An took in their reactions. He exined with a smile, ¡°The first miss is worrying too much. How powerful is the great formation of this underground city, after all, and how could I destroy such a thing so easily? With the Monster Lord repairing it, the entire underground city should be fine.¡±

    This transport formation could only carry a limited number of people, so he naturally couldn''t let them do whatever they wanted.

    ¡°Is that so? But it doesn¡¯t seem like a small matter to me,¡± Smay said skeptically.

    She looked at the dome and saw zing meteor-like objects crash down from it. There were screams and wails everywhere, as if it was the end of the world. She knew they weren¡¯t meteors, but rather magma from deep underground. In order to hide from the Annihtion Beast, the entire city had been built deep in the''s core. There was naturally magma all around them. There were only burning stones falling, but a rain of fire could soon ensue.

    Zu An smiled. ¡°Is it that you don¡¯t have enough confidence in the Monster Lord and countless geniuses, or do you have too much confidence in me?¡±

    Smay figured that what he said made sense. A great formation that condensed the knowledge of countless generations of geniuses couldn''t be destroyed this easily. That would make less sense.

    ¡°In that case, we should hurry and leave. Otherwise, if the Monster Lord realizes what''s going on, we won¡¯t be able to leave anymore," she said, then ordered her subordinates to supply the formation with energy ording to Zu An¡¯s instructions.

    Jiang Luofu gave the monsters a look.

    <em>Ah Zu¡¯s mouth can fool others to death without having to pay a thing himself¡­</em>

    After all, their n was indeed topletely destroy this entire underground city. Not even genius formation masters could achieve such a thing, but Zu An and Xie Daoyun were the cream of the crop in this field. The two had learned the Secrets of Spatial Distortion in a single night and alreadye up with a rough outline of this n.

    Jiang Luofu really wondered just how they had learned all of this that night, allowing them toe up with such an ingenious method.

    Indeed, destruction was easier than creation.

 Chapter 2354: Unstoppable

    <h4>Chapter 2354: Unstoppable</h4>

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t we leaving yet?¡± Smay asked impatiently.

    Her subordinates had already activated all of the surrounding parts of the formation. Bright blue lines formed patterns, shining with high-level formation radiance. But the most important part of the formation was still within Donaire¡¯s hands. If he didn¡¯t do anything, the formation wouldn¡¯t fully activate.

    ¡°Wait a bit longer,¡± Zu An said as he looked in the pce¡¯s direction. He looked a bit nervous.

    ¡°What are we waiting for?¡± Smay was really unhappy. This guy really wasn''t being very obedient today. If it wasn¡¯t because she still needed his help, she likely would have long since turned hostile.

    ¡°Waiting for people!¡± Zu An calmly replied.

    Smay¡¯s expression changed. She was about to ask more questions when spatial distortions suddenly appeared, causing the air to ripple like water. Her subordinates clenched their weapons and felt their fine hairs stand on end. What they were most worried about were the pce emissaries catching up, or even the Monster Lord himself arriving.

    A secondter, however, Pei Mianman and the others walked out of the spatial ripples. Jiang Luofu watched them nervously one by one; when she saw Ji Xiaoxi walk out too, she finally sighed in relief. Pei Mianman¡¯s group was a bit surprised to see that Smay had that many subordinates, but when they saw Zu An, they immediately felt at ease. When they arrived at Zu An¡¯s side, they all looked at Zu An with expressions that said ¡®fortunately, we lived up to the task¡¯.

    Zu An stood protectively in front of the women, then said to Smay with a smile, ¡°Since we''re going to a new world, I just couldn''t feel at ease keeping them inside the pce.¡±

    Smay gestured for her subordinates to put away their weapons. She was now truly shocked, asking, ¡°Just how did you do it?¡±

    After all, there were countless experts in the pce. Even though the Monster Lord had left, it was still a tiger¡¯s den. Just how were these weak women able to escape from deep within the pce?

    ¡°Just yed around with a few spatial formations.¡± Zu An didn¡¯t exin in too much detail. He simply took out a formation disc and started to operate therge formation.

    Smay immediately felt relieved.

    <i>That¡¯s right, this guy can even make a great formation that travels across worlds, so why wouldn¡¯t he be able to make a transport formation covering such a small distance?</i>

    <i>But there are also many formation masters in the pce, as well as many restrictions. An ordinary formation definitely wouldn¡¯t work.</i>

    <i>Yet he aplished this!</i>

    <i>This proves that his skills might even be higher than those chief formation masters in the pce, and by quite a bit.</i>

    Even though she knew that Donaire was good at formations before, she never expected him to be this good.

    <i>Could this be the result of the Secrets of Spatial Distortion I gave him?</i>

    This was a text that she found from her father¡¯s hidden treasury. She thought that it was some extremely formidable manual.

    But even after her own formation masters studied it for a long time, they couldn''t understand it at all. They all thought that it was just deliberately mystifying everything and talking a lot of rubbish.

    She was worried that it was her own subordinates who were toocking in skill, so she captured some court formation masters. They couldn''t figure it out either.

    This was thest nail in the coffin, and she decided that it was just some fake book. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have given it to Donaire so easily.

    But now, it seemed like the other party really didprehend its secrets!

    Donaire was known as a formation genius to begin with, and he could evenprehend this such a mysterious and profound manual. He really is a genius among geniuses!

    <i>It seems like I¡¯ve assessed his value incorrectly.</i>

    <i>Killing him just like that after getting what we want would be too much of a waste. If he really does help my father, then making him the emperor¡¯s son-inw isn¡¯t that out of the question...</i>

    Pei Mianman gave her a look of surprise.

    <i>There¡¯s something wrong with the way this woman is looking at Ah Zu!</i>

    It wasn¡¯t just her. When had the way Xie Daoyun, Xiaoxi, and Suolun Shi looked at Zu An even been proper?

    After not seeing her for just a day, she even felt like the way Jiang Luofu was looking at Ah Zu was a bit strange.

    But it was only a single night. The development between the two of them can¡¯t be that fast, right?

    <i>There¡¯s no way, there¡¯s no way. Ah Zu and Jiang Luofu were busy building the transport formation. How would they have time?</i>

    <i>And Jiang Luofu is Xiaoxi¡¯s little aunt. Ah Zu wouldn¡¯t be that much of a brute.</i>

    ...

    Meanwhile, the Monster Lord, who was repairing the great formation by the dome, sensed the spatial distortions. He roared in fury and couldn''t be bothered with the repairs anymore. He flew toward the True Demon territory.

    When she heard the Monster Lord¡¯s roar, Smay¡¯s face paled. She quickly urged Zu An, ¡°Hurry!¡±

    Even though every one of them was a powerful figure in the Monster World, they were just too far from the Monster Lord. There was no way they could defeat the Monster Lord even if all of them worked together. Their only hope was for the Lord of ughter to fight the Monster Lord after they rescued him.

    Many people were even starting to have doubts. The Lord of ughter had been suppressed for so many years already, so his cultivation speed definitely couldn''tpete with that of the Monster Lord, who had abundant resources. As time went on, would he really be able to win against the Monster Lord?

    Zu An¡¯s expression was stern the entire time, and he didn¡¯t get distracted at all. His fingers quickly moved across the formation disc. Translucent formation gs flew out from the disc toward the various nodes of the great formation. Whenever the formation gs entered a node, the surroundings shone brilliantly and rings of clear light rippled out.

    The great formation wrapped around them in countless concentricyers with Zu An at the center. As he continued to operate the disc, the rings of formations lit up one by one. It was clear that only when the centermost formation lit up would the great transport formationpletely activate.

    Smay knew that Zu An was already acting at incredible speed. She had never seen a formation master who worked this quickly. But when she saw how fast the Monster Lord was approaching, she realized that there wasn¡¯t enough time. With the Monster Lord¡¯s speed, he would already arrive before the final ring lit up. Everything would be over then.

    Smay gritted her teeth. She raised her hand and released a bright signal. Some figures quickly rushed into the sky from a distant valley, heading directly for the Monster Lord.

    Zu An couldn''t help but give them a look. They were all powerful cultivators! Even though they were a bit weaker than the Bloodthirst Crocodile, they weren¡¯t that much weaker.

    <i>This Smay does have quite the resources under her disposal! She actually still has so many powerful individuals under her.</i>

    ¡°You¡¯re courting death!¡± The Monster Lord let out a cold snort.

    He didn¡¯t even do anything personally, though. His mount swiped its ws, and the two figures that were at the very front were shed into a st of bloody mist. Then, the head on the left fired a st of green energy. One figure couldn''t move out of the way in time and was surrounded by the energy. It screamed miserably and was turned into white bones in an instant. The head on the right then fired a st of ck energy that wrapped around another expert who had rushed out to stop him. That individual¡¯s bitter scream came to a grunting halt, and his body turned into a pool of blood.

    The subordinates who remained werepletely crushed. Even though they had already been prepared for death when they carried out this order, they hadn¡¯t expected such miserable deaths from the very first encounter. What was the point of even fighting?! A mysterious sense of fear filled their bodies. They could no longer muster the slightest intention to fight, and all turned tail to run.

    The strange bird¡¯s middle head suddenly opened its mouth, which grew to an immense size. It released a terrifyingly powerful suction force from within The fleeing experts discovered that despite flying at full strength, they actually couldn¡¯t move forward from their original locations at all; not only that, they were even moving backward! They screamed in horror, ¡°No!¡±

    They were unable to maintain control and were sucked into the mouth of the middle head. The bird''s mouth snapped shut with a bone-chilling crunch. Then, it tilted its head up and swallowed all the flesh within.

    ...

    The faces of everyone watching from the distance paled. They had known the Monster Lord was powerful, but they hadn¡¯t expected it to have reached this extent. The Monster Lord didn¡¯t even have to interfere personally to stop those powerful cultivators. All of them together hadn¡¯t even been able to do anything to his mount.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Many of them wondered if it was toote to change sides right now. Going against the Monster Lord was absolutely a one-way ticket to death!

    Smay¡¯s entire body shook as she was filled with both fear and anger. Those were all loyal subordinates who had followed her for many years! Apart from the few at her side right now, they were thest of her father''s forces, the Lord of ughter¡¯s elite troops. She hadn¡¯t expected the Monster Lord to kill them like ughtering chickens, and in such tragic ways.

    No, even ughtering chickens would be a bit harder...

 Chapter 2355: Falling Out

    Mojard patted Smay gently on the shoulder. ¡°First miss, they died while fulfilling their duty. Once we rescue the Lord of ughter, we must repay this debt of blood to the Monster Lord. We also need to ensure that theirter generations and nsmen can enjoy endless glory.¡±

    Smay had a distressed smile as she replied, ¡°They¡¯ve been secretly following me for so many years. Whatter generations or nsmen would they have left?¡±

    The other subordinates had sad expressions as well. They had plotted rebellion for so many years, living a life so dangerous they didn¡¯t even know if they would live to see tomorrow. What family would they still have?

    Mojard also grew silent when he heard that.

    Smay gave her subordinates a deep bow. ¡°All of you have really worked hard these years for my sake. I, Smay, vow right here that once I rescue my father and reim the world, that the two of us definitely won¡¯t let you all down. The entire world will be for everyone to share!¡±

    The subordinates'' declining morale immediately received a boost. They all said excitedly, ¡°We pledge our lives to the first miss!¡±

    Pei Mianman couldn''t help but secretly say to Zu An, ¡°This first miss is quite good at managing her subordinates.¡±

    Yun Yuqing couldn''t help but sigh in amazement as well. ¡°She definitely has incredible charm and skill; otherwise, how could she maintain so many loyal subordinates?¡±

    When she recalled how her own subordinates had betrayed her in the past, she felt more and more admiration.Zu An nodded. He''d actually wanted to use this chance to understand a bit more about the Monster Lord¡¯s strength, but these guys hadn¡¯t managed to bring anything out of him. It really was disappointing.

    Still, even though he did have some respect for the monsters who had just died, he didn¡¯t feel any sympathy for them. After all, these monsters had already invaded countless worlds and harmed so many creatures. Even if they werepletely wiped out, their deaths wouldn¡¯t be enough to pay for their crimes.

    Meanwhile, the Monster Lord drew closer. His expression finally changed. ¡°Donaire, you actually dare to betray me?!¡±

    Even though the previous individuals had been killed almost instantly, they''d still more or less held him up a little bit. Thest piece of the formation lit up and the entire transport formation was fully activated. Everyone within was surrounded by a translucent field of light. Incredible spatial power wrapped around them. Their figures gradually grew indistinct; they were clearly about to shatter space and leave.

    With a wave of the Monster Lord¡¯s hand, arge corner of the formation was sted apart. However, the formation¡¯s power had already activated, so destroying it didn¡¯t do anything.

    Before Zu An could even respond, the True Demon great elder quickly said, ¡°My lord, we were abducted by Smay¡¯s group! This wasn¡¯t our intention. Please forgive us, lord!¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The other elders were so scared they began to kowtow on the ground. There was no way they wouldn''t panic! They could leave through the transport formation right now, but what about the others who were still in the True Demon territory? Wouldn¡¯t the furious Monster Lord just destroy their entire race?

    They were also really depressed. They had been dragged here by Donaire without knowing anything, and then they''d somehow ended up colluding with Smay. They''d been just fine sitting at home when this pot of usations fell onto them from the sky!

    The great elder had been grateful that Donaire seemed to have be a lot more mature. He''d felt that the future of the True Demon race could rest on Donaire''s shoulders. But now, he really wanted to curse at him. This kid was leading the entire True Demon race to destruction! If not for the fact that the situation didn¡¯t permit it, he would¡¯ve even directly killed this little bastard to beg the Monster Lord for forgiveness!

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled the True Demon great elder for +666 +666+666¡­</strong>

    Zu An didn¡¯t pay him any attention, and looked at the Monster Lord instead. He remarked, ¡°The lord personally came to see us off. I really am overwhelmed by the favor.¡±

    The Monster Lord¡¯s face darkened. When he saw Pei Mianman and the other women at Zu An''s side, his expression grew even uglier. ¡°So the problems with the underground city¡¯s defensive formations were your doing.¡±

    While speaking, he sent a ball of destructive energy crashing down on all of them, not resigned to give up yet. However, when it made contact with the barrier of light around them, the energy ball dissipated away into nothing. The Monster Lord was shocked. He could sense that his power seemed to have been guided into nothingness.

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°The lord is really showing me great regard. How could I have such ability?¡±

    He''d already anticipated that he would alert the Monster Lord when he was making the formation, so he had made preparations. Actually, even if Smay hadn¡¯t sent out her subordinates, the Monster Lord still wouldn''t have been able to do much. He''d just wanted to use that chance to test the Monster Lord¡¯s strength a bit, while making Smay reveal a bit more of her hidden cards. But Smay¡¯s subordinates were a bit too useless. They actually hadn¡¯t been able to make the Monster Lord do a thing!

    Fortunately, his other n seemed to have seeded. There was already a rain of fire crashing down behind the Monster Lord. A huge crack had already opened in the dome. He knew that a corner of the underground city¡¯s formation had already been sessfully broken, which would lead to more and more parts breaking. That would continue until the entire formationpletely stopped working. By then, it wouldn¡¯t just be the magma deep underground that they would have to worry about; the destructive gales outside would follow as the Annihtion Beast started to approach. This Monster World that hadmitted so much evil was nowpletely done for!

    ¡°I really did underestimate you before.¡± The Monster Lord gave the chaotic underground city filled with screams a look. His expression was now as cold as ten-thousand-year-old ice. He gave Zu An a long look. and suddenly said, ¡°Remember the mission I gave you. Once youplete it, I won¡¯t touch the True Demon race. You will also be under one monster, but above all others.¡±

    After he spoke, the three-headed bird moved its wings and carried him away, clearly to help with the city defense formation.

    When she heard that, Smay¡¯s expression fully changed. At the same time, a bit of blinding light flickered at the center of the formation. Zu An¡¯s group disappeared, surrounded by a mysterious power that took them across the void.

    Smay couldn''t even be bothered to look at the flickering rainbow light in the void. Instead, she surrounded Zu An with her subordinates. All of them prepared to deal a thunderous strike.

    When they saw this, the True Demon great elder and the other elders quickly stood by Zu An¡¯s side. Even though they were cursing Donaire to death inside, the safety of the True Demon racepletely relied on him. Furthermore, now that they were on this stolen ship, were they really going to just wait for Smay to take them out?

    ¡°Donaire, you sold me out as expected!¡± Smay hissed through clenched teeth. Her entire body shook a bit. So many of her trusted aides had died earlier. She was utterly furious and needed to vent.

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Smay for +888 +888 +888¡­</strong>

    Zu An¡¯s brows furrowed. He seemed to be thinking about something and didn¡¯t pay her any attention.

    When she saw that, Smay got even angrier.

    <em>I even had thoughts of marrying him, and yet he was lying to me from the very start!</em>

    <em>He doesn¡¯t even feel like exining to me!</em>

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Smay for +999 +999 +999¡­</strong>

    When Pei Mianman saw that, she couldn''t help but ask with a cold snort, ¡°Are you all really going to believe his provocative words, intended to drive a wedge between us so easily?¡±

    Smay gave her a look.

    <em>This woman really is pretty, and she gets so ¡®worked up¡¯ when she gets angry too; no wonder Donaire likes her so much and is willing to go through such danger to save her.</em>

    ¡°Drive a wedge? That may not be the case,¡± Smay calmed down and said with a sneer. ¡°I actually always found it a bit strange. I felt that everything was going a bit too smoothly, particrly when it came to Donaire. When he was first captured by the Monster Lord, the Green Iguana King and others were killed right before his eyes, and yet he waspletely fine.

    ¡°Later, when he was suspected of harming Manager Pi, even though he was proven innocent, all signs initially showed that he killed Manager Pi, who was even the Monster Lord¡¯s most¡­ adored subordinate. If it were anyone else, he would¡¯ve been killed by the Monster Lord immediately.

    ¡°Furthermore, when we entered the pce to save Uncle Mo, we needed Donaire to distract the Monster Lord. We thought that would be extremely difficult, but he easilypleted the task. That means the Monster Lord has put a lot of trust in him.

    ¡°I thought that he''d taken Manager Pi¡¯s position and became the Monster Lord¡¯s new male pet, allowing him to achieve all that. However, judging from their earlier conversation, they clearly don''t have that kind of rtionship. Then how did he achieve all of this? That¡¯s something worth questioning.¡±

 Chapter 2356: Return

    <h4>Chapter 2356: Return</h4>

    When Pei Mianman and the other goddesses heard that Smay thought Zu An had be the Monster Lord¡¯s male pet, their expressions became strange and they all felt a sense of disgust.

    <i>This woman really has quite the imagination.</i>

    They couldn''t help but give Zu An another look. When they saw that he hadn''t said anything the entire time and seemed to be thinking of something, they decided to buy him some time.

    Jiang Luofu said, ¡°The young master has his ways. As for what solution he has in mind, he doesn¡¯t have to bother telling you. The first miss should know that if the young master was really working with the Monster Lord, there would have been no need to bring you to the Cultivation World at all. Rather, wouldn¡¯t he have helped the Monster Lord capture you?¡±

    ¡°The Monster Lord might just be using a long line to catch a bigger fish.¡± Smay¡¯s face darkened. ¡°It¡¯s clear that rather than capturing us all, the Monster Lord feels that there is something else that''s more important. He might want to obtain...¡±

    Smay seemed to have thought of something midway through her sentence. Her expression immediately became grim.

    The women exchanged a look. Ah Zu had always been curious as to what the Monster Lord wanted to obtain. Unfortunately, Smay didn¡¯t finish her sentence.

    Jiang Luofu continued, ¡°If the young master really was on the same side as the Monster Lord, why would the Monster Lord expose that just to make you suspicious?¡±

    Smay was stunned. She realized that this made some sense. However, she had been so angry earlier that she hadn''t realized that.

    Mojard harrumphed. ¡°It might just be some internal conflict between you and the Monster Lord. Perhaps he was so angry that he sold you all out.¡±

    The women were stunned. The other side really had hit the nail on the head.

    Smay also snapped out of her daze. She carefully sized up Jiang Luofu. ¡°You''re so pretty and have an outstanding presence. I don''t think you''re Donaire¡¯s female ve at all. Just what kind of a rtionship do you have?¡±

    Jiang Luofu couldn''t help but remember what happened between her and Zu An. She blushed.

    Yun Yuqing looked at her strangely. However, they were fighting against amon enemy right now, so she couldn''t be bothered to overthink it. ¡°The first miss seems to be particrly interested in their rtionship. Could it be that you have some good feelings toward the young master and feel a bit of jealousy?¡±

    Mojard¡¯s expression changed greatly when he heard that. He quickly looked at Smay. Everything else was one thing, but if the first miss really did like this pretty boy Donaire, he wouldn''t be able to handle it.

    Smay¡¯s expression waspletely calm. ¡°You women share quite the deep feelings. I''m starting to be more and more suspicious of your rtionship. Men, arrest them. We¡¯ll slowly interrogate themter!¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± Her subordinates drew their weapons. A battle seemed to be about to break out.

    The True Demon great elder gave Zu An a look.

    <i>Why hasn¡¯t Donaire reacted at all this entire time, as if his soul left his body? Something big is about to happen!</i>

    ¡°Are you sure you want to fight here? We''re in the middle of the void. Just outside is a storm of primal chaos that''s even more powerful than the terrifying cyclones of the Monster World. If you end up there, not even your corpse might remain.¡±

    When they heard what Zu An said, whether it was the True Demon race¡¯s elders or Pei Mianman¡¯s group, they all sighed in relief.

    <i>You finally ¡®woke up''!</i>

    Zu An gave Mojard a look. It was thanks to Mojard that he''d been roused from his thoughts. His brows had been tightly furrowed in thought for a while; he''d just felt as if something wasn¡¯t quite right, but he just couldn''t say what it was exactly. It was only when Mojard said that the Monster Lord sold them out from sheer anger that he realized what the problem was.

    The Monster Lord had seemed really angry. Whether it was his reaction to being fooled or that powerful attack, anyone would think that he was already beyond furious. But the problem was... Where were his Rage points?

    Zu An had received Rage points from the other monsters, but he just hadn¡¯t received any from the Monster Lord. After thinking about it back and forth, the only conclusion was that the Monster Lord wasn¡¯t actually angry. Everything had been faked.

    Zu An shivered when he realized that. After all, everything that happened should have been enough to make the Monster Lord furious. But why didn¡¯t Zu An sense any true emotions from him?

    ¡°You can give up on trying to scare me. We''re already en route. Even if we capture you, we''ll still arrive at our destination,¡± Smay said with a sneer. ¡°And even if you aren¡¯t there, it won¡¯t make a difference. Either way, the original world is about to be destroyed. Once I save my father, we''ll establish a new rule in that Cultivation World. That world is rich with resources and has delicious livestock everywhere.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t figure out what was going on with the Monster Lord. He could only face the current problem at hand. ¡°Is that so? But this kind of spatial transport isn¡¯t that stable. If a battle took ce, the protection around us would easily be destroyed. Then, we''d all be sucked into the cosmos¡¯ chaotic flow. That ending would be even more bitter than death.¡±

    One of Smay¡¯s subordinates swallowed with difficulty. He moved closer to her and whispered something. He was a formation master and knew that what Zu An said was true.

    Smay said with a cold snort, ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll let you all off for now. But you need to give me an exnation.¡±

    Zu An had a calm expression. ¡°What is there to exin? Do you think I''d have more prospects if I sided with him, or with you? The Monster Lord doesn¡¯t have a beautiful daughter to rope me in, you know?¡±

    Smays¡¯ face actually turned a bit red for the first time. She harrumphed and waved her hand, gesturing for her subordinates to give up on their attacks.

    Mojard gave Zu An a cold look.

    <i>This pretty boy is too good at gaining favor with women; that''s in to see just from the women around him. I need to find a chance to get rid of him, or else he''ll definitely cause a huge problem in the future.</i>

    Pei Mianman and the other women rolled their eyes. This guy really was too good with women. Even someone like Smay was about to give in.

    Both sides soon became quiet. They all looked at the different miraculous lights that were being produced around them from the spatial transport, each having their own thoughts.

    ...

    Some more time passed before the space up ahead suddenly lit up.

    Zu An got up and said, ¡°We¡¯ve arrived!¡±

    He reached out his hand as he spoke. He was reflexively about to take Pei Mianman¡¯s hand and lead the whole group out. But when he saw their expressions, he suddenly froze. Yun Yuqing was close to him, and Suolun Shi¡¯s eyes were full of expectation too. Even Jiang Luofu had aplicated look in her eyes. After all, the two of them had shared an experience that was even more intimate than a physical one. Zu An really loathed the fact that he didn¡¯t have a few more arms, leaving him in such an awkward situation.

    But he reacted quickly and used the chance to help Ji Xiaoxi to her feet. ¡°Everyone, follow me out.¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi was the youngest, and she was gentle and kind. She was like an adorable little rabbit whom everyone viewed as a little sister. Everyone liked her. Sure enough, when they saw him hold her hand, the other women''s nervousness faded.

    When she sensed her big brother Zu¡¯srge hand, Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s face turned a bit red. She looked at the big sisters with embarrassment and wanted to say something, but in the end, she didn¡¯t say anything. For some reason, as long as she was by her big brother Zu¡¯s side, she was no longer scared of anything.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The group quickly walked out in single file. They all shivered and tightened the clothes around themselves. As far as the eye could see, everything was white and silver. There was only snow as white as goose feathers covering everything, as well as stinging cold wind.

    Ji Xiaoxi couldn''t help but tremble slightly. She had the weakest cultivation here, but that was onlypared to the others. Her cultivation was already extremely high among her peers. Normal cold wouldn¡¯t do much to her at all. She''d never expected that she wouldn¡¯t be able to handle this chill.

    Just then, a warm feeling spread from her palm. She couldn''t help but look at Zu An¡¯srge figure.

    <i>No wonder big brother Zu held my hand. So it was because he was worried that I would be too cold.</i>

    In that instant, she didn¡¯t know whether to feel happy or disappointed.

    When she saw the majestic snowy mountains and theck of life, Smay¡¯s expression changed. ¡°Did we arrive at the wrong ce?¡±

    She''d been hoping toe to a new world that was fertile and rich, but this impoverished environment could be even worse than the underground city.

    <i>Could it be that the Monster Lord¡¯s attack ended up causing us to travel to the wrong ce?</i>

 Chapter 2357: Honey Trap

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you all want to save the Lord of ughter? Then we didn¡¯te to the wrong ce. He''s being suppressed under these Great Snowy Mountains,¡± Zu An said casually. As he looked at the vast mountains and fluttering snow, his expression carried a bit of sorrow.

    This world said that the Great Snowy Mountains were a ce where no one could survive; many powerful cultivators hade here in search of treasure, and yet weren¡¯t able to return home. However, his first memory of the Great Snowy Mountains was sweet, because this was where he and Yan Xuehen had exchanged their love. He still remembered the smoothness and wetness of that hot spring, as well as the deepest warmth of big sister Yan, who was normally like a frozen mountain.

    Butter, he had experienced the great battle of the Sealed Land. He''d rushed all the way here, and Qiu Honglei had almost lost her life here. He''d also learned that the mysterious Snow Lady was actually Chu Chuyan, but then he''d been forced to watch as she disappeared right in front of his eyes. Even though they had reunited againter, the pain of eternal separation still lingered in his heart.

    ¡°Young master, is something wrong?¡± Ji Xiaoxi asked out of concern when she saw that the man next to her had suddenly stiffened, and that there was a pained look on his face. She always reflexively called him ''big brother Zu'', but thankfully, she endured the urge this time.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Zu An returned a gentle smile.

    Nearby, Smay couldn''t help but cry. ¡°Dad, you¡¯ve suffered a lot over the years.¡±

    Mojard and the others had looks of grief and anger on their faces. They already felt ufortable after staying here for just a short time, and yet theirte master had actually suffered here for thousands of years.

    Just then, someone suddenly cried out, ¡°My cultivation seems to have be lower!¡±

    ¡°Mine too!¡± The others also cried out. They were starting to lose theirposure.After all, the Monster World was a ce where the strong reigned. Being weak meant that you would be enved by the strong or even straight up eaten.

    ¡°Everyone, don¡¯t panic. We''re being limited by the will of this world, which is why our cultivation has decreased. Our cultivation will return once we leave this world," Zu an said.

    Unlike the others, Zu An¡¯s group felt a sense of relief, as if they had returned to their own hometown. In the Monster World, Pei Mianman and the other women in particr were much weaker than the powerful cultivators around them, but in this world, even though there was still some difference, they now still had a fighting chance. They even had a feeling that even without Zu An¡¯s help, they would be able to protect themselves against any member of Smay¡¯s group one on one.

    Smay spoke up as well. ¡°What Donaire says is correct. Don''t panic, everyone. Didn¡¯t the Monster Lord send so many powerful individuals to this world before? They also went through simr experiences.¡±

    ¡°But they seem to have all died here,¡± one of her subordinates said quietly.

    Smay was briefly dumbstruck. She said with a cold snort, ¡°In this kind of snow-covered ce, as long as we don¡¯t make too much noise, none of the powerful natives of this world will notice us.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s mainly this world¡¯s regent or whatever. If he notices us, we¡¯ll be in danger.¡± Mojard was a bit worried.

    The other subordinates also nodded. Too many of the Monster World¡¯s powerful cultivators had died here. The regent was someone who had started being used as a scary story to silence children at night. He was already a terrifying being second only to the Monster Lord. Even though they all knew that he''d only managed to kill so many powerful individuals by relying on the world¡¯s restrictions, they had now entered this world as well.

    Pei Mianman and the other women really wanted tough, but couldn''t when they saw how quiet all the monsters were due to Zu An¡¯s infamy. They all looked at Zu An with admiration.

    ¡°That regent guy is strong, but there¡¯s no need for us to be so scared. We have many strong individuals with us too. Even if we encounter him, there''s only death awaiting him.¡± Smay was a bit unhappy with the decrease in morale. ¡°Furthermore, I can feel that my current strength hasn¡¯t been reduced as much as I imagined.¡±

    Mojard¡¯s eyes lit up when he heard that. ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s not as absurd as the intelligence mentioned previously. It seems as if those guys were exaggerating to cover up their ipetence.¡±

    They all sensed that their remaining cultivation was a bit stronger than they''d imagined. They all cursed the Monster Lord for giving them false intelligence.

    Smay had a mocking expression as she said, ¡°The Monster Lord sent so many powerful experts, and yet they all died here. He¡¯d naturally try to make the enemy look stronger to save face. We really were fools for believing him.¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    When they looked at her, Pei Mianman and the women felt a bit of sympathy.

    <em>This woman might not know just how strong Ah Zu is in this world¡­</em>

    Fortunately, Smay wasn¡¯t the egotistical type and decided to gather information first. ¡°Donaire, you¡¯ve visited this world before, and I heard that you¡¯ve even met that regent. How strong is he?¡±

    ¡°I think he¡¯s about the same as me?¡± Zu An thought for a bit before speaking the truth.

    Smay¡¯s group roared withughter when they heard that. There was no need to be scared at all, then. Donaire did have some skill with formations, but in terms of fighting strength, any random one of them would be stronger than him.

    The True Demon elders had ugly expressions.

    <em>Is our young master really that weak in your eyes?</em>

    Even though they knew they were supposed to be angry, for some reason, when they heard what their young master just said, they felt a mysterious sense of relief.

    When they saw their reaction, Pei Mianman and the other women snickered inwardly.

    <em>Keepughing, because soon, you won¡¯t be able to anymore.</em>

    Ji Xiaoxi couldn''t help but give Zu An a look.

    <em>Big brother Zu is still such a troublemaker.</em>

    She suddenly felt as if she''d returned to when they first met. She grinned when she remembered the things that had happened back then. There was a hint of sweetness in her expression.

    Smay gave Zu An a doubtful look. ¡°But I recall that you fled from the regent in a sorry state, and was forced to flee back to our world. How could his strength be about the same as yours?¡±

    ¡°I was talking about my strength in the Monster World. My strength was lowered a lot in this world, and he had ess to a lot of forces and resources in this world, so I was obviously no match,¡± Zu An calmly replied.

    Smay nodded to express her acknowledgement of this exnation. However, she suddenly said, ¡°Right, I heard that regent seems to be a yboy. He seems to be even better than you in this aspect.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    Pei Mianman and the others almost burst intoughter. This was the first time they found Smay so agreeable. Even the usually aloof Jiang Luofu had a hint of a smile in her expression.

    Zu An could only brace himself and exin, ¡°He does indeed have a lot of women at his side.¡±

    ¡°How old is he? How does he look?¡± Smay paused for a moment and looked at Zu An before adding, ¡°How are his lookspared to yours?¡±

    Zu An was a bit confused.

    <em>Why is she suddenly so interested in this kind of gossip?</em>

    Out of helplessness, he could only reply, ¡°Um¡­ Maybe around twenty years old? He looks like jade trees amid a breeze, handsome and confident, loved by all¡­ I am far inferior to him.¡±

    When they heard him praise himself, Pei Mianman and the women exchanged a look. They could all see each other enduring the urge to ridicule him.

    Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s little face turned a bit red. Sheined inwardly that her big brother Zu really was¡­ shameless.

    ¡°That¡¯s good then.¡± Smay nodded. She released a sigh of relief.

    Pei Mianman and the women immediately grew vignt. They suddenly had a bad premonition.

    ¡°Why is the first miss interested in these things?¡± Zu An asked, feeling a bit confused. This woman was asking really random questions. Was she plotting something?

    ¡°If this trip doesn¡¯t end up working out and we reach a moment of crisis, I might be able to use a honey trap to seduce him.¡± Judging from her tone, Smay thought this was obvious and natural. ¡°I was worried that he was ugly like the Monster Lord and that I would be disgusted. If he¡¯s really handsome, that¡¯s even better.¡±

    Zu An was bewildered.

    Pei Mianman and the other women were rmed.

 Chapter 2358: Is He Still Himself?

    Smy suddenly felt a chill run down her back. She couldn''t help but look around her, but she didn¡¯t sense any danger.

    <em>Hold on, isn¡¯t there something wrong with the way those women are looking at me? They seem to be really guarded for some reason.</em>

    Smayughed inwardly in self-mockery. These were just some sacrifices and ves; they didn¡¯t even have the qualifications for her to even look straight at them. She didn¡¯t treat it with any importance; instead, she continued to ask Zu An, ¡°Tell me a bit more about the regent, and in as much detail as possible.¡±

    ¡°Um¡­ That guy is really cruel. It''s rumored that he kills without batting an eyelid, and he shows even less mercy while killing monsters.¡± When he sensed the tension between all of the women, Zu An started panicking a bit. He no longer dared to blow his own horn like before to describe that ¡®regent¡¯ too wonderfully and make Smay really carry out a honey trap.

    But Smay only nodded and said, ¡°Killing decisively is a trait that a hero ought to have. It''s no wonder that his reputation has almost caught up to the Monster Lord¡¯s.¡±

    Zu An: ¡°???¡±

    <em>Is there something wrong with this woman? She could even interpret something like that in the other direction?</em>

    ¡°I''ve heard that he''s a perverted bastard who has to be with ten different women every night. Many of those women werepletely abused by that guy. First miss, please rethink your decision or else you might end up being hurt.¡± Zu An could only make up some nonsensical ws.

    Ji Xiaoxi was a bit perplexed as she listened.<em>Big brother Zu has to sleep with ten women every night? Then wasn¡¯t he really pent up all this time?</em>

    Her face reddened a bit.

    <em>If he has such powerful desire, big brother Zu might be experiencing some problems down there. I should secretly give him some medicine to make up for his deficiency.</em>

    Jiang Luofu understood Ji Xiaoxi best. When she saw her junior sister''s expression, Jiang Luofu held her forehead.

    <em>This silly girl probablypletely believed what Zu An said.</em>

    <em>This damn kid Ah Zu, he¡¯s actually speaking such nonsense in front of the pure and innocent Xiaoxi.</em>

    Suolun Shi''s eyes widened in disbelief. She looked at Pei Mianman, and then at Yun Yuqing. With big brother Zu¡¯s stamina being capable of taking ten women to bed each night, she wondered just how these two¡¯s dainty looking bodies could handle it.

    Pei Mianman and Yun Yunqing felt really ufortable all over from her look.

    <em>Ah Zu really dares to say anything.</em>

    Just then, Smay said with a smile, ¡°A man this powerful is definitely not someone a normal woman could handle. The creatures of this world have low cultivation and their bodies are frail, so that¡¯s why he needs ten women to satisfy him. But in our Monster World, that¡¯s not a problem at all. The stronger the man¡¯s body, the more we like them.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He really didn¡¯t have anything to say. He''d already ndered himself this much, but it turned out Smay was actually such a crazy woman!

    <em>It seems I absolutely can''t reveal that I''m the regent, or else she might really lust after my body.</em>

    When he heard how excited Smay was, Mojard¡¯s face quickly darkened.

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Mojard for +444 +444 +444¡­</strong>

    Zu An found this quiteughable. This guy really did have some kind of obsession with his own niece.

    A crazy man and a crazy woman. What an excellent pair!

    ¡­

    Smay continued to try and get more information about Zu An, but Zu An kept trying to find ways to ¡®nder¡¯ himself more. As she listened to him, Smay started to be unhappy. She protested, ¡°Donaire, aren¡¯t you deliberately ndering the regent? Hmph, that¡¯s not an honorable action. I know that you have some feelings toward me, but if you continue this, it will only make me look down on you.¡±

    Zu An was stunned.

    Pei Mianman and the others almost burst out intoughter. It wasn¡¯t every day that they got to see this guy in such a tough spot, after all!

    Just like that, the group searched around Great Snowy Mountain for several days.

    Mojard started getting a bit impatient, asking, ¡°Donaire, are you deliberately taking us through detours? Why haven¡¯t we found the location of thete master yet after all this time?¡±

    Zu An replied coldly, ¡°What are you in such a rush for? The Lord of ughter¡¯s location isn¡¯t so easily found.¡±

    Mojard choked. He knew that what Zu An was saying made some sense.

    Smay frowned. ¡°Donaire, our time is limited. We can¡¯t afford too many dys.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s not that far away,¡± Zu An replied. He then looked toward the sky and said, ¡°Judging from the looks of it, there will be a frightening snowstorm tonight. We should rest here for the night.¡±

    Smay was a bit unhappy. ¡°With our cultivation, it¡¯spletely fine for us to not rest for a period of time. It¡¯s best if we seize the moment.¡± How could she still be in the mood to sleep when she knew that she was about to meet her father again?

    ¡°Everyone''s cultivation has been weakened by this world, and these Great Snowy Mountains are known to be a dangerous restricted area by the people of this world. Even the most powerful earth immortals of this world can identally lose their lives here. The power of the snowstorms here is something even they can¡¯t endure. At this rate, our forces will suffer casualties before the enemy even finds us,¡± Zu An replied coldly.

    Smay grew silent. They were at the outskirts of the snowstorm right now, and even she could feel a bit of pain from the icy wind. It could actually be dangerous if they went straight toward the center of the snowstorm. Still, she couldn''t help but ask, ¡°But what if the snowstorm never ends?¡±

    Zu An nced at the sky. ¡°From the looks of it, it should gradually stop in thetter half of the night. We should reach our destination by midday tomorrow.¡±

    Smay finally sighed in relief when she heard what he said. ¡°Alright then. Everyone, find a ce to set up camp. We¡¯ll continue to press forward once the snowstorm stops.¡±

    Her subordinates quickly dispersed. With their cultivation, they were able to quickly create snow huts that could not only shield them from the snowstorm, but also provided warmth.

    The True Demon race¡¯s elders dug arge hole for themselves to hide in. They were now already traumatized and extremely sensitive to everything. They were worried that they would be attacked if they ever separated, and always stuck together.

    ¡­

    In Smay¡¯s ice hut, Mojard bowed before saying, ¡°First miss, I can¡¯t help but feel as if Donaire has been acting a bit strange during the past two days.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve also felt that.¡± Smay¡¯s brows furrowed deeply. ¡°But I can¡¯t exactly say where the strangeness lies either.¡±

    ¡°First miss, please rx. I¡¯ve already sent my subordinates out to observe our surroundings. Should he do anything, we''ll immediately¡­¡± Mojard drew his fingers across his neck.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Let¡¯s not act rashly yet. Once tomorrowes and we see the location of father¡¯s prison, we¡¯ll then see just what he is plotting.¡± Smay¡¯s expression was cold.

    Mojard smiled. ¡°So the first miss was already prepared. I was worrying over nothing.¡±

    ¡­

    A simr conversation was taking ce in Pei Mianman and the other women''s ice huts. Yun Yuqing found a chance to pull Pei Mianman aside and asked her through ki, ¡°Manman, for the past few weeks, don¡¯t you feel as if he¡¯s be¡­ a bit strange?¡±

    Pei Mianman carefully gave the monsters outside a look, then took out a soundproofing barrier Zu An gave her before replying, ¡°He¡¯s indeed been a bit strange.¡±

    ¡°I feel as if he¡¯s be quieter than before. Even though he tried to act cool sometimes in the past, he also tried to downy things. But now, the feeling is different. It¡¯s almost as if he''s the cold and detached type from his very core,¡± Yun Yuqing said after thinking for a bit.

    ¡°I¡¯ve felt as if he¡¯s been especially passionate as ofte, and even a bit naughty. He squeezed me several times secretly¡­ and asked me what I ate growing up,¡± Pei Mianman said with a frown.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Yun Yuqing gave her chest a look. ¡°Then what did you eat growing up?¡±

    ¡°I ate¡­¡± Pei Mianman reflexively replied when she suddenly realized something. Her face turned red. ¡°Is that the important point?!¡±

    ¡°Do you think¡­¡± Yun Yuqing chuckled awkwardly and held her hand. She wrote on it, ¡°Is he still himself?¡±

    Pei Mianman became quiet. ¡°Some time earlier, Ah Zu told us to trust him unconditionally in this time.¡±

    Yun Yuqing was surprised for a moment, but then she suddenly realized something. ¡°It seems like Ah Zu has other ns. I was worried for nothing.¡±

    Pei Mianman chuckled and didn¡¯t say anything else. However, she was still really worried inside. There were some things that others wouldn¡¯t know, but she understood extremely well. How had Qiu Honglei almost lost her life?

    The true Lord of ughter was already dead, and they were reaching the destination tomorrow, which meant they wouldn¡¯t be able to hide anything anymore. Smay¡¯s group would immediately grow hostile once they learned the truth, so how were they supposed to deal with that situation then?

 Chapter 2359: Seal Undone

    Even though the wind and snow in the Great Snowy Mountains were terrifying, Smay and the monsters had experienced storms far more frightening in the Monster World. They spent most of the night in their snow huts. Once the snow and winds became weaker, however, Smay couldn''t stop herself from calling Zu An to hasten their journey.

    Zu An could tell that Smay and the other monsters didn¡¯t have much patience left, so he didn¡¯t say anything else and continued to lead the way. Even though the roughest part of the snowstorm had already passed, there were still frigid winds and goose feather-like snow fluttering everywhere. Zu An thus led the group at the very front. Many roads had already been buried under the endless snow, so he needed to take some time identifying the route.

    Jiang Luofu carried Ji Xiaoxi in her arms while pouring ki into her body. Xiaoxi¡¯s cultivation had improved quite a bit when the worlds were merged, and she was outstanding among her peers; but in a dangerous restricted area like the Great Snowy Mountains, she couldn''t really withstand it even with her cultivation.

    In reality, with her level of cultivation, even Jiang Luofu could only barely protect herself. Sharing her ki with Ji Xiaoxi would only be enough to shield a bit of the cold. As time went on, ayer of frost started to form over the surface of her body. However, she didn¡¯t say anything, and continued to clench her teeth and hold on.

    As she watched this happen, Ji Xiaoxi was really heartbroken. She quickly took out a Raging Fire Pill for her little aunt to take. Just then, however, Pei Mianman came over to hold her hand. A warm current filled her entire body, and even spread into Jiang Luofu.

    The cold in Jiang Luofu¡¯s body gradually dissipated. She gave Pei Mianman a deep look and said, ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Pei Mianman smiled. ¡°Big sis is being too courteous.¡±

    Jiang Luofu was a bit surprised. After all, Pei Mianman had used to call her principal, but was now suddenly calling her ''big sister''. Could it be that she''d noticed something?

    Just then, Suolun Shi also thanked Yun Yuqing. ¡°Thank you, big sister Yun.¡±¡°It''s only natura,¡± Yun Yuqing replied. Her smile left Suolun Shi a bit absent-minded.

    Suolun Shi sighed inwardly.

    <em>Big sister Yun really is beautiful. Big brother Zu has so many outstanding women at his side, so how can I try to insert myself and cause trouble¡­</em>

    ¡­

    Each person was preupied with their own thoughts. Just like that, they unknowingly walked into the snowstorm and traveled over several more snowy mountains before finally arriving in front of a grand and majestic peak.

    They had actually already seen many, many towering mountains on their way here, and it was hard to even differentiate which one was the tallest. Every single one had its own grandeur and magnificence. But only when they saw this mountain did they suddenly feel as if everything they had seen until now were just counterfeits inparison. This was the true king of the snowy mountains. It was as if all of the other peaks were surrounding and showing allegiance to the snowy mountain in front of them.

    ¡°I¡­ I can sense an ancient and powerful pressure.¡± Just then, the expression of the formation master under Smay suddenly changed. He ran to the left, and then to the right. He even took out some instruments to examine this ce.

    ¡°What is the situation?¡± When she looked at the distant, towering snowy mountain, Smay felt really nervous. She was worried that she would hear that everything they''d done was a wasted effort.

    ¡°With the world as the chessboard, and the snowy mountains as the chess pieces, the world¡¯s ki has been gathered here to form this Heaven-Stealing Great Formation!¡± The formation master¡¯s face was full of admiration and shock. ¡°I wonder just what kind of beingpleted such an extraordinary masterpiece and made this kind of incredible formation! It¡¯s simply outrageous and unimaginable!¡±

    When she saw how excited her subordinate was, Smay¡¯s eyelids twitched.

    <em>What are you getting all excited for, you idiot? This formation was used to subdue my father! The more incredible it is, the worse he will feel!</em>

    ¡°How do we break through this formation?¡± She quickly interrupted the formation master, who was immersed in studying this profound formation.

    ¡°This formation is so grand that destroying it will likely be impossibly hard. I need to observe the entire formation and study it for a few days toe to a different conclusion,¡± the formation master said with a grave expression.

    Smay rolled her eyes. This subordinate of hers usually always tooted his own horn, and yet he was so unreliable when it really mattered. She turned to Zu An and asked, ¡°Donaire, can you get rid of this formation?¡±

    Zu An was standing a bit further away with his arms behind him. He nced over and slowly replied, ¡°This formation¡¯s key points are the three auxiliary formations. There are definitely three peaks that are suppressing the formation eye here. As long as those three mountains are destroyed, there should be a chance to undo the seal here.¡±

    The other formation master¡¯s eyes lit up when he heard that. ¡°Wonderful, truly wonderful! The young master was actually able to see through theposition of the entire great formation in such a short amount of time! I cannot hope topare to your insight!¡± He bowed with respect as he spoke.

    When she heard that, Smay didn¡¯t have any more doubts, and instead said happily, ¡°The young master really is a great genius!¡±

    After she saw that Zu An had some ability, her tone even became much more respectful.

    Pei Mianman and Yun Yuqing exchanged a look. They could all see the shock and confusion in each other¡¯s eyes.

    The True Demon great elder secretly asked Zu An, ¡°Young master, are we really going to help them save the Lord of ughter? In the past, the Lord of ughter was famous for his cruelty. If hees out and turns his back on us, there won¡¯t be anything we can do!¡±

    ¡°Great elder, don¡¯t worry. I know what I''m doing.¡± After saying that, Zu An pointed in the direction of the three snowy mountains.

    When she saw that, Smay quickly sent her subordinates into the three directions.

    Mojard warned her, ¡°First miss, please be careful of a potential scheme!¡±

    Smay nodded. When she was distributing her subordinates, she''d made sure to separate the True Demon race¡¯s elders into three different troops. This way, their forces were scattered, and even if something did happen, they would still definitely be within her subordinates¡¯ grasp.

    Meanwhile, she and Mojard remained here with two of their subordinates to guard against Donaire. Now, Donaire didn¡¯t have the True Demon elders anymore. With just him and some pretty women, they wouldn¡¯t be able to stir up much trouble. After all, even though their fighting strength had been greatly reduced aftering to this world, they were still all powerful individuals at the earth immortal rank, while she and Mojard were even stronger. These women were pretty strong in this world, but they were still far, far weaker than that.

    But the most surprising thing was that during the entire process, Donaire didn¡¯t do anything strange. He continued to research how to break through the formation.

    Smay was even starting to feel a bit of guilt.

    <em>Donaire really has sided with me. I was way too suspicious and jealous of him.</em>

    Shortly after, a bright pir of light suddenly fired into the clouds from a distant mountain peak, illuminating the previously dusky skies.

    ¡°Donaire, what is going on?¡± Smay had already sent out her formation master, so now, she could only consult Zu An.

    ¡°This means one of the mountains'' seals has already been undone. That subordinate of yours seems to have some skill.¡± As he looked at the pir of light, Zu An expressed a bit of surprise too, as if he didn¡¯t expect it to have beenpleted so quickly.

    Smay had a proud look as she said, ¡°But of course. Ollie is one of our world¡¯s most outstanding formation masters, but you seem to be even better. In the future, the title of number one formation master will belong to none other than you.¡±

    Zu An smiled and didn¡¯t reply.

    Shortly after, streaks of bright light shone from the other two mountains. Their formations had clearly already been unraveled as well.

    Blue formation patterns gradually appeared under everyone¡¯s feet. Immediately after, waves of low roars resounded from the depth of the Great Snowy Mountains, causing avnches to fall from the peaks. Snow that had umted for countless years began to crash down.

    With Smay¡¯s cultivation, she was naturally not worried about those kinds of avnches at all. She was extremely moved, eximing, ¡°It¡¯s dad, it¡¯s dad¡¯s voice!¡± She was so excited that tears were vaguely visible in her eyes.

    Mojard was also extremely moved. He eximed, ¡°It¡¯s thete lord, thete lord!¡±

    After so many years of hard work, their efforts had finally paid off!

    Pei Mianman¡¯s eyes were full of shock. Hadn¡¯t Ah Zu said that the Lord of ughter had already died? But the reaction of Smay¡¯s group couldn''t be faked. There was no way she couldn''t even recognize her own father, right?

    Zu An then instructed Smay and the others on how to break through the formation. Only after Ollie and the three groups returned would they have enough manpower to do so.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Shortly after, several characters flickering in gold appeared halfway up the mountain. Smay discovered that she actually couldn''t recognize the meaning of these characters. She quickly asked Ollie.

    Ollie was also perplexed. ¡°They seem to be some symbols that contain unmatched power. These are the symbols that are suppressing the lord, but I don¡¯t recognize the characters.¡±

    ¡°They seem to be divine runes!¡± The True Demon great elder was really moved. He seemed to have remembered some ancient legends from within the n.

    Smay remarked with a cold snort, ¡°Who cares if they¡¯re some divine runes or demonic runes? They¡¯ve been used to suppress my father. Today, I am going to destroy thempletely!¡±

    ¡°First miss, you absolutely cannot!¡± Ollie quickly stopped her. ¡°It is rumored that every character of divine runes possesses tremendous power. If you disrespected them and tried to attack them, not only would it trigger a powerful retaliation, not even the Monster Lord would be able to endure it.¡±

    Smay¡¯s breath caught in her throat. ¡°Then even though we already made it this far, we¡¯re supposed to just watch?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Once the formation is broken, the divine runes will naturally disappear.¡± Zu An¡¯s expression remained calm, and he continued to give instructions regarding what to do.

    Smay couldn''t help but turn around to nce at him from time to time.

    <em>This kid does indeed have some skill¡­ Taking him in as a husband doesn¡¯t seem to be that bad of an idea.</em>

    Under Zu An¡¯s instructions, the great formation was broken down bit by bit. The shining divine runes also began to grow dim.

    A cold wind blew past. The golden characters turned into a pile of sparkling dust and were blown away with the wind.

    A heart-shaking roar erupted. The entire mountain suddenly split apart, and a giant figure slowly walked out.

 Chapter 2360: Mysterious Item

    <h4>Chapter 2360: Mysterious Item</h4>

    The steps were like heavy drumbeats that struck against the hearts of those present. Everyone immediately felt a sense of pressure that made them feel as if they couldn''t breathe.

    The True Demon elders¡¯ expression changed. Everything was now already out of their control. They still didn¡¯t know what the young master was ying at.

    The women held each other¡¯s hands, but they could all sense the fear the others felt toward the unknown.

    Pei Mianman was probably the calmest out of everyone present. After all, she had already experienced several secret dungeons with Zu An, and had seen too many oundish things.

    Smay was extremely excited. She reflexively wanted to step forward.

    Mojard quickly stopped her. ¡°First miss, let¡¯s watch the situation first.¡±

    A whileter, the smoke gradually scattered. That vague and massive figure gradually walked out.

    When she saw what the figure looked like, Smay could no longer hold back her emotions. ¡°Dad!¡±

    She excitedly flung away Mojard¡¯s arm and rushed into that figure¡¯s arms. She started to sob. Too much time had passed. She had made so many preparations and ns, and she''d finally found a way to sessfully save her father. Just then, countless years of repressed emotionspletely erupted. She couldn''t hold back her tears at all.

    ¡°We greet the lord!¡± Mojard took the lead, and all of the monsters in their faction kneeled down. They all had deeply moved expressions. They had followed Smay all this time and really lived terribly dangerous lives. Their wives, families, and friends had all died one after another because of them. Now, the clouds had finally parted and they could see the moon.

    The True Demon elders exchanged a look, and then all of them kneeled down as well. The situation was outside of their control. If they opposed the Lord of ughter now, it would be no different from courting death.

    Pei Mianman stared at that massive body. She was extremely shocked.

    <i>Didn¡¯t Ah Zu say that the Lord of ughter was already dead?</i>

    <i>How is this possible?!</i>

    Unfortunately, the Lord of ughter was standing fine and well right in front of them. Judging from Smay and the others¡¯ expressions, there didn¡¯t seem to be any mistake.

    <i>Just what went wrong?</i>

    She reflexively turned to the nearby Zu An. She saw that he seemedpletely unperturbed. She couldn''t figure out what he was thinking at all. She suddenly realized something and thought of a possibility. <i>Could it be that...</i>

    ¡°My good daughter, our reunion should be a happy event. Why are you crying?¡± The Lord of ughter patted his daughter¡¯s shoulder with a doting expression.

    ¡°It¡¯s just because I¡¯m really happy.¡± Smay was embarrassed as she spoke while choking on emotions. But no matter how she tried to wipe the tears away, they never seemed to end.

    ¡°You¡¯ve truly had it hard over the years.¡± The Lord of ughtergently wiped her cheek, speaking with a sad tone.

    Mojard suddenly shouted, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you all kneeling after seeing the lord?¡±

    Everyone else¡¯s eyesnded on Pei Mianman and the other women.

    The women''s expressions became unpleasant. They were all the strongest in this world and were quite proud. How could they just kneel to anyone? Let alone a monster who was invading this world? Even if they had to die for it, they couldn''t abandon their own moral integrity.

    Just then, Zu An said, ¡°They are my people, and I am not kneeling. Are you doing this to offend me?¡±

    Mojard coldly retorted, ¡°Donaire, could it be that you are unwilling to swear fealty to the lord, since you are still standing?¡±

    When they heard that, everyone looked at Zu An. Even the True Demon great elder continued to give him meaningful looks.

    <i>A wise man knows better than to fight when the odds are against him!</i>

    The name of the Lord of ughter was well-deserved. He was cruel and ruthless by nature, and he hated subordinates who showed disobedience the most. Sure enough, the Lord of ughter¡¯s eyes narrowed. Everyone present felt a tangible wave of killing intent.

    Just then, Smay quickly said, ¡°Father, the reason why you were saved was thanks to Donaire¡¯s help. Not only did he create a great transport formation that can cross worlds, he even destroyed this formation that was sealing you.¡±

    Mojard hadn¡¯t expected Smay to speak up for him! His expression couldn''t help but change.

    Just then, the Lord of ughter roared withughter and said, ¡°So you were actually this skilled. A heroic youngster, as expected!¡±

    Zu An greeted him in a manner that was neither servile nor overbearing, saying, ¡°You overpraise me.¡±

    ¡°You have saved me today and have all earned tremendous merit. I will remember this firmly in my heart. I will definitely repay everyone properly.¡± The Lord of ughter¡¯s sharp gaze scanned over everyone present as if he was remembering all of them.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Mojard and the others responded excitedly. A joyous and harmonious atmosphere filled the air.

    ¡°I wonder what the lord is preparing to do now?¡± Zu An suddenly asked.

    ¡°After some time has passed, once I recover my strength, we will ughter our way back and seize the Monster Lord¡¯s life to appease my hatred,¡± the Lord of ughter said with a cold snort.

    Smay quickly said, ¡°Father, the Monster Lord¡¯s cultivation has improved greatly in this time. He''s no longer at the level he was at in the past.¡±

    When he heard the worry in her voice, the Lord of ughter¡¯s face darkened. ¡°What, could your father be weaker than that bastard?¡±

    ¡°Of course not, but the Monster Lord has had thousands of years of time to cultivate, as well as endless cultivation resources. His strength might no longer be inferior to father¡¯s. Furthermore, he has so many subordinates. If we fight him directly, it might be really difficult to win,¡± Smay exined.

    The Lord of ughter became silent. His expression changed several times, as if he was struggling to endure some emotion.

    Just then, Mojard also said, ¡°My lord, what the first miss says is correct. Furthermore, the Monster World is already close to destruction. If you returned and fought with the Monster Lord, that would not be a sensible act.¡±

    The Lord of ughter was surprised. ¡°What do you mean, the Monster World is already close to destruction?¡±

    Smay thus exined that thousands of years earlier, the Annihtion Beast had suddenly appeared, and the entire world was almost destroyed by its frightening cyclones. They could now only hide deep underground.

    The Lord of ughter seemed to have never expected such huge changes. He couldn''t help but curse, ¡°That Monster Lord really is good for nothing. He had that entire world¡¯s power, and yet he couldn''t even take care of that Annihtion Beast, and he even lost so badly!¡±

    Smay said in agreement, ¡°The Monster Lord is indeed useless, but it might be because he doesn¡¯t have that thing. He didn¡¯t truly have control over the entire world like father.¡±

    The Lord of ughterughed when he heard that. ¡°As expected, an imposter will be nothing more than an imposter.¡±

    Pei Mianman and the women exchanged a look.

    <i>Could it be that the Lord of ughter has something that the Monster Lord doesn¡¯t have?</i>

    <i>Is it the authority of the Monster World?</i>

    They''d previously learned about the World Law Beacon and world authority from Zu An. Whether one had that or not made a world of difference.

    Forget about Pei Mianman and the women, even the True Demon elder was extremely curious. Just what did the Lord of ughter have?

    Smay said, ¡°Father, in your daughter¡¯s humble opinion, perhaps we should retrieve that item and dominate this world first? We¡¯ll then use this world¡¯s resources to nurture powerful individuals and strengthen ourselves. Then, we¡¯ll finally settle things with the Monster Lord.¡±

    The Lord of ughter harrumphed. ¡°With your father¡¯s strength, would I need to go through all that trouble to conquer this world? If they don¡¯t submit, I¡¯ll just kill them.¡±

    Smay hurriedly said, ¡°This world has a regent named Zu An. He is the strongest of this world. The Monster Lord sent many powerful experts to try and conquer this world, but all of them were killed by him. He seems to possess the authority of this world right now. Defeating him might be even more difficult.¡±

    The Lord of ughter¡¯s expression became serious. ¡°He has the world¡¯s authority? Then he is indeed difficult to face.¡±

    Smay said, ¡°That¡¯s why father needs to find that thing to guarantee victory.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I''ve thought through many things after being imprisoned here for countless years. Sometimes, being too conceited isn''t a good thing. In the future, we candefinitely only act once we have eighty or ny percent certainty. I don''t want to experience being imprisoned for thousands of years ever again,¡± the Lord of ughter said coldly.

    ¡°Father (my lord) is wise!¡± Smay and the others all bowed respectfully.

    A whileter, Mojard asked, ¡°My lord, is that thing not here?¡±

    The Lord of ughter retorted with a snort, ¡°How could I keep something that important on me? And fortunately so, or else I might not have been able to protect it after what happened.¡±

    Smay had a big smile as she said, ¡°Father, I''ve already brought over the keepsake you taught me to safeguard back then. What do I need to do now?¡±

 Chapter 2361: Venomous Heart of a Woman

    <h4>Chapter 2361: Venomous Heart of a Woman</h4>

    The Lord of ughter reached out his hand, saying, ¡°Bring it out and let me take a look.¡±

    Smay hesitated when she heard that. She reflexively looked around her. Was she supposed to take something this important out just like that? She felt a mysterious sense of unease.

    The Lord of ughterughed and continued, ¡°What, could it be that you¡¯re worried that someone will steal it from you when your father is right here?¡±

    Smay figured that made sense. With her father¡¯s cultivation, she didn¡¯t need to fear anyone. Furthermore, she had so many powerful monsters with her. Unless the Monster Lord brought all of his pce emissaries with him, they didn¡¯t have to worry at all. When she realized that, she didn¡¯t hesitate anymore, and instead guided her ki to her inner core. Then, she gradually opened her mouth, and a light slowly arose from within her body before flying into the air.

    The light gradually dissipated, revealing the shape of an item. It turned out to be a light green key. Of course, it wasn''t designed to open any normal lock. There were intricate runes carved on its surface, surrounded by formation fluctuations. It was clearly used to unlock a certain kind of restriction.

    The Lord of ughter held the key in hand and said in praise, ¡°You¡¯ve done extremely well!¡±

    When she saw this precious treasure that she had stored for so many years taken away, Smay was a bit disappointed and frustrated. But when she thought about how the one who had taken it away was her father, she quickly sorted out her thoughts.

    The Lord of ughter stored the key away and said, ¡°Let¡¯s set out then.¡±

    Smay beckoned Zu An over and asked, ¡°Donaire, how is the security around the Priest Temple of this world¡¯s Demon race?¡±

    Zu An was surprised. So it was the Demon race''s Priest Temple! He replied, ¡°The Demon race¡¯s Priest Temple has always been their most sacred ce. It''s always heavily guarded. However, as long as the regent doesn¡¯t end uping, they won''t be anything to worry about.¡±

    Smay nodded with satisfaction when she heard his reply. ¡°That regent wouldn¡¯t just happen to be guarding the Demon race, right? By the time he received the news and got there, we''d have long since left with that item.¡±

    Yun Yuqing and Suolun Shi exchanged a look. They had never expected the Priest Temple to have such an important object to these monsters. Why hadn¡¯t the Demon race''s higher-ups ever discovered anything in all these years?

    Smay then gave her father¡¯s massive body a look. After some hesitation, she said, ¡°Father, your current appearance is too outstanding. How about changing into human form first? That way, we won¡¯t end up alerting unnecessary trouble.¡±

    She covered her head with her sleeves, and by the time she lowered her hands, her dinosaur-like head had disappeared and was reced by a beautiful face. Even though there was a veil over her head, judging from the brows and eyes that were revealed, everyone present could tell that she was an extraordinary beauty.

    When he saw her face, Mojard was full of infatuation. Even Jiang Luofu and the other girls couldn''t help but give her a few extra nces.

    <i>This woman is even prettier than I imagined! And yet Zu An actually mistook her for an ugly person.</i>

    They all looked at Zu An with curiosity, wondering what kind of an expression he had right now. But unexpectedly, he remainedpletely calm, as if he didn¡¯t care at all.

    Only Pei Mianman was staring straight at the Lord of ughter while feeling a bit nervous inside. If things were as she expected, things could be a bit troublesome very soon.

    The Lord of ughter roared withughter and said, ¡°What my daughter says is true. This appearance is indeed a bit too showy.¡±

    The massive body changed into a tall and well-built middle-aged man. He had a full and wild beard around his face. His stiff brows and sharp gaze were mboyant and bold in appearance, giving him a ferocious look.

    ¡°Father is powerful and impressive, as expected.¡± When she saw her father¡¯s old appearance, Smay felt even happier.

    Pei Mianman¡¯s lips opened slightly. She reflexively gave Zu An a look. Could it be that her suspicions were wrong?

    Mojard stepped forward and bowed respectfully, saying, ¡°This ce is far from the Demon race¡¯s Priest Temple. This subordinate has already exchanged some information with some residents of this world. We have mounts prepared for everyone, so the lord should use this chance to recuperae.¡±

    The Lord of ughter voiced his understanding. ¡°It is brother Mo who considers things more thoroughly.¡±

    When he received this confirmation, Mojard released sharp whistles toward the sky.

    Soon after, several giant dark figures flew over from the distance. When the others looked in that direction, they saw several giant eagles whose wingspan exceeded thirty meters. The giant eagles¡¯nding sent snow everywhere as theyy down in front of Mojard. Their feathers shook slightly, showing that they were fearful and subservient.

    The women had ugly expression. These giant eagles were extremely powerful wild beasts from this world who had killed countless cultivators with their ws, and yet they were so easily controlled by a single whistle from these monsters.

    The Lord of ughter and Smay each took one, while Zu An and the girls shared another. The True Demon elders shared one, while Mojard and the others split into a few more groups to protect their surroundings. They seemed to be vaguely surrounding Zu An and the True Demon elders. The giant eagles rushed into the air, heading directly for the Demon race''s territory.

    Pei Mianman looked at the nearby Zu An and hesitated. She wanted to ask about the thing she was confused about, but she was also worried of being discovered by the Lord of ughter.

    While Pei Mianman was feeling conflicted, Smay suddenly kicked off the ground and flew onto the back of their giant eagle. She scanned the women with a gaze that made it seem as if she was looking at ants. When she saw Pei Mianman¡¯s chest, she almost choked.

    <i>Is this woman a cow spirit?</i>

    She pretended to pull back her gaze as if she didn¡¯t care. She walked over to Zu An and said with a big smile, ¡°Donaire, it was really all thanks to you this time.¡±

    When Mojard saw that the two¡¯s shoulders were almost pressing against each other, his teeth were about to be crushed to pieces.

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Mojard for +444 +444 +444...</strong>

    Zu An calmly replied, ¡°It was only natural.¡±

    ¡°Give it a sniff; do you think I smell good?¡± Smay held her arm in front of Zu An as she spoke. ¡°After being constantly pursued by the Monster Lord over the years, I''ve rarely shown my human form, let alone used any cosmetics. But now that the hard times are over and the good times are just beginning, I''ve felt happy enough to use some. How do I look?¡±

    Zu An was a bit surprised. ¡°If I couldn''t smell the first miss¡¯ fragrance from this close up, wouldn¡¯t I be the biggest dolt under the sky?¡±

    ¡°Your little mouth really is sweet. Then tell me, am I prettier, or are the women around you prettier?¡± Smay deliberately gave Pei Mianman and the others a look.

    The women were already feeling really unhappy when they saw her suddenly act so intimate with Zu An. When they heard this question, they almostughed out of anger.

    <i>Is this woman trying to cuckold us right in front of our faces?</i>

    But they were more curious about how Zu An was going to reply.

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°How could theypare to the first miss?¡±

    The women were speechless.

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled everyone for +66 +66 +66...</strong>

    Pei Mianman raised her brows. Her curiosity finally calmed down a bit.

    <i>It seems things were as I expected after all.</i>

    How could the real Ah Zu answer like this? Even if it was for the sake of pandering to Smay, there was no need to disparage them. With his wit, he would¡¯ve found a way to praise both sides equally.

    When she realized that, she couldn''t help but give the Lord of ughter on the giant eagle¡¯s back a look. He was seated with his eyes closed in meditation, as if he was restoring his body that had been imprisoned for thousands of years.

    ¡°Stop looking, if you keep staring, the others will start to be suspicious.¡± Just then, the Lord of ughter opened his eyes and looked in their direction. A familiar voice spoke in her ear.

    Pei Mianman¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°It was you after all!¡±

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The Lord of ughter grinned. ¡°I was always wondering what the thing that the Monster Lord and Smay were looking for was, for them to have to go through such tricks. The reason I didn¡¯t tell all of you is because I was worried that something could be given away if you all foundd out. Only without you knowing would the acting be perfect. I never expected you to have already seen through it on your own.¡±

    Pei Mianman grinned. She looked quite proud. ¡°But of course. How could I not recognize my own man? By the way, just who is that person? How were they able to act so much like you?¡±

    The ¡®Lord of ughter¡¯ replied, ¡°You¡¯ve met them before. Lady Jing Teng. I helped her change her appearance myself, so of course she resembles me.¡±

    Pei Mianman suddenly realized what was happening. ¡°So that was what was going on! She''s probably the only one who can act so perfectly.¡±

    Whether it was her cultivation or formation skills, Jing Teng was definitely the most suitable one for this task. Smay had been asking her about formations the entire time, but she was able to answer everything smoothly. She had previously overseen the imprisonment of countless powerful beings in that great tomb in the past, so she naturally had a great understanding regarding formations.

    Meanwhile, Smay and ¡®Zu An¡¯ chatted really happily with each other. Then, she left with a big smile.

    When she returned to the side of the ¡®Lord of ughter¡¯, she gave ¡®Zu An¡¯ flirtatious nces while secretly saying, ¡°Father, find a way to kill Donaire!¡±

 Chapter 2362: Priest Temple

    Naturally, the ¡®Lord of ughter¡¯ was actually Zu An, and he was stunned.

    <em>Wasn¡¯t she talking pretty happily with ¡®Donaire¡¯ not too long ago? She looked as if she was already about to fully devote her life to him, so why does she suddenly want to kill him?</em>

    He chose not to mention that prior behavior while asking, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say Donaire was a talented individual? Why do you suddenly want to kill him?¡±

    Smay replied, ¡°He is a genius indeed. If not for the fact that there''s no other choice, I wouldn¡¯t have wanted to kill him either. The main reason is because we need his women for the sacrifice that is toe, but during the time we spent together, I noticed that Donaire is quite the affectionate person and cares a lot about those women. Furthermore, they also seem to care a lot about him.

    ¡°There is no way we would be able to convince him to offer the women up for the blood sacrifice. He could end up ruining all of our ns, or endure it in the moment but seek out revenge in the future. So it¡¯s best if we get the upper hand first.¡±

    The ¡®Lord of ughter¡¯ chuckled before replying, ¡°My daughter really does think things through fully. How about I look for a chance to kill him right now?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not time yet,¡± Smay exined. ¡°We still need him for the transport formation home. That''s why I''ve been asking about formations, and I can tell that he''s already captivated by me. When I get his secrets, it won¡¯t be toote to kill him then.¡±

    The ¡®Lord of ughter¡¯ was startled.

    <em>This woman really is malicious. She''s the type to hide daggers behind a smile.</em>Zu An had mostly been on guard against the Monster Lord. To be honest, since the Monster Lord had never treated Smay with much importance, he hadn''t been able to help looking down on Smay¡¯s faction a bit. And yet, if not for the fact that he just so happened to be able to turn into the Lord of ughter, he could have beenpletely fooled by Smay without realizing a thing.

    Judging from their interactions as ofte, he had always been left wondering why, even though the Monster Lord seemed to clearly have everything under control, he still chose not topletely capture or take out the most significant threats like Smay and Mojard, instead choosing to y along with them.

    After thinking about it, Zu An concluded that it had to be because Smay had something the Monster Lord wanted, and would never hand it over if thetter tried to force it out of her. Thus, the Monster Lord could only cooperate and indulge her so she would inadvertently end up handing it over herself. Zu An then connected that fact with Smay asking him to help the Lord of ughter. That meant the thing the Monster Lord wanted had to be rted to the Lord of ughter.

    Unfortunately, the Lord of ughter was already dead. Helpless to do anything else, Zu An could only take his ce. Thus, he''d asked Jing Teng to impersonate him. Jing Teng was very familiar with his speech and behavior. Besides that, she was proficient in appearance-altering skills. That meant it wouldn''t be too difficult to fool Smay and the others for a short time.

    As for the guise of the Lord of ughter, he had to do it himself. After all, within this group of monsters were the Lord of ughter''s daughter, trusted brother, and countless past subordinates. A simple appearance-changing skill wouldn¡¯t be able to fool all of them. That was why along the way, he''d found an opportunity to secretly leave. He''d then used the formation that was left behind in the Great Snowy Mountains to recreate the illusion of the imprisoned Lord of ughter.

    Everything was going smoothly. The only danger was that Smay had asked him to change into human form ahead of time. At the time, Pei Mianman, who had guessed the truth, ended up so nervous that her heart almost jumped out of her chest.

    Fortunately, Zu An was prepared for that eventuality. Whenever he turned into something as powerful as the Lord of ughter, his Myriad Transformations would cost him a tremendous amount of Rage points every second. Even if Smay hadn¡¯t said anything, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to maintain it for that long. That was why he had already deliberately sought out the Lord of ughter¡¯s portraits while he was in the Monster World. Thankfully, the formation knowledge of that world was quite profound, and he''d found some jade strips that recorded the appearance of the Lord of ughter. That was why he''d been able to perfectly take on that form.

    It was only thanks to him turning into the Lord of ughter that he learned Smay''s true thoughts.

    <em>This woman can be considered pretty, but her inside is even more malicious than her outer appearance.</em>

    ¡°Alright, when the timees, just give me the signal and I¡¯ll kill him at once.¡± The ¡®Lord of ughter¡¯ was worried that the women would be endangered if Smay suddenly made her move, so he decided that it would be safer if this task was ced in his hands.

    ¡°With father here now, there''s nothing left to worry about,¡± Smay said, not suspecting him.

    Zu An nned to find out what the blood sacrifice she was speaking of was all about. He had heard about it from the Monster Lord too. Judging from the formation knowledge he''d learned recently, he had his suspicions, but he still needed to slowly confirm them.

    ¡­

    In the following days, everyone hurried around while recuperating.

    Along the way, Smay started conversations sweetly with ¡®Zu An¡¯, and she also consulted him for formation knowledge, intentionally or otherwise. ¡®Zu An¡¯ didn¡¯t seem to have realized the truth at all, so he always conversed happily with her.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    When he saw the two chatting like lovers, Mojard was so angry that his teeth were about to shatter. However, with the Lord of ughter here, he didn¡¯t dare to act up either.

    When he saw the Rage points that continued to enter the backend, Zu An thought, <em>This Mojard really is stupid to a pitiful degree.</em>

    How could someone as treacherous as Smay not know about Mojard''s abnormal obsession? She could even have shown some good intentions to make Mojard feel as if there was hope, even though in reality, it was only to get him to help her achieve her objective.

    Meanwhile, the True Demon great elder secretly sought out ¡®Zu An¡¯ to discuss some things. Everyone could see his nervousness even from far away. But the current ¡®Zu An¡¯ naturally didn¡¯t tell him many things he wanted to hear, so he always left in disappointment each time.

    Smay secretly sought out the ¡®Lord of ughter¡¯. She felt that the True Demon elders were a potential disaster they had to get rid of as quickly as possible. The ¡®Lord of ughter¡¯ used the excuse that they were still useful for the time being, though. Smay figured that now that her father was here, these people couldn''t really cause that much trouble either, so she ultimately dropped the matter.

    ¡­

    Time passed, and they eventually arrived at the Demon race''s territory. Soon after, some Demon race cultivators saw their arrival, then came over to demand an exnation for their presence.

    Smay frowned slightly. Even though in her eyes, these individuals were all a joke, things would be troublesome if this ended up getting out of hand and they ended up getting the attention of the regent.

    Just then, Yun Yuqing and Suolun Shi appeared, and the demon guards were quickly sent away.

    Only then did Smay remember that these women were the Demon race¡¯s saintesses to begin with. They all had extremely high statuses. When she realized that, she couldn''t help but give ¡®Zu An¡¯ a few extra looks.

    <em>This Donaire does have quite the ability. He actually managed to make these Demon race saintesses so devoted to him.</em>

    The Demon race¡¯s Priest Temple was a sacred ce that had always been heavily guarded by strong individuals. And yet, because of these saintesses, when people heard that the Demon Deity¡¯s descendants hade to pay their respects, they were all extremely respectful and weed the party with magnificent hospitality. They even made an exception and allowed the group to visit the Priest Temple.

    The temple was located on a tall mountain. Even from a distance, countless cylindrical pirs towered into the clouds. They formed a great circle, and a domineering dome rose above it, thus forming a giant temple.

    The True Demon great elder was a bit moved when he saw it from a distance. ¡°This¡­ This seems to be the legendary¡­¡± he began, but he suddenly seemed to have remembered something and stopped talking.

    Even Smay was a bit stunned. She couldn''t help but say with a sigh, ¡°I never would have expected a weak world like this to be able to build such a magnificent temple.¡±

    Zu An felt that this temple was a special ce, and didn''t seem to be something that the current Demon race could build with their own power at all. When he saw the others'' reactions, he began to suspect that this temple was rted to the ancient True Demon race, or even the Demon Deity himself¡­

 Chapter 2363: A Demonic Deity

    <h4>Chapter 2363: A Demonic Deity</h4>

    The party walked up the mountain along a sacred path. At first, Smay¡¯s group was a bit annoyed, but the Demon race guide reminded them that ever since ancient times, everyone had to take this path when they paid their respects to the Priest Temple. Otherwise, it would be viewed as sphemy against the Demon Deity.

    The ¡®Lord of ughter¡¯ quietly said, ¡°Let¡¯s just take this path and decide what to do when we arrive. Let¡¯s not create a disturbance here.¡±

    Smay gave the Demon race natives in the distance a look. Even though she wasn¡¯t scared, if there was any conflict, their sheer numbers would be a bit tricky. Thus, she gave the order for her subordinates to go ahead on foot. Inwardly, though, she was quite surprised.

    <i>Father is much calmer now than before. If this had been in the past, he would¡¯ve already started a great massacre.</i>

    But she didn¡¯t suspect him and just assumed her father¡¯s temper had be much milder after being imprisoned under that mountain seal for thousands of years.

    Her attention was soon grabbed by the sculptures off to either side of the temple. Every few meters, there was a sculpture of a ferocious beast. They were made with extraordinary skill and attention to detail. Each one seemed as if a real, living beasty in wait to swallow them all up.

    Smay¡¯s eyes flickered with light. These were all rather strong beasts from the Monster World. She hadn¡¯t expected this world to have records of their appearances. It seemed the connection between the two worlds was closer than she had imagined.

    Her subordinates also clicked their tongues in astonishment. They began to discuss just what kinds of beasts these were. But eventually, there were many statues even they didn¡¯t recognize.

    They continued all the way to the mountaintop, where they finally saw that all manner of fiendish-looking humanoid creatures were carved on the massive stone pirs. Even Smay and the others, who had seen their fair share of shocking things, felt a bit rmed. They even felt as if they really weren''t supposed to look those creatures directly in the eyes.

    ¡°This really is strange...¡± Smay secretly said to the ¡®Lord of ughter¡¯, ¡°Father, these humanoid figures seem to be very simr to some legendary beings in our world.¡±

    ¡°Indeed. It seems those legends weren¡¯t just simply legends after all.¡± The ¡®Lord of ughter¡¯ noticed that some of these sculptures resembled the ones in the Monster World¡¯s underground city. But there were more that he had never seen before.

    These were different from the beast sculptures that had been present along the way. Apart from being fierce, these creatures also carried a mysterious air of holiness. Normally speaking, such fiendish creatures would be the very embodiment of evil, and yet they looked practically divine. The contrast created a particrly special sort of feeling.

    The Demon race guides had already prostrated on the ground, kowtowing respectfully.

    Meanwhile, Pei Mianman and the other women, apart from Suolun Shi, didn¡¯t really believe in these so-called demonic deities. Even though they could feel some kind of pressure, it wasn''t to a point that they would prostrate themselves in worship.

    ¡°Father, this is a bit strange. The humanoid figures on those cylindrical pirs look monstrous, but there seems to be a sense of fear in their eyes. Every one of these sculptures is of an entirely different style, and yet they all seem to be paying their respects toward a certain direction in their own way.¡± Smay¡¯s observation was very detailed. She quickly noticed themon trait between these sculptures.

    ¡°Inside should be the so-called Demon Deity,¡± the ''Lord of ughter'' said casually. He then walked straight toward the shrine at the very center. With him taking the lead, Smay and the others all followed him inside.

    The Demon race guides were all lying on the ground, praying devoutly. How could they dare to follow the group?

    ¡°Father, just what kind of being is this Demon Deity? Could it be something even more frightening than the Annihtion Beast or something like that?¡± Smay asked. Along the way, she had be more and more curious.

    Over the past ten thousand years, the Monster World had conquered many worlds. The natives of those worlds usually worshiped their own deities. But all of those deities, without exception, had been just some creatures who were much stronger than ordinary people. And yet, before the powerful Monster World, those deities weren¡¯t even worth mentioning. It was to the extent that when the Monster World was at its strongest, any random monster would have been able to be a deity to those worlds¡¯ natives.

    They''d thought that this world¡¯s Demon Deity or whatever would be just like that. But on the way here, even though they hadn¡¯t seen any Demon Deity, they were already a bit intimidated by these statues. Someone who could gain the respect of so many powerful creatures was definitely not ordinary.

    The ¡®Lord of ughter¡¯ said gravely, ¡°It¡¯s probably even stronger.¡±

    After all, someone on the level of the Necropolis Emperor had once been in charge of this world''s underworld. This Demon Deity was definitely no pushover either. When Zu An remembered Mi Li stating that this was a special world, that it was a Wonderpoint World that was extremely rare across the cosmos, he felt certain that it definitely had many secrets.

    ...

    While talking, they had already entered the temple. There were three rows of sculptures around them, different from the menacing creatures outside. There were quite a few amiable-looking creatures, but also others that had mocking and angry expressions. There was even one thaty on the ground, fast asleep... It was as if every emotion was disyed by these sculptures. The creatures depicted seemed to be of an even higher rank than the ones on the stone pirs outside.

    Those present realized something. These statues likely depicted the Demon Deity¡¯s family members. Each one would be powerful enough to be a ruler in the outside world.

    Suolun Shi suddenly kneeled down and muttered some words that were clearly a sincere prayer. Her expression was especially solemn and pious.

    Everyone else looked up and saw a massive statue that was dozens of meters tall sitting in the middle.

    Smay was a bit surprised, because this one looked different from the dignified stances of other statues they had seen across the different worlds. This giant statue before them seemed a bit... frivolous.

    The Demon Deity''s statue was in a seated stance. He didn¡¯t sit upright in a dignified manner, instead leaning against a handrail very casually. His right leg was lifted up to rest on the seat, and his left hand was propping up his head. His right hand rested casually on his raised knee. He looked just like a yboy without any respect.

    But they couldn''t see his face. He was dressed in voluminous robes, with a mantle over his head thatpletely covered his face. The only thing that was visible was his sharp chin and the enchanting grin on the corner of his mouth.

    ¡°Father, why didn¡¯t they carve the face of this Demon Deity?¡± Smay asked, feeling really confused.

    The Monster World had conquered so many worlds and seen countless divine sculptures. Every one of them had a proper appearance, one that countless believers over the years recognized. But this divine image didn¡¯t have a face!

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°There are some beings that are so powerful that their true names and appearances cannot be known by the people of the world. If someone mentions their name or draws their appearance, the attention of such an indescribable being will be drawn to them. In less serious cases, that someone''s soul might scatter, while in more serious cases, their entire world might be destroyed,¡± the ¡®Lord of ughter¡¯ exined slowly.

    ¡°There were actually beings that powerful...¡± Smay swallowed with difficulty. At the same time, she was full of admiration.

    <i>As expected of father, he really knows a lot.</i>

    How could she know that this ¡®Lord of ughter¡¯ was actually extremely overwhelmed inside? This sculpture was very simr to the giant sculpture he had encountered in the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons. Even though the form and personality was entirely different, its face was also concealed by all kinds of methods, carrying an indescribable air of universality.

    He really wondered just what kind of background this Demon Deity had!

    When she saw that he was staring at the Demon Deity¡¯s statue absentmindedly for a long time, Smay couldn''t help but quietly remind him, ¡°Father, it¡¯s time to look for that item. Where should we use the key from before?¡±

 Chapter 2364: Nature Jade Plateâ€™s Reappearance

    The ¡®Lord of ughter¡¯ took out the uniquely-shaped key. He looked calm on the outside, but he was panicking inside. He wasn¡¯t the real Lord of ughter, so how would he know where that thing was hidden? Everything had gone so smoothly so far; he couldn''t let everything fail at the final juncture.

    He held the key in his hand and didn¡¯t respond. Secretly, though, his divine sense had covered the entire pce from the moment he first entered this ce. His profound appearance fooled all of the monsters, so they didn¡¯t dare to say anything to disturb him.

    The ¡®Lord of ughter¡¯ wondered to himself why the real Lord of ughter had hidden something here.

    If one wanted to hide something, a prominentndmark would be needed, and definitely not one that would easily disappear over time. This pce made to venerate the Demon Deity was a good choice. There were such grand statues present, and it was even the Demon race¡¯s holynd. As long as the Demon race wasn¡¯t eradicated, this ce would definitely be carefully guarded. It was obvious that the Demon race had been much more powerful in the past, which was why the Lord of ughter had chosen this ce.

    But something like a temple would still deteriorate over time. The building or the sculptures could be damaged and need repairing. Thus, anything hidden here could have easily been exposed. That meant there was only one possibility left.

    The ¡®Lord of ughter¡¯ looked up toward the giant statue of the Demon Deity. His gaze shifted to the head hidden under the mantle. There, he sensed some faint spatial formation energy. If he hadn''t studied the Secrets of Spatial Distortion, even he likely wouldn''t have been able to sense these slight ripples, let alone any other formation masters in this world. He sighed in amazement. The Lord of ughter looked rough and cruel on the outside, but he had actually been quite meticulous in thought.

    The one thing here that was the least likely to deteriorate over time was this demonic divine image. Everyone from the Demon race would have been ovee by fear and trepidation whenever they came to this temple, bowing on their knees. Who would dare to look directly at the demon deity¡¯s face? The Lord of ughter had even added an extrayer of security, not hiding the item directly there and using a brilliant spatial formation instead.

    He opened his palm. The key in his hands slowly flew into the air and released glimmers of light. Shortly after, the demon deity¡¯s mantle also began to glow. Even though the light was weak, everyone present was a strong cultivator. They immediately sensed the spatial ripples.

    The Demon race guides thought that the demon deity was disying its power. They all kowtowed excitedly, and there were some who even wanted to go down the mountain to contact the other nsmen. However, Mojard knocked them out with ease. This was a crucial time, so they naturally couldn''t let anyone else disturb them.Just then, a spatial ripple appeared in the air. Immediately after, a green light slowly moved toward them.

    ¡°Our world¡¯sw beacon!¡± Whether it was Mojard, the True Demon great elder, or the other monsters, all of their breaths quickened when they saw the light, their expressions full of excitement.

    Whomever had this item in their possession would be the true lord of their world. It was precisely because the Monster Lordcked the beacon that his title was considered somewhat illegitimately conferred. When the Annihtion Beast invaded, he hadn''t been able to use the power of the world¡¯s source fully and was thus slowly worn down bit by bit, eventually leading to their world being on the brink of copse.

    The beacon''s aura was far from the thriving life force Zu An had sensed when he first obtained the Cultivation World¡¯sw beacon. The Cultivation World¡¯sw beacon was full of rainbow light, while this one was a single color. It looked as if it was about to disappear at any moment, too. It seemed a Wonderpoint World was indeed extraordinary, as expected. Even though the Monster World was far more powerful than this world, itsw beacon wasn¡¯t as wondrous.

    The formation master Ollie couldn''t help but say in amazement, ¡°It¡¯s a pity that obtaining thisw beacon now is useless. The entire Monster World is about to be destroyed. The Annihtion Beast taking over is only a matter of time. If we had thisw beacon in the beginning, we might¡¯ve been able to hold off the attacks of the Annihtion Beast.¡±

    Many monsters couldn''t help but be quiet when they heard that. They calmed down from their initial excitement.

    The situation was like an illness. No matter how fierce it was, as long as it was limited to the surface of the body or a certain part, it would still be curable. But once the illness spread to every limb and even to the bones, its shadow already covering every single corner, not even a daoist immortal could save you. The Annihtion Beast had already destroyed eighty to ny percent of the Monster World. Even if they regained the World Law Beacon, it still wouldn''t help.

    Smay suddenly said, ¡°I''ve heard that if World Law Beacons are merged together, multipleworlds can bebined. How about we find a way tobine our world¡¯sw beacon with this world¡¯s? Wouldn¡¯t we be able to save our world then?¡±

    The ¡®Lord of ughter¡¯ raised his brows. He didn¡¯t even say anything before the True Demon great elder and Ollie quickly shouted in unison.

    ¡°You absolutely cannot do that!¡±

    The two monsters exchanged a look. The great elder quickly said, ¡°Even though you would be able to merge the words, you would be bringing the Annhtion Beast here too! Not even our powerful world was able to stop the Annihtion Beast, so how could a world this weak stop it?¡±

    Ollie also said in agreement, ¡°What the great elder says is correct. We finally managed to arrive at a new world. We cannot bring that Annihtion Beast monstrosity here!¡±

    The ¡®Lord of ughter¡¯ was surprised. It seemed they still didn¡¯t know about the marvels of a Wonderpoint World yet. But their thoughts made sense as well. Why would they take such a risk just for the sake of greed over what remained of their Monster World?

    ¡°Then is our world only destined for destruction?¡± Smay asked, a hint of unwillingness on her face. That was her home, after all. No one would be willing topletely give up on that.

    ¡°I fear that may be our reality.¡± Ollie sighed. The expressions of all of the other monsters didn¡¯t look good either.

    Pei Mianman and the other women allughed coldly inside.

    <em>Those damned monsters are actually targeting our world? All of that is doomed to be nothing more than wasted effort.</em>

    The ¡®Lord of ughter¡¯ calmly put away the greenw beacon, but he was actually really disappointed. The Lord of ughter had gone through all of that effort just to keep this thing?

    Still, it wasn¡¯t too unexpected either. After all, the Lord of ughter hadn¡¯t known that the Annihtion Beast would destroy their world. Furthermore, if he''d regained this item, he would have been able to prevail over the Monster Lord again.

    Zu An was feeling disappointed when he suddenly noticed something. He looked up into the air and saw that there seemed to be something else among the spatial ripples.

    A secondter, a pure green jade te fell out from the ripples. With a casual wave of his hand, the te entered his hands.

    It was a Nature Jade te!

    The ¡®Lord of ughter¡¯ trembled all over when he saw it. This was the exact same material as the objects that had led to Chu Chuyan and Xie Daoyun¡¯s disappearances. Even though it wasn¡¯t aplete form of the legendary Nature Jade te, it was muchrger than the other two pieces from before. He had been looking for such an object without any sess or clues, and yet after exhausting all of his options, he''d ended up finding it in the end just like this.

    But he quickly frowned. Even though he''d obtained this piece of the Nature Jade te, he didn¡¯t know how to use it. After learning the Secrets of Spatial Distortion, he knew that every part of spacetime had a corresponding coordinate. However, he didn¡¯t know where or when Xie Daoyun was right now at all. Even if he forcefully activated this Nature Jade te, he wouldn¡¯t be able to find her at all.

    While he was feeling absent-minded, Smay walked over excitedly and asked, ¡°Father, can you let me take a look at that item? I feel as if I''ve obtained a few more memories and have a great connection to this item.¡±

    After thinking for a moment, the ¡®Lord of ughter¡¯ handed the Nature Jade te fragment to her. Even though he''d found what the true Lord of ughter hid here, he didn¡¯t know what ns thetter had. Smay could be needed to uncover those secrets.

    Everyone else''s gazes shifted to Smay. They saw her holding the Nature Jade te and sensing it with closed eyes. Shortly after, her expression changed and she muttered to herself, ¡°I remember, I remember everything.¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

 Chapter 2365: A Removed Piece of History

    The ¡®Lord of ughter¡¯ was surprised when he saw how excited she was, but he resisted his urge to ask about it.

    Fortunately, Mojard yed the perfect supporting role and immediately asked, ¡°Has the first miss recalled something?¡±

    Smay didn¡¯t give him a single look, and instead looked toward the ¡®Lord of ughter¡¯ next to her. Her eyes were full of admiration as she said, ¡°Father really had divine strategy and wonderful nning. You actually anticipated all kinds of dangers ahead of time and left behind such well-thought-out arrangements.¡±

    The ¡®Lord of ughter¡¯ was full of curiosity. He''d sensed waves of fluctuations just now, and figured that the true Lord of ughter had left some information on it that only his blood daughter could see. He had no idea what kinds of things the Lord of ughter had left here, so he didn¡¯t know how to respond to her at all.

    As such, he decided to just put on a slight smile and not say anything. After all, in Smay¡¯s eyes, she would only feel that her father was extremely mysterious. She would thus feel more and more admiration for him.

    Ollie couldn''t hold back his curiosity and asked to test the waters, ¡°May I ask if the first miss received any instructions from the lord?¡±

    Smay gave the ¡®Lord of ughter¡¯ a look. She secretly asked, ¡°Father, can I talk about it?¡±

    The ¡®Lord of ughter¡¯ was struggling to hold down the grin forming at the corners of his mouth. He said in a deep voice, ¡°Those present here are good brothers who have fought through life and death together with us, so of course you can.¡±

    Smay figured that made sense as well. The subordinates they had brought with them were all the most reliable people, the closest of their trusted aides. As for Donaire¡¯s group, they¡¯d all be dead soon, so she didn¡¯t have to worry about the dead speakingter.She thus said, ¡°In the past, father left behind a portion of memories in my mind, but it has always been sealed. Only when I touched this treasure were those memories activated.¡±

    She thought about what she had seen, how her father had said in a sincere and heartfelt manner that the fact that she was seeing this meant he was already no longer in this world, and so he exined all sorts of arrangements to her.

    <em>It seems father didn¡¯t expect me to bring these people here to save him either.</em>

    She couldn''t help but smile when she realized that. She continued and said, ¡°In the past, father led a great army from our world to majestically conquer this Cultivation World, thinking it would be a victory that was as easy as any other war waged in the past, but for some reason, the natives of this world were far stronger than we anticipated. That was why both sides ended up in a terrible stalemate.¡±

    The women exchanged a look when they heard that. They could all see the shock in each other''s eyes.

    The monsters that the dying Monster World had sent were already powerful, to a despair-inducing degree. If not for a hero from the heavens like Zu An, this Cultivation World would¡¯ve already fallen. And yet the most powerful soldiers of the past Monster World had been equally matched by the Cultivation World¡¯s ancestors? Had the Cultivation World really been that strong?

    Jiang Luofu suddenly realized something. She''d read extensively in the academy, and had long since realized that something wasn¡¯t quite right. Recorded histories from thousands of years in the past weren''t detailed at all, and a lot of records were missing. In the past, she''d even asked herte teacher about that. Thete libationer had told her that as time went on, it was very normal for recorded history to disappear. But he''d also pointed out that history from the distant past seemed to have been deliberately hidden by someone as well.

    She even remembered thete libationer¡¯s smile as he said that, and how he''d immediately shaken his head and said that could just be his imagination. After all, who in this world had the ability topletely hide a piece of history?

    Smay quickly said, ¡°In the past, father always had a feeling of unrest and set up some ns just in case. Who would¡¯ve thought that things really would end up as he anticipated? We''re fortunate to have these ns, as that gives us a chance of making aeback.¡±

    Ollie said with a bitter smile, ¡°First miss, forgive me for being direct, but I cannot see any hope of making aeback. Our world is about to be destroyed soon, and thew beacon of this world already has an owner. It would be extremely difficult for us to seize this world.¡±

    ¡°How audacious! Ollie, you dare to make our army¡¯s morale waver?!¡± Mojard loudly eximed.

    Smay raised her hand to stop him. She scanned her surroundings before saying, ¡°What Ollie says is the truth. I''m sure that this is also what many others are thinking.¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Everyone else lowered their eyes, not daring to look straight at her. To be honest, after so many years, they were all already close to giving in to despair. None of them had dared to think too much about that matter. The only reason they still followed Smay was because of their many years of persistence.

    Smay said, ¡°That¡¯s right. In a normal situation, we indeed wouldn¡¯t have a chance. This Cultivation World is really special. The moment that regent gained possession of the world''s authority, it became almost impossible for us to steal back thew beacon¡­¡± When she saw their heads drooping even further, she suddenly changed track and continued, ¡°But things are different now. What if we returned to thousands of years ago?¡±

    When Ollie heard that, his eyes lit up as if he''d just realized something. Meanwhile, Mojard and the other monsters all looked up in confusion because theycked certain specialized knowledge. They didn¡¯t know what she meant.

    ¡°First miss, are you referring to that te?¡± Mojard couldn''t help but ask.

    Zu An and the others were also really shocked. They seemed to finally understand why the Lord of ughter had left behind these ns.

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Smay raised the case holding the Nature Jade te in her hands. There was a fanatical look in her eyes. as she said, ¡°Father saw far into the future, and used this divine artifact to cut off a segment of history and hide it. That segment of history was none other than the period before our world carried out the decisive battle against this world. Even though we can''t seize the presentw beacon from the regent¡¯s hands, we can obtain this world¡¯sw beacon from the segment of history thousands of years ago.

    ¡°If thew beacon came into our possession in that time period, it would create a kind of ripple effect. The regent¡¯sw beacon would naturally lose effectiveness, while we would be the true owners of this world!¡±

    Everyone present was shocked when they heard what she said.

    The ¡®Lord of ughter¡¯ now finally understood the Lord of ughter¡¯s real plot, as well as what the Monster Lord had wanted to obtain all this time.

    <em>They really know how to use their imaginations!</em>

    Jiang Luofu¡¯s breath quickened. The puzzlement that had left her and her teacher confused was finally cleared up. That piece of history hadn¡¯t just been obscured by someone, but rather cut off and hidden. This was unimaginable andpletely outrageous!

    The other monsters didn¡¯t understand the Nature Jade te¡¯s ability. They all stared at the item in Smay¡¯s hand. Mojard swallowed with difficulty before asking, ¡°First miss, does this object really have such incredible abilities? It could remove a piece of history from thousands of years ago?¡±

    Even though the Monster World was extremely powerful, and they had conquered countless worlds and seen countless treasures, this was still a kind of power that left them allpletely shocked.

    Smay grinned. ¡°That¡¯s right. This is an incredible treasure that father encountered in the past, that has the power to reverse time and space. However, I fear it can only be used onest time.¡±

    ¡°Onest time¡­¡± When he heard that, the ¡®Lord of ughter¡¯ frowned slightly. However, he quickly calmed himself down. How could something this ridiculously powerful be used at will? Wouldn¡¯t the world then be thrown into absolute chaos?

    Just then, he heard Smay say to him secretly, ¡°Use this chance while everyone is distracted to kill Donaire¡¯s group!¡±

 Chapter 2366: Unexpected Developments

    Smay didn¡¯t wait for the reaction of the ¡®Lord of ughter¡¯. Right after saying that, she rushed at the women.

    Yun Yuqing, who was the closest to her, hadn¡¯t expected her to immediately attack when she was still exining things just a second before. Meanwhile, Suolun Shi had been looking at the sculpture of the demon deity devoutly, so she hadn¡¯t been able to react in time either.

    However, Jiang Luofu had been focused and on guard the entire time. When she saw the attack, eight pencil-shaped flying swords immediately flew at Smay.

    Smay swung her fan gently, and the flying swords¡¯ trajectory changed. Then, she ran straight at Ji Xiaoxi, who was off to the side.

    Jiang Luofu was horrified. With Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s cultivation, how could she be that woman¡¯s match? She quickly chased after Smay.

    ¡°Be careful!¡± Pei Mianman warned. However, she was still toote.

    Smay had a grin, as if her schemes had seeded. She thrust out suddenly and immediately struck Jiang Luofu¡¯s major chest acupoint. Jiang Luofu¡¯s entire body went numb. She couldn''t even stand steadily and continuously took three steps backward.

    Smay wanted to continue her offensive,b ut a ck rose flower blossomed in front of her. She had no choice but to turn around and defend herself, and couldn''t help but shiver inside.

    <em>This woman¡¯s chest is so ridiculously massive, and her cultivation is actually the highest too!</em>When she saw her sisters attacked one after the other, Pei Mianman was shocked and angry. She didn¡¯t hold back at all and immediately exchanged several blows. The situation quickly became more and more dangerous.

    Smay was shocked. She had never expected this woman, whom she thought of as a sacrifice, to be so strong. Even though her cultivation was restricted by this world, Pei Mianman¡¯s strength was still greatly outside of her expectations.

    The ck mes around Pei Mianman burned ferociously. She was about to attack at full strength when her body suddenly trembled. Then, she turned around with disbelief. It turned out that the ¡®Lord of ughter¡¯ had sealed her acupoint.

    Smay was furious and was about to end Pei Mianman¡¯s life when the ¡®Lord of ughter¡¯ stopped her, saying, ¡°Leave her alive; we still have use for her.¡±

    Smay remembered the matter of the blood sacrifice. She stared at Pei Mianman and harrumphed. ¡°I¡¯ll let you live for a bit longer.¡±

    She saw that Donaire had already been restrained too, and couldn''t help but say in praise, ¡°Father¡¯s skills are unmatched, as expected.¡±

    After all, Donaire¡¯s strength wasn¡¯t low. She didn¡¯t even see how her father had sealed him, and he''d even helped her restrain this big-chested woman so easily too. She had been worried that after being imprisoned for thousands of years, her father would be much weaker. Now, she feltpletely relieved.

    Mojard and Ollie had watched the scene unfold in shock. When they heard that, they quickly said in agreement, ¡°The lord¡¯s unrivaled power is our greatest blessing!¡±

    Just then, the ¡®Lord of ughter¡¯ looked at the True Demon elders and asked coldly, ¡°What? Do you all want to fight?¡±

    The elders shivered and quickly replied with apologetic smiles, bowing respectfully, ¡°Is the lord joking? We came to pay our respects to the lord!¡±

    The other side had just attacked Donaire, and they''d been about to help Donaire, since he was the future of the True Demon race. But how could they have anticipated that he would be so ipetent as to be restrained immediately? Their charge thus left them in an awkward position. They were also shocked by the Lord of ughter¡¯s power. The situation was far beyond their control, leaving thempletely convinced of the hopelessness of their position.

    ¡°Hmph, I didn¡¯t think you would dare," the ''Lord of ughter'' remarked.

    Smay harrumphed proudly and suggested to the ¡®Lord of ughter¡¯ with a smile, ¡°Dad, how about we start the blood sacrifice now?¡±

    ¡°Blood sacrifice? What blood sacrifice?¡± ¡®Zu An¡¯ sounded really angry and flustered, shouting in protest.

    The ¡®Lord of ughter¡¯ gave ¡®Zu An¡¯ a look. The one who was acting now had to be Dark Jing Teng. Her older sister was definitely not the type to be so invested in acting. He quickly said, ¡°Fine.¡±

    Meanwhile, he said to Pei Mianman, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I just need to see the blood sacrifice formation she''s using first.¡±

    The Lord of ughter¡¯s n was something only the father and daughter knew. The real Lord of ughter had already died, so the only one who knew it now was Smay.

    When she heard that, Smay¡¯s smile grew even bigger. She quickly gave Ollie instructions to arrange the blood sacrifice formation.

    Ollie drew a six-pointed star on the ground with all sorts of otherplicated runes surrounding it.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Smay arranged the women on different corners of the star. Her brows furrowed and she said, ¡°It¡¯s a pity that we lost a saintess.¡±

    Thus, she ordered a subordinate to grab the most outstanding Demon race woman among the guides to make up for that. She remembered that there were a few among the guides that were decent. Even though they were no saintess, they were eptable. Thus, the subordinate quickly left.

    ¡®Zu An¡¯ couldn''t help but exim angrily, ¡°Smay, what kind of nonsense is this? Didn¡¯t we already agree to be allies?!¡±

    Smay didn¡¯t pay him any attention, and walked up to the women instead. She looked at their beautiful faces and clicked her tongue. Thest one she stopped at was Pei Mianman. She propped up thetter''s chin with a hand and said, ¡°You truly are all absurdly beautiful. No wonder Donaire liked you so much, leaving me with no choice but to kill a genius like him.¡±

    ¡°What is the meaning of this, Smay?!¡± ¡®Zu An¡¯ was still doing her best to keep up the act. Dark Jing Teng almost screamed out loud about how fun this was.

    <em>But it¡¯d be even better if this woman dragged a knife across those other women''s faces a few times.</em>

    <em>Wait, don¡¯t do that. That Zu kid will definitely get mad. We can forget about the knife, just let them suffer a bit.</em>

    ¡°You have nothing to me but the fact that you''re a romantic. You even killed the Monster Lord¡¯s Manager Pi for these women''s sake,¡± Smay said with some pity. She''d always seen Donaire as a genius, but she had no choice but to get rid of him.

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t the one who killed General Pi!¡± ¡®Zu An¡¯ exined.

    ¡°Whether you killed him or not makes no difference.¡± Smay shook her head. ¡°I know you care a lot about these women. Now that I''m using them for a blood sacrifice, I know you''ll definitely never forgive me. Even if you show allegiance on the outside, you''ll definitely plot revenge down the line. In the past, my father was betrayed precisely because he kept someone with rapacious designs at his side.¡±

    The ¡®Lord of ughter¡¯ had a strange expression. He knew the one she was talking about was most likely the Monster Lord.

    <em>Wasn¡¯t the Lord of ughter sealed by the people of the Cultivation World? Why did she call the Monster Lord a traitor?</em>

    ¡°A blood sacrifice?¡± ¡®Zu An¡¯ frowned. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°We''re going to use their bloodline power to activate this treasure, to unlock the spacetime fragment that father concealed here.¡± Smay had an impassioned expression. Whenever she thought of it, her father¡¯s n always made her extremely excited.

    The women''s expressions all changed when they heard that. Ji Xiaoxi was so scared that her little face turned deathly pale. Even the usually collected Jiang Luofu was a bit flustered. Even though she didn¡¯t fear death, no one wanted to die in such a strange way. She reflexively looked toward ¡®Zu An¡¯, feeling a bit confused.

    <em>What is wrong with Ah Zu recently?</em>

    Even though this man was sometimes mischievous, he was still reliable overall. And yet this time, he''d been ambushed and caughtpletely unprepared.

    <em>Sigh, forget it. The fact that we''re able to die together is something to be grateful for.</em>

    Smay had the smile of a victor as she picked up the cinnabar brush to paint strange patterns between the women''s brows. Zu An carefully examined the appearance of these patterns. Gradually, he began to realize some things.

    Just then, something strange happened. When Smay was passing by Ollie, he suddenly attacked her. Smay was fully content with her achievements, so how could she react in time? She immediately had her throat grabbed and was unable to move at all.

    ¡°You dare?!¡± Mojard, who had been silently admiring her figure the entire time, rushed over to save her. He grabbed at Ollie¡¯s head, his fingers resembling ws. However, who would have expected Ollie to just casually retaliate with a palm strike?

    When the two hands met, Mojard felt as if he was struck by lightning. He was blown back ferociously and mmed heavily into a pir to the side, slumping to the ground. He reflexively tried to crawl up, but he coughed out a mouthful of blood as soon as he got up. He was powerless to rise again.

    The others were horrified when they saw that. After all, Mojard had always been Smay¡¯s most powerful subordinate. Why had he immediately been injured to this extent?

 Chapter 2367: The Mantis Stalks the Cicada, Unaware of the Oriole Behind

    <h4>Chapter 2367: The Mantis Stalks the Cicada, Unaware of the Oriole Behind</h4>

    ¡°Ollie, you dare?!¡± All of hisrades were stupefied when they saw this and berated him loudly. However, the strange situation also prevented them from acting immediately.

    ¡°He... He isn¡¯t Ollie.¡± Mojard wiped away the blood at the corner of his mouth. He stared at the formation master and asked, ¡°Just who are you?¡±

    Ollie snickered sinisterly. ¡°Brother Mo, you normally curse me all the time, and yet you can¡¯t even recognize me when I''m right in front of you?¡±

    At first, Mojard had a hesitant expression, but then he suddenly thought of something. His expression changed.

    The ¡®Lord of ughter¡¯ stared coldly at Ollie and said, ¡°Monster Lord!¡±

    ¡°It is still thete lord who has the sharpest insight," Ollie said with a chuckle. His hand moved across his face, and the old researcher''s appearance immediately gave way to that of a monster with grayish-green skin. It was none other than the Monster Lord.

    When they saw that, Smay¡¯s subordinates couldn''t help but take several steps back. They couldn''t help but tremble. The pressure the Monster Lord gave off was clearly extremely great.

    The True Demon race¡¯s elders briefly looked happy, but then they recalled how the Monster Lord would have seen the loyalty they expressed toward the Lord of ughter, and they looked miserable afterward.

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible. How could you be the Monster Lord? Where did Ollie go?¡± Smay finally snapped out of her shock. Her entire body was shaking; it was impossible to tell whether that was due to fear or anger. Ollie was an old subordinate who had followed her for many years now. How could he betray her?

    ¡°That fellow who showed no understanding of the times died by my hand, and I used his skin and blood essence to stay by your side this entire time, watching all these schemes. It truly was a bitughable.¡± The Monster Lord seemed rather pleased with himself. This game of cat and mouse was clearly quite amusing to him.

    ¡°The blood pool!¡± Smay immediately thought of something.

    The ¡®Lord of ughter¡¯ suddenly realized that the Monster Lord could use the blood pool to make a duplicate identical to the original person, so pretending to be Ollie wasn¡¯t difficult at all. As for Ollie¡¯s specialized formation knowledge, the Monster Lord was good at formations himself to begin with.

    A long tonguee extended from the Monster Lord¡¯s mouth as he licked Smay¡¯s cheek. ¡°I really have to thank the first miss. If you hadn''t brought me here, how could I have learned thete lord¡¯s ns? A spacetime fragment that was hidden here... Just the thought alone is exciting.¡±

    Smay¡¯s face was entirely red. She was full of disgust and anger.

    ¡°Let her go!¡± When he saw that, Mojard¡¯s eye sockets were about to split apart. He tried to rush over several times, but his injuries were too serious, and he copsed to the ground again.

    The Monster Lord shot him a look full of disdain. ¡°You truly areughable. An older generation individual like you actually carries unspeakable feelings toward your niece. Disgusting!¡±

    ¡°Nonsense, I don¡¯t! I don¡¯t at all!¡± Mojard¡¯s face immediately turned entirely red. He secretly looked at Smay and then at the face of the ¡®Lord of ughter¡¯.

    The Monster Lord sneered. ¡°You dare tomit the deed, but not to take responsibility. What a pitiful thing. Actually, I made a mistake. You don¡¯t even dare tomit the deed. If I were you, I would¡¯ve had countless chances to do your first miss. By then, the rice would already be cooked and it would be toote to change anything. That way, I might still have considered you a real man. However, you didn¡¯t dare. Pah, I really don¡¯t know how someone as stupid and cowardly as you could have matched my fame in the past.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re shameless!¡± Smay was so angry that her entire body shook.

    ¡°Thank you so much for the praise.¡± The Monster Lord didn¡¯t mind it at all, and instead looked at the ¡®Lord of ughter¡¯. ¡°Why hasn¡¯t thete lord said anything all this time? It seems being imprisoned under the Great Snowy Mountains all these years has worn away much of your fiery temper.¡±

    The ¡®Lord of ughter¡¯ looked at him calmly before replying, ¡°Aren¡¯t you doing all of this just to anger me on purpose so I¡¯ll reveal some opening for you to exploit?¡±

    The Monster Lord revealed a bit of surprise. ¡°There is a well-known phrase among the humans of this world that goes, ''one should regard a person with renewed respect after three days of separation''. It seems that is indeed the case.¡±

    Smay shouted, ¡°Father, you don¡¯t need to worry about me! Just kill him!¡±

    The Monster Lord chuckled. ¡°Your father would have already acted if he had the ability to do so. Do you think he''d need to wait for you to say that?¡±

    Smay immediately felt a chill overtake her.

    <i>That¡¯s right... With father¡¯s temper, when has he ever felt threatened by anyone before? The fact that he''s remained silent all this time must mean he doesn¡¯t have much confidence.</i>

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    <i>After thousands of years, the Monster Lord¡¯s strength might not be lower than father¡¯s at all.</i>

    The ¡®Lord of ughter¡¯ didn¡¯t get frustrated, and instead said, ¡°There''s just one thing I can''t figure out. Since you¡¯ve been plotting actively all this time, why would you act now, and not after we already entered that spacetime fragment?¡±

    Inside, he now suddenly understood why the Monster Lord had looked defeated when they were leaving the Monster World, but there weren¡¯t any Rage points at all. All of that had just been an act for Smay and Donaire to see. Meanwhile, the Monster Lord had already hidden within their party, and everything was within his grasp. In that case, there was naturally no need to get upset at all.

    The Monster Lord harrumphed. ¡°The reason why I waited all this time, apart from learning what you were hiding, was mostly because I was afraid of this fellow.¡± After saying that, his gaze shifted to Donaire.

    ¡°Donaire?¡± Smay was stunned. She''d never expected the powerful Monster Lord to actually be afraid of him.

    ¡°Do you think he really is Donaire?¡± The Monster Lord said with a sneer, ¡°The real Donaire already died a long time ago.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± All of the monsters present were stunned, especially the True Demon elders. They all looked at Donaire with eyes filled with disbelief.

    The True Demon great elder summoned his courage and eximed, ¡°There¡¯s no way, right? He¡¯s clearly Donaire!¡±

    ¡°All of you should know that because the powerful monsters I sent into this world suffered terrible casualties, no one wanted toe here anymore, right?¡± the Monster Lord remarked.

    The monsters all nodded. The main reason for that was because this world restricted their cultivation, so dying in such a ce without being able to use their full strength was just a terrible feeling. Furthermore, the powerful individuals who had entered this world were too famous. The Shadow Monster King, the War Priest, and the others were practically the strongest among the Monster Lord¡¯s subordinates, and yet monsters that powerful had died one after another. Who would still be willing to throw their lives away?

    ¡°That''s why I used the blood pool and managed to create a resurrection method through my research. I created bodies for them, so even if they perished in this world, they could be revived in the blood pool once their souls returned.¡± The Monster Lord looked at Donaire with a sneer. ¡°But what a pity, Donaire¡¯s soul never returned and his true body had already rotted. Then who could the Donaire who came to our world be?¡±

    The True Demon great elder clutched his chest and screamed bitterly. He almost fainted. There was no future left for the True Demon race.

    The monsters who were in charge of guarding Donaire reflexively backed up a few steps. The unknown was always the scariest thing.

    ¡°Then who is he?¡± Even Smay couldn''t focus on her own situation now, and instead stared straight at Donaire. She often unted her own intelligence, and yet she''d never expected to be thrown for a loop by these two.

    ¡°I already had my guesses.¡± The Monster Lord paused for a moment before continuing, ¡°I figured he was the Cultivation World¡¯s most powerful being, that regent, wanting to deal a blow back to our world. That was why I always had some apprehension toward him.

    ¡°But I never expected that he would be so easily restrained by thete lord. That means there is no way he could be the regent. He is probably a strong subordinate of the regent.¡±

    If ''Donaire'' really was the regent and had the world¡¯s authority, that would be equivalent to bing the incarnation of the will of the world. How could he then so easily be defeated by the Lord of ughter? Seeing as he wasn¡¯t the regent, no matter how capable this subordinate was, he was no longer regarded with any importance by the Monster Lord.

    ¡°What?!¡± Yun Yuqing and the others were nowpletely shocked. If that wasn¡¯t the real Ah Zu, then where was the real one?

 Chapter 2368: One Wrong Move and the Whole Game is Lost

    <h4>Chapter 2368: One Wrong Move and the Whole Game is Lost</h4>

    Yun Yuqing had already felt that something was off before. Even though this Ah Zu was simr in every other way, she''d just felt a sense of estrangement from him somehow. She''d even secretly asked Pei Mianman, who had only told her not to worry. But her worries had ended up bing a reality! This Ah Zu was actually an imposter!

    Jiang Luofu also seemed to have suddenly realized something.

    <i>No wonder this Ah Zu was so easily schemed against! This isn¡¯t like his usual self at all.</i>

    <i>Then who is this fake Ah Zu?</i>

    Fortunately, due to all the monsters¡¯ monitoring, she hadn¡¯t been taken advantage of by this imposter at all. But now the problem was, where had the real Ah Zu gone?

    The women looked toward the ¡®Lord of ughter¡¯, almost as if by instinct.

    The ¡®Lord of ughter¡¯ secretly broke out into a cold sweat.

    <i>These women''s intuition is too strong. They don¡¯t even need any proof and are able to find the right person purely through instinct!</i>

    He was worried about them giving his identity away. With a light cough, he said to the Monster Lord, ¡°So that¡¯s why you were no longer scared at all once you confirmed that he wasn¡¯t the regent. You were that scared of him?¡±

    The Monster Lord harrumphed. ¡°Me, scared of him? What a joke! It¡¯s merely a necessary precaution against the one who holds the world¡¯s authority.¡±

    ¡°And you don¡¯t seem to be scared of me?¡± the ¡®Lord of ughter¡¯ asked, staring at him coldly.

    The Monster Lordughed and said, ¡°Lord of ughter, your era has long since passed. If we were in the Monster World and you still had the world''s authority, I might have had to be a bit more careful, but we are in the Cultivation World. Furthermore, the Monster World is almostpletely destroyed, so just that amount of world source cannot offer you much help at all.¡±

    He couldn''t help but shake his head when he recalled that greenw beacon that looked as if it could be extinguished at a moment¡¯s notice. He said, ¡°I¡¯ll give you a choice. If you help me kill this world¡¯s regent, I can spare your daughter. If you do that, I might even bring you with me to that sealed spacetime fragment.¡±

    Smay quickly eximed, ¡°Father, don¡¯t believe him! He already has the Nature Jade te and knows the method for the blood sacrifice. If you leave, he''ll immediately activate the spacetime fragment.¡±

    The Monster Lord clicked his tongue. ¡°Look at how much your daughter is thinking for your sake. Do you know how busy she has been in these thousands of years, all for the sake of saving you? Where would you find a daughter this obedient? Can you really bring yourself to not save her? Wouldn¡¯t you be disappointing everyone then?¡±

    Mojard and the other monsters all looked at the ¡®Lord of ughter¡¯ before eximing, ¡°My lord!¡±

    They were the Lord of ughter¡¯s old subordinates in name, but they had already be attached to the first miss after following her through life and death situations over the years. How could they bear to just see her die like this?

    The ¡®Lord of ughter¡¯ said seriously, ¡°Hmph, you should also know that this world is quite special. That regent already holds the world¡¯s authority, so killing him in this world is impossible. If we work together, though, there might still be a chance.¡±

    The Monster Lord shook his finger. ¡°No no no, we wouldn''t be able to kill him even if we fought together in this world. Of course, it wouldn¡¯t be that easy for him to defeat us either. However, since I offended thete lord so badly in the past, I wouldn¡¯t dare to cooperate with you. Who knows if you''d form an alliance with the regent to kill me instead?¡±

    ¡°Then in that case, what is the meaning of sending me to kill that regent all on my own?!¡± the ¡®Lord of ughter¡¯ replied with feigned anger.

    ¡°Old thing, do you really need me to say it that directly?¡± The Monster Lord smiled sinisterly. ¡°I just feel as if the regent is hiding somewhere and observing me, and yet I cannot find him. I need you to help me hold him up to prevent him from suddenly disturbing my great mission in that spacetime fragment, of course.¡±

    ¡°You nned to open that spacetime fragment all on your own, as expected.¡± The ¡®Lord of ughter¡¯ looked at him coldly, his eyes filled with killing intent.

    The Monster Lord sighed. ¡°Old thing, even after thousands of years have already passed, you are still so naive in that aspect. You still interpret my words in such a straightforward manner. Wouldn¡¯t it be great for everyone if you had just tacitly epted that reason?¡± He paused for a moment before saying, ¡°How about this? Once I obtain the World Law Beacon from that spacetime fragment, I¡¯ll give you a piece of this world so you¡¯ll still be a ruler. This should be enough sincerity, right?¡±

    The ¡®Lord of ughter¡¯ sneered. ¡°You¡¯re trying to fool me again. A narrow bed cannot be shared with another!¡± The moment he finished his sentence, he attacked the Monster Lord. The power he released was so great that the other powerful monsters found it h/ard to even breathe.

    The Monster Lord¡¯s expression changed. He''d thought that he could toy with this old thing¡¯s mind just like before, but why wasn¡¯t the Lord of ughter acting as expected now?

    <i>Does he really not care about his daughter¡¯s life at all?</i>

    The Monster Lord thought to himself while making evasive movements. At the same time, he moved Smay in front of him as a shield against the other party¡¯s attacks. He understood the Lord of ughter¡¯s strength well. Even after being sealed for thousands of years, thetter was still on par with him. If they really fought, it would be difficult to decide a victor.

    Still, he had the Lord of ughter''s daughter in his hands right now. The Lord of ughter was known for how much he doted on his daughter, who had gone through so much to save him, no less. If they really fought, then he would have arge advantage.

    And yet, he was soon confused as to why the Lord of ughter still dared to attack. Suddenly, his eyes narrowed, because he saw that thetter didn¡¯t care about Smay at all and continued to attack. If this continued, Smay would die on the spot. If he kept hiding behind her, he would be seriously injured.

    He was starting to wonder if the Lord of ughter was doing this to force him to let go, but he didn¡¯t dare to take the gamble and risk his own safety. In his opinion, no one¡¯s life wouldpare to his own, not even if it was his own daughter whose life was in danger.

    That was why he decisively threw Smay at the Lord of ughter to buy some time. He thus freed up his hands to face his opponent. However, he made sure to inflict some restrictions on Smay before letting her go. He knew there was no way the Lord of ughter wouldn¡¯t be able to see that. If the Lord of ughter ignored that, at Smay¡¯s level of cultivation, even if she didn¡¯t die, she would be seriously injured.

    As long as this strategy worked, the Monster Lord figured he could use the chance to regain the initiative and even retaliate. However, his eyes soon widened. The Lord of ughter didn¡¯t catch his daughter as expected, and instead continued to attack without even giving Smay a second nce.

    The Monster Lord was shocked and furious. One careless move, and the entire game really could be lost. He had never expected the Lord of ughter to actually be this decisive! Out of helplessness, he could only focuspletely on defense. He was immediately left at a disadvantage.

    Meanwhile, Smay, whom no one had paid attention to, was flung toward a nearby wall. She crashed into the statues of the Demon Deity''s family, smashing several of them. The material they were made of was definitely extremely precious and sturdy, enough to resist the corrosion of time; even so, they were still smashed to pieces, scattering all over the ground.

    Smay, whose body was still mere flesh, continuously coughed out mouthfuls of blood. She felt pain course through her entire body. The Monster Lord¡¯s attack was too powerful. She knew dozens of her bones were probably broken. Her once rosyplexion was nowpletely pale, and the amount of air that entered her lungs fell far short of the amount that left her mouth.

    ¡°First miss!¡± The subordinates nearby were greatly shocked. They all rushed over to support her.

    The seriously injured Mojard even tried to crawl over on all fours. He quickly took out treatment medicine to give her. ¡°First miss, hurry and take this medicine.¡±

    Smay didn¡¯t even give the medicine that was brought to her lips a look. On the contrary, she looked at the two individuals who were fighting fiercely in the distance with a dejected expression. Frigid winds roared throughout the temple, but the cold air still couldn''tpare to the chill she felt inside.

    <i>Boom!</i>

    A huge hole was sted open in a corner of the temple by a casual strike from the twobatants. But in Smay¡¯s ears, the sound wasn¡¯t as ear-splitting as the sound of something breaking in her heart.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The activity in the pce quickly alerted the Demon race¡¯s people. However, a powerful pressure made it hard for them to even breathe before they even got close.

    The Monster Lord was worried that the sacrifices would be damaged, and the ¡®Lord of ughter¡¯ was also worried about hurting Pei Mianman and the others. The two tacitly agreed to bring their fight outside the pce, upon which they flew into the clouds.

    When they saw the roiling ck clouds that appeared in the sky and the terrifying pressure that persisted, many Demon race members kneeled down. ¡°The Demon Deity has shown us a sign; he has appeared!¡±

    If not the Demon Deity, who else could have such divine power?

    Just then, a furious roar echoed through the skies. ¡°You aren¡¯t the Lord of ughter. Who are you?!¡±

 Chapter 2369: Identity Exposed

    <h4>Chapter 2369: Identity Exposed</h4>

    The divine power that came from above the clouds made countless Demon race members prostrate themselves on the ground. Its ripples made the Priest Temple that had endured countless years of hardship rumble with noise, as if the entire ce was about toe crashing down.

    But this dangerous environment wasn''t what the people inside were worried about at all. Instead, the Monster Lord¡¯s words continued to echo in their minds.

    <i>The one he''s fighting isn¡¯t the Lord of ughter? Then who is it?</i>

    After all, the Monster Lord had once been the Lord of ughter¡¯s subordinate. He had long been scheming to seize the throne. His research into the Lord of ughter was more thorough than anyone else¡¯s. Now that they were going all out against each other, they naturally wouldn¡¯t hold anything back, making it easy to detect any abnormalities.

    Smay¡¯s eyes lit up.

    <i>So that bastard wasn¡¯t my father!</i>

    <i>I knew father definitely wouldn¡¯t treat me like that!</i>

    But her smile quickly froze as soon as it formed..

    <i>But if he isn¡¯t my father, where is my real father?</i>

    She didn¡¯t even dare to continue that train of thought.

    Just then, ¡®Zu An¡¯ suddenly moved over to the women and helped them undo their restrictions.

    However, when ''he'' moved up to Pei Mianman, she raised her hand and said, ¡°There¡¯s no need for that!¡± Earlier, the ¡®Lord of ughter¡¯ naturally hadn¡¯t really attacked her. Rather, he''d used an ingenious deception. Thus, Pei Mianman''s restrictions had already undone themselves after some time.

    The other women reflexively moved closer to ''Zu An'' and stared at ''him'' vigntly.

    Pei Mianman couldn''t help but smile, saying, ¡°It¡¯s fine, they¡¯re one of us.¡± She hadn¡¯t expected that Jing Teng, who never seemed to let anyone get close to her, would actually put on such a realistic appearance.

    Jing Teng also gave her a look.

    <i>This woman¡¯s temper is just as great as her chest. But between her and that other woman who did that Kiss of the Goddess thing, which one is the main wife?</i>

    That scene from the past was just too shocking. It had left Jing Teng with an unforgettable memory.

    ¡°Big sis, what kind of nonsense are you saying? The main wives are obviously us sisters! The other women can only call us big sisters. After all, in terms of seniority, who can match up to the two of us? We naturally ought to be the main wives!¡± Dark Jing Teng continued to shout in their head.

    ¡°I''ve heard that men all consider the ideal age 18,¡± White Jing Teng replied coldly.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t we 18? Isn¡¯t 18 centuries still 18?¡± Dark Jing Teng replied angrily.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    White Jing Teng was speechless.

    ...

    Smay finally reacted. She turned to ¡®Zu An¡¯ and said, ¡°Donaire, no, I shouldn¡¯t call you Donaire. Who was that imposter?¡±

    After all, Donaire had been the one to find the snowy mountain that imprisoned her father, and he''d been the one to undo the seal. How could he not know the truth?! Besides, he was even an imposter himself!

    When Smay thought about how she''d been fooled by this guy and had even revealed all of her father¡¯s ns, she felt as if she''d been thrown into a frozen cer. She felt ice-cold from head to toe.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been getting tired of this mask.¡± Harrumphing, Jing Teng transformed with a single shake and recovered her original appearance.

    When they saw the handsome young master turn into a graceful and elegant beauty, the monsters were all a bit stunned. Even though they were from different species, they had to admit that this woman was beautiful. The special way she carried herself was also extremely enchanting. On top of that, which one of those Demon race saintesses wasn¡¯t an incredible beauty? They really wondered just how all of these outstanding women had ended up together.

    Even Smay, who was quite proud of her own appearance, had to admit that she didn¡¯t have any right to be conceited before these women. But she quickly snapped out of her daze.

    <i>Hmph, no matter how beautiful these women are, they''re merely tools, nothing more than toys for the strong to y with. How can theypare to someone like me who decides my own fate?</i>

    When hey saw that Donaire had actually been impersonated by a woman, the True Demon great elder couldn''t hold back his wailing. ¡°Donaire really has died, he¡¯s really dead...¡± He''d still carried a sliver of hope when he first heard what the Monster Lord said. But now, thatst hope had also been shattered.

    Pei Mianman and the others didn¡¯t feel the slightest bit of sympathy when they saw him sob. They fully understood just how nasty a person Donaire had been. The only thing they were worried about right now was Zu An¡¯s battle.

    ¡°Little aunt, will he be in danger?¡± Ji Xiaoxi asked; she was the first to lose herposure. Her voice trembled a bit.

    After all, the Monster Lord was the opponent! Xiaoxi had seen just how strong the Monster Lord was in the Monster World, and how all the powerful beings of that world felt a fear toward him that stemmed from their innermost being. She still felt lingering fear even now.

    Jiang Luofu looked up toward the sky as well. She was also incredibly worried.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I wouldn¡¯t dare to promise you anything in the Monster World, but in our world, he should at least be able to protect himself.¡± Pei Mianman gently stroked Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s adorable cheeks whileforting her. Yun Yuqing and the others sighed in relief when they heard what she said.

    She muttered to herself, ¡°That¡¯s right. He¡¯s so strong, he¡¯ll definitely be fine.¡± Despite that, she still didn¡¯t have any confidence inside.

    ¡°You scoundrel, you actually dare to disregard this first miss?¡± Smay eximed. She''d just asked a question, and yet not a single person answered her. She had already been furious from being yed by the other two, and she was now even angrier. She cried, ¡°Arrest these cheap women for me!¡±

    Even though the monsters had been shocked when they heard that the Lord of ughter was fake, their many years of trained instinct still made them carry out her orders. Two powerful monsters charged over.

    Pei Mianman was the fastest to react, crying out, ¡°Be careful!¡± ck mes raged around her. A rose and a red spider lily appeared in the air.

    But the two monsters were both incredibly strong, second only to Mojard. They used their own powerful attacks to disperse the ck mes. They were a bit surprised, saying, ¡°This woman¡¯s cultivation is clearly much lower than ours. This skill is quite interesting.¡±

    ¡°Stop wasting time. Capture them first!¡± Mojard barked. These women actually dared to anger the first miss! If not for the fact that he was seriously injured, he would have attacked himself.

    Soon after, the other monsters also attacked. Yun Yuqing, Jiang Luofu, and Suolun Shi quickly faced their enemies. However, they had considerably lower cultivations than these monsters to begin with, so they were quickly put in a dangerous situation.

    Just then, there was a cold shout. ¡°The valiant will advance in formation; the azure dragon awaits its summons!¡±

    A resounding draconic roar echoed through the skies. A giant dragon appeared in the temple out of thin air, forcing all of the monsters back. The monsters looked at Jing Teng with shock. Why did they suddenly feel fear? It felt like a dread that came from their very souls.

    ¡°Thank you, Miss Jing,¡± Pei Mianman quickly said.

    Jing Teng grinned. ¡°What, I saved your lives, but you won¡¯t even call me big sister?¡±

    Pei Mianman said with a slight smile, ¡°Your respected self is a senior. If you want me to call you big sister, we can do so.¡±

    The implications were clear. If age alone was enough to call someone ''big sister'', that was fine. But if it was for other reasons, she would politely decline.

    Jing Teng was speechless.

    <i>This woman really hides daggers behind a smile. If not for the fact that brat Ah Zu asked me to protect all of you, I would¡¯ve already propped you up and given you a good spanking!</i>

    She harrumphed to express her dissatisfaction, then said, ¡°The fight up there is getting quite exciting. What use is there in fighting our little quarrel here? You''ll naturally know the truth once their battle is decided.¡±

    Smay¡¯s expression changed several times. Whichever side won up there, neither would be good news for her. But both she and Mojard were seriously injured without much fighting strength left. Her subordinates alone weren¡¯t enough to defeat these women either. If that imposter came down to provide aid, her group would most likely bepletely wiped out. Besides, wouldn¡¯t she just be helping the Monster Lord out by doing that?

    Her eyes flickered brightly. In the end, they stopped over the True Demon elders. At the moment, they were the only ones that could be recruited. After all, misery lovedpany.

    ...

    Meanwhile in the skies, the floating clouds had already beenpletely scattered by the battle.

    The Monster Lord looked down at a wound in his chest. He stared at the opponent and said, ¡°I already know who you are. You are this world¡¯s regent!¡±

 Chapter 2370: World Sword

    Just then, the Monster Lord lost the initiative, and his opponent pressed the attack. Apart from when he fought against the Annihtion Beast, this was the first time he found himself in such a sorry state. Even though his cultivation was restricted in this world, there was no way any random cultivator could pressure him this far. It was easy to guess who the opponent was based on that.

    The monsters in the temple were shocked to hear what was going on above them. So he was the legendary regent!

    At first, Smay had felt really wronged and humiliated after being fooled by several parties, especially Donaire, someone she looked down on. But when she learned that this was the legendary regent, she suddenly calmed down considerably. He was the ruler of this world, after all. Being fooled by someone like that wasn¡¯t a big deal at all. She was also a bit relieved about something else too.

    <em>No wonder he was able to make so many stunning women so dead set on him!</em>

    <em>I heard that the regent was famous for his looks. I wonder what he really looks like¡­</em>

    <em>Hmph, but he already fooled me so badly. I won¡¯t forgive him no matter how handsome he is!</em>

    Mojard¡¯s expression changed several times. His gaze had always been fixed on the first miss. He noticed that she was really interested in the regent and immediately felt threatened.

    The True Demon great elder muttered to himself, ¡°He is the regent¡­. I wonder if the Donaire from before was him. It¡¯s over, it¡¯s all over, he now knows about our n¡¯s greatest secret!¡±

    Everyone in the temple was thinking something different, but it was all rted to Zu An.Meanwhile, in the skies above, Zu An¡¯s thoughts were quite clear. He stared straight at the Monster Lord while feeling disappointed.

    <em>As expected of the Monster Lord. Even though I clearly had the advantage, in the end, I could only inflict a light injury upon him. This kind of injury isn¡¯t that big of a deal for someone as strong as him at all. Guess I have no choice but to fight a proper battle against him.</em>

    ¡°Didn¡¯t your respected self fool us all badly too?¡± Zu An replied while returning to his original appearance. This was now a battle of life and death, and there was no way for him to use the Lord of ughter¡¯s skills. That meant there was no need for him to keep acting anymore.

    ¡°Still, it was your acting that was more ingenious. Even I was fooled.¡± The surface of the Monster Lord¡¯s body flickered, and his injury closed at a rate visible to the naked eye. When he saw that, Zu An didn''t interfere.

    The Monster Lord looked admiringly at Zu An and asked, ¡°Was the Donaire from before you?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, it was me. Unfortunately, your respected self was too proud and you didn¡¯t choose to kill me. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t have been your match in that world, and you wouldn¡¯t be on the defensive right now,¡± Zu An replied calmly.

    The Monster Lordughed coldly. ¡°Kid, you really are full of schemes. You¡¯re trying to use your words to make me feel regret and reveal an opening as a result. However, your schemes are useless, because had I not let you go, how could I have known about what the Lord of ughter nned all this time? How could I have obtained the Nature Jade te?

    ¡°Now look at you. You¡¯ve used up all your schemes, yet in the end, all of your efforts were for my benefit. You must be feeling endless regret, right?¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°You just used me of using psychological attacks, but aren¡¯t you doing the very same thing right now?¡±

    The Monster Lord harrumphed. Judging from their earlier sh, he knew they were equally matched and that he couldn''t do much to Zu An in a short time. He could only do his best to create conditions that were favorable for him. He said, ¡°I was merely stating the facts. I have the Nature Jade te and the blood sacrifice method. What do you have?¡±

    Zu An remainedpletely calm as he replied, ¡°Won¡¯t it be fine as long as I kill you and take the Nature Jade te back?¡±

    ¡°Kill me?¡± The Monster Lord leaned back and roared withughter so loud that the mountains rumbled. After some time, he regained hisposure and said, ¡°It¡¯s been a long, long time since Ist heard this kind of joke.¡±

    His expression grew cold as he continued, ¡°I admit that killing you will be a bit difficult since you have this world¡¯sw beacon, making the world¡¯s will yours to use. Even so, it''s only a bit more difficult. But you want to kill me? Just who gave you the courage to say something like that?¡±

    ¡°Jasmine Leong[1], of course,¡± Zu An said calmly. He''d deliberately spoken so much to make the Monster Lord lose hisposure, but thetter was just too cunning,only pretending to be angry; that could even be a trick to bait him into attacking.

    ¡°Jasmine Leong?¡± The Monster Lord was stunned. ¡°Who is that?¡±

    The women in the temple looked at each other in dismay. That was clearly the name of a woman! Was this another one of Ah Zu¡¯s sweethearts?

    ¡°Miss Pei, you¡¯ve been with Ah Zu the longest. Who is this Jasmine Leong?¡± Yun Yuqing couldn''t help but ask.

    The proud and cold Jing Teng also perked up her ears.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Pei Mianman said with a coldugh. ¡°That guy has so many lovers, how could I possibly know all of them?¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Jiang Luofu felt a chill run down her back.

    <em>Thank goodness I wasn¡¯t exposed earlier, or else I would really be embarrassed.</em>

    In the skies above, Zu An saw that no one in this world knew what he was talking about. A hint of sadness shed through his eyes. ¡°In that case, then, I¡¯ll let your respected self understand where I get my confidence from.¡±

    A simple and ancient longsword suddenly appeared by his side. It released a powerful pressure, and there was a golden lustering from it. It was the divine weapon, the Tai¡¯e Sword!

    But right now, it was no longer its usual length. Instead, it grew longer and longer until it became like a tree that towered into the heavens.

    Even people far, far away could sense what was going on. In the Fiend King Court, the Second Empress looked at the massive sword that stretched between heaven and earth. She muttered to herself, ¡°He¡¯s returned, he¡¯s returned! That¡¯s the Demon race¡¯s territory. Hurry and pass down the order. Gather strong people and follow me!¡±

    She understood very clearly that the King Court was quite far from the Demon race''s territory and that everything could already be settled by the time she arrived. However, she couldn''t be bothered with all that and only wanted to see him as quickly as possible.

    ¡°Have you contacted the Medusa Queen?¡±

    ¡°Reporting to the empress, the Medusa Queen didn¡¯t wait for the main army and already left herself.¡±

    ¡°She really is a cunning woman!¡±

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, In the human capital, Bi Linglong and Liu Ning were holding a court session. When they sensed that sword, both of them couldn''t be bothered with the civil and martial officials anymore. They flew out, stood at the Imperial Pce¡¯s highest point, and looked in that direction.

    Bi Linglong was full of worry. ¡°He¡¯s returned! But I wonder what kind of enemy he''s facing that has forced him to fight with all of his strength.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he won¡¯t lose!¡± Liu Ning didn¡¯t know if she wasforting Bi Linglong or giving herself reassurance.

    These two political enemies who had fought for so many years actually unknowingly ended up holding each others¡¯ hands tightly. They were clearly both extremely worried.

    ¡­

    Above the Ocean races'' Dragon Pce, Shang Hongyu and Shang Liuyu stood on a giant wave dozens of meters tall above the ocean surface. As they looked at the massive sword in the horizon, they were both worried as well.

    ¡°Will he be okay?¡±

    ¡°He''s a man who creates miracles. He¡¯ll definitely be fine.¡±

    ¡­

    In contrast to the shock and worry tens of thousands of miles away, everyone present near the battle was already lying prostrated on the ground from the terrifying pressure. Their entire bodies shook all over. The only thing that helped was a strange power that protected the area inside the temple, which allowed them to survive the terrifying pressure.

    ¡°It''s no wonder that earlier, the Monster Lord said that killing the regent who holds this world¡¯s authority is almost impossible. This sword condenses the will of the entire world, using all of the world¡¯s power to kill a powerful enemy. Who in this world could stop such a thing?!¡± Mojard suddenly said with a sigh. He was someone who had been equally famous as the Monster Lord thousands of years ago. Even though his injuries were severe right now, his insight remained. He immediately recognized how formidable this attack was.

    ¡°We¡¯ve subdued so many worlds in the past, with many of them being far more powerful than this world. Some of them also hadw beacons, so why didn¡¯t they have this level of power?¡± Smay was really confused. The power of this attack exceeded her imagination.

    ¡°This world is very special, more special than any world we¡¯ve conquered so far. It''s even more special than our Monster World! I finally understand why so many of the monsters the Monster Lord sent here perished.¡± Mojard was really moved.

    ¡°Then isn¡¯t the Monster Lord dead for sure?¡± Smay suddenly asked.

    1. Mysian singer and songwriter, also known as Fish Leong. ?

 Chapter 2371: Treasure Sinking Coin

    <h4>Chapter 2371: Treasure Sinking Coin</h4>

    Smay couldn''t believe what she''d heard. Just how powerful was the Monster Lord? Why would he ever be facing inevitable death?

    It wasn¡¯t just her. All of the other monsters in the temple were also shocked. For thousands of years, the Monster Lord had been like a great mountain that forever towered above them, akin to the tallest mountain and the biggest river. Even though they were enemies, they still admired his strength a lot. How could he be pressured by a native of a weak world like this to such an extent?

    ¡°If it were any other world, not even ten regents would be enough. But in this world, the Monster Lord¡¯s strength has been greatly reduced. Furthermore, the regent can use the will of the world to help him fight. As the fight goes on, if he doesn¡¯t have any other tricks up his sleeve, the Monster Lord might really be finished,¡± Mojard said with aplicated expression. He didn¡¯t know what kind of emotion to feel.

    Normally, he would be happy to see his greatest enemy, the Monster Lord, defeated. And yet now, as the Monster Lord''s death was approaching, Mojard felt a strange sense of emptiness. Besides that, judging from the current situation, it seemed that if the Monster Lord died too easily, Mojard''s own faction wouldn''t meet a very good end either.

    Smay¡¯s eyes flickered. She was thinking about the same problem, hoping that those two destroyed each other. At the same time, she secretly spoke to the True Demon great elder to try to rope him in.

    However, even though the True Demon great elder opened his mouth to speak several times, he didn¡¯t say anything in the end. He was clearly still hesitant.

    Naturally, the women in Pei Mianman¡¯s group were the happiest. Judging from the monsters¡¯ analysis, didn¡¯t that mean Ah Zu¡¯s victory was already secured?

    Only Jing Teng said coldly, ¡°It¡¯s still too early for you to celebrate. How could that Monster Lord be killed so easily?¡±

    ...

    In the sky above them, the Monster Lord was extremely ffocused. When he looked at the giant sword towering in the sky, even he found it hard to breathe. He instinctively wanted to hide, but he immediately sensed that he''d been locked onto by the will of this world. No matter where he tried to escape to, this sword would still continue to hack down at him. It was impossible to avoid!

    In that case, he''d be better off remaining in ce and defending against this sword directly. And yet... If this were another world, he would have a way to take it head-on, but this was a special world. If he shed with the sword in his weakened state, he''d bepletely unable to avoid being cleaved in half.

    How could a sword that condensed an entire world''s power be so easily blocked?

    Just then, Zu An raised his right hand high into the air. Then, he gestured downward in a slicing motion.

    The giant sword seemed to have received orders, crashing down toward the Monster Lord. Wherever it passed, it cleaved through space itself, leaving behind chaotic spatial tears that resembled ck holes. It was as if the de could cut the entire world in half.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The Monster Lord took a deep breath. Suddenly, a copper coin appeared in his hand. With a flick of his finger, it quickly flew above his head.

    The coin was only the size of a button. Compared to the giant golden sword that spanned the entire world, it was as insignificant as a speck of dust. However, it continued to float above the Monster Lord and quickly spun around, releasing waves of invisible ripples.

    A secondter, the majestic giant golden sword''s irresistible momentum seemed to fade. It lost control andnded off to the side.

    <i>Boom!</i>

    Countless giant mountains in the Demon race''s territory were cut in half by the giant golden sword, leaving behind a deep ravine filled with wild and berserk energy.

    The mountains and fields were home to a lot of powerful beasts, but even the slightest touch of the sword energy reduced them to ashes. Some were near the edge of the valley and barely managed to escape the initial strike, but once the berserk energies reached them, they became frenzied before exploding into bloody mist.

    The ravine reached all the way into the horizon, slicing through countless massive mountains before the golden de gradually disappeared, leaving behind only the Tai¡¯e Sword.

    Zu An was a bit surprised. In that instant, he''d discovered that he actually lost the connection between himself and the Tai¡¯e Sword. That was why his incredibly powerful sword strike hadn''t managed to hit his opponent.

    With a wave of his hand, the Tai¡¯e Sword returned to his hand. He sighed in relief. This sword was the key to Mi Li¡¯s safety, so he didn¡¯t want any mishaps to happen with it.

    He looked at the Monster Lord and asked, ¡°What kind of treasure is that?¡±

    ¡°Do you think I''d tell you?¡± The Monster Lord wiped at the cold sweat on his forehead, trying not to bring too much attention to the action. That terrifying sword really had given him a taste of death. Fortunately, he had this treasure!

    Still, he felt some regrets. It seemed he''d still ended up underestimating the regent''s strength and this world¡¯s unique characteristics. Evidently, this really was one of the legendary Wonderpoint Worlds after all! It was no wonder that the Lord of ughter had expended such effort to attack this ce, even preparing so many backup measures.

    If the Monster Lord had known things would be like this, he would¡¯ve already killed Zu An in the Monster World. That way, he wouldn¡¯t have had to fight so bitterly now.

    Back in the temple, all of the monsters were extremely shocked. Smay quickly asked Mojard, ¡°Uncle Mo, do you know what kind of treasure that is? Why haven¡¯t I ever seen the Monster Lord use it before?¡±

    Mojard shook his head. ¡°I just remembered something. Once, we suffered a lot of casualties among the soldiers and generals when we were conquering a mysterious world. Back then, the Monster Lord personally set out. It was rumored that he obtained an extremely powerful magical artifact that left him extremely pleased. Because of it, he even granted a great amnesty to the world. It was probably because of this artifact.

    ¡°As for why he never used it until now, it¡¯s not too strange either. With his strength, who could even force him to use this treasure?¡±

    Smay sighed. ¡°With such an incredible treasure, father might¡¯ve lost even if he were still here.¡±

    Meanwhile, Pei Mianman and the women were also asking Jing Teng about the artifact. She had an extraordinary background and had kept many powerful monsters in check, so perhaps she knew something about it.

    Jing Teng gave Pei Mianman a nce. <i>This woman wasn¡¯t even willing to call me big sister earlier, and yet she¡¯s now going big sister this, big sister that. How ridiculous.</i>

    She harrumphed and said, ¡°I haven¡¯t seen it before either. But it¡¯s a bit simr to a certain legendary object...¡±

    ...

    Up above, Zu An frowned. He seemed to have remembered something too. With a wave of his hand, golden ripples covered the entire sky. Circr sword formation diagrams appeared in the air, and golden sword shadows slowly emerged from the ripples. In the blink of an eye, countless weapons filled the air. Shortly after, they crashed down on the Monster Lord like roaring waves.

    Forget about a person, under the barrage of these countless weapons, even the tallest mountain peak would bepletely destroyed until there was only powder and dust left.

    Shockingly, however, all of the weapons lost their power mysteriously halfway through their flight and fell from the air. As they were made using the Rune Weapon Chart, they scattered into nothingness as theynded on the ground.

    Pei Mianman and the others were all nervous when they saw that. Ah Zu had used several of his most powerful skills in a row, and yet they were all easily dealt with by the Monster Lord. The situation didn¡¯t seem to be favorable to him at all.

    Zu An¡¯s eyesnded on the copper coin above the Monster Lord¡¯s head. A look of realization appeared on his face as he eximed, ¡°So it was the Treasure Sinking Coin, no wonder!¡±

 Chapter 2372: Skill Penetrating Eyes

    <h4>Chapter 2372: Skill Prating Eyes</h4>

    A bit of surprise shed through the Monster Lord¡¯s eyes. ¡°You actually know about this object?¡±

    Not even he had recognized this object when he first obtained it. When he first learned about its effects, he hadn''t even been able to sleep for several days because of how happy he was! And yet the native of a weak world like this knew about it? How could he not be surprised?

    With that confirmation, Zu An became really shocked. This was an artifact from a novel in his previous world, <i>Investiture of the Gods!</i> Because of its incredible effects and how pivotal its use could be, it had often appeared in novels written after that book. Zu An had never expected to actually see it in this world! It really was as the stories imed, being able to make all sorts of treasures fall and lose effectiveness.

    Zu An had always felt that after he transmigrated, this world had a mysterious connection with his previous one. Now, that feeling of familiarity grew stronger and stronger.

    Inside the temple, Jing Teng had just mentioned the Treasure Sinking Coin as well. She looked at the figure in the sky.

    <i>How does he know about that?</i>

    Smay looked at the sky, and then at Jing Teng. Why did everyone but her seem to know about this item?

    <i>Doesn¡¯t that make me look as if I don¡¯t know anything?</i>

    Jing Teng especially had spoken the name of the treasure so casually too. She was beautiful to begin with, and it was now apparent that she was extremely knowledgeable too. That made Smay feel even more envy.

    Because of those thoughts, she pretended to know about the Treasure Sinking Coin too. She asked Mojard, ¡°Uncle Mo, since the Monster Lord has the Treasure Sinking Coin, doesn¡¯t that make him invincible?¡±

    <i>Hmph, those women only have that man on their minds. Aren¡¯t they going to lose their heads out of panic now?</i>

    Sure enough, the women turned in their direction and perked up their ears.

    Mojard replied gravely, ¡°With this weapon in hand, no artifacts or weapons will be usable against the Monster Lord anymore. That means an opponent can only fight with their physical body. Meanwhile, the Monster Lord can still continue to use all sorts of treasures without any problems. That means victory is alreadypletely his to seize.¡±

    He was actually feeling a bit of admiration now.

    <i>As expected of my greatest enemy over all these years. He is strong after all.</i>

    Smay was feeling a bit emotional. Her father was unmatched in closebat. If he had this Treasure Sinking Coin, who could still defeat him across the endless realms?

    <i>I wonder where he is, or if he already really encountered an ident and...</i>

    ...

    Up above, the Monster Lord had a victorious smile as he said, ¡°Regent, since you know about this artifact¡¯s effects, you should understand that you are definitely not my match. Of course, you have the world¡¯s authority, so it won¡¯t be that easy for me to kill you either. In that case, how about we work together?¡±

    ¡°Work together?¡± Zu Anughed. ¡°Is there really a possibility of us working together?¡±

    ¡°Why not?¡± The Monster Lord pointed at the temple. ¡°The only conflict we can''t reconcile involves the women that need to be sacrificed. However, I¡¯ve already fully studied this formation, and they aren¡¯t the only ones needed for the sacrifice. I can return them safely for you, and we¡¯ll look for some random substitutes among the Demon race. Wouldn¡¯t the two of us no longer have any conflict then?¡±

    Zu An felt a chill run through his heart. He wouldn¡¯t let Pei Mianman and the other women suffer, but he wouldn¡¯t just watch as innocent bystanders suffered either.

    ¡°Hah, they were under my protection to begin with. You''re using my own things as a bargaining chip? How generous of you,¡± he said with a sneer. ¡°Besides, you want to enter that spacetime fragment to steal this world''s World Law Beacon, and yet you want me to work with you?¡±

    ¡°The fragment of history is our Monster World¡¯s inheritance to begin with, so it¡¯s only natural that I inherit it. As for the World Law Beacon...¡± The Monster Lord paused for a moment before continuing, ¡°Forget about whether or not I''d really be able to obtain the World Law Beacon, even if we did find it, I could divide up the territory, allowing you to have countless worlds and be an overlord in your own right. Wouldn¡¯t that be far better for you than hiding in this small world?¡±

    Zu An replied with a smile, ¡°But as far as I know, the worlds you¡¯ve conquered are already close to being destroyed by the Annihtion Beast, right? Your only hope is actually this world you call small. This empty promise you¡¯re giving me isn¡¯t all that convincing.¡±

    The Monster Lord¡¯s face darkened. ¡°I believe you understand that this is the only world where you have a chance against me in a fight. You are not my equal in any other world, so you have no right to negotiate with me. My offer to let you be below one, but above all others is already beinf made with a lot of sincerity.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Then should I be thanking you?¡± Zu An retorted, giving him a look of ridicule.

    When he sensed that Zu An wasn¡¯t tempted by his conditions in the slightest, the Monster Lord¡¯s voice began carrying a bit of killing intent. He said, ¡°The reason I am giving you so many chances is merely out of my respect for you as a strong individual. You should drink the toast before you are forced to drink a forfeit!¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression grew serious too as he replied, ¡°What a coincidence. I''m someone who drinks what I want to drink. I¡¯ve never liked being forced by others.¡±

    ¡°Since you''re seeking your own doom, don¡¯t me me for being rude!¡± the Monster Lord eximed, full of killing intent. He instantly appeared in front of Zu An and struck at his vitals evem while speaking.

    Zu An had already witnessed the Monster Lord''s absurd speed, so he didn¡¯t dare to be careless as he brandished his sword at his opponent. The Treasure Sinking Coin had powerful effects against his artifacts, but he wouldn¡¯t be affected too much if he attacked with his sword in closebat without letting go.

    ¡°Big brother Zu¡¯s sword skills are truly amazing!¡± Suolun Shi eximed, her eyes sparkling as she watched from the temple below.

    Jiang Luofu frowned slightly. ¡°That Monster Lord is just too fast, to the point that Ah Zu is forced to change his mind before his attack has fully disyed its power.¡±

    Jing Teng gave her a look of praise.

    <i>This ck silk beauty seems to have good insight. But her taste in the color of that silk is less than impressive.</i>

    Dark Jing Teng shouted in her head, ¡°What did you say about her taste in color? ck silk looks so good! White silk is heresy. Only old women who want to act young wear them!¡±

    White Jing Teng was speechless.

    At the moment, Zu An could imagine the demoralizing feeling of the great battle between Ren Woxing and Dongfang Bubai[1]. His opponent was just way too fast. Many times, he couldn''t even finish his strike before he was forced to change his stance. Even outstanding sword strikes became practically useless, and he wasn¡¯t able to fully release the power of his sword at all. The Monster Lord was so fast that Zu An couldn''t use the Heaven Devouring Sutra either. Whenever he tried to suck away his opponent¡¯s cultivation, he found that the Monster Lord had already moved to a different location.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Meanwhile, the Monster Lord was also shocked. Zu An¡¯s sword skills were of the highest quality. Those sword strikes were clearly countered to a great extent by his speed, and yet the sword somehow managed to shift from one move to another without pause. All the sword skills being used seemedpletely disconnected, and yet Zu An always found some way to naturallybine them together, leaving the Monster Lord with no opportunities to exploit. There was also the terrifying absorption force around Zu An that seemed to constantly suck in the surrounding ki. It even made the ki within the Monster Lord show signs of instability. On top of that, it even ended up affecting the surrounding space, asionally distorting it and affecting his movements.

    If not for his great strength and hisbat experiences gained from dominating countless worlds, the Monster Lord would likely have already died.

    <i>But just how old is this regent? How is he already this powerful?</i>

    ¡°Your eyes seem to be able to see through my next move,¡± Zu An suddenly said after being stuck in the stalemate for a while.

    A hint of shock shed through the Monster Lord¡¯s eyes.

    <i>This kid¡¯s insight is quite sharp. He quickly deduced the source of the problem!</i>

    ¡°That¡¯s right. These Skill Prating Eyes of mine can see through the weaknesses of moves and other things. Unfortunately, what I obtained wasn¡¯t the highest-level eye technique, or else I would be able to see through all fabricated things, and you wouldn''t have fooled me previously.¡±

    In the earlier fight, he had seen some of Zu An¡¯s weaknesses, but those weaknesses often disappeared in an instant and were really hard to exploit. Trying to do so could even end up inviting a string of attacks. Strictly speaking, they weren¡¯t even real weaknesses anymore.

    ¡°Since you have this miraculous skill, it seems I really would have a hard time winning against you.¡± Zu An suddenly sighed, sounding discouraged.

    The Monster Lord was pleasantly surprised. ¡°Oh? Then you¡¯ve reconsidered my proposal?¡±

    Zu An opened his mouth. Hepletely changed his tone as he met the Monster Lord''s expectant gaze and spoke.

    ¡°What you lookin¡¯ at?¡±

    Then, a dazzling sword radiance pierced the heavens.

    1. A major event in the ssic novel The Smiling, Proud Wanderer. ?

 Chapter 2373: A Headless Corpse

    <h4>Chapter 2373: A Headless Corpse</h4>

    The women who were watching from the pce couldn''t help but be discouraged. If the Monster Lord could see what the following attack would be and what kind of objective the opponent had, what meaning was left in fighting?

    ¡°Big sister, doesn¡¯t this mean that in this situation, Ah Zu will lose for sure?¡± Pei Mianman couldn''t help but consult Jing Teng for guidance.

    Jing Teng shook her head slightly. ¡°That may not be. It''s now a tough fight, but that doesn¡¯t necessarily mean he''spletely invincible. For example, even if he saw the opening, it could disappear too quickly, or the enemy could be too strong, preventing him from being able to take advantage of it at all.¡±

    Yun Yuqing said worriedly, ¡°But the Monster Lord should be strong enough to exploit those weaknesses, right?¡±

    ¡°Ah Zu is also strong enough, or else he would¡¯ve already been at a disadvantage after fighting for so long,¡± Jiang Luofu reassured her. However, her words were more so intended to get the others¡¯ agreement and thus give herself some confidence.

    Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s cultivation was the lowest. She could only ask with concern, ¡°But if the opponent has that kind of ability, just how is big brother Zu going to defeat his enemy?¡±

    Jing Teng became quiet. At this moment, the Monster King had the Treasure Sinking Coin at his disposal. Even she wouldn''t necessarily be able to defeat him at the height of her strength.

    Just then, Smay said mockingly, ¡°The Monster Lord is stronger than your man to begin with, and he even has so many heaven-defying skills. Any talk of defeating him is just lunatic nonsense.¡±

    At first, she had been hoping for Zu An and the Monster King to take each other out and hadn¡¯t really known who to root for, but now that she heard these women continue to show concern for their lover, she felt an indescribable anger bubbling inside her.

    <i>Why did I have to live such a bitter life? I lost my father when I was young, and I¡¯ve lived for so, so long while being on the run as a fugitive. I went through painstaking efforts to finally save my father, but it was all a lie too! I was being yed by these two from the very start.</i>

    These women were all pretty and had good cultivations. Smay could tell that they had good backgrounds and had been raised with care. Furthermore, they even had a handsome, strong, and perfect lover like the regent.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    <i>Just what right do you have to live such a blessed life?</i>

    Smay¡¯s face began to distort. She thought about how it was this Zu An who had deceived her and led her to this result, and that was why she hadn¡¯t been able to save her father.

    <i>He must¡¯ve beenughing at me when he saw me try my ¡®honey trap¡¯, right?</i>

    When she realized that, her anger toward Zu An went through the roof. Her hatred for him even surpassed what she felt for the Monster Lord. There was even a voice within her calling for the Monster Lord to win. She wanted to see those women shed bitter tears so they could all share the misery together.

    <i>Sometimes, winning alone doesn¡¯t feel as good as both sides losing!</i>

    Sure enough, when they heard what she said, the women''s expressions changed. There was clearly already a shadow looming over their minds.

    Just then, Zu An said the words ¡®what you lookin¡¯ at¡¯!

    The sentence came out incredibly abruptly, and at such a crucial moment, no less. Apart from Pei Mianman and some of the other women revealing happy looks, everyone else had a strange expression.

    The Monster Lord was also surprised, and he was even more surprised that he couldn''t hold himself back from replying, ¡°I¡¯m looking at you, shithead!¡±

    As soon as he said that, his expression changed. With his knowledge and experience, how could he not understand that this was some form of Soulspeak? He was controlled for only a tiny fraction of a second. His reaction was already as fast as could be.

    However, in a battle like this between the strongest of beings, that amount of time was already enough for them to do too many things.

    A dazzling sword came crashing down from up above. At that moment, everyone present felt as if there were ten suns in the sky. They saw the starry skies themselves crashing down.

    Two figures instantly shed. Soon after, they separated and ended up some distance away.

    ¡°Ah!¡± When she saw a wound on Zu An''s chest that reached all the way to the bone, Pei Mianman couldn''t help but cry out. Blood was gushing out, and she could even see his heart throbbing inside.

    Zu An raised his hand to tap against his chest, and the bleeding by the wound began to stop. The wounded flesh also began to heal. But his face was still really pale.

    Pei Mianman and the others knew just how tough Zu An¡¯s body was. It was even tougher than that of a great dragon! If it were anyone else, this attack from the Monster Lord alone would¡¯ve already chopped them in two. Even though he wouldn¡¯t die, this level of injury was already enough to decide the rest of this fight.

    Smay burst outughing. After all, the Monster Lord lookedpletely fine!

    <i>The heavens have heard my sincere prayers and taken pity on me!</i>

    <i>These women and that regent can keep mepany in the grave!</i>

    ¡°What was that move of yours earlier called?¡± The Monster Lord cracked a grin. It seemed as if he wanted tough, but he couldn''t.

    ¡°What you lookin¡¯ at?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m looking at you, shithead!¡±

    The two almost seemed to have tacitly agreed to rey the earlier situation.

    The Monster Lord finallyughed. ¡°It is a skill with its own rules, as expected. This defeat wasn¡¯t undeserved...¡±

    His head suddenly drooped, and then actually tumbled off his neck!

    It turned out that dazzling sword had already sliced through his neck! Only someone as powerful as him could say so much before sumbing to such a wound.

    When they saw the glorious and mighty Monster Lord suddenly turn into a headless corpse, everyone in the temple was stupefied.

    Smay¡¯s smile froze on her face. How was this possible?!

    The True Demon experts were also in disbelief. The Monster Lord who had dominated an entire era actually died just like that?

    In contrast, Pei Mianman and the women couldn''t hold back their happiness and cheered.

    Only Jing Teng frowned slightly. Pei Mianman couldn''t help but say, ¡°It seems you aren¡¯t that happy.¡±

    Jing Teng couldn''t be bothered with the ''big sister'' matter anymore and quickly said, ¡°I fear things might not be that simple.¡±

    In order to guard against any potential eventualities, Zu An released a st of sword ki to turn the Monster Lord¡¯s head into a st of bloody mist. Only then did he fly over to the corpse to collect his spoils. The Skill Prating Eyes couldn''t be obtained, but the Treasure Sinking Coin was definitely a treasure.

    However, he immediately sensed danger and flew back a kilometer. The spot he had just been in was instantly surrounded by a burst of green energy.

    ¡°This is the green energy that three-headed bird fired out before!¡±

    It was unknown who said those words, but everyone immediately recalled what had happened back then. Upon contact, one of Smay¡¯s powerful subordinates had immediately turned into a skeleton. Judging from this, it was easy to see just how frightening this power was.

    Zu An also gave the green energy a vignt look. When he was up close, he finally saw what it was: A cloud of small green bugs that had incredibly potent venom and excelled at devouring flesh. Back then, that powerful monster had all of his flesh devoured by these bugs! This could be one of the most gruesome ways to die.

    ¡°Tsk tsk tsk, you actually cut off my head. I really did underestimate you,¡± the Monster Lord¡¯s cold voice said.

    ¡°Who is speaking?¡± Everyone in the temple saw the headless corpse in the air and felt a chill run down their backs. Goosebumps covered their entire bodies.

 Chapter 2374: Bloodmelt Demon Needles

    <h4>Chapter 2374: Bloodmelt Demon Needles</h4>

    It was perfectly reasonable for them to be scared. After all, the Monster Lord''s head had already been cut off, and they''d seen Zu An st that head into dust. So why was the Monster Lord still able to speak?

    Smay, Mojard, and the others felt their entire bodies turn cold. They had fought against the Monster Lord for many years, so how could they not recognize his voice?

    Just then, flesh began to squirm around the Monster Lord¡¯s neck. Shortly after, a new head reappeared.

    Even with all of Zu An¡¯s experience, he still couldn''t help but take a step back when he saw that strange scene, let alone everyone else in the temple. They were so scared that their faces turnedpletely pale.

    ¡°You can still regenerate after having your head removed?¡± Zu An eximed in surprise, really really confused. The head was the leader of the six yang. Something so important had been turned to dust, so how did the Monster Lord return to life.

    The Monster Lord said with a cold sneer, ¡°Of course. I have an indestructible body, so how could you possibly kill me?¡±

    Both Pei Mianman¡¯s group and Smay¡¯s group felt a sense of despair.

    The Monster Lord was already absurdly strong to begin with, and he even had all sorts of unreasonable divine skills. But he somehow had an indestructible body on top of all that? How was someone even supposed to fight against that?

    Smay¡¯s group began tough in self-mockery. It turned out they''d been up against this kind of freak this entire time. No wonder the Monster Lord had never regarded them with much importance. To him, all of their ns would have been on just too small of a scale to bother with!

    In the sky above, Zu An also felt a sense of powerlessness in that instant, but he quickly reacted and said, ¡°If your distinguished self really had an indestructible body, why couldn''t you win against the Annihtion Beast, to the point of letting the entire Monster World fall into its current state?¡±

    The Monster Lord erupted into fury due to his humiliation. ¡°Who do you think you are? Even someone like you thinks you can talk about the Annihtion Beast¡¯s power?¡±

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled the Monster Lord for +444 +444 +444...</strong>

    When he saw the Monster Lord''s anger, Zu An¡¯s grin grew even bigger. ¡°Lies don¡¯t hurt, but truths are quick des. Even though I can¡¯t defeat the Annihtion Beast myself, I can still win against you here. Since killing you once isn¡¯t enough, I¡¯ll just kill you again. Let¡¯s see how many times you can revive!¡±

    After his years of fighting through all sorts of life and death situations, he believed this revival skill was definitely not limitless. It either meant that the number of times the Monster Lord could revive was limited, or that he had to pay a huge price for every revival. Whichever one it was, Zu An just needed to try a few more times.

    The Monster Lord was so angry that heughed. ¡°Hah! If it weren¡¯t for you shamelessly using that Soulspeak skill, how could I have been caught off guard? Do you really think you''ll have another chance?¡±

    He felt rage boil within him whenever he thought about how this ant-like being had actually beheaded him.

    <i>If not for the fact that my strength was limited by this world, if not because I let you go to reel in even more fish, why would I have ended up in such a difficult situation?!</i>

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled the Monster Lord for +888 +888 +888...</strong>

    As he looked at the exasperated and flustered Monster Lord, Zu An had a strange expression. ¡°It¡¯s a battle of life and death, so of course it''s natural to use any methods we have at our disposal. And yet your highness is actually childishly criticizing your enemy for being shameless? Your level of naivety really is a bitughable.¡±

    The Monster Lord was speechless.

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled the Monster Lord for +999 +999 +999...</strong>

    He was nowpletely enraged. He coldly said, ¡°You have quite the mouth on you. But soon, you won¡¯t be able to act so cocky.¡±

    As he spoke, he carefully took out a small wooden case and opened the lid. The inside was lined with red silk, upon which ten needles quietly rested.

    ¡°Bloodmelt Demon Needles!¡± Mojard couldn''t help but shout when he saw them.

    ¡°What are Bloodmelt Demon Needles?¡± Smay asked; it was fortunate for Pei Mianman and the other women, because they were all really confused too.

    Mojard had a grave expression as he said, ¡°That¡¯s the Monster Lord¡¯s trump card. They look like just ten needles on the surface, but one bes two and two bes four, and four gives birth to all things. Those demonic needles are innumerable in number, and they are extremely powerful. Even if they only scrape the skin a bit, the enemy will then melt into a pool of blood. They¡¯re extremely ruthless.¡±

    He couldn''t help but sigh as he continued, ¡°These Bloodmelt Demon Needles have taken the lives of countless powerful beings. It is just that, as his cultivation grew greater, he stopped needing to resort to this weapon. Who would¡¯ve thought that he would actually bring them out against this world¡¯s regent! It seems the Monster Lord has really been angered by the fact that his head was severed.¡±

    The women were all shocked when they heard those words. Against a magic weapon this treacherous, wasn''t Ah Zu in danger? After all, there was no way one could survivepletely unscathed in a battle between simr-level experts. Meanwhile, these Bloodmelt Demon Needles would turn the enemy into a puddle of blood even if they just scraped a bit of skin. Just the thought of that alone made them shiver.

    However, Ji Xiaoxiforted them by saying, ¡°Big sisters, big brother Zu¡¯s body is special and seems to be immune to all poisons that I know of. Even though I recently learned about some even stronger poisons in the outside world, big brother Zu¡¯s body can still resist arge portion of the damage. So there¡¯s no need to worry too much.¡±

    When they heard what she said, the others sighed in relief. However, Jiang Luofu was still extremely worried, saying, ¡°His body might be able to stop one or two needles, but if he''s stabbed too much, he might still be in danger...¡±

    The women immediately became extremely nervous again.

    Pei Mianman couldn''t help but give her a second nce.

    <i>Principal Jiang seems to care a lot about Ah Zu...</i>

    But her attention was quickly drawn to her lover once again. She didn¡¯t have time to think about that in detail at all.

    In the sky above, the wooden case floated in front of the Monster Lord. With a gentle flick, ten demon needles flew out. They reappeared next to Zu An almost as soon as they left the box. They were extremely fast, as if they didn¡¯t even need to fly through space.

    Zu An was shocked. Fortunately, he was already prepared and held his sword in front of him to protect himself.

    <i>ng!</i>

    If ordinary needles made contact with the Tai¡¯e Sword, they would¡¯ve immediately been turned to ash. However, these Bloodmelt Demon Needles only produced some sparks, then turned into over a thousand smaller needles that flew back at Zu An again from all sorts of different directions.

    The Monster Lord finally revealed a grin. How could his Bloodmelt Demon Needles be stopped that easily? They were too fast, and the distance was too short. These had always been his most reliable weapons.

    Sure enough, the burst of needles struck Zu An¡¯s body.

    When she saw the, Pei Mianman felt the blood in her body turn ice-cold. She almost fainted on the spot.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Ji Xiaoxi burst out into tears. Even though she''d said that big brother Zu¡¯s body was special, if that many needles pierced his body, things didn¡¯t look good at all.

    ¡°Don¡¯t panic. Keep watching,¡± Jing Teng said, remaining the calmest out of all of them.

    <i>These women''s crying really is annoying.</i>

    The Monster Lord didn¡¯t smile anymore either. Instead, he stared at Zu An¡¯s surroundings.

    Faint yellow runes appeared one after another. A translucent yellow bell wrappedpletely around Zu An. Rather thannding on his body, the needles had all struck the bell projection.

    This was the Tranquility Bell created by the Rune Weapon Chart!

    ¡°Hmph, you think some random magic weapon can stop my demon needles?!¡± The Monster Lord¡¯s fingers moved through the air. Another demon needle flew over from another direction. The Tranquility Bell instantly shattered upon contact with it.

    But Zu An had already disappeared from his original location, causing the demon needles to all miss.

    The Monster Lord wasn¡¯t surprised to see that. He already knew about Zu An''s instant teleportation skill. That was why there were still eight needles waiting off to the side.

    When Zu An reappeared, the closest demon needles instantly flew forth, but Zu An used his Grandgale skill to dodge again.

    The Monster Lord had a mocking grin as he said, ¡°My demon needles have already locked onto your soul. Will you really be able to avoid them?¡±

    Sure enough, even though Zu An¡¯s movements were like lightning and he always managed to avoid the Bloodmelt Demon Needles by moving at ingenious angles, he just couldn''t break out of the created by the ten needles. As they closed in on him more and more, the amount of space he could use to dodge became more and more limited. In the end, the only fate awaiting him was to melt into a puddle of blood.

 Chapter 2375: Enmeshed in Oneâ€™s Own Trap

    <h4>Chapter 2375: Enmeshed in One¡¯s Own Trap</h4>

    Inside the temple, Mojard shouted in astonishment, ¡°As expected of someone who ended the lives of so many powerful monsters, the regent¡¯s exceptional movement alone is something that not many in the Monster World couldpare to.¡±

    Even though those monsters'' absolute cultivation levels had all been higher than Zu An''s, theirbat skills were beneath his. On top of that, his evasive skills were absolutely stunning. Many opponents had been faster and stronger than him, but their use of skill and technique couldn''tpare. Seemingly, it was only because this world¡¯s source wasn¡¯t strong enough that his cultivation wasn¡¯t too high inparison. If he went to a stronger world, his strength would quickly shoot through the roof and exceed that of many powerful beings.

    Unfortunately, Zu An wouldn¡¯t have that chance anymore! Just how powerful was the Monster Lord? He was even using the Bloodmelt Demon Needles now, so how could this regent still survive?

    The web formed by the ten Bloodmelt Demon Needles finally pressured Zu An to the point that he couldn''t dodge anymore. The Monster Lord smiled sinisterly and said, ¡°Let¡¯s see how you escape now!¡±

    He then activated the Bloodmelt Demon Needles¡¯ most powerful form. Every single Bloodmelt Demon Needle turned into ten thousand needles that were as thin as hairs. They filled the entire space as they flew at Zu An.

    The Monster Lord had been watching from the side this entire time, collecting information. Now, he already understood the secrets of Zu An¡¯s movement. Thetter''s instantaneous movement skill was extremely powerful, but it had a clear weakness, which was that he couldn''t use itpletely uninterrupted. There was a cooldown whenever it was used twice. Even though this cooldown was short and ordinary cultivators couldn''t sense it, the Monster Lord was anything but ordinary!

    Furthermore, in order to ensure that Zu An wasn¡¯t exaggerating that weakness to throw him off guard, the Monster Lord chose a moment when Zu An had just spent all of his strength and was transitioning to another move, only then unleashing his most powerful attack! Such an unavoidable attack was made at such a close distance, and so abruptly, that even if Zu An used the Tranquility Bell again it would bepletely impossible to stop the power of a hundred thousand Bloodmelt Demon Needles.

    Zu An was about to be turned into a porcupine by these needles, and it seemed inevitable that he would be turned into a puddle of blood. But then the look of fear in his eyes suddenly disappeared, being reced with a mysterious smile.

    The Monster Lord shivered. He suddenly sensed that something wasn¡¯t quite right. He really couldn''t figure out just how Zu An was going to get out of this situation of inevitable death.

    But only a momentter, he was stupefied. He felt a blur in front of him, then saw that he was actually in the location Zu An had just been in. The hundred thousand Bloodmelt Demon Needlespletely cut off any paths of retreat for him.

    Everything happened so quickly that the Monster Lord didn¡¯t have any time to understand why this happened, or even process anything. He wouldn''t have been too worried about these Bloodmelt Demon Needles if he had the Treasure Sinking Coin out, but things just happened too suddenly. There was no way he''d have time to take out that coin anymore.

    He could only do his best to change the direction of the Bloodmelt Demon Needles. However, even though they were his magic weapon, they were simr to arrows in a certain way. An archer could easily change the direction of an arrow when it was still on the bowstring, but once it was fired, how could t sheytill control it?

    Additionally, the Monster Lord had already used the Bloodmelt Demon Needles¡¯ full power in order to guarantee that he could kill Zu An. As a result, even though he did everything he could to change their direction, half of the Bloodmelt Demon Needles still stabbed into his body.

    But the strangest thing was that all of the Bloodmelt Demon Needles actuallynded on his head! The Monster Lord was extremely powerful, but even his head began to decay at a visible rate after being struck. Then, the melting extended toward his neck.

    When they saw that, everyone watching was stupefied. Just a moment before, Zu An had seemed dead for sure, and the Monster Lord had seemed to have victory in hand. Why had the situation instantly been reversed?

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Smay swallowed with difficulty. ¡°Uncle Mo, the Monster Lord probably can''t withstand the power of the Bloodmelt Demon Needles either, right?¡±

    Mojard felt as if his head was ringing. Everything that had just happened was outside of his imagination. ¡°He probably can''t, right?¡±

    The most powerful being of a generation had actually ended up being killed by his own weapons?

    <i>What in the world just happened? I don¡¯t think I blinked this entire time, but I seemed to have missed the most important information...</i>

    In the final instant, he couldn''t understand why the Monster Lord would appear in the midst of the demon needles, changing ces with the regent.

    Zu An didn¡¯t feel the slightest bit of happiness, however. He stared at the ¡®corpse¡¯. This scene felt a bit like deja vu...

    In that moment, the corpse actually moved. Using its neck as the de, it removed its own corroded head. After it fell, the head turned into a puddle of blood. It was obvious that if he hadn¡¯t promptly removed it, his body could have alsopletely disappeared. Even someone as powerful as the Monster Lord actually couldn''t withstand the power of the Bloodmelt Demon Needles!

    ¡°Excellent, very good. You actually destroyed my head again.¡± The Monster Lord¡¯s voice sounded as if it came from the underworld, and it carried an unforgettable grudge.

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled the Monster Lord for +1024 +1024 +1024...</strong>

    A new head reappeared on the Monster Lord¡¯s neck. As he stared straight at Zu An, his gaze was grim. He looked as if he really wanted to skin Zu An alive and drink his blood.

    Zu An was alsopletely dumbfounded. ¡°Brother, is your zodiac sign a gecko? But geckos can only lose their tails... Do you specialize in losing your head?¡±

    He was actually quite taken aback. Not even this kind of thing could kill his opponent?

    <i>Could it be that his weakness isn¡¯t his head but rather some other part of his body?</i>

    The Monster Lord also felt a chill run down his back when he saw Zu An examine his entire body. He stared at Zu An and asked, ¡°Did you use some type of position exchange skill?¡±

    Zu An smiled. ¡°As expected of the Monster Lord. You actually immediately identified the skill I used so quickly.¡±

    Since the Monster Lord had already seen this move, he wouldn¡¯t be able to recreate the earlier scenario even if he continued to hide it, so he wasn¡¯t too worried about the Monster Lord knowing about this skill.

    The Monster Lord couldn''t help but start to feel frustrated. ¡°I¡¯ve conquered so many worlds, and yet the number of skills I''ve seen on this level can be counted on my fingers. You''re from such a weak world, so how can you have so many incredible skills?!¡±

    That was what he just couldn''t figure out. He had seen some position exchange skills before, but the power of those skills was limited, often only being able to swap some small objects. They couldn''t move powerful beings at all. But just now, someone as powerful as him had been switched! That meant the level of the skill was extremely high. It could even be a divine skill that touched upon certainws.

    Zu An sighed. ¡°That was why I said you''d offended the wrong person. You could¡¯ve been a perfectly fine Monster Lord, and yet you just had toe to my world to start trouble. It¡¯s toote for regrets now, though.¡±

    He was actually really surprised. He''d thought that the outside worlds would be extremely strong. They were strong indeed, but some of the things in them were inferior to what he could obtain here. He had to rethink things. Could it be that this was because the Cultivation World was a Wonderpoint World?

    ¡°Good, very good!¡± The Monster Lord was so angry he began tough. ¡°A frog at the bottom of a well actually dares to act so arrogant? It seems I should show you what true power looks like.¡±

    He took out a bone flute and moved it to his lips as he spoke. He yed a bleak and mournful song. Then, ripples suddenly appeared in the sky next to him, and the nearby space became chaotic. Strange sounds came out from within.

    ¡°Oh no, that three-headed bird is going toe here!¡± Mojard and the others¡¯ expressions changed when they heard that song.

    Many monsters had expressions of terror. After all, too many of their brothers had been eaten alive by that three-headed bird over the years. Did this mean they could only watch as many of theirpanions died to that strange bird even aftering to this world?

    After all these years, the whole Monster World had already became extremely terrified of that strange three-headed bird. Although being killed by the Monster Lord was a straightforward ordeal, if one were to be killed by this bird, their fate would be one of incredible suffering and tragedy.

    Many of its victims had been powerful rulers who dominated their regions, and yet they''d ended up as this monster¡¯s food before being turned into its feces. Just the thought of that alone was harder to endure than the cruelest punishment imaginable.

 Chapter 2376: Bullying With Numbers

    <h4>Chapter 2376: Bullying With Numbers</h4>

    The entire Monster World had actually debated just how strong this three-headed bird really was. In the end, their conclusion was that it wasn¡¯t that much weaker than the Monster Lord himself. Quite a few people even believed that its strength was on par with the Monster Lord¡¯s. Whichever side it was, however, that alone proved that the three-headed bird was a powerful creature with simr strength to the Monster Lord.

    Additionally, as the bird had served as the Monster Lord¡¯s mount for so many years, the two of them shared a strong connection. It was almost as if two Monster Lords were fighting against Zu An. Just a single Monster Lord had already ced Zu An in incredible danger; with one more joining in, that made the situation overwhelmingly one-sided.

    Pei Mianman gritted her teeth and prepared to rush over, but Jing Teng stopped her, asking, ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    ¡°I want to help Ah Zu, of course. Helping him buy some time would still be good,¡± Pei Mianman replied. She knew that doing so would be extremely dangerous, but she worried that Zu An¡¯s life could be forfeit if she didn''t.

    ¡°The gap in strength between us and them is too wide. You''d only be throwing away your life if you went up there.¡± Jing Teng paused for a moment. She knew that she couldn''t convince Pei Mianman with just those words alone, and quickly added, ¡°So not only would you be of no help, Zu An would even have to take care of you. You¡¯d only be putting him in even greater danger.¡±

    Pei Mianman finally cooled her head a bit when she heard that analysis, but she still protested, ¡°But if we don¡¯t do anything, he¡¯ll still be in grave danger!¡±

    ¡°Trust him. He''s experienced situations that were even more dangerous.¡± Jing Teng looked at the figure in the sky. A hint of gentleness appeared in her cold eyes.

    Pei Mianman bit her lip. She felt really frustrated by the fact that she was still too weak. She was actually unable to help Ah Zu in the slightest!

    Jiang Luofu seemed to have read her mind. She gently patted Mianman''s shoulder and tried tofort her. ¡°Manman, your cultivation is already incredible for your age. Now that the worlds have been merged, your cultivation will only grow greater and greater. You must keep in mind that you can''t rush things, lest you end up experiencing cultivation deviation.¡±

    Pei Mianman felt warm inside when she heard that. Her untainted mentality had almost been damaged just now. She cupped her hands and said respectfully, ¡°Thank you, Principal Jiang.¡± She was extremely grateful, so she spoke with great sincerity.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for such courtesy,¡± Jiang Luofu said, but her expression grew a bit unnatural.

    <i>If they found out what happened between me and Ah Zu one day, that would beplete social suicide...</i>

    Jing Teng stood with her arms behind her. She stared at the giant figure in the sky and couldn''t help but mutter, ¡°Strange... Just how was that bird transported here?¡±

    ...

    The entire sky had already turned dark as the strange three-headed bird was summoned from the void. It wasn''t really apparent in the Monster World, but in the Cultivation World, the bird really did look massive. The terrifying pressure it gave off was so great that within thousands of miles, neither domestic beasts nor wild beast overlords dared to utter the slightest bit of sound for of fear of offending this monster and bringing death upon themselves.

    Zu An frowned and looked at the distant three-headed bird. A look of confusion passed through his eyes. He just felt as if the three-headed bird was a bit different from how it looked before. However, he couldn''t really say how either.

    The Monster Lord stood on the three-headed bird as usual. He pointed at Zu An and said, ¡°This lord is going to grind up your bones into ashes and scatter them to vent my hatred.¡±

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled the Monster Lord for +444 +444 +444...</strong>

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°Then you''d better be careful, or else I might just break open your head again.¡±

    The Monster Lord was speechless.

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled the Monster Lord for +666 +666 +666...</strong>

    He didn¡¯t say anything else. Hemanded his mount to attack Zu An with a darkened expression.

    When the giant three-headed bird moved its wings, clouds descended like a weight from the heavens. A hurricane swept through the area, causing shouting from the distant Demon town. Many homes were destroyed on the spot by the winds.

    Zu An frowned slightly. He was worried that innocent Demon race citizens would be harmed, so with a flicker, he flew toward the great mountain.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°You want to escape?¡± The Monster Lord sneered and gave chase relentlessly with the three-headed bird.

    When they saw that, the women in the temple quickly followed the two. Unfortunately, thebatants were too fast and they were quickly left behind. Fortunately, they left quite themotion in their wake, so it wasn¡¯t too hard to track the direction they''d gone in.

    When he saw them leave as well, Mojard asked Smay, ¡°First miss, should we use this chance to run away?¡±

    Just then, another subordinate replied, ¡°We shouldn''t do that! We might be able to escape now, but would we able to run away forever? Regardless of which side wins, neither one of them will let us go. Rather than walking down that path of death, we might as well seek riches and honor amid danger!¡±

    Smay was tempted. ¡°How would we do that?¡±

    The subordinate exined, ¡°Judging from how the two sides were fighting before, it seemed as if they were almost on par. The regent has the world''s authority right now, and this is his home as well, so he might have a slight advantage. However, the Monster Lord is too powerful, and he even summoned his mount to fight two against one. That means the regent is most likely not his match. But the regent is the owner of this world in the end, so he definitely has other trump cards. In the end, even if it was just a desperatest-ditch attack, it would be enough to seriously injure the Monster Lord. That could be our chance to turn things around!¡±

    Smay¡¯s eyes lit up. She said happily, ¡°That¡¯s right. The Monster Lord would definitely be extremely weak, and we still have so many powerful individuals with us. It wouldn''t bepletely impossible to kill him!¡±

    The reason she''d felt hesitant before was because she remembered that the Nature Jade te was already in the enemy¡¯s hands, making all of her ns amount to nothing. Now that she heard that there was still a chance, how could she still give up?

    Mojard was hesitant, but when he saw Smay¡¯s expression, he knew he wouldn¡¯t be able to change her mind. He could only look at the True Demon Great Elder and ask, ¡°Great Elder, have you all thought through your current position already? How about you join us in this gamble?¡± The True Demon Great Elder still seemed uncertain, so Mojard continued, ¡°The Monster Lord already knows that you¡¯ve betrayed him. Do you think he''d really let you all go after?¡±

    The True Demon Great Elder¡¯s expression changed when he heard that. He clenched his teeth and said, ¡°Let¡¯s do it!¡±

    The Monster Lord was known for his mistrustful and brutal nature. There were countless past examples to learn from, so the great elder naturally didn¡¯t want that to happen to him too.

    ...

    Meanwhile, the three-headed bird moved extremely quickly. Even with Zu An¡¯s current speed, he actually couldn''t shake it off and it was gradually closing the distance. When there were only around fifty meters left, the left head suddenly opened its mouth. A st of green mist surged at Zu An.

    Zu An shivered. The green mist was actually made of countless tiny green bugs that could devour flesh. It would be extremely troublesome to be caught in it. Thus, he rapidly changed directions to try to shake it off. But no matter how he turned, the green mist continued to chase after him like a guided missile and just wouldn¡¯t let up.

    Just then, on the back of the strange bird, the Monster Lord called out mockingly, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you using that position exchange skill to bring me into that green mist?¡±

    Zu An harrumphed. He didn¡¯t say anything in response.

    The position exchange skill was indeed incredible, but it wasn¡¯t without weaknesses. He could only change positions with one target, and there was an extremely brief moment in which he couldn''t do anything during the exchange. It wasn¡¯t much of an opening in a one-on-one fight, but if it was a brawl between sides of simr strength and the opponent was prepared for the skill, they could absolutely take advantage of that weakness. Judging from the Monster Lord¡¯s pleased expression, it was obvious that he''d already noticed that.

    Zu An couldn''t help but feel a bit of admiration. This guy was an incredible genius. He''d only seen the skill once, and yet he''d alreadye up with a way to defeat it.

    Zu An briefly became a bit slower because he was thinking about these things, causing him to end up almostpletely surrounded by the green mist. However, with a tap of his toes, he quickly moved several hundred meters away. The forest he''d just been in was ravaged by the green mist instead.

    Within the forest was a Lightning Clouded Leopard that was famous for its speed. And yet, nothing but bloodied bones remained, standing in a position that showed its intent to run when it was still alive. The expression on its skull was warped and twisted. It was obvious just how much pain and shock it had been in before it died; it had never expected that even its renowned speed wouldn¡¯t even give it the slightest chance to escape.

    Just then, the Monster Lord sneered. ¡°Weren¡¯t you pretty incredible not too long ago? Why do you only know how to run away now?¡±

 Chapter 2377: Mutual Destruction

    <h4>Chapter 2377: Mutual Destruction</h4>

    Zu An waspletely unperturbed by the taunts. He would be an idiot to not run from the attacks of two extremely powerful opponents. Still, he also knew that continuing to run like this would be too passive. Thus, he took the opportunity to bring out the Sun ying Bow and fire it.

    A Sun ying Arrow flew out like a shooting star, instantly arriving in front of the bird¡¯s head. The blinding radiance created from the air friction was reflected in the bird¡¯s fearful eyes. It knew that one of its heads would definitely explode on the spot.

    But just then, that shooting star suddenly grew dim and fell from the air.

    The Monster Lord flipped the Treasure Sinking Coin in his hand and coldly remarked, ¡°Did you forget that these kinds of treasures are useless against me?¡±

    At the same time, he felt a bit of fear inside.

    <i>Why does this guy have so many terrifying weapons?</i>

    The power of that arrow even made his heart tremble a bit. He even had the feeling that it didn''t represent the greatest power this bow could bring out. If it were fired by his own hand, even the sun in the sky could be shot down.

    <i>It seems this world isn¡¯t as impoverished as I originally thought. I have to obtain this world¡¯sw beacon. If I can kill this brat, I might not have to go to that unknown fragment of spacetime.</i>

    His aura locked down firmly onto Zu An.

    <i>If this brat were seriously trying to run away, it would actually be a bit hard for me to find him. The only reason he''s fighting against me is because he''s worried about the natives and those women. I can¡¯t let go of such a good chance.</i>

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Meanwhile, Zu An¡¯s expression was calm. He drew the bow again and fired another arrow.

    The Monster Lord used the Treasure Sinking Coin again. He said mockingly, ¡°I already told you that this is useless...¡±

    But halfway through his sentence, his expression changed. He quickly urged the bird underneath him to dodge to the side. At the same time, Zu An instantly appeared where they just were. He held the Tai¡¯e Sword and shed viciously at one of the bird heads.

    Even though Zu An was his enemy, the Monster Lord couldn''t help but admire his fighting instincts. The arrow was actually just a cover; the second shot was to make him lower his guard and leave him out of options. This was actually Zu An''s real objective. While the light created from the air friction disturbed their sight, he used the chance to close the distance and attack.

    <i>Unfortunately, even though he was too smart, he ended up neglecting his own life!</i>

    What kind of being was the Monster Lord? He had conquered countless worlds. How could he not see through these kinds of tricks? He had just been ying along earlier. He already had absolute confidence in winning!

    Heughed sinisterly. The strange bird he was sitting on shared a tacit understanding with him. The head on the right opened its mouth and fired a st of ck energy that wrapped around Zu An, catching him right as he was falling.

    But rather than ck energy, it was more like a cloud of mist, emanating a foul stench that could be smelled even from far away. It was clearly poisonous as well. Previously, one of Smay¡¯s subordinates had turned into a clump of blood upon contact. Judging from that, it was obvious just how powerful the poison was.

    Zu An had put too much strength into his sh, but then he''d suddenly lost his target. That caused his movements to expose a weakness. Now, he had the ck mist in front of him, while the green mist approached from behind. He had no way of escaping at all.

    The Monster Lord was still worried that Zu An wouldn''t die, so he sent the Bloodmelt Demon Needles out again. He also sent out a series of space-restricting runes. In that instant, neither the instantaneous movement nor the position exchange skills could be used.

    He was someone who had conquered countless worlds, so he had endless treasures and resources at his disposal. That was why he''d already thought of several ways to deal with the position exchange skill shortly after he saw Zu An use it. But he had never used these runes until now, because he wanted them to ensure a lethal blow!

    Pei Mianman and Smay¡¯s groups arrived just in time to see this scene. All of them cried out in surprise.

    Pei Mianman and the others were extremely concerned. They wanted to save him, but they were too far away. They couldn''t interfere with a battle at this level at all.

    Meanwhile, Smay and the others were crying out because they didn¡¯t want Zu An to die so easily. They couldn''t see any injuries on the Monster Lord or the three-headed bird right now, so how were they supposed to take advantage of the aftermath? All the Monster Lord had to do was turn around and he could easily kill them all.

    Just then, however, something unexpected happened. The ck mist that had been about to swallow up Zu An suddenly flew behind him and collided with the green mist. Countless bitter, shrill cries emanated from the green mist as the two quickly mixed together.

    When they saw that, the Monster Lord and the three-headed bird were both stunned. Why was there suddenly friendly fire?

    The green mist was actually made up of tiny bugs, after all. Even though they were great at devouring flesh, they weren''t fighting against living creatures right now. This wasn¡¯t the area in which they excelled at all. Meanwhile, the ck mist had powerful corrosive properties. The green mist quickly turned into a spray of blood and fell from the sky.

    But the green mist bugs weren¡¯t to be trifled with. Before perishing, they released a lot of poisonous mist, which made the ck mist also be thinner and thinner. Eventually, both clouds disappeared.

    The Monster Lord, the three-headed bird, and all of the spectating monsters werepletely stunned.

    Only Pei Mianman and the girls had big smiles on their faces. Jing Teng also said quietly, ¡°As expected of the man I¡¯ve chosen.¡±

    Without the two poisonous mists to stop him, Zu An seized the chance to avoid the Bloodmelt Demon Needles¡¯ attack. He also used his sword to leave a cut in the strange bird¡¯s body.

    The Monster Lord reacted quickly and swiftly attacked Zu An with several weapons. He alsomanded the three-headed bird to widen the distance between them. Even though they would have a huge advantage if they fought two on one in closebat, what had just happened was too shocking. Their mental states were already disturbed. Fighting against Zu An up close in that state was too dangerous.

    ¡°Just how did you do it?¡± the Monster Lord eximed, looking at Zu An in disbelief. Zu An had actually dealt with what the Monster Lord thought would be a surefire strategy in such an easy manner!

    More importantly, two of the bird''s heads no longer listened to his orders... No, it was just the ck mist that didn¡¯t heed his call anymore.

    Zu An sighed, thinking <i>What a pity.</i> He''d had a brief opportunity, but unfortunately, the Monster Lord reacted too quickly, using treasures as if they didn¡¯t cost anything. By the time Zu An dealt with all of those weapons, the Monster Lord had alreadyposed himself.

    Still, he couldn''t help but smile. ¡°Try and guess.¡±

    The reason was simple. He had been observing the Monster Lord for weaknesses at every opportunity. The three-headed bird that never left the Monster Lord¡¯s sight was naturally included in his calctions.

    Previously, the bird had killed Smay¡¯s subordinates. That event gave Zu An some information: The middle head was a physical attacker. It had extremely sharp teeth that could chew through most things. The head on the left could release a green mist that devoured flesh, one made of tiny venomous bugs. The head on the right released a ck mist that was actually made of ck water. It had a powerful corrosive nature that could melt away all things.

    When he realized that, Zu An had alreadye up with a n. No matter how powerful the ck mist was, it was still water. And he had the ability to control water through the Crown of the Ocean Deity, so of course he could control that ck water.

    The Monster Lord had expected a surefire victory, but Zu An actually seized the chance to fight fire with fire and cripple the strange bird¡¯s two heads.

    Whether it was the green mist or the ck mist, they were extraordinary weapons. There was no way the bird could release it endlessly. And sure enough, the two mists took each other out. The left and right heads drooped, as if their blood essence had been used up; the loss had clearly caused them substantial harm.

    When the Monster Lord heard ¡®try and guess¡¯, his lungs almost exploded from anger.

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled the Monster Lord for +618 +618 +618...</strong>

    But after the initial anger, he felt a deep sense of fear.

    <i>This guy is just too mysterious and unpredictable...</i>

 Chapter 2378: Achillesâ€™ Heel

    <h4>Chapter 2378: Achilles¡¯ Heel</h4>

    <i>This guy always uses all kinds of strange and mysterious skills, and he has brilliantbat instincts. He always manages to catch me off guard just when I think victory is already at hand.</i>

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    If this had been a fair battle, the Monster Lord definitely wouldn¡¯t feel so many unnecessary emotions. But this battle had just been too unfavorable for him from the very beginning. He had to fight away from his home territory, and this world was also extremely special, thus restricting arge portion of his strength. It forced him to fight at the limit this world would tolerate. That was why his strength was only on par with Zu An¡¯s.

    At first, he hadn''t thought it was that big of a deal. He had conquered countless worlds, after all. Even if his strength was restricted, his understanding and usage of power, insight, skills, and magic weapons were all at his disposal. Thus, he''d thought capturing a weak world¡¯s native would be extremely easy. After growing to this extent, he was already the main character of his era. Which main character couldn¡¯t defeat an opponent on the same level?

    And yet, after they really started fighting against each other, he realized that this youngster was far more devious than he had imagined.

    The Monster Lord suddenly felt real regret about underestimating Zu An when they were still in the underground city. He''d had countless chances to kill Zu An back then, and it was a mistake to have coveted the things that the Lord of ughter left behind. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have been ced in such an awkward situation.

    He hadn¡¯t even realized that even though the things Zu An had said initially didn''t mean much to him back then, a seed had been quietly nted. Now that the situation was unfavorable, that seed naturally began to sprout. Now, he was experiencing a massive amount of regret. He even wondered whether it would be best to escape Zu An. After all, once he recovered his true strength, killing Zu An would be too easy then. Why did he have to take such a huge risk here?

    At first, he''d been extremely confident in being able to kill Zu An. Even if he couldn''t kill thetter, he''d figured defeating Zu An wouldn''t be too difficult. But after suffering setback after setback, to the point that his head was even destroyed twice, he was now actually scared.

    As such, he abandoned his prior aggressive stance and instead said in a moderate tone, ¡°Regent, after our earlier sh, it seems neither of us can do much to the other. If we keep fighting, in the end, someone else will end up reaping all the benefits. How about we just leave the matter at this? Our conflict is something that can easily be settled through negotiation.¡±

    Zu An raised his eyebrows and replied, ¡°Neither of us can do anything to the other? Just who had his head destroyed twice earlier?¡±

    The Monster Lord was speechless.

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled the Monster Lord for +110 +110 +110...</strong>

    He endured the anger bubbling inside of him. He said coldly, ¡°That¡¯s right, you did manage to do that, but do you really think you can win against the two of us if we fight together?¡±

    Zu An remained quiet. He did have to continuously defend and counterattack at the same time. Even though he''d managed to neutralize some of their advantage, theirbined strength was still above his own.

    When she saw that, Smay immediately grew nervous.

    <i>Weren¡¯t they about to fight to the death? Why do they suddenly look as if they''re about to shake hands and get along? Doesn''t this put me in a really difficult spot?</i>

    Mojard knew what she was thinking. When he heard the twobatants speak, he called out loudly, ¡°Tsk tsk, the glorious Monster Lord has now been beaten down like a dog, even taking the initiative topromise with someone from the younger generation? You really have lost face for our entire world.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but grow amused when he saw that.

    <i>This guy really is just creating drama from the sidelines!</i>

    The Monster Lord¡¯s face twitched. He gave Mojard a cold look and retorted, ¡°Why don¡¯t youe and fight against me if you''re still discontent? Why are you barking over there?¡±

    If this were any other time, he would¡¯ve just killed Mojard and called it at that, but his powerful enemy Zu An was right there. If he acted rashly and pushed Smay¡¯s group toward the other side, things would be troublesome. He was actually on guard against Zu An and didn¡¯t want thetter to gain even the slightest bit more assistance.

    Mojardughed loudly. ¡°I just find it hrious that the insufferably arrogant Monster Lord actually suddenly became so reasonable. What do you all think? Maybe he¡¯s scared!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re courting death!¡± the Monster Lord yelled, finally unable to endure the resentment he was feeling. He swung his hand in Mojard¡¯s direction. Suddenly, it expanded and a giant palm imprint struck at the top of Mojard¡¯s head.

    Mojard was already prepared for the attack, however. He immediately used all of his protective treasures, and he also mustered all his strength to raise his hands to defend himself.

    However, in front of that massive imprint, all of his efforts were extremely insignificant. All of the treasures shattered almost instantly. He was crushed and forced to kneel by the giant palm. All of the bones in his body creaked and groaned.

    Fortunately, Smay¡¯s other subordinates reacted and tried to help him. All of their power together finally neutralized the Monster Lord''s seemingly nonchnt attack. They''d already had to fight against the Monster Lord for many years, so they already bore a grudge that could only be appeased through blood. Their movements were almost instinctive. Additionally, the Monster Lord¡¯s attack was sorge it would have killed all of them, so they had no choice but to interfere too.

    Smay¡¯s face turned white. She''d never expected the gap between them to be so big. They''d been trying to be the fisherman who gained the most from a fight between two fish, but they were all just fish themselves!

    However, she soon became excited, because she saw Zu An act just then. The Monster Lord couldn''t hold himself back from attacking Mojard¡¯s group, so Zu An naturally didn''t pass up the opportunity created by the distraction.

    The Monster Lord hadn¡¯t expected his earlier words to not have done a single thing. He couldn''t help but feel shocked and angry. ¡°Are you really insisting on fighting me to the death?!¡±

    Zu An¡¯s sword released a resplendent brilliance as he replied, ¡°I just wouldn¡¯t feel right if I didn¡¯t fight it out properly.¡±

    The Monster Lord dealt with the terrifying sword radiance, but he felt a bit numb.

    <i>What is the meaning of this?</i>

    <i>Don¡¯t tell me he actually thinks he has a chance of killing me? Is that why he wants to give it a try?</i>

    <i>Is he only going to try topromise after he''s certain that he can''t win against me?</i>

    He immediately felt conflicted. He had to worry about Zu An¡¯s ferocious attacks while also making sure not to offend him too much. That way, there would still be a chance of negotiationter. However, because he was worrying about so many things, he was suddenly open to a one-sided attack even though he clearly had twice the opponent''s strength.

    Zu An had spoken ambiguously on purpose before. He''d keenly detected that the Monster Lord didn¡¯t have much fighting intent. That was why he''d made sure to leave thetter with a tiny bit of hope.

    <i>He fell for it, as expected!</i>

    It seemed that any powerful individual who lived in luxury for too long would end up losing the courage to put their all into the fight.

    As the Monster Lord continued to deflect hits again and again, more and more injuries appeared on his body. He was a powerful being who had experienced many things. He finally realized what was going on.

    <i>This guy is nning to beat me to death! He doesn¡¯t have any ns of negotiating!</i>

    Once he realized that, he gritted his teeth and said, ¡°In that case, don¡¯t me me for not ying nice anymore.¡±

    A hint of ferocity appeared in his eyes. He found a chance to pressure Zu An, then rushed at Pei Mianman and the other women. He knew that they were Zu An¡¯s Achilles¡¯ heel. The reason he''d never touched them all this time was because he wanted to wait until a crucial moment to do so. Meanwhile, he left behind the three-headed bird to hold up Zu An.

    When they saw him run at them, the women were shocked.

    Jing Teng¡¯s hands quickly formed a seal as she chanted, ¡°The valiant should join the ranks of war. The army is to the north; the ck tortoise awaits its summons!¡±

    A ck tortoise appeared above the women''s heads, protecting them within.

    The Monster Lord sneered. ¡°Just an insignificant trick!¡±

    The Treasure Sinking Coin quickly turned in his hand. Then, his palm smashed through the tortoise barrier and Jing Teng¡¯s face turned pale. A trickle of blood flowed out from the corner of her lips.

    Just then, Jiang Luofu, Yun Yuqing, and Suolun Shi all reacted. They allunched their own most powerful attacks at the Monster Lord. Unfortunately, all of their techniques lost their power with a casual wave of the Monster Lord¡¯s hand.

    Using the time they bought, however, Pei Mianman had finished preparing her me Butterfly Domain[1]. Red spider lilies appeared one after another, and ck butterflies fluttered through the air.

    ¡°That¡¯s...¡± The Monster Lord was a bit surprised. Even though Pei Mianman was still quite weak, the natural quality of the power she unleashed was extremely high. It was to the point that even he felt some fear. If this kind of power was allowed to grow, it could really threaten his life.

    1. Pei Mianman has reached grandmaster rank cultivation, the wisdom mortal soul stage. ?

 Chapter 2379: Original Body

    <h4>Chapter 2379: Original Body</h4>

    Once the Monster Lord realized that, he immediately shattered the domain, scattering the sinister red spider lilies and ck butterflies. He was about to continue pursuing his target when he saw a petite looking youngdy stand in front of him with a jade bottle in hand, her entire body trembling.

    The Monster Lord was stunned. He had some impression of this cute youngdy. She seemed to be one of Donaire¡¯s two female ves. She was so adorable that it was hard to forget her even if he wanted to.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    However, what left an even deeper impression was that her strength was just too low. Any random guard in the underground city could easily win against her. That was why he''d never treated this weak-looking youngdy with any importance. And yet she dared to stand in front of him right now?

    He felt an indescribable sense of anger and absurdity.

    <i>Do even nobodies now dare to stand in front of me because they saw the regent win a few rounds against me?</i>

    He raised his hand and was about to crush the youngdy casually.

    <i>Hmph, the cuter something is, the more you want to crush it to death. This kind of feeling is simply incredible!</i>

    Ji Xiaoxi was already extremely scared. When she saw that, she screamed in terror and threw the jade bottle in her hands.

    ¡°Is this jade bottle some kind of magic treasure?¡± The Monster Lord was a bit confused. He didn¡¯t seem to have sensed any powerful magic weapon energy emanating from it. But just in case, he still took out the Treasure Sinking Coin.

    Surprisingly, however, the jade bottle wasn¡¯t affected by the coin at all and smashed into his body. Due to the toughness of the Monster Lord''s body, the bottle couldn''t withstand the impact at all and almost instantly broke apart. Then, an orange smoke wafted out.

    The Monster Lord was a bit stunned, but then heughed. ¡°Poison? Little girl, did you actually think that you could poison me?¡±

    What kind of joke was this? For someone as powerful as him, his resistance to poison was already extremely strong. Furthermore, he was a poison user himself, so how would he be poisoned by this human? The bodies of monsters like him were vastly different from the bodies of this world''s humans. How could poison from this world do anything?

    He was about to crush the youngdy when he suddenly staggered, feeling numb and dizzy.

    ¡°How?!¡±

    This poison actually had affected him!

    He didn¡¯t dare to show any carelessness and immediately closed his eyes to adjust his breathing. At the same time, he used his cultivation to try and expel the poison from his body. Then, he reached out to grab toward Ji Xiaoxi again. The regent had risked outright conflict with Manager Pi in the Monster World for this youngdy¡¯s sake, so he definitely cared about her. Now that the Monster Lord was poisoned, he had to capture her. That way, the regent would refrain from attacking and could actually consider thepromise.

    Just then, a blur appeared before his eyes as Zu An appeared in front of Ji Xiaoxi. This was something the Monster Lord hadn''t predicted. Zu An had finally broken free of the three-headed bird¡¯s attacks and used the position exchange skill.

    The Monster Lord had made sure to prepare many space-locking treasures, preventing Zu An from switching with him. However, Zu An had reacted quickly and swapped with half of the broken bottle.

    But more importantly, the speed of Zu An''s subsequent sword sh and the power he released scared even the Monster Lord. In that instant, it seemed almost as if Zu An''s strength had increased tenfold! The power of that sword was even stronger than before and even more blinding.

    Additionally, the Monster Lord was affected by Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s strange poison, so his reaction speed was a bit slower than before. Even though it was only a tiny bit, even the smallest opportunity at this kind of critical moment was sufficient to be lethal. He saw that he couldn''t dodge in time, so he could only raise his hands to intercept that sword. At the same time, all sorts of defensive treasures activated around him. However, he knew that they likely wouldn''t be enough to stop that sword at all.

    A hint of dread shed through the Monster Lord¡¯s eyes. Fortunately, the three-headed bird rushed over and threw itself at Zu An.

    ...

    Below, Mojard and Smay remarked, ¡°The Monster Lord is finished. The regent was hiding this skill that could increase power tenfold all this time. If he endures the attack of the three-headed bird, he¡¯ll just receive some serious injuries at most. Meanwhile, the Monster Lord will be dead for certain.¡±

    Smay couldn''t help but feel extremely excited. Didn¡¯t this mean they could rush in to seize the spoils at thest minute the way they were hoping for?

    The Monster Lord had been too careless. He''d wanted to attack the women to distract Zu An, but he never expected to be defeated by that youngdy, thus cing himself in a situation of inevitable death.

    But the scene that unfolded afterward made everyone watcing widen their eyes. Zu An¡¯s blinding sword gracefully changed directions to attack the three-headed bird that was striking at his back!

    Mojard immediately smacked his leg when he saw this. ¡°This regent is a cowardly and craven guy too! He gave up such an excellent opportunity to kill the Monster Lord! He clearly could¡¯ve just suffered a bit of injury, yet he chose the safest option.¡±

    Even if he injured that three-headed bird, the Monster Lord would be able to recover by exploiting this opportunity. With his cunningness, there was no way he would let himself be poisoned and trapped in his current predicament again.

    <i>Spurt!</i>

    The three-headed bird had never expected this attack from Zu An at all. It had already been doing everything it could to seriously injure Zu An to begin with.

    The sword thrust straight into the middle head¡¯s mouth with irresistible force. Its resplendent sword energy instantly destroyed that head. However, the sword¡¯s momentum didn¡¯t stop at all. It soon severed the dispirited head to the left, and then aimed at the head at the right.

    The three-headed bird finally reacted to what was going on and frantically pped its wings to retreat into the distance, looking at him in fear. However, in the end, it still wasn¡¯t able to escape that sword. An incredibly deep wound appeared on its neck. Blood continuously poured out, and its final head was now only half-connected to its body.

    ¡°The Monster Lord canpletely use this chance to seriously injure him!¡± Mojard said at first, but after a moment, he eximed in surprise, ¡°Why isn¡¯t the Monster Lord moving?¡±

    The Monster Lord was standing still as if he was frozen in ce. All of his attacks came to a grunting halt. Blood began to trickle out from the corner of his mouth and his neck, even though there were clearly no injuries there. He stared at Zu An, smiling with a hint of bitterness as he asked, ¡°When did you notice?¡±

    Zu An calmly said, ¡°From when I destroyed your first head, and found that you could actually still grow another head. I was already a bit suspicious then.

    ¡°Later, you actually used your head to stop all of the Bloodmelt Demon Needles, and then grew another.¡±

    Mojard and Smay exchanged a look, their expressions filled with shock. They could clearly understand every single word Zu An spoke, but why didn¡¯t those words make any sense? Just what kind of riddle was this?

    The Monster Lord wiped away the blood at his neck. Even his voice shook a bit as he said, ¡°But that only proved that my weakness wasn''t my head, and perhaps it could be a different part of my body. Why didn¡¯t you attack my body instead of the three-headed bird?¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t even give him a look, and instead raised his sword at the three-headed bird... No, it was more appropriate to call it a one-headed bird now.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I, though? That three-headed bird is none other your original body.¡±

 Chapter 2380: Slaughtered

    <h4>Chapter 2380: ughtered</h4>

    ¡°What?!¡± Jing Teng, Pei Mianman, and the others looked at each other in dismay. Even Smay, Mojard, and the other monsters¡¯ eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

    The Monster Lord¡¯s original body was that three-headed bird? What kind of joke was this? Wasn¡¯t that the Monster Lord¡¯s mount?

    All of the monsters were stupefied. Even after all this time, they hadn''t even found out who their true enemy was?

    Zu An adjusted his aura while walking toward the injured bird. He''d also exhausted quite a bit of his energy from the sudden eruption of power. He exined, ¡°I destroyed your head twice in a row, but then it grew back. I was already starting to wonder just how many there were. Then, that three-headed bird came out of nowhere. I initially thought... ''Do you have three heads?''"

    He recalled the giant corpse ball from the Sealed Land as he continued, "But then I realized that something wasn¡¯t right. There aren¡¯t many creatures that don¡¯t rely on their heads. They''re almost all freakish creatures without much intelligence, too. But you''re clearly not in that category. After thinking about it, seeing someone who could lose their head and bepletely fine... That could only mean there was something strange about this body of yours.

    ¡°I then remembered that you could create bodies for the monsters who invaded this world using the blood pool. So I wondered, could you create a body for yourself too? If that was the case, where would your real body be?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s all you knew? And then you already guessed what my real body was?¡± the Monster Lord eximed, looking at him with disbelief.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Of course not. The decisive evidence was that once you were pressured, you summoned that three-headed bird.¡± Zu An chuckled. ¡°That was your biggest mistake. You were clearly the only one who followed us through the transport formation. How could something asrge as the three-headed bird be hidden?

    ¡°Additionally, this world of ours is extremely special. The world barrier has already been reconstructed. Without my permission, no outside creatures can possibly enter.¡± Zu An looked at the bird before continuing. ¡°Yet you were able to summon something this big.

    ¡°After thinking about it for a long time, there couldn''t be any other exnation apart from the two of you being the same creature.¡± Zu An chuckled. ¡°I then remembered that whenever I saw you in the Monster World, you were always with the bird. That further proved my suspicion.

    He gave Mojard a nce before continuing, ¡°You pretended to be in a difficult spot. On the surface, as long as I could block the three-headed bird¡¯s attacks and endure serious injuries as a result, I would have a chance to destroy your body. After all, not many could resist that temptation.¡±

    Mojard¡¯s entire face turned red as he realized that not a single one of his deductions had been correct.

    Zu An changed the topic. ¡°But no one knew that your killing intent came from your original form, that strange bird. If I''d thought that I could survive its attack and only sustain serious injuries, I would already be a corpse right now. I am actually quite surprised, though. How is it that no one in the Monster World knew about your original form, even though you¡¯ve been there for so long?¡±

    By that time, Zu An was already in front of the bird, brandishing his sword. Suddenly, however, a streak of light wrapped around the Monster Lord and pulled him into the distance. Zu An was surprised and immediately turned around.

    Smay and Mojard also looked in the same direction, their gazesnding on the subordinate near them. They looked as if they were seeing him for the first time.

    That monster had a smile on his face. He slowly rose into the air and asked the Monster Lord, ¡°Have you thought about my proposal yet?¡±

    The Monster Lord seemed to have recognized who he was. He was shocked and overjoyed. ¡°I promise you that I will sign an agreement with you and be your mount!¡± He was already about to die. Now that he was given a chance of survival, he naturally wouldn¡¯t let go of it.

    All of the monsters here were stupefied. They''d never expected the powerful and arrogant Monster Lord to actually act so petty and low now.

    <i>A mount? And who is this person?</i>

    If Smay and Mojard really still thought of him as their subordinate, they would be dumber than pigs.

    The ¡®subordinate¡¯ shook his finger and said, ¡°Your respected self, please don¡¯t misunderstand. It is not bing a mount, but rather apanion.¡±

    ¡°Companion,panion, of course.¡± The Monster Lord sighed in relief. Either way, he would agree with anything this person said right now.

    He had actually felt conflicted about whether to agree to their proposal or not, and had felt a bit unwilling before. After the invasion ns against the Cultivation World failed, he''d ced all of his hopes on the Lord of ughter¡¯s backup n. But he''d never thought that all of his efforts would still fall through in the end, and that even his life would be put at risk.

    The current situation made the other party''s conditions much more reasonable.

    Zu An gave Smay¡¯s group a cold look. This woman¡¯s subordinates really had been infiltrated to a ridiculous degree. Then, he looked at the subordinate and said, ¡°You''re that Time Scribe from before, aren''t you?¡±

    He''d never forgotten about that mysterious Time Scribe. After all, he''d almost been framed as Manager Pi¡¯s killer. That incident had left him with some lingering fear of this individual. If even the Monster Lord had managed to sneak his way into the Cultivation World, it would only have been weirder if the Time Scribe couldn''t manage to.

    ¡°Time Scribe Yuan Zhou. I greet the lord of this world.¡± Light distorted around the monster¡¯s body, and someone who resembled a young schr took his ce. But there was a mask over his face that made him look eerie and frightening. There was no schrly elegance to him at all.

    ¡°What are you nning to do here?¡± Zu An asked, looking at him coldly.

    ¡°I came to have a chat with you...¡± The Time Scribe¡¯s expression changed as soon as he opened his mouth, because he saw that Zu An instantly appeared in front of him, thrusting the divine sword at him using the power of the will of the world.

    A pencil immediately appeared in the Scribe''s hands, and he quickly drew a character in front of him. An invisible wall of energy appeared between the two of them, and several restrictions rushed at Zu An.

    But a secondter, Zu An vanished. The spot he had just been in was reced by the Monster Lord¡¯s original body.

    The Monster Lord was seriously injured, so how could he have expected that Zu An would suddenly switch with him while attacking the Time Scribe? He was almost instantly restrained by the Time Scribe¡¯s various skills. Even though he tried to break free with his various treasures, he was just too weak right now. In the end, he was still trapped.

    The Time Scribe¡¯s expression changed. He was worried that Zu An would use this chance to attack the Monster Lord, so the brush in his hands moved at tremendous speed to quickly undo the Monster Lord¡¯s restrictions. At the same time, he started preparingyers of defense behind the Monster Lord so Zu An wouldn¡¯t attack again.

    But a momentter, his vision blurred. He saw that he and Zu An had swapped positions! Zu An was now in front of the Monster Lord. Under the Scribe''s rmed gaze, Zu An''s sword sliced through the Monster Lord''s final head.

    The Monster Lord still hadn¡¯t had all of the restrictions removed yet, so his movement was limited. How could he avoid this attack?

    As for the Time Scribe, he had reflexively ced all the defenses behind the Monster Lord so Zu An wouldn¡¯t suddenly attack from that direction. Because he was on the other side, he hadn¡¯t applied any other defenses there. How could he have known that his opponent would use the position exchange skill two times in a row? The powerful defenses ended up doing nothing, and to some degree, the Time Scribe even helped Zu An hold the Monster Lord in ce.

    As he watched the Monster Lord¡¯s massive corpse crush a mountain, the Time Scribe felt as if he was dreaming.

    Zu An wiped the blood from the tip of his sword. ¡°Right, what did you say you wanted to talk to me about again?¡±

 Chapter 2381: Seized Treasure

    <h4>Chapter 2381: Seized Treasure</h4>

    Zu An fiddled with a simple and ancient coin in his hands. The treasure resembled a copper coin, and there were small wings around it. Some dao imprints could vaguely be sensed from it. He was a bit puzzled. Was this really the treasure from the ¡®Investiture of the Gods¡¯? But the coin he remembered was gold! Even so, the other functions werepletely identical, and this was an extremely formidable treasure.

    As for the Bloodmelt Demon Needles, they were the Monster Lord¡¯s lifebound weapon. They had already been damaged when they impaled the Monster Lord¡¯s head. Now that the Monster Lord was dead, this treasure was destroyed as well.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    When the Time Scribe saw Zu An kill the Monster Lord right in front of his face and even pocket the coin, his face twitched. ¡°Your respected self is going a bit far here, no?¡±

    ¡°He sent countless monsters to invade our world and brought cmity to the people. Someone like that still had evil intentions and desired our world. Isn¡¯t my act of killing him perfectly reasonable?¡± Zu An calmly replied.

    Ji Xiaoxi leaned against her little aunt. As she looked at that figure in the sky, her eyes were smiling. She felt as if she''d returned to that mountain on Brightmoon City¡¯s outskirts, how he just refused to give up. Even though her big brother Zu had already changed a lot, this part was still very simr.

    Pei Mianman and the others were also smiling. The Monster Lord had just been too powerful, so they''d been nervous all this time, thinking that something bad could happen to Zu An. Fortunately, Ah Zu had ended up winning in the end. This was how it always was. He was a man who continuously created miracles again and again.

    Pei Mianman secretly gave the others a look. All of them looked at Ah Zu with faces brimming with adoration.

    <i>Hm? Wait, why is Principal Jiang¡¯s face also...</i>

    But when she heard the Time Scribe speak, her attention quickly shifted.

    <i>This mysterious guy is really annoying. We could already have reunited with Ah Zu if he hadn¡¯t suddenly appeared.</i>

    <i>But something is a bit strange. Why didn¡¯t I sense that this guy was dangerous at all this entire time?</i>

    <i>This person isn¡¯t weaker than the Monster Lord at all, and he even seems to be more mysterious...</i>

    <i>Could it be another one of these Time Scribes¡¯ abilities? Can they prevent others from feeling any sense of threat?</i>

    ...

    Compared to Pei Mianman¡¯s joyous group, Smay¡¯s mood waspletely grim. She''d thought that once Zu An and the Monster Lord took each other out, she could benefit in the end, but the Monster Lord had died, while Zu An didn¡¯t seem to be that injured at all!

    <i>The Monster Lord really is trash!</i>

    She had gone through all kinds of difficulties while living under the Monster Lord¡¯s tyrannical abuse. This was probably the first time she''d felt that the Monster Lord wasn¡¯t strong enough.

    The only hope was this so-called Time Scribe. She wanted to see if he could bring in any new variables.

    ¡°Indeed, you should kill invaders, but the Monster Lord had already agreed to sign a contract with me to be my mount, serving as my beastpanion. You¡¯ve killed apanion I¡¯ve just obtained with great difficulty, so shouldn¡¯t youpensate me somehow?¡± The Time Scribe stood with his hands behind him. They could clearly see the smile behind his mask from the side, and yet there was no amusement audible in his words at all.

    Zu An chuckled and replied, ¡°Oh? Since the Monster Lord is your mount, it¡¯s a good thing you¡¯re here topensate for the destruction he caused in our world. Because of him, our world has suffered terrible consequences. Our provisions, medicines, and all sorts of ore have been exhausted unbearably. There are also the treatment funds for the injured, the relief payment for the deceased... if I total it all up, we¡¯ll need around a hundred thousand heaven-grade ki stones. What do you think? I wonder what form of payment your respected self wishes to pay with?¡±

    The Time Scribe was speechless.

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Yuan Zhou for +666 +666 +666...</strong>

    Smay, Mojard and the others were speechless. They had never seen someone so... so shameless before!

    <i>Wait, won¡¯t theye to us forpensation too? We''re monsters too, and had some part in the invasion.</i>

    Once they thought about the tremendous amount that would be needed forpensation, they shivered all over.

    The Time Scribe took a deep breath and said, ¡°The regent must be joking; those were things that the Monster Lord did before. I only signed the agreement with him today. If you wantpensation, you can head to the Monster World with his emblem of authority. There should be no one left in that underground city who can stop you. You can take whatever you wish from his treasury aspensation.¡±

    Zu An said with a sneer, ¡°Your respected self is quite the schemer. The Monster World has probably already beenpletely destroyed, so what could be left for me to take aspensation? Since you''re his owner, then it¡¯s only natural for me to seek you forpensation, right?¡±

    The Time Scribe gave him a long look. ¡°Everyone has already seen that he only agreed to sign a contract with me. We hadn¡¯t truly signed anything, so I am naturally not his owner. There is no reason for me to help himpensate for the things he did then.¡±

    Zu An replied coldly, ¡°Then why were you asking me forpensation before?¡±

    The Time Scribe chuckled and said, ¡°That was nothing more than a joke. I hope that your respected self doesn¡¯t mind it too much.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? But I wasn¡¯t joking with you,¡± Zu An said seriously. ¡°Everyone as already heard that you won¡¯t ask me forpensation. So now, it¡¯s your turn topensate me.¡±

    The Time Scribe was speechless. He could only say earnestly, ¡°The two of us do not share a deep grudge and should not be enemies. There is no need for your respected self to treat me the way you treated the Monster Lord.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? Then who was it that tried to frame me as the killer of Manager Pi in the Monster World?¡± Zu An retorted with a cold smile.

    The Time Scribe said with a bitter smile, ¡°I did not know that your respectful self was impersonating Donaire. I only wished to instigate some trouble between the Monster Lord and the True Demon race so that he would have no choice but to agree to my proposal.¡±

    The True Demon race¡¯s elders cursed when they heard that.

    <i>This guy is just too evil!</i>

    The Time Scribe¡¯s face twitched when he heard those curses. He was worried that Zu An would start something else and quickly said, ¡°Regent, we can actually coborate and enter that sealed world together. We might even be able to fight asrades.¡±

    ¡°Coborate?¡± Zu An sneered. ¡°Why would I need to go to that sealed world?¡±

    He''d already dealt with the Monster Lord, and the Monster World was alsopletely destroyed. The threats to the Cultivation World had already been averted. He naturally didn¡¯t need to let more side issues arise.

    The Time Scribe was stunned. He hadn¡¯t expected this reply at all. He could only say, ¡°Could it be that you aren¡¯t curious about that sealed piece of history at all? History, especially a piece of history with secrets, is the most enticing thing in the world!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s your own opinion,¡± Zu An calmly replied. ¡°It¡¯s worthless to me.¡±

    He already grasped the authority of this world. If he returned to the past, it was hard to say what could happen. The authority could be lost, to say nothing of other problems. After all, that time had the Lord of ughter, Monster Lord, and an army of countless monsters present. Even the Cultivation World itself had been filled with countless powerful individuals. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t have had the ability to fend off the great monster army.

    After a pause, he added, ¡°And I could just kill you and then enter that world myself.¡±

    The cunning Time Scribe had fished out the Nature Jade te from the Monster Lord¡¯s corpse when Zu An was killing the Monster Lord. That alone was enough to leave Zu An furious.

 Chapter 2382: News of Xie Daoyun

    <h4>Chapter 2382: News of Xie Daoyun</h4>

    The Time Scribe couldn''t help but take a step back when he heard that. He had just seen how Zu An killed the Monster Lord, a substantially higher-level opponent. He was still a bit apprehensive. After all, in this ce, Zu An represented the will of the world.

    But he quickly realized something and waved the Nature Jade te in front of him. ¡°I am not as useless as the Monster Lord, you know? Moreover, are you really not scared of this thing breaking if we fight?¡±

    Zu An gave him a look. ¡°This Nature Jade te is made of a very precious material. I fear you don¡¯t have the ability to do something like destroying it.¡±

    The Time Scribe nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. Destroying this object is indeed hard, but destroying the spacetime coordinates recorded on it is quite easy. Perhaps you would never be able to find that segment of buried history again.¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Smay immediately became really worried. This was something her father had left behind. If they could return to that time, perhaps she''d still be able to reunite with her father, but if those coordinates were destroyed, everything would be over.

    The Time Scribe didn¡¯t look at her, and stared at the man in front of him instead. That was the only person who was worth meeting on equal footing here.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say just now that the most enticing and precious things are secrets? And yet you im you''re going to destroy it yourself? How can you even face your own upation if you do that?¡± Zu An frowned slightly. This person was too mysterious, and he didn¡¯t have too much confidence in winning. If the Time Scribe insisted on destroying the spacetime coordinates recorded on it, there really wouldn¡¯t be anything he could do.

    ¡°Only by staying alive can one be able to learn more secrets. To give up endless potential secrets for the sake of a single one is not something I desire,¡± the Time Scribe slowly said.

    ¡°You''re quite good at sophistry.¡± Zu An sneered. ¡°In that case, then, how about you leave that behind and I let you go?¡±

    Before the Time Scribe said anything, Smay suddenly eximed loudly, ¡°He already learned the coordinates of this world and has already gained a lot of information. Is the regent really not scared that he will return with even more invaders?¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The mutual destruction that she''d been hoping for between Zu An and the Monster Lord hadn¡¯t happened. If the Time Scribe left, wouldn''t she have no choice but to wait for Zu An to ughter her? She naturally had to stir up conflict between the two of them. Only then would she be able to reap the benefits at the end.

    Zu An began to think to himself. Smay¡¯s instigation wasn¡¯t all that substantial, but it was still a good point. He''d finally managed to settle the crisis of the Monster World¡¯s invasion. If this Time Scribe ran back to bring more trouble, even though he could seal off this Wonderpoint World, who knew what kinds of weird abilities the Time Scribe¡¯s world could use to infiltrate the Cultivation World again? He had to seize the chance to force the Scribe to stay here forever...

    As if sensing his killing intent, the Time Scribe quickly exined, ¡°Your respected self, please do not misunderstand. Our world is very different from the savage and conquering Monster World. We are only interested in one thing, which is the history of the various realms, as well as the major events that are currently happening. Every single Time Scribe is in charge of recording these things. We will not invade your world.¡±

    ¡°Is that so...¡± Zu An naturally didn¡¯t believe him. ¡°Then just stay here as a guest for some time. I will treat you well, and you can tell me about your world too.¡±

    After all, one needed to know oneself and know one''s enemy to win battles. That way, he would be prepared against the Time Scribe¡¯s world.

    When she heard that Zu An was going to make the Time Scribe stay, Smay couldn''t help but feel proud of herself.

    <i>Hmph, you might be strong, but weren¡¯t you all still yed by this girl?</i>

    The Time Scribe bowed to Zu An. ¡°Thank you for your good intentions, regent. I will indeed stay in this world for some time and record the major events of this world. However, what I am more interested in is actually the buried history. How about going on a trip there with me?¡±

    Zu An harrumphed. ¡°I have no interest in that at all.¡±

    He had always been extremely tense all this time and he hadn¡¯t gotten much sleep. He''d finally gotten rid of one disaster, so wasn¡¯t it just fine to have a nice family dinner and a warm bed?

    The Time Scribe seemed to have already predicted that he would say that. He calmly replied, ¡°Then I wonder if the respected regent still wishes to see the woman who disappeared?¡±

    ¡°Little sister Ling¡¯er!¡± Zu An¡¯s expression changed. Even Pei Mianman and the others couldn''t help but be stirred.

    <i>Does this guy know where Xie Daoyun is?</i>

    The Time Scribe smiled when he saw their reaction. ¡°I was silently watching everything that was taking ce in the Monster World¡¯s underground city, so of course I know about Miss Xie¡¯s disappearance. She seems to have touched a simr piece of Nature Jade back then and disappeared as a result, right?¡±

    Zu An was feeling an ocean of emotions deep down, but on the surface, he remained unaffected. ¡°Even though they are both pieces of Nature Jade, this one might not lead to the same portion of spacetime.¡±

    The Time Scribe had merely called it Nature Jade. He didn¡¯t seem to know that it was a fragment of arger Nature Jade te.

    ¡°But the piece of Nature Jade in the Monster World¡¯s treasury was passed down through sessive generations of the Monster World. The case it was in was also passed down through sessive generations.¡± The Time Scribe raised the Nature Jade case in his hands. ¡°Did you not notice that a piece was missing from its surface?¡±

    Zu An was surprised. He hadn¡¯t noticed it before, but now that he was reminded of that, he saw that there was supposed to be an ornamental piece on the side of the te. The Nature Jade te piece from the treasury appeared in his mind. It seemed to perfectly match the missing portion.

    The Time Scribe continued, ¡°The Nature Jade was always safeguarded by the Lord of ughter, but some things happened in the past, the details of which I do not know clearly. I only know thatter, the Monster Lord seized a piece of it, which was the piece that Miss Xie touched.

    ¡°The two are from the same source, so the chance of them leading to the same point in spacetime is quite high. From the looks of things, I have seen that the regent is a gentleman who deeply values his rtionships. I do not believe that you are someone who would abandon your lover without a care in the world.¡±

    Pei Mianman and the other women exchanged a look.

    <i>Oh no! With Ah Zu¡¯s nature, he would definitely try even if there was a small chance, let alone something like this where the probability is so great!</i>

    Even though they were worried that Zu An would be in danger, this involved Xie Daoyun, so they couldn''t really stop him either.

    Sure enough, Zu An said gravely, ¡°You¡¯ve sessfully persuaded me. I''ll take a look in that buried time fragment. Only...¡±

    His eyes seemed to contain electricity as he stared at the Time Scribe. ¡°Why should I go with you?¡±

    The Time Scribe was too mysterious. He would bring too many variables to this trip. But Zu An wouldn¡¯t feel at ease leaving him behind here either. There was probably no one else in this world who could keep him in check.

    The Time Scribe said with a smile, ¡°I can roughly understand your respected self¡¯s misgivings, but your respected self needs not worry. The Time Scribes¡¯ greatest responsibility is to record the various major events that happen across the realms. We never participate in the history ourselves, and remain as detached bystanders while doing our work. I will not be of any threat to your respected self.¡±

    ¡°You won¡¯t participate in history?¡± Zu An sneered. ¡°And yet as ofte, we seem to have seen traces of you everywhere, and you even tried to frame me! Is this not considered participating?¡±

 Chapter 2383: A Secret

    <h4>Chapter 2383: A Secret</h4>

    ¡°That was just an experiment I performed,¡± the Time Scribe replied. ¡°At the time, I just wanted to gently prod the destiny of an insignificant individual, in order to see how much it would really affect the progress of history. Now that I already have a conclusion from that, simr things will not happen in the future. Your respected self needs not worry.¡±

    Zu An frowned. He just felt that the Time Scribe''s words weren¡¯t too reliable.

    The Time Scribe continued, ¡°Actually, a being like me would normally not be sensed by other people, and they wouldn¡¯t even notice us even if we used our skills. Only someone as talented as your respected self was able to sense me.¡±

    Zu An said with a sneer, ¡°You can stop ttering me now. Just a moment ago, you were standing with the Monster Lord, but now you¡¯re trying to get on my side. Not even ghosts would believe it if you said you have no schemes at all.¡±

    The Time Scribe bowed. ¡°So that was what your respected self was bothered by. Actually, the only reason I have appeared here is only because we Time Scribes sometimes need to do so for our upation. Countless things happen across the different realms every day, and there is no way we can record everything. We often only record important events. Just as an ordinary primitive society¡¯s court recorder only writes down events rted to the emperor, we also only record events of some important figures across the realms.¡±

    ¡°Important figures?¡± Zu An frowned. ¡°Are you referring to the strong beings of the different realms?¡±

    ¡°Not necessarily,¡± the Time Scribe exined. ¡°We Time Scribes have a kind of destiny-observing skill that allows us to view the destinies of creatures. Even if a certain person isn¡¯t strong yet, they can be destined to be strong. Such beings also form immense karma and bring about countless events.

    ¡°The Monster Lord was the ruler of the Monster World and also one of the most powerful individuals, so his destiny''s energy was naturally exceptional as well. That is why I appeared near him.¡± He looked above Zu An and continue, ¡°But your respected self¡¯s destiny is exceptionally elegant, far above that of the previous Monster Lord! That is why I want nothing more than to be with you; after all, staying at your side will bring me so many things to record. I will end up bing the hottest thing in my circles!¡±

    Zu An was a bit stunned when he saw how excited the Scribe was.

    <i>What''s going on? Why did this guy suddenly be such a silly character?</i>

    <i>Where did his mysterious demeanor go?</i>

    ¡°You can read destinies?¡± Zu An asked in surprise. He had also heard of simr skills before, but he hadn''t expected to see it for himself.

    ¡°That is merely a basic skill of us Time Scribes. After all, only in that way can we determine whether or not that person¡¯s life is worth recording,¡± the Time Scribe said proudly.

    Pei Mianman couldn''t help but ask curiously, ¡°Oh, then what about our destinies?¡±

    The Time Scribe gave them a look. Aplicated diagram began to move within his eyes. Then, he said with a sigh, ¡°How strange; I¡¯ve never seen so many individuals with extraordinary destinies in the same ce. All of you have the qualifications to work with a Scribe like me one on one.¡±

    As he spoke, he gave Jing Teng and Pei Mianman an extra look. He felt that these two¡¯s destinies were the richest. It was to the extent that even he found it a bit difficult to understand.

    <i>Wait a moment, the others might seem a bit weaker at first, but upon closer look, there are quite a few variables around them too. Once they satisfy certain conditions, their destinies might grow exponentially.</i>

    He couldn''t help but click his tongue in amazement when he realized that.

    <i>Could this be because they are closely rted to Zu An?</i>

    It seemed he indeed had to stay here for some time after he returned from that segment of buried history. There were too many things he could record.

    Just then, Smay also asked with great interest, ¡°Master, what do you think about my destiny?¡±

    Zu An was speechless. Why did this suddenly be some fortune-telling stall? Did women really just believe these types of things that easily?

    The Time Scribe gave her a look. He shook his head. ¡°The first miss had good destiny at first, but your destiny has now already been almostpletely exhausted. It seems it will soon be time for your downfall.¡±

    Smay¡¯s smile immediately froze. She erupted into a rage immediately after. ¡°A master of bullshit, that¡¯s what you are! You¡¯re just deluding the people with lies!¡±

    The Time Scribe shook his head slightly. He didn¡¯t bother arguing with her.

    Smay¡¯s heart sank when she saw that.

    Mojardforted her and said, ¡°First miss, I will always stay by your side no matter what.¡±

    Smay seemed not to have heard him at all. She gritted her teeth and thought that even if this was her real destiny, she refused to believe it no matter what!

    <i>I''m going to shatter it no matter what!</i>

    The Time Scribe bowed toward Zu An. ¡°Is your respected self willing to journey together with me?¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t reply, and flew to Pei Mianman and the other women instead. He wanted to say something, but hesitated.

    Pei Mianman pressed a finger against Zu An¡¯s lips. ¡°You don¡¯t need to say anything. We know you''ll definitely choose to save little sister Ling¡¯er.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve made you all worry,¡± Zu An said gravely. Normally, there was no way he would ignore Xie Daoyun, let alone after they had just confirmed their rtionship not too long ago.

    ¡°I''l go with you to save little sister Ling¡¯er.¡± Pei Mianman smiled sweetly. ¡°That way, I won¡¯t have to worry anymore.¡±

    Jiang Luofu also said, ¡°Daoyun is master¡¯sst disciple, so I can¡¯t just watch her disappear either. I''m going as well.¡±

    The others all voiced intent to go too.

    Just then, Jing Teng suddenly said coldly, ¡°What are you all getting so excited for? With your cultivation, you''d just be dragging him down by going. The Monster Lord almost used you to threaten him.¡±

    The women couldn''t help but feel shocked when they heard that.

    <i>Right, that experience is still fresh in our memory.</i>

    Even though they really wanted to be with Zu An, they knew it could end up endangering his safety. They couldn''t bear to see that either.

    When Jing Teng saw that she''d managed to make them give up on the idea, she felt a bit proud.

    <i>Hmph, I¡¯ve managed to chase all these vixens away now. I can stay with him all alone.</i>

    Pei Mianman suddenly looked at Smay¡¯s group and asked, ¡°What should we do about them?¡± She still remembered the malice this woman had shown them before.

    Before Zu An even said anything, Smay¡¯s subordinates seemed to have already agreed on a n beforehand. They all ran in different directions with everything they had. The reason they''d remained loyal to Smay and persevered for so many years was because they still had hope then. If they saved the Lord of ughter, or perhaps sessfully executed the Lord of ughter¡¯s backup ns, they could¡¯vepletely redeemed their futures. But there was nothing left, not even a chance to capitalize on the mutual destruction of their enemies. So why would they still remain loyal?

    They only had a single thought left in their heads as they ran: It all depended on who was unlucky! They ran in different directions, so one of them would be able to get away, right? Then, they would just lie low in this world. As long as they lived under the radar, wouldn¡¯t they be able to live just fine in the shadows?

    Zu An harrumphed. How could he let these monsters hide in this world? With a casual brush of his hand, several golden swords of light flew in different directions. They almost instantly took the lives of the fleeing monsters.

    <i>Spurt! Spurt!</i>

    The sword light prated their bodies, and the monsters screamed bitterly one after another. They were actually all quite strong, but in this world, how could they be a match for Zu An?

    Zu An then flew over to Smay. Smay looked at the corpses of her subordinates and said, ¡°Hah, they deserved to die.¡±

    Mojard spread his arms and stood in front of her, protesting, ¡°You are not allowed to harm the first miss!¡±

    Smay lowered his arm and stared at Zu An, asking, ¡°Did my father already die?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Zu An nodded. There was no need to hide that from her anymore either.

    ¡°You killed him?¡± Smay asked through gritted teeth.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Then how did he die?¡± Smay quickly asked.

    Zu An calmly said, ¡°There is no reason for me to answer that question.¡±

    The Lord of ughter had been killed by the mysterious being summoned by Qiu Honglei. That was a situation that was hard to exin.

    ¡°Since you didn''t kill my father I¡¯ll tell you a secret if you spare Uncle Mo¡¯s life,¡± Smay said.

    ¡°First miss, my life isn¡¯t worth much. I only hope that the first miss can continue living!¡± Mojard immediately panicked.

    Zu An frowned. ¡°I''m not interested in this secret of yours.¡± He knew just how malicious this woman was. Who knew what kinds of problems she would start for the sake of living?

    ¡°What if this secret has to do with her?¡± Smay asked as she pointed at Ji Xiaoxi.

 Chapter 2384: Cruel Poison Constitution

    <h4>Chapter 2384: Cruel Poison Constitution</h4>

    Zu An was stunned. It had something to do with Xiaoxi? He hadn''t been nning on listening to anything Smay had to say, but he''d never expected it to be rted to Xiaoxi. He was now starting to hesitate.

    He really liked that adorable and kind youngdy. He still remembered the happy time they''d spent in the mountains picking medicine together, as well as how she''d passed on a pill to him when he was taken prisoner to be escorted to the capital. She was clearly a fearful person, but she''d still kissed him in front of all of those people to deliver the pill. He still remembered those soft lips and her shaking body vividly.

    ¡°What secret?¡± Jiang Luofu couldn''t help but ask. Even though she was cautious about Smay¡¯s schemes, she didn¡¯t dare to let go of any possibility if it was rted to Ji Xiaoxi.

    Smay looked at Zu An. When she saw that he wouldn''t stop her, she said with a smile, ¡°This girl¡¯s constitution is special. It''s the legendary innate Cruel Poison Constitution.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Zu An and the others were shocked. They had never heard of this before, but judging from its name, it was definitely not a good thing.

    When she saw Zu An¡¯s skeptical expression, Smay didn¡¯t wait for him to ask anything further and immediately exined, ¡°I already felt a sense of familiarity when I first saw thisdy, but my thoughts hadn''t gone in that direction yet. Onlyter, when I saw that the poison she created could actually affect the Monster Lord, were my suspicions confirmed.¡±

    Zu An grew silent. The reason why he''d been able to kill the Monster Lord so easily was indeed thanks to the poison Ji Xiaoxi had researched. Even though the Monster Lord¡¯s poisoning wasn¡¯t too severe, the influence on his reaction speed had been greatly helpful.

    Smay continued, ¡°After all, you understand just how powerful the Monster Lord was, and he was proficient in poisons himself. And yet he ended up being affected by a poison created by a human.¡± She paused for a moment before looking at Ji Xiaoxi and saying, ¡°I recall that when you were still in the underground city, you collected all kinds of medicine manuals. The poison must¡¯ve been made at that time, right?¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi reflexively nodded.

    ¡°Then it all makes sense.¡± Smay chuckled. ¡°A human managed to research a medicine text from our world in just a few days, and was able to make such a powerful poison. Don¡¯t you all find this a bit strange too?¡±

    Zu An had also felt that it was a bit too fast, but he''d just interpreted it as Ji Xiaoxi having extraordinary talent. She was good at medicine to begin with, so with those fundamentals, she could go very far. But he''d never expected the poison she made to actually end up affecting the Monster Lord. Now that he thought about it again, it did seem quite strange.

    When she saw his changes in expression, Smay¡¯s smile grew even bigger. ¡°The reason for this is because of her innate Cruel Poison Constitution. Her constitution allows her to be intimate with various medicines, but especially poisonous substances. She can often just learn a medicine''s properties with a single look, making the potency of the medicines she creates much greater.¡±

    ¡°Then that should be a good thing, right?¡± Pei Mianman couldn''t help but ask. This was an ability countless medicine masters dreamed of, but could never obtain.

    Smay sneered. ¡°How could it just be that simple? The reason it¡¯s called the Cruel Poison Body is because it will inevitably bring her closer to poison. Her body will desire all kinds of poisons and that will gradually bring misfortune around herself, as well as bringing death and cmity to those around her. She might even destroy the entire world all on her own.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Ji Xiaoxi had never expected things to turn out like this. Her small face turned deathly pale from fright. If it wasn¡¯t for her little aunt holding her next to her, she would¡¯ve fainted on the spot.

    ¡°Are you just using frightening words to scare us?¡± Zu An asked with a sneer. Perhaps Ji Xiaoxi had talent in medicine, but he had never seen her be drawn to poisons or anything like that. She was gentle and sweet in nature and nothing like a venomous woman.

    ¡°That''s because her Cruel Poison Constitution hasn¡¯t fully matured yet. It''s still dormant. Apart from being more intimate with medicines, she¡¯s not much different from an ordinary person,¡± Smay continued. ¡°However, not too long ago, she came to our Monster World¡¯s underground city and came into contact with powerful poisonous nts we gathered from conquering countless worlds. Furthermore, she has been researching poisons to defeat monsters this entire time, and even created a powerful poison that could even affect the Monster Lord. She has alreadypletely activated her innate Cruel Poison Constitution. In my opinion, her Cruel Poison Constitution will fully awaken in a few days at the earliest, but a monthter at thetest. Once it fully awakens, there will be no going back.¡±

    As she listened, Ji Xiaoxi was on the verge of tears, while Jiang Luofu¡¯s face turned deathly pale. She felt as if the entire world was spinning around her. She really doted on Xiaoxi. Now that she was learning that this youngdy could experience such a tragic fate, how could she stand it?

    Zu An¡¯s expression turned ice-cold. He looked at the Time Scribe. ¡°Does something like the Cruel Poison Constitution really exist?¡±

    The Time Scribe nodded. ¡°This special constitution does indeed exist.¡± Then, he gave Ji Xiaoxi a look. After some hesitation, he said, ¡°And thisdy¡¯s situation does indeed seem to reflect those traits a bit.¡±

    Everyone else¡¯s heartspletely sank when they heard that.

    The Time Scribe said in constion, ¡°This kind of constitution is actually extremely precious and special. In history, those who have this kind of body have often be the strongest in the universe. No one dares to offend them.¡±

    Just then, the silently crying Ji Xiaoxi suddenly asked, ¡°Then what about their good friends?¡±

    The Time Scribe was a bit at a loss for words. A momentter, he said, ¡°When this kind of body is developed, no living things nearby can survive. If their close friends do not get far away in time, they will die one after another. That is why those with this kind of body often reject emotions and love. But for the truly strong, romance in this world is nothing more than minor entertainment. Power is the most important thing. There are countless people who wish for this kind of constitution...¡±

    Ji Xiaoxipletely fainted before he even finished his sentence. Jiang Luofu quickly tried to help her improve her cirction, which finally helped her gradually wake up again.

    ¡°Little aunt~¡± When she opened her eyes, Ji Xiaoxi couldn''t hold back her tears. She bawled as she hugged Jiang Luofu.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Pei Mianman, Yun Yuqing, and the others all spoke up tofort her. Their eyes were also full of sympathy. This was such an obedient and adorable youngdy, and yet she''d ended up manifesting such a terrifying constitution. Just the thought alone was pitiful.

    Zu An gave the Time Scribe an annoyed look. This guy really was terrible atforting others.

    Just then, Smay then said, ¡°I have a way to suppress her constitution.¡±

    The women''s eyes all lit up!

    ¡°Oh?¡± Zu An was a bit skeptical. This woman was a bit too cunning. He couldn''t really tell if what she was saying was really true.

    Just then, Jiang Luofu waved her hand, and a magical artifact that resembled a pair of scales appeared in front of her. She stared at Smay and asked, ¡°You said that you have a way to keep Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s Cruel Poison Constitution in check?¡±

    Every single word seemed to pile up on top of one side of the scale, making it tip in that direction.

    Smay looked at the special magic artifact with a look of surprise, but she replied, ¡°That¡¯s right, I do have a way.¡±

    As soon as she said that, the words turned into characters that rested on the other side.

    The scale quickly returned to equilibrium.

    Everyone present clicked their tongues in amazement when they saw that. Even the Time Scribe was astonished. He quickly took out a pen to record something down.

    Jiang Luofu finally sighed in relief and nodded toward Zu An. She secretly said to him, ¡°She''s telling the truth.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help but be amazed at that magic artifact. He quickly said to Smay, ¡°As long as you can keep her special constitution in control, forget about a single life, I can even spare both of your lives.¡±

 Chapter 2385: A Scheme

    <h4>Chapter 2385: A Scheme</h4>

    Mojard sighed in relief. This was the ruler of a world, and his character seemed to be quite good. Since he''d already said that, the promise was probably reliable. He''d never expected to be able to keep his life.

    <i>It seems as if the first miss and I do share a destiny after all. The heavens have pitied us.</i>

    Aplicated expression shed through Smay¡¯s eyes. ¡°Alright. Have here here.¡±

    Zu An hesitated, but he still beckoned Ji Xiaoxi over. Jiang Luofu held her hand and slowly led her up to Smay.

    Smay took out a green pearl and said, ¡°This is a Poison Avoidance Pearl that I obtained in my earlier years. It can suppress the poison constitution within her and prevent it from ring up temporarily.¡±

    Zu An received the green pearl from her. It was the size of a pigeon egg and was shiny like jade. There was a gentle energying from it. Even after examining it carefully, he didn¡¯t notice anything strange about it. At the same time, he was quite curious. This pearl was pretty, but could it really suppress that legendary innate Cruel Poison Constitution?

    Jiang Luofu also received the pearl and confirmed that it wasn''t harmful. Then, she asked Smay, ¡°How should this pearl be used?¡±

    ¡°She should carry it at her side, and shouldn¡¯t remove it even when she''s sleeping,¡± Smay replied.

    Jiang Luofu wrapped the pearl up in a spice bag and ced it into Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s hands, saying, ¡°Xiaoxi, I¡¯ll help you make a ne when there''s some free time. Carry this pearl with you wherever you go.¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi reflexively nodded. She was in a bit of a daze right now, especially after finding out what kind of thing the Cruel Poison Constitution was. When she thought about how she would have had no choice but to leave her father, her little aunt, and leave... him, having to live alone, she trembled with fear.

    When he saw that Ji Xiaoxi was still fine after storing it away, Zu An sighed in relief and said to Smay, ¡°You two can leave now.¡±

    Mojard was overjoyed. He went to support Smay, saying, ¡°First miss, let¡¯s hurry and leave.¡± He was worried that Zu An might change his mind.

    But Smay pushed his hand away and said, ¡°Uncle Mo, please leave first. I still need to stay here for a bit.¡±

    Mojard was stunned. ¡°What does the first miss still want to do here?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s none of your business, just hurry and leave!¡± Smay said while biting her lip. Her words sounded a bit hurried.

    But how could Mojard bear to leave her?

    Zu An wasn¡¯t interested in watching their dramatic master and servant rtionship. He turned to the remaining elders from the True Demon race.

    Perhaps because all of their hopes and dreams had been crushed, they hadn''t escaped like Smay¡¯s subordinates. When he saw his gaze, the great elder stretched his neck and said, ¡°Just kill me if you¡¯re going to do it. Either way, our True Demon race is already finished.¡±

    Zu An was a bit hesitant. After all, the great elder had treated him quite well when he was still ying the part of Donaire. He also told him many secrets. But since he''d killed the true Donaire, he couldn''t just let them off either, as the grudge he shared with the True Demon race was already too deep. This was rted to the safety of an entire world¡¯s living beings...

    He made his decision. Just as he was about to do the deed, however, the Time Scribe stopped him. ¡°Your respected self, the True Demon race seems to be connected to a tremendous secret. They may be of critical use if we bring them into the sealed world.¡±

    Smay gave the Time Scribe a look. This guy hadn''t spoken up for her at all when she was in trouble, and yet he actually stepped up when the True Demon race¡¯s elders were about to be killed.

    <i>Could it be that even an honored first miss like me isn¡¯t as important as these old men?</i>

    Zu An recalled the Celestial Court that the great elder had mentioned and couldn''t help but feel a bit of longing. It seemed killing them really wasn¡¯t a good idea. But letting them enter that sealed world seemed to pose too high a risk as well.

    He suddenly thought of something and looked toward Ji Xiaoxi. ¡°Xiaoxi, did you manage to create some monster-controlling pills in the underground city?¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    At first, Ji Xiaoxi waspletely absent-minded, but when she heard what he said, she reflexively took out a pill bottle and said, ¡°Yes. This pill is called the Lifedeath Pill. Those who ingest this must take the antidote once per year, or else the drug will activate and inflict so much suffering that they will wish they were dead instead.¡±

    At first, she hadn''t felt any psychological burden when she made this pill, as she thought about how many people these monsters had harmed. But afterrning that she had the Cruel Poison Constitution, she couldn''t help but feel a bit sad and dejected.

    <i>I was a vile and malicious woman deep inside after all...</i>

    Teardrops rolled down her face like pearls when she realized that.

    Zu An held her hand tightly and used his finger to wipe the tears on her cheek. ¡°Xiaoxi, don¡¯t worry about those things. I''ll never leave you no matter what happens.¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi had felt as if she was trapped in a stormy sea, but when she heard these words, she seemed to have found a small raft. She immediately calmed down a lot. ¡°Thank you, big brother Zu!¡±

    <i>What did big brother Zu mean when he said that? Am I just overthinking things...</i>

    Her pale little face became a bit rosier. All kinds of thoughts filled her head, to the point that she couldn''t even be bothered to think about her unique constitution anymore.

    Pei Mianman and Yun Yuqing exchanged a look.

    <i>This guy¡¯s words almost sound like a confession!</i>

    But they found that they didn¡¯t feel that jealous at all. The first reason was that they all knew just how good a girl Xiaoxi was, and the second was that they had just learned about her fate and were still full of pity. How could they produce any feelings of malice toward her?

    Zu An poured out the bottles¡¯ contents. One pill floated before each elder and he said, ¡°Please ingest it yourselves, lest I need to take action myself.¡±

    The elders exchanged a look. Even though they wanted to refuse, when they considered the difference in fighting strength, they all epted their fate and swallowed the pills. Soon after, a numbing sensation spread through their bodies, and several of them began to roll on the ground in pain as they frantically scratched all over. Blisters were growing all over them at an rming rate.

    Even the Time Scribe was a bit frightened. These elders were all quite strong, so their pain tolerance was supposed to be high, and yet they''d still suddenly ended up like this. It seemed the pills¡¯ effects were extremely strong.

    Smay and Mojard¡¯s eyelids twitched. They reflexively backed up out of fear that Zu An would force them to eat this poison too.

    Ji Xiaoxi found it a bit hard to watch and quickly took out another porcin bottle, saying, ¡°Hurry and take the antidote.¡±

    How could the elders still care about the consequences? They all shoved the pills into their mouths. That horrifying pain that reached their very souls finally gradually disappeared. When they got back up, their hair waspletely disheveled. They bowed toward Ji Xiaoxi with lingering fear and said, ¡°Thank you for the antidote, Miss Ji.¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi was now a bit embarrassed as she said, ¡°That wasn¡¯t actually an antidote. It only works for a year. If you don''t take it again next year, you''ll experience that suffering again.¡±

    The True Demon elders were stunned.

    <i>This girl has such a sweet and naive appearance, but she was actually so malicious inside!</i>

    <i>As expected of that Cruel Poison Constitution or whatever, she¡¯s rotten to the bone!</i>

    <i>Why isn¡¯t this damned constitution activating yet? Just poison everyone to death already!</i>

    The monsters were cursing inside, but they didn¡¯t dare to express it on the surface at all.

    Meanwhile, Zu An was overjoyed. With the help of this drug, he didn¡¯t have to worry about these guys turning traitor anymore. He reflexively gave the Time Scribe a look, wondering whether to feed him this drug too.

    When he saw that, the Time Scribe had goosebumps all over. He was wondering how to remove that dangerous thought from Zu An''s mind when Ji Xiaoxi suddenly cried out and fell to the ground.

    ¡°Xiaoxi, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Jiang Luofu was horrified and quickly moved to support her.

    ¡°Wait!¡± Zu An stopped her and the other women.

    Under their confused expressions, Zu An said gravely, ¡°There¡¯s poison all around her right now.¡±

    The women followed his line of sight and saw that Ji Xiaoxi waspletely surrounded by ck energy. The grass around her had alreadypletely wilted.

 Chapter 2386: Condition

    Zu An swept out his sleeves, and a force sent all the women into the distance.

    With Ji Xiaoxi at the very center, ripples of ck energy spread in all directions. All the flowers and other greenery caught up in the energy immediately withered away. There were some snakes, bugs, and other creatures that frantically tried to escape, but they all lost their lives before they could get very far.

    Everyone present was horrified when they saw that.

    The True Demon elders blinked.

    <em>What is going on? Did our random curses actually work?</em>

    <em>Since when did we have prophesying skills?</em>

    They quickly wished for a few more things, either hoping for Zu An to die, for them to be the strongest in the universe, or for their poison to bepletely removed¡­

    Unfortunately, there wasn¡¯t any reaction at all.

    ¡°Xiaoxi!¡± Jiang Luofu was really impatient and wanted to head over. Ji Xiaoxi was lying on the ground, with even her survival in question.¡°Stay here. Your cultivation can''t withstand that poison.¡± Zu An stopped her.

    Then, he flew toward Ji Xiaoxi. Golden light surrounded him, temporarily shielding him from the ck poison. Even so, when he got closer to Ji Xiaoxi, the golden light around him started to sizzle, as if the ck energy was eating away at it. He sighed in amazement. This poison was stronger than any he had seen before. It could actually corrode all living things as if it was a tangible substance.

    He quickly picked up Ji Xiaoxi. When he sensed her breath and heartbeat, he sighed in relief. He quickly imbued ki into her body to help her control the poison that was running rampant within her. But his expression immediately changed. The poison inside of her was just too powerful! It actually began to follow his ki to attack his body too. If not for his great strength and the Primordial Origin Sutra excelling at dealing with poisons to begin with, he would have been affected too.

    But no matter how he used his ki to help Ji Xiaoxi, the poison inside her body seemed to have been angered. It continued to pour out relentlessly. Fine sweat appeared on his forehead. If this continued, Ji Xiaoxi could really be a living body of poison, ultimately headind for destruction.

    Just then, Pei Mianman flew over to Smay¡¯s side and immediately pressed a sword against her neck. ¡°Speak! What is going on right now?!¡±

    ¡°Let go of the first miss at once!¡± Mojard immediately wanted to help, but Yun Yuqing, Jiang Luofu, and Suolun Shi had already rushed over as well.

    Mojard was seriously injured to begin with, and had only managed to stabilize his breathing. How could he defeat these three? He immediately coughed out a mouthful of blood, and a de was quickly pressed against his neck too.

    Smayughed sinisterly. ¡°Hahaha, don¡¯t you love lying to me? Now, I''ve finally fooled you too! Hahaha!¡±

    ¡°It was your fault after all!¡± Jiang Luofu was panicked and nervous. She almost couldn''t hold herself back from stabbing Smay.

    Pei Mianman quickly stopped her. ¡°Big sis principal, we need to save Xiaoxi first.¡±

    Jiang Luofu immediately snapped out of her daze.

    <em>Right, this was all because of that woman. She might know the way to save Ji Xiaoxi.</em>

    She immediately interrogated Smay, looking for the cure. But Smay only smiled and looked at Zu An. Her expression was very clear; she was waiting for Zu An to save her.

    Zu An suddenly thought of something. He took away the ¡®Poison Avoidance Pearl¡¯ and ced it into his storage space. Sure enough, the poison inside Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s body seemed to have lost its target when the pearl disappeared. It stopped going berserk like before. Zu An then used his powerful ki to expel the poison from Xiaoxi''s body; the remnants were gathered together and sealed for the time being.

    Ji Xiaoxi gradually woke up. Her eyes were teary as she looked at Zu An. ¡°Big brother Zu¡­¡±

    Zu An held her hand tightly. ¡°Xiaoxi, don¡¯t be scared. I¡¯m here.¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi voiced her agreement. She hadn¡¯t beenpletely unconscious just then. Even though she couldn''t move, she''d still had some awareness.

    <em>Big brother Zu fulfilled his promise as expected. He¡¯ll always stay at my side no matter what happens to me.</em>

    <em>But in the future, I''ll only be more and more poisonous. How can I selfishly force big brother Zu to stay behind and harm him?</em>

    When she saw Xiaoxi wake up, Jiang Luofu quickly ran over and cried, ¡°Xiaoxi!¡±

    Zu An knew that most of the poison inside of Xiaoxi¡¯s body had already been controlled. Even though there was still a bit left, with Jiang Luofu¡¯s cultivation, she would be able to withstand it. As such, he left Ji Xiaoxi in her care.

    He vanished, then reappeared in front of Smay. He looked at her coldly. ¡°It seems you knew that using the Poison Avoidance Pearl would actually trigger her Cruel Poison Constitution.¡±

    Previously, Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s innate Cruel Poison Constitution had still been bnced. There had still been some time left before it red up. But Smay had given her a special Poison Avoidance Pearl, which was indeed a treasure that could grant immunity to many poisons.

    However, the stronger it was, the more powerfully Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s constitution would be reppressed. Just how powerful was the Cruel Poison Constitution? It couldn''t stand that kind of provocation at all. That was why it had activated ahead of time, almost as if to prove something to the arrogant and aggressive pearl.

    The Poison Avoidance Pearl had been gradually beaten down, bing unable to restrain the ferocious poison anymore. With that, Ji Xiaoxi had ended up in a difficult position. She couldn''t control such a powerful constitution at all. If not for Zu An using the power of the entire world to help her subdue it, she would have long since perished.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Smay replied with a grin, ¡°That¡¯s right!¡±

    <em>p!</em>

    There was a loud and clear strike. Yun Yuqing cursed, ¡°You wench! Big brother Zu already spared your lives, and yet you''re still so malicious.¡±

    Smay gave her a resentful look and said, ¡°I will remember this strike. I will definitely repay it ten times over.¡±

    Yun Yuqing was a bit frightened by her vicious look.

    Just then, however, two more strikes echoed. It turned out Pei Mianman couldn''t hold herself back either. ¡°I¡¯m joining in too. Why don¡¯t you hit me back if you have the skill?¡±

    ¡°You¡­!¡± Smay hadn¡¯t expected Pei Mianman to strike her too. When she saw thetter¡¯s ice-cold expression, she actually couldn''t bring herself to say anything back.

    Yun Yuqing¡¯s expression softened a bit as she looked at Pei Mianman. It seemed that the jealousy they shared between sisters was present, but they still worked as one againstmon enemies.

    <em>This feels really good!</em>

    Suolun Shi was actually put in a hard spot. Was she supposed to strike Smay as well? If she didn¡¯t, it would seem as if she wasn¡¯t really standing up for Yun Yuqing. But if she did, it would seem a bit forced¡­

    ¡°Don¡¯t strike the first miss! If you have the ability,e at me instead!¡± Mojard panicked and stood up frantically.

    Suolun Shi¡¯s eyes widened. She''d been worried that she wouldn¡¯t have any chance to do anything. When she saw that, she sent a kick right between his legs to send him kneeling down again. ¡°Stay still!¡±

    A sword had already appeared in Zu An¡¯s hand. As he looked at Smay, his gaze was ice-cold. ¡°I don¡¯t normally kill women, but it seems I need to make an exception today.¡±

    When she sensed his tangible killing intent, Smay actually panicked a bit. She said, ¡°Even though you¡¯ve managed to temporarily restrict the poison inside Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s body, that¡¯s not a permanent solution. Will you be able to stop it if the Cruel Poison Constitution activates again?¡±

    Zu An frowned slightly. What she said was true. He could sense that the Cruel Poison Constitution was extremely powerful. It was only because it had just awakened and wasn¡¯t strong enough that he''d been able to keep it under control. After some time passed and the constitution matured, he likely wouldn''t be able to stop it.

    Smay didn¡¯t keep him in suspense and quickly said, ¡°Bring me into that sealed world and I¡¯ll tell you the solution to stop the Cruel Poison Constitution!¡±

 Chapter 2387: Madness

    That was Smay''s real objective. She had struggled for so many years, only for everything to fall through at thest second. How could she bear to just let it end like this? The regent had agreed to spare her and Mojard¡¯s lives, but she didn¡¯t have anything left now. Even if she had her life, what could she still aplish? In the end, the only hope for her was to enter that sealed world. Her father, the Lord of ughter, was still alive there. As long as she obtained his help, there was still a chance to reverse things!

    Zu An finally understood what she was thinking. He was amazed by this woman¡¯s ruthlessness, but he also regretted acting too carelessly earlier.

    Jiang Luofu said remorsefully, ¡°It¡¯s all my fault. If I hadn''t messed things up, how would we have been fooled by this woman?!¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t lie to you, it¡¯s just that I chose my words selectively.¡± Smay was quite proud of herself. ¡°Otherwise, how could that lie detection tool have not noticed anything?¡±

    Zu An and Jiang Luofu were both surprised. She had suggested that there was a way to suppress the innate Cruel Poison Constitution. It seemed that it wasn¡¯t the Poison Avoidance Pill, but rather another method she knew.

    His sword advanced and pressed against Smay¡¯s chin. ¡°Tell me the method, and I can bring you to that sealed world.¡±

    When she sensed the coldness and killing intent of that sword, Smay felt goosebumps all over. Even though her entire body was shaking, however, she still gritted her teeth and insisted, ¡°No, bring me to that world first and promise to let us go. Only then will I tell you.¡±

    ¡°Do you think I''m as untrustworthy as you?¡± Zu An¡¯s voice became even colder.

    ¡°This is myst hope. I had to take a gamble!¡± Smay hissed through clenched teeth.Zu An turned around to the Time Scribe. ¡°You already knew that the Poison Avoidance Pearl would cause an adverse reaction from the beginning, didn¡¯t you?¡±

    The Time Scribe quickly waved his hands. ¡°I really didn¡¯t know!¡±

    Zu An really looked as if he was out for blood. He definitely didn¡¯t want to be involved.

    ¡°You''re a Time Scribe who records all kinds of things across the realms. How could you possibly not know?¡± Zu An didn¡¯t believe him at all. His powerful killing intent locked onto the Scribe.

    The Time Scribe quickly took out a book and a pen. Cold sweat poured down his forehead as he said, ¡°Your respected self has truly misunderstood! We Time Scribes record important events across the universe, but every single Time Scribe¡¯s field of specialty is different. For example, I do not know about poisons at all, and only heard some rumors about the Cruel Poison Constitution. I really didn¡¯t know that the Poison Avoidance Pearl would create this kind of reaction!¡±

    ¡°Then do you know how to keep this Cruel Poison Constitution under control?¡± Zu An quickly asked.

    The Time Scribe shook his head. ¡°I do not know.¡± When he saw Zu An¡¯s eyes grow a bit colder, he quickly added, ¡°But there should be other Time Scribes who know.¡±

    ¡°Then help me ask about it. Consider it a favor for me,¡± Zu An added.

    The Time Scribe said with a bitter smile, ¡°The Time Scribes are all scattered across the realms, and their identities are all of utmost secrecy. I do not know who the other Time Scribes are, or where they are. Only every few centuries do the Time Scribes have a great gathering to exchange and organize the major events that took ce in that period. There are still fifty-two years until the next meeting.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. Fifty-two years? The dishes would¡¯ve already turned cold by then.

    Smay sighed in relief. ¡°As long as you agree to my condition, I''ll tell you the method to suppress it. So?¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Fine!¡± Zu An said after thinking for a bit. That was already the only solution he had at this point.

    When she heard his agreement, Smay had a proud expression.

    <em>What dog world lord, what invincible strongest? Weren¡¯t they still toyed with in this first miss¡¯ palm the entire time?</em>

    Just then, Zu An flicked his finger and a pill shot into her mouth.

    Smay wasughing, so how could she protect herself? The pill entered her throat. She quickly tried to cough, but an invisible hand grabbed her chin, so she could only forcibly swallow it. She eximed in shock and fury, ¡°What did you feed me?¡±

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Smay for +110 +110 +110¡­</strong>

    ¡°A Lifedeath Pill,¡± Zu An said with a sneer.

    Smay¡¯s expression changed. She had just seen how bitterly the True Demon race elders suffered from it. Before she could even think anything else, however, the Lifedeath Pill¡¯s effects activated.

    ¡°Aaaaaaaaah!¡± She screamed in pain. She fell to the ground and rolled back and forth in agony.

    Pei Mianman was startled. She quickly withdrew her sword and got some distance away from Smay.

    Smay scratched frantically at her body. Soon after, several bloody scars appeared on her neck and face, as if she wanted to rip her own skin off.

    ¡°First miss!¡± Mojard¡¯s eye sockets were about to split apart when he saw that. He wanted to save her, but he was firmly restrained in ce.

    The True Demon elders swallowed with difficulty. When they saw this sight, they remembered their own experience. This poison was just too horrifying! They secretly gave the weak and humble-looking Ji Xiaoxi a look. The poison she''d made was actually this terrifying!

    ¡°Bastard Zu, hurry and give the first miss the antidote! If you have the guts, thene at me instead!¡± Mojard shouted furiously as he stared at Zu An.

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Mojard for +499 +499 +499¡­</strong>

    With a flick of Zu An¡¯s hand, a Lifedeath Pill shot into his open mouth.

    Mojard was stunned.

    <em>Why isn¡¯t this guy acting like you¡¯d expect him to? You should be giving the first miss the antidote!</em>

    ¡°Aaaaaaaaah!¡±

    The poison inside Mojard also activated quickly. He started to roll on the ground too, but he did his best to stay away from Smay. However, this itchiness and pain seemed toe from his very soul.

    Zu An didn¡¯t even feel like giving him another look. He walked up to Smay and said, ¡°Tell me the cure for the innate Cruel Poison Constitution and I¡¯ll give you the antidote!¡±

    Despite the extreme pain, Smay let out a maddened, sinisterugh. ¡°Unless you agree to my conditions, I won¡¯t tell you even if I die! AAAAAAAAH!¡±

    When they saw her continue to roll on the ground in that deranged state, everyone else couldn''t help but feel a bit of admiration. This woman was extremely fierce toward others, but she was simrly ruthless toward herself. She was actually able to endure even this kind of pain!

    Zu An remained expressionless. He just stared at Smay calmly, waiting for her to yield to this terrifying poison. However, even after the time it took for a stick of incense to burn, she still didn¡¯t say a single thing apart from screaming. Instead, her voice grew weaker and weaker, and her body was soon drenched in blood.

    Zu An frowned and tossed the temporary antidote in front of her. He actually had other ways to interrogate her, like the Continuous Hell. Not even the most powerful monsters could endure its suffering. But still, this was rted to Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s safety. He was worried that Smay would actually die, choosing to just end herself.

    The Lifedeath Pill¡¯s poison was already on par with certain tortures in the hells, and yet this woman was actually able to endure it. Looking at her face, Zu An saw a level of ruthlessness and resentment that not even many evil spirits had. She, who had already lost everything, was probably able to endure far more than he''d expected her to. For Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s sake, he didn¡¯t want to take on any bit of risk.

    Smay saw the antidote in front of her and grabbed it like a drowning person grabbing at a straw. She shoved it into her mouth so quickly that she ended up eating some grass too.

    When the antidote entered her stomach, she finally started to calm down. Shey on the grasnd, cutting a sorry figure. She covered her eyes with her arms, tears sliding down her eyes. However, she wasughing about the fact that her gamble had finally seeded.

    Zu An tossed the other antidote to Mojard, who soon recovered and looked at Zu An and Ji Xiaoxi with eyes full of fear. At the same time, his expression was reallyplicated when he looked at Smay. He couldn''t endure that suffering at all.

    <em>The first miss really is extraordinary¡­</em>

    Smay¡¯s clothes were in tatters from wing at her own body. Pei Mianman frowned, taking out an outfit and giving it to her. ¡°Put this over yourself.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t need your hypocritical condolences.¡± Smay tossed it to the ground. She sat up and stared at Zu An, saying, ¡°It seems you¡¯ve agreed to my proposal.¡±

 Chapter 2388: Sisters in Unison

    Zu An looked at her coldly, saying, ¡°I can bring you into that spacetime fragment, but you must tell me the cure as soon as we enter. Otherwise, you will experience torture thousands, no, tens of thousands of times worse than what you just experienced without any hope of reincarnation.¡±

    Smay was about to say something when Zu An reached out a hand and waved it at her. In that instant, she felt as if her soul had left her body. Before she could even to what was going on, she was taken into a world without daylight.

    The Monster World had conquered countless worlds. They had used countless bitter torture methods against the rebels of those worlds. Thus, Smay had thought she was already an expert on the topic. Butpared to what was in front of her, they weren¡¯t even worth mentioning.

    The Continuous Hell had countless grieving souls trapped inside. Every single one of the torture methods they experienced was many times worse than the suffering caused by the Lifedeath Pill Smay had just consumed. Just a look alone almost made her faint.

    Her eyes blurred, and she returned to reality a momentter. She gave Zu An a look of fear. A strong dread had been nted in the depths of her heart. She knew that what she saw was definitely no illusion, but rather a ce that really did exist.

    <em>This man actually controls such a terrifying ce!</em>

    She didn¡¯t dare to continue acting as arrogant as before. She forced a smile and said to Zu An, ¡°As long as your respected self brings us there and promises to let me and Uncle Mo go free, I will naturally tell you the method to save her. I wouldn¡¯t dare to deceive you at all.¡± When she saw the displeasure in his eyes, she quickly added, ¡°The reason why I am only going to speak there is because there is a certain ingredient needed to aid her innate Cruel Poison Constitution that can only be found in that world.¡±

    Zu An was surprised. She didn¡¯t seem to be lying. As such, he asked, ¡°Will it be a bit faster if I bring Xiaoxi with me?¡±

    After some hesitation, Smay replied, ¡°I believe so.¡±Zu An nodded. He went over to Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s side. ¡°Xiaoxi, why don¡¯t you go on a trip with me into that buried world?¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi voiced her agreement. She looked at him with watery eyes. ¡°As long as I''m by big brother Zu¡¯s side, I won¡¯t be scared of anything.¡±

    When he saw how obedient she was, Zu An couldn''t help but pinch her cheeks.

    <em>Xiaoxi is so adorable, I definitely have to protect her well.</em>

    Jiang Luofu said, ¡°I¡¯m going with you.¡±

    Zu An was a bit hesitant, but Jiang Luofu continued, ¡°You still have other things to take care of in that world. With me there, I can help you take care of Xiaoxi.¡±

    Zu An figured that made sense too. Not only did he have to find the cure for Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s condition, he had to solve that world¡¯s issues. He definitely couldn''t let someone else destroy the World Law Beacon.

    ¡°Fine!¡± He knew that Jiang Luofu was mature and her cultivation wasn¡¯t bad, so he agreed.

    Pei Mianman walked over and said, ¡°I¡¯ming too.¡±

    Yun Yuqing and Suolun Shi both said in unison, ¡°That¡¯s right. How can we just do nothing when this is for little sister Xiaoxi¡¯s sake?¡±

    Zu An was a bit hesitant. That world was just too dangerous.

    Pei Mianman said secretly, ¡°Smay, Mojard, the True Demon race elders, and even a mysterious Time Scribe are going. Things will be too difficult to handle all by yourself. If we go with you, we can help you if something happens.¡±

    Zu An knew that what she said made sense. No matter how powerful one person was, there was still only so much he could attend to at one time. But still, that world was a bit too dangerous for them.

    Yun Yuqing seemed to have guessed at what he was thinking. She said with a smile, ¡°Ah Zu, please don¡¯t treat us as just pretty flower vases. We were all pretty strong before we met you, you know?¡±

    Suolun Shi also said with a smile, ¡°Even though I¡¯m not as amazing as my big sisters, I was one of the most outstanding members of the Fiend races'' younger generation. I frequently experienced life-threatening trials. Big brother Zu, you really don¡¯t need to worry for the sake of our safety.¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An thought what they were saying was reasonable. These were all the most outstanding of women, who didn¡¯t need to depend on him. If he always protected them under his wings and prevented them from experiencing any danger, it would only end up affecting their growth.

    ¡°In that case, we¡¯ll all work as one and give that mysterious world a go.¡± Zu An immediately changed his attitude.

    The women all piled their hands on top of each other¡¯s. Ji Xiaoxi was really moved, saying, ¡°Thank you, big sisters!¡±

    The other women all stroked her head. ¡°Xiaoxi, the way you¡¯re talking is making us seem like strangers. Would you only watch with folded arms if something simr happened to us?¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s face reddened a bit, but she firmly said, ¡°Of course not!¡±

    ¡°Then isn¡¯t it fine? We¡¯re sisters, so we should do everything together!¡± Pei Mianman had a lovely smile on her face.

    Jiang Luofu¡¯s expression became a bit strange.

    <em>Isn¡¯t my status a bit unsuitable to be considered one of these sisters?</em>

    <em>Does Pei Mianman know something?</em>

    However, everyone seemed to be really inspired, so she also shouted, ¡°Strength that can break steel!¡±

    As the True Demon great elder watched their joyous and harmonious behavior, he thought to himself that Donaire was also a famous yboy, but he was far inferior to the regent. At the very least, Donaire had never had such peaceful rtions with the women around him.

    <em>Sigh, not even his strongest suit couldpare to this regent. No wonder he ended up being defeated by the regent.</em>

    Smay wrapped some spare clothes around herself and stared at that small group. She felt a pang of regret. If she had been even a bit sincere to ¡®Donaire¡¯ back then, rather than only trying to use him and kill these women after, perhaps she''d even be able to be with him right now. At that point, how could those other women win against her?

    After she realized that, she felt more and more regret and bitterness.

    <em>What right do they have to enjoy themselves like this?</em>

    <em>Why is my fate always so bitter?</em>

    <em>Why do all bad things always happen to me?</em>

    <em>I can¡¯t ept this!</em>

    The Time Scribe saw Zu An walk up to him. He couldn''t help but say with a sigh of praise, ¡°Your respected self¡¯s luck with women really is enviable. I¡¯ve seen my fair share of powerful individuals with many beautiful women at their sides too, but rarely do they feel true love like this, and for the women to even get along with each other so well.¡±

    Pei Mianman and the other women''s faces immediately became bright red when they heard that. Their hands shot back at lightning speed.

    Zu An coughed lightly. He was clearly not in the mood to discuss such things with him. ¡°You can rest for a bit at the Demon race''s territory; I have some things to prepare. We¡¯ll leave tomorrow.¡±

    The Time Scribe was a bit shocked. ¡°I recall that a blood sacrifice is needed to activate the Nature Jade case.¡±

    As he spoke, he looked at Pei Mianman and the other women. The Demon race saintesses were supposed to be sacrifices.

    Zu An calmly said, ¡°I¡¯ve already analyzed the principles of the formation. We only need a bit of pure bloodline essence power as recement. We don¡¯t need to use live sacrifices.¡±

    The Time Scribe bowed. ¡°The regent¡¯s mastery of formations is truly admirable.¡± He then handed over the Nature Jade case and said, ¡°I shall return this to its rightful owner.¡±

    Smay¡¯s eyes were burning with rage.

    <em>Is this guy blind?! I was clearly the original owner!</em>

    Zu An was a bit surprised as he stored away the Nature Jade case. When he confirmed that it was the real deal, he asked in confusion, ¡°Are you not worried that I will go back on our deal and not take you into that world?¡±

    The Time Scribe smiled. ¡°I believe that your respected self is definitely not the type to go back on his word. Furthermore, I have already received your honor¡¯s vocal promise, so we have already made an agreement. I do not need to fear any backing out of this deal.¡±

    ¡°An agreement?¡± Zu An became a bit vignt. Could it be that this was another one of the tTime Scribes¡¯ sinister skills?

    ¡°Your distinguished self needs not feel nervous. We Time Scribes are actually very specia; you cannot understand us in the same way as humans or other living creatures. We are beings who attach ourselves to the strong, whose destinies flourish. As long as these strong beings exist, we will also exist.¡± The Time Scribe chuckled. ¡°Based on our earlier interaction, as well as the promise that I received, I have already established enough of a bond. That is why even if you go back on the deal and enter that world alone, I will still be able to follow you on my own.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Does that mean that from now on, you will always continue to exist at my side?¡±

 Chapter 2389: The World Thousands of Years Ago

    <h4>Chapter 2389: The World Thousands of Years Ago</h4>

    Was this a joke?! Wasn¡¯t this the same as having a surveince camera that followed him everywhere he went? They''d see everything Zu An did, even when he was passionate with his lovers...

    Strong killing intent suddenly filled Zu An''s eyes when he realized that.

    The Time Scribe panicked a bit when he sensed the look in Zu An''s eyes. He quickly exined, ¡°Your distinguished self, please do not misunderstand! Even though I can hide and record events away from view, after being noticed by a powerful being, they will also sense my presence when I am near. It is not what your respected self is thinking!

    ¡°Really?¡± Zu An¡¯s tone was still a bit dark.

    ¡°Of course it¡¯s true!¡± The Time Scribe realized that he could end up in trouble if he didn¡¯t exin clearly. ¡°We Time Scribes record all kinds of things that happen in the world, but there are many worlds that are very special. For example, they might be extremely closed off and not permit anyone entering, or the world¡¯s source may be special, not permitting any beings of flesh to enter. That is why we Time Scribes had no choice but to change our own morphology.¡± As he spoke, his entire body became intangible. ¡°See? We are not physical entities, and only exist by borrowing some invisible forces of the universe.¡±

    ¡°Invisible force?¡± Zu An was a bit puzzled.

    ¡°Exining this is a bitplicated...¡± The Time Scribe thought to himself for a bit before saying, ¡°If we want to continue existing, we need to fabricate a reasonable and fair character that can participate in this world. However, the issue with this is that someone particrly intelligent could realize that we should not exist. At that point, we would disappear.

    ¡°That is why we usually use an easier method, which is to take the ce of someone who used to exist. That way, our existence bes more harmonious with the world, just like when I impersonated the first miss¡¯ subordinate.¡±

    Smay¡¯s teeth ached as she listened.

    <i>Screw you!</i>

    Zu An thought to himself, <i>No wonder his impersonation was so good and no one noticed anything strange.</i>

    But he suddenly realized something. ¡°Doesn¡¯t that mean you can rece whomever you want to?¡±

    <i>What if he ends up recing me or one of the women? No one would be able to tell at all.</i>

    He felt a chill when he realized that.

    ¡°It is naturally not that easy,¡± the Time Scribe said with a bitter smile. ¡°As Time Scribes, our mission mandates us to impact world lines as little as possible, so that is why we cannot rece those with powerful destinies. Otherwise, the destinies would rebound and devour us instead, leading to our deaths.

    ¡°That is why we can only rece some ordinary individuals. Of course, it would be best if they were ordinary people close to important figures, as that would make it easier for us to aplish our goals.¡±

    In a certain world, the soul of Smay¡¯s subordinate who had been mysteriously reced thought, <i>I have some damn things to say about that!</i>

    When he heard that, Zu An felt at ease. He wanted to ask the Time Scribe for more of their secrets, but no matter how he asked, the other party didn¡¯t give any more meaningful information. He onlyughed insincerely in response, so Zu An could only let the matter rest at that.

    He assigned some people from the Demon race to bring the others somewhere they could rest. At the same time, he ordered the Demon cultivators to monitor the monsters and the Time Scribe.

    Smay and Mojard were both seriously injured, and the True Demon elders had also been tormented badly by the Lifedeath Pill, so the Demon experts were already strong enough to oversee them.

    As for the Time Scribe, he was too mysterious. Zu An didn¡¯t have any high hopes that the Demon cultivator would be able to keep him in check.

    ...

    Then, he arranged for Suolun Shi and Yun Yuqing to make an appearance. They summoned the women with the most outstanding talent among the Demon race and gathered their blood essence.

    The blood sacrifice required a tremendous amount of blood essence power, which was why in the past, several saintesses with exceptional aptitude had needed to be sacrificed. However, if the number of participants wasrge enough and every woman only offered a bit of blood essence, the losses wouldn¡¯t be too great.

    Of course, that would lead to the blood being impure, but that wasn¡¯t a problem for Zu An. Even Ji Xiaoxi had several ways of harmonizing bloodline power.

    At first, Zu An offered some generous rewards in return, since even just a few drops of blood essence would lead to a great injury that would need several months to heal from. But when they heard that they could help the regent, the Demon race¡¯s women were all eager to offer themselves up. They were even worried that they couldn''t offer enough blood essence, and only hoped to be able to see the regent once from afar.

    Their crazy and fanatical attitude made Suolun Shi and Yun Yuqing feel a powerful sense of danger. As such, they defended and counterattacked simultaneously, thus finally dispelling their fears of ¡®overstepping of boundaries¡¯.

    Zu An gathered the women and discussed what they were going to do from then on. At the same time, he made all sorts of arrangements ahead of time.

    ...

    By the next morning, they had gathered the blood essence of the Demon race women. Zu An¡¯s party arrived in front of the Priest Temple.

    When she saw Zu An recreate her blood sacrifice formation without any mistakes, Smay couldn''t help but feel admiration.

    <i>This man really is a talent and knows everything. Unfortunately, I have no chance left to obtain him.</i>

    <i>Ahhhh!</i>

    She felt as if she was going to go mad from regret when she realized that.

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Mojard, who had followed by her side all this time, could guess her thoughts. He patted her shoulder in constion tofort her, but he actually felt a mysterious bit of joy inside.

    <i>The first miss will eventually realize that even if everyone else betrays and leaves her, I will always remain at her side.</i>

    Zu An didn¡¯t pay their ns any attention, as he was focused on extracting the power of the blood essence.

    The Demon women''s blood essence was stored in a small jade bottle. Zu An activated the formation, and streaks of blood-red light floated out from the jade bottle and appeared above them all to form a special diagram. The Nature Jade case at the very center seemed to have sensed something and began to vibrate with noise. The blood-red diagram in the air then cast itself onto the Nature Jade case, which slowly floated into the air. Rings of golden light appeared around it. Then, that golden light was released into the air one ring after another.

    Everyone present was powerful in their own right. They quickly noticed that the space around them was starting to grow restless.

    A whileter, a burst of mist emanated from where the golden light had disappeared. Clouds of mist surged continuously.

    The Time Scribe said happily, ¡°The entrance to that world has been opened!¡±

    Zu An sensed a familiar, yet unfamiliar feeling from behind the mist. Was that the Cultivation World from thousands of years ago?

    He noticed that the mist wasn¡¯t too stable, however. He said gravely, ¡°This passage can''t be maintained for too long and will disappear quickly. Everyone, get ready.¡± Then, he looked at the Time Scribe and said, ¡°I¡¯ll have to trouble your respected self to lead the way.¡±

    The Time Scribe knew that Zu An still didn¡¯t trust himpletely, but didn¡¯t seem to mind. With a chuckle, he was the first to jump into the mist.

    When he sensed that there was nothing strange about the entrance, Zu An waved his sleeve, and a gentle force wrapped around everyone present. After that, he entered the portal with the precious case in hand.

    Everyone felt the world around them blur. Once the mist cleared, they discovered that they were in a brand new world. Around them were trees that towered hundreds of meters into the air. Strange cries and roars came periodically from the distance. Massive birds that blotted out the sun flew across the horizon.

    When she sensed the rich natural ki around her, Pei Mianman couldn''t help but be shocked. ¡°Is this really our world from thousands of years ago?¡±

    It was no wonder that she was amazed. The ki here was many times richer than their modern world. It was far richer than the present Cultivation World''s, even after the Underworld was merged with it.

 Chapter 2390: Divine Lightning Core Formation

    <h4>Chapter 2390: Divine Lightning Core Formation</h4>

    Jiang Luofu looked around and said, ¡°Myte teacher told me some things about the ancient era. Even though there weren¡¯t many records left behind, we were able to deduce that the people of the ancient era were much stronger than those of the present day. Now, it seems that was indeed the case.¡±

    Smay was also a bit surprised. At first, she''d felt that the Cultivation World was too weak. Even though Zu An was really strong, the other creatures were vastly inferior to the powerful beings of the Monster World. That was why she''d found it a bit difficult to understand why her father ended up in such terrible condition after attacking such a weak world. Now, it seemed unsurprising that her father had fought for so many years and needed so many troops. This world had indeed been powerful enough in the past.

    Mojard looked around and became a bit excited as well. ¡°This is indeed the Cultivation World of the past. I followed thete lord and attacked this ce. There is no mistake at all.¡±

    Zu An finally remembered that Mojard was also an elder. He was about to ask for more information when the Time Scribe suddenly said, ¡°Respected regent, this one has something to take care of and will bid you goodbye for now. I hope we are destined to meet again in the future.¡±

    Zu An was stunned, asking, ¡°Where are you going?¡±

    The Time Scribe smiled and replied, ¡°To record the most important leading role of this world, of course.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. However, he understood what the Time Scribe was saying. Even though he was effectively the main character in the present day, he wasn¡¯t nearly that important in this world. The Time Scribe definitely wanted to record this world¡¯s most influential figures instead.

    When Zu An took a bit of time to think about who the main characters really were, he realized that there was naturally no one more important in this world than the Lord of ughter, Monster Lord, and the original leaders of the Cultivation World. Once he realized that, he said, ¡°You¡¯re going to see the Lord of ughter and the Monster Lord. What if you tell them what happens in the future?¡±

    The Lord of ughter and Monster Lord in particr would immediately fight him to the death if they found out what would happen.

    The Time Scribe knew what Zu An was worried about. He bowed and exined, ¡°Your highness needs not worry. We Time Scribes don¡¯t act to change a world¡¯s main timeline. If we did that, we would be devoured by the world instead. Furthermore, due to our special characteristics, those lords won¡¯t sense my presence at all. I will only silently record everything in secret.¡±

    Zu An nodded slightly. Judging from their earlier conversation, he already understood that this was how the Time Scribes did things. As for the instance where this Time Scribe had tried to frame ¡®Donaire¡¯, he hadn¡¯t known Donaire¡¯s real identity. The Scribe had even ended up suffering some rebound because of it, or else someone as mysterious as him wouldn¡¯t have been discovered by so many people.

    Smay then quickly said, ¡°Bring me with you!¡±

    This world was sorge. How could finding her father be that easy? And judging from the Time Scribe¡¯s tone, he could clearly sense her father.

    But the Time Scribe refused on the spot. ¡°The first miss should have already heard what I just said. If I brought you to the Lord of ughter, wouldn¡¯t that be influencing the world¡¯s main timeline? Furthermore, I am not a living being, so there is no way for you to follow me either.¡±

    His entire body gradually grew faint, and then he vanished in the wind.

    Smay gritted her teeth out of anger.

    <i>This Time Scribe is also a scoundrel. He made it sound so good, but in the end, wasn¡¯t it all because he didn¡¯t want to offend Zu An?</i>

    Just then, she suddenly sensed the world above darken. She looked up and saw that Zu An was actually already in front of her. He said, ¡°I''ve already brought you into this world as per our agreement. It''s time for you to tell me how to treat the Cruel Poison Constitution.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Smay harrumphed. ¡°How can I be sure that you¡¯ll let me go?¡±

    ¡°I already agreed to let you go, so it will happen. Don''t challenge my patience.¡± Zu An stared coldly at her.

    Smay¡¯s entire body shivered. She couldn''t help but remember that terrifying world he''d brought her to not too long ago.

    Just then, Mojard also advised her, ¡°First miss, the regent is the lord of a world and isn''t likely go back on his promise. You should just tell him.¡±

    Smay took the chance to change her attitude a bit. She released a light snort and said, ¡°Then I guess I¡¯ll just tell you.¡±

    ¡°Even though I don¡¯t know how to treat the Cruel Poison Constitution...¡± she began, but when she saw his eyebrows raise, she quickly added, ¡°I know the treatment method for a simr kind of constitution. I believe the methods are connected.¡±

    She didn¡¯t dare to keep him in suspense and quickly said, ¡°Some immortal cultivation worlds¡¯ cultivators condense a neidan, or inner core. With her special constitution, she could very well make use of their immortal cultivation method to condense a pill. During that process, all of the poison within her can be gathered inside that core. If such an inner core is formed, not only will it retain the various powerful abilities of this constitution, the user won¡¯t be affected by the disadvantages of it either.¡±

    Zu An was surprised. With his current knowledge, he could deduce that this was indeed a possibility.

    Smay observed his expression while continuing, ¡°But if you want to form a poison inner core, you need some secret manuals of the immortal cultivation world, as well as the assistance of all kinds of rare materials. Those include Defying Spirit Tears, a Brilliant Pinflower, and an Aurora Poison Dragon¡¯s crystal core. I know that this world¡¯sst Aurora Poison Dragon existed in this age, while the Brilliant Pinflower also appeared in this world before. That was why I said I was going to tell you after you arrived in this world.¡±

    ¡°Aurora Poison Dragon?¡± Zu An frowned slightly. He had never heard of the Brilliant Pinflower before, but he seemed to have heard Shang Hongyu mention the Aurora Poison Dragon when he was impersonating the Dragon King back at the Dragon Pce. It was just that he hadn¡¯t paid too much attention to that back then and hadn¡¯t asked more about it. It seemed Smay wasn¡¯t just saying random things to confuse him.

    He asked, ¡°Then what about the Defying Spirit Tears? Where can I find those?¡±

    ¡°I have only heard that treasure¡¯s name. As for what it looks like or its use, I do not know,¡± Smay said. ¡°But you can seek out the Universe Merchants. They should be able to find it.¡±

    ¡°Universe Merchants?¡± Zu An repeated, feeling a bit stunned.

    ¡°They are merchants who travel across the various realms,¡± Smay exined. ¡°As long as you pay the appropriate price, you can purchase anything that can be bought. Their most important trait is, of course, that they are extremely greedy. Comparatively speaking, they aren¡¯t as mysterious as the Time Scribes and don''t hide their traces. Normally, the worlds are rather weing of these Universe Merchants, since they can bring certain special goods.¡±

    Zu An was a bit surprised. If the Universe Merchants were really that well-traveled, then forget about the Defying Spirit Tears, even the materials needed for reconstructing Mi Li¡¯s body could also be purchasable. He couldn''t help but be a bit excited. He asked, ¡°Then why has our world never heard of these Universe Merchants before?¡±

    ¡°I believe it could be because your world is too weak, so the Universe Merchants felt that there was no benefit for them to invest here,¡± Mojard exined. When he saw the others'' faces darken, he added, ¡°Of course, it might also be because your world is too mysterious and the coordinates haven¡¯t been identified by other worlds yet. As a result, the Universe Merchants would never have had the opportunity toe here.

    ¡°For example, our Monster World had Universe Merchants visit when we were at our strongest, but after the Annihtion Beast¡¯s invasion, none of them came to visit anymore.¡±

    Zu An thought about the situation. It seemed likely to be abination of these two reasons. He would interact with more powerful worlds in the future, however, so he''d likely have a chance of encountering the Universe Merchants.

    Just then, Smay continued, ¡°Due to the innate Cruel Poison Constitution¡¯s power, changing such a constitution into an inner core would be a heaven-defying feat. As such, apart from needing the assistance of those materials, one must experience the tempering of three kinds of special divine lightning. Ordinary cultivators would easily perish while facing heavenly tribtion, while the power of special divine lightning far exceeds that of normal divine lightning. So, you need to properly adjust your expectations.¡±

    Zu An knew what she meant. Ordinary heavenly tribtion was already dangerous enough, but Ji Xiaoxi had to endure a baptism of divine lightning even more powerful, and three times at that. This was almost an impossible situation.

    Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s face turned deathly pale. However, she quickly raised her own spirits and said to Zu An, ¡°Big brother Zu, don¡¯t worry about me! You¡¯ve already helped me control that constitution, so it might not act up again for the rest of my life.¡±

 Chapter 2391: Saintess

    When he saw her pure expression, Zu An knew Ji Xiaoxi was only saying that because she didn¡¯t want him to worry too much. He couldn''t help but feel a bit broken-hearted inside. He held her hands tightly and said, ¡°Xiaoxi, don¡¯t worry. I''ll definitely help you find the things needed to treat your special constitution.¡±

    Jiang Luofu also squatted down and said softly, ¡°Xiaoxi, everyone will help you. You absolutely cannot give up hope.¡±

    Ji Xiaoxi voiced her agreement. She didn¡¯t really care what the results were like, but if her big brother Zu continued to hold her hand like this, no matter how many scary things she ended up encountering, they still wouldn¡¯t be scary anymore.

    Smay felt really awful inside when she saw that even though Ji Xiaoxi had such a detestable poison body, she was still surrounded by people. She couldn''t help but say out of spite, ¡°You¡¯ve alreadye into contact with so many poisons in the underground city and made a powerful poison that could even poison the Monster Lord, so the innate Cruel Poison Constitution has already been awakened. Even if I hadn''t done anything, your condition would¡¯ve quickly awakened as well. And yet you still want to live a lifetime without anything happening?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression grew cold. ¡°Shut up. Are you courting death right now?¡±

    Smay craned her neck, undeterred, and said, ¡°I¡¯m just speaking the truth. And you¡¯ve already agreed to let us go. Is an outstanding figure like yourself really going to go back on your word?¡±

    Zu An took a deep breath and calmed himself down. He ignored her and turned to Mojard instead, saying, ¡°I¡¯m going to ask you a few questions. Once you answer them, I¡¯ll let you leave.¡±

    Mojard bowed. ¡°Thank you. Please ask away, your distinguished self.¡±

    ¡°You apanied the Lord of ughter in invading this world. What was the situation like back then? Tell me roughly what happened.¡± Zu An needed to know more information rted to this world.Mojard couldn''t help but sigh in relief when he heard that it was this kind of question. He answered, ¡°In the past, when thete lord discovered this world, he didn¡¯t expect it to be so strong. That was why he only sent a single general and some troops, which resulted in severe casualties. The Fiend Emperor of this world in particr was exceptionally strong and killed many of our elites.¡±

    ¡°The Fiend Emperor?¡± Zu An was surprised.

    ¡°That;s right. This world seemed to have many different races, but the Fiend races upied a position of absolute power. The other races all bowed before the Fiend Emperor¡­¡± Mojard exined.

    Many people¡¯s expressions became a bit strange. They had already gotten used to the human race holding the superior position, and hadn¡¯t expected this age to be the exact opposite.

    Jiang Luofu began to think to herself. She read extensively, so she knew that the Fiend races had once been the most powerful faction. Butter, they had suddenly weakened, which thus allowed the human race to flourish and eventually overtake the Fiend races. After many bloody battles, thetter were ultimately forced into the extreme north¡¯s bitter and coldnds.

    Countless schrs had tried to research the reason for the Fiend races¡¯ sudden decline and there had been all kinds of theories, but no conclusive agreement could be reached. It now seemed that the reason could be rted to the monsters'' great invasion.

    Mojard continued, ¡°Still, just how powerful was our Monster World? We had already conquered countless powerful worlds. When we learned that the front lines had suffered defeat, thete lord decided to participate himself. He also brought me, the Monster Lord, and many other powerful individuals to invade together. With that, this world¡¯s resistance army could no longer hold on and were forced back step by step.¡±

    ¡°Wait.¡± Zu An suddenly looked at Mojard. ¡°From what I know, your position used to be very high. You were someone of equal reputation to the Monster Lord. Your cultivation is high, but it doesn¡¯t seem to be as powerful as it should be...¡±

    Even though the Monster Lord had been able to utilize more resources as the ruler of the Monster World, with Mojard¡¯s current cultivation, it really was hard to imagine that he could act as the Lord of ughter¡¯s right hand man.

    When he heard that, Mojard¡¯s expression grew a bit dispirited. ¡°That¡¯s because I previously experienced a serious injury that damaged my foundation. From then on, my cultivation never improved, and regressed instead. If it weren¡¯t for that, the first miss wouldn¡¯t have had to suffer so many years of bitterness.¡±

    Smay said reassuringly, ¡°Uncle Mo, you¡¯ve already helped me a lot. There¡¯s no need to me yourself.¡±

    Mojard was a bit shaken when he heard that. It almost seemed as if all of the suffering he''d experienced over the years was worth it.

    ¡°Serious injury?¡± Zu An suddenly thought of a possibility. ¡°Was it during this age that you were injured?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Mojard¡¯s expression suddenly became a bit nk. ¡°It was indeed in this invasion of the Cultivation World that I was injured. But what''s strange is that I don¡¯t even remember how I was injured back then.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t remember?¡± Zu An¡¯s brows furrowed tightly. Why did it sound so strange?

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I was really confused about that, so over the years, I tried many methods. Later, a divine physician told me that my brain was likely injured, which caused some memory loss. Furthermore, I had to protect the first miss to escape from the Monster Lord¡¯s clutches, so I gradually became less concerned with this question.¡± As he spoke, Mojard¡¯s expression became a bit forlorn. To fall to his current state from being someone on par with the Monster Lord¡­ It would be a lie if he said that he didn¡¯t care at all. But after thousands of years, it had already bepletely meaningless even if he learned how he was injured.

    When Zu An heard that response, he continued, ¡°And what happened after that battle?¡±

    ¡°What else could¡¯ve happened?¡± Mojard¡¯s tone carried a bit of pride. ¡°Thete lord set out personally and the Monster World¡¯s most powerful individuals participated as well. How could the resistance of this world possibly withstand it?

    ¡°The Fiend Emperor was killed, and subsequently the Fiend races¡¯ army also crumbled. This world¡¯s defeat was already decided,¡± Mojard exined, but then quickly changed the topic. ¡°But we might¡¯ve celebrated too soon. After seeing the main forces of this world copse, thete lord concluded that the oue was already set, so he no longer participated himself. Instead, he went to the Fiend races'' Imperial Tomb to research something and didn¡¯t show himself much again¡­¡±

    When he heard that, Zu An couldn''t help but be surprised. ¡°Fiend races'' Imperial Tomb?¡±

    ¡°Right. That ce is where the tombs of sessive generations of Fiend Emperors were buried. Even though the Imperial Tomb was extremely sacred, we didn¡¯t really think it would contain anything that amazing. If anything, we¡¯d just dig up all of the treasures and be done with it. However, thete lord was extremely excited when he entered the Imperial Tomb. I''d never seen him so excited before.¡± Mojard¡¯s tone carried a hint of confusion. ¡°Later, he locked himself in that tomb and forbade anyone from approaching and disturbing him.¡±

    Zu An remembered that it was precisely in the Fiend races'' Imperial Tomb where he''d entered the Xia Dynasty secret dungeon. Could that have been the secret that the Lord of ughter was searching for?

    Mojard continued, ¡°Thete lord remained inside the tomb and didn¡¯te out. He left the remaining clean-up entirely to the Monster Lord. If not for that, his strength wouldn¡¯t have grown so quickly, and his rebellion wouldn¡¯t have seeded.¡±

    Zu An was surprised. ¡°If I recall correctly, the Lord of ughter seems to have been suppressed by this world¡¯s most powerful beings through a special formation. Why is this connected to the Monster Lord¡¯s rebellion?¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Mojard said with a sneer, ¡°How powerful was thete lord? The forces of this world that could put up a resistance had alreadypletely copsed. If not for the Monster Lord''s help, how could the natives who were already struggling at death''s door have the ability to seal thete lord?

    ¡°The most hateful thing is that I only realized what was happening after he continued to remove thete lord¡¯s trusted aides one after another. That was when I saw through the Monster Lord¡¯s schemes. However, his wings had already fully spread and he no longer had to pretend anymore. He even publicly sent his subordinates to kill the first miss. We began to contact thete lord¡¯s former subordinates so they could resist him underground.¡±

    Once he reached that point, his enthusiasm couldn''t help but wane. At first, there had been quite a few of thete lord¡¯s subordinates. with many of them remaining loyal. But after the Monster Lord¡¯s attacks, they either died, gave up, or betrayed them. After the recent events, he was now the only one who remained at the first miss¡¯ side. A thousand years of persistence had ultimately amounted to nothing. He was even left in a bit of a daze, as all those years of hard work werepletely meaningless. Now, he only wanted to find a ce to live with the first miss in seclusion. That seemed like the happiest end they could achieve.

    Zu An thought for a bit before askingng, ¡°Once the Fiend Emperor died, who led the resistance of this world?¡±

    ¡°It was a great Yin Yang Master called Imperial Gate Bei Qing.¡± Mojard spoke casually, but it stirred great waves in Zu An¡¯s mind.

 Chapter 2392: Youâ€™re Shameless!

    ¡°Imperial Gate Bei Qing!¡± A beautiful woman dressed in unique clothes appeared in Zu An¡¯s mind. He had seen a projection of Bei Qing, and she had even spoken some cryptic words to him. Zu An had been left with the impression that she recognized him, but because of thews of spacetime, she couldn''t tell him the truth. Could it be that they''d only met each other after he came to this ancient period?

    Mojard couldn''t help but say with a sigh, ¡°That Imperial Gate Bei Qing was quite the incredible woman. Following the Fiend Emperor¡¯s death, this world¡¯s resistance had already been utterly defeated, and yet this Imperial Gate Bei Qing suddenly came out of nowhere and miraculously gathered the defeated troops to gradually regain their footing. The Monster Lord¡¯s army even suffered several defeats as a result. It seems everyone in this world calls her a saintess!¡±

    Pei Mianman couldn''t help but grow fascinated. ¡°Someone like that really seems as if they descended from the heavens. She really deserves her reputation of saintess!¡±

    Jiang Luofu also said, ¡°I recall that there were some books from ancient times that mentioned this Imperial Gate Bei Qing in the past, and even myte teacher admired her a lot. However, there were only a few isted phrases in the records that mentioned her, making it quite difficult to understand what kind of person she really was.¡±

    Suolun Shi also said, ¡°I¡¯ve heard stories of Imperial Gate Bei Qing that were passed down in my n. She was a heroine for everyone in the Fiend races, and many women from our side use her as their role model. But the Fiend races only im that she led the great races to defeat the foreign monsters. As for what happened after the monsters were forced back, there is no information at all. It¡¯s almost as if she disappeared from theter history of this world altogether.¡±

    Smay said with a sneer, ¡°That woman might¡¯ve already been killed by my father, so of course there would be no history left to tell.¡± She felt really awful when they kept praising an enemy of the Monster World.

    The women rolled their eyes. They just treated it as Smay being catty and didn¡¯t feel like paying her much attention at all.

    Zu An asked Mojard, ¡°Then do you know where Imperial Gate Bei Qing is right now? As well as the Monster Lord and his army''s current movements?¡±

    Mojard shook his head slightly. ¡°Imperial Gate Bei Qing is the leader of the resistance army, so her whereabouts are extremely mysterious. If I had known where she was, the monster army would¡¯ve eliminated her a long time ago. However, I should have a rough understanding of the Monster Lord and his army¡¯s position.¡±As he spoke, he drew a simple and crude map on the ground that approximated the Monster Lord and his army¡¯s location. Zu An asked a few more questions, and Mojard answered them all one after another.

    Even Smay was starting to get annoyed. ¡°Are you done yet? Uncle Mo already replied to so many of your questions. You should let us go already, just as we agreed.¡±

    Even Mojard was getting a bit nervous. The reason why he was sharing everything he knew was because he was worried that Zu An could go back on his word.

    Zu An nodded. ¡°Alright, you two can go now.¡±

    Smay sighed in relief. She gave Pei Mianman and the others a look, then turned around confidently to walk into the distance with a harrumph. However, she was sneering inside.

    <em>This Zu An might be strong, but isn¡¯t he a bit too naive? He actually really let me leave.</em>

    <em>Once I find my daddy, I¡¯ll definitely make him kill Zu An! This world¡¯s source power is abundant, and father¡¯s strength hasn¡¯t been reduced at all. There¡¯s no way he would lose as miserably as the Monster Lord.</em>

    <em>¡­Wait, this kid does have some looks. Let¡¯s have daddy cripple his cultivation first, and then he¡¯ll be bestowed upon me as a ve. I¡¯ll let him experience the taste of how he bullied me a hundred times over.</em>

    And those lowly women! They relied on their looks to gain Zu An¡¯s favor so they could do whatever they wanted. I¡¯ll throw them into the barracks for the soldiers to toy with them for a few days. They¡¯ll learn what the result of offending this first miss is then!

    When she thought about how those women would be weeping bitter tears, she couldn''t help but grin. Just then, however, her vision blurred and Zu An instantly reappeared in front of her and Mojard.

    Smay¡¯s expression changed. ¡°What, are you going to go back on your word? With your status, breaking an oath will cause you to be devoured by the heavenly dao rebound!¡±

    ¡°I already fulfilled my promise to let you two go, but now I¡¯ve recaptured the two of you. Whose fault was it for not escaping far enough?¡± Zu An replied, looking at her with a big smile.

    Smay and Mojard were speechless.

    When they finally reacted to what was going on, the two monsters almost vomited blood. ¡°Bastard Zu, you¡¯re shameless!¡±

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Smay for +745 +745 +745¡­</strong>

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Mojard for +745 +745 +745¡­</strong>

    Zu An was unfazed. ¡°When dealing with shameless people, using unorthodox methods is unavoidable.¡±

    As he spoke, he sealed up the two monsters¡¯ acupoints. They fell to the ground with unwillingness in their wide-open eyes.

    The women surrounded them. Pei Mianman couldn''t help but smile. ¡°I was worried that you would really let the tiger return to the mountains out of pity for the fact that she was a woman.¡±

    Zu An retorted impatiently, ¡°Am I the type to not understand the gravity the of situation?¡±

    In this age where the monster army actually had the absolute advantage, if he let Smay and Mojard return to the Lord of ughter¡¯s side, it really would have caused no end of trouble. He couldn''t afford that much risk.

    ¡°We know that you¡¯re naturally clear-headed when ites to men, but toward pretty women¡­¡± Pei Mianman didn¡¯t finish her sentence, but the meaning was already very clear.

    The other women all nodded. They clearly agreed with her.

    Zu An was speechless. He coughed lightly and turned to the True Demon elders.

    The elders were so scared that they took a few steps back. This regent wasn¡¯t only profoundly strong, he was also cunning and shameless. Just who were the real monsters here?

    ¡°You guys should just stay here for now,¡± Zu An said. He didn¡¯t know where to put them for the time being either. The Time Scribe said that they shared fate with this world, so they could really end up being helpful.

    When they heard that he wasn¡¯t going to kill them, the True Demon elders actually felt a bit of gratitude. At the very least, they hadn¡¯t ended up in a situation as bad as Smay''s.

    Zu An then turned to the women and said, ¡°I need to go on a trip to the Ocean races'' territory to see if I can get any information about the Aurora Poison Dragon.¡±

    He''d actually discovered that he had lost connection with the World Law Beacon as soon as he arrived in this world. This was within his expectations too. After all, he had thew beacon of thetter world, and not the one from this age. This era¡¯s Cultivation World was countless times more powerful than his era, so there was no way for him to rely on that weakw beacon to control this world. But he hadn¡¯t revealed anything because he was worried that the Time Scribe, as well as Smay¡¯s group, would be tempted to go against him because of it.

    This was the perfect time to go on a trip to the Ocean races'' territory. Not only could he find the Aurora Poison Dragon, he could also see if thew beacon was still there.

    Jiang Luofu also said, ¡°Then we¡¯ll move separately. I¡¯ll start searching for the Brilliant Pinflower and see if I can get my hands on it.¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Zu An was a bit worried at first, but he remembered what they''d said about how they weren¡¯t subservient to anyone. They were the world¡¯s most outstanding women to begin with, and didn¡¯t need to hide under his wings. Thus, he replied, ¡°That¡¯s fine too. This will save us a bit more time.¡±

    Yun Yuqing said, ¡°I will go with Luofu. We can take care of each other.¡±

    Jiang Luofu was a bit moved, saying, ¡°Thanks.¡± She naturally needed Ji Xiaoxi and her medicine skill if she wanted to find the Brilliant Pinflower, but she''d been worried that she wouldn¡¯t be able to take care of Xiaoxi well by herself. Now that she had Yun Yuqing¡¯s help, she felt much more relieved.

    Yun Yuqingughed. ¡°Is there a need to be so polite between us?¡± Even though she really wanted to be with Zu An, her rtionship with Jiang Luofu was the best. She naturally couldn''t let thetter go alone.

    Pei Mianman thought for a bit and said, ¡°Then I¡¯ll try to find a way to find out the whereabouts of the resistance army, and it will be even better if I can find out where Imperial Gate Bei Qing is.¡± She really wanted to go with Zu An too, but if even the other women were handling important matters, how could she just spend her time flirting?

    Suolun Shi thought for a bit and said, ¡°Then I¡¯ll stay behind and watch over these monsters.¡±

    They couldn''t just leave the monsters with no one watching them. Someone had to do that. In the end, she was probably the one most suitable for this role.

    Zu An hadn¡¯t expected the women to divide up the roles so quickly and efficiently. He couldn''t help but sigh in amazement. They really were the world¡¯s most outstanding women after all.

 Chapter 2393: Murmurings of Evil

    <h4>Chapter 2393: Murmurings of Evil</h4>

    Zu An thought for a bit before saying to Pei Mianman, ¡°Yumen Beiqing seems to share some kind of rtionship with me. If you find her and tell her who you are, we might end up gaining another ally.¡±

    Pei Mianman was stunned. ¡°You even have a lover in this era?¡±

    When they heard that, all of the women turned to look at him.

    Zu An wiped the sweat from his forehead. ¡°What in the world are you thinking? I only saw an image she left behind in the sealednd in the past. She seemed to have recognized me. Since she could think of a way to subdue the Lord of ughter, she''s clearly a friend, and not an enemy.¡±

    ¡°Recognized you?¡± Pei Mianman was a bit skeptical, but she seemed to have heard him mention that before, so she couldn''t keep pushing him. She said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I''ll definitely find a way to contact her. That way, you can talk to her as soon as you return from the Ocean races'' territory.¡±

    Zu An looked at Jiang Luofu and the others. ¡°Please be careful and don''t push yourselves. The Brilliant Pinflower is an extremely rare nt, so it¡¯s fine if we don¡¯t find it immediately. What¡¯s most important is your own safety. You absolutely can''t let monsters take advantage of you...¡±

    ¡°Stop worrying already. We aren¡¯t little children,¡± Jiang Luofu couldn''t help but say with a smile. It wasn¡¯t often that she got to see Zu An flustered. She couldn''t help but feel warm when she sensed his strong concern. However, when she saw Pei Mianman and Yun Yuqing¡¯s suspicious looks, she immediately recovered her usual coldness. ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll leave first.¡±

    ¡°Wait!¡± Zu An thought to himself for a bit, and then gave each of the women a huge pile of talismans he''d made with Xie Daoyun and other defensive treasures. ¡°Keep these things on you to protect yourselves.¡± He was now the lord of the world, the one who held authority over the humans, fiends, and Ocean races. He had even cleaned out the underground city¡¯s warehouse, so he didn¡¯tck magic artifacts at all.

    Jiang Luofu and the others didn¡¯t refuse him. It would indeed be much safer with these things to protect them.

    Pei Mianman hugged Zu An before she left. The pressure from her incredible ''talents'' gave Zu An a strange sense of peace. However, the two of them didn¡¯t say that much to each other. With their current rtionship, their hearts were already connected. There was no need for anyplicated speech at all.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An found a secluded cave nearby and quickly turned it into a cave dwelling to imprison Smay and the other monsters. He then handed the formation disk to Suolun Shi and taught her how to control the formation while saying, ¡°I¡¯ve alreadyid down a concealment formation around this cave. I believe that even if the Lord of ughter came personally, he wouldn¡¯t be able to notice anything. I¡¯ll have to trouble you to watch over this ce for the meantime, though.¡±

    Suolun Shi said, ¡°Big brother Zu, you and the other big sisters are taking on such dangerous missions, so what¡¯s so hard about remaining here? Don¡¯t worry, big brother Zu. I''ll definitely watch over them and wait for your return.¡±

    Zu An said with a smile, ¡°Don¡¯t look down on this mission of yours now. These monsters are extremely important and might be of vital use in the future. They''re also quite cunning, so you can''t be careless at all.¡±

    Suolun Shi said with a pursed smile, ¡°Big brother Zu, you¡¯ve already applied restrictions to them and evenid down a sealing formation. They can''t use their cultivations at all, so it isn¡¯t too difficult for me to watch over them by myself.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± Zu An said, but he also gave her many treasures.

    When he was about to leave, Suolun Shi suddenly called out to him. She asked with a hesitant expression, ¡°Big brother Zu, can I hug you?¡±

    Her little face turned bright red after she said that. She was full of regret, as this request was really too rude. She''d just seen how naturally Pei Mianman had hugged him, so for some reason, she blurted that out too.

    <i>Ahhhhh, it¡¯s so embarrassing! I wonder what big brother Zu is thinking about me right now...</i>

    While Suolun Shi was paralyzed by the thought of experiencing social suicide, Zu An chuckled. Then, he spread his arms and took her in. He could feel her charming body tremble as he said, ¡°Wait for me.¡±

    They had already experienced several worlds, and they were now trapped in this ancient world fragment and weren''t even guaranteed to return. They were not only friends, butrades who had fought through life and death. Thus, when he sensed the rm and confusion in her voice, he naturally had a responsibility to help her with these negative emotions.

    Feeling his warm embrace, Suolun Shi felt her nervousness about staying in this unfamiliar ce alone for a long time dissipate. She nodded and said, ¡°Okay!¡±

    After seeing Zu An off, Suolun Shi continued to stand at the entrance of the cave, reluctantly gazing in the direction he had left in. From the time they''d spent in the Monster World, she had already gathered how close Pei Mianman and Yun Yuqing were with Zu An. Even Jiang Luofu and Ji Xiaoxi shared an indescribable bond with him. She''d always felt like an outsider the entire time...

    She''d always been the center of attention ever since she was little, whether in terms of her appearance or her cultivation talent. But at big brother Zu¡¯s side, she''d only discovered that she wasn¡¯t that special at all. The women around her were all too outstanding in both appearance and skill. They were all the very best. Compared to them, she seemed extremely ordinary.

    She couldn''t help but feel a bit discouraged. Big brother Zu was so incredible, and the women around him were so outstanding too. What did she even have that could contend against them? She''d already told herself to ept reality when she first returned to the Demon race''s territory. She was an extremely intelligent woman and knew that she needed to eliminate these feelings as early as possible so she wouldn¡¯t be hurt even more. Even if she could just be friends with big brother Zu, that would also be fine. Otherwise, if she forced it, perhaps they wouldn''t even be able to remain as friends and everything could end up bing really ugly.

    At first, she''d made her decision to return to the Demon race''s territory, but she''d then learned that Ji Xiaoxi was suffering from the innate Cruel Poison Constitution and needed to find a cure in this buried world. For some strange reason, she''d also followed them here.

    <i>Yeah, this is all to save Xiaoxi...</i>

    That was what she continued to tell herself.

    <i>But big brother Zu¡¯s hug was really warm.</i>

    Just then, a coldugh came from behind her. ¡°Tsk tsk tsk, look at you trying to act like some patient romantic. A pity that bastard Zu can¡¯t see any of this at all.¡±

    Suolun Shi snapped out of her daze. She looked coldly at Smay and snapped, ¡°Shut your mouth unless you want to suffer!¡±

    Even though Smay¡¯s cultivation was sealed and she couldn''t leave the formation, she could still talk without any issues. She said mockingly, ¡°That Zu guy doesn¡¯t like you at all. This is just one-sided lovesickness."

    ¡°I know. You didn¡¯t need to say it.¡± Suolun Shi¡¯s expression remained calm. She didn¡¯t want to pay Smay any attention, but since she had to stay here for a long time, having someone to keep herpany in conversation wasn¡¯t too bad of an idea.

    ¡°Hm? I didn¡¯t expect you to be the type to be infatuated~¡± Smay said while dragging out the sybles, making her words sound more mystifying. ¡°But as ofte, haven''t you felt that you¡¯re no different from a maid in front of those women?¡±

    Suolun Shi¡¯s eyes narrowed. She looked at Smay coldly. ¡°You are a ruthless woman after all. You¡¯ve already fallen to this point, and yet you still haven¡¯t given up on trying to sow dissent between us.¡±

    As soon as she said that, she waved her hand and shut the door of the prison cell. Smay¡¯s maniacalughter emerged faintly from within the room.

    ...

    Meanwhile, Zu An flew in the direction of the Ocean races''s territory ording to his memories, but his expression quickly became a bit grave. He took out the Nature Jade case and saw that its surface had already grown dim. He''d been worried that he would end up worrying the women, so he hadn''t told them about this.

    The Nature Jade te had already became an ordinary piece of jade. It already seemed practically impossible for them to return to their previous era.

 Chapter 2394: The Ocean Racesâ€™ Number One Beauty

    <h4>Chapter 2394: The Ocean Races¡¯ Number One Beauty</h4>

    The women were already extremely nervous aftering to this unknown age and world, and they''d decided toe for the task of resolving Ji Xiaoxi¡¯s innate Cruel Poison Constitution. Zu An knew that if he told them they couldn''t return, they wouldn¡¯t be able to help but feel despair. After all, they were still quite young. Some of them hadn¡¯t experienced many frightening events yet. Receiving too much bad news at once would definitely affect their mental state.

    Of course, Zu An himself understood how important it was to not despair and find a way forward. If he coulde to this age, there had to be a way to go back. All he needed was to spend some time looking for a solution. He returned the Nature Jade case back into the Brilliant ss Bead and continued to fly toward the Ocean races'' territory.

    Along the way, he sensed the abundant world ki. The magnificent mountain ranges gave off a natural feeling of pressure. From time to time, he could even see some mountains reaching beyond the clouds. asionally, he caught a glimpse of some powerful beasts that he had never seen before between the peaks. Zu An once again sighed in amazement at the richness of the ki in this world. Inparison, it was no wonder that the upper limit of their Cultivation World had been the earth immortal rank.

    As the endless ki flowed through his meridians, Zu An could feel that his own cultivation seemed to be rising rapidly as well. He had killed many powerful enemies recently, and not too long ago, he had even killed the powerful Monster Lord as well. Even though the Cultivation World had already started to be merged with the Underworld, it was still in its early stages. There hadn¡¯t been enough time for it to support his rapid cultivation increase yet.

    But this world was different. The endless ki removed all worries in that regard. He could clearly sense that his experience bar that had been stopped at level 79 was rising, and soon, he was at the threshold of Level 80. He was now just a single step away, although he had a feeling that thisst step wouldn¡¯t be so easily taken, and that some special opportunities could be needed.

    He took out a strange sphere that was covered in bumps. It was the Demonic Motherbug Core that he''d received after killing the Demonic Motherbug. It had a special ability to save up power whenever he killed enemies that were stronger than himself. His experiences in the Monster World had allowed him to umte power twelve times so far. But until now, he hadn¡¯t needed to release the umted power yet, not even when he was fighting against the Monster Lord.

    Now that he was in this mysterious and powerful world, however, perhaps the time to use this item would finallye. He returned it to his storage, feeling a bit more confident.

    ...

    Zu An continued to fly east just like that, and quickly arrived at the sea. He discovered that both thend and the sea were muchrger than he remembered. This world was evenrger than what resulted after he merged the Cultivation World with the Underworld.

    Just what had such a powerful world experienced for it to decline to such an extent? Zu An felt a vague sense of unease as he thought of that. Still, he had more important things to worry about.

    He searched the area based on the location of the Dragon Pce he remembered. Even though the world was greatly changed, he could still vaguely gauge its direction. Looking at the distinctive towns scattered across the inds, he couldn''t help but remember his experiences with Shang Hongyu. She really was a beautiful and fiery fish!

    A warm smile appeared on his face as he dove into the sea. He had the water-controlling power of the Crown of the Ocean Deity, so entering the Dragon Pce was naturally not as difficult as before.

    ...

    Meanwhile, inside the Dragon Pce, the powerful Dragon King had just seen off a group of guests with a big smile. Soon after, a subordinate entered and said, ¡°Reporting to the Dragon King, the Mermaid Queen wishes to meet with you.¡±

    The Dragon King was really happy. He quickly sorted out his clothes and picked up a scallop mirror to examine himself, saying, ¡°Quickly invite her in!¡±

    There were many different races in the ocean, but the most powerful of them all was naturally the Dragon race. Meanwhile, the Mermaid race almost never married outside of their own race. The other races didn¡¯t stand a chance when it came to marrying one.

    Furthermore, the Mermaid Queen was publicly acknowledged as the number one beauty from the Mermaid race. No matter which man it was, as long as he saw her just once, he would yearn for that stunning appearance day and night. Even women inevitably ended up falling for her beauty. That was why she had already be an object of desire for all the most powerful beings in the world. Even the insufferably arrogant Fiend Emperor had publicly dered that he was an admirer of hers. Of course, the Ocean races¡¯ most powerful being, the Dragon King, had also pursued her for many years.

    But even though the Mermaid Queen seemed to treat everyone kindly, she had never shown anyone the slightest bit of special favor. Many people had even begun to wonder if she didn¡¯t even like men at all.

    The Dragon King sneered inwardly as he thought of that. The Mermaid Queen was a woman among women, so how could she possibly not like men? It simply had to be that her standards were too high, so no man caught her attention. Fortunately, the Fiend Emperor had already died and he, the Dragon King, was of the Ocean races himself. As the saying went, the pavilion closest to the water enjoys moonlight first. He was probably the only one who could take this beauty home.

    Just then, heavenly music resounded and a stunning beauty slowly walked in. The entire pce seemed almost to be a bit brighter. All the servants looked at the entrance in a daze. Countless words of admiration appeared in their minds, but not a single one of them dared to utter a thing for fear of spheming against the Ocean races¡¯ most beautiful woman.

    The Mermaid Queen wore a long ocean blue dress that perfectly outlined her body. Her hourss figure swayed gently, the curves around her waist seemingly formed from heavenly dao divine runes. Just the slightest movement of her body was enough to be considered the world¡¯s most beautiful scene. She didn¡¯t wear shoes, as there were no shoes that had the right to wrap around her perfect, snow-white feet. A ripple of water appeared with every step she took, forming a lotus-shaped outline.

    It really was just like the famous line of poetry, <i>lotus blossoms with each step!</i>

    Even though this wasn¡¯t the first time he had seen her, the Dragon King was still nervous. This woman really was just too beautiful, without w from top to bottom. The Dragon King''s gaze shifted to her chest. Even though his body was incredibly tough and sturdy, he still seemed to feel a bit of blood rushing to his nose.

    The Mermaid Queen''s blue dress was transformed from her scales, so it fit extremely well, wrapping perfectly around her chest and exposing her stunning corbones and captivatingly deep cleavage. If this outfit were to be worn by an ordinary woman, it would only seem gaudy. But when she wore it, it actually looked pure and holy, as if it represented nature itself.

    Both the Fiend races and the Ocean races dressed more daringly than the humans. However, there was probably no one who couldbine the aesthetics of boldness and elegance as well as the Mermaid Queen.

    ¡°I greet the Dragon King!¡± The Mermaid Queen bowed slightly. This was the Ocean races¡¯ strongest individual, after all, so the proper etiquette was still important.

    There was a charm to her voice that made many of the pce maids practically go limp. They were all full of envy. If their voices sounded like hers, that alone would be enough to make the Dragon Pce¡¯s guards do their bidding.

    ¡°The queen needs not be so overly courteous.¡± The Dragon King quickly moved over to support her up. However, the Mermaid Queen raised her body ahead of time, not allowing him to touch her arm. The Dragon King retracted his hand awkwardly, asking, ¡°I wonder what the queen came here for today?¡±

    ¡°Did the Dragon King really just meet with the monster emissary?¡± The Mermaid Queen stared at him with a scorching gaze.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

 Chapter 2395: Taking Advantage of Her Difficulties

    There were a few sparkling kes around the corners of the Mermaid Queen¡¯s eyes. They were the special scales of the Mermaid race. With the Mermaid Queen¡¯s abilities, she could easilypletely hide them, but she kept them visible. Under the Dragon Pce¡¯s lighting, they were bright and glistening, releasing all sorts of bright colors no matter which angle one looked at her from and making her already perfect eyes seem even more stunning. The scales were like the stars in the sky, surrounding two beautiful, moon-like eyes.

    This beautiful "eye makeup" had eben started a huge fashion trend. It was rumored that the nobledies had also found some gemstones and jade to polish into thin slices to apply to their eyelids. At some point, the trend had even reached the human side. They all felt that it made them a bit prettier, and they received favorable remarks from both men and women.

    But how could these imitationspare to the real deal that was the Mermaid Queen? No man could resist infatuation when they were looked at by such beautiful eyes.

    The Dragon King was also that way. Fortunately, they were both from the Ocean races, so he at least had a bit of resistance. He secretly swallowed his saliva, then quickly said, ¡°That¡¯s right, the monsters sent an emissary to discuss the matter of an alliance.¡±

    ¡°Alliance?¡± The Mermaid Queen frowned slightly. ¡°Dragon King, you doesn¡¯t truly believe them, do you? The monsters have invaded in an attempt to take over our entire world, and it is only because of the Fiend races¡¯ Yumen Beiqing that we became a force to be reckoned with again and forced them to continuously suffer defeats. They are worried that the Ocean races will help the Fiend races, which is why they are using the pretense of an alliance to keep us under control for now. If theypletely defeat the resistance army, they will immediatelye after our Ocean races!¡±

    Her prating gaze and questioning tone left even the Dragon King a bit rmed. He replied, ¡°I already know everything you are saying, but the Fiend Emperor has already died, and even though the resistance army has won a few battles, everyone knows that they are just struggling at death¡¯s door. Their destruction is merely a matter of time.¡±

    The Mermaid Queen¡¯s beautiful brows furrowed even deeper. ¡°I beg to disagree. Yumen Beiqing sent the Peacock Princess to seek an alliance with us. Our Ocean races are still quite powerful, and I heard that she is also trying to contact the Demon race, the human race, and even the forces of other groups. If we work together, we might not be chased out by these foreign monsters.¡±

    Now that they were talking about important matters, the Dragon King gradually recovered his usual dignified appearance. ¡°The Demon race is one thing, but the humans are so weak. What use is there in allying with them? I¡¯ve gathered some intelligent subordinates to analyze the pros and cons. The risks involved in resisting the alien monsters are just too great. After all, the Lord of ughter hasn¡¯t even gotten involved in recent years. If he makes an appearance, no matter how skilled Yumen Beiqing is or how many forces we gather, the only result awaiting us will be death.¡±

    The Mermaid Queen said seriously, ¡°The Lord of ughter has already been missing for many years. I think it isn¡¯t that he doesn¡¯t want to make an appearance, but rather that something has happened to him that prevents him from participating.¡±The Dragon King repeatedly shook his head. ¡°This is rted to the safety of the entire Ocean races. We cannot act based on groundless assumptions.¡±

    ¡°Even if the Lord of ughter truly does get involved, if we gather so many different species together, it¡¯s not entirely out of the question for us to defeat him.¡± When she sensed that the Dragon King already had his biases, a hint of worry crept into the Mermaid Queen''s tone.

    ¡°Even the Fiend Emperor has died.¡± The Dragon King sighed. ¡°How powerful were the Fiend races in the past? The entire world was almost unified, and the Fiend Emperor was number one under heaven. Even though I was his adversary, I had to admit that his strength was a bit higher than my own. Even his unrivaled army was defeated so bitterly, so even if we gathered all of the different species, how could we win against the alien monsters?¡±

    The Mermaid Queen became quiet. She knew that what he was saying was the truth. If the various races really were that strong, how could they have just tolerated the Fiend races¡¯ oppression? Even the Fiend races¡¯ army had been defeated, so the other species had already lost faith.

    The Dragon King continued, ¡°The reason why we granted Yumen Beiqing¡¯s emissary a meeting is because we were worried that the alien monsters would ughter everyone down to thest. But now that we have learned that they are not actually such unreasonable killing machines, there is clearly no meaning left in resistance.¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    He was worried that she would be unhappy, so he quickly added, ¡°When the Fiend races unified the world, even though our Ocean races were strong, we were confined to the sea. The various races in the sea have long grown ustomed to living down here, and no one wishes to live on the surface. Even if we manage to win somehow through the smallest fluke, what do we have to gain from that?

    ¡°In the end, wouldn¡¯t we still need to remain in the sea? If we really participated in the battle, we¡¯d definitely suffer severe casualties, only to not obtain the slightest benefit. We¡¯d only be helping out the races onnd. In that case, wouldn¡¯t it be better to not even participate from the very start?¡±

    The Mermaid Queen said with a grave expression, ¡°But you should know that if they secure their desired oue, those alien monsters will go back on the agreement. It will be toote for regrets then. There will be no forces left to help us, and we will be inevitably defeated and gradually perish. At that time, it won¡¯t just be a matter of having no benefits to gain, but rather a crisis ofplete eradication.¡±

    The Dragon King didn¡¯t agree. ¡°Queen, in my opinion, you are worrying too much. The monster emissary was full of sincerity, and we canter sign a detailed agreement with heavenly dao vows as our guarantee. I do not believe they would easily go back on such an agreement.¡±

    The Mermaid Queen was now panicking. ¡°They aren¡¯t creatures of this world, so would the heavenly vow really affect them? Besides, what if they y some word games? We won¡¯t even have any time to regret then. It¡¯s not as if we haven¡¯t seen such examples before in history.¡±

    When he heard what she said, the Dragon King nodded slightly. ¡°The queen¡¯s words are reasonable.¡±

    The Mermaid Queen couldn''t help but feel happy when she heard his tone ease a bit. ¡°The fact that the Dragon King can think this way is a blessing for the Ocean races.¡±

    When he saw her expression turn to happiness, her unapproachable face now changing like the first melting of snow, the Dragon King became even more certain. He cleared his throat and pretended to be troubled. ¡°Queen, it is unfortunately of no use even if I feel this way. Currently, surrender is the position preferred by the majority of the Ocean races. I cannot willfully go against what most people believe, and force the monsters to fight¡­¡±

    The Mermaid Queen said with a smile, ¡°As long as the Dragon King agrees, everything will be much easier. We can gather the leaders of the different races and discuss the vital interests at stake thoroughly. I believe we will be able to change their minds.¡±

    The Dragon King said with a frown, ¡°The queen should know that I am not the only Dragon King of the oceans. There are also the Dragon Kings of the Western Sea, the Southern Sea, and Northern Sea. If I go against too many races¡¯ wills, they might just find another Dragon King to support. The risks I would be taking are just too great.¡±

    The Mermaid Queen bowed respectfully. ¡°I know that this request is a bit too forced, but I ask the Dragon King to think for the safety and future of the entire Ocean races and take a bit of risk.¡±

    The Dragon King stared at her beautiful features with zing eyes. He walked toward her step by step and said, ¡°In my heart, not even the authority of the entire Ocean races canpare to a smile from this queen. The queen knows how I have felt all this time. If the queen is willing to fulfill my wishes, I will be willing to do anything, even if I need to make the entire world my enemy in return.¡±

 Chapter 2396: Lover In My Dream

    The Mermaid Queen¡¯s expression changed, and she reflexively took a few steps backward to maintain some distance from the Dragon King. Even though he spoke in a slightly ambiguous way, how could she not tell what he was really implying?

    The Dragon King¡¯s meaning was very clear. Taking on the alien monsters as an enemy was a huge risk for him. He needed a reason to take this risk, which would be her. If she married him, only then would he have have enough motivation to face these things.

    She couldn''t help but be a bit angry when she realized these things. ¡°Dragon King, I came here not for personal reasons, but rather for the future of the entire Ocean races. How can you bring up such a thing now?! Isn¡¯t the Dragon King¡¯s behavior a bit too poor in taste?¡±

    The Dragon King¡¯s face darkened. Just then, his trusted aide Tortoise Minister said with a chuckle, ¡°The queen says that it is for the future of the Ocean races, that it is being done for everyone, but have you thought through how much risk and sacrifice our Dragon King needs to face?

    ¡°We are only asking the queen to sacrifice a bit of personal freedom. Furthermore, marrying the Dragon King is what countless women yearn for even in their dreams, so how is that not happiness in itself? The queen only needs to agree to a small thing in order to save the lives of countless creatures, and yet no such agreement has been reached. That could be considered a bit hypocritical, no?¡±

    The Tortoise Minister''s immediate rebuke made the Mermaid Queen¡¯s expression change several times. She knew that he was using sophistry, but she couldn''t really find the words to retort right now.

    Just then, the Dragon King said, ¡°Tortoise Minister, do not speak nonsense. The Mermaid Queen¡¯s beliefs are lofty and her character is noble. How can she be the type of person you are talking about?¡±

    The Tortoise Minister immediately bowed and apologized. ¡°The Dragon King¡¯s rebuke is deserved. This humble minister wascking in manners.¡±

    The Dragon King then said to the Mermaid Queen, ¡°Queen, please do not me him too much. The Tortoise Minister was merely momentarily anxious, and that was why he ended up offending you.¡±The Mermaid Queen calmly watched as these two echoed each other, but she wasughing coldly inside. This Dragon King hadn¡¯t stopped his subordinate all this time, and instead waited until he said everything before finally putting on this act. Did they really believe that she couldn''t tell that this Tortoise Minister was merely voicing the Dragon King¡¯s thoughts? She was incredibly beautiful, with countless men pursuing her. If she weren¡¯t smart, she would¡¯ve probably already been devoured countless times over.

    She didn¡¯t expose them and instead said gently, ¡°I already understand the Dragon King¡¯s difficulties. It¡¯s just that because the things you have said today are too sudden, I haven''t been able to prepare for any of it at all, and need some time to think about how to reply.¡±

    The Dragon King couldn''t help but feel happy. ¡°Please take your time in making your decision, Queen. Take your time!¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    He was smiling from ear to ear. This was the most beautiful woman in the Ocean races, and perhaps even the entire world. She was now about to fall into her arms, so how could he not be happy?

    <em>What Fiend Emperor? He was so insufferably arrogant and powerful, and yet he still perished in the end. The woman he chased so madly still ended up bing mine!</em>

    Heughed coldly inside. He''d tried all kinds of different methods to pamper and coax the Mermaid Queen, and yet he couldn''t soften her heart of stone in the slightest. But this time, the alien monster situation had be his opportunity. This really was the best result. He even wanted to give the alien monster emissary a few kisses.

    ¡­

    When the Mermaid Queen returned to her own residence, she locked herself inside and refused visits from anyone. Many people wondered what had happened recently and if someone had ended up ruining her mood. Many of them were filled with righteous indignation. They wanted to find out who had angered the queen to immediately help her vent her anger.

    When she heard those individuals¡¯ ¡®confessions¡¯ like the spreading of peacock tails, the Mermaid Queen became more and more annoyed. How could she not know that these guys were all lusting after her body? If they knew that the Dragon King was the main culprit, would they still dare to make any noise?

    ¡°Queen, that Dragon King really is too hateful. He is actually using something like this to threaten you!¡± The delicate and pretty maid at her side couldn''t help but curse. This was the Mermaid Queen''s personal maid, so she naturally knew what had happened just now in the pce.

    The Mermaid Queen rubbed her head. ¡°My head is a mess right now. Just what should we do going forward?¡±

    That maid was surprised. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re really going to satisfy that Dragon King?¡±

    The Mermaid Queen shook her head. ¡°The Dragon King just wishes to use this chance to obtain me, and he doesn¡¯t really want to help me. I can tell that he''s still biased in favor of the alien monsters inside.¡±

    ¡°But if even the Dragon King surrenders, who else can your respected self ask for help?¡± the maid asked with an anxious and miserable expression. ¡°Perhaps your respected self shouldn¡¯t worry anymore. The alien monsters might really fulfill their promise.¡±

    The Mermaid Queen¡¯s expression grew serious. ¡°I¡¯ve studied the way the monsters behave. They are cruel, bloodthirsty, cunning, and fickle. They will go back on any agreements with their so-called allies after they get what they want. After the fact, if our Ocean races don''t experience extermination, then it will be very. I definitely cannot give up here.¡±

    ¡°But the Dragon King is already like this. Who else can we even seek?¡± The maid¡¯s brows quickly furrowed. She was already close to the point of despair.

    The queen actually had a lot of friends, but to some extent, most of them lusted after her looks.

    Going against the monsters was definitely no small matter. Those who didn¡¯t have much ability would be unhelpful even if they agreed, while those with ability would often suggest improper things like the Dragon King. This seemed like apletely hopeless situation!

    The Mermaid Queen¡¯s expression remained calm. ¡°When I was little, I frequently had a dream in which I saw a man shining with golden light, but I could never see what he looked like. However, I believe that he will definitely save this world.¡±

    The maid couldn''t help but roll her eyes when she heard this.

    <em>The queen really is beyond saving. The perfect goddess in everyone¡¯s eyes was actually someone who believed so much in her dreams.</em>

    She had already heard about this dream countless times. At first, she had been full of wishful thinking like the queen, but over time she came to the conclusion that this was just a delusion of the queen.

    The queen had refused countless of the world¡¯s best men because of that individual¡¯s existence. She had even rejected this world¡¯s previous number one, the Fiend Emperor. The Dragon King, who was just as formidable, had been refused countless times more. That had made it so that people even started wondering whether the queen actually liked women.

    And as part of the rationalization for that, the queen''s personal maid had be a leading character, since she was one of the ones the queen doted on the most. She''d been a bit disgusted and angry at first, but when she thought about how beautiful the queen was, just the thought of them really being with each other was wonderful.

    But she knew that the queen was a woman among women, and that her heart already belonged somewhere. If the most outstanding men in the world learned that they had lost to a man from a dream, just how many of them would die from anger on the spot?

    ¡°What are youughing at over there?¡± The Mermaid Queen noticed her slight change in expression and felt a bit unhappy.

    The maid quickly frowned. ¡°I didn¡¯tugh, the queen must¡¯ve seen incorrectly.¡±

    ¡°You were clearlyughing. Were youughing at me?¡±

    ¡°I really didn¡¯t. Ah, spare me!¡±

    ¡­

    In another area of the Dragon Pce, the one inside couldn''t bring themself tough at all.

    A white-d guard bowed toward a beautiful youngdy, his expression incredibly serious as he said, ¡°Princess, the Dragon King has already given us the cold shoulder for many days. It seems he has no intention of allying with our Fiend races!¡±

 Chapter 2397: Peacock Princess

    The youngdy in the highest seat wore a brightly colored dress. Such a colorbination would normally seem too gaudy, but it wasn¡¯t a problem on this youngdy at all. Her tall and slender figure brought out the best in the dress, and her exposed shoulders were elegant, lovely, and well-shaped. There was an ivory luster on her skin from the light reflecting off the surrounding pearls that softened theplicated colors of her dress. The long dress likewise also offset the fairness of her skin. A jade feather was stuck between her temples, which made her features look even more refined. In terms of charm, she was actually not much inferior to the Ocean races'' number one beauty, the Mermaid Queen. And since she looked a bit younger, she had even more room for growth.

    The white-d servant only needed one look at her before endless words of praise surged within him. He became even more sure that he had to protect this beautiful princess¡¯ determination.

    If Zu An were here, he would have noticed that she looked very simr to an old friend of his.

    The jade featherdy arrived by the window and looked in the direction of the Dragon Pce. She said coldly, ¡°that Dragon King is crafty and treacherous. He even suggested that I be his concubine, and only then would he consider our alliance.¡±

    The white-d servant was shocked. ¡°Princess, you absolutely cannot abandon your lifetime of happiness!¡±

    The jade featherdy¡¯s expression remained calm. ¡°If it could really save the Fiend races, sacrificing an individual¡¯s happiness would hardly be a big deal at all. However, that Dragon King¡¯s intentions aren¡¯t pure and he only wants to take advantage of me. He will likely go back on his word even if I agree.¡±

    The white-d servant sighed in relief. ¡°The princess is wise. That Dragon King really isn¡¯t a good person!¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°Dragons are lustful by nature, so it isn¡¯t too strange for him to have such thoughts. However, he shouldn¡¯t be giving out empty promises. I am truly a bit disappointed in this Dragon King.¡± The jade featherdy¡¯s expression was ice-cold.

    The white-d servant felt a bit of a headache. ¡°But if the Dragon King is unreliable, who else can we ask for help from? Should we talk to the Mermaid Queen again? She is probably the one who is most determined to resist the monsters among the Ocean races.¡± There was a bit of expectation within him as he said that. Even though he would eternally love and respect the princess, the Mermaid Queen really was too beautiful. No man wouldn¡¯t want to see her a second time after seeing her once.When she saw the white-d guard¡¯s passionate eyes, a devastatingly beautiful face appeared in the jade featherdy¡¯s mind. Even though they were both women, she still remembered the shock she''d felt when meeting thetter back then. She had always been confident in her own appearance, but even she had to admit that she was a bit inferior to the Mermaid Queen. What man would be able to forget a woman that beautiful?

    She shook her head a bit. ¡°Even though the Mermaid Queen is resolute in her intent to resist, she isn¡¯t strong enough. She can only rely on her influence to lead the Ocean races¡¯ forces in resistance. Even though she is extremely beautiful, who would be that easily affected by her in this matter of life and death? That is, unless she is willing to serve another with her body, but judging from our interactions, her temperament is proud and lofty. She definitely wouldn¡¯t lower herself to do something like that.¡±

    The white-d guard nodded in agreement. His impression of the Mermaid Queen was extremely high. He felt that such a goddess was someone who was supposed to be adored by all and not defiled by any one man.

    ¡°I only fear that the Dragon King will make some improper demands of her, just as he did toward the princess...¡± The white-d guard was about to continue but hesitated.

    The jade featherdy smiled. ¡°She is so pretty. If she could be so easily fooled, men would have already devoured her until not even bones were left. Rather than worrying about her, I believe it might be more worth our time to think about our current circumstances.¡±

    The white-d guard knew that his thoughts had been seen through and his face heated up. ¡°I¡¯ve benefited from the princess¡¯ advice.¡±

    The jade featherdy sat down in front of the table and picked up a teacup to take a sip. Her beautiful, slender fingers were actually even a bit fairer than the cup made out of shells. Her finger lightly tapped on the table as she said, ¡°There should be some news from that side.¡±

    A ck-d guard quickly rushed over as she spoke. He bowed toward her respectfully and quickly said, ¡°What the princess has predicted is correct. The Dragon King has met with a group of mysterious guests and they had a very joyous conversation. I secretly tailed behind them and confirmed that the guests were the emissaries sent by the monsters.¡±

    The white-d guard was shocked when he heard this. ¡°The monsters¡¯ emissaries!¡±

    The jade featherdy¡¯s expression turned cold. ¡°The Dragon Lord wants to have a foot in each camp after all. If we hadn¡¯t made preparations beforehand, we might¡¯ve been fooled without even knowing a thing.¡±

    ¡°This Dragon King really is a bit too sinister,¡± the white-d guard said furiously. ¡°No wonder he gave us the cold shoulder this entire time.¡±

    The jade featherdy gently drew circles on the cup. ¡°I was almost fooled by this Dragon King before. I really thought that he was only lusting for my beauty. Now, it seems that was nothing more than a reason to hold us up.¡±

    The white-d guard blushed with shame. He had cursed the Dragon King quite liberally as ofte and treated him as just an old pervert. Now, he finally understood that anyone who managed to be a big shot in such a huge position definitely wouldn¡¯t let lust get in the way of more important matters.

    The ck-d guard¡¯s demeanor became grim. He coldly said, ¡°Princess, the current situation is very unfavorable for us. Judging from the smile he showed when he personally sent off the monster emissary, I suspect that he is already partial to the monsters¡¯ side.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to just suspect that. He is definitely biased toward the monsters'' side,¡± the jade featherdy said coldly. ¡°The saintess¡¯ predictions were correct after all. This Dragon King wouldn¡¯t dare to take on such a huge risk to side with us. As long as the monsters throw out an olive branch, he will definitely side with them.¡± ?

    ¡°Then doesn¡¯t that mean we made a trip for nothing? Should we quickly report this to the saintess?¡± When he mentioned the saintess, the white-d guard¡¯s eyes were full of respect.

    ¡°I fear that we won¡¯t be able to leave anymore,¡± said the jade featherdy calmly.

    ¡°Is the princess saying that the Dragon King will use us as an offering to those monsters?¡± The white-d guard¡¯s expression changed.

    The jade featherdy gave him a look of praise. ¡°That¡¯s right. You¡¯ve matured quite a bit as ofte.¡±

    The white-d guard reflexively stuck out his chest a bit when he received her words of praise, but he quickly thought of the dangers ahead and asked with a worried frown, ¡°Then doesn¡¯t that mean we¡¯re in a hopeless situation?¡±

    Even though their cultivations weren¡¯t low, the Dragon Pce was a ce full of powerful cultivators. If they really fought against each other, they wouldn¡¯t have a chance at all.

    The ck-d guard said bitterly, ¡°While the Dragon King still hasn¡¯t acted yet, I¡¯ll escort the princess to safety even if I might die for it!¡±

    ¡°Xuanxuan, stop trying to act cool already. It hasn¡¯t reached that point yet.¡± The jade featherdy rolled her eyes.

    The ck-d guard¡¯s face heated up. He looked away stiffly.

    The jade featherdy said, ¡°The saintess already predicted this situation, so she entrusted a strategy to me beforehand.¡±

    The two guards were overjoyed when they heard that. ¡°As expected of the saintess. She employs divine strategy and wonderful nning as expected!¡±

    The jade featherdy spun around, and her brightly-colored dress turned into the Dragon Pce¡¯s most ordinary guard uniform. ¡°Xuanxuan, have you investigated the location of those monster emissaries yet?¡±

    ¡°I have. What is the princess nning to do?¡± The ck-d guard was stunned.

    ¡°Say, do you think the Dragon King can still coborate with those alien monsters if their emissaries die in the Dragon Pce?¡± There was a cunning smile on the jade featherdy¡¯s face.

 Chapter 2398: Incestuous King

    The ck and white guards were both full of praise. ¡°The princess¡¯ strategy is amazing as expected!¡±

    The jade featherdy said impatiently, ¡°Less ttery and more moving. Change into the Dragon Pce guard uniforms!¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± The two guards finally understood why the princess had asked them to look for some Dragon Pce guard uniforms.

    They were full of admiration, but they also said worriedly, ¡°The monster emissaries will definitely have a lot of strong individuals among them. Will we really be able to sessfully assassinate them?¡±

    The jade featherdy¡¯s expression remained calm. ¡°Our Fiend races have already reached a moment of imminent crisis. If we still can¡¯t seed, the only thing awaiting us is death.¡±

    The ck and white guards immediately became serious. They said respectfully, ¡°Ten thousand deaths will not stop us from doing what we must. For the sake of the Fiend races!¡±n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The jade featherdy had a faint smile on her face. She gently patted the two¡¯s shoulders. ¡°There''s no need for such despair. The monsters hold the advantage at the moment, so they can''t help but be a bit negligent. Furthermore, we are inside the Dragon Pce right now and they have just received the pce¡¯s hospitality, so it¡¯s easy for them to neglect precautions. Our chances of seeding are still quite high.¡±

    The two guards exchanged a look. They secretly resolved that they absolutely had to ensure the princess¡¯ safety.

    ¡­The three quickly changed into their outfits and infiltrated the monster emissaries¡¯ pce. There were Dragon Pce guards all around, as well as the monsters¡¯ own guards within.

    However, it was as the jade featherdy expected. The security looked tight, but there was still a lot of openings to exploit. She strutted straight into the pce with the two guards.

    They were quickly stopped by the shrimp soldiers and crab generals, who asked, ¡°What are you all doing?¡±

    ¡°Changing guard,¡± said the jade featherdy calmly.

    ¡°Changing guard? It doesn¡¯t seem to be time yet, no¡± The guard leader gave hispanion a confused look.

    Just then, the jade feather on the youngdy¡¯s head swung in front of the soldiers. ¡°This is themand token the Dragon King has given me. We will be in charge of the security of the emissaries.¡±

    The feather released a rainbow light. The guards¡¯ expressions immediately ckened and they barked, ¡°Understood!¡± As they spoke, they stepped aside to let the three inside.

    When they closed the door, the guards returned to their positions. Then, they suddenly snapped out of their daze, wondering, ¡°What just happened?¡±

    But they couldn''t figure it out no matter what they thought, so they decided to just stop thinking about it. They were all workers anyway, and were nning to have some fun after this shift. What were they acting all serious for?

    The jade featherdy¡¯s party of three entered the inner pce. Many monster guards saw them strut in, but figured they were real guards the Dragon King had sent in, so they weren¡¯t all that suspicious. Many of them even nodded in their direction. The jade featherdy naturally greeted the monsters, then found a secluded ce to secretly slip through the inner pce¡¯s security.

    The white-d guard secretly wiped at his sweat. ¡°My heart was about to shake out of my chest! The princess is really amazing.¡±

    ¡°Save the ttery forter. Do you all still remember the n?¡± the jade featherdy asked gravely.

    The guards said with an earnest look, ¡°We have remembered it thoroughly!¡±

    ¡°Good. Begin the operation!¡± The jade featherdy made a hand gesture, and the three of them snuck into different rooms in the pce.

    Three people, three swords. All of them had already prepared to die in this mission and didn¡¯t hold back at all.

    Many monsters among the emissaries were dead drunk, and thus lost their lives while fast asleep. But there were still some strong individuals among them, and the bloody scent woke up a few of them. In response, the white and ck-d guards didn''t remain in hiding. They unleashed a great massacre, throwing the pce into chaos. All of this was for the sake of covering the jade featherdy so she could enter the main pce. That was where the main monster emissary was residing. Only by killing him would the Dragon King have no way out anymore. ?

    The monster emissary was also roused awake by the mor outside. He quickly pushed away the beautiful mdy at his side. This was a female servant that the Dragon King had sent to fawn upon him. It was rumored that she had once been a distinguished daughter of the m race.

    The mdy really was quite exquisite. Her entire body was soft, and no matter how forceful he was, she always continued to embrace him warmly. The more gentle she was and the more she sobbed, the more stimted he became and the more he enjoyed himself. He had just been about to reach the climax when there was suddenly a lot of noise outside.

    ¡°What the hell happened?¡± The monster emissary was really dissatisfied. They had actually disturbed his refined and elegant mental state!

    There was no reply, and his expression changed. He quickly wrapped his clothes around himself and arrived at the windowsill. He opened the window and prepared to escape through it.

    Just then, a streak of sword light stabbed diagonally at him. He was caught off guard and quickly backed up to avoid it, but in the end, he still couldn''t avoid itpletely. That sword light continued its momentum and cut off a chunk of flesh down there.

    <em>Roooooooar!</em>

    A bitter scream echoed through the air. The monster emissary rolled on the ground in suffering. His gant and spirited big brother was now actually forever separated from him. He had be a eunuch!

    When she saw what she had just cut off, the jade featherdy¡¯s face couldn''t help but redden. However, she didn¡¯t hesitate and pressed the attack.

    The monster emissary rolled on the ground to avoid her attacks in a sorry manner. He was shocked and furious. He could already tell that this assassin¡¯s cultivation was a bit weaker than his own. If he was fighting a fair and proper battle, she wouldn¡¯t have a chance. But he waspletely drunk and had exhausted too much energy on that m woman¡¯s body. His current condition was just too poor.

    Furthermore, his first reaction had been to think that the Dragon King had attacked and he''d reflexively tried to flee. How could he have known that the assassin was hiding right outside the window to deliver that devastating blow? He was seriously injured now and wasn¡¯t her match.

    In his moment of crisis, he activated many of his magic weapons to attack her. However, with a raise of her hand, a strand of rainbow light shone. Then, those treasures all scattered around the ground. The emissary widened his eyes. He watched this scene inplete disbelief. Just what kind of treasure was that?

    But he didn¡¯t have any chance to learn the truth anymore. The sword stabbed straight through his head, and his life was instantly ended.

    In the distance, the m woman was dumbstruck as she watched. The jade featherdy gave her a look, but then paid her no more attention. Her sword swiftly removed the monster emissary¡¯s head. Could there be anything more effective at leaving the Dragon King with no way out than hanging the monster emissary¡¯s head outside the Dragon Pce?

    She was in high spirits. Even though there had been many twists and turns today, things had still gone rather smoothly. The Dragon King could now no longer ally with the monsters.

    She was about to jump out of the window when her expression changed. She quickly somersaulted backward and withdrew from the room. Then, she looked outside the window in bewilderment.

    ¡°You still want to leave after killing our monster emissary?¡± A tall and sturdy figure slowly walked over. He was clearly a hundred meters away when he first spoke, and yet a secondter, he was already standing in front of the window.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± The jade featherdy¡¯s heart plummeted. This was also a monster, but the pressure he gave off was countless times stronger than that of the monster emissary.

    ¡°Me? I am Mojard. You might have heard my name before.¡± The tall and stalwart figure smiled.

    ¡°The Incestuous King!¡± The jade featherdy couldn''t help but cry out in rm. This was the Lord of ughter¡¯s left hand man, someone who led a third of the monster army. This individual had killed countless Fiend race experts before.

    This was a big shot ranked third among the alien monsters!

 Chapter 2399: Fateful Encounter

    <h4>Chapter 2399: Fateful Encounter</h4>

    The jade featherdy¡¯s fine hairs all stood on end. Every single cell in her body was screaming danger.

    The Fiend races and the monsters had fought for many years. The remaining fiends who were still alive already knew the names of the powerful monsters by heart. The Incestuous King Mojard, for instance, was someone who had killed countless powerful Fiend race warriors.

    The jade featherdy really couldn''t understand why he would appear here. This was nothing more than an emissary, so why had someone so powerful personally made an appearance? However, she didn¡¯t have any time to think about that in detail. She changed directions and smashed through the window to escape in a different direction.

    ¡°Do you really think you can get away?¡± Mojard sighed and said, ¡°Escape is forbidden here!¡±

    As soon as he finished speaking, golden light flooded the entire room. Powerful and majestic energy filled the world.

    The jade featherdy immediately felt as if her surroundings had be extremely heavy, as if countless mountains were weighing down on her body. She couldn''t use her lithe and graceful movement skills anymore and plummeted from the air. However, she gritted her teeth and raised the jade feather, thrusting out with her longsword. Even though she knew she was definitely outmatched by this great monster, it wasn¡¯t her style to just wait for death. She still intended to fight to the end.

    A hint of mockery shed through Mojard¡¯s eyes when he saw her movements. He said, ¡°Resistance is forbidden here!¡±

    When she heard that, the jade featherdy could no longer hold onto her feather and longsword. They fell to the ground, leaving her stupefied. At the same time, she sank into deep despair. The difference between them was too great. There wasn¡¯t even much of a fight to be had at all!

    ¡°Peacock plume?¡± Mojard looked at the feather on the ground. ¡°And here I thought it was the Dragon King courting death. So you were the Peacock Princess of the Fiend race emissaries.¡±

    The Peacock Princess¡¯ heart hit rock bottom. Her n to frame the Dragon King and shift me was now an utter failure.

    ¡°Princess, get out of here quickly!¡± Just then, two voices cried out. Two streaks of light, one white and one ck, charged at Mojard.

    ¡°Hmph, weak!¡± Mojard said with a cold snort. He flung his hand out, and the longswords in the guards¡¯ hands were twisted like fried dough twists.

    The guards¡¯ pupils rapidly contracted. Before they could even react, they received heavy blows to the chest and they were blown back like sandbags.

    ¡°Susu, Xuanxuan!¡± the Peacock Princess cried out, her eyes wide. However, she could clearly feel that the restriction around her had loosened up a bit. She didn''t even bother to pick up the weapons and magic artifacts she''d dropped. She kicked off and used the Peacock race¡¯s secret movement skills. A pair of wings unfolded behind her, and she shot into the distance like a streak of lightning.

    She suppressed the grief welling up within her. Those two had sacrificed their lives to grant her this opportunity, so how could she waste their efforts? If she stayed behind to save them, none of them would have been able to leave. However, she still had a chance of survival. If she managed to escape, she could promptly inform the Fiend races. The Incestuous King Mojard was clearly plotting something big, so she definitely had to warn the saintess.

    Mojard didn¡¯t chase after her. Instead, he stayed where he was and gave out an order. ¡°The Peacock Princess is already seriously injured and cannot escape. Capture her and bring her back.¡±

    Just a trifling Peacock Princess wasn¡¯t deserving of him personally going after her.

    ¡°Understood!¡± The monsters who had arrived and received the orders left in the direction the Peacock Princess had escaped in.

    Mojard moved over to the position the Peacock Princess had been in. With a wave of his hand, the longsword and peacock plume feather appeared in his hand. A faint smile appeared on his face. ¡°That little girl has brought me some enlightenment. We can also do this and that...¡±

    ...

    Meanwhile, inside the Mermaid Queen¡¯s resting chambers, she had been sitting worriedly by the window. Just then, she heard the activity in the Dragon Pce. She quickly called out to a maid, asking, ¡°What is happening outside?¡±

    The maid reported, ¡°Replying to the queen, there seems to have been an assassin that broke in. The pce¡¯s guards are currently hunting them down.¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°An assassin?¡± The Mermaid Queen frowned slightly. ¡°Who would carry out an assassination at this time?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know either. There seem to be monsters joining in on the search too,¡± the maid replied.

    ¡°Monsters?¡± The Mermaid Queen¡¯s expression changed and she immediately got up. ¡°Quick, follow me. We need to find out what is happening!¡±

    She walked out quickly after she spoke. The maid was stunned, but she quickly called some Mermaid guards to follow her.

    Not long after the Mermaid Queen¡¯s party left, they were stopped by the Dragon Pce guards. ¡°Mermaid Queen, the pce is tracking down an assassin right now. For the sake of security, we ask the queen to return inside and get some rest.¡±

    The Mermaid Queen said calmly, ¡°I felt a bit stuffy being inside for so long and wanted to go outside for some fresh air.¡±

    ¡°But it is too dangerous right now!¡± the guard leader said considerately. At the same time, he snuck her a look and was stunned by her beauty. The Mermaid Queen was even more beautiful than the legends imed. It was no wonder that those brothers of his wanted to serve as the guards outside of her pce. Protecting someone this beautiful was simply the most wonderful thing in the entire world!

    The Mermaid Queen smiled. ¡°Thank you for your concern, officer, but I have so many guards with me, and I am no pushover myself. There is nothing to fear even if we encounter that assassin. We might even be able to help the Dragon King catch the assassin.¡±

    When he saw her sweet smile, this guard leader felt his entire body go dizzy.

    <i>She smiled at me... she smiled at me!</i>

    <i>She smiled at meeee!</i>

    The officer straightened his back and said tteringly, ¡°The pce isn¡¯t too safe right now, so perhaps this officer could escort the queen personally?¡±

    The Mermaid Queen frowned slightly. She was heading out precisely to save that unknown assassin. How could she move with the Dragon Pce¡¯s guards present?

    Her maid shared her sentiments and said with a cold snort, ¡°Excuse me, officer, but our queen is the Dragon King¡¯s esteemed guest and not a prisoner. Why does she need to be monitored by someone?¡±

    The officer had just noticed the Mermaid Queen''s frown as well. He immediately screamed inwardly in regret.

    <i>It¡¯s over, I bootlicked too hard!</i>

    When he heard what the maid said, he immediately broke out into a cold sweat. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare, the queen has misunderstood!¡±

    What kind of an identity did the Mermaid Queen have? The Dragon King treated her with exceptional respect. If their rtionship was ruined because of him, not even ten lives would be enough for him to survive. As such, he quickly stepped aside. The Mermaid Queen thus nodded to him slightly and led her people out.

    At first, the guard leader was a bit nervous, but he gradually calmed down when he saw the queen nod toward him. He couldn''t help but have a foolish smile on his face.

    ...

    Once they broke free from the Dragon Pce¡¯s guards, the maid approached the Mermaid Queen¡¯s side. ¡°Queen, where are we going now?¡±

    She still didn¡¯t understand why the queen had suddenly wished to leave the pce. There was an assassin roaming around, so going for a walk was indeed quite dangerous.

    The Mermaid Queen didn¡¯t reply, and instead closed her eyes. She quickly moved her hands, andyers of faint ripples scattered out around her. She excelled at water element skills, so the water would tell her everything.

    ...

    Meanwhile, Zu An had been traveling day and night and had already arrived outside the Dragon Pce. He stood in front of a seabed mountain and muttered to himself, ¡°Why isn¡¯t it here? Why isn¡¯t it here?!¡±

 Chapter 2400: Rescue

    Even though they were still in the Cultivation World, the ancient era''s Cultivation World was farrger than the version Zu An was familiar with. A lot of the terrain had changed as well.

    He''d traveled day and night and used a lot of time to finally reach the East Sea, and then used up several more days to find the Dragon Pce. However, instead of going to the pce, he''d gone directly to the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons. Even though the terrain was a bit different, the general location hadn¡¯t changed.

    But when he saw an uninterrupted stretch of seabed mountains and bottomless ravines, even he was a bit dumbfounded. He murmured, ¡°I don¡¯t think I remembered incorrectly¡­ Why isn¡¯t it here?¡±

    His confusion wasn¡¯t unfounded. Not a trace of that grand and imposing Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons was to be seen! He even searched everything within a hundred miles, and yet he still couldn¡¯t see those familiar constructs.

    At first, Zu An thought that maybe thendscape was too vast, making it so that the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons was actually in a different ce. But he quickly sensed the rich draconic and death energy within the seabed mountains. That meant the Dragon race buried their deceased nsmen in none other than these mountains. He hadn''t found the wrong ce after all!

    As he looked at the towering mountains and precipitous ridges before him, Zu An wondered just where the tomb was exactly. <em>Could it be that the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons was built in this age?</em>

    When that thought entered his mind, he was startled. After all, when he was inside the tomb back then, he''d felt as if it had existed for tens of thousands of years. Why had it suddenly be just a few thousand years?

    Even though he was full of puzzlement, Zu An still decided to look around the seabed mountain range to see if he could find the World Law Beacon and the entrance into the Underworld.

    ¡­Inside the Dragon Pce, the Mermaid Queen opened her eyes. She looked in a certain direction to the south. ¡°Found them!¡±

    As she spoke, she quickly darted in that direction. She quickly arrived at a secluded rock garden.

    As soon as she approached, a sharp frigid light fired in her direction. However, a rippling mirror of water appeared in front of the Mermaid Queen, blocking this vicious attack.

    Just then, the Peacock Princess, who was hiding within the rock garden, saw who she was. She was stunned, not having expected to run into the Ocean races¡¯ number one beauty here. ¡°It¡¯s you?¡±

    The Mermaid Queen smiled. ¡°It is me. I am not your enemy.¡±

    When she heard that gentle voice, the Peacock Princess could no longer hold on. She fainted on the spot.

    The Mermaid Queen quickly supported her up. When she sensed how weak the princess was, she thought to herself, <em>Her injuries really are serious. </em>She tapped the princess'' body with a finger, and a pale blue light began to spread through the Peacock Princess¡¯ entire body.

    Water could heal all living things!

    The Peacock Princess¡¯ furrowed brows eased slightly as her serious injuries were brought under control.

    The Mermaid Queen frowned slightly. ¡°A monster¡¯s energy!¡±

    She naturally sensed just what kind of power had seriously injured the Peacock Princess. It came from a high-level source as well. Did the monster emissaries really have someone that powerful among them?

    She didn¡¯t have time to think about it in detail, however. She quickly brought the princess back to her resting chambers.

    ¡­

    When the Peacock Princess woke again, she discovered that she was lying on a soft bed. Her entire body was aching so much that she felt as if she was going to break apart. She was incredibly weak, too.

    She remembered that unbelievably beautiful face she saw before she fainted and reflexively looked to one side. Sure enough, the gorgeous beauty who could even move the hearts of women was sitting nearby, reading some jade strips in her hand.

    ¡°You¡¯re awake.¡± The Mermaid Queen had a faint smile on her face that brought a really refreshing feeling.

    The Peacock Princess was a bit conflicted when she sensed the friendly tone in the queen''s voice. ¡°Thank you for saving my life, Mermaid Queen.¡±

    Even though they had met before and gotten along well, she had clearly intended for the Ocean races to take the me. The Mermaid Queen was a member of the Ocean races as well, so the Peacock Princess hadn''t expected the former to save her.

    ¡°I asked around just now. It seems you caused quite themotion this time.¡± The Mermaid Queen also looked back at the youngdy with aplicated expression. ¡°You even managed to take the head of the monster emissaries¡¯ leader.¡±

    Her tone carried a bit of praise. This youngdy was actually daring enough to do something so rming!

    But the Peacock Princess didn¡¯t feel happy at all. ¡°Even so, I failed at the veryst step.¡±

    After all, she''d done so intending to have the monster emissaries all die in the Dragon Pce, letting her frame the Dragon King. That way, he would have no way of siding with the monsters anymore and could only cooperate with the Fiend races.

    But who would have expected that Mojard would be hiding there too? On top of that, she had already met him face to face. He already knew what she looked like from her appearance and weapons. Besides that, the two Peacock race guards, Xuanxuan and Susu, had also fallen into the monsters¡¯ hands; it was unknown whether they were dead or alive.

    There was no way to frame the Dragon race anymore. The n was all over. On top of that, once the Dragon King learned the truth, he would definitely hate her bitterly and me the Fiend races. Perhaps he''d evenpletely side with the monsters, and she would be remembered as a great sinner.

    Tears couldn''t help but fall when she realized that.

    The Mermaid Queen sighed. How could she not understand what was going on? She said, ¡°You should rest for now. I¡¯ll try and see if there is anything else that I can do.¡±

    The Peacock Princess immediately raised her head when she heard that. She couldn''t even be bothered to wipe the tears from her face as she asked, ¡°The queen still has a solution?¡±

    When she saw the princess'' expectant look, the Mermaid Queen forced a smile, but she didn¡¯t reply. Her emotions were in turmoil. Could she really agree to the Dragon King¡¯s condition and gamble on the future of the Ocean races, or perhaps even the entire world?

    Just then, there was a mor outside. The Mermaid Queen¡¯s expression changed. She got up and said, ¡°Find a ce to hide in. Quickly.¡±

    Afterward, she didn''t have time for any further exnations. She lifted her dress slightly and hurriedly left.

    Just then, a maid said in rm, ¡°Dragon King, the queen is already resting¡­¡±n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°Something major happened in the pce, so I need to immediately talk to the queen. Move out of the way.¡± The Dragon King harrumphed, and with a wave of his hand, a powerful force emerged. How could the maid possibly stop him? Her center of gravity became unstable and she fell to the side.

    But shortly after, she felt a gentle embrace. She couldn''t help but feel happy. ¡°Queen!¡±

    The Mermaid Queen supported her up. Then, she gave the Dragon King a cold look. ¡°Dragon King, you are barging in forcefully in the middle of the night. This isn¡¯t how one properly receives a guest, don¡¯t you think?¡±

    When he saw the anger in her eyes, the Dragon King was shocked. No matter which man it was, making an exceptional beauty angry would make them feel a bit of guilt. He quickly said with an apologetic tone, ¡°The queen has misunderstood. This king did not intend to be rude. However, something major happened in the pce, and it is rted to the survival of the Ocean races, so that is why I was a bit rude and impetuous.¡±

    The Mermaid Queen said coldly, ¡°What I spoke to the Dragon King about previously was also rted to the life and death of the Ocean races, but the Dragon King didn¡¯t seem too concerned at the time. Why is there suddenly another life and death matter now?¡±

    The Dragon King chuckled awkwardly. He didn¡¯t acknowledge what she said, and instead continued with what he wanted to say. ¡°The monster delegation was targeted by an assassination today. The monster emissary was actually killed, and it even happened in the Dragon Pce. If this matter is not taken care of properly, it might incur a thunderous retaliation from the monster army. How can I not be worried?¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t the monsters always boasting about how powerful their members are? How did someone like the emissary even get assassinated?¡± The Mermaid Queen¡¯s tone carried a hint of mockery. ¡°In the end, it is because of their own ipetence. Why is the Dragon King so worried?¡±

    ¡°That assassin was wearing our Ocean races¡¯ uniform. If we do not find them, won¡¯t our Ocean races be greatly framed?¡± The Dragon King¡¯s voice couldn''t help but rise a few octaves.

    The Mermaid Queen was surprised. The monsters actually hadn¡¯t announced the Peacock Princess¡¯ identity?

 Chapter 2401: Revealed

    ¡°Are they guaranteed to be from the Ocean races just because they wore the clothes of Ocean race guards? Can you really not tell that they were trying to frame us to ruin our rtionship with the monsters?¡± The Mermaid Queen¡¯s thoughts moved really quickly. Judging from what the Peacock Princess said, the monsters¡¯ side had clearly already seen through her identity, so why hadn¡¯t they publicly announced it yet?

    Suddenly, her expression changed. Could it be that they were doing this on purpose so they could use it as a pretext to me the Ocean races?

    The Dragon King said with a bitter smile, ¡°That was what I exined to them too, but this matter happened in the Dragon Pce, and it just happened to be an assassination after the monster emissaries werepletely drunk from the feast. The suspicion that puts on the Ocean races is just too great.¡±

    The Mermaid Queen frowned slightly. ¡°Since those monsters aren¡¯t being reasonable, why must we fear them? You should just ally with the Fiend races¡¯ side already.¡±

    ¡°We were the ones in the wrong this time, though. Many of the Ocean races¡¯ n leaders want me to look into the truth.¡± The Dragon King deliberately paused for a moment after speaking.

    The Mermaid Queen¡¯s heart sank. It seemed that most of the Ocean races leaned toward surrendering to the monsters after all.

    <em>What a group of short-sighted people¡­ Once the Fiend races arepletely defeated, they¡¯ll immediately turn on us.</em>n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    She asked coldly, ¡°Then why isn¡¯t the Dragon King investigating this matter rather than running all the way here instead?¡±

    The Dragon King gave her pce a look before replying, ¡°The queen suggested that I ally with the Fiend races, but what if it was the Fiend races who had rapacious designs?¡±The Mermaid Queen became quiet. She knew that as soon as the Peacock Princess¡¯ identity was exposed, things would be troublesome. Thetter''s assassination n had been quite outstanding, but also very risky. If it seeded, the Ocean races would have had no choice but to ally with the Fiend races. But if it failed, it could push the Ocean races further toward siding with the monsters.

    However, further criticizing the Dragon King at this point was alreadypletely meaningless.

    The Dragon King then continued, ¡°Even though our Dragon Pce isn¡¯tpletely airtight, the defenses are still strong. There is no way an outsider could enter. Furthermore, the only ones who could have impersonated Dragon Pce guards to assassinate the monster emissaries are none other than the Fiend races¡¯ emissaries.

    ¡°That is why, after the assassination took ce, I immediately brought my subordinates to see the Fiend race emissaries, but the Peacock Princess and her mostpetent guards werepletely missing. This makes the matter of who the perpetrators are quite clear. For the sake of forcing us to ally with them, they deliberately assassinated the monsters to frame our Ocean races!¡±

    The Mermaid Queen replied seriously, ¡°Aren¡¯t you jumping to conclusions a bit here? I met the Peacock Princess before too. It might have been the monster emissaries who captured them to use the chance to instigate disharmony between the Ocean and Fiend races.¡±

    <em>Pa!</em>

    <em>Pa!</em>

    <em>Pa!</em>

    There were suddenly several ps, apanied by a voice. ¡°Amazing, simply spectacr. I didn¡¯t expect the Mermaid Queen, renowned for her beauty, to actually be so good with words as well.¡±

    The Mermaid Queen was shocked to hear the voice. She noticed that some people hade over, but the one who spoke wasn¡¯t among them. It seemed that person''s strength was above hers.

    The Dragon King quickly bowed when he saw who it was. ¡°I greet the Incestuous King!¡±

    The Mermaid Queen¡¯s heart immediately sank. The Incestuous King Mojard was the third strongest of the monsters. It was no wonder that the Peacock Princess had been so seriously injured.

    Mojard slowly walked over with a group of monsters. He saw that even though there was a bit of surprise in the Mermaid Queen¡¯s eyes, she quickly calmed down again. Mojard thought to himself that even though this woman was beautiful, she wasn¡¯t that young anymore, and she seemed rather proud. She wasn¡¯t his type.

    ¡°I greet the Incestuous King,¡± the Mermaid Queen said. She didn¡¯t like the monsters at all, but she still maintained basic courtesy toward him. She didn¡¯t want the Mermaid race or the Ocean races to experience a cmity because of something she did.

    ¡°The Mermaid Queen seems to bear quite the strong prejudice against us monsters.¡± Mojard gave the Mermaid Queen a deep look.

    ¡°I was merely making considerations for the Ocean races, so I could hardly ignore any possibility. I hope that the Incestuous King will overlook any slights I have caused.¡± There were no problems with the Mermaid Queen¡¯s etiquette. Even her enemies were unlikely to harbor ill feelings toward her. Although with such a stunning appearance, who would want to antagonize her?

    Mojard was a bit angry at first. He''d nned to use brute force to resolve this situation. But now that she was speaking in such an agreeable manner, it became more difficult for him to get out of it. He said, ¡°What the Mermaid Queen says is reasonable. However, is it really out of public consideration, or is it out of selfish intent? That might be something perhaps only the queen herself knows.¡±

    The Mermaid Queen¡¯s beautiful brows furrowed. ¡°What does the Incestuous King mean?¡±

    Mojard''s smile faded. ¡°There was someone who imed to have seen the queen leave and save the assassin, so I came here to confirm the story.¡±

    The Mermaid Queen¡¯s expression changed. The ones she''d brought were all her trusted aides. Could it be that someone had betrayed her? Or had she identally let someone see her?

    The Dragon King quickly stepped forward to ease things over. ¡°Incestuous King, in my opinion, there has to be some kind of misunderstanding here. The queen is a distinguished guest of this king and she has not been feeling well as ofte. It is quite understandable for her to go for a walk. As for saving some assassin, that is something she absolutely wouldn¡¯t do.¡±

    This was the goddess of his dreams, so how could he just watch as she was put in danger?

    Mojard gave him a cold look. ¡°Oh? Is the Dragon King nning to be her guarantor?¡±

    The Dragon King¡¯s smile immediately froze. He had actuallye here first with simr suspicions. He''d wanted to arrest the assassin first, but he hadn¡¯t expected Mojard to havee as well. Even though the goddess of his dreams was important, how could she be more important than his own life? He couldn''t abandon the entire forest for the sake of a single tree!

    When she saw that he didn¡¯t say anything, the Mermaid Queen remainedpletely unperturbed. ¡°The Incestuous King must be joking. I was just going for a casual stroll, but everything was too chaotic. I lost interest and came back. I didn¡¯t save any assassin.¡±

    ¡°Whether there is an assassin or not isn¡¯t something words alone can attest to. We¡¯ll find out after a search. Either way, I¡¯ve already locked down the perimeter. I do not believe that assassin will be able to get away,¡± Mojard calmly said.

    The Mermaid Queen was shocked and angry. She said, ¡°For better or for worse, I am the ruler of a race myself. How can my dwelling be searched randomly at will?¡±

    Mojard didn¡¯t pay her any attention, and instead looked at the Dragon King. ¡°Dragon King, this is your territory. Can I search this ce or not?¡±

    The Dragon King immediately cursed inwardly at him. <em>What kind of situation is this?!</em>

    If he agreed, wouldn''t thatpletely offend the Mermaid Queen? Her impression of him would probably plummet. But if he didn¡¯t agree and the Incestuous King became angry, wouldn¡¯t that mean the Ocean races couldn''t rely on the monsters anymore?

    He gritted his teeth and suggested, ¡°What if this king takes a look around myself? The queen should trust my character, right?¡±

    He figured this was a way to give both of them a way to take a step back. He could agree to Mojard¡¯s request while also saving the Mermaid Queen a bit of face. More importantly, he had never entered the Mermaid Queen¡¯s chambers before. Just the thought alone was a bit exciting.

    The Mermaid Queen had a bit of a disappointed expression. At first, she''d thought that even though the Dragon King was a bit perverted, he was still quite the outstanding figure himself. Now, however, it seemed that his normal dignified appearance was just an outward show of strength while he was actually a coward inside. He was merely strong to the weak and weak to the strong.

    She thought about how the Peacock Princess was still inside her quarters. Just what was she going to do now¡­

    She was feeling nervous when a sharp and clear voice suddenly called out, ¡°You don¡¯t need to search anymore, I am here!¡±

 Chapter 2402: From Sweetie to Sl*t

    The Mermaid Queen was shocked. She quickly turned around and saw that the Peacock Princess was walking out of the pce.

    The Peacock Princess didn¡¯t even give her a look while saying coldly, ¡°I snuck into the Mermaid Queen¡¯s pce and she didn¡¯t know. There is no need to trouble her.¡±

    She''d already heard the dispute that was going on outside and knew that Mojard had already surrounded this ce with his subordinates. Additionally, she was seriously injured right now and couldn''t escape at all. If the monsters searched the Mermaid Queen¡¯s pce, that would only end up harming the Mermaid Queen for no benefit. That was why she''d directly offered herself up.

    How could the Mermaid Queen not know what she was doing? She sighed inwardly. Even though this girl was still young, she had quite the lofty character. Unfortunately, there was really no way to save her anymore.

    The Dragon King was also surprised to see that, but he reacted quickly and shouted, ¡°Audacious assassin, you killed the monster emissary and dared to attempt escape? Men, arrest this assassin immediately.¡±

    Mojard narrowed his eyes. He stared at the Peacock Princess and said, ¡°You have quite the spirit of loyalty and self-sacrifice, actually clearing the Mermaid Queen of guilt in this way.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t have much of a rtionship with her to begin with. Even women like us know we should take responsibility for our own actions. I wasn¡¯t able to kill you due to my ownck of skill, so why would I implicate the innocent?¡± The Peacock Princess¡¯ words resounded powerfully, but she feltpletely ice-cold inside.

    <em>Sigh, it seems the Fiend races¡¯ fate is already sealed. We made so many excellent ns, but who could¡¯ve anticipated that someone like the Incestuous King would actually be hiding among the emissaries?</em>

    ¡°What are you staring nkly for? Hurry and capture that slut!¡± The Dragon King had seen that Mojard was starting to mutter to himself and he was also worried that the Mermaid Queen would be implicated, so he quickly urged his subordinates to move. That way, the matter of this woman being in the Mermaid Queen¡¯s pce would quickly be settled.¡°Yes, sir!¡± The shrimp soldiers and crab generals rushed at the Peacock Princess.

    The Peacock Princess stared coldly at the Dragon King and said, ¡°The Dragon King truly is ruthless. You used to call me ''lil¡¯ sweetie'', and yet now you¡¯re immediately calling me a slut when your courtship has failed.¡±

    The Dragon King¡¯s expression changed a bit. He looked at the Mermaid Queen and Mojard guiltily before replying, ¡°What kind of nonsense are you saying, when did I call you¡­ ''lil¡¯ sweetie''?¡±

    ¡°Really? That¡¯s not what you said before,¡± the Peacock Princess retorted with a sneer. ¡°When you first saw me, you said that as long as I agreed to marry you, you would ally with our Fiend races to fight the monsters. Why are you suddenly going back on your word?¡±

    The Mermaid Queen¡¯s brows raised slightly as she looked coldly at the Dragon King. When she heard those familiar words, she immediately knew that the Peacock Princess wasn¡¯t lying. <em>Who knows how many times he used these tricks on pretty women! He really is shameless!</em>

    When he saw Mojard look at him coldly as well, the Dragon King started to panic a bit. ¡°Stop making up lies! Incestuous King, don¡¯t listen to her. She is just using words to ruin our rtionship because she has no way out.¡±

    Mojard smiled. ¡°There¡¯s no way I would believe her. The Dragon King needs not worry.¡±

    The Dragon King sighed in relief when he heard that. However, he was still nervous. He''d heard that the Incestuous King was temperamental.

    <em>Is he saying this because he really doesn¡¯t believe her or is it just to appease me?</em>

    The Peacock Princess continued, ¡°Dragon King, you said that the Ocean races still have many leaders who do not wish to go against the monsters, and that was why you told me to kill the monster emissaries and end their thoughts of surrender. Only then would you be able topletely coborate with our Fiend races!n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°If it wasn¡¯t because you lent me the Dragon Pce¡¯s guard uniforms and even ordered the guards to give us some room to carry this mission out, how could we have so easily infiltrated the monster emissaries¡¯ pce?¡±

    ¡°Shut up! This king is going to kill you!¡± the Dragon King eximed, feeling shocked and furious. The Peacock Princess was mixing in seventy percent truth with thirty percent lies, but these were the types of lies that were the hardest to distinguish. If Mojard really did believe her, things would be really troublesome.

    The Peacock Princess raised her head and closed her eyes. It would be great if she could just die like this. Otherwise, who knew what would happen if she ended up in the monsters¡¯ hands?

    The Mermaid Queen had been preparing to save her, but when she saw how the princess was acting, she guessed what thetter''s intentions were. The moment of hesitation that created already made it toote to get involved.

    ¡°Execution is prohibited here!¡± Mojard said coldly. A golden light covered the entire ce.

    The Dragon King immediately fell from the air, sensing that he could no longer strike out with his palm anymore.

    ¡°Dragon King, this is the one who killed our emissaries, and she has a special identity too. I wish to bring her back for the lord to deal with. Killing her here is a bit unsuitable, don¡¯t you think?¡± Mojard looked at him with an ambiguous smile.

    The Dragon King hurriedly said with an apologetic smile, ¡°What the Incestuous King says is correct; I have shown carelessness. It¡¯s this woman¡¯s fault for being so infuriating just now.¡±

    At the same time, he was startled.

    <em>This Incestuous King really does deserve his reputation. I can¡¯t do anything against this soulspeak.</em>

    The Dragon race was also proficient in soulspeak, and their bodies were highly resistant to it. But even so, he couldn''t break free of thews Mojard had spoken into existence.

    The Peacock Princess immediately took out a dagger to stab at her own heart. However, Mojard¡¯s finger flicked out, and her dagger was struck away. She was restrained by the other guards the next second and could no longer do anything.

    ¡°I will be bringing this assassin away. Thank you for your cooperation, Dragon King and Mermaid Queen.¡± Even though Mojard thanked them, there wasn¡¯t any trace of gratitude on his face. He took the Peacock Princess and turned around to leave.

    The Dragon King saw them off with a big smile, while the Mermaid Queen bit her lip tightly. Her expression waspletely cold. She knew that the Peacock Princess had onlye out to avoid revealing her. Otherwise, the princess could¡¯ve easily ended her own life beforehand. Now that the princess had been been captured by the monsters, her end was bound to be even more bitter. The Mermaid Queen had to save her.

    As if guessing her thoughts, the Dragon King gave her a look. ¡°Queen, didn¡¯t you already see it for yourself? Just the Incestuous King alone wasn¡¯t someone we could fight against, let alone the fact that their side has some people who are even stronger. As for other strong monsters, they are even more so innumerable in number.¡±

    The Mermaid Queen gave him a cold look. ¡°This is the Ocean races¡¯ territory. If we really went to war, what could a mere Incestuous King do alone? Isn¡¯t the Dragon King being a bit too cowardly?¡±

    The Dragon King¡¯s expression changed. He quickly looked in the direction Mojard had left in. When he saw that thetter was already gone, he then quickly said, ¡°I¡¯m begging you, please stop being so stubborn¡­ If we send out all of our strongest, we might be able to beat Mojard, but we might not even be able to keep him here. If he brought the monster army here, wouldn¡¯t that be the day of our entire Ocean races¡¯ destruction?!¡±

    The Mermaid Queen looked at him in disappointment and said, ¡°I thought the Dragon King was a heroic figure in the past, but I never expected you to be so servile and submissive. I am going back to get some rest, so I won¡¯t be seeing you out.¡± Afterward, she swung her sleeves and turned around to return to her pce.

    When he saw the strange looks of the surrounding guards, the Dragon King was shocked and furious. He stared at the Mermaid Queen¡¯s back, and a sour feeling welled up inside him.

    <em>Did I treat this woman too well before, to the point that she has forgotten who I am?!</em>

    <em>I willpletely crush that arrogance of yours one day and make it so that you can only obediently crawl in front of me!</em>

    When the Dragon King left, the Mermaid Queen changed her outfit. She naturally couldn''t just watch as the Peacock Princess experienced that tragic fate. She''d been trying to find a way to save thetter, but considering that her rescue earlier was exposed, she didn¡¯t know if there were any traitors among her subordinates. That was why she didn¡¯t bring anyone else. She removed her extravagant dress and changed into a normal pce maid outfit. Then, she disappeared under the curtain of night.

 Chapter 2403: Threatened

    Meanwhile, Zu An was moving through the seafloor mountains. Even though he didn¡¯t see the grand and magnificent Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons, there were still many giant dragon bones buried within. There were many members of the Dragon race standing guard nearby, strictly prohibiting any creatures from approaching.

    Zu An changed his appearance a bit to resemble one of the guards patrolling this area. Now that his divine sense had such a wide scope, he was able to avoid most of the guards, so he wasn¡¯t noticed.

    After walking around for a bit, he saw that there were many dragon burial mounds, ced in a rtively rough and careless manner. It seemed that whenever one was about to die, they would find a mountain as their ce of eternal rest. There were no grand buildings or the like.

    ¡°It seems the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons was something built afterward after all,¡± Zu An muttered. He was already extremely familiar with the tomb. He''d thought that he would be able to match his memories to this ce, but reality proved that he had assumed too much.

    The world of this age was farrger than that ofter generations, which also meant that the topography had changed greatly. Even Zu An¡¯s eyes were bing a bit sore from all the searching; he couldn¡¯t find any familiar areas, let alone the three great trial regions he''d experienced before. Now that he thought about it, if it wasn¡¯t because the Dragon Pce was just too conspicuous and had all kinds of very special formation energies, he likely wouldn''t have even been able to find it amid this boundless sea.

    In the end, he gave up on continuing the search for the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons, and instead tried to find the terrifying ocean abyss that marked the entrance to the Underworld. There was no way such a huge abyss could just vanish into thin air too, right?

    He was the lord of the underworld to begin with, so he was especially familiar with its energy. Thus, he quickly moved within the mountains and arrived at a deep trench. He could sense that the entrance to the Underworld was below. This ocean trench was countless times deeper than the Mariana Trench of his previous world. The terrifying ocean pressure was enough to stop most creatures who approached.

    Zu An dove into the trench. The dragon guards he encountered increased in number. He frowned slightly. This pressure was something likely only the Dragon race¡¯s tough bodies could withstand. But why were there so many dragons here?

    Shortly after, he was stopped by two dragon guards. Fortunately, he reacted quickly and found some reasons to dispel their concerns. However, he could see more and more dragons below. He realized that if he wanted to head down any further, he would definitely be exposed.These dragons seemed to all be gathering here to guard against something in the ocean depths. Furthermore, he could tell that there were powerful formations umting energy all around. There were some for guarding against enemies on this side, but there were some for any enemies that coulde up from below. With his current skill in formations, he could even tell that these formations were mainly to defend against things from below.

    <em>It really is strange!</em> Zu An thought to himself. Could it be that the Dragon race were guarding against creaturesing from hell? But judging from what the Necropolis Emperor told him, hell¡¯s creatures had already disappeared a long time ago. Could it be that there were still creatures living in this world¡¯s Underworld?

    Zu An was bing a bit excited. After all, even though he had the Book of Life and Death and had be the lord of the underworld, strictly speaking, it was amander position with a barren pole. The kings of hell, underworld judges, and all kinds of deities with various posts were gone. There were only some remnants from the past left. If he could interact with the indigenous residents of hell, perhaps he''d be able to get rid of some of his confusion.

    But when he saw the heavy security before his eyes, he immediately gave up on this thought. Even though he could change into someone else, the formations below were clearly off-limits and no one was allowed to approach. Even the Dragon King himself could be refused entry if he tried to casually head down. It would only incur suspicion if he persisted with the issue.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    He had just arrived in this world and didn¡¯t have the help of thew beacon anymore. Thus, he decided to be a bit more careful for now. He gave the trench below a look, then turned around to leave. He decided to interact with the higher-ups of the Ocean races of this age first, then make some ns after he had some idea of the current situation first. He wondered if the king of the Ocean races of this age was also a Dragon King.

    Also, just how was he going to make them trust him? Could he say that he came from this world, but thousands of yearster? He would probably just be treated as a lunatic, right?

    ¡­

    Along the way, Zu An was immersed in thought. Just like that, he found himself at the crystal pce. As he looked at the magnificent pce that floated in the middle of the sea, a smile appeared on his face. He recognized some aspects from his world.

    There were all kinds of defensive formations around the pce. The presence of those who weren''t of the Ocean races would immediately be reported as soon as they approached.

    But that didn¡¯t stop Zu An at all. He had, after all, served as the Dragon King of a different age, so he was very familiar with these defensive formations. He wandered around the pce for a bit and quickly found out that there was still a Dragon King ruling over the Ocean races of this age.

    However, it was very different from what he knew in his world. This world¡¯s seas had four powerful Dragon Kings; the ruler of this Crystal Pce was only the East Sea Dragon King, but he was the boss of the four Dragon Kings. But the other three Dragon Kings¡¯ strength weren¡¯t to be underestimated either. The important matters of the Ocean races were all decided after the four Dragon Kings held a discussion together. Additionally, the four Dragon Kings all had a good rtionship and had simr viewpoints. They almost always made simr decisions. ???

    What was surprising was that he had heard quite a few rumors surrounding the Mermaid Queen, iming that she was the number one beauty of the Ocean races. Countless men had tried to court her. It was rumored that even the four powerful Dragon Kings were her pursuers, and that even the previous strongest being under the heavens, the Fiend Emperor, was a mad pursuer of hers.

    However, none of them had been able to take her home as their wife. But the Fiend Emperor had already perished, so the East Sea Dragon King had the highest hopes of seeding on this front.

    When he thought about the ridiculous descriptions those in the pce had for the Mermaid Queen, Zu An was starting to wonder if she was still a person. This was already on a level only works of art could reach, right?

    As for himself, he didn¡¯t really care much about this legendary beauty. He was actually more curious about her title as the Mermaid Queen. He had a mysterious connection with mermaid queens, after all. Whether it was Shang Hongyu or Shang Liuyu, both of them were responsible for unforgettable memories. He wondered if this Mermaid Queen was an ancestor of those two sisters. He was certain that once he returned, and they found out that he''d encountered this age¡¯s mermaid queen, their expressions would be really amazing.

    He decided to pay this Dragon King a visit first. At the very least, he had to find out what this guy looked like, since that could be helpfulter in his transformations.

    ¡­

    The further inside the pce he went, the stricter the security became. There were guards moving around hastily. Hearing their conversations, he picked up that there seemed to have been an assassin that had been captured.

    <em>What assassin could sneak all the way into the Dragon Pce? Was it a monster?</em> Zu An secretly thought to himself.

    He suddenly stopped. A secondter, an ice-cold dagger was pressed against his lower back. At the same time, a gentle and clear female voice said, ¡°Don¡¯t move. You have now be my captive. Do exactly what I tell you to.¡±

    Zu An couldn''t help butugh. Even though he didn¡¯t turn around, with his divine will, he could still ¡®see¡¯ that it was a woman behind him. She was dressed in a pce maid uniform and even had a mask on. Could this be that rumored assassin those guards were talking about?

 Chapter 2404: Drama is Life

    Even though the woman behind Zu An looked really¡­ in, her eyes were glistening with radiance like two resplendent gemstones. Anyone who had a pair of eyes like this definitely couldn¡¯t be that ordinary. But she had such a in face right now, which led him to believe that she was wearing a mask. How could a beauty turn to thievery?

    However, he didn¡¯t voice those thoughts out loud and instead asked in confusion, ¡°What does this heroine wish to do?¡±

    He''d actually already noticed her when she approached him. At first, he''d thought that a maid had noticed that he was an imposter and wanted to interrogate him, but who would¡¯ve thought that wouldn¡¯t be it at all?

    ¡°Heroine?¡± The Mermaid Queen was a bit stunned. She had never heard of this new and interesting way of address before, but she quickly reacted and remarked with a cold snort, ¡°You don¡¯t seem to be that scared.¡±

    She''d left her own pce under the cover of night and pretended to be an ordinary maid. She''d even put on a mask to change her appearance so she could save the Peacock Princess. But when she remembered how powerful the Incestuous King was and how many powerful individuals there were among the monster emissaries, she felt as if she was at her wits¡¯ end.

    As she arrived outside the monster emissaries¡¯ encirclement, however, she just happened to have run into this seemingly slow guard. She''d thus decided to use him as the target and threatened him.

    Zu An was speechless. It seemed that after being famous for so long, he''d gotten used to being the center of everyone¡¯s ttery. His acting wasn¡¯t as wless as before. However, he changed his behavior quickly and said, ¡°I¡¯m scared, of course I¡¯m scared. My life ispletely under this heroine¡¯s control, so I will definitely do my best to satisfy any requests the heroine has of me!"

    The Mermaid Queen¡¯s eyes curved into pretty arcs, but she quickly restrained her smile. ¡°Less talking. As expected of the Dragon King¡¯s subordinate, to be so cowardly!¡±

    When she remembered how weak the Dragon King had acted toward the monsters, the Mermaid Queen¡¯s mood became even worse.Zu An was surprised. <em>Dragon King? This maid¡­ no, this assassin, came after the Dragon King as expected!</em>

    <em>What faction is she from? Looking at the current state of things, could it be that the monsters sent her?</em>

    <em>But she doesn¡¯t have the aura of a monster on her at all¡­</em>

    He was trying to figure out her identity when the maid tapped a fingeragainst his body a few times. Then, she moved in front of him and said, ¡°I¡¯ve already sealed off your acupoints. It would be best if you''re tactful and know what¡¯s good for you. Otherwise, don¡¯t me me for being merciless.¡± As she spoke, she waved the dagger in her hand.

    When she saw his ordinary facial features, the Mermaid Queen sighed in relief. For some reason, she''d just felt as if his back was a bit familiar when she saw him just now, as if it was the one from her dreams¡­ But when she saw what he looked like, her misgivings finally disappeared. The one she''d always dreamed about couldn''t possibly be thispletely ordinary-looking and cowardly guard, right?

    When she realized that, her face couldn''t help but heat up. She really was going crazy! It was just someone from her dreams, and yet she''d actually thought that person was real.

    Zu An smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, mydy. I have always been a tactful person.¡±

    The acupoint restraints she''d applied obviously didn¡¯t do much to him, but he didn¡¯t show it. Instead, he got more and more into the act. He was aplete neer to this age. This was the perfect opportunity to see if he could get any special intelligence out of this mysterious assassin.

    The Mermaid Queen harrumphed. ¡°Look at how your eyes are darting around as you¡¯re speaking. You¡¯re clearly a treacherous and deceitful person.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    Fortunately, the Mermaid Queen didn¡¯t dig deeper and asked, ¡°How tight is the security over by the Four Way Pce?¡±

    Zu An was stunned. <em>Why are you asking me?</em>

    But he quickly reacted to what was going on. He was impersonating a guard right now, and that guard seemed to have been working at a ce called the Four Way Pce. It was probably because he was wearing their uniform that she''d misidentified him as a guard from over there.

    Once he realized that, he replied, ¡°There was an assassin who invaded tonight, so that¡¯s why there are a lot of men on that side. The security is much tighter than usual.¡± He then pretended to suddenly realize what was going on after saying that. He looked at her and asked while trembling, ¡°Miss, you aren¡¯t that assassin, are you?¡±

    When she saw how scared he was, the Mermaid Queen couldn''t help butugh.

    <em>How could there be such a cowardly and slow guard in the Dragon Pce?</em>

    <em>Hmph, with someone as ipetent as the Dragon King ruling this ce, subordinates follow the example of their superiors, as expected.</em>

    ¡°What is the password you use?¡± the Mermaid Queen asked after she calmed herself down.

    The Dragon Pce had a lot of people, and they didn¡¯t all know each other. In order to prevent outsiders from taking advantage of a crisis, a password was needed when patrols met and changed shifts.

    Zu An thought to himself, <em>How would I know what the password is?</em> But he reacted quickly and remembered a piece of information he''d picked up along the way. He quickly replied, ¡°The Mermaid Queen is the most beautiful.¡±

    The Mermaid Queen was speechless. Her eyes widened when she heard those words. She reflexively thought that the other party had seen through her identity. But she quickly remembered that her appearance-changing mask was a rare treasure. An ordinary guard couldn''t possibly see through her.

    However, wasn¡¯t this password a bit too ridiculous? It was so ridiculous that she had no choice but to think of it as the truth. After all, there was no way someone would use such an absurd password if they were really trying to fool another.

    <em>Was the Dragon King the one who made this password?</em>

    She couldn''t help but feel a bit of disgust when she remembered how unrelentingly he had pursued her over the years.

    ¡°What is theyout of the guards like? Where are the parts where security is thinnest?¡± the Mermaid Queen continued. She was worried that he wouldn¡¯t reply and made sure to trace her dagger along his neck a few times. ¡°Reply honestly and I can let you go. Otherwise, there is only death waiting for you.¡±

    The Dragon King treated the prior assassination with a lot of importance, which was why there was added security now. It was definitely no longer that easy to sneak into the monster emissaries¡¯ quarters. Even so, she had to save the Peacock Princess. Her only hope was that whether it was the monsters or the Dragon Pce guards, none of them would expect that someone would still try to sneak in again today.

    Zu An was speechless. <em>How the hell am I supposed to know what the securityyout is?</em>

    Of course, he didn¡¯t show it at all on the surface and replied as if he was taking this very seriously. Whether it was the human race¡¯s Imperial Pce, the Fiend races'' Fiend King Court, or the Ocean races¡¯ Dragon Pce, he was already extremely knowledgeable about these kinds of royal residences. It wasn¡¯t too difficult for him to put together a defenseyout that wasmonly used.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The Mermaid Queen continuously nodded.

    <em>It¡¯s a good thing that I kidnapped this cowardly guard to get this information. Otherwise, if I just rushed into such strict security, things wouldn¡¯t have gone well at all.</em>

    She asked a few more questions, but the other party answered them all. The Mermaid Queen almost felt as if all of her threats had been for nothing. She''d been wondering how she was going to interrogate this guard, and yet he actually cooperated so well.

    ¡°Take off all of your clothes and give them to me. I will let you go as soon as I return."

    She was normally obsessed with cleanliness and would never touch the clothes of a man. However, she needed to save the Peacock Princess and couldn''t really worry about that right now. Besides, she wasn¡¯t someone who killed for no reason. Since this guard was so tactful, she wouldn¡¯t go so far as to take his life.

    Of course, she couldn''t put herself in danger because of kindness. She definitely had to hide this guy first and let him go only after she came back out. Only then could she ensure that what he told her was real, and he wouldn¡¯t be able to report what happened here.

    Zu An felt that all of this was a pain. What he''d said just now were just lies pulled out of thin air. Once she headed over and took even a single look, he would be exposed. More importantly, he wanted some information from this assassin too, so how could he just let her leave?

    After he thought through those things, he immediately came up with a n. ¡°Our statures are too different, so my clothes won¡¯t suit you well. How about I bring you to a ce where you can change into a more suitable set of clothes?¡±

 Chapter 2405: Physical and Psychological Masks

    <h4>Chapter 2405: Physical and Psychological Masks</h4>

    The Mermaid Queen was speechless. <i>Is there something wrong with this guy?</i>

    If anyone else was held hostage, they would want her to leave as quickly as possible, but he was going to bring her over to find some more suitable clothes?

    Her expression turned cold when she realized that. Her knife pressed against Zu An¡¯s throat. ¡°Hah, you¡¯re probably trying to lead me into some trap, right?¡±

    Zu Anughed inwardly. The beautiful skin that had just been revealed from within her sleeves was clearly different from her palm and face. Her face was ordinary and her skin was a slightly waxen yellow too, and she''d paid special attention to the color of her hands as well. However, she seemed to have overlooked the skin of her wrist. She did have a certain level of acting skill, but it wasn¡¯t enough.

    Now that he thought about it, Shang Hongyu was a fan of ying dress-up too, while Jing Teng went even further. She was clearly a pretty woman, and yet she''d ended up turning into that frightening Ghost King. Why were the women he met all actress wannabes?

    When she saw that he didn¡¯t respond and his expression actually became a bit strange, the Mermaid Queen suddenly frowned. ¡°Why are you smiling?¡±

    ¡°But I¡¯m not...?¡± Zu An was a bit surprised when he felt the pressure from her dagger.

    <i>Have my acting skills really declined this much?</i>

    ¡°Even though your mouth isn¡¯t smiling, your eyes are,¡± the Mermaid Queen said coldly.

    Zu An was startled. He''d never expected her to be so sensitive to emotions. He could only exin and say, ¡°It¡¯s mainly because we normal guards live really boring lives. We only ever experience things like this in folk stories, and only the main characters go through things like this. That¡¯s why I felt a bit happy when I realized that.¡±

    The Mermaid Queen was stunned. The reason was so ridiculous that she felt it could actually be real. After all, why would an ordinary person give such a ridiculous reply?

    She carefully examined the guard. He was pretty tall and sturdy, but his face was really ordinary and his strength was low. A guard like this was the type that was easiest to overlook. Normally, she wouldn''t even give him a single nce. A hint of sympathy unknowingly filled her expression. This guard was not only cowardly, he seemed to have all kinds of weird thoughts too. There really was something wrong with his head. But this was better, since she didn¡¯t need to make threats and promises anymore.

    ¡°There really isn¡¯t any trap? You¡¯re not going to contact other people to capture me?¡± she asked.

    Zu An shook his head like a rattle. ¡°Absolutely not! You are such an outstanding heroine and you even dared to charge into the Dragon Pce, so your cultivation is definitely really high. My skills are inferior, so how could I dare to fool you?

    ¡°Besides, I normally only make a few hundred ordinary ki stones as a sry. Why would I risk my life?¡±

    The Mermaid Queen harrumphed. She finally pulled back her dagger. Meanwhile, she thought of something else. <i>This guard is not only cowardly and loves to dream, he has quite the glib tongue too. But the way he talks is a bit interesting.</i>

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    She said, ¡°I¡¯ve changed my mind. You don¡¯t need to find any clothes for me, just take me around Four Way Pce.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Zu An was actually happy to hear that, but on the surface, he seemed really reluctant. ¡°You¡¯ll be exposed if you don¡¯t change into appropriate clothes.¡±

    The Mermaid Queen felt even more relieved when he saw his reluctance. She replied, ¡°It¡¯s fine, I have my ways.¡±

    The Mermaid race had a special ability, which was that their scales could transform into clothing of any style. She''d been nning to borrow his clothes because she didn¡¯t want to expose her identity. However, the thought of finding the clothes of another guard for her was something she wasn''tfortable with. She was also somewhat worried that he could be ying tricks. Even though she wasn¡¯t too scared, the more time she wasted, the more danger the Peacock Princess would be in.

    ¡°Can I not go?¡± Zu An asked sulkily. His expression made it seem as if he really didn¡¯t want to go. But he was really happy inside. His mind had been tense this entire time, and because of his current identity, he had to pay attention to how he acted around others too. Being treated like a star wherever he went sometimes made it hard for him to act however he wanted to.

    <i>This is way better. No one knows who I am and I don¡¯t have to worry much at all. It¡¯s strangely refreshing.</i>

    <i>It seems I was born to be an actor after all. If I ever have a chance to return to Earth, I¡¯ll definitely have to teach those teen idols what acting is really like.</i>

    When she saw that even though the guard was clearly scared, there was a bit of excitement in his eyes, the Mermaid Queen was speechless.

    This guard clearly wasn''t that bright, and yet gave off a mysterious sense of expectation.

    <i>A child who has been deluded by stories.</i>

    <i>So bad at it, and yet still wants to keep ying.</i>

    ¡°If you don¡¯t go, you''ll have to die!¡± the Mermaid Queen pretended to threaten him.

    ¡°Heroine, please don¡¯t be rash! I¡¯ll go, I¡¯ll go...¡± Zu An quickly changed his tone.

    When she saw his pleading expression, the Mermaid Queen¡¯s mood strangely improved. ¡°Lead the way!¡±

    She had someone to save, so it wouldn¡¯t be too convenient for her to be alone the entire time. Things would be much easier if she had someone to cooperate with. But inside, she was feeling a bit sad. For better or for worse, she was still the respected Mermaid Queen, and yet she didn¡¯t have anyone she could trust in this kind of situation. She had no choice but to find a random guard to work with her.

    Of course, her personal maid was trustworthy, but in this kind of dangerous situation, she didn¡¯t want to put thetter in danger. Besides that, her maid waszy in her cultivation, so she would just be dead weight. Her own identity would even be at risk too.

    ¡°Heroine, you¡¯re not going to just use me and then kill me, right?¡± As the guard walked ahead of her, he suddenly asked this and broke her train of thought.

    The Mermaid Queen grinned. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. As long as you cooperate, I won¡¯t kill you!¡±

    ¡°But you can¡¯t make me do anything weird, or else I¡¯ll have my head taken once they start looking into things...¡± Zu An said carefully.

    The Mermaid Queen harrumphed. ¡°Keep pping your mouth on and on, and I''ll sew it shut!¡±

    She sounded angry on the surface, but she wasn¡¯t actually upset. It was really strange too. For some reason, her heavy mood mysteriously became a lot better while she was around this little guard.

    Even though she didn¡¯t normally wear a mask, the reputation of the Ocean races¡¯ number one beauty was quite heavy to bear. There were always men who lusted after her body all around her, and the worst part was that they were all the overlords of their respective territories. She could only look for ways to socialize and deal with them. Wasn¡¯t that no different from wearing a mask in the end?

    Meanwhile, this physical mask let her release a bit of her true self.

    <i>Even though this little guard is full of ws, he doesn¡¯t seem to be a bad person. If he really can''t continue to stay in the Dragon Pce after this mission, I¡¯ll just bring him back to the Mermaid race''s territory to serve as my guard.</i>

    <i>Hmph, I¡¯m sure that once he finds out who I really am and sees my real appearance, his reaction will be amazing...</i>

    <i>No, I can¡¯t let him know my real identity. I¡¯ll just find some random excuse to transfer him overter.</i>

    <i>The Mermaid territory is full of beautiful people. He should be able to find a fateful encounter there. Let¡¯s just call that his reward for helping me this time.</i>

 Chapter 2406: Exposed

    ¡°By the way, heroine, since I''m helping you this time, can you answer one of my questions?¡± Zu An suddenly asked while they were on their way to the Four Way Pce.

    The Mermaid Queen coldly replied, ¡°You are my captive right now. You should know how a captive should act.¡±

    Zu An responded with an ¡®oh¡¯. He was feeling a bit frustrated now. He wanted to get some intelligence, and yet this current situation didn¡¯t seem all that convenient an opportunity to do so. Was there any meaning left in continuing to y this character?

    Just then, the Mermaid Queen continued, ¡°Tell me your question first. Whether or not I¡¯ll reply depends on my mood.¡±

    She didn¡¯t know why she said that either. In the end, she figured it could be because she was curious what this cowardly, yet deluded little soldier would ask at a time like this.

    Zu An then chose his words carefully. ¡°I have a friend who contracted a weird illness and needs to be treated with the Aurora Poison Dragon¡¯s scales. I wonder if the heroine knows where I could find the Aurora Poison Dragon?¡±

    The Mermaid Queen gave him a look, her expression seemingly saying,<em> Is that friend actually you?</em>

    <em>Forget it, I¡¯m not a cruel person and won¡¯t expose your clumsy lie.</em>

    ¡°The Aurora Poison Dragon is a highly toxic creature. I have never heard of its scales being able to treat anyone,¡± the Mermaid Queen said coldly.Zu An was happy to hear that. Judging from what she was saying, she seemed to know where the Aurora Poison Dragon was! He had already asked many people after entering the Dragon Pce, but not a single person had even heard its name. He''d briefly wondered whether it even existed. And yet, this assassin had heard of it. It seemed her identity was indeed special.

    ¡°Even though its powerful poison can harm, it can also be used properly to save someone,¡± Zu An exined.

    The Mermaid Queen voiced her surprise as she gave him another look. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to know a bit about medicine. That is what a divine physician I met in the past said too.¡±

    With her identity, any divine physician she knew would definitely be among the very best in the world. That was why she couldn''t help but feel a bit of surprise when she heard this out of the mouth of such an unassuming guard.

    ¡°Oh, I read that from a fictional novel,¡± Zu An casually replied.

    The Mermaid Queen was speechless.

    <em>He was just a deluded shut-in who''s obsessed with fantasy after all.</em>

    She even wanted to ask him just what kind of fiction he was reading, but that would ruin the cold and merciless act she was trying to show, so she didn¡¯t say anything.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°I advise you to give up on the thought. Even though the Aurora Poison Dragon¡¯s scales might really be able to treat some conditions, that¡¯s definitely not something someone of your level can extravagantly hope for,¡± the Mermaid Queen said coldly. ¡°With your cultivation, just a roar from the Aurora Poison Dragon would kill you. It is also murderous in nature and definitely wouldn¡¯t mind killing an ant like you.¡±

    Zu Anughed inwardly. She really did know about it after all! Even though she sounded harsh on the surface, she was actually worried that a little soldier like him would lose his life.

    <em>It seemsthis assassin¡¯s personality isn¡¯t that bad.</em>

    ¡°Then if I help you this time, can you tell me where the Aurora Poison Dragon is?¡± he asked.

    ¡°I already gave you a clear warning, and yet you still want to throw your life away?¡± The Mermaid Queen raised her brows.

    Zu An said with a serious expression, ¡°It''s my little sister who obtained this strange illness. I need to go no matter how dangerous it is.¡±

    The Mermaid Queen was speechless. She''d thought that the friend was himself, but it was actually his little sister.

    <em>This guard¡¯s cultivation is so pitifully low and he''s so cowardly, and yet he''s willing to take such a huge risk for his little sister¡¯s sake. Meanwhile, I was actually mocking him before.</em>

    <em>I¡¯m ashamed of myself!</em>

    Her tone became a bit gentler. ¡°Alright. Once you help me deal with tonight¡¯s matter, I will tell you about the Aurora Poison Dragon.¡±

    At the same time, she wondered if she could help him get a scale. However, she didn¡¯t have any rtions with the Aurora Poison Dragon, and he also had his ruthless reputation¡­

    The two of them quickly arrived outside the Four Way Pce. Zu An asked, ¡°Are you not going to change clothes? It¡¯ll be hard for us to go in like this.¡±

    The Mermaid Queen gave him a look and replied, ¡°Can you turn around?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re going to change here? Where did you get the clothes you need?¡± Even though Zu An questioned her, he still turned around.

    ¡°Keep yapping, do you think I won¡¯t cut off your tongue?¡± the Mermaid Queen snapped.

    Zu An was speechless.

    When she was sure that Zu An had already turned around, the Mermaid Queen made some hand gestures and set up a simple concealment formation around her. She didn¡¯t dare to make it tooplicated, since they were right outside the Four Way Pce. If magic that was too powerful were to be used out here, it would end up drawing the attention of the guards and the monsters inside the Dragon Pce.

    <em>As for the little guard in front of me, with his pitiful cultivation, there''s no way he could see through my concealment formation.</em>

    Zu An didn¡¯t really want to peep on her either, but he couldn''t really do anything about his divine sense naturally being released. Even if he didn¡¯t turn around, he could still ¡®see¡¯ what was happening behind him. As for that simple and crude concealment method, how could it stop the prying of his divine sense? However, it wasn¡¯t that he wanted to see her change clothes, but rather that he was curious about what she really looked like so he could maybe get some more information.

    <em>That¡¯s it? She made it seem as if she really was going to change clothes.</em>

    The female assassin didn¡¯t actually take off her clothes. Instead, she spun around within the formation, and her outfit quickly changed from that of a pce maid to that of a guard.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Zu An remembered that Shang Hongyu also seemed to have been able to change her clothing at will before. This female assassin¡¯s style of changing clothes was very simr to how Shang Hongyu had changed before. Was she a member of the Mermaid race?

    His surprise wasn¡¯tpletely unreasonable. After all, since she was an assassin who had infiltrated the Dragon Pce, it would have been more likely for her to represent a force from outside the Ocean races. The Mermaid race had always been on good terms with the Dragon race, so why would he assume that the assassin came from them?

    If she really was from the Mermaid race, however, didn¡¯t that mean this woman was Shang Hongyu and Shang Liuyu¡¯s ancient ancestor?

    When he realized that, Zu An¡¯s expression immediately became really strange. Whenever he thought of the words ''ancient ancestor'', he would think of some old and gray-haired person, or someone who only had bones left. It was really hard for him to associate those two words with this youthful youngdy in front of him.

    ¡°Alright, you can now bring me inside ording to the loopholes you were talking about just now.¡± The Mermaid Queen had already changed her outfit, and she was also wearing a guard helmet on her head thatpletely covered her beautiful hair.

    Zu An was speechless. He''d just been talking nonsense before. What loopholes were there? But with how things were, he could only brace himself and continue. If it came down to that, he''d just use a bit of force to deal with those guards. He hoped she wouldn¡¯t be able to tell if he did.

    The two of them began to move ording to the ¡®loopholes¡¯ in the defense that Zu An described before. However, he was soon stunned, because there really were loopholes in the security.

    The Mermaid Queen was overjoyed. ¡°Kid, you might not have many other skills, but your observation skills aren¡¯t that bad!¡± She grabbed Zu An¡¯s cor when the guards were changing shifts and leaped over the outermost wall.

    Zu An was speechless. He was usually the one who carried others while flying, butt today, he was the one who had his cor grabbed before being taken for a flight. The feeling really was quite different. Afterward, his expression became stranger and stranger, because the securityyout he''d randomly made up was actually 80-90% correct.

    But it wasn¡¯t that unusual either. He''de up with something ording to the imperial pce defenses he was familiar with, so the strategies were all legitimate. Even though it was randomly made up, it was actually the same as what the generals here hade up with.

    The two of them snuck through the Four Way Pce. But the further they got, the tighter the security became. It became almost impossible to sneak around. And sure enough, when the two of them advanced a bit further, they ran straight into a group of patrolling guards, with no way of avoiding them at all.

    But the Mermaid Queen was already prepared for that. She walked forward with Zu An behind her and faced them with her chest held high. Either way, they were dressed in the exact same uniforms.

    The team leader on the other side raised their hand to gesture for them to halt. ¡°Password?¡±

    Zu An immediately cried out ¡®not good!¡¯ inwardly.

    Sure enough, after everything had gone so smoothly before, the Mermaid Queen already trusted him. Even though she was a bit embarrassed, she still braced herself and shouted with full confidence, ¡°The Mermaid Queen is the most beautiful!¡±

    The guards had a look of shock on their faces, and looked at each other in dismay. They reflexively replied, ¡°The Mermaid Queen is the most beautiful¡­ Wait, that¡¯s not the password!¡±

    One of the guards finally reacted and raised his de. He pursed his lips to release an alert whistle.

 Chapter 2407: Lies Told, Sincerity Repaid

    <h4>Chapter 2407: Lies Told, Sincerity Repaid</h4>

    Zu An facepalmed. No matter how much the Dragon King liked the Mermaid Queen, there was no way he would show such a crude side of himself in front of his subordinates. ''The Mermaid Queen is the most beautiful!'' was just too absurd a phrase to use. And yet this female assassin had actually believed such a ridiculous password?

    The Mermaid Queen was extremely embarrassed already when she said the ¡®password¡¯. How could she have expected that the other side¡¯s reaction would be one of surprise?

    Still, she was a famed cultivator in her own right, so she reacted quickly and immediately made a hand seal. The surrounding water seemed to immediately solidify. The guard''s rm whistle was thus confined to a small space and couldn''t reach the outside at all.

    The Mermaid Queen''s waist swayed, and her body drew a beautiful arc. Her fingers tapped against several guards¡¯ bodies. They froze in ce, and their weapons fell straight to the ground.

    Since there had recently been an assassination attempt, the Dragon King hadn¡¯t wanted any more mistakes and only sent elites to guard this ce. Everything had happened so suddenly that the Mermaid Queen almost couldn''t react in time. The fact that she was able to instantly condense a wall of water around them and stop most of the guards was already quite excellent. But in that short amount of time, she could only stop most, not all of them. Two guards had seen that the situation was unfavorable and started to run. Additionally, they were running straight in the direction of Zu An, the ¡®stupid guard¡¯.

    The Mermaid Queen¡¯s heart turnedpletely cold.

    <i>What stupid guard? The stupid one was clearly me. I actually believed his ridiculous words. He''s definitely going to use this chance to escape with those two guards, and then he¡¯ll contact all of the other guards in the Four Way Pce.</i>

    Once she was surrounded, things wouldn¡¯t end well even though she was the Mermaid Queen. She would also be dragging the Mermaid race with her into disaster.

    Just then, however, the stupid guard actually fought... with his foot. He stuck out his right leg and just happened to stop a guard who was running past him. Thetter was caught off guard and tumbled to the ground.

    The other guard was shocked and furious. He brandished his weapon straight at Zu An. Thetter reflexively swung his sword at his waist to defend himself, but his de was immediately sent flying.

    This was the difference between an elite guard and an easily receable cker!

    ¡°Heroine, save me~¡± Zu An eximed with a look of horror on his face as the weapon left his hands. As he tried to dodge the enemy¡¯s ferocious attacks, he seemed to be experiencing the greatest danger of his life.

    But it just so happened that while he was trying to avoid the second guard¡¯s attack and staggered to the ground, he sat down on the waist of the guard who was just about to get back up. A pained expression appeared on the guard''s face.

    That wasn¡¯t all. He just barely avoided any attacks while stepping on the guard''s hand, then kicking him in the head. Even though the guard wanted to get up and help, he was interrupted several times.

    The Mermaid Queen reacted quickly as well. She quickly rushed over and instantly restrained the two guards.

    <i>Huff huff...</i>

    Zu An¡¯s palms were pressed against his knees, his body bent over as he gasped for breath. He said, ¡°Thank you for saving me, heroine!¡±

    The Mermaid Queen had a bit of doubt in her eyes when she looked at him. Even though this guy was being attacked mercilessly, he''d managed to avoid every single attack, and the other guard wasn¡¯t able to get up the entire time.

    <i>This stupid fe isn¡¯t acting like a pig to eat a tiger, is he?</i>

    Her expression turned cold and her sword stabbed straight at his neck. It was so fast that it was impossible to react against.

    Zu An seemed to have been scared stupid. He just stared at her nkly without knowing if he should dodge at all.

    When the sword stopped half an inch from his neck, the Mermaid Queen sighed in relief. Just now, she hadn¡¯t shown any sign that she was going to attack, so it would¡¯ve been very easy to take his life. If he really was hiding something, his cultivation instincts would¡¯ve made him reflexively dodge. But he seemed to have been truly scared out of his wits.

    <i>Heroine... what are you doing?</i> Zu An sneered inwardly. Yan Xuehen had taught him the Unshakable Daoist Manual before. Not only could hepletely hide his aura and killing intent, he''d also be extremely sensitive toward the enemy¡¯s killing intent. This attack had seemed ferocious, but it was actually entirely without killing intent. It seemed to have just been meant to test him.

    ¡°You lied to me!¡± The Mermaid Queen¡¯s eyes were extremely cold.

    ¡°I¡¯m being used unjustly! How could I dare lie to the heroine?¡± Zu An eximed.

    ¡°Hah, then what was the deal with that so-called password ''The Mermaid Queen is the most beautiful''?¡± Even though it had already happened, when she thought about how she''d just bragged about herself brazenly in front of those guards with absolute confidence, the Mermaid Queen felt so embarrassed that her toes were practically about to dig out an entirely new Dragon Pce in the ground. It wasn¡¯t that easy for her to change into a pair of legs, but right now, all she could think of was that it would be fine even if she couldn''t do so anymore.

    Zu An did his best to maintain his smile, but he''d already thought of a countermeasure. ¡°It¡¯s mainly because I was threatened by the heroine, so I was worried that I would be killed if I wasn¡¯t of any use. That¡¯s why... That¡¯s why...¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why you came up with a nonsensical password?¡± the Mermaid Queen hissed through gritted teeth. The worst part was that she''d actually believed that ridiculous password!

    Zu An quickly raised his hands and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t make it up randomly! I''m just a guard who works on the outermost area and wouldn¡¯t know the passwords used inside, but I heard them say that frequently, so I thought it was most likely the password. I didn¡¯t expect it to be wrong...¡±

    When she saw just how careful he was being, the Mermaid Queen found it a bit hard to even get angry.

    <i>These guards really do have too much time on their hands. They actually discuss things like that when no one is watching.</i>

    Just then, Zu An gave her a look before saying curiously, ¡°The heroine is a capable and strong individual, so you must¡¯ve seen the Mermaid Queen before. Is she really as beautiful as the rumors say?¡±

    ¡°I have, and she¡¯s not all that. She¡¯s the ugliest in the family,¡± the Mermaid Queen said with a cold snort. She hid the restrained guards in an empty room off to the side. Then, she turned around and continued deeper into the pce. With so many guards missing, someone would likely find out that something was off soon. She had to use every bit of time avable to save the Peacock Princess.

    Zu An followed behind her with a grin on his face.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    <i>Judging from her tone, it seems she really is the Mermaid Queen.</i>

    <i>Sigh, I guess I really do have to interact with Shang Hongyu and Shang Liuyu¡¯s ancestor. Why does this seem a bit strange?</i>

    ¡°Why are you still following me?¡± The Mermaid Queen suddenly turned around to look at him coldly.

    ¡°I... Our agreement still hasn''t beenpleted,¡± Zu An replied hurriedly.

    The Mermaid Queen then remembered that he had to save his little sister. Her expression eased up a bit. After remaining silent for a moment, she said, ¡°You¡¯ll die, though.¡± She knew just how dangerous it was going to be. Someone as weak as this stupid guard was going to die for sure.

    Zu An nodded. ¡°I know. But for my little sister, I have no other choice.¡±

    ¡°The Aurora Poison Dragon lives in the Northern Sea and is known to be bloodthirsty. It is a notorious devil, but a hundred years ago, it suddenly vanished without a trace. Some say that it was killed by several ns who bore enmity against it and banded together, but I heard a different rumor. It was seriously injured in the past, but the North Sea Dragon King saved it, so it has been hiding under the North Sea Dragon King¡¯s care this entire time, helping him take care of some shameful matters. From now on, you¡¯re on your own.¡± After she spoke, the Mermaid Queen vanished into the distance. She clearly didn¡¯t n to bring any dead weight along.

    When he saw her disappear, Zu An was a bit stunned. He released a light sigh. He''d only told her lies, and yet she''d only repaid him with sincerity.

    Sincerity was impossible to win against after all.

 Chapter 2408: Vile Ritual

    Zu An was full of admiration, but he didn¡¯t n to chase after her. He had seen how she fought. This Mermaid Queen¡¯s cultivation wasn¡¯t bad at all and she''d likely be able to protect herself. Since Zu An had already received information about the Aurora Poison Dragon, he didn¡¯t n to have any further interactions with her. She was the Shang sisters¡¯ ancestor, after all. He was worried that interacting with her too much would end up affecting those two sisters down the line.

    He was about to turn around and leave when he suddenly noticed something surprising. He turned around toward the Four Way Pce.

    The aura of a monster had emerged! And it was quite powerful, too. He hadn¡¯t noticed it when he was still outside. It was probably because of an aura concealment formation inside the pce.

    Besides that, it seemed that those of the Dragon Pce had wanted to hide the fact that they were interacting with these monsters, which was why he hadn¡¯t even heard much information about them. The situation was quite strange. There were actually so many monsters in the Dragon Pce! And there were so many elite Dragon Pce guards outsidem too. If the Dragon King were to im that he had no knowledge of this fact, no one would believe it.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, the Mermaid Queen quickly infiltrated the inner pce. She could travel a hundred meters with just a wave of her hips.

    Compared to the strict security of the Dragon Pce guards outside, the monsters inside were much more rxed. After all, the earlier assassin had already been captured. No one was expecting someone else to throw their lives away.

    The Mermaid Queen had a rough understanding of the Four Way Pce¡¯syout. After looking around for a bit, she identified the ce where the monsters had locked up their prisoners. It was a secluded courtyard. Compared to thex security of other areas, this ce had many monsters guarding it, all vigntly checking their surroundings.

    Sneaking in seemed almost impossible, but the Mermaid Queen didn¡¯t fret. She took out a pocket-sized harp. It shone with an enchanting blue luster, its surface decorated with coral and shells that formed all manner of beautiful and profound runes. But strangely, the harp didn¡¯t have any strings.The Mermaid Queen calmly removed her helmet, allowing her beautiful hair to fall down across the harp; it actually formed thin, almost-invisible strings. Her expression waspletely calm and tranquil. Her slender fingers gently moved across the strings, and a faint melody spread through the ocean waters.

    The fact that she dared to try to save the Peacock Princess meant she definitely wasn''t acting on impulse; rather, she had confidence in her ability.

    The sounds emanated by the harp weren''t recognizable at all, instead resembling ocean waves. In the sea, the sound of the ocean was just toomon.

    Thus, the guards didn¡¯t suspect anything after all. They only felt that the ocean waves seemed to be especially beautiful today. They suddenly yawned when they heard the sounds, and the weapons in their hands fell. They either leaned against the pirs or sat down on the ground, and actually fell asleep just like that.

    The Mermaid Queen finally showed herself and leisurely walked into the courtyard. The ocean-blue harp floated behind her. Her hands didn¡¯t touch it, but the harp continued to y its pleasant rhythm. Upon closer inspection, though, her hair was moving on its own, and the sound of ocean waves emanated from the harp whenever her hair moveda cross it.

    The reason why she hadn¡¯t used the harp before was because the Four Way Pce was toorge. If she''d used it prior, she would have risked revealing her identity. That was why she''d needed to sneak in deeper, to a ce where she could control the harp sounds within a suitable range.

    She went straight up to a building in the courtyard, where she could hear monsters chatting.

    ¡°Why do the ocean waves sound so clear today? I even feel like taking a nap now.¡±

    ¡°I feel a bit tired too. But let¡¯s sleep after we finish the meal. Praise the Incestuous King, he actually bestowed the assassin to us brothers.¡±

    ¡°Haha, that¡¯s right. Look at how tender her skin is, she must taste delicious. The nap will be even better after we¡¯re full.¡±

    The Mermaid Queen was shocked and furious. These monsters were actually going to eat that youngdy who was still full of life? As expected of such cruel and bloodthirsty creatures!

    She didn¡¯t dare to stall at all. She kicked open the door and was just about to save the Peacock Princess when she was stunned. She actually didn¡¯t see the Peacock Princess inside, and instead only saw two male assassins. She recognized these two as the Peacock Princess¡¯ guards. It seemed they had joined her in the assassination today. The two of them were propped up on a rack, their bodies stained with blood, without any skin still intact. They had clearly undergone bitter and cruel torture.

    She remembered that the Peacock Princess had two guards at her side, one dressed in white and one dressed in ck. Their outfits were quite unique. Yet now, the ck-d one was still in ck, the blood on his body making the color even gloomier, while the white-d one was nowpletely dyed red.

    Just then, the two monsters inside the room were also shocked. They were about to call out when the Mermaid Queen¡¯s harp sent a sound wave rippling through the entire room. The monsters found that they couldn''t alert the others, but they didn¡¯t feel any fear. With a roar, their eyes turned entirely red. Their muscles bulged and their clothes ripped apart.

    The two of them had experienced all kinds of things and immediately realized that there was something wrong about their previous drowsiness. As such, they immediately used a secret method to activate their bloodline power, making them grow rapidly. From the looks of things, they were about to make the entire room break apart from their size. ?

    They charged at the Mermaid Queen with sinister grins on their faces, intending to rip this brazen intruder to pieces.

    The Mermaid Queen didn¡¯t move. The harp next to her released a visible ripple of sound thatnded on the two monsters¡¯ bodies.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The two monsters¡¯ reddened eyes gradually revealed looks of shock, because they saw that their bodies were quickly shrinking. The bloodline power that had just activated was actually scattering! Additionally, they could sense that the surrounding seawater seemed to have be extremely viscous, causing their movements to slow down. A distance they could normally cross in a single step was now as insurmountable as a heavenly river. They just couldn''t get to the other side!

    The sound wave lingered around the two monsters and ultimately formed an ocean blue ¡®pce ¹¬¡¯ character above their heads. The monsters¡¯ bodies had already returned to human size, so how could they possibly still bear the weight of the mountainous ancient symbol? They were immediately crushed beneath it, breathing theirst.

    The Peacock Princess¡¯ guards, who were on the brink of death, were stunned when they saw this scene. They murmured, ¡°This is¡­¡±

    The Mermaid Queen didn¡¯t have time to chat. With another note from the harp, a water de cut through the restrictions ced on the two. Then, a gentle sound drifted over andnded on their bodies. Their injuries closed and healed at a visible rate. From their precarious condition, they recovered so quickly that their breathing even began to even out.

    ¡°Thank you for saving us. Your distinguished self is?¡± The two of them kneeled down respectfully, but their bodies were still trembling a bit.

    ¡°There is no need for you to know who I am,¡± the Mermaid Queen said. She quickly asked, ¡°Where is your master?¡±

    The two guards¡¯ eyes immediately turned red when they heard their master being mentioned. They replied, ¡°They seem to be conducting some vile ritual on the princess¡¯ body! We wish to save her!¡±

    At first, the two of them were grateful because they thought that the princess had already sessfully escaped. But just now, when these monsters were torturing them, they''d told the two that their princess had already been captured to erode their wills further.

 Chapter 2409: To Go and Return

    ¡°What?!¡± When she heard that, the Mermaid Queen could no longer remain calm anymore. She immediately got up to go save the princess.

    What ritual was that? It was probably the Incestuous King who had decided the method. The Mermaid Queen really didn¡¯t want to encounter that infamous monster again, but now, she had no choice but to take the risk for the Peacock Princess¡¯ sake.

    The guards quickly said, ¡°We want to go with you!¡±

    The Mermaid Queen gave the two of them a cold look. ¡°If I hadn¡¯t treated the two of you just now, you wouldn''t even be able to stand right now. How are you going to save anyone else in your condition?¡±

    The guards'' faces turned entirely red. They knew she was speaking the truth. There was definitely no way the two of them could fight right now. They would only be a hindrance if they followed her.

    When she saw their dispirited expressions, the Mermaid Queen felt a bit absent-minded.

    <em>Why do I not have as much patience with these two as that foolish guard?</em>

    Normally, she would be a bit closer to these two than thatpletely unfamiliar stupid guard, right?

    ¡°The two of you should quickly use this chance to escape before the guards outside find out what happened. That way, the Fiend races can still retain a bit more of their fighting strength for the future.¡± After she said that, she no longer paid the two of them any more attention. Her body flickered as she disappeared toward the most extravagant room in the Four Way Pce.When they saw her disappear, the two guards were a bit absent-minded as well. They exchanged a look.

    ¡°Xuanxuan, what do we do now?¡±

    ¡°What meaning would be left in staying alive if something ended up happening to the princess?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. If we can¡¯t fight anymore, let¡¯s try to cause some trouble around the Four Way Pce to direct away some of the monsters¡¯ attention. That way, we¡¯ll at least be of some use to our benefactor. I hope that she can save the princess.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll die.¡±

    ¡°So what if I die?¡±

    ¡°What is there to fear about death?!¡±

    Their expressions gradually became resolute. They walked out with their heads held high. They''d already decided to sacrifice their lives to chase after the slightest chance of sess.

    However, everything in front of their eyes suddenly became dark. They fainted on the spot.

    Zu An walked over from off to the side. He raised them by their cors and sighed. ¡°They''re quite the loyal soldiers. They can¡¯t die just like this.¡±

    He''d sensed the aura of monsters just now, so he couldn''t feel at ease and had secretly followed them inside. He''d watched the events secretly and admired these two soldiers¡¯ loyalty a lot. He didn¡¯t want to see them die just like that. Thus, he hid the two of them outside the Four Way Pce.

    <em>This all happened in the distant past. Is there any meaning in me doing all of this?</em>

    Their futures were already set. They were still going to die even if he saved them. But if they didn¡¯t die because he saved them, would he be changing history? Would that have any impact on the future world?

    Zu An had watched many time travel films. Any changes to history, no matter how slight, seemed to be extremely dangerous. That could even cause the main character to no longer exist in the future and other simr situations.

    These two guards were one thing. They probably weren''t too important in the context of history. But the Mermaid Queen definitely yed a critical role. If her destiny was changed because of him, would that end up affecting the Shang sisters?

    When he realized that, he felt a bit of regret. Earlier, he hadn¡¯t asked the Time Scribe about this stuff. He tried to ask Mi Li, but thetter was asleep and didn¡¯t respond at all.

    When he recalled the Mermaid Queen¡¯s sincerity, Zu An sighed. He hoped she would be able to escape smoothly. But if she really was in danger, he would definitely save her. However, for the sake of safety, he definitely couldn''t use his original face or his true identity.

    He didn¡¯t hesitate any longer and infiltrated the Four Way Pce again.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, the Mermaid Queen carefully approached the main pce. She closed her eyes to sense her surroundings a bit and couldn''t help but be a bit confused. She couldn''t sense any intense magic being used. Could it be that the vile ritual had already ended?

    She was now facing the renowned Incestuous King, so she didn¡¯t dare to use the Deep Sea Harp. Perhaps it would be able to affect the other monsters, but there was no way it would work on the Incestuous King. It would only trigger his vignce.

    She held her breath and moved over to a distant window. She picked up a small mirror and carefully pressed it up to the window. The situation inside the room quickly appeared on that mirror.

    To her surprise, however, there was no Incestuous King inside. There weren¡¯t even any monsters.

    ¡°Huh?¡± the Mermaid Queen eximed softly. She gently pushed open the window and went straight inside.

    Sure enough, it waspletely empty. She searched around inside before ultimately stopping in front of the spot at the very center. There was still a bit of the Peacock Princess¡¯ aura remaining there. The bit of water element magic that the Mermaid Queen had used to treat her before wouldn''t be sensed by others, but she was able to keenly sense it.

    Her gaze shifted toward a nine-star as. Apart from her own water element magic, there was also a sinister energy present. When she recalled the conversation between those two monsters, her heart couldn''t help but sink. The evil ceremony seemed to have already beenpleted. Could it be that the Peacock Princess had already been sacrificed?

    She decided to leave and find other monsters to see where Mojard had gone. They could know where the Peacock Princess was.

    But she suddenly froze as soon as she arrived in front of the exit, then slowly backed up one step after another.

    ¡°Just what is happening today? They just keeping one after another.¡± Mojard slowly walked in from outside, staring at her coldly. He had just returned from taking care of something outside. He hadn¡¯t expected someone to have snuck into his room during this time.

    The Mermaid Queen immediately became extremely vignt. With a wave of her hand, several water arrows fired at her enemy. They were beautiful and sparkling with color, but the power of every single arrow wasparable to that of a siege weapon.

    ¡°Hm? Amusing.¡± Mojard was a bit surprised. This assassin seemed to be a bit stronger than he had anticipated.

    ¡°This area is unbreakable!¡± As soon as he spoke, a transparent shield appeared in front of him. When the arrows crashed into the shield, they shattered into fine explosions of water.

    The Mermaid Queen hadn¡¯t expected her attack to be able to injure the famous Incestuous King to begin with. That was why as soon as she fired the water arrows, she quickly flew toward the window.

    When he saw her twist her waist and immediately reappear by the window, Mojard¡¯s eyes shone. ¡°This ce restricts esc¡­¡±

    But before he could even finish, a harp suddenly appeared in front of the other side. With a gentle ripple of the strings, sound waves emerged and his soulspeak was interrupted.

    Mojard was stunned. However, he reacted quickly as well, chasing after her.

    The harp resounded again, and visible sound waves wrapped around his body. He immediately sensed that the space around him was practically solidifying. It also felt as if a giant mountain was gradually bearing down on him.

    His expression became serious. He quickly said, ¡°Loud sounds are prohibited. This ce ought to be silent!¡±

    As soon as he finished speaking, the sound runes around him instantly shattered. The giant ¡®pce¡¯ character that had just formed also came crashing down.

    The Mermaid Queen was greatly shaken. She''d never expected her famous ultimate skill to be so easily defeated.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°This ce forbids escape!¡± Mojard said again.

    The Mermaid Queen¡¯s nimble body immediately became extremely heavy. She quickly yed the harp, however. The silencing skill prevented her sounds from attacking him, but she could still undo any negative conditions applied to herself.

    Sure enough, when the sound runesnded on her own body, she immediately recovered the ability to move. But the dy had already robbed her of her chance to escape. All of the monsters in the Four Way Pce had rushed over when they heard the news, surrounding her.

    When she saw that, the Mermaid Queen¡¯s hopes turned to dust. It seemed she was going to perish here.

 Chapter 2410: Desperate Straits

    The Mermaid Queen was already prepared for the worst. If she really couldn''t escape, she would definitely end her own life ahead of time; she had to destroy her face before she died. She had always really liked her face, but she also knew just how great a disaster it could bring. She didn¡¯t want to implicate the entire Mermaid race either, which was why she had to destroy her face.

    For some reason, even though she was clearly really nervous, she now felt extremely calm. It seemed the hardest thing to bear in this world was actually the anticipation that preceded the final result. Once the oue really happened, it would only bring relief.

    For some reason, in this moment of crisis, that figure she''d always dreamt of suddenly appeared in her mind. She couldn''t help butugh inwardly in self-mockery.

    <em>Just what is with me? Even now, I''m still thinking of that person who doesn¡¯t exist.</em>

    <em>And I actually had the nerve tough at that silly guard who loves to daydream. I¡¯m not much better myself, am I?</em>

    She wondered where that silly guard had run off to. He still had his little sister to save, so he would still be alive, right?

    She suddenly had a strange feeling. When she threatened that silly guard, his back seemed to have been a bit simr to that figure in his dreams. However, the moment that thought crossed her mind, her face heated up.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    <em>What in the world am I thinking right now? How could the two of them be anything like each other?</em>

    Mojard was looking at her with a strange expression.<em>Has this woman gone mad? Even though things have already reached this extent, she still has a weird smile on her face from time to time!</em>

    <em>Does she still have other aplices?</em>

    He immediately spread out his divine sense when he thought of that, covering all of the Four Way Pce, but he didn¡¯t notice anything strange. He sighed in relief.

    ¡°Woman, your attitude before death is worthy of admiration. Someone who has this degree of bearing is definitely no ordinary person.¡± Mojard paused for a moment before giving her an amused look. ¡°You excel in both water and music skills, and you even had that unique instrument. Could you be the Mermaid Queen?¡±

    The Mermaid Queen felt a weight in the pit her stomach, but there were no changes to her expression. She said, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect the famous Incestuous King to be so blind. The Mermaid Queen¡¯s beauty is rumored to astonish the world, but I have such a vulgar face. How could someone like me bepared to the Mermaid Queen?¡±

    Praising herself really was humiliating. Even so, she had to conceal her identity right now and couldn''t waste time worrying about that. Now that she had been deceived by that foolish guard once, however, her skill in deception seemed to have be much more natural.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Mojard gave her a look. ¡°Our visit was something confidential and known to only a few. If your respected self isn¡¯t the Mermaid Queen, whom I just visited, how would you recognize me?¡±

    ¡°I am the Peacock Princess¡¯ subordinate and came to save her. Of course I know you,¡± the Mermaid Queen quickly said. ¡°Just where did you hide the princess?¡±

    ¡°The Peacock Princess?¡± Mojardughed. ¡°She is alreadypletely loyal to me. You should just give up as well; I definitely won¡¯t treat someone of your level unfairly.¡±

    ¡°Absolutely not!¡± The Mermaid Queen naturally wouldn¡¯t trust him. How could someone with the Peacock Princess¡¯ character change sides so quickly?

    She suddenly remembered what the two monsters had said, as well as the traces of a formation that remained in the room. She asked gravely, ¡°Just what kind of evil sorcery did you perform on her?¡±

    ¡°It seems you already know quite a bit.¡± Mojard harrumphed. ¡°Once you fall into my hands, you¡¯ll naturally know as well.¡±

    With a wave of his hand, he gestured for his subordinates to advance. There were a lot of them present; if he fought personally and just had his subordinates watch, who would the leader really be here? Besides that, not only would sending out his subordinates weaken the enemy, he could also watch and familiarize himself with what she was capable of. He would thus know what to focus on when it was really time for him to interfere.

    The monsters knew their opponent could be that legendary extraordinary beauty, and were thus almost unable to hold themselves back. They immediately charged at her while shouting noisily.

    The Mermaid Queen¡¯s expression changed. She reflexively yed her instrument, but no sound runes attacked the monsters. She then remembered that Mojard had already used a silencing skill. Out of helplessness, she could only strengthen herself with some sound runes. Then, the harp suddenly opened up and turned into something that resembled a bow.

    She drew an invisible bowstring, and simrly invisible arrows fired out.

    <em>Spurt!</em>

    <em>Spurt!</em>

    Two monsters¡¯ heads quickly exploded into blood before falling to the ground. Still, there were just too many present. The others continued screaming as they ran at her.

    The Mermaid Queen fired more arrows while avoiding their attacks with profound footwork to try to give herself more distance.

    Judging from the way she drew her bow and her stance as she evaded the attacks, Mojard had to admit that this woman was incredibly beautiful even while in this life and death junction. How could she have such an ordinary face?

    When he saw that his subordinates couldn''t do anything to her and were only being kited everywhere, he said with a cold snort, ¡°Only close quartersbat is permitted here.¡±

    The Mermaid Queen trembled. She discovered that her body had be much heavier, and that it was now much harder to maintain any distance from the monsters. What was more astonishing was that her bow had actually stopped working! It couldn''t even fire half an arrow anymore.

    While she was feeling absent-minded, the monsters quickly flocked over andpletely surrounded her.

    The Mermaid Queen¡¯s expression became cold. The ends of her bow suddenly extended out and became extremely sharp. She brandished her bow like a melee weapon, instantly cutting through the body of the monster closest to her.

    The other monsters were shocked and furious. They screamed in anguage that she couldn''t understand and their eyes turned red. They rushed at her with great killing intent. Their weapons immediately closed off the most important positions around her.

    The Mermaid Queen actually admired the monsters¡¯ way of fighting. It was no wonder they were so difficult to deal with. They didn¡¯t really feel fear, and every single one of them charged ahead murderously.

    Her reaction was quick as well, however. She bent backward so far it was as if she''d snapped in half at the waist, avoiding most of the weapons by evading at an unbelievable angle. Then, with a kick, she blew away the two spears right in front of her and used the chance to dodge to one side.

    The monsters were a bit astonished at her incredible movements. However, they were natural killing machines and instantly reacted to what was going on. They immediately attacked again.

    The Mermaid Queen was unfazed. The longbow in her hands blocked the attacksing from every direction. From time to time, it even reaped a few lives. Every single movement she made was just that graceful and alluring. Compared to the murderous monsters around her, it was almost as if she wasn¡¯t fighting for her life, and was instead dancing.

    ¡°Dance of the Moonlit Bow!¡±

    Mojard recognized that skill. He was now even more certain that she was the legendary number one beauty of the Ocean races, the Mermaid Queen. When he recalled the rumors rted to this woman, he couldn''t help butugh. Once he restrained her, it would be much easier for him to do what he wanted to aplish.

    He just happened to see an opening the Mermaid Queen exposed while avoiding an attack from those monsters. He leaped forth and sent a palm strike at her back.

    Just then, however, there was a shout. ¡°Bad news, there¡¯s a fire! A fire!¡±

 Chapter 2411: Something Is Wrong With You

    <h4>Chapter 2411: Something Is Wrong With You</h4>

    Forget about the monsters, even the Mermaid Queen was a bit stunned. This was the Dragon Pce; it was all the way in the depths of the ocean! There was water everywhere, so how could there possibly be fire?

    But they all still looked in the direction of the source of the sound out of the corners of their eyes. Sure enough, there were mes raging around Mojard¡¯s residence.

    The monsters¡¯ eyes almost popped out of their sockets. Was there something wrong with the world today?

    Mojard was dumbfounded. However, after a moment of shock, he reacted to what was going on. Any mes that could burn so ferociously in the Dragon Pce were definitely no ordinary fire. Did the Mermaid Queen still have otherpanions? Or maybe this was the appearance of some extraordinary treasure!

    While Mojard was feeling stunned, the Mermaid Queen seized the chance to avoid his lethal attack.

    Mojard didn¡¯t chase after her, and instead looked in the direction of the mes. His eyes zed with desire. After all, the me was really special. Anything that could burn at the very depths of the Dragon Pce had to be one of the legendary true mes.

    When he saw the white lotuses vaguely manifesting within the mes, he immediately became happy. Could this be the legendary White Lotus me?!

    <i>My strength will immediately improve tremendously if I can obtain this. I might even be able to settle things with the Monster Lord then!</i>

    Once he realized that, he immediately gave the order to continue attacking the Mermaid Queen. Meanwhile, he rushed toward the zing pce. He knew his current forces were strong enough that even if they couldn''t capture the Mermaid Queen, keeping her from escaping was something they could do. Once he obtained the White Lotus me, he woulde back and deal with her properly.

    He quickly rushed to the burning pce. When he sensed the quality of the mes up close, his excitement grew even stronger. Indeed, it was the White Lotus me! But where was the me source?

    He surrounded himself with several defensive skills, then entered the pce to search for the White Lotus me source. But his expression quickly changed. He found that it wasn¡¯t a White Lotus me without an owner, but rather had been deliberately released by someone!

    ¡°No!¡± he cried as he quickly rushed back out.

    ...

    As soon as Mojard reentered the pce, the courtyard suddenly became a mess.

    An enormous stampede of seahorses rushed out from who knew where! They weren¡¯t the pocket-sized ones from the surface; as a genuine sea species, they were muchrger. They were the mostmonly used mounts used in the Ocean races¡¯ wars!

    Over a hundred outstanding steeds ran rampant within the courtyard as if they had been frightened badly. With so many seahorses rushing in, the monsters could no longer maintain their formation.

    The Mermaid Queen was surprised and happy to see this.

    <i>Is this something those two guards who served the Peacock Princess did?</i>

    But she quickly dismissed that guess. The two guards had been injured too badly. Even though she''d treated them a bit, that was only enough for them to move on their own. They¡¯d already lost their fighting ability. They couldn''t possibly create such a huge disturbance. Besides, the ming pce was clearly caused by an extraordinary source.

    <i>Could it be the Dragon King?</i>

    <i>But he didn¡¯t know that I wasing here, so why would hee to save me?</i>

    <i>Besides, with his cowardly nature, if he knew I''d antagonized the monsters, there¡¯s no way he woulde here.</i>

    Just then, an unknown, yet strangely familiar voice called out. ¡°What are you still standing around with a stupid look for? Hurry and run!¡±

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    As a huge group of seahorses passed by the Mermaid Queen, someone leaped onto one of the seahorses and grabbed her hand, pulling her onto it as well. The two of them were quickly obscured by the huge group of seahorses. They seized the chance to flee far away.

    The Mermaid Queen had never ridden a seahorse with a man alone before, let alone being carried while doing so. But since this was a matter of life and death, she didn¡¯t really mind it. Instead, she turned her head around to look at the man behind her out of curiosity.

    ¡°It¡¯s you?¡±

    It was actually that foolish guard!

    Zu An smiled and said, ¡°Since I already made an agreement with you, of course I needed to fulfill my mission. How can I just receive the benefits without doing the work?¡±

    The Mermaid Queen felt warm inside. Even though this foolish guard wasn¡¯t all that skilled, he still had a bit of loyalty. Not only did he care a lot about his sister, he''d even risked his life to save her. Comparatively, the Dragon King was clearly really strong, and yet he didn¡¯t dare to go against the monsters; what aplete coward!

    <i>He can¡¯t evenpare to this guard.</i>

    The way she looked at him softened a bit when she realized that. Meanwhile, she didn¡¯t even notice that she subconsciously didn¡¯t even want to call him foolish anymore. How could someone not be moved when they were saved by another from the brink of death?

    Just then, Mojard rushed over. When he saw what happened, he immediately shouted, ¡°This ce forbids es...¡±

    When he was midway through his final word, however, Zu An suddenly turned around and called out with a smile, ¡°What you lookin¡¯ at?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m looking at you, shithead!¡± Mojard couldn''t finish his soulspeak, feelingpelled to say those words for some mysterious reason. He was extremely rmed.

    Meanwhile, the monsters were confused.

    <i>What kind of idiotic performance are the two of you putting on right now?</i>

    While they were stunned, Zu An quickly brought the Mermaid Queen out of the Four Way Pce.

    Mojard¡¯s awkwardness quickly disappeared. He stared at his subordinates and shouted, ¡°What are you looking at? You can¡¯t even deal with a single woman? Are you all going to just stand around?¡±

    The monsters cursed inwardly.

    <i>It was clearly you who ¡®personally¡¯ let them go, so why are you getting mad at us?</i>

    But none of them dared to say anything and they quickly chased after the Mermaid Queen.

    ...

    Meanwhile, Zu An and the Mermaid Queen rushed out of the Four Way Pce. The Mermaid Queen snapped out of her daze and grabbed him, saying, ¡°The seahorses won¡¯t be able to escape from the Incestuous King¡¯s pursuit. Follow me.¡±

    She grabbed Zu An¡¯s hand, and then with a kick, she leaped off the seahorse. Zu An saw her sway her hips gently, and the two of them instantly traveled a kilometer. Even he was amazed at the wonders of this movement skill. It was almost on the level of Grandgale!

    When he saw her waist sway like the ocean waves, Zu An couldn''t help but remember the Shang sisters, too. It seemed the Mermaid race really had incredibly beautiful waists, and they were all really soft. He had only hugged Shang Liuyu before, but Shang Hongyu he''d thoroughly experienced. The way she''d sat on him and swayed her hips was a truly unforgettable experience.

    <i>Ahhhh, what kind of nonsense am I thinking about right now?</i>

    Zu An¡¯s face heated up. Just then, the Mermaid Queen turned around and gave him a strange look, eximing, ¡°You¡¯re thinking something bad right now!¡±

    Zu An was stunned.

    <i>You can even tell something like that?</i>

    He almost looked down to see if his little bro had sold him out, but that wasn¡¯t it at all!

    As if seeing through his confusion, the Mermaid Queen harrumphed and said, ¡°I am extremely sensitive to the changes in expression of the men around me. I always know if someone has pure thoughts, or if they are thinking dirty things.¡±

    There were too many men who had tried to get close to her over the years. If she couldn''t tell whether those people''s intentions were good or bad, then considering how beautiful she was, she probably would¡¯ve already beenpletely swallowed up a long time ago.

    Before, she had always hidden her identity from this guard, knowing that he didn¡¯t know her true identity. Additionally, she hadn''t sensed anything bad from him anyway, which was why she had always felt rxed around him. But now, she sensed a bit of lustful thoughts from him.

    Strangely, however, she didn¡¯t get angry at all and actually found it a bitughable.

    <i>This guy is actually attracted to this ordinary face of mine?</i>

 Chapter 2412: Stay Away From Me

    Zu An looked at the Mermaid Queen with a strange expression.

    <em>I almost thought you could read minds.</em>

    But when he thought about how famous she was, he realized her ability to read men had to be decent. He could only reply, ¡°I was thinking about something else. Sorry about that.¡±

    ¡°Your lover?¡± The Mermaid Queen¡¯s face heated up a bit when she saw that his expression was clear. She realized that he wasn¡¯t actually thinking about her.

    ¡°I guess so.¡± Zu An thought to himself that Shang Hongyu¡¯s public identity was that of the Ocean races¡¯ empress, but that wasn¡¯t easy to exin.

    When she heard that he already had someone he liked, the Mermaid Queen felt a bit strange somehow. However, the tension from everything that happened up to this point had already dissipated a bit. She asked, ¡°How did you interrupt the Incestuous King¡¯s soulspeak just now?¡±

    Mojard¡¯s soulspeak had really given her quite the headache. She hadn¡¯t expect thised guy to deal with it so easily.

    ¡°That stuff is called soulspeak?¡± Zu An looked really confused. He pretended to not know about that secret art as he replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know either. I just said some provocative words from my hometown, and then he actually replied to me.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± The Mermaid Queen was still skeptical. Wasn¡¯t this excuse a bit too absurd? But she couldn''t figure out any other exnation for it either. It couldn''t possibly be that this kid was actually stronger than both her and Mojard, right? More importantly, she hadn¡¯t sensed any magic being used either.There were countless thoughts running through Zu An''s mind as well. He''d also been really shocked when he saw Mojard. His first thought had been that something happened to Princess Suolun¡¯s side and Mojard managed to escape.

    But he''d quickly noticed that this Mojard wasn¡¯t the same as the one he knew. This Mojard¡¯s every action exuded confidence, and he truly resembled a powerful big shot. In contrast, the Mojard he knew was a lot more dispirited. No matter how that Mojard tried to conceal it, he couldn''t hide that negativity.

    The two Mojards'' cultivations were alsorgely different. This Mojard was clearly a lot stronger, to the extent that he was almost on par with the Monster Lord. It was no wonder that the two of them had been discussed on equal terms!n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An remembered that the Mojard he knew had mentioned a past injury. After that injury, his foundation was damaged and his cultivation had regressed instead of progressing. His head was also hurt, causing him to lose some of his memories. Was this spacetime fragment the reason?

    There was something else he was really curious about. Could two of the same people really exist in the same instance of spacetime? Would the Mojard of the present world and the one of the ancient world erase each other like what Zu An had seen in movies? Did they have to see each other or know of the other¡¯s existence before the annihtion urred?

    Zu An¡¯s expression grew even more grave when he realized that. He really didn¡¯t dare to show any carelessness when it involved spacetime. That was why he hadn¡¯t done anything directly even though he was already right in front of Mojard. He was afraid of participating in history and bringing about some kind of devastating cmity in the future.

    He was already feeling a bit of regret about not warning Manman and the others that they needed to hide their presence, and that it would be best if they didn''t reveal their true identities or names. Otherwise, if traces of them were left in history and they also existed in the future, who knew what kinds of spacetime paradoxes would be created. They could even be erased as a result.

    What one feared the most was often what ended up happening. The Mermaid Queen suddenly said, ¡°By the way, I still don¡¯t know your name even though it¡¯s already been some time since we met.¡±

    Zu An was speechless for a moment. However, he recovered quickly and said, ¡°I haven¡¯t heard your name either. Strangerse together by chance, so how about we just let these things be forgotten across the rivers andkes?¡±

    The Mermaid Queen¡¯s beautiful brows rose. ¡°You must¡¯ve read too many of those stories; look at how much nonsense you can speak! But I don¡¯t want to forget you like that. I¡¯m Suyin. What is your name?¡±

    She didn¡¯t know why she had this sudden urge either. There were no more than ten people who knew her true name, and even fewer were men. Of course, she was also careful not to give away her surname for fear of him being able to find out her real identity.

    ¡°Suyin?¡± Zu An looked at her. ¡°You look pretty ordinary. You are a bit in[1], so I suppose it fits your name.¡±

    The Mermaid Queen was speechless.

    <strong>You have sessfully trolled Gong Suyin for +99 +99 +99¡­</strong>

    Zu An had said that to provoke her, so he could use the Rage system to find out her real name. He was a bit stunned. This woman had actually told her real name to a random guard? And why was her surname Gong instead of Shang?

    He couldn''t help but criticize himself a bit. He still knew too little about the Mermaid race. He''d only focused on enjoying the period of romance when he was with Shang Hongyu. He''d rarely asked about information rted to the Mermaid race. He wondered what kind of rtionship this Gong family had to them.

    The Mermaid Queen gritted her teeth. It had been so many years since she told a man her real name, and yet he''d ended up looking down on it?

    <em>What do you mean I look in and it fits my name?</em>

    <em>Do you not have any taste or appreciation?</em>

    She was almost driven mad, but she still did her best to endure it and asked, ¡°Then what is your respected self¡¯s name? Why don¡¯t you say it for me to revere?¡±

    Zu An was a bit hesitant. He couldn''t use ''Ah Zu'' in case it affected history. In that case, he had to use a different one. He said, ¡°Nice to meet you, I¡¯m Eddie Peng[2].¡±

    The Mermaid Queen harrumphed. ¡°And here I thought your respected self would have some incredible name, but that¡¯s it? It seems like the name of some random farmer.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    <em>Every wrong has an offender. I wasn¡¯t the one who said that!</em>

    When she saw the ¡®constipated¡¯ expression on his face, the Mermaid Queen finally felt as if she''d vented a bit. She then said, ¡°Mojard will carry out a great search of the entire Dragon Pce. Hide in my quarters first.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that, right?¡± Zu An was a bit hesitant. He really didn¡¯t want to get too involved.

    The Mermaid Queen was a figure who was incredibly impactful in history and was definitely doted on by fate. She was no doubt one of the focal points of the world. He was worried that there would be too many unpredictable consequences if he got too close to her. Besides, he''d already received news of the Aurora Poison Dragon from her. He just had to get more information about thew beacon and ocean abyss in the Dragon Pce; once that was done, he would go after that poison dragon.

    ¡°What do you mean there¡¯s no need? If you¡¯re discovered now, you¡¯ll die!¡± The Mermaid Queen didn¡¯t let go and dragged him all the way over to her own pce.

    ¡°Won¡¯t we be a bigger target if I follow you¡­ Huh?¡± Zu An staggered before he could even finish his sentence. ¡°Where are you taking me?¡±

    ¡°The Mermaid Queen¡¯s personal chambers,¡± the Mermaid Queen said indifferently. She knew Mojard would most likely suspect her based on the skills and weapons she used. That was why she had to immediately go to her own residence after he lost track of the assassin.

    If she wasn¡¯t there, that would be evidence of her crime. The entire Mermaid race would suffer as a result. That was why she needed to return and finish all of her preparations.

    Zu An was immediately stunned.

    <em>This woman isn¡¯t going to confess everything to me now, is she?</em>

    <em>Didn¡¯t we just meet a few times and chat for a few moments before I saved her once?</em>

    <em>This is the glorious Ocean races'' number one beauty. There¡¯s no way she¡¯d fall in love with an ordinary little servant, right?</em>

    ¡°Mermaid Queen?¡± Zu An quickly repeated, then said, ¡°I¡¯m not going.¡±

    ¡°Why? Didn¡¯t you say that the Mermaid Queen was the most beautiful?¡± The Mermaid Queen had a thoughtful expression on her face.

    <em>Just what kind of reaction would he have if he learned of my true identity and found out what I really look like?</em>

    ¡°I¡¯m such a charming person. I¡¯m worried that the Mermaid Queen might end up falling in love with me if I go,¡± Zu An said quickly.

    The Mermaid Queen was dumbfounded.

    <em>This guard¡¯s brain really does have something wrong with it!</em>

    She couldn''t help but say with a cold snort, ¡°There are countless powerful individuals in the world who aren¡¯t able to receive the Mermaid Queen¡¯s good graces. An ordinary little guard like you thinks you would? Just where do you get your confidence from?¡±

    Zu An chuckled and replied, ¡°Doesn¡¯t that mean that what she''s after isn¡¯t someone who is strong? Someone like me who relies on my own charm might just be to her tastes. After all, it¡¯s quite hard to pinpoint the tastes of pretty women.¡±

    He pretended to be profound to incur her disgust. That way, they wouldn¡¯t have many more interactions with each other.

    <em>Sigh, this really is tiring.</em>

    1. ''in'' here is ''Su'' in Chinese. ?

    2. Eddie Peng is a Taiwanese actor, singer and model. ?

 Chapter 2413: Social Suicide

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯re definitely not the Mermaid Queen¡¯s type!¡± the Mermaid Queen said with a frown.

    This guy really needs a good beating!

    You have sessfully trolled Gong Suyin for +119 +119 +119¡­

    ¡°You¡¯re the Mermaid Queen?¡± Zu An suddenly looked at her.

    ¡°Of course not!¡± The Mermaid Queen was startled.

    Did I end up giving something away?

    ¡°Then if you¡¯re not, why are you so sure that she won''t be into someone like me?¡± Zu An grinned. This feeling of hiding his identity really was great. He didn¡¯t have to worry about a thing no matter what he said. There was no psychological burden at all.

    The Mermaid Queen was stupefied. She couldn''t say that she was the Mermaid Queen, but she couldn''t concede that the Mermaid Queen would like him either.

    ¡°I am the Mermaid Queen¡¯s maid, so of course I know what preferences she has.¡± She was a bit flustered for a bit, but she quickly found a suitable pretext. Either way, she had to return to the pce after this, so she needed a proper excuse for that too.

    I¡¯m really a genius. I found such a great exnation.

    ¡°A maid?¡± Zu An looked at her with a weird look. ¡°It seems the reputation of your Mermaid Queen¡¯s beauty is a bit exaggerated.¡±

    The Mermaid Queen was stunned. ¡°Why would you say that?¡±

    In all these years, she had never cared so much about someone else¡¯s evaluation of her beauty.

    ¡°Just think about it. If that Mermaid Queen really was that beautiful, why would she choose such a normal-looking servant like you to offset her own looks? Others might think she¡¯s beautiful because she always has you as aparison next to her. She really should be increasing your sry for all of this.¡± As Zu An said that with a deadly earnest expression, he added inwardly, Please hurry and hate me! I''m someone who judges others by appearances, the type of man who''spletely tactless and terrible with words.

    The Mermaid Queen was stunned, gritting her teeth. This guy always managed to provoke her emotions somehow! But she couldn''t tell him her real identity either, and could only suffer in silence.

    You have sessfully trolled Gong Suyin for +66 +66 +66¡­

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Mojard caught up to the group of seahorses. Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t see any sign of the two. He grabbed one of the seahorses and forcibly tore it in half out of fury, leaving the rest stunned.

    The Dragon King arrived just in time to see the rain of blood that scattered everywhere. His eyes twitched, and he quickly asked with an apologetic smile, ¡°May I ask what happened for the Incestuous King to be so angry?¡±

    Just now, he''d been back in his pce drinking wine with pretty concubines to either side while enjoying the dancing of beautiful mdies. He''d been thinking about which of them would be the lucky one chosen to serve him today. But as they moved around in their dance, he''d felt thatthey all had their good points. In the end, he decided to choose them all.

    I¡¯m the Dragon King anyway. I¡¯ll be letting this identity down if I don¡¯t properly enjoy myself.

    But who would¡¯ve known that there would suddenly be so much noise outside? When he received news of that and left his pce, he''d seen raging mes soar into the sky around the Four Way Pce. That brought him quite the shock. It was definitely no small matter if mes could burn here in the Dragon Pce, all the way in the depths of the ocean. He quickly rushed over and just happened to see this scene.

    Mojard gave him a cold look. ¡°That¡¯s something I should be asking you. We are guests of your Dragon Pce, and yet under your protection, an assassin killed our head emissary, and then two more assassins came in to cause trouble. I¡¯m even starting to wonder if you were the one who sent those assassins.¡±

    The Dragon King broke out into cold sweat. The thought of beauties leaning against himpletely disappeared from his mind. ¡°Incestuous King, you have misunderstood! Those assassins have absolutely nothing to do with me!¡± He kicked the military officer next to him to the ground as he spoke. ¡°You useless thing, I put you in charge of the emissaries¡¯ safety, so how do idents keep happening one after another?!¡±

    The officer was terrified. He was lying on the ground and about to exin when Mojard suddenly said, ¡°Since he¡¯s useless, there¡¯s no need to keep him alive anymore.¡±

    As soon as he said that, his hand moved in a blur. The next second, the officer¡¯s head reappeared in Mojard¡¯s hand, blood immediately dyeing the surroundings red.

    Everyone present was speechless.

    The Dragon King swallowed with difficulty.

    The Incestuous King¡¯s cultivation is terrifying, as expected. But if it was enough to appease his anger, the death of a guard captain will have been worth it.

    Mojard tossed the head away to the side and said indifferently, ¡°The Dragon King won¡¯t me me for taking matters into my own hands, right?¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare! He neglected his duty and his punishment was fully deserved,¡± the Dragon King said submissively.

    The Dragon King¡¯s other military officers exchanged a look. Then, they silently hung their heads.

    ¡°This humble king will personally lead my troops to track down that assassin.¡± The Dragon King was worried that he''d really offended Mojard this time, and quickly spoke up to express his sincerity.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. I already have a rough idea of who the assassin is this time.¡± Mojard took out a handkerchief to wipe away the blood on his hands.

    ¡°Who?¡± The Dragon King was stunned. He was also very curious. Just who was this person, for them to be so incredible and daring that they would cause trouble in his own territory?

    ¡°The Dragon King can follow me if you are interested," Mojard said, then headed straight toward the Mermaid Queen¡¯s pce.

    Meanwhile, the Mermaid Queen stopped after bringing Zu An near her chambers. She warned him insistently, ¡°Once we go inside, you will pretend to be a guard of the Mermaid race. Don¡¯t say anything and don¡¯t give anything away, or else not even the queen will not be able to save you."

    Zu An was getting a bit of a headache. He''d already tried so hard to piss her off, and yet she''d still grabbed his wrist so firmly without any intention of letting go. He couldn''t just use his cultivation to shake off her hand, right? Otherwise, no matter how slow she was, she¡¯d still realize that something was wrong.

    ¡°You don¡¯t seem to be in a good mood,¡± he remarked, wondering if it was because his words from earlier really had hurt her.

    That shouldn¡¯t be, right? She isn¡¯t really some ordinary pce maid. Why would she be hurt because I said she looks in?

    Sometimes, it wasn¡¯t lies that hurt, but rather the truth that was merciless.

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t able to sessfully save the Peacock Princess. There will be even less of a chance in the future.¡± The Mermaid Queen sighed. She wondered just how the Peacock Princess was doing right now. And what was that ritual that the monster had been talking about?

    ¡°The Peacock Princess¡­¡± Kong Nanwu appeared in Zu An¡¯s mind. How had he even ended up up meeting her ancestor? He asked, ¡°Was she the earlier assassin?¡± After collecting all of the various clues, that wasn¡¯t difficult to guess.

    The Mermaid Queen gave him a suspicious look. ¡°You are a Dragon Pce guard, but you didn¡¯t know?¡±

    Zu An was rmed.

    I was too careless!

    But he reacted quickly and said, ¡°That kind of top secret information isn¡¯t something a lower-level guard like me can know about.¡±

    The Mermaid Queen didn¡¯t continue to suspect him too much. The Dragon King must have deliberately kept this matter a secret. This lesser guard really was pitiful. He was sent over to guard the Four Way Pce, but he didn¡¯t know a thing.

    She answered, ¡°That¡¯s right. She was indeed the assassin and killed the monsters¡¯ head emissary. She wanted to use this chance to fracture the rtionship between the Ocean races and the monsters. Unfortunately, she didn¡¯t anticipate the Incestuous King being among the emissaries.¡±

    When he heard about all those things, Zu An could no longer remain as calm as before. He didn¡¯t want to influence this piece of history too much, but how could he just stand by without doing a thing when he learned that the Peacock Princess was actually so brave?

    I should be fine as long as I keep my real identity hidden.

    ¡°The Ocean races and the monsters have formed an alliance?¡± Zu An asked this crucial question. If the Ocean races sided with the monsters, he really couldn''t see much hope of this world turning things around.

    The Mermaid Queen opened her mouth, but in the end, she didn¡¯t answer the question. ¡°These aren¡¯t things a lesser guard like you should know. Sometimes, the more you know, the more dangerous it will be for you.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    This is bad, my acting was too good.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you just a maid too? What are you acting all cocky for?¡± He deliberately provoked her.

    The Mermaid Queen¡¯s eyes twitched. ¡°Hmph, my cultivation is much higher than yours, you know?¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t have anything to say in response to that.

    Zu An, you¡¯re so good at acting, aren¡¯t you? Now you have nothing left to say in response, right?

    ¡°Is that the intent of your queen? Is she more inclined to ally with the monsters?¡± he asked directly.

    ¡°How wise is someone like the queen? Why would she participate in something like that? This was just something I personally chose to do. You absolutely cannot b about this in the future,¡± the Mermaid Queen warned him.

    Zu An gave her aplicated look.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    You¡¯re really getting into the act. But if you find out the truth, it¡¯ll be social suicide¡­

 Chapter 2414: Part of the Play

    The Mermaid Queen then took Zu An back to her personal chambers. She was worried that he would be curious as to why she was able to pass through all of the nearby defensive formations, but in the end, she saw that he was just looking all around him in a stupefied daze, as if he didn¡¯t realize just how incredible it was to pass through the entire area without being impeded in the slightest.

    He''s just a foolish guard as expected. The Mermaid Queen couldn''t help but smile. She once again imagined just how far his jaw would drop if he found out her real identity.

    When they arrived at a room next to her own bedroom, she warned him, ¡°I am going to report about what happened to the queen and won¡¯t be back for some time. You will wait right here, and you absolutely must not run around all over the ce. In a bit, someone wille to bring you a change of clothes.¡±

    ¡°Change of clothes?¡± Zu An reflexively grabbed his cor and showed a look of fear.

    The Mermaid Queen was speechless.

    Why do you look as if I¡¯m about to sexually assault you or something?

    You have sessfully trolled Gong Suyin for +6 +6 +6¡­

    She could only suppress her annoyance and exin, ¡°Since you¡¯re nning to impersonate the queen¡¯s guard, it won¡¯t be too appropriate for you to continue to dress in the Dragon Pce guard uniform, right?¡±

    ¡°So that was it.¡± Zu An seemed to have suddenly understood.

    The Mermaid Queen harrumphed. After giving him a few more words of warning, she went next door with a frown.

    ¡­

    ¡°My queen, you¡¯re finally back!¡± the maid eximed, pacing nervously. She was really happy to see her queen return. As thetter''s personal maid, how could she not know the appearance the Mermaid Queen often used as a disguise?

    The Mermaid Queen did a turn and removed her mask, once again revealing her stunning features. Her guard uniform also became a gorgeous dress. When she heard that, her eyes couldn''t help but narrow. ¡°You didn¡¯t tell anyone else, right?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not stupid, why would I b about that?¡± the maid replied with a grin. ¡°Did the queen go out to save the princess? Did you manage to save her?¡±

    ¡°Stop asking about such nonsense and get me one of our guards'' uniforms, and give it to the lesser guard next door." The Mermaid Queen sat in front of the mirror and began to sort out her hair so she wouldn¡¯t give anything awayter once the Incestuous King came.

    ¡°Sure, give the Peacock Princess¡­ Huh?¡± The maid was nodding when she realized that something was strange. Why was it some lesser guard and not the Peacock Princess? What was going on?

    ¡°What are you standing around stupidly for? Hurry and go already.¡± The Mermaid Queen suddenly thought of something and added, ¡°Forget it, I¡¯ll go with you. Remember to not reveal my identity. That guy only knows my previous appearance. I told him I was the queen¡¯s servant.¡±

    ¡°Oh, okay.¡± The maid quickly nodded.

    I was just going to say, why would the queen bring back a man?

    She probably didn¡¯t tell him her real identity to set boundaries.

    The lesser maid thought of something and asked, ¡°By the way, what did you tell him your name was? That way I¡¯ll be prepared and won¡¯t expose you.¡±

    The Mermaid Queen¡¯s expression froze. After a moment of hesitation, she said, ¡°Suyin.¡±

    The maid¡¯s eyes immediately widened in bewilderment.You told him your real name?

    This is the first man in the entire world to learn your real name, right?

    Just what in the world are you ying at, queen?

    A burning desire for drama raged within her eyes. Just who was that guard next door who could obtain the interest of someone like the queen?

    The Mermaid Queen released a cold snort. ¡°What are you still just standing around for?!¡±

    The maid stuck out her tongue and quickly ran out. Shortly after, she came back with a fresh set of guard clothes. She was so fast that even the Mermaid Queen was a bit stunned. ¡°My queen, should I go over now?¡± she asked, feeling as if her heart was being wed at by a cat.

    ¡°Yeah.¡± The Mermaid Queen gave the mirror a look. When she was sure that there wasn¡¯t a trace of her earlier appearance left, she then walked next door.

    The maid had a strange expression. It had been a long time since she saw the queen put on her makeup so carefully. Just what kind of incredible power did that guard have?

    He must be the most handsome man in the world, or one of the world¡¯s most powerful beings¡­ No wait, if he really is that amazing, then why would he be just a guard?

    All of her puzzlement was quickly resolved. She waspletely stupefied when the door was opened.

    What exceptionally handsome man, what outstanding expert? All her expectations were instantly shattered. In front of her was the most ordinary guard. Even though he was on the tall and sturdy side and his eyes were quite bright, he was indeed just an ordinary guard.

    She had seen all kinds of incredible men express their love to the queen while being at her side, so her standards had also changed as a result. Every single one of those pursuers was more handsome than this guy... No, even the queen¡¯s personal guards were much more handsome. There wasn¡¯t a single guard who had such in looks in the entire Mermaid race territory.

    The queen had refused so many people over the years, and yet this was the one she chose? She actually liked ugly men? Everyone said that the tastes of the rich were hard to pinpoint, but the tastes of the beautiful also seemed hard to satisfy, no?

    The lesser guard was about to curse when the Mermaid Queen looked coldly at him and asked, ¡°You are that guard Suyin spoke of?¡±

    When she saw the indescribable shock in his eyes, she felt really proud of herself. She had to work really hard to prevent a grin from appearing on her face.

    Zu An had been wondering whether to just get out of here to trigger less karma. But he''d sensed that Mojard¡¯s group wasing in this direction too. If he left, the queen could end up in danger. While he was hesitating, however, the queen had already opened the door.

    But the most shocking part was that she had her Mermaid Queen appearance! Even though she looked different, the two of them had been so close to each other earlier. He was also proficient in appearance changing skills, so how could he not tell?

    This woman really did match her reputation in the Dragon Pce: The Mermaid Queen is the most beautiful!n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    She was devastatingly beautiful, unparalleled in appearance. But that wasn¡¯t the most shocking part; rather, it was that she looked extremely simr to the Shang sisters. She had Shang Liuyu¡¯s elegance, as well as Shang Hongyu¡¯s mor. Of course, Shang Hongyu and Shang Liuyu were sisters and were simr to begin with. That was why it was hard for Zu An to say who she looked more like.

    Zu An was about to gopletely numb. It really was what one feared the most that arrived! Not even ghosts would believe him if he said that there was nothing between them. He really had ended up meeting those two¡¯s ancient ancestor!

    The Mermaid Queen didn¡¯t know what he was thinking. She thought he was just shocked at her beauty. After her earlier frustrations were finally relieved, she couldn''t help but feel refreshed. She sneered and said, ¡°I heard Suyin mention that you thought that this queen¡¯s reputation of beauty was undeserved?¡±

    Zu An gave her a strange look.

    This woman actually holds a bit of a grudge.

    He could only reply, ¡°That was only because I saw that Suyin¡¯s looks were in and was worried that she felt inferior, so I said that just tofort her.¡±

    The Mermaid Queen was speechless.

    The maid¡¯s eyes were darting all over the ce. As she listened to them talk about Suyin this and that, she started to wonder what in the world they were ying at!

    What did you even call me over for? Am I just part of your y?

 Chapter 2415: Hopeless

    The Mermaid Queen wanted to see the guardpletely lose hisposure and kneel down before her out of infatuation. But she discovered that he didn¡¯t seem that bothered at all, and that she was the one who was caught off guard instead.

    She couldn''t even get mad at those words, because he was implying that he''d done that for Suyin¡¯s sake, that he''d just been pretending and had gone so far as to even belittle the Mermaid Queen¡¯s appearance to assuage Suyin¡¯s feelings of inferiority.

    I really am a terrible person¡­

    The Mermaid Queen was a bit apologetic, feeling that she should¡¯ve realized that back then, but instead wanted to seize the chance to make a fool of this guard. When she realized that, she coldly said, ¡°Suyin will thank you for this once she hears of it.¡±

    Zu An was speechless.

    Sis, just how far are you going to take these games? I¡¯m really hoping you won¡¯t experienceplete social suicide¡­

    It was the lesser maid who gave Zu An a look of praise.

    This guard is pretty normal-looking, but he is the calmest out of all those who have seen the queen¡¯s beauty for the first time.

    As expected, the ones the queen favors are definitely special.

    Just then, a subordinate quickly came in and reported, ¡°Queen, that Incestuous King has returned again, and he has the Dragon King with him! They charged straight in and we couldn''t stop them!¡±

    The Mermaid Queen¡¯s eyes narrowed. They came after all.

    She quickly ordered her maid, ¡°Peach, help him quickly change clothes first.¡± Afterward, she hurriedly rushed out.

    As he watched her leave, Zu An¡¯s expression was grave. He wondered if she would be able to handle what was about toe. She was just too simr to Shang Liuyu, so they definitely had something to do with each other. If he ended up creating some kind of ripple effect here, the Shang sisters could be affected too.

    While he was thinking to himself, the maid next to him said, ¡°Young master, you should hurry and change clothes.¡±

    The maid named Peach stared at the man in front of her with widened eyes.

    He won¡¯t be the queen¡¯s husband, will he? But he really is a bit ordinary and is just too inferiorpared to the queen¡¯s other pursuers.

    Zu An voiced his acknowledgement. He took off his outfit and put on the clothes she gave him.

    Peach blinked.

    This guy doesn¡¯t seem to care about manners that much. He isn¡¯t worried that I¡¯m right here at all.

    If it were any other guard, they would definitely feel ill at ease and tell her to turn around.

    And yet he¡¯s letting me help him with his clothes as if he''s already used to this kind of lifestyle.

    But of course, that was just her internalmentary. She still didn¡¯t dare to neglect her duty and helped the guard put on the clothes.

    The queen¡¯s future husband is a bit ordinary, but his physique is still pretty good¡­

    ¡°Your name is Peach?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Peach became a bit vignt.

    Is this guy going to harass me because I¡¯m pretty?

    Hmph, I definitely have to expose him for my queen''s sake. He definitely has impure thoughts.

    Zu An suddenlyughed and remarked, ¡°Since you¡¯re both maids, why isn¡¯t the one who brought me here named Grape instead of having a name like Suyin, which doesn¡¯t match at all?¡±

    Peach was speechless.

    I was on guard against him this entire time, but this was what he was curious about?

    Hmph, it must be because she¡¯s the lord and I''m the maid.

    Of course, she didn¡¯t say anything and instead replied, ¡°Our names are bestowed upon us by the queen. How could we dare to try and fathom her thoughts?¡± Immediately after, she tried to get some gossip by asking, ¡°By the way, how did you meet Su¡­ Sister Suyin?¡±

    Zu An was still preupied with the issue of time paradoxes, so he replied without much thought, ¡°Oh, we just bumped into each other along the way. I didn¡¯t really want toe, but she insisted on dragging me here.¡±

    ¡°She dragged you here?¡± Peach was really shocked. When had she ever seen the queen touch another man¡¯s body after serving by her side all these years?

    It¡¯s over! It seems this person really is going to be her husband!

    Queen¡­ When did you go blind?

    ¡­

    ¡°Achoo!¡± Outside, the Mermaid Queen sneezed.

    Is my body a bit weak because of the earlier battle?

    But she couldn''t spare any more time on that thought. Instead, she looked at everyone who had entered coldly. ¡°What is the meaning of this, Incestuous King? Why are you barging into our residence?!¡±

    The guards who had been defeated one group after another rushed to her side.

    Mojard looked at her.

    As expected of the Ocean races¡¯ number one beauty, she is so beautiful even when she''s just sneezing.

    ¡°You know the reason why I came here," he replied.

    ¡°I do not!¡± The Mermaid Queen looked at the Dragon King. ¡°Your majesty Dragon King, why does this monster keep going wherever he pleases in your respected self¡¯s castle? Forget about the fact that the Ocean races still haven''tpletely sided with the monsters, even if they had, could the monsters really disregard our Ocean races¡¯ws as if they don¡¯t exist?¡±

    The Dragon King was a bit embarrassed. ¡°Queen, there might be some kind of misunderstanding here¡­¡±

    Mojard said with a cold snort, ¡°The queen needs not delude the people with lies. You wanted to save the earlier assassin and went all the way to the Four Way Pce just now. Now, you¡¯re making bogus usations instead?¡±

    The Dragon King eximed in shock, ¡°What?¡±

    This woman really knows how to cause trouble! Just where does she get the guts to do this?

    He was hoping that all of this was a lie. After all, the Mermaid Queen was just too pretty and he really did like her. If she really ended up offending the monsters, he could lose her forever. But he knew that it was likely to be true, because the Mermaid Queen had always strongly opposed the monsters. Furthermore, she had a good rtionship with the Peacock Princess.

    ¡°Does the Incestuous King have proof for what you im? Or did you perhaps see me break into the Four Way Pce with your own eyes?¡± the Mermaid Queen replied calmly.

    ¡°Hah, we¡¯re in the Dragon Pce right now. Who else could have the queen¡¯s water control ability, even being able to use the famous Deep Sea Harp?¡± Mojard retorted with a sneer.

    ¡°Then it seems the Incestuous King didn¡¯t personally see me, no?¡± The Mermaid Queen revealed an enchanting smile. ¡°As for the reasons your respected self has given, they seem to be a bitcking. Who among the the Ocean races isn¡¯t proficient in water skills? As for that Deep Sea Harp or whatever, there are many who are proficient in it as well, and anyone could easily impersonate me with such an instrument to incite disharmony between the monsters and our Ocean races.

    ¡°If I really wanted to save someone, why would I use something so obvious and expose my identity?¡±

    Mojard was speechless.

    Even the Dragon King secretly gave her a thumbs up.

    The woman I like is smart as expected.

    But he immediately felt a headacheing on.

    A smart woman is harder to obtain¡­

    Mojard said with a sigh, ¡°The Mermaid Queen is good with words as expected. This king has experienced that once again. In that case, if the queen hasn¡¯t been to the Four Way Pce, where was the queen just now?¡±

    The Mermaid Queen replied, ¡°In my chambers resting, of course.¡±

    ¡°Do you have proof?¡±

    ¡°The guards and my maid can all attest to that. Your respected self won¡¯t say that their words cannot be counted on as they are my trusted aides, right?¡± The Mermaid Queen had interacted with many of the world¡¯s most influential people, so she understood games of this level better than anyone. Even though the Incestuous King was domineering, this was a crucial point in the rtionship between the monsters and the Ocean races. With her reputation among the Ocean races, he wouldn¡¯t dare to arrest her without any proper proof.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Mojard pped his hands. ¡°Incredible. The queen has already prepared thoroughly beforehand. However, is the queen really so certain that your subordinates are absolutely loyal to you?¡±

    The Mermaid Queen¡¯s expression changed a bit. She quickly scanned her surroundings and saw that she didn¡¯t see the guard captain. Where did he go?

    Mojard had a huge smile as he continued, ¡°With the queen¡¯s cultivation, even if you secretly left, perhaps these guards wouldn''t know, but you can¡¯t fool your personal maid. As long as we question her a bit, we¡¯ll know the truth. Your personal maid probably isn''t as cool-headed as you are, right?¡±

    The Mermaid Queen suddenly turned around. Her heart sank to rock bottom. She finally knew who the traitor was, and realized where her deputy officer had gone.

    But it was already toote. Peach still had that weak, foolish guard next to her, but how could he possibly be a match for her own deputy officer? Once they were captured, everything would be exposed without even any need to question Peach.

 Chapter 2416: Unfathomable

    The Mermaid Queen reflexively wanted to run back to save them, but Mojard blocked her path as soon as she tried to move.

    ¡°What is the queen trying to do right now?¡± Mojard asked, a huge smile on his previously stern face.

    The Mermaid Queen¡¯s expression waspletely cold. She''d still been careless in the end. She''d thought that she had already prepared thoroughly, but with great fame there were no mediocre people. The Incestuous King had already anticipated what she would do. He''de here with such arge force mainly to keep her upied while the traitor he had bribed secretly left to capture her people. Then, they would catch the person and steal the goods together!

    She still tried to put up a final effort. ¡°Peach is a little girl who doesn¡¯t know much about the ways of the world. She has never even seen a true monster before. How could she withstand something like torture? Wouldn¡¯t you all be able to obtain any confession you want?!¡±

    ¡°That''s not something you need to concern yourself about. I will invite the Dragon King to observe the process with me. Could it be that you don''t believe that your Dragon King will uphold fairness?¡± Mojard seemed to have already anticipated that she would say this.

    The Dragon King also said with a cooperative smile, ¡°That¡¯s right, the queen does not need to worry. I won¡¯t let Peach be wronged.¡±

    The Mermaid Queen¡¯s hopes turned to dust. Even though Peach was loyal, how could she be a match for these old monsters? She really didn¡¯t know what to do now. She even felt that it would be good enough as long as that foolish guard managed to run away. He still had his little sister to save, so he couldn¡¯t just keep herpany here in death.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in the inner courtyard, Peach was asking Zu An about all sorts of gossip between him and the queen. Just then, however, a knock came from outside.

    ¡°Who is it?¡± Peach was stunned.

    ¡°Miss Peach, it¡¯s me.¡± The voice outside was still rather polite. After all, Peach was someone who was always by the queen¡¯s side, so the others always treated her courteously.

    ¡°So it was Deputy Officer Sha. Was there something you needed?¡± Peach asked in confusion.

    ¡°The monsters are really pressuring us outside, so the queen ordered me to bring you to a safer ce,¡± Deputy Officer Sha said with a smile.

    Zu An¡¯s brows rose slightly when he heard that. He grinned.

    Peach frowned and said, ¡°But the queen never told me about this.¡±

    She was also a bit curious. With Deputy Officer Sha¡¯s cultivation, how could he not sense that there was another person here?

    ¡°The queen is currently dealing with the Incestuous King¡¯s group, which is why she secretly sent me over.¡± There was a bit of impatience in Deputy Officer Sha¡¯s voice now.

    Peach was about to say that the queen had ordered her to keep her future husbandpany, so why would the queen make her go somewhere else to take shelter? What would this future husband do then?

    Just then, she saw Zu An shake his head slightly and immediately realized what was going on.

    Right, if Deputy Officer Sha came on the queen¡¯s orders, why would he not know about this future husband?

    As such, she said coldly, ¡°Thank you for your good intentions Deputy Officer Sha, but the queen ordered me to wait for her here. I wouldn¡¯t dare to go against this order.¡±

    As soon as she said this, the door was kicked open with a loud noise.

    A general dressed entirely in silver armor barged in, his most notable trait his long and sharp nose, indicating his Fishman race bloodline.

    ¡°Refusing a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit¡­¡± Deputy Officer Sha suddenly noticed Zu An when he entered and was stunned.

    Why is there a male guard next to the Mermaid Queen¡¯s personal chambers?

    And I don¡¯t even recognize him.

    Deputy Officer Sha said with a smile, ¡°I was wondering why you weren¡¯t willing to leave, Peach. So you were secretly meeting with a lover! Does the queen know about this?!¡±

    Even in this situation, he couldn¡¯t associate Zu An with the Mermaid Queen at all. The Mermaid Queen¡¯s beauty was known throughout the world. She had the most outstanding individuals around her. She had always lived a clean and honest life. Why would she ever keep a man in this kind of ce?

    Peach was furious and briefly panicked, worrying that the queen thought she was doing something with her future husband; if that was the case, things would be really bad. However, she came to her senses and realized, ¡°Deputy Officer Sha, you¡¯ve betrayed the queen!¡±

    ¡°It seems you¡¯re not stupid after all. Just follow me already if you¡¯re aware of the situation.¡± Deputy Officer Shaughed as he closed in on her.

    The queen is eminent and unapproachable; none of us would dare to have any thoughts about her.

    But Peach is charming and pretty; she¡¯s the dream lover of many guards. However, no one has ever dared to do anything to her because she''s one of the queen¡¯s people.

    Even so, today, I might have a chance to get closer to her through this opportunity.

    Peach grabbed Zu An¡¯s hand and ran toward the back. ¡°We need to escape!¡±

    She knew there was a secret passage there. As long as they jumped in, they would have a chance of escaping. Even though she had some cultivation, the gap between her and Deputy Officer Sha was too great. She didn¡¯t have any thoughts of fighting.

    But she never expected that her tug wouldn¡¯t move him at all. She only heard the guard say with a frown, ¡°But what will your queen do if we escape?¡±

    Peach was angry and nervous.

    The queen is really powerful and will definitely find a solution on her own!

    On the other hand, we might bring the queen problems if we get captured!

    With this slight dy, they''d already missed their final chance of escaping.

    You have sessfully trolled Peach for +55 +55 +55¡­

    Deputy Officer Sha was already blocking their route. He said with a sinister smile, ¡°Follow me obediently. The Incestuous King has already promised to bestow you to me after this matter is over. In the future, you will be mine.¡±

    Peach¡¯s face turnedpletely pale. She definitely didn¡¯t want to be this Deputy Officer Sha¡¯s ything! And there was still the Incestuous King too. What about after that? Or was there even an ¡®after that¡¯? Countless terrible thoughts appeared in her mind. She was about to burst into tears.

    Just then, Zu An said with a soft sigh, ¡°Did you forget that there is another person here?¡±

    ¡°Are you trying to y the hero? You¡¯re courting death!¡± Deputy Officer Sha¡¯s de shed down toward his head.

    He''d already been put in a bad mood when he saw that this guard was having a ¡®private meeting¡¯ with Peach here in this room. He wondered if Peach had already been taken by this brat first. That was why he didn¡¯t hold back at all.

    ¡°Be careful!¡± Peach was so scared that she cried out in rm. The queen¡¯s future husband was just an ordinary guard, and she didn¡¯t even sense any ki from him either. His cultivation could even be lower than hers! How could he possibly stop Deputy Officer Sha¡¯s powerful de? She was about to do everything she could to save him, since she''d been given the mission to take care of him. How could she just let him die?

    But her eyes immediately went wide the next second. Deputy Officer Sha was also stupefied.

    The powerful de actually stopped just an inch above the guard''s head. There seemed to be an invisible barrier blocking it from going further. Deputy Officer Sha couldn''t make it go any further no matter how much strength he used. More importantly, the other guard didn¡¯t even move his hands and just stared at him calmly.

    Anyone who could be the Mermaid Queen¡¯s deputy officer was definitely no pushover. He immediately realized what was going on.

    This is bad, this guy¡¯s strength is unfathomable. I¡¯m definitely not his match.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    He didn¡¯t even try to take back his de anymore, and immediately turned around to run. ¡°No¡­¡±

    Someone like this can only be handled by someone of the Incestuous King¡¯s caliber!

    He was about to shout out when he felt an intense pain in his chest. Then, he lost all of his strength. He looked down in surprise. When he saw the de sticking out of his chest, his entire mind was filled with disbelief!

    After all, the Mermaid race had always been wealthy, and because of the Mermaid Queen¡¯s reputation, people gifted her all manner of treasures just to see her smile. That was why the Mermaid Queen¡¯s guards were the best-armored among the Ocean races. The defensive power of their armor exceeded that of even the Dragon Pce¡¯s guards. On top of that, Deputy Officer Sha was from the Fishman race, so his body was covered in ayer of extremely tough scales. They were even stronger than the armor.

    Despite that twofold protection, he was actually instantly prated by the de. Just how high was the opponent''s cultivation? He really wanted to turn around and give that seemingly ordinary man another look, but by the time he turned around halfway, he''d already lost all of his energy. Then, everything in front of him went dark.

    Even Peach was stupefied. She looked at the man next to her in disbelief, eximing, ¡°You were actually this strong!¡±

    In that instant, she felt as if there was golden light shining around him. That ordinary face seemed to be a bit more handsome too.

    I¡¯m so stupid, seriously.

    How amazing is the queen? How could someone she chose be ordinary?

 Chapter 2417: Private Meeting

    When he saw the maid¡¯s look of adoration, Zu An chuckled. ¡°Let¡¯s go and help our queen.¡±

    He''d already thought through some things. Since the present day had the Shang sisters and the Mermaid race, that meant the Mermaid race hadn¡¯t experienced anything catastrophic. If there was no way to settle things without violence, the Mermaid Queen and even the entire Mermaid race could be in danger. He seemed to have vaguely sensed some kind of trend. Was fate already fixed, or was it still not set?

    Peach shivered when she saw what he was going to do and quickly grabbed him. ¡°Queen¡¯s future husband, you absolutely cannot act rashly!¡±

    Are you kidding me right now? Even though I¡¯ll admit that you¡¯re a bit stronger than I imagined, there¡¯s that crazy strong Mojard outside! No matter how strong you are, could you really beat him?

    ¡°What did you call me?¡± Zu An¡¯s expression became a bit strange hen he turned around to look at her.

    ¡°Ah, nothing. I was just telling you to please not act recklessly. You¡¯ll only be adding trouble for the queen if you go out there now and might even bring her danger!¡± Peach secretly stuck out her tongue.

    I was so worked up that I identally shouted out my thoughts.

    If the queen knew I''d exposed her identity, wouldn¡¯t she skin me alive?

    ¡°It¡¯ll be fine," Zu An said with a smile. He walked out immediately after.

    Peach was struck speechless for a while by that smile. In that instant, she suddenly felt as if his smile was extremely charming. But she quickly snapped out of her daze.

    Why did I be as blind as the queen? Can even someone who looks like that be handsome?

    When she saw that he had already walked quite far away, she quickly caught up to him. She protested, ¡°Young master, you really can¡¯t go over there. You¡¯ll just end up bringing the queen trouble!¡±

    ¡°I guess you¡¯re right. I need to change a bit," Zu An said with a nod. He took out a mask from his inner pockets and quickly changed into another appearance.

    With these severalyers of disguises, Mojard won¡¯t recognize me and it won¡¯t affect this piece of history.

    Peach was stunned when she saw that.

    His appearance changed just like that?

    Wait, this appearance is still really in. Is that ordinary appearance from before also just a disguise?

    The queen must¡¯ve seen his real face. I was going to say, how could the queen like someone so in?!

    I¡¯m so stupid, seriously!

    ¡­

    Outside, the Mermaid Queen¡¯s mind moved quickly. She was trying to figure out some way to save them. If she let Deputy Officer Sha catch Peach, there would be no way to salvage the situation anymore.

    And that stupid guard is definitely no match for Deputy Officer Sha.

    What do I do, what do I do?

    How can I confirm my innocence while also saving that foolish guard?

    She suddenly realized something and came up with a solution. Even though that method was a bit inappropriate, this was a moment of crisis and she couldn''t afford to worry about all of that anymore.

    As such, she said, ¡°Fine, the reason why I didn¡¯t say anything is because the matter was a bit embarrassing. But in order to not damage the rtionship between the monsters and the Ocean races, I¡¯ll just be frank.¡±

    The Dragon King was overjoyed to hear that. ¡°The queen should¡¯ve been like this from the start. Please continue; I will help you preside over things.¡±

    The Mermaid Queen¡¯s expression grew a bit strange, but she still replied, ¡°Thank you Dragon King. Actually, I was meeting my lover in private, so that was why I was trying to cover it up the entire time.¡±

    At first, the Dragon King was admiring her extraordinary beauty, thinking, As expected of the woman I like the most.

    When he heard that, he subconsciously began saying to Mojard, ¡°I was just saying that the Incestuous King definitely misunderstood. How could she possibly be the assassin? She was just in her room with her lover¡­ Huh?¡±

    His bodypletely froze midway through his sentence. He turned around to that devastatingly beautiful woman as if he didn¡¯t dare to believe his ears.

    It wasn¡¯t just him. Even the Mermaid Queen¡¯s subordinates turned to look at their queen in shock. Their eyes were moving rapidly as if an earthquake had begun.

    The beautiful and noble queen had a lover? Just what kind of man could be the lover of the queen?

    Motherf*cker, we¡¯re so jealous!

    The other big shots who had followed the Dragon King here were petrified on the spot. The goddess they had chased for so many years actually had an owner? She''d been in a private meeting with her lover! That lover¡¯s tongue had probably gone wherever it wanted in her mouth, right? He could have done even more uneptable things.

    Just the thought alone was enough for their hearts to shatter.

    ¡°No!¡±

    ¡°!!!¡±

    Countless people were screaming internally. In that instant, it was as if the ocean waves around them were ying a poignant and bleak song.

    In the past, even though the Mermaid Queen never responded to their passionate derations of love, they hadn¡¯t really minded it because even the Fiend Emperor and Dragon King had been rejected. They could ept their rejections because they were all treated equally. Sometimes, they evenforted each other a bit. But now that they learned that there was someone who had already taken this beauty home, their minds copsed.

    Who is it? Just who managed to win the queen¡¯s heart?!

    They all even shared a tacit understanding that no matter how handsome and amazing he was, they would immediately cut him down once they saw who it was.

    Zu An and Peach were stunned as they arrived. They''d never expected to hear such shocking news.

    Peach¡¯s expression was full of excitement.

    The queen is so brave! She actually announced her rtionship with her future husband publicly in front of so many of her pursuers! She really loves her future husband!

    Her future husband must¡¯ve been worried about her and decided toe out to help.

    I ship them!

    When she saw them arrive, there was a bit of confusion on the Mermaid Queen¡¯s face. Who was the person next to Peach?

    Wait, his clothes are a bit familiar. Peach is following him, and there¡¯s that familiar look in his eyes. So it was him!

    It seems that foolish guard wasn¡¯t really foolish at all. He changed his appearance once he knew that Mojard was outside.

    Wait, then doesn¡¯t that mean he heard what I just said?

    The Mermaid Queen¡¯s face immediately turned red when she realized that. Everything she''d said just now had to seem like a public confession.

    She wondered just what he was thinking.

    Wait, he doesn¡¯t even know that I''m Suyin. Alright, it¡¯s still fine, it¡¯s still fine.

    The one who''s embarrassed is the Mermaid Queen. What does it have to do with me, Suyin?

    When they saw the Mermaid Queen¡¯s shy expression, how could the people present still not know that this man was the lover she was speaking of? They immediately felt so much fiery jealousy that the seawater was practically about to boil.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Zu An was even starting to be a bit numb when he saw the crazy amount of Rage points. No matter how much he''d tried to guard against it, in the end, he''d still ended up getting seriously involved with this important historical figure.

    I¡¯m done for!

    Will this create some devastating effect on the future Mermaid race?

    That unwilling look on his face, in the eyes of everyone else, only made Zu An seem as if he deserved a proper beating. Another huge wave of Rage points followed.

    When they took in Zu An''s ordinary looks, however, they managed to calm down a bit. They''d thought that the Mermaid Queen ended up liking a truly handsome man. But this was it?

    How am I inferior to him?!

    But then, an even greater wave of Rage points surged in.

    The Dragon King gritted his teeth as he stared at Zu An. ¡°Just who are you?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Ao Wudi for +444 +444 +444¡­

 Chapter 2418: Protecting Her Man

    The Mermaid Queen rushed forth and stepped in front of Zu An. ¡°Dragon King, he is just an ordinary person. Don¡¯t scare him.¡±

    When he saw how she was protecting him, the Dragon King¡¯s eyes twitched. He had fawned upon her for so many years, but when had she ever cared about him? She was acting so gentle and nervous toward another man right now! He felt as if a de had been thrust straight into his heart.

    But when he saw that beautiful face, he couldn''t bring himself to get angry at her at all. He could only vent all of his frustrations onto Zu An. ¡°Hah, do you only know how to hide behind a woman? I really wonder just what the queen sees in you.¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Ao Wudi for +555 +555 +555¡­

    Zu An smiled and didn¡¯t seem to mind it at all. ¡°You can find a woman to hide behind just like me too, so why aren¡¯t you looking for one? Or maybe you can¡¯t do it? There¡¯s no way, there¡¯s no way, right?¡±

    The Dragon King was outraged. When had he ever experienced these kinds of strange phrases from Earth¡¯s Inte? He was so angry he almost vomited blood on the spot.

    You have sessfully trolled Ao Wudi for +999 +999 +999¡­

    The Mermaid Queen also had a strange expression. She''d been worried that this foolish guard would be bullied, but it now seemed like the one who was being bullied was the Dragon King!

    ¡°You dare to offend this king¡¯s dignity? You¡¯re courting death!¡± The Dragon King could no longer hold it in and swung a w at Zu An¡¯s head. From the looks of it, Zu An¡¯s head would explode like apletely ripe melon as soon as it made contact.

    There were many individuals present who normally didn¡¯t get along with the Dragon King, but this was a rare instance where theypletely agreed with the Dragon King¡¯s actions. They wanted him to kill this lover of the Mermaid Queen, and the sooner the better.

    But the Mermaid Queen already understood the Dragon King¡¯s temperament and stepped in front of Zu An preemptively. The Dragon King could only redirect his ws¡¯ force to the side.

    Boom!

    The defensive formations covering that segment of the pce wall flickered for a moment before going fully dim, and the wall was smashed to pieces by the Dragon King''s w.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The powerful Ocean race cultivators present exchanged a look. They all saw the fear in each other¡¯s eyes.

    This Dragon King is perverted, but his cultivation hasn¡¯t declined at all.

    Even Mojard gave him a second look. He seemed to have underestimated the Dragon King''s strength a bit from how passive and agreeable thetter normally acted.

    The Mermaid Queen looked coldly at the Dragon King. ¡°Dragon King, you¡¯ve crossed the line.¡± At the same time, she said to Zu An via voice transmission, ¡°You are someone Suyin brought back. I have no feelings for you, but you need to cooperate with me in this performance.¡±

    When he heard her warning, Zu An rubbed his nose. She still couldn¡¯t drop her earlier act even in this situation. Would she die from embarrassment if she found out the truth?

    He had to admit that the Mermaid Queen really was beautiful. Right now, the two of them were really close to each other since she was standing protectively in front of him. He could clearly smell the faint fragranceing from her body. Together with her perfect and graceful figure, it was enough to make any man go crazy. He didn¡¯t know what kind of method she''d used to hide this scent before, but it seemed she was quite good at acting and didn¡¯t neglect such small details.

    The Dragon King was about to explode out of anger. ¡°Queen, are you really going to just continue protecting him like this?¡±

    You have sessfully trolled Ao Wudi for +666 +666 +666¡­

    The Mermaid Queen¡¯s expression remained calm as she replied, ¡°He is my lover. Who would I protect if not him?¡±

    What, do you want me to say I¡¯ll protect you?

    But those words could provoke him too much. If she ended up pushing him all the way to the monsters¡¯ side, it wouldn¡¯t be good at all.

    Zu An felt as if he could hear the sounds of hearts breaking all around him as soon as she said those words. Then, the Rage points he was receiving climbed even higher. He had a strange expression. Even though he didn¡¯t want to get too involved with someone like the Mermaid Queen who was incredibly famous in this era, the speed at which he was earning Rage points really was hard to pass up.

    Maid Peach was so excited that her little face waspletely red. She''d thought the queen had never liked anyone and even wondered if she''d lost the ability to like someone. Now, she realized that once the queen liked a man, she was actually incredibly brave!

    I hope the queen¡¯s future husband will live up to the queen¡¯s sincerity.

    ¡°Just what is so special about this guy?¡± The Dragon King stared straight at Zu An.

    The Mermaid Queen smiled. ¡°He is just an ordinary guard. But it¡¯s enough that I like him.¡± Afterward, she quickly said privately to Zu An, ¡°You absolutely cannot misunderstand. I do not have any feelings for you and it is all to deal with the current situation.¡±

    Zu An nodded. When he saw how she almost had two different personalities, he almost broke out intoughter.

    The more you get into the act, the worse the social suicide will be!

    ¡°Just an ordinary guard?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s enough as long as you like him?¡±

    ¡­

    Peach blinked.

    The queen really knows how to act. Your future husband is so amazing, how could he just be a normal guard?

    Or is she being humble on purpose? I really can¡¯t figure it out.

    Peach thought that maybe she just couldn''t understand because she was of lower status, but when the others heard that description, they almost vomited blood out of anger.

    They actually couldn''t evenpare to an ordinary guard! The Mermaid Queen¡¯s feelings for him were actually this strong!

    Could it be that this guard is one of those charming devils?

    There were some others who had cold expressions.

    How could an ordinary guard possibly have the fortune of enjoying the love of the Ocean races¡¯ number one beauty?

    There is no way the Mermaid Queen can always be around that guy. There are a million ways to kill this ordinary guardter!

    The Dragon King was about to say something else, but Mojard couldn''t continue to watch. He said with a coldugh, ¡°I didn¡¯te here to see a romantic drama.¡±

    The Dragon King was shocked. He knew he had already made Mojard unhappy, so he could only suppress the jealousy and anger inside him. He would slowly settle things with that guardter.

    Mojard looked at Zu An, and his gaze shifted to Peach. ¡°Earlier, I sent Deputy Officer Sha to invite thisdy here. Where is Deputy Officer Sha?¡±

    Peach was just an ordinary girl, so how could she withstand the powerful pressure of this kind of powerful monster? She immediately panicked when she met his gaze and reflexively looked at Zu An.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Mojard raised his brows. His attention returned to Zu An. ¡°It seems Deputy Officer Sha has already perished at your hands!¡±

    A bit of confusion shed through the Mermaid Queen¡¯s eyes.

    This foolish guard¡¯s skills are weak. He is far, far weaker than Deputy Officer Sha. How could he possibly win against thetter?

    The Dragon King and the other Ocean race experts suddenly realized something.

    So this kid was disguising himself as a pig to eat a tiger! I was just about to say, why would the Mermaid Queen like an ordinary guard?

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°What Deputy Officer Sha? I''ve never met him before. Please don¡¯t wrongly use me, sir.¡± At the same time, he released a sigh inwardly. This Mojard before him was high-spirited, and was almost an entirely different personpared to the depressed Mojard he''d met previously.

    ¡°Your glib talk is useless in front of me. We¡¯ll know everything once we find the corpse.¡± As soon as Mojard spoke, he disappeared and reappeared deep inside the pce.

    The Mermaid Queen¡¯s expression changed. She wanted to stop him, but it was already toote. She only felt even more astonishment at the Incestuous King¡¯s profound cultivation.

    The Dragon King had wanted to protect the Mermaid Queen, but he now just watched coldly from the side. He was hoping for the Incestuous King to find proof, then smack this random lover who hade out of nowhere to death.

 Chapter 2419: Disappeared History

    Mojard didn¡¯t make them wait for too long. He quickly returned to where he''d just been.

    The Dragon King and the others¡¯ smiles immediately froze. They saw that there wasn¡¯t anything in Mojard¡¯s hands, and his eyes were full of confusion too. He clearly hadn¡¯t obtained anything useful from this trip.

    Peach¡¯s eyes now carried a bit of adoration as she looked at Zu An¡¯s back.

    The queen¡¯s future husband is so amazing!

    She''d been confused as to why he''d spent extra time getting rid of Deputy Officer Sha¡¯s corpse when they were leaving. So he''d already anticipated that this would happen! When she then remembered how he''d made sure to change his appearance again on his way out, she was really amazed at how thoroughly he took care of matters!

    The queen¡¯s insight is extraordinary as expected! If I ran into an ordinary-looking guard like this, I probably wouldn¡¯t give him a second look either.

    The Mermaid Queen quickly reacted and said, ¡°In the end, I am still the leader of a race. Your respected self has barged into my private quarters just like this. Could it be that you have no regard for our Ocean races at all?!¡±

    As they looked at Mojard, many Ocean race experts had strange expressions. Even though they were unhappy that the Mermaid Queen suddenly had a lover, they were still all from the Ocean races in the end. The Mermaid Queen was someone of high prestige, and yet Mojard searched willfully as they pleased without any proof. If they had been the ones who offended the monsters, wouldn¡¯t Mojard treat them with even less importance?

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 Chapter 2420: Rage Out of Humiliation

    In that instant, Zu An thought about many things. He even wondered if this spacetime fragment was the segment of history missing from the world he knew. All sorts of time travel terminology came to his mind.

    When he remembered that this world¡¯s Mermaid race did have a Shang surname, he felt that there was indeed likely a connection with the present era.

    Then what about the Gong surname? Considering the pride the queen showed, the Gong surname was clearly the surname that carried absolute superiority throughout history. So why is it that there was no trace of it at all in the present?

    Could it be that something ended up happening to the Mermaid race, which caused the Gong bloodline topletely disappear?

    He couldn''t help but shiver when he thought of that. He recalled recent events.

    If I hadn¡¯t appeared when the Mermaid Queen went to Four Way Pce, she would¡¯ve most likely failed. Even if she managed to escape by a fluke, she wouldn¡¯t have been able to survive the entrance of Mojard¡¯s group just now.

    Could it be that the Mermaid race¡¯s Gong bloodline waspletely destroyed because of what happened here, and that was why they were reced by the Shang n?

    Now that Zu An had saved the Mermaid Queen, the Gong surname would still upy the most powerful position of the Mermaid race. Then wouldn¡¯t that mean the Shang surname would no longer hold that position in the future?

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 Chapter 2421: Confession

    Zu An first shook his head, but then said, ¡°At first, I didn¡¯t know that you were the queen, but when I saw you use certain skills and treasures, I had my guesses.¡±

    All sorts of vivid expressions flickered across the Mermaid Queen''s face. She''d thought he didn¡¯t know when she was acting as the Mermaid Queen and Suyin this entire time! But this guy was just watching her make a fool of herself the entire time!

    Ahhhhhhhhhh!

    Her entire body wentpletely tense, and even her toes clenched. She was so embarrassed her toes were practically about to dig out a new Dragon Pce under her.

    You have sessfully trolled Gong Suyin for +666 +666 +666¡­

    The Mermaid Queen broke character,pletely broke character!

    She''d felt a bit sorry that she waspletely fooling with him, but the fool was actually her all along!

    When he saw how she was about to explode, Zu An sighed. ¡°Please don¡¯t worry, queen. I wasn¡¯t intending to have any rtions with the Mermaid race at all from the very start, and I am not your enemy.¡±

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 Chapter 2422: Toyed-With, Broken Incestuous King

    Mojard gave Zu An a confused look. He didn¡¯t know if thetter really had just made a blind guess or if he was covering something up. He just felt that he couldn''t really see through this person.

    The Mermaid Queen realized what was going on and coldly said, ¡°Your respected self is still someone with quite the reputation, and yet you are sneaking into a woman¡¯s quarters in the night. Are you really not worried that you¡¯ll make a fool of yourself once news of this gets out?¡±

    Meanwhile, she secretly called on the guards outside. She needed to blow this matter as out of proportion as possible. If enough people saw what was going on, Mojard¡¯s options would be greatly limited.

    Unfortunately, there was no response at all from any of the guards outside no matter how she called out. Her heart sank.

    Mojardughed loudly. ¡°The queen was previously able to set up a soundproofing barrier around the Four Way Pce; did you think this king couldn''t do the same?¡±

    ¡°Just what do you want to do?¡± the Mermaid Queen asked on the surface, but her eyes darted around looking for a way to escape.

    ¡°Escape is prohibited here!¡± Mojard clearly saw what she was trying to do and immediately spoke this rule into existence.

    The Mermaid Queen immediately felt her body be heavy. There seemed to be something intangible starting to restrict her. If she tried to run, that restriction would immediately tighten up.

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 Chapter 2423: Path of Annihilation

    When he saw the gentleness in the Mermaid Queen''s expression, Zu An actually went on high alert.

    Wait, sis, why are you suddenly like this? I didn¡¯t even say anything!

    Don¡¯te over here!

    After learning of the Mermaid race¡¯s behind-the-scenes story, he didn¡¯t dare to get any closer to this woman. Otherwise, if the Shang sisters ended up disappearing as a result, it would be toote even for tears.

    Mojard¡¯s entire body went numb when he saw the two exchange looks back and forth. He felt like a third wheel who wasn''t supposed to be here. He coughed lightly, reminding Zu An to at least retain some basic respect for his question.

    Only then did Zu An react and say, ¡°I can tell you, but you need to answer one of my questions first.¡±

    ¡°What question?¡± Mojard frowned slightly. But if he could figure who this was, answering some less sensitive questions didn¡¯t seem to be entirely out of the question.

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 Chapter 2424: I Can Spare Your Life

    ¡°Judging from how you¡¯re speaking, you don¡¯t seem to be familiar with these things. That¡¯s quite puzzling.¡± Mojard was confused. How could someone who didn¡¯t know about these things be so strong?

    Zu An smiled. ¡°If your respected self can tell me, I can spare your life today.¡±

    The Mermaid Queen was filled with shock. After all, even though she knew that Zu An had hidden his strength well, she hadn¡¯t expected that it was to this extent!

    He can actually fight on equal terms with Mojard!

    No, it actually seems as if Mojard is at a disadvantage!

    And the way he spoke sounded really natural. Could it be that he has absolute confidence in winning?

    But this is the incredibly famous Incestuous King! There are probably fewer than three people who can win against him in the world right now.

    Mojard wasa bit stunned, but then he was so angry he actuallyughed. ¡°Hahahah! This is truly amusing. It has already been a long time since someone spoke to me in such a way!¡±

    He was already feeling really annoyed. The Soulspeak he was most proficient in had been countered, and he had to worry about that ck hole skill in close-quartersbat. But now the other party was offering to spare his life?

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 Chapter 2425: Now That I Have Seen the East Wind, How Can I Not Be Joyful

    Chapter 2425: Now That I Have Seen the East Wind, How Can I Not Be Joyful

    ¡°Those are¡­¡± The Ocean race onlookers were all shocked when they saw this spectacr sight.

    ¡°Divine weapons! Every single one is a legendary divine weapon!¡±

    ¡°No, they¡¯re not divine weapons. Even though the auras are simr, the auras they emanate are thirty percent or so weaker than real divine weapons.¡± There were many powerful individuals present, so someone quickly determined this.

    ¡°Hah, it¡¯s just that each one is a bit weaker. Why don¡¯t you open your eyes and look at just how many of them there are?!¡± another person immediately fired back.

    The one from before immediately stopped talking.

    Right, if over ten thousand weapons that were close to deity-grade bombarded a target, it would be way stronger than one or two true deity-grade weapons.

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 Chapter 2426: Predetermined Fate

    The east wind scatters a thousand blossoms at night, and as it blows, stars fall like rain.

    In order to use these weapons of mass destruction, Zu An had previously needed to be in a secret dungeon where the natural ki was especially abundant. But even though this world¡¯s ki wasn¡¯t as rich as that of the Imperial Tomb secret dungeon, it was still far superior to his Cultivation World. And he''d be much, much more powerful himself too. That was why there wasn¡¯t too much of an issue for him to produce these devastating missiles.

    Even though Mojard didn¡¯t know what Dongfeng missiles were, he could clearly sense danger. The next second, he vanished from his original location.

    Everyone watching was stunned. After all, Mojard was a massive beast thousands of meters tall. How could he disappear just like that? They all felt a bit of difort from the sudden change.

    ¡°Is it some instant teleportation skill? Is he hiding somewhere to prepare an ambush?¡± The Mermaid Queen was nervous, her eyes filled with worry.

    Zu An¡¯s divine sense covered the entire ce. He discovered that Mojard really had left. Thetter had probably used some life-saving secret skill.

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 Chapter 2427: Plot

    Zu An had been wondering how he was going to talk to the Mermaid Queen without hurting her too much, but he was stunned as soon as he heard what she said. It seemed his imagination had gonea bit too far.

    The Mermaid Queen grinned when she saw his reaction. She''d already guessed what he was going to say before he even spoke. That was why she''d immediately changed the topic to seize the initiative. She''d had way too many men around her over the years, so she was very familiar with this kind of conversation. And while dealing with all of those men, she couldn''t offend them, but neither could she let them take advantage of her. If she didn¡¯t have any tricks up her sleeve, how could she survive?

    She initially hadn¡¯t wanted to use these kinds of methods, but she knew that if she didn¡¯t do anything, this person would likelypletely disappear from her life. She would never be able to see him ever again. She didn¡¯t want that, so she''d decisively chosen to carve open a different path.

    If he didn¡¯t want to get too close to her, she would just talk about some other matters. Judging from their earlier interactions, she keenly sensed that he seemed to have been paying special attention to the Peacock Princess.

    ¡°Let¡¯s talk inside.¡± The Mermaid Queen took the chance to invite him in. Her previous pce had been sliced in half by Mojard¡¯s de, but Peach had already brought the others off to the side to prepare a new ce for her.

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 Chapter 2428: Donâ€™t Tell Me Youâ€™re a

    Chapter 2428: Don¡¯t Tell Me You¡¯re a

    ¡°Anger, hatred, and ultimately aplete war with the Fiend races that would not end until the other side was thoroughly crushed.¡± The Mermaid Queen¡¯s expression changed.

    There had never been a shortage of people with bad ulterior motives around her, so that was why she understood human nature extremely well. Not everyone in this world was rational. Many people would be affected by all kinds of emotions and act unreasonably.

    At first, perhaps, there would still be some people who knew what was really going on. But if more and more people came to believe that it was the Fiend races doing these things, the few intelligent individuals wouldn¡¯t be able to reverse the situation anymore.

    Furthermore, there were many people with ulterior motives who would continue to fan the mes behind the scenes. So if such a thing happened, the Ocean and Fiend races would most likely be swept along by the masses and everything would plummet toward a bottomless abyss.

    ¡°Then what should we do now?¡± the Mermaid Queen asked. ¡°Should we tell the Dragon King so he can prepare for it?¡±

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°People can live as scoundrels for a thousand days, but how can one guard against scoundrels for a thousand days? Besides, the Ocean races'' territory is sorge, and it¡¯s impossible to protect against everyone. We might even end up triggering the other side''s vignce as a result. What we need to do is to wait. As long as Mojard does something, there will be some traces. We can then track him down to retrieve the Peacock Princess.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± The Mermaid Queen approved of this n too.

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 Chapter 2429: The True Meaning of Undetermined Fate

    ¡°Stop shouting already! What happened?¡± azy voice called out.

    Zu An turned around and saw Mi Li lying on a bed, wearing her red gown. Her head rested naturally on her jade-white hands, and her beautiful eyes were half-closed.

    A smile appeared on Zu An¡¯s face when he saw her. ¡°It¡¯s been so long since I¡¯ve heard from master empress that I was worried something bad happened to you.¡±

    ¡°I was just sleeping. What bad things could even happen to me?¡± Mi Li yawned. ¡°Alright, start talking. Why did you call for me?¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t I call you just because I miss you?¡± Zu An immediately delivered a round of ttery.

    ¡°Big sis empress, beautiful master, that stuff is one thing when you¡¯re being naughty... but you call me master empress properly when you¡¯re asking me for something. Do you think I don¡¯t know what kind of person you are yet?¡± Mi Li rolled her eyes. ¡°If you¡¯re still going to stall, I¡¯m going back to sleep.¡±

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 Chapter 2430: No More Riddles

    ¡°What is the meaning of this?¡± Zu An asked. His brain was a bit overloaded. Yesterday, today, tomorrow, the past, future... Even words like "wristwatch" appeared in his head. Wasn¡¯t time being continuous somethingpletely to be expected?

    Mi Li hesitated for a moment, but in the end, she still exined, ¡°The concept of time is something naturally formed by ordinary creatures. But for certain extraordinary beings, time actually doesn¡¯t have much meaning. They can, at the same instant, observe every single key moment of the past, present, and future.¡±

    Zu An nodded to himself. This was also the same understanding humans had toward certain divine beings.

    ¡°For those beings, as long as they want to, the past can be the future, and the future can be the past. That''s why you don''t need to worry too much about whether or not you can change history. As long as you follow the proper rules, even if you change it, it won¡¯t actually mean too much.¡±

    Zu An was a bit moved. In the past when he saw Yumen Beiqing in the Sealed Land, thetter had said a lot of mysterious things to him. Could the meaning of what she''d said back then be simr to what Mi Li was saying right now?

    ¡°But if we put it that way, isn¡¯t history a bit like a girl who allows others to dress her up as they wish? But if anyone can change her outfit, wouldn¡¯t the endless realms be inplete chaos?¡± Zu An asked. His brain felt like it was about to explode.

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 Chapter 2431: Love Arises Without Knowing Its Source

    At first, Zu An had been sighing in amazement after realizing that the Annihtion Beast that wiped out the Monster World all on its own was just a trivial soldier. Then just how powerful was that being all the way at the very end of the path of annihtion?

    But then he heard what Mi Li said after, leaving him speechless.

    Someone like that could probably kill me with a single look, right?

    Just how did such a being and I be enemies decreed by fate?

    He said with a miserable scowl, ¡°Sigh, just how did I end up provoking an enemy as powerful as this?¡±

    Mi Li had aplicated expression as she said, ¡°Everything has been arranged by fate.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that fate is also one of the paths,¡± Zu An said in annoyance.

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 Chapter 2432: Behind Bars

    Chapter 2432: Behind Bars

    Peach barged into the room only to see the queen''s husband stunned, and the queen embarrassed and furious.

    ¡°What kind of nonsense are you shouting?!¡± The Mermaid Queen really wanted to give this girl a good spanking. Just how many times had she already told Peach? This wasn¡¯t some queen¡¯s husband and she absolutely couldn''t call him that. And yet the admonishment went in one ear and came out the other!

    The Mermaid Queen almost fainted out of anger. Her rtionship with this person was already so awkward, and now he had to hear this kind of nickname? What if he ended up misunderstanding and thought that she''d asked her maid to call him that? He could suspect her of ulterior motives, thinking she forced her maids to do these kinds of things. If that happened, wouldn¡¯t everything be over?

    Fortunately, Zu An helped ease the awkwardness. He asked gently, ¡°Peach, just now, did you say that the North Sea Crown Prince was killed by the Peacock Princess?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I just received the most updated information. Our queen is extremely popr, so people always bring her the first information they receive to gain her favor,¡± Peach said proudly.

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 Chapter 2433: Explosive News

    Those words worried the Mermaid Queen. If the North Sea Dragon King¡¯s anger could be felt from so far away, it would be no easy feat for them to rescue the Peacock Princess under his nose.

    The two of them stepped into the Dragon Palace and saw four conspicuous men dressed in different-colored dragon robes, each with a pair of horns growing on their heads. They looked grim, and they had dispositions that distinguished them from the others.  Their superior strength and their outfits made it clear they were the Four Dragon Kings.

    Zu An was perplexed. On the whole, the Four Dragon Kings appeared to be of equal standing even though the East Sea Dragon King was their de facto leader, so why was there only one Dragon King in the future?

    ¡°My queen has arrived!¡±

    The Mermaid Queen lived up to her reputation as the brightest star among the Ocean races. Her mere appearance caused a stir. Despite their best attempts to hold it in, the crowd couldn¡¯t hide their delight and zeal.

    The East Sea Dragon King¡¯s face also lit up when he saw the Mermaid Queen. He was about to greet her when he noticed Zu An and remembered she was already taken. That dampened his mood, but he didn¡¯t let it show on his face. He approached them with a chuckle and said, ¡°Esteemed guest, pardon me for my lack of hospitality.¡±

    He was socially adept enough to be able to keep up appearances despite not knowing how to address Zu An.

    His solemn and perhaps even humble attitude tipped others off that the newly-arrived fellow could be the mysterious individual who had defeated Incestuous King Mojard.

    The other three Dragon Kings secretly sized up Zu An. They had steered clear of yesterday¡¯s chaos to avoid being implicated, but their intelligence officials had already filled them in on the events.  Not daring to appear disrespectful, they quickly greeted Zu An alongside the East Sea Dragon King.

    Zu An took the chance to size up the North Sea Dragon King. The latter looked to be the oldest of the Four Dragon Kings, though his wide shoulders, round belly, and reddened face suggested that he had a terrible temper.

    ¡°I heard you captured the Fiend races¡¯ Peacock Princess. Where is she?¡± Zu An got straight to the point.

    The Four Dragon Kings were startled. They wondered to themselves what this mysterious individual was planning. Does he have a grudge against the Fiend races?

    The North Sea Dragon King clenched his fists under his sleeves. He might be strong, but our Ocean races are no pushover either. Does he dare to be unreasonable when we have so many experts here? I will avenge my son even if it means offending him!

    The Mermaid Queen was sensitive to emotional fluctuations. She noticed the Four Dragon Kings¡¯ vigilance and panicked. Shouldn¡¯t you be more subtle about your intention to save the Peacock Princess?

    ¡°That woman killed our crown prince. Our people have just captured her.¡±

    By pointing out the Peacock Princess¡¯ grievous crime, the East Sea Dragon King was trying to prevent the mysterious individual from raising any unreasonable request. He then tilted his body and averted his gaze.

    A beautiful woman dressed in green sat in a formation cage located at the corner of the room. Her hair was unkempt, and her clothes were stained with blood. She had to have been engaged in an intense battle earlier before being defeated, resulting in her capture.

    Zu An had noticed her through his divine sense from the moment he stepped into the palace, and he was as shocked as when he first met the Mermaid Queen. The Peacock Princess looked identical to the future¡¯s Kong Nanwu!

    Goosebumps covered his body. He couldn¡¯t understand why this was the case. It could be a coincidence with the Mermaid Queen, but the odds of such a coincidence happening twice were too low to brush off as luck.

    He even wondered if he had fallen for an illusion and entered a dream, and everything was just his imagination. That would explain why the people resembled those in his memories.

    But who would have such powerful means? Is it the Time Scribes¡¯ doing, or a trap the Lord of Slaughter left on the Nature Jade Plate?

    However, he quickly dismissed those conjectures. On one hand, his cultivation was high enough for him to know if they had cast such tricks on him. On the other hand, Mi Li hadn¡¯t sensed anything amiss with this spacetime fragment when she appeared earlier.

    Apart from that, the only ones who resembled people he knew in the future were the Mermaid Queen and the Peacock Princess; the others in the Dragon Palace were foreign faces.

    Besides, he had the Lord of Slaughter¡¯s tooth; illusions weren''t supposed to work on him.

    So what could the reason behind this be¡­

    Just then, the Mermaid Queen nudged him with a cough. She was perplexed as to why he was staring fixedly at the Peacock Princess.

    Is he attracted by her beauty? Surely not. He didn¡¯t display such a strong reaction when he first saw me.

    She had absolute confidence in her beauty, and she didn¡¯t think the man before her could be tempted by appearances.

    So why is he acting this way?

    The others in the palace also sensed an anomaly. Bro, you already have the Mermaid Queen beside you. Where do you find the courage to stare so intently at another beautiful woman?

    Even the Peacock Princess felt uncomfortable. She instinctively retreated a step, feeling weirded out by his incessant gaze. But when she met his gaze, she was surprised to discover she didn¡¯t feel loathing for him. It was baffling, considering how she hadn¡¯t hesitated to kill the North Sea¡¯s crown prince for teasing her.

    Upon hearing the Mermaid Queen¡¯s reminder, Zu An returned to reality and said, ¡°You have it wrong. She isn¡¯t the murderer of the North Sea¡¯s crown prince.¡±

    Shock rippled across the palace. Many eyes narrowed in response. Does this mean he¡¯s intending to side with that woman?

    The Mermaid Queen was confused too. She had helped him analyze the pros and cons of different options on their way here. Was he intending to go about the forceful method despite that?

    The East Sea Dragon King opened his mouth, but no words came out.

    I don¡¯t dare to provoke Mojard, but as for you¡­ Fine, I don¡¯t dare to provoke you either. What¡¯s been going on these last few days? Why are there so many people I can¡¯t mess with?

    The North Sea Dragon King, however, was too overwhelmed by the grief of having lost his son to hold himself back. ¡°You might have the superior cultivation here, but aren¡¯t you disrespecting us, the Ocean races, too much here by blatantly siding with the murderer?¡±

    The other three Dragon Kings exchanged looks before taking half a step back. Don¡¯t drag us into this.

    That being said, they knew that as much as they wanted to, there was no way for them to stay out of this anymore.

    Since ancient times, the Four Dragon Kings had always stood on the same front. They were viewed as a collective entity, sharing glory and humiliation. If they refused to back the North Sea Dragon King here, their reputation would fall into shambles.

    If a crack surfaced between them, others in the Ocean races could start refusing to submit to them. So, the three Dragon Kings could only muster their courage to take a step back in support of the North Sea Dragon King.

    ¡°I¡¯m not siding with the murderer. She was with me for the entirety of last night, so how could she have killed the North Sea¡¯s crown prince?¡± Zu An replied calmly.

    Those words stirred a huge commotion.

    The Peacock Princess stared in disbelief at him, her almond eyes wide. The Mermaid Queen¡¯s eyes were also filled with bewilderment.

 Chapter 2434: Betting Everything

    The Mermaid Queen¡¯s mouth fell agape as her mind went completely blank. Countless thoughts rushed into her head.

    No wonder he was quiet for the entire night. I waited in my room, thinking he would come to initiate a conversation, but he never came. I even considered going over to look for him!

    But she held herself back. On one hand, she thought it was indecent for a woman to knock on a man¡¯s door in the middle of the night. On the other hand, she had her pride and didn¡¯t want to lower herself too much.

    Now I know he was having fun with the Peacock Princess the entire time!

    She hadn''t heard anything, but given his cultivation, it wouldn¡¯t be hard for him to conceal the commotion from others.

    She even began doubting herself.

    How am I inferior to the Peacock Princess? I feel like a laughingstock, being kept in the dark about it.

    As she regained her rationality, however, she realized something was amiss. It was just a moment earlier that the other party was still discussing ways to rescue the Peacock Princess with her.

    He had also been cultivating when she visited his room earlier, and there was no weird smell in the room. Women were exceptionally sensitive about fragrances that weren¡¯t theirs.

    The Peacock Princess¡¯ shocked expression further reinforced her deduction. A smile slowly crept onto her face.

    Ah, he was just trying to rescue her. It is a good method, just a little¡­ crude. And it looks as if it implicates me too¡­

    Everyone in the palace looked between a few key figures, but most eyes were centered on her.

    This fellow was having fun with another woman in your residence; how can you tolerate something as ridiculous as that?

    No one spoke those words aloud, but the Mermaid Queen could guess as much. Her face slowly reddened, as she realized this was going to be a stain on her reputation¡­

    The grieving North Sea Dragon King was the first to snap out of it. ¡°Utter rubbish! We caught her within fifty kilometers of the crime scene, so how could she have been with you last night?¡±

    The East Sea Dragon King added, ¡°Esteemed guest, I¡¯m afraid your excuse does not hold.¡±

    ¡°Is it that hard to understand? She was already in admiration of me when I rescued her from the Four Way Palace, so she went ahead and betrothed herself to me. We spent last night together. However, she got jealous when she saw the Mermaid Queen in the morning and stomped out in a fit of anger. She somehow escaped here and was treated as a criminal by you people,¡± Zu An calmly recounted the chain of events.

    The Peacock Princess¡¯ eyes widened further.

    His story is getting more ridiculous! I was in admiration of you? I betrothed myself to you? And we spent the night together?!

    What a load of baloney!

    You have successfully trolled Kong Qingwu for 100¡­ 100¡­ 100¡­

    Even so, she was smart enough to understand that the other party was trying to save her, so despite her anger, she didn¡¯t refute those claims.

    The crowd in the palace was astounded to learn that the mysterious individual wasn''t satisfied with just the Mermaid Queen. In the earlier half of last night, the Mermaid Queen had confessed that she''d been intimate with him. Who could have thought he would find another woman to get hot and steamy with in the latter half of the night?

    Besides, what did he mean when he said the Peacock Princess saw the Mermaid Queen in the morning¡¯?

    Does he mean to say that the Mermaid Queen entered their room in the morning to look for them, or that the Mermaid Queen was on the same bed last night all along, but the Peacock Princess was too out of it to notice her till daybreak?

    Oh lord!

    Please don¡¯t let it be the latter, or else it would be too much! How could you treat the goddess we dream about day and night like that?!

    The crowd suddenly remembered the mysterious individual¡¯s earlier anomalous action.

    No wonder he stared so intently at the Peacock Princess earlier. They''re having an affair! These deviants! How dare they trample over our Mermaid Queen like that?

    The Mermaid Queen also looked conflicted. She could guess what Zu An was up to, but she was suffering a huge blow to her reputation at the same time. The usual admiring gazes fixated on her were now adulterated with sympathy, mockery, shock, and many other emotions.

    She felt numb. She opened her mouth, but in the end, she still held her tongue.

    Fine, do whatever you want.

    The crowd took notice of her angry yet aggrieved response, and that sent their fury shooting through the roof. They furiously glared at Zu An.

    How dare you defile such a perfect woman? You piece of trash! You scum of the earth!

    Had they not known they were no match for him after witnessing his prowess last night, they would have long since pounced on him and ripped him to shreds.

    Looking at the massive influx of Rage points, Zu An was once again amazed by the Mermaid Queen¡¯s frighteningly high popularity. He''d received over 100,000 Rage points in just an instant.

    ¡°That¡¯s all your one-sided words. Many of our experts witnessed that woman killing my son,¡± the North Sea Dragon King hissed through clenched jaws as he pointed at the woman in the cage. It was obvious to him that the mysterious individual had merely spun up a lie on the spot to save the Peacock Princess.

    His words dragged the crowd back to their senses.

    Oh yeah. How could the Mermaid Queen allow her partner to take on another lover and mess around in her residence? It must be a lie!

    ¡°Oh? But I have evidence and an eyewitness.¡± Zu An calmly turned to the Mermaid Queen and smiled at her. ¡°My queen can testify on my behalf.¡±

    The sudden convergence of gazes on her flustered the Mermaid Queen. For someone who enjoyed being in the limelight, this had never happened before. She felt a strong desire to cover her face and run away!

    This fellow! You should have at least given me a heads-up beforehand. What gives you the confidence that I would help you? I would be ruining my reputation if I testified for you right now!

    This put the Mermaid Queen in a dilemma.

    ¡°My queen, please feel free to speak your mind. You need not fear. Our Ocean races¡¯ experts are your sturdiest backing,¡± the East Sea Dragon King said.

    His eyes were filled with anticipation, as he''d noticed the Mermaid Queen¡¯s hesitation.

    Could their relationship not be what I thought it was? Or did that mysterious individual coerce her into doing his bidding, and she doesn¡¯t truly fancy him?

    Come, tell us!

    It was a rare show of hot-bloodedness from his side. As long as she denounced the mysterious individual, he wouldn¡¯t hesitate to lead the Ocean races¡¯ many experts into a huge fight against him.

    He had never understood stories in which men destroyed themselves standing up for women, but looking at the Mermaid Queen¡¯s pitiful appearance, they suddenly all made sense to him.

    No wonder my queen has refused my love thus far. I simply wasn¡¯t brave enough. This is my chance to prove myself. I¡¯ll free her from that man¡¯s demonic claws!

    Looking at the crowd¡¯s expectant eyes, the Mermaid Queen pursed her lips before finally nodding. ¡°Yes, I can testify that we were together last night.¡±

    The light in the East Sea Dragon King¡¯s eyes was extinguished.

    An uproar broke out in the palace.

 Chapter 2435: You Donâ€™t Want the Easy Way Out?

    Even the Peacock Princess¡¯ eyes quivered. It¡¯s over. My reputation is ruined.

    She knew the Mermaid Queen was doing this to save her, but the impact it had on her reputation was even greater. The only one benefiting from this was that fellow¡­

    Many Ocean race experts couldn¡¯t take the blow and fainted. They''d never expected the Mermaid Queen to admit to it.

    What do you mean by ''we were together last night''?

    Considering how smug that mysterious individual was, it wasn''t hard to deduce what she meant by those words.

    You''re a wild one! 1v2, huh? And one of them is our number one beauty, our Mermaid Queen!

    The Peacock Princess was a famed beauty of the Fiend races, though it went without saying that the Mermaid Queen had more suitors among the Ocean races.

    They usually didn¡¯t even dare to take a second glance at the Mermaid Queen, fearing that they would sully their goddess. And yet, this fellow had stomped all over her!

    Atrocious! This is atrocious!

    The palace was filled with reddened eyes, ragged breathing, and shattered hearts. Zu An had a feeling that if not for his astounding battle with Mojard last night, these people would have already torn him apart by now.

    ¡°I heard the Mermaid Queen was on good terms with the Peacock Princess, trying to hide her from the Incestuous King last night when the latter was searching for the assassin. This sounds likely to be a lie you have woven to save her,¡± the East Sea Dragon King said through gritted teeth.

    His heart was bleeding when he said those words.

    Yes, that has to be the case.

    The crowd widened their eyes in realization. Indeed. How could our goddess agree to something as preposterous as that?

    The Mermaid Queen¡¯s cheeks reddened in embarrassment. Not wanting their efforts to be in vain after having gone this far, she said, ¡°If not for my close ties with the Peacock Princess, I would never have agreed to¡­¡±

    She hadn''t finished her sentence, but the crowd could easily fill in the blanks. They spiraled into despair.

    Heavens! How could our Mermaid Queen be conquered by him? How did that fellow do it?! I feel so angry, so hateful, so envious!

    Everyone present tried to maintain a dignified front, but their twisted faces betrayed their feelings.

    The East Sea Dragon King fell into a daze. The Mermaid Queen¡¯s words echoed endlessly in his mind.

    Goddamn! The three of them played together!

    The only one who barely retained his rationality was the grieving North Sea Dragon King. ¡°My elder brother¡¯s point still holds. You could be saying that to rescue her. Your eyewitness lacks credibility.¡±

    The South Sea Dragon King spoke up too. ¡°Yes, we can¡¯t trust the Mermaid Queen¡¯s words either. Esteemed guest, earlier, you mentioned something about having evidence. May we have a look at it?¡±

    Zu An nodded as he took out a resplendent feather from his robe.

    Upon seeing the feather, the crowd instinctively looked at the caged Peacock Princess, as the feather clearly belonged to a peacock.

    The Peacock Princess was stunned to see the feather. Something about it felt familiar to her.

    The Mermaid Queen¡¯s lower jaw slackened. She hadn¡¯t expected Zu An to have something like that on him.

    Are he and the Peacock Princess really an item? Did he come here for her? Is the little sister he¡¯s trying to save the Peacock Princess?

    Sister? More like mistress!

    ¡°This is the first feather, a keepsake that women of the Peacock race treasure dearly. They only entrust it to their husbands on their wedding night. She gave it to me last night.¡±

    The feather in Zu An¡¯s hand was the keepsake he''d received from the future¡¯s Kong Nanwu. He hadn¡¯t expected it to be of use here.

    The thing about a ¡®first feather¡¯ was a complete lie though. He assumed those from the Ocean races wouldn¡¯t know about the Peacock race¡¯s customs.

    To his surprise, the East Sea Dragon King nodded. ¡°I have heard about the Peacock race¡¯s custom of handing their treasured first feather to their lover. This is my first time seeing one, and I must say I¡¯m awed by its resplendence¡­¡±

    The Peacock Princess quickly feigned embarrassment. ¡°You! How can you show that to others?!¡±

    Damn it, you¡¯re finally joining the show. Zu An stowed away the feather, looking flustered, and said, ¡°Ah, I didn¡¯t know I wasn¡¯t supposed to show it to others.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re going to be the death of me!¡± the Peacock Princess coyly exclaimed.

    Their couple''s banter was yet another blow to the crowd.

    The Peacock Princess was young, but her beauty didn¡¯t pale much in comparison to the Mermaid Queen. On top of that, she carried a youthful air that made her coy responses feel even more charming.

    The knowledge that such a woman also belonged to that man spurred a single thought in everyone¡¯s mind: let the world fall to ruin!

    The North Sea Dragon King hadn¡¯t expected the other party to have such a piece of evidence. The agitated looks around him signaled that most people were starting to believe those words.

    That¡¯s true. Why would the Peacock Princess entrust her treasured first feather to him if there was nothing between them?

    The North Sea Dragon King¡¯s heart chilled, but he still coldly pushed his case. ¡°That only proves you knew each other before this. She could have given it to you much earlier on, and that would better explain why you¡¯re here to rescue her.¡±

    The crowd turned to Zu An. The North Sea Dragon King¡¯s words made sense.

    They thought Zu An would offer yet another explanation, but the latter¡¯s face darkened. ¡°I¡¯m only reasoning with you out of respect for the Mermaid Queen, and yet you take my courtesy for granted. Are you interrogating me like a criminal right now?¡±

    The crowd was horrified.

    The East Sea Dragon King quickly stepped forward to defuse the situation, but Zu An coldly harrumphed. ¡°Since you''re the ones being unreasonable, you shouldn¡¯t blame me for doing the same.¡±

    With a wave of his hand, he disintegrated the Peacock Princess¡¯ formation cage before pulling her toward him.

    The guards instinctively gave chase, but Zu An caught the Peacock Princess by the waist while casually thrusting his other palm forth. The guards fell to the ground as their weapons shattered.

    Those qualified to be in this palace were all renowned experts of the Ocean races, and what they saw shocked them.

    The guards were strong, but quite a few of them could pull off the same feat too. The formation cage, however, was used to imprison the worst criminals in the Dragon Palace. Even they wouldn¡¯t be able to break free if they were caught in it. And yet, this mysterious individual had destroyed it with just a casual wave from afar!

    The earlier exchange was so peaceful that they''d nearly forgotten that the person standing before them was an incredible expert who forced the renowned Incestuous King to retreat yesterday, before ultimately decimating the Fiend races¡¯ emissary team.

    The crowd finally panicked.

    What if this fellow goes on a massacre here?

    Had Zu An flipped on them earlier, they would still be motivated to fight to defend the Ocean races¡¯ image. But now that he had given them a reasonable excuse, it now seemed unwise for them to continue holding onto the Peacock Princess. Their unity collapsed, and they turned to the Mermaid Queen for help.

    Even the East Sea Dragon King also secretly sent a telepathic message to her, saying, ¡°My queen, please talk to him on our behalf. That¡¯s not what we mean.¡±

    The two women were the only ones whose words held any weight to that mysterious individual, and they couldn¡¯t count on the Peacock Princess. So, their only hope was the Mermaid Queen. Given the fact that she was also from the Ocean races, she likely wouldn''t hope for a conflict to break out either, and they were on decent terms with her.

    The Mermaid Queen was dazed. Her reputation had just fallen to rock bottom, but it suddenly rose again in the blink of an eye. She looked at Zu An with a conflicted gaze. He must have intentionally said that to help me¡­

 Chapter 2436: So Wild?

    But it was true that the Mermaid Queen couldn¡¯t sit still as a conflict broke out between Zu An and the Ocean races¡¯ experts, so she stepped forward to stop him and attempted to defuse the situation.

    ¡°The Dragon Kings do not mean that, though there is indeed something weird about this incident. How could the North Sea Dragon King¡¯s subordinates witness the Peacock Princess murdering the North Sea Crown Prince when she was with us last night?¡±

    The Ocean races¡¯ experts nodded. As expected of our queen. Her heart is still with us!

    Even the North Sea Dragon King had to concede, as her words were well-spoken.

    ¡°How am I supposed to know? All I know is that she didn¡¯t have time to pull off the murder. She merely stumbled upon the experts pursuing the murderer while taking her leave, which resulted in this misunderstanding.¡± Zu An harrumphed.

    He was amazed by how sharp-witted the Mermaid Queen was. She knew the right things to say even though they hadn¡¯t rehearsed it at all.

    Seeing Zu An¡¯s adoring eyes and feeling his strong hands wrapped around her waist, the Peacock Princess stiffened up. She was still young, and this was her first time being so intimate with a man.  However, she quickly realized her reaction was unlike that of a lover. She quickly made a mental note to play the part properly, and her body slowly loosened up till she was resting in his arms.

    Zu An was amazed by her acting talent.

    The Mermaid Queen eyed the two of them before slowly adding, ¡°Have you forgotten about the Incestuous King? He harbors hatred toward us for what happened before, and he¡¯s worried that his defeat might lead to us allying with the Fiend races, so he came up with a ploy. I suspect he disguised himself as the Peacock Princess to drive a wedge between us. Based on what I have heard, this isn¡¯t the only incident that happened today.¡±

    A number of experts nodded in agreement. They had heard news about other clashes with the Fiend races by the borders today. Things appeared to be unusually heated up today. None of them were fools; it was just that they hadn¡¯t thought about it in that direction before. The Mermaid Queen¡¯s reminder prompted them to think deeper into it.

    Some of them even grumbled, ¡°The Incestuous King is too¡­ that. We have already¡­ yet he still treats us like that.¡±

    The Mermaid Queen took this chance to further persuade the Dragon Kings, ¡°Dragon Kings, if he is already treating us like this when we still have value to them, think about what will happen to us when everything settles down, and we become meat on his chopping block.¡±

    The Four Dragon Kings exchanged looks. They were no strangers to power struggles; it was just that they had subconsciously avoided thinking about that in the past. Now that reality was being shoved in their faces, they understood that there was a good chance of the monsters betraying them.

    The North Dragon King spoke up. ¡°Hmph. I¡¯ll investigate this matter. If it is the monsters¡¯ ploy, our North Sea will get even with them. Otherwise¡­¡±

    He turned to Zu An and the Peacock Princess, and slowly trailed off. What else could he do if it wasn¡¯t the monsters? Was he going to challenge this expert?

    Fortunately, the Mermaid Queen rescued him from his awkwardness, saying, ¡°The monsters must have left traces of their misdeeds behind. I believe the North Sea Dragon King will find out the truth.¡±

    Only then did the North Sea Dragon King¡¯s expression loosen up.

    The other Dragon Kings sent telepathic messages to the Mermaid Queen, requesting her to solicit Zu An as their backer. With the support of someone as powerful as him, they would be more confident when facing off against the monsters. Otherwise, the Ocean races were bound to lose against the savage monsters.

    The Mermaid Queen happily accepted their request before turning to Zu An. Whether it was for herself or for the Ocean races, she wanted to get him to stay behind.

    Soon, Zu An left with the Peacock Princess, and the Mermaid Queen apologetically bade the crowd farewell.

    As everyone looked at the three departing silhouettes, the massive palace fell eerily quiet.

    Damn it, I¡¯m feeling jealous!

    Zu An¡¯s group returned to the Mermaid Queen¡¯s bedroom.

    Peach was overjoyed to see them return with the Peacock Princess, and she wanted to flatter the queen¡¯s husband. However, she suddenly saw Zu An holding the Peacock Princess¡¯ waist, and her smile stiffened up. What the hell?

    She glanced over and saw her queen looking unfazed. That confused her.

    Are you all that wild?

    Luckily, Zu An quickly released the Peacock Princess¡¯ waist once they were inside the room.

    The Peacock Princess did a light twist to the side before bowing to Zu An. Her face was slightly reddened as she said, ¡°Thank you for saving me.¡±

    She then turned to the Mermaid Queen and bowed too. ¡°Thank you, my queen.¡±

    She had seen how the Mermaid Queen had sacrificed her reputation to rescue her earlier. As she didn¡¯t know Zu An, she assumed he was a helper the Mermaid Queen had brought in to assist her.

    But for some reason, she found him oddly familiar. On top of that, he had brought out a feather of their Peacock race. That wasn''t a first feather, but it was indeed a precious keepsake. It contained a mark that only their people could sense, signifying that he was a friend of the Peacock race.  That raised many questions in her mind.

    The Mermaid Queen was perplexed too. She turned to Zu An and asked, ¡°Is she still under the monsters¡¯ evil sorcery? Is there a way to save her?¡±

    ¡°I checked her body. The evil sorcery controlling her has become faint and should dissipate soon. This is also a result of Mojard¡¯s ingenuity. With this, the Ocean races wouldn¡¯t find evidence even if they captured her, and would think she wanted to kill the North Sea Crown Prince of her own volition.¡±

    The Peacock Princess was taken aback.

    When did he inspect my body? Why don¡¯t I know about it? Does this mean that he''s examined me from top to bottom with his ki or divine sense?

    She forced a smile and said, ¡°After capturing me last night, Mojard conducted an eerie ceremony. All of a sudden, I couldn¡¯t control my body anymore. I was still conscious, but I was forced to obey his orders. The feeling of not being able to control my body was terrifying.¡±

    As she recalled that sensation, her face paled. ¡°After the ceremony, he ordered me to kill the North Sea Crown Prince. He told me where the crown prince would be at a specific time and told me to camp there in advance.¡±

    Zu An and the Mermaid Queen exchanged looks. No wonder they couldn¡¯t find her last night. Mojard had already sent her out on a mission.

    ¡°But this morning, after I killed the North Sea Crown Prince, I suddenly regained control over my body and found countless Ocean race experts chasing after me. I tried my best to escape, but I eventually slipped up and was captured. You know what happened afterward.¡±

    The Peacock Princess sounded terrified. She dared not imagine what would have happened if not for the duo before her. She then eyed Zu An with reddened cheeks and asked, ¡°Why did you employ¡­ such a method instead of telling the truth?¡±

    Zu An chuckled. The Mermaid Queen answered on his behalf, saying, ¡°Sometimes, the truth is of secondary importance. The key is whether your words sound credible or not. Even if we revealed the truth, would the infuriated North Sea Dragon King and the Ocean races¡¯ experts believe us? You were conscious, after all.

    ¡°Taking a thousand steps back, even if they believed us, who would dare exact vengeance on Mojard given how formidable he is? It doesn¡¯t matter whether you were controlled or not; the North Sea Crown Prince still died at your hands. Not to mention that the Ocean races were already considering an alliance with the monsters. Given these factors, it should be obvious what the Dragon Kings would choose to do.¡±

    The Peacock Princess¡¯ face turned pale. Having been born into a distinguished background, she had picked up many things from her surroundings. She understood that the culprit behind the North Sea Crown Prince murder could only have been determined to be her, and no one else.  Upon further thought, she had to agree that Zu An¡¯s method was indelicate but effective.

    Zu An felt apologetic to the Mermaid Queen. ¡°I¡¯m grateful for your cooperation, my queen, and I¡¯m sorry for sullying your reputation.¡±

    As for the Peacock Princess¡¯ reputation, it didn¡¯t matter, since she would have been dead otherwise.

    The Mermaid Queen looked at Zu An with a deep smile. ¡°I doubt anyone in the Ocean races will dare marry me after today¡¯s farce. How do you intend to compensate me?¡±

 Chapter 2437: I Came From the Future

    The Peacock Princess suddenly felt like a third wheel.

    There seems to be something between those two. Does the Ocean races¡¯ number one beauty truly fancy him? Back then, she even callously turned down the Fiend Emperor!

    She took another look at Zu An. He looked perfectly ordinary, though he did have a pair of mesmerizing eyes. However, she thought about the imposing speech he¡¯d made in the Dragon Palace earlier, and how he¡¯d intimidated all the Ocean races¡¯ experts, and she had to agree that he was a charismatic man.

    No wonder the Mermaid Queen fancies him. Only such a powerhouse is worthy of her beauty. But where did he come from? Why have I never heard about him?

    Zu An sensed the Mermaid Queen¡¯s burning gaze and was tempted. She was truly gorgeous; no man could remain unfazed before her gaze. But the thought that they belonged to different eras evoked a sigh from him, and he quickly composed himself. ¡°You¡¯re teasing me, my queen. With your beauty, your pursuers could easily queue from the Dragon Palace to the shores of the West Sea.¡±

    Even though the other party was complimenting her beauty, the Mermaid Queen¡¯s heart sank. Knowing he was avoiding her question, she didn¡¯t press the issue, saying, ¡°What a lack of sincerity.¡±

    The Peacock Princess blinked in surprise.

    What¡¯s going on? The Mermaid Queen is courting him, but he¡¯s turning her down? Oh my. Am I still possessed? How is there a man in the world capable of rejecting the Mermaid Queen?!

    Peach pouted off to the side.

    My queen¡¯s husband, at this rate, I¡¯m going to start disliking you. When has my queen suffered such a grievance? And my queen, have you already forgotten about the man in your dream?

    Sensing the peculiar atmosphere, Zu An quickly interjected, ¡°I¡¯ve sullied my queen¡¯s reputation today. I¡¯ll correct it within two days.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t bother. It¡¯s nothing big. I don¡¯t care about how others view me.¡± The Mermaid Queen regained her usual poise. Not wanting to dwell on that, she changed the topic. ¡°I am concerned about what the Peacock Princess mentioned earlier, though. There must be a traitor in the North Sea faction, reporting the movements of the North Sea¡¯s crown prince to Mojard.¡±

    ¡°Indeed. If the monsters plan to cause a storm in the Ocean races, the first thing they¡¯d have done is try to buy over some spies.¡± Zu An noticed the problem. ¡°Besides that, the spy is likely quite high-ranking, or else he couldn¡¯t have obtained precise information about the movements of the North Sea¡¯s crown prince.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll investigate this matter. There shouldn¡¯t be too many people who can grasp the movements of the North Sea¡¯s crown prince.¡± The Mermaid Queen already had a plan in mind. She took out a few conches and whispered her instructions into them.

    The Peacock Princess took this chance to thank Zu An. ¡°I am Qingwu. May I know your name? Our Peacock race will remember this debt.¡±

    Zu An had already learned her name through the Rage system, but he still couldn¡¯t help but be surprised by how similar-sounding her name was to Kong Nanwu¡¯s too. He replied, ¡°You can call me Eddie Peng.¡±

    ¡°Eddie Peng? What a weird name,¡± the Peacock Princess murmured, determined to etch this name in her mind.

    The Mermaid Queen, who had been listening with her ears pricked up, burst into laughter. She¡¯d been feeling nervous for a moment. She wanted to know his true identity, but at the same time, she was afraid of hearing about it too.

    He had refused to tell her before. If he told it to the Peacock Princess just like that, the Mermaid Queen could very well just suffer a mental breakdown.

    The Peacock Princess looked quizzically at the Mermaid Queen, not understanding the reason behind her laughter.

    The Mermaid Queen figured she¡¯d rather not suffer in silence, so she revealed, ¡°It¡¯s fake. His name is fake. His appearance is also fake. So don¡¯t bother remembering those.¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± The Peacock Princess turned to Zu An in shock. The latter¡¯s distressed expression made her realize that the Mermaid Queen was telling the truth.

    She hurriedly whispered to the Mermaid Queen to ask about his identity and whether he had a grudge with the Peacock race. She was worried he was hiding his identity because of that.

    The Mermaid Queen harrumphed. ¡°How would I know what he thinks?¡±

    The Peacock Princess was stunned. From the sound of it, not even the Mermaid Queen knew his true name and appearance. How could this be possible?

    They cooperated impeccably with each other earlier, and the Mermaid Queen even put her reputation on the line to help him. Anyone with eyes can tell they¡¯re a couple. Or at least they should be lovers of some kind. It¡¯s unbelievable that she doesn¡¯t know his name or his appearance!

    ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that. I really don¡¯t know.¡± The Mermaid Queen sounded annoyed.

    Sensing her seething grudge, Zu An said, ¡°Pardon me, my queen. I don¡¯t mean to conceal my identity from you, but I¡¯m from another point in spacetime. I fear I might affect your world¡¯s timeline if I interfere too much, so I seek your understanding for that.¡±

    His conversation with Mi Li yesterday gave him a grasp of the rules and boundaries, so they weren''t that enigmatic to him anymore. Given the sacrifice the Mermaid Queen had made for him, he thought it would be too much to continue hiding everything from her.

    Peach blinked in confusion. I regret not studying harder when my queen told me to. I understand each word my queen¡¯s husband is saying, but why don¡¯t they make sense to me when strung together?

    The Peacock Princess was flabbergasted too. She had heard about other worlds, but what did ¡°spacetime¡± mean? Her first thought was that this was the worst excuse she had ever heard.

    The Mermaid Queen, however, was more mature and knowledgeable. She had never heard the term ¡°spacetime¡± either, but she could guess what was going on.

    She was astonished. Over the last two days, she had been speculating about why Zu An was hiding his identity, but the most plausible reason she¡¯d thought of was that he was from a stronger world like the Monster World.  Perhaps his world even had stringent restrictions, such as a ban on interracial marriage out of concern that their bloodline could leak out¡­

    She had considered all manner of ridiculous reasons, but not once had she considered spacetime.

    ¡°You¡¯re saying you aren¡¯t from this timeline?¡± the Mermaid Queen asked with a quivering voice.

    Zu An nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯ll be returning to my timeline once I¡¯m done with my business here. I won¡¯t be able to return here ever again.¡±

    The Mermaid Queen widened her eyes in realization. No wonder he¡¯s been avoiding me!

    She had been wanting to know the answer, but she regretted digging into it now. She hadn¡¯t expected the truth to be so painful. For a moment, she even struggled to breathe. ¡°The business you speak of is saving your little sister?¡±

    ¡°Yes, but there are other things too,¡± Zu An said with a nod. Still, he couldn¡¯t go into details.

    The Mermaid Queen was silent for a long while before she suddenly raised her head to look at him, asking, ¡°Are you from our world¡¯s future?¡±

    Zu An was stunned.

 Chapter 2438: Legend of the Saintess

    Zu An was aghast. Did I unknowingly reveal something unintended? But he couldn¡¯t find any issues when he reviewed what he¡¯d said so far.

    The Mermaid Queen noticed his expression and explained with a forced smile, ¡°It¡¯s not that tough to guess. If you were from a world unrelated to ours, you wouldn¡¯t have been vigilant enough to avoid me as if I was a venomous scorpion.¡±

    Zu An felt awkward hearing her description. Am I that obvious?

    The Peacock Princess stared at Zu An.

    It¡¯s as I deduced. The Mermaid Queen has been actively courting him, but he keeps avoiding her. I wonder how the men of the world will react if they learn that the lofty goddess they¡¯ve been courting was herself courting another man, but failed.

    The concept of spacetime was too abstract to someone as young as her. She was more interested in gossip.

    The Mermaid Queen continued, ¡°Since it¡¯s related to our world, it must be either the past or the future. If it were the past¡­¡±

    She eyed Zu An from head to toe. ¡°You may have hidden your identity and appearance, but I can tell you aren¡¯t from our Mermaid race or any of the Ocean races, so you should have no reason to avoid me. I¡¯ve also never heard about an expert of your caliber in all of history. So, all that¡¯s left is the future. You must be worried about time paradoxes, likely because you¡¯re related to one of my descendants.¡±

    Her face slowly turned pale as she secretly prayed for that to not be the case.

    Peach blinked in amazement. My queen is incredible, for her to decipher so much from bits and pieces¡­ but has she not considered that my queen¡¯s husband might be talking nonsense?

    The Peacock Princess shared the same concern as well. All the talk about coming from the future sounded ridiculous to her. If people from the future could time travel to the past, they would already have heard about such cases by now, right?

    This mysterious fellow might have saved me, but I owe a debt to the Mermaid Queen too. Later, I should warn her, lest she get scammed by him.

    Zu An hesitated for a moment before replying, ¡°Don¡¯t guess any further. Knowing too much can be dangerous too.¡±

    The Mermaid Queen laughed wretchedly. ¡°I get it.¡±

    Zu An was bewildered. What did you get when I haven¡¯t said anything?

    The Peacock Princess couldn¡¯t bear it anymore and asked, ¡°Since you said you¡¯re from the future, why don¡¯t you tell us what the future is like? Did we get conquered by the monsters?¡±

    The Fiend Emperor was dead, and the Fiend races were fighting a losing battle. Despite Saintess Yumen Beiqing¡¯s emergence, everyone knew that this was only a temporary respite.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t. In my time, your people were known to be very brave. They defeated the invading monsters and drove them out of our world,¡± Zu An replied.

    The monsters had made another comeback thousands of years later, but he¡¯d sent them packing that time¡­ But there was no need to mention that.

    ¡°What?!¡± The Peacock Princess was elated to hear that, not expecting such an outcome. However, she soon wondered if he was saying those words just to soothe her, though judging from his expression, it didn¡¯t seem to be the case.

    Even the Mermaid Queen was taken aback. Even though she was the one who had been pushing for an alliance between the Ocean races and the Fiend races to oppose the monsters, she was well aware that the odds weren¡¯t in their favor. She¡¯d just been doing whatever she could to maximize the Ocean races¡¯ chances of survival. After all, if the monsters finished cleaning up the others, the Ocean races would be next.

    And yet, someone was telling her that they¡¯d driven out the overwhelmingly powerful monsters? That was something she dared not even dream of!

    ¡°How did we defeat them?¡± the Peacock Princess blurted out.

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°I can¡¯t share the details, or rather, I don¡¯t know them either. However, I am certain you defeated the monsters.¡±

    There were hardly any details surrounding this era, but from the looks of the current situation, the Fiend races and the Ocean races didn¡¯t stand a chance against the monsters. Otherwise, the Ocean races wouldn¡¯t have been cornered by a single Incestuous King.

    Could it be¡­

    A ridiculous thought popped into his mind, and his expression became weird.

    Did they defeat the monsters thanks to my intervention? But what if I go too far and alter history¡­ No, if we went along the current trajectory, the Fiend races and Ocean races would be crushed by the monsters. It must be my intervention that pulls history back to its original track.

    Damn! I fought desperately against the monsters in the present, and now I have to do the same in the past too? Can¡¯t you let me catch a breather? It¡¯s as if I was born as an ox, forced to grind non-stop!

    The Peacock Princess and the Mermaid Queen were disappointed by the lack of details, but his affirmative response enthused them. Their faces gleamed with excitement.

    ¡°I must return to the Fiend races as soon as possible and inform the Saintess and the others about this. This should reignite hope in them!¡± the Peacock Princess exclaimed.

    ¡°About that¡­ Tell me more about your Saintess,¡± Zu An said.

    He knew next to nothing about her except for her name; it was as if her life was shrouded in mystery. He wanted to know why her will fragment had said those words to him in the Sealed Land. She clearly recognized him. He was curious to know if she¡¯d met him in this world.

    The Mermaid Queen pricked up her ears. She was curious about Saintess Yumen Beiqing too.

    I heard the Saintess is an outstanding beauty too, and there are many legends shrouding her. Her popularity might even exceed mine!

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you know better, since you¡¯re from the future?¡± the Peacock Princess asked doubtfully.

    ¡°There are many gaps in the records, so some of the details are unknown to me,¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°I see.¡± The Peacock Princess finally answered, ¡°The Saintess is from the Fusang tribe. She is from a Yin Yang clan, specializing in Yin Yang and formation arts. The Fiend races were at their peak then, and there were many clans like hers around. Her clan isn¡¯t unknown, but it can only be considered a minor one.

    ¡°One day, the monsters invaded and pushed back our people. Our Fiend Emperor even died a few years ago. The Fiend races were left in dire circumstances. It was then that a woman named Yumen Beiqing showed her edge. She led the Fiend races against the monsters and achieved victories one after another. Not only did she hold the fort, but her occasional counterattacks also inflicted heavy losses on the monsters. Over time, everyone began calling her Saintess.

    ¡°There is a legend that our Fiend Emperor¡¯s ancestors originated from the Fusang Tree[1], and the Saintess is from the Fusang tribe. Everyone believes this is heaven¡¯s will.¡±

    Zu An thought this reeked of a typical chaste saintess plotline.

    He had heard about the legend concerning the Fiend races¡¯ ancestor and the Fusang Tree¡¯s Golden Crow. In some versions of the legend, the Ten Crows were rumored to often appear together, bringing ten days of crisis to the mortal world. In the end, Hou Yi was forced to shoot down nine of them.

    That¡¯s weird. Hou Yi shooting down nine suns should be good news for the Human race. Why are the Fiend races still in a dominant position? Are the legends from different worlds?

    But back when I was inside the dungeon in the Fiend races¡¯ Imperial Tomb, there was the legend of Hou Yi shooting down the suns.

    ¡ª

    Starve¡¯s T/N:

    I¡¯m changing Imperial Gate Bei Qing to Yumen Beiqing. Her name is Yumen Beiqing, with her title being Saintess instead of Imperial Gate (Yumen).

    She was initially introduced as ÓùÃÅ´óÊ¦, which, without further information then, could be translated as Venerated Master of the Imperial Gate. But now that it¡¯s clear her title is ¡®Saintess¡¯ instead of ¡®Imperial Gate¡¯, I¡¯ve changed all the Imperial Gates to Yumen.

    1. The Fusang Tree is the tree where the nine golden crows rested after carrying the sun. ?

 Chapter 2439: The Death Aura Leaking From the Eye of the Ocean

    Even the Mermaid Queen¡¯s curiosity was piqued. ¡°I heard your Saintess is skilled at warfare, and she has never lost a battle thus far.¡±

    The Peacock Princess shook her head and replied, ¡°I shouldn¡¯t say this, but the Saintess is inexperienced when it comes to military logistics. However, she is skilled at reading the tides, rousing the people, and in the field of formation and runes. That¡¯s how she led our people to victory after victory.¡±

    Zu An wasn''t surprised to hear that. Given the fact that the Lord of Slaughter had been sealed by a formation, Yumen Beiqing was bound to be a master of formations.

    The Mermaid Queen replied, ¡°Being able to unite the people is already the hallmark of most talented generals, but she has many outstanding abilities on top of that. She is truly an incredible woman. I would love to meet her one day.¡±

    The Peacock Princess chuckled. ¡°The Saintess is also interested in you, my queen. She previously looked into your name and pointed you out as someone we should try to win over. I can see her wisdom now.¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± The Mermaid Queen was surprised. If the Saintess didn¡¯t even know her name, why would the latter think she was trustworthy?

    It was then that Zu An spoke up. ¡°My princess, you should rest here for the next few days. I¡¯ll accompany you back to the Fiend races'' side once I¡¯m done with my business here. There are some things I need to talk to your Saintess about.¡±

    He was curious to know why Yumen Beiqing recognized him in the future, and why she would leave such a will fragment in the first place. But first, he had to get the Ocean races to ally with the Fiend races.

    Other than that, he also wanted to visit the Eye of the Ocean and see if it was connected to the Underworld. He''d noticed that his Netherworld Book of Life and Death, perhaps due to the spacetime differences, had lost many of its functions. For instance, he couldn¡¯t directly enter the Underworld anymore.

    The Peacock Princess¡¯ eyes lit up. ¡°That would be great!¡±

    There could be hope for the Fiend races if she brought such a powerful expert back with her. The Saintess would also be delighted.

    Peach pursed her lips. My queen, you''ve miscalculated. You went through so much to save her, but the first thing she did was poach your lover. Why aren¡¯t you saying anything about it?

    The Mermaid Queen was still in contemplation. She had been in contact with the Saintess for a long time now and was extremely curious about the latter.

    Should I make use of this opportunity to visit her on the Fiend races'' side? But would he think that I¡¯m latching onto him? It''s beneath me to be so proactive, but¡­

    The thought that Zu An belonged to another era and this farewell could be their last made her chest feel tight.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Mojard was meditating in a remote cave surrounded by corals while listening to a black-robed man¡¯s report.

    ¡°That fellow used such a ridiculous excuse to unravel my plan?¡± Mojard''s eyes widened, displaying his shock and speechlessness.

    The black-robed man replied gruffly, ¡°It is ridiculous. More importantly, the Mermaid Queen played along with him even though it would sully her reputation.¡± His words were dripping with jealousy.

    Mojard had no interest in mature beauties like the Mermaid Queen. He was more interested in something else. ¡°Who is that fellow? Which race is he from?¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t know. The East Sea Dragon King asked about it, but he didn¡¯t reply. Everyone is speculating as to his identity now,¡± the black-robed man replied.

    ¡°The Mermaid Queen should know. Shall we capture and interrogate her?¡± Mojard conceded that the Mermaid Queen was beautiful, even though she wasn''t his type. He found it hard to believe that the Mermaid Queen would sully her reputation for someone she didn¡¯t know the identity of.

    The black-robed man revealed a bitter smile. ¡°Her words and actions all suggest she doesn¡¯t know his identity.¡±

    ¡°Is he that secretive?¡± Mojard harrumphed. ¡°He must have popped out of some other world. Let¡¯s ignore him for now. Since our previous plan failed, let¡¯s resort to our backup plan.¡±

    The black-robed man hesitated. ¡°There would be no turning back. If things went out of control¡­¡±

    Mojard eyed him coldly. ¡°Do you think we¡¯d be unable to protect you?¡±

    The black-robed man quickly replied with a fawning smile, ¡°Of course not.¡±

    ¡°Do it. We will back you up if anything happens.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    ¡°Has the Dragon Palace turned their suspicion on you yet?¡± Mojard suddenly asked.

    The black-robed man grinned gleefully. ¡°Rest assured, I prepared a scapegoat beforehand. Their investigation will not lead to me.¡±

    ¡°Good. Tread carefully. Nothing must go wrong this time.¡±

    ¡°Leave it to me!¡±

    ¡­

    Zu An spent the next days accompanying the Mermaid Queen to talks between the Ocean races and the Fiend races. Despite both sides expressing their willingness to negotiate, neither was willing to commit to the alliance. It felt as if they were dragging things out.

    Upon returning to her room, the Peacock Princess grumbled, ¡°Those aren¡¯t Ocean race experts; they''re a bunch of wily old foxes!¡±

    After saying those words, she belatedly remembered the Mermaid Queen was with her too and quickly apologized, ¡°Big sis Gong, I¡¯m not talking about you. Please ignore what I just said.¡±

    The Mermaid Queen wasn¡¯t so fussy as to make a big deal of this. She turned to Zu An and asked with a conflicted frown, ¡°Do you know why they refuse to commit to the alliance?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s because of me,¡± Zu An replied bitterly.

    The Ocean races would have been happy to have a powerhouse helping to mediate in this alliance, but Zu An was simply too secretive. They knew neither his identity nor his appearance. It was hard to trust someone like that.

    But Zu An had no choice. He couldn¡¯t reveal his identity, or he could leave a mark in history and affect the timeline.

    All of a sudden, the Mermaid Queen¡¯s eyes widened in astonishment. She waved her hand, and the conches she was carrying floated into the air, each shaking intensely. She grimly explained, ¡°This is the highest-level alarm!¡±

    She quickly closed her eyes to listen to the conches¡¯ unique melodies. A moment later, her eyes shot open, and she exclaimed in horror, ¡°Something has happened to the Eye of the Ocean!¡±

    ¡°The sea eyelet?¡± The Peacock Princess was confused. She didn¡¯t know about the Ocean races¡¯ secret.

    Zu An knew how tightly guarded the Eye of the Ocean was. It was shocking that something had happened to it. ¡°Is it Mojard?¡±

    The Mermaid Queen quickly explained, ¡°We¡¯re not sure about the details. There seems to be a hole in the Eye of the Ocean¡¯s formation, causing the death aura inside to leak out. The dragons guarding the area have been corroded by the death aura and lost their life force.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll go take a look.¡± Zu An rose to his feet.

    The Mermaid Queen looked hesitant. ¡°That is the Ocean races¡¯ forbidden ground. Only dragons are allowed there. The Dragon Kings won¡¯t permit it.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, they won¡¯t notice me.¡± It had to be be a mess over there right now. It was unlikely that they would discover Zu An if he disguised himself.

    The Mermaid Queen also stood up. ¡°I¡¯ll go with you!¡±

 Chapter 2440: Land of Malevolence and Contamination

    The Peacock Princess stood up too. ¡°I¡¯m going too!¡±

    How could she miss a chance to observe the Ocean races¡¯ secret?

    ¡°You¡¯re still injured¡­¡± the Mermaid Queen said worriedly.

    ¡°Such a minor injury won¡¯t hinder my fighting prowess,¡± the Peacock Princess replied, her eyes gleaming with excitement.

    Zu An had no reason to turn her down when she was so determined, so he brought the two women out with him.

    Peach wanted to take a look too, but her cultivation was too low to protect herself, so the Mermaid Queen ordered her to stay behind and take care of the two wounded guards.

    ¡°Thank you for saving Xuanxuan and Susu!¡± The Peacock Princess was overjoyed to learn her guards had been saved.

    Zu An eyed the Mermaid Queen. ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything. It was the queen who saved them.¡±

    The Mermaid Queen rolled her eyes. ¡°They would have risked their lives to attract the monsters¡¯ attention in the Four Way Palace if not for your help afterward.¡±

    She had already figured out what happened that night. It frustrated her to no end when she remembered how she had fallen for his deception and embarrassed herself with subpar acting.

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°I can¡¯t turn a blind eye when such loyal guards are in trouble.¡±

    Since the two women knew this wasn¡¯t his real face, he got out a metal mask that partially concealed his face to avoid awkwardness.

    After learning about what happened that night, the Peacock Princess breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°Even though Xuanxuan and Susu are my servants, we are as close as siblings. I, Qingwu, will not forget this favor.¡±

    Although, she had no idea how she could repay such a huge favor either.

    I have all the time in the world to find a way to repay the Mermaid Queen, but the same can''t be said about this mysterious big brother. How can I repay what he has done for me?

    As if seeing through her thoughts, Zu An said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so courteous. You resemble a friend of mine, and I have ties with the Peacock race. I can¡¯t turn a blind eye when I see your people in trouble.¡±

    Had it been anyone else saying those words to her, the Peacock Princess would have thought the other party was flirting. Beauties such as her were bound to have seen all sorts of creative flirting methods.

    But she didn¡¯t doubt Zu An¡¯s words in the slightest. The Peacock Princess blinked in contemplation, asking, ¡°Is it the one who gave you that feather?¡±

    Zu An nodded.

    The Mermaid Queen looked at Zu An with a deep gaze. She had previously deduced that in the future, the latter was in a relationship with someone from the Mermaid race, but it looked as if he was also romantically involved with someone from the Peacock race.

    Tsk tsk, is he a player?

    The Peacock Princess, on the other hand, was more unfiltered. She asked, ¡°Is she a lover?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s face reddened. ¡°It¡¯s not what you¡¯re thinking. She¡¯s a bosom friend.¡±

    The Peacock Princess didn¡¯t believe him. She circled Zu An while intently assessing him. ¡°You said that person resembles me. How alike are we?¡±

    Zu An didn¡¯t answer right away. It would be rude to say they looked as if they were carved from the same mold.

    But the two women were sharp enough to deduce the answer from his hesitation.

    The Peacock Princess¡¯ face reddened. The Mermaid Queen was astonished. She suddenly remembered her first encounter with Zu An; the latter had reacted in the same way as when he first met the Peacock Princess.

    Does his mermaid lover in the future resemble me too?

    That realization resolved many of her lingering doubts, but it also introduced many new ones.

    Is this a coincidence, or the machinations of fate?

    The Peacock Princess thought of a crucial question. ¡°You said you¡¯re from the future. If your ¡®bosom friend¡¯ resembles me so much, could she be¡­ my descendant?¡±

    Zu An harbored the same doubt too, but he said, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    In the first place, what were the odds of two people looking so alike even if they were from the same lineage?

    When she suddenly realized she was going to have offspring, the Peacock Princess¡¯ face heated up. She couldn¡¯t help but wonder who her child¡¯s father was going to be. As she was blessed with both beauty and a lofty background, there had never been a man who caught her eye.

    She was close with Xuanxuan and Susu, but she saw them as her siblings and nothing more. She couldn¡¯t imagine falling in love with anyone enough to bear his offspring.

    She suddenly turned to Zu An, and her cheeks began to redden.

    Kong Qingwu, what are you thinking? He¡¯s your descendant¡¯s lover!

    That random thought left her feeling so embarrassed that she could overturn the ocean floor. Determined not to let that embarrassment linger, she interjected, ¡°Doesn¡¯t that make me your ancestral grandmother?¡±

    Zu An was bewildered. Looking at the young woman¡¯s mischievous gaze, he felt an urge to flip her over and spank her bottom.

    The Mermaid Queen, however, turned pale. The words ¡®ancestral grandmother¡¯ echoed endlessly in her head. Her gut feeling told her that the Peacock Princess had stumbled upon the truth.

    No wonder he avoids me like the plague. So that¡¯s why! To think that I''ve fallen in love with my descendant¡¯s lover¡­ What kind of nonsense is this?

    Amid their chatter, the three arrived in the Eye of the Ocean¡¯s vicinity and heard noises, including war cries.

    Alarmed, the Mermaid Queen quickly looked over. The tightly-guarded underwater gorge had been thrown into disarray. The formation enveloping the area was flickering, a sign that it was impaired. It was still holding on for now, but it could collapse at any moment.

    The Dragon race¡¯s guards, despite being tasked to guard this land, were slaughtering one another. Some guards even attempted to attack the Four Dragon Kings, provoking their fury.

    However, there was no lack of elder-level experts among the dragon guards. Even the Four Dragon Kings struggled to fend against their relentless assault.

    ¡°Did the guards defect?¡± the Peacock Princess wondered.

    ¡°Look at their eyes.¡± Zu An had intended to construct formations to conceal their bodies and auras, but given the ongoing chaos, it was unlikely that the Four Dragon Kings had the energy to pay heed to them.

    Upon his reminder, the Mermaid Queen and the Peacock Princess took a closer look and noticed that the rampaging guards¡¯ irises had turned grayish-white. Their ferocious movements contrasted sharply with their lifeless eyes, making the situation look incredibly eerie.

    On top of that, the rampaging guards were hardly using their weapons, instead opting to desperately claw at everything. Anyone wounded by their claws would soon be shrouded in a grayish-white aura and turn on their comrades too.

    ¡°Is it a gu poison?¡± The Peacock Princess gulped. She couldn¡¯t believe there was such a contagious gu poison in the world.

    ¡°It isn¡¯t a gu poison,¡± the Mermaid Queen replied with a livid expression. She pointed to the grayish-white energy rising up from the gorge. ¡°That is the most malevolent and contaminated substance in the world, which we, the Ocean races, have suppressed in the Eye of the Ocean for many generations¡ªdeath energy!¡±

 Chapter 2441: Seeing the Light of Day Once More

    Zu An recognized the grayish-white energy right away. As the underworld¡¯s master, he was sensitive to death energy, but this was different from what he was familiar with.

    The death energy here was highly contagious. Any dragon guard who came into contact with it would immediately turn gray, as if dragged into a monochrome world. Anyone they wounded would be afflicted with death energy, and they, too, would turn against their normal comrades. That was why this place had fallen into chaos and the Four Dragon Kings were in a fluster.

    The death energy originated from the gorge, and the rate at which it was rising up was increasing.

    ¡°Formation masters, formation masters! Hurry up and seal the opening!¡± the East Sea Dragon King roared in alarm. The Eye of the Ocean had been peaceful for over a thousand years now; he hadn¡¯t expected something to happen under his watch. If he failed here, that would make him a sinner of the Dragon race!

    Soon, however, he no longer had the energy to consider how he would go down in history. The death energy was so contagious that the guards he brought here were quickly afflicted by it, turning into monsters who knew naught but slaughter.

    To make matters worse, these people were their friends and families! In this situation, even the most valiant army in the world would suffer a mental breakdown. If not for the Four Dragon Kings, the Dragon race¡¯s army would have collapsed by now.

    Fear had already seeped into the hearts of the dragon guards. They didn¡¯t know how much longer they could hold on for. If they failed to stand their ground here, the crisis would spiral out of control, and the death energy and monsters would quickly swarm the Dragon Palace.

    The entire region around the Dragon Palace would thus turn into a land of death.

    ¡°Where are the garrison troops?¡± the East Sea Dragon King roared.

    ¡°We are here!¡± powerful voices echoed in response. Over a hundred Dragon race experts stepped forth from all directions with determined looks.

    The East Sea Dragon King looked conflicted. Without saying a word, he bowed to them. Others from the Ocean races followed suit, their eyes brimming with tears.

    The garrison troops accepted the bows led by the Four Dragon Kings. Their leader gathered them together and roared, ¡°We, the warriors of the Ocean races, have been preparing for this day. This shall be the day we die for justice!¡±

    He circulated his cultivation method, and he began glowing golden.

    ¡°This shall be the day we die for justice!¡±

    The hundred garrison troops circulated their cultivation methods as well, and glowed golden too. Their leader then led them on a charge against the death energy-infected monsters.

    They rammed right through the monsters. They inevitably came into contact with death energy along the way, but upon contact with the golden light shrouding them, the death energy quickly receded. Their participation soon stabilized the Ocean races¡¯ formation.

    The garrison troops charged toward the gorge, where the death energy was the most concentrated. It didn¡¯t take long for the golden lights to vanish amid the grayish-white death energy.

    Shortly after, the rate at which death energy came out from the gorge slowed down. Making use of this breathing room, the Four Dragon Kings ordered their armies to advance and force the monsters back into the gorge.

    ¡°Big sis queen, who are those garrison troops?¡± the Peacock Princess asked, curious about the army that had turned the situation around.

    The Mermaid Queen looked conflicted. ¡°Those garrison troops are the Dragon race¡¯s most righteous and faithful warriors. They enjoy the best resources in the Ocean races, but in return, they are obliged to step forward and resolve any crisis in the Eye of the Ocean, regardless of the cost, even if it spells their death.¡±

    Zu An grimly added, ¡°They must have practiced a special cultivation method that lets them unleash all their life force and faith to temporarily suppress the death energy.¡±

    ¡°But the death energy down there is so concentrated. How can they suppress the Eye of the Ocean?¡± the Peacock Princess asked worriedly. Even though they weren''t from the same race, she respected the garrison troops for putting their lives on the line for their cause.

    ¡°Fix the impaired formation at all costs; fill the Eye of the Ocean with your lives if necessary,¡± the Mermaid Queen mumbled with a quivering voice.

    ¡°Huh?¡± the Peacock Princess exclaimed, stunned.

    ¡°That¡¯s their mission; it¡¯s also the mission of all the Ocean races.¡± The Mermaid Queen sighed. ¡°Countless generations of garrison troops have guarded the Eye of the Ocean with such conviction since our first records, protecting the Ocean races and the entire world.¡±

    ¡°Who entrusted this mission to you?¡± Zu An suddenly asked.

    The Mermaid Queen was startled. She reflexively replied, ¡°It could be the Sea God¡¯s edict, but this conviction is carried by all members of the Ocean races. This place is our home, so how could we let death energy contaminate it?¡±

    Zu An nodded in contemplation.

    It was then that something happened. Under the Four Dragon Kings¡¯ leadership, it looked as if the situation was going to stabilize, but hundreds of brawny monsters suddenly charged out of the gorge.

    Some had ox heads and human bodies; others had horse heads and human bodies. All of them were of towering stature and muscular physique. They looked massive, even when compared to the Ocean races¡¯ elites. The ox-headed monsters wielded halberds, whereas the horse-headed monsters brandished weapons that resembled tridents.

    There were also ferocious-looking monsters with bulging eyes and fangs that wore golden headbands and embroidered red robes. They each carried half of a golden cangue[1] as weapons. There were also monsters wearing golden headbands, but they instead had blue robes and swung silver chains.

    These monsters cackled in excitement as they emerged from the gorge. ¡°We finally see the light of day!¡±

    All of them had incredible strength; their momentum was unstoppable, and the Ocean races¡¯ frontline was crushed.

    The Four Dragon Kings quickly charged forth with the Ocean races¡¯ experts, but the monsters were fearsome foes. Many times, the Dragon Kings severely injured them, only for them to heal up in the next second and rejoin the battle.

    ¡°What are these monsters?!¡± the Peacock Princess exclaimed with a pale face. She thought they were even more terrifying than the otherworldly monsters.

    Zu An looked grim. He recognized these monsters; they resembled the underworld¡¯s Ox Heads, Horse Faces, and Generals of Chains and Shackles, but they lacked their divinity. On top of that, he had been secretly trying to control them, but he found that he was unable to resonate with them.

    Translator''s Thoughts

    1. These are ancient Chinese punishment devices similar to the medieval European pillory, except the prisoner has to carry them and they don''t restrict the hands. ?

 Chapter 2442: Always Target the Healer First

    As the underworld¡¯s master, Zu An should have had the authority to control the Ox Heads, Horse Faces, and Generals of Chains and Shackles, but for some reason, he couldn¡¯t communicate with them.

    Did something happen to the underworld¡¯s authority, or is there a problem with these fellows?

    ¡°You two wait here. I¡¯ll help them,¡± the Mermaid Queen said.

    As they weren¡¯t from the Ocean races, neither Zu An nor the Peacock Princess had to involve themselves. However, the Mermaid Queen, as a member of the Ocean races, couldn¡¯t sit still as her comrades struggled to keep the Eye of the Ocean under control.

    As for the rule forbidding her from approaching this place, no one would nitpick about that when they were already in a desperate situation here.

    A blue surge of water gushed toward the battlefield. The Deep Sea Harp appeared in the Mermaid Queen¡¯s hands; this time, she had decided to play it with her own hands.

    A pleasing melody spread across the battlefield. Glowing, light blue music notes fell on the Ocean races¡¯ warriors and banished their exhaustion, bringing them back to their peak condition. On top of that, they found themselves stronger and faster than usual.

    ¡°It¡¯s the Mermaid Queen!¡±

    ¡°For the queen!¡±

    When they saw the beautiful figure above them, the Ocean race army''s morale was roused, and they charged at their enemies with greater fervor than before. Astonishingly, that helped them to stabilize their collapsing formation.

    The Four Dragon Kings gave the Mermaid Queen a nod of acknowledgment before leading their subordinates on another charge against the Ox Heads and Horse Faces.

    Amazed that the Mermaid Queen¡¯s presence made such a huge difference, Zu An remarked, ¡°I can see how your saintess led your people to victory after victory now.¡±

    The Peacock Princess chuckled. ¡°There¡¯s a difference. The Mermaid Queen enjoys great popularity thanks to her beauty and amicable personality, whereas our saintess¡­¡±

    Realization suddenly struck her halfway. ¡°Ah, you¡¯re right. It¡¯s ultimately the same.¡±

    All means were the same as long as it united the people.

    ¡°Those monsters are formidable!¡± the Peacock Princess suddenly exclaimed.

    Be it the Ox Heads, Horse Faces, or Generals of Chains and Shackles, they had incredible strength and shocking regeneration prowess. Furthermore, they appeared to have a high level of resistance to abilities, as they easily shrugged off most attacks. It was as if they were born warriors.

    But with the Mermaid Queen¡¯s support, the Ocean race warriors¡¯ sudden morale boost, and the arrival of more experts to reinforce the Eye of the Ocean, the Ocean races slowly gained the upper hand.

    The Four Dragon Kings also noticed the monsters¡¯ unusually high ability resistance, so they transformed into humongous dragons which were over three hundred meters long and plunged into the monster horde, ramming their formation apart.

    Dragons were renowned for their superior physical resilience!

    Despite the monsters¡¯ hulking physiques and swelling muscles, they were still far too small compared to the giant dragons. Many monsters were swiftly ripped to shreds. Even with their absurd regenerative prowess, they couldn¡¯t recover when ripped apart completely.

    ¡°All hail the Dragon Kings!¡±

    ¡°Long live the Dragon Kings!¡±

    ¡­

    Cheers erupted on the battlefield.

    The Peacock Princess heaved a sigh of relief. ¡°It looks like the Ocean races have the situation under control now.¡±

    But Zu An continued to stare grimly at the gorge. ¡°That¡¯s not necessarily so.¡±

    A guttural roar suddenly echoed from the gorge. ¡°Who dares to hurt my people?!¡±

    A massive hand rose from the gorge and grabbed the nearest North Sea Dragon King despite the latter¡¯s massive physique, as if he was just a mere snake.

    The North Sea Dragon King howled in agony. He struggled with all his might, but he was unable to break free from the hand.

    Seeing that, the other three Dragon Kings quickly unleashed their strongest skills on the hand, and only then did they manage to rescue the North Sea Dragon King.

    However, a grayish-white hand imprint was left on the North Sea Dragon King¡¯s body. Soon, he couldn¡¯t maintain his massive physique anymore and transformed back into human form. He looked so withered that he couldn¡¯t even speak. He quickly channeled his cultivation method to suppress the invading death energy.

    The other three Dragon Kings were horrified. They quickly cast their skills on him. Even the Mermaid Queen rushed over to heal him. If the North Sea Dragon King succumbed to the death energy and turned into a monster, it would be a fatal blow to the Ocean races¡¯ morale.

    Fortunately, the North Sea Dragon King eventually suppressed the death energy thanks to his high cultivation and the aid he received. However, he couldn¡¯t force out all the death energy, so it was unlikely he could join the battle in the short term.

    Just then, loud exclamations rippled through the battlefield.

    The crowd looked over and immediately understood why the Ocean races¡¯ warriors were so frightened.

    A humongous Ox Head monster boasting a mountain-like physique was climbing out of the gorge. He resembled the other Ox Heads, but his body was so much larger that the others looked like mere ants.

    He scanned the battlefield and saw his dead brethren. As his eyes turned red, white gas spurted out of his massive nostrils. He raised his humongous halberd and brought it crashing down on the Ocean races.

    He keenly noted that a mermaid was the central figure of the Ocean races. Her support raised their prowess by at least 30%. Needless to say, she was the first one that had to go!

    A powerful aura bore down on the area. Those with lower cultivation were paralyzed with fear. The others felt suffocated as a chill surged up their bodies from their toes to their head.

    It was just an ordinary halberd swing, but its momentum looked as if it could split the world apart. There was no doubt that even the seabed would be split into two if this halberd landed, let alone the Mermaid Queen¡¯s body of mere flesh and blood.

    Many of the Ocean races¡¯ experts were so nervous that they unleashed their strongest skills against the falling halberd in hopes of saving their goddess. But against the devastating halberd, their attacks were no different from ants trying to move a tree.

    The Mermaid Queen tried to dodge the attack, only to find that she was locked in place. Left with no choice, she played her Deep Sea Harp so swiftly that her fingers produced afterimages. Music notes strummed into a melody swarmed at the halberd in an attempt to gently curb its force.

    But the gap in their strength was so huge that her effort was futile. The halberd only stopped for a brief moment before smashing through the music notes to crash down on the Mermaid Queen.

 Chapter 2443: Vengeance from the Abyss

    ¡°Ah!¡± The Peacock Princess¡¯ blood nearly froze when she saw this scene.

    She wanted to save the Mermaid Queen, but the latter was too far away, not to mention that given her lacking cultivation, she couldn¡¯t have made a difference even if she was beside the latter. She would have only been sliced in half as well.

    ¡°Big brother¡­¡± She anxiously turned to the mysterious man, wanting to know if he had any solutions. But to her astonishment, there was no one beside her.

    ¡°???¡±

    She quickly realized what was going on and turned to the Mermaid Queen. Indeed, the man was already standing in front of the Mermaid Queen, holding her by the waist as the mountain-like silhouette of the Tranquility Bell suddenly enveloped the two of them.

    When the Mermaid Queen was locked in place by the halberd and her attempts to resist it were unraveled one after another, what she felt in that instant wasn¡¯t despair, but regret.

    What a pity I still don¡¯t know his name and appearance even till the very end¡­

    Just then, a sturdy hand wrapped itself around her waist, and she sensed a familiar aura. Surprised but delighted, she raised her head and saw a familiar figure standing in front of her.

    Pah!

    But Zu An knew the Tranquility Bell he conjured wasn''t a true deity-grade weapon and couldn¡¯t withstand the halberd¡¯s might¡­ so he quickly conjured another Tranquility Bell inside before the previous one shattered.

    Right after the halberd shattered the first Tranquility Bell, it crashed right into the second one.

    Kacha!

    The bell cracked and shattered within a second.

    The halberd continued falling downward, only to encounter yet another bell.

    ¡­

    The Ocean races¡¯ experts were dumbfounded. How many bells do you have?

    That being said, they were awed by how he unhesitatingly confronted this overwhelmingly powerful halberd. That attack was strong enough to slice even the Four Dragon Kings¡¯ sturdy bodies in half.

    The halberd shattered bell after bell, but its momentum decreased with each layer. By the time it destroyed the last bell, it had already depleted its momentum, and only a strong gust of wind blew toward the stunned Mermaid Queen.

    He actually neutralized that ridiculously powerful attack? If not to protect me, he wouldn¡¯t have to use such a dumb method to receive the attack.

    She looked at Zu An¡¯s visage with tender eyes. If only he wasn¡¯t wearing that metal face mask.

    Kacha!

    Zu An¡¯s mask cracked before shattering into pieces.

    The Mermaid Queen was alarmed. Afraid that he had been injured by the halberd¡¯s shockwave, she quickly tossed him a healing skill.

    Zu An smiled at her. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±

    He felt awkward for having gone too far with his boasting. He''d wanted to precisely neutralize the halberd¡¯s might with the shattering of his last Tranquility Bell, but he''d miscalculated and ended up suffering the shockwave. §²????¦­?????¨¨?

    Thanks to his cultivation, he was unharmed, but his face mask had shattered. That made him so embarrassed that his toes curled up.

    On the other hand, the Mermaid Queen exhaled in relief upon learning he was unharmed, though she fell into a daze the next second. Redness slowly engulfed her beautiful face, as shyness overtook her usual poise.

    Why does he pretend to be average-looking when he¡¯s so dashing?

    The Peacock Princess had been paying close attention, so she saw his appearance too. She fell into a daze as well. So dreamy.

    She envied her descendant¡¯s luck. Why don¡¯t I have such good luck too?! How annoying.

    It was only upon sensing the anomalous gazes that Zu An realized what had just happened. He quickly took out another face mask and put it on.

    He had gotten careless, thinking there was no need to conceal his real looks since he had donned a metal mask. He figured no one could take off his mask without his permission anyway. Who could have thought he would be embarrassed so quickly?

    It was just a brief slip, and the clashes between the halberd and the bells had produced a blinding light, so only a few experts managed to see his true face. Still, he couldn¡¯t help but worry if the revelation of his appearance would result in irreversible changes to history.

    While he was contemplating, the monster opposite him spoke with a thunderous voice. ¡°Oh? You are surprisingly strong for someone who looks like a chick.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡± Zu An couldn¡¯t deny that, given how hulking the other party was. He solemnly asked, ¡°Who are you? Are you from the underworld?¡±

    The Ocean races were shocked to hear the term ¡®underworld¡¯. It was a foreign term to them. Strictly speaking, they had heard of it from folklore, but none of them had thought it truly existed.

    The humongous Ox Head guffawed. ¡°You know the underworld? I guess you aren¡¯t as simple as you look. Who are you?¡±

    ¡°I have ties with your underworld. May I know who your current ruler is?¡± Zu An asked, curious to know if the Necropolis Emperor was currently residing there. Is my future authority not taking effect because he¡¯s still around?

    The Mermaid Queen glanced at Zu An. Isn¡¯t he from the future? How is it that he has ties with the underworld? Is he dead? Is that the true reason he¡¯s averse to me?

    That thought scared her. However, she quickly refuted that conjecture. She found it hard to believe that he was dead when his hands were this warm.

    ¡°Our Shaman races are the rulers of the underworld! Hmph, we finally have a chance to make a comeback after so many years. The Fiend races shall pay for the despicable deeds they committed back then with their blood!¡± As he spoke, the Ox Head got more excited, to the point where he started howling and his eyes turned red once more.

    The other monsters began roaring frenziedly, as if they had just recalled painful memories.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t good. They have gotten even stronger!¡± the Mermaid Queen exclaimed in horror.

    The Ocean races had barely fought the monsters to a draw earlier. It would be highly disadvantageous to them if the monsters went on a rampage now, and the presence of the mountain-like Ox Head expert didn¡¯t help either.

    Meanwhile, Zu An fell into deep thought.

    Shaman races? Why would there be Shaman races in the underworld? What¡¯s going on?

    While he was in a daze, several more massive hands shot out from the gorge. Three more monsters who were as big as the Ox Head climbed out. They resembled the monsters on the battlefield¡ªa Horse Face, a Golden Cangue General, and a Silver Chain General.

    The four monsters boasted physiques comparable to Mojard¡¯s massive beast form. Their stature blocked off the sky, exerting tremendous pressure on those beneath.

    The hearts of the Ocean races plummeted. Despair began seeping into their hearts.

 Chapter 2444: This Dog Couple Knows Not of Honor

    The three transformed Dragon Kings would usually have come across as massive, but compared to those four hulking giants, they were nothing more than slightly bigger snakes.

    Even so, they still descended to Zu An¡¯s side and said, ¡°Thank you for your aid. We won¡¯t let you face them alone!¡±

    Even the North Sea Dragon King, despite being afflicted with death energy, stood near Zu An in his human form, determined to join the battle too.

    Zu An glanced at the giant palm print on the North Sea Dragon King''s waist. The death energy had been suppressed for now, but  if a battle were to break out, it might break free and corrode his body. So, he flitted over to the North Sea Dragon King¡¯s side.

    The Mermaid Queen was startled. She''d thought Zu An was going to ask her to treat him, but she was also helpless in the face of the death energy. She could fix the symptoms but not the root of the issue.

    She was just about to play her zither when Zu An raised his hand and sent a vortex of suction force at the North Sea Dragon King¡¯s waist.

    The North Sea Dragon King was startled by Zu An¡¯s sudden appearance. It wasn''t too long ago that the two of them had argued over the Peacock Princess, so he thought Zu An was trying to assault him. But on second thought, it didn¡¯t make sense for Zu An to assault him when they were already faced with more threatening enemies.

    In his moment of hesitation, a black hole seemed to appear in Zu An¡¯s hand, and the death energy that had been torturing him gradually weakened. The North Sea Dragon King quickly looked down to inspect the area. Much to his delight, the grayish-white energy on his waist was indeed being siphoned away from his body.

    The Mermaid Queen hurriedly reminded Zu An, ¡°Careful. The death energy is formidable.¡±

    She was worried Zu An would underestimate the death energy and succumb to it. Even the Dragon race¡¯s garrison troops had to rely on their faith and life force to fend it off.

    ¡°I¡¯m good,¡± Zu An replied as he retracted his hand.

    Any other expert would have struggled to deal with the death energy, but he used the Taotie¡¯s Heaven-Devouring Sutra to absorb it before refining it with the Primordial Origin Sutra.

    The Ocean races were both surprised and overjoyed to see Zu An unfazed by the death energy. He is truly unfathomably powerful.

    The North Sea Dragon King bowed deeply to Zu An. ¡°Thank you for saving my life!¡±

    He hadn¡¯t expected the latter to bury the hatchet and help him. He felt both ashamed and awed.

    Zu An supported the king up as he said, ¡°There¡¯s no need to be so courteous, Dragon King. Our priority at hand is to overcome the crisis before us.¡±

    By now, it had already sunk in for him that he would likely have to intervene to push for an alliance between the Ocean races and the Fiend races, so they could defeat the powerful monsters together just as it unfolded in his timeline''s history.

    ¡°Huh? Death energy doesn¡¯t work on you? How¡¯s that possible?¡± Ox Head exclaimed in astonishment.

    Zu An assessed the four hulking monsters in astonishment too. Each of them was no weaker than Mojard at his peak, and his gut feeling told him they weren¡¯t at their own peak yet. Could this be the true prowess of Ox Head and Horse Face?

    ¡°You called yourself the Shaman races. Are you from the same Shaman races who fought with the Fiend races in the past?¡± Zu An asked curiously. He had always known Ox Head and Horse Face as guards of the underworld, so he was surprised to see them identifying themselves as shamans.

    The Ocean races were perplexed to hear those words.

    What¡¯s going on? If it¡¯s a fight between the Shaman races and the Fiend races, how did our Ocean races get involved, and even side with the Fiend races?

    They vaguely remembered a certain war in ancient history, but it was so long ago that they didn¡¯t know the details surrounding it. Zu An¡¯s knowledge about it made him even more enigmatic to them, prompting them to look at him with respect.

    The Mermaid Queen¡¯s gaze was also getting increasingly gentler.

    ¡°Hah. You¡¯ll have to get past my halberd to raise questions!¡± As he raised his halberd once more,  Ox Head snorted out white gas. He refused to accept that Zu An had blocked his attack.

    ¡°Be careful.¡± Zu An gently pushed the Mermaid Queen elsewhere before facing the incoming halberd.

    This time, he whipped out the Tai¡¯e Sword and executed his swordsmanship. A massive sword avatar comparable to the halberd in size manifested around him.

    The clash between the massive sword and halberd produced powerful currents that forced the Ocean races¡¯ army and the smaller Ox Heads and Horse Faces to retreat a great distance away.

    Ox Head¡¯s halberd was knocked back, and he was forced several steps backward. Given his massive size, it was a considerable distance.

    Zu An, on the other hand, stood his ground.

    This greatly boosted the Ocean races¡¯ morale. They cheered in delight.

    ¡°How is this possible?¡± Ox Head widened his eyes in disbelief. Never had he thought that he would be overpowered in a direct clash! Furious, his eyes reddened, and his muscles further swelled up. ¡°Again!¡±

    You have successfully trolled Ox Head for 399¡­ 399¡­ 399¡­

    He swung his halberd with even greater fervor than before.

    Zu An was about to counterattack when he suddenly noticed music notes dancing around him. They boosted his speed, strength, and other attributes by at least 20%. On top of that, he also received many blessings, such as enhanced stamina recovery, enhanced defense, increased skill resistance, and so on. Even though he had similar abilities, these blessings were still significant to him.

    He turned around to look at the beautiful Mermaid Queen. The latter flashed him a warm smile as she stroked the Deep Sea Harp in her arms and sang a divine melody. ¡°Ahh~ Ahhh~~¡±

    It was a song without words, but she brought out different notes and melodies from this single sound. It was truly the most beautiful song in the world. It was a one-of-a-kind blessing from the Mermaid Queen.

    When she felt Zu An¡¯s affirmative gaze, the Mermaid Queen smiled proudly. I¡¯m not a flower vase who only drags others down.

    She had held back on supporting him because she wasn¡¯t sure of his fighting style and was worried her blessings would hinder him. But now that she had seen him fight several times, she was confident that her blessings would be helpful to him.

    With the Mermaid Queen¡¯s buffs, Zu An¡¯s sword was much stronger than before.

    Ox Head, despite having entered a berserk state, was knocked back by Zu An¡¯s sword yet again. This time, he retreated further than before.

    Ox Head was speechless.

    Horse Face wanted to laugh but didn¡¯t dare to. When he noticed Ox Head¡¯s furious glare, he quickly said, ¡°This dog couple has no honor. How dare they gang up on you? Brother Ox, I¡¯ll help you!¡±

    He charged at the Mermaid Queen with a trident in hand.

 Chapter 2445: Getting Out of Hand

    ¡°As an expert, don¡¯t you feel any shame in targeting a woman?¡± a crisp voice echoed.

    Several people from the Ocean races looked over, wondering who was so brave. When they saw the Peacock Princess berating Horse Face, they felt respect for her.

    ¡°What absurdity! There is no gender on the battlefield!¡± The Silver Chain General harrumphed as he hurled his silver chain at the Peacock Princess.

    A five-colored light flickered from behind the Peacock Princess, and the silver chain suddenly became loose and fell limply onto the seabed. This sight shocked the crowd, including Zu An, who''d been about to make a move to save her. The Peacock Princess was decently powerful, but she was still very lacking compared to these four hulking giants. He hadn¡¯t expected her to neutralize his attack so easily.

    What was that five-colored light?

    He suddenly thought of Kong Xuan, a character in Investiture of the Gods reputed to be the number one person beneath the saints. He had an ultimate skill that produced a five-colored light behind him too. It destroyed everything that was under the jurisdiction of the five elements, and it had scored him an impressive battle record.

    The Peacock Princess is from the Peacock race too, so could it be¡­

    Even Horse Face halted his attack out of sheer astonishment, saying, ¡°Oh my, you have gotten limp. Age must be catching up with you.¡±

    His face looked so comedic that it felt as if he was mocking one even when he wasn''t smiling.

    ¡°Shut your goddamn mouth!¡± The Silver Chain General¡¯s eyelids twitched. He jerked his wrist and once more hurled the silver chain at the Peacock Princess.

    There was yet another flash of five-colored light, and the silver chain lost its strength once more and fell limply onto the ground.

    The Silver Chain General was as dumbfounded as the onlookers.

    Horse Face laughed so hard that he struggled to maintain his grip on his trident. If not for the inappropriate timing, he would have been rolling on the ground now.

    This time, Zu An got a clearer look. A five-colored plume fan had appeared behind her, and a light wave of it had sent the silver chain falling to the floor.

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe it!¡± The Silver Chain General looked awkward and anxious.

    He was just about to launch another attack with his silver chain when the Golden Cangue General suddenly suggested, ¡°Don¡¯t use your artifact. Attack her directly.¡±

    The latter had deduced the Peacock Princess had an artifact that curbed other artifacts.

    The Silver Chain General wasn''t a top expert for nothing. He quickly grasped the meaning behind those words and charged at the Peacock Princess like an unstoppable steam train.

    The Peacock Princess was horrified. She could no longer rely on her artifact to stop her opponent. She wanted to dodge, but the other party¡¯s aura had locked onto her, causing her body to stiffen in place. She could only watch helplessly as the Silver Chain General rammed toward her.

    Pah!

    A familiar figure suddenly appeared in front of her and caught the attack with ease. Her cheeks reddened, and her eyes gleamed with excitement. Earlier, she''d been envious of the Mermaid Queen for being protected by him in public. She hadn¡¯t expected to also receive the same treatment.

    Zu An harrumphed. ¡°She¡¯s right. Your opponent is me. Don¡¯t you feel shame for attacking a frail lady?¡±

    The Silver Chain General had only gotten anxious earlier because he was outdone by a frail lady. Now that he had regained his composure, he felt ashamed and infuriated. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll take your life then! Hmph!¡±

    You have successfully trolled the Silver Chain General for 399¡­ 399¡­ 399¡­

    He suddenly unleashed a burst of strength to crush the opponent with his sheer might. To his horror, the other party didn¡¯t budge no matter how much strength he exerted. On top of that, he felt a mysterious suction force steadily siphoning away his strength.

    ¡°There¡¯s something weird about this fellow!¡± he exclaimed. He tried to withdraw his hand but was unable to do so.

    Sensing something was amiss, the Golden Cangue General placed both halves of the cangue in his hands together and smashed it down on Zu An¡¯s head. Although, it honestly didn¡¯t matter where he was aiming. The cangue was far larger than a millstone; anything beneath it was doomed to be reduced to a lump of meat.

    A five-colored light shone from the Peacock Princess. The imposing golden cangue suddenly lost its connection with its master and fell limply to the ground.

    The Golden Cangue General was speechless. He''d been so anxious to rescue his comrade that he forgot she had that artifact.

    ¡°What artifact is that?¡± Zu An secretly asked the Peacock Princess. Its effect resembled his Treasure Sinking Coin.

    ¡°It¡¯s the Peacock Plume, a supreme treasure passed down within the Peacock race. It was temporarily bestowed upon me for self-defense to carry out the Fiend races¡¯ important mission,¡± the Peacock Princess replied with a heated face. She was embarrassed that she had been caught several times before she could utilize the artifact¡¯s power.

    To be fair, she couldn¡¯t be blamed for that. The first time, she''d been caught by the formidable Incestuous King, who could easily suppress her without the aid of any artifacts. The second time, she had fallen to Mojard¡¯s skill and couldn¡¯t control the artifact at all. By the time she recovered, she''d already been caught.

    Zu An wondered if the Peacock race was related to the legendary Kong Xuan. This Peacock Plume seemed to have been created in imitation of that five-colored light. However, he had no time to dwell on that question, as the Golden Cangue General was already before him.

    ¡°Don¡¯t come into direct contact with him. He can release a weird suction force from his body,¡± the Silver Chain General anxiously advised his comrade, fearing that the latter would fall for the same trick.

    The Golden Cangue General was taken aback. With a wave of his hands, his golden cangue returned to his grasp. This time, he didn¡¯t control the halves remotely, but instead physically smashed them down on Zu An¡¯s head.

    Horse Face grinned. He once again directed his trident at the Mermaid Queen.

    Zu An had no choice but to release the Silver Chain General and carry the Peacock Princess over to the Mermaid Queen¡¯s side. This way, he could protect both of them at once.

    Ox Head attacked him from the left, while Horse Face attacked him from the right. The Golden Cangue General and Silver Chain General wanted to join the fray too, but the Four Dragon Kings had snapped out of their daze and stood in their path.

    The North Sea Dragon King harrumphed. ¡°Four against one? You have no shame!¡±

    ¡°You crawling worms imprisoned us for so many years. Fine, I¡¯ll start with you!¡± The Silver Chain General fumed at the sight of his enemies, and a fight soon broke out between the two generals and the Four Dragon Kings.

    Zu An glanced over.

    The Four Dragon Kings lived up to their reputation as the Ocean races¡¯ strongest experts. Furthermore, they employed an offensive formation that enhanced their fighting prowess. As strong as the Golden Cangue General and Silver Chain General were, they wouldn¡¯t be getting past the Four Dragon Kings anytime soon.

    So, Zu An turned his attention back to Ox Head and Horse Face. ¡°I held back because I wanted to reminisce about the past with you two, but you''re getting out of hand.¡±

 Chapter 2446: Clash of Ice and Fire

    ¡°Reminisce the past? We don¡¯t know you.¡± Horse Face smiled. He didn¡¯t mean to mock, but his smile looked so jarring that Zu An understood why Ox Head was so angry earlier.

    Ox Head snorted shrilly. ¡°Why waste words with him! Get him first!¡±

    As he charged at Zu An, white gas spurted out of his nose.

    Horse Face didn¡¯t dawdle around. He attacked Zu An from another direction with his trident. Even though the two of them often put each other down, their timing was so in tune that there was no question they were old comrades.

    Alarmed, the Mermaid Queen strummed her harp to layer blessings on Zu An.

    Zu An swung his sword, and two massive water vortices formed under the two giants¡¯ feet. They quickly manifested into two humongous waterspouts that enveloped their massive bodies.

    The charging Ox Head and Horse Face staggered as the waterspouts threatened to wash them away.

    Even so, they were not top-notch experts for nothing. They quickly anchored themselves by plunging their weapons into the ground as they tried to break free of the waterspouts¡¯ momentum.

    The Mermaid Queen was stunned.

    The waterspouts weren¡¯t from a skill. It felt like someone was directly controlling the water to create those waterspouts. She could tell the difference because of her high affinity for the water element.

    She reflexively looked at the East Sea Dragon King.

    That looks like the ability of the Crown of the Ocean Deity. Is he secretly helping us? But does he have the spare energy to intervene here when he is already battling with the other two monsters?

    She just so happened to meet eyes with the confused East Sea Dragon King. The latter looked at her as if asking if the waterspouts were her doing.

    This enlightened the Mermaid Queen to the truth. This must be his ability. To think he can directly control water, just like the Crown of the Ocean Deity! This man is truly enigmatic!

    Ox Head and Horse Face were powerful experts with physiques comparable to mountains, granting them incomparable strength. How could mere waterspouts possibly stop them?

    Their muscles suddenly bulged as they mustered their strength to rip through the waterspouts before emerging from it.

    The Ocean races¡¯ experts were horrified.

    Water might be the gentlest element in the world, but its destructive might couldn¡¯t be underestimated. Those waterspouts were so powerful that even the Dragon Kings would twirl helplessly in them, yet those two monsters easily tore a way through them.

    In contrast, Zu An was unfazed. He had known that the waterspouts couldn¡¯t stop them from the start; he was merely stalling for time. His sword flashed across the air, and delicate snowflakes began falling around him.

    Those from the Ocean races were stunned. ¡°Why did it suddenly start snowing?¡± In the first place, how could there be snow in the ocean?!

    However, it quickly dawned on them that it might be the phenomenon that naturally came with Zu An¡¯s swordsmanship. The fusion of ice and water greatly amplified the prowess of the attack.

    A terrible snowstorm fell upon the two giants. Each snowflake was comparable to the sharpest sword ki in the world, inflicting countless lacerations on the giants.

    Snowflake Sword!

    Now that Zu An was much stronger, its prowess was far greater than before. The idea of a stronger move was a fallacy; what was more important was finding the most suitable move given a certain environment at a certain time.

    This underwater world was a good fit for Snowflake Sword. It helped that he could control water to further complement the swordsmanship, thus raising its prowess to an unprecedented level.

    The giant Ox Head and Horse Face, with their formidable regenerative capabilities, could heal from those lacerations at a visible rate, but that wasn¡¯t the issue here. What was more troubling for them was how their surroundings were slowly freezing up as the snowflakes fell.

    They had just emerged from the waterspouts and hadn¡¯t had a chance to plant their feet on the ground yet when they were already covered in frost. Their bodies were swiftly freezing up, turning into ice sculptures.

    Even their expressions were frozen in place!

    The water element experts in the Ocean races were startled too. They couldn¡¯t begin to imagine the amount of ki required to freeze those two mountain-sized experts.

    We couldn¡¯t have pulled it off even if we were drained ten times over, not to mention that the enemy would surely struggle to break free with all their might.

    Even the combined prowess of all the Ocean races¡¯ ice element experts wouldn¡¯t have been enough to freeze those two giants.

    They looked at Zu An with longing eyes as they thought that they absolutely had to find an opportunity to seek Zu An for pointers about the ice element.

    ¡°Is it over?¡± The Peacock Princess looked at the two ice sculptures in disbelief.

    ¡°It isn¡¯t that simple.¡± The Mermaid Queen nervously stared at the two ice sculptures.

    Her words rang true. Black stains suddenly appeared inside the two ice sculptures, and their exteriors began showing signs of melting.

    ¡°Black flames?¡± Zu An murmured. It resembled Pei Mianman¡¯s field of specialty. ¡°Since you are so determined to melt the ice, let me give you a helping hand.¡±

    He took out a delicate white lotus. It slowly floated toward the two sculptures and landed on them before abruptly vanishing. Shortly after, a massive white lotus-shaped flame suddenly blazed beneath two ice sculptures, enveloping an area even larger than the two giants.

    Boom!

    The two ice sculptures immediately melted.

    Ox Head and Horse Face had ignited the underworld¡¯s black flame to melt the ice around them, only to find themselves faced with the even more vigorous White Lotus Flame.

    The abrupt temperature change from cold to hot was too much for even their resilient bodies to bear. Their black flames extinguished as more White Lotus Flames blossomed around them and burned away their flesh and skin.

    Soon, there was no uncharred flesh or skin on their bodies anymore. Some of their injuries were so severe that it exposed their bones and organs.

    ¡°Ugh, this is too much to bear!¡± The two giants frantically tried to put out the flame as they cried in agony.

    The Ocean races¡¯ experts were stunned. Aren¡¯t you an ice element expert? Why are you suddenly conjuring flames out of the blue? How are you able to control two opposite elements? This defies common sense!

    The fire element cultivators in the Ocean races puffed out their chest. ¡°We knew our fire element skills boast greater destructive prowess!¡±

    Few in the Ocean races would choose to specialize in fire element. It would be squandering their high affinity for water, and it would also be hard to draw the true prowess of flames in the ocean. Weaker fire element cultivators might even find their flame extinguishing right after it was conjured.

    For those reasons, they were often mocked by others. But now that someone had shown them the possibilities of the fire element, they could finally walk with their heads up.

    ¡°Damn it! We need to retreat quickly!¡±

    Ox Head and Horse Face exchanged looks before turning tail to flee. Their giant bodies morphed into two surges of black energy before disappearing into thin air.

    They could have quickly recovered from their injuries and launched a counterattack, but judging from his casual attitude, the other party was clearly not using his full strength yet. It felt like they would be disadvantaged in a prolonged battle.

    The Golden Cangue General and Silver Chain General, who were gaining the upper hand over the Four Dragon Kings, stiffened up at that sight. That unreliable old ox and old horse!

    Despite often looking down on one another, they were aware that the four of them were in the same power class. Now that Ox Head and Horse Face had made their getaway, there was no reason for them to continue fighting.

    The two of them turned into a golden and silver ray of light and vanished.

    Perhaps embarrassed, they left behind some parting ways, ¡°We have just escaped from our imprisonment and hadn¡¯t found time to recover yet. This battlefield is also disadvantageous to us. We dare you to fight us in our territory!¡±

    Favorite

 Chapter 2447: Treasure Gift

    ¡°They¡­ escaped?¡± the Peacock Princess looked at the Mermaid Queen in confusion as she asked in bewilderment.

    The Mermaid Queen looked stunned too. ¡°That seems to be the case.¡±

    She thought about how those giants had arrived majestically, acting as if they would decimate the world, and she suddenly felt an urge to laugh. She looked at the figure in the sky, and a red tinge spread across her beautiful face.

    It¡¯s all thanks to that man. He is truly strong and dashing.

    As the four giants escaped, the normal-sized Ox Heads, Horse Faces, Golden Cangues, and Silver Chains were stunned. We¡¯re fighting to our deaths here, yet our bosses escaped?

    They quickly reacted though. It was unknown who first did it, but it didn¡¯t take long before all of them turned tail and fled.

    The Ocean races¡¯ experts made use of this opportunity to advance and drive the monsters back into the Eye of the Ocean.

    Most fighting had died down by this point, except for the friends and comrades who had turned against them after being inflicted with death energy. Those were much trickier to deal with, and the Ocean races¡¯ experts hesitated to dish out fatal blows on them.

    Faced with this situation, the Four Dragon Kings had no choice but to make the difficult choice, ¡°To avoid further contagion, we have no choice but to execute them and burn their corpses.¡±

    The crowd looked pained, but they knew this was the rational thing to do.

    It was then Zu An spoke up, ¡°Let me give it a try.¡±

    ¡°Be careful, benefactor!¡± many from the Ocean races¡¯ anxiously reminded when they saw him making his way toward the monster horde.

    Zu An chuckled at the way they addressed him. ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡±

    He flitted into the center of the monster horde.

    The monsters, upon sensing the presence of a living being, lurched at him with their claws and fangs to rip off his flesh and blood.

    Zu An calmly opened his hands as if an invisible book sat on his palms. ¡°Dust to dust, earth to earth. What should not remain should cease to exist¡­¡±

    A white light reminiscent of the warm rays of a rising sun radiated from his body; it was a stark contrast to the grayish-white death energy. A light breeze blew wherever the white light touched, whisking away death energy with it.

    Those previously afflicted with death energy fell to the ground as they slowly recovered.

    Those who were more severely injured or had been afflicted with more death energy failed to snap out of it right away, resulting in their dazed expressions. ¡°What happened?¡±

    Their friends and family cried tears of joy. They rushed forward to hug them.

    The Mermaid Queen marched in with the Ocean races¡¯ healers to treat their injuries. Soon, those who had fainted regained consciousness. Most people were saved, except for those who were too severely injured.

    Resounding cheers broke out from the Ocean races. All of them earnestly thanked Zu An.

    Had it not been for him, this could have been the end of their Ocean races. They wouldn¡¯t have been able to save these people or even drive off those terrifying giant monsters.

    The Four Dragon Kings bowed to Zu An. ¡°You are our Ocean races¡¯ precious friend. Ask anything of us, be it to climb a mountain of knives or dive into a sea of flames, and we will not hesitate to carry it out!¡±

    Given that he had saved the Ocean races, there was no gratitude too excessive for him.

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°There¡¯s no need to climb a mountain of knives or dive into a sea of flames for me. Instead, you can consider the proposal I have previously raised.¡±

    The Four Dragon Kings looked conflicted, but they quickly replied, ¡°We¡¯ll listen to your suggestion and ally with the Fiend races against the monsters!¡±

    ¡°I will help you too. Trust me, we will be the ultimate victors.¡± Zu An had thought things through and figured that his intervention was necessary to pull history back on track.

    The Four Dragon Kings were delighted to hear that. ¡°We have nothing to fear with your help!¡±

    They were previously hesitant because they thought they wouldn¡¯t be a match against the monsters even after allying with the Fiend races. But with this powerhouse on their side, the odds now looked much better.

    It was just a second ago that they were lamenting about having to stake the future of their Ocean races to repay this debt, but things weren¡¯t that pessimistic, after all. The other party wasn¡¯t going to leave them to the lurch.

    What a noble person he is! Helping us and yet not asking for anything in return.

    Zu An gestured to the Peacock Princess and said, ¡°You may discuss the details of the alliance with the princess. I¡¯ll be making a trip down there.¡±

    The Peacock Princess was moved to hear that. Is he doing all this for me?

    She had been here for some time now, and she had tried everything she could think of, but the Ocean races displayed a greater inclination to become subservient to the monsters than to ally with the Fiend races.

    This ¡®Big Brother Eddie Peng¡¯ had also been working with the same objective in mind, and now that he had succeeded, he suddenly passed the credit to her.

    Why is he treating me so well? Is it because of my descendant? Aiyo, my distant descendant, I think your ancestor has also fallen in love with this man. What should we do about this?

    Her face began to burn. It was also at this point she suddenly recalled his subsequent sentence and exclaimed, ¡°You¡¯re heading into the Eye of the Ocean?¡±

    Zu An nodded. He looked at the deep ditch that resembled a massive cut on the ocean floor. Grayish-white death energy continued to puff out of it. ¡°Those fellows merely made a temporary retreat. They will return the moment another opportunity arises. I have to deal with the seal.¡±

    If he couldn¡¯t settle the situation here, the Ocean races would be tied down by the monsters emerging from the Eye of the Ocean. They wouldn¡¯t have the manpower to aid the Fiend races in fending against the monsters.

    He was also curious to uncover why his connection with the underworld was severed, as well as what was the situation with the Shaman races, Ox Head, and Horse Face. There were too many questions he needed answers to.

    The Four Dragon Kings proposed, ¡°We¡¯ll send some formation masters down with you. This is our Ocean races¡¯ affair, so we can¡¯t let you risk your life alone.¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°I¡¯ll investigate the situation down there first before requesting further help. Death energy is swirling down there. I won¡¯t have the strength to protect everyone.¡±

    While the Four Dragon Kings were hesitating on this issue, the Mermaid Queen interjected, ¡°The Dragon Kings are right. This is our Ocean races¡¯ business. I¡¯ll go down with you. I¡¯ll at least be of help to you if those Ox Heads and Horse Faces have laid an ambush for you down there.¡±

    Zu An was moved. Her blessings were indeed formidable, raising his fighting prowess by at least 30%.

    The Four Dragon Kings voiced their agreement too. At least the Mermaid Queen was also part of the Ocean races, so it wouldn¡¯t look bad on them if she tagged along with Zu An.

    ¡°All right, let¡¯s head down together.¡± Zu An figured it shouldn¡¯t be too hard for him to protect one person from the death energy.

    The Peacock Princess rushed over and handed him a five-colored fan. ¡°Big brother, it could be dangerous down there. Take this Peacock Plume with you.¡±

    She was blushing furiously. Peacock Plume was her race¡¯s invaluable treasure. It had never fallen into an outsider¡¯s hand before. But she couldn¡¯t care less right now.

 Chapter 2448: Touch My Heart

    The Peacock Princess wanted to follow Zu An into the Eye of the Ocean, but as the envoy sent by the Fiend races to negotiate an alliance, she was not someone who didn¡¯t know her priorities. Not only would she be unable to contribute anything, but Zu An would also be distracted trying to protect him.

    Instead of being scorned for dragging him down, she would rather stay here and do her part.

    That being said, she truly wanted to help him too. After much thought, she figured the best thing she could do was to give him this Peacock Plume.

    The Ocean races¡¯ experts merely smiled at that sight, thinking it was normal for lovers like them to give each other gifts. Only Zu An and the Mermaid Queen understood the weight of the gift.

    Zu An gently smiled at her as he placed the Peacock Plume back into her hands. ¡°I have artifacts too. Keep it and stay safe.¡±

    His Treasure Sinking Coin had a similar ability as the Peacock Plume, and it was a higher-grade artifact too. He indeed didn¡¯t need the Peacock Plume. Rather, the Peacock Princess needed it more to protect herself during this tumultuous time.

    The Peacock Princess¡¯ eyes reddened at his rejection. This was the only thing she had that might be of help to him, yet he refused her goodwill. She suddenly felt like a failure. Not only was she not as beautiful as the Mermaid Queen, but she was also not as useful as her.

    The Mermaid Queen was at least able to fight alongside him, but she couldn¡¯t do anything at all.

    Zu An was stunned. Why does she look like she¡¯s about to burst into tears?

    The Mermaid Queen rolled her eyes. He doesn¡¯t understand a maiden¡¯s heart.

    The Peacock Princess was taken aback. ¡°Is that truly what he means?¡±

    The Mermaid Queen chuckled. ¡°Of course. He can¡¯t speak directly to you because there are too many Ocean races¡¯ experts around.¡±

    The Peacock Princess¡¯ face lit up. ¡°Rest assured! I¡¯ll hold the fort up here. I¡¯ll make sure they don¡¯t mess around!¡±

    Her mind whirred into action, and she understood she wouldn¡¯t be able to stop the Dragon Kings alone. It happened that she was tasked with the alliance negotiation. This was a chance for her to win over those in the Ocean races who were strongly opposed to the monsters.

    That way, she would have allies to fall back on if anything happened.

    The Peacock Princess walked up to Zu An and said, ¡°Have a safe journey. I¡¯ll be waiting for you here.¡±

    Zu An looked at the Mermaid Queen in confusion. He was curious to know how she coaxed the Peacock Princess so easily.

    The Mermaid Queen blinked innocently.

    Following the Peacock Princess¡¯ lead, the other Ocean races¡¯ experts handed their defensive artifacts to Zu An, hoping they would be useful to him in his journey. This time, Zu An accepted their gifts.

    The Peacock Princess felt a tinge of sweetness. He treats me differently from the others.

    Zu An bade the Ocean races farewell before bringing the Mermaid Queen to the ditch¡¯s edge. The brilliant formation he had seen a few days ago had become tattered, causing the ditch to be shrouded in grayish-white death energy. Only gleaming bits of the tattered formation could be spotted here and there.

    Holding the Mermaid Queen¡¯s hand, Zu An circulated the Primordial Origin Sutra to help her dispel the surrounding death energy.

    ¡°Don¡¯t stray too far from me down there.¡±

    ¡°Mm.¡±

    The Peacock Princess was so envious she could cry. I want to go down with him too!

    The Ocean races¡¯ experts looked at Zu An in envy. Most of them had courted the Mermaid Queen for many years, but the latter made sure to draw a line with them despite her friendly demeanor. Thus, they had been curious to know what man would eventually win her heart, though the truth was that they wouldn¡¯t have accepted the outcome as they didn¡¯t think anyone was better than them.

    The answer was finally out, but their hearts were surprisingly calm.

    There was no jealousy or anger. After all they had been through, they had to concede that Zu An was out of their league, not to mention that they were all indebted to him now.

    I guess only a man like that is worthy of her.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, the Mermaid Queen discreetly glanced at the hand holding hers, and a subtle smile formed on her lips. Despite being surrounded by an eerie white fog, where sinister howls could be heard now and then, she was still enjoying this moment.

    This might be the sweetest memory she would ever have.

    Zu An waved his hand, and the artifacts he had just received floated around the Mermaid Queen. ¡°I don¡¯t need these artifacts. It¡¯ll be dangerous down there, so you should take them for self-protection.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡± The Mermaid Queen merrily accepted the items, thinking that she would cherish them since it was his gift. She had selectively forgotten that these artifacts were from the Ocean races¡¯ experts.

    ¡°What did you talk to the Peacock Princess about earlier?¡± Zu An asked out of curiosity.

    The Mermaid Queen smiled. ¡°It¡¯s lady¡¯s talk. You shouldn¡¯t probe too much.¡±

    Zu An: ¡°¡­¡±

    He would look like a creep if he continued probing after that.

    With locked hands, they dove deeper.

    The Mermaid Queen sensed gazes from unknown lifeforms on them, it was just that they dared not approach due to the primordial ki¡¯s cleansing ability. Feeling the warmth transmitted to her hand, she looked at his side profile and suddenly suggested, ¡°I have already seen your face earlier. There are no outsiders here anyway, so why don¡¯t you remove that mask?¡±

    Zu An: ¡°¡­¡±

    The recollection of his earlier slip-up left him incredibly embarrassed.

    ¡°Shall I take it off for you?¡± the Mermaid Queen whispered sweetly into his ear.

    Zu An was so immersed in his earlier embarrassment that he didn¡¯t register what she said, but the Mermaid Queen took his silence as implicit consent and reached out to remove his mask.

    Zu An: ¡°¡­¡±

    It was not her first time seeing his face, but she still lost herself for a moment there. ¡°You are so dashing, so why do you insist on disguising yourself like that?¡±

    It would defeat the point to put his mask back on now that it was already off. He was hesitant to answer her question though.

    The Mermaid Queen chuckled. ¡°Is it because your luck with women is so good that you¡¯re worried you might accidentally pull on someone¡¯s heartstrings?¡±

    Zu An: ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m kidding.¡± The Mermaid Queen kindly changed the topic out of consideration. ¡°You must be worried that it might have rippling effects on your original spacetime.¡±

    Zu An acknowledged it with a ¡°Mm¡±. That was indeed his concern.

    ¡°Rest assured, I¡¯ll only etch your face to my mind. It will not spread out in any forms.¡± The Mermaid Queen¡¯s voice suddenly became gentle as she said, ¡°Can you share with me the story between you and my descendant?¡±

    Favorite

 Chapter 2449: Worse Than Death

    ¡°She used to be my teacher¡­¡± Zu An reminisced about the first time he saw her at a gazebo outside the academy.

    He had just transmigrated into that world then. Not only was he snubbed due to his low standing, but he also had all kinds of restrictions imposed on him. It was as good as starting a game in hell mode.

    The other party¡¯s appearance was like a breath of fresh air to him.

    ¡°A teacher-student relationship?¡± The Mermaid Queen¡¯s breathing hastened.

    Zu An had barely begun the story, but she could already fill in the blanks about the incredible romance that happened afterward. There must have been many obstacles in their pursuit of love. She was also curious to know what kind of woman was worthy of being his teacher.

    In the days they spent together, she concluded that Zu An might be the strongest, most mysterious, and most knowledgeable man she knew. She couldn¡¯t imagine anyone teaching such an outstanding student, and to think that person was a descendant of the Mermaid race!

    ¡°Is my descendant that formidable?¡± the Mermaid Queen asked doubtfully.

    Zu An could tell from her expression what she was thinking, and he smiled. ¡°It¡¯s not what you¡¯re thinking. She teaches me music. We became acquainted over a song.¡±

    Now that he was in another spacetime, surrounded by a white fog, he felt a wave of loneliness and homesickness. So, he took out the flute he always carried with him and played ¡®Scenery of Home¡¯.

    The surrounding grayish-white death energy seemed to tone down under the melody¡¯s influence, as they morphed into white clouds.

    The wistful yet sorrowful melody left the Mermaid Queen feeling hoarse for a good few minutes.

    When the melody finally concluded, Zu An said, ¡°This is the melody that brought us together.¡±

    ¡°No wonder she fell in love with you. This melody must have won her heart,¡± the Mermaid Queen remarked.

    Zu An was taken aback. ¡°How do you know I played this melody for her?¡±

    The Mermaid Queen smiled. ¡°While this melody is highly reminiscent of our Mermaid race¡¯s music style, it is novel as well. I don¡¯t think it would have come from her.¡±

    ¡°My queen is indeed well-versed in music,¡± Zu An complimented. Mermaids were born musicians, be they Shang Liuyu, Shang Hongyu, or Gong Suyin. They were all music prodigies.

    Looking into Zu An¡¯s eyes, the Mermaid Queen suddenly asked, ¡°Does that woman resemble me a lot?¡±

    Feeling her burning, expectant gaze, Zu An couldn¡¯t bear to ignore her. ¡°Yes, the two of you share similar appearances.¡±

    After spending more time together, he could see many subtle differences between them. He could only say both of them had their charms.

    The Mermaid Queen had guessed as much, but the confirmation still left her both happy and sad. She was happy that she resembled his lover, but their similarity also suggested that they might have blood ties.

    Noooo!

    The Mermaid Queen¡¯s heart sank.

    ¡°What¡¯s her¡­¡±

    She was about to ask about her name when Zu Zn suddenly cast his gaze downward, having noticed something.

    She looked down as well and saw a tattered formation. It must have been one of the key formations the Ocean races used to suppress the Eye of the Ocean.

    It was already worn down to a third of its original size, emanating just a faint light. It looked like it would collapse at any moment.

    But what surprised the two of them more were the pained monsters lying in the formation¡¯s vicinity. Unlike the ones that invaded the ocean earlier, these monsters resembled dragons and lizards. They grabbed their heads while howling in agony. Some of them even rolled around the ground.

    ¡°What are those monsters?¡± The Mermaid Queen was taken aback. There were all kinds of monsters in the Eye of the Ocean, and they had no idea what abilities they had. Should they escape, it might spell a calamity for the world.

    ¡°They aren¡¯t monsters,¡± Zu An said with conflicted eyes. ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, they are the garrison troops who entered the ditch earlier.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± The Mermaid Queen took a closer look. Only then did she notice the tattered armor and clothes on those monsters¡ªthose were indeed what the garrison troops were wearing.

    ¡°What happened to them?¡± The Mermaid Queen teared up. She felt awful to see those stalwart warriors being reduced to such a state.

    ¡°This formation is only holding on thanks to them.¡± Zu An assessed the surroundings and quickly came to a judgment. ¡°They are burning their life force and faith to neutralize the death energy while repairing the formation to seal off the Eye of the Ocean. Unfortunately, their life force and faith are limited, whereas the death energy here is infinite. Under the influx of death energy, they slowly lost themselves. They didn¡¯t die, but the death energy reconstructed their bodies and slowly turned them into monsters.¡±

    He only recognized them because he saw them in the future. Such stone sculptures lined the sides of the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons¡¯ hall. Upon sensing invaders, the stone sculptures broke apart, and these dragon-lizard monsters emerged from within.

    Back then, he thought that the Ancient Dragon race voluntarily used a secret art to turn themselves into stone sculptures to protect the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons, but who could have thought that this was the true reason?

    ¡°I have to save them.¡± The Mermaid Queen took out her Deep Sea Harp and played a healing melody.

    To her shock, that only worsened the garrison troops¡¯ pain. Some of them even lurched furiously at the Mermaid Queen.

    Zu An pulled the Mermaid Queen behind him and retreated, thus dodging their attacks.

    ¡°Why did that happen?¡± The Mermaid Queen was astounded.

    ¡°The death energy has turned them into monsters. Your melody heals the living, but it is poison to them,¡± Zu An said as he channeled his primordial ki to cleanse the nearby garrison troops.

    As death energy was siphoned away from them, the rampaging garrison troops slowly calmed down. However, their bodies began to decompose at a visible pace too.

    ¡°This won¡¯t do!¡± Zu An quickly retracted his primordial ki. ¡°They are now sustained by death energy. That is what is keeping them alive. If we remove their death energy, they will be reduced to dust.¡±

    The thought of the brave garrison troops meeting with such a tragic plight made the Mermaid Queen¡¯s eyes redden. ¡°Is there a way to save them?¡±

    Favorite

 Chapter 2450: Being Honest

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°They''re already dead. They merely appear to be alive due to the death energy¡¯s alterations.¡±

    The Mermaid Queen¡¯s heart sank. It saddened her to see such brave garrison troops dying just like that.

    ¡°But I can seal them with my secret art. When they''re finally freed, they can be reincarnated into the place most suited for them,¡± Zu An said.

    ¡°Reincarnated?¡± The Mermaid Queen was taken aback. ¡°Does reincarnation truly exist in the world? Can it be controlled?¡±

    ¡°There''s a way to do it. I''ve met them in the future.¡± Zu An also didn¡¯t want these warriors to die just like that, so he''d devised a way for them to have a better future.

    Unfortunately, he had lost his connection with the underworld, so he wasn¡¯t sure where they would reincarnate if they died now. It also didn¡¯t help that the underworld was currently under the control of the ¡®monsters¡¯ they had suppressed for many years. It was unlikely that the monsters would give them a good new life. So, he had to wait for the future to come, when he gained control over the underworld, before giving them their final release so he could plan their reincarnation. This would also close the loop for this piece of history.

    The Mermaid Queen was both stunned and delighted to hear that Zu An would meet the garrison troops in the future. She was no longer opposed to it, though she was still a little worried. ¡°How do we seal them?¡±

    Zu An retrieved some materials from the Brilliant Glass Bead. ¡°I¡¯ll need your help.¡±

    The special materials scraped from the Monster World and the resources brought from the Cultivation World he''d been in before going on this journey would be enough to craft the seal. Additionally, when Zu An thought about the stone sculptures the garrison troops were trapped inside in the future, there seemed to be a sealing method in the Baopu Sutra that could achieve a similar effect.

    For the longest time, the Baopu Sutra had been so profound that he struggled to grasp it, but after supplementing his knowledge in the Monster World, he was able to master all the formations detailed in it. Under his instructions, the Mermaid Queen quickly placed the materials and formation flags in specific positions.

    Seeing that everything was in place, Zu An pulled the Mermaid Queen behind him, took out a formation disc, and began constructing the formation. He murmured obscure words as his hands swiftly moved around the formation disc. Every few seconds, a clear ray of light fell on the garrison troops. Their rampage slowly died down, and their pain lessened.

    The Mermaid Queen looked at the concentrated Zu An with gentle eyes. He looks so handsome when he¡¯s focused on a task.

    It wasn''t as if no men had ever shown their serious side to her, but they had never succeeded in tugging her heartstrings before. On the contrary, it had only evoked her desire to laugh. But this man was different. His work was such a pleasing sight that she felt as if she could watch it for an eternity to come. He¡¯s handsome, knowledgeable, strong, interesting, righteous, and kind¡­ To top it off, he knows the most obscure formations in the world. I never thought I would find so many strengths in a man.

    She was jealous of her descendant. Why had the latter met this man first? Her eyes dimmed as a verse came to her mind. You weren''t around when I was born. By the time you came to be, I was already old.

    A long time later, Zu An stowed away the formation disc and said, ¡°It¡¯s done.¡±

    All the rampaging garrison troops had fallen quiet. They were now wrapped in a thick layer of stone, turning them into sculptures.

    Zu An looked at them and said, ¡°Please rest for the time being. You may break free when you sense the aura of invading monsters¡ªa fated someone will bring you salvation then.¡±

    The stone sculptures half-kneeled to him as if they had understood him. Then, they slowly made their way into the darkness and disappeared.

    ¡°Is that person you?¡± The Mermaid Queen chuckled.

    She noticed the sweat on his forehead and reflexively took out a handkerchief to wipe it off. It was only when she noticed his stiffened figure that she realized her actions were overly intimate, but she merely hesitated for a second before pressing on with it. After all, he was from the future; every meeting could be their last. She didn¡¯t think there was a reason for her to hold back.

    Zu An felt awkward. Taking in her fragrance and looking at the approaching beauty, he suddenly felt embarrassed like a virgin. In the end, he shattered the atmosphere by commenting, ¡°Mmhm. I am indeed the one who brings them eternal rest in the future.¡±

    The Mermaid Queen stowed away her handkerchief. She had enough tact to not go too far. ¡°Why do you have to wait for the future before freeing them?¡±

    ¡°There''s an ability that I''ll only acquire in the future. Other than that, this is the only way to make history align with the future.¡±

    Zu An had previously speculated that the stone sculptures were brave warriors from the ancient Ocean races, but who could have thought that he was the one responsible for their condition?

    The Mermaid Queen fell into deep thought. So this was how history unfolded. If he¡¯s doing everything to ensure things roll out the way they did, then¡­

    Zu An made use of this opportunity to distance himself from her. He directed the formation flags toward the distant formation, which gradually lit up; it stopped flickering as if it would go out at any moment.

    He stored away his formation disc and said, ¡°I only temporarily reinforced it. Let¡¯s first investigate the situation inside before calling the Ocean races over to repair it for good.¡±

    ¡°Do you intend to venture deeper?¡± the Mermaid Queen asked.

    Zu An nodded. After seeing the tangible death energy puffing from the formation, he knew he had to make a trip down there to unravel his doubts.

    ¡°It¡¯s too dangerous.¡± The Mermaid Queen was worried. The death energy below was so thick that it felt more like a viscous fluid than a gas.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯m unfazed by death energy." Zu An paused before adding, ¡°On the other hand, the subsequent journey might be unsafe for you. The true Eye of the Ocean doesn¡¯t permit living beings to enter, so I won¡¯t be able to take you with me. Let me send you up first.¡±

    The Mermaid Queen shook her head. ¡°No, I¡¯ll wait here for you. This way, I can also stop others from causing further damage to the formation.¡±

    Now that the formation had been temporarily repaired, there was no death energy puffing out anymore. The garrison troops were also standing on guard not too far away. She didn¡¯t think it would be too dangerous waiting here.  At the same time, she was surprised to hear that Zu An knew what was in the Eye of the Ocean.

    Zu An hesitated for a bit. He thought her answer made sense, so he took out a bunch of protection talismans and a formation disc and gave them to her. ¡°Wait here for me. If I don¡¯t return within three days, activate this formation disc. It¡¯ll send you back.¡±

    ¡°Stay safe!¡± The Mermaid Queen thought that there was no point in her returning alone.

    Looking at her beautiful yet familiar eyes, Zu An fell into a daze. He couldn¡¯t help but remember the moment he''d bade farewell to Shang Liuyu at the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons.  He nodded before turning around while waving his hand.

    It was then that the Mermaid Queen suddenly said, ¡°I am Gong Suyin. What is your name?¡± Fearing his rejection, she quickly added, ¡°I want to at least know your name in case you never return.¡±

    The thought of that possibility sent sorrow surging into her heart, and tears trickled down her beautiful eyes.

    Zu An, despite having his back facing her, could see her tears turning into pearls. That softened his conviction, and he replied, ¡°I am Zu An.¡±

    ¡°Zu An¡­¡± The Mermaid Queen was surprised and delighted. She hadn¡¯t expected him to tell her his name. She murmured the name over and over again, afraid that it would slip from her mind. By the time she raised her head once more, he was already gone.

    Favorite

 Chapter 2451: Dig Out His Eyes

    The deeper Zu An ventured, the more concentrated the death energy around him became. From time to time, he even heard bizarre sounds, as if someone was gossiping about him from the dark.

    However, he had a calm expression. Even disregarding the Primordial Origin Sutra, which curbed death energy, he was the master of the underworld. Even though he wasn''t able to exert his authority now, his identity still allowed him to travel freely to and from the underworld. Needless to say, he wasn¡¯t affected by death energy.  Perhaps it would sound ridiculous to others, but this sinister atmosphere felt welcoming to him.

    As for the ghosts hiding in the shadows, he had more important matters to attend to right now, so he couldn¡¯t be bothered to deal with them. Even though these ghosts coveted his flesh and blood, they sensed a natural authority from him and dared not make a move on him.

    Some time later, Zu An finally arrived somewhere familiar. It was a bridge in front of an abyss. A fog shrouded the area beneath the bridge, obscuring its support posts. It was a mystery how this bridge remained standing despite the relentless passage of time.

    Zu An crossed the bridge and walked up to the edge of the abyss. Something pitch-black seemed to be swirling inside. It instilled a natural fear that could induce goosebumps and leave one¡¯s limbs feeling cold. Yet, it also contained some kind of magic that would tempt one to jump in. Any weaker cultivator standing here would have unknowingly leaped in by now.

    ¡°This must be what the Ocean races call the Eye of the Ocean. They don¡¯t know that it¡¯s the underworld¡¯s entrance.¡± Zu An was in no rush to enter. He examined the area above the abyss, the cliff opposite from it.

    He wanted to verify something¡­ but his heart sank at a glance. Unwilling to give up, he flew into the sky and spent a while searching the vicinity. In the end, however, he had to concede that the Necropolis Emperor¡¯s sculpture wasn''t here!

    Back then, in the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons, that majestic sculpture had shaken him to the core. Mojard¡¯s beast form and the Ox Head Horse Face giants were humongous, but they were still nothing compared to the Necropolis Emperor¡¯s sculpture. Of course, its size was secondary. What had shaken him more was the inexplicable pressure it left on him.

    Zu An practically started doubting his reality. ¡°How is this possible? How is this possible?!¡±

    He had examined the Necropolis Emperor¡¯s sculpture back then; it felt as if it had been there for eons, not just a few thousand years¡­ and the period he was in should have been only several thousand years in the past! Not only did the timeline not fit, Zu An also didn¡¯t think that the people of this era had the power to sculpt something that incredible.

    ¡°Am I not in the Cultivation World from a few thousand years back?¡± Zu An suddenly wondered.

    Now that he thought about it, there were many subtle details that didn¡¯t align with what he knew. Between the absence of the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons, the Shaman races in the underworld, him being deprived of his authority as the underworld¡¯s master, and the absence of the Necropolis Emperor¡­

    These doubts swirled in his mind, but Zu An quickly remembered the connections between this world and the future Cultivation World. The monsters¡¯ invasion, the Lord of Slaughter, Mojard, the Fiend Emperor, and Yumen Beiqing. These details all aligned. There wasn¡¯t much difference between the Ocean races here and the Ocean races in the future, and the Peacock Princess and the Mermaid Queen resembled his lovers in the future.

    While he was wondering about it, he suddenly heard chatter from the side.

    ¡°What¡¯s with the Shaman races? Why did they suddenly retreat?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s weird. Be careful. They might be up to something.¡±

    ¡°What can those musclebrains possibly scheme?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s better to be safe than sorry. They might have encountered something terrifying outside.¡±

    ¡­

    The other voices were all hoarse and ferocious; only the last one to speak had a crisp and pleasant-sounding voice, making it stand out amid the awful-sounding voices.

    Zu An looked downward and saw six men and a woman emerging from the abyss and landing next to the cliff.

    It was a stretch to call the former six men, however. They did have humanoid shapes, but they were hideous. All of them had multiple hands sprouting from their backs, and some even had multiple heads too. On top of that, some heads had more than one pair of eyes. It would be more apt to call them monsters.

    In contrast, the woman was incredibly beautiful. She was dressed in a light breastplate and a short leather skirt that flaunted her slender frame. Her toned abdomen, wheat-colored skin, and sturdy thighs made it clear that she was no frail damsel waiting to be rescued.

    Zu An was stunned to see her.

    The group also noticed Zu An and immediately put up their guard. It was wise to assume anyone who appeared here would be anything but ordinary.  But upon confirming that the other party was alone and a seemingly powerless human male, the group of seven breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that he could only be so strong.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s rude to keep staring at me?¡± The woman glared at Zu An. Her six companions also stared at Zu An with hostility.

    ¡°Have we ever met before?¡± Zu An voiced his inner thoughts aloud.

    The six monsters were stunned.

    The woman burst into laughter. ¡°Your pickup line is surprisingly old-fashioned for someone who looks so prim and proper.¡±

    Her companions also burst into laughter as they looked at Zu An in sympathy. Of all people, he''d foolishly chosen to flirt with her.

    Zu An finally realized why she looked so familiar. She resembled Murong Qinghe; it was just that she felt much more mature, whereas Murong Qinghe had a youthful disposition.  She also resembled Valkyrie Mo Xi in terms of her outfit, though she was more valiant than seductive.

    It was at this point that Zu An suddenly froze up. Before this, he had never noticed the resemblance between Murong Qinghe and Mo Xi. Their dispositions were so different that he had never thought of comparing them. But the woman before him resembled an amalgamation of Murong Qinghe and Mo Xi, and that had made him draw a connection between the two.

    He felt guilt-ridden whenever he thought of that young lady. He''d been drunk that night, and he hadn¡¯t expected Huanzhao to pull a trick on him. He wondered if she knew the truth yet. He''d even gone to the Monster World right after that night. From her perspective, he must have been a jerk who abandoned her right after having his fun. That further fanned his guilt.

    The woman noticed the pity, doting, and guilt in Zu An¡¯s eyes, and her face darkened. ¡°Pi Lu, I don¡¯t like the way that fellow is looking at me. Dig out his eyes for me.¡±

 Chapter 2452: The Mysterious Princess

    A fierce-looking man next to the woman tightened his fist with an audible crack. ¡°Heh, I was just getting sick of looking at this deadbeat.¡±

    He raised his hand toward Zu An. Even though there was a great distance between the two of them, and his legs didn¡¯t move in the slightest, his hands extended straight toward Zu An. His sharp, black fingernails reflected a cold gleam as they shot straight toward Zu An¡¯s eyeballs. Even the toughest boulder would shatter against those fingernails, let alone a human¡¯s frail eyeballs.

    A cry of agony followed, and a spurt of blood followed. However, it came not from Zu An, but the man named Pi Lu.

    ¡°My hand!¡± He clutched his hand in pain. It had reverted to its original length, but it was bleeding profusely. Two fingers were missing from it.

    The group was stunned. ¡°He¡¯s an expert!¡±

    They didn¡¯t even see how Zu An hadmade his move before Pi Lu¡¯s fingers were severed.

    ¡°There is such a powerful expert among the humans?¡± The woman frowned.

    Pi Lu growled in anger, ¡°I was planning to only take your eyes, but since you dared to retaliate, I¡¯ll take your life instead!¡±

    Not expecting to be embarrassed in front of the princess and their comrades, he felt a surge of shame and unleashed his full prowess. His fingers grew back out, and two more arms sprouted from beneath his armpits, each of them brandishing a weapon. He sent attacks at the male human¡¯s vitals, but the latter remained rooted to the spot.

    Pi Lu was both surprised and angered. How arrogant can he get? I¡¯ll smash a thousand holes into him!

    You have trolled Pi Lu for +444¡­ +444¡­ +444¡­

    He thought the other party was looking down on him, so his attacks were more vicious than ever.

    Dong! Dong! Dong!

    Pi Lu was stunned. His six hands had swung six sharp blades down on Zu An¡¯s vitals, but for some reason, none of them landed on the latter. Instead, they rebounded before he could even get close, as if deflected by an invisible barrier.  He took a closer look and saw a faint golden bell shrouding the human.

    ¡°A defensive artifact? I enjoy nothing more than wearing down those so-called defense experts who can¡¯t fight back!¡± Pi Lu sneered as he rained a barrage of attacks down on the bell.

    All defensive artifacts had their weaknesses. As long as he found this artifact''s weakness, he would be able to turn the tables on the other party. So, he jumped up and down, unleashing all of his ultimate skills to attack the golden bell.

    However, the only responses he got were ¡®dong¡¯ sounds. He initially didn¡¯t think much about it, but as time passed, his hideous face started to turn red. He realized that no matter how he attacked, he was unable to breach the other party¡¯s defense.

    This artifact didn¡¯t have any weaknesses! The bell chimes almost seemed to be mocking his incompetence.

    His comrades couldn¡¯t hold themselves back anymore and jeered, ¡°Pi Lu, why are you striking a bell when you¡¯re supposed to teach him a lesson?¡±

    Pi Lu¡¯s face reddened further. He wished there was a hole underground for him to dive into. He let out a deafening howl as if he was about to use some kind of forbidden art to raise his fighting prowess.

    ¡°Enough. Come back, Pi Lu. You aren¡¯t a match for him,¡± the beautiful woman said.

    Pi Lu¡¯s face stiffened. He was reluctant to let things go, but he dared not disobey her. Thus, he meekly gave up on his assault and returned to her side. In the meantime, however, his comrades didn¡¯t forget to mock him.

    Pi Lu was so irritated that he growled, ¡°Why don¡¯t you give it a try then?¡±

    ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll challenge him, lest that guy thinks we''re just here to scratch his back!¡± A man with a body that was twice as big as Pi Lu''s harrumphed as he marched forward, only for the princess to stop him right away.

    ¡°Stop!¡±

    ¡°Yes, my princess.¡± The man bowed before stepping back again.

    Zu An¡¯s mind whirred into action. She''s a princess? I wonder what race she¡¯s from.

    The beautiful woman assessed Zu An. ¡°No wonder you dare to stare at me blatantly. You have the strength to back your guts.¡±

    Zu An dissipated the Tranquility Bell. ¡°I apologize for my brashness. I lost myself for a moment because you resemble a friend of mine. I seek your understanding for that.¡±

    The beautiful woman nodded. ¡°I doubt an expert of your caliber would bother with such a crude lie. Earlier, you remained on the defensive to not harm my subordinate, so I¡¯ll trust you for now.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, miss.¡± Zu An was curious about their identities, as they seemed to be at odds with the Shaman races.

    While he was wondering how to probe for more information, the beautiful woman suddenly asked, ¡°So, who is more beautiful? Me or your friend?¡±

    Zu An was speechless. Why do women always ask such meaningless questions?

    Still, he knew this question could define his relationship with her, so he prudently answered, ¡°All flowers have their unique charms. Miss, you command a valiance my friend lacks.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Are you claiming your friend is more beautiful than me?¡± The beautiful woman¡¯s expression turned cold as she sneered.

    Sensing the change in her emotions, the six men around her glared at Zu An. They were ready to pounce and rip him to shreds at her command.

    Zu An was rendered speechless. ¡°You misunderstand me, miss. I have no such meaning.¡±

    ¡°Hypocrite,¡± the beautiful woman scoffed. ¡°But your reluctance to put down your friend even in a situation like this makes me curious to know if she¡¯s truly that beautiful.¡±

    Zu An was briefly stunned.

    ¡°She¡¯s as beautiful as you. I heard them addressing you as ''princess'' earlier. May I know which race you come from? Do you have a grudge with the Shaman races?¡± Not wanting to dwell on this topic, Zu An decided to take the initiative in this conversation.

    ¡°You¡¯re an interesting one. You came here despite not knowing who we are?¡± The beautiful woman burst into laughter. ¡°How about this? Draw your friend for me. I¡¯ll pardon your brashness and answer your question if she¡¯s that beautiful.¡±

    At this point, she suddenly changed her tone. ¡°But if she isn¡¯t as beautiful as you make her out to be, it¡¯ll mean that you¡¯re lying to me. I have no mercy for people who lie to me. That broken bell of yours won¡¯t be able to save you.¡±

    The six men suddenly scattered in different directions, as if to seal off his path of escape.

    Zu An was baffled. He couldn¡¯t understand why she was caught up over such a trivial issue.

    Still, even though he didn¡¯t fear her, he didn¡¯t want to cause an unnecessary conflict, especially when he didn¡¯t know her background. After some thought, he replied, ¡°Why don¡¯t I bring her out? You¡¯ll know once you meet her.¡±

    The beautiful woman was bewildered. She couldn¡¯t understand what Zu An meant, since she didn¡¯t sense anyone else in the vicinity.

    Suddenly, there was a flash of bright light, and a beautiful woman appeared out of thin air. Everyone was stunned to see her.

 Chapter 2453: Men Are All Hideous, Whereas Women Are All Beautiful

    Annoyed by the woman¡¯s request, Zu An had decided to summon Mo Xi.

    It had been a long time since Mo Xi last came out. The first thing she did was to demand Ki Fruits from Zu An, but she suddenly froze up when she saw the beautiful woman opposite her. As the two of them stared at each other, Mo Xi¡¯s empty eyes suddenly flickered. She felt as if a spark of flame had ignited inside her, though Zu An didn¡¯t notice a thing at all.

    The beautiful woman initially had a playful smile sitting on her lips. She thought that even if the human was speaking the truth, their resemblance could only go this far. To her astonishment, the other party looked just about identical to her. To be fair, there were differences in their appearances, but the overall feeling they gave off was similar. Even their clothes and accessories looked as if they were carved out of the same mold.

    ¡°Holy shit!¡±

    The six men were startled by this shocking sight. They first looked at Mo Xi, followed by the princess, and one of them exclaimed, ¡°My grandmother¡¯s arse! They''re identical!¡±

    ¡°Are you saying they''re identical to your grandmother¡¯s arse?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t talk with fools.¡±

    ¡°You looking for a fight?¡±

    ¡­

    Two of them began arguing.

    The other four men''s gazes darted back and forth between the two ladies.

    ¡°My princess, she truly resembles you.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. She looks a bit prettier than you.¡±

    Black streaks crossed the beautiful woman¡¯s face. ¡°Shut your mouth if you have nothing better to say!¡±

    But even she had to admit that the woman was more seductive than her in terms of feminine charm. That infuriated her. Hmph, beauty is only skin deep. I dare you to fight me! There¡¯s no way I¡¯d lose to the likes of that woman!

    Seeing that he had convinced them, Zu An recalled Mo Xi back into his void space. Perhaps he was overthinking it, but for a brief moment there, he sensed Mo Xi¡¯s reluctance. Still, he didn¡¯t have the energy to think deeper into it.

    He turned to the beautiful woman and asked, ¡°Can you answer my question now?¡±

    ¡°Who is that woman? She resembles me a lot,¡± the beautiful woman said, still shaken up by her encounter with Mo Xi.

    One of the men grinned. ¡°She¡¯s prettier than you.¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± The beautiful woman¡¯s eyelids twitched. She had always been proud of her appearance, which won her the title of her race¡¯s number one beauty. She hadn''t thought she would lose in the field of beauty. That frustrated her greatly.

    I should never have asked in the first place.

    Zu An grimly asked, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you answer my question first? Or do you not plan to keep your promise?¡±

    The beautiful woman huffed in anger, ¡°Don¡¯t talk nonsense. We of the Asura race always keep our promises. We aren¡¯t like you cunning humans.¡±

    ¡°Asura race?¡± Zu An was taken aback. He hadn¡¯t expected them to be from the legendary Asura race. He first looked at the beautiful woman, followed by the other hideous men, and realization dawned on him.

    There were legends that the Asuras were a warring race who often fought with the gods. Asura men were hideous, but Asura women were so beautiful that even gods coveted them. There were also stories that their strength could be determined by how many arms they had. No wonder they had so many arms.

    Zu An had never expected to meet members of the legendary Asura race in person. Why would they appear in the underworld?

    ¡°I am the current Asura King¡¯s little sister, which is why they address me as princess. I am Ni Huang. Are you satisfied now?¡± the beautiful princess introduced herself to Zu An.

    ¡°What are your ties with the Shaman race? I overheard your conversation, and it sounds like you have a grudge with them?¡± Zu An asked curiously. The Asura race in the legends had fought with the gods, so why would their rivals suddenly become the Shaman race?

    ¡°How rude. I have just introduced myself, so shouldn¡¯t you do the same too?¡± Princess Ni Huang snorted.

    Zu An was stunned.

    He didn¡¯t want to reveal his true identity in this time period, but this Asura lady would surely blow up if he concealed his identity the way he had with the Mermaid Queen and the Peacock Princess. They hadn''t interacted much yet, but he already had a grasp of her temper. So, he intended to fake an identity, but it had to be a reasonable one.

    A thought suddenly surfaced in his mind, and he said, ¡°I am the Necropolis Emperor.¡±

    He assessed their reactions in an attempt to gather some information.

    The others were stunned. Princess Ni Huang sneered, ¡°Your name is Necropolis? What a weird name. You are arrogant to proclaim yourself an emperor though.¡±

    Her words confirmed that the Necropolis Emperor didn¡¯t exist in this world, causing Zu An to think, How bizarre.

    ¡°Answer my question. Who is that woman to you?¡± Princess Ni Huang asked, intrigued. ¡°You were ordering her around. Is she your slave?¡±

    She couldn¡¯t help but wonder if he had done anything weird to that woman who looked just like her. Isn¡¯t that almost like me being violated? The thought of that made her uncomfortable.

    ¡°Slave?¡± Zu An frowned. He had no idea why she would think that. ¡°No, she¡¯s my comrade, my companion, and my friend. She is no slave.¡±

    Those descriptors brought a subtle smile to the sleeping Mo Xi¡¯s face. The sleeping Daji revealed a faint smile too.

    ¡°Why did she suddenly appear and vanish? It¡¯s almost as if she¡¯s your summon.¡± Princess Ni Huang frowned. The earlier sight had been a huge shock to her.

    ¡°I can summon her because I signed a special contract with her. Rest assured, we are in an equal relationship. There¡¯s nothing else going on,¡± Zu An replied.

    Princess Ni Huang¡¯s face reddened. She felt embarrassed that the other party had seen through her thoughts.

    ¡°You haven¡¯t answered my question yet. What¡¯s your relationship with the Shaman races? Why did you¡­ emerge from the Eye of the Ocean?¡± Zu An asked as he looked at the abyss.

    ¡°This involves some confidential information. We can¡¯t share it with you, but our Asura race believes in the sanctity of battle. Before deciding whether to answer your question, let me see if you are qualified to call yourself an emperor.¡± Princess Ni Huang revealed a charming smile as she drew a spear and thrust it toward Zu An.

 Chapter 2454: I Like You

    Zu An was put in a tough spot, but the other party¡¯s spear thrust was so fast that he had no choice but to retaliate.

    Given the other party¡¯s high standing, he didn¡¯t employ the Tranquility Bell. Judging from the Asura race¡¯s reaction, it was humiliating to them if they failed to breach the bell, and they would even be mocked by their comrades. The Asura race only respected the strong, after all.

    It was one thing for the Asura man to be mocked, but Princess Ni Huang was in a lofty position. It''d likely be hard for them to work together if he accidentally humiliated her.

    Zu An weighed the pros and cons in the blink of an eye. With a flick of his finger, he thrust the other party¡¯s spear tip aside.

    Princess Ni Huang¡¯s eyes gleamed in admiration. ¡°Your skills are not bad.¡±

    Her spear thrust was just a polite probe; she hadn¡¯t used her full strength. For that reason, she wasn¡¯t too angry at having her spear flicked aside by a finger.

    She then twisted her spear and flung it toward Zu An¡¯s waist in a sweeping motion.

    Zu An was awed by her excellent skills with the spear. The princess had transcended the traditional forms of spearmanship to reach a level of free-flowing moves. Be it a spear, a pole, or her own body, to her, anything could become a spear.

    The strike rushed at Zu An with a thunderous roar, distorting even space itself. Even a dragon would have its back smashed if that attack landed. On top of that, her timing was impeccable; she made sure Zu An had no space to dodge. No matter where he escaped, she could continue raining down a barrage of blows on him.

    Princess Ni Huang was taken aback by his instantaneous movement, but even so, she still reacted quickly and performed a backward kick to strike his vitals.

    Zu An felt a chill between his legs, which left him with no choice but to give up on his attack and retreat. He was getting increasingly impressed with this woman. She''s honed her skills to the peak. Anything can be a spear to her.

    Little did he know she wasn¡¯t done yet. The princess brought her spear above her head and thrust it against Zu An. Her attack was so swift, precise, and unexpected that it shocked Zu An despite his formidable cultivation.

    This attack was calculated. He couldn¡¯t dodge to the sides, and if he chose to retreat, he would be immediately met with a barrage of follow-up attacks. It would be as good as handing over the tempo of the battle into the other party¡¯s hands.

    So, Zu An chose to leap upward instead.

    But Princess Ni Huang had predicted his countermeasure. Her earlier backward kick happened to strike her spear tip, causing the attack to curve upward. Countless spear silhouettes surged forth, as if igniting the sky with flames.

    The Asura men let out awed noises. Our princess¡¯ attack is so beautiful!

    Princess Ni Huang stood balanced on a single foot, with her upper body and her other leg forming a perfect curve that flaunted both her flexibility and her beautiful figure. But more importantly, they were impressed by the creative transformations in her attacks.

    Everything that followed happened in the blink of an eye.

    The spearmanship was incredible, but the dodging was impeccable too. In just a brief moment, they exchanged so many moves that those lacking in cultivation would struggle to understand the ingenuity in their exchange.

    It was unlikely that Zu An could dodge the princess¡¯ final strike. Her spear left countless silhouettes that filled his surroundings, leaving him with no room to escape via instantaneous movement. Zu An was impressed by Princess Ni Huang¡¯s calculations. He was left with no choice but to draw his sword.

    A brilliant light suddenly shone. It disintegrated the spear silhouettes, revealing a single spear.

    The sword clashed with the spear tip. Princess Ni Huang¡¯s body shuddered, and she quickly retreated thirty meters away.

    Zu An was just about to conclude the battle when he noticed the excited gleam in her eyes. The princess exclaimed, ¡°Wonderful! Let¡¯s have another go at it!¡±

    More pairs of hands emerged from her back. Zu An did a quick count¡ªthere were eight of them, more than the previous Asura man he''d fought with had!

    Zu An was speechless. It¡¯s as if a beautiful lady has transformed into a spider fiend¡­ though she doesn¡¯t look hideous with those additional hands. If anything, it adds a unique charm to her. ????¦Á£Î????

    The more hands an asura had, the stronger they were.

    A spear appeared in each of Princess Ni Huang¡¯s eight hands before she charged at Zu An once more. Her movements were far faster than before, to the point where the spectators only saw a series of afterimages. It looked as if countless Princess Ni Huangs were ganging up on Zu An.

    However, Zu An stood his ground, with one hand on his sword and the other behind his back. He occasionally swung his blade, producing a spark but no sound. That was because the sheer destructive prowess of their clashes obliterated all sounds.

    In contrast to Princess Ni Huang¡¯s lightning-fast movements, his legs were rooted to the ground, and his sword moved so slowly that a fool could make out its trajectory. Yet, this incredibly slow swordsmanship somehow neutralized every one of the spear attacks.

    Zu An was like a lone boat floating amid choppy waters, refusing to sink no matter how the waves roared. No, it would be more apt to say he was a lighthouse towering on the shore, refusing to budge no matter how the waves crashed down on him.

    The Asura men initially cheered for their princess, but over time, their cheers slowly died down, and they began looking at Zu An with grim eyes.

    They hadn''t thought highly of Zu An at the start, thinking that he was just a weak deadbeat. Even though Zu An was considered tall and well-built among humans, when compared to the highly muscular Asura race, he looked frail.

    When Pi Lu failed to breach his defense, they hadn¡¯t been too bothered, as Pi Lu was the weakest one among them. But now that they were watching their princess and Zu An¡¯s battle, it was more than clear to them that Zu An wasn¡¯t using his full strength. He was an unfathomable expert!

    When had such an expert appeared in the Human race?

    The countless Princess Ni Huangs in the sky suddenly disappeared. Her hands also disappeared, and she reverted to her previous appearance. ¡°Let¡¯s call it quits. I¡¯m no match for you.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re too kind, my princess. Your spearmanship is incredible. There were a couple of times I struggled to deal with your attacks,¡± Zu An humbly replied.

    ¡°You hypocrite.¡± Princess Ni Huang spat. ¡°A loss is a loss; I¡¯m not a sore loser. You don¡¯t have to pamper me. I¡¯m satisfied with this battle.¡±

    Zu An smiled. He was satisfied with this battle too. Not only had he preserved harmony, he''d also allowed the other party to experience the bliss of an all-out attack.

    Learning from his encounters with Murong Qinghe and the Mermaid Queen, he''d even adamantly avoided physical contact with the other party to avoid spurring unwanted effects.

    But while he was feeling good about himself. Princess Ni Huang suddenly exclaimed with a blush, ¡°You¡¯re the first man in so many years to make me experience such a rush. I like you!¡±

    Zu An was bewildered.

 Chapter 2455: Meeting the Parents

    Zu An panicked. Am I destined to leave love debts everywhere? I''ve already tried my best to avoid contact with the other side, so why did things still turn out like that?

    It wouldn¡¯t be a big deal in his time, but now that he had returned to the past, words like ¡®ancestral grandmother¡¯ just kept popping into his mind.

    The Asura men looked at Zu An in awe and envy. They were awed because the Asuras respected the strong, and his earlier performance had won them over. They were envious that their princess had just confessed to him.

    ¡°So, what did you ask me earlier?¡± Princess Ni Huang asked, unfazed by her earlier confession.

    Zu An quickly composed himself before repeating his question. ¡°What¡¯s your relationship with the Shaman races? How did you end up in the Eye of the Ocean?¡±

    ¡°The Shaman races are our enemy.¡± Princess Ni Huang¡¯s gaze turned cold. ¡°As for your latter question, we live here.¡±

    Zu An was confused. That answer sparked many questions in his mind.

    Princess Ni Huang noticed his confusion and explained, ¡°Our Asura race used to war with the Celestial race, but we lost and were exiled to the underworld. We thought we could kill our way back there as long as we bided our time and trained up diligently, but...¡±

    She suddenly let out a sigh. ¡°That battle was a huge blow to us, but the underworld is so severely lacking in resources that we steadily grew weaker instead of recovering. It doesn¡¯t help that it is also shrouded in death energy. In the end, we had to abandon our plan of launching a counterattack against the Celestial race.¡±

    Zu An fell silent. The underworld was indeed more suited for the dead than the living.

    ¡°The Shaman races suddenly arrived later on.¡± Princess Ni Huang gritted her teeth. ¡°They invaded our territories and plundered the little resources we had left. That¡¯s not something we could tolerate, so a conflict broke out.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the situation in that conflict?¡± Zu An asked.

    The Asura men looked awkward. Even Princess Ni Huang looked mildly uncomfortable as she answered, ¡°We initially had the upper hand, but their powerhouses suddenly made a move and pushed us back. Of course, we made the Shaman races pay the price for their aggression too.¡±

    Princess Ni Huang¡¯s hesitation made Zu An chuckle under his breath. The Asura race must have suffered heavy losses in that battle. How intriguing. The Asura race must be fairly powerful to be able to compete with the Celestial race, yet they lost to the Shaman races?

    ¡°Who are their powerhouses?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know their names, but within the Shaman races, they are called ¡®Ancestral Shamans¡¯,¡± Princess Ni Huang replied.

    ¡°Ancestral Shamans!¡± Zu An was taken aback. Back on his Earth, there was a legend that after Pangu severed the sky from the land, his eyes turned into the sun and the moon, his body turned into all creations, and his twelve drops of blood essence morphed into the Twelve Ancestral Shamans. This hinted at how powerful the Ancestral Shamans could be.

    In the legends, the Ancestral Shamans easily ranked among the strongest powerhouses. I¡¯d have never expected to meet them here.

    He felt a little anxious, but the many trials he had been through over the years helped him to quickly compose himself. He would just have to deal with it when the situation presented itself. Not to mention that so far, this was just his conjecture.

    Besides, right now, his strength was likely on par with the legendary figures from his previous world.

    ¡°What¡¯s the situation with the Shaman races? Why did they suddenly appear in the underworld?¡± Zu An wanted to verify if there was a link between this world¡¯s Shaman races and the ones he knew about from legends.

    ¡°We did learn a bit about them from many years of battles. Before they were exiled to the underworld, the Shaman races had a massive battle with the Fiend races, but what¡¯s weird is that the Fiend races they speak about dwell in the sky, and they have something called a Celestial Court. Their enemies resemble our ancient foe, the Celestial race,¡± Princess Ni Huang said.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t that mean you have common enemies? Shouldn¡¯t the enemy of an enemy be a friend?¡± Zu An asked.

    Princess Ni Huang scoffed, ¡°Our Asura race always beats our enemies fair and square; we do not need external help.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. It feels like the Asura race is a bunch of fools.

    An Asura man added, ¡°Our enemies might both dwell in the sky, but their enemies are different from the deities we know. Besides, the Shaman races have a lot of stubborn idiots, so there has been a lot of conflict between our races. It eventually culminated into a fight.¡±

    ¡°I noticed that you just came from the underworld. Were you planning to do something outside?¡± Zu An asked curiously.

    ¡°Not really...¡± Princess Ni Huang¡¯s face reddened. ¡°The Shaman races have always guarded the Eye of the Ocean, but they suddenly stomped out not long ago, only to return with livid faces. Shortly after, they removed the troops stationed near the Eye of the Ocean. We were curious to know what happened, so I brought them here to investigate.¡±

    Princess Ni Huang assessed Zu An. ¡°You seem to be from above. You should know what happened.¡±

    Zu An calmly replied, ¡°I do know a thing or two.¡±

    Overjoyed, Princess Ni Huang quickly pressed for further details. The Asura men also looked at him with expectant eyes.

    ¡°They went up to fight with the Ocean races. I''m on good terms with the Ocean races, so I helped them repel the Shaman races...¡± Zu An quickly filled them in on the situation.

    Princess Ni Huang eyed Zu An skeptically. ¡°I know about the Ocean races. They aren¡¯t weak, but they aren¡¯t a match for Ox Head, Horse Face, Golden Cangue, and Silver Chain. You must have been the one to subdue them.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t subdue them; we merely crossed blows. They didn¡¯t reveal all their means.¡± Zu An offered his most objective evaluation of the situation.

    ¡°You¡¯re too hypocritical,¡± Princess Ni Huang snorted. ¡°That ox has a terrible temper. He would have stood his ground if he thought he could defeat you. Hahaha, it''s been a long time since I saw them suffering such humiliation!¡±

    The Asura named Pi Lu exhaled in relief. He''d thought it was embarrassing to have lost to Zu An, but the knowledge that Ox Head, Horse Face, and the others had also been defeated by Zu An allowed him to straighten his back once more.

    The more Princess Ni Huang spoke, the more excited she became. She grabbed Zu An¡¯s arm and declared, ¡°I must introduce you to my royal brother. Come with me! Now that you have defeated Ox Head and Horse Face, you¡¯re our Asura race¡¯s most esteemed guest!¡±

    Feeling the squeeze against his arm, Zu An rubbed his nose to stop it from bleeding. Does she not realize that her thin clothes do little to conceal her explosive figure...

    In the end, he accepted her offer. He''d been thinking of venturing into the underworld to investigate the situation anyway. It was better to make friends than enemies.

 Chapter 2456: Asura King

    When they saw their princess grabbing Zu An¡¯s arm, the Asura men raised their eyebrows in envy, and it didn¡¯t help that her body was being squeezed out of shape from being pressed tightly against his.

    That fellow has good luck. Our princess doesn¡¯t usually act like this.

    Princess Ni Huang pulled Zu An to the cliff and was about to jump in when she suddenly remembered something and exclaimed, ¡°The concentration of death energy in the underworld is far higher than this. We¡¯re only able to survive down there because of a curse. You might be an expert, but going down there might pose a danger to you.¡±

    Zu An chuckled as he began walking forward. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter.¡±

    The Asura race respected the strong. There was no reason for Princess Ni Huang to stop him since he had already said as much, though she couldn¡¯t resist asking, ¡°Have you reached a level of cultivation where you¡¯re impervious to death energy? Our people will be shocked to hear about that.¡±

    The Asura men looked at Zu An mockingly.

    He might be strong, but I bet he¡¯s boasting. Who would be so arrogant as to leap into the underworld with their physical body? Who does he think he is? Aside from the undead, only special races like ours and the Shaman races can enter the underworld.

    He¡¯ll regret it dearly once the death energy disintegrates his body!

    They were still upset to see their beautiful and noble princess becoming so fond of a human.

    Princess Ni Huang¡¯s eyes lit up. She smacked Zu An¡¯s chest as she exclaimed, ¡°Incredible!¡±

    Zu An eyed her chest. Why can a woman freely strike a man¡¯s chest, but the opposite is considered wrong?

    He quickly severed those thoughts before voicing a question. ¡°Earlier, you mentioned that your race is cursed. What does that mean?¡±

    Princess Ni Huang¡¯s expression turned cold. ¡°That¡¯s the vile curse the Celestial race put on us. It is because of this curse that we are unable to leave the underworld. The only benefit it provides is that it makes us impervious to the underworld¡¯s death energy.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s expression turned grim. A curse that condemned a living race to remain among the dead was indeed vile. He asked, ¡°Who is the Celestial race?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a term referring to all the deities in the Celestial World. There are 33 commonly known deities, but there are thousands of deities in total,¡± Princess Ni Huang explained.

    Zu An¡¯s heart skipped a beat. Is the 33 here something related to the 33 layers of heaven?

    He wanted to probe deeper, but Princess Ni Huang waved her hand and said, ¡°Words like ''Celestial race'' and ''deities'' are forbidden among our Asura race. Make sure you don¡¯t mention those inauspicious words before my royal brother, or else it might invoke his wrath.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. Sensing the red-eyed glares from the Asura men, he decided to stop asking for now.

    Princess Ni Huang began introducing the scenery along the way to him. ¡°Do you see those flowers? That¡¯s a plant exclusive to our underworld called a red spider lily. Aren¡¯t they beautiful?¡± ????????¨§?

    ¡°Yes, They are beautiful.¡± Zu An smiled at the sight of the familiar flowers. They reminded him of Big Manman. They would appear as a mark somewhere on her body each time she went into heat, and it was beautiful.

    ¡°I think they are beautiful too.¡± Princess Ni Huang was delighted to hear that he liked them. ¡°That is the Yin Mountain, and up ahead is the Oblivion River. You mustn¡¯t come into contact with the water in it. Any living being, no matter how powerful, will lose all their memories and even their wits if they fall into the water,¡± Princess Ni Huang warned with a pale face as she remembered the plight that had befallen some of her comrades.

    As she excitedly introduced the underworld to Zu An, the Asura men trailing behind them looked incredibly frustrated.

    My princess, where did your usual loftiness go? Why are you so warm to that human? Fine, I get that he¡¯s strong, dashing, gentlemanly¡­ Ugh!

    ¡°Hm? You aren¡¯t reacting much. It''s as if you have seen these things before.¡± Princess Ni Huang sensed something was amiss. Both the Yin Mountain and the Oblivion River held a special significance to all living beings; it was unusual for anyone to be so calm after hearing about them.

    ¡°I have indeed seen them before,¡± Zu An replied.

    ¡°You''ve been here before? Why have I never met you then?¡± Princess Ni Huang was intrigued.

    ¡°I was here in the future.¡±

    ¡°???¡± Princess Ni Huang racked her brain trying to figure those words.

    All of a sudden, Zu An poked her with his elbow and asked, ¡°Is that your army?¡±

    Princess Ni Huang looked over and saw a huge army of asuras in the distance. Their commander was riding on an enormous white elephant. The army was advancing in the direction of Yin Mountain.

    ¡°Ah, that is indeed our army. The one riding on the white elephant is my royal brother, Qumodo. He¡¯s our Asura race¡¯s strongest expert,¡± Princess Ni Huang said with a gleeful smile, showing that she was proud of her brother.

    Zu An nodded. Given that the Asura race was warlike and revered the strong, it would take more than blood ties to claim the throne. But what are they planning to do by mobilizing their army?

    Feeling too embarrassed to continue holding Zu An¡¯s arm before their army, Princess Ni Huang released her grip and grabbed his hand instead. The two of them flew toward the enormous white elephant.

    When they sensed someone approaching, the Asura soldiers vigilantly held their weapons tighter, but when they confirmed it was the princess, they breathed a sigh of relief and stepped aside to open up a path.

    Countless eyes fell on Zu An. They were curious to know who he was for their beautiful princess to hold his hand.

    Zu An assessed the white elephant. It looked majestic, towering at over thirty meters tall. It was incredible for this white elephant to have survived in a place as treacherous as the underworld.

    ¡°Royal brother!¡± Princess Ni Huang bowed to the Asura riding on the white elephant.

    The Asura had a golden crown on his head. He had dark skin, and his physique was three times bigger than the other Asuras. He eyed his little sister and the man beside her and asked, ¡°Ni Huang, who is this fellow?¡±

    ¡°He is the Necropolis Emperor, a friend I met outside,¡± Princess Ni Huang said.

    ¡°Emperor?¡± The Asura King¡¯s eyes narrowed with murderous intent. ¡°What an arrogant title!¡±

    Sensing her brother¡¯s anger, Princess Ni Huang hurriedly spoke up on Zu An¡¯s behalf. ¡°Royal brother, he is a formidable expert. Not only did he defeat all of us, but he is also the reason Ox Head, Horse Face, Golden Cangue, and Silver Chain retreated from outside.¡±

    ¡°Oh? You defeated Ox Head, Horse Face, Golden Cangue, and Silver Chain?¡± The Asura King was stunned. He raised his hand, and a black gleam with a force that threatened to sever the world in two abruptly slashed down on Zu An.

 Chapter 2457: A Great Battle

    ¡°Royal brother!¡± Princess Ni Huang cried out in shock, but it was too late for her to stop him.

    Zu An chose not to dodge the devastating attack, however. He stood his ground as a golden bell projection formed around him. The attack struck the bell, and the two canceled out each other.

    Princess Ni Huang quickly stood in front of Zu An and exclaimed, ¡°Royal brother, how can you attack my friend?!¡±

    Zu An interjected with a smile, saying, ¡°Princess, it¡¯s a misunderstanding. Your brother held back. He was merely testing me.¡±

    The other party¡¯s attack had carried no killing intent.

    The Asura King nodded in satisfaction. ¡°Indeed. That explains how you defeated Ox Head, Horse Face, Golden Cangue, and Silver Chain. I was worried that my royal sister had been deceived by an outsider due to her lack of experience, but I now see that I was overthinking it.¡±

    Princess Ni Huang was displeased. ¡°Royal brother, do I look that gullible to you?¡±

    The Asura King merely smiled. He knew his little sister was no fool, but as a king, he was carrying too much on his shoulders, so much so that he didn¡¯t have the luxury of unconditional trust. Kings could only trust themselves.

    He''d only used 60 to 70% of his strength earlier, but it was enough to prove that the other party was an expert.

    Zu An nodded as well. I think I managed to pull it off.

    It would be awkward if the Asura King, under the watchful eyes of his army, couldn¡¯t even shatter his defensive layer. On top of that, the Asura race was known to be warlike. It would be terrible if he inadvertently provoked the Asura King to continue the battle. To avoid such a situation, he''d made sure that the Asura King¡¯s attack would perfectly offset the Tranquility Bell.

    ¡°Royal sister, bring our guest up here for further conversation,¡± the Asura King said. It would be a breach of hospitality if his guest had to talk to him while craning his neck upward, after all.

    ¡°Come with me.¡± Princess Ni Huang grabbed Zu An¡¯s hand and leaped onto the white elephant¡¯s back.

    It would be more apt to call the platform atop the Asura King¡¯s mount a massive tent. It was very spacious, with several seats neatly laid out in front of his royal throne.

    The Asura King gestured for them to take a seat before eyeing Zu An. ¡°You are a human, no?¡±

    Zu An nodded. ¡°Yes, I am a human.¡±

    ¡°What a surprise. I didn¡¯t expect such huge changes to have happened outside while we were trapped in the underworld. To think that the weak humans would have an expert as powerful as you,¡± the Asura King said.

    Most legends depicted humans to be one of the weaker races, sometimes even being reduced to food for other races, though they eventually prospered later on.

    The Asura King didn¡¯t spend too much time ruminating, however. ¡°Did you just defeat Ox Head, Horse Face, and the others?¡±

    ¡°We crossed blows, but they suddenly fled shortly after. It would be a stretch to say I defeated them.¡± Zu An didn¡¯t want to go into detail about his battle with them.

    The Asura King burst into laughter. ¡°The lot of them have fiery tempers. That old ox, in particular, has his head in the clouds. He wouldn¡¯t have escaped if he thought he could beat you. I was wondering why the Shaman races were acting as if they had just lost a huge battle. So you are the reason! Well done!¡±

    That compliment brought a beaming smile to Princess Ni Huang¡¯s face. ¡°Royal brother, aren¡¯t I incredible to have found such a friend?¡±

    ¡°Yes, you are incredible indeed.¡± The Asura King guffawed. ¡°With your friend¡¯s help, our victory would be assured.¡±

    Zu An took this opportunity to ask, ¡°May I know what battle you are referring to?¡± He had been wanting to ask this since laying his eyes on the Asura army.

    ¡°We¡¯re invading the Shaman races'' territory, of course. We should take full advantage of their defeat to drive them out of here!¡± the Asura King said with an excited gleam in his eyes.

    The two races had fought for many years now, but neither side had been able to best the other. This was a chance to overcome the stalemate.

    Zu An fell silent. Even though the Asura race appeared to have the upper hand, he knew how things happened afterward. The future underworld still had Ox Head and Horse Face, but the Asura race was nowhere to be seen. That made him worried. Did the Asura race suffer a tragic defeat in this battle? But I don¡¯t see how the powerful Asura race could have lost here.

    Princess Ni Huang had treated him decently. It would be excessive to call them close friends, but he wouldn¡¯t want to see anything happening to her.

    ¡°I was still a little worried, but with your help, I¡¯m sure this battle won¡¯t be an issue!¡± The Asura King was extremely optimistic about this battle. ¡°If you contribute greatly to this battle, I¡¯ll confer the title of ''Marshal¡¯ onto you and betroth my royal sister to you!¡±

    The smiling Princess Ni Huang¡¯s face immediately turned red. ¡°What are you saying, royal brother? He¡¯s just a friend!¡± She glanced at Zu An with awkward and apologetic eyes.

    The Asura King responded with an annoying ¡®I get it¡¯ smile. ¡°Of course, of course. You¡¯re only friends. Hahaha.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. He was only here to investigate what happened to the underworld. He hadn¡¯t expected to suddenly become the Asura King¡¯s brother-in-law.

    Worried that his intervention could cause unwanted outcomes, he tried to explain his situation, only for the sounds of battle to suddenly break out ahead. The Asura army had just bumped into the Shaman army, and both sides immediately came to blows.

    The Asura King quickly stood up to observe the battle. From time to time, he ordered his guards to signal instructions to the commanders using a flag.

    Zu An had fought in a war before, so he was able to follow what was happening. The Asura King would have been a first-class general even in human history. His commanding skill is an art in itself. He¡¯s luring the enemies into their formation before pulling off a divide-and-conquer tactic¡­

    On top of that, the Asura race was a valiant warrior race. Their soldiers were the most outstanding war machines in the world, capable of navigating the battlefield like fish in water. It didn¡¯t take long for the Shaman army¡¯s formation to fall into disarray.

    Zu An thus verified that an Asura¡¯s strength could indeed be determined by their number of hands. Most Asuras had three to five hands; very few had six or more. Meanwhile, most Asura generals, like Princess Ni Huang, had eight hands. The Asura King, as the strongest expert of the Asura race, was likely the only one with nine hands.

    Just then, a roar echoed. ¡°Qumodo, what do you mean by this sudden assault?¡±

    The world shook. Ox Face, Horse Head, Golden Cangue, and Silver Chain¡¯s massive figures were visible as they rushed over from afar with weapons in their hands. The Asura soldiers standing in their path collapsed like trampled vegetables.

    The Asura King harrumphed. ¡°Ox Head, what¡¯s the point of venting on the soldiers? I dare you to fight me instead!¡±

    He rose above the battlefield, and a humongous Asura avatar with nine hands, each one wielding a weapon, manifested behind him. He stood there with an air that overpowered even the humongous Ox Head, Horse Face, Golden Cangue, and Silver Chain combined.

    Four marshals emerged from the Asura army and took their places next to the Asura King. Similar Asura avatars manifested behind them, but theirs had eight arms and were half the size of the Asura King¡¯s avatar.

    Princess Ni Huang took control of the battlefield and continued commanding the troops from the white elephant. Amid this cruel battlefield, her valiant stature was the most beautiful sight.

 Chapter 2458: Reincarnation Platform

    The Shaman army was at a disadvantage, but Zu An keenly noticed that their soldiers weren¡¯t dying easily. No matter how severely injured they were, even to the point where they lay unmoving on the floor, they recovered shortly after and rejoined the battle.

    ¡°That¡¯s incredible.¡± Zu An remembered the Shaman races displaying incredible regenerative ability at the battle outside the Eye of the Ocean, but somehow, that ability looked to be even greater here.

    While directing the troops, Princess Ni Huang explained, ¡°The Shaman races can gain boundless strength just by being in contact with the ground. They can recover no matter how severely injured they are.¡±

    Zu An was taken aback. ¡°Doesn¡¯t that make them undefeatable? No wonder you were at a disadvantage against them!¡±

    He''d found it peculiar that the warlike Asura race had fallen into a disadvantage against the Shaman races, but it turned out that the problem lay here.

    ¡°It took us many years before we finally made sense of the Shaman race¡¯s secrets, but we feigned ignorance lest they guard against our countermeasures. We were waiting for the right time to drop them a surprise,¡± Princess Ni Huang said with a gleeful smile.

    Now was the time for them to reveal the tricks they were hiding up their sleeves. Princess Ni Huang waved a flag, and the Asura army swiftly got into formation and worked with one another to hoist their enemies up into the air.

    The Shaman soldiers were horrified. They struggled in desperation, but the Asura army had come prepared. Their multiple arms meant that they could continue holding their enemies up in the air while stabbing the latter with their weapons.

    The Shaman soldiers bled profusely, thrashing around for a while longer before falling still.  But the Asura soldiers still refused to let the deceased Shaman soldiers down, opting to continue fighting while holding the corpses up. Only after a significant time had passed did they hurl the corpses aside.

    This time, the deceased Shaman soldiers no longer returned to life. The same situation happened in multiple places across the battlefield; the Shaman soldiers suffered heavy losses.

    Ox Head, Horse Face, Golden Cangue, and Silver Chain were horrified. They anxiously charged in with their weapons to rescue their clansmen, but the Asura King blocked their path with a sneer.

    ¡°Where are you going? I¡¯m your opponent.¡±

    ¡°Qumodo, are you sure you want to go this far?!¡± the giant Ox Head roared with red eyes.

    The Asura King¡¯s expression turned cold. ¡°You were the ones who invaded our land and massacred our clansmen. There was never any room for reconciliation.¡±

    The underworld was so scarce in resources that it wasn¡¯t even enough for the Asura race, and that was the reason their people were slowly getting weaker over time. At this rate, it was only a matter of time before the Asura race died out. Thus, the Asura King had planned to completely defeat the Shaman race before his people weakened beyond a certain point. Today, when he heard about the Shaman race¡¯s defeat, he''d realized right away that the opportunity had come.

    ¡°Don¡¯t blame us for this then!¡± Horse Face roared as he furiously charged at the Asura King, brandishing his trident.

    At the same time, Ox Head attacked with his axe from another direction.

    Even so, the Asura King was unfazed. The massive avatar behind him swiftly moved its nine hands to block Ox Head and Horse Face¡¯s attacks.

    Zu An was awed. Knowing how strong Ox Head and Horse Face were, he knew it was a remarkable feat for the Asura King to face them in a direct confrontation.

    The two races had plenty of intelligence on each other, having been at war for many years. Golden Cangue and Silver Chain knew Ox Head and Horse Face couldn¡¯t defeat the Asura King on their own, so they joined the fray with their weapons.

    The Asura King¡¯s four marshals rushed forth to restrain Golden Cangue and Silver Chain from interfering with the Asura King¡¯s battle. Those who could become marshals in the warlike Asura race, needless to say, wielded strength that couldn¡¯t be underestimated. They were individually weaker than Golden Cangue and Silver Chain, but they had no trouble standing their ground against them in a 4-against-2 fight.

    Watching the scene from the white elephant, Zu An frowned. At the moment, the Asura race held the advantage; it didn¡¯t look as if they would lose this battle.

    The Shaman army¡¯s morale was still low from their crushing defeat against the Ocean races. They were in no condition to deal with the Asura army¡¯s ferocious onslaught. Seeing true death befalling their comrades brought fear to the Shamans¡¯ faces, and their formation began to collapse.

    Ox Head and Horse Face were frustrated. They wanted to help their people, but their hands were tied. They were no match for the Asura King in the first place, and their anxiety put them in a worse position. Soon, several glaring wounds appeared on their bodies, although it was no big deal thanks to their tremendous regenerative prowess.

    Just then, Ox Head let out a bizarre sound. All the Shamans on the battlefield stopped fighting and began escaping in a certain direction, as if they''d received a certain signal.

    Ox Head, Horse Face, Golden Cangue, and Silver Chain unleashed their potential and entered a berserk state to cover their fellow Shamans¡¯ escape. Their current fighting prowess posed a headache to even the Asura King.

    The Asura King sneered with a frown, ¡°You already used these techniques earlier when fighting at the Eye of the Ocean. How long can you maintain the ignition of your blood essence? Once you begin to lose momentum, I¡¯ll kill you as easily as slaughtering chickens!¡±

    The four giants had to pay a severe price for the massive temporary boost in their fighting prowess. Needless to say, the Asura King wouldn¡¯t foolishly pit himself against them at this juncture. All he needed to do was to bide his time, and victory would be his.

    He felt grateful to the friend his royal sister had brought over. If not for the latter, he couldn¡¯t have defeated the Shaman race so easily. He is the biggest contributor to this war. I shall take him in as my brother-in-law and have him accompany me in expanding our race¡¯s territory.

    The thought of their bright future excited him.

    Ox Head and Horse Face continued covering their people¡¯s retreat with livid faces, while the Asura King gave chase with his army. The Asura army was overcome with delirium; after so many years of war, there was finally going to be a victor between the two races.

    Zu An, who was riding the white elephant with Princess Ni Huang, felt increasingly uneasy. He wondered, ¡°Are they luring us into an ambush?¡±

    Princess Ni Huang smiled. ¡°That can¡¯t be. We have fought for so long that we have a good grasp of each other¡¯s military prowess. Furthermore, we have fought in so many wars that we can tell the difference between a feint and a panicked retreat.¡±

    Zu An suddenly remembered something that had been mentioned earlier. ¡°Doesn¡¯t the Shaman race still have their Ancestral Shamans?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the Ancestral Shamans are already gone. We wouldn¡¯t have waged this war otherwise,¡± Princess Ni Huang replied with a smile.

    Amid the escape and chase, the two armies arrived in the vicinity of the Reincarnation Platform. That was when things started going awry.

 Chapter 2459: Ancestral Shaman

    Zu An had seen many familiar sights along the way. On the whole, it didn¡¯t look too different from the underworld in the future, though there were fewer buildings around. The Oblivion River Bridge was lacking Grandmother Meng, too. Looking at the raging Oblivion River reminded Zu An of Chu Chuyan underneath the bridge, but now that he was thousands of years earlier in time, there was no way she could be here.

    Upon escaping to the Reincarnation Platform, the Shaman races found themselves cornered.

    This was the place where deceased souls reincarnated. If they passed through the Reincarnation Platform, living beings would also be forcefully reincarnated. If the Shaman races fled there, the Asura race would be so amused that they could wake up from their dreams laughing.

    But the sight of the Reincarnation Platform reminded Zu An of a legend, and his face twisted. Could the Ancestral Shaman protecting the Shaman race possibly be¡­

    The Shamans fled onto the Reincarnation Platform and cried their hearts out.

    ¡°Milady, please save us!¡±

    ¡°At this rate, the Asura race will massacre us!¡±

    ¡°Milady, you showed them kindness back then, but they are seeking to obliterate us now!¡±

    ¡­

    Perhaps due to the incessant cries and pleas, a terrifying aura that alarmed even Zu An rose from the Reincarnation Platform.

    The Asura King was also startled, and he hurriedly halted the pursuit. The Asura army surveyed their surroundings with uneasy eyes.

    Princess Ni Huang''s eyes suddenly widened. ¡°It¡¯s her aura. How is this possible? Hasn¡¯t she turned into the concept of reincarnation¡­¡±

    Zu An could already guess the identity of this Ancestral Shaman¡ªHoutu. In the legends, she couldn¡¯t bear to see forlorn souls and ghosts roaming across the world, so she''d embodied the concept of reincarnation so the deceased in the world could be born anew. Her immense contribution led to her being revered as Lady Houtu.

    Zu An would have guessed her identity before, but Houtu had already long since embodied the concept of reincarnation. The timeline didn¡¯t fit, so he''d thought the Asura race was talking about other Ancestral Shamans.

    In the meantime, a woman¡¯s avatar surfaced from the Reincarnation Platform. Despite her appearance being obscured, one could feel boundless compassion radiating from her, though she also gave off the intimidating air of an expert.

    The Asura King¡¯s face darkened. He flew over with gritted teeth and declared, ¡°Houtu, I don¡¯t care whether you¡¯re backing them or not, I¡¯ll be massacring them all!¡±

    The Asura race had spent too long preparing for this battle. If they lost this fight, they wouldn¡¯t have the resources to make a comeback. Rather than spiral into decline and die a slow death, the Asura King would rather stake everything here for the chance of a comeback.

    As the Asura King spoke, the avatar behind him grew larger and unfurled another nine arms. His massive avatar had a total of eighteen arms, and they were all either brandishing weapons or forming hand seals. Unlike the other Asura avatars, which were just terrifying, his was dignified like a divine idol. His aura was surprisingly on par with Houtu¡¯s avatar, and that won him the Asura soldiers¡¯ cheers.

    But Zu An keenly noticed Princess Ni Huang¡¯s melancholic expression. She was biting her lips, her hands were clenched tightly in her sleeves, and her body was trembling ever so slightly. He made his way over to her and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Having found emotional support in Zu An, Princess Ni Huang¡¯s eyes reddened, and she spoke with a hoarse voice at a volume only the two of them could hear. ¡°My royal brother has used our Asura Royal Clan¡¯s secret art. He has ignited his blood essence. Whether he wins this battle or not¡­ His days are numbered.¡±

    No wonder the Asura King¡¯s number of arms suddenly increased twofold. Zu An felt a surge of respect for the Asura King. The latter was a worthy ruler, willing to put his life on the line for his people¡¯s future.

    Judging from the royal siblings¡¯ earlier conversation, he''d gained a rough grasp of the Asura race¡¯s predicament. A second chance was a luxury they didn¡¯t have. Who would have thought that shortly after the Asura King mocked Ox Head and Horse Face for that, it would be his turn to ignite his blood essence?

    Fate was truly capricious at times.

    Houtu¡¯s avatar suddenly unleashed a swiftly rotating light halo. Upon careful examination, it resembled a miniaturized version of the Six Paths of Reincarnation.

    The halo moved extremely slowly, but for some reason, the Asura King was unable to dodge it. He had no choice but to raise a weapon and confront it. However, his weapon was instantly cut in half.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes narrowed. The Asura King¡¯s weapon wasn''t a divine weapon, but it wasn''t far off. Yet, it didn¡¯t survive a single clash. What is that halo?

    That wasn''t all. The halo proceeded to slice off two of the Asura King¡¯s hands, causing him to roar in pain. In his fury, his remaining sixteen hands struck the halo with the weapons and artifacts they held to strike it down. With his cultivation, the simultaneous movements of his sixteen arms formed an all-encompassing net that nothing could escape from.

    And yet, he was unable to contain that mysterious halo.

    Wherever it passed, the Asura King¡¯s weapons shattered, and one after another, even his arms were severed. The Asura King roared in pain as he desperately retreated, but the halo chased him as closely as if it was his shadow.

    Soon, he had already lost seventeen of his arms. He stared at the approaching halo with eyes filled with despair.

    The Asura race had fallen silent. To think that the imposing Asura King would be so helpless against Houtu! The Asuras all felt a mix of despair and fear.

    Even Zu An¡¯s body turned cold. Houtu was just too powerful. So this is the prowess of an Ancestral Shaman!

    Princess Ni Huang clutched Zu An¡¯s sleeve and pleaded in desperation, ¡°Can you save my royal brother?¡±

    She was cornered too. Her brother was the strongest warrior in the Asura race, and on top of that, he had also invoked their Royal Clan¡¯s secret art. His fighting prowess was currently far above hers. She wouldn¡¯t be able to make a difference in the battle. She racked her brains, and the only one who could be able to turn things around was Zu An.

    Zu An flitted onto the Reincarnation Platform and bowed to the blurred avatar, saying, ¡°Lady Houtu, please have mercy!¡±

    The halo stopped just ten centimeters away from the Asura King. By this point, he had already collapsed to the ground, resigned to his death.

    Princess Ni Huang was both surprised and overjoyed. He stepped in to save my royal brother for my sake. He truly cares about me¡­ Does this mean he likes me? I also like him a lot too¡­

    A layer of cold sweat had drenched Zu An¡¯s forehead. Houtu was so powerful that he felt greatly threatened by her. He hadn¡¯t stepped up because he was in love with Princess Ni Huang, however. Rather, he wanted to get to the bottom of what was happening in the underworld.

    Houtu¡¯s avatar lowered her head to gaze at him, then an ethereal, emotionless voice echoed in his mind. ¡°Who are you? Why do I sense a peculiar aura from you?¡±

 Chapter 2460: Celestial Court

    ¡°Lady Houtu, I am someone who has deep ties with the underworld, but I¡¯m unable to divulge my true identity due to various reasons. However, I have a temporary identity in this world¡ªthe Necropolis Emperor,¡± Zu An replied while assessing Houtu¡¯s reaction.

    He hadn''t chosen to step up out of recklessness. After taking control of the underworld, he had built up a faint connection with the Six Paths of Reincarnation. With that connection, and the knowledge that Houtu was known for her compassion, he figured it wouldn¡¯t be too dangerous.

    ¡°Hm?¡± Houtu¡¯s avatar suddenly recalled something, and that prompted her to assess him with eyes glowing with different lights. A while later, she finally replied, ¡°So you¡¯re the underworld¡¯s future master.¡±

    Outsiders couldn¡¯t hear their conversation, so there was no need to worry about divulging secrets.

    Zu An was surprised. He hadn¡¯t expected the other party to see through his past and future with just a glance. He bowed to her and replied in awe, ¡°Lady Houtu has sharp eyes.¡±

    ¡°Why are you here?¡± It was impossible to decipher Houtu¡¯s emotions from her impassive voice.

    ¡°There''s a crisis in the future, so I came to this world to properly resolve the issue. I didn¡¯t expect the underworld of this era to be so vastly different from that in my era,¡± Zu An replied with a bitter smile.

    Houtu¡¯s avatar fell silent for a long time before she finally replied, ¡°My divination revealed many differences too. Why don¡¯t you tell me what the future underworld is like?¡±

    Zu An was taken aback. It would appear that Houtu could glimpse into the future, but she couldn''t see the details. He told her about the future underworld without hiding a thing.

    Neither the Shamans nor the Asuras dared to interject in their silent conversation.

    Princess Ni Huang rushed to the Asura King¡¯s side, supported him to his feet, and fed him all kinds of pills. However, they didn¡¯t dare to leave, as the terrifying light halo was still stopped right in front of them. They feared a reckless move would provoke the halo¡¯s attack once more.

    Ox Head and Horse Face were initially delighted to learn that Zu An was the mysterious figure they''d fought with at the Eye of the Ocean. They were convinced that he couldn¡¯t be stronger than their Ancestral Shaman.

    He¡¯s courting his death by confronting the Ancestral Shaman. Good riddance!

    But as time passed, they gradually realized something was amiss. Why isn¡¯t the Ancestral Shaman making a move on him?

    After hearing Zu An¡¯s descriptions, Houtu¡¯s avatar remarked, ¡°I see. That is much more reasonable than how things currently are.¡±

    ¡°I communed with the Six Paths of Reincarnation in the future, but I didn¡¯t sense your existence¡­¡± Zu An carefully spoke up.

    ¡°I have transformed into the Six Paths of Reincarnation. This is the final sliver of my will. I left it behind because I feared the Shaman races¡¯ bloodline would vanish in the underworld,¡± Houtu¡¯s avatar replied.

    Zu An nodded in realization. I see. The true Houtu has transformed into the Six Paths of Reincarnation, and she probably can¡¯t maintain this sliver of her will for long either. At least, she''s nowhere to be seen in the future.

    ¡°Are you here to speak up for the Asura race?¡± Houtu¡¯s avatar suddenly asked.

    Zu An glanced at the Asura King and Princess Ni Huang. ¡°I am friends with those two, but it¡¯d be presumptuous of me to intervene in a feud between the two races.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Houtu''s voice suddenly turned cold. ¡°Back then, I spared those Asuras out of kindness, yet, here they are, trying to end our Shaman bloodlines for good¡­¡±

    Zu An could tell Houtu¡¯s avatar was planning to decimate the Asura race. He quickly interjected, ¡°Lady Houtu, the Asura race is also one of the Six Paths of Reincarnation. There could be a gap in the Six Paths of Reincarnation if you eradicate them for good.¡±

    Houtu¡¯s avatar was silent for several seconds before replying, ¡°You¡¯re still planning to speak up for your friends.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t turn a blind eye to their fate," Zu An said. Princess Ni Huang had treated him well, so he couldn¡¯t just watch as she and her race were destroyed. ¡°I''ve been thinking about the issue. The Shaman races and the Asura race are at war because the underworld suffers from a severe lack of resources, but neither race is native to this place.¡±

    ¡°Can you help them leave the underworld?¡± Houtu¡¯s avatar asked.

    ¡°I know a way to lift the seal outside. As long as Lady Houtu can guarantee they won¡¯t massacre the living, I should be able to bring them out,¡± Zu An replied grimly.

    The Eye of the Ocean¡¯s seal was already half-destroyed. Given his strength and influence, perhaps he''d be able to convince the Ocean races to set them free.

    The Shaman races were reckless and violent, but they weren¡¯t as cruel and bloodthirsty as the monsters. There was room for them to coexist with the Ocean races.

    Meanwhile, the Asura race was indeed militaristic, but it would not be all bad if their aggression could be channeled toward the monsters. If things went well, they could even potentially take some of the worlds under the monsters¡¯ control.

    But Houtu¡¯s avatar sighed. ¡°It¡¯s not that easy. The Shaman races lost to the Fiend races. The Asura race lost to the Celestial Court. Both races have a curse preventing them from leaving the underworld.¡±

    Zu An was taken aback. ¡°Lady Houtu, may I know if the Fiend races you mentioned are the same Fiend races as the ones in this world?¡±

    The Cultivation World¡¯s Fiend races were prosperous, but they had a limit. Given that they couldn¡¯t even defeat the monsters, it was hard to imagine them defeating the legendary Shaman races.

    If the legends were true, the Shaman races at their peak had had the Twelve Ancestral Shamans and countless great shamans. Even the monsters out there would struggle to deal with them, let alone the Cultivation World¡¯s fiend races.

    ¡°They aren¡¯t the same, but they are related. The Fiend races I mentioned refer to the Celestial Court¡¯s Fiend races. The Fiend races you currently see are merely bloodline descendants they left behind,¡± Houtu¡¯s avatar replied.

    Zu An was shocked. He would never have figured out that the Cultivation World¡¯s Fiend races were the bloodline descendants of the Celestial Court¡¯s Fiend races!

    He suddenly recalled a certain matter and asked, ¡°But I heard the monsters proclaiming themselves as the bloodline descendants of the Celestial Court¡¯s Fiend races¡­¡±

    That was the secret he had heard from the True Demon race¡¯s great elder, and they did have a secret art to activate the Cultivation World¡¯s Fiend races¡¯ bloodline power. They looked more like the real deal here.

    ¡°Hmph! Those monsters are merely the bloodline descendants of the pets and mounts raised by the Celestial Court¡¯s Fiend races,¡± Houtu¡¯s avatar scoffed. She had just divined Zu An¡¯s past, so she had a clear understanding of the monsters too.

    Zu An was shocked.

 Chapter 2461: Six Pathsâ€™ Insignias

    Zu An had never expected the imposing monsters to be mere pets reared by the Celestial Courts¡¯ Fiend races, and that the bullied Fiend races would be the latter''s true bloodline descendants. Now that he thought about it, however, the monsters resembled beasts more, whereas the Fiend races appeared more normal in comparison.

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but wonder how the True Demon race¡¯s grand elder would react if he learned that those servants¡¯ descendants were actually their master''s descendants, and they were the servants instead.

    With this thought in mind, he asked, ¡°Where did the Celestial Court¡¯s Fiend races go? Why do they just watch as the pets they reared freely slaughter their bloodline descendants?¡±

    Houtu¡¯s avatar replied, ¡°The battle between the Shaman races and the Fiend races ended with the Shaman races¡¯ defeat, but the Celestial Court¡¯s Fiend races also fell from grace. I have been in the underworld all this time, so I don¡¯t know their whereabouts.¡±

    Zu An recalled what he had heard from the Asura race and asked, ¡°The Asura race mentioned that they fought with the Celestial race but lost, resulting in their exile here. Are the deities they fought with the same as the Celestial Court¡¯s Fiend races?¡±

    ¡°They arrived here earlier than our Shaman races. Based on what I know, it doesn¡¯t seem to be the same group of deities,¡± Houtu¡¯s avatar replied.

    Zu An¡¯s mind churned to action. It seems there was another Celestial race before the Celestial Court¡¯s Fiend races.

    His short conversation with Houtu¡¯s avatar was extremely fruitful; it answered a lot of the doubts he''d previously harbored.

    He wanted to ask more, but Houtu¡¯s avatar said, ¡°Knowing too much right now may bring you trouble instead.¡±

    Zu An¡¯s heart was chilled. It wasn''t his first time hearing those words. In the Myriad Worlds, secrets often represented danger.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have much time left. I have to ensure the future of the Shaman races before I dissipate,¡± Houtu¡¯s avatar said.

    A thought popped into Zu An¡¯s mind, and he quickly said, ¡°Just as they were imprisoned here, there must be a way for them to leave this place too. As for what that method is, Lady Houtu, I may need your insight for it.¡± He figured that someone as knowledgeable as Houtu would have a way.

    There was a brief silence before Houtu¡¯s avatar replied, ¡°Are you still hoping to save your Asura friends?¡±

    Zu An¡¯s eyes gleamed with excitement. ¡°Of course. It¡¯d be ideal if we could rescue both races instead of having them fight it out here.¡±

    Houtu¡¯s avatar nodded. ¡°Your talk about the future inspired me.¡±

    Zu An was taken aback. Shouldn¡¯t the future be the result of what happened here? Somehow, the cause and effect seem to be reversed here.

    ¡°I may have transformed into the Six Paths of Reincarnation, but I sense its incompleteness. Something is missing in it. I couldn¡¯t figure it out all these years, until I met you,¡± Houtu¡¯s avatar slowly said.

    Zu An¡¯s heart skipped a beat. She can¡¯t be asking me to complete the Six Paths of Reincarnation, can she?

    Sensing his nervousness, Houtu¡¯s avatar said joyfully, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I just need you to find a few things for me.¡±

    Zu An breathed a sigh of relief. He bowed to the avatar and said, ¡°Please ask anything of me. I¡¯ll walk through fire for you, Lady Houtu.¡±

    ¡°The Six Paths of Reincarnation is incomplete because its connection with the Six Paths is lacking. I need you to find the power insignias signifying the Celestial Path, the Human Path, the Asura Path, the Hell Path, the Beast Path, and the Hungry Ghost Path. I¡¯ll fuse them before imbuing them into the Six Paths,¡± Houtu¡¯s avatar said.

    Zu An was alarmed. This was no easy feat. Each world¡¯s power insignia was often hidden discreetly, not to mention he had no idea where the Celestial World and the others were.

    Houtu¡¯s avatar suddenly added, ¡°You don¡¯t need to search for the Hell Path¡¯s power insignia; you have it with you right now¡ªthe Netherworld Book of Life and Death. This book governs the fate of all deceased entities in the Hell Path.¡±

    Zu An was worried. The Netherworld Book of Life and Death was of utmost importance to him. Putting aside the powers it harnessed, it was also one of the twelve secret manuals required by the Keyboard System. He didn¡¯t dare to ruin it carelessly.

    Sensing his worry, Houtu¡¯s avatar said, ¡°Rest assured, the book won¡¯t be damaged. I¡¯m just borrowing a sliver of its authority. Not only will it be unimpaired, it will also receive benefits from the Six Paths of Reincarnation.¡±

    This doesn¡¯t conform to the law of energy conservation, Zu An retorted in his mind, though he also knew that it would be foolish to apply scientific laws to the Cultivation World.

    ¡°What are the other power insignias?¡± he asked. He knew nothing about those and had no idea where to start.

    ¡°You can ask your Asura friends about the Asura Path¡¯s power insignia,¡± Houtu¡¯s avatar replied.

    Zu An glanced at the Asura King and Princess Ni Huang and nodded.

    ¡°The Human Path''s insignia can be found right outside. Look for the Human Emperor; it shouldn¡¯t be too difficult.

    ¡°The Hungry Ghost Path exists between the mortal world and the underworld. They roam the mortal world in confusion, harming the living.¡±

    Zu An couldn¡¯t help but notice that the Hungry Ghost Path resembled the place where Jing Teng had resided when she was the Ghost King.

    ¡°As for the Beast Path, after hearing your story about the future, I¡¯m thinking that the Monster World could likely be it.¡±

    Zu An was stunned. Who could have thought that the Monster World was the Beast Path?

    However, the Monster World was currently at its peak. It would be nigh impossible to head over and claim their power insignia¡­ though the Lord of Slaughter and his monster army¡¯s invasion of the Cultivation World presented him with a chance.

    ¡°As for the Celestial Path¡­¡± Houtu¡¯s avatar fell silent for a moment before continuing, ¡°It should be beyond your reach for now, but since the Fiend races out there are the descendants of the Celestial Court¡¯s Fiend races, you might find clues with them.¡±

    Zu An frowned. As the future Fiend races¡¯ regent, he was so familiar with them that he even knew all the details of the minor races, but he had no information about the Celestial Path at all.

    Just then, he suddenly remembered the secret dungeon in the Fiend races¡¯ Imperial Tomb. There were incomparably powerful beings in there. Could that be the Celestial Path?

    He was put in a dilemma. It was unlikely he could obtain any of the power insignias any time soon, and there were other things he needed to do here. As much as he viewed Princess Ni Huang as his friend, he didn¡¯t have that much time to use on this matter.

    Just then, Houtu¡¯s avatar said, ¡°You¡¯re looking for the World Law Beacon here, right? I have never heard of a rainbow World Law Beacon, so I can only think of one possibility. The World Law Beacon might still be nonexistent¡ªit could be the item derived from fusing the Six Paths¡¯ insignias.¡±

 Chapter 2462: Asura Valkyrieâ€™s Tear

    Zu An had been wondering where the World Law Beacon was located, but it had never crossed his mind that the World Law Beacon could have not come into existence yet.

    Now that he thought about it, this world¡¯s World Law Beacon was indeed unique. Other worlds¡¯ World Law Beacons only had a single color, yet this one was rainbow-colored. He''d thought it was the influence of the Wonderpoint World, but on further reflection, it was probably due to the Six Paths¡¯ fusion.

    He''d been reluctant to spend so much time helping Houtu collect the Six Paths¡¯ authority insignias, but if this matter was tied to the World Law Beacon, he would have no choice but to do it. Many things wouldn''t align if the World Law Beacon wasn''t created. Perhaps the future World Law Beacon would even disappear when he returned to the future.

    Having experienced time travel, he now understood that cause and effect was sometimes reversed. Events that happened in this era wouldn''t necessarily precede the future; it was perhaps more apt to say that they were happening simultaneously. Since that was the case, he couldn¡¯t turn a blind eye to this matter.

    ¡°I¡¯ll help you collect the power insignias, but it might take a long time. Lady Houtu, you mentioned that you won¡¯t be able to sustain your current state for long. I fear¡­¡± This was also what Zu An was the most worried about. It had taken him a long time just to obtain the Netherworld Book of Life and Death, so it would surely take him longer to collect all six power insignias.

    Houtu¡¯s avatar said, ¡°Since the World Law Beacon exists in the future, it must mean that my forging is successful. That also proves you''ll be able to collect all the power insignias before my dissipation. I trust you.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He was tempted to retort against it, but it wouldn¡¯t change the situation.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be going into hibernation to conserve my energy. Summon me after you collect all the power insignias,¡± Houtu¡¯s avatar said before she began to disappear.

    Noticing Ox Head, Horse Face, and the others eyeing him intently, Zu An became anxious. ¡°But the Shaman races¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll talk to them,¡± Houtu¡¯s avatar said. A divine voice echoed in the surroundings right after. ¡°There shall be a temporary ceasefire between the Shaman races and the Asura race. From this day on, this man, the Necropolis Emperor, will be a friend of our Shaman races. Do your best to cooperate with him.¡±

    Even though Zu An had held a long conversation with Houtu¡¯s avatar, the exchange had happened on the soul level. In truth, only an instant had passed.

    Ox Head, Horse Face, and the others had been gleefully waiting for their Ancestral Shaman to crush that brat when they suddenly received the order.

    ¡°But Ancestral Shaman¡­¡± Ox Head and Horse Face wondered how that brat had enchanted their Ancestral Shaman, but Houtu¡¯s avatar had already disappeared by then, not giving them the time to voice their complaints.

    Ox Head, Horse Face, Golden Cangue, and Silver Chain were speechless. They''d never thought they would be forced to smile at an enemy whom they had sworn to destroy just a second ago.

    Ox Head was the first to break the silence. He struck his chest and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know why the Ancestral Shaman issued such an order, but we believe in her judgment. From this day on, you shall be a friend of our Shaman races. You may ask anything of us.¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°I think we¡¯ll be friends for a long time.¡± He thought about Ox Head and Horse Face¡¯s job in the future, and he found himself amazed by fate¡¯s mysticism.

    Ox Head was taken aback, not understanding what those words meant.

    Zu An flew to Princess Ni Huang¡¯s side and asked, ¡°Asura King, how are your injuries?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. I just need to recuperate a bit.¡± With the terrifying halo gone, the Asura King returned to his feet and straightened his posture, looking as dignified as before.

    Princess Ni Huang bit her lips as she asked sorrowfully, ¡°Royal brother, why are you still putting on a strong front? After using that secret art, you only have days left to live!¡±

    The Asura King suddenly looked like a deflated ball, and his face started to look much older. ¡°Ni Huang, can¡¯t you leave your royal brother with some dignity?¡±

    Princess Ni Huang bit her lips as she tried to hold back her tears.

    Zu An took out an Ice Heart Pill and fed it to the Asura King. ¡°How do you feel now?¡±

    The Ice Heart Pill was the White Jade Sect¡¯s greatest medicine. Even Yan Xuehen only had two pills despite being the sect master, and she''d later given one to Zu An. Later, as Zu An got closer to Yan Xuehen, she''d secretly stolen more from her sect and given them to him to protect himself. However, with Zu An¡¯s current cultivation, he had no use for the Ice Heart Pill anymore.

    ¡°It¡¯s an incredible pill. To think that it can extend my lifespan by a month despite the violent nature of our secret art,¡± the Asura King remarked in awe.

    Zu An wasn¡¯t surprised to hear that. How could a technique that the Asura Royal Clan deemed a secret skill be so tame as to have its side effects neutralized by a single Ice Heart Pill?

    Zu An let out a sigh. ¡°It¡¯s a pity I depleted my Feather Mountain Spring Water, or else it would have been able to save your life.¡±

    ¡°Feather Mountain Spring Water? What¡¯s that? I¡¯ll find some for my royal brother!¡± Princess Ni Huang exclaimed.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid that place is beyond your reach.¡± After saying those words, Zu An suddenly felt dazed.

    Now that he thought about it, the secret dungeon in the Fiend races¡¯ Imperial Tomb only opened once in a very long while. He had entered the secret dungeon the last time it opened in the future, and it would probably be a long time before it opened once more after that. But now that he was in the past, perhaps it would be near the secret dungeon¡¯s opening time.

    Houtu had tasked him to collect the Six Paths¡¯ power insignias, including the Celestial Path¡¯s. He had thought hard about it, and the most likely location of the Celestial World was the secret dungeon he had visited in the Fiend races¡¯ Imperial Tomb.

    Given that the Fiend races were the bloodline descendants of the Celestial Court¡¯s Fiend races, it wouldn¡¯t be surprising for there to be such a connection between them. Besides, he had seen the Celestial Court inside that secret dungeon.

    The thought of that excited him, and he said, ¡°There might be medicine to save your royal brother in the place I¡¯m heading to next.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Princess Ni Huang grabbed his hand in excitement. Is he my fated one?

    The Asura King was much calmer in comparison. ¡°Is this related to what you talked to Lady Houtu about?¡± He could tell the two of them had shared a long telepathic exchange earlier.

    Zu An nodded before sharing the summary of what he had discussed with Houtu.

    ¡°The Six Paths¡¯ power insignias¡­¡± the Asura King murmured.

    He reached into his robe and took out a military seal. The seal was carved with glaring, domineering images, but its center was embedded with a beautiful, transparent gemstone that shone with a gentle light, mellowing the seal¡¯s violent aura.

    Zu An initially thought the gemstone was a diamond, but he quickly refuted that guess. The texture was different, and the gemstone looked far more mystical, as if it harnessed boundless power.

    Sensing Zu An¡¯s gaze, the Asura King explained, ¡°This gemstone is the only teardrop left by a famous valkyrie of our Asura race. It is the Asura Path¡¯s power insignia.¡±

 Chapter 2463: Seal

    ¡°It¡¯s a valkyrie¡¯s teardrop?¡± Zu An was taken aback. He hadn¡¯t expected that to be the Asura race¡¯s power insignia.

    The Asura King nodded. ¡°Our Asura race reveres war, but in our long history, she is the only one whom we deem a valkyrie.¡±

    Zu An hadn¡¯t known the Asura race for long, but he could tell they were proud individuals. A person whom they acknowledged to be a valkyrie had to be truly outstanding.

    Princess Ni Huang added, ¡°Our Asura race respects warlike traits like valiance and courage. Tears are deemed to be a symbol of weakness, even for women. Most Asuras never tear up in their entire life, yet she, despite being a valkyrie, shed this teardrop. You can imagine how precious it is.¡±

    Zu An suddenly recalled how Princess Ni Huang hadn¡¯t teared up even though her eyes had reddened. She couldn¡¯t cry even when her close kinsman was facing impending death. This showed just how much of a taboo it was for Asuras to shed tears.

    ¡°Then wouldn¡¯t it be considered a disgrace for the valkyrie to have shed a tear?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°It is indeed peculiar. There are many speculations about why the valkyrie shed the tear. Some say it was a tear of joy after defeating the Celestials. Some say she was grieving from the death of her lover¡­¡± Princess Ni Huang listed several reasons, but in the end, she laughed. ¡°If you ask me, I¡¯d say those are all nonsense. None of these fit the valkyrie¡¯s character. They are all just guesses from nosy people. It¡¯s a pity no one knows the true reason anymore.¡±

    Zu An was more focused on acquiring the Six Paths¡¯ power insignias, so he didn¡¯t probe deeper into the reason behind the valkyrie¡¯s tear. He took the seal and carefully stowed it away. ¡°Rest assured that the forging process won''t damage the seal. I¡¯ll return it to you once the forging is completed.¡±

    He had considered collecting the other power insignias first before borrowing this seal from the Asura race, but on second thought, it was possible for something to happen to the Asura race in the meantime, or for the Asura King to suddenly change his mind. It was safer for him to keep it with him.

    The Asura King didn¡¯t mind that. ¡°You have saved not only me, but the entire Asura race. If you succeed in your endeavor, our Asura race can be freed from this goddamn place. That is a far greater favor. This seal is nothing in comparison.¡±

    Zu An chuckled. ¡°Put your mind at ease. I¡¯ll do my best to free you from the underworld.¡±

    Princess Ni Huang also spoke up. ¡°Big brother Necropolis, I really want to travel with you, but I think I¡¯ll have to stay behind to take care of my royal brother and ensure no one tries anything funny in the Asura race in the meantime.¡±

    Being called ¡®big brother Necropolis¡¯ made Zu An¡¯s eyelids twitch, though he was also glad that Princess Ni Huang couldn¡¯t follow him. ¡°Take good care of your brother. I¡¯ll do my best to find the medicine, though¡­¡±

    The Asura King revealed a gracious smile. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. I was already doomed to die, so I¡¯m already thankful to have a shot at survival. Whether you find the medicine or not is up to chance. If it doesn¡¯t work out, I only have my fate to blame.¡±

    Zu An was amazed by the other party¡¯s magnanimity. ¡°Your words put my mind at ease. I¡¯ll be taking my leave then!¡±

    Princess Ni Huang saw him off. Even when they finally parted ways, she remained rooted on the spot while vehemently waving him off, reluctant to see him leave.

    Zu An glanced at her with many thoughts in his mind. He had several words at the tip of his tongue, but none came out.

    Leaving the Eye of the Ocean, he heard an ethereal yet familiar melody¡ªit was ''Scenery of Home''. In the distance, he saw a beautiful figure strumming a harp, her movements so graceful that they were a feast for the eyes.

    Zu An slowed his footsteps for fear of interrupting her. Mermaids were naturally gifted in music. Despite only having heard the melody once, the Mermaid Queen played it with far greater skill and emotion than him.

    It was then that the Mermaid Queen noticed him. She was initially stunned, before tossing her Deep Sea Harp aside to leap into his chest, tightly embracing him. Her usually composed voice sounded hoarse as she exclaimed, ¡°I thought you wouldn¡¯t come back!¡±

    Zu An¡¯s arms hung awkwardly in mid-air. He hadn¡¯t expected her to have such a huge reaction. Feeling her trembling body and the dampness on his clothes, he let out a sigh. Now I know why Gu Long said that a woman¡¯s tears are the most formidable weapon in the world!

    Despite knowing it was inappropriate, he couldn¡¯t bring himself to callously push her away. His awkward hands hesitated for a few seconds before gently stroking her back.

    However, his reciprocation only brought out the grievances the Mermaid Queen had felt over the past few days, and she cried even harder than before.

    Zu An panicked. Why is she crying even harder now?

    Little droplets wouldn¡¯t stop falling from the Mermaid Queen¡¯s cheeks, as if she was made of water. She cried for a long time before slowly regaining her composure.

    She then wiped away her tears while awkwardly tidying the hair strands sticking to her cheeks. ¡°Was I very ugly just now?¡±

    ¡°No, you were beautiful.¡± Zu An wasn¡¯t lying. Most beauties looked ugly when they cried, but the Mermaid Queen still looked like an impeccable work of art that could evoke the sympathy of any spectators.

    His compliment made the Mermaid Queen¡¯s cheeks redden. She quickly lifted his arms and examined his body, asking, ¡°Did you sustain any injuries while down there?¡±

    Zu An felt warmth in his heart. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m fine. You must have been afraid, waiting here for the last few days.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not afraid of those monsters. I was more afraid that you wouldn¡¯t be coming back,¡± the Mermaid Queen replied as her eyes reddened once more.

    ¡°Look, aren¡¯t I back now? It was a fruitful trip. I received many answers to my previous doubts,¡± Zu An hurriedly replied, fearing she would cry once more.

    ¡°What¡¯s beyond the Eye of the Ocean?¡± The Mermaid Queen¡¯s curiosity got the better of her. ¡°And what¡¯s the background of those monsters from before?¡±

    ¡°They are the Shaman races¡­¡± Zu An quickly filled her in about what happened.

    But the Mermaid Queen keenly sensed something. ¡°That Princess Ni Huang must be gorgeous, right?¡±

    Looking into her beautiful eyes, Zu An felt flustered, though he quickly shrugged it off as nonsense. It¡¯s not as if she¡¯s my girlfriend, and there¡¯s nothing going on between me and Princess Ni Huang either.

    Even so, he didn¡¯t give her a direct answer. ¡°The Asuras pride themselves on their strength and valor. Looks are of secondary importance to them.¡±

    The Mermaid Queen nodded in satisfaction. ¡°So, where do you intend to find those power insignias?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll make a trip to the Fiend races'' territory first.¡± Zu An was curious about Yumen Beiqing, and there were many questions in his mind that needed her answers.

    He grabbed the Mermaid Queen¡¯s hand and flew up with her. All of a sudden, however, his expression twisted. The previously damaged seals had been repaired from outside!

 Chapter 2464: The Shocking Development

    The Mermaid Queen also realized something was off, and her expression turned grim. ¡°Something must have happened to the Ocean races!¡±

    They knew she and Zu An had ventured into the Eye of the Ocean to investigate the situation. Considering how Zu An had just saved them not long ago, it didn¡¯t make sense for them to seal off their path like that. There was a chance that something had happened to the Ocean races.

    Zu An¡¯s face darkened. ¡°The Four Dragon Kings are fickle-minded scum!¡±

    The Four Dragon Kings called the shots in the Ocean races. Without their permission, the others wouldn¡¯t dare to rebuild the seals under their nose.

    The Mermaid Queen shook her head. ¡°The East Sea Dragon King might be a coward, but he¡¯s not that fickle-minded. The North Sea Dragon King has a candid personality, and you just saved him not too long ago. He¡¯s not an ingrate. Something must have happened to the Ocean races. Could the Incestuous King have invaded us with his monster army¡­¡±

    Only that could result in such a swift collapse of the Ocean races¡¯ command chain.

    ¡°The Ocean races shouldn¡¯t have been completely helpless even if the Incestuous King invaded, and they shouldn¡¯t have been able to repair the seal so quickly either.¡± Zu An frowned. ¡°Let¡¯s deal with it after we return.¡±

    The Mermaid Queen was worried. ¡°But I fear we won¡¯t be able to get out without anyone helping us from the outside.¡±

    This wasn''t the most powerful sealing formation, but its prowess wasn''t to be scoffed at. It was with this sealing formation that the Ocean races had imprisoned the Shaman races and the death energy in the Eye of the Ocean for countless years. It was unlikely the two of them could breach it by themselves.

    ¡°Leave it to me.¡± Zu An made his way up to the seal and whipped out a giant saber.

    The Mermaid Queen was surprised to find that the weapon resembled a tooth. It was none other than the Lord of Slaughter''s mystical tooth.

    Zu An¡¯s ¡®Steps of Rising Lotus¡¯ had the power to transcend formations. With his enhanced knowledge of formations and spatial laws, he was more than capable of passing through this sealing formation, no matter how formidable it was. But it would be troublesome to bring the Mermaid Queen out with him that way.

    Thus, he took out the mystical tooth and swung it. It sliced through the sealing formation as smoothly as cutting through butter.

    He then turned back to the Mermaid Queen and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    The Mermaid Queen blinked. This sealing formation had been built on by countless Ocean races¡¯ experts over thousands of years, yet it was sliced through with such ease!

    As expected of the man of miracles!

    Not daring to dawdle, she quickly passed through the seal. Zu An did the same too.

    The Mermaid Queen turned around to take a look. The sealing formation had lost its glow and dissipated.

    ¡°I hear fighting noises outside. Let¡¯s head out to take a look.¡± Zu An grabbed her hand and quickly headed upward.

    The Mermaid Queen was too concerned with what was happening outside to immerse herself in the joy of having her hand grabbed, however.

    With Zu An¡¯s incredible speed, it didn¡¯t take them long to arrive at the source of the noises.

    A group of black-clad Ocean race warriors had encircled another group of Ocean race warriors clad in blue, with the former having a significant manpower advantage. The blue-clad warriors were only holding on thanks to a beautiful woman in their center wielding a powerful artifact, but the situation was still dire for them. The black-clad warriors could afford to slip up many times, but the blue-clad warriors would be goners the moment they made a mistake.

    ¡°It¡¯s the Peacock Princess!¡± the Mermaid Queen exclaimed upon seeing the beautiful woman.

    The beautiful woman heard her voice and looked back in disbelief. ¡°Big brother! Big sis queen!¡±

    The black-clad warriors were also stunned to see Zu An and the Mermaid Queen. Without any hesitation, they turned tail and fled.

    Zu An harrumphed. ¡°You think you can get away?¡±

    Waves of golden sword ki descended from the sky and pinned the black-clad warriors to the ground. They cried in agony, but they were unable to struggle free from the golden sword ki.

    After capturing the black-clad warriors, Zu An finally flew over to the Peacock Princess¡¯ side with the Mermaid Queen. ¡°Princess, what happened here¡­¡±

    ¡°Big brother!¡± Before he could finish speaking, the Peacock Princess leaped into his chest and embraced him tightly.

    Taking in her youthful fragrance, Zu An awkwardly eyed the Mermaid Queen. The two of them were still holding hands. It was truly a weird situation.

    The Xuan-Su guards[1], who had been protecting the Peacock Princess, exchanged looks and saw shock and disappointment in each other¡¯s eyes. They had never seen their princess getting so intimate with a man before.

    They could already guess that Zu An was the one who had saved them and their princess. Their princess had been talking nonstop about him over the last few days, so much so that their ears were about to get calluses from hearing about his affairs.

    The two of them were the Peacock Princess¡¯ childhood friends, and they secretly adored her. However, neither thought that the other was worthy of the princess. It was only now, when they saw their princess falling in love with a hero, that their hearts finally settled down.

    Only a man like that is worthy of our princess¡­ but isn¡¯t it too much for him to be holding the hand of the Ocean races¡¯ number one beauty while hugging our princess?

    The Mermaid Queen also had the weirdest expression. She didn¡¯t know whether to continue holding Zu An¡¯s hand or let go. She feared that if she abruptly retracted her hand, Zu An would think she was jealous and angry, but what right did she have to get angry? Not to mention, she had reacted in the same way as the Peacock Princess when she saw him earlier. But given the eyes on them, it would be awkward to continue holding his hand too¡­

    In the end, she chose not to let go. It wasn¡¯t easy to hold his hand. How can I let go that easily?

    Unfortunately, the crowd took this as a verification of a rumor that had been spreading among the Ocean races. It was said that a man had appeared out of nowhere and dragged the Mermaid Queen and the Peacock Princess into one bed. Gossips had fervently shared this news as if they had seen it with their own eyes, but many still refused to believe it.

    They couldn¡¯t say anything about the Peacock Princess, but they were more than familiar with the Mermaid Queen¡¯s personality. How could someone as proud as her share a husband with other women? Which man in the world had the power to charm her that much?

    But this made them realize they were short-sighted.

    Such a man does exist in the world!

    Zu An patted the Peacock Princess¡¯ back to comfort her. When she finally calmed down, the first thing she said shocked Zu And and the Mermaid Queen. ¡°The Ocean races are no more. There is no one left standing.¡±

 Chapter 2465: Aurora Poison Dragon

    The Mermaid Queen was stunned. She had guessed that something had happened to the Ocean races, but she hadn¡¯t expected it to be so huge. The Ocean races have been destroyed? Including the Four Dragon Kings?

    Zu An¡¯s astonishment matched hers. Mojard is formidable, but surely not to this extent? The Ocean races are a great power. Them being destroyed in a few days seems too much.

    Sensing their doubt, the Peacock Princess quickly waved her hands and clarified, ¡°They aren¡¯t dead yet, though they aren¡¯t far from that.¡±

    The Mermaid Queen was getting confused, so she quickly asked, ¡°What happened?¡±

    The Peacock Princess realized there was a huge misunderstanding here and hurriedly explained the matter.

    Soon, Zu An and the Mermaid Queen understood what was going on. An illness had been spreading within the Ocean races; those afflicted with it would suffer from nausea and severe diarrhea. The patients were so weakened that they could only lie in bed, looking as if they were about to breathe their last.

    Zu An frowned. ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound like an illness so much as a poison.¡±

    The Peacock Princess nodded. ¡°Everyone initially thought nothing of it, but the illness quickly spread across the Dragon Palaces and the rest of the Ocean race territory. It finally dawned upon them that someone had poisoned them, but it was already too late. Most people had already collapsed by then, and the physicians in the Dragon Palace were too busy saving themselves to treat anyone. Only a few lucky ones, like us, escaped the ordeal.¡±

    ¡°Where are the Four Dragon Kings? Did they not step forward to control the situation?¡± the Mermaid Queen asked.

    The Peacock Princess shook her head. ¡°The North Sea Dragon King had fallen into an inexplicable coma, so the other three Dragon Kings visited him. They didn¡¯t find anything amiss, but shortly after, they fell into a coma as well. Rumors began spreading in the Dragon Palaces that recent happenings have evoked the Ocean Deity¡¯s wrath, so he brought divine punishment upon the Ocean races.

    ¡°Nonsense!¡± The Mermaid Queen was infuriated to hear those words. ¡°We are the children protected by the Ocean Deity. Why would she bring such a vile punishment upon us? Someone must be scheming something by spreading these rumors!¡±

    The few remaining Ocean race warriors around them also didn¡¯t think the Ocean Deity would punish them like that.

    ¡°What brings you all here? And who repaired the sealing formation over the Eye of the Ocean?¡± Zu An asked. So many things had happened in his absence that everything felt like a mystery to him. He could only gather as much information as possible to figure the situation out.

    ¡°I was discussing an alliance with the Ocean races when something happened to the Dragon Kings and the mysterious illness struck. That delayed our alliance talk. I was planning to help them overcome their current crisis first,¡± the Peacock Princess said.

    ¡°But as more people collapsed, rumors began spreading that it was our alliance with the Ocean races that brought about these troubles. There were even speculations that big brother is the one who brought that illness here. I realized someone was behind all this, so I rushed here to inform you¡­

    ¡°But by the time I reached this place, the seal had already been mended. I had no choice but to return to the Dragon Palace to gather a group of formation masters to remove the seal. Little did I expect to bump into these assassins. They were secretly tailing me to massacre us here.¡± The Peacock Princess patted her chest. ¡°If not for your timely appearance, we would have been dead.¡±

    Zu An coldly eyed the assassins. ¡°Speak! Who sent you here?¡±

    ¡°Kill us!¡± The assassins looked away.

    Zu An¡¯s golden sword ki had not only pinned them to the ground but also sealed off their ki. They couldn¡¯t even commit suicide. Still, a group that could be dispatched to assassinate the Peacock Princess wouldn''t be made up of pushovers.

    Zu An frowned. He couldn¡¯t use his powers as the underworld¡¯s master in this world, so he couldn¡¯t drag them down to hell to interrogate them. It would be difficult to force a confession out of them.

    Just then, the Mermaid Queen stepped forward. ¡°Hand them to me.¡±

    Zu An was taken aback.

    The Mermaid Queen strummed her harp and played a graceful melody. She smiled at the assassins and asked, ¡°Were you trying to harm me?¡±

    The assassins looked both dazed and mesmerized. They shook their heads vehemently as they said, ¡°Of course not. We wouldn¡¯t think of doing so.¡±

    ¡°Do you want to see me upset?¡± the Mermaid Queen gently asked, looking exceptionally pitiful.

    ¡°No, we want you to be happy.¡± The assassins expressed their love for her.

    ¡°But I have so many doubts in my mind that I can¡¯t be happy. Can you answer them for me?¡± The Mermaid Queen¡¯s beautiful eyes turned an even deeper blue, shimmering with a sapphire-like luster.

    ¡°Of course, of course! My queen, please ask us anything!¡± the assassins hurriedly replied.

    ¡°Who sent you here today?¡± the Mermaid Queen asked with a sweet smile.

    ¡­

    Witnessing the assassins obediently answering her every question like a bunch of dazed penguins flabbergasted everyone else, including Zu An. It was rumored in the Ocean races that the Mermaid Queen had reached her level of popularity because she was adept at seduction.

    There might be some credence to the rumors, after all.

    The Peacock Princess looked at the Mermaid Queen with a bizarre expression. I would have thought she was from the Fox race if I didn¡¯t know better. What a femme fatale!

    Zu An was amused. She is usually noble and dignified. I didn¡¯t expect such a side of her. That being said, he was certain she had never employed such means on him, which showed that she was serious about getting to know him.

    Soon, the Mermaid Queen received all her answers and turned to Zu An.

    Zu An¡¯s eyes glowed with intrigue as he heard a familiar name¡ªthe Aurora Poison Dragon!

    It turned out the Aurora Poison Dragon was behind all these events. Using his aptitude at poison, he''d secretly constructed a plague formation in the Dragon Palace. Everyone in the Dragon Palace had been caught off guard and fallen into his trap.

    To make things worse, the East Sea Dragon King had summoned all the Ocean races¡¯ upper echelons to the Dragon Palace to discuss the alliance with the Fiend races, allowing the Aurora Poison Dragon to crush them in a single fell swoop.

    ¡°Wait, this can¡¯t be right. The Four Dragon Kings should be strong enough to deal with his plague formation. If he was that formidable, he should have long since risen above the Four Dragon Kings to become the ruler of the Ocean races, right?¡± Zu An asked.

    The Mermaid Queen quickly relayed that question to the assassins.

    One of the assassins¡¯ leaders replied, ¡°The Aurora Poison Dragon has defected to the Incestuous King, under the promise that he would be crowned the Ocean races¡¯ new king. The Incestuous King gave him an artifact known as the Soulfall Bell that can put others into a coma. It is with this artifact that he controlled the Four Dragon Kings.¡±

    The crowd widened their eyes in realization. That explained why the North Sea Dragon King was the first to meet with a mishap. The Aurora Poison King was the North Sea Dragon King¡¯s subordinate, making him the easiest target. The unconscious North Sea Dragon King had thus become bait for the remaining three Dragon Kings.

    Zu An was amazed by this generation¡¯s Mojard. He¡¯s surprisingly competent.

 Chapter 2466: Killing the Yellow Dragon

    Zu An was acquainted with Mojard, but he only knew the latter as a perverted old man who was fond of little girls. It was hard to believe that his name had once been spoken alongside that of the Monster Lord.  It was only after coming to this era that he truly felt the Incestuous King¡¯s prowess: The latter was both tenacious and farsighted. If not for Zu An¡¯s abrupt arrival, the Ocean races would have been crippled by now. Even now that Zu An was here, there was no guarantee that he could unravel all of the Incestuous King¡¯s schemes.

    ¡°The Soulfall Bell must be formidable to bring down the Four Dragon Kings,¡± the Mermaid Queen muttered worriedly.

    Zu An replied, ¡°Let¡¯s rescue the Four Dragon Kings first before the enemy realizes we''ve escaped from the Eye of the Ocean. Otherwise, things will only get tougher.¡±

    Once they learned that the two had slipped through the seal, Mojard and the Aurora Poison Dragon would prepare more means to deal with them. For the time being, they probably wouldn¡¯t be expecting Zu An and the Mermaid Queen to have escaped from the seal so quickly, so this was an opening for them to capitalize on.

    ¡°Ask them where the Four Dragon Kings are imprisoned,¡± Zu An said.

    The Mermaid Queen nodded. She repeated the question to the assassins; the latter, slaves to her charm, divulged everything they knew.

    Zu An¡¯s group made their way to where the Four Dragon Kings were imprisoned. The Peacock Princess was worried this would be too reckless, since they were outnumbered. Little did she expect Zu An to say, ¡°I''m a one-man army, anyway.¡±

    The Peacock Princess¡¯ eyes glowed in amazement. That¡¯s true. Big brother might not make a move often, but he always emerges victorious in in every battle. There¡¯s no one in the Ocean races who is a match for him.

    The Xuan-Su Guards exchanged looks. As expected of the man our princess fancies. His bragging skills are something we can¡¯t hope to match.

    Their group soon arrived at the Dragon Palace. Before Zu An descended into the Eye of the Ocean, the palace had been buzzing with life, but it was hard to spot even a single guard now. The poison formation had to have been truly formidable to have brought down most of the people in the Dragon Palace.

    The scenery only changed when they approached the East Sea Dragon King¡¯s sleeping chamber. A melody filled the air from nearby, and beautiful maids could be seen dancing from afar.

    However, the one in the main seat wasn¡¯t the East Sea Dragon King, but a black-robed dragon with two horns on his head. He looked younger and more suave than the East Sea Dragon King, but he emanated a coldness that left others feeling uncomfortable. He sat on the royal throne in an unruly fashion, laughing as he said, ¡°Serve me well, and I¡¯ll give you whatever the East Sea Dragon King previously gave you. I¡¯ll also give you what he couldn¡¯t give you.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, master!¡± The maids bowed before continuing the dance to showcase their most beautiful, graceful selves.

    The black-robed dragon lay in the arms of a clam woman, occasionally opening his mouth to allow his female attendants to feed him fruits. He felt blissful, thinking that this was life¡¯s peak.

    The Mermaid Queen recognized him and roared, ¡°Aurora Poison Dragon, how dare you?!¡±

    The Aurora Poison Dragon was infuriated to have someone roar at him, but when he realized that the other party was the beautiful Mermaid Queen, he chuckled gleefully. ¡°You came at a good time, Mermaid Queen. I haven¡¯t decided on my wife yet. Just give the nod, and you¡¯ll only be second to me among the Ocean races.¡±

    ¡°Dream on!¡± The Mermaid Queen was livid. Even the East Sea Dragon King treated her with the utmost respect, yet this lackey of the Nortth Sea Dragon King dared to utter such disrespectful words to her.

    The Aurora Poison Dragon licked his lips and sneered, ¡°The Four Dragon Kings have become a thing of the past. I will be the sole king of the Ocean races. My queen, I suggest you lower your head if you don¡¯t want anything to happen to your Mermaid race.¡±

    The Mermaid Queen¡¯s face darkened. No matter how the Ocean races¡¯ experts fancied her, they followed the rules and gave her the respect she deserved on the surface. And yet, this unscrupulous fellow would stoop this low to make her his!

    ¡°You ''re the Aurora Poison Dragon?¡± Zu An walked out from behind the Mermaid Queen.

    ¡°Hah! How dare you address me by my name? Who do you think¡­¡± The Aurora Poison Dragon was halfway through his sentence when he saw Zu An¡¯s appearance and swallowed his remaining words. ¡°How did you get out?¡±

    ¡°You thought you could seal me in? What a pity your seal was insufficient,¡± Zu An replied calmly.

    The Aurora Poison Dragon was horrified. He hurriedly reached for a bell in his robe and rang it.

    As the ringing echoed, everyone in the room clutched their heads. Even the Mermaid Queen struggled to stand her ground. She recalled the Four Dragon Kings¡¯ plight. This must be the Soulfall Bell. It¡¯s formidable indeed!

    The Aurora Poison Dragon rang it thrice. As he saw everyone stumbling onto the floor, he sneered, ¡°As expected of the Soulfall Bell.¡±

    He walked up to the Mermaid Queen and stared at the latter¡¯s gorgeous face with adoring eyes. ¡°My queen¡¯s beauty knows no bounds. The East Sea Dragon King was a fool to not make you his. Now that I am king, I¡¯ll make you mine.¡±

    He reached for the Mermaid Queen¡¯s face. The latter was in such a groggy state that she was unable to move despite being aware of what was happening. She could only watch as that disgusting hand slowly approached her.

    While she was in despair, however, a hand suddenly shot out from the side and grabbed the Aurora Poison Dragon¡¯s wrist.

    The Aurora Poison Dragon was taken aback. He turned to Zu An and exclaimed, ¡°How are you still able to move?¡±

    ¡°The Soulfall Bell is a potent weapon against souls, but it has a limit. Mojard would never have given it to you if it were unbeatable,¡± Zu An pointed out with a smile.

    When the Soulfall Bell struck earlier, his Hundredwarble¡¯s skill had activated automatically and neutralized its effect. But with the Dragon Palace under the Aurora Poison Dragon¡¯s control, he''d been worried that the other party had other tricks up his sleeves, so he had decided to play along for a moment. However, he thought, This fellow is too lustful. He made his way straight to the Mermaid Queen. It would be too much if I continued holding back.

    The Aurora Poison Dragon¡¯s face darkened. He had heard about Zu An¡¯s prowess and realized that he wouldn¡¯t be a match for the latter. However, his strength had never lay in direct combat anyway.

    A thick black fog suddenly puffed out from him and crept down his arms toward Zu An¡¯s body. The Aurora Poison Dragon sneered, ¡°No one dares to touch my body directly. I wouldn¡¯t have been a match for you, but you courted your own death. Don¡¯t blame me for this.¡±

 Chapter 2467: Temptation

    The Mermaid Queen''s eyes widened in astonishment. The Aurora Poison Dragon was known for his lethal poison. Even though she was some distance away, just catching a whiff of his poison¡¯s faint stench had already robbed her of her strength. She couldn¡¯t even take out her Deep Sea Harp to play some poison-expelling melodies.

    She regretted getting so caught up with the Soulfall Bell that she forgot about the Aurora Poison Dragon¡¯s poison prowess. That was how he''d taken down the Dragon Palace¡¯s experts in the first place. Now, Zu An was in danger, being so close to the other party¡¯s poison fog.

    While she was panicking, however, Zu An chuckled. ¡°Is this the basis of your confidence?¡± With a wave of his sleeves, he transported the Mermaid Queen, Peacock Princess, and the others backward, out of range of the poison fog.

    Both the Mermaid Queen and the Peacock Princess were delighted to see that Zu An was fine. Indeed, how could someone as formidable as him fall to the Aurora Poison Dragon¡¯s poison?

    In truth, Zu An wasn¡¯t as relaxed as he appeared.

    The Primordial Origin Sutra had made his constitution impervious to a hundred poisons, but there were far more than a hundred poisons in the Myriad Worlds. His consciousness had started drifting off just by coming into contact with the poison fog, as if he was drunk. It finally dawned on him that the Primordial Origin Sutra didn¡¯t make him immune to poisons; it merely granted him an extremely high resistance against most poisons. The Aurora Poison Dragon¡¯s poison was so formidable that even he, despite his current cultivation, was unable to shrug it off.

    On the other hand, the Aurora Poison Dragon was so scared that goosebumps covered his body. He was already channeling his poison as much as he could, and he couldn¡¯t believe that someone could be so unfazed by it. Frightened, he hurriedly tried to retreat and put some distance between him and Zu An, but he was unable to shake off the latter¡¯s iron grip.

    ¡°What poison formation did you use? Hand over the antidote!¡± Zu An eyed him coldly. He had noticed formation flags planted around the Dragon Palace, and each of them emanated bizarre poison energy. He had already destroyed the flags he came across, but there had to be more in the Dragon Palace. Furthermore, destroying the poison formation wouldn¡¯t cure the already poisoned Ocean races¡¯ experts.

    ¡°Antidote? The only fate awaiting those who are afflicted with my poisons is death!¡± the Aurora Poison Dragon sneered. He whipped out a dagger and sliced off his own arm before swiftly retreating from Zu An. He unleashed his true form, transforming into a massive black dragon. He bared his fangs at Zu An. ¡°You are formidable, but you can¡¯t save all of the Ocean races. Watch as everyone dies! Hahaha!¡±

    Arrogant laughter followed as his silhouette became faint, and he looked as if he would disappear at any moment.

    Zu An¡¯s expression turned cold. ¡°Do you think you can leave?¡± He directed his palm toward the Aurora Poison Dragon and exerted a powerful suction force that caused the space around the latter to suddenly constrict.

    ¡°How is this possible?¡± The Aurora Poison Dragon was horrified. He had just activated an escape artifact that should have have transported him to somewhere safe. He hadn¡¯t expected the other party to even be able to control space.

    Zu An was secretly glad he had learned Secrets of Spatial Distortion from the Monster World, or else he wouldn¡¯t have been able to pull this off.

    The black dragon struggled with all his might, but he was unable to break free, it was as if an invisible hand was clutching tightly onto him.

    Zu An was worried the Aurora Poison Dragon had other tricks up his sleeves, so he absorbed the other party¡¯s cultivation with the Taotie¡¯s Heaven-Devouring Sutra before asking again, ¡°Where is the antidote?¡±

    The abrupt loss of cultivation caused the Aurora Poison Dragon to regress from a massive dragon into a withered python. His heart turned cold, but he spat, ¡°There¡¯s no antidote. They will die with me. Hahaha.¡±

    Zu An frowned at his warped smile. He tried to pass the Aurora Poison Dragon to the Mermaid Queen in hopes that her seduction art would work on him too.

    The Mermaid Queen discreetly told Zu An, ¡°I would never have used the seduction art if not for the urgent situation. It might not work on the Aurora Poison Dragon; his cultivation is too high.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. He¡¯s as good as a cripple,¡± Zu An replied.

    The Mermaid Queen was taken aback. Despite witnessing the Aurora Poison Dragon withering from a majestic dragon into a python, she didn¡¯t expect him to lose his cultivation. She composed herself and started questioning the latter.

    The Aurora Poison Dragon¡¯s eyes became dazed. ¡°There is no antidote to my poison formation. The only one who can lift my poison is the successor of the Human race¡¯s Firecloud Cave¡­¡±

    Zu An had been planning to visit the human side to find their power insignia, so he could visit the Firecloud Cave while he was at it.

    Hold on, could the Human Path¡¯s power insignia be my Human Emperor Seal?

    While he was in a daze, an eerie voice echoed from afar, ¡°How incredible. Not even the seal could hold you in.¡±

    The Aurora Poison Dragon finally regained consciousness and called out, ¡°Save me, Incestuous King!¡±

    Zu An and the others looked over and saw a figure outside the Dragon Palace. Who else could it be other than Mojard? He was accompanied by many monster experts, too.

    Zu An¡¯s heart sank. He spread out his divine sense and discovered that the Dragon Palace was filled with monster troops. They had been encircled!

    Mojard eyed the Aurora Poison Dragon and sneered, ¡°You¡¯re already a cripple. Why should I save you?¡±

    The Aurora Poison Dragon was stunned for a moment, but then he was overwhelmed with fright. ¡°I can still help you control the Ocean races! You promised to make me the next Ocean races¡¯ king!¡±

    Mojard couldn¡¯t be bothered to look at him. ¡°How can you control the Ocean races in your current state, let alone be crowned their king?¡±

    The others were amazed by how cold-hearted the monsters were, to cast the Aurora Poison Dragon away so quickly.

    The Aurora Poison Dragon realized he was no longer of any use to Mojard and exclaimed, ¡°Incestuous King, without my help, you wouldn¡¯t have been able to kill the North Sea¡¯s crown prince, drive a wedge between the Ocean races and Fiend races, and bring down the Dragon Palace so quickly! How can you abandon me like that?!¡±

    The expressions of the remaining Ocean races¡¯ experts turned cold. Mojard was indeed behind all these things. It was finally clear how he had been able to pull them off so easily. It turned out that he''d had the Aurora Poison Dragon as his spy!

    Mojard smiled. ¡°What¡¯s the point of saying that? I would have honored my promise to make you the Ocean races¡¯ king if you had the capability to back it up. But you don¡¯t. I can¡¯t prop you up even if I want to.¡±

    He finally turned to Zu An and suggested, ¡°Why don¡¯t you work with us? You can be the next Ocean races¡¯ king and take the Mermaid Queen and the Peacock Princess as your concubines. I¡¯ll even take care of their races on your behalf. All you have to do is nod, and you can have everything the East Sea Dragon King and the Aurora Poison Dragon dreamed about.¡±

 Chapter 2468: A Cloud-Piercing Arrow Brings Forth an Encounter With a Thousand Soldiers!

    ¡°Ocean races¡¯ king?¡± Zu An laughed. That would have been a decent offer for most people, but there was no reason for him to be interested in becoming a mere Ocean races¡¯ king. After all, he was the king of the world!

    He smiled at the Incestuous King and retorted, ¡°Why don¡¯t you defect to my side instead? I¡¯ll help you become the Monster Lord. You must be dissatisfied, having to lower your head to the Monster Lord.¡±

    Mojard was startled. He hadn¡¯t expected Zu An to return those words to him, and in truth those words struck a chord in his heart. In recent years, their master had been showing favoritism to the Monster Lord. When their master went into closed-door training, the Monster Lord had started purging those opposed to him and planted his aides in important positions.

    In truth, Mojard had come to the Ocean races to avoid the Monster Lord. He was hoping to bring the Ocean races under his control so he could compete with the Monster Lord in the future.  He had never voiced such thoughts aloud, so no one should have known about his intention. How had this man learned about it?

    There was no way Mojard would admit to it in front of so many people, especially since the Monster Lord was currently at the peak of his influence, so he sneered, ¡°Since you refuse to listen to reason, you shouldn¡¯t blame me for not showing mercy.¡±

    With a wave of his hand, countless monsters rushed in and encircled Zu An and the others. They pushed in large artifact cannons that clearly boasted tremendous firepower at a glance. These cannons seemed designed to be used on huge armies, and it seemed like massive overkill deploying them for a mere ten people. This showed how much of a threat the monsters viewed Zu An as.

    Knowing he had the advantage here, Mojard smiled. ¡°You¡¯re indeed powerful, but there¡¯s only so much you can do alone. Against an army, your only fate is to die.¡±

    He had been secretly using the Aurora Poison Dragon to drive a wedge between the Ocean races and the Fiend races while discreetly deploying his core army here to support him. He hadn¡¯t gone all out in his previous clash with Zu An, but he was still wary of the latter, which was why he''d made thorough preparations this time.

    The tight encirclement of the monster army caused the Mermaid Queen and the Peacock Princess to tense up. With most of the Ocean races¡¯ experts bedridden, there was very little they could do against such a huge army. As members of their respective races¡¯ upper echelons, they understood the cruelty of war. No matter how strong an individual was, soldiers could use all kinds of formations to neutralize their attacks. An individual couldn''t hope to defy an entire army.

    Their bitter expressions further stoked Mojard¡¯s glee. ¡°This is your last chance. You might be able to last a while against my army, but the same can¡¯t be said about your companions. Can you bear to see your lovers die like that?¡±

    Seeing how the Incestuous King was trying to divide them even during a time like this, the Mermaid Queen turned to Zu An and said, ¡°I¡¯ll stand by your decision. Don¡¯t listen to that scum.¡±

    The Peacock Princess said in agreement, ¡°Me too!¡±

    Seeing the conviction in their eyes, Zu An smiled. ¡°The situation isn¡¯t that bad yet.¡±

    The two women were confused. With things having gotten to this point, what tricks do you have to turn things around?

    Zu An turned to Mojard and said, ¡°You have an army; however, I have an army too.¡±

    He took out the Valkyrie Tear. It had been placed on a military seal that allowed him to mobilize the asura army. To thank him for saving the Asura race, the Asura King and his little sister had given him this seal and taught him how to use it.

    A cloud-piercing arrow brings forth an encounter with a thousand soldiers!

    Zu An murmured obscure words that caused the military seal to light up. The surroundings began to quake.

    ¡°Be careful!¡± Sensing the massive spatial turbulence in the surroundings, Mojard ordered his soldiers to remain vigilant.

    Countless figures suddenly appeared behind Zu An, accompanied by an occasional elephant roar.

    Everyone present rubbed their eyes in disbelief. They hadn¡¯t expected such a terrifying army to appear out of thin air. The soldiers had three heads and six arms, making them look fearsome. However, their leader, seated atop a white elephant, was a beautiful woman dressed in revealing clothes.

    The woman leaped down from the white elephant and descended to Zu An¡¯s side. She grabbed Zu An¡¯s arm with a radiant smile. ¡°Big brother Necropolis, I didn¡¯t expect to meet you again so soon!¡±

    The Mermaid Queen was startled by how intimate they were. This must be Princess Ni Huang. She¡¯s beautiful. No wonder he avoided answering my question. Their closeness also suggests that there might be more to their relationship.

    But when she thought about how the other party called Zu An ¡®big brother Necropolis¡¯, she couldn¡¯t help but smile in triumph. Looks like he didn¡¯t reveal his true identity to her. I¡¯m still ahead of her in the race.

    The Peacock Princess was taken aback too. How did big brother hook up with a princess when he was only down there for a few days? Isn¡¯t big sis queen angry? Why is she smiling?

    The Xuan-Su Guards stared at the Peacock Princess in astonishment. Why is our princess not angry when another woman hugs the man she fancies?

    Zu An smoothly retracted his arm from her grasp and said, ¡°My apologies for bothering you so soon, princess.¡±

    ¡°Your problem is our Asura race¡¯s problem. Besides, there''s nothing we like more than war. Only through endless war can we become stronger!¡± Princess Ni Huang quickly grasped the situation by surveying the surroundings.

    Her eyes soon fell on the Peacock Princess and the Mermaid Queen.

    The first one is beautiful, but she¡¯s still too young. The other one, though, is in her prime, and I can tell she is interested in big brother Necropolis.

    Princess Ni Huang was thinking of having Zu An introduce those two women when she suddenly heard hearty laughter not too far away. Ox Head, Horse Face, Golden Cangue, and Silver Chain had arrived with their shaman army to encircle the monster army.

    Those from the Ocean races were stunned to see the shaman army. They were reminded of the battle they''d fought at the Eye of the Ocean.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, they''re my friends now,¡± Zu An said.

    The word ¡®friends¡¯ brought smiles onto the faces of Ox Head and Horse Face. ¡°Indeed, we are good friends now. Anyone who bullies our friend will get it!¡±

    Ox Head slammed his massive axe onto the floor, jolting open a massive crevice over thousands of meters long. They had tagged along because they were worried the Asura race would win over Zu An and convince him to turn against the Shaman races. They thought it would be good to have Zu An owe them a favor now.

    This put Mojard in a tough spot. His face looked as if he''d smelled something foul. The upper hand should have been his, but in the blink of an eye, he was suddenly the one encircled here.

 Chapter 2469: This Place Forbids Forbidding

    These enemies were the beings sealed under the Eye of the Ocean, and they were not to be trifled with. To make things worse, the monsters had no intelligence about the multiple-armed race.

    There must be another world sealed beneath the Eye of the Ocean. I must report this to my master¡ªthere is a new world to be conquered!

    The Incestuous King squeezed out a smile and said, ¡°It¡¯s a misunderstanding. There must be a misunderstanding somewhere.¡±

    The Mermaid Queen and the Peacock Princess were baffled. They were so used to Mojard¡¯s arrogant attitude that they couldn¡¯t believe he could change his ttune that quickly.

    While everyone else was in a daze, however, Mojard took back control of the Soulfall Bell and shook it. Everyone who heard the bell lost their balance.

    Zu An unleashed the Lion¡¯s Roar before saying, ¡°Be careful. That bell can sway one¡¯s soul.¡±

    Princess Ni Huang snapped out of her daze and sneered, ¡°Easy peasy!¡±

    She waved the command flag, and deep war horns echoed from the asura army, greatly raising their morale. The shaman army also began roaring, as if provoked by the asura army¡¯s war horn. They had fought against each other for so many years that it actually aided their coordination.

    Pah!

    Under the reverberation of all these noises, Mojard¡¯s Soulfall Bell began to crack. A single artifact could only do so much before an entire army.

    Mojard¡¯s face darkened. ¡°Kill them!¡±

    Countless skills were conjured through the army formations and hurled toward the asura and shaman army.

    ¡°Get into formation!¡±

    However, in response, the asura and shaman army also conjured skills that neutralized over half of the monster army¡¯s bombardment. The remaining attacks fell on their own army formation¡¯s transparent barrier. This exchange completely lit up the area around the Dragon Palace.

    Once again, Zu An confirmed that only an army could deal with an army. Even though the Rune Weapon Chart allowed him to be a one-man army, there were limits to what he could do alone. He wouldn¡¯t fear an average enemy force, but dealing with elites from the Monster World at its peak would still pose some trouble to him. Judging from their bombardment, he could tell that the monster army was filled with experts, and their defensive formations were formidable. Even if he unleashed an airstrike via his Rune Weapon Chart, its prowess would likely be greatly reduced by their defensive formations.

    It was fortunate he had won over the Asura race and the Shaman races, or else the situation would have been tricky.

    While both sides bombarded each other with skills, the monsters began charging at the shamans and asuras, whipping out their weapons and claws to rip apart their enemies. Their goal was to reach the formation masters. Once the enemy¡¯s formation masters were down, they would be able to easily massacre everyone else. For the same reason, every army always ensured their formation masters were tightly guarded.

    The fight intensified. Blood and flesh flew everywhere. The asuras and shamans boasted superior individual fighting prowess, but the monsters were veterans who had conquered countless worlds. It was a surprisingly close fight. There were so many casualties that even the army commanders were startled.

    Zu An¡¯s expression turned grim. He couldn¡¯t let the asuras and shamans suffer such severe losses when they were here to help him. Thus, he charged at Mojard.

    ¡°This place forbids¡­¡± Mojard began using his soulspeak.

    Something must be wrong with his head. He dares to use soulspeak despite suffering a huge setback against me.

    ¡°What you lookin¡¯ at?¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°This place forbids teleportation!¡± Mojard still completed his soulspeak somehow.

    Zu An suddenly felt so heavy that his body plummeted from the sky. He stared at Mojard in confusion, not comprehending why the latter hadn¡¯t been compelled to reply ¡®I¡¯m looking at you, shithead!

    His gaze soon fell on Mojard¡¯s helmet. He hadn¡¯t paid that helmet much notice as the latter was commanding an army, but from the looks of it now, it was probably the helmet that was making a difference here.

    Zu An¡¯s confusion delighted Mojard. ¡°Heh, did you think I would keep falling for the same move? I had this artifact specially forged to tune out external noises and soulspeak.¡±

    Mojard wouldn¡¯t be affected by ¡®What you lookin¡¯ at?¡¯ if he couldn¡¯t hear Zu An¡¯s voice. He could decipher what others were saying by reading their lips, so not being able to hear wasn¡¯t an issue for him.

    Zu An was stunned, thinking, He looks awfully like Magneto.

    He unhesitatingly charged up to Mojard, hoping to interrupt his soulspeak by engaging him in close combat.

    The two of them exchanged a blow. While Mojard was being knocked back, he made use of this opening to declare, ¡°This place forbids external aid.¡±

    The Mermaid Queen was shocked to discover that her buffs no longer worked on Zu An.

    Zu An¡¯s speed was reduced by almost 20%. Soulspeak sure is troublesome to deal with.

    Mojard dodged Zu An¡¯s attack while making another declaration, ¡°This place forbids¡­¡±

    Soulspeak wasn''t omnipotent. Certain conditions had to be fulfilled before it could be used, and more often than not, it could only achieve auxiliary effects. Otherwise, Mojard could have simply ordered his enemies to kill themselves. Also, the effectiveness of soulspeak was greatly dependent on the power disparity between the aggressor and the victim. For instance, he was able to outright forbid the Peacock Princess from retaliating against him, but he couldn¡¯t do the same for Zu An. Not only would it be useless, but he would also suffer a rebound if he tried to do so. Thus, he carefully set up rules one by one. While these rules might not seem like much, they slowly turned the tides in his favor.

    He viewed his previous defeat to Zu An as a great humiliation. On top of forging his noise-cancellation helmet, he had also thought hard about how he could subdue this mysterious fellow. It wasn''t without reason he was ranked third in the Monster World. He had accrued much combat experience in the years he spent conquering countless worlds. He''d meticulously planned the rules he would impose to avoid backlash while creating the conditions required to achieve victory in the shortest time possible.

    If everything went according to plan, he would need just one more rule to ensure his decisive advantage. Once that happened, the enemy could struggle all he wanted, but it would be futile.

    But Zu An beat him by declaring, ¡°This place forbids forbidding.¡±

    Mojard was stunned. Do you think we¡¯re playing house? How can you forbid forbidding? Do you take yourself as the God of Creation or something?

    He was about to declare the final rule to ensure his victory when he suddenly stiffened up. Much to his shock, he was unable to voicetthat rule!

 Chapter 2470: One Man Army

    Mojard was stunned. Unable to believe this to be true, he once again tried to impose his rule, ¡°This place¡­¡±

    But he was unable to verbalize the word ¡®forbids¡¯. This left him dumbstruck.

    That fellow is capable of soulspeak too? Ah, that makes sense. If he can stop me with his ¡®What you lookin¡¯ at?¡¯, it would make sense for him to be versed in soulspeak too.

    On top of that, the other party¡¯s mastery of soulspeak appeared to be above his. With a single rule, the other party had crippled his skill for good.

    Hold on! I crafted a helmet just to counter him, so why did I still fall for his trick?

    Zu An breathed a sigh of relief. It was fortunate he had reacted fast and used his Keyboard Come¡¯s Word Spoken, Order Implemented. He usually avoided using Keyboard Come because he had to pay a significant price for it. Luckily, what he sought to realize through Keyboard Come this time wasn¡¯t too difficult, and his grasp of his powers had gotten much deeper due to his higher cultivation.

    Due to Keyboard Come¡¯s side effect, skin fissures appeared all over his body, but he quickly healed up thanks to his formidable regenerative prowess. Others failed to even notice that he had sustained severe injuries for a split second.

    Keyboard Come was a high-order power that realized everything he said. It didn¡¯t have to be heard, so Mojard¡¯s specially-forged helmet couldn¡¯t stop it.

    Seeing the tragedies happening on the battlefield, Zu An decided to end things quickly to minimize the casualties suffered by the shamans and the asuras. He opened his palm, revealing a droplet of yellow fluid. It was Oblivion River Water!

    He gently flicked it, and the water droplet scattered toward the monster army. Despite being just a single droplet, it quickly expanded into a small stream, then a rapid river, and finally a massive tsunami.

    The asuras and shamans had lived in the underworld long enough to recognize the Oblivion River Water right away. They immediately retreated in horror.

    The monster army, however, was ignorant. They thought it was an ordinary water element skill. Some of the stronger monsters even spewed fiery flames in an attempt to neutralize the water. Their confidence wasn''t unfounded, as the flames they spewed looked even more formidable than the massive tsunami.

    But the Oblivion River Water showed no signs of evaporating. Instead, the flames were extinguished immediately upon contact. This shocked the monster experts. They couldn¡¯t imagine there being any water in the world that they couldn¡¯t extinguish after combining their powers.

    It was a pity they would never know the answer. As the Oblivion Water River crashed down on them, their baleful expressions became dazed. They looked like zombies bathing in water.

    Not having expected the water to be this potent, the others in the monster army were horrified. They tried to flee, but it was too late. Meanwhile, the monster formation masters formed hand seals so quickly that smoke almost rose from their palms. In order to stop the advancement of the terrifying tsunami, they unleashed all their skills and formations.

    But the Oblivion River Water was impervious to their means. None of their skills and formations could stop its flow. The massive tsunami passed through their barriers and drowned them. In an instant, the sharp-witted monster formation masters turned into idiots.

    The monster army crumbled. They had never seen anything like this before. All of them turned tail and fled, not hesitating to trample on their allies just so they could get away a second faster.

    But the asuras and shamans wouldn¡¯t let them get away so easily. They swooped in and blocked all the monsters¡¯ paths of retreat, driving them back toward the Oblivion River Water. They were so familiar with the Oblivion River that they knew what to do without having to coordinate with Zu An. They howled in excitement. It had been a long time since they''d had such an exhilarating battle. They didn¡¯t even have to do much; all they had to do was stand in place and reap the prey headed their way.

    Mojard was on the verge of breaking down. He hadn¡¯t expected his powerful army to collapse in the blink of an eye. And the culprit behind this is none other than that man!

    His eyes no longer contained anger; they only reflected his fear. He had never seen a single person subduing an entire army. Even the Lord of Slaughter would struggle to go against an army head-on, but this fellow had single-handedly wiped out his elites.

    What in the world is that yellow water?

    He had seen plenty of things from conquering many worlds, but he had never felt the aura of death as vividly from anything other than that water. In the end, he abandoned his army and ran away.

    He had previously lost to Zu An, but he''d still challenged the latter again because he thought his specially forged helmet and his elite army of experts who had conquered many worlds together with him would make a difference this time.  And yet, everything was lost in an instant. His army was crushed, and his greatest weapon, soulspeak, was sealed off once more. Furthermore, the fact that Zu An had such a powerful artifact in his arsenal suggested that he hadn¡¯t gone all out in their previous battle.

    Who knows if he has even more tricks up his sleeves? It would be foolish to fight against someone like that!

    Having lost his courage, Mojard fled. His escape caused the monster army¡¯s morale to completely collapse. The monsters frantically fled in all directions, only to be met with the asuras and shamans¡¯ stalwart army formations. In the end, they were all either massacred or washed away by the tsunami.

    Zu An breathed a sigh of relief. It¡¯s a good thing the asuras and the shamans cooperated well with me. The Oblivion River Water alone couldn¡¯t have washed away all the monsters. On top of that, this trick won¡¯t work as well in the future once the monsters are on guard against it.

    Looking at the fleeing Mojard, Zu An took out a giant bow.

    The weapon drew the attention of the experts on the battlefield. They sensed terrifying energy converging toward the bow. Could this be a deity-grade artifact? How does this man have so many formidable artifacts?

    In contrast to the crowd¡¯s fearful gaze, the Mermaid Queen looked at Zu An with gentle eyes. The more powerful he was, the happier it made her. If anything, her admiration for him was growing. She had met many outstanding men over the years, but none had ever won her admiration. Instead, those men fell at her skirt. No wonder my descendant fell in love with this man. I can feel myself succumbing too¡­

    Princess Ni Huang had been observing the Mermaid Queen. Something is wrong with this woman. She¡¯ll be a strong rival in the future.

    The Peacock Princess was the only composed one among the three. Her eyes were focused on the bow, as she found it oddly familiar.

    An invisible arrow had manifested on the Sun Slaying Bow. Its tremendous energy was causing the space in front of it to distort.

    All of a sudden, the arrow morphed into a stream of light that instantaneously struck the distant Mojard. There was a massive explosion of light. Mojard screamed in agony as he exploded into a blood mist.

 Chapter 2471: Die With Me

    Zu An flitted up to where the arrow exploded. Terrifying shockwaves were still rippling outward from the center of the explosion. He quietly looked at the bloody surroundings.

    The Mermaid Queen and the others rushed over too. They were startled by the devastating shockwaves.

    ¡°It¡¯s too little blood. He¡¯s probably still alive,¡± Princess Ni Huang voiced her conclusion.

    ¡°He is the renowned Incestuous King, the third-strongest expert of the Monster World. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if he has some escape method,¡± the Mermaid Queen said.

    ¡°Hmph! So what if he¡¯s the third-strongest expert? He¡¯s lacking a lot compared to big brother Necropolis!¡± Princess Ni Huang looked at Zu An with an admiring gaze. I¡¯d expect no less from the man I fancy!

    The Mermaid Queen rolled her eyes.

    The Peacock Princess turned her attention from the Sun Slaying Bow to Zu An¡¯s name. I should ask big sis queen whether Necropolis is his real name.

    ¡°This works out too. It¡¯s fate that he escaped.¡± Zu An chuckled.

    The other women were taken aback. Why does he seem happy about Mojard¡¯s escape?

    Of course Zu An was happy.

    His earlier arrow had been more than enough to kill Mojard, but as he was releasing the attack, it had suddenly dawned on him that the future wouldn¡¯t line up if Mojard died here. Fearing the chain effects that could ensue, he''d held back 30% of his energy. If not for that, Mojard wouldn¡¯t have been able to escape.

    That being said, after being struck by an arrow from the Sun Slaying Bow, it was unlikely Mojard would recover anytime soon. Zu An suddenly recalled Mojard¡¯s mention of the severe injury he''d suffered in the past that caused him to lose his memories and his cultivation to regress.

    Zu An frowned. Did I leave that injury on Mojard?

    He turned to the decimated monster army. If I¡¯m not wrong, they should be Mojard¡¯s core force. With their death, Mojard no longer has the means to compete with the Monster Lord. No wonder he became like that in the future. He lost his pride and his foundation.

    Zu An was amazed by fate¡¯s mysticism. He wondered if this was all predestined or his doing.

    The next thing they had to do was to clean up the battlefield, but both the asuras and the shamans looked hesitant. Zu An understood their worry and retracted the Oblivion River Water.

    Only then did the asuras and shamans excitedly rush in to loot the items. These were the monster army¡¯s elites; there were many experts in their ranks, so the artifacts and resources they had were not to be scoffed at.

    Zu An allowed them to take whatever they wanted. I¡¯ll consider this their compensation. Otherwise, they would be no different from slaves if I kept making them fight for free.

    Princess Ni Huang approached Zu An and said, ¡°Big brother Necropolis, we can¡¯t stay here for long due to the curse. We¡¯ll have to return soon.¡±

    Her voice betrayed her yearning. She lamented not being able to stay with Zu An. Those two women are lucky!

    ¡°I¡¯ll free you from your plight once I gather all six power insignias,¡± Zu An promised.

    ¡°I believe you can do it. I¡¯ll be waiting¡­¡± Princess Ni Huang had many more words to say, but she could already feel a powerful summoning force compelling her to return. Fortunately, some things could be expressed without words.

    She tiptoed and planted a kiss on Zu An¡¯s cheek.

    Zu An was taken aback.

    The Mermaid Queen and the Peacock Princess were shocked.

    The two of them were on the verge of exploding. Does that woman think we¡¯re invisible?!

    Princess Ni Huang was about to move on to Zu An¡¯s lips when the curse dragged her back to the underworld.

    The Mermaid Queen and the Peacock Princess hurriedly stopped moving. To alleviate the awkwardness in the air, the Mermaid Queen asked, ¡°Where did Princess Ni Huang go?¡±

    ¡°She returned to the underworld. They can¡¯t leave that place for long.¡± Looking at the disappearing asura army, Zu An made a mental note to take note of the time if he summoned them again in the future.

    Ox Head and Horse Face approached Zu An and passed him a round token. ¡°Brother, if you need anything, you can call us with this token. I assure you we¡¯ll do better than those asuras!¡±

    They didn¡¯t want Zu An to get too close to the Asura race. That could be detrimental to the Shaman races in the future.

    On top of that, this battle had been fruitful for them. They''d obtained many resources that couldn¡¯t be found in the barren underworld. It was two birds with one stone¡ªthey could get on closer terms with Zu An while enriching themselves.

    Zu An accepted their token with a smile. He was more than happy to befriend Ox Head and Horse Face, who were going to play important roles in the underworld in the future.

    Soon, a mysterious power transported Ox Head, Horse Face, and the shamans back to the underworld.

    Zu An examined the round token. It was the size of a mooncake, carved with bizarre human faces. He had seen similar images on the Shaman races¡¯ accessories. It contained faint spatial energy that allowed him to summon the shamans, just like the Asura race¡¯s military seal.

    ¡°Why did that woman call you big brother Necropolis?¡± the Peacock Princess asked.

    ¡°I¡¯ll use Necropolis as my name from this day on.¡± Zu An thought that he still needed an identity. He couldn¡¯t remain unknown in history after doing so many things, so he decided to use an apt name for it.

    This was the perfect name for his new identity since he hadn¡¯t met the Necropolis Emperor at the Eye of the Ocean, and no one in the underworld had ever heard of the latter. Thanks to Mi Li¡¯s explanation, Zu An had a rough grasp of how spacetime worked.

    It felt mystical to enter history, create it, and become a part of it.

    ¡°Alright, big brother Necropolis!¡± The Peacock Princess was happy to have finally learned his name.

    The Mermaid Queen smiled as well. I¡¯m so happy! I¡¯m the only one who knows his real name. Despite their close ties, she wasn¡¯t planning to share this information with the Peacock Princess.

    The Peacock Princess wanted to ask about the underworld, the Asura race and the Shaman races, and how he''d won the heart of yet another beautiful princess in just a few days. But with Zu An and the Mermaid Queen focused on saving the Ocean races, she couldn¡¯t bring herself to ask those questions.

    ¡°Where are the Four Dragon Kings?¡± Zu An asked the Aurora Poison Dragon.

    The earlier situation had shaken the Aurora Poison King¡¯s nerves. He hadn¡¯t expected the powerful Incestuous King and the invincible monster army to be obliterated just like that. Knowing he was doomed, he laughed madly. ¡°Hahaha, you will never find them! The Ocean races are finished! Everyone shall die with me! My life shall not be in vain!¡±

    He activated his final trick and exploded, causing his poisonous blood to diffuse into the surroundings.

 Chapter 2472: Refinement Formation

    The crowd was taken aback.

    The Aurora Poison Dragon was known for his poisons, with his body containing incomparably lethal toxin. Even a droplet of his poison blood could erode one¡¯s bones and even one''s very soul.

    Zu An opened his hand, and the light around the Aurora Poison Dragon¡¯s explosion suddenly distorted as if there was a black hole there. The poisoned blood and flesh bits swiftly receded until they were all squeezed into a tiny ball in Zu An¡¯s hands.

    The Mermaid Queen and Peacock Princess exhaled in relief as they complimented Zu An¡¯s methods. If not for him, they would all be goners.

    Zu An was relieved that he possessed the Taotie¡¯s Heaven-devouring Sutra and was adept at spatial manipulation. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to swiftly control the Aurora Poison Dragon¡¯s self-detonation. He channeled his primordial ki and quickly cleansed that tiny ball of poison, leaving behind a pristine bead.

    The Mermaid Queen was overjoyed. ¡°That¡¯s the Aurora Poison Dragon¡¯s inner core! You can finally save your little sister!¡±

    She had initially been worried when she heard that Zu An was looking for the Aurora Poison Dragon; the latter had always been elusive, with hardly anyone ever seeing him. There was also no guarantee that the Aurora Poison Dragon would have an inner core, considering how difficult it was to form one.

    Who could have expected the Aurora Poison Dragon to deliver such a pure inner core on his own accord?

    Zu An smiled as well. Finally some good news. I wonder if Xiaoxi and the others have found the other ingredient.

    The Peacock Princess alternated her gaze between the two of them. To think that big brother has a little sister, and big sis queen knows that he¡¯s trying to save her. I know far too little about big brother. Should I ask big sis queen for more details, or should I talk to big brother more¡­

    Just then, the Mermaid Queen murmured worriedly, ¡°But now that the Aurora Poison Dragon is dead, we might never find the Four Dragon Kings.¡±

    With the Ocean races poisoned, they would be doomed if they lost the Four Dragon Kings too.

    Zu An stowed away the Aurora Poison Dragon¡¯s inner core and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I know where he hid the Four Dragon Kings.¡±

    ¡°How do you know?¡± the Mermaid Queen and the Peacock Princess blurted out in unison.

    Zu An chuckled. The Aurora Poison Dragon is too naive. He thinks it¡¯ll all be over just because he¡¯s dead. Little does he know I¡¯m the underworld¡¯s master.

    Much of his authority over the underworld was restricted, but he still had no problem tying down a deceased soul. His position granted him natural dominance over the dead. The Aurora Poison Dragon would find him a thousand times more terrifying than when he was alive. That fear originated from the soul, and there was no way to circumvent it.

    Soon enough, the Aurora Poison Dragon revealed the whereabouts of the Four Dragon Kings.

    Zu An brought the group to a cave around fifty kilometers away from the Dragon Palace. The cave was well hidden amid corals, so much so that it was possible to pass by this place a hundred times without finding it.

    ¡°Be careful. There are many vile traps planted in the vicinity,¡± the Mermaid Queen warned.

    She could see through some of the traps and formations, though she couldn¡¯t decipher all of them. Regardless, it was unlikely those traps and formations were there to welcome unwanted guests like them.

    Zu An calmly instructed, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Stay behind me.¡±

    He strutted into the cave as if those traps didn¡¯t exist.

    The two women were taken aback. They hurriedly followed him, thinking they could at least protect his flanks.

    Then, countless traps suddenly activated. Many skills were blasted in their direction, but they suddenly dissipated halfway through their trajectory.

    The Mermaid Queen and Peacock Queen exchanged looks; they could see the awe in each other¡¯s eyes. It looked as if Zu An was casually strutting around, but he had precisely stepped on every trap to trigger them in order to neutralize them.

    This made them burst into laughter. Indeed, we shouldn¡¯t need to worry about someone of his caliber.

    Behind them, the Xuan-Su Guards sighed. They had finally given up. The gap between Zu An and them was so huge that they couldn¡¯t even gauge how far ahead he was. No wonder our proud princess fell in love with him at first sight. Only someone like that is worthy of her.

    For a moment there, they even wondered if their princess was worthy of him.

    Soon, they were inside the cave. It looked small outside but was spacious inside. Four naturally-formed stone pillars were present in four different directions, seemingly propping up the ceiling.

    The Four Dragon Kings were each bound to a pillar. They displayed none of their usual majesty. Their clothes were unkempt, their heads hung limply, and their faces were ghastly pale.

    ¡°Dragon King! Dragon King!¡±

    The Ocean races¡¯ experts rushed up to their respective Dragon Kings, but no matter how they called for them, the Four Dragon Kings¡¯ eyes remained shut. Their faces were warped in pain as if they were in a nightmare.

    The Mermaid Queen anxiously warned, ¡°Be careful! There seem to be formations beneath us!¡±

    That alerted the others to the crimson formation marks beneath the stone pillars the Four Dragon Kings were bound to. The formation marks felt malevolent, and they made the crowd feel uncomfortable.

    ¡°This¡­¡± The Peacock Princess narrowed her eyes. She faintly sensed the vileness of those formations.

    ¡°It¡¯s a refinement formation constructed using the Four Dragon Kings¡¯ blood to refine their primordial spirits into pills,¡± Zu An explained. ¡°They''re in pain because their primordial spirits are being refined, but they are still holding on thanks to their powerful cultivation. If we had failed to find this place, eventually, their primordial spirits would have been refined and their blood essences would have been made into pills.¡±

    The crowd was taken aback. The Mermaid Queen exclaimed, ¡°What a vile formation!¡±

    ¡°The Aurora Poison Dragon was ambitious enough, trying to refine the Four Dragon Kings into pills. Had he consumed those pills, his strength would have surpassed the Four Dragon Kings and perhaps even reached a level rivaling the Incestuous King.¡± Zu An was impressed.

    The Mermaid Queen had previously told him about the Aurora Poison Dragon. The latter had been scorned in the Dragon race due to his unique constitution, so he''d received no resources and had to earn everything by himself. It had to have taken tremendous willpower and meticulous planning for an unaffiliated cultivator to come this far. It was unfortunate he had chosen the wrong path.

    Zu An instructed the Ocean races¡¯ experts to destroy the refinement formation and retrieve the Four Dragon Kings. After he fed the Four Dragon Kings pills that healed their primordial spirits, they slowly regained consciousness.

    They bowed deeply toward Zu An to thank him. ¡°We will never forget the grace you have shown us!¡±

    They had still been able to perceive their surroundings despite being unconscious. They''d resigned themselves to having their primordial spirits refined into fodder for the Aurora Poison Dragon. At most, they could have only lasted half a day more.

    Who could have expected Zu An to swoop in at the last moment to save them?

    ¡°You¡¯re too polite.¡± Zu An supported them to their feet. ¡°You should slowly recover after resting for a few days. The four of you are strong enough to survive the Aurora Poison Dragon¡¯s poison formation, but the same can¡¯t be said about the others. We have to save them right away.¡±

 Chapter 2473: Firecloud Cave

    Chapter 2473: Firecloud Cave

    ¡°There¡¯s something strange about the poison inflicted by the Aurora Poison Dragon. None of the Ocean races¡¯ doctors know how to treat it,¡± the Peacock Princess said. She had gotten close to several people from the Ocean races in the past few days, allowing her to obtain information from them.

    One of the Ocean race elders affirmed those words. ¡°I have some fame as a doctor in the Ocean races, but there is indeed something strange about the poison. It acts very fast, the symptoms are aggressive, and it spreads widely. It only took days for everyone living in the Dragon Palace¡¯s vicinity to be afflicted with it. I''ve never seen anything like it before. It doesn¡¯t conform to the usual rules of poison.¡±

    The Mermaid Queen telepathically introduced the elder to Zu An. He was the Dragon Palace¡¯s chief doctor, and others often called him the ¡®Divine Physician¡¯. His inability to deal with the poison showed how extraordinary it was. This made the Mermaid Queen feel a hint of despair.

    ¡°The poison is formidable, but our first priority should be to destroy his poison formation. Otherwise, even a deity won¡¯t be able to turn things around,¡± Zu An said.

    ¡°We did look into it, but the Dragon Palace is too big, and we don¡¯t have much manpower left. We weren¡¯t able to find much,¡± the elder replied worriedly.

    Zu An stepped out of the cave and looked at the Dragon Palace. ¡°The poison formation constructed by the Aurora Poison Dragon is made up of 108 plague umbrellas planted in the Dragon Palace and the nearby areas. We have to destroy those umbrellas first.¡±

    The Four Dragon Kings were impressed. ¡°To be able to see through that vile dragon¡¯s formation with a glance, your knowledge is impressive. May we ask you to tell us the locations of the plague umbrellas? We¡¯ll remove them right away.¡±

    They wouldn¡¯t dare trouble Zu An with such miscellaneous tasks. They were planning to make a move despite their weakened bodies.

    Zu An smiled. ¡°You should rest, since you¡¯re still recovering. I¡¯ll handle it. Those plague umbrellas aren¡¯t that easy to deal with; ordinary people would be afflicted with poison just by approaching those umbrellas.¡±

    The Ocean races didn¡¯t have many people to rely on now. Since he was already helping them, he thought that he might as well go all the way.

    The Ocean races¡¯ experts were moved to tears. They kneeled and kowtowed. ¡°You are our Ocean races¡¯ savior. We have no way of repaying such a huge debt to you. Please accept our three kowtows.¡±

    Zu An supported the crowd to their feet with a casual wave of his hand. ¡°You¡¯re too polite. I have deep ties with the Ocean races, so I can¡¯t turn a blind eye to your plight.¡±

    Those words prompted the crowd to look at the Mermaid Queen with deep smiles. Some even regretted being jealous of his relationship with the Mermaid Queen. Now, they would rather the Ocean races had more Mermaid Queens for him to choose from.

    It was a pity the Mermaid Queen was one of a kind.

    The Dragon Kings even considered picking their most beautiful ladies to present them to him. But will the Mermaid Queen be jealous? Surely not, right? I mean, she¡¯s also a member of the Ocean races.

    The Mermaid Queen¡¯s smile looked bitter. Others thought Zu An was doing this because of her, but she knew that the person Zu An truly cared about was his mermaid lover in the future.

    Zu An was unaware of the Mermaid Queen¡¯s thoughts. He brought the two ladies back to the Dragon Palace to remove the plague umbrellas. The others remained on standby in the cave to await further orders from the Dragon Kings to stabilize the situation.

    Soon, Zu An found a plague umbrella at the fake mountain in the Dragon Palace¡¯s garden. It wasn¡¯t as big as he had imagined; it was only around the size of his palm. It was small and planted amid the bushes. It would have been hard to find unless one was looking closely.

    There were strange, disconcerting drawings on the plague umbrella. Skull-like accessories dangled along its edge.

    ¡°It¡¯s fortunate we have you here. Otherwise, we probably wouldn¡¯t have noticed these things even if we conducted a thorough search of the Dragon Palace,¡± the Mermaid Queen said.

    ¡°Indeed. Even if we saw these umbrellas, we would have probably just shrugged them off as decorative ornaments,¡± the Peacock Princess added.

    ¡°These umbrellas follow the transformations of the 36 Heavenly Spirits and 72 Earthly Fiends, so there is a pattern to them...¡± Zu An was going to reveal that he''d arrested the Aurora Poison Dragon¡¯s soul and questioned him, but seeing the admiring looks of the two beautiful ladies, he suddenly thought there was no need to explain everything.

    It was only at times like this that he could feel as if his foundation was still the same. Being in a high position for too long had made him deal with things differently from how he previously would. Thanks to the company of the two beautiful ladies, this miscellaneous task wasn¡¯t too boring.

    Soon, they removed all the plague umbrellas in the Dragon Palace.

    ¡°Does this mean those who were poisoned have been saved?¡± the Mermaid Queen asked nervously as she witnessed the destruction of the last plague umbrella.

    Zu An shook his head. ¡°It only prevents the poison from further spreading and the worsening of existing symptoms, but those who are already poisoned will need the antidote to recover.¡±

    ¡°You previously mentioned something about the Firecloud Cave. Can the antidote be found there?¡± the Mermaid Queen asked.

    ¡°Mmhm. Do you know where the Firecloud Cave is?¡±

    Zu An had looked through the Aurora Poison Dragon¡¯s memories. The Firecloud Cave was rumored to be where Shennong¡¯s successor resided, and the people there were known for their medical skills. However, he didn¡¯t know where the Firecloud Cave was.

    The Mermaid Queen shook her head. It was her first time hearing about that place.

    ¡°The Firecloud Cave?¡± The Peacock Princess fell into contemplation. ¡°I think I know...¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Zu An and the Mermaid Queen turned to the Peacock Princess.

    ¡°Back when I was younger, I accompanied a clan elder to the Firecloud Cave to visit an old acquaintance of his,¡± the Peacock Princess replied.

    Zu An was overjoyed. ¡°May I know who that old acquaintance was? Does he have a name or any unique traits?¡±

    The Peacock Princess smiled sheepishly. ¡°I don¡¯t remember. I was young and playful then. I found the conversation between elders boring, so I chose to play with other kids outside the cave instead. The only thing I remember is that the place was very hot. There were a lot of flames.¡±

    Zu An and the Mermaid Queen were stunned.

    It felt terrible to be presented with a ray of hope, only to have it extinguished like that.

    The Peacock Princess quickly added, ¡°But I remember the rough direction. I should be able to find it once we¡¯re there.¡±

    Zu An breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°That¡¯s wonderful. Princess, I¡¯ll be troubling you to lead the way.¡±

    The Peacock Princess¡¯ eyes lit up. She could finally get some alone time with Zu An.

    But the Mermaid Queen suddenly spoke up, saying,, ¡°I¡¯ll follow you.¡±

    The Peacock Princess¡¯ smile froze, but she couldn¡¯t complain because she owed her life to the Mermaid Queen. Nevertheless, she still tried to put up a fight. ¡°Everyone in the Ocean races has been poisoned. Big sis queen, aren¡¯t you needed here more than ever?¡±

    The Mermaid Queen blushed. She had blurted those words out because she feared this could be an eternal farewell. Now that Zu An and the Peacock Princess were staring at her, she suddenly felt flustered.

    Fortunately, she reacted quickly. ¡°It should be fine now that the Four Dragon Kings have been saved. If I tag along, I can deliver the antidote to the Ocean races.¡± She turned to Zu An and added, ¡°You¡¯re planning to visit the Fiend races'' side, right? If I come along, you won¡¯t have to make another trip back to the Ocean races'' side when the time comes.¡±

    The Peacock Princess¡¯ eyes lit up. At least I¡¯ll get some private time with big brother on the way to the Fiend races'' side!

 Chapter 2474: The Hungry Ghost Pathâ€™s Power Insignia

    Zu An thought her words made sense. He had to find the Six Paths¡¯ power insignias, and he potentially wouldn''t have time to return to the ocean till he was done collecting all six. Thus, he accepted the Mermaid Queen¡¯s request to tag along.

    The three of them returned to the cave to discuss further plans with the Four Dragon Kings.

    ¡°The Firecloud Cave? I''ve heard of it before,¡± the South Sea Dragon King said.

    Zu An was overjoyed to hear that. He quickly probed for more details.

    The South Sea Dragon King gathered his thoughts before replying, ¡°I''ve only heard rumors. It¡¯s said that the Firecloud Cave is where Human Emperor Shennong dwells. Shennong is rumored to be a highly skilled doctor, and there are legends of him testing a hundred herbs to gauge their medical properties. If anyone in the world can treat the Aurora Poison Dragon¡¯s poison, it would probably be him. But...¡±

    Zu An had also heard of Shennong¡¯s legend on earth. He already knew this world had some connection with his previous world, so he wasn¡¯t surprised by the coincidence. If Shennong truly existed, perhaps he''d be able to cure not just the Ocean races, but even Xiaoxi¡¯s peculiar poison body.

    Faced with the South Sea Dragon King¡¯s abrupt pause, Zu An urged him, ¡°But what?¡±

    ¡°The legend of Shennong comes from a long time ago. Even if he once existed, he¡¯s likely dead by now. It¡¯s also doubtful whether he truly was the Human Emperor. Humans often inflate their reputation through exaggeration...¡± The South Sea Dragon King suddenly remembered the person before him was a human too, and an awkward silence loomed.

    ¡°What makes you say that?¡± Zu An asked.

    The South Sea Dragon King could only explain, ¡°It¡¯s said that Shennong has an ox head. He likely resembles those shamans more than a human.¡±

    Zu An was taken aback. He did recall Shennong having horns on his head, and many records stated that he had an ox head and a human body. Looking at it from that angle, Shennong wasn''t necessarily a human.

    ¡°That being said, it¡¯s all a legend. No one has ever met him,¡± the South Sea Dragon King said. ¡°Also, much time has passed since, so it¡¯s a huge question mark whether the Firecloud Cave is still around.¡±

    ¡°The Firecloud Cave most definitely exists. I went there as a child,¡± the Peacock Princess said.

    ¡°Then there¡¯s probably a successor to the Firecloud Cave.¡± The South Sea Dragon King didn''t think that the Shennong from the legends was still alive.

    ¡°Dragon King, do you know where the Firecloud Cave is?¡± Zu An asked.

    The South Sea Dragon King turned to the Peacock Princess and asked, ¡°Princess, I thought you''d gone there as a child?¡±

    The Peacock Princess¡¯ eyes reddened. ¡°I was still young back then. I''ve forgotten the exact location.¡±

    Zu An patted the Peacock Princess¡¯ shoulder to console her, knowing she was reminiscing about her kin. He had also suggested asking her clan elder where the Firecloud Cave was, but she''d burst into tears. It turned out that the elder had died on the battlefield while fighting against the monsters.

    The same thing had happened many times among the Fiend races. Many chieftains, elders, and others in the upper echelons had lost their lives fighting against the monsters. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have had to take on such an important responsibility at such a young age.

    Several generations of Fiend races had died fighting against the monsters. Now, it was just each generation filling up the gap left behind by the previous.

    Zu An lamented the cruelty of war.

    The South Sea Dragon King continued, ¡°What I know about the Firecloud Cave comes from legends, so I don¡¯t know the exact location. However, I have heard that the Firecloud Cave is near the Purple Ganoderma Cliff. Maybe this might be of use to you.¡±

    ¡°Purple Ganoderma Cliff?¡± the East Dragon King suddenly murmured. ¡°There is a Purple Ganoderma Cliff on the East Sea¡¯s coast. That place is often shrouded by fog, giving rise to rumors about immortals occasionally appearing there. I sent my men to investigate the area, but they failed to find anything. Could that have something to do with the Firecloud Cave?¡±

    Zu An wondered if the fog was the doing of a profound formation. Those whose cultivation was lacking wouldn¡¯t be able to see through the formation even if they were staring right into it. He asked, ¡°May I know where the Purple Ganoderma Cliff is?¡±

    The East Sea Dragon King took out a map. He spent some time studying it before pointing at a peninsula along the coast. ¡°It should be somewhere here.¡±

    The Mermaid Queen¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°I have been there before. I can lead the way.¡± This gave her more of a pretext to tag along.

    The Four Dragon Kings were counting on the Mermaid Queen to forge close ties with Zu An, so naturally, they wouldn¡¯t stop her from accompanying him. They voiced their approval and offered them all sorts of conveniences. They even gave them a Crystal Boat that normally only Dragon Kings were qualified to ride on.

    Zu An thanked them.

    Meanwhile, the Peacock Princess ordered the Xuan-Su Guards to return to the Fiend races'' side to report on the current situation.

    The Xuan-Su Guards couldn¡¯t bear to leave the Peacock Princess, but they knew that she wouldn¡¯t need protecting when she had such an unfathomably powerful companion. Besides, they needed to deliver the report to the royal palace as soon as possible.

    Before they left, the Peacock Princess called them over and said, ¡°After we find the antidote in the Firecloud Cave, I¡¯ll be bringing him to the Fiend races''s side. I can tell he¡¯s curious about the Saintess, so tell her to make preparations. If we can secure his help, we''ll have a much better chance of fending against the monsters.¡±

    The Xuan-Su Guards eyed Zu An with a frown. Is our princess not enough for you? Why are you coveting our Saintess too? Also, how is our Saintess supposed to prepare for your arrival? Prepare to seduce you?

    They dared not read any deeper into it.

    In the past, they would have thought it was ridiculous for anyone to marry both their princess and the Saintess, but after witnessing what Zu An was capable of, it somehow didn¡¯t seem that ridiculous anymore.

    The Mermaid Queen thought of bringing her maid Peach with her, but the latter had also been poisoned and was currently bedbound. Before leaving, Zu An visited her, fed her medicine to protect her life force, and assured her that he would find the antidote.

    Peach was moved to tears. I must matchmake him and my queen. He will be my one and only master!

    ...

    Zu An¡¯s group left the Dragon Palace, boarded the Dragon Kings¡¯ Crystal Boat, and began speeding toward the Purple Ganoderma Cliff.

    The Crystal Boat glistened radiantly under the sunlight. It even concealed itself while traveling. No wonder it was the Dragon Kings¡¯ default choice of vehicle.

    The Dragon Kings had wanted to assign some guards and maids to Zu An, but the Ocean races were severely lacking in manpower. Fortunately, the Crystal Boat was an excellent artifact that would automatically navigate toward its destination if supplied with ample ki stones.

    Zu An was delighted to learn that its speed was on par with the Wind Fire Wheels, and there were rooms onboard. That meant the three of them could take a good rest en route.

    That night, Zu An returned to his room, took out a pendant, and entered Jing Teng¡¯s cave paradise.

    Sensing his arrival, Jing Teng stepped out to greet him. Joy radiated from her usual graceful expression. ¡°You¡¯re here.¡±

    Zu An nodded. He got straight to the point and asked her if she knew where the Hungry Ghost Path was and what its power insignia was.

    Jing Teng¡¯s expression turned livid. ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡±

    She went back into her house, leaving Zu An outside to be battered by the wind.

 Chapter 2475: Awakening

    While Zu An was confused, Jing Teng suddenly walked out of her room once more, but her gait was now exceptionally seductive, a contrast from her previous dignified demeanor.

    Zu An glanced at her thighs¡ªthey were no longer covered with white stockings, but rather with alluring black ones.

    ¡°Big brother Zu, how did you anger big sister?¡± Black Jing Teng walked over and leaned on him.

    Even though Zu An was already familiar with the two sisters, he still couldn¡¯t get used to how they had the same face but spoke and acted completely differently.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know either. It was still going well at the start.¡± Zu An told her what had happened earlier.

    ¡°I see.¡± The corners of Black Jing Teng¡¯s lips crept upward, as if having heard something interesting. ¡°Others laud you as a Love Sage who goes around leaving romantic debts, but it seems you don¡¯t understand women at all.¡±

    Zu An thought about what had happened earlier, and realization struck him. ¡°Was it because I talked business with her right away instead of showing her concern?¡±

    He felt apologetic about that. Too many things had happened recently, and he was in such a huge rush to obtain the six power insignias that he''d overlooked that.

    ¡°That¡¯s just one of the reasons.¡± Black Jing Teng leaned in and licked his ear before saying, ¡°You asked about the Hungry Ghost Path. That¡¯s my field of specialty. She thought you came here to visit me, and that made her even angrier.¡±

    Zu An was startled. I see. While they''re sisters, they are two personas occupying a body. There''s such a rivalry between them that even in bed... No wonder Jing Teng was so angry.

    However, his face soon lit up in delight. ¡°You know about the Hungry Ghost Path?¡±

    ¡°Of course. Have you forgotten that I used to be the Ghost King?¡± Black Jing Teng tilted her chin upward in glee.

    Zu An frowned. ¡°You were the Hungry Ghost Path¡¯s Ghost King?¡±

    He had chosen to ask Jing Teng about this matter because of what he knew about the previous Ghost King. He''d heard that the Ghost King ruled over the wandering ghosts existing between the mortal world and the underworld.

    ¡°What Ghost King did you think I was?¡± Black JIng Teng suddenly transformed from a seductive youth into a domineering queen.

    Zu An was surprised and elated. He hadn¡¯t expected such an outcome. He asked, ¡°Is the Hungry Ghost Path filled with hungry ghosts?¡±

    Black Jing Teng shook her head and harrumphed. ¡°Do I look like a hungry ghost to you?¡±

    Zu An looked at her and chuckled. ¡°If all hungry ghosts resembled you, the Hungry Ghost Path would be a paradise everyone looked forward to.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s more like the player who charmed thousands of innocent girls,¡± Black Jing Teng said with a satisfied smile.

    Zu An was stunned. I feel as if you¡¯re insulting me instead.

    He continued asking, ¡°What are hungry ghosts, exactly? Are they just starving ghosts?¡±

    Black Jing Teng pulled him to the nearby garden and sat down on a swing. She pushed herself off and began swinging as she spoke. ¡°They are starving, but the food they seek isn¡¯t what you might be imagining. It refers to their fixation on certain matters. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t have refused to descend to the underworld after death, instead lingering on the Hungry Ghost Path.

    ¡°That strong fixation creates an unquenchable feeling of hunger in them. Feasting on the blood and flesh of the living is merely a way to temporarily alleviate their hunger. Some hungry ghosts also kill living beings who satisfy certain conditions to dispel their fixation... In summary, they aren¡¯t necessarily kind beings. That¡¯s why the world often speaks about the Hungry Ghost Path with fear and hatred.¡±

    Zu An nodded. He finally understood what the situation of the Hungry Ghost Path was.

    On the surface it sounded as if they were vengeful ghosts born from overwhelming resentment, but that wouldn¡¯t be an accurate depiction. Not all hungry ghosts were violent; some were kind. The thing they all had in common was their overwhelming fixation that kept their souls from dissipating.

    Other than naturally formed hungry ghosts, there were those born as hungry ghosts too. Indeed, they could mate and reproduce. As the underworld¡¯s master, Zu An had previously investigated the Six Paths and learned it was possible to reincarnate as a hungry ghost.

    The underworld decided on a ghost¡¯s reincarnation based on the karma accrued over their lifetime. Only those who had done many evil deeds in their previous life would be reincarnated as hungry ghosts, though it was still less severe than the Hell Path.

    Zu An chuckled. Now that he thought about it, in a famous work from his previous life, the female protagonist, Nie Xiaoqian[1], could give birth. No wonder the Old Black Mountain Demon had wanted to marry her.

    He turned his attention back to the present and asked the most pressing question on his mind, ¡°What¡¯s the Hungry Ghost Path¡¯s power insignia?¡±

    Black Jing Teng suddenly harrumphed. ¡°Now I know why big sis was so angry. Even I¡¯m getting angry at you. You¡¯re in the company of a gorgeous lady, yet your heart and mind aren¡¯t focused on me at all.¡±

    Zu An smiled bitterly. ¡°This matter is of utmost importance. I won¡¯t be able to relax until I resolve it.¡±

    It was only after hearing her words that he noticed how soft her body was. As they were sitting side by side on the swing, he could even smell her faint body fragrance.

    Speaking of which, it was peculiar how even though the two sisters shared a body, they always appeared with different stockings and had different fragrances. White Jing Teng¡¯s fragrance was graceful and noble, whereas Black Jing Teng¡¯s fragrance was wild and seductive.

    Black Jing Teng sensed his admiring gaze and nodded in satisfaction. ¡°Forget it. Take a look at this.¡±

    She stretched her fair hand forth, and a ghost mask suddenly appeared on her palm. The mask looked eerie, and the sight of it evoked a cold sensation, as if being gazed at by a lofty ruler.

    This was the mask worn by Black Jing Teng when Zu An first met her as the Ghost King.

    ¡°Is this the Hungry Ghost Path¡¯s power insignia?¡± Zu An took the mask in delight.

    ¡°You can have it if you like it.¡± Black Jing Teng didn¡¯t mind giving it to him.

    Zu An straightened his posture and said, ¡°I¡¯ll return the mask to you after Houtu forges the World Law Beacon. The process shouldn¡¯t damage the mask.¡±

    Black Jing Teng wrapped her hand around his neck. ¡°I¡¯m already yours. My possessions are naturally yours to take too. You don¡¯t have to be so distant.¡±

    Her sweet whisper and close-up, ravishing face made Zu An gulp down his saliva. She¡¯s such a little imp!

    Black Jing Teng leaned closer and breathed on his ear. ¡°I did you a huge favor. How do you intend to thank me?¡±

    ¡°How should I thank you?¡± Zu An was in a good mood after obtaining the Hungry Ghost Path¡¯s power insignia so easily.

    ¡°You know how.¡± Black Jing Teng raised her head and looked at him with glistening eyes.

    Sensing her silent invitation, Zu An couldn¡¯t resist lowering her head and kissing her.

    It was then that a familiar, feeble voice echoed from the side. ¡°W-What are you doing?¡±

    1. Nie Xiaoqian is a beautiful female ghost who earns back her humanity through karmic merit and is then able to conceive ?

 Chapter 2476: Epoch

    Zu An¡¯s heart shuddered upon hearing that voice. He looked over in disbelief.

    A slender figure was leaning against the doorway. She had smoky eyebrows resembling a frown, and her eyes looked as if they would tear up at any moment. Her face was exceptionally pale, and she looked sickly. Her appearance could evoke sympathy from anyone who saw it.

    ¡°Honglei!¡± Zu An was overjoyed to see her.

    He''d been planning to first check on Qiu Honglei in the jade coffin after entering the cave paradise, but Jing Teng had appeared right away. He''d gotten so carried away that it slipped his mind.

    Who could have expected the awakened Qiu Honglei to stumble upon their imminent kiss?

    Zu An was too overcome by joy to bother about the awkwardness of being caught in action.

    ¡°You two...¡± Qiu Honglei murmured feebly, but she collapsed before she could finish her words.

    ¡°Honglei!¡± Zu An flitted to her side to support her. When he saw her collapsing, his soul nearly escaped from his body. He began circulating his ki into her body, making sure to do it slowly as her body was still weak from having only just awakened.

    It was fortunate that Honglei had only passed out due to her weakness. With the nourishment of Zu An''s ki, she slowly regained consciousness.

    ¡°Honglei, you¡¯re awake!¡± Zu An¡¯s voice quivered as he spoke.

    To save him, Qiu Honglei had performed the Dance Offering to the Universe until her body collapsed. She had only preserved a sliver of her life force thanks to the Snow Lady¡¯s ¡®sacrifice¡¯. Later, Zu An had found the legendary Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine and saved her.

    Even so, Honglei had remained unconscious, and Zu An had feared that the worst would happen. He was overjoyed to see her regaining consciousness.

    ¡°Ah Zu~¡± Qiu Honglei¡¯s lips were pale, but she smiled when she saw how anxious Zu An was. She tried her best to reach for his cheek. ¡°It¡¯s good to see you again.¡±

    Even so, she was so frail that even this simple motion was arduous for her.

    Zu An grabbed her hand and pressed it against his face. Just like that, he stared at her with adoring eyes.

    Black Jing Teng watched this scene in frustration. Wow, I''m a third wheel here.

    She thought about Qiu Honglei¡¯s timely dizzy spell earlier and swore to learn it well. Men seem to love that trick. Ugh, how maddening! We almost kissed! That woman sure knows how to time her appearance!

    While Black Jing Teng was seething, Qiu Honglei lay in Zu An¡¯s arms while looking at her lover. She had an uncanny feeling that ages had already passed. ¡°Ah Zu, I thought I¡¯d never see you again.¡±

    Zu An shared the same feeling too. ¡°I was scared out of my wits. Promise me you¡¯ll never do anything as foolish as that again.¡±

    Qiu Honglei smiled. ¡°We would have all died if I hadn¡¯t done that. If I could save you, my death wouldn¡¯t have been in vain.¡±

    Zu An felt warmth in his heart and embraced her even tighter. ¡°Honglei, I¡¯ll never let you put yourself in such danger ever again!¡±

    A voice dripping with jealousy suddenly called out from the side, ¡°Have you forgotten there¡¯s someone else here?¡±

    Qiu Honglei¡¯s face turned red. She tried to push Zu An aside, but was too weak to do so. She surveyed their surroundings and asked, ¡°Ah Zu, this place is...?¡±

    ¡°This is Miss Jing¡¯s cave paradise,¡± Zu An explained. ¡°It was thanks to her artifact that I was able to bring you wherever I went.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, big sister Jing.¡± Qiu Honglei tried to get up to bow to Black Jing Teng, but she was so weak that she failed to get on her feet.

    ¡°Don¡¯t move around too much. You¡¯re still weak. Someone is going to die of heartache if anything happens to you.¡± Black Jing Teng had a smile on her face, but she was secretly cursing in her heart.

    This green tea bitch has incredible methods. Even a woman like me finds her pitiful, let alone that huge lecher!

    To no surprise, Zu An quickly supported Qiu Honglei, saying, ¡°Be careful.¡±

    He took out a ki-nourishing pill and fed it to her. She was still too weak to take anything heavy, so he had to first build up her foundation with gentler medicine.

    Qiu Honglei obediently swallowed the pill.

    Black Jing Teng¡¯s eyebrows twitched. How am I supposed to learn her coy obedient act?!

    She was suddenly reminded of the time she had outright asked Zu An to sleep with her while trying to seduce him. She had to admit there was a huge disparity in their methods. Demonesses from demonic cults are skilled in the art of seduction!

    That made her even angrier.

    While her mind was shaken, White Jing Teng exploited this opportunity to take control of the body. She was aware of what had just happened, and she felt that she had been thoroughly embarrassed by her silly little sister.

    She coldly said, ¡°Miss Qiu¡¯s injuries were severe. The Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine helped a lot, but she has just regained consciousness and needs more rest. My ki-rich cave paradise is a good place for her to recuperate. You can come here and visit her from time to time.¡±

    Zu An noticed her white stockings and realized she had switched personas. ¡°I apologize for my earlier lack of decorum. I was too abrupt...¡±

    Qiu Honglei blinked. Sensing she had missed some huge gossip, she wanted to ask about it, but a sudden wave of exhaustion hit her. She was so tired that she couldn¡¯t keep her eyes open.

    ¡°Your body is too weak. You need more rest to recuperate. Don¡¯t force yourself,¡± Jing Teng said.

    ¡°Thanks for your reminder, big sister,¡± Qiu Honglei mumbled in response before succumbing to her drowsiness.

    ¡°Carry her to my room,¡± Jing Teng said.

    Now that she was awake, it wouldn¡¯t be appropriate to put Qiu Honglei back into the jade coffin. Seeing Zu An¡¯s nervous expression, Jing Teng added, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Now that she¡¯s awake, we can slowly condition her body with pills and spirit food. She¡¯ll gradually recover. I know you¡¯re busy, so I¡¯ll take care of her on your behalf.¡±

    Zu An was grateful. He knew Jing Teng wasn¡¯t the type to take care of others; she was only doing this for his sake. He wanted to thank her, but considering their relationship, such words felt superficial.

    So, he wrapped his arm around her waist and kissed her.

    ¡°What are you... Wuuu...¡± Jing Teng was stunned at first, but then shyness overwhelmed her.

    She tried to push Zu An away, but his arms refused to move, as if they were forged from metal. After a few attempts, she lost her strength, and her body slowly softened in his embrace.

    Some time later, a furiously blushing Jing Teng snuggled in Zu An¡¯s arms. ¡°Tell me what happened recently.¡±

    Once again, Zu An couldn¡¯t help noticing the two sisters¡¯ vastly different personalities. Had it been the young sister, she would have bugged him for all kinds of ¡®compensation''. In contrast, the older sister paid more attention to intangible exchanges.

    With the beauty in his arms, he shared everything that had happened recently with her.

    ¡°The Six Paths, the Asura race, the Shaman races...¡± Jing Teng murmured those phrases before suddenly saying, ¡°The war between the Asura race and the Celestial race should have happened in the previous epoch. It¡¯s a different epoch from when the Shaman races fought against the Celestial Court¡¯s Fiend races.¡±

    ¡°Epoch?¡± Zu An keenly noticed her word choice.

    ¡°Using your units of measurement, an epoch can range between a hundred million years to several billion years.¡± Jing Teng¡¯s reply shocked Zu An.

 Chapter 2477: The Ocean Deity

    ¡°Several billion years?¡± Zu An was dumbstruck. Earth¡¯s civilization only went back several thousand years, and the Cultivation World¡¯s civilization went back only tens of thousands of years. Recorded history had started only several thousand years back.

    While the existence of secret dungeons hinted at past civilizations, most people believed that they would only go back tens of thousands of years, or, at most, hundreds of thousands of years. Even the notion of several billion years sounded ridiculous.

    ¡°How do you know that?¡± Zu An asked out of curiosity.

    Jing Teng looked dazed. ¡°I don¡¯t know either. The memory is just there. It popped out when I heard you talking about the Six Paths.¡±

    Zu An remembered her original form had been the Demon-Suppressing Talisman, suppressing countless terrifying experts in that great tomb. Her background itself was already a mystery. He asked, ¡°Were you suppressing experts from that epoch in that great tomb?¡±

    Jing Teng shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m not sure either. My memory is incomplete. My head hurts...¡±

    Zu An was shocked to see her clutch her head in pain and quickly embraced her. He infused a sliver of his ki into her, saying, ¡°You don¡¯t have to think about it if you can¡¯t recall it.¡±

    Jing Teng felt a little better as she turned her attention away from the matter, though she remained in a poor mental state.

    Zu An knew she was injured to begin with, and she''d exerted the energy she had recovered with great difficulty to help him in the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons. That had left her in a feeble state. So, he shoved work aside and instead chatted with her about day-to-day affairs.

    Jing Teng revealed a rare weak side, snuggling in his arms like a cat. The two of them didn¡¯t do anything more intimate, but the warmth they shared was unprecedented.

    Black Jing Teng screamed that it was a huge waste not to exploit this amazing atmosphere to try something. Leave it to me if you¡¯re feeling embarrassed.

    But Jing Teng ignored her and continued lying lazily in her lover¡¯s arms. Even though the two of them had often interacted intimately, she had never felt so close to him before. Under this extreme state of relaxation, she quickly drifted off to sleep.

    Zu An carried her back to her room. He glanced at Qiu Honglei, who was sleeping on the neighboring bed. His mood felt exceptionally light. Honglei has regained consciousness, I was able to get closer to Jing Teng, and the Hungry Ghost Path¡¯s power insignia is now in my hands. Everything is progressing well.

    He planned to stay with the two ladies a while longer, but he suddenly sensed something. He left the cave paradise inside the pendant and returned to his room on the Crystal Boat.

    Light knocks came from his door. ¡°Big brother, are you asleep?¡±

    Zu An opened the door and looked at the slightly blushing woman outside. ¡°Princess, do you need me for something?¡±

    ¡°I couldn¡¯t sleep, so I came here for a chat. Is it convenient?¡±

    The Peacock Princess was blushing furiously. It was unlike a demure lady to knock on a man¡¯s door in the middle of the night, but ladies of the Fiend races had always been more daring, and she did have a lot of questions to ask him. That was why she''d mustered the courage to do this.

    ¡°Of course it is. Come in.¡± Zu An tilted his body to let her in.

    The Peacock Princess noticed how he didn¡¯t close the door after her and chuckled. Big brother is such a gentleman.

    ¡°Big brother, can you tell me what happened in the last few days?¡± She looked at him with gleaming eyes. Zu An and the Mermaid Queen had mentioned bits and pieces, but she anxiously wanted to know more about him, especially details about that beautiful Asura woman.

    I can¡¯t know less than big sis queen.

    Zu An told her everything, shocking the Peacock Princess. He then proceeded to ask about the Fiend races.

    From her, he learned that when the monsters suddenly appeared, it was the Fiend Emperor who had assembled the Fiend races¡¯ experts to fight back. But the huge disparity in their fighting prowess caused the Fiend races to suffer a series of tragic defeats, and their experts had died one after another. Even the Fiend Emperor had died in battle.

    By now, the Fiend races had already lost all their experts from the previous generations. It was the younger ones who were holding the line.

    Fortunately, the Fiend races had also been growing throughout the war, and they adapted to the monsters¡¯ fighting style. The appearance of the Saintess and the monsters¡¯ sudden decrease in aggression in recent years allowed them to catch their breath, and they occasionally managed to recoup lost territories.

    ¡°The monsters suddenly became less aggressive?¡± Zu An asked. ¡°When did that happen?¡±

    ¡°It was after we lost our imperial court. It was a tragic battle. The Fiend Emperor refused to abandon our ancestral land and fought to the end. He died to the Lord of Slaughter,¡± the Peacock Princess said sorrowfully. ¡°They got complacent after conquering our imperial court and killing the Fiend Emperor. Their attacks slowed down, and the Lord of Slaughter hasn¡¯t appeared since. It has been the Monster Lord commanding the troops in his place.¡±

    A thought surfaced in Zu An¡¯s mind.

    The Lord of Slaughter must have noticed the Fiend races¡¯ imperial tomb and sensed that there was something more inside. He must be trying to find the Celestial Court, which is why he entrusted other tasks to the Monster Lord.

    I don¡¯t know whether he deciphered the Celestial Court¡¯s secret, but his immersion in the investigation gave the Monster Lord a chance to usurp his power and eventually betray him...

    Sounds suddenly came from the doorway. Zu An raised his head and saw the Mermaid Queen standing awkwardly outside. She was hesitant about whether to enter or not.

    Being discovered by Zu An only made the Mermaid Queen feel even more awkward. ¡°Did I come at a bad time?¡±

    She was also suffering from insomnia, as she knew that the day of parting between Zu An and her was swiftly approaching; they were drawing closer to the Firecloud Cave. She didn¡¯t want to waste any opportunities to interact with him. If possible, she wanted to stay by his side at all times. But she feared that if she approached him in the middle of the night, Zu An would misunderstand her as shameless.

    While she was hesitating, however, she''d heard noises from the neighboring room. The Peacock Princess had gone to look for him. Youngsters are so courageous. Maybe I¡¯m thinking too much.

    She was curious what the two of them were doing at this ungodly hour. The thought of a suave man and a beautiful woman sharing a room by themselves at night made her heart itchy, as if a kitten were clawing at it. Unable to bear her curiosity, she snuck over to check things out.

    She hadn¡¯t expected to get caught right away.

    Zu An smiled. ¡°You came at a good time. Come in and have a seat. I have some questions I¡¯d like to ask you.¡±

    The Mermaid Queen¡¯s face heated up. She entered the room and took a seat.

    The Peacock Princess felt a surge of envy. Big sis queen¡¯s gestures are so graceful and feminine. I wish I could learn her demeanor.

    The Mermaid Queen was grateful for Zu An''s thoughtfulness at dispelling her awkwardness. She asked gently, ¡°What do you want to ask me?¡± I¡¯ll even tell you my three figures if you want.

    ¡°The Ocean races don¡¯t seem to be affiliated with the Fiend races. How much do you know about the Ocean Deity your people worship?¡±

    Zu An had always thought the Ocean races were one of the countless races under the Fiend races, just that they were a particularly powerful group. It was only upon coming to this world that he learned that they weren¡¯t the same faction, and they''d even nearly become enemies.

 Chapter 2478: Destination

    The Mermaid Queen was dumbstruck. ¡°Of course, the Ocean races and the Fiend races are completely different races. Big brother, what makes you ask such a question?¡±

    The Peacock Princess also stared at Zu An in surprise, not expecting the latter to be confused about what was considered common sense here.

    ¡°I had that misunderstanding because in the future, the Ocean races are a part of the Fiend races,¡± Zu An explained.

    The Peacock Princess was delighted to hear that. ¡°It sounds like the alliance went through!¡±

    The Mermaid Queen, however, was worried. ¡°Do the Fiend races annex our Ocean races in the future?¡± She was opposed to the Ocean races siding with the monsters, but she also didn¡¯t want to be annexed by the Fiend races either.

    Zu An smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the Ocean races remain highly autonomous in the future.¡±

    It now made sense to him why the Ocean races had such a unique standing among the Fiend races, as opposed to the other groups, as well as why the old Fiend Emperor had spent a great amount of wealth and resources to liaise with the Ocean races each year, and why the Ocean races¡¯ Dragon Kings didn¡¯t pale much in comparison to the Human Emperor and the Fiend Emperor.

    The Mermaid Queen¡¯s mind was put at ease. She slowly replied, ¡°Our Ocean races were born in the ocean. We came to be together with the ocean. It¡¯s rumored that our history far predates the Fiend races and Human race.

    ¡°The Ocean races are diverse, each having their own culture and lifestyle, but we share a common faith¡ªthat of the Ocean Deity. It¡¯s said that the Ocean Deity was born because of us, and it is thanks to her protection that we survived to this day...¡±

    Zu An keenly picked up on the pronoun and asked, ¡°The Ocean Deity is female?¡±

    The Mermaid Queen shook her head. ¡°The Ocean Deity has no gender, though both the Ocean races and Fiend races are traditionally inclined to see her as a woman.¡±

    Zu An was perplexed. ¡°Don¡¯t you have an idol of the Ocean Deity?¡±

    The Mermaid Queen chuckled. ¡°Different Ocean races have different idols of the Ocean Deity, so there is no way of telling which one is the right one.¡±

    Zu An nodded in agreement. It was similar to how, in his previous life, he had seen idols of the same deity looking vastly different across different temples.

    He asked more questions about the Ocean Deity, but the Mermaid Queen didn¡¯t know much. She didn¡¯t even know whether the Ocean Deity truly existed, or was just a pillar of support for the Ocean races.

    Zu An chose to end the questions there. After all he had been through, he''d learned that secrets could only be uncovered at a price, and the truth would only come out at a certain time.

    The earlier talk about the Ocean races being under the Fiend races piqued the Peacock Princess and Mermaid Queen¡¯s interest about the future, so they implored him to share more.

    They had gotten close over the last few days, and the two ladies were using all their persuasive methods to persuade him to talk. Zu An had no choice but to tell them about the future. Of course, he did filter out important things that could affect the past. Even so, the two ladies were still immersed in his stories, and they looked forward to the future.

    Time slowly passed, and the three of them drifted off to sleep.

    The following morning, the Mermaid Queen found herself sharing a bed with Zu An. She was lying in his arms, with her head resting on his chest. This caused her cheeks to flush, and she anxiously tried to recall what happened last night.

    We talked for so long that we started getting tired, so the Peacock Princess suggested for us to continue the conversation on the bed.

    The Mermaid Queen had initially found that suggestion ridiculous, but she wasn''t averse to sharing a bed with Zu An. There were also other people present, so she didn¡¯t think it was too much.

    Zu An had hesitated, but the Peacock Princess had energetically provoked him into accepting it, claiming, ¡®What¡¯s there to fear when we''re all forthright and open? Could it be that big brother harbors lustful thoughts for us?¡¯

    Zu An couldn¡¯t beat her argument, so they''d ended up lying on his bed and talking about the future.

    It was a good thing that the bed was wide enough to remain spacious even with the three of them. After overcoming the initial embarrassment, they quickly returned to the conversation.

    Hearing his words and taking in his scent, the Mermaid Queen had fallen asleep before she knew it. She was shocked at how lowered her guard was, for her to actually fall asleep next to a man.

    However, she soon smiled bitterly. She would never have permitted herself to share a room like that with another man, so such a thing would never have happened with anyone else. Her intact clothes meant that, to her regret, nothing had happened at all.

    She tried to carefully move away the hand next to her head, only to feel a soft and smooth texture. That can¡¯t be big brother Zu¡¯s hand.

    Sleeping next to her was the Peacock Princess, and the latter¡¯s sleeping posture was much more open compared to her demure one. She was lying on her side, her hands wrapped around Zu An¡¯s neck. Her leg was also resting on Zu An¡¯s body, as if trying to hold him down.

    The Mermaid Queen¡¯s face reddened. Fiend race ladies are so open. I would have died of awkwardness if I slept like that.

    Feeling a touch on her hand, the Peacock Princess slowly woke up. She instinctively rubbed her eyes before she finally registered the scene in the room. Her fair complexion immediately turned red.

    No matter how passionate she was, she was still a young woman. To hug a man to sleep like that¡ªor maybe it would be more apt to use the word ¡®clamp¡¯¡ªwas embarrassing, and on top of that, someone else was present to witness it.

    For a moment, she even considered silencing the Mermaid Queen.

    ¡°Morning.¡±

    The Peacock Princess quickly retracted her leg and awkwardly smiled at the Mermaid Queen. The latter responded with an enigmatic smile. That further reinforced the princess'' desire to silence her. Hmph, if not because of the favor I owe big sis queen and my inability to defeat her in battle...

    She suddenly remembered the excuse Zu An had used against the North Sea Dragon King to rescue her. She''d found it utterly ridiculous then, but in a weird turn of events, they really had ended up sharing a bed for a night.

    It was only after the two ladies tidied themselves up that Zu An slowly woke up. ¡°Morning.¡±

    ¡°Morning!¡± The two ladies¡¯ faces were slightly red.

    Zu An had long since woken up. It had been a terrible night for him; which normal man could remain unfazed when there were two gorgeous beauties sleeping right beside him?

    The Mermaid Queen was still fine¡ªshe had mostly slept peacefully except for the occasional snuggling up to him.

    The Peacock Princess, on the other hand, was an unruly sleeper. She had spent a lot of time either hugging or clamping onto him, sometimes even nuzzling against him. Zu An had only managed to hold back due to his self-control being tempered by his rich experiences.

    The room descended into inexplicable awkwardness. The Mermaid Queen cleared the air by saying, ¡°We should be near the Purple Ganoderma Cliff now. I wonder if the Firecloud Cave is truly there...¡±

    Before she could finish her words, the Crystal Boat suddenly shook. The two ladies lost their balance and would have fallen down if not for Zu An quickly flitting over to support them.

    There was a frown on Zu An¡¯s face. The Crystal Boat appears to have struck something.

 Chapter 2479: The Gate Has Always Been Open For You

    The trio rushed onto the deck and soon understood why the boat had suddenly started shaking.

    A massive octopus monster had wrapped its countless dark-red tentacles around the crystal boat. Its tentacle suckers resembled eyes, and they could send anyone with trypophobia[1] into a panic attack.

    ¡°Ugh, how disgusting~¡± The Peacock Princess couldn¡¯t take the sight and hid behind Zu An.

    Zu An examined the octopus monster¡ªits tentacles didn¡¯t have pinkish-red fluid, so it wasn¡¯t the same sea monster Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue had encountered. Speaking of which, he missed that fellow. Its tentacle fluid was a rare medicinal material. It could be used not just for that kind of medicine, but others too.

    With Zu An¡¯s deeper insight into formations, spirit food, and alchemy, he had far more ideas about how that fluid could be used now.

    Having met monsters from the Octopus race before, the Mermaid Queen murmured with a frown, ¡°That¡¯s weird. The Crystal Boat is the Dragon King¡¯s vehicle; it has a special formation and aura. Most ocean monsters avoid it. Why would this octopus monster attack us of its own accord?¡±

    The octopus monster noticed them and extended two thick tentacles to wrap around them.

    Zu An harrumphed. No one saw how he moved, but the two tentacles were severed from the center.

    The octopus monster was taken aback. It retracted all its tentacles while crying miserably, but a second later, the tentacles suddenly returned from all directions to lash at the three of them. Each tentacle was around a hundred meters wide and left a sonic boom in its wake. Even a giant ship would be split in two when struck by those tentacles, let alone a body of flesh and blood.

    Zu An¡¯s face turned cold. ¡°You beast!¡±

    A barrage of sword ki sliced through the octopus monster¡¯s tentacles, leaving only a giant head floating in the air. Zu An''s sword ki was so fast that the octopus monster finally registered the pain only after the tentacles already fell onto the deck. With a cry of agony, the monster dove back into the water, its blood swiftly dyeing the nearby water red.

    The Peacock Princess and the Mermaid Queen backed away from the severed tentacles that had dropped onto the deck but continued to wriggle. Women were naturally averse to such things, after all.

    Zu An stored the giant tentacles inside the Brilliant Glass Bead¡¯s storage space. He noticed the two women staring at him weirdly and explained with a smile, ¡°I can make hotplate squid out of them. You bet they''ll be chewy.¡±

    The two women rolled their eyes. You could feed a village with those massive tentacles.

    An angry voice suddenly echoed, ¡°How dare you hurt my little sweetie!¡±

    The crowd looked over and saw a boy walking on waves, heading toward them. The octopus monster head, which had sought refuge in the water, suddenly popped out and shrank until it was the size of a basketball. It nuzzled against the boy with an indignant expression, as if complaining about Zu An and the others.

    ¡°Little sweetie?¡± Zu An and the others frowned. They could tell the octopus monster was the boy¡¯s pet, but they struggled to associate such a cute name with that disgusting giant monster.

    ¡°I¡¯m talking to you!¡± The boy had a clean appearance, a smooth complexion, and hair tied into two buns, but his arrogant gaze and rude tone felt uncomfortable.

    ¡°What nonsense are you spouting? It was that monster who attacked us. If we had been any weaker, we would have become its meal. You should compensate us for our emotional distress instead!¡± the young Peacock Princess retorted indignantly.

    The boy was taken aback. He hadn¡¯t expected them to be so good with words. He was unable to find anything to say for a long time.

    The Mermaid Queen secretly shot the Peacock Princess a thumbs up. She¡¯s brave and candid, unlike me. I''ve weathered so many storms that I can¡¯t help but overthink whenever I¡¯m faced with such situations.

    ¡°Hmph! My little sweetie was just joking with you! Do you have to deal such a heavy blow to it?¡± The boy finally recovered and made his comeback. ¡°How vile must your heart be to sever all its tentacles? Who knows whether it can survive this ordeal? I grew up with little sweetie, and I have long considered it a member of my own family! You must compensate us!¡±

    Zu An calmly asked, ¡°So how do you want us to compensate you?¡±

    The boy pointed at the Crystal Boat they were standing on. ¡°Your boat looks decent. My little sweetie must have wrapped its tentacles around your boat because it waws fond of it. It would be fair for you to compensate it with your boat.¡±

    The little octopus head vehemently nodded, agreeing with the proposal.

    The Mermaid Queen lost her patience. ¡°Do you know whose boat this is? I doubt you¡¯d dare accept it even if we give it to you.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just the East Sea Dragon King¡¯s Crystal Boat. Why wouldn¡¯t I dare to accept it?¡± the boy sneered.

    The trio were taken aback. They''d thought that the other party was just a troublemaking kid, but to think he recognized the Crystal Boat! That complicated matters.

    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Zu An asked. The boy didn¡¯t look weak, but someone at such a young age could only be so strong. The bigger problem was his background¡ªa boy who suddenly appeared in the middle of the ocean and recognized the Crystal Boat was anything but ordinary.

    ¡°Are you asking for my great name? Well, wash your ears and listen up! I am...¡± The boy puffed up his chest and was just about to speak when another voice echoed from afar.

    ¡°Stop causing trouble. Welcome our esteemed guests and bring them in,¡± an aged voice said, sounding as if it echoed from the world itself.

    The Mermaid Queen and Peacock Princess were startled. They could tell that the other party was extremely powerful from the voice itself; they were at least above the Four Dragon Kings.

    Zu An was the only one who remained calm as he looked in the direction of the voice. An invisible door seemed to open on the water, and an island appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the ocean.

    The island was shrouded in fog. Immortal cranes and divine birds flew through the clouds, making the place look like a paradise.

    ¡°Hm?¡± Zu An discreetly asked the Mermaid Queen, ¡°Is this the Purple Ganoderma Cliff?¡±

    The Mermaid Queen shook her head. ¡°We should still be a day¡¯s journey away, and the direction doesn¡¯t seem right either.¡±

    The boy harrumphed. ¡°Count yourself lucky. My master hasn¡¯t met any outsiders for many years now. Come with me.¡±

    1. Trypophobia is an aversion to the sight of repetitive patterns or clusters of small holes or bumps. ?

 Chapter 2480: Itâ€™s All Fated

    ¡°May I ask your master¡¯s name?¡± Zu An asked.

    ¡°My master is my master. There¡¯s no need for so many questions.¡± The boy rolled his eyes and ignored them. He fed a pill to the octopus head.

    In the blink of an eye, the ''adorable'' octopus head suddenly grew dozens of tentacles, reverting to its state before it was injured.

    Zu An and the others were astonished. They couldn¡¯t believe a pill could be so potent as to allow for instantaneous full recovery. On top of that, the way the boy casually fed the pill to his pet suggested that he didn¡¯t consider it valuable.

    Zu An discreetly told the two ladies, ¡°Looks like the Purple Ganoderma Cliff is a feint; the true Firecloud Cave lies here.¡±

    The sudden appearance of an island here spoke volumes. A highly profound formation had to have been constructed around it, such that outsiders wouldn¡¯t have noticed anything amiss even if they passed by this place a thousand times.

    Even Zu An, despite his mastery of formations, had only noticed the formation when the other party revealed it.

    Besides, where else could a boy casually bring out a miraculous recovery medicine aside from the medically-renowned Firecloud Cave?

    The Mermaid Queen had also arrived at the same conclusion. After seeing how difficult the boy and the octopus monster were, she worried that they couldn¡¯t secure the Firecloud Cave¡¯s help.

    The Peacock Princess replied telepathically, ¡°That distant cliff looks familiar, but I don¡¯t remember seeing this boy the last time I came here.¡±

    The Mermaid Queen burst into laughter. ¡°You were still young. That boy might not have been born yet.¡±

    Those words weren''t necessarily accurate. In the cultivation world, judging a person¡¯s age by their appearance could lead to grossly inaccurate estimates. For instance, a boy could be older than a white-haired old man. However, the boy didn¡¯t seem to belong to that category.

    The boy led the three of them to the island. Mysterious flowers and herbs were scattered around the island, emanating a faint fragrance.

    They entered a quiet mountainous path, filled with verdant pine trees and luxuriant green bamboos. Soft emerald grass was coated with glistening dew, and ancient trees of unknown age towered overhead. Stone piles resembled prowling tigers, and the old vines hanging on the trees resembled snakes.

    Taking in these details, Zu An told the two ladies that they were walking through a highly profound formation. Had they barged in, these stones and vines would have transformed into ferocious tigers and snakes to attack them.

    The crimson cliffs along the way seemed to contain immortal silhouettes. A group of lotuses floated at the bottom of the mountain stream, and their fragrance was discernible even from a great distance. The spring water that splashed on them emanated iridescent light reminiscent of gemstones.

    Those lotuses had to be rare treasures. Had they encountered them elsewhere, the trio would have dove right in to harvest them.

    The boy brought them to a cave shrouded in iridescent light. Mysterious birds danced amid the clouds.

    The Mermaid Queen exclaimed in astonishment, ¡°There¡¯s a melody to their chirping! I wonder if someone trained them, or if they were born with such ability.¡±

    To astound someone as musically talented as the Mermaid Queen, this place was truly extraordinary.

    The boy dropped his arrogant attitude and respectfully bowed. ¡°Master, I have brought them here.¡±

    Zu An and the others also bowed toward the cave. ¡°Necropolis (Mermaid Queen/ Peacock Princess) pays respect to the master of the land.¡±

    ¡°Necropolis...¡± A chuckle came from inside. The person seemed to have found the name interesting,

    Zu An looked at the cave. Does he know who the Necropolis Emperor is?

    He was curious to know what the other party looked like, but the person had neither left the cave nor invited them in. He tried to extend his divine sense into the cave, but something about the cave prevented it from reaching inside.

    ¡°Forgive my discourtesy. It¡¯s not convenient for me to meet outsiders,¡± the old voice inside the cave said.

    The Peacock Princess¡¯ eyes lit up. ¡°I remember it now! This is the Firecloud Cave. I came here once when I was younger!¡±

    The old voice chuckled. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s Little Peacock. You have grown so big in the blink of an eye.¡±

    The boy stared at the Peacock Princess with curious eyes.

    ¡°I pay my respects to the elder.¡± The Peacock Princess quickly bowed once more.

    ¡°You¡¯re the child of an acquaintance; there¡¯s no need for so many formalities. How is your uncle doing?¡± the old voice asked.

    The Peacock Princess¡¯ eyes reddened. ¡°My uncle has passed away. Most of our elders have lost their lives on the battlefield...¡±

    She proceeded to talk about the Fiend races¡¯ war against the monsters.

    The old voice in the cave was silent for a long time. ¡°Everything is ordained by fate. There¡¯s no need to be too upset, Little Peacock.¡±

    His casual tone only further stoked the Peacock Princess¡¯ sorrow.

    Zu An, however, noticed something peculiar in those words. He seems to be looking at things from a higher perspective. Does he mean to say that these events were already decided by fate?

    The Mermaid Queen consoled the Peacock Princess before revealing her motive to the person in the cave.

    The old voice spent a moment in thought before replying, ¡°I do have the means to treat the Aurora Poison Dragon¡¯s plague formation.¡±

    The Mermaid Queen was overjoyed to hear that. ¡°Elder, I implore you to bestow me with the antidote. The Ocean races will remember your grace.¡±

    The old voice chuckled. ¡°I have no ties with the Ocean races, and that won¡¯t change in the future. I can give you the antidote, but I¡¯ll need the person beside you to agree to my request.¡±

    Taken aback, the Mermaid Queen reflexively turned to Zu An.

    Zu An was perplexed. ¡°May I know your request?¡±

    ¡°I haven¡¯t decided on it yet. I¡¯ll let you know when the time comes,¡± the old voice replied.

    The Mermaid Queen frowned.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t accept such a condition,¡± Zu An replied.

    Accepting this request was as good as issuing a blank check. What if the other party demanded something ridiculous from him in the future?

    The old voice chuckled. ¡°I understand your reservations, but you can be assured that I won¡¯t make you do anything against your conscience. When the time comes, you may also decide for yourself whether you wish to repay the favor or not. I won¡¯t force you.¡±

    Zu An was surprised. The conditions were too generous. That meant the other party couldn¡¯t coerce him into doing anything if he refused to repay him in the future. ¡°But that seems very disadvantageous to you.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. It¡¯s all inscribed in fate,¡± the old voice calmly replied.

    This was the second time the other party had talked about fate. Zu An hesitated for a second before asking, ¡°May I ask if you¡¯re Shennong?¡±

 Chapter 2481: The Human Pathâ€™s Power Insignia

    The Mermaid Queen and the Peacock Princess looked at Zu An in surprise, curious to know why he''d suddenly asked such a question. The Dragon Kings had said that Shennong existed a very long time ago. Could someone live for so long?

    Some time passed before the person in the cave replied, ¡°You¡¯re overestimating me. How can I be that person?¡±

    Sensing the other party¡¯s deference toward Shennong, Zu An continued probing, ¡°Are you Shennong¡¯s successor, or his descendant, or the Flame Emperor of the current generation?¡±

    In the legends, the Flame Emperor and the Yellow Emperor had combined their forces, which was why it was said that all humans were ¡®descendants of the Flame and Yellow¡¯. Shennong was the first Flame Emperor, though the term ''Flame Emperor'' referred to more than just him.

    The person in the cave was taken aback. ¡°You know quite a bit. Yes, I am related to Shennong, but I¡¯m not the current generation¡¯s Flame Emperor.¡±

    Zu An had expected that answer. ¡°May I know where the current generation¡¯s Flame Emperor is? Why doesn¡¯t he lead humankind to fend against the invading monsters?¡±

    He had no idea what had happened to the Flame Emperor in this world, but he''d previously encountered Yu the Great. The latter was extremely powerful, and he was the original wielder of the Rune Weapon Chart. The Flame Emperor was at least of the same standing as Yu the Great in the legends, and he should have been able to curb the monsters.

    Zu An harbored many doubts in his mind. He had stumbled upon the remnants of different dynasties in the Cultivation World, and these dynasties had all wielded incredible powers, unlike the mundane dynasties in his previous world.

    But where did those incredible powerhouses go? It would only take one of them to suppress the monsters. While this Cultivation World from several thousand years back is much stronger than it is in the future, it''s still no match for the Monster World.

    The person in the cave replied, ¡°It¡¯s all fated.¡±

    Zu An was speechless. He expected to hear more, but that was all. All his talk about fate makes him sound like a con artist.

    Knowing there was no point in persisting with this topic, he decided to ask about another, more pressing concern. ¡°I''ve heard the Firecloud Cave is proficient in medicine. May I ask if there is a way to save someone afflicted with the innate Cruel Poison Constitution?¡±

    The man in the cave was surprised by that question. ¡°I thought the Cruel Poison Constitution was just a thing of legend. That constitution grants one high affinity toward all kinds of poisons, but if it acts up, it can only be suppressed by a more potent poison. That poison can be used in combat, but it only worsens the condition. It¡¯s only a matter of time before the poison becomes insuppressible and destroys the host and the world along with it.¡±

    The Peacock Princess looked at Zu An with worried eyes. Why is big brother suddenly asking about that? Does he have the Cruel Poison Constitution?

    The Mermaid Queen knew the truth. Is his little sister¡¯s illness that terrifying? No wonder he hasn¡¯t found a cure for her to date.

    The person in the cave continued, ¡°I do know a way to resolve the Cruel Poison Constitution, however. With certain cultivation techniques and rare materials, you can condense the poison into an inner core and achieve a balance. It won¡¯t solve the problem at its root, but it can at least spare the host from an untimely death.¡±

    Zu An found those words weirdly familiar.

    ¡°The stronger the cultivation technique used, the stronger the condensed poison core will be. You¡¯ll have to look for a cultivation technique that complements the Cruel Poison Constitution by yourself. It¡¯ll depend on the luck of both you and the host of the Cruel Poison Constitution.

    ¡°I am, however, familiar with the rare materials required¡ªDefying Spirit Tears, a Brilliant Pinflower, and an Aurora Poison Dragon¡¯s inner core. Since you are here to treat the poisoned Ocean races, I presume you already have the Aurora Poison Dragon¡¯s inner core,¡± the man in the cave said.

    Zu An was baffled. For a moment there, he wondered if the person in the cave was Salamay. However, he knew that was impossible. How did Salamay learn about this method?

    It was unlikely for Salamay to have been to the enigmatic Firecloud Cave, and there was no reason for her to have sought a solution to the Cruel Poison Constitution. If so, there could only be one explanation. This world¡¯s Salamay had to have learned about it from him, the Mermaid Queen, or the Peacock Princess.

    After some thought, he thought it was more likely for Salamay to have heard about it from him. He was reminded of what Mi Li had previously told him about spacetime. Is this considered closing the loop too?

    For a moment there, he even wondered about the eternal paradox¡ªdid the chicken or the egg come first?

    He quickly reined in his thoughts and continued asking, ¡°Do you know where I can find Defying Spirit Tears and a Brilliant Pinflower?¡±

    ¡°You can find Brilliant Pinflowers in this world, but finding such rare materials is highly luck-dependent. If it¡¯s not fated, it won¡¯t make a difference even if I provide you with a location. Conversely, if it¡¯s fated, you''ll find it even if I don¡¯t say a word,¡± the man in the cave replied.

    Zu An was speechless. Salamay had also previously mentioned that this world could have Brilliant Pinflowers, so he''d thought he could gather more information from this fellow.

    ¡°As for Defying Spirit Tears...¡± The man in the cave suddenly paused as if he was contemplating something. ¡°They don¡¯t exist in the world right now, but you might have a chance to obtain them in the future.¡±

    Zu An was confused.

    He tried asking for more details, but the man in the cave gave cryptic replies, such as, ¡°The time isn¡¯t ripe yet. You¡¯ll know when the time comes.¡±

    Ugh, there¡¯s nothing more frustrating than riddlers! I don¡¯t even know what Defying Spirit Tears are, let alone how to obtain them!

    Just then, four pills flew out from the cave. ¡°Place these four pills in each of the four seas. They will dissolve in water and neutralize the poison from the plague formation.¡±

    The Mermaid Queen quickly stowed away the four pills. ¡°Elder, thank you for your medicine. The Ocean races will remember this favor.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s all decided by fate,¡± the man in the cave replied calmly.

    The trio had long gotten used to this answer.

    ¡°Our fate is up. Water Boy, send them out.¡±

    The boy nodded. He walked over and gestured for them to leave with him.

    Zu An suddenly remembered another matter and asked, ¡°One last question. I heard Shennong was the first Human Emperor. May I know where the Human Path¡¯s power insignia is currently?¡±

    The boy was annoyed. ¡°You don¡¯t know your manners. My master is asking you to leave. You shouldn¡¯t be asking any more questions.¡±

    A chuckle echoed from the cave.

    Zu An frowned. He sensed a deeper intent to the laugh, but he couldn¡¯t tell what it was about.

    ¡°Why are you searching for the Human Path¡¯s power insignia?¡± the man in the cave asked.

    Zu An breathed a sigh of relief. Since he¡¯s entertaining my question, there should be a chance. Thus, he told the man in the cave about the Six Paths of Reincarnation. He reckoned that considering his stature, the latter would know something about it. However, he withheld key information concerning Houtu as a precaution.

    ¡°Completing the Six Paths of Reincarnation would be a huge merit, but it won¡¯t be easy,¡± the man in the cave said.

    ¡°I still have to give it a try. If I collect the power insignias one at a time, there will come a day when all six power insignias are gathered.¡± Zu An didn¡¯t reveal that he already had some of the power insignias, because the other party was simply too mysterious.

    ¡°That¡¯s a good mindset.¡± The man in the cave expressed his approval. ¡°All right. You can find the Human Path¡¯s power insignia with the Fiend races.¡±

    ¡°The Fiend races?¡± Zu An was perplexed. Why is the Human Path¡¯s power insignia not with the humans, but with the Fiend races?

    Sensing his doubt, the man in the cave laughed. ¡°Why do you think the Fiend races don¡¯t belong to the Human Path? This world itself is the Human Path. Since the Fiend races are the rulers of this world, it should go without saying that the Human Path¡¯s power insignia is in their hands.¡±

 Chapter 2482: Bitterness

    Zu An was stunned. He suddenly realized that he had unknowingly narrowed the scope of his thoughts too far. He''d instinctively assumed the Human Path¡¯s power insignia was with the humans, and that the humans were the rulers of this world. It was only upon the other party¡¯s reminder that it dawned on him that the Human Path had more than just the human race.

    In the future, it was proven that the Cultivation World was the Human Path; it was just that the Fiend races were the stronger ones now. That sparked a thought in his mind, but the thought drifted away before he could clutch onto it.

    Nevertheless, it was a fruitful journey. He earnestly said out of gratitude, ¡°Thank you for the enlightenment, elder.¡±

    The man in the cave calmly replied, ¡°If you are truly grateful to me, fulfill my request.¡±

    As if fearing Zu An would ask more questions, the space around them distorted. Before they knew it, the three of them had already returned to the Crystal Boat. They quickly scanned their surroundings, but the island and the Firecloud Cave were nowhere to be seen.

    ¡°Was I dreaming earlier?¡± The Peacock Princess rubbed her eyes in confusion.

    ¡°No, it wasn¡¯t a dream,¡± the Mermaid Queenreplied with a quivering voice as she looked at the pills in her hands.

    Zu An looked at the vast ocean and remarked, ¡°What a profound formation.¡±

    All that was left in front of them was the ocean, meaning that someone had moved the island elsewhere. Zu An was awed by the Firecloud Cave¡¯s methods. Speaking of which, is he truly the successor of the Flame Emperor...

    The Mermaid Queen was glad that her people could be saved, but the realization that she would have to part ways with Zu An caused her smile to stiffen up.

    The Peacock Princess just had to poke the hornet¡¯s nest then. ¡°Big sis queen, shall we first accompany you back to the Dragon Palace?¡±

    The Mermaid Queen could see through her intention, but she shook her head and said, ¡°No, you still have other matters to attend to. I shall not hold you back.¡± She then turned to Zu An and asked, ¡°May I have a private conversation with you?¡±

    Upon seeing the plea in her eyes, Zu An¡¯s heart softened. He nodded and followed her to the other end of the deck.

    The Mermaid Queen had many things she wanted to tell him, but now that their moment of parting had come, she suddenly found herself at a loss for words. They stood in silence for a long time.

    It was Zu An who broke the silence in the end. ¡°Stay safe. You should take the Crystal Boat back.¡±

    The Mermaid Queen shook her head. ¡°The Crystal Boat is the Dragon King¡¯s gift to you. I can¡¯t take it. Besides, there¡¯s still some distance before you reach land. You¡¯ll need it.¡±

    The corners of her lips curled up. Without this Crystal Boat, big brother Zu might have to carry the Peacock Princess for the rest of the journey. This shall be my little vengeance against her.

    ¡°But it¡¯s a long distance for you...¡± Zu An was worried.

    The Mermaid Queen smiled. ¡°Have you forgotten my race? The ocean is my home turf.¡±

    Zu An thought those words made sense. In the water, mermaids are fearsome adversaries.

    Silence descended between them once more.

    The Mermaid Queen realized it was about time for her to leave and asked, ¡°Can I have a hug before we part ways?¡±

    Zu An was taken aback. He hadn¡¯t expected such a request from her. He wondered whether to turn down her request, especially since he wasn¡¯t from this era and didn¡¯t want to influence her.

    Sensing his rejection, the Mermaid Queen laughed miserably. ¡°This might be our final parting. After all the time we spent together, do I not at least deserve a friendly hug?¡±

    Tears trickled down her cheeks and landed on the deck, producing crisp knocking sounds. Mermaid tears turned into pearls upon striking the ground, after all.

    Zu An knew this could be their final farewell too. His determination wavered. He was about to open his arms to embrace the Mermaid Queen when a trembling body suddenly held onto him tightly.

    Zu An fell into a daze. At that moment, he experienced the emotion called bitterness.

    He had never believed in monogamy. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn¡¯t have turned the Mermaid Queen down. But the difference in their eras evoked his helplessness. He knew there was no future between the two of them.

    Instead of hurting each other, it was better for them to sever ties for good.

    It was no wonder that in his previous life¡¯s literary works, love had so many hurdles. He had always scoffed at those tropes, but now, he understood that not all hurdles could be overcome with effort.

    Zu An let out another sigh. He was about to speak when he saw the Mermaid Queen¡¯s face approaching him, and a pair of soft lips pressed against his. His eyes widened in astonishment.

    It was a kiss most men in the world would have been envious of, but he was in no mood to enjoy it. Instead, his mind was in disarray.

    All of a sudden, he felt a sharp pain. He instinctively touched his lips and saw a trace of blood.

    The Mermaid Queen had already let go of him and retreated to the corner of the boat. She looked at him with a mischievous smile, saying, ¡°I don¡¯t know if we¡¯ll ever meet again, so I want you to remember that sensation forever. Farewell, my lover.¡±

    She turned around and leaped into the ocean, turning into a beautiful mermaid as she swam into the distance. She didn¡¯t turn around, fearing that she wouldn¡¯t be able to leave anymore if she did.

    The setting sun cast glistening specks of light on the ocean''s surface. Zu An couldn¡¯t tell if those were just light reflections or her tears.

    The Peacock Princess walked up to Zu An and sighed sadly, ¡°Big sis queen has left.¡±

    She regretted playing such a trick on the Mermaid Queen earlier. Big brother doesn¡¯t belong to this era anyway, so what¡¯s the point of competing for him?  She thus said, ¡°Big brother, once you¡¯re done with your business in the Fiend races'' side, you can return to the Ocean races'' side.¡±

    Zu An shook his head. There were too many things he had to do, and the world was always throwing new tasks at him. Who knew if he would have a chance to return to the Ocean races'' side?

    The two of them continued their journey to the Fiend races¡¯ imperial court. The Dragon King¡¯s Crystal Boat could soar through the sky as well, though it was much slower than traveling on the ocean. Still, it was much faster than the airplanes in Zu An''s previous life.

    Along the way, the Peacock Princess asked Zu An about the descendant he had gotten close to, whereas Zu An asked her about the Fiend races.

    Soon, they arrived at the Fiend races¡¯ temporary imperial court.

    The Fiend race experts guarding the perimeter were already expecting their arrival. ¡°Princess, this must be the great hero our Saintess mentioned. The Saintess has been awaiting your arrival!¡±

 Chapter 2483: Saintess

    The Xuan-Su Guards were from the Peacock race and had the ability to fly. They had returned in advance to inform the Fiend races about what had happened in the Ocean races'' territory.

    The Saintess had quickly gotten to work and built Zu An up as a peerless hero who single-handedly defeated the Incestuous King¡¯s army.

    The Fiend races had been oppressed by the monsters for a long time. Even though the Saintess occasionally scored some victories, all that had done was stop the Fiend races from declining further. They had never experienced such a huge victory over the monsters before.

    Some had been overjoyed to hear the Saintess¡¯ words, but most took a skeptical attitude. They had fought the monsters for a long time and knew how formidable the Incestuous King was; it was hard to believe a person could single-handedly defeat the Incestuous King and his army.

    Despite their skepticism, however, they were tactful enough not to question it in public. The Fiend races were in urgent need of a major victory to boost their morale, and they lauded the Saintess for her wise move. A few did believe that Zu An was a hero, but most were feigning excitement while secretly investigating his background.

    Now that they were looking at Zu An in person, they frowned. They knew not to judge a book by its cover, yet he was so dashing that they wondered if he was a moocher; but at the same time, there was an inexplicable aura shrouding him.

    Damn, he¡¯s so handsome that even the Peacock Princess is staring holes into him.

    Years of warring with the monsters had resulted in the death of the older fiends, and the ones carrying the flag now were the younger generations. Most still had a youthful temperament.

    The Peacock Princess was a renowned beauty in the Fiend races, and unlike the Saintess, she didn¡¯t feel out of reach. Countless Fiend race men adored her for that, which was why it irked them to see the Peacock Princess standing so close to Zu An.

    Still, even though they were young, they knew their priorities. No one was so foolish as to jump out and antagonize Zu An at a time like this.

    A dashing man dressed in golden armor walked over and asked, ¡°Little sister Qingwu, is this the great hero who defeated the Incestuous King? Why don¡¯t you introduce him to us?¡±

    Another man wearing a golden cape voiced his agreement.

    These two men appeared to be the leaders of these youths.

    Despite their courteous attitudes, Zu An still keenly sensed a faint hostility from the crowd. He noticed the gazes they directed at the Peacock Princess, and the truth became apparent to him. A beautiful lady is bound to have many suitors. That¡¯s perfectly normal. It¡¯d be excessive to make a fuss over this.

    But the Peacock Princess frowned in dissatisfaction. ¡°The Saintess is waiting for big brother.¡±

    The words ''big brother¡¯ further fanned the crowd¡¯s jealousy.

    The golden-caped man said, ¡°We¡¯re still a fair distance away from the Saintess¡¯ residence. Why don¡¯t we head there together, and you can introduce him to us along the way? We have nothing but admiration for the great hero who single-handedly destroyed the Incestuous King¡¯s army.¡±

    Zu An calmly watched the spectacle. Judging from the other party¡¯s enunciations, he could tell that the latter didn¡¯t believe he could defeat Mojard¡¯s army, but the current Zu An had weathered too many storms to be fazed by something like this. It¡¯s just a bunch of hot-blooded youths.

    The Peacock Princess had witnessed Zu An¡¯s prowess in person, and she mistakenly thought others knew about his strength too. That led to the golden-caped man¡¯s sarcasm flying over her head. ¡°This is big brother Necropolis. He might be young, but he is extremely powerful. Even the Incestuous King isn¡¯t his match, let alone you lot.¡±

    Black streaks appeared on Zu An¡¯s face. This young lass speaks her mind. Her words are so candid that it¡¯s drawing hatred for me. But he wasn¡¯t bothered by it. Rather, he was curious to know whether these young fellows would challenge him.

    The expressions of the Fiend race youths darkened. ¡°Big brother Necropolis is indeed incredible to have defeated the Incestuous King. May we ask about the details of the battle?¡±

    Zu An looked too young, and he didn¡¯t give off an air of intimidation either. It was hard to think of him as a powerful expert, so it was no wonder they didn¡¯t believe the Peacock Princess¡¯ words.

    The Peacock Princess finally sensed the skepticism in the air. ¡°Shoo; my big brother has no time to talk about these things with you.¡± Fearing that some fools might actually challenge Zu An, she quickly added, ¡°That golden-armored guy who looks like a nouveau riche is the Fiend races¡¯ third prince. That guy with a yellow cloth wrapped around his body is the Golden Peng race¡¯s crown prince...¡±

    She only introduced the important figures around her, and even so, her introduction was extremely brief, as she didn¡¯t think that someone as important as her big brother had time to waste on mere brats.

    The Third Prince and the Golden Peng Crown Prince had awful-looking expressions. All of them had grown up together, and the Peacock Princess often talked to them like that. However, they were in the presence of an outsider. It felt as if they were being slighted.

    Zu An lamented his ill fate with the Golden Crow race and Golden Peng race. Even now that he had returned to the past, they still viewed each other with hostility.

    Fortunately, with the encroachment of the monster army, the only ones left among the Fiend races were the true elites. Despite feeling a little humiliated, they were able to rein themselves in and not cause a fuss.

    The crowd escorted Zu An to a palace, though it felt like a stretch to call it a palace, as it only looked marginally better than the houses he saw along the way. The Fiend races had suffered a series of losses, losing even their imperial court. This was the best building they could construct on the spot, since the bulk of their resources would be devoted to fending against the monsters.

    A guard at the doorway stopped the crowd. ¡°The Saintess wishes to meet the great hero alone. Please wait outside.¡±

    The crowd was taken aback, but they didn¡¯t dare to defy the highly-esteemed Saintess.

    ¡°The Saintess should have personally welcomed you upon your arrival, but for some reason, she called you over instead. Big brother, I hope you don¡¯t mind it. The Saintess must have her reasons for doing so,¡± the Peacock Princess explained telepathically.

    Zu An smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not that narrow-minded.¡±

    He stepped into the palace. A maid brought him to a serene courtyard and said, ¡°The Saintess is waiting for you inside.¡±

    The maid bowed and took her leave.

    Zu An was surprised. The Saintess should have met him in a public space, such as her study, but this courtyard appeared to be her personal residence. For a moment, he felt vigilant. Could the Saintess be scheming something to blackmail me?

    On second thought, he remembered that the Yumen Beiqing he''d met at the Sealed Land wasn¡¯t an underhanded person. So, he entered the courtyard, though he continued to keep his guard up lest he fall for the other party¡¯s trap.

    ¡°You¡¯re finally here,¡± a voice echoed from the room, sending shudders through Zu An¡¯s body.

 Chapter 2484: The Most Familiar Stranger

    A dignified lady stood in the courtyard, dressed in a snowy-white shirt and a loose red skirt. Her clothes showcased no feminine curves, but if the world were a portrait, her ravishing visage would be what made the painting the most beautiful thing in the world. When contrasted with her clothes, her fair skin looked even fairer. Her beauty was slightly beneath that of the Mermaid Queen, and she was also nowhere as vibrant as the Peacock Princess. However, she was graceful and dignified. She emanated a natural air of inviolability just by standing there.

    For a moment, Zu An thought he was looking at Kikyo from Inuyasha.

    No wonder the Fiend races¡¯ men all compliment the Saintess¡¯ beauty, but her suitors are nowhere as many as the Peacock Princess. She¡¯s a mortal, but somehow she feels divine.

    Yumen Beiqing had been crafting talismans when she sensed Zu An¡¯s entrance and lifted her head.

    Zu An felt an uncanny sense of familiarity from her, possibly because he had once met her in the Sealed Land. He said with a smile, ¡°Paying respect to the Saintess."

    He felt the joy of reuniting with an acquaintance, though the latter wouldn¡¯t know that they had once met each other.

    Little did he expect the Saintess to suddenly shoot to her feet and quickly walk up to him. Zu An could tell that the body beneath those loose clothes was trembling. She seemed to be exerting a great deal of willpower to hold herself back. That made him frown. What¡¯s with Yumen Beiqing¡¯s reaction?

    Both the Ocean races and the Peacock Princess had said that the Saintess was someone who could remain perfectly composed even when in dire straits. It was bizarre for her to display such a blatant breach of etiquette. Is she nervous or afraid because she¡¯s planning something?

    Zu An scanned the surroundings with his divine sense, worried that there could be an ambush, but there was no one else in this courtyard other than the two of them. This is weird...

    As the other party drew closer, Zu An cleared the air with a cough and called out, ¡°Saintess?¡±

    As she looked at him, Yumen Beiqing bit her lower lip. Her eyes glistened with tears, and she looked as if there were countless words she wanted to tell him.

    Zu An¡¯s heart quivered at the sight of such pitiful eyes. Why is she acting as if she''s known me for a long time? Does she remember our meeting in the Sealed Land? But that¡¯s supposed to happen in the future!

    While he was perplexed, the Saintess suddenly leaped into his chest and embraced him tightly. He was dumbfounded.

    He had thought of countless possibilities when the two of them met, but he hadn¡¯t expected the legendary Saintess to leap into his arms. Could this truly be a scheme to blackmail me? Does the Saintess intend to use her beauty to recruit me as a fighter for the Fiend races?

    But the genuine emotions in the Saintess¡¯ eyes and her trembling body didn¡¯t seem to be a lie. This didn¡¯t feel like a honey trap.

    The Saintess couldn¡¯t have fallen in love with me at first sight, right? Zu An quickly snuffed out that notion as soon as it surfaced in his mind. That was impossible.

    Who could have known a pair of lips would press against his the next second?

    Zu An was bewildered. His body stiffened up. What in the world is going on?

    Feeling the need to get to the bottom of this, he was just about to push the Saintess away when the latter suddenly said, ¡°Big brother Zu, you are finally here to see me.¡±

    Goosebumps rose all over Zu An¡¯s body. The only one who knew his name was the Mermaid Queen. Even the Peacock Princess only knew him as ¡®Necropolis¡¯. How had the Saintess learned his name?

    Now that he thought about it, the Saintess had also acted as if she''d known him for a long time when they met in the Sealed Land. Did I, at some point in the future, return even further back in time and become acquainted with her?

    While he was completely confused, the Saintess realized something and hurriedly explained with a reddened face, ¡°Big brother Zu, I am Ling¡¯er!¡±

    Zu An was shocked. ¡°Little sister Ling¡¯er?¡±

    He stared at the Saintess in disbelief. She is Xie Daoyun?

    While there was an uncanny sense of familiarity about her, she looked nothing like Xie Daoyun, though it wouldn¡¯t be right to say there were no similarities at all. Her air of serenity and grace did resemble Xie Daoyun¡¯s.

    ¡°In the Monster World¡¯s underground city, I came into contact with a mysterious piece of jade and was transported to this world. I thought I would never see you again!¡± The Saintess dropped her usual strong front and sobbed like a child.

    Those words dissipated all of Zu An¡¯s doubts. He tightly hugged her too. ¡°Little sister Ling¡¯er!¡±

    Back when Xie Daoyun first disappeared, he was horrified, though he had an inexplicable feeling that they would meet again soon. He hadn¡¯t expected them to reunite under such circumstances.

    The two of them embraced each other tightly. Before long, their lips were locked together as if these acts of intimacy were the only ways they could let the other party know their feelings.

    The Saintess placed her hands on Zu An¡¯s shoulders. Her slender fingers were like ivory tusks, and her forehead accessories gleamed under the sunlight, just like her mesmerizing eyes.

    ...

    The Peacock Princess nervously paced to and fro outside the courtyard. She had no idea why the Saintess had requested to meet Zu An in private. The Saintess had always been transparent, choosing to open everything up for discussion. This was the first time she had requested to meet someone in private.

    She wasn''t worried about Zu An being harmed by the Saintess; the former could protect himself, whereas the latter wasn''t one to do something that foolish. What worried her more was the Saintess falling in love with the perfect Zu An.

    However, she quickly shrugged off that thought as soon as it surfaced. The Saintess was called as such because she aligned with what the Fiend races imagined a Saintess to be. She was beautiful yet inviolable, and she displayed incredible charisma as she led the Fiend races in the battle for their survival. She treated everyone with warmth, yet she showed no interest in secular love. Everyone in the Fiend races acknowledged her because they knew she wouldn¡¯t be biased toward any of them.

    The discussions of the Fiend youths around her showed as much. They were more worried about Zu An doing something disrespectful to the Saintess.

    That angered the Peacock Princess. Big brother isn¡¯t that kind of person!

    Most of them quickly realized that their worry was unnecessary. Even if they couldn¡¯t trust Zu An, surely they could trust the Saintess. The discussion thus moved on to speculations about what the two were talking about.

    ¡°They are probably discussing a partnership.¡±

    ¡°Regardless of whether his feats are exaggerated or not, it is a fact that he helped the Ocean races defeat the monster army. Securing his help will be greatly beneficial to us.¡±

    Just then, someone meekly asked, ¡°You¡¯re all talking about the Saintess winning him over to our side. Have you considered the possibility of him taking our Saintess away instead? I mean, he is quite good-looking.¡±

    The next moment, silence descended.

 Chapter 2485: He Is My Man

    After a brief silence, laughter erupted.

    ¡°How is that possible?¡±

    ¡°Indeed. Our Saintess wouldn¡¯t be shaken by secular love.¡±

    ¡°So many outstanding youths have courted her in recent years, but she didn¡¯t even spare them a glance. That¡¯s why everyone was eventually forced to give up.¡±

    ...

    The Fiend youths laughed as if what they had just heard was the biggest joke ever.

    The Peacock Princess was delighted but frustrated. She was glad she didn¡¯t have to worry about the Saintess going after Zu An, but she didn¡¯t like how those words made it seem as if her feelings for him were crude.

    Our romance transcends spacetime, alright?!

    But the reminder that Zu An didn¡¯t belong to this era dampened her mood.

    ¡°My princess, can you tell us about the great hero¡¯s battle with the Incestuous King? Did someone as young as him really defeat the Incestuous King?¡± someone asked curiously.

    The others voiced their agreement too. The news delivered by the Xuan-Su Guards was so inconceivable that they wondered if they had exaggerated the details because their cultivation was too low to discern the battle¡¯s details. The Saintess could have only accepted their statements to raise their people¡¯s morale. It would be more reliable to hear the account of an expert like the Peacock Princess.

    The eyes of the Peacock Princess lit up. Even three days wouldn¡¯t be enough for her to speak about Zu An¡¯s exploits. She began sharing the details.

    Her mention of how the abrupt appearance of the monsters had driven the Ocean races into despair invited nods from the crowd¡ªthey had witnessed the monster army¡¯s prowess in person before.

    Then, Zu An had appeared. He''d dove into the monster army and wrecked them like a berserker, causing the monsters to scream and blood to flow like a river.

    There was no discrepancy between reality and her account, but the Peacock Princess, due to her rose-tinted glasses, thought that her version was much more awe-inspiring.

    Many people voiced their doubts.

    ¡°How can an individual rival an army? What about the monster formation masters? Did they not do a thing at all?¡±

    The Peacock Princess slowly replied, ¡°Big brother has an ultimate move¡ªhe conjured countless weapons out of thin air to decimate the formation masters.¡±

    ¡°What ultimate move can be that formidable?¡± The crowd found it inconceivable. Formation masters were the most protected group in an army. They weren¡¯t just skilled in long-ranged offense, but defensive formations too. Even the Fiend Emperor couldn¡¯t destroy the formation masters in an army single-handedly.

    The Peacock Princess scoffed at their doubts. ¡°The Ocean races¡¯ experts were all present, including the Mermaid Queen whom you all dream about. You can corroborate the details with them if you don¡¯t believe me.¡±

    Those words won her some credibility.

    ¡°What about the Incestuous King? Someone as strong as him wouldn¡¯t just watch as the great hero decimated his army,¡± someone pointed out.

    ¡°He made his move. He released his beast form and his body grew to hundreds of meters tall,¡± the Peacock Princess said, then recounted what happened then.

    The faces of the Fiend youths darkened. They had witnessed the prowess of the Incestuous King¡¯s beast form in the battle where they suffered the greatest loss. They remembered the immense pressure they''d felt, and just the thought of it evoked a hint of despair in them. The Incestuous King had charged into their army and massacred them as if they were mere ants. Their army formation had collapsed, and it had eventually become a one-sided slaughter.

    The Peacock Princess¡¯ eyes gleamed with excitement as she continued, ¡°But big brother is even more formidable...¡± As if she had become a roadside storyteller, she vividly shared the situation with the crowd, occasionally taking some creative liberties to make Zu An seem even greater.

    The Fiend youths were flabbergasted. They had thought the previous story was an exaggeration, but who could have thought the truth would be even more exaggerated than that?

    The Golden Crow Prince and Golden Peng Crown Prince exchanged fearful looks. It¡¯s a relief we didn¡¯t provoke that guy in the heat of the moment, or else we would have become clowns.

    The crowd was overjoyed to hear that the Ocean races and the mysterious races beneath the Eye of the Ocean were willing to ally with the Fiend races.

    ¡°With the Saintess¡¯ leadership and an expert of the great hero¡¯s caliber, we can surely defeat those vile monsters!¡±

    The crowd¡¯s faces beamed with excitement as they dreamed about defeating the monsters and returning to their homeland.

    But the Golden Peng Crown Prince poured cold water over the enthused crowd. ¡°It¡¯s too early to celebrate. There¡¯s no guarantee an expert of that caliber will help us. We might not be able to afford his help.¡±

    The crowd¡¯s hearts sank.

    There¡¯s no reason for an expert of that caliber to help us. Someone that strong would be celebrated as an esteemed guest no matter where he went, even in the Monster World. He might even be able to usurp the Incestuous King¡¯s position.

    There¡¯s nothing he can gain from helping us, especially now that the Fiend races are in their weakest state ever.

    The crowd turned to the Peacock Princess.

    The Peacock Princess¡¯ face reddened. ¡°Why are you looking at me?¡±

    ¡°Princess, how far have you progressed with the great hero?¡± a curious youth asked.

    Those words piqued the anger of those who adored the Peacock Princess.

    The usually sharp-tongued Peacock Princess suddenly lost her usual eloquence. ¡°I-it¡¯s not like what you think!¡±

    ¡°Princess, why don¡¯t you sacrifice yourself for the sake of our Fiend races¡¯ future? An expert of his caliber should be worthy of you,¡± another youth from a major race said. He favored the Saintess more than the Peacock Princess, allowing him to objectively decide the course of action that maximized the Fiend races¡¯ interest.

    The Peacock Princess sighed. ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m reluctant, but...¡± She briefly paused before continuing, ¡°Even the Mermaid Queen tried courting him, but to no avail.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± The crowd was stunned.

    If the Peacock Princess was only famous in their circle, the Mermaid Queen was a world-famous beauty! It wouldn¡¯t be a stretch to call her the number one beauty in the world, given how she had turned down even the Fiend Emperor. To think that legendary woman would court the man from earlier and fail at that! That would have been a dream for any other man, but he turned her down! Is that fellow still a man?!

    Just then, the courtyard doors opened.

    ¡°The Saintess is out!¡±

    The crowd looked over, only to freeze in place. Their usually placid Saintess was now resting against Zu An¡¯s chest with flushed cheeks.

    The Saintess was embarrassed to have so many gazes on her, but she still gently spoke up. ¡°Let me introduce him to you. He is my man.¡±

    The crowd was speechless.

    The Peacock Princess was bewildered.